The times. [volume], October 22, 1899, Second Part, Page 6, Image 18

About The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901

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THE TIMES, WASHINGTON, SCXJUY, OCTOBER 22, 1899.
BOOTH'S MABTLABD 11 1
"Wbei'c tJ Theatrical Geftlas Speiil
His Happiest Dy.
Tmler Hall Has I'HJerRBHC Vcw
ChHHftvs Slnee It W BhIU for the
Great Aetr-TJi( JIhhsiuh In
Which Itdivln hhI .IoHh "Wilkes
fcnent "34ol of. Their Childhood.
Some days ago I visited the old home
of Junius Brutus Booth, near Belair, Md.,
where, free from the excitement of the
world's applause, the eccentric genius ,
passed the happiest day of his life Here
bis children were bora; here much of their
childhood was spent; here. John Wilkes
romped, and gentle Rdwln played. The
vehemence and tempestousness of tragedy
were here laid aside. The place was always
a haven of rest for Booth a place of
tenderest memories for his children.
Belair is reached from Washington by
way of Baltimore, and is 6J the Balti
more and Lehigh Railway. It is a nar-
--. - - li- TJ.
io gauge affair, and consumes one hour !
and a half in going twenty-seven miles.
The cars are "scrooehy" and not over
ckan. and the conductor talks familiarly
to the hangers-on at the various stopping
places.
Belair is really a pretty town, and has
1 im inhabitants. Main Street is clean,
and dotted with cheerful homes. There is
a noticeable absence of delapidation and
a superabundance of churches. It is a
Itual option town, but "no gentleman as is
a gentleman," remarked one of my sources
di information, "has ever died of thirst
within Belair's boundaries." To prove that
he was a Maryland gentleman, he smiled,
and patted his back pocket significantly
As he walked away. 1 thought I heard a
gtiule splashing from within that pocket.
Most of the people of Belair are fond of
the play, I learned, and they patronise the
town hall liberally when a "snow" comes
their way: bat companies rarely brav the
Baltimore and Lehigh. Once is enough, j
An for a fly-by-night U. T. C. company j
Enquiry brought forth the information
that the old home of the Booths wasabout ,
two and a half miles irom tne town, anu
iIiai it was now occupied by a Mind pro-ft-fasor
of music, who is the organist at St.
Ignatius' Catholic Church, a composer, a
graduate of the New York .Conservatory
cf Music for the Blind, and a gentleman
who upheld Maryland's fame for hospi
tality. Of course Belair has a livery stable, and
thither I went. The genial proprietor
Mas told that a horse was wanted for a
Jie-mile drive one that would not walk
continually on it hind legs or shy at au
tumn leaves. He said be had Just the
th.mal I wanted
It was named Sallie. '
Saliie was brought forth and harnessed to
a buggy, and I was provided with heavy
ti Vb. for the day was rainy and chilly. It
t'Ktk her two hours to travel two and a
half miles ont and two and a half hours to
over die same stretch in. Her hide was
a- tough and as insensible to chastisement
as linoleum and her ears deaf to entreaty,
command, or execration.
PnIr HmIIN Isolmlon.
Tudor Tall, the old Bosth homestead,
nesUea .down in a clearing half a mile
f:om the road. le two hundred and sixty j
a res surrounding it are densely wcoded. j
j more isolated home could not be imag- j
n. ed. When Booth pianned for seclusion
Le planned well. Even at this late date
it is a veritable hermitage. As I drove
through the woods and approached the
f.nma fen iwusaVtofeAc rtai iilfarl 4Ua rvr
i,uv " n M-w" - ---
two. I waa greeted by a loud cackling of
gt-ese. I sat ana watched the bouse for
. ..- -....k4 tiw. K.. f .
fi miaatee, thinking that someone
would come forth and invite me in out of
tLe rain. As no one appeared, however,
I approached the front door and knocked.
The second knock resulted in the opening
of the door by a miss of sixteen or seven
teen, i told her that I had come from
Y isbington and tarough many difficulties
j uet to sef the home of the famous Booths,
U1K with. the present oc.upnts, and lis
ten to the stones they had to tell of that
faintly Of geniuses. She smiled encourag
ingly and said chat the professor ould
toon be in. The young woman proved to
t.t the stepdaughter of Prof. Mahoney,
Mis Kyle, whose mother is the present
owner M IM pace. I
Irci. J. F. Mahoney came at last. He
is sightless and has been since he was five
years old. He welcomed me cordially
tud talked entertainingly. As we dined.
the professor said that he was not per
sonally acquainted with any cf the Booths,
but bis ears had always been open to sto
r.e relating to the famous family, par
tu ularly since he took up his residence
at Tudor Hall. Prof. Mahoney, though
shut out from the light of the world, is
distinctly of the world. A long residence
1l New York, where he has taught both
local and instrumental music, has kept
t tin In touch with the world of harmony,
and the drama, art, and the sciences.
Taough now removed in part from these.
Lit yearning for educational acquisition
is b&thmed through the assistance of loving
friends.
Within sight of the front door of Tudor
Hall stands an old stump with five upright
projections, the whole having the ap
1 araace of an outstretched hand. This
wreck ot a once great tree, with its butts
of limbs, is called by the country people
Booth's Fingers." Tradition has it that
the great genius was wont to thunder
forth his fiercest Sbakesperean speeches
from the branches of this woodland giant.
hen preparing to once more astonish the
world with his impassioned utterances.
When Booth first sought seclusion here
he lived in a rudely constructed log house,
osly a few hundred yardb from the pres
ent structure. Here the poet boy came but
once a week and locks and bolts on doors
were unknown. Here the children were
born. The new home was built about 1840.
It was designed abroad. Booth was not an
American by birth, adoption or at heart.
u . wi .- r.AT,n i7 . ,
M0 WW SU UWMUWM M A.,V U IU,7
to America in 181. While the Americans
heaped upon him every honor, palliated
broken engagements, and welcomed him
more cordially each -succeeding year, he
was Intensely un-American.
Dexeriptimi of the I'laee.
In this new house, the one still standing,
was agent most of the childhood of the
younger boys. It is a two-story structure,
and at present contains sixteen rooms. A
substantial, covered porch extends across
the front. The windows are church ly in
appearance, the panes being very small and
diamond-shaped. There is but one cbim
tiev , that Is In the centre of the house.
The structure stands today practically as
the Booths left it. A bow window has been
added to the parlor and the dining-room
but: been somewhat enlarged. In all other
substantia respects it stands as the Eng
lish architect designed it. The front door
opens into a square reception hall, with
tbe library on one side and the parlor on
the ether. Tbe home is built principally
of brick and fronts tbe northeast. Tudor
Hfill, eves on a rainy day. is an extremely
cheerful place.
"The Farm," as Booth always called it,
is blessed with a fine spring. In the days
of the Booths a great, green bullfrog
made hie home there, and as he was be
lieved by the head of tbe family to be
a hundred years old, be was treated with
ail the respect and wonder that great age
Inspires. The croaks of this old fellow
were listened to with rapt attention by
Booth. When aad how the great frog
dd is not recorded, but during Booth's
time Tudor Hall's spring was a safe asy
lum for him.
The original loghouse was never destroy
ed by Booth. After his death it was re
moved to Hickory, a small settlement that
had sprung up some distance away. There
1b was used as the framework of a more
xr.odern dwelling Booth's allegiance to
England prevented him from acquiring a
tas simple title to his plait, it is said.
He held a lease. He secured a leasehold
title to his place, such as was very com
mon in Maryland gome years ago. Mrs.
Mahoney has held possession for about
twenty years. The homestead was bought
by her first husband, Mr. Kyle.
The cabinet maker to whom the father
desired to apprentice Edwin Booth still
lives in the vicinity of Belair. Junius
Brutus Booth, the elder, permitted the
eating of no animal food on "The Farm."
He guarded jealously the life cf the mean
est worm.the smallest animal. Once, while
on a tour, he wrote to his father, Richard
Booth, who looked after the place in his
absence, and lived with him until he died,
as follows: "Do not let Junius (his son) set
a rabbit trap or shoot at a bird. Cruelty
is the offsnrinsr of idlnness of mind and
beastly ignorance. A thief who takes prop
erty from another has it in his power,
should he repent, to make restoration, but
a lobber of life can never give back what
he has wantonly and sacrilegiously taken
V" ,hr nh 2Z:
"- "" J '"-'- M-....j ...,.. ..
of enjoying pleasure or suffering torture
with himself. The ideas of Pythagoras I
i have adopted, and as respects our nccount-
abilty to animals hereafter, nothing that
man can preach can make me believe to
the contrary."
"As to John Wilkes Booth." said the pro-
f xmlltKk " akm, M.r -&
t&s3) wyw wsm
TDOR H.VLL, TIIK BOOTH HOME.
fessor, "there are still some people who be
lieve or say they believe that he was never
shot; in fact some believe be is still living.
In the minds of the Belair people, however,
there is not the faintest doubt of his death,
for "Auntie" Rogers, his old nurse, has
declared to them a thousand times that she
saw th bodv of her bov iust before it was
buried end that she attempted to cut a lock
of hair from the head, but was stopped and
threatened with arrest."
Just before the original Booth house was
removed some inappreciative person hav
ing control of the work, tore up a trunk full
of stage costumes which had grown faded
in the service of the eccentric genius, the
elder Booth. The strips were used in the
making of a rag carpet. For several years j
tnereauer ine royai roues oi rtieuaiu auu
other characters he had .helped to immor
talize were trod upon daily by country
i kIaiiic The trimfc whk fminri with Other
junk ,"n lhe refuge TOom of lhe house. To.
aay the6e roDes to the collector would be
almost priceless.
That the elder Booth was more than ec
centric at times is not doubted, in Harford
county at least. Time, no doubt, has ex
aggerated the eccentricities and strange
acts of the man, but no one denies that he
. !, r-.X Aa-a.-A l mnn crirtra nTn.
&"- , ";." ,-ul
ceeaiBKS. iso one wuu is luiciraicu j.u mu
ceedings.
unusual impeaches the truth of the story
that recites the death of one of his children
while the actor was en tour, its burial ou
the home place, his frantic disinterment ot
the body on bis return, the bringing of the
dead into the house and his mad appeals to
the mother to recall it back to life.
Some of IHk ISceentcieitieH.
"Tradition has it also," said Prof. Ma
honey," that once upon the death of a fa
vorite horse he in his Insane effort to re
store it to life opened the carcass of the
animal and forced his wife to crawl within,
in the belief that she could breathe life into
it again. And the story that has come
j. mTMm father tn n In rKiwrt nt this
, ,. ,.... .,. t ..j k 4... a
and firearms to prevent interference from
outsiders."
While this part of the story seems too
unnatural to believe, general credence is
given to the report that when the burial
of the horse became necessary he went for
miles about the country requesting the peo
ple to come to "The Farm" to attend the
funeral. When they arrived, they found to
their great disgust that it was the carcass
of a horse he wished to have buried with
all solemnity. The crowd retired, some in
disgust, others ,amused. This freak oi
Booth's was quickly followed by a long and
serious illness. Often Booth would wan
der miles from his home at night insuffi
ciently clad or dressed in stage robes, some
times through rain, or scow, only to return
apparently unconscious of his strange ac
tion. When Edwin reached the age of fourteen
or fifteen be traveled much with his father
and in his calm way exerted great influ
ence over, protecting him from bodily ex
posure and regulating bis engagements.
Yet, in spite' of this, Edwin was not his fa
vorite son. The sad face of the boy. It is
said, always near him rather deterred and
quieted the elder Booth. Edwin was a boy
who commanded obedience with a simple
look of protest.
Of all the Booth boys John Wilkes is best
remembered by the people tn and around
Belair. He mingled with the people more.
They say he was a magnificent horseman.
a genial companion, a true sportsman.
All Belair speaks lovingly of Edwin
"l"' J",K T.w . t.
I a free library movement. It ap-
r .1. t... l..r.. l. .4l.l 1... nA ecni
I . . . ,. , - 4 . - .,. P !
jretxz'C luai 1111; ubuur iri lutr iirvtu, .'
sisted by their wives and daughters, in
augurated the movement by holding a ba
zaar. It was suggested that Edwin's in
terest be solicited. Mrs. Young, one of the
foremost patrons, conceived the idea of
cutting from the old Booth place a piece
of cherry wood, dressing it into a panel,
and upon its poliBhed surface painting a
bunch of cherries. This was gent to the
idol of the Sbakesperean stage with a few
words about the movement. The tree from
which the piece was taken stood immedi
ately in front of the door of the home.
The curve of every limb was known to
Edwin. This little tribute touched the
tendereet chords in his breast, and along
with his letter of appreciation came the
$&00 check. The library is now in success
ful operation.
When Junius Brutus Booth, the elder,
died on a Mississippi steamboat, tbe world
suffered a great loss. When Rutus Choate,
who regarded him as the ideal tragedian,
heard of the death, ho exclaimed sorrow
fully, "There are no more actors'"
J. BARTON MILLER.
What SpoiiKre Cost.
(Prom the New York. Kvening Telegram.)
TUt flnett and mt ospenrivc of all the com
mercial doenption. sss "Knowledge," i the
fine Turkey toilet tfKinge, found in greatest per
iectioo oft' lhe eoaats of the Levant, where it as
cuiimv the well known cup-like form. The aver
age wholesale price of picked )M?c!ineii of tills
description ranges from Ss. to 0. each. Xext in
value are tbe so-called "Turkey tolid," in which
the rp-shape is loot and the top of the sponge
it flat. Tbeae are the only kind of Turkey found
the HMAward of Malta. Their wholesale price
If from 9s. to 2s- Bd. each. In these sponges
the apertures of the wateuapcr are larger than
in the Turkey eup Another remarkable variety
of this ipttir is the Iago-fltu, or elephant's car
fcponge, of the Adriatic. T3ir.se form hupp fuiigui!.
like lappeta, which feometimrs join at the edge
so an to produce large open cup. Cut into tmall
pieces, tlwy are used for home cltaninp, but the
mort important uie of the larger miee is for cer
tain surRical operations; they are also employed
for stuffing saddles. The wholesale price of the
b&t dra.ripticrii cries from Sfc. to GOs. per
A SHOWER OF METEORITES
Ctilestirtl Fireworks Promised for
ilie Nhrlit of November 147
Astronomers' Theories Cimcernlnff
isiieli Jlenvenly Displays This One
"Will lime Its OrlKin In the Con
Mcllution of Leo The Xavul Oh
Kcriatiiry tci Keep n Close "Wntcli.
Astronomers promise that on the night
of November 14 and the morning of No
vember 15, if the weather shall be clear,
Americans will be treated to a display of
celestial fireworks in comparison with
which the Dewey illuminations will appear
to have been dull and dim. The rockets
which will drive away the gloom are known
in astronomy as meteorites, and the par
ticular meteorites which will brighten the-
night of November 14 are known as the
Leonids, from the fact that they appear to
fall from the constellation Leo.
The meteorites upon coming in contact
with the atmosphere that surrounds the
earth, become ignited from the friction of
their flight and countless millions of them
will flash red, white, orange, and green.
The earth, in its revolution around the
sun, passes through a maze of meteors each
fall, but once in every thirty-three years
the Leonids, in their elliptical flight
through the heavens touch the earth's orbit
near the point which the earth will reach
on November 14 next. Its said that somq
astronomers believe that the cause of the
Leonids has been discovered, and that it is
believed that they are fragments of a comet
which was wrecked In space three thousand
three hundred years ago. An expert opin
ion is that the comet exploded because of
the Intense heat generated by its unduly
speedy passage through space. It is also
said that it was Temple, an astr&nomer3,
who put forth the claim that the Leonids
are fragments of an exploded comet.
A reporter for The Times talked with
Prof. A. N. Skinner, an astronomer, who
has been connected with the Naval Ob
servatory for thirty years, concerning the
matter. He said that there are many
theories concerning the nature and mat
ter of comets, meteors, and meteorites,
but no one of these theories is wholly sat
isfactory. The exhibitions of meteorites,
or shooting stars, have excited great in
terest among astronomers, ,,XhaJr, ,(Utcnr
tlon was first turned seriouslytojvard the
subject by the great metoorie sttoWe"r of
November 13. 1833. On that , night, and,
till daylight of the morning of November '
14, the sky being serene and cloudless, the
whole heavens were lighted by a magnifi
cent display of celestial fireworks. At
times the air was filled with streaks of
light, occasioned by fiery pafllcle's',akrtl'figr'
down so swiftly as to leave their impres
sion of light on the eye, as of a match
ignited and flashed before the face, and
drifting to the northwest like flakes of
snow driven by the wind; while at short
intervalfa, balls of fire, varying in size
from minute points to bodies apparently
as large as Jupiter or Venus, and in a
few instances as large as the full moon,
descended more slowly along the arch of
the sky, often leaving after them long
trains of light, which wore in some cases
variegated with different prismatic colors.
Tli el r Origin In hen.
On tracing back the lines of direction in
which the meteors moved, it was found
that they all appeared to radiate from the
same point, which was situated near one of
the stars in the constellation Leo, named
Gamma Leonis; hence these particular
meteors are called Leonids, though the an
nual November shower has appeared to
radiate from about the same part of the
heavens. This great shower of 1833 per
vaded nearly the whole of North America,
having appeared in almost equal splendor
from the British possessions on the north
to the West India Islands and Mexico on
the Fouth. Throughout this immense re
gion it is said that the duration was nearly
the same. The meteors began to attract
attention by their unusual frequency and
brilliancy from 9 to 12 o'clock in the even
inrr: wern mnj.1 striklntr in their nnnpnr-
I ance from 2 to 4 o'clock, arrived at their
maximum at about 4 o'clock, and continued
until rendered invisible by the light of the
sun.
Soon after this occurrence it was ascer
tained that a meteoric shower of con
siderable brilliancy had appeared in 1799,
and what was more remarkable, at the
same time of the year. It soon appeared
from accounts that were received in the
United States from various parts of the
world that a similar phenomenon had oc
curred in the falls of 1830, 1831, and 1832.
The displays were pronounced, but not so
radiantly brilliant as that on November
13 and 14, 1833. It was evident from these
observations that the fiery showers were
independent of the casual changes of the
atmosphere, for, having a periodical return,
it was without doubt to be referred to
astronomical causes, and its recurrence at
a certain definite period of the year, plainly
indicated some relation to the revolution
of the earth around the sun.
It is said to be an established fact that
the periodical meteors of November have
their origin beyond the atmosphere, de
scending to the earth when thej come
within its attractive influence; that this
meteoric body has an independent exist
ence as a member of the solar system, its
periodic lime being either a year or a half
year, so that for a number of years in suc
cession the two bodies meet near the same
part of the earth's orbit.
5lfe With (Jrent Velocity.
It is said to be also established that the
meteors consist of light, combustible mat
ter; that they move with great velocities,
amounting in some instances to not less
than that of the earth in its orbit, or, in
other words, nineteen miles a second, or
68,000 miles an hour; that some of them
are bodies of large size, sometimes nearly
or quite a mile in diameter; that when
they enter the atmosphere of lhe earth
they rapidly and powerfully condense the
air before them, and thus elicit the heat
which sets them on fire as a spark is
elicited in an air-match, by being sudden
ly condensed by means of a piston and
cylinder, and thnt they nro burned up at
a considerable height above the earth,
sometimes not more than thirty miles
away.
It was once believed thai those meteors
were drawn by tbe earth irom a -nebulous
body which bore the sajnol relation t0 tne
solar system that comets do. and which,
like them, revolved around the sun. but
between the earth andrthe sun. There
were many astronomers who bslievel that
this "nebulous body," which supp'iel the
meteors, was identical with that nebulous
body long known under the name of the
Zodiacal Light, and that it was in fact froi
the outer extremities ofxtlys strange light
that the meteors were uar&jed, they being
attracted to the earth atStfet point where
the earth in its annuiuafecvolution ap
proaches nearest, or perhaps passes
through the extremities' of the Zodiacal
Light.
Leo, or the Lion, the constellation
whence these meteors seem to come, has
many Interesting members. It ranges
from west to east along the Zodiac, over
more than forty degrees, all parts of the
figure, excepting the feel, lying north of
the ecliptic. Regulus, alpha Leonis, is a
star of the first magnitude, which lies
very near the ecliptic and is much used
in astronomical observations. North of
Regulus lies a semicircle of five bright
stars arranged in the form cf a sickle, of
which Regulus is the handle, and extend
ing over the shoulder and neck of the
Lion. Denebola, a conspicuous star in the
Lion's tail, lies twenty-five degrees east
of Regulus. Twenty bright stars in all
compose this constellation.
Tlie CumiiiKT Ttleteoric Shower.
A Times reporter was told at the Naval
Observatory that it could not be predicted
with absolute certainty at what hour the
meteoric fall of November will begin. It
is thought that the shower will reach a
maximum at about 1 o'clock on tho morn
ing of November 15, The fall will prob
ably begin four or five hours earlier than
this with small bursts of meteors.
Although these meteors revolve around
tho sun in definite orbit, the point of their
intersection with the orbit of the earth
moves forward at the rate of a degree and
a half each year, thus throwing the time
of the fall of the meteors, as seen from
the earth, a little later every year. It
has been stated that the remarkable fall
in 1S33 took place on tho night of No
vember 13. There was another great
shower in the morning of November li,
186G, and the approaching display will
occur late in the night of November 11.
The coming shower, provided the weather
shall be clear, will be observable through
out the whole of North America, in Eu
rope, Asia, and part of the southern hem
isphere. The phenomenon of a meteoric
shower is usually a noiseless one. When
the streak of light is first formed, it is
narrow and perfectly straight, but it soon
becomes serpentine and assumes an ir
regular figure, as it drifts along under the
influence of the wind currents in the upper
region.
Critical observation of the shower will
be made at the Naval Observatory, and it
is said that the Leonids will be the cen
tre of systematic and scientific observa
tion throughout the northern hemisphere.
Fragment of a Comet.
As has been said, .the Leonids are
thought to be the fragments of a comet
that blew up more than ithree thousand
years ago. An astronomer, in speaking
with a Times reporter, said of comets that
of their physical naturjj 'little is under
stood. It is usual, he said? lo account for
,the. variations that their tails undergo by
referring them to the agencies of heat and
cold. The intense heatdo ;hlch they are
subject in approaching o near the sun as
some of them do Is thef reason given for
the., vast expansion of ''the , nebulous at
mosphere which, it is believed, forms their
tails, and the great cold ,to 'hich they are
exposed in receding to i such vast dis
tances from the sun is ihought to account
for the condensation of this, same nebulous
tail.
The great comet of liSOrat perihelion,
approached within 130,000 miles of the
sun (the distance of the earth from the
sun is about 95,000,000 miles). The heat
which that comet submitted to is calcu
lated to have been 28,000 times that which
the earth receives in the same time, and
two thousand times hotter than red hot
iron.
This theory of expansion and contraction,
however, does not account for the fact that
the tail of the comet usually extends in a
line opposite to the sun. Those comets
rwhich have their perihelion very near tho
sun, like the comet referred to, must cross
the orbits of the planets in the earth's sys
tem. This fact has sometimes given rise
to a popular fear that a great collision be
tween comets and the earth might at some
time occur. Astronomers have figured that
this contingency is exceedingly remote.
The narrowest escape which it is known
that the earth had, was with Biela's comet
in 1832. That comet, in returning to the
sun, crossed the ecliptic very near the
earth's track, and had the earth then been
at that point of its orbit, there would have
been a disastrous collision. The earth was
within one month of reaching that point.
It was only fifty million miles away.
FATHER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS.
John XewJierj-'M Neglected Tomb in
St. Lawrence Churehyaril.
(From a Letter to the London Chronicle.)
A correspondent informs me that the
tomb of John Newbery, in Waltham St.
Lawrence Churchyard, is likely to suffer
the fate that overtakes all such monuments
unless properly and regularly cared for.
I have not seen it since I visited the
quaint and quiet little village In the sum
mer of 1885, when I was collecting ma
terials for a life of "the philanthropic pub
lisher of St. Paul's Churchyard," immor
talized by Goldsmith in his "Vicar of
Wakefield," by Dr. Johnson in "The
Idler," by Washington Irving in "Brace
bridge Hall" and by many other writers
who have recognized the influence of the
first publisher who wrote, edited, complied,
and published books for "all those little
masters and misses who are good, or who
intend to be good."
We have traveled a long way since New
bery and Goldsmith co-operated on that
famous list of books of which "Good Two
Shoes" and "Tommy Trip" may bo taken
as the best examples, but if it were only
for the fact that Newbery was the first to
give the "Rhymes and Jingles of Mother
Goose" to the world in collected form his
memory should ever be kept groen by Eng
lish speaking children wherever they may
be found.
Newbery's original collection of Mother
Goose's melodies has, rprover, an added
Interest, for there is evrTeaaon to b3
lieve that Goldsmith had W hand in the
editing, annotating, and" arranging of the
iirst edition. 41
Neither in London, aUhe scene of his
labors, "over against the north door of St.
Paul's' Cathedral," nor.-at'the corner of
St. Paul's Churchyard, 'nor, at Canonbury
House, Islington, whei ht and Goldsmith
lived and worked together nor at his
birthplace, Waltham 3t. Lawrence, is
there anything of prominence to keep bis
name in remembrance. , ;
"Mother Goose" has enriched countless
publishers, who have, of course, banished
his name from their editions, and has de
lighted children innumerable on both
sides of the Atlantic, and' although it is
nearly one hundred and fifty years since
he flourished, it is not ton." late, either by
a tablet on one of too slteb indicated or by
a suitable monument at h s birthplace or
nkmi'hprp to commemorate the life and
work of a man who was, as Goldsmith
said, "not only the friend of children, but
the friend of all mnnkind."
This would seem to be the more neces
sary, for a clnim to have been 'the orig
ator of this collection was made about thir
ty yenrs ago on behalf of Mrs. Goose, or
Vergoose, the mother-in-law of Thomas
Fleet, a printer who flourished in Boston,
U. S.' A., during the eighteenth century.
The absurdity of this contention was amply
ilomnnstrnlml hv Mr. W. II. WllitnlOre.
the present city register of Boston, in, his
preface to a fac simile or newbery s edi
tion which he published in 1892; but an
cient superstition and modern myths alike
die hard, and there are thousands in Amer
ica today who cling to the idea that .Mother
Goose was an American lady, Instead of a
nom de plume borrowed by Newbery from
Charles Perrault's "Contes de ma Mere
l'Oye."
BW WBATHBB FBOBLBHB
Meteorological Conditions and Man
kind's Belfavior.
WasliiiiKrtoiiiau Holds AViml ami
Temperature ReHpoitNlhle for Jinny
of the Pocnllar. Aots of Human
ity IUs 1' red let ion IlcKnriliiiK
Thi Uraneh of the Science.
A Wagningtonian who takes an extraor
dinary Interest in mstuorology in all ot Its
various phases is a cbampion-of the asser
tion that weather conditions have more to
do with the temperament and acts ot hu
man beings than is admitted nowadays.
This theorist declares that one day in tho
not far distant future, weather bulle
tins, predictions concerning temperature
and wind changes and probable variations
in atmospheric conditions will possess a
much greater significance than at present.
According to hi3 notion of the probabili
ties in the matter, the public will watch the
weather bulletin, not Simply to discover
whethYr some engagement Is to be upset
by rain or to discover in advance a rise or
fall in temperature that will necessitate a
change in apparel, but to secure a clew to
the probable conduct of his fellow-being3
to whom he is more or less closely related.
The behavior of men and women, according
to this psychological weather expert is to
a large extent Influenced by variations In
humidity, rising and falling of the mercury,
and the shifting in the "direction and ve
locity of the wind.
On this interesting topic, the meteoro
gist talks very entertainingly. "When the
relations of atmospheric conditions to the
liuman mind are truly understood," said
he, "certain changes will mean to the phy
sician a warning in regard to his patients
who are hovering between life and death.
To the teacher these changes will indicate
that her pupils will be stubborn and un
ruly; to the chief of police they will indi
cate a day of assaults, murders, and sui
cides; to the keeper of a penitentiary or
insane asylum, a time of extra watchful
ness over his wards to avert fractious out
breaks; to the banker, a change in the
weather may bring anxiety lest serious er
rors creep into his accounts or affect fi
nancial calculations; and to the ordinary
citizen the prevalence of certain weatner
conditions will indicate that mental or
physical operations should be curtailed or
that a decision as to some momentous af
fair of business should be postponed to a
season when the intellect shall be clearer
and the judgment less clouded.
"That climate and weather influence
feeling and conduct is universally admlted.
The fact is recognized in popular tradition
and in general literature, and the princi
pal theories concerning it are familiar to
the public. Everybody understands cli
matic effects uponcharacter. The differ
ences between tropical races and those liv
ing in the temperate zones, the depressing
influence of a damp, rainy day, and the
stimulating effect of bright, sunny weath
er, arejarge facts in meteorology that are
common knowledge. That spring causes a
revival ''of human energy, that more sui
cides occur in summer than in winter, that
extremes of heat and cold kill off hu
man beings like a pestilence these are
some of the scientific conclusions ns to me
teorological influence that seem to be gen
erally accepted.
"But we are on the eve of a refinement
of the science that will extend its scope
very materially. Past investigations have
been concerned with the larger effects of
seasons in which certain weather condi
tions were prevalent. Recent investiga
tions have been concerned with the ef
fects upon the conduct of human beings of
daily variations in temperature, humidity,
and tbe"ve'loCTtyi'of''the"wind. The Weath
er Bureau, -haq.ji. smalL fund at Its disposal
for making investigations of this character,
but has done little more than outline some
of the elemental features of the complicat
ed problems involved.- In making these in
vestigations the meteorologist goes on the
theory that the human body is a machine
capable, of developing only a certain
amount of energy per individual, which
output must suffice to maintain his bodily
functions and in addition to provide a re
serve fund out of which must come the
energy, physical or mental, expended in i ne likes the situation, and tf he says the
daily labor or other exercise. Now, it i3 ' hotel ought to have been placed nearer tbe
obvious that weather conditions that can ! railway dpot, the location of the house
effect an Increase or reduction in this fund ! wl,J be changed immediately.
of surplus energy will have more or less "Corner front rooms, up only one flight,
influence on conduct. The weather is, how- fr each guest.
ever, always a secondary cause. It serves ' "Bath, gas lavatory, hot and cold water,
to oreate or help to create the conditions I laundry, telegraph, fire alarm, restaurant,
under which certain acts can or will be j barroom, billiard tables, daily papers,
done, or under which we lose the power to coupe, sewing machine, grand piano, and a
inhibit them. Weather also has influence clergyman, together with all other modern
over emotional states of mind, and these, j conveniences, in every room.
too, are factors in determining conduct. I "Meals every minute if desired, and con-
"To illustrate, it has been found that tho ! sequently no second table.
best work of pupils in the public schools j "English, French, and German diction
is done on days which are cold, calm, or aries furnished each guest to make up
clear, and their worst work on hot or j such a bill of faro as he may desire with
muggy days. Their deportment, as evi- j out regard to the bill of lare afterwards
denced by the larger number of demerits at the office.
entered, is worst on cloudy days. The j "Walters of any nationality and color
suicide, strangely enough, in a majority desired. Every waiter furnished with a H-
of cases, chooses a fair day for self-de
struction. The errors made by bank clerks
are most common In the months of July
and August, and more are made on the
days of highest temperature than on any
other. Bodily assaults are most frequent
In spring and summer, and the suscepti
bility of the female sex to weather influ
ences is shown in the larger proportion of
assaults committed by women in July and
August.
"It is found that the unseasonably hot
days of spring and autumn are more pro
ductive of pugnacity than other hot days,
even though the heat be much less than
in summer. As a general rule, it appears
that warm weather and sunny days are
productive of human energy, whether for
good or evil, and that very cold or very
hot or windy or humid days are depress
ing in their effects, and while they may
be irritating to the temper, are not condu
cive to accurate or energetic action. In
the one case the favorable meteorological
conditions seem to release a quantity of
human energy which In the othor would
be drawn upon to counteract unfavorable
conditions. To what extent the human
machine Is responsive to daily variations
in weather is unknown, but that it is re
sponsive, just as a modern steam engine
is responsive to varying loads, is the con
clusion to which all recent enquiries lead."
An Iniproel Telephone.
(I'rom the Loniloif Dailj Mail.)
If a recent invention fulfills all that is
expected of it, we are approaching an era
of cheaper telephones, greater clearness
in voice transmission, and the surmoun.ing
of the many diillculties that beset long d.s
tance telephony.
The Invention is a transmitting apara-
tus which is the property of the Adams
R ig c, ,g
, , ,,i .:..i i
to all purposes of telephony, particularly
upon long circuits; that reproduced words
can, if desired, be heard all over a large
room; that speech can be loudly and clea--ly
transmitted over distances hitherto im
possible: that expensive metallic circuit-?,
now absolutely necessary, can be dispens
ed with; that much cheaper wire can be
used, and that a message can be scut along
n wire that is at the same time being usel
for telegraphic purposes.
Such are the advantages cf the appara
tus as given by tbe secretary of the com
pany to a "Daily Mail" representative jes
terday. "Only three cells of battery." ho
explained, "can be used behind the best
telephone instrument now' in use. Conse
quently, in order to successfully tel phon
irom, say, London to Dublin, a voy co.-tly
conductor in the form of a metallic cir
cuit has to be used. The copper wire fo
these main trunk lines costs as much as
20 a mile. With the new Instrument we
.bail be able to telephone from London to
Dublin with an earth return, nd this will
mean an enormous saving in the cost of
trunk lines. At the present time the earth
return is not used for telephone purposes.
"Another great feature of the new in
strument Is that its resistance to Induc
tion is much greater, by reason of the em
ployment of twelve cells of battery la
stead of three, and these can be so regu
lated that the reproduced voice can be
heard all over the room or through the re
ceiver only, and no matter how great the
distance the speech Is quite c.'ear and dis
tinct. "Trial instruments are in use in the sig
nal cabins on the Great Northern Railway
at Leeds, and important official tests are
now beiug conducted with a view to the
general adoption of the Invention through
out England. With the introduction of
this instrument overhead wires will he
abolished, an underground circuit estab
lished, and the cost of laying and main
taining trunk lines will be infinitely small
er than It is now."
THE SEEDY MAN.
Anil Hi.n Great Scheme for IlunnitiK'
n Hotel.
(From the Detroit Free Pits.)
Hq looked seedy. His hair was long, his
chin unshaven, and his shoes were '. ery
much run down at tbe heels.
There was a faraway look In bis eyes, as
though he were thinking of better days
gone by, and he wore a large brown mole
just forward of his left ear.
With no certain gait he shambled across
to the eity editor's desk.
That official looked up. "I ain't got any
thing to help you buy a bed," he said,
thinking thus to head off conversation.
The man smiled sadly.
"I don't want a bed," he replied, in a
voice that sounded like the filing ot a saw.
"That isn't what I'm after. I'm out to in
terest capital."
"What in; getting you a meal?"
The city editor was unusually sarcastic
"No, sir; I'm out to interest capital in
my Utopian hotel scheme."
The city editor wheeled in his chair.
"Your what?" be cried.
"Just what I said, sir. Wilt you please
direct me to sanctum of the financial edi
tor?" The city editor was becoming interested.
"Won't I do?" he asked.
"If you choose to," was the epigram
matic reply.
"Go on with your Idea. Wait a minute,
take that chair behind you."
The man sat down.
He placed a pointed elbow on the desk
and supported his head as he talked.
"I need not tell you who' I am," he be
gan, "save that I am well known In the
West. For a long time I was proprietor
of the Red Dog Hotel and Caffy in Tomb
stone, Ariz. I learned while acting in that
capacity that not one hotel In America
is run on the right principle. My guests
told me on innumerable occasions now ho
tels ought to be run, so I quit the business
to think it all over. That was three years
ago. During this period, I have done noth
ing but think. Now my plan is to establish
a hotel in a certain large Western city
that shall be nameless for the time being,
run just as guests would like to see it
run. I have put in many nights, sleepless
and troubled, worrying over a plan of eon
duct for this hostelry of mine. I make
myself clear, do I?"
"Yes, go on." The city editor bored
holes in the blotter with his pencil.
"Well, I have drawn up a little list of
the advantages of such a hotel and all I
am seeking now is capital to interest itself
in the erection of the structure." I shall
manage it myself, and take in payment a
living salary and a certain small share ot
the stock."
"Have you the list of advantages with
you?" asked the city editor.
The man reached ino an inner pocket
and drew out a. torn piece of paper cover
ed with writing done in a fine, precise
hand.
"Here is the list," he said. "And yen
are sure you are interesed?"
"Of course I'm interested," said the city
editor.
"Then, possibly," said the man, "you
will have a little article in in the morning
explaining my idea and print beneath it
these advantages. Will you?"
The editor thought he saw a good story
and promised forthwith.
So what has been written is tbe expla
nation. Now here are the advantages of the un
known's theoretical hotel, duly set forth as
written by him on a torn sheet of paper:
"This hotel will be built and arranged
for the special comfort and convenience of
the traveling public.
"On arrival each guest will be asked how
bretto, buttonhole bouquets, full .dress
suits, bath tablets and his hair parted in
the middle.
"Each guest will have the best seats in
the dining-room and the best waiter in
the house.
"Any guest not getting his or her break
fast red-hot, or experiencing a delay of
sixteen seconds after giving his order for
dinner, will please mention the fact at the
manager's office and the cooks and waiters
will be blown from the mouth of a cannon
in front of the hotel at once.
"Children will be welcomed with delight,
and are requested to bring hoops and
hawk-eyes to bang the solid rosewood fur
niture, especially provided for that pur
pose, and peg tops to spin on the velvet
carpets; they will be allowed to bang on
the piano at all hours, fall down stairs,
carry away from the table in their pock
ets dessert enough to run a small family
one week, and make themselves generally
disagreeable as the fondest mother could
desire.
"Washing allowed in rooms; ladies giv
ing the order to 'put me on a flat-Iron,'
will be put on one at any hour of the day
or night.
"A discreet waiter, who belongs to the
Masons, Odd Fellows. Sons of Malta,
Knights ot Pythias, Maccabees, and M. D.
R.'s and who has never been known to tell
tho truth or the time of day, will be em
ployed to carry milk punches and hot tod
dies to the ladies' room in the evening.
"The office clerk has been carefully-selected
to please everybody, and can play
drawpoker, match worsteds at the store on
the corner below, shake for the drinks at
any hour, day or night, play billiards, is
a good waltzer, can lead a German, make
the fourth at euchre, amuse the children.
repeat the Dreyfus trial from memory. 13
a good judge of horses, as a railway or
steamboat guide is far superior to Rand,
McNally's or anybody else' will flirt itb
any young lady and not feel bad if he ia
cut 'when pa comes down,' doesn't mind
being damned any more tnan a Connecticut
river, can room forty people in the best
room In the house when the house is al
ready full with cots in the hall, attend to
the annunciator and answer questions in
Latin, Greek, French. Sioux. Irish or any
other polite language t the same time
without turning his hair.
"Dogs allowed in any room In the house.
Gentlemen may drink, smoke, swear, chew,
gamble, tell stories, stare at the new ar
rivals, or indulge in any other innocent
amusement in any part of the hotel.
"The landloid will -always be glad to
hear that some ether hotel is the best in
the country.'
"Special attention given to partle? who
'an gnc information as to how these things
ur. Uone in Yewrup."
STATIONERY BI THE TOM-
The Supply Division ftr tha De
partment of Jiistiuo.
It Une the I.HMCe.nt Itn!ne-t In It
Line in the CwMntry The HLxtrava
KHHee f the OM Syttem bhi! t,h
InauKuratlOR of n Kifrni That?
IIhh Ile.Hultetl in Saving 3Iohvj.
As a reqaMUoB clerk la the Interior Ot
pertinent opened a letter from the Weat
the other day. he remarked: "Here we fev
a request for stationery tor a Unhed States
district attorney in the Indian country. 8
is a new man, and has not yet leaned tfces,
although we furnish everything
kind to the Indiana, the DepanicM of Jus
tice is the proper place to pwejisa ah e
tkraery. I will transfen this wiwm Um
Attorney General's otto, awi, s ihuihs,.
this applicant will obtate more imllnlfn
stationery there than he would tnm tfcte
oince."
In connection with all the great oeptt--
ments and the larger bureaus at Wasktag
ton there are stationery divisions, soma ec
them of such magnitude that separate
warehouses are used for the $sods nv stack
and Government truckmen, laborers, aa
vehicles to a considerable number are caa
stantly employed la moving this material -from
place to place about the city.
One of the largest aad most interesUag
stationery stores is in connection with that
Department of Justice. It supplies mm$
United States Court and judicial braadi e
the Government with pens, pencils, paper.
ink and other stationery, and does the larg
est business in this line in the country. Th
stationery division of the department fcr
temporarily located in the Old Corcoraa
Art Gallery Building, corner of Sevanteenthv
Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, but great
stores are always housed near the ralliaa
depots for convenience in shipment.
"Some years ago." said one of ike eaa
todians of this stationery division, "we
supplied only the wants of the department
here at Washington. At that time tka
United States Judiciary judges. cUrks
courts, marshals, district attorneys, aadi
other officials throughout the country'
purchased such supplies from the store tat
their cities and sent to Washington these
accounts for settlement. We were tkea
compelled by this method to pay the retaft
price for everything. More frequently ex
orbitant prices were paid. As the Govern
ment expanded and its clerical forces grew,
the extravagance of the system rxcaata
enormous, and it was resolved that that
condition of affairs most cease. So tha
officials set about to make another aew
departure, by which not only hundreds
thousands of dollars have been saved, baa
which, it is said, actually forced a laraa
number of retail stationery firms in this
and other cities out of business Bram
that depended more on the patronage from
the Government than that ot tbe general
public.
"Everything in the stationery line is
now purchased at wholesale prices, gen
eral ly from the manufactories. Bach year
we advertise for bids, and usually the low
est bidder gets the contract to supply as'
for the year. Every branch or official at
this department throughout the country
now makes requisition and receives Ms
supplies from Washington, often by mat!.
at small cost to the Government for trans
portation. We carry between six aad eight
thousand dollars' worth of stock at all
times, and sometimes it will ma up to ?1V
000. The assortment comprises nearly ev
ery variety to suit tbe capricious as well
as the ordinary consumer. Sometimes car
tain 'patrons' want a peculiar pencil, a
strange ink, an extraordinary kind of pea,
or an unusual style of paper.
"As we try to please all, perhaps aur
stock is the most varied in the country.
People, you know, will differ in their ideas
of stationery, as well as in other things JS
common use. They are often very particu
lar in getting what they want, and to sat
isfy this class we carry a limited stock aCtl
certain goods never requested by othecaw
A certain judge in the District of Columbia
is a great fancier of lead pencils, aaaV
while sitting on the bench listening to ar
guments, he has been noticed to roll be
tween his fingers half a doaen of them at
a time, seeming to occasionally study tkdr
quality and construction."
A BLIND FOX-HUMTES.
Often Follow His IIohhUm Alnc
AiHonji Kentucky CHff.
(From the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle.)
A Kentucky correspondent says: "Hesar
this place, among the cliffs of Jessamata
county, is the modest home of "Tear
Johnson. Since early youth Johnson has
been blind, but notwithstanding this fact
he is one of the most enthusiastic fax
hunters in the State. Often he follows hfe
hounds alone among the Kentucky Rfrrer
cliffs eninr aL a salloo that one with keen
vision would not dare imitate, ana al
though he has been doing tha for maay
years he has never met with accident- K
knvw& pvert nook and crook in the cttfJn,
and when he comes to a very dangeroas
point he dismounts, lanes noia or s
horse's tail, and the animal guides aim
to safety.
"A short time ago a party of Burners
from Madison and Garrard counties eases
here and with the local hunters spent sev
eral nights chasing the fox. Johnson was
with them, and on tbe second night they
inot their hearings, became separated, aad
none of them, except Johnson, was able to
make his way out of the clIUs tnat ntgac
xho fniirtwine dav three of the hunter
came together at Wolfs Point. Much ap
prehension was felt for tne sarety 01 taa
Minri man and thev decided to so to his
home, several miles away, to learn ot turn.
They did so and found him seated on taa
veranda playing the violin.
"Tnhnuin nwns 4AVPral fine hOUndS. aBdi
frequently trades dogs, aad gets the beat
of it about as often as he is worsted, b
possessing the wonderful ability of telling
by touch the animal's good qualities, tha
color of the coat, and tho number of spslp.
on the body, and he can always tea aa
iim-s fmm the others bv feeling them.
Years ago Philip Harrison, an old hunter,
died in this county, and in bis will he be
queathed his fox-horn to Col. Jack China,
of Harrodsburg. A few weeks ago Johnson
rode over to Colonel Chinn's, and the bora
was shown to him. He had hardly taken
it in his hands when he exclaimed: 'Way,
this is Phil Harrison's old horn, and I
haven't seen it before in twenty-five years.
"It was Johnson who solved the 'phantom
fnv' mrsicrv that for manv months soz
zled the hunters of this and other counties.
Week in and week out this lox lea tae
dogs a merry dance, but each night, after
running the dogs nearly to death, its traf
would be lost in the Moe-grass
pasture in the Poor Xeck neigh
borhood. Johnson heard ot Ms
and sent word that he wanted to
hunt the phantom, so a hunt was arranged.
On the appointed day hunters from Sa1
rard. Boyle. Lincoln. Madison. Washing
ton, and Anderson eounties congregate
near Eebenezer Church, with the pick af
their pack3. determined to give tbe aaaa
tom the run of his life.
"Reynard was jumped at 8 o'clock at
night, and after traversing many miles af
country, with tbe dogs in hoc pursuit, a
reached the pasture at 12 o'clock, aad.
there, as before, his trail vanished. Joker
son, mounted on a fine saddle-horse, wet
the chase, and reaching tho pasture he
heard the tinkling of several bells, aad
was told that a flock of fifty sheep were
grazing in the same pasture. That ex
plains it.' exclaimed the sightless John
son, 'you wiil find ilr. Fbx upon the
h..ir nf an of three sheen.' And sack
proved to be the case. Upon becoastajE
tired the sly animal would strike far the.
pasture, mount the back of one of tbe
Cotswolds. and take a ride, thus banting
the Luntera."