Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1886 — Possibility of the Portiere. [ARTICLE]

Possibility of the Portiere.

The portiere is a creature of mischief When I think of the conspicuous part which the niCe-to-hide- Bek ind curtain plays in novels, ancient land modern; the jealous lovers that'naveused the drapery as a covert, the mischief-mak-ers, whq. have found the folds of the noiseless portiere a sure refuge for their eavesdropping, I feel a sense of horror at the renaissance of the portiere. A wooden door gives forth an honest “Look ,out!” sort of a baug, and the rattle" of its knob or latch enables a young couple to have some sort of chance in preparing against unwelcome intrusion. But the portiere is a snake, Its sinuous folds betray neither the coming nor the departing one. In absolute silence the cruel : father, the stern mother-in-law, the suspicious husband, can part its treacherous folds and stand revealed to the very people who most wish the intruder in the wilds of Africa. All the possibilities confront ti e man who removes his doors and 'substitutes the charming but treaoherous portiere. Washing ion Republic. A Connecticut genius has invented a bonnet for men, which he thinks wi do away with all other kinds of head-J gear for the ma'e part of li manity. It is a cross be'tween a Kossuth hat and a Scotch cap, only much higher and more fantastic than either. He who betrays another’s secret be-, cause he has quarre ed With him was never worthy the sacred name of a friend. A breach of kindness on one side will not justify a breach of truatou the other.