Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 159, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1917 — Page 3

Mr. Well’s Last Will

By JOHN ELKINS

(Copyright, by W. O. Chapman.) “I want you to draw up my will, Mr. Bagg, and I want It done right away, so’s I can get It off my mind. It ain’t because I’m thinking of passing away—don’t know as I ever felt bettor in my life—but that, brother of mine has been pestering me every day to ’tend to It; so to stop his nagging, I’ve come. It ain’t so much to get anxious about, any way, just a pretty good farm and some thousands in the bank. You see, my lawyer, Daggett, has gone to California, and Mr. Black sent me to you, being I was coming to the city.” The speaker, a man past middle-age, with iron-gray hair and a rugged face, whose firm, angular jaw and protruding under lip set the lawyer to wondering how any amount of nagging could have affected such an obstinate, determined nature, took from his pocket some papers which he proceeded to sort out as though he expected the attorney to at once accede to his wishes and get to work. < ‘‘Yes, Mr. Black has been a client of mine,’’ replied Bagg. “As your brother says, it really is a wise thing for a man to make a will, providing for his family.” “I haven’t got any family,” said Marcus Wells. “All I have is to go to my brother, except a little something to the church. I had a daughter once —” “Dead?” asked Bagg, as Wells paused, looking away. “No; I reckon it would be better if She was,” he answered. "I want you to make this will so hard and fast she can never touch a cent of my money.” “That isn’t so easy to do. She is the next of kin, and if she chose to break the will by contesting if, she might win, unless it could be proved she was mentally incompetent.” “Oh, she’s sound enough in the head, smart as a steel trap, and took to her books all right. Her mother died

Turned Very White, and Stared at the Man Before Her.

when she was ten years old, and she made me promise to give her a good education. Well, she got it, and she was sent to Sunday school and grounded in religion, so that she joined the church when she was only fifteen. I’m a Baptist, and I took considerable pride in thinking I’d brought up a girl that would be a decent, God-fear-ing woman, and some comfort to me when I got old. She never went to dances nor card-parties, because I don’t believe in ’em. She never gave much of any trouble till she got to be near seventeen. Then she got the bee in her bonnet that she wanted to go down to the city and take a business course. I wouldn’t hear of any such foolishness. A woman’s place is at home, and she could find plenty to do there. The woman I’d had for a housekeeper was getting old and cranky, and I was looking to my girl •to ‘be taking her- place before long. Wen, she got that restless and flighty I saw I’d got to carry a steady hand.” “Didn’t she have any recreation or amusements?” masked the lawyer. _— "Why, yes; there were the church doings—socials and meetings, and I didn’t object to moving pictures—in moderation. I go “myself” sometimes But no theaters. No, sir. I draw the line there. I never did approve much of her going with that Bowers girl; they weren’t church members, but they among the biggest in the town, and the young folks sort of bragged over being asked there, so I thought I wouldn’t put my foot dow T n against her gplng. I’ve wished now, a good many times, I had. "Well, sir, she met a young fellow from the city'to stay over Sunday, and the minute she brought him to the house, I could see he’d taken a shine to her; and likewise that she thought pretty much of him. He was just the sort a girl might get her head turned with; neat as a pin, clothes right up to' date, good, straight form, good-looking, and a talker to beat the band. A girl just natur-

ally falls for all that stuff, and she did. “I uked the young man pretty well, but I wasn’t going to let things go too far Without finding out something about him and his business. Well, sir, what do you suppose that wolf In sheep’s clothing was?” “A confidence man?” ventured the lawyer. “No, sir; an actor I Well, you’d better believe I put down my foot pretty hard and fast. I told him to never enter my door nor speak to my girl again. I never would have believed it, but she went dead against my wishes; she Just defied me, and said she meant to marry him whether I gave my consent or not. I told her the day she went off with that man would be the last time she looked on me, and she could think it over and take her choice. She tried once after that to sort of win me over. But my foot was down good and hard. She went with him.” “Married?” queried Bagg. “I don’t know. Those actors aren’t particular about that.” m “Oh, yes, they are—Just as particular as anybody that’s decent.” “Do you think so?” asked Wells, in rather a surprised way. “I know so,” was the emphatic answer. “Has your daughter never written or tried to see you?” “She wrote two letters. Her address was on the outside, and I sent ’em back unopened. That was more’n a year ago, and I haven’t seen her for most three.” “What was his name?” “Bayard Leslie. I don’t suppose it was his own—just took it because it sounded fine.” “Bayard Leslie!” repeated the lawyer. “Why he played here. He was a good actor, too. The play wasn’t a success, it was taken off, be was out of an engagement for a while, then he was iirfor a long time, and the Actor’s Fund had to bury him. I remember reading all about it at the time, because it was thought to be an unusually sad and pathetic case, he being so young and promising.” The other man bowed his head and looked down. “So he’s dead,” he said in an awed tone. “Did it say anything about his wife?” “I don’t remember.” — “If he had one it might not have been my girl.” “Did you keep her address?” “No, I don’t know where she is.” “Miss Storey, my stenographer, might know if Leslie left a wife, she knows some stage people. I’ll call her.”» L He touched a button on his desk, and a pretty, businesslike young woman appeared, notebook in hand. Suddenly she stopped, turned very white, and stared at the man before her. His eyes were like one seeing a spectre. He gasped out: “That man—” She broke in quickly: “Don’t speak a word against him! Don’t you dare! He was the dearest, finest soul that ever lived. Don’t come here to set Mr. Bagg against me. I’m earning my living honestly.” “Were you married to him?” asked the father. For answer she held up her hand with the plain gold band on the third finger. “I will give you the name and address of the minister. I suppose that is sufficient.” She turned to go. Then the old man cried out brokenly: “Jessie! don’t go! Don’t!” At the appeal in his voice she turned. “Do you want me father?” she asked. “Yes,” he said." And she went Into his outstretched arms. “I’ll want to make some changes in that will,” he called back to the attorney, as the two left the room together.

On Imitating Shakespeare.

There’s such a divinity doth hedge our Shakespeare round that we cannot even imitate his style. I tried to imitate his manner in the Remorse and when I had done it I found that I had been tracking Beaumont and Fletcher and Massinger instead. It is really very curious, at first sight, how Shakespeare, and his contemporary dramatists seem to write in style much alike ;• nothing so easy as to fall into that of Massinger and others; while no one has,ever yet produced one scene conceived and expressed in the Shakespeare idiom. I suppose it is because Shakespeare Is so universal and, in fact, has no manner; ju£t as you can so much more readily copy a picture than nature herself.—Goethe.

Many Woods Sold as Mahogany.

Many woods from the various tropical regions of the world are sold as mahogany, but those" to which the name does not rightfully belong are found by the United States department of agriculture to include as many as i? 7 species of trees, of 41 genera, scattered through 18 families of the vege-^' table kingdom. True mahogany is the wood of two closely related species, which grow naturally only from the tropical part of Florida and adjacent keys and islands to northern South America. Even true mahogany has many grades and local varieties, with weight varying from 52% pounds per cubic foot for Florida mahogany to 89 pounds for a Mexican kind.

He Did.

“Hugh Is awfully tactless, Isn’t he?” “That’s not the name for it. The other day he was shown through Vandergilf s gallery of ancestors and then asked him if he believed in the Darwinian theory.”—The Lamb.

Wrong One.

“The man I recommend to you 18 a person of unflagging industry.” “He won’t do. We want somebody to stop trains.” ~

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, INP,

Accepted Styles in Summer Suits

By way of reducing the high cost of living, silk appears to be the chosen fabric for summer suits, rather than woolen fabrics. The industrious silk worm, aided and abetted by other things known to manufacturers, have made silks cheaper in comparison with woolens than they used to be. Silk Jersey, popMn and taffeta are cool and elegant substitutes for light woolens, and besides these there are the new weaves, made especially for summer wear, and pongee to strengthen the causebfsiik. .** A beige-colored suit of silk poplin shown in the illustration measures up to the highest standard in new styles. It has a wide cape collar, of the epaulette variety, and the inevitable pockets that appear on all well-regulated models. The collar is extended into revers at the front of the coat and there is an overcollar of printed silk, tHe

How to Secure and Fit Up a Red Cross Workroom

After an auxiliary of the Red Cross has been formed and has determined Upon the specific work which it will do, a place of meeting must be secured. A light room will be needed where work tables will accommodate the women who volunteer to do the work in hand. In many cities’and towns business men donate vacant rooms in commercial buildings for this purpose. In all the large department stores in the country, floor space has been allotted to this work and placards, posted throughout the stores, invite shoppers to give an hour or so of their time to Red Cross work. . The workrooms of millinery shops are turned over to Red Cross workers in the evening, in some of the smaller cities and towns.; It. is best to secure “a vacant-roonrJn a store building or space in a store, to be used solely for Red Cross, work. Club women and members of various women’s organizations, church societies, etc., can be allotted a definite time during .each week, to meet in a body and work together, in these rooms. When a room has been secured It must be fitted with work tables and chairs. Plain wooden chairs and long tables are best and the, tables are to be covered with oilcloth, if possible, so that they can be easily kept clean. Nails along the walls, or elsewhere, will be needed In which big overall aprons are to be hung. Above each nail a small ticket pasted to the wall carries the name of Jhe owner-of the apron, or a string ticket may be used on the apron. A few extra aprons should be provided for volunteer workers who may not he able to come Regularly, but drop in at odd times to give Kb hour or so to the work. Two or

same silk being used to line the flaring cuffs. Buttons are inconspicuous on this suit and are covered with the silk. The skirt is plain. A pretty. costume blouse of crepe worn with a suit of this kind, makes up a formal suit toilette for summer afternoon or evening semidress affairs. The street suit of serge, with edges bound with silk braid, is noticeable for clever and original management of the belt and the introduction of fine piflitg in thp skirt. The best is an extension of the side bodies, cut with rounded ends and decorated with bone buttons. A tab at each side of the coat simulates a pocket. The skirt hangs straight in approved slim lines. It Mas a panel at the back and front, with side plaits at each side. They are pressed very flat, but provide a comfortable width for walking.

three women—can share an apron among them, if each has a definite time set aside for using it. A place for storing the supplies made and facilities for packing theim in boxes when they are to be shipped away, must be provided. And an important item not to be overlooked, is a place for washing the hands; for this must be done, without fail, as a preliminary to any work done for the Red Cross. Small towels, not larger than a small table napkin are used for drying the hands. Members of the auxiliary can make and donate these, using old linen for the purpose. It is n good idea, w'hen a room, has Iteerf seclired and flttednp.Yd pay some woman a small weekly fee to keep it clean and orderly. She will be expected to see that it is swept and dusted and that the tables are washed when necessary. Having secured a room and its fittings, and someone to keep It in order, the women of a new auxiliary are ready to go to work. Military 'hospi- ■ tals are using and will use enormous quantities of surgical dressings and hospital supplies and these are the things that women who are anxious to be of patriotic service to the government can malke. Directions for going about this work will be given in the next article.

’ The £1,000.000,000 raised for |h<* British war loan, if assembled in one pound notes laid end to end, would stretch four times around the eartn near the equator.

Gales of GOTHAM and other CITIES

John D., Jr., Makes Princely Gift to New York

NEW YORK—When John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was ft little boy and went horseback riding and carriage riding—for this was before the days of motorcars up around the northern end of Manhattan island —he used to pull

from that knoll one may see far up the Hudson —even to the crest of Storm King mountain on a clear day—and away southward to the bay, and far eastward to Long Island, and even to the Atlantic sweeping beyond that. And now he has made good his boyhood resolve, for he has made a formal offer to New York city "of 50-odd'acres of ground in the Dyckman region for use as a public park, provided the city wilt do certain things about connecting it with a certain other public open space, that of Fort Washington park, which lies to the southward along the river front. Mr. Rockefeller purchased three large parcels of property last fall on the far upper west side. The southernmost, and most valuable, was the estate of C. K. Q. Billings, the noted horseman. This contains a magnificent residence as well as large stables, garages and a swimming pool. Next was what Is known as the Hays property, and above that the Sbaefer land. This latter i property touches at its northeast boundary. The whole tract is about two-thirds of a mile long. At the time of the sale it was estimated that the purchaser must about $5,000,000, but Mr. Rockefeller said: “The total price I paid was nothing like that. It waa within a few thousand dollars of $2,000,000.” Merry Youths “Planted” Bones to Make a Story

ST PAUL.—Whose skull? -That is the question. John Heller, chief of police of Shakopee, Minn., would like to know this, for Heller Is perplexed, perhaps even a trifle flabbergasted, by recent developments. In this town,

where Heller has been exercising “watchful waiting” for many moons, there was found a few days ago a leering skull and bones, all pointing to death and constituting basis for an investigation. From then on, according to the best information available, the disciple of Sherlock Holmes has followed his pursuit, stalking ancient clues to fruitless end. One day found him so busily engaged that an energetic telephone central was unable to announce any

greater success than “we are trying to find him.” Back of Charley Hart* mann’s butcher shop the find was made by pedestrians. Heller began work on the case immediately. About the first thing he did was to take charge of the skull and bones, and citizens said he turned them over to the coroner, Dr. H. W. Reiter. Doctor Reiter declared: “I haven’t got them,” which lends ground to the belief that the skeleton, equipped with as many leg, arm, wrist aed finger bones as it could pick up, has reassembled itself and is waiting for a nlgbt propitious for a gambol on some tin roof. - Meantime, to keep history straight and to pfevent even the shadow of a blot from falling on the police chiefs record, it is declared that the skull was a human skull, but it came from a college cadaver. As for the bones, they included five ribs of a cat, the thigh of a Plymouth Rock pullet, the left foreleg of a dog and two vertebrae from a cow. All were placed in the ground back of the butcher shop by Jolly youths who wanted to make a story. And they made It.

Hasty Action Costs Hotel Management $2,500 PAWLING, N. Y—Mrs. Saidee Disbrow Hurd, wife of Robert C. Hurd, engaged in the real estate business, recently won a verdict of $2,500 in the supreme court at Poughkeepsie in her action for $20,000 damages against the Astor Hotel company, New York. The

neck and kissed him. He stepped inside the room for a minute and later emerged, going by way of the elevator to the first floor, but returned again. When they came out and walked down the corridor they were approached by David Mitchell Pepper, assistant manager of the hotel. Mrs. Hurd land her husband both testified that Mr. Pepper spoke scandalously to them and suggested that they depart before they could further compromise the staid “rep” of his hostelry by their bold acts. When Mr. Hurd expostulated, according to the wife’s testimony, Mr. Pepper said: “Well, if you are Mrs. Hurd and if he is Mr. Hurd, that puts a different face on the matter.” Mr. Pepper and the other witnesses for the.hotel maintained that the investigation was conducted In a courteous manner and denied that anything was said that could be construed as a direct accusation of unbecoming frivolities or that any reflection was cast upon either Mr. Hurd or Mrs. Hurd.

“Poison” Warning Effective as the Real Thing ANSAS CITY.—It was a. nice garden Ernest A. Fuller theyrearuf it a daily rendezvous, to the detriment and dilapidation of the sprouts therein.

and the impairment of- Mr. Fuller’sfamiability. So one day a week ago “he-spent-sonae—ostentatious-moments In the garden and then went to the front yard and put np a sign with big red letters: ■ “Poison in this back yard. Look -vont for yonr dogs and cats.” • ' And the garden flourished and Mr. Fuller beamed, but the Persians and the Spitzes languished indoors, and such outdoor exercises as they got was at the end of stout, short tethers.

A delegation of neighbors waited on Mr. Fuller. In substance, he is said to have commended them to the fact that in these crucial times of food scarcity It behooves each find all tq conserve the food supply. Capt. John Casey of the Flora avenue police station, being consulted, sent a patrolman to the Fuller home, in'Mr. Fuller’s absence. .... Mrs. 'Fuller took down the sign. Then Mr. Fuller caine home and put it up again and betook himself to police headquarters, which referred him to John T. Mathis, assistant city counselor. . ’ . “There is a statute which prohibits patting poison around thus,” quoth Mathis. \ -Any statute against the sign?” Mr. Fuller demanded. v “I can’t recollect any,” Mr. Mathis conceded. “Then that’s all right,?’ said Mr. Fuller. “There never was any poison." »- ■ —■ —~ ■__~ --

up his pony or have the coachmad stop the horses when he got- to the top of ft high knoll not far from Dyckman street and situated between Broadway and the Hudson river, and he would say to himself: “This Is a view that everyone la New York ought to see. And some day I’m going to buy all this land hereabouts and give it to the public as a park, so that everyone may enjoy it.” He was right about the view, for

action was tried before Justice Platt and a jury, and was brought as the result of alleged humiliating treatment the plaintiff received from the hotel management after embracing her husband at the door of her room on the evening of August 17 last. Mrs. Hurd was at the hotel with a woman friend. Her husband arrived at the hotel, and coming upon him unexpectedly as she opened the door ai her room she threw her arms about his