Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1919 — Page 3

CHURCH STREET CHELSEA

A GREAT statesman, himself resident in Church street, Chelsea, once said that it was “one of the most interesting streets in the whole world!” Be that as it may, says Christian Science Monitor, many who wander far afield in search of the quaint and old-fash-ioned might with profit wander down it as it is today, though most of the landmarks have disappeared^-and rumor says that many of the oldhouses left are soon to make way for the broad road that is to take the place of what was once known as Church lane —the only street in Chelsea. Starting at the Queen’s Elm, a somewhat grotesque reminder of the famous tree under which Queen Elizabeth took shelter from a storm, and in royal language commanded, “Let this henceforth be called the Queen’s tree,” and also the site of'the Chelsea turnpike where, in 1643, a court of guard was established when the common council of London, “alarmed by the near approacji of the king’s forces, ordered London to be fortified,” —it Stretches like a link between the past and the present, to the King’s road, once the King’s highway, where it cuts through and narrows down to the veritable lane that once it was, at the corner of which the old church stands guard by the waters of the Thames. Fine Old Houses. Though little more than a slum, this end of Church street is full of Interest, for there ar? many old Georgian houses left, and some red roofs in Justice walk speak of when Fielding, the novelist, dwelt here, while Lawrence street near by reminds one of how often Dr. Johnson, in his broadbrimmed hat. must have wended his way aloflg this very spot, followed by his housekeeper, bearing the covered basket, on his way to the china factory. A little farther oh stands the rectory, one of the finest old houses of which Chelsea boasts. Here, as far back as 1694, Dr. John King, rector and wrote his manuscript on Chelsea, speaking of it as “A sweet and pleasant village situated on the north side of the noble river Thames next to Westminster,” and here Elizabeth "Tudor planted a mulberry tree, under the boughs of which the Duke of Wellington often used to sit with his brother, the rector. Almost opposite to the rectory is a low-roofed Georgian— building, — now used as motor works, once the stables of the old Chelsea stage coaches, while beyond, where a picture palace stands, is said to be the site of the ancient village stocks. Has Character Ail Its Own. Crossing the King’s road, we come to the more fashionably part of Church street, or to speak accurately, the part which the well-meant efforts of jnany architects have failed to make fashionable —for despite some fine red buildings of a modern character, and rows of sedate houses in such ruralsounding spots as Mulberry walk, and The Vale, Church street remains what it always has been, “a little bit of everything and all sorts, belonging neither to a time nor a period, but possessing a character all its own.” These are little houses and big houses in Church street, short houses and tall houses, new houses trying to look' old, and old houses trying to look new. Little shops, and large gardens in whose fine old trees the song of the thrush and 'the starling is heard. Truly, for a London street, Church street is a veritable home of birds, and perhaps it is that which helps to give it the old world charm of which neither time nor change has entirely robbed it. Church street re-echoes to the footsteps of many of the great ones of history. Dr. Atterbury, distinguished in wit, learning and poetical talent, dwelt here In 1695; Dr. Arbuthnot, Queen Anne’s witty physician, had a house at the lower end, and was often visited by his friends. Swift, Pope, and the poet Gay. Sir John Shadwell, son of the poet laureate, wfis also a resident, and Swift, who lodged here for a time, comments in his journal to Steild on his “one silly room, coarse sheets, and awkward bed.”

Not to the casual passerby, perhaps, is Church street beautiful, but it has the charm which grows with knowledge, for the men who have dwelt here and culled their flowers of wit, eloquence and poetry, have left their memory in it. Today, it seems as if the world, thundering in its onward rush along the broad thoroughfare at either end of it, has passed it by, leaving it a quiet memento of the Chelsea of the past.

STANDS DESOLATE IN DESERT

Once Splendid City of Ctesiphon, Now Heap of Ruins, Peopled by Creatures of the Wild. A few miles'south of Bagdad on the banks of the Tigris are the ruins of a once great city—the Ctesiphon of history and romance. In the ancient days splendid palaces rose beside the sleepy Tigris waters; gorgeous warriors drove their chariots through the city’s broad, straight streets; visitors from every land came to Ctesiphon to wonder at the splendor of the Parthian kings. Now the glory apd pomp are gone. The palaces of the great kings have crumbled into dust and only the walls of the white palace stand bleak and bare against the hot Persian sky. The city has surrendered to the wild and the banquet halls of Chosroes the Great are the nightly haunts of desert creatures. The hush of the desert seems to wrap the crumbling ruins in a still-blanket of silence. The old river slips quietly by on its way to join the Euphrates and the sea. Even the desert winds seem to hush their walling cry over the ruins of the past. It is a place of silence —the grave of a city and a people. Only the vaulted hall of Chosroes has withstood the ravages of the ages. Its great walls still stand stark and grim, defying man and time. The Arabs claim the spirit of the king revisits the scene of his grandeur and holds a ghostly court among its ruins. No longer do stately barges float down the Tigris and stop at Ctesiphon. The casual sightseer or archeologist are the only visitors. The tiny donkeys of the Arab guides replace the war horses of the olden days. A little farther up the Tigris ancient Bagdad flourishes and lives. Ctesiphon was despoiled to adorn her conqueror.

KEPT SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM

How Children of Brittany Were Accustomed to Look Forward to Day of Alsace’s Liberation. How the spirit of loss concerning Alsace-Lorraine has been kept alive! in the younger generation in Brittany can be seen from the following story, writes a correspondent of the Manchester <Eng.)~ Guardian: A little French boy of six was excessively bellicose during the war, and he said ’ ominously of his still smaller sister’s dolls that he did not know what might happen should he discover them to be spies. An English woman who was staying in the house was much surprised, therefore, one morning to see him embracing passionately a large and beautiful She teased him about it. whereupon he rounded upon her in a fury, crying: “It’s not a doll; it’s ma belle couslne I’Alsace!” Explanation revealed that in numbers of Breton families existed a doll —“ma belle cousine I’Alsace” —representing Alsace, which children were taught to love and embrace when they were good. It was on a rare occasion of goodness that “ma belle cousine I'Alsace” was receiving the salutations of the little Breton.

Practical Girl.

He was looking for a chance to pop the question and the girl was not averse. “Did yon pay my little brother to remain out of the parlor?” she asked. “Yes; I hope I was not presuming.” . “You w-ere not. ' But if you pain him, I won’t” They’re engaged now.-—Louisville Ourier-JournaL !

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. IND.

BIRDETTES

A "Swallow can travel In the air at ttje nite of 120 miles ah hour. —The canary -lives about eighteen years, ihe • nightingale twelve years. The vulture when swooping on its prey cuts through the atmosphere at 150 miles an hour. Birds can fly for 24 hours at a stretch without descending, even in boisterous weather. Wild birds generally seek their prey In the day time, while beasts of prey generally seek theirs at night. Owls screech when bad weather is at hand, and as foul weather often precedes sickness, so the owl is looked on as a funeral bird. The eagle lives about thirty years, the raven eighty years, and the parrot has been known to exist over one hundred years. These'facts have just been computed. r • ; —— : : When sea th ers aretaken from an ostrich they are cut two inches above the stump. The stump is allowed to remain in the. bird for about two months, and then become so loose that it can be painlessly withdrawn. The ostrich, therefore, is not hurt in any way.

REMARKABLE REMARKS

• E<l Howe —Topeka, Kart;, is always knee deep in sentimental slush. The Kaiser —Wilson weijt into the war that lie might have a seat at the peace table, but he will never, get it. 1 shall prevent. Congressman Meyer London —The predominance of the lawyer in social and economic legislation is nothing short of a calamity. John B. Crosby—Answer to Prussia: We will not negotiate with mur'derers, palaver with pickpockets, nor parley with polecats. Count Rantzau —The Belgian breed of horses will be indispensable for us after the war, and will provide us with our best'and heaviest halfbreds. Police Commissioner Ellen O’Grady —The lower animals, the young lambs, the birds of the air. go home when night falls. Why should our little-hu-mans be out late? —Independent, New York.

IN OTHER CITIES

London's telephone and telegraph wires extend to 73,500 miles overhead and 921,000 miles underground. The capdtal of Japan has 37 daily newspapers, 760 weekly, fortnightly and monthly periodicals. In addition, there are 37 news agencies. The women’s committee of the state council of defense has asked the police commission of Wilmington, Del., to appoint women to the force. Philadelphia got excited the other day when, in the dark of the early morning, flie janitor of Tndependenct hall made z the mistake of hoisting the Stars and Stripes div the flagpole upside down, ' ~

FLASHLIGHTS

Greatness isn't everything; we know some men who are great nuisances. « Everybody makes mistakes, but not everybody will admit it at the time he makes them. We’ll never "forgive the man who made money so easy to spend and so hard to earn. Things even themselves up as a rule. A man gets home late to supper just about as often as he gets home to find supper late.

FACTS ABOUT FRIDAY

The French calWriday “Vendredi” — Venus’ day. Friday is Friga’s day—Frlga being the northern Venus. ■ - " J Gladstone, ’ Disraeli and Bismarck were born on Friday. Scandinavians regard Friday as the luckiest day of the week. Our ancestors believed that eggs laid on a Friday would cure colic. “Friday face” still lingers as a term of reproach for a sour-visaged person. The printing of the first newspaper by steam was carried but on a Friday. —— The “unluckiness” of Friday owes its origin to Christ's death on Good Friday. - Good Friday—really “God’s Friday” —ls in some parts of Europe called “Black Friday.” . marriages' are “for Ipftses," and superstitious couples who are get" ting married avoid this day.

TO SAVE MATERIAL

Negligees May Easily Be Made From Remnants. Discarded Evening Gowns Also Offer Excellent Materials for the Fashioning of Such Garments. When a few yards of material picked up at a very low figure on a remnant counter can be turned into a charming gown for home wear there seems to be no excuse for a woman disregarding the feelings of her own family by wearing something that is unbecoming, half worn or soiled. It Is so easy for a woman to express her real individuality in these items of in-time apparel that the temptation to possess a number of them is Strong with the average really feminine type of woman. A couple of widths of rich brocade may be transformed into a lovely gown by the simple process of cutting

Negligee of Satin and Lace.

an opening in the center so that the head may be slipped through, finishing this neatly, of course; catching the material together underneath the arms and allowing the front and back panels thus formed to flare as they will over a slip of soft chiffon or lace. Or two or three widths of chiffon in contrasting colors may be laid one over the other, the underneath section being full-figure length, the next one a trifle shorter, and so on, and possibly a lace scarf topping the whole. A charming robe d’interior is the result. The sketch shows -a simple and graceful negligee made of lavender satin, with front and bdek panels laid in large tucks. An old-fashioned lace shawl draped about the shoulders completes the garment. Of course it is not essential that a shaw'l be used, and, instead of lace, a brocade or a figured silk voile may be used for the coatee. Discarded evening dresses often offer excellent materials for the fashiontng” of-negligee-garments--and, regardless of the fact that we are no longer at war, fabric saving is advisable. There is no prospect of an immediate reduction in prices, and until France and Belgium are again able to produce textiles it is not likely that either supply will return to normal.

FASHIONS IN BRIEF

The new fur coats are circular. Cord belts of gold are being worn. Evening wraps still blouse at the back. The oval necks appear on tiny girls’ party frdeks. A graceful negligee of peach blossom satin has an odd silk-tasseled hood. A gown of mauve tulle is ornamented by a large orange rose at the girdle. ; ~ A perfect gown for a woman in the thirties is of gold clothj veiled with black net. Black tulle is often worn over gold making a simple but excellent evening gown. The long-waisted bodice of black jet ■tarts many a frock of black velvet on its happy way? A most beautiful cape is of sap-phire-blue satin banded deeply with old-blue broadcloth. Handkerchief linen frocks for morning wear in the South have nothing but hemstitching for decoration. A travelingcostume of green velours has a shawl collar of monkey fur and a silver-buckled leather belL

A Little Advice From a Buyer.

Here is what has taught one buyer of coats and 'suits and dresses: First, get that which is becoming, for the really becoming frock is never out of style. At least, there Are always occasions when the becoming garment can be worq, whether or not it is this season’s or last year's. Seek the color that is most favorable to you, and avoid the One that is not especially so, no matter how smart you may think it appears. Then, in general, if you really must, get the bdd and unusual garment. ; . . '

FINISHING OFF THE EDGES

Machine Zigzag Stitching, Battlement Effect, Ruffling or Plaiting, Add to the Decoration. The edges of things, or rather the way thoke edges are finished, make such a difference. This is particularly true of bundles. And yet, when you stop to consider how little real time and trouble it takes to add a row of broken stitches in groups or three, as compared with the charming effectiveness of the finished garment, the wonder of it is that more attention isn’t given to the “edges.” Here are but a few of the lovely things that can do duty as decoration, as well as finish: Machine hemstitching worked zigzag, hemstitching in battlement effect, ruffling or plaiting of net In white or color, easy stitches, and tinted laces. It is an easy matter to pencil off an irregular line for the hemstitcher to follow-; and that is perhaps the very easiest finish of all. But the tinted lace and net idea is quite the newest and most effective. Both are seen usually done intmy, tiny plaits. Among the easy stitches which are always effective and pretty nearly always within the vogue, come French knots worked in groups of three, alternating short and long blanket st! teh, long horizontal sti tehes interspersed with squares or dots forked solid, and the aforementioned straight stitches worked in threes. These are especially decorative done on the slant, the stitches graduating or alternating in length.

Through the Looking Glass

By EVELYN NESBIT

Why does the farmer no longer dig up his fields with a spade? Why does

the builder no longer make his own bricks of straw? Why don’t we walk from New York to Washington? Why?- Because we have improved. Men are too clever to waste their time and energy making pins by hand or splitting rails with an ax the way Abraham Lincoln did. Labor saving machinery has been devised to release men’s energies for

better things. The men who used to pound out nails with a hammer, and turn out one nail in five minutes, are tending machines that produce thousands of nails in the time they could make one nail by hand. So it is with everything- in industry. That is why the modern farmer can cultivate thousands of acres of land in the time he used to spend on his tiny back yard; why the builder can construct skyscrapers instead of littie houses, and why we travel from New York tb Washington in speeding express trains. That is why the women of today are learning, and thinking. Labor-saving machinery has crept into the home to make possible for every woman leisure hours in which to read and study. Any woman who does not avail herself of the new devices is as foolish as the carpente% would be to cut down trees and saw them by hand into boards before he set to work to build a cottage. Put a tireless cooker into your kitchen. Make use of electricity the way men do in industry, and see how much more you will be able to accomplish with less effort Get vacuum cleaners to save your backs. Get an electric washing machine to save your hands for piano playing. Stop kneading dough and get a bread mixer. Electric irons, power sewing machines, were not Invented as a luxury. They ate here to help women. Use them. Be as progressive as the blacksmiths and the pin makers.

ADVANCED SPRING STRAW HAT

This model, a winsome’design, Is of navy blue pineapple straw, and Is cherry trimmed-

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SENTRY

How South African Farmers Repel Invasion of Their Corn Fields by Band* vof Baboons. Aprqpos of a statement in the news’ papers that the baboons in Soutiw Africa were easy victims of. the 0 " isli “flu,” very few people realize how human these animals are. They are very like men in some respects, observes a writer in London Answ«n« For instance, a troop of baboons—for it has been proved that they neatly always go about in large companies —always post a sentry, He is placed in some prominent position, so that he can give immediate warning in the event of any hostile attack. The baboon’s cry somewhat resembles a German “Hoch!” shouted through a megaphone, and it is possible to talk to them by means of it. A baboon is said to be able to count up to two, ami not beyond that; and as they come in large numbers and carry off the ripe mealies, steps have to be taken to repel them. Ami so, when the mealies get ripe, three men walk into the field with their guns and lie down. After a time one of them gets ufrand goes out and the baboon sentry ebunts —one. Later on another goes out, and as the sentry only counted two men coming in, lie concludes that there is nobody left in the field and accordingly gives the signal, whereupon the whole troop swarms over the fence and begins 4 to gather the Corn. As soon as they are near enough the third man shoots them do.wn with a repeating rifle, and if he is a fairly good shot their numbers are greatly diminished. v

SUCCESSFUL WAR ON WEEVIL

Australian Grain Growers Used Poison Gas to Combat Deadly Enemy of Their Crops. The weevil is a well-known-curse to the grain-growing farmer. He is a member of a very large group, rejoicing in the family name of curcuhonidae. There are some other members which live to spoil nuts, some which ravage apple orchards, while other! make war upon clover and legumei generally. One variety is threateninj the very existence of the cotton plantations of the southern states, an: other lives to make difficult —at times Impossible—Egyptian agriculture. The weevil’s eggs are laid in immature grains and the creature develops itself through the larva stage at their expense. Wherever grain IS taken, the weevil goes along and so discovers new countries for its habitation. Everywhere it is at home, and grows with the growing grain. Australia has suffered, and its unsold grain accumulated through the war .years, during w’hlch the length of the voyage made it impossible to obtain transportation to. Europe, was found to deteriorate through its ravages. But our fellow citizens on the other side of the w-orld are notoriously hard to beat, and sei to work vigorously to war against these restless grubs. A leaf was taken from the German book, and the use of poison gas was resorted to with apparently deadly effect.

The Hottest City.

The city of Hyderabad, on the great Sind desert of India, has the reputation of being the hottest place in the world, having a shade temperature of 127 degrees during the summer months'.—Exen_the-hattves- fiml it hot.. —and that is saying something. In order to cool their houses as much as possible, the people make use of curious ventilators very much like those on shipboard, “setting” them so as to convey a breeze to the dwellers in the hot rooms below. Every residential building has, several of these queer airshafts leading dowmjto the principal living rooms, and especially to the bedrooms. Even so. It is practically impossible, during the terrible heat of summer, to get to sleep until two or three o’clocfc«in the morning, and then one only gets a couple of hours’ rest, as the rays of the Indian sun are specially strong early in the morning, and soon raise the temperature again to an unbearable extent.

Papal Guard a Picked Body.

Service in the papal guard has become an hereditary honor in many prominent families in the cantons of Zurich and Lucerne, handed down ‘from father to son through generations. Its requirements are of the highest, and few military organizations have as strict Candidate for the corps must be a Swiss citizen, at least 5 feet 8 inches tall, unmarried, in good health and free from all bodily disfigurements. He must present his baptismal certificate, a certificate or pass from his home and a testimonial of good character from his parish authorities. After one year of good conduct the cost of his journey from Switzerland to Rome is refunded. k

How Flying-Fish Fly.

The popular notion that flying-fish beat their “wings” is a mistake, if one Is to rely upon the results of studies of these fish by an authority, Capt, Barrett Hamilton. It appears that the wings are not *, true organs of flight, but rather play the part of a parachute or an airplane. The whole motM power is supplied by the tall, which acts a$ a propeller, and the vibration or quivering of the wings in the air currents and their occasional shift .of Incline* tion ’are not phenomena connected .with the propulsion of the fish in its aerial flights. '