Indianapolis Journal, Volume 50, Number 336, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 December 1900 — Page 7

THE INDIANAPOLIS JOTJBNAL, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, IflOO.

KflTE DOUGLAS WIGGIN

sü31:TIU AHOL'T TIIC PKItSO.XALITV OP A TAI.i:.T12D W03IAX. She Wai First a Teacher, Thea a Writer nnil IIa Ciiren Much Plena urf to a Host of Heilder. Gr.e!eve Knlpht. In San Francisco Chron ic Of all the women writers California has produced. Kate Dauglas "Wiggin Is undoubtedly 12 most prominent. An Eastern wonan by birth, she spent the moat formative years of her life In California. From inta Barbara, where she founded her first klr.ionrartcn fchool. to San Francisco, irh-re her free kindergartens won her lastIn? fame and a place In the hearts of the poor thit never prows co!d. her name 13 Iovtd ar.d honored. Quite by chance, and to make money for her beloved school, she wrc'te a kindergarten tale. The story sold to the extent of hundreds of thousands of ccpie?. and a new writer suddenly made ar. arP'-arance In the literary galaxy. Her success was swift and certain. She has xr.a:le a fortune through her books, but through it all she has kept time for the children her first loves and the poor of 2Cew York know and love her even as she is remembered and regretted in San Francisco's Silver street.. Away dovn in Maine, where "fair Saco roll? In stainless pride," stands a centurycM colonial house, built by the ancestors of Kate Douglas "Wiggin (Mrs. Georg. C. Iligss). now christened Quillcote (the home of a pen-woman.) It shelters In summer the author of "Timothy's Quest" and "Th IUrJs Christmas Carol," and mo3t of her literary work since she left California has Lcen done there. Set in the midst of elms and maples and picturesque gnarled appletrees, divided from the river only by a grass-grown roadway and a narrow strip of lawn, it is the principal house of what might be called by courtesy a village, but U rather a cluster of houses, a dozen, perhaps, each one standing in its own grounds. Mrs. Wiggin's study and bedroom are on the second lloor of her ancient mansion, and form a symphony in green ami white, which she calls a "greenan," a dear old Irish word meaning a chamber full of sunshine and looking into verdure. Green and white scroll paper covers the walls, there are frreen mattings, white rags, a curved bedstead in white enamel Its arched canopy rudled and puffed and tluted like a great white shell; a desk, bookshelves, and reading table all in white, green chairs and three windows, their tiny panes looking out Into the green depths cf the orchard. A PLEASANT HOME. On the same lloor as the fascinating "greenan," down a long passage wherein fcer grandmother' spinning wheel stands in stately leisure, is the study of Mrs. "Wiggin's sister. Miss Nora Smith, for the two authors are always together in the summer and have published a number of collaborated books on kindergarten and general educational subjects. You think, as you descend the long staircase, lined with its pictures of the English poets, that there never was a house tetter caculated for entertaining than QullIcote-on-Saco, for it was built in the days of large families, when the homes of gentle folk were always provided with ample accommodations for traveling friends. The music room on tho lirst tloor is the favorite rendezvous of tho hostess and her guests in the cool Maine evenings, and. her tastes and accomplishments are shown la the piano, guitars and quaint instruments from Fayal and Hawaii, which have a special corner allotted to them. This apartment, once the kitchen of the homestead, has a real New Knsland ras carpet on its floor, and its wails are hung with old-fashioned china, a double row of plates and platters running completely around the room as a frieze. A tall clock ticks beside the door, in the great fireplace a kettle swings from the crane, and a flax wheel stands on the brick hearth. Here the neighbors are often gathered for musical evenings, for the house Is naturally the center of village gayety, and here author friends from this and the other side of the water tell their tales and read their manuscripts to the snap and crackle of the wood fire as it flickers behind the oil trass dogs. FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT. Although Mrs. Wiggin comes to Quillcote for literary work. her3 Is not a temperament which can ever be Indifferent to tha interests of the peoplo about her. . She throws herself heart and soul In the summer, for instance. Into the work of tho old Orthodox Church on Tory Hill, near by, plays the organ and sings in the choir whenever her services are needed, assists tha Sunday school library, lends a hand toward tho minister's salary, and gives her house for "sociables" and meetings cf the "Dorcas Society." Every autumn, jun before Mrs. Wiggin leaves for h-r New York home she gives a nadirs from her own books for the benefit of the old church the only public reading she givea nowaday." and on that eventful evening the harvest moon lights party after party in surreys and top buggies and burkMards and farm wagons and barge3 and hayracks aa they spared and Jolt and tfto.i and crea'c from all the neshborins vlIJag-s to the great occasion of the year. Th meeting-house" is decked within with goMenrod and autumn leaves and evergreens, and hern the eager audience, crowding the old building to the doors, is rrlvilesed to hear for the first time such werk a their entertainer may have done during the summer. It is a good audience, Wn and ready to appreciate all fine rint5. though It is doubtful If its members altogether understand the rarity of the preat treat they enjoy, for, in addition to her own part of thv programme. Mrs. WigFin always persuades some friends, well kuwn in the musical world, to play or to tintc on the- oeca;!m?And church work Is net the only outside lrt.rt which engages the attention of this lu;y woman In tho summer. She and h-r sistrr are chief otllcers of the Village Improvement Society, which they hive, organized in Hollis and they see to It personally that all the walks and paths and licturesque bridges by the riverside aro kept in order, the banks clear of brush and dead branches, the stone wateringtrough, the various rustic seats and tables lr. repair, and the green where the eld itrr.pt stands smooth and well mown. There is always some charitable work In hand nl?n. and the author, who is an accorrplished wheelwoman, may often be whirling alonr the roads bent on S'rr.e kindly errand. A few seasons ago -he found two invalids in neighboring Villahs b.th bed-ridden, but rvth capable of S'm. movement and of greatly Increased comfort if wheeled chair? could be provided f'-r thm. Mrs. Wigsrin at once thought of that kindly sheet, the Boston Transcript, 'hi h is always lending its columns to ap-Pnl-f,,r deservir.tr causes, and in a few brl f lines asked if eny one of her friends arr- the reading public had a wheeled chair no longer In nr which they could bestow upon her. Th effect of the appeal electric: several chairs at once aprred upon the seen without warning, sti'i the offers of them by mall were so pr.i. rous that their recipient was obliged o ir.c rt another communication, praying l. .it !'. r:;in of these vehicles might cease. im ' x' lalr.hu: that not all the inhabitants 3. i' r I -loved village were either paralytic or Ud-riddm. uf.r whiting habits. From April to July he Is every year In 3 --eat Britain traveling with her husband, n,l an thee journeys are often extended r the continent, her writing time each rear covers three months at most, and l" Jftn I-js than this. Mrs. Wiggin is a rr.orr.i.vr writer, as the freshness and spontaneity of her work might, perhaps, indicate. By no means despising tho luxury of a late breakfast at other times of ear. in th summer she Is always at her writing table by 7:30 o'clock. With a pic turt-que, wide-brimmed hat shading her Jjes, the casual passcr-by may see her In ine orchard or under the great maple berore the dew is off the grass, armed with note books, writing pads and pencils, and thers sho rsraalns wstll ths 1 o'clock dln-

nr . annouriccd. on cloudy or rainy days ne sits at the quaint old desk in her study, out .icr hours are the same. th nftr.

noons being occupied with resting, letter writing, rearrangement of notes, and walk1 ?r, b,t'cllng. while the evenings are uevoied to reading and music Last summer n work was particularly engrDssing, being the drafting of "Penelope's Irish Experiences." the third and last volume of the series, which Is to see all the characters finally disposed of and the last stroke given to her sketches of life In the British isles. Always ardent In her sympathies with whatever person or subject is engaging her attention, our writer Is now Hibernian to the core, and her stories and anecdotes this season are all of Irish wit, Irish belles. Irish gallants, Irish priests, and soldiers and politicians. Most of her stay abroad the last two seasons has been In Erin's Isle, because of the new story in prospect, and on this, her fourth visit, she feels that she has at last begun to understand to some extent that Impulsive, warm-hearted honey-tongued, poetic, dreamy, militant race we call the Irish. "Penelope's Experiences In Ireland" will r.ot see the light as a book until the holidays of irl-(C This Christmas season, however, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. are to publish editions de luxe of "Penelope's English" and "Scottish Experiences." with numerous clever and characteristic pictures by Charles E. Brock, the English artist, who first won deserved fame by hlH Illustrations of Gait's "Avrshire Legatee," and "The Essays of Ella." This is all the work which the creator of Penelope and Carol and Timothy and Marm Lisa has on hand at present, but how about tho future? Oh. there are half a hundred things in prospect, she tells you. She Is to collaborate with her sister on a bool: of stcrie3 for children a little older than the audience addressed by the ever-popular "Story Hour," she mediates another volume of songs for little people, she has on English love story and a romance of the Highlands In view, and more than all thee, she longs to tell more New England stories, suggestions for which fill her notebooks to overflowing. FIIOJI AX ENGLISH STANDPOINT. The Significance of American Success in Fiction. London Mail. I have been criticised In a friendly way on several occasions for bespeaking interest in this column on behalf of American authors and their work. Such criticism, I grant, does not arise from lack ot literary generosity, but is instigated by the prevailing point of view that English readers are not interested in the remote affairs of the book world In America. Yet in every Instance I have confined my remarks to those transatlantic authors whose work has been also published on this side, and whose names are well known in their own country if not so familiar in ours. But there is a mqre significant factor at werk one, to be sure, which will be more readily recognized, as it will be more uuickly felt, by English authors and their agents and publishers than by the mass of English readers in this country. During the last five years the growth of the novel in America has been remarkable. Within the last two years it has been phenomenal, not only In production, but in its widespread and cordial "reception. Five years ago the test selling novels in the States "were imported from England, whereas today the most popular novels there are by American authors and deal with American life and history. 1 can name you half a dozen American novels, almost at random, which have been published recently, all of which have sold over 50,lJ0 copies in a few months: "The Beigncf Law" (known here as "The Increasing Purpose"), by Mr. James Lane Allen; "To Have and to Hold" ("By Order of the Company"), by Miss Mary Johnston; "Eben Holden," by Irving Basheller; "Unleavened Bread," by Mr. Robert Grant; "The Redemption of David Corson," by Mr. Charles F. Goss; "Philip Winwood," by Mr. Robert N. Stephens. "To Have and to Hold." published in the spring. Is well over 200,000, while "The Reign of Law," Issued in July, has gone beyond lOO.OuO. It goes without saying that this successful cultivation of the home product will affect the keen competition that has existed for some years among American publishers over English authors, Just as the latter will now have to compete in popular interest with the largely-increasing number of American writers. Even as I write news comes to me that a new novel of American life called "Alios In Ohl Vlncennes," by Mr. Maurice Thompson, has reached a sale of 70,000 copie3 within a month of its publication and is now selling at the rate of 3,500 copies per day. It is issued by the Bowen-Merrill Company, a large enterprising firm of publishers in Indianapolis, who have had several successes in fiction during the past two years. "When Knighthood Was in Flower." by Mr. Charles Major, which has sold over a quarter of a million, is their book, as is also "The Redemption of David Corson." A curious fact in connection with Mr. Thompson's romance is that he had contemplated a play on the subject and was at work on it, when he received a letter from the publishers aforesaid, asking him to write a novel, laying the scene in the very place where the scene of his play was laid. At once he set aside the play and wrote the novel, and now. with the success of the novel, he has been asked to furnish the play. Mr. Thompson has been for some years the literary editor cf the New York Independent. THEY DRINK WINE. Great Consumption of Claret In Nevr Orleans'. New Orleans Times-Democrat. "Now Orleans Is tho greatest claretdrinking city in the United States." declared a prominent wine merchant of California at one of tho hotels recently. "It consumes more than San Francisco and Chicago put together. You will find no other place in tho country where small corner grocery stores order red wine in lots of from fifteen to twenty-five barrels at a time, yet such a purchase is an everyday incident here in New Orleans. What Is known as the 'family trade of these humble establishments would amazo grocers elsewhere. There Is a continual straggling procession of children and colored servants with pitchers and buckets to be filled with claret, exactly as beer Is bought In northern cities. The sight is so common that it attracts no attention, but it seems very strange to an outsider. Thousands of people here drink wine at breakfast, something almost unheard of anywhere else, and this Is the only city I know of where It is commonly called for at firstclass bars. As a matter of fact the local consumption of California claret is so large that prices have been cut all to pieces, and the cheaper grades are actually retailed at a lower price in this city than they are in San Francisco. It may surprise you to know that a great many of the smaller dealers make only 40 or 50 cents profit on a barrel, but that is nevertheless the case. Red wine constitutes the bulk of their trade, yet if it wasn't for the other things they sell It wouldn't pay them to handle It. At present, however, nearly all the Important wine houses of the Pacific coast have entered into an agreement in regard to prices, and the market rate is pretty certain to advance from 5 to 10 cents a gallon before Christmas. The claret habit in New Orleans is undoubtedly attributable to the largo French population and the engrafting of French customs on the community, but in spite of the enormous quantity consumed I believe there is less drunkenness here than In other places. You see, even the commonest grades of wine are generally pure. If the dealer puts anything into the barrel It is merely water. Other adulterants would be too expensive." Valne of Telephone Numbers. New York Mall and Express. "Telephone numbers have an actual money value," said an officer of the American Bell Telephons Company. "The assertion has a strange .sound, but if you think for a moment of the advantage a business "house derives from having its !ccation well known, the thing seems only natural. "In the course of time people's minds begin to associate a flrnvwith Its telephone number, and if. when they start to call up an old friend, they find him masquerading under a new number. It Is as much of a shock as If they had called at a house with whom they were In the habit of doing business, and found It had moved away. It all comes under the legal head of 'grood will." a very elusive commodity, but one which has its market value. "So much 13 this fact appreciated by some of our old patrons that they are willing to pay heavy mileage. If they rnovö away from the neighborhood of their exchange, in order to retain their old telephone address. Manj important house? have followed the northward trend of business in the last few years, and there re several case of a firm's office address being In the up-town district, while its telephone number remains So-ond-so Cortland t or Broad. The firm's IIa to the cxch&nc: raty t crrtrtl dies lcnr."

WEATHER IN FOLK LORE

BELIEFS WHICH HAVE .PREVAILED IN 31 A NY AGES AND LANDS. Universality of the Belief that the Moou. Affect Earthly 3Ieteorologlcal Conditions. During the past twenty years there have been published a score of collections of weather proverbs and sayings, most of which are out of print to-day. These have culminated in an exhaustive treatise on weather lore by the president of the Royal Meteorologie Society of England, In the form of a book containing 3,000 proverbs. So far as I can determine, says a writer In the Journal of American Folk Lore, authors have vied with each other In grinding out the largest possible list of weather sayings, but no attempt has thus far been made to trace this lore to Us origin or to give it an approximate value. The importance of such a study may be easily seen when we reflect that of current weather lore at least half la entirely worthless and half tho remainder of very doubtful service. For ten years I have been preparing material for a book on this general subject, and present herewith a preliminary study of the questions Involved. Weather folk lore is based on the knowledge of the common people acquired through the ordinary observations of nature, animals, plants, etc., unaided by Instruments. This knowledge waa the first obtained by primeval man. Before the study of stars must be placed that of the weather, and traces of such knowledge may be found, perhaps, in the names of the signs of the zodiac given at least two thousand years before our era. Much of our psuedo weather lore may be traced directly to the astrologer and his vagaries. The moon changes almost before our eyes, hence the weather changes with the moon. Mars is a red planet and relatively near the sun; hence, as fire is red and hot. Mars must be heating and drying and productive of fires. Saturn was to the astrologer the most distant of the planets from the sun, hence his influence was to produce cold (we speak of a saturnine disposition.) In like manner through the whole gamut of shooting stars, eclipses, comets, and so on. Shooting stars must be supposed to drive the wind before them, hence we should expect wind from the direction In which they are seen. The moon disappears from view three days before and after it is new, and these must bo regarded as especially unlucky days and causing storms and winds. MEANING OF ECLIPSES. An eclipse casts a shadow, or causes darkness over the earth, hence an eclipse portends storms and winds. Cardan has improved upon the ordinary astrologlc view about eclipses, and has unwittingly introduced some truth in his Interpretation of tholr influence, as follows: "Somo eclipses of the luminaries at the time, or even before they happen, raise showers and rains; others great draughts, some violent winds, and others earthquakes, some a scarcity of fruits of the earth, others terrible fires." The curious thing Is that Cardan and hundreds of other philosophers like him, while recognizing the diverse character of the conditions following each eclipse, utterly failed to see the proof that the eclipse itself can have absolutely no effect upon our weather, and, in like manner, that the position of a planet or star or any change in the moon, can have no effect. It ought not to take much erudition to show that one eclipse cannot produce a severe drought and the very next one a heavy rain. Strange to say, in this evening of the nineteenth century, there are planetary weather prophets who believe and teach tlmt Vulcan (there i3 no such planet) will mVte hot weather In a part cf hl3 orbit, but cold In another part. It must be admitted that the universality of the belief that the moon affects our weather to a very marked degree is difficult of explanation. Has this belief been handed down from a common origin in the dim past, or have the different nations arrived at the same conclusion independently? Jt Is quite difficult to learn Just exactly what the common idea is. Out of perhaps fifty questions of as many persons in New England, it was gathered that most considered there to be a greater likelihood of rain at the time of new than of full moon, and observations along the North Atlantic coast seem to show a slight preponderance of rain near tho new moon. This, however, entirely fails in the interior of the United Stages, and on the 'Pacific coast the full moon seems to be the time of greater rainfall. It should be noted that the saying. "The moon at or just after its full has power to eat up clouds," has a curious sclentlf.c backing. It Is probable that many have noticed a gradual breaking away of clouds near full moon, especially if the moon is seen through a thin veil of clouds. The full moon rises just as the sun sets, and at this time the heat of the sun is so moderated that its tendency to produce clouds is at a minimum; two or three hours later -nocturnal cooling will begin another regime of clouds, but at this time most observers are asleep. "We find from a long series of observations that the minimum of cloudiness in the twenty-four hours is from 8 p. m. to midnight. Auguries professing to have an astronomical basis may be more reasonable than those derived from natural objects. In a German scale published as early as 1507, if one would forecast the future, "cut a gall apple into two or three pieces; If you find therein flies, it betokens war in the next year; if you find a little worm, the year will be fat and fruitful; if you find there a spider, so there will be deaths." UNTRUSTWORTHY FORECASTS. Equally untrustworthy are the forecasts of a coming winter, which arc so frequently made from observerations of planets, the behavior of animals, and so on. In the winter of 1503-94 there were made special notes of such predictions which were directly opposite each other. In New York, Chenango county, was published the statement that tho thick husks of corn of a deep orange tint; the goose bone being larger and whiter than usual; the crops of nuts immense in quantity and squirrels laying in great stores of them; the partridges and woodcocks fearlessly approaching farmyards; and ducks flying in U-shaped instead of V-shapcd flocks toward the South all indicated an unusually early and severe winter. Two weeks later a farmer in Pennsylvania predicted a mild wlntsr from the fact that toads were hopping about in November; meadow moles were rooting up little mounds; the fur of coons and skunks was thinner by half than usual. The same view was published in Virginia based on the fact that there were very few persimmons, and that hornets' nests had been built in the tops of trees? It Is plain that the concMtlon of the plant and animal gives absolutely no indication of the coming season, but is due rather to good ncurlshment or lack of It. There are also found the f oll"wing in England and Germany as early as the sixteenth century: "If Christmas day be on Sunday, that year shall "have a warm winter. If on Monday, there shall be a mild winter. If on Tuesday, it shall be a cold winter and moist." and so on through all the days of the week. There is often a good deal of rhyme about such things, but there Is absolutely no reason In them. If there was a single spring or source frcm which the stream of weather lore bad started, and If Into this stream other small rivulets have flowed from time to time, on following back the main stream we would naturally expect to find It gradually narrowing to its source.. This, however, is not the cr.se, and it is not difficult to see that If there Is any relation between the appearance of clouds, the behavior of animals and plants, and the ensuing weather, such relationship could be discovered Independently by observers in all pnrts of the world and all alsng the passln? centuries. The orieln of a good deM of our weather lore l dependent ur-"n the climate of the country In which it began, and In many cas? ho weather of the country will be a valuable criterion by which to trace such tarings. There Is a kind of weather lore that has been preatly mlilnterpretad. In many cases, frcn a fiLxx to rtcerlc Its crtin. Da-

fore the establishment of the calendar and the setting In order of the months and seasons of the solar year, itwas very necessary to determine the approach of each season In order to facilitate farming operations. At the first this could be done only bj' watching the rising and setting of the constellations. Thus Heslod rays that when the Pleiades rise, the harvest begins. Such sayings have been Interpreted as indicating an actual benefit or malevolent Influence from stars, but seem, Jn the first Instance, to have depended simply on the necessities of the observer. So the piece of weather lore contained in Job, referring to the sweet influences of the Pleiades depends on nothing more than the indication of the coming season as shown by the appearance of these stars. EARLY COLLECTIONS OF SIGNS. Heslod, in his "Words and Days," tries to encourage the laggard farmer by saying, "But If you shall have plowed late, this would be your remedy: When the cuckoo sings first on the oak foliage, and delights mortals over the boundless earth then let Zeus rain three days and not cease, neither overtopping your ox's hoof nor falling short of It; then would a late plower be equal with an early one.' There would seem to be a grim humor In this advice, for such a rain would help the forward farmer even more .than the laggard. The reference to the cuckoo Is interesting. Inasmuch as It has come down through tho centuries as the best known animal sign of rain. We have the cuckoo pluvalls, and, in our own country It is called the rain, crow. It has a mournful, monotonous cry once heard never to be forgotten. It Is a rare bird, though noticed by myself in New England and again after reaching "Washington. Heslod also points out that the first call of the crow as it migrates northward is an Indication that spring is nigh. The earliest large collection of weather signs we owe to Theophrastus, belonging to the fourth century' B. C. He says, after speaking of signs derived from domestic and other animals, "but for the most part signs derived from the sun and moon are the most important." In this he refers, in part at least, to the waxing and waning moon, but mostly as to the appearance of the sun and moon, when clouds are hovering near. He says: "The ends and beginnings of lunar months are apt to be stormy, because light fails from the fourth day before to the fourth day after new moon. The obscuration of the moon occurs in a similar way to an eclipse of the sun." He gives the call of the tree toad as a precursor of rain, and this has come down to us as another valuable prognostic. He also says: "An ass shaking its ears Is a sign of storm." A modern vers'on of this sign is given as follows: "An English philosopher, whilo driving out wth a friend, stopped to ask a shepherd boy the way. As he was about to drive on, the boy warned him that it was going to rain, but the philosopher, not seeins a cloud in the sky, drove on. Sure enough, in' an hour and a half the rain came in torrents. The next day the philosopher determined on learing the boy's secret. On seeing him the boy refused to divulge, but on clutching the proffered guinea in his hand he said: "Do you see that old black wether over there? Well, when he stands facing the wind, shakes his head, stamps his foot and snuffs up the wind, it is a sure sign that it will rain in an hour or two." Of course. If we to give credence to such a sign, there should be more than one sheep in a large flock having the same or like impulses. ANIMAL SIGNS. There are many who believe that animals have a finer sense in distinguishing coming weather changes than man can have, even with the aid of the finest Instruments; for example, a hunting dog has a wonderfully developed sense "of smell; the insects with their extremely delicate organisms would be susceptible to the slightest variations in weather; plants with their chlorophyl and living principle may change very readily with weather changes, and so on. Not long ago a statement was published in the American Meteorologie Journal that certain snails In Georgia changed color on the approach of rain. A letter was Immediately dispatched, making fuller inquiries, but no response was ever received. It cannot be shown that a storm ever makes its presence felt by changes in moisture, pressure or temperature which animals will notice before our more delicate instruments. In the case of moisture it Is quite certain that the change comes simultaneous with the storm and not before it. The evidence seems strong that there may be an influence emanating ; from a storm other than that which can be ascribed to moisture, pressure, temperature or any other commonly recognized condition. Nor do we need to go to animals to discover such an influence. Many persons who have lost limbs or are subject to rheumatic pains, recognize such a condition. Captain CatHn, who has made a most Interesting and scientific study of this whole question, has decided that there are certain thunderstorms and electric conditions which alone are responsible for the pains In nerves. Probably many have known persons who are extremely uneasy and nervous on the approach of a thunderstorm, but who are instantly relieved on the first clap of thunder. Many readers will have noted in the summer twilight the sharp hum of the night hawk as he strikes the air with his wing in darting for prey, also swallows as they skim just above the ground. These are both signs of coming storms: the insects are driven down by the condition of the atmosphere, and the birds are forced to follow them. Many ancient weather signs, more valuable than any derived from animals, are based on the appearance of clouds and fogs at sunrise and sunset, and other optical phenomena. One of the best of these Is quoted In the New Testament, Matthew xxl, 3: "When it is evening ye say fair weather, for the heaven is red. And in the morning, foul weather to-day, for the heaven is red and lo wring." The same idea is popularly expressed in tho rhyme: "Evening red and morning gray Will speed a traveler on his way; But evening gray and morning red Will pour down rain upon his head." In this case. 'if "the red seen at evening extends around the horizon It Is not a good sign of fair weather on tho hext day. The rhyme which affirms that "A rainbow in the morning" Will pive a sailor warning; A rainbow at night Is the sailor's delight," has something of a scientific basis. The morning light reflected and refracted from drops to the westward causes the ralnhow. In the afternoon the drops have passed by toward the east, and hence a rainbow in the east shows that the storm has passed, as all our storms in the temperate regions travel from west to east. Aratus says: "If there be a single red circle about the moon It betokens a storm; if two circles, a severe storm, and if three, a very severe storm." In a part of this statement he undoubtedly has reference to a corona, which is very near the sun or moon, and shows prismatic colors, but he must also intend to Include the halo of 23 degrees radius. The popular saying is that the number of stars within the ring around the moon shows the number of days before the storm. The halo, being due to the presence of crystals or much vapor, Is a fair precursor of a storm, but the addition relating to the number of stars is fanciful, as the storm will come within thirty-six hours, if at all.' IRISH BENEFACTIONS.

They Seldom Take the Form of Gifts to the Old Country. Harper's Weekly. Mr. Villard's benefactions in Germany suggest the observation that it is much more common for Germans who come to this country and get very rich to show practical affection for their fatherland than for Irishmen who have a like experience. Instances have been known where German brewers, who have made great fortunes here, have gone back to Germany to live. The Irish In America have sent many millions of dollars home to support their relatives, but they don't go back themselves to live In Ireland, however much they have been prospered, and very rarely does any considerable sum of Irish-American money 0 into Irish estates or Irish charities. We don't read that Marcus Daly cared to leave any monuments on Irish soil. Neither did any of the mining kings nearly all Irishmen with whom he was associated. When John Mackay goes abroad he goes to London. When the families of the rich Irish-Americans invite themselves to an experience of European life they go to London and Paris and Italy, Just as all the other Americans do. . They don't buy themselves country-seats In Ireland, nor care to make a great figure there. It would be different, perhaps, if Ireland had heme rule. -It might be different, too. if Ireland hnd been able to do more for her children who have crossed the sea. As a rule, as in Daly's case, they have come here very poor, and with only th3 bare rudiments of education, and their affection for the land they left usually shows itself In hatred of England and the desire to trinz xZzlr kindred to America.

we PREPAY EXPRESS I RT Jl w A TO) II j 9 fÄe V (HIM ?BVr?ni in Iff '

A Great... .... Sale of ck

Occasioned by an overstock of ABOUT S4.COO WORTH OF CHOICE. RICH BLACK GOODS. Therefore, by purest accident you are able to buy yourself a new skirt or dress of black at from one-third to one-half savins. JUST SEE WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO OUR REGULAR PRICES, and everybody knows they are low enough regularly.

OUR $1 BLACK CHEVIOT j 50 inches wide, all wool, 1 I V. . I fcWU VttiKUl PIEROLA CLOTH 16 inches wide, mohair and wool, our 89c quality : GRANITE CLOTH 42 inches wide, all wool, SOc quality POPLIN 11 inches wide, all wool, beautiful rich black, our 90c quality RAINY DAT SKIRTING 61 Inches wide, heavy weight, requires no lining, our $1.25 quality HOMESPUN 50 inches wide, all wool, sponged ready for wear, our $1 quality CAMEL'S HAIR CHEVIOT 50 inches wide, all wool, our $1 quality VENETIAN CLOTH 50 'inches wide, all wool, good weight, our $1 quality 59c 79c French Flannels Our assortment the talk of the town. SILK EMBROIDERED FLANNELS Dots, bowknots, crescents, cloverleaf, fleur de lis, cogwheel, ring and cluster spots, beautiful two and three-toned combinations nowhere to be found, at $1.54, $1.25 and 89c SILK STRIPED FLANNELS The desirable self colors In old rose, pinks, grays, military red and many others. PRINTED FLANNELS Dots, stripes, fancy figures and Persian designs in every color at 75c, 69c and 59c PLAIN COLORS Every imaginable color, at least forty shades to select from, at 65c, 59c and 46c SPECIAL SALE OF Evening, Party and Ball Dress Materials ALBATROSS All wool, 33 inches. In JQr eight colors ; wo SILK STRIPED CHALLIES All 7c wool, with dainty silk stripes A ORGANDIES French make, all col- OQ ors, 50 Inches wide, S9c quality 32 inches wide, 30c quality ORGANDIES French make, artlstlo OOp printings MOUSSELIND DD ßOIE Plain and A(r self-colored dots, all colors SILK BATISTE All colors, very 'l'r fine and sheer uuo

The Wm. H. Block Co. I The Wm. H. Block Co.

THE OLD TRAMP PRINTER TRIBUTE TO A MAN TVnO DID NOT ALWAYS RECEIVE JUSTICE. ne Was a DUsemlnator of "Sexr Ideas and Filled an Important 3IUlon In the World. William Allen White. In St. Louis Typothetae. I am expected to talk about , the tramp printer. In the morning he used to elt humped over the primer case throwing In a handful. When the editor came to werk it was customary for the others n the shop to show the editor some attention; the foreman to walk to the editorial, desk with the proof of an ad.; the job printer to hammer busily with the plainer on the form of a "rooms for rent" card which was ever being made ready for the press; the two lean compositors to shake their cases as though they had been working for hours; the cub to change legs on the Job press and clatter the throw-off with more business than a bird pup. But the tourist the typographical tourist-at the primer case paid no homage to rank; made no unmanly, obsequious demonstration before potentates and powers. He kept on rattling the types In their boxes as though nothing unusual had happened. After a whispered dialogue between the foreman and the editor explaining the stranger's presence It was the editorial privilege to approach the throne. If it was winter the editor might saunter out to the stove and back up to it with his palms outstretched. Then he was permitted by the tourist to ask: "Where are you from?" After receiving a reply tho editor was expected to ask: "Well, how's work there?" To this the answer required by an unwritten yet inviolable law of the craft was "damn rotten!" WAYS OF THE CRAFT. Thereafter the editor might resume his work or inquire about old friends, or take up the regular order, or proceed to unfinished business. For the tramp printer had been duly and formally installed and the opening services were closed. To the layman all this pomp and circumstance of wecoming the tourist may seem empty and idle. Yet the arrival of the tramp printer at the country oifice twenty years ago meant to the craftsmen there what the return of Lentulus with victorious legions meant to Capua; what the delegation from the Grand Lodge, ready to give out the new password and exemplify the work, means to the brethren; what the visit of an ordaining bishop to convey the apostolic succession means to churchmen, and what the coming of a new star means to an astrologer. For the tramp printer brought the light into dark places. If there was a new inkreducer in vogue, the tcurist knew it and could make it. He showed the foreman how to set the disc of the jobber and print in colors. The tramp could make paste that would never sour and tableting glue that would stick and neither crack nor melt in all eternity. He could whittle out a line of wood letter or make slugs. He could tie a string to an end of the folding table and cut two folios from a nuarto as fast as the devil could fold. He could make rollers that would print a hair line of script, or bring out the dapple in the flanks of the iron gray prancing horse for the livery stable job. HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. He could cut out reprint with his rule for the copy hook when the old man was away, and he could, go to the nonpareil case and set up a piece of poetry for the first column of, the first page from memory. He wis guide,' philosopher and friend to the editor, and ti the back room he revived the world, the flesh and the devil. Peter B. Lee, "Old Slugs" and BIggsby whither have they gene? those old style faces with the hair lines all over them, with their condensed gothlc noses, with their wrong-font eyes, with their mouths blaksmithed'full of fine-cut to Justify with their double-pica cheeks I Poor old typocraphical error; they were cast be for th

Dress Good

OUR J1.S3 ENGLISH CHEVIOT 50 Inches wide, does not spot or shrink rRUNELLA CLOTH-IS inches wide, English make, silk finish, our 51.23 quality STORM SERGE-54 Inches wide, all wool, firm and heavy, our Jl.25 quality DIAGONAL SOL1EL 45 Inches wide, guaranteed not to spot, our $1.33 quallty PEBBLE CHEVIO T-54 inches wide, good weight for tailor suit, our $1.73 quality AMERICAN VELOUR 54 inches wide, all wool, our $2 quality THIBET CLOTH 54 Inches wide, all wool, our $1.73 quality FOULE SUITING 46 inches wide, all wool, silk finish, our $2 quality 98c $1.39 Special Sale of TT O O 10c TAFFETA Fast black, 40 inches An wide u 15c TAFFETA-Silk finish with a satin stripe, fast black 8c ISc SURAH LINING Yard wide. ir midnight black 20c RIPPLE SILK-36 Inches wide, f, black and all colors IUV 25c DOTTED MOREENS Yard wide, beautiful line of colors, for a.handsome Hr petticoat or skirt lining a U SOc PERCALINES 36 Inches wide, fast black and slates, soft moire beetle finish t-' 15c PERCALINES Fast black and Qr slates, full yard wide ... ISc SILESIA 36 Inches wide, extra heavy twill, makes a good, firm waist -fflr lining AV,C COc WOQL MOREEN Black, while OQr It lasts at 55c FRENCH HAIRCLOTH A superior quality, all pure hair, 24 inches OQ wide ÄOC SOc FRENCH HAIRCLOTII-16 Inch, 4(r while it lasts at KXßK 25c LINEN CANVAS Black and Er natural color icw 18c SHRUNKEN TAILORS' CANVAS Stiffening and skirt facing, in slate, white, brown and natural color, to o close at ou days of the point system and they have been thrown into the hell-box of oblivion. Yet they did their work welL They fulfilled their mission in the world. The tramp printer's labor-saving devices, perfected and carried to their ultimate conclusions, are the great Inventions of this printing craft to-day. Archimedes said If he had a proper lever he would move the world. The lazy tramp printer who first rolled a cylinder over a form of types found the Archimedean lever. That lever has moved the world further in a century than It had moved before In a thousand years. Its unknown Inventor was as surely Inspired, was as surely working a divine purpose toward man as was he who chiseled the law upon the stone at Sinai. For that printer's lever has twisted away the scepters ofMdngs and has put royal power into the hands of the people. That lever has pried the world from ignorant selfishness to Intelligent human brotherhood. That lever has lifted man so high that the golden rule has ceased to be merely a theological precept, but has become the heart of civilization, the soul of its legal code, the Ideal of Its commercial ethics. SONG OF THE PRESS. To-day thousands of citizens daily pass the pressrooms of the world, and hear the soothing: diapason of the whirring wheels muffled by stone and cement and wood That song is the spinning song of liberty. Would you hear it more closely? Open the door, go In. What a symphony gTeets you. Go into God's workshop. How the leads throb with ecstacy. How the iron thrills with Joy. How the steel cries out Its message to the world. That song of the press has hushed the voice of tyrants, it has shamed the clamor of mobs, and one day it shall drown the dirge of cannons. In that clatter and clash and Bhrieking of wheels that makes the pressroom's din one may find all the voices of the world. The lullaby of mothers is there, the groan of those in anguish, the complaint of the oppressed, the heartless cackle of laughter, the sighs of lovers, the hollow word. of liars. All the voices of the earth, tha bad as surely as the good, are found in that strident song: the presses ting How wonderful it Is! How miraculous! If the miracle of the loaves and fishes proves Christ's divinity, how surely does the miracle of the printing press prove the presence of some guiding force, guiding man's destiny, some kindly master-hand leading, him on! The old tramp printer, whose humble habitation has become a magnificent sanctuary In twenty years, is a lowly inetrument - with which to work miracles, yet so was blind Bartlmeus, for miracles, are not done with princes. Wine Tasters Methods. Chicago Record. The jury which made the awards In the wine departments of the Paris exposition had 26,000 brands of wine to taste. It would seem that such a task would be enough to paralyze the nerves of even' man's palate, and that, moreover, the wine tasters would have some difficulty in getting home after their day's work. These useful members of a reputable profession, however, know their business far too well to be led into any mistakes of that kind. It is estimated that not a quart of wine was swallowed by the entire committee while engaged in the testing. If they drank much they would soon lose their sense of taste. When testing wines these men take but a small mouthful of the sample, let It slip back to where the taste nerve is. and then spit It out. After trying three or four samples the taster will chew a mouthful of dry cheese, eject it and wash out his mouth. This freshens up the power of taste, and tho juror goes at his work again. A Chestnut Farm. Philadelphia Record. E. W. Warner, of Williamsport, Is the owner of probably the oddest farm in Pennsylvania. It is a chestnut farm, located In the mountain district of northeast Lycoming county, near the Sullivan county line. The trees, of which there are over 3,0), aro set in rows exactly as fruit trees are in an orchard, and Mr. Warner gives them as mucli or more? attention as do the owners of fruit trees. The original saplings or sprouts were culled from a' wide area of chestnut thicket, trimmed into shape, then grafted with the American sweet chestnut, a native nut of Pennsylvania. The result has been marvelous. This year was the third bearing reason for the trees, and some of the nuts were astonishingly large, some of them measuring more than an inch across and growing as many as seven In a burr. The flavor of the nuts. It was feared, might be impaired by their size, but the kernels are as fine and sweet as tho choicest Pennsylvania chestnut picked up In the field. In order to prevent the trees from bearing too prollfically, and thus endangering the growth of the tree. Hr. Werner Trent through hlj orchard

NEW IDEA PATTERNS

All sell at the uniform 10c price of GORA CORSETS ALWAYS These Striking Bargains in Colored Dress Goods Are for To-raorrow.on!jr. MATALASSE 42 inches wide. silk and wool, two-toned effects, our $1 qual- j SATIN MARVEILLIEUX-42 Inches wide, all wool, a very dressy Fllk-finlshed fQ cloth, our $1 quality U-C VENETIANS 54 inches wide, a most perfect finished all-wool tailoring In plain and covert effects, full line of col- rQ or?, $1.23 quality VOC CLOAKINGS 5G Inches wide, nobby effects for ladles' and missc3 wraps, OQr the $2 quality VOV RAINY DAY SKIRTINGS 55 Inches wide. all wool, extra heavy quality, re- CQ. quire no linings, our $L25 quality OiC Our $1.50 quality ONO Our $2 quality PLAID BACK SKIRTINGS All wool. 5G inches wide, navy, grays, Ox- C; Od fords and black, the $LSS quallty..v0 The 52.50 quality $X.-1 Remarkable Silk Sale OUR 50c BLACK TAFFETA 20 inches wide CHINA SILKS 24 Inches wide, full line of colors, our 50c quality SATINS For fancy work, all colors, our 50c quality.. V E L V E T E E N-22 Inches wide, full line of colors, our 50c quality 39 c OUR $1 BLACK TAFFETA 27 Inches "wide fc BLACK PEAU DE SOIE 21 Inches wide, all silk, our S3c quality SWISS TAFFETA 22 inches wide, very soft finish, our 89c quality FANCY SILKS-For waists, in beautiful stripes and cords, $1 quality 69c OUR $1.25 BLACK TAPFETA C6 inches wide BLACK PEAU DE SOTE 22 inches wide, very heavy. $1.19 quality 27-INCH COLORED TAFFETA Our $L25 quality, to close FANCY SILKS FOR WAISTS-In plisse end cord effects, $1.25 quality.. 89c BLACK DUCIIESSE SATIN 27 inches wide, all ellk, very heavy, our $L50 quality BLACK PEAU DE SOIE 23 Inches wide, all silk, extra finish, our $L50 quality. BLACK T A F F E T A-58 Inches wide, soft finish, not bo liable to crack, $1.50 quality WARRANTED BLACK TAFFETA Guaranteed by the manufacturer and ourselves. Every half yard has guarantee woven on selvage. Special to-morrow.. $1.10 RAILROAD TIMC CARD. . IL time is in BLACK figure. Trains marked thus: Daily, Sleeper. P Parlor Car, O Chair Car.D Dining Car. t Except Bandar. J3IG FOUR ROUTE. City Ticket Office, Ko. 1 K. WhLnton Stb Depart. Arrirs. CLEVELAND LINE. Anderten accommodation 6.43 2.50 Union City accommodation 4.AO Cleveland, New York & Boston, ex s..4.25 10.40 Cleveland, New York A Bostos mari.. 0 03 0.SO New York and Bocton limited, d a..2.S5 S.IO N.Y&Bos -Knickerbocker.-d a....0.'45 1L98 BENTON HARBOR LINE. Btnton Harbor expree 8.43 2.SO Benton Harbor cxprRS, p..... II. 8.35 Warsaw accommodation 4.60 23 HT. LOUIS LINE. St. Lonls accommodation 130 6.35 Pt. Louia southwestern, lim, d s 11.45 O.io tt. Louis limited, d 3.2S 2.fiO Terra Haut fc Mattoon accom Ö.OO s.4S Bk Louis expres, 11.80 AM CHICAGO LINE Lafayette accommodation 7.45 6.4S Lafayette accommodation S.15 10.45 Chicago faat mail, d p 11. 45 2.40 Chicago. White City special, d p 3.30 0.1O Chicago night exprens. s 12.05 U3 CINCINNATI LINE. Cincinnati express, a 8.45 11.45 Cincinnati express, a 4.15 11.05 Cincinnati accommodation ..7.15 7.45 Cincinnati accommodation 1O.S0 11.15 Cincinnati express, p ...2.0O S.25 Ureensbnrg accommodation. ....... ..ft. SO t.83 Cincinnati, Washington f 1 ex. s d....20 U-J N. Vernon and Louisville ex. 5.45 11.45 N. Vernon and Louisville ex 340 1L44 rilOUlA LINE. Peoria, Bloomington m nd ex .7.23 0.4O Peoria and Bloomington f ex. d p ....ILM O.OS Champaign accommodation, p d 4.10 10-55 Peoria and Bloomington ex, s 11.60 U3 HPItINO FIELD AND COLUMBUS LINE. Columbus and Spnngfleld ex 5.43 10.35 Ohio special, d p 3.00 2.0O Lynn accommodation ...0.15 13.15 CIN. 11AM. DAYTON ItT. City Ticket Office, 25 W. Wttb. St Cincinnati express 4.19 11.CI Cincinnati fsat mall. ...8.21 4.C5 Cin. and Detroit ex. P..T1Q.45 10.35 Cincinnati and Dayton express, p.. .12.45 21. 41 Cincinnati and Dayton limited, p d..4.45 fS.25 Cincinnati. Toledo. Detroit 7 .Q7 t7-37 fiTYrrT7rT?L CIIIn 12D. LOÜI8. RT. UyU';fi,'ttjll Ticket Office. 25 West Waah. Bt -3-it.rrT.rr r - a.w Chicago last mall, a, p d 7.09 7.E3 Chicago express, p d 11.53 tZ.40 Chicago vestibule, p d t3.33 4.37 Monon accom f4.QO f)Q.S LAKE ERIE & WESTERN R. JL Toledo. Chicago and Michigan ex r7.00 10.S Toledo, Detroit and Chicago. Um..13.20 t.15 ifuncle, Lafay'teand Laporte spee.t7.20 1 10.2 5 INDIANA. DECAT UK A WESTER.lt ITT. Decatur and St. Louis mail and ex....ts.n t4.40 Chicago express, p d..... tlL6Q f.40 Tuscola accommodation. ............ ,t3.45 floS Decatur & SU Louis fast ex. a e....ll.lQ 4.0S Ticket oCcea'as i I lnnnntilmnin 1 Jnnf I eorn.r I lltiuMfl EnnsulvaniairjnBs! and Washing ton BtreaUb Trais Sua toy Oanoal Tln PhiiAdolnhla and New York.... ....S.S3 flO.30 flO.SO lt.OO 3.35 0.5O .49 8.10 75.40 15 4 6.35 4. as tio.so 3.35 73.55 rss lt.io 13.14 lX.lO 0.5O ttO .23 IL fia 6.43 minore na wasningion Columbus. lad. and Louisville 4.19 Kichmond and Columbus, O...... t7.15 Piqua and Columbus. O.... .....tTJ3 Columbus and Itichroond...... ...... .77.14 Columbus. I nd.& Madison (San. only) 150 Columbus. Ind. and Louisville. 9.63 Vernon and Madison ..tS.05 Martinsville and Vlncennes 7.20 Dayton and Xenia .M.S.2S Pittsburg and Kast 8.25 Logansport and Chicago US3 Martinsville accommodation. .....tlS.SO Knightstowa and Kichmond f 1.25 Philadelphia and New York 3.05 Baltimore and Washington 3.05 Dayton and Springfield 3 Oft Springfield 3.05 Columbus. Ind. and Madison T3.30 Columbus. Ind. and Louisville. 3.A5 Martinsville and Vlncennes.. f3.53 Pittsburg and Kast 5 00 Philadelphia and New York. 7.10 Dayton and Xenla 7.10 Martinsville accommodation 5.40 Columbus. Ind. and Louisville 77. lO Logansport and Chicago '12.23 VAN D ALIA. LINE. Terre Haut. St. Louis and West. C.4S Terre Haute and fct. Louia accom..... 7 A ierre Haute. Bt. Louia and West. .IX. 15 Western Kxprewa 3.30 Terre Haute and EOngham ace ....74.00 Terre Haute and Louis fast malL7.00 St Louis sm.A all Points West. 11.20 4.M 8.13 7.05 7.00 xao 2.55 4.45 tl.2U 4.23 203 when the burrs began to form and whipped off at least one-half of the fruit. Quintet. Buffalo Enquirer. A five-year-old boy went with his mother to make a call. The lady of the house, who was fond of children, told him eh meant to ask his mother to let her have him. 'lJon't you think your mother would let me buy you?" she asked. "No. ma'am." answered the little fellow, "you haven't pot money enough." "How much would it take?" she continued. "Three hundred dollars." ald the boy promptly, as if that would settle the matter nt or.ee for all. "Oh. v.tll. then." 5ald the wontftn, "I think I can manage it. If I can will you come and stay with me?" "No, ma'am." he raid with decision. "Mamma wouldn't pell me. anyhow. There are. Ave of us and mans ma wouldn't like to break the set."

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