The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-03-29
RANDOM WRITINGS.

Whatever there may he In a name 1t Ia pretty GER
tain there Is a good deal In non, de plume. A
good selection OF name Is not enough to make up
for want OF ability In an author, but does seem to
help writer along amazingly. This has been espe-
cially. true where women have taken masculine
names and managed to get few books read under
the impression that they were actually written by a
man before the writer's real sex became known.
George sand, George Eliot and Currer Bell are
familiar examples OF the fame and success that
have seemed TO he so closely associated with the
name that one almost imagines the name had some
thing to do In producing them. Now we have an
American auhoress who has hit upon Just such a
reai-soundlng masculine pscudonym, Charles Egbert
Craddock. 1t really seems odd, after the literary
work OF Mr.. Craddock has attracted considerable
attention, TO find that he Is Miss Murfrcc. ccr-
tain interest wdoubtess attach to this lady future
efforts from the very fact that mild deception has
been successfully practced upon the public. It will
lie generally supposed that she writes well or she
would not have passed for man. woud dsarm
the wrath OF any Of the advanced sisterhood by
averring my belief that such an opinion Is entirely
without foundation, in fact or history, and that
women excel men IN literature In everything else.
For purposes OF literary celebrity however, there s
nothing like a judlcously chosen masculine cog
nomen.
II is curious to note how closely the criminal and
morbid tendencies OF men follow the march OF mod
ern improvements and seize upon new scientific de-
velopmenis. Dynamite rs an instrument OF murder
seems to have an Increasing popularity, and now
people OF suicidal intent have found a new and i'm
proved method of carrying out their purposes. The
other day We read OF some ingenious person, well
posted on mechanical and electrical matters appar-
emily and tired of life, who walked into the head
quarters OF an electric light company, as II to eN-
anime the dynamos, and there deliberately put his
hand upon this generator OF lightning In such q
place that he fell Instantly dead as he desired. OF
course one can attain the same object, as some have
unfortunately done through ignorance, by investigat.
Ing the activity of some elecric-llght wire hut this
gentleman seems to have had taste for machinery
and preferred to take hls lightning undiluicd. Now
what could he more attractive to any disposed TO
avoid the disagreeables OF this life by CHANGING the
future7 "a bare bodkin seems an antiquated and
clumsy method of making ones quieus compared
with the means "modern improvements place at
our disposal.
Speaking of modern convcniences, less lugub,i-
ous example than the suicidal one is the enterprise
of Mr. Shanks late ot the New York 7ribune This
gentleman has established npany having "a rather
original object, namely, supply persons with every
thing that has appeared In print upon any subjcc, In
which they may be Interested. This systematic sort
fn, as they would say tho Patent once. one can
Imagine plenty of occasions that might arise when 1t
would he very convenient to have only to apply to
this company to be supplied with all references In
newspapers to n certain sun'ect. one could obtain
an amount of Information thai would he exhaustive
indeed in this manner.
II is beginning to leak out from ofllcal circles
where 1t has been considered good Joke for several
days, that prominent and enterprislng SOAP
manufacturer made proposal to the Government
to pay the Presidents salary for year for the
privilege of putting an advertisement on one side OF
the Washington Monument. The advertisement
was to be entirely removed at the end OF the time
and In no way to dcface the shaft. OF course the
proposition was declined, but perhaps more utili-
tartan generation of rulers In the future will take
advantage of advertising energy to tighten the bur.
dens of the Government. Perhaps even that far
seeing individual who offered to pay the national
debt II he might put minute advertisement on each
postage stamp will he recalled and his offer ac.
cepted.
How often we encounter incidents in real life that
remind us of some strange concelt we had read In
ction II really seems that the strangest freaks of
noveists imagination are ecpsed by the dry facts
of the daily press. There is Thackeray's story of
the young swell who lived in such fine STYLE but dis
appeared so mysterousy when he went into the city
every day, that finally his wifes relations, in the
effort TO discover his place Of business recognized
him disguised crippled old crossing sweeper.
No one ever read 1t without being amused at the
idea Who in the world but Thackeray would ever
think OF such thing as that? What an imagina-
ton the man has. Sowe think, but here charitable
association the other day discovers woman in our
own city who leads such dual existence Part of
the time she Is beggar the street, and part OF
the time she is at home. living in fine STYLE and hor
receptions mentioned in the society columns of the
papers. Decidedly truth might give fiction few
points,
During the fourth act of "Itomany Rye at
Albaugh's one night last week one Of those little
accidents occurred which try the temper of perform
ers and amuse the gallery. At the close of the
second scene the Saratoga is supposed to leave
the wharf, Gertie faints in her grandfathers arms,
the whistle sounds, the emgrants wave theiI hand
kerchiefs, and the drop curtain falls But in this
case, instead OF falling, it hitched at one side and
refused to come down. The fainting, waving. etc.,
went on for two long minutes, with anxious glances
at the obstinate drop and finally the regular curtain
was lowered.
BY the way, this very handsome curtain when II is
drawn up usually forms such drapery ut the sides
that 1t seriously interferes with view of the stage
from some parts of the theatre. In addition to this
|uHiuer oI persons VINO happen 10 occupy or
chesra chairs at the left compelled to dodge the
bass viol, It's player and his musc-rack, which all
loom up the moment play becomes most thrilling
The musical efforts of the bass-yiol man may dc
wonders to throw pathos into scene, hut his actual
presence In ones line OF vision certainly eCpses the
actors on the stage. Why not sink him in sort OF
well, 80 that the top of his overgrown Gdle will moi
reach the stage?
Speaking OF a bass viol reminds me of bass
drum. This one Is at the skating rink, and Ia Ger
tainy too obstreperous. Why is 1t that drummerl
and trombone players seem TO lack that modesiy
which characterizes other musicians? They al
make too much noise and seem perfectly conten
with the deafenng results of their exertons. AS FOL
this particular drum at the rink, 1t should certainly
be muffled, or the performer muzzed, or in somt
way its monotonous uproar slightly subdued. The
skaters may not mind it, but 1t is trial to the spec
tators, who are unoccupicd and "cannot choose bu
hear"