The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-23
A BOY AND A BLOWGUN.
A FAMOUS ARTsPs YOUTHFUL
PRANK REC LIED.

The Brooklyn Institute and the Man
Belinda Story of Gettysburg "A
Unique loom - Phras Fine - So
Like His Father - Supt. Murray.
New YORK, March 21.-One of the best
known of our artists had. when be was a
little boy. blowgun or tube in the use of
which he was fatally proficient He lived
at the time in a little country town, and the
house of the next-door neighbor was pretty
close to his home. One autumn day, being
armed with his tube, he happened TO spy a
big pan of pumpkin filling" all ready to
be put into pies, standing in the neighbours
pantry window. The window was open,
and the boy knew where to look for big
box of cathartic pills. These he obtained
and blew through the tube one after another
with unerring elm into the pan, where they
promptly dissolved. The pies were made
and baked, and almost Immediately there
after the entire family pat king of them
was thrown into the widest sort IT a panic.
Tue doctor came at gallop, emstlcs were
administered and there was talk OF having
a pumpkin sample analysed to detect the
mysterious poison, when the thoroughly
frightened boy made a confession. The
alarm subsidized, the analysis project was
given up and the boy was made to expert
ence a sudden distas' for blowpipe practice.
OF course it wouldn't be fair to say Who
the artist is whose youth was thus distin-
guished. but have heard Hamilton Gibson,
the author-illustrator, tell the story with
keen relish.
THE MAN BEHIND.
Whenever see q public project not Of a
money grabbing kind making big advances
generally conclude that somewhere out of
sight one man is pushing along all the peo-
pie who are working to further it, and that
their activity is largely communicated to
them by him.
The man tehind the Brooklyn Institute,
who has lifted it in very short space of
time from a sort of mlribund debating
society where respectable elderly people
went to sleep one evening a week, and
imagined they were improving their minds,
into live organization, full of present USE
fulness d future promise, is Prof. Frank
lin w. Hooper.
There is something marvellous about the
energy of the man. No man knows when
he eats, sleeps or earns his livelihood. APP
parently he is always either butt 5nhollnR a
wealthy man for life subscription, doing
the work of some celebrated fgurehead
president of department. lobbying for
| legislative aid or municipal appro Jriations,
JU6 lubuT6 anu dIO gar
| leries of the institute, or otherwise hard at
work in its behalf. He is tall, STOPPING,
awkward lump of a man, with a face
| which seems rather heavy in Tepose, but
| lights up wonderfully when in conversation
| The institute will occupy buildings near
Prospect park, not one of which is yet
erected. There will be art galleries, science.
laboratories, lecture halls, botanical and
horticultural grounds. There will be mem
bers by the thousand and facilities for work
and study in every department of human
learning. Already, before the institute
has SO much as a single uilding it has
large and active membership and depart
ments Of chemistry, mineralogy, languages,
art, photography, history, architecture,
astronomy, political and economical science,
zoology, mathematics and more than a
dozen others. Some remarkably interest
ing things are always going on. The
geographical exhibition, now in the hight
| of its success is one of the most entertain
| ing and instructive shows ever seen in any
city in America.
People ell .ewhere, who regard Brooklyn
as sort of overgrown village, will perhaps
be surprised in ten years to learn that its
citizeus have the finest museum privileges
in the country, and the nucleus of great
university, if it is thought advisable TO
found one,