Omaha daily bee., 1894-02-25

Naturally. perfect acting is attractive to the
general public, and II takes an educated ear
to understand perfect singing; and to my
mind that Is why one had more success than
the other in America.
II should think that a woman WHO has
been able to transform herself physically
as much as Melba has could do anything In
the way OF improvement and transforma-
ton. II was not possible to see a more
plain. insignificant type Of an English woman
than Melba when she first zane to Paris to
take lessons OF Marchesi. Her plain WOODEN
dress, too short In the skirt, looked ike the
last years cut Of an obscure provincial town,
the combination of colors showed that she
hadn't the least notion Of what taste was
In dress, and her hat looked as II 1t had been
made for any one else's head but hers. To-
day she IL not only the best dressed woman
of Paris, but she wears her clothes as II she
were born with one Of DOucets last crea-
tions. There is not n thing that the most
fastidious can %criticise in her dress. Now
| hold that a woman who has that faculty
can have the one OF transforming herself
on the stage. and It Is because she has such
an exalted idea Of the art OF music that she
renders II more simple. Besides. the operas
she sings do not require such Intensity OF
acting. Nine. Marchesi told me that Of
the three stars now occupying the music
loving public in America, Melba is tho great
est musical artist
The young lady who goes to Concordia,
| NdIlst % tedC0 school VIII Hnu u very tNdtl-
ing rule which was recently adopted by the
Board Of Education. II seems that several
lady teachers have married in the midst of
the term, when 1t was impossible to fill
their places. This the Concordia school
board proposes to regulate, and it did so re-
Gently by the adoption of the following reso-
luton:
"Inasmuch as 1t seems to be the custom
of lady teachers of the public schools of
Concordia, Kan, TO contract and consum-
mate marriage without the knowledge or
consent of said board; therefore be it
Resolved, By said Board of Education,
that should any of the lady teachers OF the
Concordia schools hereafter commit matri-
mOny during the term for which they have
been elected, they shall forfeit a sum of
money equal to one months salary in case
the groom Is imported from some other state
or county; in either case the lady shall cause
a card of invitation to be sent to leach mem
Der of the Board Of Education"
This order of the board has stirred up a
hornets nest in Concordia, where three
young lady teachers are engaged to be mar
ried to foreigners-One a resident of Carroll
county, Missouri; one a resident of Des
Moines, Ia, and the other young man a citi-
zen of Jewell, a neighboring county.
The friends of the young ladies say the
order Will not hold In court, and that IL the
board attempts to enforce it an injunction
will be asked for ON the grounds that the
Board of Education cannot legally impose
such obligations upon a teacher.
-
Travelling is more or less a test OF every
body's real disposition, and it must be
acknowledged that in the wear and tear of
migratory life men pan out to much greater
| advantage than women. A woman is so
accustomed to having things her own way
at home. says the Philadelphia Times, that
she expects the same state of affairs to
follow her when she boards a railroad train
or ocean steamship, and she is woefully put
out when she discovers that it is utterly i'm
coil on Inr. o. nnt NyIifn hrnuI pl n
time.
If any one e%ulogiZes another as a delight
full travelling companion it Is one of the high
est compliments possible to be paid, for the
reason that that one sentence includes so
much. 1t means the said party does not
always wish to sit by the window or monopo-
lie the shady side. 1t means that he or she
is ready on time, acquiesces amiably to the
plans of others, is not cross if the baggage
does not arrive just the moment it is eX-
pected and is always more ready to praise
than to blame.
There are very few women that can grace
fully stand the test of a long journey and
when one is found she should be cultivated,
for if charming on the wing, amid adverse
and trying circumstances, how perfectly de-
lightful she must be when everything goes
smoothly.
Now that opals have been restored to
favor, and 1t is understood that, instead of
being omens of ill-fortune they are really
lucky stones, it is easy to understand why
supernatural agencies have been ascribed
to the fascinating gem, and 1t may be of
interest to learn something of how to best
preserve its brilliancy and beauty. There
is probably no other stone so susceptible to
outside influences as an opal The stone
is a soft stone, compared with other gems,
and the flashing of its colors is due to the
refraction Of light on the tiny scales and
almost invisible assures within the stone,
which acts like a prism, dividing the light
and throwing pnt oil rho VARYING bunc nF
the rainbow.
The play OF color is constantly changing.
Dizziness and brilliancy succeed each other
with the regularity of atmospheric varia-
tions, moderate warmth having a distinct
luminative effect, while much heat is ca
pable OF robbing the stone of all it's beauty
by drying the moisture contained in the
minute cells. 1t is a curious fact, too,
says the New York Sun, that there are
vapors emitted from the human body in
certain diseased conditions that are capable
of rendering the stone dull and Opaque.
And the fading of life and fortune and the
opal may be simultaneous, but the stone is
the innocent victim of the condition of the
wearer, not the cause of disaster. Sir
Walter Scott, in his ANNE of Geierstein,"
distorts the properties -of the opal to
heighten the uncanny element in his story,
and to carry out his plot made use of the
supernatural. To this story may be traced
that uncomfortable feeling" about an opal
which people not at all superstitious in
other matters cannot seem to shake off. If
"A man or a woman attempts to wear one,
friends and acquaintance continually bring
up the old superstition until the uncanny
stone sometimes ceases to delight. But it
is time this old superstition be sent flying
after the old witch and her broomstick; for
in the old days the stone was highly priced
as an omen OF good fortune.
Most of the finest opals come from Hun
gary, but the principal vein has been ex-
hausted lately, so that the gem in its finest
variety Is exceedingly rare. The clear,
bright opals with the luminous fire come
from Mexico. Any opal, and particularly the
Mexican stone, will become dulled by wash
ing the hands with the rings on, and they
lose their brilliant play of color. The
stones are not durable like diamonds, nor
will they stand the same wear.
This is as romantic as what took place dur
ing the early days of Seattle's boom. There
was the usual dearth OF women. so a ship
started from the east laden with a unique
freight. There We're forty adventurous
women on board, and they were all married
within three hours of landing. They are
even today referred to as the ship women"
and many OF them are living and enjoying
the social triumphs of their accomplished
daughters.
Many a heartache and many a disappoint-