Omaha daily bee., 1895-06-02

street. At night the doors are open and it
is brilliantly lighted. 1t would puzzle
stranger to determine what he had come
upon. AS you pass you catch stray g.,mpses
of pictures and statuary and well filled book
cases, and hear snatches of music that you
think must have wandered here 10y mistake.
The crowd passing in and out talks as If it
might have come direct from the tower of
Babel, and 1t is composed of "all sorts and
conditions of men," women and children.
You turn to the resident under whose es-
pionage you are seeing the house, and ask:
us this a gathering place of the natiOns?"
But he answers cheerfully, "Oh, Eo; we have
no Chinese.
You go in, and If it chance to be a ma
tional reception night you are sorry in the
library that your German vocabulary has
been allowed to dwindle to yah, Frauein" :"
and "Nein, Main Herr" while in the dining
room you discover that because you can
sing Italian songs you are not safe in trying
to carry on an Italian conversation. In the
art exhibit room Mile. Valerie is holding a
French reading; in the Octagon Miss Starr
has a class in Dante, and in the drawing
room Mr.. Edward Gregg is lecturing on
Bohemian history. In the kitchen Miss
Welch, A. B., is conducting cooking class,
and cash girls club is holding meeting
in one of the halls. Miss Crim's class in
English and letter writing occupies the
studio, and 1t goes straight to the heart of
the average woman who can write three
times as fast as she can talk, and talk very
fast indeed, to see the amount Of time and
labor some poor, toil-stiffened fingers must
put into few badly spelled lines
LECTURING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
On the night of my first visit Prof. Moul-
ton Of the University Of Chicago was de-
livering a lecture on Shakespeare's Temp
est" The audience would have made a
| good study for Shakespeare himself. 1t was
| attentive, however, and Prof Moulton was
| learned and witty, as he always is. He is a
| fine reader, and as he read, "Be not afeard
the isle is full of noises" up through the
open windows came the regular Halstead
street chorus Of crying children and fighting
| dogs. When he reached,
| sometimes a thousand twanging instru
| ments,
Win hum about mine ears"
! two bands in rival resorts were playing, one
| Tommy Atkins" and the other, ''Hel
Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back.
But only the frivolous spectators noticed
these things; the real audience was utterly
oblivous to them.
In the Fencing club l witnessed some
doughty deeds that would have reused thu
envy of even your DR.. Dssprecher and Mr.
Mullen. One young Italian, whose eyes, II
his excitement, fairly blaZed through his wir
mask, was as 1.-THE and graceful as a tiger
planted Romeo, and gave him the rose from
his button hole, which was the only Ian
guage they had in common.
KITCHEN AND NURSERY.
No matter how utlitarian the idea, tn
artistic is never lost sight of at Hull House
The kitchen Is copy of an old Englisl
inn, with low, dark rafters, diamond win
dows, and large fire place. Besides serving
luncheon, the foods cooked here are deliy
cred hot by the quart or pound for hom
consumption.
In the day nursery are cleanliness an
comfort, and charts and pictures of famou
Madonnas In the parlors of the Jane club
the home OF fifty young women, who occup
fine flats under the chaperonage Of HUI
House, found bowl of roses, an open plan
with Mendelssohns Spring Song" on tn
rack number Of really fine pictures, som
of them presented by the artists who painte
them, and what seemed very natural consid
ering the time and surroundings, youn
man and woman holding a very conhdentls
conversation about the weather, no doub
; The club is composed OF working girls, an
their expenses amount to So a week pc
, capita.
No religious services are held at Hu
, House. 1t is strictly non-sectarian. On Sur
day afternoons concerts are given, but the
are not whaeare called sacred concerts. Pro
Tomlins, who directed the Worlds fair cho
uses, has undertaken TO train a chorus
500 working people at Hull House. He hs
. also offered prizes for the songs that wi
! best express. both In music and words, Il
home life and aspirations Of the workiI
people.
The residents pay their own expenses ar
! give their services. No public appeal I,
. funds has ever been made. and many agr
q with the poor woman whose baby was he