The times., 1897-09-12
TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Ihere are people who seem TO regardtheif
children as sort of fringe ON their gar
ments, something entirely and absolutely
under tneir control and made for their
credit and use Out ia western Pennsyi-
vanIa two little fellows, thirteen and four
teen years OF age, runaway from bone nos
long ago because their father had thrashed
them They had bought d tame crow with
the contents Of their savings bank, and for
TINS terrible crime they had been thrashec.
10 the same State another boy jumped
lntothe river 10 save the life ofa pla yrnate.
He succeeded ana went home, dripping
but triumphant, and forgetting that he had
been tod not to go near the water Hs
was soand.y punished for bis GisObedieuee.
another youth, nearly twenty years8f age.
yentUTed IL express an opinion contrary Ia
that Of his father at the break u table.
whereupon the paternaI censor told th. boy
10 take Bis plate and 90 and eat his meals
in tile kitchen until further orders This
the boy, having been all his life under his
fathers thumb, meekiy did, but one can
not heip feeling that for the sake Of the
younger brothers in that family, 5he very
Best thlEg which could happen might BE- a
g5pd- sized family row. Some COMPASSION.
however, Is due these fool parents. They
Were pTohably brought up under that same
petty 6yrannY themselves and ebtafneGtheir
freedom too late in life to learn gCgd sense
Playful JOung gentlemen. who have an
idea that rhelife Il newspaper eorrespoud-
ent is one 9f frisky freedom and unlimited
license with their neighbors' reuutations-
should profit by the experience OF a Mime
apOlis youth. stcnogrHrheF TO the editor-iu-
Chief Of q paper. This young man had an
idea that it would be fun to write for the
newspapers. His employers agreed that IL
might b. fau for him, but they did aot think
he could suit them as a writer. In an evil
moment, however. the local corresponding
OF New York paper went off for his vaca-
ton. and left the ambitious youth direc-
tons ~ PICK up any real live items he could
or Course, tile youngster was delighted
He poked his nose into every reputable and
disreputahle place where news could be
gathered during tie next twenty-f0ur hours.
And he discovered that Minneapolis busf
Dssa man had been naughty, and that his
VIE did not like II. nor. did their inti-
mate friends The young man fairly ran
back to The office and thumped his writing
machine for a couple OF hours. and sent the
result flying 10 the New York paper The
latter journal thought iu was q little queer,
bat probably ali right, and they printed the
story. ON, then and there was huTrviug 70
aud fro, and uIrth and maledictiOns and
bad language, and weeping and gna shing
of teeth. The business man threatened to
Kill the ambitious youth, and the ambitious
youth shook day and night. Seeing hls
terrier, the other fellows ON the paper put
up a little job on him, and one afternoon,
While the stenograpner was working as
We'll as his nervousness would let him. =
nloOdthirsty individual staIEed into the
room ClamOrins FOR his blood The young
nan beggedfOr mercy. but in vain just in
the NICK OF time the other fellows in the
office flushed in and saved him from the
villain, and the victim Of the Joke made a
breaEfGr the backdour. He VIII Iiheyer write
newspaper articles about g mans private
life again He eOesin and out OF the build
ing by TIE back door aad Saeaks around IS
il he Were afraid OF being seen. Bat ne has
learned a very important lesson. anc that
is that mans private life is not always az
tile mercy Gr q gossip simply because that
gossip performs IN print.
Periodically. in the columns OF fashion
letters, from the saints know where, there
appears some startling comhdnatioa OF color
and form which Is announced as the forth
coming style People who know no bet
ter get frightened, and wonder how in the
world they ever can wear such thing, and
finally decide 10 wait tin the fashion be-
comes general. As the rest OF the public
is nrautime doing the same thing, the
;yle never does become general, and the
new gar,nenB gently fades into dream or
the past. One OF these new fashions is at
present being heraIded as thu London waist
coat model tits double breasted thing,
cut low, with wide collar. 1t is made OF
foulard silk, and the buttons are big and OF
niother-of pearl. The characteristic fea-
tIre of the garment. however, the pattern
OF the silk, which much resembles that OF
the old-fashioued willow pattern china
enlarged three OF four times. Some OF the
waIstocats are in brown, black. red and
blue on a pattern OF cream silk Thus the
willow pattern waistcoat is quite con
spiCdoHs. If the new fashion should really
obtain, we shnuId have young men going
around with weeping willow trees and
Chinese pagodas and funny little bridges
depicted on their clothes Old gentlemen.
with large extent OF waistcoat, would
wear whole villages Of houses with peaked
roofs, and small river systems purling
around their expansive waists The ap-
pearanee Of a company OF gentlemen, ali
wearing the new wsistcoat, would be Ike
a company Of Chinese maudarins OF AMI
mated paper lanterns. But people with q
proper respect for their taste need not
worry. The fashion viii never become
general.
Several years ago there was more or
less lively discussion over the question
of the reading of the Bible in our pubic
schools. Ii was asserted By many people