The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1897-02-23

The collection OF postage stamps Is
something In which many persons are
engaged and thousands more interested.
Il IL really one OF the iads In which
young and old ind equal enjoyment
The little miss not yet In the grammar
school and her mother at home both
pursue with equal eagerness the aecu-
mutation Of those little bits Of gummed
paper which carry articles through the
mail the world over Strange and
unique are the forms the collections
take In order that they may be prop
erly preserved. But Mrs. Wilson's is
the quecrest OF them all Included IN
the tiny specimens OF siaEps which
conceal every vestlge Of woodwork
about the furniture which they adorn.
are stamps from eve. where that the
international postal system reigns and
several places where no exchange OF
mail matter has yet been agreed upon.
All these arc arranged In a manner a.
quaint as the idea itself Il must not
be supposed that Mrs. Wilson's patriot
ism ls OF 30 light an order that she
would permit any other than the
stamps Of the United Siate0 TO be In
the majority. There are the faces OF
every president who has been allowed
TO be made a sample Of the steel en-
graver's art from Washington down.
There are odd old stamps which most
people have forgotten ever existed,
stamps only known 10 the stamp col
lector as a rule. and which would be
immensely valuable by themselves.
an these curios are OF our own make.
that have borne misslyes on many a
strange errano.
There are stamps which journeyod
about In the crazy postal conveyances
which carried the mall that was not
Uncle Sans during the days when
civil war RACED relontlessly. Then
there are stamps OF tho days when
the mlsslyes from Southern battloaclds
TO Northern homes brought both 10Y
and sorrow. the latter quite a. often AZ
the former There are one or two
stamps that were used when California
was the Golden Gate to &C many for
tune seekers. The nations history Is
| piastercd all over this furniture and the
story that might be told about Il. II
I the truth wcrc known. would no doub,
make Il vie In interest In the eyes
Of the American people with the treas.
ures OF Mount Vernon. the sacred rel
les OF Springfield or those remom-
brances &c which an the world bows a,
Galena. There d no particular meth
Cd OF arrangement OF this nearly a
million Of stamps. Noble and peasant
are side by side. and the commones,
blt OF postage evidence Ia just a. LA
bic TO have a position Of honor a. the
big piece OF gummed paper with two
figures on 4. Evidently Mrs. Wilson
believes with the poet, that rank Is bu,
the guinea stamp.
OF the foreign specimens OF postal
necessities there are very many. and
as odd as they are numerous. The
Qucer-looklng, dark colored afialr that
comes from the land OF the Cossaek and
OF Tolstol seems strangely out Of place.
lodged for life on a BIT Of wood In A
town where the very essence OF free
dom Is IN the air itself Properly
enough. there nCstlcs close to the re-
hinder OF the Little Fathers country
the stately and henignant face OF her
gracious majesty on whose empire the
sun never sets. Alongside OF these two
O. the iolly postal emblem Of Roumania,
while the kalacr's youthful face looks
out at you from hls neighbour that once
brought G letter from the land that row
is wronohod with the tales of Siamhou-
ln1's assassination.
Then King uumhcrl looks out from
scar by. whlle-snd one may almoat