El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-11
For the Better Half
Written for the HERALD.

| Joy in reading to his earliest days
when he browsed where he pleased In
library of many books. His children
| in turn read what they find interestin q
in good library. This culling out OF
books is often done by overcareful
elders who, forgetting their own youth
| fear that the children will find in the
| books what their older minds recognize
as sinful or as knowledge at best, unfit
people are usually perfectly oblivious
to all but the simplest meanings, the
adventures, the battles, victory or de-
| feat. the trials and troubles-the hero
ine'ss beauty, the hero's splendor.
A certain vague sense of nobility
and vice they may have, but no
sharp, definite sense of either. The
world g classics do not hurt children
but from the childhood days when, with
guns, chairs for horses. the red table
cloth for q royal mantel and paper
crown, the Illiad, SHAKESPEARE, Don Qui-
xote and King Arthur tales are all
simply stage directions for gay pre-
tending" to the days, when old age
comes and all the lesser books seem
worthless and only the grandest ones
please, the worlds classics always
make life richer and more glorious
For boys and girls in their teens there
are again the classics and it's pity
that they should ever look at them as
school drudgery-,and all OF the de-
lights of Dikcens, Thackeray, Victor
Hugo, Walter Scott, George Eliot and
hosts of others teresting and profit
able stories for youth. The poets do
not usually attract boys and girls until
boz all al kt,
haps not then but they can read them
with ever increasing joy and benefit.
OF books of the day, as yet unsifted
by that great critic Time
there are excellent, namby
pamby, harmless and harmful
ones aud parents may well look to it
that at least the young ones do not
stuff themselves with trash that will
bring about mental indigestion, and
in the book cases to be opened and
read. The books that have
lived from one generation to
another are almost sure to have more
good than harm in them and children
are more likely 10 fiud the good than
the evil. OF books written for children,
they are not usually strong enough to
serve alone as literary food. They
may be excellent as far as they 90. on
healthy minded highly intelligent
child.
There are many people who insist
that training wild animals is no trick
at all that the lions and tigers and
leopards are old and tOOthless, or they
are drugged or manned in some way
so that the wild, fierce spirit is sub
dued not by the courage and training |
Of their masters, but by some trick or
other. However, the woman who has !!
charge of Hagen beck's leoparGs would |
tell a different story-and story of |
animals in such ugly temper that no
human eye could look them down.
Not long ago the animals were taken
10 the exposition at Philadelphia and !
after hard journey, the large cages
we're not quite ready and the leopards |
we're kept in the close cages that
hey travel in, until they were
ierce with discomfort and a heavy
storm made them more restless. How
aver a rehearsal was ordered and Mile
whip in one hand, her revolver held
behind her. She saw that the big
eopard, Rapier was in an ugly temper
1ut she tried to ignore it and make him
20 through his regular performance.
She spoke to him he retreated to the
BACK OF his cage and spit and snarled,
he dashed him over the back and
rave him an order, instead of obey-
ng, he crouched for spring and she
ashed him over the head and face, and
he beast ran away whining. Again
he gave the order and without warn
ng, before she could bring her
evolver around, the beast
prang upon her shoulder and the lar
Knocked the revolver out of her hand.
she reversed her whip and began
'eating the leopard on the heed with
he heavy handle until he loosened his
rip and sank to the floor. The
yards could not help her because the
DOR was locked from the inside and
he had to fight it out alone but when
he leopard fell they held him to the
DOR with pitchforks while Mademoi-
ellie Moreli beat him until he was ex-
austed. Then she unlocked the door
nd fell fainting into the arms OF the
uard.
Mademoiselle Morelli was terribly ;
blurred in the chest and
rm, but her plucky fight
bows the spirit with which she
masters the fierce beasts. One whit
sss daring and the beasts would feel
heir own strength. 1t is only when
ome extraordinary circums tances put
ne animals into a frenzy that they
are attack their plucky trainer.
ELSIE MCELROY SLATER