The age-herald., 1900-09-22
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

It was Request Night at Narragansett Pier. The leader of the orchestra was in a complaisant mood. The lights glittered on the water. The pier was crowded with a laughing pleasure-seeking crowd. The wind from the sea ruffled the gowns of the wo- men and blew the notes of thoorchestra far inland, where they sounded to the ear like the song of the sirens; but there was only one in the crowd whose heart was touched by the music, and to whom it meant death.
 The orchestra had just finished the over ture from William Tell, when man In the crowd stepped up to the leader. twill you play something next from the Bohemian Girl?' he asked. The leader consented and the next selection was the song, q Dreamt That Dwelt in Marble Halls" A hush fell over the audience, as always happens when some familiar air is played, and no one thought of the man who loved the Bohem- ian Girl until there was a sudden splash in the water, and the wild scenes of com motion which immediately follow a suicide.
 Something in the song had awakened sad memories, and the unfortunate sought refuge in death. He had dwelt once In Marble Halls and been the hope and the pride of all who assembled there, while now he was their shame and reproach, and the walls no longer echoed with his name.
 It is dangerous thing to touch the hu man heart. It Is well that the orchestra plays music that no one understands, it is well that mothers preach down a daugh- ter's heart;" truly "he who conquereth him. self is greater than he who taketh a city"
 Let the heart rest in peace. If there must be music let it be lullaby, and if any one asks for some touching old song, give him a rag time, or get up and leave the place there is going to be scene
 man whose heart was aroused sat thinking of his sins. They were many. and he thought long time. Finally he decided to pray. He did not know where to go. He had not been in the habit of going to church, and besides, the churches were all closed at the time. He did not like to pray at home for fear some one would see him, so he went out into the woods, hid himself in clump of bushes and began to pray. As he prayed his fervor grew, and he began to rock to and fro, and he rocked he shook the bushes.
 It happened that another man had gone forth to hunt in the same woods He had a gun which was loaded with buclxshot. He was a novice at the sport and did not know how to find the game. So he wan dered through the woods and with fatigue and disappointment his gun and his heart grew heavy. At last he came to the clump of bushes. He saw them rustic and he thought it was a rabbit. He took good aim and fired. The rustling ceased and the rab- bit was an old man who had been moved to prayer by an awakened heart.
 May his prayers be answered, for they were his last.
 There are hearts and hearts Some die young and some die old and some live on forever. Tennyson with poetic license tells of King whose heart (not his purse) was touched by a beggar maid, but what would he say did he know the true love story of Dr. Samuel Deeter and Miss Lucy Havens? To begin with, the United States govern ment is responsible for the whole busi- ness. By reducing the price of postage to the ridiculously low figure of cents a letter it has put it in the power of Miss Lucy Ravens to correspond with Dr. Deet- CT, for be it known Miss Lucy is an inmate of an Ohio poorhouse. and she and the doc tor have never met. Nevertheless the en- gagement is "go." The doctor has put dP AoilSit iuOiiSy u tiic CAtSHl oL piVV "ith the Board of County Commissioners as a guarantee that his bride shall not again become a county charge. She is heavy charge, too, for she weighs $50 pounds. The doctors weight Is not given so it cannot be stated whether this is to be a match of heavy weights handicap af- fair.
 The doctor, however, has arrived at years ,f- I~,ref ness, for his age is given as 73 The brides age, as a matter of course, shall be with held.
 Speaking of hearts, in a sentimental way it may surprise some people to learn that the Indian has one-that is the fe- male Indian. The Pilgrim fathers, as they pulled poisoned arrows out of their trous- CTS, would doubt this, and so perhaps would many of our lamented ancestors, al- though they doubtless knew the story of Pocahontas - but it is true, nevertheless. Out in the Indian Territory and here again the United States government is mixing up with affairs des coeur-the Kio- wa Indians have been forced to give up all their wives but one. This intermeddling in the affairs of man and wife is intoler- able First, the Mormans are regulated in their domestic matters, and now the Iio- was. Nothing short of a government would dare tc intermeddle in this way. As a suit, however, there are now 600 brown skinned divorcees. AS the lot of an Indian woman is supposed to be not happy one, the fact that eight of these women have committed suicide rather than part from their husbands is surprising.
 Another surprising feature of this whole sale divorcing is the fact that the men wllen called on to select one of their wives, invariably chose the oldest, fattest and apparently the ugliest in the lot giving as their reason, Me Nike old wife best" The youngest and handsomest of the lot, who cost from fifty to one hundred ponies apiece, were given up. They accepted their fate with Indian stocism-that Is, those Ica1 mi suicide their hearts