davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

TN A State asylum for the insane, situ-
ated not far from New York, is a
i young man of fine appearance, win
ming manners, and great intelligence.
who is perfectly sane on all subjects but
one, but who is nevertheless doomed to
spend the rest OF his life within the stone
walls Of the madhouse. He has a great
many luxuries in the way of books. cloth
ing, and table delicacies, which are paid
for by the man at whose instance he was
sentenced to life Imprisonment among
the deranged, and who happens to be one
of the most distinguished of New York's
public citizens. The story of what
brought this young man to the cell which
he now occupies is as follows:
One bright winters morning about
three years ago the distinguished citizen
already referred to-and whom we will
call Mr.. Marjoribanks as his real name
is known to everyone who reads this page
opened the hall door OF his house, situ-
ated on a side street close to upper Fifth
Avenue, just as rather shabbily dressed
man rang the bell. AS the door swung
open al he crossed the threshold the
shabby stranger seemed to recognize him,
for he sprang forward with an oath on
his lips, pointed a pistol at him, and
snapped the trigger The cartridge did
not explode, and the next moment the
distinguished New Yorker had torn it
from .he grasp of his would-be murderer
and the stranger was running up the
street.
The whole thing had passed within the
space of a very few seconds, and as the
gentleman stood on his own doorstep with
the revolver in his hand he looked care
fully up and down the street and at the
windows over the way to see if there had
been any witnesses to the occurrence.
Apparently, there had been none for the
street is situated in quiet residential
quarter of the town and the citizen-Mr.
arjoribanks-turned back into his home,
took off his hat and overcoat and then
went into his library and called up one of
his most intimate friends in the city. ask
ing him to stop on his way down town as
he desired to consult him on a matter of
great Importance. The friend did as he
was desired and found the man of re-
nown seated at his library table calmly
reading the morning newspaper. On the
table before him stood the revolver and
a small package of letters.
Having briefly recounted to his visitor
the mornings happening, he continued:
"Now l am absolutely sure that the man
who tried to shoot me this morning was
none other than the writer of these let
tiers, which have been coming to my
daughter and to me from time to time
during the past two years. l am sure.
moreover, that it is a case of homicidal
mania, and / want your advice as to the
best means of getting hold OF this man and
preventing him from doing any serious
mischief. First of all, glance at the let
tiers and see if you do not agree with me-"
The letters were addressed to Mr. Mar
joribanks daughter, now one of the most
popular young matrons in society, and at
that time debutante of remarkable
beauty, whose portrait was constantly ap-
plaT ing III the public prints Although
couched in respectful terms, they were
love letters of the most ardent descrip-
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

| sick and the insane and the dying-ah to
one of my temperament. it is terrible be-
yond all words. When you spoke just
now / seemed to see the door to heaven
standing wide open before me-"
II am glad to hear that" said the ply
sician pleasantly, land l see no reason
why the place should not be yours, pro-
vided the old gentleman is pleased with
| your appearance. His carriage will be
| here soon to take you up to his house,
and have no doubt that he will engage
| you on the spot and ask you to begin to-
morrow morning. You can do that, sup
( pose?'
Most assuredly," replied the German,
| provided l do not put you to any incon-
venience by leaving so suddenly. If the
carriage is here am ready to go now
stop one moment, if you please" in
terposed Mr.. Marjoribanks' friend. '"The
doctor gives you a recommendation which
is perfectly satisfactory, but there are
few questions that I should like to ask
you-questions of a personal nature, for
your future employer is very close
friend of mine and I should not care to
send you to him before informing myself
about your antecedents. You were born
in Germany, l believer"
''Yes, sir. In Munich, twenty-eight
years ago, on the Sd of June last. I was
educated in the army and served for five
years; then I resigned and came to this
country. / had some money that I had
inherited from my father. l invested it
in land speculation in Texas and-well.
it proved SO improbable that / am now
employed here as hospital nurse
He smiled with perfect good temper as
he said this and then his questioner con-
tinued: 81 suppose you have no relatives
in this country"
mo, none at all. My father and moth
er have been dead for several years and
l have one sister living. She is in Ber-
lin, married to an army officer and they
are as poor as rats. But, poor as she is.
she would send me money if she ever
knew the sort of work / have found my
self compelled to do here in order to
gain my bread"
You're not married man, are you?"
mo, SIR
'And have you no friends in this coun-
try? Surely you must have some afilia-
tions with some persons here?'
Up to this point there had been abso-
lutely nothing in the young Germans
voice and manner that suggested the
faintest tinge of mental alienation. He
had answered the questions put to him in
a frank, straightforward manner and had
looked his questioner straight in the eye
while talking to him. But now, something
like cloud seemed to come into his face
and there was a note of hesitation in bis
voice as he said, NO. sir. cannot say
that have any affiliations with any one
in this country"
But surely there must be someone who
knows you-someone to whom you could
refer; and it is hardly likely that a good
looking young fellow like you should live
here as long as you have without having
some sort of love affair."
NO" said the German, shaking his
lead and casting his eyes on the floor,
Il have had no love affair-that is to say,
none that care to speak off,
Pardon me-" said the other. decisively,
The Washington times., 1902-03-30
HOW THE SH1AF ELL SHORT
STORY OF cup1D's BAD MARKsMANsH1p.

you l know" / was laundering on,
but she broke In.
"Oh, he likes me; he is even fond of me-
He was always telling me l was his best
friend, his comrade. Can't you see what
that meant? But it was that or nothing
and couldn't give him up, so 1 kept the
other way down under. don't think he
guessed"
IF you had shown it a little, wouldn't
It have / continued.
We sat silent for a while, she staring
into the fire with the same hopeless look,
while but this story is not about me.
Then the door slammed, and in an in
stant she was her other self. alert and
self-controlled. z
How did / come to tell you all this?"
she exclaimed. 1.-The storm made me
blue and foolish, l suppose. Promise me-
on your honor, that you'll never tell this
or even hint 1t to anyone else all your
life long"
promised TehulIy enough. WASH
likely to want to tell
1t was the same kind of an afternoon,
nearly two years later, that I hunted up
Powers in Paris His success hadn't
brought q bit OF big head with 1t, and he
was as glad to see me as il we still be-
longed to the same world. Almost his
first question was about Genevieve. but l
couldn't tell him much. / hadn't seen
her for year. and though she had prom
ised to write to me, had never received
more than one or two conventional notes
THAT girl" said Powers thoughtfully,
meant more to me than any woman
ever knew in my life.
Il don't suppose a man ever was as
much in love as l was, and fought it so
resolutely," he went on. Il suppose she
knew it-girls generally debut / never
once let 1t come to the surface l didn't
really acknowledge 1t to myself till the
day ! sailed, a day something like this.
Then-whew!" He shook his head, his
eyes contracting at the memory.
But why did you fght?''
well, there / was, with my future alb
solutely uncertain and the big fight be-
fore me, and wanted to go into it free.
l was horribly ambitious, and when 1t
came to choosing between myself and my
work, myself had to go under every time.
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

emrloye, the man who was at that mo-
ment in attendance upon wealthy and
slightly derangcd patient, was himself in
sane on at least one subject and worst OF
all, insane with hofnicidal tendency. He,
too, saw the necessity for getting him
quietly out of the way. 1t might ruin
his hospital to have it known that a
lunatic had found employment there for
nearly two years. 1t was an easy matter.
therefore. to induce him to play his part
in the scheme which had been devised, and
to which nc now gave his full approval, for
getting the young German behind the bars
without publicity of any sort. When the
friend left. it was with the understand
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

Besides, 1t would have been brutaIly up-
fair to her, even if she had cared. 1t
might have been years and years before
l could marry. How could l know l was
going to be so lucky?"
Then she didn't care?' I asked. / had
sworn not to tell, and heaven knows l
didn't want to. but the secret was fore
Ing its way up in spite of me. / felt as
though held two lives in my hand
No; she was just good comrade. and
l tried to fool myself by taking the same
attitude, though I don't suppose it fooled
anybody else. If she had ever shown the
least symptom-oh, I'd have given in in a
second. But she never cared a bit-said
goodby to me jolly as could be the night
before / left
The secret was scorching my tongue,
but my promise to Genevieve still kept
me debating.
Her features weren't a bit good, but
she had the most expressive face l ever
saw, and the most attractive" Powers
said 1T had beauty higher than that
OF form and coloring. a sort of inspira-
tion. l have tried a hundred times to
catch 1t, especially in that martyr over
there on the easel. It's a look of pluck
and radiance and-oh, / don't know, /
can't get it!''
l knew, and opened my lips to speak,
then hesitated again.
IT'S SO strange" he went on. "She
always prophesied that l would fall in
love, quite desperately, with some 'beauti-
full peasant girl over here, a woman Of the
people, perfect physically, with lovely
nature and no intellectual power what
ever Queer, wasn't it? But l forgot"
he added; "you haven't seen my wife"
l started up. There was a tumult in
my mind, but God forgive me! it wasn't
an unhappy one.
"Tou are married."
Yes; my wife is an Italian. She sat
for that head in the corner. Genevieve
sent me such bright little note about
it when l wrote and told her. She was
the only clever woman that l ever wanted
to marry. Odd how a man can go through
what did, and yet marry another woman
eighteen months later. l wonder if wom-
en- are that way?"
'I wonder?" / echoed from the very
bottom of my soul.
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

UDITH was oddly happy. It was
a sensation she could not analyze,
~ as she could the feelings of the
puppets she invented for the plays
that had brought her fame and a good
ly income. Some way she had been so
busy engineering imaginary love affairs
that she had never thought of her own.
She was net yet prepared, however, TO
admit that this was the name for the
condition of mind in which she found her
self. She had known Spencer Coles just
one winter, but had seen him very often
since that first night they had met at
Miss browns birthday supper on the
stage OF the Forrest after the perform
ance. II had not seemed so many times,
either, until tonight, when he had told
her he was going abroad for three
months and she realized that she would
not see him until the end Of that period.
And yet she was happy, because, II he
had not been going away, perhaps he
would not have looked at her Just as he
did when telling her OF it. Judith was
skilled in reading countenances. She had
labored hard to have the right sort of
emotions brought out on them at the re-
hearsals of her plays.
Judith then and there resolved to give
dance at which people could do as they
chose. She would call 1t the Declaration
Dance, and when charged with using this
as synonym for proposal she would re-
tort, "oh, no; l mean the Declaration of
Independence from the leading strings of
conventionality."
Meantime she was happy in dreaming
of the past, in forecasting the future.
Three months would soon pass, with that
bow of promise forming a rosy vista at
their end.
Judith wondered If her friends, suppos-
ing they suspected her state Of heart.
would think her silly. She was very near
Iy thirty But the best of it was. not one
of them did suspect.
Her intimacy with Coles was well
known, but everybody seemed to ascribe
It to business sources. The dramatization
of Coles novel by h Wayland pen would
surely be the play sensation OF the sea-
son, they prophesied. And yet, in all
their talks, this was matter that had
never been broached between them. Judith
often smiled to herself as she recollected
this fact
The three months were half gone when
one morning, while Judith was sitting In
q box watching a rehearsal. Amy Drown,
in one of her breathing spells. came to
her for little chat.
81 had letter from Clara Sands yes
terday," she said. You know she went
over to do Hyacinth at the Earl's last
month. Well. she has not let the grass
grow under her feet. She writes me that
she is engaged to Spencer Coles. Think
of 1t, what catch for her. only a season
out OF her soubrettehoodi l knew you
would be interested. dear. knowing them
both SO we'll. Why, II was at my birth
day supper you met Mr.. Coles. wasn't 1t?
But listen, my cues coming. ! must rum"
Judith sat there. gazing at the doings
on the stage and seeing nothing. She
was thinking of another play of hers,
tnat had been acted season before last
on these very boards, and In which the
heroine discovered she had made a mis-
take in thinking an invitation from the
The Washington times., 1902-03-30
An Inspirer of Genius.

John, dear" she said, in her sweet,
affectionate voice, which she used only
on rare occasions. ARE you well up with
your work."
Pretty well,' he sighed as he put
period to poem, which had almost given
him nervous prostration. why do you
ask?"
Because, dear, I'm afraid you are un-
dermining your health, and i want you
to take holiday and write a short story
to pay for my new dress. a couple of
poems for my hats and gloves, good,
stirring song that will bring In enough
for ton of coal, and one or two of those
darling love poems for some lard and a
ham; and ham, dear, is only q shilling
q poundl"-Tit-B Bits.
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

was necessary, also, to do this without
the slightest publicity.
Very few persons know anything about
the personal danger which dogs the heels
of publicity. No sooner do men and
women come prominently before the pub
lie in the newspapers than they attract
the attention of the vast army of cranks
and semiinsane people. who proceed to
mare their lives burdenScme with logging
letters, threats, ard requests for ,very-
thing, from autographs to automobiles
And there is no sort of fame which takes
such strong hold on the fancy of the
average crank as that which springs from
wealth. beauty, or social station. In this
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

-vERYTHING about Genevieve that
- dav told me there was something
II wrong, but it never would nave
entered my head to ask her what
It was. She was one of those frank, open
girls who do not tell things beyond a
certain point, and who. by their very
good fellowship keep a man at certain
distance. She gave me more than she
did most people, and I was grateful, but
1 never rushed In. chance remark.
made without a suspicion of where 1 was
treading, brought things to a crisis.
1t was at the end of stormy after
noon, and we were sitting over the fire,
she in deep wicker chair, and down on
the hearth rug. She wasn't paying the
least attention to what / was saying.
When a bucket of rain would slash
against the window she would look over
her shoulder with nervous twisting of
her lips, and her fingers kept doing exer-
cises on the arm of her chair or pleat-
ing up the ribbons on her dress. The
house shook little. and that made me
think of the ocean, and that suggested
Powers. and / spoke without a glimmer
of intention.
'Why, Powers sailed today. didn't he?"
She did not answer. and l looked up.
I do not suppose i had ever really seen
the girl before. The guard was gone
and she was staring into the fire with
an expression that struck me dumb. She
rubbed the back Of her forefnger first
across one cheek and then across the
other. as though absently, but l saw.
The conventionally suitable thing would
have been for me to clear out, but / did
not. / took one of her hands and gripped
1t. Her head went down on the arm of her
chair. and we sat there without speaking
for a while Then she began in the mid
die. as though she had been telling me
about 1t all along.
He couldn't have cared for me, any
way We aren't the same kind" she said.
HE looks on at life. while / am always
In the very centre, living it. He is inter
ested and sympathetic. but always the
impersonal critic. don't believe he ever
had an overwhelming impulse in his life.
He moves by deliberate theories. We're
altogether different"
but Genevieve. he thought lot of
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

to do anything for him should the occasion
arise. This gentleman is wealthy. highly
educated, and anxious to travel. He will
pay s100 month, with board and all ex-
penses, and the position is really very
easy and pleasant. Do you care for it?''
The quick tears came into the young
mans eyes as he answered impulsively:
II cannot tell you how happy l am at the
mere prospect Of taking such a place as
that. 1t is not he continued with po-
lite bow to his employer, that l am not
well treated here, because l have every
reason to feel deeply grateful to the gen.
tleman who has SO kindly recommended
me to you. But to live always among the
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

case the father dreaded publicity, because
he knew that if the matter once found its
way into print it would be taken up
try to the other, with the result that his
daughter would be literally driven out of
the country by the persistent attentions
of the cranks.
Late in the afternoon the friend called
again upon the physician at the private
hospital and this time he brought with
him the package of letters as evidence of
the truth of his story. To say that the
physician was thunderstruck does not
fairly indicate his real state of mind
when he learned that his most trusted
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

pital physician pleasantly. These gen.
tlemen have asked me to recommend some
one for a very responsible position, and
although do not wish to have you leave
me. l cannot stand in the way of your
advancement. so l have given them your
name and told them that considered you
thoroughly competent"
The young mans face flushed witt,
pleasure at the kind words of his superior.
81 thank you most heartily" he said.
MAY l ask you what the position is?
ITO take charge of an elderly gentle
man who is in delicate health and desires
someone who will be companion rather
than a nurse, but who will be competent
The Washington times., 1902-03-30

Between the dusk of summer night
And the dawn of a summer day
We caught at mood as it passed in fight.
And we bade it stop and stay.
And what with the dawn of mig hit BEGAN
With the dusk of day was done;
For that is the way of woman and man,
When a hazard has made them one.
The Washington times., 1902-03-30
WOMAN AND MAN.

Arc upon arc, from shade to shine,
The World went laundering free;
And what was his errand but hers and mine
The lords of him, l and she?
Oh, it's die must, but it's live we can
And the marvel of earth and sun
Is all for the JOY of woman and man.
And the longing that makes them one
w. E. Henley.
The Tucson citizen., 1902-06-28
-IDry as statlstica." "

II IL fairly obvious thot the study o.
statistics Is not exactly what would
be termed popular pasttme. says
winthrop NJ. Daniels In The Atlantic,
Librarians 10 not discover any extcn.
sive demand for statistical literature,
Sir John Lubbock. II remember
rightly. found no place for a single
volume of figures IN his hundred best
books, and in that tlood Of articles on
Books That Have Helped Me, by
Authors Great and Authors Small" b"
the same significant silence seemed &c
be maintained. There were some very
curious books that had apparently
proved helpful to certain persons, but
there was unbroken testimony of o
negative kind that nobody had ever
been helped by blue book.
TO say OF anything "aS dry as sta
tistics" Is ut once to conSjGn ii To the
nethermost limbo Of ariiity. Such Is
the verdict upon the finished stati$
teal product. AS for the methods EN-.
plOyed IN constructing such tables
weighted averages. index numbers or
curves OF error~~thcse to the wayfar
in- men are hidden and ingenious re
Nnemcnts of cruelty. TO be avoided ~
MI hazards or at least forgotten with
shudder and prayer.
The Tucson citizen., 1902-06-28
PET DOG WASHERS
The Queer Trade That FIourishea Ea
the French Capital.

As you walk along certain parts OF
Paris your attention is sometimes at.
tracted by the barking of dog and
on such an occasion one OF the queer
est Of the outdoor trades OF raris is
seen. Near the waters edge, his black
coat flecked thickly with soapsuds,
stands The dog and over him. en-
ergetically shamnooing the soap into
the long hairy coat stands one or the
professional dog washers who haunt
the banks of the Seine at stated spots
from the Pont d'iena 10 the Font Ncuf.
These men Iathcr and wash pet dogs
While their owners look on from con
yeDiently placed chairs. The fees range
from ! SOUS 10 lranc. When the soap
ing operation is completed, the dog In
dropped into the river and encouraged
10 get rid OF the dirt and soap by
swim
Sometimes the pct will swim straight;
out, lille the fair owner IL IN agonles
OF fear lest some swiftly passing
steamer should strike ii and end It's
bathing and swimming days forever.
ON more than one occasion the dog
washer has been driven to plunge In
and rescue The bcYildcred animal lest
the infurlated owner should claim com
pcnsatinD for his carclessnesE. With
some Parlsiennes this weekly pet
washing is ceremony OF Importance
The dainty lady. allghting from her
smart victoria. goes down the steps to
the washing place chosen, preceded by
her footman carrying or leading the
dog, as the case may he, and then.
seated under Sunshade, she directs
the toilet of Fin or Nero with tender
solcitude. The toilet des chiens at the
fashionable spots includes warm. fcccy
towels a peignoir de balm while the
dogs hair Is being curled. combed
singed or cut. and a length Of ribbon Of
selected color 10 tie round its neck at
the finish.
A fee of francs cannot ne con.
sidered excessive for a toilet" includ.
Ing clipping during which Fiji or Ne
70 is held firmly by the lady proprie,
tress of the ctablisscmeut dcs balns.
while her assistant uses the patent
shears. When all has been completed,
the victim. waggirg his tail with CON
scious pride, proceeds to the carriage
with his proud and happy mistress and
drives away In state. yelping at dogs
less aristocratic than hc.-Wide World
Magazine
The Tucson citizen., 1902-06-28
FLOWER ANO TREE.

Heavy pruning of growing trees will
check growth.
Towering plants should never be
watcred with cold water. II chills the
plants.
The Madeira zine Is one of the best
climbers, having a wreath of leaves
cqua!cd by few other plants.
Rcpottlng of plants becomes necessa
ry at intervals for two reasons The
plant uses up the available fertility In
the soil and fills the pots with roots.
The ink plant OF New Granada is a
curiosity. The juice OF it can be used
as ink without any preparation At
first the writing is red. but after few
hours 1t changes TO black.
In watering the primrose observe
this: Water should not be poured upon
the crown Of the plant nor the pot filled
so full that the water flows over into
1t. This is fatai to the health of the
plant.
TO destroy aphdes or plant lice dip
the ends of the twig3 into It strong tea
made by sleeping tobacco stems in hot
water or syringe with whale oil soap
suds. repeating the operation in six or
seven days.