Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-24

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also the advantage of having the dlshes
served piping hot, sort of grille Kitchen
affair if one is minded to take cheerful
view of the annual period of upheaval in
ones home
What is doing up your way?' asked one
of the listeners, ARE you rebuilding the
house?"
Not at ALL" was the reply, "only making
the customary repairs and changes when
seem to be inevitable soon as the leaves
begin to fall. 1t appears that when the
family returns from the summer holiday
that the vision of the various members all
at once becomes keener, and shabby wood-
work and soiled wall paper becomes very
noticeable. At that season also there is
tendency to find the house Is uncomtorta-
bly, small and some additions are needed.
This is commendable in a way. but the
trouble with 1T all IS that this sort of thing
appears to be epidemic at this particular
season of the year. Everybody wants some
thing done. The result is that there is
great demand for workmen. and 1t is i'm
possible to get all the work done that IS
needed. Somebody has to wait. l am on
that list Therefore, we are eating in the
kitchen, and after a while, when the rush
let's up. will be able to have the house
put in order and then we will return to
normal conditions"
!: x x 4 4
This old daguerreotype reminds of
di WHICH "oH lol iiic pViso'ioAiS
the sincere gratitude of a prominent mem
Der of Ii Hung Chang's suite. as well as
his admiration for my skill as an artist"
remarked a well-known local photographer
the other day to a Washington man who
had just brought to the art stop an cid
daguerreotype of his grandfather to have
an enlarged picture made from it.
1T was during Ii Hung Ckang's term as
minister to Washington that the incident
referred to occurred" sGid the artist ut
seems that one of the attaches had brought
to this country an cid Chinese daguerreo
type of his father, which he preserved with
all the ancestral reverence usual among
the natives of China. The picture was in
closed In one of those small cases so famil-
lar fifty years CT more ago.
'One day the attache took up the case and
opened 1t to take a peek at his paternal
ancestor. when he noticed spot the
face of the picture. He took out his
handkerchief to brush off the spot. No
sooner had he touched the speck with his
handkerchief than to his great consterna-
ton he saw his fathers cheek pushed clear
on the plate and the old mandarin's nose
scattered over tt plate in a misshapen
mass. In fact the face of the picture was
so badly mutilated that it was impossible
to form any idea to how it had looked
before the catastrophe.
The Chinaman was intensely wrought
up oNef "lidt lie Hdu inadvertently OOUS,
and the seriousness of the incident was
heightened to mind because of his rev.
erence and his super, tittous beliefs in re-
gard to the matter. He expected to be
struck by lightning or some other inviS-
ible and equally destructive agency at any
| moment, and he actually shivered with
fear of some impending calamity. If some
one had let fall a drop of water the
back of his neck at that moment he would
simply have given up the ghost in sheer
fright.
After a little while. however, when no
direful calamity befell him, the attache
called another member of the suite ana
explained his predicament. The fellow
grief over the loss of the picture was sin
cere and touching, as it was the only like
ness he had of his father. Upon the advice
| of his friends the Alta y concluded to take
the mutilated daguerreotype TO a photogra-
pher and see what could be done.
He came 10 HE and explained his trou-
BILE, and implOred me to do everything in
former state. At glance | diagnosed the
case The film had become softened and
had broken cut in spots. and all that was
needed to complete the work of destruction
to touch the plate as he had done
Il had never seen a likeness of the old
mandarin, and had no idea of his features.
nor was it possible to gather an idea from
the mutilated face. However. since the
attache begged me so strongly to try and
remedy the picture, 1 told him to leave it
and | would 90 what | could
After he had left the studio l opened
the back of the case. when to my great
surprise l found good plate of the old
mandarin a the 'aci of the one which had
been spoiled. was picture OF The old
fellow in anothe. position, and it had been
placed in the case, / suppose, to prevent the
other plate from slipping around II was
a lucky find L took out the good plate
and enlarged it, and when the attache
| called few days later and saw the en-
! larged photograph he simply fell on my
| neck and wept for joy He didn't ask any
| questions, but expressed his establishment
| at my art in making such a striking like
ness of his father and in a position differ
ent from that of the other picture
| LAS L could not converse fuently in Chi
i nese l didn't take the trouble to try to
explain l,a how Ta , able to give him such a
that fellows heart. besides a very nice
| little present of a substantial nature for
my part of the work.
:: x X
CONSERVATION of the genuine variety was
caused in the ladies' suit department of a
big local store few days ago when one of
! the customers, an elderly woman, who had
| been trying garments, announced ex-
! citedly that the jacket she had worn to the
| store could not be found. All the clerks
| Immediately began to search for the miss
| ing article of dress, and the entire stock
| was looked through Notwithstanding the
| declarations of the boys employed to hang
| up the goods that they had not put away
anything that was not tagged.
The elderly woman was almost raying at
| the end of fifteen minutes the search hay
| ing been fruitless. and each of the clerks
| was rapidly reaching a condition akin to
| nervous prOstration. Then the customer
| meekly remarked
oh. I've just remembered that I didn't
! bring my jacket from home with me to-
| day
Then she hurried from the store. The
clerks said nothing. but they exchanged
| significant glances and thought things
| Australian HaUStacks