Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-21

Most persons however consistently they
may scon at many of the performances of
theatrical "magicians," are impressed in no
small degree with the skill of the perform
er when he begins an evenings entertain
ment by Tipping cards In all directions over
his audience With but slight motion of
the hand he makes the thin bits of card
board sail gracefully upwards. or straight
forward, as IL they are propelled by some
occult force. 1t usually appears also as II
he can make them go exactly where he
pleases. whether 1t be to the topmost gall
lery. where the gods are waiting with out
stretched arms; to the balconies, or to any
of the boxes. Every portion of the audi
ence generally gets it's share of the pack
to take home as memento of the occasion.
short while ago at performance of
this kind In one of the local theaters 1t ap-
these great men completely forsook him
In one particular, at very critical time.
Although he did not show 1t. he must have
been greatly embarrassed, not to say chag-
rlned. by the turn events took, and the
members of the audience who were given
to laugh at another's predicament were GER
tainly highly amused.
Seated in one of the boxes on the first
floor some little distance from the stage
was President Roosevelt with Mrs. Roose-
welt and Miss Alice. Ethel and Theodore
Roosevelt. jr. Inspired by the thought of
pleasing the chief of the nation and CIV
ing the audience a little sensation the
magician undertook to provide the presiden-
tial party with an unusually generous sup
ply of cards. Most gracefully he tossed out
several, but strange to relate, they went
clear over the box and the heads of the
distinguished guests. Then, with more
care. he tried several more, but they fell
just as far short of their proper destination.
Not to be nonplussed even by such mis-
nrttt ha maj, ha0a httP-
'rfedly to flip more cards in the direction
of the box. Faster and faster they flew,
while the two younger RooSevelts put out
their hands eagerly to catch one and even
Miss Alice became slightly excited. They
fell in showers far and near, but not one
In the box, and the poor magician had al
most exhausted his pack before the rest
of the audience had had it's share.
At last little Ethel put out her hand at
just the right moment and card was hers.
The smile that spread across the face of the
great man on the stage was only less broad
than the one on the well-known features of
the great man in the box.
y
Its curious how few people know the
origin of some OF our present-day customs.
nor how far they date back" said a promi-
nent lawyer of the District a few days ago.
Il happened to be in attendance at tine
laying of the corner stone of the Continent
tai Memorial Hall of the Daughters Of the
American Revolution recently, and the de-
posting of the coins In the cavity Of the
corner stone brought to mind a curious
statement read a short time ago as to the
origin of that custom. In the old days the
people believed their temples and public
buildings had life. and sometimes the build
ing would be worshiped as reverently as
would any of its contents.
Now those ancients knew the building
had life in it for a very simple reason.
When they laid the corner stone thereof
they made cavity of sufficient size to
contain human body. and living, breath
ing infant child was placed in the cavity
when the corner stone was laid. Sounds
grewsome, doesn't It? But that is what they
did. nevertheless. You can easily see that
boom in building brought an increase in
infant mortality in those days The moth
ers of the infants taken were unanimous
in their opposition to new public buildings.
can be easily imagined. The wise OLD
boys who ruled in those days knew a thing
or two about politics, too and the Increased
opposition by the women to building opera
tons led them TO announce that infants Sc
iected for Incarceration in the corner stones
could be redeemed with money, new money
OF the coinage of the year In which the
building was erected 1t is needless to say
that no more infants were placed in cor
ner stones, but their redemption fund was.
and thus came about the custom of putting
money into corner stones, which we of to-
day still preserve"
X
The other day a man entered a bank
carrying in one hand a deposit book and
closely clasped in his other arm was a
baby that was perhaps ten or twelve
months old. The age may not be exact.
but at any rate the young one was old
enough to sit up and look around, as IL
ii was consciously taking in the sights
and sounds of a new world.
Going up to one of these projecting
shelves which are placed against the
walls In some banks for the convenience
OF patrons who prefer to stand up while
writing, the man placed the baby on the
sloping surface, and as a precaution
against its sliding OF. which II showed
every Indication of doing. the man put UP
a brake against the threatened movement
of tls mass OF baby draperies by placing
his arm in front OF the baby. Then he
proceeded to fill out deposit check. and
when that was accomplished he again
to the tellers window. handled in his
book, and when the entry had been made
he received the book again, and, placing
IL In his pocket. walked out of the bank
the baby still staring everybody out of
countenance with the utmost GOODNESS.
" 4
A seven-year-oId Washington lad who
resides in Mt. Pleasant is under the i'm
preston that he was cheated out of a
part. of the pleasure of the circus parade