davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

food is given and the days work is
ended.
The ordinary food consists Of hay,
corn. and oats. but there are many deli
cacies on the menu of the race horse
that are never heard of In ordinary sta
bies. For instance. several of the train
ers who are wintering at Benning are
using California hay in SMALL quanti-
ties. This hay. which costs $40 ton
in Washington, Is quite a de.icacy. and
is 20 a horse what certain relishes are
one of many expensive Injuries that are
on the daily food list Of the racer
Once In a white a horse gets ''off hLI
feed and then the trainer has to WORK
up tempting diet for him, just as the
physician does for his whimsical pa
tent What will put one horse in shape
will not do for another. and each indi-
vidual case must be handled according
to its needs.
The life of the grooms and stable boys
is not an unpleasant one during the
winter season. Like the horses. they
are well taken care of. The boys who
are apprenticed do not have a great
deal of spending money. but they are
given their clothes. board, snd wash
Ing. The rubbers and the grooms are
well paid. in addition to receiving their
board.
They sleep about the stables. some IN
regular rooms, and some in box stalls
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

fitted UP as rooms and warmed by OH
stoves. Following the advice of the adj
vanced school OF physicians and health
culturists. they adopt the most ap-
proved system of sleeping. Their beds
are covered with the heaviest and best
blankets. and they have plenty Of fresh
air to breathe.
Their leisure time is spent In argu-
ment. repartee of the fish market type,
and card playing. An occasional spar.
ring match Of rot too scientific sort
breaks the monotony. Pinochie Is the
great game, because a large number OF
points are quickly made Payday comes
once a month. and for few days there
after pinochle receives close attention
from all Even the twelve-year-old ex-
ercise boys indulge in the pastirae
'-Dogtown." as Benning Station is
called by the stable boys, is a great re-
sort with them. There they buy tobacco
and other supplies when pay day comes.
"Mascots" Are Many.
Every stable has its mascot. and, not
withstanding the sign which is posted
around on the stables, and which reads
"All dogs found running loose viii be
killed" there are many dogs to be seen
around the stables. There are bull ter
riers. fox terriers. and mongrels of all
sorts and descriptions. In one box
stall there is a fine litter OF black Span
ish poodle puppies. whose yelps may be
heard all over the grounds. In the
The Washington times., 1904-02-07
PRINCE PAYS BIG PRICE FOR RARE STAMP

tn HE Prince of Wales paid $3.50
the other day for postage
i stamp which cost originally only
4 cents. The stamp is two-penny blue
issued by the island of Aiauritius in
September. 1S47. Owing TO the engSav-
er's mistake in the issue the words
post Office" were printed in the left
border OF the stamp instead OF post
paid" BY May. 1s4S. the error had been
corrected. but about 1000 of the post
office" stamps had been circulated. all
but about twenty of which have now
disappeared. Hence the great value OF
this specimen.
Forty years ago James Bonar. who
lives in Hampstead. London suburb.
was a youthful stamp collector with all
the enthusiasm boys put into the hobby.
BY a trade with another youngster he
secured the two-penny Mauritius. and
ever since that time it has been forgot
ten. A short time ago a woman ac-
quaintance. a philatelic enthusiast. hap
pened to call on Mr. Bonar, who resur-
rected his old stamp albums for her IN
spection. As they turned the pages the
caller suddenly exclaimed:
why. here's post office Mauritius.
It's worth a fortune
Mr.. Bonar showed the stamp to sew
eral dealers and expert Collectors, so
the news of his find soon became noised
abroad. and within a few days he re-
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

ceived an offer of 5000 for IT. This he
declined. and then turned the stamp
over to an auction firm, who advertised
il for public sale. Some 800 dealers and
collectors were in the room when the
sale opened. From an initial bid OF s.. 500
the price quickly rose to ESQ, the
amount which closed the bidding
Although the purchaser. who gave his
name as Crawford. did not say that his
principal was the Prince Of Wales. it is
understood on trustworthy authority
that such is the case His royal high
ness is the president Of the LeaSon
Philatelic Society and one OF the most
enthusiastic collectors in Great E~sr,in.
The Mauritius stamp bears nor or he
original gum. but IT never has besn used
and is in excellent condition
The specimen was the first ever sold
by the auction firm. Another company
in London. however. bought a similar
stamp with a 1-penny red of the same
issue OF 1S47 about ten years ago for
50. 400 later selling them for s.. go.
Within year OF the sale the same COM
pany advertised for these stamps. Of
fering s. 500 for them. The stamps did
not come back, and. so far as known.
not single specimen OF this issue has
changed hands in London since THAI
time.
The famous TAPPING collection. now I'm
the British Museum contains both the l
and the ? penny variety. Two copies
Of each value are also in the famous
Ferrary collection az Paris. ana these
will pass into the possession of the
Louvre when their owner dies Eight
more OF the precious stamps are in Eng
land. nine In France, and one IN Russia.
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

A GOOD way to keep warm during
"A the coolest days of last week
n was found by Charles X Allen
and Albert Weddell. who tend the street
railway switch at the corner OF First
and B Streets northeast. while several
inches OF snow were on the ground they
used their shovels TO excellent adj
vantage and built a snug little snow
house Allen is on duty from 5 a. m TO
3 p. m. and Weddell from 3 p. m. to
a. m. Each one put in the time between
the arrival Of the ears in throwing all
the snow within the radius Of thirty
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

Though hcSle fortune prove unkynde,
still doth she leave here wealth behynde,
She ne'ere the heart came forme anew,
Nor make thy WHY'S love unnetrewe.
Though age with withered hand doe stryke
The form most fayre, the face most bryghte,
still dothe she leave untouched and trewe
Thy WHY'S love anne freynshyppe too.
Though death with neverre fsyling blowe
Doth name and babe alyke brynge lowe.
cite doth he take naughte but his dewe
And strykes notte WHY'S hesrte still trewe.
Synce theme notte fortune, death, nor age
Came faythfull WHY'S love asswage
Theme doe l live and dye fore you
Thy Willy syneere and most trewe.
The origin Of legends and supersti-
ton is credited by I. DIsraen to have
been as follows: Before colleges were
established. in the monasteries where
the schools were held argues this
eminent writer. "the professors in rhet-
ORIG frequently gave their pupils the life
of some saint for a trial Of their talent
at amplifieation. The students. being
constantly at loss 10 furnish out their
pages. invented most of these wonder
full adventures .Jortin observes that the
Christians used to collect out of Ovid.
Livy. and other pagan poets and his
torians the miracles and portents to
be found there. and accommodated them
to their own monks and saints. The
good fathers of that age, whose sim
plicity was not inferior TO their devo-
ton. were so delighted with these flow
ers of rhetoric that they were induced
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

TINE Benning racetrack, grand
stand. and other buildings at the
big course. presented a notable
picture last week. clothed as they were
IN their mantle of deep snow It was
a beautiful picture and one that attract
cd many visitors from the city on Mon
day and Tuesday. when the photographs
illustrating this article were taken.
Snow Everywhere.
The big grandstand. deserted and
bare; the track, covered with wind
swept snow; the infield. where the stee-
piechase course is buried under it's cloak
of white so thoroughly that some of the
jumps are hardly discernible, and the
bleak-looking stable buildings wear an
appearance far different from that which
marks the grounds of the Washington
Jockey Club when meeting is on.
And yet. to those who are fond OF
horses and enjoy being with them
whether they are on the track or not.
there is much that Is interesting and
even fascinating to be found in a morn
ing's walk through the winter quarters
OF the handsome thoroughbreds.
The stables themselves, viewed from
the outside. have a lonesome appear
ance. and as one wanders through the
yards everything looks quiet and de
serted Once within the big sliding sta
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

TO make a collection Of these miraculous
compositions. not imagining that. at
some distant period, they would become
matters OF faith.
~Voluminous AbsurditiesS
Yet. when James de voragine. Peter
Nadal. md PeterJR ibadeneira wrote the
lives Of the saints. they sought for their
materials in the libraries of the monas-
teries; and. awakening from the dust
these manuscripts Of ampnhcation.
imagined they made az Invaluable pres
ent to the world. by laying before them
these voluminous abslrdities. The peo-
pie" continues D'Israeli, received these
pious fictions with all imaginable sim
pliclty. and as the book is adorned with
a number OF cuts these miracles were
perfectly ineligible TO their eyes =
Baronious has given the lives Of many
apocrypizai saints: for instance. of a ST
Xinoris. whom he calls a martyr OF An
tioch: but it appears that Baronious,
having read in Chrysotom this word,
which signifies couple. or pair. re mis-
took it for the name of saint, and con-
trived to give the utmost authentic bi-
ography OF a saint who never existed.
The lives OF the saints by Alban Butler
is learned work. and the most sensible
history Of these legends: Ribadeneira's
lives Of the saints exhibit more OF the
legendary spirit, for. wanting Judgment
and not faith. ne is more voluminous
in his details. and more ridiculous in his
narratives
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

horses are allowed an hour to digest
their food and then they are taken out
for exercise.
No matter how deep the snow. this
exercising is gone through with. At
this time every horse does from four TO
six miles day. at a walk. a trot. and
canter- The distance done varies ac-
cording TO the horse and his condition
and temperament. for no two horses are
trained exactly alike. The idea of de
winter exercise is to keep the animals
In good condition and to harden them
by degrees for the spring racing. As
the date Of the meeting approaches the
racers are worked shorter distances in
quicker time until they begin hard
training for certain races The tracks
and the roads around Benning arc used
to work the horses on. and the boys
who do the exercisiF are kept under
the eye of the trainers all the time
Hot Food for Supper.
When horse comes in from his work
ne is Immediately rubbed down by the
rubbcrs who are.waiting for him, blank
eted, and put back IN his stall. while
the boy is put up on another horse snd
sent out. Some Of the trGiners are
about their stables all the dime. while
others have trusted head groOms in
charge and appear On the scene only
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

stable Of J. w Colt. whose horses are
in charge Of Gwynn Tompkins. the vet
eran trainer. the mascot Is a Mamie
goat. This goat has been in the stable
two or three years. and gets along with
the horses finely. It is a peculiarly OF
q horse that no matter how vicious he
may be he will never trouble a goat.
The goat may come IN and out OF stalls
as much as ne pieases without fear OF
harm
A Little "Goat- Horseplay."
This particular goat lives in the stalls
altogether. enjoying life in her own
way. now and then playing with the
horses in most amusing manner Their
play is game of bite and butt. The
horse desires a change OF food, and
Nantes ear tempts him. He takes a
playful nibbie whereat Mamie. protest
ing in tones half 5leat and half grunt.
rears UP on her hind legs and butts the
horse on the nose. This goes OF, until
the horse gets tired, when he gives Nan
ME a hard push with his nose and sends
her out OF the stall dying.
Feeding the Rats.
Even the rats are fed in a racing
stable. This. however, is done withour.
special solicitude for the rats health
Corn is always spread on the floor OF an
empty stall so the rats can get 1t with
ease This prevents their going irto the
loft and eating the oats and cuttips into
the hay.
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

That's a great house." said Allen
to a reporter for The Sunday Times.
You might not think it. but when the
wind is blowing II is as warm as 1t can
be. You see the opening faces west.
so we can sit in there and see a car
coming In plenty of time to change the
switch before it gets TO us. 1t is par
ticularly fine at night. when there is
no sun to help us keep warm"
The switchmen have numbers of visi-
tors every day who come to examine
their little retreat. and many are the
expressions of praise for the architec-
tural beauty Of the snow palace.
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

Frances Sargent Osgood will then be
found. Following is the poem:
For her this rhyme is penned. whose luminous
eyes
Brightly expressive the twins Of Loeda.
Snail hnd her own sweet name. that, nesting.
lies
Upon the page. enErapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the line! they hold a treasure
Divine-a talisman-an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the
measure
The words the syllables, Do not forget
The t-ivislest point, you may lose your labor
And yet there is in this no Goriian knot
Which might not undo without a sabre,
II one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintiIiating soul, there lies perdu
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

bic doors. however. the scene changes
to one of activity. Few living creatures
receive the luxurious care that is be-
slowed upon race horses by good train
ers. In nearly every stable there is
man to every horse, and the men are
kept busy practically from o'clock
in the morning until or O'Clock
at night caring for the petted dar-
lings Of the track. Every good
stable has it's kitchen and it's cook
ano most Of them serve better meals
than one gets at an ordinary restaurant
The horses, too, come in for their share
OF the cooked food, and every night
their troughs are filed with het mash
and other cooked stuff.
Daily Routine of Grooms.
Besides the trainer. who is man of
long experience and good judgment
every stable has its head groom. its
cleaners and rubbers. and its exercise
boys. The daily routine is regular and
is strictly adhered to. In most Of the
stables the men are up at and to
breakfast at 1880. When they finish
their breakfast they feed the horses and
water them. This takes place about s
or $3.50. The next thing on the program
is cleaning the stalls. Every stall is
given a thorough cleaning and the
straw bedding is leveled down. The
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

feet into a mound. When their mound
grew 10 be five feet eight or nine feet
high and twenty-five feet in circum-
ference and was well packed down, they
began eXcavating one side OF it,
Soon they had hole about four feet
high and three feet wide. running back
six or seven feet. In this they cut a
place for their bench and shelf for
their lunch baskets. On the top of the
mound they stuck an American flag.
and their castle was complete
Ii took them about six hours to do the
work.
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

came UP to my wife's bedside little VIII
Mercer to be her valentine. and brought
her name written in gold letters upon
blue paper. done by himself very pref
ty; and we were both well pleased with
it. But 1 am also my wife's valentine,
and it viii cost me es; but that must
have laid out If we had not been valen-
tines"
On the 18th he writes: II find that Mrs
Pierce's little girl is my valentine. she
having drawn me. which I was not sor-
~ for. it easing me of something more
that I must have given to others. II is
also the fashion to draw notices. as
well as names. so that Pierce, who drew
my wife, did also a motto. and the little
girl drew one for me. What mine was
forgot; but my wife's was Most cour-
teous and most fair
Duke of York's Expensive Valentine
At a later date he wrote Of a famous
Miss Stuart. who became the Duchess OF
Richmond: The Duke OF York, being
once her valentine. did give her jewel
Of about ESQ; and my Lord Vaudeville.
her valentine this year, ring OF about
$500
Pepys neglects to mention his present
to Mrs. Pierces little girl" though he
enlarges upon the gifts he and his wife
received; This evening my wife did
with great pleasure show me her stock
Of jewels. increased by the ring she
hath made lately, as my Valentines gift
this year, Turkey-stone set with dia-
monds. With tbs and what she had,
she reckons that she hath above one
hundred and fifty pounds worth of
jewels OF one kind or other; and / am
glad OF it. for it is fit the wretch should
have something 70 content herself
with" The word wretch" as here
used, does not imply that Mrs Pepys
was wretched woman, but was rather
term of endearment
The Poets Tributes.
Shakespeare as well as Chaucer.
Dome, Drayton, Lydgate. and other
poets OF the sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries. allude to this
festal day. In one OF Gray's
poems he mentions the fact OF
the current belief that the FIRST unmar-
Red person OF the other sex whom one
met on St Valentines Day under any
but particularly when
walking out. was destined TO be wife
or Husband. Gray makes a country
dame say:
Thee first / spied, and the first swain we see,
In spite q, fortune shall our true love be.
Among the great variety of occult de-
vices practiced on the eve of ST Valen-
tines Day was one which was sufficient
ly heroic to deserve a favorable re-
Spouse. The anxious maiden must Sc
cure five bay leaves. pin one TO each
corner OF the pillow and the fifth in the
middle. and then the man Of whom she
dreamed would assuredly marry her be
fore the year closed But If she wished
to make assurance doubly sure there
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

was virtue In boiling an egg hard. re-
moving the yoik, and filling the cavity
with salt: this was to be eaten just on
going TO bed, salt, shell and al, without
speaking or drinking after it.
By Edgar Allan Poe.
A quaint and singular poem by Edgar
Allan Poe. entitled Valentine" and
dedicated to Frances Sargent Osgood, is
worthy Of reproduction; to obtain the
sense and meaning of the poem, the first
letter Of the first line in connection
with the second letter OF the second line.
the third letter of the third line. the
fourth letter of the fourth, and so on
to the last, should be read. The name
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

TN 1914 John Dome. a poet and also a
dean of St. Paurs. LONDON. apostro-
Il phized Bishop Valentine thus:
Hail. Bishop Valentine. whose day is this2
All the air is thy diocese:
And all the chirping choristers
And other birds thy psrishioners-
Valentine. who was beheaded in Rome
In the third century, and, being soon
canonized, became, by a strange ming
ling of pagan and Christian rites. the
patron saint Of lovers. whose red-letter
day falls on next Sunday.
The Lupercalia feasts. in honor OF
Faunus OF Lupercus. were heather cele-
brations, and II is believed that early
Christian teachers. in their endeavors to
eradicate the heather superstitions. sub
stituted the names OF particular saints
for Ing especial festival days OF more
ancient pagan observance. As the feasts
of Lupercalia were celebrated in the
middle OF February, the 18th OF Febru-
airy was selected as the day of honor
for St. Valentine. On these saints days
the outlines OF some Of the pagan cere-
monies were preserved, which in a mod
flied form were adopted by the Christian
world for centuries.
A Good Old Saint
An old writer says: st Valentine
was man OF most admirable parts, and
so famous for his love and charity that
the Valentine festival took its rise
from that.
Nilsson. who in 1895 published Travels
in England" wrote: ION the eve of St.
Valentines day the young folks in Eng
land and Scotland. by a very ancient
custom. celebrate a little festival An
equal number Of maids and bachelors
write their true or feint name upon sep
srate billets. which they roll up and
draw by way Of lots. the maids taking
the mems billets and men the maids; so
that each OF the young men lights upon
q young girl that he calls his valentine,
and each OF the young girls upon a
young man that she calls hers. BY this
means each has two valentines: but the
man clings to the valentine that has
fallen 70 his lot rather than the one who
calls him hers. Fortune having thus
divided the company into so many
couples. the valentines give balls and
treats, wear their billets several days
upon their sleeves. and this little sport
often ends in love"
Casting Lots for Their Valentines.
To cast lots for a valentine as de-
scribed was a practice followed until
the eighteenth century by the gentry OF
England; IL became obligatory upon the
man to remain the devoted attendant of
his enslaver through the ensuing year,
and present was to be given at once
70 the choosing party. As this necessity
OF devotion and gift-msking was often
onerous. particularly II one or both Of
the parties were married, II became the
custom 70 bestow a handsome gift,
which released the valentine from OBJ
ligatory attentions. In Pepys' Diary
the following account concerning the
subject may be found:
valentines Day. 1667.-This morning
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

'once day. or maybe only every other
day The head groom snd the rubbers
and exercise boys are around the stables
all day long. At 11:20 or u the second
feeding takes place, and at $50 o.
comes the third At 0 o'clock the hot
The Washington times., 1904-02-07

Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
OF poets, by poets, as the name is poets too.
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto Mendezs Fernando
still form synonym for-TFuth. Cease tryingi
You viii not read the riddle, though you do
the best you can do.
Shakespeare to Anne Hathaway.
Though st. Valntine in the calendar OF
love has had his votar.es in every age
ana cline. no devotea has esung in
sweeter strains than Shakespeare. in the
following stanzas accredited 10 him. and
intended for anne Hathaway:
Is there in heayenne aught more rare
Than thou. sweete nymphe Of Avon fa,Te.
Is there onne c1rthe aymanne more trewe
Than Willy Shakespeare is toe your
Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1904-10-19
HIGH SCHOOL NOTES

The orchestra is now we'll under
way Ito perfection) and the first prac-
tiee will be held tomorrow sitter school.
The debaters are busy gathering
data and facts pro and con the topic:
"Resolved, that the Immigration
Should be Restricted to a Minimum. :"
A league of nine has been organized
but the names of the fortunate ones
are not yet known.
The president of the Sophomore
class called a meeting OF his flock
Monday evening, and Judging by the
amount of braying done the Sopho-
morical tendencies of the individual
members have already been extra
ordinarily we'll developed.
The W. II. or Willmar Handsomes'
society met with Frank Adams last
Monday evening. Light refreshments
were served and splendiferous time
is reported. The only secret about
this society is that it is composed of
IL members and is organized for the
purpose of alleviating and assuaying
the miseries of downtrodden human
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