davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
XVI.
"Only an Old Joke"

On the train going home I was nearer
to castle building than at any time since
nv boyhood ca stiles collapsed under the
rude blows Of practical life.
My paths have not always been straight
and open, said to myself; like all others
who have won in the conditions of this
world Of man still thrall to the brute
have had to use the code of the jungle.
In climbing 1 have had to stoop, at times
to crawl. But now that l have reached
the top shall stand erect l shall show
that the sordidness of the struggle has
not untitled me to use the victory. True,
there are the many and heavy political
debts I've had to contract in getting Bur
bank the presidency; and as we must
have a second term to round out our
work we shall be compelled to make some
further compromises. We must still deal
with men on the terms which human ma
ture exacts. But in the main we can
and we will do what is just and right. what
helps to realize the dreams of the men and
women who founded our Countrywide men
and women like my father and mother.
And my mothers grave. beside my fathers
and among the graves of my sisters and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

II have made him Pres de.t,' l thought,
''and it locks as if the presidency had made
him man.
After he finished, Croffut spoke, and
Senator Berwick of Illinois. Then rose a
few calls for me. They were drowned in a
chorus of boots. toots and Kisses. Bur
bank cast Il quick glance of apprehension
at me-again that hidden conviction Of my
vanity this time shown in dread lest il
should goad me into hating him. | smiled
reassuringly at him--and l can say IN al
honesty that the smile came from the bot
tom of my heart. An hour Later, as l pace
him good night, / said
Il believe the man and the opportunity
have met, Mr.. President. God bless you
Perhaps it was the unusualneEs Of my
speaking with feeling that caused the tears
to start in his eyes. Thank you, Harvey.
he replied, clasping my hand in both his;
~ realize now the grave responsibility.
help of every true friend. And l know
what | owe to you just clearly as if she
were here to remind me.
l was too moved to venture rep.Y:
Woodruff and I drove to the hOtel together
the crowd kissing me wherever II recog-
nized me- Woodruff looked first on one
side, then on the other, r1utte-ing at tom
..rrhe foolsr' he said to me. with his abrupt,
cool laugh Just like them, isn't it! Cheer
ing the puppet Kissing its proprietor.
| made no answer-Wnat cld IL mater
Not for Burbanks position and opportun ";
as in that hour of emotion they appea; ca
even to rs who knew politics from behind
the scenes, not for the reality of what the
sounding title of President seems to II" n
would | have changed with him, would
have paid the degrading price ne had
paid | preferred my own posltlon-t
had bowed the knee, at least it was not
to men AS for Kisses, l saw in them
certain instructive tribute to my power
The mob cheers it's servant, Kisses IT'S
master. a.,
Doc" said T. do you want to go to the
Senate instead of Crofut?
Bv the flames of the torches on either
side | saw his amaZement. Me- he ex-
claimed why, you forget I've got
past" 800
Il do" said l. land so does every one
else. All we know is that you've got a
future. ,.,
He drew in his breath hard and leaned
back into the corner where the shadow
hid him At last he said. in a quiet. earn
est voice: you've given me self-respect
senator l can only say-lll see that yc"
never regret it,.
l was Kissed roundly at the hotel en-
trance. between cheers for Cronut ana
berwick, and even for Woodruff But l
went to bed in the most cheerful, hopeful
humor l had known since the day scar
borough was nominated. AT any rate
so / was thinking-"my President, with
nv help will be a man..
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
CALIFORNIA; Forests
From the Sacramento Union.


In the matter of forest preservation Cali
fornia is once more in her rightfuI position
OF pioneer and the possessor of a forestry
service with its fully-qualified officials and
its rules and regulations for the proper car
rytng out of its objects. 1t seems that the
state had a forestry bureau long ago, long
before the federal authorities had recos-
nZed the Importance of the work and the
service that is now in full and useful ac-
tivity is actually a revival of the earlier
movement that was allowed to disappear
The duties of the new service are onerous
and responsible. The state forester who
has entered upon his duties within the last
few days, must make public the forest
laws, and he must cause the forestry notices
to be displayed wherever necessary. He
must see to the safeguarding of the forests
and secure the cooperation of the boards
of supervisors to that end and he must
take whatever precautions are necessary
against fires and for the regulation of camp
ing parties and holiday makers, whose
carelessness is responsible for SO large an
amount of damage in the past.
The larger part of the California forest
area is now included in the federal reserve
and this somewhat simplies the task of the
state authorities, who are, of course con-
cerned only with the forests that are not
so included. The state may now congratu-
late itself on the complete protection that
will be extended to its lumber wealth.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

dence. Those who wear them show assur-
ance and sangfroid In circumstances
where without them they would be other
wise troubled and powerless. Henri Du-
may. the playwright, was travelling last
year in the mountains of Greece. The
stage coach horses baked on the very
edge of precipce, and the party was
saved only by the prompt act of young
Turk, who leaped from his seat. braced
wheel with big stone and then Gained
the baking animals on the verge OF the
abyss.
Il have done no act of courage" he
said, In reply to the thanks of everybody;
Il did not risk my life at all. l wear an
amulet that protects me from accidents.
Establishments Medal.
For that matter. take the practically
analogous case of Santos-Dumont and the
medal of st. Benedict. 1t was presented
to the young Brazilian in the early days
of his airship experiments by the Com
tesse d'Eu-just after he had fallen from
on high into the Rothschild park. next
door to her villa.
The daughter of Dom Pedro said to San
tos: Wear this medal always on your
person. 1t will protect you from acct
dents"
thing of the individual medals history;
how, for example, a Braganza prince in
1115 discovered and defeated a plot
against his person two weeks after he
cases. Passing over centuries, she told
how she had herself crossed the Atlantic
eleven times in safety while wearing it;
then how, once, on the little Lake of
Enghien, near Paris. while visiting the
Princesse Mathlde, the sailboat capsized
all but drowned her, with the result of a
pneumonia. That day, by hazard, she had
neglected to wear the medal,
/ do not know whether Santos believed
In 1t at the start; but after dozen hair
breadth escapes in dirgible ballooning he
came to respect the medal more md more.
The ComtesSe d'Eu did not present ii to
him outright is a Braganza heirloom;
she only bade him wear it; and some day
he must return it to her.
Well, now you shall know why Santos
has done so little dirigible ballooning
during the past fifteen months. When he
went to 81 Louis the medal did not go
with him What he wore attached to the
chain bracelet or his wrist was another,
bought in haste from a Paris numis-
matist. The true one had been stolen
from his coat pocket while he was work.
Ing in Paris machine shop.
When lis balloon was so mysteriously
cut up in st. Louis he began to wonder.
Returning to Paris he was burned on the
face and left hand by new motor taking
fire Then he fell from a friends auto
mobile and limped for month
Three is a perfect number. With the
third accident Santos got the 'frousse,
as the French say, and slowed up on ex-
perimenting. He never ceased Offering re-
wards for the return of the medal and no
questions asked. Time passed. Then all
at once, three months ago, the medal
came to him by mail without a word of
explanation. The same week Santos set
to work upon new airshipi
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

in platinum and gold according to the
formula of De Meroff; the swell Paris litho-
technician.
Note that 1t is a brand-new chrysoprase,
not even one recut; and here we strike an
essential quality in talismans in precious
stones. They must be new, not to have
come under any bad influence-such as hay
ing been worn by a sick person or one pur-
sued persistently by bad luck. There is
here special kind of hoodoo, whose effects
may last long time.
Take a chrysoprase that passed success
sively into the possession of Marie Stuart,
Marie Antoinette and the Empress Eugene.
1t had come originally from the Duchesse
d Etampes, who died suddenly in 1876 after
a curious series of msfortunes. You know
the atrocious ill-luck that struck each or
the three queens who wore 1t after her. The
ex-Empress Eugene long smiled at the
superstition; but in these later days, when
she passed through Paris In 1904, she pre-
scented the unlucky ring to the Museum OF
the Louvre. where it may be seen by any
tourist who has patience to hunt for it.
The turquoiSe-to give another example
ought to be doubly beneficent to the car;
because, generally, 1t protects against V1o-
lent deaths, assassinations, shipwrecks, etc.
and, in particular, it has always been con-
sidered the stone particularly indicated to
the imperial family since the early days
when they were only princes of Muscovy.
Yet the dowager empress has persuaded
Nicholas at last. to throw into the depths
of the wood behind Tsarkoeselo a tur-
quoise of superb and almost unknown
blue star shaped instead of round, and set
In pink diamonds. Two years ago 1t was
presented to the car by one of his Tartar
khans, in whose family 1t had remained as
a relic of the traitor Hlmelschetschi. Did
some influence evil to the house of Russia
cling to it from that man of blood? NO
sooner had il come into the cars posses
sion than his misfortunes began. 1t would
surely be significant if the imperial luck
should turn, now that he has dispossesscd
himself of it.
l will now give you the example of a
lucky precious stone talissman-together
with what the consider in Paris the es-
sential requisite. 1t is ring-of uncanny
new art design, like all the others-worn
for the past three years by the young
Duchesse Dues. She was born on an
April g. 1t is, therefore, garnet circled by
six little rubies. and is worn on the little
finger of the left hand,
Remark first, the cabalistic number 7.
Seven stones, birth the Sd day of the 4th
month, plus 4 equals I. The garnet signi-
fies loyalty, love and charity, having the
tendency-when it becomes talisman-of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

twelve stones above named are the only
ones corresponding to signs of the zodiac
and months of the year, and, consequently
susceptible to numerical calcula tons. But
Parlsians, rioting in new art jewelry, take
in far greater range Many of the addi-
tlonal stones have traditional qualities and
some even have their proper images for en-
craving.
Have you ever seen a French old maid
When she has drowned her favorite cats
new batch OF kittens tie necklace of corks
strung on ribbon around the bereayed
mothers neck to aid her to dry her milk :?
Every French child knows the tip Well. in
IN same way the wearing of a necklace of
crystals is known to increase the yield of
milk OF wet-nurses, while a diamond neck
lace cures barrenness in women-iust as a
necklace of amber cures sore eyes in chill
dren. The beryl, engraved with a frog
acts as love ralisman. Dip it in the drink
ing water OF the person you desire to love
you. On the other hand the ONYX en-
greved with the head of a camel procures
frightfnl dreams, or coming misfortunes
and these only
On what principle do they work? Not
all the Parisians who wear them with
such confidence are versed in occultism
The kabbala-that Arabic and Jewish
abyss of misty occultism--assimiIate in
ert nature to living organic nature and
saw woodworking connections he
tween the names of things in Hebrew and
Arabic and the things themselves and
made numbers interchangeable with
names; but the Parisians do not delye so
deep They are satisfied when the tails
mans prepared for them work practically
Two things are certain in this connec-
ton The first concerns the mass of cases
that believers can cite to you. For ex-
ample, to call the escapes of the Duchesse
Dues so many condolences Is not per-
fectly satisfying. The second certain thing
Is that their talismans beget them conf
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
Passig of Ancient Boston Toulouse.
From the Boston Transcript.


For the paltry sum of $25 the old toll
house, one of the many relics of bygone
days in the city of Cambridge. which dur
ing its existence has held probably many
thousands of dollars has been sold. The
house stood for more than a century at the
Cambridge end of the West Boston bridge.
but during the past few years had been so
BADLY in need of repairs that it was more
of an eyesore than thing to be admired
as l-aving been handed down by our fore
fathers.
The house had been in disuse since 1858.
and from the appearance of it at the time
of its demolition, one might readily be-
lieve that no repairs had been made upon
it since that time. 1t is probable that, so
great was the rejoicing when the West
Boston bridge was made free" bridge.
there was no place in the hearts of Cam
bridge citizens for sentiment, and none
arose in the hearts of their descendants
to prompt them to preserve the old land
mark. The dollhouse was fist used when
the West Boston bridge, known as the
Great bridge" was completed in 1893. No
person was allowed to pass over without
first visiting the dollhouse to pay the pit
lance which was demanded of him. In
1903 Moses Hadley was made the toll col
lector and continued in that capacity until
1853, when the bridge was made free"
bridge
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

talismanc on being mystically engraved
Here perhaps, one secret of the fad APP
pears, because engraved stones have, IN all
epochs, been objects of delight to cultured
persons. The engraving OF medals ana
precious stones Is one of the French four
enough during the past quarter OF cen
fury TO now burst out again. Another e$-
PLANTATION Is the extraordinary favor OF the
new art jswelry of fantastic design ana
wide range of colors 1t eagerly uses an
kinds of forgotten and little known precious
stones, even of the second and third cate
gories like the many kinds of agates, the
cornelian, the moonstone, the amethysl'
the garnet, the malechte, jade chrysonte
and even coral. Now these-or many Oh
them-are the very stones to which tne
cabalists and ancients had attributed sucn
mystic virtues Most of them engraVe
beautifully.
In the first place. note that the stones are
regularly not engraved with their CORE,
spending zodiacal signs; but If 1t Is wisheo
to combine in one stone the virtues OF tWo
the Zodiacal sign of one of them Is often
engraved upon the other. The engraved
characters here given date from immense
antiquity. For example, when the TOMB OF
Charlemagne was opened something IKE
half century ago at AiN-la-Chapelle there
was found suspended to his neck a tallsman
composed of an emerald of great Size en-
eraved with the image of sparrow. But,
for that matter, prehis toric man, OF the
Stone Age, wore talismans and knew some
of the engraved signs, because among those
found in the excavations of Sept-Fons IN
France, was disc OF jade engraved Win
its proper bull head.
The sapphire which should be engraved
with the image of a ram, cures infamma-
ton of the eyes The amethyst preserves
frcm drunkenness when worn in a belt
round the stomach. A bear should be en-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
XIV.
An Hour CT Emotion.

An Hour CT Emotion.
1t was after midnight OF election day be-
fore we knew the result. 81 close were the
two most important doubtful states.
Scarborough had swept the rural dis
tricts and the small towns. But we had
beaten him in the cities where the ma hines
and other purchasable organizations were
powerful His state gave him 1900 plu-
rality, Burbank carried his cwn state by
less than 100oo-and IN twenty-four years
our majority there in presidential cam
paigns had never before been less than
10000
BY 30 the whole cap.tll city knew that
Burbank had won. And they focked and
swarmed out the road 20 MS modest re
treat, until perhaps 20 ESQ }eoplc were
shouting, blowing hc.rs, singing. sending
up rockets ard Roman CeHC.cs. burning
red fire, lighting bonfreS in and
near the grounds. had come
down from FredCn!a to be in instant touch
with Burbank and the whole national ma
chine, should there arise al the last minute
necessity for boa and swift action. When
Burbank finally yielded To the moo -
showed himself on his porch with Us. his
immediate associates. about him, I for the
first time unresSrvedly admired him. For
the man inside seemed at last TO swell
until the presidential pose he had so long
worn prematurely was filled to a perfect
fit. And in what he said as VOL rs in the
way he said il there an unexpected
dignity and breadth and force.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
AUTOMOBILES AND GOOD ROADS.
Influence of the Horseless Wagon in
the Making of Highways.

tAC Gh1ohliS VI AAiSh
From Outing Magazine.
The browning glory of automobile tour
ing, however, lies in the demand it has
created in all parts of the world where
motor cars are being used for pleasure or
business purposes for good roads. Here in
America the good roads movement within
recent years has become question of ma
tional Importance. With the exception OF
a few states, notably New Jersey and Mas
sachusetts, the subject of better roads was
the last thought that gave the legislators
the least particle of trouble. The Automo-
bile Club of America in its younger days
expended tremendous amount of argu-
mentative energy in endeavoring to con-
vince the lawmakers of New York that
money expended on good roads was a good
business investment. Their appeals brought
out a few thousand dollars, somewhat
grudgingly given. Finally the generous
sum of 100000 was appropriated. and at
the forthcoming election a constitutional
amendment will be presented to the voters
providing that the state may bond itself
for 100000 for ten years for the building
of improved wagon roads.
Agitation has been productive of similar
good results in other states. Gov Dineen
OF Illinois gave a marked Illustration of
the growing demand for better roads in
the west When, IN MS last message, he
made strong plea for the expenditure of
more money and careful thought upon road
building. His statement that barely 2 per
cent of the Illinois roads were suitable. for
traffic at all periods of the year was no ex-
aggeration and scores of other states could
show no higher average. Departments of
highways have been established in Cali
fornia, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi. Mis-
souri,, oregon, Tennessee North Carolina
Nebraska and in several of the eastern
states in which the good roads movement
has languished. Florida recently appro-
priated 100000 for good roads and It Is
confidently predicted that within a short
time there will not be a state in the Union
that will not manifest a just pride in the
increasing mileage of it's serviceable roads
good all the year round.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

drawing these qualities from others toward
the wearer. Also 1t protects from death by
fire. Combined with the ruby, 1t protects
from all violent deaths except by water.
To secure complete immunity two of the
rubies should be replaced by two tur-
quoises, but the effect would be so I'M
acious that the young duchess has hesi-
tated.
Now look how this particular talsman
worked. Since wearing 1t the duchess has
made nine free balloon ascensions III her
own balloon from the grounds of the Paris
Aero Club, has descended into a gold mine
and a coal mine, has passed unhurt through
two automobile accidents, one fire and
runaway horse.
A Jewel Calendar.
You understand, of course, you cannot
simply order a garnet surrounded by rubles
and count on the same kind of protection.
Paris lithotechnicians make abstruse cal
culatons for each particular case; but there
are certain bases for such calculations that
may be here given. For example, there are
twelve basic precious stones which, from re
mote antiquity. have corresponded to the
signs Of the zodiac and the months of the
year. One point of departure is-'as was
done for the young duchess-to combine IN
q mystical number stones of various spe-
cific virtues one of which refers back 10
the birthday of the subject.
The twelve stones are:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
TAILS MANIC GEMS
Paris Said to Be Mad on the
Subject of Jewel Amulets.
OCCULTISM REVIVED
ENGRAvERs OF PRECIOUS STONES
ARE IN DEMAND.
Queer Stories Told of Dangers Averted
by These Marvellous Charms
Santos Dumont's Experiences.
OCCULTISM REVIVED

Special Correspondence of The Star.
PARIS, August TO- 1905.
Parisians wear talismans and amulets.
The fad has grown to such proportions that
three persons out of five you meet attribute
occult virtues of a curiously definite char
acter to some engraved stone worn in
ring, or other out-of-the- object, which
they never quit an instant.
Do you know what a chrysoprase is? The
Princess of Bulgaria wears one, mounted
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
Maidenhair Fern.

Fronds of maidenhair fern. If fully ma
tured. may be kept ten days or a fort
night If laid In the folds Of a damp towel
This Is the method employed by florists
for keeping cut ferns, and 1t Is far more
successful than the usual one Of immers-
ing the fronds In water.