davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

de Raszke to retire. He showed at his last
appearances here that his Soice was but
little impaired, but he suffered 80 from
re -vousness that he could scarcely drag
himself on to the stage.
Il am the condemned prisoner awaiting
the sentence he said to one who passed
through the wings at the Metropolitan
while he was waiting to make his entrance.
There is never any way Of explaining the
operate nervousness" a singer SAID, be
cause it comes with no reason, nor can a
singer ever know when it will arrive. Some
times one ia perfectly composed until i ia
time for the PERFORMANCE to begin, The
first knock of the caflboy on'the door causes
such a beating Of the heart that it Ia al
most imr o 3sible to catch the breath. The
second knock makes this condition still
worse, and when II IL time to step on the
stage the singer Is likely to be so nervous
that only a ha I'd clutching the throat could
interfere more with singing. This may
pass OFF as the opera advances. " On the
other hand, il may get worse. III a singer
discovers that he is in good voice, he Is
likely to be much calmer. .
IT, however, at the morning. trial OF
the voice the singer realizes he is not at
his best, and if this condition grows no
better during the evening, then he is really
to be pitied. Anybody who has never been
through the ordeal Of such on
the stage cannot form any idea Of its hor-
rOrs
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

In the earliest times when men were only
connoiseurs Of murder and pillage and
women we're merely ohattels, the whole
store Of furniture OF a lord consisted Of a
board laid on trestles for a table, a number
OF benches and stools, a rude chair or two,
a straw bed and q chest. n feminine
charms were extinguished in the clumsy
folds of a gown, a mantle and a headrail.
As the chest was the first piece OF furniture
to express the skill Of the wood carver and
the metal worker, 30 the only outlet for
feminine coquetry was in the rich and beau
tIfully embroidered borders Of their gowns.
Then came the Gothic period, and a coldly
technical writer on historic furniture adj
mits that $50 long "a the pointed arch
remained a vital principle in architecture,
furniture and dress reflected in a greater
or Less degree the Gothic principles Both
showed the same long, slender, stately
lines, with lofty tops and simple tracery OF
ornament. "'
During the Middle Ages the towering
head tire was the striking, feature of
woman'sdress and this became more and
more fantastic at the days of Gothic sim
plicity waned. As furniture was over
loaded with ornament until the original
beauty of line was entirely effaced, 30 were
gowns, though still severe in outline, made
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

parti-colored or covered with devices,
notices and armorial bearings, while the
edges were cut and slashed in the form
OF letters, flowers and leaves.
The women Of the Renaissance, partic-
ularly in Italy and France. exerted a power
full influence on the decorative arts, ana it
is not at all unlikely that these delightful
platonists WHO drew upon every possloie
resource to make themselves charming
considered furniture in the light'of a back
ground as well as in that of a work OF art
At any rate. the furniture and costumes
of this period we're alike rich and sombre,
with massive grace of outline and a sumptu-
GUS magnifcence Of detail.
The Renaissance ended, the whole scheme
of decorative art and costume changed
A lighter note was struck i'll color, ma
terial and ornament, and the flowing line
began to make its way. q.
1t is easy TO find a likeness between the
graceful grandeur Of Louis XIV. furniture
and the formal elegance OF the dress oil
that period, between the rocco furhlture
of Louis XIV. and the ~extravagant prettl-
ness of the ~Pompadour and Du Barry cos
tunes, or between the real return TO SIMPLER
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
COLONIAL FASHIONS, TOO.
AMERICAN RENAISSANCE HOUND
TO AFFECT DRESS.

The women or This Country Likely 10 Re.
volt Against Tastelcss Nodes From
Abroad as Well rs Against IGly Fur.
nIture-GOnnectiOn Betw cen the W
Mr.. Waring. the English decorator now
visiting this country, deplores the fact that
the only effort made mere to improve upon
the lack of harmony in tho better as well
"as the ordinary clae- Of domestic interiors
is by slayishly copying existing styles in
stead of inteligently studying the prin-
ciplesi underlying style, At the same time
Mr.. Waring, who has catered TO or perhaps
directed the taste of kings and ~potentato5.
in this matter, admits that his own trm
works in %thirtv-fye different stvles and
periods Of decorative art. Perhaps, there
fore, We poor. artlesS Americans are not
the only people VINO are addicted 10 slavish
imitation.
But,of course everybody knows the sort
Of thing nc means-Athe house where a
Gothic hall, Il Louis Uuinzo drawing room.
q Renaissance library, a Colonial dining
room and an Empire bedroom strive to live
in Deare un,ier the same roof. A clever
woman decorator h has been struggling
with this problem and 81 the -arne time
battling with Nemesis in the shape of some
thing TO wear" WAS struck l.. the notion
that the diffusion " tas!o aud l1cb OF orig
malay which is 80 notice able in turniture
prevails 10 a-rcutcr eEtcI.t III dress.
The sIqing impOrGtions emphasize more
than ever The fact which" has often been
notod before, that there is no such thing
as a ImF VA ding or positive fashion In dress
to-day. one great French dressmaker is
determined to launch Empire costumes,
another il backing up the v"luIninous
1lUunoiS Of the SeCondflnpire, while the
Louis modes, with a sIrinkiing of Directoire
and 1880 stv es, are patronlzed inturn by all
the creators Of costume Who cannot boast
u single original idea nGollg- the lot. TO-. ,
Our weman decorator alter bordering
thisSc,irious. resemblance Lotween costume
and domestic interiors investigated the
subject and made the quaint discovery that
dress and furniture Ia We always been built
on closely Iert Hell lines. Ii is pretty certain
that COSTUME was never an a~ppendage' to
furniture. hut II is likely that atthose periods
when feminine influence wis all powerful
furniture was to Il certain extent designed
10 conform to costume.
The real reason for the rese mblance, OF
course, is that the great under current or
taste and tanners which influenced the
drift of one affected the other in the same
direction, so infinite is the connection
between people and their household belong
ings. In any case. the resemblance is so
close as to I've patent to the most matter OF
fact and least fancifm of observers,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
$4,000 FOR SAND PALS.
One Item OF Expenditure to Amusc Children
at the Beaches.

Simple as are the little sand pals with
which children play in the sand on the
beaches, they are made in great variety.
There are this season as many as fifty styles
to select from, and every year the manu-
facturers turn out new styles to supply and
to stimulate popular demand.
The little sand pals are made in various
sizes, some in plain tin, japanned or lac
ouered, some stamped or embossed in
patterns, or in ornamental figures or de-
signs. Still others are both embossed
and decorated in colors.
While the pals themselves are machine
made, the lacquered and painted pals are
decorated by hand, Upon the pals other
wise adorned with color the colors are
printed on, as photographic printing is
done. with a separate impression for EACH
color. Among this seasons sand pals
there is an embossed and decorated pail
the color printing on which required ten
impressions.
This highly. ornamental pail ID made to
retail for a quarter of q dollar. The smallest
and simplest of the sand pals retails at
three cents, OF all the sand pals sold, the
great bulk retail at five and ten cents each.
this price including a shovel.
bNSlQtS SUCH. COlOT blOl illitut db lHtY
may have on them 'Tauy sand pals are
stencilled with a name or a motto Of some
sort, as"Coney Island" aside, Victory"
and 50 on. One New York manufacturer
of novelties in tin. who produces among
MANY other things sand pals in extensive
variety, has nearly a thousand stencils
with which pals may be marked.
The greatest market fer sand pals In
this country is naturally in the neigh
borhood of New York, where there il the
greatest population, with numerous sandy
beaches conveniently contiguous; but they
are sold "a well all a-ound the country,
and all over 1t, on the Atlantic. the Gulf,
and the Pacific coasts, and on inland fresh
va ers where there arc summer resorts
and where nature has provided the facilities:
. and the number sold in the aggregate is
great, and the amount Of money paid out
for them considerable.
The seasons make a difference In the sand
pail trade. In wet seasons there are fewer
sold and in dry seasons more. At a
very modern computation the number of
sand rails sold in this country annually
might be set down at half a million, and
it might reach nearer q million. Even
taking half n million as the figure and The
average price paid for them as 10 cents
, we find that there is paid out yearly In this
country for these little sand pals money
amounting TO $50 600.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
Swamped With Stamps.
From The Milwaukee Sentinel

From the MtirdukfC Sentinel,
Pension Agent Coe Is In a Quandary as to what to
do with the postage stamps being sent to him from
all rats Of the Northwest. At the sam time he
Is seriously thinking OF hiring additional help to
take care OF his correspondence. The trouble
arose over n postage stamp. Some time ago d. A.
Man, n notary public OF Wlnona. Mimi. cent Mr..
Coc a batch OF twcnty-thrce pension vouchers
under one cover, on which there was insufficient
postage. In accordance with the rules OF the de.
partment Mr.. Coo notified the notary that the
vouchers would bc held until the two cent due post.
age had been repaid the Government. Instead
OF rcmlttlng MIR. Man wrote his two United States
Senators, every Minnesota Congressman. Prcsi
dent Roosevelt and a leading newspaper OF hs
state. In which lie complained OF the way he had
been treated, and asked for redress. The news
psper article brought results. Since II appeared
Nj. Coe has received many letters, each enclosing
n postage stamp. but al the same time nlled with
strong language against the Governments alleged
m conduct toward old soldiers. Mr.. Coe cannot
accent thr stamps. and his once force is so taken
up with other work that he cannot detail any OF
his clerks to answering these letters and returning
the stamps.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

but costume had this advantage over turni-
ture, that a pretty, modlsh woman always
lends a certain charm to almost any atroctty
she chooses to wear, while a parlor suite
must bear alone the sins of the cabinet
maker and uphJlsterer.
AS has been sid, there was one notable
execution Ia dress to the utter lack OF crea-
tive genius Of the nineteenth century along
these two lines. Tnis was the rough man
nish tailored suit for women, IN us
heyday it found its prototype in the mission
style OF furniture.
Botn we're severely plain, straight, angular
Immediately we'll made, but abhorring
ornament or polish. No two things could
be more alike in general characteristics
Both are extremely good in their proper
place. l.ruh.-
full discoveries Of the nineteenth century
NAV be said to represent the summer girl,
a nineteenth century product, pure and
simple. Both are cool, pretty, allurtng
at the proper season, but not to be relied
on for the winter months.
Admitting tits close connection between
dress and Furniture, there is a lesson in
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
A RTlST CHURCH
n IN LITERATURE.
His First Venture Brought Him $50;
His Last Two Dead Cats
Then He Quit.

F.. S. Church, the artist, was telling n
friend the other day OF his incursions into
the field of literature and their outcome.
In speaking of the rewards he said he feared
that he had begun at the top ard had ended
at the bottom. At any rate, he was quite
sure he had ended at the bottom, for the
last rav he received for a literary efrus!on
was two dead cats.
Mr.. Church described it in this way:
Several years ago the editor Of one of
the large magazines asked me TO write a
piece about my experiences with animals.
| told him i could paint animals after a
fashion. but writing about them was out
of my line and / thought he had better get
some one else to do the writing, for which
| would furnish the notes.
He would not have it so. and after dint
of much effort | produced the article. The
editor said it was fine, and, as / recall it, l
got $50 for it besides pay for the ~illustra-
tons. I thought breaking into literature
was not such bad business after all.
THAT editor wanted another piece, and,
as I remember it, l wrote it, but it did not
suit Shortly after that l got the head
Of a mummy sent to me from Egypt. 1t
had been treated with asphalt.
-One night. under the heat in my studio,
that asphalt got to running and two drops
that looked like great tears trickled down
the face. In the night | got to dreaming
about that mummy and her past and those
tears became real. Weird was my expert
ence with that mummy in the night.
"A day or two later-it was In the early
s~pring-I got up before sunrise to go to
Madison Square to see the first lotus bloom
in the pond. When | got there the police
man on duty said it had been stolen. 1t
was a fanciful idea OF mine to endow that
mummy with fe and have it come back to
earth at night and steal that lotus lower.
Il wrote a story, putting all these incidents
in, and no d it with Illustrations to a weekly
newspaper. / think / got $50 for the story
and good pay for the illustrations. That
was all right too.
Next | wrote one or two things that no.
body seemed to want. One Of them had to
do with animals. and finally l sold it to the
S. p. c. A., 10 be printed in its little publica-
ton, The consideration was two dead cats
from their dead house.
IL needed the cats for dissection. The
society seemed to think my article was
worth two dead cats, and printed 1t, but
did not tell what it had paid for it.
THAT ended my effort in the literary line
The trouble was, | think that began at the
top. / no longer write for print
And then Mr.. Church gave way to an out
burst Of hearty laughter.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
,olved, particularly for the American

volved, particularly for the American
INA =. ...
Mr.. Waring encourages US to take the
Colonial style in furniture, of which he highly
approves, and reconstruct it so as to meet
the social need and domestic conditions
OF the day. The real merit of Colonial
furniture. it may be said for the benefit of
the few who do nc know. lies in the fact
that though English and Continental de
signs were used they were strained through
the seive of fine simplicity, leaving all ex-
t~ravagances behind.
American women used to have the rep
utation of treating the last foreign fashions
In the same manner, but Of late wears when
80 many French gowns are imported. even
by the cheapest shops. this good Colonial
principle has beer abandoned. and one in
tempted to think that French dressmakers
send over their most bizarre connections
lust TO see how much the receptive Amer
lean woman will swallow. She has given
them every reason for this attitude, but
what IL she should arise from the slough OF
her Empire, her Louis and her 1880 modes
and create a distinctlvely American fashion?
She Is bound to do it, too, If, as many folks
think, there is such a thing possible as an
American Renaissance in decorative art,
for dress and furniture always have been
and viii continue to be closely allied.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
UNCLE HIRAM TO HIS NIECES.
He Tells Them What Determined Mr.. B1lJcr
In Ills Choice OF n WIFE.

NV dear ~nieces," said Uncle Hiram,
II am about to tell you a story that l think
will interest you. for l suppose all young
ladies' are interested more or less in the
subject of marriage. this being the story
of hon Algernon Biljer came to choose
a wife.
while he had not exactly been paying
attentions 10 either,y Aigernon bad bee1lI
calling with a sort Of irregular s~teadiness,
IS you might say, on two young ladies,
either OF whom he would have been glad
to ~marry-always provided, OF course,
that taey would havc him-but, honest,
he didn't know which to choose. :
The troa1le was, my dearS, that these
young la,lies were, like you, my dear young
]nieces, equally charming, and it was hard
for Algernon to choose, And so things
ran along. with Algernon continuing to call
on both, for quite some time, until finally
his choice, as so many things are, was
settled by circumstances.
-Algernon himself liked to go to the
tn eatre, and when in the course of time,
as he did, he had become sufficiently well
establishe in esteem in the homes of these
tgo young ladies' to be permitted to escort
them to the theatre, he took them one at q
time. to be sure, And at this stage of 1t
things began to take shape.
When Algernoa calle1 on n OF these
young ladies', Annetta glimpse, to take
her to the theatre, he found her always
ready, while wnel he called for the other,
Mary Binniker, why, sac was always late.
and then he would have to sit and wait
while she finished fixing her tinery.
AT first .Algernon thought that these
things had been so by chance on these oc-
caSions, but after a time he discovered that
they were always so; that Annette was al
WAYS ready, Mary always late.
Miss Binniker was a dream, when she
did appear, and Algernon was proud to be
in her company; but they had to hurry and
scurry to get to the theatre, and sometimes
they were late, and that was disturbing;
while Annetta was Il vision, as well as
Miss Binniker, and then she was always
ready: one could be proud Of her with
serenity.
How otherwise could you expect 1t
all TO end? Algernon married Annetta
Bllmpse.
MY dear nieces. l hate to tell you stories
with a moral. and / rarelv do, for ! feel that
your young lives should not be disturbed
by so much as a troublous thought, and 1t
may be that you never have Thought Of
marrying, in which case. of course. this
story would not apply; but, il you eve do
contemplate 1t, why, when the young man
comes to escort YOU to the theatre, don't,
my dears, keep him waiting; for he might
be another Algernon Biljer."
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

and more restrained forms Of the Louis
XVI. furniture and the rather affected sim
plicity Of dress under Marie A%ntoinette.
In most eighteenth century chairs n
many other pieces the way in which the
lower portion spreads widely from the COM
yaratively small and narrow top presents
an amusing likeness to the narrow Shout
dered, slim wasted, greatly behooped
danes ofthat time.
The resemblance between Empire furni-
ture and dress was a perfectly conscious
and Sophisticated one. The craze for the
antique transformed everything, and
women who dressed like Greek statues re-
CURED s; ateiy couches upon whichto recline
in classic simplicity.
uzanne says a fine lady Of the En-
pire felt hat she must as a matter Of cor
rectness make a daily toilette OF her apart
ments to harmoniHe with that Of her person.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

II she chose Greek attire her furniture must
be Greek; II she dressed in Roman style her
rooms were decorated to match; II she
donned Eastern turban and p~ellsse. at onos
her boudoir glowed with brilliant Turkish
couches and bright rugs. II she rooed
herself like an Egyptian, that instant tho
sphinx, the monolith clock, the mummies
even emerged from their retirement and
the apartment straightway transformed
itself into an Oriental tent"
The Empire marked the last Of the great
historic epochs in furniture, and truly,
the same may be said Of costume with
one exception. The influence Of the En-
pire style was felt as late as 1880, but after
that came the deluge Of limitations and bad
taste.
With a few mitigations there was a long
succession Of uncompromisiagly ugly
fashions in household decoration and dress,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
Recalled the Name at Last.
From Ererpbodv's Magazine.


The stage coach that carries the mail be-
tween Kent's Hill and Reudlleld static in
Maine drew up along the roadside and the
driver accosted a little old man working
In a field.
d you know who Mrs. Abby d. Brown
is and where she lives"
The old man considered. Brown. Abby
B. Brown he repeated. You don't mean
Mrs. Polly Brown. do your"
NO. Mrs, Abby D.. Brown: we've got a
letter for her"
b. you say the middle letter is B, do you?
I know n who'll lot of BROWNE that live on
the other side of the road. but there amt
any Abby Is, among them; You don't mean
Abby B. smith, do you? She lives over
No, it's Abby, b.. Brown, Well md her
somehow. Thanks"
The sta ge driver started his horses. but
before the corner was reached Il faint Hello"
caused the passengers TO turn around he
Brown. Mrs. Abby Il. Brown, did you
say? Why, | know her. She's my wife"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
His Deductions.


7 TVT wv WI VIII VTVF'FV
Some years ago there sat In the House OF Rep
resentatlvcs as mem9cr from Missouri a gentle.
m IN nam ID B'nt)n. According to tho Congress
m m wao tells tao story Mr.. Benton was known az
"ta- Shrcwlcs, and h)nellcst man that the State
possessed al that time"
In his ea'ly GlS, 81 the bar Mr.. Rcnton had.
1. Is said. gon' to Texas for the purpose OF prescott.
lag a lanl claim. lie lost the suit but was so fortu.
nate IS to win an extremely handsome Texan girl.
WAC 400 npi ID him to his Missouri home, AZ
81. Joseph the couple were met by a certain Gen.
Mitchell, a very plain spoken politician. TO whom
Mr., Benton introduced his bride, The old fellow
lock. I'd very much surprised. He stared az Benton
and beamed on te pretty bride. Finally. he could
feprcss himself no longer. so he blurted out.
Mrs. Benton, ain't there any men In TexAsf"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
Secretary Taft and the Stern Waiter.

From the Kansas Ctu Journal.
Secretary Taft said of a certain domineer-
ms stateSman:
lie ILLS men with dread. They quail be-
fore him. They can't call their souls their
own in his presence. Altogether he makes
me think of a waiter | once met in the West.
In n small Western town, many years
ago nut up at the ralace Hotel.
III was assig ed to a room at the Palace
Hotel. IA ere was no water nor towels In
the room and ! rang,
There was no reply.
u rang again.
And again, and again. and yet again |
rang, and tin Ally a waiter appeared.
This waiter was "A robust man al stern
and forbidding aspect.
%Did you rlngf' he said in a rumbling
bass voice.
81 did. | 8nsw cred.
well, don't do it again said the waiter,
9th a menaoing scowL e. he Withdrew"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29

lee toTrtspondenct Springfield Republican.
Friends OF Ho ward Belcher, the superintendent
of the Phelps farm, saw him In town with q strange
woman one evening last week. and It now turns
out that he was stealing a march on the public.
He advertised for a wife and had several Appuca
tons, but none Of them was up to the standard
required for tho future Mrs. Belcher until the woman
In question, Mrs. Estene d. Tucker, became known.
When Mir, Beloher met her there was no ueod OF
looking further. Both the young people were
pleased With prospects and went TO the Methodist
psrsonags az Dalton and were made ona
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
Not Particular as to Their Triple,

Fr0m N" W1ShInQT0n TON'
-The Alaska indians" said r.. II. Buncc OF Seattle.
"are slaves to their appetite for ardent spirits, l
have never known one who wouldn't sell his clothes
10 get a drink OF whiskcy.
1T Is q fact OF common knowledge up there
that they will drink almost anything that has the
faintest trace NJ alcohol. ! have seen them drink
red ink as though It were a most delicious oeVer-
ovr. and they will gulp down %pcriuuery, extracts,
md any sort of bltt.rs they can procure. Even
such a deadly dose as wood alcohol docs not Tighten
them In the least. and they really prefer IL 70 any
other intoxicant"