davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

It is probably true that Russell Sage
cared as little for public opinion in its
personal application as any man who
ever lived. It is quite as likely that
he was correspondingIy insistent on the
worlds good opinion Of his wife. That
she knew how to maintain a position
so anomalous and so dihicult-the life
partner of a man whose millions were
to have and to hold but never to be
spent-is a mighty tribute to her
worth.
Mrs. Sage. whose maiden name was
Margaret Olivia Slocum, is of the line
age of Miles Standish She was named
Olivia after her greats randmoth
Olivia Standish, who was the great
granddaughter of the redoubtable In
dian fighter. She is now an elderly
woman, born in the summer of 1928, at
syracuse, N. Y. Hers is indeed an old
face, but it is both sweet and strong.
There are in it the infallibIe marks of
a strong character and noble purpose
Her eyes, still very bright and most
kindly, reveal the intelligence behind
them. Her snowy hair is coiled neatly
on top of her head and in front falls
over her placid forehead in a row of
half curls, that characteristic couture
of the gentle bred New England
matron
Hers is the character our forefathers
of the middle of the last century found
ideal. It was the age when inteilectu-
atty was not permitted to flourish at
the expense of Difference to old age,
refinement of manner and those strong
domestic virtues which We're esteemed
so important a part Of a woman's per
sonality. It was the pattern which
was held out alluringly to schoolgirls.
with the admonition that it would be
well to follow it as closely as possible.
It was the ideal of womanhOod which
Mrs. Sage has never relinquished. In
an address made to the graduating
class of the Emma Willard seminary
on the fftieth anniversary of her own
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
FIRST CHURCH ORGAN.

April 10 is a memorable date for &c
clesiastical musicians, who claim that
on this day in 7s7 King Pepin placed
the first organ-whfch he had procured
from the Byzantine emperor-in the
Church of st. Cornelius. at Com
piegne. It was a pneumatic organ,
with leaden pipes, played by an Italian
priest. who had taken lessons at Con-
stantinople. But about that time
the king of instruments" was quite
familiar to our Saxon ancestors They
bred some clever organ builders, nota-
bly, the devil daunting st. Dunstan.
who erected an organ with brass
pipes made by himself at Malmes-
bury abbey and presented other
churches or converts with similar in
sfr11nents
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
Soces Baloonng
New York Woman Has Already Undertaken Two Successful Asc

Y IKE the Athenians, always seek
ing some new thing, New
York's smart set having ex-
A hausted the excitement Of
fox chases, four hands and hundred
horsepower automobiles. has turned to
ballooning for its diversion. Socially
above the common herd, the smart set
wants to be above it physically too.
Eight thousand feet nearer the stars
than the proIetariat is the present pin
nacle Of society. and that pinnacle only
DR.. and Mrs. Julian P. Thomas Of New
Y Ork city have reached so far.
The ballooning fad, like most of So
ciety's fads. started IN Paris. They
cali fads "dernier cris" over there
That means last cry The Aero club
of Paris is just little more recherche
than the famous Jockey club. Dukes
and duchesses, counts and countesses
all the haute noblesse. belong to it. and
the aristocracy of the city of light
is up in the air most OF the time The
idea crossed the channel and germi-
mated in London. Then New York. of
course, had to have an aero club and
Comte Henri de la Vaulx was invited
to come over from Paris and found it,
The first ascension under the aus
pieces of the Aero Club of America was
a notable success. DR.. Thomas rose
with the Comte de Ia Vaulx from a
point in upper New York city and took
an aerial sail over the East river to
the country home of a friend on Long
Island. where they dined, returning to
the city afterward by automobile Then
everybody wanted to go up. and, though
the craze was momentarily checked
by the tragic death Of Paul Nocouet.
the sculptor, ballooning as a sport has
become a fixed American institution.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

HE annual appearance of the
sea serpent-for some reason
slightly overdue-is now on
record. Although the pair of
veracious naturalists to whom his
snakeship revealed himself have hesi-
tated long in saying so, they have at
last risen Ike true heroes in their
seats at the recent meeting of the Brit
.ish Geological society and confessed it.
According to their admission. it hap
pened in December of last year. while
they We're standing on the deck of a
yacht of Para, Brazil It was early in
the morning, too-far too early to re-
fer the matter to any surplus of per
ceptive capacity acquired by the lib
eral use of the brandy and soda which
alone enable the sojourner in eoua-
torial South America to see things
whether they really exist or not
Both Of these observers are members
of the geological society in good stand
ing. Their account of the sea serpent
was received by their fellows with con
aicting emotions. To refuse to accent
the detailed report Of their fellow sci
sntists who were quite certain that
they had seen a sure enough sea ser
pent was practically out OF the aues-
ton. Such a course would have been
highly unprofessional, to put it mildly.
There was a great difficulty in the way
Of unqualified acceptance. In 1913. un-
der the leadership of the late Sir Rich
ard owen, the society had discredited
with a good deal of publicity the tale
Of a British naval officer to the effect
that he had seen a sea serpent with his
own unprecedented eyes.
Time may bring its revenges. Pro-
lessor owen may have been wrong. and
e may come to pass that the geological
society viii be obliged to own that its
opinion in the matter of sea serpents
S not infallible. Scientific bodies have
seen compelled to reconstruct their
heories before now and there is every
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

clared that it came out of the water on
fine summer nights and devoured
calves. lambs and pigs. He also states
in one of his accounts of the monster
that it had been known to attack boat
and to devour men. This prelate was
a mighty man in his day and a godly-
It would not have been wise to accuse
him of exaggeration while he was lfv-
ing, but now that he is no longer here
to defend himself science steps in and
insinuates that he cannot be depended
upon.
Rev. Abraham Cummings, an Ameri-
can missionary of over a century ago.
who navigated his own boat among the
islands of the Maine coast. has left US
the record of his experience with a sea
serpent which had infested Penobscot
bay for over half a century. This mon
ster, seen by numerous persons. was
about seventy-five feet in length and
had head like horse.
IN 1919 the Rev. Cheevers Fetch, chap
lain of Uncle Sans ship independence.
saw a sea serpent, and he was not
afraid to say So It was 100 feet in
length, with a motion partly vertical
and partly horizontal. There is no evil
dence that the reverend gentleman was
addicted to prevarication=no evidence.
that is. but this. One Of the most ia
nous Of historical serpents was seen
by Hans Egede, a Danish missionary.
on his voyage to convert the Green
landers- That was a sea serpent worth
while. The dominic declares that when
it raised itself from the water its head
reached above the mainmast of the
ship. When it raised its tail out of the
water its head was a ships length
away.
Another minister. the chaplain of the
British ship London, tells of an en-
counter between three sperm whales
and monster sea serpent which he
saw in 1875. at Zanzibar One of the
whales was finally gripped around the
belly By what appeared TO be two turns
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

can't say that I have regretted it
Mrs. Sage has not read her life away
Her marriage was but the splendid op-
portunity for the exercise of a philan-
thropy that has endeared her to thou
sands. and now that further oppor-
tunity has thrust itself upon her. all
unwelcome and distressing though il
must be. there is nothing to expect from
her but a continuance OF the beautiful
generosity that no one understood bet
ter and appreciated more keenly than
the aged man whose financial opera
tions have given zest to the money
market for so many years
GEORGE H. PICARD.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

nent in the education of American wo-
men and which has ever since held a
secure place in the affections of it's
gr4teful alunna Of 50 many years ago.
It was While she WAS a pupil at this
school that Margaret Slocum first met
Russell Sage. their acquaintance dating
from 184S. They we're not married IN
til twenty wears later some years after
the death oe the millionaire's first wife
After leaving school Miss Slocum be
came a teacher. She was successful
from the start and taught almost con
tinuously for nearly twenty years
Then Mr.. Sage asked her to become his
wife
During the lifetime Of Mr.. Sage it
was always pleasant to hear his wife.s
account of how this marriage came
about. This she was wont to give in
her husbands presence, and the recital
seemed to afford him no end of amuse-
ment. Indeed, he sometimes put in a
word or two occasionally when her
memory Jagged Mr.. Sage was a
widower" she would begin naively.
and in the course of time it occurred
to him that he was well enough off to
have a wife. But who should she be -?
Mr.. Sage, you know, isn't much of q
society man. and he wasn't at all up in
the etiquette of the occasion. He ran
sacked his memory. but for a long
while he could not recall any one who
seemed eligible. Then one day it
CHANGED that he remembered a young
woman whom he had met about TWEEN
ty years before while she was a school
girl Just the one,' he decided. if she
isn't dead or otherwise disposed Of.
.Well, I took pity on him and decided
to save him from worse fate. No.
these wasn't a bit of sentiment con
nected with the matter Mr.. Sage was
a rich man deeply engrossed in bust
ness, and l was a very staid and proper
schoolma'am I just expected to read
my life away with a quiet husband
have been disappointed in that. but
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

Mrs. Thomas made her first excur-
sion into the air from Pittsfield. Mass
last April. Her husband and Charles
Levee, the French professional. went
with her Rising at some points to
an altitude Of 5000 feet, they Travelled
above the clouds for sixty miles, finally
landing in safety on farm at Somers,
in Westchester county, n. 7. 7 could
not begin to tell how delightful was
the experience said Mrs. Thomas aft
er the trip was over. II think I would
to do justice to all I saw and felt It
was a grand three hours. Every min
ute was filed with a new sensation. I
stood up all the time with the excep-
ton of fifteen minutes, when I sat down
literally overwhelmed with the Won
derful vision constantly unfolded be-
fore me- We took pictures of ourselves
and of everything else, I guess. Some
times we were in thick clouds that
We're like a fog: again the earth was
hidden from US, and the next minute
we would be in a vista of sunshine.
Part of the time we sang Ones voice
IS as clear as a bell up in the air. A
few times I felt sleepy, the same sort
of tired feeling one gets in childhood.
One does not get dizzy in a balloon. At
5000 feet in the air the sensation was
positively restful
Large buildings appeared to US as
specks. Between and 6 we lunched,
chicken sandwiches for every course.
No delicacies at a picnic ever tasted
like those sandwiches. When we land
ed I really regretted that my first bal
loon trip was at an end"
DR.. Thomas and Levee have made
many ascensiOns since then in the Mir
Vana. whose gas bag holds 10000 cubic
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

of a serpent At last its head came up
out of the water, its mouth wide open.
The head and tail had length beyond
the coils of about thirty feet. At last
the snake pulled the whale to the bot
tom and no more was seen of him.
In the light of all this clerical at
testation. and a great deal more that is
equally marvellous. is it not tride in
consistent for US to continue to doubt2
In matters of doctrine we take sides
readily and follow implicitly the fine
theological distinctions of our spiritual
advisers Why. then. should we decline
so firmly to accept their deductions
concerning the sea serpent?
JAMES O. WILSON.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
AMERlcAN WoMEN.

"A remarkable list. collected for the
first time. shows that American women
have within a few years gained twen-
ty-three titles by marriages into Eng
fish families. twenty-six German titles,
fourteen. French, seventeen Italian and
six Russian 1t is further estimated
that $50 American heiresses have
brought to Europe in dowries no less
than s1.150.000,o00. or an average OF
1881. 500 each. In Great Britain the
American wives of British husbands
help to control about 1000, 600 acres Of
land
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
AERIAL NAuleArIoN.

A new branch Of railway engineering
is about to be undertaken by a COlora-
do railway company, which proposes to
stretch a heavy cable across the gran
tie gorge of the Colorado river. from
bank to bank. and attach to same a
movable steel cage. in which passen-
gers will be transported The distance
from rim to rim in mid air. as the
crow flies. is thirteen miles. The dis
lance going down the south wall.
crossing the river on the cable and
ascending the north wall is fully
twenty miles.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
The BEAUTIES oF ICELAND.

Those enterprising travellers who
have explored Iceland describe the
country as one of exceptional beauty
Thousands Of glistening mountains,
covered with eternal snow magnificent
waterfalls one of which. the Gullfoss.
is second only in beauty to mighty
Niagara: streams as clear as crystal,
and dashing. roaring rivers. lava beds.
with fantastic figures, covered with
shimmering moss-these and many
others are the natural features that
they rave over. One other great
charm Of the island should be men
toned. This is the extraordinary
clearness of the air. Travellers state
that the human eye can clearly see OBJ
Jects no less than eighty miles distant
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

on Sunday evening they could hear
church bells ringing, though the clouds
We're between them and the churches.
Mrs. Thomas recently made her sec
ond ascension, her first in the Nirvana,
and found it considerably more excit-
ing than the trip from sPittsfeld. Sew
eraI times the Nirvana was near trag-
edy. Roy Knabenshue, the airshfp ex-
pert, acted as skipper. Starting from the
gas works on One Hundred and Thirty
eighth street, New York, the aeronauts
were floating above the city. taking
photographs with their new camera
made especially for birdseye views,
when a crowd of excited east siders
grabbed the end of the 800 foot guide
rope which was trailing from the car
Let go. Let goi" the doctor cried
through his megaphone, but the crowd
thought it was rescuing a derelict and
kept hauling in the rope. The aero
nauts threw out bag after bag of bal
last, and the eyes of the heroic east
siders were filed with sand. Still they
hauled away until the bottom of the
car hit the pavement with bump,
shaking the passengers almost out
The mob was all for taking Mr.. and
Mrs. Thomas and Knabenshue from the
car bodily when the police arrived and
the situation was explained. Released,
the Nirvana shot upward, but stopped
with a jerk because a boy was tying
the guide rope to a hydrant A po
licemans night stick busted the boy
out of the way, and once more the bal
loon was free, but in a moment it had
hit the steeple of st. Cecilia's church
Finally Knabenshue got free from
earthly entanglements, and the aerial
travellers had fine trip over the city
across to Long Island and back to the
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

Hudson. Reaching the river. an anchor
was thrown out, and the balloon swept
so low that twice the car dipped into
the water. Yachts sped to the rescue.
but the balloon rose enough to reach
the other side safely, and descent was
made on grass plot on the Jersey
shore.
Il wasn't frightened at all" Mrs.
Thomas declared 1T was all magnif-
cent" ELLIS SPARKS.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
Il RuccANEERs.

The buccaneers. out of whose deeds
such heroic tales are woven, were
really not pirates, but men under
chosen leader, whose actions and con-
quests We're recognized by the ma
tions. IN their time they made them
selves masters Of several rich towns.
and their last great victory was their
capture of and sack of Cartagena
gaining immense booty in 1897.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11
ZINE COLLECTION

The Due d'OrIeans has a splendid col
lection of sporting trophies. numbering
some 5000 stuffed wild animals, birds
ard reptiles, together with costumes.
arms and curiosities gathered from all
parts of the earth. and a great array OF
heads and horns from central and
south Africa, representing the spoils OF
many a hunting expedition.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

graduation from that institution she
expressed it thus:
"Then to you, young ladies, I com
mend from my own experience of life
the cultivation of manners and sound
common sense. Knowledge is good,
very good, but obedience is just as inn
portant in the foundation of character
and, while independence of thought and
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

sound convictions have wrought we'll
in the worlds growth and development,
character building that has these for
foundations is being forgotten. Char
acter is a perfectly educated viii, not
letting will without education govern
the individual. making deformity."
Mrs. Sage was a poor girl. The panic
of 1897 swept away her fathers prop
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

that to those who have seen them with
their own eyes? Let it be remembered
also that there is nothing exclusively
modern in the idea of a sea serpent. It
is as old as written language. Bible
worthless saw sea monsters, and their
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

contemporary heather brethren saw
them even more frequently. How ar
bitrary and illogical for modern science
to dissent It is. then. familiar with
every species of life in the sea?
There is abundant ecclesiastical
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

erty. never large. His daughter was
brought up to understand and practice
those small economies which are as
educative as they are announcement
Her parents were resolved to give her
a liberal education and sent her to the
school for girls conducted by Miss VIII
lard at Troy. an institution which even
at that early date had become pronni-
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

backing for the sea serpent reality. AS
early as 1855 the archbishop of Upsala
wrote that a very large serpent of a
length of upward of 200 feet and a
diameter of at least twenty lived near
the Norwegian city of Bergen. He de-
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

MONG all the various transac-
tions conceived and carried
~ out to ultimate success by the
late Russell Sage the one
which brought him his second wife
vas the most satisfactory. Dur
ing his lifetime he admitted it on sew
eraI occasions. 1t seems to have been
the one bit of sentiment that he al
lowed to take root in his peculiarly IN
sentimental nature and he had the sat
isfaction of knowing that the whole
world agreed with him on this one
point at least
For it was discovered long years ago
that this man Of millions held in his
possession a treasure more to be de-
sired than all the fine gold he might
ever succeed in accommodating. He,
too. master Of an instinct for acquisi-
ton that was almost marvellous, knew
it and was gratified that it was patent
to all others. Grim materialist that he
was, welded not so indissolubly per
haps, to his millions as to his methods
Of securing them. it added greatly to
his comfort to have for the mistress of
his household the one woman who
could accomplish the apparently i'm
possible feat Of being perfectly loyal
to her husbands interests and still re-
tain the public esteem
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

The Life Partner of a
Man Whose Millions
Were to Have and to
Hold. but Never to
Be Spent--Loyal to Her
Husbands Interests
and Still a Public Fa-
VOrite.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

around them. Even Levee, who
boasts that nothing can accelerate his
pulse. found his heart beating fast .
said Thomas. Flying over Hackensack
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-11

passing above parts of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey en- route. Much Of the
time they We're in the heart Of thunder
clouds. with lightning playing all
Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1906-11-07
FRIoHTFUL FATE.
Patrick Dolan smothered TO Death In
Pit Of Grain.

New York. Nov. 6.-Patrick Dolan,
an employe OF the William Baird Grain
company Of Brooklyn. fell into a pit
containing 1900 bushels OF grain. The
little kernels. rolling against one an.
other like myriad cogs OF a great ma
chine. CROPPED his feet, his ankles. his
legs. HIS knees. crowdlng each ether
like honey-cells. held him fast and
drew him down with a power that was
irresistible. Dolan plunged this way
and that. and tn every step he was
gripped more firmly He called for
help and Petro Amazio. a fellow work
or. went TO his assistance. He threw
a rope to Dolan which the latter seized
so desperately that he drew Amazio
into the pit. other workmen, who had
been to lunch. now heard the outcries
but both men had disappeared when
they reached the scene. A rush was
made for the chutes through which
the grain is unloaded. and unfasten.
ing the covers, the men let the wheat
run into the street Soon Amazio's
body shot down the chute and Dolan's
followed. The latter was dead. hav
ing been smothered. but Amazio was
still alive and will recover.
Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1906-11-07
DREADFUL DILEMMA.
Nearly Starved. Daughter With Moth
er's Body Three Days.

New York. Nov. 6.-Mrs. Mary Don
negan. nearly starved. helpless and en-
during agony from rheumatism, was
found In her rooms. where her aged
mothers dead body had lain for three
days. Mrs. Donnegan and her mother,
Mrs. Catherine Ryan, aged eighty-four.
lived alone In apartments In Brooklyn.
Mrs. Ryan had long been an Invalid
and her daughter. chronic sufferer
from rheumatism. ministered 10 her
as best she could. An attack Friday
crippled Mrs. Donnegan so that she
could not move and while she was in
this condition her mother died.
Mrs. BOnnegan cried for help. but
no one in the sparsely tenanted' house
heard her So she lay. helpless with
her dead until Tuesday. She man
aged 10 reach a window and summon
ed help. MTs. Donnegan was removed
TO a hospital. She is In a critical con
dition.
Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1906-11-07

ri Paso. Nov. State Federation
Of woman's Clubs meets here Nov
q. %. %.