davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

specially frequent among the ancient rural no.
bility OF Sicily. Sicily is full of old feuda es-
tates carrying titles which date back six or
eight centuries. Any one who buys the estate
not the family Many of these estates and
titles held by families which have bought
them at some time since the title was created.
but many also are held by the descendants of
the original feUdal lord whom the land
given in the tenth or twelfth century. Rural
Sicily Is full Of princes. counts and barons.
whose titles perfectly legal and perhaps
very ancient but who in America would be
simply farmers with very large farms which
they rented out on shares. Half of everything
the poor Contadini raise must go to the owner
OF the SOIL which is the reason why many
of these same contadini anxious to go 10
America. When remembers that in the
season he can get dishpan full of lettuce for
one cent in Sicily, or dozen artichokes.
two or three summer squashes, beautiful
cherries for three cents a pound figure
up that after the prince has got his share of
the proceeds the peasant hasn't much left
ConCetta's corrcdo has led far afeld The
connection is that this ancient rural nobility is
far more provincial, conservative and welded
10 ancient customs than the young professional
and business men and the skilled workmen OF
the large cites. These latter form the modern,
up-to-date element in Sicily, and they are be-
ginning to laugh at their women folk for bury
ing so much labor. time and money in the cor
redo. But in the lovely old Gothic palace of
some rural prince, standing on the grassgrown
street of some little ancient walled city big
enough 10 house a regiment, the weedgrown
walls which inclose the great paved courtyard
containing hundreds of empty, deserted rooms
may be that the bride brings her sixty
eighty or hundred corredo to-day Just as her
great grandmother did.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE DOTA
ConCetta's cOrredO If purchased in it's present
form would cost good many dollars. 1t is the
labor expended on it which makes 1t valuable
but even the cost Of the raw materials is a con-
siderable sum for her father TO spend Con-
cetta would not have had nearly as fine a cor
redo if she had not had a brother to give her
occasional money and presents toward It. ST.
Gillian brothers very rood and thoughtful
about this. They consider it duty to the
family. young Sicilian sitting in his fathers
house would never think of rising TO get him
self drink of water. He would tell his sister
TO get 1t. She will clean his shoes also. brush
his clothes and wait on him hand and foot. On
the other hand. he will buy her gold earrings.
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

they are fond OF animal food they like fruit and
vegetables, too, being able to exist for a
time as Yegetarians II the supply OF animal food
fails. In the country around this favored home
roots of different kinds. and in spring there are
all the delicious young buds on the trees, which
make the daintiest dish imaginable SO. you see
there is danger that the family VIII lose It's ap-
petite because of monotonou5 diet
At first glance there Is not much In this picture
of an apparently aTectionate family group TO sug-
eest thoughts OF fear but IL Is the less true
that this worthy mother and her relatives have
inspired more feelings Of terror in the human
breast than any other wild beast in America. The
first of the race took possession, nobody knows
when of almost the entire range OF the ROCKY
Mountains and of some parts of the country be-
tween those mountains and tho Pacific, and their
descendants among the greatest dangers
early explorers in those parts encountered Nearly
a hundred years ago these animals received the
name of grisly bears, grisly being an old word
meaning horrible, terrible frightful. Learned
people translated this namo into Latin and still
speak of the animal Ursus horribilis. but ordi-
nary people have become q little confused on the
subject and have changed the word srisly to griz-
zIy which means grayish. 1t is rather unfortu-
nate that this change has been made, for II makes
IL a little more difficult for the learned and un-
learned TO understand each other, and the word
grizzly does not describe the bear very accurately,
as it's coat varies considerably in color and though
II IS sometimes grayish. it is often blackish
brown.
ANY one who looks at the picture closely can
the long claws which in full grown grizzlies
from four TO seven inches In length. and capa-
ble of doing terrible injury TO any creature that
comes into unfriendy encounter with them.
Even In the baby bears the claws be quite
clearly SEEN They long that they cannot
he hidden among soft cushions when they are not
needed as our pet kittens hide their claws, but
must be kept In evidence even when their owners
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07
Mother Grizzly and Her Children.

The Tribune is glad 10 bo able to give to its
small readers to-day the picture OF a quiet hour in
a bear nursery. The two youngsters have romped
and played until they tired. and that they
quietly sleeping It is a good chance for their
mother to get some rest, too. So is kept
busy looking fter the children. for their father.
according TO the custom OF the bear kind, has left
them entirely her care This particular mother
has been fortunate find "A home where all
the necessities and the luxuries OF life
convenient possible 1t is far from the haunts
OF men. and there is plenty OF game for her
and her family for the catching and there is a fine
river not far away which is well stocked with
salmon. This river is perhaps the best thing about
the place. for. OF course the bears must have
water 20 drink and then they do love salmon, and
every well educated bear is expert fisher
there is scarcity of the decacy In this home
But bears Ike varied bill Of fare and although
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07
The Corredo Of the Sicizfar Girl.
Often of Pieces Form Her Making
w hich She Years

NO other ornament compares in the least with
it The women would rather have earrings than
rings, pins, bracelets, necklaces or watches, and
they would give up all these rather than resign
their earrings. No woman in the whole island
is too poor or too rich to wear them. They
placed in the ears of newborn babes and among
the peasants even men are found wearing them.
-FOUR CORREDO."
A -four corredo" would be an extremely mod
est one. suited to very poor girl. To show the
extent to which the idea is carried the outfit of
may be described. The father earns $25
month. One son is a workman in the factory at
SO a month and has married a carpenters
daughter. The girl and her sister have never
been wage earners, because there is practically
no way in which they could earn money except
ing as household servants and they of a
class above that. These people not. in fact,
reckoned among the poor in the place where
they live, city of sixty thousand inhabitants.
They are OF the respectable and prosperous mid
die class. Concetta is engaged to mason, to
whom she Will be married in a year or SO and
shssand her younger sister are employing
all their spare time on the corredo. 1t is a
twenty corredo" There are twenty of each
undergarment, twenty pairs Of sheets and the
same Of pillowCases besides five tablecoths,
two sets of napkins and various odd pieces. like
table and bureau sCarfs. sofa pillows. window
curtains and other things which the bride
make herself The finished articles are laid
carefully away in Of those great old wooden
chests four five feet long. two wide and three
high, still found in all Sicilian houses although
the wardrobe has taken its place in the shop
OF the present day Cahinetmaker. In old palaces
OF the nobility these chests are encountered,
carved and decorated with all the art of the me-
diaval craftsman. In poorer homes they are
plain painted boxes, but with something quaint
and attractive in their form, there almost
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

snowy perfection of laced and embrod-
cred linen. tufted counterpane and flowing
curtains. the bed is of noble height and i'm
posing proportions. The beds always clean.
and. barring the lack or springs always COM
Portable. Even polking about queer, sleepy little
old Sicilian towns, far from the railroad. where
a tourist Is event, one will almost always
find clean beds at hotels, no matter what else
is lacking. The most comfortable of beds, with
modern springs and snowy, fragrant linen, will
be found at hotels in which the toilet accom-
modations are unspeakable, the two features
being characteristic of Sicily Whatever else
Sicily lacks. 1t has abundant pure air and
strong, brilliant. dazzling sunshine. II has also
laundry soap at four cents a pound, made of
pure olive ola finer kitchen soap than any
American housewife is privileged to Clothes
washed with this wonderful soap and hung ont
to bleach in Sicily's wonderful sun come out
white the driven without a bluing
and smelling deliciously of and air
ONE HUNDRED SUITS OF UNDERCLOTHES
To return to Concetta's corredo of the twenty
wear and trimmed with stout edging and
embroidery that will stand many washings But
eight OF these suits Concetta never expects to
wear unless she is i'll or dead. They are trimmed
with great yokes and bands of the most ex-
quisite embroidery. handsome pillow lace, drawn
work and other fine and delicate needlework.
The pillow which match these have bands
eight inches wide of the same trimming across
the ends. with lace four or six inches wide
below. All these things will be laid carefully
away in the great chests, sprnkled with laven-
der to grow yellow with time and never be used
except on extraordinary occasions. They are.
In fact. simply for show, a sort of mark of caste.
If ConCetta did not have these useless things
to lie packed away there would be criticisms,
especially among the women. OF her husbands
family. Often, so inordinate is the pride in the
Corredo. that the bride will make nearly all of
II of these fine. delicate things which too
good to wear. They will be laid away during
her whole life, great boxes of them, While within
a year two after the wedding her husband
must buy her things for everyday use.
Among the wealthy. corredOs of sixty, eighty
and one hundred are frequent one hundred
pairs of sheets and pillow cases, one hundred
suits of underclothes to lie in great boxes and
moulder away until they drop TO pieces at
touch. string of wagons each loaded with
chests, will bear such Corredo TO the brides
new home, everybody in the streets through
which 1t passes watching the procession and
counting the boxes with the most intense in
terest. These immense, old time corredos are
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

always is In the shape of every common article
in Sicily, where things of daily still
made by hand in exactly the shapes used by
the Greeks in this island three thousand years
ago.
To see the contents of Concetta's capacious
wedding chest taken out one by one is an
tightening illustration of the difference between
Sicilian and American girls and Scilian and
American customs. Every article is trimmed
with elaborate handmade lace embroidery or
both. One solid year of Concetta's life went 10
the making of the handmade lace. crocheted or
knit, on the corredo. This year, however. was
scattered over eight ten for at the age of nine
ten she began to make this lace for her cor
redo Every little Siclan girl does the same.
1t must be rather sad in later years TO inspect
the great rolls of II If the unknown lover never
appears. In each pair of sheets the top one is
trimmed with lace edging and further decorated
with elaborate embroidered monogram. Most
of them are embroidered in white, but some
in scarlet. pale blue. pink or lavender and there
pair of pillowcases and a-suit Of under
clothing TO match each color
Pillows and mattresses throughout Sicily
stuffed with sleeps wool. raised and sold for
the purpose in each locality One of the pecul-
lar things about Sicily is the way each locality
supplies its own wants-the lack Of that dOmes-
tic commerce which penetrates to every corner
of the United States. Concetta has a pair of
heavy white cotton slips to hold this WOOL hand
some pillowcases TO put over these and then
richly embroidered "shams' TO hide the en-
broidery and lace beneath. She has made
eral beautiful white tufted counterpanes, sub
stantal enough TO last lifetime and trimmed
with long. heavy knOtted fringe. She has also
crocheted an elaborate bedspread OF worsted
yarn But there is still further decoration
necessary for every Sician bed possessing any
self respect whatever. This is the bed curtains.
exactly like those of Colonial America. These
draperes "paviglioni'' the Sicilians call them.
from the same word pavilion" always
handsome and expensive as the bride can
afford Concetta has two each one large enough
furnish the entire drapery for large bed.
They are of hand made "allover" lace. and each
consumed all Concetta's spare time for
year. The bed itself, as we'll as all its furnish
ings IS invariably supplied by the wife.
Sorry and shamefaCed would be the bride who
could not bring the bed. Throughout Sicily the
beds, except among really we-to-do people
are without springs. The frame is always OF
iron, painted black and adorned with bright
little floral designs. Boards are placed on
the frames, and two thick mattresses
the boards. When built up 10 all it's
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

~. m 2 husband the most important thing
=. 5;fe 10 Sicilian girl is her corredo. She be-
1..e in childhood 10 think Of it, for her earliest
s.rc,,gorl1 is put into her hands with the in
.rc,i,n TO make il for her corredo. The cor
..do is the trousseau but it is more than the
,-onsseau. for it includes the bed. all the bed
furnishings and al the household linen II is
., extremely difficult thing for SiciIian girl
IN be married without a ''dota." The dota is
NJ two kinds-the dota proper, which is cash
~ real property, and the corredo. If a girls
fa-ber mas actually no money TO give her she
r,ust needs marry without it, if she can, al
though it IS remarkable how people in very
humble circumstances - shoemakers. coopers,
fishermen and the like-will manage TO scrape
together little dota for their daughters. But
even if she has no dowry the girl positively
must have little corredo. II would be dis
grace for her TO marry without it, and the
family men well as women. will cheerfulIv
starve 10 give her a few sheets and pilIowcases
The corredo IS called a "corredo quattro.' a
"co-redo a sei' and so on, according TO the
number Of pieces. In tie first, which wouId be
translated a -four corredo." there would be four
pairs Il sheets, four pairs of pIllowcases. four
quits Of underwear throughout. and in earlier
days four pairs OF earrings, funny as NAV
seem the point OF view which considers the
bride IN need Of as many pairs of earrings as
Of sheets. But the present day Sicilian girl has
better sense OF proportion, and the number
Of her earrings is not forced to correspond with
that Of the more necessary articles. It is not
likely, however. that any Sicilian girl could have
too many earrings to suit her taste 1t is diff
cuit for the foreigner 10 comprehend the over
Whe-nlng importance OF the earring IN Sicily.
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07
WIVES WHO NEVER SPEAK.

The Corean woman VINO speaks mods on Ref
wedding day Immediately becomes object riteSs
and loses caste Neither threat prayer must
her, FOR the whole household the alert 10 catch
single mutteTe syllable. Her period silence often
lasts week and when complete silence
broken only her for most necessary
some sSty years native Of Pennsylvania under
took OF 800 remain mute for the first
month her marriage Her husband, being in the
secret left her. only later. when he ap
pIised Of the real reason Of her silence
Brussels couple named Dupont quarreiled bitterly
wedding that wife vowed that her hus-
should her voice again His entreatte5
for nothing 10 her dying she kept to the
letter Of her oath
A Brunn whose husband IN hiding from
authorities inadvertently betrayed his whereabouts 10
a police AS a result. the taken and re-
ceived OF imprisonment much did she take 20
misfortune, brought about her gossip that
remain mute the end OF her Hfe-Tit
Bits
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

help to make up her dota. and If she does noe
marry will cheerfully support her for the rest
Of her life after their father dies.
The devotion To the corTedO is something in
expHeable TO the American woman For in
stance, two daughters Of a small tradesrnan
were lowered with $1,000 a piece This is a
pretty good dowry in Sicily Tt means as much
as $4,000 in America II represented self-sacrf-
flee on the part of the family and made the
girls modest heiresses. But tHo-thirds Of each
doWry was put into cOrredOs exactly alike and
not including even furniture for the house. but
only the traditional household linen. clothes and
various articles which might be Classed under
the name of fancy work The Judgment which
expends $500 in things of this kind and reserves
only $500 in cash is inComprehensible to an
American. The whole family was interested IN
the cOrredos. They were the absorbing arnbi-
ton Of the mothers life. and both the fiances
were reminded over and over again Of the rich
ness Of the cOrredos brought TO them.
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

are in peaceable a state of mind as possible
When the baby bears grown up either of
them Will be able. by means OF It's claws. its big
teeth and its great strength to kill and Off any
animal whatever its size. that It may select for
meal And yet there Is thing against which they
Will be pOwereSs. and Il Is therefore hard to what
may be their fate in the end that of their kind.
man with the right kind of rife and good aim
can Kill the biggest grizzly of the Rockies at
shot In the days when the grizzlies were such a
terror 10 the mountain dwellers men did not have
the death dealing weapons that are made now. II
took them long time 20 load their rifles. and
when they were loaded they threw such small
balls that a man could pepper away at a grizzly.
hitting him again and again, without having any
better effect than to make him angry and exceed
ingly dangerous. But now things have changed.
and old Ephram.' as the mountain people call
the grizzly is learning by sad experience that man
controls force against which he cannot contend
and Ia becoming less and less inclined 10 enter
into a conflict with him. Nevertheless. he still
fights hercely ever when he has good reason.
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

Detective PuzzeThe hidden in this puzzle
Henry. Grace G (sea). July T. box.
est and best two by blanche
age twelve No Park street. Holyoke Mass who
wishes an embroidery set, and Harold Charles Rich
fourteen years No go Atlantic street Stamford Conn
Il hoy's Tribune watch
Things TO Think About.-The two prize winners and
their prizes In this Elsie Paota
years, No. 4lG East 65th New York city
teresting book. and Rowland Fowler years
No. 100 Genwood avenue, Yonkers. N.sY. q Tribune
fountain pen.
Snapshots-The ccarest and best photographs
contributed by Mabel g. Gardner, twelve years,
f30 Vanderbilt avenue Brooklyn. who desires Tribune
fountain pen, and Kenward Fucker fifteen years
watch.
Letter Box-seo letters by prize winners published
In hfn test
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07
MY CAT TIGE.
an and Little Women.

Dear Little Men and IAttle Women
want to tell you about my tiger cat got him
when he was tiny kitten. and have trained him
so that he can jump through a hoop. play dead.
beg and give his paw just like dog.
We have always lived in the country until just
a month ago when up here spend a few
weeks with my aunt. OF course, left Tfge. for
that is my cats name. behind. Since I've been
away he has hunted all over the house trying to
find me / don't wonder that he misses me, for
miss him. too Every day when came home from
school he would down to the gate TO meet me,
and then follow the house just like dog
At meatimes he would sit right by my chair, and
II he smelt something good would tap me gently
on the II | paid no attention to him he
would pull my sleeve gently, and then IL pre-
tended notice him he would jump up on
my chair and try TO reach my plate with his paw
one very bad trait of his is that he to
enjoy anything stolen better than when II Is given
10 him. One day caught him sitting on the
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

say1hng about Mendel, the schooImaster had not
|t grandson of Moses Mendelsohn made the name
tal mcTe famous.
Moses Iendelssokn's second son, Abraham be-
zme banker, and lived IN Hamburg. Although
e aad given himself 10 business instead Of 10 the
pursuit q iearnng. he had Inherited q great deal
his fathers ability, and his wife seems 10 ha We
zen a remarkable woman We are told that she
vas a model housewife, spoke several languages
sad GTeek and played the piano 1t IS not strange
nat this pair with their four children, should
lsve made interesting family Their flrst
tald Fanny Caciie who was born. as her
EITHER said with Bach fuSue fingers; about three
vars later came Jakob Ludwig Felix. VINO ola
post 70 make the OF Mendelssohn known
fough0Ut the world and next came HebeKah
Vile Rebekah was still tiny baby the family
L -l-oFed - Berlin, and after a time the iourh
70 last child. Paul. arrived at their home there-
tpout this tine Abraham Mendelssohn decided 10
Eaopt the religion Of the people among "noIn ne
gsd and 10 have his children baptized ana brought
~ ss Christians. He took the additional name OF
tss,taoldy 70 distinguish his own branch OF inc
t5sT1,54tSs. KIT which still followed the faith OF
her fathers.
The mother Of this family now had plenty TO
'-ak about. for she was most anxious that hef
.aAoren should be educated as well as possible.
ae is said r. have been very strict, but she must
-sse mad some consideration for the pecunariues
little folk. for when she began 10 teaci
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

In Dessau. on the River Elbe in Germany, there
lived once upon time poor Jewish schoolmaster
named Mendel This schoolmaster had a hump
hacked son named Moses. who. his father had
little 10 give him, went 10 Berlin when he was
fourteen years old to seek his fortune. Moses was
hungry for knowledge, and IN Berlin he worked
hard and lived as cheaply he could In order
that h. might study with 4 learned rabbi: and at
He wrote several books, one Of which was thought
80 good that II was translated into nearly every
European language, and he had among his friends
some of the most noted men in Germany. And So
though the schoolmaster OF Dessau unim-
portant person, his name became widely known be-
cause Of the fame Of Moses Mend6lssohn, which,
q course. means Noses. Of Nendel But it Is
not likely that many IN these lays would know
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07

Contest No (Iame Puzzle)-Choice OF boys Tribune
embroidery set. Tribune
pen. box OF water color paints or leather
car neatest and best answers
Contest No (Things 10 Think AboUt)--ChoicA OF an
interesting book a box Of color paints Tribune
embroidery set or boy Tribune watch
for he neatsst and best two solutions
Contest No 5 drawing \ Little Boy Rowing n BoaO-
Choice OF box color paints. boys Tribune
watch Tribune fountain pen. Interesting book. an
embroidery leather card case. Iaohy thirloIe
holder or leather pencil and best
two or ginal drawings.
Contest No (Our Letter Box>-Frizes OF 81 VIII he
cen Tor every letter printed under this heading The
New-York tribune., 1907-07-07
HosU TO HUir1 q Prize.

may contain incidents Anecdotes os
accidents novel school experiences. things
travel they may be fiction These stories
be original be written side OF the
He 10 state your age.
Be o give your choice OF prizes.
Re and address Some OF
Little Men Little Women neglect DO this. and
therefore lose the chance OF winning a prize
Be write side OF the paper only when
writing stories
close July II Age Is considered IN
ing prizes Address your letters Lissis
Men and Little Women, The New York Tribune. Ass
York.