The Washington herald., 1909-11-14
AT THE HOTELS.


Europe IS fun Of artists Who as far as
line and color go, can turn out admirable
copies Of anything" said John Amadeus
Bremen, Of New York and Paris, al the
New Willard yesterday. These copies
are made on cid cauvases mounted on a
framework Of old wood. and. when the
paint IS dry, the picture is put through
an ingenious aging process. a certain
kind Of varnlsh gives a ripe golden tone.
and a deepening OF shadows. with sug-
gestion Of the soil OF centuries, is OBJ
tanned by smearing with ncOrice juice
As for the cracked paint suTface-surs
sign OF age-that Is obtained by baking
the picture carefully IN an oven, or By
laying a PLAGUE OF metal on the canvas
and striking II gently with a hammer
Worm holes IN the frame or panels are
merely a matter Of fine shot fired IN
and afterward picked out. And fly specks
to deceive the flies themselves may be
had by tho judicious spatter Of india
ink
mo doubt" added the expert. Ito the
sure connoisseur there is something hard
and cold about the copies. something
vaguely unsatisfying, but no one can
deny that they are much Ike the orig
inals-so much Ike them that the great
museums OF Europe, all unsuspecting.
have hung their walls with these mellow
masterpieces OF yesterday. II IS said for
instance. that Rembrandrs portrait OF
SObiesh in the Louvre is not the original
at all. but only a copy. the original being
in Russia"
'Dlnah was an old-fashioned negro
nanny. the kind that has almost en-
tirely disappeared. God-fearing and faith
full and she used to do our family wash
ing until a week before she climbed the
golden stairs said n. c. Ferry. OF At
lanta. Ca. at the Raleigh.
"Dinah in her days was a slave She
was deeply religious, and at campmeetlng
time her sonorous voice could be heard
almost mile away. Whenever she used
to call for the family wash Il was her
one great delight 20 talk 90 NE or my
wife on religion Dinah's desire 20 know
and TO learn and her views on subjects
relating 20 the early Christian martyrs
were unique and amusing
Have you ever heard OF Nero. Dinah2'
] asked her on one occasion.
No, Mars Ferry; nebber heerd OBJ
dat ge man said the old negro woman.
I " He was a bad man. and lived many
/ hundred years ago. I explained, and
/ Dinah became at once interested. Yes:
/ he was g very bad man. and il used 70
/ be his favOrite amusement TO kill Chris
/ tians, boil them in oil, lock them ID with
wild animals, and make them fight with
bare hands against soldiers with weapons
" 'Dey must a-been cold folks. dem
/ Christians, l reckon .ventUred Dinah,
righteous Indignation In every word.
Why; how IS that. Dinah%
| "''Cause the policeman always walks
it"
Speaking OF the souvenir postal card
business William 3. Fielder. OF New
York. who was seen at the Arlington. said
that the souvenir card craze originated
in Portland, Ne. and that photographers
OF that city have taken more views all
over the world than any other men en-
gagged in the business N this country.
From Labrador 10 the Pacific" CON
Unued Mr.. Fielder. "aud from the Gulf 20
the deSOlate Hudson Bay posts in the
FAR north these men have wandered with
their camera on this continent. and to-
day many or them are journeyinE
throughout Asia, Africa. and the coun-
tries OF Europe taking photographs and
sending them 20 Boston. Mayor Adam +.
Leighton. Of Portland, was the FIRST man
10 manufacture the souvenir post card.
II was In 1856 that the first view card
was put on the market Previous 10 thar
time souvenir albums containing half
tone views OF many places had been
made but the first souvenir post card
was a combination Of views Of the White
Mountains. and sold for cents These
I cards y-prn On sale 0r, tho -.F1-,s.1 $50
and at the hotels. and the demand tor
them was brisk They could only be sent
through the mails with a 2-Cent stamp.
and only the address could be written on
, tina reverse side.
In four years" added Mr.. Fielder.
the business. begun IN a small way. had
grown rapidly, and in 1890 Mr.. Leirh-
ton went 90 Germany and arranged for
the production OF what IS now known as
the colored souvenir post card. To avoid
the payment OF 2 cents for mailing them.
the eXpedient was hit upon Of shipping
10 Germany an immense number OF IN
cut post cards OF the United States. on
the back OF these were printed the four
colored views. at that time chiefly views
/ OF famous resorts. such as the White
Mountains. Bar Harbor, Newport. Fort.
Monroe and Washington. The cards
Of that time were crude compared
Z with those Of to-day About all the
cards used in this country now are made
in Germany. The Germans have the ad-
vartege OF many skilled wOTkmen. and
the cost OF production there is much less
than It IS In tho United States"
J. n. Williams, OF lie Claire. Iowa.
who was seen at the Riggs. speaking Of
Washington's trees. said he entertained
the greatest admiration for trees OF all
kinds, but particularly the "Old green
tree Of the Mississippi Valley"
1T stands near the banks Of the river
in lie Claire" said Mr. Williams. How
long 1t has stood there nobody knows.
II was there when the first white man
came 10 our country. spreading its
branches wide. and inviting the weary
wanderer IN the wilderness to rest him
self II stood there long before that
for IL has place in the traditions OF the
red men OF the Mississippi Valley.
This old tree continued MI Will
Jams" could not help being a conspicuous
! landmark It IS not tall as trees
grow. but II spreads far. From circum-
ference 70 circumference II measures more
than 100 feet and 1t would take a line
more than 300 feet long 10 measure around
its Outermost branches. Il IS an elm and
remarkably well preserved.
In the days Of the SOS. before Le
Claire had the title Of city, the tree was
a favorite resort for the boys. and their
p old swimming hole was under its shade.
Few OF those boys are left to-day. Some
weio killed or died in the civil war. some
emigrated 90 the land Of gold and never
returned. while others have been dropping
of one by one