davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22

pie things will suffice no longer In the
old degenerate days an English-speaking
actor who could go on and play an
Italian dialect part one night, a French
man the next, was thought to have
proved his versatility Out of the desire
for realism grew the practice of cast
ing the real foreigner for such parts.
But what becomes of the art of acting
under such a scheme2 Fortunately, we
still have an occasional artist to prove
that the imitation is better than the gem
uine on the stage.
Where will the new discoveries of the
press agent end If the actress must be
wife and mother before she can do justice
to the wifely or maternal instincts on the
mimic scene, is 1t not reasonable to sup
post that we shall come in time to have no
Hamlets save those who have really stood
within the shadow of a throne? With
royalty going out OF fashion, perhaps 1t
is but natural arrangements to find new
occupation for deposed monarchs.
Genius is to madness near allied, but,
then, is it not carrying an axiom to an
extreme to demand that no one shall
represent King Lear without the previous
Endorsement of Matteawan or a lunacy
commission?
If the burden of proof as to whether
marriage is a failure Is to rest with those
players only who have already had ex-
perience in the bonds of Hymen. must
we also learn the lesson of Thou shalt
not kill from actors who have come
near to feeling the hanghanm's moose. The
thing really does not seem practical We
might have realism enough under such an
arrangement. But what would the Keans,
the Kembles Mrs. Siddons, and that glorl-
GUS line have to say II they could hear
about 1t?
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
Tobacco and Tobacco.
From the Washington Post.

from the NdSnlHBtoH Iosl'
A paragraph is going the rounds which
tells that 1.-The strongest, blacklist Ken
lucky or Missouri tobacco, properly cured
for two or three years, whether chewed
or smoked, has the smoothest, finest eff
feet upon the system of any tobacco ex-
tant," all of which shows that the man
who invented that tale knows nothing
about real good, first-class, heightened,
elegant tobacco.
The black, strong tobacco, grown in the
districts of Ollie James and Owsley STAN
ley of Kentucky, can be chewed only by
the sailor. who is not allowed to smoke
on shipboard, and three. chewS a day of
ii is all even the sailor can stand. 1t Is
coarse tobacco, and, like coarse whisky,
1t may be absolutely pure and proper
ly cured" yet 1t is fit only for sailor,
or prize fighter or field hand. 1t
grows on the richest land, heavily ma
nured, and the plant is rank in growth,
while the fiber is as big as plow line.
Your real, genuine stun comes from
1.-The bloody old Third Kentucky district.
or the Fourth II is grown on "barrens"
land that is also very fertile. Clear that
of its scrub hickory, post oak, dogwood,
wild grapevine, hazelnut, and may apple
growth, and cultivate it in the real "yal-
ler'' prior variety. Cut when dead ripe,
house in a tight barn, properly cure"
it. and make careful selection when
stripping Bulk 1t all winter with
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22

is grown up, then on no account should
it be forgotten that the binding of its
right hand for short period soon after
birth will insure it's coming in for wealth
beyond the dreams of avarice.
Good luck to the infant in the future
is also supposed to be assured in other
ways. The Spaniards sweep their chill
dren's faces with pine tree boughs for
that reason, while to keep the Irish baby
from harm a belt of woman's hair is
placed about it. and to achieve a similar
object Roumanian mothers tie red rib
bons around the ankles of their offspring
very old but very pleasing custom
prevails in Iceland when the first tooth
makes 1t appearance, for then lamb is
presented ito the child to be It's very
own" In Holland garlic, salt, bread and
steak are put In the cradle of the new
arrival, while to protect their children
the mothers of Wales place in the young
ster's cozy bed a pair Of tongs or knife,
and the latter weapon is utilized for like
purpose in some districts of England.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
The Difference.

From Harper's Weekly.
The office boy of a certain Philadelphia
lawyer recently approached his employer
with request for an increase of wage
How old are you?" demanded the law
yer.
Fourteen, sir" i
And you're drawing 81 weekr
YES, SIR"
DO you know, young man. said the
lawyer, with forbidding sternness, that
when 1 was your age / was receiving
only 81 per weekf
mo, sir, / don't know it," said the
boy. Then, after q moments reflection, he
added, quite respectfully. but, then, sir,
perhaps you weren't worth any more"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
BELIEFS ABOUT BABIES.
Fates That Determine Future of the
Children.

From the London Globe.
The peasantry of Greece firmly believe
that the future of every child is de-
termined by three fates, known by the
name of the Moral. In the popular mind
this trio of fates are supposed to be three
old and wrinkled women whose habta-
ton is a mountain cave They come si-
simultaneously to a house where a new
baby has made its appearance.
When they are expected all furniture
is set aside so that their aged and totter-
ing feet may not be hndered and re-
freshments in the shade of honey, cakes,
bread and wine are placed ready for these
important though invisible guests. Money,
too, is placed for them as a bribe to get
their favor for the baby, so that his flu
ture may be one long sweet song-the
superstition being that all things good
and bad are in the giving of the fates.
On no account must the childs beauty
be alluded to when the Moral are present,
as this will certainly make its good looks
disappear-marks on baby's skin are
looked upon as sent by these harbingers
of veal or woe.
III luck Is supposed to be the lot of the
children who cut their upper teeth first.
There are one or two African tribes who
so firmly believe this that they are said
to kill all babies but those whose lower
teeth appear first. Another race of people
in the Dark Continent see all the signs
of bad fortune In twins, and so they
avoid 1t by Staying all of them.
Should a child grow up bad in China
the parents are said to have forgotten
to bind Its wrists-alluding thereby to a
native superstition that II a red cord is
tied around an infants wrists it cannot
fail to grow up quiet and obedient.
Coming back to western civilization. Ill
luck is supposed to hover around baby
II its finger nails are cut during the first
six weeks of life, and there are many
more omens connected with baby's
hands. Should the desire be that a babe
should have riches in abundance when 1t
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
W|TCHCRAFT IN
OLD ENGLAND
Some Magical Customs That
Still Survive
WORDS TO CURE DISEASE
Or to Work Evil-Superstitions of Con-
tagious Maoic-Holy Trees and
Wells Still Resorted to.
The Clay Corpse.

Two writer's in the August number of
the Occult Review contribute an interest
ing article on the "Survivals of Old Mag
ical Customs In Great Britain" The ma
jority of the cases mentioned by them
are connected with q belief in the power
of words, which may be either charms,
that is words having a magical power
of their own when written or spoken, or
the power conferred by the possession of
names over the people or things they in
dictate, for in certain stage of mind
culture the name is regarded as actually
being part of the owner.
1t is said that in north Ireland and
refuse to tell their names because the
knowledge would enable the inquirer to
"call'' them, no matter how far he was
from them, and whenever he cared to do
so. Moreover they also believe that any
spell worked on the written name would
have the same effect as If worked on the
owner All over Great Britain this in
stinctive dislike to giving ones name to
a stranger exists.
Dislike to the pronunciation of their
names is not confined to human beings
Certain Scotch and English fishermen
believe that the salmon and pig have
similar objection to being named, but
queer fellow
Nowhere was the power of words great
err than in ireland, where the chief weap-
on of the poet was the satire. a
poet would recte satire which would
blight Crops, dry COWS or raise ulcerous
blisters on the face of It's object.
Word formulate were generally used to
cure disease; a formula used for epilepsy
runs: II conjure thee by the sun and by
the moon and by the holy gospel of the
day, delivered by God unto His servants,
Hubert Giles, Cornelius and John, that
you arise and fall no more" This had to
be whispered into the patients ear Just
after an attack.
In a Roman Catholic church in Ashton
in-Makerfeld there is still preserved in
a white silk bag hand-'whiellsrts still
held in veneration, and cures are said
to have been wrought by 1t. The hand
is said to have been that of one Father
Edmund Arrowsmith, who was executed
at Lancaster in 1923 for apparently no
other offense than that of being true to
his faith After his execution one of his
friends cut off his hand, which was pre-
served for many years at Bryn Hall in
Lancashire and afterward removed to
Ashton.
Contagious magic is founded on the
idea that objects once related to one an
other retain their spiritual connection, al
though they may be separated, and what
ever happens to one part the other part
is affected. Thus by acting on any part
the whole may be Influenced.
This explains why a magician wishing
to act on an individual endeavors to OBJ
tain some part of his body or something
actually connected with him, such as
hairs from the head or beard, nail par
ings or a drop of blood. In some parts
of England a girl forsaken by her lover
is advised to obtain a lock of his hair
and boil it; while it SINNERS he will have
no neace
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
Realism and Actors Art.
n the New York Times

From the New York Times.
If the press agent is to have his way
our actors in the future must prove a
fitness for their tasks by previous ex-
perience along the lines of various roles
suggest Hereafter, no blushing demoi-
selle need expect to be trusted with the
role of married woman, no actress I'M
dertake theresponsibility ofleading stage
child along the road that leads to virtue
and the spotlight, unless she, the ac-
tress, has already qualified as wife and
mother.
These are the days of realism In the
drama. For while It was enough to
have real pumps squirting real water on
the stage But the artistic conscience
grew by what it fed on. and these sim
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
few sun-dried peaches between each

layer.
Then when it enters the sweat In
early June stem 1t. spray it with old
peach brandy, in which is dissolved new
honey, twist it, lay 1t away in a ''chist, "
where damp light and air are rigidly ex-
cluded, and by October you will have a
chewing tobacco that would transform
for the nonce Jesse James into an fnno-
cent and playful lamb. But "black fat
never!
1t takes an artist AND nilanthropist
to make you chewing L co, and 1t is
as good for the pipe asst is for the
cheek.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
Japanese Homes.
From Across Japan in a Motor Car"
by George MacAdam in the. Outing
Magazine.

From Across Japan in Motor Car"
by George MacAdam in the Outing
Magazine.
Now this passage through a Japanese
village. perched on the seat of an auto
mobile Is a novel experience to a man
accustomed to the uncommunicative IA
cade presented by a row of houses In
America. AS you know. the first story
of house fronts in Japan are chiefly
screens made of oiled paper. In the day
time these are slid back SO that every
thing stands open to view-exactly like
the front of a dolls house. To the trav-
eler through one of these streets the en-
tire life and industry of the village passes
in panoramic review on either side. With
In each shop, on a yellow mat of rice
straw. sits the shopkeeper. If there are
customers he is likely brewing a pot Of
tea for them before proceeding to bus
mess. Look quick, through a passage
fioored with dark wood that glistens like
glare Ice and reflects the -colored
paper of the walls and ceiling, you will
catch glimpse of a miniature garden
filled with gayly colored flowers.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22

kind. unpretentious work she did among
the poor. There must be a number of
people who, like me, have seen and talked
with Miss Gratz, for 30 years ago there
wasn't a school teacher anywhere with
in a radius of so miles who did not know
that description of Miss Gratz by r.
wing inspired the "Rebecca" of Sir Wall
ter Scott But l dare say few local read
ers of "Ivanhoe' today know It,"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22
scott,s Rebecca a Philadelphia Girl.

From the Philadelphia Press.
THAT book ought to have peculiar In
terest for Philadelphia people," said a
book seller at a well known second
hand book store to prospective custom
er who idly thumbed a copy of Scott s
"Ivanhoe.'
'One of the characters in that book,
Rebecca," he continued, was drawn by
Sir Walter Scott about young Philadel-
phia girl. Miss Rebecca Gratz. l remem-
Der her myself. l lived near her when
l was boy, and I we'll remember the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22

sridiron for supper. Turning round to
procure a fork with which to prod him
the fish Immediately jumped off the hre
and hurried back to its home. where
II Is still shown with the gridlron scars
on its side.
Another case of this type of magic Is
that in which an image Is constructed
resembling the person on whom the evli
is to be worked and magical processes
gone through which affect the person
represented. The last example of this Is
the corp-creagh, or clap corpse, which
custom is common in Ross-shire.
clay image Is made of the person
whose hurt Is desired, and, thorns being
stuck all over it, 1t is placed in running
stream; as the image Is wasted away by
the running water the victim also wastes,
and the more pins and thorns are stuck
in the more the victim suffers. Should
a wayfarer discover the corp-creagh tho
spell is broken and the patient RECEIVERS
In Argyllshire a long incarnation was
repeated as the pins and thorns were in
serted, running, "As you waste away so
may x waste away, and as this wounds
you so may 1t wound x" When it was
desired that the patient should die a lin
gering death the pins were not allowed
to touch the region of the heart.
A curious romance attaches to the resin
known as dragons blood. 1t is mostly
used by girls who forsaken by their
lovers, try to win back their affections
A small quantity of the resin is wrapped
in paper and thrown on the fire while the
/, following couplet is repeated:
May he not pleasure or profit see
Till he comes back again to me.
Another method much used by women
to attract the man of their choice is to
mix together dragons blood, sulphur,
quicksilver and saltpetre and then throw
the mixture on the fire with the usual in
cantation. In the north of England 1t is
openly sold in considerable quantities for
magical purposes.
Many of these processes may be worked
or employed by the lay people them
selves, but the professional enchanter is,
the writer's of the article find, by no
means extinct. There are still plenty of
old wise women in rural parts who for
few pence are prepared to cure warts,
remove spells and prepare more or less
innocent love potions. Only a few years
ago in Ireland a woman was burned by
her neighbors to make her confess that
she had cast the evil eye on their cattle.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-22

Some two years ago a London news
/ paper mentioned the case of an Essex
man entering a hairdresser's and request
ing the barber to procure for him a piece
of a certain customers hair. When asked
] the reason for this curious demand he
! said that the customer had injured him
/ and he wished to work a spell against
! him.
All over England hair, nail parngs and
| teeth are burned, the excuse being ''it
| Is for luck" but really 1t Is a survival
| of the custom of allowing no parts of
| the body to remain for others to utilize.
| The custom of obliterating the saliva
| after expectoration may be referred to
the same fear. In some districts 1t is be-
lieved that even the imprint of person.
footprints has acquired virtue through
the contact with his body.
In Germany the idea is widely spread
that IL earth on which a man has trod-
! den is cut out and dried in an oven, then
| as the earth parches so will either the
whole man or his foot be withered and
parched up with It, He will be famed or
killed by pressing his footprint with nails
or broken glass-preferably coffin nails.
Cothes have a prominent place In this
class Of witchcraft from their intimate
association with the person; no article
Of apparel of living person must on
any account be placed on a corpse. as
the owner of that article will languish
as 1t moulders in the grave. To hang
strips from a dead mans clothes on a
vine would render 1t barren.
The ancient Saxons sacred tree was
the ash and there still exists on Richmond
Hill, barely ten miles from London, an
ash tree which is even now used in folk
medicine. Weakly children must be
carried nine times around the tree and
at such a time in the morning that the
sun rises during the ceremony
When Great Britain was Chrstianized
the missionaries annexed the sanctity of
their fairy wells; and thus we find wells
and trees named after certain saints and
the therapeutic value attributed to the
latter. whereas the holiness of the wells
and the efficacy was In most cases pre-
Christian in origin. Needless to say an
implicit faith in the healing power of
these wells exists even to the present
day. During a visit to well the person
in aid of relief hung strip OF his cloth
ing. or even whole garment, on the
tree over the we'll, the mere contact
being sufficient to cure him.
Manv of the Irish wells have most in
teresting legends connected with them.
There Is a well in North Ireland the wa
ter of which, according to the natives,
will not boil, however much 1t Is heated;
but unfortunately they Will not ailo"
anybody to test the truth of this state
ment. and 1t is hardly discreet to make
the attempt
Many of these wells are lined with white
stones, and II is quite common to lind
therein a large fish, generally club,
This is the guardian spirit Of the well.
and the person who sees it on May eve
MAY Day being the great Neolithic festi-
vaD has luck for a year
According to a local legend certain
man who apparently was not possessed
of fear Of the spirit caught the Ssh In
ona OF thesa walls and nut him on tha
The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-05-01
To SERVE ON
PUBLISHERS
NEWS PEOPLE
CALLED INTO L. :. COURT TO
ANSWER INDICTMENTS GROW-
ING FROM PANAMA STORIES.

INDIANAPOLIS, April 30.-Stuart
Mcnamara, Assistant L. S. District
attorney for the district of Columbia
arrived here today. In an interview he
stated that tomorrow Deleyan Smith
and Charles r. Williams, owners of
the Indianapolis News will be served
with warrants based upon indict-
ments charging them with libel in
connection with the Panama Canal
purchase.
Mr.. Mcnamara said Messrs Smith
and Williams will be taken for pre-
liminary hearing before Judge
Anderson of the United States Dis
trict court in this city. The indict-
ments against the News owners are
based upon the same facts as urged
against the New York World and
are for publication made in the
campaign last fall.
The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-05-01
NEVADA NORTHERN PROFFERS
A REDUCED RATE ON SEWER
SUPPLIES UNDER SPECIAL
LAW-oONTRACTs AWARDED.

City council last evening in special
session awarded the concrete side
walk contract to w. E. Meyers. the
work to be completed by July Is and
bond of $4,000 required. Contract
for the sewage system was award
ed the Reno Construction Co. and a
copy of the contract ordered forward
ed.
General Manager Cannon of the
Nevada Northern addressed the coun-
ell In reference to a special rate on
sewer pipe and castings for the sew
age system. He said he was desirons
of saving the city the difference be-
TWEEN the regular tariff and the special
one but as the law allowed such
rates only in cases wherein a city or
the government are concerned, he
would like to have the material con-
signed to the city direct and at the
regular tariff. the difference to be re-
turned to the city. Mr.. Cannon made
several suggestions concerning the
drawing up of the sewer contract.
which were adopted by the council.
The saving to the city by the special
tariff will amount to $2,1S0. At the
conclusion of Mr.. Cannons remarks,
City Attorney Walker on behalf of
the council, thanked him for his
interest in the eity's welfare and
promised that Ely would at some
time repay the kindness. Mr.. Walker
further said there had been a lot of
talk against the railroad at times
that was not warranted and hoped in
the future there would be no Ill feel
ing. In reply Mr.. Cannon said the
Nevada Northern would at all times
stand ready to assist Ely in whatever
way IL could.
The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-05-01
BANDITS HOLD
UP TRAIN
NORTHERN PACIFIC MAIL CAR
DETACHED AND REGISTERED
POUCHES RIFLED - ROBBERS
EsCAPE-HiDING IN SPOKANE.

SPOKANE, April 30.-rwo BAN
dts who held up Northern Pacific
train No. 3 near Rathdrum,
Idaho, lust night are believed to be
somewhere In hiding In this city. IL
ID thought they made their way TO
cover and are watching for the ex-
element to subside.
six sacks of registered mail were
opened by the robbers, who captured
the engine and mail ear soon after
the train left Rathdrum, about 1925
D. m.
Driving out the train men with re-
volver shots and cutting loose 1.-The
coaches from the engine, they ran
the latter two miles west to Trent,
where It was abandoned. How much
of treasure was secured by the rob-
bers has not as yet been learned.
The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-05-01
PUT TORCH To
TENEMENT
BLACK HAND OUTRAGE N NEW
YORK YESTERDAY MAS A TER
RoR-NUMBER INJURED N
PANIC WHICH ATTENDED FIRE

NEW YORK April 30-Eight per-
SONS, five of them children, were
burned 10 death and II others in-
jured In an incediary fire In the five
story tenement house at 81 Spring
street today. The tenement was
occupied by twenty families.
The fire followed demand by
alleged members OF black hand
society for the payment of black
mail. The fire spread through the
building with startling rapidity, as
the Railways had been saturated with
coal oil by the black mailers.
In the panic which followed the
alarm the tenants of the building
fought their way down the fire es-
capes or jumped from the windows
of the building while babies were
thrown from the windows into the
arms of policemen and firemeD.
Jacob Bruck, proprietor of a
grocery store ON the main floor of
the building, received on April 18th
letter reading as follows. I'VE de-
mand thousand dollars or death.
Bring Ii In Mott street. Petrosini Is
dead, but the black hand still lives
signed by the BLACK Hand Society"
On Monday last Bruck received
another letter, written in similar
strain. He turned both letters over
to the police. but paid no further
attention to them and received no
further warning.
The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-05-01
TOOK HIS LIFE BY TORTURE.
Man Awaiting Trial for Murder Used
Needles to Kill Himself.

MEANWHILE, Pa, April So
Jack Cronin, In jail awaiting trial
for the murder of Harry Winters
last Christmas eve, died tonight
from the effects of thrusting half a
dozens needles into his abdomen and
chest several weeks ago. Cronin
never denied his guilt and wished to
plead guilty, but the court would
not accept the plea. and he was held
for trial. Rather than remain in
prison he conceived this method of
taking his own life.