davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

been made vassal dependencies. or what
ever | near, by the northern states.
That's what ought to've happened to
them Don't you talk to me about their
customs, young woman, for / won't have
1t. They're blowhards, that's all they
are Huh! I'd like to know why I
shouldn't talk about 'em if | want to?
Aren't they always sneering about
tfankees?" Well, the Yankees gave
them the blastedest hiding any people
ever got, and they know it, and so on
and SO on, until, really. | didn't know
OFTEN what was going to happen.
gentleman of the old school walked up
to the chair when my rheumatism-tor-
tured old gentleman was bleating about
the south, and he said to him, making
him courtly bow:
sub, eff yo were not i'm that chaiuh
sub. appaiuhently suffuhing fom some
IMMUNITY. sub. All should call yo'
valuhy suhvehely tub account To- yo'
wuds' sub, l sho' would
W-Waw-get out of my
sight, you Internal rebel" howled NV
terribly difficult old patient brandishing
his walking stick and trying to wriggle
there wasn't the slightest chance of his
doing. The fine old southerner made
him low bow and walked away with
ms nne old back as stiff as a ramrod
Ana mats the way it was during the
ehtife winter and spring that I spent i'm
'he south with my patient. He never
seemed TO get all of it out of his sys-
tenn Perhaps | didn't feel like saving
never again" when | left him.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

to creep up to 'em slinkily when they get
in to smell their breath, and then begin
to roast the rum habit and all like that.
Yes, and they're not yanked on 10
the theater on wet and raw nights, Whe-
Their they want to go or not, and on the
other hand when they do want TO go 10
the theater, why, all they've got 10 90
is to clap on their hats and go, without
having to wait for anybody to stick
about seventeen pounds of puffs and
things on her head, and they don't have
to nudge themselves toward the bug
house by buttoning crazy waists up the
back either. and they get to the theater
in time and see the show instead of
trudging in-on account of having to
wait for folks to get dressed-along about
the middle of the second act.
Yes, and if about milllonth or
grain of ashes from their cigars happens
to fall on the rug they don't have TO
shrivel up like sailed shrimps for fear
of being jawed at.
And they don't get accused by people
of trying to flirt with old women IN
Paisley shawls at theaters and restau-
rants and things, either, and when IT
comes to that they can do all the blamed
flirting they want to without feeling like
skulkers that've just beat it away from
the chain gang.
IF they don't happen to feel like rush
ing home to dinner, why, they can stay
down town and eat where they want to-.
When they telephone home to the servant
woman on the job that they're going to
eat down town, they get back quick
o. X. instead of large and lurid bunch
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

of uniforms the parts called for, and they
wore 'em with a certain naive dash, too.
This. however, is not the main nub.
The main nub is that the audience
nard College girls was composed very
largely of men, All Of the brothers
and uncles and things Of the girls were
present. In fact, any male creature in
possession of one dollar, and a willing
ness to surrender the same for the en-
enlargement of Barnard College theat-
ric art was permitted to see the Bar
nard College girls stalk around in their
uniforms this year.
A good many men, with no possible
interest in Barnard College as an edu-
cational institution, attended the play.
They were curious. They satisfied their
curiosity and they came away. There
were various opinions as to whether
they got their dollars worth.
Yet the dollarsurrenders were at
tracted by the novelty Of seeing college
girls performing in mannish makeup
for the inspection of all hands: 1t was
a novelty. That must be granted. ana
that is why I say think for the third
time-that we really do progress.
THAT institution over in Jersey where
! the folks interested get close to ma
ture" is running prosperously again
after having been closed for a spell.
Getting next to nature at this large
farm consists mainly in wearing just
single slip by way of raiment. The farm
is highly fenced in, and people who
don't belong there-non-believer that
is to say, in that particular method OF
getting close to nature"-are rigorous
ly kept off the grounds. But it takes
lot of adroitness to keep snapshotters
off any kind of grounds, and have seen
some photographs that prowling ko-
daker made.
They're not pretty photographs. There
isn't anything particularly wrong about
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

sos voice lis as good as ever it was
Er-maybe If the Neapolitan butcher
boys voice is las good as ever IT was
then 1 am suffering from some anectlon
of the tympanum for which | must see
a specialist at once l heard him on his
opening night. 1t was odd, by the way,
to observe the hush which fell upon the
vast opera house when the moment ar
rived for Caruso to appear Marvel or
marvels, the people in the boxes quite
ceased their conversation for nearly a
minute They wanted to hear If Caruso
had lost his voice. They applauded
him vigorously after he sang his first
aria. and group OF gentlemen VINO
that sort of thing got up on their seats
in the balcony and hailed and acclaimed
the tenor.
Well, then, Caruso hasn't lost his
voice" Not that. But a certain golden
tmbre has unquestionably gone from his
son. Individually something has hap
pened to his throat. He sings well. even
beautifully, but the old Caruso sang sub
timely; there was harp-of-gold quality
i'm his other tones that now, if l am not
most fiercely mistaken, is lacking. Yes,
and certain sort of a veil seems to
have come down upon his tones He
rarely uses what is known as the big
voice now; but when he does there is a
distinct stridence such as you might have
observed in the photograph records OF
tenors' voices.
l have heard Richard Martin, the Amer
lean tenor who was kept down by jeal-
ousy for several years, sing Pinkerton in
Madame Butterfly recently. In this
part the American tenor outsings, out
acts and outlooks Caruso in the same
part in the ratio of at least five to one.
He is the finest Butterfly" tenor 1 have
ever heard, and | have heard every one
of them that has sung the part in this
country. In the glorious duet with Cho-
Cho-San, at the close of the first act,
Martin fairly surpassed himself, and he
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

official letters, melloWed by time, are III
teresting in showing how this or that dis
tinguished man, way back yonder,
thought, moved and acted in attaining his
ends.
Some time ago during a housekeeping
in the Post Office Department number
of autograph letters written by men IA
nous in American history were discov-
cred in an old and battered file-case. The
file-case had evidently been considered of
no value for ii had been slowed away
in a littIe-used portion Of the cellar and
would undoubtedly have eventually been
broken UP and its contents lost or de-
Stroyed.
The papers include letters of recon-
mendation by Roscoe Conkling. written In
1866, when he was a representative in
Congress from New York, and by Hor
ace Greeley, James A. Garfield, Charles
Sumner and others of then national
prominence. Among the papers was the
record of the first woman appointed to
the postal service and one of the first
employed in the government departments
in Washington in any capacity. Another
document bore the written sentiments of
a rabid secessionist who was appointed to
office on the strength of his "penmanship
and composition against which his anti
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

the appointment clerk just two hours and
a half to decipher it. The text follows:
washington, D. c., March L. 1861.
Dear Sir: 1 have known Hon. ]. B..
Grinnell for several years as most up
right able, worthy citizen, first of our
city, since of Iowa, and l am sure he
has ever borne high character wherever
known. l do not presume to commend
his selection for any particular office. but
1 feel a strong confidence that any to
which he may be assigned will be filed
by him with eminent fidelity and in
tegrity.
Respectfully,
HORACE GREELEY.
"To the Postmaster General after March
4. 1861"
Mr.. Greeley's plea also was successful.
for Mr.. Grinnell secured soft snap that
he held for number of years.
The autograph letter of Charles Sum-
ner is brief and to the point. Mr.. Sum-
ner wanted job for a Massachusetts,
constituent, and he asked for it without
preliminaries and without any remarks
as to the candidates qualifications for the
place. The records show that he got it
without delay.
letter of recommendation from James
A. Garfield received no attention. After a
time Mr.. Garfield wrote another note,
which was not quite so polite, and he got
what he was after-a good office for
friend-in exactly three days.
One of the most interesting papers in
the collection is letter written by one
Perry Moses. who lived in that hotbed of
secession. Charleston, S. c. The circum-
stances surrounding the writing of the
letter and Mr.. Moses appointment to
two-thousand-dollar Office in the postal
service were somewhat peculiar.
Mr. Moses applied for place just at
the close of the Buchanan administration.
He had prominent backing for the i'm
portant place he desired, and Horatio
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

here referred to, there was any particular
reason why men should not have seen
the Barnard College girls at their play
acting; for the costumes worn by the
young parsons portraying male charac-
tiers were then just about as maleish as
Mother Hubbards or full-length kimonos.
In those days the girl who took the part
of Rosalind would wear pair of Tapping
bifurcated things that looked, so 1 used
TO hear from the women who attended,
like the pantaloons of Turkish zouave.
And so on. But, even SO, the girls at
that ethically remote but chronologically
near time wouldn't have even their broth
ers present at Barnard plays. They didn't
mind their own brothers, of course, but
the other girls brothers-there was the i'm
possibility, The Barnard College play
acting girls Of a decade ago were so
pronouncedly shy about it that they did
everything but wear yashmaks on the
Barnard stage.
AS ] say, however, we progress. A few
days ago the Barnard College girls gave
an up-to-date military play. The girls
who played the male parts wore the kind
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

chaps who are not satisfied with tber,-
selves. as they slip by him and go right
up for ard to join the bell-cows, i'm a
way of speaking
I've tried the Don't Worry Club and IL
won't do.
IF / was there with a bankroll about
the size of main steampipe on a Dread
nought. all right then / could belong to
Don't Worry Club and be pretty COM
Portable about it.
But I've got mine to get. I'm never
going to get it by not worrying. I've got
to worry like son of a gun right now
If l ever expect to catch up, let alone
pass. the fellows who've been worrying
their heads off-and getting there-while
I've been loafing around as a member of
the Don't Worry Club.
Me for the Do Worry Club, right now!
Watch me go to it,"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27
EXPERIENCES WITH PATIENTS a-6%&&&=~

everybody southern in a voice that could
be heard at least a block. and that he
really meant to be heard at least mile.
I wheeled him about in chair all the
time, and he always carried walking
stick with him in his chair simply to
have something to hold in his hands, and
he'd shake this big walking stick at the
sky and the trees and the houses and the
horses and the cows and the foiks and
howl about the shiftlessness and no-ac-
countness of the south till feared that,
in spite of his obvious 1nhrmltleS, the
enraged natives of the towns we were in
would insist upon burning him at the
stake or something else dreadful, and per-
haps me along with him. | feared, you
know-and I found good reason to fear
that the outraged southern folks who
heard him would take it for granted that
I held the same opinions as my old gem
tleman. Most of the folks were reason
able enough not to look at the matter in
this light, but there were many VINO glared
and gloWered at me when the Old gen
tleman was blazing forth his lnVectives
about the south and its no-Sood gang of
inha bitants, and not a few of them NUT
tered that in their opinion no decent
young woman. no matter where she came
from, ought to demean herself by push
ing around such vicious old scoundrel
He wasn't of course, an old scoundre
at all, but they had perfect right to
consider him one from the way he talked
Look at that brOken-down fence"
he would bawl, shaking his stick at the
fence he meant. Isn't that the conding-
ed, internal, shiftless, lazy, unenterpris
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

one single twittering little word is being
said about it. 1t is all right. Mary
Garden, a pretty good armful for any
tenor, too. looks very languishing and
dangerous and things as she's being toted
up the stairs by her tenor beau: much
more so than Olga Nethersole ever per-
mitted herself to look during the same
scene. But. as I say. the note of pro-
test" is wholly absent. The scene has
been adverted to as daring by one
or two of the papers. but that's all.
Mary Garden, by the way, doesn't need
to sing. 1t is, en- PEASANT, very good
thing for her that she doesn't need to
sing. But she certainly can act. She is
good actress as there is in the
United States today. She acts her parts
superbly. and the people forget her lack
of vocal skill in their absorption in her
acting. She has a beautiful speaking
voice, and she could easily outstrip most
modern actresses in straight non musical
work on the legitimate stage. She does
this 'Sapho'' thing magnificently; you
catch the very aroma and atmosphere
that Daudet meant you to catch in writ
ing the novel. She does That's" gor-
geously. too; the same goes for her work
in "Pelleas and Meisande."
Mary Garden completely dominates the
Manhattan Opera House now. She has
made a French institution Of It, Have
you been to the Garden opera this year?'
is the question that is asked of you by
people who correctly appraise this COM
plete control Whlch MISS Garden mas or
the Manhattan Opera House. Think of
the stubborn and determined Oscar Ham,
merstein being dominated by anybody!
But there you are. Oscar, you'll hear on
all sides, has at length met somebody
who can dictate to him, and there are
good many indications that he has been
roped and thrown, in a way Of speaking.
-HE Metropolitan Opera House people
are very busy telling us that Caru-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

and grabbed the candy without any eff
fort.
Now it's me for the Do Worry Club,
as | say.
Eve come to the conclusion that wher
| don't worry fall into the ruck.
When I don't worry about the way the
game is going with me, why. all of the
boneheads on earth, providing theyr re
worries, can spin right ahead of me In the
little marathon of life and do 1t with
out taking long breath.
1.-The man who is satisfied with himself
doesn't worry, does he?
We'll, the man who is satisfied with
himself is the duck who doesn't progress.
He doesn't get anywhere. He stops stock
still. He's not worrying, he's got as far
as he cares to, being SO ALFRED satisfied
with himself; and the best he gets is a
view of the backs of the worriers, the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

was desired. On reading the Moses letter
I wasn't at all surprised to find, on look
ing UP the records, that he served only
a short five months as an employee of the
department. and at that at the end of
that time he resigned his position TO
espouse the southern cause"
-
Mr. Moses. on leaving the department
did not forget his southern courtesy. The
following is the text of his letter to
Mr. King who had admired hts penman-
ship and winked at his sentiments:
washington, d. c., February %. 1861
Hon. Horatie King, Postmaster General:
My Dear Sir: In leaving the Post Office
thanks, and to assure you personally that
l shall ever hold you in grateful remem-
branoe. With esteem and respect,
PERRY MOSES"
Another interesting paper in the collec-
ton Is an autograph letter written by
Elisha Whittlesey of the controllers Of
flee in the Treasury Department to Mont
gomery Blair. then Postmaster General
which resulted in the appointment OF
the first woman employe of the postal
any government department in Washing
ton. The letter follows:
Treasury Department,
Controllers Office,
December %, 1861.
Sir: Having understood you had de-
cided to employe females in the dead let
ter office under recent act of Congress
authorizing you to employ an additional
force, l present for your consideration
the application of Miss Elizabeth John
son of Cleveland. Ohio, who now and for
some months past has been in this city.
She is a young lady, well educated
well behaved and a member of the Pres
byterian Church. Her father died some
years since, leaving a widow woman and
a large family of children.
Elizabeth D. was born in New Orleans,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

right in. I became a Don't Worrer from
the jump. 1 beat nearly everybody I
know joining the Don't Worry Club.
1T was the thing I'd been looking for.
The Don't Worry Club sort O. placed an
official stamp and seal upon my con-
Stitutional loll-aroundneSs.
1T enabled me to lay back and blow
punk smoke whiffs at trouble and effort
and hustle and git-thar and all that stuff,
ana 1 had the authority of the Don't
Worry Club back of me.
But the trouble was and has been and
is that there are a whole lot of fellows in
my own line of business who never have
taken any stock in the Don't Worry Club
therefore.
Instead of joining the Don't Worry
Club, they've gone right ON about their
business, worrying all the time. They've
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

in the District of Columbia or anywhere
else, for that matter, that's got anything
on me when it comes to d natural predis-
position to let things slide. Ilove to let
'em slide.
II love to lean back, just maxim liv-
in, you know, and let everything go
hang The only way to let things go
hang is by not worrying.
We'll, that's me. / just revel in not
worrying. / love the words and music Of
not worrying.
Il can do more of that sitting
down-and-letting-t world go-by thing
than any little Brghteyes you ever clap
ped lamp on in all your born days.
I'm one of the natural-bOrn charter men,
berS of that dolce far niente thing.
That's why, when the Don't Worry
Movement swung along, L was 80 willing,
not to say eager, to subscribe. I got
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

them. lone afternoon in March, imme-
diately after I'd come off a long and diff
cult case and was figuring on about four
days straight sleep, one of my doctors
called me up on the phone and told me
that he had another case for me. | tried
to beg off, but you know how the doctors
listen to your begging no matter what
your plea may be.
Important case he said over the
phone and you must hustle up there i'm
Inediately,' naming one of the leading
Boardwalk hotels.
What is the case, doctor? l asked
him.
Infant with pneumonia he replied.
with the usual unsatisfying brevity Of
doctors. | thought | heard, as he was
hanging up his receiver, d sort of
chuckle coming over the wire, but
hadn't time TO think of chuckles. | had
to pack up the old suitcase right away
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

"Uh-huh. Well. I've been doing that
ever since | became Don't Worrier. I've
been letting the other fellow do the wor-
rying. But. in addition to worrying he's
been cleaning up everything in sight
He's on the job. He's worrying about it.
l haven't been worrying That's the an
swer.
Now. I'm going to begin to worry
I'm going to join the Do Worry Club.
The Don't Worry Club is all right for
people who have already got theirs. But
It's no kind of gag at all for people
that haven't
Not. understand. that I haven't en-
joyed my membership in the Don't Worry
Club.
That Don't Worry Club was just made
to order for me. That's the worst part
of it. I've enjoyed it too much.
Because, you know, there isn't anybody
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

the same way in time. And guess, too.
We all wake up to it, when it's too late Of
course, that we figure in the game merely
as digsters; pay-pay-pay propositions.
wouldn't mind having princesse suit of
clothes when it comes to that. l notice
when 1 get peek at myself in the glass
that my clothes are getting pretty shiny.
But a lot you care for that
"Oh. well. we all have our little line of
thinks about it occa acknowledgement you
worry about that. I'm not the kind of
people that kicks about the constituted
order of things. I'm willing to take my
medicine no matter how bitter the dose
is, along with the rest of the gang. We
don't surrender the privilege, all the same
of sitting down occasionally and looking
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

MOT long ago a musician who during
y the past summer visited Puccini at
his estate in Italy PLAYED for me on the
piano from memory some extracts from
that new American opera of Puccini's bas-
ed on Belascos play THE Girl of the
Golden West
Such gorgeous music. Puccini approach
with color, wanton in melody, and my
friend who visited Puccini tells me that
the orchestration is dazzling.
This, 1 think, is going to be the opera
Of the generation. Puccini is enormously
interested in it. The American west ap-
peals intensely to his imagination, and
Belasco's play kept him In state of
keen mental excitement for days. 1 un-
derstand that the composer is seeing to it
that the book of his opera is to closely
follow the play. Will not that be novel
ty? Our miners. our soubrettes OF the
serras, our gamblers and greasers of the
40 days singing in grand opera writ
ten by the foremost composer of the
twentieth century? 1 think so. But why
should II not be? The Italians and the
French write grand operas based upon
books of the present day, and there is
found no incongruousness in the spectacle
of folks in modern everyday dress sing
ing grand opera music. La Boheme,"
for instance, is, of course, a story of the
middle of the nineteenth century, but
virtually 1T is an up-to-date book. Did
anybody ever discover anything incongru-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-27

them cept that the folks pictured don't
look engaging. Nobody. l take it, could
possibly look particularly attractive ca
vortlng around. playing tennis, and so
on by way of apparel. 1t doesn't make
pretty costume at all. The women in
these snapshots look scrawny and clum-
sy and gangling. whereas the men look
entirely impossible. 1 surmise that even
the lovely Greek youths and maidens
OF whom Alma-Tameda paints such al
Turing pictures couldn't in their too
utterly simple raiment always have look
ed quite so bully as Alma-Tadema
makes EN- look with his brush.
A good many of us, practicing a sort
of polite cynicism. laugh with Prof
Teufelsdrockh over clothes: but 1t re-
quires merely cursory inspection of
the photographs Of persons diked out in
knock this sort Of cynicism into a cooked
hat. I felt after looking at those get
ting close to nature photographs that
all of the kinks of dress that women
employ for their identification in these
days are strictly necessary. And what
howl the men of the modern world
would send into the empyrean if all
of the women were suddenly to leave off
their foolerieS in the way OF dress and
adornment and adopt the single slip of
this getting close to nature scheme.
YOU remember, of course, the huge
uproar a few years ago when Olga
Nethersole, in playing Daudet's 'Sapho,"
permitted herself to be carried to the top
of the staircase at the end Of the first
act by her lover?
Well. now I'll say it for the fourth
time-we do progress. Mary Garden. in
based upon Daudets novel, is being car
ried upstairs by her beau-Dalmore plays
and sings tie part superbly-and not