davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
L-ACEMAKING.
An Old Legend That Tells Of the ori-
gin Of the Art.

An Old Legend That Tells Of the ORR
gin Of the Art.
Lacemaking is by no means so old
40 industry as most persons suppose.
There is no proof that it existed pre-
vious to the fifteenth century, and the
oldest known painting in which it ap-
pears is a portrait Of a lady in the
academy at Venice painted by Caspac-
clio, who died about 1923. The legend
concerning the origin of the art is as
follows:
young fisherman Of the AdriatiC
was betrothed to a young and beauti-
tul girl of one Of the isles Of the la
gOon. Industrious as she was beauti-
ful. the girl made a new net for her
lover, who took it with him on board
bis boat. The first time he cast It into
the sea he dragged therefrom an exqui-
site petFifed wrack grass. which he
FASTENED to present to his fiancee; but,
war breaking out, the fisherman was
pressed into the service of the Vene-
ton navy. The poor girl wept at the
departure of her lover and contem-
plated his last gift to her. While alb
sorbed in following the intricate tra-
cery Of the wrack grass she began to
twist and plait the threads weighted
with small beads which hung around
her net. Little by little she wrought
an imitation Of the petrifcation. and
thus was created the bObbin lace.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Curiosftfes of superstition.

When Egypt was in the height Of
her power, when she was most highly
civilized and delighted in being called
the mistress of the land and sea, her
people worshiped d black bull There
was some discrimination, however,
even in this form Of worship. In order
to be an object of mad alteration it was
necessary that the bull calf be born
with a circular white spot in the ex-
act center of his forehead, ard the
advent of such a creature in any herd
was the signal of wild demonstrations
from the Mediterranean to the border
Of the Lybian desert. Even as late as
the time Of Cleopatra, star eyed god
dess, glorious sorceress Of the Nile,
such animals were shod with gold and
had their horns tipped with the same
metal HerOdOtus tells Of a man who
GIeG with grief because he sold a cow
that soon after became the mother Of
black bull calf marked with the sacred
white circle in his forehead.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
JAPANESE ENGLISH.
4 Sample Circular Composed by Na.
tive Tradesman With an ObseVa-
tion on the Servant Problem.

There comes from a correspondent n
Japan this example Of ciCeulars tn
English that Japanese tradesmen some
times compose:
Dear Sir-I have the honour to
write a letter for you that have now
established the meat market and its
branch to deliver the meat as one OF
the branch Of my sioughter house, as
which / have many cattle their PAS
lures, their markets, milk houses, and
a Slaughter house, etc, and / will have
q fresh meat with the most cheapest
price from my Slaughter house than
other buchery and especially make you
many reduction for every day pur-
chaser for month. l beg you can soon
make me your order without your
servants commission, as you know
your servant is always making money
by your meat / will make you the
pRss-bOok for the creditor only.
'P. S.-If you handed bad meat from
your servant while you are making
purchases the meat from my market
every day, you will soOD to let it ex-
change by the servant without any
hesitation. PIE Sc make me your or
der, and If you can make me order By
letter l Will have the postage reduc-
ton from the count of meat with kind
regards. Your truly."-Boston Tran
script.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Lead Pencil Experiments,

An English statistician was asked
how many words could be written
with an English lead pencil, and, be.
Ing determined to answer It, he bought
a lead pencil and ScOtts "Ivanhoe"
and proceeded to copy the latter word
by word. He wrote 95.60S words and
then was obliged to stop, for the pen
ell had become so short that he could
not use it, A German statistician who
heard OF this experiment was dissat-
isfied with it because all the lead In
the pencil was not used on the work,
and therefore he bought pencil and
started to copy a long German novel
When the pencil was so short that he
could not handle it with his fingers
be attached a holder to it, and it is
said that he wrote with this one pen
ell 100000 words. Possibly, however,
his pencil was longer or the lead in
It was Of a more durable quality.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Best Way to Telephone.

when | telephone while sitting, as
/ customarily do" said a woman who
telephones a good deal, Il habitualIy
speak in a low tone, not very much
above a whisper; when | telephone
standing up I don't shrek exactly, but
l find myself always speaking in a
loud tone. | suppose thhe reason for
these things is simple enough. When
| am sitting | am comfortable and en-
tirely at ease bodily and inclined to
do things easily, and then / can adjust
the telephone TO exactly the most con-
Venient height and angle and speak
into 1t quite withoaA effort; it is all
very easy, whereas when | have to
stand at telephone some effort is re-
QuiFed IN that l am more or less rigid
TO start with, and then the telephone
may be one fixed in position. | may
have to bend my face more or less up
or down to the transmitter, to stand
In a position more or less constrained,
and then when l come TO speak / al
ways find myself, as you might say,
shouting into the telephone. 1t is my
experience that I make myself heard
more surely when sitting and tele-
phoning as I do then, easily and in
low tone"
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
A Judicial ExpeTt.

The native with a stogie met the na.
tive with q pipe.
"Howdy, ZebY quotb the stcgie ma
tive. Hear bout tn fuss down to
tn courthouseP'
Nope" drawled the man with the
pipe. 'What was it aboutT
'Why, Jim Simpson has been sum
Abner Hawley for alienatin' tn af-
fections Of his wife, an Jedge Mus
grove told tn jury to bring in a YER
dick OF cents damages, cause he
thought that was all the damage was
worth to Jim. An Jim's wife got mad
an threw a chair at tn jedge, an he
had her arrested an put in tn cooler. %
"But didn't tn jedge go a leetle too
far when he fixed her value so lowT'
'Not at all, not at all! You see, he
was her first husband. ."-Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Too Realistic.

During performance Of Captain
Lapalisse" at a Valencia theater some
years ago an incident occurred which
for lifelike effect left nothing to be de-
sired. During the said play some OF
the actors miugle with the spectators
in order to cooperate from the body
Of the house. No sooner had Miralles,
the actor, taken his seat in the stalls
than a daring pickpocket robbed him
OF his gold watch MiraIles seized the
man by his coat collar and called out
in a deep bass voice:
Police! Help! Thieves!'
The audience, taking this little cpl
sode TO De part Of the performance.
roared with laughter. Even the police
men joined in without stirring hand or
foot.
'This is no farcer' cried the actor
IN tones Of despair. '"The fellow has
got my watch"
The voice sounded so natural that
the audience broke into loud applause
at "such excellent fooling." Meanwhile
the thief managed to break away from
his captor and escaped
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
KANGAROO MEAT.
The Native Youngsters of New Guinea
Had a Good Reason For Re-
fusing to Eat It.

In certain parts Of New Guinea the
WaIIaby, a species Of kangaroo, are
very plentiful, and the traveller in
search Of sport finds the pursuit Of
them an exciting occupation. Wallaby
steak is q refreshiI. change from can
ned meats, and the natives are only
too glad to have the remnants Of the
carcass. A writer in an English mag.
azine tells an amusing incident con-
nected with the animal
he had been ashore in one Of the
sparsely populated regions Of the coast
and secured four wallaby. an ample
supply for the whole party. native
guides and servants included. But he
found that. although wallaby is re-
garded as such a delicacy that no
trouble is considered too great 90 OBJ
tain 1t, none Of the native boys In the
party would touch it.
This was q mystery until one Of
them explained that they had been
trained in childhood in the belief that
II they ate waIlaby before reaching a
certain age it would stop their growth
These boys all belonged to the part
OF the country where waliaby are few,
and one can imagine the crafty old
folks seated round the festive pot and
Winking at one another as the young
people declined the succulent dainty.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Biggest Dam in the World.

The secretary of the interior has d.
rected the reclamation service to take
up Immediately the extensive prelim-
inary work on the Rio Grande project
In New Mexico and Texas, so that
actual construction on the foundations
Of the Eagle dam shall be finished by
July, 1911.
The Rio Grande project, of which
the Eagle dam is the most important
engineering feature, will provide for
the reclamation of 180, 1000 acres of land
lying in New Mexico, Texas and Mex
leo, in the valley where irrigation be-
gan before the discovery of America.
1t is estimated that the entire pro-
ject will cost approximately $4,000, 600.
The Eagle dam as planned by the rec
laInation service will be one of the
most remarkable structures of it's kind
in the world. It Will be of rubble con-
crete, gravity type, with a maximum
height Of 265 feet, length of crest !, 400
feet, and viii contain 100000 cubic
yards. The reservoir created by II
VIII 10 IAS largest aIIuCIdi UOuy OF
water IN the world, having a capacity
of 2,538,0OO acre feet, or enough water
to cover that many acres a foot deep.
Its capacity IS nearly double that of
the Roosevelt dam in Arizona and is
considerably greater than that of the
famous AssoUan dam, constructed and
recently enlarged by the English en-
gineers on the Nile.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Innuendo,

When founded on fact, the malicious
hint often does vastly more harm than
the full disclosure. It has about It an
air Of mystery which brings On a train
of imagining5 and begets groundless
suspicious which would quickly melt
into thin air were the whole truth
known. More especially is this the
case when the evil hint is blended
with words of commentator. Hes
an honest and a temperate man, etc.
but" Oh, that mean, vile, hypocriti-
cal little but" that has severed SO
many friendships and befouIed so
many a fair name! Where so much Of
good is spoken and the mean little
but" uttered with regretful sigh It
often looks like real pity. In reality
it is but decking out and garlanding
the victim for the sacrifice. The en-
comium is used only as a means Of at
tanning a dastardly purpose; With
colors faiTer painting their foul ends"
The slandereT is frequently but a
clumsy blunderer. Not so the skiIful
innuendo man. He at least is no bun
gler. He is a real tactician, a genu-
inc strategist. He is verify the refine
ment Of cruelty.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
THE DELUGE.
Queer Old Australian Tradition Absst
the Flood.
script

Queer Old Australian Tradition Absst
the Flood.
The aboriginal blacks Of Australia
have a queer tradition about the food.
They say that at one time there was
no water on the earth at all except in
the body Of an immense frog. where
men and women could not get at it
There was a great council on the sub
ject, a9d it was found out that if the
frog could be made to laugh the wa
ters would run out Of his mouth and
the drought be ended.
So several animals were made TO
dance and caper before the frog to In
dUce him to laugh, but he did not even
smile, and so the waters remained in
his body. Then some one happened to
think Of the queer cOntOrtiOns into
which the eel could twist itself, and it
was straightway brought before the
frog, and when the frog saw the wrig-
Cling be laughed so loud that the
whole earth trembled, and the waters
poured out of his mouth in a great
food, in which many people were
drowned.
The black people were saved from
drowning by the pelican. This thought
ful bird made a big canoe and went
with it among all the islands that ap-
peared here and there above the sur.
face Of the water and gathered In the
black people and saved them.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Saved by Firefies,

The gigantic tropical fre1les which
swarm In the forests and canebrakes
of most of the low lying West Indian
islands once proved the salvation Of
the city Of SantO Domingo. A body Of
buccaneers, headed by the notorious
Thomas Cavendisb, had laid all their
plans for a descent upon the place, in
tending to massacre the inhabitants
and carry away all the treasure they
conveniently could, and had actually
put off their boats for that purpose
As they approached the land, however,
rowing with mufied oars, they were
greatly surprised to see an infinite
number OF moving lights in the woods
which fTinged the bayou up which
they had to proceed, and. concluding
that the Spaniards knew Of their ap-
proach, they put about and regained
their ship without attempting to land.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
QUEER INDIAN BELIEFS.
Five Worlds and Are Worship
ers of the Sun.

There 5 an odd feature IN the theoI-
ogy Of the small Indian tribe Of the
Bella Coola which inhabit British Co
Iumbia in about latitude 81 They be-
Heve that there are five worlds. one
above the other, and the middle one is
our own world, the earth. Above it
are two heavens, and under it are two
underworlds. In the upper heaven is
the supreme deity, who is a woman.
and she doesn't meddle much with the
affairs In the second world below her.
The zenith is the center Of the lower
heaven, and here is the house Of the
gods, in which live the sun and the
rest Of the deities.
Our own earth is believed to be an
island swimming IN the ocean, The
first underworld from the earth is in
habited by ghosts, who can return,
when they wish, to heaven, from which
place they may be sent down to our
earth. If then they misbehaye again
they are cast into the lower Of the IN
derworlds, and from this bOurn no
ghostly traveller returns
The Bella COoIa are sun Worshipers,
for SeneX, the sun, the master Of the
house OF gods who is called the father
and the sacred one, is the only deity
to whom the tribe pray. Each family
OF the Bella COOla has its own tradi-
tons and its own form Of the CUP
rent traditions, so that in the mythOlo-
gy Of the tribe there are countless con-
tradictions. When any one not mem.
Der OF a clan tries to tell tradition
which does not belong to his clan it
is like a white man trying to tell an
others JOke-he is considered as ap-
prOpriating the property right which
does not belong to him.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
The Wonderful Banana.

Some people believe that the banana
was the original forbidden fruit OF the
garden of Eden. In any case it is one
OF the CuTiosities OF the vegetable
kingdom, being not a tree. a palm. a
bush, a shrub, a vegetable or a herb,
but a herbaceoUs plant with the status
Of a tree. Although it sometimes at
tains a height Of thirty feet, there is
no woody fiber in any part of its sTuc-
ture. and the punches growing on the
dwarf banana plant are often heavier
than the stalk which supports them
No other plant gives such q quantity
OF food to the acre as the banana. 1t
yields ii times more by weight than
the potato and 133 times more than
wheat. Moreover, no insect Will at
tack 1t. and it is always immune from
diseases of any kind.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
PAYS TO ENCOURAGE BIRDS
Assertion Made That Farmers Would
Find Ii to Their interest to
Protect Songsters.

What may be done in the encourage
ment of naturally migratory song birds
to remain north during the winter has
been demonstrated at the farmhouse
OF George E. Hoxsie during the last
winter, where a colony of IL bluebirds
have contentedly lived and apparently
enjoyed their quarters In the bird
houses where they were reared last
summer.
1t is quite interesting to watch their
modes OF living, as their habits of pro
curing food have to be entirely differ
ent from what they are in summer.
Every fairly pleasant morning by
the time it is light they fly away and
are not seen again until near sunset,
when they return individually and go
into the bird houses, several occupying
one house, and all on the same build
ing.
Mr.. Hoxsie has about his place 22
bird houses, all Of which were acou-
pied last season, there being two nests
OF bluebirds and 20 nests Of stump
swallows.
Besides these there were raised
about the buildings four nests of barn
swallows, one nest Of chimney swal-
lows, and seven nests Of cave swaI-
lows. AS these would average four
young birds to each nest, the number
raised, with the old ones added, would
make approximately 200 birds.
Then there were within 500 feet of
the house ten robin nests, one oriols,
one Waxwing, one house wren, two
chippins, two ground sparrows and one
king bird, making in all 18 nests, and
with these young and old added would
make a total Of 300 insect-destroying
songsters that were not only a contin-
ual Joy, but a source of rare profit in
the great number Of gnats, lies, bugs
and worms daily consumed.
Mr.. Hoxsie attributes a big yield of
apples last season to the destruction
by the birds Of the insect pest that in
fects the apples from bloom to finish.
If every farmer would put up a few
suitable bird houses it would soon
make vast difference to the raising
Of farm prOducts.-Westerly Sun.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
FROLIC WAS COSTLY
RoYsTERERs PAID FOR IT WITH
HIGH POSITIONS.
Unfortunate Series OF Incidents the
Result Of Future King of Westpha-
Ila's Desire for Just zone
More Night"

Previous to his elevation to the soV-
eTeignty, Jerome BOnaparts had
formed friendship with some young
authors at that time in vogue for their
Wit and reckless gayety. On the even
ing after his nomination to the crown
Of Westphalia he met two Of his 10
vial companions Just as he was leaV-
ing the theater. MY dear fellows"
said he, Il am delighted TO see you. I
suppose you know that l have been
created king OF WestphaliaP" Yes,
sire, and permit us TO be among the
first" "Eh, what! You ar cere-
monious. methinks; that might pass
were l surrounded by my court, but
at present away with form and let US
be of to supper"
Upon this Jerome took his friends
70 one OF the best restaurateuTs in the
Paiais Royal. The three chatted and
laughed, and said and did a thousand
OF those foolish things which when un-
pFemedItated are so delightful. It
may be supposed that the converse
S@~~ "sNS @SN hOPN AR h4AAAOAk III 4hAAA4Ess
When the wine they had drunk began
to take eject, MY good friends" said
Jerome, why should We quit each
each other? If you approve of my pro-
posal you shall accompany me. You.
c., shall be my secretary; as for you,
P who are fond of books, l appoint
you my librarian" The arrangement
was accepted and ratified over a fresh
bottle Of champagne.
At length the party began to think
Of leaving. and accordingly called for
the bill Jerome produced his purse,
but the king of Westphalia could only
find two louis, which formed but a
small portion Of 2OOf., the amount of
the bill. The new dignitaries, by
clubbing their wealth, could only mus
ter about ST.
What was to be done? At one
o'clock In the morning where could
resources be found? They determined
to send for the master of the house
and acquaint him how matters stood.
He seemed to take the frolic in good
part, and merely requested to know
their names. Having told him, the
restaurateur set his customers down
as sharpers. and threatened to send
for the commissary of police. This
alarmed Jerome, who, seeing that the
restaurateur doubted them, handed
over his watch in payment This
watch had been a present from Napo-
leon, and on the back was the en-
perOr's cipher in bTilliants
On examining the watch the res
taurateur concluded that it had been
stolen, and took it to the COmmissary
Of police. The latter, recognizing the
imperial cipher, ran with it to the
project. The pTefect few to the min
lister of the interior, and he in turn
went to the emperor at St Cloud.
Next morning the Moniteur contained
an ordinance in which Jerome was Or
dered to Westphalia at once, and pro-
htbited from comforting any appoint
ments till his arrival at his capital.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Wrong Name for a Gard sharp.

When John A. Strosnider was az
raigned before United States Commits
sioner Morle In Brooklyn, charged
with aiding young Coleman to rob the
National City bank of Cambridge,
Mass, of a large amount Of money, q
policeman of German extraction said:
That's the first time I've heard \
card sharp called by that name. The
name was surely strohschneider once
ON a time and was Americanized into
what it is now. Strohschneider Is
German for straw cutter, but when
ever Germans play cards they have
only one name for the man who makes
objectionable mistakes, who trUmps
his partners ace, who can't count 10
and who disregards rules, and that
name is 'Strohschneider.' II I were
IN the card business I'd never have
any confidence In a man with that
name"
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Whsn SiIenea Is Deadly,

Silence is commonly the slow poison
used by those who mean to murder
love. There is nothing violent about
it. No shock is given. Hope is not
abruptly strangled, but merely dreams
Of evil and fights with gradually sti-
fling shadows. When the last cOnyul-
sions come they are not terrific. The
frame has been weakened for dissoIu-
ton. Love dies like natural decay. It
seems the kindest way Of doing a
cruel thing.-George Meredith.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
SM0KELESS POWDER.
Il Came Through Experimenting Fer
High Explosives.

II Came Through Experimenting For
High Explosives.
The idea is very general that smoke
less powder in being practically
smokeless achieves its greatest end,
but as a matter Of fact its smokeless
feature is incidental and was an &C
cident
When the idea Of modern long range
guns was conceived 1t was at once ap-
parent that the old black powder lack
ed explosive force, and thousands Of
experiments were made with various
chemicals to procure a powder of high
explosive properties. and this was at
last accomplished.
When the new powder was tried,
much to the surprise Of every one 1t
was found that practically no smoke
followed the explosion, though this
could of course have been predicted
had the question ever arisen. The
volume Of smoke from black powder
is due mainly to the quantity Of char
coal in the powder. an ingredient not
found in the smokeless explosive.
Smokeless powder, though a great
boon to the sportsman, IS Of question
able value on the battlefield. so far as
it's smOkelessness is concerned. The
smoke clouds Of old days were fire.
quently most advantageously used to
cloak movements Of troops and bat
teries and really interfered with the
enemy much more than with the
troops creating the smOke.-Exchange
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Couldn't Fool That Boy,

An uptown minister, interested in
social work, is still laughing over a re-
cent experience with one of the small
boys whose reclaiming into the paths
Of virtue he makes his special prov
ince.
It was a freckle-faced little urchin
whom he had in hand, the leader of a
gang Of tiny terrors. With q saucy
leer, the youngster asked him what he
did for liYin'?"
Il am a messenger Of God" replied
the minister, solemnly.
The urchin looked skeptical.
where's your bicycle?" he said
Philadelphia Times.
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
Breaking IL to Him.

'Mr. Wserius, the last time you we're
here you forgot your watch charm and
went away without It."
"Oh, I can get that any time, Miss
Nona-"
Perhaps you'd better take # now,
though Il may-eT-be a long time,
you know, bsfore you come again"
The Washington bee., 1911-03-25
SINGER and Orator,

IF I had my way" Dr.. Mcnamara
once confessed to an interviewer, Il
should be singing In Carmen instead
Of making speeches from the treasury
bench, but unfortunately the British
public thinks a great deal more Of &
man who can make a bad speech than
a man who can sing a good song."-
Westminster Gazette.