davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

and an educated American. When there
is q difference nine times out of ten
the American Is right, according to all
recognized authorities on both sides of
small respect for authority in pronuncia-
ton. The dictionary Is not his rule of
life. In ordinary English homes the
monumental dictionary which Is the key
note Of American family life would be
regarded as a useless incumbrance.
Other books line his walls, but the best
thing he can provide the inquirer in the
/, way of a dictionary is very much
abridged volume Of ancient date. Even in
that great institution the Guiidhall LIZ
brary an old edition of Webster Is the
best authority at hand.
tk
But even these incomplete guides, il
consulted by English orators. would as
sure them of certain errors. With a
pronouncing gazetteer at hand great
statesman like Lord Lansdowne would
not say inexplic able and nitric acies' !;
the Archbishop of Canterbury would not
give the long sound to % in knowledge;
lecturers and scientists everywhere
would not pronounce evolution with a
long e. neither would the dean. canon
and minor canons Of a great church pro-
nounce sovereign each according to his
own sweet will. as they do at present.
THE dictionary does not settle all ques-
tons in favor of Americans. In the use
Of the letter "a we are convicted on nearly
every count Unfortunately, our achieve
ments under ATTEMPTED reform are worse
than the original sin. At any rate. mine
were 1 was sincerely ashamed Of my as. I
had reason to be: they were execrable.
The unassuming elegance with which the
meanest beggar in. the street would an
nounce that 1t was 'hawf-pawst g made
my fiat New York as sound very spirit
less indeed; and 1 wasted much breath
endeavoring to dignity them with greater
breadth. AS I labored day by day. gradu-
ally 1 became conscious of a change in
the speech Of the English people around
me. Even the maid no longer talked
about her 'dawnces' She went to plain
dances instead. which broke up at half
past 2 l inquired IL my uncultivated
New York tongue had corrupted her
speech.
:" oh. no. said she, but l never knew
before how funny awfuly broad "a"
can sound
That was a bitter blow 1 no longer
emulate the beggar in the street. Not
that 1 entirely abandoned the cultivation
Of broad as, but I considerably modi-
fed it, even going so far as to adopt the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
ST. Syyitlaim and the Weather Tomorrow.

tablished in the neighboring minister OF
ST. Grimbald, and finally drove his com
petitor out of Winchester.
Wulfstein records an interesting in
stance of this rivalry: There was
a poor man so sick he despaired of
life. His friends bore him to the city
and were for taking him to st. jesse, but
a. they drew nigh to the gate of the new
minister one met them who asked them
what they did. st. Swithin's bones, he
said, were far more potent in the min
ster hard by To this advice they listened,
and so laid the sick man under the relics
of the holy ST. Swithin. and there they
kept watch with him. praying and dosing
through the night. Toward daybreak
they all fell off to sleep and to the sick
man in his dreams it seemed as If the
shrine above him rocked and swayed
nightly. and that some one was tugging
at his shoes. And he awOke in fear, and
10. he was healed. But one Of his shoes
was gone, and, though men sought dill
gently for 1t, to this day it has never
been found
II history, as we have seen, does not in
dorse the legend, neither does science in
dorse 1t. We are told of ruthless in
vestigator In the nineteenth century who
took upon himself to examine the table
Of rainfall at Greenwich for twenty
consecutive years, and published the re-
suit Of his investigation as follows:
st. Swithin's day falls in a month in
which more rains occur than in any other
in the year: nevertheless. the records at
Greenwich observatory show that, taking
the average of the last twenty years, Of
the forty days which followed the 10Th
of July. the greater part We're rainy when
st. Swithin's day was fine. During the
nprlOd Sn0kQn there
forty consecutive wet or dry days after
the anniversary. whatever the condition
of the weather may have been on that
day
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
RACERS Do NOT FEAR
GALVESTON CLIMATE
Cotton Carnival Event Seized.
uIed for Next Month to
Be Big Affair.

Now that the Tacoma and Old Orchard
race meets have become history. only one
big event remains before the running of
the Vanderbilt and Grand Prize races in
the fall. This is the Galveston Cotton
Carnival meet August 8, 9 and 10, on the
famous beach at Galveston, Tex. That
city Is becoming better known each year
as the summer resort of the southwest"
When northern people hear Galveston
mentioned they are inclined to think OF
1t as boiling hot place in summer.
whereas as a matter of fact ii is cooler
than many cities thousand miles farther
north. 1t is swept by cooling Gulf OF
Mexico breezes," and the new concrete
causeway connecting Galveston with The
mainland is a most attractive prone
made and drive. Most of the racing driv-
ers who have been there at former meets
know this, and hence do not dread the
trip.
The races are to be run over a COM
paratively short course on the beach this
season-two and one-half mles-making
a full lap five miles. This will insure
the cars passing the grandstand al fire.
quent intervals In former years the
chief criticism of the Ormond-Daytona
course. about twenty miles In length,
was that it was too long for the races to
be exciting.
At the beach classic in Texas there will
be none Of the "hippodrome' style OF
racing. No appearance money Is to be
paid to any of the drivers and no one
team Of the circus type will be able to
go there and STALL through the events
running the program to suit itself All
cars and drivers WILL enter on An equal
basis and will be forced to drive to win.
More than 5000 in cash prizes Is offered
In addition to numerous trophies to be
fought for Cars will be timed by electri-
cal timing device registering to hun
dredths of a second-such as is employed
at all big events.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
Some Modern Snobs.
rom the Chicago Inter Ocean.


Thackeray was the great biologist of
snobs. He catalogued them, and dissected
them, and scarified them and satirized
them. But even Trackeray overlooked
some varieties. The political snob was
treated by Thackeray, but it is a differ
ent political snob that we have today, and
it does not mean that n man must be
corrupt to fall foul of the ''holier than
thou attitude or OF the pseudo-virtue of
the political snob. The political snob is
OF purity: Is always currying to the popu-
lar whim, invariably for a self-seeking
purpose. His peoples voice is my
voice." He is for the people. if the peo-
pie will only reward him, either with Of
fee or limelight, or both. He is very
common just now. a noxious snob. but
one of whom. as an individual. We are
usually rid after time. Unfortunately
the type remains.
Scarcely less insufrerable is the intelec-
tual snob. Frequently he is also a polit-
ical snob-always, when he goes into poll
tics. When he is not in politics he aban-
dons the popular pose" and affects to
despise anything that the people wish.
With him a book is bad because the pub
lie likes it: the six best sellers" are nee
essarily the six worst written; the
practical. everyday man Is an ignoramus
because he lacks university sanction; that
which is plain is therefore, error; only
the obscure is infallible.
There are endless varieties of the intel
lectual snob. 1t would be the worst kind
of punishment TO grant him his expressed
desire because it would mean that he
would be imnlured with lot of others Of
his kind, without the chance to pose be-
fore the public he affects to despise. The
art snob and the musical snob are closely
akin to the intellectual snob. We must
have good art and good music. but they
must also be truly popular. not conglom
erations of colors and sounds that only
certain faddists' eyes are gifted to see or
ears attuned to Hear.
1t is probable that there is no profess
sion where snobbery is carried to greater
excess than in medicine. There "ethics"
often degenerate into antics. Although
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
\ NGLISH people permit many

- NGLISH people permit many III
critics to visiting Americans, put
the most courteous Briton allVe
will not admit that an American
speaks the English language
was a travellers plant.
American, YOU mean. he correc.s'
when YOU state that all immigrant CHI
dren are soon taught English In our
schools. and YOU echo feebly. Yes. Ameri-
can l mean Or IL the rebuff is TOO Sc
vere perhaps you say nothing.
Il. for instance, had nothing to say III
replv to a Young German who had COM
planned that he was going 10 Change
boarding houses because there was no
body in his present abode from whom he
could learn English
There is nobody at home evenings 10
talk with he said, and that is what am
in London for to talk. OF course ne
added, with Teutonic directness. you are
always willing to talk, but l don want
to learn American: l want to learn Eng
lsh'
..In the interests Of International amity
that was time for silence. Reform not
defense, seemed the wisest policy. How
ever, the acquiring of pure English was
not a new ambition on my part HaV-
ing heard always of the superiority OF
English speech over american. no sooner
landed at Southampton than l began TO
repair my linguistic sins. Spurred on py
the bluntness OF my German critic kept
on improving for six months, then
stopped. l discovered that in many dill
ferences between English and American
speech | did not wish to reform. That
knowledge came as a real shock admins
tered by one of England's famous church
choirs. I had been ushered into a pew
unprovided with hymn books, SO had to
guess at what the hymn was about. The
only thing I could be sure of was that the
whole choir were terrible wrought up over
their furs The chief boy soprano pealed
forth first with a string Of silvery sweet
notes set to q lament over my furs. my
furs." then the altos, the tenors. the bari
tones and finally the BASES, took it up
and made the aisles of the beautiful old
church ring with despairing wall over
their furs.
"At last curiosity got the better OF mu-
steal emotion; l wondered what on earth
could be the matter with their furs- A
hymnbook borrowed from a man in the
adjoining pew gave me the key to the
situation. 1t was not their furs at all
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
With the Middle States regatta less

With the Middle States regatta less
than two months off and the arrange
ments at present only in a tentative
state. the local committee in charge of
the various details Of the water carnival
has started in on its strenuous work.
The statement that the regatta prom
Uses to be the largest ever held in the
United States is not based on any idle
gossip of the promoters of the regatta,
it is said, nor does it come from the
Middle States headquarters in New York.
though they can vouch for the statement
as based on solid facts. The authority
comes from personal queries sent out by
The Stars representative to the various
cities where boat clubs are located
that are ''progressive'-t who an
nually are found contesting at regattas
of prominence. In New York every club
on the Harlem .river-Atalantas. Daunt-
less. First Bohemian. Friendship. Har-
lens, Hudson. Lone Star. Nassau
Metropolitans, New York Athletics. Non
pareil, Unions and Wyandottes-Will send
one or more scullers and crews. In fact,
every organization will make it point
TO send its best men to Washington
Then the Hudson river clubs-Acttves.
Atlantics, Rosedale. Union, Waverley and
Bloomingdale-have crews at work for
the Middle States. as is well known and
which has been repeatedly mentioned in
the papers Of the city. In Brooklyn
there are such organizations as the Ores
cents, Flushing, Nautilus. Ravenwood,
Sheepheads. Sewanhaka and Wahnetah,
that seldom miss attending the Mid
die States wherever held. This same In
terest is shown among the fourteen row
ing clubs Of the Schuylkill navy. as well
as those OF Baltimore, making UP the
Patapsco navy.
These alone would make the regatta a
world beater in point Of attendance. Ad-
ditional entries will come from Canada,
New England. the west and the south.
The crowd is sure to be unusually large
and merchants are expected to profit.
In order to stimulate an interest in the
Middle States a mass meeting of the Po-
tomacs is called for July 10. when Presi-
dent Warden hopes to enroll every mem
Der as a jealous boomer" and ardent
promoter and steady "stroker' for the
success Of the Middle States.
Mai. Douglas Spencer Bliss. who has
charge Of the housing OF the crews while
at the regatta, as well as the laying out
of the course finds that it will be neces-
sary to erect q mammoth tent on the LOT
adjoining the Potomac boathoLse. in or
der to accommodate the visiting oarsmen
and have their racing craft adjacent to
the railroad tracks. The tent will be
large enough to receive ten cight-oared
shells. fifteen four-oared and fOur-oared
gigs. ten doubles and as many single
shells as will come.
At the meeting held at Philadelphia re
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14
Bird That Builds Fence Of Thorns.
From Ave Maria.


The little brown wren Of Central Amer
lea builds a nest that should belong to a
bird five or six times as large as 1t is;
and. to prevent other birds from disturb
ing its home while 1t is away, it builds
as a protection a fence of thorns leading
to it. When Nine. Wren looks for home
site she selects a tree where two branches
lie parallel about two feet apart. Across
these two branches she and her mate lay
q little platform about five feet in length.
Near the trunk Of the tree is built dome
shaped nest. about foot In height. The
sides Of this nest are all interviewer with
thorns Next a covered passageway is
built from the nest to the end of the plat
form In as crooked a manner as possible.
Thorns stick out in all directions. just as
in the nest itself: and every few inches
on the inside of the tunnel little fences
of thorns are placed in such a way that
any creature not familiar with the pas
sageway will get badly pricked. Finally.
across the outer end OF the tunnel is a
movable gateway of thorns
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

~111 9TH the annual encampment
only month off the Ma
KAk tional Guard Of the District
wv of Columbia is slowly but
surely getting in readiness
for its fifteen days of field service on
Bolivar Heights. W. Va. Some OF the
companies in the brigade will have tight
squeeze to get TO camp, as all of them
are not up to the required strength En-
listments are rather slow, but company
commanders are making final squirt to-
ward increasing the strength Of their
commands.
At present the indications are that the
brigade will carry 1900 men TO camp.
Every enlisted man who wants to go will
have the chance. of course. but there Is
some question about all the officers going.
This is brought about because If two
small companies are combined to make
one company of sufficient strength. there
will be no way to certify for the extra"
officers on the rolls.
An effort is being made now to enlist
men who have had previous service in
the Army, Navy or Marine Corps. They
would be entitled to pay even If enlisted
at the last minute
Capt. James B. Allison. eth United
States Infantry. instructor-inspector of
the National Guard Of the District of
Columbia has ben detailed by the War
Department for duty as inspector with
the Pennsylvania National Guard at the
annual encampment at Gettysburg, July
- to July 81.
The Naval Battalion of the National
Guard of the District of Columbia,
aboard the L. S. s. Ozark, command
Of Commander Franklin s. Durston. sail
ed from Naval Battalion dock Friday
morning for Tangier Island, in Chesa-
peake bay. where the Ozark will meet
the Vixen and the Marietta, with the
New Jersey militiamen on board: the
Gloucester. with the New York militia
men, and the Elfrida, with the North
Carolina contingent
The fleet will sail tomorrow morning for
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

, Out of His Humor' One of the char
acters in that play is Sordido, a miser
and cynic He has occasion to criticise
an almanac that is shown to him.
+
slid. stay" he cries. this is worse
and worse. What says he of st.
Swithins? Turn back, look, ST. Swithin' S
the fifteenth day, weather for the most
part rain, good. For the most part rain ?
Why it should rain forty day after now.
more or less. 1t was rule held afore I
was able to hold pillow, and yet here are
two days no rain. Ha. 1t makes me
muse"
In Poor Robins Almanac for the year
1887 the following verses occur:
In this month OF ST. Swithin's day.
On which II that it rain, they say,
Full forty days after 1t will.
Or more or less, some rain distil.
This Swithin was a saint trow,
And Winchester's bishop also,
Who in his time did many a feat,
As Popish legends do repeat;
woman having broke her eggs.
By stumbling at another's legs.
For which she made woefu1 cry.
st. Swithin CHANGED for to come by,
Who made them all eound or moe
Than ever they had been before.
But whether this were
It's more than you or ] do know;
Better is 1t to rise betime
And to make hay while do shine
Than to believe in tales and lies
Which idle monks and friars devise.
The satirical Churchill also mentions the
superstitious notions concerning rain on
this day:
July, to whom the dog star in her train
ST. James gives oisters and st. Swithfn rain.
The shrine of ST. Swithin early sprang
into great repute. Worshipers. sick folks,
the MANNED and the halt f1ocked hither
and left behind them substantial signs of
gratitude. For centuries st. Swithin was
the most popular healing saint in Eng
land. He entirely overshadowed the rival
st. jesse or JOdocus, long previously es-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

the science has advanced greatly, il would
often be good thing, in some respects,
to return to the days when the family
doctor treated every ILL., We should. at
least, have deal less nonsense, and re-
lief from suffering would be cheaper and
honeSter.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

Gently Of the regatta committee the fol-
lowing races were agreed on for the day s
sport: Junior. intermediate. senior and
association singles: Junior, intermediate.
SOULS. junior and intermediate gigs, SEN
ior and special $40 pounds four-Oared
shells. intermediate and senior QuadrLple
SOULS; junior. intermediate and senior
eight-oared shells. making in all seven
teen events, carrying with them sixty-five
gold medals and seventeen silver plaques.
AS soon as the local committee on
prizes learned of the events 1t imme-
dtately inserted advertisements in the To-
cal papers requesting our manufacturing
jewelers. to submit designs and bids for
the prizes. These bids will close Friday,
July 49, and the members of the commit
tee-C. r. Zappone, e. Richard Gasch
and John Hadley Doyle-are hopeful that
prize.
The two new races added are in the
14O-pound class. for senior doubles and
senior foLr-oared shells. 1t was thought
that the committee favored the eight
cared shells for this style Of race, but
it deemed 1t the wisest move to start out
this year with the doubles and four. and
the switch will disappont the Potomacs,
who just now are having large number
Of 14O-pound men in their ranks, as Capt.
Evans was already laying his plans to
form such crew.
The members of the Washington Canoe
Club are preparing to give their friends a
royal time at the regatta the officials OF
the club have now under way. There Will
be plenty of canoe events on the water.
while some of the best talent In the
country will participate In swimming and
high diving feats for the edi1cation of
the club. In the canoe events there will
be many open races. in which members
of the other canoe clubs may participate.
The affair will take place Saturday Au-
gust g.
The success that followed the first race
Of the Tech-Analostan crew at the Peo-
pies regatta at Philadelphia has aroused
a deep interest among the members OF
the Analostan club. and A. A. Nevius.
Who ably seconded and financed the crew.
is receiving much praise for his good
work. The members OF the crew now are
resting on their oars, but Will in about
ten days resume training under their
skillful mentor. Mr.. Hecox. with the jun
Tor and intermediate eight-oared con-
tests OF the Middle States in view. 1t
certainly is fast. crew. as II was only
defeated by the New Rochelle, crew
that has been rowing now for two sea-
sons.
Capt John Evans of the Potomacs has
issued his call for all candidates for the
crews to report at once for training.
Capt Evans also announces another club
regatta for Saturday. July 20. when he
expects to duplicate the splendid results
that took place at the one held early In
June. There will be race for seniors
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

that were causing the commotion. but
their fears And with that discovery l
there and then abandoned my frantic ef-
forts to shed crude Americantsms. Fears
continue to say. without in the least at
tempting to confound those mental and
spiritual manifestations with material
furs.
Allowing for the idiosyncrasies Of
musical speech, the choir's pronuncia-
+, ton of fears was the ordinary Eng
fish pronunciation. That treatment OF
similar words containing the two voWeis
of English speech that struck my I'M
| tutored ears. Years is frankly 'yuhs,
| tears is very nearly tubs, clear is club,
| ears Is almost 'uhs. My refusal to mix
fears and furS was soon followed by
further revolts. Henceforward nothing
could induce me to say clark when 1
meant clerk. nor 'Barkeley Square when
meant Berkeley Square. although can
not see that there was really much sense
In that particular mutiny. since l cneer-
fully talked about the darby.
Another improvement that l had
baked at from the beginning was whilst.
In England both in writing and speaking
the use Of whilst is universal. but an
American who has been accustomed to
while does not take to it kindly. Also
poses. sounds cumbersome to the Amer
lean ear. but l have yet to hear an Eng
lish person say 'yuh when he means
just one year; it is always a twelve
month. Two weeks is never two weeks.
but q fortnight, but since that is the sub
stltution of one word for two, 1t has the
virtue of brevity BY that same argu-
ment the national expression oil time and
age is defective. 1t never gets twenty
five minutes past the hour in England.
but five and twenty minutes past, also a
man is never forty-f1ve years old. but
eve and forty.
weather conditions provide phrases
that need to be translated to the Ameri-
can visitor. Nobody in England says 1t
rains hard: it always rains fast To de-
termine winter temperatures from an
Englishman's reading of the thermome-
ter necessitates an arithmetical calcula-
ton. for he will never tell YOU right out
that it is twenty degrees, but twelve de-
grees of frost: therefore to find out how
cold you really are you have TO subtract
twelve from thirty-two.
But those are only minor differences
in idiom. Looked at impartially, there
are but few real differences in the pro-
nunciation of an educated Englishman