davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

brushes and secondhand articles thar
look as though they might have once been
the property of the Pharaohs or adorn-
ments Of the Egyptian mummes In
every square where space permits Its
erection are to be seen during the Jour
de ran" earrousels, which command an
enormous patronage. These merry go
rounds, while probably not SO expensive
as those in America, are certainly more
ornate, being bewildering mass of sill
yer tinsel and mirrors. They are oper-
ated by horse power and the accompany
ing piano or organ. in lieu of being in the
center Of the machine, Is placed upon the
platform and revolves with It, Here and
there wooden member of the menagerie
is missing to make place for circular
seat which revolves around an upright
post during the revolution of the car
rousel itself. The quantest arrange
ments, however. are the diminutive mer-
ry-go-rounds for infants. The entire con-
struotion is placed upon a low wagon
drawn hy d single horse from locality Il
locality The wooden horses, u in num-
Der. are not over a foot IN height and
the infants are held thereon by their
nurses who follow the revolution of the
apparatus. The entire machine is manip-s
ulated by crank resembling the handle
of a street organ.
Police regulations require the Rag Fair
TO close by January 10. but the wife of
the president of the French republic an
nually requests the authorities to extend
its existence until the 18th of the month
which request is always granted, and at
the expiration of that time the wooden
city disappears in night folding its
tents. as the Arab. and Paris IS itself
again.
II Is the custom for the Jour de ran 10
move from place to place. 50 that in a
few weeks 1t appears al Versailles, later
at St Denis and so on until it is time to
revisit Paris.
The Frenchman must be amused and
II he cannot find his pleasure in the OPEN
he indulges his whims indoors One OF
his most amusing pastimes under the
latter environment is the small race, an
insfpid source of amusement to an Amer
leans way of thinking, but full of enthu-
siasm to Jean Bonhomme. These trials
of speed. or sowness whichever one may
choose 10 term them take place in the
dark. The French snail is larger than
his American cousin and he is put in
training for the speed test. Sometimes
he is starved for a fortnight and often
bis shell Is creased that ne may move
with greater celerity or less tardiness
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

Moulin Rouge, Bal Butler and other ia
nous dance halls.
However the French cannot long en-
dure the obligations of abstinence which
the Lenten season imposes They call
Lent Careme and it is their custom TO
celebrate the middle of the 40 days fast
by grand festival known as the Mi
Careme fete and rivalling in splendor the
gorSeousness of the carnival festivities
Each year a queen of queens is selected
by a committee charged with that pur-
pose, which queen is sovereign of the
peasure-loving occasion and is CUSTOM
arily selected from the many mercnant
families of the Partisan markets. In ad-
dtion to the principal queen each mar
ket selects its respective sovereign and
the contest for beauty is quite spirited be-
tween the markets of the great Halles of
st. German, Lenoir and Carmes
The gowns of the beauties are most
elaborate affairs, fashioned by some lead
ing modiste of the city, their designing
being an honor much sought after by
the merchants as a medium of advertis-
ing their styles
The great city of Paris is divided by
the Seine into two grand sections, the
one south of the river being designated
as the Rive Gauche. left bank and the
northern section 0he more aristocratic)
as the Rive Droit or right bank, and
these two banks contest for supremacy
in the pageants which they respectively
present at the Mi-Careme fete.
The last mentioned section had the
honor of presenting the first automobile
club that ever participated in such an
occasion. Both cavalcades start at 3
O'Clock in the afternoon, are reviewed
by the president of the French republic
and disband at the Hotel de VILE
l shall never forget the scene presented
by one of these fetes which it was. once
my good fortune to witness. The .cortege
of the Rive Droite was dazzling spec
tacle. The Champs -Elysee and Principal
bouevards We're lined with files of mount
ed cuirassiers for the preservation of or
der, their brass casques glittering in the
sunlight and their queues OF horse hair
Haunting in the breeze.
Most of the floats were drawn by auto
mobiles in lieu of horses and the queen
chariot vas in the form of mammoth
slipper, Is feet in height, covered with
silt, flanked by two enormous winged
lions and having the throne over the heel
or talon as the French; call it, with the
maids OF honor ranged along the instep.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23
BY c.. F. MARKELL

The royal float was followed by a num-
ber of Roman chariots and a vast troop
of Roman warriors mounted and afoot.
After them was a regiment of girls in
kahki uniform with rifles. leather leg
gins and Western Reserve regulation felt
hats.
The unique and droll features of the
parade We're giant nurses and infants in
perambulators, the perambulators being
propelled by means of men concealed be-
meath the skirts of the babies; swarms
of human bees with eyes. antennae and
wings marching on foot; droves of
beetles, a whole army of frogs and great
schools of fish.
Probably the chef d'ouevre of the occa-
sion was mammoth pyramid of human
flowers wherein lilies, roses, daisies, sun
flowers morning glories and tulips many
feet in diameter were fashioned out of
paper and from the center OF each peered
some pretty woman's face.
The cake walk was rendered upon an
elevated platform upon wheels and the
dances We're executed every time the pro-
cession halted. attracting more attention
than any other phase OF the procession
The male dancers We're invariably full
ners were danceuses from some Partisan
vaudeville theatre.
Confetti. as in the case of the carnival
was universally employed, but through
experience from the latter festival its use
was regulated by special and rigorous
municipal enactment. During the carni-
val. as il lay upon the street to the depth
OF several inches, 1t was gathered up
from the payes and resold by the ped
dlers' and enterprisin individuals
Through justice to the original vendors
and for sanitary reasons this practice
was strictly prohibited during the Mi
Careme fete and private individuals were
also forbidden under pain of arrest and
fine to pick it up as great danger lurked
in the possibility of gathering gravel with
the confetti and thus injurng the eve
sight of those upon whom it might be
thrown.
While the frivolity of the occasion was
continued until the wee small hours of
night, most of ii was indoors and exactly
at midnight the forces of the street-clean-
ing department went to work at cleansing
the thoroughfares of the confetti and IN
a short while they had stacked it in
ridges four feet high and miles in Ieng.n
The circular brooms which essayed to
remove it were completely clogged at the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

The contesting creatures are placed upon
a board in dark room. The board is
troughed so that the snas may not run
amuck and is slightly elevated at the
end upon which the steeds start Often
the track is smeared with just suspi-
cion of honey or some sweet stuff to
lure the hungry animal on. At the goal.
or far end of the board. is placed cam
die, or rather a candle was so used in the
olden days, but Its place is now supplant-
ed by half-hoode1 electric bulb The
light attracts and the sweetened pathway
stimulates movement. The snails are all
weighed most carefully before the start
and those over the regulation averdupoiss
are handicapped by having little leaden
pellets placed upon and fastened to their
backs II the molusks manifest an indis-
position TO start they are spurred by the
vibrations of the base string of a violin
cello which is said TO exert a peculiar m
fluence upon them. When once off the
hrenchmen are ready TO throw their hats
into the air. Large sums of money are
waged upon the result and for hours
those interested in the outcome wait in
feyerish excitement the denouement of the
game. A line is drawn across the board
a few inches from the light. but as the
snails rarely traverse the entire length
Of the plank il is customary to allot
certain number of hours for the race and
at their expiration the molusk which is
nearest the light is awarded the prize,
after his handicap has been discounted,
and so on 4 snail which is a good racer
is worth a considerable sum of money tot
its owner. and there is said to he eften
q good deal of swindling connected with
the sport. was once told but | by no
means vouch for for the truthfulness OF
the story. that a Frenehman was caught
having supplied his snail with tiny pair
OF duh ivory wheels TO enable it TO glide
more rapidly over the course
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

W/HIIE life in the French capital
A/ is one round of gaiety there are
w periods when frivolity is in
duleed in to a greater degree of excess
and at the antics of her populace the old
world must smile whether willingly or
otherwise.
one of these periods is the French Mar
di Gfas and to witness such a fete is to
realize that New orleans has not by any
means monopoized this popular function.
Nowhere else and upon no other ocea-
sion is to be seen such conglomeration
of humanity, such crush of wildly
struggling mortais, such a pandemonium
of hilarity, frivolity and mirth-making
as the episodes of the season present.
Inklings of the laughter fete begin to
manifest themselves upon the previous
Sunday when the festivities are opened
by the students of the Sorbonne and Uni
versity of France, some 1900 in number,
by an immense parade through the prin-
cipal boulevards of the city. The pro-
cesson includes women as well as male
students, most grotesquelessly attired and
wild with mercurial enthusiasm.
Turbulent demonstrations of previous
years have placed the authorities upon
guard so that the masses of revelers are
segregated into platoons, each platoon
being companioned by squad of Paris
ian police.
There are numerous floats, some of
which present a striking appearance.
much music and many banners and trans
parencies, but the latter often display
vulgar and indecent legends which cam
not be repeated in print. This is but the
Initiation of Tuesdays revels. when the
city is thronged to plethora and the car
1iival is opened at 3 o clock in the after
noon by the children upon the Champs
Elysee Most of the children are ex-
auisitely attired and not few don comic
costumes, while all carry confetti in
handsome velvet or tarletan bags This
confetti is dashed indiscriminateIy into
the faces of the throng and is often pre-
ceded by douses of perfumed water to
cause it to adhere closely to the clothing
of the victim The confetti is offered for
sale by the cart load from thousands of
stands go-carts and wagons ranged
along the curb and the streets swarm
with venders of paper brushes, some
what resembling our old-fashioned fly
brushes with which to brush the confetti
from the clothing.
At o'clock in the afternoon the traffic
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

and does not comport with my usual
Dignity.
Nevertheless in the presints of this
boastful and irritating persun, who
claimed to be an expert at EVERY
thing. l would not admit it, and de-
termined that 1 would make good. 1
told him. that l was probability out
of practise, and would have to learn
all ovver again. He sed, that was all
rite, he would give me instructsions,
and besides that man newer forgot
how to skate. or to swim
I told him that it would be better
for me to take a few private lessuns
before appearing in public, but with a
feandish persistensy he nagged me on.
He made sevverel engagements for me
to go with him to this ring, but man.
aged to get tellegrams or sumthing
which kept me bizzy, but he laid for
me with a pasience and persistintsy
which would have been comendibull in
nobler cause. At last he corded me
into going. and it was with a ,tryum-
fant air that he escorted me and my
finnish to that awful skating rink
There was a large crowd presint, and
it seemed to me that they took consid-
erabull interest in me while my friend
was adjusting a pair of skates to my
feet. They seemed to reed my secret,
and I nevever felt so frendless in my
life.
My first 1eesun in skating will prob
abully be my lask If l evver take an
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23
The Old World Laughs When Paris Smiles

of all omnibusses, tramways and cabs is
interdicted upon the principal bouevards,
and l have seen the thoroughfares from
the Arc de Triomph to the Gate of Saint
Denis upon the boulevard Bonne Nou-
velle, distance of seven miles, thronged
from house front to house front with q
wild, mad hilarious mob and all this dis
tance the confetti lay several inches deep,
as though one were walking upon a thick
velvet carpet.
BY nightfal the city has donned its
mad-cap and the street scenes beggar de-
scription., The Boulevard des Italians,
the Boulevard Poissioner, Montmartre
and the Boulevard st. Michel are trans
formed into a perfect bedlam; women are
carried upon the shoulders of men; young
men have no hesitancy in rushing up and
kissing the cheeks of pretty girls to whom
they are entire strangers and all deem
the occasion a license for almost any fa-
mliarity.
Hundreds of men appear in female at
tire and thousands of women dress as
men. Many of these women look quite
pretty in the male attire of the time of
Louis XVI, with long white silk coats
trimmed in silver spangles, accompanied
with knee-breeches and wigs; others are
quite stunning, habited in gentlemen's S
fun dress suits, and others again in men S
spring costumes are veritable Fashion
plates.
IN France a woman must pay a tax
equivalent to $40 per annum If she wishes
to wear male attire and the government
confers the privilege as a tribute to great
merit. the honor thus conferred being
regarded something as the bestowal OF
the ribbon of the Legion of Honor. The
only women who have been accorded this
right are Georges Sand. Rosa Bonheur
Madame Dieulefoy, the Persian archaeol-
ogist; Madame Faucault the bearded wo-
man, and two sculptors, Mesdames Four
eau and De Jeanette.
Only about half of the revelers wear
masks music is heard at every street
crossing and there are to be seen many
improvised cakewalks, which the French
call cake wake. Indeed, France seems un-
able to appreciate the serio- -comique char
acter of the cakewalk and take it serious
ly, taking it as national American dance
and again and again the Parisian journals
have discussed the advisability pro and
con of its adoption by the French ma
ton.
The festivities are concluded by elabor-
ate masked balls at the Bal Taborin.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

air, and all them things. He will get
out and walk ate or ten miles at a
time and seem to enjoy it. He sleeps
with his windows wide open and let's
the cold blasts frum the north wander
in and toy with his locks-those he
has left to toy with. He belongs to
a gymnasium and performs sum on the
horizontal bar. He seye he is a good
horizontal bar. He seys he Is a good
believe him. He can cling to hor-
rizontal bar with his eyebrow and
wave his toes at the admirring spec
tators for several minnits at time.
1 have uther trends who can cling to
a bar for hours at a time with there
elbows, but they all ways rest one
foot on the rale.
The uther day this friend of mine
and myself weer out for walk and
we passed sevverel boys and gurls
skating on the asfalt pavemints, who
friend asked me If l skated. In an
ungarded moment. l admitted that 1
used to skate when boy and enjoyed
1t very much.
Rite away he becum enthussiastick.
He sed he knew a plase where nuth-
ing but the most exclusive peepul
went to skate and he would take me
there, where | could have a swell time.
7 deul1rred bIt he ovver-rI1Ied NV oh
jectsions As matter of fact, L can
not skate. | newer could skate. AS
passtime skating is abhorrint to me,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

as they air in the District of Columbia.
| was not. however, successful 1T is
quite an undertaking for one man
alone and unaided to try to Butt a
perfectly good 90 inch brick wall out
of a township in one evening. All I
succeeded in doing was to bite my in
issials in the plastering and bend a
couple of 16 inch steel I beams out
of plum. owing to the obstlnasy of
the wall, I then rebounded. l may not
be pronounced success when it Gums
to skating. but as a rebounder, l stand
alone and unchallenged. In rebound
ing | sideswipped a yung man and
yung woman to whom / had not been
introduced. This caused them to fail.
and out of poiteness [ fell with them.
We all three came down on the floor
of that skating rink in such an abrupt
maner that it loosened the teeth of
general Jacksun's horse in LaFay-
cite square.
Sli uNh iuo yuhS man SOlHtW mere
in the regeon of the vest pocket and
he swallered a cuss- word, and the yung
lady swallered her chewing gum.
blushed and tryed to apologize and
tryed to get up and bow TO them, but
I ovverdid it. As soon as [ got on my
feet ] began to do things which ap-
pear to me now as holly undignnified
and calculated to create adverse COM
mint. / don't know how it would have
ended had not my friend cum to my
rescue and took me away. In trying
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23
Good Logic

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The auto speeder was pinched on Euclid
avenue late one night last week. and
brought before the court early one
morning this week, which was the day
after
You say the machine was beyond your
control?" asked his honor.
1T was
why was it? And can YOU prove its''
Listen. your honor. If l could have
controlled that machine how could the
cop have caught me?"
The logic was so perfect that the inn
mediate discharge was a foregone con-
clusion.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

Z HTSTUR EDDITUR4I am satisfied
NJ nat 'n.r. Va. newer sr,~ss
saying than you cannot lern an
old dog new tricks This trite fill
lossofv applies to mankind in gen
neril and is conclusive. After a man
reeches sertain age--between 35 to
40-he ought TO settle down and becum
a sensibull citizen and as neer an or
nimint to sosiety as possibull. If he
marries the rite kind of a womin he
usually does so, with only oecassionel
slips of the cog. 1t is but natural, how
ever, that EVERY middle-aged man,
when he sees yung fellers pulling off
things he used to do in his yuth, fig
gers that he could do it better. He
thinks that he used to be the best
basebawl player in the world when he
was boy. and the finest tennis play
er. and he is given to boast of his
prowess when a yuth. If he will let
1t go at that, it win be all rite, but
he should not get lkittenish and try
to give an exhibision. When middle
aged man begins to get ldttenish, he
ought to be confined; he is dangerus
to sosiety.
have friend in Washington
rather it mite be better to say that 1
had a friend in Washington, who has
clung to the sports he participated in,
in his yuth and has retained a sertan
on the subject of eXersise and fresh
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

to Keep on my feet with nuthing to
women, / accumulated lot of things
for which l have no use whatever.
have several cute little curls which
l am trying to keep consealed frum my
wife, which | will return to that yung
lady if [ ever lern her address. She
did not give them to me voluntarily, /
ing to her for support My acauaint
ence with this yung woman was too
breef for me to have enny sentimintaL
reesun for keeping them, and 1 do not
want them al a souvenner of the oc-
casion. for l would prefer to forget
it. ! do not know why | did not get
her address, for ! took almost EVERY
Thing else she had with her
In the meen time my friend and the rest
of the audiense seemed to enjoy the
oassion. Peepul who weer there and
saw me frollick round the hall like a
thing of life, say that 1t was well worth
the prise of admission, and declare that
while my style of skating was rather
flewant and IRRELEVANT, It was strictly
So
original. My friend laffed in a corse and
ribal1 manner. but presumably could see
no humor in the affair. 1t does not ap-
peer at all funny to me for mdd1e-aged
man sitely given to obesity to load
himself up on wheels with sperate idears
about genneril directsions, and go rollikn
round a room fun of total strangers,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

like runaway fire engine. Especially
if | happen to be that mddle-aged man.
My friend helped me to seperate my
self frum those skates, and previously
insulted me while doing so. He sed with
loud outlaws, that resembulled a wind
mill in a storm, and sed II I was the
champion skater of Alabama he'd give
ten bucks to see the man who got secund
mummy. Naturally | resinted his remarks
ana felt soar There is now a coldness
between us. Cents that time he has
+ been to see me and appologized, but We
air not the same He sed he was sorry
that he sed that I looked like a wind
mill in storm, and was willing to take
1t back. He sed that he would also ap-
pologize to the windmill He admitted
that the remark was totally uncalled for
under the circumstances, and added that
that there was not enuff close resem-
blence between me and a windmill to
deceive Gwen the most ordinery OBJ
server
feel it, therefore. my solem duty to
warn middeaged man frum trying to
lern new trisks It is dangerus and use
less. for It can't be did, and mite Iced
to unpleasant CONSEQUENCES. 1t is liabuIl
to estrange long-standing friendships and
sperate you frum companyons Of life
time. Don't try to lern an old dog new
tricks. It is an unproffitabull experri-
mint, and its hard on the dog. Take it
frum me. Yours trooly, BILL VINES.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

The festivities are concluded by elabor-
ate masked balls at the Bal Taborin.
TaÌˆgliches Cincinnatier volksblatt. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1885-1919, 1913-05-03
Cincinnati. samaae. ben B. Ysai 1913

NIT pollen 5dnben fortipdrf, lit als
Gbriifpp9 Clement ibentifi8irt DOR
Zen, Der Gigentbiimer zines 6otels in
gcfion.
Die gol;sei bebouptet. bdB Clement
in, Sabre 1899 in Rorfita sinen poits
sug nm $4,000 beraubts unb nit
bem Gelb naf Nneritu entflob, DO
er Elm 6otel anfaufte. Clement Foa
isiibem in jsbem Sdbr 5rantrsib be-
frdt hdben, Is gelang ibm absr INNER
Der 9erbdftung 3u entgeben. Bel feiz
nsr gerbaftung hatte er $1,000 in
8aar in ben 3dfhen uuo trug pertbz
pole SuneIen. gr fon aud cine grobe
Sunme In elmer Barrier 8ant bab.n.
Gin Gebeimnib Der 5rans
3ofen srfpdbt.
1oulon, syrdnfreid, 2. Mai. Sx
Warinetreiien krrfM bic er0bte Be-
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Rebue ale ts6niihen gin3etbeiten elmer
Grfinbuna psroffentliht iporbsn itnb,
Der man bic grobie Didtigtsit beige
legt bot. Gin proninsnter Wdrinsz
offisisr tpar fpdbrsnb Der lsBten padr
Wondte i'm gebeimsn bamit beitdfs
tist, bic Grfinbuns su ptrbOlltommnsn.
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untsrfubuno dnaeorbnet. Wlon erin
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bung Elm ousldnoiffer Gffi3ier iid in
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