davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The day book., 1914-02-27
WIVES "OBEY?"

Church of England bishops are
having a gabby time trying to find
out if they've the nerve to strike out
of the woman's side of the marriage
VOW the word "obey."
Isn't the issue one of right inter-
probation rather than the axe?
Give us the power to construe the
word, and we'd like to see it not only
kept in the woman's half, but also put
into the mems.
Of course, to expect a, woman to
do the bidding of bUrly, brutal hus-
band merely because he has a bully's
might, is absurd. and abhorrent. If
that's what "obey'' means or was
meant to mean, then out it ought to
go, the quicker the better.
And it is unfortunately true that
creatures Of the male persuasion
have been known and are extant to-
day Though we, believe growing
fewer) who have the colossal eff
frontery to adopt that construction
and expect the law to back them in it.
Our idea is, different. Where love
truly is, the obedience it , exacts
doesn't rest on force or obligation,
but on willingness, eagerness. To
obey the one you love is pleasure.
-O-O-
81 met with an accident last week."
EEYnS tho ToaTriao orn Haonaa oInTLr told
The day book., 1914-02-27

- HIS LIVESTOCK
Old Bings was known tn countr!
round
AS quite a Judge o. hogs.
He'd pick. 'em half a mile away
Or sleepin' sound as logs.
He'd tell their age an pedigree,
Their habits an their weighs,
Sez he,s 9Th only thing to do
The day book., 1914-02-27

81 met with an accident last week."
''Yes, the marriage license clerk told
me about it."
Evening star., 1914-04-26

swamps. There is little iris-the
crested dwarf iris-usually a solitary
flower of a light violet color, the sepals
having a central crested rib of a bright
orange color-which you may find on
rich wooded hillsides and along the
streams. You will find the rattlesnake
plantain, common orchid having beau
tiful flowers. but you will probab bly,. all
most certainly, not find it in blossom SO
early in the season. Its towering time
is summer. You may find the wild gin
leaves and strange. solitary. shrink
ing little bell-shaped dark red flower
If you are Industrious and explore out
of-the-way places in the woods you may
find that very gentle member of the
purslane family. familiarlv known as
spring beauty"
The hepatica. or liverwort. is in bios
som. IT usually follows close upon the
skunk cabbage. THE blossom of the
blood root white and very fragile. is in
the rich and open woodland. 1t puts
out its blossoms not long after the hepat-
ict blooms and both are on the trail of
the skunk cabbage.
You knew Dutchmans hreeches when
YOU were a boy or a girl. and this pecu-
liarly fowered herb which belongs to
the funitory family. is still growing in
the rich and hilly woods. You should go
out and see and speak to it. No doubt
1t may be descended from plants that
were acquainted with you when YOU
We're a child. and perhaps it's ancestors
may have handed down to it traditions
concerning you. Anyhow, it will be glad
to see you.
The woods are beautiful at all times,
but they are radiant in spring.
Evening star., 1914-04-26
Sharpshooters Tree.

As YOU travel northward along
Georgia avenue YOU may see on the
left. within the grounds Of the Walter
Reed Hospital. dead giant If a tree
The great branches have been sawed off
amputate ted might be a better word. bear
ing in mind the place where the tree
stands-so that only the trunk and the
butts of the big limbs that formed the
crown remain. The tree was long ago
stripped of bark and its wood is wealth
cred to an ashen gray. Ii was a yellow
poplar but it's dead The Rambler has
been told that it was killed by a lightning
stroke. and he has also been told that
it was killed either by the excavations or
the filling made in the hospital grounds
when the Walter Reed Hospital was com
ing into being as one Of the great army
hospitals of the world The Rambler
knew that tree when it was living thing
The tree grows in land that is lower
than the land to the south, but from its
top among it's branches men could
look above a spur or nose of land on the
south and thence out over the fiat or
gently rolling fields that stretched away
to the bitches and the parapets of Fort
Massachusetts. later called and better
known to fame as Fort Stevens
When Jubal Earlys skirmishers and the
skirmish line thrown out from Fort SteN-
ems Were popping at each other a num-
Der of Confederates climbed into this tree
and continued firing at the Union skir-
mishers. 1t is usual to say that Confed
crate sharpshooters We're perched in the
boughs of this old tree. 1t seems TO strike
the civilian fancy in a lvelier way and
to more appeal to his imagination to
say that "sharpshooters' We're in the
tree 'Sharpshooter" is such an elastic
and evasive term! 1t suggests something
akin to .+deadshot. The men who took
up positions in that tree may have been
sharpshooters or they may have been
Just the ordinary run of soldier shots
But there is a tablet on the tree trunk
Evening star., 1914-04-26

let. and. shadowy forms of human beings
and animals
Being of inauisitive turn OF mind
you approach the desk and ask the young
woman what one of the drawings is all
about.
Look at ii closely. and tell me what
YOU think ii is. she replies.
You look. long and earnestly. and then
your face lights up with understanding
oh. I see" you exclaim, Its a kitchen
in a domestic science school and all
those queer looking figures are frying
pans hanging ON the wall.
NO. indeed she replies scornfully.
That's toy race track, and the figures
are horses not dishes. It's clear very
clear. I m sure
And of course. after that blunder you
are forced TO acknowledge that she is a
very superior young person. You also
learn that she is Miss Alice Purinton. an
assistant examiner in the patent office
and that IL is her duty to pass upon the
patentability of children's TOYS.
Evening star., 1914-04-26

tion to think that within the lifetime of a
man asphalt streets would run through
those old farm lands and secluded
grounds, and that row after row of brick
houses would stand in the fields where
slaves labored and cattle browsed. But
that is what has come to pass.
In the early seventies. and how much
later the Rambler does not know. the
house of Bloomingdale was occupied BY
Mrs Peale At that time she was ven
erable woman. The daughter of Commo
dore Truxtun. she was related to Admiral
Porter. Admiral Tom Stevens and Ad-
mjral Queen. She was a dignified old
lady hut her dignity did not deter her
from attending to the manifold mouse
kecrins duties of her large establishment.
The house which was built of brick
and il the style of colonial architecture.
stood near what is now the southwest
corner of North Capitol and Randolph
streets The house faced to the south.
and there was a wide circle before 1t
around which ran a drive. and before
the house was a grove of oaks. At the
rear OF the house We're many smaller
houses. some of them having been slaves
quarters" There were also the carriage
house. stables, meathouse. smokehouse.
icehouse, courthouse. barn and the acces-
sorry structures ordinarily to be seen In
connection with a country seat.
The Rambler had the good fortune re-
Gently to meet a grandson of the woman
who lived at Bloomingdale. His name is
Emory Bates, and he lives now at Ber-
wyn. Before moving to Berwyn he lived
at Brookland. He was married IN the
Broomingdale mansion. and he tells many
interesting stories of Mrs. Beale, always
referring 10 her as Granny" One of the
incidents he tells is that III the early
seventies, he thinks about 1874, when
Grant was in the White House, the Presl-
dent. behind a splendid pair of driving
horses and accompanied by Gen. Beale,
the son of Granny" drove up in front
Of the BIoomngdale house.
Mrs Beale was out in the grounds. and
was not in reception or ballroom attire.
III fact, she had not 'tspruced herself up
for such distinguished visitor. She was
picking up chips and sticks and other
small debris in the grounds before the
great house and collecting them in her
apron as many old ladies did before her
time and have done since. Gen. Beale
was somewhat embarrassed, but not his
mother why shouldn't l clear up my
garden?" she said, land why shouldn
the President of the United States see
Evening star., 1914-04-26

wall inclosing half a city square of
ground at the rear of a grand. but de-
cayed dun-colored brick house that is
four stories and basement high. The
Rambler has made number of inquiries
concerning the history of this house, but
the information obtained has been con-
Trajectory and otherwise unsatisfactory
There is no doubt as to its great age. as
great age is measured in Washington.
the capital of a new country, ana there
is also no doubt that at some time within
a century this house was one OF the
great and imposing homes of Washing
ton.
one bit of information which the Ram
bier obtained about this house was that
il was the home of William Writ, who
was Attorney General in the cabinet of
President Jackson. The Rampler was
not told that Writ was the builder OF
the house, and it appears to have peen
built before the time of Jackson admin
istration.
For long time the house has been
occupied by the bureau of insular al
fairs. or by a part of that bureau, and
the last time the Rambler passed there
a neishbor said that the house was 10
he torn down and large and costly
government building constructed on its
site and over the ground at the rear,
which bears traces of once having been
a fine garden.
The dog statue is that Of hunter. He
is a setter, and he appears to be looking
from his place on the wall above the
gate at one of the windows at the back
of the old house. 1t may be the eff1gy
of a pet hunting dog which belonged to
one of the early tenants of the house,
or it may be an architectural fancy.
Evening star., 1914-04-26
Memories of Bloomingdale.

THE Rambler was standing few days
ago at the corner of North Capitol
and Randolph streets. in closely built
up section of the city. which is now
widely known as Bloomngdale and he re
called that a good many years ago
"Bloomingdale" meant stately old house
with a village of outbuildings encom-
passed by magnificent grounds lighted
with radiant flower beds and borders. and
shaded with majestic trees, which in the
main were oaks. with a scattering of dark
and solemn cedars AT the time of which
the Rambler was thinking Bloomingdale
was the home of Mrs. Emily Beale a
daughter of Commodore Truxtun. and the
mother of Gen. Beale. The gardens of
the home We're surrounded by fertile and
well titled fields. for less than a century
ago this closely built part of Washing
ton was country. L required imagina-
Evening star., 1914-04-26

with their blossoms while yet a leaf
bud has not unfolded. 1t is because Of
this habit that the tree is said to have
'.precocious' flowers.
These trees are by no means common
in Washington, but because of their
early blooming habit and the magnifi-
cence of their fiorescense, and the fact
that they are in blossom before the ma
make them very conspicuous in the
spring picture.
The largest group of these trees may
be seen in the grounds of the Depart
ment of Agriculture between the north
and south central driveway and 14th
street. There is one specimen in Franklin
Park, near the corner Of 18th and l
streets, which gives pleasure to many
spectators and by which many amateur
photographers are attracted A few OF
these trees may be noted along the west
wall of the Botanic Garden. but they
not as robust specimens as those
in the grounds of the Department or
Agriculture. Some fine specimens of
these trees are blooming, or were bloom
ing when the Rambler passed that way,
in the White House grounds and two or
three scattered through Lafayette
Square. Small specimens are blooming
in Iowa Circle and Mcpherson Square
and perhaps in a number of other pub
lie reservations lin Washington. There
are two of these trees standing one on
each side of the main stairway of the
Library of Congress. The tree is gain
ing in popularity for the adornment of
private grounds.
The trees of which you have been read
ing are of Asiatic origin, the varieties
blooming in Washington being mainly
hybrds of three magnoiias. one blooming
in the mountain forests of northern
Japan-the magnolia hypoleuca-and the
others in China, they being the magnolia
eonspicua and the magnolia obovata. 1t
was Plumier the botanist. who estab-
lished the genus magnolia, magnolia
being in remembrance of Pierre Magnol,
who first indicated the natural families
of plants and who was professor of
botany at Montpelier That was long
ago. for Magnol was born in 1858 and
died in 1715.
Evening star., 1914-04-26

preserved because OF its historic associa-
tons. stands on the tip Of a spur Of land
running out from Georgia avenue, the
nth street pike. \ draw falling away
into a wooded ravine leading into Rock
Creek lies between the Carberry ridge
and the fiat on which Fort Stevens
stands.
Looking south and on the east side of
the pike. you VIII see the trees that
shade the graves in Battle cemetery of
"A number of the men who fell this
field \ number of the Confederates, no
one knows how many. who gave up their
lives on these acres -ere buried on the
farm Of Montgomery Blair, picturesque
old place north of the hospital When
the war was long over such bones as
could be found. and they We're the bones
of seventeen men, We're eNhumed and re-
inferred in one grave in Il corner of
Grace Churchyard, about a mile up the
pike from Silver Spring. y gray granite
monument. fittngly inscribed. stands
above this soldier mound and every
spring flowers are reverently laid on this
solemn grave.
Evening star., 1914-04-26
The Difference.

A WACO heiress had just announced
: her engagement to an impecunioLs
Sicilian nobleman
A fellow congressman. knowing Repre-
sentative Henrys feelings on the sub
ject of international alliances showed
Mr.. Henry this announcement and said
with a laugh:
Well, Henry. what do you think of
that?"
The other heaved a mighty sign
I'm the olden days he said. the
prince used to marry the beggar-maid
Now the maid marries the beggar prince.
Evening star., 1914-04-26

to deposit his money in the bank and
he becomes economical and saving.
Il have examined a number of patents
on toys to be used for advertising pur-
poses These also interest me extremely.
They are all so clever and original. They
have to be in order to be a success for
they are placed in shop windows and
must be unusual enough to attract the
attention of pedestrians. These toys, as
a rule, take the form of figures in mo-
ton, which hold a card bearing the adj
vertisement, or which point to the arti
Gle being advertised. l rarely ever pass
a store window without stopping to gaze
in at the mechanical advertisement be-
cause so many of them those upon
which l have personally passed
The popularity of the movies is
demonstrated in the fact that new inven-
tions of this nature are submitted to Miss
Purinton daily. Magic lantern effects no
longer fascinate the kiddfes They de-
mand action. One of the simpler forms
of the moving picture Inventions takes
the form of two discs, either tin or paste
board, on one side of which, for exam
ple is d bird and the other a cage
When these discs are properly twirled
the effect is obtained of the bird flying
in and out of the cage. This toy. of
course, merely pleases the very small
child
More expensive toys of wider range
and with far more complicated mechan-
ism is included III this class In all prob
ability it will not be many years before
an inventor hits upon a scheme whereby
children can conduct moving picture
shows in their own hives homes under
the censorship of their parents.
Some of the toy figures which pass
through her hands have even got the
nicotine habit. according to Miss Purin-
ton.
With the aid of a fuse which burns in
side the toy, the little mannikin appears
to be smoking a cigarette. cigar or pipe,
and his painted face wears a smile of
contentment as he seemingly purs the
smoke rings into the air.
Any toy which has noise remotely
connected with it is pretty sure 10 please
kiddies Film bursters, which are form
of popgun in which roll of paper is
exploded producing sound, are always
popular at childrens prices. l examine
any amount of toys in the shape of new
tangled horns and whistles.
Children derive great deal of amuse-
ment from buzzes and whirligigs. These
gayly painted toys are made to revolve
rapidly by means of string and spindle.
electrical and mechanical trains which
traverse a complicated railroad are sure
Evening star., 1914-04-26

Miss Alice Purinton,
Assistant Examiner in
the United States Pat
ent Office. Has the I'm
usual Task of Passing
Upon the Patentability
of Toys for Children
How She Works and a
Few of the Many Odd
and Fascinating Play
things She Examines.
Evening star., 1914-04-26
The Height of Contempt.

FLORA ANNE STEELE. the English
novelist said at her hotel in New
York:
I. as a successful writer. am accus-
toned 10 be treated with respect But
your immigration department treated me-
with sucn contempt that it reminded me
OF your story about the Indian
A Sioux Indian. according to this
story. went to a storekeeper OF his reser-
walton and said he would like 10 buy a
gun.
oh. but said the storekeeper. jocn-
larry, ! don't like to sell you gun-yoI
might kill a soldier with it.
Huh, grunted the impassive Indian,
for xii! soldiers Indians use a stick. .
Evening star., 1914-04-26
Blooming Trees in Parks.

THE pink white and purple bomming
trees, which really are magnolias
though they lack the glorious fragrance
of the magnolia of this region. are wear
ing their spring gowns in the parks and
gardens of the city. 1t is one Of the
curious characteristics of these trees.
no doubt to the laity in botany. that
their flowers unfold before the leaves
appear The trees will be heavy hung
Evening star., 1914-04-26
The ReaCti0nary.

nDIERPONT MORGAN said that dis
solving trust was like unscram-
bling an egg. I'd say that ii was more
like the young clubman in the taxicab.
The speaker was Thomas W. Lawson,
the Boston financier. He went on:
"A young clubman. putting his hand
out of taxicab window, said TO the
chauffeur:
How much does she register?
Eight dollars and a quarter. sir, the
chauffeur replied
We'll, back her up to a quarter, please.
That's all I've got.
Evening star., 1914-04-26

examination of new ideas for the instruc-
ton and amusement of the kiddies is a
never-ending source of amusement to me
"Of course, it does sometimes grow
tiresome-this task Of reading over sheet
after sheet of descriptive matter in refer
ence to a toy One dare not read the
material in a haphazard manner either
as each sentence has new bearing upon
the toy
The applications resemble legal docu-
ments. the paper used in most
cases being the legal bond Each ap-
plication. together with the drawings is
kept IN 9 separate folder. marked with
the name nd invention pf the
Evening star., 1914-04-26

AMBLERS through
the woods near
Washington know
that this has been
a backward spring
for leaves, flowers
and birds. There
was more spring
in the fields around
Washington on the
1st of last Decem-
Der than on the list
of April. The Ram
Evening star., 1914-04-26

~ ~ tltN utI ~ :
in the Unite d
States patent Office
sits a young wom-
an scanning d pile
Of drawings. They
are odd looking
sketches, consisting
OF hundreds of dot
ted lines. big cir
cles and little cir
cles. almost all the
letters of the alpha
Evening star., 1914-04-26

fortunate enough to have reached the
age when he is allowed to take swimming
lessons, he need not be heart broken
over mothers command not TO accom-
pany him. but to keep away from the
water" He simply has a little swim
ming match right at home in his back
ward He winds up his tin and metal
swimmers, tosses them into tub fuil
of water and learns lot about the
overhead stroke as they skim along the
surface.
.tOne of the higher priced and more
complicated toys is an electrical circus
If "a youngster is fortunate enough to
possess one of these ingenious inventions
he can watch lovely. bespangled bare
back riders doing the light fantastic
on one toe on the back Of sleek horses;
funny fat-footed clowns cutting up an
tics in the sawdust ring. and daring
acrobats rsking their necks in order
to twist their bodies into queer shapes.
Another clever mechanical or cleo
trical invention is a toy theater. on
the stage of which petite soubrettes,
airy, fairy toe dancers. Would-be Caru-
sos deep-toned tragedians and statu-
esdue leading women do their various
and divers stunts, and answer encores
in compliment to the appreclative box
holders, who clap their tin hands III
vociferous applause. The toy hgures ac-
tualIy talk and dance. too
We also have number OF patents
for the dummy dolls used by ventrilo-
u1ists Here is a wide range for in
vention as rarely ever do two ven
trtlouuists use the same appearing doil-
The personality of their dummy partner
is of prime Importance in their act
X =
Miss Purinton says that new lhseh-
tions for different kinds of dolls are
examined by her daily While chlidreh
like. srown-ups, have their fads, and de-
nand the very latest and most eccentric
form of toys. they never will permit
dolls to go into the discard. Probably
the innate maternal instinct in girls
causes them to be ever popular, at least
with their sex
The firtatious doll-the one that
winks her eyes and rolls them in
audacious fashion-the frivolous doll.
she of the ever smiling, smirkins, grin
ming countenance. and the dancing dolls
are the very latest and the most popular
at the present time The dancing dolls
are quite proficient in the terpsichorean
art thanks to the inventors, and some
of them even may be made to tango. II
the strings attached to them are properly
manipulated. The majority of dolls.
however. do not approve of the new
dances. calling them pagan and i'm
modest and so they stick to the old
fashioned waltz and two-step."
Miss Purinton's favorite toy. that is,
the one which has most pleased her
fancy while engaged in this particular
Evening star., 1914-04-26

me do it?H And the reasoning of the old
lady appears to have been sound
Mrs. Reale died at Bloomlnsdaie N
1855. and about two years later the es-
tate was sold by the heirs. Then IT was
subdivided. and the growth Of the city
over those historic acres is recent, Very
recent, history.
Evening star., 1914-04-26

which the Rambler stopped to read and
the inscription on the tablet is:
Used as a signal station by Confed-
crate soldiers under Gen. Early during
the attack on Washington july II and
l.. 1864. Also occupied BY sharp
shooters
The tree stands by the side of one of
the wei kept drives Of the hospital
grounds and in front of big. brick
building of the familiar army post style
Of architecture. over the entrance to
this huilding is tho sign Army Nurse
Corps.
SolItherly and westward Of the tree and
on higher ground is the Carberry house,
which was the home of the carberrys
who owned this part Of the field of the
battle of Fort Stevens in 1sG4 The house.
considerably out Of repair, but probably
Evening star., 1914-04-26
A Stone Dog.

NTEN and women, as well children,
4VA who pass along 18th street south
Of F are often attracted by stone dog
above a gate which pierces an old brick