davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

how the Rambler wishes to use the in
formation I have tried to work in little
OF everything. Possibly out of the mine
of information he will be able II dig
few gems of thought to point moral
and adorn a tale Should he wish the
thing expanded in any direction 1t Will,
Of course be an easy matter to do So
Yours very truly, Edwin KRIS"
!;
The essay on the Graveyard in the
Patent Office and the letter were for
warded by Mr. White to Mitchell, with
the following note:
Mr. Mitchell: This time Kirk has cut
out all the names. going to the other
limit. He seems to have a lot more on
tap and is quite willing to spill some
more il more is wanted. D. W"
Next, Mitchell forwarded The Grave
yard in the Patent Office" to the Rambler
with this letter:
II am inclosing you the results of your
letter. Mr. Kirk in his Graveyard in the
Patent Office came through pretty well,
don't you think? In fact, it is almost
Shannonesque in style. You might let me
have back the Enclosures when you have
MIXED them dry. Yours very truly.
Mitchell
And this is how the readers OF The
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
Winter Birds.

GENERAL newspaper naturalists have
~ recently been writing OF the birds,
flowers. trees, weeds and winter scenes
Of the District of Columbia and those
parts of Maryland and Virginia adjacent
The Chicago Post has this:
The Kentucky cardinal. sometimes known az
the Virginia nightingale. and more commonly a
the red bird is one Of the residents Of Columba's
district. Washington marks the midway place OF
the migrations, and here many OF the birds
which nest in the far north remain throughout
the winter. The robin, the song sparrow, tht.
whtethroat. the purple grackle and other sum
mer birds of the north are TO be found here oii
every winter day
The cardinal lives in the District the year
II is clothed like the birds Of the tropics. but t
has no fear Of cold Of storm. II II moves
does so simply because the spirit OF the season
has urged it to seek change. 1t is much nor,
, summer 1o ne Of peasant and to CLEAN its rn=
through the dreary months from the seed-bearinS
weeds which overtop the snow and , from the DRY
berries which in the season OF ripeness escapea
the hand of the market man.
All this is beautiful and 1t must be
pleasing to the birds of the District to
be SO prettily noticed. 1t is fact that
the cardinal lives In the woods around
Washington all the year. but, unfortu-
nately II is not SO numerous as one
might infer from the lines of the corre-
spondent- 1t was the opinion OF orni-
thologists that last spring and summer
cardinals were more numerous around
washington than in several preceding
seasons, and this winter a goodly num-
Der Of them have remained with us. but
they are not as plentiful as sparrows.
Dr. Wells W. Cooke of the biologicai
survey Of the Department of Agriculture
has told the Rambler that the perma-
nent bird residents Of the District are the
Carolina chickadee, the tufted tftmouse,
white-breasted nuthatch. Carolina wren.
cedarbird. cardinal, song sparrow. gold
finch, red crossbill, fish crow. common
crow, blue jay. downy woodpecker. great
horned owl. screech owl. barred Owl.
long-eared owl. barn owl. sparrow hawk.
bald eagle. broad-winged hawk, red
shouldered hawk, turkey vulture and the
bob white
In winter one may now and then catch
sight of the bluebird. robin. field spar
row, meadow lark. red-headed woodpeck-
er, night heron and the wood duck, but
they are rare.
The mockingbird, pileated woodpecker.
hairy woodpecker and ruffed grouse live
with u.s. but they are rare at any season
The migrant shrike and the marsh hawk
sometimes visit us in summer, but they.
too, are rare.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

Polly Reynolds Spring.

MOT many Washington people have
drunk water from Polly Reynolds
spring. and perhaps not very many of
them would drink there even if they
knew anything about the spring. 1t
might be that the more they knew about
it the less inclined would they be to
refresh themselves there. From the
north span of the Aqueduct bridge you
can look down upon the spring. 1t
flows, or rather oozes. from that mar
row strip of land between the canal and
the river between the great but out-of-
date bridge and the narrow footbridge
which leads from the canal towpath
into an upper story of the boathouse
of the Washington Canoe Club.
A good many years ago an interesting
woman, Polly Reynolds, had pictur-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
MONA LISA.

tinguished man. perfectly well known
in America And Solomon Reinach
pricked the bubble of all this wind
about Mona Lisa.
Plain people, take heart. Leonardo
would be with you.
Solomon Reinach has nothing against
the immortal portrait itself; on the con-
trary, he delights In it's unapproach
able naturalness and the charm of its
perfect execution. Up to Vasari. he
says. this is what the world saw In
the Mona Lisa. He quotes Vasari:
He who would know to what point
art can initiate nature has but to study
this head. because Leonardo has rem
dered the least details with extreme
finesse" And Felibien: There is such
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

Mona Lisa has too long been n1isunder-
stood.
The crowds stand round her, fascin-
ated by her lifelike qualities. held by
her mystery. awestruck by her reputa-
ton, puzzled, interested. inquiring, dis
appointed even, asking if 1t is the right
one. They know they ought to ike
this picture, the most famous portrait
of all time the Sphinx of Beauty
Leonardo's treasure of the Louvre.
i've seen prettier women
Miracle of painting (reading from the
guide book in which the art of por-
traiture has probably approached nearest
to perfection.
Occupied the artist four years and
then he pronounced it unfinished
Wife of francesca del Gio-con-do."
More divine than human. held to be
marvellous and living equal to nature"
She looks elderly"
She looks sly"
Looks like a servant girl.
No: she looks lady. anyhow.
Even those whose first expression is
HUH return and stare again Are
they struck by the fact that Francis I.
paying 1000 gold ecus for this portrait
of an Italian woman he had never seen
or heard of. kept it locked jealousy in
his "gilded room" at F'ontainebleau? Or
that Louis XIV hung it in his bedroom at
Versailles? 1 think not What the hon
est-minded Philistines worry over is:
What is she smiling at?'
There is a mystery and 4 fascination
about the portrait independent of the ex-
traordinary things which the world s
geItiuses have discovered in il. 1t is not
u portrait that becomes interesting be-
cause we know something of the woman
it represents. On the contrary, the wom-
an grows interesting because We have
this portrait of her.
Up to a lew years ago all that the
world knew OF Mona Lisa Gherardini,
third wife of Francesca del Giocondo OF
Florence was that Leonardo da Vinci
painted her between 1901 and 1903 and
that Leonardo was her husbands friend.
Friendship did not prevent the painter
from selling the portrait Immediately TO
the King of France, his patron. So La
Joconde' has always been French prop
erty because jovial Francis l, learning IT
to be the portrait of lady named Clio
condo. by perhaps even unconscious
pun called 1t La Joconde, the 5ocund
one, gay, lively and light-hearted.
Giocondo is not French family name
la Joconde" stuck And so. for Ger
tain deep-sea thinkers, Mona Lisa's smile
tatious and naughty. while plain people
were reminded of Shakespeare's "jocund
morn and took gentle cheer for granted.
Yet they wondered. She is kind of smil-
ing" l heard man say, but is she
jocund?'
They claimed her TO be worse yet.
Tame discovered in her smile that she
had been flirting with Leonardo. 1.-The
critics have found that Mona IIsa's hus-
band was at his third wife, consequently
no longer young man." says Tame.
Her smlies may easily rail at her huS-
band and fiatter leonardo
Would You like to have NJ. Taine judge
you by your photograph? But that is
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

nothing. Her smile upset Michelet,
the historian. that he used to go to the
portrait "as the bird goes to the snake,
he says. Theophile Gautier discovered
that she is flirting with the whole world,
this strange creature whose look prom
Uses unknown joys and whose express
sion is divinely ironic.
She smiles, he said, with hooking vol
uptuousness on the thousands who ad-
,nire her. Arsene Houssaye. when he
was manager of the Theater Francois,
saw shining from that smile only the
soul of Leonardo in love" Bonnaman,
who all but wrote book about her. cries
that those lips have paled with love
and bear the trace of kisses
III Don Juan had met Mona Lisa,
says Theophile Gautier darkly. "he would
have been saved writing his list the
names of 1900 women. He would have
written but one: and the wings of his
love would have refused to carry him
further. They would have melted till
their feathers fell. in the black heat OF
those eyes!'
Now we are getting at high stuff.
Mona Lisa, they declared they had dis
woman which every man ought to find.
but sometimes misses. Whence her
irony and malice. 1t is perfectly clear.
LA Joconde is a philosophy of wom-
eternal feminine"
Yes" says Kraus, "she is a mani
festation of feminism." And Alexander
Kahn, late of Boston, "She Is a suffra-
gette!"
And as woman is all in all. the Eng
Nsh Walter Pater revealed it to the
world that she Is an encyclopedia
Paul Borget says that the smile of
Mona Lisa will never be defined, 1t be-
ing copted mystery" According to CHI
tened to the lying words of those per-
fidious lips That enchanting smile is
implacable; it promises unknown felici-
ties, but it will never give happiness"
4:
Georges Sands found her as frighten-
ed as q Medusa or a Sphinx. Arsene
Houssaye declared her to be satanic.
During 400 years past" says Paul
Leprieur curator of the Louvre paint
ings. who went to Italy and brought
her back, during 400 years past, Mona
Lisa has added the wits of those who
have talked about her. after having
looked too long upon her" He ought
to know; he is a most distinguished art
historian and the personal custodian of
the lady.
-Four centuries is rather much,'' re-
plies the coolest expert of them all.
Solomon Reinach. This Solomon Rel
mach is the very type Of the exact archie
ologist. He will not permit geniuses
wind and fapdoodle. breaking in on
lofty theories with a marriage or
death certificate. He is curator of the
St German Museum, a remarkably dis
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

Louvre in 1911 to give her pach To i'i
ence, is completely mistaken in his Facts.
Mona Lisa was always a Paris resi-
Gent.
At the moment when Perugia I'M
asines her to have been stolen from
italy by Napoleon" she had not peeh
living in Italy for 300 years.
Mona Lisa was brought to Paris by
her father. Leonardo da Ninci. VINO
sold her TO King Francis 1 for $4,000
OF our money, terrific price IN those
Gays.
When first exhibited in the Palace OF
the Louvre, 400 years ago. there was a
flush of all the notabilities of Paris
to see her comparable only to the
present ovation of her return.
Leonardo was the star guest of the
French king, more run after and adj
mired in Paris than in his native
Italian city. and he could sell every
sarap of his works. In his baggage
khen he came 10 France he brought the
Mona Lisa.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

grace and sweetness in those eyes and
features that they appear living"
That is all right, approves Solomon
Reinach. and the good people Who
standing before a painting, get them
selves laughed at for saying. 1t is
nature" would have Leonardo with
them-and all the critics of ancient
Greece and the renaissance. 1t is only
photography that has disguised us
with it. Leonardo himself asked
nothing more of the portrait. Il have
seen" says Leonardo, "a portrait so
full of resemblance that dog belong
ing to the original took it for his mas
ter and manifested his delight"
But with romanticism a new element
forced itself into art criticism. 1t be-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

the Washington Canoe Club and Tenneys
corn mill used to stand here. l have
seen many steamboats, pass under the
Aqueduct bridge and tie up here with corn
and wheat and carry meal and flour away.
What do these people do here for
said Isaac Barker. pointing to an open
and exposed spring under the bank Of the
canal That was Polly Reynolds sprint
She used to have house there when l
was a boy, and daughter ilved there up
to not so long ago. The spring used to
be covered over. Sure it's good water
It's spring water. The canoe club uses
city water.
The Rambler has preserved pnoio-
sranhic negative made of the Polly Rey-
nolds' cottage in the last century. l. ms
is probably the first TING a picture OF TINS
house has ever been published. and 1t Will
no doubt interest those persons who kne"
1t in other days.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
Beaded Lamp Shades.

THE newest shades for lamps and can
dies are made of silk and trimmed
with beads. The beads are formed into a
band to edge the shade, top and bottom
A heavy bead fringe is used. and some
ornament formed of beads decorates the
sides Of the shade. itself made Of gath
cred silk.
One especially good shade recently
shown by a dealer In lamps topped Il
lamp of dull blue porcelain. mounted in
dull brass.
The shade was made of old-gold silk.
gathered neatly over circular frame.
A wide band of beads. embroidered in an
irregular design, was fastened around
the top and bottom of the shade It was
made up of beads in various shades Of
blue-brilliant, sealike blue predomi-
mated. The blue was lightened by beads
Of almost a greenish yellow tint and some
of oyster white. fringe, in which blue
predominated. hung from the bottom of
the shade-a fringe about the width of
the band at the top and bottom, and
about an eighth the height of the shade.
There were four big butterflies formed
OF beads-stili in shades Of blue-sewed
on canvas. These were fastened at regu-
lar intervals around the shade. The tips
Of the lower wings touched the lower
band Of bead work. and the long anten-
nae almost reached the upper band Of
bea6A
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

HE unprecedented
enthusiasm owe r
the return of the
Mona Lisa" to
= arr s takes US
back to the days
of her first ar
rival. 400 years
and more ago.
NincenZo Perugia,
the TIA i a n art
isan, who abduct-
ed her from the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

very costume of Mona Lisa in the pic
ture is heavy mourning:
How is it that none OF the transcend
ent experts ever noticed it? She has
no rings. no jewelry. She Is In severe
black. Her costume is even the heay-
lest mourning. Reinach proves. by let
ters Of Isabelle d'Este and her mother,
written from Florence at exactly this
date, that a mantle of Irish lace over a
"somber tinted" corsage might have
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
Ra1pEp rugs are very serviceable

- RAIDED rugs are very serviceabie
X and handsome. and SO easy 20
- make that any woman may make
them with little trouble and with ma
terial that would otherwise be wasted.
or else constructed from odds and ends
Of remnants purchased at marked
down prices. There are many kinds Of
cotton and wool fabrics that are soft
and attractive in coIoring and printed
in reliable dyes. OF these. blues Of all
shades afe the most satisfactory.
First. before buying any material.
look over what you have on hand. Put
all the white cotton material together
such as skirts. shirt waists. sheets. Pill
lowcases. etc. Dresses OF blue or blue
and white, checked aprons and striped
ginghams. denims. everything blue IN
another pile; outing flannel gowns and
blankets together; black ssocking rs
woolens. colored hose. calicoes ana
underwear in another pile.
Braided rugs are made in three forms,
square, round and oval. the oval be-
ing the most desirable shape Tor
small rug. suitable for the bathroom or
other small room. The only tool needed
for making Is a coarse sewing needle
suitable for threading white cotton,
No. "a.
Plain colors can be used alone or may
be combined with figured goods. braid
ing two strands Of one with one OF
the other. Tear into lengths OF one
and one-half yards. This is done be-
cause these lengths are in turn torn
into strands for braiding. and II the
strands are any longer they are apt to
tangle In the process.
First wash each color Of cloth separate
" in warm water with borax or naphtha
soap, which softens the fabric. making II
easier to braid. and since they are wash
rugs avoiding all future fading and
shrinking Tear lengthwise Of the goods
three and one-half inch wide strips for
braiding. which should measure one and a
quarter inches when finished. Fold in
the torn edges OF each strip for one-half
inch on each SIDE then fold these turned
in edges together. After all the strands
are folded iron them.
When making, take three folded strands
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
Braided Rugs Made at Home

and sew them together at the ends. Pin
or tie these at the end. where they are
sewed to something heavy. SO that they
will be firm while braiding. Be careful
when rounding the ends of an oval not
to full the braid too much nor to hold il
too tightly. When starting a braid of
different color, add it to that already
sewed at the curved end of the oval rath-
er than along its straight edge. Let the
seams come on the inside Of the folded
strand, where the raw edges will not
show. Lay the rug down on the floor
from time to time to see that 1t is keeping
its form and is smooth and fiat.
The preparation for making the braided
rug really takes more time than the ac-
tuaI sewing together Of the rows Of braid,
but there is no use in beginning until all
the rug material is in order. Once this
is done the rest is very simple. The
braiding and sewing can easily be done at
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

been worn in full mourning for a Sis
ter. Mona Lisa is in neavy mourning.
What is she smiling att"
You see now. Her smile is con-
strained smile, the best she can do to
please the kindly painter who has paid
singers. musicians and buffoons to en-
tertain her.
Rachel is mourning for her child and
will not be comforted.
STERLING HELLO.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

HE Rambler be-
lieves that what
follows is an inter
esting story of a
story. 1t presents
an account of some
little-knoWn O b.
jects. and it car
ries the reader be-
hind the scenes
and reveals I h e
work and the me-
chanics by which
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

Supt- Madden said that the institution
Is ideally situated to care for boys OF
the class sought to be helped. and that
much good Is accomplished. though there
is a lack Of suitable outbuiidings and
much work Is yet to be done on roads
aad sidewalks. He said that the admis-
sion OF boys for a few months only
causes dissatisfaction among the long-term
boys. and interferes with schedules, and
that the school should be enlarged SUI
ticiently to accommodate at least 80 boys.
According to an old report of previous
superintendent, George william Cook. who
resigned in October. 1909. to resume work
in Howard University. THE creation OF
the Industrial Home School for Coiored
Children grew out Of a situation the coun-
terpart of which may be found in most
of our cities where there is a large col
ored population. To begin with. 1t was
the old, old problem OF the boy In the
street. Added to this were conditions
peculiar in themselves The poorest class
of colored people living in miserable tene-
ments, the parents often away from home
all day, the boy. Idle; the results. dis
orderly conduct petit larceny incor-
rigibility'-the reform school. The human
itarian looking about for a relief from
this situation could find none The reform
school seemed but the natural sequence
to an apology for home and life in the
street.
4 +
cit was early discerned that delin-
uuency often grew out Of dependency,
and that II the delinquency Is to be cured,
dependency must be nodded into inoe-
pendence. In view Of the fact that so
few sources Of employment are open 10
colored children, the problem was fur
Their complicated. for without varied EN-
ployment available the means OF solution
were limited. How to legally dispose OF
the delinquent and dependent colored boy
with a view to his rights and the pro-
lection of the community became DIM
cult and perplexing question. Where and
now could preventive charity best be
used? The necessity Of an industrial
school for colored children. where, under
wise and systematic training, they might
be fitted for usefulness. seif-support ana
respectable citizenship. forced itself upon
the minds of the authorities, and the
thought materialized in recommenda.
ton to Congress for the estanllsntneiit VI
such an institution.
The first legislation on the subject was
an item In the District OF Columbia APP
preparation bill for the fiscal year OF ioo
appropriating 81. 800 to be applied in max.
ing plans for an Industrial nome school
an appropriation Of 100000 was inserted
in the District appropriation bill for build
ing 81 to be erected upon a site at Blue
Plains. The school began its organized
existence July 1, 1907. with four cot.
tages, one administration building and one
schoolhouse.
To persons interested In the phase OF
social phenomena dealt with in this
rather humble and inadequately equipped
institution the Industrial Home School
for Colored Children is good place 70
visit.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04

Solomon Reinach has found it. We
know the melancholy of Mona Lisa.
Married in 1895. she had no children
until 1899. Then came a little daugh-
ter.
Solomon Reinach remembered that
once a librarian of Florence communi-
Gated to Muntz. the great French art
historian. an extract from the ancient
"Libre del Morti." records of deaths in
Florence. BY this it appears that June
1, 1901, the little daughter (fianciulla)
of Francesca del Giocondo and his wife.
Mona Lisa. was buried from the Church
of Santa Maria Novella. Why, the