davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

played a miniature sheet Of water. At
opposite sides of this little ocean are
small dabs Of clay, one labelled Eng
land. the other America. Tiny ships
ply back and forth between the two
countries, Observers cannot make out
how it is that these little boats turn
about as they do, apparently OF their
own accord. And the scene has con-
tinually a number Of spectators. CThis
was before the war;
one day l was looking in at this
window. very much interested In this
problem. Standing next to me was a
fine specimen of n Pail Mallian. with
his silk topper his black tail coat,
his buttonhole. his checked trousers,
his large gray spats, his shining boots,
his stick and his glass on its ribbon,
apparently equally absorbed. I turned
to him after a bit-a quite natural
thing to do. I thought-and. How the
deuce do you suppose that thing
works." I said.
The tall gentleman slowly turned
Slowly, stiffly. with an aristocratic
gesture, he raised his arm and placed
his glass in his eye, for a moment. |
was frozen by his blank stare, quite
through. Then he lifted his eyebrow;
he glass dropped and bounded before
him on its ribbon. And he turned and
walked away. Walked away. ! dare
say, to his frowning club. to tell how
he had just been set upon In the
street and insulted by some strange
ruffian. But, you see, | didn't know;
] was an American.
To Epson l went in a cart to sec
the Derby. 1t was at EPSON, you
know. that the Kings horse was
thrown several seasons & by a suf.
fragette who lost her life in the act
Well. most Of the fine gentlemen OF
England, I think, were there, all In
splendid tall gray hats and with theii
field glasses slung over their shoul.
rr.,. And a horde OF the ~cleverest
crooks in Europe also.
There l had my pocket "cut" by q
pickpocket. That is the way they 20
through you in England, neatly III
your pocket out. l thought this wa,
an interesting thing. so ] told 1t abouI
that ] had had my pocket cut, but
did o see any international signih'
n In the AFFAIR.
The achievement. however, dis
covered was much relished by m,
hearers In England. l., an American
had come Over there and had my
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

II could not find where to lay my
head. Everything was, as they say in
England, FUN up" II was coming ON
10 rain II the night fell chill and
black. Would I have to use my ruci-
sack for a pillow and sleep in the
fields?
At length I found n man-it was nj
quaint Goda,ming, | think, where the
famous Charterhouse School iS-who
could not give me a room, but Of
fer"d me a bed and breakfast at half
a crown. "There's another fellow up
there" he said. But he's a nice, quiet
fellow; something like yourself" he
said. Il think youM like him.
"You are an American" remarked
my landlord. ! sat with him in his
little parlOr behind the bar. 1t had
a gun over the mantelpiccc. a great
deal of painted china and a group of
stuffed birds in a glass case. lie d.'-'
me If | liked reading, because, IL |
did, he had an old dictionary To- which
| was welcome at n time.
At length It was the hour for bed.
| followed my heavy host with his
candle up difficult stairs, 4 think
they're all asleep he said.
They're all asleep" | exclaimed
Who are?"
why" replied my landlord, there
are five of them, YOU know. But they
are nice quiet fellows. Someth.ug ike
yourself" he added, Il think 90 VIII
like them
! In that Swallowed, Gahled room wor,
the noises of many sunk in Slumhcr
Well, they were, ! found In the morn
ing, rather inoffrusivo young fellows
all cyclists. and indeed not altogether
unlike myself. 1t was after my bacon
n gigs that | found On my way u
place for a wash and brush up, tup-
( pence"
"Travcllor, sir?' inquired the plD-
! lican, in response to my knock and
peerlnG cautiously out al his door. Fut
II was Sunday. after 3 O'cluc1 ia IN,
afternoon ana not yet 6; and To- uD-
tain lelrcshmeut at a public nuuso ~
that hour one must he a 'triNr.,rl
over three miles journey I'm .
traveller all the way from the l.. :
A." sand /.
! stood my battered shill!,g ash
stick in n corner and looked ont l-,ir
from my window over the old r,.
roofs and at the hack Of tie lnu,,
where he dwclt who when thu GUccr
had commanded his presence said
I'm an old man, ma'am, and IN yak,
ii seat" When Annie, the maid, hau
brought my shaving water, Sir" iI
n kind Of a tim Sprinkllnc cav aDt
when ! had used IL | took M my
malacca town cane and went ont %
see how old Father Thames was com
ing on.
| thought ! would buy some wr.,,nl
paper and ! went into a drug stor,
kind OF a place, II see you are IN
American, sir" said the shopman
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

pocket cut. He, the crook, an Eng
lishman ver probably. had been
cutter" thar I; he had had me, an
American.
1t is a curious thing, and a fact not
generally known. | believe, hat all de-
cayed taxicab drivers in London, those
who are unfortunate. have fallen from
a high estate. Each and every one
OF them used to drive the London to
oxford coach in the days of 'orses.
met a number of these ~personages.
fat, with remarkably red faces and
large ~hOneycombed noses. Not at all
like the alert. athletic lads, a type Of
mechanical engineer, who have arisen
as cabbies with the advent Of taxis.
What do they know about 'orses?
II was such an old boy who drove
me from the ncighborhood of Russell
Square, where | was stopping. t.
Chelsea, where | went into lodgings,
He frequently had the pleasure of
driving Americans. he remarked.
Thank you. sir" he said.
/ required to have my shoes re-
paired, and I inquired of my landlord
where might be found a good cobbler.
= WIN NV N'iiN was -"
lent one in Battersea- an Battersea."
] said. rs there none in Chelsea?
How am | 10 get my shoes clear over
to Battersea?"
why he replied. I'VE will send
the cobbler a card and he'll send some
one over for the boots and"
And then, | suppose" | said, "he
will send us another card saying that
the boots are done and so on. And
in the meantime ! could have had the
boots repaired and worn out again"
Naturally ] was for wrapping up
the shoes in a piece of newspaper and
setting out straight off to find "A cob
bier. But my landlord would not hear
Of such n thing at all. "Of course
you are an American" he said.
gathered that while such a pro-
ceeding might be all right in my
country II wouldn't do in England. He
cid not want dodgers, / understood.
going In and out of his house with
parcels under their arms. 1t would
reflec on him. He was n with
a lively mind. and he told me a little
| story.
How do you like the new lodger?"
asked the first housemaid of the
sccS.1
"Oh, he's very nice indeed" replied
the second housemaid. but he's not
a gentleman. He helped me carry the
Goals upstairs yesterday"
Gould you spare me a trifc, sir?'
asked the errand man in my street.
II haven't had tea to-day"
Vt'u IN fpnnn china th,t. l.... t.o
our Just being all americans (when
we are not referred to as Yankees
or "Yanks'). We are never United
Statesians. 1t Is the american Am
bassador," and the American Con-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25
New Convalescent Home Where They
Are Taught Trades-.Heavy Toll
of Eyesight in the Trenches

ed on this score. Some alarmists have
imagined hat there are as many as
six thousand men now scattered
through the hospitals and garrisons
of the republic who will never see
sgain. Other estimates. more conser-
vative and probably more trustworthy,
have 1t that there are to-day in France
fifteen hundred bind soldiers.
One thing only. however. can be
stated with any certainty. The pres
ent wal is causing more blindness thar
any previous known conflict. Men do
most of their fighting at long range
in the trenches where the only ex-
posed portion of the body is the head.
An enormous percentage OF head
wounds is the inevitable result. And
where there are head wounds there is
blindness.
The first thing the Government,
does for them is to present each with
q pension OF $175 yearly, which as
far as IL goes is very well. for a little
money stretches a long way in
France. A Partisan OF the lower mil.
die classes car with rigid econom?
live several months on that sum
with the same amount a peasant cas-
very nearly exc out a years bare e
istence II he returns to his native
village in the provinces.
But the pension. even supposing i
were ten times the size. could only
solve half the problem OF setting the
bind soldier on his feet. And since
actually 1t is quite inadequate in nine
out Of every ten cases to furnish It,
recipient with even the simplest ne.
cessities Of life the Government can
not :cst content there. 1t must g
further.
The problem is a great deal NOR,
than a mere question of building q
roof over the blind soldiers head anC
putting foo into his mouth. II thai
| were the only difficulty the ~poorhous'
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

blind soldiers. A professor from a
parislan music school holds a class in
nisno timing three times weekly;
,bere 10 n daily c,ass in massage. tyne
vr,,iny ara s,enogranhv are being
taught IN a score of clericallv inclined
rma,as o,a oysrv hind son, in the
,rs,I,n,to, ,s u,1or,oirg sn.odv i,i,ia-
Co. tn.o ,ha m,s,ar,os - rooding with
- a. H. k,,ha puatr,a s,s,o,n ~
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N. . nc
,tI,in - ~
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Nv IAN U,o'pe. "I'' ~ a"'
h"pt vi H"'P'nS y '"ein'''ee q "'
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25
Making baskets for provision merchants.

would remove II at a stroke. The real
question Is one Of taking several hun
dred full grown men whom fortune
has broken and reendowing them with
the courage and the essential func-
tons Of men. filling their sunker
hearts with hope and training their
l~istless hands to labor. In a word.
what the situation requires Is MOTH
ing less than the remaking Of the
mems morale" and the r~eeducation
Of their hands and brains.
First attempts t meet the situation
were unsuccessful in their issue. When
hostilities were only two or three
months old and the number OF blind
had not grown alarming the Govern
ment c%ontented itself with equipping
for them a special ward in the Ma
..oral Hospital of the Three Hun
dred.'" the venerable asylum for the
blind founded by St. Louis. King Of
France. in the thirteenth century. But
there is a reason why blinded soldiers
whose salvation is intended should not
be lodged in the hospital OF the Three
Hundred"
The institution. which in colloquial
usage Is called Les QuinZe-Vingts,"
has been associated In the minds Of the
entire French nation during the six
centuries since its foundation with all
the real and imagined terrors OF blind
ness. The Frenchman a learned to
look upon the inmate Of the "Quinze-
Ningts" as a lost soul. a pitiful crea-
ture possessed OF nothing but melan-
cholia and a stomach. Ii follows then
that the unfortunate soldiers who. dur
ing the first months OF the war. were
sent to the "Quinze- Vingts" lost every
vestige OF hope when they learned
where they were.
The first man o them who
found himself there refused to credit
the fact. He wandered about. a heart
rending spectacle. muttering. mo, no.
it is no so! cannot be blind" And
when the sound of footsteps apprised
him of the approach Of some human
being he would call out. "Tell me, is 1t
so that | am blind? Am | really in the
'Quinze- Vingts'? Tell me-" The mere
fact Of being an inmate OF the place
struck terror to his soul.
Obviously, II the French authorities
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

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The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

we went through n hundred tunnels
more or less) the little engine gave
"A shrill little squeak now and then; at
old, old railway stations. that remind
one ~agreeably Of jails. rough looking
men in black shirt sleeves and cor
duroy w~aistcoats ran Out to the train
TO open the carriage doors, and | for
got the gentlemen altogether. TIL at
length We came to his station.
When he had got out he turned 70
latch h door. and putting his head
in al the window, he said to me in the
pleasantcst manner possible: Good
aufternoon, sir" He wasn't sore at
me a bit That was simply his fashion
of travelling, in silence.
] was going into the countryside
To the country places where the old
men have pleasant faces and he
maidens quiet eyes, To fare forth
upon the Kings highway. to hcuEn-
rows and blossoms and the old lanes
Of merrie England, to mount again
the old red hills, bird enchanted. and
dip the valleys bright with sward. TO
the wind on the heath. brother, To hills
and the sea, to lonely downs. to hold
convers" with simple shepherd men.
and when even fell. the million tinted.
To seek some ancient inn for warmth
in the i~nglenook. and bite and drop.
and where. hen the last star ltmn in
the valley had expired, ! would rest
my weary bones until the sweet choral
of morning birds called me on my way.
There was an ancient character 20
ing along h road. lie walked with
It staff, a crooked stick. His coat
less habit was the color of clay; his
legs were bound about lust below the
knee by a strap wherein, at one side
he carried his pipe), so that his
trousers tlared at the bottom like n
sailors; over his shoulder he bore
a fiat straw basket. Under his chin
were whiskers. his eyes were merry
and bright and his cheeks just like
fine rosy apples. with n great high
light on each, | asked OF him the
way and We trudGed along together.
You are from M"ricy," he said Win
delight.
He told me aboG; himself, lie was
- and he had never had "a single
schooling in mis- l!.c. Capel was his
home, a village 0f about twenty
houses which We We're approaching,
thirty miles VI SO from LHqIun. The
last time he had been To London was
when he was Il. He had then seen
some fireworks there. No fireworks
in Capel, he said, had ever been able
to touch him since. lie had been push
Ing on, he said, pushing on, pushing
on all the while.
You were not born in Capel. them"
I said. Born in Capel! Why, he had
been born sever miles from capel.
h difficulty was hat | had over
looked the fact that everybody goes
out of London town at Whitsuntide
Village and county town ! tried and
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25
Lace making in the gardens after the days work in the shops

possible every obstacle in his way and
smoothing out his path at every rough
turning.
The society's startling offer was
gladly embraced by the Government
and on the same day hat the blind
soldiers took possession of their new
quarters 1t moved in beside them and
commenced its mission of teaching
them the art Of being blind"
NJ. Paul Emard. secretary-general OF
the society, whom the Minister Of the
Interior placed in charge of the con
yalescent home. has already wrought
a miracle for his blind dependents, not
by s%criptural Laying on of hands," but
by more modern methods that have to
DO with psychology and science
In Rumania there is n community
Of the blind which is significantly
named The Lighted Hearth" Paul
Emard. backed by the French Govern
ment and the society he represents.
has during the past four months cre-
ated a second Lighted Hearth" Of the
BLIND community under his direction in
Taris. for he has filled II with the radi-
ance of hope where hope there was
none.
The first three days I spen. here
with the blind" he says, in telling OF
his work. were passed in the midst OF
a sort OF earthly purgatory. ! have
never before seen so much thorough
going misery foregathered in a single
place. My charges moped through the
long hours Of the days. nursing their
bitterness, The stiffness Of the nights
was broken often and often by their
hoarse sob as they lay in torture on
their narrow cots.
AT that time u workshops were
not ready. and I was in despair 10
know what to do with the men. But
the end OF my difficulties came neX
pccted,y. on the fourth day OF ouI
history here ! discovered that our in
structor in the Braille system Of read
ing and writing-himself a blind maj
had learned the trade Of a brush.
maker. He said he could teach a maj
tn make a brush. after a rough fash
ion. in a few hours.
II seized the opportunity eagerly
found the tools and materials for tn,
experiment. and. selecting purposell
the most respondent man in the insti
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

s~ul-General.' i have even heard DR..
Wilson referred to as the president
Of America"
one day / saw a tourist. He was
an American. "A young man | knew
the Houses of Parliament. ! was
fond of going in there frequently, and
said | would accompany him.
With an easy stride. at a speed l
should say of about two miles an hour,
he walked straight through the
Houses of Parliament; through the
Norman porch. through the Kings
robing room. the Royal or Victoria
gallery, the Princes chamber. the
sumptuously decorated House of
Peers, the Peers lobby. the spacious
central hail. the Commons corridor
and the House Of Commons. CHANGING
about hin the while nj art and archi-
lecture. lavish magniiCenCe and the
eternal garments and symbols of his
tory. Returning To the central hall
we passed through st. stephens and
Westminster Hall and arrived again
In the street.
How long did II take us to do
that" said my friend. questioning his
watch.
ooh, about fifteen minutes" ! re-
piled.
IIe said he though, ha wo,Id 90
across tho w,v and "do" rho Ahh.y
nov, u.h,,e no u,s IN tho roichhor.
hood
7 sunnos, 7 could ho,o ho,rod bi,,
IN ,ho not,ar % 1asnatoh h,,,I a,am,,
,hink ~ {, Of tho ,ir,o To,or Lanr1
or ,vo Americans u,bo aro,.o un "a ,ha
abhey I'm a t,xi Jeaninc nm, ono sofa
- 81, o,har. "yan a. ~ -
and I'm dn tho insiJ. ana ,,o, uav
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25
Society Organized to Look Out for
Their Welfare in After Life---
Work Their Real Hope

who give them the news from tho
evening papers or read To- them from
much rclished French classics.
So the blind soldiers Of the French
republic pass their apprenticeship in
the school OF darkness.
Blu the apprenticeship must come to
an end. TIL CouvalesCent home has
accommodations for only 300 blind. and
one estimate SAYS that the war viii
take a toll of at least 5000 pairs Of
eyes before peace terms are finally
signed. So room has constantly To- be-
made for the dcspairing newcomers,
who are To be trained into happiness
ana efficiency again. and those who
are inmates of the home to-day must
he sent out with the utmost haste 10
take their places in the world tu-mor-
row. Yet they Cannot simply pass
through the front door, eturn To- Their
homes. and IN the routine OF
their lives una.dcd. They must be
started on the way.
Just here is where the society, The
Friend OF the Blind soldier accom-
plishes its final ana most amazing
work. Sometimes the soldier depart
ing from the ConvairScont home j. not
yet ~thorouch'y proficient in his now
profession. Under these circumstances
the society does not leave hm 20
finish his practical education as best
he may.
II sends him to "A school where he
can complete his apprenticeship rs
basket maker. mass"ur. sicnn.rlpI"r
or what not. and when h" finally he
comes a finished workman it finds him
- position near his home. cor sets him
up in a small business way in his
native city or village. Aftorwlrd Il
Keeps in constant touch with lin
through its agents or 10y letter. and
should he ever nc in want, advances
Linn funds to tide him over the RAINY
days.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

tuition. set him to work on a brush
under the direction of the Brai!le in
structor. The result was that that
mar came to me. before the day was
over. cured OF his melancholy.
at am saved he told me. I am
able to do something in life again!
That is all / ask.
shortly every other unfortunate
had heard his story. The psychology
cal effect was instantaneous. From
that moment the men began to ex-
p%erience the cheering influence OF
hope. No sooner had they become
aware of the tremendous fact that
they were still good for something In
the world than they took heart.
I'VE made the mistake at first of
trying recreation, concerts, games,
lectures. But we quickly discovered
that the men deserted everything in
favor of work. They would rather
make brushes and baskets or cane
chairs than listen to the finest music
we could offer them. 1t was the same
with games and lectures. We found
the psychological value of work SUI
perior to that of any other diversion
We could devise"
A visit to the workshops at the
convalescent home proves the worth
OF the methods described by NJ. Emard.
In one a dozen blind men sit
busily weaving cane seats into the
bottoms Of chairs. The chairs come
from a nearby furniture factory. and
the weavers. new n they are to the
trade. are already being paid for their
work. \ nurse and a blind instructor
direct their lahors. They smoke avidly
as they ply their long hodkins; they
talk critically of the war situation :
they banter each other happily. They
are literally made men" already-and
they know 1t.
In another corner OF the same work
shop a handful Of former trench war.
riors are turning out very passabh
willow baskets which will shortly h,
sold to provision merchants in the bis
Partisan markets at Les Halles." Tn.
proceeds will revert 10 the pockets oi
the blind workmen and keep them In
tobacco for a fortnight.
Other professions TOO are rapidly
developing new votaries among tn,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-25

were going to resurrect their blind
charges from the depths Of despair the
hospital OF the Three Hundred could
not continue as n factor in the work.
Moreover, as the war progressed and
its victims grew more numerous. the
ancient institution became over
crowded.
In February the Government took
action. An expansive old building with
spreading gardens on the outskirts o:
Paris "a leased. Early in March
workmen took possession of II and rap
idE set about the task of Transforming
IL into a convalescent home for the
blind soldiers of France. BY April
most OF the alterations were completed,
the building was spars,ly furnished
and a stan OF f~untionaries and nurses
were assigned to the new project.
Then the blind were brought and duly
installed.
Thus far the Government had made
yeoman progress. 1t had provided for
the primary contingencies Of housing,
feeding. clothing and nursing several
hundred blind convalescenu. But
Governments. especially bureaucratic
Governments like that of France. are
perforce im~personal. They work by
precedent n rote n in their scheme
of action the individual. the varying
human factor, finds a considera-
ton.
1t so happened. however. that about
the time the Government leased TIC
building and grounds OF the GONZALES
cent home a new wartime society call
ing itself The Friend of the Blind
Soldier was organized under the 'ad-
ership of NJ. Rene Nalley-Rarot, vices
president of the famous Pasteur 1nsti-
tute. This society offered its services
to the Government and requested the
privilege Of undertaking to insure the
Individual welfare of each blind sol.
der in the proposed convalescenr
home.
The society hoped to revive the
broken spirits Of each man. To train
him in one Of the several profession.
open to the blind for which he seemed
best fitted, to start him in bushes IS
or secure for him "A situation and tC
keep a benevolent eye on him a,
through his l!fe, removing as far n.