davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1924-11-09
(A) Old Style.


THIS is the kind of play that used
= to deal with dear old Russia when
there was nothing more dangerous
there than the knout, and exile to ST.
IBERIA and the salt mines, and nihil-
lists with black whiskers and bombs
as large as a plum pudding.
The good old place is changed now.
Life there, from what can gather at
a distance of six thousand miles,
which is all I propose to gather
seems in some way-how shall 1 say
it. restrained, what one might call
unhomelike. But in the dear old days
there was a freedom and a space
about Russia which reflected itself in
the drama.
Here is the sort OF thing that we
| used to gaze at spellbound in the mid
die sos.
Scene: Siberia. A Post Station.
In the old days there was always 4
peculiar touch about the very word
"Siberia,"-a sort Of thrill, or chill,
that you couldn't get elsewhere.
At intervals in the snow was a
post house." for shutting exiles in.
Everywhere there we're prisoners and
nihilists with bombs. girls who had
lost their fathers, wives who had lost
their husbands. anarchists, Tartars. in
fact a varied and cheerful lot. The
prisoners moved around in little
| that know Of They were just driven
| from play to play and from story to
story.
The opening scene was always laid
| thus:
INSIDE THE POST HOUSE
TT is a long room, with a fire burn
4 IL OF he on
chairs and tables--only one person is
in it, a moujik pr sort Of peasant
| servant in a tattered fur hat and a
| chewed-up fur coat.
! The door opens with a burst OF
paper snow and in stride two Rus
sian officers. They 60 to tho fire and
stick their hands out towards its
warmth.
| ITS a cold night, Petroff."
| "a cold night. Dimitri Dimitrivitch
but not so cold as in the outshed
where the exiles are-ha! ha!"
| Both officers laugh heartily.
| This was a first-class Russian jest
! zone OF the dogs" says Petroff
expanding his back to the fire. "fell
in the snow on the march today"
| And what did you do, Petroff?"
81 ordered him a touch of the
knout. / think the dog died where
he fell. Ha! hal"
Both laugh heartily again Petro6
| turns to the peasant servant
| Here dog, bring vodka"
/ "At once, excellence, At once"
The moujik fumbles in a cupboard
and brings a bottle and glasses.
| Both officers drink.
| "To the Gear. Petroff!"
| "Dimitri, to the Carl
| A Russian soldier with a gun and
| hovopet abouf tuo feet long stems
| in and salutes.
"Excellence, a woman is outside"
! "a woman? Ha! What like of
woman, Ivan?'
| excellence, young woman"
| "A young woman. Ha! Ha-hA-ha?'
Evening star., 1924-11-09

"Scarebug."
| 20 hum m-drum" she jounce. What
could be meaning Of that estranged
word?"
I "The common swift or screecher."
dictate. IF not so, see Hon Die
tionary."
she dib. 'Incum Tax are not a COM
mon swift. 1t are a common slow.
Only last week l got letter from Sir
pay that 1sc Skeddle X in 1919. What
other word. containing letters,
| sound like Incum Taxi"
| Scrambled" 1 provike.
| Pretty good yes!" say she. "We
shall now put down Scrambled. Now
| here come Word IS. 1t dishcribe a
Bootleg talking to Police Court"
| "Nervus." I snuggest.
How could it?' she renig with
letters in him G finish with a B. I
| think 1t must be Dunn
| How ignorA Of you!" I snatch.
How could Dunn end with a B?
Nextly you will tell me that Kneck
| starts with a M
| "Neverthelessly." she remove, I'VE
| shall put on B to make it look styl-
| ISM. hapldly now, logo. we must
finish this Wedsdy 80 we can have
| another done by Xmas. Splunge
| quickly to Hon. Dictionary & find a
| disease. I do not care how painful
it is IL 1t commences with E."
"Epidermis," 1 holla excitely while
| hunting. THAT are a sort of skinny
disease commencing with toe-nails &
upward"
THAT are too short" she corrode
slightly.
Here are ellipepsy. elipsis. egg
zema, endemic. education. etymologX.
enteric, eggplant e other lothsome
attacks OF the stummick."
Not Sufficiently prolonged" she
| dotter.
20 joyful" I whoop. How would
| you enjoy a disease Of 25 letters &
| nearly impossible to say without
| speaking through a nutmeg grater?'
"Exackly the thing, Togo! Say 1T
| now"
"Elifantfosmagnitis alosts."
what do 1t mean, II possible?" she
pAa0ipa
Evening star., 1924-11-09
Newest Russian Drama Has Tang
Which Surpasses the Old Models


Patch, the Imbecife, Is making
faces at himself in broken looking
glass. Hootch, the Homicidal Maniac,
is sharpening butchers knife.
Stylipin and Yatschscha are drinking
vodka out of dirty glasses at the
crazy table. In other words, it's a
regular Russian home scene.
Itch (sitting up in bed)-I'm hun
CRY.
Stylipin-Shut up.
Itch--Give me some water I'm
thirsty.
Stylipin-Shut up, or I'll choke
you.
Ditch falls back on his bed. There
is a gurgling in his throat. Nobody
pays any more attention to him.
Stylipin (turns to Yatschcha)-
Where is that money you brought in
from the street?
Yatschscha-I brought no money
from the street.
Stylipin-Give me the money, or
I'll choke you.
tHe takes Yatschscha by the throat
and begins to choke her. Strange
cries from her. The idiot capers and
chuckles.)
This opening part of the play is
intended to develop that atmosphere
of cheerfulness and comfort which
surrounds the Russian drama of to-
day. 1t can, If need be, be prolonged
still more with little vignettes of
poisoning and knitting.
(There is beating at the chained
door. Stylipin calls:)
Who's there?
1t is I. Open the door.
It's Mother Pravda. Are you alone,
little mother?
No, one is with me. 1t is all right.
Open.
(Stylipin opens the door. Mother
Pravda enters: she is followed by
Prybiloff. the murderer. His face is
like ashes. His eyes wander. He is
afraid.)
Who has she got? What Is it?
| Who is she bringing?
This is Prybiloff, children. He has
done a murder.
Yatschscha (taking her husband
aside)-Listen, there is money in his
pocket-coins, real money. / heard
it jingle in his pocket.
Pravda-He killed a commissary.
The people are after him in the
streets. They are searching. They
want to burn him. Listen!
Prybiloff Qifting his head. his
| hands clenched on the table)-Theyre
coming!
Pravda-Have no fear. Look. come
with me. There is cellar below
here I'll put you there. Come.
(Mother Pravda opens the door,
leads Prybiloff down the dark steps)
Stylipin Ito Hootch)-Shal we 60
down?
Hootch-Let her do 1t alone.
Stylipin-No, no, l don't trust her
She'll take more than her share.
Hootch-All right Here. take the
spade with US. Better finish the job.
(They go DOWN.
presently a voice calls from be-
low) Are you there, YatschSc
Bring the vodka The work is hard
Yatschscha-One minute, one min
ute. (She takes from her pocket d
| little phial with green liquid in IT'D
<
RCT there, there. The full tenn
- peramentality of the thing has
been developed by this time. What
happens is that Yatschscha puts poi
son in the vodka And when she has
done that she goes out stealthily to
| denounce her husband and Hootch to
the commissaries of the police. She
| does this to get the blood money
offered by the police for Stylipin dead
or alive. In fact this is favorite
means of support in Russia.
So Stylipin and Hootch and dear
old Mother Pravda presently come up
and drink the poisoned vodka
Nice little thing. isn't it? There
is no doubt that Russian literature
has a tang to it
Copyright, 1924
Evening star., 1924-11-09
questionaires marked Horrozontile

Puppydlckular.
Are this a gamer 1 ask to know.
Are not. A Lass.'' narrate Mrs. c.
W. Quackmire, with tear drops on
her eyes. 1T are a habit"
I look to that exploded checker
holes in it distinctually labelled
"Daman."
How burst you use such curses
while your husband are away playing
poker?' ! ask it.
THAT are not a curse" amass Mrs
c. w. Quackmire. TT are the name
of small racoidean hoofed mann
NAL of Asia Minor. Put that in your
smoke and pipe it. Now I wish cross
that simple word with some name
expressing a high explosive which
can change itself. to something else
while jumping"
Senator Brookhartw dictate like
fireworks.
You are foolish" she oogle. This
word 1 need must commence with
and have letters inside it ="
Sore" 1 snuggest.
Sore" she snork. THAT do not
axpress a high explosive what can
change itself while jumping"
"Perhapsly not" 1 ollicute.
''Shux" she amputate. II got that
are Poor"
How that" I unraved.
when you are poor you axplode
while changing. Not SO? I are pretty
brite. by golly" Therefore she write
Poor amidst checkers. 'Nextly we
will turn to No which describe
something which 1 are when l are
not myself"
You are not myself. are it axcept
when L r l." I negotiate.
How ezackly so.' she deluge.
Therefore I shall put down You.
Goshes. How swift we are getting
onwards. BY practice I could do 1t
quicker than a Brooklyn lady which
can dissolve a crossword puzzle in
3 min % sec. Nextly come No. A.
This describe the Incum Tax in
letters. Commence with S, If any
thing"
l enrush to Dictionary while
turning pages with intellectual
thumbs. BY earnest hunting I pounce
out with that word,
Evening star., 1924-11-09
fer Opportunities for Material in American Museums

where the piece de resistance for each
guest was specially fed pigeon as
big as a broiler, so fat and so dainty
that it made me think of Lucullus and
his nightingales' tongues. Daily /
taste some new Chinese dish that 1
should like to add to my menus at
home.
At any Of these meals l have yet to
get taste Of chop suey. The truth
seems to be that there is no such
dish known in China, although 1t is
commonly served as Chinese through
out the United States. This has come
about in curious way. 1t originated
at a dinner that Prince Ii Hung
Chang gave in New York when he
made his trip around the world.
Prince Ii carried his own chef with
him, and the menu was strictly Chi
nese. One of the dishes especially
delighted the wife of the guest of
honor, and she asked Ii what 1t was.
chef replied in Chinese, 'It is a crea-
tion of my own-a chop suey." The
words chop suey" mean a mixture of
hash. Prince Lii said in English, 1T
is a chop suey." The American woman
spread the news of chop suey." the
wonderful dish. The name was taken
up by the Chinese restaurants in
America, and today chop suey is the
chief concoction that they serve.
A LII this Is in striking contrast to
"A the teaching OF our old geogra-
phies, which was that the chief diet
Of the Chinese is rats and rice" The
truth is that, although there 10 q
great deal Of rice eaten in this part
of the world-and no people can cook
it much better-rice is too dear q food
for tens of millions Of Chinese. In
the northern part of the country
ground millet and corn meal take it's
place. and even here in its home the
| best rice costs too much for the poor
AS to rats, cats and dogs, Canton is
the only place in China where 1 have
ever seen them sold, although they
| are probably eaten by the very poor
throughout the interior. / once bought
a pressed rat that had been skinned
and smoked and hung up with q long
string Of like rats for sale. did SO
with the idea Of sending II as Q sug-
gestion to the Gridiron Club, that well
! known association Of Newspaper gas
tronoms to which I belong and whose
| are famed all the world over. This
rat measured Q foot from nose to tail
1t looked like a slice Of dried pork,
smelt like salt meat and might have
formed the center Of . sandwich.
| carried 1t for several days In my bag
gage. The weather was hot, and
| when I opened my trunk the odor
| was such that knew that rat could
never get through our mails. SO
threw it away.
| Next door to the rat store I was
| shown a restaurant selling cat and
! dog meat. Carcasses of small dogs
not unliked cleaned sucking pigs
hung from hooks on the. walls. and
each of these had Q tuft of hair left
on the tip Of its tail. In most cases
this hair was black, and 1 was told
that the meat of the black dog was
sweeter than that Of the white or
yellow dog. Moreover. It is emble-
matte GDafaSs ana - oapDoosA e
strengthen the eater. Set into ledge
Evening star., 1924-11-09

1T are a rotary punctuation of the
upper detestible tube causing osmosis
or a deposit of lard at the basement
of the BRAIN" l tell that.
I'VE are shooting ahead like
dynamos!" shreech Mrs. Quackmire
excitely. Now leap bravely like a
fireman and snatch me a word which
mean same thing as Wringer."
"A bell" l denounce. That are a
species of wringer. are not?"
"Cernly," dictate her. But this
Bell must end with E or impossible
to do So"
I'VE will make that addition to be
stylish" 1 evaporate. Belle are also
French for Wringer."
80 ha!" decry Mrs. c. w. Quack.
mire while shooting pencil to that
check board. "Only 113 more squares
to cover with useless words!! Vic
tory & lightning!!! BY Jan 1 this
shall be finished and I make IS from
Puzzle Editor"
WHILE setting there I notice some
w thing. She got eyes full OF
very bad brilliance. Her mouth com
you hear in a zoo. Glib, CAB, COB
gub-what are name for Italian
blacksmith?'
1 commence thinking about murders
& some Jail 1 read about. Then
remember some more. Horus! How
could 1 be a good nurse for her yet
pumit her to put down Elifantios-
magnitismalosis which got several
more than 9 sillables on him? Hon
Quackmire told me call talefone at
oncely. Therefore 1 do so.
hIalJ- -ntp 7 hn1la ssEinetafr SSS9
quickly. if possible. Are this Elm
stein 3333T'
Yes is.' that from back end OF
wire.
Are this ofice of Hon. C. w
Quackmire?"
lis moi" say Talefone. This are
the Insant Asylum"
Send 8 men rapidly get Mrs
Quackmire. She are entirely cross
word puzzled" / hooch bravely.
"Umpossible," report Hon. Insane
I'VE got so many patience suffering
from that disease we must allow
them stay home"
! Therefore turn back to Mrs c. w
Evening star., 1924-11-09
Ancient Civilization Conflict With the Modern City Of Ca
mdrmu@~ m~ed edm@&r rom@tmhsm mAhmnhmA AmnmNmum
Destruction of Temples and Disappearance of Images

an American town. The wares are of
every description. There are shoes Of
wood and OF cloth, shoes of leather
of all colors, and some with soles
made of sheets of paper. pasted layer
upon layer until they are half-incn
thick. There are the new low black
patent feathers. and the shoes of
white canvas affected by the modern
Chinese woman, and shoes for old
ladies, so small that one could not
hold the hand of an American girl,
much less her foot. I am told there
is one woman here whose feet are so
tiny that she can stand one-legged on
q silver dollar and whirl abou. with
out touching the ground.
The little shoes are made of the
finest Of satin, and are embroidered
with silver or gold. Thousands Of
them are still sold. and in the interior
of China there are millions Of females
who wear nothing else.
The old-style mans shoes are OF
black satin, with a sole Of white wood
as thick as two of your fingers. OF
late the men are buying more and
more foreign footgear. and among
the public officials you will seldom
find one who has not leather shoes.
black, white or tan colored. Every
shoe store is a factory, and in some
tHey nave Sewing IHdChincS, dktnOuS II
most of the work IL still done by
hand. At the back of each store men
and boys are sewing and stitcnfng
away.
The same is true Of the sweat
shops, where street after street IS
filled with open cells in which men
and boys are basting and sewing on
clothing for women and men, the
work for both sexes going on IN enc
~,
changing, and the gorgeous silk
gowns Of bright color worn by the
men In the past are less frequently
seen. The skullcap with the feather
or button on top has been displaced
by felt hats and new straws such as
are seen on our streets. European
and American hats are sold every
where, and hats of our styles are how
made in Canton. The gown of the
gentleman of today may fall from his
neck to his feet. and it is still of blue,
white or yellow silk, but the sleeves
are much shorter and smaller than
they were in the past. Half OF the
Chinese officials wear gowns Under
which they have full pantaloons that
fall to their feet. The costume is inn
pressive and much more dignihed than
our Western dress.
THE women OF China likewise are
/ changing their styles. AS we pass
by the stores we see short skirts and
blouses that button tight around the
neck and have sleeves cut of at the
| elbows. We see also the old-time
loose silk Jackets and wide full pan
! falcons. Many Of the modern women
now wear the short skirts that end at
midcalf. Often they are SO abbrevi-
ated that when the girls walk along
with a swing, as they do, they kick
the skirt with the knee and display a
dainty red or blue silk garter two
inches wide cIasping the silk stock
inged leg just over the calf. The
blouses are beautifully cut. They
reach to the hips and end in . slight
peak at the hack and front They are
always tight at tho neck and loose
Evening star., 1924-11-09

although the standard of living is ris-
ing and the common people have more
money than ever before. AS We go
through the streets we shall find
many beggars. They are largely pro-
fessionals who have created their
own loathSome sores to extract aims.
| saw one man today who seemed to
have sliced a pound of meat out Of
his thigh, and the raw, red sore was
Haunted in my face as he held out his
hand. AS I go up the steps to the
bridge at Shameen I am accosted by q
boy terribly crippled who writhes
along on his withered hands and legs.
showing a surprising speed as he keeps
himself under my feet. He twists this
fully crying the while. A few cents
sends him off. Another professional
is an old woman who carries a Grip
pied old man on her shoulders.
The blind beggars are legion. They
come from an asylum of the city and
go about in groups of six or eight in
single file, with a leader who can see
just enough to act as their guide. The
others hold on to the clothes of their
fellows, and ALL from decrepit old
women to young boys and girls, have
fiat, round baskets that they hold out
| as they turn up their sightless eyes
and beg in piteous tones. Now and
then as we go through the city we see
| a gang OF these beggars standing in
front Of q shop. They will stay there
until the merchant pays them to
leave He will give them only a pit
| tance. but they will stay until they
get it. I understand that the beggars
| belong to a guild, and hat they work
together and conform to the rules of
their union.
As we go on through usch scenes OF
| want we find food in profusion. There
are cookshops at every few steps. and
restaurants are as frequent as in
Paris on the banks Of the Seine
| meat, fish and game. There are cells
piled high with oranges, bananas and
| mangos. There are melons of every
variety and sweetmeats that make
ones mouth water. Canton preserved
ginger is eaten all over the world,
and nowhere can you buy more diff
| ferent kinds Of dainties.
Some time ago one of our American
diplomats was entertained by the
were served at tho banquet. which in
ciuded shAriB flns and birds nest
soup. had dinner today at q restau-
rant, Of which there are four Diff
ferent branches In the city. It COW
| cred an acre and contained many
rooms. Ny host led me through gar
den after garden until we reached a
parlor at the back, before which a
fountain played, and there we sat
down at a table. The dinner lasted
three hours. We began with water
melon seeds, followed by birds nest
| soup, a jellylike mixture made of the
spittle with which the birds Of some
of the South Sea islands cement. their
| nests. From that we went on to
bowls of delicious shrimps as big as
q thimble to slices of ham from far
OF Yunnan, then to cream-fed chick
| ems and sucking pigs fattened on
| chestnuts, which almost melted in
ones mouth. The many sweets / can
not describe. Yesterday Was taken
to q cookshop on one OF the avenues
Evening star., 1924-11-09

across the chest, for it is contrary to
the Chinese proprieties for a woman
to show or even to indicate any part
OF her person.
The modern Chinese girl is attrac-
tive. The young ones wear clothes of
gay colors. Their silk blouses are of
the brightest of red, green or yellow,
and they may have wide pants of silk
|of similar colors that end at the ankle
Their favorite color is light blue.
Their feet are small as 4 rule, but the
smallness is that of nature, not Of
tight binding. They wear low shoes
of satin or leather. and their stock
ings are silk. Jewelry is much worn
by all who can afford it, and the
women of the old regime have not
changed the gold combs in their hair
or the gold knots that rest above the
knob of hair on the neck. They wear
diamonds, pearls and jade finger rings
earrings and bracelets. The new girls
like our modern styles of jewelry, and
frequently see one wearing a wrist
watch attached to a gold bracelet.
Both the men and women who now
in many cases affect foreign dress lose
to a large extent their Chinese ap-
pearance. The men often wear the
same style of clothes that we do and
the women have costumes that would
not be out of place on our American
streets. At a distance you can hardly
tell that they are Mongolians. Their
compilations may be fair and the men
have lost their queues. The women
now walk with q swing as arm and
active as that OF an American girl
The nose and the mouth may not be
different from yours and mine. but
there is one feature that always dis
tinguishes the race. This is the eye
No matter how much or how little OF
foreign blood the Asiatic has in him
he cannot get away from the slanted
eyelid. l have thought many a Chi
| neee Westerner until l looked hip1
straight in the eye and observed its
tells.
But these well dressed Chinese are
of the rich. While they number mil
| lions in China. there are hundreds Of
millions of poor. Our walk through
the streets reminds us of the words OF
st. John, THE poor always ye have
with you" The old section swarms
with fellows of the baser Sort" both
men and women. The women weal
the old-fashioned black or blue coa'
that falls to the thighs and the wide
pantaloons that hide the bare ankles
Some Of them are bareheaded ant
some wear great hats OF bamboo. The
men are often half naked. and a com.
| mon sight in a store is fat, burlS
| merchant clad only in a pair of thir
cotton trunks, the waist string o,
| which Is lost in rolls Of fat on his
paunch Canton in Summer Is as hot
as Havana, which is in the same lati.
tude. 1t is hotter, I should say, fol
here the air reeks with moisture. Fol
| this reason the men and boys weal
as little clothing as possible. AS ts
the women, they are left to perspire
lfor, regardless of the temperature
lthey must not expose the person. Il
lis different in Japan, where the XII
monos are open. and girl will limo.
Gently primp, bathe or labor away
while bare to her waist.
| Canton has always been noted q,
q city OF beggars. It is still SO