The Chemawa American, May 19, 1920, Page 4, Image 4

THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
PAGE 4
DEM ONSTRATIONS
(Continued from page 1)
there was a nice pastry display made by Mr. Chapman’s .
young bakers, and from its character we predict a
good future for some of these boys. Pies, cakes,
bread, rolls, etc., all tempting and appetizing made
us wish it was a little nearer the luncheon hour. It
took about an hour to make the round, but it was
well spent and the lessons learned during that time
will never be forgotten by many of us.
The various demonstrations which followed from
day to day were of the same general character, possi-
bly a little different in some respects, owing to some
specialty which may have been introduced by the
upper-classmen. All was fíne—creditable to the nth
degree.
ECCENTRICITIES OF LITERARY MEN
As a class literary men are perhaps the most freakish
and eccentric of all mankind. This is particularly
true of poets who often have what is known as “ tem­
perament,” whose natures are likely to be of the
dreamy, idealistic varity and whose sensibilities
usually are exceptionally delicate and highly devel­
oped.
Altered Tennyson, the great English poet, author
of “ Crossing the Bar,” “ The Charge of the Eight
Brigrade,” “ The brook” and numerous other favorite
poems, was noted for his careless handling of his man­
uscripts. It is related that on pne occasion after he
had moved into new quarters he missed his “ book of
elegies, a long, butcher-ledger-like book,” as he de­
scribed it, and wrote to a friend asking him to try to
find it. The friend went to Tennyson’s former
lpdgings and found the manuscript in a closet which
had served the poet as a, pantry. It proved to be the
unpublished manuscript of “ In Memoriam.”
O. W. Holmes, genial author of “ The Deacon’s
Masterpiece,” “ Bill and Joe,” “ Old Ironsides,”
“ The Chambered Nautilus” and numerous other fine
poems as well as essays, biographies and novels, was
a practicing physician and for 35 years professor of
anatomy and physiology at Harvard, yet he was wont
to carry a horsechestnut in one and a potato in another
pocket for the purpose of warding off rheumatism.
In his “ Autocrat of the Breakfast Tablé” he made
the landlady say of himself: “ He was a man who
loved to stick around home as much as any cat you
ever see in your life. He used to say he’d as lief have
a tooth pulled as go any wheres. Always got sick, he
said, when he wrent away, and never sick when he
didn’t .’ ’
Herbert Spencer, British essayist and philosopher,
once went with a friend to the Derby races. The friend
was somewhat vexed bécause Spencer could not be
aroused to enthusiasm over the contests on the track
and nothing he saw seemed to please or interest him.
The crowd of men on the grass, he declared, reminded
him disagreeably of flies on a plate and the event from
start to finish was exactly what he had pictured it be­
forehand; even the costumes of the men who an­
nounced the odds, were just what he imagined they
would be.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, from whose pen came “ Twice
Told Tales,” “ Wonder Book,” “ TheScarlet Letter”
and various other works, would invariably wash his
hands before reading a letter from his wife. One of
his favorite amusements was to pore over the adver­
tisements of old newspapers.
H. W. Longfellow1, author of “ The Village Black­
smith,” “ The Clock on the Stairs,” “ Hiawatha” and
numerous other wonderful poems, liked to walk only
at sunrise or sunset; his sublimest moods, he said,
came upon him at such times.
R. E Stevenson, British novelist and poet, author
of “ Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” “ Treasure Island,”
“ David Balfour,” “ A Child's Garden of Verse,” etc.,
was fond of playing the flute. His music seemed to
bring him inspiration—to “ tune up his ideas,” as he
expressed it.
Alexander Dumas, the younger, French dramatist,
was in the habit of adding a new picture to his art
collection on the publication of each new work.
Alphonse Daudet, compatriot and contemporary of
Dumas, insisted on wearing his glasses to bed.
James Keats, British poet, seasoned his. toast with
red pepper. Charles Dickens, the English novelist,
had an inordinate liking for wearing jewelry. Edg^r
A. Poe, American poet, like Dickens, had a little
streak of vanity, being extraordinarily proud of his
feet. Another eccentricity .was his habit of sleeping
with his cat. To make sure that they would “ stay
put” and not take up too much space, Joaquin Miller,
American poet, kept his chairs nailed to the wall.
After suffering for seven years with what the Doc­
tors took to be tuberculosis a woman at Roanoke, Va.,
was operated upon and a piece of plate from her false
teeth was found imbedded in one of her lungs. Im­
provement was immediate.
On April 1 a statement was given otit at Shnta Fe
by the former mayor and state superintendent of
schools that the skeletons of a boy and girl enveloped
in a prehistoric eruption had been unearthed and were
to be sent to Washington. It was claimed that the
find was made in a white stone house discovered in
the lava beds. Wide interest among scientists of
the whole country was excited, only to be disappointed
by the statement that the story was an April fool hoax.