The Sunday Oregonian., June 21, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 10, Image 56

10
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 1, lOS.
1 (
Ri A BEPOBTEDM CONFIDENCE. .1
f?5 i i SI 1
rVB handled a lot of different kinds.
and some of 'em was peculiar propo
sitions, but I pins the rose on Stack-
pole. First warnin' I had of him was
when he springs himself on me xat the
studio. He drifts in without a word,
leaves the door wide open, chucks a
cigarette stub on the rug, spreads his
feet wide apart, and begins to size up the
front office with a kind of dissatisfied
look on his face.
"Well!" says I. "What open lot do
you. register from?" j
"I beg pardon?" says he. And say,
the way some folks can fire that at you
is almost as bad as hein' called out of
your name.
"You don't have to beg pardon," says
I. "All you need to do Is to get on the
other side of the door and shut It, This
Is no public park."
"Ah?" says he, as If I'd said some
thin' amusln", but he never makes a
move.
He was one of the kind you read about.
There was no mistakin' his class. Reggie
was wrote all over him. from his open
work silk socks to his $40 Panama. You
could shut your eyes and see papa, the
trust maggot, behind him. slgnin' checks,
and If you strained your ears you coujd
hear the pop of the last bottle of French
foam he'd opened.
"Yes, 'Ah!' " says I. " 'Ah!' two or
three times. Now run along, or you'll
be missin' something at the stage' door."
That sort of jolts him a little. I guess
he'd made up his mind It was time to
drop the sledge hammer on me, for he
begs pardon again, some sassier. than be
fore, and tells me that he's Mr. Stack
pol" Huntley Morris.
"You ain't to blame for all that,
either." says I.
Threw him clear oft his balance. He'd
been used to seein' strangers wilt when
he shoved that at 'em. But say. there's
too many of these slim-legged surplus
distributors fioatin' around the White
Light district for me to be stunned when
one rubs against me close.
"I beg pardon?"- says he once' more.
"You've got the habit bad." says I.
"See here, my man!" says he. real pet
tish. "You're Shorty McCabe, aren't
you?"
"Not to your kind." says I. "You'll
"hid a different handle to my name if you
read the letters on the ground glass."
"Well, professor, then." says he.
"Right." says I. ' You're learnin". Now,
what'll it be?"
We gets down to business then. I hears
it oeems that he has the gift
of improvisation in a marked decree
BY ALMA A. ROGERS.
THE series of improvisations on the
Odyssey which Francis Richter
gave in our rooms the early part of this
month was very successful. They were
three In number and closed the list of
14 improvisations on various subjects
given during the Winter In addition to
the three recitals already mentioned.
Two years ago Mr. Richter heard the
Homeric stories of Troy and the doughty
warriors whose feats of skill slngls
handed have for generation after genera
tion roused the enthusiasm of young
readers. Apparently the subject' had
lain ripening in "his mind ever since,
particularly the adventures of Ulysses, In
which the poet seems to have Invested
the full extent of his powers of inven
tion. The gift of improvisation marks the
mind of the composer. To such a one
the ability to weave his musical pictures
into orderly harmonies on the spur of the
moment may seem as ordinary as when
a practically minded person sits down
and writes a letter without chewing his
p?ncil or fingering a dictionary. But to
the uninitiated improvisation seems a
mysterious performance, and when the
Impromptu composition proceeds for
hours with never a break or a moment's
hesitation. It becomes remarkable.
We had become accustomed to Mr.
Riehter's skill in improvising through
hearing him during the Winter. So when he
announced that . he would give the
Odyssey in three parts, each to occupy
an evening, we prepared our minds for
something unusual and set to work to
Invite the little company who had at
tended his recitals.
'
I should say that the other Improvisa
tions had been quite private, only two or
three t'riende being present. These few
had been of the opinion that such master
ly picturing as he gave "The Lady of the
Lake and the beauty of the symphonic
poem into which was transposed "Enoch
Arden" should be shared by others. But
It seemed a risk to formally invite guests
to a recital of which the player himself
had never struck a note and for whose
form and vfinish he had only inspiration
to depend upon. Moreover, Mr. Richter
himself was averse to the Idea, not being
able to view his performances In the light
in which others saw them.
However, he finally decided to make
the attempt and trust to favoring winds
even as Ulysses. The result fully Justi
fied expectations. The people were In
terested, and we have reason to think
that they went away satisfied that a new
musical genius had come out of America.
The first evening was devoted to the pro
logue.' which embodied a general outline
of the story and contained the motifs of
the leading characters. It was master
ly In Its breadth and power, and aroused
much enthusiasm. It covered nearly an
hour. There was not a single moment's
hesitation on the part of the young
composer. Had one not known, one must
have thought it a carefully studied com
position. The other half of the evening
covered the search for Ulysses.
The second evening was the climax
of the work. The adventures of the
hero with the Cyclops, the Circe, the
unfavorlng winds of Eolus, the lovely
garden where grew all manner of lus
cious fruits, together with the descent
of Ulysses Into Hades, were given with
highly dramatic effect. As some one
said, Mr. Riehter's work made you
think of Wagner, though not at all
like Wagner, the suggestion arising
from the bigness and scope of his
motifs and harmonic combinations.
This young man belongs decidedly to
the modern school, though he does not
overwhelm melody with dissonances,
and he is nothing if not original.
The constancy of Penelope, who was
designated by a charming motif, the
final return of Ulysses and the happy
ending, were the combined theme of
the third evening.
. '
Among the new guests was a noble
man who is close to the Emperor In
the court and who Is also a musician,
a very simple, unassuming man who
was very kind to the young performer.
On of the best sculptors In Vienna
wa waaent- also two artists, on of
how he and the old man and the fanVIy
doctor, not to mention mother and the
fam'ly lawyers, has just been holdin' a
sort of Inquest on his recent career.
Stackpole wasn't a bit shy of speakiti'
right out about it, but he didn't go Into
details. He didn't have to. I'd heard
enough about him to know that he'd ac
quired a past that you couldn't dig up
without usin' plenty of chloride of lime.
It seems he'd gone the limit, though.
The verdict was that he must either roll
off the toboggan, or go on a short allow
ance, and he'd promised to be good. But
first he needed to get nis nerves back in
shape. They all agreed to that. Mother
had put In a bid for sea traveling and the
doctor had stood for avmonth or so In
the Canadian Rockies, probably at some
sanatorium that gave hlra a rake-oft.
The old man turned 'em both down.
"We've, tried that sort of thing too
often." says he. "I want him near
enough so that It'll be handy to give
bail. Let Shorty McCabe have a try at
him."
"And so." says Stackpole. grinnln' like
It was a great joke. "I've come up to en
gage your services for two or three
weeks. Just cancel any other plans you
may have made, and consider yourself
In my employ. How do we begin?"
"We don't begin." says I.
"What do you mean by that?" says he,
stiffenin' up.
"I ain't usin' any code." says I; "but
If you've got to have a translation, here
it is: You can buy head waiters. Stack
pole, and maybe stage managers, and you
can keep an ex-Governor busy gettln'
you out of scrapes; but you can't buy
me. I ain't on the market."
"Indeed!" says he. and makes up his
lip for the polite kind of assault and bat
tery he uses on common people that gets
in his way. "Oh. indeed!"
"That's It." says I, "and that'll be
about all. It's a fine day outside, and a
lot healthier." t
Honest, I ain't come so near blowfn'
out both fuses in a long' while. Piffle!
To think that any cigarette-fed pin head
like that could give me a temperature. I
carried a grouch against myself for
hours.
. Well. I thought I'd shunted Stack
pole for good. I hadn't, though. About
4:30 o'clock that same day, after he'd put
up the shutters on the Stock Exchange,
in comes old man Morris himself. He's
got a face, you know, that's as hard as
a pavln' stone, but there was a few soft
streaks in It as he talked to me about
Stackpole.
"I'm sorry." says I. "but It ain't any
use. He wouldn't take orders from me.
and just as likely as not he'd say things
that would make me want to muss him."
rancis wwx is
whom hag a picture in the salon this
year that has attracted much atten
tion.' Nearly all the others were either
professional musicians or understood
harmony. It was a company well
fitted to judge of the work. The mu
sical critic of the leading1 papers of
London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna was
unable to keep his promise to be pres
ent at the Odyssey, but spent an even
ing later and expressed himself as
amazed at Mr. Riehter's gift.
If any one asks why do I tell these
things, and somebody else, why do we
do them, my reply to the first is, be
cause I feel that the subscribers to the
Francis Richter fund have the right to
know what he is doing here, and per
sonal' communication Is impossible. To
the second my answer is, we are trying
to make this young genius known.
We have been assured that we can
reach the Emperor next year. To play
before him would be an honor, no
doubt an empty one; but. still there are
few who would refuse it.
Probably the more practically mind
ed wonder why we don't present Mr.
Richter to the .Viennese by a public
concert. Well, we have often pondered
that problem ourselves and have not
yet found the correct solution. For It
Is a problem, as Inquiry reveals, a
problem of quite a different complexion
from that in America. There, if you
have friends and a lot of energy to
expend, you can make some money.
Here you not only receive no money
but have to pay a great deal out. You
must pay your manager out of your
own pocket and get no share of the
receipts, If any are left after the cost
of hall and advertising, which is not
likely, for the big majority of the
audience will be there by compll
mentaries, not paid seats. I am relia
bly informed that these packed houses
that have so astonished me at con
certs this Winter are swelled by many,
many compllmentaries. It appears
that no beginner can help himself in
this way.
Apropos of this question of concert
giving, we have Just had the inner evi
dence of a young; artist from Berlin, a
friend of Marcel de Bouzon, who li
visiting in Vienna. He is a pupil of
D' Albert and Madam Rhomert He
gave several concerts in Berlin for
which his friends paid out something1
like 1500 marks ($375). This in despite
of the fact that they were a great suc
cess. . So, from what we can discover,
the prospects of a concert are not
'much.
I suppose the American newspapers
keep their public informed of all that
happens over here concerning: the
Franz Joseph jubilee. This is the 60th
year of his reign, the jubilee year. It
means many fests. What is less agree
able, also, an increase in the already
crushing cost of living. Several events
have had their date, notably the sere
nade given in beautiful.. Schoenbrunn
Park on the occasion q the visit of
the German Kaiser and Kalserin, the
Kings of Wurtemberg and Saxony, the
Crown Prince and Princess, and lesser
dignitaries. By taking an early train
for one of the suburbs we got to see
all these people, and the retinue from
the court as well. Carriages awaited
the company at the station and they
then drove through long lines of
mildly-enthuslastlc people, who waved
handkerchiefs, took off masculine hats
and cried "Hoch." First came Franz
Joseph, the German Emperor seated
beside him In the open carriage. Both
saluted the crowds. William has the
look of a dictator, quite in contrast to
the benign countenance of Franz
Joseph, who Is mush beloved. His ap
pearance William's forcibly remind
ed me of those verses entitled "Hoch
der Kaiser" which circulated in Amer
ican newspapers a few years ago
(Good heavens! I hope I am not com
mitting lese majesty! One never
knows over here. To have an opinion,
that Is, to express it. Is like treading
on eggshells.)
The Kaiserln's carriage was second.
She Is a fine looking; woman. She wore
a big hat, covered with dark purplish
plumes and paid no attention to the
tributes. I wonder if It was pride or
weariness. The latter. I should think.
Who that loves freedom would envy
a crowned head? The Crown Princess,
on the contrary, seemed to enjoy the
o
:s
"Precisely what he needs to be
mussed." says Morris. "And as for
obeying orders, I'll fix It so that he can't
do anything else."
I couldn't see it. though; but the old
man wouldn't let go. ' i
"If It was only on my own account, '
says he, "I wouldn't bother you with
f the young cub. I'd cut him adrift and
let him go to blazes. But there s his
mother. He's breaking her heart."
Say. I can't remember the time when I
had a mother myself, and I don't know
as I'd have pleased one to death anyway,
but somehow talk like that always hits
me hard.
"Won't you let' her speak to you a
moment, professor?" he goes on. "She is
waiting down stairs now in the carriage."
I wasn't anxious to meet the rest of the
family, but I went down. And say. she
wa'n't at all like the sort I'd framed up
In my mind she was. I was lookln' for
some stiff-necked old dame. In gun metal
silk and peacock feathers, who'd treat
me like I was a kind of assistant butler.
That wasn't frer style, though. She had
white hair, and soft, weepy eyes, and
when she talked it was like pigeons coo
ing on the roof. She took it as a matter
of course that I'd signed the contract.
"It's so good of you!" says she. "We
have heard about some of the wonderful
things you have done for other men. and
our dear Stackpole- does need help so
badly. Once he gets his health back, he
will be his old self again."
Say. she won me. first rattle out of
the box.
"All right," says I. "You send him
along. I'm no evangelist, and I won't
guaranty to make a cherub of him in two
weeks, but I'll do what I can towards
putting him In trim, for a change of
heart."
"I knew you would." says she. "And
Stackpole is really a good boy. you know,
when he's well. There's just one thing,
though, that I want you to promise: allow
him to have fiis own way all you can,
won't you?"
And say, what do you suppose? I
promised! We shook hands on it.'too.
Now what do you think of that for a
jay move? 'The whole trouble with
Stackpole was that he'd had his way too
much, and here I passes my word to
keep It up.
We'd settled that my place out to
Primrose Park would just fill the bill as
a trainin- camp, so I gives Swifty Joe the
studio keys, and catches a suffocation
local out to get ready for Stackpole.
He landed there about noon next day.
And say. that snoozer's idea of travelin'
light was worth lookln' over! First comes
a. big gold-mounted benzine cart, -with
Stackpole, in goggles and pongee dressin'
situation and bowed continually. She
was gowned in pale pink, with a great
hat and plumes of the same. She
looked very pretty and girlish. The
Crown Prince wore a fur cap to his
uniform and likewise the charm of
youth. Of all the train that followed
the only person of special Interest to
me was the Burgomaster of Vienna,
who was greeted with much enthusi-
Entered as 2nd Clan Male Matter
Under
Royal
Patronage
EXTRA TRUE
NATURISMS
By
OUR OWN NATURER
Washington, June 20. The cap
tain of th second class cruiser Coney
Island reports meeting the sea ser
pent in lat- 87 long 14. It was
apparently under the influence of
liquor.
The Pure 'Hen Commission of the
Department, of Agriculture will hold
its first session next
week. All hens must
appear before the
board to undergo a
Civil Service exami
nation. They will be
separated into three
classes those that
lay guaranteed fresh
U.S. Hen Auayer
eggs, hens that lay
neutral eggs
and undesirable hens
that lay guilty eggs ' subject to in
dictment under the "noxious man
ufactures" law.
Under the direction of the Bu
reau ot Animal Industry, the State
of New Jersey has begun the work
of screening the entire scenery. An
ingenious part of the scheme is the
device by which the moon is permit
ted to pass in and out at will, with
out Jetting the mosquitoes escape
Elver since the congress of governors.
New Jersey has been seriously alarm'
ed at the growing danger of deplet
ing this great natural resource
The Bureau of Forestry reports
that the destruction of the forests
has thrown numbers of deserving
caterpillar? out of employment.
There are heartrending scenes at the
farms where monopolistic agricul
turists refuse to let starving cater
pillar families - enter the cabbage
patches. Congress will be asked for
an appropriation to provide them
with pensions.
Squire Hen Hutch of Oyster Bay
yesterday, brought his celebrated dog
Algernon to the
White House. He ex- faM
posed a remarkable
nature fact to your
own naturer. Alger
non lost his mother
while still an Infant
' Aljemoe
in arms and it being winter, he was
brought up behind the furnaces,
Since then he follows every coal
wagon under the touching belief that
emTord
gown, stretched out on the nack seat.
Followin' that was -another honk wagon
with the tonneau piled full of kit bags,
trunks strapped on the back, and suit
cases on the top. In amongst the bags
was stowed away two little Japs and a
big husky Swede. With the two French
chiffonnters. that made five people.
"Is It a minstrel troupe, or a congress
of nations?" says I.
Then Stackpole explains that the pair
of banzais did a sort of valet team-work
stunt for him. attendln' to everything,
from givin' him a mornln' shave to tyin'
his shoe laces: while the big Swede was
his special rub-down artist.
"Who does your breathin'?" says I.
He don't notice that crack at all, but
goes on to say that he guessed I could
And room for them all, somewhere about
the place.
"Y'ou must think this is a Summer
hotel." says I. "Can't you cut some of
'em out?"
"Oh. really." says he. "I couldn't get
along without any one of them."
"That's a sad state to be In," says I;
"but, as I've promised to humor you, I'll
tell you what yu can do: either board
them down to the village, or chase the
whole bunch back to town."
And say. he kicked like a steer. He
came near qulttln' the game right there,
but I guess somethln' the old man had
said before he started made him change
his mind.
There was another hitch over the bag
gage. I didn't want all that truck .scat
tered around the place.
"Besides." says I. "this ain't goln' to
be any full-dress function; bul if you're
set on havin a lot of clothes, you can
take your pick of the leather bags. Yes.
one grab: and If you run shy of working
togs. I guess I can dig up some old ones
for you."
After we'd settled the preliminaries and
started the procession back home. Stack
pole and I sat down on the front porch
and had a little $lk. For one thing. I
wanted tn get a line on the kind of shape
he was in. I didn't need to use any
stetheoscope or needle tests, either. What
with a cocktail diet, openln' studio ple3.
and such, he'd made a bad mess of him
self. The whites of his eyes was a
scrambled-egg tint, and wWn he -lit a
fresh dope stick his fingers could hardly
hold' the match.
"Got a full supply of them?" says I.
"Only a couple of hundred." says he,
"but my tobacconist will send up a few
dozen boxes tomorrow."
Sure enough, he did: and Mother
Whalev says if I put any more rubber
shoes in her kitchen stove she'll jump the
Job. I didn't mention my programme at
the time, though. Stackpole and me was
asm. He has done very
Vienna, I am told.
much for
These preliminaries overcome the fest
at Schoenbrunn. The Invitations were
limited to the court and official people,
but through the good offices of M. de
Bouzon's friend in court, we were per
mitted to go. Our desire was based on
the fact that there were to be 7000 men
singers and a band of 200.' So It proved,
but the effect was not so Imposing as one
might think. The voices lost much reson
ance in the open air and a wind was
blowing. Nevertheless, the singing was
inspiring. At the last the band played
the German and Austrian national hymns
and the two Kaisers came out on the
balcony of the palace to bow their ac
knowledgments. This lovely park of Schoenbrunn I like
best of any- In Vienna. Those who re
member their history need not to be In
formed that here the ill-fated- son of
Napoleon was kept a virtual prisoner
JUNE 21. 1908
LOADED MONEY; or, THE CURSE OF WEALTH
CHAPTER VI.
Let us now return to Alf Megaphone, the Bo Senator, whom we left at
the post in the Hotel St. Richness in
of New York.
The traveler to, the Greenland summer resorts who passe?jS'
through the dingy little hamlet of Bogus-vine can still see the
long serpentine holes that onoe marked the famous subways.
These subways were used by the
escape from themselves!
In the Dicturesaue teerlod of our
of the Seven Wonders of the World.
It had no building lower than 81 stories and all the resources of science
and art had been drawn on to make them entirely uninhabitable.
In this they were perfectly successful.
Alf Megaphone the Boy Senator wa the other Six Wonders of the World.
Unlike the other natural resources of America, he was inexhaustible.
He was born at an early age and had remained so ever since. He was
able to talk before he could think. By carefully cultivating this gift he
became the prize debater in his school. He attracted national attention
by wresting the World's Championship from a phonograph and was elected
vehemently to the United States Senate.
It was this voluminous and powerful statesman whose arrival had chased
the three burly capitalists out of our first chapter just when things were
getting' interesting.
As we return to the marble, onyx, gold, bronze and silver elegance of
Glktcmt Sconin li Hat Roam at tha St. Rxxnai ' 7i i'iuu um
viininivii.nM gayg even to the unobservant beholder:
"Ha! I have a clue!"
This prominent character was the terror of the predatory financiers of
his day. At the mere mention of his name, the most ferocious and daring
capitalist hid his sandbag and crawled under the bed!
Although he was impenetrably disguised as a lobster salad, we will let
our cash subscribers In on a secret!
He was Sam Instep, the Boy Detective!
Our Nxt is Something Awful
ittmi Awn
tiUfctiN MtWS
By our Special King
Correspondent.
St. Petersburg, ' June 20. One of
the most interesting observances in
the Czarial palace is the daily collec
tion of uncalled-for bombs. It is
made at 5 p. m. and the best ones
are presented to his majesty at tea
time, to his unfailing delight.
Constantinople. June 20. The Sul
tan has changed the hour for Palace
Executions to noon, on account of
the widespread complaint against the
lnoonvenlence of getting up before
dawn to be killed.
- Rome, June 20. The Royal Jan
itor has ordered a large sign marked
In plain English: "Not At Home and
Won't Be Back," to be hung on the
palace door whenever an American
in. thejsffljig
only gettln' acquainted. Just as a side
issue he gave me his views on the rough
way his folks was usin' him.
"It's a lot of tommyrot. kicking up
such an infernal row." says he. "I've
got to enjoy myself, haven't I? They're
a couple of old fossils."
"There's a lot of gents down Wall
street way that seems to think your
old man's a good deal of a live one,"
says I.
"Oh, he's all right at that game."
says Stackpole: "but outside of that
he's an antiquated chump."
"So?" says I. "But there's your old
lady: now she's what I'd call a "
"She's a whlny old fool!" says he.
"She don't know enough to mind her
own business and let me mind mine."
I dldnt let him get any further on
that tack. "Stacky," says I, "'we'll have
a little gentle exercise, right now."
With that I leads him out to the sta
ble, where I'd fixed up a kind of gym.
I was In such a hurry to get" the mitts
on him that we didn't shed anything
but our coats. Stackpole was willing
enough. He'd had a lot of boxln' les
sons, at one time and other, and he
was some stuck on hte way he could
handle the' gloves.
Did he get his'n? Well say. with me
rememberln' the nice way he had of
speakin' about his old lady. It's a won
der I held In the way I did. It was
biff! blng! bang! and Stacky does a
pinwheel into the corner.
After he'd picked himself out from
under the grain chute the third time
he yanks on the pillows, steadies him
self against the wall, and rips out,
kind of panty like: "I say, now. I
don't want ts be mauled around like
that! I don't put up with It!"
"No?" says I. "Then maybe you'd
like a different kind of exercise. Any
thing to oblige."
So I takes him out Into the back
yard, where Dennis was doln' a bass
viol solo with a bucksaw, workln' a
dead tree up into stove lengths.
"It's your turn now, Stacky," says I.
"Pitch in!"
"What?" says he. "I dtdnt come
out here to work."
"Its either that or the gloves," says
I. "Suit yourself."
He-didn't take long to make up his
mind. Stacky wa'n't real skillful with
the saw, but that was his choice. He
said shovin' it through that hard wood
hurt his back and made his arms ache
and blistered his hands. Yes, it was
some rough, conslderln' that the hard
est 'work he'd ever done had been
pushin' buttons and llftln highballs.
He stood It for near an hour, though,
before ho slumped over the sawbuck.
until his death. Surely no lovelier prison
could be found than this expanse of
cultivated bowers and slopes of un
trimmed forest hillsides. The view from
the Gloriette covers a great circumfer
ence, In one section of which Vienna lies
in her smokebelt. To the north and east
are hills and more hills, with an ancient
tower or two to give a medieval touch.
But a prison Is a prison, even if flower
wreathed. Now the park is open to the
public. The French style of e shrub
bery in the lower part of the grounds at
first strikes an alien eye oddly. It Is
after the manner of the Versailles
gardens, perpendicular green .walls with
niches for statues at frequent intervals..
I love to see a tree grow the way its
Creator Intended it to, anfi I never could
abide the habit some few Americans
have of ornamenting (?) their front yards
with cedars clipped into monstrous
shapes. Nevertheless, the charm of
Schoenbrunn Is great and increasing.
The crowning event of the Jubilee will
PA SUNSHINE SOCIETY
the then flourishing city
ancient New Yorkers to
tale New York was one
AlfM-whoo.
tne St. KlcnneEs, we see Alf Megaphone
in close conversation with a strlklng
figure.
It is that of a youthful person with
m lnnp 1 t Vi a , 1 aw-x
RUMORS
Oar Rumorer
It is rumored:
that the annual window screen sat
urnalia is decimating our best pas.
that the demand for American
heiresses" continues firm at Pa value.
that the good farmers are getting
out their old reliable unplaned sum
mer boards for fhe season.
that the well-known moralist,
Thomas Misfortune Ryan, says there
Is no such thing as a burglar-proof
safe.
that now that the home-grown let
tuce season has opened, a good many
well-known Pas will be full of sand
.at last. '
BT PEOFESSOE. SHOKIT HSCABE
So Derinls and I lugs him In and dumps
him on a bed.
I didn't go near him again until sup
per time, and then he says he don't
feel like eatin'.
"All right." says I. "Maybe you'll
peel off and get under the covers?"
"I'm too tired to undress," says he.
"Well," says I, "sleep with your
clothes on."
Then I locks him In and goes down
stairs. When it came to gettln' him ud for
a little mornin' exercise and rubdown. I
Macky- groaned, and said he couldn't
move.
"All right," says I. "You can have
your bath now, and your exercise later.
Dennis, bring up those pails."
And say, I hadn't chucked but one
pailful cf cold wet water on Stacky
before he'd changed his mind.
"Don't catch it if you don't want
to," says I, throwtn' the shot bag
plumb at -the pit of his stomach. But
he wanted to catch It, and before he'd
got through he could do It real well.
It was the same when he didn't like
what we had for breakfast. He had
his choice of eatin' It, or goln' with
out. Durln' the forenoon we had a cross
country jog. I'd pinched all of 8tacky's
clothes, and left him an old pair of
runntn' pants and a sweater, so he
didn't cut quite such a lordly figure as
he had, and I near run the legs ofTn
him before I let him back. After din
ner he turns sulky and hadn't a word
to say. About supper time he cuts
loose on me. though. He'd been missin'
his cigarettes and mixed drinks.
"You and the old man have arranged
all this together, I suppose." says he.
glarin' at me across the table. "But
I want to tell you right here. Shorty
McCabe, that you are going to live to
regret your part In it! i;m to have
twenty millions some day, and some of
it I'm going to use In getting even
with you."
"What a cheerful young beast you
are!" says I. "Why. by the time you've
had your pile two months you'll be
strapped down In a pink bug ward some
where." "You lie!" he yells, eoverin' his face
with his hands, and shakln' like he had
the ague. "Don't say that again to me,
or I I'll "
He did it before he finished tellln"
about It. That is. he tried to. He grabbed
the steak knife off the platter and made
a jump for me, upsettin' a lot of dishes,
and brlngln' In Dennis and Mother Wha
ley on the jump.
"For the love of Hlvln!" says Mrs.
Whaley, "is ut murder he'd be doln'?"
take place on June 12. A great proces
sion representing royalties and knights
in medieval costumes, and I don't know
what more, will march , along the ring.
For this fest seats are being erected and
sold at high prices. It is claimed that
the event will be the most brilliant ever
seen in Europe. Two hundred and fifty
thousand people are expected. The
Roman populace loved a spectacle. o
also the Viennese. The English love a
lord, so we hear. So far as my limited
perspective of European people and cus
toms gives me Judgment, it is deeply
grooved with the evidence of their de
votion to the glitter and ceremonial of
royalty. There Is a growing Socialistic
Insects That
JM ORB books and manuscripts have
1 I been destroyed by insects than by
fire, water, rats and mice combined.
-For many centuries librarians had
observed depredations due to insects
without knowing their precise cause,
writes Jacques Boyer in the Scientific
American. In 1721 Frisch, of Berlin,
found in a crust of dry bread the larva
of an Insect (probably Anobrium),
which bored holes in books, manu
scripts and paintings. In 1742 Prediger
suggested methods of protecting books
from the ravages of insects, and in
1754 the Gentleman's Magazine, of
London, recommended dusting the
shelves and the fly leaves of books
with pepper, pulverized alum and oth
er insecticides. These paliativcs prov
ing Insufficient, the Gottingen Academy
of Sciences 20 years later offered a
prize for the discovery of injurious
species and methods of destroying
them. The subject has been thorough
ly investigated by modern entomologists,
but no universal remedy has been dis
covered. One of the most formidable of the In
sect pests is the bread borer (Anobrium
paniceum), which Is fdund in all climates
not only In libraries, but In rye bread,
whence Its specific name. The beetle
Is one-twelfth Inch long, .downy, light
brown and striped lengthwise. The eggs
are laid between the edges of the leaves,
in scratches in leather bindings, chinks
due to imperfect pasting of backs and
fly leaves, etc. They hatch In live or
six days In Summer and the larvae at
once bore through '"the bindings, follow
ing the lines of paste. The worm is
brownish white, cylindrical, slightly
arched and has 13 segments. The head
Is brown, scaly and armed with mandi
bles which "only. cast iron can resist,"
according to one naturalist. The worm
bores long narrow tunnels through pa
per, leather and wood, leaving a trail of
sawdust mixed with white excrement.
Pupation occupies 20 days and takes place
In enlargements of the tunnels very near
the surface, so that the perfect Insects
have to bore through only a thin shell,
leaving the large round holes so common
in old bindings. Fairing takes place in
early Summer In the tunnels, which are
not abandoned until the supply of food
fails, when other quarters are sought.
Sometimes not a single worm - or beotle
Is found in a volume riddled with holes
a fact that has puzzled many a librarian.
Of the various methods that have been
recommended for ridding libraries of
borers the only effective one consists in
exposing the Infested volumes to the va
por of carbon disulphide by putting them
in an air-tight metal-lined box with a
saucer of that liquid. Thirty-six hours
of this treatment, suffices to kill beetles,
pupae, larvae and eggs. The unpleasant
odor of the disulphide disappears after
brief exposure to the air and the only
objection to the use of this substance
in its inflammability and the expensive
character of its vapor when mixed with
air. Hence the fumigation should be
done In the daytime In a well-ventilated
room and the box should not be opened
near a flame. On the other hand, the
process possesses the merit of cheapness,
as the disulphide costs only 9 cents a
pound and an ounce suffices to fumigate
a box of 70 cubic feet capacity.
The larvae of the Dermestes- has a
peculiar fondness for bindings of leather
and parchment. In May or June the fe
males enter the library and lay their
egg?, usually on the edges of books In
contact with the wall. As soon as the
larvae are hatched they begin their work
of destruction, not making long, regular
tunnels like the borers, but going in
all directions and -gnawing and disin
tegrating the bindings In an extraor
dinary manner. Sprinkling with benzine
and fumigation with carbon disulphide
have been recommended for their destruction.-
Dr. Hagen, of the Museum of Cam
bridge, Mass., has found traps baited
with cheese very efficacious.
The Leplsma, or "silver fish," so-called
"What, him?" says I. shakln' the knife
out of his fist and Jerkin' him across me
knees with one and the same motion.
"Why, this rooster shanked, putty faced
imitation ain't got nerve enough to kill
a mosquito. He's Just flayln' bad boy,
that's all. Lend me one of your slip
pers. Dennis."
Ever see the kind of slippers they wear
In Connemara? They cut the tops off a
pair of old brogans. Dennis's was that
kind, and It was lucky for Stackpole the
hob nails was well worn down, for I laid
it on good and hot for a minute. Think
of spankin' a 22-year-old man. who stood
five feet ten and had an Income like a
grand duke!
I was expectln him to froth at the
mouth afterwards, but when I lets him
up he just stands in a sort of daze and
looks at me. We sets things to rights
and goes on with the supper ' Just as
though nothln' had happened. And say,
from that on Stackpole and me gets
along too lovely for any use.
By the end of ten days he and I are
playln' handball, and sparrln'. and doln'
hurdle races, all as happy as a couple
of kids. The blotches has faded out of
his face, the whites of his eyes look na
tural, and he's forgot most all about his
nerves.
There was one thing I couldn't un
derstand, though. Whenever we'd be set
tin' quiet and I'd look up quick. I'd
catch him eyein' me as close as a car
spotter. He was doin' some deep think
in' them, times. I knew that; but whether
it was about homicide, or what rot. I
couldn't puzzle out. The answer came
sudden when It did come.
"McCabe." says he. walkin up to me,
with a queer look in his eye. "you're the
first and only person who has ever pun
ished me."
"More's the pity," says I.
"You're right." says he. "and I want
to thank you for doing It."
With that he shoves out his palm. And.
s'elp me! I was so took off my guard
that we must have held our grip a min
ute before I gets Its through me nut
that he is dead in earnest.
"Say," says I. "that sounds more like
man's talk than anything I've heard
from you. Now, If you could Just re
vise your opinion of that mother of
yours-"
He winced at that, same's If Ti slapped
htm in the face.
"Stackpole," says I,. "I take It all
back I guess there's more than the
ma kin" of a dude to you, after all."
Looks like I'd guessed right, too, from
what I hear of him.' The old man tells
me that Stacky's workin" 14 hours a day,
and near drivln' him batty with his mis
takes. Just tryin' to be of some use.
party here, composed .of the common
ltrborlng people. I saw their demon
stration on Labor day in May. They
had a procession and marched to the
Prater, a favorite drive way and amuse
ment suburb, where thousands multiplied
by tens crushed up and down the ave
nues and filled the tables of the coffee
houses.
Two weeks later the aristocracy had
their turn and a wonderful procession of
carriages containing the flower of Vien
na's wealth and fashion drove where the
others had walked. The Emperor graced
this 'fest, driving as usual in his open
carriage. In these two processions the
two extremes of society are represented.
Feed on Books
from Its shape and shining scales, la a
little wingless Insect of the order Thy
sanura, which undergoes no metamor
phosis and infests wardrobes and kitchen
pantries as well as libraries. The most
destructive species may often be seen
scurrying away from a book suddenly
opened In Summer. It has a large head,
from which the body tapers to a pointed
tail, terminating In three bristles. Its
favorite food Is paste or glue, to obtain
which It destroys titles, labels and
heavily sized paper, respecting only the
parts that are covered with Ink. It
may be caught by cutting notches In
the edge of a small box and Inverting
the box on a plate containing paste,
spread on paper. This trap should bo
placed In the darkest corner of the
room. The insects enter through the
notches and are easily surprised and de
stroyed at their banquet. Pyrethrum
powder also destroys or stupefies them,
but perhaps the best way to get rid of
them Is to air the books frequently and
kill every insect discovered.
Psoques or book lice are often dis
lodged from old books kept In damp
places, and may be seen on library
shelves In Summer. They are almost
omniverous, but especially fond of paste
and mould, In search of which they per
forate bindings. Their depredations ar'5
often erroneously laid to the charge of
the bookworms. Pulveriezd camphor
has some effect In driving away the book
lice, and they have a natural and for
midable enemy in the Cheveltus erudltus.
This blind acarian or mite, which La
treille unjustly denounced as a book
worm, has an oval body, a soft skin,
relatively large jaws and long legs ter-
ruinating In hooked claws.
In the state library at Albany, N. T.,
the bindings of a hundred volumes were
destroyed by cockroaches In a short
time.
Another species, the American cock- '
roach, has become acclimated chiefly in
hothouses and well-heated dwellings In
France and England, but it has long
ravaged libraries In Brazil, Peru and"
Mexico, where. Its depredations were
mentioned by a missionary friar as long
ago as 1654.
Among substances Inimical to cock
roaches we may mention first pyrethrum
powder. The powder, In as fresh a con
dition as possible. Is strewn on the
shelves. In the morning the cock
roaches are found paralyzed and may be .
swept up and burned. In Germany the
gases produced by the combusion of gun
powder are used. The process, as de
scribed by Perguade, consists in com
pressing slightly moistened gunpowder
Into cones like those used for Bengal
lights and igniting them when dry in the
fireplace a favorite resort of cock
roaches. The poisonous gases drive the
Insects out of the crocks in which they
pass the day and suffocate them so that
they can be gathered and cremated. The
process was devised for' the purpose of
destroying the cockroaches that Infest
fireplaces and chimneys, but it has also
been applied with excellent results to -libraries
with cracked walls.
The Whistling Boy.
By CEL.IA BERK STRESSES.
Is there a Round In the world so sweet on
a dark and dreary morn.
When the cloom without meets the -lenm
within, till we wish we'd not been
born.
As the soutk! of a little barefoot boy. gaily
whistling In the rain.
While he drives the cows to pastures gr-n,
down the path In the muddy lane?
The Joy of & boy la a funny thing, not
dampened by autumn rain;
Hla clothes and his hands and his sturdy
feet ere not spoiled by grime or stain:
The world to him is a wonderful place that
he means some day to explore:
If there's time to play and plenty to eat.
who cares If the heavens pour?
Oh, that cheery trill of a heart as fresh as
the "drops that clear the air.
Brings a smile to our lips, and cleara the
soul of the gloom that brootled there;
And we bless the boy as he spats along
through rivers of rain and mud.
For the hope and cheer in that whistled
note would rainbow the sky In a flood-