Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, March 30, 1890, SECOND PART, Page 15, Image 15

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    THE PITTSBURG- DISPATCH. SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 1890.
15
EASTER OBSERVANCE
Curious Customs Handed Down From
the Days of Superstition.
A CHARM FOB FLEAS IN BOHEMIA.
T7ater in Germany's Springs Changed to
TYinc at tie Midnight Honr.
EISE OF 1SE GAI EASTEE BONNET
pnUTrKK FOB TUB DISPATcn.1
It is a carious fact that most of the cere
monies observed by Christians in the two
principal religions festivals of the year
Christmas and Easter are survivals of
heathen rites. The very name ot Easter
preserves the memory of Ostara or Eastre,
the Saxon goddess of the East This point
ol the compass was sacred to the ancients,
especially among the sun-worshipers, -whose
altars were erected on the east side of the
temple. This veneration as continued by
the early Christians, and Christ was tradi
tionally buried with his feet to the East.
The church was, therefore, built with the
chancel to trie East, the devout Christian
bowed toward the East when the name of
Christ was uttered in the service, and turned
with his face eastward while repeating the
creed.
The festival of the heathen goddess oc
curring about the same time of year as that
of the celebration of the Passover, a feast
adopted by the early Christians, the cere
monies of the heathen festival were partly
transferred to the church. The celebration
of the Easter festival lasted eight days in
the ancient church, but was restricted to
three in the eleventh century, then to two,
and finally to one, the "Sunday of Joy."
The priests and clergy were wont to tell
wittv stories and anecdotes from the pulpit
on this day to arouse the "paschal laugh"'
and makethe audience more joyful. The
day was not always Sunday in early times.
The 14th day ot the Jewish first month, cor
resDonding to the Feaht of the Passover, was
first chosen br the Eastern Church, while
the "Western observed the Sunday after that
date. The latter Became the rule, and intri
cate calculations were made to establish the
date of the movable feast, as it is now set
tled, particularly so that it might not fall
on the same day as the Jewish Passover. It
alwavs falls between the 22d of March and
the 25th of April. In 18S6 it fell on the
latter date, and it will occur on lhe 23d of
March in 1913, as it did in 1856. This year
it tails on April 6, next Sunday.
BOXFIEES TO EASTEE.
April was known to the ancient Saxons as
Estonnonatu, and it is still called Oster
monath in parts of Germany. Down to the
beginning of the present century the god
dess Eastre was worshiped in Northern Ger
many bv the kindling of bonfires and other
joyous rites. This goddess was also the per
sonification of Spring, and hence her rites
lent themselves fitly to the celebration ot
the resurrection of Christ, likeDed thus to
the resurrection of nature from winter slum
bers. Even the fires may be traced in early
Christian ceremonies, such as the lighting
of the "hallowed fire on Easter eve," in
Iiondon.and the illuniinationof thegreat Pas
chal tapirs, weighing 300 pounds, m Borne.
The custom ot lighting these fires is still
observed in parts of Europe. In former
days, in England, they were kindled Easter
morning, and the fires being extinguished,
are rekindled from branches brought lrcsli
from some grove. These were blessed and
pieces of them were sought as charms against
storms.
The priest doth halow this against great dan
gers evervone,
A Brand tl'erenf doth everyone with greede
minco late nome,
That when the fearful storm appears, or tem
pests do alarm
By lighting this, ho safe may be from stroxe of
lightning's harm.
In London, according to an old manu
script, sixpence was annually paid to keep
alive the "hallowed fire" in the old church
ot St. Mary-in-the-Fields, and the ancient
documents contain references to similar ob
servances. In Lechrcm, Bavaria, a fire is kindled on
Easter Ee on a flat stone in the churchyard
and every household "brings to it a walnut
branch, which, alter being partially burned,
is carried home to be laid on the hearthfire
during tempests as a protection against
lightning." The peasants also make gar
lands of coltsfoot and throw them into the
fire. In Scotland Easter fires were formerly
kindled, and tbe house fires, having been
extinguished, were relit by a brand from
these sacred fires.
THE DAT FOB EGOS.
The use of eggs on Easter is most widely
diffused over Christian countries. This is
also doubtless symbolical oi the revivication
of nature in spring, and hence of the resur
rection of Christ. The Jews also used them
at the Passover and the Persians at the fes
tival of the Solar Kew Year in March, pre
sent each other with colored eggs. This was
as typical of the mundane egg, out of which
the world was formed, and for which Ahri
man and Ormuzd will contend for all time.
This egg was, according to tradition, hatched
at Eastertide. The eggs used at Easter were
at first dyed in red only, in allusion to the
blood of the redemption. They were blessed
in former times, this formula or prayer oc
curring in an old Popish ritual:
"Bless, Lord, we beseech thee, this, thy
creature of eggs, that it may become a
wholesome sustenance to thy faithful ser
vants, eating it in thankfulness to thee, on
account of the resurrection of the Lord."
Saturday before EaBtcr is called Egg Sat
urday, or Egg Feast, in Oxford, as Easter
eggsare then provided for the students.
There is a custom in rnral districts of Ger
many and France of rolling eggs down the
greensward, just as a blazing wheel or tar
barrel is rolled down the hills at May day
in honor of the sun. In some parts of Scot
land it was tbe custom, some years ago, for
young people to go out and search
for the eggs of wild fowl, and it was
esteemed a lucky thing to find them. In
the same country it was formerly a custom
for the Bishopjof Endinburgh to wash the
feet of 12 poor boys, who were then given
each two eggs and an orange. Bryant says
the egg isthe symbol of the ark, hence eaten
in the spring "when the waters rested."
DECOEATIONS 'WITH FLOWEES.
It has become a practice almost universal
among Protestants, as well as Catholics, to
decorate the churches with flowers on Easter
Sunday. The anemone and garden daffodil
are especially used for this purpose in
Europe in allusion to the Passover and
Paschal ceremonies. White flowers are
abundantly used, and red ones also.
Of late vears the practice in this conntrv
has been to send cards to friends on Easter
as on Christmas and Hew Year a Day. A
ceremony was observed on this day in Hert
fordshire during the last century, which
was but a survival of a Roman custom.
This was called the corn showing. Parties
were made ud to go into the fields and pick
the cockle from the growing wheat. Cake,
cider, and toasted cheese were taken with
them, and the first lad picking the cockle
out was awarded the first kiss from a maid
and the first slice of the cakes. Ovid says,
in the "Fasti": "Let the fields be stripped
of eye-diseasing cockle."
The Homan cornweeding day is in May.
The cockle is the lollium of Virgil, said to
produce headache and vertigo, if mixed
with the flour in bread. Young girls in
Bavaria have the following means of
divination on Easter Day. They go at mid
night silently to a fountain, taking care to
avoid being seen, and throw into the water
little willow rings, on which are written
the names oi their friends. The ring sink
ing quickest indicates the person who is to
die first.
A CHABH AGAINST FLEAS.
Bohemians have the following charm
against fleas. During holy week a leaf of
palm must be placed behind a picture of
the Virgin in a chapel, and on Easter
morning it is taken down, with the formula,
"Depart, all nnimals without bones." This
branch will charm all fleas from the house.
The silver pieces contributed at com
munion on Easter day are thought, in
England, good to charm away epilepsy,
especially if made up into rings and worn
about the neck. It was also deemed un
lucky to keep mincemeat in the housefroin
Christmas to Easter. In many counties of
England beggars go "clacking" on thisday.
The clack dish is a wooden platter with a
cover that is rattled against it to warn per
sons of the approach of the mendicant. It
was originally used by lepers and persons
thought infectious. Lucio says in "Measure
for Measure," (III. 2,) "his use was, to
put a ducat in her clack dish."
Tnere are many curious observances dur
ing Easter week in Sweden. If the house is
cleanly swept then, and the broom hidden
in a neighbor's house, all the vermin will
be attracted to the latter place, and thus
leave the owner of the broom unmolested.
To wash in water brought from a spring
Easter morning before the birds sing, will
preserve the fair Scandinavians from sun
burn throughout the year. No linen gar
ments should be washed or any of the do
mestic utensils loaned 'during the week.
"Webs of linen must not be left out over
night during this time, or the ground where
tne flax was grown will become unpro
ductive. The brake used to bruise the flax
must also be brought within doors, if luck
with the linen is desired. One must not
speak of rats, mice and other vermin or they
will abound during the year.
NOTIONS ABOUT SPKINO WATES.
There is a curious belief current among
the common peasants iu Germany. On
Easter and Christmas nights it is believed
that the water of springs turns into wine
between the hours ot 11 and 12. Water
drawn on the morning of Easter Sunday be
fore sunrise, taking care to draw it down
stream and in silence, will not spoil during
the year, and is said to heal eruptions, re
store health, and make the cattle strong.
Bells are said to be heard every Easter
morning from the depths of the Zuyder Zee.
The tradition is that robbers stole the
church bells from Newkirk, but, at the call
of the priests, the ships sank to the bottom,
where they still lie, and the bells toll every
anniversary. Pomeranian fishermen think
it especially Incky to fish all night on the
eve of Easter, Pentecost or Ascension Day.
It may be imagined that the custom of ar
raying themselves in a new garb at Easter,
prevalent among the ladies, is but a caprice
of fashion, the spring being then, in North
ern climates, well begun; but folk-lore say
ings would indicate that the origin of the
habit is in superstition. It is said in Wales
and in the South oi England, that some
thing new must be worn on this day or the
luck for the coming year would fail. In
Northamptonshire, also, whosoever dons no
new garments then, is sure to be unlucky.
In "Poor Bobin's Almanac" we find this
rhyme:
At Easter let your clothes be new
Or else be sure you will it rue.
Young people in East Yorkshire go to the
market town to buy some new articles of
dress to wear on th'is day for the first time,
as they believe that birds, rooks particu
larly, will spoil their clothes, if they do not
sport some new garments at Easter. Dyer
thinks Shakespeare alludes to the custom of
wearing new clothes on this day when he
makes Ifercutio ask .Bentofto, in "Itomeo
and Juliet" (IIL, 1), whether he did not
"fall out with a tailor tor wearing his new
doublet before Easter."
THE NEW EOBES OF SPBINO.
It is fitting that new and gay garments
should be worn after the somber garb of
Lent, just as nature arrays herself in color
after the gray and solemn robes of winter,
and this may have .given rise to the supersti
tion about wearing new clothes, instead of
being a consequence of such superstition.
There was a popular notion that the sun
danced on Easter morning, and crowds were
wont to go out to see it. Shakespeare says
in "Coriolanus" (IV.4):
The trumpets, sackbuts, psalteries and fifes,
Tabors, and cymbals and the shouting Bomans
Make the sun dance.
Sir Thomas Brown in his "Vulgar Er
rors" refutes the notion, and Sir John Suck
ling alludes to it:
But, oh, she dances such a way.
No sua upon an Easter day
Is halt so fine a sight.
Although a day ot such importance, and
a festival so ancient, weather prophets do
not refer their prognostications of the coming
weather to this day as frequently as they
cite the indications upon other holidays.
This is, probably, because of its being a
movable feast. Notwithstanding this, there
are a number of popular sayings regarding
Easter weather. These indicate the de
sirability of a fair day, a point in which
they may expect the concurrence of the
ladies. In an "Old Shepherd's Calendar,"
by one Thomas Passenger, we are told that,
"if the sun shines clear on Palm Sunday or
Easter day, or either of them, there will be
great store of fair weather, plenty of corn
and other fruits of the earth." "A saying
current in parts of England is this: "Fair
from Easter to Whitsuntide, butter will be
cheap," and another connects these two
together by predicting: "If the sun shines
on Easter it will shine on Whitsunday."
A BAINT EASTEB SUHDAT.
Bain is considered unlucky for the crops.
"Bain in Easter, slim fodder," but this is
not universal, for there is a saying current
in Hertfordshire, England, to this effect:
A good deal of rain on Easter day.
Gives a good crop of grain, but little hay.
A similar proverb is heard in Northamp
tonshire, In France it is said:
Easter in rain;
Year ot grain.
There is also a saying current in this
country that the number of dews before
Easter indicate the number of hoar frosts
that will occur after that day, and also the
number of dews in August. "Past the Eas
ter lrost and fruit is safe," is another maxim
known to many. Snow and ice are no more
fortunate, and like all unseasonable weather,
are indications of disaster in the popular
mind. A proverb runs:
Easter in snow, Christmas in mud;
Christmas in snow, Easter in mud.
There are also two pioverba from the
French illustrating this point:
Christmas in the balcony;
Easter, at the fire.
Christmas, flies;
Easter, ice.
It is difficult to perceive the connection in
the following lines, or to imagine the reasons
for the caution expressed: After Easter and
Bogation, beware ot priests and onions.
The Chippeway Indians have an adage,
evidently of recent origin, that as the wind
blows on Easter Sunday, from 8 a. ii. to 12
SI., so will it blow for the next 40 days."
F. 6. Bassett.
Bow Kite I
A child who has once taken Hamburg Figs
as a cathartic will never again look on them as
medicine, but will be likely to ask for them,
under the Impression that they are simplr pre
served fruit; 25 cents. Dose, one fig. Mack
Drug Co., N. Y. ttsu
200 ladies' capes to be offered on Monday
at (1 B0 each. Enable & Shusteb,
35 Fifth ave.
B.L. H. Daubs, the well-known photogra
pher, has spent the past two weeks in New
York and Philadelphia, and has been ex
changing ideas among his artist friends
there, and also buying new accessories,
back grounds, etc
Ladies' Jackets A choice line of the
latest London shapes in all the most popu
lar fabrics. Htrous & HACKS.
TTSStt
Cabinet photos 51 per dozen, prompt de
livery. Crayons, etc , at low prices.
Lies' Gam,eby,
ttsu 10 and 12 Sixth it.
Excursion to Washington City,
Via the B. & O. B, B., April 17. Bate $9.
"Mamma's Daelino" is on exhibition
at all the stores of the Great Atlantic and
Pacifio Tea Co.
The Ace of Clubs.
See announcement in advertisement on
Page 15 of this issue.
HAYEN OF THE EXILE
Starting Point of an Underground
Kailroad in America
DEAR TO SIBERIAN SUFFERERS.
Father Agapins Honcharenko's Monntain
Home in California.
A W0EK THAT BUSSIA CANNOT BT0P
WBlTIZJf FOB THB DISPATCH. 1
There is a tiny plateau upon the summit
ot one of the mountain spurs of the coast
range in California which Bweeps along the
back of Alameda county and divides the
valley of the bay of San Francisco from the
great sun-baked plains of the San Joaquin.
It is the tiniest of plains, just large enough
to accommodate a wee house, a toy barn and
one other building which is the caravanserai
of the Orient transferred with all its Eastern
associations to the extreme Occident.
The hills which tower along behind fence
off the chilly winds, the sun shines warm
upon the little spot and ripens earliest in all
the country round the early vegetables
which, sold in San Francisco, supply the
wants of a frugal couple and leave a little
surplus to relieve the needy, hunted man,
fleeing from tyranny and to carry on
a work which has for its object the raising
of humanity.
There is a tiny gap between the mountain
peaks, through which is drawn a gleaming
ribbon of water, and through this Golden
Gate the man who sits most often on this
block of rugged rocks bends his eyes across
the thousand leagues of sea toward the un
seen shores of that distant land where men
and women suffer heavy pain and torture
because their lips have once whispered the
sacred word, "Freedom."
At the base of this rock a grave is dug
deep into the soil and covered over with
boards in readiness for the day when it shall
be needed. "So it you please, sir, when I
die my wife will dres3 me in my robes of
priest, will put upon me the black gown,
the gold embroidered stole and the hat. Two
men will come from the village down below,
I paid them long ago, and will lift the
boards aside and lay me down there withont
coffin and sbovel in the earth and make all
smooth and flat and plant a handful of
seeds, which in a year shall cover the spot
with the brambles of wilderness. Then my
wife will have my papers, and that will be
the end of Agapius Honcharenko. But I
shall rest as well beside this rock as though
I lay beneath the altar of the Troitsa in
Kier the holy, where I was born."
A STRANGE CHARACTER.
Honcharenko is a living riddle to his
farming neighbors, and the wisest of them
have long since given him up as beyond
solution. His ways are old-country ways,
incomprehensible despite the cosmopolitan
ism of California. When he speaks it is
with mild gestures to bespeak your kind at
tention; to listen is to confer on him a favor
acknowledged by a gracious inclination of
the head and clasping oi the hands before
his breast, and not a period omits the cour
teous "if j ou please, sir." He is Kossack,
of that race of horsemen who swept from
Asia in the footsteps of fierce Attila the Hun
and made their settlements in the black val
ley of the Dnieper, Kharkov, Kier the Holy,
Tchernigov and Pottava, where Asia yet
lives iu Europe, and whence came this
colony of one to distant California. Driven
from home the home longing still is strong.
true and steadfast after all these many
years, and the little mountain plateau bears
the name of TJkraina the Cossack "bit of
bread" and bread it never refused the
needy or the afflicted.
The farmers call him crank. At the Con
sulate of Bussia in San Francisco they call
him "pestilent Nihilist;" they ascribe to
him all sorts of plaus to murder all sorts of
persons by detonation. "Yes, I know Con
sul Olarovsky calls me Nigilist" (for so ho
calls it, with a common Bussian mixing ot
g with h), "and as such he does report mo
to his Government, which has known me
many years." ABk of him at the Bussian
church and Bishop and Archimandrite will
call him renegade priest, heretic, apostate,
every sort of ecclesiastical hard name, and,
to crown it all, will dub him Baskolnik,
Old Believer. To be an Old Believer is to
be scorned by every church dignitary, to be
under the-ban of ukase and decree of Holy
Synod. Yet the Baskolnik are older than
the orthodox rite, they are simpler in their
faith, the are in history and in numbers the
true national church of Bussia. He simply
smiles when confronted with the sneers of
Archimandrite Vladimir.
A EEVEEED NAME IN SIBERIA.
State, church and common-place men
contemn him, yet his name is known and
held in reverence in the mines of Kara,
about the Lake Baikal, from east to west
across Siberia wherever tortured men and
women pay the price of thought of freedom
with bleeding backs or tho restful grave.
They know of Pap3 Agapie and his TJkraina
and in their dreams they long to seek him
out and rest for once in safety. His thoughts,
his efforts, every endeavor are all for these
who suffer in Siberia and for those who yet
remain in Bussia who long for freedom not
yet of speech, but only ot thought and
shudder nightly lest in their dreams the for
bidden word should flash upon their minds.
What they in secret hope and work and die
cruel deaths for, he has reached and on the
gable of his house boldly proclaims in glit
tering letters, "Svoboda Liberty." He is
a revolutiouist whose one idea of revolution
is education, he is proscribed for teaching
letters, he is an outlaw for daring to say
that man even Bussian man, was endowed
with brains that he might use them.
Honcharenko has had a strange career
from his cradle in Kier the Holy to the
ready grave that waits for him in his
TJkraina. In his youth the road lay open
before him to honor and place and he might
have gone on to high estate. Called to the
priesthood at an early age, he was at once
appointed domestio chaplain of the Bussian
embassy at Athens. There he was called
upon to make his choice, one path led to
ignoble honor and for a prize at the further
end the gold and jewels of a prince of the
hurch; one led rapidly to ruin of every
material nope. Asut me young priest ot the
embassy had learned to think. Suddenly a
warning came through secret channels that
the great white Czar had discovered that his
humble priest was thinking and had re
solved to teach him that thought was not
for such 'as he. Swiit as is the stroke of
Bussian government, the warning came a
little swifter for by the time the order
came for his arrest the priest had left the
embassy and with two hours' start was out
by Salamis, heading for Constantinople.
Thence he fled to London and was associ
ated with Alexander Herzen in the man
agement of the Kolokol, which somehow
despite all interdiction, passed
TBOM HAND TO HANS
in Bussia and brought education to many
who since have paid the forfeit for their
E resumption. From London to New York
e came and assisted the Bible society in
their translation of the Scriptures into Bus
sian. Then came a bitter time when he had
freedom but no bread, and at last he went
to Alaska to be with his compatriots there.
From Alaska he came to San Francisco
and published a paper in Bussian with the
title Svoboda Liberty, which in itself is
sufficient to outlaw the paper from every
Bussian hand. Then wearied with the con
stant bickering of the Bussian colony, with
the lying and the hatred which more than
once culminated in murder, he sought the
mountains for rest and freedom, and there
he spreads his propaganda by little and
little as the hard labor of his hands provide
tbe means.
What is the creed of this dangerous man
whom the State has exiled, whom the church
has branded heretic, a creed whose propa
ganda must be carried on by stealth? To
church and State he preaches one thing
letters, education, knowledge. This is the
extent of hit dangerous-design. He never
counsels murder of those high in place, his
talk is never of dynamite and outrage.
Neither freedom of speech nor lreedom of
the press is expressly asked by him ; he
simply demands that men may think for
themselves.
FAVORS NO HARSH MEASURES.
Sit with him bv the hour under the fra
grant shade of the blooming laurel with the
soft wind blowing over beds of mignonette
and one will hear no harsher word than
ignorance, no more violent plan than teach
ing. On his lips the Czar is never tvrant,
despot, autocrat, he simplv does not know.
Of the ruling class, the brutal Tehinovnik
who stand between the people and their
lord, he never speaks, for their corruption
and the rottenness of their lives in publie
and private, he never arraigns them, but
with a fine humanity which rises high above
dirk and bomb he simply says "ignorant,
they need a teacher. But the deepest
ignorance of all is with the people. Ee
member that we were rude barbarians with
in the century, we are rude barbarians still
because we have been forbidden to learn the
things which make men civilized, and as
soon as one begins to learn he is sent to some
fortress and thence to Siberia. Even if the
party of violence should avenge their
wrongs they still would fihd themselves far
indeed from the goal. My propaganda be
gins at the other end. I strive to reach the
moujik, to teach him what freedom is, to
show him how people live and prosper when
they are free. I do not counsel him to rise
against his rulers, for he is not ready, but
I plead with him to seek education.
When the people really know enough to act
wisely they will be prudent to restrain vio
lence, they will govern themselves and before
inteligent demands the ignorant bureaucracy
will be forced to stand aside, to permit the
access of the people to the Czar and then
the world will see Bussian Czar and Bus
sian people building up a new and holy
Bussia. Because this is my creed I am
dangerous even in my long exile. But they
cannot stop my teaching."
THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T CATCH HIM.
Never absent from Honcharenko's thonght
is his propaganda and tbe word is always
on his lips. The Bussian Government
knows nil about it, every tract he issues is
brought by treacherv to those in power al
most before the ink Is dry. They know that
somewhere in the mountains are concealed a
press and type and paper, but neither the
shrewdest work of spies nor the basest
treachery has yet availed to lead them to it.
They know the secret channels by which the
forbidden information steals by their police
and yet they cannot check it, and as soon as
they block one channel another opens.
His asylum is well known to every suf
ferer in Siberia; he knows that it will shel
ter him if only he can succeed in escaping
across the Pacific. It is never long empty;
a stream oi exiles pours ever toward it as
the first station on that underground rail
way of the Eussians in this country which
only rarely comes to light. Some have
come with stories of distress, spies to watch
the actions of the simple teacher, they have
watched his daily life, and, baffled by its
simplicity, have gone away and left the placo
to those who really needed it. Last year the
asylum sheltered one whose name, if spoken
would recall the famous group of earnest
women who have suffered martyrdom. Her
crime was education; she sought to be a
physician, and the study which the cruel
laws forbade her to prosecute at her home in
Novgorod she sought iu the freedom of
Switzerland. Beturning to help the poor
and needy of her own people, she was de
nounced, seized and cast into the fortress of
St, Peter and St. Paul. After months of
weary waiting she was brought before a
secret tribunal, convicted of knowledge and
sent to Siberia, where she suffered 13 years.
At last a chance of freedom came, she es
caped and found a tefuge in the asylum of
TJkraina, where under the name of Olga
Gordenka she veiled the identity of one who
is known to all who have watched the strug
gles of her people to be free, a name too that
stands high in the councils of the empire.
William Churchill.
8FBING STYLES FOB MEN.
Fasbloa'a Latest Dccreo In the Manor of
Hecdwear.
The new spring styles of men's hats which
are now making their appearance on the
street show some striking departures from
the shapes that were
worn during the fall
and winter. Mr. Eu
ben. the Smithfield
street hatter, is author
ity for the follow
ing facts: There are
no exaggerated styles
in any ot this season's
hats, says Mr. Buben;
modestv is the prevail
ing characteristic of everything that men
will wear on their heads this spring. Silk
hats show a further development of the
lines that have prevailed since last winter.
There is less taper to the blocks, and the
general tendency is toward straighter lines
and a higher crown.
Brims are flatter,
somewhat narrower,
running down to one
and one - half inches
wide for young gents.
The Derby shape of this
spring is small, with a narrow brim. The
tendency is toward a higher and more taper
ing crown. The brims have less roll and
nre narrower at the side, giving them a de
cidedly English look. For summer wear
light browns, in all the various gradations,
will be very fashionable. The most con
spicuous feature ot the spring styles is the
growing prominence of the Tourist, known
in luis cifcy as wc
"Press" hat. For
several seasons
past the soft felt
hats have been re
turning in favor,
and this spring
they will be the
most popular form
of headgear lor
ordinary everyday wear. These hats come
in various shades, of which black, blue and
cinamon will be most worn. In the crush
hat line there is nothing strikingly new in
shape or color, if we may except that hat
idiosyncrasy the Bazzle Dazzle which
will no doubt find nianv admirers. The out
look for spring trade, Mr. Buben thinks, is
exceedingly favorable.
niamma'a Darling.
A beautiful Easter panel to all purchasers
of tea, coffee and baking powder for one
week from Monday, March 31, at all the
stores of the Great Atlantic and Pacifio
Tea Co.,
34 Fifth avenue, Pittsburg.
1703 Carson street, Pittsburg.
4314 Butler street, Pittsburg,
6127 Penn avenue, Pittsburg.
128 Fifth avenue, McKeesport.
126 Federal street, Allegheny.
1S58. 1896.
We have a large stock of Pennsylvania
rye whiskies in bond or tax paid, which we
can offer at lowest market prices.
W. H. Holmes & Son,
168 First Avenue.
120 Water Street.
Beautiful novelty and tartau plaid
surah silks, the handsomest colorings shown
this season. Huqus & Hacks.
ttssu
Parties leaving the city would do well
to have us lift their carpets, pack their fur
niture, glass and chinaware.
HAUOH & KEENAN,
33 and 34 Water street. 'Phone 1626.
Great bargain sale on Monday of capes
and jackets. Enable & Shusteb,
35 Fifth are.
Gilt wall papers at So per roll at J. J.
Fuchs', 1710 Carson st, S. S.
Great bargain sale on Monday of capes
and j ackets. Enable & Shusteb,
35 Fifth ave.
The Aee of Clnbi.
See announcement in advertisement on
Page 16 oi this issue.
D.
TIPS ON TIIE OCEAN,
How Rich Americans Make Voyages
Pleasant and Comfortable.
THE RECEIPTS OF THE STEWARDS.
If He Does it Blent a Traveler Can Have
the Best There is for $7.
TEE MOST LIBEEAL 0P SKA EOTEES
IWniTIEN rOB THB DISPATCH.!
The dock from which an outgoing trans
atlantic steamer sails away is worthy of
study as the hour nears for the vessel's de
parture. There is hurrying, and there is
scurrying among the longshoremen who are
piling in the last portion of the ship's load.
The Captain, upon the bridge of the steamer,
waiting for the last consignment of the
mails, stands ready to give the word that
will swing the great ship out into the
stream, and start her on her voyage over the
trackless waste of waters. There are hun
dreds of friends on the dock ready to wave
adieux to the other hundreds on board, and
as the steamer slowly backs away from her
anchorage and moves out into the blue
waters, the air is white with waving hand
kerchief and occasionally broken with sobs.
The voyage once begun, the experienced
sea traveler does not specially seek to make
friends with the Captain nor with his offi
cers on the quarter deck. There is another,
and to the wise voyager a more important
individual ou the vessel than the com
mander and his assistant That man is the
chief steward.
He can do more to make the passenger's
life on board pleasant and comfortable than
any other official of the ship. The safety of
the boat and passengers depends Upon the
Captain, and his officers and men. The
comfort and enjoyment of the voyagelargely
depend upon the chief Bteward. They are
almost exclusively men who have passeda
lifetime on the sea, and who are veterans in
the service of the company upon whose
ships they sail. Twenty years ago the
chief steward of a vessel was a servant to
day he is the master of a score of men who
do his bidding and share their profits with
him. There is not a chief steward on any
of the transatlantic vessels who does not
make more every year than the cashier of
any ordinary bank in this country, and be
sides that has a better living, for which he
pays nothing, and is certain of keeping his
place as long as he desires.
THEY RETIRE WEALTHY.
They save money, these stewards. Only
the other day one of them who had served
for 11 years on a Cunarder, retired volun
tarily from his place, and had more than
enough money to purchase for himself an
annuity iu a British company which guar
anteed him an income of 2,500 per annum
as long as he lived. Most of them on the
Liverpool and Glasgow liners are English
men. There are tew Scotchmen among
them, and no natives of the Green Isle.
After they have saved money enough, and
they do that pretty quickly, they retire
from the sea and generally open a saloon ot
some kind in the neighborhood of the dock
in Liverpool or other large city on the
other side of the Atlantic, from which they
were accustomed to sail.
The highest wages paid any chief steward
running out of this port on any transatlantic
steamer is paid by the Cunard line on their
newest and fastest boats, and the amount is
only ?60 per month. The general wages for
the place will not, however, average more
than from $10 to $0 per month on all lines.
"How then does a chief steward make his
money?" was the question asked John
Bickaby at New York recently, who for
nearly 20 years has been recognized as one
of the ablest of the chief stewards in the
transatlantic service.
"Out of their tips, of course," was his an
swer, "and there's as much difference in
their tips as In their tipples," he added.
"Some people; Americans especially, throw
around their gold and silver regardless, but
then there is not as much made in tips gen
erally as there was a few years ago."
"Why is that?"
"Because more people travel and they
have got the thing down to a system."
"What is the least one can spend in tips
and cross comfortably."
THE BEST FOR SEVEN DOLLARS.
"That depends. If he is green and learn
ing the ropes, he'd better reckon on not less
than $15. If he is an old traveler he can
have as good as there is, so far as cook and
stewards can manage it, for about $7 in tips.
A great many ocean travelers complain bit
terly that they have to be bled as they are
by every steamship employe they come iu
contact with. They say ther pay for pass
age, food and service and then have to pay
it over again. Why do the companies allow
it?
"If you wan tto know the companies' side
of it you'll have to ask them; if you want
my opinion, I can,say that it is because the
owners of the lines would rather their pas
sengers should help pay the wages of their
men than to pay full wages themselves."
"What is the smallest tip you ever re
ceived?" "A cabin passenger offered me twopence
4 cents and I told him to put it in the
poor box; that the company paid us for our
services. There is one other source of tips
I'd nearly forgotten. It is the class we call
'steerage bloods,' fellows who wouldn't or
couldn't pay first-class passage money and
book in the steerage, but who want first
class food. The chief cook has perhaps a
dozen assistant cooks and these 'bloods' be
long to them. The assistants are allowed to
let the 'bloods' have the leavings from the
first cabin table, for which they are paid
tips, sometimes as much as $10 the trip."
"Does the chief steward come in for a
share in these payments?"
"Of course he does, and for a big share,
too. In fact, he almost makes his own terms
n ith the cooks and waiters, though a sensi
ble steward never overdoes this sort of busi
ness with his subordinates, for he knows
that their wages are small and that they
must make something on the outside."
''What pay do cooks and stewards re
ceive?" SALARY OT THE COOKS.
"A cook gets about $35 a mouth, but it is
very small if he doesn't make $30 more. A
waiter averages $20 per month, and if he
knows his business he may make anywhere
from $10 to $40 iu tips every trip. In old
times table waiters used to make a great
deal more than now, for then each one had
a table to himself, but now there is so much
competition between the big lines that there
are two men or more to a table. What
chief stewards make over their own salary
depends on the season and the class oi passen
gers, and the success with which their sub
ordinates have collected tips from the pas
sengers, for of course the chief's share must
never be forgotten, or the waiter who does
foreet it will not De likely to sail with that
steward again."
"Who among your American passengers
have you found most liberal in the matter
of tips?"
"Well,as a general thing, the people who
come from the big Eastern cities. The
Western people those from Chicago and
St Louis, are liberal, but not lavish. The
men from the Pacific coast are, next to the
New Yorkers and other Eastern people, the
best friends the stewards have. There is a
great deal of difference in men. There , for
instance, is Clans Spreckles. He was one
of the most disappointing men we ever met.
When he came on board at New York
everybody knew him as the great sugar king
the man who half owned all the kingdom
of Honolulu. We were told he was one of
the most liberal men in the world and would
thiow his money around in showers among
the stewards and waiters and cooks
and servants. We knew he had
millions, and thought sure he'd do
the handsome thing when he got over.
If he said a word during the voyage,
a dozen stewards would drop their plates
and go tumbling over each other to serve
him. They couldn't do too much for him,
for they were sure of $50 or $100 at the very
least. Befoie we went asl.oreat Queenitown
he sent for tbexhief steward, thanked him
very politely for all the attention he had re
ceived, and then handed him $5 to divide
among the men. Disappointed? Well I
should say sol The boys were awfully mad,
and when Mr. Spreckles stepped on board
another steamer for his returj voyage to this
country there were no waiters tumbling over
each other to do him any service. They had
been warned in advance, for these things go
around among the stewards, and Mr.
Spreckles waited on himself that voyage."
THE OTHER EXTREME.
"Now here's an example of another sort,"
continued John. "I crossed last year with
Henry D. Purroy, Fire Commissioner, or
something, isn't be, in New York? He had
a shipload of friends on board to see hjtn
off, and tugboats and small steamers, with
plenty of music and flags, went down the
bay as far as the Hook. You would have
thonght it was come royal highness, at the
very least. He had the first engineer's
cabin on deck and it was piled full of cases
of wine, brandy and all sorts of liquors.
That was the kind of bouquets his friends
sent him, and there was enough of the stuff
to keep a shipload of people lull for a whole
voyage. I never went into his stateroom to
see if he wanted anything that be didn't
give me a bottle ot champagne or whisky,
or something, and one day he had me take
COO Havana cigars down below to keep them
dry. He never called for 'em again. Every
body that went near him got tipped.
He nsed to go down in the kitchen
and chalk the hats of his friends,
so that they all got the best there
was in the pantry, and plenty of it. He
didn't forget anybody with his money. The
cook and assistant cooks and kitchen boys,
the chief steward, bedroom steward, table
steward, boots, the smoking room steward,
the old fraud they keep up on deck Jo
swindle the passengers everybody came in
for a share. Now, how much do you sup
pose he spent in tips along oc that trip?"
"Oh, $50 perhaps."
"Fifty dollars! Why, he divided up over
$300."
"That's what one might call princely."
"Princely nothingl Princes don't put out
money like that. I was Prince Arthur's
private cook when he came over in the City
of Paris, and not a man got a cent except
two or three servants about his person. And
speaking about Arthur, who was so close,
and Mr. Purroy, who was so free, when His
Boyal Highness left Liverpool for Halifax
there was only one little steamer, and no
band on that to see him off."
OTHERS WHO TIP TEEELY.
"What other liberal Americans have you
found?"
"Lots of them. There is James Gordon
Bennett, who never crossed without it cost
ing him a least 100 for the boys. Only last
season I sailed with Mr. Frank McLaugh
lin, of Philadelphia, and the way he tipped
the stewards and servants made them spring
about to serve him at theslightest intimation
that he needed anything. General Patrick
A. Collins, of Boston, was, I think, on the
same ship, and was nearly as liberal as the
Philadelphia publisher. So wa3 Senator
Chandler, of New Hampshire, who went
over with his son late in the season, but
slipped away without the usual accompani
ment ot tugs and music which generally
follows a politician down the bay."
"The actors who cross?"
"Oh 1 The actors? Well, I cannot say
very much for them. The managers are
generally pretty liberal. A. M. Palmerand
his son are always welcome passengers to the
steward and his assistants. They are both
free-handed with their tips. They expect
good service, and they receive it, and the
boys know that they will be well paid for
what they do. The same is true ol August
ine Daly, Manager Bosenquest, Mr. Hill,
Rudolph Aronson and others. But the
trouries they bring with them are generally
of no, benefit to the stewards. The actors and
actresses as a general thing imagine they
ought to have the best of service and pay
nothing for it. There's Patti she's an ex
ample. Why, she never gives a dollar in
tips, and the result is that her own servant
has to look after her, and the attention Bhe
secures on board ship is poor qnough, in
deed. Nicolini? Why, nobody ever knew
him to pay out a cent on a vessel. He prob
ably thinks he ought to be well served be
cause he is Patti s husband, but we don t
pay much attention to him just the same,
and his wife's servants have to look alter
his wants at the table."
SOME 'LIBERAL WOMEN.
"The stewards of the great lines never
look for wealth from women. A lady pas
senger gives something to the stewardess,
but outside of that little reaches the hands
of the chief steward. Still, there are some
exceptions. When Mrs. William Astor
sailed away a few weeks ago her maid paid
out among the men on the steamer more
than $200 before she sailed. Mrs. Hicks
Lord is one of the most liberal women that
ever crossed tbe Atlantic She is the Mar
quise de Lanza, the daughter of Dr. Ham
mond. Miss Adele Grant, JIfcs May Braih ,
who was married a couple of weeks sinci ;
Miss Thorn, who is now the Baroness de
Pierre, and who used to live in Sixteenth
street, New York, are also among the ladies
that the stewards rejoice to see on board a
ship.
"Still, the life of a steward isn't all sun
shine," said the veteran seaman, "but,"
and he smiled significantly, "we make
enough out of our hard work to keep us
comfortable iu our old days," and it is evi
dent that the stewards do just this very
thing. Bay Gossip.
Forlnnnte Inventors.
Higdon & Higdon, patent lawyers, 95
Fifth avenue (after April 1, 127 Fourth
avenue), Pittsburg, and opposite the Patent
Office, Washington, D. C, report the follow
ing patents granted this week: G. A. Bel
knap, Beaver Center, Fa., bridle bit; Chas.
B. Daellenbacb, Allegheny, swimming ap
paratus; Tbeo. Schmauser, Allegheny, ther
apeutic galvanic apparatus; Hippolyte
Schneider, Pittsburg, shaft bearing; E.'P.
Slentz, Idlewood, and J. B. McGrew, Pitts
burg, electric railway; Chas. L. Smith,
Pittsburg, step ladder; Geo. W. Blair.Pitts
burg, lamp; O. B. Shallenberger, Bochester,
box for electric meters.
National Capital.
What would be a more advantageous sea
son of the year to make a visit to the Na
tional Capital? A working Congress would
doubly repay one, to say nothing of the in
numberable pointsof interest and instruc
tion in about the city of Washington. An
excellent opportunity is offered by the
Pennsylvania Bailroad Company's excur
sion to Washington, April 3. You can
have a choice of trains between the special
of parlor cars and day coaches, which leave
Union station at 8 A. m., or the regular
night trains leaving the city at 7:15 and 8:10
P. M. Pullman sleeping cars on night
trains. Bound trip tickets at rate of $0
will be sold, good to stop off in'Baltimore in
either direction within the limit, which is
ten days. Beturn coupons accepted on any
regular train within the limit, except the
Pennsylvania limited. The next and last
of the series is fixed for April 24.
Troea.
Before purchasing we invite you to exam
ine our stock. Shade and ornamental trees,
Carolina poplars, norways, maple and many
other desirable trees for streets and lawns.
Trees and shrubs of all sizes; in price, from
a few cents to $30 apiece. Catalogues free.
The B. A. Elliott Co.,
WTSU No. 64 Sixth st., Pittsburg.
Cabinet photos $1 00 a dozen, a life-size
crayon $3 CO, at Sonnenberg's Society Gal
lety, No. 35 Fifth ave., Pittsburg. En
trauce per elevator. Branch gallery, 52
Federal st, Allegheny.
Drapery Nets and Lace Floun
cinos Many new and exclusive designs
have just been added to this department
ttssu Huou.s & Hacks.
Great bargain sale on Monday of capes
and jackets. Enable & Shusteb,
35 Fifth ave.
The Ace of C'lub.
See announcement in advertisement on
Page 15 of this issue.
KEW ADVERTISEMENTS.
UK. BYERS' OOOD'WORK.
A Young Brick Milcor Testifies to the Benefits
Derived From a Carsful Diagnosis ind
Systematic Treatment.
Mr. Barr bad been troubled with his head ana
stomach for over four years. His nostrils
would clog up; first one side then tbe other;
constant pain over the eyes, with headache,
bnzzing in the ears and dizziness. He became
hoarse, throat got sore and a cough set in, raising
a thick, brown-colored phlecm. Later hfs
stomach trouble became very severe; lost appe
tite, flesh and strength rapidly, and was so
short ol breath he could hardly walk. Bleep
becamo troubled with horrid dreams, night
sweats supervened, bis heart became affected
and l.e arose in the morning more tired than
when he vent to bed. He Improved from the
first treatment, ana is now entuely well and
never felt better in his life. He says: "I owe
all this to the careful and conscientious treat
ment of Dr. Byers, and will always remember
him pleasantly and with gratitude."
MR. CHARLES BARR, 37 Allegheny avenue
Allegheny.
Bear this fact in mind! Catarrh can only be
thoroughly eradicated by a systematic coarse
of continuous local antiseptic spray treatment,
aided by proper medication, as practiced by
Dr. Byers, and those trying any other method
are only wasting time and money, and jeopar
dizing their health and even lives. This state
ment can easily be verified by calling at Dr.
liyers' office and investigating his method of
treatment.
TREATMENT 55 A MONTH.
Dr. Byers has reduced his terms of treatment
to the uniform fee ot So per month, medicine
Included, for all cases, and refers to his numer
ous friends and patients for indorsement of his
careful and conscientious work, many of tbe
latter remembering him pleasantly and with
gatitude long after parsing out of bis hands,
e has devised an instrument by which patients
living at a distance can use his "antiseptic
spray treatment" at home, thongh be advises
weekly visits to his office for per.-onal treatment
when at all possible. Write for symptom blank
for homo treatment or call at office. DR.
BYERS, successor to Drs. Logan & Byers. No.
421 Penn ave. mhS-3Su
Tho Soft Glow of The
TEA ROSE
Is Acquired by Ladies Who Use
!SiS:
M E DIC ATE D
TOY IT,
"rs
".V'J.
lit laiy. Hlra yon new Bobbers?
2nd Zfirfy. Why, not These an the old mM
stressed witti
Wolff'sflfiMEBIacking
It males them look like new; and my shoes also
dressed with it, hold their polish UNDilli the
robber, even saonld the enow creep in.
Change a Pine Table to Walnut.
A Poplar Kitchen Press to Antique Oak.
A Cane Rocker to Mahogany.
Bee what can be done with 2 S C. worth at
B1K-BON
WOLFF a RANDOLPH, Philadelphia.
idUk t Drug, Pawt and En TurmUthia Sloni,''
inhil-TTSSU
400 PATIENTS
Have been treated successfully by the physi
cians of the Catarrh and Dyspepsia Insti
tute at 323 Penn avenue, during the past six
months.
The Catarrh and Dyspepsia Institute has
been located in Pittsburg for nearly two
years, and during that time no patients have
been accepted for treatment except those
suffering from the diseases of their specialty.
Please remember that this is the only insti
tution in Pittsburg where only catarrh,
dyspepsia and diseases of women are treated.
A specialist in the true sense oi the term is
a physician who treats a disease, or class of
diseases, and nothing else. The physicians of
the Catarrh and Dyspepsia Institute point with
pride to their succes in curing the diseases of
tbsir specialty, preferring to be masters of a few
diseases rather than commonplace in all.
Many patients have an idea that these Spe
cialists have two offices In this city.
Please bear in mind that THEY HAVE
BUT ONE OFFICE, and which is PERMA
NENTLY LOCATED at 823 Penn avenue.
Mr. E. O. Shade, a well-known young man
who lives at No. 50 Gregory street, Southside,
has been reat sufferer trom catarrh. He
was troubled with a
mattery secretion
dropping from his
head into his throat,
and his throat was
often dry and
parched, tie had
much nasal d 1 b
cbarge, and was ter
ribly annoyed with
sneezing: He had
dizziness ana often
felt sick at his stom
acb. He had a tired
feeling, and as his
liver became torpid
he bad a very sallow
complexion. H I s
sleeD was much dis
iihu.de.
turbed. He too cold very easily and orten
felt a pain in bis lungs. In fact he continually
frew worse until hU lungs became very weak,
t was while in this condition that ha began
treitment with tbe catarrh specialists at 323
Penn avenne. Of the result he says: 'This is to
certify that I have been cured of the above con
ditions. "E. O. SHADE."
Consultation free to aLL Patients treated suc
cessfully at home by correspondence. Re
member the name and place The Catarrh and
Dyspepsia Institute. 325 Penn avenue, Pitts
burg. Send two 2-ent stamps for question
blank. Office hours, 10 A. x. to 4 P. it, and 6 to
8r.it. Sundays. 13 to ir.it. mh2C-nwrsa
yW
fnJlf 1 jpjfl
I 1 Blf IdlllaJlli
mm
"SBpsK-
F! (
HEW ADVERTISEME3TS.
A RARE TREAT
-AND-
1 LITERARY :
ENSAT
READERS OP
THE DISPATCH.
ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6,
THE DISPATCH TOi BEGIN
SERIAL PUBLICATION OP
A REMARKABLE NOVEL '
OP RUSSIAN LIFE,
ENTITLED,
"THE ACE OF CLUBS"
OB,-
')
-BY-
LUBOMIRSKI,
Perhapa tha Most Powerful of the
New Sohool of Russian
Novelists.
rnUin New Novel is not only one ol
lllliJ the most exciting and dramatic
stories ever penned, but It contains per
haps some o the very best pictures of
the horrors of the Siberian exile system
of Russia ever written. It is a singularly
powerful expose of Russian bureaucracy,
cruelty and intrigue. At the same time,
the novel possesses all the most interest'
ing elements of a powerful love story;
dealing with the almost successful efforts
of Russian officials to accomplish the
destruction of the hero and unhappiness
of the heroine.
The story involves political intrigues
on account of the rivalry between differ
ent departments of the Government, the
meetings of a band of Revolutionists, to
one of which the hero is lured in order
that he may be entrapped, strange hap
penings at a masked ball in St. Peters
burg, a striking scene in the terrible
dungeons of the Castle of Peter and
Paul, banishment of the hero without trial
to Siberia, where his young wife follows
him; the life of the Exiles in the wilds of
Eastern Siberia, their plans for revolt and
escape, a meeting of conspirators In a
cave on an island of the Baikal Sea, where
the hero confronts the man who had be
trayed him, the knouting of an Exile in a
forest hut to make him disclose a hidden
paper, the revolt under a man known as
'The Czar of the Exiles," the cruel acts
of injustice practiced by officials on Ex
iles. These and many other features of
the story, together with the happy out
come of all their trials for the hero and
heroine, make a romance of thrilling
interest.
The novel Is a wonderfully compact
and strong piece of story telling. It U
full of incident from beginning to end.
There is practically no descriptive matter
in it. The plot is ingenious and compli
cated, and every chapter brings some new
and striking change in the situation Of
the principal characters. The storj h
translated from the original Russian by
Meta Devere, who has translated a num
ber of Russian novels. The work is a
fine and spirited rendering of the original,
and seems to have lost nothing by the
translation into English. The author,
Count Lubomlrski, is one of the new
Russian writers. None of his works
have heretofore appeared in English,
This novel has made a great sensation in
Europe. The scene is laid in the time of
Nicholas, the grandfather of the present
Czar, but this seems to have been done
in order to avoid the condemnation of the
censor, as the novel apparently deali with
cote mporaneous conditions, and one
feels that the author (himself a former
Exile) is writing of the present day.
Just now when the civilized world It
roused by reports of Siberian atrocities,
and by the investigations of George Ken
nan, it is believed that this will be a
singularly timely treat. The novel has
been purchased simply because of its
strong dramatic interest, and of its truth
to human nature. The story has ft
breadth and sweep of action unusual in a
novel so sensational. Its descriptions of
Siberian life are singularly thrilling and
bear the impress of fidelity to truth.
"THE ACE OF CLUBS"
WILL APPEAR ONLY IN THE
DISPATCH. WATCH FOR THE
OPENING CHAPTERS IN
THE ISSUE OF SUN
DAY, APRIL 6.
mh23-117
ON OR ABOUT APRIL x
THE
DISPATCH
BUSINESS OFFICE
Will be removed to comer Smlth
. field and Diamond sts.
mhWlT
Ou or about APRIL 1
THE DISPATCH
BUSINESS OFFICE
Will b removed to corner Smltnfleld and Dia
mond sta. mhMlJ t
BSSSSJBBSSSSSSSSSSSSfSjBJMBajajaBBSSSBSSSBB