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Show s? .S& ? ... iu Kt i j r-- ." .? , v? , 1 ELLEN BEACH YAW. J MOW THE SINGER PASSES f- HER SUMMER DAYS... 4 4 W V? t . vc J sS Sgg (Special Letter.) In one of the most picturesque spots In ' California is the beautiful house that has for its tenant Ellen Beach Yaw. Grand old trees, sentinel palms, fern-like peppers, waxen-leaved magnolias mag-nolias and golden-fruited orange trees sheltered the home-nest of the California Cali-fornia lark, and blossoming vines mantle man-tle the walls. Miss Yaw is an Iowa girl, but California claims her by adoption. After several years of study abroad, under the best teachers, she made her debut in New York in 1893, and has since traveled with her own company. Each year, at the close of the season, she returns to her summer home in TrbpicO, Southern California, there to rest and work until the be ginning of another season, for this ambitious young singer is never satisfied satis-fied with herself, but like a true artist, is constantly striving to "lift better unto best." The thousands In this country and Europe who have paid to hear and see Miss Yaw, and have gone away entranced, do not dream that they have not seen her at her best. It is only those who visit her in her home that' are thus favored. Long before the visitors arrive at the entrance to and close by the open window, just inside the room, stands the grand piano. pi-ano. "I cannot tell you how glad I am to get home again," she confesses. "The glamour of Southern California always draws me back to it, no matter how far I wander. I did intend to go abroad this year, but I could not summon sum-mon up the resolution to be awayt so long from home. I will sing for you," she kindly volunteers. Going to the piano she strikes a few preliminary prelimin-ary chords and then gives us the laughing song from "Manon Lescaut" It is as though a whole cageful of larks had been set free, and her appreciative hearers know not which to admire the more, the song or the singer. Miss Yaw's favorite place for work is out of doors. She is a true child of nature; na-ture; and. believes that she gains her best inspiration when next to nature's heart. "The more closely one follows the methods of nature, producing tones as the bird produces his, the better the : result." In and around the home place are leafy nooks innumerable where the birds twitter and sing from morning till night, and thither she repairs with her music whenever she wishes to study. Small wonder that the passer- Mil pf BY-THE POOL IN TROPICO ' " : the grounds they will see a slight, young girl, clad in white a marvel of daintiness from the crown of her golden gold-en head to the tips of her tiny shoes strolling down the path under overhanging over-hanging boughs of the pepper trees. By her side will be seen a magnificent Great Dane for "Keats" accompanies his mistress everywhere. She greets her guests with a shy smile of welcome. wel-come. Ellen Taw has a manner all her own, and withal, the prettiest manner in the world. Success has not spoiled her, and she is now as simple and unaffected un-affected as she was the day she left the school-room to take up the study of that which was to be her life-work long before anyone dreamed of the phenomenal success that was to attend at-tend he refforts. Beautiful Tropico is indeed worthy its chatelaine's eulogistic eulogis-tic commendation: "It is a 'little corner cor-ner of Paradise." A more appropriate setting for Ellen Taw than this semi-tropic semi-tropic nook in summerland could not j by lingers slyly to listen to the carnival carni-val of song; and no sooner, do the silver sil-ver notes of the songstress fall upon the air than oriole, lafk, and mockingbird mocking-bird well-nigh split their little throats in the vain endeavor to outdo their fair rival. There is nothing which so delights this queen of song as to play the hostess. She wishes even the stranger within her gates to see and enjoy that which gives her pleasure, and so it is to the garden that she takes her guests. Here are pleasant paths to be explored, ex-plored, paths that wander off into a jungle of tropical growths. Farther on the golden fruit of Hesperides, hanging low on the heavily laden branches, is to be had for the picking. In a still pool, shaded by the graceful papyrus that bends down, until each pliant stem is reflected as in . a mirror, gleaming goldfish dart to and fro like arrows of light. The lissom figure of Mioo i ways a step in advance, disappears down one of the many side paths only to reappear in the course of a moment with an armful of rdses, which are shared with all; and with a smile that is like the sunshine she loves so well, the gracious lady "speeds the parting guest." i, II lrv? 1 " r. HELEN BEACH YAW. be found on American soil. The garden gar-den is aglow with bloom. Scarlet poin-settias- flame against a background of green, fragrant heliotropes fling a purple pur-ple spray to the eaves, and rose-pink , oleanders shower blossoms on the emerald em-erald turf. As for the roses, they run riot over the whole place. A broad Teranda circles the house. Gypsy tables are here strewn with the latest period-lcala period-lcala and heaped with delicious frnits. Musical critics pronounced Miss Yaw "the greatest-ranged soprano of whom history affords an account" Her famous note, the E above high E, five notes higher than Patti vibrated to an amazed world years ago, is the highest note ever Intoned from human throat. Her method has evoked as much comment as the wonderful altitude alti-tude and lyric sweetness of her voice. The notable elements of her voice are its natural poetic quality, its warmth and variety of color. An Atlantio Liner's Tubes. There are fully 1,000 tons of piping of various kinds in a big Atlantio liner. The condensers will pump up at least 50,000 gallons of cool water a day. The furnaces will consume no less than 7,500,000 cubio feet of air an hour. The boiler tubes if placed in a straight line, would stretch nearly ten miles, and the condenser tubes more than twenty-five miles. The total number num-ber of separate pieces of steel In the main structure of the ship Is not leas than 40,000. The number of rivets la not far short of 1,250,000. |