“‘My mother,’ said the boy, as he pocketed the neat and accurate bill, ‘has nothing to do with this business. It is my arithmetic lesson, and I had to get it done somehow.’”—In the Boston Herald.

“Oh, dey’s times fu’ bein’ pleasant an’ fu’ goin’ smilin’ roun’,

’Cause I don’t believe in people allus totin’ roun’ a frown,

But it’s easy ’nough to titter w’en de stew is smokin’ hot,

But hit’s mighty ha’d to giggle w’en dey’s nuffin’ in de pot.”

—Paul Laurence Dunbar.

An Artist of Rare Culture

BY S. E. WILSON

“I have no genius; it is only patient, concentrated toil that gives me success.”—Sir Isaac Newton.

It is with the deepest sense of pride that we introduce our readers to one of the most gifted artists of the Afro-American race, Mme. Estelle Pinckney Clough, of Worcester, Mass. Two years ago, on the 11th day of this month, Mme. Clough made her debut in grand opera. She achieved a great triumph in interpreting the soprano role of “Aida,” a production which was presented by the Theodore Drury Opera company in the Lexington Opera House, New York City. Relative to this appearance, the critic of the “Musical Leader” says: