The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 25, 1885, Image 1

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ABBEVILLE PRESS AND BANNER.! BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C.. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 25, 1885. NO. 39. VOLUME XXIX |gj| Influence. scatter seeds with careless hand, \ And dreuiu wo no'cr slidll too them moro: ^ But for a thousand years " Thoir fruit appears, la woods that mar the land, ' Or hculihful store, Uhe dc o Is we do, the words we say, v Into still air thry seem to fleet; We count them ever past; But they slmll last? In tilts dread judgment they And wo bhtvll meet. I charge thee by tho years gone by, For the love of brethem dear, Keep, then, tho one truo way In work and play, 1/est in the world their cry Of woe thou hear. -Eelbe. | DARK DAYS ' | HUGH CONWAY, i Author of 14 Called Back." ?~~ CHAPTER VI.?THE SECRET KEPT. It is needless to say that when I nwoke the next morning my first: thought was of Philippa; but m;1' first act was to go to my window pad look at the skies. My heart s$s'k within me as 1 saw tbat"tlie snow* had ceased falling, and the wintry sun was shining. 1 threw up the sash; the cold air cut J me like a knife. 1 gathered up a hand-! ful of snow from the window-sill. It i crumbled in my lingers like tooth-pow-1 der. I guessed at once that a Hard black frost had succeeded the snow. I , ran down-stairs and glanced at my thermometer outside my sitting-room window. It registered twelve degrees j ] of frost. My spirits rose; I felt that t ! Philippa would be saved. The wind j was due east: so long as it staid there j ] the frost would la t, and that white ; . tomb on the roadside hide the secret of the dreadful night. j ] I found, moreover, that Philippa's i ) condition was all that could, under the i j circumstances, be hoped for. Since j ( she had awakened from that long sleep ; ( into which the opiate had plunged her, i ( there had been no recurrence of the j , delusions; no symptoms which gave me j < any alarm. She was, of course, we.ik , J in body, but quite quiet and collected. ! 1.^ lv.-fc Kttlsv ? ^,1 fkn die spime uuuiuit;, >uiu uio icn numa i , which she did speak had no bearing on ; , forbidden or disturbing subjects. I } Day after day went by, and still the i j brave black frost held the world in its ; j Iron grip, and kept the .secret of the | j night. Morning after morning ] woko to find tho wind still blowing ? from the east, the skies clear and show- ' ing every evidence of a long spell of 1 hard weather. A presentiment that * we should be saved was now firmly established in my mind. The heaveas themselves seemed to be shielding us i and working for us. r I have not given the year in which ^ these things occurred; but many who c can remember that mighty fall of snow, i ^ and the time which the frost kept it on r the earth, will be able to fix the date. | ^ Since that year there has been no j t weather like it. Day by day Philippa grew better and j stronger. I spare you, as I promised j D . to, all description which is not abso-! Q lutely necessary of my treatment oi I e my patient, and all technical summary j of the case; but before many days had j j gone by I knew that, as I hoped, I had n to deal with one of those rare inst in- ^ ces in wjiich the balance of the mind is j, restored by forced sleep, and the com- v rlete restoration of health is but a matter of time and care. g! As soon as it became a certainty v that all danger to life or reason was at j end, 1 began to consider what course to j t. adopt The moment she was well \ sj ?noagh to risk the journey, or even, ii j a a thaw set in, before then, Philippa ' |lnust fly from the scene of the tragedy : in which she had played so terrible, yet j 11 morally irresponsible, apart. "We must C( ^>ut lands and seas between ourselves j v and the fatal spot. But how to per- I a Ruade her that such flight was abso- i a lutely necessary? Brother and sister as} we now termed ourselves, would she P( ever consent to accompany me abroad? jfr Had I the right to put the woman 11 h.( loved in such an equivocal position? j ^ No! a thousand times no! And yet I; - knew there was no safety for her in [ dj England; and with whom could she leave England save with me? jr I dared not urge upon her my true j reason for flight. It was my greatest j ^ hope that the events of that night had j left her mind when the madness left * her, never to be recalled. And now to rime was pressing; ten days had passed j 5f by. The glorious frost still kept our counsel, but it could not last forever. I The time must come when the white , h< heaps of snow would melt and vanish u] away, and then Sir Mervyn Ferrand's a jold dead face would appear, and tell the ! * cale of his death to the first passer-by. m I had scarcely ouitted the house 1 _ lince that night. Yet one day a kind ,c of morbid fascination had led ine to PJ walk along the road toward ltoding, 'F and to halt at what I judged to be the 3e spot where I laid the dead man by the 5C side of the road. I fancied I could j m jingle out the very drift under which : that awful thing lay, and a dreary j temptation to probe the white heap ! with my stick, and make sure, assailed . [*v me. I resisted it, and turned away |ll< from the spot. * jll( There was a certain amount of j traffic on the road. By now the snow | ^ had been beaten down by cart-wheels w and people's feet, so that it was ^uite ni possible to walk from one place to an- w other. As I reached the house from '? which Philippa fled to seek refuge with ^ me, I encountered Mrs. Wilson. I was ^ going,to pass without any sign of rec- ^ ? ognitionTBtit she stopped me. S? "I thought you were going to take : your sister away?" she said. "Lady Ferrand was unfortunately ^ taken very ill when she left you. She is now hardly well enough to be re-, moved." "Has she heard from Sir Mervyn?" i c< asked Mrs "Wilson, abruptly. "Not to my knowledge," I replied. J , "It is strange. You know, I suppose,: jji that he was expected at my house that! night?" j it "Certainly I do. It was for thatj reason my sister left you." ?; Mrs. Wilson looked at me thought- ! di fully. "She will not meet h;m again?" ! n "Xever," I said, thinking as I spoke sc that my words bore a meaning only | ol known to myself. Does she hate him?" tl she asked, suddenb'. j I1 She has been cruelly wronged," I T said, evasively. ; cj She laid her hand on my arm. "Listen," she said. If I thought she hated ; h him, I would see her before she leaves, j s< and tell her something. If I thought: I ho hated her, I would tell him. I will ir wait and see." ' p She turned away and walked on, 1 b leaving me to make the best of her J ei enigmatical words. She was evident- g ly a strange woman, and I felt more ti sure than ever wa3 in some way mixed _ ,up with Sir Mervyn Ferrand's early I i( life. I had a great mind to follow Ker n and demand an explanation, but can- i tl tion told me that the less I said to her , p the better. It was from this woman's j knowlege of the relationship of Philip- 5) pa and the dead man that, when the ^ secret of the night was laid Dare, tne I greatest danger must arise. i ^ After walking a few paces, Mrs. , f( Wilson turned and came back to rue. p "Give me an address," she said;" I may | ^ y want to write to you." 1 c I hesitated; then I told her that any a I letters sent to my bankers in London J j. would reach me sooner or later. It j ^ was too soon to excite suspicion by con- j ^ cealment of one's movements. It was after I had gazed at, that j white tomb by tha roadside that my j - . . impatience to remove Philippa grew fiercer and fiercer. Moreover I had at last made up my mind what to do with ray precious charge. As soon as she was well enough to bear the journey 1 resolved to take her to London, and place her in the hands of one of the truest, noblest, tonderest women in i the world, my mother. She was in London, waiting for me to join her. I had written telling ber j that the serious illness of a friend pre- j vented me leaving ray home for some days. Now I resolved to go to her ; and tell her all Philippa's sad tale?all j save the one dark chapter of which ! she herself, I hoped, knew nothing. 1 would take her to my mother. I would tell my mother how I loved her; I would appeal to her love for me, and ask her to tike my poor stricken girl < ^ 1 1 ~ iu utrr 11tai t; as suu ? uuiu iauo a daughter; and I dared to hope that, if only for my sake, my prayer would j be granted. Philippa was by now thoroughly | convalescent. As i lay down my pen for a moment and think of the j time, with its fears and troubles, it is a i marvel to me that I could have dared : to wait so long before moving her | from the neighborhood. I can only j attribute my lingering to the sense of 1 fatality that all would go right, or to : the professional instinct which for-1 bade me urging a patient to do anything which might- retard recovery;! but the time had at last come. Save fur her quiet and subdued I manner, my love was almost her own | self again, ller words and manner to me wero tender, affectionate and : sisterly. 1 need hardly say that dur- J ing that time no word crossed my lips j which I would have recalled. Love if; not the thought of it, I had laid aside until happier days dawned; for Philip- 1 pa was to me pure and innocent as on the day when first we met. If her hands were stained with the blood of j Sir Mervyn Perrand, she knew it not. j Her wrongs had goaded her to mad-1 r>o?Q and hpp inflilnp;? u-jis rosnnnsililfl I for the act, not she herself. The man's name never crossed her j lips. For as she spoke of him he might never have existed, or at the j most, been but a part of a forgotten j :lream. As soon as she was well j enough to rise from her bed, and I i cjuld for hours enjoy her society, we 1 talked of many tilings; but never of Sir Msrvvn Ferrand and the immedi-! ite past. But nevertheless, there were times tvhen her look distressed me. Now md again I found her gazing at me ,vith anxious, troubled eyes, as if try- J ng to read something which I was' liuing from her. Once she asked mo j ] low she came to my house that night. "Out of the whirling snow," I said is lightly as I could. You came in i high state of fever and delirium." "Where had I been? What had I )een doing?" "You came straight from Mrs. Wilon's, I suppose. 1 know no more." Then she sighed and turned her head iway; but I soon found her troubled ( lark eyes again fixed on my own. I k ould do nothing but meet their gaze ; iravely, and pray that my poor love ; night never, never be able to fill those , ?i.:~ I iuurs wuicu wcic at juwuiia uiauA. oher. At last, exactly a fortnight from the | atal day, we left my home. I was ] iow what is legally termed an asces3- j ry after tlio act, and was making ev-: r ry effort to save tho poor girl from o ustice. Jn order to avert suspicion, I I ecided it was better not to shut up I ay house; so I left the faithful Wil- l am to take care of it, and await my c instructions. At present it was ad- s isable that any inquirers should learn r hat I had gone to London with my i ister, and that the time of our return v ;as uncertain. -By and by, if all \ rent well, I could get rid of my cot-j r ige in an ordinary way. I, for one, j i tiould never wish to visit the place; \ gain. f Philippaacquiesedinallmy arrange-J e lents. She wa3 puite willing to ac-1 jmpany me to town. She trusted me i ? rith childish simplicity. "But Basil, i j fterward ?what afterward?" she i e sked. | t Even in the midst of the menacing J J ;ril it was all I could do to refrain ^ qui kneeling at her feet and telling l ?r that my love would solve the ques- 8 od. of the future. a "I have a surprise for you in Lon- p )n," I said, as cheerfully as I could. J rrust yourself to me; you will nut ' f >gret it." c She took my hand. "Whom else j v ive I to trust?" she said simply, j ? I3asil you have been very good to me. j ^ have made your life miserable; it is | 10 late to atone; but I shall never for- ; ? ;t these days." ; Her eyes were full of tears. t kissed her hand reverently, and told ?r that when I saw the old smile back : * Jon her lips, all I had done would bo j a thousand times repaid; but as I spoko trembled ot the thought of what P ight b?i in store for both of us. ^ We drove to Roding, and were per- I a irce obliged to take the road which i 1 issed by Mrs. Wilsons house. Phil- j " pa half rflse from her seat, and j a emed to be on the point of asking me v ime question: but she changed her ? ind, and relapsed into silence. I H ~ 1 1^?4. ?A.w1nMn ' I L (X llUlilUlU UllMU XC31 11JO lUUUOlUD ejects and landmarks should awaken t collection, and my heart beat violent- i J as we neared tho white heap by the j J, sdge. that heap which 1 believe ^ ?ld our secret. I felt that I grew ; e ;adly pale. I was forced to turn my ' * jad away and look out the opposite j cj indow, My state of mind was not iade easier by knowing that Philippa j as gazing at nie with that troubled . j ok ia her eyes. Altogether I Mt | c lat the strain was becoming too much c >r me, and I began to wonder it' my j * fe would ever again know a happy or scure moment. j After a long silence rhilippa spoke, i Tell mc, liasiJ, have you heard from lat man?" I shook ray head. "Where is he? ? "He was coming that night. Did he )ine?" : s I suppose not. Why do you ask?" "Basil, a kind of horrible dream : 1 aunts inc. There was something I j reamed of that fearful night, some- | ] ling I dream of now. Tell me what . 1 was." j The perspiration rose to my brow, j t Dearest," I said, "no wonder you j ream. You are well now, but that ; ? ight you were quite out of your sen- ' i >s. Your fancies are but the remains j t ? that delirium. Think ro cnrve of j lat wretch; he is probably li\*ng in aris, after the manner of his kind, i hink only that life is going to be t aim and happy." I Any thing to keep the knowlege of 1 t r i I T r* j 6 er iaiai ;ict iroin iier: j. jorccu my- b bit' to talk in u light, cheerful manner, jested at the appearance of the few j r :uifled-up country people whom we a assed on the road. I pointed out the ! r eauty of tho trees on the wayside, 1 0 Fich branch of which bore foliage of a listening snow I did all I could to t urn her thoughts into other channels | -to drive that strange questioning J >ok from her eyss. Right glad I felt 1 ? hen we were at last in the train, and ! t le first stage of our flight an accom- j lished fact. jj Upon reaching London, I drove ^ iraight to the hotel at which my ! s lother was staying. It was one of lose high-priced respectable private " otels in Jermyn street. I engaged j ^ )oms for my sister and myself. I sent ti hilippa to her room to rest, and then ent to find my mother. In another | c linute I was in her arms, and ere half a n hour was over I h*d told her Phil- {] >pa's story, and nfc- love for the a romanon whose behalf I besought er protection. Yes I had done right to trust to her. i knew her noble nature; her utter } reedom from the petty trammels of , society. 1 knew the love she bore her , son. Let me here thank her once more for what she did for me that day. She heaid all my outpourings in silence. I told her all, save two things ?the name of the man who had deceived my love, and the fate which had overtaken him. I told her as 1 have told you, how I had loved?how I loved i'hilippa; how I now dared to hope that in time to come my love would be rewariteu. i prayed her to take my poor girl to her heart, and treat her as a daughter. My mother heard me. Her sweet face grew a shade paler. Her lips quivered, and the tears stood in her eyes. I knew all that was passing through her mind. I knew how proud she was of me, and what great things she had hoped I should do in the world. She was a woman, and, woman-like, had counted upon her son's bettering himself by marriage; but, in spite of all this, I knew I was right in counting upon her aid. Once again my mi'ortf m<"\fT tlinnl' 0>? ttU UIVIIIVI) x lu.iuu J VII. She rose. "Let me see the woman 3Tou love. AVhere is she? I will go to her." "She is here in this house. Ah mother, I knew you would do this for me." She kissed my forehead. JJring ner to me," she said. I went out, and sent word to Philippa that I wanted her. She soon came to me. She had removed the stains of travel, and, although pale, looked the perfection ot graceful beauty. I led her to my mother's room. She stopped short as she saw it was tenanted by a lady. A quick blush crossed her cheek. Thilippa, Dearest," I said, "this is my mother. I have told her all, and she is waiting to welcome you." Still she stood motionless, save that her head bent down and her bosom heaved. Sly mother came to her side, and placing her kind arms round her, whispered some words which I neither heard, nor tried to hear. Philipagrew into a storm of sobs, and for some moments wept on my mother's shoulder. Then she raised her head and looked at me, and my heart leaped at the expression in her tearful eyes. "Basil, my brother, you are too good to me?" she ejaculated. juy mother lea r.cr to tne sora, ana, with her arms still round her, sat down by her side. I left them, know in# mai my love uau now me iruesc, noblest heart, to sob against; the quickest, most sympathetic ear to listen to the tale of her w.'ongs; and the softest, kindest voice to soothe and console her. Ah! how happy I should have felt, could that one night's dark work have been undone?could that white tomb forever hold its ghastly secretl [to be continued.] 'THE WAR IN EGYPT. Soldiers from India Repulsing the False Prophet's Arabs. ill Mcohdi Issuing Proclamations to the "Faithful." The Indian native soldiers of tlio Rikhe egiracnt have been in their first engagement > n Egyptian soil. A party of Osnian ' Jigma's Arabs made an attack on one of ths 3ritish outposts in the neighborhood of Suacim, and the Sikhs were sont out into the >pen field to repel the attack. They were plendidly handled, and they showed adnirable coolness and steadiness. The skirnish wa.= hot while it lasted, but the Arabs vere soon repulsed, and many of their dead rarri Inff iinnn tlm TIia nnciinltinc unong the Indian troops were few and nil mportant. The Arabs became panic-strickon I vhen they saw the swarthy Mohammedans 1 rom India facing them in true British styie ' .nd delivering theii' fire with such precision ! is to make almost every shot tell. The hostile Arabs at night attacked the \ irdnance enclosure of the garrison near Sua- : :im and killed two sentries belonging to the Berkshire regiment and wounded three othrs. In this engagement in the dark one of ho attacking party was killed and several i-ere wounded. The enemy also surprised i he Shropshire infantry regiment's patrol, s :illing one man and wounding one. One man elonging to this patrol has been missing f ince the engagement. . I When the attack was made, the rebels, in j nswer to the challenge of the pickets, re- ' lied: ''Friends." Thoy then swarmed into i he zereba, overpowered tli9 pickets and at- < acked the guards, but liearing men landing ' rom the gunboat Condor, they decamped, 1 nrrying with them all their dead and < rounded except the body of their leader, < Vbdul, who was Osman Digma's standard i pearer. Six of the British guards were i :illed, and seven others were wounded. The British government iias ordered the :ontractors to hasteu the construction of the . iuakiin-Berber Railway. Two hundred a/1- . iitional navvies have been sent to work upon } he road. The Royal Irish regiment have arrived at , Corti from Gakdul Wells. On the route they aw soma 400 hostile Arabs between Magaga . nd Howeivat. j The Turkish authorities in the Arabian , rovince ot Hedjaz have seized several huured placards which had been distributed by missariesof ElMahdi at Jeddah,Dokah Lith nd other soapoit towns opposite the Soudan, 'he placards order the "faithful" to organize nd expel the Turks from Arabia, promising hat the prophet will soon arrive at Jeddah iul will lead bis hosts to Mecca, where there rill be displays in the sky such as will leave 10 doubt of his identity." The placards have aused an incipient rebellion, and the Turksh governor is trying to suppress the revolt. General Gordon's diary is written on Egyp- 1 ian telegraph blanks. The pages are sewed j ogether with twine, and every page is i.1uminated with pictures, fantastic an'l seri- ] us. Gordon's letters indicate that his diary vas written for the use of tho English govrnuient. It is desired that tiie government hould edit this diary and publish facsimiles f it as soon as all of it lias reached LouIon. The diary as lett by Gordon is m six oluines. Tiie Earl of Morely, under secretary of war, eplying to the Earl of Galloway in the Br.tsh house of lords, said that he thought a vote ( if thanks just now to General Lord Wolsoley < md Ins urmy for the work accomplished in he Khartoum expedition would be somewhat ' weniature. MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC, , Minnie Palmer's success continues quite inabatcd. I Aimee's Soutliern tour lias beeu uniformly tnd immensely prolitable. Frau Materna gets $12,000 a month for , ;Inging in German opera. Mr. Henry Irvixo will reappear at the Lyceum theatre, Loudon, on Mayi Theatre parties, recently introduced in 1 Paris by Americans, are becoming more and 1 nore fashionable there. 1 The production of Gilbeitand Sullivan's fapanese opera was set down for March 14 at he Savoy theatre, in London. Daniel Froiihan is to bo tho manager of in entirely new theatre, which is to bo built n New \ ork during the coming summer. Benjamin A. Baker, assistant secretary of he actor's fund in New York, is tho oldest American stage manager now living. Clara Louise Kellogg predicts that talian opera is doomed, and that it will soon >e rendered in this country only in English. Augusta Fostek, who is playing leading ?usiness with Madame Kistori, has been en;aged for the samo position with Saivini next eason. It is again rumored that Henry Irving has efused tne honor of knighthood. The groat ctor would prefer a baronetcy, which is heeditary. Herr Joachim, the eminent violinist, was . youthful prodigy. He played in England t the age of thii teen, wnere ho has always teen a favor .to and a frequent visitor. The signs of tho times are ominous: Mrs. ^ngtry has given up her engagement at tho itar theatre lor next fall. Ha-> the failure f " l'rjncess Georges ' in London crushed ho Jersey Lily? Opera is given twice a week in Venezuela, nd the subsidy received by the present mailgement is $4U,100 for the season of three uonths, with free use of tho houso and cenery, which belongs to tho government. Antoixe Sylva is under contract to sing a this country, and is expected to arrive oon. L. M. Ruben will mauuge him. Bylva as for several years past been tho leading Bnor at tho Italian opera, St. Petei-sburg. Boccicault announcos that ho has caneled his London dates for next season, and diia that, believing Irish drama will be unopular in England for many years to come, e regards it as improbable that ho will ever ppear there again. Wolves still abound in France. Last yeai ewards wero paid for the destruction ol ,305, tho amount reaching over 120.000. Sine persons wore attacked and killed by volves during the year. .. . . | A BIG RAILROAD STRIKE. A Revolt Against low Wages in j the Southwest. | Many Trains Stopped and Militia j fluf V1UG1UU UUUi A St. Louis dispatch sayy that the railroad Btriko lias developed into such huge propor- j tioiis that both Governors Martin, of Kansas, I and Marraaduke, of Missouri, have been called upon by the railroad officers, and as a result of these meetings, Governor Marmaduke called upon the St. Louis militia, 250 of whom were shipped to Sedalia by special train. At Sedalia Adjutant-General Jamison met tho strikers and was informed by them that they would not permit the running of freight trains unless tho rate of wages paid prior to October, 18S4, were restored, not only to the employes at Sedalia, but all over the entire Gould system. The strikers were informed that stopping trains of any description is a violation of tho law and would be resisted by the governor, who would use the militia if necessary. Although from tho start the men deported themselves in the most orderly manner, nevertheless the number of men who were sworn in to protect the company's property made tho situation look very critical. A long series of resolutions wero made public setting forth the grievances of the employes and exhibiting tho dividend declared by the Gould Southwest system and tho starvation wages received l>y the skilled mechanics in tho employ of tho company. The' telegram calling on tho governor for assistance, and his first reply that ho had no troops to interfere with starving men, went far to encourage the strikers, who feel that their cause is just Superintendent Hager stated that no overtures had been made to tho strikers by tho company, nor had anv been made by the strikers. He said: "Wo are not trying to do anything at present, and are not attempting to move any freight trams. We have tiit-nod flit* mutter iivor to tho citv. county and (State, nnd are waiting. At tho proper time something wfil bo done." One thing that has done a great deal to create a bitter feeling is the importation of about thirty detectives, said to be Pinkerton's men, whom tho company has requested to be sworn in as extra police. The marshal and tho mayor both objected, and said there was 110 occasion for tnis, as the protection afforded by the home men on duty and the extra force of the strikers sworn in was ample for oil emergencies. Over a car-load of scab brakemen, firemen and conductors have been brought in to move freight trains and take them out, but ns soon as a wheel is turned by one of them a strike of the Brotherhood men in these orders will ensue. A Sedalia (Mo.) dispatch .says: -'There are now over seventy engines in the round house ami yards hero which have been killed by the strikers and over ten miles of loaded freight cars on the side tracks. No passenger trains have yet been stopped, but no passengers have arrived here from west of Kansas City or south of Parsons, since Sunday." A Dallas (Texas) dispatch says that hundreds of cars of fruit, vegetables and other perishable property are side-tracked, and all the markets are nearly bare, and prices have advanced nearly double. This class of goods are being carried in largo quantities in mailcars, passenger coaches and by express companies. Tho railroad officials have served notice on the various county and city authorities, demanding protection, and declaring their intention to hold the communities responsible for losses. Governor Ireland, of Texas, lias issued a proclamation against tho strikers, | nnd called on tho county and city authorities to do their duty under the law and aid the companies in protecting their property and in moving trains. At Kansas City tho strike assumed definite j shape and all traffic on the Missouri Pacific j road was stopped. Tho Missouri Pacific au- j thorities notified the city council that Kansas City would be held responsible for any loss resulting from violence and riot At Moberly, Mo., and at Centreville, Iowa, the railroad employes also struck. SENATE EXTRA SESSION. Third Day. The new cabinet nominations were all confirmed in exocutive session on the third day, nobody offering objections to any of the names on the list. Mr. Riddlebergor was absent trom the chamber at the tiino tho Semite iventinto executive session. Ho had evidently determined upon oflorins: no further opposition to the confirmation of Mr. Bayard, ind stayed away to avoid taking part in tho proceedings. The name? of the candidates were presented for confirmation by tho Senators representing their States. Mr. Seorge moved to confirm Mr. Lamar, Mr. Jones to confirm Mr. Oarland, Mr. Miller to i confirm Mr. Manning, and so on. Mr. Garland at once telegraphed his resignation as Senator to tho governor of Arkansas. Messrs. Lamar and Bayard presumably did likewise. Fourth Day. On the fourth day, in discussion of Mr. Van ; Wyck's resolution making inquiry of the soc- j retary of the interior with regard to the is- { ;uance of patents to the Backbone road, Mr. ! ^est attacked the interior department for is- I suing such patents, and Mr. Teller [ [late secretary of the interior) do- j fended tho course of the government.... rhe Senate received a notice froiji Mr. Bay- j inl that he had forwarded to tho legislature | )f Delaware his resignation of his position of | Senator. Communications were also received j From the secretary of the interior and tho at- i :orney-general notifying the Senate of their lcceptanco of cabinet positions and riquost- j ing tho president of the Senate to notify tho I legislatures of their respective States. liltn uay. Tho resolution offerod on the previous dn.y jy Jlr. Hoar, that Henry W. Blair be sworn n as a Senator from New Hampshire, was aken up. After a long discussion, the resoution was finally agreed to by a yea and nay rote, 36 to 20. The only departure from a livision upon party lines was in the case of Mr. Jones, of Florida, who voted in the aflrmative with the Republicans. The oath ivas then administered to Mr. Blair by the Vice-President. No other business was done hiring the day. Sixtl> Pay. The "Backbone" resolution offered by 1 Senator Van Wvck was laid before the Senute as unfinished business. Mr. Van Wyck said the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Teller) had gone to New York to be absent a day or two, and asked that action upon the resolution be deferred until the following Friday Mr. Frye offered a resolution instructing the committee on public buildings ana grounds to inquire into tho expediency of | lighting the Senate chamber by tho electric process. Adopted. ENGLAND AND RUSSIA rhe l.atter"* ]?larch Toivaril Herat j Likrly to Kud in War. A London paper says that tho English government has sent an emphatic demand to St. Petersburg fcr the withdrawal of the Russian troops now on Afghan territory, rin despatch partook of the character of an ultimatum. Order.* have been sent to Sir Peter Lumv len, the British commissioner on tho Afghan frontier, to direct the Afghans to evacuate t'enjdch on the withdrawal of tho Russian ; forces from Akrobat. Baron de Staal, the > Russian ambassador, has promised that the ! Russian troops shall retire. The British government has suspended the operation of the factory act limiting the number of hours during which workmen may lie employed as far as it relates to tho royal nrsenal at Woolwich. The object is to allow tho workshops at the arsenal to l?e rnn at ! their full capacity night and day and to enable them to turn out">00,000 cartridges i>er week. Despite the pacific a^urauces of Russia, the British war ollico is despatching troops to India with all possible speed. The number sent forward is limited only by tho means of transportation, as there are far ! more men available for active service than ! can be sent to tho scene of tho expected hgs- \ tilities, owing to tho lack of vessels. ROLLER-SKATING RACE j A Six-Day Con lest in Xcw York?The 1 First .tlnn Sforcs 1,092 IVIile*, The Madison Square Garden, Now York, i tho scene of so many long-distanco pedestrian ; contests, has been given up to a six-day match i )n roller skates, the first match at that dis j tance that has ever taken place. Thirty-six ! nen took part in the tournament, but before ;!ie week closed the majority had dropped jut through exhaustion. The first prize was ivon by Donovan, of Ehnira, N. V., with [,0lfJ miles covered in the six days. Tho folowing table shows the distances traveled by ;he men in the race at the finish, and tho jours of lest taken by the first teu: nours | Wames. Miles. of rest. Donovan 1,09:3 'Jo Boyst 1,(45 'J7 I J'Melia 1,0-32 27 ! Madilocks 1,000 28 I ichock {>50 J51 J Johnson 8ti". 41 Allen 85S Si.) Calhoun S50 53 Mayer S25 40 | U'ard g:;5 4' IValsh 720 loodwin 723 Walton 701 *: Robinson C04 Elkes G52 ? Philips CJ32 ? Ikihcn 543 ? The prizes for which tho men :nade this unparalleled race wore $500 and a diamond i badge valued at $250 for tho iirst man, $250 for Uu> becgud, {150 for third. #100 for fourth. | _ AT WASHINGTON. How Matters Are Progressing Under the New Administration. A Day at the White House and in the Departments. The new administration at Washington is busily employed now-a-days in getting into working order. Tin White Houso and the various dcpirtm3iit3 are overrun with callers. An idea of the busy scenes enacted and the progress made maybe obtained from the following telegraphic account of one day's events at the Executive Mansion and in the departments at Washington : There was about the usual rush of visitors to the White Houso to day. The President arose early and at once betook himself to the consideration of his mail, which was unusually large. As one of the clerks at tho Whito Houso put it, "President Cleveland receives as many letters in a day as ex-President Arthur received in a week." The President ran hurriedly through his mail and then began the reception of visitor, many of whom nad been in waiting some time. Among callers were congressional delegations from Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina and Florida, Mr. Justice Harlan, Mr. Foster, minister to Spain; Professor Baird, Senators Frye, Hale, Saulsbury, Voorhees and Jackson, Representatives Waite, Beach, Lore, Stone, Mil liken, Davis, Sceney, Jones and Cole and ex-Representative Paige. The secretary of war called about noon and had a long conference with tho President. At 1 o'clock tho doors of tho White House were thrown open to the public and the President was kept busy receiving general callers for over an hour. No rule has yet been adopted for tho reception of visitors, but under the present system Senators, Representatives and otllcials who call on public business will be received from 10 until 2 (except on Cabinet days?Tuesdays and Fridays), when the time will bo limited from 10 to 12 o'clock. Tho President will receive persons who call to pay respects at 1 o'clock, except on Cabinet days, when ho will not Ikj able to see them before 2 o'clock. No arrangements have yet been made for oven-; ing receptions. Private Secretary Lamontsaid to-day that tim twliipfion in the clerical force in tho White House was made merely iu the interests of economy, and, therefore, no appointments would be madn to till the vacau cies created. Ho said there might possibly be one or two more changes in the personnel of tho force, but that would be all. Since President Cleveland's inauguration tho entiro clerical force has been busily engaged from 8 o'clock in tho morning until midnight and it is expected that the rush of business will compel a continuance of these working horn's for some time to come. One regulation of tho house prohibits employees from srnokiug in the offices. Among those who called on tho President in the afternoon were Representatives Laffoon and Wemple, Colonel Ottinger, Representative Caldwell, with a delegation from Tennessee, a delegation from Virginia nnd a delegation from tho District of Columbia, which recommended the appointment of E. B. Hay as marshal of the district. In the postoflice and interior departments the rush of visitors continued to day without diminution, and notices have been posted in conspicuous places by tho postmaster-general and secretary of the interior to the effect that only Senators and Representatives will be received after noon. The regulation is beginning to have a perceptiblo effect, and botn of tlieso officials uow find lime to devote a small part of the day to transaction of necessary routine business. The secretary of the treasury had a largo number of callers to-day including three delegations?one from Kentucky, headed by Senator Deck and Speaker Carlisle, another from North Carolina, headed by Senator Vance, and tho third from Virginia, headed by Representative Barbour. They merely called to pay respects. Some of the members, however, said they would come to see tho secretary on business some other dny. Mr. Fairchild, who has been nominated as assistant secretary of tho treasury is cxpocted in Washington this evening. No change has yet been made in the treasury department except the appointment of Mr. Snydo to succeed Mr. Sperry as privato secretary to Secretly Bayard has appointed Mr. H. L. Bryan, as his private secretary. Mr. Bryan has been with Mr. Bayard in th? sanio capacity for a number of years, and has also served as clerk to the Senate committees of which Mr. Bayard has been chairman. Secretary "Whitney has appointed Mr. J. H. McCann, of New York, as his private secretary. Secretary Manning has appointed Eugene Higgins, of Maryland, to be the chief of the appointment division, treasury department. A DOUBLE TRAGEDY. A Xcwlr-Wcdded Virginia Couple Murdered?A Miitiins Suitor. News of a frightful tragedy has been ro' ceivod from "VViso county, Virginia. In the neighborhood of Bond's Mills, the Hentons, Mitchells, and Rcynoldses were the leading families, and Martha Reynolds was the belle of the whole region. She had many suitors, the most favored of whom wero Charles Henton and "Bud" Mitchell. Not certain which sho loved tho most, she ongaged herself to both. Henton became aware of the fact, and persuaded the girl to elope with him. They loft the neighborhood, were quietly married, and relumed to the home of tho bride's parents. That night tho wedding was celebrated with a dance. "Bud" Mitchell was present, and, under the influence of liquor, became noisy, and insulting. He berated the bride for bor fickleness, and finally slapped her. Her husband, hearing of it, ran across the room, and gave Mitchell a beating, ami was only prevented from killing him by his friends. Mitchell left, vowing vengeance. Tho following night Henton and his wife attended a prayer meetiug at a rural church, eoimr home by a short cut. Mitchell was not seen oy any one. As Henton and his wife failed to put iu an appearance, scarcli was made the next day, and their bodies, disfigured almost beyond recognition, were discovered in a lonelv spot in the path they were following, The woman's head was nearly severed from her body. Henton had been shot in the breast, and aftorword the assassin had pounded his head to a jelly with a stone. Mitchell was missing. THE PENSION OFFICE General Black, ol Illinois, Appointed CoinnilMiuoncr. General John C. Black, of Danville, III., has been appointed United Statos commissioner of pensions, to succeed Colonel Dudley. The following correspondence explains itself: Washington*, D. C., March C. To Oen. J. C. Black,Palmer House,Chicago. The President thinks your olileial connection with bis administration will contribute to its success, and desires ine to ascertain if you will assume the duties of commissioner of pensions. I cordially join in his request. L. Q. C. LAMAR. Chicago, III., March 8. To L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior: I thank President Cleveland nnd yourself. If my department will contribute to the success of the administration I will accept the position. Telegraph when I should arrive in Washington. J. C. BLACK. John Charles Block, the new commissioner of pensions, was born at Lexington, Mo., in lSliU. Ho graduate:! at Wabash college, Indiana, and shortly afterward enter.nl the army, serving in tiu Thirty-seventh Illinois, and coming out of the army in lSti5 as a brevet brigadier-general. General Black studied law in Chicago, and was adniited to practice aftor his military servico was ended. His home is at Danville. General Black was I ho Democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor of Blinois, in 1872, and when General Logan was sent to the Senate in 187!) Black was the liemocra-itcaucus nominee. He was a delegate at large to tho last Democratic National convention, before which an attempt was made to put him ill nomination for the vice-presidency, which ho prevented. NEWSY GLEAHIN33. There aro SoG charitable institutions in Boston. The United States imported 15,600,003 cocoauuts last year. Illinois has never had a governor who was born in tho State. A gentleman of Rockingham, N. C., has a pair of elks that ho drives to a buggy. The Arkansas legislature has changed the name of Dorsey county to Cleveland county. NOTWITHSTANDING mi mo tarn, unmeso lepers aro as rare as lien's teeth iu Sail Francisco. The manufacture of artificial ivory from bones and scraps of sheopskin is a now industry. General Gordon was never married. Ho was a handsomo man invfaco and figure, and of rare personal charm. The Mormon templo at Salt Lake will yet require more than four years for its completion, and will cost si!,u0u,uiw. AN exhibition of birds has just been held at the Crystal Palace, London. One cauary exhibited was valued at f5,0J0. There are thirty-one colored students in the Yale Freshman class. Seven aro studying law, eleven divinity, and thirteen inatlicino. The average wages paid to the 40,fl00 railway men of this country, not including the officers, clerks or bookkeepers, is $37.6u per month. (j'eorge Bancroft, than whom none is more in the habit of weighing his words, said Ihe ether day that ho thought Washington "the wisost man that ever lived." I 'St&L NEWS SUMMARY Fditiern ond middle State*. Bernard Freel, the proprietor, and James Martin, an employe of tho Dunkirk hotel at Bradford, Penn., were burned to death in a fire which destroyed the building aud three adjoining structures. The thirty .sleeping guests in the hotel had a hard time in escaping, a number being compelled to jump from tho windows and sustaining more or less serious injuries. Joseph Barrett, fifty-five yoara old, a convict in the Philadelphia prison, was greatly affected by tho preparations for Dr. Goersen's execution. After tho execution Barrett was found dead in his cell, and is supposed to have been frightened to death. Taul Bauer, a prominent Coney Island hotel-keeper, has been sentenced to three months' imprisonment nnd to pay a fine of $??0 for allowing pool-selling on horee race3 in his promises. T. S. Arthur, tho well known writer and publisher, died the other day in Philadelphia, aged seventy-six years. Valpinf. Hoeffser, a Brooklyn baker, shot Miss Susanna Leiser three times, inflicting probably mortal injuries, and then killed himself. Lnrequited lovo was tho cause of the double crime. What will probably bo a big striko has begun in Western Pennsylvania, 12,000 miners in tbo Pittsburg district leading off by quitting work. Four mills belonging to a powder manufactory situated near Newburg, N. Y., were completely destroyed by an explosion and two men instantly killed and a third probably fatally injiired. The explosions wero heard thirty miles away. At a meeting of the New York presbytery a committee reported in favor of retiring the Rev. Dr. Burchard, whoso "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" speech during the last days of the late political campaign suddenly made him conspicuous before tbo country. Mr. Burchard, who is seventy-four years old, is to bo retired with a pension of $oO:>. The wife of Deacon Sidney S. B-own, o? Gowanda, N. Y., has been acknowledged by the English courts as the heiress to the Lawrence-Towuley estat-3 in England, valued at $100,000,000, her share being $40,000,000. The fishing schooner Solomon Poole, of Gloucester, Mass., with fifteen men on board, has been given up as lost. A nitro-glycerine factory and magazine containing nearly 0,00!) pounds of the terrible explosive, located three miles from Bradford, Penn., were scattered into fragments by an explosion which shook the country for miles around. W. H. Herrington, one of the proprietors, and H. V. Piatt., an employe, were killed. This was the most terrific nitroglycerine oxplosion ever known in the oil country. Four negroes were drowned at Minock's Landing, La., by the swamping of their skiff. South and Weil. William B. Cokbin* and John H. Gaines, neighbors,of Gainesville, Ky., quarreled about the shooting of a dog, and killed each other. Henry Lutz, a Chicago bricklayer, shot and mortally wounded his wife, from whom he had separated, and then killed himself. The late David Dickson, of Hancock pmiiiK' fJn nnn nf tlin wnnlthiost mpn in that Stnte, and before the \var tho largest slaveholder, being owner of H(HJ slaves, nas left f-UtO.OOO, tho bulk of his fortune, to Amanda Eubanks, a colored woman. Mary C. Randall, of Maysville, Ga., went forty-eight days without food and then died. Governor Lowry, of Mississippi, lias appointed Oeneral E. C. Walthall to tho vacancy m the United States Senate occasioned by Senator Lamar entering Cleveland's cabinet. General Walthall is fifty-four years old, a lawyer, and the only soluier from civil life who nttained tho rank of major-general in the Confederate army. The ttriko among tho employees of the Missouri Pacific railroad has assumed largo proportions. At Sedalia, Mo., trains wero prevented from running, and the whole Missouri Pacific line was blockaded. In a riot which took place one striker was shot and several policemen wounded. Newberx, N. ('., has lost a hotel and twenty houses 1 stores by a firo. Tho total estimated loss is $100,(XK). For the first lime in many years the Republicans have elected a mayor of Charleston, W. Va. It will be remembered that some time ago "Cap" Murphy, a New Orleans politician of prominence, was waylaid in tho streets and shot dead by sotno of his enemies. Tho trial of these men has ended by tho court's passing sentenco of death upon Patrick Ford and John Murphy, and sentencing Judge Thomas J. Ford, William Caulfiold and William Buckley to the penitentiary for twenty years. Twelve men broke iail at Oxford, N. C.? and took to the woods. Egbert 51. Carvek, president of tho DoSota City bank, of DoSota, Mo., 1ms been arrested on a requisition from tho Stato of New York, the charge being that seven years ago, while cashier of the Kir.st National bank, of Oneonto, N. Y., the prisoner misappropriated ?-'0,000 of that institution's funds. It is also charged that two other banks in Now York State have been Carver's victims. The Dakota legislature has passed a hill giving women the right to vote. Washington* The first official act of President Cleveland was the nomination of his cabinet. His second official act was to affix his hignatura to the commission of ex-President Grant as a general on tho retired list of tho army, with a general's pay of $1:3,500 a year. General John C. Black, of Illinois, has been appointed by tho new administrates United States commissioner of pensions to succeed Colonel Dudley. Toe committee of arrangements estimate the total cost of the inauguration at $ tf.OOO. Among other items of expense wero $'25,C0J expended on tho ballroom, $"2,003 for music, $1,800 for lighting tho ballroom, $'5,SOU for decorations, $ 3,5'JO for fireworks and $l,0LHJ for calcium lights. The sundry civil appropriation bill, as it I finally passed Congress, gives $:>70,0.)0 to tho New Orleans exposition, and devours ?3,474,000 to public buildings. The total amount ] appropriated was $'27,700,000. * It is stated that tho retiring cabinet ofll- i cere, whose resignations were formally accepted by President Cleveland, have "completed their plans for the future. Mr. Prelinghuyscn will return to his home in Raritan, Is. J. Mr. McCutloch will spend th.s summer at his country home near Washington. Mr. Lincoln will resume his law practice in Chicago. Mr. Chandler will 1 remain in Washington until summer, I and then will remov.s to New Hampshire. Mr. Toller has simply changed from the interior department to the Senate, and will retain his residence in Washington. Mr. Hatton will return to his honn in Burlington, Iowa, and look after the interests of his newspaper. Mr. Brewster will return to his home in Philadelphia. Ox the Saturday afternoon following the inauguration Miss Cloveland held her first public reception in the White House. A large number of visitors called. Miss Cleveland was assisted in receiving by her two sisters and the wife cf the Rev. Mr. Cleveland. The formal transfer of the government departments to the new cabinet oliicers was effected by Judge Field, ot' tin supreme court, .administering the oaths of | office to the different secretaries. The commissions of sixty-eight presidential postmasters expire during March, and over >50 such commissions will expire before j the beginning of the next session of Congress. A TnRONO of applicants for oflice is be- ' sieging the postofllce department. Mr. Charles S. Fnirchild, of New York, j was nominated by tho President to bo assis- j tant secretary of tho treasury. Mil. Garland, tho new attorney-general was introduced to the United States supreme court by his predecessor, Mr. Brewster. Muny prominent lawyers were present. Solicitor-General Phillips has tendered his resignation to the President, to take | effect upon tho appointment and qualification J of his successor. President Cleveland held his first cabinet meeting on the Kith with all tho ministers present. The entire session, which lasted three hours, was given up to a discussion of tho condition of things in the various departmenls, and a consideration of some off tho names which have been mentioned in connection with tho leading oflice3 in tho do pari ment. The trial of General Hazen, chief signal oflicjr, for conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, begun on the 11th, General Hancock being president of the court-martial. Cne-hai.k of tho clerical force nt the White House has lieen dispensed with. The National Republican contains an in- j terview with Postmaster-General Vilas on I the subject of appointments in the various j departments, iu which that gentleman is re- i ported as saying: "The progratnmo of tho I whole cabinet is to select oflicials for their worth and value to the governmentand, further, that "the jwlicy of the ndministrntion is to bear out the civil service rules to the full extent in tho management of tho various departments. I shall enforce the rules here." The President's first social call was made upon \V. W. Corcoran, the aged Washington philanthropist, who was too indisposed to tako part in the inauguration ceremonies, although chairman of tho reception committee. President Cleveland will adhere to the cabinet days which have b'en observed by 6> many of his predecessors?Tuesdays and Fridays. Secretary Lamar has suspended the is ' suing of patents for land to the New Orleans Pacific railroad in the grant known as tho Backbone claim. The President nominated Edward D. Clark, of Mississippi, to be assistant secretary of the interior and Sidney D. Jackman, of Texas, to bo United States Marsha! for tho western district of Texas. Foreign. English society is agitated over the sui. clde of a prominent young Englishman, who | lately lost $250,000 in gambling at Monaco. A London paper says that Premier Glad- | stone recently bought 100 hats in one day, and i that his mind is giving way. An explosion occurre j in a colliery at Karwin. Austrian Silesia, while 147 men were at | worlc, and of these 127 were found (lead. General Wolsklky, in an address to his troops at Korti, said that he would lead them to Khartoum before tho year's end. The colliery at Sunderland, England, in which an explosion of fire damp recently occurred, imprisoning 150 men. thirty-six of whom were subsequently taken out dead, caught firo, and further search for bodies was stopped. General Wallace, the United Statea minister to Turkey, has (ient his resignation to Washington. A party of twenty-seven Mexican bandits, under the notorious " Tiger Chief," captured the town of Quila, Mexico, killed the telegraph operator and despoiled the inhabitants. Cholera has broken out in Batavia, the chief city of Java. During the recent battles with the Chinese in Tonquin the French troops had 104 soldiers and eight officers killed and 154 soldiers and ten officers wounded. The Chinese Iosj was much greater. The Germans hauled down the British flag and hoisted tho German at Victoria, an Ene lish mission town on the west coast of Africa. The British consul protested unavailingly, and then started for the nearest British station to report tho affair to his government. During a circus performance in Paris a i noted lion-tamer named Williams was at- i tacked by a huge lion in the cage and fearfully lacerated before he got away. The panic-strickoti spectators Hod in every direction. General Bonachea, a prominent Cuban insarrectionist, and four other Cuban leaders, havo Dcen executed at Santiago de Cuba. Matters are reported in a very critical position in Afghanistan. The Russians are determined upon a forward policy, and a collision between England and Russia is expected. The Prince and Princess of Wales will soon make a visit of about two weeks to Ireland. Edmund Yates, tho editor of London World, sentenced in January to four months' imprisonment because his paper contained a libel on Lord Lonsdalo.has been released. Recent dispatches from St. Petersburg indicate that the Slav or military party in Russia is now iu the ascendant with the czar. It is said to be intriguing iu every possible way to influence him against the English. Austria is following the lead of Germany in increasing tho tax on cereals and manufactured goods. American competition is the cause. The British government has invested $100,000 as a fuud for General Gordon's family. War has been formally declared in Central , America. Mns. Anna Decoste, aged 110, died the other day in Halifax. Nova Scotia, leaving eight children, ninety grandchildren and 14u great-grandchildren. After five days' fighting the French troops carried the Chinese positions around Kelung. Formota. The French loss was forty killed and '200 wounded. England's Indian allies have had their first battle with the False Prophet's troops. In a hot skirmish the Arabs became panic stricken and fled when they saw the swarthy Moham medulla from India facing, them in British stylo and tiring with such precision as to make every riiot toll. LATER NEWS Four men were fatally injured and thre? others badly hurt by th? explosion of ono of the boileis in the Tube works at Middletown, Penn. G roat pecuniary damage was done, and 500 men were thrown out of employment. Mack:.v and Gallagher,two of the men convicted at Chicago of stuffing ballot boxes and falsifying election returns, have been fined j $5,000 each and sent to prison for two years, j At St. Louis the employes of the Missouri j Pacific railroad havo had their old rate of wages restored. Three men were killed by the premature explosion of a blast on a railroad near Wi. chita Falls, Texas. A fire has destroyed St. Dominie's Roman Catholic church, one of the largest religious edifices in Washington, built at a cost of $100,000. John C. Goodridge, Jr., characterized i by the Scientific American as "an engineer of great exporience," asserts that the foundation of the Washington monument is weak and unreliable, and that the huge structure is liable at any moment to fall over. The President has made a change in the days of holding cabinet" meotings, so that hereafter they will ba held on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week, instead of on Tuesdays and Fridays as heretofore. Formal, announcement has baan made by I President Cleveland that appointments ia tho various departments will be made only on the recommendations of the cabinet officers j who are heads of the departments. All ap- I plications for appointment sent to the White | House will ba forwarded to the departments to which they refor. At the second cabinet] meeting the Oklahoma question, (Ihe illegal occupation of land in the Indian Territory by "boomers,' ) was the subject of discussion. A great council of the various Chinese viceroys is about to bo held in Pekin, to decide the question of peace or war with France. The Chinese lost 1,201) men in their unavailing defense of the positions around Keoag, Formosa The French captured an enormous amount of military stores. A late London dispatch say3. that the relations betweeu London and Russia are assuming a more favorable aspjct. Emp?ror William, of Germany, is reported to be using his personal influence with the czar of Russia to preservo peace. The announcement that war had bean declared in Central America, was followed by prompt action on the part of President Diaz, of Mexico, who gave President Barrios, of. Guatemala, to understand that Mexico would ! not nermit him to carry out his designs upon | the Central American republics. It is con sidered that President Diaz by bis action ha' prevented war. Senate Spcclal .ve?*Ion?Seventh Day. Mr. Van Wyck's resolution directing the i socretary of the interior and the attorney- j general to take steps to prevent the sale of lands granted to the State of Florida to aid j ill the construction of railroads in that State was discusssd without action....Mr. Man- j dcrson introduced a resolution calling j upon the secretary of statj for such informa- j t'.on as the department may have regarding ; the rumored attempt of Genoral Rufino Bar* rios, president of Guatemala, to seize upon the territory or destroy the integrity of the ; republics of Nicaragua, Honduras, San Sal- j vadorand Costa Rica, and to report what steps were being taken by tho government to j preserve the rights of the United States under existing or pending treaties ? Mr. j George presented the credentials of E. C. ! Walthall as United Senator from Mississippi, i RATES OF POSTAGE Important Change* Whirl* Will Take Effect on July I. TLe postofllc? department at Washington has received inquiries from all quarters as to ! tho now legislation in tha postoffice appro- ' priation bill passed by tho last Congress. Tho following are the important changes which will take effect 011 July 1: First?The weight of all single-rate letters ! is increased from one-half of ounce each or j fraction thereof to one ounce each or fraction thereof. The same increase of weight is al- j lowed for drop letters, whether mailed at 1 stations where there is a free delivery or i where carrier service is not established. Second?All newspapers sent from the | office of publication, including samplo copies, | or when sent from a news agency to actual j subscribers thereto, or to other news agents, ! shall be entitled to transmission at the rate of one cent per pound or fraction thereof, the postngo to be prepaid. This is a reduction of one-half from existing rates. Third?Any article in a newspaper or other publication may bo marked for observation except by written or printed words, without increase of postage. Fourth?A special stamp of the value of ten cents may he issued which when attached to a letter, in addition to the lawful postage thereon, shall entitle the letter t? immediate delivery at place containing 4,WO population or over, according to the Federal census, within the carrier limit of any irce delivery office or any othor other postoflice coming within the provisions of this law which may. in like manner, bo designated as a special j delivery office, that such specially stamped i letters shall bo delivered between 7 o'clock i a. m. and midnight; that a book shall j be provide 1 in which the person to whom the . letter is addressed shall acknowledge its re- j ceipt; that messengers for this special delivery ' are to be paid eighty per cent, of face value ' of all the stamps received and recorded in a month, previded that the aggregate compensation paid to any one person for such service shall not exceed thirty dollars per month, and provided further that the regulations for the delivery of those specially stamped letters j shall in no way interfere with the prompt delivery of letters aa provided by existing law or regulations. IN THE FRENCH QUARTER. HOW THE CKEOLXS X.IVE I3T THE CBBSOBHT CITY. their Outward CunIoim-A Visit to the Creole Shop* In >ew Orleanw ?Absinthe Saloon*. A correspondent of the New York Telegram, writing from New Orleans, says: The first object of interest the Northman or the wise visitor from the East asks to be shown is the "French quarter," and a great many have taken rooms in that antiquated portion of the city, under the hallucination that they will learn French purely by absorption. But there are no people more exclusive than the Creoles, even to tho lodginghouse keepers, who let rooms as a regular business and never invito you to become one of the family. They naturally suppose that you have your own circle of acquaintances and friends, and (hat you do not amount to much if you do not. The visitor only sees the outward cus toms of Creole life, just as he views the quaint dwellings and curiosity shops of the "native foreigners" who refuse to become Americanized, even to the extent of learning our language. Their lack of industry and enterprise has measurably retarded the growth of the city, but more especially their ''section." I am told by a city official that the entire real estate property io the French quarter has decreased in value from fifty to sixty per cent, within the past fifteen years. Their shops somewhat resemble country stores in the matter of the variety of articles kept. For instance, in a jewelry storo the keeper repairs jewelry, sells jewelry, and in addition takes jewelry on pawn and buys old gold and silver. On entering theso "jewelrv-store-pawnehons" the eye rests upon a large "placard, "Ladies1 and children's ears punched a specialty." Next door to one of these mixed shops is a waiter-girl saloon, kept by an ex-committing magistrate, -where undoubtedly head-punching is a specialty. A notion store admits a portion of the truth in a sign that articles can be bought "dear or cheap." The second-hand bookstores refused purchasing, a few weeks ago, at any price. They all tell the same story?over-supplied. Their shelves are actually bending beneath the weight of story volumes and even entire librarias, sold by people who have experienced more prosperous days. The works are mainly Fretifch, of course, and were sold at about what the postage or transportation cost the 'owner. Being great novel j1 ./i 1 reauers, voiumc uuer vuiuuic vi u^uuu can here be found, as well as the torn and tattered files of the Parisian story papers. The "young blood," though clinging to his ancestry and the traditions of his fathers, is Americanized to the extent that he cares little for the romance or history of a country he has never seen, yet which he calls his own. So, in a financial strait, ho sells the library of hiu sire to a second-hand dealer, and drops a tear to his memory as he pockets the proceeds and heads for the Royal or St. Charles street to tempt the fickle goddess at his favorite rougeet-noir, or perhaps to play baccarat in the backroom of an "absinthe mill." There are saloons were absinthe is made a specialty, and which arc mainly frequented by absinthe drinkers, who never patronize whisky saloons, as they drink nothing but absinthe, except at meals, when their favorite claret i& part of the menu. The sign "Absinthe Saloon" causes the visitor to stop and curiously peer in to see what kind of au establishment it is. But it is to the Frenchman what the "coffee saloon" was to the American years ago when whisky san VVTT *V*of rlananflVA 1UUU3 WUIU Aiiunu Mjr buuu v title. A few of these landmarks still exist, and coffee and cakes are sold at one end of the rickety counter by a decrepit, veteran-looking woman. On the narrow streets facing the old St. Louis cathedral are little [shops resembling an undertaker's, where coflins, wreaths, noly candles, crucifixes from an inch to three feet high, and all imaginery church reliquaries are sold. Holy candles are kept burning as long as the shop remains open, and a quietness prevails which gives the lay place of barter a solemn aspect, in addition to its half weird and mournful appearance and surroundings. The patron is awed into the subjection of removing his hat, bartering is conducted in an undertone and the proper change handed over in a solemn "and dignified manner. But the chink of the coin, the high prices paid and occassional misrepresentations no doubt remind the purchaser that, notwithstanding the solemnity of the places, they are of the " earth earthly," and are after the dollar of our daddies. Adjoining the ancient cathedral is the old state arsenal, where the "flower and pride" of the State were mustered into the Confederate service, many of whom never returned. On the i next block is a 14 blood and thunder"! variety theatre, where the chief qualifica-) tion of an actor is shooting, scalping im-1 aginary Indians and robbing stage banks, i As the admission is only ten cents, tho I place is nightly crowded. A few doors further and the visitor hears, "Eagle bird ; by chance!" followed by an indistinct j w-h-i-r. He knows what it is. But even the roulette man has raised his prices, or j rather increased his percentage. Poker rooms are more numerous even than faro i banks, and the percentage they take is j about on a par with the profit of stopping j an express train or the flight of a bank j cashier to Canada. In "seven up" each I player in the game is chargcd twenty-five j cents an hour. In poker one chip is taken j out of each pot whei the hand is called. | The checks are generally ten cents? j sometimes twenty-five cents. At this, rate it is easy to figure how, after a ; night's sitting, each player would retire ' loser and the "house" the only winner, j These "rooms are chiefly patronized by J clerks and young men about town, who i play small, or as long as possible, on n j little money, and are elated with small | winnings. Furo aud all tanking games j are a felony under the State law, but ' tacitly licensed by the city authorities. A prominent official on being nsked by j your correspondent how the city officials j could override a State law, he said; "Well, they don't exactly do that. We j give the proprietors of these houses to ' understand if they will pay $100 or $200 j a month, according to the 'standing of j their bank,' into the city treasury we I will let them run. That money goes to j the hospital fund. Might as well do j that ns to let the police blackmail the gamblers," concludcd the official, in a matter of fact way. A Great Russian Gambler. Frince Demidoff's gambling exploits ! have furnished the matter of more than j one paragraph to the Parisian chroni- j queurs during the last few days, lie once played a match at ecarte with Khalil Bey, another inveterate gamester, , tne stake being ?'2,000 each game; aud : it was agreed between the parties that ' they were to go on playing till one of them nad lost a ''million" to the other. ) They played all night in a private room at the Cafe Anglais, Khalil Buy winning i ?20,000 in the first hour or two; but his ' luck then turned, and at 0 o'clock next ! morning the prince had won ?0,000. I Fatigued with so long a struggle, the I players lay down on the sofas in the room for a siesta, and slept till midday, 1 when, after a light breakfast, they sat down to the card table again. They ! broke off for an hour in the evening for dinner, resumed their game, played : through the whole of the second night, andatlH next morning Khalil Bey,! who was favored by a second run of luck, ! won the match and Docketed the nrince's clicck for ?40.000.?St. Jamas s Gazette. ! Daubing1 the Flunkeys. The late John Heneage Jease, the | well known author, had an aversion, amounting toa positive 'phobia for thi British Jeames. He has been known to stand in St. James' street on a drawing room day, at the edge of the curb, and with the end of his stick, which he I dipped into the road puddle, daub the immaculate stocking of the passing flunkeys, who. as he well knew, dare not move ; from their stations, accompanying the act i with much opprobrious language.? Eixry Other Saturday. He that sympathizes in all the happi- > ness, and he that is warned by the folly of others has attained the soundest wis- ; dom. m NEWS AND NOTES FOK WOMEN. wag Lace dresses will again be worn. Bridal cakes are frequently kept for v ^ 50 or 100 years. Lace over satin is the favorite bride's dress in New York. Thore are 300 female farmers in ^ kota, most of them Scandinavians. The linings for cloaks are of plain ?; satin; quilting is no longer fashionable. Short velvet and brochc mantles in dolman style will be worn in the early . spring. Stripes of all widths will again bo worn, but not so fashionably as plaid* and checks. 1 'Tis pity, but 'tis true; the hair is worn I higher and higher on the head from week .-.M to week. The cashmere broches brought out this || spring are among the prettiest goods of Ip the season. " -'1^ For the incoming season China silks bid fair to take precedence of foulards 'Jyg and taffetas. White evening costumes are trimmed vwith silver or gilt braid, and with white, gray or brown down. Front draperies must be either very long or very sftort. l nose 01 meaiura length are not in style. Fine turbans, Langtry turbans with ;?3ja gay Scotch plaid satin trimmings and . '3 Polish sealskin caps arc worn. Basques for cloth dresses have divergcnt points trimmed with graduated disks ii, of braid, the largest at the top. Velvet collars, turned down or stand- '5 J3 ing, are- very fashionable. Jabots and gilets of lace are worn w'th them. . lis A scarlet velvet bonnet is lined with ' 3 bronze satin, edged with gold braid and trimmed with dark brown feathers. Short evening dresses are made veiy 43 full, and have two loose breadths puffed so. that they arc no longer than the skirt. . The queen of Holland walks daily on :j?m the public streets. She dresses in somber garments, and is accompanied by only . -:J3 one attendant, a lady. Black is the leading color for hosiery. ;\ M Cardinal and dark blue aro very fashionable. Striped and plaid Btockings are quite out of style. * The women in the Turkish harema rarely venture out of doors, and play ':";|3 with pet animals as the little girls do in . 'u-$ this country with their dolls. Mrs. Charles Griffin, of Lowell, made * 15,810 buttonholes last year, for which work sho received over $300, and did all her housework in addition. Rug knitting has superseded stocking bnUfin/* with "Rncrltah old 9 Indies of industrial habits. The rugs are . of no particular design, and are called . Oriental. Miss Rose Mcllvane was recently ->: awarded a $10 prize for bringing tha most gentlemen to the Princess Roller . Skating rink in Detroit, the number who " V - escorted her to the rink being thirty- . eight. Queen Victoria will not. starve thU ' ^ year. She owns Windsor Great park, ^ which contains 14,000 acres and brought 7$? in $25,000 last yeir, and also 500 houses in London, which bring in annual rentals. Tiny diamond poke bonnets, in which are faces cut of moonstone, with pinfc tinsel set beneath the translucent ston? to give the flesh tints, and diamond toads ana tortoises are some quaint fancies for brooches. -J One of the fashionable schools of New & York has introduced a new thing called slumbrous comeliness, which teaches the young ladies to assume graceful poses in bed, to keep the mouth shut, how not < to snore, etc. . One of the richest women in Europe is x the unfortunate Charlotte, ex-empress of Mexico, whose personal expenditures are vjg small, while the interest of her large fortune every year is of itself a fortune. Sho # % has brothers who will inherit ner cs- ' tates. KM A young Spanish artist has lately re ceived $1,000 from a California lady for .i a painted fan of black silk. The subject *>'3 is a representation of the language of tho fan in three ways: "I halo you," *'I like you," "I see you," and is exceedingly v^a clever, as well as dclicate in treatment. Few lady's cloths in fine, soft finish come in the new shades of mastic, which ; 3 are tinted green, rose or heliotrope, or simply putty colored; in reseda green, ' fawn, golden brown, tan, and pearl ?j shades, and when not simply tailor- f stitched the favorite trimmings are steel, "J silver and gilt braids put on sparingly in tasteful but effective geometric patterns and vermicelli or zigzag lines, or in rows or clustered rows. Fen Paralysis. Many stenographers and persons who make their living by constant use of tho pen or pencil, are afflicted with pen paralysis; and, although, as a geuoral ; ' |? thing this trouble can be cured by a few_ months' rest, some-of those writere~~,~~>?^ afflicted with it never rccover. Nobody ; knows the strain of incessant penmanship upon the musclcs and nerves of the hand and wrist better, or indeed as well, es those who pass through a daily experience of that nature. Telegraph operators arc likewise afflicted with paralysis of the sann muscles. A Timet reporter liaa a conversation recently with a first-clr-sj - : f, operator, and he asked this question: " I understand that first class telegraphers are the only ODes who get telegraphers' paralysis; why don't the sccond and third-rate operators get it?n "Because," replied the Morse man, "a . good operator is paid a good -salary, and is consequently kept constantly workinir at the board, while a second or third rate man has many resting spells, which allow him to stretch his arms, and thus . * "3 escape paralysis. Many men who liavo been working for the company for vear3, and were getting good wages, have been compelled to give up their lucrative cm- ^ ployment by telegraphers' paralysis. You notice it first in the muscle of your arm. which becomes numb after a hard day's work, and within six months after tho first shock the stoutest operator wiil suec imb. This paralysis, however, does not destroy the use of your arms and fingers entirely, but while you arc ablo to Tift and handle objects of any considerable size, you will not be able to button your coat or suspenders." "Don't that account for some of tho mistakes made in telegraphing?" "Yes, indeed. Many mistakes in tele- '% /.mnWnn i->Viar<rnrl nt- tlrwt rn flpfects ill ?I ? the machinery, have been traced to paralysis in tue operator, because it soon becomes evident that the operator has lost his sense of .touch. You see, tho slightest pressure on the key over whut is required will produce another letter than the one intended by the operator, and so it soon comes about that what tho unfortunate operator at lirst attributes to overwork finally comes to be an evident; loss of sensitiveness nf touch. Thn usually occurs from six to eight yearn after an operator has been working steadily as a iirst class man."?llartforl Times. New Signals on Cars. The bell cord has been removed from nearly all the trains of the Pennsylvania railroad, and a patent air-tube system oi signaling has been substituted. Each car has a rubber tube running under thi bottom,and these are connected between the cars in the same way as the Westinghouse air-brake tubes. They are kept charged with air at fifteen pounds pressuie from a reservoir situated under thj cab of the engine, and which is itself supplied from the air-brake reservoir. The rubber tuoe is also conuccicu wim . ? whistle valve in (he engineer's cab. The conductor by pulling a cord hi the c;ir opens a valve in the rubber tube and allows the air to escape. This relieves the pressure on the whistle valve and throws it open, causing the whistle to sound. So long as the cord is held the whistle will sound. ODe whistle means the train is broken. The same cil'ect would bo caused if the rubber tube was broken, and the engineer would thus be informed sit once of the accident. The new device is not popular among the tn.inmeu; but, although if is very costly, the oilicers of the road arc substituting it for the bell rope. The fault of the he'I rope is that it is apt to get too slack ortog??t broken. ?Neto York Su.-i.