The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, April 22, 1885, Image 1
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ABBEVILLE PRESS AND BANNER, i
BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. 0.. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1885. NO. 43. VOLUME XXIX * |||
The Trne Friend.
u The friead who holds a mirror to my faca,
And, hiding none, is not afraid to trace
My faults, my smallest blemishes, within;
Who friendly warns, reproves roe if I sin,
Although it seems not so, he is my friend.
ttat be who, ever flattering, gives me praise,
Who ne'er rebukes, nor censures, nor delays
To come with eagerness and grasp my hand,
And pardons me ere pardon I demand,
Beia my enemy, although he aeera my fnend."
DARK DAYS
BT
HUGH CONWAY,
Author of " Called Back."
CHArTEK X.?TI1E SWORD FALL,3.
! Once conquered?once convinced j
that the obstacles which her soliciude
for my welfare raised against my wish I
were not insuperable Philippa offered
qo further resistance; while as for
tne every day that might be counted
before I called her my wife seemed
I day spoiled if not entirely wasted.
With my mother's arguments to back
my own fervent persuasion, I had no
difficulty in winning Philippa's consent
to our marriage taking place as soon
Is the needful formalities could be
complied with. And yet although the
day was fixed it was at my instance
bhanged, and the ceremony postponed
for awhile.
My reason for deferring my crowning
happiness was this. Knowing all
that I knew, the question arose, under
what name was Philippa to be married ?
Under her own maiden name; under
the false name which for some time
Bir Mervyn Ferrand, for reasons best
kDown to himself, had made her assume;
or under that name which, supposing
Mrs. Wilson had spoken the
truth, she was legally entitled to bear ?
So anxious, so resolved was 1 that there
Ihould be no shadow of doubt as to
the validity of her second and happier
marriage, that after due consideration
[ determined to sacrifice my own inclinations,
and postpone our wedding
long enough to give me time to pay a
flying visit to England, where I could
do my best to obtain such evidence as
would show that Philippa was the
dead man's widow.
I made the excuse that I found many
matters of business connected with my
property must be attended to before I
could be married. I travelled to England?to
Liverpool?as fast as I
sould. I staid there for a week, and
luring that time made full researches
into the life and d ath of a woman
who, as Mrs. Wilson said, had died on
a certain date, and burried under the
name of Lucy Ferrand.
The information I acquired as to her
antecedents is of no consequence to my
itory. Whatever her faults may have
been, her history was a sad one; indeed
It seemed to me that the history of any
woman wno naa ueeu curseu uv ou
Mervyn Ferrand's Jove was a sad one.
However, the result of my investigation
was, in short, this: Ferrand married
the woman many years ago.
* fheyhad parted by mutual consent.
With his cynical carelessness, he had
troubled no more about her; and, Granger
still, she had not troubled him.
She died on the date given by my informant
The question of idenity
jould be easily settled; so that if ever
Philippa chose to claim the rights appertaing
to Sir Mervyn Ferrand's widow,
she would have no difficulty in
making that claim good. But I trusted
that years might pass before she
learned that the man was dead.
I made my presence In England
known to no one; in fact, I felt that in
returning to my native country I ran
a certain amount of risk. For all I
knew t j the contrary, tliere might be a
warrant out against me. If suspicion
as to the author of that night's work
had in any way been directed to Philippa,
I, the parter of her flight, could
not hope to escape free. However, I
comforted myself by thinking that if
danger menaced us I should have
heard something about it, as after our
first hurried start I had made no contempt
to conceal our whereabouts. It
wouiu imvu uvcu ustritraa. i>i) iiiwlm?i
had friends in England, with whom !
she exchanged letters. I had an agunt
and lawyers, with whom, if oily for
financial reasons, I was bound to correspond.
I had been obliged to write
to my stolid William, and instruct him
to get rid of the cottage as best he
could, and to look out for a fresh place
for himself. But ail the same I did
not care to let it be known that I was
now in England.
While engaged upon raking up evidence
on Philippa's behalf, 1 did not
neglect to make such inquiries as I
could respecting the event which had
happened that night near Ruling. 1
found so far as the general public knew
the crime was still veiled in mystery.
No one had been arrested; no one had
been accused; no reason for the deed
had been discovered, and as yet suspicion
pointed to no one. Indeed in spite
of the hundred pounds reward offered
by Government, it seems that Sir Mervyn
Ferrand's murder was relegated
to swell the list of undiscovered crimes.
By this I knew that Mrs. Wilson had
kept her promise of silence; and now
that months had gone by; now that
public attention had been turned from
the thrilling affair; now that Philippa
seemed as tar or further than ever
from giving any token which suggested
the awakeniffg of recollection of
what her frenzy had prompted her
hand to do unknowingly, I dared to
bope.thot any chance which remained
of a revelation of the truth was reduced
to a minimum. These results of
my investigations and inquiries gave
tne immense relief, and my heart was
. all but gay as, armed with the proofs
of the flmt Lady Ferrand's death, I
hurried back to Seville, Philippa, and
jtbe happiness which I vowed should he
mine.
We were married. Philippa and I
ttere married! Married; and a few
tnonths ago I sat lonely, miserable and
*ieart-broken deeming that the one I
loved was lost to roe forover! What
matters the things which have filled
those months, and made thein the
mo?t painful of my life? To-day wa
are man and wife, joined together till
death us do part!
I said no word as to the result of
mtr inrmtrlpn in T.iVMTtftfil. I had OO
difficulty in persuading Phillppa, who
in some things was as simple and
trusting & ? a child, that it was necessary,
or at least advisable, she should
be married under the name which her
first certificate of marriage affected to
bestow upon her. She signed her name
for the last, it may, for ought I know,
have also been the first time, as PliilIppa
Ferrand; and I noticed that she
shuddered as she formed the letters.
Although my bride was by birth
half a Spaniard, and although by now
m many ways conformed to the Spanish
modq of life, we were still English
enough to look upon going away some
where for a honeymoon as indespensible;
It would be but a short trip; and
as my mother in our absence would be
-? _i?? ?.ia oorvQnle
icn tti? conic ou'iir, <si o** ? ?***?
only, we did not care to go very far
away. It so happened that, although
so close to Cadiz, we had not yet paid
that town a visit, and thought the
present a capital opportunity for so
doing.
To Cadiz we wont, and staid several
days at the Hotel de Paris. We
liked the white-walled town, ri-ing and
ihining above the dark-blue sea, iiko.
as 1 have somewhere seen it discribed,
a white pearl In a crown of sapphires;
or, as the Gaditanos call it tazita de
plata, a silver cup. We liked the
rows of the tall terrace-topped houses.
We liked the movement and bustle on
the quays and in the port We liked
I
i the walks on tho broad granite ram- '
j parts, and the lovely views of the busy
bay and country beyond it; but all the
same we agreed that Cadiz bore no J
comparison to our beautiful Seville, ,
and the sooner we returned to that gay
city the better.
Now that I had gained my desirs,
was I happy? After all that had j
passed, could I have been happy dur- i
Ing these early days of our wedded life? j
As I look upon them, I sit and muse, |
trying In vain to answer the question ;
to" my own satisfaction. Philippa j
loved me she was my wife; come good, j
come evil, she was mine forever. In j
so much I was happy, thrice happy, i
Could I have lived but for the present, j
my bliss would have known no alloy.
But there was the pastl I could not j
altogether forget the path which had >
led to such happiness as now was j
mine. 1 could bo thanklul that I alone '
knew all the horrors anil clangers with i
which that path Wiis studded. I alone j
knew the secret ot that one night.
Although I could keep it forever, j
| would it De always a secret r
{ Yes, and there was the future, lie-;
I hind the happiness which was mine
| at present lurked a dread as to what
the future had in store for me?for us. !
It was a dread which day by day {
grew stronger the greater my happin- !
ess, the more dreadful ihe thought of j
its being wrecked. The feeling that I
my house of joy was built upon sand I
was always obtruding on my most |
blissful hours, and no', I knew, with- J
out good reasons.
I'hilippa's very avoidance of speaking j
of her past life lent some justification j
to my gloomy forbodings. Not once !
did Sir Mervyn Ferrand's name pas- i
between my wife and me. Not once j
did she ask me for any further particulars
concerning the events of that j
night upon which, in the height of her j
short-lived mania, she reached my cot- j
tage. True that upon becoming my 1
wife, and beginuing a new and happier
stage of life, it might be but natural
for her to wish to consign to oblivion,
the suffering wrought by a villain's
craft; yet I was so mixed
up in the catastrophe that silence on
the subject seamed strange. Her reticence
alarmed me. I fancied it must
be caused by some vague uneasiness
connected with that niirht?some
doubt which she dared not seek to set
at rest. It is, I know, not unusual for
women, after their recovery from that
mysterious disease which had for awhile
driven my poor girl distraught,
to be able to recall and accurately describe
the delusions which had afflicted
them during those wandering hours.
I myself had in one or two cases noticed
this peculiarity, and the authorities
which I had studied during Philippa's
illness mention it as an indisputable
fact My great dread was that j
ai SUIUU lliuiurui, yvm.ij'o nuvu uui ,
happiness was as perfect as it could i
be, some simple chance, some allusion
to certain events, even in the bare
mention of a name, might supply the
missing link, and the fearful truth
would l?e revealed to my wife.
Our return journey to Seville was
made by water. Although the Guadalquiver
Is not a very interesting river
we thought traveling by steamer
would be a pleasant changu from the
journeys in the hot, stuffy, slow trains,
full from end to end with the odor of |
garlic and tobacco; so early one morning
we left Caliz, and were soon steaming
up the sluggish, dull, turbid river,
with the great flat stretches of swampy
and on either hand.
There were not many passengers on
board the steamer. The boat itself
was a wretched affair, and before an
hour was over we wished we had chosen
the train aa a mode of transit.
Mile after mile of the level deserted
land through which the river flows
passed by, and presented no objects of
interest greater than herd; of cattle or
flights of aquatic birds. Save that
Philippa was by my side, It was the
dullest journey I ever made.
Of course there were English tourists
on board; no spot is complete without
them. Two of them, young men, and
apparantly gentlemen, had seated
thmncolvou nrar n<5- nnr! affcpr the nan- I
al admiring glances at my beautiful
Philippa, eommcnceda desultory talk
with each other.
From the unrestrained way in which
they spoke, and from the strength of
some of their unfavorable comments
on the scenery, or lack of scenery, it
was clear that they took us for natives,
before whom they could speak without
being understood. Philippa, of course,
looked a thorough Spaniard, and my
own face had become co tanned by the
sun that I might have been of any
nationality.
The young fellows chatted on, quite
oblivious to the fact that two of their
neighbors understood every word they
spoke. Tor some time I listened with
great amusement; then the lulling motion
of the steamer, the sluggish muddy
flow of thestream, the monotonous
banks past which we stole, exercised a
soporific effect upon me, and I began
to doze and dream.
Through my dreams 1 heard a name,
a hated name, spoke clearly and distinctly.
I started and opened my eyes.
Philippa's head was stretched forward
as if she was intent upon catching
some expected words spoken by another.
"Sir Mervvn Ferrand." I .heard on
of our fellow voyagers repeat. "Yea,
1 remember him; tall, good-looking
man. Where is he now? lie was a
bad lot."
"Surely you read or hear about it?"
said his companion in a tone of surprise.
I touched my wife's arm. "Come
away, Philippa," I said.
She made a motion of disent. Again
I urged her. She shook her head
pettishly.
"Ah! I forgot where you have been j
for month?," said the second tourist !
laughing; "out of the pale of civiliza- j
tion and newspapers. "Well Ferrand j
was murdered?shot deadl"
"Philippa, clearest, come, I implore
you," I whispered.
It was too latel The look on her
face told me that nothing would move
her?nothingl She would hear the
dreadful truth, told perhaps with distorted
details. 1 groaned inwardly
The moment I had so long dreaded had
come. If I dragged her away by force
?if I interupted the speakers?w..at
good could it do? Ste had heard
enough. She would force me to tell
her the rest. I could only pray that
she would not in any way associate
herself with the man's death.
"Murdered! Poor fellow! "Who
murdered him?" I heard the first
speaker say.
'.No one knows. lie was shot dead
on a country roadside, just as that
fearful snow-storm of last winter began.
It seems almost incredible, but
the snow drifted over him, and until
it melted the crime was not discovered.
In the interval the murderer
had, of course, got clean away."
" Poor chap!" I never heard any
good ol hiin; uui wnai an cnn;
I was not looking at the speakers. I
was noting every change in my wife's
face. I saw the color fly from her
check. I saw her lips and throat
working convulsively, as though she
was trying to articulate. I saw her
dark brows contract as in anguish. I
knew that she was clasping her
hands together, as was her way when
agitated. Suddenly she turned her
eyes to mine, and in her eyes was a
look of horror which told me that the
very worst had coinc to pass that tho
! dread which haunted me was realized!
Then with a low moan she sank, white
and senseless, on my shoulder.
Though in a whirl of despair, I believe
that I assumed a kind ot mechanical
calm. I seem to remember that
tho two English tourists offered their
assistance; that, as we bore Philippa to
an extemporized couch in the shadiest
and coolest place we could find. I
smiled, and attributed my wife's fainting-fit
to the heat of the sun, the
smell of engines ,or something of that
kind. Little did those young men
guess what their chance words had
wrought. Little could they think that
in speaking of Sir Mervyn Ferrand's
death they had, perhaps wrecked the
happiness of two lives. My heart was
full of grief and fear, but I believe I
bore myself bravely.
In spite of such restoratives as we
could administer, Philjppa's swoon lasted
for a considerable time. I
troubled little about that fact. In ,
deed to me it seemed well that syncope I
should have surpervened, and, for a !
time, banished the dreadful memorres ;
which had so suddenly invaded her ,
brain. Could sunh a thing have been
possible, I. would almo3t have wished
that her insenseibilitv would continue
until we reached Seville. But it was
not to be so. By and by she sighed
deeply, and her eyes opened, t'onciousr
e s and all its dreaded sequence
was hers once more.
I spoke to her but she made no re- j
ply. She turned her eyes from mine; j
she shunned my gaze; she even seemed i
to shrink from the touch of my hand. |
During the remainder of my dreary !
journey not one word passed her lips.
She lay with her face turned to the !
side of the vessel, heedless of curious j
glances from fellow-passengers, heed- i
les-s of my whispered words of love, j
heedless of all save her own thought i
? thoughts which led her, I trembled
to picture whither.
Through all those long sultry hours
while the wretched steamboat plowed
its way up the broad muddy stream I sat
beside her, trying to find some way
out of our sorrow. Alas! every road
was stopped by the impassible obstacle i
of Philippa's knowledge of what she !
had done. For she knew it, I was cer- i
tain. That look in her eyes had told ;
me so much. The duration of her in- j
sanity had been so short that I could ;
gather no comfort from the fact that
by some merciful arrangement maniacs
who recover their erring senses are
troubled little by the deeds they have
done in their moments of madness. I
felt that in my wife's case my only
nopa \vw w euuMvui uj iuguiumii, hj .
bring I er to my own way of thinking;
fhat is, to consider herself unaccountable
by any law, human or divine, for
her actions at the time. Hut I doubted
if her sensitive, impulsive nature
could ever bo induced to take this
view of her act. I doubted, had she not
been the woman 1 loved with a pasbionate
love; if I could have quite absolved
her from the crime, with the !
remembrance of her words, "Basil, did
you ever hate a man?" still with me.
Yet, strange anomaly, I would, in
fair fight of course, have shot that
man through the heart and have gloried
in the deed. But then Philippa
was a woman, and had she not been
the woman 1 loved I might have
shrunk from the one who, even in her
madness, was urged to take such fear
ful vengeance.
l smiled bitterly as 1 tnougnt now a
chance breath of wind had tumbled my
house of cards to the ground, I
6miled almost triumphantly as I told
myself that, come what might?misery?shame?death?I
had won and
held for a week the one desire of my
life. For nothing could deprive me of
that memory.
Home at hist! Still silent, or an
SWCrillg III}' (|UWUVUJ uj lituuv^i<iv?Wf
Philippa was brought by me to our
once happy home in Seville. My
mother with arch smiles of welcome
on her comely face, was at tho gate of
the patio ready to receive us. As she
?aw her a kind of shiver ran through
my poor love's frame. She let my
mother embrace and caress her without
any display of reciprocal affection.
"Philippa is ill." 1 said, in explanation.
?1 will take her to her room."
1 led her to the apartment which my
mother had in our abscence fitted up
for us. It was gay and beautiful with
flowers, and there were many other
careful little evidences of the hearty
welcome which was waiting us.
Philippa noticed nothing. I closed
the donr and turned toward my wife.
Sbe looked at mo with tnose wondrous
dark eyes, which seemed to
search my very soul. "Basil, she said
in a low, solemn voice, "tell me, tell
mo the truth. What had I done that
night 'e"
fTO BE CONTINUED 1
sTiRviTmm i
Great Destitution in Portions of j
West Virginia.
Many Families Suffering from the
Want of Food.
A newspaper correspondent who has j
traveled through the famishing dis- j
tricts of West Virginia, communicates as !
follows to his paper from Waugh's Mill, Clay j
county: There is need of haste to tho succor
of suffering West Virginia. The 1
sun is shining brightly here. Tho buds
are swelling and birds sing blithely
in tho woods, but many a former,
standing at the threshold of his log cabin
looks out over his waste land and boats his
breast because he cannot still tho crica of his
famishing children. The suffering in the j
back counties has leen terrible through the i
failure of the crops a-id the unprecedented
drought which robbed the people of thiir
corn, oats and vegetables. December closid
the rivers and tho roads and shut the door of
the world upon them, and how they have
come througn those bleak months is only now ;
to be discovered.
The afflicted district embraces many counties.
Last year there was a heavy emiera
tion from Ohio to these counties. The emi- !
grants spent all their money for land, which I
they relied upon to supply them with food. |
Their expectations wore not renlized, beonuoo
on the 1st of last Juno a drought set in which
lasted until November. Scarce a fifth of a |
crop was gathered, and when winter set in :
barns and granarios were empty. Cattle !
have died by hundreds of hunger, and it hos
been an exceptionally fortunate family that
has had any better food than cakes made of
cornmeal mixed with water and baked on
griddles that had not been greased for
months.
There has been great mortality among the j
children and aged people. Communities, rendered
desperate by hunger, have demanded
food from the authorities, with the declaration
that if it was not given to them thoy |
would take it by force. In answer to these i
| appeals ?he judges of Calhoun, Wirt, Upshur. |
I Clay and Braxton counties have purchased |
limited supplies of meal and wheat, which j
are being distributed at stated periods. In
the other counties no public mensure of relief
has been adopted, and the suffering is intense.
I Whole families are literally starving, and
! there is no prospect that they will be able to
1 relievo themselves for months, as in the
; mountainous counties the snow is still upon
; the ground. In places where it hns disappeared
the cattle that have not died aro too
weak to work. The authorities seem unable !
to devise a plan of general relief, ond the !
8tate officials are considering the idea of ajv
pealing to the country for help.
FRANCE AND CHINA.
A Trrn.lv of Pcare fletivroii ilt<$ Two
Countries Coue!iidoil.
The liondon 7'hues' I'okin correspondent j
rays that pen'-e between Franco and China '
has been concluded on the basis of the Fournier I
convention of May 11, 1SS1.
j\ iii>i:ituui iium iiong aohr confirms me
n'-ws that peace has boon concluded. Th-s dotnnnd
for iti-1 <mnity was waived by Fran-o.
Tho Foumior convention was signed May
11, 1SS4, at Tien Tsin, by Ciptnin Four- |
uier on the part of Fran-o and LiUung
Chang for China. By its provisions
China rocognizod a French
i protwtoratcoverTonquinand Annam, China
to hive an equal voice in certain customs
regulations. The indemnity now waive.l l>y
i'raiue was demanded on account of the
i Chines? attack upon the French at Lnngson,
! which p'unt was claimed by Prance aa hers
I unr tr tho Fournier convention.
An international musical congress Is to be
; held at Antwerp toward the close of the pres;
ent year. Papers on musical education will
l>e submitted, and discussions will take place
on subjects relating to the modes of spreading
j musical knowledge,
? .
! ROYALTY'S RECEPTION.
i Tho Prince and Princess of Wales
| Visit Ireland.
jteceived with Enthusiastic) Greetings
and Some Disturbance,
! A Dublin dispatch, describing the visit Of
i ;he Princo and Princess of Wales and their
[ >ldest son, Princo Albort Victor, to Ireland,
:ays: Tlie royal yacht Osborne was escorted
?cross the channel by tho Enchantress, a padile-wheel
yacht belonging to the navy. Largo
lumbers of people ha>t aisembled upon tho
locks to greet the royal visitors. Kings;owii
was crowded with people and the
?wn was profusely decorated with flags
ind bunting. Numbers of excursion steamers,
decked with gay colored bunting,
hronged the bay,and six vossels of tho Chanael
squadron, arrayed with the flags of all
nations and brilliant with varicolored
Streamers, were in waiting. Tho Osborno
was sighted when ten miles out, and as sho
Jrew nearer was greeted with salvos of artillery
from tho men-of-war. When she
touched tho pier and the royal party disembarked
tho throng raised a loud and enthusiastic
cheer.
Iu spite of the fears of a stormy day the
sun was sliming unuiauuy wuea iue rujoi
party stepped upon Irish soil. Earl Spencer,
lord lieutenant of Ireland, recoivod tho
prince and his party, and the town commission
presented an address of welcome. Thu
princess at the same time was made the recipient
of numerous bouquets. The crowd,
which numbered thousands, kept up a continuous
cheering during the reception, and
cheered loud ana long as the guests'proceedod
to the railway station to coma to this city.
A grandstand toad been erected at tho railway
station here and when the train bearing
the royal party arrived an immonse crowd
had assembled. When the prince and princess
alighted they were greeted with tremendous
cheering. 1 hey were escorted to the grand
stand, whero a large representative gathering
had assembled. When the enthusiasm of the
crowd tad been quieted the address
of welcome by the Dublin chamber
of commerce was road. It dwelt
specially upon the beneficent influence which
the visit 01 the prince and princess would exercise
upon tho welfare of Ireland, and alluded
to the labors of the prince in tho cause
of housing the poor of London, a subject, the
address said, of great interest to many people
in tho Irish capital. When the procession
was about to start from tho station several
bands joined forces in playing "God
Bless the Prince of Wales."
For a time considerable excitement was occasioned
by some trouble to the royal carriage
which the populace, not understanding,
exaggerated ana made ominous. As the
horses drawing the carriage emerged from
the d >pot they wore frightened by tno sight
of the crowd and the glare of uniforms. The
animals shied and pranced around for a few
??Tvktnh fimA {WHO
ii iu ii it; u 13, uuitii^ ??u<v ? ?
feared they would succeed in breaking
away and overturn the vehicle.
But the driver soon had the animals quiet
and under perfect control. This episode delayed
the procession but a short time, and it
moved off in perfect order. Tae routo was
through Westland Row, Lincoln place, Nassau
street and Grafton street to Colle'e
Green, where the first stop was made. Tne
green was literally packed with a mass of
cars, carriages and people afoot. The advent
of the royal party was hailed with tremendous
chearin^. Mmy persons were crowded
in past the escort of Lancers, The Princo o(
Wales took all the3e irregularities good naturedly,
and reassured the displaced spectators
by shaking hands cordially with all of
them within his reach. Earl Spencer, the
Irish viceroy, was loudly cheered. Lord
Mayor John O'Connor, who is a strong
Nationalist, but who drovo in official state
with the royal escort, was loudly hissed by
the Nationalists. Not a sign of welcome is
visible on the City Hall, ana this fact stands
out so conspicuously as to force comments.
The princoss of Wales captured the populace
at sight. The refinod fceauty of her face
and the elegance of her figure were most artistically
set off in a costume composed of a
close-fitting dark green velvet bodice, with a
silk skirt to matcn, and a princesse bonnet
trimmed with beads and dark-green feathers.
This tribute to the Irish colors, so deftly and
beautifuily made, was instantly recognised
by the people, and her royal highness wa?
everywhere greeted with applause.
After luncheon at Dublin Castle tho prince
and party proceeded to tbe Royal Dublin so
ciety's show at Ball's Bridge. The royal escort
on this trip was composed of the Hussars,
preceded by Earl Spencer escorted
by the Lancers. At Ball's Bridge the reception
was as enthusiastic as that or
College Green, and tho cheering along
the route was hearty aud unanimous. Tht
exhibition was varied, ono of tho feature;
being a series or extraordinary jumping
feats. Th? grand stand, which had been al
tered for the occasion, was crowded witt
prominent persons.
The city was brilliantly illuminated to
night. Tho police had Borne difficulty, and at
one time in preventing a collision when some
Nationalists began shouting, "God save Iro
land!''andattempted torais3 choers for Par
nolL An attempt was mado to bum tin
Union Jack which had been stolon from th<
Mansion house by students, but the attacking
party was driven ofT by a combined force o.
students and loyalists, headed by one bun
dred policemen with drawn revolvers. Th<
crowd took revenge by breaking the windowj
of the house from which the flag was flying
PRESIDENT BARRIOS,
The Diciator of Central Am?rlca
Reported Killed In Batilc.
General Barrios, the presidont of Guatemala
nnd would-be dictator of the five Cer.
tral American republics, hns been killed, according
to a dispatch, which snys that his
gold-hiltedswor.l was found on the buttle field
of Chualchuapa. Two battles were fought bt*
tween the allied troops of Guatemala ana Honduras
under Barrios on one side, and the forces
of San Salvador 011 the other. In both battips
tliu San Salvadoranians were successful,
defeating the enemy with great slaughter.
A Washington dispatch says that Senor
Peralta. minister of Costa Rica, received a
cablegram from President Zaldivar, of Salvador,
of which the following is a translation:
"Barrios killed at the battle of Cbalchuapa.
Complete victory. Long live free Central
America."
Another dispatch from Central America
says: "Hostilities between Guatemala and
the allied republics have been suspended. An
armistice of one month's duration is announced.
The legislative assembly of Guatemala
has annulled the decree promulgated by
President Barrios on February 23, in whicn
a union of tho Central American republics
was proclaimed and Barrios was announced
as dictator and supreme military chieftain
of all Central America."
Barrios was a man of considerable ability
and energy, and the richest man in Central
America. For tho past twelve years he exercised
almost despotic sway in Guatemala,
and made many ir.?mies. Ho owned property
in Fifth avenue, New York, and a Ron
is at present a cadet in the Umtcu w,ot?s
military academy at Wt st Point.
A New Orleans dispatch says: "Conflicting
reports reach here about General Barrios.
Mexican and San Salvador sources
continue to announce him as kiiled in battle.
Information from Guatemala and Honduras
is to the effect that he is nlivo and nt tho city
rtf Guatemala. which ho has not quitted. The
Guatemala senate, in withdrawing the tlocree
for a forcible union of the states, is said
to have acted under his direction The reports
of his death aro not believed nt New
Orleans by those best posted in Central
American affairs."
NEWSY GLEANING*
In Melbourne, Australia, they shear Bheep
by steam.
There are $30 counterfeit gold pieces in
circulation.
Great Britaix contains a million more
women than men.
* In Montevideo and Buenos Ayres all tht
horsa cars coine from the United States.
A sum equal to $10,O.K),000 has already been
set aside for the I'aris exposition of
It is estimated that the agricultural lands
of California are capable of supporting 4,300,000
people.
St.Joiins, Newfoundland,now possesses th?
largest dry dock in the world. It is (500 foot
long at tho top.
Two hundred and twnty-three slavrs wer?
freed in February in Brazil, loaving a total
of 1,003,00J still in slavery.
Large quantities of barbed wire for fencing
purposes are now being shippod from thij
country to Brazil and to Central America.
There is a Catholic convent for colored
women in Baltimore, containing thirty-two
professed nuns, two novic?s and ono postulant.
Okange-raisino in California has not boon
successful this year, prices having fall mi as
low as thirty-five cents a lx>x in some instances.
It is estimated that $10,000.0.)0 worth ol
grass is annually consumed by the prairie
dogi of Northorn Texas. The creatures are
[ small, but active and numerous.
For the American exposition of lS8f>, to b?
hold in London, man)' exhibitors at Now Or[
leans propose to transfer their exhibits across
the ocean without altering them.
A cow attached to the gubernatorial mansion
at Jefferson City, AIissouri; having
bion tnilkod forflvo years by convicts, now
rcluses to allow anytio ly in citizens' dress to
approach her.
The governor of the island of fcjamos,
Greece, recentty discovered a tunnel measuring
about 5,000 foet long, which was used
at least nino centuries before the Christian
era. It is completely preserved, and contains
water tubes of about ten inches in diameter,
each one provided with a lateral aperture
for cleansing purposes.
| NEWS SUMMARY
Eastern find middle state*.
Darics W. Lawrence, a well-known
New York broker, became crazy through
drink and committed suicido by cutting his
throat with a razor.
The New Jersey legislature haa adjourned
for the session.
The annual report of the New York city
superintendent of education shows 301
scnoob, 3,478 teachers and a total average attendance
of 149,414 pupils.
While a bulletin showing tho condition of
I General Grant's health was oeing prepared on
the afternoon of Easter Sunday, ne directed
the doctor to stato that ho was very much
touched and very grateful for tho prayerful
sympathy and interest mani estcd for him by
his friends and those who heretofore have not
been regarded as such. The geieral added:
"I desire the good will of
all, whether heretofore friends or not"
General Grant also signed an application to
the Presidentof the United States asking him
to appoint tho eldest son of Colonel Fred. D.
Grant to a cadetship at West Point. The
boy is now only threo years old.
In conversation with bis doctors on the 6th
inst. General Grant spoko of a strong impression
which he then felt that he would recover,
although he said ho knew tho clianccs
wero ninety-nine in a hundred against him.
The Connecticut lower houso has almost
unanimously passed a bill prescribing severe
punishments for manufacturing dynamite,
contributing money to destroy persons or
property with tho explosive, etc.
Mn? f?RVEHAi- Tmt TiiuMn has taken oft
her widow's weeds and again entered the
bonds of matrimony. Her second husband is
tho diminutive Count I'rimo Magri, of
Italy. Tho ceremony occurred in a New
York church, and a large audience witnessed
tho marriage of the midgets.
A farewell dinner was given in New
York by prominent citizens of that and other
citioi to Henry Irvine, the English actor.
United States Senator Kvarts, Henry "Ward
Beocher, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., of
Massachusetts; Ex-Mayor Morton McMichael,
of Philadelphia, and others made addresses.
Mr. Irving has returned to England.
Ryerson & Brown, owners of extensive
livery stables in New York, have failed for
*500,000.
The Democrats carried tho Hartford
(Conn.) municipal election by about 1,800
majority.
Postmaster Cooke, of Unionville. Conn.,
was arrested on the charge of omoezzlin^
W,847 of money order funds.
On the 8th, the twentieth anniversary of
Lee's surrender at Appomattox, General
Grant was feeling strong and in good spirits.
Among his visitors was General Rosser, a
prominent ex-Confederate.
Bear-Admiral John Marston, on the retired
list of tho United States navy, died in
Philadelphia the other day, aged ninety-one
years. He entered the navy in 1813.
jttlchard UUAKT ?* tllTfe, lUO nui tllunu
author, died a few days ago at his home in
New York, aged sixty-four years. His best
known work is "Words and Their Uses."
Soiuh and Went.
At a dance partv in Palestine, Texas. Albert
Nichols and Thomas Lloyd, young farmers,
insulted Zach. Foster and then drew revolvers
upon him. Foster proved too autek
with his weapon and fired first, killing Nichols
and fatally wounding Lloya.
Edward V. Nash, inaa insane fit, killed
his mother and sister and laid their bodies
side by side on the porch of their farmhouse
near Monmouth, III
The corner stone of the first negro Catholic
church in Virginia was laid the other day
at Richmond.
Carter Harriron has been re-clectod
mayor of Chicago ovpr tho united Republican
and Citizens' ca-idklate. This will be
his fourth term. A bitter fight was mado
against bis re-election.
TnE fourth marriage of Mrs. Sallie Ward
Lawrence Hunt Armstrong, for forty yoars
known as the most btautiful woman in tho
South, has just token place at Louisville, Ky.
The bridegroom, a Mr. Downs, is seventy,
and the bride fifty-eight
Municipal elections in Ohio have resulte.l
in Republican su?cosi at Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Columbus, Springflold and other cities
nf Wat nntn in VlCtorim at I
Dayton, Chilllcothe, TifHn, C'restJins an I
other minor towns, and in tbo soluction of a
mixed ticket at Toledo.
A strike of the 1,000 men employed at McCormick's
reaper works, Chicago? the largest
factory of its kind in the world?occurred a
few days since because of an at'empt t j replace
the striking employee of ono department
with men ai low.?r wages.
The Michigan State election has resulted
in a Democratic majority of over 20,000. A
justice of the supreme court and regents of
the university comprised the State ticket.
The Detroit municipal eloction resulted in
Democratic success.
Sr. Jxjuis has electod a Democratic successor
to the present Republican mayor.
Great destitution, owing to prolonged
drought, prevails among the farmers of
several West Virginia counties. Whole
families are reportod to be literally starving
for want of food.
TnE throe-months-old twin boys of William
Blair, living near Macon, Ga., were found
dead in bed, having been smothered by their j
parents during tho night.
l. K. Eldiudge, twenty years old, inmate '
of tho insane asylum at Nashville, Tenn., sud- j
Hnnlv fttt.n.rlfnd and killeJ an attendant and I
another patient.
TiiEbilter municipal contest in Chicago resulted
in the re-election of Mayor Carter
Harrison for his fourth term by a majority
ot 803 over the combined Republican and
Citizens' candidate. His election iH to be
contested. The next common council will
etand: Republicans, 10; Democrats, 17.
Waaliinfftona
Following wore the nominations mado by
the President on the 1st: A. Loo Knott, of
Maryland, to bo sccond assistant [wsimastorgeneral;
to be postmasters?Henry L. Kenyon.
nt North field, Yt.; John A. bhowalten,
at Latrobe. Fenn.; John R. Raynsford, at
Montrose. Penn.: Macon Bonner, at Washington,
N. C.; Adelbert Shepherd, at Waverly,
la.; Bayard S. Gray, at Portland, Ind.;
Thomas B. French, at Alexandria, La.;
Charles E. Cook, at McPherson, Kansas; O.
Marion Moore, at Pleasanton, Kansas.
President Cleveland's first appointments
made after the adjournment of the
Senate were : General John S. McCalraont,
of Pennsylvania, to bo commissioner of customs,
and John R. Garrison, of Virginia, to
be deputy first controller of the treasury.
Mr. Norman J. Colman, the St. Louis
agricultural editor, has assumed the office of
commissioner of agriculture.
President Cleveland has promised the
Utah commission to aid them in abolishing
polygamy.
Some one with a troubled conscience has
sent $i>15 to the government from New York.
This is the largest addition to the "conscience
fund" received in a long time.
The United States government had on denoait
in thu Rusnended Exoha:izo National
f>ank, at Norfolk, Va., internal revonue collection
amounting to over *400,000.
The secretary of the treasury has decided
that Joe James, a Chinaman livin: in the
United States, who has become a Christian,
cannot bring his wifo from China to this
country.
Miss Sweet, United States pension agent '
at Chicago, having beon requested by the
commissioner of pensions to resign, dcclir.od
to do bo, and appealed to the President
Advices received by the minister to the
United States from Costa Rica confirm the
report of the death of Barrios, president of
Guatemala. A friend of Gen ral Barrios residing
in Washington lias also received a dispatch
from a member of the Barrios family
requesting that information of the would-be
dictator's death bo sent to his son, a student
at the West Point Military academy.
K. f. Howell, of Georgia, has declined
the consulship at Manchester, to which he
was appointed by the President.
The postmaster at Rome, N. Y., has been
suspended by order of the President, and
James B. Corcoran, u|>on whose nomination j
tho Senate faded to act, lias been appointed
in his place. President Clevoland charges
the former postmaster with irregularities in
his accounts.
Mr. Pai.mer, the deposed pistmxstor of
Rome, N. Y., has writton to President Clove|
land, saying that ho had nevor boon ab!o to
reply to the charges oil which ho was re- j
moved, and protesting against his removal. I
A dispatch received by tho Colombian
minister stated that Panama was in the hands
of the revolutionists, and that government
| troops were on their way to tho city.
The President has annotated Andrew .Tank,
son Gross, of Kentucky, United States marshal
for thatiStateL
A committee of the Republican Senators
has, after a consultation with tho Senate's
sergeant at-arms, decided to recommend that
his Iorce bo reduced twenty-five, which will
effect a saving of $30,000 a year.
During the first month of PostmasterGeneral
Vilas' term in office ho commissioned
450 jjostmasters and prepared moro than 100
presidential commissions for approval.
John R. Mc Dowell, postmaster at Rossville,
Tenn., has been suspended for violation
of the postal laws.
Foreign*
The annual ccremony of washing (hp foot
of tho poor took place at Vienna. Twelv?
Iwggars had thoir feot touched with a sponge
I held by Kmp toi* Francis Joseph. Tho feet
j were subsequently wipe: I by archdukes of
the empire.
Late news from the scat of war in tho Souj
dan is to the olFoct that General Graham's
j forco occupied Tamai with but slight opposii
tion Irotn Osr.ian Pigna's Arabs, who
; evacuated tho placo nftor destroying every
I thing of value and retreated toward Tama!
nieb. Tho British burned tho villago, losing
j one man kilkvl and twelve wounded during
I the slight fighting which occurred.
i The force under General Barrios, presidont
of (iautemida, has boen badly defeated in a
second battle by the Ban Salvador troops, at
Chalchuapa, Central America,
Kiel's rebel forco in Manitoba is said to
I number 1,000 men, including 700 Indiana and
| six cannon. ..
-- - a* v -
General Boulanoer, French commander
| in Tunis, North Africa, has been ordered to
| Tonquin to assume the chief command.
| Wholesale arrests of anarchists have oc[
curred in various cities of Switzerland. The
arrested persons are mostly Germans and
Austrians.
When news arrived at Paris that the
French force in its retreat from Langson.had
been obliged to abandon its cannon ana the
money chest, which fell into the hand* of tho
Chinesa troops,ft mob started for the house of
M. Ferry, ex-premier, intending to attack
it; but the police arrived in time to prevent
trouble.
Deserterb from the Arab army at Khartoum
report that there has heen heavy fighting
between the False Prophet and a portion
of bis army which wishes to have the
campaign concluded. The Madhi was
soverely handled and had to retreat. Offer*
have nlso been ma le to General Graham at
Suakiin to deliver up Osman Digna, the chief
officer of the False Prophet, if a sullleient reward
be paid.
The new French cabinet formed by M.
Brinson to succeod the late Ferry ministry
was officially announced as follows: ;u. urisson,
president of the council and minister of
public instruction; M. do Freycinet, minister
of foreign affairs; M. Allaiu-Targe, minister
of the Interior; M. Clainageran, minister of
finance; M., Goblet, minister of justice; General
Campenon, minister of war; M. SadiCarnot,
ininiBter of public works; M. Pierre
Legrando, minister of agriculture: M. HerveMnngon,
minister of commerce; M. Sarrion,
minister of posts ond telegraphs; Admiral
(Inliber, minister of marine and the colonies.
Premier Brisson was the president of the
French chamber of deputios when summoned
to form a new ministry.
Public confidence has again been restored
at Panama by the arrival of the American
man-of-war Shenandoah and a British ship.
Several viciroys in China havo ordered
the destruction of all Catholic convents and
that all converts bo killed. Reports have
reached Shanghai that soveral Roman Catholic
settlements have already been destroyed |
and several hundred converts killed.
Later reports stated that Riel's rebellion
was still spreading among the Indians in
Manitoba, and that three columns of Canadian
tru. ..a would try to surround and capture
the half-breel leader. At Toronto and
other places in Canada there was great fear
of a Fenian invasion from the United States,
and all the public stores were guarded day
and night.
A French frigate will sail from France
for New York at the end of April with
Bartholdi'a Statue of Liberty Enlightening
the "World.
Forty thousand coal miners went on strike
in Yorkshire, England, agahist a 10 per cent,
reduction in wages.
Indians from the United Stato3 are re"
ported to bo joining Riel's rebels in Manitoba.
Cable advices on the 9th stated that the
probabilities of a war between England and
Russia were greater than ever.
LATER NEWS
A short cable dispatch was received
by the Grant family in New York from
Queen Victoria on the 8th inquiring after the
goneral'a health." Mrs. Grant sent a reply
that the general was no bettor.
The magnificent Cathedral of the Incarnation,
erected at Garden City, Long Island,
by Mrs. A. T. Stewart, as a memorial of her
late husband, was informally opened with
appropriate ceremonies. Bishop Littlejohn
preached the oponing sermon before
Mr*. Stewart and a notable congregation.
Tho institutions built on the estate are the
cathedral, St. Paul's school for boys, and St.
Mary's school for girls, beside the bishop's
residence near the cathedral, and occupied in
summer by Bishop Littlejohn and his family.
Captain Norton*, commanding the Shenandoah,
informed tho navy department that
ho had landed about 150 men in Panama for
the protection of American interests. Secre.
tary Whitney replied: "Your duty is confined
to protecting railway and steamship
company's property and lives and property of
American citizens, and, so far as your forco
permits, to keep the transit opea In conflicts
between local forces you must not participate,
nor show favor or disfavor to
either."
While a heavy storm was passing over the
national capital, the other afternoon, the
Washingtsn monument was struck three
times by lightning without causing the least
damage.
The President has appointed d9i0s Birge 1
postmaster at Coopsrstown, N. Y.
The president of Salvador has confirmed
the news of the death of General BarrIo3 in
a dispatch which says that the late president
of Guatemala and oue son were killed in th
battle at Chalchuapa.
Dispatches from St. Petersburg statel
that the war party was getting the upper
hand and that the czar had agreed to appoint
General Gurko and General Kuropotkine to
the leading commands in the event of war.
Each will lead an army corps of 50,000 men.
News has just been received that on the
2M,h of last February twelve vessels, comprising
five French and six native ships and
the American bark Sarah Hobart, foundered
in the harbor of Tanatave, Madagascar, during
a terrible hurricane.
The levee given at Dublin Castle by the
Prince and Princess of Wales was larger than
any held in Ireland since the visit of Queen
Victoria in 1849.'
Prince Rudolph, the crown prince of i
Austria, has been scarod nearly out of his
royal boots by a lunatic who smashed in tli?
window of the prince's carriage at Brusselt
without doing any further injury.
SOLDIEKS IN OFFICE,
A Grand Army Committee Request
1 heir Hetentlon.
A committeo of throe representing the
Grand Army of tho Ropublic waited on (
President Cleveland and presented the fol
lowing communication:
Headquarters jjept of rmuaai;, i
Giiand Army of Republic, v
"Washington, D. C., April 8, 1883. )
The President and Cabinet:
As you arc aware the Grand Army of the
Republic is a great civic iion-parti6an organization
of ex-union soldiers and sailors, whose
chief public object is the promotion of good
American citizenship?the encouragement of
national patriotism and the practice of fraternity
and charity. To oncourage honor
and purity in public affairs is
one of the high obligations of all its members.
In the pructico of charity one of the principal
practical methods of caring for our comrades
?perhaps the best?is by organized efforts to
se.ure employment for those who need it
and are competent and worthy. All reasonable
precautions are taken in this important
mattor to avoid improper indorsements and
recommendations, and no distinction of
sect or party is made. In this city quito
a largo number of our comrades aro
ia lliu employment of the government.
We are naturally solicitous for I
their retention in all cases where they per- j
form thoir duties satisfactorily, except in '
high political offices. VVe therefore beg leave i
respectfully to present this statement to your j
excollency and to invoke in bohalf of our
worthy comrades in the government service
that consideration and protection in their
places, where they ore enabled to earn a living
for themselves and families, which
the spirit of the acts of Congress relating to
ex-soldiers, their widows and orphans and the
grateful sentiments or me peopie generaii)- |
bespeak for tliem. We have performed this j
pleasant, duty confidently in their behalf
Heretofore upon each change of national ad- i
ministration, always meeting with a kind j
and just responso, and wc renew it now with
the &1 mo pleasure and confidence nnd as in |
duty lK)und.
The President gave the committee a patient
hearing and expressed himself very strongly
in favor of the object of their visit. The
j committee, a dispatch says, were most favor[
ably impressed with the reception accorded
them by tho President and the strong assur- i
ances ho gavo them.
THE NATIONAL GAME,
This clubs of no fewor than seven profos* j
sional associations will take the fioldthis sum- I
| mer.
The first championship game on the new j
! Chicago grounds will be played June 6, with ;
I St Louis.
i An attempt is being made to organize an J
j association composed of clubs in the Missis- |
i sippi valley.
The Harvard Daily Crimson says: It in j
~4"~ 4l*" * fftHBOC of f?l Jill IS?
MUint llidki VllU \>l UUXJ f,. v.??w W- ...... - ,
| in Southern college* is the indifference and 1
' even opposition ot the faculties to athletic i
j sports.
The AVestern College association has ;
j adopted a schedule of championship contests .
i commencing May 2 and ending Juno 13. \
j Each of the four college loams will play two;
i games with every other toam.
The American Amateur Baseball a??ooia- j
i tion held it semi-annual meeting recently in
! New York. The following officers were elected:
I President, Joe J. C. Heider,of New Yorkjseo
| retary, M. McGowan. of Massachusetts, and
treasurer, 1). M. Meenoy, of Pittsburg,
I Penn.
Baseball is spreading in the South. North j
Carolina ball-tossers organized a State asso-!
elation last February,and at a second meeting ,
J hold recently, the organization was completed, i
! Wilmington, lialeigh, Goldsboro', Durham,
j Oxford, Winston and Henderson are repre- I
| aented in tho associatioa
The Now York State loague has assumed
I doflnite form, and tho six cities which com- I
j pose it?Svracuse, Oswego, Binghamton, !
Rochester, Xltica and Albany?are making
active preparations for the formation or j
strong, vigorous teams. The season opens on i
May 15 and ends on September IV Each |
dub will play eighty gajpet. - ...
THE FIRST FIGHT.
An Afghan Force of 4,000 Defeated
by the Russians.
Immediate Satisfaction or War Demanded
in England.
The chances of a great and bloody war between
England and Russia over the disputed
Afghan boundary were greatly increased by
an attack of the Russian forces upon the
Afghans on the frontier of Afghanistan. A
London dispatch says that the news of the
fight stirred England to the center,
and that the oxcltsment grew
from hour to hour as the
seriousness of the hituation was shown. The
auti-Russian feeling among both political
parties in the house of commons amounts to a
passion; and it was stated that if Russia's
explanation of the attack upon the Afghans
was delayed or incomplete, war would at
once be declared.
A short account of the battle that was
fought between the Russians and Afghans on
the frontier of Afghanistan is published in the
Official Messenger of St. Petersburg. This account
says General Komaroff reports that in
consequence of provocative and manifestly
hostile proceedings of the Afghans he was
compelled to attack them on March 3D on both
banks of the Kushk river. The result was
the defeat of the Afghans, with the loss of
500 men, all their artillery, two standards,
and their entire camp ana provisions. The
Russian loss was one officer and ten soldiers
killed and three subalterns and twentynine
soldiers wounded. When the fighting
ended General Komaroff returned across
the river to the position he had
formerly occupied. General Komaroff
also reports that some British officers, who
had been eye witnesses but not participants
in the engagement, appealed to the Russians
for protection wheu they saw that the
Afghans were beaten, but unfortunately a
convoy which he immediately dispatched to
the relief of these officers was unable to overtake
the Afghan cavalry, who carried the
British away with them in their flight.
A dispatch from Sir Peter Lumsaen, dated
at Gulran. states officially to the British government
tnat the Russians attacked the Afghans
intrenched in their position at Penjdeh,
and slaughtered 200 of the garrison. Seventy
thousand British and Indian troops now stationed
along or near the Northern Indian
frontier may reach Herat in time to prevent
its capture by the Russians.
According to information received in London
the Afghan force in the battle numbered
four thousand men, with eight cannons. A
dispatch to the London Times from Gulran
says that the Russians, making a pretext
of a change in the position of the
Afghan outposts, attacked Penjdeh and
A frwVt BTir rtiif nf fhain
position. The Afghans stubbornly resisted
their assailants. The weather was wet at the
time of the attack, which rendered the muzzle-loading
guns of the Afghans useless. Two
companies held one position against the Russians
until its defenders were killed. The Afghans
retreated to Marauchalc in perfect or*
aer. The Russians made no pursuit The
Sarakhs remain neutral, but plundered the
Afghans' camp. The Russian losses are said
to do great. The British officers remained
until the Afghans effected their retreat,
when they joined the camp of Sir Peter
Lumsden.
The London Telegraph also has a dispatch
from Allahabad which says that General
Komaroff. after his victory, occupied Penjdeh,
which has long been held by an Afghan
garrison. The Telegraph expresses the fear
that a British officer fell in tne rout at Penjdeh.
M. Lessar,the special Russian commissioner
in England, expressed (the opinion that the
battle was brought about by the Afghans
attacking Russian pickets and driving them
from their posts. This, he thought, would
have caused the Russians to retaliate, and
thus a general fight would be brought on.
The British cabinet met, and, after reading
the latest telegrams concerning the battle,
discussed the question of sending at once the
six ironclads now at Malta to the Dardanelles.
Instructions were telegraphed to Sir Peter
Lumsden to proceed instantly with all the
forces at his command to occupy Robat Pass,
the approache3 to which have already been
fortified by the Afghans under the direction
of the British royal engineers. Robat Pass
is forty-five miles north of Herat, and through
11/ lies tne oniy practical ruau iui a im^o
military force to Herat. Sir Peter
Lumsden has with him about 1,200 British
and natives, and the Ameer's
forces capable of concentration at
this point number between 10,0D0 and 12,090
men. The pass is 900 feet high, and tho
mountains are impracticable for even a small
force. The country east of Robat Pass and
south of Penjdeh, lying between Herat and
Penjdeb, is held by the Afghans in considerable
force, and is so difficult as to be inaccessible
by any force not holding the fords and
passes.
Sir Peter Luinsdeii is reported to be now
ongaged with a large force of Afghans and
a boay of picked men of the British and Indian
armies in pushing forward the fortifications
of Herat.
The British government has received adrlroi
from its representative at St. Petersburg
stating that the war feeling at that
capital aince the receipt of the news from the
Afghan frontier has greatly increased, and
that the Russian officials make little or no
effort to conceal their rratiflcation at the outcome
of the fight between the Russians and
the Afghans on the frontior.
An explanation of the attack upon the Afghans
by the Russians is afforded by a letter
from Wfeshed, which states that a previous
encounter had taken place in Zulflkar Pass.
In this fight the Afghans were reported to
have attacked the Russian troops and compelled
them to retreat. M. Lessar, the Russian
commissioner quoted above, said that
this incident, if true, accounted for General
Komaroff's attack upon the Afghans at
Pflnirioh
In the British house of commons Premier
Gladstone, amid intense excitement, in answer
to interrogatories said that the pending
negotiations between England and Russia
about the Afghan frontier had been interrupted
by the grave occurrences iust reported.
He said further that England had kept her
part of the agreement not to advance, and
that the Russian attack was unprovoked.
During Mr. Gladstone's statements regarding
the battio in Afghanistan his manner, even
more than his words, emphasized the gravity
of the situation. Most of the facts which he
stated were quoted from an official report received
from General Sir Pefcer Lumsden, the
British Boundary commissioner, who was at
Gulrnn, on the Here-Rud river, fifty miles
wtat of Herat, with an escort of 3,000 Indian
cavalrymen.
It is estimated that the Russian forces
ready for an immediate advauco upon the
Afghan frontier are upward of 1)5,000 men.
The British forces ready for the front are
placed at 1G.00:) men, consisting exclusively
of British and picked troops of the Indian
army.
The English press unanimously declared
that it was England's imperative duty to
fight unless Russia recalled Gen. Komaroff,
nnd disowned bib action in attacking the Afghans.
News of the battle on the Afghan frontier
caused tremendous excitement 111 all the European
as well as in the American stock and
other markets. Prices of stocks fell everywhere
in Europe. In the United States there
was wild excitement in the grain and produce
markets at New York and Chicago, and there
was an advance of from five to seven cents a
J^ushel in the price of wheat. Com, oats and
flour also jumped up in price with extraordinary
ceitrity.
PROMINENT PEOPLE.
Postmabtkr-General Vilas owns two
hotels, arid is roputod to be worth $800,000.
The king of Bavaria has spent $250,000 for
a chandelier from the Meisson manufactory.
The new minister to Japan, Governor
Hubbard, is six feet four inches in height and
weighs 370 pounds.
The grandfather of George H. Pendleton
was Alexander Hamilton's second in hisfutai
duel with Aaron Burr.
Hknry R. Jackson, of Georgia, the new
minister to Moxico, has made $1,000,000 prac-1
tiling law since the war. |
Five Pennsylvanians hive held the office
of miuister to England?Hichard Rush, Gal-1
latin, Buchanan, Dallas and Welsh.
General Neal Dow, the Maine temper-1
ance agitator, recently celebrated his eighty- I
first birthday at his residence in Portland.
William Putnam Endicoit, father of the i
secretary of war, lives at the ago of eightytwo,
in Salem, Mass., still hale and hearty. I
Ciieno Tsao Yu, the Chinese minister to 1
the United States, arrived in this country a 1
few days sincc. Ho is about sixty years old, |
and is also the Chinese minister to Spain and i
Peru.
Mu Wti t fin? ir-i-i-iv Iias hAAn chosen ora
tor by tho literary societies of Lewigburg i
(Pennsylvania) university for their annual |
mooting in June next, and has acceptcd the I
position.
Dr. Miller, tho new commissioner of in
tornal revenue, wears black side whiskers and
a mustache; his hair is silky and &is eyes are j
piercing black, underneath heavy brows. Ho
weighs ii50 pounds.
The Rev. Byron Sunderland, pastor of the !
First Presbyterian church, Washington, !
whore President Cleveland has his pew, was :
pastor of a church at Batavia, N. Y , over |
thirty years ago. The President's mother at- ;
tended the samr
Bartholdt, the sculptor, will probably
visit this country daring the summer. lie
will take a lonk nt Bodloe's island in New
York harbor, whoro his statuo of "Liberty ;
Knligh tuning the World," presonted by the j
French p-'oplo "to thi? country, is to stand.
Baron de Fara, tho Italian minister at j
Washington, is describe 1 as the "handsomest |
man in tho diplomatic corps." The writer i
adds: "And lie looks every inch an arlsto- ,
crac. Ho is of commanding height, with
snow-whito h.nir a.id mustache and short
tufted whiskers, bright blue eyes, a Ion*
straight nose and a chin as square as a block.
I He dresses with tbe utmost care.
NEWS AND NOTES FOR WOMEN.
Tournoures grow smaller.
Bangs are coming in again.
Buttons are small and generally
round.
Spring velvets are lovely in color and
texture.
English brides now wear moon stones
for luck.
In the English civil servicee there are
3,200 women clerks.
Sixty-four women engravers cam thei
livelihood in England.
The marchioness of Lorno is an inveterate
cigarette smoker.
Bright purple thistles are seen on
many of the round straw hats.
Two nieccs of President Cleveland
teach in the public schools of Peoria,
111.
Young ladies on the eve of marriage,
in some regions, now give ''spinstei
dinners."
From three to six dozen medium sized
buttons are used to decorate many of tho
spring costumes.
The new and very gaudy silk hand
kerchiefs Are utilized as vests lor man;
of the spring gowos.
All reppcd silks arc in high favor this
season, especially what is called gros
faille, with flattened reps.
Fine tapestry-covercd furniture i?
again coming to the front, and the demand
for plush is decreasing.
Polonaises and basaues divide popular
favor almost evenly, the latter displaying
an unusual variety in style and ornamentation.
Embroidered surahs are seen in allover
patterns of a gay figure on a
quiet ground, which may be either light
or dark.
Miss Alice E. Freeman, the president
of Wellesley college, was graduated
there in 1876, and is only twenty-eight
years old.
Widows of men who have died in the
railroad service in Austria are employed
at from $15 to $30 per month in the
railway offices.
The Turkish woman always carries on
her person a three-colored bit of leather, I
which encloses the mystic phrase that is
potent to ward off the evil one.
The most approved back drapery is
so arranged as to fall high in a series of
puffs, and thence to sweep in straight,
iieavv lines to the foot of the skirt.
One of the rich single women in New
York receives several offers of marriage
by post every week, and doubtless most
uf the others are honored in a similar
manner.
It is estimated that the grand balls
given by the president of the French republic
cost from $15,000 to $20,000
cach. About 8,000 guests attend each
of these balls; of which two ave given
every yenr.
A girl who is teaching in Colorado
writes home as follows: "I have forty
scholars of all ages, and teach almost
everything?grammar, history, pbysi
ology, mathematics, manners, morals,
common sense, personal cleanliness,
fancy work, and general civilization.
Instead of severely plain bands or folds
for trimming skirts there are now vandykes,
escallops of leaf points on the upper
edge, while other folds have openings
or slitd cut at intervals, and througb
these are drawn gilt or silver oraid.
Tucks are more u9eu than at any previous
season; and these aro decorated with
braid, stitching or a piping on >he lower
edge.
The little so-called dog collars, introduced
so long since, are now more popular
than ever, and ara almost universally
worn. All sorts of fancies are indulged
in, from a simple velvet ribon
knotted around the heck, when the corsage
is not very liigb, lo several rows of
pearls. A flexible cjiain-work of silver
links?repetitions of ancient coins linked
together to form a band?silver daisies
fastened to a black velvet ribbon.
Many slender young ladies wear sashef
in Oriental fashion,carried loosely around
the waist and knotted at one side, the
Mnannal lonrrfh: nr. aorflin. theV
u? *" " " V"1 q ? T ? ? -o 1 ?
aro draped ns panicrs, -while another
method of arranging these scarfs is to
gather the ends of two lengths of silk
under the broach at the throat, let it fall
blouse style to the waist, where it should
be confined wi'.h a clasp of some description.
the remaining portions being
caught up as panicrs over the hips.
A pretty way to make a walking skirt
of unpatterned goods in serge, cheviot
or ottoman cloth, is to arrange the trimming
in five fiat plait?, separated by
broad panels, on which are placed five
rows or velvet ribbon, half an inch wide
and that distance apart. This forms the
front of the skirt, and the tunic, bordered
with a like number of velvet
bands, is draped above, the long, wide
ends forming a waterfall back, which is
not trimmed, bub simply hemmed at the
bottom.
Chewing Gam.
A recent letter from Bangor, Mc., to
the New York Hun says: This is a great
gum year in Maine, especially on the
Penobscot, and now that the sun is
climbing up into the North, and tho
lumbermen are coming out, the air is
fairly redolent with the perfume of
spruce. The logs, knees, and bark are
not the only valuable parts of the great
timber tree, for the gum is worth considerable,
even in its rough ctate, just as
it is hacked from the crotches of old
trees. There are two or three firms here
which buy large quantities of it from the
lumbermen and gum hunters for the purpose
of refining it, ns they say. But as
1 aU:?? r?nncicfa in
a general iuiuy mc iwumc
adulteration with rosin. They throw it
into a big kettle, bark and all,
and boil it to about the consistency
of thick molasses, and
skimming the impurities off as they rise
to the surface. Then, if the purpose be
to adulterate, some lard or grease and a
lot of resin is added, and in some cases
a little sugar. The mixture then becomes
thicker, and, after more stirring, is
poured out on a slab, where, while it is
yet hot, it is rolled out in a sheet about
a quarter of an inch thick, and then
chopped with a steel die into picces half
an inch wide and three-quarters of an
inch long. These pieces arc wrapped in
tissue paper and packed in wooden
boxes. There are 200 pieces in a box.
Some -gUM. 18 treated in this way without
adulteration. ...
The best gum comcs~fronf no particular
locality, but always from the biggest
trees. The doctors up here say chewing
gum benefits the teeth. The loggers, in
their many idle hours by the camp lire,
whittle out miniature barreis from blocks
of cedar or white pine, hollow them out,
and fill them with the choicest gum the
woods afford for gifts to their sweethearts,
children, or friends when they
'come down" in the spring. Others,
who go into tbt; woods for gum alone,
bring down big bags of gum, and sell it
to manufacturers of the improved article.
Up here adulterated gum is called
patent gum.
Larcenous Monkeys.
Tho chipma, or black Pavian monkey,
is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Diving in tribes and always ready to
plunder, this race of monkeys commit
fearful devastations in the vineyards and
gardens. With a sagacity almost human
they will station a guard on the outposts
to watch. A portion of them enter the
inclosurc, climb the trees, pluck the
fruit and pass it to those standing below.
These hand it to others, who form a line
reaching to the rendezvous, which is generally
in some craggy mountain, and
thus, all assisting in the good work, the
booty is soon safely disposed of. As
soon as the sentinel sees some one approaching
he "ives the alarm by uttering
a loud cry,ana tho plunderers ail scamper
off. If he neglects to warn them in time
the whole party will fall upon him and
beat him severely.?Boiton Transcript.
It is claimed by J/i Nature that the
highest railroad viaduct in the wor'd is
that of the (Jarabit bridge, France. That
remarkable structure is 1,800 feet long,
and near the middle of the great central
atch the distance from the bed of tho
river to the rail is 418 feet.
Silen?e is the best shield to ward oil
anger.
PRESIDENTS AS PENMEN.
DUBIOUS DOOUMJOTTS TM TKJ
WriTBP STATXS 8**AM.
Character 1st lea of Fresidential CMrographjr
an Shown l? PnblU
Papers?Interesting IflensentOMb
In the executive office of the United
States Senate there are preserved all the v |
executive messages of Presidents of the
United States from the foundation of the
government. Though not often referred
to some of these documents are becoming
worn, and recently General McCook, secretary
of the Senate, caused selections to
be made from the files, with a view to
preserving some of the interesting autographs
in a cabinet by themselves. In
tome cases the first message of a President
was taken, and when this was of
minor importance the first conspicuous
one?generally that making the nominations
for cabinet positions?was taken.
They form an interesting collection of
historic mementoes, and one of the most
vaiuaDie auiograpu coueuuwiis <u vu?
land. None of tne Presidents, with the
exception of Washington and Jefferson,
would be marked above fifty for penman* ^
hip by a civil service commission.
General Washington's first contribution
to the collection embodies nomina*
tiona for judges, marshals and attorneys
for the districts of New York and New %
Jersey, and at the end of the same documents
are the nominations of Thomas
Jefferson, Edmund Randolph and 8amuel
Osgood for secretary of state, attorney-general
and postmaster-general, respectively.
The signature is written in ^
a fair, legible hand, which would pass
to-day for that of a business man not '
entirely careless of appearances, yet having
confidence enough in his own work
to let the details of penmanship take
care of themselves. One short message
was penned entirely by himself, as fol- ^
Ukited States, July?, 1793. 1
Gentle ken ov the Senate : Th? Presi- dent
of the United States will meet the Senate
in the Senate chamber at halt past eleven ' .J?
o'clock to-morrow, to advise with them on
the terms of tha treaty to be negotiated with -J
the Southern Indians.
Go. Washington. 4
Mr. Jefferson penned his resignation
with the easy grace of a Spencerian grad- /./
uate, but his economy of space was such 3
that his documents as a whole fall below
the present standard of clerical excel* -f
lence. He wrote most of his messages
with his own hand. One specimen em* 'A
bodies no less than ninety renominations.
and coyer* almost to the last inch of
space three and one-half pages of a letter . : 7%
sneet. The first line is written within
half an inch of the top of the page, and
the words are crowded, sometimes twenty ^
upon a line. Mr. Jefferson's sim- J
plicity is further exemplified by
his method of transmission,
which shows him to have been a re* |jg
former in his day, as compared with hia *vas|
predecessors. Washington and Adams '3jS
sent their messages to the Senate by the o
hands of their secretaries, or, in the case
of treaties, often by tho hands of the vJB
agents in the negotiations, from whom,
as the messages frequently intimated,
the Senate might receive further infor*
mation regardingthe subjects to which
they related. Mr. Jefferson usually sent .
his messages to the Vice-President by
mail. It was long before the days of ~
envelopes and mucilage, and the docu- ^
ments bear the postmarks and red wafers '
of the ancient stylo. One of John Adams*
autograph messages is as follows:
United States, July 1,1798. - .: !
Gentlemen of the Senate: 1 nominate "S
George Washington, of Mount Vernon, to be
Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief
of all the armies raised and to be raised in the
Unitfid States. John Adams.
In this signature, as in all of ifr. * i
Adams' signatures, the small letters aro
more than half an inch long. A labored,
but unsuccessful, effort is apparent to ^
carry the same style throughout the en- , J
tire document. It betrays the handi*
work of one who aimed at more than he
was able to accomplish in the matter of
penmanship.
Mr. Madison wrote an irregular hand,
devoid of marked peculiarities. His
nomination of John Quincy Adams to be
minister plenipotentiary of the court of
St. Petersburg, which was one of several
nominations made in a single message,
bears the clerical marks of the Senate's ^^jji
disapproval. "Inexpedient to send
minister,"wrote the executive clerk upon ?
th? margin. Mr. Madison then wrote a ^
WCond message, giving his reasons for
making the nomination and urging its
confirmation, but the session expired
without action. ilr. Madison's nomina- <
tion of James Monroe to be secretary of
state was referred to a special committee
of Senators, and action was delayed for
several days, while his accounts as a
foreign minister were subjected to
scrutiny, The committee reported that
it found no reason for the rejection of
his nomination, and be was thereupon
unanimously confirmed.
Mr. Monroe used a coarse pen, and
wrote hesitatingly. He nominated hii
cabinet on March 5, 1817, with John
Quincy Adams at the head as secretary
of state. Andrew Jackson's first message,
dated March G, 1821), is an autograph
document, and, more than any
other one of the series, its style 6eems
characteristic of its author. Its letters
are angular and unsymmetrical, but they
are legible,and there is an air of self-asser*
tion about the document which culminates
in the emphatic underscoring of
the signature. Martin Van Buren's hand
was unsteady when he penned his first
message, as if he had not fully recovered
from the cxcitement and labors of hit
inauguration, but he wroto better the
next day. James K.Polk's contribution to
the collection is aa autograph message
penned in what would be taken for a
feminine hand, yet with few of the gracei _ <
of penmanship. His autograph is rathet
pretentious, with a row of dots and several
cramped flourishes beneath it. Harrison's
and Tyler's signatures have no
distinguishing characteristics. Taylor
and Lincoln each wrote firmly and legibly,
but with extreme simplicity and
without any superfluous marks. ilillard
Fillmore's signature is very similar in
character, but rather smoother. James '
Buchanan's hand trembled when h<
signed his first message, and he mado a H
failure of the elaborate scroll work attachment
to his first initial. Franklin -V34H
Pierce wrote a sprawliog, schoolboyish
signature. Andrew Johnson started ^
fairlv upon the line, then fell a little
below it, but recovered himself at th<
end._ _
The collection contains the nr's^-fHid?- " ~'r
last messages o( Geueral Garfield and the
message of President Arthur nominating
General Grant to his place upon the
retired list of the army.
Never.
"S
Never insult poverty.
Never eat between meals.
Never eat a very hearty supper.
Never stand long at the corner of s
street. '.-i
Never fret; it will only shorten youi *
days.
Never abuse ono who was once youi
bosom friend.
Never reply to the epithet of a fool 01 ??
a low fellow.
Never speak in a contemptuous manner
of womankind.
Never anticipate too much; disappointment
is not pleasant.
Never taste an atom when you are not
hungry; 11 is sun-ium.
Never spend many of your evening!
away from your family.
Never speak of your parents as the
' old man'' or "old woman.?Our So
ci?ty Journal.
The Finest Bay. k
The bay of Havana is said, by the
geographies to be the finest in the * j
world. It is in the shape of a man's
hand, the opening into the sea corre
sponding to the wrist, and the finger?
being represented by bays or inleti
stretching in all directions. But in thit
magnificent haven there is not and *evei
has been, pier or rjuay or dock or anj
filace for a vessel to land. All the loadng
and unloading of passengers, freight
or cattle, is done by means of small
lighters, which are rowed back and forth
between the vessel and the land.
Over 200,000 women and boys in Net* M
York are engaged at various kinds of
work which was performed exclusively 9
by men some years ago. H
A