The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 24, 1886, Image 6
THE SINGER'S ALMS.
In Lyons, in the mart of that French town.
Years since, a woman leading a fair child,
Craved a small alms of one who, walking
down
The thoroughfare, caught the child's glance
and smiled
To see behind its eyes a noble souL
He paused, but found he had no coin to
dole.
Ks guardian angel warned him not to lose
This chance of pearl to do another good;
So. as he waited, sorry to refuse
The asked-for penny, there aside he stood
And with his hat held as by limb the nest,
He covered his kind face and sang his
best.
T"he Ay was blue above, and all the lane
Of commerce, where the singer stood, was
filled,
And many paused, and, listening, paused
again
To hear the voice that through and through
them thrilled.
I think the guardian angel helped along
That cry for pit}- woven in a song.
The singer stood between the beggars there,
Before a church, and overhead the spire
A slim, perpetual finger in ths air
Held toward heaven, land of the heart's
desireAs
if an angel, pointing up, had said:
"Yonder a crown awaits this singer's
head."
The hat of its stamped brood was emptied
soon
Into the woman's lap, who drenched with .
tears
Ear kiss upon the hand of help; 'twas noon? (
And noon in her glad heart drove forth her
fears.
The singer, pleased, passed on and softly
thought:
"Men will not know by whom this deed
was wrought."
But when at night he came upon the stage
Cheer after cheer went up from that wide
throng,
And flowers rained on him; nought could assuage
The tlimnlf", of t.hft Wfllrnmo antra frVin mn?r
That he had sweetly sung, with covered
face,
For the two beggars in the market-place.
?Henry Abbey,
THE SWAMP GANG.
AND HOW IT WAS "WIPED OUT."
Some tea years ago I was engaged
with others in the re-survey for the gov- i
ernment of certain portions of the Ar- i
kansas river. In order that we might run
into creeks and over bars we were pro- <
vided with a small steamer called the 1
Sprite. The crew consisted of captain, 1
mate, engineer, tireman, cook and wheels- i
man, and my brother surveyor was a gen- 1
tleman named Mortimer White. The ac- I
commodations were rather scant, but we <
lived well, and, as is the rule in such <
cases, none of us was overworked. We <
had time to hunt and fish, and there were 1
days when the steamer's fires were not t
lighted at all, our lines being run by the 1
aid of the skiff. 1
At that time?and it may still be the j t
case?there was a hard population along j i
the Arkansas. I do not refer to the ' 1
towns, but to the so-called hunters, trap- 1
pers and traders who made a living along 1
the rivers, and whose skiffs, rafts and t
house boats were encountered half a i 1
dozen times a day. They were a crowd <
of restless Arabs, and if there was an t
honest man among them we failed to dis- s
cover his presence. On several occasions s
attempts were made to steal our skiffs, t
ana 11 rope or cnam was left on tne bank
lor half an hour unwatched it was spirited
way in a mysterious manner. While
there were some genuine hunters beating
np and down the banks, the great majority
of the wanderers were chaps-who
had gone into hiding to escape the law,
and they were hard-looking cases.
One afternoon, while most of the crew
were fishing in a bend half a mile above
the boat, and while those who remained
with me aboard the steamer were asleep,
I caught sight of a villainous-looking
face watching the steamer from the
bnnhftS. Wp wprc tVtpn nn t.n tVip <
right-hand bank, about twenty miles be- 1
low Pine Bluff. While I could see the <
fellow through the blinds of my state- <
room, he could not catch sight of me. '
He made a long and careful scrutiny of 1
the 9teamer, and after a time was joined 1
by two others. All three had rifles, re- 1
volvers and knives, and the condition of. i
hair, whiskers and clothing proved that 1
they had been hiding for months. They <
approached the steamer within six or 1
eight feet, looked her over again, and re- 1
tired as noiselessly as they came.
The presence of the strangers was reported
when the crew came aboard, but I
VIA r\r> O ooflmo/"! fA *"5 if nn ft 1
uv vuv oc^uigu m\j ic^aiu 10 ao a otnuuo
matter. The men had probably been
mousing around in hopes to lay their
hands on some article of value. We had
been keeping a sort of hap-hazzard anchor
watch when tied up with the fires
out, and this night the man who stood
watch was probably fast asleep as soon
as the rest of us. I turned in about 10
o'clock and was soon asleep, but at midnight
was awakened by a voice calling:
"Come now?you are wanted outside
!"
I sat up in bed to find a rough looking
man in my stateroom. My lamp had bean
lighted, and I saw that he had a revolver
in his hand.
<rWhat do you want!" I asked.
"I want you. We have concluded to
take the job of running this steamer off
your hands."
"Then you belong to a gang who have
captured her?"
"Exactly; and if you fool around much
longer I shall get mad and do some shoot.
tog-"
As I got out out of bed and began t;>
dress I heard men running back and
forth, and presently the boat began
moving. As she had no tire under her
boiler, I felt certain that she was towed
down stream by one of the skiffs.
"What are you going to do with the
Sprite?" I asked the man as I was dressing.
1 IV ? 1 i VI-- 41 ?
JL^UUC SJ yum uubim^B, nu prumpujr
replied.
I had had a rifle and revolver in my
stateroom, but they had been taken away.
As was afterward ascertained, the outlaws
had crept aboard as quietly as Indians,
found the anchor watch fast asleep,
and had entered every stateroom and
gttbnereu up an me wt:?puiib uuiuie uu_y
one was aroused. I was marched to the
main cabin, which was our dining room,
and there found the rest of the people
assembled and under guard. All had
been aroused in the same manner, and
nobody had yet been hurt. It may well
be imagined that we were a disgusted
lot of citizens; but we had been fairly
trapped, and there was no help for it.
The captain had counted six outlaws,
Iwo of whom were in the skiff towing
the steamer, one at the wheel, aud the
other three keeping guard.
We were towed down about five miles
and then up a bayou setting in from the
right-hand shore, and running back into
the swamp for a mile or more. There
was no current in this bayou, and they
towed the steamer up such narrow channels
that we heard the bushes brushing
against her sides. She finally came to a
stop and was made fast to the bank, and
then the outlaw who had been acting as
captain camu into the cabin and said:
"Now, then, ashore with you, and if
any of you attempt to play U3 any trick,
ping! goes a bullet through your skull."
"What do you intend to do with us?"
asked our captain.
"Ask no questions, but come along,"
was the stern reply.
We were covercd by four or five revolvers,
and there was no show for resistance.
Two of the outlaws preceded
us, and the others brought up the rear as
we marched ashore. We walked up the
shore, which was very spongy for about
a hundred feet, and were then turned
aboard of an old house boat. This craft
was in such a dilapidated condition that :
it was plain she had been there for two <
or three years, and once inside we saw 1
that she had been used as the headquar- 1
ters of the gang. The cabin of the boat <
was one long room, with an old stove
and a few articles of kitchen ware in one 1
mi 1 .U 4
corner. liicru were suvurui uiu. cuaus >
and a wreck of a table, and the gang had 1
slept on straw which had not been re- :
newcd for a year.
Daylight was just breaking as we filed 1
into the house boat, and we could now i
get a plainer view of onr captors. If the J
State of Arkansas held a more villianous s
gang we never had the honor of an intro- 1
duction. They looked more like wild
beasts than men, and every other word
that fell from their lips was an oath. The
house boat had once been provided with
windows, bat now only the sashes remained.
The boat was afloat, and tied 1
to trees by grapevines. The captain }
of the outlaws followed us aboard, and, .
standing in the doorway, with a cocked
revolver, he said:
"Make yourselves at home, gentlemen: j
and I want to say to you that any j
move to break out will result in some- j
body's getting killed." j
The door by which we hid entered t
was the only door to the boat, the other s
having been stoutly closed up. As the t
outlaw withdrew he fastened the door j
with a padlock, and we heard him moving t
off in the direction of the steamer. Indigna- ]
tion, disgust,and a feeling of revenge took j
possession of us for the first hour. Then x
the colored cook set to work to get us (
BAmn Knftolrfocf kllf if WflQ llfilp fitnpir
OULUL VI VUUlttO V, MUV * w uw 1AVW4V wwv? | ^
we had on hand. There was a part of a j
bag of meal, a jug of molasses, and a few (
pounds of bacon. No one would eat be- ;
yond a few mouthfuls, and we then held c
a council of war to plan some relief from r
our embarrassing situation. j
By peering through the cracks and ,
devices in the stern of the house boat ^
?ve could see the steamer and note the ,
fact that the outlaws were getting up t
jteum. It was probable they intended to a
leave us as soon as the Sprite could take f
:hem away. As the black smoke poured ! ^
:>ut of her stack we become deeply ex-11
lited. It might be possible that one of ! ^
;he fellows was an ex-engineer, but this ! c
?vas not at all probable. If any one among I 0
1 *V. ViJmcjftlf cm o on All rrV* fo I *
, LLC 111 tuuu^ut nuuavu ouiuiv vuvu^u w i j.
un the engines without having had any I ^
previous experience, the gang were ha9-1 r
;ening toward a calamity. The engineer i [
emembered that the water in the boiler ! ^
ivas very low, and as we watched the j t
ires increase we saw a commotion among j q
he outlaws. Steam was making so fast j f
hat they had become alarmed. If they | ^
cuew enough to try the water cocks, they J n
lid not understand how to start the pony j j,
;ngine and renew the supply. Pretty ! a
soon steam began to escape from the *
;afety valve with a loud whish, and then n
hp 1r idpr of the fran<? came runniner ud i.
*" O O q; *
;o the hou9e boat and commanded the a
jngineer to come out.
This action had been anticipated, and t
;he engineer had been posted as to his
ine of actton. He walked out and was
jrdered aboard the Sprite to set things
x> rights. It did not take him long to
mderstand that none of the gang knew c
how to run the engine. He drew the n
5res, and after the steam went down the r
Doiler was filled so full that uo further j,
iffort could raise a pound a
:>f steam. He not only did ~
:his while pretending to put things ship- ?
shape, but he made it otherwise impossi- ^
Sift for the steamer to move herself out +
>f the bayou without a practical engin- j
ser aboard. When he had finished his
svork the leader of the outlaws had some- j.
thing to say to him. They had captured j.
the boat with the intention of running r
her down the Mississippi and up some of j.
the tributaries to a point where she could j t
be sold. The idea was a foolish one, of _
course, as a telegram from any point on j |
the Arkansas would have put hundreds j.
on the watch. These outlaws, however,
seemed to think that if the Sprite could t
get a couple of days the start of us it
would be impossible for us to overhaul j.
her again. c
The idea was to win the engineer v
over to join the gang, but he indignant- ^
ly spurned all proposals. He likewise
held out against threats, and this so an- j.
gered the outlaw leader that he drew his
revolver and fired full in the man's face. ^
The bullet struck the engineer's scalp 4
and plowed it up for six inches, and, ^
as the blood poured ever his face and he
fell like one dead, the villain turned ! j
away and left him in the bushes, never i ^
doubting that he had made a sure job of j ^
it. This was about 1u o ciock in tnc r
morning. The engineer was stunned for l
a quarter of an hour, but as his senses t
came back to him he made no move- T
ment. He had been taken down the ,
bank of the bayou several rods from the *'
steamer, and was entirely out of sight unless
he. stood on his feet. While his
wound was a severe one, he determined to
remain "dead" until the time came to get
even.
The outlaws held another consultation i
fr.hr> shnotinrr. and aorain the fires 1
""vv* """ n1 o ?
were.startcd under the boiler. All the j
wood aboard was consumed by noon, and '
the fellows went at it and gathered more. <
By 2 o'clock, however, they gave up t
all hopes of raising steam, and we heard <
them quarreling in angry tones. They
had caught a Tartar, and seemed anx- <
ious to let go. About 3 o'cloc k it seemed
to strike them that, if they could not get ]
away with the steamer, they ought at 1
least to rob us, and we saw the whole i
crowd moving down on the house boat <
While all had knives and revolvers, ther. :
was not a rifle among them. The two ,
they had captured from us were Henry's. ,
When the crowd reached our prison "the ,
men formed on the bank and the captain .
opened the door about an inch and called
out: i
"V/ome, now, pass uui. juur piwii auu
watches."
"You show your nose inside and we'll
kill you," replied our captain.
We had found a couple of stout clubs
in the house, and these were in the hands ,
of men on each side of the door. While j
their positions were sheltered any one
attempting to enter would find himself I
in peril of his life. We were determined j
neither to leave the shelter of the place ;
nor to allow any of the oulaw3 to come in
on us. They soon discovered that we
held the key of the situation, and their
passions were aroused to the highest
pitch. They commanded and threatened,
and, finding this of no avail, opened fire
on the house. It was built of stout
planks, and so long as we kept away from
the windows there was no danger from i
their bullets. They maintained the fusilIo/Ia
t* ^olf on on/1 fin AT* I
citing event occurred.
That hero of an engineer, with his
blood soaking his clothes, and the
mosquitos biting him by the thousand,
lay quiet where he fell until the outlaws
abandoned the steamer to attack us.
Then he carefully worked his way aboard,
secured one of the Henry rifles, and crept
through the bushes until he had them
cut off from the swamp. Then he opened
fire, and his first bullet passed through
and through the leader's body and struck
the house boat. Almost as fast as one
could count we heard the crack of his
rifle. The villians were seemingly petrified
with astonishment and terror. Not
a shot was tired in return, nor did a man
of them seek to escape. In three minutes
the lust man was down, and every one of
them dead as men can die. We couldn't,
of course, form any correct idea of what
was going on, having long before given
the engineer up for dead. He advanced
to where the bodies were lying, counted
them to make sure that none had escaped,
ind then came down and let us out.
The affair was never investigated even
by a coroner. We gave the bodies burial,
md when it became known that the
swamp gang had been wiped out, no
steamer, barge, or raft passed us without
ipr fnnhain shouted his thanks.?New
York San.
Expulsion of the Poles.
The Prussian government, in the sumTier
of 1885, issued an order for the expulsion
of all Poles from the country,
rhey were to be allowed a certain time
:o dispose of their effects, and at the end
>f that time were obliged to depart whativer
their circumstances or condition of
lealth. As the Russian government reused
to admit these banished people un
ess mey couia prove mey were uuru ih
;hat countrj% their hapless condition
iroused much sympathy in the German
;tates, and upon the meeting of the
eichstag, or German parliament, a resoution
was passed requesting an explanaion
of this action. To this Chancellor
iismarck replied that the matter was a
Russian affair wholly, and as he could
lot admit the right of the reichstag to
:oncefn itself in those affairs that wert
sxclusively the province of the states,
le could give no explanation. Subsejuently,
however, a similar resolution
vas passed by the Prussian landtag,
>r local assembly. To this Bismarck
eplied, January 28,1886, at some length,
le said that the primary cause of the
fovernment's action was the disloyalty j
>f the Poles to the German crown. They
vere always, he said, engaged in inrigues,
endeavoring to set foreign states
gainst Prussia, and keeping up a coninual
agitation against the government. |
?he government had therefore decided ?
o banish the evil element that made all
his trouble. The government had deid
ed to purchase all the real estate
wned by the Polish nobles in Prussian
^land, and place German colonists on
he land hitherto occupicd by the excelled
people. None of the Poles were
o be allowed to repossess the land, even
>y renting it, and to make its colonizaion
more permanently valuable to the
rerman empire, the colonists were to be
orever prohibited from marrying Poles.
Vhile it is admitted that the govcrnlent
will have some difficulty in carryQg
out these extreme measures if they
re not concurred in by a majority of
he Prussian assembly, it is certain that
either Bismarck nor the king is likely
o concede a single point of the plan,
nd their influence is quite powerful
nough to bear down all opposition to
hose measures.?Chicago Inter-Ocean.
The Climate of Alaska.
Current notions as to the severity of the
limate of Alaska require to be somewhat
lodified. There is a strong ocean curent
which sweeps sonthward and breakag
upon the Alaskan shores produces
long the coast an effect similar to that
iroduced by the Gulf stream. A correpondent
of the Chicago Advance, writQg
from Puget sound, gives an en- ;
ranting account of the climate there in
anuary:
TViJo mnrninnr ATonnanr T rnnnt.nl
1"'? """"'"a V" J "/ - I
en different varieties of flowers in full I
doom out of doors, among which were ,
03cs, pansies, red and white daisies, blue- j
>ells and chrysanthemums. The grass of J
he hillside and meadow is as fresh and
;reen as in spring time, with here and
here a red clover blossom lifting its
lushing face as if to apologize for its uaeasonable
appearance. Strawbarry vines,
oo, scorning the figures of the calendar,
>er3i3rently refuse to take their winter's
iap, and with large, luxuriant leaves j
:ontinue to shield the tender blossoms
vhich nestle beneath their shade. Th? ;
liligent, irrepressible Chinaman eitill j
nakes his accustomed morning call with '
>askets of "celery, turnip-pe, beet-e and
abbage-ge," fresh from the garden,while
he festive "siwash" and his beloved
'klooockman" roam the streets baroicaded
and barefooted in til their native
)ride and dignity. The mean temperate
for December was forty-three and a
lalf degrees. At 2 p. m. it ranged from
,hirty-four to sixty degrees for the month.
There were only five frosts, and no snow
intil December 31, and then only enough
;o cover the ground. To-day the sun is
v.irmlv shining, flowers are blooming,"
md all is merry as May. And this in the
niddle of winter at forty-eight degrees
lorth latitude.
A Large Tarantula.
The largest tarantula I ever saw paid
ne a visit one evening and walked into
the parlor without waiting to be announced.
Several Niissau gentlemen
tvere spending the evening with mc, ana
sve were talking and thinking about anything
but spiders, when somebody exclaimed
:
"There's a ground spider!" If a hand
grenade had come through the ceiling
ind dropped on the floor none of us could
have been on our feet quicker. Everybody
jumped back two or three feet, for
the beast was right in our midst. He was
>n the floor at our feet, not a yard away
from any of us, and had walked in as unconcernedly
as possible. He was, witham?
av-iiTirorahinn jih hirorft as thft
? ? ?r>crowti
of a man's hat. His legs looked
as thick as the neck of a small bottle-and
were covered with coal-black hairs, some
of which were more than an inch long.
Fortunately I was following a massau i
custom at the time of leaving the floors
imcarpeted, and we had no trouble to see
him against the light-colored boards.
There was immediately a rush for walkin
i sticks and umbrellas to fight him
nth; but one gentleman, with great
presence of mind, picked up a large ottoman
that stood near and threw it at him.
Hie one shot put an end to the tarantula's
ircer. He was soft, and the ottoman
t nothing of him but a big spot on the
ioor. larger than the rim of a hat, and a
little hpap of black hair and legs.?Boiton
Bulletin,
' ; * ' - . ' . Y '* .
BUDGET OF FUN.
HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM
VARIOUS SOURCES.
Unsatisfectory Explanation?No One
Waiting on Her?A Seat on
the Floor?"Chestnuts"?
A Born Journalist.
"Mr. Featherly," inquired Bobby,
"What is meant by a 'bee line?"'
"A 4bee line,' Bobby," explained '
Featherly, with an air of erudjiion,
"means the manner in which a bee flies ,
to its hive after it has loaded itself
with honey."
Bobby's face assumed an expressson of
perplexed amazement.
"Then what did pa mean," he asked,
"by saying that he never met you on the
street that you weren't making a beeline
for some saloon?"?New York Sun.
i
No One Waited on Her. <
She waa young, she was green, she was 1
very new in Washington. At a recent '
swell affair she had gone with the crowd ]
into the refreshment room. Presently
an elegantly looking waiter, for all the
world like a foreign Ambassador, bowed !
politely before her and murmured:
"Is there any one waiting on you, miss?"
"Sir? sir?" she stammered in startled 1
embarrasraent. 1
"Pardonnez moi. Is there any one 1
waiting on you?" j *
"Oh!" she said, blushing brightly. ! '
"No, sir; not in "Washington. But when '
I'm at home I've got more beaus than
any other girl ia town."?Washington ^
Critic.
i
A Seat on the Floor. j
"Do you ever visit the Legislatur?" i
asked a member from Wayback district
to one of his constituents.
"Yes, I was up to Bosting yesterday
and went into the legislator'."
"That so? Where'd you set?" ,
"Set in the gallery."
"Wall, call me out next time and I j
will give you a good seat on the floor." ,
"Wall, I swow, do you suppose I'd
come way from Berkshire jest for a 1
chance of settin' on the floor to hear you j j
fellers spout? Wall, I guess not. I ,
should think that after a feller worked
as hard as I did for your election, you j
might at least have offered me a chair, t
By hokev, this is the last time you will j
get my vote."?Lynn Union.
. j
"Chestnuts." 1
Scene: Private dining-room at club. 1
A company of gentlemen dining. Mr. I <
Y., a slightly garrulous party, loquitur, J
triumphantly:
"Sharp boy, my Bob; rather got even j
with him yesterday, though. Guess he t
found the old man quite sharp enough
for him. You see 'twas this way: I had
been telling about that time when the
boat upset at Lake George and not one of
the six in it could swim but myself, and
at the point where I swam ashore with
Bob's mother (we weren't married then)
that young monkey remarks:
" 'Oh, chestnut 1'
" 'Chestnut?' said I; 'what is that?'
"'It means you've told it before; it's
an old story,' said Bob.
"Pretty soon Bob passed up his plate
for more meat. Quick as a flash:
" 'Chestnut,' said I.
" 'What do you mean by that?' asked
the boy in surprise.
" 'It's an old story; you passed your
plate fnrmore meat yesterday.'
"Bob looked pretty streaked, and said
if I'd give him some meat he would never j s
sav 'nhfistnut' a<rain. Rather turned the I i
J o
tables on the young scamp, eh? And ]
then his mother said, with a smile: 1
" 'You shouldn't notice those things, j
Robert. Only think of the years I've ]
heard your father tell that story!'"
V? somehow failed to appreciate the ]
laughter that greeted his story.?Boston j
Record.
A Born Journalist.
George D. Prentice, while editor of the ,
Louisville Journal, was often importuned ;
by college men who panted for a chance ,
to send a quiver through the great read- (
ing world. A graduate named Edwards ,
was so fortunate as to secure a trial on the ,
Journal. He was a modest young man, j
and did not claim that he could, the first j
week, take quite all the work off Mr. \
Prentice's hands, but he knew that after ,
the first month he could take the place |
of the chief editor and discharge his |
duties in a way that would render the \
readers oblivious to the change. The (
great journalist had, by a very dear ,
friend, been recommended to Prentice, ,
consequently the editor was anxious that ,
the young man should do well. Duringthe |
afternoon of the third day, Edwards \
went into Prentice's room, and with an j
air of self-confidence, began to boast of
his newspaper acquirements.
1 - ? ? ?f V*n r> onrcrvo nor
" I lJCre 19 grcuiucai ill tuc ugTTo^/u^vi I
business after all," said he.
Mr. Prentice agreed that there was a <
great deal in the newspaper business after
all. 1
"Yes. sir," Edwards continued, (
"when I was at school I used to think '
that a man could learn all about the |<
whole thing in a day or two, but he can't 1
do it. I think, though, that some men !
inherit a kind of insight into the journalistic
profession, don't you?" 1
"It seems so," Mr. Prentice replied. '<
"Yes," Edwards resumed, "some men 1
have a natural facility for forming the '
opinions of others; and, sir, the beauty *
of it is the natural product journalist i
forms opinions so skilfully that the man ]
- .1 i? n <
who reads it swallows it, ana, Dy uniurge, |
sir, thinks that he himself formed it." 1
"Very often the case, no doubt," re- !
plied Mr. Prentice. 1
"Now," Edwards went on, "that's j1
what I regard as journalism. None of i 1
your slip-shod business about that. I 1
suppose, Mr. Prentice, you have observed i
that I have learned to say things pleas- !
antlv?" 1
"Yes."
"That's one acquisition. Now, what
next would you advise?" 1
"Learn something to say."
' ?? ? ? ? * 1 r_ 71.1 ?
"Wiiy, i?i?" swminerea mr. x<u- ;
wards, "J thought that?"
"No explanations arc necessary," said
Mr. Prentic e. Then, turning in his chair
and bestowing a quizzical look upon the l
upstart, the man whose idlest pen stroke (
was sometimes a gouging pasquinade '
said: ^ 1
"Vamt fnrp-sicrhf. ia t.no clear f;o enable 1
yon to become a journalist!"
"How so?"
"Why, you see through the whole
thing. You can look into the business
of a newspaper like a prophet could
look into the future. This, in the end,
must render the business distasteful to \
you. As all strollers will tell you, the
most pleasant road to traverse is the one 1
that offers the largest number of surprises?glimpse
of shining water, a
moment's view of rich landscape. Therefore
I would advise you to give up the
newspaper business, for it will undoubt- 1
edly become distasteful, like a monoto
nous path too often gone over. I know
that it would be a struggle to tear yourself
away now, but you should make the
9*r>rifin(? Ynu owe it vour father, your
mother, your creditors."
"I know there is much truth in what
you say, Mr. Prentice, but I have given i
so much thought to this business, that j
now to throw it away and engage in something
else would be changing the course
of a life?would be like changing the
channel of a mighty river."
Edwards smote his troubled breast,
lifted up his moustache, put a finger on
each side of his mouth, and missed the
spittoon about six inches.
"I foresee the struggle." said Mr.Prentice;
"but because a struggle is foreseen
is no reason why it should be averted.
Life is a struggle."
"But, Mr. Prentice, what would you
advise me to do?"
"Your foresight prompts me to suggest
the advisability of running a government.
I don't know anything about the
chances for getting that kind of situation
it present, but I do know that you could
io up the work to the delight of the
}ueen and to the taste of the entire royal
lousehold. Let me see. How are you
:n Greek?"
"First-rate."
"i-TooaDiy you mignc get a suuauuu
is a writer of circus posters."
"I wouldn't like that."
"No? Well,how would you like to float
down the river on a raft, spending your
spare moments in the study of current
lavigation, sand bank philosophy, andthe
wholesome casuistry of ferrymen who
charged double price when the water was j
tow, because it is low, and double price
when the water is high, because it lb
iiigh*"
"You are making fun of me."
"Oh, no; quite impossible. I cannot
make anything of you. Here, Bill," calling
a porter. "let in that other graduate
ind we'll give him a turn."?Arkansaw
Traveler.
Wonders of the Sea.
The sea occupies three-fifths of the
surface of the earth. At the depth of
ibout 3,500 feet, waves are not felt. The
temperature is the same, varying only a
;rifle from the ice of the pole to the burnng
sun of the equator. A mile down,
the water has a pressure of over a ton to
;he square inch. If a box six feet deep
ivere filled with sea water and allowed to
jvaporate under the sun, there would be
;wo inches of salt left on the bottom,
raking the average depth of the ocean to
je three miles, there would a laj'er of
pure salt 230 feet thick on the bed of the
Atlantic. The water is colder at the bottom
than at the surface. In the many
3ays on the coast of Norway, the water
jften freezes at the bottom before it does
ibove.
Waves are deceptive. To look at them
n a storm, one would think the water
traveled. The water stays in the same
alace, but the motion goes on. Sometimes
in storms these waves arc forty
;eet ftign, ana travel nuy raucs an uuur
?more than twice as fast as the swiftest
iteamer. The distance from valley to
ralley is generally fifteen times the height
lence a wave five feet high will extend
jver seventy-five feet of water. The force
)f the sea dashing on Bell Rock is said td
je seventeen tons for e;ich square yard.
Evaporation is a wonderful power in
Jrawing the water from the sea. Every
(rear a layer 01 tne enure sea iourceuu iceo
;hick is taken up . into the clouds. The
winds bear their burden into the land, and
;be water comes down in rain upon the
ields to flow back at last through rivers.
The depth of the sea presents an interesting
problem. If the Atlantic were lowired
6,564 feet, the distance from shore to
shore would be half as great, or 1,500 ?
miles. If lowered a little more than three
uiles, say 19,650 feet there would ;
be a road of dry land from
Newfoundland to Ireland. This is the
plan on which the great Atlantic cables
tvere laid. The Mediterranean is comparatively
shallow. A drying up of 660
feet would leave three different seas, and
Africa would be joined with Italy. The
British channel' is more like a pond,
which accounts for its choppy waves.
It has been found difficult to get correct
soundings of the Atlantic. A midshipman
of the navy overcame the diffi:ulty,
and shot weighing thirty pounds
carries down the line. A hole is bored
? ' ?i i J-\ 1. ?
tnrougn tne sinser, inrougn wmcii a
rod of iron is passed, moving easily back
jnd forth. In the end of the bar a cup
is dug out, and the inside coated with
lard. The bar is made fast to the line,
ind a sling holds the shot on. When the
bar, which extends below the ball,
touches the earth, the sling unhooks and
the shots slide off. The lard in the end
jf the bar holds some of the sand, or
whatever may be on the bottom, and a
3rop shuts over the cup to keep the
tvater from washing the sand out. When
the ground is reached, a shock is felt as
if an electric current had passed through
the line.?Electrical Review.
A Clock of Clocks.
The famous clock of Strasburg is put
3omr)letelv into the shade bv "the great
World Clock, or the ten-thousand "year
;ime indicator." "It was constructed in
Serraany during mony years' labor by
Christian Martin, clockmaker." The
;lock marks the years and leap years, and
will run for a hundred centuries, when,
is the bill frankly admits, its "mechanic
works" will have to be changed. The
face of the clock is about ten feet square,
ind has a large number of dials and little
niches, where 122 little figures have
their abiding place. These latter, as the
sver-readv bill exDlains. are "to allego
rize human life." Every minute a sorrowful
looking angel hits a bell with a
sledge-hammer. When he has done this
fifteen times another angel in a red robe
strikes the first quarter. "The Genins,"
dressed in a Louis XIV. costume, turns
a dial so that the figure is shown. At
the same time the figure of a child appears
at h lower door. At the second a
youth appears; at the third an
aged man with spectacles and a high hat,
and at the fourth, a decrepit old wreck
with a white wig. While all this is going
on below, death, in the shape of a
Comanche Indian with wings, has been
vainly endeavoring to hammer a bell in
an upper niche, but an angel has headed
him off in every case and protected the
k,imnr> fomilv "hv rftininrr tho rinrhf; hand
I'".'1**" O o
in an allegorical relation," as per programme,
until the fourth quarter. Then
death gets the better of the struggle,
strikes the hour and bundles the old man
off to eternity. The. twelve apostles are
trotted out each hour. Above them is a
figure of Christ, "who blesses with both
hands each Apostle in passing," ;isthe
bill states, with mathematical exactness.
At morning, noon and Light a number of
bell-ringers ring their respective bells
with vindictive energy, and an old man
drops upon his knees as if some one had
----- * j? :? aii
kicked his legs out irom unacr mm. ah
these and many other wonders, exposing
the family secrets of the zodiac, the
heathen gods, the seasons, the moon, and
the globe all run regularly. The whole
structure is surmounted by a cock, which
crows at 6 and 12 o'clock.?Pall Mall
Gazette.
V '
KING OF THE DUDES.!
PECULIARITIES OP A NOTED
NEW YORK CHARACTER.
A Man with Enough Clothes to Stock
a Rig Store?Expensive Jokes
which Helped Use Up
his Fortune.
A gentleman, who is well posted on
the subject, was talking to a Star reporter
the other day about the many peculiarities
which gained for Mr. E. Berry
Wall, of New York, the title of "the
King of the Dudes." Mr. Wall still
wears his crown, although the money
that helped materially in acquiring it is
all gone, and royalty is now forced to
live on the memories of the past, with
the help of an indulgent and wealthy
mother. He still gits about all that an
ordinary man can want, but it
is said that the mother refuses to pay
any bills of the son contracted during
the height of his reign. '-Wall isn't
? ? :J ii :<.i.
IX Ucl u i t/llU W 9 atuu 1/11C gUilUClIJUU Wltu
whom the 5tar mail was conversing.
"There is nothing wicked about him. Ho
has a heart as big as that table. But he
is the biggest fool about dress that I ever
heard of. He never had any idea of the
value of monev. He never has found it
necessary to do a stroke of work, and he
succeeded in getting away with $300,000
in three years. He has seen more life, as
the boys call it, than m->st men of twice
his age who may be considered fast. He
has been going it hard since he was fifteen
years old, and he is now barely twentyfive.
He has a brother who was in Paris
the last time I heard of him. He is
about as eccentric as Berry, but has never
attracted so much attention. His weakness
is for pictures. He has so many that
he hasn't room for them, and is continually
getting more. Good taste? No indeed.
He is just as apt to pay $1,000
for a daub as for a gem. The father left
both boys wealthy when he died, and his
will gave both entire possession of their
inheritance when they became of age."
"As everybody knows," he continued,
"Berry Wall thinks more of clothes than
anything else in the world,and he possesses
enough to open a first-class clothing
house. If he never gets another cent he
will be well dressed for the remainder of
his lifp has nr rnthpr "hn.fi mifi rnnm
given up entirely to his clothes. A long
table on one side was covered with piles of
trousers of all styles neatly folded. In this
way they always showed the crease I
which swells have learned to approve because
its 'English, you know.' The
wearer of hand-me downs, however, always
has his trousers pressed before he
will wear them. The dude king would
enter the room in the morning, and running
the back of his hand up a pile so as
to get a glimpse of the colors, would
draw out a pair that suited his fancy. He
would Dana tnem to nis vaiet, ana proceed
to select the rest of his outfit for
the morning. His overcoats occupied a
portion of the room, his cutaways another,
his frocks and sacks another, and so
on, all carefully hung on frames. Under
the long table referred to were shelves
filled with all kinds of shoes of the finest
make. I remember that a representative
of an English tailor received a letter of
introduction to "Wall from an intimate
friend. When he presented it to get an
order the dude king said: "I am awfully
gorry that I have given orders for my
spring clothes to Poole and others in
New York, and that 1 can't give you a
good order, but if you care to you can
make me up thirteen suits and send them
over." That's a fact. He took a few
miles sail on the Despatch at New York
not long ago, and he took with hinl three
or four overcoats, each a shade heavier
than the other. He devoted as much attention
to his underclothes, which were
always of the finest silk, costing not less
A J /\ J _ 11
per pair.
"Next to clotlies," went on the Star's
informant, "Wall loves horses and dogs
best, and he has owned many fine one3
in his day. I have known him to hunt
through the New York kennels in search
of a dog to match a suit he particularly
fancied. I saw him one day walking
down Broadway with a log of a cane
under his arm and at his heels the ugliest
bulldog I ever saw in my life. Of course
he attracted attention. The next day &
number of swells could be seen with club
canes and ugly bulldogs following them.
Wall was the recognized monarch of
dudedom, and he set the fashion for his
admirers. He often dabbled in stocks,
UUl K.XlUWiiJg UULIJIUg auuuu uicm gciuviu
struck them right. On one occasion he
showed a telegram to some friends which
informed him that he had lost $40,000 in
cotton at one stroke. He met # his reverse
with good grace and never cried
over spilled milk. He spent his money
as freely on others as on himself, and
was always ready to lend a helping hand
to a friend in trouble. He was governed
by impulse in nearly everything, and
would carry out any freak that entered
his head. He would at a momen'ts notice
take the steamer for Europe and catch
the first returning one he could, bringing
with him something to prove to the boys
that he has done as he intended. He
has been known to overrun and literally
smash a coupe on Broadway containing a
friend just for a joke and pay Brewster
$500 to fix it up. Walking along the
street sometimes he would wonder how a
brick would look flying through a big
plate glass window, ana wouia at once
take steps to find out and promptly pay
damages. He would buy anything that
struck his fancy, no matter what it might
cost. Berry came to the end of nis
string some time ago, but will probably
never want as long as he behaves himself
half decently. He occasionally came to
"Washington during his reign, and invariably
brought a wardrobe sufficient for
half a dozen men. He has a number of
friends here with whom he is quite
popular. It wouldn't surprise me to see
him take a sharp turn and show himself
to be a man."?Washington Star.
What Flame Is.
According to Dr. Siemens, larije furnaces,
on account of the nature of flame,
must replace small ones. He claims to
have proven that solid substances interfere
with the formation of flame, and
that flames injure solid substances with
which it comes in contact. To account
for the phenomena he advances, preferably,
an electric hypothesis.
Accordingly he explains flame as the
result of an infinite number of exceedingly
minute electrical flashes being due to the
very swift motion of gaseous particles;
and a solid body which opposes itself to
these flames is cut by them, while the
motion being more or less arrested by the
solid body, the flame is thus more or less
subdued. Siemens insists, therefore,
that flame must not be allowed to impinge
on bodies to be heated, but must
simply heat the bodies by radiation, and
furnaces must be so constructed as to
allow the flame to develop out of contact,
not only with the substance on its bed
but with the walls and roof of the furoace
itself.?Phrenological Journal.
Portland, Me., houses 200 men .possessing
from $100,000 to $3,000,000 each.
? ':wu
. . ' ; , v '' ,*
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Glass plates hare been substituted for \
copper in the sheathing ( an Italian skip,
the advantage claimed being exemption
from oxidation, and incrustation. llw
glass was east, like iron, in plates to fit
the hull.
An interesting field for scientific roBMkTrh
Iijlr bp?n ooened bv Prof. S. P.
Langley, by the discovery that the keat
radiated from the soil is of an almost
totally different quality from that,which
comes from the sun.
Nordenfelt has now built a torpedo
boat 100 feet long to carry two Wnitehead
torpedoes of 300 pounds each, and
capable of accommodating a crew of fix
men under water for six hours. These
boats would cnt the strongest steel nets,
and its torpedo would abolish the greatest
ironclad.
,
Late investigations indicate that the
chlorophyl. or jrreen coloring substance
of the leaves, is most liable to pick up
metallic matter absorbed by the roots of
plants. When vines have been manured
with sulphate of copper, most of the
metal is deposited in the leaves, merely
a trace appearing in the juice of the
grapes. Tea-leaves contain much iron,
doubtless due to the ochreous soil on
which they best grow.
After a study of nearly 12,000 cases,
Dr. Hermann Brchmer, an able German
physiciau, rejects the theory of the contagiousness
of pulmonary consumption..
He finds the disease to be due to defecient .
nutrition of the lungs, which may result
frnm varinnn nnl-pperifint nflllSPS. such U
inherited defects of constitution, and
vital organs impaired by disease, injuij,
or mode of living. He believes that thf
operation of all these causes may produce
such changes that it may be possi- j
ble?years, even decades, in advance?
to predict with great probability which
members of a given' family will be af- .
flicted with pulmonary consumption, and
which will remain healthy.
Percy Smith, writing on the liability '
of trees to be struck by lightning, says:
* The suggestion that oak trees are struck
because they contain iron is both erroneous
and absurd. If oak did contain iron >VVit
would in all probability increase its
conducting power and act as a preventive^
If oak contained an estimable quantity
of that metal the wood would turn black
on exposure to air on account of the tannin
which is present. The blackening, '-v
may be seen surrounding me iron nan .,
in any oak fence. The contour of th?
ground, nature of the soil, and the pretence
or absence of water have more influence
in deciding the locality of an
electric discharge than the height of
tree. Add to this the difference m con-.. '
ductility between various woods, and wfl
have at once an explanation of the apparent
peculiarity of tall trees escaping
unharmed ' while shorter trees are destroyed."
. .
Where Maud S. Got Her Name.
The society columns of a Cincinnati
paper not long si nee contained the following:
"Miss Maud Stone entertained a
number of her joung friends at he*
father's elegant home in the East End
last week." I think I hear you say, re? ^ ?
marks the gossip of the Philadelphia ' .
News, "Well, I don't see anything Strang* ,
in a notice.like that." There is not, only
the young lady mentioned is the one thfl
fastest trotter in the world was named
for. Her father had purchased the young
filly from a gentleman named Btfgher for
$300. Not long after he took a friend
out to Chester Park to look at some racing
stock. The filly was in the '"infield,"
and as they walked toward the stables
Captain Stone said: "There is a filly I
bought the other day and I think she hai
a turn of speed." His friend looked hex
over, and liking her points remarked:
"Start her up and let's see how. she .
moves." Taking off his silk hat, the
captain rattled it with his hand and the
a-~ -* 1 ~AP of fViT-oa
line Jr'UUUg UU1U131 Siaitcu ? a uuw
minute clip. "Why, she's a natural trotter,
" was the comment. 4 'She is, indeed,"
replied the captain, with commendable
pride in his purchase. "I wish I kne*
a good name for her," he added. "Why
not call her after one of your children I*'
asked the friend. "I had not thought of
that," was the reply made as they walked
away. The friend thought no more at
the filly for about two weeks, when he
met Captain Stone coming out of the
postoffice. "Hello," said he, "I hav?
acted on your suggestion and just posted
the letter claiming the name for my filly.
I am going to call her after my daughter
Maud." "Maud Stone will be a pretty
name," responded the friend. "Oh! Til
not call her the full name," replied the
captain, with a blush. "You see, she'll
mature before my daughter, aud I
wouldn't lik? tn see her full name on a
race card, so I have called her Maud S."
After the filly made her great record at
Lexington she was sold to W. H. Vanderbilt
for $21,000. He never knew how
to handle her, and was never able to get
her speed out of her. Captain 8ton?
tried to buy her back, and offered $100,000
for her, but the Vanderbilta would
not let him have her.
An Elcctric Tree.
A German explorer, one Dr. Kummel,
has discovered, it appears, an electric
tree, the Elsassia Elcctrica, in New
Guinea. He proposes to chop it into
slices and set up a central station for
lighting by solid generators. The following
description is given of the find: "I
stopped under a large tree which seemed
particularly to attract the attention of
Kummel, who had been finding all kinds
of novelties the whole morning, to take
exact bearings of a high peak, which
was visible through an opening in front
of us. To my surprise the compass
seemed utterly drank. While Kummel
and I were discussing this phenomenon
one of the men struck with a machette
one of a number of peculiar buttresses,
which ran up the outside of the tree,
splittting off a large slice aud severing a
* Klnrtlr nAKn T-r?V*ir?Vt fnrrnft/1
curicms-iuuaaiig uia^iw tuxuinu* ivimw
the centre. Kummel placed his hands
on the two ends of the core to look at it
more closely (rational action), and instantly
gave a yell and rolled head over
heels, getting up without his spectacles,
and stammering that he had had a severe
electric shock (say, 150 volts!)." The
expedition did not pcs<ess a galvanometer.
but an apology for one was made
with a helix of copper wire and the compass.
the result going to show that a
strong current was pasring through every
portion of the tree. A l'orest ol tneae
trees was seen, the locality being nearly
bare of other vegetation. The black
core, we are informed, is composed of
pure amorphous carbon. The story of
Dr. Kummel strongly suggests a strong
favorite German beverage of the same
name. Very likely the combination of
these two "ICummels" may have resulted
in the production of the above fruit of
the pen.?London Globe.
Tiru?4- on aTiimini ia man t W Un4 m
TT k vv aiiv a
strange, chaotic and contradictory being!
Judge of all things, feeble earth-worm,
depository of the truth, mass of uncertainty,
glory and butt of the universe, incomprehensible
monster!