The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 19, 1890, Image 2
' r'^'A
VALENTINE.
?
- If only I might sing
Like birds in spring?
Robin, or thrush, or wren,
' In grove or glen.
If onlj I might suit
To harp or lute,
j To chime in tender time
Some touching rhymeThen
I'd not hope in vain
Thine ear to gain;
But now?I halt?I auail?
Ah I must I fail?
So small my skill to pload
* My earnest need,
; Love?love is all the plea ?
' I bring to thee.
?Clinton Scollard, in the Century.
( ?
A TREASURE HUNT.
In the fall of 1859 a man named James
8hields, who hailed from Charleston, appeared
in Boston and interested several
capitalists in a strange adventure. As
near as I was ever able to learn, for reaflona
which I will explain, he had located
a treasure-wreck to the east of the Canary
Islands? between them and the coast
of Morocco. What papers he had is
<snown only to the other members of the
syndicate. He must have had a pretty
plausible yarn, for they bought and outfitted
a brig and sailed away on the
search. I was second mate of the brig,
and all I knew about the voyage was that
;thc articles read, "To the Canary Islands
and surrounding waters and return."
The first mate knew no more than I did,
and while the Captain, no doubt, knew
all about it, he was as mum as an oyster.
Shields went along as passenger, and a
man named Harper was aboard to act as
ageut for the others.
While the object of the voyage was
.'kept secret, we had hardly cleared Bositon
harbor before it was understood by
.all that it was a treasure hunt. We were
in ballast only, had a full crew and one
.man over, and the chains and cables and
diving bell put aboard all went to prove
tn^ we were gojng to fish for dollars jafy
ing un?.eJ'WSter."^* ~
It va long voyage from Boston to the
Carries, but we had a fairly good run of
it Our brig was called the Swallow,
and as she was a good sailer and well proS
visioned,there was no growling among the
men, when, at times,she lay heaving on the
glassy seas without wind enough to flare
a candle. The object of the voyage had
almost been forgotten when the islands
were finally sighted. It was not until we
ran into Simm's Bay, on the eastern side
of the group, that interest was again at
fever heat. Here we took in fresh water,
overhauled the standing rigging, secured
fresh provisions, and were almost ready
to sail away when a large dhow, such a3
the Arabians use in the slave trade, and
geemingly carrying a large number of
men, arrived in the bay and anchored
within a cable's length of us. The West
African coast of thirty years ago was not
traversed almost daily by the steam war
ships and steamships of several nations,
and the merchantman never felt perfectly
safe outside the Straits of Gibraltar.
Whether this dhow was bound down the
coast after a cargo of blacks or was cruis- j
ing for nobler fry was an enigma. Wc |
carried an arsenal of small arms, but nothing
in the way of cannon. One of our
men, who was sent aloft for trie purpose,
reported that he was certain the dhow
carried two pieces of ordnance forward.
The dhow came in about ten o'clock in j
the morning, and as soon as her anchor
was down her boats started for the shore.
"What the errand was we could not tell, I
but guessed they were after fruits. After
dinner her Captain was pulled aboard of
us. He was an Algerine, with as wicked
a face on him as any pirate ever carried,
and though he tried to render his visit
very pleasant he left nothing but distrust
and suspicion behind. One and all betlieved
that he came as a spy. He asked, j
as natural, our port of hail, whither |
bound, our cargo, and so on, and it was j
thought best to tell him that we had been [
sent out by the American Government to
rescue a crew of American sailers, shipwrecked
some time before about three |
hundred miles Deiow tne coast, yy e nau |
put in for water and repairs, and would .
soon resume our voyage. This story
seemed to satisfy him, and, after a lunch
in the cabin, he took his departure.
That afternoon he dropped out of the |
bay with the tide, and we expected we i
had seen the last of him. We were all j
glad enough to sec him go, for no man i
aboard doubted that he was up to mis- j
chief.
The next mornhig we were ready to 1
sail, and now I learned more of the ob- J
ject of the voyage than ever before, j
Shields had a British chart of the waters, I
and midway between the northeastern
island and the mouth of the Draha Iliver !
he had made a pencil mark. Whether this 1
stood for a shoal or a wreck I did not j
learn.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, having I
held a course to the northeast since we j
left the bay, we took soundings, aud
found bottom at five fathoms. This went i
.to show that Shields had marked a shoal. !
I heard the Captain and mate talking
about coming to anchor, but no orders 1
had yet been given when the dhow came !
stealing down upon us from the east, !
coming out of the blur which hung over j
the water as one might suddenly appear j
? from.behind a curtain. She wasn't over ,
two miles awaj when first sighted, and j
after a hurried consultation the brig's I
bead was permitted to fall off and we !
headed to the north with a light wind j
abeam. The dhow altered her course to 1
intercept us, at the same time signaling ,
tiiat she wanted to speak us. Her appearance
created surprise and consternation,
and when it was seen that she meant to
lay us aboard a consultation was held in
the cabin as to what should be done. A
decision was reached very quickly. She
could sail two feet to our one, and it was |
plain that she could board us whether we j
cotiBonted or not. There was some talk
of getting up the arms, but this was only '
among the men forward. The head of ]
the brig was brought forward to the wind,
and as darkness came stealing down over !
the sea tbe dhow came gliding toward us ;
like h serpent approaching its prey.
From the first apptMiauc-j of the dhow j
I had no doubt that she meant us evil. I j
was ready to do my full share toward
beating her off, but when I was told that
there would be no resistance, and when
she was within pistol-shot of us, I entered
the forecastle, and from thence by
means by means of a sliding door in the
bulkhead, passed into the hold. We
were rock-ballasted, and in the hold were
.a score or more of empty crates and boxes.
I selected one of these as a place of refuge,
having a plenty of matches to enable me
to see my way through the darkness, but
waited a while to see what would happen
above. I heard a hail from the dhow, an
other from above, and then a shock as the
stranger came alongside. In a moment,
as I knew by the tramping overhead, we
had been boarded by a large gang. Two
or three pistols were fired, there wa?
shouting and running, and after few minutes
I made certain that the Algerine had
taken possession. Men began to rummage
the brig, and as one of the hatches
was pulled off I retreated to the hiding
place I had selected. Three or four men i
came down with a lantern to examine tho j
hold, and I heard them cursing away in
the Moorish tongue because they found
no cargo.
It was now evening and the wind had
died entirely out. I crept out of the
box and stood under the main hatch, and
as tne cover was paruy on i couia plainly
hear what was going on, although I
could not understand what was said. As
I heard nothing from any of our crew, I
concluded that they were either prisoners
in the cabin or had been transferred
to the dhow. Up to midnight the vessels
lay side by side, the flap of their sails
proving a dead calm, but soon after that
a breeze sprang up and wo were forging
slowly atiead. I heard them hailing
from one craft to another, and I would
have given a great deal to have been able
to understand the tongue. It was my
idea that they were going to run the
brig over to the Moorish coast as a prize,
and that the crew would be sent into the
interior as captives and slaves. This had
been the fate of more than one crew I
shipwrecked on that inhospitable shore, !
and at that very time France had a manof-war
on the coast and was demanding
the release of fifteen sailors known to be
held in captivity.
The wind not only held light during
the remainder of the night, but camc
from the fifisfc and thus headed us off. I
sat ou the hard ballast under the hatch,
w ondering and planning but arriving at
no conclusion. It was fair to presume
that I had not been missed, as no search
was made for but this was little
comfort. If the brig was taken into some
bay on the coast she would betfroroughly
searched and I would be^frgged out. I
It would beonly twfrortli? u'^y3 a"ttHe~
longest before"nunger and thirst would
drive me out.
Daylight was not half an hour old bcf
3re I heard an alarm on deck, and it
might have been another thirty minutes
when the boom of a cannon proved that
we had a signal to heave to. The brig
was brought head to the wind, amid a
great clamor of voices on deck, and then
everything was quiet. I now made my
way across the ballast to the sliding door,
opened it a little to find the forecastle
deserted, and I at once passed through.
Npt hearing any one immediately above
me, I ascended the ladder and got a look
along the decks just as a French naval
? ?:i T
omcer came over uic ?u. * upaug
the ladder and rushed aft with such a
speed that, no one saw me until I was at
the officer s side. Lying off to windward
was a big French frigate, and
alongside was one of her boats. Hanging
in the wind, half a mile distant, was
the dhow, with another of the frigate's
boats just boarding. On our decks were
thirteen Moors?swarthy, ragged, and j
showing the villain in every movement, i
The fellow in command was just opening
his mouth to make explanations to the
officer when I came upon the scene and ,
shouted: I
"Lieutenant, that dhow yonder is a !
cursed pirate,and she captured us at dark
last night!"
"Explain!" he replied as he looked I,
me over with curious eye.
I briefly told him who and what we
were, and the actions of the Moors corroborated
my story. He called four |
marines aboard and sent the boat back j
with a message. The frigate had drifted
down a little near, and some of her guns
had been cast loose. This was lucky, as
all of a sudden the dhow spread her
wings to sail away. "We saw the frigate's
boat sent adrift, and afterward learned
that the boarding officer was cast neck
and heels over the rail to tike care of
' " Ti. J
UlLLlSt'll* It ?iWJ a, ucspuiabv; iooviyv mvu
the dhow,and it might have succeeded at
longer range. As it was she had not
moved a hundred yards when boom!
boom! went the guns and we saw the
splinters fly. She at oncc luffed up and
let everything go, and another boat's
crew was soon alongside.
Everything was soon made plain to the
Frenchman. When the dhow boarded
us her hot headed crew were ripe for
killing, and without the slighcst provocation
Shields was shpt through the
head. Harper protested, and shared the
same fate, while one of the villains !
slashed our Captain across the face and
gave him a wound which was months in
healiug. The dead bodies were searched
and thrown overboard, and the living
transferred to the dhow. They were ;
found in tier noia nan aeaa xor wum ui
air, and momentarily expecting to be led
out and murdered. The Algerine was
caught red handed, and could trump up
no excuse. He and his whole gang were
transferred to the frigate, a prize crew
put aboard of the dhow, aud we sailed
away for Malta. I was taken very ill
there, and had no part in the proceedings.
The Captain, mate, and one or
two others were condemned and executed,
and the dhow was made a prize
to the frigate. It was currently reported
that a large sum of money was found
Under her cabin floor, and that every
man abor rd the frigate was well rewarded.
The remaining prisoners, num1
--- * > o flmn
uunilj^ UVUf 1UHV II1CU, I1CIC mwi a. umu
exchanged for the shipwrecked Frenchmen,
while our brig sailed home empty
handed and much the worse off for the
strange voyage.?Neio York Sun.
Dyes.
"Dyeing," says an expert in the Washington
Star, "simply means boiling
thing* in copper kettles for the proper
time in a solution of dye and water. For
what wc call 'fancy colors' we use the
aniline tints that are derived from coal
tar. Every coal bed is a mine of rainbow
hues, you know. The aniline dyes employed
arc chiefly for light blue, maroon,
cardinal red and such brilliant effects.
Woods ground to coarse powder aro
largely relied upon by the dyer. For instance,
there is santal wood for ecru, from
the Santal wood Islands; logwood for red,
from Sicily; gall nuts for silver drabs,
from Aleppo; fustic for yellow, from
Cuba, an J madder root for ecru, from
the south of France. It has been found
that madder, alternately fed to and withheld
from growing animals, will color
their bones so that in sectiou they will
appear white aud yellow in alternate
rings from center to circumference. You
mast remember that all these are used
in an infinity of combinations. It is
rare that one of them is applied pure and
simple. Ouc dye for crimson is obtained
from the lac insect, scraped from the
bark, of certain trees in tho East Indies.^
"" f r-;
" WOMAN'S WORLD."
PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR
FEMININE READERS.
SIMPLICITY THE 8TTLE.
It may be interesting as well as profitable
to the young ladies who have limited
means to dress on to know that the coming
queens of society make a study of
simplicity. Not a particle of jewelry is
worn, and even the belles eschew every
ornament but a string of pearls. In the
hair aigrettes half wreaths of lily of the
valley or white violet* are often seen and
occasionally small side combs bound with
carved silver or gold hold the hair in
place. A girl who prides herself on her
good taste would as soon wear a girdle
and chatelaine pendants with evening
dress as a bracelet or earrings. Gauze is
the regulation fabric for her dress and
ribbon bows or garlands of flowers the
only garniture permitted. ? Washington
Star.
FRENCH DRESSMAKING.
French women are clever in the little
niceties of dressmaking which give finish
to the appearance. For example,unless
a skirt sits quite- evenly, it looks unsightly.
They insure thii by sewing a
large-sized dress hook on the stays, not a
big stay hook, which might show, but
just an ordinary one. Every skirt has an
eye which fastens on to it and renders
moving impossible. Possibly some reader
would like the dimensions for the foundation
skirt of a good French dress. I
think you will find that it hangs well.
The front is 29 inches at the hem, and
diminishes to 9 inches at the waist.
There is only one side gore at each side,
^ * ' '* * - * t* 1 i. xl- _
Hi inches at tne iiem, 10 incuus tu tu?
top. The back is straight and 37 inches
wide.?Mail and Etprtu.
A FEMALE PAWNBROKER.
There is a woman up in WestJEitfey"-'"
fourth street who does JrtKnving busiamia-fche
lale and exchange of what she
calls ladies' miscellany. Party dresses,
street suits and wraps, tea-gowns, furs,hats,
bonnets, shoes and silk underwear
are brought to her by ladies' maids and
sold for a song. The owner may be going
in mourning, going abroad, or in such
straitened circumstances as to regard a
few dollars as a fortune. Brand-new
gowns and bonnet* are daily received
from ladies who are penniless. They
bave unlimited credit, but to get spot
cash orders are sent to the modiste, and
as soon as filled their garments are disposed
of to the female Fagin for a tenth of
their cost. Legitimate sales of secondhand,
slightly worn clothing arc made by
economical women, who receive an extra
dollar or two for the waist-band or bonnet-lining
bearing the name of some good
house. Nine-tenths of the sellers are
carriage people, and of these sixty per
cent, demand spot cash. The rest are
content to give a wrap in exchange for a
yard of good lace, a carved fan or some
such confection as a manicure tray, bonbonniere
or viniegrette. For a sealskin
wrap an old cabinet has been accepted.
Quantities of gloves, slippers and shoes
are almost given away, and so ignorant
of value are the patrons of this "miscellany"
that jewels watches and shell goods
are bought by the house at a profit of
from 200 to 300 per cent. The buyers
for the most part are actresses. They
are capital judges of fabrics, they buy
closely, and when the garments are re
made get a lot of good out of them.?
New York World.
DOWDY WOMEN.
It is feared that Boston women can
ever claim the title of being well dressed,
says the Boston Herald. Do what the
few may to aspire to that favorable verdict,
there is always the ordinary, uncorseted,
hygienic majority to counteract
it.
It would be laughable, were it not pathetic,
to note the shortcomings in this
one direction of the average Boston
woman. She has as much opportunity,
as many means of dressing well as women
elsewhere, but she invariably fails in producing
the effect which strikes the observer
in New York.
Regard the throngs or women wno aauy
pass up and down Boylston street, for
instance, and point out ten, if you can,
who become their clothes, or who carry
themselves with grace and elegance.
Nearly all have been to fashionable tailors,
who have*done what lay within their
power to give chic, air, style; but the
Boston woman is stubborn. She will
not permit her preconceived notions to
be displaced by the newest fashions; she
will wear a hygienic waist, if she wants
to; she won't wear her hair except so,
and she will kick up her skirts at the
back because her gymnasium teacher tells
her to bring all the muscles into play
when she walks.
Beside this, she is in haste. How can
she take life easily and gracefully when
sixty different calls are being made on
time and brains all at once?
The art of wearing her clothes well is
unknown to her. She puts them on.
She does not make her toilet. She
wouldn't be guilty of "prinking," nor of
being sure her boots were well blacked;
nor would this usual Boston woman consider
it worth her while to take a hand
mirror to sec if the angle of hor virtuous
bonnet corresponded with the angles of
> /si- ?J i?i?,1, I,.;.
tier promc auu uei uav.iv uau.
It is these little omissions, this forgetfalness
of detail, which renders twothirds
of our women dowdy?in the eyes I
of appreciative, though critical observers.
for woman's wrists.
The favored bracelets just now must,
first of all, be unique, and the Exposition
has, because of its wonderful exhibit
in jewelry, afforded opportunity to
whoever had the good taste and ducats
to get just the jeweled band that one
woman would most envy another. One
of the most beautiful is of Indian work,
1 1 ^ " ? ? Viof OAff f*nl H
inc HacRgruuuu uciu^ ui vuuu oV4*
in which the Indian workers so delight;
in this is set a circle of every known,
and, I do believe, unknown gem, uncut.
The effect is marvelous. A pink pearl
is wooing your eye and claiming admiration
close to an opal, while a black
pearl is making more beautiful the depth
of color in a ruby. Three different
shades of turquoise are shown; a dark
and a light amethyst form a contrast,
while one of the moat perfect emeralds
imaginable seems to be throwing out a
ray of hope as it nestles closely to a
milk-white pearl. The ordinary, everyday
bracelet designated by even the
extraordinary jeweler sinks into insignificance
beside this wondrous band of
color, which can bo traced to opal and
pearl, turquoise and emerald, ruby and
diamond, chrysobcryl and chrysoprase,
... '
^ "-i?;r5jV"^^-;r;^jp;/f:* ? -'onyx
and amethyst, Alexandrite and
moonstone, garnet and sapphire, an d all
the wondrous family of gems that mean
so much in color, and delight so the
artistic or poetical mind.
Another bracelet which also had its
biith in India is lucky to wear becausc it
is made of iron; but unless you had it in
your hand and knew what you were to
look for, you would never be conscious
that such an unromantic material was used
for it. It is entirely overlaid with gold,
which on the other side is smooth, and
on the upper is etched out in the finest
way possible, after a curious design of
flowers and birds, giving the effect of a
gold band heavily enameled in black; on
the top a medalion outline is achieved,
and engraved on this, in the most intricate
manner, is one of the thousand
blessed names of Allah. This bracelet
was submitted to a jeweler to be made
smaller, but he said it was imposible for
him to do it, as it might be neeessary to
pass it through the fire, and the etching
once injured or defaced, there was no
one in this country who could restore it
to its original condition.
If you haven't an Indian bracelet, then
get one such as is worn by the Chinese
women. The lady of the higher classes
wears one of gold, the next grade of
silver and the next of iron; in pattern
they do not differ, being a twist of the
metal that can be slipped over the hand
?that is, not a complete circle. The
Chinese ladies are far-sighted in possessing
these bracelets, for whatever the material
may be, it is real and solid.
Whenever Madame Chinois gets a little
hard up she doesn't create a racket in the
establishment trying to get a little more
than her usual allowance from monsieur,
nor does she borrow from her women
friends, or play against her luck at poker;
not she! She simply marches off to tne
place where they make the money, takes
off her bracelet, throws it in the scales,
and the obliging man heaps up .the'other
side with jfiooey -Uttt'A tne "weight of the
brsceletla reached; it is worth exactly
what it weighs in the money of the
realm, either in gold or silver.?New
York Sun.
FASHION NOTES.
Nearly every dress is double-skirted.
The polonaise dress will be the rage in
the spring.
One of the Yankee notions is a glove
with a purse in the palm.
A rosette of colored velvet ribbon
trims a large muff of black martin fur.
Velvet sleeves and chatelaine are added
to elegant evening gowns of satin or
lampas.
The Russian collar of fur, lapped to
?. ? j.v
toe leu siae, remains uuo ia*uutc uuuu
for long cloaks.
Very large muffs of beaver, sealskin or
sable are shown by modistes among the
midwinter importations.
Dressy waists of soft silk or satin in
some brilliant or artistic color are worn
with various skirts at the theatre.
Useful dresses of serge, cashmere and
plain merino are trimmed with a good
deal of braid, especially of fancy weaving.
A substitute for the boa is found in
the new capes of coqs' plumes with long
mantilla fronts, with tasseled bits of
plumage all over them.
French furriers combine sealskin and
Russian sable in the same garment, in
the same way sealskin and Persian lamb
are used in this country.
Plain dresses of cloth and serge are
made with jacket basques and straight
skirts, relieved by straight rows of braid
ing in various arrangements.
Jackct bodices, with a deep pointed
Swiss belt and full plastrons laid in
tucks, are very fashionable for completing
the walking costumes of young girls.
Entire toilets of velvet often have petticoat
fronts of satin in a contrasting color,
and the rich effect is sometimes enhanced
by garnitures of gold cord passementeries.
Ostrich feathers in profusion trim the
large-brimmed hats worn by little girls,
and the rule seems to be, the smaller the
girl, the greater the number of feathers.
The very swell est visiting costume
consists of patent-leather shoes, brown
gloves, a close-fitting bonnet and a long
nolonaise buttoned diagonally from neck
to hem.
Combinations of velvet and broadcloth
are now made up in such similar styles
for cloaks and costumes that it is sometimes
difficult to tell which a lady may
be wearing.
Fur-trimmed, tailor-made costumes of
brown or gray cloth are very much affected
by young ladies, the only outer,
wrap worn by them being a princess or
other shoulder cape of fur.
Garnitures of silk cord, made up in
V-shaped pieces for the front and back
of the waist, and in deep Vandyked
borders for the bottom of the skirt, are
the usual trimmings for costumes of
plain velvet.
Full velvet sleeves, aarKer man tne
material of the costume, and hilfbreadths,
inserted between the breadths
of the skirt, give a striking effect to
many of the newest gowns of dark 01
black cloth and silk.
Varying Value of Silver.
Silver, in its relative value to gold,
has varied greatly at different times. In
the days of the patriarch Abraham it was
8 to 1; B. C. 1000 it was 12 to 1; B.
C. 500 it was 13 to 1, and at the commencement
of the Christian era it was 9
to 1. In the year 500 A. D. it was 18 to
1; in 1100 it was 8 to 1, and in 1400 ll
was 11 to 1.
In 1454 gold was only six times more
valuable than the precious white metal,
silver, and within the next hundred years
two pounds of silver could be exchanged
evenly for one of gold. In 1600 gold
was again worth ten times a6 much as its
paler brother. In 1725 gold was thirteen
times more valuable than silver,
just as it was 500 years B. C. At the I
beginning of the" present century it had
risen in value to a higher point than at
any time since 500 A. D., being fiitecD
times more valuable than silver. In 1876
the ratio of silver to gold was twenty to
one, and in 1880 it was at the highest
point ever known, since which time it
has gradually declined to twenty to one.
?Chicago llernld.
The late Thomas Parker, of Washington,
became so attached to a cane, which
he had carried for years, that he kept it
in bed with him during his illness, and
before he died expressed a wish that the
favorite stick be buried with him. His
wish was carried out, the cane being put
in the coffin.
There are upward of 10,000'. professional
beggars in New York.
I
POLL PARROTS.
SOME PRACTICAL HINTS ON
THEIR HABITS AND TRAINING.
How They Are Imported and Acclimatized?Dying
for Want of
Proper Care?Teaching
Them to Talk.
"I suppose you know that every ship
from the i3thmus lands at least a score
Df parrots in San Francisco," said an
snthusiastic bird tamer to a reporter
lately.
"What becomes of them?"
"I believe most of them die within a
month for want of proper care, and very
few of the rest learn to talk. Of course all
the parrots don't come from the isthmus or
the coast towns where the steamers call.
But euough come from these points at a
low figure to make it well worth while
for a man to undertake the business of
training and acclimatizing them. You
;an get a young parrot at Corento or
A.capulco, or at almost any Central
American port, for five pesos (about $4),
that will be worth from $50 to $100
when properly taught. It's easy enough
when you know the way."
'Some varieties are better than others,
ire they not?"
"Yes, but practically any parrot can
be trained to talk if you commence when
the bird is young. There is a common
but foolish notion that it is only the
male birds that talk. As a matter of
fact there is no more difference in this
respect than in the human species. The
hen parrot can do her share of talking
about as well as a woman's rights advocate."
"Do the different kinds of parrots re-quire
different food?" *
"Cert&iniyVthat is one of the secrets.
Let me describe to you here the kinds of
parrot commonly met with in this country.
Of course you know they are all
imported and acclimatized, the bird
being strictly tropical in its natural
habitat. The Mexican double yellowhead
parrots are among the best birds
we get; they have better talking power,
greater sharpness in picking up words
and tricks, and a more pleasing humanlike
voice than the other varieties. They
are also quick to become attached to
their owners, and to make strangers feel
like strangers, which is one of the chief
charms of a parrot for the average man
or woman. That's humau nature, isn't
it? If a parrot will take to everybody
the owner has no use for it. This variety
has another good quality: that of
fearlessness. A Mexican double yellowhead
parrot will convince any cat in
about two minutes that distance lends
both enchantment and safety to the view.
As to what these birds can learn I will
only say that they have been taught to
imitate all the animals in the barnyard?
the rooster, the dog, the pigs, the peahens,
the turkeys; they can be mude to
repeat half a dozen letters of the alphabet
correctly in succession, spell words,
and as to swearing?they will pick up.
'piisq' wnrds as nnIrk as anv tfin-vear-old
gamin in Tar Flat."
"Are these birds the ones which die
off so fast?"
"Yes, because they are the most sensitive
of all parrots. They require special
care the first winter, and should be
kept warm and out of the draught.
Just here I will give you a pointer. If
you put a monkey, an ant-eater, a parrot
or any tropical animal in a draught of
air?as, for instance, by opening the
window in a room where a fire is burning?you
are going to lose your pet. It
will catch cold and die as surely as if
pou had put it in a refrigerator car."
"Then the imported parrots die of
cold?"
"Not all of them. It is not really cold
;nough in San Francisco to kill a parrot,
;ven on a cold day, but draughts are
fatal, in summer and winter alike. The
real trouble people have in raising parrots
is because they will not try to believe
that the birds will get along much better
it first without drinking water. If you
jet a vessel of water near a freshly imported
parrot, however healthy, it will
3rink itself to death; that's what I
mean."
"Then you would give them no water
at all?"
"Not exactly that. A little water may
ho to r vnunrr bird everv dav: sav
C>" * ? ~? J o y ?* ? ?<J
one or two teaspoonfuls. But the proof
that water i3 bad for a green parrot, if
you let the bird feed itself, is shown by
the fact that a parrot which has been
getting along finely for a whole week
without water, but with plenty of green
food, which contains all the water it requires,
will get dysentery or some other
trouble directly it is allowed to swill all
it wants."
"Parrots improve rapidly in value according
to their talking powers, I suppose?"
"Yes, so much so that a good talker is
worth $100 where a finer-looking bird
that cannot talk is only worth $10."
"How are they taught to talk?"
"You must tame them first. For instance,
by giving them water at a regular
hour; instead of allowing them to
j help themselves you will accustom them
to look for your presence and that is
evervthiner. Then try placing a cover
over the cage, to confine the bird's attention,
and say a short word or sentence i
every day till learned. Once the parrot !
gets a start at talking the trouble is to <
keep the gift iindcr control. The bird <
has no knowledge of good and evil; it |
will learn swear words just as easily as the i
others. The best plan is to have a stock 'i
of words and use only these in the bird's i
hearing, always pitching them in a par- 1
ticular key so as to fix the attention."
"Apropos of the diseases of parrots; is ]
there any remedy for them?" <
"Yes, if not too far advanced. Dyscntery
is very common; it is cured by <
cutting down the water supply, which is ]
generally the cause. Remember, once <
for all, that it is only a thoroughly tamed 1
and acclimated green parrot which can f
be trusted with a water glass in its cage, s
Cold is best dealt with by given the bird 1
? of warm rock candv. stronsr and I i
sweet, or even a little ruui punch, but i
coffee is bad. Very often a sick parrot I
may be cured of a bad cold and dysen- 1
tery by putting a teaspoonful of paregor- i
ic into the drinking water." ?
"Do parrots breed in captivity?" s
"Never; at least so far as those kept in t
cages are concerned." t
"What age do they attain, when taken t
care of by an expert, for instance?" t
"Anything from twenty to fifty years. 8
It all depends on the feeding. The [
trouble is that tame parrots are too often r
treated as mombcrs of the family and s
given everything they screech for. Don't I
forget that young gray parrots can bo i
trusted with water, green parrots never."
?San Francieco ChreaM^ w '] 1
I
Hari K*rl in Japan.
The following description of the Japanese
method of committing suicide is given
by an English paper:
The family and friends of the noble to
commit suicide entered the room led by
a priest, the latter bearing in his hands a
full blooming lotus flower, which he deposited
across the sword lying upon the
platform, and the spectators took seats
around the room. The nobleman then
entered, dressed in pure white garments,
with a yellow colored scarf encircling his
body, and carrying in his hand a little
saucer in which burned a wick lighted
previously from the everlasting light in
front of the family god.
Behind him came his eldest son, if over
five years of age?if not, his nearest relative?carrying
upon a platter made of
sandal wood the wakizaski, a dagger-like
weapon nine and a half inches long, and
nVtlinnplv r*n fViP Ipff. cirip HThp Hlftdp
"? ? ?
of this lancet-looking weapon was
wrapped in yellow crape, a lotus flower
being placed upon its hilt. It generally
was an heirloom of the family, aod considered
the most valuable article in its
possession. It is the instrument with
which hara kari was always committed.
The person to commit this act would
then kneel upon the platform with his
face toward the north and the wakizaski
placed before him. The priest would
take the lotus flower from the Japanese
sword and cut the leaves in pieces, strewing
the same over the kneeling man.
After blessing him in this manner the
lights in the corner saucers were blown
out by the priest, and the light carried
by the suicide extinguished by his son or
nearest relative, and the time for the
final act had come.
After recounting in a solemn voice the
insult suffered by him from his enemy,
he invoked the spirit of his ancestors to
see in what manner he upheld the family
honor entrusted to him at his birth, and
rising upon his left knee he would take
hold of the wakizaski with his left hand,
lift up his white robe with his right hand,
wrapping the end of the yellow sash
around his left wrist, and deliberately
and verv slowlv insert the dagger-like
knife into his stomach above the right
hip bone. At the moment he inserted
the knife his next-of-kin would take the
kahanna (ordinary sword), and with a
swift blow sever the head of the suicide
from the trunk. In every case of this
description,when harakari was committed
in defence of insultsd honor, the insulting
party was informed by the family
of the act performed, by sending to
him a sort of affidavit of the nextof-kin
of the deceased written upon yellow
paper wrapped in the leaves of the
lotus flower, and if that gentleman would
not be considered a craven, unfit for association
with honorable men, he, too,
would then commit hara kari in a somewhat
similar manner.
He Looked Rather Blue.
Over on Desplaines street is a well-to
?a-M ?
ao recall grocer wuu uuic uere i iuui
Germany some years ago and has grown
up with the city. Along in the early
703 there was a popular dye house next
door to his grocery store, and in the
back yard were a number of dye vats and
a great tank in which the dyer jealously
guarded a gcod supply of soft rain
water, in which he rinsed out the garments
sent to him to be cleansed. For
many weeks the German grocer had had
his eye on this rain water tank, and had I
thought how delicious would be a bath
in its cool depths. One warm, moonlight
midsummer night the grocer looked
from an upper window into the dyer's
back yard and the glint of the moonbeams
on the rain water tempted him
sorely. Along about midnight, without
saying a word to any one, the German
sneaked out of his back door, soap and J
towel in hand, cautiously scaled the
fencc and gained the dyer's yard. In
the shadow of the rain water tank he
disrobed, and then he vaulted into the
pellucid water. The sensation was
delicious.
The sly German splashed around in the
water, lathering himself thoroughly with
the soap, and chuckled to think of the
consternation of his neighbor, the dyer,
when he found his rainwater full of
soapsuds the following morning. Aftdr
a while he hopped out, rubbed himself
dry with his towel, jumped into his
clothes, and climbed over into his own
yard. He went into the house, and, as
he entered his wife's room, she screamed
and called for the police, tie looKea
surprised and asked what she was yelling
about. She recognized his voice and
asked where on earth he had been. .He
grinned and told her. Then she asked
him to look in the glass. "When he did
so he fell back in astonishment. He
was darkly, deeply, beautifully blue;
even to his blonde whiskers and hair.
The adventurous German disrobed and
the dyer was summoned. He howled
when he saw the grocer, and explained
that he had put blue dye in the rainwuter
tank that afternoon. Chemicals
were used on the unfortunate grocer for
hours, but to this day blue spots can be
found all over him.?Chicago Herald.
The Mackerel Industry.
The habits of fish, says the San Francisco
Chronicle, are not perfectly known
to naturalists. For instance they have
never been able to determine where the
mackerel passes the winter. Some writers
have asserted that it goes, as soon as the
cold weather commences, to the coast
of Greenland, enters the bays, and
plunging its head into the mud, remains
in that position, with tail in the air, till
revivified by the spring sunshine. Then
it goes south seeking spawning grounds,
following the coasts of Europe and
A.raerica, especially the latter, guided
probably by the Gulf stream. Arriving
an the coast of Europe the schools
separate, swarming about the coasts of
jrreat Britain and Norway, entering the
Baltic or seeking the bays of the French
:oast. In France it is usually caught by
.railing hooks or drifting nets. When
'resh, it is the favorite fish after the
tole, and certain other kinds that are
ess common. Being found everywhere
n the north of France in abundance and
it a low price in the spring, and being
)V no means rare thenceforward till the
irct. of the following January, it is in less
epute among the rich on this account,
?nd even among those of moderate means
tales by repetition. The fishermen of
he Norman and Breton coasts cross into
he Irish sea in search of this prccious
ish. Salt mackerel is held in a certain
'Stimation by Americans. At Dieppe
md Fecamp, in France, the mackerel is
>rcpared with oil in a manner that
enders itr almost as delicate as tho
ardino. From its intestines the ancient
tomans prepared a brine, of bad odor,
laturally, and of a taste that moderns
nrould find absolutely disgusting, which,
levertheleas. they held in high esteem. J,
v;.-'. Hv*- . ' >' ;.... ^
I SABBATH SCHOOlW
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FoSM
FEBRUARY 28.
Lesson Text: "The Temptation of^J
Jesns," Luke It., 1-13?Golden N J
Text: Heb. 1L, 18?Com- fl
ment*ry.
1. "And Jesus, being fall of the Holyi'^fl
Ghost, returned from Jordan." This leeeon
seems to follow immediately the last one,
which told us of the baptism of Jmos by 9
John in Jordan, and of the descent of thf
Holy Spirit upon Him in the form of a dove? lH
We might, with much profit, stop to speak of M
the Jordan divided for the millions of Israel'
to pass over into the promised land, when the
Ark?trpe of the same Lord Jesus?stood in H
the midst on the priests' shoulders till every. V
one bad passed over; divided again for Eli jan V
and Elisna, and a third time for Elisha, but
both the Ark of the Covenant and the priests
who bare it, Elijah and Elisha, and all the
prophets, as well as all the Bible and the his- tory
contained in it, point as to Him whom,
in this lesoon, we see returning from Jordan,' .
filled with the Spirit. If the 14th Terse of| -4
the chapter was included in our lesson, wa I
would then say that the lesson begins and1 |
ends with a record of Jeeus returning from1
certain places filled with the Spirit, first to
be tried and then to minister; and iz wo are
not willing to be filled with the Spirit for %
trial, can we expect that God will fill us with
His spirit for service?
1, 2. "And was led by the spirit into the
wilderness, being forty days tempted of the 1
devil." We have seen the Holy Spirit in the I
birth of Christ, and at His baptism, and now,
we see Him filling the leading Christ; and.' J
whether we see Christ preaching, teaching,j
working miracles, offering Himself a sacrifice,
or rising from the dead, it is the Spirit
in Him that does it all.
"And in those days He did eat nothing'
and when they were ended. He afterward
hungered." Tne forty days' fast reminds us,
of the fastings of the two men wbo afterwards
appeared with Him on the Mount at
I Transfiguration, or Moses it is written, m m
reference to both periods of forty days and I
nights when he was in the mount with God,1 M
that he did neither eat bread nor drink
water (Deut. ix., 9, 18), and of Elijah it to' Ifl
written that he went in the strength of that^H
meal (which the angel hadprepared) forty^H
days and forty nights unto Horeo the Mount
E God (I. Kings iir., 8). There to no doubt
more in the forty days' fast of these wonderful
three than we have yet seen or shall)
see till the kingdom comes; but we shall do,
well day by day to see no man save Jesus
only (Matt, rvii., 8).
3. "If Thou be the Son of God, command
this stone that it be made bread." The fa-. '
ther of lies insinuates that perhaps He is not
the Son of God, but only a mere man, justs
poor carpenter from Nazareth, making pretensions
of being some treat one, ana that *
He had better return to His humble home or
else give some token of His power. It to W
poor thing for the Son of God to be hungry,
when he can, by a word, turn stones into
bread. Let Him satisfy His hunger. Does
not the reader (if he or she be a Christian)
recognize in this tempter the same one who ;
I has often whisp?red to you: "If you were a
child of God, would He let you want for this
or that which you certainly need? Can He
really love you as you think He does and'
deny you the very necessaries of life^ or keep
from you this little gratification?" Thus the
tempter of Eve and of Christ still seeks to
overcome the children of God by leading ' j
them to question the love of God or to doubt
that they are His children. .$5
4. "It is written that man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God." *
This is the reply of Christ to the tempter.
Thp outward indications were that God had
failed him, but Jesus places the word of God
against all other evidences and rests unmoved
on what is written. Believing is better
than seeing.
5-7. "If Thou therefore wilt worship me,
all shall- be Thine." The statements 01 these j
verses that the devil took Him to an hi^ij j
mountain and shewed Him all the kingdoms
of the world in a moment of time, cannot be
understood or explained by us, but can be re- i
ceived, on the authority of the Holy Spirit,
who, through the servant of God, wrote f
these things, and implicitly believed. The 1
full power of the devil we are not familiar
with (nor do we want to be), cor is it fully re^^^H
vealed. Jesus elsewhere calls him the pnnee^]
of this world, and Paul speaks of him as the J
prince of the power of the air and the god of I
this world, while John, in Revelation, speaks J
of a time when the devil will rive to Anti- 1
christ that which in our lesson ne offered to .1
Christ; so that his boast in his temptation I
/i/voc nr.* cum tn hav? been altogether a vain
one. This world is the Lord's by "creation; He '
gave it to Adam, but AdauL by his sin, gave
the deviJ a claim to it which he has not failed to j
make use of, and it is true to-day that "The
whole world lieth in the evil one" (I John v.,
10, R. V.). This statement is true not only of
heathendom, but also of Christendom, and,
in some measure, of the Christian church. If
the manifest works of the devil indicate his
property, then that which he does not control
is a small section of earth and a ?mall ...
number of people. But Daniel saw in vision
the kingdom and dominion under the whole
heaven given to the Son of Man aad to the
saints of the Most High (Dan. vii., 13, 14,
27), and this temptation was to obtain by
short cut and apart from suffering that which
in due time will be all His. (Sea Rev. xi.,
15, 18).
8.' 'Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve." Again Jesus
is victor, ana the sword of the Spirit is the
successful weapon. The Word of God is more
to Jesus than all the glory of all the kingdoms
of this world, and eagerness to do the will of i
God crowds out all else. )
9-11. "If Thou be the Son of God cast thyself
down from hence." The conflict is now
I in Jerusalem, the Holy City, and, on a pinnacle
of the temple, and in presenting this J
temptation the adversary also seeks to wield ,
j the sword of the Spirit, but he did as so many
do to-day, quoted only the part of the passage
which seemed to suit his purpose, omitting
that which would have condemned him. The
words quoted are given in the rsaim (rs. ici., -n
9-13) as the result of making the Lord, the 1
j Most High, one's Refuge and Habitation. To 1
do as the devil suggested would surely be a I
ceasing to abide under the shadow of the AI- J
mighty, or to make the Most Hieh one's habi- J
tation, and therefore, the conditions being^^B
broken, the promise would be forfeitedi^^M
Abiding in Christ and in the love of God
need fear no evil, but are perfectly safe in^P
His keeping. 1
12. ''And Jesus, answering, said unto
him, It is said, Thou shall not tempt the
Lord thy God." Again the sword of the
Spirit flashes, and this time it is a word
from Deut. vi., 16, the context of which is:
"Ye shall diligently keep the command- <
ments of the Lord your God, * * * and
thou shalt do that which is right and good in
11 ti,a " Tf wb would not be
LUU SlgUb \JM. VMW _
guilty of tempting the Lord, let us keep His
commandments and do right in His sight.
Listening to any other voice bat His, even to
the voice of the best of men, we are apt to be
led astray.
13. "And when the devil had ended all the
temptation, he departed from Him for a sea*
son.' Matthew and Mark add that angels
came and ministered unto Him. Although
<10 human eyes witnessed this conflict, who
can tell what hosts of angels, good and bad,
were present: the bad in full sympathy with
their leader and eager for his victory, the
good in full sympathy with Christ, but compelled
to stand aside till the enemy was van?[uished.
With joyful hearts they now reresh
Him as victorious. He accepts their
cheerful ministry; while satan ana his followers
retire to plan some new device whereby
they may perchance obtain a victory over
this Holy One of God. And now we are in
daily conflict with this same adversary.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the world rulers of darkness, .
against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in
the heavenly places."?Lesson Helper.
WHAT IT COSTS. fl
Tbe actual amount of malt liquors con- 9
sumed in 1888 was 767,587,056 gallons. This fl
Includes not quite 3,000,000 gallons of im- H
ported beer and ale. The manufacturer'! fl
price to the retailer is ratber above than be- fl
low twenty cents per gallon. At twenty fl
cents the cost to the dealers would be $153,* Bi
517,411. The retailers get au average ol fl
sixty cents per gallon, which makes tbe fl
to the consumers (460,522,233, which th? fl
American people spend annually for malt liq- ' fl
uor, principally beer. The most careful 66- fl
timate puts the cost of wine to the consumet fl
at $72,670.136, and of distilled spirits $379;- fl
46)6,860. This gives us a grand total of $912,'- H
449,129, nearly $1,000,000,000, spent annual!; fl
for L? ">uor by the people gf 11;? United 3^(09. fl
?Catnoiic Citizen. __ fl