University of South Carolina Libraries
% MEISSONIEE. METHODS AND FOIBLES OF A GREAT FRENCH ARTIST. The Fabulous Sums He Received . for His Masterpieces?Curious Reminiscences of the Eccenttlc Painter. ' > Meissonier, the great French artist *rho died in Paris recently, spent money pwith both hands. He built himself on |the Malesherbes place in Paris a house that -was a wonder of taste. He kept a Country seat in the grand style of the jinillionaire aristocrat. He bought everything be wished right and left v ithout !once stopping to calculate his imn ediate income. His ability to be thus reckless Vith impunity was due to his ur paral- ; leled success in making his high art <a financial success. Few if any other 1 [modern painters have persistently de taumded and received such great material 1 recognition of their work. The prices paid repeatedly for his tiny canvasus have 'been fabulously high. A Frenchman has calculated since his death that none of 1 his well known works- is to be had for ! much less than $300 a square inch. ji At the Secretan sale seven ltttle genre :pictures by Meissonier went for $101,000* >?'Le Vin dv Cure," on wood, four and ' one-one half inches high by six inches wide, done in 1860, brought $16,000; i "Le Peintre et l'Amateur." on wood, , ;aine by four inches, 1859, $12,500; , 'Joune Homme Ecrirant Une Lettre," 4>n wood, nine by seven inches, 1882. , 13 ,000; "Joueurs de Boules ausVer-j, ?ailles," on wood, five and one-half by ] )eight, 1847, $14,200; "Joueurs de , Boules a Antibes," on wood, five by < iseven inches, 1869, $12,000; "Liseur ( -en Costume Rose," on wood, eight by j 'six inches, 1S54, $13,200; "Le Coup de jrEtrior," on wood, nine by five inches, , .date unknown, $16,000. I * Meissonier was never to be shaken in { phis demands for enormous prices. Often, ] .after finishing a picture, he doubled the i .estimate he had made of its value before j Ibeginning it. Emperor Napoleon III. < ^originally appropriated $20,000 for the < jpicture *'Napoleon m. at Solferino." ^ After completing the work on it Meis- < gonier gave him the alternative between j paying $40,000 and letting his most ( [famous portrait fall into strange hands. { iRichard "Wallace agreed to give the 3 mainter $30,000 for putting on canvas ] ,^'Napoleon in the Battle at Friedland." y Meissonier did the picture, and refused < )to let it go for less than $60,000. When | iWallace demurred, Meissonier coolly sold < {the painting at his price to an American yrho did not haggle. Meissonier's masterpiece, "1814," is ; known us the most expensive painting in < the world. It is twenty inches high by j thirty inches wide, and was last sold for j j|170,000. It represents Napoleon I. And his great general staff riding back , ifrom the scene of their defeat. It came ; to be painted in this wise: In 1870 M. , jDelhante, a rich business man with a taste for art, found Meissonier at work ; {in his studio on one of his microscopic : (canvases. L *sWViof rlnpc it rpnrpspnt2" hp aslcpd. P' "A military subject, to which I will give the title '1814."' i/ "Tour subject is very gfreat and your ,canvas is veiy small, M. Meissonier," said Delhante. Why do you not paiat a larger picture?" . Is "I have laid it in small for two reasons?first, because that is my style of j jpainting; second, because, to speak, ppenly, I need money. I work slowly, land am able to finish a little picture pauch sooner than a large one." p "So you need money. Well, paint toy portrait. What will it cost?" L "Five thousand dollars." p Delhante drew out his purse and laid the money on the table. "Now, I wish also for myself the picture '1814,'" he 'continued, "but on the condition that! you do it on a larger canvas." tSome time later, when the portrait as completed, Meissonier showed his ipatron the outlines of a new "1814," [with the question: "Is that large enough for you?" k "Just right. What will it cost?" J 4'Fourteen thousand dollars." I 4'All right: there is half the price.*' * The picture was painted, paid for, and ^delivered, and in 1864 was exhibited in The Salon. An Englishman offered $60,000 for it, but Delhante held back. iVailderbilt increased the offer to $80,. .000, yet failed to secure the picture. Finally M. Bague, a connoisseur, got it . for $100,000, and, after keeping it in his possession for one day, made the | famohs sale of it to M. Chauchard for $150,000. This was the first time a great painter had 3een with his own eyes such a triumph of his art. Those who hare approached most closely his success were Munkaczy, with his "Christ before Pilate," which sold for $100,000; Millet, with his "Angelus." for which $120,000 -was paid, and Murillo, with his "Ascension," $130,000. J. In the work behind his great artistic 'and financial success Meissonier followed jelosely the suggestion of the German jproverb, "Kein Preis ohne Fleiss." An experience of Menzel and Pietsch in his jstudio in 1867 illustrates the infinite ,painstaking with which all his great pictures were painted. "1807," or the ["Cuiraf^iers of Friedland" was unfinished on his easel. In reponse to a comjment from one of his Visitors Meissioner explained the nature of the work lie had done in order to be able to do it. "The way of the cuirasBiers to the enemy," he said, "lay over a field of grain, still colored with the tints ;of June green. Infantry had already 'marched oyer the field and had trodden 'down the blades. To get this effect perfect before my eyes I had a field near limy house in the country planted to rye iin the fall. In the following May, when the bli^cs tad taken on about the size and thD color which would be characteristic cf a jrain field in East Prussia on June 14, the day of the battle, I had a troop of infantry, placed at my disposal jby the commander of a neighboring j jgsrrison, march over it diagonally. After (the field had been thus piepared, I made j Jfour large and miuutely exact studies of aiature from it. These studies I utilized I in the picture before you. I also made I fuse of a company of cuirassiers from the | jPoissy post for the purpose of studying j the effects produced by their movement. ! . Day after day they stormed by my house in the wildest haste, swinging their swords and shouting, 'Vive I'Empereur.'" rThu3, without the aid of instantaneous photography, now so indispensable to the painter ot such scenes, Meissonier was enabled to study and represent the men and horses in the mad movements of the full charge. J " - J .\ [ ' Meissonier, the Great, was of dwarfish stature. He had a large, powerful, bony head, with a wide forehead and bushy eyebrows. Down over hia breast flowed a Ions white beard, the pride of his j heart. He imagined that it helped him look larger and statelier than he was. This idea was a drop of comfort in hia cup of mourning over his dwarfishness. It gave him a little consolation in hia everlasting regret that he was not a man of martial figure, for, with all his phenomenal successes, Meissonier dreamed half of his dajs of the impossible ambition to be big. To make himself look more manly and robust he frequently encased his diminutive legs in huge cavalry boots. He prinked daily before the mirror, and was never weary of comparing himself with ether small men to show that he was really not so very little. To the end he confided in his friends the pangs he ever suffered on account of his under size. Occasionally, but only oc casionally, did Meisaomor una tne desired consolation he sought from his acquaintances. One afternoon, as the Sculptor Dubois entered his studio, Meissonier exclaimed joyfully: 'What do you think! The corn doctor was just here, aud what do you suppose he says? A six-foot grenadier cannot get any bigger corns than mine."? New York Sun. \ Coral Animals Tamed. "I know that coral animals can be tamed, for I hare had considerable experience with them," said George Bancroft, of Tallahassee. Mr. Bancroft has spent several years of his life among the coral reefs off the coast of Florida and Key West, and has made & study of the work of the little coral animal. The traveler has a fine collection of coral with him, and about each piece has something interesting to relate. "I belie7e I am the first person, however, who ever tamed the polyps," continued Mr. Bancroft, a3 ha took a fine specimen from his pocket. "That piece [ found on a reef in Florida, and as I ivas anxious to notice how fast the coral jrows I placed it in the water where I ;culd visit it every week and note the change. I had no idea the coral animal' *ould become used to my coming, but >ne day after about the tenth visit I loticed the polyps darting into their ;ells. After several more visits some of ;he little fellows became so bold as to remain on me ouisiae, ana nnauy iney Decarae so well acquainted with me they rc-ould remain in sight. I have stood by ;he side of that four-inch-square specimen for hours examining the thousands jf animals on it. "Scientific men claim that the coral ?rows slowly, not more than an inch in LOO years, but I hare proved that the scientific people don't know what they ire talking about, for the piece containing my coral pets in six months grew at least an inch. It is rather hard to describe how the animal works. The little fellow is* a mere sack containing a stomach. It is a compound animal, and inrrpaspn <rpmm?tinn w>nn<* Tinlvns ? j & j / ~?o ??j rspringing from the original polyp, sometimes indifferently from any part of its surface. The upper surface is decked out with tentacles and the body is separated by a number of partitions that extend from the stomach to the outer skiD. Between these walls of flesh the carbonate of lime is deposited and in that way the coral grows." Mr. Bancroft has many specimens of i coral with him. One kind he calls the pepper coral. When touched with the tongue it will cause tears to run from the eyes of the owner of the tongue. It is wone thau red pepper. The coral, the traveler says, is not sought for as it was years ago. "Coral ornaments are not popular at j present,"said Mr. Bancroft," and until j hlici-o ia a r?ra7m fnr fha frarlo trill bUViv * * <-* VtUtiV AV* fUWCU KU^ V1UUV 1IU? not be extensive."?Chicago Tribune. A Skeleton Held by a Cleft Tree. Freeman P. Lane, who has just returned from Chaska, says that a farmer living near that place, while traversing a copse of heavy oak timber some five ! milds from Chaska, discovered a human skeleton securely pinioned to a huge oak. The supposition, based upon the surrounding conditions, is that the man must have met with death before cold weather set in last fall. The skeleton was in an upright position, and the entire right arm and shoulder was wedged into a crack in the trunk of the tree. The tree is badly shattered from top to bottom, and this theory i3 evolved: During a heavy thunder shower last fall the man sought shelter beneath the wide-spreading branches of the oak, and a thunderbolt rent the tree from tip to root, killing the man and opening a crevice in the tree that immediately clesed, pinioning the man. It is narrated that a farm hand employed some four miles from the death-trap has been missing since early in November or late in October. It is surmised that he waa the victim of nature's unwonted freak.? Minneapolis Tribune. Forests and Rain. Among the forestry students there are some who believe that forests tend tc equalize the rainfall, making the downfall regular through the whole year, when the land is denuded of its forest coverings rain falls more furiously and then drouths follow. There is another class who believe that rain falls at all only tKjcause of forests, and when they are removed a country becomes an arid waste. The British Government has recently issued statistics of the meterology of British Guiana. The country, comparatively speaking, may be styled a vast forest; and when we learn that the enormous rainfall of 84.7 is the mean of a number of years, and that in the year1 1889 as much as 123.5 inches fell, it will be seen that one of the classes of students cited may take great comfort. But when we read further and find that it only took eleven days to pour down this flood, and that for 354 days out of the 365 the sun shone steadily and brightly, it will be difficult to decide which side of the forestry argument has the best of it.? New York Independent. To Cat Glass With Scissers. One can cut glass with a scissors as easily as though it were an autumn leaf. The entire secret consists in plunging the pane of glass into a tub of water, submerging also the hands and the scissors. The scissors will cut ia straight lines without a flaw. This result is achieved in consequence of the absence of vibration. If the least portion of the scissors is left out of the water, the vibration will prevent the glass cutting.? Pott Dispatch. j 1 BUDGET OF FUN. innwnoAna GKKTrn RS PROM VARIOUS SOURCES. Return Lore?Not Unnatural?Nothing to Do With the Case? The Shame of It? Etc., Etc. They had a quarrel and she sent His letters back next day, His ring and all his presents went To him without delay. "Pray send my kisses back to me," He wrote, "Could you forget them?" Bhe answered speedily that he Must come himself and get them. ?Outing. not unnatural. 4<0h, for the wings of a dove 1" sang Ethel. "I prefer the second joint," said Ohollie, absently.?New York Htrald. the shake of it. Customer?"Why did you take jour boy awftj from school?" Grocer?"They are ruining him. Why, they were trying to teach him that tixteen ounces make a pound!" at 11:30 p. m. "Do you believe that I am but a dream in your mind, as some people say, Miss Harris?" "No; not at all. Dreams go by contraries, while you don't go at all."?New York Herald. PROVING AN ALIBI. Court?"Is there anything charged against this man?" Prisoner?"There can't be, Judge. I haven't been able to get anything jcharged to me for fifteen jears."? SomeroiUe Journal. ALMOST A HINT. , Mr. Qoldbug?"What a beautiful littfe hand you have. Miss Gitthar." Miss Gitthar?"Yes; ma often says that my engagement ring will hardly cost anything at all." Impressive silence for several minutes. ?Texas Siflings. NOTHING TO DO WITH THS CASK. Maud?"Jack tells me that he has never loved any one before." Ethel?"Well, excuse me for telling Trmi hnf. ho And T were once enerasred." Maud?"Oh, I didn't ask him about engagements. I only asked him about love."?Munsey's Weekly. ONE MAN PLEASED. "You shouldn't run down your new house so. I heard a man talking about it to-day, and he simply raved about it. Baid it was magnificent." "Who was he's" "Barrows." "Oh, yes. He was my architect."? New York Sun. HE KNEW WHICH WAT THEY RAN. Pat?"Yez may say wot yez plaze, gintlemen; it's not onywhere ye'll be foindin' braver men nor th' Irish!" Banter?"Come off, Pat; it was only the other night that I made five of them run." Pat?"Was it long: cat chin' ye, they | were?"?Life. AN ADVERTISED METHOD OP SUICIDE. Cuuiso?"It seems queer to advertise methods of 3uicide." Mrs. Cumso?"What in the world do you mean?" Cumso?"Here's an advertisement which says: 'Try a pair of our shoes and you will never wear another shoe.'"? Harper's Bazar. JIMMY FOLLOWED SUIT. Teacher?"Where do we obtain coal, Freddy?" Freddy ? "From the coal beds, ma'am." Teacher?"Right! Now, Jimmy, where do we obtain feathers?" Jimmy?"From the feather beds, ma'am."?Wasp. ( INHERITED JUSTICE. Miss Mildmaid?"Do you know, Miss Haughty, that I think your neighbor, the debutante at last evening's reception, is destined to shine in society's circles?" Miss Haughty?"She ought to. Her father was a bootblack long enough to insure her inheriting remarkable shining qualities."?Mercury. AN UNAVOIDABLE DELAY. Bingo?"I went into the antique furniture dealer's to-day to get that seventeenth century chair you admired so much, but he had just sold it." Mrs. Bingo?"How unfortunate!" Bingo?"Yes. He said it would be at least a week before he could turn out another like it."?Munsey't Weekly. KATHEU DIFFICULT. Mis3 D.?"Angelina, why don't you marry Lieut. X ?" Miss A.?"First, because he has no brains?and he can't ride, dance or play tennis. What could we do with him?" Miss D.?"But he swims beautifully." Miss A.?"Oh yes?but one can't keep one's husband in an aquarium pou know."?Life. HAVING REVENGE. Home (to his friend at the concert, who is applauding enthusiastically)? "For goodness sake, don't man; that was abominable! You'll bring that :ruel music butcher out again!" O'Bowie (with increased enthusiasm) ?"Good! Can't you see he's half fainting with exhaustion? I want some revenge, my boy."?Fliegende Blaetter. THE POLICY PAID THE POET. The following letter shows how a foung gentleman made money by publishing a book of poems. The publisher wrote immediately after the book was published: "Dear Sir?Your whole edition has gone off, leaving a balancc of ?100 in pour favor. Check inclosed. P. S.? There was a fire in the warehouse and the coatents were insured."?London Tit-Bits. A DILEMMA. The Captain?"Colonel Waxem will be banqueted after his wedding to-night, and I am to respond to the toast. 'None but the brave deserve the fair.' What the deuce shall I say?" The Major?"I hardly know how to adme you. After you've seen the bride, fou'U have to turn your speech into an argument to prove either that Waxem I isn't brave or that he isn't getting hia deserts."?Kate Field's Washington. he wasn't. "I suppose," said she, glancing at the clock, ''that like other boys you fought many battles at school, and that when you were once in a fight you stayed in it till you won." 4iNo," said he, candidly, "I uied to cret cut of fisrhts as quickly as possible." "Well, now," she observed, with another glance at the clock, 4'I should 1 think ycu would have been a stayer." 1 "No, I wasn't." And to show that he wasn't a stayer he took his hat and went.?Cape Cod 1 Item. 1 I A FUTURE DIPLOMAT. ' Smart Youngun?"Mother, can I dig 1 up the garden for you to plant your flowers?" Mother?"What a thoughtful boyt Yes, dear, and here's ten cents; I'm sure 1 no other woman in this neighborhood has 1 such a kind, thoughtful mother's boy as mine." 1 And then that kind, thoughtful 1 mother's boy goes triumphantly forward and says aloud, so that all may hear who listen: \ "Bully! I didn't see at first how I 1 was to get them worms without her find ing out that I was goin' fismn'. i ou Dei J.'ma dandy!"?Drake'a Magazine. i couldn't astonish them. ' "I once shot a man," began the vie- ( tim of nerve food, as the train sped onward. Nobody started up suddenly. No one said "What's that?" in a shocked , tone of voice. ! He began again in a louder tone: "I once shot a man?" Still the same oppressive lack of interest. Then he got desperate. He shouted: "I once killed ten men." No one even looked round. That wilted him. "Conductor," he said, hoarsely, as he* | fled into the chair car, "who in heaven's name are those fiends in the smoker?" "Those," said the official, "are chiefly cowboys from the Texan border.'"?St. Joseph News. in its concentrated form. "Doctor," said the tired looking \ caller, "I believe a trial of Dr. Koch's i lymph wold do me good." i "Your lungs, sir," replied the physi- i cian, "are perfectly sound. Yoa need no i consumption cure," i "But I have a tired feeling all the i time." I "A kind of indisposition to take any I active exercise?" j "Yes." "Or any other kind of exercise?" "Yes." 'Or to do anything like work?" "Um?ye3." ""What you need, sir, is the lymph of industry." * "I believe you are right, doctor," said the caller, rising languidly. "I'll live on honey for the next thirty days and see how it goes."?Chicago Tribune. EXPLAINING A PARLOR RACKET. Singers who murder music are usually considered more guilty than the music is. , The provoked Cincinnati Judge was not blaming the music, however, when he turned the metaphor the other day. His daughter and a young gentleman caller frequently indulge in tuneful vocal practice over the piano, and when *? > narlAi* 1 ILiey JJCl< luycLuci iu w\. vuv. Judge gets in as remote a part of the house as possible in order to avoid what he terms the uproar. One evening last week they had been even more devoted than usual to their music, and on the following morning the Judge inquired of his daughter: "What on earth was all that racket you and your caller were making in the parlor last evening?" 4'Why, papa, Sam and I were trying ' a new duet." ' "Trying a new duet, were you? Well, from what 1 heard I should judge that you found it guilty and inflicted the heaviest penalty against it."?Cleveland Plain Dealtr. TURNING IT ON HER. He had finished his introductory re? , marks, and was about to propose, when | he discovered that his proposal would be ] treated with contempt. I "Go on, Mr. Sprigger," she said, im- , patiently tapping her foot on the carpet . as he paused in his remarks. | "I was about to say, Miss Hilder," ho continued, "tnat i am aware taat mo j human heart, especially a woman's, is a delicate thing, and I come to-night to \ correct a wrong impression which you ] have been under for some time, I think. \ To be plain, Miss Hilder, because I do < not wish to cause you future suffering, \ let me state that I have never cared ] enough for you to ask you to link your \ lot with mine, therefore do not think ] that I can return the love you bear for ] me. My attentions to you have been ( prompted purely by a friendly fseling, i nothing more. But I trust this will not ] mar our friendly relations," he said, tak- ] ing his hat to go, "for remember, you ] will ever have in me a true friend. Be < assured I will always be a nephew to 5 you." I And she was so dumb with surprise < and anger that she didn't say good-bv to him when he bowed himself out.?Boston Herald. Gambetta's Glass Eye. At the age of nine Leon Gambetta, the j French statesman, was sent to the semi- j nary at Montfaucon, near the village of , Labastide, where Joachim Murat, King , of Naples, was born. It has been related j that the child voluntarily put out one of ' his own eyes with a penknife, when he \ was at the ecclesiastical seminary, in or- ( der to compel his parents to withdraw ] him from the charge of the priests, says , Paul Armand, writing in a syndicate let- ] ter. The accident really happeued in the , following manner: Leon always spent < his holidays at home at Cahors. Next < door to his father's shop a cutler named 1 Galtle had established himself, and tM , child was constantly in the cutler's work- ] shop. One day, as a workman was bor- ( ing a hole in the handle of a knife with < a steel drill, put in motion by means of a 1 sort of bow, the steel rod broke, and one 1 of the pieces struck the child in the right ] fcve. Henceforth Leon Gambetta was ' ( blind of an eye. We all remjember his 1 protuberant eye at college, covered with 1 a whitish pellicle,- which gan him the < appearance of a Cyclops. His school- < fellows used to call him Ccclesonac- J count of it. His eye remained in this ] way till 1887, when Dr. Weekertook out j the diseased eye and substituted a gloss ] one ia its place.? Picayune, , TIGER TAMING. A STURDY HEART, STRONG ARM AND STOUT CLUB NECESSARY. The Vaunted Power of the Hnmai Eye a Myth?How the Tiger's Claws Are Clipped. ? Train in sr Secrets. A New York Sun reporter describes s recent interview with George Conklin Superintendent of Barnum's menagerie. Wt :juoteas follows: Mr. Conklin and his visitor approached i long cage standing in line with man] other cages in a long one-story bricl building, which bounded the eastern enc of the great enclosure which the bij show occupies during the winter season, The cage had five Bengal tigers in it, Four of them were together. The fiftt was separated from the others by a temporary iron grating. Two of the foui tigers which were in company had thick leather collars round their necks auc stout chains several feet long fastened U them. The tiger in solitary coafinemeni was similarly harnessed. "Well," said Mr. Conklin, "Fli tel vou one thing we do besides 'feeding these tigers. We train them. Thos< fellows in there who have chains 01 i-hpm and are iuat now snittin<? ant growling at us in such savage style, art new. We have had them only a montl or two. The others are old boys wh< will let me go into the cage and not sai i word to me. By the time we go or the road they will all let me go into thi cage.- I give them a lesson every day That's ons thing we do during the win ter." 'How do you tame them?" asked th< visitor. "It's easily done," said the trainei carelessly. "Every day I have the mer catch the ends of the chains which hole the new tigers, and fasten them to th< bars so they can only move a certain dis tance. Then I arm myself with a raw bide whip aad a stoat club and enter th< cage. I take a chair wtth me and sii down in the corner. The minute I get in the untrained tigers spring at me. N< doubt they would chew me to shreds ii they got at me, but the chains hold then and they only tumble on the floor. I hii them smartly with the whip and thej crouch back and snarl. After a little ] 3hove my chair closer. Then they jump tt me again, but again they are throwt down by their chains. I shove closei and repeat the programme, and finally ] get so close that they can touch me witl their noses, but not bite me. Here I sii e i. 4~.11.: I-*?* tor a lUllg uuic, caitnuy iu tncm no iuup as they remain quiet, and switching them with all the lorce pos 3ible when they become fierce [n the course of a few weeks they be come used to my entrance, anct onij cringe and snarl at me. Then I try them one by one, without a chain. I hart never so far used the club. Now I hole it ready to deal a mighty blow if neces jary, but it is seldom necessary. Tb< tiger is subdued and permits my entrance whenever I choose. I have got these tigers here nearly trained. They snar jret, you see, but next week I vrill tackl< them without chains. That fellow in tht other compartment is tractable enough, but he persists in fighting with the big Bengal, so we have to keep them sepa rate. Do you see that long mark on hi belly? He and the big: fellow had i particularly hard fight the other day and that is one result. If we hadn't had the big fellow's claws clipped before' hand, he'd have ripped open the new one from end to end. So there's anothei delicate job for me. I've got to get those tigers on good terms." "Is there any basis of truth in manj storie3 that are told of the power of the human eye over wild beasts?" 'Not the slightest," said Conklin disdainfully. "Of course it is true that a man who aims to subdue wild beastj must show a fearless front, and no dcubl the eye shares with the body generallj the task of impressing the beast. But the real requisite is real fearlessness. If a man's heart is sturdy he need not care a rap about his ejes. He can leare them to themselves just as he leaves the other members of his body. The secret oi taming wild beasts i3 the realization that ill wild beasts, however ferocious, are at aeart cowards?particularly if they belong to the cat family, as lions, tigers, leopards, and panthers do. That granted, i 8tout heart, a stout arm, and a stout whip or club is all that is necessary. ] lever have known fear." "Do you always clip the claws of youj ferocious animals?" "Those of the cat tribe, always," said the trainer. "It is quite a job, too, and requires a number of men. You've got to get your lion or tiger bound in such a svay as to throw him on his side and then reach in through the bars and grab bis four feet. These you pull out between the bars and hold tight. This is no small job in the case of a very large lion or tiger. They struggle violently, Even after they are helpless and while the operation of clipping is going on. J killed a line panther this winter clipping bis claws, or rather he killed himself, ifter we had him securcly down so he ;ould hardly move a muscle, he strained io in his efforts to free himself that he jroke a blood vessel and died almost instantly." A Thievia? Organization. Something quite new in the history of secret societies has just been discovered it Selkirk in the shape of an Apprentice League. The Pall Mall Gazette saysi [ts objects have not been to organize a novement foy shorter hours or largei say, but, it is alleged, for mutual benoit, at the expence of their employers. They have removed from their mas :ers' premises to their own "wai :hest" drapery, goods, jewelry, tobacco, iquors, booklets, sweetmeats, ironmongery, etc. It is alleged tnat the societj md about sixteen members, with a regllarly constituted treasurer, and thai some of the goods had been sold,bartered jr consumed by several leading members. The operations of the league had lot excited suspicion, and might have jeen continued indefinitely had the :reaSurer's landlady not become anxioui )n account of the mysterious bag kepi jy her lodger under lock and key, and which had grown daily heavier. Rumoi ias it that, this chest was only a brancb depository, and that another has yet tc De discovered. Some of the boys havt jeen discharged irorn their employment. Dthers were young and had contrived joods from their father's premises. The natter is being investigated by the poice, but it is understood that the employers have unanimous:/ refrained from odging a complaint. WORDS OF WISDOX. 1 Death is the unforgetable. I I We are to ourselves like a closed ? , book. 1 Music first; after that, take youi r i choice. t The beautiful hidden virtures are the ; j most lovely. j An hour for jourself, the rest of the day for others. i 1 You should not fear, nor yet should < i you wish for your last day. i How delightful are the beauties of ab- c . negation?in the retrospect! I 1 A good man is kinder to Sis enemy 1 than bad men are to their friends. ( j Some men are fated to see no furthet 1 than the top round of the treadmill. fi ' The flowers, the grass and the leaves; j t arhnt. wnnlH nntnrp hr? without them? . ' " " ' ~ ~ s i No man ever offended his own con science but first or last it was revenged : upon him for it. He who receives a good turn, should I never forget it; he who does not, should ' never remember it. ' All the while thou livest ill, thou hast the trouble, distraction, inconveniences of life, but not the sweets and true use j of it. f .... Transact business with the men of tha ! world like a person in a shower of rain, staying no longer than is indispensably | necessary. } To Summer In Death Yalley. ? J. H. Clery, a mild-mannered, blond1 moustached young man who has been on 3 United States, Signal Officer Connor's ' staff in the Rialto building, has left the " city to become a desert-dwelling hermit. Mr. Clery goes to California?to ! Death valley?and in Death valley he will dwell six Lionths in solitude abso' lute. JJeatb valley is mine southwestern .> portion of the California desert. A more : utterly desolate spot there is not on earth. It is the bed of a dried sand lake forty miles long and twenty miles wide and surrounded by steep hills. There is absolutely nothing there except sand and * alkali and blistering heat; for Death ! valley is said to be the hottest place in the land. Shade there is none, the sky 1 never clouds, and the mercury seldom or never goes below 100 degree. Even . ' the breezes come like furnace blasts, laden with scorching bits of sand. If ' there is any water to be found in the J valley where once was a great lake far \ below the ocean level, it is strongly im- I pregnated with alkali, and there is not a ' 1 living crcature in the district save rattle- ' snakes and scorpions. ' Sixty mile3 from the railway terminus ! ' at Eeeler the signal service hermit will ' journey into this blistering desolation 1 ' and set up his tent. Here for six months ' or more he will observe the phenomena 1 of the desert now unknown to man. He ' ' will study the sand blasts, keep record ' ' nt fVio tnmnnHfiiM aao?rfair> t.TlP PTWt I U1 UUC bwui|/wiuuutv) H^VW* , level of the valley below the sea, watch 1 J for rainfall?not a drop has fallen, they ' say, in twelve years?and tabulate all 1 ' these things for the benefit of scientists. 1 I In the same desert, but practically as \ s far removed from one another as if in the Sahara, will be three other solitajy ! investigators. The signal service has j \ long desired to collect facts concerning > this region unknown and unpeopled, but 1 J has not wished to order any one to un- 1 ( dergo the dismal task of exploring it. 1 The present investigators are volunteers. | Mr. Clery goes about his task as | checrfully as if he were going on a sum- j [ mer outing. .He knows nothing of the 1 | details of the arrangement except that , ' food will be brought him from Keeler. "And what will you do for water?" I ( asked a reporter as Mr. Clery prepared i j , to set out for the depot. "Indeed I haven't the slightest idea," { was the reply. "I suppose they will see to that for me."?Kansas City Times. j Barometric Plants. a j A French publication contains a list ( , of prognostics apropos of the aspect that t | different plants present according to the ! state of the atmosphere. The following j; ! are a few examples: If the head of the } , gith (Nigalla sativa) droops it will be t warm; if the head of the same plant stands upright it will be cool; if the stalks of clover and other leguminous plants stand upright there will be rain; if the leaf o^the wood sorrel turns up it t is a sign of a^&orm; if the leaf of the * I whitlow grass siowiy Denas up mere wau * be a storm; if the flower of the convol- t villus closes it will rain; if the flower of t the pimpernell closes it will rain; if the c flower of the hibiscus closes it will rain; D if the flower of the sorrel opens it will be ? fine weather; if the flower of.the same ' plant closes it will rain; if the flowers of ^ the carline thistle close there will be a E storm; if the flower of the lettuce ex- 3 pands it will rain; if the flower of the small bind weed closes look out for rain; & if tho pitcher plant turns upside down it t will rain, but if it stands erect it will be | c fine weather. If the flower of the cinque ' 4 J- ~:ii ;t ; | t il>U expauua tucic nriti uo miu, uuv U ?w closes the weather will be fair. If the 0 flowers of the African marigold close it v will rain; if the scales of the teasel be- fc come close pressed against each other it ? will rain. 0 S Sad Fate of a Brave Drummer Boy. Alexander Wycisk, the only drummer who has worn the iron cross, tolled himself in Ratibor, Germany, a short time t since. He went to the Franco-Prussian t war with the Twenty-third Infantry, h One afternoon he lay with his cam- I rades behind the wall of a courtyard f which the French were trying to take by p storm. * In the heat of the struggle he ti threw away his drum, snatched a rifle t from a dying comrade, punched a hole in tl the wall with a bayonet, and began fir- a ing on the enemy. When the order to w advance from the courtyard on the t] attacking force was given, Wycisk could 2 aot find his drum. The Germans broke ii over the wall, and were immediately h within but few rods of the enemy, tl Wycisk sprang, far ahead, seized, a n Frcucli drummer by the waistband, f< wrested from him his drum and sticks, v, and began beating the "double quick.'* ri For this deed he received the order I jjiven only for bravery on the field of battle. Poverty and inability to find work were the causes of his suicide.? Neio York Sun. o Speed-Indicator. 91 A fertile brain at Decorah, Iowa, has f( invented a speed-indicator, which is to j.] be fastened to the driver's wrist in such a way that the dial may be seen at all times. A small cord connects the novel device with the sulky-wheel. A drivei cau tell by glancing at the machine how fast he is going.?Qh icaqo Xivtca. ' ^ * '- < ' v.- . a-\.iviV, A $20,000 Necktie. His necktie was worth $20,000. A )lain, black, ordinary looking, e verylay, four-in-hand, but worth $20,000. 3e was a traveler who had just come in >n the Sante Fe route direct from Arizona, tad he removed his coat and rest preparatory to cleaning his cinder-speckled 'ace in the lavatory of a prominent Michigan avenue hotel. With the carelessness of a Western nan he flung his coat and vest on a con;iguous chair, but his necktie, his fourn-hand, he carefully rolled up in a small :ompasa and trust deep into his trousers wcket. The unusual exhibition of caution exited the curiosity of a friend, and the latural query, "Wherefore?" developed i most ingenius device. "That necktie is worth $20,000, plus he cost price of the article itself, ?abe?" The smile of incredulity brought the raluable piece of black silk to view igain* With his peaknife the traveler jpened the seam, and unfolding the ipped portions, dazzled the eyes of the ikeptic with ten crisp, clean $1000 bills. 'Ten thousand dollars on this end and ^ be same amount on the other. Beats a -3 noney belt all hollow. I was held up jy the James and Younger boys in Blue . ; 3lay Cut one day, and Jim Younger ran - 'J lis hand over my body and felt noney belt, and I handed over just $1200. But what thief would look twice it a fifty-cent necktie? They might corral -M It if it was red or yellow, or even skyslue, but plain black is too unobtrusive, for those chaps run to high color. This plan is better than the porous-plaster icheme, too. Never heard of it! Well, aext time you travel with more ready 1 :ash than you care to have obtainable, itep into a drug store and buy two y ) porcus-plasters. Fold your wad neatly md fiat, wrap around it a piece of oiled ' r silk, and stick a plaster over it and onto, -i the outside of the other plaster. Then 1 ilap the double-deck plaster on your t :hest, and no one's the wiser. "But the four-in-hand racket's the ,} iest," and the man with the $20,000 lecktie gave it a final twist as he tied 1 it around his collar, slipped on his rest, md coat, and walked out, serene and 'v lecure with twenty $1000 bills snugly lid away in his queer safety-deposit /\? ?ault.?Chicago Newt. The Human Stature. Doctor Oscar Lenz, the African ex- , plorer, Professor of Geography at the [Jniversity of Prague, Bohemia, in a ^ ;reatise on the African pigmies, makea -v ;he following observations on average 1 luman stature: "As to the average , aeight attained by these people, there is nuch discrepancy in the notes furnished <> $ jy those who have seen them. Perhaps the best estimate hitherto given is that )f old Herodotus, who says of them that ;hey are below 'the medium height.'4 v j Prom personal observation I am lea to . infer that the size of these pigmies averige between four feet three inches and jjf tour feet eight inches for a full-grown ? -7 nan, and between three feet three inches v ind four feet one inch for the woman. . rhis certainly constitutes a race of smaller stature than that to be found in ','M nost other countries, but the term ',-vj dwarf' applied to them appears incorWfVino1r>rn? !>TltmnlM nf nany a tribe and nation whose stature * loes not exceed that which is here attri- _ ^ >uted to the so-called pigmies. This will )e made clear by comparing the figures . -J ust given with the following list furn- ^ shed by anthropological research: >' Fiet. Inehet. ?>/,' & >erma?a, Patagonianj, Kaffir3, Polynesians 5 10 Don Cossacks 5 <8 >:4i englishmen 5 6 i-ustrians. Northern Frrach- ')?: V; ment Africans 5 5 Javanans. 5 4)tf ."ft: Southern Frenchmea, Chinese.. 5 4It _ '[-'-f Australians 5 Natives of Amboyna and Timor 5 2W dalavs 5 1 % Lkka (Tikki-Tikki) 4 11 " a ?ppa ? r-;jga Lbongoa, Bushmen, Esquimaux 4 3 It will be seen that the inhabitants of 'f he Arctic circle are much of the same ize as some of the tribes in tropical j Lfrica.?Picayune. , A Mysterious Fact About Boats, i 5 t JtTVffigg "There is something beyond calculaion in the speed of steamboats," said J. I. Case, of New York City, who is a ^ teamboat captain, and at present having v. -\ leadquarters at the Lindell. "Two yM >oats map be built simultaneously from he same model, with every effort to aake them precise duplicates as to shape nd machinery, and yet one will inariably prove faster than -the other. " Vhy this is no mnn can tell. ' The Mary 'owell has for fifteen years been the wifest boat on the Hudson River. Dur- . j g all that time she never has been isafon Tim* and asrain an exact COUn erpart bas been built, with everything opied as nearly as the best mechanics \ ad facilities could do it, but none of bese has turned out as good as the ' iriginal. Experience has been the same. . irith yachtsmen. They order copies of. he swiftest craft or combine the supposed ;ood points of several, and nine times ut of ten are disappointed in the re- ^ ult."?St. Louis Star-Sayings. -? Influenza and Child rei'a Growth. A systematic course of obserration of he growth in weight of the children in he Deaf Mute Iastititution ac Copenagen has been kept up for seven years. Lmong the most striking results is the act that the principal increase takes lace ia the fall months. Last fall (1889) be influenza appeared in Copenhagen award the end of November. Six of be professors of the institution were ttacked, while no pronounced cases rere developed among the pupils. At be same time, for four weeks after the 3d of November, the weight of the boys lereased only two-filths as rapidly as it ad done in the corresponding weeks of tie previous year, while the girls gained othmg. It is supposed that the vital Dree that usually went to increase of reight was for this occasion Uied up in Existing the germs of the disease.? 'opular Science Monthly. Make-Belle ve" Tor t resses. Jerry-built fortresses have turned Tip n the frontiers of Russia to the consemation of the Government. A comlission of revision inspecting some forties near the German frontier found ie outer walls about as substantial as a iece of scenery. A fortress in Doubno as been ordered to be demolished and ;built. The chief constructor of this, ne blew out his brains, and all his ^sponsible subordinates have been sent i> Siberia.?Baton Transcript, J