The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 21, 1894, Image 6
t
ERIN.
BT KIL C0URTLA1TO,
Tte h? songland, and In dreamland,
XOH i. lOVB UJ U11U& U1 UICC)
' Like a radiant emerald flashing
In a tone of purple sea.
. And "where cotton-fields are whitening,
Down the gold-touched autumn lands,
I will sing thy songs, dear Erin I
Captive held In cartlve bands.
And I think of rights in shackles,
Flung behind dark prison bars?
Of thy lovely lakes, Killarney,
Silver tears dropped from the stars.
Oh, mavonrneen! from thy harp strings
I would wring a happier chord,
Wnr T pannftt. fltrht. t.hxr ImttlftS?
Oh 1 I cannot wield a sword.
I can only pluck the shamrock,
And Its tiny leaves entwine
With the Southern rose and lily?
With the yucca and the pine;
Only tell thy Wrongs in story,
. Only, chant thy anthems sweet.
t If I cannot bring thee glory,
I can lay love at thy feet.
So in songland, and in dreamland,
Erin, oft I think of thee,
Like a radiant emerald flashing
In a zone of purple sea.
Anderson, 8. C.
MIMn'sffissii
S Remarkable Romance.
BY EMILY THORNTON.
/
\ '
CHAPTER XXVIII?Continued.
M 'Reginald, for Heaven's sake, tell me
why you thus deal with me? Have I
i .J
?ver uaruieu juui
" *You have by being in my way. Set
Aside yoor title, estates; yes, even,' he
laughed horribly, when, after a pause,
he added, 'your future bride are mine!
All mine! To-night I announce to you,
all think you dead, and virtually you are
aoV
M 'Reginald! Reginald!' I shrieked, as
he disappeared from view; 'hear me,
take all, but leave me liberty and Constance!'
"A mocking laugh was my only reply.
"From that hour I have seen no human
face, h?ard no human voice!
"These walls, I know, are several feet
thick, built so that nc sound can issue
from them. Not a movement can be
heard unless the panels are open, and
men oui iaintiy.
"So at once I knew, that to the world, |
what he had said was true, I was dead!
"Sometimes, even yet, I dream that
, this is but an idle fancy, and once again
^5"wake to feel my chain, to loathe my
prison.
> "Then I seem to see my own loved
Constance -near me. I call upon her,
bnt as I stretch out my hand to. find her
own the vision fades, and I know that it
was an illusion of the brain. Yet the
memory of those fearful words ever re'mains:
Tour future bride is mine, all
nine!'
I *Csn this have become a truth?
"Has my darling forgotten me; does
he, too,, deem me dead?
-v/u, UUUlbUiuei VAiiiawui^ci
"So I start from my bed with her name
upon my- -fevered lips; I open my arms
to clasp her to my bosom.
"In vain!* I am alone! Horribly,
truly alone!
"Often have I prayed to die!
"Lffte has become a weary burden, but
my prayers are not heard. For some
purpose of his own, God wishes me to
live..
"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good
In Thy sight!
"For months, with a pencil which I
have found in my-pocket, have I, on
scraps of paper torn from books, written
<and placed on the plate a wild prayer
fo^ at least pens, ink, and paper to
amuse my lonely hours.
"Books were at hand, a wells-tored
library being in my room, but I wanted
writing materials?something besides
this endless reading.
"At last, at last, my prayer is granted,
and I have a new way to give vent to my
feelings.
j "Thank God for the privilege of wrlt1'
' "Here, now, have I written the cau?*
and manner of my strange captivity.
For no crime committed, no offense given
to court or neighbor, I am yet a victim
to a brother's jealous envy of my position
and my funds; 1 am a close prisoner.
"One thing J have expected at his
hands which as yet has not taken place;
I mean starvation.
"I have thought that so selfish a being
4 * as he Ifos proved himself to be would
ome day demur at the confinement con oniiont.
nnnn attend In it to mv wants: I
was sure ho would wish to travel, or visit,
sway from Gfendenning Hall.
"But 1 know his movements, I know
his peculiar jerk, as he slides open the
panels, and now, after eighteen years I
<. am certain that no hand but his has
opened them and given mc my food.
*3uch food!
"All cut up into mouthful9 (as they fear
giving me a knife) mixed together upon
one wooden plate.
"Sometimes I loatho the Bight of this
trange jumble, but whether I eat it or
not, I always take it, fearing if I do not
return the plate, even this nightly visit
will cea9e, thi9 meager food be stopped.
"I know now that he has married Constance.
"As I prayed for pens, ink, and paper,
* I always concluded, 'tell me, oh, tell me
of Constance.'
"So with the paper came at last this
cruel note:
; gf&nt this one prayer. Never
again dare send another line to me. If
you ao disobey in this, your food will
top, and you be left to starve. Once
for all, I say, the world thinks you dead,
and thinks Fitzroy your murderer. He
was tried, and aa sour dead hodv yl&s
not found, acquitted, but all think him
guilty. Under this suspicion, he left
the country and no one knows whither
went. I am Sir Reginald Glendenning,
and your constant Constance has been
my wife just sixteen years. This is the
last communication you will ever receive
from me. Beware how you send another
line upon the shelves.'
"After reading this note I must have
fainted, for when I next recollected anything
I was lying on the floor in a pool
of blood.
"In falling I had hit my head agains#
the iron chain, and gashed open my fore'
head under my hair.
Would to God that I had died then
and there!
"I did not die; I lived, and crawled to
m: bed, where I lay until the rays of the
sun penetrated through the one window
in the ceiling.
"I lived, but my head whirls, my brain
Is dizsy, I fear I shall go mad!
"Oh, innocent, ruined brother!
"Oh, forgetful Constance!
"When shall I cease to think of these
.-two?
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE JOURNAL CONTINUED.
Carle Elfenstein paused when he reached
these last words, and large tears ol
sympathy still rolled over his checks, as
they had often done during the reading,
:f,v
wnije every one of his latent listeners
wa? similarly affected.
Conquering his emotion by an effort,
he again read on:
"May 24, 18?Nearly seven years
since I last wrote on these pages. Not
once during that time has there been a
change In my lot until to-night.
"To-night a different hand opened the
panels.
" *1 "Knew Instantly that It was not Reginald's.
"Something, certainly, must have happened
to him.
"The jerk was wanilng.
"A soft, uncertain way of pushing
them anart attracted mv attention.
"There was a longer jiause. a seeming
stuSy ol the modus operandfof the ra-1
volving shelves, and a slighter push
made them turn more slowly.
"Yes, I am sure a stranger has been
let into the secret of my confinement,
and that stranger, I think, must be a
timid woman.
"My God! perhaps it is Constance!
"Can it be? Can she have the heart,
even under compulsion, to keep me here
a prisoner? Can she know that it is I,
her former devoted lover, to whom she
now offers this revolting food?
"Anything but that, oh, Goi' Anything
but that!
"I cannot eat this stuff, fearing that
my once loved darling deals it out to me.
"But she is afraid!
"I know it by her want of strength, by
her feeble pushes. Sometimes she can
hardly whirl the shelves, so I softly creep
to her assistance, and with my own
hands help them around. For the world
I would not alarm her by the slightest
noise.
"My poor Constance!
"I have been thinking so much, lately,
that my head constantly aches. Indeed
it always aches since I cut myself so badly
in falling on my chain, seven years
ago.
6But, as I said, I have been thinking.
V. n K/t/tn m o nnor in
JL liavo UCCU 0UUUJIU5 UUO UitvuuvA ?u
which those iron shelves are fastened,
and to-day I again examined the screws.
"Only screws keep them in their places,
and a knife would surely aid me to unscrew
them; then I could push them
over, and as I know the workings of the
panels, I could soon be free.
"To be sure I am chained!
"But a knife would also unloose this
chain, sever these bonds.
"A knife! A knife! God grant me a
knife!
"Such is now my daily wish, my cry.
"A Knife! A knife!
"June C, 18 Something terrible has
happened to my brain. I am wild! I am
undone! I can remember nothing]
"Who am I? Where am I?
"Ah, yes; I have it! I was a peer; I
am so no longer.
"I aw a poor minister of the gospel,
confined here for the sake of religion.
"I am, in short, Rev. Edwin C. Stiles.
"How strange that I am here! I can
remember nothing.
aBut I have a Bible, and I read and
I preach long sermons, and pray contin|
ually.
"Yes; some day I shall, I think, be released,
by God's power, and then 1 shall
devote myself to his cause.
"J shall preach the gospel.
"How strange my head feelsl Sometimes
I think I am going mad!
KI pray that I may not be mad.
| "July 18.?I am preaching and praying
constantly. Night and day I plead
with God to send me a knife.
"Will my prayers be granted? Shall I
ever have a knife? Can I ever cut my
way out of this weary prison, out to liberty,
and preaching God's holy word?
"Heavenly Father, set me free, and
my whole life shall bo given to Thy
work, Thy cause.
"July 19.?Glory be to God! Hallelujah!
Amen!
"My prayer is heardl A knife came to
me with my food; sent me, I presume,
by accident. It was forgotten, and now
it is mine!
"Accident did I say? No, no; it was
sent by God in answer to my prayer.
"T nUftll *?A n\AI*0 T cho.11
1 SUttlil TTiiro UV UlVlVi A >M
stantly get to work; I shall soon be a
free man.
"But these pages, written a3 it were,
with my heart's blood, I 6hall never once
leave out of the reach of my hands.
"I am Eev. Edwin C. Stiles, a minister
of the gospel, and these lines are my
diplomas, my badge of office.
"Ha, ha; a knife is mine; myownl And
now 1 shall work myself free!"
Elfenstein paused and passed his hand
ov?r his forehead In deep thought. A
sudden idea had seized him; it was this:
Ethel Nevergail and he must have
been in the cprridor when this poor creature
escapedl
Yes; pfioi1 creature! These last lines
told that ho must have been Insane, or
nearly so, at least, when he escaped.
But he had no time to think; a few
moxe wpjrdj? remained, to be. read and his
audicnce were eagerly waiting. These
were written in pencil and the letters
were crooked and feeble, as though done
In great weakness.
"August 18, I am sick, dying perhaps!
O, joy if this should prove to De
death!
"I am weary, tired, worn out, but I
thank God I am again myself.
"Now I know 1 am Sir Arthur Glendenning.
Lately I have been confused
and thought myself a minister.
"My brain, my poor brain, was unstrung.
At last I am myself.
"A knife came to me and I took out
the screws from the shelves, opened the
panels after pushing the shelves aside
and escaped from my prison.
"In the corridor I came upon a young
girl and a man.
"Strangers; I knew that at once. Both
were strangers. Yet I reared recapture.
"I rushed forward, dashed the light
from them and then another frenzy
seized me and my poor head nearly burst
with pain.
"I uttered a cry in my agony. Then
another, as I rushed through the wellknown
ruins.
"My God! had those cries betrayed
me?
"Would Reginald pursue and drag me
back? I vowed not. I would be wary.
I would utter no more cries, even If I
died in suppressing them.
"The night air revived me.
"Blessed air. I had not felt its cheering
influence, drawn a fresh mouthful of
outside air, in twenty-five years.
"I opened my mouth, I expanded my
chest, I drank it ail in.
"What cared I for the storm, the howling
wind, the falling rain.
"It was delight, it was rapturel I wan
free! I was freel
"I knew not where to go, but sped
away, away, and rested not, until I was
hidden In the cave in Demon's wood.
"There I slept and rested. There I
quieted my overwrought nerves* and
thanked God for the blessed knife that
He, and He alono, had sent me.
"Morning came, and again I tried tc
think.
"My brain seemed heavy, and I could
scarcely remember my own name.
"But it came to mo after a while. Rev.
Edwin C. Stiles, a minister oT tEe gospel.
But how could I preach in theso threadbare
clothes? I must get suitable garments.
I had money; I always had hac
1 money. 1 had it in my pocketbook whei
cast into prison. My persecutors did nol
rob me.
"So I took the cars and went to Liver
pool, where I bought a suit of clerica
i clothes, and books and papers, to sell foi
J Christ.
"I also bougnt a little .yrallefc. in whicl
to loci tip These pagSB. Something "tells
me I must never part with these papers.
"Yes; I have them safe. Now, lying
here, the wallet is safe in my hands.
"I returned to the village then, and '
must have wandered around, selling my
books, as Rev. Edwin C. Stiles.
"But now I am sane. My senses have
returned. I am Sir Arthur Glendenning, J
and I am dying!
"I know I must have been insane, or
partly so, for the last few weeks; but,
thank God, my mind is clear, perfectly
clear to-night.
"It came back to me in such a strange,
unlooked-for wayl
"It came back, and I found myself
standing at the foot of Reginald's bed,
in my own old room, at Glendenning
HalL
*1 stood there, I say, gazing into his
eyes, and he seemed very ill.
"Horrible! How he glared when he
saw me silently looking down at him!
"He half raised himself, as if to push
me off, and shrieked out:
" 'Great God! Mercy! Mercy!then }
fell back senseless upon his pillow.
"I could endure no more. j
"Horrified at finding myself in his
presence, and fearing another imprison- }
ment, I turned and fled. s J
"Fled! Yes, fled! Fled'from my own t
room, my own house, my own brother, ]
back to this cave, where I immediately \
was taken ill, and could scarcely mova j
forjdays.
*1 had food to last for a week or mor?, "
and I crawled out, once in a while, lor
water.
"But now food has gone. I am too i
weak to drag myself to the spring. I 3
thirst I am burning with fever. I think i
I shall.die! i
"But if I do, what of it? t
"God knows best. ]
"But supposing I do not die. What ^
i tnenr .
"Shall I make myself known, and so
expose my brother, and reclaim the title ]
and estate he has wrested from me? i
"Never! Never! 1
"He is my brother, child of the same j
parents, and?the husband of my lost j
love! . ^
"Poor Constance! She shall never bo ?
made sad by acts of mine. She shall not .
shed a tear over the loss of wealth, title,
or reputation, if I can help it I y
"But, blessed be the name of the Lord, <
I shall never sigh for my lost home, for I i
am going to a rich inheritance above; 'A i
house not made with hands eternal in the
heavens.'
"I know by my waning breath, my
fading sight, that this is death!
"Farewell earth! I shall write no
more; but with my latest sigh, I thank
God that I die a free man."
[to be continued. |
TEMPERANCE.
THE FOOL'S DBEAY.
A little whisky now and then
Is relished by the best of men ; .
It soothes the wrinkles out of carp, "
And makes ace high look like two pair.
When everything looks blasted blue,
And misery sticks like so much gluc?
A nip that reaches toes and hair
Will make a man a millionaire.
When it has wandered down our necka,
It fills our eyes with magic specs.
Which brings the bright side full to view,
And makes one quarter look like two.
An ugly woman loots divine.
Our burial lot becomes a mine ; j
The trees all walk, the fences run, ,
Vnd silly tales sound full of fun. J
?New York World. (
?
t
ALCOHOL AND T?E BRAIN.
T. Morton, M. D.. In a recent letter to the
editor of the London Temperance Chronicle, (
writes "There ia no known drug, and prob- t
ably no unknown one, that can restore the j
integrity of the brain-cells damaged by prolonged
drinking habits, though nature can do
much if alcohol is entirely and permanently *
withdrawn." A permanent cure for inebriety 1
upon any other basis than total abstinence is (
quite impossible. In the light of Dr. Morton's
declaration it is vastly better to stop
knm'nninn VoflAno) TufTl? C
ITC^lUUlUg IV UAUftAt ilUVWUlti *WM?- perance
Record.
PHOCBEC3 OF TEMPERANCE.
In a recent editorial review of the progress
o! the temperance reform the New York Observer
says:
"Friends of the temperance cause should
find little reason for discouragement in the
present situation. If political prohibition,
judging from the returns of recent elections,
has not made the progress hoped for it, prohibition
through education has scored a
rapid advance. From many quarters comes
confirmatory evidence of the steady growth
of a public sentiment against the use of intoxicating
liquors, and in favor of a closer
Restriction of the liquor traffic."
A MISTAKEN NOTION.
An old but very mistaken notion is that
drink gives strength. A test was once tried
to determine the strength-giving power of
aiconcj. TWO gangs OI men, as aeariy equui .
In size and strength as possible, were put to ,
work breaking stone. Both gangs contained '
an equal number of men, bnt to one gang J
liquors containing alcohol were given. At
first the alcohol gang did by far the most
work, but when the effecto of the alcohol '
ceased, the men fell far behind the other men J
in their work, so that at the end of the day i
the gang which did not drink had done the ,
greatest amount of work. This was continued
for three or four days, the result being '
the same. The experimenters then reversed 1
the gangs, giving tne non-alcoholic gang al- ,
cohol, and allowing the alcoholic gang none;
but the men not using the stimulant came *
out ahead as before. 1
J
TEMPERAS CI NEWS AND NOTES.
The United States had 219,863 retail liquor
dealers July 1st, 1893.
The criminal arrests in the United States *
have inci eased more than fivefold since 18G0. i
Out of 4000 liquor saloons in Brooklyn, <
about 3200 ore said to be mortgaged to brew- ,
ers.
The Chicago Tribune says liquor was the
cause of 748 murders reported in its col- 1
umns in 1398.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistical
Bureau, Switzerland, though so largely a
wine country, has also 324 breweries.
A large" number of souvenirs, in the form
of little square bottles of "Mt. Vernon Whisky,"
were given away at the World's Fair.
At Burgstadt, Saxony, those of its inhabitants
who are delinquent tax-payers are not
allowed to be served in the beer shops and
cafes.
Of 611 paupers in the Edinburgh poorhouse
not ono was an abstainer, and 407 admitted
thut their poverty was due entirely to
intemperance.
Alcohol insanity is twice as common in
France now as it was fifteen years ago. and
tho number ot persons placed under restraint
on account of it has increased twenty-live
per cent, in the last three years.
The generally accepted theory that alcohol
is no good "to keep out the cold" has once
more received conllrmation by the fact that
the celebrated explorer, Dr. Nanseu, who
started on his voyage to the Arctic regions on
June 24th, has taken no alcohol whatever
with him except for purposes of fuel,
i Benjamin Franklin died in the year 1790 |
(over one hundred years ago); but even in
| those times he had the s^nse to know that |
"Some of the domestic evils of drunkenness
houses without windows, gardens without
fences, fields without tillage, barns without
roofs, children without clothing, principles,
morals or manners."
At an inquest held the other day in EngI
land the evidence brought to light tho queer
i fact that the dead man's life had been int
aured for $100 by the liquor dealer whose bar
he chiefly patronized. No secret was made
about the matter, it being perfectly fair and
J above board, the liquor dealer only wishing
' to insure himself against the loss of business
r consequent onthe death of a valuable customer.
The practice is stated to be quite fre?
quent.
HUGE GOLDEN DOME.
THE NEW LIBRARY AT WASHINGTON
WILL BE CONSPICUOUS.
fc. Palace of Glass and Steel?Its Cost
$6,000,000 ? Vast Stores of
Books-A Talk With Librarian
Spofford.
fHE New York" Press
has an interesting
Washington letter
describing the new
National Library
building. The
writer, Frank G.
Carpenter, says:
I spent an afternoon
this week in
going through the
new National Library building. It
will be the finest public building in
the United States, and it will be the
most beautiful library in the world,
tt covers nearly four acres and it is
already under roof. Its walls are as
high as those of the tallest New York
Elat, and you can lose yourself in its
long corridors and winding passages,
[t has a dome plated with the purest
Df gold, larger than the largest circus
tent, and the golden torch which
ilames over its top, though it looks
aot bigger around than your fist as
riewed from the Capitol, is in reality
is big as a hogshead, and it may be
ieen from Alexandria and far down the
Potomac. Thi6 new library building
s a work of wonderful art. Its ex;erior
is made of drab granite cut in
places so smooth that it looks like
narble aDd ornamented here and there
vith wonderful carvings. The building
has about 1800 windows, and the
"our sides ->f the main gallery have I
ihirty-three great arches, the keyitones
of which are images representng
the heads of all the races of the
*orld. Every type of man known to
;thnology has a place in one of these
irches, and the faces are marvelous in
iheir execution and character. Over
I
;he main entrance are the types of the
lighest order of men, such as the
3reek, the Latin and the Saxon, while
it the back of the building you find
-he lowest types, such as you find in
Africa and in the South Sea Islands. I
san't describe the wonderful execu;ion
of these figures. They are the
nost lifelike pictures in stone I have
iver seen, and they seem to almost
:alk to you as their stern, stony eyes
ook down at you from over the winlows.
The building covers nearly as much
[pace as the Capitol. Its dome is not
10 large, but its plate of gold makes it
nfinitely more conspicuous. If you
nil take five city lots and carpet them
rith twenty-four-carat gold you will
fet an idea of the golden quilt which
.1 _ J rm
:overs xdib immense uorne. xuerc ib
10 room in the United States bo large
hat it woulcl fit this great golden car)et,
and it is the largest golden dome
n the United States. It has been
jailed the largest golden dome in the
vorld. But this 18 a mistake. The
lome of St. Isaac's, in St. Petersburg,
las a smaller diameter, but it covere
nore space, and it cost infinitely more
han this. It took 200 pounds of solid
jold to cover it, and when you remem3er
that gold at the mints is worth ?17
in ounce you will see that even at that
low rate the St. Petersburg dome cost
$40,000 to gild.
The gold on the dome at Washington
lid not cost one-tenth of that amount,
tt was put on in little sheets, each of
vhich was about four inches square
* * i n .1 xl
ma one one-nunareci ana nuy-iuuuiandth
of an inch thick. It takee two
thousand such sheets to make an
ounce of gold, and this amount will
2over a space about as large as that of
the average hall vestibule. The gold
made in this form costs $27 an ounce,
and at that rate it must have cost over
$60,000 to gild St. Isaac's. I went up
to the top of the golden dome yesterday
and took a look at it. The gold
is laid upon copper, and it is polished
so that it is as bright as a new wedding
ring. It is said to be very durable,
and is on the whole, I doubt not,
cheaper than the white lead with which
the Capitol dome is painted nearly
every year. The gold was put on by
specialists, who worked under canvas,
and one of whom nearly lost his life at
the work.
/rmwilCU
hon. a. j*, spopro^i*.
I can't describe the wonders of the
interior of the National Library. My
head buzzed as I walked through the
many rooms and tried to undei stand
it all. You could lose yourself in its
basement as in tho catacombs of Home,
and wander lor hours trying to find
your way out. The grand staircase,
which takes up a space equal almost to
that of a quarter of an acre, is to be
finished in whit9 marble, and the
great marble columns which rise one
above another are already in place and
surrounded with wooden boards t
keep them from injury. The readin
room will be the rotunda in the cente
of the building, and it will be covere
with the dome. This room will be t
THE GOLDEN DOME.
large as the rotunda of the Capito
and its area will be about a quarter <
an acre. It will have seats for 3(1
readers, and the desks of these run i
concentric rows around the centri
desk in which the manager of th
reading room will Bit, and from whic
he will have connections with all pari
01 tne norary uy pixcuiuttmu tuuco vj
other modern inventions, which wi
enable him to send a message in th
twinkling of an eye to any part of thi
great book palace, and by the toucl
ing of a button bring back the boo
he wants. Electricity and everythin;
that the modern mind can think o
has come to the aid in adding to th
conveniences of the library, and it i
now thought that an electric railroa
will be built to carry the books froi
the old library of Congress in the Cap
itol over to this new building.
From this great central dome nr
out like arms massive buildings i]
whioh are to be housed our nations
library of the future. These ar
known as book stacks, but the wor<
conveys no idea of their character
Imagine u great, long warehouse, wit]
glass walls as high as one of th
largest New York flats and hundreds o
feet m length. Let the sides of thes
I be wallled with glass set into squar
JL
rHE NEW NATIONAL ' LIBRARY AT WASHING'
columns of white enameled brick an
have the plate glass wedged into thes
columns without frame work, as is th
case in windows. Make the interior t
consist of one mass of iron networ
running from the floor to the roof, s
that when jou stand within it you se
V>n+ ii-nn fronioa T i ni n nr
liUKUliig UUV 4AVU li I4UAVW
above the other and filling the whol
vast high room. This may give yo
some idea of the book stack. The iro
network consists of book shelves, an
these are reached by stairs which ru
from one tier of iron to another an
by walks of iron paved with marblt
which are suspended between the tier
at regular intervals from the floor t
the roof. There are several of thee
vast book -warehouses in the building
The one I have just described will con
tain 800,000 books or more tha
are now in the National Library. Th
walls of glasp give perfect light an
the books are so arranged that th
greatest number can be packed int
the smallest compass, making ever
pamphlet thoroughly accessible.
KEYSTONE FACES.
I have not spoken of the 1800 wii
dows of this building. Those of ti
interior and of these stacks are s<
into the walls, great, massive pieces <
plate glass, as large ae good-sized stoi
fronts. It is not possible to raise c
lower them, and they are made so fc
the protection of the books, in ord<
that no dust may enter. The ventili
tion is all done from the roof, an
these windows are washed from tl
outside by means of a little railroa
wTiip.li runs around them from story i
story. on which the washers can stan
and scrub them clean.
The acres of floor in this great boo
palace will be of marble. The wal
of the rotunda are of colored marbli
j from all parts of the United State;
and in the whole vast, high four acr<
of wonderful rooms not a splinter <
wood has been used. All is compose
of iron, stone, cement and glass, an<
as Mr. Green, the engineer in charge
told me, there will not be enoug
wood in the building when it is cod
i pleted to make a match.
I This buildiug is to cost ?G,000,00i
I The State, War and Navy cost $10
J 000,000, ami upon the Capitol has bee
; expended, all told, something lii
j ?18,000,000. Uncle Snni will get moj
I for his money out of this than out <
j either of the others. All of the woi
I is being done under tlie Governmen
! and everything is built to outlast tl
j ages, and of the very best material. ]
i one of the rooms I found an army <
I carvers at work making wonderful de
j orations which are to adorn the e:
I terior, and throughout the who
building everything went on like tl
work of an army under perfect coi
trol and in perfect order. The buildir
will be completed in about two year
and within two years and a half tl
new library will be in thorough open
tion.
From here I walked over to tl
Capitol and took a stroll through tl
library of Congress. Every availab
room in the building is packed wil
books, and the library proper is eo fu
o that yon have to march through single
g file in order to get from one part of it
ir to the other. I pushed my way past
d a mountain of bound newspapers up
is to the main desk, and asked Mr. Spof
ford, the librarian, to tell me some.
thing about the condition of the library
to-day.
There are in the National Library
nearly 700,000 volumes, and in addition
to this there are over 200,000 pam nhletfl.
Mr.Snnffnrd'flbTainiR riinil that
he knows just where each one of these
I 700,000 volumes stands; and he can
[ tell you in an instant just which of
| them ought to help you on any subf
ject you are studying- It is the same
r with the pamphlets, and the wonder is
how one little iron gray head can hold
it all. He is a curious looking man,
as dark as a Spaniard. He has black
- hair and whiskers, now mixed with
1, gray. His eyes are bright. His frame
)f is short, lithe and wiry, and every
10 atom of it is made up of muscle. He
n is the busiest man in the Capitol build11
ing and he knows how to do wor&
te quickly. He dictates all of his corh
respondence, and his ordinary converts
sation, which is clean cut and exact, is
r as classic as the mass of books which
II surround him. I always feel afraid to
e report him. He says just what he
is means, and if you misplace a word or
i- a figure you feel that it will cause his
k black hair to stand on end in indignag
tion when he reads it.
>f I asked him as to the story of the lie
brary and as to the new building. He
s said: 'Before Congress came to WaBhd
ington it had access for a time to the
n books in the Log^nian Library in
i- Philadelphia. The little city contained
a number of scholars and there
n was not much trouble in getting infori
mation. When the capital was moved
J to Washington, however, Congress
e found itself in the woods and there
I were no books of reference or general
libraries. When Jefferson became
ti President the library was first estabe
lished, and an appropriation of $1000
f a year was devoted to it. In 1814 we
e had here about 3000 volumes. Then
e the British came and burned the Capitol
HJiljli. .j&lljillffil
1 in ^
ton,
d and the books went up in smoke.
ie A short time after this, President
e Jefferson, who had gotten into financial
o straits at Monticello, offered his
k library for sale to Congress. He had,
o all told, between six and seven thoue
sand volumes, many of which were
b valuable and rare. Congress paid him
e $23,000 for them, which was, it is
u said, jast about half what they cost
n him, and they were hauled in wagons
d from Monticello to Washington. Parn
ton, Jefferson's biographer, says they
d made sixteen wagon loads of books,
and that Jefferson was very sorry to
s lose them. In 1851 the library had
o increased 55,000 volumes.
e Then another fire occurred and 35,000
of these were burned, including
- many of the most valuable. The fire
n took place from defective flues, and
e only 20,000 volumes were saved from
d the ruins. By this time Congress
e thoroughly appreciated the need of a
o good library and the year following
y $72,000 were appropriated for new
books, and the appropriations have
- gone on from that time to this until
* /*OA Ai A 1 ^ ^ J
? we now nave oou,u*u voiuiuco uuu
I 220,000 pamphlets. Last year we
I added about 18,000 volumes to the
library, and the copyrights are now
increasing our stock at the rate of 50.000
and upward per year."
Leap.Year Privileges.
Why is it that ladies are permitted
to propose in leap year ? Here is the
answer:
It appears that in the year 1288 a
- statute was published by the Scotch
i- Parliament ordaining that during the
reign of "Her Maist Blessit Majestie,
it Margaret," every maiden and lady of
high and low estate should have
"e liberty to speak to the man she liked.
If he refused to take her to be his
t wife she should have the privilege of
fining him $500 cr less, according to
* i 13
his estate, unless ne couici mane jd opd
pear that he was betrothed to another
woman, in which case he would be free
d to refuse. After the death of Mario
garet the women of Scotland became
d clamorous for their privileges, and to
appease them another act of Parliak
ment allowing them to propose every
Is fourth year was passed.?Pall Mall
38 Gazette.
s,
A Curious Illusion.
3f A curious trick may be performed
id by means of two conical bodies and a
3 couple of walking sticks. Take two
?) lamp shades and fasten the edges tok
j
.i- ! TJOLLTNG TIP HTLL.
; ;
c" i gether. Then make an in inclined
s" plane by means of two walking sticks
'e in the manner shown in our illustraie
tion. Let the space between the two
sticks be wider at the higher than at
o the lower end. Then place the double
p> cone at the bottom of the incline, and
ie it will roll to the top. Although at
first sight the trick suggests a disturbance
of the natural law of graviie
tation, it is only an adaptation of that
ie well known principle. As the sticks
le widen the cone is correspondingly
;h depressed, and the center of gravity
,11 ie equally lowered.
NO USE IN IT I H
No use in mopin' H
When skies ain't bright; B
Keep on a hopin'? flj
It'll soon bo light! jfl
Sio use in gnevin
'Bout the milk you spill;
Eeep on believin'
That the cow'll stand still 5
No use in rowin'
'Cos the crops is slow; !
Keep on a-plowin' \
An' they're bound to grovl
No use! the heaven
Is above the skies ;
Put in the leaven
An' the bread will rise!
?Atlanta Constitution^ .
*
PITH AND POINT.
A rip saw?Go it while yoa're young.'
A wind instrument?A fan.?Truth.'
A man who courts trouble will soon
find himself married to it. ?Atchison
Globe.
Great men are those who profit the
most from the fewest mistakes. ?Atchison
Globe. \
A boy's face always looks as if he
had just been eating something.?
Atchison Globe. J
It is awful to see some people try to
laugh when they are not amused.?
Atchison Globe.
Men never become so old that they
are not a little scared by a bJuff.?
Atchison Globe.
Give a friend a club, and he is very
apt to hit you over the head with it?
Atchison Globe.
The trouble with giving women
spending money is that they spend it. |
?Atchison Globe.
Good fortune sometimes comes to
see us in a very shabby-looking carriage.?Ram's
Horn.
Very often you can show a man up
by simply turning him down.?Hartford
(Conn.) Journal.
Turn about is fair play as the fellow
said when he reversed his caffs. ?Hartford
(Conn.) Journal.
The blessing in disguise should
greet us with a wink, if it expects to
be recognized.?Truth..
When a man approves of anything
his wife does, he mumbles hiB approbation.?Atchison
Globe.
Adam was the first man to discover
the value there was in a spare rib.?
Hartford (Conn.) Journal.
Some people could trace their ancestry
back to Adam if they only knew
his last name.?Atchison Globe.
An American's idea of chivalry is to
protect a woman against every man
except himself.?Atchison Globe.
A Western poultry fancier has a hen
of the MacDuff breed which has laid M
an egg every day for over a year. Lay H
on MacDuff!?Life. 9
Inventors of flying machines should H
not forget the valae of dynamite. That H
will make almost anything fly. ?Hart- Mb
ford (Conn.) Journal.
He (raptuously)?"You accept me? Bf
Then it's a bargain." She (calmly)? HE
"Certainly. I shouldn't consider it if H
it wasn't."?Detroit Tribune. Cfl
When a girl is in love, she walks |H
away from the crowd at a party, and Kfl
plays the piano, in the hope that he Hfl
will follow her. ?Atchison Globe.
Shakespeare spoke of the seven ages H
of man. This proves his discrimina- NB
tion. Woman has one and generally
st.iMrs t/i it.?Philadelonia Times.
A good deal is forgiven a certain H9
poetess in town; people read her U
poetry and remember what a good pie Ha
baker she is.?Atchison Globe. j^H
Express a mean opinion of yourself H|
occasionally; it will impress your H
friends with the fact that you etill Hj
know how to speak the truth.?Ate hi- B9
son Globe. |H
The man who has no family says his ME
failure is due to a lack of some one to BK
"encourage him;" the married fail- IB
ures refer to th?ir families as "drags." Hj
?Atchison Globe.
It a woman says somemiug ujowwur
able of herself in the presence of her
husband, and he 'doesn't deny it, in HI
three days she will say that he said it. BaR
?Atchison Globe. SB
Brassey?"Most people take life
very seriously." Fender?"Well, I Hj
cpnfess I can't imagine a man becom- BB
i_g a murderer with levity. Taking
life is a serious matter."?Puck. |H
Widow?'-Sir, I want to collect the
life insurance upon my husband's BB
policy." Manaper L. I. Company? H|
"Is he dead?" Widow?"No, but he ^B
3 U "Mono. jjB
lias movea iu ruusuupiiia.
ger?"Step up to the next window and
get jour check, madam."?Town ^H
Topics. ^H
Man of Fashion (reading in a news- ^H
paper that a village schoolmaster had ^H
shot himself because he could not pay HE
a debt of fifty marks)?"Ridiculous f B9j
Why if I were to shoot myself for K5
every fifty marks that I owe, I should ^H
be kept at it all the year round!"?
Fliegende Blaetter. Ml
The father of the twin babies had H|
been left temporarily in charge of ^H
them. At the end of half an hour he ^H
weakened. "Angeline," he called ont H
to his wife, in a voico of agonizing HM
protest, "you'll have to come and take B[|
one of these boys. No man can serve ^H
two masters!"?Chicago Tribune. JBH
"What does love care for rank?" exclaimed
the young man. "Cupid is no |H
nobleman." "I don't know about BE
that," replied the pretty girl. "You BBS
never heurd anybody call him 'your ^H
Lordship,' did von?" "No. But I
think it would be perfectly proper to HI
refer to him as'your Courtship.'"? HH
Washington Star. ^H
Ethel?"Why, Maud I You have
spelled lots of words wrong." Maude BH
(typewriter)?"Can't help it. I took BS
it down just exactly as Mr. Knibbs ^H
dictated it." Ethel?"Bnt, surely, he HR
didn't stop to s])ell the words out to ^H
you?" Maude?"Of course not. But HH
I'm familiar with his style of orthog- ^H
raphy."?Boston Transcript. Jg
"Why do you use such peculiar BH
terms?" asked a lawyer's wife of her ^H
husband, who had returned home ^H
worn ont by his day's labors. "I don't HI
se* how you could have been working ^H
all day like a horse." "Weil, my ^H
dear," he replied, "I've been drawing BH
a conveyance all day, and if that isn't BH
working like a horue, what is it?"? BH
Green Bag. HB