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; - > VOL.-XLIX. CAMDEN, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1890. "NO. 25.
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' DCTTPDiTinNi .... .
AN OLlf SWEETHEAnT OF MINE, j
.. -As one cons at . evening o'er an album nli
- J alone,
And muses on the faces of the friends that
he has known.
6011 urn the leaves of fancy, till iu shadowy
design
I find the smiling features of an old sweet
heart of erne.
The lamp-light seemJ\to glimmer with a
[ flicker of surprise, V
As I turn it lew, to rest me of the dazzle in
mjeyes, ..
Aod ltyht my pipe iu silence, save a sigh ;
that seems to yoke
Its fate with my tobacco, <md to vanish with
the smoke.
Tis a fragrant retrospection, for the loving
thoughts xtm start -. - ?-j
Into being are like perfumes from the bios- I
som of the heart;
And to dream the old dreams over is a luxury
divine?
\\ hen my truant fancies wander with that |
old sweetheart of mine. .
Though I hear, beneath my study, like a j
fluttering of wings.
The voices of mv children and th9 mother |
as she sings.
1 feel no t > inge of conscience to deny me any j
theme
When Care has cast her anchor in the harbor
of a dream.
In fact, to spnk in earnest, I believe it adls
a charm
To spice the good a trifle with a little dust
of harm ?
For I find an estra flavor in Memory's mellow
wine ,
That makes me driuk the deeper to that old
sweetheart of mine.
A face of lily-beauty, with a form of airy
grace.
Floats out of my tobacco as the genii from
the vaser
And I thrill beneath the glances of a pair of
azure eyes
As glowing as the summer and as tender as
the skies.
I can see the pink sun bonnet and the little
checkered dress
She wore when firstT kissed her. and she answered
the caress
With the written declamation that, "as surely
as the vine
Grew round the stump,'' she loved me?that
old sweetheart of mine!
And again I feel the pressure of her slender
'.little hand.
As we used to talk together of the future we
had planned;
When 1 should be a poet, and with nothing
else to do
But write tender verses that she set the music
to. When
we should live together in a cozy little
cot,
Hid in a nest of roses, with a fairy gardenspot,
Where the vines were ever fruited, and the
weather ever fin j,
And the birds wore ever singing for that old
sweetheart of mine!
And I should be her lover forever and a day.
And she my faithful sweetheart till the
t he golden hair was gray.
And we should bo so happy that when
cither's lips were dumb
They would not smile in heaven till the other's
ki--6 had come.
But?eh! my dream is broken by a step upon
1he stair.
And the door is softly opened, and my wifo
is standing there!
Yet with eagerness and rapture all my visions
1 resign
To greet the living presenco of that old
sweetheart of mine.
?James Whilcomb Riley.
BESIEGED BY APES.
We sailed out from the port of Borneo,
in the island of that name, in a schooner
of ninety tons burden, to visit the islands
to the north in search of monkeys and
parrots for the great animal dealer at
Hambarg. The craft and crew were under
charter for four months. The Captain
was a Singapore half-breed, and his
three sailors and a cook were Borneo
born. I had my man Thomas with me,
' ftad the only cargo we carried consisted
of cagjs and articles for traffic.
We had been knocking about for several
weeks, landing ou various islands in
the Borneo Sea to make captives, and
were at anchor beside a small island
called Kui, when a trader from the Min- J
daDao peninsula came along and gave us
some interesting news. His craft carried
k only three men, but had run short of
water and been obliged to put in at an
island thirty miles to the cast for water.
The island was about three miles square
and thickly wooded, and entirely without
settlement. While at anchor in a
sheltered bav. and iust as thev had
hoisted in their cask of water, they were
set upon by several hundred apes of large
size and terribly frightened. The craft
was only twice her length from shore,
and the apes bombarded her with clubs
and stones. A score of these missiles
had been preserved as proofs. The
trader gave us warning to look out for
ourselves if we went that way, and we
made hiin 11 present of tobacco and at
once iet sail. The apes he described
were just the species I was looking for,
being what is called in the East "gorillas'
children." They are found only in
Sumatra and Borneo and on a few of the
islands in the Borneo Sea. It is an established
fact that every seven years these
apes are subject to an epidemic which
sweeps them off in large numbers, and
for this reason they have been scarce for
many years past. In the year 186-1 a
L trader who lauded on the island of
| Krieui, about 200 miles from Manilla,
A discovered over 500 dead apes along the
H beach.
B "We -cached the bay the trader had told
us of c.bout 9 o'clock next morning. The
6hore pitched off 'into deep water, and
we anchored with just room enough for
her to swing to the tides. This brought
E||[ the stem of the craft within forty feet of
the trees when the tide came in. but of
course we had to use the yawl to go
Sni^Ltshore. We neither saw nor heard any
thing except the gaudy colored parrots
living about, and af;er wo had been at
anchor about an hour I took my man and
went ashore. The island was a perfect
tangle. The trees grew almost us thick
us they could stand, and the ground was
covered with creepers and rank vegetation.
We were a quarter of a mile from
the beach before the ground cleared, aud
then wc failed to get sight of an ape. As
it was a very hot afternoon, the chances
were that they were asleep in the thick
of the forest. We brought along with
us some pieces of cloth of various colors,
and these we now hung on the limbs
and bushes and scattered along oa the
ground to "bait"' the apes to the landing.
We had made our way quietly as possible,
as I fully^belieyed in what the
4rffdeirMcrtbld~lue. WEen we reached
the landing I got my monkey traps from
the schooner. These are steel traps with
padded jaws. We set six of them opposite
the craft, and the ocly bait we used
was a red rag tied to the catch. Going
on board we had dinner, and then I
brought out a heavv rifle and fired three
shots into the woods. That was to wake
up the apes, and it wasn't ten minutes
before we heard from them. Shrieks
and cries and calls resounded through
the forest, and then the apes fairly
swarmed down to the shore. The colored
cloths angered and excited "them to the
highest pitch, and their coming was like !
that of an enraged mob of human beings.
The advance guard had scarcely appeared
before they rushed upon the traps in
great fury, and to theic<own great sorrow.
Every trap received a victim, and
every victim screamed and shrieked and
jumped about in the mos; exciting manner.
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The number of apes dumbfounded me.
I honestly believe there; were 5000 of
them, great and small, and the noise they
made was deafening. Their first move
was to help the victims in the traps.
They attempted to pull them out by
main force, and w'neu this failed they
got stones and clubs and tried to break
the traps. They had neither the strength
nor the ingenuity, and when they realized
this they turned to secure revenge
on us. We had been expecting the'
move and wjre ready for it, or thought
we were. We had four guns on the rail,
had covered the cabin skylight with
boards, and the decks were clear for'
action. The tide was yet running in,
and althoush we could almost look into
the flashing eyes of the apes, we knew
they dreaded water aud would hesitate to
swim out to us.
I don't know whose fault it was that
the yawl's painter, which was made fast
to the starboard rail amidships, was not
securely fastened. No one had given it
any thought uutil we suddenly saw the
yawl drive to the mango bushes stern
first. There was no surf in that little
bay, and the tide would have held her
there if the apes had taken no action.
The boat was no sooner within leaping
distance than fifty of the animals sprang
into it, and as it reached the bushes it
was held there. The screams and yells
of the apes for the next five minutes prevented
speech. Then, at a given signal,
all but one leaped out of tha boat. At
a second signal all those in sight on shore
disappeared, leaving only the victims of
the traps. These ha d ceased their complaints
and become quiet, and now a
great stillness fell upon the island. I
asked the Captain what new move he
thought the beasts iutended to make, and
he replied:
' -L-ll 1
**1 I HI OK. We SliUU iilive gicat nunuic
with them. If there was breeze enough
to stem this tide I should be in favor of
getting out as soon as possible. They
will board us in the yawl as soon as the
tide turns."
I pointed to the fact that there was
only one ape in the boat, and that I could
put a buliet through his head where ho
sat. If oue of tne men would slip over
the rail he could swim to the boat and
secure it. This was looked upon as a
good idea. Oae of the Borneo men got
quietly into the water and swam for the
boat, and when he was close upon it I
tired and killed the ape ia charge. His
dying yell was answered from a thousand
throats, and iu ten seconds the boat was
filled with apes. The sailor had to return
empty handed. It was no use to
fire upon the beasts, as their numbers
were so great, and we therefore renewed
our preparations for defence. The crew
proper told us iu so many words that they
would not lift a hand except to defend
themselves, as they considered it a crime
to kill au ape. If the schooner was
boarded, then they would be justified in
fightiDg.
After a few minutes all the apes but
one again left the boat. The body of
the one I had killed was carried ashore.
The tide would not turn until 5 o'clock,
and we had nothing to do but wait aud
wvttMi I made a shell out of a tin can
filled with powder and bullets, and the
fuse to this was to be lighted by Thomas
when he could heave it into the boat.
We had three loaded guns and a revolver
apiece, aud I believe the two of us alone
could prevent boarding. The schooner
swuug bows to the shore as soon as the
tide turner!, and was now further away
by her own length. We did not hear a
sound from the beasts after tiicy retired.
There were scores of them watching us
from the bushes, no doubt, but they did
not show themselves. When the tide
begau to draw the yawl oil shore the ape
[ left in charge took a tuin with his tail
around a bush and thus held it.
At sundown there wa-? a little-breeze,
and we could have left, but I wanted the
I .u? .-1 t!i,i ftiiifoiri wanted
j apjs 111 UlC It aw- umi W..V, v.v.
I his yawl. As it grew dark all the crew
I went below, saying it was none of their
tight, and one of tiro P.jrneo sailors deI
clared with great vigor and ranch grief
that he had recognized an uncle in the
ape I had killel. Another had seen his
brother, and the cook fairly cried at the
thought that his favorite son, who had
been dead about live years, migiat have
turned into an ape and be waiting to de^
stroy his aifoc.ionatc father. Tuorniand
I remained on deck to watch, an !
at eight o'clock we heard and saw euoug'.
to prove that the apes weie moving it
' concert a s i in a iargj body. I tried 1
Jgettne ere?v up, but tuey io;u3cd u
I come. I had a double-barrelled shotgun;
Anil Thomas Was to throw the shell if they
cmie near enough. The shore was in
sncli^darkness that we couldn't see what
cur enemies were up to until the boat
was suddenly seen floating along our
port bow. I fired into the black mass,
and Thomas lighted the fuse and heaved
the shell, but in his excitement he missed
the boat.
From the splashiijg in the water I knew
that large numbers of the apes swan off.
I had scarcely fired when three or four
appeared on the bows, and the next
moment they boarded from every quarter.
Their screaming and chattering were
terrific, nnd we no sooner saw the first
half dozen aboard than wc made a rush
for the cabin. From that rao nent we
were besieged and by an enemy such as
never captured.? failing craft before.
The crew were willing^tn^o^tojighk
now, realizing the danger.- We were al?
together in the little cabin and all armed,
but the question was what to do. The
apes raced up and down the decks,pulled
at every rope and the number of them
must have been a full thousand. Their
racing aoout maue me nine scuouucr i
tremble clear to her keel, and now nud I
then their weight lurched her from side
J to side. The scuttle to the fo'castle was
I secured, the hatches al.. fast, and the
| boards over the cabin skylight had been
I nailed. "We heard them pulling and
| hauling, however, and every moment was
an anxious one. They wrenched the
water butt loose and rolled it around on
deck,and six cages of parrots were broken
up in no time and the birds killed.
It was a full hour before the apes
quieted down, and from thence to daylight
we caught a few winks of sleep as
we watched and waited. "When day
broke and we could see through the
cubin side lights, the scene on deck was
one of desolation. Every running rope
had been* pulled down, great holes had
been gnawed in the sails, and whatever
they could break up was broken. They
were 6till at .it. Some of them were
even gnawing at the deck planks. It
was clear that if left uninterrupted they
would ruin the schooner above board, so
we raised a great shout to drawitoir attention.
It succeeded to a charm. It
wasn't five minutes before they had
wrenched the boards off the skylight.
The-sash was a heavy one and the panes
small, and even when they crowded upon
the. sash to the number of fifty it bore
their weight. Holding ray revolver
rclosc to one of the panes, I fired three
shots, and thus cleared them off. From
the great chattering nbove we knew that
three of the gang had been killed or
badly hurt. Thevtried it again in about
five minutes, an<Jnbw we used both re
volvers and peppered four or nve more.;'
Frosu that on they kept clear of the skylight,
but we knew they were watching
the doors.
On each side of the companionway
was a pane of glass over an opening four
inches wide by twelve wide. I smashed
out one and Thomas the other, and we
began shooting. The crowd made at us
seeming to be perfectly reckless, and
several were shot as they tugged at the
barrels of our rifles. In half an hour wo
had the decks covered with dead and
dying, and the beasts began to show
signs of being demoralized. An old gray
head, who had been concealed behind
the foremast, finally peered out and I
put a bullet into his head. He fell over
with a scream, and with that every ape
that c id move sprang overboard and
made for the shore. We waited awhile
before leaving our quarters, but reached
the deck to find they had departed for
good. There were forty-two dead apes
on the schooner, and we finished six who
were badly wounded. Our boat had
grounded on a smaller island half a mile
i away, and after we had recovered it wo
j got the chaps who had been in the traps
' so long. They exhibited the greatest
ferocity, but were handled the worse for
it, ana we finally got them safe aboard.
Theu we turned to on the schooner, and
5 -A A 1- - - ? -f.%11 rlrtwo ernf linr
j HUH It tUUrv US 1>W lull uajo i/u .....
I in sailing shape. From the hour the
beasts left the craft wo clia not. catch
sight of a single one again during outslay.?New
York Sun.
A Fine Piece of Writing.
It is a favorite amusement of expert
penmen to write a great number of words
on a postal-curd or a small piece of paper,
and some wonderful feats are reccordcd
in this line.
Other penmen have exhibited their
skill by making curious designs in ink,
and one of the most curious is now shown
in New York. It was the work of a
one-eyed man named David Davidson,
who died twenty years ago.
On a piece of parchment-like paper,
five feet wide and six feet five inches
high, are written all the books of the Old
Testament, forming the design of a window
in King Solomon's temple. No lines
are used. Written words form the whole
design. The writing is very minute,but
legible to the naked eye. Iuk of three
colors was used, but piincipallv black
ink. It is a very intricate piece of work,
marvellous in its way, and must have
taken considerable time and patience.
Each chapter and verse is numbered.
The writing is not running script, but
each letter is separate; nor are the letters
much, if any larger than a thirty-second
of an inch high.?jSfcio York Dispatch.
Laziest Man 011 Record.
William Holmes, of Charlotte, Vt.,
| says: "There died at Charlotte, not
long sines, an old man, who Avas, I
think, the laziest man on record. His
name avus Nicholas Wing, aud he lived
Avith his a-.'ife and old maid daughter on
the edge of Lake Champlain. The whole
year round Nicholas did not a stroke of
work. His Avife aud daughter plowed,
sowed and harvested the crops, and, in
fact, did everything that Avas to be
done on the iann. Wing Avas known
i j far and wide for his trousers. On the
I outside of each leg a row of four dozen
: | buttons Avas sewed, in order that Mrs.
! Wing could put thorn on for him. You
i see, all the exertion he was put to Avas
; ae stretching out of his limbs. He lived
i be over ninety years of age.?(Jhis
FREAK FRAUDS.
HOW CURIOSITIES A TIE MADE
FOK DIME MUSEUMS.
?
Soa Serpents, Alligator Boyp, Freaks,
Mummied or Fresh. Produced
at Prices Within the Roach
of Any Showman.
Museums in former days were few and
r.s a rule were confined to Chatham street.
Performers and freaks who now get 835
for a week's work were glad to get 81 a
day, anu a sharp proprietor could sometimes
secure them for a lower figure than
that. Withiheadvent of the "L" road,
the surface travel became so small comparatively,
that the dime museum busi.jws
on C-bBthftffi-street aud the lower
Bowery bccamo unprofitable. The old
style of showmen that used to organize
museums i n stores wmcn -\rere Temporarily
vacated looked about them for some
better means of livlihood.
As one of them put^ it, ."The days
when you could rent n| vacant store at
ten o'clock in the mortiing and have a
museum ready for visitors at twelve arc
past." The advent of more imposing
THE ALLKjATOB BOT.
museums further up town necessitated
more and newer attractions.
The living curiosities began to multiply
because the country was scoured for
tbem, and ten pting salaries impelled tho
monstrosities who were formerly anxious
to hide their deformities in the seclusion
of their liomeSito put themselves on exhibition
before ihousauds'of sightseers.
The old lime museum man, who used
to take a Chatham street store and put.
in five attractions at u gross cost or nvc
dollars n day, now turned his attention
to making inanimate freaks to be exhibited
as mummified or dried specimens of
the human race. This mfaii and others
made a large collection of dried mummies,
sea scrpeuts andjnonstrosities of all
conceivable kinds for a man named Bernstein,
and he carried them over to the
other side of the ocean aud exhibited
them in Germany, England, Irelauct and
Spain, and finally returned with'them to
this country, with a net profit, it is
claimed, of $30,000 for a year's work
among the larger foreign cities.
A recent visit to the freak maker's
little shop on the east side of town has
enabled the writer to explain the manufacture
of this kind of exhibition goods.
In a small third story front room a portly
man was found at work on a two hiaded
mummy, which was to be exhibited as
having been found in the Pyramids of
Egypt. The furniture of the room suggested
extreme poverty, although the
stout man is able to make $10 a week at
his queer trade. He lives all alone, and
it is fair to presume that he is saving his
money against the time when he can open
a new museum of the uew style for his
own profit.
The real appearance of one of this man's
freaks, even when it is in an unfinished
state, explains why so many people are
I willing to accept them at the voluble
museum lecturer's valuation, and when
you see the worl~J~*rectly under the mechanic's
hand, tht ccellent modelling of
the face gives the object an uncanny look.
Unlike the wax figures these thiDgs are
not modelled from life, nor does the
maker ever employ an artist to assist in
perfecting the anatomical intricacies of
his subject. He is not an artist himself,
in feeliug or training, but simply a workman,
who, from constant practice, has
been enabled to make a figure of nearly
correct proportions with tnc crudest kinds
of tools.
Pasteboard and paper are his chief
stock in trade. With an outer wall of
soft cardboard and numerous layers of
paper back of it the head form when well
soaked in water can be pressed into a perfect
semblance of the human face.
< t ? - ? x _ ?
THE SEA SERPENT IN SECTIONS.
Little bits of card or paper may have
to be added to accentuate the features,
but when the work it ready for the pasty
varnish which is to cover the first shap|
ing and effectually adhese all its parts,
( these added pieces look as though they
I weie a part of the rougher first model.
On a stove near by are the gaunt rep
I reservations ot arms ancl legs, ine nngera
ami toes mc.de of bits of card lapped
ove r one another until the desired length
is reached. The joinings show very
plainly at this stage of the work, but
when the coat of varnish covers them
later, and the edges of ihe cardboard are
pressed down flat, it requires a very close
inspection to determine where the figures
arc pieced.
The anatomy of these limbs, when you
Jake into cousidcration the patchwork
quality of the operation, is rather wonj
derful. When the curious-looking lot
of objects arc put together and the
whole thing varnished brown, the rei
i 1
Fpectable-ldoking mummy seems to bo
ready for its purchaser, but it really is
not, for in the estimationn of the honest
workman nature has not been fully reproduced.
He considers that the head and hands
of human beings, on account of their
constant exposure to the atmosphere,
have a harder cuticle than the covered
portions of the body. Although it
seems unnecessary that he should carry
out this idea iu his mechanical freaks,
his next operation accomplishes just that
purpose. A covering for all the body
but the head and hands is made of soft,
thiu chamois leather. This is nut on
with thick paste, in pieces which will accommodate
themselves to the various
curves of the work. When the chamois
fkin is well dried on, and the whole
structure is carefully varnished, the body
parts are not only soft looking, but give
"rometfeing si tfaetfTaen-dHbscell.
Hangihg On the side wnlloTHbe storki
hop is a carefully executed painting
Jerusalem, which at one time tfas part
of a pauorama. The freak maker said
that this painting, which is about three
feet high and seven feet long, cost $200
in the old country. To explain the cost
of this work in his own words: uPano-'
niraas in the old country arc very carefully
made. You will notice in this
piece how carefully everything is made
?hofc the stones in the wall and the
little ornaments on the temples arc drawn
r.o fine ana clear, mat is Decause in tne
old country the panorama make3 plenty
of money; and it must be fine, for the
people go in great crowds and look very
carefully at pictures of .the Holy Land
and the Pope's palace, and fine cliurches,
and all such things. They look very
close at the picture, and examine it all
over and talk about every little thing in
it for perhaps half an hour for each one.
In this country people go up to a picture
and say, "Och, a picture. Wc don't
want to see that. Come." So you see
on the other side the painter must be
very careful and have everything good or
the people will say that it is a bad work
and complain to the showman."
During the telling of the story of
panoramic excellence in the old country
the visitor has bad time to observe the
various freaks in all sorts of repair hung
about the room: An awful-looking object
which represents an alligator boy
was placed in one corner of the room, all
ready for the man who ordered it. This
monstrosity is one of many of this pat-,
tern which have been turned out by the
freak man. They are all made the same
size, four and a half feet long, and cost
only $30 each, so that an alligator boy
may be said to be within the reach of
any dime museum. A repulsive looking
black body with the head turned sideways
is attached to what 6eems to be the
back half an alligator. Real wool covers
the head and real teeth arc introduced in;
the mouth opening. The boy is represented
as grinning in the conventional
negro style.
THE INDIAN MUMMY.
To complete the outfit the maker furnishes
the lecture to go with the freak.
This insures the same story being told in
nil parts of the country. The lecture is.
a very pretty story, and we reproduce
the opening of it: uIn 1883 a party of
alligator hunters came from England to
Florida to secure some alligators. After
successful hunting, returning to Jacksonville,
they saw this monstrosity lying
in ? cwnmn shout six miles from the
~ ~ ~r ?
city. At lirst they thought it was a
negro, but by going nearer to it they
soon realized that it was half boy and
half alligator," etc.
One of the best of the freak maker's
works is a double-bodied baby made to
represent nature. Is is not generally
made as if mummified, but instead is invested
with the delicate tints of life.
The first one of these attracted a great
deal of attention, and it was represented
as the embalmed body of a real infant.
There has been a great demand for this
freak, and there are now a number of
them in existence. Every lady who
wishes may have one for $40, in facsimile
of life or mummified.
Of course the fabled sea serpent, so
often seen but never caught on our coast,
has furnished the text for a museum
freak. The 4'Africanus horidus" is the
name for this monstrosity. He is made
somewhat after the manner described
above, though his numerous protuberances
aloug the spine have to be made ol
chunks of wood. TV hen his chamois
covering is on these lumps look very
natural behind a glass case. A good pair
of bright glass eyes and some tusk like
teeth help to convince peoplo that when
alive?and to quote the lecturer again?
"shall have been captured by a party of
fishermen near the coast of Maine and
.?A fnr ovliihitinn to tho
TCU 1U OfStWv*; *wt
intelligent audiences," etc.?he was a
very formidable creature.
Sea serpents arc $50 each and fifteen
feet long in New York. The Maine
fishermen cannot furnish them at this
low price.
It is not hnrd to convince people that
mummified Indians have been dug up in
Dakota. The variety that are made in
this city are dug up by cowboys when
the lecturer gets them in hand. The
Indian freak comes in two sizes?"grown
up and children," to quote again?and
the child been the cheapest,it is generally
supposed that mummification is more
common among the young dead Indians
than their elders.
At present the market is calling for
something new. "Mermaids," "demon
children," and the "elephant fish" about
close the list of artificial freaks of the
pasteboard variety^-v!fhO maker guarantees
to furnish any kno^aor unknown
ttnimal if its description, sketekor photograph
is ftirnished, but just nipcgscnt
THE FREAK MAKER AT *
there are no newjd^ forthcoming and
tkojlophtatTon of the stock ideas goes
j-Hferrily on.
Tnc lreaK man is awaiting iuc umo
when some "Cardiff giant" hoax will
enable him to get a brand new subject
for dissemination among the hundieds of
dime museums between New York and
the Pacific slope, and ho fondly hopes tq
be able to employ a corps of assistants to
help him fill his orders. As it is, while
he is never able to carry a stock of made
up goods, his orders do not warrant tho
giving away to other men of bis trade
secrets. Some of them appear here, it is
true, but not all, for there are niceties in
the work that no amount of description
could give, and the trick of making a
little work produce a great effect is one
of his most vaunted accomplishments. It
is this trhk that leads him to advertise
himself as the "greatest imitator of
natural subjects of the world," and he
deserves the title, so the museum men
say.?New York Herald.
A Rock Pull of Electricity.
L. A. Dixon, ofSodus, N. Y., has just
discovered a wonderful ore called
"electric rock," which contains a hidden
force that puzzles and astonishes all who
see it, expert electricians in particular.
The rock is of a dark slate color and ia
Eomewhat lighter in weight than sandstone.
It is composed of iron, aluminium
calcium and other minerals, aud particles
of gold are fouud sometimes.
Mr. Dixon says it will generate unlimited
power and gives any desired amount
of incandescent light. For illuminating
business places and residences it would
be considerably cheaper than kerosene.
In fact, after the building bad bceu wired
" " " * A* * 1J
find the batteries prepared me conwomu
be merely nominal, and the light, would
be equal if not superior to that produced
by manufactured electricity.
Iu Mr. IJixon's office a nine-pound
piece of rock has been ringing a bell
since last November. A piece weighing
half a pound was placed in a pint tumbler
and wires attached to the bell, which
caused it to ring as loud as an alarm
clock. The test was made in the presen.e
of several gentlemen, who pronounced it
a wonderful discovery.?San Francitn
ChronicU.
?
One Hundred anil Fifty Years Old.
Here is a pine tree 150 years old. The
-1 ~ ? T- ?' "? ? fnrrr mftnthf
sketch was maae m ./uptm a n,?
ago for a London paper. Dwarf tree;
are regarded with the utmost favor bj
the Japanese of the old regime.
A Ratskin Vest.
An industrious young Chicago Englishman
is not to be outdone by the ladies
in the present fur craze. Being employed
by a Qrm at the stock yards, where
rodents are gigantic and plentiful, this
young man engaged in the capture of the
pests, and after securing some choice
speciments ho had the skins tanned and
dexterously pieced together, after which
they were converted into a vest. A
beautiful vest it is, too, and the wearer
j being English its perfect propriety is
never questioned.
"I say, Dobbins, old fel, where did
you get the vest?" asked one of his
j cronies the other night.
I "Aw, from 'orae, ye know; latest
thing in waistcoats in London, me
boy."?Chicago Times.
A Mountain Retreat.
^ ?^e'
A Monkey Nurse.
A pet monkey, in Atlanta, was care
fully trained to watch a baby and rock
its cradle when it cried. He was con
sidered a very trustworthy and usefu
brute, but one day, being left alone witl:
the iDfant, and finding himself unable tc
stop its crying,he jumped into the cradle,
scratched the child's face, bit its can
and nose, tore off its clothes, and wher
discovered was stuffing the bits of cloth
into its mouth. He is no longer env
1 ployed as a nurse.
To speck my heart to thee there 1*8110 word |
That I can think of but '.'I love the^l
dear!"
^And that thou knoweet, like a song oft
Eeing^S^well known, there's no jaeed to
And yet Icalk^ut say, "I love thee!" dN-s.
Ab, 'tis the heart's own milSiCtSongs that oft
On lips we love have trembled low and
clear; J
So unto tb?91 will but whisper soft s I
"What thoU dost-know so well, "I love V
thee, dear!" V;- I
And o'er and o'er again, "I love theeP J
? Charles W. Coleman, in Cosmopolitan. ^
- 'FlfHANl) POmT
The woods are full of them?Trees.? j'
Life.
Figures do not lie, but Iiar3 sometimes
7W/?. 7V,?,
li"UIC. ?X/WWW ^?VWP.
One of the greatest ills of earth?Chicago,
Ills.?Munsey's Weekly.
Sent up for life?The consumptive
who is advised to go to the mountains.?
ruck. '
' Did the doctor bleed you?" "Yes,
when he sent in-"his bill."-^-iVete York
Journal.
No man is as good at home as his picture
looks in a neighbor's album.?Alehin--'
ton Olobe. ?
No complaint is made about short"'
measure when we have a peck of trouble.. *
?Pittsburgh Despatch. ? . ?. .
"Why doyou call your dog Flannel?'*
"Because he shrinks so when ho goes in- - >
to the vator.''? Epoch. . ~t.
A preacher receutly- advised his. con->
gregation to be saved in the nick of time...
from the Nick of eternitv.?Jester. ' ...'
i
Bashful Lover?"Can you tie a true.;lovers'
knot, Miss Fanny?" She?"No;,
but the clergyman around the corner can."
' In this little casket I have preserved .
all these years the dearest remembrance
of my honeymoon, it is the hotel bill."'
?liegende Blaetler.
When a man's wife tells him to bring
* home some new stove pipe, he may rest
assured that there is a put up job on him. ?Munsey's
Weekly: ,
Possible Buyer?"Is he full blooded f*'''
Gullick (the dog broker)?"Yes'ni; '
" trint- 'ithntii-. nrittin' red '
uan i iuu ihcuij iw> e--? _T_
in the face.Scribner. ' '
Bibbs?"I wonder Why my tailor '
failed?" Fibbs?"Pure politeness. Hia
customers wouldn't come down, so ha
went up."?Texas Siftings.
If man's anatomy were so arranged that
lie could kick himself, it is not believed
that he would ever do it hard enough to
hurt him severely.? Washington Star.
Did lovers tell truths as they know 'em,
Their luck would be very much worse.
I called her 'a beautiful poem,"
Well knowing she wasn't averse. .
?Bazar.
Bertie?"I hate that fellow Dadda,
the tailor, I'd like to murder him!"
Charlie?"Why don't you pay hia bill!
He would probably die of surprise."?
Light.
"Talk I" exclaimed Ponsonbv, "she
can't say a word. Why. I talked to her
half an hour last night and she never
opened her mouth?except to yawn!"?
BrnnVlvn Lift.
Mrs. Quipper?"So you cull this a
flat-, do you? Why, there isn't room
to swing a cat." Landlord?"But there
are no cats or children allowed here,
ma'am."?Town Topics.
Of many a self-male mm we know /
There* can be little doubt
In some respects he'd be improved
Had he given the contract out.
?Philadelphia Times.
"John, I wish you didn't have to take
so many different kinds of medicine I"
"Why, wife?'' " 'Cause, then I wouldn't
have to put up all my catsup in different
kinds of bottles."?Light.
, "That fellow, Bonsalini. the portrait
r painter, is a brute." "What has he
clone?" "I wanted him to make a portrait
of me, and he said he wasn't an
animal painter."?New York Sun.
"My son, said the dying bunco man,
i I guess you cqn't do better than to follow
the motto of your poor old dad, 'Whomt
soever you fiud to do, do him with all
i your might.' "?Terra Haute Express, j'
1 "And what is love?" he drolly asked
i A mail whose wit could not be matched, \
"It is an itching of the heart,"
She softly said, 'that can't be scratched."
?Trinity Tablet.
' 'Marie, I have come to-night to ask
you for your hand?I?" "You ask for
! a great deal, Mr. Smither3." "On the
j contrary, it is such a very little one that
I ?"It is yours, George, dear."?New
| York Sun. i
Freddy wants to know why a lover is
i , so often called a "spoon." Authorities
arc divided: some think it is because it
seems to be the principal object of his
existence to hold something, and others
contend that it is because he is so often
near the lips. One good reason would
seem to be the hard fortune which so
often puts him in the soup.?Life.
Telephones for Chnrcli Use.
The Rev. Canou Wilcox, of Christ
t Church, Birmingham, has consented to
allow the telephone to be introduced into
his church. The transmitters will be so
regulated that sound will be gathered in
without requiring the voice to be directed
in close contiguity upon the plate of the
i transmitter. This will not be the first
' ! occasion upon which the telephone has
* t.i .. A A
been set in a place 01 worsmp. ^u,
Bradford (Yorkshire) it is in use at an
Established, a Unitarian and a Wesleyaa
Church. It has also been introduced at
the Parish Church of Chesterfield, and at
: all these places subscribers have more or
less extensively availed themselves of its
' use, and it has been found possible for
1 forty or fifty persons to hear a sermon
1 .simultaneously. In Greenock it is used
in the Congregational chapel.?London
> Tit-Bits.
i
i Nearly 63,750,000 a year is paid by
the British Government for the carriage
! of mails.