The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, December 02, 1897, Image 3
iiR Cady of the snows.'
A nation apoke to a nation.
/ A qnw.n nont word to n throne.
'Den*;! trr e:n 11:. my mcthor'd hoviao.
But miatrew in my own.
The galea are mine to open,
A» the gatca are mine to dose.
And I uiit my house in order,
Suid Iho I^idy of the Bncwa.
Kelt her with laughter nor weeping.
Fear nof the child's amaze.
Soberly under the white man's l..w
My white men go their ways.
Net for the gentile’s clamor,
Insult or threat of blowa
Bow we the knee to Baal,
Bald our Lady of the Snows
My speech is clear and single.
I talk of common things,
Words of the wharf and market place
And the ware the merchant brings.
Favor to those I favor.
But a stumbling block for my foes. '
Many there be that hate us,
Said our Lady of the Snows.
I celled my chiefs to council
In tha din of e troubled year
For the aake of a sign ye wonld not boo
And a word ye would not hear.
Tina is our message and answer.
This is the path we chose,
For wo be also a people,
Baid our Lady of the Snows.
Carry the word to my sisters.
To tho queens of tho east and south.
1 have pr<.v*-d faith In tho heritage
By more than the word of mouth.
They that are wise may tollow
Ere tho world's war trumpet blows,
But I—I am tho ttrst in the battle.
Bald our Lady of the Muows.
A nation spoke to a nation.
A queen sent word to a throne.
Laughter am I in my mother's Louso,
But mistress in my own.
The gates are mine to open,
As the gates are mine to clone,
And I abide by my mother’s house,
Laid our Lr.dy of the Snows.
—Budyard Kipling in London Time*
A RUSE OF WAR.
k
I
Do I rrrrombfT tho war of 1870? In
deed I do. I lost pianos and clocks, but
I bought new clocks and pianos, while
my camellias, my poor camellias—20
years of patience, labor and adoration—
all lost, destroyed, obliterated, weeded
out. And what do you think I found in
the middle of my greenhouse in place of
that delightful little marble statuette I
bad brought from Naples? Oh, there’s
no use guessing. You never could guess.
After the battle of Sedan my wife
■bowed great resolution. “My dear,”
said she, “we must remain here. We
must stand by our house.” And I add
ed mentally, “And by our camellias.”
On the 17th of September, at 8
o'clock in the morning, one of my ten
ant fanners arrival breathless, shout
ing: "The uhlans, sir I They will be
here in an hour!”
My wife was stricken with terror.
“Let us fly, my dear. I do not wish to
see tho uhlans. Let us go at once. Take
me away. Oh, take mo away, no mat
ter where.”
The horses were put in the carriage,
and wo departed at once. Wo left at
the chateau seven or eight servants,
aiiiong them my wife’s maid, Antoi
nette, a Parinienne, pretty, intelligent,
■alucy and cunning. Antoinette kept re
assuring us, saying: “Have no fear,
sir. I shall receive the Pruudaus. I
know how to talk to them. They will
not steal even a match.”
Tho next day we arrived atTronvilte.
My wife fell seriously ill, and for a
fortnight I was very uneasy. From my
country place every week I received a
letter from Antoinette. “Do not bo un
easy, sir,” she would say. “Everything
is going well here. Wo have had the
good lock to happen upon an excellent
Prussian colonel and some very amia
ble officers. It is, thanks to the kind
ness of those gentlemen, that I am able
to make my letters reach you, sir, ” eta
And the gardener wrote to me: “Antoi
nette has saved almost everything, sir,
by her cleverness. I do not dare to say
more on account of the Prussians, who
may read my letter. And nevertheless
the Prussians, thanks to Antoinette,
have not been harsh on us. ”
Toward tho end of October my wife
was convalescent, so one morning I
packed my bag and lift for my country
place. I wanted to see my camellias
again, and I wanted, above all, to know
how Antoinette managed to save every
thing. I shall not boro'you with the
story of my journey. It was peculiar,
nevertheless. It took me seven days to
go from Trouville to Corbeil. I was ar
rested three times as a Prussian spy by
the French and four times os a French
spy by tho Prussians.
At last I saw again my magnificent
avenco of chestnut trees; at the end of
the avenue, my gateway. I crossed my
courtyard, whUh was fall of horses,
cannon, artillery crlseons, dragoons and
Prussian artillerymen. I walked up
my front stops. I fonnd myself in my
vestibule. The furniture, the pictures,
tho bangings—all wero in their places.
But us for me, I stood there staring
liko a rustic, my traveling bag in my
hand, in the midst of live or six Prus
sian dragoons, who were eying mo
curiously.
“What do you want?” asked one of
these dragoons, apparently a lieutenant.
“Why do yen come here?”
Why did I come to roy own honse? I
replied that 1 wished to speak to the
colonel.
“He is busy. He is breakfasting.
Who aro you?”
“Who am I? I am tho proprietor of
this honse!”
“Ah, the proprietor—yon are the pro
prietor! Wait. I shall notify the colo
nel.”
In a few moments my door opened
and I saw coming toward me a tall
Prussian, booted and sparred, with
long, gray whiskers, who, with both
bands extended, cried in excellent
French: “M. Eivet! It U you, If.
Rivet?”
“Ye*. it isL”
“Ah, bow glad I am to see yon! You
have done well to come.” And those
two Prussian bands were still extended
toward me, who patriotically held as
far a way as possible behind me my two
v« tyAn nch bauds. s' j.
'■ s ' “Ain I see that you are prejudiced,”
aaid thd colouol, br rating into a roar of
THE LEDGER: GAFFNEY, S. DECEMBER 2, 18G7.
heavy laughter. “leeevrbr.t itln. Yen
aro prejudiced. I think you will get
over that. But oomo—come with me.
We are at table ”
“At table! Bnt I don’t wish to break
fast. ”
“You don’t wish to breakfast with
us? Ah, more prejudice! But you must
| do away with your prejudice, berause
: the barouess is breakfasting with ns,
1 |nd she will be delighted to see you.”
"Tho baroness! What bar,mess?”
i But without listening to me, without
replying, the colonel seized me by the
arm, and, dragging me along, ho made
me cross my own salon, and then, open
ing tho door of my diningroom, he cried:
“Baroness, here is your uncle! It is M.
Rivet.”
Then I saw seated at my table eight
or ten Prussian officers, and in the mid
dle of these officers Antoinette—An
toinette, who had upon her back one of
my wife’s velvet gowns, in her cars my
wife’s diamond earrings, on her Angers
all my wife’s rings and around her neck
my wife’s black pearl necklace. All of
my wife’s bracelets were around her
wrists, while in her hair she wore my
wife’s rubies and in her corsage my
wife’s sapphires. Antoinette was no
longer Antoinette. She was a jeweler’s
■how window.
Antoinette, seeing me enter, jumped
up, became very red, and then, quitting
the table, threw herself violently upon
my neck and began to embrace me, cry
ing, “Ah, how glad I am to see you!”
And as sho- continued to embrace me
she whispered in my ears, “Embrace
me, embrace me tenderly.” So I em
braced her, and she commenced again to
embrace me, continuing to whisper in
my ear: “Look more tender than that.
I am your niece. Don’t you understand?
It is to save madam’s diamonds,” etc.
It seemed as if we wonld never stop kiss
ing and hugging under the eyes of these
i Prussians. There was, however, noth
ing disagreeable about it. Antciuetto
was a charming young woman. All the
officers looked at me with an air that
said, “What a lucky dog he is to be able
to hug and kiss snch a pretty girl I”
Then, after two or three minutes con
secrated to these close confidences and
explanation, Antoinette took me by the
hand, led me around the table and seat
ed me by her side. With infinite grace
she presented me successively to each
of my Prussian guests—‘Colonel So-and-
so of the Second dragoons, Major Such
and-suoh of the Third huerars, ’ ’ etc. As
for me, I was like a drunken man, and
I assure you that it was difficult for me
to understand how I could remain thns
seated for an hour at that table in the
midst of all these Prussian dragoons and
bnssars. Nevertheless I have retained
a clear recollection of the extraordinary
conversation which went on.
"Well, M. Rivet,” said the colonel,
“I hope that you will soon bring Mme.
Rivet here too. We lead a most charm
ing life here. Your niece will tell yon.
We are not all such savages as your id
iotic newspapers would make us out.”
And the colcnel beret into one of those
roars of coarse laughter which bnt a
moment before bad so jarred upon my
nerves. At once all of his officers to
gether, as if obeying the word of com
mand, abandoned themrclves to violent
laughter. There is a light and vivacious
gayt v whioh is French gayety. There
is another, heavy and brutal, which is
Prussian gaysty.
"No, wo are not savages,” continued
the colonel, “and yon need not con
demn Mine. Rivet to pass the entire
winter in some bole of a town on tho
seacoast because we are hero for the
whoki winter. You are lucky to have
had to do with Prussians. If ^oa had
had Bavarians here, yoq wonld have
had a hard time. Our Prussian king is
altogether too good to permit Bavarians
side by side with ns Pnissians. The Ba
varians sbonld not be allowed to serve
in the Prussian army except as musi
cians. King Louis of Bavaria ought to
be field marshal of all the Gorman
bands.
At last wo arrived at the end of this
odious breakfast. The colonel rose and
dismissed Lis officers, and, approaching
me, said: “And now I shall conduct
you to your greeiihor.se. I wish to show
you your camellias. ’ ’ •
“My camellias!”
“Yes, yes, I know your passion. The
baroness has been good enough to tell
me yon adore those camellias. So I sent
for your gardener and explained to him
that ho wonld be shot in front of the
greenhouse door if be allowed a single
camellia to die. This was a joke, you
understand. I wonld not have had him
■hot. We are a civilized people, but I
would not have hesitated about having
him tied to a tree for 24 hours without
anything to eat or drink. Bnt it has not
been necessary. Your camellias are in
perfect condition. Come and see them. ”
We went out, the three of us—the
colonel, Antoinette and I. This Prus
sian did me the honors of my own park.
I was tingling with auger. A dozen
times I was on the point of breaking out,
but Antoinette hung on my arm and
made so many supplicating little faces,
and she did look so pretty and yet so
ridiculous under the trees in the garish
sunshine, with her diamonds and rubies
blazing about her, that I was appeased
in spite of myself.
We entered the greenhouse. It was
trim and beautiful. My camellias had
been treated with the utmost care.
“Well,” said the colonel triumphant
ly, "you see we ore not all vandals.
Now I shall leave yon. Yon must have
family matters to chat about. I hope
you will do us the pleasure to dine with
us.”
He invited me to dine hi my own
house, but I coaid not voice a word in
reply. lie left me, however, which was
all I desired. I was alone with Antoi
nette, and she, without awaiting my
questions, as soon as the colonel waa
goue, said:
“Ah, sir, did you notice how be ogled
me as he went away? It is horrible, sir,
it is horrible. This Prussian is in love
with me. You must pot scold me. You
■banId pity and thank raq, I have de
voted myself to saving your houaa.
When this colonel arrived on the Hth
t
of Decciiibox, he flew hi!o a violent lags
on learning that the people of thehouMi
had fled. ‘Ah,’ cried he, ‘so they flee
when wo u u.n. Do they take uk fo*
barbarians? Very well then. I shall act
so. I shall stable my horses in the draw
ing room. ’ Then, sir, as the colonel had
not yet seen mo, I ran np stairs, put on
one of madame's gowns, and,descending,
I told tho colonel that I was your niece,
tho Earouo.ss do Barnovillo, but I think
it’s no harm. It seems that I have not
acted it too awkwardly, na for mere
than a month now I have led this colo
nel by tho nose, and 1 am too good a
Frenchwoman to let him touch even
the tips of my fingers. Moreover, I have
made all his dragoons and hussars march
as by a magic wand. I have saved your
silverware, your horses, your carriages
and your camellias. As to madame’s
diamonds, I wear them all upon me, not
because I wish to, but became they are
safer upon me than in tho drawers. 1
do not know much about (be Bavari
ans, bnt the Prussians are sot worth
much in my opinion where diamonds
are in drawers. But now, sir, if yen
will do me the favor you will leave at
once, because in affairs of this kind men
are worthless. I was obliged to tread
cn your foot several times during break
fast in order to prevent you from ex
ploding, and it is not proper for a lady’s
maid to be pressing her master’s foot
under the tpble. I will get you a good
Prussian passport, and you shall carry
away all of madame’s diamonds. I shall
put them in a little casket, and Pierre
can drive you away in the break. As
for me, I shall remain and keep goed
watch over the house. Besides, you see,
it amuses me to make fools of these
Prussians and make them believe that 1
am a great Indy. ”
I was much moved whoa Antoinette
had ceased speaking. “You are a good
girl, Antoinette,” said I, “a good girl
and a clever girl. I want to ask only
one thing and then I shall go.”
“What is that, sir?”
“The permission to kiss yne»”
“As niece or as lady’s maid?”
“As lady’s maid, Antoinette.”
"Very well, sir.” *
I gave Antoinette a good hug and a
resonant smack. “Pot the diamonds in
tho little casket, Antoinette,” I said,
“bnt do not put that bracelet in tho lit
tle casket Keep it for yourself. ”
“Tlmuk you, sir. Wait for me here,
and in a quarter cf on hour I shall come
for you. But bo careful; commit no im
prudence and get into no quarrels with
these Prussians. ’ ’ •
She hastened away. Scarcely had sho
disappeared when I remembered that
my daughter had asked me to bring her
two photographs which were on little
easels npon her mantelpiece. I returned
to the house, mounted the akakca^e, end <
near the door of her room I stopped in
surprise. Some one was playing the
piano in my daughter’s room. I knocked
discreetly. “Come in. ” I went ia. It
was one of the dragoon officers—a rail,
blond young man, with a single eye
glass stuck in his eye, who was playing
a Chopin waltz on my daughter’s piano.
“Ah, it is yon, sir!” said he; “Come
in, come in, I beg of you.”
“I came to look fer something in this
room.”
“Certainly, sir. Take whatever you
like.” And he resumed his interrupted
waltz. I approached the mantel, and on
the two little easels I found In place of
my portrait a photograph of King Wil
liam and in place of my wife’s portrait
a photograph of Prince Bismarck. The
blood rose to my head, and in a voice
strangled with anger I exc' _.rutd: “Sir,
there were two portraits here. I should
like to know who has permitted you to
remove these portraits and replace them
by the photographs of those two ras
cals. ”
“Yon said, sir”—
“I said these two rascals,” and,
snatching the photographs from the
easels, I tore them into bits. Then, with
perfect calmness, 1 throw the bits into
the fireplace.
The officer rose. Ho woa very pale.
He approached me. The only remaining
question was which of us should first
be slapped in the face, and I was cer
tain that it was not I, whea Antoinette
harried into the room.
"What is the matter?” she demanded.
“This gentleman has dared to take
from tbefr easels two portraits whioh I
came to get”
"You did that, sir?” said she, ad
dressing the officer. “Where are these
portraits.”
“In this drawer.”
“Give them to me!”
“Here they are,"find in the most do
cile manner, the Prussian officer passed
the two portraits to Antoinette, who
gave them to me, saying, “Is this what
yon were seeking?’ ’
“Yes.”
“Come, then,” and she led me away.
The Prussian officer had not moved
since Antoinette entered the room. I
was confounded. Antoinette had played
this little scene with the cleverness and
self possession of an actress.
"How astonished you look!” she said,
as we descended tho staircase.
“Astonished? Well, I”—
"You need not be. Do you think that
it is only the colonel who is in love
with me?”
• • • • ^ •
I returned to Trouville, aad another
month passed without a single letter
from Antoinette. I was beginning to be
very much disturbed, and despite the
difficulties I was prepared to risk a sec
ond journey, when ons morning toward
the close of November my wife threw
open the door of my room and said:
“Antoinette, my dear. It ia Antoinette,
but in wbat a state, the poor,child. ”
I looked, and 1 saw a pale, thin, hag
gard creature who seemed to have been
exhausted by fatigue, hunger and ill
ness.
“It is indeed L sir,” said Antoinette,
“end I bring yon bod nows. You re
member all the jokes made by tho Pros-
tiau colonel about the Bavarians? Well,
to be just, he was not a bad fellow, this
Prussian colonel, end he certainly wee
not wrung about the Bavarians. There
was a movement of thff troops. Our
Pii.rrwere t..kcu away, raid
were sent to na homo Bavarian infantry
who bad Buffered a good deal upon ths
Loi.v, und v.ho U> n cu,x.r..to in
our neighborhood. Pillage began at
cnee. I must admit that the pillage wah
as well organized as the rest of the mil
itary operations. There wae at tho heels
of ibis Bavarian regiment a column of j
Bavarian peddlers. They threw them- I
selves upon the chateau like thieves--,
and at once began to make a sort of in
ventcry. I went at onco to find tho ma
jor who commanded the detachment, a
little, short, fat, ml faced man who
spoke a frightful dialect, half French,
half German. He uttered cries of joy as
soon as ho saw me, and without giving
me time to say a word he cried:
“ ‘Oh, here she is, the baroness who
is a Indy’s maid, tho lady’s maid who
is a baroness. The Prussians arc nice
men, hut the Bavarians are not nice
men, eh? All the name, you can't hood
wink tho Bavarians as yon hoodwinked
the Prussians. I have spies out. Good-
by, my false baroness, goodby. ’ And be
gave some command in German to an
officer. Two soldiers brutally seized me,
and I was led on foot, sir, by stages all
the way for many leagues to Kheinis
from post to post. At Rheims they threw
me in prison. I remained there for a
week, sleeping on straw, with dry bread
and water. At the end of the week I
was taken before an officer of Saxon in
fantry, a tall, blond young man, who
did not appear cruel.
“‘I am going to set you at liberty,’
said he, ‘but yon must not attempt to
return to your house. There is a report
at headquarters from a Bavarian major.
They are brutes, you know, those Bava
rians. All this trouble would not have
happened to you if you had had
quartered with you. *
“I was free, and I have succeeded in
dragging myself hero. But, sir, your
poor chateau is in very Lad Lands. I
fear that you will not find much when
you return.”
She was right. I found nothing at all
when I returned because fhe chateau
was burned down. But I was wrong
when I said I fonnd nothing. I did find
my greenhouse. The chateau was burned
down, but tho greenhouse remained, and
in the greenhouse—in my poor green
house, in place cf my camellias, there
were five Bavarian tombstones, orna
mented with poetic inscriptions like
these, “Here lies Fritz Ilurtmana, a
young and heroic Bavarian dragoon, cut
off in tho flower of bisage.”—Translat
ed For Argonaut From tko French of
Ludovic Helevy.
Cntoh Problems.
Little arithmetical problems with a
“catch” in them are always lancinating
to the average man. No mutter how
simple they appear you will find tho
backer and the broker disputing over
them on ’change or in the counting
rooms of the capitalists. Hero aro cue
or two that have been flouting around
among tho business men of Cincinnati
for two or three weeks:
A banker found a $10 bill. At homo
he gave it to his wife, who paid the
butcher in settlement of his account
The butcher paid it to the farmer for a
calf, and tin farmer paid it to the mer
chant, who in turn paid it to the wash-
erwomaau, and she, owing the banker a
note of $10, went to tho banker and
paid the note. The banker recognized
the bill as the one be had found and
which np to that time had settled $50
of debt. On a careful examination he
fonnd the bill was counterfeit. Of
coarse the problem is, Who lest in the
transaction?
Here’s another, bnt along a different
line, and they do say that men who are
way up in local finance were disputing
over the question on ’change, though it
is extremely simple: A men bought a
horse and baggy fer $110. The horse
cost $100 more than the bnggy. What
did the bnggy cost the owner? That’s
easyi but don’t go to work to figure it
by algebra.
There’s one mere, a very old one, but
it’s good and not near as easy as the
others. A man went into a shoemaker’s
shop and bought a pair of shoes fer $5.
He gave the shoemaker a $10 till. The
shoemaker had no change, but wont to
a neighbor and got tho $10 changed.
He returned and gave the purchaser his
change, $5. A short time afterward the
neighbor came in and claimed the $10
was counterfeit. As he was right the
shoemaker was compelled to make the
$10 good, which ho did by giving a
good $10 for the counterfeit Now, how
much, was tho shoemaker out in the
whole transaction?—Cincinnati Com
mercial Tribune.
What Pasteur DI4.
It seems to us now, in 1807, that
from all time we mast have known that
an organic solution when heated was
sterile, and that a gem would suffioe to
render it capable of fermentation. But
this is a mere delusion. No, a thousand
times no! This great fact of the genera
tion of germs was absolutely unknown
before Pasteur, and the method of ster
ilizing liquids and of their inoculation
with spores was revealed to ns by Pas
teur. It is the nature of great discover
ies that they become popularized in a
short time, and thus very qnickly be
come elementary. A first year’s med
ical student knows perfectly that which
neither Lavoisier, nor Liebig, nor Fre-
my, nor any one before Pasteur had
been able to perceive.
We are always tempted to be ungrate-
ful to great creators, for their creations
pass rapidly into the domain of common
knowledge. They become so simple that
they cease to surpri e ns. Wo do not
think of being grateful, and we forget
tho efforts which genius has hod to
make to wrest the truth from jealous
nature. Gentlemen, let ns not be un
grateful, let us romt-mber that the rec
ognition of the real cause of all fer
mentation (the development kud germi
nation of organized olonients) dates from
1857, and from the celebrated memoir
of Pasteur upon lactic fermentation. A
new world was then opened to science.
—Professor Bicker's Address at Mon
treal. . *
kivEVV EVERYTHiM.
A WCNDCRFl'L OLD MAM WMO PUZ
ZLED HIS TRAVELING COMPANIONS.
lie Wan Pouted Thorous’iljr on All Sub
ject* From tho Lar.3e.it to th - Swalloet. ;
He Puzzled All tho Expert* In Die-
cnitaione of Their Several Specialties.
A wonderful old man who appears to '
be the very fountain of knowledge baa
been traveling regularly between Buffa
lo and Now York and Now York and
Buffalo.
When the train left Buffalo for New
York the other day, one of fear men in j
a smoking compartment said, “Haven 1
Mexican cigarette?” and passed the )
package around. “Notice,” he added,
“tho Mexicans have cigarette pictnro.s,
too, but instcud of airy fairies of tho
stage they rejoice in the likenesses cf
bishops and saints.”
The wonderful old man here mani
fested l imsolf by saying Mexican ciga
rette packages also contained pictures of
actresses and bullfighters, and when !
one of the passengers told about having i
read a book which claimed the ancient j
Mexicans wore the ton lost tribes ho
did net reply until he had named the I
most famous matadores and .Spanish
footlight favorites. Then he said: “Tho
ten lost tribes, as well as Judah nnd
Benjamin, were swallowed up in the
surrounding people. The modern Jew
is not a Jew at all, according to the
latest research. During the latter Rom
an empire the converts to Judaism, or
early Christianity, became a dan, owing
to persecution, assumed a type from in-
tennarriage, and their descendants call
themselves Jews.”
“A friend of mine,” raid the man
who smoked tho Mexican cigarettes,
“told mo ho caw in Sonora Indians with
blue eyes and yellow hair!”
“Quito right,” said tho old man.
"They arc Scotch Indians. ”
He then explained that 150 years ago
a great hunting and mine xirospectiug
party of Scotchmen passed many year*
in Sonora and took unto themselves In
dian wives; hence tho Scotch Indians.
In the conversation about Mexico the
mysterious man illustrated his discourse
with words and eeatences from the
Aztec, Maya aud Apache tongues.
The conversation turning to tho sub
ject of languages tho cld man amused
his fellow travelers with examples of
Volapuk. With reference to English he
declared that, oddly enough, New York -
Engli'di is lesa liko tho English of
Shakespeare than modern Grc-cl! resem
bles the classic language. The purest
English spoken today—that is, English
that Shakespeare would understand—
be declared, is among tho peasants of
Ireland. What we call the Irish brogno
is tho nearest to tho way Shakespeare
pronounced English.
On scientific, mechanical, historical
and religions subjects the old mltu was
a wonder. A physician talked with him
and said he hod a medical training, a
railway man insisted that he was an
officer of a railway, a lawyer doc hired
he was a great lawyer or perhaps a
judgo and, to tho confusion of these
theories, tho learned traveler was equal
ly at homo in describing the Klondike
region and tolling about Egyptian,
Babylonian and Assyrian tablets.
The identity of the mysterious man
of learning became a topic in the Pull
man. There was no name cn his bag
gage. Preparatory to offering bets on
tho old roan’s business or profession a
drummer talked to him about the state
of trade. The drummer then offered to
bet bo was the president of some big
corpcration, bat the way he recited the
family tree of Prince Henri of Orleans
baffled the travelers. An electrical en
gineer was persuaded to drop in and
talk and told the now extremely curious
passengers, “Ho knows more about
electricity than I do. ”
Indeed, here was a man who seemed
informed on every conceivable subject
from ancient history to the latest news
of tho stage, who discoursed cn art with
refinement nnd knew ull about famous
murder cases and tho profit in shoes. A
remarkable knowledge of every way
gold has been found seemed to give it
tip, but when he displayed absolute
mastery of aeronautics the puzzled
passengers gave it np.
“We have been extremely entertained
by yonr wonderful knowledge,” said
the drummer boldly as the train neared
New York. “Would you mind telling,
ns what university you aro the presi
dent of?”
Tho learned man smiled as he re
plied, “1 have never been inside a uni
versity in my life.”
“Then you are a distinguished savant
or perhaps h doctor of divinity. 1 hav«
never met a greater student”—
“Never studied in my life!"
“Pardon me,” exclaimed tho baffled
drummer, “if I ask you who you are?”
“There is nothing remarkable about
me,” replied the man of mystery, turn
ing to the travelers who crowded for
ward, “except that 1 am tho man who
remembers wbst he reads in the daily
newspapers. ”—New York Journal
Steel Barrels.
The manufacture of steel barrels is a
new industry lately established neat
Loudon. The difficulty of giving the
steel sheet the ordinary barrel shape to
overcome by easing the curved rolls t^t
the ends so that they bear only in tho
middle, thns stretching the metal at tho
center and forming tho barrel body com
plete, with the exception of shearing
the ends straight in a special machine
and welding the scam. The welding is
done by electrically melting pieces of
steel over the opening and hammering
them down. Tho heads are ent in a cir
cular shearing machine, corrugated and
dished in a 400 ton hydraulic press aud
secured in place by a ring of metal
which is welded both to the end of the
barrel nnd the head. The bong bosses
are also welded on, no skilled labor bo-.
log required for tho process and but
moderate power is needed to Supply ffci
current.
2
POPULAR DELUSIONS.
Rozno of ThoMi That Have Not Tot It* »u
Torn Up by ti.c l’.out*.
It is remarkable how many popular
elusions still linger in spite of the
spread of enlightenment. I am not re
ferring now to historical and liten.ry
fictions, such ns the common “Up guards
and at ’em,” popularly ostrilrd to
Wellington at Waterloo, to the “.’h.g-
laud expects every man to do his duty,”
mistakenly ascribed to Nelson, nor to
the utterly untrue story about “Jessie”
announcing the advance of the high
landers to the relief of Lucknow oa
Leering bagpipes which (aw a matter of
fact) wore not played. Neither am I re
ferring to these popular superstitions
which the Thirteen club is endeavoring
to kill by ridicule, though there aro
"lucky” as well as unlucky supersti
tious, which the Thirteen club does not
rock. The belief in the luck bringing
power of tho horseshoe, for example,
which led Lord Nelson to nail one to
the mast of the Victory, still survives,
aud gamblers throughout the world—
even the most astute and worldly mind
ed—have a traditional reverence for
humpbacked persons.
Perhaps I bad better exemplify what
I mean. Well I remember once, while
in a midland town, hearing somebody
say that the carrying of a raw potato in
the trousers pocket was an unfailing pre
ventive of rheumatism. To my amaze
ment several individuals—all of them
men of intelligence and local standing—
produced the desiccated mummies cf po
tatoes, from which the moisture had
evaporated nnd which in size, hardness
and appearance were exactly liko rough
pebbles. These men were firmly con
vinced of the virtues of the potato as a
specific against rheumatism, aud they
declined to be laughed out of their be-
licf, maintaining that they had practical
proof of the raw potato’s efficacy if sim
ply carried in the pocket. I find on in
quiry that many people aro as firmly
convinced of the efficacy of wearing a
zinc ring. You may tell an individual of
this sort that it is arrant nonsense ta
think that the wearing of such a ring
can ward eff rheumatism, hut he will
a&sure yoa that he knows letter, for.
whereas he used to bo a marlyr to that
affiictiou, ho has uot felt a twinge since
he wore his ring.
There is a popular belief that if a
glass globe be filled to the brim yen can
drop in several live goldfish without
causing tho water to overflow. It is
scarcely an exaggeration to say that this
belief used to be universal, just becausa
it did net occur to anybody to try so
simple an experiment. It is a matter
easy cf demonstration. Try it. Not only
among servant girls, but among women
of high intelligence, there is a popular
delusion that if pokers or tongs be
placed in front of the grate, resting on
the bars, the fire will “draw” better.
"Why sbonld it? Ask any one who puts
this delusion in practice, and yen will
either get a fantastic explanation or
none at all. A popular delation still
survives iu some parts of the couutry
that tho place where the body of a
drowned person bas finally sunk may
bo ascertained by flouting a loaf con
taining quicksilver, the supposition be
ing that tho loaf will stop immediately
over the place where the body lies.
When Norwegians are iu quest of m
drowned body, they row to and fro with
a rooster in the boat, fnlly expecting
that tho bird will crow when the boat
reaches the spot where the corpse lies.
There is a popular delusion in England
that it is illegal to cut down a body
fonnd banging before a policeman ar
rives. Lives might have been saved but
for this vulgar error.—Rocket
A Lunatic on Lunacy.
A curious oocuneuco took place re
cently in Professor Krafft-Ebing’s clinic,
where a patient at his own request,
was allowed by the professor to deliver
a lecture in his place in order to demon
strate the peculiarity of his mental
state. The patient is a highly educated
mau, of exceptional intellectual endow
ments, but for many years be has been
tho subject of so ctrlled "circular” in
sanity. Tho recurrence of the disease
prevents his pursuing for any length of
time any occupation iu which his nat
ural abilities and acquired accomplish
ments would in happier circumstances
have enabled him to gain distinction.
In the maniacal phase of his illness he
■hows an astonishing wealth of ideas,
Bud with his manifold knowledge and
his readiness of expression (ho bas lately
been a writer) becomes witty and even
brilliant iu bis language. Thus in the
lecture he delivered on the mental con
dition of the muuhtc iu periodical at
tacks of madness he puzzled his audience
by tho brilliant and exact form of bis
speech, and on a lay person or a junior
student might even have made the im
pression that kis statements were cor
rect and bis conclusions logically drawn,
though, iu fact, they .vere all nonsense.
He spoke for nearly an hour, holding
the attention of bis audience the whole
time. His look and bearing, which ara
those of a scholar, helped to keep np tho
illusion.—British Medical Journal
Th« Tcunysou Spectacle.
One day, some years ego, tays tho
London News, Lord Tennyson was
walking in meditation aboot the
grounds at Aldworth, when a tourist
rushed toward him, leaving behind»
party of friends to follow more at lei-
snre. Arrived within speaking distance,
the stranger aid, “Can you tell me
where I can find the poet Tennyson?”
Taken by surprise, the great laureate
was not ready with any evasion and an
swered, “I am he.” Whereupon tho
stranger turned to his friends, and
pointing to the poet with no more rev
erence than if be were an inanimate ca
riosity bawled out, "8ay, this it tho
man, this is the man!” Tho friends
hastened their pace and stared with all
their eyes, while the only thing tho
pool ootyld do was to beat a hasty re
tree t, speechless with indignation. Tho
News adds that the visitors were Amor-
loans.
H