Duel.
Bellefonte, Pa., May 8, 1896.
e—
A DANDELION.
0, golden heart a-gleaming in the grass
On a fair morn o’ May,
1 stoop to touch you softly as I pass
Along the common way,
Thinking of one blue-cloud and white-sky day,
When, free from vexing care,
I pulled and curled your stems in childish play,
And wove them in my hair ;
Or breathed across your phantom seedsphere
there
With wonder and delight
To see you, spirit-like, rise in the air
And vanish out of sight ;
Believing while I watched your shining flight,
The brooding, blessed Power,
Mysterious and silent as the light,
Would bring you back, a flower.
Ab, sweet child-trust that bides through sun and
7 shower,
In wisdom all unskilled ;
After long storms will come a fateful hour
‘When it shall be fulfilled.
Hope's winged seeds, through all the years un-
chilled,
Bloom in the wayside grass, !
The flower comes back and with heart strangely
thrilled
We bless it as we pass,
—Anne L. Muzzey in New York Sun
COMMANDER OF THE DISTRICT.
Behind the coast line of West Africa,
from the Gambia, to the Congo lies a wild
country of dense forest and dismal swamp,
intersected here and there by sluggish riv-
ers and shallow lagoons. Although the
Portuguese, Dutch and English have.trad-
ed along the coast for more than four hun-
dred years, civilization has but slightly
touched the savage inhabitants of the inter-
ior, and ‘‘battle, murder and sudden
death,” the ‘Ju Ju’ of fetich worship,
with its horrible rites of human sacrifice,
and in many places cannibalism, are preva-
lent. .
In British dominions a few district com-
missioners and other officers in charge of
small detachments of haussas, who are
Mohammedan black troops, maintain, or
struggle to maintain, some kind of order
along the frontier, among many thousands
of savages,
Now it happened that one morning in
April Captain Wayne, in command of a
dozen haussas, sat on the veranda of his
house, which was situated near the head-
waters of a muddy river on the frontier of
the Gold Coast and the Shantee country,
and looked across the misty landscape that
lay before him. By and by as the sun
rose the mist gathered itself together into
heavy wreaths and rolled away to seek a
hiding place until nightfall among the
swamps, leaving open to view mile after |
mile of dense forest that stretched away to
the blue line of distant mountains on the
northern horizon, while near at hand three
winding rivers and a wide lagoon lay glit-
tering in the early sunshine. The captain
lay wearily back in his chair, haggard and
sallow-faced from constant attacks of the
malarial fever, the scourge of the land, and
oppressed by the intense loneliness, for he
had seen no white man for more than a
year. Instead of the slight coolness that
might have been hoped for in the morning
breeze, the air was hot and heavy with the
smell of vegetation rotting in the swamps
and the river mud.
At this moment Akoo, sergeant of haus-
sas, came up the stairway leading to the
veranda, and saluting the officer, said :
“Bushman come in, sah, bring little word,
say Karsro people chop two men, make Ju
Ju,”
“Hang the Kasro people,” said the cap-
tain aside. “‘I must stop the Ju Ju sacri-
fice, and yet if there’s any blood-shed it
will mean the sending up of an expedition
and unending trouble. Akoo, get 10-men
ready, rifles and 20 rounds of ammuni-
tion.” *
The sergeant saluted as he went away,
and shortly afterward a bugle call rang out
and Captain Wayne, weak and trembling
from fever, marched into the forest at the
head of his men. Tall, splendidly develop-
ed negroes from the far north, staunch
Mussulmans, lighter in color and in every
way superior to the coast {Fibes, the haus
sas will follow their white officers with a |
courage and devotion equal to that of any |
of her majesty ’s troops. |
Meaptime in the Shantee town of Kasro, |
a great Ju Ju feast was being held, at
which the chief adrainistered justice, and
various rites were performed by the fetich
men to propitiate their gods. The mud- |
built, palm-thatehed huts lay in rows he-
neath the shade of feathery palm trees
around a great open square. In the center
of this, beneath the shade of a huge tree
consecrated to the Ju Ju or fetich gods, sat |
Chief Karso, attired in a cast-off steamboat |
oflicer’s uniform and a dragoon’s brass hel-
met. Over his head stretched the spread-
ing arms ot the tree from which hung long
strings of charms, human skulls, bones,
sharks’ teeth, leopards’ claws, and similar
odds and ends, the symbol of the fetich au-
thority, for over native warfare, trade, and
justice, or rather injustice, the Ju Ju man
- reigns supreme. Round the chief stood
rows of native warriors, naked with the ex-
ception of a narrow-strip of cloth round the
loins, while the whole of the square was:
filled by an excited crowd of men and
women, equally scantily attired, singing
and dancing in groups round a crouching
musician tapping the native skin drum,
firing their long flintlock guns in the air or
reeling about hopelessly intoxicated
with palm wine. Two stalwart slaves held
a large umbrella, the symbol authority,
over the chief’s head, while on either side
stood a Ju Ju man to act as counsellor, as
the chief dismissed, one after another, the
trembling prisoners who awaited his sen-
tence. Lying on the ground, bound hand
and foot with palm fiber, were two men
evidently of a different tribe, entirely
naked, their black skins shining as the per-
spiration beads rose on them, for they were
purposely placed in the fierce glare of the
sun, and smudged the stripes of white clay
* with which they were daubed.
When the last criminal was led trem-
bling away, the two Ju Ju priests advanc-
ed toward a fire of scented wood, round
which lay a number of brass vessels ; and
as the chief raised his hand a bloodthirsty
roar broke from the excited crowd; while
the guards dragged forward the white-paint-
ed victims, and loosening their bands,
placed one on either side of the fire. A
huge naked negro with a necklace of bones
now advanced, a heavy straight sword in
his band, while the priests -threw armfuls
of an aromatic wood on the fire, so that the
whole square was filled with the odor. The
executioner stepped forward and swung
hissword round his head, while a fresh
howl like that of a pack of hungry wolves
burst from the crowd, when the chief rose
| the iron head of the spear.
‘compound, and, after holding out a letter,
to his feet and ordered him to desist.
Toward the outside of the square the
crowd was shouting, pushing and strug-
gling and a few moments later fell away
right and left, while down the clear
age came Captain Wayne at the head of 10
haussas with fixed bayonets. His Karki
uniform was torn and plastered with mud,
and the captain, between weakness and
fever, could scarcely stand erect. But
keeping himself in hand by a desperate ef-
fort, he walked up to the two shivering
wretches and laid his hand on the nearest ;
then, turning to the chief, he said in his
own tongue : “I demand these men in the
name of the White Queen.” There was a
roar of fury from the crowd, while the chief,
wavidg his hand for silence, said : “I
wish you no harm. Go in peace, for I de-
sire no war with the White Queen ; but it
is not good to meddle with the gods of the
Shantee. Wherefore go while you are safe,
before my people tear you limb from
limb.” .
“Though we are but one white man and
10 haussas, yet every one of us who die
will kill 10 of you people. Also the arm
of the queen is long, and afterward the
troops will come and burn your town and
stamp it flat.”
As he spoke the captain fixed his eyes on
the chief’s face, and the chief lowered his
head and moved uneasily then he whispered
for a little with his Ju Ju priests. At length
he lifted his hand and said ; ‘your words
are good ; take the men and go in peace.”
At the heard of his troops the captain
turned and faced the angry crowd, the
prisoners, now unbound, standing between
two files of haussas. In front and on every
side surged a furious mob, shouting and
shaking their barbed spears and flintlock
guns, .
“Fix bayonets, haussas—march !”’ called
the captain as he drew his revolver, and
the angry negroes fell aside on either side
of the glistening steel and the calm, un-
moved man. So they passed slowly and
deliberately through the village, while the
natives howled and shook their spears and
guns, none daring to strike the first blow.
The captain’s heart thumped and his
breath came in thick gasps through his
parched mouth and throat, for he knew
that the slightest accident would provoke
a bloody encounter, in which every man of
the little party would be wiped out after
which the colony would have to undertake
a little expedition in punishment that
would cost much money and blood. How.
ever, coolness and the courage won the day,
and they reached the last hut scathless.
Here the crowd swept upon them with a
rush, but stopped when the bright steel
held by the unmoved haussas lay within
an inch of their naked- breasts, and one
savage, stooping under the line of bayonets,
drovea light bayonet into the captain’s leg.
Instantly the latter raised his revolver and
moved his arm until the bead of the fore-
sight rested on the center of the black fore:
head. Another instant and a fierce light
and the subsequent annihilation of the
party would have fcllowed, but the self-
control of the officer was equal to the occa-
sion. He lowered his revolver, and stoop-
ing down, broke off the haft of the fight
spear ; then he called out ; “I will come
again with more soldiers for that man haus-
sas—advance.”’ |
The troopers took a step forward, and as
the bayonets pricked their flesh the crowd
opened up on either side and the little band
marched out of the village.
With clenched teeth the captain held his
place until they were out of sight among
the trees’; then the reaction of the strain
set in. and, weak and broken down with
fever and the pain of his wound, he pitched
forward head foremost into a clump of the
fragrant African lilies. How he regained
the station he never knew, but the faithful
Haussas, who would follow an officer they
admire down into Hades if he bade them,
after much difficulty at last carried him in-
to his room, where he lay for many hows
in a troubled sleep.
Awakening, he found himself burning |
with fever, ina room which had the tem-
perature of an oven, while through the
open window little draughts of air like the
| breath of a furnace played in and out.
Calling Sergeant Akoo, who had faithful- |
| ly watched every moment while he slept,
| to raise him, he passed his hand down his |
till fingers touched
Now, there
are many kinds of West African spears ;
afew carry a merciful leaf-shaped head,
wounded thigh his
but many have points covered with cruel |
| barbs and hooks, so that
[it is impossible to pluck them” out.
once in the flesh
one that lay cankering in the captain's leg
ac nf. 1 Jv > HA -1 eth +
was of a curiously develish kind, fashioned
like a double corkscrew, and, driven in
with a twist, could not be drawn out.
“Akoo,”” said the captain, “bring in two |
privates to hold my hands—and my big |
hunting-knife.””
When they came, neither groaned nor
lost consciousness till the ghastly operation |
was over, then his Lead dropped forward
’
and he swooned away, while his trusty !
“By |
the heard of the prophet,” said Sergeant |
followers stopped the flow of blood.
Akoo, in the vernacular, “but that is a |
man.’
Next morning the captain sent a trooper |
a hnndred miles through the forest to ask
| that a relief might be sent ; then he lay day
after day in a canvas chair on the veranda,
alternately shivering and burning with fev-
er, and unable to move on account of his in-
jured leg, which obstinately refused to heal.
One weary week succeeded another, while
the captain watched the white mists roll
away at dawn, and the sun rise and shine
all day with a pitiless heat out of a cloud-
less sky. The same panorama of solemn
forest and glistening river stretched itself
before his weary eyes, until his heart was
as sick as his fevered body, and he feared
his brain would give way. Meanwhile,
Sergeant Akoo, who could neither read nor
write, patrolled the country, and ruled as
asupreme monarch many thousands of na-
tives ; but the messenger never returned.
Then one day a bushman came in by nignt
with a letter from the nearest government
station to say that a wounded Haussa with
a handful of cast-iron pot-leg shot into his
body had one day dragged himself to the
turned over and died ; faithful unto death,
for this is the nature of the Mohammedan
soldier. The message -had been forwarded
to headquarters, and the reply now reach-
ed the captain. :
Calling a trooper to raise him, he broke
the seal and read that no relief could be
sent for.some time, as there was no officer
available, but he had- full authority to
abandon the post for the time being, if his
health necessitated such a course.
Now the captain was a simple man, not
given to any heroics, but he had lived so
long away from white men that he had no
thought but the well-being of his district. ;
80 he said, for these dwellers in lonely wilds
soon to think aloud : ‘It is a temptation.
If I stay here I shall go out before the
rains, and if I go there will be war, gor-
geous war, between two or three of the
chiefs, and the government will send up an
expedition and the district will be broken
up forever. No—I must stay and keep
The |
mortification. The event is with Allah,
as Akoo says.”’
He dispatched another messenger, beg-
ging that an officer from a peaceable dis-
trict should be sent, as the post could not
be left. Then the weary waiting com-
menced again, and the dreary stifling days
had to be faced somehow, with heat and
fever, constant suffering from the wound
and dreadful loneliness. Still the captain
held on, giving the sergeant fresh orders
every morning, and listening to his reports
of the day’s work in the evening, while he
daily grew thinner and more haggard ; a
miserable handful of bones and feeble
flickering life, doing his small share in up-
holding the supremacy of our great em-
ire. -
> But no reply arrived from head-quarters,
and at length Sergeant Akoo paused one
morning before he called out his men and
said: “No book (letter) come, sah ;
bushman chop Haussa and ’teal him letter,
but captain send more book and Haussa fit
to go.”
‘‘No,”” said the captain,”’ I can’t have
my men cut off one by one, neither can I
purchase relief with, the death of my troop-
ers. Did not King David say something
of the kind about the water from the well
of Bethlehem, which is beside the gate—
the price of brave men’s blood ?
Then he worried and tried experiments
to see if his brain was losing its power,
while the black sergeant and his troopers
represented her majesty’s government and
maintained the queen’s peace on the fron-
tier.
By and by the rains came, and the cap-
fain’s couch had to be moved inside ; for
the whole air was filled with the falling
water, the rivers overflowed and every
swamp was turned into a lake, while the
house was filled with a steam that reeked
of fever and dysentery. So the commis-
sioner lay through the weary weeks listen-
ing to the constant roar of water on the
roof, and the murmur of the flooded river,
growing weaker and weaker, yet fighting
a grim fight against despair and insanity.
At last the long-expected relief arrived,
and the incoming . officer found a ghastly,
fever worn skeleton that gazed at him with
glittering eyes and whispered in.a hoarse
voice : ‘‘Thank God! I’ve kept the sta-
tion ;’’ then collapsed and lay speechless
and silent, a wreck of what had once been
a man.
Next morning, under command of Ser-
geant Akoo, eight bearers left the station
carrying Captain Wayne in a hammock,
and for 14 days they stumbled along,
through great forests of cottonwood and
mahogany trees, wading among dismal
swamps, paddling across broad lagoons and
down solitary river reaches. Now they
journeyed all day by canoe through strange
tunnel-like “hed among the man-
grove trees, th hy dry land through
patches of plumbedswamp grass that met
above their heads, or through forest glades
where the ground lay carpeted by the fra-
grant African iily.
But the gaunt figure in the hammock
saw none of these things, and the glitter-
ing eyes opened only when Sergeant Akoo
raised the sufferer’s head, and poured a
few spoonfuls of food or drops of brandy
down his throat.
Sixteen days after the captain left his
station three men sat in the long bare room
of a trader’s house, built on high piles,
looking over the seat at Axim.
The windows were wide open, and
through them you could see, beneath the
arches of the palm branches, the boundless
stretch of the Atlantic, and a long yellow
beach, where the great blue rollers broke in
sheets of snowy foam ; while the roar of
the serf, and the smell of flowers, burning
wood, rattling leaves, and mud, which is
the breath of the Dark Continent, came in
with every passing puff of hot air
Lying on a canvas couch under the win-
dow was the wasted figure of Captain
Wayne, who opened his eyes as the doctor
leaned over him, and smiled as he mur-
mured, ‘You are very kind—yes, I’m het-
ter alrcady—and I'm going home to-mor-
row—don’t forget to signal for the steamer
to eall. .
“Then lie down and keep quiet,” said
the doctor. “We'll signal for the steamer?’
—here he leaned over and called out to the
krooboys, ‘Hoist the 'teamer flag, Fry pan,
and fire-cun when ’teamer live,” then
withdrew to a corner, and the three men
talked in whispers.
trader.
“He cannot live till they reach San
Leone; and may die hefove the steamer ar- |
rives here.
gone through :
na,’
Here they iaughed softly, for the doctor
had waged for years a grim fight with fever
and dysentery, cholera and guinea-worm,
| to say nothing of pot-shots from Shantecs
on the frontier.
“Poor fellow,’ said the trader, “he did
i his best—Tom, it’s Sunday afternoon ; see
if you can’t get a tune out of the piano, if
itlsnabrusted to bits and the kroo-hoys
| haven’t stolen the wire.”
| The third person arose, and sitting down
| to the broken instrument struck a few low
enough to kill 10 men like
| cords, then after various snatches of topical
song which had reached the coast, began
slowly an old-fashioned tune to the Magni-
ficat. The doctor and his companion at
first laughed ; church music was new on
the coast, but as the player gaining confi-
dence in the instrument, drew out the
solemn music, the smile died away and
they took off their hats. Chord after chord
the sweet old tune rang out, while the
thoughts of the listeners passed over leagues
of ocean, and they saw again the sweet
English meadows or the purple Scottish
moor, with its glory of gorse and heather.
The deep thunder of the surf seemed not
a disturbing element, but a fitting accom-
paniment, and as the crimson light of the.
westing sun shone upon his face, the sick
man beckoned the faithful sergeant to raise
him in his couch. So he lay, gazing west-
ward, with the light bringing a ruddy glow
to the ghastly cheeks, listening, while a
tear trickled slowlv out of the sunken eyes.
Was he thinking of the distant country
he had served so faithfully and loved so
well ? No one knew, for as the last chord
of the “amen” died away the tired head
drooped forward and he turned to the wall,
and so passed away.
To where beyond these voices there is peace.
Then a deep silence fell upon the room,
and Sergeant Akoo bent down and drew
the sheet over the pallid face, saying as he
did go, ‘Allah akbar—God is great—by the
beard of the prophet, these English be
men.”” Two days later, when the R. M. S.
Benguela passed, there was no signal flying
for her to stop, and only a low mound and
and a rough wooden cross showed that an-
other of the brave spirits who daily lay
down their lives in lonely forest and fever
haunted swamp had gone to its place.—
Chamber’s Journal.
——We know that we always get a spark from
A match.
But that leaves us still in the dark ;
For, when it’s courtship the case is reversed—
We then get a match from a spark.
them in order—and face the fever and the
®
On
New York Herald,
‘Has he any chance, doctor ¥’ said the |
Think of what the man has |
To Better the Schools.
Both in New York city and Philadel-
phia there is a healthy agitation in prog-
ress that has for its purpose the bettering of
the system of instruction’ in the public
schools by lopping off some of the higher
branches or luxuries and making the pri-
mary education more effective and com-
plete, to meet the wants of the great mass
of pupils who leave the schools early in
their teens to become breadwinners. Weé
acknowledge the receipt of a very interest-
ing address on the subject by Mr. A. M.
Spangler, a school official who has had long
experience in educational matters, before
the Philadelphia board of education. The
point urged by Mr. Spangler is that the
common school course is overcrowded, and
as a consequence enough time cannot be
given to the teaching of the important pri-
mary branches. To secure the best re-
sults, he urges, there is a necessity for the
curtailment or modification of the present
graded course of study.
Of the 132,000 pupils in the public
schools of Philadelphia, 92,000 are in the
primary or secondary course, and not many
of them go beyond these grades. The great
majority leave school before the close of the
secondary course. Says Mr. Spangler :
It is not that the parents would not pre-
fer to have them continue their school life,
or that the children are weary of it, but
because mainly the limited incomes of the
parents forbid. .
Most of the large boys are put to trades,
or employment of some kind is found for
for theservice they render. The girls are
either needed at home, or positions are
sought for them in stores or factories.
Quite a good many become typewriters or
bookkeepers, while others engage in some
of the various callings which of late years
have furnished paying situations for so
many of the sex.
What is said here of Philadelphia is
equally true of the 60,000 pupils in the
public schools of Pittsburg and Allegheny.
What"Mr. Spangler is concerned about is
providing these thousands of boys and girls,
own livelihood before they have fairly en-
tered their teens, with a rounded system
of instruction that will meet the demands
of the active life on which they are en-
gaging. ‘‘We’ cannot,” he says, “‘supply
them with money capital, but we can,
with proper effort, give them a much bet-
ter outfit than they have hitherto been get-
ting, and which in many cases may, and
no doubt will, prove more beneficial to
them than would money.
vide them with situations, but we can give
them such strong and influential recom-
mendations as come under the important
heads of good reading, correct spelling,
rapid and legible penmanship, plain com-
position, a knowledge of the multiplication
table and the principles of its congeners,
addition, subtraction and division. These
are the qualifications which, coupled with
honesty, industry and obedience, are the
almost certain guarantees of success. They
are the qualifications sought for by em-
ployers, and which, when found, are most
likely to win the way of their possessors to
position, promotion and remunerative
yy.
This is the revolution in our public
school methods Mr. Spangler aims at, and
we have no question it has occupied
the thought and attention of all interested
in the best methods of education by the
state, whether in New York, Pittsburg or
Philadelphia. He makes a plea for sim-
plicity in topics and common sense teach-
ing. He opposes the grinding and cram-
ming processes. He ridicules putting
through the mill a given quantity of juven-
ile humanity for “the high school class.”
The smattering inflicted on the vast ma-
jority of pupils, who have but a few yéars
to spend at school at the best, is ridiculed
as worse than useless. He would establish
correct spelling, rapid and legible penman-
ship and a knowledge of figures. Asan
a large business college in Philadelphia
was cited to the effect that of 1.200 boys
| admitted to the business college, could cor-
| rectly write a letter. Their spelling was
equally bad, and in this latter respect the
children who had been educated in
| a similar character were cited from
| cities, showing
school graduates to grapple with simple
to essentials. Public sentiment,
Spangler maintained, is practically unan-
imous in favor of the reforms he “enumer-
ates. We have not space to go fully into
portance demands, but in all American
| cities 16 is just now receiving the consider-
| ation of thoughtful and intelligent educa- |
| tors, and the great body of teachers ave
{ pronounced in their opinions. The stufiing
| process as to pupils at the expense of their
i’ real needs in going into the world is what
{is the matter all along the line.— Post.
Homeopathists Will Meet.
| On Tuesday, May 19, the tenth semi-
ical society of Central Pennsylvania will be
held at the Bush house, Bellefonte. It is
expected that there will be about fifty
physicians in attendance, among them be-
ing Drs. Smith and Maust, ofLock Haven
The following named instructors are also
expected to be present : Dr. Carl C. Visch-
er, of Philadelphia, demonstrator on sur-
gery ; Dr. Pratt, of Chicago, professor of
surgery ; Drs. Charles Mohr and Frank
Buch, of Philadelphia, and Dr. Edward M.
Evans, of Baltimore.
During the session there will be papers
read from the several bureaus as follows :
Clinical medicine—Drs. Locke, Wesner,
Taylor and Scheurer.
Pathology—Drs. Hall,
Burnley.
Obstetrics—Drs. Smith,
Maust.
Gynweeology—+Drs. Books, Morrow and
Baker. 2
Material medica—Drs.
and Piper.
Surgery—Drs. Cheney, Sharbaugh, Prin-
gle and Heinbach.
The session will close with a banquet.
Reinhold and
Walters and
Haag, Bigelow
Information.
Traveler (to native)—Can you tell me
haw far I am from Creamtown ?
Native—About 24,200 miles.
Traveler—Impoessible.
Native—I mean if you keep on the way
you are going. If you turn around and go
back it’s only about amile.—7%d-Bits.
———Nine thousand maple trees will be
cut up this Summer on the upper Kenne-
bec River, Maine, to furnish material for
filling an order for 1,500,000 blocks for
shoe lasts.
them that will pay something in return ;
most of whom leave school to earn their |
‘We cannot Pro
in lieu of its simplicity and thoroughness
in a few essentials, suchas good reading, |
illustration of the poor results of the pres- |
ent method the testimony of a professor in |
and girls, most of whom had attended the !
Philadelphia public school, not one, when |
the’
country school took the lead. Instances of |
other |
the incapacity of high
problems necessary to suceess in life. Time |
was wasted on fads that should have gone |
Mr. |
the subject as he presents it or as its im- |
annual meeting of the Homeopathic med- |
The Shah of Persia.
A monarch of an almost unique kind is
dead. The Shah of Persia was shot Thurs-
day April 30th while entering a shrine in
‘the neighborhood of his capital. Even this
comparatively unimportant Asiatic realm
seems not to be free from fanatical assas-
sins. There may be no Anarchists in that
part of the earth, for they, indeed, seem to
be a product of our more intellectual West-
ern world, wherein men become perplexed
by the problems of political economy ; yet
religion, which also shows a certain capaci-
ty for disordering the human mind is not
absent in the East. The Shah’s ‘assassin is
said to have been such a fanatic, though no
real motive is given for the deed, and we
are led to believe that it was a mere out-
burst of individual craziness. The ques-
tion of most moment to the rest of the
world is the selection of a successor to the
murdered monarch. There are rival
claimants to the throne, one of whom is ac-
counted to have Russian, the other English
sympathies. These two Powers have been
at cross purposes to some extent at Teheran
for many years, each desiring to strengthen
its own influence in the Shah’s country.
Unfortunately, the heir presumptive ac-
cording to Persian law is the Russian ally,
a most unenlightened man: His rival to
the throne, though older than his pro-Rus-
sian brother, is the result of a marriage
which is reckoned to be morganatic, and
his chances are less good. He is a liberal-
minded man, inclined towards things
which are English. He has the further ad-
vantage, it is said, of being more popular
with the Persians than his brother. There
are predictions in some quarters that there
may be a revolution, and it is possible, of
course, that England and Russia may come
into diplomatic conflict with each other he-
fore the question of succession is satisfac-
torily settled. Active intervention by
either Power is, of course, very improbable,
as this would be a violation of internation-
dient from whatever standpoint the sub-
Ject may be viewed.
Hamilton Disston Dcad.
The Weli Known Manufacturer Found in His Bed a
Corpse. 2 >
‘ SL
Hamilton Disston, the well known poljti-
cal leader and business man, Philadel-
phia, was found dead by his wife y sterday
morning in a spare room of the Disston
mansion, at the northeast corner of Broad
and Jefferson streets. On Wednesday he
was apparently in fair health, although he
had not regained the vigor sapped by an at-
tack.of typhoid pneumonia last year. He
was, moreover, in very good spirits, and no
apprehension of any serious illness was felt,
and the possibility of sudden death was not
even thought of.
On Tuesday, when he visited his down
town office, in the Bullitt building, he
complained of a sense of fatigue and some
pain in the region of the heart, but astri-
buted both to an unusual press of duties.
During that day he communicated with his
office, by phone, and on Wednesday ful-
filled an out of town engagement, re-
turning during the afternoon. Wednesday
night he and his wife went to the theatre,
and after the play dined with the Mayor
and Mrs. Warwick at the Bellevue. Upon
their return he went to bed in one of the
spare rooms of the house. Yesterday
morning E. F. Steck, his private secretary,
called at the house, and Mrs. Disston, ac-
companied by Mr. Steck, went to his room,
and found him dead. A physician who
was summoned declared he had been dead
for three hours, and gave the cause as heart
disease.
Hamilton Disston was a son of Henry
| Disston, who was the largest manufacturer
of saws and files in the United States.
Since the death of Henry Disston the busi-
ness has been carried on by his four sons.
A Busy Doctor's Blunder,
Explanations Were in
Medicine.
Order, and the Boy Got the
department of a Boston hospital during one
| of the attending doctor’s busiest days. The
physician recognized him as a patient who
. ed for an affection of the car.
“I come to’—began the hoy.
“Yes, Yes, I know,” interrupted the |
doctor, who wasin a hurry. “I see you
are better. Sit down there quick and DI1
attend to your case.”’
“But I'’—remonsirated the boy, as he
rose from the chair into which the doctor
had gently thrust him.
“There, there, now,” commanded the
doctor. ‘No fussing ! Sit still there.”’
I Now, the doctor in charge of that clinic
{ has an awe inspiring manner, and the bay,
| though still attempting to object, was
|
| jected into his ear.
“Very much improved,” remarked the
| doctor. “Here,” as he handed him a pre-
I'scription, ‘‘take these pills three times a
day and come agein next week.”
| me,” said the boy. ‘‘It’s my brother.
{ He's gone off to the ball game, and 1 come
| to get his medicine.”
| “Why didn’t you say so hefore 2 asked
i the doctor rather sharply.
| “Cause I couldn’t,”” replied the small
boy with a grin.
the students who were assisting at his clinie
joined in the laugh against himself and re-
marked :
_/*“That’s a case of mistaken
py. '—Youth’s Companion.
on
philanthro-
In the town of Warriors-mark lives
James Chamberlain and wife, keepers of
probably the most remarkable hostelry in
the state. But the history of the keepers
is by far more remarkable. Mr. Chamber-
lain was 85 years of age on St. Patricks
day, and Mus. Chamberlain was 80 no less
than two weeks ago. They are both natives
of the State, and for the past 55 years have
officiated as host and hostess of the Cham-
berlain hotel, always kept in the same
house, and looking much-now as it did
when they took charge more than a half
century ago.
——The Philadelphia Zimes expresses
our sentiments when it says : “Whether
the Democrats shall be the victors or van-
quished in the Presidential battle of 1896,
they could have no cleaner, better candi-
date than Robert E. Pattison. He is for
honest money, honest government, honest
politics an® “honest administration. The
party that fails with such a candidate and
such a platform can fight hopeful battles in
the future.
-—The good citizen should shun the lib-
ertine as he would a rattlesnake. The lat-
ter is much less dangerous.
—If you would always be healthy,
keep your blood pure with Hood’s Sarsapa-
rilla, the One True Blood Purifier.
~al law and at the same time very inexpe- |
A small boy appeared at the eye and ear |
had been coming for some time to be treat- |
again pushed into the chair, and what |
| seemed like a pint of warm water was in- |
“But there ain’t nothing the matter with |
And then the doctor, seeing the smiles of |
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN.
For very tiny tots, the old-fashioned
sun-bonnet is revived ; they are much
shirred, and have, as of old, the regulation
curtain hanging over the neck, thus com-
bining comfort with the quaint and pic-
turesque.
The neat collars and cuffs now being
worn by women are certainly attractive
and add an air of smartness to the plainest
gown.
Green and purple are by far the most
fashionable shades of the season.
Fluffy bangs, and even the coquettish
waves that so graciously conceal the im-
perfections of an ugly forehead, are, as ell
as the girl that wears them, out of date.
The mannish girl is at the height of fash-
ion, and she is astounding thousands of her
Pine sisters by parting her hair at the
side.
Absolute severity and simplicity is the
motto of the new hair-dressing. “Twist or
coil or braid or do whatever you will with
your back hair, so long as the result is
modest and inconspicuous, but under no
circumstances must you venture to impart
a feminine curl to the front locks.
Lady Helen Stewart has set the fashion
over in England, and her titled friends
who are trying to look as well as Lady
Helen does are renouncing all connection
with the stereotyped frizzes that serve as
the badge of English royalty. American
women are beginning to take up the fad,
and the tailor-made girl of the coming sum-
mer promises to be a model of congruity,
with the addition of her mannish little
hats and her hair newly parted at the side.
The new fashion may not be positively
becoming to those who are afflicted with
straight locks, <but when the hair has a
natural wave the effect is rather graceful.
The girl who knows the secret of looking
well rises superior to the most exacting
fashion and even transforms a purely man-
nish coiffure so as to call forth admiration.
Nut sandwiches. Chop hickory nuts,
walnuts and pecans, a cup of each. Mix
with half the quantity of hard-boiled egos
mashed to paste. Then mix with may-
cover each slice with a crisp lettuce leaf
and spread with nut paste.
im is a material of great possibilities.
It is being used this spring in many new
ways, and the latest denims are most ar-
tistic-looking “fabrics. They may be
bought in yellow, sage green, delft blue,
deep red, brown, cream color and white.
I have a stamped design which is either
floral or antique- The mythical Pegasus
is the most popular design this season.
These denims are known as the art denims,
and cost 45 cents a yard. :
In decorating country houses they may
be used ina variety of - effective ways.
Denims may take the place of wall paper
in many rooms, and as a carpet it is much
to be desired. It will wear much better
than a filling, and makes an excelent back
ground for rugs. For portieres it is always
in demand. .
Some of the new denim tablecloths are
things of beauty. The art denims only
come a yard wide, and, as the ordinary
dining room tablecloth is generally three
or four yards wide, it is necessary to have
the strips of denim sewed together. One
low denim. The four yards which were
| used were fastened together by yellow
| satin ribbon, embroidered in a convential
i design, with heavy black silk fl-ss; In each
| corner a Pegasus; in black, was embroider-
| ed, and the cloth was finished with a den-
| im frill bound with narrow black satin rib-
| bon. oo
Piazza sofa cushions’in denim “are scen
in many new designs. Sage green and
| delft blue cushions are the most popular.
{ Many have an €mbroidered design worked
| upon them of some appropriate quotation.
In the Avay of wearing apparel denim is
| useful in making clothespin aprons, and for
| petticoats for outing wear it is most ser-
| vieeable.
i There are shirt waists for the new woman
| this year, 2s well as the summer girl, de-
voted to Irills. For the young person
| whose tastes are inclined to he gentlemanly
there are shirt waists made to order which
{it to perfection and have stiff linen collars
and cuffs. One of these waists is of a striped
[silk and linen material. The stripes are
[used in the sleeves to run around the arm
| instead of lengthwise. The back is cut
with a yoke and three small box plaits are
| deftly arranged in the front cach side of
| the buttons. With this waist a four-in
| hand tie or stock is worn.
|
There is a fad for white linen collars and
{cuffs upon all manner of waists. It’s a
| fetching style, too, so wonderfully fresh
[ looking. The collars ave built quite high.
| and straight, with an overturning narrow
| Land at the top, to set down over the broad
stock of Black satin with its how at both
| back and front. The cuffs are deep and
roll hack over the sleeve.
The effect of the white collar and cufls
| upon a waist of pink and scarlet plaid, out-
{ lined with black, may be imagined. The
| belts will be of kid, with quite plain kid
| buckles. Black ones for the black stock,
and pale tinted ones for a stock of color.
Quantities of tulle and chiffon are used
on everything. All the short spring capes
are literally covered with gauzy materials.
colors, generally a bunch of green and
white tucked in among the flowers.
Very natty costumes are made of shep-
herd’s check wools in cream color and sage
green, ecru and chestnut brown, damson
and apricot, ete., with short taut jacket of
plain cloth matching the dark color in the
check, with blouse, vest, and revers of the
check or of cream-colored silk bordered
with gimp in brown, green, damson, ete.
Novelty goods this season show checks and
half-inch blocks in a bewildering variety of
color mixtures, and these same designs and
colorings appear among the high priced
Jacquard taffeta silks,
pe —
A hat almost on her nose, a linen gown,
chocolate brown shoes and a narrow belt
are the chief characteristics of the summer
girl of 1896.
The best way in which to clean hair
brushes is with spirits of ammonia and
warm water. Take a tablespoonful of am-
monia to one quart of water ; -dip the
bristles up and down in the water without
wetting the back ; rinse in clean warm
water ; shake well and dry in the air, but
not in the sun. Soap and soda soften the
bristles and will turn an ivory-backed
brush yellow.
— “Better be wise than rich,” says an
old proverb, but the majority would rather
advertise and get rich.
And the hats are piled high with tulle of all *
onnaise dressing. Slice and butter bread, —=:
table cloth seen recently was made of yel- :