VEBT 0L1) PEOPLE.
Mnmc llru.nrk.lile A nr. ami Still Mora
llrinarkable Facta,
Mrs. Betsey Mason,of Mount Moiris,
N Y., is just rounding a century of life.
Laurel, Del., has lost its centenarian
in the pn-on of Grace, a nrgnss, who
lias just died, aged 115.
Mrs. Gillespie, of Morgan county,
Kv.. is !Ott years old, and walks two
miles to church every Sunday.
Matilda Stevenson lived to be 105
years of age before she made a profes
sion of faith, and was baptized at Paris,
Ky., recently.
Ruthia Simpers died in the Elkton,
Md., almshouse, aged 110 years. She
was born a slave, but had enjoyed tifty
yea's of freedom, having been manu
mitted.
Mrs Waty Clark, of Oswego, N. Y.,
still lives at the age of lWt. She has
been the mother of twelve children, and,
until very recently, had her faculties
unimpaired.
Baltimore loses another centenarian
in Sarah Springer, who died recently,
aged 103. She leaves thirty-one grand
children and twenty-eight great-grand
children.
A violent fall killed recently the old
est Indian of the Allegany reservation,
named John Lewis. He died at Sala
manca just as he had completed a cen
tury of life.
The oldest lawyer in Scotland, Charles
Winchester, died on March '27, just as
he had entered his 100 th year. He was
born at Echt, in Aberdcnshire, on
February 2*2, 1781.
Ada Township, Mich., sincerely
mourns the loss of Ebenezer Swann, a
farmer, and a most estimable man, who
has just died aged 105. He was a native
of Maine, but one of the oldest settlers
in Michigan.
The proud mother of seventeen chil
dren. the eldest of whom is eighty-two
years of age and the youngest forty
eifght, Mrs. Rrassett, of Grand Rapids,
Mich., is just rounding-a century of life.
She is in good health, with unimpaired
intellect.
According to the Fait, an actor who
is a centenarian may be nightly seen at
Toulouse, lie is a comic actor named
Graffetot, and was born on the second ot
July, 1780, and made his debut when
fifteen years of age. when the revolution
was at its height. He is said to be still
amusing.
When Hester Presbury died in Balti
more city the family of Streets sincerely
mourned. She had long ago passed the
century line, and had neen a faithful
servant, nursing the whole family, from
their grandfather down. When the
the proclamation of emancipation set
the slaves free, old Aunt Hester left the
Streets and went to shift for herself.
She leaves an orphan infant aged
eighty.
The Madrid Epoch announces tho
deatli at Gijon, in Northern Spain, of a
gentleman who was 112 years old He
successfully withstood the wear and
tear of five successive marriages during
his long life, and, Indeed, wedded bliss
may fairly be assumed to have agreed
with him. His last wedding day was
also the eighty-ninth anniversary of his
birth, upon which fest've occasion he
espoused a comely maiden of "sweet
seventeen," whose union with him re
suited in the addition of two sturdy
boys to his already numerous family of
six-and-twenty sons, the fruits of his
previous matrimonial alliances. Once,
at the early age of fifteen, he was ill of
a fever, since which he has known no
malady or even inconsiderable ailment.
For many years past he has eaten but
one solid meal, at midday, in every
twenty-four hours, his breakfast and
supper consisting of a gill of raw
spirits, swallowed at a draught and
taken without food.
Mrs. Sarah Mostly. of Madison, Ind.,
was horn in North Carolina February
15, 1770, and is therefore in her tilth
year. One of her brothers, of whom she
nad seven, David Ballou, served seven
years in the Colonial army during the
war of the Revolution, and was captain
and aide-de-camp to General Washing
ton. He died subsequently of small
pox, and the pay due him was never re
ceived by his family, a fact that still
worries Mrs. Mosely. Mrs. Moseiy
was playing with dolls when she was
married, which was in her thirteenth
year, and two years later witli a child
of her own. She reared ten children,
tiie oldest living being eighty-six and
the youngest tifty. When she was 100
years oln she rode horseback and de
lighted in long walks. In that year site
fell, injuring her thigh, and lias since
been unable to walk. In her youth she
was the belle of Kentucky. Two years
ago her hair, which at tiiat time was
whitened with age, returned to its
original color—black.
The Digging tp or Ancient Troy.
The St. Petersburg Goloa lias received
a letter from the celebrated archicologist,
Seliliemann, dated at Athens, which
contains this interesting piece of infor
mation : I haveiust returned from Asia
Minor, where I have at last finished
that digging out of Troy which I began
in 1870. During the last ten years I
have struggled with gTeat difficulties,
among which perhaps the most trouble
some has been the amount of debris
under which the ancient city was
bur! *i. It has been necessary to dig
down and up the ground for more than
sixteen yards below the surface. But I
am fully recompensed for all ray trouble.
I found the remains of seven different
cities; the last of them was liion of
Homer. That city was built by
vEolians, banished from Greece by the
Dorians in the eleventh century before
our era. In one of the buried cities
I found many statues of Minerva
with the owl's head, whence her
name of Glaucopis. In another city
were found many Images of the
divinities. But the most interest
ing and important of all discov
eries is, of course, the city of King
Priam. Every article found in the
ruins of that city bear unmistakable
signs of having been destroyed by fire
in a time of war. There were discov
ered many remains of human bodies in
lull armor. 1 dug out and cleared away
the debris from the entire wall that sur
rounded the city, and also from alt ihe
principal buildings. Now lam finish
ing a large volume in English describ
ing with full details all my discoveries
and containing '2OO illustrations of the
most important of the discoveries. My
Troon collection is now in London, but
at the end of this year I shall take to my
▼ilia in Athens, which is firej>rooi,
built only of marble and iron. I have
received lapge offers for my collection
from the United States, England,
France and Germany, but. I cannot part
with it for any more*- j the world.
A Great Patch;ol Wild Pigeons.
A correspondent of the Foreat and
Stnam, describing a pigeon roost in
Michignn. rays: T i.e morning and
evening bonis are ho for catching, us
then I lie flights arc on. I saw two hun
dred and cighty-scv< n tnk<n nt one
spring of a single net, over a bed of
n.uek to arfilch the birds had been baited
for some days by sprinkling salt over
the mud. On these beds no decoys arc
used, the baiting being sufficient. The
pigeons would eat greedily of the salted
muck. On the ocea-ioh I speak of we
arrived at the bower just before day
break. The birds were well baited, and
I expected to see a fine eatch, as no net
bad as yet been sprung over that bed.
Willi the first streaks of light we couid
hear the flutter as they lit in the trees
alicut the bed. As the light increased
Ihey came faster and thicker, until soon
the trees were alive with them, and the
woods were filled with their calls. Soon
a single pigeon dropped on the bed, and ;
had hardly folded its wings before '
others began to pour from the trees in a j
stream. When they seemed to be stand- |
ing on each other's backs and jou could
see nothing but pointed tails sticking
up, and while they were still fly
ing down on to the bed, we botli
jerked the line witli all our
might. There was a loud swish
as the net sprang over, the lead
line knocking feathers from those still
in the air ana in the way*of the net. We
rushed from our cover, and while I
stood in astonishment at the boiling
mass under the meshes, the nettcr pro
ceeded to fasten down the corners of the
net and remove the birds to the coops.
It requires the most skill to trap pig
eons as they arc flying over a net, a flyer
{apigeon with its eyes sewed shut and a
light weight fastened to its legs) being
first thrown in the air to attract the at
tention ot a parsing flock, and a stool
(a pigeon trained to actus if alighting)
being industriously worked to induce
the night to strike upon the bed when
the net is sprung.
The catch per day per man ranges
from nothing to fifty or sixty dozen.
No shooting is allowed within five
miles of the roost proper. Good shoot
ing ffor those who wish to shoot nest
ing birds) can be bad outside these
limits, as the birds fly several miles for
food, passing some points continuously,
at some hours of the da£.
This roost was thirty miles long,
varying in width from one to five miles.
There were three hundred men engaged
in ttie business at one time that season,
and as a result of their work I saw one
hundred barrels of dead pigeons alone
shipped in one day from the little vil
lage of Shelby.
A Lively Bolt of Lightning.
Mr. Frank E. Higbee. who lives on
the Chicago road, about six miles from
South Bend., Ind., gives this account
of the freaks played by lightning at the
house \ few nights ago. Mr. Higbee
says he and his wife and child were
sleeping in one bed, and his cousin Miss
Lucy Higbee, in an adjoining room. All
were sound asleep when the building
was struck. Mr. Higbee was awakened
by a noise which sounded as if the whole
house was falling about him. Hejumped
up and struck a light, and found more
debris than lie supposed it wns possible
to make out of his house and furniture.
The clock was thrown from the man
tel and lay smnshed on the floor; the
cook-stove was broken and the bottom
knocked out; the parlorstove wns tipped
over and one leg broken ; the pipes and
elbows of both were burst out and flat
tened out of shape, [and looked as if
they bad been heated red-hot. Miss
Higbee's bed was badly racked and
splintered ; a castor wns knocked from
the dining-table; the cupboard was
broken and the lids torn from all the
cans in it, and many of the cans thrown
to the floor; a bottle of biuing was
broken and the liquid thrown on the
walls; the carpet was torn up and little
shreds of it scattered all over the house;
n short, there was scarcely an article
of furniture in the rooms that was not
misplaced or damaged.
Bricks from the chimney were scat
tered about, mixed with plastering
from the walls, and the laths of theccii
ings were partly forced from their places
and hanging down into the room. The
sashes of the nortli windows were
broken, and parts of t hem and the glass
were found several rods nway from the
house. Mr Higbee says it is evident
the lightning entered the house-through
the chimney, and then scattered in a
score ot different directions. It filled
the house with a sulphurous smoke
that was so suffocating that the inmatts
of the house had to get out of doors as
soon as possible.
There were not a dozen whole bricks
of the chimney left, and some of the bats
were thrown a distance of five or six
rods. One of the bricks struck Mr. Hig
bee on the knee and this was the only
injury done to any one of the inmates,
although all of them were slightly
shocked. The wonder is that they were
rait killed outright. One peculiar fea
tuie about the occurrence is that every
piece of steel and iron abont the house
is magnetized. Mr. Higbee first dis
covered this while using his knife to
drive some glazier's points in a window
sash. He then tried the knives and
forks, scissors, a bayonet, his wife's
corset steels, and found that all were
heavily charged.
Habitant Headache.
Dr. Treichlcr, a German physician,
has lately made some much-noted com
ments on habitant headache among
vonng people, a trouble which lie avers
is largely on the increase. He is in
clined to attribute it to excessive
intellectual exertion, often caused by
the fancy of parents for having a great
variety of subjects taught, and more
especially to night work, which, he
says, produces in the brain the same
condition as would be produced in the
muscles, if, after a long day's march, a
mountain-climber were to continue
walking far on into the night, and were
to repeal thisday after day. Dr. Treicli
ler't letter has elicited from a London
physician a statement that he has some
times found the brain to be growing
faster than the skull which contained
it. What seemed like great stupidity
was for a time the result, but in time
the ssull effected its enlargement, and
the brain was relieved. One of the
most likely to occur in schools
arises from the fact that the same lea
sons are necessarily allotted to all in a
class, and while they entail no effort of
intellect on the part of one, may be a
•frightful labor to another. It is the
dull, laborious pupil, we suspect, who
oftentimes is the most injured by sohool
pressure, and it should be the study of
the teacher to recognise him or her,
and afford nid and encouragement.
FOB THE FAIR HEX.
New York fashions.
A violet shade is to be in vogus tills
season. The linndsomcet tism<>* nnd
most hesuiiful 1 omhinations are made
In this lolor. Rich brocatelles in two
shades of heliotiopn are in preparation.
Thire ate also mauve-colorcd satins
with small hunches of violets, which are
arranged like the madras fichus so much
worn last summer, with the center and
wide borders. Many suits are to be
made in this style. The "tissu Mont
morency," a new material, is covered
with designs of handsome cherries and
leaves. The grounding is dark garnet or
bronze color. The material is arranged
in different-sized hands, divided by light
threads. Showy toilets for young ladies
are made of this goods, nnd it is also
much employed for sun-shades. Surah
and foulard continues to be the favored
materials, as they are Itylit and soft and
admirably suited to all kinds of drapery
Postilion basques and " tournures"
are daily gaining in favor. Witli this
yle of waist the fronts are pointed,
and tlie sides cut out over the hips,
while tlie harks forms postilion coat
tails. The waists are smaller than ever,
requiring corsets of the very best make.
Satin, which hitherto lias been re
served exclusively for winter toilets, is
now extensively used on spring and
summer dresses. These liavo puffings of
satin down flic front, and draperies and
plaiting*-. The trimmings, when com
bined witli Pompadour foulards nnd
plain surah, are very light and suitable
for summer wear, and have a totally
different effect to that produced when
combined with SUoh goods as velvet
vigogne. Colored fnille and brocaded
taffetas arc in high favor. With the
new fancy fabrics in use, aprons are
made of satin, either in the color or the
grounding, or in one of the colors of the
design. This style is useful for making
over old dress* s.
Plain linen and batiste dresses, which
cannot be worn as they are, may be
made over in pompadour designs witli
the same materials. Blue, gray, and
straw colored linen dresses may be com
bined with percale satinettcs, and the
old-fashioned waists replaced hy the
Watteau casaquc. The plain skirt has
a short train and puffing of the fancy
fabric. The mo-t important character
istic of the mnkin. over of these old
dresses is to HO combine the shades that
the now goods do not deaden the effect
of the old. There are so many shades
now in use that this is not a difficult
matter to accomplish. Satin inserted
plaiting* are very extensively used.
They are placed between the side pieces
of the waist, on the middle r/ the
basaue, between the breadths of skirts
on the sleeves, and, in fact, on all parts
of the dress. The "soufllet," as this
j plaiting is called, consists of a fan
shaped plaiting, arranged in seven plaits
fastened close together on the top and
left loose on the lower part.
In the outer garments in wear nt
present, 11 style has been brought out
which was all the rage six or seven
yearsago. It is akind of" MacFariane"
garment, with the addition of varied
trimmings. The double pelerine hns a
large opening for the arm to pass
through. The lower part of the gar
ment is plaited. This small cloak is
of English cheviot on woolen reps, and
is used for shopping purposes and demi
toilets. It must always be of some
fancy goods, and fs often lined witli red
surah. The collar is sometime* made
to match, and is sometimes of velvet
in the color of the gnrment. The
"etrangere" clock is of satin, lined
with heliotrope colored satin- The
seam is cut up in the center of the back.
The seam of the sleeve passes over the
shoulder and terminates on a line with
the seam under the arm. A piece is
cut out to form the sleeve. The trim
ming consists of honde plaiting* and
C', fringe. On the sleeves are satin rib
n hows. The "manteru Colibri" is
of black slcilienne. It consists of two
pieces joined in the back seams. The
front* close to the waist, from which
point they are taken back and joined
under a black satin bow. with passe
menterie cords and tassels. The gar
ment is trimmed with ruclied lace and
beads.
Toilets for half-mourning wear are
made combining black anil gray faille.
The puffed apron is generally of plain
black fail'e, while the draperies are of
the grayisli ailk. The gray train ia nar
row. The waist ia of black faille and
the veat of gray. The black sleeves
have gray cuffs. Any moruning dress
n*ade of faille or foulard may be ar
ranged in this matter.
A toilet for deep-mourning may be of
epinpline and English crape. The skirt
is trimmed with a deep, plaited flounce,
over which is a band of crape. The
front of the tunique is divided into two
parts. One ol these forms the apron and
crosses a second piece, which is smaller
and forms a panel on the left side The
tunlque is trimmed wittra band of crape.
On the side of the apron is a large crape
bow, witli falling loons. In tue hack
is a puff trimmed with crape. The
each em ire jacket is trimmed on either
side in front With a broad bias crape
hand, and a cording of the same borders
the basque and pockets On the hack of
the basque is an Inserted crape plaiting.
The turned-down oollar is of crape.
The long sleeves are trimtmd with two
bias hands and ap siting of crane. The
hat matching the suit is asmall capote
covered with English crape and trimmed
around the crown with a crape braid-
The crape veil, thrown over he back of
the bonnets, is not long.
Baby dresses are trimmed more than
ever with embroideries. The drawers
have a deep trimming of embroidery:
the petticoats have four flounces, and
the deep-worked collars are to be seen
on all dresses. English (Iresees are
worn bv children uo to their twelfth
year, with draperies and scarfs, which
seem to divide the dress into two parts,
ono forming the skirt and the other a
loose-fitting tun Ique. For these d resses
many vests and "plastrons are made in
f right colors. Spclted foulards and
Madras fichus, with desp bordering*,
are made in suits for little girls. Suits
are made for babies, from three to five
years of age, of whits, blue or pink
sicilienne. These consist of micro
scopic diroctoirc rod in vote*, with triple
collars. The fashionslnchildren's hats
are large Leghorn straws, not quite so
large, however, as were worn some
years ago. The brims are raised in
different parts under either a bow,
bouquet or a feather.
A Arid# lath* laMI at HMMM*.
A Persian bride, when first brought,
ia a queer little body, fattened up with
rloe and sweetmeats for the occasion,
and sadly besmeared with cosmetics.
Coliyrium has been put upon her eye*.
to make them soft and languishing, and
they are also elongated by some means,
■o that they may havs the shape of
nlmondii. Her hair in dyed oi a coa
block by indigo, or of a reddish-brown
by indigo and henna mixed with it,
according to he r ownfancy, or that of
the broker. Her eycbiows arc plastered
and painted so thickly that they look
like a large piece of court-plaster cut
into arches, and stuck upon her face.
I say a large piece, because they #re
joined artificially by a thick line across
the nose. Her checks are painted in
excessively bright colors, and two shiny
locks of hair, gummed together, and
stuck flat on each side of them, in the
shape of number sixes placed the wrong
way. Her hands and feet, finger nails,
and toe nails, are dyed a light maiiog
amo color witli henna. She lias no
ante shape or figure than a bolsUv. j
Poor little tiling! she plays such tricks
with herself generally that at twenty
she is an old womnn, with her skin all
shriveled and burut up by caustics and
poisoned pricks of needles. This old
undersized -creature waddles about the i
apartment of her new lord in the finest
and largest trousers possible.
She wears a smart embroidered jacket
with short sleeves, and a pretty chemi
sette of some light white material, em- '
broidered witli gold threads; hut her
nrms and neck are bare. She hangs
upon her little person as many jewels,
gold coins and trinkets as she enn poßsi- J
hly get at. She is especially fond of
pep.rls and diamonds, but is not partieu- 1
far as to their l>eauty or value. A dia
imond is a diamond for her, whatever its
shape or color may lie. She is very fine, I
but never elegant. Her mind is entirely
uncultivated. She lias neither educa
tion nor accomplishments; but she lias
a good deal of flowery talk about roses 1
and nightingales, with an undercurrent 1
of strange roundabout wit and drollery.
There is an utter waht of delicacy and
modesty in her conversation. Sheknows
a great many tilings which she ought!
cot to know; and, child as slip is in ,
years, she would outwit the wisest man
who ever wore gray heard.
A Ceremonious Nabob.
I have told you, writes an English
traveler, very little about the nabob
(of the Carnatic), although no day 1
passes witiiout messengers from him— 1
in the morning to inquire how I slept, j
and in the middle of the day to present |
a gift ol fruit and flowers. He insists
on my seeing these messengers witli
great silvqr sticks and returning my
salaams by them, which is a great and
rievous bore twice a day. After my
rst visit he sent me n dinner of at least
fifty dishes, each of which was brought j
on the head of a black damsel. This
feast was displayed on the floor of the
colonnade, and I was brought forth to
see tlie embroidered covers taken off, and
to admire the cook-shop.
I made my salaam, and the repast was j
devoured by lsird William's body guard. |
The present of a dinner is an established :
custom in the East. The nabob is a
very fat, thick-bcnrdcd pc-reon. about
thirty. At my first visit lie received
me at the door of my coach, having bar
gained that I should do the like when
lie returned my visit. He embraced me
as soon as I was out of the coach witli
most affectionate hut*, saying each
time: "How d'ye do, governor
general?" This I thought a very suit
able salutation at our meeting, hut it
seemed leas neat and appropriate at my
dcpartuie, wtien, at the coach door, he
repeated the four embrsws, with •' How
<Tye do, governor general?" four times
again.
During the reception he sat on a sofa
in a great hall, in which was also the
musnud or throne, I on his right side.
Lord William on his left. Then our in
terpreter made us mutually happy by
assurances of each other's perfect health,
and the nabob returned thanks to God
for the health of the king, the queen,
the Prince of Wales and the princes
and princcaseaa, the court of directors,
the house of peers, and all the members
of the house of commons, every one
of whom 1 assured him I had left in the
most blooming health.
We were then still mora deeply
affected by our extreme attachment for
each other, and hy the singular felicity
of beholding each other's laces. Many
other similar affairs of state were trans
acted between us, and when the pain
ful moment for parting arrived, his
highness dropped a lew drops of nttar
of roses on my handkerchief, then
sprinkled me profusely all over my best
Vienna embroidered coat with rose
water, saying affectionately that he
knew tie was spoiling my coat (hut
what is n 1 oat to the effusions of friend
ship?). Then he put on my neck a gar
land of white flowers, gave me two
packets of betelnut and then two roses
England's Agricultural Depression
Mr. James Cuird, the eminent agricul
tural authority, in a letter to ttie London
7Yme* on British agricultural prospects
and American competition, says: It may
he useful to show the pressing need for
the early removal of every impediment
which unnecessarily hampers us in the
competition to which we are now ex
posed. Nothing like the present depres
sion in agricultural interest has been
seen since the repeal of the corn laws.
In nine years there have hern seven de
ectivc wheat harvests, the last culmin
ating in Intensity and including in its
grasp a part of he animal in addition to
the other produce of the land. In Eng
land where the bulx of the wheat crop
Is grown, there has been lost in these
years a fourth more than a whole year's
wheat crop—a loss to the wheat-grow
ers of more than thirty millioiusteriing,
witli no compensation in higher prices.
The introduction of foreign meat and
cereals is of immense benefit to the con
suming classes of Europe. American
statesmen believe they are rapidly gain
ing control of tills trade and can main
tain it even at lower prices. It must he
met by the production here of article*
which will not bear long storage or car
riage, such as milk, fresh butter, early
meat, vegetables, hat, straw, potatoes
and the sugar-beet, (trass farms, dairy
ing and market gardening—all the in
terests in land, whether of the owner,
oocupier or laborer—must be disen
thralled. The control of the dead lssi
must be removed. The sale and trans
fer of land must be simplified and cheap
ened. Encumbered and on wieldly estate*
will twn be broken up and subdivided
to form numerous small properties.
The drain of agriculture labor and capi
tal to the United States and Canada,
which has already commenced and
which nothing can prevent from contin
uing and increasing, will alter the exist
ing conditions of agricultural property
In England. Our agriculture must
adapt Itself to the change, freely accept
ing the good it brings, .nd skillfully
osing the advantages which greater
proximity to the best market must al
ways command.
TIMELY TOPIL'H.
Professor George L. Vose. of Bowdoio
college, Maine, who is regarded as an
authority upon such subjects, says that
over SOW railroad bridges have fallen
witli in the past ten years. He attributes
these "accidents" cither to the selec
tion of bad materia:, faulty construc
tion, and imperfect supervision, or all
of these causes combined.
The great map of the moon, completed
hy Dr. .Julius Schmidt, of Athens, after
twelve years of labor, shows 33,856 crat
ers and ring-like formations on the lunar
surface, and 348 rills and clefts. Dr.
Schmidt estimates that the number
would be increased to 100,000 craters in
a complete chart, showing the moon as
seen with a magnifying power of 600.
The American Journal of Science has
been giving Edison's electric light a
thorough investigation, and its conclu
sion is as follows: Provided the lamp
can be made either cheap enough or dur
able enough, there is no reasonable
doubt of the practical success of the
light, but tills point will evidently re
quire much further experiment before
the light can be pronounced practicable.
That Mr. Edison will finally overcome
1 the difficulty, however, no one who
knows him can doubt.
I)r. Carpenter considers it possible
I that at some remote geological period
a connecting strip of land may have ex
isted between Europe and America, and
that New Zealand, Tasmania and South
America may have beei linked together
hy ridges of dry land, while Madagas
car may have been joined in a similar
manner to the African continent. Geol
ogists have supposed that a great conti
nent, which they have called Atlantis,
once existed between Africa and Amer
ica, hut I)r. Carpenter regards the evil
dencc of it as very unsatisfactory.
M. Lam&rre is the originator of an
improved military projectile, a fire ball,
for the purpose of throwing a strong
light on the enemy's position in the night
time, the principal object being to pre
vent the digging of trenches or the ac
complishment of other military opera
tions. Shortly after leaving the cannon,
the Lnmarrc fire hali discharges a light
sufficiently bright, and lasting long
enough, to enable guns to be pointed
at the works. The projectile has also a
grenade, which explodes after a certain
time, thus keeping the enemy away,
and preventing their interference with
the light.
Adam Wagoner was about the most
popular old man in GaLipolis, Ohio,
but be was a confirmed swearer. The
community was frequently shocked by
lijs language, but liked him tor his
kindly hesrt. His nephew, Philip,
owed him a grudge, and took advant
age of his failing to injure him. When
ever lie * ureed outrageously before wit
nesses. l'hilip had him arrested and
fined under the law against profanity, j
This went on for several years. At
length the justice before whom the
cases * anic refused to inflict another i
fine- Philip was maddened by the fail- J
ure of liia old device, and killed the old
man on '.lie spot with a pistol.
By an official return mating to Eng- i
lish merchant shipping, lateiy issued,
the number of Bailing vessels employed,
foth in the hom and foreign tiade. lias
diminished from 19,090 in 1860 to 16.449 ,
in 1879, the tonnage being 3.859,345 in
the first year, to 3,918,676 in the last-
The height of prosperity for England's ,
merchant fleet was in 1865, since which !
year there has been a marked falling ;
off. On the other hand, the number of
steamer* ha* augmented from 999 in
1860, to 3.580 last year, and the tonnage
from 399.494 to 9,331,157. This increase
of about six-fold in the tonnage of the j
steamers means more than a similar in
crease of sailing vessels would imply,
for the effective power of the steamer as
a carrier may be tnree or four times that
of the sailing vessel, n* the former will
make three or four voyages to one of
the other.
A Faiti. Home has been estahiislide
in Springfield, Mass. All persons af
flicted in body or miiid who have faith
to believe that they can receive physical
or spiritual help are welcome there, and
the healing is Secured through the prayer
of faith, the laying on of hands, and
o metimes anointing with oil. Patients
are allowed to take their own course
while in the house, and. as Miss War-
says: "If tliey want a season of
prayei while we are in the midst of do
ing our dishes, we stop right there and
have it." Miss Warriner and Mrs.
Hisser nre better known in Chioopee. as
" Sisters Orpha and Rosa," having lived
there together for nearly thirty years.
Mrs. Kisser says she was healed by faith
of a grievous disease of longstanding,
some few years since. T hey depend
wholly on the Lord .'or their own sup
port and that of iut? institution, and
they have the impression that they will
shortly be led hy f.iiu to move nearer
the heart of the city.
The death, probably a suicide, of the
stockbroker. Max A. Plaat, whose body
was found in the East river. New York,
conveys still another moral touching
Wall street. He had been a very bold
and successful speculator on the ex
change; had counted himself rich: he
was as happy as a man can be who lives
on n financial mine that may explode
any moment and blow his fortune and
contentment to pieces. For a year or
more he had, as the phrase is, been on
the wroti g side of the market, and though
he had not failed, nor lost credit, his
losses so preyed ca his mind that it
gradually swung out of balanoe. He
disappeared from his home; was seen
afterward in a strange, bewildered con
dition, and next hiii body was taken
from the water. OTbourse Wall street
killed him directly, as it kills indirectly
scores of men every year. He was
young—only thirty-seven; he had a
wife and two children whom he loved;
he was genial and kind-hearted; he had
many friends, in and out of the board,
willing to help him over any rough
places. He bad much to live for, but
the unconquerable desire to get more
money after he had secured a handsome
independ< noe drove him to increased
risks, to derangement, and to destruc
tion. This distressing sort of history Is
continually repeating itself. The facts
disclosed every day about the stock ex
change oiler such sad lessons that they
need not be enforced. The New York
stockbroker* nre supported by the loss*
of outside is and yet they have not the
dJWW 10 keep out of the speculations
which they sec ruin others. Wall street
is tha great gambling hell of the ooati-
Mat, and draws the whole oountry by
its mercenary fascination.
I
In Zurich, Switzerland, the use of a
portable water power, HO to apeak, is
being extensively used for household
purposes. Firewood, for example, is to
be sawn into convenient lengths for
burning. A small sawing maohine on
wheels is drawn by two men to the
front of a house. They connect by a
flexible tube with the nearest hydrant;
the water flows to the machine; the
saw dances, and cuts up the wood with
surprising rapidity. A portable turbine
has also been invented, and employed
in many places in the same city, in
driving a Gramme machine for the pro
duction of electric light. Water is very
abundant in Zurich; but there are
other towns in which this domestic
water power could be advantageously
introduced. Where it is any object to
keep a record of the water used an in
dicator showing the quantity might be
affixed to the machine.
During a recent performance in the
Teatro del Giroo, at Madrid, a madman
forced his way into the house, armed
witli a hatchet, and contrived to climb
from the auditorium upon the stage,
where, brandishing his weapon furi
ously. heannouncedhimself to the terri
fied audience as the "Avenger of Man
kind." All attempts to remove him
having proved in vain, and his fury
momentarily increasing, a detachment
of soldiers received the order to load
with ball and fire upon him. A minute
later the wretched man lay a corpse
upon the stage, three bullets havuuc
passed through his head; and, tins
highly sensational dramatic episode
having been thus brought to a close, the
audience returned to their places, from
which they had fled in terror when the
madman made his first and last appear
ance upon the stage, and the evening's
performances were resumed at the point
at which they had been interrupted by
"Mankind's Avenger."
Medical Properties of Kegs.
For burns or scalds nothing is more
soothing than the white of an egg,
which may be poured over the wound.
It is softer, as a varnish for a burn, than
collodion, and, being always at hand
can be applied immediately. It is also
more cooling than the "sweet oil and
oottor " which was formerly supposed
to be the surest application to allay the
.smarting pain. It is the contact with
the air which gives the extreme dis
comfort experienced from ordinary ac
cidents of this kind ; and anything which
excludes air and prevents inflammation
is the thing to be at once applied.
The eg£ ig also considered one of the
best remedies for dysentery. Beaten up
s.ightly with or without sugar and
swallowed at a gulp, it tends by its
emollient qualities to lessen the inflam
mation of the stomach and intestines,
and by forming a transient coating on
these organs, to enable natureto resume
her healthful sway over the diseased
body. Two, or at most, three eggs per
day, would be all that is required in or
dinary cases, and since the egg is not
merely medicine, but food as well, the
lighter the diet otherwise, and the
quieter the patient is kept, the more
certain and rapid is the recovery.
It is stated within a few years that a
certain oil, to be obtained from the yolks
of boiled eggs, is of great use in curing
cuts and bruises. This oil is obtained
by cooking the yolks over a fresh fire.
They are stirred constantly till seem
ingly on the point of bursting into a
blaze, when it is found that qnite a
quantity of oil is eliminated from each
yolk, and this strained and secured is
said to have wonderful healing proper
ties.—American Pou 1 try Yar
Sea-Messengers.
The d isappearan£e of the Ataiantahas
given rise to a suggestion in the Pall Mall
QaulU that every sea-going vessel
should be compelled to carry at least
one of tha so-called "sea-messengers "
The sea-messenger is a cask made in
various sizes of copper, in compart
ments ; and, according to its size, letters,
dispatches, ships' Jews, jewelry and
other valuables can be inserted in it.
The cask can be quickly hermetically
sealed so tliat no water can get in, and
may then be thrown overboard with
the assurance that it will remain afloat
for a very long time. Xhe advisability,
however, of adopting a second sugges
tion. made by & correspondent ofthe
Standard, that "if it ia made law that
every ship must carry a tea-messenger,
there must also be an enactment tnat
■hips sighting one must, under penally
for omission, pick it up," Is open to ques
tion. A handy steamer or well-found
yacht might be able without much
trouble to pick up a small cask; but it
would often be very difficult, if not im
possible, for an ordinary merchant ves
sel to do so. A captain, unwilling to
delay his voyage to pica up a messen
ger, could al ways frame a plausible ex
cuse for not doing so. At the same time,
cariosity, if no better motive, could gen
et ally be depended upon to insure that
it would be done if possible.— Pittsburg
hronicle.
(law Rice ia Ceefced la Jtpaa,
A recent traveler in Japan says: They
do know how to cook rice here, though,
and for the benefit of grocers and con
sumers in the United States I investi
gated the matter. Only just enough
cold water is poured on to prevent the
rice from burning tJ the pot, which
has a close-fitting cover, and ia set on a
moderate fire. The rice is steamed,
rather than boiled, until it is nearly
done; then the oover ofthe pot ia taken
off. the surplus steam and moisture are
allowed to escape, and the rioe turns
out a mass of now-white kernels, each
separate from the other, and as much
sup< rior to the soggy mass we usually
get in the United States as a fine
mealy potato is to the water-soaked
article. I have seen something ap
proaching this in our Southern States,
but I do not think even there they do
it as tkillftilly as it is done here, and in
the Northern States but very few per
sons understand how to cook rice
properly. lam sure that if cooked as
It is here the consumption of this
wholesome and delicious cereal would
largely increase in America.
A young pastor who has recently had
a son born to bim notifies a brother pas
tor as follows: "Unto ua a ;child is
born; unto us a son is given.— Is. ix i."
It was written on a postal jaard. The
receiver showed the message to a sister
in his church. "Ah, yes," said the
woman, after reading it, "it weighed
nine pounds, six ounces."
A mining company at Bt. Clair, 111.,
dispensed with the services of a hun
dred men at fil a day by the use of
labor-saving machinery; bat tbey em
ployed fifty men at fit a day to guard
the apparatus.