; r "fj y ? -. $ 20 THE PITTSBURG DISPAT !H, SUNDAY, MAT 26, 1889. & BURIED IN FLOWERS. Strange Migious Rites of a Singular and Mystical Sect, ECOKOMITES' DECOKATM DAI. their Peculiar Motions as to the Remem brance of the Dead. IHE GREAT YIETUE OF OBEDIEKCE iwmiTjLN toe Tint bispatch.j Ecojtomt, Hay 25, 1689. Of all the inany peculiar customs of that most singular Sect of German communists, celibates and pietist mystics the Harmonists or Econo mites, none is fraught with deeper interest than their annual ceremonies, performed at this time of the year, in honor of the dead and culminating in the complete covering of their grave with flowers. Often as the Economies, o more properly, the Harmon ists, have been "written up" in newspapers Bnd magazines, none of those numerous sketches have given any account of their quaint ideas end customs in connection with death, nor have they told anything of their religious creed beyond the fact that its two most disti nctive features are the hold ing of all propurty in common and the prac tice of celibacy. To fully understand the singular cere monies and observances of to-day it is neces sary for the reader to know something of these things. The Harmonists have no fear of death. They believe that for all who have been good and faithful members of the Harmony Society eternal happiness is cer tain. They reject the doctrine of everlast ing punishment. On the contrary, they hold that as the purpose of nearlv all the punishment inflicted by man is largely the reformation of the offenders, so God's pun ishment of the wicked is designed to make them good and fit them for heaven, where thev will ultimately be received. ONE CHEISTIAN DTJTT. Complete submission to the will of their temporal governor and spiritual leader they regard as one of the highest and most imperative lorais of Christian duty. One good old Economite sister told me only yes terday that a blessing could not fail to fol low implicit obedience to the commands of "Father Henrici, who for more than 20 years past has been the absolute head of the Eocietv its prbphet, priest and king, and the dictator of all its rules and regulations. xhere is a well equipped doctor s omce in Economy, supplied with drugs and med icines of ali kinds. It is visited daily by a physician from the town of Baden, who is engaged by the year to attend the entire community. If a Harmonist falls sick,simple home remedies, in the composition of which many of the olii women possess rare skill, are first tried. Should these fail, the doc tor is summoned. His efforts are assisted by the united prayers of the whole society, for, though the Harmonists are not faith curers, yet theyl believe the efficacy of prayer to be absolutely 'without limit. "When death ensues word is quickly passed from house to house, that all who de sire to do so may look once more upon the features of the deceased. The last farewell is taken, the corpse is wrapped in a winding sheet and placed in a plain pine coffin. In this, as in everything else pertainins to their social usages, the Harmonists simply follow the customs that prevailed in the little town of Ipingen, in the kingdom of "Wurtemberg, Germany, when the founders of this sojiety emigrated from it to this country in 1805. The style of dress they wear to-day is identical with that worn in provincial towns of the "Faderland" 84 fears ago. SO DISMAT MADE. "Women are not permitted to attend the fu neral services. Only the nine elders, of whom Jacob Henrici and Jonathan Lcnz are the leaders, and la few of the more inti mate friends of the deceased assemble at the honse where the bodj lies. Xo hearse with sodding plumes and showy trappings con veys dead Harmonists to their last resting place. Opposed as they are to display and ostentation in everything, they deem it most reprehensible of all' in connection with death. After a few brief remarks by Father Henrici, the coffin is borne out upon the shoulders of three or four stalwart men and placed in an ordinary wagon. Ever since the Harmonists settled in their present location they have been accus tomed to bury their dead in their orchard, a large inclosnre of many acres, made beau tiful by exquisitely kept velvety lawns and graceful peach and pear trees. Almost in the center of this place there is a large ter raced mound some 20 Jeet in height, which was there lonjr before the recollection of the oldest inhabitant of Beaver county. It is believed to be an Indian burial mound.and the Harmonists have been often urged to ex cavate its contents.but hare' always refused, saying that since they would not wish the last resting place of their loved ones to be desecrated they cannot so violate the golden rule as to disturb even that of a savage. "Within the orchard, a short distance from this Indian banal place, a neat, plain fence of white palings incloses a space of about an acre and a half, now almost filled with graves. There, beneath the '.umbrageous shadows of the countless varieties of apple, pear and peach trees,which stand in length ening rows throughout the orchard, Father Bapp, the founder of this strange sect of Harmonists, and hia peaceful German fol lowers calmly sleep the"r last sleep within a few feet of the Indian braves and warriors who rest beneath, the terraced, mound. Truly; death is a wonderful leveler and equalizer. TOMABKED GBAVES. The graves of the Harmonists are wholly undesignated by mark of any kino", and there is no means of distinguishing that of the great Father Bapp from those of the humble brethren who sleep around him. A register and ground plan of this primitive cemetery are strictly kept, however, and the" aged Harmonist who has charge of it can give, from memory, the name and point out the grave of every individual buried there. To this quaint place of interment the Jew attendants at a Harmonist funeral follow on foot the wagon that contains the corpse. At the newly-made grave a praver is offered by Father Henrici and a hymn is sung, tlie latter Theinw EMtW fmm a etM...... J1A g hyma-uook which Father Bapp compiled in xouj eijjretsiy lur me society s use. it con tains some hymns from the old "Wurtemberg: collection, while the others are of Father "Bapp's own composition. After the hymn the coffin is lowered into the grave, each person present advances and casts down flowers upon it until it is com pletely covered. Then the earth is shoveled in and the simple ceremonies are ended. Much that seems strange in the faith and practice of the Harmonists is readily ac counted for when it is taken into considera tion that ever since the formation of their society in 1805 they have daily expected the visible, personal second coming of the Be deemer. The sun never rises upon a new day that they do not expect to see in the heavens the signs of His glorious advent and to read therein the to them joyful news that the end of the world is at hand. They hold all flowers in trreat veneration and invest them with a special mystic mean ing, believing them to have been designed by God as direct types of the resurrection, and regarding their rising in the spring from the earth in which, during the winter, they seem to have been buried, as directly typical of Christ's rising from the dead. 2X0VV1SUS A. PBOIUJTEOT FEATUBE. It is for this reason that flowers bear so prominent a part in all their religions and social observances, and that thev are tt E' down upon the coffin when it is lowered into we grave, ana are annually placed upon the craves themselves. The Harmonists f have no fixed date upon, which: they observe wis oesuiiiox custom or aecoracicg the graves of their dead. with, flowers. The ration day retsts entirely with Father Jacob Henrici, their civil and religious head. He invariably chooses a day in the latter part of May, and a.? in addition to other gifts of prophecy ascribed to him he possesses great skill in fortel.Iing the weather, he is gen erally fortunaU enough to select one whose sky is fair and cloudless. His choice is announced to bis people the night before, and the longhours of darkness which follow are devoted to meditation and prayer. Throughout this strange community a solemn vigil is maintained. Old relics and mementos of the loved and lost are brought forth from the old oaken chest, with which every house is supplied, and are wept and mourned over. .Reminiscences of by-gone days are fondly recalled, and the good qualK ties of those whose graves are to be decorated on the moirow are freely descanted upon. It is only their personal belongings by which the Harmonists can recall their dead, as they have conscientious scruples against the taking of ptctures, which they believe to be expressly forbidden by the terms of the Sec ond Commandment. With the dawn of their decoration day peace and joy seem to come into every heart. The prayers and meditations of the preced ing night have filled the good Harmonists with pious fervor, ond they feel more strong ly than ever that death is not a thing of gloom to be shunned and dreaded, but a most desirable and happy translation from earthly sorrow to endless bliss. A JOXTUL DAT. Just as the first rosy hues of dawn are visime in the heavens, the excellent mili tary baud of the Harmonists awakens the town with its music, and the whole popula tion sallv forth to gather flowers from the large gardens attached to every house. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the people as semble in the great public halL Elder Henrici marshals them into a quaint pro cession, which marches through the streets behind the band. This procession was a most unique sight. All were clad after the fashion of provincial Germany in 1805. Both men and women wore garments of a peculiar blue cloth man ufactured here in Economy years ago. The women all wear high pointed caps of blue satin. The Orchard Cemetery reached, there are prayers, Scripture readings, remarks and singing, and then all deposit their flowers ana garlands till tne graves are covered. Then the procession marches back to the great public hall for dismission, and the Economies' Decoration Day is at an end. Fbank Febit. WRITING FOR PROFIT. A Few Scraps of Literary History liecalled by the Sight of STACKS OP DUST? VOLUMES. Works of a Famous Authoress Who Wrote for Tears Without Pay. PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL BOOKS TIME MEASUREMENT. I Why Oar Hour is Divided Into Sixty min utes nnd lUIoutea Into Sixty Seconds. American Analyst. "Why is our hour divided into 60 minutee, each minute into 60 seconds, etc? Simply and solely because in Babylon there existed, by the side of the decimal system of notation, another system, the sexagesimal, which counted by sixties. "Why that number should have been chosen is clear enough, and it speaks well for the practical sense of those ancient Babylonian characters. There is no number which has so many divisors as 60. The Babylonians divided the sun's daily journey into 21 parasangs, or 720 stadia. Each parasang, or hour, was subdivided into 60 minutes. A para sang is about a German mile, and Baby lonian astronomers compared the progress made by the sun during one hour at the time of the equinox to the progress made by a good walker during the same time,both ac complishing one parasang. The whole course of the sun during the 14 equinoxial hours was fixed at 24 parasangs, or 720 stadia, or 340 degress. The system was handed on to the Gresks, the Hipparchus, the great Greek philosopher, who lived about 150 B. D., introduced the Babylonian hour into Europe. Ptolemy, who wrote about 150 A. C, and whose name still lives in that of Ptolemaic system of astronomy, gave still wider currency to the 'Babylonian way of reckoning time. It was carried alone- on the quiet stream of traditional knowledge through the middle ages, and, strange to say, it sailed down safely oyer the Niagara of the French Revolution. For the French, when revolutionizing weights, measures, coins, and dates, and subjecting all to the decimal system of reckoning, were introduced by some unex plained motive to respect our clocks and watches, and allowed our dials to remain sexagesimal that is Babylonian each hour consisting of 60 minutes. Here we see the wonderful coherence of the world, and how what we call knowledge is the re sult of an unbroken tradition of a teaching descending from father to son. rCOBHESPONDESCE Or TOE DISPATCH.! Washington, May 24. In the National Library a few days agol came across a stack of bound volumes of newspapers as high as one's head almost. Among them were the volumes of the National Era, covering the period from 1847 to 1860. It was an avowed anti-slavery paper, and it may well be be lieved that its appearance at the National Capital and the "Institution's" stronghold created more or less of a sensation. Scarcely had its first issue come wet from the press before a certain Mr. Jones, of the City Coun cil of Georgetown, introduced a resolution in that body declaring that the publication of an abolition paper in the city of "Wash ington would be calculated to ''arouse the worst feelings of our peaceful population," and appointing a committee of three to in quire into the propriety of legislative action in the premises. Sounds strange, does it not, in these piping days when we are all Abolitionists together? The first number was issued January 7, 1847, with the names of G. Bailey as editor and John G. "Whittier as corresponding editor. A corresponding editor in those days was not a mere figure-bead, as is so commonly the case now as aglance through those time-stained pages will show. From the very first there is scarcely an issue with out a letter, an essay or a poem from the Quaker poet's graceful pen. On May 20, 1847, appeared his poem, "The Angels of Buena Vista," the theme being furnished by an incident at the battle of that name, which had occurred only a short time before. A GALAXY OF TALENT. newspaper correspondent of facile peri, of unbounded vocabulary, and of a fame and reputation that give his writings currency wherever newspapers are known. His para graph are often like a string of epigrams, his weightier thoughts are sometimes clothed alter the similitude of Browning's poetry, and what he does not know of men and events of the quarter of a century just passed is not worth knowing. Of rfcent years he hat been established in Western Maryland, perhaps in the region of South Mountain, where he employs a corps or trained assistants, wno put his thoughts upon paper, and send off his copy to the various publications with which he has standing contracts. He probably enjoys a larger income derived from newspaper correspondence pure and simple, than Buy "I other living man. JJut tnis is not the strongest evidence of his genius. AN AMBITIOrB AUTHOR, Other men have evolved vulgar dollars and cents from the alchemio depths of an ink bottle; but no other newspaper man, from the days of Ben Franklin down, ever monopolized the fiont page of a leading "Democratic daily paper, week after week, with three-column installments of the very soundest kind of "Republican doctrine. And that, too, mind you, at a price that would cause the eyes of the ordinary penny-a-liner to stick out an inch, more or less. Upon reflection, the statement is not here with made that the versatile genius from the Eastern shore did perform this literary gymnastic feat, but many disgruntled pa trons of the leading paper aforesaid were ready, not many moons ago, to solemnly aver that he could and did. But all this is not what I saw in the library. Stuck away in one of the alcoves was,a little nest of books, all bearing the name of Gath as their author. I tasted them, and they were Gathy to a degree here an epi gram, bright, pointed, sparkling; striking elbows with a thought so profound that it needed a diagram of explanation. The thought that grew out of it all was this: "We are never satisfied with what we can do best. If success comes to us in a line for which we may have more or loss talent, we straightway begin to reach out for some thing else. The world knows Gath as a newspaper correspondent; he longs to be known as a writer of books. Milton T. Adkin3. ONE CENTURY AHEAD. The Population of the United States a Hundred Years Hence. SOME BIG FIGURES CALLED DOWK. Two Hundred and Fifty Million Will he an Ample Estimate. A BECEEASE IN THE RATE OF GROWTH FASTEE THAN THE SWALLOW. Point In Her Petition. San Francisco Chronicle. She had done something naughty and her mother had sent her off to bed a little earl ier than usual, and told her she would punish her for it in the morning. The child knelt down to say her prayers and she pnt in this interpolation: "Please God won't you take mamma up to heaven not for al together, but just for to-morrow?" But his was not the only poetic voice up litted in freedom's cause. Those gifted daughters of Ohio, Alice and Phcebe Cary, were both regular contributors to the columns of the new paper. Many of their rarest poetic gems first saw the light in these pages. The prose sketches of Alice, over the pen name of Patty Lee, first drew at tention to the young sisters. And these were by no means all of that brilliant tralaxv of writers who made the Era such in literature as well as in politics. There were Grace Greenwood, Mrs. M. L. Bailey, Kobert Dale Owen, L. Maria Child. Lucy Lacorm, Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth and Mrs. H. B. Stowe, who all con tributed with more or less regularity. Of the two latter a more extended notice is proper. Mrs. Southworth was, at that time, a young teacher in the city schools of "Wash ington. She had written a few short stories for the Baltimore Visitor, a paper which had a brief existence in that city under the management of Br. Snodgrass. The latter sold out to the proprietors of the Era, and in January, 1849, appeared in the latter the first installment of her story entitled "Retribution," which she expected .to con clude in the following number. But she did not; it grew upon her, and ran on and on, week alter week. It attracted wide spread attention: diawing a letter from Mr. "Whittier himself, in which he predicted that it would set a thousand pens to going. It was the first story published serially in a weekly newspaper in this country, and very narrowly missed being the first in the world. Dickens had probably published his "Dombey and Son" in this form in 1847-8, but his previous works had probably all appeared in the form of weekly or monthly "parts." m The Usual Wny. Dansvllle Breeze. 1 If you drop your collar button, there is one sure method of finding it. After you have hauled the bureau across the room to look under it, then replace the heavy furni ture and pnt on a heavy pair of shoes, start to walk across the room, and before you have taken three steps you will step on the collar button and smash it all to pieces. EELIGI0CS SUMMARY. KT. grve ui WJCiir ueau. wiia. xunrers. j,ne 1 ffc Selection of tfce date for, their siaaal dwo-1 The Sunday-School Year Book of the Meth odist Episcopal Church reports 25,095 schools, with 2,080.848 scholars. The voluntary contributions to the Dises tablished Irish Church for 1SSS amounted to 148,030, an increase of 11,400 oyer the previous year. The yearly increase ot ordained men in the Anglican Church seems to be in excess of re quirements. The clencaf deaths last year were 460, and there were but TO new churches built, while there were 734 ordinations. The unbene ficed clergy in England now number from 10,000 to 11,000. At the world's quadrennial conference of the United Brethren Church recently held at York, Pa., the openimr address of Senior Bishop Weaver showed an increase in the past quadrennial of -40.000 members, 143 organized societies, nearlv $200,000 in benevolent inter ests, over $500,000 in church property valuation, and a gam in the Sunday Ecnool attendance of 67,000. Tlrs statistics read at the recent conference In the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, report that the "Church of Jesns Christ of Latter Day Saints ' has at present 12 apostles. 70 patri archs 8,919 high priests, 11.805 elders, 2,069 priests. 3,292 teachers, 11,610 deacons, 81,899 families. 119,915 officers and members, -49,803 children under 8 Tears of age, a total Mormon population of 153,911. The annual report of the American Sea men's Friend Society, just Issued, contains many interesting facts about the work of this ancient and excellent association among the sailors. 'About $35,000 has been spent in the past year in missionary work, publications. Joan libraries, and other aids. Altogether 9,221 libraries have been given out to vessels; over 10,000 have been reslnpped, making In all near ly 800,000 books, which have been pnt within reach of about 350,000 men. Church of To-day. Is" 1S28 the First Presbyterian Church, Wash ington City, removed to the present site on Foui -and-a-half street. In 1859 the church was remodeled to Its present form. In this church four Presidents and a larce number of the most distinguished men of the country, in the earlier councils of the Republic, have regu larly -worshiped. The church has bad only seven pastors. The last and the present one. Rev. Byron Simderland. D. D., is now In the thirty-seuenth year of his pastorate. iTi'iKit an uncommon occurrence for an East lndiaman from Liverpool, just from the lied Sea land the shadows of Sinai, to tonch at Madras andCaloutta, then lie up at Rangoon, at each wharf landing a missionary from her cabin and a crate of craven images from her hold. The, English nation continues to derive an income of some 40,000,000 from the excebscs and miserifsof the richer part of the Chinese people, white the poorer classes of Chinese are creatine au euiinu ior a cneaper nome grown opium. Fq On. the contrary, the British and 'oreism Bib? Sndetv has issued, dnrtnir the past year, 4,306,080 conies of Bibles, Testaments, sod portions of the Scripture?, alargernumber man ev.r &"' owthh bus TEAKS OF UNPAID LABOE. It may not be without interest to young writers of the present day to know that Mrs. Southworth wrote continuously for two or three years without receiving one cent of pay, and that the first compensation she did receive was at the rate of 1 per column, which was the current price at that time. After a time she was engaged by Henry Petewon to write for the old Saturday Even ing Post, and for a long time she wrote reg ularly for the two, running a story in each alternately. Of late years, until very re cently, she has written exclusively for Bon ner s Meager, but ol the 67 novels coming from her pen, she never wrote a line upon a yearly salary. ' Of Harriet Beechcr Stowe, it need only be said thfit she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and of the iVationai Era, that the immortal story first saw the light in its columns. All unheralded it grew upon the world week bv week. Dr. Bailey indulged in no flamingj jieau iiucs ur euitunui exultation over me most powerful ally the most potent influ ence, that bad hitherto enlisted under his banner, June 5, 1851, the first installment appeared, and it ran continuously until the following April. Nothing appears in these dim and musty pages, printed 40 years ago, to indicate the immediate effect of the re markable work. Perhaps it was not very marked, for the tradition jroes, that when in 1852f the author was negotiating for its pub lication in book form, her husband declared that he would be satisfied if she realized enough from the proceeds to buy herself a new gown. PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL 'WORKS. And lol in four years more than 300,000 copies were sold in the United States, and as many more in ureat .Britain. In ten years it had been translated into French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Portu- fuese, Spanish, Italian, "Welsh, Bnssian, 'olisb, Hungarian, "Wendish, "Wallachian, Armenian, Arabic, and Romaic. It is safe to say that no other book ever made so pro found impression. None other ever wielded such influence. In molding and crystal izing public opinion it outweighed the death of Lovejoy, the eloquence of Phillips, and the tragedy of Harper's Perry. In another alcove I found many of the books of Mrs. P. H. Burnett As all . the world knows, she is an author whose success has been abundant, not to say phenomenal. Her writings have brought her both fame and fortune, and she is an exception to the general rule. Between 15 and 20 years ago, I should say from memory, she began her remarkable career, doing most of her work for Peterson's Magazine, at that time nnder the control of the veteran editor and man of letters, Charles J. Peterson. Some of her strongest work was done for his publication, and many of the serials thus published re mained comparatively unknown to the great publie that now reads her, until her later fame brought them out in book form. After some experience she wrote the storv, "Surly Tim's Trouble," and offered it to the Century, then known as Scribner's Maga zine, and edited by the late Dr. Holland. That story was her introduction the world that now knows her. It marked the corner stone of her success. There has probably been notning stronger proaucert by the present generation of writers, herself included. "WKITINGS THAI PAID WELL. The sum of $15,000, for which she con tracted last winter to write a new story, has perhaps not been equaled, in this country, as the price of a single work since the days when Robert Bonner drew by installments from the great and busy Beecher his cele brated "Norwood." The success of her "Little Lord Fauntleroy" as a book has been great, but its drawing powers as a play have been simply wonderful. During the past season it has had a continuous run in New York, and it has been stated in the press that the author's share of the receipts nas Deea at me rate or i,oou per week. Who has not heard of Gath, the genius of the Eastern shore, sometimes Known by the alias of George Alfred Townsend? The word genius is used advisedly; that's Just what he is. Heh, as mortpwlekasw. I.Xif.,. An Application of Electricity That la Dei. lined to Annihilate Space. New Tore Commercial Advertiser.: The new and beautiful application of electricity for the purposes of rapid transit, described in a special dispatch, is destined to work a revolution in methods of overland travel, if upon further test it shall prove successful. By this process, in which the momentum of a car passing between mag netic coils is utilized for the attainment of speed greater than that of a swallow and equal to that of a swift, which goes through the air at the rate of 200 miles an hour, the the distance between Boston and New York can, it is claimed, be covered in about an hour, and.it will be possible to send parcels, and ultimately passengers, from this city to Albany in 45 minutes. This seems to be incredible, hut there ap pears to be good reason to believe that it is true. Experts in electricity who have ex amined, the invention say that it will d even more than is now claimed for it. The cost is small when compared with that of transportation of railroads, and the conven ience will be much greater, especially in summer, when the lives of travelers are now made a burden to them by smoke and flyinz cinders, jar aud noise. The invention seems almost too simple and beautiful to be be lieved in. Yet there it is, and alter elec tricity, what? It is a long stretch from the time when it took months to carry the news of Nelson's victory at the battle of the Nile to London to the present time, when travel is promised and seemingly assured, at this marvelous rate. It may be interesting to compare this speed with others. A grey hound can, for a short time, cover ground at the rate of 75 miles au hour. In 1881 Count Caroly's carrier-pigeons flew from Pesth to Paris at the rate of 114 miles per hour. Swallows go at the rate ot 150, and swifts at that of 200 miles in the same time. A surface tempest wave on the ocean moves but 50 miles, and a good ice boat skims along at 70 miles say a third of the rate promised by the new invention and the swiftest running now made inHnglish railways is that attained on the Great Northern, over which cars are sent at a speed ot 105 miles in 100 minutes, though it is said that trains have been driven 100 miles in an hour on this road. All these speeds are trifling when compared with that which we are now promised. Surely electricity is destined in time to "annihilate space" and to disprove the saying of Ecclesiastes that there is no new thing under the sun. fWBITTSIt FOB THE DISPATCH. 1 In a recent publication the Hon. "William E. Gladstone quotes the eminent statistician, Barham Zincke, as authority for the state ment that in one century hence the popula tion of the United States will be 800,000, 000. This i palpably absurd. Eight hun dred millions is two-thirds of all the inhab itants upon the face of the globe at present. By what process of reasoning, or from what data Mr. Zincke makes his calculations, or draws his inferences, we do not know. Dr. Jedidiah Morse, in his "American Geography," in 1796, assuming the popula tion of the United States at that time to be 5,000,000, calculated that in 1890 the popu lation would be 160,000,000 "We see how wofully he missed it, "We are now within a year of the time for taking the tenth census, and the best authorities anticipates return oi about 60,000,000 much less than one-half of the population predicted by Dr. Morse. A hundred years is not a great while. There are men living who have lived 100 years It is preposterous to suppose that within the probable lifetime of children now liv ing, the population of this country will run up from 60.000,000 to 800,000,000. This is a population 13 times as great as the pres ent. The population in 1790 was nearly 4,000,000. BOMB BIO FIOUEES. Our present population, ft is true, is a little more than 13J4 times what it was in 1790, but by a parity of reasoning the popu lation in 2090 would be 13 times 800,000,000, which would give us more than 10,600,000, 000 of people more, perhaps, than have lived on the face of the globe in the last 1,000 years. "We say we do not know by what process of reasoning or calculation Mr. Zincke has reached his conclusion, but anybody can see the utter absurdity ot it. "What are the facts of the growth of our population? In 1800 the total was 6,810,520. In 1810 the total was 8,617,6s9, gain per cent 86. In 1820 the total was 11,405,478, gain per cent J2. In 1830 the total was 15.191.662, gam per cent 33. In 1840 the total was 19,943,101, cain per cent 31. In 1850 the total was 20,830,684, gain per cent 34. In 1860 the total was 35,625 514. sain per cent 33. In 1870 the total was 43,436,052, iraln per cent22. In 1860 the total was 50,162,866, gain per centltt. The average increase for the period from 1860 to 1880, was 17 percent; call it 20 per cent; at the same rate of increase, and we have no reason to believe that it will ever be greater than this, the populetion in 1890 will be 60,183,439; in 1900 it will be 72, 220,126; and in 1990 it will be 372,639,981 souls. OCEAS-GODiG GAUBLEES. Sharpen Who fleece Passeo en Oat of Largo gams ol Money. Joe Howard in the Boston Globe. In this connection it is of interest to know that professional gamblers are now travel ing to and from Europe on our best lines, practicing on the ignorance or freshness of their fellow-passengers. One xf the best known steamship men in this city says of the gambling for big and little stakes which is carried on while crossing the ocean: "I don't believe that anvlarfe steam shin crosses the Atlantic now without more or less gambling going on on board. Only a few weeks ago, to my certain knowledge, a club man ot this city was fleeced ont of 54,000 between Queeiistown and New York. He was what is known as a man of the world and a cosmopolitan who would will ingly give another 1,000 rather than have his losses made public. He thrashed one of the gamblers just outside of Sandy Hook, and the matter was hushed up for fear of scandal." . Mr. Gibson, an agent of one of the lines, admitted that only last week he had refused to sell tickets to a pair of sleek-looking gamblers who brought letters of intro duction from a prominent politician asking for the best staterooms in the ship. "It's impossible to tell gamblers from honest men," said Mr. Gibson, "but the regulations on shipboard should always be strict regarding games where money is played for with cards." Occasionally, however, the biter is bitten, as will be shown by the following Btory told by a clerk employed by a large steamship line: "A few days aeo." said he. "a vounp man apparently none too bright, came in and bought a first-class ticket. He was eoing to the Paris Exhibition. After I had sold him a ticket he told over a few weeks ago, inveigled him and a lriendly game started in early ing and midnight. A FORTUNE IN AIARM. Descripjion of Senator McFherson's Agricultural Estate, . - THE HiresT MT THE COUNTEI. A Tillage of Farm Buildings, With 1,300 Acres of the Eichest Land. me that on his way two gamblers bad two friends into of poker. They in the even- played nntil close noon All three young men won large COWS WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN MOSiil Where Vanity Displays Itself. Scottish American. If men will be mighty then they must make up their minds to be laughed at; and with reason, for when a plain shrewd man speaks of performing his ablutions when he washes his hands, or tells you that Phoebus was but coloring the Orient when he means to say the sun was rising, or re turns to the parental domicile when he goes home, be sure with all his shrewd ness he has a weakness somewhere, and that weakness is vanity. AN END SOMEWHERE. That is assuming this rate of increase to go on continuously; but this it will not do. Nature regulates itself. The apeed of a lo comotive has been increased from 8 or 10 miles an hour to 60 or even 100 miles an hour; but this rate of speed cannot be ac celerated indefinitely. The resistance of the air, the friction of the parts, and even the strength of the materials, have established limits beyond which it is not possible for a locomotive to go. "We may believe that no locomotive will ever travel 250 miles an hour. A tree grows to a certain size in 100 years; in 600 years it does not grow five times as large. After a certain time, if it grows at all, its growth is but little. A nation attains a certain growth, after which it does not seem to in crease at the same rate. The whole history of the world shows this to have been the fact in the past, and it will prove to be the case in the future. "We see the tame thing already develop ing itself in our own history, in the falling off from an average rate of increase of 33 per cent in the first 60 years of the century to 22 per cent for the next decade, and to only 16 per cent for the period from 1870 to 1880. WHAT WILL PEEVENT IT. Various influences will operate to prevent the future rapid growtli of our population. "We may mention the restriction of the pres ent indiscriminate immigration from Eu rope. This is a measure that sooner or later will be forced upon the United States in self-defense. "We see the tendency already in the restriction of Chinese immigration. The final absorption of the public lands, an event not far in the future, and the compe tition for the means of livelihood, will tend to put a veto to the overproduction of the human species in our country. China, with a territory larger than the United States, a favorable soil and climate, a civilization and Government' dating from remote antiquity, in a period of 3,000 years has acquired a population of less than one half that predicted for us by Mr. Zincke, only a century hence. The obscurity of such a prediction rises into the grotesque. "We think it a larse allowance to say that we shall have 250,000,000 of a population in the year 1990. T. J. Chapman. sumsofmonev and decided to stoD. The gamblers bemoaned their losses, but agreed to renew the game the next day. Two of the young men went back and resumed the friendly game. The other quietly re mained on deck with a lady acquaintance. He did not gamble for'therest of the voyage, but was obliged to loan his friends money for cab hire when the steamship reached port." Poker is the most popular game on steam ships, although it is related that a gambler quite recently tried to start a game of faro in his stateroom. Gambling among steer age passengers is also quite common, but far less disastrous. The professional gambler never invades the steerage. FREE TXT BOOK SYSTEM. How the Five Tenrs'Trial In Dlnssachnietti Hits Operated. Lewlston Journal. The free text book system which was adopted by the last Maiue Legislature, has had a five?years' trial in Massachusetts and has operated to the eatire satisfaction of the people of that Commonwealth. The elev enth! annual report of the committee of supplies, recent! submitted to the Boston School Board, enters at some length into this subject and presents several facts well worth considering. The cost for furnishing books, drawing materials and stationery, during five years, has amounted to $272,239 55; to ofiset which the city has on hand books estimated to be worth 570,109 55, From these figures it is apparent that the average cost for such sup plies is about ?30,226 per year, or at the rate oi oi cents lor each or the 62,000 pupils. The average cost in Lewiston per capita has been found to be about 70 cents yearly, or less than 2 cents a week for the school year! The cost in other Maine towns, which are now compelled by law to adopt the system, probably will not exceed this insignificant sum. , The remarkably good care taken of these supplies is shown by the committee's report. The total number of books reported lost during the past year was 749, of which number more than 60 per cent here in the primary and evening schools, were the books used are inexpensive. Bnt ta'iine the entire enrolment as a basis of calcula tion, we find that the proportion of books reported lost, is to the number of pupils who had books, as less than one to eighty one. The same evidence of honesty and carefulness is furnished by the statistics of books returned as worn out. The total for the past year was 25,397, or only about 8 per cent of the whole number in use. The committee's estimate, on the basis of five years' experience, that the average duration of textbooks loaned to pupils will be six years and the average annual expense for replacing those worn-out will be 50 cents for each scholar. rCOEKESPOITDENfeE OT THE DISIMTCH. J Teenton, N. J., May 25. John B. Mc pherson, the rich United States Senator from this State, has one of the finest farms in the world. The best Holstein and Jersey cows in America are the property of the Senator. The farm is known asBelle Mead, after a famous Kentucky homestead. It is situated on the direct line of the Philadel phia and "Beading road, between New York and Philadelphia. It is in Somerset county, and only a few miles from this city. The steeples and turrets of Princeton College can be seen from the central farmhouse. There are 1,300 acres of magnificent land, he till ing of which cost the Senatora small fortune. There are a dozen farmhouses and more than a dozen enormons barns. There are 10,000 peach trees, hundreds of other fruit trees, and a game preserve. Bab bits, ducks, partridges, guinea fowls, car rier pigeons and domestic animals of every description abound in the woods. Chickens are fed scientifically in winter with heated loocJ, and the incubator is in constant use. "While Belle Mead is admitted by experts to surpass any farm in the land, it is not con ducted merely for pleasure or pride on the contrary, it yields a substantial profit every year and is paying a moderate percentage on the enormous sntn that it originally cost. A.PEOUD AND CONTENTED PAEMEE. Assemblyman Jacob Klotz. is the mana ger ot the farm for the Senator. "Last win ter he left the cattle and granaries long enough to come to fhe Legislature and put in one of the votes that returned his propri torto the United States Senate for the third successive term. Klotz is a thorough far mer. He will point with pride to the kine standing knee deep in the luxurious green grass, to the trim tences and hedges and the thousand and one details of rustic beauty and thrift. He will tell of the 100 acres of growing wheat, of the 100 of oats, of the 100 acres of peach trees and of pasturaee for 300 head of cattle until you wish you were a farmer. But the chief pride, botn of the Senator and his manager, are the cows. As already mentioned, the farm contains the finest Jer seys and Holsteins in America. It is a good cow that give3 18 or 20 quarts of milk a day. De Bless, the queen of the Belle Mead Holsteins, is running a race with the world's record. She gives over 40 quarts a day, and it is expected that during this year she will give 12,500 quarts or 25,000 pounds of lacteal fluid. The record is 30,000 pounds of milk a year. The animal is worth $3,500, but $5,000 wouldn't bny her. WOETH THEIB WEIGHT IN DOLLAES. De Bless wanders around in clover with a small herd of Holsteins that are almost worth their weight in silver. A man is with them almost constantly. They are never driven faster than a walk; no one is allowed to speak unkindly to them or to strike them, and they are milked three times a day. The milker's finger nails must be carefully trimmed for fear of injuring them and in winter they are fed scientifically on food heated with steam. A steam pipe takes the chill off the wntr that they drink in cold weather, and, altogether, they receive more care than many human beings. Each of the" Holsteins has a pedigree as long as that of a prince. Their yield of milk is carefully marked dqwn on a black board in pounds and added up each week, and it takes a whole set of 'hooks to keep the record of their yield and of the calves' re lations in the bovine elite directory. BOVINE BLUE GRASS BEAUTIES. The Jerseys are cared for almost as tender ly. Mr. Klotz has a long stretch of Ken tucky blue grass for tbem to graze on. No cow is driven in from the pasture and milked immediately. They are permitted to chew their cud an hour in the stable be fore they are turned over to the milking boys. Eight hundred quarts of lacteal fluid are shipped from the Belle Mead depot every day. It increases in quantity after It gets to New York. The Kentucky blue rass is not blue. It is just as green as-the lades in Central Park. It is going to be a success in New Jersey, Mr. Klotz thinks. It is thick and rugged, and it does not run ont in four or five years. "When once the ground is seeded with it it is calculated that it will last indefinitely. "When Senator McPherson returns from Europe he expects to go to Colorado and the far West in search of more cattle for his Jersey farm. He is also thinking of im. porting some fine race horses and raising the finest breed of stallions in the world. L.S.M. THE LATEST SW1SDLB. He Han a Bojrn Hotel to Get His GaestV Valuables. A remarkable dodge for obtaining money has, according to the Paris correspondent of the London Telegraph, been adopted by a "knight of industry," who is said by the police to be a pickpocket of British nation ality. This person arrived in Paris a few weeks ago and bought a little hotel, or de tached residence, in the Avenue Bosquet for 25,000. The "knight," however, did not pay down the sum in cash; he only de posited 80 with the landlord on account, and succeeded in inducing a verdant up- holsterer to furnish and carpet his rooms. Then he called the place by a high-sounding name and distributed prospectuses in all the railway stations, setting forth the comforts, conveniences, and luxuries to be found at moderate cost at his establishment, which was near the great exhibition. People came to him in scores, and the house was soon filled. The tenants, how ever, were terribly frightenedy the elabo rate notices pasted up all over the place, cautioning them to be aware of pickpockets, who obtain entries into hotels, and inform in? them that the manager of thir Paris home would only be responsible for the property intrusted to his temporary keep ing. Several guests handed over money and jewelry to the industrial knight-errant, who, after he had received about 30,000 fr., or 1,200, "bolted." He did not go far, and was captured on the Champ de Mars in the act of plying the pocket ot a visitor to the exhibition. The amateur hotel keeper is now under lock and key at the depot, or principal police station. A WOMAN'S SPRAUGE TlSTB. A Yankee Matron Who Prefer Chewlasf Slate Pencil to Candr. Auburn (Me.) Gazette. 2 "How "much are slate pencils?" asked woman as she stepped into a stationery store yesterday morning. "Ten cents a dozen." "Give me one dozen." Then, unwrapping the package, she de liberately began to eat the pencils. Yes, eat them, not just chip the ends with her teeth as do school children, but biting off substantial quarter-inch pieces and crush ing and swallowing them with infinite relish. This was quite a remarkable achievement for a staid, matronly person, such as she appeared to be, and naturally she wasquestioned concerning this strange propensity. From what she had said in replying it seems that this unusual system of diet was by no means confined to slate pencils. Gravel is a staple article of food with her, properly strained and assorted; oyster and clam shells and friable sand stone she masticates as a man eats a soda cracker, and asks for more. A Petrified Bible. .From the Indlanxnolls Journal. "While cfeafihg-aa, old swirmpTaA jteei,'' Mr. Martin Plush, living near Pleasant, Valley, discovered quite a curiosity. Sev eral feet beneath the leaves and muck he unearthed what appeared to be a stone book. Close inspection showed it to be a family Bible, bearing the date 1773 plainly lettered. It is now solid limestone. Thoie who have examined the book state that it was originally a real book and is now petrified. BILE POISONED BLOOD. His Mark. Detroit Free Press. Stranger Can you tell me who that gen tleman with the long hair and heavy mus tache is, sitting over there in the corner? I'd bet a dollar he's made his mark in this world. Citizen That fellow? Yes, you'd win. He's made it a good many times. I saw it on a mortgage once. It's straight, about a a quarter of an inch long. He always gets someone to write over the top of it. "Bill Jones his mark." A Syllable Slip. Harper's Magazine. Dr. Carpenter was noted for the quick ness of his wit, and it was a common say ing in the town in which he lived that he always had an answer ready when it was required. He was once introdnced as "Dr. Carter." Immediately his friend saw his error, and corrected himself. "Never mind," said the doctor; "it's only a slip of the pen." A Questionable Success. Harper's Magazine. Angelina And now that you have visi ted her school, Edwin, what is your decision regarding Madame Prancais for onr child ren? As to discipline, does she give that proper attention? Edwin Indeed she does, my dear. I was there the whole morning, and madam e seemed to devote the entire time to preserv ing order. Remits of the Spaldins Tour. Excited Natives (to shipwrecked sailor just washed ashore) For heaven's sake, tell us, quick! Is a man out if he doesn't tonch first base when he makes a home run? -V-4f4ikL... SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS. Ex-Peesident AndeetD. White recently sent to Cornell University a papyrus found in the tomb of a priest of the Ptolemaic period. The inscriptions, which are partly hieroglyphic, represent certain chapters of the ''Book of the Dead." With the papyrus was sent also a col lection of 140 large nhotographs to illustrate .Egyptian art. The Epoch. THE statement of Dr. Spitzka, apropos to the case of Bishop, that there is no absolute proof of death except decomposition, will be apt to create disqaiet in some mind'. The con jecture is often made whether many people are not buried alive, or, at any rate.frozen to death by the undertaker. The period between disso lution and sepulture is generally brief, and in the excitement, distress and hurry; it may be tnat premature interment is sometimes the re sult Baltimore News. DR. Von DcHEnta reports to the British Medical Journal a case of tuberculosis which was contracted by wearing a pair of earrings. The patient, a girl of 14 years, removed the ear rings from the ears of a young girl who died of consumption, and wore them in her own ears. Soon after, an ulcer formed iu the left ear, the discharge from 'which, when examined, was found to contain tubercle bacilli, and a gland in the necu aiso eniargea ana,niceratea. Tlie pa tient developed pulmonary consumption, and at the date of the report was sinking rapidly. The efficacy of filters has been questioned and denied in many professional quarters. A Now York doctor has recently called attention to the fact that, so far from lessening the number of bacteria, a filtering snbstance may allow a more rapid multiplication of micro organisms than unfiltered water would ordi narily undergo, and that even In the best of filters the germs of disease may be bred. The old-fashioned but not yet effete theory that chemical agens act aa effective cerm destroyers no longer holds water. And mankind in gen eral is coming to learn that if drinking watir is to be purified it must bo on some grand co operative scale, and not through the instru mentality of a little patent reversible, dnnbls back action machine in his kitchen. Philadel phia Record. THE British Medical Journal has this to say about the intemperance of boys and girls in Austria: "So serious and widespread has in. ebriety been of recent years among school chil dren that the Vienna School Board have, though hitherto ineffectually, been making strenuous efforts for the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating drinks to children. The board has just resolved to invoke the intervention of the Government, and a bill is to be laid before Parliament during the present session to pro hibit the sale of intoxicants to bos and sirls under 15 years of age. So alarming is the pres ent state of matters that the appearance o a boy at school in a state of drunkenness is by no means a rare sight. During the winter poor children are often sent to school with only a glass of tne cheapest spirits for breakfast, partly to allay hunger and partly to 'keep ont the cold' that venerable delation which still Miasm la MMak THE IHVENTION OP HASH. The Compound Snpposed to Havo Origi nated Daring a Hurricane. Kichmond Stale. 1 "Who invented hash, who was its p rimary artificer? is as much a mystery as the com pound itself. There has been ratiocinated, however, the conclusion that the first at tempt in the process of invention were ac cidental rather than designed. It is sup posed that in one of the wild and devastat ing hurricanes of the tropics a herd of cat tle, riven by the thunderbolts and dismem bered by the storm, was found by hungry and weather-beaten natives "when the clouds rolled by," and steak ribs and all other porfs being lost in the conglomerate mass, tnen and there hash, marvelons bash, had its origin. The dish was passed around the civilized globe, gathering in potatoes in Ireland.pep per in the "West Indies, and the entieinsr 'flavor of (the onion in Mexico. The whole sale character of its composition made it a peculiarly suitable food for the use of those who, not cirenmscribed by the family circle, with its favorite child and consequent aeniana lor special tid-bits, undertake to feed a head. multitude of strangers at so much a A YEEX SLICK GA2IE. A Thief Personates a Tailor and Secnrei a Iiot of Good Clothes. From t le New York Sun.l A be arder in a fashionable up-town house, who h: ,d been delayed one night last week, ar rived heme as a seedy.looking individual came down the- front steps with an armful of spring overcoats. The boarder recognized somo of these as the property of Mends in the house, and stepped the man. "Where did you get those!" ke demanded. A light smile Hashed over the man's face as he replied: "I'm a tailor around the corner, and the gen tlemen! sent for rap to press and fix their coats." The boarder suddenly remembered that his own coat needed repairing, so be gave it to tbe man with instructions to fix it with the others and return it. When he got down to the table he said) to one ot the boarders: 'Jones, I met the tailor with your coat as I was coining in-, and I gave him mine, too." Jones looked up wonderfngly. "What are you talking about?" he asked. The) boarder explained, aud in a moment there was a panic. Several of tbe coats were afterward recovered in a pawn shop, but the thief is Btill at large. pE IMPATIENT POTATO BUG. He Doesn't Walt for tbe Plant This Year but DIrs Torlt. tbe Philadelphia Record.) voracious potato bug has already mad e ppearanco In the country in Immense ers, thanks to the hoc weather, and all thisStato and New Jersey the farmers started In to fight him. The dealers In ) week ailing orders for destroyers of tbe farmirs' sapnllca in this city have been busy fcus m bugs. inner from Berwvn stated yesterday that on his farm the bugs had dug down into the ground lor the potato plants, a proceeding un heard of before. In soma portions of the State . which attack grapevines and rose .KiSMNHMUMMHIfK Nearly every one is occasionally troubled with bilious attacks, more especially in the spring months, after the svstem has been sur feited with hearty food during the winter. Tbe action of the Liver Is interfered with, causing an overflow of bile into the blood. The blood carries this bile into every part of the system, causing yellow skin, yellow eyes, liver spots, etc., and often serious cases of bilious fever originate from this bile poisoned blood. A few doses of Burdock Blood Bitters, taken on appearance of bilious symptoms, will remove them and protect the system from a probable serious attack. Run Down in the Spring. I am nsl'ig Burdock Blood Bit ters for Sick Headache and Bil iousness. It is the best medicine 1 ever took. I was so run down this spring from overwork that my husband urged me to see a doctor. I was scarcely able to stand and concluded to try B. B. Bitters first; the first bottle is not yet finished, bnt I can go about mv work with pleasure already. I shall take an other bottle. Mrs. Johk Donnelly, care of Edward Doolet, 15 Lyman btreet, Springfield, Mass. I tell you for the benefit of oth ers what Burdock Blood Bitters has done for me. I have been a sufferer for years from Liver Com plaint and weak stomach. At times I was so bad that I would apply to our family physician for relief, which would be bnt tempor ary.Last falll bad an nmisuall v bad spell. Jly mother bought a bottle of Burdock Blood Bitters, and it Pivfl Tnn frrpat relipf. It hfflnoH me more than anything I have"" ever tasen. It Is also excellent for constipation. Mrs. Lizzie Ububu, Ickesburg. Perry Co., Pa. LAST SPRING, Last spring my health became very poor. I had no appetite and my liver tronbled me. I used several medicines, bnt obtained no relief until I was finallv persntded to try Burdock Blood Bitters. This medicine enred me. JIaud Fisher, Flachville. N. Y. If you suffer from Headache, Nausea, Dizix ness, Faintncss, Alternate Costiveness and Diarrhoea, Yellow Complexion, Weakness, Ach ing Shoulders or any other symptom of bilious ness or Liver Complaint, procure a bottle of B. B. B., which will correct the clogged condi tion of the Liver, cleanse the blood of all fan. purities and tone up the entire system. It is an acknowledged fact by all who have used BURDOCK BLOOD BITTERS THAT ONE BOTTLE CONTAINS MORE CURATIVE PROPERTIES THAN GALLONS OP ANY OTHER MEDICINE KNOWN. A Horrible -Condition. I was in a horrible condition from dyspepsia and a combination of other complaints. In the morning when I got out of bed It seemed as if I could not stand up on account of dizziness. Hearing Burdock Blood Bitters high ly recommended, I am now using tho first bottle, and, although not having used quite a full bottle, the dizziness has entirely disappeared and I am mnch better of my other complaints. I have tried many other medicines, with no relief. MES.MART CHAUHCSr, 25 E. Ransom st, Kalamazoo. Mich, 1 BOTTLE Will Believe a Clogged liver and Cleanse Bile Poisoned Blood. I had been troubled with Liver Complaint, Indigestion and Palpita tlon of the Heart for five or six veirs and could get nothing to do me any good until I tried B.B.B. I used 13 ootties anu now 1 am a sound man. X feel better than I ever did in my life. My digestion became all right and I have no more trouble with my heart. I feel very cratefnl toward B. B. B. and feel like recommending It every where. Yours resDcctfnllv. Franz Hickman, New Straitsville. Perry Co., Ohio. THIS SPRING. I have been taking Bnrdock Blood Bitters and using it in my family this spring. For three years I have had the dyspepsia. I got a bottle or two of your Bitters and they have cured me, and I never felt better In my life. It is a Bure core for dyspepsia, and best medicine I know of. H. BCHTH.ETH. Covert. Mich. WHO IS THIS MAN? He ia the man with the greatest and best record o! any man in his class. He served the U. S. Govern ment twenty-two and a half years, aa SCOOT, GDIDE AHD HTORETER, In 1866 he conquered the largest savage tribe of In dians west of the Bockies; in 1873 he killed and captured all of the hostile Modocs, accomplishing more effectual service for the Government than any man, living or dead. He introduced Ka-ton-ka to Donald MoKay. the whito people In 1676, and this simple Indian medicine has accomplished more cure3 than any filmltnx medicine known to civilization. The OREGON INDIANS - first used it to eradicate the Poisonous Blood Taints contracted from tin t white adventurers. It cures DYSPEPSIA, LIVER COMPLAINT AND DISEASED KIDNEYS, All druggists kevep it. It has been imitated and counterfeited. The genuine has the name blown in the bottle and a cut, of the greatest' mown ccout, r M tUfJjnyMjtagi .(sK&mv