Jf
10
THE PETTSBUEG-" DISPATCH, SUNDAY, JUNE - 16, 1889.
k
I
m
when a .swarm came off and came so near
that I became alarmed and started away,
but they followed me, and when I took off
my hat to arrange my veil lor protection I
spied
THE CAUSE OP' THE MISCHIEF.
"The queen had lit on my hat I quickly
laid my hat on the top of a hive and they
immediately settled upon it and I hived
them at once. Certainlv there are some
risks to run, but I Mould rather hive a
swarm of bees than set a clucking hen any
time. Xou have probably read time and
again of a swarm settling upon a horse
while being driven along a country road. I
tell you when bees -get on a horse there are
lively times. You noticed that rope stretched
across the drive down there. I put that
there to keep people from driving up this
way to the barn. Having some experience
with bees on animals, I use this precaution."
"What about this sngar-ied honey?"
"Well, that is certainly a great fraud, as
that kind is not nearly so good in flavor as
the blossom-gathered "article. It soon turns
to sugar again, and is very poor eatintr. Of
course the pure article will crystallize to
some extent, but never dry up like the
sugar-fed stuff. Talk abont your barome
ters and signal service, if a storm is brew
ing yon will see those bees coming in so
thick they fairly darken the air.
"The sight of bees is very acute, as they
recognize their hives from long distances
and fly straight toward them with great
rapidity. They will sometimes work three
or four miles from home, and can make the
trip in a remarkably short space of time. A
friend of mine took a number of marked
Gathering a Swarm.
bees six miles from borne and liberated them
along with some carrier pigeons, and was
surprised when informed that the bees were
the first to arrive, making the
r tje miles rr six aiurrjxES.
"A bee has six legs, and in the hind pair
of the workers the middle portion is hol
lowed into a triangle cavitv or basket, sur
rounded with thickly se't hairs. In this
pouch are carried the pollen and other
hive materials. At the end of the
feet are little hooks, by which
they adhere to the hive and to each other
during the wax secreting process. The other
pairs of feet have a brush of hairs, by means
of which they collect and brush off the pollen
from their bodies when thev arrive at the
hive. The bee has two stomachs. The first
is a large membranous bag for the reception
of the honey. Its walls are muscular and
able to throw the honey back into the mouth
for filling the cells. I often wondered how
much honey a bee could carryat a load, and
by observing one taking updew from a large
leaf I think some estimate can be made.
This one took up six drops of dew in suc
cession, and as there are sometimes 40000
bees to a hive, it is not surprising that they
have been known to add 34 pounds to the
hive in a single day. 'Of course, this would
include pollen and other hive materials.
Digestion is performed in the second stom
ach. It in ol cylinder sbape.ccmmunicating
with the first stomach and with theintestines
by a projecting valvular apparatus with a
very small opening, which prevents the re
gurgitation of the food.
BEE GOVEBXMEXT.
"A hive of bees consists ot three kinds
females, males and workers. The lemalcs
are called queens, not more than one of
which can reign in the same hive, one being
all that is necessarv to establish and teen
up the hire. The males are called drones
and may exist by hundreds or even thou
sands, but the workers are the most numer
ous. Their sexual organs are not fully de
veloped and it, therefore, devolves upon the
queen to lar the eggs, which feat she accom
plishes at the rate of 200 a day. The males
do not work and are of no use except to im
pregnate the queen, after which they die or
are killed off, they having no sting to pro
tect themselves; but the queen and workers
are armed with a very formidable
weapon, which consists of an exten
sile sheath enclosing two needle-shaped
darts placed side by side. Toward the end
they have teeth like a saw, owing to which
fact they are sometimes unable to withdraw
tbeir sting, the loss of which canses their
own death. An acrid poison is squeezed
into the wound lrom a bag near the base,
and is so deadly that a single sting almost
instantly kills a bee, and animals, and even
men have been known to succumb to the
combined attack of a swarm of these little
furies.
"There used to be considerable mystery
about the rearing of the queen, as the eggs
and larva of the royal family do not differ
in appearance from the workers, but the
young are more carefully nursed and fed
with a more stimulating kind of food, which
causes them to grow rapidly and develops
.the sexual organs, so that in the short space
of 16 days they become a
A PERFECT QUEEN.
"But as only one queen can reign at a
time in a hive, the young ones are kept
close prisoners and carefully guarded
against the attacks of tne queen mother, but
if a swarm is not to be sent off, the queen is
allowed to approach the royal babes and
sting them to death while they are yet
prisoners in the cells. Should the old
queen depart with a swarm, a young one
is liberated, who immediatelv seeks the de
struction of her sisters, but is prevented by
the guards. If she runs off with a swarm
another one is liberated, and so on until
further swarming is impossible. Then this
reigning queen is allowed to kill all her re
maining sisters; bnt if two queens should
happen to be liberated at the same
time they immediately begin a mor
tal combat, and to the victor belongs
the spoils. The other bees form
a ring and excite and urge their tavorite to
their utmost, no doubt staking their piles of
golden jewels on the result. When the
queen is finally impregnated then the work
ers commence a murderous assault upon the
males and tbey are massacred without mer
cy and their bodies ejected from the hive.
If the hive is without a queen they are
allowed to survive the winter, although the
loss of the queen throws the hive into the
utmost consternation. They rush from the
hive and seek the queen in all directions,
and should their be no eggs nor brood in the
hive they become insane, mope about doing
no work and finally all perish, but if there
be brood in tbe comb thev select a grub not
more than three days old, sacrifice the sur
rounding cells that the cell of the grub may
be made into a royal apartment, supply it
with the peculiar stimulating jelly reserved
for the queens, and at the end of 16
days the larva: of a worker is changed into
a prolific queen."
"In conclusion," said the bee farmer, "the
ablest chemists have been baffled in their
endeavors to manufacture this wonderful
golden food." J. W. A.
Unkind Remark.
Texas Sittings. 3
Poet It is very difficult 'nowadays for all
of ns poets to get our works widely circu
lated among the people.
Critic Yes, the grocers and butchers who
sell cheese and sausage prefer paper that
has not been printed.
ElrctrJc Tricycle.
. Mr. M. Slattery, of Fort Wayn e, Ind., is
riding a tricycle piopelled by a storage bat
, tery of insignificant dimensions.
LONDON'S OUTCASTS.
The Work of Kich and Educated
louns Men in the Slums of
ENGLAND'S GREAT METROPOLIS.
Story of the Heroic Life and Death of
Herbert Boss Weube.
INNOCENT ATTRACTIONS FOE THE POOE
tCOEKESrOKDEKCE OP THE DISPATCH.
London, June 1. One ot the most re
markable associations in the world is down
in the dirty, foul, ill-smelling aud revolting
Whitcchapel district
Seven years ago London society was
startled out of its customary complacent
propriety by the publication of a series of
newspaper and magazine articles under the
title of "The Bitter Cry of Outcast Lon
don." The awful conditions under which
thousands upon thousands ot the very poor
est of the great metropolis lived and moved,
the foulness of their lodgings, the moral
and physical rottenness of their surround
ings were all set forth in language which, if
sometimes over-colored and occasionally
hysterical, attracted the pnblic ear and
caused a great wave of pity and indignation
to pass over the whole country. Kich men
subscribed their money and a few gave per
sonal help in seeking cut and relieving the
misery of the masses. "Slumming" be
came fashionable, and for a time the police
men stationed in the east end of London
reaped a rich harvest of fees from the well-to-do
visitors from the far west who flocked
to London's plague spot, but feared to ex
amine it without guides and protection.
Bnt the great wave soon spent itself; the
money, although freely given, was badly
administered, men and women gradually
tired of the boul-searing and disheartening
work of battling with the great evil and
dropped out of the ranks. Only a very
few worked sturdily on, content if by their
personal enorts tbey could lighten the lot or
the least of those among whom they tem
porarily dwelt
A PHILA1TTHK0PIC COLLEGIA!.
Foremost among these were a number of
young graduates of Oxford TJniversty, who,
deeply moved by the "bitter cry," formed
themselves into the Oxford University Mis
sion, took a house in the very poorest part
of Bcthnal Green, and moved into it, re
solved to live among the people. One of
the most enthusiastic of the little band was
a tall, handsome young fellow named Her
bert Boss Webbe, a member of a well-to-do
lamily and himself a distinguished scholar
and a famous athlete, whose intellectual and
physical prowess won glory for him at Win
chester College, where he was educated, and
at Oxford University, where he took his de
gree. Young Webbe from the first devoted him
self to the welfare of the poor working boys
ot the Bast End of London, and he soon es
tablished an influence almost magnetic over
the most of them. Hundreds were soon at
tracted to the humble rooms in which the
young enthusiast had set out his desk and
books, and after a time well-attended even
ing classes were in full swing. Gymnasium,
football and cricket clubs, musical societies
ana other social and recreation agencies
were in due course established. The work
went steadilv forward, widening its sphere
ot action and influence, and giving daily
promises of incalculable results when it was
suddenly ana tragically arrested by the
death of the founder. Herbert Webbe died
on duty. One Sunday afternoon last year
he had'been sitting in the midst of his boys
reading the Bible to them. He had not felt
well for a day or two previously, but he
would not quit his work, and that last
Scripture lesson was as lovingly and care
fully given as any of the many that had
preceded it. The lesson ended, the vonng
teacher commenced to read the Lord's
,prayer, but had only reached the words
"Tny kingdom come" wherhe fell forward
and died in the presence of his class.
THE TVEBBE MEJIOKIAL.
The good that Herbert Boss Webbe did
during the brief period of his sojourn on this
earth lives after him, thanks to the gold of
his rich admirers and the copper of his
humble proteges. Tablets recording his
brief life's work have been placed within
the stately walls of Winchester school and
New College, Oxford; but, much more fit
tingly, his virtues and his labors have been
commemorated in an Institute for Working
Lads, situated within a few hundred yards
of Oxford House, in the midst of the dwell
ings of the humblest of London's industrial
poor, and not more than a stone's throw
from some of the most dreadful slums, the
miseries and depravities of which first
moved him to noble actions.
"The Webbe Memorial for Working
Lads," Hare street, Bethnal Green, is not
an imposing edifice. It is not even new, its
architect's brains being confined to the task
of making the most of some buildings
erected many years ago as merchants' stores.
Already there are 300 working lad members,
and the number is increasing every week.
The house was opened last January, but its
formal inauguration was postponed until
a few days ago when young Trince Al
bert Victor ol Wales, who will one day be
king ol England, went In state to the east
end of London, the most forlorn spot in the
vast empire over which he is destined to
rule, and performed the simple inaugural
ceremony. A royal visit is something
unique and to be cherished in Bethnal
Green. The whole of the grimy populace,
men, women and children, crowded into the
narrow streets to see the stranger prince. I
was there, and I cannot truthfully say that
there was any enthusiasm except among
the boys.
It is creditable to Prince Albert Victor
that his face did not bear tbe bored expres
sion which it usuallydoes when he performs
a pnblic function. He showed a hearty in
terest in the work of the Oxford men, and
the little speech which he delivered was
spoken with real feeling.
A. BOYAL TBIBTJTE.
"I have much pleasure," said His Boyal
Highness, "in declaring this institute open
to the young lads of this district You have
heard the details of its ioundation and the
story of the man whose name it bears, who
devoted his life to the benefit of his fellow
men, especially those moving in a lowly
sphere. No better memorial to a man who
devoted himself to self-denying efforts to
make the lives of others better and brighter
could have been constructed. I trust that
its futurewill be a successful one, and that
it will in many ways tend to the advantage
of the young people around."
Then Prince Albert Victor and his aris
tocratic suite returned to the more con
genial west end, and Bethnal Green relapsed
into its normal state.
The work, of which Herbert Boss Webbe
was one ot the philanthropic pioneers, is
still earned on under the direction ot a com
mittee at Oxford, of which Sir W. Anson,
Warden ot All Soul's College, is the Presi-
aeni.
Oxford House is a humble building situ
ated in Viaduct street Bethnal Green.
xears ago, before steam power and im
proved machinery worked a revolution, the
streets around were inhabited by silk weav
ers, of whom there Are still left a few ven
erable specimens. Outside Oxford House
looks almost as grimv as its squalid neigh
bors, but inside is all brjght and cheer! ul.
The house was once a school, and it has been
cunningly fitted for its present purpose by
means of wooden partitions which divide
what were once large apartments into a
number of cozy little rooms. The domestic
arrangements are upon a collegiate plan.
Bach associate has a bedroom, severely
plain, with painted brick or wooden walls,
a btrip of carpet and an iron bedstead. The
head of the honse, at present the Beverend
Winnington Ingram, has the luxury of a
private sitting room in addition to a bed
room; but for the others there is a common
sitting room, library, etc
A DIMINUTIVE CHAPEL.
In a yard adjoining the house is a small
- '""", 7 v T. . . f
door with a common lift latch, which the I
average visitor will almost certainly think
leads to the coal store or tool house. It is
really the entrance to the chapel in which
the members of Oxford House worship every
morning. Lift the latch and jou are within
what is surely the smallest house of worship
in the world. Its dimensions certainly do
not exceed 20 feet by 10, and there is room
only for a dozen chairs. At the farther end
is a tiny altar bright with brass fittings,
and to the left is a diminutive desk where
tbe master of the house reads the lessons.
On tbe wall is fastened a very small brass
tablet which serves to emphasize the les
son learned from the life's history of Her
bert Boss Webbe, that missionary martyr
dom can be purchased in London as well
as in the wilds of Africa. The tablet is to
the memory of Philip Moor, a member of
the House, who died in 1887 at the age of
24. The familiar story of a strong, brave
foul air and premature death. As you read
you instinctively turn to the pale, frail look
ing handsome young associate whg.is doing
the honors of the humble place With qniet
dignity and courtesy. He came to the house
last September, he tells you, and can re
main only until next June, because he will
then take holy orders. He hopes to obtain
a curacy somewhere in the slums, an aspira
tion the oddity of which may be gauged by
the fact that the young fellow was born to
wealth and a high position.
The associates of Oxford House, after
morning prayers, devote the earlier hours of
the day to "study. In the afternoon they
visit the hospitals and infirmaries and the
sick poof in their homes. Far. from taking
any fee or reward for their labors, they give
freely from their private purses, ana even
pay a fixed weekly sum (about $7) for their
board and lodging at the House. There are
no narrow ordinances to which their philan
thropy must conform each is tree to do
good in his own way, thus giving the fullest
play to individual energy. Their hardest
work is in the evening. From 7 until 11
o'clock, and on Saturdays from 4 until 11:30
their hands are full witn'the various classes,
educational and recreative, connected with
the house. There are two large rooms at
tached to Oxford House in which plenty
such work is carried on every evening, but
the operations of the mission are now cen
tralized in the Oxford University Club, a
capacious block of buildings pleasantly sit
uated off the main road hard by the Beth
nel Green Museum, half a mile away.
WHAT IS BEING DONE.
As I left the house en route to the club I
passed a clamorous crowd of ragged boys
and girls, each armed with pot or basin,
who were waiting to be served with a penny '
dinner. The meal, which is given out daily
at 1 o'clock, usually consists of nutritious
soup and pudding, and it is often the only
meal worthy of the name that the little ones
or their parents ever have the chance of eat
ing in the course of 24 hoars.
The Oxford University Clnb is the center
of intellectual and social activity in the
Bethnal Green district of the east end of
London. It has manifold attractions, most
of which may be enjoyed for tbe weekly sub
scription of l.penny. There are at present
800 members, and there is cause for won
der that there are not 8,000. Most of them
are artisans and mechanics; the very poorest
will not join the club they have to be
reached by tbe pergonal efforts Of the asso
ciates and the depraved and dissolute are
not wanted. Classes for drawing, bookkeep
ing, singing, writing, etc., are held regular
ly and there are no tees. There are also ath
letic clubs. Concerts are given in the large
hall, and lectures and religious services
occur on Sunday. The club has also a well
appointed gymnasium, and to crown all,
no lewer tnau hve billiard and ten
bagatelle boards. Add to these attractions
a co-operative store at which members may
purchase everything required for their
households at wholesale prices, and one
would think no workingman could resist the
temptation of joining the Oxford University
Club. As a matter of fact the public house
is still more attractive to the masses, and
the Oxford house associations with all their
personal zeal and unselfish devotion and
with all the material benefits they are able
to provide, have not yet succeeded in mak
ing more than a superficial impression upon
the mass of misery, degradation and vice
which surges around them.
The work is terribly depressing, and few
are able to endure it for more than a few
months at a time. But the ranks are always
kept fairly filled by enthusiastic recruits
fresh from classic Oxford content to sow the
seed, even it they are not destined to reap
the harvest. Blabxly Hall.
Where Work It Plcaiaac
New York "Weekly. J
Neglected Wife Why don't you go to
work?
Husband (a ne'er do well) I ain't got
no tools.
Neglected Wife Deacon Smith offered
you $5 to fix his fence, and you have a saw,
and a plane, and a hammer and nails.
What more do you want?
Husband The saw ain't no good, and I
ain't got no file to sharpen it. Ole Smith
km hx his fence himself,
Same Husband (ten years later) Hist!
Say, wife, I've escaped from the peniten
tiary. Gimme some other clothes, so I kin
light out agin.
Wife Myl my! How did you get ont?
Husband I dug 40 feet underground
with a two-tined fork, and then cut my way
through two feet of stone wall and ten
inches of boiler iron with a saw made out of
a tin dinner plate.
The Considerate Mother.
Texas Sittings.
Husband (punishing Tommy) I'll teach
yon to be impudent. (Whack! Whack!)
Take that. (Whack! Whack.) Oh, you
needn't bawl. I'm not half done with you
yet, (Whack.)
Wile Don't beat the poor little fellow
so unmercifully. He's got 'his Sunday
pants on.
U.ELIGI0TJS SD3IMARY.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, Sontb,
appropriates $17,000 from book concern profits
for her conference claimants.
It was announced at the late General As
sembly that tbe Presbyterians hae raised
616,100 toward tbeir fund for Disabled ministers.
Theke are at present C7 American students
studying for tbe priesthood in the American
Catholic College. Borne. Some of them will he
ordained this month.
Tn,EKE are 1,273 Young Men's Christian As
sociations on this side of the water, owniner
property valued at $8,451,012, and the current
expenses of the last year aggregated $1,449,669.
The past year 15S students have been in
structed in the Congregational Theological
Seminary at Chicago. A large dormitory is
under construction for the use of this largely
increased patronage.
TnE Baptists in Chicago are earnestly at
work raising the $350,000 requisite to secure the
gift of $1,500,000 from Mrs. Bockafeller for the
founding of a denominational university in
that city.
The trustees of the Hartford, Conn, Theo
logical Seminary have voted to open all courses
of the institution to women on the same terms
as to men. This is tbe first Institution of the
kind to grant to women equal advantages with
men in obtaining a theological education. The
Manner (Presbyterian).
Missionaries throughout the world are
finding that one of tbe most effective ways of
reaching tbe people for whom tbey labor is to
sees ine conversion 01 me cnuuren. men ana
women who have grown old in paganism are
not easily moved from tbeir superstitions.
The young form the most hopeful class. The
Missionary Herald.
Fifty years ago seven shoemakers in a
shoo in Hamburg said: "By tbe grace of God
we will help to send tbe Gospel to our destitnte
fellow-men." In 25 Tears they had established
50 self-supporting churches, had gathered out
10,000 converts, had distributed -400.000 Bibles
and 800,000 tracts, and had earned the Gospel
to 50.000,000 of the race. It wonld take only 160
sneb men to carry tbe Gospel to tbe whole
world in 25 years. The Standard (Christian).
Trmrecelpts of the Congregational Union lor
the year ending June 1 were$116,SS8 08, or 531,
963 46 more than lor the year before. Tbe re
ceipts for the first five months ot 1SS9 were $68,
000, or $13,000 more than for tbe corresponding
months of 1S83. There were completed in the
vear 99 houses of worship and 62 parsonages, or
19 more buildings than in 1888. There are out
standing pledges to e ennrcbes for aid in
Duuaing nouses 01 worsnip or parsonages, ana
money 11 In the treasury to meet these.
I
THE WOMEN W EGYPT
Mary J. Holmes Describes Their Life,
Appearance and Habits.
THE DAUGHTERS OP THE KHEDIVE.
Interesting Glimpses of Life in the land of
the Pharaohs.
THE PfiETTX DANCING GIELS OP LTJX0B
tCOBRESPOSDEXCE OP THE DlSrATCH.3
Cairo, Egypt, May 4. To write about
the handsome women of Egypt would be
much like the schoolboy's composition on
"Snakes in Ireland," "There are no snakes
in Ireland," was the beginning and end of
bis essay, and, emulating his example, I
might almost say, "There are no handsome
women in Egypt," except the English and
Americans, or, it there are, their charms are
hidden by the disfiguring veil which is al
ways worn in the street, and only laid aside
in the privacy of homey where there are no
masculine eyes except those of husband,
father or brother. The little girls are free to
breathe the air of heaven, without the ob
struction across the nose and mouth, and
some of then fresh young faces are very
pretty and as fair as the faces of onr Ameri
can girls, whose dress and style they imi
tate. The daughters of the Khedive, with their
bright color and Blue eyes, would pass for
English anywhere. I saw them driving one
afternoon with their governess, while before
the carriage, keeping even step with each
other and the fast-trotting horses, were the
royal runners in their short white skirts and
gorgeous sashes and vests of gold and silver.
These always precede carriages of the
Khedive's household, and are marvels of
hardihood and endurance. No matter hpw
hot the day, or dusty tbe road, or long the
drive, they never flag, but with their bodies
bent a little forward, run swiftly on, and
with their quick, sharp crv of warning clear
the street ot any obstacle in the way. The
donkey boys back their donkeys on to the
narrow sidewalks, the camel drivers tnrn
their camels round a corner, the beggar. who
looks more like a moving rag-bag than a
man, mutters a prayer to Allah and steps
aside, while the dirty children asking for
backsheesh scamper in all directions, roll
ing sometimes in the mud and sometimes in
the gutters, anywhere to get out of the way,
while the great people go by. Then tlie
ranks close up again, and the street traffic
flows on as before.
THE KHEDIVE'S WIFE.
The Khedive's wife is very fine-looking
and very devoted to her husband, who is
extremely popular with the people. He
does not seem to have inherited any of his
father's vices! or taste for expenditure, for
he has only 40 servants and one wife, while
the dissolute and dethroned Ismael kept
sou servants, ana naa, 1 was told, between
200 and 300 ladies in his harem. What
bitter jealousies and quarrels there must
have been when these all met together, if
they ever did, which is doubtful, for the old
man had many palaces, with endless suites
of rooms, the furniture in one of which
cost $25,000. They are shut up now, most
of them, and only kept as show places, fre
quented alike by tourists and natives.
In the gardens of the Ghizeh palace we
came suddenly upon a group of young
Egyptian girls out for a holiday, unveiled,
and attended only by an eunuch, who
counts for little more than an old nurse of
the family. But the momentwe approached
a cry of alarm was raised both by our drago-
uiuu auu 111c cuuuuu, ujeu were coming, ana,
like frightened birds, the girls drew their
veils around them and plunged into the
shrubbery; all but one, who, bolder or more
curious than the others, stopped a .moment
and tnrned her laughing face toward us as
if challenging our admiration. She was
very pretty, with blue eyes and light brown
hair, and evidently belonged to the higher
class of Egyptians.
The sister of the Khedive's wife is hand
some, with a brilliant complexion, some of
which she owes to art rather than to nature.
She wears her hair banged, and only a thin
white veil conceals the lower portion of her
face when driving in her carriage. She
occupies one of the Khedive's palaces, and
has recently been separated from her hus
band, a dashing, di&sipated fellow, whose
habits do not please her. Separations and
divorces are quite as common in Egypt as
in America. Nor is this surprising when
we remember how little the parties know of
each other before marriage; nothing, in
fact, in most instances, except from hear
say, while the girl has no choice whatever
in the matter. 1
OBTAINING A WIFE.
A young man wishes to marry, and his
mother begins to search for a suitable wile
among the families of her own caste, and
frequently among her own" relations, as
they believe in marrying cousins. Mothers
of daughters are also on the lookout, and
persons employed as hairdressers and seam
stresses are sometimes hired to advertise the
good qualities of the young girls, who have
nothing to do but to accept the husband
provided for them. After the girl is chosen
the dot is next considered, txo-thirds of
which are" paid to the father of the bride and
the other third retained for the wife in case
she docs not prove satisfactory, and is sent
away. The marriage ceremony, I was told,
takes place between the father and his pros
pective son-in-law, while the bride is either
washing dishes in the kitchen or listening
at the door; but, once married, she becomes
lor the time being a person of importance,
and is conducted to her new home with a
good deal of ceremony. The wedding recep
tion takes place in the evening, and after it
is over the bridegroom sees his bride's face
for the first time in his We.
It was our good fortune to attend one of
these recep ions, a description of which may
not be uninteresting. The honse, which
stood in a courv, was decorated with lanterns
and wedding flags, while the street in front
was filled with donkey boys and other
curious spectators. The gentlemen of our
party were ushered by a tall Arab into a
room on the ground floor, where the male
guests were seated in solemn silence, smok
ing cigarettes, drinking Turkish coffee, and
looking like anything but participants in a
festive occasion, as they listened to tbe dole
ful music of an Egyptian band. Mean
while I waB conducted upstairs and pre
sented to the ladies, who were in iulL
evening dress, with flowers and powder
and rouge. None of them spoke English,
and only one a little French, so that
we were not a verv social nartv. Mani r.e
them had their sfippers off, though why I
do not know, unless they were too small and
hurt their feet. , Some sat upon the floor on
cushions, and others on the divans range'd
around the salon, at one end ot which were
latticed windows looking down into the
room where the men were assembled.
Through this lattice the ladies were con
stantly peering, keeping always at a safe
distance, for, as they were unveiled, it
would have been a mortal sin to be seen
from below. But as 1 was a shamefaced
woman no harm could come to me, and a
portion of the lattice was raised for mv
benefit, while the others crowded around
and behind me to get a better view, laugh
ing as school girls laugh when enjoying
some'sobbidden pleasure.
'Coffee and cigarettes were passed, and
much surprise expressed when I declined
the latter. A woman who did not smoke
was a strange phenomenon, and I was stared
at and commented upon more curiously than
ever. Tbe bride I did not see, for as it was
late when we arrived she had retired to her
room, but I lelt a profound pity for tbe
young gin wnose Driaegroora might or
might not have been her choice, had she
been free to choose, and whose chance
for happiness seemed so small and depended
quite as much upon the mother-in-law, with
whom she must live, as the husband who
could send her from him at his pleasure.
At her marriage, which frequently takes
place at the age of 13, the girl's freedom
ends, and her little world is henceforth cir
cumscribed by the four walls of her home,
which is sometimes pleasant and sometimes
otherwise. And yet the men think their
system infinitely preferable to' ours. "Asa
rule, our women don't work as yours do;
they only sit at home and do nothing," our
dragoman said to us; while another drago
man, who had lived in England, and was
quite English in his language and appear
ance, told us that he had heard that in
America the women ruled the men, and
when assured that this was so, he very
gravely remarked, "I think that is very
narsty;" a sentiment warmly applauded by
the male portion of our party!
This dragoman was very proud and very
fond of his wife, for whom hehad given 60?
and whom he liked at first sight She was
fair-baired and bine-eyed, and, with the ex
ception of her veil, dressed much like Amer
icans. She has a pretty home, with a Nubian
slave to wait upon her, and no troublesome
mother-in-law to worry and annoy her, so
that her lot is cast in pleasant places. But
where there is one like her there are many
more whose lives are in the shadow where
no sunlight falls, and where, year by year,
the burden presses more and more heavily,
until at 30," and even before, they are so old
and haggish in appearance that wearing a
veil to hide their faces seems but a mockery,
for surely no man could care to look upon
it Indeed, the story is told of a saucy
American that he gave a woman a franc to
uncover her face, and then instantlv offered
her two to cover it again I
FAMOUS DANCING GIELS.
The dancing girls ot Luxor are ro famous
that when at Luxor we had an' opportunity
to see them, onr party at once availed them
selves of it and started for the show en
masse, the ladies a little doubtful as to the
propriety of the thing, and the gentlemen
with their opera glasses as if expecting a
ballet. But it was nothing of the sort, and
conld hardly be called a dance at all. There
were only four girls, and with an old
woman who attended them they were sit
ting on the floor when we entered the room.
Their dresses were long and loose like
Mother Hubbards, and their steps slow and
measured like the dismal music of the
string band and castanets to which they
kept time. The strange part of it was the
violent contortions of their bodies, so won
derful as to excite our suspicions of some
electrical machine under their gowns. But
we were convinced to the contrary and told
that the weird, serpent-like motions were
the result of long and patient train
ing, as was the skill to balance lighted can.
dies in bottles on their heads while bowing
to each other and rolling over and over on
the floor from one end of the room to the
other.
The wealthy Egyptians frequently hire
these girls to entertain their guests when
giving a series of entertainments, and some
times keep them for days. But the dance is
rather monotonous, and I should' not care to
see it repeated. The costumes of the girls
were simple and plaib, although, as a rule,
Egyptian women are fond of dress and jew
elry, and one handsome, dark-eyed slave
girl whom I saw in Assouan was gorgeous
in velvet and lace, with heavy gold brace
lets and earrings and chains, and silver
bands around her ankles, as a badge of her
condition These anklets a New York lady
bought of the woman's master, who seemed
very proud of his beautiful chattel.
WELL DEESSED WOMEN.
Silk is much worn by even the middle
classes and it is not uncommon in Cairo to
meet women riding upon donkeys just as the
men ride, with their black silk mantle3
drawn over their heads, their short silk
skirts entirelv covering the donkpv. nnd
both filled with wind and reminding one of
a small inflated balloon. They are always
attended by one or two boys or men, and are
very different from the poor, ragged, slip
shod woman carrying her baby with one
hand, and with the other holding a basket
on her head and still managing to keep her
dirty cotton veil, with its fastening, which
I can only liken to a corkscrew, across her
nose, while her sad eyes look drearily at
you as if asking why she is so fettered and
you so free.
But there is hope in the fnture'for the
poor Mohammedan women. The influx of
English and Americans into Egypt is doing
much to enlighten and educate, while the
schools in Cairo and on the .Nile are- doing
more, and long before those bright-eyed,
little girls, who, with their water jars, fol
lowed us so many weary miles across the
burning sands, shall have grown into
wretched old womanhood, I trnst the year
of jubilee will have come and the Egyptian
women stand as free as their fairer, happier
sisters. Maby J. Holmes.
A Hint lor Electric Light Users.
The simplest way to moderate the glare of
incandescent lamps without lessening the
light power is to give the globe a thin coat
ing ot collodion.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
About 1HL, colors are now obtained from
coal tar, which have almost entirely supplanted
vegetable and animal dyes.
It has been found in experiments at Leipslc
that skin grafted from a wbite to a colored
person becomes gradually black, ani that black
skin grafted upon a white person in time turns
wbite.
It Is proposed by M. Leon Roquet to get up a
universal telegraphic language, in which often
reenrring words shall be designated sym
bolically by letters or figures which shall be the
same for all languages. It is easy to see that
sucn a pian 11 carried out would greatly lacill
tate international communication, yet it would
be a task so difficult that few wonld care to
undertake it. Electrical Review,
Jacksonville, Fla., Sanitary' Association
reports that $355,660 were received daring the
epidemic last ear, most of which was distri
buted in and around Jacksonville. New York's
contribution was $127,787 and Pennsylvania's
23,680. Massachusetts' $18,5il, Georgia's $14,828,
Illinois' $11,556. and Missouri's $12,564. Thus
affliction shows the oneness of tbe people.
Indianapolis News.
It Is announced from Naples that the small
emptive cone of Vesuvius has "fallen Into its
very depths," and that the stream of outflow
ing lava has arrived at the foot of the great
cone. The seismic apparatus at the observa
tory indicates that the disturbance is decreas
ing in force. It was noticed that at very nearly
tbe time when volcanic action commenced at
Vesuvius the volcanic mountain of Llpari
made an unusual display. From the crater
arose smoKe mixed witn nne ashes, which fell
in line rain all over the area of the .Eolian
Islands.
Attention has lately been called by Dr.
Lindsey to the therapeutic value of regions
below the sea level f or asthmatical or consump
tive patients, who there have continuously
higher atmospheric pressure than at the sea
level. Excellent effects have been thus ob
tained in the valley of Conchiila, near Los An
geles, in California, about 273 feet under the
sea (baroini-tric pressure only abont 7mm.
higher). Tbe most noteworthy place of tbe
kind on tbe earth's surface is probably tbe
Bead Sea district, 1,S9 feet; and the following
are some otln-n: IyikH Asal, in East Africa, &J9
leet: tne oasis 01 Aral, in tne aesert ot LyDia.
270 feet; the Ami o del Muerto, iu California,
230 feet; tbe oasis of Siwli. in Lybla, 123 feet;
tbe borders of the Caspian, 83 feet.
Those people who assert that tbe era zing for
salt is a purely acquired taste, and that this
mineral as an article of food i3 neither nutritive
nor otherwise beneficial, may point to the
Eskimo race as evidence of the value of their
theory. The natives met by our explorers on
the rivers of Northern Alaska live almost ex
clusively on fish. They do not eat taltwith
tbeir fish, and decline to eat salt bacon and
ham, firmly beUevme that white folks spoil
good meat by thnlr absnrd practice of salting
it. On the other hand there are. probably very
lew African tribes who do not regard salt as
one of man's greatest blessings. Many natives
procure it along the seacoast by evaporation,
and tribes who have salt mines, as on the east
coast of Albert Nyanza, are always able to sell
their product far and wide. New York Sun.
Tbe circular Issued by the Superintendent of
the Census to members of the medical pro
fession, directing their attention to tbe impor
tance of keeping a careful record of every
thing of Interest to vital statistics which may
ariso In their practice rlnring the vear from
June 1, 1SS9. to June 1, 1590 (tbe census period),
is an important matter. One of tbe most diffi
cult features to cairy out in anything like per
fection has been the mortality statistics.
These have never been quite as thorough either
as the different superintendents would have
liked, or as accuracy would demand. Mr. Por
ter has started out In good time with the Inten
tion of making this f eatnre as perfect as possi
ble. He asks tbe co-operation of the medical
profession, and he ought to have it in the very
best and most intelligent manner. New York
Saturday Globe.
Iff lUSHAHIAH HOLE
A Decaying Settlement in the South
east Corner of China.
PORTUGUESE IN THE PAR EAST.
Playing, Fan-Tan With Chinese GaEjhlers
at Macao.
THE GE0TT0 OP THE POET CAHOEXS
rrnoii OUE TBAVTLEJO COMJHSSIOHIB.1
Macao, May 22. "Where the carcass
is, there also will the eagles be gathered to
gether." China is the great carcass of Asia
and round her the eagles of Europe and
America press and jostle one another.
England is entrenched at Hong Kong and
many a fat slice has she carried away. And
now she is stretching out another claw
through Thibet. America has half of
Shanghai, and to and from San Francisco
the bird of prey passes regularly in his
flight. France is trying hard to carry off
her share of the carcass through TongKing,
aud Port Arthnr in the north is a big piece
fallen to the lot of a French syndicate.
Herr Krupp represents Germany's chief
plunder, and the'Yamen of Li Hung Chang
at Tientsin is a nest of commercial intrigue
on behalf of the Fatherland. And Bussia
is laying a heavy paw upon China from the
north. All this is natnral enough, and so
far as England and America are concerned
it is the inevitable flow of trade in the
channels of least resistance. But among
the birds around this Asiatic carcass there
is a beetle; among the birds of prey there is
a parasite.
The extreme southeast corner of China is
the scene of the dying struggles of a mon
grel fragment of a once intrepid and famous
race, a fragment drawing its meager sus
tenance with more difficulty every day.
The hand of Vasco di Gama would have
wavered upon the helm as he rounded the
Cape of Good Hope, of all the men in En-
rope, "the first that ever burst into the silent
seas" of the East, if he could have foreseen
to what a wretched pass and laughing
stock his countrymen there wonld come
after less than 400 years. The daughter ol
the King of Portugal was at Hong Kong a
few days ago. She came of course, to visit
her own people and stand under her own
flag at Macao. But a glimpse was too
much for her and she left within 12 hours.
A. BEAUTIFUL SITE.
Tet Macao is not such a bad place, at first
sight. Its bay is a perfect crescent. Around
this rnns a broad boulevard, called the
Praya Grande, shadowed with fine old arch
ing banyan trees. At each horn the Portu
guese flag waves over a little fort. Behind
the town green wooded hills rise like an
amphitheater, and among the houses a pic
turesque old building sticks up here and
there the Cathedral, the barracks, the mili
tary hospital, the older Fort Monte. The
whitewashed nouses with their green blinds
and wide shady porticos and verandas, from
which dark eyes look idly down upon you
as you pass, recall many a little Italian and
Spanish town. A couple of yacht-likePortu-guese
gunboats lie at anchor in the river
beyond the bay. On Sundays and Thurs
days tne Dana plays in tne public gardens,
and snrely nowhere in the world do the
buglers linger so long over the reveille and
retreat as they do here every day. To the
busy broker or merchant ol Hongkong, who
runs over here in the summer from Satur
day to Monday, after a week of hard work
and perspiration, coining dollars in a
Turkish bath, Macao is a tiny haven of rest,
where the street is free from the detestable
ceaseless chatter of Chinamen, where the
air is fresh and the hills green, and where a
little "flutter" at fan-tan is a miniature and
airiusing substitute for the daily struggle
with exchanges and settlements and short
sales. '
And Macao had its' glorious past, too.
After they had rounded the Cape tbe Portu
guese occupied a great part 'of the coast of
India, sent an embassy to the Emperor of
China, and occupied Ningpo. There one
night 1,200 of them were murdered. So thev
resettled a place called Chinchew, where
the same fate overtook them. Nothing
daunted, they came lurther south and after
helping the Chinese to destroy hordes of
pirates were permitted to settle'm peace on
a small peninsula near the mouth of one .f
the two river approaches to Canton. Here
Macao was founded in 1557, and up to 1818
the Portuguese paid a yearly rental.of ?500
in presents or money.
it followed the ckoww.
In 1582 when the crown of Portugal
passed to Spain, Macao followed snit. When
it went back again in 1640 in tbe person of
John IV, of Portugal, Macao again changed
its flag and made "a great donation" to the
new King. At this time it was described
as "a melhor e mas prospero columna que
of Portugueyes tern em todo o Oriento," the
best and most prosperous colony that the
Portuguese possess in all the East. Then
its population was 19,500. By 1830 it had
dwindled to 4,628, of so mixed a blood that
only 90 persons were registered as of pure
Portuguese descent. To-day it holds 63,500
Chinese, 4,476 so-called Portuguese, and 78
others in all 68,086. What is the explana
tion of this sudden enormous multiplication
ot its population? Like Satan, Macao was
"by merit raised to that bad eminence." It
won back its ancient prosperity by offering
its houses and its traders as the last refuge
in the East to that hell upon earth, the
legalized coolie traffic.
When Hongkong stopped this forever
nnder the British flag by the Chinese
passengers act of 1854, Macao opened eager
and unscrupulous arms to the "labor
agents," and tor nearly 20 years, when
public opinion became too strong for even
this mongrel and far-away community, the
little city flourished, its inhabitants made
fortunes, the Praya Grande was crowded
every evening by a gay and gaudy throng,
the streets were beautified, thecathedral was
rebuilt, and tbe Portuguese colony became
famous throughout the East for its elaborate
religious processions and its eloquent priests.
And during these 20 years uncounted thou
sands of coolies were decoyed, entrapDed,
stolen and pirated to Macao, kept prisoners
in the gloomy "barracoons," whose grated
windows are still everywhere visible, theo
retically certified as voluntary contract
laborers by an infamous profit-sharing "pro
curador," and then shipped to toil, and
starve, and rot, and die in mines and fields
and plantations everywhere, literally "from
China to Peru." As a single specimen of
the traffic it is commonly affirmed that of
4,000 coolies sent to the tonl guano pits of
the Cbincha Islands, not a single soul re
turned. slaveby's cubse.
But a retribntion has fallen upon Macao
it seems as though the curses of the mur
dered coolies have come hack to it. Not a
soul walks the beautiful Praya; the harbor
is silting up so fast that in five years there
will not be as many ieet of water in it; even
the Chinese are leaving it the last of rats
to quit a sinking ship; its miserable inhabi
tants, interbred from Chinese, Portuguese,
Malay, Indian and unknown human jetsam
to such fin extent that the few Portuguese
troops here regard the Chinaman as socially
superior to the "Mesticos," have fallen into
utter apathy; they hardly show themselves
out of doors, they subsist on moneys fur
nished to them bv their plnckier relatives
in foreign employ in Hongkong aud else-
wnere, anu me military uanu in tne puonc
garden plays to a score of loafers. There is
no manufacture, no social life, and almost
no trade since the smuggling of opium has
been stopped by Sir Bonert Hart's treaty of
last year, giving Macao in perpetuity to the
Portuguese on the condition that its cus
toms should be controlled by nis staff.
Portugaldoles it out a yearly pittance and
its other chief source of revenue is the $150,
000 it draws annually irom its gaming
tables. For when one wickedness was
stopped in Macao it was quick to find an
other, and to-day it is the only place in the
Far East where von can play fan-tan nnder
a foreign flag, fint its- history is almost
closed, the lays of its disappearing trade
and its decomposing population are num
bered, and unless a Cement Companv which
has just been started here on a small island
leased from the Bishop, should bring "back a
semblance of prosperity, this "gem of the
orient earth and open sea," aslam ashamed
to say an English poet (who had certainly
never seen it) preposterously described it,
will have disappeared like other places and
peoples which were, sinned too much, and
are not.
a poet's obotto.
One classic memory, however, will save
Macao from" oblivion. It was here that the
exiled Camoens composed tbe greater part
of his "Lnsiad." On one of the hillsides
overlooking the bay is an extensive shrub
bery, where narrow paths twist in and out
among gnarled and ancient trees, and where
half a dozen enormous bowlders heaped to
gether form a natnral archway or grotto.
Here Camoens is supposed to have come
every day to work at his great task. The
place, which is now known as "Camoens
Garden," belongs to a family named Mar
ques, and by them a remarkably fine
bronze bnst ot the half blind poet, inscribed
"Luiz de Camoes, Nasceo, 1524, Morreo,
1580," was placed in the arch in 1840, npon
a pedestal bearing six cantos of the
"Lusiad," while tributes to him in half a
dozen languages are engraved np"n sfone
tablets placed aronnd. There is a fine
sonnet of Tasso's and various verses in
Portuguese and Spanish, while Sir John
""6 a luuuuu is uuiurmuaieiy tuu
spicuous: "Gem of the orient, earth and open sea.
Macau, that in thy lap and on thy breast
Hast gathered beauties all the loveliest
On which the sun smiles in his majesty;"
and so on. One degree worse in style, though
a thousand times truer are some wondertnl
Latin verses perpetrated by a Mr. David
wno laments
"Sed jam vestnstas aut manus impla
Prostravit, ehon! Triste silentium
Regnare,nunc solum videtur
Perscopulos.viridese.umbrasl"
Among all, however, tbe sincerest seems to
me to be some quaint lines in French, said
fo have been written by the Commander of a
French man-of-war, which visited Macao in
1827, and ingeniously dedicated as follows:
"Au Grand Luis de Camoens, Portngals d'orig
ine Castillane.
Soldat religieux, voyageur et poete exile,
L'humble Louis de Rienzi, Francais d'origine
ttomaine,
VoyageurreIigieux,soldat et poete expatrie."
This poet, too, was doleful, for, apostro
phizing Camoens, he says:
"Agite plus que tol, je fuyai dans les champs,
Et le monde, et mon ccaur, l'envie et les
tyrans."
What the Macanese of to-day think of
Camoens may be judged from the lact that I
tried in vain to borrow or buy in Macao a
copy of the Lusiad, to see what are the
stanzas engraved on the pedestal, the chisel
ing having become illegible. Camoens
himself was shipwrecked off Malacca on his
way home when pardoned, and swam ashore
with the mannscript oi the Lusiad, losing
everything else.
a mabijtek's geave.
Curiously enough, by the way, on leaving
the grotto and tnrning into the old half-deserted
cemetery I came across the tomb of
an uncle, I suppose, of Lord Bandolph
Churchill. It is an old-fashioned granite
monument, with the inscription, "Sacred to
the Memory of the Bight Hon Me. Lord
Henry John Spencer Churchill, 4th son of
George 5th Duke of Marlborugh, Captain of
Hra. M. B. Druid and Senior Officer in the
China Seas. Departed this life in Macao
roads,2nd June, 1840. This monument is
erected by His Officers in testimony of their
Esteem and Affection."
Finally, Macao, as I have said, is the
Monaco of the East, and from its gaming
tables its impecunious government reaps
5150,000 a year, the price said to be paid by
the syndicate of Chinese proprietors for the
monopoly. The game is a peculiarly
Chinese one, well fitted to afford lull scope,
to the multitude of refinements and hypo-'
thetical elaborations with which the China
man, the greatest gambler on earth, loves to
surround his favorite vice. It is played on
a mat-covered table, with a small square of
sheet lead and a heap of artificial
gilded "cash." On one side stands
the croupier, on the adjoining side
sits the dealer, and between.them, a little to
the rear, is the desk and treasury of the
cashier. The sides of the leaden eauare are
called one, two, three and four. The dealer
takes up from the heap as many "cash" as
he can grasp with both bands and places
them apart upon the table. Then the play
ers, who sit and stand round the other two
sides of the table, make their bets, that is
they place at either side of the square any
sum, from 50 cents to $500, or at either
corner any sum np to 51,500. When all
have done the dealer slowly counts the heap
out in fonrs and the last remaining fonr or
three or two or one, as tne case may be, is
the winning number. Those who have
placed their money at the corresponding
side of the square, which is called playing
fan, are paid three to one; those who have
staked at the corner, covering two numbers,
or playing tan, are paid even money if
either number wins. From all winnings
the bank deducts 8 per cent.
A COMPLICATED GAME.
Besides tbe above ways, there are many
others of infinite complication, scored with
bnttons and cards and ivory counters, which
no fellow except a Celestial can possibly un
derstand. But they play with the greatest
eagerness, the coolie who work3 a week to
save his dollar, the shopkeeper who calmly
stakes his watch and chain if he is short of
ready money, and the well-to-do merchant,
who watches the game for half an hour to
judge of the chances and then lays down
his hundred dollar bill and walks lmpertur
bably away whatever the result may oe. Of
course everybody asas, cannot the dealer
after years of practice take up a fixed num
ber ot "cash" according to the sums staked
upon the table? It seems probable, but I
have watched bim for a long time and I am
convinced that if he conld it would in
nearlr all cases be impracticable, for many
sufficient reasons, And many people, loo,
ask themselves it there is not a "martin
gale" or "system" by which the individ
ual player can so enormously in
crease the odds in his own favor
agaiust the bank as to make
winning almost a certainty? There is,
namely, to bet as much each'timeas will if
it winrecoup you for atl revious losses
and leave a margin of profit. Thus yon
can play and win if one nnmber out of four
turns up once in 25 throws, when your
stake will have reached the limit of $500
and yon must per.'orce stop. To do this,
however, a capital of over $1,000 must be
subjected to a small risk, and few of the
ordinary players at lantan are prepared to
do this. On the other hand, it is common
enough to see 51,000 on the table for a single
deal on Saturday nights, when the rich
Hongkong brokers come over. Most
gambling systems are pitfalls, but I am
convinced that if 20 men with large capi
tals were to come and play at one table at
one time on this system properly calcu
lated, the bank 'would inevitably be
broken. Therefore fantan would not work
in the West. Henkt Noemait.
KUUGEB AND NUbGEE.
How a xonng Lady Dlade a Fresh Xoansr
Olan Feel Clienp.
A young woman writes to a cotemporary
to complain of men who nudge ladies in a
car, surface and elevators, says Joe Howard
in the New York Press, if the nndgee
would, with babv stare of ingenuous inno
cence, move deliberately but noticeably
away from the man who nudges her, she
would be spared a repetition of the insult
not only, but give him such a punishment,
placing him in the pillory of observation
as he would not be likely soon to forget.
In a Broadway stage, some time ago, a
yonng lady was very much annoyed by a
man who put his foot on hers. The 'bus was
crowded. On a repetition of the offense she
deliberately and quickly pulled her skirts
one side, revealing to the passengers the
man's foot on hers, and then said to him:
"Are my feet in your way, sir?" Obviously
that settled tbe man. The women have the
better of the situation alwavs. if ther have
brains enough' to utilize it,
LAST OF THE KINGS.
An Interesting Sketch of Arthur
MacMnrrogh KaTanagb, the
BRAIHIEST OP IRISH LANDLORDS.
Starting Out in Life Without Arms, legs
or fortune, He
WINS DISTLXCTJOS IS MAS! SPHERES
IWniTTI FOB TOE DISPATCH.!
One of the principal leaders of the Land
lord party in Ireland is the Bight Hon.
Arthnr MacMnrrogh Kavanagh. Mr.
Kavanagh is admitted by friends and foes
to be a man of great genins, and still greater
moral stamina. Over 50 years ago he came
into this irorld, sadly and strangely de
formedwithout either arms or legs ap
parently destined only for a life of darkness
and seclusion. Everything was against him.
Being the youngest of four brothers h4,wa
debarred by the law of entail from succeed
ing to the vast estates of his father, Mr.
Kavanagh, of Bonis, and wonld be Ief to
strugglethroughapainfullifeon the wretch
ed pittance of a youngerson. In Ireland he
could hope for 110 popularity, for the name
of Kavanagh was in conspicuous ill favor,
for both political and sectarian reasons.
Moreover, the Kavanaghs, of Borris, repre
sent iu direct line that false monarch, Der
mot MacMnrrogh, whose very name is a by
word in Ireland, as that of one who too
plunged a whole province into war, and
brought the English into Leinster.
All these and manv other disadvantage!
barred or seem to be bar the on
ward progress of Arthnr MacMnrrogh Kav
anagh. But some men are not to be de
terred by any obstacle. Before he was 16
Kavanagh had surmounted all those little
inconveniences which resulted from his lack
of limbs. With the assistance of knife and
fork screwed into the short stumps which
did duty for arms, he could eat and enjoy
his meals. After dinner the knife was un
screwed, and a hook substituted.
SOME AMAZING FEATS.
The feats he performed with that honk
were truly amazing. I have seen him take
np a wine decanter and fill himself a glass
ot sherry with as much ease as though he
owned a complete arm and hand. He writes
legibly. The pen is held between the ends
of hisstumps the paper fixed to the desk;
and with this arrangement he is able to dis
pense with 3 secretary, and reply to all his
ietters. A private tutor taught Kavanagh
ali he wanted to know; and five minutes'
conversation will show anyone that his edu
cation has been neither a light nor a cir
cumscribed one.
As if to reward the perseverance ot young
Kavanagh, a series of events put him in
possession 01 tnose very estates, wnicn every
one had deemed beyond his reach.
The country folk, who incline to a liberal
belief in such things, declare that there is a
curse npon the house of old King MacMnr
rogh. The deaths of many children of the
house have fostered this notion. The three
hale, hearty brothers who stood between
poor, deformed Arthur and his 40,000 acres
died, one after the other, by sudden or vio
lent deaths. One was killed in the hunting
field, another went down beneath the waves
to rise no more. The third had the most
horrible end of all. He was found one
morning in his bed, burned to a cinder.
A KIND LANDLORD.
Then Arthnr succeeded to the great
estates and the hereditary want of popular
ity which accompanied the MacMnrrogh
chieftaincy since the times of Dermot-of-the-Saxons.
Immediately his influence began
to be felt. He lowered his rents; he im
proved his estates; he contested the County
Carlow and was elected M. P. for that con
stituency, with his cousin Henry Brnen, of
Oak Park. For full 20 years he represented
the county in Parliament, and in 1880 ha
was created a Bight Hon., and given the
ant of Privy Councilor. He has twjoa,,
refused a peerage deeming the name of
MacMurrough far greater than any title a
queen can bestow. In 1880 Mr. E. Dwyer
Gray defeated him in Carlow, and so morti
fied was he that he has never since contested
any seat. However, he is not idle. Al
though universally declared to be a good
landlord one of the best in Ireland he is
still the guiding spirit of the Landlord
party. He says that he merely ght3 for
nis rights. "Give ns a fair price for onr
properties and we will sell them to you"
that is his constant cry.
It is surprising what weight his words
carry in the counsels of the religious and
political factionists, and what an amount ot
secret influence he possesses. The Union
is tbe name of their great organ in Dublin,
and of this paper Mr. Bagenal is nominal
editor. Bnt Bagenal is Kavanagh's nephew,
and it is well-known that the real "dens ex
machina" is the great spider who spins
amid the gloom of his Southern mansion.
Half the nnti-Parnellite pamphlets which
annually flood the English markets, are
from the facile pen of Kavanagh; and those
who know state positively that two at least
of the late larger magazine articles on Irish
affairs are in reality his. Kavanagh has
always opposed the eviction policy of the
exterminators, and it was his influence that
brought Captain Yandelenr to a settlement
with his tenants. He is now striving to set
tle between Lord Lansdowne and the evicted
of Lugacnrran, but so stealthily does he
work that few beyond his intimate friends
know of his good endeavors.
AJT honest EKEirr.
It is a comfort, when the Irish have so
much brntality and dishonesty to contend
with, to think that they can point ont at
least one honest opponent one honorable
enemy. Such is Arthur Kavanagh, ot
Borris. Though he does good in secret, ha
has never been known to strike a secret blow.
His convictions are opposed to the convic
tions ot his countrymen; bnt in such a man
tbe Irish know how to make allowance for
mistaken opinions. Yon will find scores of
politicians who prophesy that "Kavanagh
will one day be a big man in the Home
Bale Parliament. He is only hanging out
till he settles the land question fairly' for all
parties." However it may be, the creator
of the land corporation the man
who has risen superior to ridi
cule and deformity will be a de
cided acquisition 'to any legislative
assemblv. Parnell has said of him: "As
to Mr. Kavanagh we all know that he is
a man of genins perhaps the only man of
genius among the Irish Landlord party.
But it is wrong to call Mr. Kavanagh a
Unionist. He labors for the settlement ot
the lana question, but he is not a Unionist.
He is well known as a good
landlord. Some day the Mac
Mnrrogh Kavanagh may be our honored
Home Secretarv." ,
Mr. Kavanagh owns two fine residences
Borris House in County Carlow and Sally
raget Castle in County Kilkenny. De
spite his deformity he has captured the
heart of one of the fair sex, and he has a
large family. In his youth he was a fox
hunter, and he still trots along tbe
country roads in a qnaint sort of
saddle he has invented for his peculiar
convenience. He goes from room to room
on the back ot his faithful valet; and in the
dusk I have often seen people startled by
grotesque appearance of the pair. As they
enter a doorway, looking like some great
two-headed monster, one can hardly sup
press an involuntary shudder. Bnt when
the broad Irame "of Her Majesty's Lord
Lieutenant in the County Palatine of Car
low is flopped down beside you, and you
listen a while to his pleasant voice and
graceful sayings, yon feel admiration rather
that repulsion, and experience an acnte re
gret that such a man should be even for ft'
time his country's enemy.
PEBEGBEffE QOILL.
A Wetffbty Burden.
New York World.!
Little Daisy (gravely examining a sword?''
fish's weapon) Myl He must have beea
awful tired carrying that on his nose."i.j "? -
"V-J-'
IML-