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THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH
s-
THIRD PART.
WIZARDS OF INDIA.
How Male and Female Jugglers Work
in the Land of "BlaTetsky.
A'THEOSOrfllST MASTER AT HOME.
Deadly Cobras Conjured in Daylight From
Empty Space.
CABTE PEEJPDICES OP THE HINDOOS
rCOEBISr-DEXCE OP THE BISrATCH.I
BOMBAY, May
20. India is the land
of Madam Blavet
sky, of Mr. Isaacs
and of the "light of
Asia." It is here
that the esoteric
Buddhists look for
their instruction and
many of the theo
sophical societies of
America hare In
dian teachers, with
whom they corre
spond and from
whom they expect to
get some of that won
derful sweetness and
light, which is sup
posed to exist in its
purest form in this
land o i mystical
JL Mountain Tinh.
thought Through them they would learn
low to annihilate space, to disembody their
souls for the moment and'send them on aerial
errands to other parts of the world. They
would master that wonderful concentration
of soul which enables its possessor to dis
solve matter into the elements from which
jt was made by a word, and by another word
"Presto!" to turn it back into the solid or
liquid form, from which they decomposed
it. One of them, who is now traveling in
India and searching for the masters, tells me
he has heard of Indian theosophists who, by
a wave or the hand, can change a glass of
water into the oxygen and hydrogen of
which it is formed, and by the same motion
dissolve the glas particles into their original
elements. Another wave and the glass con
taining the water reappears before your eyes,
just as full and in exactly the same position
, as it was before. I asked the man whether
he had seen such a miracle performed. He
'replied "no," and upon further conversation
I found that he had as yet seen nothing
which could be called supernatural.
"I have had several talks with the mas
ters," said he, "and I have been told that I
INDIAN
would receive a manifestation. It may come
within a few days and it may not come for a
week, and I hope there will be no natural
law that will prevent it. I will wait in
India until I receive it."
This was three weeks ago, and at last ac
counts the nan was waiting yet.
Intellectual Acrobat.
I have received several letters from Amer
ica asking me to look into this wonderful
Indian theosophy. I have looked, bnt it
may be that I lack faith. I have talked
with several of the masters. They are
bright, intellectual acrobats, and some of
the greater of them are more gross than
cpirituelle. I have also discussed Madam
Blavctecy with the English residents of
India, among whom she has lived, and I
have yet to find one who thinks her any
thing else than a veryclever fraud. It may
be the case of a prophetess feeing not with
out honor, save in her own country, but I
five you her reputation as I find'it here,
am told that an expose has lately been
made of her manifestations, and those tricks
of hers which she is reported as perform
ing are to me no more wonderful than the
jugglery which I see here on the streets
every day. Might it not be that her study
of Indian philosophy was accompanied with
the teaching of Indian jugglers? I know
sot, but I do know that the street jugglers
of these Indian towns could, by mixing
myEtical philosophy with their "slight-of-hand
performances, easily humbug the eyes
of that large class of people in America
who are ever praying for some new thing in
religion and in psychological thought
An Indian Juggler's Trick.
Let me give you a picture of an Indian
juggler! One stands outside my hotel
window as I write. He is performing his
tricks in the dusty road without a table,
cabinet, patent boxes, or any of the ac
companiments of the American wizard.
His sole possessions consist of three small
baskets, ranging in size from half a peck to
a bushel, a couple of cloths -and a tripod
made of three sticks, each two feet long and
held together by a string at the top. Three
little wooden dolls with red cloths tieel
around their necks and each not over a foot
long are the gods which enable him to do
wonderful things. He has a flute in his
mouth and a little drum in his hand. He
is black-faced and black-bearded, and his
shirt sleeves are pulled up above his
elbows. His only assistant is a little tur
baned boy, who sits beside him, whom he
will shortly put into a basket not more than
two feet square, and with him will perform
the noted basket trick of India. This trick
is one of the wonderful juggling tricks of
. the world.
The boy's hands are tied and he is put into
a net. which is tied over his head and
which incloses his whole body so that he
apparently can not move. He is now
crowded into this basket The lid is put
down and tight straps are buckled over it.
The juggler now takes a sword and with a
few passes of these little Hindoo doll babies
over it and the muttering of incantations
ai a preliminary, thrusts the sword again
and again into the basket, There is a cry
ing as though somebody was in terrible pain
It is the voice of a child and the sword
comes out bloody. You hold your breath,
and did you cot know it to be a trick you
would feel like pouncing upon the man.
After a moment the basket becomes still,
the jnggler makes a few more passes, un
buckles th ctrs.n and shows von there
U nothing withia it, He calls, 'babal'
fMLi B
babal" and in the distance you hear the
child's voice. How the boy "got out of the
basket or escaped being killed by the sword
and where the blood came from I do not
know. I only know it was a sleight-of-hand
performance and wonderfully well done.
Dame Nature Outdone.
The mango trick is performed with the
three sticks in the shape of a tripod. The
juggler takes a pot of water and pours it
over a little pot of earth. He then holds
up a mango bulb about the size qf a walnut
and putting this into the earth he throws a
cloth over the tripod. He now blows upon
his horn, makes mysterious passes and after
a few moments raises the cloth and you see
the mango tree sprouting forth from the
soil. More passes and more music follow
and the cloth is pulled down again. Alter
a few moments during which the showing
of minor tricks goes on, he pulls out the pot
Theosophlst Master at Some,
and the plant has grown about a foot above
it. There is more watering and more in
cantation and his final triumph comes in
showing you a bush nearlv a yard high.con
taing great leaves. This he will pull up by
the root and show you the seed at the bot
tom. It is a wonderlul trick and how the
man is able to manipulate the different
plants with nothing else but a thin cotton
cloth to help him, which, by the way he
allows you to examine, is hard to conceive.
He has a dozen other sleight-of-hand 'per
formances equally as wonderfnl. He puts a
little shell into his mouth and appears to
choke as he draws out coin after coin and
balls of stone almost as big around as your
fist. He spits fire, as does the American
wizard; pulls miles of string from his stom
ach, sticks pins tbrougn nis tongue without
hurting himself, and ends the performance
with a snake trick, which is to me the most
wonderful of alL
Charming the Fatal Cobra,
In doing this snake trick he asks for a
piece of paper and asks you to hold out
your hand. You do so and he places the
JUG GLEES.
paper upon it He then begins to play
upon his pipe and to dart out his eyes as
though he saw something near your hand.
His whole frame becomes transformed and
he dances around you like a wizard, playing
all the time and keeping his eyes on jour
hand. Now he starts back and points at it.
You look and see nothing and he begins to
play louder and dance wilder than ever.
Remember his arms are bare to the elbow
and both of his hands are on his pipe.
Suddenly he drops his pipe and continues
his dance with incantations. He points to
the paper again, and while you look and
see nothing he claps bis hand down upon it
and pulls up three great cobras, which raise
their hooded heads and dart out their fangs
in different directions, and squirm and
wriggle as heholdsthauiup before you. You
jump back, for the bite of the cobra is
deadly, and I am told that the snakes used
have in somecases nothad their fangs drawn.
A jnggler was killed a week ago in Benares
by the bite of a cobra, which he was using
in this way, and they are the most terrible
snakes I have ever seen. At another per
formance of this same kind I was present
with a party of four and we all derided to
ascertain; if we could, how this trick was
done. I stood upon a chair and overlooked
the man as he snatched up the snakes, but I
could not see where they came from and I
only know that he had them and that they
were so big that he crowded them with diffi
culty into a little round basket the size of a
peck measure.
Wonderful Snake Charmers.
These jugglers are wondrful snake
charmers. They make thesnakes do as they
please, and the snakes they use are of the
most deadly kind. I was told by an Eng
lishman at Benares of an incident which
happened there a short time ago. A juggler
was performing with snakes and a Hindoo
standing by said that the fangs of the snakes
had been drawn and that any man could do
the tricks that he was doing. The juggler
replied that they were not The Hindoo
protested, and in spite of the warnings of
the juggler seized one of the snakes. It
was a cobra and it sunk its fangs into bis
arm. A moment later the man dropped to
the ground, saying he was poisoned, and in
two hours he was dead. I am told that the
cobra will not bite unless he is angry and
that it is only when he is in this condition
that his month fills with venom. The jug
glers rely upon this fact and by petting the
cobras make them so docile that they can
work with them without great danger.
Prettr Women Jugglers.
I saw two. women jugglers at Jsyppre.
I
Native Candy Merchant
They were bright, mtelliget looking girls,
one of whom appeared almost old enough to
be the mother of the other. They did many
wonderlul things, one of which was mixing
up sand in water and then putting the hand
into the discolored fluid, they brought a
handful of sand, which they filtered through
their fingers as dry as before it went in. The
youngest of these girls was perhaps 15. She
was tall, well formed and1 fine looking. She
had bracelets on arms and on feet, and her
eyes were as beautiful as those of a gazelle.
One of her tricks was the lifting of a heavy
chair by her eye-lids, the thought of
which almost makes my eyes sore.
The chair was a heavy mahog
any one, which belonged to the room
in which I was staying. She tied two strong
strings to the top of this and affixed the ends
of these strings to her eyes by little round
metal enps, each about "the size of a nickle.
These fitted over the eye-balls and under the
lids and she bent over while thev were so
fastened. Raising herself she pulled up the
chair with these strings, with the muscles
of her eve-lids, and carried it from one side
of the room to the other. It was a horrible
sight, and as she took the metal cups from
her eyes they filled with water and she
almost sank to the flcdr. I told her the
trick was disgusting and that she ought
never to try it again. Still, for this and the
rest of the show these girls were well satis
fied with two ruoies of about 70 cents.
The Belles or India.
Hero at Bombay are the prettiest women
oflndia. They are the parsees. With deli
cate, olive-brown skins, tney are talf and
well shaped, have beautiful eyes and fine,
intellectual faces. They dress in silks of
the most delicate colors, and the dress
seems to consist of one large piece of silk,
which is wound around the waist and then
carried up over the body and the top of the
head so that the fare looks out and the whole
hangs in a beautiful drapery. Many of them
I note, have silk stockings and slippers to
match the color of their dresses, and they
are the brightest and prettiest women I have
seen.
The parsees are sun worshipers. There
are only about 70,000 of them in India, and
60,000 of these are here in Bombay. The
men dress in long, preacher-like clothes of
black, with hats shaped like coal scuttles,
and they are very fine looking. Their
dress, when not in business, is often of the
whitest of linen coats and shirts. They are
the best business men in the world. They
own millions of dollars' worth of property
here in Bombay, and are largely interested
in the trade of India. They are more akin
to the Christians than the Hindoos in their
methods of living. They believe in spend
ing their money, dwell in good houses and
drive about in fine carriages. They are
charitable as well as rich, and some of the
finest of the public buildings of Bombay
.have been built by them. They are of Per
sian descent and have temples in which
burns the sacred fire of Zoroaster.
Hindoo Aristocrats.
I had a curious illustration of the preju
dices of the Hindoos in regard to caste this
afternoon. The native sweetmeats of Iudia
are by no means bad eating, and I had
stopped before an itinerant sweetmeat mer
chant, and was bargaining with him for
some candy. As I did so I happened to
touch some of the stock on his basket-like
table, and he begged me to be careful, as
the Hindoos would not buy anything a for
eigner happened to touch. Nearly every
Hindoo cooks for himseli while traveling,
as he would lose caste if he ate anything
cooked by a man of a different caste from
himself, and on some of the boats I saw
Indian rajahs, who ate nothing from the be
ginning to the end of the voyage on this ac
count. In the jails of India, which are
managed by the English, the cook is always
a Brahmin or of the highest of the Hindoo
castes. The lower classes will eat after bis
cooking and are not thus denied. It a cook
was chosen of a lower caste many of them
vtould starve rather than eat. I am told that
prisoners have been flogged and have starved
to death rather than eat from the hands of a
man of a lower caste.
Caste Prejudices.
This caste prejudice enters into everything
in India. It forces the. foreigners to keep a
dozen servants to do the work of the house
hold, and I am told that it is almost impossi
ble for a family to get along with less than
13 servants. I met last week an English
preacher, who had an income of $1,500 a
year, and he told me it was absolutely im
possible for him to live in India without 13
servants. Said he: "They are paid but low
wages, but there are so many of them that
the sum total is large. You have to have a
man lor everything you want done and he
will do nothfng else'than that one thing.
The man who washes the dishes will not
make up the beds, and the cook will
not attend to the washing of the dishes.
If yon keep horses you must have
a groom for every horse, and lor every
two horses you have to keep a man to cut
grass for them. The woman servant who
waits upon your wife does not consider it
her business to wait upon you, and the
servants who do the other work about the
house expect you to have a body servant
to run your.own errands. If you ask a man
to do anything out of his regular business,
he says it is contrary to his caste, and you
then know that vou have to submit There
are hundreds of castes in India. They are
based on religious differences, on trade
arrangements and on social distinctions.
There is a caste of barbers, of beggars, of
thieves and of water carriers. There are
the Brahmins, the Sudras, the cow-skinners,
the corpse-bearers and dozens of others, di
vided and subdivided until only the Hindoo
can tell you their numbers and differences."
FBANK G. CJlBFENTEB.
EXECUTlUN BI CillBOXIO ACID.
A Chemist Says It is Less Elaborate and
Barbarous Than Electrocution.
New York Letter In Boston Transcrlpt.l
In one of to-day's papers I read that in a
neighboring town application has been
vainly made to Mr. Edison and various
electric light companies to provide for the
killing of stray dogs by electricity. In
Europe it is well known that for this pur
pose carbonjc acid gas is often used. That
reminds one that clever a chemist the other
day ridiculed execution by electricity as a
crude and bungling method of quickly
and humanely depriving a human being of
life.
The really scientific way to cause death
is by carbonic acid gas. All the apparatus
needed would be to have built one air-tight
cell above another, with a connecting tube
and a stopcock between them. The gas,
which is verv cheap, should be put in the
upper chamber, and the prisoner, with a
good cigar, if you like, on a lounge, in the
lower. On turning the cock, the gas would
descend, and first slumber and then death
would ensue very quickly, and absolutely
painlessly. Compared with this the electric
appliances, with helmet and foot pieces,
and damp sponges, and chair especially con
structed, are absurdly elaborate and curi
ously barbarous. '
Shouldn't Complain.
New Yort Weekly.!
Stranger (in Chicago) I don't see how
you can sleep nights when you know that
bloody Jake is roaming around loose.
Chicago Man Jake don't do anybody
any harm now. He's been given a nice po
sition on the police force.
Why He Dicd
Detroit Free l'ress.l J
John Swift, a Connecticut man, lived to
tho Se of 83 without being sick one hour in
his whole life. He nevp had mumps,
measles, headache nor toothache, and
when he died it was morel because a tree
lell upon him than from any fault of his,
PITTSBURG, SUNDAY,. JUNE 23, 1889.
SATED BY A DEAD MAN
First, Mate Marks' Awful Experience
in the North Pacific
WITH MUTINEERS AND MAN-EATER
Seamen Kill Their Captain and Thiw Him
Overboard
JUST IK TIME TO SATE THE MATE'S LIFE
ISFICtlL TSLEGHAMTO TUB DISPATCH.
Denver, June 22. There passed through
this city to-day a man whose terrible ex
periences in the North Pacific Ocean equal
those of the famous Bobinson Crusoe, whose
adventures has been the astonishment of
American youngsters for'several decades.
This gentleman was N. C. Marks, a sea
captain, en route from Portland, Ore., to
the Atlantic coast, and the story as heard
from his own lips, is as follows:
"I was wrecked on the coast of British
Columbia during the terrible gale which
recently swept from one end to the other of
the Pacific coast, and am now on my way to
report to the owners of the ship and" cargo.
She was a whaler named the Blanche Buck
ingham, and hailed from the Pelican Inlet,
on the coast of Main. We sailed from port
nearly three years ago with a crew of 11,
beside, the captain and two mates. I was
the first mate. The captain was an old
whaler named Captain Leroy Autrey, and
he has been the friend of my lifetime. He
and my father had first shipped together
and this friendship had never been broken.
"After striking the whaling grounds we
had excellent luck, and was stowing away
considerable oil. Everything on board was
peaceable, with the exception of two men
who had hard feeling lor the captain, and
conducted themselves in such a manner as
to cause them to be thrown into irons upon
two occasions. Upon the last occasion they
seemed to have repenteirand promised better
behavior, and everyone supposed all trouble
had been amicably settled.
MUTINY AND MTBDEB.
"Some two months ago we were off the
coast of British Columbia, some 600 miles
from land, and one day when I was out
with nine of the crew in two yawls,
one of my crew noticed a signal be
ing worked from the main mast rigging. It
was evidently one of distress, and I at once
hastened toward the ship. It was a little
after midday. My mind was filled with
forebodings. for,the captain and the second
mate had remained on board with the two
men I have spoken of, and the cook. As we
ncared the ship the man in the rigging
proved to be the second mate, who warned
us not to come along side, and said the two
men had killed the captain, and that he had
only saved his own life bv springing into
the rigging armed with a harpoon, which
prevented the murderers from lollowing
him. The cook was threatened, but begged
for his life, and had been secured in the
cabin. My first thought was to board the
ship, but the mate told me the men were
crouched on deck, armed with harpoons, so
I withdrew.
"Waiting until after dark I rowed to
within a short distance of the ship, and re
moving all my clothing, I armed myself
with a meat knife, slipped into the water.
and struck out for the ship, and what hap
pened to me in the next few minutes would
fill the pages ofa lifetime."
"All the firearms on the ship were
locked in a strong iron-bound box, the only
key of which I had in my possession. I in
tended swimming to to Her, climb upon the
rudder, secure the pistols, and either cap
ture or Kin the murderers.
"I had succeeded in swimming about 100
yards from the yawls, when my heart was
almost paralyzed with horror as I became
aw.ire of the presence of a shark. I could
hear him rushing toward me, its dorsol fin
cleaving the water like a streak. The
horror of a terrible death crept over me, and
in an instant I seemed to live an age of
suspense. Quickly drawing my knife, and
as I felt the swell on the water which pre
ceeded the monster, I gathered myself for a
desperate attempt to dive, which was suc
cessfully done, and the huge form shot over
me like a flash lsr out into the depths be
yond. The ship was only a few yards dis
tant, and I realized it was a fight lor life I
was desperately wedged between two foes,
wmch 1 Knew to be equally dangerous.
SAVED BY A COBPSE.
"If I cried to the mutinous seamen
aboard, they might relnse me assistance,and
it not, would perhaps save me only to be
butchered, To escape the. shark was next
to an impossibility which I recognized as I
heard the baffled monster making the water
boil as he turned to renew the attack. I
realized it would be but an instant before
the "man-eater" would be upon me again,
and I fairly threw my body out of the
water in making such strenuous efforts to
gain the ship's rudder. I could again hear
that chilling sound like the cold cutting
of a knife through the water. I felt the
swell of the monster behind me, and every
fiber in my body was struggling to escape.
My breath was suspended and my eyes
seemed springing from their sockets" trying
to measure the ' distance to the place of
safety. All at once the near approach of
the fish filled me with the horror of failure,
ana I turned to meetlt with the knife which
I carried in my teeth, when a heavy body
shot over me into the sea, and I was nearly
drawn into the vortex.
"I heard the steel-like jaws of the mon
ster close upon and crush the unknown ob
ject as, I grasped the rudder, and, almost
senseless, yielded to relaxation. I don't
know how long I lay there, and never an
infant, pillowed against its mother's bosom,
rested more sweetly than I. It was a mo
ment of peace with all the world, and my
entire being seemed going out in a prayer
of thanksgiving for my miraculous escape.
"Hearing the sound of voices above me,
I recognized the speakers as being the two
seamen. 'The old brute will never put ns
in irons again,' I he-rd one of them say,
and I knew that the murdered captain had
saved my life; that they had thrown his
body into the jaws of the hungry shark, and
the friend of my life-time, while cold in
death, had become my savior.
A FIGHT FOB LIFE.
"Aroused to action, I climbed up the
rudder-post and finally reached the open
ing, through which I crept into the pantry.
I crept into the apartment where the
ordnance chest was kept, though the room
was inky dark. I found it, and, had opened
the lid, when I heard men at the door. I
sprang to fasten it, but it was too late, and
one of them entered with a lantern in his
hand. He uttered a curse of surprise as he
recognized me, and in the same instant I
kicked the lantern from his hand, and we
were in total darkness. Quickly drawiug
my knife, I plunged it into his body, and
with a dying yell he sank to the floor; so
deeply was the knife thrust into his body
that the handle was drawn from my grasp
as the dead mutineer dropped. The other
man was carrying an ax, with which to
chop open the arms chest, and as his com
rade went down he struck at me, the keen
edge crushing into my side. Mad with
pain, I clinched with him, and with both
my bands caught him by his long, full
beard. With the madness of a maniac I
pressed him to the floor with the determina
tion of crushing him to death. He was a
smaller man than I; but, crazed with pain,
and growing weak from the loss of blood. I
made one determined effort; I doubled him
up, and, bending my entire force upon him,
I heard the cracking of joints, a groan, a
gurgle and a yielding of the muscles. A
dizziness came over me, and I swooned.
"When I revived it was still dark, and in
a weakened condition I crawled upon the
Jbdeck.
I tried to draw myself upon the gun
wale to signal my crew to come, but could
not get above the deck. I thought of the
mate in the rigging and called him to come
down, but he did not recognize my voice,
and thought it a trick of the two seamen to
decoy him to the deck and made no reply
to my calls. After some time spent in this
manner I again swooned. Nothing more
was known to me until two days afterward,
when I came to consciousness surrounded
by a portion of my crew. Daybreak ap
peared soon after I swooned, and the mate
in the rigging recognized me lying on the
deck and notified my crew, who were wait
ing a few yards away. They came on board
and found the corpses of the dead seamen;
one with a knife piercing his heart and the
other with his neck broken.
"Soon after regaining consciousness we
put for the land, and on the way encount
ered the gale which drove us ashore. We
all escaped with our lives, but the vessel
wasdashed to pieces by the waves.-1 cannot
begin to tell you what we passed through
for two weeks tramping along the coast
toward civilization. But here I am safe,
though considerably the worse for wear,
bnt still thankful that all our lives were
preserved."
HE TAUGHT HIM TO STEAL.
The Story of n Mysterious Dos That Fright
ened the Natives of an Indian Town.
The following story of a soldier's dog
is told by a correspondent in an Indian
newspaper.
Shortly after things settled down at Lah
ore, a great excitement was created in the
bazaar and cantonments by a dog or dogs
that stole rupees and gold mohurs, from
money change rs' stalls. Soon after dark a
dog, sometimes of one color and sometimes
of another, would, without previous bark
or warning, spring on to a podder's plat
form, now in this part of the bazaar and
next in that, and grab all the gold
mohurs and rupees it could in its mouth,
and then dash away with its prize in the
darkness. The thing occurred about once a
fortnight or so for months. The natives
said the dog was many devils in one, as he
was never of the same color twice, and
could never be traced, and when they saw
it bplting through the bazaar they got out
of its way. Men with sticks were stationed
all over the bazaar.but the theft went on all,
the same, and the dog could never be hit or
caught.
The bazaar began to be abandoned, and
the podders to close their shops at dnsk.
The cantonment magistrate was at his wit's
end, and did not know how to patch or kill
the thief. He communicated his trouble to
the officer commanding the cavalry regi
ment, who agreed to send him a dozen
mounted men for an hour or two every
evening. The dog was chased more than
once, but always got away in the direction
of the barracks. At last the troopers were
ordered to use their pistols, and the poor
doggie, black, on this occasion, was bowled
over while dashing away alter one of its
raids.
On examination the black dog turned out
to be a white one belonging to a soldier in
one of the regiments. The man was ar
rested, and most of the money, to the value
of 100 rupees in gold and silver, stolen by
the dog was found in his box. He made a
clean breast of it, and explained that he
had trained the dog to commit these thefts.
He would visit the bazaar with the doe,
point to what he wanted, and then go back
to the barracks. At a suitable spot he
would halt, cover the dog with brush and
blacking, and send it back to bring what
had been pointed out at, receive the loot,
wash off the blacking, and return quietly to
barracks. The court martial admired his
smartness and intelligence, and gave him
six months for his roguery.
ENGLISHMEN AND TEAINB0IS.
A London Editor CommcutrUpon the Dls
comfort of Being Pestered.
The London Standard in commenting
upon improvements in railroad accommoda
tions says: But thongh we may, look for
ward to the general adoption of inter-communicating
carriages as one of the first
steps toward an improved system, we trust
that the arrangements which are in vogne
in America will not be adopted in their en
tirety. Few who have crossed the Atlan
tic, and explored the mysteries of the "P'ar
lor Palace Car," or the "Sleeper," however
much they may commend the accommoda
tion as a whole, fail to complain of the an
noyance caused by the constant stream of
boys and men passing through the carriages
hanking every sort of object, from Colonel
Ingersoll's works to the inevitable "candy."
Our American cousins seem to find no dis
comfort in being perpetually pestered by
itinerant venders, and are rather amused
than otherwise by the persistent intrusion
of urchins with something to sell. To
most Englishmen, however, the nuisance is
intolerable, and topurchase protection from
it they would willingly forego even the
luxury of a dining car. But there is no
reason why the advantages of the American
system should not be enjoyed without its
drawbacks.
By all means, let every properly-appointed
train have a bookstall and a buffet,
as well as dining and smoking carriages,
but let them be conducted by stationary,
not peripatetic, tradesmen. If care is taken
to prevent the introduction of this nuisance,
to travel by the, English express train of
the future, will indeed be a luxury. Not
only will there be the coffee-room and draw
ing room appointments of a good inn, but
every carriage will be lighted by electri
city, while, by one of the most remarkable
of recent discoveries of the scientific world,
the passengers will be able to dispatch tele
grams from the train while in motion. This
latest invention is, we believe, already in
use In America.
HOW TO LIVE LONG.
Some of the Conditions Essential to Lon-
, eevlty The Secret of It.
What is the secret? everybody will say.
Well, the chief feature of it appears to have,
been discovered long ago by Heine. "A
man should be very careful," said that
brilliant cynic, "in the choice of his fore
fathers." The great thing, in fact, to begin
with, is to come of a good stock to have
had a line of ancestors physically and men
tally strong. f
Then, we gather, the next step is to be born
a woman, or more strictly speaking, a fe
male. "Women," Hufeland declares, "are
more likely than men to become old." Of
the 52 centenarians referred to by Dr. Hum
phry, 36 were of what is absurdly called
"the weaker sex."
Thirdly It is well, apparently, to be
either a clergyman or a lawyer; such men
live the longest It would take too long to
inquire why; suffice it that the statement
carries conviction with it.
Fourthly It is pleasant for many of us
to know, on such good authority as Dr.
Boose's, that wealth does not necessarily
insure prolonged existence. The poor
ought to have every consolation possible,
and it should gratify them to know that, if
li.e is not so pleasant lor them as for the
rich, it is likely to be at least quite as long,
if not longer. , Moreover, ascertain propor
tion of them may be still further gratified
to learn the average street-boy will delignt
in it that cleanliness is, seemingly, by no
means essential to longevity. We read of
a feminine centenarian whd, according to
Dr. Eoose, must have becn'a singularly
dirty person." She smeared her face with
lard, and thought that if she washed she
would be sure to catch cold. But perhaps
it would not be wise to argue too rigidly
from even half a dozen cases of this sort.
On the whole, to be clean appears to be
rather a help to health.
FLIRTATION IN .f IKE
-Wjstftte:
n for Txi
HT1TM. CBnSTELE.
CHAPTER L
T is a dazzling morn
ing at Hampden
Harbor. The Mary
land sun has wooed
everybody out to the
wet sands, and some
of the privileged
favorites have taken
possession of the very
unwarlike parapet of
Port Gates. The sea
breeze flutters the
awning, a few lazy
gulls are sailing,
very white, over the
deep blue of the tran
quil bay. With the
sparkle of the seas in
your eyes and the soft sephyrous touch of
the air on your cheek, you would scarcely
believe it was December. But these Mary
land days are common in midwinter, and
this old resort, half military post, and half
watering place, has long been noted for
them.
At this particular time it was strangely
and exceptionally lethargic. Nearly every
other resort of human beings in the land
was agitated by excitement or held in the
painful suspense of expectation, for the
country was on the eve of civil war. But
Hampden, quaint old Hampden, with its
Government school of disarmed cadets, its
detail of loafing officers, and its one hotel,
half full of Southerners, who had been
coming there for generations, was not in a
condition to be excited. On its military
side it had 40 dismounted columbiads on
the sand and one. brass field-piece for salut
ing. Secretary Floyd had removed almost
everything but the columbiads, and there
was an uneasy feeling amoug the Northern
officers that an order might come at any
moment to take these gnns to Georgia. On
its social side the visitors were nearly all
Secessionists, and its residents nearly all
Northern officers, and to preserve anything
like the appearance of amenity it was
necessary to avoid all reference (to the exist
ing state of affairs.
The broad old-fashioned esplanade and
parapet are still the most delightful places
in Hampden when the weather is pleasant,
and at this time they were taken possession
of by the pleasure seekers, who spent most
of their time in chaffing each other and in
watching the seagulls. The flag staff was
bare of any bunting, and the casemates were
guiltless of guns. Camp stools were scattered
about on the parapet under the awning,
and Cadet Kandolf Flutterlip, whose aunt
was reading a novel, amused himself by
dangling a piece of the old halyards over
the battlement to a casemate below, where
another cadet was trying to catch it Lean
ing against the flag staff, musingly looking
out to sea, stood Lieutenant Anson Harold,
probably thinking of his home in northern
New York, and the jolly, sharp Christmas
times tnat were just going by, up ti.ere.
For he took no notice of the two or three
women who were strolling about, nor of
Annt Flutterlip, who was emersed in her
novel, with her yellow parasol on one side
of her head, entirely ignorant of the deli
clously bilious complexion that it gave her.
Suddenly the sound of voices in concord
came floating up to the parapet, boys'
voices, -and they curiously took on some
thing of the brightness of the sunshine.
"What's that ?" said the maiden lady,
suddenly and somewhat sharply, as she
brought her parasol up to a carry arms.
Nobody answered.
"What's that?" she repeated, taking
vocal aim at the Lieutenant.
"That," said he, without turning his
head, "is the crew of the absent schoolship,
crowing. When they are not drilling they
are trilling."
"Crow," repeated Miss Flutterlip, with
some maiden astonishment; "crow ?"
"No," remarked the 'Lieutenant; "I said
crew, past tense."
"Crewing," persisted Miss Flutterlip,
with deliberate obtuseness; "absurd."
"No, hang it, crowing. These cadets
haven't got any arms, so they drill their
voices. It's a song of welcome they're re
hearsing for the new commandant of the
post"
The petulant manner in which this infor
mation was given betrayed not so much the
speaker's opinion of Miss Flutterlip as his
general annoyance at the situation. The
idea of saluting the new Commandant with
a song instead of a salvo, struck him as
being too humiliating to be talked of pleas
antly. Miss Flutterlip relapsed into her novel
and Lieutenant Harold folded his arms and
resumed his study of the sea gulls, until his
friend, Charley Oakland, came up the steps
puffingly, and laid his hand on his shoulder.
"I say, old fellow, do they teach the cadets
musir7"
''Yes, it's to give the place tone."
"O come now," broke in Flutterlip im
mediately, "if they wanted to do thattney'd
teaeh the officers silence."
"Events are doing that," said the Lieu
tenant sotto voce, "aloyal man don't dare
to open his mouth here."
"What's the matter with you," asked
Oakland, "you look as blue as a fresh
bass."
"Come over here out of reach ot that
woman's ears."
The two men walked to the end ot the
parapet "It's enough to make a man go
into thedrygoods business," said the officer.
"Look here, Oakland, you don't take much
stock in the country, I know, as an English
man, but you must take some interest in
the game that's going on here, merely as a
human being."
"Yes," said Oakland, "it amuses me."
"You knew Lieutenant Franklin Breeze;
you met him at Cowes?"
"Yes," replied Oakland, rather languid
ly, "a first-class brisk."
"Well, it's his father that had been or
dered to this post; do you know what for?"
"Don't ask me any riddles about your
country. I'm blessed if I don't get myself
in a muddle the moment I try to compre
hend the state of affairs."
"Commodore Breeze," said the Lieuten
ant, "is one ox tfifc oldest and most dlstin
gushed, officers in the navy, and he's loyal J,
fir
On the Esplanade.
Dispatch by
to his country and to the Government in and
out That man Floyd hates him and has
assigned him to this post to ruin him."
"On general principles," remarked Oak
land, "it is an outrage; on specific lines
it's lacking in lucidity."
"The Secretary of "War," continued the
Lieutenant, "is removing all the war mate
rial South, the country does not know it,
but there are a few of us officers who see
the work going on. When the Commodore
gets here these guns will be ordered South;
by that time the country will be in a wild
state of excitement, and will hold the Com
modore responsible for the theft, for that is
what it will be. He will be powerless to
prevent it, but he will get the lull benefit of
public indignation. Why, there isn't a
band grenade in the fort, and there are not
muskets enough to arm a squad of ma
rines." "And if there were," said Oakland, mus
ingly, "you couldn't use them against the
Secretary of War."
"He's got his agents here, watching us
all," continued the officer,without deigning
any reply to his friend's suggested dilemma.
"That woman Preston"
"Ob, don't lug her into the political
wbirlpool," said Oakland. "She's an
honor to a watering place, and her wit
would have done credit to a De Stael."
"I do not question her wit," said Harold,
"and I do not deny her beauty; what I par
ticularly object to'at this time is her influ
ence with the Secretary; between us, she is
the commandant here."
Tbe two men sauntered along toward
Flutterlip as they spoke, Oakland merely
remarking with his superb nil admirari
manner, "Well, old fellow, as a neutral
party, I wish one side or the other would
take control; it's awfully rough on us so
ciety men not to know in the morning what
will take place before night If it weren't
for the charming women,here I'd pack up
and get outside of the States."
"Women," exclaimed Flutterlip, "I like
that; as if there was more than one woman
here for any of you." ,
"By George, madam," said Oakland,
"you do yourself injustice; when we are
tired of the raillery oi one woman, we re
store ourselves with the envy of another."
"That Preston turns your collective
heads. I hope the new commandant is fire
proof." Just at this moment Master Bandolf, who
was half way over the coping, exclaimed, -"There
goes the Commodore's pennant"
"Then," said Harold, "he is coming here.
I did not know he had arrived."
The two men bowed, and were about to
leave the parapet, when there appeared at
THE COMMANDANT'S
the top of the stone steps three new comers"
The first was a tall and handsome brunette,
elegantly dressed, certainly not over 25, and
wearing the unmistakable air of a favorite.
She was followed by Colonel Tecumseh
King, familiarly known to the old guests at
the lort as the Fire King, mainly on ac
count, no doubt, of the pyrotechnical quali
ty of his elocution; and by a dandy darkey,
who kept in Miss Preston's train and
answered to the name of Flick.
The moment Colonel King stepped upon
the parapet he took a full breath, and, turn
ing round, remarked, in a fine oratorical
manner: "This is the airiest place on the
station; everybody comes here who loves the
sea."
To which Miss Preston, without a
moment's hesitation, and with delightful
flippancy replied: "So I should think, by
the number of sailors I find here; they prefer
it to the sea itself."
At this sort of work Oakland was evident
ly not to be outdone, so he bowed and said:
"To those who know both I assure you the
sea is the least dangerous."
Whereupon the Preston, putting a pair of
glasses to her handsome black eyes, and
looking straight at the Flutterlip, remarked:
"Why, there doesn't appear to be anything
very dangerous here."
"Dangerous 1" cried the explosive Colo
nel, as he waved his arm. "Dangerous,
bah, why even the dogs of war take tneir
teeth out when they come here."
"Some of the dogs are so old they drop
out before they get here," replied Miss Pres
ton with a laugh.
Lieutenant Harold turned away, "Infa
mous 1" he said between his teeth, and just
then a gun was heard.
"What's that?" asked the Preston with
unconcern, as she dropped into a camp chair
and gave her skirts a swish.
"That's the new commandant putting his
teeth in, I suppose," replied Harold.
"Who's he going to bite, I wonder?"
"Bite!" cried the ebullient Colonel,
"bite, nonsense, he's barking, barking up
the wrong tree. In the name of General
Jackson and John C. Calhoun, bite what?"
As he was lookinz at Lieutenant Harold
with a glittering eve that bulged with inter
rogations, that officer felt called upon to re
mark that he had said nothing about biting
"I should think not, I should hope not,"
continued the Colonel. "Biting means co
ercion, and coercion means nothing more
or less than an exploded aunKer-MUi-nn-derground
-railroad -New-England-witch-burning
piece of infatuation, sir, by gad."
A general laugh interrupted this perora
tion. When the hilarity .subsided he fin
ished tbe oration: "A Southern man, sir, is
never coerced by anything" and then see
ing Flutterlip looking at him with amaze
ment, he added "but beauty," and then
took a camp stool beside her.
It was just like Oakland to say without
any definite purpose: "But my dear
Colonel, the new Commandant is celebrated
for being a patriot," a nd the Preston, lol
ling back in her chair and lifting her
glasses slowly looked at Oakland and ad
dressing the Colonel: "Why so he is.
What is patriotism Colonel?"
"Patriotism' said the Colonel promptly,
"why, patriotism, if we've got to take tne
definition ofa crewofpsalm-singing, doughnut-eating,
tract-distributing, abolition fa
natics, is making other people think as you
do at the point ot the bayonet."
Tbe glasses turned slowly around in the
direction of Harold, "That isn't your defi
nition,. Lieutenant, is it?"
"No, not exactly. Patriotism, as I was
taught, is nothing more than keeping your
oath and doing your duty. It's a very com
mon virtue."
"And only paraded by very common
people?" with just the slightest shade of in
terrogation. "Pernaps so, for tne common people have
the most at stake in the matter,'
"It seems to me," said Oakland, "tha
patriotism in this country is a good deal
like costume and depends for its texture and
color upon what part of the country you
happen to be in."
"He means by that," said Flutterlip,
"that the farther South you get the thinner
it grows."
"No," rejoined the Preston, "he means
that it's like all the other masculine vir
tues, you put it on and take it off at
pleasure; I've seen a man wear three suits
of devotion in one day, because he met
three women."
"O. ho," cried Oakland, "then I'll bo
bound you were not one of the wqmen."
"But you dare not swear," she rejoined,
"that you were not the man."
"Yes, that's just what I shall swear al
ways, when you are present; my constancy
is like the needle to the pole."
"More like the pole than the needle, I
think; lor nobody's been able to discover it
If ever I find a man who loves me for a
week, I'll agree to love all men for the rest
of theirlives."
In the burst of merriment that followed
this sally, the Colonel's peroration waa
heard above all:
"By gad, sir, there spoke the unbounded
enthusiasm of the sunny South. There's no
schoolmarm, skinflint spirit in that By
gad, sir, the woman who has the whole sex
pISr
Three Cheers for the Lieutenant.
at her feet, is indignant because her foot is
too small to plant it on all their necks."
As the laughter subsided there was heard
distinctly the roll of drums, and Master
Cadet Flutterlip, who had taken no interest
in the conversation, suddenly shooted:
"There comes the commandant"
There was a general stir immediately.
Miss Flutterlip got up with dignity; every
body felt the importance of the occasion but
the Preston.
"Don't run, my dear," she said to Flut
terlip," he shan't hurt you."
Before Flutterlip could throw back the
repartee that rose to her lips a file of marines
came upon the parapet, and as they fell on
either side of the entrance way, Commodore
Franklin Breeze entered. He wore his un
dress uniform, and his appearance was at
once dignified, commanding and venerable.
His bronzed face, his' white hair and flash-
GALLANT DEFENSE.
ing eyes betokened the veteran and his
manner indicated the man accustomed to
authority. He cast a glance at the bars
pole, acknowledged the salutes of the
officer, and then his eye fell upon Miss
Preston.
"Ah," he"said, "I cannot be mistaken;
this is an unexpected pleasure. Miss Pres
ton, I am delighted; ii.is some years since
I met any of the Prestons of South Caro
lina." "Years sometimes separate friends like
differences of opinion," replied Miss Pres
ton. "Neither ever separate true friends. I
had the honor of knowing your father inti
mately; he was a soldier ot the Republic."
"He was a soldier of South Carolina,"
said Miss Preston.
"Which by the bond is part of the Re
public and by the grace of God will remain
so. I assure you, Miss Preston, that a
State that produces such women will never
be permitted to belong to anything else,"
and the Commodore bowed in the courtly
old-school style.
There was a not very comfortable feeling
in the group that the" Commodore was get
ting the best ot the fusillade, and that the
Preston would say something that would
irritate his fiery spirit. With some vague
idea of relieving the situation of this strain
of badinage with a practical word, Harold
asked with all the official seriousness that ,
he could command:
"Are there any additional orders, sir,
about your quarters or accommodations?"
Tbe Commandant turned from the ladies
and moved a step or two away.
"Why is the flag not on that staff?" he
asked.
"I believe, sir," replied the Lieutenant,
"its absence is a concession to popular
opinion."
"See that it is hoisted at once," said tho
veteran, "One moment," he added, as his
officer was about to obey, "Lieutenant
Breeze wilt b here this morning; I have
wired him. See that he reports to me im
mediately." Lieutenant Harold saluted his superior
officer with all the solemn formality that he
could summon for tbe occasion. He had
some kind of a consciousness that it was
necessary to show the group what was due
the veteran. But he said to himself as he
turned, "Frank coming here this morning,
what does that mean?"
The moment the Commodore was released
the Preston set her skirmish line again.
"We shall have to throw out pickets on
this parapet, Commodore," she said, "my
headquarters are on this side."
The old warrior touched his hat, "I trust,
ladies," he said, "that we shall have no
other battles than those in which you are
always victorious."
"But this is a watering place, remember,
I only wanted to warn you that if you were
attacked you could call on me."
"Madam," replied the indomitable
warrior, "you are an enemy that can best bo
fought by keeping out of your sight"
"I am not so sure of it, Commodore. If
your tactics are as clever as your compli
ments, you deserve a better battle field than
a watering place."
"All fields are alike when it is a question ,
only of duty to an officer."
"We were just discussing that when you
arrived, and we couldn't decide whether an
officer's duty was born with him like his
bones or laid' on like his pipe clay."
The Commodore had turned to go: he
paused, his scarred face showed a flush of
indignation through all its honorable
veneer; but he only said with admirable '
self-command:
"Yes, I btlieve it is a watering place no
tion that an officer's allegiance to his coun
try is shaped to the folly of every school
district to which he may happen to be sta
tioned."
There was another courtly bow, a word of ,
n
1
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WmSSBSmsSa