MfffrgW WWf: - TP-& 'Vr THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH f.l SECOND PART, JM1--1- . v i I J PAGES 9 TO 16. J SOME ARTISTIC GEMS. A Grand Collection of Taintings, the Masterpieces of the GREATEST OP FBEKCH ARTISTS. The Dethroned Copper King's Famous Gallery to be Dismantled. SOME HCTEEES WITH HISTORIES COBBESrONTJEXCE OF THE PISPATCH.3 A B. I S. June 5. The sale of the celebrated collec tion of paintings by modern and old masters, and of water colors and drawings formed by M. Secretan, e x President of the copper syndicate, begins here in Paris, the first of next month. Not since the dispersal of the celebrated San Don ate gallery has there been teen in Paris such a dispersion of valuable pictures as will be witnessed at this auction. That memorable event occurred in 1863, in the gallery where aow stands the Theater 'Nouveautes, in the Boulevard desltaliens, and the total proceeds amounted to as much as 5900,000. Such a thing had never been seen belore, and it was thought that the like would not happen again at lest in this century. Indeed, no one then would have dared assert that in less than SO years another sale would take place which would yield at least twice that amount of money. 'Xhe celebrated art critic, M. Albert "Wolff, tells a good story on himself apropos of the San Donato sale. In DemidofFs collec tion was a little water color, not much larger than a man's hand, representing Rouen in the twilight. "Wolff had about 300 francs saved up, he took it all out of the bank, attended the sale recularly, and finally the water color was brought for ward. "Two thousand francs," sang out my con- y .ytyM - .w.v- The Kist, by Meitsonier. frere, and, being much younger than he is now, he thought he was producing quite an effect, and he had, too, for everybody turned round to look at him. "The reserve price of this water color by Bonnington," said the auctioneer, with a pitving smile on poor Wolff, "is 25,000 francs," and it sold for 7,000 above those figures. THE SECEETA2T COLLECTION Is one that will be talked of long after it has ceased to exist, and though the auctioneer may knock down canvasses one after an other, he cannot so easily dispel the remem brance of the gallery which Secretan formed In the Eue Moncev. It is a splendid man sion, that in which tie ex-President of the Copper syndicate lives, and there in the heart of Paris, surrounded by a large park, he gentleman who from nothing grew to be a millionaire 20 times over, sat and contem plated the works of the greatest masters in his leisure moments. He was only a few years, as time goes, making his collection, and it is held to be worth as much as 10.000,000 or 12,000,000 in round numbers. Everyone has heard of it, and yet very few know what pictures he really owned. The best modern and several ancient masters are well represented. I should have to mention Eobbema, Peter de Hooghe, Franz Hals, Rusdael, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Metzu, Velasquez, Holbein, Gerard Dow, Ostade, Van de Meer de Delft and Teniers, if I told you ol the ancient masters, and all of them, are worth more than the mere printing of their names. The art of the Netherlands shines in this collec tion in all its majesty; and, though that time has forever vanished when a Dutch Admiral boasted he wonld sail up the river Thames with a broom lastened to the top mast of his vessel, the unperishable elory of the nation is recoguized in the genius of ve master painters, some of whom I have just recorded. The "Interior Holiandaise" of Peter de Hooghe attracts and fascinates with its radiancy. The "Man "With the Cane," by Franz Hals is that of a person well satisfied with himself, and is in the master's highest expression. None of De Keyser's works elsewhere are superior to his portraits in this collection. The "Man in Armour," by Eembrandt is simply marvelous, and this with the "Horses ot Stad-holder," by Paul Potter, the "Inter rupted Game," by Ostade, and "The Five Senses," by David Teniers, all once formed a part of the celebrated San Donato gallery, and were consecrated works of art long be fore they entered into the mansion of the Rue Moncey. FAMOUS OLD MASTERS. Indeed, grand art of the ancient school is well revealed in Secretan's collection, and those who love the old masters will be able at this coming sale to possess themselves of important works, if they feel like paying for them. Nor can less be said ol the French painters of this century and those artists whom Amerieans most admire are represented admirably. There is a Jules Dupre canvas to be sold which possesses such great power that eminent critics de clare it renders him the equal of the great est landscape painters of all times. And there are Corots, Milletts, works by Rous seau, Diar, Delacroix, Troyon and De champs. "When Corot was less known and less liked than now he grieved some, be cause our people beyond the ocean did not appreciate his works, but once when Albert "Wolff was growling because the Americans were buying everything the illustrious painter said: "Don't take umbrage at the leaving of so many beautiful objects lor America even if tuey are painiea ny oiuer amsis. a is made to be seen and spread about, and do you count for nothing the honor foreigners do us in appropriating our works? Let them go on, and don't be alarmed by so little. There will always remain glory enough in France, and it will never be forgotten." In this collection is the famous "Starting for the Race at Rome," by Gerricault, and there is a masterly-canvas, "Xhe Coalman's Jp- .& IftC 4B5BSfB0V'!VU tp ..... n - . , Hut" by Rousseau; also, another of his most beautiful works, "The Farm in the Wood." Modern masters have great ad miration tor Rousseau, and Piaz and Corot used to speak of him with much veneration. In the ensemble that Secretan had bo care fully collected is a matchless masterpiece which expresses the religious idea by the silent prayer ot two humble beings in the midst of grand and beautitil poetry of nature wrapped in the mystery of twilfght, over which there will undoubtedly be a mighty strnggle for its final possession. This work is called the "Angelus," and Millet painted it. "When ever one sees this canvasone renders homage to the memory of a man little known when alive, and who is no.w recognized as greatest among ereat artists. America was the first to do justice to Millet's genius, and it was 1 1 --sr THE SLINGEB, Mr. William Hunt, his pupil, who first drew the attention ol Mr. Qaincy Shaw, of Boston, to an art which France was then disdaining. A MUCH-SOUGHT PAESTI1TG. Perhaps two-thirds of all the works that Millet ever painted are in the United States, and I believe there are more than 30 pict ures by this grand artist inMr. Shaw's gal lery. But no American ever .succeeded in securing the "Angelus," although one gen tleman ouce offered 5100,000 for it. "If he can afford to give that much for Millet's masterpiece, I can afford lso to keep it," said Secretan, little dreaming that in so short a time it and all his other treasures would he sold under the auctioneer's hammer. Daubigny's broad style, powerful coloring and insight into nature are well revealed in the painting "The Return of the Flock;" Decamps has several works, and his "Ex pert Monkeys" and "The Bull Dog and Scotch Terriers" are both marvels. Troyon always imparts brilliancy to art galleries, and his animals and landscapes are repre sented in some of their best qualities. The graceful, classic work of Ingres is finely shown by his "GEdipus and the Sphynx," and the "Marriage in the Church at Delft" is one of Isabey's best canvasses. Fortuny, the illustrious Spaniard, has works here of that sort that give joy always. And then we have some SO pictures by Mes sonier. the most important of which was bousht for 500,000. There is no need of mv ) saying anvthing about this great man's art, an art which does not derive'its only value from drawing and painting for the psyco logical study of his figures also f leases us. The "Cuirassiers" (1805) appeared for the first time at the Universal Exposition of 1878, and in the regiment drawn up in long file the amateur knows not which to admire most, the variety in the movement of the horses or the different attitudes of the sol diers. OTHER EEMAEKABLE TVOBKS. I find, in looking back over what I have just written, that I forgot to mention Cour bet, Fromentin and Thomas Couture. The "Roe-cover" is said to be Conrbet's princi pal work, and in it the marvelous talent of the colorist shines forth splendidly. More than a quarter of a century ago this paint ing appeared at the Salon, and even his most inveterate detractors were compelled to admire it. Fromentin's "Hawking" is justly celebrated, and so, too, is his "China Pass," both of them being much liked by connoiseurs. The "Ballad Singer" by Couture, an excellent painting, must complete my hurried sketch of this collection. The catalogue that has been got out is a worthy representative of such a remarkable collection. Each canvas has been repro duced in it by photogravure, and I wish it were possible to give them a more extended notice. I cannot even relate the many pleasant anecdotes which have been told of this, that, and the other work, and some of which have passed through so many hands. Perhaps I should say that some of the pic tures are on exhibition at the World's Show over in the Champs de Mars, and will only be delivered to the buyer after it is over. One of Fortuny's pieces once adorned the ceiling of a house in the Champs Elysees, where lived the Qneen of Spain; and "The Biblis" is the last canvas that Corot ever painted. Actatenrs, that is to say, persons who un derstand art, and will most likely be bid ders at this sale, are of opinion that the pic tures are going to letch top prtces. "It all depends on the Americans," so they say. "if your compatriots make their usual strug gle to get possession there is going to be some high bidding, as there are rich con noisseurs now in Paris who don't intend that these masterpieces shall leave Europe if they can help it." Henby Hayitie. Knew When He Had Enough. Fllegende lilatter.l "You are looking for novels or for poems perhaps Goethe or Sbiller? " asked the book store clerk. "Oh, no poems. My son writes them every day at home." . A Dc-rlilon of Labor. Uoston Herald. 1 "Tife I wish you would push "this baby carriage a little way. Husband Well, I will, if you carry the babv. A Balcony Scene. -az.N, She No, Billy, I can't come down to night I ain't been good, an' I ain't goin' to get any supper, an' I'm got to get licked an' go to bed! Zie, Cj? ,5s. TOMBS OF THE CZAR& A Description of the Place Where All the Sovereign", or Russia 1.1c. Harpers' Magazine. 1 The Cathedral of St Peter and St. Paul in the Fortress is remarkable for the ele gance and height of its gilt spire, which was designed by Balles, a Dutch architect, in the middle of the last century. In this church, beneath the floor, are buried all the sovereigns of Russia since the foundation of St. Petersburg, with the exception of Peter IL, who died and was interred at Moscow. The side aisles are entirely taken up with white marble tombs, making the sites of the graves, each adorned with a gold cross.gold BT A. DECAMPS. corners, and splendid funeral accessories, and imbedded in palm trees, growing plants, and flowers that bloom sadly in the iaint white light of innumerable burning tapers and lamps. The walls and pillars of this church are covered with military trophies, standards, flags, keys of lortresses, shields, and battle axes captured 'from vanquisher-foes, while the sanctuary is sumptuously adorned with pictures and icons set in gilded architectu ral framework gorgeously decorated in ro coco style. The tombs are guarded by subal tern officers belonging to the- garrison of the Fortress, and are constantly visited, espe cially the tombs of Alexander IL, by the faithful. We saw men, women, and chil dren of all classes, mujiks, common sol diers, and dashing generals, thread their way between the palm trees to the martyred Emperor's tomb, kiss the cross on the marble slab, fall on their knees, and offer a prayer. WHEN THE DEAF CAN HEAE. It Seems Thry Understand Conversation' While Riding on the Cars. "Why is it that deaf persons who cannot hear ordinary conversation anywhere else can hear the most casual and low-toned re marks when they are riding in railroad cars? It is said to be a fact that the deaf person can converse easily while riding in a herdicovera rough pavement A lawyer relates that he was riding down Seneca street the other evening when a deaf client with whom it is an agony to talk got aboard and sat down beside him, wearing a very friendly air. "I'm in for it nowt" groaned the limb of the law in a stage-aside. "I wish to heaven this fellow wouldn't in sist upon making my life miserable." "Never fear, I won't bother you any more," exclaimed the deaf man. The attorney says that the next day his client closed up his business and now em ploys another firm. Can a deaf man hear better on a rattling vehicle, or does the speaker raise his voice involuntarily. A Cynical Epitaph. From the Boston Transcript.! The significant epitaphs do not all belong to the past age. Here is one from a grave stone not yet very old, in a cemetery in the town of Randolph, which has a whole vol ume in a few words: JONA. MANN, BOKN Dec. 7. 1786, DIED APBIL 23. 1873. HIS TKUTIIFTJLNF.SS NO "ONE DOOBTED. HE WAS VEEY POOR, CONSEQUENTLY NOT KESPECTED. An Enir Way to Slake Money. N orris town Herald. A Chicago "Professor" advertises that he "will take the most bashful man in the world and give him nerve to get up and speat before an audience of 2,000 people" The' professor would accumulate, more wealth if he -would take the most "nervy" man in the world and give him the power to draw an audience of 2,000 people to speak f before. PITTSBURG, STESfDAT, TONE 23, 1889. 'A TUREEN FAT0RITE. " - " ' " "The Life and Death of the One Rep tile Thai is Popular. CATCHING THE SNAPPING TURTLE A Profitable Summer Occupation for Camp ing Out Parties. THE PB0PEE MODE 40F PEOCEDDEE rwwTTsitroB tot dispatch. FEW persons in the cities who are In the habit of partaking in season of that delicacy placarded in the res taurants as turtle soup are acquainted with the habits of this won derful reptile, or the mthods by which they -are captured and put 'on the market, form ins in the hot months agreeable occupation and also recreation for hundreds of iron and gljss workers, who being idle this time of the year, pitch their tents on the bank ot some picturesque stream or small lake and let the long sum mer day3 glide quickly into the past. There are quite a number of methods of capturing the snapping turtle. , The most simple and success I ul way is to secure a number of stout lines, about 15 or 20 feet in length, tie to the end of your line a chunk of raw meat about the size of a butternut, throw the bait out the full length of your line, fasten the other end to a stake, which should be securely driven in the ground. The lines may be set from 25 to 50 yards apart, or closer if fishing in a mill dam or small pond, where tbey abound in great numbers. Sometimes a small stick is tied on with the meat. The snapper takes hold of the bait and deliberately bolts it stick and all. Then you have htm. Xou make a tour of your lines every two or three hours, or oftener if they are biting rapidly, and by gently pulling on the line-you will soon find whether tfiere is anvthing at the other end or not. If your line feels heavy, and a gentle tugging, you will slowly tow your catch toward shore, where he will come just like a piece of driftwood. You will be. careful not to pull him to the 2Sgm 3 ONE OS" rOBIUlTY'S JIASTEEPIEOE3. surface of the water, as he might disgorge the bait and escape. When you have brought him quite close to the shore reach your hand down under the water, catch him by the tail and draw him up on the bank, being careful to keep out of range of his powerful jaws. OBJECTIONS TO HOOKS. This method of fishing for turtfe without hooks is far superior to the night line with staging and hooks, as you are relieved of the disagreeable duty of taking the hook out of his mouth, as about the only way to remove the hook is to cut the head off and split it open with a hatchet That is sup posing he is booked in the mouth. If he has swallowed the hook nothing but a com- Elete autopsy will recover it. With the no ook method your bait can be used again, thereby saving a vast amount of time and labor. Country people as a rule do not appre ciate the succulent qualities of the snapper, and when turtle soup is suggested they shrug their shoulders with an "Ugh! the nasty things; I don't see how you can eat A iS-Pound Snapper. them." For this reason they rarely ever ob ject to fishing for them in their private duck ponds, where they are in fact regarded as a great nuisance, being very mischievous among the young ducks' and goslings, which they will snap by the leg and pulling them nndertbe water" paddle to the bottom and feast at their leisure, chuckling at the stupidity of the old goose who no doubt sails along, her neck arched with pride, thinking how much better her goslings can dive than some of her neighbors. A farmer ouce told me that he observed a commotion and heard a great quack ing among his ducks one day and upon investigating found a large drake struggling frantically to rise out of the water, but was fast being pulled under when the man plunged in and dragged the duck ashore, the snapper still holding on With a death grip, and even then refused to let go until beaten off with a club. Con trasted with tbe country people's aversion lo the turtle, we have the great love of them as an article of diet by city people and especially those who make a business of camping'out every summer. I have visited camps when they were so eager to secure turtle that they would buyj chickens from the farmers to bait the lines with, a piece of idiocy the denizens of the rural districts never will be able to under stand. One of the most characteristic qualities about turtle sonp is that you do not tire of it as yon will of fish and other fame. The soft shell turtle is not fished for now, although they were formerly much sought after, but the snapper or hard shell are now considered far superior in flavor. The turtle, like other hihernating reptiles, crawls down in the mud. and sleeps through the winter, awakening with the croaking of the frogs in the spring. Their eggs are round and covered with a hard shell and are laid in a hole which they 'dig in the sand hatchingxut in about six weeks. Their growth is very slow. They are be coming scarce in some localities, and if no law is passed for their protection they will soon become so rare as to no longer be a source of aheap food. A restaurateur told me he had a great many in' his cellar last fall, and some of them secreted themselves be hind boxes and barrels, and were not missed, bat were found this spring in as good con dition as when put in in the fall, they hav ing slept the winter through just as serene ly as though at the bottom of a mill dam. Snapper fishing cannot be dignified as sport, as the pot is always the end in view. There is an absence of the electrifying thrill with which game fish are captured. The turtle is slow, sluggish, pulls in like a dull weight. There is no darting this way and that, now curving the spine and holding vith his broad side backing water, and fighting like a tartar, as does the black bass. Snappers are pugnacious fighters.and this bull dog quality is made the most of by some camping parties, or rather those mem- Capturing a Drake. bers who care to indulge in such cruel amusement. nr THE MARKET. The first snappers brought to market are worth from 8 to 10 cents per pound, but in July and August great numbers are caught and they drop to 5 cents, always being sold alive, the weight being from 8 to 28 pounds. Good wages can be made in their capture, as camping parties near the mill dams on the edge of Lawrence and Butler counties, have brought to market as much as 1,200 pounds in one week. Some kinds of tortoise are herbiverous, but the snappers' food consists of small fish, crabs and frogs. ' Festndinata is the name adopted by Agassiz, embracing the reptiles known as tortoises and turtles. They are the highest of their class, approaching the lower or aquatic birds In form, mode of existence and in some points of structure. The head has wonderful mobility on the neck, which is fnrnished with powerful muscles, by the contraction ot which they can withdraw the head under the shell out of sight, or thrust it out with great rapidity and to a surpris ing distance. The upper jaw always shuts over the lower and both are covered with a horny sheath. The jaws are powerful, and once" having closed them upon a stick a strong man can with difficulty pull it from them, and even when decapitated they will snap at a stick and hold so tight that you can scarcely shake it off. Their vitality is something amazing. They can exist a long time without food, and ac cording to Itede's experiment live for 23 days after decapitation. Agassiz divides them into four families: Thallasites, or ma rine turtles, which grow to enormous size; Fotamites, or river tortoise; Elodites, or marsh tortoise; Chelydroida;, or snapping turtle. LONG LIVES. Turtles live over a century and in geologic lore reach far into antiquity. They first appeared, according to Agassiz, in the oolitic period, when neither genuine birds nor mammals were in existence. The so called tortoise footprints found in tbe new red sandstone and devonian strata are thought by some to have been made by crustaceans. Impressions of their shields first occur in the jura limestone. The largest remains of a turtle ever found was that of a marine which -measured 20 feet across the shell. F. E. Malone, a geologist of note, while on a geological trip through the West in 1885, wrote me a letter in which be gave an account of some wonderful fossils discovered by him in the bottom of what was supposed to have once been a vast sea. He said: "One impressive scene-which shall not soon be forgotten was the bad lands of Dakota. You eater between lofty towers of clay; the ground at your feet is parched and dry. The wind bowls mournfully as if chanting a requiem lor the forgotten dead whose bones protrude from the walls everywhere. You turn your eyes upward and from the base to the apex of every spire you see skulls and ribs and vertebrae of extinct animals and replies. "rhora vnn twhywiva Mia oVnll nf 41i I 0 AMWW JVW JMUM I W IMV flAU. V. I1W I three-horned tertiary elephant: near it are extinct species of the horse and camel; you turn your eyes toward the ground and move on. You tumble over the shell of a turtle that, would weigh a ton. xou ex amine it. "Then you perceive the immense orifice through which its head once pro truded. You can trace the divisions of the cirrf "(in Turtle Soup. bony plates that formed its shield. A little further on you find the passages blocked up with these fossil turtles. You slip, and slide, and climb over them, and when at last yon behold the ponderous petrified jaws of these monsters you thank nature that they have been dead for several hun dred thousand years." J. "W. A. THE STORAGE OF STEAM. A New War of Utilizing it for Running Street Cars. ) Boston Poit.1 A new method of storing steam to be util ized and controlled for motive power of- any description is especially adapted for pro pelling street cars, either surface or ele vated. It is asserted that good speed can be attained without the usual noise, smoke, cinders and escape ot steam. Very little fire is required, as the exhausted steam is saved and condensed in the boiler, using the same water continually. Any danger of explosion is averted by the boiler not be coming heated by water passing through tubes as by the ordinary method. The steam reservoir is capable of resisting a pressure of 1,000 ponnds to the inch, but will hardly ever carry more than 200 to 300 pounds of steam. From this new and simple process are de rived the following valuable features of the new motor: Absolute safety, great economy in running expenses, and such simplicity ot construction and handling that it can be run by any man of common ordinary sense. Its safety is due not to tSe skill of the driver but to the principle on which it is built. The weight is so evenly distributed on four wheels that it can run on an ordinary street car track. It is at all times under the full control of the driver, and the car can be stopped in a space within its own length. Detentions br blockades or other causes do CHIPPA PASS, BY not occasion any loss of power. The motor has sufficient power to easily pull one or more cars, and mount heavy .grades. It can run backward as easily as forward. A speed of 15 miles per hour can be attained, and the rate of locomotion is entirely under the control of the driver, FACTS AB0DT BABIES. Akin to' the Lower Animals When the First Conselonsoess Appears. Boston Herald.l In the course of ,a lecture delivered in New York the other day a distinguished female physician said that the inability of a baby to hold up its head was not due to the weakness of the neck, but to the lack of development of its willpower. The act of standing was instinctive and iniative, while facial expression and gesture were due almost wholly to imitation. . A baby's smile, she said, was the most misunderstood thing in infancr. A real smile must have an idea behind it, which is so often seen on aTery young baby's face, was without an idea and was" due to the easy condition of the stomach or to some other physical satisfaction. The smile with an idea does not appear earlier than the fourth week. So, too, with the crying of a baby. The contortion of the features is due to physical causes. A baby sheds no tears, because the lacorymal glands are not de veloped for several weeks after birth. The chief pleasure of all children is to change from one condition to another by their own efforts. This is the beginning of the devel opment of the will power, and is often at tested in what has been called the "impera tive intention of tears." This is not dis closed until after the second or third month. A baby tests everything by its mouth, its sense of taste being the surest and most re liable guide it has. The attention of all young children is difficult to attract and they must attain considerable age before they begin to notice. Then colors and sounds are most potential. Fear has been known to be manifested by a baby only three weeks old, and, in all cases, the sensa'tiou is produced by sound more than by sight Children of luxurious and carefully guarded home3are almost wholly without fear, but the children of poor and exposed parents always manifest it. Jealousy and sympa thy begin to manifest themselves in the second year. Guriosity also begins to de velop here and proves to be a self-feeder throughout childhood. A little later the ego begins to appear, and the baby has the first consciousness of itself. The ego first appears as a muscular sense, and the infant gradually learns to distinguish itself from surrounding objects. It is first the hand that is distinguished, and then the foot, and finally the whole body. Memory does not appear before the child is 2 years of age. All the reasoning of children is primitive and elementary 2nd develops slowly. Darwin noticed an association of ideas in the mind of his child when it was only 5 months of age. The lecturer related experiences of babies with the first view of mirrors, and showed that ther actions under the new conditions yere similar to those of anthro poid apes and dogs under like conditions. A MAN AND A TDEKEI. Tho Question as to the Difference Between Them Floored the Crowd. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.; There was a jolly little group about a table in a down-town cafe last night shak ing dice for the lemonade. The man who threw the lowest number had to pay for the lemonade and tell a story. All at the table had been "stuck" but one gentleman, who is noted for his keenness of repartee. The gentlemen who had been "stuck" told noth ing, but aged anecdotes and antique tales. Not a new story had been recited; and they were all chestnuts. When the gentleman noted for repartee had been "stuck" there was applause, a call for drinks and a de mand for a newstory. "I can tell a story," said the gentleman, as he ordered the proper thine, "but I'll ask you a conundrum." "Go ahead," he was told. "Well," he went on, "what is the difference between a turkey and a man?" This odd conundrum floored the crowd. The questioner was appealed to for an answer. "The difference between a turkey and a man," he explained, as he rose to leave, "is that a turkey isn't stuffed with chestnuts until it's dead." The crowd com prehended. THE AGE OF JUABYELS. The Time May Corao When We Will Travel 200 9Iiles Fer Hoar. Philadelphia Enquirer. In view of the almost incredible progress of the last two generations it is not the best judgment which pronounces the post elec tric system of transportation the dream of an inventive maniac. There is a freshness about .the proposition that we shall yet send letters across the continent between the dawns of successive days that takes the average breath away, and the suggestion that passengers are to be rushed through space at tbe rate of 200 miles per hour is apt to alarm the apprehensive. But tbe propo sition is not beyond tne limits of possibility lor all that. A few days ago an experimental train upon a railroad in this State made a run of 90 odd miles in about 60 minutes, some por tion of the journey being at the rate of nearly two miles per minute. If steam can accomplish such marvelous results as this, why may not that greater power, electricity, eclipse this stupendous record? The truth is that we live in a phenomenal age. All the ancient faiths concerning the develop ment of material things are being rudely jostled by the pushing shoulders of science. It is no longer the dream of a visionary that we shall converse with persons a thousand miles away. Marked progress has been made toward solving tbe problem of aerial navigation, and although it is yet impossible to predict the ultimate outcome, it is not insanity to EUO. TEOMENTrH. believe that air ships mayyet be run counter to the winds. The turning of a key illumi nates a populous city and new explosives shatter in an instant obstacles which were deemed immovable. There are. improve ments to the telegraph which would have astounded Horse had he lived to see them. '"mail vfck &j 1 'toII1 1 AT HOLLYHOCK HALL Twenty-Fonr Hours in a Typical English Country Mansion. WAKENED BY THE SONGS OP BIRDS. Tennis and Billiards, Flirtation and Tea, Dress and Sinner. STORX-TEhLIKG IK TUB SMOKKfS B00X iwmrrgji tob tot dispatch.! Let us take a typical English country house, and'ehristen it Hollyhock Hall. Let us people it with a race of Hollyhocks, who dwelt within its walls since the pre-historio period when the Divinity created little apples. Let us imagine H at present great, hospitable and cheerful, under the genial rule of one Reginald Hollyhock, Esq., J. P. and D. L. "We are not early birds in Hollyhock Hall, except during the winter months, when the fox hunting necessitates rising in time to enjoy a hasty breakfast. But in summer we are especially lazy. It is so pleasant to lis in bed listening to the birds twittering in the elms; to lie half asleep half awake, in that state so beautifully described bySe Maistre in his "Voyage Autour de ma Cbambre." Breakfast is popularly sup posed to begin at 9 A. ai., bnt the 'Squire himself is the only one down in time, and he has to help himself to the good things. By and by others begin to saunter down the great oak stairs, the men for the most part in knee breeches and shooting jackets the women daintily attired in morning gowns. About 10 o'clock the table is near ly fall, and the matronly form of Mrs. Hollyhock presides among the glittering urns at the head. Breakfast is the most unrestrained meal, and I think this is prin cipally due to the absence of servants. Except when summoned to replenish the hot-water urn, no servant puts in an ap pearance. If there is any carving, the young men do it themselves. Then, too, the plans of the day are canvassed at break fast. Consider the awful importance of such a subject as this. Reggie and Harry are going over to Little Humplingham to play a ridiculous cricket match with country bumpkins, when they are wanted so badly to finish a tennis match with Mab and Captain Silvertopl JIOESING'S PLEASUBE3. If the weather is cool there is a great mus tering of hacks outside the hall door, and a pleasant canter through the park and along the smooth white roads. Sometimes there is a picnic to some ruined abbey or disman tled castle, and this includes lunch. If not, tennis takes the place and fills np the cap between noon and luncheon. In most houses luncheon is about 2 p. si that is to say, tbe gong sends forth its inharmonious summons abont that hour. A few people from the surrounding honses the curate or rector an odd subaltern wbo has driven in bis dogcart from Great Dumpliogham, the county town these are the usual additions' to the lunch tabfe. After lunch the ardent spirits continue their tennis the elderly individuals aid digestion by a stroll through the gardens, or a quiet game of billiards. If itrain3we play billiards all the afternoon. (Then there is a period of flirtation. The tenni3 players grow tired, the billiards begin to weary. Those who have been perched in the library come forth to court an appetite, and are caught in the toils of beauty. There are so many places to hide in about Hollyhock: Hall. A hammock in the shrubbery, hidden from prying eyes; a funny old rustic seat down by the lake; a teahouse, pagoda-built, Dutch tiled,domineering over the firs on the hillside; a great umbrella-shaped copper beach in tbe home park all these are, for the time, so many temples of Venus. rrvE o'clock tea. Five o'efock strikes from the big time piece over tbe stables and sounds a knell to flirtation. It is tea time. Tailor-made dresses whisk into sight from unsuspected nooks and corners. White flannel pants and many colored "blazers" flash through the leaves. "Where all was si lence all is now noise and merriment. The student has acquired an appetite; the subal tern is ferociously in love. Here are young Bawdon fresh from Sandhurst and Miss Cicely Hollyhock. They have been whis pering by the tennis court ever since lunch eon; and now he is thinking how deeply he loves her, while she she is wondering what she will wear at dinner. Afternoon tea passes off insipidly enough. It is tbe roll-call of propriety, after the de licious relaxation we have enjoyed One always gets near the wrong people in the small drawing room; and the old maids, wbo have been asleep all the afternoon, come down at 5 o'clock with their pug dogs, and tell.us all about the mission labors on the west coast of Africa, We are heartily glad to get to our rooms, and have a read over some naughty French novel, and a leisurely dress for dinner. Then down the lamplit halls into the large drawing room, all ablaze with light, where we meet the sylphs of the morning, transformed into angels by the delicious creations ot Madame Elise, or some other of the great London modistes. A few mo ments' chat ensues. One is introduced to a red-faced Squire, who is "our High Sheriff," and to a slim, languid masher, wbo is "our M. P.", He bows to Mrs. High Sheriff and tbe Misses High Sheriff, and nods familiar ly to young hopeful, heretofore met with at cricket matches. Then dinner is announced, and we all pair off, after the manner of the animals in Noah's ark. Dinner is delicious, for the Squire's coos is a eood one, and the Squire's wines are not to be excelled. Soup, fish, entrees, joints,all appearand disappear. The ministering footmen glide hither and thither, murmuring sweet alternatives the light flashes upon the silver and glows o'a the great bank of flowers. THE -WIHE FLASHES GAILY in the glass, and shows itself unwisely be neath the lashes of many a sage's eye. There be stolen glances beneath the flowers, and pretty signals of distress from those who have gotten neglectful or tiresome neighbors. Then the mysterious summons of the hostess is passed from eye to eye, and as if beneath the wand of a wizard, 'beauty rises and is gone. So we settle down to our wine. The old fogies disenss the conduct of the Ministry and abuse the operation of the poor-laws. The yonnger ones recount their big cricket scores and chat over tbe prospect of grouse. Just when the politics grows somewhat too heated, and the youngsters are slipping out one by one, the Squire rises, and every one adjourns to the drawing rooms. Music, charades, tableaux vivants fill up the re mainder of the evening until bed time. But, bless you, bed time is only a name, for us men folk. There is a certain apart ment on the ground floor sacred from noise and battle, an apartment where cushioned seats run round the oak walls, an apartment where brandy and soda is ever to be found. Here are the billiard tables, and here the balls will rattle over the green cloth, the pipes of the onlookers will puff forth smoke wreaths, and the raillery and fun flow even faster than the drink, till 2 o'clock booms from the stables, and sleep reigns supreme through neij corner of Hollyhock Hall. PEBEOEI5E QTJILL. A Belle of tbe Fast. Urate's Magazine.! Rev. Longg'race (at the table, discours ingly) The ancients were very fond of fowls. The custom was to catch them at sunset Johnnv (looking np from a tongh drum stick) Not all of 'em wnz caught, Mr, Preacher, Ibis is one wot got away. jMJBift i 5 ) ii C ' ' lift kl&bte&4afehf' &... .'