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14
QUEER RIVER CRAFT.
Twenty Thespian Artists Drift 2,000
Miles on a Flat Boat
THE TOOT-LIGHTS GO WITH THEM.
Each Evening They Tie Up, Fire a Cannon,
afld Jlonej Pours In.
THE FLOATING TEADEK'S BIG SCHEME
tCOBSXSrOXDEXCX OT TBI DISPATCH.?
INCINNATI,
August &
"When the
P 1 o a t i n g
Trader slipped
her moorings at
the foot of Lud
low street and went South
with the river about four
weeks ago she was loaded
to the guards with a
miscellaneous assortment
of groceries, drygoods,
hats, hoots, shoes, hard
ware, tinware, crockery,
drugs, tobacco abd cheap
(Uf jewelry.
When the little steam
tug Lark towed her hack to the same place
this morning most of her store goods were
gone and the Trader was covered from stem
to stern with a bulky and odorous cargo of
hones, rags, old iron, leaf tobacco, honey
and seven calves.
In the four weeks she had floated 350
miles, had made an average of three land
ings a day, had sold $320 worth of general
merchandise to the isolated dwellers on the
river banks, about half of it for cash and
half for produce, which would net the trader
another profit of 20 per cent, making the
lour weeks journey pay a clear pront ol yu
'odd dollars.
When the Ohio is choked with ice the
trader makes his headquarters in the warm
er latitudes on the Mississippi, and with the
advent of summer comes north to escape the
Southern heat.
A FLOATING POPULATION.
He is one of a floating population much
larger than even the dwellers in river cities
have any conception of. There are at least
6,000 of them. They live in houseboats in
the Mississippi Valley, some of them start
ing from the Monongahela in September
and slowly going with the current along its
2,000 mile course to the Gulf, picking up
their frugal living by various means en
route. They spend the winter in Southern
lagoons, which teem with fistt, oysters and
game, and in the spring manage by fair
means or otherwise to tie up to some steam
boat and be towed into Northern waters.
But none has a more adventurous life
than Mr. A. B. French, perhaps the best
known riverman in the valley.
"There is more life in six months on a the
ater boat than in six years on any other
craft afloat, "he said as he sat upon the deck
of his own boat this morning and watched
the swallows skimming along the water.
"What is a theater boat?"
"This is one."
In its virginal dress of fresh white paint,
picked out with gold leaf, it was glittering
enough from a front view to be the barge of
a modern Cleopatra; but when seen broad
side on, the long gallery of pictures which
ornamented its sides made it look like noth
ing so much as a floating circus bill. There
were 26 paintings in all 13 on each side
ten feet high and halt as wide, each pictur
ing some scene from the variety stage, or a
Opening the Shoto.
wild beast, painted with a fidelity to nature
attained only by those artists who paint side
rho'w placards.
A COMFORTABLE CRAFT.
The boat is a bateau, 140 feet long and 40
feet wide, upon which is built a cabin 13
feet high and 125 feet long, the extra 15 feet
forming open platforms at each end. Under
this one cabin roof are a box office,
three sleeping rooms, one dining room
containing a table that will accommodate 30
people, one kitchen, one sitting room for the
players, a stage 30 feet wide, 15 feet deep,
witb an elevation of 3 feet, and a full sup
ply of drop scenes and flies, and lastly an
auditorium which will seat 300 people, and
when standing room is utilized will admit
400 to view the show. Above, on the hurri
cane deck, there is a texas with a parlor and
12 staterooms, a promenade and a pilot
house. The whole is decorated in the
lavish gingerbread ornamentation charac
teristic of Western water craft, and makes a
brave show with its stained glass windows,
white paint and gorgeous pictures.
The towboat Champion towed it from the
South last night and left it nose on to a
wharf at the dry docks, where it will lie
uatil an early date in August, at which
time the theatrical season on (he river will
open, and the Xew Sensation, as the boat
is called, will again start down stream. '
The troupe consists of from 18 to 24 peo
ple, and as scenic accommodations are nec
essarily limited, and the audiences are of a
class who want a light diet in the matter of
amusements, nothing in the Shakespearean
line is attempted. The "show" is much
such as is given in first-class variety houses
in the larger cities a short play, or'perhaps
a minstrel scene, as an introduction, fol
lowed by an olio of Binging, ventriloquism,
slack-wire walking, sleight of hand feats,
dancing and trapeze performances.
OPENING THE SEASON.
"As a rule," said Mr. French, the owner
of the boat and manager of the aggregation
of theatrical talent, "we make our start
early in May from Pittsburg, and work our
way down the river never tailing to go up
the Kanawha, where the coal miners, with
their whote families, Mill see the show if by
any possibility they can raise the money
as far as Ifew Orleans. We avoid the
cities and larger villages, tying up wher
ever we see a footpath leading down to the
water or a spire of a church through the
trees. The cities usually have amusements
of their own, but the little hamlets scattered
along the banks of the river hare no pleas
ures Desides an occasional singing school. J
w nerever acre is a cnurcn or footpath
there must be a more or less scattered settle
ment, and anything in the nature of a nov
elty coming to one of these places will be
advertised by word of mouth through a
radius often miles in the course of a day.
"We send out no advance agents and do
so advertising, merely tying up in the
morning and firing the little ten-pounder
there on the hurricane deck perhaps half a
dozen times. Its boom echoing through the
hills will bring, people to us for miles
around, and no matter how deserted the
country may look, if the weather is at all
suitable, night will find 300 or 400 people
trooping down the back, some aloot, some
on horseback, some in ox carts, as eager for
the show as ever a school boy was for a
circus.
ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCES. .
JUd they make magnificent audiences.
rtB
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91.
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W- K-t "V X X l WV X 3 . ft.
i
At first they will be a little awkward and
shy, afraid to laugh aloud or applaud a
good point; but alter being warmed up and
accustomed to their surroundings somewhat,
they are as impressionable and ready to be
pleased as so many children. There is not a
bit of cynicism in such an audience. Every
chestnut is a new minted Joke (o them, and
every act of our slight-of-band man is a
miracle.
"But speaking about audiences, the
French negroes on the Bayou La Fourche
make perhaps the toughest-looking audi
ence ever seen behind footlights. Few of
them wear anything more than a shapeless
straw hat, a calico shirt and mud-colored
trousers; and although none of them are
ever known to shave, every man carries a
razor. Their hard life on the plantations
develop their bones and muscles at the ex
pense of their beauty, making them the
strongest and most brutal looking class in
America. But their looks belie them. In
the 30 years that I have been patroling the
rivers, only once have I had serious trouble
in the Bayou country, andjthat occurred last
Christmas, in Fointe Coupe Parish at the
mouth of the Bed river. It was a white
man who caused the trouble.
a govebnok's chief duty.
"Because I would not admit him free to
the show he fired eight shots from his Win
chester through the side planking of the
boat, wounding two plantation hands and
instantly killing a girl. Three days later
the Governor ot Louisiana oflered a reward
of $500 for his capture. That was seven
months ago. The reward is still open.
Everybody in the parish knows the man
he is big Jim Callahan but nobodv has
brought him into court and claimed the
$500. The offering of rewards after crime
has been committed seems to be the South
ern Governor's idea of his whole dnty. It
looks well, is not very troublesome and
never occasions any expense to the State, be
cause the men with rewards upon their
heads don't come to trial.
"In November nnd December there is al
ways lots of monev in the Bayou country.
The big planters begin to grind their cane
in October, and, as they hire every hand at
that time who asks lor work, and pay wages
in cash, the last two months in the year are
the Southern negro's flush times. But
whether they have money or not, they will
arwavs find some way to pay their entrance
fee to the show. When a negro wants any
thing he wants it bad, and if he has no
monev he will part with anything he may
have for the privilege ot coming in. As a
rule, we "take whatever he offers in ex
change for a ticket, and at the end of each
trip always have about half a bushel of
pocket knives, revolvers and pistols, rang
ing from the silver-plated seven-shooter to
a single barrel iron pistol, and razors in
every stage of wear. H. A. W.
A BLGGAK WHO BIDES.
A Woman Soliciting Alma nnd Carrying;
Awny YVncon-LoRds of Provisions.
Detroit Free Tress, t
A poor woman, wretchedly dressed, went
into'the office of a Woodward avenue busi
ness man about dusk yesterday evening and
solicited alms. The business man was busy,
however, and a little out of humor, and he
told her curtly that he had nothing to give.
The woman drooped her head more in sor
m than in ancer. and walked dejectedly
cut, gloomily silhouetted against the even
ing SKV. .
The business man went on arranging his
desk and trying to forget the despairing
look of the woman whom he had refused to
aid, but his conscience was aroused; texts
began to multiply in his mind about giving
to the poor and lending to the Lord, and at
last he started up and rushed out to the side
walk in time to seethe retreating form of the
woman as it vanished round the corner. He
hurried on and reached her just as she
stepped into a democrat wagon that stood at
the curbstone, loaded with every sort of pro
vision and utensil from a wash boiler to a
i.v, ,. ctive nine. A little eirl who was
holding the lines over a .very respectable
looking horse asked:
"Are you going home now, mother
"Yes, Susy; I've had a fust-rate day. Get
up, Bats." ... i. vi
The business man sneaked back to his
Office, unwilling to let anyone know how
near he came to being victimized by a pre
tense ot poverty.
SWINDLING A BANE.
An Official Tells or a Shrewd Game Which Is
Sometimes Worked.
A BankAreller In Globe-Democrat.
It is the rule with most banks to do no
business with absolute'strangers. and to re
quire identifications or at least references.
Sometimes when a man wants to open an
account he regents very bitterly the demand
for an introduction. If he would only
consider the matter he would see how very
important the rule is. There are many rea
sons for it, but the chief is to prevent a
scheme which hA frequently proved suc
cessful. A member of the gang will open an ac
count and pav in and draw checks in a most
regular manner for several months, anen
one day he will happen to be present when a
stranger presents a large check, the two will
recognize each other as old friends, and the
rogue with an account will identify the
rogue with a check, which may turn out to
be a forgery. With all precautions as to
introduction and identihcations, irauas are
possible, but without them frauds would be
natural result,
simple and easy, aim,
frequent.
Let In.
Mrs. Aleet If you should make $1,000
unexpectedly, Tom, would you give me that
diamond pendant I've been looting at so
lone?
Mr. Aleet Why, yes, dear.
"Mrs. Aleet Very well; 111 xirder it to
morrow. I stopped wanting that ivory-finished
piano to-day, and a thousand was just
the price of it, Judge.
Callahan Expresses Bis Opinion. ,
fTr?!!W)
THE
OFF LONE LABfiADOE.
Catching Seals on the Shores of the
Dreary Mingan Islands.
A WILD AflD DANGEROUS PASTIME.
Scattered Settlements Along the Southern
Labrador Coast.
SCENES ON THE GULF OP ST. LAWEENCE
rrEOK OUB T8AYXM2CG COMMISSIONIE.3
On Boabd Schooxeb Sophie, July 26.
At Mingan Islands we had the good for
tune to find a man and brother in distress.
This was a wild andhairy missionary of the
Wesleyan Methodist persuasion who had
been expatriated from his sunny home in
some pleasant English village to pass four
years in tireless, and he confessed almost
useless, mission work along these wretched
shores. "Discarded by the cannibals!"
seemed to be written in every lfhe of the
poor man's face. He had been waiting at
Mingan Harbor more than a month for
opportunity of reaching Chatean Bay, at
the shoulder of the howling Atlantic coast,
and we gave him free passage, not only on
general grounds of liberality to the cloth,
but in consideration of the added dignity a
chaplain would give the schooner Sophie,
as well as because he knew much of the
Labrador folk and their customs and was
not averse to telling what he knew! Alto
gether he was excellent company, and what
he told us of the sealing "industry alone
proved valuable and entertaining.
He related to begin with, that a children's
game called "copy," similiar to that of your
own children who "follow the leader," a
wild and dangerous pastime, but heartily
encouraged by parents, as at the basis of all
success in seal hunting. When the ice be
gins breaking up iD March all Labrador and
Newfoundland children hail the arrival of
their annual play-spell with joyous delight.
"Copying" consists of leaping from one float
ing slab or pan of ice to another. The most
daring ot leaders are selected, and the sport
is followed with tremendous vigor so long as
the floating ice remains. Its utility lies in
its educative power. The very expertness
and bravery thus engendered are the supreme
requisites in youths and men as seal hunters.
A PROFITABLE INDUSTRY.
Only a few years ago seal hnnting was
carried on in these waters exclusively from
schooners, built'oi enormous strength, whose
heme ports were the little villages of the
Labrador and Northern Newfoundland
coasts and St. John's, Newfoundland. But
immense sealing steamers finally supplanted
these, causing a desperate state of want
among the native fishermen. Latterly the
steamers have been given up to some extent,
those worn out or lost being abandoned,
owing to the lessening number of seals; but
the success of last year's work, has given a
new activity to the industry. The total
"take" was nearly 500,000 seals, worth $800,
000. The "take" of the sailing steamer,
Neptune, of St. John's, was alone 42,000
seals. She was leaped to the gunwales, men
even resigning their sleeping berths so that
the fat could be stowed away. The poor
sealers alongshore, who are called "seal-shov-ers"
to distinguish them from the steamer
sealers, took fully 300,000 seals. Everyman,
woman and child who could wield a club,
gun, knife, or any other possible weapon,
was at work from Mingan Islands in St.
Lawrence, around to the White and Notre
Dame bavs, on the East" Newfoundland
coast, killing, skinning and dragging the
seals ashore. Our dejected missionary
friend himself captured 45 in one day; a
parish priest killed and skinned 70 in one
day; and an indomitable widow of the north
shore, born in old Galway, who not only
fights the wild elements ot Labrador but
everybody else successfully, unaided, cap
tured, skinned and dragged ashore 175 seals
in three days; a little fortune in itself Jn
this region, as her "take" netted her about
$300..
The seals are taken in three ways. Thev
are followed out to sea in vessels and killed
from small boats on the ice-floes; they are
hunted by "shovers" alone the coves and
bays in boats, or upon the still solid ice; or
thev are netted in coarse nets, with an 8
inch mesh, almost precisely in the manner
that herring are taken at Eastport and
around Grand Manan. These nets are
moored oil a favorable cove, with one end
fastened to a huge windlass on shore. Then
a careful lookout is kept, and when a herd
of seals has entered the enclosure, the net is
hauled in behind the seals, and boats, fol
low, with men shouting and driving' the
impounded creatures to the beaches and
rocks, or back into the strangling net, when
the scene of clubbing and butchery begins.
ESQUIMAUX BAT.
On the afternoon of the third day after
leaving Mingan Harbor we dropped anchor
in that great arm or the gulf know as Es
quimaux Bay. There are no maps or charts
extant to give an interested student of these
shores any proper idea of the areas of these
occasional tremendous indentations along
the Labrador coast. But our captain and
chaplain n ere sute that this inlet was one
of thb largest of the southern Labrador
shore. Grandly wild and impressive as was
the scenery of its islands and the shore-side
mountains, terrace upon terrace of everlast
ing stone blended by the magic of distance
into fairy peaks of green but showing their
hard, sterile remorseless actuality througn
rifts of sickly moss and stunted spruce on
near approach, it was a relief to find morn
ing and a slight' suggestion of human asso
ciation in tbe occasionally seen hsher s sail
upon the mighty gulf again; and we sped
gaily along in dompany with' gurgling gulls
and roystering porpoises below, making our
course toward the exqisitely beautiful
Bradore Bay.
Ruminating upon the inconceivable hard
ships of this Laorador coast and people, I
fell into a critical and interrogative mood,
in which the Yankee timber explorer, by
this time heartily hatefnl of everything
upon which our eves might rest, was my
proud and enthusiastic ally. I asked the
missionary how many people could betound
in the Lower Canadian portion of Labra
dor, between its shore limits at Point Neut
on the St. Lawrence, and L'Anse Aux
Blancs gabions, near the entrance to the
Straits ot Uelle isle.
"About 4.500;" he replied, thoughtfully.
"And this is a distance of about 600
miles?"
"Yes, and of these fully 1,000 are Montag
nais and Nasquapee Indians. To illustrate
how thinly scattered 'they are I may instance
the locality of my work along the straits,
from Blanc au Blanc eastward. There are
12 houses there. Three miles further is
L'Anse au Clair, with 9 houses; the next,
Forteaux, 8 miles, with 17 houses; L'Anse
auXoup, 6 miles,12 houses; Fen ware Biver,
3 miles, 12 houses; St. Modiste, 3 miles, 9
houses; Carroll's Cove, 6 miles, 4 houses;
Bed Bay, 4 "miles25 houses; Wild Cove, 10
miles, 2 houses; Chateau, 20 miles,
8 houses; Camp Island 12 miles, 8
houses; Cape Charles, 3 miles, 8 houses;
Battle Harbor, 3 miles, -25 houses: and the
next and last, Fox Harbor, 4 miles, witb 6
houses; so that in a distance of 85 miles
there are, all told, but 157 houses, or barely
enough for one village of moderate size."
"But is there no population behind
this?"
"'Not a soul between these people and the
North tole. They could not by any possi
bility exist."
SCENES ON THE ST. lAWEENCE.
We passed the noble Bay of Bradore,
with a glimpse of the straggling village of
Jones, the bay's innumerable islets sepa
rating the roadstead into grand expanses
and divisions; saw the place where over 400
years agoatood the French fishing city of If
Brest, now utterly effaced; gazed with de- I
ngnt upon tne mighty terraces behind,
crowned far to the north by the mystii
ciouo-wrcavncu peaas oi xrauore; round
Point Amour as the setting sun was light!
up us ragged sines; ana leu tne bay i
the great Amour light twinkling on our
quarter, as ire leueaed. aiLto care
PITTSBURG DISPATCH,
thread the straits of Belle Isle; while the
night brought such glowing stars as seemed
to descend and pulse and throb into one's
very soul and the great northern lights
quivered behind inscrutable films like half
hidden planets swnng ,in the hands of the
innnlte trod.
The olden key to the entire, norther fish
eries. Chateau Bav. was reached all too soon.
for we had come to feel a warm affection for
our hairy friend, the simple missionary,
who here, before debarking, pointed out
with excusable and modest pride some of
the manv beauties of the wild and splendid
scene. Back to the far south in a dark line
against the purple horizon were faintly
traced the drearv Newfoundland shores.
Away to the east like a speck upon Atlan
tic's breast, was the fierce and lonely sea
sentinel. Belle Isle. Back along, the gulf
benenth millions of white-winged gulls,
sped toward us the plumy crests of a mil
lion emeraiu waves.
A PLEASANT PICTURE.
Over there to the left is that strange castle-like
basaltic rock, rising in vertical col
umns of five-sided prisms, with tremendous
detached clusters at its base; almost as cu
rious a geologic specimen as the far-famed
Giant's Causeway. To the right looms High
Beacon, 1,000 feet above the bay. 'Through
the majestic Temple Pass the steel blue
waters t Temple Bay lead the eye to softly
blended heights beyond, above which are
again the eternal hills of Labrador. Here
and there about the bay cluster the iiny
white houses of the descendants of those
who once fled from fire and sword at sunny
Grand Pre. Between headland and head
land are long rows of decrepid fish-stages
where picturesque fisher folk toil as if for
dear life at all hours in the short summer
season. Here and there are sloops, smacks
and schooners, coming, going, at anchor, or
noisy with the labor ot unloading their
great though almost valueless stores.
Here lies a princely yacht, there a Gov
ernment .corvette; yonder a great hulk of a
trading bark. From time to time the mists
Ann... ...... half V.4a ....i. knlf .m.al. 4T.......V
buwD uu uau uiuc auu unit iciwii muugu
over all rests a clear and cloudless sky. One
hears close and far through theso filmy cur
tains the sharp tone of the Scot, the grunt
of the Norwegian, the hearty voice of the
Englishman, the gutteral exclamation . of
the Nasquapee.the liquid tones of him from
Acadia, and, closing one's eyes to measure
it all with the finer sight of thought, the
curlew's calls from a myriad bird-throats
come in Chateau Bay, as if in some magical
moment to transport the wanderer from
these ever-desolate shores to the quaint old
beaches of Brittany, to sunny Azore Cove,
or to some dreamful tropic isle of song.
Edgak L. Wakkman.
MIKACLES OF FAITH.
Some of Ibe Stranso Notions Entertained by
Ancient and Modern Peonje.
Texas Sittings. I
Any doctor or druggist could prepare a
nostrum of such repulsive taste that no hu
man being could be induced to swallow it;
but it wonld be extremely difficult to invent
a scientific theory or a system of faith so
atrocious or so extravagently absurd that
not individuals nay, multitudes could be
persuaded to believe in it and persist in it
even unto death.
All Egypt, from the delta of the Nile to
the LybSn desert, went into ecstacies of
joy and thanksgiving whenever a black
bull-calf with a single circular white spot
on his forehead was born. If the white spot
was not circular but also exactly in the
center of the forehead, their exultation rose
to madness, and Herodotus speaks of an
Egyptian farmer who died with grief when
a cow which he had sold v a few weeks
previous became the worshiped mother of
such a calf.
The Gymnosophists of ancient India paid
divine honors to certain trees, and passed
their lives in the woods in a state of abso
lute nudity, and cup and can with the mon
keys, while millions of Hindoos believe that
it is wicked to kill any animal, and actually
allow themselves to be devoured by tigers
and crocodiles if tbey cannot save them
selves bv flight, for fear that a blow struck
in self-defense .might endanger the life of
the precious quadruped. They believe that
if a man injures these creatures on earth
their reproaches and resentment will follow
them through all eternity.
Sir William Jones describes the indigna
tion of a Hindoo family who had witnessed
the chase of a wild cow by two English
officers. A Hindoo girl in the family of
Captain L., one of the offenders, never could
look at her master without putting her hand
to her heart and heaving such bottomless
sighs, that Mrs. L. was about to discharge
her. But the lady was completely concil
iated when she learned the true nature of
the girl's concern. "The poor, poor Sahib,"
said she. "what a future awaits him! As
soon as he ever gets to heaven that cow will
charge him, and gallop after him and butt
him forever and even"
THEI DON'T LIKE TOBACCO.
One Thine Which Moms One and Boactj
Relass to Eat.
St. Louis GIobe-Democrat.1
No matter how numerous
V
d
huglP and
roaches may be, they never
tobacco
or cigars. Sometimes, when t.
are
open and there is a strong 1
they will
tackle to-
be tempted inside, but they
bacco in any form, and even
common fly
seems to hold the weed
awe. There is, of course,
healthy
e insect which
is very destructive to tob
and is called
the tobacco worm. Thi
is another and
smaller insect, which
described in
any work I have
havoc with tobacco.
but which plays
is so small that
few people can detect
with the naked eye.
Where it comes from
don't know, bnt it is"
generally found in
where.
The little creatun
ported cigars, if any-
will eat a small hole
right through a th
b-for-a-dollar Havana,
le their importations
loring them away. En
think, a liitle advant-
and dealers exam
very closely before
giisn dealers nave,
age over Amen
ns in rejneet to thin.
Their buyers are
fnore metbodrcal in their
examinations, an
that is probably why im-
ported cigars canbe sold cheaper in Lndon
mimm .new Jjjrk, aitbougb tobacco is
dearer, as the most popular is American
grown. Turkish, and Egyptian cigarettes
and tobacco are also dearer in London than
here, although they have so many miles less
to traveL
J
J,
A G00B E0CZET FOE CANDI,
Why a Smalt
Boy WUhed His Father Was
a KnDcnroo.
Youths' Com;
anion.
Little
ny, who had been taken by his
father to th
zoological garden, was greatly
interested i:
some Kangaroos, and especially
in one whi
nad a number ot young ones
in its pone!
"Oh, pa
exclaimed Johnnv. "I wish
you was a
ngarool"
bbnny?"
if you had a pocket like that,
of candy you could bring home!"
Beacbdweller Fine mornin'.
Mr.' Coddington Yes; but sot good for
clamfiihlnc, evidently. I've been sitting
tim n hnnr. an'h.vMTiH iuA m l.ta 41.hHMC
I was told it was the best place4 on the' shore-:
lor mem. -rue
J.
injnir
Wo
WL
Qswer
W.l
K
HJffO;
Smi
ear
XJ
flni
iwi
Johb
dh
"ttny.Ai
"'Causb
what pilfes
ml First Quest for Bivalves. k
---SPfe '
.SUNDAY, AUGUST 11,
FEEFCH HOME LIFE.
Belva A. Lockwdod Talks of
Women of La Belle France.
the
PBENCH QIBLS AND THEIE DOTS.
Their Freedom and Social Privileges After
Marriage. .
THE FEMALE MERCHANTS OF PAE1S
Lconnxsroxcixcxor Tnx dispatch.
BENCH wo
men are charm
ing, exclaimed
a young lady
who had spent
several years
abroad and
some time in
Paris. This is
undoubtedly true if you
fall in with the charming
class, but there are French
women even intellectual
women who are loud and
rude, but they do not rep
resent the masses. As a
rule, the French woman
has nlore cleverness, tact.
grace and politeness, than the English
woman, the IGerman, or the American; bnt
she wiil insist upon her rights with quite as
much persistency, and usually wins by the
very charm of her manner.
Her clothes are adapted to her position,
her occupation, and the occasion. She does
not adapt herself to them. They are a part
ot her. Her linen is immaculate, often
exquisite. Her hat becomes her face,
and is not necessarily a walking ad
vertisement for some milliner. She may
f-aStfie:
A. French Garden.
wear a dress that is old and faded, but her
shoes and gloves will be faultless. The
latter she never removes when in society,
except under the most urgent necessity. She
will dance or dine in them, apparently with
out soiling, as though they, too, were a part
of herself. If she adjusts a shawl, a scarf,
a knot of ribbons, or a bunch of flowers, it
is always with a peculiar grace a touch
like the skillful.stroke of a painter upon
his canvas, which no person can imitate,
and which he himself cannot reproduce.
H CBABUINO HOMES.
There is something charming in a French
home the perfect symmetry of its arrange
ment, the utilization ot every inch of space,
the beauty of its internal adornments, very
often the results of the skill of the dett
fingers of wife and daughters; but there is
nothing tawdrv. There is an innatb'love
'for the beautiful in The jTreUSh character
that has been cultivated fur centuries by
daily contact with the best works of the
"Old Masters" id srt galleries, schools of
art and cathedrals, untii the mother in
sensibly impresses upon the child a love for
artistic surroundings. 'Paris has long been
the center of pAlite society, and the lesson
has not been lost upon her people. In land
scape gardening tne irarisians undoubtedly
excel any other people in the world, and
the home is .small indeed that has not its
garden of jfrell-trained flowers. Even in
the apartmpmts of the poor, on the upper
story of the tenement houses, you will find
the box oTflowers and the trained vines.
1 thjT garden, the Frenchwoman chats,
sews asrd gossips, and sips wine with her
friesIs. The wine is to her what the ice
or spring water is to the American
ething to be drunk and passed to friends.
morning, noon and night,, and between
times. It is given to the children and the
babes.
The beauty of a French home is that
usoally there is no waste. Everything is
ntilized. The 8 o'clock breakfast of hard
bread and coffee leaves nothing to spoil.
The bits of meat left from the noontide meal
will be made into delightful patties for din
ner, while the remains of the chicken or the
duck, will form the basis of the soup. The
French woman does her own marketing;
knows to one ounce how much she needs lor
the day's supply, and what she should pay
for it, and it is more than probable that she
will prepare the meal with her own hands.
She can concoct thedaintiestof dishes out of
the simplest and cheapest of materials. The
dinner may be served by a waiter in white
apron and gloves, while the hostess is chat-
A. Vegetable Vender.
ting gaily and unconcernedly with you, but
she has designed and prepared the dishes.
They are the best economists of any women
in the world in both food and dress, and the
whole amount spent in a year by the mid
dle and laboring classes, never reaches the
limit of their income. There is always
something laid by. T
CLOSE COSPOBATIONS.
But do not imagine that these homes are
an open sesame into which any casual ac
quaintance may enter. On the contrary,
tbey are a very close corporation, devoted
to the use of the occupants. If you 'Have
won their confidence, their esteem and the
acquaintance has been long, you may be in
vited to breakfast or,to dinner. The French
people are jealous of the intrusion of
strangers.and must know the character of
the individual before their confidence is
given.
Their family ties are very close and the
utmost respect, attention and affection
characterizes their conduct toward each
other. If you are a young man and have
been invited into a family where there are
attractive daughters, you must pay them no
compliments and make them no presents.
AlLattentions of this sort are reserved for
the mother only. You may not invite them
to walk or to ride, only the mother, who, if
she accepts, will take her daughters with
her.
The French girl of the better classes is
reared in the utmost seclusion. She has no
liberties. She does not leave her mother's
side until old enough to commence her edu
cation, when1 she li sent to the' convent,
where heTeKsJna'uMI her graduiUon.
f tfc'Kr gC
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a Ld 11 sEM .Va - Tl jxJF t ' JaWM
IflmlisasWsSwS'? ""VEM 1 tiXKSJSSC'
iHOtfcwrtL 22kS fiiH 1 1 11 vv
1889.
She is usually married or affianced at 17 or -
jo, anu, until her marriage, never goes out
by herself, or receives the company of gen
tlemen alone. If she goes to a fete, or to
ride, or to walk, it must be .with her pre
ceptress or her mother. If she is invited to
dinner or to tea at the house of a friend, she
would not think of accepting the invitation
except her mother goes with her, and, as
the mother would not go without the father,
an invitation to one is an invitation to the
family.,-
Her marriage is arranged by her father
and mother, and she cannot marry in France
without their consent, as neither Mayor or
priest would perform the ceremony. She
must be 15 years old to contract a legal
marriage.
THE MABBIAQB SOT.
Her ' dot," or marriage portion is careful
ly settled beforehand with the bridegroom
by her parents in a document legally drawn
and signed. Every girl, although her par
ents be poor, who expects to be legally mar
ried has her dot' assicned. Until marrfpd
she is under the absolute control of her I
iatners wno Has power to confine her if in
corrigible or disobedient. In tbe marriage
relation the law requires of her obedience to
her husband, and of him protection and sup
port. Once married, the French woman has her
liberty. She is mistress of the house, can
go where she likes, with or without an escort;
chat with thegentlemen, invite them to her
home, and enjoy those privileges usually
relegated to young women in America. If
wealthy, she can give dinners and fetes.
Her gaiety never deserts her even under ad
verse circumstances. I noticed with some
interest that nearly all of the women who
presented papers at the recent Woman's
Congress in this city were married women,
even in those positions where one would
suppose that a single life would be more
conducive to success. With the married
woman the maiden reserve is thrown off,
and she enters rationally into the practical
duties of life.
Although In the marriage law the hus-
uauu ia required 10 support and protect nis
wife, the support would seem to come quite
as often from the wife as the husband. In
me country everywnere tbe peasant women
are Been working side by side with the men,
gathering the grain, turning the hay, carry
ing heavy burdens, and doing their part
with cheerful alacrity. But in the cities
in Paris the woman merchant is a feature
of the city. She controls large establish
ments, while the smaller booths of women
are multiplied upon every square. The
woman merchant, if so declared, "has also
some privileges under the law-not relegated
to married women as a class. She can enter
a process of law without her hnsband'a con
sent in matters pertaining to her separate
business; contract and be contracted with,
or dispose of the business without his signal
ture as though she were aemme teule;
while in ordinary married life she has no
control either of the community property or
of her separate estate.
PBENCH BUSINESS -WOMEN.
In the market she is as busy as the men;
keeps her stall; measures out her vegetables
and fruits; or cries her merchandise upon
the streets, often pushing a large cart before
her filled with vegetables, or the fruits ot
the season; flowers, it may be, for which
she is sure to find a market. The woman
mingles so generally in commercial life in
Paris that It would he difficult to say where
she is not, or in what enterprise she has not
a part
On July 5, 1889, the Chamber of Deputies
without discussion, adopted the text of the.
proposition of Mr. Ernest Lefebvre confer-'
ring upon women the right to vote in the
elections of the members of the Commercial
Tribunals. This is a step forward, but has
not yet become a law.
Ifan American woman must earn her own
living she does it coyly, hesitatingly, as if
ashamed of her position, rarely entering into
it as a permanent business, and always
looking around her for a way of escape from
what seems to her a drea'dful necessity,
always preferring poor pay and starvation
wages in anything that carries with it an air
of gentility, to good pay and a good home
in domestic life. Not so the French woman.
She at once adapts herself to her condition
takes hold of her work, chrerlnllr, gladlyi.
pushes her business with the intention of
making it a permanent resource; advertises
it; is courteous and obliging to her custom
ers, delicate in presenting her bills, and
uses all of the arts of trade necessary to suc
cess. She is not ashamed or afraid of
any labor in connection with her business.
THE BELLES OP PBANCE.
The French girl of the unuer and mirfdln
classes, and this 'is often true of the lower
classes, is lithe and symmetrical in form,
beautitul in feature and graceful in motion.
Nor is her beauty lost when she rounds into
mature jromsnhood, bnt she does not grow
old gracefully, like American women, nor
continue to use those arts to make herself
attractive that graced her girlhood. Among
the upper classes she grows stout and red
faced, or lean, wrinkled and haggard, in
stead of the fresh rosy face that should be a
woman's crowning glory until 70 or 75 years.
I do not know to what cause to attribute this
unless it be that the excessive pleasure-loving
and living of the French people, thelate
dinners and late hours, and especially ex
cessive wine-drinking so apt to grow with
years, steals away the beauty of face and
form, the elasticity of step, and a freshness
that has not exhausted all of the joys of life.
In the middle and lower classes, and
especiaUy the latter, the women get in time
a permanent bronze from their almost con
stant out of door life (for all Paris lives
more or less out of doors), and from the con
stant carrying of burdens get permanently
hunch-backed, lame and rheumatic, so that
a woman of 60 will show the. infirmities
of 7Sl
Jt is a palpable fact that French women
of tbe middle and lower classes have fewer
privileges, and are not cared for as well as
American women. Bnt I have drawn you a
picture of the plain, practical, everyday life
of Paris as it is. One might come here,
visit the Grand Exposition, drive down the
Champs-Elysees, the -Boulevards, the Bois
de Boulogne, witness a fete, and believe
that all Paris was one grand holiday filled
yrith superbly dressed women and men in
maculate in the snowiest of linen and dainti
est of kids. But, of course, there are ex
ceptions to all that I have said.
Belva A. Lockwood.
A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT.
A Scotchman' Method of Keeping; Bis Wife
From Laughing;.
Scottish American.!, ,
He was a hard-working man, and he
wanted to have vhls wife's portrait taken.
While the photographer was arranging his
camera the husband sought to give some
advice to the companion of his life regard
ing her pose.
"Noo then, Betty," he said, "be shairand
keep yer face stracht an' no' be langhin.
Think seriously or ye'll spile the pictur.'
Bemeinber that yet faither is in prison, an'
that yer brither has had to compound wi' his
creditors, an jist it try to imagine whatwid
hae become o' ye Ihadna taen pity on ve."
If Betty didn't look serious after that it
certainly wasn't his fault
A Distinction Wltfaont Any Difference.
Staynej (witnessing the preparations)
Off for the summer ?
QadsDT fafrnowllniv with tni!ina.)i1a
Iboxes) No; ia fr itPuei ,
j m
- 7 W
DISCOVERING SAINTS.
j
Sound Wisdom Shown in Medieval
. Times in Selecting the
CANDIDATES FOB CANONIZATION.
Deeds of Helpfulness the Foundation
Christianity.
of
THE EFFECTIYKHES8 OF UNITED HELP
iwmnxN roa rax DisrATcn.i
There was a good deal of sound wisdom in
the old way of discovering sajnts. That
ancient custom of canonization was simply a
very dignified and ceremonious way of say
ing "Here is a good Christian!'" And be
fore they said that about any man they first
inquired if he had done any miracles. No
man could be canonized, and have "Saint"
written before his name, unless it could be
shown that he had wrought miracles. Now
we may have our own opinion of those
mediaeval miracles. We may believe, if we
will, that the miraculous part was only a
gilding put on by the devont
imagination. But this, at least, is
true that underneath the miracle was a
plain, homely deed of helpfulness. That
was the foundation; that was the reality.
And the name miracle was an old way, we
will sav. of making" this homely deed of
Lhelp emphatic," -of writing an admiration
mars: alter it, and ol putting a superlative
.adjective before it. "Here is a man," thev
said, or meant to say, "who has been emi
nently helpful. Look I Is he not a good
Christian? Is he not the kind of Christian
we ought all to be?" And so they called
him a saint. That was their way of declar
ing that a Christian must be helpful.
You may perhaps remember that I was
commenting last Sunday in this column
upon the man whom our Lord sent home,
telling him that if he wanted to be a dis
ciple genuinely he must go at once and
HELF SOSIEBODT, .
and that the best place for him to begin his
Christian task of helping was in his own
village amidst his own neighbors, in his
own family at home. "Return to thine own
house and show how great things God hath
done unto thee!"
I find Christ's silence here, as in many
places, worthy of note. The Lord said little
about how a Christian should be helpful.
He prescribed no method. He measured
out no regulations. He told the man to go
home and show what God had done for him,
but He directed him no further. He left
the rest to the man.
Christ always declined to set down rules
for people. Peter came once and asked for
a rule about forgiving. His patience had
been a good deal tried. He felt that his
temper had been strained almost as far as it
would stand, and he wanted to know if there
was not a Christain ilmit to forgive
ness. "How 'many times must I
forgive my brother?" "Seventy times
seven," Christ said. That was the
Hebrew way of saying times without
number. A lawyer came and asked for a
rule about this very matter of helping.
"What people must'l help? Who is my
neighbor?" Christ made no answer to that
question. In the place of it He put another
aud deeper question. "Who is neighborly?"
And that He answered. The Lord came to
help men. Not by setting up rules for them,
but by matting dltterent men out of them.
He tried to change their lives by changing
their hearts. He wanted to fill this man's
soul with the spirit of' helpfulness, and He
was content to let that spirit find expression
in the man's life, as the vital spirit of-a
plant finds expression in branches and fruit.
STBTVE TO BE HELPFUL.
I believe that the Lord wants us to strive
especially after this spirit ot helpfulness,
that will make xr helnfnl everywhere and
all the time. Whoever has this helpful I
spirit, will aba waiting , constantly for a j
cnauce wuoa jtinunesa. .Lb is not me great
kindnesses that do the most good to people.
The great kindnesses bring witb them often
a feeling of obligation which takes away
their charm. They are so great that we
forget that they are kind. It is the little
things which everyone can do that really
help and make life sweet. A pleasant
word, a smile of recognition, a little act of
courtesy, a boos: or a nower sent to some
body who is sick or in trouble, a kindly
welcome to a stranger, the habit of having
a pleasant way of doing things it is these,
these little things, which enter into every
hour of every day these help. I am
afraid that some people are like the great
guns in certain ports along the Dardanelles,
which are all pointed one way. Let a
squadron anchor in that particular direc
tion and then those guns may be good for
something. But all the rest of the time
they keep black silence. Whoever has this
helpful spirit is helpful all around.
I notice that the Lord told this man to go
home. "Beturn," He said, "to thine own
house." The first step toward helpfulness
is to
UNDERTAKE THE NEABEST DUTT.
Probably there is no place where it is
harder to he. helpful than just the place in
which the Lord set this man in one's own
house. Your own home tests your helpful
ness. This is a good thing to think about
this word "Beturn to thine own house."
I observe further that the Lord told this
man that bis message to his fellow men was
to be found in his own experience. The only
word of one which helps is the word .which
comes out of our own heart and life. St.
Paul was thankful for the sorrow that had
embittered his life he thanked God for it
because it made him helpful. When he
spoke to a man in pain or trouble, or distress
of mind, or grief for sin, he helped that
man because the man realized that here
spoke one who knew what he was talking
about. Tbe Lord didn't tell this man to go
teach theology, explain the scriptures,
preach the gospel. He sent him to tell men
who wanted a friend how he had
found a friend. My brother, that is
what your long sickness, or your bitter
plaint, or your agony of doubt, or your
grievous fall into sin was for here is part
of the meaning of it, at least. It was meant
to make you helpful. No, we will not sav
-that God does not meaningly send pain
into the life of any child of His does not
send the pain even for such a high purpose.
But somehow in this disordered and sinful
state of thines in which we live that pain
did come. It did pnt into your life
A NEtV POSSIBILITT
of being helpful. And the Lord wants you
to go now and use this new strength for the
strengthening of your brethren.
I notice that the Lord sent this man to
work alone. He wants us to be willing to
do that. The first test of helpfulness is
'willingness to help the unhelpful. The
second test is willingness to help when you
are the only helpful one. The effectiveness of
help, however, depends largely upon united
work. There is to-day such need of help, our
brothers on all sides are crying out. so eagerly
and pitifully for help, that we must work:
together. We want everybody to add what
strength tbey hare that we may multiply our
helpfulness. I. read how a great mass ot
Egyptian stone was moved over miles of sand
by the tugging of an army of men working all
together. Suppose one man had pone by him
self and given one strong pull, ana then another
and another until the whole army had, man by
man, exerted all its energy, how far would the
pedestal bave stlrredt That Is a symbol of what
united help can do:
I remark also that this man bad to be sent to
help. I have been speaking of the duty of
helpfulness. That Is what it was to this man
a duty. He had to be sent to do it. We need
more realization ottheprivilege of ministering.
TbanE God that we can help! Thank God that
there Is somethlng-which we can do for Him
who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Georgi Hopoks.
A 13-Year-Old Rattlesnake.
BalUtmrs; Freu.1 .
Mr. John Harkless, of Crete, paid the
JPresi office a" visit on Friday last to re
new his subsoTiptionfor the paper. Mr. H.
had with his a lS-year-old rattlesnake
with 12.rattlei,that was shipped tobim from
Virginia. We admired his snake shit at
a distance and. our foreman climbed to the
top of the press and-remained there until
Ute isa km supped off oa the train,
NOISE AS MEDICINE.
Biasing; a Bell Not a Good Way to Cars
Man of Deafness.
Cincinnati Times-Stir.
A novel cure for deafness was proposed
by a Bellefontaine (O.) physician some
years ago. One of his patients became so
deaf that only the loudest sounds could be)
heard by him, and after employing every
scheme known to the medical world, or at
least to the physician himself, to restore hi
patient's hearing.the doctor hit upon a plan
that had at least the quality of originality.
Dm," mnsed the doctor, "let me see.
You can hear thunder sometimes, but that
don't come often enough. Railroad
trains? bnt no, they don't come to this
town very frequently, either. What' you
want is several hours' practice daily. Ah I
I have it! Get a permit from the proper
authorities to ring the bell in the court
house. Go up in the belfry right by the
side of the bell and ring it for several hours
rlailw" A n !... t...t.! !jl ...
"' -emu "jo jjujroimaa xapiuiy wrote
out his instructions to the patient.
And the latter actually carried them out.
Every morning he would ascend to the top
of the Court House tower and ring the big
bell for hour after hour. The ringer could
barely hear the sound of the great clapper
as it struck the hard metal, but all the in
habitants of Bellefontaine and the sur
sonnding country did and throngs of people
visited the town on the first day of the ex
periment to ascertain whether fire or war
was causing the unusual racket up in the
old Court House tower. When the truth
was learned the citizens were disposed to
kick, but on the solemn assurance of the
physician that a deaf man was being re
stored to hearing they agreed to suffer in
silence (?).
The effect upon a stranger visiting the
town was comical. At first he would natur
ally suppose that the bell was tolling for a
death, but after two or three hundred taps
had sounded he would arrive at the conclu
sion either that there was a plague in Belle
fontaine or that some other cause ni-orlnrcrf
the sound waves that vibrated through the
air to his ears from the old tower. And
when the truth was told him, how he would
Iaugbl Indeed there was so much laughter
about the matter, and the papers in the vic
inity made so much fun of the
matter, that the citizens at last
insisted on the physician changing his mode
of treatment for the deaf man, especially as
the latter, instead of benefiting by the prac
tice on his auditory nerves, had grown so
deaf that even the noise of the monster bell
produced no sensation in his auditory ap
paratus. THE DETIL'S BELLOWS.
An Ancient Writer Slakes Some Uncompli
mentary Remarks. Abant Mirrors.
Stubb'i "Anatomic ot Abases." 1585.:
The Lookyng-Glasse. The devill never
conld have found out a more pestilent evill
than this, for hereby man beholding his
face, and being naturally given to flatter
hymseli too muche, is easily drawn to
thinke well of hymself; yet no man seeth the
true portion of his face, but a counterfaita
effigie, and false image thereof in the glasse,
whiche the devill suliereth him to see, that
thereby he maie rise into pride, and so of
fende the Divine Majestie. Therefore maie
these lookrng-glasses be called the devillks
beilowes, wherewith he bloweth the blast of
pride into our hartes.
J
Poor, Foolish Men,
TAKE A WOMAN'S ADVICE.
This Is catytha second time in eight weeks thst
Ihave had to polish mj boots, and jet I had hud
work getting' my hssbtnd to grre up his old blscHac
bxusb, and the axmejanco cf h&Ting the piste black
lag rob off en bis pants, and adopt
WoIff'sAOMEBIacking
A magnificent Deep Black Polish, which lasts
on Men's boots a week, and onVVomen'samonth.
WOLFF & RANDOLPH, phiudelphu.
xvrxsa 'i
jftVnPaqHjR
A PERFECT
HJiiUima
looi Purifler.
vfaTaial
.g"wa
A nurelv Vefretahln
, Compound that expels
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iJfillTl
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makes pure, rich blood.
ap28
MEDICAL.
DOCTOR
WHITT1ER
814 PENS AVENUE, PITTSBURG, PA
As old residents know ana bock ales of Pitts
burg papers prove. Is the oldest established
and most prominent physician in the city, de
voting special attention to all chronic diseases.
SSTJSS.N0 FEEUNTILCURED
MCptniiOand mental diseases, physical
1 1 C. n V U U O oecay.nerrous debility, lack ot
energy, ambition and hope, impaired .mem
ory, disordered sight, self distrnstbashf ulness,
dizziness, sleeplessness, pimples, ernntions. Im
poverished blood, falling powers,organlc weak
ness, dyspepsia, constipation, consumption, un
fitting the person for bnsinessociety and mar
riage, permanently, safely and privately cured.
BLOOD AND SKINs'SU
blotches, falling hair, bones pains, glandular
swellings, ulcerations of tongue, mouth.throat,
ulcers, old sores, are cured for life, and blood
poisons thoroughly eradicated from the system.
IIDIMADV kidney and bladder aerange
UilllNnn Tments,weak back. gravel, ca
tarrhal discbarges. Inflammation and other
paint nl symptoms receive searching treatment,
prompt relief and real cures.
ut. ivniEuers ujc-iodk, oakiuitb experi
ence. Insures scientific and reliable treatment
on common-sense principles. Consultation
free. Patients at a distance as carcfollytreated
as If here. Office hours 9 A. K. to 8 p. x. Sun
day. 10 A. M. to 1 p. M. only. DR. WH1TTXER,
sllFenn avenue. Pittsburg, Pa.
auS.16-psnwk
GRAY'S SPECIFIC MEDICINE
CURES
NERVOUS DEBILITY.
LOST VIGOR.
LOSS OF MEMORY.
Full particulars In pamphlet
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