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14:
.
1
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if
GlY LAKE GEORGE.
A Famous Watering Tlace Sought
by Wealth and Fashion.
MOEOSIKI AND HIS DAUGHTEE.
Cute Old Cephas riatt and His Battle
snake Preserve.
THE CONFIDLNG BKITISH TOCKIST.
lSrECIAL COBBESrOJfDEJICI OX TUB DISPATCH. 1
LONORTD'E
I" -r 4- ,r-T,r
XIAiUl ULUfiUXV,
August 1G. Several
of the routes to
famous watering
places are common
ly made to include
a sail on Lake
George. It is close
to Saratoga, only a
little further off
from th- Adiron
dacksaud the Green
Mountains, and not
remote from the
White Mountains.
Its scenery is so
famously beautiful
that tourists are willing to go a little out of
their direct course to sail over its phenom
cnally clear water and to look at the mount
ain scenery which surrounds it. There is
hardly a place in the country, away lrom a
big city, where one sees so many nationali
ties represented in the guests at the hotels.
But when you come to settling in your
mind, without outside evidence, what coun
try each foreign looking man has come
from, you are liable to mistake. Here is a
Morosini and Bis Daughter,
Lake George incident. At the dockrail of
the steamboat stood a father and daughter.
"There is a typical German tourist," said
a companion of mine. "He might almost
be taken for Bismarck himself."
But he was no German at all. He was
Morosini, formerly partner of Jay Gould,
and noted also as the father of the pretty
girl who married the family coachman. It
will be remembered that Victoria Morosini
went into the chorus of a New York comic
opera company, but quitted that employ
ment and her husband rather mysteriously,
after which she was lost to public view for
two or three years. It was known that her
father bad regained control of her, and that
she was cured of
HER SIKGULAR INFATUATION
for just about as commonplace a coachman
as ever wore livery. Even intimate friends
ot the family did not know where she was
secluded, and they are not yet able to get
any trustworthy information on that point;
but Mis? Morosini and I call her that be
cause, as I am credibly informed, a divorce
has restored the Morosini name to her is
this summer for the first time since her
elopement an associate of her parents and
sisters. They are spending the season at
Saratoga, where Victoria is one of the most
expert of equestriennes, and a conspicuous,
although very modestly behaved, young
lady. She was with her father on the Lake
George steamer, and they had come up from
Saratoga, as many people do, for a day's
float on the famously picturesque water.
Jay Gould and his family frequently in
dulge in these excursions! The Goulds
have been away for a wild outing in the
Adirondack;, but this week they returned
to Saratoga, where they expect to remain
until September.
A RATTLESNAKE TRESEHVE.
C. P. Huntington is another millionaire
admirer of Lake George, and he comes here
from Saratoga every week or so. Upon his
last visit he took a sailboat, along with sev
eral companions, and visited Battle Island.
That is a new thing. The island has been
there long enough, and it is one of tbe more
insignificant among those that dot the lake,
but this year old Cephas Piatt, locally
famous as a catcher of rattlesnakes, has
taken possession. The island is wooded and
rocky, and Piatt has stocked it with snakes.
He tells the tourists that he found the rep
tiles there, but upon getting at all confi-
Confiding British Tourists.
dential he confesses that he transported
them in a big canvas bag, such as he uses
as a cage for his captives, and set them free.
He is a professional snake catcher.
The State pays a small bounty for each
head of a rattler, and Piatt used to get a
meager living, along with considerable no
toriety, by hunting the snakes, trying out
their oil to sell to druggists; disposing of
their skins to pocketbook makers, and col
lecting the State fee for the heads. Corre
spondents found readable matter in him,
and the publication of such articles made
him believe that lie conld profitably become
something of a showman. That is why he
has seized upon Battle Island, as he chris
tens it, and lets it be known at the hotels
that rattlesnakes may be plenteonsly seen
there. There is something fascinating about
enakes to man folks, and sail boats land
not a few venturesome visitors at Battle
Island. They are not much inclined to ex
plore it, and are generally satisfied with a
view of about a hundred big and little
snakes in glass cages; but if they are will
ing to take tbe risk, Piatt will conduct
them through his small domain, and more
than likely afford them a sight of one or
more snakes at large.
ENGLISH TOURISTS.
The tourists at Like George who look
most like touruts areVEnglish. They dress
distinctively for travel; they use guide
book almost constancy, and they ore very
y-itf IT:
?&
M
""i -i -
thorough in seeing everything worth look--ing
at. At the hotels and on steamboats
are sola volumes ot description oi .uane
G?orge scenery, interlarded profuselywith
Indian legends. Tbe writer has seemingly
made an industrious collection of these
aboriginal tales, and has not hesitated to
locate them with an exactitude that is al
most convincing. To see a typical Briton,
with a shawl crossed lrom one shoulder to
the opposite hip, his sturdy legs clad in
knickerbockers, his hard head surmounted
bv a helmet hat, and in his hands one of
A. Fair Huntress.
these guide books, is to get a reproduction
ot the English tourist as he is much more
numerously encountered in all parts ot tbe
European continents. If he is accompanied
by a daughter, she is equally well outfitted
in the matter of clothes lor rough travel. I
saw such a couple yesterday solemnly and
trustingly identifying a rocky precipice as
the very one from which, so the guide book
narrated, an Indian maiden had leaped
suicidedly. I felt like telling him that the
American mountainous resort without a
"maiden's leap" is quite unknown.
One of the eccentricities at Lake George
is Miss Mamie Woolsen, an heiress from
New Orleans, and related in some way to
the wealthy Morrises, who own the Louis
iana State lottery. She is living for the
summer with her parents on Bound Island,
and her favorite pastime is squirrel and
rabbit hunting on the hills of the mainland
near by. She doesn't often shoot at the
came, and still more rarely does she make a
hit; bat she roams at will, accompanied by
a favorite dog, and tooting a horn so me
lodiously that its notes make echoing
music
ETjrBESSrNQ SLANO.
One of the summer indications, as ob
served at no less than half a dozen summer
resorts, is that a sort of crusade is getting
force against the use of conversational slang,
and especially against its excessiveiemploy
ment by the girls of the present day. Quite
recently a well-known lady ot New York in
distributing prizes to some people, dwelt
ria much emphasis on the curious uses to
which the words "awful" and 'awfully"
are nowadays put; and since then
the Columbia College annex ex
aminers have formally pronounced
their condemnation of the copious sprink
ling of slang which they have discoved in
the examination papers of certain incor
rigible schoolgirls. I was reminded of
tbis when I saw two girls, types of dainty
culture, waving their handkerchiefs from
the hotel veranda at some departing fnend.
They Used Slang.
They were exquisitely dressed, their manners
were gentle, and they were uncommonly
pretty. But one of them cried out, "So
long!" while the other exclaimed, "I'll see
you laterl" That was not very shocking as
an example of slang, yet it called out a
severe reprimand from the girls' mother,
who until lately"would not have thought ot
forbidding expressions much further off
from dictionary sanction. Kameba.
A SUPPLY OP WOOD FEEE.
flow a Darkey and III" Doss Laid in a Store
of FueL
Savannah News.l
One of Starke's colored farmers, who pos
sesses more ingenuity than energy, was
tired of hauling home fire wood, and put a
pair of vicious curs in his yard to compel
passers by to furnish that article. A Baling
was knocked from the fence to allow the
dogs to run out on the road and attack
pedestrians. The latter, for defense, would
never pass the place unless they were pro
vided with an armful of pine knots to
chunk the dogs with.
At night the darkly ga&ered up the dogs
earnings for the day, a'M fou..d fuel not
only enough for the hominy department,
but a surplus to lav up for winter. But
now bis curs are both poisoned, and their
owner sits on a stump beneath a wide
spreading Jerusalem oak bemoaning his
loss.
SIXTEENTH CENTOBI PRINTING.
Fifteen Years' Work to Get Oat an Edition
of GOO Volumes.
American Bokm&ler.l
They took their time in printing impor
tant books during the first century after the
discovery of the art. For example, take the
famous Polyglot Bible, printed under the
patronage of Cardinal Ximenes. It was be
gun in 1502 and finished on January 10,
1517. The last sheet was carried toXimenes
shortly before his death, when he thanked
God tnat he had lived to see the completion
of his greatest work.
The edition was limited to 600 copies and
cost 50,000 ducats, a sum equal to about
$5,000,000 in onr day. It has now become
very scarce. A copy on vellum (oi which
only three were printed), and supposed to be
the identical copy reserved by the cardinal,
was sold in 1829 lor nearly"?3,000. -
They Met by Chance.
&? -
f-
Thin Bather I bee pardon, sir.
Have
we not met before ?
Stout Bather Possibly, sir. I am Blob
Bon, the inventor of "Blobson's Great .Anti
Fat Bemedv."
Thin Bather Ah, I knew I could not bei
mistaken. 1 am Jfrolessor Dingbats, oi tne
School ofiPhysical Culture. Shake! Puck.
fp. lj 'lr P I III 111! i
A A-
A FINANCIAL FOCUS.
i
From
Hong Kong's Great Progress
a Few Fishermen's Huts to the
MONEY MARKET OF THE FAR EAST.
Daring Speculators Making Mammoth For
tunes in a Day.
A!
CHARACTER OP H0XG K0XQ FINABCE
THOM OUB TKAVIXIXO COMJIIS8IOSEK.J
Hono Kong, July 22. The Hong Kong
Stock Exchange, if people at home only
knew of it, would be regarded as one of the
financial wonders of the world. But they
do not. and indeed, to begin with, there is
no Stock Exchange, properly speaking, in
Hang Kong. One is being established at this
moment. What exchange there is now, is
the gutter. From the bar ot the club to
about a hundred yards down the Queen's
road is the local Bialto. But there, all day
long, a financial business is done which I
doubt if any hundred yards In tbe world,
except tbe spaces including the London and
New York Stock Exchanges and the Paris
Bourse, can equal either for volume of
money, audacity of speculation, or sensa
tional ups and downs. Everything is done
either under the punkahs in the hall of the
club or literally id the gutter, and by the
most motleey crowd of brokers in double
decked hats that the world can show.
There are Englishmen. Germans, Anglo
Indians, Chinese from Canton, Armenians
from Calcutta, Parsees from Bombay, and
Hebrews from Bagdad. And from the
princes of finance who play with millions
of dollars (there are several of them in
Hong Kong) down to the humblest who
buys 10 shares here and sells 10 shares there,
all are making niouey fast. There are
practically no bankruptcies in Hong,Kong.
The former live in their little palaces; they
entertain like princes; they are as generous
as they are prosperous, and the latter kick
their heels all day long in the street and
tbe corridors of the Hong Kong Hotel. And
although to say that all of them make
money is not unlike saying that two men
live on what they win from each other at
cards, still the paradox is a truth. Money
in Hong Kong seems to have less value, than
anywhere else, like wheat in Manitoba or
petroleum in Pennsylvania.
FORGOT THE VALUE OP MONET.
A player at poker the other night dropped
a "long chip," value ?100, under the table.
"Maskee," he said, in pidgin English, "no
matter." "It's 15," somebody reminded
him; "if you were at home you'd look for it
fast enough." "By Jove," he replied, "so
I willl I forgot how much it was." And
here is an example showing at once all
three characteristics I have claimed above
for Hong Kong finance. A few weeks ago,
in the stock of a single mine in the Malay
Peninsula, upward ot $1,500,000 dollars wa's
paid by Singapore speculators to Hong
Kong speculators in less than a fortnight,
and the same shares were bought back by
Hong Kong within u month at more than
50 per cent discount.
As for ups and downs, here are a few ex
amples taken at random. The shares of the
HongKongandKowloon'WharfaiidGodown
Comptny, issued at 5100, rose immediately
to $103, fell to 125 witbiu a month, and are
to-day quoted at $200. Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank shares, of $125 par value,
were at one time nt 205 per cent premium,
they fali again to 125 per cent premium, and
are to-day back to 200 per cent. The Hong
Kong and Whatupoa Dock Company's
shares, of $125 par value, rose from 25 per
cent premium to 135 per cent, fell to 26 per
cent, and are quoted to-day at 95 per cent
The Punjom and Sunghie Dua Samantan
Gold Mining Company (mine at Punjom,
in the Malay Peninsula) was floated at $10
per share, rose at once to $15, andjthen
jumped suddenly to $80, fell back as sud
denly, alter considerable over a million
dollars bad changed hands, to $25, at which
price most of tbe shares bought and sold
again, and now they are firm at $35. But
perhaps
THE MOST SENSATIONAL
of all is the Tongkinc Coal Mining Com
pany. The shares, which by French law
must be registered in Paris, were issued at
500 francs, say $138, they rose on issue to CO
per cent premium, then at a jump to 120 per
cent, then at another to 220 per cent, and to
day they stand steady at 400 per cent
premium, say $700, with ier or no sellers,
in spite of the expense of holding them, as
the local banks will not advance a dollar
upon mining shares which have not yet
paid a dividend. I suppose it would be
difficult to match this in the history of re
cent finance.
Now tbis state of things is the rule, not
the exception, in Hong Kong, and it is self
evident that such high prices can only ex
ist and have existed on one condition,
namely, that the local companies in
cluding, of course, the enterprises in Bor
neo, in the Malay Peninsula, in Manila,
etc., of which the capital is held in Hong
Kong were lormed on a sound basis and
are doing thoroughly 'veil. Many Of these
ups and downs are, of course, the merest
gambling, some of them not even honest
gambling, as a recent lawsuit has shown,
and I am sorry to say that niucli of this is
done by young men, earning clerk's sal
aries, who would find such a course impos
sible elsewhere. But gambling is in
separable from prosperity, and no
gambling could produce the same steady
effect as legitimate profit'" and promise.
This is the case with the local com
panies, but I fancy very few people have
any idea of what the combined capital of
these companies amount to. The total num
ber of conmanies of all kinds registered in
Hong Kong is 44. Space prevents me lrom
giving a list of these, but I have made one,
and the following facts are shown by it. The
total capital of Hong Kong local companies
is no less than $40,740,000. The average
dividend of the local companies which have
already been in existence long enough to
pay one, is a fraction over 13 per cent per
annum. And their average annual yield to
investors at the so-called "inflated" current
prices is 6.2 per cent.
FLOATING NEW COMPANIES.
New companies are being floated almost
every month in Hong Kong. As the new
lands of the Far East are gradually devel
oped.it is to Hong Kong that they look and
must look for financial aid. And capital
there responds to the right call, as the flash
responds to the trigger. For instance, a
month ago a new issue of shares ot the
Hong Kong Land Investment Company was
made at-50 per cent premium, $100 for a $50
share. The number offered to the public
was 13,000. No fewer than 52,000 weie ap
plied for. To day they are quoted at $145.
Of course there are not wanting prophets of
evil who foretell an utter collapse of the
Hong Kong market.as a consequence of what
they are pleased to term the "gambling
mania" prevalent in the colony. Finan
ciers at home send telegrams to their repre
sentatives here urging caution, and mer
chants write long homilies to their agents.
Yet I have heard that the very merchants
and friends both at home and elsewhere in
China who are so anxious on the one hand
that Hong Kong should become a model of
Scotch prudence, or are so ready on the
other to denounce it as a "bucket-shop,"
are themselves among the quickest and most
persistent applicants for shares in new en
terprises, with the purely gambling inten
tion of reselling them at the first rise.
In the past,ishareshave been freely al
lotted with'this result: in the future, I un
derstand local promoters intend to be a
trifle more particular whose fortunes they
make. I must not presume to decide the
question whether Hone Kong is or is not rest
ing on a financial volcano, but I see no rea
son to believe if and many reasons to be
lieve the contrary. And in defiance of this
opinion I think Hong Kong financiers will
admit for a long period no stranger has
given time or attention to the affairs of the
colony that I have. For it is not until after
you have studied Hong Kong that you begin
to discover, and that slowly, what a marvel
ous place it is. Less than fifty years ago, a
barren island, with a few Chinese fisher
men's huts: to-day, a port with 7,000,000
tons of shipping a year; a focus of enter
prise with six and a quarter millions sterl
ing of locally registered capital; a coal cen
ter where 60,000 tons are consumed per
month; an insurance base where in 1888
premiums were paid by Chinese merchants
alone upon a capital value of 21,000,000
sterline (I have this fact upon tho best au
thority); A FINANCIAL CENTEB
for the whole Far East, since Japan,
Manila, Sinpapore, Jav3, Swatow, Amoy
and Saigon all finance through Hong Kong,
and from which 6,000,000 rupees is the
monthlv average remittance to India for
opium and yarn. And unless all signs fail
the development of the Far East is only be
ginning. Borneo, the Malay Peninsula,
and Siam are all certain to become the scene
of enterprises of all kinds within a short
time, and the Philippine Islands are mak
ing great strides. Any development in any
of these places means the increased pros
perity of Hong Kong. If the coal of Tone
king turns out as it seems to promise, and
can be sold in Hong Kong as cheaply as is
reasonably claimed by the urometers of the
company, Hong Kong will become also a
manufacturing center. And the introduc
tion of railways into China, which is on the
eve of being an accomplished fact, will
bring infinite grist to her mill. In fact
there is only one thing that can surely bring
about the collapse of values in this marvel
ous island colony, and that is a war in
which England should be engaged with a
power represented in the Pacific, while
Hong Kong still Jeels herself to be inade
quately defended.
The subject of the coming development of
the Far East brings me to another matter
closely touching Hong Kong, and which,
although new at present, will soon be proni
nently before local and London financiers.
Namely, the question of increased banking
facilities. Ot the five banks here the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,
the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and
China, the Chartered Mercantile Bank of
India, London and China, the New Oriental
Bank Corporation, and the Comptoir
d'Escompte, only the first two can be re
garded as having afforded important facil
ities to local finance.
MOKE BANKS NEEDED.
The third and fourth mentioned do a com-,
paratively small business, and the fifth is a
foreign mstitntion and is in liquidation.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank is the
divine providence, from a financial point of
view, of the Far East. It has been the
foundation and mainstay of British pros
perity in this part of the world, and its
name and fame were never higher than to
day. Bnt the needs of the Far East have
been tending to exceed its resources for some
time, for the best bank in the world can
only give what it has. So, too, with the
Chartered Bank of India. Its local busi
ness here, ancl business of a very profitable
character, has increased several told during
tbe last five years, bnt it, too, has all
its available funds employed. So
to-day. as I am assured on all hands.
a constantly increasing amount oPi
legitimate and profitable banking busi
ness is being turned away from the doors of
both institutions. Therefore, unless Hon?
Kong is to stop where it is and the record'
ana cnaracter ox lis lnuaoiianis maiwes iuav,
in the highest degree improbable one of
two things must be done. Either the local
bank must increase its capital, or a new
semi-local bank must be established "to
meet legitimate business, with a very large
margin to very good people." So certain is
th,is that already the leading Chinese mer
chants, refused in their applications for
banking facilities, are threatening to estab
lish a local Anglo-Chinese bank. The capi
tal for a new. local bank could be raised im
mediately,ofa new issue of Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank shares could be placed on
the market at a heavy premium to-morrow.
One course or tbe other is practically certain
to be taken, and neither presents any special
difficulties. But from the reputation of the
directors of the present bank I do not sup
pose they will allow a step of this kind to
be taken over their heads.
Henet Nobhan.
TURTLES IN A TUG OP WAK.
A Novel Contest That Afford Amusement
to New York Broken.
MewYorkBtar.j
Dr. S. A. Brown, who keeps that old drug
store near Fulton Market, has invented a
new method of amusement for the crowd of
Metal Exchange men and brokers, who are
always running in and out of his office. The
new scheme may be run up to any
extent as a gambling game, omay be used
purely for the amusement of the
spectators. Dr. Brown goes down to
.the market and gets a couple ot turtles
about four inches square; little ones.
Then he takes a piece of chalk and marks
off about ten feet of space on the floor of
his store, and puts the turtles with their
four feet resting on the marks and their
backs to each other. Then he takes a piece
of carefully measured string and attaches
one end to each tnrtle. Then tbe fun be
gins. Bets are laid even or at preadjudged
odds as to which turtle will haul the other
over a line in the center.
It has been said that a fishman down in
the market has a turtle that, for its size, is
the strongest so far discovered and can hanl
any turtle of equal weight ten feet without
stopping. It is a very amusing tug of war,
and, as in a great manv other similar
schemes, depends a great deal upon which
turtle starts first. Dr. Brown has discovered
that the turtle that makes the first move is
bound to win,, as the other one, owing
to its backward progress, cannot get suffi
cient grip on the floor to withstand the
efforts of the other. A half-dozen members
of the Metal Exchange took a couple of
turtles up into the new Fulton Market Club
rooms the other day, and had unlimited tnn
and no small quantity of wine at the ex
pense of the losers. The game is creating
considerable interest, and before long no
one need be surprised to see the turtle tug-of-war
in full swing around Wall street.
Three Is an Assemblage.
X-
Mr. Clint. Boss (recently betrothed)
"Who's my 'ittle dumpling?
Miss Skate I is.
Mr. Bosi Who's your 'ittle dumpling ?
Miss Skate Oo is.
Mr. Stubbles I couldn't hold old Enoch
no longer, friends. He had t join th'
crowd. Judge,
m
LIFE IS A CONYENT.
a Picturesque and Historical Retreat
on the French. Coast
DESCRIBED BY A NOTED NOVELIST.
Impressive Ceremonies at the
Bishop's Reception.
Yisitinjr
NAPOLEON AND THE GEAND SALON
COSaXSFONDISCX or TBE DISrATCH.3
BOULOGNE-SUE-MEB, July 30.
HE Convent de la
Betraite, where I
() S am writing my new
, M book', is one of the
oldest and most in
teresting in France,
counting its age by
centuries. Henry "VIII.
once slept there, and in
1804 it was the residence of
Marshal Ney while com
manding the camp of Bou
logne. It was originally
built as a palace- for tho
Archbishop, and contains
the authentic portraits of
he 12 bishops who occu
pied the See of Boulogne
from 1566 to 1789. Later it
became a monastery, then a Jesuit College,
and finally passed into the hands of the
ladies who founded the order of the Betraite
du Sacrc-Cccur.
These ladies do not teach, but they do
much good among the working girls ot the
city and are never idle in their beautifnl
home. They have a number of ladies as
permanent boarders, tnd in times of re
treat the" convent is full; it is the favorite
resort of the devout Catholics of the En
glish and French nobility. The boarders
find.their material routine much like that
of an hotel, except that one is served by
black-robed, bandeaued sisters, and that
the bell which summons to meals has
a very cloistral sound.
A BEATTTIFTJI, SITE.
The Archbishop who built this convent
had an eve to both splendor and tho pictur
esque. The main building is nearly 400
feet long and from right and left wings
extend, making a numberof courts in which
are most beautifnl gardens. My own room
overlooks the largest of these gardens, a
wilderness ot green, with thick clumps of
trees and a lake with gold fish beneath, the
water lilies. On two sides are the cold,
gray walls of the convent, above another
side tower the ramparts, and at the end is
the great sanctuary of the cathedral with
the dome above. The trees and vines cling
to the ramparts, showing vividly against
the hewn grey stone, and here and there are
niches with statues of tbe virgins and saints.
At the end of the garden, just under the
massive walls of the cathedral, is a statue of
St. Michael and the devil, almost hidden
by the luxuriant and rapidly-growing foli
age. My window is shaded bv the magnificent
trees on the ramparts, and" the place is so
quiet that one can hardly realize that the
town hums beyond. Jnst behind this wing
is the cloister and garden de communante
of the nuns, a sacred place, where com
mon mortals are not admitted. Otherwise
the boarders have perfect liberty and can go
and come as they please, provided they ire
at home at 9:30 at night. They have an im
mense salon in which to receive their vis
itors and a very handsome one at that It
is in the main building, arched and heavily
hung with curtains, and overlooks three of
Engaged in Composition.
the gardens. The floor is waxed and very
dark, and the table and chairs are of carved
antique oak. Out of it open the various
winzs, and to the right extends a long hall
leading to the chapel. The wide stone
staircase leads to its door and in the marble
paved vestibule below are always palms and
shrubs.
A VIEW OF ENGLAND.
"When the boarders get tired of the gar
dens they can go up on the ramparts and
have a superb view of the city sleeping on
its hills, and on clear days of England
"across the Channel. The ramparts encom
pass all of the old town, or the Haute-Ville,
as it is called, and in which live the aristoc
racy of Boulogne, whose forefathers lived
there when the sea washed the ramparts,
and the Basse-Ville was not. Leading off
from the ramparts by a drawbridge, over
hanging a waterless moat, not far from the
convent, is an old gray castle, with massive
towers and narrow barred windows, high up
in the steep, rough walls. It is the Chateau
de Boulogne, now the fortress and residence
of the Governors, and in one of these great,
round, Norman towers Napoleon HI. was
imprisoned after his famous descent upon
Boulogne in 1840. His room overlooked
the court, not over the broad avenue of tbe
ramparts, and he must have had a pretty
dreary time of it Out of the walls, occa
sionally, spring bunches of green, but other
wise they are as stern and bare as a cliff
that overhangs the sea.
Quiet and peaceful and away from the
world as convent life is, it has its distrac
tions. I got up at 7:30 a week or two since
to witness the first'eommunion of the little
boys of the college. The chapel is a large
and handsome room, with the carved stalls
of the nuns at the back, many chairs and
pne-dieus in front, and a rich and beauti
ful altar smothered iu wonderful flowers
made by the Beverende Mere, so perfect
that I never questioned their truth.
In the center of the a) tar. was a draped
crimson mantle lined with ermine and. sur
mounting a crown, and beneath was a mass
of gilt roses. Thirty or 40 wax candles
burned on either side, and when thepriest
stood against this background clad in his
heavy gold embroidered yellow robes, he
made a picture which many a subject-hunting
painter would have hailed with joy.
Bed draperies were everywhere.
THE FIEST COMMUNION.
In a little room behind the stalls a choir
of hoys sang, and after the parents and
friends were seated, a door near the chapel
opened, a procession of altar boys appeared,
and two by two passed down the aisle and
out into the hall to meet the communicants.
They looked like little bishops in their long
red silk gowns, with the delicate white lace
falling above, and their hands crossed over
their chests. In a little time we heard the
sound of approaching chanting voices, and
the little communicants appeared, clad in
dark blue, with a white, band on their arms.
They marched between the stalls and took
their seats in the long red pews which had
been placed in the upper part of the chapel,
and each kneeling beneath-a tall stalk of
white and shapely lilies. They were fol
lowed by the altar boys,-and then left their
seat, each taking cue of the great white
candles ranged in the sides of the chapel,
went to the altar. This performance was
repeated several times, and there were two
impressive sermons. It all lasted about an
.hour and a half, and then the boys went
IT3 L I m.
fl BT),i Til
; KgrT a!
outandhad'a breakfast downstairs and a
half hour in the gardens.
On Sunday morning last I witnessed a
ceremony very interesting to an American.
A high platform had been built in the front
garden, with two wide flights of stairs lead
ing up to it On the stairs were heavy car
pets and thick rows of ferns where bannis
ters usually are. The platform was covered
by a red carpet, and at the back was an
altar with the ermine-lined mantle sur
mounted by the crown, and the candles and
golden flowers. Behind this was a high
painted scene, much like the scene ot a
theater, representing tbe towers and turrets
of ancient Boulogne. At the end of a street's
perspective was a glimpse of the sea with a
boat containing the two angels, who, the
legend bath it, brought tbe statue of Notre
Dame de Boulogne-to the favored city when
the centuries; were young. Against tne gray
deceptive towers were trees and shrubs,
adding to their reality. The convent, ivy
grown, runs around three sides of this gar
den, the wall closing in the fourth. In each
window were flowers and plants, the build
ing was vivid with scarlet draperies and 100
flags waved in the court All this was in
honor of the bishop, who makes his rounds
every two years. This richly arranged plat
form is called a reposoir.
THE BISnOP'S BECKPTION.
At about 10 o'clock the procession made
its appearance to the accompaniment of a
band of music and singing, men and women.
First came the ladies of the town, who
always walk in these processions, and as
many as possible were admitted within the
convent gates; the rest stood withont in the
Enclos. Then came the servants and work-i
ing girls who are under the patronage of
the Ladies of the Betraite. They wore white
gowns and veils and blue ribbons above the
waist (Following, were the altar-boys, in
their red gowns this time, and the little
communicants whom I have jnst described.
Then, under a gorgeous red canopy, came the
Bishop and his chaplains, followed by many
priests. He left tbe canopy at the chapel
gates, and went forward and ascended the
altar, while the assembled crowd bent its
knees. It was a most impressive sight the
bishop and his chaplains in their splendid
garments against the gray and green of the
old castle, the kneeling yellow-robed priests
on the wide sweeping stairs, the white-clad
girls in the court below. Then, an unseen
choir, the nuns began to sing, the Bishop
responded, and in a tew'moments the cere
mony, all too short, was over.
The most interesting room in this old
A Peep at the Grand Baton.
building is the great salon in tbe center. It
is chaste and serene now, there are no rues
on the dark floor, and a life-size picture of
the Pope with uplifted hands holds eternal
court But once, when England was trem
bling at the threatened onslaught of France,
Napoleon held many a ball in this salon,
and the brilliant and beautiful women of
the Hante-ville sped over the polished floor
in the embrace of the brave French soldiers.
I often feel tempted at midnight to steal
down the spiral staircase from my room, tip
toe fearfully down the long corridor and
peer into the great silent salon with its
calm virgin and commanding emblam of the
Infallible. Perhaps a ghostly throng would
flit in mirthful echo beneath the arches, and
vague, yibrating strains of music imprls
onecTeternally in the waves of air, would
wander back and Inspire those dim, trip
ping feet. Perchance I might see, stalking
through his guests, with head bent, or
pausing to pay some rouged and rounded
dame a curt and doubtful compliment, the
fiale image of the greatest man that ever
ived. I verily believe that I would try it
if I were not the greatest coward on earth!
Geeteude Feankxin Athebtox.
A SOCIABLE SNAKE.
It Becomes a Stnr Boarder and Is Useful
Aboat the Home.
All the people of Jackson, Mich., are not
liars, and one of the most truthful writes
in the Saturday Star about a snake which
he caught in Whitmore Lake while fishing
through the ice last winter. The reptile
was very large and beautifully colored, and
when the hook was removed from its mouth
coiled itself and sprang 60 feet into the air
several times. It then sat down on a chunk
of ice and took lunch with the Jackson man,
and after smoking a mild cigar slipped back
into the water.
This summer it came to the Jackson man's
house as a star boarder, and it saves his little
girl from drowning every time she falls into
the water, lifts pickles out of the barrel
with its forked tongue, and keeps the lawn
sprinkled by filling up on water and spout
ing it over the yard, although it acted a
little diffident about the last job until the
Jackson man removed his keep-off-the-grass
sign.
G0ISG TO BACK OUT.
Why a Detroit Street Car Patron Wanted
a LoDg Ride.
Detroit Free Press. I
"Does this car go up Trumbull avenue?"
he asked of a conductor as he got on at
Woodward avenue.
"Yes sir."
"How far is it to the end of the line?"
"About two miles."
"Will you be an hour and a half eoinc
up?" b
"About that; why?"
"I'm going up there to see a widder.
We've been courting for a year. We are
engaged. I want to flunk out ot it. I want
time to collect my thought and get my ex
cuses ready. An hour and a half will do
purty well, I guess, but make it two hours
if you can. I'm a patron, you know, and
the line orter run for the benefit of
patrons."
Preparing: tor Revcsge.
AnxiousPassenger Is thisPhillydelphy?
Conductor It is.
Passenger Ain't seen nothln of Bam
Elson, haveyer?
Conductor Don't know him.
Passenger Shot I hped yer did. He
moved over here from our town about 20
year ago, an owed me f2. I wanted t' git a
chance t' swat him once with this umbril as
the train went through. Judge,
CHINESE . GYMNASTS.
Physical Education Among the Celes
tials of Ancient Times.
T'HB INVENTORS OP MASSAGE.
Little Mongolians Practicing Calisthenics
in the Pablic Schools.
DRILLING A NATION BACK TO HEALTH.
rwarrrxN fob thi msPATcn.l
In spite of the frequent reference among
educators and In educational literature to
the fact that all education should aim at
producing a sound mind in a healthy body,
it is well known that this important truth is
too olten forgotten. That the ennobling of
the mind at the expense of physical excel
lence should be a trait of modern education
is in one respect a remarkable protest against
the time-worn charge of vanity preferred
against mankind; for it is plainly evident
to the careful observer that the modern
youth of either sex does not maintain the
pardonable and even laudable ambition of
physical perfection, but generally depends
upon tailors and dressmakers for beauty of
form and symmetry of proportions.
Whatever is said to the contrary, modern
man during his never ceasing struggle for
wealth and luxury has almost entirely lost
sight of that manly ideal, which was char
acteristic to the middle ages and more essen
tially to the Greeks and Bomans of old.
With the exception of a few European na
tions," particularly the Swedes, physical
education is almost totally a lost art, so to
speak. It is true that in the United States
a number of gymnasiums have been erected,
but still it is not generally conceived that
the best physical training will not aim to
make either athletes, acrobats or professional
sportsmen.
. ANCIENT GYMNASTS.
In order to arrive at a right understand
ing of the ideal" purposes of physical educa
tion and gymnastics, namely, the promotion
of health of body and mind, by the harmoni
ous developmentotthe formerand itsmaking
into a ready servant of the later it is neces
sary to study the subject historically and
to consider its practice and customs among
different races and dnring different periods
and stages of development. The original
gymnastic exercises of the ancients con
sisted mainly ot rythmical movements such
as dance and pantomime associated with
religious worship and leasts. Much later it
was developed into pedagogical training and
warlike purposes, and still further certain
exercises and movements were successfully
employed with therapeutical designs. Con
sequently it is manilest that gymnastics
were intimately connected with the inner
life of the people, being part of its religious
observances, education and hygiene.
According to P. Amiot, in his "L'Abrege
Chronologique de l'Histoire de l'Empire
Chinais," the diseases during the Emperor
Yu-Kfang-Chi increased at an alarm
ing rate as a result of various climatic
changes and disturbances. With a view of
ameliorating this condition and of improv
ing the hygienic condition of his people,
the Emperor ordered the performance by
I his subjects of various military exercises
I and evolutions, and by this wise measure
the general health ot tne nation was in
course of time maintained. It appears that
diverse dances were included in these
maneuvers, with and without the equip
ment of shield and flag. This practice was
persevered in until the reign of Emperor
Fou-Hi, who flourished about 3,468 years
before the Christian era. It is, therefore,
evident that gymnastics were employed to
the benefit of tbe people in China at this
distant age, and much earlier than is re
corded by any other cultured nation. It
appear also that the Chinese were con
versant not only with the pedagogical use
of gymnastics for training and drill to tbe
preservation of health, but also conceived
the
jjnrsioi.GOiCAXr effects
thereof on the organism in a manner that
even to Hatvey would have appeared a most
valuable hint. From Chinese writings it is
ascertained that their physicians and
learned men held that within the organism
circulates a subtle fluid matter, the motion
of which wds supposed to decline or alto
gether stagnate, if the body was not in mo
tion. Various maladies originated in con
sequence of such stagnation. Ancient Chi
nese engravings represent anatomical de
monstrations and gymnastic exercises not
onlv active, executed without aid. but also
passive and semi-passive, with the help of
assistants, who were also stilled in knead
ing, stacking, Dressing and all the multi
farious dexterities of rudimentary massage.
It seems, therefore, that the ancient Mon
golians, to a certain extent, appreciated the
therapeutical virtue of gymnastics, and, in
this, as well as in other respects, were ahead
of modern culture.
', ' In China it was deemed inseparable from a
liberal education of the" voune to dance and
,sing well, and in the most remote times
pumic scnoois exisiea wnere, oesiaes mis
accomplishment, instruction was imparted
in arithmetic, penmanship, history and in the
art of driving a carriage. It is said of the
great philosopher and religions founder,
Kon-Fut-Tse (Confucius), that he partici
pated in gymnastic practices with much
skill and diligence. The priests have in their
possession a system of gymnastics, named
Kong-Fan, which includes different posi
tions of the body and varions methods of
respiration. The principal positions are the
standing, the sitting ana the recumbent
CHINESE CALISTHENICS.
First From the standing position various
different postures are derived, by the mov
ing of the legs aoart, by the planting of one
foot forward, backward or to the side. By
the posing of the arms vertically or horizon
tally, or by lifting one arm upward, one
downward, or by striking an attitude
akimbo. By leaning the body forward,
sideward or backward, etc
Second From the sitting position diverse
attitudes are obtained much in the same
manner as when standing.
Third In the recumbent position expedi
ent variations were gained by resting either
on the back, prostrated face down or lying
upon one side, and by all the numerous
pointings of-arms and legs previously men
tioned, including different positions of the
head.
4 With a skillful and methodical system of
bending and stretching, raising and lower
ing, extending and closing of arms and
legs, a peculiarly varying and almost un
limited mass of gymnastic postures, move
ments, exercises and attitudes are obtained
in the svstem of Kong-Fan, tending to the
development of every muscle and sinew of
the body harmoniously and symmetrically.
It is also worth attention that the Chinese
have known and applied gymnastics for
otherwise neglected organs, the tongue and
eyes. Ac the and passive motions and
manifestations of the tongue were designed
to increase the secretion of saliva and for
the correction of stammering and impaired
speech. To the various modes of respira
tioD through the mouth, through the nose,
or both at the same time during inhalation
and exhalation, quick or slow.forcible or
elongated, no small amount of importance
was attached in their gymnastic execu
tions. A CELESTIAI. THEOET.
The Chinese regarded the human body as
a "hydraulic mechanism" the free circu
lation of whose "fluids" was the agent of
health and of restoration to health. This
circulation had to overcome both the weight
of the "fluids" and the friction thereof
against the walla oi the vessels, and every
thing, that, formed an obstruction against
.either wai naturally looked upon as bearing
influence" upon the health. Their theory
was that the air. which continually enters
the body through the'lnngs, increased the
movabiiity of the fluids, the consequence of
which was that anything that faailitates or
retards the entrance of air into the body
mmt necessarily either facilitate or retard
the circulation. Upon thfs base the Chl
nese constructed a gymnastic theory.
Impediments to tho circulation of the)
fluids depending on their own weight wero
removed by diverse positions and attitudes.
The horizontal position was imagined most
favorable to the circulation, and the up
right posture was supposed to act retarding.
By the change of positions a means was ac
quired to direct the fluids and to correct
their motions. Accumulation of fluid in a
certain locality of the organism was sure to
cause a corresponding diminution or les
sened motion in other parts. In spite of
this rudimentary insight into physics and
physiology their method of gymnastics was
eminently applicable to diseases depending
upon an arrested, sluggish or abnormally
increased circulation. Missionaries among
the Chinese corroborate this fact, and N.
Bally has made extensive observations
thereon, related iu his work, "Cinesiologie
ou Science du Movement" It is quite in
accordance with the ancient and high state
of Chinese culture that gymnastics should
be employed by this people as a means of
preserving health, of developing and per
fecting warriors and of coping with disease.
When Metzger, some 25 years ago,
ASTONISHED EUROPE
with his successful use of massage very few
were familiar with the fact that thousands
ot vears before the Christian era the Chinese
had no other remedy for anchyloses, contrac
tion of muscles, neuralgia and rheumatism
than kneading, rolling, stroking, hacking,
chapping and such like dexterous knick
knacks, in modern times simplified and
perfected.
The Chinese system of gymnastics has
been developed without influence from
abroad, has sorung up from its own
soil and has never been transplanted to the
benefit of other nations. The Greek ath
letics and games were not formed after the
Chinese model, at least history tells us
nothing about it From P. H.'Ling, the
founder of the Swedish system, down to the
present day, no author or practitioner has
ever quoted any practical experience loan
or research from the Chinese gymnastics.
The human faculties of one nation do not
differ from those of another nation. Inven
tions and institutions of one people may
therefore resemble those of another people,
although having been conceived and de
veloped independently of each other. Mod
ern gymnastics are conceivable without
those of China, but their present use and
mood of practice are founded upon tbe
ground of modern science, compared to
which the Chinese culture was obviously
an inferior article. The nature of physical
training establishes numerous resemblances,
be it in different quarters of the world or
thousands of years between; but that is no
proof ot the assertion that modern gymnas
tics ore merely a loan from the original
idea of the Chinese.
Axel C. Mallbeck.
Something; Stroncer Than Salllran.
Chicago A cits.1
The race is not always to the swift nor
the battle to the strong, but if John L. Sul
livan gets safely out of that Mississippi mess
and will tackle the Chicago river to a finish
we will lay odds on the creek and give the
slugger the choice of rules.
Tndigestion
TS not only a distressing complalnt,'ot
1 itself, but, by causing the blood to
become depraved and the system en
feebled, is the parent of innumerable
maladies. That Ayer's Sarsaparilla
13 the best cure for Indigestion, even
when complicated with liver Complaint,
is proved by the following testimony
from Mrs. Joseph Lake, of Brockwa
Centre, Mich.:
"Liver complaint and Indigestion
made my life a burden and came near
ending my existence. For more than
four years I suffered untold agony, was
reduced almost to a skeleton, and hardly
had strength to drag myself about All
kinds of food distressed me, and only
the most delicate could be digested at
oii. Within the time mentioned several
physicians treated me without giving re
lief. Nothing that I took seemed to do
any permanent good until I commenced
the use of Ayer's Sarsaparilla, which
has produced wonderful results. Soon
after commencing to take the Sarsapa
rilla I could see an improvement in my
condition. My appetite began to return
and with it came the ability to digest
all the food taken, my strength im
proved each day. and after a few
months of faithful attention to your
directions, I found myself a well
-woman, able to attend to all household
duties. The medicine has given me a
new lease of life." ,
Ayer's Sarsaparilla,
Dp. J. C. Ayer tc Co., Lowell, Mass,
iTIccSl; six bottles, $3. Worth $5 a bottla
A PERFEC1
A. purely Vegetable
Compound that expels
all bad humors from the
system. Removes blotch
es and pimples, and
makes pure, rich blood.
3D2-SS
MEDICAL.
DOCTOR
WHITTIER
814 PENN AVENUE, PITTSBURG, PA
As old residents know ana back flies of Pitts
burg papers prove, is the oldest established
and most prominent physician In the city, de
voting special attention to all chronic diseases.
SKrsCsNOFEEUNTILCURED
MCDni IO and mental diseases, physical
IN t It V U U O aecay.nervous debility, lack ot
energy, ambition and hope, impaired mem
ory, disordered sight, self distrust,bashf nlness,
dizziness, sleeplessness, pimples, eruptions. Im
poverished blood, falling powers.organlc weak
ness, dyspepsia, constipation, consumption, un
fitting the person for bmlness.soctety and mar
riage, permanently, safely and privately cured.
BLOOD AND SKINSfU"
blotches, falling hair, bones pains, glandular
swelling, ulcerations of tongue, mouth,throat,
ulcers, old sores, are cured for life, and blood
poisons thoroughly eradicated from the system.
IIDIMADV kidney ana bladder aerange
U n 1 1 N rt n I ments, weak back, gravel, ca
tarrhal discharges, inflammation and other
painful symptoms receive searching treatment,
prompt relief and real cures.
Dr. Whittier's life-lore; extensive experi
ence, Insures scientific and reliable treatment
on 'common-sense principles. Consultation
free. Patients at a distance as caret ally treated
as if here. Office boars 9A. m. to 8 p. m. San
day, 10 A. K. to I p. jr. only. DR. WHITTIER,
814 Venn avenue. Pittsburg, Pa.
auS-16-Mnwk
GRAY'S SPECIFIC MEDICINE
CURES
NERVOUS DEBILJTY,
LOST VIGOR.
LOSS OF MEMORY.
rnll partlcdlan. la pamphlet
sent free. The genuine Uray's
bpeel&c sold by drujUti only lu
yellow wrapper. Price, ft per
package, or six for fa, or by mall
on recelnt of nrlce. hr &rtdrM-
ne THE ukai JJlfcLiluiE co, linOalo. a. Y
bold lnPltUbnrg-byS.S. HULLA.NO, corner
Bmlthflrldand liberty sU. apU-SS
tool's Cottoaa Xoot
COMPOUND
isosed of Cotton Root. Tansv and
Pennyroyal a recent discovery bv an
old Dhvsician. Is tueeestfuUu uted
numtMu Safe. Effectual. Price $L by mall,
sealed. Ladies, ask your druggist for Cook's
Cotton Root Compound and take no substitute,
or inclose 2 stamp for sealed particulars. Ad
dress POND LILY COSIPANY. No. 3 Fisher
Block, 131 "Woodward ave Detroit, Mich.
HARE'S REMEDY
For ment Checks trio worst cases In thrsa
days, and cures In five days. Price 11 00. at
J. FLEIUNU'S DRUGSTORE,
J5-28-ttssu 412 Market street
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