Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, August 25, 1889, SECOND PART, Page 9, Image 9

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THE PITTSBURG DBFATOBL
SECOND PART.
PAGES 9 TO 16. 1
Descriptioa of the Three Thousand
Ton Cruiser Atlanta
DRESSED IK HEE PIGHTING 6AEB.
k 46,700-Candle-Power Electrio Llfht to
Detect Enemies.
THE ESTEBIOR OP JACK TAB'S CASTLE
rtrsmxK roR thz dispatch.
X no city in the conn-
try does the new navy,
which our Govern-
i ment is now building,
.depend to the same
K extent for material
' used in construction
as on the city of Pitts
burs. Fully three-
fourths of the steel in
corporated into the
hulls and machinery
of these new vessels
have been or are being
furnished by mills in this city or its imme
diate vicinity, and, in return, hundreds of
thousands of dollars from the much talked
of surplus in the National Treasury are
finding their way into the pockets of our
wage earners.
All this material is furnished under a
rigid system of inspection, which insures
the best steel that the mills can furnish, and
the test of time will give evidence to all
that the manufacturers of this city are in
the van in the world's march of progress.
The first step taken toward the construc
tion of a navy composed of modern ships of
war was the passage of an act of Congress
dated August 5, 16S2, authorizing the con
struction of a 1,500-ton dispatch boat, two
S,000-ton partially protected cruisers, and
one partially protected cruiser of 4,500 tons
displacement. The contract for the building
of these ships was let to the company con
trolled by the late John Roach, and the
assignment which he was forced to make
threw the completion of them on the hands
of the If avy Department. They are now all
in commission, and compare favorably with
ships of European nations, designed at
about the same date, but inferior, in point
of speed, to those designed during the last
four or five years. Like nearly all the ships
now in course of constructionfor our navy,
thev are unarmored, but have a turtle-back
Steel deck of a thickness lrom 1 to J
THE CBUISER
inches, meeting the sides of the ship slightly
below the water line.
A NAYT IN ESIBBYO.
Since the passage of the above-mentioned
act, Congress has appropriated money for
the building of 18 other vessels, ranging in
size from the dynamite gunboat of 725 tons
and the gunboat Petrel of 885 tons to the
armored cruiser Maine of 0,648 tons dis
placement. Host of these ships are now in
courseof construction at the various ship
Yards in the countrv. The M.iinp in !! no-
built at the Hew York Navy Yard, and the
Texas, an armored battle ship, at the Nor
folk Navy Yard.
In addition to the new ships for which
Congress has appropriated money, five doc-ble-turreted
monitors, which have been in
course of construction lor many years, are
being completed and engined with modern
machinery. They will carry four heavy
guns apiece, and will form a valuable addi
tion to the defensive power of the navy.
A person who has not visited one of these
modern fighting machines, for machines
they are lrom one end to tne other, can
form no idea of their complexity. A de
scription of the Atlanta, one of the 3,000
ton Boach cruUers, as they are generally
A. Big Gun.
called, as she lies at the wharf at the New
York Navy Yard, with guns and crew on
board, will be of interest to many readers.
Viewed from the wharf, she presents little
to the eye to indicate the intricacy of her
arrangements. A black hull pierced at in
tervals with square ports for admitting
light and air to the quarters below, is sur
mounted by a superstructure covering the
middle portion of the deck, leaving the
ends uncovered. The decks are snowy
white, and all paint work shows evident
signs af daily scrubbings. Sailors ere
scattered about the decks and superstruc
ture, except on the after portion, which is
the quarter deck, that holy of holies, so
aptly described in Maryatt's sea varns.
From a staff at the stern floats a large silk
ensign, the colors of which, with the dark
blue of the men's uniforms, add greatly to
the life of the picture before us.
A POWERFUL PERSUADER.
On the starboard side aft, and on the port
side forward, outside the superstructure, is
mounted an eight-inch, breech loading,
rifled gun, inclosed in a light barbette or
uncovered turret, over the edge of which
the muzzle of the pun projects. The first
thing to strike one in the appearance of the
gun is its great length, and the apparent
lightness of the carriage on which it stands.
The latter is a combination of a steel frame,
gear for revolving the gun, and elevating or
depressing the muzzle, and a hydraulic
brake cylinder in which the shock of the
recoil is gradually taken up. The carriage
is revolved by means of an engine placed
below the water linej but the action of
which is controlled at the gun. It has been
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proposed to use electric motors for training
guns, and it seems quite certain that in the
near future much of the auxiliary ma
chinery on board men-of-war will beoperated
by the same means. This gun fires a charge
of 125 pounds of powder, and a shell weigh
ing 250 pounds. This seems to the unex
perienced a large charge, but when com
pared with the 110-ton guns on the English
ship Benbow, using 1,000 pounds of powder,
and a projectile weighing 1,800 pounds to a
charge, it dwindles into comparative in
stant ficance.
Passing up on the superstructure deck,
the visitor notices a number of machine and
rapid-firing guns ot small caliber mounted
on the rail. These guns are intended to be
used to sweep an enemy's decks, and to aid
in repelling the attacks of torpedo boats.
There are two masts, in the tops of which
these machine guns can be mounted, so as
to give a plunging fire on the deck of an op
posing vessel. On either side is mounted a
powerful search light, which can be swept
around the horizon through an angle of
about 200 degrees. The candle power of
these lamps is 46,700, and the light is pro
jected from them by the means of reflecting
mirrors and lenses in a parallel beam of ex
ceeding intensitv. During sham torpedo
boat attacks made on the Atlanta at New
port, B, I., :t was proven that boats could
be sighted and held under fire, using these
lamps at a distance of several miles. On
the two occasions on which these attacks
were made, all the boats were placed bora
du combat long before they reached posi
tions menacing to the ship.
About the middle of this deck is the en
eine room hatch, under which, far down in
the bowels of the ship, are the main en
gines, placed horizontally, so as to be en
tirely below the water-line. It is dimly
lighted, but the eye catches the glint of
polrshed valves and levers, which seem in
numerable. Forward of the hatch is the
charihouse, which corresponds to the pilot
house in our river steamers. It is filled with
appliances novel to the landsman. The
compass occupies
THE POST OF HONOB,
and very different it is from tne ordinary
pocket compass with which we are most of
us acquainted. It is inclosed in a polished
brass case, on each side ot which is a large
iron ball, and below it a number of bar
magnates to counteract the magnetic in
fluence of the steel of which the ship is
made. Directly in rear ot it stands the
steering wheel, which is connected by means
of gearing with the valve of a powerful en
gine in the stern which moves the rudder.
To the right of the wheel standsthe engine
room telegraph, by means of which signals
are commnmcated to the engineer. To the
helmsman's left is a dial, on which a pointer
moves to correspond with the motion of the
engine, giving him instant notice when the
engine moves. Speaking tubes afford easv
means of communication to all important
points in the ship. A stand of drawers filled
with charts gives the house its name.
Barometers, ship's glasses, flags and signal
1iiir
JrlNluN.
linii
ATLANTA.
rockets give the place a novel and interest
ing appearance.
Forward of the chart house is the conning
tower, a lower circular turret large enough
to holdtwo wen, with sides of steel four
inches in thickness, and containing a steer
ing wheel, and speaking tubes to all parts
of the vessel. Here it is that the
captain takes his stand in battle
and directs the movements of the ship. The
sides are pierced with narrow slits, through
which he can scan the enemy's motions.
under nis leet is a natcn, covered by a
grating, and opening on the gun deck. It
might fitly be called the brain of the ship
in time of action, as from it emanate the
orders which control not only her maneu
vers, but the fighting of her battery.
Passing off the superstructure deck to the
forecastle, to the left is an 8-inch gun
exactly like the one aft, and similarly
mounted. On the rail, on either side, are
stowed huge anchors, from which massive
chains lead through the deck to the chain
lockers below. Amidships is a capstan
used for heaving up anchor, and where 100
men used to tug and strain, one man, mov
ing a small lever, controls the force which
brings the anchor up from its bed of ooze.
THE GUN DECK.
On a level with the forecastle is the gun
deck, on which are mountedsix Clinch guns.
These are built on the same model as the
8-inch, and the forward gun on one side
can be fired directly ahead, and the after
gun, on the other side, directly astern.
Backs for small arms, cutlasses, etc, are
fastened against bulkheads, and every bit of
brass visible is polished to the semblance ot
burnished gold. On the forward part of
this deck is the gallery, where all the cook
ing is done. It is a marvel of compactness
and convenience, and it needs most be to
enable the food for 300 men to be cooked on
it, and yet not take up room needed for
exercising the guns. An ice machine
placed near the center of this deck adds
materially to the idea gained of the com
pleteness of this home of the American Jack
Tar.
On the after part of the deck is the cap
tain's cabin, in front of which paces a marine
sentry to guard against intrusion, and to an
nounce visitors. The main saloon is finished
with sycamore veneering, which presents a
soft, velvety appearance and gives an effect
of great richness. Everything is the ideal
of trimness and neatness. The small book
case and secretary, the polished cut glass on
the sideboard, the captain's sword, hung
from a hook within easy reach, and inviting
arm chairs, give a very cosy effect Just off
the saloon is a small stateroom and bath
room. In the stateroom are speaking tubes
leading to the chart house and main deck,
so that the captain can place himself in com
munication with the officer on duty at any
time without leaving his bunk.
THE OFFICERS' QUARTERS.
Aft, on the deck below, are the officers
quarters. A large saloon, running fore and
11
The Sword Drill.
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aft, tailed the ward room, is lined on each
side with small staterooms each large
enough to contain a narrow bunk, a dresser,
washstand and chair. They are veritable
little snuggeries, and in all of them is
noticeable the handiwork of sweetheart or
wife.in the dainty knick-knacks with which
the walls are ornamented. It is more than
likely that the photograph on the dresser is
hers, and enshrined in its pretty setting, it
will gladden the heart of a gallant officer,
when far from home, with thoughts evoked
of the beautiful original.
Going fotward the passage is obstructed
bv transverse bulkheads, which divide the
ship into a number of water-tight compart
ments, any one of which maybe flooded and
the ship still float. Scattered around so as
to thoroughly light up this between decks
Space are numerous electric lamps. Near
tne center or the ship is the door leading
into the engine room, in which the lamps
are not lighted. Turning on all the lamps
by a single switch, the transition, is so sad
den as to be startling. Every piece of metal
capable of receiving a polish is wrought up
to the highest degree of brilliancy, and re
flects the light so as to be fairly dazzling to
the eye.
A MABVEI, OF -MACHINERY.
The extreme complexity strikes a person
at once, and yet the engineer must be able
to put his hand on every valve or lever in
the place, even in the dark. Underneath
the engines and firerooms the bottom is
double, the distance between the two bot
toms being about two feet This space is
divided into" a large number of compart
ments. If water gets into any one of them
an alarm bell is automatically rung, and by
The Ship's Barber "NextP
pressing a button on an annunciator the
engineer can tell at once which compart
ment is being flooded. An automatic alarm
also gives him notice should a fire occur in
any of the coal buukers. On either side of
the engine room are huee pumps and large
blowers for forcing air into the fire rooms.
The latter are beautifully neat and trim,
and a delicious sense of coolness strikes one
on entering. How different is their appear
ance when the ship is under stream! The
fire rooms are closed air tight. Brawny
men are heaving coal into the glowing
furnaces, and the inrushing air keeps up a
constant rumbling accompaniment. Jolly
Jack Tar. on the deck above, has been
made the hero of many a romance, but the
hard-worked fireman below is too essentially
a modern and prosaic element to be re
garded as other than a portion of the
machinery with which his work is associ
ated. JACK TAR'S SLEEPING QUARTERS.
Forward of the engine room is the space
where the men sleep in hammocks stretched
on hooks from beam to beam. It is day
time, and the hammocks are lashed and
neatly stowed in nettings on the deck
above. To one side is. tha sick-bay and -dispensary,
where, at sick call each morning,
the bine-coated and brass-buttoned surgeon
prescribes for Jacfcy s ills and ailments.
Against the ship's sides are closets oi wire
netting in which the men keep their cloth
ing, a locker two feet square by two feet
high being allotted to each man. Below
are the storerooms where spare gear and
provisions for he crew are stowed.
Back on deck we go, and reach the wharf
just as the band is playing "Hail Colum
bia," and the starry flag is slowly being
lowered from the staff where it has proudly
floated during the day. The sentries are all
standing at parad rest, and officers and men
lift their caps in salute as the emblem of
their country comes down.
May the good work inaugurated by Con
gress, of building up our navy, go bravely
on, and may foreign nations learn more than
ever to respect our country since she has
shaken off the lethargy which for so many
years has crippled all efforts to give her a
navy worthy of her greatness. A. M. H.
LONDON FOG IS HEALTHI.
Figures That Show a Very Small Death
Rate in England' Metropolis.
London Dally Kews.i
If London is the metropolis of the land
of fogs, there is much consolation to be
found in the fact that in spite of the smoke
and its fogs it is not only one of the
healthiest cities in the world, but it is
growing healthier every year. According
to the official statistics for the quarter end
ing June last, our annual deaths are only
at the rate of 16 per 1,000. If we could
eliminate from the calculation some over
crowded and notorious unhealthy districts
tne figures would, of course, drop considera
bly. Still more remarkable would
our sanitary condition appear if the area
were confined to the high and airy suburbs
in which so large a proportion ot those who
are by day "in populous city pent" are for
tunate enough to dwell.
We have only to contrast the condition of
things with the statistics of other capitals
to see how great is the advantage we enjoy.
In Paris, which shows a comparatively
good record, the .mean annual death rate is
22.10; in Berlin, it is 27.5; in Vienna, 26.7;
in Munich, 32.9; and in St. Petersburg,
43.7; In Brussels which appears to be the
healthiest of Continental cities, it is 18.9.
To sum up the case, the death rate during
the quarter in 29 colonial and foreign cities,
having an aggregate population exceeding
16,000,000 persons, was 26.6 per 1,000, or
more than 10 persons per 1,000 in excess
of the London death rate.
A PECULIAR CEEATDKE,
A Natural History I.eason en Sea Horses
and Their Ways.
Detroit Free Press. I
The sea horse is so called because he
hasn't the least resemblance to a horse, and
because he is never seen in the sea. The
name was given him by some smart Aleo
who felt awful funny that day. Some years
later another smart Alec changed the name
to sea cow, but that doesn't hit any closer.
They are found in rivers and lagoons in
stead of the sea, and they resemble cows as
much as a stuffed woodchuck does a live
lion.
The principle occupation of the sea-horse-cow,
as we are obliged to call him, is
promenading around in the muddv bottoms
of muddy rjvtrs, satisfying his hunger on
the best the land affords and making the
neighborhood highly uncomfortable for
African gentlemen out fishin? in their
canoes. He.has no ambition beyond that
and it undisturbed would let the" world wag
along and mind bis own business Natur
alists claim that he is very docile and af
fectionate when in captivity, and the day
may come when he will replace the poodle
dog as a pet. His span of life is supposed
to be 60 years, and that doubtless depends a
freat deal on the care he takes of himself,
f the newlv-discovered elixir of liie works
as is hoped ior, the sea-horse-cow's days may
be extended over 100 years.
Ply
PITTSBURG-, SUNDAY,
Affecting a Demure and Bewitching
Simplicity in Dress.
THE WEAPON OP AN ARTFUL BELLE
A Seashore Test of Dr. Brown-Seinard's
Elixir of Life.
ITS EFFECT UPON A' G1DDI OLD MAID
ICOBBISPONDIKCE OT THZ DISPATCH. 1
Netv Yobk, August 24.
HJ3 fery modish
August girl, have
you observed how
suddenly she has
become an exponent
of simplicity? The
ultra fashionablere
sortsof the East now
show, at the close of
the season, belles
remarkable for the
simple styles of
dress and coiffure
which are the caprice
of the moment.
That is literally a
fad of the closing
season.
"Go over me again," said a young belle
to her maid the other evenine, "and see if
there is nothing more you can take off."
"Mademoiselle has nothing, absolutely
nothing," said the French tirewoman stand
ing back, "except her simple robe."
The maid spoke truly. Mademoiselle's
dress was of soft white dotted tulle, which
hung in straight clinging folds about her
graceful form. There was not a flounce, a
flutter of lace nor a flower visible. Out of
the low bodice rose the shapely neck and
white throat destitute of ornament save
their own
LOVELT DIMPLES.
The rounded bare arms showed no glitter
of gold nor flash of jewel. In the hair
drawn np in loose wads over the temples
and at the nape of the neck was no orna
ment. She carried no bouquet, and her fan
was a mere bunch of feathers. Yet, as she
passed down the gallery a fewminutes later,
the radiance of her fresh young beauty
dazzled those who saw it. Even the man
ners of these severely simple demoiselles
match their toilets. Utter and complete re
pose is their role. There are no jingling
Dangles nor diverting smelling bottles.
There is absolutely nothing detachable
about her toilet of to-day, except sometimes
a lorgnette. And what a weapon of destruc
tion, what an instrument of torture, does
this bit of shell and glass become in the
hands of a skillful woman! No other ought
to be allowed to use it.
I have seen a clumsy, awkward creature
wield her lorgnette as a country Jahu does
his whip, describing wide circles in the air
with it and otherwise displaying it in ag
gressive motions. The same'woman wonld
rush her vinaigrette up to her nose and
draw a sounding inhalation. No so the
clever girl. Carelessly thrust in the boiom
of her dress, the lorgnette remains
dormant until at some unexpected moment
it is deftly drawn forth, languidly adjusted,
and leveled in remorseless snub upon some
presuming victim. Tender, too, as well'.as
pitiless, can tne artiui woman mace ner
weapon. How bewildering to the young
man when, as be leans over her chair.
the soft eyes suddenly shine up into his face
veiled by the pretty bauble which the white
uituu mi eueciivejy auu uainiuy iioius. one
contrives to throw a prettily p'athetic touch
in the suggestion ot weakness which its use
implies, although not one woman in twenty
who affects the lorgnette, needs it this one,
probably least of all that the already fas
cinated youth finds irresistible.
GAY CBOWDS AT SAKATOGA.
The men and women of New York who
desire to see and be seen by their livelier
and less discriminate fellow beings have
gone to Saratoga for the latter halt of Au
gust. They were at Long Branch in July.
Nowhere on this continent the wheel of
pleasure spins more gaily at the present mo
ment than right there at'New York's famous
spa. Everything is there by way of excite
ment, from the ever bubbling spring water
to Colonel Thomas P. Ochiltree and the
phonograph. There are music, tennis, bowl
ing, riding, driving, dancing, walking, loll
ing, posing, dress, gossip, racing, gambling
and dining. Years ago there was a tradition
to. the effect that Saratoga was a health re
sort, and that people went there for physical
rejuvenation. No one thinks nowadays of
making any such excuse. The chief attrac
tion of Saratoga is the people.
"I like," said one of them, as she sat on
the piazza of a hotel, "just to look about on
so many well-dressed people. I feel positive
ly grateful to every woman here for her ef
fective and irreproachable toilet."
She might have expressed her gratitude
to the younger men, too. If they keep on
with their bewildering and gorgeous novel
ties of attire they will need a Jenkins of
their own to do justice to some of their re
markable displays. "What with their swath
ing waistbands of soft surah and "blazers"
of many hues and varied textures, their
innumerable styles and colorings in shoes
and over-gaiters, their hats with veils and
streamers, their silk caps and embroidered
waistcoats, the dressing room of a young
man of the period closely resembles that of
his sister. At the hops the young dudes wear
the most exquisite sashes of white moire or
satin. These are considered very youthful"
auu summery, .cor oaeneiors who are Hear
ing the thirties dazzling scarlet and glow
ing old rose are permitted.
AN ELIXIB JOKE.
The fun they haye had at Marasquan.
which is a 1 ittle bit of a watering place
yet heard of at the big resorts. It was all
accomplished with Dr.. Rrnmn.Rpnnanl'5
elixir, which you have read so much about
as a phenomenal sort ot a tonic, and Miss
Quisbv, whom her acquaintances know as a
maiden lady of not less than 60 years. She
is a typical old maid, with spectacles bal
anced primly on her nose, and curls dang
ling one at a side in front ot her ears. She
hates men so she says and her manner
does not indicate that the aversion is genu
ine. Well, she read that the Brown-Se-quard
discovery was being tried with reju
venating effect on lots 6f folks, and by her
eager inquiries the other boarders in the
small hotel comprehended that she was
aching fora dose.
At that juncture a practical joker came
forward. He eot into a discussion of the
,new medical marvel, and he said he be
lieved it was a mistake to make all the
trials with aged or decrepit subjects. Why
not experiment with a normal, healthv,
merely mature person. Miss Quisby was
inclined to agree with him. But would she
aid in any experiment? Well, te-hel she
aidn t know. She might be persuaded.
And she was. Barincra sbinnn- -ict nnd
submitting to a hypodermic injection of
nothing but a few drops of clear water, she
believed that she was a downright devotee
of scientific progress.
IT took effect.
It was a secret between Miss Quisby and
the joker except that evervbody in the
house knew of it, without her "knowing that
they were on to if. They watched the
symptoms, which were well worth watching.
It was just before supper that the supposed
elixir was injected. At table she giggled
when the Kev. Abraham Smith passed the
butter to her, and shrngged her shoulders
quite coquettishlywheu Dr. Oliver Brown
spoke to her of the weather. Half an hour
9
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Ml- vSt, ,;,.
AUGUST 25, 1889.
after the roeal, on meeting young Broker
Jones in 'the hallway, she unmistakably
ogled him, and a few minutes afterward she
winked slyly at Actor P.obinson, when he
told her that she was looking uncommonly
well. In the evening the boarders assem
bled in the parlor for a little waltzing, as
usual, and Miss Quisby became rapidly
giddy. She waltzed for the first time ina
quarter of a century, and, as she did it in
the" now obsolete style of 1864, it
was funny to the eyes of 1889. She called
Brown a naughty man for holding her too
snugly, but she didn't try to escape. She
struck Jones with her fan, real hard, be
cause he told her she was a beauty. She
confided to Bobinson a sudden longing of
her heart to go on the stage for Juliet, and
tried some ot the balcony business on him
from the veranda, while he stood on the
moonlit lawn. She consulted aside with
Smith as to whether, in his professional ca
pacity of expounder of the Scripture, and
believing the injunction that "it is not good
for man to live alone," he did not deem her
awfully wicked for having failed to accept
one of her many, many chances to marry.
Along toward the end of the evening, she
encountered the practical joker himself.
"Well, how do you feel?" he inquired,
soberly.
"All I've got to say," she answered rather
concernedly, "is that you ought to have
given me a chaperone along with that
elixir."
A VERAilDA KNIGHT.
The most original horseman I have seen
in my summer round is a fellow who is
never on horseback at all. I discovered
him at Long Branch. His name would not
interest the reader, and it would be cruel to
so thoroughly expose his fraud. He
boarded at a cheap cottage, but did his
lounging at a first-class hotel, where he
danced with the girls and was accepted as a
great deal of a swell. Every morning or
two he would come around the piazza in a
costume for equestrianism and carrying a
neat riding whip. After awhile an observant
iii.uueu ooservea mat nis corauroy trousers
showed no signs of wear, such as even a few
hours of abrasion and concussion in a sad
dle is bound to produce. Then like femi
nine Hawkshaws we hunted him down. He
did no riding, but simply figured as a ver
anda knight. He couldn't afford both the
dress and the diversion so he made the best
show he could with the dres.
Clara Belle.
ARABELLA'S HINT SUFFICIENT.
How a Modest Maiden Encouraged a Terr
Bashlnl Suitor.
Boston Courier. 3
George was a bashful lover. He scarcely
dared to touch his lady's hand. He loved
her well and she was worthy of his affec
tions, for she was modest, intelligent, sweet
and lovable; but like all good women, she
yearned for the respectful caresses that are
the evidences of a pure affection. She however
yearned in vain. George worshiped her.
He might kiss the hem of her garment,
but to kiss her lips or cheek the very au
dacity of the thought made him tremble.
They sat together by the sea looking out
uponthe track of the moon's light which
white-winged yachts were crossing now and
then:
"It was a witching hour, a scene
For love and calm delight."
Suddenly she moved slightly away from
him"
"Please, George, don't do that," she said.
"What?" he asked in genuine surprise,
"Oh! you needn't tell me," she replied.
"You. were just going to put your arm
around my waist and and were' going to
try and kiss me."
"Dear Arabella"
"Oh! you needn't tell -me different; you
were going to do it "Well, after all, I sup
pose yon are not to blame. It is just what
a lover would do to his sweetheart, and I
suppose I must not be offended it Vbu do
do it."
And George grasped the situation and
did exactly what Arabella supposed he
would do, and the moon grinned and the
stars winked and the wavelets laughed and
a mosquito that was about to alight on the
maiden's cheek flew away and settled on
the nose of a grass widow who was sitting
near the band stand.
A HUDSON KIVEE INCIDENT.
Wfar tbe Clerk of the Boat Didn't Bounce
Old Sam Hammond.
Kingston Arsrui.'; x
"You do not remember old Sam Ham
mond of Hudson, who built the steamboat
Legislator, which ran between Hudson and
New York 45 years ago?" said an old resi
dent to a reporter. "Ob, no! yon had not
seen the peep of day then. But I will tell
you an amusing story connected with old
Sam and his boat. Hammond was a weal
thy man for his time, liberal with his
money, but indifferent and careless with his
dress. Hit appearance was slovenly, while
the knot of his necktie generally rested
above his shoulders.
"Old Sam thought he would take a trip
to New York upon his boat, and when the
gong sounded for supper the old man found
his way to the table, and took a seat at the
side of a well-dressed lady. The clerk ot
the boat, only employed tbe day previous,
and never having heard of its owner, es
pied Hammond, and immediately made for
him. 'Say, old man,' he said, 'you will
have to get up and eat at the next table.'
Hammond was a little deaf, and either did
not hear him or pretended not to, and kept
on munching his food. The clerk rushed
to the Captain, and asked permission to
'yank a dirty-looking old top from the sup
per table.'
"The Captain came into the cabin and
gave one glance at the offender. 'Good
heavens, young man he whispered, 'do you
know who that is?' 'No,' replied the af
frighted clerk. 'That is old Sam Hammond.'
answered the Captain, who owns 29 build
ings in the city of Hudson, and owns this
boat.' N.
"The paralyzed clerk was speechless for a
time. Finally he said, 'Captain, lend me $3,
and let me off at the next landing.' "
THE P0WEK OF MAN'S WILL,
Three Remarkable stories That Were Told
Over Aflcr-Diuoer Cigars.
From the Boston Gazette. 1
Three stories were told over after-dinner
cigars tbe other day showing the power of
man's will. One was a young officer in the
English army who was peculiarly stubborn
and irascible. He had been confined to his
bed after a severe attack of the heart and
was unable to move. His physician 'asked
one of his fellow-officers to warn him that
he would never get out of bed again, that
might arrange his affairs before death.
When the sick man was told what the doc
tor had said he arose in bed excitedly and
said: "I will never get up again, eh? I
will walk to the doctor myself and show
him." He jumped to the floor, walked
across the room and fell dead.
The other was about a Sheriff out West,
who, when arresting a man, was stabbed
through the heart. He seized the man by
the shoulders, alter the blade had struck
him, pressed him to the ground, drew his
revolver and deliberately thrusting it down
the struggling prisoner s throat pulled the
trigger at' the same instant he died.
The third story was regarding another
officer who was hunting down a thief. The
man thought he had given his pursuer the
slip, but just as he entered one door of a
railroad cartheofficer'appeared in the other.
The thief instantly fired, the bullet pene
trating the pursuer's brain. The officer,
however, returned the shot, bringing his
man to the ground. He then dragged him
self along the aisle of the car, firing as he
crawled, until his revolver was empty. He
was dead when he was picked up a second
after he ceased to shoot.
THE END OF ALL
WRITTEN FOR
. By NYM
CHAPTER I.
HE difficulty that I
experience in comply
ing with your request,
dear spirit, springs
from the terrestrial
limitations of thought
and expression, from
which, as you may
well know, I have not
been long enough with
you to free myself.
I shall, however,
-ive you a plain nar
rative of the events
attending the extinc
tion ot life on our
planet, asking you
only to remember that
I am doing it just as
I would have done it were it possible, for
a fellow human being while on earth, using
the phraseologv and the terrestrial time
..divisions with which I am most familiar.
The circumstance which at our last inter
course I was trying to explain to you was
simplv this: In the early summer of the
year 1892 a sudden interruption of naviga
tion occurred on the Pacific coast, which
curiously enough attracted very little atten
tion outside of scientific circles. I was living
at the house of my wealthy friend, Judge
Brisbane, in Gramercy Park. To tell you
the truth, I was in love with his beautiful
daughter, of whom I shall have to speak
more fully to you, for she was intimately
associated with me in the appalling scenes
which you desire me to describe.
I was sitting in the Judge's library on the
night of June 25. His daughter was present,
and I had been conversing with her in an
undertone while the Judge read the evening
papers. He suddenly laid down tbe paper,
took off his spectacles, and turning round in
his chair said to me: "Did you see the brief
dispatch in the morning papers two days
ago from San Francisco, saying that all the
eastern-bound vessels were overdue on that
coast?"
I replied at once that I had not noticed it.
"It is astonishing, he said, "that in our
present system of journalism the most im
portant events connected with the welfare
of mankind receive the slightest attention
from the newspapers and the trivialities of
life are most voluminously treated. A
movement in the iron trade that affects
millions of homes gets a brief paragraph in
small type and the quarrel of a ballet girl
with her lover receives illuminated at
tention down whole columns. Here is some
thing taking place in the Pacific Ocean of
surpassing interest to tbe race and nobody
pays the slightest attention to it, except per
haps the consignees and shipping clerks.
"What is it?" we both asked, with the
languid interest that young people having
an overmastering personal affair on hand,
would be apt to take in matters of national
or universal importance.
The Judge got up, and. going to a side
table, where he kept his papers Tiled in
chronologic order, pulled out a recent issue
of a morning journal, and after looking it
over searchingly a moment, said:1
"Here. I should think you would notice
snch a paragraph as this." Then he read,
as I recollect, a telegraphic dispatch to this
effect:
"San Feancisco, June 23.
"Considerable anxiety is felt here in
commercial circles bytthe non arrival of
any eastward bound vessels for a week. The
steamship Cathay, of the Occidental line, is
overdue four days. An unusual easterly
wind has been" blowing for 24 hours.
Weather mild."
"That dispatch, you perceive,'said the
Judge, "was sent two days ago. Now here,
on the 25th, I read in the evening paper an
other dispatch from San Francisco, hidden
away at the bottom of a column of commer
cial news. Listen to this:
"San- Francisco. June 25.
"The entire suspension of travel from the
West continues to excite the gravest appre
hensions. Nothing but coastwise vessels
have come in during the past eight days.
The W. S. cruiser Mobile left Honolulu
three weeks ago for this coast. There is no
official intimation of a storm in the Chinese
seas."
The Judge laid the paper down, and re
garded us both a moment in silence, as if
expecting to hear some remark that indi
cated our suddenly awakened curiosity.
I don't think we responded with any ade
quate interest to the occasion. . Miss Bris-
bane did. "indeed, stare at her father in her
dreamy, abstracted way a moment, and then
got up and going to the open' window began
to arrange the curtains as if relinquishing
whatever problem there was to the superior
acumen ot the masculine mind.
I think I said that it looked as if there
had been a cyclone somewhere, and if there
had we should in all probability get the
accounts of it soon enough.
"But, young man," replied the Judge,
with his majesterial emphasis, "cyclones
do not extend from tbe fiftieth degree of
north latitude to the fortieth degree of south
latitude, and vessels are due at San Fran
cisco from Melbourne and Japan.
"What, then, other than a storm at sea,
could have caused the detention of all
these vessels?" I asked, and I must have
unwittingly betrayed in the tone of my
voice or the expression of my face, that con
siderate superciliousness with which youth
regards the serious notions of mature phil
osophers, for the Judge, putting his gold
spectacles down upon his nose, and regard
ing me over the top of them a moment,
said, rather severely:
"Other than the known and regular
phenomena of this planet do not interest
young men. If I could answer your ques
tion there would be no special interest in
the matter."
This to me at the time appeared to be the
annoyance of an old gentleman who had
failed to interest two young people in some
theory of his that he wished to propound. I ,
happened to look up as be finished his re
mark, and was about to take up his papers
and leave us, and I saw that'Miss Brisbane
had's topped short in her employment, and
was staring in her dreamy way at her father,
as if something in his sharp tone iad an
noyed her.
We both joked a little after the old gen
tleman was gone about his sudden inteiest
in the California coast, and X did not notice
at the time that Hiss Brisbsue came back
W JM
wn V VTrflt
EK
.fS? Jck
The Judge Explains Bit Fears.
gi4HB?ffs3ll-maB
THE DISPATCH
CRINKLE.
to the subject repeatedly, which appeared to
have an entirely unwarranted interest for
her.
I mention these trivial incidents because,
insignificant as they may seem, they were
the first ripples of that disaster, which was
soon enough to overwhelm us all, and to
show you what were the only premonitions
the world had of the events which were to
follow.
On the 26th of June the subject did not
occur to me. A hundred other things of
far more immediate consequence to me oc
cupied my attention. A. yonng man who is
preparing to get married is not apt to take
somber views of anything. Nor is he very
apt to allow the contumacy of age in his
prospective father-in-law to aggravate him.
It was a pardonable freak I thought in a
man who hadreired in most respects from the
active world to dogmatize a little about that
world, now that he judged it through his
favorite evening paper. When, therefore,
on the night of the 26th, while at the tea
table, the Judge broke out again about the
meteorological wave on the Pacific coast,
his daughter Kate and I exchanged a rapid
but furtive glance which said, in the perfect
understanding or lovers: "lnere comes tne
old gentleman's new hobby again, and we
can well aflord to treat it leniently."
The Judge had the damp evening paper
and he disregarded the steaming cup ot tea
which his daughter had poured for him.
"Well," he said, with a tone of self-satisfied
import. "Now the newspapers are
waking up to the significance of the Cali
fornia news." He then read from the paper,
as nearly as i can recollect sometning nice
the following:
San Feancisco, June 26.
"There is an intense and growing anxiety
on this coast with respect to the non-appearance
of any eastward bound vessels. The
breeze from the east continues and is unpre
cedented." "Now. I should like to know," said the
Judge, as be laid down the paper and took
up his tea cup, ."why a breeze from the east
in California should be unprecedented."
"Because," I ventured to remark, "it
usually blows from the sea at this season."
"Nonsense," exclaimed the Judge with
vigor. "A variation for a few days in wind
or weather is a common occurrence every
where. Fancy a message sent all over the
world from the Wvest Indies that the trade
winds were six days late, or a telegram from
Minnesota that the winter frosU had been
a & L
BUIitETININO the
interfered with for a week by pleasant
sunshine. No, sir. The event of import
ance to the Californian atthis moment is the
mysterious something that has happened out
at sea, and there is no excuse for his asso
ciating a summer breeze from the east with
it, except that there is something peculiar
about that breeze that associates it in the
mind with the predominant mystery."
1 smiled. "You will pardon me, Judge,
but it seems to me," I said, "that you are
trying to invest the whole affair with an
occult significance that is subjective. I
suppose that in a few hours the matter will
be explained and forgotten."
This sudden endeavor to impute to a mere
meteorological phenomenon some inscruta
ble and portentous shadow, annoyed me a
little. I felt that it was childishly super
stitious, and I would have turned the sub
ject of conversation into another channel.
But he would not have it.
"The difficulty," said he, as he spread a
piece of toast, "with the young man who
has reached your vital condition is that he
has but one form of faith, and it amounts
to this: whatever has been will be. You
can't make him understand that theonlv
warrant for believing that the sun will rise
to-morrow is a kiuu oi cnuaisu iaea mat it
has risen and set so long that it cannot
stop. But suns have stopped. Other sys
tems have been suddenly plunged into end
less night by the extinction of their central
luminary."
I resented this attempt to work upon mv
reason through my fears and ignorance, and
was about to make a rather rash reply, when
I looked at Kate. Her two hands rested on
the edge of the table, her head was inclined
slightly forward, and she was gazing at her
father with that abstracted air that I had so
often noticed, but which now 'plainly
showed that something in his thought
had seized upon her woman's
timidity. The consciousness that
her father was weak enough to play with a
woman's credulity did not help to make me
very amiable, and before I had thought I
bad answered.
"I think," I said, "that when a man
reaches ray vital development he has at least
learned one of the most useful lessons of life
which is that one can find troubles enough
in his experience without going to his imagi
nation for them."
In a moment we were in one of those
foolish little wrangles in which, so far as
argument is concerned, the vounger man is
at a great disadvantage, wnen the elder,
however unreasonable his claims, enforces
them with the advantage of age and position.
I remember that the desire to convince Kate
on the one hand that I was free from what I
conceived to be her father's unreasonable
ness and sustain my independence ot views
on the other hand, led me to say much more
than was polite, for I exasperated the old
gentleman, and with a curt and not alto
gether complimentary remark he got up and
left the room.
The moment he was gone I turned to the
daughter and laughingly said: "Well, my
dear, I am afraid I have offended your
father without intending it, but you at least
understand me, and are free from his super
stition." To my surprise, she regarded me with a
serious air and replied, "I do not know
what you mean by superstition. My father
believes that something has happened and I
feel that he is right."
"You do not mean to tell me," I said,
"that youbelieve anything has happened
that can concern us?"
She made no reply. I looked at her with
some astonishment and wondered if I had
offended her by opposing her father's child
ish views.
"Perhaps," I persisted, "you, too, think I
am stupidly unreasonable because I will not
consent to be dishonestly chimerical."
I well remember the look of reproach
"
I A. ml
with which she silently regarded me, and I
well remember, too. the thought that cams '
came into my mind. I said to myself, "this
is the same obduracy that her father has
shown: odd it is that I never noticed ths
trait in her before." Then I added with aa
equal obduracy that I was not conscious of:
"Perhaps you, too, have discovered soma
peculiarity of good sense in me that it
offensive, and you are afraid that something
will happen if we "
Here she interrupted me in her quiet,
resolute and reproachful wav.
"Something has happened"," she said.
I was amazed. If I had suddenly discov
ered that the woman I loved was unfaithful
to me it could not have produced, in my
frame of mind at that moment, a greater
shock. It seemed to me then that ths
wooing of months; the confidence and af
fection of a year were to be sacrificed in a
moment of infatuated stubbornness. Tha
very thought was so unnatural that it pro
duced a revulsion in my own feelings."
"My darling," I said, as I went toward
her imnulsivelv. "we are playing the un
worthy part of fools. Nothing can ever
happen that will make us love each other j
less, or prevent you from beingmy wife, "if
l put my arm arouna ner in tne oia j
miliar wav. She was passive and irreiptm
sive. She stood there limply holding tha
curtain with one white arm upraised, her
beautiful head bent over, and her' eyes cast
down so that I could not look into her face.
This stony obduracy was so new and unlika
her that I withdrew my arm and stepped
back a little to regard her with astonish
ment not unmingled with pique. At that
moment she lifted her head slowly, and as
she looked at me with a dreamy and far
away pathos, I saw that her eyes were filled
with tears.
"It seems to me," she said, with a voice
that sounded as if it was addressed to an in
visible phantom way beyond me, "it seems
to me that I shall never be your wife!"
I must have stared at her several seconds
in silence. Then I said:
"You are ill. You are not yourself.
When you have recovered your norma! con
dition I will come back."
I snatched a kiss from her lips, that were
strangely cold, and rushed from the house.
This was the night of the 26th. As I re
call all the events of the terrible week that
followed, nothing so rankled in me as this
trivial and misunderstood incident. I spent
the sleepless night in a lover's misery. A
thousand theories were formed in mv mind
like mists, to be blown away by my instincts.
A helpless judgment professed to see in
Miss Brisbane's unexcusable conduct only
a pretext to quarrel with me; then my affec
tion recalled the numberless proofs of at
tachment, and the tears in her eyes. I
reasoned it all out as a lover's quarrel that
a strong man would not notice, and then I
remembered the inexplicable and shallow
freak of the father and the distraught fan
ner of the girl, and said it was an under
stood thing between them to annoy me and
bring about a rupture. My vanity said I
Y VQ
fc
If3FFLE
Annihilation
HjWET.N
end of the tvobld.
shouldn't go back there, of course, until she
sent for me, and some kind of other self
seemed to be looking over my shonlder
while I thus marked out my conduct, calmly
aware that, whatever I resolved, I would ba
there to-morrow at her feet.
It was not till the next morning, when I
woke up altera short and disturbed sleep, that
my mind reverted to the cause of all this
purely sentimental disagreement, and I felt
a strong desire to have events prove that tha
Judge was slightly monomaniacal and
that I was right. I went to Biccadonnas'
for my breakfast and got all the morning
papers as usual, but this time with a dis
tinct confidence that the news would be tha
best vindication of my good sense, and that
I should yet have a good laugh at tha
Judge. It was a beautilul June morning.
I sat in Biccadonnas' bay window and
glanced out upon the dewy park in Union
Square. The birds were singing in the
trees; men were going to their work
blithelv. I heard them whistling as they
hurried along. Even the horse cars, with
their bells seemed to have an extra jaunti
ness as they jingled along over the morning
shadows of the avenue. Some early pupil
Death of the Judge's Daughter.
in a music room upstairs was thrumming s
fantastic sonata ot Chopin's. At any other
time tbe clumsy attempt to weave the gov
samer would have annoyed me, just now
distance and indistinctness did what tha
executant could not do, and the pulses of
the song reached me as if they were part of
that scintillant morning.
I opened the paper as I sipped my coffee,
and tne first thing my eye fell on were tha
headlines of a dispatch from St. Louis. I
read them with an inexplicable sense of
something sinking in me. As I recall them
they ran about as follows:
"Strange news from the West. All com
munication west of Salt Lake City ceases.
Meteorological puzzle. What is the matter
with the wires?"
Then followed the dispatch which I haya
not iorgotten:
St. Lotus, June 26, 8p.a
A dispatch received here from Yuma on
the Texas Pacific, announces that no East
ern bound train has come in since morning,
and all attempts to open communication by
telegraph with points west cf that place
have failed. It is the opinion of railroad
menthat a great storm is razing in Cali
fornia. Weather here pleasant with a
steady dry wind from the East blowing."
Immediately following this was another
news item which I can quote from memory.
Denvek, June 26, 9 p. m.
Intelligence lrom Cheyenne is to tbe effect
that railway travel and telegraphic commu
nication west of Pocatello, on the Union.
Pacific, and Ogden, on the Central Pacific,
have been interrupted by a storm. The tele
graph wiresjare believed to be in good eoa-
':