BR if hM , . W5a jawMfL-.- r " V -C SjI- t- 2 f "S3 ' t & s 9 '-, THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22f'v1889: -. 19 Fhe .'Two Eagle-Boys, tar ' 'v BY ERNEST. H. HEINRICHS. nrEiTTKr jroa m diswltch.1 1 4Hi at & - I s j r BED and Clarence were passionately fond of robbing birds' nests, nnd they had been in many a scrape, when tv L I their father found Jthem out But all their punishments did Jriot seem to have much effect upon these bad Keys, and whenever they espied the habtta- Ition of some bird ther would not rest until they had investigated and possibly stolen Sits contents. , fcOnedayPred accidentally discovered an fi teiff.tr- ffc viv- w- JSP JftjBL ; WW! -ySJsK'C r ?u23 .RobMnff tAe Eagle' t HeiU eagle's nest, perched up against the dizzy height of a loity cliff in the mountains, and elated over his grand find he immediately called his brother Clarence. Then the two resolved to go and pay a visit to the nest, no matter what might happen. Bnt the under takmg proved very hazardous, because the position oi the nest was almost inaccessible. However, these boys were not to be baffled y anything, and it was a pity that their efforts were not utilized in a better cause. At last they succeeded to gain hold of the place where the nest was and when tbey jMJton1 ' ' into it they Co and it to contain two """"""liigcggs. Of course the bovs took possession at once of these eggs and then they retraced their steps. While they were running down the mountains gleefully over the rtsulVof their expedition tliev snddenlv met a very ancient-looking lady, who thns accosted them: "Why did you steal those eggs from the l poor birds in the clifl? Remember your punishment will not bo far behind youl 1 .Fred and Clarence did not take the least notice of this remark, however, and they iaug !-:gly continued their way. Presently J both became exceedinely hungry, and they 3L cat down to rest. "iet ns eat these eggs," suddenly said Clarence, "they will certainly appease our hunger." .Thcn they broke the shells and began eat ing the eggs. Ho sooner had they swallowed only a part of them, however, when, behold! J the boys changed into eagles. Their clothes !. -dropped from their bodies and instead a dress of feathers covered them. But in suite ' ofthe transformation ot their bodies they could still speak just like ordinary human beings. "Xow we have got our well deserved pun- lsnmcntr said .Freddie. "Wnat will our mother, father and sisters say if we never .come home again?" While tbey were thns deploring their fate, the ancient lady again appeared before them. "J. told you that you would be punished for robbing that eagle's net, but you did not take any warning. Now fly away as birds, and you shall never have your human the two ugly men were after.. The eagles soon understood that they had stolen the two girls.Trho were real princesses and a King's daughters, and they were now threatening to burn them in thefire unless they married them I "We must secure these girls," said Fred, 'or else tbey will surely be killed, let us swoop down upon the crowd, take hold of the girls and fly away with them as fast as we can." ' "All right," replied Clarence. "I am with you; let us proceed to business at once." Then the boys flew down from the top of the tree, and precipitated upon the aston ished people around the fire. The two vil lains who had stolen the princesses were al most scared to death at the sudden appearance of the two monstrous birds and the two young ladies fainted from the shock. ButFre'dand Clarence did not take any notice oi the condition of any of them. They flew down until they were immediately above the girls. Ten they took hold of them with their claws and in a few minutes they had vanished beyond the forest, before the men were able to realize what had taken place. The eagles with the princesses flew far, far away, and then they laid them gently down on the ground again. By this time both had recovered their senses, and when they opened their eyes Clarence said: "Ladies, princesses, we are two unfortu nate boys anxious to do good in this world, wherever we can. No sooner had we heard the danger vou were in when we resolved to liberate you. Now, if vou will tell us where your home is, we will at once convey you to your friends." The two girls were delighted to hear that, and although they could not help wonder ing at the strange eagles, still they told them where to go. In another second Fred and Clarence again picked up the princesses, and with their precious burdens they coursed once more throuh the air. It was a rapid flight, and it was not long ere they arrived in the city where the princesses' home was situated. The rejoicing among the people was great, and the King and Queen were even more than delighted when they again beheld their beloved children, whom they had already mourned as lost. When the eagles put their charges down on the castle steps both girls simultaneously exclaimed: "Please, dear eagles, do stay with us a few days, and let us entertain you and thank you for your chivalrous conduct!" The eagles reluctantly acquiesced.and the feasting and frolicking which was indulged in for the next few days made Fred and Clarence wish again and again that they had never stolen those eagle's eggs and they would not have lost their human form. In the meantime, however, the princesses had told their father the whole story of the unfortunate eagles, and out of gratitude the King sent a proclamation all over his realm. In this proclamation he stated the fact of how the boys bad been changed into eagles and the King also said that anyone who knew how to undo the spell ot the eagles, eggs would be well rewarded. This pro clamation accidentally came to the notice or the ancient lady in the mountains, and when she inquired into the matter and heard how bravely the boy had rescued the Princesses she went to the King's castle herself. Arrived there she called the eagle-boys to her. mid hv pullintr the third feather out of ACTORS OFTHE PAST. Looking Backward Into the Times of the Stock Companies. OLIVER DODD ETKON'S AMBITIOH. Friendly Interest of Old-Tims Audiences in the Thespians. INTERVIEWING BEHIND THE SCENES IWlUTTtll JOB TBI BTSPATPH.! There is no doubt that the Chicago Audi torium is a very grand affair. The Presi dent ot the United States went all the way from "Washington to help dedicate it the other day; and AdelinaPatti made a special journey that she 'might surprise its unac customed walls with the wonders of her melody. It 'was expected that these two celebrities would receive at least as much pleasure as they gave, and that the august occasion would yield joy in proportion to the dollars expended. But the President suffered in mind and body from the crowds that jostled him; and the song queen, it is to be feared, suffered in temper from the unpleasant things some of the critics said. So neither of them and not one among the thousands who hailed them had so much enjoyment as some of us have known on many and many a night in the "dead head corners" of the various Pittsburg theaters. Even when we sat sedately in the reserved seats of those same theaters, I imagine we had a better time than the people in the great new Auditorium; but when we stood at ease in fraternal groups, leaning comfort ably against the side walls just where the best view of stage and audience was to be had, there can he no doubt at all about the superiority of the earlier experience! There was a cozy sense of sociable comfort about that sort of thing, and at the same time a breezy sense or personal independ ence, which nothing but itself can parallel. Always there would be two or three sym pathetic souls standing together there, and generally half a dozen; and not many words were needed among them. A look, a shrug, a punch in the ribs, a half exclamation of delight or disgust, was quite sufficient to express in full the opinion of tne play or the player. And the dull or un satisfactory parts of the performance could always be evaded; for there were other thea ters, and generally the members of that group made the rounds of all of them before the green curtain was rung down. BEFORE THE OLD STOCK DIED. Tfie Jtetcue uf the Jfrtncettes. 8l!f the left wius they lost their eagle form again and they were now two beautilul young men. When the princesses saw them now their pleasure seemed to have no end, and it is safe to say that they at once grew very fond of the young men, and in course ot time the King even gave his permission to Fred and Clarence to marry his daughters. From that period all the trouble of the young men ended and they became very prominent in the affairs of state in the King's dominion. TIED BI BLONDE TKESSES. JThe Princettet and Their Caplort. form back again -unless yon do a deed worthy of yourself." The ancient lady said this and then vanished. Then Fred and Clarence, making the best of their misfortune, flew up Into the air. ""iet us fly all over the world, if we can!" the v said, and do good wherever the oppor tunity occurs. We are now certainly very sorry for our wickedness of robbing birds' nests and, therefore, very anxious to show our"remorsel" Then the two eagle-boys flew away from town to town and shore to shore. One day ther were majestically coursing above a deep forest when they suddenly noticed be , Death them a large flaring fire. They looked ' again and then they beheld two very beau tiful girls very close to the fire with their hands and feet tied together. Once more the eagles looked and now they saw two very ferocious-looking men sitting near the fire. -They were dressed in red cloaks and thev had black lnr caps on their heads, in fact, altogether these two men bore a very horrible aspect, and it was not difficult to guess that they were bent upon a dangerous "Let ui get down and try to find out what these fellows are doing with those two beau itiful ladies!" It was Clarence who made that remark, .ml the Mt-lpi imdnally sailed down upon theltrlnd nntil ther reached the crown of anjoak just above the scene around the fire. I .Kslw&s not long before ther found out what 1 An Accident That Grcntly Embarraned Two Yonnjr People. IiewYorkSun.I A man who was riding down town on a Third avenue train yesterday became in volved in an interesting -dilemma, which afforded amusement to all those passengers who became aware of it He was sealed . directly behind the last cross seat in the car. In front of him was a young woman who was devoting her time to watching the win dow on the opposite side ofthe street as the train sped along. She was young and pretty; without her knowledge a few tresses of her blonde hair had escaped from under her bonnet, and had fallen over the shoulder ot the man behind her, and had in some unex plained manner become fastened around one of the buttons of his coat. He made one or two delicate attempts to remove the wander ing tresses, but was so timid that he only entangled them the more. He sat there with a frightened but meek expression upon his face, not daring to move. A climax was put to his predica ment by the young woman's arising, or rather attempting to do so, at Fourteenth street. She had only got half way out of her seat when she felt a violent tug at her nair. bhe resumed her seat and turned around indignantly to learn the true situa tion. In a moment ier complexion rivaled that of the unfortunate young man, and her attempts to release herself convulsed the witnesses with laughter. Her fingers trembled, and, after fumbling away until the guard had closed the gate in vain attempts to release herself, she gave one violentyank at the two tresses, breaking them off and leaving the ends still entwined around the miserable button. Although the man saw them and was painfully consci ous of their presence, he did not dare re move them until the young woman had left the car at the next station. For the rest of the way to the City Hall he kept his head buried in his newspaper. In those days each theater was a theater and not a dramatic hotel. The traveling combination had not yet effected a corner in the amusement market, and the stock com pany still flourished, unquestioned and un assa'iled. "Stars" went "on the road," but the actors and actresses to support them they found resident at all the places where they might stop. A theater without a stock company, more or less good, was unknown; and if any expected star suddenly became a meteor and shot ont of sight instead of beaming behind the foot lights, there was still no need to close the theater doors for that week. The stock com pany always in study could meet the emercencv with some kind of performance. And in some cases they were able to make people cease altogether to regret the absence of the star. Indeed, sometimes the opening week of the season was kept open for the stock com pany, and the members thereof made ac quaintance with the public through a series of standard plays trageJies, comedies, farces and melodramas. It was hard work for the members of the company (sometimes lor the members of the audience, also!), bat it was a very effective introduction, and by the time the season was regularly opened the public pretty well knew the strong points and the weak points of those who were to minister to its entertain ment during the winter. Still, the theatrical pnblic of Pittsburg was a generous one, and did not formulate a hard-aud-last judgment at the first. An actor or an actress might do very bad work to begin with, and yet become a favorite later by earnest efforts to do better. No such effort went unrecognized. "Whatever is, is right, I suppose, in the world of amusements, at any rate. If it were not right, the amusement public would not tolerate it. The present system, per haps, insnres a smoother and more evenly balanced performance, but it renders im possible that intimate personal relation be tween actor and auditor which the old sys tem insurea. xne siock company was a part ofthe community; now every player is an alien. There is no acquaintanceship, no personal feeling whatever. With what lreshness of interest we used to gather at the theaters on the opening niebtof the season! The changes and im provements made in tne house had all been duly described in the papers beforehand, and people had much the same feeling of pleased or critical proprietorship as in going for the first time into their own newly deco Tated parlors. Perhaps Arthur Palmer, or whoever the scenic artist was, had painted a new drop curtain during the summer, and if so it as well as the more elaborate pieces of new scenery was very sure to call forth a round of applause. ane names ot the company had also been published by the reporters, and almost always the list included some of the old favorites. How pleasant it was to greet these as they came on the stac;e! and how pleasant it was for them to hear the heart v applause which welcomed them! Some times, in the case of a pleasantly remem bered leading lady or soubretie, flowers were given, much applause emphasizing the pretty token of renewed friendship. -The first night was a sort of social observance, and was very good in its way. It is obsolete in the old sense. explosive character of the nautical combat raging a few feet away; and in the midst of his explanation the new manager received his cue, politely excused himselt and dashed away into the thick of the fight which was troing on on the dectof a ship behind the footlights For a few intense moments he carried on a furious cutlass contest with the pirate chieftain of the play. Finally the pirate fell stark dead at the feet of the virtuous victor, who immediately dragged him off the stare hv the ankles and dropped him in front of the startled visitor. The instant his head was well hidden irom the audience, the dead pirate sprang to his feet and took a chew of tobacco. And at the same instant Mr. Leake calmlv resumed his interrupted talk. From that" day that reporter has felt on more or less intimate terms with pirates. A NOTABLE LEADING MAN. One of the leading, men whom Pittsburg greatly jiked and greatly likes yet was Oliver Doud Byron. He is rich now, and a star for these many years, and is known from one corner of the continent to all the other corners thereof. But in those earlier days he was not rich, and was known only as a good, capable, conscientious and always satisfactory stock actor. I wonder if he would mind my recalling the fact that he was also known as Oliver B. Doud, instead o! by his stellar name of Byron. He was leading man at the OperaHouse, and was known to be one ot the most am bitions of stock actors. But, oddly enough, his ambition lay in the direction of the highest walks of his profession. He de sired, of all things, to excel in the legiti mate drama, and had little tolerance for things sensational. He was thoroughly good natured, but now and then he did protest against being cast in some part which he considered below the standard of true dra matic art. Altogether he was the last man his acquaintances would have expected to see in a blaze of red tire, shining luridly as a first magnitude star in a mildly sensational piece. He went quietly away at the end of tne season, and the very next winter (I be lieve it was) came back to Pittsburg and fired himselt off in that most tempestuous ot sensations, "Across tne Continent, tie is not the first man and will not be the lost to discover that high art and fortune are not always intimately related. A later leading man who found great favor in Pittsburg, and who deserved it all, was J. Newton Go tt hold. Like Byron he was well balanced and well equipped, ac cording to the more exacting standards of the stock company days. As I recall mm he was better in strong tragedy parts than in comedy; and in many characters lie was much more than merely good. On more than one occasion he clipped more laurel leaves from the wreath of the star he sup ported than the star liked to part with. I believe he traveled as a star himself, at a later time. And years since he made his final exit behind the dark curtain that was to hide him from the eyes of all mortals. t A LEADING LADY of far more than ordinary power and ability Pittsburg possessed for a time in the person of Miss Augusta Dargon, who played for more than one season, I think, at the Opera House. She was an accomplished woman socially as well as artistically, and was wel comed" in the homes of many people who did not take very kindly to player people in general. She made some tours as a public reader after leaving the Opera House company, and won very considerable success. Some years ago it was said that she was settled permanently in Australia, where she was a lavorite, with scarcely a rival, in the chief cities ot the island continent Before she went to Australia, however, she played a somewhat sensational part in the Chicago fire. She had arrived at the Tremont House the day before the great catastrophe, and bad with her in her room two heavy trunks, holding much of value in the way of expensive wardrobe. As the fire came nearer and nearer to the hotel, and the guests began to flee, she sought help to move her trunks to a sate place. No help could be found "for love or money." The whole city was in a state of fierce panic, and only nimseir and tnose oeionging to him would any man look out for, In such a time a woman is a. conquering host This woman not ordinarily a strong one dragged her trunks down stairs onebv one, and then dragged them both along the pave ment and across the river to a place that seemed safe. Then she sat down on one of them, and fainted comfortably away. MANAGERS AND OTHERS. HUNTERS OP THE MOA N The Huge Wingless Bird of New Zealand, Long Since Extinct. WILD LIFE AT THE ANTIPODES general babble. Kawana keen glance in that direc- An Old Maori Chiefs Tales of Hia loathful Adventures. HOW THE GREAT BIRDS WERE HUNTED NO WRIT NLCESSARL How a Mescnlar Lawyer Rrplevlned Load of Good. Detroit Hem. There is one lawyer at Harrison who has his wits about him and handy to get at when wanted. The other day a merchant dashed into his office and said: "Get-me- out-a-writ-of-replevin-as-quick-as-you-can man-just-go t-load-of-goods-at-my-s to re-and-won't-pay-for-'em he's-driving-offn-ays-I-can-charge-'emhurry-hurry-for-heaven's-sakel" "You don't need a writ for him," said the lawyer; "come on; I'll fix it for you." The lawyer thereupon went into the street, climbed upon the wagon load of merchan dise, threw the recalcitrant purchaser off into the dirt,heaved the goods into the street auo. ana tola tne merchant to take thesa. BEHIND THE SCENES. There are, very many people who still re member the old Pittsburg Theater the Old Drury, as some were fond of calling it; but on the other hand there are very many who have no recollection of it at all, and so much the worse for them! There the pit was the pit, and not the parquet The gods sat down there in front of the stage, and fed on such ambrosia as may be crunched out of peanut shells. The aristocratic seats were on a higher level. William Henderson was the manager, and there was a good-humored tradition that "The Octoroon" and "The Sea of Ice had been the only pieces pre sented on that stage all through the war. However that may be, the old theater knew some grand acting before the war. and after it as well. Two Pittsburg favorites were leading man and leading lady here in my early recollections of the place William Leake and Miss Annie Waite. They were good artists both, and each could do better work than some of the stars who are on the road and who don't have to count the ties of the road, eitberl In some exigency, I do not recall -what, there was a temporary change in the man agement of the theater. I do not think it was because the ghost refused to walk at the proper time and in the proper manner, but, whatever the reason, Mr. Leake became manacer for the time beinr. as well as lead. ing man of the company. .The change was effected very suddenly and very quietly, but a reporter heard of the matter, and of course it was immedi ately necessary for him to learn every de tail connected with it The best way for mm k accompiisn tnis was to interview .Mr. Leake. But a matinee performance was in progress, and the actor-manager was in the cast The reporter was new to the news paper bnsiness, but he had already acquired the first principle of his cralt that now is always the best time to get news. Therefore, he sent a note to Mr. Leake upon the stage, and was promptly invited to come behind the scenes. He was Courte ously received at the wings, by MrLeake who was in lull sailor costume. Ttfe con versatioa was sossewhat interrupted by the William Henderson, of the "Old Drury," was a veteran of Pittsburg managers. His experience here gave him a good start to ward fortune. He served his patrons in the City of Smoke long and well, giving them much that was good. Then he went to New York and got still better acquainted with fortune. He bought him a home at Long Branch, where so many prosperous theatrical people havf their abiding places, and fared exceedingly well, I believe. Matt-Canning was another name withont which any mention of Pittsburg theatricals would be but a weae apology, hong is the list of goodly dramatic dishes he set before the public. Later he was a traveling man ager, with his home at Long Branch, near his friend, Henderson's. And John Ellsler his name recalls itself, without any reminder, to the memory of every lover of good managing or good act ing. For John Ellsler was an actor as good as the best he ever had on his salary list Not often would he indulge his admirers in his older days, but when he did they had cause to remember it very pleasantly. For a time, also, C. D. Hess was the man ager of a theater in Pittsburg, aud that time was one which discriminating people like now to remember. "Whether Mr. Hess finds so much pleasure in the recollection is an other matter. There is room for the sus picion that he "made monev in the wroncr pocket" that is to say, that he lost money by the enterprise. But he gave us the ser vices of as well-balanced and capable a stock company and of as fine a list of stars as we need ever wish to see. Among the company were two low come dians. I cannot recollect the name of either, but both were born funny. They were comical just to look at when they were in perfect repose; and tihen they acted to gether upon the Btage the audience always had convulsions. With Mr. Hess at the Academy of Music was Major John Burke. He w3 not a Major then, and was known to everybody as that good fellow, Johnny Burke. There were few more popular men than Johnny at tached toany of the theaters at any time, and the sight ot his waving curls was always a giaaaening spectacle. Alter leaving the Academy I believe he married Morlacchi, the dancer, and traveled as her agent and manager. And when Colonel Cody, known to tame as Buffalo Bill, took the country captive, behold, there was Johnny Bnrke helping him and making more fame and more friends for himself than he had known even in Pittsburg, Bnt for all that it was a trifling startling to read in the cable dispatches from London that the Princess of Wales had viewed the wonders ofthe "Wild West show leanin? on the arm of Major Burke, and to realize that Major Burke was our old friend of the Academy! JAME3 C. PUBDT. Angela at Church. New Haven Palladium. 1 Clifford Turner, a little fellow, was taken to the Church of the Ascension a few weeks ago and saw for the first time a sur pliced choir. His eyes opened with aston ishment on seeing the white-robed boys, and turning to his aunt, he wispered: "Aunty, are those the angels?" Warn Ike Ban Goes Dom. Though the morning may be dreary, And the day be long and woary, Tnough the clouds may darkly lower And the tempest fiercely frown. We shall quite forget the shadows That have lingered in the meadows If there be a golden bonr When the sun goes down. WBITTEN r OB THIS DISPATCH. At a great gathering of the Maoris on the west coast of New Zealand, some little time ago, I was the guest of Te Bangihiwinui, a celebrated fighting chief, at his pa, orvillage, called Patiki, on the "Wanganui river. "When we arrived there we found them dis cussing a subject which X had long taken the profoundest interest in, but had never be fore been able to getany light upon. The point at issue was this: The moa, the gigantic wing less bird of New Zealand, was a monstrous creature, standing 12 or 14 feet high, on legs as thick as a camel's with a neck like a giraffe's and long, slender wiry feathers, which made its coat more like coarse fur than plumage. So much isknown about it; but beyond that all is mystery. The moa has never been taken alive since the European occupation ot the islands, 0 years ago. Solitary settlers in the remotest parts of the country have from time to time reported tbeing startled iu the night by a weird and fearful cry, so loud and shrill that its echo rang from crag to crag, until the sound was pro longed into the melancholy cadence of a fog horn. They say that, rushing out of doors, they have witnessed in the misty moonlight an object of almost incredible size, towering above the fern brake and stalking away into the uncertain vapors ofthe mountain glens with the speed of a race horse. Dwellers in those awful solitudes,howevcr,are subject to strange hallucinations, and the highest sci entific authorities are oi the opinion that the moa is totally extinct and ha's been so for many centuries. They found their belief mainly upon this: The Maoris have main tained from time immemorial a priestly caste called Tohunga, who lay claim to all the powers of prophecy aud witchcraft, but whose proper business is to preserve the genealogies and annals of the tribes. FOB AND AGAINST. A careful study of these curious oral records has established the fact that they embody the history of the people for about 800 years. Yet, though they teem with al lusions to every sort of natural object, birds, beasts, fishes, insects, plants, flowers, fruits, there is not a single reference in them to the moa, or to any creature auswenng to the de scription of the moa in the slightest degree. It is held, therefore, to be certain that the most ancient Tohunga that ever beaueathed a legend to posterity, never saw or neard of a moa. On the other hand, it is an obvious fact that at one time moas swarmed all over the islands and formed the chief diet of the in habitants, whoever they were. Innumer able skeletons and bones of moas have been discovered ot late vears, and in places there are caves quite full of them, the birds hav ing evidently taken refuge there by hun dreds, from the pursuit of man or some other foe. Moreover, great collections of moa bones are often come upon which have undoubtedly been cooked in an oven; and with them are found the burnt stones which formed the oven, and rude weapons of the chase and sundry utensils of primitive cookery. Such were the two sides of the contro versy as I had heard it waged in scientific circles and as the young chiefs in Kawana faipai's whare tersely and eloquently de scribed it for my information, before pro ceeding with their" debate. It was clear to me from the speeches and from the signs of assentor dissent among the audience that the party who put their laith in the negative testimony of the Tohunga's records were at first in a large majority; but as the debate proceeded, those who contended for the recent extinction of the moa if, in deed, it were even yet extinct seemed to be gaining ground considerably and likely to sway the whole audience in the end. Enoha te Ban, the Tohunga, disputed this theory, but said that moas were hunted by a gigantic race of men who preceded the Maoris. A PATEIAECH'3 STOST. After the Tohunga had concluded hia re marks, Kawana Paipai, the centenarian patriarch, whose memory went back more than 100 years, rose slowly to full height ot his mighty figure. Beaching behind him he took from the reed-lined wall his taiaha. a quarter staff of carved and polished hard wood, richly inlaid with pearl shell, seven or eight feet long. Leaning on this with a wonderfully digmhed and graceful pose, he waved his hand in royal style for the as semblage, who had risen with him, to be seated. When all was quiet, he held his taiaha out at arm's length, jnst as a stump orator often holds a roll of paper, and began his discourse in a ringing voice: -Ob, my children! You. the pakeha! You Enoba te Ban. the Tohunga! Listen to my words. You are young, bat I am old. The land that you knovr Is noc the land that I knew when I was young. All is changed. You can not even picture to yourselves what yonr own country was like 0 vears befoii vou were born. You would not understand me if I tried to de scribe it to you. 'rnetnings tnat then were rose above thi Paipai shot a tion. '"What is the matter down there?" he asked in a voice that silenced everybody in a moment "What are you boys squabbling about?" "We are not squabbling, father," replied a grand young stripling, jumping to his feet "Wi Kepi said you had not told us how you managed to catch the moas, and I said he had better ask you himself if he was not satisfied. Wi Kepi never be lieves anybody. JHe judges others by hlm- This sally was received with loud laugh ter, for the doubter evidently was not popu lar; but Kawana Paipai raised his taiaha high in the air, and everyone hushed his neighbor to listen as the" old man continued: OLD PROB'S SCIENCE. How Storms Are Located and Fore told by the Signal Serrice. WHY SOME PREDICTIONS PAIL THE MOA HTJOT. 'We had no guns, no rifles, no horses, no swift dogs. Not even Knri, the mongrel. Yet we knew how to catch and kill the moas. We did not go out after the moas every day, as you boys go out after pies or eels. We made preparations for the hunt many days or months beforehand. We decided which swamps we would drive tho birds out of, and which valley we would chase tbem down; and often we arranged it so that they would be forced to take to the seashore and run along the sand for a whole day's journey; Then wo made camps all along the line of the bunt, five or six miles apart, and hidden in the scrub above the valley. There we posted relays of yoang men, the strongest and swiftest runners In the tribe. We drove the moas out ot the swamps with shouts and trumpets, and the smoke of fires, when the wind suited, aud, as soon as they took the di rection wji wanted, the first party of rnnners followed them, shouting and blowing horns, we had great wooden trumpets then, that could be heard a mile, and the moas used to run in terror from them. When once they began rushing in a herd down the valley it was easy enongh to keep them going. The second party of runners would be waiting in their camp, watching, and, as soon as the birds ran past they would come out of the scrub and drive tbem on toward the next camp, the first Party, who were tired out taking possession ot their hiding place, where food and water and a good bed of fern were ready for them. So the irds were driven from camp to camp until they had run all day without stopping, and their feet were sore with rnnnlng over stones and prickly plants and their feathers were torn oy the boshes and brambles. At last they could run no longer. Then was the dangerous time, for they would turn on their pursuers and fight desperately with their great feet Tbey had three toes, hard like a horso's hoof and nearly as big, but very sharp. A moa's foot ripped like a boar's tusks. I have seen a strong man killed by a moa. with both his arms hrnlrnn anil Mihimi torn open. Thenthey ran at you with their neck stretched out and pecked at your eye and face with a beak as sharp and strong as a hatchet When a flock of moas turned on us we used to take shelter in the scrub or climb up .. v .uu j u neep luem u signtniitne par ties who were coming on behind us arrived, inen, when there were enough of us to surround the flock, we closed in on them and killed them with our spears. Sometimes, at the end of a long chase, tbey would lie down and die from exhaustion and hunger; but often tbey would flgnt to the last and wound everyone of us be fore we overcame them. A very big moa could seize a man with his beak and drag him along the ground and trample him to death if his comrades did not come soon to the rescue. But we were Btronr, we were active. Ab, those were grand days! Those were grand days! Nothing like theinnow! A CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. My children, the best part of my story is that It Is true. Let those who doubt carry me where I shall lead them, and not two hours' march from hence, I will show you where we killed 100 moas and feasted for a week at the hahunga, the funeral ceremony of the grandfather of Mete Kingi, that great warrior who is still among us. We shall find the bones there. They will not lie! In a moment all the young men sprang up, shouting, "It is a challenge! It is a challenge! It is agreed! "We will carry Kawana Paipai to the place of the feast! Enoha te Ban shall be there to see." By general consent I accompanied the party who were to test the truth of Kawana Paipai's story. They consisted of four young giants, carrying 4he old chief on a light litter of manuka poles interlaced with wild vines, followed by a cavalcade of horse men and men, women and children on foot, numbering at least 100. After a pleasant tramp of about nine miles, relieved by the choric songs, which the Maoris kept up un ceasingly, we came to a most peculiar mound, evidently the Work of'man, and here the patriarch made us halt and de scended from his litter. "Dig," he said to the young men. "Dig here, and the bones will "speak. They will tell you whether my story was a good story." A score or more of youthful athletes went to work with spades and pickaxes, neatly removing the whole surface ofthe mound in circular trenches. At the end of half an hour, when the dig gers had got four feet or so into the ground, one ot them muttered an exclamation, and, reaching down, pulled a long brown object out of the loose soil and handed it to Ka wana Paipai. It looked to me like the bone of some large animal. The chief felt its weight and gave it to others to feel. "When I handled it I knew it must be a bird's bone, tor it was hollow and cellular, quite differ ent from the bones of a beast The digging went on rapidly, great num bers of bones being taken out ot the pit and laid on the grass. There must have been a wagon load piled up in heaps. I selected for a memento a tibia, which was qnite as much as I could carry back to town. I have it still. It measures 3 feet 5 inches in length and 13 inches in circumference at the head. The bird it belonged to must have stood lully 15 feet in height Hdwaed Wakefield. The Influence Exerted by the Moon Upon the Weather.. A GL00KT OUTLOOK SOS. KBIT IEAB THINGS THE DOCTOR SEES. What though fate our hope opposes, What though thorns shut out the roses, And the cross be borne in sorrow That we carry to the crown, By and by we'll cease to wander And we'll rest forever yonder If there dawns a bright to-morrow , When life's sun goes down, J' .;' -VMemgXtrali. "r. 1 , .,J,...,K.-i'r- have passed away and have no lonerer any be- ing. When you talk about those times you talk without any brains. You know not what you are saying. It is all dark to you. It is not dark to me. 1 see It all, when I look Into the depths of my memory, just as clearly as you see the cliffs, the trees, the sky, when you look into the depths ot a still pool. I cannot tell you all. but I can tell you some things. Listen to my words. In those days, when 1 was a youth, we Maoris had no weapons or tools bnt what wemade our selves of wood or stone. We lived in our forti fied places on the bill tops, and never came down to the plains except tor war pr for the cbase. All this open country that you see now was covered with forest or with tussock grass, ferns and shrubs twice as hign as this whare. The Are had never passed over it and the erowth was so tbick that no man conld make his way throngh it Eadh tribe had their own tracks, known only to themselves: and when we went on a war expedition we used to cut new tracks, so that our enemies could not tell which way we were coming from, if by chance tbey bad discovered our eld ones. The rivers were much higher then than tbey are now, and all the lower lands for hundreds of miles on both sides were often covered with watef. Where the rivers spread out on the plains there were shallow lakes or swamps, and in those swamps there grew trees like fern trees you can see the stumps of tbem now and a great many other trees and plants which have gone and left nothing behind them but peat Those forests and swamps were full of birds and ani mals that are quite unknown now. A POUE-rOOTED SEAL. The kaurehe, a great beast like a seal only with four feet and long tall, was quite common then. It lived on eels nd fish and only came out at night: and it could run on land or swim in the water, as it pleased. Then there were multitudes of birds without any wings, like kiwis, but much bigger, with long neck and thick legs. Some were as high as a boy, and some were as bigh as a man, and some were twice as high as aman, a tall man twice as high as I am. These were the moas you have been talking about to-nigbt It made me laugh when I heard it said !that the pakehas, the Eu ropeans, the wise men who write books, say there have been no moas alive for 800 years. The wise pakehas think tbey know everything, because they have books and can read and write. Bat there are come things tbey know no more about than babies. They cannot tell what this land was like when I was a young man. any more than they can tell what the oth er side of the moon Is like. I have seen moas alive, hundreds of tbem, tens of hundreds of them. I have hunted tbem. I have been wounded by them. I have killed them. I have The Old Physician TelU of a Dying Woman' Strange Request. Kan Francisco Chronicle. The old doctor was in rather a sentimen tal mood. I have noticed that of all liquors to make people sentimental hot Scotch whisky seems to be the most effective. It mellows the emotion, so to speak, and plays on the lachrymal ducts. Strange that from such a bleak, cold country should I come the most emotional of lienors. A man when he is full of hot Scotch whisky generally becomes affectionate and kindly and quotes poetry, sentimental poetry. The old doctor had been talking very sentimen tally about sick people and death, and other cheerful themes. "Ah, well," he said, "I've been a doctor 40 years. Iiave seen many sad scenes, but I never stood at a deathbed without mourning for the living." "I have seen some laughable things, too," said te doctor. ''Human nature comes out when people are very sick. I was called in once to attend a lady who was taken sud denly ill and was quite sure she was going to die. There was nothing very serious the matter with her, but she was quite snre her end was near," "Doctor," she said, '"I know I am going to die. Don't tell my husband, but let me ask you one favor before I go." "What is it?" I asked. "Whisper, doctor. Ask Mary to fix my pangs oeiore mey oury me. eaten them, Tne old chief here paused to take breath and to refresh himself with a few whiffs from his pine. During the interval there was a rustling of flax mats and then a mur mur of hurried conversation, questions, answers, exclamations, and here and there among the crowd a waiata or improvised song, droned not unmelodlously in a low key. At length the voices among a knot of I eager dlspHtast at th far end ofthe whara Tbe Forgotten Sjng. Over the wav mv neighbor sits. There by the window, and softly sings; I see her hand as It lightly flits Over a banjo's silver strings; I see her lips as they ope and close. And slim, white fingers tripping along. But the tree-tops moan and the north wind blows, And I do not hear the song. What need of speech or vibrant sound? Why life and death on the stage of time As the ancient cycles roll around. Slip at last into pantomime; Beyond the word 6 the formless thought The dream-veil over the poet's lines. And tbe most significant language taught Is that composed of signs. Over tbe way my neighbor now Bweeps from ner instrument light retrains, Tbe strong winds whistle and branches bow Till dry twigs creak on the window panes I see her lips as they close and part. And I catch a gleam of the shining strings. And an echo reaches my longing heart. But not of the song she sings. Into the silence that echo dies, Faint spirit-tones of a song unheard. Yet out of the years may sometimes rise The self-same tone and the self -same words And I may hear In the dim to be IU music sweet as I drift alone-. And there by the mystic, far-oS sea f iod my forgotten sou. -Mrnut McQaffey, in Itftr, Omon. iwsrrrxx rou tile disiutch.i In 'these days of scientific research into every branch of knowledge, there is nothing to show as little advancement as the science of weather predictions. This, outside of "Old Probabilities," who only predicts for the immediate 21 hours and even then, with all of his Multitude of assistants human, instrumental and electrical he can only make on an average of about 80 per cent of his predictions correct They are all subject to failure from local causes, such as dense forests, high hills, large bodies of water, long streams or continuous lakes, or the direction of the wind, or, worse than all the rest, the encounter o one storm with an other storm moving in a different direction with far greater force. These things will in evitably have their effect upon all weather, no difference from what direction it may be advancing, and the ridicule, which is gratuit ously heaped on the signal office by all scoffers is done withont full knowledge of the subject the mere contempt of ignor ance. When a prediction is made for any locality it is not intended to be considered as infallible, but it means that such and such weather will follow according to the indications on the weather map at so many stations throughout the United States at a given time: provided, however, that no unforeseeable counter influence gets in the way. Those predictions are for certain very large sections of country. It wonld be quite absurd to expect that because rain was pre dicted in the Middle- States that it wonld rain in every part of that section of the earth. If it don't, the local critics think that because their district didn't get any of it there has been an entire failure every- wuexB oi me promuea rain. Change of weather implies a change of condition of cloud and electricity, of rain and wind, of heat and moisture. Mankind from the earliest ages has watched for signs and prognostics in the heavens that would enable tbem to gauge the elements, and thereby help or forward agricultural, mer cantile, marine and other interests. But predictions without scientific data were rather unreliable if they were based on the' averages of previous years, as was mostly done. MODERN METEOROLOGICAL METHODS. Nowadays storms are detected and their magnitude ascertained" by telegraph. Away in the West is suddenly developed a falling barometer at one certain spot. Soon after ward come telegrams that other neighboring localities feel it, and it soon spreads itself over a vast area. As it conies eastward, northeast to southeast winds swell up rapid ly and increase in force hourly.1 Every man can then feel in his own system that tbe powers of the air are in violent commotion. If he will stand with his back to -.the wind he wilt have tbe lowest barometer to his left hand. Storms of this kind can be safely predicted for days ahead. Storms are circular aud travel mostly in a northeasterly direction, with a velocity cor responding to the vastness of their area and the lowness of the barometer. If winds have been easterly for some time during the tall, and southwest winds commence early in December, a season of mild weather en sues until about Christmas, with frequent violent storms and much rainy weather. If in winter northeast winds' succeed long southwest winds, which we are havinsr now, then a continuance of cold, frosty weather may be looked for during January. "Buchan's Handy Book of Meteorology" says : "I have examined the weather of Scotland for a number of years, and have shown that the followinginterruptious occur from year to year with very rare exceptions: Six cold periods February 7 to 10, April 11 to ii. May v to i j une a to J uiys, Augusts to lL November 6 to 1"!. Three warm periods July 12 to 15, August 13 to 15, December 3 to 9. If those figures are approximately correct for Scotland they are correct for this latitude also. These figures are, however, based on averages, and cannot, of course, be de pended upon entirely, as we know that the weather has changed vastly in late years from what it was between 1650 and 1860. Then we had great snow storms every win ter and continnous sleighing and sledding and skating from fall until .spring. The tnrnpikes were often hidden under great drifts of snow for weeks, while the roadways were often on or over the fences. That has been changed. For sev eral years all of our great storms commenced away up in Manitoba or toward Alaska, which region became known by tbe name of "Home of the Blizzard." But this winter has changed the cyclonic direction, and tbe great storm center now appears to be in New Mexico and Texas, and tbe country along the Southern tier of Stater on the Gulf is now the focus of the wrath of the Storm King, and people who never sawa skate or a sled are now supplied with snow and freezing weather, while this Northern country, which has hitherto been the home of Jack Frost and his brother the Snow Storm, is revelling or sweltering in the balmy weather which should belong to the latitude of the Gulf coast The exact cause of these changes of the isothermal lines cannot be given or approxi mated unless the moon exerts an influence on the tides of the air as she does with the ocean, and if she does it with water why not with the air? Manv great minds claim that the moon has nothing to do "with it, but far greater minds have .thought differ ently. The changes of the phases of the moon, as taken at Greenwich for a number of years, would seem to contradict (if they were carefully taken), scientific opinions as to their influence on the weather. It is claimed that the prognostications were false once more than they were true. THE MOON AND THE "WEATHER. Stan v vears airo Herschel made a VMthpr table, as a result of many years' actual ob- serration, constructed on a due considera tion of the attraction of the sun and moon in their several positions respecting the earth, which he claimed would show what kind of weather would most probably follow the entrance of the moon into any of its quarters, "and that so near the truth as to seldom or never be found to fail." Sir William Herschel's opinions and positive belief, alter many years' experience and ob servation, should certainly stand as high as ,the experience ot latter day expenmentai ' ists who have not had half the experience or fame he had. In January last a table was made from his data, after comparisons with the exact time of the changes of the moon's phases, and the predictions were for a wet season until the 28th of December. There was here and there a phase marked fair, but it was the exception. Nobody will deny that this year, almost past has been an unusually wet, cold and damp year. Taking the phases for the year 1890 on the sace basis, there appears to be another season of rainy, showery weather approaching, as the follow ing table will show: December 28 to February i, fair and frosty. February 4 to March 13, rain or snow. March 13 to March 23, fair and frosty, Marcb 23 to April 2a, rainy and cold. Apnl 26 to May 11, fair. May 11 to May 28. frequent showers. May 20 to June 17, fair. June 17 to July 8, rain, changeable. July 8 to July 24. fair, if wind northwest July 24 to July 81, rainy. July 81 to August 7, fair. August 7 to August 29, changeable, showery. August 28 to September 14, fair. aeptemoer i to neptemoer m, com aaa The prognostications for last year were in the main correct, the experiences of the Greenwich Observatory to the contrary not. withstanding. If the moon has no influence on the weather why has it on the sea? If the observations of Sir William Herschell 200 years ago were correct, why are they not as correct now? Last year s estimations were in the main correct, why may not thia year's be so likewise? The direction ofthe wind always taken into consideration. Herschell says his table will last for all phases of the moon forever. Take these two table and compare them with the weather for the year just coming and see how nearly they will come to prov ing that the moon has much mysterious power over the tides ot the air as well as of the ocean. Greenwich says no. Herschell says yes. Btthbalo. THE MRESIDE SPHItfX A Collection of Mmatical Its for ' Home fraeiM. Addrut communications for this departmmC to E. B. Chadbourx tewUUm. Maine. 854 OJT CHRISTMAS MORIT. . ' J0( What the three little kittens (if they werw human) might find in their mittens. Edith Kites. 855 numerical. Tolto6 You may affix A variety of meanings; "Select" with care "Uncommon," "rare" , Be "chary" in you gleanings. From letter 7 Toll In "won" or "moved" combine; In off you see Uncommonly -Select" or superfine. TBA2TZA. 856 TRANSPOSITION. y Many total are next, Fm clad Fm not so med? He who third for wealth most pay The penalty of two. they say: But that not very oft well four Tbe man whose want is more and mors. Bitter Sweet. 857 a .FEW LOCKS. J. What lock preserves our homes 7 2. What is tho lock of the forestr S. What lock confines the highwaymanT . What lock shuts the money-borrower from his home? 5. What Is the lock of the farmer's pasture? MRS.E. 858 WHAT IS MY THOUGHT? My thought is like a lion fierce, Becao.se it loudly roars; 'Tis also like a summor shower. Because It downward pours. 'Tis llkela glass of soda, too It has a foamy crown: 'Tis like a poor Inebriate, Its course is ever down. 'Tis like a man that's on tbe fence; As shortly will be shown; Itgoes between two countries, yet It stops for neither one. 'Tis like tbe President because Its fame is widely spread. And people come lrom far and near To see it, it Is said. Ethtl, 85-ctntTArLirjESTa. v U A privilege or government v curtail and but a dish Is meant Again curtail and what is found Is sometimes built in marshy ground: Also. 'tis what you carry round, And serves you well If it is sound. Azain curtail, and it is fit. Also a native famed for wit Again, you have a tender friend. And one who will your cause defend. Curtail again, you have a plant; But not again, because you can't AISTZW 860 THE TRAMP'S STRATAGEM. Four tramps applied at a farm house for alms. "Well," said the farmer. "X have apiece) of work that will require 200 hours ot labor. If you want to do it 1 will pay you J20. and you can divide tbe work and money amonz tout selves as you see fit" Tbe tramps agreed to this proposition. "Now, boys," said one of the tramps, who was! at the same time tbe laziest and tbe most Intel ligent of the four, "there is no use of all four ot us doing the same amount of work. Let's draw lots to see wbo shall work the most hours a day and who the fewest. Then let each man work as many days as he does hours a day. The plan being satisfactory, the lazy tramp took good care that chance should designate) him to do the least number of hours of work. Now. how were the 300 hours of work allotted, so that each tramp should work as many hours a day as he did days, and yet so that no two tramps should work the same nnmber of hours? J. H. FzzAxsrx. 861 A DECEMBER TDTL. Phonetic Alas! Alas! What shall I dor Fartoomanya one I two; With gloomy clonds my sky's o'ercast, For New Year's Day is coming fast Over tbe total I hate to skip. And Canada's too cold a trio: If I remain sad situation! I'm sure to lose my reputation. One thing I've gained, bard work to earn ife A lesson learned, thoucb. bard to learn it: ir o'er this crisis safe I'm tided. On other course I am decided. No more I'll buy for fashion's sake. And only needful debts will make; Never again Til try to tiorrow. It only brings regret and sorrow. M. c. WooDTona. 862 A BIRD. A river caught an animal And fastened it behind: Tbe animal took a part ot a house. And then the three combined Boon formed a bird. or which youve heard. One of the wading kind. Aidtl. ahowerr. September 21 to September 28, fair. September 28 to October 13, changeable. October 18,to November 4." fair, frosty. " November 4 to December 4, rain or snow. Pseombsr t to Dwesabw X, fate aed frosty. THE NOVEMBER COMPETITION. Prize winner 1. Mighty Mack; Pittsburg. 2. F. K. Konlgsberg. New York. 3, Daisy Kreieer. Pittsburg. Roll of Honor Wm. Hughes. D. D. I, Mag. So tienaerson, rairman. inos.iiarry.il. K. T-1 J. a Balls, M. D. P., Jennie H. Coan, Jonolri ANSWERS. 845 "A cake eaten in peace Is worth two hi, sorrow. 848 Bleaching-powder. o47 Meal, amef, EUm, lame, male, learn. 279 M 41ITT 3211 S V2S 129177 ... r-" a 850-Tbe letter U. "-- 'f- . 851 L The candidate (candid eight)4 of fetS cuunok . iwiujuuau xwjueo,jou nvi,1 852 Dead-head. ,' 853 Trap, part Tbe Unfinished Htaeklao Lay it aside ber work: no more she sits joy open window in tne western tun. Auiniting ox wis ana teas Deiov In silence as she knits. J fn h.lVUV.. V No more she welcomes at the co&ge door ,'&i 1 rpm JL' Lay It aside: the needles in theiree; No more she welcomes at the p.oAir The ctalne of her children home ones mor With lMt and tairfnt f mil Lay it asidher work is done and weiit A generotusympathetlc. Christian life; A faithful mother and a noble wlf ot Her Influence who can tell r Lay It aside say pother work is done; No deed ot love or goodness ever dies.t-4 ' Bat in the Una nt Mhn mnltlnllpit SayitUJattlMfaai t?:SaraX.SoUtS3 rHiitt. . :-i1S!6.. J.. , t .V.