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5?HE v PITTSBURG DISPATCH, -MONDAY. OCTOBER 27, 1880,
Wljt Biafiij.
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PITTSBURG. MONDAY. OCT. 27. 1S90.
Tnxni last snor.
The Republican managers have fired oiie
of the last shots in their locker, by the pro
duction of a sensational charge against Pat
tison, which appeared simultaneously on
Saturday in a Harrisburg paper and the
Delamater organs ot Philadelphia. The
substance cf he story is that in 1S83, three
bills were passed for the purpose of favoring
the completion of the South Penn road.
Judge Jeremiah S. Black is stated to have
considered that there was a snake in these
measures, and on presenting his views, was
asked to prepare a veto message "While he
was preparing the message, the story goes,
he was oflered a fee by "Win. S. Whitney"
presumably Wm. C. Whitney on behalf
. of the Tandcrbilts. to argue in favor of the
bills before'Gov. Pattison. When the veto
message was presented to the Governor, the
story continues, the document was highly
aDproved by Senator Gordon, who was pres
ent; but at the end of the interview, two
men called to see the Governor, one of whom
was Attorney General Cassiday and the
other was not recognized by Judge Black.
But it is a significant part of the
story that some power in finance
was so interested in the matter
as to have this person shadowed
by a detective all the way back to Xew
York, and it is asserted that he was Mr.
Whitney. The next day the bills were re
turned to the Legislature, not with a veto
message, but with the Governor's signature
These are the direct allegations. The inti
mations, which are nowhere allowed to
reach the degree of actual assertions, are
that the Governor was influenced pecuniar
ily. Two things are significant in connection
with the publication of this story. The first
5s the contrast between the way in
which the assailants of Delamater have
brought out their charges early in the cam
paign and courted investigation, and ths
way in which this has been held back to
within ten days of the clectioa and then
brought out with all the earmark! of a roor
back. The existence of this storv was inti
mated by Pattison'j opponents before his
nomination; bnt the Republican managers
have shown their conviction that it will not
stand the test of full scrutiny by carefully
keeping it quiet until the present time,
when there is little time to sift the
manufactured inuendos from actual fact.
Besides that, instead of anyone taking
the responsibility of the charges and re
questing, as Senator Emery has done, that
he be taken into court if thevare false, there
is in this entire effort a scrupulous care to
avoid responsibility on the part of everyone
connected with it. No direct allegation
against Governor Pattison's integrity is
made in it, and the entire effort in that way
is to base the inference of dishonesty on
things which dead men are alleged to have
said.
The other significant thing about this
publication is the fact that while simultane
ously published in the Delamater organs in
the Eastern end of the State it is carefully
kept out of the organs in this section. The
reason of this is obvious. The people of
Pittsburg are well versed in the history of
the South Penn, because it was a matter of
vital importance to this section. They know
that the real issue in connection with
that entire enterprise was whether the pub
lic right of building competing lines and
developing the industries of onr State,
fchould be asserted, or should be crushed oat
by the orders of one great corporation.
They know that at the time when Governor
Pattison signed these bills, this was a legiti
mate enterprise in which the public pros
perity was interested, and that it was pressed
forward well to completion until the time
when it was strangled by a bargain of cor
poration magnates. They know that the
prompt and vigorous action of Governor
Pattison and Attorney General Cassi
day brought that betrayal of pnblic rights
to a dead halt at the end of their
term; and it is a notorions matter at present
that under the Republican administration
of this State this corporate conspiracy has
been suffered to proceed unchecked until
little pains are taken to conceal the fact that
the Constitution and the mandates of the
court are alike dcSed by the corporations
which crushed out the South Penn. This
knowledge is a sufficient reason for the Re
publican managers to make a great spiead
over this story in Philadelphia and Harris
burg and to keep it perlectly quiet in Pitts
burg. What is to be recognized as a fact in this :
Ftory is that Governor Pattison signed the
bills in question. Of these three measures,
two that extending the time for the comple
tion or the road and that permitting the
chauge of its terminal were fair and neces
sary for the success of a legitimate enter
prise. The third, that permitting the in
crease of capitalization to $300,000 per mile,
can now be recognized as an error; bnt
there were many reasons for considering it
otherwise at that time. The South Penn
road was being built through a country
necessitating expensive construction with
bridges and tunnels, in some localities cost
ing from half a million to a million per
mile. The limit of JGO.OOO per mile, fixed
by the general railroad law, was obviously
intended to shut out competing railroads
from Pennsylvania, where, when that law
was passed, the cost of construction was
often greater than this limit Finally, as a
measure of capitalization, the corporation
with which the? South Penn was to compete
carried, on something like 400 miles of main
line, $175,000,000 of capitalization, or $350,
000 per mile. It is quite probable that
Governor Pattison was sufficiently impressed
by Judge Black's view to ask him to pre
pare a veto.message, and that, later, he was
convinced by Attorney General Cassiday
that the public interest in the construction
of the South Penn called for his approval
of these measures. But no one who has fol
lowed Governor Pattisou's career will
deem the intimations of pecuniary in
fluence, with no one standing up to accept
the responsibility for them as Emery does
for his assertions, as anything more than the
joint production of corporate enmity and
partisan malice.
The publication of this story) il it is given
a full discussion, will prove a boomerang to
the Republicans. It will call public at
tention to the fact that under Republican
administration the rights of the people as
against the corporations have been neg
lected and betrayed, and that the corporate
edicts have risen superior to the Consti
tution and the courts. It will also empha
size the fact that one vigorous independent
man in the person of Governor Pattison
brought the South Penn deal to a dead halt
and kept it there se long as he was in the
Governor's chair.
BOTH SILLY,, AM) VICIOUS.
The appearance in the local political gos
sip of a threat if Mr. Dalzell has less than
13,000 maiority and the next Honse is
Democratic, it will unseat him ior his
participation in uuseating Democrats who
had that majority, is a remarkable illus
tration of the degree to which partisanship
can lead people to ignore the fundamental
principles of free government.
Of course such talk is utter nonsense, and
no such scheme is entertained by any Dem
ocratic leader. If it were a part of the
Democratic policy, it would furnish the
stroncest reasons for its defeat, as no party
that could contemplate such a policy in ad
vance is to be trusted by the people. That
nonsense of this sort can even be uttered in
an intelligent constituency is a sign of the
degradation of politics below the principles
of Democratic government. Every lntelli
gentman should know that the ioundation of
free government is the representation of
the people by those who have been hon
estly elected to represent them. If that is
denied by unseating a man who is acknowl
edged to be fairly elected, it is simply over
throwing in that particular case the right of
the people to govern themselves.
It is worth while to speak plainly about
this because such wild threats have been
heard in other quarters. They amount to
saying that because the Republicans, in the
heat of conflict, permitted themselves to
unseat men of whose election there is little
room for doubt, therefore the Democrats
will make a more wanton assault on consti
tutional government by nnseating men
whose election they acknowledge, simply for
the sake of revenge. The Dispatch has
expressed itself Dlainly about the action of
the last Congress in deciding contents purely
by partisan interest; and it is necessary to
say that for the Democrats to retaliate in
kind would be a worse public offense
because it would be an avowed violation of
the fundamental law of representative insti
tutions. Of course such threats arc mere talk;
bnt it is of the kind that stultifies the
talkers. It puts them in self-avowed posi
tion of intendiug to inflict the same wrong
which they denounce when committed by
their opponents.
A THREAD BAKE STORY.
A Pittsburger traveling in West Virginia
encloses to The Dispatch a clipping
from the Baltimore Sun, which has before
attracted attention here, and which alleges,
in connection with talk about the tariff,that
reveals its animus that Pittsburg treated
the British and German visitors inhospita
bly botu as regards providing them with
quarters and in not showing them our
factories. Our correspondent says that he
has been "twitted more than once" with
this. In reply to his complaint we can only
say that if people twit him with what has
already been shown to be a shallow fabrica
tion circulated at this time solely to gratify
a rabidly sectional partisanshsp, it is not
Pittsburg's fault. The story has been fully
refuted; the foreign guests have expressed
and repeated their appreciation of the en
tertainment they had here; bnt as journals
of the Baltimore Sun's stripe persist in
knowing more about it than either enter
tainers or entertained, we suppose that there
is no remedy for its exceedingly cheap
method of gratifying sectional dislike.
YON MOLTKES CELEBRATION.
Germany celebrated, yesterday, the nine
tieth birthday of Von Mollke, the old Gen
eral who furnished the .military genius
which, in connection with Bismarck's states
manship, raised the Kingdom ot Prussia
from its second rate position to that of the
first military power of Europe. Congratu
lations were sent by the thousands to the
old leader from all parts of the world, and
all Germany wanted to honor its hero, who
has been more fortunate than Bismarck, in
preserving both his popularity and the im
perial favor.
Judged by the magnitude of his opera
tions, the almost unerring certainty ot his
combinations and the overwhelming suc
cess which he won Von Moltke occupies un
questionably the first place among the gen
erals of the last half of this century The
commanders of our armiesAwhose operations
approached his in magnitude, were foiled
at times by partial or complete failure.
Probably some of Von Moltkc's su
perior success was due to the splen
didly trained armies and superior
war material which was provided ready to
his hand at the beginning of each war; but
this complete training and preparation was
a part of his military science. The best
evidence of his success is furnished by the
fact that while the politics of Europe have
been strained since 1870, no Power has
dared to try conclusions with the German
army directed by Von Moltke's genius.
Vet, with this unrivaled record for suc
cessful military genius, we 'of this country
can question whether work that he and Bis
marck: accomplished in extending the Ger
man empire was equal in real results to the
work done by the less scientific and more
democratic statesmen and soldiers of our
own conflict.
THEY IGNORE THE LAW.
The fight of the warring railroads in the
Wesfaffords a peculiar illustration of the
way in which the big corporations deem
themselves at liberty to ignore their legal
and constitutional requirements. The
Union Pacific, having made special terms
with one Chicago line, demanded from others
a larger share of the rates on the through
freight which passed to and from their lines
and that of the Union Pacific These roads
responded by a united action .canceling all
pro-rating arrangements with Union Pa
cific. Now there happens to be a legal re
quirement that all roads shall receive and
forward the through freight of all connect
ing lines without delay or discriminations;
and this requirement is not only enacted by
their charters bnt has been decided by the
courts to arise,out of the conditions of their
charters. The real status of the quarrel is
that the Union Pacific proposed to commit
an illegal act, and the opposing roads re
sponded by committing in a body the same
violation of law. The theory that great cor
porations need know gio law, is getting alto
gether too prevalent In railroad circles.
Ttie report that a 2Tew York audience at
a theater hissed the Duke of Marlborough's
party for talking so load that the performance
could riot be heard, is a decided hint to tho
Anglomaniac aristocracy that it cannot proceed
on the principle that it is the only show at tho
playhouses.
Some of the Republican organs- in New
York are jeering ara Democratic orpan which
said that Governor Sill addressed 15,1)00 people
in the Woostcr Optra House., which, it Is as
serted on the Republican side, only holds 1,000
people, for the proper understanding o this
important campaign isue. It is neceisary to in
form onr New York cotemporaries that the seat
ing capacity of opera houses in Mr. McKinley's
district is exceedingly elastic during the cam
paign. The reports last week save us a Re
publican meeting of 15.000 in the Canton Opera
House, and if that auditorium is capable of
being stretched to that extent, why should
Wooster be discriminated against? We are
glad to observe, however, that 15,000 is so tar
the maximum for those extraordinary assem
blages. They have got to shooting Aldermen in
Chicago. Perhaps Chicago is discouraged by
the failure of New York's effort to get rid of
tho class by milder means; but we must protest
that the remedy is altogether too heroic
It is reassuring to learn from Senator
Ingalls' own authority what The Dispatch
has intimated before, that his loudness for
striking phrases leads him to say things without
considering their meaning. He now confesses
that he did not know himself what his expres
sion about tho "irridescent dream" meant. "I
probably sometimes use words that I do not
i-nntv tIia tMMnini- of1 sava the Senator, This
lp.iTMthe Iiodb that when he said the Ten'
Commandments have no placo in politics, that
remarkable statement may bo charged solely to
his ignorance of tha English language
A half day of sunshine was allotted to
this section yesterday. Experience of that
class of weather warrants the assertion that
the pnblic would be willing to try a whole week
of it.
The Philadelphia ledger calls attention
to the fact that for ten years that city has had
an ordinance requiring the removal of tho
overhead wires and poles, and suggests that
something ought to be done in the line ot en
forcing it Tho esteemed Ledger seems to be
infected by tho Mugwump Idea that the con
stitution, laws and ordinances ought to be en
forced against corporations and candidates. It
will get itself disliked among tho political
managers, if it insists on that principle, as an
offensive partisan.
This is roorback week in the campaign.
The Republican managers in order to get a
good start in the work commenced grinmng on
their grist on Saturday of last week.
The epidemic of virtue in Detroit is Tag
ing with as great vigor as ever. Having draped
the statuary in the museum, the Detroiters are
now objecting to a wooden leg in stockings,
which is usel to display hosiery in a show win
dow. There is reason to believe that the poli
ticians in Detroit would develop objections, on
the score of propriety, to the naked truth.
The interest of some of our esteemed
Democratic cotemporaries in tho future price
of beer is pathetic but not convincing on tho
tariff issue.
The latest triumphs of the conferee system
in turning over the nomination of Congress
men and Senators to State chairmen and
sheriffs of counties, is especially significant in
the declaration that tho nomination for such
positions cannot, in the system of practical
politics.be left to the people.
PEES0NAL MENTION.
Prince Adolph, of Schanmbcrg-Lippo,
and the Princess Victoria, of Prussia, who aro
shortly to wed. will pass their honeymoon in
Egypt and India.
Senator Morrill, of Vermont, is the third
man who has been elected for a fifth term in
the United States Senate. The other two were
Benton, of Missouri, and Anthony, of Rhode
Island.
Mayor Grant, or New York, is consistent
in bis bachelorhood. He always declines to uso
his magisterial prerogative and marry hymen
eal applicants. He turns all over to the City
Court or an Alderman.
Colonel Elliott F. Shepakd visited the
New YorkUnion League Club on Friday for
the first time since the expiration of his ten
days' sentence of suspension. His reception is
not described as betas cordial.
Dona Emilla Paedo Bazan, according to
an English critic "is the greatest of Spanish
writers, perhaps the greatest of living Euro
pean writers; certainly in England no woman
can De named who comes nigh her."
Citizen George Francis Train, who has
been liviDg quietly in his villa near Tacoma,
Wash., since his famous round-the-world trip,
is going back to New York City. He hopes
to make an arrangement by which he will go
aronnd the world via the East against his own
time.
The first praise given Judge Roger A. Pryor
by the paper ot the younger Bennett reads
queerly enough as a sequence to the scoring
given by Congressman Roger A. Pryor to tho
elder Bennett and bis accomplished wife many
years ago on the floor of the House of Repre
sentatives. President CAbnot, a Parisian caterer re
lates, finds dinner giving rather expensive. At
bis last there were covers for 400, and the bill
was $7 per cover, with 1,500 quarts of cham
pagne at ! per quart, while tho buffet for the
reception, flowers, music, etc, brought the
total to S15.U00.
Miss Beatrice Potter is at present ono of
the most famous and talked-of women in En
gland. She is a superbly beautiful woman, is
oi aristocratic connections and owns a large
fortune in her own right. For several years past
she has been a devoted pnpil and disciple ot.
Heibert Spencer.
M. Alexander Dumas fils has begun In a
morning paper a series of hitherto unpub
lished maxims of his own. One runs as fol
lows ana is full of truth: "Give alms anony
mously, for then tbey have the double advan
tage of doing away with ingratitude and abuse
at the same time."
The thoroughly conscientious', and realistic
way in which Mme. Bernhardt approaches M.
Sardou's play of "Cleopatra" is shown by the
fact that she has read up naval tactics in con
nection with the battle of Actium, and is pre
pared to prove that what has been hitherto
considered questionable conduct on the part of
Cleopatra at that engagement was really a very
subtle attempt at maneuvering.
OLD ROMAN BANQUET.
Grand Preparations for n Feast in Honor of
Allen G. Tliurinun.
rSPECIAL TELEGKAU TO TUB UISPATCH.I
Columbus. October 20. The Tbunnan Club
will celebrate the seventy-seventh anniversary
of Allen G. Thurman's birth with an "Old Ro
man" banquet at Columbus, Thursday evening,
November IS. Ex-President Cleveland has ac
cepted an Invitation to be present and will de
liver the principal address of the evening. Sen
ator Carlisle, of Kentucky; Roger Q. Mills, ot
Txasj Senator Daniel, of Virginia; Daniel
Dougherty, of New York, and Senator VOor
hces, of Indiana, have been invited, and are ox.
pected to be present. Toasts will bo responded
to by many other distinguished Democrats
from different parts of the Union. Covers will
be laid for 1.U0O guests.
An invitation is extended to all admirers and
friends of the statesman and jurist to be pres
ent at this jubilee occasion.
Tirst Settlers of Virginia.
From the Baltimore American.
Dr. Stephen B. Weeks, of Johns Hopkins
University, has made a special study of the
early Virginia settlements under Sir Walter
Raleigh. He maintains that it can be nil own by
legendary and historical evidence that the
earliest English settlers in the New World were
not massacred, as is generally supposed, but
were absorbed by tho tribe of Croatan Indians,
and that tbelr descendants are still to be found
in North Carolina.
SNAP SHOTS IN SEASON.
A thought is worth nothing until you ex
press It.
Did you spend your boyhood or your girl
hood in the village or the city? Was your
youth unfettered, your playground boundless,
your wants few, your sports' unlimited, your
clothes homespun? Or were you in the care
less days tethered to the cord of caste, your
plays selected, your (grounds bounded by
poverty and wealth on two sides, by religion
and social status on the' others forming a hol
low sqnareso narrow that you could not run
without stubbing your preclons tender little
toes on the corners; so high that you could not
get a glimpse of the little folk on the outside,
so select that you had to be clad in purple and
tine linen before you entered It; so lonely, joy
less, laughles, heartless that you tired early in
the game sobbed when you should have
smiled got a peep of the bitter beyond when
the bright young eye should have rested alone
on the perfect present. "O. boy of the stony
streets, walled was, smoke-hta sun youth of
the fencod-in frolics, carpet children, parlor
pets, nursery nabobs the village lad can
laugh at or pity you. No imaginary,
lino marks bis romping region; no
caste, no care, no social or religious law
hampers Ills longlimbs and tireless feet free,
joyful, strong, ho rolls in the green fields of
youth and chases the sunbeams down the days
that lead where? Up with, the birds he's off
with Bill, Bob, Will, Molly, Meg, Sal, Kit, to
the wood or the school, the meadow or tho
common, the brook or tho berry field, the snow
ortbeice always going, going wbero? They
see not the seamy side, they of the old
fashioned, quiet, humdrum. Van Winkiish
village the village that sleeps but laughs, the
village that dies but lives, the village that is
pulseless bnt tbrobs. No vice trails in the
grass-grown streets, no crime stains the village
history, the page of which is never turned; no
hunger, no gold, no dross wants few. tastes
simple, a tiny worlaless world. The village
schoolmaster is the Czar, the village doctor is
the magician, the village preacher is the saint,
the villago blacksmith is the giant a simple
honest quartette. Every kind-faced matron is
your mother, every maid your aunt,
every miss your cousin, every little
pet in pinafores your sister fathers, brothers
all. Is it overdrawn? I know just such a
"Sleepy Hollow." It stands between two long,
long hills high, steep, tiresome in the long
ago; only mere hillocks now. for time, you
know, lowers the mountains your young eyes
measured and lessens tne miles your little feet
trod. A wide, shady street ended in dusty
roads which trailed slowly up both bills losing
each end in the green woods on their brows.
A swift sinning river ran between, its laughing
waters dancing over, upon and under bnsv
wheels on It3 way to the pretty bay. No jail,
no lock-up, no barred windows, not even a
court house there only the church and the
village school, only oho bell to call you to
prayers and to books. All were mothers,
fathers, sisters, aunts, cousins, brothers. Open
doors to every borne and vacant chairs at every
board warm hearts, ready hands at every fire
side. And this village stands there still sleep
ing but not snoring; silent, slothful, peaceful.
The plaintive bleat of the sheep mingles with
the music of the smith's anvil. The swish of
the scythe hisses through the laughter of the
children. The sons of the mother drowns the
cry of the babe. May it never change. Sleep
on. Come, go, lads and lasses of the village
Where?
The man who applies an invention deserves
as much credit as the man who designs it.
If women could vote they would never get
through talking abont it.
IF you have a coffin in the house your neigh
bor will not covet It. This is about the only
article some folk do not want to possess.
A 3IAN never fully appreciates tbe comforts
of a plain home until he is seasick.
The trains are running off tbe rails,
Tbe ships are sinking in the gales,
Boilers are exploding;
Hotels are going up in smoke,
And gnns are pointed in a joke
After carefnl loading.
Oil cans are starting backward fires,
'Ihe streets are burdened with dead wires,
And elevators slip.
Wild steers are driven through the street, ,
A mad dog yon will sometimes meet.
They're looking for la grippe.
Pistols aro earned by lunatics,
And cranks use knives for toy toothpicks
By faith some think they're cured.
Tho cable cars run very fast,
The next moment may be your last
You better get insuredl
If the primary schools taught wickedness
and russcdness, and goodness and education
were learned in the streets, virtue would tri
umph over vice, judging from the avidity with
which outdoor education is snapped up by the
little ones.
Good singers and musicians are notable peo
ple. It is mysteriously whispered that the Phila
delphia Gas Companv wants tbe manufacturers
now using gas in their puddling furnaces to pay
the expense of placing big meters in their mills.
This means an outlay of thousands of dollars.
A sort oflong meter, as It were.
To most children prayer is a mere recitation.
Tbe lips are tangbt to move, not the heart.
A fashion writer, in advising a lady cor.
respondent, tells her to have at least ten dresses.
That editor or editress must have an interest in
a drygoods store, a loom or a dressmaking shop.
Sleep places us all on an equality.
Nature has developed woman's tongue In
stead of her muscle.
It is far better to beat a drum than a board
ing house.
Focnd DitowNED The Coroner yesterday held
an inquest on a body loimd in the Ohio a lew
miles below Temperanccvlllc A verdict ofd'ath
by drowning was, reudered. The remains could
nut be identified. They were those or a jounc
man bine eyes, curly brow n hair, pleasant feat
ured, about 5 feet 11 Inches, evidently 19 to 23
years of age. 'Ihe remains were burled, and the
gravewas marked unknown."
"Found Drowned V the verdict, and the
corpse "Unknown I"
A rough hewn box, damp clothes a shroud;
A shallow grave, unmarked by graven stone
Only tears from a passing cloud.
"Unknown!"
A lamb astray from some precious fold
A rover lostin tbe world so wide;
A plunge, a splash in the waters cold.
Perhaps with a curse on lip he dledt
"Unknown !"
A mother once smoothed that enrly hair,
A mother's kisses that face caressed;
A mother once watched with tender care
Tho blue-eyed babe on her loving breast.
"Unknown!"
A mother once taught those lips to pray
"I lay me down to sleep:"
"Our Farther who art," they used to say,
"Pray God my soul to keep."
"Unknown!"
A mother once sang to a darling boy
A lullaby low aud sweet;
A mother once wished for no other joy
Until earth and heaven meetl
"Unknown!"
Once a mother cried in despair to her God:
"Father, oh, shield my son!"
With a heavy heart sho passed under the rod
Saying: "Thy will be done."
"Unknown!"
A mother has watched. lo! many years
The golden hair's now gray.
"Oh, God!" she cried through bitter tears,
"Send back my boy, I prajl"
"Unknown J"
A mother waits for hor roving son;
A mother kneels In prayer
"Thou gav'st. Thou tak'st, Thy will bB done.
Amen 1 I'll meet thee There I"
"Unknown !"
Somebody's boy Is slecplnc;
Somebody's mother is weeping I
Somebody's heart has bled;
Somebody's darling's dead!
In a magazine devotod to women and tbelr
ways I find this: "It Is not necessary for a lady
to thank her escort; she has conferred a favor
This may.be etiquette, but it isn't
A bride should return calls.bnt not wedding
presents.
A sarcastic man is more
trampled upon than a joker.
liable to be
What a child hears at home it is apt to re
peat outside.
A great many women take more pains to
improve their complexion than to improve
their mind.
Don't fish
hook.
for compliments with a bare
Drowning politicians snatch at straw votes.
The candidates are having big turnouts now.
Tbe great turnout occurs in November, how
ever. Death removed 21 postmasters since Harri
son took hold of the reins of Government and
Clarkson removed over 500. Yellow Jack or
cholera might beat the great axman's record.
Nothing else could.
When politics is stripped of perquisites the
people will seek the leader, not the leader the
people.
There are no choice building lots In the New
Jerusalem.
There's a wide "margin" between the man
who raises tbe corn andhe man who sells it.
One sows, but the other reaps the big profit.
Pennsylvania's oil and gas region is holy
land without a doubt.
Robert T. Lincolx is a much younger and
a much smaller man than his father.
The ocean is infested with white caps.
In South Africa girls marry Boers, and seem
to get on all right, too.
A mourning glory A pretty widow.
Willie Winkle.
A HABD WLNTEE COMING.
A Connecticut Naturalist Gives Some Quaint
Reasons for His Predictions.
Ansonia. Conn., October 28. It is going to
be a bard winter. Horace Johnson, of Middle
Haddam.Conn.,who predicted the great blizzard
and has been on tho top shelf in the estimation
of Connecticut people ever since, says so. He
bases his prediction.cn tho phenomenally large
bay crop and tbe bard, thick shells of crabs.
He finds further verification of tho signs in the
two-story mnskrat houses with base burners
on the top floor and coal in tho cellar. Then
ho examines the corn husks and finds a fleecy
sort of wool on the inside.
A friend bronerht him a. Rnfiirrel thn other
day, and he says the fur is triple extra thick 4
and rPTVfillA '(Tnnns n.n ,ftn. thin nou.l I
and this Is a jign that they are preparing for a
long sieire. Mr. Johnson paid a man 50 cents to
dig out a woodchuck, and more signs were
found in the bottom of tho burrow. A plush
cloak hung on a projecting stone and It has
been Mr. Johnson's experience that wood
chucks never purchase plush cloaks unless tbe
weather is going to be unusually cold.
Pumpkin rinds are of the thickest this fall.
Ho has notyet bada goose's bone to study, but
he is willing to stako his reputation as tbe
Wiggins of Connecticut that it will indorse all
he claims lor tbe wlntor.
GOOD C0UNTEY E0AD3.
Interest in the Subject Awakened All Over
the United States.
Trom the New York Times.
In Massachusettsachalr has been recently en
dowed at the Boston School of Technology, to
be known as tbe Chair of Public Roads.
Chauncey B. Ripley says that be has reason to
believe that not only in Pennsylvania, Massa
chusetts, and New York especially a society
having recently been formed to promote the
improvement of pnblic roads has interest in
this subject, but that there is hardly an East
ern or Middle State that has not taken on new
zeal in the matter of the improvemontof roads.
In Tennessee tbe Vanderbilt University in
strncts free of charge one person from each
connty to supervise roads. During the coming
session of the Legislature bills for this purpose
will be introduced in Ohio. Virginia, Maryland
and Rhode Island, In addition to tbe btates
mentioned. New Hampshire has recognized
the importance of good roads in the Wblto
Mountain district by making State appropria
tions for the construction and repair of the
principal county aud town roads.
TO TELL THE AGE OF A HORSE.
To tell the age of any horse.
Inspect the lower Jaw, or course.
The six front teeth the tale will cell,
And every doubt and fear dispel.
The middle "nippers" yon behold
Before the colt is two years old;
Bef 're eight weeks two more will come;
Eight months the "corners" cat the gum.
The outside grooves will disappear
From middle two in Just one year.
In two years from the second pair;
In three, the "corners," too, are bare.
At two, the middle "nippers" drop;
At three, the second pair can't stop;
When four years old, the third pair goes;
At five a full new set he shows.
The deep black spots will pass from view
At six years lrom tbejnlddle two;
The cecond pair at seven years;
Atcisht, the spot each "corner" clears.
From middle "nippers," upper jaw.
At nine the black spoU will withdraw.
The second pair at ten arc white;
Ueven finds tbe "corners" light.
As time goes on the horsemen know
The oval teeth three-sided grow;
Uhey longer get, project before
Till twenty, when we know no more.
Spare Moments.
TO DBESS WELL PAYS.
The Impulses That Influence Dress in the
Orient and Occident.
From the November Arena, j
In tbe Orient men conceal wealth and display
poverty; in the Occident men conceal poverty
and display wealth. Sham-poverty and sham
wealth characterize East and West.
Hence Western cities have often more
poverty than appears. In Constantinople, beg
gars will dress in rags and live in luxury: in
Boston, poor men live in want and dress in
finery. And do not blame too quickly, O gen
tle Pharisee. The Eastern beggar dresses in
rags becanse it pays; our Western poor dress
well for the same reason. Especially for our
unemployed, it is necessary to be well dressed.
Who will employ a tramp in rags? Beside the
shop girl dressed In finery, what chance has tbe
shop girl poorly dressed? Beauty has value.
Pretty shop girls pay.
Tho Longest Passage on Record.
From the San Francisco Call.
Tho British ship Hospodar, Captain Thorn
ason, arrived in port last evening after a pass
age of 471 days from London, England, via Rio
Janeiro 191 days and Valparaiso C9 days. Tho
passage of the Hospodar is the longest one
ever made by a vessol between the two ports.
She left London on June 29, 1SS9, and on De
cember 27 was reported at Rio Janeiro with
rigging damaged and the captain sick. On
Decembor 30 word wa3 received that the vessel
had been dismasted. The captain went homo
ahd the mate Thoinason, took command. New
rigging was sent out from Eneland, and after
refitting the Hospodar sailed on March lo- for
this port. On August 5 she put Into Valparaiso
and sailed again on the same day. Captain
Thomason Slates that he does not know ex
actlv where the vexSel was when she was dis
masted, as tho captain took her logbook borne
with him. Ho sajs that be put into Valpa
raiso, being short of provisions.
DEATHS OF A DAY.
Mrs. Horatio Sprague.
Mrs. H. N. Sprague. wife of Horatio Sprague,
manager of tbe locomotive works on Forty-ninth
street, died suddenly yesterday morning lrom a
stroke ofapoplexy inflered at her home, at No. ifJ
Forty-fourth street She arose about 8 o'clock for
breakfast. Her hnsband bad preceded her, and
upon reaching the dining room discovered tbat
his wife was not following. He went up stairs,
and upon reaching the bathroom found his wife
lying on the floor, fehu was dead when he reached
her Mdc. The deceased had been uniretl rfr about
ten da) s. Or. Leggehad been Heating her lor an
affection of tbe heart, aud during the last few
diiT. she seemed considerably improved. Her
sudden death, under these circumstances, was a
liock to Lawrencevllle society. Her body will bo
removed this atlernoon to Jamestown. N. V.,
wh.mtiap rljttlY 1-pkMp- And whRrp. th fnti-
meut will take place, J
upon him."
politeness.
' WESTMINSTER ABBEY. ,
THE FIRST IMPRESSION ONE OF DISAP.
POINTMENT.
Rev. George Hodges Tells of His Visit to
England's Most Tamous Structure The
Great Principle Taught by the Tombs
Therein.
'J'he first Impression of Westminister Abbey
is a disappointment. That is inevitable.
Hardly anything less wonderful than Solomon's
Temple conld satisfy the anticipations of the
tourist.
"That antique pile behold.
Where royal heads receive the sacred gold;
It gives them crowns, and doe3 their ashes
keep;
Thero made like gods, like mortals there they
sleep."
You do behold it, and what is it that you see?
You pass the stately Parliament Houses, and
turn in beside tbe plain church of St Margaret,
where Archdeacon Farrar is the minister, and
behold the Abbey! Weill It is a great building,
of course, bat not so immensely great. There
are no clouds around the summits ot its towers.
And it is imposing, but not so overpowringly
imposing. The first thing which yon see Is a
great pile of scaffolding against the wall of the
north transept. The great wall is quite bid
den behind the ugly lattice of rough timbers.
This means meuding, patching, "restoration."
They are always doing somothlng to the Abbey.
Indeed, there H hardly a cathedral ih En
gland where the workman's blouse does not
brush against tbe Virgin's eown. apd where the
prayers are not punctuated by tbe poundlns of
the carpenter's hammer. I was amazed to find
the great churches so unfinished, so ragged, so
out of repair. There is work enough to keep
two or three Generations more in dilligent em
ployment. There are nicks in the pillars, and
breaks in tho pavements, and bare walls which
ontrht to be adorned with color, and the statnes
aro defaced and dismembered, a good many of
tbem, and there is a surprising amount of
white glass in the windows. The iconoclasts of
tbe Reformation and the Revolution left their
mark. You cannot helB seeing it everywhere.
This is true e ven of tfle Abbey. Outside and
in the repairer is at work building up what
was ignorantly or wickedly pulled down and
broken. Even in tbe great window which you
see as you look toward the altar stands a long
ladder.
Other Causes of Disappointment
VvTestminster Abbey is disappointing even
after you get inside. TBb moment I en
tered Westminster Abbey I felt a kind of awe
pervade my mind, which I cannot describe.
The very silence seemed sacred. That is how
it seemed to Edward Burke. And every tourist
desires to experience the same Impression. But
to the majority the interior of tho Abbey is
like a great, enclosed, over-roofed and decorated
marble yard; or like a cemetery, with stone for
tnrf, and brancbine colnmni for trees, and
carved work for clouds. It is green wood In
doors. And when you study the names upon
these monuments and find that some of tbe
most elaborate ot them belong to people of
whom both literature and history and even re
ligion are ignorant, the disappointment
deepens.
And then you fall Into the hands of the
verger. You may wander at your will abont
nave and choir; you may explore tho poet's
corner at yonr leisure: but If you desire to visit
the Chanels which are clnaterefl about tho
chancel, and to look upon the shrine which was
built for tbe bones of Edward, the Confessor,
and to see the sanctuary wblcb Henry VII.
built, you must go with tho verier.
Thero are vergers in tho cathedrals of tho
Continent. Tbat Is, there are officials whoso
function it is to display the wonders of tbe
place before the wide-open eyes of strangers.
They are personages clad in gorgeous raiment,
resplendent in red and green and blue, and
they have a great deal to say, and tbey say It
in tbe most impressive manner. I remember
tbe sacristan at Milan who showed the gold
crucifixes and the jeweled book-covers of the
cathedral treasury, and the sacristan at Notre
Dame who let us see the coronation robes of
Napoleon and the blood-stained vestments of
Archbishop Darbsy. They entered with the
most elaborate and enthusiastic explanations.
But we did not understand them. They spoke
a language wbicb, to the averaee American
tourist, conveys no meaning. So that the Con
tinental verger does not take much space in
the notebook of the observing traveler.
He Knows it AIL
gur the English verger speaks English. It is
true he speaks it with a fine disdain of the
initial "H ' and the final "G"; but you can un
derstand him. And tbat is the worst part of it.
If there must be vergers it would be vastly bet
ter to have them speak in Welsh or Gaelic
Tbe vercer is crammed to tbe throat witb
names aud dates, and he must tell you every
one. His speech Is musty with ancient anec
dotes, to wbicb you must listen. Sometimes
be preaches, he extracts a moral, he instructs
you in your Christian duty; then be is unbear
able. And you must keep within sight and bearing
of blm. If you linger he is after yon witb a
long rod. .N o talking man was ever more dili
gent in tbe wbippiiiR-m of a straying congrega
tion. Here is a crowd of visitors gathered be
side one of the great gates which lead into tbe
chapels. Out comes a verger. We pay our
sixpences and follow. The gates are locked
behind us. We make our way into the Middle
Ages. Tbe interest deepens. At every step a
want to stop, and look, and read our guide
books, and meditate We want to get into
tbe spirit of tbe place. But the verger
interrupts us. He breaks In upon our musings
with bis wearisome explanations. The crowd
of inquisitive tourists pushes at our elbows.
And in two minutes we must move on. The
verier is everywhere a terror to the intelli
gent traveler. But the most exasperating of
vergers are those whose black gowns sweep
the dusty pavements of Westminster Abbey.
"The very silence seemed sacred I" Evidently
Edmund Burke was not conducted by a verger.
The verger banishes both silence andsanctity
I wonder how people can come away from tho
abbey bringing with them auy upliftinc
memories. You micht as well try to read
Browning during a serenade of vicious mos
qnltoes as to see Westminster Abbey In tho
company of a verger.
We avoided the verger. We went to .'the
Dean and requested permission to explore the
abbey at our leisure. And the Dean sent us a
little card, with his name written rnon it.
which emancipated us from the tyranny of
vergeruom. Anu men we uegan in see West
minster Abbev. Aud littlo by little tbe feel
ing of disappointment diminished, until at last
nothine was left of it at all. We grew
enthusiastic We began to appreciate tbe
wonder, tbe beauty, the associations saintly
and heroic, the immeasurable preciousness of
the plare. We lingered at onr will amone the
old tombs of the old chapels, where ecclesias
tics of anclentdas are still kneeling at their
prayers, whero knights and crusaders lie, with
praylnc hands upon their tombs. It is aston
ishing how good tbeso fierce old fellows were,
these grim old fighters it is amazing how de
vout anil pious they all were after they were
dead. Tbeso stout hands were more at r.nsn
with battle-axes than with breviaries when tbey 1
were nanas oi nrsn anu oiooa. nut iney are all
diligently claped in perpetual prayer as they
lie in the gloom of tbe Abbey chapels.
A Chapel With a History.
vvte saw the wonderful chapel which the
seventh Henry built, all set about witb
the armorial bearmes of the Tudor", with tho
red rose of Lancaster and tbe white rose of
York, wltfi tbe portcullis of the Beauforts and
the dragon of Cadwallader, and the grey
bound of Nevilles and the Hon of En
gland. Over the carved stalls hang the
faded banners of tbe Knlgbts of the Batb.
All about are tombs of kincs and qneens.
Henry UL is here and Edward II., and Eliza
beth and Mary Queen of Scots, and the princes
who were murdered in tbe towers. Here tbey
buried Oliver Cromwell and afterward dug blm
up and threw him out when tho times chanced.
Here amidst the sovereigns of England lies tho
body oi Dean otaniey.
IL'. a.w fli ifTAnteh
We saw tbe great shrine of Edward the Con
fessor behind tho high altar of the abbey, once
adorned with gold and jewels, now defaced,
broken, plundered and unbeauttful. Wo might
have seen the Virgin Mary's girdle and a,bit of
the true cros set in gems, .but we were 300
years too late for that Beside tbe shrine, is
the stout chair, having a rough stone beneath
its seat, in which for now these seven centuries
the sovereigns of England have sat to receive
their crowns. It Is a battered old chair, all cnt
over with the initials of tourists. He must
have been a bold plebeian who first set bis vul
gar namo upon It Probably the letters were
cnt in some of the troubled times which tho
old chir has known, when men cared littlo for
people who wore crowns. They were certainly
inscribed thero before the days of vergers, Tho
rough old stoue ueneatu is the rock; on -which
the patriarch Jacob rested h(s troubled head
the night be dreamed that wonderful dream
about the ladder and the angels. So they said
in the "ages of faith" they cover the old chair
with clotli of gold when there is need of It for
tbe crowning of a new king, and move it out
into tbe cbancel.
Ibat historic cbancel, what scenes have been
created there! You sit on the stone steps
which lead up to it and think of tbo processions
which have passed there, of the kings and
queens who have gone up to bo crowned, and
who have come down in their coffins. Here
stood William the Conqaorer to be consecrated
king of England. Here came Charles IL to
undo the Puritan revolution, the abbey being
hung with the red f victory. Monks have
sung thoir , psalms here, priyers hive bicu
praeo here'lii dajs of national peril anil disas
ter; to dcuins have been chanted here in grati
tude for historic victories Here they read the
burial service over tbe greatest men in English
history. Here the other day tbey married an
American newspaper reporter who had the
bravery to convey the light of civilization into
"darkest Africa." and who was deservedly
honored with all the reverence which could be
given to a king.
Too Much of It
'Y01! get weary of thinking and tired of re
membering. It is like trying to read
Macaulay's History of England, alL the six
volumes of it. In six hours.
The first time I saw Westminster Abbey was
on Sunday, and I sat in tbe north transept,
where I could look over into the "poet's
corner." It is a peculiarity of the abbey tbat
the transepts, instead of being between tho
choir and the nave, are between the choir and
tbe cbancel. So (bat. as nearly all tbe services
are held in tbe cbancel and ihe choir, the con
gregation is in between tbe ministering clergy
and the singers, sitting sideways, looking into
one another's faes.
I could see the bust of Lonzfcllow from where
I sat a pleasant sight And beyond were tbe
memorials or Shakespeare and Milton. Spencer
and Chaucer are buried here. Dickens
and Thackeray lie beneath this pave
ment You go out throngb the long
choir into the nave. Here lie Livingstone
and Darwin and Herscbel. those eminent ex
plorers.and Jeremiah Horrock.the astronomer,
who not even for a transit ot Venus would
neglect his prayers; and William Wilberforce
and Isaac Newton, and a hundred other cap
tains in the army of truth and righteousness.
In the corner which they calhthe "Little Poets'
Corner," Wordsworth is commemorated and
Keble, and Kinsley, and Maurice, and Herbert
and Cowper.
Tbe names suggest the great principle which
tbe tombs of tbe abbey teach most conspicu
ouslythat all truth and all goodness have
their place In the Ubnstaln religion. Between
Herbert and Cowper what a difference! and be
tween Keble and Darwin! And yet here they
are. and the abbey like the church Is wide
enough to bold tbem all.
You look over Into tho "poet's corner," and
above the statues of tbe poets Is an ancient
stairway. Down these stone stairs came the
old Benedictines, with lanterns in their bands.
to say their midnight prayers, when tbe 'abbey
was an abbey. Out of tbe poet's corner a door
opens into tbe cloisters. Here tbey sat in times
long gone, those old monks, and studied their
old books, and learned their old lessons, and
were buried, some of them, under tbe flag
stones. In tbe chapter house, you see tbe
stone seats where tbey sat to bold tbelr dady
conference. Beside the central pillar, tbe peni
tents knelt to receive their accustomed scourg
ing. And then you go out into the London streets,
into the roar and push and bustle and bnrrv of
the Nineteenth century! G. H.
OUR MAIL POUCH.
The Hyphen in Proper Names.
To the Editor of The Dispatch.
In your issue of the 25tb inst your were asked
by a correspondent "to explain the use of the
hyphen In proper names, snch as Clarence
Brown-Smitb; bnt, instead of explaining it, you
erroneously reply tbat it is a matter of individ
ual taste, and it is fashionable in England."
As a fact neither taste nor fashion has any
thing to do with it, but it is controlled by law.
It is necessary in England, in particular
cases, in urdertbat certain persons may inherit
orsneceed to titles and estates belonging to
relatives whose surnames are not the same as
their own, to assume the surnames of the per
sons from whom the estates and titles are de
rived, or by whom conferred by will; bnt can.at
the same time, retain their patronymic. And in
snch cases tbe two surnames are transformed
into one by tbe use ot the hyphen, and which
use indicates the derivation of the names.
Two familiar examples which now are in my
mind are those of Edward Bnlwcr, the well
known English author and statesman, and Miss
Burden, tbe English philanthropist daughter
of Sir Francis Burdett Mr. Bulwer's mother
was Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, a family which
claimed descent from the ludors and the royal
line of Britain. She was sole heiress of tbe
Knebwortb estates. In 1S11 her son Edward
succeeded to these estates and assumed his
mother's name, and retaining his father's, bo
wrote bis name Bnlwer-Lytton, and was after
ward known as Lord Lytton.
Miss Burdett's maternal grandfather was
Thomas Coutts, a wealtby bauker. Ha married
late in life and left a widow, who married tbe
Duke of St Albans, but tbe Duches. having
no children of ber own, made her first hus
band's granddaughter. Miss Burdett, her heir
ess, on condition tbat she should ass .ne tbe
namo of Coutts. This she did. of course, in a
legal manner, and connected it with her patro
nymic by a hyphen, and thenceforth was known
by the name and title of Baroness Angela
Georglna Burdctt-Coutts.
It will be observed in each of these two cases
tbat. of the two names connected with a hy
phen, tbe first gives tbe surname of tbe father
and the second the surname 'of the mother of
the person to whom the title and estates de
scended by operation of law or were legally
conferred by will. . G. L. E.
New Brighton, Pa., October 26. 189a
Civil Service Information.
To the Editor of Tbe Dispatch:
How often are civil service examinations
heldln Pittsburg? When will the next exam
ination occur, and where? What persons are
eligible to contest? What are tho subjects ex
amined in? What offices are filled by those
successful? ' A Reader.
Hazel-wood. October 25, isao.
There are no fixed times for civil service ex
aminations, and the questions asked and the
offices to be filled necessarily vary each time.
As definite information as it is possible to se
cure can no doubt be obtained by addressing
the Civil Service Commission at Washington.
They Cheered the Other Man.
To tho Editor of The Dlsoatch :
Thero was a Republican meeting at Oak
Ridge, Armstrong county. Tne speakers were
Mr. Main, of Philadelphia, J. Henderson, of
Kittanning, and Mr. Harris, of Reynoldsville.
Tbey talked to about 50 miners. After tbe
speakers were done talking Mr. J. Hender?on
sild: "Three cheers for Delaufater." and the
speakers did cbcer. Tben one of tbe miners
got up and said: "Three cheers for Robert E.
Pattison," and tbe whole house cheered.
John Wilson.
New Bethlehem. October 2L 1800.
Delegates to tho Itoad Convention.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Tbe time set for the election of delegates to
the Road Convention is rather short notice. 1
wonld suggest that meetings be called in all
townships any time next Week previous to said
convention. There will be a meeting of all
parties interested in tbe roads In Jefferson
township held at Teepes scboolbouse. October
zu. at 7 P. M. to eiect a aeiegate tome itoaa
Convention. William Rennie.
Jefferson Township, October 21, 1890.
Yon Labor Under a Delusion.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Are newspaper correspondents entitled to or
conceded free passage on our railroads? If so.
to whom should application be made to seenre
such passage? . C. McN.
Pittsburg, October 25.
They are not A newspaper man bas no
more right to a free pass than any other man.
A Wins the Wager.
To the Editor ofTlie Dispatch:
Will you please decide the following bet: A
bets tbat reciprocity is pronounced as res
iprositv; tbat is. be gives the letter U the sound
of S. B bets tbat the first syllable bas tbe
sound of reck. Who wins? DON.
Pittsburg, October 2L 189a
A Spanish Dancer's Name.
To the Editor ot The Dispatch:
Will you please Inform me through your col
umns the meaning of the word "Carmencita?"
t a constant Reader.
Pittsburg, October 25, 1S9U
It is a Spanish dancer's name. She is now
kicking and posing In New York.
Yes.
To the Editor or The Dispatch:
Did H. W. ("Harry") Williams ever run a
variety show in the old Drury Theater?
Reader.
STEEL FOR THE NAVY.
No Action Yet on the Questions Discussed at
the Conference,
Washington, October 20. No action has
yet been taken by tho Secretary or the Navy on
tbe questions discussed at tbe recent confer
ence with shipbuilders and steelmakers. There
are no Indications tbat there will be any im
portant changes in tho steel specifications, al
though more discretion maybe allowed to the
inspectors.
It is expected, however, that an important
change will be made In the shinbuilding speci
fications before long, bv which the use of steel
made by the Clapp-Unffiibs process will be al
lowed. Heretuioro tbe spec! 0 cations liavo
called for open-hearth steel exclusively for all
shapes and plates, but persistent effort has
been made during the past few months by a
number of steelmakers and shipbuilders to.
allow tbe Clapo-Grifntns process to be 'used.
The Board ot Steel inspection reported against
this change when tbe question was first raised,
but it was tben stated that the department was
not committed to tbe exclusive use of the open
hearth steel, but wonld uso tbe best material,
by whatever process it might be made.
Since tbat litue tome of tho advocates of tbe
new process have succeeded In turning out
some plates that come fully up to til the Gov
ernment requirements, both chemical and
physical. It remains to be shown tbat uni
formly good results van be expected from this
process. In which case its-use will probably be
allowed.
CDKIOUS CONDENSATIONS.
There are 75 doctors to every 100,000
persons in London.
Most ol the so-called cases of hydropho
bia are merely meningitis.
The total income of the Church of Eng
land is about 200,000 a week.
Four-fifths of the engines now working
in tbe world have been constructed during tba
last 25 years.
The finest grades of razors are so deli
cate that even tho famous Damascus sword
blades cannot equal them in texture.
Electrical miuing apparatus and tha
magnetic treatment of iron ores are exciting no
small degree of interest among mining en
gineers. Iri 14 States of this country women may
vote for municipal officers and at school elec-
uuns. anu in some ot tbem may hold office in
school districts.
Within 62 years Mexico has had 54
presidents, one regency, and one empire, and
nearly every chango of government has been
effected by violence.
A mechanical genius has invented an
instrument which be calls the eophone, by
which he claims that all sounds can be heard
and located on the darkest night and in tha
tbickest weather.
There is one lady stock broker, one lady
landscape gardener and one lady dentist in
London. Curiously enough, these ladies bava
found no imitators, though they bava all been
established some time.
Tbe chlorination process for the extrac
tion of gold from its ores has been greatly im
proved within recent years, and now promises
to be adapted to the treatment of low-grade
non-concentratable ores.
The Manchester ship canal is 35 miles
long, 2G feet deep, and has a minimum breadth
at bottom of 120 feet Itwill accommodate the
largest merchantman afloat, and it will be
opened for traffic before another year has ex
pired. England paid 21,000,000 last year to
Continental countries for dairy products alone
The butter and margarine imported weighed
over 3,000,000 hundred weight and the cheese
nearly 2,000,000. The eggs England imported
amounted to 1.100,000,000.
The world's stock of diamonds bas in
creased enormously in tbe last 15 years. In
1876 the output of the African mines was about;
1,600,000 carats; last yer it was over 4,000.000
and the great trust which controls alt the prin
cipal mines asserts tbat it bas iajO0O,00O carats
in sight at the present time.
In England, Scotland and "Wales,
women, unless married, vote for all officers ex
cept members of Parliament andsome of them
now bold offices as school directors, aldermen
and city councilmen, and a bill ha now been
introduced to give tbem. whether married or
single, the absolute right of suffrage.
The following method of making paper
transparent for copying drawings has been
found very serviceable: Place a blank sheet of
paper over the drawing and rub it lightly with
pure benzine. The tracing can then be readily
made, and tho benzine, upon evaporating,
leaves the paper as opaque as before.
An English writer tells of two cats
which advanced daily from opposite ends of a
long and lofty wall, and, meeting in the mid
dle, fought with great fury until one or both
were precipitated to tbe ground below, nuon
which the fight ceased immediately, the com
batants remounting the wall and basking peace
fully side by side in tha sunshine
The first recorded case of a woman
holding an important office is Isabella de Clif
ford, who acted as Sheriff of Westmoreland
county. England, in the 13th century, and sat
upon the bench with the judges, and signed tha
official pipers of her position. At various
times since, women have acted as marshals,
great chamberlains, constables, jailors and for
esters. Her majesty's family circle numbers 50
living descendants, including sons and daugh
ters, grandsons and granddaughters, great
grandsons and great-granddaughters. Besides
whom sbe has four sons-in-law, four daughters-in-law.
five grandons-in-Iaw, and one grand-daughter-in-law.
The Queen has lost one son
and one daughter, five grandsons, one grand
daughter, one great-grandson, and one son-m-law.
If these were living, her family circle
would number"!.
A new departure in the construction of
ships desigued for tna nitrate trado was her
alded by tbe launching of tba largest sailing
ship in tbe world tha other day. Nitrate of
soda bas a strong attraction for water, absorb
ing so mnch of it from the air as to be dissolved
by it in large quantities when in balk. Tba
custom is to discharge the nitrate liquor over
board, and so lose it, but on tbe new vessel
special tanks are fitted In the hold, into which
the liquor drains.
The probabilities of a future scarcity of
gutta percha has been a subject of concern to
the French government, which accordingly
sent a scientist (M. Sernllas) to tbe Malay
peninsula and adjacent Islands to investigate
and report on the matter. M. Serullas states
tbat until some substitute is discovered gutta
percba is absolutely indispensable to submarine
telegraphy, for other gums cannot be used for
tbe purpose with auy practical results, as tbey
do not possess the proper qualities.
A man bas with him a working pump
called bis heart, a working bellows called hij
lungs, a working vat called his stomach, a
working condenser called his brain, and a
working evaporator called his skin, all of
which mnst be at work, whether be will or not
Tbe heart is expending over bis body, day by
day, 122 foot-tons of work. Ha will go on
lifting so many millions of tons in so many
years. If he meet with no accident, the time
will come when bis last stroke will be finished
and he will die.
A duel was recently witnessed between
an old gray rat and aweasel which lasted nearly
an hour, and resulted in the annihilation ot
tbe former. Tbe rat fought witb great pluck
and determination, but bis antagonist was too
much for him. and drew blood at every bite;
while the rat which displayed the most ac
tivity, rushing In again and again, failed to
make mnch impression upon tbe yielding hide
of the weasel. After the death of tbe rat tbe
weasel was too exbaused to leave the spot and
the stick of tbe spectator made short work of
him.
A CHANCE FOR A LAUGH.
The death-roll a soda biscuit. Boston
Traveller.
Goodword was so worried by his wire's
parrot that he has taught him to whisper. Sew
Xorlc World.
A lady called at one of our banks and
presented a check which sho wished casned. As
she was a perfect stranger to the paying teller, be
said very politely: "Madam, you will have to
bring someone to Introduce you befoce we can
cash this check."
Drawing herself up quite haughtily, she said
lreczlngly: "But I do not wish to know you, sir!"
Richmond JJlspateh.
Someone asked an old lady about a ser
mon: "Could yoa remember It?"
"Remember it? No: the minister couldn't re
member it himself. He had to have It written
down. "Ram's Morn.
Sunday Tea-time. Mother (looking at
Johnny reproachfully) Where have you "been,
Johnny, this alternoon?
Johnny (uneasily) Sunday school.
Mother Why do you smell offish, and look so
wet?
Johnny (despcratcly)-Teacher told us tbe story
of Jonah ana the whale.
And then Johnny was the hero of "Johnny and
the wales. "PUladelpMa Record .
Tramp Why don't you pass yourself as
an exile from France?
Darky Vagrant-Dat's good; but 'fo' de Lawd,
I don't got do lace tor do It. -Yew I'or Morning
Journal.
"yi.Ua Henderson laughs just like a
man."
Too bad. I hate a woman who Is guilty
of manslaughter." Sew XorkSnn.
Miss de Muir How charming yon look
to-day 1
Miss de Meanor (slightly dyspcptle) I regret
that I cannot say as much for you.
Miss de Mnlr (sweetly) You conld, dear, if yo
were as accomplished a liar as I am, Puct.
"Young man, you must take more pains
with your writing."
- Tho youth looked np and replied: 'Taln'tmy
fault; it's the pen."
Then get a new pen, " replied" the teacher,
sharply.
That won't do any good." the boy made an.
swer, "for the electricity in the street cars throws
allthetemperontof thepen." x
"It would be a good thing lr it had a similar ef.
feet on the children," said the teacher sotto voce.
Albany Journal.
"Charlie, dear, what is a monopoly?" she
asked, looking np tenderly, .- sbe rested sabnils
sltcl) In hli arms with her dainty bead nestled
against bis collar. ,,
WelL" replied Charlie, manftilly strugzltnaji
to bring his mind to cope with abstruse snaleetlVJ'vf
and falling altogether to get beyond concrete'
facta. "1 sincerely hope that this is. "Somerrttlt v
Journal. ' "
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