mams ?? t ' -" ? V W . ; ' THE -PITTSBURG- DISPATCH. SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 7,' 189 ' 17 FF FQRTHECR m aile Zola, the Great French Author, Tells the Bovs and Girls His Memories of the War. JPIL AT THE COLLEGE OF All, aile the GaiJj Uniformed Soldiers Gath cre&'to Go to the Bloodj Fields in the Far last IIUTIFUL E1KLT MOEKIXG BCEXE8 sSe Catties ec ths riiTjrroandi In TTLich Great Hcraa Eose aad TtU. tWBrrTKr FOB TUB DISPATCH. Chree times in my life I hare felt ttie saage of war over France, and never shall orget the particular sound made by her ngs. First of ail comes a far off murmur, raiding the approach of a great wind. The iraur grows, the tumult bursts, every irt beats, a dizzy enthusiasm, a ed of killing and conquering takes 3d of the nation. Then, when the men : gone and the noise has sunk, an anxious iace reigns and every ear is on the etca lor the first cry irom the army. ill it be a err of triumph or of defeat? It terrible moment. Contradictory newt aes; every tiniest indication is seized, :ry word is pondered and discussed until : hour when the truth is known. And at an hoar that is, of delirious joy or rrible despair! was 11 at the time of the Crimean war. as a pupil in the College of Aix, shut up h 200 or 300 other urchins in an old Ben- ctine convent, whose long corridors and t halls retained a great dreariness. But two courts were cheerful, under the esding blue immensity of that glorious athorn sky. It is a tender memory that eep of that college; in spite of the sufler- s that I endured there. lirnmrpd in an Ancient Town. was 14 then; I was no longer a small v, and yet I feel to-day how complete was ignorance of the world in which we re living. In that forgotten corner even echo of great events hardly reached us. e town, a sad, old, dead capital, slum ped in the midst of its and landscape, and college, close to the ramparts, in the de ted quarter of the town, slumbered even re deeply. I do not remember any po- Xtofle Zola. ical catastrophe ever passing its walls lie I was cloistered there. The Crimean ralece moTed a, and even of that it is b?.ble that weeks elapsed before the aer It reached us. fthta I recall my memories of that ti aile to think what war was to us, coun- tc&oolboys. In the first place every nj; was extremely vague. The theater of straccle was so distant, so lost in a anjre and savaie country, that we seemed he looking oc at a itory come true, out -he 'Arabian XigiitC" We did not arly know vbere the lighting was; and I not remember that we had at any time nosity enough to cjusult the atlases in r hands. Kept In the Dark by Teacher. Tt must be said that our teachers kept us shuoltttc igoomice of modern life. They jmsrlres read the papers and learned the ws; bat they never opened their mouths a about such things, and if we had es. aned them thev would have dismissed s:emly to our exercises and essays. We ew nothing precise, except that France &Bttfig in the .Last, lor reasons not hir oar ken. rtain points, however, Btood out clear. rcpca'il the elartie jokes about the ac v. We knew the names of two or ip I.ovian generals, and we were not far m rttributing to these generals the heads child-ievouring monsters. Moreover, we loof admit for one moment the possibility it the French would be beaten. That iJd have appeared to us contrary to the isofcature. Then, there weregaps. As j campaign was prolonged we would get for months at a time that there was T fiphtins, until some day some report ne to aroue our attention again. I can t wll whether we knew of the battles as 'v bappec-d or whether we felt the shock lich the fail of Sevastopol gave to France, ltaetethincs a'c confused. Tirgil ana wer were realities which caused us more icern than the cotemporary quarrels of tie. rjnjlnc War nt School. I only remeaioer that for a time there s a game greatly ia iavor in our play ytnds. "We divided ourselves into two aps. "We drew two lines on the ground i proceeded to fight It was "prisoners e" simplified. One camp represented e Russian and one the French army. rurally the Russians bught to have been tz&zt-d, but the contrary sometimes oc rred: tfce tury was cxtraordinarv and the ii frightful. At the end of a "week the '-,ntendent was obliged to forbid this Uffbttul game, as two bovs had to be put 'he sick list with broken heads. Among the most distinguished in these ite-ts was a tall, fair lad, who always got oen general. Louis, who belonged to an Breton family that had come to live in " South, assumed .victorious airs. I can tim jet, with a handkerchief tied on his Thesd by or of plume, a leather belt -Jed roud him, leading on his soldiers ih a wave of the hand as if it were the at wave of a sw ord. He filled one with .irauon; we even felt a sort of respect Irtn. Strangely enough, he had a twin ither, Jtilicn, who was much smaller, .:! aod delkate, and who greatly disliked ;se violent games. Mcmoii'S ol X.tttlo Twins. When r-e divided into two camps he uld go apart, sit down on a stone bench f thenee -ralch us with his sad and rather ghteeed eves. One dav Lonis, hustled d atuoked by i whole band, fell under -:r b iw s and Jul'en gave a cry, pallid, aafc'in half fainting like a woman. Ihe o brtheis adored each other and none of wuld have dared to laugh at the little e about ins i. ant of courage for fear of big one. The actuary of these twins is closely in-!ved-or ae in the memory of that time, wsrt&he spring I became a day-boarder d bo kniger slept at the collegebut came tke morning for the 7 o'clock lessons, leifwo brothers, also, were day-boarders. &?. ;IIK " J-.. . . , - . & 4 &Jfe.isTf..fc fc. .jr., .j - . i, .l i a . v 8 ' i.TL - - . A dfarfltaSJi 1 tMmBilM Mayg. iWaa j M eTTtafftf JfriMrM'frrt;rtMfftH!WMaiilffi'ifW'TtM . i(!fc.. - -ft-ftHflfifift HOW Sherman, German. -MIOj, Highlander. ' " , Blaine, Sombrero. Tummy, Sootier Schoolmaster. Depeic, Scotch. Bismarck, Cabbie. Cleveland, English Arm. WOhelm, Tennis. McJGnley, Sportsman, The three of us were inseparable. As we lived in the same street we used to wait and go in tn college together. Louis, who was very precocious and dreamed of adventures, educated us. We agreed to leave home at six, so as to have a whole hour of freedom in which we would be men. For us "to be men" meant to smoke cigars, and to go and have drinks at a shabby wine shop which Louis had discovered in an out-of-the-way street The cigars and the drinks made us frightfully ill; but fhen what an emotion it was to step into the wine shop casting glanres.to right and left and in terror of be ing observed. Watching the Soldiers More. These fine doings occurred at the close of the winter. I remember there were morn ings when rain fell in torrents. We waded through and arrived drenched. Alter that the mornings became mild and fair, and then a mania took hold of us that of going to see off the soldiers. Aix is on the road to Marseilles. Regiments came into the town by the road irom Avignon, slept one night, and ntarted off on the morrow by the road to Marseilles. At that time fresh troops, especially cavalry and artillery, were being sent to Crimea. Kot a week elapsed without troops passing. A local paper even announced these movements be forehand for the benefit of the inhabitants with whom the men lodged. Only we did not read the paper, and we were much con cerned to know overnight whether there would be soldiers leaving in the morninc. As the departure otcurred at 6 in the morn ing we were obliged to get up very early often to no purpose. What a happy time it was 1 Louis and Julicn would come and call me from the middle of the street, where not a person was yet to be seen. I hurried down. It would be chilly,notwithstanding the spring time and mildness of the days, and we three would cross the empty town. When a regiment was leaving, the soldiers would be assembling on the cours, before a hotel where the Colonel generally stayed. Nor were we the only people to enjoy the scene. Small proprietors appeared one by one, early town folk and all that part of the population, which rises betimes. Soon there were crowds. The sun rose. The gold and Bteel of the uniforms shone in the clear morning light We thus beheld, upon the cours of that peaceful and still, drowsy town, dragoons, cavalry chasseurs, lancers, and in fact all branches of light and heavy cavalry. Gloriei or the Calrsssler. But our favorites, those who aroused our keenest enthusiasm, were the cuirassiers. They dazzled us as they sat square on their stout horses with theglowing star of their breastplates before them. Their helmets took fire in the rising sun; their ranks were like rows of suns whose rays shone on the neighboring houses. When we knew that there were cuirassiers going we got up at 4, so eager were we to fill our eyes with their glories. At last, however, the Colonel wonld ap pear. The colors which had passed the night with him were displayed.. And all at once, after two or three words of com--mand cried aloud, the regiment gave way. It went down the cours, and with the first fall of the hoofs on the dry earth rose a beat of drums which made our hearts leap within us. We ran to keep at the head of the column abreast of the band which was greeting the town as it went at a double. First, tliere came three shrill bugle notes as a summons to the players, then the trum pet call broke out and covered everything with its sounds. Oirror theWlMs or Crimea. Outside the gates the "double was ended in the open'where the last notes died awav. Then there was a turn to the left along the Marseilles road, a fine road planted with elms hundreds of years old. The horses went at foot pace, in rather open order on the wide highway white with dust We felt as if we were going, too. The town was remote, coljege was forgotten, we ran and ran, delighted with our outbreak. It wts like setting out to war ourselves every week. Ab, these lovely morningsl It was G o'clock, the inn, already high, lighted the countrv with great sloping rays. A milder warmth breathed through the little chill breeze of morning. Groups of birds flew up from the hedges. Far off the meadows were bathed in pink mist, and amid the smiling landscape these beautiful soldiers, the cui rassiers shining like stars, passed with their glowing breasts. It was a moving spectacle. The horses slackened their pace yet more, the men grew smaller with the rhythmic swaying of their steeds. At first each breastplate and each helmet was like a sun. Then the suns dwindled and soon there was only an army of stars on the march. Finally thelast man disappeared and the road was bare. Xothing was left of the beautiful regiment that tad passed by, except a inein- When the SoIdIer Came Home. We were only children, but all the same that spectacle made us grave. As the regi ment slowly mounted the steep, we woifld be taken by a great silence, our eyes fixed upon the troop, in despair at the thought of losing it; and when it had disappeared some thing lighted in our throats and lor a mo ment or two' we still watched the distaut rock behind which it just vanished. Would it ever come back? Would it, some day, come down this hillside azain? These ques tions, stirring sadly within us, made us sad. Goodby, beautiful regiment . Julicn, in particular, always came home very tired. He only came so far in order not to leae his brother. Thete e-cursions knocked him up, and he had a mortal terror oi me horses. And after aVhile we had fallen back deeper than ever into Homer and Virgil. All at once we learned that the French had couquered, which keemed to us quite nat ural. Then regiments again began to pass, but in the other direction. They no longer interested us; still we did see two or three. Thev did not seem to us so fine, diminished as they were by half, and the rest is lost in a mist Such was the Crimean War, in France, for schoolboys hut up in a country college. 13iin,E Zola. i ww.w6v- auwawiJA. i THEY WOULD LOOK IF THEY CHANGED THEIR HEADGEAR. LEARNING SIMIAN WORDS. How K. X. Garner Found Out the Sound for Food Among the Khesu Monkeys Record Can;ht In the Pfconosraph The Varieties or Dialects. rWRITTEN FOE THE DISrATCIT.1 A short time ago I made arrangements with the Superintendent of the Zoological Garden at Central Park, New York, to make some experiments with the phono graph and the monkeys contained in that excellent collection of animals. Early in the morning I retired to the monkey house, and for the first time approached cage con taining four brown Capuchin monkeys, two white faced Sapajous or ringtails, one Cudgo monkey and a small Spider monkey, none of which I had ever seen or conversed with before. On approaching the cage I saluted them with the word which I have translated from the Capuchin tongue to mean "food," and also, as described in a former article of mine as being used in a much wider sense, possibly as a kind of "Shibboleth," or peace making term used among them. On delivering this word to them, almost immediately one of them responded to it and came to the front of the cage, on repeat ing it two or three times more the remain ing three came to the front of the cage, and on thrusting my fingers through the bars o the cage they took hold of them and began playing with them with great familiarity and apparent pleasure. Satisfied All the Witnesses. They seemed to recognize the sound at once and seemed to realize that it had been delivered to them by myself. Whether they regarded me as a great ape or monkey, I am unable to say. Up to this time I had shown them no food or drink or anything of the kind, but soon thereafter I secured some apples and carrots and gave them small bits of it in response to their continual request, using this particular sound until I had satis fied th'ose present that they really under derstood the word that I had used, and that it was, properly translated, food. This was not only gratifying to me. but doubly so in view of the fact that I satisfied those pres ent who had come to witness these experi ments that I was correct in my solution of this word. Then placing my phonograph in order I made a record of the sound and turned the instrument then upon a cage containing one small Ehesus monkey together with two or three other varieties. I recorded a word of the Ehesus monkey which I had believed to correspond in meaning, though quite differ ent in sense, to the Capuchin word for food. Thjs Rhesus sound I recorded and then turned the cylinder and repeated it to some monkeys otthe same variety in another cage. Then on presenting some small bits ot apple and carrot I induced the monkeys in the other cage to use the same sound, which tbey continually did and appeared to me to be asking for food. The cage con tained some 18 or 20 monkeys, and I took a very accurate record of them almost in chorus. I was satisfied that I had discov ered the sound in the Rhesus dialect which meant food, though it was used in a some what more restricted sense than the word which I have described as meaning food, and also with a wider meaning in the Capuchin dialect Tried on Same Fresh Monkeys. On the same evening Ihere arrived in Central Park a shipment of Rhesns mon keys from abroad; they were brought there irom .Europe, xney were seven in number. At niT request they were placed entirely, out of communication with any other mon keys. Early on the following morning I repaired to the room in which the monkeys had been placed, xn company with me were the superintendent of the Zoological garden and two or three other gentlemen who had been permitted to come to witness the experiments. I requested them not to offer the monkeys anything to eat or dis play anything of the kind or by any means to attempt to induce them to talk until I conld -arrange my phonograph to deliver to them the cvlinder which I had recorded on the preceding day. Having arranged my phonograph. I re peated this record, that I had made in the monkey house, and up to this time there had not been a word spoken or a sound omitted by any of the new arrivals. But immediately upon the reproduction of the record taken in thetnonkey house, they be gan to respond, using the same sounds and gave every evidence of understanding the meaning of these sounds delivered through the horn. It is exceedingly difficult to represent this sound by any formula. But as nearly as I can express it letters it is approximated by the letters nqu-u-w, being the long "u," equivalent to "'double o" in the word "shoot" One ofjthe most difficult things jn the study of the language of the Simian is to find either verbal or literal expressions thafwill adequately convey the idea of either the meaning of the word or its sound. Because in the Simian tongue one word otten represents an entire Sentence, and this one word is generally composed ot founds which are not usually represented by al phabetic characters. Proof or the Discovery ofa Word. I next proceeded to take a record of the new arrivals. They were all of the same species, being Rhesus monkeys. There were three mothers and four babes.one of the babes beinganorphan,the mother havingdied in her passage across the ocean. Of these I succeeded in getting two very excellent records, one of the orphan babe and the other of one in an adjoining compartment He was exceeding talkative, very noisy, but quite intelligent These monkeys do not generally talk or make a noise, except when they really desire to commanicate some idea bv their sounds. I do nnt think- that ther are given to habitually chatterine in meaningless or lenieleM way, but my I ! opinion is that their chattering is always accompanied with definite ideas and a de sire to convey them to others. After having made records of these two young monkeys, I carried the cylinders to the monkey house, where I reproduced them on the phonograph, in the presence of the Rhesus monks confined there, and found that they gave evidences of understanding. And as I succeeded in getting the attention of the new arrivals I feel thoroughly satis fied that the new word which I have dis covered in the Rhesus dialect is indeed the word for food, as used among these monkeys. Better to Operate on One Monkey. And I confidently feel that one more step in the direction of "the mastery of the Sim ian tongue has been taken. " I regard the experiments as very conclusive. Where one monkey is alone very much better re sults can be reached, since in that event you can attract his attention and keep it fixed on what you are trying to do, whereas a number of them occupying the same cage, or even the same house, are in such close proximity to one another that their chat tering and continual talking attracts the at tention of the monkey upon which you are trying to operate, and thus in a measure de feats your purpose. I have made a good many observations among the Spider monkeys, but they are not very intelligent and possess only 3 very limited number of sounds. Their vocal powers are very inferior and their bounds very ambiguous. They are well disposed and docile, but their langunge is almost as inferior to that of the brown Capuchin as the brown Capuchin's appears to be below the chimpanzee's, and as the chimpanzee's appears to bo below the lowest order oi human speech. For the past month I have been making rrcords in the Zoological Garden at Wash ington at such times and 'with such subjects as I could find. "A little Follow Imposed TJpon. , In the collection in that garden is still to be found old "Prince," the original gray Macacus from which I made the first record in the phonograph. I regard his language, hoWever, as very far inferior to that of the brown Capuchin, which, as I believed a year ago, was superior to that of any other monkey. In the garden here I also fonnd some four or five Capuchins, some of them very good spocimens, all except one being quite young. The brightest one in the col lection is is, little brown monkey whose name is "Pedio;" he is exceedingly clever and communicative. On my first visit to him a month ago I found him caged with several others. In the same cage was a small Spider monkey who was very fond of playing with Pedro. And she had a habit of catching him by the tail and dragging him on the floor. This, Pedro seemed to dislike very heartily. Ho complained very frequently and very loudly, but to no purpose. The other monkeys seemed to impose upon him, depriving him of his food and all other liberties that a bright little monkey ought to have had in a free country like this. Talks Rlsht Into the Horn. And when I first visited the cage I took his part against the other monkeys and we soon became friends. He would catch hold of my fingers through the meshes of the cage apd chatter and show every mark of appreciation. We soon became great friends. A little later I had him placed in a cage to himself where I have been able to handle him with comparative case. I have made a splendid phonographic record of his speech. I got him to hold his mouth right up to tue tuoe-ana taic quite loud. Each succeeding experiment gives me more and more assurance of the ultimate success of my studies. The discovery of the Rhosus word for food has accelerated my efforts and intensified my hopes. And while it has required many months of labor to learn this one new word, I leel amply re warded for my pains. I hope very soon to be able to add one more word to the list R. L. GA2NEB. Technical Lancaao or the Poacher. Among the elegant terms in the vocabul ary of the semi-poacher are these, according to a writer in Forest and Stream: "Sniggling" is a method of catching eels by means of a needle passed into a worm. "Trimmering"is a set line with one or two hooks for fish of of prey. "Leistering" is a form of spearing. "Tickling," or in Scottland "guddling," is the taking of trout from beneath a bank by tickling the belly with the fingers and then suddenly clasping the fish and throwing it out "Bobbing" is catching eels with a clot of worms threaded on worsted. "Dibbling," "daping." "dopping," are convertible expressions for the use of the real iusect instead oi the .artificial in fly fishing. "Lobbing" refers to the use of a bunch of the ordinary garden worms on the hook. An Interruption. Harper's Bazar. lie kissed her once; ho kissed licr twice; He was the happiest of men I think ho would have kiased her thrice If papa hadn't come just then. ENGLISH AS SHE IS Sl'OIiE. "rte T to pieces.' .wi&v Vi.-aalfc&iivr i y . T,y&jv zsa&zs . icklecT A LIFE OF CONSTANT FEAR. The Czar Most Feel About a Most Ani mals Do A Squirrel Gathering Nuts The Conduct Si a Young Calf Peculi arity or the Terrapin. rWMTTEX FOB TUB DISPATCH.! S I sat looking from my window the other morning upon a red squirrel gathering hickory nuts" from a small hickory and storing them up in his den in the bank, I was forcibly reminded of the state of constant fear and apprehension in which the wild creatures live, and I tried to pitcure to myself what life would be to me, or to any of S, hedged about by so" many dangers, real or imaginary. The squirrel would shoot up the tree, making only a brown streak from the bot tom to the top, would seize his nut and rush down again in the most precipitate manner. Half-way to his den, which was not over three rods distant, he would rush up the trunk of another tree for a few yards to make an observation. No danger being near, he would dive into his den and reap pear again in a twinkling. Returning for another nut, he would mount the second tree again for another observation. Satis fied that the coast was clear, he would spin along the top of the cround to the tree that bore the nuts, shoot up it as before, seize the fruit, and then back again to his re treat His little Kerrei at Hich Tendon. Neyer did he fail during the half 'hour or more that I watched him to take an obser vation on his way both to and from his nest It was "snatch and run!" with him. Some thing seemed to say to him all the time: "Look out! look out!" "The cat!" "The hawk!" "The owl!" "The boy with the gun!" It was a bleak December morning; the first fine flakes ofa cold driving snowstorm & A Tragedy in Oie Snow. were just beginning to sift down, and the squirrel was eager to finish harvesting his nuts in time. It was quite touching to see how hurried and anxious and nervous he he was. I felt like going out and lending a hand. The nuts were small, poor pig nuts, and I thought of all the gnawing he would have to do to get all the scanty meat they held. The red squirrel is not so provi dent as the' chipmunk. He scorns to lay up stores irregularly, by fits and starts; he never has enough put up to carry him over the winter; hence he is more or less active all the season. Long before the December snow the chipmunk has 'for days been mak ing hourly trips to his den with full pockets ofnutsorcorn or buckwheat till his bin holds enough to carrvhim through to ApriL He need not, and I believe does not, set foot out of doors during the whole winter. But the red squirrel trusts more to luck. As alert and watchful as the red squirrel is he is frequently caught by the cat My Nig, as black as ebony, knows well the taste of his flesh. I nave known hip to be caught by the blacksnake and successfully swal lowed. The snake, no doubt, lay in ambush for him. The Czar Knows tho Feeling. Tltis fear, this ever present source of dan ger of the wild creatures, we know little about iTooably the only person in the civ ilized countries who is no better off than the animals in,this respect is the Czar of Russia. He would not even dare gather nuts as openly as my squirrel. A blackerand more terrible cat than Nig would be lying in wait for him and would make a meal of him. The early settlers in this country must have ex perienced something of this dread of appre hension from the Indians. Many African tribes now live in tho same state of constant fear of the slave catchers or of other hostile tribes. Our ancestors, back in prehistoric times, or back of that in geologic times, must have known lear as a constant feel ing. Hence the prominence of fear in in fants and children when compared with the youth or the grown person. Babies are nearly always afraid f strangers. In the domestic animals also fear is much more activo in the young than in the old. Nearly every farm "boy has seen a calf but a day or two old which its mother has se creted in the woods or in a remote field, charge upon him furiously with a wild bleat, when first discovered. After this first ebullition of fear it usually settles down into the tome humdrum of its bovine elders. aoit of tht wild, creature Ther. ii only ma -JX one among them whose wildness I cannot understand, and that is the common water turtle. Why is this creature so fearful? What are its enemies? I know of nothing that preys upon it Yet see how watchfnl and suspicious these turtles are as they sun themselves upon a log or a rock. Before you are fairly in gunshot of them they slide down into the water and are gone. A Difference In Tattles. The land turtle, or terrapin, on the other hand, shows scarcely a trace uf tear. He will indeed pause in his walk when you are very near him, but he will not retreat into his shell until you have poked him with your foot or cane. He appears to have no enemies; but the little spotted water turtle is as shy as if he was the delicate tid-bit that every creature was searching for. I did once find one which a fox had dug out of the mud in winter and carried a few rods and dropped on the snow as ii he had found no use for It One can understand the fearlessness of the skunk. Nearly every creature but tho farm dog yields to "him the right of way. All dread his terrible weapon. If you meet one in your walk in the twilight fields, the chances are that you -will turn out for him, not he for you. He may even pursue you just for the fun of seeing you run. He comes waltzing toward you, apparently in the most hilarious spirits. The coon is probably the most courageous creature among our familiar wild animals. Who ever saw a coon show the white feather"? He will face any odds with per fect composure. I have seen a coon upon the ground, beset by four men and two dogs and never for a moment lose his presence of mind, or show a sign of fear. We were try ing to capture him alive, and after much maneuvering succeeded. I seized him by the tail while he was occupied with' the dogs in his front and carried him to a barrel which had been got ready. The raccoon ia clear grit The Fox Gets Ashamed. The fox is a very wild and suspicious creature, but curiously enough, when you suddenly come face to face with him, when he is held by a trap, or driven by the hound, his expression is not that of fear, but of shame and guilt He seems to di minish in size and to be overwhelmed with humiliation. Does he know himself to be an old thief, and is that the reason of his embarrassment? The fox has no enemies but man, and when he is fairly outwitted, he looks the shame he evidently feels. In the heart of the rabbit fear constantly abides. How her eyes protrude I She can see back and front and on all sides equal to a bird. The fox is after her, the owls are after her, the gunners are after her, and she has no defense but her speed. She always keeps well to cover. The Northern hare keeps in the thickest brush. If the hare or rabbit crosses a broad open exposure it does so hurriedly, like a mouse when it crosses the road. The mouse is liable to be pounced upon by a hawk, and the hare or rabbit by the snowy owl, or else the great horned owt A friend of mine was following one morn- The Squirrel Went Zig-Zag. ing a fresh rabbit track through an open field. Suddenly the track came to an end, as if the creature had tnken wings as it had after an unpleasant fashion. There, on either side of its lost foot imprint, were several parellel lines in the snow, made by the wings of the great owl that had swooped down and carried it off. What a little tragedy was seen written there upon tho white even surface of the field! Squirrels are Wiser Than Babbits, The rabbit has not much wit i. once. when a boy, saw one that had been recently caught, liberated in an open field in the presence ofa dog that was being held a few yards away. But the poor thing lost all presence of mind and was quickly caught by the clumsy dog I saw the same experi ment tried with a red squirrel with quite opposite results. The boy who had cauzht the squirrel in his wire trap had a very bright and nimble dog about the size of a fox that seemed to be very sure he could catch a red squirrel under any circumstances if only the trees were out of the way. So the boy went to the middle ot an open held with his caged squirrel, the dog, who seemed to know what was up, dancing and jumping about him. It was in midwinter; the snow had a firm crust that held boy and dog alike. The dog was drawn back a few yards and the squirrel liberated. Then be gan one of the most exciting races I have witnessed for a long time. It was impos sible for the lookers-on not to be convulsed with laugher, though neither dog nor squir rel seemed to regard the matter, as much of a joke. The squirrel had all his wits about him and kept them ready for instant use. He did not show the slightest confusion. He was no match for the dog in fair run ning and he discovered this fact in less than three seconds; he roust win, if at all, by strategy. Not a straight course for the nearest tree, but a zigzag course; yea, a double or treble zigzag course. Every in stant the dog was sure the squirrel was his and every instant he was disappointed. It was incredible and bewildering to him. The squirrel dodged this way and that The dog looked astonished and vexed. Then the squirrel issued from between his hind legs and made three jumps toward the woods before he was discovered. Our sides eched with laughter, cruel as it may seem. The Squirrel Won the Race. It was evident the squirrel would win. The doz seemed to redouble his efforts. He would overshoot the game, or shoot by it to the right or left The squirrel was the smaller craft and could out-tack him easily. One more leap and the squirrel was up a tree, and the dog was overwhelmed with confusion and disgust. He could not be lieve his senses. "Not catch a squirrel in such a field as that? Go to, I will have him yet!" and he bounds up the tree as high as one's head, and then bites the bark ofit in his anger and chagrin. The boy says his do" has never bragged since about catching rec? squirrels "if only the trees were out of reach!" When any of the winged creatures are en gaged in a life and death race in that way, or in any other race, the tactics of the squir rel do not work; the pursuer never over shoots nor shoots by his mark. The flight of the two is timed as if they were parts ot one whole. A hawk will pursue a sparrow or a robin through a zig-zag course and not lose a stroke or half a stroke bf the wing by reason of any darting to the right or left. The clew is held with fatal precision. No matter how quickly nor how often the spar row or the finch changes its oourse, its enemy changes, simultaneously, as if every move wa3 known to it from the first. Have Birds a Sixth Sense? The same thing maybe noticed among the birds in their love chasings,- the pursuer seems to know perfectly the mind of the pursued. This concert of action among birds is very curious. When they are on the alert a flock of sparrows, or pigeons, or cedar birds, or snow buntings, or black birds, will all take flight as if there was but .one bird, instca'd of a hundred. The same impulse seizes every individual bird at the same instant, as if they were sprung by electricity. Or when a flock of birds is in flight, it is still one body, one will; it will rise, or cir cle, or swoop, with a unity that is truly as tonishing. A flock of snow buntings will perform their aerial evolutions with a pre cision that the best-trained soldiery cannot equal. Have the birds an extra sense which we-have not? A brood of young partridges' in the woods will start up like an explosion, everv brown partical and fragment hurled inta'theair at the same instant Without1 word or signal, how is it done?? A -Ji ii --.' Vi MUAA.UUJnJUUAflb- r -. BRAVE BEN BROUGHTON. A True Story Written for The Dispatch BY MARIA M'INTOSH COX. AINSFORD'S has existed since Revolu tionary days. The quiet dignity of good ancestry gives charm to its small society, and the beach affords ample opportunity for all the joys of bath ing, fishing, sailing, and the long list of other Beaside pleas ures, without the an noyances of publicity and crowds. These advantages drew Mr. and Mrs. Broughton to the )ld town, and they took for the summer a cot taze on the very water's brink, where their young people could revel in every salty de light without the restraints or the exposure of a fashionable resort The Broughton family was a large one, and I dare say you might like to know them all, but my story has only to do with Ben, a boy of li, who will never forget the summer Tie spent at Rainsford's. Ben was always an active fellow, very welcome on the ball field, or wherever good manly play of any sort was going on, but he was neither very large for his age nor naturally very strong. "His successes as an athletic youngster came through his cour age and endurance, his quiccness of percep tion, and his perseverance. When his straight, wiry little figure appeared on either side of a contest it meant help worth having and the opposing team knew it Seaside pleasures he knew very little about, and his first days at Rainsford's were rather dull and he was not at all sure that he should fancy this new life. But his parents fostered his self-reliance by hiring a flat-bottomed boat for theirjchildren, and almost immediately letting him row about, close in shore, on quiet aays, ana Dy en couraging him to learn as rapidly as possi ble to swim. A dock ran out near the cottage and under its lee thechildren bathed in safety and soon felt at home in the buoyant salt water. Some logs floated about, farther out or closer In, as the tide carried tnem,ana tneyserveu a3 supports to the tired young legs andarms and gave them a sense of security. Mrs. Broughton watched their fun from her win dows and felt no fear, and Ben, and even bis little sister, grew expert in this new element Gradually as the summer advanced other boys came to swim in this safe spot, and on any pleasant afternoon a group could be seen perched upon the top of the wharf, resting or making ready to dive. A few teie chil dren of the town, as much at ease and as fully posted in marine matters as if they had been born with fins; but there were two little fellows, neither of them very strong, who were just commencing to swim and were not very successful in learning. These brothers were especially eager to become expert swimmers Decause on their success depended their ownership of a boat like the Broughtons. "As soon as they could take care of themselves," their father had said they should have one. .remaps they were timid, for they were nervous lads, or perhaps their lungs were not strong, but whatever the cause might be they made but little headway. Daily they came to the dock, and the elder boy made some advance ment, but the younger could scarcely sop- port bimselt in the water. . Their progress had reached this stage, when on one calm, hot August afternoon, just as the tide reached the right point, and the usual knot of boys in their bathing suits were sitting at the end of the wharf, Ben made ready to join them. To his surprise his mother called him to go to the town on an errand, which would keep hira so long that the fan would all be over. Ben looked wistfully out over the gently heaving water, changing in the soft light from gold to blue, and saw the passing boats break the lovely surface into gleamingfoam, and watched the swooping gulls rising and falling on their strongj white wings, and everything seemed free but himself. He was not given to many words, so he drew a long sigh and started off obediently if not cheerfully. Just as'this small struggle was going on in his mind the little brothers were making ready for their daily attempt Anxious to encourage the younger to lose his fears and venture alone in the water, Tom Dunlap, the older boy, had remained on the dock and urged little Dick to trust himself to the support of a plank and swim out to where ne sat "Don t be atraid, Dick. Swim out to me and I'll jump off and join you." Laboriously, small Diek tried to obey.but before those few feet were passed he gave a sudden cry of fright and slipped away from the upholding wood. In an instant Tom had leaped into the water and reached his brother's side. "Take hold of me. Dick; hold tight" But alas! the trembling hands of the poor child made only futile efforts to touch his brother's shoulder; his short legs tried to "strike out," and then he sank, and an agony of fear paralyzed Tom's body and mind. Just at this moment Ben came whistling down the road. The boys upon1 the dock called to him with shrill voices: "The Dunlap boys are drowning! The Dunlap boys are drowning!" Ready for their bath, stronger and older than their struggling comrades, fully able to swim and to act in concert in rescuing them, called by conscience and manliness and every possible incentive to plunge in and do "their best, they stood tspon the wharf and shouted and stared and pointed downward, without mailing one ellort to save. Hardly crediting the true state of the case, Ben paused tor half a minute, kcenlr scanning the water bclore him, and to his horror he saw a white indistinct object float to tho surface and fall instantly out of sight, and almost in the same breath, nearer in shore, rose ont ofthe water the face and head of Tom Dunlap! A meaningless stare from his fixed eyes, a gasping flutter ofthe mouth, and a feeble struggle to use. his arms, and he too was gone. With eager energy Ben flung off his coat and stooped to untie his shoes, but a ter rible fear seized him; the mere untying of a shoestring look too loug. Where was that faint, white glimmer which he knew he could not tell how had been the face of little Dick Dunlap? Waiting for no more, in he plunged. Whcn unseinsa courage nils a heart. steadiness of mind is apt o keep it com pany, and Ben thought fast and to good .purpose: "Tom is heavier than I am, and 1 can't swim well; I shall neyer be able to hold him." . With all the force he possessed he made. .for 'the nearest log, and pressing hla chest against it, iraa on toward ins spot out r -D) f Ml J I ffllJjtyV- Si StJUjx Mi sfPSaL1 it ii" ii i . . - Jiirrmp?ftB.fifp:rri "gYfifrrT -"Vf . v rj . -v-. i , ,rmtj m which that awful head had risen, and thert there, just at his hand, it ro3e again, but this time it had not energy to lift itself above the water. Lying in a most unnatural Eosition, his throat strained backward and Is head resting between the shoulders so that the face appeared to turn straight and fiat toward the heaven abovo it, the legs hanging limp and stiff, straight down, and the motionless arms fallen backward, in useless stillness, Ben saw Tom Dunlap; and with an agonized clutch he grasped the wel web of his bathing suit and took an almost hopeless inspiration of the soft air, not knowing in this dread moment what must next be done. "Tom!" he yelled, "Tom, keep up; don's give up, Tom! Tom, Tom. try to keep up!" He nsed all the power of his young voice and a faint shiver ran through the cold sub merged body. A lightning like inspiration darted through his mind; he gave the log beside him a hard, downward push, depress ing it some inches below the water, and with all haste he knew not how suc ceeded in bringing it in contact with the drowning boy. Then still he knew not how he pulled one motionless arm across it and then the other, and saw with a wild sense of exultation that he would float Torn did not attempt to grasp or hold, but the log was well under his armpits and he did not slide back. Then a strange dullness came over Ben senses; his shoes, now water-soaked, fell like lead; the first dawn of hope seemed to be followed by exhaustion. But help was coming from the shore. A. brave young girl, putting to shame tha cowardly boys upon the wharf, had suc ceeded in p'ushing a boat into the water, and she rowed toward Ben with all her might When she came within an arm's length of the tired boy he could not so much as push poor Tom toward her, but she conquered the resistance of his uncon scious weight and pulled him into the boat When once the heavier part of his body was over the gunwale he fell suddenly for ward and lay a helpless mass at her feet She had not a thought, even, for Ben, but pulled for the shore with all her strength. Ben, keeping his clear, brave head, real ized that the tide was fast coming in, and ceasing to struggle, be floated on the sott, upholding waves until tbey laid him gently on the beach, as if theyhad brought him intel ligently home. And then, though he could no longer work, his tired body bad to obey his self-forgetting heart The ovstermen were rapidly coming, and he knew just where to tell them to look for that pale object ha had seen sink out of sight Using every remaining energy, he mada them understand, and staggering to his weak feet, he stood.with water running in streams from his drenched clothes, and guided to where they must search. Breathless, the crowd now gathered on the beach stood in silent expectation. A man, well fitted for his work, and bound to succeed, dove far into the glowing water; one, two, three minutes, passed be rose with emptr arms. Undaunted, again ha disappeared, and vet again he rose, bring ing nothing with him. "Once more," ha called out hopefully; this time four minutes passed, and then fie brought with him a little figure too pitiful to speak about Already Tom was lying in a hospitable house, with every tender, ministry helping him to fight for life, and to the same open door the strong arms of the oyste'rmaa car ried the little brother. "He is gone," he said as he laid him down. L But Ben reaped the full harvest of his heroic endeavor. Before their half-crazed mother could reach them, Tom had shown that life was surely coming back to him. And alter long heur3 of friction and heat and restoratives, a faint pulsation moved little Dick's still heart, and he lived on. In the Broughton'a cottage Ben was tha center of a thankful and excited family, but he was a very unconscious hero. He was anxious to be rid of his shoes, out of which the water gushed with every step, and eager for dry clothes: but, like every man or boy capable of such an act, thought very little ot himself in connection with the result He had done what God and his own heart had shown him to be hia duty, and his thoughts lingered with the" white faces of his drowning playmates; he had little con sideration to bestow on Ben Broughton and his doings, but many a long daj hence he will recall with thankfulness his share in the rescue of the Dunlap boys. BEAUTY LaTSST AID. A Itnbber Brash That Is Said to Be Bet ter Than Tons of Cosmetics. rwErrrET roa rax dispatch. HE latest thing fox home treatment of the skin by massage, is a rubber brush, called a "complex ion brush." It is a "Boston notion." The brush itself ii simply a piece ol thick rubber, one of its surfaces cut deep into round tinr teeth, while on the other is fastened two rubber straps to admit the baud. The brush is used both before and after the usual ab lutions. The friction, even when most vigorous, is gentle, agreeable, and brings a peculiar sott pinknesi upon the skin. ESS1 The Vest Cosmetic Amcng the good effects of its use. soon apparent is the restoration of the skin to its natural texture in cases where the pores have become enlarged. This state of the skin often occurs because the bath does not sufficiently soften and carry away the oily waste which the blood has carried to the pores for egress; tnen the oily exudations vamnin an A Iirfl(n fl.nrl TnnTpnvmr hconm ..Mi.,l 4M.V. .. ... , ..- ..... .... w....... cappea by impalpable dust, producing ths odiousV'blaok-head." The pressure of thisr hardened matter against tha dellC4to walls i; oi tae spree eaiarra ana ji&h-weir? sua i J IP i 4 WCTte Mp-ry'i y I 2---1 .' a reg5a,igasggsa &V-Sj MBC&IBrWMPcK HVl tAmmLmmWrTmWmW?WmsaVmMmmTmWmr I fffcfa. f XHsHlslslslslslslslsHBsslBt JvsPfiLiimmmSimmLwtLwmWmmLmi -v f---J---?-- "- VHXwfHWA-. - - u ""
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers