THE PITTSBURG- " DISPATCH, SUNDAY. APRIL 3. 1892. 10 A P1TTSBURGPALACEI Glimp ses Inside the NewBesi- deiice of Mrs. Gusty Out Fifth Atomic 3fAETELS IX HAED WOOD. A Staircase That Seems the Acme of Architectural Art, EARE BEAUTY IK STAINED GLASS. Tributes of Ernsh and Palette in the Mural Decorations. DETAILS OP THE LUXURIOUS FITTINGS nVTOTTEN FOB IDE DISr VTCTM HE Fifth avenue cable cars pass many handsome residences, stone mansions and frame villas, mostly with spacious lawns and plenteous shrub beryabout them, but it is doubtful if any one contains so much that is beantifnl as ices the new home of Mrs. J. M. Gusty, which is all but completed. If you look out of the window to your right as the car hurries along Fifth avenue between Aiken and Koup streets you will ee a stone mansion rise in a dignified style from a slight eminence a short distance from the street. The grounds about the house have the raw look which the builders nlways leave behind them, but the litter of masons and carpenters has been cleaned up and by the time the summer gets here there will be green lawns and trim drives right up to the stone terrace which protects three sides of the house. The house is three stories high, with an attic. Mr. Stillberg, the architect, anpar ently aimed at simplicity and solidity .wrtij MlU'fl ELEVATION OF 2IRS. 3. chicflv. It is built entirely of white Cleve land sandstone. The Tirst Impression 3Iost Favorable. Supposing that the massive oak door has been opened, the inner door with its leaded lights passed, and that we stand upon the marble floor ot the hall and look about us. The hall is roomy and almost square, and though it has no window on its own level, it is singularly light and cheerful. Before vour eyes take in the details the general brightness and warmth of the hall will impress vou. It is like a hospitable handshake at the door. Everything in the hall serves to heighten this pleasant im pression. The wainscot and ceiling are both of wavy manic, a golden wood with all the soft sheen oi satin. The space between the dado and the cornice is lrescoed in dull gold, which harmonizes most Inppily with the wooden panels above and below. There are archc- on all side, springing Irom stout pillars, all oi this delicious maple. The columns have broad bands of carving near the top. but the rest of the columns are Tlain and m highly polished that they shine like marble. The most gracetul line in the hall, perhaps, is that of the wide low arch extending over the lesser arches giving ad mission to the music room, the vestibule and the drawing room, or parlor, as it is gener ally called. Immediately opposite the chief entrance is the great open fireplace, made of Caen stone, a solt white stone which can be sawn and cniseled like wood. The mantel shelf is supported by fluted columns of stone, and at tither side "of it a cut-glass electric light lamp trained in dull steel tracery projects. Abote the mantel is carved in relief in stone the coat of arms of Holland, the country from which Mrs. Gusky's father came. The shield surmounted by a crown is supported by two tolerably fierce-looking lions ram pant, also crowned. It was Mrs. Gusky's intention to hate medallions of her children NbN-hhyf The Stained Oast Windmv. carved in this panel, but the artist's attempt was unsatisfactory, and the picturesque national arms took" its place. The Handsome Staircase. Emblazoned on the wall bctirecn the libr&rvand the drawing-room is the Gusky crest: "below it a little to the left is a niche fo-- statuary, carved in the colonial stvle w ith the rising-sun eflect for a background. This woodwork is also of maple. The crest and niche above referred to and the library and drawing-room, all lace the grand stair case, w Inch is to many people's mind the handsomest feature of the hou.se. It oc cupies nearly if not quite halt the width of the hall on the west side exact dimensions in feet I do not propose to give in any case because measurements are distressing and not at all descriptive. The broad steps, the balustrade and the newel posts of the stair case are all of the same dazzling maple which reflects the light lrom walls and ceil- IP Ska idsJ ;) , Hi. -! i viff. n II I jl1-- if ""f II uto; j it- " i n " TY" r ' A v &.vt AS? A. ing. The stairs could not look more slip pery if they were made of glass, and the warning, "Danger do not walk on these stairs," which some benevolent carpenter had posted at their foot the dav I was there, struck me as timely. The accompanying glimpse of the stair case shorn ssome'of its quaint features; the balcony -with its broad seat overlooking the first flight, and the carved newel posts with the rails of the balustrade wound about them. At the first landing there is a sort of half landing below it the stairs take a turn at right angles for a brief distance and then start on their final night to the second floor at a like angle. Illuminating the stairs and sending a soft, rich light into every corner ot the hall be low, a great window ot stained glass over looks the first landing. It is no longer necessary to go to Europe for fine stained glass, or to bemoau as lost the art by which the Old World artists gave cathedrals the glorv of heaven in their windows. This window, executed by Tiffany, of New York, is simply exquisite. . Wonderful Picture In GIhsh. Some idea of the beauty of form in its cen tral and predominant figure may be had from the line sketch published lathis col umn, but oi its surpassing beauty as to color neither words nor black and white illustra tion can adequately tell. Looking up the stairs from the marble-floored hall you see this tall goddess, may be of youth ana beauty, robed in a flowing gownot classic cut but not scantiness, effused with a pur ple light, such as comes at the last hoar be fore sunset on a summer day, standing be neath a bough of apple blossoms upon a meadow green, and extending her arms with eyes uplifted in a gesture half of wel come half of seraphic jov. The tones of this picture in class form a soft and harmonious chord with the woodwork and mural decora tion. The coloring of the panes actually appears to increase the -window's lumi nosity. Stained glass too often produces gloom, and while "a dim religious light" Is all very well under certain circumstances, it is not the thing for the hall ot a dwelling house. The window is bisec:ed in the upper part by a panel of carved wood, above which more stained glass in an arched de sign within a rectangular irame appears. Finished In "White Mahogany. The finest room to the left ot the hall as you emerge from the vestibule is the draw ing room, which is entered through an arched doorway. The doors slide easily apart all the interior doors slide into the walls, by the wav and you enter a spacious apartment semicircular at the front end, which is pierced -for four lofty windows. The walls are upholstered in gold-figured satin. The woodwork is all white mahog any, wnicn resemoies maple in color and 11 tiAitm- 'wnioi': "'' ST. - GUSKY'S RnSIDEKCIV rain. The mantel, which is of this wood, is especially beautiful. It is profusely carved, aud the sustaining columns of ma hogany are very substantial. The tiles ot the fireplace are cream-colored, aud the hearth is framed with panels of Mexican onyx, the warm coloring of which, for it is splashed with gorgeous ruby crimson, is a welcome ion to the delicate tints of tile and wood. The ceiling of this room is tne conventional oiue sky beloved of doves and Cupid and Venus, all" of whom are to be found there. It is well painted and an effective composition, however. The sliding doors at the north end of this room the points of the compass are only used in an approximate sense open into the library, which is in striking contrast to tiie parlor. tor it is wainscotted in dark mahogany, of wnicn ricn wood tne oooecases, window seats and doors are also made. The walls and ceiling are finished in pale blue, over which are s-pread raised emblematic figures (lightly gilded. The mahogany used in the wainscot and bookcases is in two shades, the panels ot the dark shade being framed in the lighter. The cosv window seat, within an alcove.will be a delightful retreat lor a student with a new book to read, or lovers twain with the old, old story to discuss. The Music Room In Sycamore. Perhaps when we left the parlor we ought to have gone across the hall to the music room, the daintiest of all the recep tion rooms. Here we find the bright tint of the sycamore prevailing. Columns with plain capitals in the highly polished wood irame .Urge panels of tapestry, in one of wuicn upiais represented in tuneful strug gle with a bass viol, and in the other in similar predicament with a guitar. Deli cately carved garlands nil panels of syca more set lengthwise around the room, and above them, as a sort of low frieze, are panels ot tapestry on which are represented, in subdued monochrome, sets of musical in struments. The fireplace Is set in pale blue tile, with columns of sycamore and a cross panel con taining garlands, pac-pipes and reeds. Four windows light the room abundantly, and the ceiling of sky blue sprinkled with musical Cupids playing on harps keeps up the cheering illusion. Everything is in strictest keeping with the character of the room: all the decorations are symbolic of music somehow, and even the electric light brackets which spring trom the center nt the tapestry panels are composed of silver Cupids, lyres aud the like. The chandelier in the center is an exquisite thing of cut glass and silver. The room will be brilliant at night, for electric globes, in addition to the other lights, stud the cornice. For Dinner Parties or Twei.ty-FlTe. Leaving the music room we cross the hall again, and passing the foot of the grand staircase come to the dining-room, a superb room parallel with the small hall leading to the side door aud the porte cochere. It is the sort ot room that a dinner party of 25 or more would not find too small. On the rather dark day upon which I visited it, it struck me that like most dining-rooms ap- E reaching the ideal this one would look est by candle light. It is wainscotted throughout in cherry, and the ceiling is paneled in the same wood. The ceiling is composed of circles and irregular rectangular figures, outlined in relief. The rich wine color ot the room, as a result of this use of the cherry wood, is varied only in the fireplace and the tapestries upon the walls. The fireplace is set with sage green tiles, above which rises a high mantel of cherry, with two halt shelves on either side of it lor china, and electric light brackets. A huge mirror towers above the mantel. The mirror is framed in carved cherry. The opposite wall is filled between the cherry panels and the cornice with a large tapestry, on which is painted on soit grays chiefly, a hunting scene. A hunter, armed with a rifle, aims lrom behind a tree at a couple of deer bounding into the forest The chief recommendation of this work is the admirable contrast of color which it affords to its deep red setting. Other intervals in the walls between china cabinets and the like are filled in with tapestry in the same mild tones. Over the work which spans the end of the room farthest from the windows: the tapestries show Cupid fishing, and then again hunting' with hounds. The figure Cupid cuts with a hunting horn wound arouud him is especially cute. Four other panels illustrate types of feminine loveli ness. Peeps Into the Homely Portions. Beneath the arch, which has been referred to, is the buffet and sideboard, a mass of mirrors and cherry furniture, filling the en tire end of the room. To the right of it is the door leading to the butler's pantry, and from that to the kitchen. The arrangement of the dining room is obviouslv convenient for the service of the table. The butler's pantry, the kitchen and all its appliances are in keep ing with the more showy part of the house, but beyond the marble paneling of the vm A View of the Stairway. kitchen the room is all marble there is nothing that the eye of a man remarks as extraordinary. Doubtless the range aud a singular location of the boiler would drive a housewife into ecstasies, but to a man all these things look alike. Before leaving the ground floor it should be remarked that all the floors are of wood cunningly inlaid, the chandeliers and brackets are lrom special de signs in gilt and silver and steel, while the globes are all of cut glass and made especiallv for Mrs. Gnsky. The house maids will notice with delight, I dare say, that these costly globes, pear-shaped or circular with their rare gravings, are mostly enclosed in a network of metal. The upper regions of this remarkable dwelling are on a par with the reception rooms so far as luxurious and artistic appointments go. When you reach the second floor you find yourself in a hall almost as spacious as the one below, and wainscotted like the other with maple. The carving and polish of the wood astonish one again, and a new view of the grand stair-case and the stained glass window attests afresh the artistic excellence of-both. A Bower for a Fairy Qneen. The doorways here also are arched. One of them leads into a room that a fairy queen would feel quite at home in. The walls are covered with blue silk brocade and panels of maple. The mantel is of maple also, floridly carved, with sky blue tiles set in the fireplace. A silver chandelier, with gracefully shaped cut glass globes, depends from the frescoed ceiling of heavenly blue. The room has a swell front, that is to say, the windows are arranged in a semi-circle. A door to the left leads to a dress ing room of similar decoration, only the woodwork this time is of bird's-eye maple, another beautiful variety of the wood which has been used to such good effect all through the house. These two rooms are designed for Mrs. Gusky's use. Across the hall at the head of the stairs is-the guest chamber, a -lovely room, very large and looking all the larger by reason of its pale green tints and white and gold woodwork. The mantel is in the colonial sty:e, white and gold, with cream-colored wie iiearuis. Hut one might describe every room on the second and third floors without repeat ing oneself. Every bedroom is a picture in itself, and the variety of hard woods used is at once astonishing and effective. Some Other Interior Decorations, Enough has been described to convey some idea of the unique character of the interior decoration. On the third floor the big billiard room is paneled iu bog oak "brought from Ireland; the boys" room nearby in brick, and in the pretty chamber where Mr. De Wolf will enjoy the marine suggestions of the sea-foam decorations, cherry wood is emploved. Oak in the serv ants' quarters completes the list ot hard woods used. Everyone who has had the pill.b Ji KUlUg IU1UUKU liUC IIUU9C J-1CV3 been surprised and delighted with the wood- In the Music Room. work. The hard woods to be found in the house include three kinds of maple, white and red mahogany, sycamore, cherry, Irish bog-oak, oak and birch. Alter all, however, the gem of the house is the window which lights the staircase and the hall, and after that, I think, comes the staircase itself with its superb balus trade, in which each baluster represents a day's work to a carver, and panels of maple adorned with more exquisite carving in re lief. Taking the house, as I saw it a day or two ago unfurnished and uninhabited, and thcrelore lacking much that will charm the eye and evoke .the svmpathies of the be holder in a few short weeks' time, I belieyethat nothing in the way of interior decoration so artistic and so perfect, in de tails and a a whole, has been seen in Pitts burg before. Although for size it may not, for beauty it will stand comparison withthe finest houses in New York: It' will he ready for the family in a few davs. Hepburn- Johns. How Bees Can Be Mailed. Sometime ago the PostofBce Department declared that bees were "nnmailable," on the ground that they would be likely to sting people if thev got loose. The bee keepers secured the recall of this regulation by proving that the packages employed could not be broken. Most of them use for purposes of transportation an ingenious wooden box with a sliding o.over fonr inches long and divided into three communicating compartments. The compartment at one end is filled with soft candv, for the insects to feed upon; the one at the .other end has holes lor ventilation, while tie middle com partment is a dark chamber for the occu pants to crawl into when it is cold. In such a receptacle bees can be sent around the woria. ' v ir p tpraaBBMM ' W If YELLOW .JACK'S HOME. Fannie B. Ward Arrives at Intensely Tropical Rio de Janeiro. MET EIGHT FUNERALS IN AN HOUR. Tremendous Fnafres and Impertinent Monkeys as House Pets. PiEIOTIO'S FEAR OP ASSASSINS rCOKRESrOSDECCE OF TUB DlSrATCTt.t KlO deJaneiko, March 4. Our only excuse for completely altering the pro gramme after tickets had been bought for Buenos Ayres, luggage actually on the way to the wharf of the waiting steamer, and our mail for a month past having been con signed to the care of the Argentine Minis ter is the honored one that it is a woman's privilege to change her mind. The moving cause was this: We learned, by accident, at the literal eleventh hour, that a pleasant party of ladies and gentlemen, in whose company we journeyed some hundreds of miles on the other side of the continent, were bound for Bio, on board a vessel lying out in the harbor, which in two hours' time would sail. Weill A great deal can be 'accomplished in two hours by dint of vigorous hustling, aided by telegraph and cable. A man could never have done it, among these pro crastinating, lazy people; but all . the world is good .to women, and the laziest South American will bestir himself for gallantry's sake, when lucre would not move him. We had been dreading in tensely the visit to Brazil, imagining all manner of bugaboos to aflright lone females unacquainted with the Portuguese language: and here was an opportunity to accomplish it under the most favorable circumstances. Eight Fuuerali In an Hoar. Ther' assure us that just now is the healthiest season in Bio, when yellow fever cases are down to the minimum; yet last evening, in course of an hour's drive, which happened to lie along the broad, palm- bordered avenue leading to the main Canipo Santo, we passed no fewer than eight funeral processions on their way to that city of tne dead, whose population must outnumber the living city a thousand to one. Though every foot procession wen t at a lively jog trot and those in carriages gal loped along at full speed, it was easy to tell to which social strata the departed be longed, for here, as elsewhere, the same treatment is meted out to dead people as when they were living, according to the criptural axiom, "To him that hath shall -e given." Those Brazilians who have lived in lux ury are escorted to the tomb with the "pomp and circumstanc?s" (and, incidental ly, with the vast expense to .the relatives, who thus have double cause to mourn), of sable-canopied hearse, a score of plumed horses, and a long following of hired car riages filled with male friends every man of them wearing black kid gloves, a band of crepe arouud his tall silk hat and a yard or two more of the same emblem of woe conspicuously streaming from his right coat sleeeve; and those whom we saw bowling merrily behind the hearse were all smok ing the inevitable cigarito and animatedly discussing politics, or perhaps the financial condition of the family of the deceased. Women Do !ot Attend Fnnerals. In no case are there any women; for, as usual, in these Southern countries, the "gentler" aud presumably more tender hearted sex are excluded from funerals aud must bid the last adieu to those they have loved in the privacy of their homes; a very sensible arrangement among these passionate, high-strung, uncontrollable peo ple who boast no Spartan females. The humbler dead, stretched, coffinless, on a black palled board, or inclosed in a gaudily-painted box, are borne to the place of interment on the shoulders of their friends, while those of the followers who can muster enough mil reis go out on the second-class street cars. We observe one beautiful custom, that everybody in sight on their balconies, in the streets, in shops, in carriages, rich and poor, haughty and humble reverentially uncover their heads when a funeral cortege passes by doing in voluntary homage to the pathetic "It" which we must all become when the soul has fled. Even grim death is not without its humor ous side in this strage city. Brazilian angelitas ('"little angels," as the corpses of children are universally called), are not arrayed for the grave in the conventional white or black of other countries, but in scarlet. There is a small scarlet hearse for the convenience of those who can afford it, adorned with scarlet pall and curtains, scar let plumes and trappings for the horses; while the little colhn it contains is invaria bly covered with scarlet, and the wreaths and bouquets on top of it tied with scarlet ribbons. Dirt and Neglect Kill Children. To carry out the "eternal fitness," the child should have died of scarlet fever, in stead of disease engendeied by dirt and neglect, the prevailing cause hereabouts of mortality among children. The angelitas of people too poor to hire the splendid scarlet hearse, are conveyed to the tomb on the heads of their parents, in a small box, painted blue or yellow striped with white, almost identical in contour, size and color with those boxes that are continually trot ted about the streets in the same manner, containing bread, cakes and dulces, so that to unaccustomed eyes the two are indis tinguishable. We arrived at the cemetery gate just as a soldier's funeral was filing through, and, wishing to see the spot where the wander ings ot so many of our unfortunate country men have ended, we left our carriage and followed the procession at a very "respect ful distance," remembering the prevalence of smallpox and other contagions. The dead warrior lay upon a sort ot double-decked platform, in full view of men, with only his martial cloak around him, and had been carried in this manner through the crowded streets of the city on the shoulders of his comrades from the barracks, a distance of three miles or more, preceded by a military band playing jubilant marches and quick steps. Uncoffined, he was laid in the soldier's corner, to await the resurrection revelle. Each of his late comrades took a shovel full of the freshlv turned-un earth nd threw upon him, and then, to the ex hilarating strains of "The Barber of Seville," they quick-stepped back to town. A Beauty Words Cannot Pic'-nre. I am not going to bore you with a descrip tion of the unrivaled beauties of Bio's bay, jor other travelers have done it time and again. Enhanced by history and tradition, they are even more enhancing to-day than when the aucient mariners discovered" them, that .Tminarv dav. 390 vears aero. when, sail ing through the narrow gateway from the ocean into the bay, they fancied themselves entering the mouth ot a mightv river that led to the enchanted land, and christened it Bio de Janeiro, "River of January," from the month in which the event occurred." There are plenty of J pictures to show, you how it looks, better than .-mere words could da Yet no picture can do faintest justice to tropical scenery. The contonr and even the colors may be reproduced, but it lacks the full glory of equatorial sun and sky, the living green, the ever-shitting clouds which in these regions of strong contrasts distinct ly change the tint ot foliage and flowers wherever their shadows fall; the indescrib able glow and intensity of animal and vegetable life, tie hot air that visibly throbs and palpitates. Some of us, feeling all this for the first time, realize in the depths of our souls that tome mistake in nature's plan cast our lines in the cold and colorless North; or is it the "natural man's" vague, instinctive recognition of the birth place of his kind? .Everything Is Intense There. Gazing at the imperial palms of Bio, than which1 none finer can be found in the world, one, remembers that all the tradi tions of earth speak of Paradise as a place where palm trees grow. But Brazil must be a long way from Paradise, or the place has greatly changed since Eve's peccadillo. The flowers have no perfume, the birds no Bong, death is frightfully busy everywhere, and the people well, the kindest thing to be said of them is that the majority are not such as one would like to associate with through eternity. A tangled mass of wild, luxuriant vegetation crowds close to the city, full of birds of the most beautiful plumage, bugs that look like jewels and blossoms of vivid scarlet, purple and gold that make the woods appear ablaze. There are no delicate hues nor gentle tints, but everything is intense. The whole country seems painted red and yellow, unprotected from the scorching rays of the sun, because the palm trees grow too tall to cast a shadow their round, smooth trunks, like exaggerated telephone poles, towering, per haps, 200 feet from the ground before the first great leaf shoots out. AlasI "the trail of the serpent is over it all," in fact as well as figuratively. Many of the gem like bugs are fatal in their sting, and you never touch a leaf or a flower without the uncomfortable consciousness that under it death may be lurking in some guise. Paradise ot the Tarantula. And the tarantulas! We thought that long ago in the hot lands of Mexico we had made the acquaintance ot pretty respecta ble specimens so far as size goes of those hairy abominations; but none of them could hola a candle to those that abound in Bra zil Ever since we came there has been one lurking in our hotel bedroom, visible only at intervals, when, as if animated with an impish desire to torment strangers, he will dart from some unknown source and scud across the floor, rolled up iu abrown,woolly ball large as a hen's egg. The instant his spidership appears we rush frantically to the bell rope and summon the servants, when a general hunt is inaugurated; but al ways to no purpose, for the wretch puts himself out Of sight like a second harle quin. The very best advice I can offer to the uninitiated coming to Brazil is this: Never step out ot bed slipperless in the dark, nor put a bare foot Jown by day without first looking sharp to where it is going; nor don your hose nor shoes nor any other article of clothing without first treating it like a bot tle of medicine "to be well shaken before taken.'' Njver get into bed without first inspecting the curtains and looking care fully between the sheets and under the pil lows. Never poke careless fingers under a table spread or rug, or into any darkened corner, nor rashly walk into a thicket or clump of flowers or even among rank grass. Never take active exercise in the hottest part of the day, nor expose yourself to the chilly, poison-laden dews of the night, nor drink water when you are heated, or ice water at any time. Eschew bananas and most fruits as you would so much arsenic Keeping Away From Fever. Whenever you meet an overpowering stench in the streets (and that-will be at al most every step in some localities) don't stop to scold about it. but cover your nose and mouth with your handkerchief and flee as from a pestilence which it really is. Avoid, if you cau, any spot where an old wall is being torn down, or bit of pavement being taken up, or a drain disturbed, for those are the very places where the deadly germs of fever lie dormant till disturbed. And don't be frightened out of your senses if, while being entertained in a Bra zilian home, you find a big snake comfort- aDiy asleep m your rocsmg chair, or coiled und'er your pillow; or feel his slimy length drawn slowly across your neck in the night time. It is only the useful and harmless housesnake, which people keep as we at the North do cats, for exterminating mice and roaches. I have not yet learned how to spell his Portuguese name, but have been introduced to him, so'to" speak, a number of times,aud live in hourly dread of his at tempting to cultivate a closer acquaintance. He is commonly from about 7 to 12 feet long, and is dressed in gray, mottled with black. Already we have been offered sev eral of these so-called" "beauties'' to take home with us, as souvenirs of pleasant visits; and when we have declined the honor, without being quite able to disgnise our shuddering horror, have been asked with surprise. "Don't you have rats and roaches in your country?" Snakes and Monkeys as Pets. And it is impossible to tell one's kind entertainers that we infinitely prefer mil lions of rats and roaches to their favorite pets. Here dogs are few and cats are fewer; out every.famiiy has parrots, aud monkeys e-alorc. not to mention the nspfnl hniisp- snake, as universally and num'erously as we foster canary birds and kittens. The political caldron is just now quiet in the Brazilian capital, but all the same it is seething below the surface, and the silence is ominous. Athough General Da Fonseca, the deposed President whose legal terra has not yet half expired, is seriously ill, so that his enemies entertain cheerful hopes of his demise, it is by no means certain that he will not regain control of the adminis tration, for his friends are surprisingly numerous, considering the facts of the case. General Peixotto, the present occupant of the Executive chair, is a rather fine looking J gentleman, in eany middle me a lortu goose to the back-bone; but evidently he is not enjoying the greatness that has been thrust upon him. To tell the truth, the man is almost scarced into insanity, living in constant terror of the assassin's knife or bullet, or of another revolution which may break out at any moment Every day or two he changes.his residence, and never goes out without a strong escort. It is said that his bedroom is gnarded by a double cordon of soldiers; but who is there to guard the soldiers and ensure their faithfulness? Fait joe B. Waed. HOW 10 COOK THE TKOTJI. Boiling With a Touch or Wins Vinegar Is the Epicure's Way. forest and Stream 3 There are three excellent methods of cooking trout, viz., frying, roasting in the ashes a la Thad Norris, and steaming or boiling. To fry trout well is a great art, and rarely understood. The fat, be it but ter, olive oil or lard, should be sweet and burning hot As soon as brownfd, the fish should be lifted out and the fat allowed to drain oft. A thin slice of salt pork or even bacon will go well with the fish, but too much bacon may give them a smoky flavor. Small trout, trom 6 to 8 inches are best cooked in this manner. Any sized fish may be roasted in the ashes, and they are excellent that way; but trout from a tourth to three-fourths of a pound give the best results. But, above all, give me a good big trout boiled proprrly, with a little white wine vinegar in the water, and served hot with either caper or egg sauce, and a glass or two of white wine to wash them down. I think a trout so cooked goes ahead of even the royal salmon, as it is more delicate and not so cloying. I have never eaten a well-cooked and tasty trout in a city restaurant. It is impossible to get them fresh enough, and they are gen erally disguised with some outlandish sauce which ruins their true flavor. In selecting auy kind of fish in the mar kets, see that the flesh is firm to the touch, and the eyes bright and clear. The gills should be of a bright red color and not slimy. Frozen fish are never irood. Freez ing seems to spoil the texture of the meat and to destroy the flavor. The Origin or f etroleam. Various theories have' been suggested as to the origin of petroleum, aud in the light of recent chemical discoveries in France it is possible that a true explanation has been found. M. Berthelot now claims that acetylene forms the primary material, or starting point, for the formation of other hydrocarbons. If this fact is established it is quite possible that such compounds of metals with carbon, upon coming jn contact with water under conditions of more or less pressure, may give rise to the production ot the immense stores of natural hydrocarbons, such as those which exist in the petroleum wells of Bussia and the New World. GIRL FIRE FIGHTERS. Brigades of Them Protect Royal Ilolloway College of England. A PART OF THE CURRICULUM. They Handle the Apparatus Like Veterans and Fse ;lie Escapes. THE SYSTEM ADOPTED BY HOSPITALS rWBITTEN TOB THE DISPATCH. I had a long search for the woman's fire brigade. Some chanoe mention somewhere in print or in talk. of such an organization had found a lodgment in my mind, although all the newspaper editors to whom I spoke of the idea assured me it never had ex isted, never would, never could; nor was any fireman to be found who had ever heard of a woman's fire company. None the less I was walking in the busy west center of London one day when happening to glance across the street I saw a great building de voted to firemen's equipments. In the win dows I espied a rectangular wooden stand HOIAOWAY FIKE on which stood a compact engine sur- mounted with a coil of rubber hose, and bearing on its front, in great golden letters, the words: "Boudoir Fire Engine, for Women's Use." Beside it on either hand stood a light wooden pail large enough to hold several gallons. I made my way into the office and found that there is a woman's fire brigade, or more properly, there are several. They are proving of so great importance that the drill is taking permanent place in the cur riculum of the best women's colleges and gymnasiums and is in use in the first house holds in England. The Protection of a College. Here is the story: One day when J. Compton Merryweather was going on his usual quarterly round of inspection at the Boyal Holloway College (he is fire in spector in chief of a great district and of many valuable buildings) he formed the project of starting among the students there such an organized fcrce as should insure their safety against fire. Holloway College is a magnificent 54,000, 000 building erected about six years ago through the liberality of Thomas Holloway. It is built on a knoll in one of the loveliest parts of England's loveliest counties Sur rey. Since its doors were opened by Her Majesty in 1886, hundreds of its girls have honorably passed Oxford and Cambridge ex aminations aud received degrees. To Miss iiishop, the scholarly head ot the college a woman in whose broad mind there is always room for progressive and humane ideas Mr. Merryweather pointed out what would probably happen in case of fire and what could be done by means of his new idea. Mr. Merryweather was the son of gener ations of firemen; more than that he was the son of generations of practical men. Miss Bishop listened to him attentively. When he said he himself would plan a drill for the girls and superintend Its giving she unhesitatingly consented. She said the students in their course of physical training went daily through a drill "that required much more physical effort than would the fire drill. A Brigade for Every Floor. From a large water tower the hydrant supply was distributed by water mains all over the vast building, and last October the fire brigade was regularly organized, with Miss Bishop, herself, as captain, all acting under the instruction of Mr. Merryweather. The "Holloway Volunteer Brigade" formed in three sections of 'ten students each, these representing the occupants of different floors. They were drawn up in A VIEW OF ROYAIi line at "right turn! quick marchl position!" Then each section went quite through with two full drills. Afire in sitting room No. 10 was sup posed. At command, "Get to work!" the engine was run down to the doorway, a "chain" of recruits was formed to the near est source of water supply ind the buckets vere handed in line that the engine might be kept in full play. The pump was vigor ously applied by two girls, while another worked the small hand nose quickly and in geniously, so that the engine as at fnll speed in less than a minute! When the drill was concluded with the orders, "Knock off!" and "Make upl" everything had been put in its own place. Then oame the "Hydrant drill," which was conducted at the hydrant nearest the point of a supposed outbreak of fire." In this, six students from each section took ' riif'imi'fs part. Directly the alarm was given, 100 feet of canvas hose was run out and an addi tional length (regulated, of course, by the distance) was joined to it. Fighting an Imaginary lire. At the words ,!Turn on!" by the officer known as "branch hoseman," tne hose was directed so that had there been water in it, it must have streamed onto the .supposed fire. This drill was also accomplished in only a minute, aud at the commands, "Knock off" and "Make upl" the hose pipes were promptly disconnected, the pipe that is always kept attached to the hydrant was "flaked down" and an extra 100 feet "coiled up" on the bight with astonishing rapidity. The drills are genuine realities, and the students thoroughly enjoy them. The small sets of fire equipments are used here to great advantage, for, if there should be a little outbreak ot fire in one of the rooms or minor passages, the girl who occupies the room, or who happens to be nearest it, has but to raise the alarm, take the nearest hand pump and begin playing on the fire. Each of the pumps is kept filled with water; in use, the handle is worked quickiy up and down with one hand, while the other holds the jet. With each hand fire engine there are kept four leather buckets full of water, and as the water is exhausted in the engine cistern it is replenished from the buckets by a chain of girls formed to the nearest water supply; the full "and empty buckets pass from hand to hand and thus the jet is kept going continuosly, until the fire is extinguished. Sliding Down a Canvas Chute. But Mr. Merry weather's work did not end here; there must be a safe way ot escape for women in case of danger, as well as a way of prevention. Possible Mr. Merry weather's way may look a trifle terrifying, but wait and read. The "Merryweather Chute" consists of a tube of specially woven BRIGADE AT DRILL. fireproof canvas attached to a strong, wrought-iron frame that fits the window opening. The upper end is of course kept open, the other end, reaching the ground, is also open. When the word is given "Make ready to go down the chute!" the young ladies tie their dresses around their legs with scarves or anything else that is convenient. Then the first girl is put into the chute, feet tore most; as soon as liberated, she slides down the tube, regulating her speed by means of a rope made fast to the frame and running through the entire length of the chute, or rriS Ctmtejor Uie juu? Uie. forming an effective brake for herself by simply" pressing her elbows and knees against the sides qf the tube. Invalids or infirm persons who eonid only be carried down a ladder by a strong man are sent down this chute with perfect safety. As for speed, when I tell you that the Boyal Holloway students came down at the rate of 50 in five minutes, it will be seen that one chute is more effectual than many ladders in the same length of time. College fire brigades are usually drilled in squads of four each, and each squad goes through with all the work, from taking down the utensils to restoring them to their proper places, while the other squads look nOMiOWAY COLLEGE. on, a la conservative method; each squad Is responsible, too, for its own hydrant, or if there are many hydrants in close proximity, for two hydrants. Each girl is. taught the escape drill, and after a few trials no more terror is engendered by the thought of de scending thus feet foremost from a window SO feet above the ground than by the thought of walking downstairs. The fire apparatus for private residences is generally the same as the small apparatus in Holloway College, or else like the bou doir set of which I have told you. I give here the details of another drill, one used in manv places. At the residence of J. Blundell 'Maple, Childwickbury, St. Albans, a laundry fire brigade has been formed, and its drill is perfectly adaptable to any similar building. The women there have a hand fire engine that, on alarm, is run out of the laundry to a pond; .suction hose is attached, and delivery hose is laid down; the levers are "manned" by women, and a jet is thrown upon and over the build ing. The brigade practices every mouth, the head laundrymaid superintending. Nurses Fighting tho-Flames. Among the declared patronesses.of this movement, ladies who have studied it most carefully and then adopted it at their own homes and on their premises are: Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Her Boyal High ness the Princess of Wales, Her Imperial ,Majesty the Empress Eugenie, the Duch esses of Cleveland, Marlborough, .Box burgh and Argyle; the Marchionesses of Breadalbane, Hertford, Downshire and Londonderry; the Countess of Londes borough, Lady Sheffield, Baroness Roths child, Baroness Burdette and many others. For dress, the drillers have thus lar ob served these simple rules: a plain skirt not too lull ot dark blue serge, heavy, warm, woollen underclothing, no corsets or very loose oues, blouse waists and sailor hats. It is a very pretty uniform, but the adoption of the divided skirt or gymnastic costume is tinder advisement. Theo Tsact. THE HEAYEN BUSTERS Should Have Consulted Plntarch Be fore Trying to Make Bain. HE ANTEDATED GEN. DYEENFORTH But Thought Evaporation From the Bodies of the Dead the Cause. SHOWERS APtIe ALL GEEAT BATTLES rcoEnisroxDiacE or thi dispatch.! New Yoek, April Z General Dyren forth, who has be.en shooting Government bombs into the sky ever since Congress voted appropriations for that purpose, is soon to publish his report on rainmaking. Plutarch published his 18 centuries ago. Chief Observer E. D. Dunn, of the New York Weather Bureau, discovered it the other day while looking over his classical library. He was reading the life of Cains Marius (1ST to 86 B. G) as treated by tho ancient historian. About a quarter war through he came to the record of the battla with the Teutones. This is what he first read, following the account of the slaughter, which was very great: They say, however, that the Inhabitants) of Massalia built fences arouud their vine yards with the bones and that the ground enriched by the moisture of the putrifled bodies (which soaked in with the rain of tha following winter) yielded at the season a prodigious crop and fully justifled Arch llochus, who said that tho fallows are thus) fattened. "Well, there's fertilization with a ven geance," said the Observer before reading on. But he was more surprised when ha came to this immediately following: It Is an observation, also, that extraordi nary rains pretty generally tall after sreat battles; whether it he that some divine fiower thus washes and cleanses the poi nted earth with showers Irom above, or that moist and heavy evaporations, steam ing forth from the blood and corruption, thicken, the air, which naturally is subjecs to alteration from the smallest causes. "Do you think this puts an end to tha explosion theory?" he was asked. "That I am not prepared to say," said Sergeant Dunn. "The disintegration of bodies produces a chemical action that might have a derided eflect on the atmos phere. I don't think the evaporation, would be sufficient to fill the air with tha moisture required to produce rain. If raia is produced as Plutarch says then soma other cause not yet discovered lies back of it. Plutarch's observation may have arisen, from bis noting the fact, patent to every thinking person, that the putrefaction of corpses might pollute the atmosphere with a vapor having all Hhe qualities necessary to produce rain. In my opinion, if rain, has been produced, it has been chemical action that has brought it on. The pres ence of large bodies of animals and their habits unquestionably has a modifying effect on the air. The fact that Plutarch, who lived from 50 to 120 A. D., had noticed the prevalence of after-battle rains shows that the concussion theory was antedated by another plausible explanation." What Army Surgeons Kay. Dr. John T. Nagle, of the office of tha Begistrar of Vital Statistics, was an army surgeon during the late war. He was sur prised to learn that Plutarch had a theory. "I, like many other", hare noticed that rain followed battles, but I do not believe it could have been caused by the evapora tions or corruptions of the field, as the rains came too soon alter the battle, long before the putrefaction had become sufficiently ad-i vanced to pollute the air." Dr. S. T. Cook is another medical man who served on many a battlefield. "I can't agree with Plutarch," says Dr. Cook, ""be cause I don't take much stock in the cur rent battlefield superstition1?. 'Fields slip pery with blood,' 'streams running red with blood,' and all that are mere idle tales of imagination. I never observed that rains were a peculiarly regular sequence to battles. If they were I doubt very much that putrefaction wonld cause theni You see bodies are not strewn as thicklv over f, the field as is supposed. They may lie herjl' in a group and there in a group, but this death harvest is scattered over the lonj front of a line of battle. In Plutarch's time, to be sure, the battle array was more com pact than to-day, but even then, I think the decay of the corpses would have been too gradual to make the rain appear as an, effect of it." General Dyrenforth was interviewed in Washington. He said he had heard befora of Plutarch's version of rain-making: and pointing to his library aid: "Why, there's a copy of Plutarch." He reached out eagerly for the extract, which he read care fully. JLnen he was asneu u it uian i mato his concussion-explosion theory look ridic ulous. "I want to disclaim the possession of any idea about rain-making. This concussion theory is referred to us the 'Dvreniorth, theory,' and I am assailed with all sorts of abuse. The faat is, it is not my theory at all. I never had any. I den't know and I don't care whether rain comes from con cussion or not. I was engaged by the Gov ernment simply as a scientist to test soma other person's theory, and to apply ray knowledge of chemistry to the explosion of certain bombs. Now, whether those bombs bring rain or not is a matter of indjfferenca to me, in so far as they have anything to do with mv theories of rain-making. I am not a meteorolosist: if I were I might have some rain theory. Plutarcli May Havn Been Itllit. "So you see I can dismiss the idea of Plutarch without prejudice. Now, whether or not the presence of large bodies ot men and other animals will or will not have aa effect toward the production of rainfall, I am unable to sav; but the rain theory is, I understand, that there must be a commin gling of currents of air with the possible breaking up of any dry surface stratum. Now, the presence of a large body of animals might cause, by radia tion of heat lrom the bodies with moisture, ascending currents aud thus a commingling. While- the quantity of moisture which passes from the human, body into the air by evaporation is much greater than is perhaps supposedly those who have not given much attention to tha subject, it would seem absurd to intimate that the mere quantum ot water" passing into the air from bodies would be sufficient to present a return as a rain; but it may be that the moisture rising with the ascensional current presents a body or nucleus for tha collection of more. If there is anything in the theory at all, I should think that the result woujd be lrom the ascensional cur rent and the disturbance thus caused. "As the. current ascends moisture-charged air may rush in to supply the place, just as there is a draft to a stove as the hot pro ducts of 'combustion go up the chimney. If there is any sense in the idea of an ascen sional current, it may not be far fetched to consider that ascensional currents may also be added to by the putrefying bodies of animals, and this may be a provision of nature. Decay is a process of oxygenation and oxygenation always means evaporation of heat" Now, not only may these be an as cension of air currents from the heatmg,but the products of decay are light gases, com binations of hydrogen. "I don't want to be understood as adopt ing as a fact the theory of Plutarch," concluded General Dyrenforth. "I have only given some physical reasons if it be true. The theory that ihe concession of tha arms of the combatants caused a disturb ance of the air which Plutarch attributed wrongly to evaporation and chemical changes is ridiculed by Observer Dunn. "The noise of a big city in that case worild -always give us rain," he said. "The rattle of wagons oyer our stony streets, the jar of the eievated trains and other disturbing; agencies ought certainly to be as potent in that regard as the clashing of swords and spears and instruments of ancient warfare. W. E.H. j - mti misiii r i , iiiimiiyiftffliftrtiM dw..;-,vf1yilntl;rt . . .- , - JLS&Mt.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers