-jix...,
tifOTAZfll
Major Kerbey, of Pittsburg,
Tells How Young In
dians Are Sold There.
ENGLISH BOATS IN IT.
A Beautiful Girl Put Ashore Hun
dreds of Miles From Home.
POLITIGAL EXILES OP BRAZIL.
A Eiver Whose Waters Are Fo roisonon.3
J hat a icp Will Kill.
TJSIXG THE HAUJIOCK IN THE TROPICS
The letter following was written for The
Dispatch by Major J. O. Kerbey, of
Pitt.burir, while going up the Amazon ou
board the Joan Alfredo in his trip across
South America:
The iurther up the Amazon one goes the
less he sees of the American and Portu
guese and the more of the Indian and
Spaniard, The passengers are generally of
that class that go up the tributaries at this
reason to manage the stores that furnish
supplies tor the rubber gatherers. Most ol
these traders are accompanied br women
"U&oei they have gathered from Para and
Manaos. They sell or trade them off to the
lalt-savage natives.
An English boat constructed for this
river navigation is built precisely on the
same lines as those intended tor the ocean,
i. c, like a block, as deep in the water as
ligli and straight above. The rooms are
seldom occupied. Each passenger on the
Amajon brings his hammock along. Hooks
are supplied both in the forward saloon and
alt, where the ship's sides are open, and on
these hammocks are struntr, so thickly
crowded that there is scarcely room to
swing to sleep. As far as I have been able
to observe there is no such thing as two
persons sleeping in one hammock.
Tho Laxury of a Hammock.
My personal experience is that it is as
xawA as a newcomer can do to sleep alone
in one or them, but, lite everything else in
this country, one gets accustomed to it, and
aow I cannot sleep in a bed. This piece of
expensive furniture is only used here as a
.sort ot an ornament. Each house, how
ever, has one bed, which I presume is in
ie&ied lor use in emergencies or in case of
sickness.
The captain, with a significant smile,
kindly observed to me that as my room
was hot and the after-deck was crowded, he
wocld have roy hammock swung in the for
ward part of the ship, n hich favor I greatly
appreciated. I slept in it not only all
night, but most 01 the day time. It is onlv
in tropical countries that a hammock can
"be lally apprec.atcd. It is used not only
us abed, but as a chair, a rocking chair,
sofa and tete-a-tete. People in this land
do cot sleep or 1-e lengthwise, but always
streicU tUeui-elves out bias, i. e., the head
high ob one &:dc and the feet lower on the
other, thu leaving the body in almost a
bonzoEtal position. When tired of that
they spoon over to the other tack. Using
it as a rccung cliEi-, they &it in the center,
raising the other side for a back, and rock
tlienj'-ehes to and trp, but to my notion the
Eiost charming thin.; is a tete-a-tete in a
hauimeck wiih a pietty brown-eyed,
laughing senhora.
A lite-a-TctB in a Hammock.
-tAs the feet of bom occupants should
"barelv touch the floor each is expected in
turn to keep up the swinging motion by a
gentle kict, nil the hile trlkmg and
lauding in a happy way that cannot be in
duced bv any otner method ot getting ac
quainted, Tho cirlb or perhaps two old
ladies will jut ii. aa entire afternoon in
tins ay Sometimes one will read aloud,
vhile t.ie other dots the kicking.
Iheie i.a i been soon- aUemut at flirting
on i.it boat, the caniain's prettv nurse sirl
Ik ib.; the ol.rcu Foil uing this the pretty J
Eure i.:3uiina tor a 1I17. 1 interred
t! a -ne w j , s.c!- at.d confined to her bed.
I ue 1 est 11 o n i.g as cany as 7 or 8 o'clock,
j "H atf ere tuaLiug a landing, I no
t crd t ie capta . and wile at the girl'sdoor.
$ 1.1 ni1p11-.11.; ,.vr to be seriously ill I le!t
K t,L..iig my eruccs as a physician,
ui"ii I ni-as,otiished by the sudden ap-ii-ai
nice 0; the gracclul little thing a'l
reesn. in her best, looking as bright and
ii all as 11 is possible lor a yellow pine girl
to ..
1 captr 11 Motioned for her to move
i ruarj to aril the stairs, and as the boat
v . dii'c t flaslicd upon me at once that
ie 1 e'nirl nas being put ashore, a is
I I custom or habit of captains who may
t ai,i pas-cnger behaves improperly
.. 1 .osi arbnrary cnycise of unjust au
t x tl.nt I uould harulr have believed
; 5 ij.e 11.. . I not witnessed it in this case.
11n J--xi!cof a Nurse Girl.
lamed ot this harsh treatment, I asked
; m-'.'iitn l'o asnore along with the Iaud-
- - j ', 1 1), in? to hae an opportunity of
1 11 ' 1 -' vi th the captain, who also
. .1 'i 1 k, bit he sam nothing whatever
' 1 ,a J .ffiitg that it u rs a delicate sub-
t I d eret!y sought out the girl who
i i Hi the only house ot the place
t ui : I er it she was to be left there.
1 ,"' sail, with a ud smile, and
i iu t.iae tier tears.
"Dj you want to come on to Iqui-
1
' , si, Srnor," she said eagerly.
j tun ill ou come bv the next boat,
a. u I will see that you get bacc to Para?"
'1, si (vis, j-es), I will go where you
at'
( v a' i,ed around the corner, took all the
j i-i inoiuj I had in my pocket at the
t ud ii akni" a roll, liehi it in the palm
o ha A, ai.d as I shook hands with her,
e f iLtjii veiv eit the inoaey, and with a
t. 1 ' tier ' ai.d ai.d a hearty "obngado,
o 1 'i ," e parted. When I azain
1 kn' at.ei l.tr she had disappeared behind
t it. i. 'use.
V Mate Pen on the Amazon.
During tins time the captain had been
0 ,v-iui nith the ugly old Indian Portu
t 'i L ol the place as to her keeping, in
1 tu ignorance of the fact that I had
uy arranged for her escape by next
t a. 1 nas shown by the captain as one
me curios ot the piece, a sort of cat-o-t
i e-taiis whip, made trom the withes of
1 es, ti.at is used upon the backs ot the In-
a. girls while a heavy paddle-shaped
1 hung alongside, which is used for the
t - 1 backs 01 the Indian boys. It is a
r ie siave pen on the Amazon, and the
t ti.e English company who permit
s c ui.Lct arc aiding and encouraging
1 u 1 sort ol slave trade, which they so
t- - " cai.detniu These essels carry to the
i every trip young Indians wnom the
' - s all know are beng taken up to the
- s. t rec scly as they do their cattle. I
r d o ask the captain it he was leav-
a, girl, to winch he tersely answered:
- "Lut," I continued, "you wiU
' er up on your return?"
I on't want her any more."
e no good9" I persisted.
N ord," and the bUbjAit dropped. A
t ,. s tor nothing at all here. Upon
1 investigation I ascertained that the
i 1 J naJ committed no wrong nt all
'ease consisted only iu the fact that
-t tractive and many of the ship's
e .v had dared to admire her.
Tauslit to Expect Slavery.
' fatain's w ife, w horn I must record
1.1 a cruel, heartless Portuguese woman,
THE NURSERY CLUB'OFTRANKLIN,M. .,
3"
THE BEATJIIFCIi
Frankha is one of the oldest and most
substantial towns in "Western Pennsyl
vania, and many of her sons have become
distinguished in public affairs "soldiers in
war and statesmen in times of peace" for
which reason the complimentary title,
"Nursery of Great Men," has been con
ferred upon the pleasant little city. She
boasts, also, of a famous social organization,
the "Xursery Club," which is known from
one end of the State to the other through
the hospitality dispensed by its members
on many occasions. The beautiful and com
modious clubhouse is one of the ornaments
of the town and the center of its social life.
Witn a home centrally located, and of mod
ern architecture and convenience, and with
a membership representing the wealth aud
culture of Franklin, the Nursery Club is
an honor to the town.
The club is purely a social one. Politics
is Jaid aside and numerous religious de
nominations are represented in the mem
bership. It was organized in 1877 by a few
young men who occupied rooms in one of
the business blocks of the town, and "from
an humble begiuning gradually evolved
into a strong organization, moving into
larger quarters as the membership in
creased, until 1889, when the clubhouse
was purchased.
The clubhouse proper is a two and a half
story brick structure. .Reception rooms
and hall comprise the first floor. On the
second floor are the library, card rooms,
bath rooms, secretary's office, etc., all hand
seemed to be happier after this, as during
the dav her laugh was to be heard all over
the ship. This poor girl, it she does not
escape, will doubtless be taken to the for
est as the slave of some rubber gatherer.
Perhaps the child is herselt inditierent to.
her fate; at least she is reared to expect or
hope for nothiug better in this life. I have
since written to the proprietor ot this
hacienda, offering to take her to her friends.
This is a true story, and those interested
may verily it by writing to the lonelv
lauding to"'Luzin," care of Carlos Weill,
Santa Eita, Upper Amazon Itiver, Brazil.
Tue hours on board seemed to become
more painfully lonely the further we got
away from the point where we had left
alone the little girl "Lnzia." On the morn
ing following we reached the Peruvian
trontier, our boat landing at the little mili
tary post of Brazil established atTabatluga.
There is nothing but a lonely looking Bra
zilian flag, a couple of old cannon, the
ruins of a lormcr Government house, out of
the windows or through the root ot which
are now growing tropical trees. Close by
this is another half demolished Govern
ment house, which is occupied by the few
sIoen!y Braz.lian soldiers and the distin
guishel Depordados, who werfc banished
trom Bio to this distant part of a republic
because of their political opinions. Cer
tainly a more desolate spot could not have
been selected in which to punish by a slow
torturing death those who might become
troublesome ou account ot their superior
mtelligeuce.
Uamshing Political Oflenrters.
The Czar of all the Bussias in banishing
his Mctinis to the cold regions of Siberia
does not do them so great an injury per
sonally as the President ot the so-called
Bcpublic of Brazil, in compelling these
men to live in the antipodes ot Siberia, in a
spot so hot that lile is unbearable all dur
ing the day, while at night the mosquitoes,
the moqueens on every blade of grass, the
snakes, scorpions, centipedes and other
creeping things arc so nnmcrous as to have
compelled the abandonment of the place by
the military under Doiu Pedro some years
ago. When the boat put into the muddy
banks the captain courteously invited me
to go ashore with him. I began to suspect
that my turn had come, and that I was to
be landed like Luzia. To be left ivith a
party of political cranks, who can talk as
only Brazilian politicians do talk, would
have been equivalent to leaving me in an
insane asylum. The jolly captain laughed
at my apprehensions, assuring me that he
would not go off without calling me. I
went ashore in the mud. The two or three
hours spent with the exiles were, indeed,
interesting as well as hot.
Anions the Brazilian Exiles.
I had brought with me a paper contain
ing a priuted account of the interview I
had held with the prisoners while en route,
on board the Pernanibucoat Para, which I
desired to give to Capty.'arvallio, but he
being absent, I ventured to address a pleasant-laced
elderly looking gentleman, care
lessly attired in a woolen shirt and duck
trousers, who had attracted my attention at
once. Finding that he spokeEnglish very
well, I gave him the latest news irom Vt
outer world, which only comes to them
once a month, and incidentally mentioning
that I should like to sec the celebrated exile
Bear Admiral Woldenkollc, who, it will
be remembered, was a member of the Em
peror's cabinet at Bio, and as a naval
officer is well known iu America, One of
the exiles present smiling observed, "you
have been talking with ttic Admiral for
some time." I took ofi my hat, saluted
and apologized, the Admiral laughing
heartily at my embarassment. Wc had a
glass of beer all around, which is one of the
things they cannot deprive even exiles from
finding away on this rotten edge of civiliza
tion, in the heart of the Amazons. We
parted with a hope ot meeting again soon,
either as travelers together over the Andes
to the Pacific or perchance in Bio, when
they are pardoned.
A Vcrltablo Klver of Death.
Close by Tebatinga is also the Peruvian
ontpost station, where we land to take up a
Peruvian customs official; this interchange
ot courtesies consumes all of one day and un
limited quantities of warm beer. In the
evening of the same day we debouched to
euter the Bio Jav&ry, which is the dividing
line between Br..zil and Peru, where we
unloaded some carco, and disembarked most
of our passengers at the several landings.
Tnis important but deadlr stream may be
likened to the Biver ot Death. The first
town, or rather the site for a proposed town,
at the mouth, is appropriately named "Es
peranza," or Hope. It may truly be said
ot those who ascend this river to remain
long in its dreadful malaria, "All yc who
enter here leave hope behind."
Ttie Javary is a most valuable rubber ter
ritory, and probably tor the same reason it
is most productive of the most malignant
type of lever. The lands on each bank are
low, while the interior is covered with
numerous swampy lakes when the river
falls. In this season the waters in these
lakes soon dry up under the hot sun and
CLUBHOUSE.
somely furnished. In 1891 an annex was
erected immediately in the rear ot the club
house and adjoining it, consisting of a
large hall or ballroom, billiard rooms,
bowline alleys, etc. x The ballroom is
probably not surpassed, in size or beauty,
by any in the State. Its' dimensions
are about 100x75 feet, and it is fin
ished entire in panels of Carolina pine,
with a two-inch maple floor, highly pol
ished. Entrance to the ballroom is made
through the reception rooms on the first
floor, and also from the second 'floor of the
clubhouse proper into a balcony. Adjoin
ine the balcony is a smoking room on the
right, and ou the lett a grand staircase lead
ing to the dance floor. Opposite the en
hance to the ballroom is a beautiful fire
place, 14x18 feet, which is a reproduction of
the famous fireplace in the Metropolitan
Club of New York City. .The large room
under the ballroom is used for a supper
room, and-here also are the bowling alleys,
billiard tables, etc. In all departments the
Nursery Club i complete.
The great event ol the holiday weet in
Franklin will be the annual reception of the
Nursery Club, w hich occurs Tuesday. De
cember 27, on which occasion the "youth,
beauty and chivalry" ol that and adjoining
cities will be present It will be a gala
aflair to which probably 1,000 invitations
will be sent out, the larger part of which
will be accented eagerlv.
General John A. Wiley, A. A. Plumer,
Hon. Christopher Hevdriek, Judge of the
Supreme Court; Hon.'S. C Lewis, Hon. J.
C Sibley, Consrressman-elect from the Erie
Crawford district; Judge Charles E. Taylo;,
Hon. C. A. Myers, Mayor of the city, and
others equally well known throughout the
State are among the membership.
the innumerable fish, alligators and other
marine animals die.
One Krlnk Enough to Kill.
Of course the air must become filled with
this poison, but it is said the real danger
comes only afte the rivers rise, when the
bad waters are washed, into the Javary,
which supplies the inhabitants with their
only drink. It is said a draught of this
water is at certain seasons almost fatal, and
that it is equally as injurious when used
for bathing, so that the people who live
there drink and bathe in Cachasi.
The Javary has the appearance of a very
important business stream, there being
more activity in the way of steam launches,
canoes and "trading houses than we had
seen in the 1,000 miles ot the main river.
It reminded me ol the rush and enterprise
shown in our oil regions where everybody
was busy and eontented, even in distress,
being buoyed with a hope of becoming sud
denly rich. Men and women risk even the
deadly air and water for months for the
liquid gold.
In three days more of this monotonous
life, tired and anxious, we are gladdened by
the voice of the steam whistle auuouncing
our approach to Iquitos, in Peru.
J. Oetox Keubet.
A SEAL AMERICAN PSINCESi
She Is the Daughter of Chief Seattle and
0er a Century Old.
Detroit Free Press.
A notable personage, frequently pointed
out to new-comers and strangers at Seattle,
Wash., is a real, live American princess.
She is often seen seated on the sidewalk, in
an old faded calico dress, and a common
woolen shawl wrapped about her shoulders. ,
Her skin is brown, and her hair bangs in
long, straight lines down her back and
around her shoulders. This is Princess An
geline, the daughter of Chief Seattle. She
is very well treated by the older residents,
and has only to ask them for anything she
may want and it is given her.
This is all owing to the fact that at an
early day in the history of that part of the
country, when the people were in constant
danger from attacks of hostile tribes of In
dians, she, at great personal danger to her
self, and nfter along journey, came into the
white settlement and warned tho "pale
lace" of a very formidable threatened at
tack of the Indians, and by her timely aid
saved the entire settlement, thus preserv
ing their homes from destruction and their
wives and children from captivity and mas
sacre. Her father, Seattle, was very kind and
true in his friendship tor the white race
who had made their home in the vicinity of
Puget Sound, sheltered by the snow-capped
mountain height, and now the grateful peo
ple have erected a monument to his memory
upon his grave
Well may the inhabitants of'Seattle pay
the Princess Angeline all honor tor the ser
vices she rendered, for she has become a
part of the history of their country, cveu if
as she sits by the roadside, with her little
short-stemmed black pipe held between her
teeth, ber old woolen shawl is her only
"royal mantle" by day and her blanket by
night.
It is not known just how old Princess
Angeline is, but that she has passed the
century mark seems beyond doubt.
ECINDA IS A DEM0CEAT.
Something About the Colored Female
Leader of a Sew Religion
An old negro woman has established a
new theocracy at Grenada, Mis., Senator
Walthall's home. Her name is Scimla and
her followers are called "Scinda Band."
They number about 400. Scinda is their
queen and rules her flock with an iron rod,
says the SU Louis Jiepubiie.
They use no Bible at their meeting, for
each member is supposed to know it by
heart. If Scinda asks them a biblical ques
tion thay are supposed to have an answer
at once. They have their meetings every
Sunday evening, and they are interesting to
observe.
The congregation, men and women, is
decked oat in costly ribbons and beads.
Their chants are as weird as the sobs and
sighs ol graveyard trees. Thev dance to
the music ot the banjo and tambourine un
til they are nearly exhausted, aud then
they go home.
Scim'a is a Democrat and compels each
male member to vote that ticket. She in
sists that they shall be cleauly in person,
and pay their debts. No merchant in Gren
ada county will refuse credit to a member
of her baud, for if they were to fail to pay
it Scinda would "dance their souls into
hell," as she call sit.
Mel. J. Cheatham, the only white man
ever executed in Mississippi, was hanged
for murdering one of Scinda'i members
about three years ago.
A CHRISTMAS SERMON.
Lessons Drawn From the Story of the
Shepherds by Mr. Hodges.
UTILITY OF THE BEAUTIFUL.
Why
the Slanger Was Felected as tho
Cradle of Christianity.
EXTENDING THE SPIRIT OF THE DAI
IWBITTKN TOR THK PISPAJCIM
"And there were shepherds abiding in the
field keeping watch over their flock by
night And, lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them."
Was there a feast that night in Herod's
palace? That great, strong, frowning, bat-'
tlemented palace that the king had at
Bethlehem, furnished with all the luxurious
adornments that conld be bought with
Boman money were there lights at the
windows that night, and feasting aud mer
riment within?
Were there watchers in the Temple at
Jerusalem.where the sacrificial fires burned
low, where the glimmer of the candles
touched tho gold ot the altar, and the veil
hung before the Holy of Holies? Were
there priests and holy people silently pray,
ing that night in that sacred place, waiting
for the consolation of Israel?
We only know that there were shepherds
abiding in the field that night, keeping
natch over their sheep, and that the angel
of the Lord came upon them and the glory
of the Lord shone round about them. We
know that before their eyesthe whole wide
sky was bright with heavenly radiance, and
that from out the splendor came an angel,
aud a great choir of angels following, and
that the shepherds heard the news for which
the world was waiting, and that over the
fields where they watched their flocks
sounded celestial music
They Knew Not the Day.
And we knonr that of all this, the princes
who dwelt in palaces, and the priests who
prayed in temples were quite ignorant.
The sky was opened, but they did not see
it The angels sang their chorus, but they
did not hear it. In the little stable beside
the crowded inn the Light of the world was
shining; it was Christmas Day; but neither
priests nor princes knew it '
One ot the mysteries of life is the mystery
of the distribution of privilege. The doc.
triue ot election, so far as it touches the
side oflife of which we have actual experi
ence, is one of the truest doctrines in the
world. Men and women, through neither
fault nor merit, as it seems, of theirs, are
born some of them into conditions of advan
tage, others into conditions of disadvantage.
Some have a:i the opportunities- of enjoy
ment and of betterment that come into
human life, others breathe, trom the earli
est, beginning, a poisoned atmosphere
which seems to doom them almost inevita
bly to degradation and perdition. Some see
the glory of the Lord visibly shining round
about them; others are asleep, or blind.
Blessings Unevenly Distributed.
But the Christmas story teaches that tem
poral privilege and spiritual privilege are
not distributed together. And we know
very well which of these is the greater
blessing. We know that the soul is in
finitely more precious than the body, and
that treasure in heaven is infinitely more
worth having than treasure down here. And
Christmas comes to correct onr ideals. It
we have been thinking that wealth or posi
tion is the most desirable thing in human
life, and that we have some ground for com
plaint against the Father in heaven because
he appears to love some others ot His chil
dren better than He loves us, giving them
pleasures from which we are shut out, we
will do well to go back to this story of the
shepherds and the stable.
It the people-who lay warm that night 'n
Herod's palace felt themselves a great deal
better o& than ibe shepherds who watched
in the winter fields, under the frostv sky,
they were very much mistaken. If the
priests in the temple thanked God as very
uteiy tney am tnat tney were blessed
above all the inhabitants of Galilee, and
especially despised the dwellers in that
little town with such a bad reputation,
named Nazareth, they erred greatly, It
the guests at the inn thought themselves
privileged beyond the poor people out in
the stable, they missed the truth. There
was a blessing of God out in the fields that
night, and among the cattle of the stall,
which was not known in any house of com
fort all the world over.
Riches That Are Free to All.
What an inspiring and encouraging as
surance. Every soul ot man has its spirit
ual oppon unity. The very richest bless
ings ot God lie within reach even of the
most iznorant, of the obscurest, of the
poorest people. They who have not even a
place to lay their heads are therein no
worse off than was He who was cradled in a
manger, and who lived all His life long the
poorest of the poor, aud yet who was loved
above all wno 'ever lived by the great
Father in Heaven. It is not everyone who
can be rich in this world's goods; "but there
is no one, no matter where he lives nor
who lie is, but can be rich in another
woold's goods. Even into the tenement
houses, among our brothers and our sisters
imprisoned there by the unremedied evils
of our present industrial conditions, even
there may the angel of the Lord come this
Christmas, where there would seem to be
no Christmas at all, even there may the
glory of the Lord shine.
JLhe shepherds were abiding in the field,
kcepinc watch over their flock by night.
That was their business. That was their
daily duty. The Christmas story teaches that
the revelation of God comes to peoplo who
are diligently doing the humble tasks of
common life. Tho Christmas truth itself
teaches the consecration ot common life.
Christ might have come in the palace or the
temple. He might have lived the life that
is lived in kings' houses and among people
ol position.
The World's Interest In a Stable.
That would have left the great majority
of us out We could have looked to
Christ neither for sympathy nor for ex
ample. But coming as' He did, born in a
stable, visited by shepherds from the neigh
boring fields, at home in the house of the
village carpenter ot Nazareth, a poor man
all His hie, He touched those simple essen
tials of our human existence which are com
mon to us all. He dignified, He consecrated
the humblest and homeliest conditions.
I rejoice that the princes in Herod's pal
ace looked not out of thair windows at
Christmas night; and still more that the ec
clesiastics and philosophers, ,the intellect
ual and religious leaders, were blankly ig
norant of the supreme event; and that the
people tfl wbbm the angel of the Lord ap
peared and about whom the glory ot the
Lord shone were simple shepherds, men
who knew no more than we do. And I am
glad that the Christmas revelation came to
the shepherds when they were watching
their flocks, that they were not in the
church wheu the vision canie, but out un
der the universal stars, that they were not
saying their prayers wheu the 'sky grew
bright above them, but were only busy with
their ordinary tasks, plain workingmen, do
ing their daily work.
No Extraordinary Conditions,
It means that if we want the Christmas
glory to shine about us, it we want to be
directed from on high along the road that
leads to the sight of the Lord Christ, we
need not seek any extraordinary conditions,
we need not forsake our common duties and
try to find uncommon duties which may
the better com.i end ns to the favor of GoiL
We will do best to go on daily doing the
nearest task, trying to do our common work
with unoommon diligence, following the
best religious light we have as far as it will
lead us then will the Heavenly Father
some day in His own wise time meet us,
and the 'angel of the Lord will come upon
at, and the revelation of the Dleised truth
of God will be made clear before us, and we
will find Christ even n!s the Bethlehem
shepherds found him, and will know Christ
as they did. and better.
The shepherds were watching their floelc,
the astronomers were studying the stars,the
fishermen were mending "their nets, when
the word of the Lord came. Every day tho
Lord Christ comes to us in the opportuni
ties, in the temptations, in the decisions, In
the blessings of our daily business. Every
day, In the persons of his brethren, the
down-trodden and poor, the Lord Christ lies
cradled in a stable.
The Clement of Beauty.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them. And' suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude ot the heavenly host,
praising God. There begins the making of
Christmas beautiful. God himself painted
the night sky with Christmas colors, and
sent the angels to sing the Christmas an
them. We do well to make the house of
God as fair as we can make it, and to bring
into the service of God the harmonies of the
loveliest music. "The glory of Lebanon
shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
tree and the' box together, to beautify the
place of my sauctuary; and I will make the
place of my feet glorious." That old
prophecy finds fulfillment here to-day.
The Christmas storv teaches us the lesson
that is taught by all the flowers and all the-
glowmg sKies, tho lesson of tioa s love or
beauty. God was not satisfied to make this
great world useful; he made it lovely. It
was not enough that Jesus should be born
in Bethlehem in the midst ot significantly
humble surroundings, in the stable, but the
sky outside must blaze with glory, and the
blessed angels must chant praises. A plain
voice out of the clouds, speaking simple
words of common prose, telling the Christ
mas truth, would have been a sufficient
lcvelation; but no; there must be strains of
poetry, and choruses and anthems with
celestial orchestration, taking up the words
and glorifying them with glad, resounding
voices, repeating them over and over,
strophe and antistrophe, refrain and anti
phone, lifting them up with acclamations
and alleleuias
Transformation of the Centuries.
Thus have we taken that plain upper
room iu which the church began, and we
have made it as worthily beautiful as our
hands have been able all don n the centuries,
built it out ot stone, adorned it with color,
brought into it more and more our best and
loveliest, of curving and embroidery and
painting, and glorified it into magnificent
cathedrals.
And we have taken that homely supper
which is the central service of our religion,
and we have changed the simple table into
marble, and made the earthen dishes into
plates of gold, and set the words of the
Master, like a gem in a glowing jewel, in
the midst of praises and adoration. '
And we come to-day with the church gar
nished with greeu, and with the service
ringing with sweet music, into the pres
ence ot Him who sent the Christmas angels
into the glory ot the midnight sky of Beth
lehem. "And the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glorv of the Lord shone
round about them." And so the night
changed into day, and every cloud was
touched with heavenly color, and every
drop of dew on the dark grass of the hill
pasture shone like the jewels iu the high
priest's breastplate.
The Source of Best Sunshine,
That is the miracle which the Christmas
angel works all the world over. The
Christmas story teaches a wonderful secret
that will make the sun shine at midnight,
that will turn the blackest clouds into the
curtains of Heaven. For the bightest sun
shine does not depend at all upon the sun,
it enmes out of the heart If we have the
Christmas spirit in our hearts the very
glory of the Lord will shine all round about
us. The light that glimmered in the stable,
the light that beamed out of the Bethlehem
Bkv it lighteth every man even to-day who
will let it burn within his breast It is the
blessed light of love. The Christmas spirit
is the loving spirit, the spirit of unselfish
love.
There is a story how the devil, coming
once to earth at Christmas time could find
no entrance anywhere, could not get any of
his evil thoughts into human hearts, for
every heart was full of the blessed Christ
mas spirit. There is no place for the devil
in an unselfish world.
Now what we want is to have this good
Christmas time continued, kept over to
morrow, and the day after, and the month
after, and all through the year. Wo want
to have that year which begins next week a
year full of Christmas spirit, a year in
which the unselfish love of this holy sea
son shall not at any time be absent from
our hearts. Then shall the Christmas les
son be learned as Christians ought to learn
it Then shall we receive the fullest meas
ure of the Christmas benediction.
George Hodges.
HOW AN OYSTEB GEOWi
Each Overlapping iajer or SheU Means
One Tear of Its Ace
Boston Herald.
The oyster at the commencement of its
career is so small that 2,000,000 would only
occupy a square inch. In six months each
individual oyster is large enough to cover
half a crown, and in 12 months a crown
piece. The oyster is its own architect, and
the shell grows as the fish inside grows, be
ing never too small. It also bears its age
upon its back, and it is as easy to tell the
age of an oyster by looking at its shell
as it is that of horses by looking at their
teeth.
Everyone who lias handled an oyster
shell vmust have noticed the successive
layers overlapping each other. These are
technically termed shots, and each one
marks a year's growth, so that by counting
them the age of the oyster can be deter
mined. Up to the time of its maturity that
is, when lour years of age the shots are
regular and successive; but after that time
they become irregular and are piled one
upon another, so that the shell becomes
bulky and thickened.
Fossil oysters have been seen of which
each shell was nine inches thick, whence
they may be guessed to be more than 000
years old. One to two million oysters are
produced from a single parent", and their
scarcity is accounted for by the fact that
man is not the only oyster-eating animal.
The starfish loves the oyster, and preys
upon it unceasingly. A variety of whelk is
also very fond of young oysters, to get at
which it bores right through the shell and
sucks the fish up through the hole thus
made.
A COUGH SYUUP.
Directions for Making a Syrnp That Cnres
Cougbs, Colds, Catarrh, Bronchitis and
Consumption.
Get a bottle of Pe-ru-na of your dru2
gist; get two ounces of pure rock candy
and add it to the bottle of Pe-ru-na. It
should be shook up occasionally until the
candy is all dissolved, when it makes a
cough syrup which is simply delicious to
the taste, prompt in its results and perma
nently cures. It should be taken accord
ing to the directions on the bottle. This
cough syrup is not like so many others
which simply quiets a cough temporarily,
but it cures radically. Children like it: it
agrees with the weakened stomach and his
no disagreeable eflect of nry kind. This
syrup can be relied on to cure catarrh,
acute or chronic, coughs, colds and all
chronic diseases ot the lungs and throat.
Any who prefer to can use the Pe-ru-na
without the addition ot rock candy, as it is
not very disagreeable to the taste without
it. Everyone should avail themselves of
the holiday gilt of The Pe-ru-na Drug
Manufacturing Company, who are sending
during December and January a free copy
of the Illustrated Ills of Life, ii treatiso on
catarrh and winter diseases. Send in your
order early and receive a Iree copvposj
paid.' Dress Salts,
Trouserings, silk vestlnss and nvorcoatings
to order, at Fltcatrn's, t Wood stieet
EDITOR TVTLLIASI T.
LONDON'S GREAT EDITOR.
William T. Stead as Carpenter Found Him
9omo of His Famoni Interviews His
Attack on the Social Evil and the Re
sult rCOBKESFONPEXCE OP THE PISrAICH.1
LOXDON, Dec. 14. I have just had an in
terview with one of the great men of the
world. I refer to Mr. "William T. Stead,
late editor of the Pall Mall Gaztttt and now
of the Jieview of Iteoitta. Mr. Stead is now
S3 years old. The son of a Congregational
minister, be left school at 14 to take the
place of an office boy in a mercantile estab
lishment After working here eight years
his salary had risen to S325 a year, when he
gave up his place to be the assistant editor
of a half-penny daily. Heat once showed
his talent for newspaper work and soon be
came editor in chief. He raoidly alvanced
from one journalistic position to another,
working on various newspapers until along
about 1883 he became the chief editor of the
Pall Mall Gazette, which, under him, soon
got to be one of the greatest newspapers in
London.
I called upon him not long ago in his
office, on Norfolk street, just off the Thames
embankment and between the bouses of
Parliament and the Savage Clnh. I sent
in my letters of introduction and a moment
later I was seated in his workshop. This is
a big room which looks out on the river
Thames, and every part of which is packed
with marts of individuality and ideas.
Upon its doors in letters of Drass are
The King of Belgium.
printed the words, "The Sanctum." Its
walls are covered with photographs and
upon the mantel over the open fire were
many portraits of the most famous men snd
women of the times.
He Talks Like lightning.
Over the doors of the office were texts of
the Scriptures and between the windows
was a roller-top desk which was littered
with manuscripts, and near it a wide divan
which was also covered with papers ot
various kinds. A large bast of Cardinal
Manning looked down from the top of the
desk, and as I entered Mr. Stead rose from
a chair in front -of it and took my hand.
He at once plunged into business with me,
and in five minutes he told me more about
London than I had been able to
learn in tho week I had spent in trying
to find out about things before
coming to him. He is more like an elec
tric dynamo in clothes than any man I
know. He talks like lightning and a blaze
of intellectual sparks follows bis words. He
looks more like a practical American
Methodist preacher than a London littera
teur. He is plain in his dress and habits.
His soft brown hat is crushed in at the top
and his snuff-colored Miitfot business clothes
looked as though their owner had been on a
roughing tour and had just got home. He
talks more like an American than an
Englishman. He has no cockneyisrai or
anglicisms in his conversation. He never
says "you know," and the only English
slang I noticed in his talk was the word
"blooming," by which he would now and
then refer to some people whom he held in
contempt as the "whole blooming set" He
is, I judge, about 5 feet 7 inches high and
he weighs about 1C0 pounds. He has a
florid complexion, bright blue eves and a
bushy, reddisn-brown beard. His hair is
combed up lrom a high, broad and full fore
head, and hi stoops a little in his should
ers. He laughs easily, and tells a story as
well as he writes it
Story of a Great Interview.
It was daring a lunch with him at Gatti's
pn the Strand that the conversation turned
to newspapers. Mr. Stead is one of the
greatest interviewers ot the world. He
knows how to make a man think as well as
talk and he gets out of every man he inter
views the best that is in him and expresses
it more clearly aud fully tnan tlie man
himself.
"The field of the interviewer," said Mr.
Stead, "is one of the most attractive in
journalism. The newspaper is for the com
munication of thought The interview Is
one ot the best methods ot such communi
cation. It brings the reader and thinker
close together, and such talks sometimes
change the face of history."
"How about your talk with General
'Chinese' Gordon just before he weut to
Ejypt? That affected history, did it not?"
I asked.
'Yes," was the reply. "That was per
haps one of the most important interviews
ever taken. It resulted m the loss ot more
than 20,000 lives nnd it cost England mill
ions of pounds. It was at the time ot our
troubles with Egypt The Government
had decided to give up the Soudan and Gen
eral Gordon was at Southampton, about to
proceed to Egypt. Ho had, I knew, posi
tive orders as to what was to be done aud I
wanted an interview with him upon the
situation. I wrote him at Southampton
telling him I would liko to see him and
asking him when he could receive me. He
replied at once, suyiug that it would be im
possible for him to talk to me and tbnt he
had nothing to ny. I therenoou tele
graphed him that I must see him aid that I
would leave for Southampton on tho next
tram. I have been told that he spent the
rest of that day walking up and down and
debating whether he would see me when I
came or not. ,
His Meeting With Gordon.
"When I got off the train I went at onee
STEAD.
to his house and rang the bell. In a mo
ment the door opened and a little fellow,
whom I took or General Gordon's butler,
asked me ip and helped me off with my top
coat and hunt: up my hat I asked him if
General Gordon was in, and he replied that
he was and motioned me to go into the next'
room. I went in and the little man fol
lowed me. I took a seat and then told the
little man to please tell General Gordon
that Mr. Stead, of the Pall Ma'l Qizette, was
there and would like to see him. "Where
upon the little man said:
" 'I am General Gordon,' and he reached
me bis hand and then took a ebair and sat
down beside me. "We then went- over the
whole situation together, and his ideas
were such that they resulted in en entire
change of Government policy. I listened
to them and when I went back" to London I
laid them before the Government Ministers
and they decided to accept them and to
send him to the Snnrinn. I nrcred them to
let him carry out bis ideas in his own way,
and bad tney done so in all probability the
war would have been speedily closed. It
was his idea to have taken a camel and to
have gone alone to the camp ot the Mahdl
and to have discussed matters with him.
But no! the Government would have its own
way, and the result was the death of Gor
don. "The best interviews I have ever had,"
continued Mr. Stead, "are some which have
never been published. One ot the most re
markable I hare ever bad was with the
Czar of Bussia, but the Czar insisted that
no mention of it should be made in print,
and though I wrote a long series of letters
on Bussia tor the English and American
newspapers and published a book on Bus
sia the public do not know to this day
that I met the Emperor and talked with
him.
His Interview "With the Czar.
"The Countess Novikoff arranged the
meeting," continued Mr. Stead, "and the
audience was given me much to the surprise
of the English Minister at St Petersburg,
Sir Bobert Morier, and the otherdiplomats.
It is, you know, not considered proper for a
Minister to present one of his countrymen
to a monarch unless he has been presented
at court at home. I have never been pre
sented to the Queen, and have never con
sidered it worth the trouble and expense of
buying a court dress, and it seemed to me
at St Petersburg that" our Minister did not
want me to meet the Czar. I did meet him,
however, and he received me in one of the
rooms of his palace at Gatcliina. He sat at
one side of a table during our conversation
and I sat at the other, facing him, and the
conversation was free and open, and there
was an entire absence of red tape about my
reception. The Czar smoked a cigarette
during the talk, though, by the way, I re
member he tailed to offer me one. He
knew of me, lor I had been writing in favor
of Bussia for the past 20 years, and I began
my conversation by saying:
" 'Your Majesty, I am accredited in Eng
land with being your agent I am said to
have been fighting your battles for years,
and if this is sol want a supply of cart
ridges from headquarters. You know I am
predisposed in favor of Bussia, and I think
I ought to nnderstand the situation and I
want you to give it to me as it really is. I
am willing to work, but I want the straight
tip from you.'
"The Czar then began to talk and he went
over the whole situation with me and with
out reserve gave me his ideas. I found him
a broad man, and I left him believing that
he would do right in every case as his own
judgment dictated."
Not a Very Pleasant Talk.
"Tell me something about your interview
with the Kin? of Belgium, Mr. Stead,"
said I.
"That was rather a curious experience,"
was the reply. "I rent to Belgium especi
ally to see the King and he came in to his
capital to meet me. He Is, you know, a
very tall man and a very pompous one.
When I was presented to him he stood up
very stiff and straight and said in labored
English; 'I do not speak the English, so we
will have our conversation in French.'
"'But, Your Majesty,' aid I, 'I do not
speak French.'
" 'Then I do not see how we can talk to
gether,' said he.
" 'Well, Your Majeatv,' said I, 1 am
sure if you cannot speak English you know
enough lor me to make vou understand
what I want to say, and I will speak it in
English.'
"He could not object to this, nndthough
he was very angrv at me he listened. He
did not ask me to sit down, and we both
remained standing throughout the talk.
Alter a while he began to speak English iu
reply to me, and I saw that he conl 1 speak
English ns well as I could. I have since
understood that he was not at all pleased
with mv actions, but they served my pur
pose. I said wliat I wanted to say and he
gave me in reply just what I wanted to get
He came, as I say, into the city to give me
the iuterview, and I have often wondered
why he was not more gracious during it."
"What Made Hn Stead "World-Famons.
In referring to the English newspapers
Mr. Stead deprecated their lack of enter
prise aud push and said that they badly
needed independeno and spice. I asked
him to tell me the story of the "Maiden's
Tribute to Modern Babylon," and he re
plied that the sensation was not sprang as
a newspaper sensation and that every word
ot the story of vice told in it was true. It
was written to influence Parliament to cor
rect one of the most horrible evils ot Lon
don, which Parliament would not (ouch
because its participants were largely among
the members ot Parliament Its publica
tion secured this result, and though the
social evil still prevails in Loudon to a
greater extent, .perhips, than iu any other
city in the world, this sensation took the
the young girls off ot the streets.
"As a newspaper enterprise the publica
tion injured rather than helped the circula
tion ot the rail Mall Gazette," said Mr.
Stead concerning it "The day it was pub
lished Henry Labouchere told me it would
rum the paper. During the sensation our
circulation ran up to more than 100,600.
We could have sold 1,000,000 if we could
have printed them, aud as it 'was the papers
sold for half a crown upon the streets.
When the thing died down the reaction
came. Our circulation dropped off and our
advertisers rushed in to take their ads out
of what they called 'the unclean sheet'
Henry Irviuc was one of the first to with
draw his advertisement and the other
amusement mauagers followed. As a "finan
cial enterprise it was not a success, but as
accomplishing just what it set out to do it
succeeded admirably, for Parliament passed
the bill in a jiffy."
Feask G. Cabpexteb.
MOTOR AND FACTORY;
The Distribution of Power by Eleo'
tricily a Blow to the Latter.
AN EXPERIMENT ON THE RHONE.
Utility of the Storage Battery lz th
Plants for Lighting.
NEW WWCATIOXS OP CURRENT
IWWT1JW TOB THS DI3PATCH.1
It has long been prophesied that th
electric motor is destined to revolutionize
the factory system, and the recent accounts
of the vast electrical scheme of the shrewd
men of Lyons would indicate that a dis
tinct phase in such a change is about to ba
entered upon. The rapid current of tha
Biver Bhone is to be utilized forthe genera
tion of electricity, which will be distributed
in the city of Lyons and its suburbs. Th
waters of the river will be tapped about U
miles above the city, where 20 turbines,
representing a thousand hor3e-power each,
will be established. These turbines, oper
ated by the water precipitated upon them
from a convenient height, will work tha
dynamos, and the electric current will ba
conveyed by six cables to" distributing sta-i
tions situated at various centers in the city.
The special object in this undertaking i
to benefit 'the smallerindustrial enterprises,
and with that view the supply of power to
any single subscriber will be limited to CO
horse. Of these smaller industrial enter
prises that of the silk weaver is by far tho
most important. The other uses to which
the project contemplates the application of,
electrical power are too numerous to be in
dicated separately; but ther include tha
mixing of bread, the working of saws and!
other tools, of sewing machines, printing
machines, lathes and ventilators, the work
ing of tans, elevators and coflee mills, hair
catting, boot blacking, the purification of
sewage and the charging of baths for the
cure of nervous and other affections. Eleo
tricity will also be largely used for traction
and lighting, and a system of irrigation is
already being planned. In fact, every in
dustrv in the citv wiUbe carried on by
electricity. The flow of water to the tur
bines is to be regulated by means of a sys
tem of sluices, locks and compensating
reservoirs, and when the stream has dona
the work required of it it will return to tha
Bhone by a special canal.
The Storage Battery.
An English electrical paper lays great
emphasis on the increasing use of storage bat
teries for central station work and it ex
presses the opinion that the accumulator is
likely to prove of greater iapqrlance ia
lighting than is anticipated by even many
of the present low tension supply com
panies. It seems, indeed, by no means im
probable that the future practice for city
and town lighting will be a direct current
supplv with a three-wire system and stor
age batteries. Already the advantages, if
not the necessity, of storage for publia
lighting is being recognized, Electnp en
ergy should be stored ready for use in the
same way as gas is made available at a mo
ment's notice. The fnnstion of a stor
age battery in a central station is
threefold, and although it may not
always be utilized to its full
capacity, yet in most well designed sta
tions the importance of each of its uses
is perfectly understood. Firstly, tha
battery forms a reserve against accidents to
machinerv and enables temporary repairs
to be made without shutting down the
whole or a part of the lieht; secondly, tha
battery may be ued very advantageously
for ass'istm? the dvnamos to supply excep
tional heavy loads of a more or less tem--porary
"character, and thirdly, the battery
will run the lamps direct during the light
load periods from, sav, about 11 P. at to
possibly 3 P. 31. on the following afternoon.
It is, of course, necessary to arrange tha
periods of charge and discharge to keep tha
cells in good worfcin ' order, and it will ba
also imperative to vary the number of eelli
in series in order to secure a proper result.
Bet these are simply matters of detail,
thoroughly understood bv the majoritv of
station men. It is gratifying to note that
some pf the later forms of storage batteries
show such a distinct improvement in prin
ciple and construction as to mnteriallv in
crease the confidence of the disciples of the
accumulator, not only for lighting but also
for traction work.
Btone Walls Do Not a Prison 3Iak..
The death of the distinguished electri
cian, Dr. Werner von Siemens, who was
looked upon as one of the oldest and strong
est props of the electrcal industry, has
serfed to recall many incidents of bis busy
career. It was in Madgcb'irg that he began
his scientific investigations in 1839. His
first experience was somewhat unfortunate,
for an explosion, caused by a preparation of
phosphorous and chlorate of potash, burst
the drum of his rizht ear. As he had met
with a similar accident to his other ear
some time before, be was for a time stone
deaf. In 1S40 he was sentenced to five
years' imprisonment for acting as second in
a duel. He was sent to the cita
del of Madgeburg, where his scien
tific enthusiasm soon showed that
"Stone walls do not a prison make," for he
continued his experiments by setting up a
small laboratory in his cell. He soon suc
ceeded in plating a silver sdooo with gold
bv connecting the spoon to one pole of a
Daniell cell and a lonis d'orto the other.
A Magdeburg jeweler bought his rights in
connection with this valuable electroplating
discovery for 40 louis d'or. This cave hita
the means for further experiments, when
unexpectedly, after one month's imprfton
ment, he was pardoned. His reqnest to ba
allowed to remain a little while longer In
his cell in order to complete his experi
mental work was regarded by the authori
ties as an impertinence, and he was sum
marily expelled from prison at midnight
Automatic Time Itceorder.
Another form of the automatic time
keeper which has of late been introduced
in factories and other places where large
numbers ot workmen are employed is so ar
ranged that it gives a record from which
the week's pay is made up, Eseh work
man makes his own registration and. there
fore, cannot complain of the time keeper,
and, on the other hand, no collusion is pos
sible between the attendant who watches
the record of the instrument and the em
ploye. The use of this device has demon
strated the fact that it lessens the likeli
hood of the employes being late, as not
only are they themselves able to inspect its
record, but their employers can each day
ascertain the number and names of those
who arrive on time and those who are
habitually late or absent
Wagon for Electric Wire Repairs.
The necessity of sreedy access by line
men to the various wires now used for elec
tric traction or lighting in most cities has
led to the use of a tower wagon which can
be drawn from place to place by horses.
An ingenious and simple extension tower
wagon has just been designed. This differs
fromthe ordinary tower wagon in being
provided with an extension, and when used
tor work on a trollev wire it stands on one
side of the track. The men can thus work
without interruption, as there is no necesr
sity lor the wagon to be moved from its
position to allow a car to pass. The exten
sion is so arranged that it can be loided up
against the tower. It uecessnry it can be
removed altogether by simplv unhooking
it from the rings in the top of the tower, or
it can be shitted from one side ot the towor
to the other.
.?
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