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10
EVIL II MAGNETISM.
Congress to Be Urged to Pro
ceed With "Vigor Against
the Black Art.
THE EMOTIONAL CRAZES
Since the Days of Jansen Brought Up
to Furnish Evidence That
THEIR SPREAD MOST BE CHECKED.
Evils of Religions Excitement and Fanat
icism Eeviewed.
aLAEJIIXG GROWTH OP IAD PRACTICES
In one war and another labor, in this free
and clorious country, may be said to have a
hard time of it. In fact, the constant occu
pation of labor seems to be warfare, and
when it is not engaged in actual conflict
with the world and the flssh it finds itself
called upon to take arms against the devil.
The exact meaning of this proposition, says
the St. Louis rott-Dispatch, is conveyed by
Samuel Gompers, President of the Ameri
can federation of Labor, who has received
an alarming and highly interesting warning
from S. Heydenfeldt, Jr., who has given to
the study of electro-magnetism and other
pernicious acts much careful attention. "I
jiave been informed," says Mr. Heydenfeldt,
"that there are seventeen secret societies
which electro-magnetize their members, who
are, without knowing it, connected with a
system in India, Arabia and Germany.
Those who have adopted it did so undoubt
edly withont investigating or studying the
injury to physical or mental conditions of
man. It is easy, then, to account for the
nervousness and restlessness of the people
of the United States, which physicians tes
tily as steadily increasing."
To understand properly the advance of
conditions that have produced this alarm
ing result, Mr. Heydenfeldt asks the reader
to begin with Jansenism and trace the de
velopment of magic, convulsionistn and
magnetism.
The Heresy of Jansenism.
. The heresy of Jansenism first made its
appearance in France A. D. 1641. The
Bishop of Ypres, Jansen, published a book
entitled "1'Augustinns," setting lorth his
doctrine, which received the support ot the
Abbe ot the Bernardlns at Port .Royal,
which was founded in A. D. 1204, by one of
the Montmorency, situated near Ghevreuse,
five leagues from Paris; the support of the
Abbe Sr. Cyran, who was suspected of
Quietism, and also the allegiance of the
young theologians of France. Urban VllL
condemned the doctrine of Jansen and par
tially suppressed the beresy. Its principal
adherents retired to Bruxelles and after
ward to Amsterdam, where they founded a
small church.
The tomb of a deacon named Paris, of the
Church of St Medard, at Paris, who had
passed for a saint in certain quarters, be
came the object ot great veneration among
the unfortunates whom he had relieved dur
ing his life, and at the place, it was .ru
mored, miracles were worked. The Jansen
jsts, who wished to prove the authority of
a divine call among the sects of miracle
workers, concluded to appropriate those of
the Cemetery of St Medard. This person
was not the only person endowed with the
power of miraculous cures.
Xiraclcs Became Too Common.
Several Jansenist saints had the same
girt. These so-called miracles commenced
in Julr, A. D. 173L About that time they
became very common, and at the end of
sever.il months there were 500 known Con
Tiilsionists, that is to say, people who went
into convulsions under the influence of re
ligious emotion.
All ranks of society, as well as the no
bility, were among the witnesses ot these
strange spectacles. The prodigies provoked
discussions as to their source and genuine
ness; each side invoked scriptural text to
support their denials and assertions,
wtiich for many years continued to
be the subject "of publications. Their
novelty had attracted all Paris. Women
and girls had been hired to take part
in these scenes, which became so scandalous
that the Government ordered the cemetery
closed. Driven from the cemetery they
continued to exhibit their convulsions at
other points, until by an ordinance of Feb
ruary 17, A. D., 1733, they were prohibited
from giving exhibitions in public as well as
in private reunions.
Interdicted and suppressed in different
cities and villages they continued never
theless to increase. The popularity and
rage tor these convulsionsgained accessories
from all classes of society, their ranks aug
mented and their proselytes, among whom
were women ot birth and persons of high
rank, assembled at their meetings. The re
fusal of the priests to administer sacraments
to this heretical sect was lor many years
the cause ot trouble and misrepresentation.
Their assurance was sneh that they even
claimed that the Catholic priests were
obliged to administer to them the sacra
ments. A Bitter Controversy for Tears.
This relusal to administer the sacraments
continued lor many years to be ibe subject
of bitter controversy. Upon the Jansenists
securing more than a majority of the
jfrench Parliament the decrees of the
Bishops which were not in accord with their
demands were reversed.
During this time, notwithstanding the
watchfulness of the municipal authorities
ojf Paris, the followers ot the Convulsion
lsts met at the houses of distinguished peo
ple. Sometimes the police made arrests,
but the zeal ot the Jansenists did not rest,
and from A. D. 1740 to A. D. 1760 their ex
hibitions continned and their doctrine was
preached.
i In attacking the church, Jansenism had
disturbed the religious faith of the country
and the respect ot authority which consti
tute its power. From its origin it was sup
ported -by the philosophers whose writings,
apparently directed against ecclesiastical
power, attacked the rights ot the King.
These philosophers, whose object was the
religious and political emancipation of
society, foresaw that the disciples of the
Jan&enists in disturbing conscience and be
lief promised an element of Juture useful
ness for them in carrying out their designs,
and hastened to sustain them.
Parliament Aids the Philosophers.
"Voltaire, as little in love with Jansenism
as he was with the Catholic Church, did not
dissimulate the joy he felt at all measures
which nould arouse the autagonism of each
towards the other. Another great auxili
ary of the philosophers was the Parliament,
which from its ancient spite aeainst the
temporal power of the church was predis
posed towards the Jansenists, ot which it
was principally composed, and gave aid to
their cause.
In bis first chapter, "Birth and History
of Animal Magnetism," H. Blano con
cludes that all the phenomena produced by
the Convulsionists are due to the effects of
animal magnetism and magic. He says:
"Jansenism, with its convulsions, devel
oped the taste for the narvelous in every
part of France. It bad also opened the
road to a school of philosophy which was
steadily directed to destroy "the basis on
which the ancient society of France re
posed, but ruined at the same time magical
Jansenism, which pretended to have a re
ligion at its outset, and consigned it to
obscurity."
'Tiie end of this incredulous century,"
said a ladv of the court of Louis XIV., "Is
marked by this character of love for the
marvelous (I would say superstition, if I
was not imbued with it myseip, which de
notes the decadence of society. Never
were the Bosicrusians, the adepts, the
prophets and all that pertains to them, so
numerous, so well attended. Conversation
turns almost entirely to these subjects; it
occupies everybody's mind, It excites the
imagination even of the most serious."
Marvels of the Mystery.
Besides the blasphemous "bleeding
Christs" exhibitions, and those grouped
under l'elat de mort, and the cataleptic and
physical ones, which Bertrand says were
TintforahlA for their characteristic of in-
vulnerability of the subject, whieh Calmell I
does not account for, but aescnoes as ecsta
toconvulsive tbeomanla, Blanc describes in
fantile conditions and characteristics sud
denly spread over the faces of adults, accom
panied with gestures, attitudes, move
ments and voices of children. Among
the intellectual phenomena observed
among the convulsionists, he men
tions temporary gifts of intelli
gence, eloquence and resolution; ignorant
and stupid young girls talking with vivac-
I ity, elegance and rhetoric; reading and
speaKing 1U languages tney nan never
learned, hearing with deaf ears and seeing
with closed eyes. These convulsionists
were attended" by assistants, who were
called secours meurtricrs. It was always
noticeable that the health of these convul
sionists was not injured by these physical
prodigies.
Bichard F. Burton, the celebrated En
glish traveler, referring to Methodism and
to John Wesley and George Whitfield,
savs:
''Both these religionists, and mostly the
latter, who died A. D. 1770, at Newberry,
New England, converted and preached to
thousands in America, there establishing
field services and campmeetings, revivals
and conferences, which, like those of the
French Convulsionists in the last century,
galvanized Christianity with a wild and
leverish life.
Spread ol the Doctrine In England.
"Falling among educated men, the doc
trine in England and in the colonies was
received with a bewilderment of enthu
siasm, and it soon produced the usual
fruits of such frenzy prophecies that fixed
the end of the world. mir
aculous discernment of angels and devils,
mighty comings of the power ot God and
outpouring of the spirits rhapsodies aud
prophecies, dreams and visions, accom
panied by rollings, jerks, barks, wavings
and convulsions, syncope and catalepsy and
the other hysterica! affections and obscure
disorders of "the brain forming the charac
teristic symptoms of religious mania."
In speaking of the spread of pernicious
emotionalism in the United States, Jules
Bemy, the French naturalist and traveler,
in "A Journey to Great Salt Lake," re
fers to the ceremony of endowment among
the Mormons, by which wives are sealed
for all eternity, to conversion through mes
merism; hearing voices of unseen persons
and mind reading; to the tenacity of their
faith, which has been confirmed by the evi
dence of their senses through magical prac
tices; to the Mormon theocratic andeclectie
svstems and to the hatred of the Catholic
Church and the Government ot the United
States.
Time for the Law to Step In.
Mr. Heydenfeldt takes the ground that
legislation and treaties, with the most se
vere penalties, are needed to prohibit the
use of electricity on human beings under
certain conditions. He believes that the
magic, sorcery and mysteries of the Middle
Ages have been revived among us in
America, with a more scientific knowledge
of electrology.
"Demonology (under the name of hypnot
ism) is being practiced, including the in;
generating, incubating and inhnmating
from distances (on a large scale, going into
the millions), as well as other practices of
the demons incubi. There axe sects among
them the Mormons (especially the seers
of their church hierarchy), whose
fanaticism is such that they seek to
raise what is generally called the sub
jective condition of man (of the whole
people), which is weak and sub
ject to the mental dictation, suggestion and
control of other minds, in such a manner
(there being different ways) that it can 'be
assorted over the objective by the aid and
power of other minds, with or without the
use of electricity, of which the objective is
usually ignorant and assumes the originality
and responsibility of all thought, expression
and act; whieh is' the first step and link in
lifting the spiritual over the temporal."
Congress Called on to Act.
In view of this disturbing conditions of
affairs a resolution has been taken to excite
the interest and action of Congress, and to
this end a measure has been drawn up, en
titled "An act to prohibit electro-magnetizing,
mesmerizing, or hypnotizing human
beings, or aBecting one person through an
other by electricity, and to declare the
same to be a crime against the law of na
tions, and to define its punishment" This
act in substance provides that any person
who shall "apply a current of electricity to
one person for the purpose of affecting an
other" within the boundaries of the United
States shall be deemed gnilty of a Crime,
the punishment for which shall be death;
and any person who knows that such cur
rent is being applied and does not give in
formation to the authorities shall be deemed
an accessory, and shall be punished by a
fine of not less than 5,000 and not more
than $20,000, and by imprisonment during
his natural life, or for a term of years not
less than two.
It is against such diabolism as is outlined
by this bill that, doubtless, Mr. Gompers
and the entire Federation of Labor are
preparing to fight How well they will
succeed is a question interesting to all who
will watch the experiment
A BLIZZARD BLOWING.
Kansas Catching It Th Mississippi Frozen
Over The Ohio and Kanawha Freezing
Hard Cold In the Mohawk Valley
Snowing in Arkansas.
Kansas City, Dec 26. A typical bliz
zard began its formation last night and at 3
o'clock this morning it had fully ma
terialized, the mercury at that time
having fallen to 6 beloYv zero. The
blizzard was preceded by considerable
suow and accompanied by the usual
biting north wind. The storm is far-reaching,
extending oyer the entire Southwest
and is particularly severe in Kansas. In
this city the thermometer registered 9 be
low zero at 10 o'clock this morning. Several
of the roads have trains in the drifts.
A disriatch states that the thermometer
dropped below 12 at Davenport, la. This
afternoon persons were crossing the Mis
sissippi on foot The weather in the
Mohawk valley was the coldest of the
season. At 7 JL it. it was 6 below
zero and 14 below at Cloversvllle.
A few days more of the present cold
weather will entirely close the Ohio and
Little Kanawha rivers to navigation. Both
rivers are filled with floating ice and many
of the boats are laid up. Several of
them will be in bad condition should the
cold snap continue. A hard snow fell in
Arkansas last night.
SEVENTY-FOUR DROWNED.
Awful Result or a Steamship Collision In
Japanese Waters.
San Feascisco, Dec. 26. The steam
ship Oceanic brings details of the loss of
the.Japancse man-of-war, which was lost in
the inland sea by collision with the steam
ship Ravenna. Early on the morning of
November 29 the man-of-war Chishima Kan
was run into by the Bavenna off the shore
of the District of Ito and went to the bot
tom immediately.
Of the crew ot 90 only 16, including two
officers were saved. The Bavenna, which
was also badly injured while transferring
her passengers' to the Empress of Japan,
cut into the Chishima Kan's boilers. An
explosion followed and all of the rescued
were severely injured.
"fJ?THB PITTSBURG
HUMAN WEAK POINTS.
A Chapter on the Deceits Practiced
Upon All the People.
THE CHARMS, (MENS AND SPELLS
That Are TJsed to Work Upon the Enpersti
tions Folic.
FRIDAY AND THE THIRTEEN CLUB
Every piece of machinery, no matter how
cartfuliy and elaborately constructed, has
its w'eak point The same remark applies
to the human frame, and the weak point is
the tendency to a belief in the supernatural,
more familiarly called superstition. Fre
quently there are many weak points, and
in this case superstition is the weakest and
most ungovernable, but if there be but
"one screw loose," it may safely be set
down to superstition.
It does not, however, naturally follow
that superstitious people are necessarily
moral cowards, says a writer in the New
York Timet, for where there is no distinction
there is no personality, and as all men are
superstitious none can be a coward. Yet,
-there are different degrees of absorption in
different beings and some are saturated
with superstition while others are only
touched by this species of insanity.
A Sign for Almost Every Act.
There appears to be an inherent tendency
toward a belief in the supernatural, and
this induces faith in prognostications.
There is a sign for almost every act of life,
'and misfortune, or the contrary, is pre
saged by the most trivial circumstances.
There is not a part of the human being's
dress, not an article in use by man, not a
thing which erows on earth, riot a star
which twinkles in the firmament, not a thing
under the earth, which has not its super
stitions. The actor on the boards ol toe
theater is gnarled with superstitions that
cannot be eradicated by any amonnt of
proof. The negro takes.them into his sys
tem with his first breath and holds to them
.with a tenacity strong as his love of life,
and not only in civilized communities do
thev exist, but they are found in the inte
rior of Africa and in the very heart of
China.
A strong and healthy mind repulses su
perstition, and the weaker the mind and
body the more it will absorb the belief in
the supernatural. The sick, weak-minded,
nervous, debilitated, old and infirm are su
perstition's easy victims. Strong-minded
men laugh at tales of the manifestation of
the supernatural, yet "a constant dropping
weareth away a stone," and even the sen
sible man has been known to waver, and,
though rarely, to fall a victim to that worst
of all insanity, superstition.
The Thirteen Superstition.
All countries have their pecnlir "folk
lore," and it may be remarked that the Af
ricans seem to have a superabundance. It
may also be taken for granted that the
English take the palm for "folK lore"
among Caucasians. One of the commonest
superstitions is that ill luck attends the
.person who goes under a ladder. There is
sense in this provided a man be going up
that ladder with a hod of brick, for a brick
is known to be harder than a human head,
and the force of gravitation draws the hard
ened clay toward the center of the earth.
The superstition concerning the number
13 has been pretty generally eradicated by
the Thirteen Club, of New York, lor the
club has disproved it in hundreds of in
stances. Whence it originated it is impos
sible to say. Like all other superstitions,
it seems never to have had a birth, but
grew spontaneously and flourished until the
lie was nailed to the mast Some attribute
its origin7 to the Lord's Sapper, others to
the 13 gods of Valhalla, and the seven-year
archivist of the Thirteen Club remarks
that it probably originated with
the 13 tribes of Israel, to whom,
including Ephraim and Mauasseh, sons of
Joseph, thirteen portions of the promised
land were given by Jacob. This superstition
deolares that of the thirteen persons sitting
at the family or festive board one must nec
essarily die within a year. Like all other
superstitions, when the saying comes true,
believers are loud and eager in the circula
tion of the fact, but the nu-nberless in
stances of the fallacy of the ridiculous
prognostications are never noted by them.
The Birthstono Nonsense.
A superstition attaches to every precious
stone. Twelve of these have been selected
as birthstones and applied to the twelve
calendar months of the year. They are very
prettily described in the following verses:
jahcary.
By her who In this month Is born,
No gem save garnet should bo worn,
They will Insure her constancy,
True friendship and fidelity.
The February born will find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom Irom passion and trom care
If they the amcthjjtt will w ear.
The same may be said of Friday, the
sixth day of the week. It is declared by
superstitious people that a journey com
menced, on that day must prove unsuccess
ful, and that the same is true ot any other
undertaking started on Friday. Yet F. T.
Barnum, the great showman, in a letter to
the -writer declared that he always began
his great enterprises on Friday. That he
was almost invariably successful is well
known. One material fact which cast
odium upon the day was that it was gener
ally chosen in this country for the execu
tion of murderers. Owing principally to
the efforts of the Thirteen Club the execu
tion day has been changed or varied in all
States of the Union, and this has, to a
great extent, brightened the day,
MARCH.
Who, on this world of ours, their eyes
In March first open, shall be wise
In days of peril, firm and brave,
And wear a bloodttont to their grave.
APEIL.
She who from April dates her.years.
Diamond shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone
Emblem of Innocence Is known.
XAY.
WTio first beholds the light of day
In spring's sweet flow'ry month of May
And wears an emerald all her life
Shall bo a lov'd and happy wile.
Who comes with Summer to this earth,
And owes to June her day of birth,
With ring of agate on her hand
Can health, wealth and long life command.
JDXT.
The glowing ruby should adorn
Those who in warm July are born:
Then will they be exempt and free
From love doubts and anxiety.
AUGUST.
Wear a ardenyx or for thee
No conjugal felicity;
The August born, without this stone
'lis said must live unloved and lone.
' SEPTEMBER.
A maiden born when Autumn leaves
Are rustling in September's breeze
A sapphire on Her urow should bind;
'Twill cure diseases ol the mind.
OCTOBER.
October's cnlld is born for woe
And life's vicissitudes must know;
But lay an cpal on hor breast,
And ho po n ill lull those woes to rest,
novxuBzn.
Who first comes to this world below
With drear November's fog and snow,
Should prize the topai't amber hue.
Emblem of friends and lovers true.
, DECEMBER.
If cold December gave you birth
The month of snow and Ice and mirth,
Place on yonr hand n turmoil blue;
Success will bless whatever you do.
How It Helps Business.
One thing that makes business good for
the dealers, in crockery is 'that when s
DISPATCH: TUESDAY; DECEMBER' 27, 3892.
J
servant breaks a piece of crockery she must
immediately and willfully break another
piece'in order to destroy the spell. When
the housewife drops her dishcloth she will
surely have company that day, and the
same rule applies if she drop a fork and
the tines hold it to the floor, but in this case
the visitor will be a gentleman. Should
she, withont premeditation, place either
two knives, for or' spoons at one plate or
give two spoons with one cup or bowl, the
person receiving them will be married
within a year. Place the wishbone of a
fowl over a'door and the first one who en
ters under the bone will be the first in the
house to be married.
It is held by superstitious people that if a
spotted or white cat cross your path you
cannot have years of pleasure- A black
cat following you indicates good luck, and
coming to your store or house indicates
wealth and plenty. To kill a cat is the
worst ill luck and brings seven years of
trouble.
To meet a red-haired person on first get
ting up indicates a dull day in business and
if such a one crosses your door on New
Year's Day you will have an unlucky year.
While makine a trade if across-eyed per
son looks at you it indicates that the bar
gain will be unnrofi table. To hear a cricket
chirp is good fuck, and it is always a wel
come sound under the hearthstone of the
farmer's house.
A bird flying in the window indicates
failure in business, so that in panicky times
the poor birds are very weary. Every
horseshoe found in the roadway should be
placed over the door of the house, because
it brings the best of prosperity and keeps
witches and the devil out A streak of
profit is coming when you find many, be
cause it denotes good fortune. .
Tho Kissing Prognostications.
If your nose itches you will be kissed,
cursed or vexed. If a horse stumbles
wbile being rode to the race do not bet on
him. If you fall when going upstairs you
will have trouble or lose some lady friend.
If your lips tickle you will be kissed by a
stranger.
The Hebrews have a custom of breaking
crystal at a wedding to scatter brightness
upon the happy pair, and they, in common
with people of" other raoes, throw rice after
the newly-wedded couple when they leave
the house to bring them good fortune.
When a dog howls at night it is a sign of
death to one who may be sick in your house.
Should a white cat come to your door there
will be a death in your family. Upset the
salt at table and you will quarrel with your
host Two chairs facing each other indi
cate a hasty visit from some one with good
news.
To get rid of a wart you must steal a
piece of meat from the butcher's block, rub
it on the wort, bury it, and when the meat
rots the wart will disappear sure cure.
When your left band itches you will get
money." If your right itches, you will shake
hands with a stranger.
The Empress Josephine was said io have
been a clairvoyant Napoleon constantly
consulted his '"'book of fate," and placed
implicit faith in astrologers, soothsayers,
fortune tellers and other frauds. Josephine
was said to have presaged Napoleon's de
feat at Waterloo because ot the breaking of
a vase.
One Sign of Disaster.
A toad on the doorstep is a certain sign
that the house is under evil influence, and
some disaster must necessarily follow. The
toad must be killed to avoid sorrow. In
"Much Ado AboutNothing" Benedik says:
"Hang me in a bottle, like a cat, and shoot
at me." This has reference to the prevail
ing idea that a cat was an unlucky animal.
There was a prevalent custom in Shakes
peare's time of placing a cat in a bottle
with a lot of soot and hanging it on a line,
and the person who succeeded in beating
out the bottom as be ran under it and es
caped being marked by the contents was
the hero of the sport
Every profession, trade and 'occupation
has its folk-lore. Even the farmer who
studies the actions of animals will tell you
what they portend concerning the weather,
and in many cases sensibly, too, for they
build their homes and lay in their food
through, instinct given by Divine Provi
dence with reference to the coming winter;
they house themselves before a coming
storm; their coats are heavy or light as the
winter shall be severe or otherwise, and
they often, give the farmer who watches
them valuable indication concerning his
crops.
CHICAGO 18 A PABADISE,
The Ladies In San Francisco Now Have
Their Shoes Made in Chinatown. '
Chicago Inter Ocean.
It seems that the only place entitled to
be called America is that strip of the con
tinent lying between the Alleghanies and
the Bockies. East of the Alleghanies it is
all English, don't you know, English dress,
English mannerisms, and English drawls;
west of the Bockies it is all Chinese, don't
you know. In San Francisco and the coast
cities, according to Mrs. Mark S. Bingley,
who is at the Victoria, it's the fad now
among society women to patronize Chinese
merchants and workmen.
"The fashionable women in San Fran
cisco," said Mrs. Bingley yesterday, "are
now having all their shoes made by Chinese
shoemakers. Some one found out that in
Chinese shoes there is not only economy
but a whole lot of conditions involving new
sensations, and the San Francisco girl is
always reedy for a new sensation. To these
sensation-loving girls the shoes are really
worth the trip. It is exciting and unusual
in that queer quarter of the town. The
girls, as a usual thing, as soon as they come
home change every stitch of clothing, be
cause in that quarter there is no telling
what contaminating germs 'may adhere to
them. As the lady steps from her carriage
at the corner on what the Celestials term
'Slock amenta' (Sacramento) street she is
in a neighborhood where there is a very
substantial reason for vigilance.
The purchaser of Chinese shoes must pick
her way among Chinese meat markets, sub
terranean tenements, that are the most un
savory places in the world excerjt the
streets of Naples or the Chicago Stock
Yards, opium joints, noisome alleys and
foulness of every description. She must
stand fire under the oblique glances of leer
ing, evil-visaged, almond-eyed, long-queued
denizens of that idle, overcrowded district
She stands all this that she may get the
fashionable Chinese made shoes. But, as I
said before, the San Francisco girl likes ex
citement, and as a rule is always out for an
adventure.
"San Francisco," concluded Mrs. King
ley, "contains more concentrated badness,
anyhow, to the square foot- than any city
in the world, not even excepting Paris.
Chicago is a paradise of purity compared
with it."
CASSAII IS HOT IN IT.
He Hasn't Been Asked to Go Into Cleve
land's Cabinet
PHirADELFHlA, Dec. 26. The mention
of A. J. Cassatt's name in connection with
the Secretaryship of the Navy In Mr. Cleve
land's Cabinet is the cause of some specula
tion in political circles. A reporter Called
upon Mr. Cassatt at bis home this evening,
and asked him whether the President-elect
had tendered him a portfolio.
"Oh, no," Mr. Cassatt quickly replied.
"Has Mr. Cleveland, through his inti
mate friends, Intimated making vou such an
oiler?"
"Not at alL You must remember I am
not in politics, and have no aspirations
whatever for a Cabinet office, said
Cassatt,
Mr.
It Is Punch All the Time.
Chicago Mall.l
Strange that almost all prlze-flghtors go
to keeping a saloon.'' First it's punch and
then it's punch.
And Start Up In Europe. .
Washington Post.
If this outflow of gold continues, the
Eeeley Institutes may bo forced to shut
down.
A SEDUCTIVE GAME.
An Expert's Opinions on the Fine
Points of Poker Playing,
SOME THINGS TO BE OBSERVED.
iot So Much What Too Win as What Ion
tavel hat Counts.
ONLY ONE TVAI TO (BEAT THE GAME
In talking about the game of draw poker,
one evening recently, a writer for the Bal
timore American heard a gentleman who has
played cards for a good many years express
the opinion that there were no rules by
which to play the game, and from the way
he plays he is evidently sincere in his
belief. As a matter of fact, there are a
number of things to be taken in considera
tion, if one wants to play with any degree
ot success, which can as well be called rules
as anything else; for If, they are not
observed, it will generally result disas
trously to the player who ignores them.
There are many persons who indulge in the
fascinating game who never take into con
sideration anything but the element of
chance or luck, as they call it Of course,
there is a large percentage of chance in this
as well as in almost all games of cards, but
there is much besides that, and it is to refer
to some of the fine points of play that this
artiole is written. The writer, therefore,
huntea up an old and expert exponent of
the great game of draw a man who has
spent his days and nights at the green
table, and this is what he said about poker:
How to 3Iako It Interesting.
"Anyone can learn the rudiments of the
game by reading 'Hoyle's Games,' but it is
only by long experience that one gets to
know how to play a good game, and not always-then.
In order to make a game of
poker interesting, afive-eent anto and twenty-five-cent
limit game should be played in
the same manner as one for larger stakes.
There is one thing always to be borne in
mind if vou don't want to be always a loser,
and that is, that it is not so much what you
win as what you save that makes you a
winner at the close. It is the constant
chipping ont that counts up in the end.
Good average hands will win more than a
few large ones, for, as a rule, when one
holds a very strong hand there is nothing
out against it
"It ought not to be necessary to call at
tention to the importance of each player
Eutting up hfs ante in regular turn, and
olding his cards till it is his turn to bet,
whether he has anything or not; but it is
such a common thing for some players to
throw down their hands as soon as they see
they have 'failed to connect,' that one can
notretrain from referring to such actions as
being in extremely bad taste. It gives one
player an unfair advantage over another for
one' or more players to throw down their
bands before it is their say. For example:
If it is the turn of A to bet, but, before he
docs so, B and C throw down their hands,
after drawing, say, one card each, and only
D is left in, A, who has a fair hand, will bet
more than if there were three to contend
with instead of one.
Lookout for the Draw.
"A very necessary thing to observe care
fully is the draw. No one has a right to ask
any player how many cards he drew exoept
the dealer, and he is not obliged to tell how
many he took after a bet is made; so every
player should watch and remember how
many cards each one drew, which will pre
vent asking foolish questions. There is a
common saving among poker plavers that
'it is all in the draw,' and there is a lot of
truth in that An old sporting man once
said there were but two things he was afraid
of, and they were a one-card draw and a
locomotive. The player who has drawn one
card is always dangerous until he has
thrown down his hand. No one can tell
what he may be drawing to. He may have
either two pairs, three of a kind, a four
straight or flush, or even four ot a kind;
therefore, unless you can beat threes, be
ware of the one-card draw. For example:
Suppose A is dealing a jackpot which
neither B nor C can open. D opens it, and
B and C stay and draw one card each. The
chances are almost certain that they are try
ing for a strainght or flush. Now, suppose
D has three kings it would be foolish for
him to bet the limit, because, if either B or
C fill, they will raise him, and he will feel
compelled to call, while if he should mere
ly bet a small check, the chances are, that
neither B nor C would call unless thev did
'fill, when they would raise him. Where
they play the opener to bet last, ol course,
he would have to use his own judgment as
to what to do, and be guided by the reputa
tion of his opponent
Now, as to Jack Pots.
'It is the almost universal rule that if an
opener is not called, he is not obliged to
show more than enough to open the pot.
He may have only a pair of jacks, and for
tear some one may have a higher pair, he
will draw but one card in order to create
the impression that he has two pairs or
better, which will generally prevent his
being called by the holders of but one pair.
It he were compelled to show his whole
hand, he would have to give away his play,
and no one likes to do that To draw" one
card to a pair of jacks is not always a wise
thing to do, but when it happens, as it
sometimes will, that one cannot improve
the pair he opens with, one is tempted to
resort to some other scheme to make them
win, and that is one that works well some
times. "Bight here let it be said that if you
feel tempted to try some rrew play or feel
inclined to do a little bluffing, don't try it
on a winner, for he is probably playing
with your money and can afford to see what
you have. You can blufl a loser very easily,
for when a player is continually being
beaten he is apt to lose confidence in his
hand. It has been said that more is lost on
three aces than any other hand that can be
held. To some, three acres look to be 'as
big as a house,' while they are not such a
particularly strong hand when straights are
played. Against a one-card draw they are
n6t much better than a pair of deuces until
the one-card draw is disposed of. Where
straights are not played, three of a kind is
a good hand and one can afford to bet more
on it, but in all small gaoies straights are
played to beat threes.
Some Fatherly Advice.
"Many players think it a good thing to
hold an ace with a pair of jacks when open
ing a jack pot I don't agree with them,
for this reason: In the first place, it lessens
the chances of getting another jack, and,
even it they do draw an ace, someone will
just as likely us not have threes, and the
aces top look so good the holder will call to
his sorrow. The better plan is to draw to
the pair; then, if you make the third one or
better, you have not created the Impression
that you had threes to start with, and
the probability is you can get a better play
than you could have obtained after
drawing two card?. Who has not
heard the saying, 'Winners first,
losers last?' When I played marbles we
used to say that, and it applies very well to
the game of poker to this extent: I have
often seen a person play in hard luck all
through a game, but seldom have I seen any
one play with uninterrupted good luck tor
the same length of time. For that reason,
if yourluck in getting good hands and mak
ing them win is in the early part of the,
game, have a care for the time when dame'
fortune will desert you for some other fel
low. Then you must stop trying experi
ments, or you will be sure to stop with a
loss.
"When the cards run to a person, as theyj
win suujEuiues, uc can uraw to almost any
thing and get enough to win with. 'Draw
to a shoestring and get a box of shoes' is
the way they put it Then is the time to
make your play bold and strong, and you
will wlh lint when vnn GnA liof vein "mva
...... n.H, H ........ j wW ....- ,.UM- JVl U.V
I not improving anything in the draw, play
with ereat care, and rest assured, that some
one is getting better hands than you.
Stay Oat Till Ton Get Something.
"As regards good or bad luck, the worst
sind is to get good hands and continually
have them beaten bv better ones. No oue
can contend with such a turn of affairs. If
yon can get nothing but poor hands contin
ually, I can only repeat the advice I once
received from an old card player, which
was, 'Stay out till you get something.
"I have been asked very often which was
the better hand to draw to between a flush
or a straieht, and I always say, to the
strongest hand. It raav be easier to fill the
straight, but the flush is the better hand to
hold. So, when one opens a jack pot with
but one pair and a tour flush, if there is but
one raise before the draw, or unless some
one stands pat, it may be best to draw to
the pair, as the chances are that three aces
or face cards will be the best hand; but if
there are no raises befoie the draw, split
thepair every time and draw to the flush,
laying aside the discard that you may show
it after the hand is played. A good play is
to raise on two pairs, if you sit next to or
within one of the opener, as that will prob
ably keep ont those who would otherwise
come in on one pair, which tney might im
prove and ruin your chance of winning.
"It is generally best to draw one card to
threes, holding up the smaller of the odd
cards, for it is about as easy to match that
card, and thns fill your hand, as to do so by
drawing two cards; besides, you don't
reveal the fact that you have three to start
with. 0
"Of course, if there is any betting before
the draw, it may be better to draw to the
full strength ot your hand, as you may need
four of a kind to win with.. In conclusion,
let me give one more good rule to adhere to,
and that is, if you want to keep always
ahead of the game, you can do so in one
way only, namely: Leave it alone."
TVHITE MEN ON KONGO.
The New Ccnsns Hiows That 050 of Them
Are Living There The Country Band
ing; Up Conditions Constantly Growing
Better.
The Kongo Free State has taken the cen
sus of its white population. On December
31 last year there were living within the
limits ot the State 950 white men, of whom
012 were Europeans and 27 Americans, be
sides a few Arabs, Indians and Malays.
Four hundred and forty-five of
the Europeans are Belgians. The
principal centers of white population are
Matadi, Boma, Banana, and Leopoldville.
The greatest number are living at Matadi,
where there are 279 white men, most of
them engaged on tbe Kongo Bailroad,
though there are also quite number ot
State officers, commercial agents, and mis
sionaries. The capital ot the country,
Boma, which is about 0 miles from the
mouth of the Kongo, has 116 white resi
dents. Boma is an important center for
trading companies. It has become a very
comfortable place of residence. Like Ma
tadi, it has a good hotel and a sani
tarium, and it has a steam tramway to carry
passengers from the river front to the hills,
a mile or two distant, where most of the
buildings of the State are situated. Banana
is inhabited almost wholly by agents of
various trading companies, and 123 white
men live there. Leopoldville is the largest
town on the upper Kongo, and the starting
point of tbe steamboats which leave Stanley
Pool to ply upon the upper river. Ninety
seven white men and some women live
there, while at Kinchassa, only four or five
miles distant, are 33 more white men.
This is the country where, according to
Burton's testimony a few years ago, white
men could not live. He had spent a little
while on the lower Kongo,and got the idea
that the climate was particularly deadly.
No man ever said more uncomplimentary
things about the Kongo climate than this
great traveler. He thought ,a white man
might as well commit suicide as to go to the
Kongo, and yet, in spite of the forebodings
of Burton and others, the white population
is rapidly growing. In 1889 there were 430
white men in the country. Two years
later, with 950 white residents, tbe foreign
-population has more than doubled. All
over the upper river and its tributaries
these white people are spread. Even
far away in Katanna, on the western head
waters of the Kongo, a country which was
not knowd at all seven yenr. ago when the
Congo State was formed, ,45 white men are
now living. At Basoko, at the month of
the Aruwimi river, where tbe natives pur
sued Stanley on his first journey, crying,
"Meat I Meat!" as they fired their arrows at
him, 40 white men are now living in the
big State station at the confluence of the
rivers, and at other posts up the Aruwimi.
At Equatorville there are 14 and at Ban
gala 23 whites. These two places are where
the military training schools of the State
are maintained.
The conditions of life on the Kongo are
constantly growing better. Doctors are
now within reach when they are needed;
supplies of medical stores and European
food of all kinds are kept in abundance.
Most of the whites live in houses exported
from Europe and the houses are well fur
nished. In fact, the whites have been mak
ing a study of how to live in good health,
and how to make life as comfortable as pos
sible; and it is to their increased knowledge
in these respects that they are now able to
live in the Kongo region for some years in
very good health. The rate ot mortality
has'greatly decreased within the past four
years.
THE FLOWEB THAT FLIES.
An Odd Creaturo or tho TJnrd Tribe
Found In Asia and India.
Philadelphia Press.
One of the strangest ot the many odd
cseatures that inhabit the wilds of Southern
Asia and India Is the "flying flower," a
small brilliant-hued lizard of the order of
bracovolus. On the wing these curious
species of zaurian resemble a richly-tinted
insect When at rest he compares favor
ably with others of the lizard tribe, with
the exception that he has extraordinary
protuberances on both sides of the body.
These are the "wings," which are formed
by a cutaneous flap, wing-like in shape,
supported by series of false ribs.
In color these flying lizards are blue and
gray, with intermediate tints of various
.kinds and shades. The tail of this creature
is very long aud slender as well as very
snake-like in appearance. A large pouch,
fast to the under jaw, and extending to some
three inches below tbe mouth, adds to the
ferocious aspect of the good-natured, harm
less creature. The wings are not what a
scientist would call "true wiugs," but are
used mainly as parachutes.
When the lizard leaps from a limb of a
tree Into the air the contact brings out its
cutaneous flaps and enables the.possessor to
soar away at an angle to a greater or lesser
distance, depending altogether on the
height of the starting point.
TO LYNCH OR NOT TO LYNCE
A Kentucky Mob Voted on tho Question,
Being Stopped by a Girl's Appeal.
Botoiho Gbeeit, Kt., Dec. 16. Bob
Harper, the negro who has been in jail
here for a week as the assailant of Miss
Kate Anderson some time since, was
identified by her last night. Great
excitement prevailed and the mob that
has several times assembled to hang
him, again demanded him of the jailor.
Miss Anderson had requested that the
negro be not lynched that night, as each re
curring Christmas would be an awful recol
lection to her, and the request was so stated
to the mob in several speeches by citizens,
who preferred to see the law take its
course.
Tbe mob appointed a committee to decide
the matter, agreeing to abide by its ruling.
The question of lynching him that night or
some future time was discussed and four
voted to spare him for the time. The men
then quietly dispersed, agreed to reassemble
at a time not given out.
The Bigger the Better.
Chicago Mall. ,
Mr. Cleveland is to have a bodyguard
He'll have to be a whale If Mr. Cleveland Is
going to get behind him.
MEW ADVERTISEMENTS,
A
SQUARE
DEAL
Is what we give to every cus
iomer at all 'times. We don't
advertise to-day overcoats at
50c on the dollar or $12 coats
at $6 and to-morrow 50 per
cent off and a premium for car
rying them oj. All Bur goods
are on the square, genuine
and first class in quality. Our
prices are square, too, and al
ways marked as low as the con
'ditions 0 the 'seasons will per
mit. There s one thing certain,
that, whatever price goods you
buy from us, yoic get the same
honest home-77iade clothing for
' which we have built up a na
tional reputation. Otir stamp
ed repair guarantee accompa
nies every sale to keep in re
pair, free of charge, any suit
or overcoat costing $10 for
one year. So much for ready
made. In our Tailoring De
partment we are selling off
odd suit patterns, odd overcoat
patterns, odd pants patterns
at very low prices.
Come and get first choice.
954 and 956 Liberty St.,
STAR CORNER,
de27
ELITE PHOTO GALLERY,
SIC Market St.
Come now and get your PHOTOS
before the holidays. Cabinets re
duced. Use the ELEVATOR.
no22-TT8
LIQUORS ,,
PURE OLD RYE WHISKIES
From $1 to $1 0 per quart
CALIFORNIA PORTS, SHERRIES, Efc.
At 50c a quarc
The Only Licensed
Drugstore in the City.
G. EISENBEJS,
Successor to II. P. Schwartz & Co.,
WHOfSALE ASD RETAIL DRUGGIST.
US FEDERAL ST., ALLEGHENY. PA.
Tel. 3015. Established 1S3S.
0C13-31-TT3U
THE NEXT MORNING I FEEL BRIGHT AND
NEW AND MY COMPLEXION IS BETTER.
My doctor says it acts gently on the stomach,
liver and kldnevs. and is a pleasant laxative. This
drink Is made com herbs, and is prepared Ibr usa
as easily as tea. It la called
LAKE'S HEDIGIHE
Alldrturrfst3sellltat50c.and$lapack&ge. Hyoa
cannot get It, send your address for a free sample.
Lane's Family Medicine move the bowels
each liar. In order to be healthy this is necessary.
Address OBATOB F. WOOD WAED, Li Hoy. N.Y.
WALL PAPER.
'Our 5c paper is the best
Our 7c paper is the finest.
Our ioc paper is good enough for
the best of parlors.
Send for samples of these papers,
sent free to any address.
G. G. O'BRIEN'S
PAINT UD WALL PAPEH STDHL
315 Fifth Avenue,
Four Squares From Court House.
no30-2S-p
P
O. D. LEVIS, 80LICITOB OP
ATENTS
31 Filth avenext Leader, Flttstrar;
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