7
" r-,
AW
B. F. SCHWEIER,
THE OOISTITUTIOI THE UH0I-A1D TIE EIP0X0EHT 0? TIE LAYS.
Editor and Proprietor.'
VOL. XLI.
MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. MAY IS, 1SS7.
NO. 21.
X "NkJ. M II I I I 1 III III
vl 17 W II 111 IU IV
A Fair Florentine.
Sbe tath eyes that sham, the night.
Deep and mystic, dark with doom.
Rich In thought, alii, with light
When the passion flowers bloom.
And tier lips are scarlet red,
Mate, ud motionless, and calm,
Till a score of kisses shed
Love's elixir on their balm.
Soft and downy is her breast,
Tranquil as a virgin rose,
Sow to rock in wild unrest.
Like an ocean in Its throes.
Bella, IV! la,
Graxiclla,
3ueen where Arno's river flows.
She Lath locks of darkest dark,
Brow of snow and face of lire ;
Tuneless Is the sinking lark
When she strikes her hilvc-r lyre ;
Arno's speech is not as sweet
As lb. music of her voice
When she runs to meet and greet
'lhe Lnlgi of her choice.
Myrrh and oleander delis
Bloom with beauties rare to see ;
Yet within their shadows dwells
Not a fairer nvmph than she;
Beila. Bella;
Graziella,
Heart and heaven throb for thee.
Florence hath more sta'e'y dame.
Garbed in siik and decked with lace,
But tbey lack the living flames
Sweeping o'er her cherub face.
Plain-robed lasses often are
Each a mora bewitching prize.
Than the blue-veined proudest star
Gleaming from palatial skies.
Viva Baeco 1 Tap the cak 1
We will drink this health of thine
With a bate per from a flask
Of the ruddy Tuscan wine,
fteila, Bella,
Graziella,
Maid of maidens, Florentine !
MEETING STREAMS.
"A gentleman to see you, sir."
I was not particularly anxious to see
my one at the moment my Martha
made this announcement, for I was try
ing hard to lini.-h a short story I bad
ingagedto write by a certain date for a
well-known magazine. For some days
past my clerical duties had been usually
ueavy and t ine was precious. Besides,
I was in the midst ot an animated con
versation between the two chief chanc
ers in my tale, and this interruption
sadly disturbed its course, ttill my
vork could wait for a few minutes if it
.vas necessarv.
"Who is it" Maitha?"'
"A stranger, sir."
"Show him in," and with a sigh my
MS. is laid aside.
The person who entered my study
was a young fellow of some two and
wenty; tall, rather handsome, and with
i smile that took me at once. I shook
aands with him and offered him a chair.
"My name is Davies," he said.
"You are not likely to know anything
shout me, as I came here yesterday. I
need some help, and I have come to ask
fou for It."'
Mr. Davies spoke shyly, and, indeed
it w as easy to see that he was not an
ordinary beggar. I could not tell that
it was money he wauted, but my expe
rience led me to suppose it was. No
one knew better than I how often men
like him had gone to WTeckand ruin for
lack of some timely assistance in this
vast northwest, and if I could be of use
to him it was my plain duty to be so.
"I do not know if I have any ctaim
npou you," h continued, "but I was
looking through a directory in a store
this morning, wondering if I could
chance on the name of a friend, when
I noticed yours, sir Mr. Stephenson.
Some near "relations of mine in the old
country are called Stevenson-S-t-e-v-e-n-s-o-n,"
he ; x-t the word and then went
on with a wl-.tful air:
"Your name is not spelt quite iu the
same way,"" he observed, but ''directo
ries are not always correct, and the
name is not a common one. Perhaps
you are a connection of these friends of
mine; they live at Pocklington in Sur
rey." .No; I had not even heard of the Ste
vensons of Pocklington; but I had
watched Mr. Dav;es attentively while
he made his statement, and come to the
conclusion that it had not been manu
factured for the occasion. It had rather
the air of something of the kind, but
the man's manner made me believe that
lie was sincere. Would he say in what
way 1 might be of use to him? His
hopes ha 1 evidently been a good deal
dashed, for he continued in a slower
graver tone:
"Two years ago I came from Eng
land to Canada. I was at Kugby, sir;
and my father is a clergyman. When
I left school I was articled to a solicitor,
but I did not take kindly to desk work.
I soon knew that 1 was not cut out for
that ssrt of thimj. However, I did not
think of anything else until a cousin of
mine, w ho "had settled near Toronto
his farm is a few miles north of the city
wrote for me to come out to him. I
jumped at the offer. I didn't know
anything about farming which would
Le against me, but I could learn. In
any case I was sure I should like its
free, open-air life a long way better
than the atmosphere of a stuffy office."
I nodded approval. If Mr. Davies
had set about to win my entire sympa
thy he could not have hit upon a better
plan to gain it I had often pointed
out that we Canadians are for the most
part an agricultural iople, and had
deplored that so many of our young
men were not content to stay on their
father's farms, but went to the city. I
had preached to many a lad, better be a
fanner any day than a clerk. Of course,
"He that will to Cupar maun to Cu
par," as the wise Scotch proverb says,
but, in most cases the exchange from
the country to the town is not a benefi
cial one.
"Well," continued Mr. Davies, "I
stayed w ith my cousin until a few days
ago. I-ast month I received a letter
from an old schoolmate called Thomp
son, who is ranching beyond Calgary,
asking me to go out to join him. It's
father a Wild life, but I thought I
would like it; so I left Toronto and
reached Winnipeg yesterday. I find I
have not quite enough money to take
me to Calgary; where Jim Thompson is
to meet me. I have $-$3 and some cents,
but I need a few dollars more. Will
you kindly lend me a small sum?"
"How much do you require?" I
asked. "The fare is about $40," he
faid suggestively.
"Suppose I lend you f 10; will that
do?"'
"Yes, sir. I'll send you the money
back' as soph as I see Jim Thompson.
He told me before I started he would
pay my passage out to him if necessary,
but I thought I had enough. Of course,
I might stay in town and wait till I
hear from him, but it would be a waste
of time."
I agreed with Lim. Then Jwrolfc out
a check in favor of Edward Dayies and
handed it to him. He thanked me and
withdrew. I went back to my MS.,
and succeeded in picking up the thread
of my story. i
A few weeks later the loan was repd
me. By one of those curious coinciden
ces which sometimes happen, the same
mail which brought me the money and
grateful letter in which Mr. Davies
acknowledged my opportune assistance
to him also brought me a check for a
much larger amount than I had expect
ed from the publishers of the magazine
for which my story had appeared.
Time went by, and soon Mr. Davies
and the episode in which he had figured
completely passed out of my mind.
The evening of the same day that Mr.
Davies had called upon me, 1 was pres
ent at a bright an 1 delightful jtarty
given by my friends, the Dalstoiie.
They had been induced to come to
Winnipeg from Hamilton during the
famous "boom," of which many in the
eastern provinces have a sufiicieutly
lively recollection. They had beeu in
time to share in the phenominal and
unnatural prosperity of the period of
inflation, but when the terrible reaction
set in, aud prices weut down and down
every day, they had suffered severely.
However they were cheeiy, wholesome
minded people, who faced their troub'e
bravely. At the same time of which I
write two or three years ago the full
extent of the collapse was not under
stood. Mr. Dalston was telling me how
confident he was that a good harvest
would cause trade to revive, and lliat
the country would speedily recover. I
was expressing a similar conviction,
though I could not piu my faith to the
results of one season, when my atten
tion was taken by a remarkable face,
w hich I did not remember ever having
een before in the society of the city.
The face itself was perfectly familiar
to me; indeed, it must be known to a
great many others, as art has made it
live already for more than 100 years,
and will go near to making it immortal.
In the celebrated gallery of Dresden,
there you will see to-day that beautiful
face. " The picture has hung there for a
century, and it shows no signs of fading
out. Of course, the woman who sat
for that wonderful portrait has been
dead these many long years; she had
her lovers; broke some of their hearts,
1 dare say, and had her say like the rest
of us; but her face has not perished
there it is on the canvas. As long as
the colors List it will never cease to be a
striking, and to most people, a charm
ing picture. I for one, had not forgot
ten it, and here, in Winnipeg of all
places in the world, was the same face!
I do not need t- oil you that it was
not quite the same face; for, as I said,
the womanjof the Dresden painting died
long ago. But it was a face of a rare
type; and the girl in my friend's drawing-room
reproduced it exactly. Now
no words of mine can do as much cer
tainly not in a few touches. This is
where the painters have the advantage
of us. For when a really great artist
irives the world a portrait he makes
features and expression and soul (if I
may use the word) together so as to tell
a harmonious tale that the whole man
stands before us. So when I say that
the girl's face was oval, the forehead of
that kind which is best suited by hav
ing the hair brushed back from it and
then massed above it, with perhaps a
tiny curl escaping at either side, the eye
brows arched high above the soft hazel
eyes, the nose neither Greek nor Ro
man, but a happy mixture of both, the
mouth small and firm and shaped like
the very bow of Cupid, the cheeks
rounded and tinted with warm color, 1
cannot but feel that I have given a
somewhat lifeless catalogue of certain
details, and not a complete presentment.
How can I describe the charm of it its
grace; its vivacity, the look of wonder,
struggling with humor in the eyes? Yet
you can see all these and much more at
a glance in the Dresden picture.
The extraordinary resemblance was
helped even by the way in which the
girl was dressed. The white column of
her neck was exposed save where a row
of amber beads partly hid it; the square
bodice she wore was of a dark rich
material, tlie skirt of the same, but
slashed across with a broad band of
lace.
It was almost impossible to believe
she had sterped out of that century-old
painting.
An elderly gentleman was talking to
her perhaps paying her some pretty
compliment, for she blushed slightly as
she glanced at him with a smile. I
asked to be introduced, and found she
was interesting and agreeable as could
1 wished. She was enthusiastic about
Canada. She told me she was a new
comer to Winnipeg indeed, to the Do
minion, l'erhaps I might laugh at her,
but she felt she must come out to the
northwest. She did not know what it
was, but she was sure she had a mission
out here. There w ere plenty of flue
young fellows at the Dalston's that
evening, and I wondered if her "mis
sion" was in the room. She looked
forward with pleasure to the winter.
Of course it was cold, very cold; but the
skating and the tobogganing and the
snow-shoeing. The sleighing how
splendid it must be to glide along oyer
mils upon mile of smooth snow, with
the bells tinkling in the keen, clear air.
She was delighted with her Canadian
friends; the girls were so bright and
jolly, the men such good fun. And on
she prattled .in a way that was alto
gether very winning. I was compelled
to leave the party early, and though I
did not see my Dresden face iu At inni
peg again, I did not forget it,
Two years later I was meditating a
holiday trip. It was the middle of sum
mer, and I had been hard at work for
many a month and needed some change.
The question was, where to go? Should
I betake myself to Ontario the charm
ing voyage across the lakes in one of t he
delightful C. T. R. boats was very
tempting. There was the United States,
a tremendously wide field; what point
should I make for? While I thus hesi
tated events took the trouble of coming
to a decision out of my hands.
One morning a letter came witlj the
Calgary stamp on tlie envelope, and the
handwriting was quite unknown to me.
This was what was said in it:
"Dear Mr. Stephenson: Perhaps you
have forgotten me, but I shall always
remember your kindness to me on a
certain occasion. You were good
enough to lend me $10, though I was a
complete stranger without any claim
upon you. I can't forget that. I have
tried to keep up some sort of acquaint
ance with you, for I havp read every
thing you have written since I saw you.
Xow I am about to be married and I
am very anxious tliat you should be
associated with that very important
step in my life. To come out here to
me means a good deal of expense and
takes up some time. But if you can get
away from your duties iu the city for a
fortnight pr three weeks, you will per
haps allow me to make the money all
rirrlit Tf mil haVA tlPVflf bflMl OUt herd
you will be pleased to see the country;
and, if you like, you can go on to tluj
mountains. I can assure you, at any
rate, of a royal time when you are with
me. I can hardly say bow disappointed
I will be if you are unable to come.
Please telegraph if you will come. Very
gratefully yours, Edwakd Davies.
nere was a holiday, but it was even
more delightful to be remembere I in
this kind of way. What a pleasant
feeling this unexpected letter gave me!
Of course I telegraphed my acceptance
of Mr. Davies' offer.
Two or three weeks later I took the
western train from Winnipeg, sped past
Portage la Prairie, lying amid its yellow
ing wheat fields; on across the long,
green levels of the plains, with settlers'
huts rising here and there, through the
sandhill country, with its stunted trees
ar.d marshy hollows; along tlie valleys
of Assinldolne, where Brandon stands;
on to Regina, and on and on westward
for a couple of days, till we come to the
land of streams and mighty pastures,
and could almost persuade ourselves
that we could see the far-off blue of the
Rockies, and Calgary was reached.
Here Davies, his frieud Jim Thomp
son and two other young ranchmen met
me, all determined to show every atten
tion possible to the "parson." We spent
a night in Calgary, a stirring town of
the true western type, with its own
local coloring in cowboys and miners
and railroad men. Early next morning
we set out for Man's ranch, as Thomp
son called his place, a drive of some
seventy miles. Davies and I had a
buckboard, and the others were on
horselack. During the day and a half
we were traveling, Davies gave me an
account of what had happened since I
had seen him last. He was in high
spirits, as was natural. How he enjoyed
life! He spoke of the freedom and
healthfuluess of the plains; then of the
money that was being made out of the
great herds. He was now a partner of
Thompson's; an uncle had left him some
money, and he had "chipped in with
Jim," as lie expressed it. Yes, they
were doing very well. He had built a
house in the spring ah, yes, he was
engaged before that, he said, with a
happy look on his sun-tanned face.
Then the young lady he was going to
many w hat a wonderful and gracious,
little woman she was! English, like
himself, he said; but devoted to Canada.
He slid so many pretty things about
this sweetheart of his! If the conversa
tion was inclined to flag about the cat
tle and the country, a word about the
girl and off he went like a sky-rocket.
Next day the marriage took place in
Jim Thompson's house; there was a
table for an altar, and a couple of cush
ions for the bride and bridegroom to
kneel on, and a few chairs for the
others in a big room which certainly
had never been used for sur'i a purpose
before. The Iride had arrived Lite the
previous evening, and so I did not see
her until sbe came up to the improvised
altar. Lo, it was my Dresden picture!
I recognized her at once, but I think
she had forgotten me. After the ser
vices was over ana i naa maae me pair
my congratulations, I whispered to her
that I was glad to see that she had
found her "mission." She smiled and
said that she knew me now. Had she
not met me in Winnipeg two years ago!
shortly afterward, she told me, she had
gone out to Fort Macleod.
What a scene to be remembered was
the bridal feast! The whole-soul enjoy
ment, the genuine, light-hearted laugh
ter of these young fellows there were
troojis of them from many a distant
ranch, who had come to "see Ned
through." JIow attentively they wait
ed on the young ladies that were pres
ent! What a bright spot in one's memo
ries is all this!
When I proposed the bride's health
how they manage to get champagne iu
these northwestern territories, notwith
standing the prohibitory legislation, it
is not for me to say I alluded, but very
slightly, to the chain of curious coinci
dences I have recorded under the name
of Meeting Streams.
The Trade of SfarrUgo.
TiiA iwn.'ii rpinrt. when women com
plain of want of remunerative employ
ment, is that they snouia not worK, out,
FinH inpn tn snnnoi t them. As there
are 500,000 more women than men in
England, it is obviously impossible mat
every woman should have a husband.
This state of things is as bad in Ger
many also. The preponderance of the
women over the meu is the greatest in
the professional and upper middle
classes. Among the richer aristocracy
of England, and the absolutely working
people, the sexes are still equal in num
ber, and women can still marry. But
the sons of clergymen, officers, civil
servants, lawyers, doctors, and some of
iI,p ennntrv irentrv find the struggle for
existence too great io t lis kingdom;
they emigrate, or leave tue country uy
joining the military or naval service.
1 heir sisters all remain at home, unable
to find husbands, and uneducated for
work, even domestic work. These
"superfluous women" most undoubt
edly, is a body, perform the first duty
of their sex that of being charmingly,
they ari often handsome, are generally
well-mannered, and well-dressed. They
are "charmers," but there is no one to
charm. They know very well that
their chances of marriage are almost
nil; therefore, shoul4 a solitary suitor
with even a modest competency apiear,
they feel driven to accept the first man
who asks them, whether they care for
him or not, and most generally they do
not. Theii parents w ish to get rid of
them, so they marry without love. An
evil arises out of this, more ghastly
than can be described. The marriage
of conrewanoe is a recognized social in
stitution abroad. In England, in this
nineteenth century, the woman of the
upper middle classes adopt it without
acknowledging it. However we may
affect to deny it, there is a vast amount
or married unhappiness in all classes.
The fault is sometimes ascribed to the
present degeneracy of women and some
times to the deterioration of men. The
fault really lies in our social system,
which gives a woman neither work noi
money and obliges her to sell herself,
before she has lost her only salable com
moditiesyouth and beauty. As then
exists four "superfluous women" to one
man, the female has no choice, while
the lordly male has the greater num
ber from 'whom to pick and choice.
Therefore, in this country, many women
have not Only no chance or marrying at
all, but no freedom of selection what
ever. Tho Begs1 of Romp.
It is estimated that the beggars d
Rome receive $2,000,000, a year to almi
and that 600 of them are worth fron
fl5,000 to $25,000 each. A Bomar
wbo can make money by begging Js not
going to work.
OX THK CONGO.
Land Reported to be Flowing With
Milk and Honey.
The hundreds of beautiful islands of
lhe Congo, some of them tea to twenty
nines long, are as rich if not richer than
the main hind, says Lieutenant Taunt
m his report concerning his recent expe
Jition to Africa. As a rule, both main
land and islands are covered with dense
forests, in w hich are to be found the
rubber, gum copal, palm and other val
uable trees. On the the mainland are
occasional stretches of immense pla
teaus, w hich the elephant, buffalo and
other game use for feeding grounds.
The islands above Baugala are covered
with thousands of the valuable oil palm
trees.
The Congo abounds in most excellent
rood fish, which form a staple article of
food on the upper river. The natives
seldom eat the fish when fresh, but
smoke or dry theiu. The man-eating
rocodile is met with throughout the
iiver, aud in the region of the islands
tnd sandbanks the hippopotami are
found. I have frequently met herds of
lateen or twenty of these beasts playing
in the river. It disturbed in their breed'
ing season they will attack passing
;inoe,s and sometimes steamers. One
jf the state launches has been badly
mimed by the tusks of a hippo.
Of the mineral wealth of the Congo
valley there can be no question. The
natives of all sections possess iron and
:opner in large quantities. The knives
mil spears are made of the iron and
lecorated with copper. Their brass
ornaments are made from the matakus
that they purchase in trade from the
whites.
I saw no gold ir silver; the natives
lo not place any value on these metals.
It has been reiorted that the Arabs
liave found gold in small quantities in
lhe interior above, Stanley i alls.
The natives of the lower Congo are
trnied with fimt-lock muskets, but they
ire almost harmless. They have no
idea of marksmanship, and it is the ex
.'eptiou when a man is killed in their
tribal wars. In October, lNs, between
M'Bauza Mateke ami Vlvi, I was iu
sunp with nearly COO of Makito's eopIe
lone of the most powerful duels on tue
lower river); these people were return
ing from the coast with rum, gin, etc.,
but with my native caravau and one
other white man. I camped as peacefully
imong these 000 natives as I could have
lone at Yivi. And again, one of the
Eughsh mission is living alone at
Lutete, and has been so for montlis, the
nearest white man being utty miles
from him. The agents of the state
icver travel with a guard In the lower
.ountry. and the state limits its cara
vans to enough people lor the transpor
tation of their camp equiiwge only. As
far as I could leain, there is no case on
iccord during the List two years where
i white man's caravan has been molest-
jd on the lower river,
Tho Baskuugas are suierstitious to
the hist decree; they rely for protection
3U the fetich charms, aud the medicine
men of the tnws have great influence.
On tho death of any person of note in
the village the poison test is used. The
medicine mail designates the man or
woman susjiecte l of causing the death
by charm or witchcraft. The poison is
idmistered, and if it acts as an emitic
that signifies innocence; if on the con
taarv, it kills, the guilty one is punish
ed. In some instances the laws of the
Boskungas are very stringent. Stealing
from each other is punished by death.
Fighting or disorder in the market
places is seriously punished, and if a
lire inn is used the punishment is death.
Te market place, which usually cov
ers some acres of ground, is used as the
place of execution, and it is not- an
unusual sight to meet a skeleton hang
ing and bleaching in the sun on the
outskirts of the market, or to find a
broken musket driven into the ground,
which marks the spot where a man has
beeu buried alive to his throat, his
brains dashed out, then covered, and the
musket driven into his body. "AH this
to serve as a warning to others pot to
use firearms in the market place.
The native food of the lower Congo
valley is principally peanuts and chi
quango (made from the manioc root.)
On market days fowl, eggs, goat and
pork may be bought, and (in small quan
tities) sweet jiotatoes, peas, beans,
onions and banana.
As a rule I did not rind the lower
Congo people Intemperate; the native
drink is malafu or palm wine, which,
when fresh, is not at all intoxicating.
Thev are fond of rum and gin, and these
articles will go much faitliec iu trade
than either cloth or beads. The native
caravans demand rum or giu as a por
tion of their pay.
The woman are slaves, there being no
marriage laws.
Above Stanley Pool, and more par
ticularly above the mouth of the Has-
sai river the natives are an entirely
different race, both physically and intel
lectually. The greater part of these
people are traders, and rich; they own
many slaves; in fact, a chief populates
his villages with slaves, the freemen of
the village being the members of his
own family. A singular fact is tliat
slaves can in turn own slaves; ip fact,
the men are more like retainers than
blaves; the women bear that burden.
TWO VGtiY REf TILES.
A Monser Rattlesnake and a Great
lleO LizarU at Mral-llmo.
A great black rattlesnake was moving
leisurely about in his cage in a shop
window in Denver, when a reporter
paused to look at the reptile for a few
minutes. A bright patch of sunlight
was (loodine the window, and In this
the snake seemed to. be reveling; taking
his holiday, as it were for it takes a
considerable incentive fo make a snake
move on a cloudy day. i Dp rattlesnake
had his house all to himself (at least
there were no other snakes present at
the entertainment), but away in one
corner of the cage, cowering and quiver
ing in the most agonizing rear, sat a
half-grown rat, with his feet curled up
under him, his long slender tail fairly
lashed into an interrogation point with
excitement, and his bright little black
eyes snapping as if they would pop out
ot his head with horror. The ' rattle
snake moved leisurely along. Erst to one
s.de of the cage then to the other, some
times turning his body slowly around
near the corner where the rat, was, and
sometimes crawling to the opposite end
of the cage, put always keeping his glit
tering eyes on the nit, which poor little
animal seemed utterly transfixed with
horror. Sometimes the snake would
crawl up to the very front pf the cage,
rubbing the length, of liis body along
the bars, sticking put his tongue, and
evidently drinking in the aunsMne
which fl directly unon m, Jn. (tie
meantime a crowd had congregated out
side the window and were curiously
watching the movements of tlie rattle
snake, whom they expected any moment
to pounce upon the terrified rat and
devour it, but the snake took his own
time. It was evidently no common
rattlesnake, but a genuine monarch of
its kind, who took life on an easy plan
and never hurried about any thing.
In an adjoining cage lay a great red
lizard dozing in tlie sun on Ilia gravely
bed prepared for his comfort. This
creature was fat, and broad and torpid.
It was also red and black alternately in
the most artistic fashion, as if the deft
fingers of some young lady skilled in the
art of fancy work had beaded him to
the queen's taste. But this has little to
do with the story in question, save that
the lizard was soon roused from its
slumbers by being sharply prodded with
a stick, inasmuch as it was time for
him to dine. Having, therefore, the
vision of a feast in its mind, it lifted Its
fat, red body, opened its eyes, and
awited developments. In the mean
time the rattlesnake was moving slowly
about his cage, and the timorous rat
was crouching closer and closer to the
bars. When the lizard awoke the people
turned their attention to it, and the
rattlesnake, attracted by the sound of
footsteps, took its eye3 off the rat, for
the time being, and fastened them in
tently upon its next door neighbor.
At that juncture the door of the lizard '3
cage was quickly opened and an egg
was rolled upon the gravel'y carpet of
his habitation. It rested there but a
moment.
The fat, lazy red, creature became
possessed of momentary energy. Moving
quickly to where the egg lay it seized
upon it like some rapacious monster
devouring his prey, and, taking it in its
mouth attempted to swallow it down
with a gulp. But the task was too
great. The lizard's mouth was not
large enough. The creature gsped and
gurgled, and finally spat the egg out
again upon the gravel. Theu rage
seemed to inspire the lizard. He rolled
his fat body angrily upon the egg, broke
it in two pieces, and quickly devoured
it one piece at a time. This operation
beirg completed, his lizardship laid
down to rest again, and the attentiwn of
the crowd was at once turned agaiu to
the neighboring cage, where the rattle
snake was beginning to move rapidly in
the direction of its prey. It was a plain
case. The snake had tormented and
tantalized the rat until, tiring of the
sport, it had turned for a moment to
watch the uxard feeding ou the egg.
and the sight had evidently Increased
its own greedy hunger. Making one
swift advance upon the rat, he swallow
ed it so quickly that not one of the
sjiectators couid explain how it was
done. As the snake swallowed the rat
the animal could be seen slipping aloug
the length of the reptile's body wilh un-1
mistable distinctness. A few more gulps
and all was over. His siiakeship then,
surfeited with the rat on which it had
dined, soon flung itself on the cloth
lining of the stage wh:cli composes its
couch and sank away into sleep. Doubt
less sleep brought t j it many visions of
feasting time, many fields fairly paved
with gigantic rats which it possessed
the privilege to fall upon and devour.
It was the first time the lizard had par
taken of food for six weeks.
The proprietor of the establishment
said that thev uever eat oftener, and
that caged rattlesnakes could never be
Induced to eat frogs. If the rat had
been thrown into tlie cage dead the rat
tlesnake would have crawled over its
body for the spaee of a year's time with
out eating it; but it is the appearance of
life in these smaller an 1 more helpless
animals which seem to provoke the
cruel desire of the rattlosnake. It is
said that the rattles are designed by
nature for the purpose of imitating the
sound of insects, thereby luring the hap
less birds into the toils of the snakes.
A bird singing on the branch of a tree
hears a chirping sound which it imag
ines emanates from the throat of some
juicy bug, quickly descends among a
thick growlli of grasses ud never
knows more, for it is at once seized
upon and devoured by the reptile which
has been lying in wait for it, perhajis
for a day. This is one of the rattle
snakes sly tricks not usually known to
the public It is said, also, tliat there
is no such thing as snake charming.
Anybody may be a snake charmer who
has sufficient courage to keep his eye
fixed on the bright orbs of the reptile,
aud to rrod it vigorously with a stick.
In this way the snake may be irritated
almost to death, and will never attempt
to bite anything except the stick. It
has long since been ascertained by those
who deal in snakes that a professional
snake-charmer never buys a snake until
he has (earned that it is absolutely free
from poison. I he rattlesnakes they use
have their po.son-fangs extracted, and
other varieties of snakes are many of
them harmless. In this way wonderful
feats are p rformed by so-called snake-
charmers in public. It is a curious
scientific fact that all elements of the
poison found in a rattlesnake are inhe
rent in the common Irish potato. A
teaspoon upon being farced into a rat
tlesnake's mouth comes out brimful of
the poison so much dreaded by man.
Chinese Dishe.
There are some dishes that to Ameri
cans and Europeans, seem disgusting,
others that are merely odd. Walking
through the Chinese market in San
Francisco, one sees some very queer ar
ticles of food for sale; small pats of soft
cheese, varnished amber brown and
stamped with Chinese characters; well
peeled chestnuts, with tiny slices of
white cocoanut wrapped in neat little
cornucopias of glossy cabbage leaf ; forty
kinds of dried nuts, fruits, (whole or
Eliced) ropts and barks.
Then there are living mrucs anu
frogs; fowls and fish, alive, freshly
dressed, and smoked or dried; meats,
haf cooked in the carcass; wreaths of
dried oysters strung on bamboo splints;
abalones, like black models for dolls
hats; shreds of white cuttle-fish, and a
host of other edible curiosities.
A straneer might suppose that they
were simply curiosities, like the ancient
sticks of barber-pole candy exhibited in
the dingy window of a country grocery;
or like the ham, elaborately decorated
with geometrical puzzles in jelly, tp be
admired," but on no account to be
carved. Not at all. They are regarded
as eatable, and they are eaten.
In fact, the Chinese and Japanese
eats everything that comes out of the
sea. All the fishes are good to their
taste, and are caught wi'J great skill.
Seaweeds pf several sorts are sent far
into the interior, to be used m thicken
ing soups, gravies and pudding, and are
highly prized rjecause uiey give a rerisu
ing flavor pf salt, which in a luxury
beyond the reach of most Chinese
C03TLY AXCIGXT BLADE.
Cnriosities Worth Noticing.
Alongside the modern life-guard's
sword, foity inches long, and the
lighter infantry sword, thirty-three
inches in length, Messrs. Wilkinson dis
play many antique weapons, says the
Pall Mall Gazette. There are genuine
specimens of the famous Andrea Fer
rari, which were so prized in Scotland
in the old Gghting days, aud which are
uow used to some extent by f e officeis
in the British army. The quality of
these swords show how little effect
time has upon good metal and sound
workmanship. Claymores hang on the
walls beside the formidable l.ochaler
ax. A huge Swiss two-handed sword,
which it must have taken a giant to
wield, did service Iu the fourteenth
century against the Austrians. Even
one of the famous Damascus blade3 is
in the catalogue. When Timur Lung
conquered Syria in the beginning of the
fifteenth century he carried off all the
manufacturers of steel into Persia, and
their successors, having been dispersed
all over the east, art; said to have lost
the secret of making blades of more
than ordinary quality, since w hich time
the manufacture of genuine Damascus
blades has declined, although there are
many imitations. With respect to the
genuine blades it umst be remembered
that a good deal of exaggeration has beeu
uidulged in. At the time when the
natives of the east were well acquainted
with the art of workiug in iron and steel
wo, aud indeed all Europe, were in a
6tate of perfect ignorance. When the
old Damascus blades were therefore
opposed to those or other countries they
were found to be infinitely superior iu
temper and quality, and tlie extraor
dinary prices that were offered ami
paid for them (often as much as X'.IOO)
sufficiently attest the estimation in
which they were held. In the present
day swords of equal or superior quality
are manufactured at one-hundredth part
of the cost. In some respects the b st
even of our present light regulation
blades a:e at a disatvantage wt:cn op
posed to tbe heavy curved eastern
cimeter, but they have the advantage
that they can be used for thrusting,
which, although unknown in eastern
swordsmanship, is by far the most
deadly form ot attack. A European
cuts only or mainly from the writ,
knowing tliat if he lifts the arm too far
from its position of guard ho exposes
himself to a thrust that would probably
be fatal. On the other liaml, au east
era swordsman, wlw seldom guar
himself with his sword, but is provided
with a shield and gauntlets to resL-t ;
cut, has his sword ground as sharp as i
razor and cuts from the shoulder only
bringing into action all tlie strong
muscles of the forearm and back, the
small hilt of his sword allowing no play
whatever to the wrist. As to the
jowher or water of the genuine I hi mas-
cus. blade this u attributabla to the na
ture of the iron ore used and the method
of oonvertin!! it into steeL The late
Mr. Henry Wilkinson went thoroughly
into the question, and obtained speci
mens of Indian wcotz or cake steel, ant
proved bv making blades from it that
the figure so sought after existed in the
steel itself, and to be developed required
only the action of liirht and a chemical
called kusees.
Among other curiosities worth noting
is a fierce Mahratta weniioii called
wakdah, or tiger-claw, wh.cu the user
holds in his hand, athxed by two rings
to his Cngers. With a traitorous em
brace he clasps his victim and tears him
open. A knife penetrating a dollar is
a reminder of the old swinish I uc-
caneer's test of the soundness of hi
blade, and a proof of the quality of the
steel of the dav.
Tunneling tlie Thames.
Probably few even of those Londoners
who daily pass across the Ixmdon bridge
are aware that a few yards further west
and deep down iu the bed of the river
a tunnel is approachim! completion, if
it has not by this time already reached
tho Surrey side of tho river. This is
one of the tunnels which the city of
Iondon and Southwark Subway Com
pany are cnijwwered to drive under the
Thames, and extend as far as the Ele
phant and Castle, for the purpise cf
conveying passengers froi that city to
that centre of tho industrial population.
Tho total distance from the shaft on
the Middlesex side to the Hibemia
wharf, wall is nearly six hundred and
seventy feet, and that ha baen ac
complished in something like fifteen
weeks, The work ha? been done on a
very different plan to that adopted by
by Sir I. Brunei in his famous but un
fortunate Thames Tunnel, for the new
tunnel more closely resembles the
Tower Subwav, which wa3 the first
txecuted example of a system of boring
under rivers, which, in a slightly dif
ferent shape, was suggested some time
before Brunei obtained power to carry
out his design. The new tunnel or sub
way is not adapted for ordinary
vehicular tratlic; but the ease with
which it has been driven lciid3 support
to the schemes of those who hoi 1 that,
gi'-ert the wilL there will be no real
difficulty in making one or more road
wavs beneath the Thames to connect
the busy and populous districts lying
east of the Tower, In these days of
cheap iron aud appliances which were
unknown at the beginning of the cen
tury, tunneling under rivers is com
paratively easy to what it was in
Brunei's days, and there are mary eu.
gineerswho would ccngdmtiy under
take the work and bring it to a satis
factory conclusion, probably for a con
siderably smaller sum than the new
Tower Bridge Will cost, and with less
than a tithe of the contij;n expenses
which that construction will involve.
The City and Southwark Company are
so satisfied with the outlook of their
scheme that they have deposited a bill
in Parliament asking for powers to ex
tend their lines from the Elephant and
Cistle to the Swan at Stockwell, and
if they obtain them, we may expect be
fore the close of the century a rapid
development of the new system e( un
derground railways o which tlie smoky
locomotive W''' V unknown.
How Kissing was Introduced
The story runs that kissing was in
troduced into England by Howena, the
daughter of Uenglst, the Saxon. At
a banquet which was &iven by the
British monarch in honor of his allies,
the princess, after pressing the brim
ming beaker to her Hps, saluted the
astonished and delighted Vortigen with
a little kiss, alter the manner of hei
own people.
Brandt, an alchemist, discovered
phosphorus in 1677.
Tbey kali claim jumpers in th
western part of Kansas.
GOLD LEAF.
How, Where and by Whom
Manufactured.
It I
Gold leaf is manufactured in about
20 shops in New York city and its sub
urbs. It is e.timated that 20,800 ounces
of gold are consumed here annually in
making gold leaf. Gold can be beaten
so thin that it will take 1,200 leaves to
equal the thickness of the sheet upon
which this paper is printed. An ounce
can be beaten down to 2,500 leaves, 3J
inches square. i
A reporter was told that the gold isi
bought of brokers in small ingots which J
are melted into bars about a quarter of
an inch thick. These are rolled into a
ribbon as thick as note paper. After
passing through the hands of tbe
beaters it Is put in books, interleaved
with manilla tissue, and 20 books are
put iu a package. The ordinary sells
for 7 a package, and the best $7.50 to
$7.75. No dross comes from the gold
as it is beaten, but there are ragged
edges that drop eft. The leaf is used by
gliders, bookbinders, dentists and sign
painters.
The wages of gold beaters are $11 a
week. A piece hand gets S3 a beating.
A good one can possibly do two a week,
aud as many as nine in a month have
been done. Extra is paid to a workman
who beats the gold below five grains to
a book. Some can go to 4 J and even
four grains per book."
"How thin can you get it?" a beater
was asked.
"It is beaten to one three-hundred-thousandth
of an inch thick at five
grains to the book. If it gets down to
four grains it is only three huudred-and-sixty-thousandth
of an inch. The New
York system emplovs men only, with
girls to do the cutting. The German
system employs children of 8 or 'J,
which system Hastings of Philadelphia
tried to Introduce, but his workmen
struck, and he lost his lead. On that
system men do the beating and girls do
the priming and filling."
"Howls the gold beaten?"
"It is beaten in moulds made in Lon
don from the intestines of cows cleaned
and varnished with a secret preparation.
Tlie skins are put in packages of 900
skins each, and three of these moulds go
to a beating."
"How much gold is there in a beat
ing?" "Fifty pennyweight in a beating. The
ribbon of solid gold is divided into 170
or ISO pieces, each about an inch square.
These are put into a cutch made of
French paper four inches square. That
is beaten until we get the gold to the
edges. It is handled with pincers at
that time. It is beaten half an hour.
The pieces are then piled 20 on top of
each other. They are then cut in four
and doubled over, making 720. They
are then put in a 'schoder,' or finer
mould cut down. We fill the 'scheder,'
with those leaves in the middle, ami
break it out to the edges. We beat it
about two hours, until we draw about
10 pennyweights off the schoder."
"Does it have to be kept dry?"
"We have to keep the windows shut;
but the cutches, schoders, and mould
take up so much moisture that they have
to be put in a hut mould to press the
moisture out."
Does that finish it?"
"Oh, no. The leaves are cut airain
into four with a tool called a wagon.
making 2.8S0, but the raou'ds hold on!y
2,700. The moulds are beaten four
hours, at the end of each hour there
being what is called a close, when thev
are heated. Then the beater is through
with it and the cutter takes it. This is
the only work done by the girls In New
lork. lhey can cut from M to 1
books a day at 21 cents a book. Tho
ieaf when it gets in a look is so thin
that it is handled only with the breath."
"How is tho work tested?
"Only with the eve. There is no rule
about the business, but it is purely a
matter of skill and judgment, lhe best
is the kind used on glass, which shows
all imperfections."
1 notice goldbeaters usually work i:
basements Why is that;
"A firmer blow can be given. If on
the first story, there is a jar, which de
teriorates the quality."
Is there any adulteration in tho
business?"
"The Germans beat what u called a
metal leaf with an alley. It is sold very
cheap. It is the olemargarine of gold
fit, aud will tarnish, iluch of it is
used by bookbinders."
"W hen did the trade start?"
"It is very ancient. It is mentioned
in the Bible. Gold leaf was used on
Solomon's temple. The Chinese beat
gold loaf, but it doe) not compare in
niality with American leaf. N)iue of
the Chinamen had trouble with their
employers, but they soon ended it. They
got the employer in o th.-ir lotlire room,
and then one after another took a big
bite out of his flesh."
T'e Opal as a Popular Gem.
The opal, which, ever siuce the days
when Sir Walter Soott wrote lib romantic-
story in which this stone figures
so extensively, aud which, in these later
days, is supposed to bring ill luck to the
wearer, is growing to be one of the
most highly favored and most caet'y of
the precious jewels. The ban under
which it has rested for so long a time
has been removed, and where a few
yjars ago they could be bought for
comparatively low prices, are now
bringing fabulous sums, A well
known jeweler showed &e a necklace ot
pals, which, be said, was cheap for
S30.0C& This necklace is now the
property of the wife of a Brooklyn mil
lionaire. The central opal in the pen
dant is alone worth $2,000. 1 miLt
hardly be believed when 1 say its mag
nificent color and luster dimmed the
magnificent diamonds that were set
with it. I saw at this same place an
opal that was to be set iu an engage
ment ring, which was valued at $1,000.
The Suwauee River Song.
An Augusta paper, in the course of
an article on the Suwanej river "the
'enobscot of Florida" says: "This
dark river has, too, its romance, as be
ing the place which gave rise to a
melody which, like 'Home Sweet Home, '
he affection of the heart will never let
go. ior it was uere mat a t rench
family, in the time ol .Louis AI,
came over and settled upon the Suwanee
and made a plaotation. After a while
the father and mother and all died save
one daughter, who, disheartened and
desolate, returned to France, and there
wrote, adopting in part that nesro
dialect which she bad been familiar
with on the plantation in her girlltood,
a feeling tribute to the old folks at
hon.e' in their graves in the far-off
country." .
NEWS IX BRIEF.
The Ucited States colleges coitaln
18,000 female students.
There are in the Unit d States
15,210,141 church members.
New England in 1642 contained
but fifty towns and villages.
The first printing press in North
America was set up at Cambridge.
A car load of ostriches from Africa
arrived at Los Angeles the other day.
Oliver Optic has published 113
volumes. II is first book appeared in
1853.
Nathaniel Bowditc'i, tbe eminent
mathematician, v.as a cooper's appren
tice. William Sturgeon, the able and
famous electrician, rose from a cobbler's
bench.
Los Angeles County, California, is
larger than Rhode Island and Delaware
combined.
The Yale law school is the only
one in tbe country that has a four
years' course.
Twelve thousand people followed
the body of Robert Burns to Its renting
place in the grave.
George M. Pullman, of palace car
fame, has been knighted by the King
of Italy, it is stated.
There are said to be more beggars
in Birmingham, Alabama, than in any
otter city in the Sjuth.
In one week recently 70.000 aoarta
of strawberries were shiDoed north
from Jacksonville, Florida.
Iu the Spring of 1776 New Tork
was supplied with water conveyed
through pipes in the streets.
Ninety per cent, of the travelers
to eauern points from Butte, M. T..
purchase second class tickets.
Button's "Studies of Nature" cost
him fifty years of writing and rewriting
before the work was published.
It is quite the fashionable thing
now to run down from Washington t
O d Point Comfort for a few days.
The first public library in Penn
sylvania was instituted through the
exertions of Benjamin Franklin in
1742.
Correra, afterward president of
Guatemala, was born in poverty, and
for years was a drummer boy in the
army.
In England at the time of King
Edward, lo27, there were three written
languages in use, Latin, French and
English.
A resident of Eatonton, Georgia,
has prepared and furnished a large and
costly cyclone pit near the back dor of
his residence.
The oldest library in the world Is
that of Kwotozo-Kien. which was es
tablished during the Chow dynasfiy in
China (B. C. 1122).
Tlie Hawaiian government has
just annexed Ocean Island, wh!Ci- S
described as a sand-tank 1,200 miles
from the Hawaiian group.
The Mexican army, when on a war
I footmg, has 100.903 men. divided as
follows: Infantry, 131,522; cavalry,
1 2.3,790, and artillery, 3,600.
I -A ciamond of good quality and un
usual size has been found at Pcnca,
Nebraska, it is reported, by a man who
was sinking a shaft for coal.
The latest ad vices from the volcano
of Mauna L ja are that the flow of lava
which was recently upheaved from that
mid-oceau furnace had ceased.
The river Thames is said to have
ebbed aud flowed in a very decided
manner three times in one hour and a
quarter one morning recently.
A resident of Strahave, Fenna.,
posse-ses a set of double teeth with
which he cart bite a noil in two, crack
a walnut and lift a keg of beer.
Bulls for fighting purposes are
worth from J20O to fciuG now l&Hexlco,
an increase of nearly double, onac-" '
coutt of the rage for bull fighting.
George Jeffers, a Merced County,
(Cal.) farmer, lecame despondent over
the prospect of a dry season and hanged
himseir. The next day the rains began.
The water uied in the White
House for driuking purposes is con-
veyel to the mansion by pines from a
spring in Fraklin park, several sauares
distant.
The Bachelor's Club of Philadel
phia asks all men to resign when they
marry, except those who take widows
f r life companions. These V ex
pelled.
The Chinese are said to manufac
ture an anaesthetic not unlike cocaine '
in its action, and claim that the anaes
thetic property is the juice of the eye
of the frog.
Manuel Barriant and his wife
Maria have celebrated the eightieth
anniversary ot their marriage at Mata
nioras, Mexico. Tbe husband is 102
and the wife 0u.
A Virginia justice of the peace has
fined a fisherman seven dollars for con
tending In open court that tbe moon
had any thing to do with the ebb and
Ujw of the tides.
The cave animals of North Amer
ica, according to Profesaor A. S.
Packard, comprise a total of 172
species of blind creatures, nearly all of
which are mostly white in color.
A bald eagle killed recently near
Santa Kosa, California, measured
seventy-eight inches from tip to tip of
his wings, and its talons, when
opened, measured seven and a quarter
inches.
A Lake Michigan captain says that
a long course of observation has con
vinced him that vessels named after
women are remarkably unlucky, as
compared with those bearing the names
of men.
A Senator in the New Jersey Le?
mature in opposing a marriage li
cense bill for that State, said the other
day in debate that if the bill passed
Camden clergymen would lose $10,000
a year, as they had united 2700 Phihv
delphians during tbe past twelve
months.
A studyof pension statistics moves
tbe Washington Post to assure its
female readers that the most health?
business there is for their sex is to be a
soldier's widow. There are now on tbe
pension roll of the war of 1S12 only
2043 surviving pensioners, while there
are 17,212 soldiers' widows.
The contract for the supplying of
coal (about 15,000 tons) to the Jersey
City (N. J.) Water Works is to be
thrown oiea hereafter to all collieries
desinr-s to compete. ' Heretofore, it is
stated, bids were sent out only to cer
tain owLers, and it has been developed -that,
with the exception of one
of couise, got the contract), the'-
have teen closed for year
J,