LOFTY RAILROADS.
The Highest in the World Crosses
the Andes.
Nearly Three Miles Above the
Level of the Sea.
The highest point attained by a rail
road in the United States is in the
Rocky mountains, 9027 feet above the
sea. Trains on the Calloa-Oroya line
in Peru are now asccndinir to a height
as far above this great elevation as the
total height of Mount Washington. In
% other words, when a train on the
Oroya Hue enters the Galera tunnel to
cross from tho western to the eastern
slope of the Cordilleras it is more than
a mile higher above the soa than the
loftiest bit of railroad track in this
country. Some stretches of track in
Mexico are also higher than any rail
road in the United States.
At present the Galera tunnel is the
highest elevation attained by any rail
road in the world. Some months ago
•the Sun reported that this wonderful
Oroya railroad had at last crossed the
Andes. It was on September 28th last
that the first train from Callao passed
through the tunnel to the eastern side
of the mountains. Twenty years
elapsed after the line was started at
the sea beforw the Cordilleras were
conquered, and trains have scarcely a
foot of level grade for 106 miles until
they pull into the Galera tunnel,
15,638 feet above the sea, and emerge
upon the eastern face of the Andes.
If this were not the loftiest tunnel
in the world it would still be con
spicttous as a specimen of railroad
construction. It was driven through
the rock a distance of 3855 feet. If a
train happcus to stop in the tunnel,
passengers can hear water from tho
vaulted roof pattering on the car lops.
The melting snow that crowns the
mountain summit above it filters
through to the excavation. Two chan
nels are cut iu the rock to carry the
water out of tho tunnel. One of them
leads to the head stream of an Amazon
tributary and the Atlantic; the other
to the Riinac River and the Pacific.
It is doubtful if any other railroad
for general traflic will ever be carried
to so great an elevation. The surveys
for the Pan-American railroad do not
thus far indicate elevations at all ap
proaching that of the Oroya line. It
will be necessary here and there to
pass from one valley to another sep
arated by mountain ranges, but the
highest points along the line will not
be over 7000 feet abovo the sea, if the
results of the preliminary surveys hold
good.
South America will always beat the
rest of the world in elevated railroads.
The South Peruvian line from Mol
lendo to Luke Titicaca attains a height
of 14,641 feet, only 997 feet lower
than the Galera tunnel. The remark
able Chilean Railroad, now Hearing
completion, which, starling at Anto
fagasta, runs hundreds of mile* north
east into Bolivia, has its highest point
at Carcoto, 12,008 feet above the sea;
and it is u noteworthy coincidence
that the Traus-South American line
from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso is
also said to be just 12,008 feet above
the sea at its highest point. These re
sults have been obtained by triangula
tion, but for ordinary purposes it
may be as well to lop oil the extra
feet above 12,000, just as some geog
raphers do in the case of Mt. Everest.
They gay that the figure 29,004 feet,
given as the height of this loftiest of
inountaius, implies a refinement of
accuracy in measurement to which it
is not entitled.—[New York Sun.
Grant Had no Ear for Music.
General Ulysses S. Grant was not a
musician, but lie took a certain degree
of pride in being able to distinguish
two tunes from all that ho ever hea d.
lie frequently remarked that he never
failed to recognize "Old Hundred"
and "Yankee Doodle."
In the spring of 1880 General and
Mrs. Grant were in Galena, 111., occu
pying the house which Mrs. Grant
siill owns. On April 27, tho fifty
niuth birthday of Grant, a number of
his townsmen, in recognition of the
■event, gathered at his home to treat
him to a serenade and wish him "many
happy returns." The local band was
called upon to furnish the music.
The visitors and band assembled in
the front yard and the latter opened
the serenade with its usual opening
melody, "The Girl I Left Behind Me."
General Grant appeared on the ver
anda, where he stood resignedly until
the musicians had blown out their
customury three airs. Then he step
ped forward and heartily welcomed
the crowd, at the same time inviting
the people inside, where they were
cordially greeted by Mrs. Grant. An
hour was delightfully spent. One of
the party apologized for the quality of
the music which the band had fur
nished. The general's reply was:
"You might as well have serenaded
me with tin pans, as far as 1 am con
cerned, as I know less about music
than anything else I can think of.l
know, of coarse, that your baud
plnved 'Yankee Doodle' for its open
ing piece, but whether it played
artistically or not I am not able to
judge."
Further apologies were npt deemed
necessary, nor did his friend enlighten
him that his uncultivated ear had mis
taken "The Girl I Left Behind Me"
for one of the two airs which he
never failed to recognize. [Chicago
Herald.
Queer Pay for Property Rights.
The tenant of a large farm at Broail
bouse Uangsett, County of York, En
gland, holds tho right to the property
as long as ho shall pay a yearly rental
of "a snowball at midsummer and a
red rose at Christmas" to the owner,
Godfrey Bosville, Esq.
Ouo of tho Scottish dukes relin
quishes his rights to his lands if it
should ever get warm enough to melt
the snow from the highest mountain
in Scotland.
William de Albemarle and heira
hold tho manor of Loaslon "by the
service of finding for our lord, the
King, two arrows and one loaf of oat
bread whenever the Sovoreigu shall
hunt in the forest of EastmooiC" Al
though the forest is no longer a hunt
ing ground and arrows have long since
given way to rifles and shotguns, still
the heirs of Lcastou Manor keep the
arrows and oat loaf ready for any
stray king that may happen that way,
thus holding good the title to their es
tates.
Solomon Atlefield and heirs or,
rather, the heirs of Solomon AUefleld,
old Solomon having gone tho way of
all the world 235 years ago, hold lands
both at llepland and Attcrtou, upon
condition "that as often as our lord,
the King, shall cross tho sea, Solomon
or his heirs shall accompany him to
hold tho royal head in case of sea
sickness."
Geoffrey Frumbrand and heirs hold
sixty acres of land in Suffolk on con.
dition that they pay the King an an
nual rental of two white doves. —
[New York News.
Restaurants at the World's Fair.
There never were so many restaur
ants as there are going to bo at this
World's Fair. Along the promenades
around most, of the building you will
see tables and tables—some waited on
by Americans, others by Frenchmen,
others by Germans, others by China
men, and Japaneso, and Italians.
Some very queer and pretty buildings
are restaurants such as they have in
Ceylon, Japan, China, Algiers, Moroc
co, Switzerland, Holland, Paris, India,
and Turkey. You will sec peoplo eat
with sticks, with their lingers, and
with knives and no forks. But the
drinking will be even more wonder
ful. Littered everywhere out-of
doors are pretty little stands and
booths and cagelike houses called
"kiosks." Hundreds of these are for
the sale of water at a cent a glass;
others are tea-drinkers' resorts, kept
by Oriental people; others are choco
late booths, attended by pretty young
girls; others are coffee stands; at
others you can drink cocoanut milk
from Cuba, or lime juice, or sugar and
water, as tire French do. And scattered
among nil these often beautiful little
buildings arc others, literally by the
hundred, for the sale of chewing gum,
candy, and mounds of sweet fioweis.
[Harper's Young People.
A German Pedagogue.
Tho various accomplishments of
barbers iu the older days are illus
trated by an advertisement recently
republished in the German Peda
gogue's Gazette, which appeared on
the signboard of a barber of Nuern
borg in 1640. It road as follows:
"Isak Maperl, barber, wigmaker,
surgeon, copyist, schoolmaster, black
smith, physician. Shaves for a kreu
zer (two cents), cuts the hair for two
kreuzer, using butter and pomade for
pretty young ladies; lights tho lanterns
by the year or quarter; teaches young
noblemen to speak their mother tongue
grammatically and with ease, teacnes
them good manners and how to spell.
A master in stylo, makes and repairs
shoes and boots, teaches to play on tho
flute and other instruments; teaches in
tho houses cotillions and other dauces;
sells perfumery of all kinds, paper,
shosblacking, salted herrings, honey
cakes, mouso traps, candy, heart
strengthening condiments, potatoes,
sausage and other vegetables. N. B.—
110 teaches also chirography and ex
plains the nature of foreign wares
every Saturday and Wednesday. Isak
Maperl."
EASTER LOVB
Ancient and Modern Observances
of the Day.
A Curious Custom Which Pre
vails In Paris.
Easter is much older than Christian
ity. The very name by which we
know the day is identical with that of
the ancient Saxon goddess of spring,
Easter or Eostre. Tho Anglo-Saxon
name for April is Easter month. Tak
iug advantage of the coincidence of
the Christian festival in point of time
with that of tho yearly feast in honor
of iho Saxon goddess, the early mis
sionaries guvo a Christian meaning to
'he observance of the day, but it hnß
ever retained its ancient name. Eiister
was one time called the Christian
passover, because the Jewish passover
occurrs about the same date, and early
converts from Judaism celebrated
Easter uud the passover as one fes
tival.
"The primitive Christians," wo are
told, "when they met 011 this day,
saluted each other with the words,
•Christ is arisen,' to which answer
was made, 'Christ is arison indeed,
aud hath appeared unto Simon."'
This custom is stiil observed in the
Greek church.
'•lndeed," to quote a foreign writer,
"all the ceromonies attending the ob
servance of Easter were at first ex
ceedingly simple; hut in tho early
part of the fourth century a decided
chaugc was brought about. Constan
tine, naturally vain and fond of pa
rade, signalized his love of display by
celobraling this festival with extra
ordinary pomp. Vigils, or night
watches, were instituted for Easier
Eve, at which the people remained in
tho churches until midnight. The
tapers which it was customary to burn
at this time did not satisfy His Ma
jesty, but hugo pillars of wax were
used instead, and not only in the
churches, but all over the city, were
they placed so that their brilliancy at
night should far exceed the light of
day. Easter Sunday was observed
with most olaborale ceremonials, the
l'ope officiating at mass, with every
imposing accessory that could be de
vised."
Not kneeling in token of humility,
but standing erect with arms out
stretched and fnce9 looking to heaven
to express triumphant peace, the er.rly
Christians prayed during the fifty
days between Easter aud the Pente
cost, and no songs but those of joy
and gratitude were heard. Between
Easier and Pentecost the time was
considered the 'nost auspicious in the
whole ;-car for -jve-making and mar
riages, aud thosi two holy days were
the best ou which to baptize child
ren.
Of all the Eustcr customs, that of
coloring and making presents of eggs
sceins the only distinctive one that has
found a place in our time and coun
try.
On the first day of Easter week in
Paris, evorybody presents every one
clso with a present emblematical of an
egg, which is known as u Paschal egg
(oeufs des Pnque.) Among a people
so ingenious as the Parisians, an
opportunity of this sort is literally a
••God-scud." Egg-shaped articles are
to be had of all conceivable, and some
inconceivable, forms and materials.
Oue would think the once imperial
eagle of France had summoued all ihe
birds of the air to come to Paris, build
thoir nests in shop windows, and there
deposit thoir eggs; for, go where you
will, you will see eggs, from the size
of a caraway coinlii, such as is found
in the nest of the humming-bird, to
oue as large as a bowl, or an ostrich's
or emu's egg.
The shops arc full of egg-shaped
boxes, the receptacles of candy, jew
elry or toys. Here you have choco
late eggs full of cream where the yolk
should be, and again, ivory eggs,
within which is a scout-bottle. Pass
ing along are women with barrows,
crying, "Les oeufs, des ooufs." Upon
their barrows are piled in separate
heaps, white and colored eggs.
Some of llio nests are beautiful
works of art. Here is a stoat or wea
sel stealthily climbing up a treo to
such the eggs, while the parent bird is
represented with her feathers ruffled
in a threatening attitude, to drive
away the intruder. Here, again, a
cuckoo—a European cuckoo, our Amer
ican bird is above such tricks —has
turned out a little chaffinch egg which
lies broken ou the ground belowt
while she bus left her own for a fos.
ter-parent to hatch.
More charming, however, and much
moje interesting, are those little gift 9
which are not only reminder* of the
day and expressions of friendship,
but that carry with them something
of the personal taste and individuality
of the donor. It may well be a pleas
ure, In addition to its receptiou, to
know whose busy brain planned your
gift, and whose dainty fingers lin
gered over it long and lovingly.—
rDemorest.
On a Big Steamship In Port.
An invitation to lunch or dine on
board a big ocean steamer when she
is in port is rarely refused. There is
a novelty about the great ship's soli
tary decks, saloons and lounging and
smoking rooms that is mighty fetch
ing, and the opportunity to become a
privileged guest isn't to be had every
day. In all sea novels as soon as tho
ship ties up and the captaiu has seen
its ownor he strikes tho bee line for
his own snug cottage and little wife,
and doesn't appear till the vessel Is
ready to sail again. In reality ths
captaiu and officers of an ocean racer
are rarely busier than during the week
they are forced to remain 111 port.
The ship's doctor is tho man with
the best chance to get away, and
unless there is sickness among the
crew he picks up his hat and doesn't
come back until tho next sailing day.
Tiic rest of the official staff has to put
in some hard work during the stay.
Every one rises about the same time
as usual. Tho officers all mess to
gether when in port. Tho mates have
to get out and emphatically earn their
wages. The unloading is uuder the
mates' eyes, and two of thorn see to
the checking of every piece of freight
t hat lias been put aboard on,the other
side. With such a vessel as the Teu
tonic that is no boy's task, and no
sooner is the hold emptied than an
other gang of men, under the direc
tion of a mate, begins to pile in other
freight.
Then the mates have the logs to
write up uud see that the ship has a
thorough cleaning from crow's nest to
steerage, and the seven or six days of
what most people supposo is liberty is
slavery to duty.
The business man of all is the
purser. In the first 48 hours out and
the last 24 hours before land is made a
purser has more responsibility than
work, but at other times he is on th c
jump. lie and the steward have to
victual the ship, and to perform that
operation for tho Teutonic, which
often carries over 2000 people, docs
.not permit a man to be lazy. Supplies
for crow and passengers, hundreds of
letters concerning special accommoda
tions months ahead, as many more
about table seats, clearing thc vessel,
all the details of the big ship come di
rectly linger tho purser's eye. The
ship's books liuve to be kept, aud
when the purser gets a chance to run
uptown to dinner with some friend he
is in a vein to enjoy it.— [New York
News.
Traveling aud Camping in Egypt.
Dr. Frederick Peterson of this city
recommends winter camping in Egypt
as a hygienic measure. He finds it
something luxurious, and says:"l
have camped out on shooting expedi
tions iu Nebraska, Dakota aud other
Western places, and endured hard
ships that I should not care to expe
rience again. But in Egypt, where
labor and carrying costs next to noth
ing, where everything in the way of
furniture aud supplies can be stored
away somewhere on a camel, where
every day can bo foreseen to bo rain
less and beautiful, life iu tents be
comos a pleasure. It is nlways well
to have some objective point iu vietv
to reach, and among the pleasantest
desert trips with tents and camels are
those to the Siuaitic Peninsular, to the
Natroon Lakes, to the Fayum and to
several other oases to the west of the
Nile. Probably the warmest and
driest for an invalid would bo that
from Assiut, Girgeh or Esneh to the
Great Oasis.
But one may camp on the edge of
thc desert, traveling southward along
the Nile, iu that way having the ad
vantage of more interesting surround
ings; for some people might find the
desert monotonous. Ou a trip to
Wadi Natroon, where they spent ten
days, "wo were a party of three, and
had eight camels with their drivers, a
dragoman (interpreter), desert guide,
cook, hunter guido, aud a boy; two
tents, three folding bedsteads with
mattresses, two folding tables, chairs,
rugs, cook-stove, fuel, water, rifles
aud shot-gun*, and provisions for all
tho party, camels included. Camel
riding becomes easy after a time.
Ono can assume almost anv position,
oven lying down and gohig to sleop,
and ono can read with ease. Ladies
arc not at all debarred from taking
such trips. Everything necessary can
bo procured iu Cairo, nnd tho expense
should not bo over five or seven dol
lars per day for each tiaveler."—
[Popular Science Monthly.
4JUAINT AND CURIOUS.
The Japanese for good morning Is
i "O-hi-o."
Tho fashion of serving the fish be
fore meats begau in 1563.
The notation system of writing
music was invented in 1070.
An old lady in Beverly, Mo., is said
to have slept in the same corded bed
every night for ninety years.
The excavated temples near Bom
bay, in ludia, would require the labor
of 40,000 men for forty years to com
plete.
There are now 27 royal families in
Europe, which have about 400 mem
bers. Of these 27 families 18 arc
German.
Dwarfs are the inhabitants of the
Andaman Islands. It is seldom that a
full-grown man is seen over 42 inches
iu height.
A "hog-killing" in North Perry,
Me., recently desorvos more than lo
cal fame. The victim weighed more
than half a ton.
During the reign of Elizabeth Eng
lish dudes wore shoes three feet in
length, the toe pointed and fastened
up to tho garter with golden chains,
to which little bells were attached.
Ancient Greek temples were always
erected without roofs, so that they
might be open to the sky. The largest
of thcui was that of Jupiter Olympus,
which was 370 feet long and 60 broad.
A farmer of Norden, Neb., heard
sounds from his hog pen one night
tho other week which indicated great
agitation among his pigs. He went
to the pen armed with an ax and drove
away 12 wolves.
There is a lake near the Japanese
town of Nara iu which no person is
permittod to bathe, because once,
many years ago, a Japanese Emperor
bathed there, and tho waters have
since been held sacred.
Tho "wardroom" boy on board a
man-of-war is often as old as many of
those whom he serves, but the old
fashioned title and form of address
sticks to him. Wardroom boys usual
ly are colored men.
W. C. Hart, the geologist of Wyo
ming, lias unearthed a bed of petrified
palm trees at Rawlins, aud shipped
4000 pounds of tho find to Cheyenne.
The specimens are raro and beautiful.
Tno find includes flat rocks carrying
j prehistoric tracks of birds and ani
mals.
American Bear aud Eagle Elk, two
Sioux Indians, who were taken to
Sydney, New South Wales, as part of
a sort of Wild West show, are now in
tho hands of the police at that place.
They broke their coutract, then wont
broke themselves, and soon joined tho
J profession of tramps.
Few people arc awaro (hat the
Queen of England possessos a fine
herd of German wild boars at Wind
sor, which arc kept in a schwciugarten
formed out of a corner of the Homo
Park. Wild boar was introduced at
court during the regency, and it has
ever since been a favorite winter dish
at the sovereigu'B table.
The Height of Man.
A French statistician has been study
ing the heights of men at different pe
riods ofjhe world's history and has
reached some alarming conclusions.
Tho recorded facts extend over nearly
tlireo centuries. It is found that in
1610 the average height of a man in
Europe was nearly 5 feet 6 inches. In
1790 it was 5 feet 6 inches. In 1820
it was 5 feet 5 inches aud a fraction.
At the present lime it is 5 feet 3 3-4
inches. It is easy to deduct from these
figures a rate of regular and gradual
decline in human stature, aud they
apply this,working backward and for
ward to the past and to the future.
By this calculation it is determined
that the stature of tho first men at
tained tho surprising averago of 16
feet 9 incites. The race had already
deteriorated in the days of Og, and
Goliath was a quite degenerate off
spring of the giants. Coming down
to later time, we find that at the be
ginning of our era the averago height
of man was 9 l'eet, and iu the time of*
Charlemagne it was 8 feot 8 inches.
hut the most ustouishing result of
this man's study comes from the ap
plication of the same law of diminu
tion. It is conclusively shown that in
4000 A. D., the height of the average
man will be but 15 inches, and iu a
few thousand years moro tho end of
tho world will come, for men will get
eo short that there will be nothing left
of them. This is altogether the mo9t
comfortable solution of the end-of-the
world problem that has beou pre
sented. It will bo so much more
pleasant for tho coming man to di
minish out of existence than to bo
but-nod off the earth. fßuffalo Ex
press.
PEAKLH OF THOUGHT.
Love never loses by being tested.
Bees in tbe bonnet never inak*
honey.
Peace dies the moment eevy show*
it* head.
It is only the truth we obey that can
do us good.
The religion that is used for a cloak
lias no warmth in it.
It is never hard to find people who
want to play first fiddle.
The world will always listen to the
man who makes it thiuk.
Character is what we are when we
think we are not watched.
Every time a stingy man looks at a
dollar it shrinks his heart.
A lie is always an enemy, no matter
how well-meaning it may look.
The man who rides a hobby always
wants the whole road for himself.
A boy's idea of having fun is to be
allowed to make all the noise ho can.
Our zeal will not attract any atten
tion above until our motive power is
love.
It is hard to make a thief believe
that there is au honest man iu the
world.
No man can name his children with
out telling the world something about
himself.
Nothing hurts us like disinterested
kiuduess, when we know that we do
not desei ve it.
If men were as ungallant during
courtship cs they are after marriage*
it Is doubtful if more than one iu ten
thousand could ever get a wife.—
[Kam'9 Horn.
Harmonies in Color.
Some foreign writeis on matters of
art insist that Americans have no idea
of harmony in color and are almost
lackiug in attistic appreciation of
color effects. The explanation is that
wo are too busy to settle dowu select
ing exact and harmonious shades, and
that in matters of dress we simply
duplicate the colors worn at Paris re
gardless of their suitability to our
American atmosphere.
The ability to select harmonious
shades with au unerring instinct for
proper effect Is largely a matter of
temperament, affected more or less by
climatic influences. Take the people
in semi-tropical regions. The most
fastidious artists have 110 fault to find
with the color relation between apparel
aud background. It 19 said, for in
stance, that no two Moors will walk
together on the street if the colors of
their robes are inharmonious, for the
Moor lias an instinctive sense of colors.
The tints in the gowu of the merchant
are iu perfect harmony with the pre
vailing tones of his wares.
An American would probably think
lie was straining a point if ho took
timo to regulate the color of his attire
by the prevailing tones in his office or
of the street iu which he walks. The
fact is, the Oriental does not take
time either to cultivate a taste for
artistic effects or to putin practice
prescribed rules for color ellects.
With him it is a matter of tempera
ment. The colors of the Scotch tar
tan, while very effective in the soft,
misty atmospliero of Scotland, look
crude and are consequently out of
place in the clear air of France or
Italy. In this country there is an
epidemic of color riots. At least au
aesthetic foreigner pronounces thia
lack of harmony in color a disease.
Take, for example, a combination
which is very stylish at preseut, that
of a clear, decided blue and a green—
not a transparent shade, but a green
that is glaringly bright. There is
absolutely no excuse for such a com
bination, but it is one of the caprices
of fashion, and fashion too often
rather than taste or reason sways uiost
of us. [New York Herald.
A Free Translation.
All English journal stales that a for
eigner, slightly acquainted with the
English language, cannot always place
much reliance on its synonymous
terms as the dictionary seems to prom
ise. To prove this statement it adds
that a tntor lias revealed tho effort of
a young Germau who was studying
English under his care, to translate the
famous lines of Longfellow:
"Tell me not In mournful numbers
Life Is but an empty dream."
The young German's translation of
this from his owu tongue back iuto
English, read:
"Tell me not in sadful poetry
Life is tbe larger end of a vain imagine."
In 1884 there were 1117 soldiers in
English prisons; in 1891 there were
433, aud 011 Doc. 31 last thero were
but 4. Last year not one soldier was
seiuencod to penal servitude. Tho
expulsions for misconduct have de
creased since 1888 from 2020 to 1590,