I TERRIBLE DYNAMITE I | CRUISERS AND BATTERIES, j H WE OWN TWO SHIPS UNLIKE THOSE OF ANY S 5g OTHER NAVY. §| With the incorporation of the Brazil ian cruiser Nictheroy into the United States Navy under the name of the Buffalo that branch of the service will have two ships that are unlike those of any other navy in the world—de stroyers on a huge plan. These two ships—the Vesuvius and the Buffalo —are throwers of dynamite. The ex plosives which they throw do not de pend, as do those thrown from the tor pedo tubes of ordinary warships or the missiie sent from a torpedo boat, on any mechanical contrivance inside of the missile. They travel through the air, and their propulsive force comes from compressed air, which is stored in a tube that is more like a gun than a tube. The shots have ranges far su perior to those of the torpedo and ac curacy which is almost perfect. The one question is whether large skips like these can get near enough to an enemy to reach him with their shot. They are not like torpedo boats or torpedo boat destroyers. They are large and noticeable objects, and while the Vesuvius is armored, the Buffalo has little defensive power. But if they do get near enough to an euemy to SANDY HOOK'S DYNAMITE BATTERY. use their dynamite guns properly the ship against which they operate is doomed. No armor, no strength of construction, no bulkheads can save the warship that is struck by the tre mendous charge of nitro-glycerine or explosive gelatine with which the aerial torpedo is loaded. The Nictheroy originally was a merchant vessel owned by the Mor gan line, and her name when she was in a peaceful occupation, was El Cid. She was bought by the Govern ment of Brazil in the time of the last revolution there, and was to be used against the insurgents, who had seized the navy and were bombarding the forts in the harbor of Rio de THE THREE DYNAMITE CRATERS OF THE VESUVIUS. Janeiro. She was reiitted pretty thor oughly as a cruiser, and her coal bunkers were so arranged that they protect the machinery and the parts necessary to operate the gun. The latter is mounted in the bow, and projects through an opening in the spar deck, giving it a clear range for ward and permitting a free motion on each side, so that it can be trained either to port or starboard. The air reservoirs of the gun are in the lower hold, on the starboard side, directly under the gun, and a central air-pipe leads up through the foundations on which the carriage of the gun DYNAMITE CKUISEB VKHUVrUS. rests. Shields protect the weapon and the men who serve it. On the way to Brazil the crew prac ticed with it, using "dummy" pro jectiles, and its accuracy was found remarkable. The gun was so new, how ever, that the men were almost as afraid of it as the enemy was expected to be, and there was consid erable relief on board when it was found C-TI arri\»l in Brazil that there would be no need for firing it with real dynamite, as the revolution was over. Since then the successful in stallation of two batteries of these guns in United States forts has made artillerists more confident, and much reliance is placed in the work of both the Vesuvius and the Buffalo. One weakness of the dynamite gun <r me! Then is the time that yon oKuckle with glee. Fill up the till) with the water so hot! Never be sparing, but putin a lot. Now for the soap and the flannel as well. Oh, trow delightful! Its joys who can tell? Scrub! scrub! scrub! Hark to the Song of the Tub! Scrub! scrub! scrub! Hark to the Song of the Tub! How you look forward to Saturday night, Down by the Are so cosy aud bright; First you must dip in that jolly old tub. Then you must dry yourself—rub! rub! rub! Scrub! scrub! scrub! Hark to the Song of the Tub! The Bi e Wall. A story of the Chinese wall was read to a class in composition. After the reading they were expected to re produce the story in original style, aud they did so. Here is a sample: "Once they was a man, and he was the greatest man of any one there, or iu the United States. And he had to build a wall, so he built it. He had a lot of Shanghais, and he built the wall around the Shanghais. These were all China people. Some of the other people who were not China people tried to climb the wall, but they didn't, cause they were afraid of the Shanghais." TrinpftMake Perfection. When Michael Augelo, the great sculptor, was employed on one of his noblest works of ait, a friend called to see him, and during his visit ex pressed great surprise at finding his statue apparently no further advanced than when he had seen it a few weeks before. "Stay, my friend," said the artist, "I can assure you that I have beeu hard at work 011 it since I saw you last. I have deepened the furrow on the brow, and slightly depn s ied the eyelid, while I have added another line to the mouth." "Yes," said his friend; "I see all that, but these things are only trifles." "That is true," replied the sculptor, "still.it is these trifles which make perfection, and do you call perfection a trifle?" To Make a Combination Picture. Have you ever made a combination picture"? It is a splendid way to putin loug,disagreeable eveuiugs. "A Cluster of Babies," makes a good sub ject for the giils, and "Football Favorites" will do for the boys. The pictures can be clipped from the news papers and the magazines. After the girls have a large collection of baby faces the picture must lie neatly trimmed and pasted 011 a big sheet of paper so that the effect will be that of a hundred or more babies looking out of a window frame. Some are crying, some are smiling aud some look pert and saucy. If you are fond ot birds, make a combination picture of them, or you can have a flower garden if you wish. Gathering pictures of public men is a good plan, too, for it famil iarizes one with celebrated faces. The Emotion of Grief In a 1>»!C. Dutch was a browu retriover of ad vanced years. Curly was said to be a Scotch terrier, but his appearance suggested some uncertainty iu his descent. Dutch was chained to her keunel, and Curly, who eujoyed his liberty, evinced his friendship by fre quently taking bones aud other canine delicacies to his less fortunate friend. One morning Curly presented himself at the house evincing uuniuitakable signs of grief by lus demeanor and his whines. A visit to the kennel, where poor Dutch -was found lying dead, showed tlie occasion of Curly's un happiness. We buried Dutch de corously under a vine in the garden, and supposed that Curly would forget the incident, but we were touched to see him in the capacity of faithful mourner often revisit the spot where his old friend was laid, taking by way of ottering choice bones, which lie Carefully buried by the grave. This practice Curly maintained for two years, when we ltrft the house. Two Wt»y* A Fnblo. Two little weeds grew on a bank by the roadside. All summer they had drunk dew and sunshine, and had been happy, but now autumn was come, with gray skies, and winds that nipped and piuchecl them. "We shall die soon," sail one little weed. "jf should like to do some thing pleasanj before I die, just to show what a happy time I have had. I think I will turn red, and then people will see how I feel. "You will be a great fool to waste your strength in auy such nonsense!" said the other little weed. "I shall live as long aa I can, and hug the brown bank here." So the first little weed turned bright scarlet, and was so beautiful that every one who passed that way turned to look at it. By and by there came along a most lovely maiden with her lover; and, when the lover saw the scarlet leaves, he picked them, aud set them in his maiden's hair, aud they lent her a new grace. This made the little weed so happy that he died for pure joy. The second little weed lived on,aud turned slowly brown, like th« bank "He was a fool!" lie said, speikiui of his companion. "He put all bis strength into turning red, and so he died." "I was proud of him," said the brown bank. "He did what he could, and people observed him." "Yes; but I am alive and stay with yon," said the weed. "Much I care!" said the brown bank.—Laura E. Richards, in the Church. Do Your It -st. A gentleman once said to a physi cian, "I should think, doctor, that at night you would feel so worried ovei the work of the day, that you would not be able to sleep." "My head hardly touches the pil low before I fall asleep," replied the physician. "I made up my mind," he conHnued, "at the commencement of my professional career to do my best under all circumstances; and so doing, I am not troubled with anj misgivings." A good rule for us all to follow. Too many arc disposed tc say: "No matter how I do this work now; next time I'll do it better." The practice is as bad as the reasoning: "No matter how I learn this lesson iu the primary class, when I get into a higher department then I'll study." As well might the mother in knitting stockings say: "No matter how the top is done, even if I drop a stitch now and then, I'll do better when ] get further aloug." What kind of a stocking would that be? As well might the builder say: "I don't cnre how I make the foundation of this house; anything will do here; wait till I get to the top, then I'll do good work." Said Sir Joshua Reynolds once tc I)r. Samuel Johnson: "Pray tell me, sir, by what means have you attaiueil such extraordinary accuracy and How of language in the expression of your ideas?" "I laid it as a fixed rule," replied the doctor, "to do my best on every occasion, aud iu every company to impart what I kuow in the most forcible language I can put it." Pigeon** Devotion. In the animal kingdom there are many strong examples of mother love, and the- birds are particularly noted for displaying it. A remarkable in stance of this maternal instinct was recently noticed near Elwood, Ind. A mother pigeon whose young one had mysteriously disappeared searched unceasingly for weeks for the little one, and one day was seen Hying violeutly against the side of a frame building in the city. Each time she came iu contact with the house she chipped of a small bit of wood with her bill. For nearly two days the old bird kept this practice up, often during that time falling ex hausted from the repeated shocks and fatig'ie. In the afternoon of the second day she hail pecked a hole in the wall, the wood of which was old and soft from the weather. This hole was large enough to admit a man's hand, and through this the mother bird went and came. Every time she entered she carried grain or seeds or grass. Some curious people investigated the hole while she was absent, and there they found the little lost pigeon, just below the hole, wedged in between the weatherboards. For two days more the bird continued to bring the little one food, and would stay fluttering near the hole, chirrup ing and trying to cheer the little prisoner up. Many times it entered and seemed to be trying to extricate its young one, but it could not sue cec d iu doing so, try as it would. The prisoner had flown into the building, which was empty, and managed to get between the weather boarding, neai the top of the inside. Falling a con siderable distance, it lodged in the nufrow space, which did not permit il to use its wings iu rising again. It* plaints had reached the mother, and she, not being able to reach it from the inside, had cut through from the out. An admiring man thrust his hand through the hole and brought out the fluttering young thing, much to the great delight of the anxious mamma bird.—lndianapolis Sentinel Tin- I.Mfisunge of Color*. There is a language of color as well as of flowers. White expresses power, wisdom, purity, candor, chastity. Bed is symbolic of power, passion and riches. Kings and rulers on eartb have always worn red mantles, and sc have the executioners of o'd, so thai this color also stands for cruelty and hardness. Blue denotes fidelity, sweetness, tenderness, loyalty.a spot less reputation. Aeriel divinities are invariably clad in blue. Theaucients allowed yellow to stand for glory and fortune. Now it is called the color oJ infidelity and shame. Green is em blematic of hope and joy. It is the emblem of youth, because spring ver dure is green. Jealousy does not have any showing in discussing this color. Black stands for sadness, for de ception, for disappointed hopes. In fernal deities are painted black. Le gend says that Apollo turned thf raven black because it betrayed him. Hence the raven is called the bird of misfortune. Pink denotes health, love, youth, pleasure. Violet is the tint allowed faith. Orange means divinft inspiration and poetry. The muses are represented as draped in orange colored draperies. Orauge was once the color of Hymen. Brides in olden times wore orange colored veils called flammeum, and they could not pronounce their vowa uncless cov ered with flammeum. Even now brides wear orange blossoms on theii wedding day.— Philadelphia Times. THE CUBAN WATER MONKEY. One Must ISe an Expert to Drink Fron It Gracefully* The Cubans harve a domestic utensi' called a "water monkey," that is to be found in houses, hotels aud ottices. It answers the same puipose as the oils in Mexico and the clay jugs of India. It is made ot gray porous clay and if manufactured in Malaga, "where the raisins come from." By absorption and evaporation a blanket of 000l ait surrounds the jug continually and DRINKING FROM A WATER MONKEV. keeps the whter almost as cold as if it contained ice. In a country where ice is both scarce aud expensive these jugs are indispensable. The water monkeys have two aper tures, one about the size of a dollar, through which water is poured into a glass. On the opposite side is a pro tuberance with a small hole running through it. From this the experienced Cuban drinks without touching it to tiis lips. When about to drink he holds it two or three inches from his mouth, into which the tiny stream of water pours. Gradually and slowly he lifts the monkey away from hkn until it is almost at arm's length, the water continuing to How from the monkey down his throat. Occasion ally the drinker gulps, aud when his thirst has been satisfied he returns the monkey toward his mouth, then suddenly tips it up, shutting off the stream. It takes considerable experi ence to drink out of a water monkey gracefully. The beginner sends a stream of water down his neck instead of his throat four times out of five, until he has mastered the art. FIRED FIRST SHOT INTO CUBA. Cadet Cliarle* Hoone, of Dayton, Ohio, Had That Honor. Cadet Charles Boone, the Dayton (Ohio) boy who sent the firt-t shot of the war into Cuba from his gun on the flagship New York, in the bom bardment of Matanzas Harbor, re ceived his appointment to Annapolis through Congressman Sorg. He had CADET CHARLES BOONE. (United States Naval Officer who fired the first shot into Cuba.) been in the school four years and was detailed on the New York a few months ago. He is but little more than twenty years old, but is spoken of highly by his superior officers. At once, on being transferred to the flagship, he was placed in charge of an eight-inch gun, with twenty four men under him. \\ hen the or der came from Rear-Admiral Samp son to "cut loose," he sent the first ball straight through and through the walls of the Spanish fort, tearing away everything in its path. At the Soda-AVa'r Fountain. Spanish Fizz—"What will yon have?" Commodore Dewejr—"l'll take Ma nila." A state lunch in Ghkia coutains 146 disheft. THE FLAG. Lo! in a night dry rods huve boomed In flowers of red and white and bluet On ev ry stuff the dawn's illumed The new glorious banner waves anewl No blossom this, to droop and fade In sulph'rous smoke of belching guns; Its roots were set, its tints were laid In the best blood of Freedom's sons. Across its hues the eyes of men Flash each to each with patriot Are, And heroes press its sacred stem T'i lips that smile as they expire. The sluggish blood, by commerce chilled. Leaps to its fount with sudden pride; And cnildren gaze, with bosoms thrilled, At this their heritage and guide: —Grace Duffle lioylan. HUMQROUS. Xewsbov (to distinguished author just arrived) —Extra, sir. Full ac count of your arrival. The Rejected One—l a rival, then? Thp Girl—-Hardly that; I have promised to marry him. Many a young man who has entered on a career has been glad soon after* wards to get a steady job. Mrs. A.—Do you think Mary Oil pert is as old as she looks? Mrs. B. —My dear, she conldu't be. Faddy—Are you in favor of a sin gle tax? Ditddy—l go farther than that. I would have no tax at all. Teacher (showing off his pupils) Now, Johnny, tell us how the earth is divided. Johnny (vivaciously)—By earthquakes, sir. Clerical Friend--I hear yon are hav ing trouble in your church. The Rev. Dr. Fourthly—Not a word of truth in it. The trouble is in the choir. His Wife—They say a photographer is to establish a place here soon. The Suburbanite—How can he expect people who live here to look pleasant? Miss Blackleigh(looking at her pho tograph)—l should like to know what people say about my picture. Miss Daisey—No, dear, I don't think you would. She—Do you recollect the night that you proposed to me? I bent my head and didn't say anything. He Quite right; but you've made up for it since. Proud Father—My daughter strikes Band is reaching for C. Friend—Oh, but you can't really complain until she begins to strike you for V's aud reach tor X's. Editor—Why don't you want your article on "Advice to Housewives" signed? Hack-Writer Because I want my wife to take some of the advice herself. "Governor, the bicycle trade posi tively refuses togo to the front." "What's the reason* 1 " "They claim that they would be at once disabled by the hard-tack." He—"ln the spring the young mau's fancy " you know; the little birds begin to mate—the— She— Yes; in the spring, even the potatoes begin making eyes. "Pa, can Igo to the circus?" "No, my son; if you're a good boy, you won't want togo to the circus." "Then I'd better go while I'm bad enough to enjoy it, hadn't I?" "Do yon think said the man who is slightly superstitions,' "that a comet pressages danger?" "Well," replied Mr. Meekton, with the deliberation of a mail who is accustomed to think many times before he speaks, "it does if I stay out hue euough to see it." Pat was suffering dreadfully from seasickness, and there was no pros pect of relief, for the vessel pitched and rolled without cessation. "By t'under," he cried in his agony. "Won't somebody second this motion and let it be passed without debate!" A teacher asked a little boy to spel) "responsibility,"which be did. "Now, Tommy," said the teacl e "can you tell me the meaning of that, big word?' "Yis, muni," answered Tommy. "If I had only four buttons on my trou sers, aud tWo came off, all the respon sibility would hang 011 the other two." "Papa," said the youthful student of history, "is an ultimatum the last word?" "N*o-o, not exactly; that is, not always," replied the old geutle' man thoughtfully. "You see, then are circumstances uuder wliich a man may give an ultimatum to a woman— his wife, for instance—but, of course, that doesn't mean that he will have the last word; not by a good deal." Caught a Wit nous. A man named Hogan was charged with murder. A hat, believed to be the prisoner's, was found near the body of the murdered man, and this was the principal ground for suppos ing Hogan was the perpetrator of the foul deed. O'Connell, who was rer tained for the defense, felt the case required the exercise of his utmost powers. The counsel for the crown made a strong point on the hat. O'Connell cross-examined the witness who iden tified it. "Are you perfectly sure that this was the hat found close to the body?" "Sartiu sure." O'Connell proceeded to inspect the caubeen. "Was the prisoner's name> Pat Hogan," (he spelled each letter slowly), "in it at the time yon found it?" '"Twas, of coorse." "You could not be mistaken?" "No, sir." "And all you swore is as true as that?" "Quite." "Then get off the table this minute!" cried O'Conneil triumphantly. Ad' dressing 4fee judge, he said: "My lord, there can be no conviction here. There is no name in the hat!" Antique Vegetables. Asparagus was originally a wild sea coast weed of Great Britain and Russia, aud is now so plentiful on thv Russian steppes that the cattle eat it like grass. In some parts of southern Europe the seeds are dried and used as a substitute for coffee.—Philadel phia Inquirer.