THE FLY WO YEARS. ,
As a dream when night is done,
(Asa shadow flees the sun;
I As a ship whose white sail 9 skim
Over the horizon dim,
l As a life complete of days
I Vanisheth from mortal ways.
As a hope that pales to fear-
Is the dying of the yoar.
As the first gold shaft of light ■>
Bhivers through the wrack of night;
As the thrill and stir that bring
Promise of the budding spring:
As new thoughts of life that rise
Mirrored in a sick man's eyes,
As strange joy to hearts forlorn.
Bo another year is born.
Glad or sad, a dwindling span
Is the little life of man.
Love and hope and work and tears
Fly before the flying years;
Yet shall tremulous hearts grow bold ,<.
All the story is not told—
For around us as a sea
Spreads God's great Eternity.
—Christian Burke, in Atalanta!
THE IMUNcTPLE OF IT.
BY GEORGE E. WALSH.
DRIZZLY rain made
XA the streets of New
// Y'ork muddy and
//- \\ sloppy. Within the
■■ Y\ circles cast by
WV' tbe electric-lamps
\f falling globules
V a ra ' D rC "
Bem kled sparkling
diamonds dropping
* rom i Q ky dark
•/ nesg overhead. The
V sticky moisture of
the salt air penetrated to the marrow of
the bones, and made one feci uncom
fortably warm and surly.
It wa9 midsummer, and the humidity
in the air made the heat less endurable.
John Scollard threw open his light over
coat and tried to take advantage of every
breath of cooling air. He was walking
leisurely toward the steamboat dock,
thinking, meanwhile, of the change in
the atmosphere which ho would experi
ence when he reached the hotel down by
the sea.
"Evenin' papers, sir, only a cent," a
newsboy shouted in an appealing voice,
shoving the sheet before tho banker's
eyes.
He pushed by without speaking. Near
the crossing he put his foot in an inch of
mud, and drew back just in time to
avoid being run over. Muttering words
of anger against the careless driver, and
inwardly cursing the muddy streets, he
glanced ruefully down at his soiled
shoes.
"The other side of the street, sir, is
cleaner," a sweet voice said close to him,
•♦and you will not get so muddy."
It was only tho flower girl—no, wo
man, who had kept her position on the
street corner in spite of the rain. Her
sweet violets, red roses, and eaily tulips
were wet with the mißts, but they en
joyed the ducking and appeared more
attractive than usual.
"Than you," Mr. Scollard said,
ne turned around to take the advice
of the woman. He walkod a tew steps
and then halted. lie seldom bought
flowers. He had no one to give them
to and he was not particularly fond of
them himself, But an act of kinducss
deserves some compensation.
"Give me some of your flowers—the
prettiest ones you have," he said he,feel-
Ing in his pocket for a bill.
"Violets, roses, or tulips, sir?"
"Oh, anything—l'm not particular,"
be answered quickly.
The vender of flowers was used to her
work. She understood human nature.
In a few moments she had deftly put to
gether a pretty bouquet of flowers, and
handed them to tbe stranger. The man
threw down a dollar bill and started to
walk away.
"Your change, sir," the flower woman
interrupted in the same well-modulated
voice.
"Never mind—"
He stopped. One lock at the sweet
face convinced him thathewa9 not deal
ing with a subject for charity. He ex
tended his hand and looked admiringly
into the face.
"Seventy five cents," she sakl, drop
ping three quarters into his gloved hand.
The expression of a face will some
times recall suddenly the past of one's
life. John Scollard felt that he was
walking in a dream a9 he continued his
journey toward the boat. That face
struck a key-note in his life, long since
untouched. He had seen many flower
women before, but he had never cared
about inspecting them. They were
strangers to him, and they were gener
ally unattractive. Their flowers wore
often pretty, but the fingers which
handled them were bard and coarse.
But that night lie dreamed of other
fceDes. On the front piazza of the hotel,
overlooking the wild surf, he recalled
his past life. No man could be more
thankful for his lot in life. Ho had suc
ceeded beyond h:s widest expectations,
and at the age of forty-five he was in
possession of an immense fortune and
a reputable business standing. His life
had been well ordered and rational from
the beginning.
His troubles had been few, and they
were chiefly negative ones. He had few
friends and no relatives. He met those
in his business life who professed to be
his friends, but he knew that it was all
from policy's sake. Sociallife had never
attracted him—at least not since his early
manhood.
His one great misfortune had been
commonplace, such as happens to many
In life, but the sting of it had clung to
him these many years. It bad been a
•imple lovers' quarrel, followed by sep
aration and jealous rage. He felt bitterly
toward Jennie liawley at the time, and
when he learned of her marriage a year
or two later, it turned him from the
world and all its pleasintest associa
tions. He wrapped himself up in busi
ness, and turned everything into gold.
The stocks which he handled were sure
to advance in value, and he had been
often termed the "wizard of Wall
street." The pleasure of making money
rapidly gave him satisfaction, but as the
novelty off it passed off it became a bur
den to him.
lie was rich now—a millionaire sev
eral times over. But he was unhappy
and lonesome. lie shivered as he en
tered his damp room at tho hotel.
There was no one to welcome or cheer
him. If sickness should overtake him
he could hire tho best professional ser
vice, but there would bo no natural
warmth or sympathy for him. He was
at that age ot life when a family is most
appreciated. If his life had been or
dered differently! If he had only mar
ried some one else!
No, he did not wish that. If he had -
never quarrelled with his first lovel He I
knew now that he wa9 all to blame. He i
had been a bear—a fool, ne had played s
with the affections of Jennie, aud she
had endured his childishness patiently 1
for a time. Her meek, patient eyes were ]
so expressive, and when they parted the !
last time tear 9 were in them. i
The flower woman's face and eyes re- i
called it all. They haunted him all that
night. They were the exact imitation !
of Jennie's, only older and more ex- ;
pressive. The glare of tho electric light
might have caused the illusion, but he
would investigate. lie could pass the
| flower stand again and stop to make
another purchase of flowers. •
6uch eagerness to reach tho place on <
tho following (lay was seldom exhibited i
by the banker. It was now broad day- i
light, and he could satisfy his own mind, i
But lie was disappointed. A girl of ten <
summers stood at tho place and dis- i
pensed flowers to the public. i
"Flowers, sir?" she asked in a childish ]
voice. i
"No—yes," John Scollard said me
chanically, pulling some money out of 1
his pocket. "Give me some roses."
He watched the deft fingers as they
flew quickly around the cut flowers.
"Do you own this stand?" he asked
j abruptly.
' "No, sir, mamma owns it. She keeps
it in the afternoon and I attend in the
morning?"
"Ob, I see!" absent-mindly. "But
what is your name?"
"JeDnie Morrow—l'm Darned after
mamma."
The banker's face blanched a little.
Morrow I Morrow 1 Yes that was tho
name of the man who had married the
girl he once loved. Her name was Jen
nie Morrow and the very picture of her
mother. He looked at the golden head
and the blue eye 9. The girl noted the
steady stare of tho man, and her young
cheek 9 flushed a little.
"Do you live around here?" he asked
again. "I mean would you mind giving
me your mother's address? I think I
know her. I'm an old friend—know her
year 9 ago."
He obtained the desired information,
and dropping a coin In the girl's hand
he hurried away. He took an early boat
to the seashore. Ho wanted to meditate
upon his discovery. A new happiness
appeared to open before him. His early
love wa9 apparently a widow and in
pjor circumstances.
This impression was confirmed on the
following morning when he sought out
her lodging. It was in one of the tene
ment house districts, and everything was
dirty aud filthy. This sight rather
pleased him, for he thought of the great
change he could bring into the life of
the woman he loved. She was alone
with her daughter, and poor; ho was
alone and rich.
"You must come to me," ho pleaded
when he had explained his mission. "1
have always loved you, Jennie, aud my
life has been made miserable by that one
mistake. lam rich, and can give you
and your daughter a good home. You
must leave this low place, and become
my wife."
"Was it her pride that kept the answer
from her lips -which her heart dictated?
She could only refuse this kind offer.
Love might prompt it, but it now seemed
too much like charity to accept. lie
had pleaded this way before, and her
heart trembled with emotion at the re
membrance of it. He left her, finally,
disappointed and crestfallen. He could
not move her. She would not listen to
his words of love and affection.
His life seemed more lonely than ever.
His handsome rooms were devoid of
all comfort. Even his business lacked a
certain charm which before attracted
him. With all of his wealth he could
not give anything to the poverty-Btricken
woman whom he loved. Small presents
she would accept, but nothing expensive.
But he heaped gifts and luxuries upon
her daughter. This ho could do with
propriety.
Finally he prevailed upon her to let
him educate her daughter. She was sent
to a private school, where her natural
gifts soon developed. Her mother had
taught her the primary lessons of educa
tion, and she was not very backward in
her studies from the beginning. John
Scollard took a deep, fatherly interest in
his little protege, and ho lavished his
wealth upon her. Every comfort and
pleasure that money could buy was at
her command.
"You will spoil her," tho mother said
one day with deep concern. "She will
soon be ashamed to come back to her
humble surroundings here."
"I never intend that 6he shall come
back," he replied boldly.
"What do you mean? Would you
take her away from me?"
"No, I would make you come to her.
I want to make tho mother ashamed of
her surroundings, so that she will accept
i I tho better homo which is waiting for
■ her. This is my object."
> "Oh 1" she replied, thoughtfully. Then
1 shaking her head sorrowfully she added:
"It is no good. I will never come—not
r even if you rob mo of ray daughter."
But still he persisted. It had been a
r business maxim with him to hammer
a away at tbe same work until it yielded
- to his wishes. This hard-headed policy
. determined him in his present purpose.
Two years rolled by and he was still
2 living a lone bachelor life. Little Jen
a uio was prospering at a fashionable
boarding-school, while her mother ped
dled flowers at the old stand. John
Scollard had pleaded with the woman
for her own sake, and for her daughter's
sake, to marry him; but she always
gave the same reply. Ho grew less hope
ful, and his old melancholy, unsatisfied
life settled upon him again.
But one day a small cloud came out of
the clear sky, and suddenly assumed the
shape and strength of a tornado. Wall
Street's foremost banker had invested
heavily in western mining stocks, and in
one day his fortune was swept out of ex
istence. lie returned home that night
quietly and calmly as ever. lie read the
evening papers critically. They were
full of his disaster, and the terrible crash
which had shafcen tho financial founda
tions of the city. He grew a little pale
as he read, but otherwise he showed no
signs of his misfortune.
He found a note waiting for him early
the next morning. It had been de
livered the night beforo. He knew the
handwriting well, and in his heart he
thanked God that ho had some one to
sympathize with him in calamity.
"Come and see us Immediately. We
have iead of your misfortune. Jennie
is home from school. Wo sympathize
with you, and want to comfort you.
You have been so kind to us in the past."
Ho kissed the note paper several
times. The waiters at the hotel looked
curiously at him as he passed out. Some
expected that he would commit suicide
after the tailure, but he looked strong
and calm. He carried a morning's paper
in his hand, containing a fuller account
of the great failure. He walked briskly
toward tho lower part of the city, and
inwardly thought that people who know
him would think that the appropriate di
rection for him to direct his steps.
"Oh, John, it's too bad," was the un
expected greeting which ho received
from the woman he loved. "We've
read aH about it, and wo feel so much
for you. Jennie is home and never will
go back to school again. But you mu9t
come and make your home near us.
We'll take care of you."
He smiled at her eagerness, and ho
thought he detected au expression of
pleasure beneath the assumed sorrow.
"And do you mind it so much?" his
protege asked, winding her arms around
his neck. "You've been so kind to U9.
It isn't so bad to be poor. I don't mind
it and mamma don't. But you—"
"I've been poor, too, he replied, kiss
ing the golden head.
"Then we're all alike again, and we
won't feel that you are so far above U9."
He smiled at her words. Even she
appreciated the difference in their sta
tions in life, and probably in a few
years she would refuse to receive any
more charity from him.
"We have prepared a fine dinner for
you," interrupted Mrs. Morrow, "and
you must feel that you're one of the
family."
"That's impossible for me," he said
gloomily. "That can never be now.
| When 1 was rich I had some hopes, but
now that I'm poor I'll never be more to
you."
She looked tenderly into his eyes. He
refused t.> see the expression of love.
He hod the right to let his pride keep
hiin from declaring his feelings again.
"There is always hope," she faltered.
"When conditions change every barrier
must also change."
"But other barriers are erected," he
replied.
Her cheeks flushed. Either ho did
not understand, or he felt that he had
no right to ask her to marry him in his
present circumstances.
"John," she whispered.
He looked stupidly at her.
"You know I—love you."
Still ho remained passive. The words
out she felt freer, and continued im
pulsively :
"I have a right to say it. You have
told mo that you have loved mo many
times. But I could not tell you my
feelings when you were so rich. Now
we are both poor, and I tell you all. I
love you, rich or poor, but I could not
speak it before."
"Thank God then that I failed," he
said fervently. "I have found a home
by it."
They did everything after that to
make him happy. Tho home was a
small one, bnt it seemed brighter than
his mansion. He spent the rest of the
day with them, and only loft late at
night to return to his hotel. He was
busy on the following day in winding
up his business affairs. The little flower
stand was no longer to be tho means of
support of tho widow. They had de
cided to move into some quiet cottage
(in the country, where they could begin
their life anew. The wedding was as
quiet as the engagement.
John Scollard arranged for the place
and had it furnished handsomely. It
was far beyond his wife's anticipation,
and she was agreeably surprised at the
surroundings. Jennie was jubilant with
the no.v prospect.
"It's so nice and cosy here," she said
gleefully. "It's even better than at
boarding school."
"I'm happy if it will suit you," John
Scollard said, with a peculiar smile.
"This must content us in tho summer
time, and in the winter we can live in
our city home."
"Why, you expect to make money
again in a hurry," his wife said with a
look of doubt.
"No, it is already made," he replied
slowly.
"But that was all lost."
"No, not quite," he answered. "The
reports were somewhat mixed. I had
sold out my shares of mining stock be
fore the crash came."
There was an expression of anxiety on
his wife's face. Her cheeks paled and
then flushed. She had married a wealthy
man alter all. She buried her face in her
hands, but John removed them and said:
"But you did not know it. You married
me for myself, and not for my money.
It was against your principles to take me
when I was wealthy, but now that we
have the money we should not regret it.
That's the common-3ense view of it,
Jennie."
| ' After some reflection she thought so
too, and she accepted her condition with
a good grace; but she was never quite
sure in her own mind that the reported
failure was not a scheme on her husband's
part to win her for his wife.—Yankee
Blade.
SELECT SITTINGS.
The most graceful of domestic animals
is the cat, whilo the most awkward bird
is the duck.
Of the 18,327 female depositors in the
savings banks of Philadelphia, 8246 are
described as boarding-house keepers.
Tacoma, Washington, is overrun with
tramps and idlers, and robberies of
houses and pedestrians are of nightly
occurrence.
New Orleans, La., believes she has
shipped the largest cargo on record,
20,01)0 bales of cotton on board the
British ship Samoa.
The marriage is announced at New
York City of Elephtkerios Pelalas to
Catharine Eleferopuls. The priest was
Rev. Paisios Ferentinos.
Weeping trees, from which drops of
pure, cold water fall, are of frequent
occurrence in the forests of Oregon,
Montana, Washington and British Col
umbia.
A vegetable curiosity is owned by a
resident of Weuatchee, Washington.
It consists, it is claimed, "of a network
of large potatoes grown upon one
another."
Family namc9 seem to be scarce in
Denmark. In the Copenhagen direceory
the name Hansen takes up thirty-foui
columns, Petersen thirty-two, Jensec
thirty columns.
Among the estates left by persons who
died in Vienna, Austria, and whose he in
have not been found, is one consisting
of an opera-glass. Another man's estate
consists of a scarfpin.
It is said that a man does not reach
bis full mental power until the age ol
twenty-five, and the development oi
talent is most marked between the ages
of thirty and forty-five.
British soldiers will wear seamless
socks in future, because they insure
greater marching efficiency. The old
style of seamed socks chafed the shin
and made the soldiers footsore; the
seamless socks do not.
R. 8. Campbell, a resident of North
Salem, Ind., claims to havo found a
stone in the bottom of a creek near his
home which resembles, in size and shape,
a well-trimmed horn. The curiosity
weighs sixty-seven pounds.
Grifton, N. C., can probably lay claim
to more division than any other small
place in the country. The village is
located, it is said, in two counties, three
townships, two congressional districts,
two senatorial districts and two judicial
distiicts.
A Chicago shoe manufactory makes
20,000 pairs of "dead men's shoes" a
month. The soles are of pasteboard,
covered with grained paper, the uppers
are quilted satin and crochet work and
a ribbon tied in a bow knot holds the
shoe to tho foot.
Florida people are telling of an crange
tree in Doctor Abornathy's grove at
Altoona which has borne during the pasl
season 15,000 oranges. It is a seedling,
twenty-five years old, some thirty feet j
high, and lias received only the ordinary j
grove care and culture.
In the 227 years siuco "Don Quixote"
was published 1324 editions hare been
printed, of which 528 were Spanish, 304 I
English, 170 French, 99 Italian, 84 Por
tugese, 45 German, 18 Swedish, 9 Polish,
8 Danish, 6 Russian, 5 Greek, 3 Rou
manian, 4 Catalonian, 1 Basque and 1
Latin.
Yuma Indian Cndelß.
At the Fort Yuma Indian School the
classes are taught according to the voca
tion of life, most properly supposed to
become their sex. The girls are in
structs 1 in the culinary art, mantua
making and household duties. The
boys are taught farming, mechanics and
military movements.
The Indian boy cadets are instructed
chiefly by tho Mother Superior, with oc
casional help from those of her attaohes
who are better versed in military tactics.
They have their own captain, lieutenants,
sergeants and corporals. Recentlj
they gave Yuma a fine treat in the way
oi a company drill. Undor tho sound of
a drum they marched to martial music,
single file, by twos and iu squads of
fours. Each is armed with miniature
rifle, bayonet, belt, scabbard and cart
ridge-box. The uniform is dark gray,
with light gray fatigue caps. Their time
in marching was excellent, and in the
manual of arms they showed the effects
of paiustaklug training. Making the
company wheel, fours left or right about,
fours right into lino and many other dif
ficult moves were executed better than
many older persons could do it.
Here is an opportunity for California
to have something unique at tho World's
Fair by introducing this excellent little
hand of aboriginal braves to the admiring
gaze of tho millions of sightseers. The
fuct that all their commands are made in
English and are given by one of their
own tribe lends an enchantment to it
that would otherwise be lost upon an or
dinary mortal.—Yuuia (Cal.) Sentinel.
Magnified by Mi9t.
The magnifying power of mist has
often been described, but perhaps never
in a more striking manner than by Mr.
P.ke in tho "Barren Ground of Northern
Canada." "We were traveling in a
thick log and saw an animal, apparently
at some distance, bounding along the
horizon at a most remarkable pace. All
down the line there wore cries of
'Musk oxl' 'Wolff' Guns were snatehod
from the sleighs and tho dogs chargod
at a gallop in pursuit of the strange
animal. After a rush of ten yards tho
quarry disappeared. The first man had
put his foot on it and it turned out to bo
one of the small mice so common in that
country."
USES OF FLOUR BARRELS.
Some of the Trotty hii<l Practical Thing*
That Can Jt Made from Them.
You think you are familiar with
the possibilities of old barrels. You
know how to make chairs of them.
You have improved vastly on the
rather primitive affair your ingenious
grandmother was proud of having
fashioned out of a barrel.
Did it ever occur to you that theie
are other possibilities in an empty
barrel? Have you ever tried making
a table of one? Four nicely curved
staves will make the legs. Use the
head of the barrel for the top, or, if
you like, buy a piece of wood any
size or shape you fancy. Get a
square piece of timber a few inches
long and about five and a half inches
square. Take off the corners for
about an inch, making an irregular
octagon, and fasten on the sides the
four barrel staves, with the ends well
squared and smoothed off. Between
them, where the corners were, fasten
on some brackets to support the top.
THE POSSIBILITIES OP A BARREL.
A small hoop placed between the
staves near the floor will make them
more firm, and a coat of paint or var
nish will complete quite a presentable
Uttle table.
A kind of round cabinet table can
also be made by sawing out zigzag
panels in the sides above the lower
hoops and inserting a round shelf in
side at this level. Put a round cover
on the top and paint it white, flr6t
filling the cracks and imperfections
with putty and rubbing down with
sandpaper.
The cabinet of shelves is built of
well-selected barrel heads, whose
parts are held together by a broad
cleat nailed on the under side of each
head. These are supported by four
upright pieces, with grooves sawed In
the edges at different levels. Brack
ets strengthen the frame and secure
the shelves properly. The edge is
finished with a fringe or some other
ornamental decoration about three
inches deep.
A useful stand may be made of a
barrel sawed in half lengthwise and
resting upon a framework of plain
boards with a shelf below. This may
be filled with earth for a winter win
dow garden or may have a cover
hinged on for a table and be draped
with a cloth to hide the barrel shape,
which affords a spacious receptacle.
Still another may consist of two
ends of a barrel with the heads in
each part being sawed off Just at the
second hoop. Through four holes in
the lower one run the supports of the
frame and let the top part rest upon
their ends. Some small brackets
under each barrel head will strength
en the whole. Covered and decorated
with cloth and plush and with cush
ioned sides and pockets, this makes a
very convenient work table, or, deco
! rated in rustic fashion, a very pretty
plant stand.
MEXICAN PEONS.
4uniiy-NaturMl People Happy Kven In
Their Poverty,
j The peon population of Mexico live in
adobe houses or shanties of corn stalks,
j A-rites Ileirry Ware Allen in the current
j Ueview of lieviews. They own but two
I :>r three parments each; sleep on straw
I mats and exist 011 next to no wages. As
■ an official of the Trea-ury Department
: recently stated it, "The population of
! Mexico is only half fed, a quarter clad
urd an eighth ilium nated" (petroleum
i retails for 75 ceuts per gallon). Yet
after all there is without doubt, more
real poverty, more distress and desper
| ate hardship in a single New York tene
ment house ward than in the whole rc
| public of Mexico—for here the climate
s gentle, nature is prodigal, the neces
sities of life are easily obtained and the
| horrors of many-storied tenement
I houses are unknown. On the one hand
■ls a race of sunny-natured people
; whose condition is steadily improving,
on the other hand a race whose social
■ adjustments are 60 out of order that an
increasing proportion of the population
is being crushed under the wheel of un
| avoidable poverty.
j The peon is nothing if not contented.
He could no more be induced to join a
band of "calamity howlers" than could
j the n.ost villainous "plutocrat" of Wall
atieet. This characteristic is due toths
fatalism which prevails, and is further
a result of centuries of servitude. Fa
talism is said to be a factor in the army.
The Mexican soldier goes into 1 aUie
| believing that if death comes it wa9
foreordained, and so he does not try to
evade the danger.
A Parrot's Coffin.
A parrot belonging to a Glasgow
lady has recently died, and has been
buried in a coflin of a ridiculously
handsome character. It was made ol
rosewood, measuring 16 inches by 7
inches by 5 inches, hand carved, with
l'crslan designs, and lined throughout
with pink satin. The parrot's head
reposes on an embroidered pillow, and
a glass protects the bird from contact
with the wood. The edge of the
coffin was decorated with wooden
heads, fastened in after completion,
and seventeen golden screws hold the
lid in its place. This elaborate con
struction cost $260.
POWER OF TORPEDOES.
WHAT MODERN SHIPS OF WAR
HAVE TO DREAD.
When the First Device of This Nature
Appeared—How It Han Grown In Ability
to Destroy—The Variety Adopted by the
United States Government.
A Formidable Assailant.
During our war of independence,
says a New York correspondent,
David Bushnell, the father of Ameri
can submarine warfare, threatened
the British war vessels In New York
harbor with torpedoes carried in a
turtle-shaped boat that glided to the
attack beneath the surface of the
water.
But the first authentic record of
the practical efficiency of torpedoes
as a recognized means of attack and
defense is found in the river and
harbor operations during our late
civil war, when thirty-seven vessels
I! Alt 1H ,11 DEFENDED BY SUBMARINE MINES,
FLANKING GUNS, AND MORTAR BATTERIES.
were either sunk or seriously damaged
by the explosion of heavy gunpowder
mines submerged in the approach! s
to Southern cities. Submarine tor
pedo boats harassed the fleet block
ading Charleston; while the gallant
Cushing leaped a small steam launch
over a barrier of floating logs and
sunk the formidable ironclad Albe
marle by the explosion of an iron pot
full of powder lashed to the end of a
spar.
Since that time, stimulated both
by the rapid advance in electrical en
gineering and by the study of high
explosives, the development of the
torpedo, or sea mine, has been rapid
ly pushed forward both in this coun
try and in Europe.
In 1869 the Board of Engineers for
Fortifications was instructed to ex
perimentally study the general sub
ject of torpedo defense and to pre
pare detailed plans of applying the
approved methods to the several im
portant harbors of the United States.
Channels, rivers and anchorages were
carefully studied, and elaborate proj
ects for their defense were submitted,
comprising plans for bomb-proof elec
tric stations, tunnels to protect the
protect the insulated wires, and
maps showing the number and pro
posed location of the mines. And as
the handling of high explosives held
in leash by the electric current al
lows no margin for ignorance, care
lessness or neglect the establishment
of a school of defensive submarine
mining was recommended, where en
gineer soldiers could receive a thor
ough training in this special service.
The magnitude of the work outlined
can only he appreciated by those who
were associated with Gen. Henry L.
Abbot in the development of a prac
tical working system from meager
data and an absolute lack of material.
At that time reliable insulated ca
ble was not manufactured In the
United States, and the electrical ap
paratus had for some years to be pur
chased in Europe, while special plants
XOni*EDO AT ANCHOR.
had to bo established for the fabrica
tion of the steel cases and connec
tions. As the work advanced it was
found that certain general conditions
must be fulfilled.
The torpedo cases should be light,
easily handled, and sufficiently buoy
ant to support the charge, mooring
rope, and electric cable in a sensibly
vertical position against the depress
ing effects of swift currents, or the
torpedoes will sink below the touch
of passing vessels; and the mechan
ical arrangements should be capable
of resisting the shock from the ex
plosion of neighboring mines. The
adopted spherical case meets all these
requirements, and with anchor, wire
mooring rope, electric cable and can-
nectlons constitutes a complete min*
ready for action.
From bomb-proof operating case
mates seven-colored cables will bo
laid to junction boxes placed at se
lected points in the channel. Thence
the copper cores will diverge into
cables radiating toward the advance,
and terminating in threo mines, so
connected that oach will explode
singly if struck, while all three can
lie exploded simultaneously at will.
To till the gaps between the lines, to
menace the enemy far in advance of
the main defenses, and. to compel him
to extena countermining operations
over a wide area, lines of skirmish or
single-cable mines will cut the waters
well to the front.
In shallow channels or anchorages
the coast line available for occupa
tion in conducting a distant bom
bardment large and carefully located
ground mines so charged and eleo:
trically controlled that their removal
by sweeping or grappling would prove
both difficult and dangerous will re
enforce the mortar batteries in a very
effective manner.
The primary defense of the mines
ests with the guns of the batteries
commanding the channels, where the
main lines will be so arranged as to
be swept throughout their length bji
a flanking fire. The machine and
rapid-flrlng guns, when we have
them, will play an Important part Id
such operations. But, should war be
declared to-morrow, our old-fashioned
eight and ten-inch smoothbores would
prove very effective against torpedo
boats and launches attempting to
work mischief under cover of night
or a fog. Charged with grape and
canister, trained by day-light, and
placed in circuit with the electric
system through electric primers and
Insulated wires extended to the oper
ating station, any effort to raise a
mine or cut a cable will at once auto
matically draw a volley that would
disable or greatly harass the boats.
In the absence of high-power guns
.n ironclad will move steadily for
ward and attempt by countermining
to open a safe passage for a bcleauger-
Ing fleet, and here the adopted Sims-
Edison electric flsh torpedo would
prove a valuable auxiliary to the de
fense. The range of this aggressive
torpedo is over two miles, while its
Bpeed exceeds eighteen miles an hour.
It is steered, propelled, and exploded
by means of a controllable electrlo
current, and carries a charge capable
pf disabling the most formidable
Ironclad.
The complete torpedo consists of
iwo distinct parts, the float and the
bull. The former is filled with an
ansubmergible material and Is prac
tically indifferent to the bullets ot
rapid-firing gun 6; the latter, a cigar
thaped hull sheltered from Are under
(even feet of water, carries in the
bow section the explosive, in another
in insulated cable, which pays out.
without strain as the torpedo pro
ceeds, and in the stern section the
;lectro-motor that revolves the pro
peller and a powerful relay that ac
tuates the steering gear.
The electric current, produced by
i dynamo on shore, and conveyed to
the torpedo through the cable, is un
ier control of the operator through
the keyboard switches by which he
■an at will start, stop, steer to port
jr starboard, or explode the charge.
Movable torpedoes of this type will
prove formidable assailants to the
tnemy's vessels moving cautiously in
ibstructed channels, and will re-en
force the fire of the mortars.
Ignorance of the nature and object
)f torpedoes has led the public to
oelicve that harbors can, in an emcr
{ency, be protected by this branch
3f the defense aloue. Heavy bat
teries and submarine mines are but.
correlative terms of a good defense.
The function of the latter Is to so
cbstruct the channels that the ene
my's vessels shall be held under Are
cf the former. But at least it can
tie said that we have ready for duty a *-
perfected defensive torpedo system,
nipplemented with a skilled corps ol'
submarine miners and electricians.
Bakersvili.e will have to be spelled
with a capital F in future.—l'hila
§jr A Powerful
Flesh Maker.
A process that kills the
taste of cod-liver oil has I
done good service—but ;
the process that both kills j
the taste and effects par
tial digestion has done
j much more.
Scott's Emulsion
stands alone in the field
of fat-foods. It is easy of
assimilation because part- v,
ly digested before taken.
Scott's Emulsion checks Con
sumption and all other
wasting diseases.
Prepared bv Rrott k Bowne, Chemists, jk
New York. Sold by drutfgiatu everywhere. \
mWxi
p Nlj 10
NOTHING LIKE SI
SWIFT'S SPEC IFIC is totally unlike any
other blood medicine. It cures diseases ol
the blood and skin by removing the noison,
and at tho same tluio supplies good blood to th*
wasted parts. Don't be Imposed on by substi
tutes, which arc said to be just as good, it is
not true. No medicine IAS TCC lEfti QI ft
has performed as many If? I lIC fIUBILW
wonderful cures, or relieved so much suffering.
" My Mood was badly poisoned last year, which
£ot my whole ay stem dht of order— diseased and
\ constant source of Buffering, no appetite and
oo enjoyment of life. Two bottles of 03KSKJ1
brought mo right out. There is no BWKjWB
better remedy for blood diseases.
"JOHN GAVIN, Dayton, Ohio."
kr
Treatlse on blood and skin diseases mailed free,
' SWIFT SPECIFIC CO., Atlanta, Oa.