Hobson is a strict disciplinarian. It was only the other day that he gave Lis own ship a good blowing up. Century riding is a cruel recreation ns indulged in on Sundays by many clerks, bookkeepers and others who stand at counters or desks six days of the week, with scarcely any outdoor exercise. They are in no sort of con dition to ride ono hundred miles at a stretch, and the frequent results of this sort of overdoing are insomnia, Btaleuess and general unfitness for work, physical or mental. Kansas is a great wheat State, tho leading wheat State, notwithstanding the prominence given California, the Pakotas and Minnesota. Kansas led all of the wheat growing States last year, harvesting 51,020,004 bushels for 1807. But the crop of the present reason will be greater by many millions cf bushels, barring an unusual and unexpected calamity. Indeed, the acreage is so great and the crop so uniformly promising that the chances are for the biggest wheat yield in the history of tho State, not excepting the year 1832, when tho State measured seventy-four millions of bushels. Cuba is known to be by nature one of the richest parts of the earth's surface. Before the decline of the sugar industry in the West Indies many vast fortunes were extracted from it by agricultural processes that were very far from being thorough. Even in the most prosperous days of Cuba Spanish misgovernmcnt pro vented any real development of its resources. The fortunes that were realized were won by merely scratch ing the surface. Every official was a Spaniard, and no official, from the Captain General down, had any other object than to acquire for himself the largest fortune in the shortest time and to take it back with him to the peninsula. Recently compiled statistics show that the Russian Empire possesses at present 17,005 factories with an an nual production valued at §938,000,- 000. In these factories there are em ployed 910,014 workmen and 251,030 ■women aud girls. The number of steam engines is 10,525. The chief centers of industry are Moscow, St- Petersburg and Kieff. In the Gov ernment of Moscow tharo are 2075 factories, with an annual production value.l at §184,000,000, employing 230,000 workmen. The Caucasaus have 1199 factories, which employ 22,- 000 workmen, with an annual pro* duction valued at §23,300,000. Si beria has GOO, the Turkestan district 359 factories, with an annual produc tion valued at §10,600,000. Going back some two hundred years, says the Atlanta Constitution, we find that in 1700 there were barely more than 7,000,000 people in both hemis pheres who spoke the English lan guage, whereas at the present time there are uot less than 125,000,000- Other languages in 1700 were much more extensively in vogue than was the English, but for some reason they lacked the agencies of growth neces sary to extend the area of their supre macy and consequently the English language soon eclipsed thea. AVhila there are 125,000,000 people at the pre.seut time who speak the English language there are only 90,000,000 who speak the Russian, only 75,009,- 000 who speak the German, only 55,- 000,000 who speak the French, only 45,000,000 who speak the Spanish and only 35,000,000 who speak the Italian. Thas it appears that tho English lan guage i 3 considerably in tho lead of its competitors. It is many years since a book deal ing with economical and social ques tions has attracted so much attention iu France as the volume entitled "A Quoi Tient la Superiorite des Anglo- Saxons," by Edmond Demolins, re marks the New York Sun. The au thor, who is the editor of the review named La Science Sociale, begins by pointing out the world-wide expansion of the Anglo-Saxon race, and then un dertakes to define the causes of its in comparable fitness for colonization. About the expansion there is, of course, no doubt, even in the minds of Frenchmen, weak as they are in geo graphy. In North America the French man has been supplanted by the An glo-Saxon, and the same thing is true of India, of Mauritius and of Egypt. The Anglo-Saxon now controls the New World by means of the United States and Canada; Africa, by means of Egypt and the Cape Colony; Asia, by means of India and Burmah; Oceanica, by means of Australia and New Zealand; one may even say that he controls Europe and the entire •world besides, by means of his manu factures and his commerce. TWO SOLDIERS. , One man wout forth to battle— Another wont to battle, To meet the ancrry foe— And strove in many a fight- To brave the clash and rattle— He braved the clash and rattle, To hear the screams— But only fought To see the streams Because ho thought Of blood that were to flow- His side was in the right— Ih* went to strive for glory. That man won lasting glory, To win a hero's praise— His name stands out alone* To Jive in song an l story, Ho lives In song and story— And, honored, end his days. , The other died unknown. % A BRAVE COWARD. % # BY LIEUT. WM. It. HAMILTON, U. S. A. <©) • s * W when the first call to arms had /I gone forth — V "VI Fort Sumter bad ?Cr- fallen. State after State se ? ceded. The u' President called •y U for volunteers, { V Q~/}] $s and every see tion of the North generously re ■l/1 -I spouded to the / jJW w cry. Among tbe j n first to enlist for jf \J> n the war, was y Z-- John Allen, who lived with his parents in a'small village in Central New York. He was an only child, and his father a prosperous merchant. Filled with au immense enthusiasm, the young fellow soon succeeded in filling with his spirit enough young men of his section to organize a company, of which he was elected captain. Possessing a slight knowledge of military tactics and drill, he soon had his company in such shape that when the national capital was threatened, the company was at once mustered into service nud ordered South. They weut byway of Harrisburg, where they received their arms. To many of them the guus were strange, aud they had but slight knowledge of their use, when the day after their receipt they were ordered to join General Palmer's divis ion then marching toward the next day famous battle of Bull Bun. Thus hurried to the front withont rest or proper nourishment, with no knowledge of their arms, it is no won der that iuthegeneral panio that seized their brigade, the compacy should share in the nameless fear like the rest and hastily retreat. The young com mander filled with mortification and grief at the first engagement of his comrades, and possessing himself a cool head, tried his utmost to make his men stand. With uplifted sword, with entreaty and command, invoca tion and curse, with pleadings ami blows, he manfully tried to lead or beat thom back. But they would not heed, and carried him with them in the crush to the rear. It was while thus engaged, that tho general officer commanding the brig ade, came up, aud seeing a young cap tain going to the rear, halted for au instant—long enough to inquire the number of the company and regiment and his name. The day after the re treat, Allen was placed under arrest, and a few days later brought before a summary court-martial, and tried for cowardice iu tho face of the foe. It was useless for liitu to protest, his men would not testify in his behalf, for that would be owing to the fact of their cowardice, and Allen's explana tions were not listened to against the Btatement of the brigadier-general aud his staff officers. So he fell a victim, as many others did in tho early part of the uar to tho ambitious ignorance of a general officer as unskillful and unused to war as himself. Ho was dismissed from the service of the Uni ted States aud his name stricken from the rolls. The blow was an awful one, bnt to 'a man of such noble and honorable instincts as Allen, it was more than terrible. At tirst the thought of his disgrace r so maddened him that he ■would have taken his life, but there was not a drop of coward's blood in his nature, aud after the first trans ports of grief and despair were over, he resolved not to go home, but to seek some western State aud there enlist again, and if he could not rise, he at least could die a bravo mau's death 011 the field of battle. Shopld he rise, it would be by wiping out the fearful stigma, and until that was done the old folks at homo or his many friends there, should not know of hi 3 where abouts. Ho either a soldier's death at once, or anaine that would rise so high that against its glorious brilliancy the shadows that had so falsely clung to him would be forever banished. Of all famous troops in Sheridan's cavalry command iu the Army of Vir ginia, there was none that stood higher or had a more brilliant record than the troop of Captain Henry Pettis, of the Third Brigade, of the Fifth Division. Pettis biinsell, through the four years of war, ha l had a wonderful record of service. Enlisting as a private in an Indiana cavalry regiment, he had suc cessively risen through the grades of corporal, sergeant and first-sergeant of his troop, by brave and heroic acts ou the battlefield, as well us by un complaining and faithful duty iu the camp, ou the march or on picket. When one of the compauy officers had fallen at Chancellorsville, he was promoted and commanded the troop as a second lieutenant through the bat tle and the following campaign. And later, at Cedar Creek, it was Sheridan himself, who noting the wondrous bravery of the man and his untiring energy, promoted him a captain and assigned him a few days later to his own troop—the one with which he had von so many laurels. His men worshiped him, for there was no danger too great for him, no hardship or trial of which he did not bear the hardest part, and yet with them he was always the quiet, straight forward, and courteous gentleman, though shy and reserved. Time after time had he been complimented in gen eral orders, and tho fiery Sheridan sent for him after the enemy was in full rout at Winchester, and there in the presence of his stall* and many assem bled officers, thanked him, and after ward sent his name up for promotion to a majority. In the little lull preceding tho fa mous raid around Dinwiddie Court House Sheridan had a number of re cruits sent down to his army, aud seven of these were assigned to Pet tis's troop C, of the —th Kegiment, Indiana volunteer cavalry. Among these seven was one man whom the first sergeant had occasion to reprove several times the first week for gross carelessness and even worse. Finding this of no use, he reported the man, whose name was Cook, to the captain. Pettis mildly rebuked and sent him back, thinking that sufficient, but he did not notice the gleam of cunning recognition in Cook's eyes as he slunk away. The next day the sergeant brought him ngaiu before the captain on the charge of maltreating his horse. This was too much, ami Captain Pettis or dered him confined in the guard tents and sentenced to do extra police work. After three days' of punishment he was released, aud for a time was well behaved, but it was noticed that he was exceedingly curious regarding his captain. He asked many questions as to where he had come from, when he had first joiued, his various engage ments and victories, aud made, every now and then, slighting allusions to the effect that he might tell some thing—if he was disposed—to the captain's discredit. The rnou paid no attention to this the first time it was remarked, but on his repeating the offense, they warned him, in tones not to be misunderstood, that his life was not worth a pinch of earth if he re peated it. He tnen behaved himself well, till the regiment was ordered with the en tire corps again in the field. The day before starting, toward even ing, the first sergeant reported that Cook was missing, and also his horse and equipments. The manner in which he had left made it certain that he had deserted. But the next day he was brought into the lines, having been captured by the provost guard. Ho was taken to Captain Pettis's tent for examination, and on being told of his great crime, he turned angrily on his captain aud said: "You had bet ter look to yourself, Captain Pettis, as you are called. I know when you weut under another name. If I 0111 treated fair, I'll say nothing, but if not, then I'll drive you out of the army." "What