Spain is in a position to fit out a
magnificent navy it she will utilize
her hardships.
The French built the Suez Canal
■nd the British nre getting the largest
part of the benefit from it.
There is no national feeling in
China. The different sections of the
country hate each other more cor
dially than they hate foreigners.
Such military and naval forces as ex
ist are provincial rather than imperial.
Bulgaria is going to take effective
means to increase its population. For
every son born beyond a minimum
number 95 will be paid not only to
the father, but to the mother also. A
soldier showing a dozen sons will re
ceive a pension large enough to sup
port him, and besides a decoration-
The same reward will go to his wife.
It was Schley who discovered Cer
vera in Santiago Harbor. It was Schley
who discovered Cervera as he started
on his dash to destruction. When
Schley discovered Cervera's ships on
May 29 he said: "I have got them,
and they will never get home." And
prophet Schley had the pleasure and
the honor of bringing about the fulfil
ment of his own prophecy.
Several object lessons have been
presented for tbe consideration of
nations in the war. One is that
America can strike swiftly and strike
hard. Another is that spirit of gen
erosity toward a conquered foe which
is as much a tradition here as the love
of freedom. The one lesson is a warn
ing; the other is an example which
will certainly bear fruit in future wars.
A member of the Volksraad of the
Orange Free State, South Africa, rec
ommends Sunday observance as an
effectual cure for the rinderpest. Re
cently in tho course of the debates on
the new Sunday Observance Act of
that State, he assured the members
that if they only passed a stringent
Sabbath law "rinderpest and all other
plagues would vanish, and the laud
would be one flowing with milk and
honey." Tho new act, by tho way,
prohibits "goods trains, except per
ishables, pleasure trains, and all
games, the latter under penalty of
§OO or one month."
Oh the Fourth of July a young man
of Stockton, Kan., took his best girl to
a picnic. There she accepted so many
attentions from another young man
that the first young man became en
raged and went home, leaving the girl
to get back to her own house as best
she might. She hired a hack, for
which her father paid seventy-fivo
cents, and then the old man sent the
bill to the sulky young suitor. He re
fused to pay, and the old man sued
him a iu justice's court, alleging that
having taken the girl to the picnic it
became his duty to see her safely home
at his own expense. Both sides have
hired lawyers, and the case will be
fought to a finish.
History notes the fact that Bahia
Nipe, tho third large harbor of Cuba
occupied by the United States, was
the scene of the first landing of Col
umbus on the shores of the greatest of
the Antilles. It was at Nipe bay that
the voyager took his caravels aftei
sailing southward from San Salvador,
and, after moving from that point west
ward for some distance he turned, be
lieving, it is narrated, that he had en
countered the shores of Asia and could
not hope to sail entirely around that
great continent. So he went back
eastward and thus made his way back
to Spain to toll of his wonderful dis
coveries. Nipe bay thus connects it
self with two widely separated stages
of the history of Cuba.
Consul Smith at Moscow has made
a report to the State Department in
regard to the education of children in
Finland. "About thirty-eight per
cent, of the population of Finland,"
he says, "can read and write. There
are 1400 schools, supported in part by
the Government; twenty-one of these
are intermediate schools. Each of the
408 districts has an inspector besides
a board of directors. Children com
mence school at the age of ten; from
seven to ten they receive instruction
at home from the parish priest. Co
rducatiou has been most successful iu
those schools. In Finland women
share in all industries, and are espe
cially capable as teachers. Both men
and women teachers receive careful
instruction and preparation. They
are treated with the greatest defer
ence, nor aro their duties confined to
the school room; they exercise a
supervision over the selection of books
for home reading, and during the
tammer vacations they accompany the
Ihildren on excursions, giving them
lessons front nature."
g|fp(;tior>
AN OLD FAMILY PORTRAIT.
If you couM think, if you could speak,
I woiulor how your voice would souudl
And wlmt opinion you would hold
Of those who idly crowd urouud!
Why nre your eyes, with passive pnzo,
Fixed on us as we Inugli or weep,
As though you seemed to stand aloof
Aud mystic self-communion keep?
Can all we say, and all wo do,
And all wo are or might tiavo been,
Be naught to you, as though we were
Unknown, uncared for, and unseen?
'Tis ages since tho artist's brush
Upon a snowy canvas drew
Your features; then rovered and loved.
Now only known by name to few.
It may be ages since you left
To enter on your endless trance;
But day by day we love to build
Around your face some freab romance.
—II. N. SI., in Chambers's Journal.
g03000030000000:>00300000Cg
|IHE COHVIGTJNIIO ESCIPEOf
Q By Joseph Percival Pollard. Q
00000000000000300000000030
HE liue that di
) 'Hi v ides Texas
I from a presurn-
I <>bly yet move
JL furnace-like re
gion was on this
fit ' ess ev *^ eu f
than usual. The
I fiit "n. J air seemed visi
~ V'y shriveling
EUt-fi" the excess of
H imut, aud the
ill r sun hung above
V 1 gj* the parched
earth like a per
petnal menace.
Granite Mountain glistened iu the
glare with its thousand ruddy points
sparkling like fireflies. Around the
base of the mountain the long canvas
covered sheds gave the appearance of
a huge yellow snake coiled up aud at
rest. Iu the sheds where they were
hewing and fashioning the stones that
were to grace the walls of tho State
House, the heat was even more fear
ful. Tanned and leathery as were the
skins of tho State's prisoners working
there, they yet gave vent to an occa
sional sigh; breath came with diffi
culty, and exhaustion was everywhere
evident. But, since they kuew that
this day must come to an end at last,
and since escape was, even in attempt,
sheer folly, the convicts continued to
ply their hammers and chisels without
ceasing. For they knew themseves
to be mere incidents in the building
of the great capitol that was to outlive
them and tho memory of them.
There were many among these con
victs, indeed, to whom this work of
cutting granite at Granite Mountain
was iu the nature cf an immeuse relief
from a far greater evil—the Swamps.
Iu all the history of convict labor there
is nothing more horriblo than that
chapter in which the names of those
American convicts who have died in
the swamps are recorded. These places
have all the loneliness of the Siberian
steppes, and are plague spots besides.
Consequently, when a number of con
victs were transferred from the swamps
to Granite Mountain, there to be taught
granite-cutting, these men came gradu
ally to consider themselves as having
been lifted from a hell to a heaven,
and to behave gratefully as a recom
pense. The guards who paced up and
down at every point of the visible and
invisible horizon were rarely obliged
to bring their Winchester into actual
use; attempts at escape were few and
far between—firstly, because tho lot
of these convicts was indubitably the
happiest in the gift of the State of
Texas, aud secondly, because the for
mation of the country near Granite
Mountain wns especially unfavorable
to success in eluding the rifles of the
outposts. It was almost possible to
stand at any point on the mountain
itself aud see every outlet of the camp
at once. When it did happen that tho
soundof the chisclsstrikiugthe granite
was interrupted by the sharper
"whang" of Winchesters, the question
usually uppermost in the mind was not
"Did he escape?" but "Did they kill
him, or only wing liirn?" Any attempts
at escape were mostly the result of a
soito; frenzy that convicts are victims
to; it is a state of mind much akin to
the temporary insanity that juries find
so convenient a label for suicides.
When, therefore, tho hot stillness
of that place was broken on this day
by the quick crackling of several Win
chesters, the granite-cutters merely
listened a moment, sighed, and bent
down again to the veined blocks of
stone before them. In tho guard
house the guards who were not on
outpost duty smiled at each other.
One of them said shortly—
"lt's always on these very hot
days," and tho others nodded.
Out on the western ridge of the
great red mountain, John Temple, the
guard whose Winchester had spoken,
was standing over tho body of a con
vict who lay prostrate, a gray spot on
tho dull bed cf rock over which a
little stream of blood was trickling.
Another guard approached presently,
and they carried the would-be fugitive
down into r sort of ravine, where tho
sun couid no penetrate aud where
there was both coolness and shade.
Then they scut for the doctor, who
came riding up aftei a little while, and
pronounced the man wounded to
death.
"He may live an hour," he said.
The wounded man opened two
weary eyes; his right baud fumbled
down against the rough sail-cloth
upon which he lay, striving to grasp
it, to elenoh it so that he could steady
himself.
"Bring the sergeant," he gasped;
then his head dropped, and he seemed
to sink into restfulness. When he
opened his eyes again, the sergeant
was standing waiting at his side. It
was very still there, in that shadowy
place; death was already writing his
signs upon the face of the prostrate
convict, and the awe of him was upon
the faces of all.
"Maybe," began the convict, look
ing at the sergeant, "you remember
what I'm in for, and maybe you don't.
Any way I've got to tell you, so's I
can make clear the whole of it. It's
weak in me, I reckon, and there ain't
no real call for me to tell it, but I'm n
coward; I don't want to leave this
world under the cloud I've lived in.
"I reckon nil you know me by now
is my number; but before I was sent
up iny name was Wainwright. I used
to live up in Lampasas; kept a general
store there, and was getting on fairly
well for a young fellow. They were a
pretty rough lot, the people who trad
ed at my place—cowboys, and poor
farmers. But I managed to keep out
of trouble and was laying a little some
thing by, every year. I was saving up
until I had enough so's I could ask
Mary Horton, the postmaster's daugh
ter, to marry me, which I hoped was
going to be soon. This was fifteen
years ago—fifteen years ago. Mary'd
told me she was willing, and wo were
as good as engaged, only I'd never
thought it quite fair to have her bind
herself until I was quite sure I could
provide for her.
"And then Mary set eyes on a young
cowboy of the name of Farnly one day,
—and she never was the same to me
afterwards. I thought I'd oat my
heart out, to see how she was all glow
ing with love for him: for he was n
reckless sort, and I don't think he'd
make her a good man. You see, I
loved Mary; if she was going to be
happier with Farnly, I wasn't going
to stand in the way. It would hurt,
I knew that; but if she wanted it that
way
"Well, one day, another cowboy
from the same ranch that Faruly was
punching for rode into town, and
started to drinking. He went over to
the postofficc and called Mary Horton
out to the door. Faruly was in my
store, just opposite the postoffice, at
the time, and we could see everything
2)laiuly. 'So yoo're the girl,' began
the cowboy, leaning heavily against
the frame of the door. Then he tried
to kiss her; she flung out ber hand at
his face, and he, laughing drunkenly,
was beginning to press forward, when
there was a shot and the man fell. He
died in five minutes.
"That shot was fired from my store.
Tho jury and the evidence declared
that it was I who fired the shot that
killed that man. And that's why I'm
here. But I'm going too fast. Be
fore tho smoke cleared away and out
of the room that Farnly and I wero
standing in, I looked at the pistol—it
was still smoking—and then at Farn
ly. 'lt's mo she loves,' I said. The
same thing was in both our minds.
Ho shook his head. 'Look at this,'
and he handed me a note. It was in
Mary's hand; what else it said I don't
know, but at the last she declared she
loved him, and that she would break
oil' with me. For a moment or two I
felt like killing Farnly, I reckon; then
I took the hot pistol and held it so
until they came and found me. All
the evidence went to show that it was
I,"driven on by jealousy, who fired
the shot that killed the cowboy. But
is was not I. In was Farnly. If she
had not loved him—if she had not de
termined upon sharing his life, what
would it nil havo mattered to me?
They might havo found the smoking
pistol in his liau.l for all I cared. But
I loved her—do you understand that?
—I loved her. She loved him; if slio
knew that he was a murderer, it would
almost kill her. As for me, she no
longer cared for me; my fate would
only grieve her! for a space; I was
nothing in her life now. And so—l
took the blame."
Tho feverish utterance ceased sud
denly, and tho dying man closed his
eye 3 slowly. In the distance you
could hear the whistles of the fore
men, too dull echoes of blasting, and
the tinkle of chisels. Tho doctor
looked away from the pallet for an in
stant; his eyes wandered up towards
where the sua was now visible over
the edge of the ravine; when ho with
drew them, they were slightly moist;
the snn had probably been too strong,
i ,"Tbnt," went on the convict, open
ing his eyes again, and stnriug at the
guard with a horrible smile on his
gray lips, "was fifteen years ago.
Well, since then—l have been here,
and in the swamps. It is hard, isn't
it, to bo a prisoner—hopelessly—for
so long—when yon are innocent? But
rather than spoil her happiness I
would have died. She must believe
in her husband—always to tbe end.
And so—l cotild never speak. Only
now, only now, when it can do no
harm—and because it feels easier to
pass ont without tho stain than with
it. It is only that you may remember
that convict sixtv-nino was innocent.
I won't say anything about what I've
endured. I'd do it again, gladly. I
hope he made her happy. And now
you must promise—you must promise
me—a dying man, that you will say
nothing of what I have told you; that
you will regard it as sacred, and that
thero will ;be no raking among the
ashes of fifteen years ago. Fromise
me that, gentlemen, promise me, or
—l—cannot—die—in—peace."
His dim eyes wandered from face to
face, imploringly, and yet with some
thing of command in them.
The sergeant looked at the doctor,
and both their eyes shone.
"It's against the law," said the ser
geant putting out his hand and laying
it on the doctor's shoulder, "but for a
'mas like that, i'd —doctor, if I omit
this from the records "
"I'll do the saino." said the doctor
swiftly. The he spurted a. the guard,
"And if you say a word "
"I'll be hanged first," was the fieroe
reply. Then there was a silence, un
til the dying man spoke again, very
slowly nnd with an effort.
"I suppose you wonder why I—
tried to escape. Well, it was a mad
ness, I think. I can't explain it my
self. But I was out there with the
blasting outfit to-day, when suddenly
I looked up and saw the figure of a
woman against the skyline, on tho
slope of the granite mountain. She
had on a big sunbonnet, and to me,
in my sudden madness, she was the
image of Mary Horton as I used to
watch her coming from the district
schoolhouse in the long ago. I reckon
it was really one of the guards' wives;
but I didn't think of that then. I
saw that figure, and—all of a sudden
—everything gave way in me—all but
the longing for her. I forgot the
years—the place, everything. There
was Mary— out there on the moun
tain; if I could reach her aud tell
her how miserable I was; if I could
but kiss her once; but once speak to
her And then, I started forward
madly, running at full speed, in a
kind of frenzy—and—now—l—am—
here."
He noticed the anguish on the
guard's face, and went on, looking
up smilingly at him
"Oh, you did your duty, you know.
How were you to kuow the madness
that was iu me? For it must have
been a—madness. Yes, surely, it
must have been. And so, you have
all promised me that you—will say
nothing? Ah, thank you, thank you.
It makes it so much easier for ine, if
I can think that she will never know.
It—might —worry—her ' r
His breath went from him in a gen
tle sigh, and the eyes closed. The
doctor stepped forward, aud put his
head down towards the man's heart.
It had ceased to beat.
"Dead!" he said briefly.
A tear glistened on the guard's
! leathery cheek.
"He v. as white," he said thickly,
"clear through." Thou he put his hand
to his cheek and wiped away a tear.
"When an army soldier dies "
he went on, looking at tho sergeant.
"Yes," said tho sergeant, "go on;
he deserves it."
Over in the guard-station they list
ened to the shots aud looked up.
"What's that?" asked a lately ar
rived guard.
"A convict has escaped!" was the
answer.
WISE WORDS.
Out of debt out of danger.
Slander is the revenge of a coward,
and dissimilation his defense.
Life is too short to be wasted in
petty worries, hatred aud vexation.
Chance opportunities make us known
to others, aud still more to ourselves.
He is young enongh who lias health,
and he is rich enough who has no
debts.
The only failure a man ought to
fear is failure in cleaving to the pur
pose he sees to be best.
Self-knowledge is that acquaintance
with ourselves which shows us what
we are, and what we ought to be.
A false report does not last long,
aud tho life one leads is always the
best apology of that which one has
led.
Great efforts come of industry and
perseverauce; for audacity doth almost
bind and mate the 'weaker sort of
miuds.
Tho moral courage that will face
obloquy in a good cause is much a
rarer gift thau the bodily valor that
will confront death in a bad one.
Passing of the Oldest Coin.
One of the oldest coins of Europe
will shortly disappear. The Austrian,
"krenzer" was withdrawn from com
mercial circulation on June 30, iu
accordance with the convention es
| tablishing a copper currency of equal
valuo for all parts of the empire. It
will be received at public banks iu
payment or in exchange for new
money until December 31, 1839, but
from the first day of tho coming cen
tury it will no longer be legal tender.
The "kreuzer" has been in existence
since tho fifteenth century, taking its
name, of course, from the cross which
it hore in common with many other
coins. It circulated freely in North
as well as South Germany at one time,
but for some twenty-five years has not
been current beyond the Austrian
frontier.—Loudon Chronicle.
Sicns For lilcycllenncs.
To pick the seed ball of a dandelion
and blow away every tiny piece of
fluff at the first effort means that you
must turn back at once, as you are
badly wanted at home. It is supposed
to be lucky to see a black cat in your
path, provided yon don't frighten it
or send it away. To ride over or in
jure a black cat is declared to be at
tended with serious consequences.
To pass a novice in distress aud not
offer to help her means that you will
bo in similar need of assistance before
the day is out. On the other hand, if
you curtail your ride and dismount
to offer your help you will meet tho
friend you most like before your ride
is over.—London Cycle.
Wiltl Camels in Arizona.
It is believed that some of the
camels imported in 1853 to run wild in
Arizona are still in existence. Indians
occasionally report having seen some,
and lately tho International Boundary
Commission saw two with their spy
glasses on the Mexican border.
Centenarians In ltussla.
Servia, one of the smallest coun
tries of Europe, has more centenar
ians than any other country. Of a
population of 1,300,000 there are 575
persons whose age exceed one Uuu
[ dred years.
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE.
TKRILLINC INCIDENTS AND DARINC
DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA.
Flglitlnz ITltli Kliales-Tlio Experience
oi* (apt 111n lln-r off llatToriie—Secret
ol Mlsilftnnry'i Welcome—Unharmed
f>y II nattier—The Cadet's lleecue.
-Oaptain Autoneßose, of the whaling
schooner Joseph A. Manta, lias arrived
at Proviucetowu, Mass., his homo,
having been obliged to leavo his vessel
on aecouut of sickness, the result of
exposure while lighting a whale.
The schooner reached the Hatteras
whaling grounds on April 24, and tire
next day, soon after daylight, the man
in the crow's ne3t at tho mainmast
head raised whales, and in five
minutes the boats were away to the
chase. The irons were soon to the
hilt in a lively young twenty-five
barrel whale.
After a few moments'tussle the fish
started to sound, taking tho line over
the bow at racehorse speed, making
things smoke in tho chocks. Suddenly
the line kinked, ami in the twinkling
of an eye the remainder of the rail
was out of tho tub, catching with a
snap for an instaut pn tho stem of the
boat, just long enough to tear it out
and wreck the boat. Tho boat
steerer's kuife flashed in the air, and
tho monster was free, taking the line
with him.
All attention of the crew was turned
to the boat, which was quickly filling,
and it was quick work to save their
own lives. The mast and the six oars
were lashed across the gunwales to
keep her from capsizing, and she
slowly began to settle. Higher nnd
higher rose the water, until it reached
to tho shoulders of the men as they
stood on the seats.
There they stood four long hours,
balancing ou their precarious foot
hold, hanging to life by a thread,
until their vessel could bo worked up
to them from her distant position on
the horizon.
When rescued some of the men
were nearly dead. One poor fellow
was unconscious, and it required an
hour of hard work and quantities of
hot coffee to bring him back to life.
The next day, nothing daunted by
their rough experience, the boats were
away again in the chase, and soon had
a monster as long as the vessel spout
ing his life blood. At 5 o'cloek that
afternoon their prize was safely
moored head and stern alongside the
little schooner, and the work of get
ting her out of, tho rough waters of
the Gulf stream began.
They worked steadily until oo'clock
the next morning, but their efforts
were unavailing, as a heavy gale had
sprung up aud was blowing with
hurricane force. Barks and schooners
could be seen ou all Bides lying hove
to under bare poles.
Iu order to save the vessel Captain
Rose was obliged to cut the warps and
let the eighty-barrel prize, worth
fully §2OOO, drift away. The long ex
posure in the cold water and hard
work aggravated an old strain, and
Captain Rose began to grow siok and
tvas obliged to work the vessel in to
ward the laud for assistance.
Sighting a tug off Long Island, the
captain took passage for land, and
sent his vessel to sea again in charge
of his first officer, hud has speut tho
last five weeks in the New Bedford
Hospital.
Unharmed bj a Serpent.
The incident of St, Paul and the
viper and the stories of Zinzeudorf
and Erainerd aud their serpent visitors
are lead by every ouo with the thrill
of interest always felt where a human
life is at stake. We can imagine the
effect upon those who were eyewit
nesses of the fact, and saw these men
escape without a wound.
Near the middle of the last century
David Brainerd left his mission among
the Indians at Stockbridge, Massachu
setts, and traveled southward to the
"forks of the Delaware." He had
heard of a savage tribe in the heart of
the New Jersey forests, and yearned
to bring them uudcr Christian influ
ences.
With his pocket-Bible, his tent
cloth and a few simple utensils for
preparing his food strapped in a bun
dle on his back, he pushed on through
the wilderness till he found himself
in tho neighborhood of the Indian vil
lage. Ho was not tired, and mount
ing his little shelter-tent on sticks, he
camped under the trees to rest nnd to
fortify himsolf for tho new undertak
ing that lay before him. What peril
was near him from savngo hands ho
could not know, and like his Master
iu "a solitary place apart," ho talked
with heaven until ho felt refreshed
aud strong.
\Y hen he finally reached the wigwams,
he was an astonished man. His faith
and hope had mado him bold, but he
little expected when he faced the en
emies of his race that a "wholo vil
lage" would come out to meet him as if
ho had been a long-lookcd-for friend.
Led by the chief, the Indians wel
comed him as their guest, and seemed
almost to reverence him as a prophet.
He stayed among them nnd preached,
winning tho hearts and the faith of
the nututorcd natives,until he gathered
a church of between seventy and eighty
Christian Indians.
Brainerd nover knew, until they told
him, the secret of his welcome. The
•avages had discovered the white
stranger in the woods, and a party of
them had waited to steal upon him and
kill him as soon as he entered his tent.
Peering between the folds of the can
vas, they saw him on his knees, pray
ing.
Ignorant wonder held them back,
nnd their wonder turned to awe when
they saw a rattlesnake crawl over the
stranger's foot and pause beside him,
with its head raised as if to strike;but
it only gazed at him a momont, flick
ered its red tongue, nnd glided out of
the tent on the opposite side. The
Indians hurried back and reported that
the white man was under the protec
tion o! the Great Spirit.—Youth'a Com
panion.
Ilcscuod the Cadet.
An engineer cadet, who is now nn
assistant engineer on one of the
cruisers in Cuban waters, went ashore
in Honolulu to weigh coal for his ship
one morning about live years ago. When
he returned aboard for luncheon all
hands were at mess, except a loutish,
moon-faced landsman, a former farm
hand from interior California, who had
been the butt of his mates as an inno
cent of the rawest kind. This lands
man had bolted his dinner and was
leaning over the starboard rail, look
ing no more stupid or inert than he
generally did. A big coal lighter was
moored alongside the ship, and the
cadet in order to get aboard ship had
to climb from the steam launch that
brought him off onto the lighter, and
then pull himself up on the fixed iron
gangway ladder to the gangway.
There was a space of about two feet
between the coal lighter and the ship.
Into this space the cadet, missing his
hold when he attempted to clutch the
ladder, fell, feet foremost, with a
splash. The crew of the steam launch
heard the splash, but did not know
what had caused it. It was about
100 to 1 against the cadet's sav
ing his life by his own efforts, for
when he came up his head was due to
bump against the bottom of tho lighter,
and it is a hard proposition even for a
good swimmer to keep his nerve un
der such circumstances. The cadet
didn't keep his nerve, nnd ho surely
would have been a goner had it not
been for the loutish laudsmnn leauiug
over tho starboard rail. Tho loutish
landsman proved to bo tlia right man.
He did not oven kick off his Govern
ment brogaus before ho let himself
fall into the space between tho lighter
and tho 3hip at tee exact jioint where
the cadet had goue done. Tho crew
of the steam launch saw this move
and wondered what it meant. They
did not know the cadet was under
neath tho lighter. In about half a
minute the moon-faced landsman came
from beneath tho lighter, and ho had
the cadet along with him. The cadet,
his nerve gone, was very wild, and
clutched the landsman fiercely. The
landsman freed his right arm from tho
grasp of the struggling cadet aud gave
him a jolt on tho point of tho jaw
with his big right fist that the cadet
declares ho feels yet. Tho blow put
tho cadet out of the game altogether,
but it saved his life. He would have
pulled his rescuer down with him bad
ho not been knocked silly, and this
was one of tho times when.an enlisted
man struck nn officer without being
punished for it. The landsman and
the cadet were hauled into the steam
launch by tho crew, nnd the ship's
company proceeded to hunt up an
other butt l'or their humor. The
moon-faced landsman wasn't made to
■Servo in that capacity any longer.
Towed Six antes by a Swordfisli.
The steam yacht Chetolah, N. Y. Y.
C., owner A. J. Wise, put in at Sen
Cliff, IJ. 1., recently with a swordfish
on board measuring thirteen feet ten
inches long aud weighing G25 pounds.
The fish was caught thirty-five miles
southeast of Block Island. Ho gave
the party an exciting chnse, towing
the yacht's gig and a small boat six
miles before he could bo killed.
Mr. Wise and a party of friends
went cut on tho Chetolah from Green
port on a swordfishing trip. An offer
of a $lO bounty was made to the sailor
first sighting a big fish. About tho
middle of the afternoon one of the
sailors caught a glimpse of the mon
ster, and the yacht was quickly got
iuto a position from which the skip
per, J. W. Matthews, who is an ex
perienced swordfisherman, could har
poon him from the bow of the yacht.
As soon as Mr. Matthews had made
his mark the party got iuto the gig
and tho small boat, and a thrilling
pursuit ensued, which lasted nn hour
aud a half before tho fish received its
death blow.
It took five stout sailors to work tho
tacklo which hoisted the fish to the
deck of tho yacht. A box was hastily
put together nnd tno fish was packed
in ice in order to give tho ladies of tho
family aud their friends a chance to
see it.
A Qulclc-'.Vltted Swede.
An Ordnance Sergeant stationed at
ono of tho I'ncifio coast artillery posts
went suddenly i isane n few years ago.
His mind had been disturbed for some
time by the hnrd-lienrtedness of a
young woman who declined to marry
him. On the day that his wits went
completely awry ho made for the
magazines with the intention, as he
quietly announced to a young Swedish
recruit whom he met on the way, of
blowing them up. The Swede's eyes
stuck out at this, but he was one of
the tribe of quick thinkers.
"Ay tank Ay'll go alang an' linlp,"
said he to the crazy Ordnnuce Ser
geant, whose eyes gleamed with in
sanity.
The Sergeant made no response,
and tho Swedish recruit walked after
him. The Sergeant opened tho door
of one of the main magazines, that
held many thousands of pounds of
black smooth-bore powder, and start
ed to break out a big box of it. The
Swede saw that the crazy man actually
intended to blow up the magazine.
When he was convinced of this he
picked up a shellbar, waited for the
insane man to turn his back aud
banged him over the head with it.
Then he carried tho crazy Ordnance
Sergeant on his back to the guard
house. The Swedish recruit was a
Corporal the next day.
The Diameter of an Atlantic Fog.'
The captain of an Atlautio liner,
after many calculations, has come to
the conclusion that the general size of a'
fog in the Atlantic is about thirty miles
in diameter.
HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.
l'aate tv Mend CUlna.
China nnd porcelain may be neatly
and easily mended with a paste com
posed of oxide of zinc nnd chloride of
zinc. The paste is pure white, and
hardens quickly, but until it is quito
set it is better to fasten the parts to
gether by binding round with twine.
Preserving Itibbons and Silks.
To preserve ribbons and silks put
tbem away in brown paper, for wbito
paper contains chloride of limo, aud
frequently produces discoloration. A
white satin dress should bo pinned in
blue paper, with brown paper on tho
outside, sewed together on the edges,
'Door Drapery.
An effective door drapery for a door
way leading to a room or hall furnished
in dark tones is composed of a series
of wrought-iron chains of graduated
lengths, those at the sides reaching
half way to the floor and shortening
toward tho centre to form an arch
overhead. Tho chains are slender and
the effect is far richer than that of the
now so common bead portieres.
How to Clean a Straw Hat.
Scrub the rim of the hat first with
the juice of one lemon. Cut out an
oval piece of ca. dboard the size of the
crown. Scrub the straw and rinse in
cold water. Tut the piece of card
hoard inside the crown and lay tho
hat upside down and press the card
board firmly into the crown. Turn
the bat down on a piece of wrapping
paper, cover the rim with paper and
place heavy weights on tho riui and
leave ovei night to dry.
Keeping Meals Warm.
When it is necessary to keep a meal
hot for n belated comer, do not set tho
plate holding tho food in a hot oven,
thus discoloring the china as well as
drying the food; instead, place the
jilate upon the fire over a pan of boil
ing water, covering the plate with a
pau that will just fit over the edge of
tho plate. The food will keep hot, aud
there will ho enough steam from the
boiling water in tho lower pan to keep
tho plate moist aud prevent tho con
tents hecomiug dried.
Washing Quilts.
During tho warm mouths the thiu
quilt takes tho placo of heavier bed
covering. They require frequent wash
ing to keep them clean, but this is not
a difficult task when one has a good
washing machine and wringer. Put
one or two quilts (owing to tho size)
in the machiue, heat enough soft water
to cover thein until it is almost boil
ing hot, and when you have made
good suds, pour the water over the
quilts and wash them. Pass them
through the wringer, empty the water
out of tho machine, and replace it with
a clean suds prepared like tho first.
Wash through this aud rinse through
two waters, adding a little bluing to
the second. Hang them on a strong
line, folding one edge over just enough
to hold it, and put a clothes piu every
ten or twelve inches. A bright day
should be chosen for this work, and
if a gentle breeze is blowing, they will
look nicer when they are dry.
Table Decomlions.
Table centres are no longer the
newest things certainly, but they are
still mnch used and are made of all
kinds of material. Tho soft cream
silk, fluffed into billows, edged and
crossed with trails of smilax, with
sprays of roses, either all of one color
(though varyiug in shade) or harmon
izing in tint, laid on it, would look
exquisite with tho silver lamps, es
pecially if you had a rather high bas
ket filled with roses loosely arranged
as if falling'] out of it, a trail being
wreathed around the handle and kept
in placo with a deftly tied bow of
satin ribbon for tho centre piece.
Decorations appear to vary now be
tween extreme height and extreme
lowness, so that the guests may either
see each other uninterruptedly over
or under the decorations. The
epergne, if really a handsome one,
might very well be used, if artistical
ly decorated either with fruit or trails
of roses and smilax. The fact is,
there is not any very definite -fashion
(beyond the question of height men
tioned above) in table decorations just
now, but every one uses what seems
best and most artistio in their own
eyes and most convenient for their
resources. Clutha glass, Aller Valo
Rhodian pottery, Delft, Rouon ware,
etc., aro all used; and, in faot, the
great point is variety, and, if possi
ble, originality. Granted this latter,
especially if combined with beauty,
any stylo is permissible and admired.
—Philadelphia Times.
Kccipcs.
Tineapple Jelly Sauce—Tick into
flakes one ripe pineapple and strew
with sugar. Cover tablespoon of
gelatine with two of cold water. Add
a gill of boiling water, aud the juice
of four oranges. Pour over the pine
apple and set in refrigerator. It
should be used in an hour, or the
sauce will lose the jelly quality.
Mook Crab Sandwiohes—Cream two
tablespoons butter, add quarter cup
grated ehee3e, season with one-quar
ter teaspoon each of salt, paprika and
mustard —a little anchovy paste is an
addition—add one teaspoon vinegar;
beat well; spread between thiu slices
of good bread. Cut short slices
across lengthwise, after tho sandwich
is made.
Olive Sandwiches —Cut thin slices
of wholo wheat bread and butter.
Trim them neatly. Boil two eggs
twenty minutes, hiy in cold water a
moment, then mash with silver fork
and mix them with one dozen large
olives, finely chopped, add the juice
of half a lemon aud Beason to taste.
Spread the mixture on the bread and
butter and roll, or cover with another
slice and cut in any desired shape.
This sandwioh it one of the dainti /1
lor afternoon teas.