Since the disastrous war with the i
United States the navy has been ex- I
ceediugly unpopular in Spain, and has 1
been the subject of all kinds of at- i
tacks iu tlie press and in parliament. |
The Legislature of Newfoundland !
has made a liberal appropriation for i
the installation of a cold storage sys- j
tern for tlie fisheries of the colony. By j
this means it is hoped to open up new j
markets for cod fish, salmon and 1
lobsters.
Turbaned Sikhs in khaki have come '
to the United States to look after the
selection and shipment of American
mules for British military uses. The
North American mule with the broad
arrow on bis left hip goes on conquer
ing and to conquer.
Mr. Estruye is known as the Bis- j
marck of Denmark. Cecil lthodes was 1
sometimes called the Bismarck ol j
South Africa, and Li Hung Chang was j
called the Bismarck of China. How 1
would J Plerpont Morgan do for a i
Bismarck of business?
Russians have a project of creating
in Central Asia a vast inland sea
which would increase tne area of Lake
Aral some six or seven times, and at
the same time double the area of the
Caspian, while joiuing the two seas
by a navigable channel.
The town authorities of Genoa and j
Bologna have decided to raze the an- j
cient walls surrounding them to permit !
expansion, but archaeologists are loud
ly protesting against the act, partly
because they say it is unnecessary, but
chiefly because it will remove one of
the most interesting landmarks of an
tiquity.
Judge Cliytraus, of Chicago, has or
dered two lawyers of that city to pay
a client sll3B and interest at live per
cent, since December, 189U, and has
disallowed S4OO attorney's fees claimed
by tlie lawyers. He ruled that where
a lawyer lias collected money belong
ing to a client and does not account fur
it, be loses all claim to compensation.
Recently, at a dinner given in New
l'ork City, there was one toast re
sponded to by a man in Chicago. The
table bad been wired so that each
guest was supplied with a telephone
receiver. When the toaslmaster pro
posed the Chicago man's toast, all the
receivers went up to the banqueters'
ears, and a man over a thousand miles
uway raised his glass as they raised
theirs and regaled them with pleas
antries.
A writer in the New York Sun thinks
that Cecil Rhodes scholarships are
more likely to Americanize Oxford
than Oxfordlze America. The "su
perior" Oxford spirit was once defined
as follows: "An Oxford man looks us
If he owned the world, hut a Cam
bridge man looks as if he didn't care
who owned the world." It will be in
teresting to see how our hoys affect
Oriel and Christ Church and those who
belong to these very stuck-up seats of
learning, says this same writer.
-
Adna F. Webber, Chief Statistician
of the New York State Department of
Labor, in an address on public policy
In relation to industrial accidents,
picked flaws in the common law rules
as to employers' liability. He said
that this Government is twenty years
behind England and seventy years
behind Germany in legislation on in
dustrial accidents. He urged that ev
ery State have incorporated iu every
contract for public works a provision
that all artisans and laborers employed
on public works should receive not
only medical care iu case of injury,
hut also a weekly benefit during dis
ablement, and iu the event of death
from such injury, an indemnity to the
family of an umouut equivalent to at
least live years' wages.
The typical university President to
day should he at once a scholar hut
110 pedant, and a man of affairs but
no bald utilitarian, observes the New
York Independent. He should he a
disciplinarian hut no martinet, and re
sourceful In tact and diplomacy with
out being a mere politician. He should
combine the humility of the scholar
who realizes his ignorance with the
assured authority f the natural leader
of men. As much as any man in the
world, and more than most others, be
needs to embody within himself all
high, efficient and noble qualifies of
mind and heart. If it he said that to
say these things is to paint an unat
tainable ideal, the answer is that an
ideal is something which may not be
realized, but which at least Is to be
sought and striven for at every oppor
tuity and with all the energy at our
command.
THE WASHERWOMAN'S SONG.
In a very humble cot,
In a rather quiet spot,
In the suds and in the soap,
Worked a woman full of liope;
Working, singing, all alone,
In a sort of undertone,
"With a Saviour for a friend,
lie will keep me to the end."
Sometimes happening along,
1 had heard the semi-song.
And I often used to smile,
More in sympathy than guile,
Hut I never said a word
J n regard to what 1 heard,
A * she sang about her friend
Who would keep her to the end
Not in sorrow nor in glee
Working all day long was she.
As her children, three or lour.
Played around her on the Hoor;
Hut in monotones the song
She was humming all day long,
"With a Saviour /or a friend,
He will keep me to the end."
It's a song I do not sing.
For 1 scarce believe a thing
Of the stories that are told
Of the miracles of ojd;
But I know that her belief
Is the anodyne of grief,
And will always be a friend
That will keep her to the end.
•Ilist a trifle lonesome she,
Just as poor as poor could he;
Hut her spirits always rose,
Like the bubbles in the clothes,
And though widowed and alone,
Cheered her with the monotone.
Of a Saviour and a friend
Who would keep her to the end.
I have seen her rub and scrub.
On the washboard in the tub.
While the baby sopped in suds,
Polled and tumbled in the duds;
Or was paddling in the pools.
With old scissors stuck in spools;
She still humming of her friend
Who would keep licr to the end.
Human hopes and human creeds
Have their root in human needs,
And I would not wish to strip
From that washerwoman's lip
Any song that she can sing.
Anv hope that songs can bring;
For the woman has a friend
Who will keep her to the end.
-From "The lhvme.s of Ironciuill," bv
Eugene F. Ware
OOOOOOOO^OCJOCOOOOGGOOOOOO
I TflE ENGINEER |
| OF NO. 97. |
o By Frederick E. Burnliani. §
O o
coooc-oaoacacoofnooDooooaco
EOIKJE FLAGG was engineer
t / of tlie last freight that pulled
\ VJ" out of Black Hirer Junction at
4 o'clock every weekday after
noon in the year. Men of less ambition
than he would have been satisfied with
the position, for it was a fairly lucra
tive one, hut Flagg saw ahead of him
the accommodation train, and ahead of
that rlie express and fast mail.
Usually in railroad life the more
responsible positions are secured only
after years of gradual promotion, but
sometimes the way is short, the engi
neer of the freight to-day controlling
the limited express to-morrow. A mo
ment's quick wit and a few minutes
of daring work counts more with the
management than years of uneventful
service, and the coveted position is
forthcoming.
Flugg's engine was standing on the
main line at the Junction, one after
noon late in the fall, and Flagg was
oiling it, preparatory to the regular
trip north. It had been raining, and
the engine was a gloomy, spluttering
object, pleasant neither to the touch
nor to the sight. Ahead were slippery
rails that meant trouble for every engi
neer on the road; the heavier the rain,
the greater the trouble, and Flagg,
with the certainty of fifty-four loaded
ears, was not in the most cheerful
frame of mind.
He had just completed the oiling of
his engine when the operator at the
Junction appeared 011 the scene. He
was eoatless and hatless, and it was
with extreme difficulty that he gasped
the message which he had received
over the wires;
"Get on to the siding, quick," he
cried; "the 5 o'clock freight out of
Vincent has broken away, with nobody
on hoard. It passed Harrlsvilie five
minutes ago and Is coming down on
this track."
Flagg was aboard of ids engine while
the operator was yet speaking, and
before he had finished he had decided
what to do. He might have taken
the operator's advice mid made ids
quickest time for the nearest siding,
thus saving ills engine and getting
out of harm's way himself, but lie
didn't. Instead, he threw open the
throttle of his engine and started it
up the grade toward Harrlsvilie and
the on-coming freight.
The operator stood for a moment
staring after the receding engine in a
helpless sort of way, which, were It not
for the seriousness of the situation,
, would have been ludicrous. "Gone
crazy!" he muttered.
Flagg opened the sand valve the in
stant he started his engine, and as he
sped over the rails, he left two white
trails behind.
Strange thoughts enter a man's mind
at such a time; iders come quickly and
oftentimes they are incoherent. Flagg
wondered what the officials in the
main office were thinking of ids strange
conduct, for he was confident that
the operator at (lie Junction had al
ready wired the facts. He wondered
why the gates were not down at the
crossings and the flagmen at their
posts, and had serious thoughts of
making wholesale reports at head
quarters, scoring them one and all,
for gross negligence. Once he thought
he was insane; that was when a tiny
black object appeared 011 tlte rails
more tliuu three miles away—an ob
ject that lbcreased iu size as it drew
nearer. Flagg found himself sturing
at it, the while wondering what it
was.
When the light came, he realized his
own danger, and for an instant he
wondered what lie was there for; then
the thought which had actuated him at
the start recurred. At once, he was
all alertness. He reversed his engine
nud put ou the brakes, and though to
him it seemed hours, it was a very few
seconds before his engine was backing
dowu tlie grade which lie had just
climbed, gaining speed with every rev
olution of the wheel.
The dot where the rails seemed to
meet had rapidly assumed the form
and proportions of an engine, and it
was not long before Flagg could hear
above the racket made by his own
engine the sound of escaping steam
and the roar of the rapidly approaching
runaway; it look very little imagina
tion for him to feel the engine's hot
breath.
This was the plan by wliicb he meant
to catch the runaway. He had hastened
up the track to meet it. Then, as it
drew near, lie had started to run be
{ fore it, gradually letting it gain on
him. Now lie proposed to make the
engines come together, and then lie
would match tlie power of his own
against the power of the other, thus
getting both under control.
Flagg's eugiue and the freight were
well matched, and as they tore through
Porter's Station, the lone engine was
a short distance in front of the freight.
It was then that Flagg gently applied
the brakes and brought the two en
gines together. He felt the jar as they
touched, and at once bore down on tli#
brakes, presently reversing his engine.
The long freight rebelled. The long
string of cars shook and jangled at
their couplings as they felt the re
straining hand of the engineer. As
sisted by the sand which he had turned
on the rails, Flagg's heavy engine
grudgingly yielded every length of
rail, and finally, less than an eighth
of a mile from the Junction depot,
brought the runaway to a standstill.
At 4.30 Flagg started north with his
regular train, half an hour late. At
Myricks, the agent flagged his train,
and as it came to a stop, a fellow-engi
neer joined the operator at the side
of the engine.
"Flag No. 1)7 and tell Flagg that the
superintendent wishes to see him this
evening. Get Mac Arthurs to finish
ids trip," was the dispatch which the
agent thrust into Flagg's hand.
Flagg read it, and mechanically
stepped down front the cab, yielding
his place to Mac Arthurs. Somehow a
strange weakness seemed to come over
him as lie touched the ground, and lie
said something about the superintend
ent being a pretty shrewd man to guess
so correctly as to his condition.
The superintendent of the road was
in his office when Flagg entered late
that evening, and as lie noticed the en- j
gineer's haggard face, he quickly mo
tioned hint to be seated.
"We are going to lay you ofT for a
month," said the superintendent brisk
ly-
Flagg's jaw dropped as he looked
at lite official questioniugly, wondering
whether lie had heard aright. He was
thinking of the payment on a home
mortgage that was due a month later.
"Yes," continued the superintend
ent. "we want you to go off into the
country for a month's outing on full
pay, and when you get back there
will be a train put 011 which we have
had under advisement for some time—
the Northern Limited; consider your- I
self engineer of that train."
"I—l guess the rest would do me
good." said Flagg, at last realizing how
mueli that afternoon's trip had weak- 1
ened him, "and the promotion, sir, I
can only thank you for it, and do my
best as an engineer."
"And that's enough," said the super- j
iutendent.—Forward.
The Kdueatlon of the Parrot.
To teach a parrot to talk it is never
necessary to place the poor bird in a
darkened room or to starve liim. Com
mon sense would suggest that he
should be made as happy as possible
in his surroundings. Give him good
food—hemp, maize, oats, biscuit. As a
slice of fruit is always beneficial, a bit
of apple, of pear, of banana, or of car
rot will do very well. Also see that
your pet lias pure drinking water, a
large cage, some soft wood to gnaw,
with plenty of course grit on the floor
of the cage, for he needs the small
stones to aid his digestion. A parrot in
these comfortable circumstances may
then be left alone in a room while his
teacher conceals himself in another.
The teacher, who should be heard, but
not seen, should repeat, with infinite
patience, over and over again, the
word or word lie wishes his pet to
learn. The female parrots do not talk
—the female of the song birds. It should
be remembered, is not a singer—so that
efforts of education in that line are
quite thrown away.—Our Animal
Friends.
The American Indian.
An article by Charles Hallock, on the
American Indigenes, lias been printed
in the American Antiquarian, but some
misapprehension has been created as
to his conclusions; in order to correct
any errors, the following syllabus of
his article has been printed:
The Indians, or Indigenes, of both
North and South America, originated
from a civilization of high degree
which occupied the subequatorial belt
some 10,000 years ago, while the gla
cial sheet was still on. Population
spread northward as the lee receded.
Routes of exodus diverging from the
central point of departure are plainly
marked by ruins and lithie records.
The subsequent settlements in Arizona,
Mexico, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah
and California indicate the successive
stages of advance, as well as the per
sistent struggle to maintain the ancient
civilization against reversiou and the
catastrophes of nature.—New York
News, v
The Little Children in Japan.
The little children in Japan
Don't think of being rude,
"O noble dear mamma," they say.
"We trust we don't intrude,"
Instead of rushing in to where
All day their mother combs her hair.
The little children in Japan
Wear mittens on their feet;
They have no proper hats to go
A-walking on the street;
And wooden stilts for overshoes
They don't object at all to use.
The little children in Japan
With toys of paper play,
And carry paper parasols
To keep the rain away;
And, when you go tb see. you'll find
Its paper walls they live behind.
—Caroline MucCormack, in Harper's Mag
azine.
fSeuerul .Jackson.
Old Hickory was a sobriquet con
ferred upon General Andrew Jackson
in 3813 by the soldiers under his com
mand. The name was not an instan
taneous inspiration, but a growth.
First of all, the remark was made
by some soldier, who was struck with
liis commander's pedestrian powers,
that the general was "tough." Next
It was observed that he was "tough
as hickory " Then lie was called "Hick
ory." Next the affectionate adjective
"old" was prefixed, nud the general
thenceforth rejoiced in the completed
A Puzzle Picture For the Children.
.O
"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT THOSE APPLES."' WHERE IS HE?
nickname, usually the tirst won honor
of a great commander.
Toad iu a I'anaion.
In spite of the precious jewel which
It wears iu its head, the toad lias few
friends, although one which Professor
Bell kept as a pet would sit on one of
his hands while it fed out of the other.
No doubt it is an ugly creature, hut It
cannot help that. Why, then, should it
also posses a temper? A toad in a
passion is really and truly very angry
Indeed. One was once caught in a
snare that bad been laid for birds. The
moment It found itself a prlsonei, its
rage knew no bounds. It struggled
furiously, aud snapped at everything
within its reach. Nor does it spare Its
brother toad, but often goes for It on
land or water.
Habits of tha Wild-Cat.
To say that a dog can "whip his
weight in wild cats" is to pay about
the highest tribute to his strength,
courage aud activity, and there are
very few dogs that would care to earn
such a tribute if they understood all
It implied. Not that a wild-cat is of
a specially aggressive disposition; on
the contrary he would sooner mind his
own business any time than tight. Mo
anxious is lie, as a rule, to keep out of
trouble that he lias often been ac
cused of cowardice, but he has on so
many occasions given evidence of the
most desperate courage that it is
doubtful if the accusation is a fair oue.
When wounded or at bay he Is, per
haps as dangerous as any creature of
his size.
Monument to the FlretAmerican llMby.
L'nited States Senator Simmons, of
North Carolina, wants a monument
erected to mark the place where the
first ICuglish-speaking people landed
and where the first Anglo-American
woman was born—Virginia Dare. The
historic spot is In Senator Simmons's
State. It is Koanoke Island, N. C.,
and the date was 1584. The people
who settled there had been sent over
by Sir Walter Raleigh, and they wrote
such glowing letters home and made
such attractive maps that in 1585 and
1587 the colony largely increased. It
was at Roanoke Island, in 1587, that
Virginia Dare was born. She ought
to have a monument, says Mr. Sim
mons, and he wants Congress to ap
propriate $115,000 for this purpose.—
Patriotic Review.
A Cat-and-Dog Tale.
Cats and dogs are supposed to hate
Mtcb other, especially the cats. No
doubt pussy has good reason to go In
fear of the dog. Still, there are many
cats and dogs that are not only civil
to one another, but positively friendly.
There was one tabby which was so
fond of the dog of the family that she
could not bear to be separated from it.
She would mew in heart-rending fash
ion to get into the room where was
the dog. and if no heed were paid to
her cries she scratched and scratched
at the door, trying to .scrape admit
tance. When this failed it is said that
she then raised herself up on her hind
legs, turned the handle of the door
and walked into the room. Her own
ers were so enchanted with her skill,
as well they might be. that they used
to get pussy to repeat the fea'
A Squirrel Afloat.
That gray squirrels are fast and
loug-distancs swimmers was proved
one day last fall to tlk entire satis
faction of a ferryman a Middle Had
dam. Conn.
lie heard two gray squirrels scolding
on a tree near the bank of the river
Suddenly a fierce light began, which
was terminated by the larger squirrel
leaping from the tree into tlie river.
The ferryman saw the dive taken,
and watched for the squirrel's reap
pearance with great interest. The
squirrel, instead of striking out for the
near-by shore, started for the opposite
side. A strong current was running,
and, although tin waves ran high, the
little animal breasted thorn like a vet
eran The man followed in ins boat.
When the middle of the river was
reached and lie had gained 011 the
squirrel, he quickened his stroke: but
the squirrel forged ahead, and gained
the shore fifteeu or twenty l'eet ahead
of his would-be captor.—Christian
Register.
The Broken Cord.
Show the audience two pieces of cord
and three rings. Then put the rings
over the two pieces of cord, as shown
iu Fig. A, aud give the two ends of the
cord to somebody lo hold.
Then cover the rings with your hands
fot a moment, and, "presto," the rings
are free, while the cords are intact.
This surprising experiment is dors
In the following way: Before your ex
j|iVJlj
c
e
hihition slice a lliiu fibre from one
piece of cord nnd tie (as shown in Fig.
B) the two pieces of cord, covering ths
place where the cords are tied with
your hand until the rings nre put over
them, hiding the place of connection.
Then you give the cords with the rings
to somebody to hold carefully (as
shown in Fig. C), and remove the rings
with one quick pull. To show that the
cords are Intact, slip your thumb be
tween the two ends, as shown In Fig.
D.—New York Tribune,
Cumulus clouds vary enormously iu
size, but so long as they remain of
moderate dimensions in line weather,
they indicate a continuance of bright
ness. But, when, in hot weather, they
grow exceptionally large, they give
warning of storms, with a high temper
ature—and with great certainty wbeu
they assume a dome-like shape.
Bananas are. as a rule, planted out
systematically in rows, the "suckers"
being placed at an average of ten
feet apart. The banana plant bears
only one bunch at a time, but it is
a quick grower, yielding its fruit in
twelve to fourteen months. When the
plant is about six months old a sec
ond "sucker" or shoot is allowed to
spring from the root, a third after
the ninth month, and so on, so that
after the first year there is a continu
ous crop being reaped.
A
A healthy plant will not only add to .
the purity of the air but will restore
life-giving properties to that which has
become vitiated, for it will thrive, pro
vided it has as much as seven to eight
per cent, of carbonic acid gas. Too
much carbonic acid gas. on the other
hand, is injurious, even to plants. That
which is called breathing, iu a plant.
Is also a sort of digestion, the carbon
being food tlint is built into vegetable
tissue, and if too much is given the
plant is gorged and suffers from a
surfeit, while on the other hand it
may be starved, and tne whole plant
shows the effect of the indigestion by
looking sickly, for it has 110 stomach,
but performs its digestion with its
whole substance.
The epoch of the beginning of life
on the earth cannot be carried back, ,
according to the reasoning of F. J. j
Allen, further than the date of tin
appearance of water ou the earth's*
surface. The powerful shocks of light
ning which must have occurred con
tinually in the damp, warm atmos
phere then existing, led to the produc
tion of ammonia and the oxide ot
nitrogen, as happens to-day. These sub
stances were carried down in solution
by the rains, and 011 the surface of
the earth met solutions of carbonic
acid and the chlorids, sulphates, and
phosphates of the alkalies and metals.
This was then the first opportunity
for the formation of varied nitrogenous
combinations and for the coining into
being of the first living substance.
Mr. Bovey has recently described in
the transactions of the Royal Society
of Canada, an extensometer for deter
mining the longitudinal extension or/
compression of a horizontal heaium*
loaded transversely. It consists, in es- >■
seuce, of two parallel overlapping
steel bars, the opposite ends of which
rest, by knife blades, against two
points of the specimen to be exam
ined. Between the faces of the two
bars is a small roller carrying a mir
ror. Auy extension or compression of
the specimen causes the roller to ro
tate through an angle and deflects a
beam of light tnrown ou the surface
of the small mirror. The motion of
the beam of light can be read by a
telescope of considerable magnifying
power, and tints extremely small de
flections can be accurately measured.
The force of gravity over the land is
determined by counting the number
of swings of a pendulum of known
length that occur iu a known lapse of
time. Dr. Heeker. of Potsdam, has
recently made an attempt to
mine the relative force of gravity over Y
different parts of the Atluntic Ocean
between Hamburg and Bahia by
means of a barometer and a liypso
meter (a boiling-point thermometer).
The barometric formula coutaius a
term depending on the intensity of
gravity at the place of observation.
The hysometer is independent of this
influence. A comparison of the results
of simultaneous observations by the
two methods affords a meaus of de
termining the force of gravity ap
proximately. The preliminary results
Indicate that gravity of the deep ocean
Is nearly normal and they confirm
Pratt's hypothesis in regard to the
isostatic arraugement of the masses of
the earth's crust.
iinmnnltv of Window Glaus.
It was the man with the red mus
tache who said: "One thing that I mar
vel at daily is the rarity with which J
window glass is broken iu moving
niture and other heavy articles'
the outside walls of big buildings.
Only this morning I saw two men
hoisting great slabs of wood to the
roof of a Nassau street oflice building.
At every twist of the rope the plank
swung perilously near to the windows,
but so nicely was each movement
guarded that not once did the dangling
ends touch the glass.
"I spoke to one of the workmen about
the performance, and lie assured me
that not once in a hundred times is a
window glass broken in the passage
from the ground to the top floor. This
freedom from accident is of course due
to the exceeding carefulness of the
movers. In most eases tliey are held ,
responsible for wbntever damage they L
may Inflict, and as the windows that j|
light modern office buildings are very
expensive it would lie a costly day's
work to smash one of them."—New
York Times.
Youngest British Monarch.
The youngest monarch who ever as
cended the British throne was Henry
VI. He was eight months and twenty
five days old at his accession.