Evening Star Newspaper, October 29, 1881, Page 6

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HOME MATTERS, Stewep Cerery a LEsvaGNoLe.—Pare the Foots and clear the green stalks ont of eight large heads of celery; wash well, parboil five minutes, drain on a cloth, cut them all the same length; put them in asautoir with salt, pepper, bits of butter, and white broth to cover: put buttered paper over and simmer slowly for an hour; drain the celery on a sieve, add a haif pint of Espagnole sauce to the liquid, skim the fat and reduce to the consistency of a sauce, press through a napkin; range the celery on a dish, pour the sauce over and serve.—The Gastrono- mer. Ivpants’ Ratrie.—This is a charming little Plaything for a baby and very easily made. Set th single zephyr (blue) and times. Then bind off and knit across plain leave an end long enonzh to sew up the sides. Fake a needie with strong thread and run through each stitch, on one end, and draw up | firmly and fasten; then stuff with cotta before it ed pat ina twisted cord id zephyr, a little m quarter of a yard in length: the fasten as you did t } ne of red ard long when finished. d iilustr: = isan im her work on’the outs rellings. It not only le seat for the | 1 to risk their | ‘0 astrong and | affords a sa . The win- | “din less than | and so | dow chair is aminute. I light that a child ¢ book and s ay in avery sn will fit any ordinary vided with a step which permits of reaching the | highest parts of the window, and the work of | cleaning can be done without the aid of a step ladder. Cnorrep Pickie.—One dozen green tomatoes, two large cucumbers. one he: cabbage, three heads of cclery, three green p half a doz onions; chop these brine, drain off and and water (equal proportionsof each); drain this off; then pour on hot one gallon of vinezar, i which is put one and a half pounds of suzar,one quarter of a pound of white md one tablespoonful of cnamon, one teaspoonfuleach of black pepper, red pepper, ground mustard, ¢loves and allspice: put into’ earthen jars with horse-radish le over the top. If not conve- nient to get these, the cucumbers may be lett out, and add in their pil: a few tomatoes; the pickle will be better if the tomatoes are gath- ered before they bezin to get at all ripe and soft: if you are unable to get celery when you make the pickle you can add it at any time; when pre- paring it for the table take the stalks which are not nice-looking or not thoroughly bleached, em into the pickle without the celery tolose strength. a Whitcomb Babcock. Poisoxov others and nurses cannot be too careful about the soap they use on the little ones. Few put physicians know how many of the so-called skin diseases among chi dren are caused by the use of adulterated, pc gonous soap. An analysis of several cakes of the pretty and perfumed toilet soaps that are sold on the streets showed the presence of ground glass, soluble giass, silex, pipeclayygot- ten ‘stone, borax, plaster of paris, tin erystal, magnesia, pummice stone, oatmeal and other substances, which are added to give the soap weight, hardness, toughness or clearness. The common colorings are vermillion. Venitian red and carmine, ultramine green, pot pizment green, copperas, Spanish brown, ultramine blues, ellow and scarlet anilines, and burnt umber. y of the perfuming ingredients, though harmless in themselves, become chemically pois- onous by admixture. Adding the dangers from all these to the rancid, diseased, putrid quali- ties of grease used, and inothers may well be ap- at the permanent evils these neat-look- delicate! ented blocks of toilet soap con- tain, ready to be released whe: stened fine issue of Eastern hospitalit: the visit. One recognize on entering, th sound of the coffee mortar; for in every properly Fegulated household in the East the coffee is not ground, but pounded to an impalpable pow- der, having been roasted that morning, and pounded the moment it is needed. And no one who has not drunk it there and thus, can pre- sume to judye of the beverage. In England we grind it as we would cat- it like malt for beer, and whe ‘ter and unaroma fluid which Temains say we have taken our coffee. The Eastern coffee-drinker knows all the grades of | berry and preparation as a silk merchant knows the qua f the eaffejee knows that to Toast it @ shade beyond the point where it breaks crisply under the pestle is to spoil it, and when the pulverizing is done, each meas- Ure goes into its litte copper ibrik, receives its dose of boiling water, just one of the tiny cup- fuls rest an instant on'the coals to restore the heat lost in the ibrik, and is poured into the eggshell cup, and so it came to ns, each cup in palo enamelled holder. The rule in these seems to be that few thi are worth do- ing, but these few are worth doing well, and there is no waste of life or material by over haste.— Pail Mail Gazette. PREPARING FoR WINTER WINDOW GaRDEN- ING.—Those who have plants in the ground whieh they intend for blooming in the window, make a mistake. if they delay taking them up until frost is threatened. If the plants have been left in the pots which have been plunged in the open ground, the change is not so sud- den, but if the plants have been turned out of the pots, and their roots have been allowed free growth, it is another matter. With many plants turned out, the better plan is to raise ew ones from cuttings for next winter's bloom- ing. and let the old ones go. But it is often de- sirable to take up and pot an old plant. In such cases do not wait until there is danger of frost, and then hurriedly dig up the plant and crowd its roots into a pot. Suppose the plant to be taken up isa geraninm; begin at least a month before tue time of removal to prepare it for the chang It will have made an enormous top, which must be cut back, and the plant brought into a neat, compact shape. The change from the open ground to the pot should take place before cool nights have checked the growth. Amateur gardeners, as a general thing, are afraid to use the knife. If in taking up all the plants that are kept in the window during the winter, they would cut the tops , to correspond to the disturbance of the Toots, they would have much better succes com- ing-room gardeni in real earn- est, the following implements should be pro- cured: A piece of cotton cloth (about a yardand @ half square), a brass syringe, a tiny trowel, a pair of good scissors, a little’ piece of spong Gastile soap, and a long zine tray (say 3 feet 6 inches 18 inches broad, 10 inches high), an old linen handkerchief, and a stcut nail brust The cost of the whole is very trifling. Now for | the plants. In the first instance, purchase young ones and of a good florist. Young plants may be educated to live in rooms where utter failure would attend old specimens. Your plants home, see if they want water—that is, if they are nearly dust dry—and remember never to water unless 5 ses is thoroughly thirsty. Then give a plentiful supply, and allow itto drain away. Set wish them to remain, Pp where they can have a fair amount of light and air, and which is not exposed to a draught, and for the present leave them in Too much kindness is often a fertile cause of death. Hay ing attended to their wants regarding air and water, next comes the all-important secret of keeping room plants in health—the bath. Spread the cotton cloth on the floor, = place on it your zine tray, soap, sponge, syringe, a basin of warm (not hot) water, and a large can of water as nearly as possible the temperature of the room. This last is another secret of suc- cess. Never water plants unless they want it (I cannot help repeating this), ahd never water with water the wrong temperature. Either let Your can of water stand in the room for an hour or two, or else add warm water, and test with a meter. Having placed your plants in the zine tray. select one and look it over carefully to see if there is any blight or scale. Then lather it well with Castile soap and warm water, avoiding the young leaves and tender shoots. Rinse it thoroughly, syringe gently, and wipe dry with the soft handkerchief. Then water it using the syringe and set it aside to drain. the process with the next until all the plants are washed. They will require this bath y—the climax of | ni oft THE DWARFS AND GIANTS. ‘Whe Some of Them Are, and How ‘They Live. QUEER INHABITANTS OF THE MUSECMS AND SIDE- SHOW TENTS—MIDNIGHT TALKS WITH THE MONSTROSITIES—A TRANSFORMED GIANT—SUN- DAY AMUSEMENTS. While our granaries are fall, our markets overloaded with luxuries, and every pantry in the land well stored with provisions, there is one crop that seems likely to fail us—a crop of Some importance, too, as our Barnums and our Bunnell and our Hamiltons are sure to think. Every one who ever visited Barnum’s Museum when it stood at Broadway and Ann street and astonished Young America with its real and stuffed wonders, must note with aston- ishment and alarm the great falling off lin the production of natural curiosities. The ste that Barnum collected 20 years ago is still doing duty in the museums of the coun- ry, without half a dozen additions worthy of ‘e. Without stopping to think with horror he lives of these people who have been ex- hibiti heir deformities since the early Bar- num days. it is evident enough that the supply women, tattooed men, dwarfs, skeletons, and fat men and women inadequate to the demand. That there is a law of supply and demand governing ven the production of these-monstrosities is evident. Up to the breaking. out of the rhum kept his name before the public and his museum doors continually open. He had no difficulty in seeuring all the cuficsities he He was so well-known all the world over that every new freak of na- ture was offered him for a price, and the price never stood in the way of his securing anything worthy of exhibition. With the breaking out of ‘the war the museum business fet! into di There was a period of 10 years when there was not in this eity a museum wor- thy the name. Within the last five years such shows have sprung into new life, and New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, all have their col- lections of curiosities. But they have opened again with the same old stock of wonders. There is Capt. Costentenus, the tattooed man. Barnum brought him out years ago, and any- body in the country who has not seen him must ive far in the backwoods. The living skeleton, still one of the heavy attractions, was another of Barnum’s men. The three dark-skinned peo- ple, without foreheads, who masquerade some- times as Australian children and sometimes as Aztec boys, were found by Barnum in an Ohio alms-house before the present gen- eration of boys were born. The bearded woman —but it would be ungallant to make any re- marks about her antiquity. Barnum had her, and she still draws her share of custom. All the dwarfs, witn the exception of two or three recent little people, were protégés of Barnum. So were the giants, with the exception of Chang, the Chinese, anda recent German arrival. There is Capt. Goshen, the giant, and as big a speci- men of humanity, perhaps, ‘as the middle states have ever produced. He was one of Barnum’s pmpany, and lived then, as he does now, in Newark. He entered a car one day coming up to the city. The car was in the condition half— filled cars will sometimes reach—with one man in each seat looking out of the window. The giant looked slowly around the car, saw ‘no whole seat vacant, and then going up to one of the single occupants of a seat said: “If two of you little gentlemen will sit to- gether we can all get along comfortably. Ifany of you sit with me you'll get squeezed, that’s all.” The gentleman addressed changed his seat, and Goshen sat down, filling the entire seat, without two inches to spare on eitherside. The | fat boy was another of Barnum’s pets, and so was the man born without hands or feet. It is not, iowever, to gossip about the anti- qeityot the natural curiosities of the present day that this article is written, but rather to tell of some of the personal peculiarities of the well known legion. For within the last few years I have had the pleasure of the acquaint- ance of nearly all of them. This is an honor not easily attained, for they are shy of mak— ing friends, -being duly impressed with the lesson taught by Dickens in the “Old Curiosity Shop,” that they must not make themselves too common, for fear of spoiling their business. But it is entirely another qnestion when the seeker after an introduction is a hewspaper | man. Nothing delights the average dwarf so much as to see his name in privt, and a reporter is to him an angel with quill wings, “puting” every one with whom he meets. To fall in with these generally amiable and always interesting peo- ple, a certain reporter has braved the foul odors of Bowery museums, been squeezed andstepped on and elbowed by unsavory crowds, has run the risk of pickpockets, and inecommoded him- self generally. But the result is his reward. He knows six separate and distinct dwarfs, (not including the Midgets,) at least three giants,the bearded woman, the tattooed man, the living skeleton, and any number of fat people. In one of the best of the museums in the bow- ery two or three years ago, the manager took e premises and introduced me to all s. One of the attractions of the lace was a representation of Dante’s Inferno. This was given in the cellar of the building at the conclusion of the regular performance, and areal inferno it was. Hades was a sulphurous place in one end of the cellar, fall of red and green fire and suffocating smoke. Old Nick himself sat on a fiery throne in the center, and an assistant imp handed up all the fresh arrivals on a red-hot pitchfork. As fast as they arrived Old Nick inquired who they were, and assigned them places accordingly. The men handed up for Judgment, of course, were dummies. As the imp handed over one of the largest of them Old Nick inquired who that was. “This,” said the imp, “isa Times reporter.” “sh,” said the old boy, “give him to me. I havea fine hot corner for him.” After being thus prematurely consigned to a blazing den, and being in reality well smoked and smothered, it was no little relief to reach the comparatively pure air of the Bowery. Just as the Centennial Exhibition was about to open invitations were sent out in Philadel- phia to visit one of the parlors of the Continen- tal Hotel and see one of the greatest curiosities ever exhibited. What should be there, standing on the top of a strong table, but my old friend, Capt. Costentenus, the tattooed man, looking as if he were preparing to attend his own fun- eral. He took immensely in Snape lever having been seen there before, and all the little Quaker lads were tattooing their arms with pins and writing fluid for weeks after heleft. He was at his best, physically, at that time, and was @ fine specimen of manly form. He was clad rather scantily. having nothi on but a pair of swimming-tights. But he did not look like a naked man, for the biue tattooing had* the appearance of tight-fitting clothes. He was a Greek sailor, (or a soldier,) and, together with half a dozen of his comrades, was captured by some savage tribe, and they were all tattooed. He was the only one, according to his story, who outlived the exceedingly painful operation. The color of his tattcoing is toning down with age, like an old Turkish rug. There was suggested to him once the propriety of haying himself skinned, in small sections at a time, but he did not take kindly to the idea. He is advertised now as “the tattooed Greek nobleman.” He is very reticent, speaks English badly, though he was in America before some of us were born, and is rather in- ¢lined to be surly. He was promenading, a few days ago, in front of the Brooklyn City Hall. Though it was a warm day, he was well muffied up, and wore a great astrachan cap, with the front pulled far down over his face, to conceal the tattooing. He seemed to be trying to es- cape observation; but he has come to show the signs of age, and the magnificence of his form has departed. Probably the most intelligent man in all this group of giants, dwarfs and others, is Chang. the Chinese giant. He could certainly stand on the sidewalk and lay his hand on the second- story window-sill of an old-fashioned dwelling- house. He is better proportioned than any of the other giants, (and this assertion may give mortal offense to Captain Goshen, who con- sidered himself an enlarged Adonis.) Chang was the only giant on exhibition one could sit down and talk intelligently with. He spoke English fluently, as well as French, German and Chinese. He had traveled all over the world, had seen ev —s and was well-read in Chi- nese and English literature. He would pick es in standard English works, and Mister.” When a reporter was writing his me one day, when he arrived in the coun- try, Chee Mah told him how to spell it and what letters to capitalize, and cautioned him to leave space between the Chee and the Mah. There is no doubt that both he and Chang are genuine Chinamen. One naturally looks with suspicion upon all these sti crea- tures, but there is no doubt that they are nearly all what they purport to be. Nearly, not quite. The fdiotic boys from Ohio are neither Australlans nor Aztecs. The ‘fat boy is fat enough to satisfy the curiosity of the most eager spectator. The living skeleton could hardly be nearer to one of the specimens hanging in the medical schools. I have had the pleasure of his equaintance for several years, and have been told his entire history. It is not specially int. esting up to the time he began to ‘“‘grow thin, as he expresses it. This was more than twenty years ago, and in all that time he has neither died nor gained any flesh. Heis the only one of the entire lot who does not seem satisfied with his fate, and this, no doubt, is because he was once an ordinary man, without any special distinction. He says he lost fiesh gradually till he lost more than double the one-third of total weight that the doctors say a man can lose and still live. There is something ridiculous and re- pulsive in seeing a parcel of bones thus defraud the undertakers for a score of years. He was at one time the most widely advertised curiosity in the country. When he was first “brought out” his exhibitor was shrewd enough to get some of tle prominent physicians interested in his case, and their opinions were given wide circulation in the newspapers. These opinions, while they were of intrinsic value to the skele- ton, exasperated him beyond degree. “I couldn’t see,” he said to me one day, “after reading some of their remarks, howl could possibly live another day. When I read Dr. ——'s ‘opinion I was convinced that I was already dead. But I still have a pretty fair appetite.” What the skeleton calls a pretty fair appetite his showmen consider the most voracious one they ever saw, for he eats enough in one ordinary meal to satisfy a whole family of nts for a week. tell you a queer thing,” said a well- known showman one day. _ “You needn’t write it up, for it would make a fool of me; but it has made a good deal of an impression upon me: What do you think of Metempsychosis?” a anee was only one answer to make: josh.” ‘Tam not so sure of that,” said the showman. “When I had a museum in Louisville ia 1859 I had one of the best giants you ever saw. He was over 8 feet high, and weighed between 400 and 500 pounds. He was the best card I had, but he died, and the only thing I regret in my whole business career is that I made an advet tisement of his funeral. It was an immense affair, and it paid. We had to make him seem a little bigger even than he was, and the coffin was nearly 11 feet long, and was carried on a lumber wagon, draped in black. That was nearly 23 years ago, and there are plenty of people in Louisville at this time who remem- ber the giant's funeral. He was buried in a grave 12 feet deep, for effect, Well. one day last spring I was in the museum in the morning, when in came Tommy 5 and said he had a dwarf to let for $15 a week. I went back with him to his hotel to look at the dwarf, and I no sooner set eyes on his face than I saw the face of poor old Donald, the | giant we buried in Louisville. He had the same | hair, the same eyes, and the same features, and | eventhe same teeth. Donald had one upper front tooth gone, and so had the dwarf. Don- ald had a little nick in the top of his right ear, and so had the dwarf. I saw the dwarf start and grow pale when he looked at me. As for me, I was in a cold perspiration, and felt faint. There was Donald, the giant, standing before me, only dwindled from eight feet to three. The dwarfs manager sawI looked sick, and we went out together into the air. I have never seen the dwarf since. He was in Melbourne a few months ago, and I hope he will stay there. What made it all the more singular, Donald was always so proud of his size, and shoved the dwarfs around out of his way like so many cats. The dwarfs ali hated him, and he despised them. It may be the poor fellow's punishment.” The amusements of these singular beings, as may easily be imagined, They dare not show themselves in public, or they become too familiar to the people. Sometimes they live in the museums where they are exhibited, and sometimes in a boarding-house. When in the latter place dwarfs and giants and skeletons and fat boys are put together without ado, and those of them who have ever heard it cannot fail to Tealize that “poverty makes strange bed-fel- lows.” They are only mortal, after all, these people, and, like the rest of us, they have their little failings. Some of them have a weakness for gin. Hardly any of them refuse malt liquors. They have to be very careful in their drinking, for they are almost constantly on exhibition. Sunday is their only time, and they take advan- tage of it. There may be seen a select company of curiosities, including hairy men, bearded wo- men, skeletons, giants, dwarfs, musicians and attendants, on a Sunday afternoon, gathered around the big bass drum stood on end, each awaiting his -turn to throw the dice. Whoever makes the poorest throw is condemned to pay for the beer. Thus they remember the Sabbath day and keep it wholly. There is sometimes an interesting history at- taching to the inanimate objects in these muse- ums. The wax figures for example. They surely do not come under the Biblical prohibi- tion of idols, for they are not likenesses of any- thing in the heavens above or the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth. The eye of the dashing country visitor is caught by them, however, and they do duty till they are utterly unable to stand up, or incapable of further re- pair. Iam on intimate terms with a wax figure now on exhibition in this city, that was made in London, in 1837, according to the lettering on a corner of the base. Among the live inhabitants of the museum, the most remarkable attach- ments sometimes spring up. One recent in- stance will sufficiently illustrate. When a cer- tain dwarf, still in New York, came tothiscoun- try less than six months ago, he was followed in the next steamer by a huge German giant, who shed tears when the dwarf left Europe, and could not bear to be separated from him. In these tidbits of information about our big and little and thin and fat and bearded friends, it is sincerely to be hoped that there have not been made public enough of the secrets of the trade to injure the business in the slightest de- gree. Above all, that nothing has been said to offend any of the giants, or a certain reporter will never dare to enter a museum again.—N. ¥. Times. ———_-e-—______ Gen. B. F. Butler’s Appetite. Ben Butler is one of the biggest eaters that visit the Fifth Avenue Hotel. He devours an enormous quantity of meat, vegetables, milk, coffee, salads and sweets. A chicken disappears before him as though he was a Methodist preacher and it was a partridge. He doesn’t affect wines. At his home he has several varie- ties upon his table, but he drinks only about a tumblerful of sherry. If he wants a drink he takes a glass of Jamaica rum, or the statesman’s drink, brandy, He eats four meals a day, and Js never troubled with indigesticn. He smokes cigars that are strong enough to knock ama- Tine over. Yet he prides himself upon his tem- perate life, to which he traces much of his pros- perity. Ata table gathering recently, where he was host, the conversation turned upon good feeding as a basis for inteliectual work, and pending the brief drawn arguments passing to and ® curious smile curved over Butler's face, his elephantine eyelids trembled with mo- tion enough to show a gleam fromthe enigmati- cal eye beneath, and leaning back from a heavy meal, which seemed to distend his whole body, he recited with most comical effect, in view of his astonishing appetite, the following: “All old. Louis Remidtican, eos ee Why Begin Dinner with Soup. The rationale of the initial soup has often been diseussed. Some regard it as calculated to diminish digestive power, on the theory that so much fluid taken at, first dilutes the gastric Juices. But there appears to be no foundation for this belief. A clear Lae? disappears almost immediately after entering the stomach, and in no way interferes with the gastric juice, which is stored in its appropriate cells ready for actiol The habit of commencing dinner with soup beard iment without doubt, its in this fluid form—in ready digested—soon enters the blood and rapidly refreshes the hn gry mem, who, after a considerable fast and much , sits down with a sense of ex- haustion to commence his meal In two or three minutes after he has taken a plate of good warm soup the feeling of exhaustion pears, and itability gives way to the ual rising sense of good fellowship with the circle. Some persons have the custom of ing exhaustion with glass of sherry a ile and Oe seat if i ee STORIES ABOUT GHOSTS. of the eee eS ee Peasants THE SUPERNATURAL WARNINGS GIVEN TO THE AIRLIE EAMILY—SINGULAR PHENOMENA IN A CHAMBER OF DEATH—A SON SEES HIS FATHER'S GHOST Is 4 THEATER. ‘The discussion on the “Truth About Ghosts” still continues in the columns of the London Telegraph. In the issue of October 10 Mrs. Ann Day writes in regard to the “Drummer Boy” of Airlie, questioning the statement that the warning of impending danger to the Airlie family consista only of the sound of a drum. She says: ‘Early in the year 1845 I went to Cortachy Castie in attendance upon Miss Margaret Dail- Fmple, who was paying a two days visit to the arl and Countess of Airlie. We arrived late in the evening, and, Miss Dalrymple had ont: just time to dress for dinner. As she for a few minutes on the sofa, however, (this she told me some time after we had left the castle,) she heard’ distinctly, as if imme- diately beneath the flpor, the sound of fifes and afterwards the beating of a drum. While at dinner she remarked to Lord Airlie, who sat near her: ‘What is that strange music you have about the house? Youassuredly have anexcellent piper?’ Lord Airlie, without replying, dropped his knife and fork and retired from the dining- room. Later in the erence the place seemed to be all in confusion, and I learned that Lord Airlie, after leaving the table, went to the library and dined ingolitude. The next morn- ing, while the family were at breakfast, I was quite alone in Miss Dalrymple’s room, and as I stood before the fire, I heard, as Ithought, a carriage drive up, and stop dead, directly under my feet. immediately there’ followed the sound of anotheg carriage driving up, and stopping in exactly the same manner. And then, as if following the vehicles, came the tramp, tramp, tramp of marching soldiers. Then 1 heard some shrill notes of the fife so distinctly that I looked round instinctively, expecting to see a piper inthe room. In another moment I was still more startled by the beating of a drum. About this there was something indescribably disagreeable; it seemed as if the drummer were making his way through the floor. Being a per- fect stranger to the~ place, I thought there might be acoach road and an entrance door to the castle near the room in which I stood, and that some distinguished guests were arriving or departing. On looking out of the window, how- ever, I found there was no door or coach road near, and not a human being was to be seen. I concluded, therefore, that the sounds must have been echoed froma distance. The next morn- ing before our departure. Lady Airlie came to the door of Miss Dairymple’s room to give her a five-pound note for an orphan school in which she was interested. Neither of us ever saw the Countess again. She was confined of twins at Brighton some months afterward and died. It Was not until Miss Dalrymple, a few days after we left the castle, asked me if I had heard ‘the strange music there,’ that I disclosed my expe- rience, and then forthe first time 1 learned from her the tradition about the Airlie drummer boy. She told me that she herself had been to- tally in ignorance of it until her allusion at the dinner-table to the music she had heard elicited from another guest an explanation.” Another writer in the same paper says: “ ¥ can only say for myself that I am not alto- gether ignorant of physical science; and yet I mnyself have witnessed phenomena for which I could not account. After the death of a female relative, whose husband at the time was lying par- alyzed, the room in which she died gave birth to all kinds of noises; the furniture was moved violently about, &c., while the room itself was locked ‘and the key in my possession. This lasted until the death of her husband, when the house resumed {ts normal condition. These sounds were not heard by one pair of ears or by the inmates of the house only. And here I am reminded of another fallacy in the reasoning of [pe scoffers. They say that a man, by pro- longed concentration of thought on one particu- lar object, may project a picture of that object onto the retina. But from this view how is the following explained? A friend of mine came home one evening and told me that he saw his father walk down the corridor leading from the boxes of a certain theater. He was much sur- prised. as he imagined his father to be some miles in the country at the time. The next day he received intelligence of the death of his father at the hour when he saw him in the thea- ter. His father was in perfect health when he saw him last.” A long letter appears in the Telegraph of Oc- tober lith, in regard’ to the superstition of the peasantry of eastern Europe. The writer says: “‘T have never been fortunate enough to set eyes upon a satisfactory ghost except at the la- mented Polytechnic. it is true that a being, presented to me as the ‘spiritual incarnation’— whatever that may be—of a deceased Belgian damsel, once threw a necklace ot coral beads at my head in a two-pair back within bowshot of the British museum, but I haye since had rea- son to believe that the apparition in question was a more or less respectable married woman, the mother of three, and fonder of chocolate drops than is altogether consistent with the habits of a genuine ghost. I have, however, lived a good deal in’ countries where belief in the supernatural is the rule rather than the ex- ception, and where spectral appearances, being the outcome of deeply rooted and widely spread popular superstition Instead of individual indi- gestion or imaginativeness, are far commoner thanin these matter-of-fact isles. Throughout eastern Europe these appearances are, as it were, public property; no man is 80 poor, ignorant, or insignificant that he need despair of becom: ing acquainted with them at some period of his existence. Here, for the most part, they are monopolized by the well-to-do classes; the Brit- ish proletary, with infrequent exceptions, has neither act nor par in them. In Roumania, ‘ransylvania, and the Hunga— , the steadfastly recurrent old family ghost, familiar alike to England, Scotland, Ire- land, and Wales, is all but unknown. The per- turbed ancestral spirit variety of apparition, so ineradically domiciled in many a venerable Brit- ish country house, rarely infests the chateaus of Magyar magnates or Dacian Boyards. Spectral apparitions on the frontier of European civili- zation do not limit their objectionable functions to the mere haunting of private dwellings, but distribute themselves, in a variety of imperson- ations and with horrible impartiality, over the surface of the country at large. As a rule, they shun towns and aristocracies. Their tastes are rural and democratic. They court the society ot the peasant, and are persistently neglectful of his employer. “Ofall the outlying Provincesabove referredto Roumania is the one most affected by spectres of bucolical proclivities. It would puzzle the most painstaking traveler through that ‘dear and lovely land, as it is described by the Dacian ureate, to discover a single wo valley or mountain top that is not. the opinion of the local population—haunted by spirits of one sort or another. The Roamans of to day, like their Latin forefather—from whom, in all probability,they have unconscions- ly derived the bulk of their supernatural beliefs —are firmly wedded to the conviction tgat trees and flowers, rocks and streams, Inkes and marshes are endowed with spiritual as well as coporeal existence. For them earth, alr, fire and water are inhabited by mysterious be- ings, not the ghosts of anybody in particular, but, as it were, thesouls ofthe elements, capable of rendering themselves apparent to the humaneye, and by no means in to hold commune with ordinary mortals, for ood or evil to these latter as the case may be. metimes these spirits make themselves mani- fest in the form of a ‘zmeu,’ or giant; sometimes in that ofa ‘drac,’ who may be a dragon ora fiend, for the noun is indiscriminately utilized to describe either of these dread visitants. other supernatural institution of Roumania is Baba Cloantsa—the seeming of an old, tooth- less, Srovaninning Teprebensibly prone to become enamo! any uncommonly hand- some youth who pees to be at once the | tee es aManced to its leading ty. Baba Cloantea is credited with chief of all tl a connection of Satan himself, to abstract the temporary obj e |, who gives her power, ject of ns from the scene of his mundane pha, and to convey him to one of her fee dential caves in the She can,how- ever, change herself at will into amaiden of sur- her ae are, perhaps, wood-devil categorias; others of a “py ers of a An- | every on either That is the ‘Truth a of supernatural Kank ‘ofthe Lower Danube about countries only three days’ ‘the Ghosts’ in journey from Choice nud Care of Seft-bilied Birds. From the New York Times. Lovers of birds—and who is there but loves the little feathered songsters whose happy carols seem to throw a welcome cheerfulness and mystic companionship even into gloomy soli- tude—who wish to secure the best of these pets may profit by some excellent suggestions con- tained in the current number of Harper's Bazar relative to the choice and care of the soft-billed variety, whose melody is of the sweetest, but who cannot feed upon the ordinary seed.’ The robin redbreast, though seldom made a pet of in this country, is capable of becoming one of the tamest and best. He will grow so tame, indeed, that a cage will only be needed asa sort of home when sleepy orasarefuge from the dreaded cat. He will further become, after a time, the most affectionate of the bird tribe, and can, without much difficulty, be taught amusing tricks. His food should consist of a paste made of one-third stale wheat bread soaked and pressed in water; one-third dry carrot, grated, and one-sixth each of a hard-boiled ecg and bruised hemp-seed. Occasionaily, too, he should have a meal-worm, a little chopped beef, and a little fruit. Another charming little pet, also too little cultivated for sale by fanciers, is the yellow-breasted chat, which, unlike the robin | redbreast, is a native bird, His food isthe same as the latter, however, with even a more plenti- ful allotment of fruit. The upper of his body isa rich olive green, while the lower part is a deep yellow, forming a very pretty contrast. He is a genuine ventriloquist, and can throw his song in different directions in a way that is as surprising as it is delightful and unusual. Still another songster, unaccountably Neglected by fanciers, who should appre- ciate above all others its meritorious qualities, is the brown thrush or thrasher. Justly ranking second tothe mocking-bird in power of song and in the valued imitative faculty, he is supe- rior tothe mocking bird asan inmate of the cage or aviary. His food consists of two-fifths of pounded cracker, with an equal quantity of oat-meal, and one-fifth of a hard boiled egg, these ingredients being thoroughly mixed in equal proportions of milk and water until of the consistency of fresh bread. He will relish, also, a grasshopper once a week. Feeding upon the same diet, and readily cared for, isthe wood- thrush, possessing the finest song of all our na- tive birds, but a song, unfortunately, that is too short-lived to rank him as highas it would were it assustained asitis eghimany babees Thestar- ling, too, is apet to be prized for its contrasted colors and rare ability as a melodious whistler. In addition to this tuneful quality he can be taught to talk as well and as quaintly as the parrot. He is fed upon a diet comprising equal roportions of dry grated carrot, the yolk of hard-boiled eggs, pounded crackers, bruised hempseed, and chopped currants. He should also be given now:and then a little bit of fresh sodin his cage, Another rare pet can be made of the blackcap, which some judges of bird music believe to rank second only to the night- ingale as a songster, and who, in fact, is known in England as the “mock nightingale.” Its feathers are of silky gloss and softness, its head black and its body gray, the female being the larger of the two sexes and wearinga yellowish- brown cap. Both may be fed on the same diet as the robin red-breast, with considerable green food in addition. +++ ‘The Electric Light im A Pullman Car. From the London Telegraph, October 15. Yesterday the electric light fairly conquered anew domain. The Brighton railway company, which of late years has been a pioneer of im- provements on the fron road, ran a special train om Victoria to Brighton and back, with a saloon cartiage lighted” by stored electricity. The event, noteworthy in itself, may come to possess a historical interest, since there is no doubt that it was the first time,either in the Old World or the New, that accumulated electrical energy had been 80 employed, while the com- plete success which atten the ent must unquestionably mark a new ture in railway management. It was only a few months since M. Faure sent to Sir William Thomson his little box of iead plates coated with red oxide and fully charged with electricity. The great British physicist saw at once its capabilities, and now every aay seems to be bringing to light some new application of this, the simplest ofall ap- paratusever designed by genius. The Pullman car on which yesterday's experiment was made, car- ried beneath it ona shelf some 32 small metal boxes, technically cells, each of which contatned leaden plates coated with the oxide known as ed lead. Nothing less pretentious or more in- ert in ontward appearance could well be im- agined. Yet there was stored up in those sheets of lead an amount of force which, if it could be suddenly liberated, would vastly exceed the power of any storm of tropical lightning. A steam engine had been at work on the previous night, producing a current of electricity which, in some mysterious manner, had hid itself away in the folds of the metal and beneath the cloak of red oxide, but was ready at any instant to give back in the form of light or of force the energy that had created it. Twelve of Mr. Swan’s little incandescent lamps were fixed to the roof of the carriage, and all that was neces- sary when the train passed through a tunnel or when darkness came on was to turn a switch, and instantaneously a mild, steady and brilliant light filled the saloon. From the point of view of the traveler, the experiment was completely su cceseful; a superior illumination could hardiy bedesired; and if it be true, as s poralbty sanguine electricians assert, that this storage can be ef fected at a sinaller cost than oil, the pleasant trip to Brighton yesterday afternoon may have wide-reaching effects. ‘The Place Where Cats Can’t Live. From the Bodie (Cal.) Free Press. Jim Townsend, of Lundy, has been making some experiments with an ordinary domestic cat. It has been repeatedly stated that a cat couldnot live at an altitude of 13,000 feet above the sea. Mr. Townsend has demonstrated that such is the fact. On Monday last he and another gentleman made the ascent of Castle Peak, which is a little over 13,000 feet high. They took with them a cat—Thomas—that was a year old, and had lived at an altitude of 6,000 feet with no symptoms of disease. Mr. Townsend had the cat ina box,and as they went up he took observations and noted very carefully its every movement. When the summit was reached they pitched their tent. This was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The cat partook of some food, and, after Playing for an hour or 80, fell asleep and did not wake up until near midnight. When it did recover con- sciousness it set up a howling and appeared much distressed. Townsend pitied it and en- deayored to make it feel at home, but of no use. It kept up its constant moaning and displayed symptoms of having fits. When morning came Sich wantotte food, but it potinet to cat and acted even more strangely than during the night. Townsend says it would open its mouth as it gasping for breath; would jump bout, and then go to sleep and wake up with start. All this while close watch was kept and every move- ment noted. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon the cat died of exhaustion. Variations in a Man’s Height. A contributor to the German Militar- Wochen- blait, who has been lately employed in mustering and examining the recruits drafted this year into the German army, has establish bya long series of careful measurements, not only that the it of @ man varies very considerably at different times of bem but also that this variation takes place great oe pore individual man. The amount of this vari- ation in height is, however, not the same in all eee ee ey individual; a tall man losing more in height than Sainte one aes ee ae ee than an older one—assuming in all cases the men are fully grown. In the same man amount of variation in height depends upon the number of hours he has been or sitting since rising from his bed. While: while: 2 ape man is taller in the morning while to some slight ex- exercise or work fickerng Hane, Wiattie ate cerean, sists banks cf the Bistri which coe itza, RO true Moldavian ‘terrann’ doubts to be the sad Growned hersefor:iove ln that Stes” Ware | Wich & and willis ghouls and Lanai, are also at home in eens, Moldavia, vina, whither, however, notably, A WESTERN OBITUARY. [Apparently by Mark Twain, in the Atlantic Monthly.} He is gone. Yes, he is gone, but we have his obituary. He lived out towards the rear of a western state, andthere also he died. That is enough about him—let us waive him aside; our fight ts with the obituary. I think it contains Thetorical blemishes. . Thus it begins: “*While yet on the threshold of animat no uniond visions confronted him on life's overtaken by the still voice of the tomb, be aS in the great army of the I do not think these ingredients are mixed Properly. If there was a fight, and the fight was in the house, “threshold” goes passably well with “animated strife,” but not otherwise. But Ido not think there was aficht at that time; he did not “enlist” until later, when he was on a journey and was overtaken by the still voice of the tomb. His mistake lay in “responding;” he could have let on that he did not hear, since it was a still voice. ue oe huis locks the ond torial ae antivealy tteer Tell anon and nipped a life which was yet in bloom.” Now, you see, there was no fight, after all; he froze to death. “But thus it fs; when the lamp of life shines by est its extinguishment produces thickest darkness.” He had his lantern with him; therefore he could have been nothing but a scout, sent out | to hunt up the enemy. 1 think it possible that | there was no fight. “Life, at} i pileri desert itiants sitrounte by the boandiea met mea lew sea of eiernity, on whose barren coast inevitable death awaits on every side its victim unawares.” Starved to death on an island, and prob- | ably drowned, into the in—“‘unawares.” Lite is full of troubles. “Ere yet the fruits of manhood's laurel had ripened guhie Urow, he laid himselt to rot in COnuion with | strife, and ded ht There is no reasonable fault to be found with his not waiting for the crop; for even if the laurel yielded a berry—which it does not—it would not ripen on a person's brow. “Ere yet the shadows of disappointed hope darkened the horizon of a dawning fu chned 01 lowly, couch to SEE aS cee I do not like this. A person does not travel with acouch and a lantern, too, in such a place asthat. And why “‘coid” dust? Is the kind preferable? And did this man lie down and cover up and peter out in the natural way, after all? There are many perplexing diffi- cuities about this history. hiett mies a ch loved by is pureniay aud expected by its neiehbors, he has proven 3 husband, father, son and brother.” Filial affection does not “prove” anything. The official records of the Mecage & will show | whether he was a father, mother, brother and sister or not, but filial affection is no sufficient evidence of mere abstract pretensions like these. “For his folks he lived.” That is all right—let that pass; the object of this inquiry is what he died for—that, and which thing it was that killed him the most. “But now that the thunderbolt of heaven has fallen upon the hearthstone of their family cirele” — Why, good land, he was struck by lightning! Take it all around, this is one of the most check- ered death-beds that has ever come under my observation. Destroyed in fight, frost-bitten, | starved, drowned, squeiched inthe tranquil couch, splintered by the bolts of heayen!—it is little wonder that he faded from our view. & been given him to climb tne dizzy hes ‘ststianannabign Shere Bases and Burke were so often heard, or fathom Seepty the bosom of science, where Huxley and Tyndall stroll wit familiar step.” The nautical phrase is misplaced there; one does not fathom a besom. Neither do any but | the most reckless people go tramping around'in | such a place. : 5 sleeps last el - oobi A Sams a nt tees 2 grave, orthe vesper breezes jay amor e jonesor toaking music as tho bough Played the strings of Appalo's olden harp.-* Very well, that is all square and right. And all to his advantage, too, but he missed his obituary. me-made Drinks. From the New York Times. There are so many of these drinks that a full account of them all would occupy too much time. They can, however, be arranged in classes, and the character and effects of each class briefly mentioned. Arranging them ac- cording to their effects, there are diaphoretic, diuretic, tonic, sedative, and aromatic drinks, | orteas. Re; the first, or diaphoretic, it | may be said that any warm drink, such as lemo- | nade or hot gruel, if taken in large quantity, will excite perspiration if the surface of the body is kept warm. In the incipient stage of somé diseases this remedy is of much value. When a cold is coming on it may be arrested or modified by giving the patient a warm drink and then wrapping upin bed. So other acute diseases may also be favorably affected by diaphoretic drinks. Diuretic drinks also re- quire to be taken in considerable quantity, but, | unlike diaphoreties, their action is fe ok ed by keeping the surface unusually warm. type of this class of domestic remedies is parsiey | tea. " Flax-seed and elm-bark teas also are fair representatives of the diuretic class. It may be noticed that the diuretic and diaphoretic drinks are much the same, and such is the fact. Either of those mentioned will act upon the skin if the surface is kept extra warm. Whereas, if the skin is kept moderately cool after using such drinks they will act upon the kidneys. So closely are the functions of the skin and kidneys connected that the condition of the surface temperature will determine whether a rem will act asa diaphoretic or diuretic. This fact should be kept in mind when domestic remedies are used, so that the desired effect may be obtained. This class may be dismissed with the additional remark that owing to the mucilaginous nature of these teas they have a soothing effect upon the mucous membranes generally, hence they are useful in congested states, such as occur in the respira- tory. digestive, and urinary organs when one has a cold. The tonic drinks or teas generally used in the household are the bitter infusions and decoc- tions of herbs and plants. The leaves, roots, and barks are the portions mostly used. Their virtue lies in the bitter principle which they con- tain. The effect of all the vegetable bitters is to give tone to the stomach and increase the ap- petite; hence the reputation of camomile tea, wild cherry bark tea, and the like. These do- mestic remedies, while they are less elegant and agreeable than the bitter a pie pee at the druggist’s, are as luable, APS moreso. A simple butter infusion has the ad- vantage of being free from alcohol, which the tinctures contain, and, therefore, is less likely to irritate a delicate stomach, although quite as likely to disgust a sensitive patient. The belief has long existed in the minds of the people that no beyond their power to increase the appetite. In of indigestion in those who food taken tends tv undergo | points out, rm | ing De ertrtdg Sega heceee in certain dis- | eases, but the fact is they possess no virtue | », Habits of BaD RESULTS oF HABITUAL MOUTH-BREATHING, There is, perhaps, no habit more ¢ommon, and none less seriously considered from a med- ical or sanitary point of view, than the habit of mouth breathing; many persons will, in conse- quence, be su to learn that its effects are certainly pernicious, often dangerous. Dr. Clinton Wagner has just published a little book upon this subject, and his statements will be found exceedingly well timed, interesting and valuable. The book is a mere unpretentious extension of a paper read before the New Lork County Medical society, but it contains In a brief space much information that will be crate- fully received. Dr. Wagner is the physician to the Metropolitan Throat Hospital, of this cit is one of the leading American authorities on diseases of the throat. His views and sugyestions will there- fore be weighed everywhere as the outcomes of wide experience and earnest reflection. That people know so little of the results of habitual th-breathing is not astonishing, for the ice has hardly given rise heretofore amor ch thought. Dr. Cassels, ten @ paper upon the sub- in its relations to aural ph, written from & sanitary years ay Mr. Geo er of Ind by original Nature, Dr. ed all living creatures with distinct passages for breathing and the taking of food; keeps the mouth shut, uniess there is a local obstacle to n: respiration. Housell, who ts quoted by Dr. Wagner, has observed’ that in heaithy infants the mouth is invariably closed in sleep, the tongue lies in cor with the hard palate, and the mouth has netion as an air passage. It ts somewhat extraordinary, in view of these authenticated facts, that civilized man is the only animal that breathes through the mouth. The savage race like the va rious tribes of the brute creation, breathe through the nose, like infants, from in= Stinct, and keep their mouths closed dur sleep. Catlin says: I have seen @ poor Indian woman, in the wilderness, lowering her infant from the breast and pressing its lips together as it fell asleep in its cradle in the open air.” This illustrates the simple wisdom ot the savage in respect of natural laws of physical healt In 350 tribes visited by Catlin, living im their primitive condition, and containing over 2,000,000 people, cases of deafness, di spinal curvature, and deaths from teething | diseases of the respiratory passages werealmost | unknown. He attributes this exemption from these ailments, so very common in civilized communities, solely to the habit of breathing through the nose. From this statement the im- portance of Dr. Wagner's suljject—especially ite importance to future generations — may be fairly judged. Dr. Wagner, it may be noticed, has ‘had some personal experience among the ns, for he was formerly a surgeon in the United States army, and he was at one time stationed in the territory of Idaho. There he had frequent chances to Observe their exemp- tion from diseases of the nose, throat and ear, although their surroundings and circumstances were such as to favor the development of these diseases. The causes which lead to habitual mouth- breathing may be looked for in the nose, mot or throat, and the methods of treating them indicated by Dr. Wagner. Anything which inter- feres with proper nasal respiration becomes # cause of mouth-breathing. Thus, paralysis of the dilators of the nostrils, enlargement of the tonsils, adhesions of the soft palate to the poste- rior wall of the pharynx, irregular or protruding teeth—these are among such causes. The hab- itual month-breather can, of courte, be readily recognized. He may be picked out by his re- tracted lips, open mouth, receding truding teeth, shrunke: the orifices of the nostrils, by the wrinkles at the outer les of the eyes, and by the lines ex- tending from the ala of the nose to the angles of the mouth. He is apt to have a silly or un- pleasant expression, not unlike that of a gen- uine idiot. As to the effect of habitual mouth- breathing upon the pharynx, that is clearly ob- served. The almost constant inhaling of col air, which is generaliy charged with impurities, acts as a direct irritant upon the mucous mem- brane. Several varieties of sore throat grow out of this. The ubiquitous ‘hawker” is, there fore, a mouti-breather. Chronic catarrhal laryngitis, tubercular laryngitia, asthma, shnilar troubles may be produced by the un- fortunate practice of mouth-breathing. The disgusting habit of snoring is due to the same practice. In fact, some of the most acute ills and many annoying disturbances of heaith grow from a habit which, though so common and so little studied, is unquestionably vulgar, dan- gerous, health-destroying. As to the ‘treat- ment which must be applied in individual cases, that part of the subject, though touched upon hastily by the author of this book matter for practical and personal consultation; it isenough to know that the diseases born mouth-breathing have a specific cause, and that the cause may receive specific treatment. Dr. Wagner has done good service in making known certain disagreeable facts which, it is safe to have been constantly ignored. There is am interesting appendix to his paper, and there are three plates—skillfully and truthfully drawn— representing individual cases of mouth-breath- ing. One is tempted to quote with Dr. Warner, after looking at the dull deformities of faces: “Shut your mouth” and “stretch the nostrils wide"—an odd fashion, by the way, of quoting from two of Shakespeare's plays in a breatl.— N.Y. Times. ———____~e-_______ Laura’s Little Mistake. From the Terre Haute (Ind.) Express, October 14. Avery laughable occurrence was witnessed at the Union depot last night. When the train from the south stopped a lady alighted and see- ing a gentleman standing by whom she sup- posed to be her husband slie ran toward him and throwing her arms about his neck showered kisses upon him. The gentleman made no ob- jection, but when she ceased her osculations gentleman standing near by remarked, “Wé Laura, haven't you made a mistake?” Laura turned toward him in astonishment and flying into his arms buried her blushing face on his shoulder, saying, “Lord bless me, Steve, I thought it was you! why did you not speak?” a = ‘The Birds in Autumn, For the more cheerful side of autumnal life we are indebted to the birds. Every day now they become more familiar and more habitually fre- quent in their visits near the house. Two or three light-colored throstles are often about, but the most regular are avery jolly couple of black- birds, fat and well-to-do, as becomes them after good a fruit season. They have both their new plutaage. The female is dark crown, but the male is black and shining. The many cases of debility that is just what is re- | oreq trifles quired. ie “EEE ge g se times by aromatic teas. ————+o2___ ‘They Hepe te Get Even with Mr. Wal- organs irritating contents. are also relieved some- | i i aD BEF i (7 i E i E i : i é t | i ? i é Z i #2 z Fit i p i per HI H

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