Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1882, Page 2

THE STATUS OF THE MIDSHIPMAN. His Lot Is Not » Happy One. ‘To the Editor of Tax Eventne Stan: I beg a little space In your columns to make ‘8 plain, fair and square statement of the present status and future prospects of the midshipman of the navy of the United States since the pas- sage of the last nayal appropmation bill, which reduced the personel of the navy. I will first state my observation has led me to belleve is the popular conception of a midshipman. Sir Garnet Arabi Smith is casu- ally mentioned as “belonging to the navy.” ‘The hearer conceives a military looking chap with double-breasted, brass-buttoned, gold-laced | unitorm, cocked hat and sword and inquires his rank, but when told that hels only a midshipman behold the grand transformation! the imagina- tionimmediately deducts a foot from his height; his coat tails. cocked hat and lace disappear: his brass buttons diminish in size: his fierce mous- tache vanishes from his weather-beaten coun- tenance. and he stands before you, with his di- tive statue, short jacket, jaunty cap, and rosy clieeks, the midshipman of romance, or what is the same thing, the popuiar conception of a midshipman. w endeavor to give an idea of what dshipman really is; what his are, and how his treatment Ts of thesane rank in the army and navy. Being one of the unfortunati Ican do no better than copy the plain st ment of my own case, in a letter to the New York Hera ptember 10, 1882. I may startle some of my’ readers by abruptly stating that, although a midshipman, I am a man, which’ statement I think is ju consideration of an altitude fe the plane of the horiz ofage. In September, te- nd f stur a yan) ac tedand received my diploma. and af two year? at sea, returned to Annapolis for final examination last June, and received an ap- pointment as midshipman. | My Fesicnations and deaths. Taking into consid: | eration retirements alone, I will be promoted to | the next [rank] grade (ensign, the first eommis- | sioned rank, and corresponding to second | fieutenant in the army) about 1902; allowing five years for casualties, I will be promoted in 1807. at whieh time ! will haye served the gov- | ernment some twenty-one years—six years as a | ¢adet midshipman and fifteen as a midshipman. | I will then be “one of those dear little middies, at the tender age of thirty-eight summe: | having devoted the best years of my life and | usefulness to the navy, without the privilege of commissioned rank, without pay, without any incentive to ambition or desire ‘to attain effi- ciency in my profession, since efficiency is not Fewarded in any way, without ev titled to asalute trom a newly- man, and without the assurance that promotion will be again cut off. When I left the academy and reported for duty on beard a sea-going ship I_ was assigned the same duties and subjected to the same treat- ment as the captain of the ship wnen he was a midshipman, and the admiral of the fleet when he was a midshipman. They seem to have for- gotten that they were middies at the tender age Of from 13 to 15 years: they even seem to have forgotten the three little brass buttons that Were sewed on their wristbands to keep them Irom wiping their noses on their sleeves; they don’t realize that the average midshipman now 4s from 22 to 25 years old, and well acquainted | with at least the theory of his profession: they | y forgotten that there are Hieutenant commanders in the navy to-day who reached their present rank before they were 22 years of age, and who performed the duties of that rank with its responsibilities. No matter how old. experienced and proficient a midship- Man may be. you cannot convince one of our Yenerable old *three-deckers” that a midship- man knows any more, or is any more of a man, than the middy of his day, and any complaint Teceives a reply which invariably begins with When I was @ misshipman—“When | was p midshipman I kept my clothes in a beef barrel fn the forehold, and had to ask permission to ome on deck,” ete. Let me now contrast my status with that of all the corps of both army and navy. The gradu- | ate of West Point receiv Yank of second lieutenant in four years after entering the service: the cadet engineers who entered the naval academy with my class grad- uated in four years. and, two years later, re- ceived commissions and rank of assistant en- gineers; the assistant paymasters and the assistant surgeons enter the service with a commission, rank of ensign, and a six years’ recedent; while the cadet midshipman. after ur years at the “school” and two years at sea, isullowed to cail himself a_ midshipman and re- main years without a commission, and with from $400 to 3700 less pay than any of the above corps. I would like to ask anybody if they consider that a “square deal.” I would like to ask the Congressmen who voted in favor of this reduc- tion—granting that the reduction is necessary— Whether they think it is just to impose the weight of the reduction on the shoulders of the Young officers, who will have to bear the pres- Sure without rank and without pay; I would Hike to ask them if they realized, at the time. that their “yeas” crusted the professional am- dition out of @tery young officer of the navy, ‘and will, compel-them to pass the very best Ea thelr tives.and usefulness in a compara- ively useless grade. 1 would like to ask these questions in all honesty and seriousness, since it is my firm conviction that it is not nor ever was the intention of Congressmen to place us in our present deplorable condition. Tam only too conscious of the fact that my ements on this subject will be valued ac- €ordins to my rank. If the opinion of a rear admiral were asked on this subject, I feel sure it Would be to the effect that midshipmen are better off than in their a: but with all dete ence to the rear admiral’s opinion I would a: ail attention to the ditference in age and edu- cation between the present midshipman and | those of his day. at the sate time reminding | him that it has only bi during the last few | Years that the yuun S have remained Mofe-thay a year or s¢ in the grade of midship- mB Tt_ is. sureiy uo fault of the midshipman 1 the naval ac: ¥ Was not throttled some ears azo. “If you don’t like it why don’t you resign 2” fs a question often asked. an y easily answered. “When a young man has devoted ail | bis energies for six years to learning a pro- fession. and a difficult one at that, it is not par- ticularly eneourazins to realize that his time | and trouble have been in vain: for a knowledxe Of seamanship, ordnance and gunnery, naval tacties. navization, ete., is practically useless in civil life: and, beyond a good mental training, the graduate of Annapolis has nothing to recom- mend him for civil employment, and he must therefore grin and bear it, or make up his mind to devote himself to learning a new profession. A Mipsuiran or THE CLAss OF "80. siabenininess alle: Mierme Car Seats Should be Divided, To the Editor of Tux Evestse Stan: The advantages of having the long seats of Our horse cars divided by iron straps are more and more apparent as business increases on the | Various lines. It 1s a well known fact, although | an unzallant assertion, that ladies are generally Andisposed to make room for even one of their own sex in such vehicles. I have often noticed, | even in the one horse cars, room on one side for three full-grown persons, while that number Of gentlemen were holding on to the straps and performing acrobatic feats by ing up the fares of the selfish fair ones. With divided feats this could not happen. Each passenger | Would have equal rights as as the seats Tasted, and if one desired to yield his In favor of | a@lady, he could, and doubtless would, do so, bat they would be divided in the beginning and the “corner men.” who sit “bias,” would have to act on the square. Daly Riper, _ French Statue of Lib- erty. To the Eititor of Tax Eventso Sran. Now that the Bedloe Island statue goes beg- ging fora base, why not put in a claim tor the Washington Monument? The last seventy-five feet. I believe. are to be of iron or metal, and the French gift would top off the shaft niccly. ‘The suggestion ought to take with the donors. Mopsstr. a ‘These Horrible Dogs. ‘Tots Paitor of Tax Evesrxe Stan: If the comet bad assisted Mr. Einstein in mak- {ng « raid on some of the noisy and atterly use- Yeas dogs of Swam; and beyond, instead t gobbling up the harmless goats of poor peo- the spirit of the law would have been more carried out, and Mr. E. would have re- & commission and | | A Place for the promotion depends upon retirements, | THE RETURN LETTER SYSTEM. ‘The Milegal Destruction of Letters. To the Editor of Taz Evexina Sram: 4 No attention would have been paid by the writer to an anonymous communication in a morning paper, relative to his statement in your paper of the 30th ultimo, but for the cir- cumstance that it bears unmistakable marks of having originated in the Post Office depart- ment. The tone of the communication 1s fally in keeping with the bratal and illegal destruc- tion of myriads of the undelivered letters of our citizens, which the law distinctly provides shall be “restored free of postage to the writer thereof.” Its flippant rémarks as to the unimportant nature—in dead letter office estimation—of the millions of letters tRus destroyed is a mat- ter fer the people of the United States to con- sider. Its remark that “It is not, nor has it ever been a question with any clerk in the office as to whether he or she deemed a letter of suffi- cient importance to return,” is in direct conflict with a letter signed by Postmaster General Howe, dated July 14, 1882, and addressed to the Hon. T. W. Ferry, chairman of the post office committee, United States Sen- ate. A copy of that letter is in the writer's posses- | sion, and therein Mr. Howe distinctly speaks of the department returning all dead letters with enclosures of value, ‘‘and as many others with- | out enclosures, but of seeming importance to the writers. Farther on in the letter he doubts if even “one-third” of the dead letters “are of such value or importance as to justify | their return to the writers.” Furthermore, the offical records shows that of the 3,586,945 let- ters opened in 1869 in the dead letter office—not | classed valuable—more than two-thirds were re- | turned to the writers. But of the less than 2,900,000 same class of letters opened in 1881 not one-fourth were returned to the writers. Al- most 2,400,000 dead letters were returned in 1869, and in 1881 less than 685,000. Either the grossest inetticiency prevails in the dead letter office in regard to returning dead letters or the di mination as to which letters shall be re- turned is in full force. As the remainder of the anonymous writers, remarks are either irrelevant or a mere tirade, the only further notice thereof that I will make is that years ago, when a resolution of Congress called on the department for plans to diminish the number of dead letters, and provide for their return tothe writers thereof, the department made two reports —one nine months, the other thirteen months after the adoption of the reso- lution, and the postmaster informed Congress that after months spent in “diligent” investiga- tion and the “most careful study.” the depart- | ment found itself unable to satisfactorily re- spond to the resolution. And yet the aims of Congress are now—as they have for years— being carried out by the public use of the postal inventions of the “private citizen” who signs this paper, and who, if he were tmaster gen- eral, would rake the Post (fice department from stem to stern with the view to rid it of officials whom it would be well to retire on pensions of three fold the amount the salaries they receive, rather than longer permit them to disregardthe laws of Congress, and in other ways obstruct the futther improvement of the grand service, which more than any other branch of the public service 1s intimately blended with the family, the social, and the business relations of the people of the United States. It is proper to state that the postmaster gen- eral’s letter of July 14, 1882, evidently was drafted in the bureau in charge ofthe dead letter office, and possibly by the author of the anonymous communication thus noticed. Oxiver Evans Woops. ——_—_—_—_-e-_____ Good Words For Washington. From the N. ¥. Herald, 9th. Congressman J. Hyatt Smith, who is looking for a renomination in the 3d Congressional dis- trict, preached in the morningin the Bedford avenue Reformed church, Brooklyn, E. D. Mr. Smith incidentally said he had used his position in Congress to make a successful protest against delivering the mails in Washington on Sunday. He then spoke at length on the glory and per- fection of the Christian church. At the close he said: “I have to make acoufession. I used to have a habit of indulging in wholesale denun- ciation of Congressmen, and used to speak of Washington as a sinful city; and the title of Congressman was to me a syno- nym of everything low and bad. I know better now. While in Washington I visited all the churches. I wondered whenI went to Con- gress if I should meet inthe national legislature any brothers in Christ. The first man I met was a Quaker—Representative Chase, from New London. He took me by the hand and said: “Brother Hyatt, Iam glad to see you.” I found on the floor of the House ef Representatives some of the noblest Christian men I ever saw. 1 found there a leader in the House who had years ago been in my Bible class in Cleveland, Ohio, Talsomet in Washington one whom I remembered as young girl who sang in my choir in Cleveland. She left us to marry a humble Campbellite preacher, who was then in an obscure position. When I met her in Wash- ington her husband was the President of the United States. I have never found a better pulpit than in the House of Representatives. I love Washington; I love relizious Washington. ‘The Hore and the Mule. From the Detroit Free Press. A Horse owned by a Peasant one day refused to draw his load, having become tired of the tyranny of man. “Perhaps I have been too hard with him,” soliloquized the Peasant, “and I will now make his burdens easier for a time.” The Horse was therefore given lizhter londs, his supply of provinder increased, and his mas- ter never appeared at the stable without a lamp f sugar in his fingers. A Fox who had observed how the thing worked paid a visit to a Mule owned by the | same Peasant, and asked: “Do you want more oats and hay?” “I should murmur,” replied the Mule. | “And would you like to loaf half your time away in the clover Held?” “I'm blessed if I wouldn't!” “And have some one rub yon down with a piece of velvet and feed you cut loaf suzar?” “It makes ny mouth water to think of it,” said the Mule. as he nibbled at the fence. “Very well, then,” continued the Fox. “All you have to do ‘is to refuse to budge when j hitched up. Phe Horse played that game, and the result is that he has become sleek and fat.” Next day, when the Peasant hitched the Mule to his cart the animal refused to move. “What! rebellion in my old Mule, t ed the Peasant. “Indeed I cannot animals to defy my authority. Having ex- hausted my kind words and sugar on the Horse, I will try the virtues of a club on the Mule.” He thereupon pounded the animal until he was giad to speed faster and draw a heavier load than ever before. MORAL. The Fox had been watching the affair from a fence corner, and as he saw the result he chuc- kled to himself: “A rich man may have his fence in_ the street, but a poor man must keep his sidewalk in re- pair to escape the law. ——_+e-—_____. Where Gamblers Thrive. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. About one mile from Kansas City the state line dividing Missouri and Kansas is located. Just beyond this a town has sprung up called | Kansas City, Kansas, which principally conststs i of sporting men. Nine faro banks are located in this little place. After night fall carriages: are running up and down between the two places continually. By going to. Kansas City the sports can get the allowance of liquor in a State where there is no prohibition, but strict gambling laws, and in five minutes ‘get Into a state where there is no gambling law, but strict prohibition laws. pS AES Pires Conflicting Testimony, From the Texas Siftings. “What I want to know Is who struck the first biow?” said an Austin Justice to Jim Webster, who was the principal witness in an assault and battery case. P *Unele Ike, dah, he hit de fust lick,” replied im. “Are you positive that Uncle Ike struck the first blow?” “Ob course Tis, Didn't T see him reach out and bit the fust lek? But how many licks he | hit before dat fust one or how many licks de udder niggah hit him fust am more dan I’se wil- eelved the ‘shanks of many sleepless invalids. Noxruxast. PE Se SE @mce am Ohio Mau, Always an Ohie Man. Wo the Rditor of Tux Evaxma Stan. Tactics in thelist of promotions I am credited fo Ohio. I left Ohto 36 years avo, and my lee Wesidence for the Inet 15 years has been in thy 4 me Georgia. Pivase oo sae »blige, 5 B Ike Bayer Beord Divison Jin’ to swar ter.” oe A Pretty well Posted Preacher. ‘From the Peoria Transcript. { An unmarried elergyman in Vermont dis- } coursed learne dly upon the evils arising trom | the use of wearing of corsets by the softer sex. And now the curious women folks of his con- gregation want to know, you know, how he | found out ail he knows so knowingly about | of taste and a SOUTHERN EXHIBITS AT BOSTON. justries. ‘From the Springfield Republican Letter. The exhibits from the southern states fur- nish a sufficient proof of their vast and rich re- sources of woods and ores. They are here, chiefly through “the enterprise of various southern raliroad companies—the Richmond and Danville, the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia, the Norfolk and Western, the Shenan- doah Valley and the Georgia Pacific. These displays include coal, iron and precious metals, marble, granite and valuable stones, besides specimen timbers, tobacco, cereals and cotton. This Is the first exhibition in which these pro- ducts have figured, except in the Atlanta Ex- Position. The railroads and their branches penetrate great area largely undeveloped, and the ores and woods are shown with a view of interesting capitalists in the new country. The iron ore comes largely from the Honaker mine in North Carolina, the Clifton and Limonite in Alabama, and several mines in Wythe county, Virginia. The “Ore Knob” region of North Carolina and the mines at Ducktown, Tenn.. send rich specimens of copper,.manganese, and the rare crystallized ‘manganese comes ‘from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Caro- lina contribute white and variegated marble, fire-brick clay and the yellow pottery clay from Madison. There are specimens of bituminous coal from famous veins along the Rome and Dalton railroad line, and the display ot wood is abundant and of rare interest, now that our Northern forests are becoming exhausted. Georgia pine, black walnut, red cedar and hick- ory, cup oak, cherry, Georgia birch and poplar, white and yellow, ironwood, cypress, black lo- cust, chinawood, magnolia, Osage orange, red and white bay—all these and other unnamed varieties of timber are shown in boards and blocks and sections of great trees. Then there are shown ochre and barks for making somber or brilliant dye stuffs; and many more products of lesser commercial value, but of real interest to one who cares to see how abundlantly our brethren below Mason and Dixon’s line are furnished with things to work upon. The cot- ton exhibit {s not extensive, and more promi- nence is given to the tobacco. You have al- ready had @ description of the great fort of spun tobacco trom the famous Richmcend “navy” firm, with its,arms and eagles, its frowning batteries, its shot and shell and at- tacking men-of-war. Beside this is a display of cigarette tobaccos from a famous southern factory, and a party of,young women from the factory were put at work in the building last month, illustrating with deft fingers the process of cigarette-making, The Richmond Cedar ware | works has a great pyramid of fragrant buckets, | tubs and churns just opposite, bound with shining bands of brass, + +e —_______ RUPERT'S SAD FAREWELL. Why Her Handsome Lover Kissed Beryl Gilhooly Good-bye Until Aue gust. From the Chicago Tribune. “Will he bite?” The humming of the bees as they sped from flower to flower and sipped the honeyed treas- ures of petal and calyx, and the low murmur of the summer breeze, sighing among the locust trees, were the only sounds that broke the St. Louis silence of a beautiful afternoon in Sep- tember. The amber haze of Indian summer had fallen upon the land, aud from the vivid hues of the sumac bush to the pale gray of the aban- doned hoopskirt every object that lay so silently upon the brown bosom of the sun- d earth was touched with withering hand of Autumn. Away to the westward stretched avista of grain- fields that were laughing in the golden glory of an abundant harvest, while the eastern land- seape was flecked here and there by a sad-eyed but brindl cow. “Let us think only of the future, Rupert,” sald Beryl Gilhooly to the strong-limbed, all- on-account-of-Eliza young man who stood by her side, looking down into the hazel depths of her beautiful eyes in a wistful, will-the-old-man- ever-go-to-bed expression that sat so strangely upon the Chicago outlines of his pure young face. And even while speaking these words she turned her left foot slightly, so as to shield him from the ardent rays of the sun, and smiled a joyous, happy, _you-are-first-choice-in-every- pool smile that told of the deathiess passion that enslaved her soul. ‘Let us think of the future,” she continued, “of the bright and happy future, full of matinee tickets and ice cream.” “ ; “No, no, not that; some other fituré,” cried Rupert McIntosh, a look of haunting horror coming into his face. “I cannot free my mind from this dread suspicion.” At that moment a book agent was seen as- cending the brow ofa hill. He entered the por- tals of Coastcliff Castle and went up the front steps. Ina little while he came back hurriedly, and soona dog was seen at play with some gents’ furnishing goods. Rupert Kissed Beryl and started over town. “When are you coming back, sweetheart?” the girl asks. 2 “Next August,” are the words that the zephyrs bear back to her. ‘Why do you wait so long, darling?” “Because,” he answers, in tear-staine: “dogs are muzzled in August.” Se Young Indian Maidens with White Husbands. From the Montreal Star. Among the northwestern tribes of Indians in- nocence is as marked among the girls as their color. The impression that the red maiden does not entertain a high standard of morality is an error, for she Is taught as other girls are, and grows up with well-developed ideas of the re- Sponsibiiities of life and a tirm resolution to dis- charge them. Educated in the faith that she was ordained to work, she trains herself to hard labor, and at sixteen years of age is sturdy and brave against fatigue, and a pertect d tones, She may not possess New England notions of cleanliness, but she takes not a little pride in her personal appearance, and in the arrange- of her lo she displays some crude ideas tain amount of neatness. If she marries a white man she makes him a good wife as long as ghe lives with him. His home is her sole comfort and ‘his comfort her sole ambition. She thinks of him and for him, and makes it her study to please him and makes him respect and love her. She recovnizes in him one of a superior race, and by her dignity and devotion endears herself to him and str tes to make him happy. At the agencies of the upper frontier thousands of men are employed, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the majority of them have Indlan wives and live happily. They are not sought after by the maidens, for the Indian girl's custom is to re- main quiet until after the marriage contract is made and the marriage portion paid over. The husbané must have the dowry, with which he must invest his prospective mother-in-law be- fore the cerewouy takes place. The process is @ little out of the usual run, and a description may be of interest. The aspiring bridegroom must be well known. in the tribe before he can hope to win a wife; her people want to thoroughly understand him, and know if he can support not only her, but all of her relatives in the event of a pinch. He must be a kind-hearted man, with a temper war- ranted to keep in any domestic climax, and he must have a good lodge, and at least a half- dozen horses. If he be, and have all these, he can a-wooing go. Then selecting a lady, he makes application to the mother, and at a coun- cil the price is fixed upon. It the girl is especially pretty her mother will demand ‘a gun, two horses and a lot of provi- sions, blankets, and cloth. A gun is valued at $50, and he must furnish the material to bring the amount up to from #100te $150. Thenhe tries to beat the dame down, and if he succeeds he knows there is some reason for her letting the girl go, if not he understands that he is making & good choice. The courtship is left entirely to the mother. +2 —____ Whe? From Nye’s Boomerang. There lives an old gentleman who is famous | lance and precaution taken to baffle him. In | twilight fades, ) found as Venus, being a brilliant red star east of | the planet. THIEVES TRICKS. Wcent Robberies. From the S# Lofifs Repeblican. The amazing dexterity ot thieves ts becoming one of the curiosities of the day—and avery serious one, too. We boast of human skill in turning the forces of nature—light, heat, elec- tricity and waterfalls—to human eervice and profit, and we point with unbounded compla- cency to what intelligent men can accomplish in the Production of wealth with the aid of ma- chines propelled by steam. And yet itis a ques tion whether thieves, who toil not and spin not and gather not into barns—who are nelther professional chemists nor philosophers; who do not attend polytechnic institutes and never lis- tento® course of sctentific lectures—it is aj question whether these estimable persons do | not, after all, make more effective use of the | laws which other people discover and the in- struments which other people invent than the discoverers and inventors themselves. An ex- pert modern thiet actually seems to possess the power of rendering himself invisible for a few moments; at any rate, he@oes possess the tac- ulty of affecting such amatter-of-course demea- nor as to escape attention. One day last week a well-bred thief walked into a room in Baltimore where a bank clerk was clipping coupons froma pile of bonds before him, and while engaging him in conversation slipped out twelve bonds of 31,000 each and made -off without being | detected. Two well-bred thieves entered a Louisville jewelry store, and while one con- versed with the proprietor, the other robbed the show-case of $5,000 worth of diamonds. Two thieves entered the jewelry department of the Cincinnati exposition, and, without any at- tempt to avoid observation, marched boldly up to a show-case, unlocked it, deliberately took out $9,000 worth of diamonds and as deliber- ately walked off with their booty. The clerk of a St. Louis business house went into a bank, dre’ 2,700 and laid it down by his side for a moment; when he turned to take it up it Was gone; ar invisible or unseen thief had en- tered and taken the money off in that single moment of forgetfulness on the part of the clerk. These things are of almost daily occur- rence. They force bank officers, cashiers, mes- sengers, jewellers and business men to re- double their vigilance and take unusual precau- tions against suspicious characters; but the mod- ern thief, who is never a suspicious character, whose chief art consists in diverting suspicion, manages to ply his vocation successfully in what would be supposed the most unfavorable and dangerous places, in spite of the redoubled vigi- fact, the thief who makes it a business to prey upon the truits of other people's labor is the Most dexterous of practical magicians. He possesses arts that are not suspected till they are put in operation. His fertility of re- source is unbounded. He has anew trick for every difficult occasion, and so manages to get in his work at a moment anda point when and where®e isnot looked for. He is apefson of ample leisure, and spends nine-tenths of his time in devising plans for getting away with somebody else’s property and the other tenth in putting them in execution Others may toil, sweat, think, buy, sell and barter. He will have nothing to do with such vulgar vocations. His duty is to wait patiently while others, by toil, sweat, thought and exchange, mass the fruits of their labor ina compact, portable form, and, in one instant of frailty and forgetfulness, trans- fer them to his own pocket; and it must be ad- mitted that he performs the difficulty task with a success tlfat excites increasing admiration and horror. es ee STARRY HEAVE) The Fine Astronomical Prograni Arranged for October. WHEN THE PLANETS SHINE. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. Venus is evening star,and leads the sun's family of worlds throughout the month in size, beauty and serene/aspect during her short stay after sunset in the western sky. She is so far south that we domot see her under the most favorable conditions, and she illustrates the fact that the farther south a planet is, the shorter is her stay above the horizon. She is near enough to her period of greatest brilliancy to be easily seen before sunset by these who know where to look for her, and she is bright enough to cast a perceptible shadow. No observer can look un moved on the fairest of the stars, as every clear night she makes her appearance in the evening Sky, nor can he fail to admire the charming grace with which she retraces her steps toward the sun. No object in the heavens is more lovely than the planet Venus, as she hangs from the star-depths, presenting a picture never two evenings alike, and never ceasing to call forth the reverent admiration of the beholder. She is now traveling from her greatest elongation | to her interior conjunction, pursuing her retro- grade course with flying feet. She diversifies her course with the only im- portant incident of the month. On the 16th, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, she is in clese con- Junction with Alpha Scorpii, better known as Antares, the familiar red star in the Seorpion. At her nearest approach, she is only eiht minutes from the star. As she will be visible soon atter that time, the opportunity for observation will be unusually favorable. The planet and star, hanging side by side, will form an interesting study for stargeazers. The con- trast in size between Venus when nearly at her brightest and a first magnitude star, and the contrast between the red color of Antares and the soft golden hue of the planetare to be noted, as_ well as the exceeding beauty of the scene, the actors appearing as soon as the short autumnal ‘Antaresmay be almost as easily It will be interesting also, to watch the gradual approach of planet and star trom night to night until they meet and pass on the celestial highway, for they come nearer together than planet and star have done during theentire year. The right ascension of Venus is 15h. 26m., her declination is 22° 38’ south, and her diame- ter is 26” 8. Venus now sets not far from 7:15 o’clock in the evening; at the end of the month she sets about 6:30 o'clock. a The Bet Senator Jones Won. From the Denver (Colorado) Tribune. Early in Hayes’ administration Rosewater, of the Omaha Bee, unearthed a rotten ring at Omaha that was robbing the government by a series of land swindles. After having secured sufficient evidence to convince the administra- tion of the thefts and convict the thieves, Rose- water visited Hayes at Washington and laid the matter betore him. The President promised that the ring should be immediately cleaned out. Rosewater told Senator Jones the whole story, congratulating himself at the same time that his efforts would result in the speedy ap- prehension of the swindlers, Nothing more was thought, about the trouble by the Senator until, two years later, he met Rosewater in Washington again, ‘‘ Well, how is everything in Nebraska, Ri Tr?” said the Senator; ‘I suppose your milleanium ts come?” * Busi- ness and all that sort of thing is all right—but ahem! we » “Here, have a cigar,” said the Senator, “and tell me all about it.” Rosewater lighted the slowly, and then mysteriously invited the Senator into a quiet corner. “Do you remember that land-swindling scheme at Omaha, that I went to.see Hayes about two years ago?” he comttnenced, “Yes,” replied the Senator, knowing exactly what was coming. “and you know he promised to clean those fe lows out?” “Yes.” “Well, he has never done it.” “Nothing strange about that; tell me about the interview: you had with him at the time.” “The, ini Ne straight as ieeould. be, to pair the details of the steals, he went to a pigeon-hole if his desk, took outa scratch tab, and then teHing ‘mie to proceed wrote down questions, mames, and everything, was confident that he meant business. Now, am to him again and ascertain why he has fone foiled condition of his linen. An old fend who had been looking fixedly at the bosom of the old "a shirt, spoke out thus: “I say, Major, Fve known you for the last twenty years and there's ‘somethin about mueh. I would = that has puzzled me very ike to ask you about ‘it if you have no eg get tion. I hope you will not get mad?” no; Irecken not.” “Well, then, Major, do me who wears your shirts before they dirty?” ———-o-—____ ‘The Chinese and the Neon. ¥rom Virginia (Nevada) Enterprise, For two or three evenings past the Chinese of this place have been paying their respects to the moon—the “Harvest Moon.” They Nght jose sticks, hold them up towards the m [ee towards the four quarters of the earth, then plant the sticks to the north, south, east and spt his promise.” Suiting his action to hisworls Rosewater braced up to start tor the White House. “Now see here,” said the tor quietly, “that’s a pretty Oo Saxe a gave ou, isn’t it? It cost me h Twill bet a and actrncines thet 'yon don't leave the bet to your decision, RICH RELATIONS, How They Act. From Harper's Bazar. Perhaps rich relations are almost as much of a bore and bugbear, in their way, as poor ones are generally conceded to be. Put your best foot forward ever so wisely when he or she comes to visit you, yet you are all the while conseious that she knows it is your best foot, and thinks it no great shakes; that she inward- ly compares your poverty with her superfiuity, and rather plumes herself upon it, as if it were an inborn grace of her own; misses her luxu- ries at your fireside, and regards you as a per- son of small account to be content with such meager belongings. You are perhaps aware that she tolerates you as a relative, when other- wise she would have nothing todo with you. and nothing in common with you, financially speaking. When you walk out beside her you feel the shabbiness of your clothes, their lack of style—clothes which, it may be, you never before suspected of shabbiness, or thought of In connection with style. You begin to feel as if your manners, your ways of thought, your speech, and perhaps even your religion, were provincial and behind the times. Your sense of fitness is violated by contact with her splendor, and your companionship'seems to bean anachro- nism. You belong to different worlds and at- mospheres. Her money has placed her en rap- port with all the nineteenth century has to offer, has enabled her to make the most of every talent and opportunity—travel at home and abroad, acquaintance with arts and literatures, familiar intercourse with the thinkers. Prosperity has made her tolerant, culture has toned her en- thusiasms, and you become presently ashamed ot your own turbalent ones, You su: her of being characterless because her mind is sym- metrically deyeloped, till presently you discover that what you believed to be character in your- self is merely malformation, a neglect of healthy development. Thus she becomes more or less of a reproach to us; our egotism resents her | superiority; we feel as if a sort of injustice had | been done us. But the rich relation is not al- ways 80 aggressively perfect; this is only what | she might be, what she ought to be, what she is occasionally, if she has not wrapped her talent ina napkin. But, like the rest of us, she has ahabit of neglecting her opportunities, of de- voting herself to surface decorations and ac- complishments, to selfish ease, to dress and show and vanity. Travel only puffs her up, without teaching her anything. She catches the shibbo- leth of the literary and art world, and fancies herself the very elect. -In fact, the rich and the poor relation were not born to pull together; neither can rightly estimate the drawbacks of the other; and it is onlyas a background, per- haps, that either serves the other. ——_—_-e-_____ STEAMSHIP GAMBLERS, How Time is Killed in Crossing the Raging Ocean. From the New York Times. Petty gambling on shipboard has always been in vogue as a relief from the tedium and monoto- ny suffered by passengers, and men who would as sooncut off their right hands as play cards for money on shore, on board ship would not hesitate to take a hand in the seductive game of poker or “‘vingt-un,” while betting on the “run” of the ship has always been freely indulged in. All this was very harmless when one knew one’s tellow-passengers and risked sums altogether insignificant, but now that a ship's passenger list often foots up a couple of hundred, not more than half a dozen of whom know any- thing of each other’s antecedents, what was formerly an innocent pastime is fraught with danger. The smoking-room has now become a gambling-hell, and not in miniature either, with all the accessories of choicest wines and spirits, which flow like water. while from imme- diately after breakfast the very demon of play seems to take possession of its occupants. Pools, sometimes to the number of four or five, are gotten up ea*h morning, and an auctioneer ob- tained a ribaldry and blasphemy which would do Justice to a Wall street den, and often aggregate twenty to thirty guineas each, and, of course, the winner would be looked upon as very “small” if he did not stand half a dozen of cham- pagne; so that gambling and drunkenness go hand in hand. Into this atmosphere the young men who are sent abroad by commercial houses naturally gravitate, (in fact it is the only place of refuge In a storm,) and very soon become initiated and active participants, and their employers would be astonished, not only at the yalue of the stake, but at their dexterity and. familiarity with all gambling devices. In fact, a beardless youth informed the writer that he had realized enough to pay all his personal ex- penses for the four weeks during which he should be abroad. And a gentleman informed us that, having watched a young man whom he knew playing “‘poker” losing heavily, called him out, ag after remonstrating with him for his folly, threatened, unless he at once put a stop to it, that he would, immediately on his arrival, “cable” his employers, and subsequently had to lend him £100; but the worst feature of all is that the “card sharp,” the professional gambler, “smelling gain from afar,” now frequents the ocean steamer as he formerly did the Missis- sippi boat, and systematically plucks the unwary, and it is only within afew days that affiadavits have set forth that the fraternity, haying been made aware that Mr. James Gordon Bennett was going over in a “White Star boat,” thereupon took passage in her with the avowed purpose of despoiling him. We leave our readers to imagine, then, the moral atmosphere of a first-class ocean steamship in the height of the season after the passengers have recovered from sea-sickness, and the effect of it upon young men whose business requires them to make constant voyages. Naturally of buoyant spirits, attracted by the bonhommie which the roue and gambler so well affecta, with plenty of money in his pocket and a gen- erous letter of credit, is it any wonder that he falls a ready victim? The large sale of liquors is, of course, a great item in the economy of a steamer, and one almost shudders at the ‘The severe English styies adopted for street toliettes should find favor with people of small means, because they dispense with elaborate trimmings, and are of such simple designs that they can easily be made at home; indeed, noth- ing detracts so much from what is now con- sidered good style as the meaningless and fussy additions third-rate dressmakers put on street costumes with the avowed purpose of making them “more dreasy.” It is in their plainness and. thelr fine fit that their beauty lies, andall the out- lay of money should be put in the fabric and in the workmanship that gives neatness of finish. The pure wool stuffs worn at present are within the reach of people of small incomes, provided the cost of the material is the principal expense, instead of being, as it 1s too often, scarcely half as much as the price of the trimmings and the dressmaker's bill. For the cashmere, Jerse! cloth, camel's hair, cloth-finished flannel, and lady's cloth suits that are worn in the street and house alike, trimming is absolutely unnecessary, and, if insisted upon, it consists at the utmost of some rows of inexpensive braid, or a collar,vest, and cuffs of velyet. The double-width cashmeres, costing from $1 to $1.50 a yard, may be had in all the fashionable shades of electric blue, rifle green, terra cotta, condor brown, and jet black. Seven yards will be enough for the dress, and if trimming is desired, there should be added a half or three-fourths of a yard of velvet of the same shade forthe turned-over collarand square cuffs, or perhaps for a very narrow vest inserted between the scalloped edges of the cashmere jue fronts, or else for covering the small but- ton-moulds that fasten the waist, and are placed on the sleeves, and in two rows below the waist line inthe back. The basque should be fitted very high about the neck, short on the shoulders, with low darts that make the bust drooping and slight, and dispense with all pad- ding. The back has a short side form beginning in the armhole on each side, and the middle forms at the back are wide at the waist line. Flatly pressed postilion pleats may be added in the middle forms if the figure requires fullness, as this gives a more finished and dressy appear- ance than closing the seams their whole length over the tournure ; the latter plan is, however, very much in favor with stout ladies, and is in keeping with the Jersey fashions, and looks par- ticularly well when there ts a paniersash drapery that hides the plain edges of the basque. The inexperienced dressmaker is warned against letting these simply shaped basques have an appearance of being tight or snugly fitted. Those made by French modistes and London tailors are “‘clear cut,” following oma outline of the figure, yet are evidently loose ani easy in every part, without compressing the figure in the least. Sleeves are now made very close to the arm,with the front half much longer than that under the arm, and this makes the armhole large and high, giving freedom and comfort. A cluster of gathers at the elbow is absolutely n to give the proper round- ness there, and join the full front to the piainer under-arm gore. Holding the top of the sleeves in gathers in the arm-hole is a matter of taste, and Is most becoming to very sloping shoulders, while it adds to the height of square broad shouidera, The velvet vest for such dresses may be placed under scallops that are corded or piped on the edge, or else it may lap over the basque fronts in Breton fashion, being edged merely with cord or a piping fold, and is sewed down permanently on one side, and fastened by hooks and loops on the other. The standing cadet collar may be made of the material or of velvet, and the same is true of the turned-over Byron collar. The skirt of such a dress is now most often made over a closely-gored foundation skirt of alpaca, cotton satine, farmer's satin, or of inexpensive silk; the silk foundation is, however, losing favor because it is usually of a poor quality that is not nearty80 durable as the outside fabric. This skirt must be covered with cashmere to the depth of a fourth of a yard, and it may have a | narrow pleating set on it also, but this is no longer considered necessary. The skirt breadths of cashmere are attached to this skirt about an eighth of a yard below the belt when thedrapery is high and In panier fashion, but for dresses that have the round apron overskirt these breadths may begin lower, as it is only required that they be well covered at the top. ———_____se-—___ THE STORY TELLER. A Necessary Feature im Society. THE PLAIN STORIES AND STORIES. From the Chicago Herald. A fanny story, when well told and well timed, forms not only the height of entertainment, but often proves the weightiest argument in the settlement of serious matters. A good story- teller isone of the most popular of persons, % society he is the life of the company. Em- barrassment disappears before his magic, and wall-flowers are put at their ease by him. He can transform a business journey into a pleasure trip, and can render even imprisonment enjoya- ble. Itisnot necessary to expand upon his power to please. The good story-teller is not so rare, but that nearly every one has had his own personal experience enriched by his juaint- ance and companionship. To try to what constitutes a good story would be to give the anatomy of wit and humor, and much more beside. A story must not only contain one or the other of these, but it must beclothed in a well-nigh perfect word suit, a linguistic glove-fit to the spirit of wit it contains. Any- thing short of this detracts from the story. The following, which many have doubtless illustrates how a slight change may deaden wit and at the same time give point toa story: An elderly man named Gregory was passing along the street one day and overtook a great lout overgrown boy, who wore a short jacket or roundabout, such as might have been appropri- ate for his little brother, if he had one. “ My friend,” said Mr. Gregory, “it seems to me the THE DEPENDENT amount consuined, (the supply of brandy alone of the City of Rome gave out on her outward a and the officers rather wink at the —and we are told that the post of smoking-room steward is eagerly sought after and a premium paid therefor. On both the outward and homeward voyage the subscription alone, on board the vessel on which the writer was a passenger, to the smoking-room steward, exceeded $125, while his actual receipts were probabiy five times that amount, as successfal gamblers are notoriously prodigal of their winnings. CRAZED BY OIL. Archbold, the Petrelenm King, Finan- cially and Mentally Wrecked. A-special telegram to the Pittsburg Dispatch from Oil City says: “The effects of the late flurry in oll is beginning to become apparent. The advance -was so rapid, unprecedented, and unexpected that the losses sustained by some: were enormous. W.D. Archbold, one of most respected and most solid financial men in the ex- change here, has been deprived of his reason, temporarily at least, by his losses and the excitement and worry mt thereto. For the past month his business has averaged nearly a million barrels daily, and during the past five years he has not been absent from the exchange ona business day. The strain was so on his mental faculties that they gave away. About noon yesterday he left the exchange, went to one of. the hotels, procured a basket of lunch and strolled out into thé woods, tel the party of whom he procured it to say ing lobes his getting en pase a — keeper became alarmed an legraphed to his home in Titusville to know if he had been there. The reply was in the negative, but see ee his wife, bidding her ye. A ball-room car is the latest novelty tntro- duced on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Ina large baggage car, ive Sadat ‘the ‘y tures and decorated h bunting, evergreens and garlands of roses. There wasan orchestra of eight pieces, and refreshments were passed around every cout you wear is a very short on “It will be long enough before I get another one,” the boy replied. The answer struck the old gentleman in a funny spot, and he just sat down and laughed. Hecouldn’t get over it,and every little while during the rest of the day he would think of it and burst out laughing, That evening he went to a church sociable which, as such godly diversions are apt to be, was very dreary. A few of the fathers and mothers in Is- rael were engaged in propounding sanctimonious conundrums to their sanctified companions, and appeared to be at their ease. The young people, however, were far from it. " They shifted from one foot to the other, looked at each other in a wistful but don’t-give-it-away manner, and then relapsed into kicking them- selves that they did not stay at home or go some- where else and enjoy themselves. Comprehend- ing that things were not as lively as they should be, Mr. Gregory thought he would tell the com- pany about the amusing occurrence of the af- ternoon, and the minute he thought of it he opr laughing; nor — stop until he a e whole company burn! with curiosity, and had almost convinced some of them that he was . Finally he broke out with “I thing I ee I = Taughed, = ing I ever knew. Inever 80 in m in another ft oon life before.” Atter indi roundabouts, y« Well, I sald to him, ‘My friend, it seems to me your coat is cele! foreats one,” and what do you suppose he said And the old gentieman was struck again with convulsions of extra Recovering himself at last he added: cause of a man’s death, as reported by his sician, will indicate From Harper's Barar. For house plants which yield the most satie factory results with the least trouble the flowering bulbs are quite unequalled, and proper treatment their spring will begin in Peb- Tuary, or even January. Hyacinths, tulips, and narcissus are the most destrable, the snow-drop and crocus, though bora with the very first breath of spring, being short-lived as well as insignificant. In a large collection @ mass of these infants among bulbs will add to the beauty of the whole, but those whose accommodations for plants are moderate will prefer the more showy bloomers. The most beautiful and tragrant of all these flowering bulbs is the hyacinth, and, unlike most other beautifut and desirable things, it may be obtained at little cost, and kept with little care. It will grow most obligingly in sandy earth, in moist sand without earth, in a mixture of broken up moss and earth, in moss alone (if kept very moist), and in water. An ornamental window box containing a few Pots of hyacinths in bloom Is a beautiful object, and if made at home, or by an ordinary carpen- ter, of fine wood, it may also be a very —— sive one. Various are the devices for a ishing this window box; to paint it a pale sage green, and cover it with lichens glued on, is not & bad idea; paper panels in imitation of tiles are pretty, but care should betakento make the coloring subservient to that of the blos- soms; while to stain it brown, and ornament with a little rustic work, is perhaps as satis factory as anything. It isscarcely necessary to say that this box should be made the length of the window-ledge, and supported by a shelf beneath; seven ot eight Inches deep by about nine in width will answer for the other proportions. Ifthe bulbs reto be planted directly in the box, there should be a lining of zinc, and small boles at intervals for drainage. A fringe of Kenilworth ivy, or any delicate traller, and a ground-coy- ering of lycopodium, or damp fern moss from the woods, will redeem the box from ugliness while the blossoms are yet hid in the bulbs. But, owing to the heat of most rooms, this is not by any means the best way of raising bulbs. It would be far better to attempt no ornamen- tation with the box in which they are grown, to have it larger, and to take up each bulb as it comes into bloom, and transfer it to the orna- mental box in the window. A cool dark place, where they will just escape freezing, is pnd caiity most appreciated by hyacinths and their sister plants until they have made roots and sent forth a yellowish shoot. Then they may be brought to the sunlight, and will blossom in about three weeks. A large pot or basket filled with hyacinths ang tulips may form the entire window garden of a room, and yet fll it with “sweetness and light.” The cheapest of baskets as a foundation can be made pretty in various ways, and hold glasses concealed in moss, the blooming occu- pauts having began life in the rough box above described. Pot cultivation, as an authority on flowers says, seems the most natural, next to the open ground, for all plants; and’ goft-baked eight- inch pots are recommended aa the most jon- ductive to healthy growth. or broken potsherds should be placed at the bottom to the depth of an inch, and on this a solj one- third loam, one-third clean sand, and one-third well-rotted cow manure. A mixture of horu shavings will make the blossoms unusually large and brilliant. Each pot should have one buib planted in the center, and the top of the crown should be left visible; then press the soil, closely around the bulb, and water it well. The pots should then be consigned to a warm cellar “‘until called for.” and the pulbs will need occasional watering to kerp them from drying up. In about six weeks the pots will be full of roots, and the sprouts about an inch high; but on bringing them Into the sunlight the yellow tinge of the embryo leaves will give place to @ vivid green, and they will grow almost as fast as Jack's bean stalk. Flowers may be expected in three or four weeks; but it be remem- bered that plenty of water is now required,yet not enough to rot the roots. Bulbs can be raiséd in moss alone, if the moss is kept constantly wet, and for this purpose a watering-pot with @ very small rose should be used. A ing basket would be a convenient receptacle for this kind of culture, and also @ novel ornament for the parlor when Ite con- tents come into bloom. But in whatever way grown, this class of plants must have the se- clusion of a cellar or closet until their roots are fully formed. ‘ost people want flowers in bloom at Christ- mas, but fs not generally known that the Ro- man hyacinth, ich is less sho than the other varieties, having smaller and less com- eceney will bloom as early as the last of mber if planted at the ittime, A salt orcheese box (according to number of bulbs), covered with short pieces of split boughs natied on with small tacks, and having the wild partridge vine trailing over the top and sides, and from three to nine Roman hyacinths stand- ing upright at intervals, while their drooping flower bells seem like Christmas cen: con: denses, as it were, the beauty of a whole sum- mer garden. Glasses tor bulp-zrowing should have small pieces of charcoal at ‘the bottom, as‘by keeping the water pare thts will prevent the necessity for changing It. Tepid water should always be used both in filling the glasses at firstand in re- pairing the waste by evaporation. This style o! cultivation is an injury to the bulbe; but thelt vitality can be in a measure restored by re planting in earth as soon as the bloom is past. The single hyacinths are usually recommended for house cultare, as they are less disappoint- ing than the double sorts, and are also earlier in bloom, There are endless varieties of this popular flower, but the rosy white “Vesta” can scarcely fail fo please all. “Cleopatra” and “Elfride” are also ot the same lovely tint; “Maria Teresa” and “Emmeline” are rose and pink;” “Alba Maxima” and “Belle Bianchis- seuse,” pure white; “Bishop Royal”and “Charles Dickens,” blue; “Adrina” and “Fleur d'Or,” yellow; and these different colorsin one window Ge or basket will fill a room with beauty. Tulips are treated precisely like hyacinths, and offer the same variety. are showy bloomers, and are single and double, tall and low, fringed and otherwise. The “Duc von Thols,” single and double, are the earliest, and are pronounced the best for home culture. e which is not half appreciated, should also have a song among the window bulbs. The polyanti especial adapted for fet gardening, and will do weil in Vege Pdend flowers phe —s 5 - the “Doul man,” white yellow, very fragrant. Jonquils, members of family, will grow three or four in a thelr deep suiphur flowers are lavish of a de- cious perfume. Bulbs require a long time for rest blooming, and are in no to grow until winter bas fairly set in; but is better not to Plant them later than October or November. § Dealing with feminine ailments, as this branch of the medical profession does, itis exceedingly capitals are not mine, but are evidently work of one of the members who drew up list, and shows the tance in his mind of what be is considering. But even though doc- Si fal oa it isnot only the the only po that suffers from these heels, but the foot itself has in a retent case been operated upon in New ‘ork, to restore it to its normal condition from the lump of deformity it had after long wearing of the Louis Quinze heel.- A Place Where Woman is Supreme. ‘From the Pall Mall Gazette. An original sect is reported to exist in Fin- fundamental principles of which isthe Sercaes sathaey se sweet to tn aul =