Evening Star Newspaper, November 8, 1882, Page 3

FASHIONS IN Some Interesting Facts in Regard to the Fur Trade. THE powESsTiC AMERICA—WHER AND HOW Tiey ERVATION OF FURS. ARTICL AR Prom the New York Times. From time immemorial furs have played an Important part in dress. ‘The idea ot royalty is | Anseparably connected with them, for even in the | east, where they cannot well be worn,they Azure largely as mats and rus. Perhaps, with the ex- | 2 teption of dand northern Germany, they are | more wal country. rinthe north- aecounts for this. but | of fashion dictates | |. as we all knew, it | npt to account for her | us. iu London, where very severe | ers L sand’ mantles | become u ity of the win might sup- in time be- pose the fores: come opulated of lamates. — Gddly enough, cot ng the vast resources of thi country, the majority of sealskins, which ure the principal f pw In use, are impor i mn the ereat tracts of Northern uging to the Hudson Bay Coim- pany The skins are sent to London to be prepared and dyed. and are bought at the large public gales in that city by import them to this conntry. At p Js but one man in America who has @s a sealskin dyer. and yet the dye used in Lon- | don was discovered by an American and is made in New York. There are several varieties seaiskin, of which the best are the Alaska, those known as Copper Isl: skins, which very largely imported, can only be disting from the Alaska by experts. “They ar ior | in staple. but this season particularly they have | been so well dressed and dyed that more popular than they hav are extremely handso v he niost fashionable dolinans and eacques are trimmed who re- nt there inerican trader: with them. Experts detect the difference be- tween thew and the Alaska seal by their being more thin round the edges. Another variety of seal, known as the Victoria, are of lower price; indeed, at the Hudson Bay sale in London last week a larze portion were with- drawn in hopes of keeping up the price. Shet- Jand Island sealskins rank al as equal to | Alaska. but there very few of them in the | market this year. Up to this date no Victori have arrived In New York frow the regular March sale in London, but from 7,000 to 9,000 skins are expected between the 15th of Novem- ber and the Ist of January. Sealskins are principaily used for ladies’ wear or for men’s caps and gloves. differs from a poor one in th ness of the staple, In its glo: appearance. A preference i on to dark-colored skins, but as they have been ar- tificiaily colored they do not wear so well as those of the natural tint. Fur dealers are of opinion that the process resorted co for obtain- ing very dark color is injurious to the skins, ‘h are now fashionable. have mentioned are all-fur se other kinds of seal known as the hair seal, or bine black, whieh are caught in the north- are used for caps and gloves. eal, axain, whieh is also culled “white appearance not unlike sheepskin, and much used for trimmings. The iin the preparation of skins Sealskins vary greatly in 2 to $44 at the large auc- mn. ealskin there are many favorite rtations this year all. Beaver. bin varieties we pat there are P nd and is dyed various dyes Varieties of fur y increased by sending them in immense quantities to certain large central London, Novgorod, or Leip- fic, when find their way to the gen- eral trade. Such a course Seems thoroughly opposed to the modern spirit ef business, which cuts off every extra expense and bri goods irect to the market where they will most easily Teach the public. Furs in their aristocratic security are uninfluenced by the telegraph or cable, by fast freight lines or cheap canal or zit or ether modern improvements cide the fate and value of less favored, ifmore ne articles tor wear or foo e the The fact that furs are thus seat in accumulated Foxy to ‘at markets which li: existed for centuries isa very apt illustration of the difficulty of overcoming conservatism in trade or of diverting It from well-deflued aad familiar channels. The concourse of buyers at Leipsic and Novcorod is immense and seems to increase from year to year. Skins. both of land and sea otters, are im- ported in their natural state. The latter, simply @ressed and undyed, 1s largely used for trim- mings. and is the most expensive of all furs ex- cept sable. This season the New York trade is supplied with more expensive otter than ever Defore, many of the skins valuing over $150. Such skins are very fine. andof great length. being often as much as 6 to 8 feet long; and 80 precious are they that a skin would be looked upon as damaged If a single hair were plucked from it. For the last fiveor six years no sables e been imported direct to New York. but @ few have found their way intothe market trom Russia by way of China and San Francisco. Since sealskin became the fashion, there has been literally no demand for sable—it is entirely and completely out of date. The reason for this lies, perhaps, in the fact that it is much heavier than sealskin, aud a sacque Mned with sable or mink ts somewhat clumsy. A sab Id cost as much as $1200 have so fine an appear- ance as one of seal. From South America the | trade receives a skin known as Natria, which is very similar to. beaver and Is very expensive. It is principally used for making the finest felt teianas and Astrakhans are enable for trimmings, and or some six or seven years en imported at all, but as are to be worn they are again uing from #6 to #8a yard. king zarments are called fancy furs, and pay a duty of 35 per cent. Only one | or two houses, however. Import them, for most | of th ats worn by American women of fas Je here exp seet their taste. Fur carments of Fre tle too dressy, and are oft th and are somewhat clumsy and | The American manufacturers have succeed in producing an article which isa m between the two. ‘ come to a consideration of what are called hatters’ furs, skins used for gentlemen’s hats, we tind they are almost Invariably French, andare mainly rabbit-skins. It is true that hare-skins are al ‘d, and these come from Franktort-on-the A few English cony or | rabbit-sk rted. but the number of | these le r, not because there Is | at becanse the cutting of complished here. But fars is now successfully furs pay a duty of 20 pei das they can beeut here at acost of per cent more than in London 10 per cent is gained by prepat- gthem here. During the past few years a number of factories have been established in this country for the cutting of furs, and as a re- | sult the iuportation of hatters’ prepared furs has beeh comparatively light. The large number of rabbit and hare skins imported in a natural state are converted into haiters’ furs. Before being cut the skins are plucked and car— roted—that is, subjected to a chemical process for eliminating the grease from the fur and riing it into felt. Every cutter has own secret method of carroting. fars are but little in favor. Among minx, fox, raccoon, muskrat, skunk, and ep) . They, too, are shipped to Leip- sic to be sold at the fairs, and thénce they find their way to Russia and the cold countries of Northern Europe. They are very cheap this rea: muskrat skins costing but 20 cents each, tox from #1 to #2, skunk #1 to $3, while raccoon ts also low-priced, thoagh not sufficiently so to ferve as curreney or to offer, as it formerly did, an eq at for a drink out west. There isno a here than in any other | gq nger when we learn that they | | lined boots or gloves. of the precarions nature of his business as reasonably as the Pg mg 8 in a fashionable resort—more go, indeed, for the only time In the year when he can confidently look forward to business of sale is from the Ist of November to the Ist of February. Although fashion does | much to promote a demand, more will depend upon the weather, for the multitude cannot afford the unnecessary expense of fur garments in an unpleasant mild winter. He must be al- ways hoping and praying for severe weather. In March or April the manufacturing becomes and so continues until the first of this month, when everything is in the market, and isers are considering how best to obtain aveted furs. All the labor of prepar- i ‘ust be gone through without the imme- tte return of a single doliar; it isall outlayand the seasonopens, Great numbers is are employed in ‘this city, as the for furs seems steadily to increase. It ‘possible to attempt an account of ion furs which abound. Some are so good and the result of so much ingenuity in Preparat‘on that they are almost as costly as t ‘nuine; others again are genu- are not sold ander their own name ff it s not to be fashionable at any particular Uf ermine one hears httle nowadays. It is essentially a royal fur, and trims the long- ities and gowns that figure at conrt Is, but is now rarely met with, as it ». as the lining of silk cloaks or in noulder tippets. tion of furs is ‘ays a matter of ty. Camphor would appear, after . to be the most disazrecable thing to offer to the parasites which infest skins. Some people use red pepper, but on experience it hax been proved useless. Large retail fur houses have preserving them, gener- 1s built for the purpese—dark and in . They use no preservative against but the sking are regularly taken up and aten every few days, Private persons who ve furs send them for storage to such repositories, where they are well taken care of aud insured by the furriers. It seems rather a stretch of faney to connect fars with rushes, but none the lesa rs skins, which are unquestionably furs, brought to this country from Germany to was ye the form ¢ are | serve as bristles for brushes. Artists’ brushes, too, are made from kolinski, which comes from Hussia, and is a smajl variety of weasel. The ail only is made use of for the purpose, and | they now vatne about 40 marks a timber. 5 ery lady knows the difficulty of selecting furs: practice only can make any one a compe- tent judge of price and quality, for there are such infinite varieties in alinost all kinds that It is necessary to be familliar with them all. Large, heavy muffs are no longer fashionable. Costumes are usually matched in brocaded silk or velvet, from which wuffs are made and tringved with fur,so thata lady of fashion nowadays may possess one for every Shoulder capes are to be had ariety. seal and beaver being the most souxht after. As for price, it varies from a few dollars up toa few hundred, and there is no reason why any one should shiver for want of fur, o many cheap kinds are now to be seen at the stores. Children’s cloaks this winter are to be generally fur trimmed, but as yet fur-lined garments are exclusively made for adults. In the extreme north of Germany and in Russia hoods trimmed and lined with fur are univers- ally worn by children, and a mitigated form of the same fashion is seen here in the fur- eared caps worn by the boys. One very singuiar fact appears inseparable from the wearing of fi and that is the difficulty people who have once worn them find in giving them up. even when warmth of climate makes them superfluous. Russians visiting the baths of Southern Germany will wear as many as if they were twenty miles north of Moscow, and nothing will be seen of them but their noses, and an jilustration of the same peculiarity 1s evident Every spring, ween elderly ladies who haye worn fur tippets’ all the winter cannot be induced to lay them aside even when the April sun ives them a foretaste of midsuinme: atures of habit are we all! Fur caps played a prominent part in fiction. Who does hot remember Bob, in the * Mill on the Floss,” twisting his fur cap in his hand as he besought Maggie In her trouble “to try @dawg?” and in many of Dickens’ creations we realize at once the importance that fur plays in dress, whether it takes the form of a cap, a garment, or of fur- ——see- A Bar-Room Incident. From the New York Sun. “Opportunities for studying phystognomies, eh? Analysis of character, eh?” observed a rep- Tesentative bartender in the Sixth avenne in re- ply to queries. “You watt a little to high for -Ine with such gufl; but this I do know, and can gamble on: for telling what @ man’s made of, what he wants, what’s his money basis, how much of him’s solid and how much of him's gas, and so on, a bartender can take the belt. Just twig those two gents crossing the street yonder, and steering for the door of my ranch, and teil ine how you'd size ‘em up.” +A pair of rather promising customers,” was the reply. y, but the particulars, I mean. Isee® 'em a Bourbon straigit and either a hot Scotch or a spiced Jamaica, with stamps on the nail, and more to spare.” At this moment the customers entered the sa- loon and designated decoctions near enough to the bartender’s prediction to justify a sidelong glance in my direction as he served them and made change with customary expertness. “Know'em?” he continued as we were once more lett together. “Why, I know ’em the minute I plant my cyes on "em! Good, bad, and indifferent; treater or treat beggar; flush; half broke, lone dime in pocket, or flat busted; noisy lush or silent booze; grum or frisky; sponge or spread; hanger up or shelter out—I kaow ‘em all on sight. Either their faces or manners give em away afore they've named their h’t or even tou shed the bar rail. Ah, awake again? Hold on and I'll fix you. The last remark was elicited by the coughing and wheezing awakening of a queer little shabby-genteel old man, with watery eyes and peaked features. He had been snoozing in his seat behind the stove on an upholstered bench that ran along the wall A pd the bar and near the side door or ‘family entrance” of the liquor saloon. The bartender hastily mixed a spirituous compound, carried it over to the queer little old man, and watched him some- What sorrowfully as he stlently but tre:mu- lously drank it off. and again lapsed into som- nolence. Then he tapped his forehead with good-humored significance, and returned to insduties without receiving any equivalent. “Oh, if I was only an ink-slinger like you fellers,” he said, “‘ what stories an’ articles an" editorials an’ paragraphs an’ biographs an’ hull books I could write up about what | see in this gin mill!” rubbing down the soled counter with ‘an energy indicative of a sudden discontent with his non-literary career. ‘It may be I've got the talent, too, only luck’s dead agin me. How- ever,” with a brightening look, and tossing the cloth under the counter, that’s no reason why we shouldn't take a drink. What'll be? Same thing, eh? Mine, too, and here's looking at you. As I was a-saying—No, ma‘am, not at this coanter!” to oid woman taterposing with & broken-nosed pitcher. “Go ‘round to family entrance, and the boy'll take your order. Some- how, ladies'll never understand,” he added, soliloquizingly, ax woman and pitcher disap: peared, “how tmproper it 1s to fill their orders right over the public counter. Glad to eee you, Mr. MeGinuis,” to a showily dressed man, who suddenly sidled in from the street, respectfully shoving to Mm an unsolicited slass and bottle. “Have a ball with me this time? You can ex- me up at the club some time this evening. t want anything, and never do! Get out of this, quick !"—to timid forlora-looking street peddler; accompanying the injunction with a threatening glance and an ominous clenching of the hand.“ An’ what doyou want ?” toa seedy, red-nosed being who crawled beeseechingly forward as the peddler disap ee for a drink? See you later, ene We're selling stuff here, not giving It away. Bounce! Now there,” tarning around asthe wretched man disappeared. “there's a dick as @ story could be writ up about. Regular high-toned and flush not long ago, bat gone ull to pleces with rum, lottery tieketa an’ policy playing. Why, at one time he'd spend as much as twenty doliars a week over this bar, year in and year out. Completely busted now. © Weak in upper story, too.” a down in both body and mind?” I ested. ‘Why, can't you see it ?” with an air of sur- prise. “‘Mustn’t he be looney to suppose I'm going to give him a drink for nothing, jist be- longer any monopoly in the Canadian fur trade. Sach wealthy corporations as the Northwest Pur Company orthe Hudson fay Compary are now either extinet or shorn of their power and pres- tige; their armies of trappers, voyagers, coureurs de bois, and boatmen have di before the advance of he gene ar ce the ani- mals they hunted and sayaye foes they feared. The fur trade employs num i of persons, and be hands engaged in “ ressing. dyeing, aad general preparation o! oxins Teallze high Way Good hands are scarce, however, and at this time of year espe- tially one sees a constant notice at the furriers’ stores that fur workers are wanted. yet He sheaitaful and constant for although the fat it! merchant bas but a short and uncertain season tho preparation of skius for the market goes on all the year round. The furrier might complain cause he used to spend his money here like a flipmyg!ider? Hallo, Pop! awake so soon?” to the queer little old mi who again dawned out of on the bench behind the stove, with a preliminary cough and wheeze.” “I’m coming to you.” pied Cn pont 1 remarked, hort gratuitous once more relegated the queer little old man to the dreamful shores which, seemed to him like his native land, “I suj pose, then, that Poppy’s story, if he has any, must be widely different from ‘that of the pre- it referred to?” “Oh” ied the bartender, blissfully uncon- sclous of ironical implication; ‘‘yes, old Pop onder, as they all call him, is a different case. ‘ou see,” with a perceptible confusion of man- ner, ‘I've known him a long time—sort of un- der obligations besides—d’ye understand? His story, too, might be writ up, if you'd like to hear it, or even a part of it.” Some moments elapsed before an aap desire to hear it could be gratified, =f about this time the bartender experienced ‘a sudden spurt of biz.” as he called it, and, what with setting out and taking in bottles and tum- blers, dispensing lager beer, answering calls from the Say entrance, replenishing the cheese and cracker dish, and sopping ap the whisky slop and beer drippings, together with an occasional controversy on the subject of “bouncing,” a surreptitious trip or two for the gratification of thirsty policemen at the F. B.. |and one more alcoholic quieting of the queer little old man, whose last exile to dreamland had not been of satisfactory duration, he re- turned to the interview so much outof breath and disconnected that I at once ‘set ‘em up” in my turn, and redirected his active mind toa consideration of Poppy. “Weil, you aee, this is about the size of It,” sald he, leaning far over on his elbows and low- ering his voice to a confidential whisper. “Old Pop yonder is pegging out rather lively with pneumonia or something of the sort, an’ liquor’s about the only thing that keeps him alive. His doctor says that without the stimulant he wouldn't last a week. So there he sets, and there he’s been a settin’ every day fur a month or two, and I supply the stimulant. D'ye see?” “It’s really good of you,” I observed. ‘ But then I suppose the former obligations you spoke of—" 3 “That's jist it; I'm a payin’ ‘em in this way,” he interrupted.’ “So, every morning the oid woman—Pop's wife, you know, and a decent, hard-working old woman she is—brings the oid fellow here, while she’s ont at washing or floor scrubbing, and leaves him sort of in my care till she comes to take him home in the evening, for Pop himself is all but helpless. It’s almost time for her to come for him now” he added, with a glance at the clock, which indicated a quarter to Bix. “T say it’s really good of you.” repeated the writer, with an interested glance at the occu- pant of the bench, who, though still in exile, appeared exceptionally uneasy, with labored breathing and tremulous starts, as though mutely supplicating for a return of the native health and peace never more for him. ‘And I suppose the hard-working old wife is likewise grateful to you.” s “Weil, she is, and then again she ain't,” said the bartender. “Hold ona minute. He needs another stiffener, I’m a-thinking,” Poppy was penta aroused suffictently to imbibe another drink, which ultimately sent him to sleep, yet not without a fit of convulsive but feeble coiighing, followed by sundry deep and piteous slghs. “Oh, he’s been as bad’ as that before,” said the bartender, in answer to the writer's look of concern as he again edged in behind the coun- ter. “Yes, the old woman's feelings toward me, that’s the oddest thiug of all,” he con- tinued. “The doctor has told her what Poppy requires to be kept irom sinking, you see, and she’s willing for me to take care of him in this way while she’s out at work. But then she’s awfal pious and strictly on the temperance how! herself’; d’ye see 2” I nodded, and there was a fresh interruption by reason of another “spurt” from the street, during which the representative man almost came to blows with an inebriated coal-heaver, who tendered five cents i ad of ten for a beverace. but afterward settled it by permitting the coal-heaver to owe hin: the difference. Then atravel-stained minstrel, with a harp on his back and a desire in his soul to exchange music for whisky, had to be led ont by the ear; some lemons were purchased of a vender, and an in- tentionally obtuse customer, who wanted twenty cents change from a quarter after absorbing a ten-cent drink, was threateningly called a “dumbhead,” and asked if he “expected to have his cake and eat it, too,” whereupon the bar- tender was once more at my service. “It's jist as I tell you,” he resumed. “The old woman, though compelled to let me take care of Pop in this way, is death on temperance, and pious to boot. Why, let me give you an instunee;” and here he became confused again. “What if I should tell you tiat the old people— Pop and his wife—have got a son, strong and healthy, and both able and willing to support them both, but that the old woman refuses totake acent of his wages—not one solitar; and all as a matter of conscience, eh ?” “Wages of dishonesty, perhaps?” I sug- ted. he says so—wages of sin, she calls ’em.” nd what does the young man do for a living?” I asked. “Sells gin, just as I’m a-doing. He's «a. bar- tender was the reply. “Ant” “Sure asa gun! And the old lady won't take a cent of his money, though she lets me keep the old man around on the same stuff that she shudders to have her son sell. Queer, ain't it?” “Decidedly.” “Well, that’s about all there is to her story and Pop's,” he continued, wiping his brow hard, as though to permanently dispel some of the in- creased uneasiness that had taken possession of him during his recital. ‘And I think it’s blasted hard on the son, Ido. For jist look at old Pop there now,” he added, directing my attention anew to the queer littl¢old man, who had lapsed into motionlessness, with his hands in his pock- ets, his chin on his breast, and his poor old hat drawn down over his eyes, half suggesting a permanent banishment to what seemed to con- stitute the humble Nirvana of hie broken life. “Isn't he as happy as a new-born baby, and all through me? But here comes a man now—he’s been on Santa Cruz sours for a week; but I no- ticea change on his face, perhaps to S. 0. P., or aryo and seltzer—whose story might be writ up splendid.” ‘The last remark was evoked by the rheumatic entrance of a very large, well-dressed, fine- looking, but somewhat bloated, man, who veri- fled the vartender's prediction ‘by dropping his cane and asking for rye whisky and seltzer. He also bought a elgar. “Know him, of course?” sald the bartender, in a respectful tone, when we were again alone. “No,” [replied. “What?” he said. “A custom house official perhaps; a Con- gressman, or some other sort of dignitary,” I ventured. ‘“Blzger'n that. It's Bob E—, the retired ‘Ah, indeed !” copper— prize fizhter “Sure’s you live; and a dusty chap still ina rumpus, in spite of gout and dissipation, you can bet. But here come’s Pop’s old woman to carry him off home with her,” he added, half sullenly. half shametacedly, as ‘an elderly lady made her appearance at the family entrance, with a re- signed but self-protesting uir. “There he is, mother: there’s old Poppy waiting for you, and as caim as an infant. He's had a pretty good day of It, too.” The ifewcomer was thinly clad, and evidently of a hard-working. poorly-paid ‘station in Ite. Her face was both kind and stern. She had plentiful, snow white hair. As she stood in a sort of noble shame at the threshold of a sphere which her every instinct abominated, while a sense of duty urged her to its edge, there was a sad dignity inher looks. She merely inclined her head in recognition of the bartender’s greet- ing, turned her regards still more bey abn him to the still motionless figure on the bench, and then moved gently toward it. “Now, here comes another customer whose rae might be writ up,” hurriedly whispered the bartender, beckoning me to come still nearer, ashe planted his elbows on the counter and eet still pert aaron seta! mind ‘oppy any mere, but just t is man coming in et that mann m the street. Why, A sharp oy from the aemaiivd woman startled us. We turned and ran toward her. The white despair of her wan face chilled m: heart. Her hand had recotled from the shoul- der of the old man upon the beach. His forlorn figure had fallen upon its side, with the pinched, discolored lineaments of the face upturned. He had passed Into his last exile, whence there was no return. “I say,” muttered my representative bar- tender when he had summoned a and sent away the body in the old woman’s charge, “would you mind stepping around to that politi- cal club of mine this evening and making ex- cuses for my unavoidable absence? You see, I'll have to hel the old woman to look after poor ‘8 ins. “cortaniy Iwill, And it’s really good of you us——! “Good God!” interrupted the bartender with passionate but tearful abruptness. ‘‘Can't you understand? He was father, and the poor dear old woman is my mother!” RAILROAD CONDUCTORS OUTFITS. ——t ’ Fancy Designs in Punches and Gayly Ornamented Lanteras They Carry. From the New York Sun. “Railway conductors, a8) ® whole, put on a good deal of personal style,” the shopkeeper said, abstractedly punching-in a pamphiet cover holes that looked like blagk comets; ‘‘not so much as they used to before the days of draw- back checks and ‘spotters’ and other unpleasant inventions, but enough yet to, render them among the most ornamental members of the community. They don’t rua much to diamonds and pound-weight gold chains and fast horses, as was sald to be the thing twenty or thirty years ago among them, but they keep up thetr end pretty well on the things they've got to have, such as responsible watches, fancy lanterns, and natty punches. When a conduc- tor is appointed ona road he fs given a punch anda lantern by the company. The punch is a plain one, merely differing in the sort of hole it makes in a ticket from those the other conduc- tors on the line are supplied with. and the lan- ternis a plain tin thing, worth 50 or 75 cents. If he has any taste or whim, or reason without taste or whim, for wanting a different sort of punch from that given him, he comed to us and we make the change to suit him. One wants his Initial letter or letters; another, a woman's shapely foot; another, a heart; another, some Peculiar device that he hasa notion fs luéky for im; and another, something he has always carried and is known by among conductors. If he gets anew punch he will record it at the superintendent's office. There is an almost end- less variety to the punch devices. We make more than 350 sorts of dies, and get up new ones to order nearly every day. The Pennsyl- vania road alone has at least 200 styles, no two alike. A good punch is worth $1.50. “But the most expensive thing about a con- ductor’s outfit, next to hts uniform, is his lan- tern. Of course he cannot preserve his selt- respect and maintain his dignit mong first- class passengers: carrying. such a lantern as the company gives him, 80 he comes to us and we get One up for him. There is the sort of a lan- tern carried by a conductor who has any style about him. Brass, nickel-plated, heavy flint- glass globe, beautifally engraved, can’t leak, won't blow out, lasts for years, and only costs $6, or, with the engraving of a plain name or initials with a surrounding wreath, $7. Con- ductors rarely pay more than #3 or $4 extra for engraving, but we do sometimes have to get up very fancy lanterns for presentation to conduc- tors by gentlemen traveling a good deal on par- ticular trains, and on those the engraving fi quently mounts up to $10. The conductor's name with the regulation wreath will be on one side, and designs of various sorts on the other sides. Men have come in here wanting to spend as much as -$25 for a lantern to present to a conductor. but that is just a little beyond the limit. Yousee when you get a name, and a wreath, and an emblem, and a train of cars running into a tunnel, and the locomotive, with smoke from his funnel, coming out of the other end of the tunnel, and perhaps a presentation date, or an eagle, or an owl, all on one lantern globe you’ye got Just about all the space will hold. The ow! is a favorite emblem for conduc- tors of night trains.” A prominent stationer sald: “Conductors buy about the same sort of pocketbooks, diaries, and wallets that gentlemen generally do, rather better, I should say, that men in receipt of equal incomes are in the habit of carrying. The qoanes conductors generally have the most | fancy things. The old rellows go in for the sol- idly practical, and lumber themselves up with as little pocket stufing as possible. I’ve no- tleed, too, that the older @ conductor is the more likely he Is to carry a big, solid, rellable silver watch, instead of a gold one. I know of one who customarily carries a cotton string to his silver watch instead of achain, but I would bet that twenty years ao both watch and chain were gold. We get sense as we grow older.” ee Fish Culture. Report of the New York Fish Commissioners for 1882, Brook trout put Into mild, still water are thrown away. Black bass placed in a pond with mud or grass bottom will not thrive. They must have rock or gravel, where crayfish their favo- Tite food, abound. Oswego bass, In the water first stated, will increase, multiply and make glad the heart of the fisherman. Salmon trout will not remain in running streams, no matter how pure the water. and the lordly salmon him- self is so particular about the temperature of the water he Inhabits that human investigation has hardly yet been able to tell just what it shotfd ie. We can Judge best by leaving him to choose tor himself. Doubtless the failure to establish the Califor- nia salmon in the waters of the Atlantic coast comes from this element of temperature. Cer- tain it is that the trial has been faithtully made. Of the millions upon millions of the fry of this fish carefully procured, transported at much expense from its native waters, and hatched in Nearly every fish-cultural establishment in the Union, practically none survive to tell the tale of their fate. What becomes of them we do not know. If they live to get to the ocean, they do not return to the paternal stream at the annual spawning, or any other time. They hatch readily and grow rapidly in the early stages, but none of over two years growth are often seen any- where. We have record of some found ina small stream where they had been planted four years before, but which, atter the second year, had made no progress, but were true dwarfs, with bigheads, me: bodies, and feeble action. There have been, also, a few instances where this fish, the result of planted fry. have been found of the weight of two pounds, but. these have been in waters from which there was no conventent escape. Of all fish that have come under the observa- tion of the Commission none have done as well, according to the cost, as the black bass, usually styled, in contradiction to others of this general family, the ‘smail-mouthed bass.” This fish does its own hatching and attends to its own bursury duties. Of vigorous, yet clean appetite, he grows apace, and, where the location suits him, takes a lease tor Ife, with a contingent in- terest for his posterity. A good black bass lake or streain will bear more fishing to the acre than any other fish water. The Oswego bass and the eo pike are also cheaply procured, easily ept, and are profitable for both food and sport. If the commissioners had to choose from the whole fish calendar a variety with which the most could be done with the least cost they would decide in favor ot the bass. ‘1:.2y are the manna and the quails of the wilderness. They came, as it were, as the especial gifts of Provi- dence, and if there were no other fish in. the world we might be content with these. +e» . Memory. Old Autumn, thou art here! Upon the earth And in the heavens the signs of death are hung; For o'er the earth's brown breast stalks pale de- decay, And ae) the lowering clouds the wild winds wal And, sighing sadly, shout the solemn dirge Over summer's fairest flowers, all faded now. ‘The winter god, descending ftom the skies, Has reached the mountain tops, and decked their brows With Bittertng, frosty crowns, ahd breathed his reat a Among the trumpet pines, that herald forth His coming. Pet Pines nor Before the drivii last ‘The mountain oak bows ‘down his, hoary head, And flings his withered locks tothe rotigh gales Uplitved to the dark, ungityhie heen 6 dark, un} ve} The skies have put chety mours ng rT And hung thelr funeral drapery-on the clouds, Dead nature will soon wear hey shrouds of snow, 4nd ie entombed in winter’s icy grave, ‘Thus passes life. As hea comes ‘The Joys of youth—bright besuties of Grow dim and faded, and the long, dark night Of death's chill winter comes, But ag the spring ‘And cheers the gloomy eucth ite fbyous light, rs Ly e fo oer the tout tho sear hope sileltrise And usher in an ever-during day, ; JAMES A. GARFIELD, 1854 Matrimonial Trii tiens. A good deal of matrimonial tribulation was for it,” was re- S anne CAN THIS BE TRUE! Extracrdinary Self-Restraint ef a Newspaper Advertiser. From the Boston Commercial Bulletin? “T would like to have an advertisement in- serted.” This is a slogan that that would resurrect a dead man behind a newspaper counter, and the clerk turned as if moved by an electric current, and ejaculated: “Yes, sir; want the top of the column, I 8'pose ?” “No; Iam not particular,” said the adver- tiser. “ Want It Inside next leading editorial?” “Either page will answer,” replied the other. “Want a cut ofa death's head and marrow bones, or a sore leg to make it attractive, o portrait of the advertiser with long hair and a turn down shirt collar?” “Clear type, black ink, and white paper are good enough for me,” was the response. “all right; want head line in type an inch longer than Jenkins’ ad in next column, or will ‘ou have it put in upside down, or your name Bofors letters like forked lightening all over “No; a plain, straightforward advertisement in space of tour inches will answer my pur- ~ notice free, don’t you? Family history; how your grandfather blacked Washington's boots once; mention of yourself as a membor of a cir- culating library, church, fire company, co-opera- tive store, base-ball club, and other Important public positions?” ree customer sald he did not care for any no- tlee. “Of course,” said the clerk, ‘you want a pa- per sent to each member cf the firm: one for yourself, and the privilege of taking half a dozen coptes off the counter for the next year or two because you advertise?” The gentleman expected to pay for his paper, and asked the price or the advertisement. ae delighted clerk figured it up, and then asked: “If we send you the bill around in about a year you can tell the boy when to call again, can’t you” “No, I will pay you now,” said the other, tak- ing out a roll of bills. ‘The newspaper man’s eyes bulged as he said: “Ah! you want to ask for 75 per cent. discount and 25 per cent. off for cash?” “I am ready to pay a fair price for value re- ceived. Teli me your regular rates and here is the money.” A beatific expression spread over the wan face of the worn clerk, and he murmured; “Stranger. when did you come down and wher do you expect the apostles along?” ++ ___—____ Celebrated Dark Days. The strange darkness which overspread west- ern Ontario on the 6th of last September, and reached New Engiand the following day, is still the object of attention from many, and is cer- tainly the most famous phenomenon of ite kind recorded during the present century. It has had parallels, though only one is recorded which ‘pproached it In darkness and lurid magnii- cence. In the year 526, the whole of the Roman empire is said to have been covered by a reddish shadow, caused by a strange haze in the air. What produced this haze is not known, ticugh it is possible it may have been an unusual ac- cumulation of the red dust which now and then falls over the Mediterranean which Prof. Ehrenberg. a celebrated scientist, has examined microscoptcafly and found to be driea vegeta- tion, probably borne by the counter trade winds from some tropical region where drought pre- yalled. COMETS AND DARK Days. In 1783 a large part of Europe, North Amer- ica and the western portion of Asia wascovered with a dry fog of pale biue color, which dimmed the light ot the sun and at times almost extin- guished it. It was accompanied by violent elec- trical disturbances, and lasted for several week: It spread alarm everywhere. A writer says, re- garding the weeks of this fog:—“It was a time of terror, of tumult and of universal excite- ment.” In 1831 a fog of long duration prevailed and made the sun look green or blue. Both these fogs seemed slightly phosphorescent at night. The same phosphorescence was noticea- ble in 1821, when for several days, duri iz which it was supposed the earth was pass'ng through the tail of the great comet of that year, a slight haze pervaded the atmosphere. It issug- gestive that at the time of the dry fogs of 1783 ané1881 the datth was also In close proximity to the tall of a comet, if not actually immersed in it, and the fact that the togs prevailed on the highest summits of the Alps as well as In the + lowest valleys, is looked upon as tending to confirm the hypothesis that they were due to the presence of a cometary vapor in the atmos- phere. Some of the celebrated observations of solar light are confined to small areas, as Lon- don fogs, the cause of which is obvious. In 1373 London was darkened for a week, so that trafic had to be suspended on the Thames, street traMc became difficult, and lives were lost by accidents due to the obscurity. In the Spring of 1898, a mysterions darkness covered a portion of Minnesota, ordinary occupations were suspended, and people were obliged to eat their dinners by lamp light. THE BLACK FRIDAY OF 1780. More celebrated, however, Is the “Black Fri- y” of New England, May 19, 1780. The coast was shrouded in darkness, which turned away incoming ships. The air was of a brassy color, and pervaded by a sulphurous and sooty smell. Many thought the day ot judgment had come. The Connecticut legislature was in session when the darkness fell and the senate chamber be- came enshrouded in gloom. The general alarm spread to the law makers=and one of them sol- oon moved that the senate adjourn. Col. Abraham Davenport immediately arose and op- pet the adjournment. His speech, though ref, was a remarkable one, and had the effect of restoring composure of mind In the assembly. Hesaid: “I am against the adjournment, Either the day of judginent is come or it is not. If it is not there is no cause for adjournment. If it is I wish to be found in the line of my duty. Task that candies may be brought.” This terrorizin darkness extended over most of New England, and portions of New York, Pennsylyaniaand Can- ada, and was due to similar Causes to these which produced the famous darkness of Septem- ber. A correspondent of the Globe sends the following extract, from a letter relating to that darkness, and dated Boston, May 19, 1780. The letter was published in the Zmperial Magazine for 1789. The extract says: ‘his day has been rendered very remarkable by an extraordinary phenomenon, whizh de- mands a particular relation. An unusual dark- ness came on between the hours of ten and eleven in the morning, and continued to in- crease. Your friend having been accustomed to dark days in London * * regardedit with no special attention until called to do it by his neighbors who were much alarmed. He dined by candlelight about one. After that it grew much lighter, and he walked about five o'clock to a tavern, a mile distant on the road to Bos- ton, to meet a committee of Roxbury on special business. 8 “When they had finished about eight o'clock at night, he set out for home, not suspecting. but that being fully acquainted with every foot of the road, he should easily return notwith- standing its being extremely dark. There were houses all the way, thongh at a considerable way from each other. He marked the candle- light of one, and with that in his eve went for- ward till he got up to it; but remarked that the appearance ofthe place wasso different from what was usual, that he could not have belleved It to be what it was, had it not been for his certain knowledge of its situation. Hecaught the light of a second house, which he reached, and thus on. At length the light beingremoved from the last he had gained a sight of, ere he was up to it, he found himself in such profound darkness as to be incapable of proceeding, and there- fore returned to the house he had and @ lantern. Several of the company ving further to go were on horseback. The horses could not see to dicect themeelves, and by the manner in which they took up and put down their feet on the ground i i a | i ase BUT ONE GENUINE ESSENCE OF JAMAICA GINGER IN THE MARKET, And that is FRED'K BROWN'S PHILADELPHIA. ANlothers are Imitations or made to sel! on the repnta- tion of the Original, and may do harm, while FREDE- RICK BROWN'S PHILADELPHIA, will always bo a Po: “Good enough. Want about ten inches of } blessing in SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, and Inal STOMACH DISORDERS, For SLEEPLESSNESS, For SUDDEN CHILLS, WHEN DRENCHED@URIXa ‘THE EQUINOX, WHEN COLD IN WINTER, WHEN DISTRESSED IN SUMMER, 'D } Bay a bottle of your Druggist or your Grocer for 50 Cents, (insist on having the GENUINE given yon— FREDERICK BROWN'S PHILADELPHIA,) and you will secure an article which will serve you well—ALL THE YEAR ROUND, au perorranr NOTICE. Preparatory to sending to New York ALL OUR UNSOLD STOCK, ‘We offer for ten days SPECIAL INDUCEMENTS To Bur FANCY GOODS, BOOKS AND STATIONERY For the Holidays, During this time we offer all Fancy Goods at half prices, and Books and Stationery at and below cost. Aw this will be the last opportunity offered, it will pay to ‘buy now FOR THE HOLIDAYS, aD SAVE FIFTY PER CENT. FRANCIS B. MOHUN, BOOKSELLER AND STATIONER, ni-10t 1015 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. BBB RRR| A DDD BBB OU U b ame 4 Bon any 44 Risa YoU ken ey BBE R AAA DB vu i 4 BBB RA ADDD bas ‘ul HOE ¥ PIANOS AND ORGANS. OVER 17,000 IN USE. Tam receiving a large stock of both Square and Up- right Grands in MAHOGANY, EBON. FRENCH WALNUT AND ROS#WoOD Cases it etintic de- whicl b easy mont mente or at eapecislly low cash. 8 PIANOS and ORGANS for rent, Largest «tock in the city to select from. ita applied on purchase. TUNING ani RFPAIRS.—I have one of the best tuner san charge of this nt, who has bad years of experience in the New York factory. PIANO MOVING.—My faciliti yaaied doing this work in acarefal manner," “7°@usle for FREEBORN G. SMITH, 028-6m_ 1103 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. LAvEs' FURS. GARMENTS IN SEALSKIN. DOLMANS and cmos ak, Satin and For FUR TRIMMING in every width at New York prices. Separate apartment for display of Furs, at WILLETT & RUOFF'S, HATTERS AND FURRIERS, 905 Penns. Ave. 0 POWDER AND SHOT. cco A SS P% ale 6088 Aaa oo 4 4 LLLL a 00 DDD. bl $3 BB Bence H “oo” Boo 8sss8 4SH SIFTERS AND SHOVELS, STORE SUPPLIES AND GENERAL HARDWARE, F. P. MAY & CO, nl 634 Penna. avenue, near 7th street. G's COOKING STOVES, FOR SALE AT THE GASLIGHT OFFICE, TENTH STREET. Gustav ADOLPH, LADIES' RIDING HABIT AND OVER-GARMENT CUTTER, AT LADIES CLOAK PARLOR,” oll-Im 414 9th street northwest. Ho eas PAPER-HANGINGS. Moons Brown, old PP Se colons” Prdezon Dedom, Fone 4 See 2111 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. ‘For first-class work and artistic tailoring place your "arden with the leading house of Washington. 4, a eo es EDUCATIONAL. =- = XOULD'S COMMERCIAL NIGHT ENTERPRISES GSieractiSoe in BOORKEEIENG an Sten HARD taunt from, « practical standpoint, “Ter perimouth exch. we echox Boye. “10! Eatrest northwest ene © a5 ecbes : QROEBL INSTITUTE AND RINDERGARTER,- one E omas Circle. —Pritnaty. ory an tn, Drawine ant Cal ‘comprtent aod feRsore, od Kit Misses POLLOCK BN, Princip street northisert. Clase for Teach WASHINGTON GYAN ASIUM AND SCHOOL yaical Culture Separate classes for ladiew, missos and boys. For terme arpiy to G. WITTIO Saperinteodant and teacher at ‘coruer Gthiand @ at coms northwest, an 26-1 ION ON THE PIANO. y. Terms moderate. 4d> : HOROUGH INSTRUC Sight Read dre: r< i i Wate leenone and SCHOOL OF CUT Santas. apELINE street north weet Pri «tor Ladies and Gen nea, 8 to 1, S._W. oor. 8th and K st S. W. FLYNN, 5 & Mathematics, Lai Prepsration for compe TOR, ‘or Sth and K streets norchwest. . Greek, French. German, Im oliere, West Polit Ausapnlls, ve examinations. Terns in advance. A. BORRIS, LATELY ARRIVED PRO! Genuany, will receive pupils iu Ol Printing am Diawing at his studio, No. 1405 New York avenue. Lendecapes a ity. Terms: §10 for ten sons. ef am Qu . TION AND PHYSI- bwest ™ T, Principal. NG ahd O1HEK VOCAL, oi and Mramatic Art, oom 90, Corcoran Building, A NE DPSTROUS OF GOING THROUGH A vuree of History aul English Litersture cai S,Same cust being formed. “Address LITEI IN KENSIN Embroitery «iven TON AND ARWASEN Mew iV, iit trance 707 D street. Votes. singing, Violin. &e- advantaves.C. BL BULLARD, Director, WIL CH A .o Free oto RESUME D GEKMAN Kesidence, T NORTHWEST. KINDERGAR EN pal, Friends’ Meeting House, clase for teachers and ‘¥,, November rs. ANNA B. RS, OLGA DANIEL CLASSES IN Ful 023-3w* TRAINING A i 4 Henn. ave. Rerulur Claag o19-3m, pet claex M: Thursday; ay and Friday: Soire Weduesday. MM eecdEPRINGE, Eno street northwest, vill i Lessons at her own snd pupils moa ‘conversa ant’ tere! by pupis, by Prof. H. LARROQUE, a tiative ~orboune Univerniix, Varia, and & fort lending colleges of TAN, French Min et FIGR2S BOOKKEEPING EASIEST, SHORTEST, Bost. Months of study saved. Abowe, with pen> te., $3 w month, W. HOWF, 1030 7th street. G AND PIANO CLASSES, (ay most libeval terms for nildron, at concerts, &C. Camron Wut TEN—Sixth Ai 18th. ROF. AND MRS. LUCTE Englich, French a SCHOOL FOI B as 1882, at Will re-open Sept. mber 2 run A a8 — orth west, corns of teachers. For fail particulary und ©, ad rene ©. COLL A-M., Principal. AG *RANE CHEVREMONT (GKADUATED Ai ‘Teach it Academie of Peris Uniy France) us resumed er vessons in the Fi ULE. V. PRU D' HOMME Ts now re-opening her French Clas Jt oe, 13:3 h snes—For. Ladic ung Ladies and Child As Adyanced, daily, at 9, Ix, 16. ‘Terns moderate. Pupils learn to converse in a short time. AP: in Provuncietion taught. of Sonor OF MUSIC. (ESTABLISHED 1877) rates, Alltvranchen Chun torgan for practioe, rates, All branches Chun _— eon THEO. INGALLS BING, Pribcipale PENCERIAN BUSINESS COLLEGR, LINCOLN. ‘Haili Builsing, corver 9rh and streets. Day and | tape Speen for the lon of some = ra, aud men and wemen 1 port an The bronches taught are the Ei ure; Baw Spencerin: Dads sing ¢ and double entry, adapted of burtness; Business Poactioe, wholes banking, e: ploying the methots ewe paterh and or empam en ua by Irading bus pets houses: Puyrieal aud Veal De ture: Political jaw, Business Economy; Commercial Ethics. Special departin B phy and Dy AUG! iemonth, 46. the new, mouth, 46. : ited wre Anuouncement, rte 4 — free upon application by mail, oF ce, HENRY C. SPENCER, Princip CER, Vice-Principal. ead ONCH WILL RESUME HIS LESSONS E VIOLIN’ AND ORCHESTRAL IN- > on and after MONDAY, Sep fa LO aise c MELE AM on 1 STRUMEN 2, For northwest. 4SHINGTON COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE. Ww * and Day School for You ‘Ladies Children, re-opens September 18, 1842. For carcolare ply to Mrs. Z. D. BUICHER and Mis M.C. DOUG: LAS, Principals, 1023 and i street north west.aG Mi: VERNON SEMINARY, AMA English and French Boariting and Day School far ot 1100 M street northwest, Washington, D. C., or SEPTEMBEK "Sau, 1882. Thorough coilesiate course. Special advantages for etudeuta in riusic and art. For cataiogues, apply to ane principal, MKS. J. E. SOMERS *5-3mn, AX“UINGTON acADEYY, cokconaN BUILD- Pa. Ave. axn Iirm St!) 0: Huiited. Ovly scholars of good moral character ceived. Fall term of 1882 Legins September 11th. and evening cessious, Careful and thorough i Hou in the common English br ‘Bool Short-band, Hicher Arithmetic, Algebra. « Latin und Greek. BULTON MACAFFE, Wasbinetion, 0.C. {wul5-3m} Prineipal CADY'S BOARDING MESS tot School for Young Ladies, West 0 irboenth your ISS AMY LEAVITT. OF BOSTON, THACHER of Veesi and Instrumental Music and Harmouy. Address #44 K street northwest. Lessons resuuiud Sep= Nex Fee fall courve of Fs ah, F190 children Searsot age, $50; 30; Modern A limited nuimber of Boarding Puyii aud MKS. "BELL, References—Faculty University of Va. B. L. sieve, of Johue Hopkins Uni nent Professors. AND Bud Institu oe ar JME. AND MRS. ALFRED BOJACS ENGLIOR Mid Rud Braedon na Day School for — ith treet north ton Sebel ater ether or pes eet E. SCHEEL, ORGANIST, TEACHER OF PIANO oJ. Sid VOCAL MUM. rhea ator Ne inners, as well as those to be gualitted for riormers. ‘Terms j34 12th sarect norte west. eee oe a a USICAL ACADEMY, 1721 De SALES STREE! Mites Connecticut ave. and ithe. Bene pal, J. P. CAULFI jus. Doc. Studien néetimed Septem! auld tudien 3 TIN, GREEK, MATHEMATICS, NATULAL SOP Licentiate, sresiehh or Gat dian aoe ou S.A. A prepared for Collage and competiti) ‘Address jwmninan Caliora. $90 A. J. SAFE DEPOSIT CO. Security FROM LOSS BY BURGLARY nga SPRAY, EEE ASP axp New CRYIRa as. seone ewes cnee eee of Satara ool Waasechea Soman ban st BENJAMIN P. ENTDER, President sg E te. Jonn'G. Parke. SPECIALTIES.