Evening Star Newspaper, April 11, 1883, Page 2

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. Of at AC WEDNESDAY. APRIL’ 1, 1888—-DOUBLE SHEET. CITY AN D DISTRICT. The Federation of Labor. FUE PRESIDENT TO SE PETITIONED TO CALL AN EXTRA SESSION OF CONGRESS—THR YAINTERS’ ACTION EN- DORSED. At a meeting of the Federation of Labor, held at Odeon Hall last night, Mr. A. M. Kenaday pre- @iding, © memorial to the President, petitioning for an extra session of Congress, to be called at as early a day as practicable, for tae purpose of con- Sidering the relations between labor and capital, Was reported by the board of directors and en- @orsed. The memorialists state that nearly a year has elapsed since the adoption by the Sena the resolution to Investigate the relations be- tween capital and labor, and yet no report on the Budject has been made by the committee to which it was referred, nor 15 there any sign of legisiation. The orialists add: appears to your memoriull-ts an absurdity for a committee Of grave Senate Junketing exp Cumulative testi tent to all w go around the country on a t public expense to gather in support of evident facts, and It trif_ing with the ign ynt feeltn gent workmen,whc are the aggriev They request’ the Presicent, th Shatmpered by con- Micting opinie iors,"" to call together the r people elec dication” this m inthe interest of The memorial also fores the eight-hour Sdent to orks tn the Executive furisdic- recommend: Sof this city to * union in carry- | Strike t Support of ti Im Fav RE or jon of Ir er, J. Di n the Untted when the L the principi ‘The resi ua no of a move- -H arriv ry, * fills, fisn, R’ fish, same; sh, Wm. E ins, Driver, y sch ew York, and th: renee to the depasit of Virginia shore the ‘alled nuisance nets Carter 13 . yy Inany of the <1 gardeners of the A NUISANCE on 4 n Alexandria ulturists of the county seem cus in the opinion that the ht Over by Carter 15 @ great people in the way of a fertilizer. 1 if great quanultes of im that the stnell 1s en properly used, and that the smeil xs fish offal.and 1? rou; Dene-nt to the They a7 nied into the county during a feruhz t claim thet t r less nig hving out of em to be SO #58, Will be com- north groun G_E. Kennedy $5.20, Jolin ~ $150. pringmanypart jot & Woodware a. 77, 4d LOE 4. 24. ary M. Keek, pt. 70, les to SS. Baker, pts. 1,2, ary, R. Se ufferle et alto 7 $1,400. G. W. Brown Is’ Portion; $1,200. W. J. Snowden, pt. 7, riz Johnson to @, Band 29, sq. 467; H. Robinson, lot 0, sq. 177 T. T, Knox. sab. T, sq. 21 | and ™ of Cir. terday, there were two tick: ‘The Board School Tru: BUILDINGS TO BE NAMED AFTER BRYANT, LONGFEI- LOW AND COOPER—THE EXPENSES’ OF THE SCHOOLS—A SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE BOSTON UNI- VERSITY. The Board of Public School Trustees met yester- day afternoon at the Franklin building. Acommualcation was received from the Com- missioners requesting the board to suggest names for the new school buildings which are authorized to be erected. Mr. Birney offered a resolution designating the R street building as the Bryant, the 84 street the Whittier, and the Providence square as the Cooper—tue last in honor of the late Peter Cooper. Attention having been called to a resolution of the board not to name buildings after living per- sons, Mr. Birney substituted @he name of Longfel- low for that of Whittier for the 34 street bullding, and the resolution was adopted. 3 perintendent Wilson submitted a” report ing that 3.787 pnplis had participated in the Longfellow memorial exeretses, Pbruary 27th, and Subscriptions for the monument had Deen re- ecived as follo First division, $74.20; second, $1140; third, $30; fourth, $17.95: fitch, $10.10; sixth, $29.80; Seventh and eighth, $6.2); and high School, $920—total, $371.70. This amount been transmitted to the assoctation. A HOLIDAY FOR THE COLORED SOHOOLS. w. A lette id before the board from W. Cal- vin Chase, secretary of the committee of arrange ments for the emanctpatton celebration, asking that the colored schools be closed on Monday next, that the puptis may participate in the celebration. A reso.ution was adopted complying with the re- tons of Wm. Quinby, Henry L. Dertng and M. Airgie Brewer for und 5. K. Vaux for a janitorship, mn reported, under a resolu- atements Of the principals ned thelr duties. The re- beginning of ih> year no ys had been given in the divisions, and in the 24 2 s‘howls had been closed 22 days, by order of local committee. The monthly abstract of teachers’ reports was presented. showing the number of puplls enrolled tte, 16,021; colored, 8,212; tota ndance—white, 14,175, lored, l. Number of teachers—white colbred schools, 172; wotal, 505. EXPENSES OF THE SCHOOLS. Itlee of ways and means reported a nt of expenditures during the present r, to the Bist of March, showing that for salaries there has been expended $237,689.- anitors, $14,483.43; supplies, $7,336.18; repairs, $1. texehei 59, printing, $1,682. 8; furniture, new ‘bul n Dullding, $5,959.01. ‘Ye of ubsemce was granted Mary E. Prior, Th: chool building was placed under the ‘ommittee on teachers. m tion of O. K. Shedd as janitor of the Anacostia building was reported and coniirmed. THE NORMAL SCHOOL. Birney offered a resolution, limiting the nutuber of pupils in the normal school to twenty- five, to be selected from the graduates of the girls’ high school, with a proviso that should there not be twenty-five graduates, vacancies may bo filled by other competent persons who shall pass examination. Adopted. Mr. Lovejoy offered a resolution directing that notice be given of the Intention of the board to Vacate the premises,now used for school purposes, on G s'.,between 17th and 18th streets; 19th street, between G@ and H streets, and Pehnsyivania ave- hue and 221 street after dune 80th next. Adopted. ANOTHER SCHOLARSHIP. Mr. Lovejoy stated that the Boston university had presented the board a scholarship, to be awarded on competitive examination, id he of- resolution of thanks to the university for of a scholarship and to Miss L. M. Dame, teh school, for her services in securing thé Mr. LETTER FROM BALLYG! ELAND. surer Of the aia committee ‘of the Clan- sm: T have to ac than the re or of this paris Tiaid ont on the sufferi many of whom, I regret to af distress, poor, Ured, and ema 1 move the hardest hearts to see the poor A children, after a bad breakfast of yellow meal stirabout, coming to school barefooted and g with Cold froin the want of the necessary and no wonder; their parents are de- | f all th to make up their rents farms. I hope the inser- Republican and Washt 3 of procuring additional the distressed. Christ telis us in the Gos- long a8 you did tt to one of these my least ‘n you did 1% tome.” May I hope that you will continue your contributions for the next three taonths, and you shail have the benefit of my humble prayers and those of the poor committed two my care. : With md respect and regard for yourselt and committee, I remain yours faithfully, Patrick SHmipax, P. P., Mayo and Roslea, JAMES BELLEW, esq. Political Matters, BALLOTING IN THE GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC CONVEN- TION. At the convention of Georgia democrats, held yesterday, the following persons were put in nom- ination for governor:—Jame3 S. Boynton, A. O. Bacon, H. D. McDantel, Philip Cook and T. J. mmons, Five ballots were taken. The first was as follows ynton, 139; Bacon, 145; McDaniel, 3 Simmons, 6. Boynton and Bacon g members y,are in ed. It be Judi 7 ™ light gains {hn the succeeding ballots. 1e firth baltt was as follows:—Boynton, 143; Bacon, McDantel, 81; Cook, 1: Simmons, 8 Necessary to a cha Journed to meet to-day MUSICIPAL ELECTIONS. At the election held in Ellicott City, Md., yes ets in the fleld, both vied “law and order” tickets, and each com- © of democrats and republicans. Chas. Werner, republican, headed one ticket for mayor, tic the other was headed By Elward Norris, nducan. Werner was by nine mas councilmen Ucket was 476. ‘The convention ad- Iso the candidate: t.—The d» ot for tH Albany, \N. Y., _y: Ay.—Ho- elected Uhe entire democr iu yesterday.—The deiaverat s carried Bordentown, N. J. convention at Rochester, N. Y., September 30th. ‘The finance committee of the Massachusetts has recommended the passage over Veto of the Dill making appropriauon for public charitable Institutions. ‘The Peun-ylvanta house of representatives has passed a bill shing the contract system in prisons. The ease ngatnst Robert BE umtord, commis: stoner of revenue, charnzed with elecuon frauds In Richmond, Va., was called in the U. 8. court yes- Uerday. An argument of the motion to quash oc- cupied the time until the adjournment of the court, and will be concluded thi: Thing. Oniais oF THR DigasTROUS Fine at WestMIN- ste, Mp.—The fire ut Westininster, Mu., swept a Whole square and destroyed $100,000 worth of prop erty. Kobert Thompson and Aaron Shaffer, em- ployed tn Jacob Thompson's livery stable, where he fre started, were burned to death. Four col- ered men—John Clark, Charles Warficld, Robert Goodwin, and Hanson Dorsey—have for having set fire to the stable, which led to the disaster. “It fs said that while engaged in a game of cards they set the place on fire by overturning Py ‘The coroner's jury lastnight, inquirin} into the cause of the death of Thompson and Shaeffer, rendered a verdict that he stable was fired through gross negligence and reckless disre- gard of life and property by the parties under arrest. ‘There was talk of lynching the wen, which has ceased. Amateur Base Bart 1 Baurmore.—There ts a great deal of interest taken by amateurs of Baltt- Umore in base ball this season, and a good many clubs have been organized. Among these are the Baltimore club, the Stock Exchange, the Corn and Flour Exchange, and the Press. ‘There are about thirty players in the city. Among other amateur nines that will play this sumnier Yre the “Our Boys.” which is probably the best; the Johns Hopkins University, which played ‘the profes- | slonais recently, and the Natlonals, composed of young men who are exceedingly in the field. | The Ist of May will open aimdteur and pro- fessional seasons, THe PROCERDINGS AGAINST THE LONDON FRER ‘Taskers. —Mr. Charles Bradluuzh,W. J. Romsay, | the proprietor of the Free Thinke*, ani G. W! vote, the editor of that paper, who are charged been arrested | LETTER FROM NEW ORLEANS. Peouliarities of the Crescent City—Its Rough Pavements and Defect! Drainage—Attractive Features—Laad Sharks Defrauding the Lake Pont- chartrais Fishermen—Visit to a Sugar Plantation. Correspondence of Tax Eventna Stan. New Oxweans, La., April 4th, 1883. One visiting the Crescent City is struck at once with its peculiarities, beauties and lack or ali sanitary precautions. I have thought that the results of some of my observations during the past three weeks might not be uninterest- ing to your readers. The streets in the French quarter are very narrow and filthy. Those in the western or American section are more pleasant. The resi- dences in the French quarter are old and dilapidated, while in American New Orleans there are many fine houses, each surrounded by its garden of roses and other flowers, as well as, orange, fig and magnolla trees. The paving of all the streets is wretched, granite blocks about 18x12x12 inches being used for that purpose, This makes a very rough pavement, and the din caused by the rattling of heavy wagons and drays is almost unbearable. I made this re- mark to the “silver tongued orator of the south,” Hon. E. John E&is, who acquiesced,and said that Washington is the finest and cleanest ety Inthe Union. Smaller paying stones could not be used here, as there is no sub-soil, and they would disappear in the rich black loam. The drainage is all above ground necessarily, as the city is below the level of the river. inhabitants are not troubled by sewer gas, but the odor arising from the streets 1s nauseating. ‘The street-cars are drawn mainly by mules and all the lines run smoking cars. “There are lines of cars drawn by dummy engines, connecting the city with the west end and the Spanish fort, both of which are places of resort on Jake Pontchartrain. The Spanish fort is especially attractive en account of the historical associa- tions, CHEATING THE FISHERMEN. The land occupied by the adjoining fisherman's village was recently claimed by the state as “| swamp, and when it was so listed and approved by the Interior department it was bought by a speculator from the state for $30. The people who inhabit this tract are mainly !gnorant fish- hermen, who haye been in possession of the land for years. It is, of course, a great hardship to them ‘to be dispossessed of their property, and it is intimated that a fraud has been per- petrated. The special agent of the Generat Land office, Mr. Tes. Harrison, is here inyesti- gating the matter. The levees of the Misslsstpp!, laden with the roducts of the world, are the glory of New Or- leans. It {sa splendid sight on a fine morning to see steamers and sail vessels from every nation taking and discharging their cargoes. Cotton is pre-eminently king here, however, and the Cotton Exchange is one of the finest build- ingsin the city. ‘The north Atlantic squadron, which has been lying off the city for the past three weeks, has sailed. We have no longer a host of sailors turned loose to wander through the stregts and make night hideous with their drunken follies. The middieg, those pets of society, have also gone, after making sad havoc with the hearts of the fair ones of the city. NEW ORLEANS CHURCHES. Last Sunday I went to service at the Church of the Jesuits. The music was exceptionally fine. The organ has a remarkably sweet tone, and the organist is par excellence. The opening piece commenced so deliciously soft and grad- ually became loud and louder until, “yearning like a god in it filled tle inmost rece: with a melody that was divine. IT went to the cathedral ‘The organ recital, under ion ot Prof. Pichher, was worthy of the applause it elicited. The First Presby- terian church is a fine edifice, fronting on afayette squ ‘The pastor, Dr. Palmer, is a gentleman of classical discourses. The city boasts several pretty parks or squares, but none that compare favorably with those of Washington. Jackson square 1s rather the pret- tiest, were it not for the equestrian statue ot Jackson, a duplicate of which is in Lafayette square, In Washington. It is too bad that a patriot who served his country as faithfully as “Old Hickory” did should be condemned to remain forever in that ridiculous attitude. 4 BIG SUGAR PLANTATION. I spent one day atthe sugar plantation of Chester B. Darrall, who was amember of the last Congress and is now the register of the United States land office at this place. His plantation, of about 1,700 acres, 1s eighty miles from here, near Morgan City, on the Bayou Le Beuf. The residence ls a fine one, with large airy chambers and spacious halls. It issurrounded by orange, fig, pecan, magnolia and live oak trees, The lawn slopes down to the water, and the prospect in all directions ig very novel and pleasing. The cane 1s about knee high and jooks very well. Iam informed that sixty dol- jars per acre is not unfrequently cleared by the sugar planters. Mr. Darrail ts most enthusi- astic planter, and a delightful host. What 13 most feared here is the annual nigh water. Last year it covered all the surrounding country and ruined the crop. My latest advices from home are that the ground is white with snow. It seems difficult torealize that here, where the air is heavy with the fragrance of flowers, and the tables boast strawberries and all early vegetables. Horspcr. ————_+e-______ Cures for Sleeplessness. From Laws of Life. There is a form of wakefulness which is a some- what frequent experience with persons engaged in active work, especially of the brain. A man who has been busily engaged during the day In his usual ayocation retires, let us say, at about 10 or 11 o’cluck, feeling quite sleepy. After a period of slumber, perhaps of two or three hours, he finds himself wide awake at about 2 o'clock inthe morning. There is nothing particularly burdensome on his mind; no mental anxieties . no physical pains disturb him. His only re is the consciousness that a hi day's work is before him, and that his busy brain ought to be at rest. After tossing about for an hour or more in vain attempts to court sleep, he drops off toward morning into disturbed and broken slumber, and rises at the usual hour with @ sense of having been defrauded by nature ot one of his rights. So long as this ls a rare or occasional experience it need not attract atten- tion. When, however, it becomes habitual, when sleep 1s regularly broeee by periods of wakeful- | ness more or leas prolonged, and especially when | these periods come to be accompanied by anxi- ties and worrying, the symptom fs more grave. It may betoken serious impairment of the ner- vous system if allowed to continue. What may be done by the person himeelf, on awakening during the night, in order in to induce sleep? The expedients at our disposal it must be admitted, are exceedingly variable in their efficacy, but most of them are worth trying. A sense of drowsiness is sometimes easily in- duced by getting up and standing by the bed- side until one feels almost chilly and the bed is cold. Another expedient is to wash the head, neck and upper part of the body in cold water— a lower temperature of the skin inducing prob- ably a more active circulation of the blood to the surface and away from the nervous centers. 1 have found a bit of dry bread thoroughly masti- cated and eaten at this time to act almost like a charm in some cases by drawing blood trom brain to stomach, and thus securing sleep. Any- thing which serves to detract attention from one’s self and surroundings may occasionally avail—such ag saying the alphabet, counting one’s respirations, repeating the multiplication table, and a multitude of similar expedients. An ancient monkish receipt for wakefulness was | with publishing a sketch of the Deity and Dlasphe- mous libeis in that journal, were arraigned ina London court yesterday morhtng. Mr. BradLiugh, who dented that be was responsible for the publi cation of the alleged libel, applied for a separate trial, which was granted. —— LACERATED BY A BLoopROUND.—Advices from Warsaw, Wis., say that Mr. Powell, of the “Boston Ideal Uncle Tom's Cxbin,” who was terrtbly bitten by a bloodhound on the stage there Friday night, 18 in @ precarious condition. The brute tore flesh frota his arias and back in mouthfuls, Powell was A. McF: 10 and 12, Jen to Rilza J. Ibgersoll, Ee s 8q. 920; $2,200. Barber Lang- m and A. L: Barber, trustee, to Ed. Simms, lot #20. J. "Tr. Lenman to F. Rose, lots 33 sa. h @ and 9, Metropolis View 60. M. Murphy to F. HL Smith et al, 00 —— Coxrreencr OF THE ArRIcAN MR. Cuvact.— ‘The sixty-sixth session of the Biltmore anoual inference of ft (tiean M. E. church ta the hence on Thursday, Ma: d., Bishop D. A. Paineycolt Bishop Paine ts thesenior Dishop of the church. ‘The conference WHbAust:) one week. One of the questions to be Toe 4s that of dividing the conference tro teerp ay Elding eldery districts ‘The m: &t the last conference to a comm . Messrs. J. J. Herbert, J. H. om, JW. wt, L. J. Cofin and Char! . Fitzegh, timore, aud A. W, Waymatr, colored, of Ba: ower church func Jonaries, are Cxpected to visit playing Marks at the time. How the animal hap- pened Wo be untauzzled ts velng investigated. Tur Youxe Nox Wno Wants Her Frrepow.— Referring tg the case of the nun who desires to be Teleased from a convent in Montreal Bishop Fabre said: “This young nun is by no means kept in the institution against her will She can leave the convent eee ce pm os will ae her in her civil right to go so; young la by her yas has with free will assumed for five ars obligagions which it 1s a matter of con- Science for nerto decide r she {3 at liberty to al or not. In dhis qmatter no personal sia tenths STRUC tw interfere, lier re- a (OWS, Which W! W soon expire, wag eenebat home, Dut refused.” A thief at Pottstown stole the crape from the dvor of a house where the occupant lay dead. ‘The feminine of the dude bas recently been erented, and casera apCIS te young ladies ‘with bow-wow peta wno have cards prinved for the brutes to leave on making to “count your beads.” It is good advice yet. There are no better aids to repose than a good conscience and a mind at peace. ———— f£rrors Concerning Oysters. In a communication to the Philadelphia Medi- cal and Surgical Journal, Dr. Charles L. Dana, of New York, points out some prevalent errors concerning oyeters. It has been said that the oyster, on account of Its hepatic diastase, has the power of digesting itself. In a series of plat ie eeiee sen ines mollusk some excellent op; les of doing so, but it declines to digest even its own fiver. As to the superior digestibility of raw oysters over cooked, it was found that when boiled for a short time, or roasted tn the ghell, they were near! , if not quite, as rapidly dissolved as the raw. Choking, a reg cape Pe abaya fit thus al- ing the pe jul to penetrate. fet to the current yetors will desires it belief that o: ale while they become in brandy, and hence that ale should be taken with oysters instead of liquors, Dr. Dana denies the solvent powers of ale, and demonstrates the fact that it really hardens the oystereven more than brandy does. +o Ex-Con; man Farwell, of te bad in- sured his lige for @123,000, but, still ling, \- easy, secured @ second insurance for #1 600 more. é The | es | THE WORK OF THE CITIZENS? COMMITTEE. Its Extent and Importance—Exposure of an Astounding Combination of Thieves and Detectives—Affiliations ef the Detectives with the Star Route From the New York Ties. Prominent citizensiot the District of Colum- bia have undertaken to expose, overthrow and Prosecute a band of detectives who are as intel- ligent and crafty as they are corrupt. It is not often that the attempts of honest men to de- fend their property against the very persons who have been employed and patd to protect It, nd to drive out of office detectives who have become the allies of thieves, attract much at- tention outside of the communities where the work is done; but for many reasons the labors of the Citizens’ committee in Washington ought to excite the interest and receive the encol fement of good men in every state the Union. The detectives have been dismissed, or legislated out of office by Congress, and thirty-four indictments against them have been found, but no one of the accused men has yet been brought to trial, The Attorney General of the United States re- gards these cases of sufficient importance to de- mand his personal supervision. He hasfesolved to prosecute them with the utmost vigor, and he has instructed the district attorney to devote all his energy to the work of securing the con- viction of the guilty men, ‘‘who,” he says, “have been a terror to this community, and whose very freedom from punishment thus far has been a reproach to the administration of the criminal law by the authorities ofthis District.” The dis- trict. attorney, Col. George B. Corkhiil, has re- plied that the conviction of these men, “it guilty,” is a matter of the gravest moment, and has reminded the Attorney General that they will be strongly defended, and that they are familiar with all means ot detecting and con- cealing crime. A large mass of evidence has been published and laid before grand juries showing that these omicial detectives have been for years in league with thieves of a low grade; that they protected local thieves and shared the proceeds of their robberies, and that they even planned burglaries, brought expert criminals to the city to do | the work, and then sold the stolen property. Burglary, larceny, and kindred crimes were so frequently committed that they caused no surprise. Very rarely was a thief caught and punished. The thiet stole the goods and received a small sum for them from a receiver or middleman who was in the con- spiracy. The detectives negotiated with the owners for the retura of the property, and re- stored it if the ransom were sufficient for a profitable division. If it were not they sold the property and divided the proceeds. ‘‘We held our wearing apparel, our household effects, our bonds, money, jewelsand ornaments subject to the will of the thieyes and burglars,” said the chairman of the Citizens’ committee in a public report, ‘‘with only the privilege of buying them back as often as stolen at a reasonably moderate price.” If the detectives had been known only in connection with this very successful conspi- Tracy to exact tribute from citizens, their ex- pee and prosecution would excite but lit- le interest outside of the city where they plied their infamous trade; but some of them were politicians and the friends or favorites of public men, and their influence was exerted to obstruct the administration of justice in the courts of the capital.) Relying upon a band of subservient or frightened thieves for & large pare of their annual incomes, they formed, by ‘heir power over these scoundrels ‘and by their affiliation with other criminals, a combination which extended its influence into the courts and served to ald and protect great criminals as well as small ones. Every successful crime and every discovery of hidden iniquity threatened | these men and increased the number of per- sons whom they could control. Many honest men came to the ovnclusion that criminals could not be successfully prosecuted in W: ington it the influence of these men and their | allies were exerted against the government. | They shielded great public rol.bers. They In | fested the court house, and the people lost faith | in trial by jury. They became go bold thet one of them deflantly declared upon the witness | stand that while employed and paid by the goy- | ernment he had continually labored for the star | Toute defendants. Their Influence and work was seen in the attempt to smirch the Depart- | ment of Justice after the first star route trial. Thieves of high degree could boast of “‘a corner on the grand jury,” or could, like Howgate, escape Irom ‘with mysterious ease. The courts were undermined, citizens were deceived and plundered, and justice was disarmed. The Citizens’ committee began its work with- out knowing the extent of the villainy which would be uncovered. It was for the purpose of protecting their property that these prominent residents of Washington went into the fight. The investigation not only revealed the extent and power of thecombination as affecting purel; local interests, but alsoshowed how useful it hi been to persons prosecuted for crimes in which the whole nation takes an interest. No influ- ence should be allowed to prevent or delay the completion of the committee's good work, ee The Eye with Age. From Chambers’ Journal. The sight of a near object involves, in the case of a normal eye, an actual muscular effort. A near object 1s seen by rays that are more or less divergent, and which require to be more powerfully retracted than the parallel rays, in order to bring them to a focus within the same space. We have seen how this refraction ts brought about—by an alteration in the shape of thelens. In youth this alteration is easy enough. Elastic. membranes yield readily, muscles are vigorous, and, above all. the lens itself is soft and highly elastic. But, as years go on,a gradual hardening process takes place in this crystalline body. It gradually loses it: sticity and becomes more and more rigid, and the power of accom- modation constantly diminishes. {t is found on an average of olvervations, that at 10 years of age the crystalline lens may be rendered so cone vex as to give a clear image of an object three inches from the eye. At 21 it will only accom- modate itself to an object four and a halr inches from the eve. Anything nearer will be obscure, beeanse the lens will not assume a form suffi- ciently convex to refract to a focus on the retina rays of light so divergent as any nearer object will radiate. At40 yearsof age, the “near point” has reached to a distance of 9 inches, and at 50, to 13 inches. At 60 years of age the lens has so far lost its flexibility, and therefore its power | ofresponding to the muscle, that it cannot or- dinarily give a clear image of any object less than 26 inches from theeye. At%5 the power of accommodation 18 wholly lost; light still passes through the eye, and is focussed on the retina, but only when it comes in parallel rays. Parallel rays It can converge on the re- tina, but divergent rays require that extra re- fractive power which the aged eye has lost by the hardening of the lens. Not asa matter of disease, then, but in the ordinary course ot years, and in every eye alike, is the bodily sight gradually weaned from the scrutiny of near ob- jects around, and permitted to turn a clear vis- ion only upon things far off. Bs ee Jeffersén’s Kip Van Winkle. From Nixhts at the Play—Dutton Cook. ‘The first impression induced by Mr. Jeftersonin this part of Rip concerns his admirable pictu- Tesqueness as ‘an actor. He now seems to be a boor by Tenfers, and now a grotesque figure by Callot, while his aspect in the latter scenes, {ter his awakening from his twenty years’ sleep, conveys suggestions of Tintoret or Titian. He has an ease of movement and a grace of atti- tude that owe nothing, apparently, to pre- meditation, but are yet fnvarlably appro- priate and of invaluable assistance to the iltu- sion of the scene. Hg has that seeming uncon- sciousness of his at mice which is the pecullar possession of cee the first cl: while he is, of course, thoronghly skilled in all the arti- fices ot the stage, displaying his accomplish- ments, however, with rare moderation dis- cernment. His management of his voice is mas- terly; his tones are lom raised above a con- versational level; his distinctness of has about it no show of effort; yet every word he utters comes home to and upon his audi- ence; the humor of his Dutch accent never be- ing forced upon the ear as a thing necessarily demanding laughter, but employed with ease and calm, as though it were in truth insepara- ble ae Ke earde oes natural method ot utterance, iply by his surprising naturalness, indeed, that Sur. Jefferson commands applause in the earlier portions of the play. Rip isatippler and unlettered; he loves the ut of an inherent convivialit but. he is acute-witted enough, and his sense of humor is exceedingly He perceives som comical even in own di lation and. suming the than shamefal; he is amused = him more laughable: by his own apprehensions of his wife's scolding tongue; and though he revyiles his vehement helpmate, it is without real bitterness, witha droll sense, indeed, that he tully ments her worst treatment of him. He is lazy, worthless; he has, ered his. per on ie 3 ab a tavern ‘wife and children are A from LS AND BEARS, Sketch ef the Operators of the New Work Steck Exchange. & TURBULENT SCENE FROM THE GALLERT—“THE DEAR PUBLIC"—YOUTHFUL BROKERS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS—FUN AND FROLIC LY THE HALL—INITIATING A NEW MEMBER—A STRAY COUNTRYMAN OX THE FLOOR—HOW THE QUO. TATIONS ARE TRANSMITTED. “Suppose we take a look at the menagerie?” suggested my Wall street friend. “The menagerie? Where is It?” “Just up the street. Sometimes we call it the bear garden, or the lunatic asylum, for @ change.” By elther of these names, it seems, the New York Stock Exchange ts more familiarly known in the region of bulls and bears than by its Proper name. A stranger entering at a time of excitement in the stock market would certainly consider the last name the most appropriate. At such a time downright madness seems to rule supreme. The scene presented ts one of such clamor, confusion, furions gesticulation and wild surging of the crowds of brokers on the floor that a person witnessing it for the first time might very naturally regard the roaring, hustling, bellowing throng as a mass meeting of violent lunatics. Standing in the gallery provided for the pub- lic, and looking down upon the three or four hundred men who struggle and shout and scramble below, the stranger may well wonder what all the tumult is about, and whether any. real business can be done in the midst of such mad confusion. It seems impossible that these men can understand each other. They are scattered in swaying groups over the floor of the large chamber, and almost every man in each group appears to be in desperate alterca- tion with his neighbor. A hundred hands are shaking violently before a hundred faces: a hundred throats are roaring as though their owners were 80 Many screaming dervishes; and, to make the deafening din still greater, squads of well-grown boys rush hither and thither be- tween the groups, calling brokers by name in the highest and shrillest key their voices can command. Surely no bedlam ever presented a more turbulent scene or one more dazing and bewildering to an unaccustomed mind than may be witnessed at the Stock Exchange when the excitements of a field day stir up the spirits of the bulls and bears. About ninety years ago—in 1792--this famous institution was established. Ifthe ruin it has wrought, financially and morally, as well as the fo it has done—the millions that have been lost, and the fortunes that have been made through its instrumentality—the brains that have been turned, the hearts that have been crushed, and the homes that have been de- stroyed, or made prosperous and bright since speculation began within its walls—if all these could be ascertained and fittingly described, they would form an impregsive and valuable study for philanthropist or economist. It is, and always has been, a sort of maeistrom, in which argosy after argosy has been engulfed and utterly wrecked; and yet so powerful is the charm of speculation that all the costly lessons which the Stock Exchange has tauzht have failed to warn inexperienced mariners from its dangerous straits, where Soylla surely awaits them on one side, and Charybdis as surely on the other. Strangers visiting the Stock Exchange always express surprise at the youthfulness of the men by whom the enormous business of the place is transacted. Hearing so often of THE MONEY KINGS OF NEW YORK, ‘nd naturally picturing to themselves solid looking men, well on in middle life as the bulls and bears in the great Stock Market, they are astonished at finding merely a multitude of young men, most of whom have the appearance of clerks, and any one of whom will, on the slightest provocation, yell at an unknown visl- tor ilke a Comanche or Apache savage. The magnates of the street. who are the men we all read about in the newspapers, are hardly ever seenin theExchange,and some even are not mem- bers of it. They generally remain in the back- ground, concoct their plans in little private offices, and issue instructions to their various brokers as a general issues orders to his subalt- erns on & battlefleld. One of these magnates may have haifa dozen brokers employed in the Exchange at the same time, without one of the six men knowing that five others are executing orders from the same man that employs him. It is by the secrecy of their operations that the leading bulls and bears achieve iene suc- cess; and, in order that there shall be no leakage of information, they keep all their plans and urposes to themselves. The whole number of ‘okers who have the privilege of trading in the Exchange 1s about one thousand, while the number of operators recognized as leaders prob- ‘bly does not exceed twenty-five or thirty. These are the captains who organize and conduct cam- paigns; the others are the rank and file who do the fighting—bellowing and goring, or growling and squeezing, according to their classification under the signs of Taurus and Ursus. THE ADMISSION. A broker desiring to become a member of the Exchange Is required to undergo a sort of in- quisition before a committee, in order that his qualifications may be determined. He must also make a full statement of his business affairs and satisfy the committee that he is in a proper financial condition. If he passes the ex- amination successfully, he must then purchase a seat in the board, or, in other words, pay for the privilege of membership. This privilege is an x , At the present timea seat costs ,000 to $30,000, which must be paid be- fore the purchaser can do any business in the change. The value of seats varies according to the demand. If a broker fails in business he can neither use his seat nor sell it until his alfairs are settled; the seat Is held as part of his assets, and may be sold for tle beneilt of his creditors. “Seat.” by the way, is a misnomer, for seats would only be in tle way during the daily battles on the floor. It requires very stringent rules to keep the lively gentlemen of the Exchange within any bonnds of propriety. A stockbroker, though he be thirty years old (and not many are much beyond this age) is just ag sure to be in mischiet as an irrepressible school boy, unless business or the rules of the board deter him. He is a (plane and exuberant animal, who finds delight PRANKS AND PECCADILLOS, and looks upon the playing of practical jokes almostasaduty. Anecdotesinnumerable might be told to illustrate his penchant for fan and frolic. When not engaged in bulling or bearing stocks, he ts pretty sure to be found indulging in some wild sort of capers with the boys, this being the familiar and standard term for his as- sociates. Now and then, when business is dull, he starts a war whoop, in which he is quickly Joined by oes ett and presently he and the fifty are skylarking all over the hall. If the season be the end of summer, when the time for discarding white hats is supposed to have arrived, and a member enters with one of these objects on his head, it is sure to come to grief immediately. Before he is fairly inside a howl of derision 1s raised, and the hat knocked off and kicked in turn by every foot that can reach it. The owner takes all this as a matter of course, and seldom loses his temper over it, even though he himself be hustled all over thi hall atter his hat. Next day he may have a chance to retaliate, and certainly he will not al- low it to pass unimproved, ENTRANCE OF A NEW MEMBER. ‘The entrance of anew member affords a gala time to the boys. He must be inittated without delay,,and, as he knows thisbetorehand, he pre- pares himself for the ordeal The moment he enters, a signal, that all understand, is given by some one near him. It is no sooner heard through the hall than a wild, demoniac yell is raised, and the new comer is instantly sur- rounded by @ scrambling, , Shoving crowd. His hat 1s likely to hegrens a ct of attack. The brokers seem to have an- uw y to hats when the mood for frolic is on. If they do not crush the neophyte'’s felt or castor Ofer Hisleyos, Cheyiare eure fo pend t= to the some sixty feet above, and each it is turned heavenward with an it comes ‘down exultant shout. lar and neck tie have disappeared, his hat Ie battered uttesly out of shape, his coat is efther rent down the back or deprived ofa skirt, one of his boots, If not both, Company with his feet, and bis vest and linen ‘re mussed in a way to make a proper house- wife groan with despair. But the onleal is now Past, the new man has become a broker in good standing and is ready an hour later to join his Persecutors in new mischief or to contribute his share to the uproar ofa struggle between bulis and bears. A STRANGER GETS IN AND GETS OUT. But there ts no delight so enjoyable to these mischievous merrymakers as that of catching a stray countryman on the floor. The Stock Ex- change seems to have particular attractious for our bucolic friends coming te town on a visit. They have heard a great deal about it, and, being in town, they want to see what it is. It is against the rules for any pereon not a member to goupon thefloor, but occasionally a gentleman. from t “rural deestricks,” ped with carpetbag and umbrella, and’ knowing nothing about this rule, slips past the doorkeeper un- noticed. But if the doork: overlooks him, the boys do not. The instant he is seen two or three brokers move quietly between him and the door, and then elbow and push him forward, apparently by accident, until they get bim a considerable distance from it. One of them then cries out: ew Tennessees!” The meaning of this is known to all. signal that a stranger is on the floor. the whole business of the place is suspended, a terrific yell is raised—one that would do creuit | to any band of cavages on the continent—and the frightened and bewildered countryman flads himself pitched and hustled hither and up and down, across and around, b: screaming, lanzhing crowd, and, ward, he may see his hat danc airin one direction, his carpethar and his venerable umbrella in a thir tunately for the stranger, there is help at hand. One of the doorkeepers das! he crowd, grasps him_ by the collar and pulis him force to the door, whither his hat, ae and umbrella follow him, and he makes his way to the street as quickly as he can, hardly know- | ing whether he has escaped from'a hand of In- dians or a lunatic asylum, but very glad to have escaped at all. It is very rarely that any one is injured in these sports of the brokers. The play may be somewhat rough, but there 1s no inten- tion to hurt,and nerves and clothing suffer about the only damage that ts done. HOW REPORTS ARE MADE. At one end of the main hall, and facing the gallery, is a spacious rostrum, where seats and desks are provided for the officers of the Board. | At this rostrum most of the official business of | the Exchange fs transacted. But the brokers do not seem to have much more respect for offi- clal than for personal character. All formal an- nouncements tothe Board are made by an officer, generally the chairman. The brokers are scat- tered in groups over the hall, buying and sell- ing,and keeping upadin that swells through the whole building gnd out to the sur- rounding streets. A notice, perhaps of a failure, is to be read, and the chairman rises with a plece of jee in one hand and a large gavel, that looks like a carpenter's mallet, in the other. He pounds—not merely raps—on a desk with the gavel for several seconds before the brokers come toorder. One after another the groups separate, and the men crowd up in front of the rostrum. They become comparatively quiet. (They are never wholly so.) The chairman Teads something from a plece of paper. If the communication be an important one, they at- tend with considerable interest. If it be insig- nificant, they simply receive it with a howl of | derision, a sort of prolonged “A-a-a- that rings and reverberates through the hall, and, in less time than it took to read the notice, the groupsare formed again, and the struggle of bulls and bears is resumed. Often the announcement of a failure has no other effect upon them than t cit a thunder- | ing “B-a-a-h!” followed by a lo: loud laugh. But it is not indifference to a comrade’s misfor- tune that causes the boys to act in this manner when he gets into trouble. THE SMALL BOYS. During business hours in the Exchange the entrances to the hall present the spectacle ot a continuous stream of men and boys passing in and out, each human atom in the stream appar- ently impelled bya conviction that to go at everything like the rush of atempest is the chief object of existence. The men are mostly brokers, going to the floor or returning from it, and the boys are messengers, whose business is to carry notes from the board tothe various offices In the neighborhood or vice versa. The boys are in uniform, and are employed by acom- pany. They are not permitted onthe floor among the brokers, where they would be in the way, but stand behind a railing that separates the privileged from the unprivileged, ready to fly off like young Mercuries the instant an order is given. Another class of boys, larger than the mes- sengers, mingle with the surging group of brokers. Their business is to call out the names of brokers who are wanted by messengers at the railing, and to deliver notes on the floor. The vocal powers of these youthsis simply tre- mendous. No matter how deafening the clamor may be, they have no difficulty in pitching their voices above it. They walk quickly through the hall, past one group after another, with head thrown back, mouth open, and’ yoice raised almost to a yell, shouting the name of some one who is wanted, and this is kept up from ten in the morning till four in the after- noon. If their throats cannot stand the exer- cise better than the ears which hear them in the gallery, their region of thorax and larynx is probably often out of order. REPORTING QUOTATIONS. In different parts of the hall, but so placed as not to be in the way of the brokers, telezraphic instruments are in constant operation, At each instrument sits an operator, and each operator is assisted by a reporter, whose business ts to visit the pours on the floor (each active stock has a place and group of its own) and ascertain the various transactions, These are quickly re- ported to the operator, who immediately trans- mits them to a central office, where they are in- stantly repeated upon wires which connect with hundreds of “indicators” in brokers’ offices, banks, hotels, and even private residences throughout the city. By the aid of the indica- tors, and, In many cases, by the use of the tele- It isa Instantly hone, the course of the market may watched ag accurately in a hotel or private house anywhere up town as in the Exchange Itself. The transmission of quotations is almost instantaneous and gen- erally correct. The indicator points on a paper tape the name of the stock or security (not the full name, of course, but the abbreviation by which the stock is pore) sae the price for the moment, immediately the transaction is made. Many speculators of the smaller class and some of the larger content themselves with observing the course of the market as it is shown by an indicator two or three miles away from Wall! street and iphing instructions to their brokers instead of visiting them person- ally. In almost any of our large hotels, croups ot eager watchers may be seen around the stock indicator during business hours at the Ex- change, intently watching the quotations as they successively appear. These men are all of “the dear public” and there is scarcely one among them who has not lost money by the fascinations of stock gambling. How to Breathe in Heading. From the Saturday Review. M. Legouve tells the anecdote of Talma watch- ing the actor Dorival from the prompter's box until he had discovered his secret, which con- sisted in always taking a fresh breath before the | balk-line tournament. silver galloon of old days beset by ‘There tived at this time (early in the preseng century), In New Orleans, John and Pierre L& Atte. John, the younger, but more conspicuous of the two, was a handsome man, fair, with black hair and eyes, wearing his beard, as the fashion was, shaven neatly back from the fron$ of the face. His manner was generaily courte ous, though he was trascible and in graver mo- ments somewhat harsh. He spoke fluently Eng_ Ush, Spanish, Italian and French, using them’ with much affability at the hotel where he ne- sided, and indicating, the peculiarities of nia French, his nativity in the city ot Bordeaux. The elder brother was a sea-faring man and had served in the French navy. have been every way less shows but beyond doubt both men were above the oc- cupation with which they began life in Lonist- ana. This was the trade of blacksmith, though at their forge, on the corner of St. Philip and Bourbon strosts, probably none but slave hands swung the sledge or shaped the horse-shoe. It during the embargo enforced by the United State government in 1808, that Joba Lafitte began to be a merchant. His store waa in Royal street, where, behind a show of legiti- mate trade, he was busy running the embargo witn goods and Africans. He wore the dis- | guise carelessly. He wag cool and intrepid and had only the courts to evade, aud his une lawful adventures did not . - - . . John and Pierre Lafitte t e the commer. clal agents of the nd by they were their actual ¢ 1 Teal prose perity for the band enrich and fre- quent, and slave vin Lafitte did not sels, 8 and He equ ther through the De Ps with boldness and sagacity. The Mississippi's “coasts” in the parishes of St. James and St. John Ri were often astir with bis known pi his smaller vessels sometimes rior as far as Lac des Allemands. value of popular admiration was often at country balls, where he ¢ i the fame of great riches and courage, and seduced many of the simple tan youth to sail in his cruisers, His two principal captains were Belchue and Dominique You. “Capt. Dominique” was small, graceful, fair, of a pleasant, even attrac and a skillful sailor, There were also handsome Italian, who died only afew years ago at the old pirate village of Chiniere Caml- nada, and Rigoult,a dark Frenchman, whore ancient house still stands on Grande isle, = island next to Grande Terre on the west.” ‘An yet again Johnness and Johannot, unless— which appenrs likely—these were only the real names of Dominique and Belchue. abdicate w LLAARD-PLAVERS SAX. AT THE Commenting on the Chicago Contest and the Coming Tournament, From the New York Times, April 10. Wm. Sexton, Joseph Dion and Maurice Daly, the billiard experts, arrived last night trom Chi- cago, and unanimously expressed to a Timesre- porter thelr satisfaction with the success of the They utterly scouted the idea that the decisive game of F Ing was not a real contest between Vignaux and and Daly declared that this int‘mation in a Chicazo paper originated with some one who had taken umbraze at Schacier, and had previously criticised his dress and ner ing published letter signed “Spect Dion sald Vignaux got somewhat ward the last of the match,but that Schaefer also outgathered and outnursed him. As to the general conduct of the tournament, Sexton said that Vignaux had no cause for complaint, except that he bee lieved the Frenchman’s request for a new set of balls should have been granted. Sexton con- sidered Vignaux a wonderful player, and ex- he would win. Vienaux was the sorest_ man he had ever seen lose a game, and that* people should ay that he “threw” it made him feel still more sore. Sexton sald, too, that there was very little bet- ting on the match, and of the many games he had witnessed he never knew one on which there was so little money wagered. Sexton, who had to be contented with the tourth prize of $300, sald he was sick during the first three days of the tournament, and besides he was not in good play. Daly, who captured the third prize of $500, had been playing two months a the balk-line game. Dion was not in the best of trim. In regard to the tournament in thiscity, begin- ning May 14th and lasting a fortnight, Sexton prophesied that it would be as big a success as the Chicago tournament. He thought that people would be better pleased with a cushion- carom game on a4%¢ by 9 table than with @ balk-line match. The former style of billiard- playing afforded opportunities for a more pril- liant game and there was not so mach chance for nursing. _All the experis of note, with the exception of Slosson, would participate in the tournament, id Sexton thought there would be @ different result from that at Chicago. The record of the champton at custion caroms was 77, and Sexton thought that 100 would be run at the New York tournament, and that there would be an average of from 6 to 8. Vignanx and Scherfer will come to New York after their matches tn St. Lonts and Cincinnati, and about the middie of next week a mecting of the experts to arrange the details of the tournament will be held in this ‘city, Tammany Hall will be the scene of the contest, and the prizes will be the same as at Chicago. The number of points has not yet been decided upor The Epic of the Shad. George Alfred Townsendtin New York Tribune. In an old country shad would come In with o fete day. The world has not their equal for fine- ness, indescribable freshness like a wate and delicacy, yet with en ing potenc; shad 1s the measure of the representative family, ‘The father's partiality is shown where he gives most of the roe. From birth to bones the shad's epic is like a silve: spirit; nolsclons, translucent, unresisting, like the passage of the moon through the rivers and the sea. Migratory, but with childhood memories of locality, fruitful religiously, and even in the dream of young children and large gentle families, they seem like the spring lambs of the water, grazing the infinite fields of sheen. What dangers they puss through, going and returning, the innocents in the time of Herod never had. Provided with nothing to make battle, with tiny teeth and miniature fins, they course the ocean like 4 fected by the saints. Although the royal at feasts and ae een te prot. fixe al enduring nobility, peasant-born. martyred menhaden is their cousin, the herring is their step-brother. To see them caught Is like seeing angels fall; so peacefully, so ingly; and in the butcher's shamble the: flashe carry upon their delicate armor the lizht of sk! ———_—-e- _____ Hair Growing After Death. From the New York Herald. Most people understand that bair does some- times grow after death, but there are, few who know that there i+ a very consid growth in at least one-third of the cases where bodies are interred in the usual manner. A best to conceal the Beglantng fe acct Gone his | was told. by Ovcar. Wilde at a vay starting whenever he could onan a, ane or an | New York which illustrates this fact. o—“that is to say, at the point where the fact Gabriel Dante Rossetti wae v mung —* of the mouth already open makes it more than a boy—said . Wilde, possible to take breath lightly without the | in love with a jon ved.” Again, Delle Sedie, | gift.heranga: singer, could run up and down | Verses to her. the scale in front ot a lighted le without the maanens the flame wavering. How is this done? It ——- is because he employs exactly quan- | in etry te it roe I igh ra pen by, end the notes. you or ‘were A it we should simply waste our breath. In | every line of his composition os on “ ” BM. mauve in- eS ee sists, and the point can hardly be too m asked bim for of poem Wired eign | pressed, on the value, the absolute need in , | buried. He kept no or they of clear articulation’ as to mere exer- | been lost. At all eventa, he could furnish none, tion of voice. This he til by a story of and when they asked him to rewrite the verses Bouffe when he was playing Pere Grandet inthe | he declared that he was utterly unable to do 80. “fille del "Avare.” ‘he came to the most | At last his friends importuned him for touching scene of the when the old miser | sion aes the finds that he is robbed, actor began to | bumed. He consented ‘some scream out the words as he was accustomed to. | @ll the necessary preliminaries having At the end of a few minutes the sound died | complied with, the grave, which had beensealed away on his lips, and_he was compelied to con- | for many years, ms soe ees eee - tinue ina murmur. What happened? That he ere ee fog 0 casket was ore Proven