Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1884, Page 3

= THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. C s TUESDAY, DEC é F a EMBER 23, 188/-DOUBLE SHEET Ladies’ Room Attachments to Drink- ing Saloons. From the New ¥ 2 drink oon, one euters a sh tibale, with a| amail door at the si | wu mnpanied ersal of thy not admit- nary Warning ntlemen is ex- | sily-furnished | the small door opens, es- | ping hours. The interior | th the adjoining saloon, and is at such times with ladies enjoy- refreshments. Singly, in pairs, | and in groups of three or four, they occupy Uttle mahogany tables, with their glasses before | them, while some are induiging in cigarettes. | T contain beer, but there is a ic ¢ of stronger beverages to In- d habit on the part of the fair + a male escort is ob- another of the little tables, rt solely occupied | by tashior dressed women, some with pack- ages of recent purchases, and others with no such indication that the ence in the drink- ing den is incidental! rather than premeditated. | ‘AS a reporter recently entered one of these | retreats, duly chaneroned, there was a subdued | hum of conversation like the sott murmur of a| summer hive at noon. A white-aproned waiter | of obsequious demeanor, who had entered by @ ground-giass panelled door trom the adjoining suloon,wastaking the orders of a group of three ladies whd had just appropriated one of the ta- bies. Of a dozen or more others who were dis- cussing beverages around them, one was enjoy- ing a piate of Swiss cheese and anotler a sar- dine sandwich, and three young ladies in expen- sive sealskins and towering hat plumage, were laz rcivarettes over delicate-looking compounds that were airily suggestive of a vinous or alcoholic base. It was late in the afternoon. “1 must really be goi aR often crowded irig clandesti ing now, dears,” said one a party of ntly rising, after fin- ishing her beer anc up her packages. “Ihave been here two hours already, and will barely have time to see to the dinner before my husband comes home from his business.” “Stay for one more,” urged one of her com- panions. “You lave now the holiday displays and the consequent crush in the stores as an excuse for late shopping. you know.” “No, thanks; I've tried that on twice already, and my hasband is too’ wide-awake to put up mn. Good-by, and remember you both owe me a visit.” There was a little ripple of regrets and adieux ‘as she tore herself away. Then the solitary occupant of a table in the Femotest corner. whom the reporter had not heretofore noticed—a very pretty voung woman in mourning. but with feverishly dushed cheeks | and sparkling eyes—sicnaled the attendant to her side and ordered ‘a little more whisky and seltzer” in a low, musical voice. “Id hate tobe married and have to hurry home at arezulation hour, like a slave,” ob-| served one of the cigarette smokers, in’ com- ment upon the lady who had taken her depart- ure in response to duty’s still small voice. 1 “0 woul panions. arely asks me where I have been when I get home late. It he does, I've al- Ways @ purchase or two as an explanation, and he drinks so much himself when down town that he can’t discover anything in my breath when I kiss him. “You should both rather wish to be married, as Iam, to a man who is not over inquisitive,” said the third, with a complacent smile. “Harry is the very soul of consideration, and spends the most of the time at his clab when Rot at his office or playing billiards down town. Waiter, you may repeat these, if you please.” Every few minutes ladies were quitting the place and their seats were occupied by new comers. There was a constant rustle of skirts, mingled with every-day small talk and com: ?ments upon the retreshments produced. Dur- ing one of the most bustling of these changes the pretty young woman in mourning furtively repeated her order, and shrank yet deeper into her corner, with her lace handkerchief half hiding the glass that was presently raised to her lips by the daintlest of gioved hands. “I have been here a number of times, though never to remain more than a few minutes,” said the reporter's companion. “The majority of the ladies you have seen coming and going are perfectly innocent in seeking refreshment here. They are really tired out with shopping or making a w some round of visits, and merely drop in for a glass of beer or a bite of something palat: But many of those you have seen I should say are habitues. I have never been here without seeing those cigarette smokers, who probably visit the place every afternoon, weather per- mitting. The aristocratic-looking elderly lady Yonder, with the little girl fondling a new doil at her side, must come here quite as often. The little girl invariably accompanies her, and may be her grandchild. The two attractive women, with their heads together while imbibing some- thing or other through straws, are likewise nearly always together.and I think the plumper and more stylish of the two is the young wife ot an old and very rich broker, who doubtless imagines her wholly engrossed with an every-day shopping mania, without su: cting the real nature of the attraction that eeps her from her home and children. As for | the pretty little widow over there in the corner, she is Mrs. —. and 1 think she must be the oldest and steadiest frequenter of this retreat. I take it she is nowa widow by reason of the weeds she wears so becomingly, although a year or more ago. when I first remarked her here, she was invariably accompanied by her hus- band, something of aswell, and a well-known man about town, And then she drank nothing but champagne, which he paid for carelessly enon; though partaking but sparingly him- self. w her fortune seems to nave under- gonea decided chanze. By the way did you no- tice the hesitancy with which the waiter filled her last order? Idid. It was slight, but un- mistakable.” There was scarcely a vacant seat at the little tables as the reporter and his companion took their departure, and the pretty widow, purse in hand, appeared to be holding a half-smiling, low-voiced arzument with the white-aproned attendant, Who had just taken up her glass and was reluctantly considering the propriety of its Teplenishment. Subsequently one of the proprietors of the sa- loon was questioned by the reporter. “There are twelve or fifteen saloons with side accommodations for lady tipplers, like ours, on this avenue, between 10th and $2d streets, and then there are others seattered all over up town according to the demand. In fact, with- out the ladies’ room attachment our afternoon trade would be apt to go a-begging. Yes, they come at night, too. out we're mighty circum- spect whom we admit after dark, an@ would sooner thes would come at such times under escort. But, taken altogether, ladies’ custom Is very desirable. With hardly an exception— only know of one—they are as quiet and or- derly as kittens, take what is set before ‘em witlout a growl, and pay their shots like thoroughbreds. Beer is their favorite drink, but the majority of ‘em know good liquor from bad as suddenly as an old rounder, and, in the way of mixed drinks, one has only to study the | dear creatures’ tastes attentively, and then cul- | tivate up to ‘em, to make study customers of chance droppers-in. Oh, yes, the shoppers’ trade is a paying one, and don’t you forget it.” The reporter mentioned the case of Mrs. —, the young widow at wwich the saloon keeper at once betrayed signs of perturbation and un- easiness. “Oh, yes, Mrs. whom Jack ‘3 widow a year or +o ago!” he exclaimed impa- tently. “She used to be a perfect little gem, coming here in a coach along with her husband, and making the champagne fly. But now she’s getting vulgar, sir positively vulgar. Twice she’s got so full in there that one of the waiters has had to he!p her to a horse car, and it’s only ® question ot time before she'll have to be kept out altogether. That woman is a regular temperance lecture in petticoats. First it was & coach and champegne. Then it was sherry | and bitters. Jack’s dead, and funds running low—see? Then it was brandy and water. Now it’s whisky—ordinary rye whisky, you know, with a dash of seltzer. So it goes step by step, and each a little lower down. The next and last one will follow, and then-the final tumbie.” “What is the next and last step?” “Gin and water. After reaching that the career is altogether in one direction,” be continued with a significant gesture of his thumb toward the neighboring gutter, “and it’s mostly at a railroad jox at that. Thay nerally give into it, with mighty little to de- @ency, when they get down to gin and water.” left From the Philadelphia Call. Eloping Daughter—“But, pa, hear me. “My husband is not an ordinary tamily coachman.” Irate Pa—“Oh, you ungrateful hussy! Don’t ettempt to defend yourself or 'il—T'll do some- thing terri Seek not forgiveness. Leave me; leave mé and never show your face again. ‘The idea of a child of mine running off and mar- rying @ coachman!” “But he is not, pa. He never worked in any family. He is a licensed hack-driver.” “Worse and worse. Oh, that I had" —— “But he don’t live in this city, pa.” “What difference does that make? The dis- He is a hack-driver at Niagara Falls.” “Ob, bless you, my children?” A FRISKY LOT OF CAMELS, Mr. T. S. Vaniderstine’s Experiment— He Imports Thirteen Camels for Breeding Purposes—Lively Scenes in € den—Three Men Hurt and | Show-window Smashed. From the Phila Times. A drove of thirteen camels, belonging to Theodore 8. Vaniderstine, who bought them for breeding purposes, injured three men and wrecked the show-window of Martindale's drug store in Camden yesterday. Two months ago Mr. Vaniderstine, an eccentric gentleman, who made a fortune by brewing weisa beer, ordered Carl Hagenbeck, the tamous European deaier in wild Animals, to purchase fifteen cam- els for him. Two died crossing the ocean. The remaining thirteen reached New York last Thursday and arrived in Camden late on Satur- day night. They cost Mr. Vaniderstine $10,000. exclusive of the doctor bills of their victims and Drusgist Martindale’s window account. Around the neck of each camel is a circle of wire, holding a tin tag bearing the name of the animal to which it is attached. Before they were unloaded yesterday their owner said that Mr. Hagenbeck had assured him by letter that they were “thoroughly domesticated.” A few hours later Mr. Vaniderstine was wondering Now an un- tamed camel would behave upon being released from a railroad car. At daybreak Charles Mellon, Joel ¥. Prentiss, Arnold McDevitt and two or three other men made preparations to take the camels out of the stock car. The first camel came out without much trouble and siid sprawling down the gang-plank to the ground. “Juliet.” the second. was stubborn, and refused to budge. While Melion thumped her ribs with enon Poll his assistants poked her ribs and legs. ‘MR. PRENTISS’ SENSATIONAL ACT. Finally she squared around at Mellon, and when she brayed he jumped out of the car. Prentiss took advantage of the change in “Ju- liet’s” position and pushed her stoutly from be- hind. In an instant one of ‘Juliet’s” hind legs stretched out horizontally until it looked like a telegraph pole. Mr. Vaniderstine yelted: there.” The warning, however, came too late. “‘Juliet’s” foot struck Prentiss in the breast and he was sent fiying against the side of the car. Prentiss was so close to “Juliet” that he was not seriously hurt aud he managed to get out while she was kicking wildly at her mates. None of the men could be induced to enter the car after Prentiss’ adventure. Then the men hid, leaving the car door open. “Juliet” scrambled down the run to the ground and the others fol- lowed her. The forces of Mr. Vaniderstinecame from their places of concealment and endeavored to corral the *‘ships of the desert” in a corner. One careened against McDevitt, knocking him down, and halfa dozen other romped over his body. One tramped on his left shoulder and bruised it severely. in an hour all of the camels except “Julftt” had been captured and tied to a fence. “Juliet” ran up and down the yard, kicking viciously at space. While Mr. Vaniderstine’s men were cau- tiously pursuing her, her captive companions that were moored to the fence stampeded, pull- ing a section or it down. ne this time a crowd of spectatorsgathered and from a distance en- Joyed the hunt. “Juliet” was caught at last and was with the others tied to a rope, when they were wheeled ‘nto single file and the procession started for the livery stable of Joseph Franklin, on 2d street, below Market. After learning of the dangerously frisky behavior of the brutes when they got out of the car Mr. Franklin con- “Hi! Look out j cluded that it would uot be safe to keep them over night. Mr. Vaniderstine decided to take them to his own stable, on West Cooper street, near Cooper’s creek. 4 PROCESSION OF CAMELS. Tied as they were to tue long rope the camels strung out like a circus parade. Mellon led the first beast and the others followed meekly enough for the first square or two. Mellon, how- ever, was nervous and kept one eye over his shoulder, fearing, no doubt, that the camels would suddenly charge on him. At the corner of 8th street Juliet let out again and as no human beings were in the way her heels struck the nose of the next camel in the procession. A few minutes later the camels were scared by a passing wagon. A big camei, marked Hannibal, broke his hal- ter strap and rushed straight at Martindale's drug store. When his head went through the show window a big bottle filled with red water was smashed to bits. The clerk {scuttled down cellar and a man who was drinking hot soda at the founiain yelled “Shoo!” and threw a tum- bler at the “giraffe.” as he called Hannibal. The camel, after crippling Mellon by stepping on his foot. was again tied in line and the drove reached the stable without further trouble. They were driven into the barn and fed. The owner of the heard that arrived in Cam- den believes that the camel, not the horse, should be man’s chief beast of burden. and he predicts that within a few years they will be in general use all oyer this country. Mr. Vanid- erstene declares that the camel is hardier brute than people generally suppose, and when his attention was called to the way they shivered yesterday when the chilly wind blew off tufts of theirragzed coats,hesaid: ‘Oh,they'll get usedto that, and when once acclimated they will stand More severe weather as a mustang or an Arablan horse.” This morning the camels will be removed to Mr. Vaniderstine’s tarm in Ocean county, part of which the owner admits is ‘as sandy and de late as any spot in the Vesert of Sahara.” F've mea, under command of “Jack” Douglass, an animal-keeper belonging to John O’Brien’s circus winter quarters, have been engaged to take the animals to Ocean county. CAMELS ON JERSEY HIGHWAYS. ‘The camels will be broken to harness, but will not be expected to do much work, as their owner has imported them specially for breeding purposes. Two genuine dromedary saddles came with the beasts, and Mr. Vaniderstine declares that he will be seated in one on the back ot a galloping camel before the week is out. Mr. Vaniderstine is the New Jersey gentleman who a few years ago talked of raising ostriches for their feathers. He imported two birds as an experiment, but they died within a week afterhe got them. He still has faith in ostrich raising, however, and says he was swindled in the birds he imported, they having been raised in an artificially-heated apartment of a Euro- pean zoological garden. Had they been “‘accus- tomed to cold,” he says, “I would have ‘em now; but camels are stouter, and I'll raise oo of ’em to stock Jersey—if I have good jack.” ——____+e-______ FROM CALIFORNIA ON HORSEBACK A Girl of 20 Riding Alone Half Way Acrows the Continent. A telegram trom Dubuque, Iowa, December 14th, says: A woman about 20 years of age, riding a spirited horse with a yearling colt, be- hind which a little dog trotted, appeared here to-day. She said that her name was Ida Law- son. Her parents had died In California, and she had resolved to go to her relatives in Wis- consin. She started on horseback six months ago, carrying a revolver until she reached Den- ver, where she sold it. Miss Lawson’s destina- tion was Green Lake, Wis., which place she left with her sister for California in 1883. They took a horse, buggy, and colt, and arrived in San Francisco on September 19, 1883. She leftthere on May 19, 1884. ‘The horse and colt she had here to-day were those takenfrom Wisconsin. She had no com- panion at any time onthe homeward Journey, and used a sheepskin for a saddle. The object of her tripin this novel way was to bring back the mare and colt and the novelty of crossin; the mountainsalone. Miss Lawson has a pood education, is prepossing In appearance, and ladylike in manners. She will reach her home on Thursday next. sq __ WOULD-BE REGICIDES, ‘Two Instances of How Pleasant It Must Be to Rule a Nation, From the Pall Mall Gazette. An attempt has been made upon the life of the had succeeded in poisoning him, and he would clea A i een that the fact was dis- cov in time e it counter-poison ad- ‘istered. The most energetic m ts had, however, to be employed, and, though the life of the emperor is saved, his co! ition Was severely shaken, aud such grave fears enter- tained that various members of the Imperial Coren were immediately’ summoned to St. ‘There ts my currences at the night of the late alarm was raised. over the recent oc- Laeken, where on communal elections a great indleponttion mentiong tn he. court nervous news of the was receiving required, the ae j Tior to those in the United States. FOREIGN PAUPER LABOR, Comparisons of Wages in the United States and Europe—The Better Pay and the Improved Conditions of Living of American Workingmen— Figares Taken from the Official Con- Beports. In the voluminous review recently sent to the House of Representatives of the reports from consuls of the United States in relation to the state.of labor in Europe, Secretary Frelinghuy- sen says: “It appears, comparing cities of Europe with those of the United States, that bricklayers and masons in Chicago are paid very nearly three times the wages; plasterers, nearly four times; slaters, three times; plumbers, nearly three times; carpenters, twice; blacksmiths, twice; bookbinders, more than twice; brickmakers, nearly three times; brass-founders and cabinet- makers, nearly twice: confectioners, twice; cigar makers, nearly three times; coopers, once and a half as much; draymen, teamsters and street railway drivers, nearly twice; dyers, more than twit engravers, nearly three times; furriers, orse shoers, three and one-haif times; jewelers, more than one and one-half times; laborers, porters, etc., more than twice; litho- graphers, three times; telegraph operators, twice and one-haif; sailmakers, more than twice; print- ers. twice and one-half; saddlers and harness- makers, more than one and one-half times; steve- dores, more thau twice and one-fourth times; tailors, twice, and tinsmiths once and three- fourths wages paid to similar trades and callings in London.” COMPARATIVE COST OF LIVING. Relative to the prices of necessaries of life, the secretary says: “It is frequently asserted that the cheapness of living in Europe more than equalizes the lower wages there paid. In the volume on labor in Europe published by this department in 1878 it was shown that the prices of food in the United'States were actually Jower than in Europe and that the working classes in the United States could purchase more and better ailment, dollar for dollar, than the working classes of any country. in Eu- rope. The contrary impression 1s probably due to the fact that the working people of Europe live more cheaply than the working people of the United States, from which it is inferred that the purchasing power of their wages is greater than the purchasing power of similar wages here. It appears from the reports that the American workman consumes more and better food than the mechanic or laborer abroad, and that the cost of this food is assmall in the United States as in Europe. “It should be borne in mind inmaking a com- parison that the better classes of food—the beef, mutton, veal, butter and rice—are not only for the most part cheaper in the great cities of the United States than in Europe, but they are here daily necessaries for the table of the better grade of skilled workman, rarely absent 1 from some one meal of the day, and often present at the morning and evening meal, while the concurrent testimony is that even to the best paid working classes of Europe they are, in the main, luxuries which are seldom en- joyed. The lower classes of Europe usually eat dark or black bread, so that even wheat flour and wheat may be set aside with the! meats as furnishing no sufficient cases for com- parison. The working classes of Europe live mainly on black or rye bread, potatoes, cheap coffee and tea, vegetable soups, and lard and olive oils of alow urade take the place of butter. The standard noonday meal of the workingmen ot Mayence is thus given by Con- sul Smith: ‘Potatoes anda little meat with peas or beans cooked together, in the form of a thick soup, to which a little green cabbage or lettuce is sometimes added. This dish they eat day after day, with very little change in the character of its contents or inthe manner of preparation. This is the dinner eaten at his work. The food of the wife and children at home issaid tobe cheaper and less nutritious.” CO-OPERATION AND CLOTHING. “It should not be torgotten that the manipu- lation of the food supplies, after they reach England, is conducted on the most economic plan, under the beneficent control of the great co-operative societies, Everything is done that can be done to bring the producer and con- sumer as directly and closely together as_possl- ble, and the competition for custom which pre- vails keeps the handling cost at the lowest pos- sible minimum, so that the prices of the co- operative stores of England approximate to wholesale prices elsewhere. “In general, clothing cam be purchased cheaper in Europe than in the United States, especially clothing of the higher grade: AS to relative quantity and quality of clothing the basis for an identical comparison do not exist. ‘The same influence which prompts the higher aid workman In the United States to purchase ‘tter and more varied food than his European comrade extends also to Ins clothing, for he buys more and better garments, RESIDENCES AND RENTS. “House rent in Europe is apparently lower than here, but the habitations are usually infe- In Dundee, one of the most thriving industrial centers in Europe, 23,760 persons live in 8,720 houses of one room each; 74,374 persons live in 16,187 houses of two rooms each. Of workingmen’s houses in Manchester, Consul Shaw write: ‘Great numbers of houses visited by me con- tained only one living room, and this served as arior, kitchen, dining-room, sitting-room, and, in some instant also as bed-room.” Secretary Frelinghuysen continues: “The question of artisans’ dwellings in Great Britain has of late vears attracted a very large share of public and legislative attention; and in no coun- try in the world has the general government, in the direction of their amelioration, been more earnest and more successful.” FIGURES FOR THE CONTINENT. “On the continent, where the conditions of life are not only widely different from those of England, but exhibit wide contrasts in the sev- eral countries, and even in the several !ocal dis- tricts of the same country, opportunities for identical comparison with analogous conditions in the United States are rarer, and tables of relative rentals do not afford trustworthy means of estimating general results. There, as here, the question is one of locality, and the amount ot physical comfort obtainable by the individual is measured as much by the ability to purchase and the extent of the demand as by the nature ot the accommodation offered, while both are influenced and controlled by climatic influences and by national habits and traditions.” The relative cost of manufacture in different countries is thus treated: “There are certain natural and artificial con- ditions which so largely affect the direct con- ditions of wages as to be entitled to considera- tion in any analytical examination of the great questions of labor; but, trom their abstruseness, they are less evident to the general mind and more debatable than the simple relations shown in the reports of the consuls. It would bea legitimate field of inquiry to ascertain what are the conditions which enable England to manu- facture machinery and other products at less price than similar goods can be manufactured in France and at prices equal to those in Ger- many, while the rates of wages paid to the Workmen engaged in those manufactories in England are, on the whole, higher than those paid for similar labor in France, and more than double those paid in Germany.” The Old Home. It sleeps beneath the sunny hill ‘AS ih a tranquil dream; ‘The giant elms are spreading still Above the meadow stream. ‘Wild birds that join tn mustc sweet And quiet sheep and cows id grateful shelter from the heat leafy boughs. Beneath those All among the scented grass The wrickees leap and sing green and golden shadows pass ‘Like swallows on the wing. How calmly in the sheltered nook ‘The summer hours may ‘Yet bright and joyous as the’ brook ‘That sings with deep’ning flow! Owora, with all they cities? ‘Thy plains and gaia The Low Price of Oranges. From the Jacksonville (Fla) Herald. Several growers and shippers of Florida or- anges were in the city Tuesday from up the St. John’s river looking into the Te- turns received from the fruit sent to New York. The returné report such an immense wastage and such low prices for choice fruit as to make the industry practically valt Some of the commission houses write that one of the causes is that much of the truit is so badly packed that bad ae oe Another is that ttandling and exposure Ip transportation are ad Seg asto injure the fruitso much as to ue a 3 nlmons Wertdulons by the time it reaches wi stated that the of in See York ana ail other tango ties oa ex- ceas of the demand, and many could not be got- THE BRITISH NAVY. The Recent Scare Among Patriotic Bri- tons—Lord Northbrook’s Exposition of the Strength of the Navy—How Eng= land Compares with France and Other Countries as a Naval Power. “Tt 1s something more than two months since the scare about the navy was started,” writes G. W, 8., the Tribune correspondent from London. “All sober men agree, and even Mr. Cobden did not wholly deny, that the safety of the British Empire depends on the efficiency of her navy. The Irish dynawiters thought so when they hoped to create a panic by threats of blowing up ships-of-war. If, therefore, anybody outside of a Tunatic asylum tells the British public that their navy is going to the dogs, he wilibe tistenedto. Lord Northbrook, the minister responsible to Parliament for the navy, had to get up and make a long statement, and end by proposing to spend the sum of £5,525,000 on the navy over and above what two months ago he meant to spend. This sum, itis true, is to be distributed over five years. Sir Thomas Brassey, secretary to the admiralty, and its mouthpiece in the House of Commons, made a similar statement. And in both houses critics rose, as soon as these naval ministers had sat down, to complain ‘that they were not going to do enough, and not go- ing to do it quickly enough. The panic-mongers have made the Increase of the French navy the basis of their appeals, and in order to show that the English navy was de- creasing relatively to the French, they invented an arbitrary classification of ships into first, sec- ond and third, and they insisted that the Freuch had of late years been building so much faster than the English as to threatena rapid extinc- tion of the superiority of the latter. Lord North- brook’s answer to ail this seems to me sensible aud sufficient. It is true, he says, that some ten years ago the French began building new armored ships more rapidly than had been their habit. But why? Because down to that date, and tong after the English had abandoned the type, the French had gone on constructing ships of wood plated with iron; now admitted to bea wrong system. When they discovered their mistake they had to begin over again. There is no evidence that the French then dreamed of entering upon a serious contest with England for naval supremacy: or that they now dream of it. He, orrather his nayal colleagues, take the ships in both navies fur next year, and without attempting to arrange them in classes, set ship against ship—matehing each pin the English fleet with the ship nearest to her in strength in the French fleet, and distinguishing between modern ships and obsolete ships; between. that is, those which are efficient aad those which are not. Ot these modern ships fit for present fighting, there are 30 English of 210,430 tons and 19 French of 127,828 tons, a balance of 11 ships in favor of the English. Of the obsolete types, ships not fit to fight against the new ones, but which might be paired off against others of their own strength, there are’ 16 Eng- lish of 115,520 tons and 12 French of 53,066 tons, a balance of only four ships in favor of the Eng- lish, but with an English tonnage more than double the French, So much for the actual state of the two na- vies, English and French. But the French are building much faster than the English, cry the alarmists, and will soon be ahead, No, answers Lord Northbrook, that is not 8 Daring the last four years (and it takes five years to build an ironciad), the admiralty have begun two armored vessels for every one which the French have begut I may as well quote here the an- swer of a foreizn naval officer whom I asked the other day whether the English or French guns were the better. The present French gun, he said, is superior to the present English, but the pattern which the English have adopted and are now making, and with which t! navy will soon be armed, is superior to the Freuch. The ships to be built withthe three million now asked for include four ironclads of over 10,000 tons each, of the Conqueror type, with 18 inches of armor on the side, two 110-ton guns in her turret, an 18-ton rear-firing gun, twelve 6-inch guns in a steel-protected battery, and a speed ot 15}¢ knots. Then come two torpedo tams of 8,000 tons, like the Polyphemus, five belted cruisers” of 5,000 tons, bigger and stronger than the Leander or Mersey, steaming 17 knots; ten “scouts” of 1,500 tons, otherwise called torpedo cruisers, and thirty first-class torpedo boats. It is urged, and urged with great force, that England ought to be not only superiorbut over- whelmingly superior to France, and superior to any probable (some people say possible) naval combination that can be arrayed against her. England now spends no more on her navy than she did a quarter of a century ago, while the great continental powers have increased their nayal outlay by one-third. England has colo- nies, commerce, coaling stations, a multiplicity of vulnerable points to defend, and she is noth- ing if not the greatest naval power in the world. She must not allow her control of the Seas to be so much as questioned or challenged; ind so on. There is weight in these arguments, and the distress of those who use them’ is so genuine that I should like to alleviate it if pos- sible, Perhaps I can best do it by quoting What the foreign naval officer I have sliready mentioned writes to me: The question of weakness all depends on the int of view. Many are of opinion that twice the rench force 1s necessary, and would not be satis- fled with less. I think I am within bounds when I Say Unat the addition, either at present or within the,next two years, of either the Italian or German fleet to the French, would ouly make the latter about equal in actual force to the English. The -addition of both wouid perhaps give some superior- ity to the combination. That is the opinion of a foreign naval officer of exceptional ability, who is intimately ac- quainted with the condition of the fleets of England and of the continental powers. It is confirmed by the opinion of another officer with equal advantages, who goes 60 far as to say that he thinks England equal, for all purposes of naval warfare, now or in the near future, to France, Italy and Germany together. peers ig Condiments and Indigestion, Cayenne pepper may be selected as a typical example of a condiment properly so called Mustard is a food and condiment combined; this is the case with some others. Curry- powders are mixtures of very potent condimenta with more or less of farinaceous materials, and sulphur compounds, which, like the oil of mus- tard, of onions, garlic, ete., may have a certain amount of nutritive value. The mere condiment is a stimulating drug that does its work directly upon the inner lining of the stomach, by exciting it to increased and abnormal activity. A dyspeptic may obtain im- mediate relief by using cayenne pepper. Among the advertised patent medicines is a pill bearing the very ominous name of its compounder, the active constituent of which iscayenne. Great relief and temporary comfort are commonly ob- tained by using it asa “‘dinner-pill.” If thus used only as » temporary remedy for an acute | and temporary, or exceptional, attack of indi- gestion, all is well, but the cayenne, whether taken in pills or dusted over the food or stewed with it in curries or any otherwise, is one of the most cruel of slow poisons when taken habitu- ally. Thousands of poor wretches are crawling miserubly towards their graves, the victims of the multitude of maladies of both mind and body that are connected with chronic, incurable dyspepsia, all brought about by the habitual use of cayenne and its condimental cousins. The usual history of these victims is that they began by overfeeding, took the condiment to force the stomach to do more than its healthful amount of work, using but a little at first. ‘Then the stomach became tolerant of this little and demanded more; then more, and more, and more. until at last inflammation, ulceration, torpidity and finally the death of the digestive powers, accompanied with all that long train of miseries to ype referred. From “The istry 0; Ags . Mattieu Williams, in Popular Science Monthly for January. ——_—__ oe Another Ice Structure in Montreal, From the Montreal (Canada) Witness, Dec. 20, An ice condora, or cairn, is about to be erected under the auspices of the East End win- ter carnival committee, on the Champ de Mars. The structure is round, tapering to a point, its base diameter measurihg 50 feet. Its height, without the{colossal statue, is 75 feet, built ina series of seven. stories, finished up with a crown, and is intended to represent one of the ola Egyp- tian castles, which were namedcondoras. In the construction of this cairn 12,000 blocks of ice will be used, for which Mr. Henault, of this city, has the contract. On the topmost block a colos- sal figure will be placed, about 11 feet in height, Gresged in the picthresque costume of Le Trap- peur Snow Shoe Club, and holding in one hand ‘a torch, the latter lighted at night by electricity. be illuminate it is the intention of the members Trap- stand at stated distances all over ur Club it on every available block of ice, each man having a lighted torch in his hand. ‘The structure is ed with eight turrets bear- ing the flags of various nations. ——————— “Dulce Et Decoram Est.” © (The New York Aldermen's Debate over Gen. Porter.) Alderman Tommy Shells alarmed the andi- ence by shouting: “I am ashamed of any man who tries to seduce the character of this brave soldier, this patriot and this gentleman who has died for his is : “When did he die?” asked a number ofmen towhom a feliable dealer VIRTUES TRIUMPH IN A HORSE cAR, The Short Battle Between a Slight- built Gentleman and a Burly Masher. ‘From the New York Sun. A gentleman, apparently about forty years of age, of alight but wiry build, and rather an ab- sent-minded demeanor, sat between two ladies in a 23d street car last night at about 9 o'clock. There were two other occupants of the car, one whom was @ young and rather an attractive wo- man, who eat directly opposite the gentleman and his two lady friends. The girl, who was alone, was one of the many plump, bright-faced and well dressed working women ot New York, | and her manner was entirely modest and seif- possessed. As the car went eastward across 4thavenuea man of stalwart physique and rather dissipated face swung through the car, deposited his fare in the box, and sat down de- liberatety alongside of the girl. She concealed a look which was of partial recognition, coupled with annoyance, and turned her face toward the window with every appearance of being nervous and ill at ease. The newcomer, who wore a high hat, a light overcoat, a silyer-top- ped stick, and was entirely at his ease, allowed his elbow to rest over the arm of the girl. She moved along afoot or so in the seat, and he calmly followed her. This sort ot thing went on until they were both up in the corner of the car. Such scenes are not so very rare in New York as to attract much attention, but this case was particularly striking on account of the effect it had upon the escort of the two women on the other side of theecar. He fidgeted nervously about in his seat as the pantomime went on op- posite h until he was as white asa sheet. His lips were compressed, and he wet them constantly with the tip of his tongue. Every time the going blackguard on the opposite side of the the blood would slowly mount to the little man’s face, and then slowly recede again. wore iron-gray side whiskers, but the rest of his face was ciean shaven. As he drew his gloves off his hands trembled violently. He folded the gloves with great nicety and placed them in the pocket of his coat. His two companions talked to him quietly, and one put her hand aifection- ately on his arm. “i think,” she said, Alfred, that we had better walk the rest of the way. ‘It is very close in here, and I would rather bein the air.” She half rose in her seat, but he didn’t move. He was still glaring at the big man across the car, who returned his look once in a while with the most tranquil indifference imazinable. Meanwhile the working girl, who had appar- ently been having quite as much excitement as the little man opposite her, rose to change her seat. As shedid so, the man beside her took her gently by the arm and pulled her down into the seat ‘again. Thereupon the little man sprang to his feet, doubled up his fist. pointed his finger at the man across the car. and said slowly and with great decision: “You internal scoundrel, it you don't move away from that lad\ I'll throw you out of the car.” The words were delivered in rather as song manner, but there was no doubt about the earnestuess of the man who uttered them. The big man simply smiled, and deliberately turned around and dropped his hand on the girl's arm again. What followed occupied a very short space of time. The white-faced and wiry man ng pounced upon his bigger rival as a hawk does | upon achicken. There was no attempt at hit- ting or clawing. He jumped at his throat and twined both of his hands into the breast of the man’s coat. Then there was an instant’s strug- gle, and the big masher lay flat on his back. with his head out on the platform and against the dashboard, and his long legs stretching into the car. Before he could get up the little man had tossed his cane and hat out into the street. His face was working into extrardinary grimaces, sufficient to alarm a Colossus. And as the man lay on the floor and looked up at it the convic- tion seemed to enter his soul that he had had enough. He scrambled awkwardly to his feet and stood inthe door in some doubt whether to tackle his assailant or not. while his as- sailant said in the same sing-song and falsetto voice: “Ifyou ome in this car again I will break ‘our nose.” The car had not stopped during the struggle. and the man jumped offand lett his assailant in full possession. Two of the buttons had been ripped off of the gallant’s coat in the scrimmage yi and the little man picked them up, presented | one to the girl and put the other in his pocket with the remark: **These will do for souvenirs. The girl said the man had annoyed her for several nights in succession, but she was sure he would never trouble her again. The little man gave her acourtiy bow as he left the car, and it was noticeable that he trod the floor with a tip-toed grace and haughty mien that belongs by right to conquerors. —— Curious Habits of an ex-Senator. Ex-Senator Lyman Trumbull, of _lilinois, writes a Courier-Journal correspondent from Chicago, ‘‘growsmore exclusive as he grows in years. Supplied with enouzh of the world’s stores to keep him from anything which would annoy the average mortal, he is still of an econ- omical bent. Having a home in the southern end of ‘he city, in the midst of people who have valets, coachmen and butlers and a retinue of | domestics, this man, who once aspired to presi- dential honors, goes out inthe morning to do his own buying at the market and takes it home to his cook with such instructions as he cares to give as to the preparation. In the season when his grasses in his lawn grow long, he goes out and does his own mowing. He comes down to his office in the morning on a suburban train. He goes home to lunch at one o'clock; he never dines down town. He walks from the jepot on the lake front to his office whether there is rain or a blue sky. He has never owned acoach or a carriage. He has never had, of course, a lackey. His ex- clusion from all sorts of amusement is a mat- ter of comment with his friends. I know from his own lips that he has not been in a place of amusement for nearly twenty vears. They teil me that he could attend an opera and prepare a criticism which would pass in the columns of any reputable newspaper. And yet, returning tohishome or going to his office, the divine queen of opera might sing and sing and sing as he passed in, and he woald not so much as raise his hat to her. So thoroughly engrossed is the man in his business that the pleasures of life go by his door unnoticed. His home is rich in everything which the thoroughly eultured might appreciate. Every book in his library has at some time or other been looked into by him. The paintings and pictures on his walls show to the eye of one accustomed to such that the owner is aman of the very highest appreciation of art.” —————— +o Checks Dated Ahead, From the Philadelphia Ledger, Decembeg 8th. Judge Arnold on Saturday refused a reargu- ment in the case of Cluff against the firm of Gunniss, Barritt & Co. The proceeding was an attachment under the act of 1869, and the court having dissolved it the plaintiff petitioned for a reargument, The fact were that on October 81st, 1884, Gunniss, Barritt & Co. gave to the plaintiff a check for $518.80 on the Spring Gar- den bank to pay for goods solid and delivered some months before. The defendants had not the money in bank at the time, and so informed the plaintiff. Thecheck was consequently made payable on the 10th ot November. When the laintiff presented the check at the bank on the latter date there were no funds to payit. The plaintiff, therefore, brought suit, contending that the neglect to provide forthe payment of the check on the day it became payable, when the defendants had provided for the payment of other checks, showed that they did not intend to pay the check, and was fraud, The judge does not think so. Hesays that there was no mis- resentation of an existing fact. The defend- ants did not represent that they nad the money in bank, but, on the contrary, they told the plaintiff they had_ not the money on deposit to meet the check. It was, says the judge, merely @ “promise to pay” the check in the future. “The distinction between a representation of existing facts and a promise to perform some act in future is vital and must not be over- looked. The one, it untrue, is a false pretense; the other, if broken, is a of contract.’ The judge adds that the plaintiff did not part with his perty in exchange for the check, but had sold and delivered his goods to the de- pee Ae! before the check was ven. ——~+-______ ‘The Stars and the Woodpile. ‘From the Boston Herald. “Sometimes as I gaze into the great starlit girdie of earth, and try to fathom the mys- tery of space, I am lost in the utter helplessness of my littleness,” remarked Mr. Jarphly. ““How , and the blood slowly left his face | ar offered a fresh annoyance to the working cirl | FARMS NO EYE HAS SEEN. Eastern Oyster Beds and the Method of Planting and Harvesting the Crops. From the New York Sun. Oysters are raised by cultivation, Just as fruits and vegetables are. They are found in ail seas in from four tect to six fathoms of water. and never ata creat distance from the shore. They are most abundant in the quiet waters of gulfs and bays formed atthe mouths of larger tivers. The principal sources of supply for the United States are the Chesapeake bay, New Jersey coast, and Long Island Sound. Formerly the northern beds were almost wholly kept up by testocking with seed oysters from Chesa- peake bay and the Hudson river, but of late the oyster reapers have secured the seed, or spat, hermen call it, during the spawning Season, and new grou’ until the area of the oyster veds ean be me: sured by township, and is constantly i Although there is no such t beds of any ot the public wat grounds are, in a manne this v Aman of a new place and begin raising oys men wish to go out of th their squatter’s rizht to thei recognized in the business, and such a sale holds good by common consent. The spat gathered in the spawning season ts scattered ysters have bee d ground, as the years. Roel vunds from three slie about one year and ars to five years. The in- crease is trom tiree to six baskets tor every one | of spat. The chances, as a rule, are ia favor of | & good crop, but the oystermen have many things to contend with, so that it sometii h s- ither dead ones or noue at all. s if? natural enemies, such as the h and starfish, which destroy a great proves weight of grass x ing them down ii when the; asionally ¢ However, with the constantly improved methods of cultivation, means are being continually de- | vised for the better protection of the oyster. Two-thirds of the oysters now brouzht Into the New York market during the summer and autumn come from the lower bay and are called Sounds. The remainder may be said to from Kockaway. Blue Point, and the East River. The winter trade depends more or less on the supply from Chesapeake Bay, although large quantities taken in tie New York waters are stored for winter use. Down "on West street, a few blocks north of Canal street, a little fleet of oyster boats, packed ether like sardines in a box, may be seen any deliv How one ever . The boatmen halt a day to get They are small, single- sa jib. They vary in length between thirty feet and forty feet. They | cost between $500 and $2,000 apiece, according to their size and the matiner in which they are he mud, smothers soil, a storm one clear of the res masted, and each ca ao fitted up. There are also a great many steam tuys engaged in the business. Each boat usu- ally carries five men. The wholesale dealers, | who have their houses upon rafts along the dock, own or have an interest in most of these by One dealer will often own a number of sailboats, or an interest in several, and perhaps a number of tugs as well. There are, however, many boats that are run by the men who sail them. The boats usually stay out a week or six ys. Each is provided with oyster tongs and a dredge. At first, while the oysters are thick, the men use the tongs. Afterward they finish up by raking over the ground with the dredge. The dredge is an iron rake in two sections. It has a bag hanging from the back of it. made of iron links. This is always held open by an iron |frame. The oysters, as they are raked np by the | teeth of the dredge, are shoved back into the bag until it is filled, and then it is raised and it$ contents are emptied on board. It is either | dragyed by the sailboat with spread canvas or worked by steam. When a boat has a load of oysters, which is from 1,000 to 6,000, according to the | craft, it carries the oysters to a wate | crib.” ‘This ts done in order that the oysters may drink, and thus gain a fine, plump appearance for market, and also supply themselves with @ circulating fluid to stand long transportation. They-are usually put in the crib at ebb tide. as itis only then that oysters open. Atter this other boats deliver them to the wholesale dea | ers. Oysters are classifled according to their size, a8 extras, box, cullins and cullentines. Some of the dealers open the oysters that they handle, while others simply deal inthem in the | i. The openers How the Crofters Live. From the St. James’ Gazette. 1 will describe a typical Idrigil house, which is occupied by the aged daughter and three grown-up grandchildren of a fisherman named John Macdonald, who has been dead for many years, The croft upon which it stands slopes southward toward the bay of Uig. and is one of some 350 that belong to Major Fraser, of Kil- muir. It is about two and a half acres in ex- tent, and pays a nominal rental of rather more than £5; a temporary reduction of 25 per cent off that sum having, however, been conceded during the last two or three years by the pro- prietor. Near the center of the croft is a sea of sticky mud; and amid the slough are two very | small stacks of corn, each about nine feet high by six in diameter, carefully thatched, and coy- ered with old nets to prevent their being scat- tered to the winds. Close at hand is the house—a building of rough unmortared stone, measuring perhaps ten feet by twenty, and very thickly roofed; first with “divits” of turf, then with a close thatch of heather, and finally with fragments of coarse netting weighted with lumps of gray trap. The door is broken, and will not shut properly; there is no chimn aud the sole window, consisting of a single pane of glass, has an ‘area of not more than three square feet. From the doorway, and trom asinall hole in the low roof, volumes of peat smoke escape; and when I entered the hat f could n for s ‘al minutes distin- guish anything within, owing to tne dense fumes that rose trom a scanty fire smoul- dering on the floor in the middle of the gloomy room. At last my eyes became accustomed to the semi-darkness and I was able to make out the forms oi the inmates of the hovel. They sat huddied together on a low black settle, warm- ing themselves, and greedily watching a bat- tered pot that. suspended from an improvised tripod above the dire, contained a quantity of thin broth; the main ingredients ot which were, as Lafterward discovered, potatoes and fish. I shared the poor people’smeal of broth and oaten cake, while the smoke curled upward and hung beneath the roof in an impenetrable cloud; the whole making. with the festooned fishing-nets and the tattered oilskins on the wails, an in- terior which Teniers would have delighted to paint, if there had been any jollity in the scene. There was no table; but at one end of the room there was a shaky dresser on which was ar- ranged a poor display of cracked crockery and rusty tins. The inside of the house was divided by means of rotten partitions about six feet in height, into three smali chambers; one being the living-room, a second a bed-room, and the third alumberand store room. In the bed-room the clothes were simply old rags and sacking, barely sufficientto cover poor humanity; and the floor throughout was formed, so far as I could see, of the hard earth. Yet this house of the Mac- donalds was a palace in comparison with some of the huts I visited elsewhere. One had neither door nor window. I crawled into it through an irregular aperture less than three feet high, and found myself among some ducks that were picking up scraps from amid the garbage with which the damp floor was littered. The sole tenant of this hovel was an old woman who had a hacking cough. in another but the rain-water dripped from the broken roof and flooded the only room, in which seven people sat crouching. One might reasonably expect to find that the people who live in such wretchednessare stunt- ed and evil-looking. But they are not. They are a thick-set intelligent race; and some of the middle-age all the women become withered. They are long-livea too. Their faults are that Se with superstition prejudice. In only one out of at least a score of crotters’ houwes which I entered did I ‘see any sign that the inmates themselves to remunerative home em} Woo Kuz Coes Ras NOT A ROMANCE WE DEAL IN FACTS NOT FICTION. A visit to the TEN PER CENT CLOTHING HOUSE, 27 AND 929 7TH STREET NORTHWEST. An inspection of the immense stock of Clothing there displayed. consisting of Overcoats and @uits for Men, Youths and Children of every crade, shade, pattern and style. Acquaint yourselves with their model mode of transacting business, Note how promptly and politely | Fou will be waited on, with what ¥en{l manly courtesy | yOu will be treated, and with all the MaRVELOUSCMRAP- ess of each and every article of stock, and the question Will be fully and satisfuctorii erel, The TEN PER CENT CLOTHING HOUSE killed the COCK ROBIN of hich and exorbitant prices, and Cooked the Goose which laid kim Golden Eyra. We would remark en passant THAT . We origiuate THAT We do not imitate, AT ‘The popularity of ont prices has won the ay. THAT We used “THAT” us a poi TION” of the THAT Maud 8, so-called, — distanced, and laid on the IAT We have won under difficulties, which makes the Vic- tory more glorious, both to ourselves and the general public, ‘We will be pleased to Lave you call at the TEN PER CENT CLOTHING ROUSE, 927 anv 929 SkventH Srxert Nomrawest. Corner Massschuvetis Avenua, FINE CLOTHING AT TEN PER CENT ABOVE ACTUAL COST OF MANUFACTURE, STRICTLY ONE PRICK. Open evenings till 10, Saturday til12 Ea Please bear in mind, we have no connection witt any other house in this city. ase Rocvakg. ROUGH-FACED ‘GOODS MAKE THE BEST OVERCOATS. ROUGH-FACED DOES NOT MEAN NOT FINE IN QUALITY, FOR THE VERY FINEST WOOL IN THE WORLD IS IN THE MONTAGNAC GOODS. OVEROOATS MADE FROM ROUGH GOODS ARE WARMER AND NOT SO HEAVY AS SMOOTH-FACED, CLOSELY WOVEN BEAVERS OK KERSEYS. WE HAVE A MONTAGNAC MADE BY THE HARRIS MILLS; IT IS WELL MADE, AND MAKES A GOOD LOOKING SERVICEABLE COAT. THE PRICE 18 $25. GEORGE SPRANSY, ONE PRICE CLOTHIER AND TAILOR, 607 SEVENTH STREET, Opposite U. 8. Post Office, Sew-Axsca Repvorroxs eld SILK VELVETS and DRESS GOODS, CLOAKS, NEWMAREETS, VISITES and JACKETS at greatly reduced prices. We have a much larger stock than usual, and have determined to close them out at very low prices, Great banruins are being offered in choice goods. Special sale of Colored Velvets at €2.50, marked down from $3.50, oo in choice shades, reduced from $2.50 to Brocade Veli in black and colors, have been marked down, arf will be sold very cheap, Colored Brocade Silks reduced from $2.50 to @1. Full Bleached Damask Towels reduced from $4.50 to $3. Biack Satin Merveilleux reduced from @175 to @1.50. 20 pieces German Velvets, all colors, reduced from 81.50 to gl. Our stock was never ‘larger, and our goods are first- class and of the newest styles. We have just received achoice lot of evening Silke and Crepes, Crepe de Chines and Satins, W. M SHUSTER & SONS, a ONE PRICE 919 Pennsylvania Avenua N.B.—THE PEST IS THE CHEAPEST. Jvsr Recrven. 250 Decorated and Fancy Boxes of Assorted Glace Fruits, Small Sizes, direct Importation. Bottom Prices. DUFFY'S PURE APPLE CIDER, 2%c. per Gallon, as GEO. E. KENNEDY & SON, ae6 1209 F Street Nontaweer. Canes & Web t opened BOY BK ELS, "TAPI GRAIN CAKF 3 a full line of DRAPER Dhareny. uv oovenixes es ei — BOOE oO... 8623-3m iad a etoot. G. T. Kees, TAILOR, No, 41¢ Miath Strect Northwest. Tormars FINE LEATHER GOODS FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS AT REASONABLE PRICES: CORK ints, HAND BaGs, DIES’ AND GENTS BRIEF AND CLO BAGS, |CNGLISH CHOPS MITER AUD. Cioal| GOLD CAND SILVER ECASES,|_ \OUN LAP ROBES, - BERS. |CHAMOTS aud BT GOODS. ‘Fine Harness and Trunks made to aie Trunks, Harness, Traveling Bags, &c, ~~ i ‘workmen. paired by thorough ars als-14t 1231 Pennsylvania avenue, ‘THE FIFTH AVENUE STYLE SILK, DERBY AND Introduced by Dunlap & Co., of New York, NOW READY, ar WILLETT & RUOFF's, SCLE AGENTS, 905 Pennsvivenis a3-im 2 Ger Taz Bust.