Evening Star Newspaper, January 1, 1889, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1889. "WOMEN AND Stories Told of the Appetite for Liquor Developed in Matrons and Maidens. “The story published in Tur Stan a few days ago, said a retired naval officer to a Star reporter, “brings to my mind several sad cases that have come to my knowledge where the Wives of officers of both branches of the ser- vice have become addicted to the excessive use of liquor. In some instances the habit has been cured while in others the appetite became too strong to be resisted and the unbappy vic- tims died from over-indulgence. Of course, other causes for death were given out, such as pneumonia, heart disease, rheumatism, &c., but those who were acquainted with all the cir- cumstances knew that the women died from whisky. Why I knew one who, when she had no liquor in the house,would go to her dressing case and drink the cologne that she used asa perfume.” “Why should officers’ wives acquire this habit any more than other ladies in society?” asked Tar Star man. “The cases are not confined to army and naval cireles, by a good deal,” was the reply; “but I happen to know more about that ¢ I REMEMBER A SAD CASE that happened in this city some years ago, The wife of an army officer and a lady friend went down to the marine barracks one Monday morning to witness the guard mount. After this was over they were entertained by a cham- pagne lunch, at which the officer's wife drank more thun was good for her. She did not realize it at the time. nor until she xot ready to go home. Then she found that though her head was comparatively clear she was really very drunk in her legs. She could not walk straight. She called one of the offi- cers to her and plainly told him her condition, | relying. of course, upon his honor as a gentle- | man not to betray her confidence. He cailed acarriage and took the lady and her friend home. That was ail right, but unfortunately about a week afterward the young officer him- self got under the influence of liquor at a quiet little gathering, and told the whole story. In the party was a man who knew the lady very well, and wasa personal friend of her husband, He immediately administered a rebuke to the intoxicated young man which sobered him at once, and then the others were put, upot their | honor not to repeat the story. He told me that if the husband ever found ont that the young man had told the story there would have been @ personal encounter. ANOTHER INSTANCE. “Two years ago I hada singular experience myself. I was going along F street and stepped into a large vestibule to light a cigar, as the wind was quite high. As I struck a | match I was surprised to find a woman sitting on the lower step. She was richly attired, wearing a sealskin secque, a silk dress, and everything about her betokened wealth and refinement. I went to her and found that she was badly intoxicated. Just then the wate man of the building came up, and we took this woman between us and walked her around the square for three-quarters of an hour until she got com- paratively sober. Then she took out ler card- | case to give me her address, and I was sur-/ prised still more to find that she was the wife | of an officer whom I had known very well. I| ealled a carriage and said I would ‘take her home. After we got in she begged me to drive around fora while until she was a little more composed. I did 0. aud fi left her at her own door in the West End ut midnight. She told me that she feared at first I was going to take her to the police station, end that the idea of being disgraced in that way lad a good deal to do with bringing her to her senses,” THE HABIT NOT ON THE INCREASE. “De you think the habit is on the increas No, Ido not. On the contrary I don't think there are so many women who drink wine habitually now as there were ten years ago, and I think the number is lessening eve Wine and liquor are not <0 extensively used in society as they were some years ago, and the number of houses at which wine and even stronger liquors can be had by guests ad libitum is now very small. You notice that every New Year the majority of people who kee> open house now provide ‘coffee’ and. chocolate for their callers instead of wine end punch. as was | formerly the custom. This is a very encourag- ing sign. for it keeps temptation away from young men and young women. Ah, ave wn young girls who acquired the appetite | ng drink from accepting the hospitalities | of their friends, and some of them from the free | use of wine at their own father’s table. Ire- member being at a reception several years ago atwhich there was the rr t profusion of | wine, while bowls of good stiff punch were in | every ante-room. One young girl I noticed hovered about the punch bowls and drank a | good d. Isaw her dancing rward and | ime to the conclusion that she would work off any effect of the stimulant in that way. Later | in the evening, however. her mother came to me and asked me if[ wouldn't go and attend her daughter, who had fainted and was lying on a bed in one of the chambers. I went uj stairs and found one of the servants and a friend chafing the young girl's hands and bath- ing her head. Her face was flushed, and I at i once recognized that SHE WAS BEASTLY DRUNK. | “Her mother did not seem to realize the con- | dition of things, and I didn’t have it in my heart to tell her, so I said she must have been overcome by the heat. We loosened her clothes and let her lie there until the party broke up. Then she was sufficiently recovered to be t to her carriage and sent home. That poor girl is dead now, but I am firmly convinced that if she had never drank a glass of wine she would be alive to-day. Oh. I could go on for an hour giving sad instances that have come under my observation. but it wouldn't do any good. Ax Thave said. Iam glad that the sentiment of society is changing in regard to the use of wines at large —— Tm not a temper- ance crank. [ drink myself, and probably | shall do so all my Life; but I don’t like to see young men and young women exposed to a} temptation which may fasten upon them an | appetite that will wreck their whole lives. It | is natural that such instances as I have related | should be hidden and kept from the knowledge of all except those intimately connected with the unfortunate sufferers: but I think if occa- sionally they found their way into print they | might serve as warnings to these who are ex- | posed to temptation.” | Berlin, not Boston. To the Editor of Tue EvEstxc Stan | Your type made me say it was Boston that derives a revenue of a million and a third of | dollars from the gas company. when it should have been Berlin instead. So. too, it is Leeds, not Manchester, that pays but 12'; cents per 1,000 for gas for the street lamps. W. C. Dover. Besieged by Wild Hogs. THE TERRIBLE ALL-NIGHT EXPERIENCE OF A ROY. Upper Stony Kill (N. ¥.) Special to the N. ¥. Times. Up here in the somber, rugged Shawangunks hoop-pole cutting is becoming quite an indus- | try. Chase Van Wagonen, who lives here, | tramps seven miles daily to bis ‘hoop ranch,” which is situated in « gloomy, desolate locality known as Pollymazottee, jnst west of the famous Dark Hole. Several times during the past week Van Wagonen has been obliged to go dinnerless, owing to the depredations of quad- | rupeds who roam about in vast numbers and comparatively unmolested. A day or two ago Van Wagonen took his son, the eldest of several children, with him for company and to watch his dinner. Young Joshua and his father reached their destination soon after daybreak, and, while the elder began his daily task, “Josh” busied himself in kindling a roaring tire, around which he built « wall of stones. Atnoon a hearty dinner was eaten. Van Wagonen returned to his work, and Joshua, after replenishing the fire, armed himself with his father’s trusty rifle and started out in search of adventure small game. The sturdy little | chap had tramped about three miles, when he heard an ugly grunt and saw at the same time « wild boar that had been taking # siesta on a pile of sunny leaves. There Was an oak tree pear by, and ‘Josh’s” legs did good service in climbing to a place of safety among its branches. In his haste he had oo the rifle, and when ¢ boy's heart turned with fear. All about were sheltered nests Of leaves, which he knew well would be occu- at night by scores of wild hogs. The was still on watch, and unless he should rt relax his —_ all escape was shut off. Scream scream and pitiful cries for help met no and before an hour with —— the hogs began gathering. and night in dark and cold. ‘The wind cut like a | Fagor, and little “Josh” was obliged to rub his | lege against the tree bark to | zing. All through that | it the boy kicked and moved | perch to keep the blood from seins, but toward morning | hen rescued by his | ngunk mountain Es F was lifted from a terribly into which he had fallen | foot dangled within 3 feet E A ize EF i Hi Be F asleep, 80 that nm when rescued. The other hogs were shot by 01 fore he fell FS Z et tf ; | in that horse-hair fish line of yours, WHEN MATT QUAY WAS A BOY. How He Introduced a Goose Into School, and Traded Knives with Harry White. Harrisburg Special to the New York Sun. “There never was a sharper, more mischiev- ous schemer, as a boy, than Matt Quay,” said a resident of western Pennsylvania, who was a schoolmate in Indiana county of the now fa- mons statesmangand politician, ‘He was con- tinually doing things that no other boy would ever think of. I especially recall one of his pranks that was as bold as it was original. “There was a green in the rear of the school- house where we went to school, and Matt had @ seat near a window that overlooked the green. One hot summer afternoon a flock of geese were pasturing on the green. Matt sat at the open window, looking at them plucking away at the grass as only a flock of geese can — when a brilliant idea took possession of im. He hada half-eaten apple in his desk and a ball of kite string. Biting a big piece off the apple, he quietly tied it to one end of his string and, edging up to the window, gave the bit of apple a quick jerk and seut it several feet away on the grass. One of the geese saw the tempting morsel, and, waddling over to where it lay on the grass, gulped it down, and indicated its satisfaction by two or three self- congratulatory cackles, in swallowing the apple the goose had also engulfed a foot or so of Matt Quay’s kite string, and Matt at once proceeded to complete the scheme he had planned by hauling the goose, hand over hand, off of the green and up the side of the school house. in spite of the idiotic bird’s frantic struggles to get away. ‘The goose was pulled in at the window ina twinkling, and the next second was flopping and weal ¢ here and there about the schoo! room, trailing and twisting the kite strinj about the legs of a score of surprised ani frightened scholars, and squawking at the top of its Iungs. When the scholars recovered from their surprise and took in the situation, a roar that almost raised the roof wentup from their combined throats. The goose was finally penned up in one corner and caught by schol- ars and teacher, the string cut off. and the bird dumped out of the window. Matt Quay was bidden to the teacher's platform to receive punishment for his wild breach of decorum. “It wasthe practice in those days for school | teachers to renew their stock of switches, of which they made liberal use, by sending out such or such a scholar to cut the gads as the supply ran low. The day before Matt Quay's goose episode, Matt had been dispatched as the rod collector, and he had brought in a bundle of nice, long. slender gads that made the teacher’s eye glisten. Matt was the first boy they were used on, and the scholars noticed that the first whack the teacher gave with one of the switches broke it in a dozen pieces, | This seemed to be gratifying to the teacher, as he apparently regarded the thorough break ing of tha rod te evidence af the telling force of his blow. He splintered four switches over Matt's back, and from the way Matt squirmed and yelled we thought they had surely cut deep, but when he walked to his seat there was a queer grin on his face and not a trace of tears. rimace that we knew meant a good deal. We ‘ound out later what it meant. When Matt collected the rods for the teacher the day be- fore, he had considered the possibilities of their being first brought into use on himself, and he had taken his jack-knife and neatly run the blade around and around each swite! butt to tip, making the incisions a few inches apart and deep enough to so weaken the gads that the first blow would break them into splinters and destroy the force of the blow. The teacher didn’t discover the trick, and t's flogging was as harmless to him as the | tickle of a ff Matt was always looking for a dicker of some kind when we were boys. aud he never traded a knife, a handful of marbles, or any- thing else that he didn't stick the boy he traded with, no matter how much the advan- tage seemed to lie with the latter in the pre- liminary negotiations. I remember his great knife trade with Harry White. who is now sident-judge of this district. Matt had a knife once that was the particular envy of Harry White. who had made all sorts of offers to Matt for a trade. one of which in- cluded a knife that he own a half dozen muarbies, a ball of twine, anda tin squirt gun. But Matt didn’t think the dicker was worth enough to him. and he wouldn't trade. One though, much to the surprise and joy of , he met the latter and said he guessed ¥ might get up a trade. ‘Lhavent got my knife with me, though,’ said Matt, ‘and if we strike a bargain you'll have to go after it.” ~All right,” said Harry, ‘what boot do you want? “Well. ifyoull bles. the twine, ani ive me your knife, the mar- the squirt gun, and throw Tl trade,’ said Matt. i} do it,” exclaimed Harry, and be handed or er all the articles. ‘Where'll I go after your knife?” “Matt stowed Harry's knife and the other things in his pocket and said: “"Go up to the tannery, I was fooling around there this morning and dropped my knife in the vat. Me and some of the boys fished for two hours for it and couldn't find it. But it’s in there. Goup, and maybe you can get it.’ “Harry kicked. but there wasn’t any use. He never found Matt's knife, and it’s in that vat yet for all I kuow.” ~ see Women Who Get Shaved. | From the New York Sun. “Did you ever shave a woman?” was the | queer question put to an uptown barber by a customer who was being shaved. ‘Many a aid the barber. who went on to tell of his experience in that line of business, “There are ladies in town who have quite a moustache. and others who have something like a chin beard, and I have operated on both kinds. I d the upper lip of a lady yesterday after- noon to prepare her to go out toa pa She keeps down the growth of hair by clipping i but she wanted to look extra tine on this oce: sion. Some of them who are troubled as she is pull out the hairs a few at a time till they get rid of the whole growth, and there is now an electrical way of removing them without pain from any patt of the face, but I know of ladi who get barbers to shave them at times, and others who can shave themselves just like men. I tell you there are more kinds of folks in this barbarous world than some people know of. Here the knight of the brush shouted, “Next!” see Frosty Bits. From Our Dumb Animals. No one who has had to do with horses when the mercury is considerably below the freez- ing point but has witnessed their sometimes almost frantic efforts to escape the pain that comes of putting on the bridle. Misunder- standing it many times the brutal hostler adds blows, and forces the animal to take be- tween its jaws a piece of iron that freezes its tongue and sections of its mouth the mo- and he sat down with a wink and a| } duty in China, import duty in England, and | | allowing the most moderate profit. to. the wholesale merchant and grocer, there remains no more than 2 nce farthings to meet the cost of growing the stuff, ment it touches them. causing not only pres- | ent pain, but often ulceration, and almost al ssores. The preventive is a leathern b: Ifthis is not easily procured a common iron one can be covered. To do this, cover the bit with strips of common bridle leather, and as much of the check piece as will be likely to | touch the flesh, winding them around the iron while wet, and then carefully sew so as tomake the surface smooth as possible, Areal mouth-piece can be made by any har- ness-maker at small cost. and would be alto- gether preferable to the covered one, as it be taken from the headstall and check-reit and repleced by the iron when cold weather is passed, and be kept in readiness for another winter. ——s00 Intelligence of a Crow. From the New York Graphic. How “‘fly” the average crowis, too. Note, some time, when you are riding along in a train, how indifferent a crow is to the flying engine and cars, Note, too, how carelessly they will sit on some near by tree or in some field as you drive along the highway. Now stop the horse and see how quickly their heads come up and how uneasy they get. It’s ten to one that before the featge has ceased rocking. and before you can take aim with a gun, every one of them are on the — Once two of us were ridin; along the , and in a field were several crows. Close to the road was a high ledge around which the highway led, hiding us for a few moments from the birds. | Here I jumped out, while m; nion drove right along at the usual gait. Cras a moment, I crept up the ledge, and when I looked over carefully every crow was walking off and looking back. They did not see me, but they missed me from the team, and reasoned there was danger, and I did not get @ shot, — ee ——____ He Broke the Ice Without Getting Wet. From Judge. Emma (justin from the park)—“Oh, mam- ma! I had a lovely time to-day, and, the best of it all, Mr. Guteredge broke the ice.” Kind-hearted Ma—“Why, how heartless you are at his misfortune. He must have hurt him- self very——”" Emma (bi )—No, no, mamma; I do not mean that. I mean he spoke to me of— er—marriage.” "eee —__ -_ The excise officers should investigate the Keely motor, tor it’s a secret still.—Hotel Mail ing the edges | A HURRICANE IN CUBA. The Rapidity of its Approach and the Fury of its Work. From “Flag to Flsg.” Suddenly all was flurry and excitement to prepare for the cyclone that even the very liz- zards knew was céming. Sledge-hammers, axes, and immense timbers were hastily brought inside the house. We rapidly pre- pared to occupy and defend the three front rooms only. Ciriaco brought in some cold meat and bread, brandy, aquadiente, and a pail of water, which were deposited in a corner of the parlor. The rear of thé house (which was one story in height, with walls 3 feet thick, built of stone and cement, and with immense beams of solid cedar sustaining the stone roof) was closely barred and secured in the strongest way possible. There was a sudden and hurried rush into the various buildings, Chinese and ne- owe fled to their respective barracoons and fastened themselves in. Lamo, with two white men in our employ, and several trusty, stal- wart negroes, waited to see that all were pro- tected, thoroughly safe as possible, barely al- lowing themselves time to rush into the house and close the last windows, when the hurricane broke upon us. The wind rose in great, howl- ing gusts, and swooped down and around with tumultuous roar like the booming of cannon. A rattle and a bang. as though we were being assaulted with battering-rams on one side the house, and all rushed to the threatened windows to secure them with great solid tim- bers driven by sledge-hammers into the pol- ished floor, and forced against the massive panels of the shutters that closed within, A rushing and a whizzing sound, broken into a prolonged roar, admonished us that the witd hed ‘veered, ‘and now the opposite windows were threatened; before they could be properly secured, a great rattling and howling at the door drove every one with axes, sledge-hammers and timbers to the front of the house, So the wind whirled round and round. stopping at every door and window to blow a louder and more startling blast. Like a great giant battling for admission, or a beseig- ing army attacking first on one side, then on another, then all around at once, in the deter- mination to carry the defenses by storm, the merciless wind fought. We knewonly teo well that, if it gained admission, the house would be ed; one of its mighty blasts could lift the very stone roof. Meanwhile, except for a single candle in a corner, so shielded for fear of sudden gusts that it only served to make darkness visible, we were without any light. A panel a few inches square. hung on hinges in a front shutter, was our only means of obtaining a glimpse of the outside world, and we dared not open this while the storm was doing its utmost. For thirty hours we bravely and unceasingly de- fended the besieged castle—thirty hours of mor- tal terror and incessant vigilance—before the giant, with one last, deafening howl, dim ished the force of the attack, and gave us one moment's peace. Cautiously taking hurried peeps through the little panel, while the tor- nado was whirling with fearful impetuosity through « roscate atmosphere, the very wind seemed a tangible pink element sweeping everything before it. Debris of every kind was being borne upon its mighty wings. Great sheets of metal roofing from the sugar-house went careering along like scraps of paper; huge palm trees whirled aloft and away like straws. while tiles. bricks. and smaller objects sailed with lightning rapidity across the horizon like motes in a breeze, so utterly insigniticant were they in the grasp of the mighty element. UR tue tales weceshed Uirough the strong stone roof of the house, gave access to the rain, that now poured down in blinding floods, and we were soon like Noah’s dove—flying in vain search of a dry spot. When at last, after thirty hours of exhaus- tive battle and mortal alarm, our doors were once more thrown open, the scene of desolation was beyond all powers of description. The boundless fields of waving cane, that delighted es oniy two days before, had entirely dis- appeared: beaten flat down by the wind, the rapidly descending waters rusbed completely over them, The sugar-house was wholly un- and for days broad strips of the metal, hough Vulean’s hammer had beaten them into a thousand fantastic shapes, were brought from the fields hundreds of yards away. Rock fences had been dashed to_pieces and the fragments strewed over the fields. The prond army of majestic palms, that had for so many decades stood guard of our entrance, lost y of its bravest veterans. Desolation was everywhere supreme The Empress Pla From the St. Stephen's Review I hear on good authority that the greatest solace the Empress Victoria has in her widow- hood is chess, a game she frequently played with the crown prince when they found them- selves with a leisure hour, The empress gen- erally travels with a chessboard and men. At Windsor her imperial majesty has played more than once, and she is encouraged to do so by the queen, as it distracts ker mind, Ido not know whether mother and daughter have in- dulged in a game together, but, gifted though the empress is und possessing. as she is said to do. an intimate knowledge of modern chess openings, I should be inclined to think that her august mother would beat her if her ma- jesty has anything like the skill she possessed in the fortie: Chess. oe Se What to Eat it With. From the Springfield Union, Grocer—“Let me send up a sample package of a new cereal preparation—just out—very nice—easily cooked—recommended by physi- cians as a perfect blood and bone producer.” st what you please. hildren eat it with avidity oe sila Poor People’s Tea. ENGLAND TAXES IT SIX?! A POUND, AND IT IS SOLD AT A SHILLING. From the Allahabad Morning Post. It has often appeared to us an amazing fact that tea worthy the name could be retailed in England at a shilling a pound; and yet this per says that seems to be all but universal at home, if the | correspondence which has appeared in the London Standard recently is to be taken as correctly representing the state of the trade. In a leading article that journal says: “A carrespondent, whose letter we print in another column, protests against certain rubbish which is being gold in this country under the name of tea, It is retailed at 1 shilling the pound; so that, after paving export reimburse the planter for his expenditure of capital and labor, and to pay freight, in- surance and other expenses, including’ the broker's commission for jing it at auction. We are, therefore, not surprised to learn that the leaves, before infusion, ‘smelt like shoe leather,’ and, after infusion. had a ‘strong flavor of tallow,’ plus ‘a most unpleasant smell,> which, if worse than that of last year’s tallow, must have been a very nasty odor indeed.” Our correspondent does well to be angr though whether his financial analysis of this unwholesome product of the flowery land will have any jipeaeony result is very doubtful. The several letters written by correspondents disclose an alarming state of — affairs, One of them, who must certainly pos- sess a decidedly depraved palate. says he enjoys tee at 43{d per pound. Another, who can scarcely write with calmness, says: “The advertising. bonus. und ‘present shop’ ople are altogether responsible for the lower- ing of the British palate. They have cultivated the taste for low-grade tea. and the Chinaman now considers anything good enough for John Bull. The writer, who signs himself ‘Mincing- lane,’ to-day must have a peculiarly-constructed palate when he can drink and enjoy 43,4. Con- on. Such a palate would hardly discriminate tween carbolic acid and Irish whisky.” Any one who takes the trouble to read the results of the tea sales at Calcutta would see at once that it is impossible—in the case of Indian teas, ut any rate—for the retail dealers at home to sell the article at 1 shilling the pound. So that what the lower classes of the English people drink at 434d., or even 1s, per pound, must be some nefarious abomination to which the name of tea has been feloniously applied. He Bit Too Quick. From the Detroit Journal. “Does John Smith live here?” inquired a drayman—a natty looking fellow, too—on Cass street this morning. “That's my name,” said Mr. Smith with dig- nity. “I have an express package for you, sir: looks like a t.”” ie 2 Mr. Smith, unbending and Meme oak expectancy. “I had been look- gg Flier htt ” sigacae “The charges are * dray- Bega yi ine book. laa paid the bill wit it a ed: o “No fool like an old fool.” Only this and nothing more. The drayman had disappeared. to } ROYAL IMBECILES. Disease and Death Besieging All the Thrones in Europe. ‘Vienna letter in New York Tribune. Hidden away in the depths of a dense forest, some five hours by rail to the south of this city is one of the most picturesque and stately cas- tles which it is possible to conceive. The broad moat and heavy drawbridge. the dark walls of undressed granite, pierced with mullioned win- dows and surmounted with turrets and battle- ments, all unite to carry one back to the feudal ages, an impression that is further strength- ened by the venerable aspect of the glorious old trees which constitute the setting of this architectural gem. It stands quite alone, far away from any other human habitation, and with the exception of the game- keepers and foresters, garbed in the imperial livery, who have orders to prevent the ap- proach of any stranger within two miles of the chateau, not a soul is to be seen anywhere in the neighborhood. Hardly a sound is to be heard, and notwithstanding the presence of over sixty blooded horses in the marble wains- coted stables, and of a whole army of attend- ants and domestics in the chateau, a strange voice is hushed, and even the very dogs appear to have been trained to bark and yelp in a mere whisper. Indeed, like the enchanted pal- ace of the sleeping beauty in the fairy tales, the whole castle seems to be subject’ to the spell of some malignant sorcerer. It is to this romantic spot that the latest vic- tim of that dreadful malady which constitutes the hereditary curse of the imperial house of Hapsburg was secretly conveyed some three weeks ago. The late Count Beust’s cutting and cruel remark about Austria’s idiot archdukes has received another notable illustration, and few would be able to recognize in the mental and physical wreck, which scarcely retains a vestige of humanity, the gallant and chivalrous Archduke Leopold, who inherited the vast wealth of the house of Este. Born in 1826, he has for the past twenty-five years held the rank | of commander-in-chief of the engineer and sapper corps of the imperial forces, besides pos sessing colonelcies in the German and Russian armies, Tall and elegant, with a handsome face and an exceedingly winning manner, he was by far the most emperor's family. With the solitary exception of Archduke John, he was the most talented and clever prince of his line, while his im- mense fortune enabled him to dispense gene- rosity and muniticence on a magnificent scale. Needless to add that it is epilepsy in its most hideous form which has thus so darkly clouded the eventide of Archduke Leopold’s well-spent life. Stretched ona bed, no Gage of either the strength or sense to fee he has reached that loathesome state of idiocy which the French so expressively describe as “gatisme,” and bis only occupation seems to be to gaze with a kind of imbecile stare at the splendid portrait which Amerling painted of him, in the striking garb of a Crusader, which le wore at the Carousel atthe Hofburg here, just twenty-five years ago, With the sole exception of the emperor him- self, almost every one of the ninety-eight archdukes and archduchesses who constitute the imperial family of Austria is subject in a greater or lesser degree to fits of epilepsy. The good old Archduke Albert, uncle to his majesty and generalissimo of the forces, is perfect martyr there- to. The emperor’s youngest and’ favorite daughter, Princess Valerie, suffers from occa- sional fits. Archduke Louis Victor, youngest brother of the emperor, has been rendered almost imbecile by the malady. The late Kaiser Ferdinand was reduced to such a state of idiocy and disgusting bestiality by the disease that he was obliged to abdicate in 1848 in favor of his brother, the late Archduke Francis Charles. The latter, however, know- ing that he too was subject to the family curse, refused to accept the proffered erown, and passed it on to his son, the present emperor. iven the poor little three-year-old king of Spain is reported to have inherited the malady from his mother, who is an Austrian arch- duchess, The sad fate of another archduchess, the mad ex-empress of Mexico, is too well known to need more than a passing mention here. But perhaps the most serious case of all isthat of the emperor's eldest nephew, Arch- duke Francis, who, in default of male issue on the partof Crown Prince Rudolph, wili suc- ceed to the imperial crown of Austria, but who is epileptic to such a degree as to have ren- place him under temporary restraint. It is not, however, the Hapsburg dynasty alone on which the hand of Providence weighs so heavily. Indeed at the present moment | there is scarcely a single royal family in Europe which is notcticted with some terrible kind of hereditary infirmity. produced asa rule by too frequent intermarriages between near relatives for several hundred yeara past, which has re- sulted in the impoverishment and vitiation of the blood. Heretical and treasonable though it may appear from a Europesn point of view to advance such a theory, there is no doubt but the blood royal means tuinted blood, and that the blood of the peasant classes is of far more generous and healthy a quality than that of the aristocraey and of royalty. - ——— Dead Bodies for Charms. HORRIBLE PRACTICE PREVALENT AT THE PRESENT DAY AMONG SOUTHERN NEGROES. H. A. Pierce, of Topeka, Kan., sends the fol- lowing communication to the Religio-Philosoph- ical Journal of this city: In the last issue of the Journal Ynoticed un account of an old super- stition that Dr. Bloch calls attention to in re- ard to the mutilation of corpses for the manu- facture of “charms.” ably is, a very “old supe! in our own land to-day ion,” but it exists 4 especially among We need not spring of 1877 I was residing at Star coln county, Ark., engaged in the practi law. A young colored woman had died and had been buried the Arkansas river. Some time after the burial the grave was found open, the top of the coffin torn off, and two fingers from the right hand of the corpse had been re- moved. Great excitement ran through the entire community, and especially among the negroes. Diligent search was made, and by accident one of the fingers was found of a shelf in a cabin, | where a colored “preacher” boarded. Sus- | picion pointed to him and a young man or boy who had been with him, They were both ar- | Tested. and, under the influence 6f fear. the | boy (about eighteen or twenty years old) con- | fessed, and told the following stor: preacher had told him that he had wonderfal power, and if the boy would aid him they }eould both be rich, That if he could get the | finger from the right hand of a dead woman, the hair from a cross-eyed man, the skin from | a negro’s heel, a lock from a red-haired per- son, and the finger and toe nails from an un- | married person, stewed and fried ‘in lard jmixed with a little human Mood, it would make a candle that would render themselves | invisible, and would also make all others upon | Whom its light was thrown invisible: and by it | they could enter stores and dwellings with im- | punity, and rob at pleasure. The bey became jentisted, and they had together opened the | grave and taken two Oe epee for each of | them—from the corpse; but they were arrested before they procured all the ingredients for this wonderful “spell caster.” At the trial I defended the prisoners and they were dis- charged, because the law was so framed that | the mutilation of the corpse constituted no offense under the Iaw, I made extensive in- quiries after that, and found that this is not only a very old superstition, but has been quite prevalent among certain of the blacks of the south, and especially in Louisiana. It only another phase of *‘voudouism” that has come down from remote barbaric ages and been transplanted from the wild jungles of Africa to these shores. But where our ‘German friends” obtained the “spell” is a question that anti- quity must answer, It is the same old super- stition. although the mutilation of the corpse was different. ———_—~e-______ Mr. Garrett Excited. ASLIORT FIRE IN THE RINGWOOD MANSION CAUSES THE TROUBLE. Aspecial to the Baltimore American from Ringwood, N.J., December 80, says: Mr. Gar- rett was very violent to-day, and he struck at | one of his attendants, who warded off the blow. It required two men to overpo running ebout the house to get water to ex- tinguisk, the flames aroused wi his attendants had t difficulty in him in his room. x the fire had been ex- tinguished, with slight damage, Mr. grew more restless, and did not sleep any du- Serge es nace a it south-bound suburban “keep your seats. tlemen. These ular member of the | ossessed | himself, | the | dered it necessary on two occasions already to | both from a moral and physical point of view | | and uncanny silence reigns on all sides. Every | i | | } | ‘This way be, and prob- | the negroes of the south. 0 to | Germany, nor back fo the seventeenth or | eighteenth century to find its practice. In the E ! B Krakauer Pianos and Burdett Organs: | | ' | Coat: LADIES’ GOODS. WINTER RESORTS c, B. @ BA LA SPIRITE oB BEST-FITTING CORSET IN THE WORLD. For sale by Leading Merchants MAYER, STROUSE & CO.; Manufacturers, 412 Broadway, N. ¥. oc9, no6,ded, jal, 29,fe26,mh26,ap23,my21 rs mores - Ho oe em eS anese Scrolls, Napkins, Fans, Ac. Great variety of Scrap Pictures, Studies for Pustiting, Birthday ‘Cards, Games, Gold Paint. J-JAY GOULD. 42 0 DSSGA0TIER HAS RETURNED FROM NEw York, ahd informs her customers and the public that she "will inake Directoire Empire, Gowns Tailor-made Suits, S 13th st. n. a a UPERFLUOUS HAIR DESTROYED, LEAVING NO trace, by my electric needle process, eudorsed by every prominent physician. Ten years’ practice in this city. Electrical treatment for ladies and c! a ocl0-$m* MRS. DK. GABRIEL, 1 G stu, . 1329 F st. now. (Mrs. Harrison's) FINE FRENCH HAIR GOODS Also, A special selection in SHELL, AMBER AND DULL JET ORNAMENTS, SHAMPOOING, Fr Dressed and Bangs Shingle RAL V2 ‘BRA AVE. Tailor-made Gowns, Riding Habits, Evening and DIS, 1229 PEN Street Costumes, etc., made at short notice. fit and work, one Btting requi Formerly ‘with Lord & Barr & Co., St. Louis. Reasonable pri ‘aylor, New York, and ST. MANU- . Brookly, atc by all Teadiny dry-goods houses i 8. . Velvet and Evening . CAROLINE LERCH, forn and Maison Yriese, Paris. TON FISCHER'S DRY CLEAN: ESTA) ISHMENT AND DYE WORKS, 906 G st. nw. ‘Ladies’ and Gents’ Garments of all kinds cleaned and Dyed without being ripped. Ladies’ Evening * 8 specialty. tyifive years’ experience. Prices moderate. Goods called for aud delivered. sl4 Fiyoor. GARMENTS, UP OR RIPPED A. FISCHER, G. T. Kees, TAILOR, oco-4m 414 OTH STREET. H. D. Bax IMPORTER AND TAILOR, Perfect | Buttonboles made. * n13-2n* | LLBd DRESS SHIELDS ARE THY BEST. | Lunfactnred by the Brooklyn Shield Co. NEw WINTER RESORT. THE PRINCESS ANNE, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. miles east of Norfolk, Va. Within easy access of Point Comfort and Fortress Monroe, and on direct between North and South. A primeval pine abont 1.000 acres. with beautiful drives and a health resort it has no superior, For furt! mation, &c., tw, ‘dl -ec26e > DOUBLE TRAC DSCENER) TN EFFECT Ak. TRAINS LEAVE WASHINGTON, MS CORNER SIXTH AND B STREETS, Line, 9-30 a.m. daily, to’ Crcinnati and St and Ha: day, to Chicagc este: with Sleeping Car Altoous to Express, at 5 40 pan. daily daily at Harrisburg with t ;, ville and Memphis, 00 p.m. daily, for Pittsburg West with through Sieepér to Pittsburg. burs to BALTIMORE AND POTOMAC RAILROAD. Frie, da nd Rochester, daily ; falo and Niawara, REET Satianday, xcept tn. daily, with Dining Car. For Boston without change 2:00 p.m. every day. For Brooklyn, N. ¥., all through trains connect at sey City with boats of Brooklyn Annex, aff direct transfer to Fulton street, avoiding lerriage across New York City. For Philadelphia, 720, 8: am. 24 0,8-00.8 On Sunday, 9:00. 1 $10, 10. Pa 10, 10-00 1:40 am, p and 11-2 2-00, 4:10, eek days, and 3-45 0. F 11:46 am. 2 4:20, “4-40. 6:00, 7 40.8 Sunday, 8:00, 0 3:45, 410.6. a. 850. 1140, 40, 5:10 10-00, e Cu Stieb1 | Has the honor to inform you that his NEW GOODS | have Just arrived. estal 1111 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. Washineton, D. HOUSEFURNISHING Tae P. Hassox Hiss MANUFACTURING COMPANY, WALL PAPERS. FRESCO PAINTING, Furniture, Upholstery Goods and Curtains, 815 15th st. nw. Charles st. a11-3m Coosa By Gas A fall line of GAS COOKING STOVES Ou band and for sale. mbl7 Baltimore House, 21 WASHINGTON GASLIGHT COMPANY. BOOKS AND STATIONERY, mbh31 STATIONERY. All the Helps snd Reqwsites for the 1889 Inter- uational Sunday School Lessons, C. C. PURSELL, ages $18 sth st cQUEFN & WALLACE, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 1108-1116 E st. n.w,, south side, BRIEFS, TESTIMONY. RECORDS, PETITION: PROMPTLY AND RATELY PRINTED FINE WORK A SPECIALTY. a9 FAMILY SUPPLIES. HE BEST GRANULATED SUGAR, 7c. II Vite the public to examine my immense stock of Groceries, which I offer at extreme low prices. every article gharanteed first clase or money refunded: { — cash. N. A. POOLE, ma FORE PURCHASING ELSEWHER St nw. 410 EEE PIaNos N UNEQUALED IN TONE, TOUCH. WORKMANSHIP 2 <D DURA ie 7 BILITY. Special attention of “Holidey Purctinsers” is invited to their “New Artistic Styles,” fini in designs of HIGHEST DECORATIVT: AF for rent. SECOND-HAND PIANOS. — A large assortment, comprising almost every well-known make in the country, it thorough repair will be Closed out at ve low figures. SPECLA MEN'S offered both | in prices and ip ters which will be atranged on KASY MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS when desi WM, KNABE & CO., ae S17 Market Space. PANGS FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS. 3 ena ea Tepid Stock of UPRIGHT, BABY ing and E: Mahogany. Moderate prices. Sold ou monthly pay- ments. Call and e: me. SANDERS & STAYMAN, 34 F stn. w. STEY ORGANS FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS. Beautiful new styles just received. Handsome 9- stop organ for $75. Soldon eaxy teruis. Call and ex- amine, SANDERS & STAYMAN, ocl-3im 934 F stu. HE PIANO AND ORGAN QUESTION. Catalogues, prices, tern and other information desized by those ‘th aaa VURGAN tio ocl-3im ALLET & DAVIS’ NOS; perfect in workmanship; el viget Hine stock vreparaton day AtS11 Oth st.nw. HL, SCMNER Agen! = = —— We W ut Deven ‘Tae Besr AT THE Fo! WING PRICES FOR CASH: 4 a ees once, Nod? Hest RR. Yard, Cor. Delaware ave and Kist he, Woon: JOHNSON BROTHERS, ‘Wharves and Rail yards, 12th & Water sts. Southwest. * 1515 7thet. mw. 1740 Pa. ave. n. w. 413 10th st. n. w. Mr. BARE personally fits all garments made in his | blishment. ad |. except Sunday, For Annapolis, 7:20 and 9:00 a.m., daily, except Sund: un ND FREDERICKSBURG. fi for But- 10:00 p. | 0, 9:00, 11-00, and 12 Limited Expres. 11-20 p. ), SA and 120 pm. For Pope's Creek Line, 7:20 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. daily, 05 and 4:40 8, 9:00 & My Nake SRE SPIGTAL ATTRACTIONS FOR 1888, Forsiliman Peetibuled Gaze at ‘Ro'm aul, Fast with Sleeping Cars irom Pittsburg to Cincignatl, id Hi ure to St. Louis: daily, except Satur with Sleeping Cars Washinton to Chicagu and St. Louis, ts. Gratiy Improved and Better Than Ever. ih. with Sleeping Car Washiugtou to i For wie 8p ck Haven, and Elmira, at 9.508 | ma, dail For foam, $2.23-08 oe ‘Tee WEEKLY Stan, in its new dress and under by y, 2 5 10: Tram ress Of Atco and cANvel editorial supervision, commends itself as Cars. m. daily, ‘Sunday, and 3:45 PB ‘onesf the most attractive and desirable news and Jer. benef journals published. It comprises eight | PABs of solid reading matter—the very cream of 40 | thecntents of the eight-page daily issues of Tue ‘a | EVEWNa Stan, together with additional features, inclsting a department devoted te Farm, Home | auddarden interesta, carefully complied and ed- ited apressly for the weekly edition. In addition to tts unexcelled attractions as @ | Weeky newspaper, it bas fasued a list of vsluable And weful premiums, given either to single sul- A AX * | WAY AND ALEXANDRIA’ AND WASHINGTON | ®t or club raisers, which will be sent, togetD- RA ROAD, Alexandria, 4 Zp | °F wR A sample copy of the paper, free and pont. { € On Sunday at 4 45. | Paldw any address, or given to any one applyl Fa mm 2 30.'5.55, 8:03, 10:05 p . —_ —e | Accommodation for Quantico, 725 am. and'd:00 at the counter of the business office. | For Richmond | and 6-05 p. m. daily, excey * Sunday Trains leave Alexandria for 5:00, 9:1 3 Washingt Sanday at #10 9:3¥ and 10:42 p.m, Tickets and information at _the office, northe: net of 1:ith street and Penpeylvaniaavente, andy station, Where orders can be left for the checi age to destination from hotels aud residen: CHAS. E. PUGH. JW Generai Manager, [417] ALTIMORE AND OHO RaiLhoaD. hedule in effect Dec. #th, 1888. Leave Washington from station corner of New avenne and € at For Chicago and Northwest, vestibuled limit press, daily, 8:55 a.m. ; express, 9:05 p.m. af, Cinetinati and’ St. Louis, express, daily, 0p. For Pittsburg and Cleveland. vestibuled lim press, daily, 8:95 a.m.. and express, 9:05 For Lexington aud local stations, For Baltimore, ‘week dav,’ 8 i 3 am, and 11:30 >.m For Way Stations between Washi more, £ 40, 8:30 a. mi. 12-10 ndays, 8:30 am, Ties “Baltimore for Waal 630, 7 :20,8-00, (49-u: s Bel 1 00, 4 For Aun 36, 8-00. 10 8:30am, 30am, 435° pau. m., 12:05, 4:10, pm 5 the Metropolitan Brauch, pin. for principal stations, and +o:30 pan. termediate points, t! 411-20 pan. us O an) I, 95 3h 's aud’ interniedisie stations, 17. m. eh train leaves Washington on Sunday Stopping at all stations on Metro days, 1:15 pau ‘or Hagerstown, +1010 2... and 45, ‘Trains arrive from Chicago daily 8: pan. wu Cincinnati St. Lows from Pittsburg °s PHIA DIVISION. Wihnington. daily, 8-15 and. pan. ; “8:35 pam, 0 ‘0 p.m. trains. Sleeping Car n d ovember 18th, 1881 8:30 A. M—East Tenn. Mail Daily for’ We Gordonsville, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and St betw. ndrie and Lynchburg, Roaboke, » Mouteomers, and "Ne ston ville Pull tion with points Sundays, 2:30 P. M—Daily, except Sunday, for Mi Sthusburg and interuiediate stations 5:20 P. M.—Western Express Daily for Wa: Gordonsville, Charlottesville, Louisville, Cindi Pullman Sleepers and Solid Trains Washin Louisville: also tor Lynchburg, his, Little Rock. and all ugh Pullman Sleepers W: southwestern. ‘ashington to Mi athern Express Daily for burg, Danville, Raleigh, Asheville, Charlotte, bia, Aiken, Augusta, Auanta, Montgomery, 5 | leans, Texas and California, Pullman Vestibule Washington to New Orleans via Auanta and gomery. Pullman Sleeper Wushingtou to Al an a 8 on Wasiiugton and Ohio division lea 0 ail lay,and 4 WA Mand 74 Returtang leave Round Hill 6-05 A.M. Daily « : ¥ Daily except Sunday, arriving Washingt: | Through trans from the South via Charl | Milleand Lynchburg arrive in Washing | and 7 30 P.M; via Bast Ty 2 115 AM. and 9:4 3 hio Toute and Charlottesville at 9:4 Strasburg Local at 9:47 A.M. Tickets, sleeping car reservation furnished, and buzgewe checked at sylv¥ania avenue, and at Passer iia Ruilroad, 6th and B sts, do Gen Ou WE EBNON: wr, $5 STEAMER W. W. CORCORAN Leaves 7th-street wuarf daily (except Sunday) Vernon and River Landings as far down as Gi st 10 o'clock a m. Returning, reaches Wasi stgat 3:30. m. = Fo" ae MAC SEW TRO: id the South, 4-30, 10:57 @. m. gaily, cor the | ‘Lea An- For Frederick, 10:10 a.m, 14:35, t5:30 p.m }3un- m.,. m. Buffet Parlor Cars @ the we Asa further inducement to secure a largeZin- $ | CTeae to ite subscription list, THE WEEKLY Stam has srranged to g: A PREMIUM TO EVERY SUBSCRIBER Who simply pays the price of subscription, $1.00 per annum. This premium isa WORCESTER'S POCKET DICTIONARY, Something needful in every family and usefal | alikein the omice, work-shop or at home, It ia the nost compiete stuall dictionary ever offered te the public. It is nicely and substantially bound a cloth comprises 288 pages, over 500 illustrations, nd contains more than 10,000 words, the spelling, Pronuvciation, and definitions of which conform thosof the largest and latest editions. Itis wolp Prined, in plain and readable type, aud coutaiug | Wesides the vocabulary a list of Foreign Wondg and "brases, Explanation of Abvreviations, Rules. for Spelling, and Tables of Weights and Meas ures &e. Tus handsome and valuable little book, whic Tevails at 40 cents, exclusive of postage, will be given end sent, postage free, to every subscriber Tecelred by THE WEEKLY STARK at $1.00 each. It will also be given free and post paid to any one sending wo (2) subscribers to Tut WEEKLY STAR 8t $1.00 each ($2.00), each subscriber, aswell @ettiag & copy of the dictionary free and post AND YET ANOTHER PREMIUM. We have still auother preminm to be given te subsribers— THE WEEKLY STA! POCKET ATLAS. THE POCKET ATLAS bands omely printed book of 191 pages; 90 are full-page colored and thorougbly reliable maps setting forth the geo Frapuical features of the whole world in minute Petey” hadi = | detail 101 are Miled with reading matter, cou | densed lute a graphic presentation of all the facts <- | tm the soial, religious, political and industrial bis tory apd condition of every State aud Terriwry im | the Union, together with 48 colored diagrams showing the relative strength of different industries | and of different products in various States, and | other items too uumerous to mention, These books sell at $1 each. 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The Winter Gems of the Tropica. ‘The Magnificent Steamers of the WARD LINE, Will be despatched for Havana, Matan: of god Suva, and for Havana Provre apech@l ra, Lam) Oy xpan and Vera Cruz WEDNESDAYS and SATURDATS, For Nassau, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuego Every other THURSDAY. ROYAL VICTORIA HOTEL, NASSAU is perfection. American management. fortable. For particulars, besutif’ printet te... etc., FREE, ween Se WARD a 60,113 Wal an] ths,tu,3un gg. ROUTE TO LONDON, NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD 8. & d Fast E: of carrying em from place to place. Evers Subscriber sent in by an agent or club raiser is entitled to a premium, which will be mailed his or her address if asked for when the nape |$ sent in—otherwise none will be sent, as many do not wish them. Subscribers sent in as club mites can get the Pocket Atlas also by em closing 10 cents extra for postage. Further particulars can be had if desired by ‘writing @ postal or letter to this office. Events during the next twelve months promise to bebighly interesting dnd exciting. THE EVEN- ING STAR, of course, will be first and foremost im the collection and prompt publication of al! the news, and the compilation of the latest and most Important into THE WEEKLY STAK makes that tase, there THE EVENING STAR is unavailable, wit its vast collection of telegraphic, govern meotal and local news, literary and scientific mis cemsny, agricultural department and market reports, © weekly journal unequaled in any re ‘spect or in any country. ‘ne city patrons of THE EVENING #TARcen find no More appreciable boliday or birthday preent for an absent friend or relative than @ messy handsome and useful premiums Ga) of send for sample copy nd premium list ‘Aasrese— Washington, BQ ' cop of the THE WEEKLY STAR, with one of im