Evening Star Newspaper, August 23, 1890, Page 8

SACRED FROM THE LAW Diplomats in Washington and Their Surprising Privileges. NONE DARE TO TOUCH THEM. me Capital City—This Government Cannot Enter Them—Ministers and Attaches May Not be Arrested, NE of the most curious things in the world to contemplate is the loca- tion here in the very eapi- tal of the United States of = number of patches of land which are not parts of United States territory nor subject to the laws of this nation, being, in fact, portions or fragments of foreign countries scattered about Washington. The United States does not possess over the foreign legations even tho rignt of “eminent domain'—that is to say, it has not the power to take possession of them, as it can do with Bacar any other land in the country. by condemning and paying for the property. Nay, more, ite authority cannot cross their boundaries without permission. To attempt to euter a iegation and arrest a minis- ter, any member of his family, one of suite, aservant or a guest within his gates would be # casus belli with the nation so out- raged unless ample amends for the trausgres- sion w. b ¢ made. Not only are the land and ase oceupied sacred, but the furniture and things appertaining to the dwelling. Nothing in itean be seized for debt or to satisfy any legai process. Not long ago a minister from s South Ameri- ean republic bought $1,200 worth of dude clothes in New York city and had them sent on here by Adams’ express €.0.D. The goods were delivered at the legation, but the money could not be obtained. Once in possession of the clothing, the diplomat simply refused pay- ment, and. inasmuch agit was impossible to bring any legal process, the company, which was responsible for the amount, was out of pocket that much. If it had brought an action to recover according to law, every person who took part in bringing and prosecuting the ac- tion, including the solicitor employed and the officer who attempted to carry it into effect, would have been deemed a ‘violator of the laws of nations anda disturber of the public abject to sentence of imprisonment for uot more than three years and fines at the diseretion of the court. “So much for trying to torner a diplomatic dead beat. young attaches of the legations here have made Use of their immunity in this regard to run heavily in debt. The United States govern- ment never interferes im such matters, con- sidering them beneath the dignity of its Botice; its notion is that tradesmen, know the privileges of these people from abroad, should look out for their own protection. PERSONS WHO ARK SACRED. But the immunity of the diplomat from legal process does not merely attach to him and his property within the bounds of his legation. He is uot subject to arrest anywhere or under any circumstances in this country. The law says he is “entitled to entire exemption from local .. either civil or criminal. Wherever e goes the minister represents the rights and dignity of the sovereign or state by which he delegated; his person is sacred and inviolabl And this inviolability extends to bis suite, family and servants, none of whom is subject to United States laws or to arrest on any account. even for murder. During the last admiuistration there was a sec- retary of a foreign legation here who used to take flagrant advantage of his im- munity im this regard. It was his custom to go down town every night, visit the variety theaters or gambling houses, get fighting drunk and raise Hail Coiumbin generally. When it was proposed to arrest him. be would fall back upon the sacredness of bis person and defy the minions of the law. ‘The latter, however, finally adopted the plan of pretend- ing that they did not know who he was and locking him ‘up for the night, liberating him in the morning with profuse apologies of course. ‘The sacredness attaching to foreign sover- elgnty or its representative was ouce appealed to with singular want of success by a certain Young prince visiting here, who enjoyed no h immunity by law. however, because he was in no way accredited to this country. He insulted a lady ata party in Washington while under the influence of a trifle too much wine, and 4 friend of hers, catching him after- ward on the pavement outside. addressed him with hostile inteat. What!” exclaimed the prince, would you str-r-ike a son of r-roya No,” said the other, “but I wouid strike a d—d drunken soz of @ gun.” aghast; Wherenpon he hit the prince a right-bauder im the eye. EVEN IN CASE OF MURDER. If the minister from the Cannibal Island cbose to murder one of his attaches or servants the United States government would make no attempt to punish him for the crime; it would simply communicate the facts to the Cannibal Asiand foreign office and request that something be done. Even oy that the minister should choose to kill an American citizen, he would not be arrested here; the notification sent to the home office would simply be more urgent, thatis all. The people of the legations are subject only to the laws of their own countries, When an orieutal prince hanged himself out ofa window of hiscountry’s legation & while ago, for unrequited love of a Washing- tou girl, and no facts about the case to the police, noaction was taken in the matter, though very likely the Department of State may have made a private inquiry. According to law, if the servant of minisier commits a crime here he may be tried and sentenced by the minister, but the practice is to send the @ccused person home for wial, PRIVILEGES OF FOREIGNERS, On the whole, considering their immunities, the people of the legations are very well be- haved. An offense committed by them isan exceptional thing. Some of them are addictea to much faster driving than the law permits the American citizeus of Washington to indulge in. Most noticeable of the offenders in this Way at present is an attache who is extremely fond of driving » beautiful stallion along the avenues at breakneck speed. A secretary of another legation has a playful way of riding his horse up to the doors of shops across the side- walks. He bas been accosted more than once by policemen for this sort of proceedi he coolly defies the officers, teliing them, a he twirls bis moustache with exasperating Sangtroid, that he is attached toa foreign legation and that they dare not arrest him. 2 JULIAN CAN LET THE SNOW MELT. This is true enough. Some foreigners in Washington undoubtedly have many privileges Bot accorded to the natives. For instauce, Sir Julian Pauncefote cannot be compelled to have the snow shoveled off from his sidewalk in winter; be might let it lie three feet deep for mouths and all the power of the United States go"esument could not compel bim to remove it. And yet Attorney General Brewster was ar- rested here once during his official term for failure to clear bis front pavement of snow. Certainly the German minister could set fire to his legation building and burn it down to the ground without anybody being able to say “boo” to him. That reminds one of the curious incident that occurred uot long be od A prominent minister thought that he wonld like to show a few friends bow prompt an American fire department was, compared wi the effete Euroj service, So he sprung an alarm, and within four min- utes haif adozen engines and hose came dashing up, wi for emergencies, When the distinguished rey resentative of a European throne coi Many of the | ere given | @ hook and ladder truck fire captain replied rather grimly that that sort of fun cost an American citizen just $50, though, of course, the fine could not be e foreed ‘against tu ator of the offen: in this case. However, the minister, being a gentleman, offered his nape and insisted ‘Gpon paying the 50, which he did. WBY TREY BESAVE THEMSELVES. But, as has been said, the ministers and their Attaches usua'ly take good care not to offend against the laws and customs of this country. Exempt as they are from local jurisdiction, eriminal and civil, they cannot make them- selves annoying without rendering themeelv: undesired guests inthe eyes of our govern- ment. Once so regarded they are likely to be requested to go home. Such a request is not conveyed directly to them, of course; but their governments are respectfully asked to recall them. If any demand of the sort were not complied with, as it alwa; is, the ob- fectionable diplomat would undoubtedly be fent back nolens volens. The person and papers of a minister can never be seized unless he is regarded as a menace to the coun- try wherein he resides; in that case it ix noce: sary in self defense to arrest him and send him away under escort, He might be plotting # revolution, you see. A minister some years ago occasioned some scandal in Washington, Some pretty jd and weird festivities were frequent in his house, In the morning after a party at the legation the whole frout side- walk would usually be found covered with j soy of cards scattered like snow, wiich had en thrown ont of the window during tho night's gambling. The yard in the rear would be strewn thickly likewise. A secretary of a | foreign legation in Lincoln's time was arrosted | on the street for most improper behavior; but | he made complaint and secured the dismissal | of the policeman who took him in. So palpa- | Dle was this injustice that Secretary Seward employed the man at much higher pay as his | own special watchman in the Department of State, where the secretary was compelled to see him every time he made an_ official | call. One privilege enjoyed by diplomats in Washington is that of importing from abroad free of duty whatever they want for their own personal nse. Some of them have beef charged with smuggling in this way on a large scale, though whether truly or not it is impossible tosay. One attache has boen recently accused of being in partnership with a _wino merchant and supplying the stock in trade. SOME FUNNY THINGS, The sacred and inviolable character of a legation does not inhere in the ground or the dwelling, but simply in the fact of their occu- | ancy by a foreign embassy. Thus you will d that only the British, German and Mox- ican legations own the property they occup If any legation moves the house it leaves at once ceases to be sacred, while the one it goce into takes on that quality immediately. Speaking of moving, the Chincse legation one summer not very long ago rented a, big house much further down town than the one it at present occupies. The minister did not like the sofas and chairs because tiey were white, being covered with linen for the hot season. So he obliged the owner to buy new furniture. However, when the chairs and sofas were being loaded on moving wagons to take them away some of the covers came _artly off, exposing the brilliant red damask beneath, Now, red is the royal color in China, and when the members of the legation saw it and per- ceived their mistake they gave u shout of de- light and demanded that the furniture be at once restored. Thus tho proprietor of the house found himse!: vaca hundred dollars out of pocket, and all for nothing. The funniest thing in connection with this government's dipiomatic relations is the letters sent to the President of the United States by | the rulers of other nations announcing births | and such events in sovereign families. Such | ications are the custom among the | d there is a stereotyped form for For instance, on the occasion of the | last important domestic happening in the | household of Queen Victoria a letter came from her to President Harrison as follows “Vietoria, Queen of Great Britain. Empress | of India, Detender of the Faith, &c., &c., to | jamin Harrison, President of the United | “GREAT AND Goop Frirxp: I have the pleas- | ure of announcing to you the birth of a fine | boy on the Zist instant to my granddaughter, the Princess Battenberg, who is doing as well as can be expected. This event will doubtless cement the cordial relations existing between our goverments. Your good friend. Vicronta. This letter is written on ruled blue paper, | and to it President Harrison replies, on waite | vellum paper in a big sheet, as follows: “Great axp Goop Friexp: I have received the pleasant news conveyed to me by your com- | munication of the 22d instant, and am giad that the happy event came off safely. ft is my | earnest praver und expectation that the said event will strengthen the bonds of amity and | friendship which #0 happily enbsist betwecn | our two governments. Your good friend. Beygamix Hanntson.” It is worth noting that the President never aces there letters from Queen Victoria and | other sovereigns at all. and the replies, which | are written in an elegant Spencerian hand by a #1,200 cierk in the Department of State, are | merely taken to him for his signature, Such is the nonsense of dip! Swinburne’s Assa: “God or man, be swift; hope sickens with delay; Smite, and send him howling down his father's way Fall, O fire of heaven, and smite as fire from hell, Halls wherein men's torturers, crowned and cow: ering, dwell! These that crouch and shrink and shudder, girt with power— ‘These that reign, and dare not trustone trembling hour— ‘These omnipotent, whom terror curbs ard drives— These whose life reflects in fear their victim's lives — These whose breath sheds poison worse than plague’s thick breath — These whose reigu is ruin, these whose word ts ll, aud day to death, These whose will turns heaven to hel night, ig ‘These, if God's hand smite not, how shall man's by horror withered as by fire Surge the strains of unappeasabie desir Sounds that bid the darknows lighten, lit for death; Bid the lips whose breath was duom yield up their breath; Dowa the way of Czars, aw! a vain deferred, Bid the Second Alexander light the !hird. —Fortnight’y. —- eee IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS. | Were They Better Than These, or is It Simply a Romance? From the Cornhill! Mazazine. Were the former days better than these? Few of us would, if we could, go back to them; and | yet there is strange, restful charm hanging | round the past, a fascinating interest in kno | ing what our fathers did and how they live and in contrasting it with the more bustling, active days in which our own lot is cast. Un- doubtedly life could be, and was, more simple, more unsophisticated, then than now, when the aim of most people is to live up to the pace of the express trains, which have brought with them that craving for continued change, that inability to settie in one spot after the manner of our fathers, aud, as they did, to live the Year after year, with little change or relaxation. What they called regularity we should term monotony; their peaceful quiet would be to us stagnation, The time is tast dying out when men dwelt, as it were. under their own vine and their own fig treo; when fifty and even sixty years would be spent in one small coun- try village, content to be beyoud the sound of | the bum of the busy world in the more thickly | populated t ‘A visit to London or the seaside in the times of our grandparents in the | country was an event in their history requiring | grave consideration and deliberation. have | & country woman's idea of the great city, given me as Inte ss the year 1856, taken down in her | own words: “Why, you know, miss, I han’t | Bever been to London; I don't know nothin’ at | alt about it. Why, lor! miss, how funny I should feel, to be sure! Why. theze, I told Mr. W. the other day that if 1 was to get to the! station at Loudon I should stand and holler till | he did come to me; for you see, miss, I shouldn't be able to vind en, ‘cos I don't know as whether he've got a bell or a knocker to his door; but { shouldn't like to go neither, ‘cos there’ud be such a lot of people to stare at me. Only five years ago, just before starting for seaside with my family, I was talking to an old woman of eighty-three who bad lived all her life in her own village, about the sea. She said she hoped as how wo ‘shouldn't be drownded.” but she couldu’t say as how she ever did like the sea; and on my asking her if she had ever seen it, “Ni replied; ‘my son always tried to persua to go and see it, and to please him one day when the wagons | were going to M——"" (an estuary of a tidal | ver 14 miles from her home) “1 got on the and rode, but when I got there, thank “twere only mud.” “Where are all those poople going to, officer,” asked the man from Sunda; up country late iy monet decal ean’ ing trying to get “No, Ts oa were 0 et | away from one. ‘They're going to chureh, Phil ia Timea, Country Hostess—‘Have you nice neighbors where you live now?” City Guest—“Oh, wo ve no prea none se vial Maye 4 jostess—""You ain't bors?” Gnest—“ We live by York that be bad only done it for fun, the! Weakly. : | feeling as in myself. EUROPEAN CAUSERIE. Max O'Rell’s Chat About the Opera in London. WILSON BARRETTON AMERICA The Railread Employes Seem Like Kings—Carmen and Wagnor’s Music— y¥—Needea ‘t to Marriage Laws, ig Special Correspondence of Tax Evexixe STAR Loxpon, August 18. OOKING around upon the brilliant crowd at the opera on the last night of the season I could not help hoping that the dead have the power of secing some- times what goos on in the world they have left. It would have been good to know that Bizet eaw that vast assembly of people, who had all paid extra high prices to hear his opera of “Carmen” sung in the original French by favorite artiat “Carmen” that failed when it was first brought out and then lay for years and years uvheard, till poor Bizet, unhappy and unknown to fame, despaired of exer get- ting his chef d’ suvre produced again. His | good fairy came at last in the person of Madame Paulino Lucoa, and once restarted by her this opera svou became a prime favorite all over Europe. Today there is no greater one with the general public everywhere, and I was not surprised that Augustus Harris chose it for the final and gala night, nor to find the house packed with people from floor to ceiling, so much #0 that a royal duke and cousin of the queen, who had noglected to retain a box in advance, had to be accommodated with all, T hear, and quite believe, that there was £2,800 in the house, It was sucha crowd as has rarely, if ever, been seen at Covent Garden, and it was prepared to be pleased. Notwithstanding tho non-appearance of Mme. Melba, who had been promised for Michela, could ‘long depress it, for had we not the new and most coquettish of Cormens, Mile, de Lussan, and the interest of seeing M. Jean de Reszke’s first appearance as Don Jose, to say nothing of the singing of M. Laasalle as the gay ioreador? seemed very difficult to understand how this opera couid ever have been a failure; but, after all, “Carmen” is not the only stage pro- duction that has turned from a fiasco into a huge success, e youngest of us are old enough toremember the poor start of the “Private Secretary,” so scorned of critics; and yet it had an unparalleled run, Since that we have hada more striking caso still in the for- tune of “Dorothy. WAGNER'S MUSIC. Apart from this last night of the oper& season the fullest houses have been drawn by “Die istersinger” aud “Lohengrin.” Tho sweet nd the comparative suavity of the music are making this work of Wagner's dear to peo- ple who find some of his operas incomprehen- siblo. For my part [ own to a perfect inability or distinguish tho beautios of ©, but the “Meistersing- stheaving. It 38 plain ily advancing im public favor; we are all, the French included, grow- ing to be of the opinion of Bill who, after giving the matter his mature considera tion, has come to the conclusion that “Wag- uer's music is not so bad as it sounds,” @ mistake that most of us make in the beginning et of it the same effects as we get in operas, Now, Wagner proceeds by | at some honest len ere methods all his own, and it takes you time to understand them; to find out that it is the orchestra which is gomg to tell you all the feclings of the characters. and that ‘the actors themselves are comparatively unnecessary to the process. for they occupy much the samo relation to the work as lime light illustrations do toa lecture. The orchestra, as this master uses it, gives us an idealization of speech, WITHOUT THE AID OF THE STAGE CARPENTER, This is how I comprehend the Wagnerian method. Let us suppose that you are a musician and you want to convey in music the idea of aman with toothache, You write for an orchestra a composition illustrative of the growling pains, the twingeings, the temporary relief, the return of the misery, the wrench of extraction and the heavenly feeling of relief in | turn experienced by the patient. To add to the effect, or to explain it more forcibly to the dullard, you send on the stage an actor who, by tones and groaus and attitudes descriptive, helps a little. But he is really not necessary when the writer uf the score has such a maste over the resources of an orchestra as Wagner has. Wagner makes you see a storm without the help of the carpenter. No need for the sheet of zine, the cannon balls or the flash of lime hght. He gives you the thunder and lightning, the lashing rain and the whistlicg wind without stage artifices, In the ride of the Ikurie” you seo with closed eyes the galloping horaes and hear them neigh; in fact Tcould not help fecling as I listened’ to thie music under Richter's baton that. a lot of horses pounding about on wooden boards, as we get them in the theaters, would only have shattered and spoilt the vision. COMPARING NOTES. It is always interesting to compare notes with a friend who has been over the same ground as one’s self; so 1 was eager to hear Mr. Wilson Barrett's impressions of his long tour in the states, from which he and his company have | u 1. I found him highly pleased | ecess iu America, but glad to be | under gray skies again. In Pueblo when he was there with his company ths thermometer marked 130. Their own thermometer when put in the sun gave up trying to register the fierce heat and burst. ‘Two points. we both agreed p ctlyupon at once; the charming geniality and good fellowship’ of the people und the wearing monotony of life ou the road; the long journeys over vast stretches of country all alike until yon go far west; the sight of town after town built on the same pat- ternand of the same material; the sdjouru in an endioss succession of hotels varying a Little inthe matters of size and cookery, but all | looked at the female gri ruled and kept in order, guests included, by set of awe-inspiring helps. I was interested, too. to find that the train conductors, those mute, MAGNIFICENT MONARCHS OF THE ROAD, had awakeued in Mr. Barrett much the same We Europeans are used to a form of obedieuce and deference from our paid servants, and the arrogant attitude of the American wage-earner first amazes and then eurages us. It is so novel to be tyrannized over by people whom you pay to attend to your comfort. The American keeps his temper under the process, because he is eminently a good fellow. Besides, a all squabble is no more in his line than a small anything else. ‘Tho westerner may out pistol and shoot any one who annoys him, but neither he nor tie eastern man will wrangle for mastery. I am tolerabiy cool myself; but I lost my temper once, and that was inan American car, I was going from Petersburg in Virginia to Washington and had comfortab y installed myself in the smoking compartment at the back of the parlor car. Presently in came tie conductor of the train, He opened the window and calmly seated himself to read the news- paper, ‘The couductor of the parlor cur might perhaps have had a right to use this smoking room, though even that I doubt. This man intruder and, as I afterward learned, orightto be there. The draught from the window annoyed me, so I got up and closed it, The fellow rose, gave me a mute, impudent scowl and opened it again. I then said to him, ‘I don’t kuow whether you are on board this train to look after the safety aud comfort of the passengers, or purely to study your own, but I will not have the window open,” and so saying I closed it, Still mute, he once more rose and moved toward the win- dow. By this time my blood was up and, grip- ping him by the shoulder, I said: “by thunder, if you open that window again I am going to pitch you out of it.” There must have been something persuasive in my tone or glance, for, still without a word, he made an exit, com- pared to which » whipped hound’s would be majestic, ON THE ROAD. Ifound Mr, Barrett had survived his triumphs very well. When I came across him last winter in Philadelphia his audiences were demanding aspeech at the end of every performance and getting it. At first they bad called upon him for one at the end of every act, but he happily prernny them to be content with one a night, F Talking of the possibility of dying on roud reminded me o} incident in last American tour, I had to give « lectu: Grand ltepids and had arrived thither in morning. At noon the was © the sho 4 ee HEE ShSREE SS bd ti Cd THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. D.C.. SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES, s ‘That's all right,” he interrapte your corpse; I guess there'll money in it WHAT GHALL WE Do wiTH OUR Bors? What «relict it must be to the aristocratic father of s young Verisopht when that scion of his house is fairly married to a suitable wife! The Cre “what shall we do with our boys?" is a serious one with some parents, even when those boys are over twenty-one and not re- quired to earn their own living. The English marriage law. being what it is, is it much wouder that now and then a young man with his pock- ets full of money, and feading an idle life, T'll exhibit e as much should treat paps to such a surprise as the one Lord Ciancarts had about a year ago? When T first came to England it struck me as very fanny that a giri might zo out to choose the fish for the family dinner, and on her way home pass to the registry office and get married to any boy who happened to have caught her fancy, provided he was of the required by law. No papers, no consent ‘Oo parents re- wired; nothing but a couple of witnesses. ‘he Dunlo divorce case has brought home to me afresh the fact that red tape is an excellent thing in moderation. It cannot be much of a treat for « British earl to wake one morning to find himself the fathor-in-law of a lady whose photograph in the airy costume of a music hall star 18 on view in London shop windows, and to whom he may reasonably have far graver ob- Jections than that of professional costume. HOW THEY MANAGE IT IN FRANCE. They manage these things better in France. In that country mesalliances are sufficiently common to disprove the English notion that Frenchmen marry for money; in fact they aro much more common than in England. In the bourgeois ¢lass you may constantly see men marry penniless girls who work for their living Of course there is opposition from M. and Mme. Prudhomme, ho bad other views for their son, but that is inevitably overcome at the birth of the rash son's first baby. if not before. But in the aris- tocracy one never hears of a glaring mesalli- ance like Lord Dunk Our aristocracy is an old one anda proud. With the exception of a few families, such as the Howards, the En- glish aristocracy is a mushroom growth compared with the French one. Robbed of their power they cling all the more tena- ciously to their family dignity, and the duty of keeping it Op is inetlcated into her sons by every French grande dame as soon as the boys are old enought to understand one thing from another. Backing up the mothers of authority, which, I believe, would in nine cases out of ten be all sufficient, there comes the law which compels a man, even after he is of age, to ask his parent's consent to his contemplated mar- riage. If they refuse, he must three times, at stated intervals, serve them with a notice of his intention to marry. If Lord Clancarty had only had one such notice he might have sent his on to Australia before instead of after his twenty-tirst birthday. THE HERO, ACCORDING TO THE JURY. England is such a free and busy country that three notices might prove irksome to intending bridegrooms and ainbitious parents alike, but when the registrar undertakes the solemn busi- ness of joining two people together for life the most ardent hater of red tape might surely for- give him for eoeet for a certiticate of birth or some such proof of identit: 1 should not be surprised to find Lord Clancarty setting to work next session to try and get the English marriage law improved. Meanwhile one moral to be drawn from the late trial is that a com- moner may give a lesson in nobleness to. mem- bers of the nobility, for, assuming the finding of the jury to be a right one. Mr. Wortheimer, who came to the rescue of the forsaken Lady Dunlo, is easily the hero of this little comedy. & nobleman practically say ‘Leave that wife of yours: go to the other end of the world and let her live as best she may without your support or company.” And the son goes. When, for want of her hus- band’s purse, she accepts the pecuniary help of another man, the two noblemen bring against her an accusation of unfaithfulness, taking it for granted that a man would not come to the rescue of a forsaken woman except for bi motives, But they had reckoned without the Lritish jury. For the future, if carls want the sympathy of their august institutions in their domestic trou- bles, they must at least behave as honorably as the average Briton who serves on the said jury would behave under ilar circumstance, OFF TO THR SEAsHONE. Tam off to the seashore and have chosen a little town on the English coast, You must not believe that I go to enjoy myself, If I were on pleasure bent I would go to @ French watering Place. where there is a holiday look and fecling about the whole place; where the people seem to imbibe some of the sportiveness of the waves; where children actually play together without being introduced aud the grown-up folks sup- plement promenades and sea baths with cou- certs and dances at the casino, and young and old have but one aim. that of having a good time. No, I want to get through some work, aud at the English — sen- sido one is suro of meeting — with no distractions. One moment's thought settled it. The solitary, solemn morning pinuge, the morning walk past the same staid, straight, suff promenade. ‘The same thing repeated in the evening and, day after day. varied by an occa- sional serenade from the local band or a well- meaning fanatic who awes and lures the dear children away from their pails and spades to join ina bout of hymn singing on the beach, No temptation to anything more distracting than a sail or @ game of tennis, That is the place for me. ENGLISH CHILDREN, Dear children! ail the little warmth and color of the tame picture centers in them. If they | onlyhad free play! Isaw a truly British sight the other day ona beach. A lovely and beauti- fully dressed little girl of about five was danc- ing about nlone, watched over at a little dis- tanc by her nur Presently she stopped ier bols, «nd going up to two other children g beside # sour. prim person, she evi- dently asked them to play with her. The two . and the next thing I saw was the iittlo darling who had mace the advance going sadly eway toward her uurse. If it is so with childhood, whose sweet face ought to be a sutlicient introduction, the rest is easy to imagine, It will be the very euviron- ment I want, and Tam going to throw myself into the spirit of the place, look askance at everybody aud “John Bull” it tor a whole month, And 80, good-by. ! Max O'Rei. oo Written for Tux Evextya Stan, Night in Oak Hill, ‘Tho sheeted dead tn cerement and shroud, Deep wrapped in an eternal, dreamiess sleep, Fore’er a sad, sepulchral stillness keep, With which the very air is e’en endowed. The earliest buds of spring flowers which peep, Seem with theheavy gloom allsad and bowed, Asthough their tener, Desuteous lives were vowed To such a sorrow as the piace doth steep. Tho moonbeams giisten coldly on the stones, The breeze a tender requiem chats aud plays, While shadows grim seem watch to keep o'er ull. And eerily the hooting owl now moans, While lizards creap o'er dark wud dank pathways When o'er the avene @ passing cload doth vast ite pall. —C. M. BucwaNax. soe — PLANT LIFE. A Eucalyptus Tree That Made Its Way Through Difliculties, From the San Diewo (Cal.) Sun. A story of one of the most interesting freaks of vegetable life is told by Ellwood Cooper of Santa Barbara, As coming from hian the story cannot be anything but strictly im accordance with the facts. Through Mr. Cooper's garden there ran some years ago a sewer made of red- wood timber. This sewer was again cased by au outside sewer. Across the sewer there was | ( built 4 brick wall many feet high, and in such a way thatit was pierced by the inner sewer, which it inclosed tightiy, while the outside sewer ended abruptly against the wall. Tho outside sewor casing had in course of time de- cayed, anda eucalyptus tree standing some sixty feet away had taken advantage of this and sent one of its roots to the coveted spot in as direct aline possible. Here the root entered the out- side sewer and followed its course as far as it could, At last it came to the wall which shut off its ——,) and eae 5 = fucther, the inside sewer being perfect ig! But on the other wide of the wall the sewer and its double casing contin and thie eucalyptus tree evidently knew how to get there. Some three feet high in the brick wall there was a little hole an inch or two in diem- eter, and this the tus tree Was aware of, as its big root began toclimb the dry wall and face the sun and wind ae the hi HE TAUGHT THEM MANNERS. A Dude’s Gentle Rebuke te Two Ob- streperous Cowboys. From the Kansas City Giobe. A boot and shoe drummer of this city, away up im the T. P. A. anda good feliow all round and veraciously known all over the wide west, quite soulfully told this among the last stories of a number related by traveling men last night at the Midland Hotel: “I was,” said he, “a short time ago out in a little town in Ne- braska, where you could without imagination look over the imaginary line dividing Nebraska and Wyoming and see acres upon acres of the new sister. Iwas at the station of about the waiting for the train, late, as usual, some two or three hours, This little town was on @ branch road. I'll not name it, for ‘there's a chtel mang us taking notes and he'll prent'em,’ as I expect to go back there again. Were two other commercial nh waiting as 1 was, One was dndish-looking sort of a fel- low, got up with a sash and the other unities. He sat down in the shadow of the shed that served fora depot, and opening a small grip pulled out a book and began reading, reading and reading intently, so intently that he mages himself along the length or width of the platform. Two buckskin-pantalooned cow- boys on pinto ponies rode down to the depot, and, tethering their ponies, came under the roof of the shed. They began in a short time nudging each other jocularly, and finally one gotupand walked over toward ‘the dade,” and accidentally stumbled over his feet. The cowboy apologized sarcastically and ‘the dude,” hike Toots, said: “it’s of no consequence.’ Then the cowboy again performed his accidental act, and an apology was made and accepted, quite naively. Retirning to his comrade there was quite an hilarious pow-wow by the cowboys, and then the second one started out for his share of the fun. Emboldened by the two trips of his comrade over ‘the dude's’ patent leather inclosed feet, the cowboy disdained to stumble over them, but came down with both feet square on the shins of the dude-dressed reader. ‘Excuse me.’ ‘Certainly,’ was answered, but with the reply ‘the dude’ pulled an apple from his pocket, and tossing it into the air drew arevolver from his grip and, shooting, split the apple squarely im two. He threw = another apple and performed the same act, and then turning to the two cow- boys, who had clustered together themselves and four big revolvers strapped to ‘em, ‘the dude,’ pointing his revolver at the cowboys, said: ‘Lam a little bit on the shoot myself and if you fellows don’t leave very soon I'll divide you two fellows like did the apples, or I'll break up your partnership.’ The cowboys had the discretion of the King of France who marched 10,000 men up a hili and down again when he saw the enemy on the other side, and sneakingly secking their ponies mounted them and rode away. ‘The dude,’ ” said the relator, and the story he avers is true, “belongs to one of Kansas City’s shooting clubs. - see They Don’t Have Eicctric Calls There. A White Sulphur Springs letter to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat sa; Think of a grand hotel where the room numbers run as high as 799 being without an elevator! It is easier to climb Prospect mountain back of the Colon- nade row of cottages than it isto mount the variou stairways to the top floor. Perhaps me in the near future there will be fur- ther concessions to the spirit of modern im- provement. The field exists, Here 18 a hotel with a parlor halt as large again as the east room of the White House. It has a long din- ing room, with two rows of columns, If you stand at one end aud shout you can't be heard at the other end. Twelve hundred people can sit down to the 150 tables without any sense of crowding. ‘This hotel covers more than an acre of ground, It doesn’t contain a bath room. Ithas no annunciator. Some day the ucst may be able to press a batton and make 18 existence known to the office a quarter of a mile away, At present the method is to open your door, stick out your head and *-holier.” ‘Lo the credit of White Sulphur it can be said that two or three ‘hollers” will usually do, The servant system is peculiar to White Sulphur. It works as satisfactorily as such a system can. Se therners like it, for 1t reminds them of oid Northerners do not object so long as harm of novelty wears. To every hailway big hotel are assigued a floor man and @ le of chambermaids. They are not pert. are colored men and women whe | the ways of faithfulness and politen there was #500 difference between a house ser- vaut and a ticid hand in “Virginny.” Most of these servants had ‘ben a-comin’ to ole White, sah, sence befo’ the wah.” They have their little rooms partitioned off at the ends of the halls or across the stairway lauding. and there they live and sleep, so as to respund promptly to the call of guests, If my young lady, coming up from the ball room ai fiteou minutes before midnight, thinks of some message she wants to give the cham- bermaid. she taps with her hand on the door knob and calls: “Lu-cy!” This time a little loude: and another pause, ‘Then again: “Oh, Lu-cy From down the hall comes, by this time, the slevpy reply a~ax'm, I’se comin’.” ‘There is a shuffling of feet along the hallway matting and then « conversation in a low tone. ‘The voice of the belle says a little louder at the close: Remember, Lucy!” The voice of the chambermaid replies: *Ya-as’m.”” ‘The door closes, The shuftling sound passes back down the hailand dies away. Fifteen or twenty people in adjacent rooms turn over in bed and try to go asleep aguin. Nobody thinks ickiny. It is only one of the White Sulphur ways. ee eee The Ignorance Club. Several years ago a contributor to the Atlan- tie Monthly made the suggestion that every home should have its ignorance book, wherein ali the hard-to-answer questioys should be writ- ten and the book brought forth to brighten up duil evenings. This idea is the germ of the “Ignorance Club” of Rochester, N. Y¥., which has # membership of about fifty women, lt is “averse to publicity, unnecessary parliamentary rules, financial taxation and mental strain,” as a member of the club puts’ it, Its meetings are semi-monthly, and are held in « law office in the center of the city, eusily reached from ali the street cars, There are no refresh- ments served, and the club members have no social claims upon each other. At ug the “ignorance book” és opened —that is, ‘slips of paper are distributed and questions are written, which are answered at once or given to some one to anewer at the next meeting. Recitations. apropos of something, in lieu sometimes, add variety, and @ pronunciation commi*tee looks out for offenders. The questions asked show that the club is a place for thinking women to discuss important questions. Among those at the first was, *-May the Church of En; land in justice be disestablished by the state’ and another was, ‘Is vivisection in the inter- est of humanity and science?” The cinb has no pronounced bias; all charities and philanthropic movements of thewity are rep- resented. ‘There are on its roll of membership eight doctors, a number of teachers. writers and editors; one is mauager of a large machinists’ tool factory (a graduate of Cornell). Many of its women are suffragists, yet many, perhaps the majority, are on ihe other side. The Woman’ Christian Temperance Union has a strong rep- resentation, yet the secretary of the club pro- nounces a paper, “False advocacy of the tem- perance movement,” one of the “‘ablest read in tne club for a long time.” The secretary con- cludes a short description of this club in a late number of the Woman's Cycle with: “Any five women on a country cross road can have an ig- norance club like ours if they will, and let us assure them it will prove an unfailing source of improvement entertainment.” Fashionable Peasants in Huts. Paris Dispatch to the London Daily Telegraph. Frog fishing was the pastime in which cer- tain ladies and gentlemen, who were guests at acountry house near Paris, indulged in s few summers since. This year, however, new di- versions for the hot season have been devised might have been sugges: patronized by arle Antoinette im her Petit Trianon, At = fashionable bumpkins are to be allowed to have special rustic taverns of their own. wing exerted themselves at skittles Tales, this allronce fancy drew fote of ariee tocratic will be wound 2 the of the chateau, ee, =i food of "Ta ae tee Siete ek ou cries Saemnies able extent by a noted literary lady on her Genrer te ecrcmceumens whiok are ‘to make it successful, e NEW SUMMER DRINKS. Frozen Eggnog and Sherry Glace Get- ing Popular. ‘From the New York Times Nobody bas aright to say that there is an end to novelties in summer decoctions until he has tried frozen eggnog. While specially adapted to palates that like eggnog, it appeals rather more than imcidentally to those that like ice cream. It cannot be guiped down like drink, and so it serves indirectly the purposes of the long throat for which drinkers who are gener- ous to themselves have always longed. At the same time, it is quite satisfying to the ice cream lovers because nobody need scruple to order s second or third plate without risk of being thought a giutton. It counts asa drink under such conditions, and may quite as prop- erly be repeated several times as any other drink. Frozen egenog is the creation of the fertile genius of « new firm of caterers down town, and as far as is known nobody has yet followed them. That they will not be alone in the field can hardiy be doubted, for the dish drink has already become quite widely advertised among good livers down town. It it is not served in cafes all over the city by another season, ca- terers will have lost their cunning. There is no secret about the construction of a frozen eggnog. The flnost cream. the fresh- est eggs, the best quality of sugar and a modi- cum of Jamaica and Santa Cruz rum, judic- iously commingled, and put in ‘a well- packed freezer for an hout or so, brings forth &@ product with which eggnog in liquid form is not to be compared. The alcohol prevents hard freezing aud keeps the other ingredients at the consistency of well-made custard, a de- light to the palate. ‘The anme house has tried sherry and creme de menthe for flavoring purposes as well as rum. These flavors are pronounced by the judicious to be very nearly equal to the egg- nog. wine is more delicate and the li more seductive in flavor. Eggnog seems to strike the happy mean. Obedient to the average judgment of the patrons of the house it has accordingly become the staple among these novelties. One business man is 80 much taken with it that, in addition to his own allow- ance at luncheon, he has a daily order standing for a galion to be reserved, and after hours he invites in his family and friends to enjoy it with him, TO BE SEEN AT WASHINGTON. A Story of an Irish Corporal in Attend- ance on nm. Sheridaa, From the Youth's Companion. When Gen. Sheridan was in command of the military department of the northwest at Chi- cago—so the story goes—he had, as a sort of doortender and factotum at his office in the city, an Irish corporal whose faithfulness was not to be questioned, but who had a way, some- times troublesome, of taking everything ex- actly as it was said. One day « genieman called at the headquart- nd asked: “Is the general to be seen today?” “Faix, I think he is that, sorr,” said Corporal Michael. «Then I will step in, if you please.” The corporal bowed the visitor into the gen. eral's anteroom. There was no sigu of Sheri dan. but the visitor, thinking that he had stepped out for a moment und would prese return, sat down to wait. He waited half an hour or more, and then began to grow impatient. Finally he returued to the corporal at the door. “See here, corporal,” said he, “I thought you told me Gen. Sheridan was to be seen!” “And so he is, sorr—at Washington!” said the corporal, in # matter-of-fact way. - see RURAL HOUSE NUMBERING. AN er w Scheme for Finding One’s Way in the Country. From the San Francisco Examiner. The system of house numbering now being carried out in Contra Costa couaty will insure the gratitude of every traveler who may have to traverse the roads of that beautiful region, Practically it converts the whole county into a city. When it is fully eiaborated a stranger can drive to any farmer's house for the first time as easily and uncrringly as be could find his way to the Flood building by the help of the San Francisco directory. ivy? wage is the inventyon of Mr. A. A. Ban- crott, the publisher. The idea is to name every road in the county and divide every mile of its extent into ten imaginary blocks. Each block bas two nub: one ch side of the road, Each house is given the number of its block, There are few blocks that con- tain more than one house each, but when such cases occur the extra houses have letters added to the bleck number, as 136 A, 136 B, and so on, When a stranger desires to know how to find & certain farm house he is not told to drive three or four miles until he seos ared baru and then take the second beaten road to the right, follow it until he comes to a rise of ground with a wire fence on the other side of it, turn to the left, go along till he sees a big gum tree in a pasture and then ask the first man he meets where to go next. All that he has to know is that the house he is atter is number 245 Laurel road. His map telis him where Laurel road is, and as two numbers to the block and ten blocks to the mile, he knows that number 248 ig 12.4 miles from the pegiuning. He has guide boards to keep him right at every tura, and on the fence iu tront of every house he sees a unmber that shows him how much farther he has to go. The development of such a aystem as this mark* genuine advance in rural civilization. it is only astep from thatto the English way of having the postman deliver letters at every house in the country. a An Ignorant Ghost. From the Loudon Musical Tiues There is much to be said in favor of the practice of performing operas im the language in which the libretto was originally written. And in these days of polyglot companies the linguistic difficulties of the situation are by no meaus so serious as they would have been, say twenty years ago. Still, in spite of the ad- vance of education, performances on these lines are not altogether exempt from imperfec- tions when a large proportion of the artists are obliged to empioy a language other than their own, especially if that language be French. This fact was amusingly brought home to the audience on the occasion of the recent formance of “Hamlet” at Covent Garden. gentleman who took the part of the ghost de- claimed his lines with adequate impressivencss and with the most praiseworthy articulateness, butinsuch au extraordiuary French accent that acertain section of the audieuce could with difficulty restrain their hilarity. It w: the true French of Stratford-atte-Bowe, or, to borrow the latest journalistic equivalent for that somewhat threadbare phrase, *Saturday- to-Monday-at-Boulogue French.” Que irrever- ent critic remarked on the disappearance of the ghost that it was evident that French was not the universal language of the “majority.” But the really funny thi about the whole was the fact that the represengative of the ghost was a gentleman with a French namo! The irony of operatic fate could no further go. see The Indian’s Gifts to the Whites. From the Lewiston (Me.) Journal. The Eastport Sentinel notes that of the two gifts which the Indian has made to modern civilization—the birch canoe and the snow shoe—the canoe appears to be passing a owing to the scarcity of material. The Passa- maquoddies are now compelled to go away up under the shadow of Katahdin to find birches ize to furnish the material for are themselves substituting can- vas, which costs less and will bear rougher handling. But the Indians have given us the idea, even if the canoe of the future be made of something other than birch, and who knows but the time may come when we have some intelligent system of forestry and plant trees as we now do corn and potatoes in a sys- tematic — without —S for = wth on chance, hampere: man’s was! eee and greed for immediate results? ‘ PASSING OF THE PUGILIST, The Lot of the Professional Slugger t Now Cast in Stony Places. Philadelphia Inquirer's New York Latter It is ® sorrowful fact—at theless it is true that prize fighting and prize fighters have seen their best days in the « pire city, It ts only a few seasons ago that they were the admired of all admirers, They were the stars of one hundred sporting houses and ruled a little world of their own, but now there are none #0 poor as to do them rever- ence. The tault lies entirely within themselves, The moment they prosper they become ugly, patronizing. drunken and disreputable, Sulli- van was the worst of the entire 4 He bad w York, in each of which he displayed « ability fou becoming inebriated, inswiting and using the most horrible Billincegate h ata considerable distance P ho make a liv their brow but by th outcome 1 very palps town. Instead of wearing the average fighter i mow a ext clothes champagne was formerly not bia he i now ouly too glad to get beer. the saloon on Brod the Howery by the bridge juinper Steve as at the para- the cost of ot lows than F200, ay kept t and bloody ring display andeven then you make em ie of half a dozen hard-ap boxers, who consider themscives slighted at the employment of the two or four whom you have engaged. At Kelly's, which is aigon on the corner of Sixt «tr kept by the famous ten-thonsand-doilar beauty of the Bos: ton Base Ho Ciab, t * are equally har The few fighters who do come in are dressed. y. hungry and thirsty lounge around and Joa? away the the Lope that some woalthy «well hem for « parlor tight in his own house PMilistic artists bi ito inevitable and ba apec detectives” or hoteis © bowe mn deputy sheritts hue val in me Rockaway, South Glea aud | Bowery Bay Beach, © Coutessed that they keep these famous resorts ma more or derly coudition than was ever known in their histories. see Hyacinth Culture in Holland From Chambers’ Journ The bulb farms are nearly all situated on the sandy flats between the cities of Haarlom and Leyden. The fo enter of the trade, There the deniers and larger growers have offices and stores, The soil in which the hyacinths are grown isa light, fine sand, which is generally dry on the surfa iy below moist and coo how dry and hot the weath but immed It matters not may be there is always plenty of moisture a few inclos beneatt the surface, which ke bulbs sweet and healthy. Should a period of wet weather set im the superfluous water ¢ through the fine sandy soil, regains ite normal healthy w The ground is very heavily manure’ ¢ two or three years with cow manure, wh u brought from ail parts of the country and is a valuable source of protit to the Dutch dairy men, This manure is keptin heaps antil it bas become thorougtily decomposed betore being put on the ground. The farms are all ec. Tidiness aud order in are almost invariabi Sto 2 or The fields vary from tent and are cut up into patches by canals and hes, which intersect the whole farm and ma each other at right angles. The canals are wide enough to admit of the passage of a good-sized bout, and couseque require to be bridged wnenever communication between the plots is necessary. The narrow enough to be stepped over | Water being alvays present. in these cuttings the irrigation is perfect. The sur- face of the fields in usually « the level of the water, Ail nected with the extensive cau land by m arrangemen their supplics of mauure sarics of their trade f at two foot al farms are con m of Hol. annie, thos om ail country and to send off the ripened bulbs to the shipping ports. The canals running through the farme are quite green in summer with the little aquatic plaut, the Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor). and when a b: ail the water the visitor socs « angular bit at the steru, which as so again as the little plant floats back tn The custom in the early days of ing was to plant the same g three years, Now, howe that hyacinths and most other well if pianted on dycar, The lund is divided tious, one of which is planted with while the other is dug and b mapur The ls artion is allowed to lic fallow or is planted with a crop, such as potatoes, suited to prepare the soil for the baibs. Every bulb, even the smal planted once a year. Septet are the planting months placed in rows in large being kept separate, and with a wooden label containing its pumber stuck in the ground at the be The large vuibs are in first smaller ones. This arran What the effect of the be asstrong growing bulbs are seen side by side with much weaker ones. ever, utility, mot ornament, mukes the bulb grow- m nd only once Dateh bulios st, is lifted and r and October b prey then the * som g time, mg How- rale and, after all, it does not matter mach, as the flowers are only pertaitted to open far cnoug! to allow of their being proved true to color or name and then ext off. This cutting off of the flower spike lets the leaves devi to their fullest extent and helps to str large the bulbs. hen and en- soe The Story of a Ship’s Bell. From the Boston Saturday Evening Gaz-tte. When you visit the rooms of the Natural Hie tory Society in Boylstou street ask the custo- dian to point out to you a ship's bell which rests upon one of the shelves, ‘This bell has a history attached to it. About the year 1556 or 1857 a firm in this city sent out an expedition under the charge of Mr. Whip he noted submarine diver of the day, Y equipped with armor and divers, to explore the banks of the Gulf of Mexico for submerged articios of value. The expedition re- turned in due time from a success- ful trip, the vessel loaded with kentledge chains and anchors, Among the many craft discovered and explored was ¢ British frigate. From this was taken the ship's bell, stamped with thi broad arrow; also, from the hull, severa ots of copper stamped with the initials of the aock yard in which the frigate was coppered and also the year of ite application, A state of these facts, with a shect of the copper, were sent to the late George Sumner, who was then in Lon- don. He placed them before his friend, the Earl of Clarendon, who was then connected with the British admiralty. On exam- ining the records of the dock yards at owas ascertained that two frigates were coppered the year of the stamp and were sent on their way to join the fleet about to at- tack New Orleans, at the time of its successful defense by Gen. Jackson, They were never heard of after leaving their moorings, QOuc of these was the frigate discovered by Mr. Whipple. In this accidental way was communicated to the government and friends of the officers and crew inteiligence of the fate of the ship. Per- haps a second Whippie may discover the place of the United States sloop of war All which disapj the same waters, carry- ing to the bot mong other noble sou! Lieut. John Quincy Adams, grandson of the President of that name, who, if he had lived ten years longer, would have added iuster to his patriotic name avd family. A more ac- complished and gallant officer than Lient. Adams never trod the quarter deck. The bell is overbung with a massive canopy of coral, which is considered of great scientific value as Showing the growth of the coral in « definite uumber of years. ——eee = Boulanger an Editor. Paris Dispatch to the London Daily Teloxraph. Gen. Boulanger is said to be occupying bim- self with journalism while in exile at Jersey. For the first time in his life, according to « re- port published today, he is taking an active part in the management of a newspaper devoted to his interests. This journal is called the Voix du Peuple, and is issued weekly in Paris, lect few, and the It circulates only among a se! to