Evening Star Newspaper, November 22, 1890, Page 7

A WESTERN ELAINE. THOMPSON OF MONTEREY TELLS THE STORY OF A GIRL’S BROKEN HEART. ees WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING STAR BY CLAY M GREENE ee (Copyrighted 1890) CHAPTER L “What yor readin’, mister?” I looked up from my book snd glared at the intruder, but the momentary expression of dis- Pleasure was soon softened into one of interest; for the person who had interrupted my eoli- tary hour with Tennyson commended bimecif to me at once as being one of those strango specimens of humanity who tothe student of human nature might become an interesting subject of analysis. Almost every one imagines bimself to be areader of faces, andlam ro exception. He was not altogether a stranger to me, for I had seen him but a few moments before pad- dling on the river at the foot of the piuff on the edge of which Isat. But when the strange craft that carried him—a primitive dug-out, fashioned from the trunk of a pine tree-had glided imto the shadows of the stunted eypresses that lined the river's edge, both the boat and its solitary occupant passed out of my mind. Now a new inicrest was awakened, and fora moment I studied him closely with- out replying to his abrupt, if not impertinent query. He was aman of apparently fifty-five years of age; his figure tali and erect, d a mass of iron gray bair tell trom under ombrero in @ tangled mass about his shoulders, His face was almost hidden by a bushy growth of beard, and his piercing eyes, gray and sad, seemed to retlect a heart that had borne its weight of care. His dress was totally different from that of the men I had noticed about Monter be was dressed im soiled buckskin from foot, and I became impressed with that I had at last met with cne of th ideals of the sensational western novel As I drew this momentary meatal phocogr: of him he repeated the question that had first broken my reverie. Vhat yer readin’?” “Tennyson.” Vot's that?” ‘eunyson 13 the poet laureate of England, and one of the most graceful writers of the day. The storylam reading is that of Elaine, o strange, sad tale of disappointed love.” “Tell us about it; won't yer, mister?” In as few words as possible I recounted the touching experiences of this misguided heroine from her first meeting with Lanucelot to the place where, in the words of the poet— “— the dead Steered by the dumb, went upward withthe flood” “My God!” I looked up in surprise. The sad white face bad inasecond undergone a morphosis. The cheeks were flu: gray eyes flashed with anger and the lips quiv- ered with excitement. “What is the matter?” I asked. “Mister, wher did Tennyson git that story?” “I cannot say, but it is probably a child of his own ancy, a bit of poetic romance.” “No t'aint, mister; no t'aint! That ere story's as true as the blue o’ them skies; true as the wind that’s «sighin’ above them pines now; true as the roar o’ them breakers on the rocks at Cypress Point, Fur it happened right ther on the bend o’ the river, whar yer see that old adobe, and the bells as that book says tolled fur her death wasn’t rung in England, but over st the foot o’ the hills thar, from the towers o’ the Mission Church.” “You have awakened a strange interest in me, my friend; won't you sit down?” He sat upon the fragrant cushion of pine needles beside me and cast a long, wistful, tearful glance at the book I held in my hand. “What did you mean when you told me that Story was true?” I asked. «Jest what I said, mister. Elaine was my gal Phebe, Launcelot was a feller from ’Frisco named Roberts and—what did you say the queen’s name was?” “Guinevere.” “Wall, she was a grand lady visiting at the Hotel del Monte. And, mister, the Lord of Astolat was m “Do you mind telling me the story in your own way?” There was no reply, for the stranger threw himself upon his face, his gaunt frame quiv- ered with emotion and sob after sob stirrea the silence of the pines. I had bent forward in the hope that the touch of a friendly hand might stanch the flow of grief. Then I heard the tramp of heavy feet and a new comer appeared upon the scene, knelt beside the old man and spoke to him eagerly in Span “Que tienes, capitano? The new comer was one of the few remaining types of the California Mission Indian. Rather dark almost as that heavy growth of wiry, black hair nu hig shoulders at the back and, to use a modern phrase, was “banged” low upon hisforebead. He wore a pair of very ragged military trousers, with a flaring red shirt; and although the thermometer that after- Boon must have registered 80 degrees Fabren- heit a heavy gray bianket was thrown about him. Receiving no repiy to his earnest appeal leaned closer to the prostrate form of the ‘apitano” and repeated it with even more emphasis than at first. The old man rose toasitting posture, took hold of the Indian’s wrist with a convulsive clasp, and spoke to him in bis own tongue: “Sancho, fel me ha dicho la historia de mi hija perdida!” (Sancho, he bas told me the story of my lost daughter!) (bow) asked the Indian in as- “Como?” tonishment. ‘Then with bated breath and a tremulous Yoice the old man repeated to Sancho what I coucluded must be # Spanish version of the same story I had told him. Whata sight were those two faces as I eagerly listened to the re- tongue I could not understand! The tremulous and faltering, ‘opped now and then to brush away the hot tears from his brouzed cheek. Sancho, true to the instincts of his race, remained stolid and apparently indifferent, but from the depths of his piercing black eyes there seemed to flash an expression of bitter hatred, and when he had heard ail he glared at the book in my hand as though it were some enemy he wished to destroy. “You don’t understand Spanish, mister?” On my negative reply he continued: “And he dont’s speak no English,” pointing to the Indian. “But I wanted him to kuow and now I'll tell yer the whole thing jest as it hap- pened, and then you kin see it's the self-sane story as is printed into taat ere book. But bold on!” ana be pointed to the distant hill “See that house on the hill yonder?” “Yea.” “See where the settin’ sun shinin' on the indore makes it look like s light?” “Well, that ere's my clock. Istand on this Wery spot every day jest at sunset, and that glitter warns me it’s time to go home to the old woman wot's waitin’ fur me over yonder in the old adobe. So I'll have to quit yer now, but I'll tell yer the story tomorrow.” “I shall not be here then,” I replied, “for urgent business will call me to the city. But I am deeply interested in the strange coinci- gence you have mentioned and should like to bear it through.” “Would yer mind comin’ home with me, en, and havin’ a bite o' supper with me and the old woman?” ‘hould desire it above all things.” “Come on, then, and we've got to hurry or she'll be aworryin’.” With ® nod to Sancho he led the way toward the river, trod the circuitous trail dowa the nd, arriving at the water's edge, the old man —_ to the boat and I took my place in the w. He seated himself amidships, and the Indian with a dexterous movement pushed the boat into the stream, took his piace in the stern and, paddle in hand, pointed her prow toward the bend in the river which the old man had spoken <= hay = ® weird, almost fantastic ‘ture. setting sun, just disappearing Behind the western sea, pt nm femur ma from the pines upon the placid surface of the water; the rudely constructed boat with its three strangely contrasted Occupants gliding — ———e —- the twiight. ¢ silence was almost painful. not even the 4ip of the paddies in the water nor the ripples im our wake giving forth the faintest sound. The old man, his bands clasped about his Knees, kept his eyes fastened upon the cliff we had just left, bis entire bearing was one of utter obliviousness to his surroundings. The silent steersman plied bis paddie in a meas- = Llp ye way, while his tace bore same stolid, malignant expression I had as seaplane ae Finding myse! it ig into the belief that I must bave fallen asleep among the pines on the chif and that this uncauny voyage in the mysterious dug-out must be some dream, I satisfied myself as to ite reality by breaking the silence. the you bave not told me your Not « word was spoken as we silently | me Thom; }, that'll do.” a lived in this “Call “Have “Yes.” long?” zn tell yer by and bye.” replies to my interrogatories were given in a listless, indifferent manner, which .bvi- ously betokened s repugnance to conversation, for the time being. at least, so I permi.ted silence to reign again. For the next twenty minutes we glided noiselessly through the gathering shadows, when the boat's prow was turn-d toward the. shore, and witha sigh of relief ands Logg, Sof estisfaction I became aware that we reached the int of our journey. weds ae Sancho ste; shallow water and pashed the boat high up on the shore, and un- idden by my new friend Thompson I rose from my position in the bow and stepped out upon the sand. Sancho, quite indifferent to our presence, sat upon the boat, rested his chin in the palms of his hands and looked out toward the setting sun. Thompson turned to me and spok “We'li go in the house now, mister, and I want to tell you this one thing. I wouldn't a brought yer hyer, only't you don't know Spanish and I'd be afraid we might get to talkin’ about our trouble. ‘That's somethin’ I | ain't mentioned to the old woman sence it happened, ‘cause I feel that the least suddint start’d break her old heart. 1 guess you'll haf ter tell me yer name, ‘cause the old woman *il want to be introduced, For ultho’ we're Poorer’n them crows over on the beach thar, she’s got sdme o’ them high-falutin’ idees she picked up among the proud old Mesicans afore Fremont took Californy.” Browning,” I replied. ter Browning, jest foller me.” I did vo in silence. In a few moments we reached the summit of the little bluff on which the old adove stood, Neatness reigned every- where, and I breathed the balmy atmosphere of a thousand flowers. Liliies, roses, hoily- hocks, heliotrope and mignonettes grew all about me in Juxurious abundance and the white washed walle of the old adobe were almost covered with a golden mass of nastur- tium vines, “Mister Browning, thisere little garden o° mine's my ouly care now, and I spend most all my time xmong them be beautifyin’ on’em, and a makin’ on ‘em just as bright ‘n pleasant es Ikin tur her sake. For its beautiful things thet softens the solitude uy a lonely heart. And the only beautiful things I kin give to her now is them flowers, nursed into life by me and painted by the hand o’ God. ‘Thar she is now in her old seat. Looking toward the point indicated by the wave of his hand I beheld a dark-skinned, white-haired woman dressed in black. She had been seated upon a rustic bench in a small ar- bor, formed by an ingemously interwoven mass of heliotrope bushes, but arose at our ap- proach and advanced to meet us. My iniro- duction to her was brief, but evidently served its purpose, for with a stately bow, which one would hardly have expected from the wife of the uncouth Thompson, she pleasantly and ietly shook my hand. We'll go in now, mister,” said Thompson, supper is ready.” On entering the living room of the house I was struck by the cleanliness and simplicity of my surroundings. Save for the rafters over- head, which seemed to have been discolored by the accumulated dust of years, everything Was neatness itself. The newly whitewashed walls, the well-scoured floor and the neat wooden furniture toid their own story. My hostess was an excellent housewife. With a a gracetul movement of her right band and # bow that was almost regal she motioned me to & seat at the table. CHAPTER IL The meal was eaten almost in silence, and at its close my hostess bade me good night in Spanish and left the room. “She's a gittin’ pretty old,” explained Thompson, “and always goes to bed right after supper. She's asked me to tell yer this, so yer won't think she ain't been brought up right. And now I'll tell yer that story, and es its a leetle cold tonight, we'd best sit close to the fire. Smoke?” I took the pipe he offered me, and together we sat by the open fireplace in the glare of its ernckiing logs of pine. ~I come to Cali‘orny in '49, "long with Fre- mont. When the war wus over and they de- clared peace we wus ali ordered home. But Td met my fust love by that time, and as she'd < to marry me and wantel me to stay got my discharge from the colonel and settled downin Monterey. This sweetheart o° mine was a heap better’n wot I wus, for her father wus the alcalde, and I only « sergeant in Fremont's regiment. But we soon fixed the matter up by havin’ "em call me ‘Capitano’ (which means captain, you know), and that made things sound better, even if they wasn't, “We was married by old Father Sabiano at the Mission Church andI moved over here and went toranchin’, We wns happy enough im our young days, and our lives passed along jestas smooth aod as calm as that river out yonder in the moonlight. But no matter how happy couple may Le, no matter how deep their love, I tell yer, mister, there's one thing that's always a cloud in the happiest home, and that’s the thought that you ain’t got no little o: for to comfort you when You've struck the shady side o’ life. “Fifteen years we lived under this cloud, and, st last, one Christmas mornin’, when the birds was a-singin’ in the vines outeide our door and the beils o’ the mission were pealin’ out their welcome for the birthday o’ Christ, our little one came tous. I took the littie speck o’ nature in my arms for the first time an’ kissed her little puckerin’ lips and bap- tized her with hot tearso’ joy, namin’ her ‘Phebe,’ after my mother. “Sixteen years went by then so quick we couldn't count ‘em. Sixteen years o’ peace and quiet and happiness; sixteen years o’ joy and Jove and contentment, Phaebe had growed up to be what all the people in the valley said was the most beautiful human bein’ they'd ever come acrosst. and when she was confirmed the parish priest told me to be careful and watch er well, for such beauty as her'n was pretty sure to end in a flood’ tears. But I didn't dream o° sucha thing till they built the big hotel over in Monterey and the crowds o° high- toned people come down from the city. Every body used to go over thar to see the dressin’ and the ses buthin’ and hear the music, and, o’ course, Phebe went, too. She came home one night to us with a look on her face I'd never seen thar before. Her little lips seemed drawed kinder into an expression o’ pain and thar wus a sorter far off, sad look inter her eves. We asked her wot wus the matter, ’o course, and, after thinkin’ a moment and a twirling of her little fingers, she sat down on my knee and told me she was in love. “Why, Mister Browning, if thet ere roof was ter fall right down on us this minit I couldn't be more surprised then I wus then, wen our little gal told us she'd given her heart, what ll along thought would be our’n forever, to some one else. “But we didn’t chide her, 'cause we'd neither uy us spoke one cross word to her since that Christmas mornin’ when she come tous. I didn’t go to bed till Inte that night: not ontil my wife come to me as I wus waikin’ the floor jd said she thought it wouldn't amount to ythin’ no how. The gal was only a child, d the first infatuation seldom, if ever, Insts. “I couldn't sleep through, and tossed ‘about all night and studied the stars a peepin’ thro’ my window, waitin’ fur the day to come till 1 could see her and find out the whole truth. “Wall, that truth come almost with the first streaks 'o' dawn, fur when 1 got up she was sittin’ thar on the doorstep. I found that she was no longer a child—that her first in- fatuation wus oue o” the kin us creeps into a woman's heart to stay thar forever, “She told me the man’s name—Harry Rob- erts it was—and she said she'd been a meetin’ him ‘most every day for a week. He'd come up to her as “he wus a settin’ alone on the beach, and introduced hisself, and thet’s how they become acquainted, I didn't say nothin’ to nobody as to wot I intended to do, but as soon as we'd ett breakfust I hitched up and went over to the hotel to sce the man whose handsome face and pretty words had brought the first cloud to our fireside. And he was jest the kind uv ® man, Mister Browning, thet might win the hcart uv any woman, for I tell yer, even with that great big load cs my heart, he ‘most won me. He was sorry, he said, th: what he called ‘a chance flirtation’ should a been took so serious, and if thar wus an,thing he could do to make Phobe tear him out uv her heart he'd act at once. I thanked him, and when I saic bye thar wus « kind o’ hon- grasp in his hand wot told me he meant to do the right thing by my little ‘un. “I got acquainted with some ple and tl told me this man had got bi tween her sobs sho told us that what I'd heered about the man she loved was true. She'd been over to the point ana crept to ‘em unbe- knownst aud seen Roberts and Mra. Clavering rt. She beerd him speak words o’ love to her, heered him say that ez he could never eee ee “The little one wus sick arter that with brain fever for ‘most two weeks, and all the time ther wus but one word she spoke in her ravings or out uv them. ‘Harry! Harry! Harry! The doctor told us that somethin’ wus done to drive this man out uv her mind she'd waste away and die; so I went to the hotel in, “es "Hoberts wus glad to seo me, and said the reason he. hada’t come over to the house wus that he s’posed his indifference might cause Phebe to furgit him. He promised to do something that day to end it ail, and he come over in the evenin’. I don't jist know what he said to her, for they wus together in the sick room fur a long tine, and I wus a waitin’ here to hav. him tell me the result. He come out by and by with @ worried Jook on his hand- some face. “‘Mr. Thompson,’ he said, ‘I'd give my right hand if I could recall the fast thoughtless words Iepoke to that little girl, But it's too late now—I can do nothing. Good-bye!’ “And, without sayin’ another word, he passed from the room and out into the night. “Phoebe growed wus and wus from that mo- ment and for five or six days wus clean out uy her mind. Atthe end of that time we heard her a callin’ to us in the same sweet voice we'd been used to afore she was took down with the fe ‘ome to me, mother and father,’ she said, want to hold ser laude in mine, for it'll be the last time I'l grav ever do it this side o’ the I’m goin’ ter die—the blow is too hard— ‘n Lun bear, more’n {can bear!’ ¢ both tried to cheer her by speukin’ words uy hope, but we done it with heavy hearts, Mr. Browning, fur we seén that the hand o° death wus on her even then, that the Dark Angel was a beckonin’ to her from the Other Side. “Father. Iwant yer to promise me some- thin’ afore I leave yer; will yer? “‘Auythin’ you says, Phaibe,’ I answered. « Well, then.’ she went on, ‘when I'm gone I want you to dress me in the gowud I wore whem Ifust met him, the white one, I mean, and I want yer to piace a bunch o' flowers my hand. and with ‘em this note to Harry. And she took 2 bit o’ folded paper from under her pillow, ‘When you've doue this, put ine in the boat, take me over to the Point, it wus there I fust saw him, you know, and bury me ther. I want him to come, and he will if you asic him, cause I feel as ef [could rest camer in my lonely grave knowin’ he wus near and saw me covered up. Good-bye, father—mother darl- ing, 300d-by e; kiss me, both of you." “she pnt out her little thin arms and drawed us both down and kissed us. And betore I took my cheek from hers I felt the shudder passin’ thi ugh her little frame that told me all was . that our darling was dead, and all the ushine and brightness and joy had went out uv our lives to the end o’ time.” ‘The old man buried his face in his hands and sobbed bitterly. Idid not speak, for I knew too well that his was a grief for which there is no solace, # burden that must be borne alone. Alter a few moments he resume “The next day we done jest as she asked us to, dressed her in the white gownd, put the flowers in her hand, and with ‘em the note to Koberts, The parish priest objected to bavi’ her buried anywhere but in consverated ground; but es it wus her wish I insisted. and bimeby he gave in. We sent word to Roberts and a few friends we had and told them where We wus goin’ ter lay our little one away, “We put her tenderly in the boat and Sancho took lis place in the stera, I didn’t go, I couldn't; for I felt that I hadn't strength enough to see her laid away in the gronnd, and then, too, felt that my place was with the — childless, heartbroken mother at home. he boat pushed off from the shore and out into the stream, and then, jest like the lines in thet thar book— “*— the dead, Stecred by the du:ub, went upward with the flood,’ “Orly with this one difference, thet Sancho aint dumb, They buried her over ther under the pines, and our frie said that the saddest ofall the mourners gathered ther was Harry Roberts, If you'll go to the Point tomorrow and walk from the place wher I met you this eveniu’, in a straight line toward Cypress Point, you'll come to a little block o” marble— he put it ther—with but one word on it, ‘Phebe.’ ““Lhat's all, Mr, Browning. that's all. Sancho has hitched up the team and’ll take yer home, but afore yer go I've got a big favor to ask uv ne yer ter give me that—that little ook.” 1 placed my “Tennyson” in his hand, looked pityingly upon his tear-stamed cheeks, and, with one of those sudden impulses which emanate from souls that are truly human, one of those bursts of sympathy which can only Spring from the hearts of those who know, we embraced each other. ‘Then taking his hands in mine I pressed them again and again and with a fervent “Good bless you! ¢@od-bye!” passed from that silent house of mourning. {Taz Exp. —————-ee. PESTS THAT HOUSEWIVES DREAD Some Hints About Them and as to Ways in Which They May Be Destroyed. HERE ARE SOME fortunate people in this world whom I have heard say that they never saw a bedbug,” said Prof. Riley to a writer for the Stan “Some of these were boarding-house keepers, who invariably assert that such an F} animal has never come under their observation, although W possibly the dwellers in their establishments may find their couches fairly aswarm, but the really clean housekceper __49 never hesitates to admit the Ses Sceey Possibility of an incursion by this pest, which, she knows 60 well, can only be kept out by the vigilance which is the price of freedom from the objec- tionable creature. “You must remember that the bedbug is a very ancient beast, boasting an ancestry be- yond that of the oldest human family. Wher- ever man has pushed his way this fond friend has followed, It had its original home, proba- bly, in southeastern Europe and the Asiatic and African countries near the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Alas! it did not choose to remain there. As early as 1503 it was intro- duced to polite, and more particularly to other, society in England, whence it was brought to America, Certain malicious investigators have asserted that the insect originated on this con- tinent, but there is the best evidence that it was personally known to such ancient authorities as the playwright Aristophanes, as well as to Pliny, Dioscorides and Aristotle, “This fascinating bug by its shape is enabled to enter narrow crevices in bedsteads and walls, and in such places the females lay their eggs. ‘These exgs aro white, of an oval form, slightly narrowed at one end, and alternated ‘by a cap which breaks off, when the young escape, The young bugs are whitish and nearly transparent, Assome people may have observed, bedbugs have disagreeable smell, which arises from certain minute odoriferous glands, HOW THEY INCREASE. “The multiplication of the bedbug depends upon conditions more or less favorable. Do what you can to encourage their propagation by Providing an eyen temperature such as you would yourself enjoy, with plenty of food thrown in, such as you may yourself provide, and they increaso with ‘charming rapidity, They reconcile themselves with singular philosophy to want of food, remaining—supposing that you are away abroad ard no other diet is pro- vided—without sustenance for as much asa year. In fact, they will wait for you an almost indefinite time hopefully. Itis the fasting capacity of the bedbug, together with its form 80 well adapted for hiding, which renders it so difficult to drive the creatures out of an in- fested house. TO ORT RID OF THE PEsTs, “If you really desire to get rid of bedbugs, benzine is the best weapon. Sprayed with a hand-atomizer, it will penetrate the minutest cracks, ha rt grat yin eumtias ite stages, including the Used thoroug! ‘ipo Ha = bedbug a house e it Wotton found ta the ‘eoods miter ge ta of trees and the: i ‘cone nose,’ as far north asNew I painful e aepeeiig combatants ate A RAINLESS REGION. A Section of Peru Where No Rain Ever Falls, A REAL VALLEY OF DEATH. —_— And With All This Arid Desolation ‘There Are Alternate Spots of Fertti- ity—An Ancient System of Irrigation— fucas’ Romaine, “ _—_—_— ‘From Tax Stan's Traveling Commissioner. Patra, Perv, August 10. UR main object in tarrying at this out- of-the-way Acadia was to make it the starting point of several excursions; for the little oasis, surrounded on all sides by desert ands, is in the midst of a most in- teresting region. First we paid a visit to San Xavier, one of the finest estates on the ocean- side of Peru. which lics about twelve miles from Palpa, beyond a range of low and sandy hills. In former times San Xavier belonged to the Jesuits, us did also the plantations of Yea and |. Canate, and all their property was worked by negro slaves. In those days this one vineyard produced never less than 70,000 arrobas of liquor per annum, which sold for from $5 to $7 the arroba, the present price being ouly $2. It was under the highest possible state of cul- tivation and enormously valuable when seized by the colonial authorities in 1767 by order of the Spanish viceroy Aranda, but since that death blow its productivencys bas steadily de- creased and a few years ago it was purchased from the government ‘by Senor Don Domingo Elias. a gentleman famous in Peru for owning pretty much all this part of the country. TUE SAN XAVIER MANOK HOUSE. The San Xavier manor house is large and well furnished, with apartments as long and lofty as so many public halls, surrounded by a stone corridor. whose massive columns support a series of round arches. On one side are ex- tensive wine presses and store rooms aud on the othora handsome old church which was built by the Jesuits about the middle of the last century. There is some remarkably fine wood carving on the pulpit and altars of this now seldom-seen sanciuary, while a score of old portraits of iathers of the order in splendid gilt frames add an air of grandcur to the place. ‘Thirty miles south of this estate, over rocky hilis and arid sands, lies the valley of Nasca, which descends from the Sierras by an easy slope and gradualiy widens as it approaches the sea, This place is interesting only on ac- count of its peculiar mode of irrigation, Though covered with rich haciendas, yielding marvelous crops of grapes, cotton, corn, sugar- cane, melons. potatoes und all kinds of fruits and vegetables, nature has provided nothing for its watering ina region where rain never fails, except a tiny river which is dry during about eleven months of the year, But tor the industry and engineering skill of the aboriginal Indians, the lovely valley would have been no better than the surrounding deserts, Long before the arrival of the de- stroying Spaniards they had contended with the arid obstacles and executed a work here which is almost uneq d in the history of irrigation. Cutting deep trenches along the whole length of the valiey they extended them so high up ito the mountains that to this day the inhabitants do not kuow how far they were carried, The main trenches, known as puquios in the language of the Iucas, are as the upper end of the valley and each is about four feet deep, the sides and roof lined with cemented stones. These descending branch off into smaller puquios which ramify allover the val- ley in every direction, plentiiully supplying every farm with pure, cool mountain water and feeding the little ditches that irrigate and fer- tilize the soil, The main trenches are several feet below the surface and at intervals of about 200 yards there are ojos or small holes by which workmen may go down into the vault and clear away any obstruction. Diverg- ing in every direction the puquios often cross one another and by the time they have reached the southern limit of cultivation every drop of water has been exhausted. In the valley of Nasca no fewer than fifteen extensive vine- yards and cotton plantations are thus watered by artificial means, and at Aja asmall mill for cleansing the cotton is also turned from the ditches of the Incas, PROFITABLE COTTON ESTATES, Going a little nearer to the sea one comes to the most profitable cottom estates in Peru, named respectively ‘‘Lacra” and “San Jose,” Both contain mills propeiled by water, with machinery for separating the seed and presses for packing the cotton. The product is all sent to Lomas, a little port that has been opened expressly for it across thirty or more miles of desert. ‘It goes on mule back. each animal car- rying two bales weighing 175 pounds apiece, The cotton is then piled on a large raft, which is launched in the heavy surf and so brought alongside the waiting vessel. Not less than 40,000 quintals of it are annually shipped here from San Jose and Lacra alone. A few miles from the little port, the mysterious Cerro de ias Bruxas, or “Hill of the Witches,” rises aruptly in the midst of the desert, Among many blood-curdling traditions connected with this Cerro that are kept alive through genera- tion after generation of superstitious Indians, concerning bloody spectres and headless spooks that wave their hands to warn intruders away —is one of an old man, named “Don Manuel,” a living ghost who, having several murders on his conscience, came to live on Witches’ Hill, and used to run about in the dead of night screaming as if pursued by demons, On the side of one of the mountains that overhang Nasca are some aboriginal ruins which are well worth visiting. A lane, shaded by orange and fig trees, leads up from the modern town to the ancient city of the dead, near the long-deserted gold mine of Cerro Bianco, It was built in terraces on the steep hillside near the southern edge of the valley. ‘The walls are all of stones, unlike most of ruins in this part of Peru; the houses were large, and many of the spacious rooms seem to havo been surrounded by queer little niches, each doorless closet Just large enough to hold a traditional skeleton. On an isolated hill, pe: haps artificial, precisely in the middle of the main group of ruins, was the fortress, whose massive wails, part of which are still standing, juclose what was evidently a vast palace or temple. HOPELESS DESOLATION. Such a picture of hopeless desolation it would be hard to find elsewhere, but the view from tio parapet wall is striking. Not a sign of animal life is seen, and the silence of the grave prevails, The valley below looks like a broad, green river, winding its way through sandy deserts to the sea, and eastward the Andes tower in majestic grandeur, one above another till their snowy xummits reach the sky. There are no traditions of the place beyond the hie torical fact that this valicy, in commonwith the rest of them, from Pisco down to the domin- ions of the great Chima, was first subjugated by the Incas in the time of Pachacutec, whose son, the renowned Prince Yupanqui, proved the superiority of the armies of the Sun in many a tierce battle with the Yuma Indians, THE FORTRESS OF HERVEY, Not many miles distant is the much larger collection of ruins which archmologists have dubbed “The Fortress of Hervey.” They are on the summit of a steep hill, covoring a pro- jecting point of land that ‘looks the sea. The extensive remains are distinctly divided into two parts, that farthest from the ocean inclosed within an enormous wall,wide enough ontop for two.men to walk abreast, with a Parapet outside about five feet high. This parapet stands at the edge of a cliff, rising per- pen ularly — forty feet above the pain, and is 2 £ & g i Ey = 5 H g ia & 5 i juds nine large chambers, all built of adobe and still iy covered with plaster. Each chamber surrounded by a series of deep niches or recesses, with ing into numerous smaller ay very high doorways, whose lintels are of wil- low beams, There is one enormous room, per- ey juare, which has two doorways on it sout sine, lading by marrow bale inteatee little chambers, 6 tures, for beams that once supported the. roof, are tinctly visible high up in the lofty walls, REMAINS OF AN INCA'S PALACE, On the other side of the dividing ridge are the remains of a palace or ts and t Square u if to of Peruvian territory. The stormy cs took — rey a — oo ‘Unecrupulous wenturers: to rat of Marsbal into the interior and his the bloody battle of Las ‘THE VILLAGE OF CHILCA. The next village, across a long strip of desert, is Chilea, a collection of cane huts surround- ing a fine old church, in no way remarkable, except for being inhabited by a race of Indians who, in this isolated oasis of the wilderness, have managed to resist oppression trom every source, and to preserve intact the spirit of their ancestors. An example of their character related bya recent explorer. His soldier escort wasso unwise as to get into a wrangle with the syndic of the village, in course of which tho s blow inthe head from the butt end of the soldier's pistol. Instantly the whole popula- tion were wild with excitement, Assembling im the plaza they demanded that the fellow should be remanded at once to Lima for trial; nor would thoy permit him to remain over night in the town, but sent him off into the desert, weary as he was after a bard day's journey. INDIANS ARE JEALOUS OF THEIR RIGHTS, So jealous ere these Indians of their rights andso suspicious of all outsiders that until within a few years there was one particuiar room in the Jefe’s house which was kept on purpose for the accommodation of white trav- clers, All who came were put into it and well guarded, wero the party large or smali, The Jefe supplied them with food, but immediately informed them that on no account, whatever their business, would they be allowed to remain in the village more than twenty-four hours. The Chilca Indians are an industrious community, many of them being employed as farm hands in “the neighboring valley of Mala, others working on their own account as muletecrs and fishermen, while the women braid colored straws ito pretty baskets and cigar cases, Thore is a widespread tradition among all the coast Indians that ages before the appearance of Manco Capac the country was inhabited by a race of giants, who came over from the western ocean in great canoes of biown-up skina, Landing first near Guaya- quil, Ecuador, they gradually overspread the country; and to this day the fossil bones of mammoths and mastodons, which are often found imbedded in the hard clay, are pointed vut as proof of the existence of those mythical personages, THE DOMINION OF DESOLATION. Such are the general characteristics of that portion of Peru between the cordilleras and the sea, with its perpetual alternations of dreary desert and fertile valleys. The length of the shore line, not following the innumerable bays and indentations, but reckoned as the crow flies, from Rio Tambez, which separates the republic from that of Ecuador, to the Kio Loa, which marked its southern boundary until Chili lately took off a small piece, is a little over 1,200 English miles. Coming down from Panama the wooded shores of Ecuador no soone! disappear than the aspect of the conti- nent is entirely changed. High, bare rocks, frayed and crumbling. live the beach, and be- yond stretches a wilderness of sand beside which Sahara would be a blooming garden, It is the very dominion of desolation, strewn with bleaching skeletons left by the old-time whalers and the bones of mules and horses that starved to death by the wayside. its eternal silence broken only by the short, quick bark of sea lions and the screams of water fowl. BRAVE AND BOLD EXPLORERS. For the most part the sand is hard, swept smooth by the winds, but in many places it has drifted up into mounds, called medanos, Each heap is crescent shaped, with the bow of the crescent toward the wind, as regular and sharp in the outline as the new moon. Whenever these medanos happen to have a core of rock they are permanent, but most of them vary in ate with the varying winds, Brave men. as well as bold, must those old conquistadcres have been, when, knowing nothing of the then unexplored better country beyond the moun- tains, they sailed slowly along the borders of this valley of death, against prevailing winds and the great antarctic current. Surely noth- ing but consuming avarice and an unquench- able love of adventure could have led them on, THE LARGEST DESERT. ‘The largest of the deserts is that called Sech- ura, near Payti, in northern Peru; and it is re- Ported that during cloudiess nights the sound of sweet music is heard, mysteriously wafted across thesands, ‘Theclimate where rain never falls is not a0 oppressive as might be inferred, becattse every ufght refreshing dew descend in abundance, In ancient times the beautiful valleys were even more comeey. populated than now, by men who exhausted the utmost capa- bilities of every oasis, and even extended their cities out into the deserts, leaving many monu- ments of their skill and greatness. Under the Pressure of peculiar conditions and limited means they developed a social and industrial system which modern apostles of economical organizations might study with profit and ad- miration. As most of the valleys were separated from one another by impassable mountain walls at one end and trackless sands at the other, their inhabitants constituted each an independent gE id community, maintaining little relationship with one another. Each had its separate gov- ernment, and, being relatively weak, it feli an easy proy to the advancing Spaniard. And thus it was that the conquistadores encount- ered no more serious opposition, though coilect- ively there were enough Indians here to have wiped from off the face of tho earth a force ten times as powerful, Fannie B. Warp. soe TEACHING CAVALRY TO SWIM. A New Exercise Introduced in German Maneuvers. From the New York Sun. The growing conviction in Germany that cav- alry in the next war will be almost solely valuable for reconnoitering has led to the in- troduction of regular and painstaking exercises in swimming for men and beasts, The first of these exorcises is to accustom the horse to the water, for although every horse is naturally a good swimmer the physicial shock incident to entering the strange element not infrequently renders him incapable of swimming. A cavalry officer has recently expressed the opinion that the failure to judge a horse's swimming powers first after the horse had been accustomed to the water had resulted in a gencral under- estimate of the possibility of an efficient swim- ming cavalry in war. The horse is first led into a stream with a moderate current to facilitate swimming. A guide line is fastened to its neck and is held and curried forward by @ swimming cavalryman. Then comes the swimming with the lino and later with empty saddle, with a clothed cavalryman, with straw packete, and finally with all the regular bag- gage. After this comes the exercises of cay- alry troops in bodies, till the transport of whole squadrons and regiments has been ac- complished withont the aid of a single plank or ntoon. The Russian cavalry has already drilled so thoroughly in swimming that horses without riders are otten made to swim two or three miles, This year special drill in ewimming was carried on by the cavalry sta- tioned at Konigsberg, Breslau, Karlsruhe and Berlin. In the last maneuvers of the first army corps a whole east Prussian regiment swam 4 small stream in view of the emperor. ———e@e——_____ ‘Western Apples Coming East. ‘The apple crop ol gathered and the apples are now practically in the hands of eastern dealers. For the first time in the history of the country buyers hsve been driven west of the Mississippi for apples to sy the east. These buyers operate in dif- jaa fl Sometimes purchase the orchards and pick the m hapeg emsel ves, some- times they buy the apples in barrels and some- times they get the apples as they are piled in the orchards. The principal purchased here are Ben Davis, Wine Sap, Genetin and Mis- souri Pippin, different from the Bald- wins, Greenings, Russets and Northern Buyers ae admit latter barefooted dignitary received | SOCIAL BLESSINGS. The Con fonsliat, the -Di Giver and the Old Family Servant. ALLTHREE ARE GREAT BOONS Seme Phiicesophical Reflections Upon the Necessities of Perfect Social sac cees—More Blessings Ameng Women ———__ Written for Tae Evextxe Sram. HREE young men stood upon the street corner the other day. One was an “old chappie,” the other was an ‘old man” and the third was “deah boy.” They were discussing the question of what were the Greatest blessings on earth. “Old chappie” thought a woman that conversed well was the noblest work of the Almighty, but then he is a great talker himself and was speaking entirely from a personal point of view. The “old man,” being a great eater, declared aman that gave Sood dinners was the best man in the world, and the “deah boy,” who is rich and lazy, thought good family servant was the most de- sirable thing on earth, They were not far out of the way afterall. THE WOMAN WHO LISTENS WELL. Now, the woman who listens weil is the one that converses well, for conversation is not monologue, The person that simply listens, although she appears to listen well, will event- ually be found out, She is not so modest, if she is bright, that she 1s content to bear simply what you have to say without having her own say. You are boring her and you'll find it out, and then your conversation not have been pleasant to you. She is a flatterer, this listener, and nothing else. She starts you on your hobby, she is wrapt in attention as you ride the poor brate to death. You pause for an in- stant and she says a word showing the deepest subject that is in reality entirely ing to her, and off you go again, But when you finally dismount your Kozinaute and take your leave you are painfully conscious that you did all the talking; that your ideas were being exhibited the whole evening, and, if you know that she has ideas of her own, you cannot help the retlection that she might her- self have wishgd to give them a little airing, and you may come to the conclusion that the lady “has been practicing a mild amount of hypocrisy, 4 STORY OF MADAME DE STAEL. There is astory told of how Madame de Stael, being introduced to a gentleman iu Paris, talked to him for an hour anda half and then pronounced him a most intelligent man. only to discover later that he was as deaf as an adder, and hadn't heard one word that had been said to him. The person that simply lis- tens is no better than he, for while he couldu't hear, the other doesn’t really care to liar, These professional talkers, people who ‘con witticisms before dinner” and recite them at the table, are the ones that enjoy the silent listener, but the real conversationalist speaks spontaneously and must have some one to talk with and uot simply to taik to, OLD CHAPPIE WAS RIGHT, “Old chappie” was right when be said a woman that conversed well was a social bicss- ing, and there are mahy more blessings of this kind among women than there are among men. Women, generally speaking, have more leisure than men have; they read more light litera ture; they see more company and they give more attention to the elegancies of life. Un- fortunately, the men who do nothing in our country, who should be the ones to cultivate the ornamental side of life, are uot usually capable of cultivating anything but their own ersonal adornment. Here is an instance: Young Van Drinker of New York is noted as one of the greatest swells of that metropolis, and he called one evening upon Mrs. —-, who is a most charming woman with a taste for the company of intellectual men. A pro- fessor was there when Van Drinker paid his call and presently the conversation happened toturn upon materialism. Van Drinker sat twirling his mustache and ¥lancing at his rings, but he never said a word. WHAT HIS VIEWS WERE, The lady turned to him after a while: “And what are you views, Mr. Yon Drinker? What do you think about the subject?” she said. He turned his sapphire ring about and looked at ita little uneasily. He hemm'd and haw'd; he looked at his eres patent-leather shoes; he lightly stroked his peaked beard and at length his ideas flowed: “Aw,” he said in a fine contralto, “aw, yaws, yaws; I think so, paws'tively, 1 think so— paws'tively I do!” The question of materialiem was not of much consequcuce in his eyes. His mind was wrapped up in thoughts of his rings and clothes, MORE LEISURE NEEDED, But if it is impossible to get a good conver- sationalist out of a fool that does nothing it is equally unreasonable to expect a man to culti- vate this laxury of social life when almost all of his time is devoted to his business or his profession, The shop should not be lugged into the parlors or the dining room,. but how can it be expected that it should be excluded from those sacred precincts when men spend so much of their time in the shop? ‘There should be more leisure and then there would be more men who are able to maintain agree- able conversations, DINNER TABLE TALK. Where the conversationalist shines with most luster is at dinner, and this brings us around to the remark at the beginning of this article of the ‘old man,” who thought that the giver of good dinners was the greatest social blessing of all, Perhaps he is, and he is not only a blessing, but h: n of in- telligence as well. * Come t,” says Brillat Savarin, ‘‘but to Foast requires genius, ‘That is a remark that applies to cooks and not to the employers of cooks. The latter require talent, not only in the planning of the menu, but alzo in the selection of the people who are to discuss it, A man is generally dependent upon the servants in the matter of the food and its cooking, and the good masculine dinner giver is thus nearly always a man of means, but the female dinver giver, who 1s the greatest bless- ing of all, noed not be rich, Bad housckeepers, careless wives who do not love good cuting themselves and are indifferent to the feclings of others, always have poor cooks. But the woman who takes the trouble to teach the cook and to superintend her when she is en- gaged in her difficult art, nay, the elegant well- bred lady who does not disdain herself to sometimes make a good dish and who is not ashamed to tell her guests that their praises of it are due toher rather than to her cook, this is the woman whom to dine with is a pleasure, OUR GRANDMOTHERS WERE GOOD CooKs, Our grandmothers could teach their de- scendants-a useful lesson in this matter, for they were nearly all good cooks, and it was considered highly proper that they should con- tribute to the happiness of the people who dined with them by contributing to the cook- ing of the dinner. The old-fashioned dinner party was too heavy an affair, and our own lighter, shorter feaste of the present day are much better. Moreover, our grandfathers drank too much after dinner and often went home drunk, a thing that happens rarely at a dinner party now, but the hand of the lady of the house was often apparent in the good cooking of the feast and nowadays all this de- pends too much upon the talents of the cook. It is not to be supposed that the species of men who are known am their friends as “old chappie” and ‘old man” and ” estar ees Sees or about or g servant vat they think they do, and the three that have been mentioned here d to say what were the greatest social with tolera- ble discrimination. SOMETHING ABOUT SERVANTS. Now the subject of servants is perbaps the most important household problem of the present day. The truth of the matter is that must execute respectfully, then there might be # larger supply of mea who are willing to be- come house servants, THE IDEAL MAN SERVANT, But the man who has a really good man ser vant in his house is blessed indeed. The old family servant that has the interests of the housebold he lives in at heart, that prevents the petty thieving that is usually eo in large wealthy familics, that comes into your Troom so softiy in the early morning that you do not wake, that brushes your clothes with « musical regular swish which mingles sweetly with your moruing dreams, that knows your peculiarities and pampers them, that does everything of his own volition without waiting to be ordered, that saves you the trouble of doing anything for yourself, even to the trouble of thinking, such a servant is, indeed, a Dieasing and a treasure. He used tobe tolerably fre- quent, he is now a great rarity. One of his chief virtues is that he knows all the visitors that come to bis employer's house, knows their standing in the bousebold, turns the bores away when th young iady of the house is enjoying « from her best man, and asks the family ft tocome in and wait awhile af the fax out, At the dinner table, when there ner party, bi is materially to the success of the even knows what dishes the gueste are partic ly fond of an. nds them around | twice. He looks after ev and when he hears the dinner complimented he takes the praise to himsel * proud as a peacock, It was a servant of this kind that the “deah boy” was praising and pronouuced the greatesd blessing of social life. — TIDDLEDY It is a Craze and Everybody is or Will Be at ly WINKS. The celebrated 1 14 puzzle that caught everybody by the brain and gave it a vigorous years ago and the aggravating game of pigs im clover of inter date have now a suc- cessor and rival for popular favor m the fasci- nating sport of “t winks.” and four out of every five fami devoting their leisure hours to flip to winkpots with tid- Aiedies. *Tiddledy winks” is a less dangerous same than either of its predecessors, inasmuch 4s it affords solid amusement without fear of instituting a corner on lunacy, It is an amuse- ment in which the lion of a family can sit down in quict pleasantry at a table with the littie lamb of the ho while away an hour or two wi aty of the lamb getting thra ¢ Untimely at to gee st pig in the pen or iu getting 14 on the right side of 13. MORE LATITUDE IN TIDPLEDY WINKS. Tiddledy winks bas more latitude and opens opportunities for tho younger members of the home circle to participate in the mental tivities which should follow a day of business turmoil and cares aud prevents the older onel from sneaking off to sequestered spots to tu with the intricacies of au insignificant problea, where they alone can observe the shortcomings of their smartness. Another advantage i this game 3s that any number can play with one set and “pi s wink progressive tiddiedy parties” may be ¢: d asone of the fashionable crazes of the ming winter, Indeed, “tiddiedy wink ten already been introduced and no one uw surprised t to receive cards t o'clock afternoon tid- dledy wink flip” before the season shall end. WHAT THE GAME 18 AND NOW PLAYED, The game of “tiddiedy winks” consists of « small paper box divided into compartments in which can be found wooden tub or glass jar called a “wink pot,” a number of bone or cellu- loid chips a litte larger in circumference than a quarter of a dollar, called “tiddledies,” and a larger number of smaller chips about the size of a dime, called “winks.” Each “hand,” con- sisting of one tiddledy and six winks, 18 of a colur, and, while there are generally four “hands” in a box, there may be as many as colors can be had.’ Each of the parties play- ing uta table. over which there suould be soft cover, takes ono tiddledy and six winks, and, placing them ten to twelve inches from the wink pot located in the center, en- deavors in turn to flip the winks into the wink pot. The flipping process is nc- complished by placing the tiddledy firmiy upon the wink end thea, drawing or sliding it off the edge, ti flipped and bounces, flea-like, towa pot, if aimed im that direction. The flips his six winks into the wiuk pot first wins the game. WHERE THE FUN Comes IN, It is great fun to flip the winks with the tid- dledies and watch them jump aggravatingly in the wrong way or strike the rim of the wink pot and roll further off thanever, Some very nice points are involved, which experience will teach how to discriminate between. When one person's wink flips on that of another and remains there the lower wink cannot be re- moved until relieved by the owner of the upper Wink, which is an annoying disadvan- tage to the proprictor of the uuder wink. A player can soon become an expert in handling a tiddledy and will get so in a short time that he can pot his winks at short range with but littic variance. There is no end to the fun in the game and but re for ¥ ct upon the part of the head in-clover puzzles, in wh be suubbed aud le! Hiring a Man. From the New York Sun, The tandiord of the village tavern had told Farmer licks that he had a tramp at the barn who wanted work and would work cheap, and the farmer went out to havea talk with him. “Look-a-here,” began the agriculturast after some gene: ‘we must come to @ fair understanding before we kin set the price, You are to git up at 4 o'clock in the morning.” work till I tell you to stop.” ‘ou sleep in the barn.” m willing.” ‘ou eat in the kitchen.” “All right.” “You are to call me judge when you speak to me.” “I will.” You are to call my wife Lady Hicks.” "ldo that, too.” “Whatever I say goes, and that without dis- pute. There must be no talking back.” “No, sir.” want tobe treated with as much respect as if I was the President himecif.” “I soe.” ‘If any hat to m “I will, “Now about the wages. I'll give you @4per month, half in cash and balf in store pay.” “That's all right.” nd you are to work Bundays and holidays one is around you are to take of yong won't be allowed tea, coffee or don’t want ‘em.” Well, that’s all I think of Holdon! Didi €4 per month?” ogee 34 half of that” ery well.” “And all store pay.” “All right.” “Weil, [ll call in about two hours, and you be ready. I wondered that the tramp yielded e' point so humbly, and when the farmer bed gone I asked him why he had done so, “Because I'm tired of life and want » good place to hang myeeif in, He's just the kind of # man I like to make trouble for.” He laughed as he said so, and I had no idea he was in earnest. Next morning the farmer came into town with his team ou the run, and as he halted in front of the inn he called out: “Git the coroner and a jury and a coffin and come along, for that infernal ny ty banged himself in the granary with the lines of my Sunday harness!”