Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1890, Page 8

wT THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGT ‘ON, D.C, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1890—SIXTEEN PAGES. of a die calty in them from the bottom. On nity, and from an intercourse with whom the | his means wore at the disposal of the cause he aay eet ote Binainf of R D 2 detaching - ee KNOW NOTHING return satisfied. +. uitted §=Wa ‘MR. BELMONT'S DUEL. S of all the: of nature. Few, t rubies waters ere shallower, not e: thirty-five What Uncle Sam Has Gained by Prectionnl favor of both SP ia ee screed, gn | ‘The duelin which he received, the wound entates of Tate’ will not sal them, Rune MEGAN: feed by ie diherion bie oe tne pat rng = - . Eua ot Recphaene (Fh sopra peraaceer =) 7s pvp net What is for : ‘Singh had a raby that was shaped iike the ie Prepared ina boat, “One sculls, while the, other leans a betes Exciting Scenes in Washington at} generally. had vuile bane sitions tek of the Heywoods of Boath Carolina, and Prospect There is for Making Taree end ofan egg that had: Deen cut in two, Sponges Are Gathered, greys, ow with his "ace close to the water, . a if e Te ss was a a an Election in 1858, [a ae | a a ell in a rude Artificial Diamonds. thn tik Bylnce at $60,000000. | And and Brought to Market. spouse ie pears ears it and, drags it nto the boat States Ararary af thie for character talent, attentions which I am | remark was Miss Brown, ter yet the ruby is n< more than Soe rough man with spear time J hopeless of ever being able to return Mr. Brown who was the of the popalar crystallized earth, colored by iron, which nat- ‘uses a water which is made by simply trees, thong pte eT or tegen bral or wee foe te etca eae SIMPLY MADE OF CARBON, | Tilist call the piinter of mature’ "Thissori | WiraT A SPONGE REALLY IS, | "outing ost ofan ordivary QUELLED BY THE MARINES. | "yr" Power in ing of Mrs. Chapman | large,fortune. ‘The Iedy was very handsome EO + | of earth and Tock crystal form the base : and putting a peno of glass in place of it.” The ime. Wisher), wines dusth Tan Svat anz gus accomplished and %, Belmont was one of of nearly all Opal is rock erystal with speereman ‘rears, this Vater glist hanging nee os noun c ma ‘and ai aor the- : silt : : willing ones, Book on Alexandria—Ty- tntstaction of secing” ber ‘wansferred to New ater he a remark made by | The Difficulty is to Crystallise It-The Mate- ABOUT OPAL. How It Grows and Reproduces Its Kind—Is Ppt A Sater as walls said © treasury offictal Tea nicer mcd vittate Go Wicliaigad | a WAL Oe wan Socenan raenireal Ulietweet ond him (074 ft | rial 1s Cheap Enough—A Process Only Being | “The brilliant colors of the opal are dueto| It Ono Individual er Many? ishing for | if theve nas calm. seee a sponge oo Kage maiagrypileangs aa favorite, both in bee Che waz | need hardly say histrompt eeton iy this mst:| Winto@—Whet the Raby In—Bome Ouriens | the fact that the stone is divided byagrest| Spengve—totiea Ocs ta conv uae matmeea | DOA! I a. — Society—A Story of Henry Clay—Pleasant [cenit hth aly ae malbe ‘geen og nd po aged mem a her ven ant |! sickens ‘Opals. number of fissures, each fissure giving by the Stack—Why Sand Comes im Sponges.| WHAT THE HONEYMOON MEANS, “Of all ways of hoard- : = a ct eats ai Ferrie cre Zinel sapien emmtemn eae| Sse reper mney owe _ oy ting on the same night | stowed upon him wi reco Hy-omy i ° : Queen repaid ht lat PROSPECT violet, in blue, AT IS A SPON reporter Primitive Fashions. gered gach AM ISDEBTED tomy friend Gen. Albert eres Ege eee anaes iventted Sem him. ‘The Indy, whos chan pst ear sal ears fed nce of one wie oor altered aoe pa poy reel AN YOU tell me from] it yy vasa” Sgn ped god cleverness which rarely accompanies such ver- | P! was, died a few years ago. ire mi . simils what people generally know as such is elmply what source this custom |" Pike, who Iam glad to say has recovered . in Oltaring tal r salon was was one of the most charming produced artificially | be got by partially fracturing with « hammer E m|the summer time. When the fre © cathe esses Means <hiehs counted auilreace fast ti ce fora very ama pero, whe has, | in New York, having in daition to her own does not swe to be| OF wooden mallet cube of, gle ‘or a rock — a StS oe uapes . etl we eeeermen Jr", | Uahted in the autumn the exch goss ot Sei ka Ge Saran cf asaks coinical Sy ae Loon ean Eee caer Lone Seeesaiaty | Wes Bascneas naved mune Re ee eee: altogether | hopeless,” | in optics by the namo of ‘colors of thin plates, sponge. Until lately it had been im doubt young married man, just ee ee ne ca aa had fow muper- | Sentatives of his name. He was a man of said sgt, listinguished and are of the same character as. those of whether the creature i ble, returned from his wed- English lady who visited America in 1799 and | oe ne ina eice an Tae Sean of Rais epicuous ability not only in the ‘financial chemist Ae e Se flowers, which result from the cee a ee ee pre relay eee 4 remded xandria until 1807, | i tress at in the range of know! ter the other . ransparent ues compose etals. vanced researc! jetermined when aa peor rs “iaglend. The book is | aetes gute ntle Seema other tad and while serving the couttry abroad at The iam must cae Herein lies tho secret of all the varied hues of | belongs beyond question to the animal king- published anonymously, but she must have Hees ced been, ee the list of subscribers to ‘the book is headed by the Prince of Wales and | the Duke of York, Maj. Gen. and the Hon. John | Abercrombie, Rt. Hon. Lord George Beresford, Lord Blayney, &c., a long list of honorables and M.P.’s. The book is in verse, not of avery | high order, but she tells very plainly what she | has seen and with great particularity and with | evident sincerity and accuracy. The two towns she resided in are depicted with some skill and Je her passage from Norfolk, where she first landed, up the Potomac if really graphic. The lack of Desiness in, Alexandria intluced the re- interesting t life. the death of George Washington had occurred and she re- | inten ie givens cal esdness which fol upon tho country and particularly she tells how— WatGeARe eto e aouen roast tats i, for he was sick had sent down to Alexandria for Dr. Dick; Rot to» soun his help hie iy be should snotty Tendertiene 1 fo rouse hin: from 2’pleasant sleep. ‘THE ALEXANDRIA MARKET. This lady extols the living in Alexandria and describes the market there as being well sup- plied with poultry, vegetables and fruit. tle 5 oft their lips will suse ‘speaking of a canvass back. She extols the oysters, too: Exceeding fat and very larce, ‘Though purchased at 2 moderate charge. The market and the living at Norfolk. she | °" sys, was much better and cheaper. “Beef at | ive pence haif penny a poand and poultry are | generally fine, without some sort few people dine.” She describes all the fish of the present day—sheepshead, shad, hog fish,é&e.; soft crabs eighteen pence a dozen and terrapins a groat apiece. Nothing in the way of good food es | capes her notice and commendation. The the- ater at Norfolk, as she relates, was well patron- | aster Barrett played Noreal “und | strut the Norfolk taco” until Mr, Cooper ‘was announced. “Then out of town the other flounced,” and then “Hamlet,” “Beverly,” &c. followe for # week Mr. Cooper play jors and wife Were cousing to torment his life, he fled. and. indeed, she says the whole theatrie crew near the same time took their adieu, “leaving their beard bills unpaid” end “the season for the play house done.” This Indy is lavish in her praise of all she finds to eat, but declaims bitterly against the cooking. The book is im good state, well bound and admira- | bly printed, with uncut edges. It is a curiosity in its way. ' As Washington, as yet, bad no ex- istence, it escaped this carly visitor. The book she publishes “as a check to many who, dissat- fntied, seek change. ‘TYRONE POWER'S TRIBUTE. Washington fared so badly at the hands of those who visited it in the early days, when its condition served to point a jest or tinge a sar- asm and when our English relatives were ready to patronize the libeliers of America, that | it is refreshing to find a jnst and genial critic of Washington, ever the abode of retined and hos- ible people. ready to weleome thove who waght culture, refinement and good breeding ae their rt. As far back as 1835, when ‘Tyrone Power paid his first visit here, he found social life so agreeable that he pays’ a willing and grateful tribute to those whose ki come he experienced. Mr. Power first e in Washington at the ican iter, under Mr. Jefferson's mana ment, on the 12th of February, 1934, to crowded and returned to meet the same success im the following May. He then saw Washing- ton, az he save, to just advantage and prophe- sies ‘when Washington rises to the importance fondly anticipated by ite founders no city ought to boast more charming environs. There is no end of sites for country @welling—valley and hill, river and rivulet. towering rocks and dark ravines abound in as wild a variety as heart could wich.” Mr. Power describes at some length the falls of the Potomac - and wishes for Martin, the illustrator of Milton, ee the grandeur of the scene. Sir Chas. we vi was then British minister. and on St. George's day gave a ball, “in which,” says Mr. Power, “all the beauties of the capital were Didden. They were well dressed and pretty ghd danced with infinite grace and spirit.” Mr. Power relates very graphically a “fancy ball” Mrs. “Florida” White, the wife of the tor from Florida. Tremember. asa boy. the excitement that event created, and Mr. Power says: “When the invitations were issued, with lit- fle more than a week's notice, the whole visiting community was thrown into confusion and, int deed, despair. A rush was at once made upon material. The candidates were many; the supplies few. In twenty-four hours after the sammons had gone forth not a plume of feath- @ra, a wreath of flowers or a scarf or ribbon ‘couleur de rose or flamme d’enfer’ could have in the city of Washington. The success of the ball Mr. Power records as being At this period Mr. Power says “he a jealous feeling pervading Congress to- | Duke of Richmoni our older citizens, whose recollections of are fondly cherished. Mr. Power's second visit was in 1840, and he then played at the National Theater, now Mr. Rapley’s, to crowded houses. He was most cor dially welcomed in society, where he was a uni- versal favorite. He sailed on the ill-fated steamship President, from which no tidings were ever heard. The Rev. Geo. A. Cookman, s0 well remembered here, was on the President. I remember reading a pathetic incident of the Hague as American minister he obtained dis- tinction in the world of diplomats. His devo- tion to art and all the elevating pursuits ren- ders his name one to be remembered. Jouy F. Covis. ———e+_—____ SECRET OF THE LYMPH. What Washington Medical Men Think of Prof. Koch's Discovery. whose son, Lord Fitzroy . was on board the President. ‘The duke ed for days the London road from sunrise to sunset to obtain news of the missing ship. THE JOHN BROWN CAPTURE. A correspondent in last Saturday's Stan cor- Tects my statement of the capture of John ei | Brown at Harper's Ferry. I stand, however, on the official report of Col. Robert E. Lee to the Secretary of War, where he says the ma- Tines under the command of Lieut. Green forced an entry into the engine house and cap: tured John Brown. I wouldn't for the world take one leaf from the laurels won by my old friend, Maj. W. W. Rusell, and Ido not doubt he did enter the building: indeed one account [find in the National Intelligencer of Octobet 19-20, 1859, says he did, and that the marines left here under hiscommand, but also says Col. Herris, the commandant of the corps, was with them. ' Lient. Green became quite a hero here on his return. Maj. Russell was made the cus- todian of the money and papers taken from John Brown, and was, as your correspon- dent says, with him while he lay wounded and before he was cared for by the authorities. Besides Lewis Washington, Brown had some half dozen prisoners, Mr. Dangerfield, Mr. Ball and others, and as they testified he treated them With courtesy. They all spoke of him as a re- markable man, whose courage never for a mo- ment wavered. The fear of injuring the pris- ners prevented the use of the howitzer the marines had with them. Lieut. J. E. B. Stew- t.whose record in the late war was go brilliant, aide to Col. Lee, x lieutenant in the first cavalry, commanded by Col. Lee at that time. The great speech in the defense of C men, cannot be forgotten while it remains in the standard works on oratory as one of the most eloquent speech ong those which ave made American oratory celebrated throughout the world. It has been accepted at Georgetown University as an illustration of oratory and logic. The thirty-one years which » passed over the head of the Senator from Indiana has not diminished his powers as an orator or deprived him of his zeal and ability asa statesman and legislator. I remember the excitement that speech eaused throughout the whole country. It was the most remarkable event of the trial. I had the pleasure a few days since of meeting the venerable Judge Richard Parker, who presided at the trial so memorable and so fraught with events which changed the political features of the country and caused a new history to be written marking the epoch as a new beginning of American pro- gress. Looking back over the seems an age. The war w almost be said to have begun on the 17th of October, 1559. THE KNOW NOTHING RIOTS. Another instance in which the marine corps s called into service here comes up in recall- ing their services at Harper's Ferry. During the year 1858 the “know nothing” riots had be- come rather frequent, so called because of the contests being between that political party and the democratic party. The excitement here had been intense and ‘two desperate gangs of roughs had been organized, known as the dem- oeratic “States Hose” and the “Northern Lib- erty Fire Company.” On the occasion of a municipal election, held during the mayoralty of Dr. Magruder, a crowd of “plug uglys,” &e., came from Bultimore to deter the democratic voters and to take the polls. They numbered something over fifty and a more villainous looking set of scoundrels was never seen. ‘The; arrived early on the day of election and tool possession of some of ti and drove the thirty years it ich followed may at Harper's Ferry yoters away. They obtained a cannon and hauled it through the streets and up 7th street to take the polls of the fourth ward, thenat the corner of 7¢) and I, opposite where the market house stood. There they planted the cannon, loaded to the muzzle, “and with threats and — declared their intention to fire on the oils. ‘THE MARINES QUELL THE BrOT. Dr. Magruder applied to the President, Mr. Buchanan, for troops, and in due form they were given him. The order for the marine was issued and sent to the barracks and Henry R. Tyler, the senior ofticer, took mand and, with Capt. Maddox, marched to the scene of the riot. These rioters met the marines marching up the avenue and saluted them with gros jibes and insulting th but the marines moved on in all the unswe: dignity of the law personified. Maj. Tyler was in semi-uniform and with a plug hat, which at y other time would have seemed ridiculous, but the gravity of the occasion invested it with acertain awe. On they came with measured tread up the avenne to 7th strect and, when within a square of the polls, Maj. Tyler halted the marines, and with sheatled sword came uy to where the mayor and some police were stand. ing in front of the polls. The mayor mounted » box and read therriot act and ordered the mob to disperse. The shouts and hoots and jibes and oaths which filled the air rendered what he Mai can people.” Hesay: said almost inaudible. After a few minutes he Of their national grandeur turned to Maj. Tyler, who stood by him with type of that var," and in sheathed sword, and’ spoke with him a few Sremoral of the sent of government say rainutes, when the major, drawing his sword, suming its oecupaney to be t . returned to the marines and gave the order to at ne Laog egg it will be deserted, lett} march and they came up to the polls, before again to the dominion of nature, to be once | which the cannon was placed. marines more ited into the forest —why, a Rus- tian boyard has raioed as foe sity te Lodge nis mistress in for one night and set it on fire home in the next after.” was uring the exciti ‘of Gen. Jackson's administration, when al of the deposits from the Bank ited States created such financial trou- ‘The cities sent delegates here to plead to President to restore the monies to the bank heal the national eredit, and these impor- ities became so frequent and #o personal Jed to such undignified altercations that the of the White House were closed, and as the whig journals expressed it, ‘for the first time the Fepublic beheld the doors of the chief i Fred uy the delegates charged to pour out the sufferings of the people, to re- monstrate against their causes and to awaken their author toa sense of his tyranny and in- Eixumed by the party agsinat the goretensent government td the vsience of the be eed became really startling, ir. Power says “the thea- ter was nightly crowded and he met both nightly at the receptions and entertainments.” f * t pet I Party at the house occupied by of the Navy. Mr. Southard, distance | Power, roe it th were greeted with every term of opprobrium, and Maj. Tyler, taking out his wateb, gave them so ¥ minutes to disperse. “They grew more defiant and yells and chrses rent the air, and a brick struck a marine, knocking him down. Maj. Tyler stepped ont to the front and in a voice wi yells ordered company, charge é A volley and rush and all was over. The wretches who had come from Baltimore to carry the election fled and actually broke into the Baltimore and Ohio depot to get into the cars. The riot was over, the city as quict as if no disturbance had vceurred, and from that day to this no riot has disturbed the peace and calm and of Washington. The marines marched Tack to the barracks with the same regulation trend as when they advanced to pro- teet the e of the city. One man, an inno- cent looker on, of course, was killed, several were wounded, but « ‘h rung above the shoutsand t company, fire; second pea Maj. Tyler, who: was so well known and uni- vereally respected, resigned at the int of the war and at its close he returned here or to Alexandria, where he died. Maj. Maddox was for years a resident of Philadelphia, where he oceupied a staff appointment in the marine corps. THE LATE AUGUST BELMONT. ‘The death of the Hon. August Belmont re- moves from New York a distinguished member 18 IT A PTOMAINE THAT IS HOSTILE TO THE CONSUMPTION GERM?—THE BACILLUS OF TUBER- CULOSI8 AND HOW IT DOES ITS DEADLY WORK— WE OFTEN BREATHE SUCH GERMS. 4 HAT is the nature of this lymph which Prof. Koch injects into people's veins for the enre of consump- tion? Medical men here in Washington have been formingmostinter- ested conjectures on the point, one notion at first held being that the lymph in question was asolution of what are called — “‘phagicytes.” ‘These are animal cells which exist in the body and serve the Purpose of scavengers, devouring the Gisease-producing bacilli. that come in their way. For example, the lining of the air spaces in the lungs is filled with these defend- ers of the tissues, which gobble up the tuber- cular bacteria breathed in and so prevent them 4s far as they can from doing any harm. Prob- ably not a day passes that one does not inhale more or fewer germs of consumptior, and so the phagicytes have plenty of work to do. But this first theory has been abandoned as untenable, for the simple reason that Dr. Koch's fluid is sterilized—that is to say, it has no life in it and cannot, therefore, contain such things as phagicytes. ‘There is only one other conclusion apparent to the physicians. This is that the mysterious injection must be of a material known as “ptomaine.” This “ptomaine” is one of the most interest- ing and peculiar substances imaginable. A TUBEFUL OF CONSUMPTION. At the Army Medical Museum here you will be shown, if you ask the favor, a glass tube con- taining a sufficient number of tuberculosia germs to inoculate with consumption the entire population of Washington. A single one of hese might be made by a simple operation to produce tubercular consumption in. your own lungs. To this you would probably not con- sent, but another very interesting thing ma be done with them. By chemical procease may be separated from them their own particu lar poison, which, injected into the veins bf a human being, will produce not the disease it- self, but merely the symptoms that accompany it ordinarily. This poison is called “ptomaine.”” UiTo illustrate what this means, take the case typhoid fever. From the’ germs of that it ix readily obtained by chemical ns its essential poison or typhoidal “pto- maine.” ‘The disease itself is an_ inflammation of a certain portion of the bowels. But, when You aro inoculated with the typhoidal ‘pto- maine you have not this inflammation, but merely the fever and other such outward symp- toms which accompany typhoid. In other words, it gives you the symptoms without the disease. Curious, is it not? It is the same way with all the other horrible complaints—such as carbunele, diphtheria, pneumonia, &c., of which the museum keeps on hand stores of germs bottled up; from each kind a ptomaine is obtainable. But, happily, some kinds of these symptom- roducing cells found inthe ptomaines ure Keadly foes of other kinds, and! the medical men are much disposed to believe—not being able to imagine any alternative—that Prof. Koch has discovered a kind of ptomaine which fatally attacks the bac any other sort of tuberculosis. MILLIONS TO BE BENEFITED. Inasmuch as there are not fewer than ‘500,000 or 600,000 people in the United States at present who are afflicted with consumption itis not surprising that this new discovery should have created a widespread interest on this side of the water. It is estimated that 1,000,000 persons die each year in Europe from from tuberculosis, mostly of the lungs, and one individual out of every seven born into the world is destroyed by ‘the disease. Sup- posing that Prof. Koch's invention is as repre- sented, he is incomparably the greatest bene- factor of mankind known to history. However, it must be distinctly remembered that he only asserts the value of his lymph for the cure of commencing consumption. It de- stroys the bacilli wherever it can get at them, but this is impousible in a case of long standing, where the microscopic rod-shaped vegetuble enemies have made their way to and multi- plied in the deeper tissues of ‘the lungs. How they accomplish this and do their fatal work is well worth describing. HOW THE GERM WORKS. Suppose that, as constantly happens, one breathes ih a tubercular bacillus—may be on a street car, where they are apt to swarm. If one is thoroughly well its attempt to find a lodgment is likely to be resisted by the health tissues. But if one should be troubled wi such a thing as a cold on the chest, for example, the little foe might succeed in getting a roosting place inside one of the air cells which compose ‘the lungs, where there was some inflammation and the phagicytes were not in a condition to gobble it up. Having accamplished this much the bacillus immediately begins to propagate its kind with great rapidity, throwing off four or six infant cells of its own sort, which in turn multiply progressively. The presence of a colony of these creatures sets up an inflamma tion, which soon results in the breaking down of a small portion of tixsue. In and around this particle of dead, cheesy matter the germs go on wultiplying, though nature tries to shut them off from the rest of the lung by surround- ing their colony with a cellular envelope. Thus is made what La “tubercle.” Unfortunately the tubercle in its early stages is filled with veing, through which the bacilli are communicated to othcr parts of the lung, and in this way the whole may become rapitlly affected. Of course tubercles oc- cupy with dead matter the air spuces und #0 disninish the breathing room. But the way in wi ple are ordinarily killed tion. ib diderent. ‘The tubercles attack, the upper part of the lung, intlammation induces suppuration, there is quick death of tissue and the patient succumbs, Such is the disease for which a cure is said to have been found in its commencing stages. But tuberculosis is a complaint that attacks many parts of the body besides the it glands in the throat or cheewiore the joints, such places the bones and the skin. In all bacilli are much more readil; of the social and political life of the metropoli- tan city. |For many years he occupied a politi cal eminence as chairman of the national demo- cratic committee, being re-elected for four conseentive presidential elections, declining a reelection when, in Jota, Ms: Greeley ae nominated, though he st ina tion with ‘his accustomed: liberality, ‘in 3676 he was one of Gov. Tilden’s most earnest ly got at and the tubercles broken up by ki ‘the ‘The class of diseases discovery is a most extensive one, en! side of consumption of the lungs. An Invocation. Pema oae Sea mites denny get Se Hmaly mature, we have come to theel Seema trees peti weePyaate je come to learn ‘Thy changeless truth. Each epring thy shining buttercaps unfolé— all ‘the ny sobasigne de eet nea Still are thy cowslip blossoms meekly bowed; Tose displays its golden illi of consumption or of | rat the | negress, pontoon, ith’ —a pure white gem ye touched by Prot. doch's noor tirely out- | thousan: that the constitution of this crystal is known and is of the utmost simplicity. The prob- lem of manufacturing it in the laboratory is a vory different one from that tackled by the al- chemistsofold,whotried tochange the very nature of bodies and to make gold of all things. By burning the dia- mond it has been discovered to be merely pure carbon crystallized. Charcoal is pure carbon. If the way to crystallize it could only be found out diamonds could be made to order in any quantity. Now, there is no reason for saying that chemists will not learn, sooner or later, to make crystals of carbon. That the thing is possible, physically speaking, I have not the slightest doubt, It is simply a question of dis covering the correct process. _No diftieulty is found in obtaining erystals of sugar, salé or alum by permitting the water in which these substances are dissolved to evaporate very slowly and in perfect stillness. It has been suggested that some peculiar compound of charcoal y be foun’, hich, submitted to like conditions, will produce regular crystal- line forms. Such forms would be real dia- monds. UNSUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS. “With this end in view, experiments have been made by combining sulphur and carbon, which together form a colorless liquid resem- bling water and containing absolutely nothing but earbon and sulphur. “If by some method the sulphur could be got rid of the carbon might be expected to be deposited in crystals. So far, however, no way of accomplishing. this has been found. The most hopeful point is that small diamonds have already been pro- duced, although they were such little ones as to be worthless commercially. By means of the voltaic battery almoxt microscopic crystals of carbon have “been deposited upon a thread of platinum. | These particles seem actually to be diamonds, having the form and the hardness also in such a de that they heve been used in polishing stones in the same manner as ordinary diamond dust. In my opinion elec- tricity is the agent by which the artificial dia- monds of the future will be obtained. THE ENORMOUS Cost. “Thirty years or more ago Europe was agi- tated profoundly by a rumor to the effect that a French chemist had solved the problem of manufacturing diamonds. Such was the seure that there was for # brief time a considerable depreciation in the value of the gems, and peo- ple who possessed fortunes in this shape were greatly alarmed. But it is very likely that, if process is dis id, the coxt of making a diamond by it will be greater than the price of a stone of equal value from the mines. You may recollect the celebrated ex- periments of Prof. Sage, who turned out gold pieces in his laboratory from gold extracted from the ashes of certain burned vegetable substances. ‘The result, scientifically speaking, was beautiful, but the expense of making in this way one 25 piece was about $25; so the in- dustry searcely paid. NATURE'S WONDERFUL WORK. “The notion of the old alchemists that the Philosopher's stone could be produced from the commonest substance possible seems not 60 altogether absurd when one considers that nature produces the most costly gems from the most worthless materials. A smull quantity of black and friable carbon she converts into a brilliant transparent diamond, the hardnews of which is unequalled by that of nny other known substance. She takes a little of the glazing which the potter uses in his ordinary work, and coloring it with a trace of iron’ produces 2 ruby or a sapphire. From a little worthless: pebble, with slight additions, she forms the topaz, the emerald and the amethyst. Several of the last named gems have been reproduced ac- cidentally in the furnaces of Sevres in the same manner, doubtless, as they have been elabo- by nature in her vast volcanic workshops, like that of Vesuvius, which has been called the great crystal manufactory. “Carbon is readily obtainable in any quanti- ties at almost no cost. ‘Take a couple of ounces of charcoal, powder it in the palm of your hand, and consider that you are handling the pure material of the diamond. If you could transform the two ounces of black stuff into its crystal line form you could sell those few pinches of stuff for #1,000,000 perhaps. No wonder that the chemists are enger to discover the secret. And yet, in one sense, coal is more valuable than dinmonds. ‘The ’ mines of Goleonda, of Brazil, of South Africa and of Bornco are not worth even @ small fraction of the coal deposits of England and the United States. Diamonds are always found covered by a rough coat. The ancients had no notion that it could be cut so as to reveal hidden beauties, and for this reason they sect a comparatively low value upon it. It was not until the middie of the fifteenth cen- tury that Louis de Berquen, an artist of Bru- Res, conceived the idea of grinding the diamond into a faceted shape by applying the gem to a revolving plate of steel covered with diamond dust and oil. ‘TEST OF COUNTERFEIT DIAMONDS. “There are several inferior gems that coun- terfeit the diamond more or less closely, but the infallible test is found in the manner in Which the stone refracts light. All other crya- tals, when you look at an object through them, double the object seen, but if you look through @ diamond at the head of a pin, for example, not two. In you will see one pin's head and other words the di d's refi e. dot Portugal, which was found in Brazil, is probably a topaz. | At all events itis known that the stone has a double refraction, which makes it certain that it is not actualiy a diamond, though the Portuguese government claims it as such, while refuaing to exhibit it. It is as big as a hen’s egg and, if real, would be asa gem the wonder of the world. The white sapphire and the white zircon are, like the topaz, often frauda- lently sold for diamonds. DIAMOND STORIES. “The stories connected with the discovery of the various great diamond fields of the wo: are ail of most romantic interest, but they have been told so often that I presume vou are familiar with them. You remember how the Dutch farmer in south Africa show Stranger some bright pebbles with whi hia children played, and how the stranger honestly | told him that he suspected them to be diamonds,which subsequently proved to be the case, so that the poor man became very rich. Also, Idare say, you recollect the incident of the poor gardener of Golconda in India, who, finding in his garden a beautifal stone, suld it for enough to provide himself with a com- tence, incidentally 0 to his whole Country’ « source of riches “It wasn poor who in July, 1853, found in m, the ‘Star of the the sands of famous i , the ‘of Sancy to 4 ‘The gem was entrusted to a scrvant. Times fre cond ie by brigade v was oulf after along time that the dis- See nen it had boon awallowed by, the man bs ‘VALUE OF PRECIOUS STONES. “gome notion of the high in which the dimond te eid saad ‘oe shined rubies are worth much carat Qouble the e Giamond same weight is acked I the roby” carats roses and other blossoms. “Opals are no longer worth nearly so much as. they used to be, because the mines are more actively worked than formerly and the produc- tion is proportionately greater. In the time of Antony, that great general and triumvir exiled Nonius, because the latter gentleman would not give up an opal worth $800,000, preferrin take his precious jewel to a foreign land ra than live at home without it. If you will re- member that before diamond cutting was un- derstood the opal was the only stone which re- fracted light in brilliant colors, the price does not appear too much for a jewel that was the Kohinoor of Rome. By evaporating ether from silica a German chemist has obtained beautiful specimens of a glass-like substance closely ‘revembling opal and showing all its co “Diamonds are seen to much greater advan- tage by wax candles than by gaslight. There- fore the former means of illumination ought always to be employed ia a ball room, where, under such conditions, it will be found that walking, danci Jeed,every movement, va- » ever-changing lights of these most bean- tifal of jewels. According,to the great latin au- thor, Pliny, the first one ‘who Wore a precious stone was Prometheus, the Titian,who, released to 0) fd | wooden jewol cup and bowl. | ue lights upon one of the | with a lamp, mn | Pausen on a space oecupied by another player « e from his bonds, inserted in a link of his chain a fragment of the rock to which he had been fastened, thus forming a ring which he ever after wore in memory of his misfortunes.” —s FRESH HOLIDAY GAMES. Some New Amusements Provided for Joyous Christmas Young Folks. > HE GREAT toy manu- °‘ tacturers, in prepara tion for the Christmas soon to arrive, have got out some very inter- esting novelties in the way of games, which @ ‘means of amusement for the young people. That interesting sport called “tiddledy- winks,” otherwise known as the “idiots’ de- light,” described recently in Tae Star, has already achicved great popularity. But tid- dledy-winks tennis is new ind most attractive. The usual “tiddledics” and “winks” come in the box, together with a green flannel tennis court marked in white with the proper lines, and also a wire net with posts that can be set up across the middle of the flannel. With this apparatus you play tennis by the same rules as are adopted on a grass court, snapping the winks with the tiddledies over the net and back. Progressive tiddledy-winks is some- thing particularly exciting and is performed Just like progressive anything else. Another new and pleasing game is called “re- versi” layed upon a sort of checker ‘The players must has thirty-two are red on one At the beginning ieces are not put on the board, but are placed upon it one after another, each player faking his turn. One player, places his with the yellow side up and the other with the red side. First, the four middle spaces are piod by the pieces one at a time, after which ch player can only place a piece in a vacant space next to one of his opponent's pieces, and must also so place it as to reverse one or moro of his adversary’, Reversing is done in this way: According to the rule all of the opponent's pieces that lie in @ continuous, unbroken line, straight or diag- onal, between the piece played and any other piece of the same kind are captured and turned over—i. e., “reversed” #0 as to show the color belonging’ to the captor. A piece once laid down is never removed from a place, but may be reversed any number of times. player not be able to play he loses hi til he is able to eve a piece. The game is fin- ished when the board is entirely covered by the sixty-four pieces, or when neither player is able to place a man, the victor being the player Who ha the greatest number of pieces of his own color on the board. AN ITALIAN NOVELTY. The “game of Louisa” is a novelty brought over by a lady of that name from Italy. Two, thres or four people can play it. A board checkered in the shape of a cross, with yellow, black and red spaces, is used. Each player throws dice from a box to determine how many spaces he shall move at apiay, the object being to make the entire round of the board and get in “home,” somewhat as in the game of “‘par- cheesi.” In fact, the game of Louisa is only a modification of parcheesi, though it claims to be an improvement. There is an improved kind of steeplechase game also, which has a very elaborate board and is very expensive, costing $2.90. By its rules cach person enters a horse for the race, Paying a stated amount into the pool for the puisilege, Dice are thrown to determine the leaps that each animal makes in its journey around the course. If a spaces marked 20, 30, 40, 50. back to the start and begins over again. Sup- posing that he is 99 unfortunate as to pause at , he must leave the gzme, unless he cares to enter another horse, paying the same entrance feo as before. ‘The player who first reaches 100 wins the pool, butif he jumps beyond it he must throw his die until he gets a number that will take him back to 100, when, if he has reached it before any of hix adversaries, he wins. While yet in the game he may enter a se- cond horse at any time by paying 50 per cent of the ordinary fee for entrance. HOW ALADDIN 18 PLAYED. “Aladdin” is another new game played on a board, in the middle of which is a space marked “treasure.” The players make their way around the board by throwing dice, mov- a urn Un- ing their pieces accordingly from place to place, while in the center is placed a box filled with big beads of ditferent colors to repre: ent amonis, rubies and gold. Each player has a ‘As many as four can play,each one having his own’ starti; 4 | point. Should a player at on & space marked \y p | top with repzesentations of one, two or more jewels he takes that number’ of actual jewels rom the treasure in the middle and puts them into his cup, When he gets five or more jewels in this way he pours them into his bowl. ‘But if he should stop on one of the four places marked “forteit to the genii” he must return to the treasure any jewels he may have in his cup. two spaces marked has another turn, and if he fereag he takes to himself ell els in the | poured into the bowle caunot be taken away. When the treasaro.iaall gone the’ player Gio hhas the most of it i of some sort upon i ‘while each white carl is inscribed with? some ly: tleman draws first, bunds the dom. At the same time it grows in some sort after the manner of a tree, and yet reproduces ite kind by eggs. When a sponge is taken ont of water it is a Soft mass of animal tissue surrounding @ frame work of horny, glass-like or limy fiber. It is the rr | horny kind that is the sponge of commerce. The sort used for bathing is the horny-fibered skeleton of a most interesting marine creature, from which all the soft parts have been re- moved, just asa human being t be di- xested of his lesh, leaving his bones behind. So delicately made is this horny structure that it is soft to the touch and absorbs water readily. There are thousands of varieties of sponges, but not more than half a dozen are useful. Those that have the glass-like skeletons look, when divested of their fleshy parts, like bun- dles of drawn-glass fibers. WHAT A SPONGE 18 COMPOSED OF. tom of the sea, is composed, apart from the skeloton that forms its frame work, of a multi- | tude of cells. Each of these’ cells is occupied by an animal organism, but there is dispute as to whether the organisms are distinet individ- uals or merely parts of one individual, which is the sponge. ‘This contention is based upon the same arguments involved in the controversy as to whether each bud on a tree has or has not an individuality distinct from that of the parent st lievents, it may be as well to consider the sponge asa single animal, growing by the sustenunce it obtains from the wate If you will look at the sponge you us will tempt those who | your bath you will see that it is covered over with sinall hol th here and there to- Ww t ws Now t skeleton of lize that in life thie re which you wash you composed as to its fleshy parte of sn The whole | stroctare as it was in life might be compared ‘ity intersected by ca Ever so many | toae | littl wh ¢ to the sea water, h the big orifices. was d that no large for- | eign objects could } ‘ed in, while the sew- ets, as they might be called, were wide enough to drive anything out by. HOW It 18 FED. From all the cells that line the channels in the sponge are projected little hair-like append- ages, which keep up a continual motion, the object of which is to create a current of water in through the multitidinous small canals and ont by the big pipes. So acti this opera- tion kept up that, looking at a sponge in shal- low water, where it is growing, you will often | Was a spring in ebullitior. The object of the animal in passing this current through its own substance is to bring within reach the animal and vegetable matters upon which it feeds. With the continuous current of water that passes through the sustenance is carried sufficient for the creature to thrive upon. The sponge reproduces its kind mainly by eggs. In each animal are contained both the male and the female elements, and it throws out the ova to be hatched inthe water. At first the young are “free-swimming and afterward they attach themselves to convenient spots and grow. It is also the manner of the sponge to ut forth from its own substance which ome detached and develop on their own ace counts. There are some sponges that grow in fresh water, but nearly all are shat WHERE SPONGES ARE FOUXD. The commercial sponges are found altogether in warm regions, the chief sources of supply being the Mediterranean, the Red sea, the Ba- hamas and Florida. It is from the Mediter- rancan that the finest grades are obtained, but to these the best American sponges are not very inferior. It is largely popular prejudice that causes the best European sponges to sell for #20 a pound, while the super-excellent American varietics bring less than one-tenth of that price. Altogether there are six varieties of sponges known to commerce. The grades into which they are divided are determined not merely b; kind, but also by size, shape and structure. A sponge of the most exquisite quality may be so miseliapen as to be worthlew land unmarkete On the nature of the bottom upon which &@ sponge grows its grade commercially may largely depend. Of most interest to people in this country are the sponge grounds of Florida, which cover the reefs along the south end of that state, ex- tending up the west shore as far as St. Mark's and Apalachee bay. These grounds have a total ‘aroa of 3,500 square miles. and sponge fishing is carried on all over them by a large Meet of vessels, which rendezvous chiefly at Key West. HOW THEY ARE OBTAINED. A sponge-fishing craft goes out early in the week, returning at the end of six days perhaps to the nearest shore and depositing its catch in an inclosure built out into the ocean, to which the sea has easy access. The tides, rising and falling alternately, leave the sponges to die and wash away their soft rts, BO it at the end of the week, when the vessel comes back with a fresh load, all of the previous catch has been pretty well ‘skeletonized. Depositing the fresh-caught sponges in the “stockade,” the fishermen take the old ones and go off on an~ other cruise for more, hanging the decayed animals all over the rigging, in order that they may become finally dried and dessicated. This may be plea: but no er ties should — indulge ~~ lar kind of sport, inasmuch as the smell of a dead sponge is said to be the most dreadful conceivable offense to the olfactories. In this Way, bringing in one batch and taking out another, « schooner usually ms to get a cargo within a month or two and then soft sas for Key West. There the sponges are taken ashore and stacked in piles on the beach ne- cording to variety. They are sold to traders, who examine the piles and give bids on them in writing. After they are purchased in this way the sponges are packed tightly in bales by hydraulic which is country. WHY THEY ARE GRITTY. Until recently it has been the practice to sell sponges in bulk by weight and the traders were accustomed to put a certain amount of sand in exch bale, because it added to the avoirdupois, Doubtless every one has often experienced the uncomfortableness of grit in a sponge, but it is pleasant to know that this was purely an arti- icial annoyance. Sponges of the commercial sort do not grow ever upon a sandy bottom and there is no reason why they should have any sand in them, save for the kind considerp- tion of the me it is considered it. how — half an ounce of sand in each g last. SUPPLIES ARE DIMINISHING. ‘There is great danger that the native sponges will give out, owing to working of the grounds hero must be remembered that’ A sponge, as it is found growing on the bot-| flattened pocket book, of a scientitic friend. “Why, my dear boy,” was the reply, “it is of purely savage origin and represents @ survival of the primitive method of marriage by capture. in the early days of social = existence before the era of civilization dawned the lover always secured his bride by force, just as the Australian native of today knocks down the the $120 had drawn the posited it in @ stove for usual result. Unfortunately, the ashes are im. distinguishable from any other ashes, she will lose the amount. ee ACCIDENTS ON THE Bart. Woman he desires for a wife with his club and drags her off, this ccremouy constituting the requisite legal form. Among the Kalmucks of central Asia the girl whom a youth desires to win is put on a horse and rides off at full speed, the lover pursuing as soon as she is judged to | have got a fair start. If he cannot overtake her the match is off, butif he succeeds in catch- ing her she becomes his wife. When she | likes the young man it is to be presumed that | she does not ride her hardest. With the Ahitas of the Phillippine Islands when a man wishes to | see a boiling and bubbling going on as if tere | i to marry a young woman shgis given an hour's | start in’ the woods, and, if he finds her and | brings her back before sunset, it is a lawful marriage. Ever «0 many . | the form’ of marriage by j the actual custom ne lon | Indian of Chile has ag | shall pay fora girl t n don the price he parents thé rec 80, and carries her off to for a few ¢ after which the hap return home. 6, * much like a civilized honey- | moon.” | “Lhe idea of it is precively the same and the custom is derived from survival of y capture. , alization and | communities bs er the actual | captare of wive | unnecessary. ¢ moi 260 0 form. quirements of fashion were satisfied with your for a month.” expensive I found it. is I should hav. prete: | to make a show of carryin wished to do the proper thing. The very bride | cake | slic hn your wedding, of which T was given a is’ simply a survival of the barbarous ‘thod of marriage by euting together. This is in ‘use today among many sof Indians. Among modern savages you | will find the same customs in vogue now that were doubtless used by our own primitive an- cestors, and this consi n alone renders a | study of their ways very interesting. — Speak- | ing of weddings reminds one of kissing the Now, as to that, kissing scems to us so | natural an ‘expression of affection that we should expect it to be found all over the world. Yet it is unknown to the Australian, the New | Zeclanders, the Papuans, the negro of west Africa and the Eskimo. In some parts of Cen- tral Africa it is considered a mark of respect to turn the back om a superior. The Todas of the Neilgherry hills, in Tndia, show respect by raising the open right hand and resting the thumb on the end of the nose. Captain Cook asserts that the inhabitants of an island in the Pacific ocean, called Mallicolo, show admiration by hissing. Among the Es- kimo it is customary to pull a person's nose as compliment. And among the Chinese, who are not savage but berbarons, a coffin & re garded asa neat and appropriate for &n aged person, especially if ia bed health.” tee COLOGNE AS A BEVERAGE. ‘Can It Be True That It is so Popular With ‘Women as This? HESE ARE the very latest things, new for Christmas, coming in cologne bottles for ladies’ dressing tables, said the merchant to arepresenta- tive of Tux Stan. “You see they are like decan- ters, covered with basket work. They look big enough, one might say, to keep a supply of per- fumed spirit on hand for drinking purposes as well as for smelling.’ “Do women ever really drink cologne?” “More of them do than yon would imagine. have personal acquaintance with a lady, for example, who never goes anywhere without her little bottle of cologne, from which she takes small and surreptitious sips from time to time. The receptacle she carries is of silver, resem- bling « vinaigrette, and she will take a brief ‘nip’ from it soartfully, even in a street, car that no one can possibly suspect what she is doing. Her method is—it is the same, I fancy, with other women—not to swallow the stuff ever in large doses as a man does whisky, but to sip only a very little of it at atime, applying her lips to the flask just sufficiently often to keep tly and agreeably stimulated.” ito doa mean rn she becomes intoxi- cated?” Not exactly. A small and pleasant jag of continuous nature is what she aims Asi re sume. Her silver vinaigrette is big enough to hold fully two ounces, und that quantity, she has told me confidentiaily, is em for an afternoon spent in making a round of calls. I have no notion that ghe is ever tibly under the influence, but the habit has be- ontrol.” sy ite It must be very injurious.” ‘Beyond a doubt. The average tisfying, I un: cologne is simply that Bias sass uate sal ear of oils added—is a very popular 4 essential “3 with ad- ra ay ‘te Soe eee op ee obiiged to refuse to sell it tooutmenenes, 2 oT e it : it i Tunning of with your own bride out of town | [route sid hippal es Sow Son | come with her a vice that is beyond her power center of the industry in this “Tt isa most interesting fact that nearly all | the paper money destro ed by accident | its fate on the rail. W | ter occurs fire usually en: | car is burned. express car almost in | variably carries ith more or less money | in it, among other valuables. The safe, unlew it is one for transporting government money, is apt to be of the portable kind and not fire. proof. it isan almost every-day occur. safes to arrive at the here with ite cash contents im the if more or less hopeless ashes. or example, take the accident that oc- curred in entuck: ily the other day. Two trains met one of them loaded Pengers and the other a freight, carrs iron. For thirty hours the wreck and suck was the heat gem the iron was melted and flowed the express car o safe with £1,600 elry. Tt was all paper mone: to ashes. "Seven hundred dell redemption division bas been able t of it in condition for purchase with “d States notes. ‘This, the author worst throngh which an e safe has ever passed.” ren: treasury the parse shed to see how iitfle in is required, when passed nder the hands of the procure the treasury expe identification and redemy . A few bits, wo ho} as to seem to the cumulation of ashes, may b able for thousands of ht new bil!s | at the paying telle at is required | * sufficient evidence that the originals of th have been really destroye i finger nail are ld not a corner, it w. | be likely to suffice for the identification of tle note. Suppoxing that the case is that of a bunk note, itis absolutely essential that the bank should be determined, else payment can not be made. But let the bit presented show the name of the bank, its number, or even ® pertion cf one of the officers’ «ignature, and it goes. Until very recently portions of ‘notes | sent in have been ‘redeemeil ‘on the «discount | principle—nine-tenths of a dollar bill bringing =, and #0 on—but now the law is that the small. ext portion is redeemuble at full face vulue, if only it is accompanied by satisfactory aftida- vits as to the loss of the remainder. Some fiw pts have been made to «windle the treas- in this way by false affidavits, but the de- partment believes that it has always discov ered them. sidictiaaa OOVERNMENT PRorrr. by his paper cash that has been accidentally destroyed. Of course, every penny of it that ines hentiod tn ‘ey anny for rote ion is so much in bi . In this has found bis fesuee bf fractional eure mi S-cent notes then put forth nearly one-half — more than 45 per cent, accurately has never been asked :payment for thing is true of 30 per cent of the 10-cent change? In 1879 treasury commission, pot iBimnind thet €6,n00 oo heed Soe ace aa ae nenaben of Oe ‘0,000,008 Sriginaly toe eo corks enone ae Si laste ndepende pg 4 to last her | Per. P| thro of it is never found. Sums in stoape are often dug up on the persons of corpres bouy of we am woods tf it 8 Ly €