Evening Star Newspaper, June 20, 1891, Page 7

THE EVENING STAR: A RECTORS RESOURCE How Rev. Cuthbert Dangerfield Successfully Thwarted a Matrimonial Scheme. onlay From Belgravia. HE REV. CUTHBERT DANGERFIELD having with great deliberation anda silver paper knife cut the ponderous pages of the Quarterly Review threw himself back in his well-padded chair and gazed reflectively into the fire. His glass of Lafitte was warming ins distant corner of the fender, an obese and elderly Dandy Dinmont snored comfort- Ybefore the same and an air of repose rvaded the whe room. It was evident from the peaceful nature of Pepper's sleep that be anticipated no parochial stroll this afternoon, yet his reverend pastor and master seemed in no way eager to plunge into the learned interior of the magazine. Nowand again he thoughtfully stroked his sparse gray hair, overlapped his clean-shaven upper lip with the nether one, and tapped his brow pensively with his pince-nez. Finally he took up the outer sheet of the Times. balanced his glasses on the extreme tip of his nose, and solemaly read aloud the following announce- ment. “At the parish church, Snaleham, the Rev. Peter Popple, M.A.. Fellow of St. John's Coll, Cambs, rector of Dulbrough, to Lavinia, widow of the inte Maj. Mullyns, one hundred and twenty-ninth regiment.” He gianced shudderingly around his snug, book-lmed room, sewed hie glass of Lafitte and then murmaring, “Poor devil! astoand- ing—as—tounding '” gulped down the wine and opened the Quarter: The marriage of bis old and learned friend | Popple ad indeed surprised and even shocked bim. For the Rev. Cuthbert’s views on the | subject of marriage were very decided. It was generally understood, for he did not actually propound bis sentiments, that he considered marringe all very well for curates and other in- vertebrates, but that matrimony was absolutely distasteful to him was certain, as bis views of celibacy moat unquestionably proceeded from no fanciful bigh church notions. Muddlebam- ‘Magna was evangelical from end toend. Pop- le was @ man he had greatly esteemed: hence- Dangerfield felt that he and Popple have no sympathies in common, and the thought caused Lim much distress. Tue Quarterly Review tailed to cheer bim. He found his thoughts wandering from Glad- stone to Snalebam and Dulbrough, to Popple and his fall. He positively blushed when he discovered himself dwelling on the possibilities of Popple becoming a family man. Bah! the thought was too horrible. He started up sud- ¥. to Pepper's unmitigated astonishment sgust, lung aside the magazine and pre- d to go out. ‘As he stood brnshing bis hat preparatory to his afternoon he was undecided to do his cottage or his villa round. cht he would swoop down with e requisite pastoral reprimands upon his humbler parishioners, but for these to be duly ctive it was necessary to be stern. This afternoon, with Fopple’s fall ever present in bis mind, he simply felt de- pressed and sad, and wu: r these circum- es he decided that —his curate— should s. The villa cre he would be ‘ll-brewed tea and | ke, and so mace to forget his frieud tem y. There were the | for exa at the Laurels. His | asckeeper, Mrs. Chipp, had informed him of | us indisposition of Miss Louisa, and as | i ber sister were staunch and liberal | orters of the church and local charities, it behooved him to pay a sympathetic call. To- ward the Laurels he accordingly went. Every shrub in the spotlessly kept garden of that small residence was evenly trimmed, the gravel was rolled till it positively shone: again, and the doorstep was of immaculate whiteness. Dhss Larby, senior, solemnly rose to the rector as ‘he was ‘aunounced. She was an angular female of -allow complexion, disply- ing great symmetry of bone. As she moved there was @ fetterlike jingle of jet bracelets, and ber knuckles and old-fashioned clicked aad rattled like a mechanical toy as she rubbed her osseous hands together. The some- what embarrassing skittishness that the rector had someumes nervously remarked in the younger Miss Larby’s demeanor was wholly ab- sentizom her sister. He therefore felt more at forth vase in ber presence, and more emboldened to = aire ‘itously and tenderly after the invi At the mention of her sister’s name Miss Larby allowed her eyelids to suddenly fall, as if sorta bea been pulled somewhere at the back of her « “Her condition is most serious!” she replied tragically. “Dear me!” said Mr. Dangerfield, opening his eyes very wide. “Dear me! Ibope you are unnecessarily alarming yourself. Seen Chilvers¢” Chilvers was the Muddlebam-Magna doctor. “Mr. Chilvers fears her recovery is im sible. ‘There is no disease, but she seems to be gradually pining, and a severe attack of bron- chitis bas struck @ final blow.” “Could you not take her for a change of scene? You bave not been away from ‘Siud- dleham since——" “We went to Dulbrough the first week of last September,” Miss Margaret responded with melancholy preciseness. The mention of Dul- brough revived thoughts of Popple, and a per- ceptible shade over the Heverend Cuth- bert's face, while an involuntary sigh escaped “Yes, Iremember, I remember,” he said, sadly, and Miss Margaret noticed with ap- Parent satisfaction that he suddenly became abstracted. Ske rattied her fingers and rings more loudly still, and rang for tea. She had great faith in the Larby brew, with its concomitant cream and well-buitered | muffins, asa social agent, and she had often noticed its magical effect upon the rector. It roved less inspiriting than usual, however, afternoon. But it led the conversation back to Duibrough. “You have doubtless heard of Mr. Popple’s— marr He guiped out the last wor ret visibly brightened. was so glad.” “Glad?” gasped the rector. “Glad? Why were you glad, Miss Larby “Mr. Popple isan attractive manin the prime . of life, his was a lonely existence and, with soc ‘® rectory, it seumed, if I may say 40, almost selfish of him to live in single state.” ‘The Rev. Cuthbert gazed at her nervously. “That is what they think of me, perhaps,” le thought to himself, and the reilection filled him with terror. He was thankful to change the subject and visit the invalid. Now bis nervous condition was so low and the chair beside the invalid’s bed so cosily cushioned that be sank into it and allowed himself to be talked to by the ladies. Beyond the fact that her voice was weak and that there was « pow- erful odor of eau-de-cologne ir. the apartment he really noticed no signs of serious indisposi tion about Miss Loutse. For this he was grate- ful. He disliked sickness, he was not fuent fa the consolatory and amateur medical lan- guage current with sick persons and their rela tives. So he outetayed his usual time for such ¢allsand with marked geniality begged that Miss Louisa would not hesitate to send for him if he could be of any service. A day or two later in passing the Laurels the Rev. Cuthbert called to inquire again after the Younger Mise Larby and received still more Unsatisfactory accounts of her health. He was Rot, therefore, surprised when an urgent mes- Sage was delivered to him on the following moraing begging his immediate attendance on the invalid. “Meanwhile he bad gleaned fur- ther particulars concerning Pop bride, the widow of the late Maj. Mullyn, and more than ever did he mourn for his fallen friend and congratulate himself on his sound sud immovable views upon celibacy. Mise Larby greeted him tearfully. sister is much worse. I feei that crisis is at band. We shall not have her long.” she mur- maured, as she led the way upstairs. The rec- tor muttered some conventional incoherencies and presently found himself holding Miss Louisa’s thin and resistless hand in his. Th Conversation, principally consolatory, was cai Tied on between the rector and the elder lady, but she presently glided noisciessly out of the Toom aud the Kev. Cuthbert took the opporta- Bity of asking the invalid if she had any wish to communicate to him. Suddenly Miss Louisa, to his unutterable 8. “Calm yourself, pray, my dear lady,” he ex- claimed. " “I beg you will not distress yourse: Sbell I call your sister/” he hastily added, Glancing nervously at the door. “No, no,” she cried. “I want to speak to you alone. I want you to forgive me; I must confess my secret; Ieould not die happyy with- ext telling you how foolish I have been. But it was not altogether my fault.” Here the rector discreetly gazed into the fire. “I did against my feelings, but oh! do not be you: = I could not—I—I couldn't you—T’— = leaped to his feet. “Sis Larby,” he stammered, “these the fancies born of your weak states Oa “No, no, answered. “Indeed it is too wee Vor months my secret has been locked buried Ler face in her hands and burst | in my breast. It has consumed my strength, my life, and now that Iam dying I felt you would take pity on me and tell me that I have not been very wicked to bestow my heart un- asked upon you. ‘We needs must love the highest when We see it,’ some one has said, and no one has ever seemed so good and. great as rector winced at each tender word’ and f perspiration stood upon his brow. me a great honor, but——’ ta? 22 Bot hate me then?” “she asked wist- a “Of course not, my dear lady, but I was naturaliy unprepared. I fancy you are not altogether certain as to your feelings, your | long illness —" At this juncture Miss Larby returned. Stfe had evidentiy heard the last sentence, for with an agitated rattle she exclaimed: “Then Louisa has told you all! Ob! Mr. Dangerfield, you will make the dear girl happy” (Miss Louisa forty-ninth birthday had dawned long since “I know you will.” and she grasped both hi hands firmly. He tarned hot and cold by turns, his tongue became an absolute fixture, while the terrible avowal to which he had just listened seemed to throb audibly im his brain. Only one coherent thought occurred, and that was that he must escape at once from the house, and in view of the fact that this misera- ble woman was in extremis he was justified, he thought. in accomplishing his escape at any cost. He never knew exactly what he did say. He heard a far-off murmur of voices, he wi dimly conscious that Miss Louisa kissed hi hand. Then his mind became a blank. On his way out he met Chilvers. “No bope, I fear,” whispered the little doctor as they pussed each oth to No hopes” echoed the rector in a sepulchral e. ‘Then there was balm in Gilead after all. The following day asa series of hide- ous dreams to the rector of Muddleham-Magna. He rose haggard and depressed after a night of sleeplessness and despair. ‘Twiddy expressed concern as to his appearance, and Mrs. Chipp was evidently suspicious that there wus some- thing wrong. He felt as if the horrible truth had already leaked out; in his imagination he heard the gossips of Muddleham-Magna linking his name with Larby’s, and he positively hung his head as bh along the High street. Reietantly he Sragged his weary feet tothe Laurels. The blinds were still undrawn! Half dazed he entered, suffered himself to be led into that awful room again, and left feeling that he bad sunk even deeper into the terrible quicksands ciosing ground him. All dey long he wandered in the country, and when night fell he crept back to his rectory, faint and weary, only to learn that Miss Louisa was de- cidedly better. Chilvers was awaiting his return, and cheer- fully communicated the news. : mad; that woman's mad,” exclaimed the rector desperately. Chilvers laughed in an irritating, good-tem- pered, professional manner. ‘Mad, my dear rector; not a bit of it. Ne met a clearer- headed woman in my Ife. Great determina- tion, too; but Town she’s puzzied me alittle over this illness. Seems to have been brought on by some worry.” “I tell you she’s mad! again said the rector. But Chilvers was not to be talked down. Tha‘ card had failed. Was there no escape? She was better; she was sane; she would expect him to marry her. He remembered Popple, and in his agony be groaned aloud. Then he decided on fight. Just before that fatal visit to the Laureis the bishopric of Bamboozle had been offered to him. He had, as a mat- ter of form, begged time to consider the flattering offer. Now he felt that Bamboozle was his only refuge. He would at once write and accept. But stay! He would first make known his resoiveatthe Laurels. May be, after all, his invalids improvement was but tem- porary. At all events she would never dream of going to Bamboozle. The news concerning ‘Miss Lonisa’s health hefound, alas! was but too true. She was better. She waseven gay. He observed with a sinking heart that her fringe was curled, and that she called him @uthbert! He at once plunged into the Bamboozle busi- ness. To his dismay his news was received with embarrassing demonstrations of delight. fou dear, clever thing,” said Miss Louisa, pressing his hand. “How lovely!” gushed Miss Larby. “Dear Louisa isa born organizer. She will revel in diocesan work.” “You don't mean to say.” gasped the Rev. Cuthbert, “that you would actually think of coming to Bamboozle?” “My place is by your side, of course. A sea voyage is just what I want, Mr. Chilvers says.” ae Chilvers!” muttered the proposed op. “But the climate?” he said aloud. “It’s terrible; it’sa miasmic swamp; a hotbed of tropical disease. ‘The late bishop's wife died in ayear.” he added with desperate mendacity, “and they tell me the episcopal residence is absolutely without drains. I couldn't think of permitting you to sacrifice your lite—" Miss Larby only smiled triumphantly. “I know that my sister wiil only be happy in shar- ing your dangers. You have snatched her from the grave, aa it were. She will risk all for you.” “You have made up your mind to marry me then?” he inquired, in @ strained, faint ton “Ob, Cuthbert!" whispered "Miss Louisa, while the elder Miss Larby coughed and placed her handkerchief to her eyes, “have I not loved you for years?” ‘That night he took a te resolve. To Mrs. Chipp's despair inner was left un- tasted, and, after ordering a bottle of brandy tobe taken to his study, he retired to that apartment and locked the door. So far as could be seen through the keyhole the rector of Muddieham-Magna simply sat and gazed be- fore him for hours, in » helpless, hopeless manner, which at once convinced his houschola that he bad gone mad. The fact that he did Not eat was sufficient proof to Mrs. Chipp that some serious disturbance was at work. The bottle of brandy was in itself sus- icious. And, while his servanis specu- lated on his’ sanity, and his letters re- mained unopened, and his lamp burned low, the rector, with drawn, white face and sunken eyes, sat in the bitterest throes of men- tal anguish.’ As the night wore on his face be- came more set, his perturbation greater. Some- times he walked wildly up and down the room, sometimes he ting himself down and writhed in agony upon the floor. When morning dawned ‘the distressed Mra. Chipp, who was anxiously hovering round the study door, was suddenly confronted by a terrible apparition ‘The rector, unshaven, disheveliedand haggard, strode forth, with the fierce light of determina tion in his eyes, and ordered her to pack his portmanteau imamediately and send for Mr. ‘Twiddy. “’m going to London,” he said. “I'm called away on urgent business. I may not be back—for some time.” An hour afterward he had left the parish. In London he remained for the next mouth. Meantime the Bamboozle miter was fitted to another bead, and Miss Louisa Larby had reappeared in Muddlebam- ‘Magna society, which was in an agreeable little flutter of excitement over dark rumors of their rector’s romance, when suddenly a bomb ex- loded in its midst. Mr. Twiddy, with tears in eyes, announced the Rev. Cuthbert Danger- field's secession to the Roman Church! And the Cadchester Chronicle, in confirming this terrible news, added the following significant item of intelligence: “We are authorized to state that the reverend gentleman will Le very shortly received into Roman priesthood." ‘Thus it was that he escaped the fate of Popple. 4 Singular Freak of Nature, A singular freak of nature has manifested it- self at Saratoga, N.Y. Mrs. Mary Francis, when she was young and also while she was in the prime of life, had very black eyes and a beau- tiful head of very black hair. She is about seventy years old now, in good health and a rich widow. “When she was about fifty her hair be- gan to turn white, and in a few years the whole of it was as white as snow and so remained un- | tilabout @ year ago, when it began to turn black again, and has now, without the use of ‘any artificial means and purely asa freak of nature, almost wholly returned to its original color. and is as long and silky as when she vas @ young woman. | Chick—“My ma won't let me talk to you She says you don’t belong to her set.” ——_+e-___—_ ‘The Dead. From Belford’s Magazine. Once in « dream, I saw two spirits shine above the town, Whose marts ten thousand busy mortals thronged. One Wig reo otinee iy euaing down, WICKED WAYS OF LOCUSTS, They Are Called Grasshoppers, but They Get There Just the Same. 66. RASSHOPPERS” ARE THE FOES most dreaded by farmers over a large part of the great west, as a Stan re- porter learns from the Agricultural De- partment. Droughte they may combat by irrigation; from cyclones they may seek refuge in excavations madefor the purpose; but be- fore the march of the devastating swarms they are well nigh helpless. The plague arrives, and lo!asif by magic, the crops are swept from the face of the earth, all vegetation dis- appears and starvation stares them in the face. Nothing short of fire will check the armies on their march. Water, unless in wide rivers, is no bar to their passage. In 1875 the Big and Little Blue rivers, tributaries of the Missouri, wore crossed at numerous places by vast bodies of grasshoppers, which would proceed to the water's edge and begin jumping in, one upon another, until they pontooned the stream, so as to offect a crossing. Two of these mighty hosts also met, one moving east and the other west, on the river bluff in the same locality, and, both turning their course together dowa- ward froma perpendicular cliff thirty feet high, they passed over it in asheet six or seven inches thick, causing a rouring noise like that of a cataract of water. It is related on excel- lent authority that they have been seen to swim over the Dniester river in Europe for a stretch of one and qnarter miles in layers more than half a foot thick. ‘WoW 10 FIOHT THE ORASSHOPPER. For the purpose of instructing the farmer as to methods by which he may fight this inter- esting pest the Department of Agriculture is now issuing an elaborate report on the grass- hopper, which is scientifically known as the “locust.” In the first place, the pamphlet gives detailed information regarding the man- per in which the insect is propagated. The female, when about to lay her eggs, makes a hole in the ground with the horny extremity of her abdomen, the process being sort of drill- ing. In this way she is able within few moments to i deep enough to bury nearly the whole of her hinder part in the earth. This accomplished she permits to exude from the tip of her body @ quantity of mncous matter, which fills up the bottom of the hole. In the secretion thus pre- pared she lays one egg. ‘Then she deposits some more mucous and another egg, continu- ing in this fashion until she has completed her. “lay,” which consists of about twenty eggs, the mucous matter binding them all in a mass. Enough of the same material 1s put in finally to fill up the neck of the burrow, which is thus rendered more or less impervious to water. HOW THE EGGS ARE LAID. The eggs of the locust are not thrust indis- criminately in thehole made for their recep- tion. On the contrary, the female takes great pains in arranging ‘them so as to economize space and also to facilitate the escape of the young when they come to be hatched. They are placed side by side in four rows, each row usually containing seven. Each egg has a very tough covering, so that a very strong pressure between one's thumb and finger is re- quired to break it, and it might seem quite Puzzling | how the embryo, which lls it so compactly that there is scarcely room for motion, succeeds in making its escape from sucha prison. ‘ihe brittle sell of the bird's egg is easily cracked by the beak of it tenant; the hatching caterpillar, curled within ite little tenement, has space enough to move its jaws and eat its wa e egg coverings of many inseots are so delicate that the mere swelling of the oceupant affords means of release; those of others are so cons:ructed that a door flies open or a lid lifts by a spring whenever pressure is brought to bear; in some the little creature is furnished with a special apparatus called the egg-bureter, the use of which is to cui or rupture the shell. But the young locus no such contrivances and eo nature provides that warmth aud moisture shall decompose the material of its inclosing walls, thus enabling the embryo to secnre its freedom by the aid of its muscular efforts and the swelling of its body. The whole process may, in fact, be likened to the germination of a hard-covered seed. All the eggs in one egg mass burst very nearly at the same time, the lowermost individual } chief difficulty is to determine what is the mat- ing the escape of those above, which firs their way out at the neck of the burrow. THEY TRAVEL IN ARMIES. Onceon thesurface of the ground the new-born insect rests for afew minutes. Its limbs are still limp and it is yet enveloped in a very deh- cate film, which is. presently split along the back, worked off behind and finally kicked from the hind feet in a little white crumpled pellet. Though pale and colorless when first treed from this inclosing pellicle, the fuil-born locust is at once capable of considerable activ- ity, and in the course of an hour it as- sumes its natural coloring. 80 long there is plenty of food in the neighborhood where they first see the light ¢he young insects remain almost station- y. Butassoon as the edible supply is ex- hausted they begin to migrate, frequently ina body a mile wide, devouring as they advance all the grass, grain and garden truck in their path. They travel in armies, to no particular point of the compass, but merely in search of food, the same body of them one day often pursuing a different route from that followed A person going along y nm see one army march- ing in one direction on the right side, while another marches in the opposite direction on the left side. Sometimes two armies going in different directions will cross one another, the individuals of each keeping to their own course and presenting a singular spectacic as they hop past one another. It is not, however, until they acquire wings thi their rate of’ progress becomes very rap’ ‘That stage of their existence arrived at, the swarms travel by flight at whatever speed may be necessary for obtaining food supply In- vading clouds of locusts sometimes paus over the extensive plains and thinly-settled regions of the northwest, where there is litle induce- ment for them to halt, at the rate of 200 and even300 miles a day, when the winds are tayor- able to their progress. Extended iiigut they do not attempt until four or five days after they get their wings. SOME PREVENTIVE METHODS. Although very little can be done to check the ravages of @ swarm of “grasshopper when once it has swooped down upon a fertile district, farmers find it well worth their while to practice preventive methods for the destruc- tion of the were, in th tion of a crop the next. Harrowing or plowing the ground during the early winter is found effective to some extent in destroying the eggs. One rapid way of collecting the latter is to slice off about an inch of the surface soil with spades, permit it to dry, and put it through sieves, #08 to separate ile egg masees from the dirt. ‘The eggs thus collected are destroyed by burying them in deep pits. In Europe the young ones newly hatched from the ground are mashed with flat implements or caught with hand nets. But such processes would be too slow and laborious for usefulness on large praizie farms and against the groat numbers to dealt with. In wheat-growing regions burn- ing machines have been employed with consid erable success,open grates ou runners filled with piteh-pine wood being drawn over the ground yy horses. In this way two men and a teamycan burn over ten or twelve acres a da} Another method is to attach rags or tow to's long wire saturated with keroseue. Two men each take an etd, the inflammable stuf? baving been set fire to, and drag it across the fields. Locusts are also captured ‘by wholesale in pits three to four feet » With converging wings of muslin staked out 40 as to guide the hoppers when driven the holes, where they perish miserably. Wide scrapers, covered with coal tar, which is deadly to the locust, are drawn over the surface, or coal oil is dro; on the surface of the irrigating ditches. But of these and other jan’ recommended for the same purpose it is impossible to give a detailed description here. Any one who desires to know how hopper-grasses should be fought had betier obiain “the report referred to from the Department of Agriculture. ——— Crack Walkers, From the Boston Globe. “Yes, sir; 1am a crack walker,” said a gen- tleman in a downtown hotel yesterday. Several of his friends turned around and gave him » look that was mingied with surprise and inquiry. One of them said, quickly, “What on earth is a crack walker?” The reply came: “Oh, a man or a woman who can't step on ® crack without feeling nervous and frightened over it. Of course, when one of us goes over a brick sidewalk the cracks don't count, but on a crossing or a big flagging we so our steps 80 as to avoid the cracks. I WASHINGTON. DRUGS THAT CURE PAIN. People Must Have Them Nowadays, Though Their Price Be Death. 66fP\HIS Is THE AGE OF ANODYNES,” saida Washington apothecary to a Stan reporter. “In these days no one is willing to suffer fora moment. Pain, for the time being. is not anecessary evil; it can always be quelled temporarily by application to the proper medicine bottle. ‘Nerve-soothing’ and sleep- producing drugs flood the market, and any one who experiences an unpleasant symptom ap- plies to them for a nepenthe insteaa of trying natural means for securing a restoration of health. The overworked business or literary man, in preference to taking » vaeation, has resort to prepared ‘remedies’ for brain-tire, and the nervously exhausted woman finds at the chemist’s shop on the corner relief from headaches and insomnia. “Naturally this sort of indulgence creates habits which are equivalent to necessities. Once acquired, they are, like any other vices, most difficult’ to break. a large proportion of such cases they are never broken. The victim having once learned to depend for sleep upon @ drug finds that ial agent indispensable. A cure for headaches likewise quickly reduces the pa- tient to slavery, and similarly with other com- laints. ‘To drop the remedy is to invite suf- Fering worse than has been escaped by ite aid. Necessarily these drugs are poisons and their effect sooner or later is to destroy. Who can tell how many inmates of the lunatic asylums have been made in this way? “The business of manufacturing nerve-sooth- ing and sleep-producing preparations of this kind has grown to such enormous proportions recently that one of the biggest drug-making firms in New York is about to give up its gen- eral business and go into the exclusive branch of turning out special remedios of the sort de- scribed. MONEY IN CATERING TO VICES. “The simple reason is that there is more money in catering to vices than in ministering to health. People are willing to pay enor- mous prices for these medicines. One prep- arationpatented by the concern in question has obtained a great sale of late as soportic. It is sold for $2 an ounce, though in Germany the same article is only worth 25 cents an ounce. Thee cost is nearly all profit to the manufacturer. What does he care for the wel- fare of his fellow beings 4o long as he scoops in wealth at such a fabulous rate? He is the Aladdin of today, and the lamp he rubs 1s the crucible of chemistry. What the alchemist of old tried to do he ‘accomplishes by literally transforming its product into gold. “There are many of these chemical firms en- gaged in the production of such preparations, which they patent under various names endiug in ‘ine,’ ‘tn’ and ‘ol.’ The chemical constitution of the drugs igreadily ascertained, the property consisting in the names attached to them. ‘Thus, when the soporific I have me: tioned had achieved success the same compound was brought out by other competing concerns, lubeled with different fancy designations, and these latter produc! are running against the original, with advertis- ing regardless of expense to back them. Notwithstanding ail that is said against pro- riatary or patent medicines it is a fact that large proportion of them are excell remedies when properly administered. For the most part they are compounded on prescriptions long approved by competent phy sicians. Why should it be otherwise, indeed, when the object of the patentee is to secure success for his preparation? ‘The trouble about them is that in the practice of medicine the ter with the patient. ‘This determined, any fool can prescribe. But the buyer of patent inedi- cines usually takes it for granted that he can diagnose his own complaint. MANY REMEDIES ARE oop. “Because of the admitted excellence of many of these proprictary remedies, physicians fre- quently prescribe them for their patients. Most dangerous among those which they are obliged to select for this purpose are the oporifics and ‘nervo-soothing’ drugs I speak of. Once in possession of the box or bottle with the number of the prescrip- tion on the outside, the patient has it filled again and again indefinitely, without authority from the doctor, because the medicine is found to have an agreeable effect. A habit is quickly formed, and the victim becomes » hopeless slave to it. “There are hundreds of women in Washing- ton, from the highest to the lowest, who are ver otherwise tian under the influence of stimulant, narcotic. soporific or other medica- ments. Many of them are so far gono that they call themselves habitual invalids, though if the drugs were taken away from them they would soon be entirely well. “While speaking on this subject I may as well refer to opium, which is consumed‘ in | Washington to an’ extent that you do not dream of. Women take it largely in the shape of laudanum and morphine. | They get the latter at drug stores by the drachm, in bottles, and consume a little of it at a time by letting a small portion dissolve in the month or by stirring it in water. Often they get the gum opium and chewit. Men smoke it mostly." Mauy a young man do I seo in the street whom I can pick out as a victim, though his intimate friends do not suspect him. “fhe first marked symptom exhibited by such an unfortunate isacontraction of the | muscles at the corners of the mouth. Another is a paleness and sallowness of the complexion, giving to the skin an unnatural pearance. t have heard young fellows speak of having tried a pipe of opium just for the fun of it, but it is hardly a kind of sport that I/ would recommend attempting, so frightfully | eary is the habit to acquire. You might weil | be excused for imagining that 1am romancing | when I tell you that there are mauy litte clubs of men in Washington who do. their opium smoking together in cheap rooms hired | for the, purpore in out-of-the-way places, | where they can enjoy a private and arti: | ficial Elysium all by themsolves. It is essen tially a secret vice, that of the opium consumer. | The victim never tells, and when death comes ence the cause is always carefully WHY IT 18 CALLED CONEY. The Biblical Origin of the Name of » Place in Alexandria County. At the last meeting of the Oldest Inhabitants’ Association Mr. Robert Ball read the following | communication throwing light upon the origin | of the name of a well-known locality in Alexan- dria county, Va., near this city. At the request of our ‘association I most re- | spectfully submit for the information of all who may feel any interest therein the following heretofore unwritten history: About the year 1765 a clergyman by the name of Balch (supposed to be of the family having achurch in Georgetown), was, in his oficial capacity, in the habit of visiting the people | then living in small log cabins in the immedi- | ate vicinity of the Little Falls vf the Potomac | river in the county of Alexandria, Va., then | Fairfax county, and giving them advice subjects of Christian religion. Observing the | very hilly, rough and rocky appearance of the land thereabout, and seeing no means of su; port for such a large community as there cwelt except the small vegetable gardens which were cultivated about in patches, among the rocks, and the fish that they could dip up in nets at the falls, where some of the largest and best shad and herring that were ever caught by | man, said to his intimate friend, John Ball, my | grandfather, who lived about half way between the above described point and the city of Alex- andria. “I cannot understand why those people should have established their homes on such rough and uneven land when there is so much level and fertile soil at such @ short distance from them that they could bave easily secured. Their mode of living reminds me of follow- ing passages from the Scripture, Psalm 104, De cteanigh Wile are & refuge) tas tne Si “ ares ‘ a ts ae rocks for conies.’ ‘Proverbs, 30th chapter, 26th verse: “Phe conies are but feeble folk, yet make their houses in the rocks.” “From Zell’sencyclopedia I insert the follow- coney or cony, an old English name for the version of the Bible to which does not, lowi bit; used in translate the Hebrew-Shaj distinguish those ‘us Coni ta ese sesmnt aoe eo same abcae pronounced Coony and applied in derision to ail residents of the rural portion of Alexandria | ter wo #' D.C. SATURDAY, JUNE’ 20, 1891-SIXTEEN PAGES. INVENTIONS OF ANTIQUITY. ‘Lots of Them Are Merely Keproduced atthe 6 6TJ\HERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE sun,” said Solomon the Wise. The in- ventions of modern times were many of them thought of and applied by the ancients ages ago. Telescopes were used by tho astronomers of Babylon more than 3,000 years back. The workmanship of many Roman coins proves, merely by its excoeding delicacy, that the de- signs were made with powerful magnifying glasses, if not with the microscope. Gunpowder, unknown toEurope until the nineteenth century, had been a familiar substance to the Chinese, and constantly employed by them, since before Christ’ You can find at the Smithsonian In- stitution, in the collection of remote antiq ties, many devices which are recorded at the patent office in Washington as new ideas. For example, there is a fragment of a soldier's bronze belt, more than 2,000 years old, bound on the edge with leather attached by the Mc- Gill patent paper fastener of today—the genious little contrivance that is thrast through two or more layers of a substance and bent down both ways to hold them together. BRONZE IMPLEMENTS. The relics exhibited in this collection are mostly of the bronze age, from 2000 B. 0. to 400B.¢. Among them are razors of bronze, some of which nearly resemble in form the razors of the nineteenth century, while others &re crescent shaped with modern handles. ‘They are not in condition now to shave with, though hardly less so than the tools employed by the astute barber upon the cus- tomer who never pays a fee. Even more won- derful is the safety pin with which the Roman women in the time before Christ was born fas- tened their garments. It was precisely like the safety pin of the year 1891 A.D., with the little coiled spring at one end and the catch at the other. Fish hooks in the bronze age were in shape precisely what they are now, with the same arbs and the same bends, of which the famo Limerick and Shaughnessy types are merely copies. The ends of their shanks, to hold thi lines, were either flattened or looped, just as at present. In short, they were the same articles exactly, barring the nature of the metal. In the Smithsonian collection referred to are shown hat pins with big rouyd heads more than twenty centuries old, in all repects re- sembling those of today,’ taough they may have been emploved merely to bind ihe hair together. Also there are ordinary hair pins, equally ancient, like those sold at dry goods’ shops on F street and Pennsyi- Vania avenue, and likewise thimbles of bronze with the customary indentations, though such implements are generally supposed to have been invented in the middle ages under the name of ‘thumb bells.” ‘Tweezers and strain- ers after the modern fashion are included in the same assemblage of curiosities. FROM THE SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS. Others of the same epoch are woven goods from the Swiss lake dwellings that were built on piles, bronze beads from Rome actually Pisted with gold, bronze buttons made just like those of today, bronze chains with the same mesh precisely as is employed now by jewelers for watch’ guards, bronze mirror: bronze awls, bronze bodkins, bronze needles and bronze sickles for cutting grass or grain, with wooden handles—the originals of the Mo- Cormick reaper. One of the funniest things in the collection | isaemal! vase with a hinge at the top for a cover—jast like the modern beer mug. It dates from before Christ. ‘There are also stone molds of the same epoch for casting bronze knives, spear heads, hatchets, sickles and other implements precisely in the manner_ fol lowed now. An ancient Etruscan vase shows mending with rivets after the same method as is employed in this day. Even more extraordi- ure poniards, covered in ivory Perhaps dreds of thousands of years ago by the men of the chipped stone or palmolithic ages, with reindeer and mammoths for handles, THEY CAME VERY NEAR PRINTING, The Romans before the birth of Christ did everything with respect to printing except to print. They made stamps and stamped words and letters on their pottery befo baking it. “These types were movable and ‘sometimes single, though not usu- ally 80. “On their lead pipe they cast inscri; tions in raised letters. Practically, these would have served for printing if their surfaces had been inked and pressed upon the cloth or papy- rus used for the: books and letters.” tt has been said that necessity is the mother of inven- tion, yet the necessity for printing existed in ay great a degree as among any peopl They had a senate, which kept its jour- nal; they made speeches and rations: of ‘the ‘making of books there was noend. Laws and decrees were published to the people; in factat the same time a newspape- was circulated. All this was done by hand writing, yet they had all the materialsand much of theartof printingia every day use now. But they never caught the final ides. SS ONE WAY TO KEEP CooL, Work Hard and You Won't Think of the ‘Weather. CT WAS A REMARK THAT IS WORTH pondering over that was made by a distin- guished Washingtonian to a writer for Tue Srax the other day. He said that the summer when he had felt the heat the least was the one he had spent in Washington, when he had | worked harder than he had ever done before or has ever done since. Here, then,is a new receipt for keeping cool— | work hard. But how is that? As a general j-thing the world thinks it is coolest when it is loasing, lying in hammocks, reclining on porches and all that sort of thing. Well, it ia, according to the gentleman quoted, all a mis- take. He says that @ thoroughly’ busy man interested in his work forgets all about the temperature and us ho does not know that he is warm, he is consequently to all intents and purposes cool. * THE COOLEST DRINK. ‘The old toper always insists that the coolest drink is whisky. It stimulates him and makes him able to withstand the heat, so he ways. And on the same principle he drinks it in cold Weather to keep warm, in wet weather to pre- vent his catching cold, in dry weather to quench his thirst.” When he is sick he drinks it to get well, when he is well he drinks it to pre vent his getting sick. There aro, neverthelees, plenty of people who are not old topers who think that « modest little horn of good whisky is a good thing to take in hot weather. “Live and let live.” ‘The drinking of whisky may be injurious at all but it is hardly fair to come down too heavily on your neighbor who isn’t # teciotaller. But the theory that the best way to keep cool in summer is to work hard has one great ad- vantage in its favor. Nearly everybody can give itatrial. Of course it does not apply so | much to the man who works solely with his hands as it does to business and men, whose toil is of the brain. self-deception and the Physician's thermomo- ula probably show that the temper: ature ee man “who is unconscious sat ing ably warm just as hi as that of the lazy fellow Bid eral about, wiping his brow and incessantly complaining of the heat, but that does not in any way alter the fact that the toiler is more comfortable than the loafer. Aboard ship it is said that when an emergency arises all the sea-sick peo- ple forget all about it and are aa weil as ean be sired. It is # variety of mind cure. Forget about your sickness and you are not sick more. Forget that you are warm and you are = Wadkingtoa coslly' 6 ot o ‘hoa piece 8 ‘ington: nota rt for a large, populous city. When you feel the heat you can easily escape from it by going down the river, or by lying in the shade end fanni yourself,’ but you waste a great deal of time when you make a business of keeping cool, and in the end you do not succeed as well as if’ you had ignored the matter entirely. NOT MANY CASES OF PROSTRATION. It is a singular fact that cases of prostration from theheat aremuch more numerous further north than they are with us. Here they are extremely unusual, and when they do occur it 1s nearly always because of some great impru- denge. There are a thousand alleged prevent. ives for sunstroke, and if aman attempted to take all the things that are reconimended to In these matters it is very much better follow your own inclination and take the bev- SS if it is soda water you can congratulate yourself. rofessional it may be a s | a movement is thoroughly tangist certain com- | within the contro! of the teacher. How the Bottyas Well as the Mind is Cared For by the Teacher. THE INSTRUCTORS OF GYMNASTICS AND THEIR WORK—TEACHERS TRAINED TO TEACH THE CHILDREN—HOW THE WORK 18 DIVIDED—THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRENGTH AND GRACE. N° DOUBT THERE ARE MANY OUTSIDE the realm of school routine who do not know that such « branch as physical culture is part of the regular public school work in Washington, and would be interested to know something about it. True it is that this branch is only two years old, but the fruit it bas borne so far bids fair for a healthy future. Although Mr. J. Ormond Wilson, the super- intendent of the schools previous to Mr. Powell, was very much in favor of having physical training of some sort in the school Toom and did all in his power to create an in- terest in and desire for it by organizing classes for the teachers’ instruction in the Swedish movements, the time had not come when they as well as pupils were ready to receive it. Still during his regime some work was done in gymnastics, such as deep breathing and the old arm-thrusting exercises. There was no special time appointed for such, the teachers did not consider it their bounden duty to take time for it, if they gavo it thought at all, con- sequently ‘only the few paid any attention to this exercise. Physical education, as the term is generally understood, is such « cultivation of the powers and capabilities of the pupil as will enable him to maintain his bodily conditions in the best working order, while providing at the same time for the greatest efficiency of his intel- lectual and spiritual life. To promote this end official direction should #0 control him that he cannot seriously neglect his physical, which are 80 closely con: with his intellegtual and moral interests. EMPLOYING SPECIALISTS. The teachers had about all they could do, and Mr. Powell,realizing this, felt confident that an instructress of gymnastics being # specialist could do better work than a regular teacher, who would be compelled to learn two profes- ions if she were to try to supervise the work ud teach it as it should be taught. He be- lieved that a system embracing the best ideas of all known methods was the one for our schools, and finding one who believed as he did and who was competent to undertake so arduous @ task his recommendation was ac- cepted by the bourd of trustees and the ap- pointment of “directress of health” and two “aasistante” followed in September, 1889. There were many difficulties to be overcome in developing a system fora publicschool. ‘The limited space of the school room, most of the exercises necessarily being taken’ in the aisle, made the selection of exercises that were once helpful and met the requirements of chil- dren an extremly difficult undertaking. Any system which shall make the body subservient to the will must be one that shal! produce, it crease and maintain health, strength, activity, dexterity and efficiency. For this reason the best exercises of the strength-giving German | system and some of the free movements of the mechanically precise Swedish system were chosen, changed and modified according to the principles of grace laid down by Delsarte. Of course it would be impossible to acquire the muscular development in a school room that one would in a gymnasium, still enough regular, all-over exercise can be given to coun- teract the evil*effects of the porition seen so often ina school room und which makes 80 many round-shouldered children. HOW THE WORK WAS BESUN. The work was begun by teaching good | sitting and standing position, in which the head is held erect and the chest raised, 80 as to keep the vital organs in their proper places. | The signals “ready ise,” ‘position: “ready,” “sit,” “position,” were also taught and have been drilied on continually since. Each school is visited regularly once every twenty school days by the assistant assigned to it, and alesson comprising a new exercise for exch part of the body is tanght. Reasons are alway’ given for each exercise, #0 that the chil- dren do not go about the work blindly. After mands are given to which it is executed, so that the actions of the pupils a:a continually The execu- tion by command enables « child to think quickly and direct his thoughts to the move- ment rather than to the exercise. The natural question arises, ““Do the children have only one lesson every twenty days?” The regular teacher observes while the new lesson is being taught, which generally ocoupies about thirty minutes, and ther each day she spends about twenty minutes on it or reviews old ones till the assist- ant comes again. TEACHING THE TEACHERS. At differant intervals Miss Stoneroad holds teachers’ meetings, where she instructs them so that they are better able toconduct the every-day drill work. Proper ventilation has been em- phasized from the very first lesson, so that now, | when one of the health teachers appears on the | scene, if the windows are not lowered sufti- ciently, not many seconds escape before plenty of fresh air has changed the temperature of the room. Special attention has been paid to deep breathing and loose clothing. The importance of this has been impressed upon the teachers and pupils, The abdominal breathing has been encouraged, because the lungs are better able to expand. ' Many different exercises for the head, chest, trunk, arms and legs have been given for doveloping both strength and grace. ome vocal work has been done, such as cer- tain breathing exercises for the control of the outgoing breath and exercises for the articula- tion of the vowel elements. Incidentally many oints in regard to genera! health and culture ve been taught. HOW THE WORK 18 DIVIDED. ‘The work is divided into three departments— primary, first and second grades; intermediate, third, fourth and fifth grades; grammar, sixth, seventh and cighth grades. Much of the work done in the primary has been more like play, yet the little ones are led to go through the movements with a slowness, precision and definiteness, that is surprising." Last year a number of the teachers seeing how much more interest the children manifested when ac- companied by some musical instrument have rented pianos this year, and their example has been followed by others. This year the children have been taken out of te school room and instructed in the proper way of going upand down stairs,and at the diferent re- cesses they have been watched to see thiat the: carry out the instructions. Ifa mental branch Tequires so many minutes a day then why not ive equal time to corporal education? Mr. ‘owell answered this important question this year by making ® weekly diagram for each grade, allowing a certain amount of time for every subject, including physical culture, thereby showing the teachors that there is time for everything. The teachers, almost without exception, have shown their appreciation of this work by their hearty co-operation with the physical culture corps, and have thus given great satisfaction to superintendent and trustees. He Probably Did. From *e New York Press. He—Senator Ingalls has written a very fine poem on opportunity. I agree with ite phil- osophy, but it is not every man who knows when his opportunity comes. In my mind the getting of a good wife may be man’s oppar- tunity.” ‘She—T agree with you in that, of course.” He—“Now, I think you are my oppor- Sie—“You think so?” He—“I do. What do you think?” She (blushing)—“Well, if you have found your opportunity you should embrace it.” 4 CURIOUS WEDDING PRESEFT. Did the Old Merchant Wish to Rebuke His Daughter or Was It His Simplicity? ‘From the New York Tribune. “There was a fine old gentleman in this city— he died not many months ago—who from the humblest beginnings made his way steadily up to commercial fame and immense wealth, all by the manufacture of soap,” said a New Yorker the other day, “and with all his wealth and prosperi-y he never forgot how a poor man feels or lost any of his consideration for the rights of others. le never puffed him up nor made him ashamed of his business or his early history. fo was of his soa: bis success over his rivals lay in the fact that he invented sev- eral processes for cheapening the manufacture of that article, and his great factory in this city was full of machinery of bis own invention and manufacture. He madeone ample fortune solely out of patenting the ideas of his fertile brain and several others by selling the manu- factures he was thus able to turn out. ‘His wife was as intensely purse proud as he was simple, though her origin was as humble as his own, and her daughter took after her. This child married well, as they say, that is, a young swell about town pro; to her on account of the great wealth he knew she would inherit. When the ment was settled the daughter and mother asked the old man whatho was going to do in the way of setting the young people up in life. “Here they ran up opien an unexpected snag. The old boy would give nothing in the way ofadowry. Hoe thought the should support his wife unaided till ber father's will gave her a share of his estate. The utmost he could be prevailed upon to do was to give his daughter a wedding present. What this would-be he steadfastly refused to say just then. On the wedding day, however, his gift to the bride was the deed for'a handsome house in a fashionable street, completely furnisbed in costly style from top to bottom. “The bridal tour had all been arranged, 60 no py ir toexamine ntertaining their friends in it. Great was the delight with which they en- tered their new home on their return. The carpets were velvet, the hangings of silk and lace, the furniture ‘hand-carved, the pictures old masters, the linen of the finest and silver- plate was everywhere, even in the kitchen. “The bridegroom ‘was delighted, but the bride's cheeks were crimson and’ her eyes flashed a fire that tears could not quench. Everywhere she looked she saw familiar ob- fects that fled her with rage. Snatching « avy silver salver from the table she showed to her husband, engraved on it minutely, but with elaborate ‘detail, the representation of « bar of soap with her father’s well-known trade- mark on it. “This quoer crest was everywhere about the house, worked into carved furniture, woven in the linen and hangings and even painted on the carriage and stamped on the harness which were presented with the house. It was the old man’s greatest pride, that trade mark and what it stood for, but whether he had it put on his daughter's things out of sheer simplicity of heart, or whethe. he intended it as a rebuke to her foolish pride, I never found out.” Seana OYER WAS HIS UNCLE, He Hed o Family Justification for Being Positive. From the Chicago News. “He introduced himself to me by blandly contradicting a statement that I made to my companion concerning a matter in Chicago, about which I had rather intimate knowledge. A little later I remarked that the law in New York was so and so. He observed that I was mistaken. Of course the conversation did not | concern him, but I was so foolish as to reply. I mentioned a certaia case in the court of oyer and terminer. He replied severely that I quoted it incorrectly. “Then—more foolishly—I got a little nettled and offered to bet and show him the report. “If the books hev it that way the books is wrong,” he answered, blandly. ~ ‘Indeed,’ said I, “you seem to have a rather intimate acquaintance with oyer and term- joer.’ thought that would crush him. *‘Hah—well, I should say,’ he answered, tri- umphantly. “That staggered me a little, but I ventured to ask him how he got it, and what do you think he said? Without changing # muscle he retorted: “Mr. Oyer is my uncle."* —_-o-—___ Rather Fresh on First Acquaintance, From the Detroit Free Press. ill you be kind enough to open the car window for us?” asked one of two pretty girls who were making a trip by rail. They both looked at the man in the seat behind theirs. “Certainly,” answered the traveler, pleas- antly, and he took the skin off one pair of knuckles getting the window open. ‘here was a moment's silence, when pretty ai There wasa silence for five minutes. The man was reading a book. Then one of the girls asked: He went into the next car and soon returned with a tin cup attached to a clanking chain. “Oh, how nice. Susie, you drink first.” “Nellie, you first.” “No, you firs.” He patiently held the eu: Pretty creature-drink” When they had quence! turned the cup to its ‘Then he resumed it, when a small, “Could you tell He could and did. Then they asked him the Fate of speed at which the train was running, where he was going and where he came from. By that time they wanted another drink and he brought it, opened the window again and Was just giving them the genesis of his family when they both jumped up. “Pinktown,” cried the brakeman, and the wild scramble to find their traps. ‘e've reached our station. It's too bad. You'll be lonesome. He did not mind—indeed he was see them off. As he boarded his train one sweet girl say to the other: to sitcasd “Fresh on first acquaintance, wasn't he?” Prompt Answer to Prayer. ‘From the Lewistown (Pa.) Gazette. A United Brethren preacher, the Rev. John vival meetings at the Brush ‘school house, in this county, for three ag nt for miles around is represented tense interest is shown. The 4 POLITICIAN GIVES ADVICE. He Was Bothered by Electric Toys and It Made Him Sympathetie. From the San Francisco Chronicle. Every one must bave noticed of late the novel devices of enterprising merchants to attract attention to their chow windows. A good many utilize electricity and have some con~ | trivance for banging away at the glass and ex- | citing the curiosity of pasters-by. A showman |on Market street has an electric dram that | rolls ina ghostly manner to the delight of the |‘ hoosier flies that flit at nigh? around the glit- | tering entrance of his parlor. | dow with an innocent-looking doll of the Asiatic | pattern, which cuts up the most eccentric an- ics. The storekeeper has an invisible string attached to the doll and when any one loiters before the window the circus begins. The exhibition is very entertaining te people with strong nerves, but it is somewhat barrow- ing toa man who has been on the ragged edge for a week to observe an inanimate lamp of Painted wood become a whole variety show im itself. The othér day well-known statesman, who was taking the air, after taking considere- | ble that was much atronge ped before the | Window to steady himself. The doll immedi- ately stood on its head and wiggled its feet. Thus did not surprise the statesman very much, for be had frequently seen the lamp poste and telegraph poles act similarly. While the toy was throwing a back somerseult « tall, thin clerical-looking old gentleman, noted for hie zeal in the temperance cause, came up and looke? ou with much apparent interest. The Statesman geanned him closely and @nally | asked: ping?” “titdoing? See it kick ay ite kissing ite ha Helio! ceiling and down again. See it roll its eyes, ba! ba! It's very amusng, indeed. ou're sure you shees all that (hic)? “Why, of course, sir.” “My friend, youd better go home—go home at onsh ( Your case ish bad one, ge hom Whispers injunctions about’ tee on the back of the head and doses of bromide and leaves the good capitalist pare- lyzed.) oe ENGRAVING WITH DYNAMITE, Figures Reproduced on Iron by Firing the Explosive Above Them. From the New York Herald. Among the many new uses to which gunpow- der and other high explosives have been ap- plied recently is that of engraving. By means of the force generated by the detonation of these articles the lines of delicate leaves, grase and insects have been impremed on the surface of the hardest iron procurable in the space of half a second. By old processes hours were consumed where machinery was used and any attempt was made to secure artistic resulta, and days where manufacturers resorted to hand work. Many recent experiments have been made, mostly by officers of the army and navy, which have demonstrated the efficiency of the meth- ods. At Newport a few weeks ago a heavy charge of dynamite was exploded by several officers ere delegated by the government to test method of electricity 4 ra, had ‘slipped in be- tween the a) mite cartridge and the irom block from which the charge had been fired. Whea the experiment had been completed the officers were surprised to find the imprint of a leaf in the iron. The most deli- cate lines were reproduced with startling dis- tinctness. A series of experiments, which were attended with remarkable success, followed. ‘One of the oiticers who made the first experl- ‘ments is now in the city and he gave meen ee count of his discoveries: ru isaw him et an up-town hotel the other nizht. “L was rather surprised to find that if'was possible to reproduce the outlines of perishable articles upon the surface of iron by means of explosives,” said he, i wasat first cal, although Lhad often heard that eaudle could be fired through an oak plank. “When we found the imprint of the leaf we made several similar teste. “Phey took place at the torpedo station in x Ye placed several leaves and flow- ers between two plates of boiler iron and then fired a moderate charge of dynamite on the upper plate. tyes ENCE (vutlines, with even the veins in 0 pet lowers, were reproduced in 2) eens . and more extended were attended with similar results. “Another singular fact is that when exploded under water the imprints are much finer than those produced in the open air. Frequently when a of gun cotton is exploded beneath the surface of the water the explosive will sink into theiron foundation so deep that the sunkem words and figures will be reproduced im raised characters on the iron.” Several manufacturers have followed the ex- ample set by ofticers and some day prob- ably dynamite will be put in prectioal use as Fating Before Sleep. an engraver. From the New York Medical Journal. Some persons, though not actually sick, keep below par in strength and general tone, and I am of the opinion that fasting during the long interva! between supper and breakfast, and ex pecially the complete emptiness of the stomach during sleep, adds greatly to the amount of emacixtion, sleeplessness and general weakness we so often meet. Physidlogy teaches that im the body there is # perpetual disintegration of tissue, sleeping or waking: it is, therefore, logi- cal to believe that the «upply of nourishment should be somewhat continuous. As bodily ex- ercise is suspended during sleep, with wear and tear correspondingly diminished, while diges- tion, assimilation and nutritive ‘activity con- tinue as usual, the food furnished during this period adds more than is destroyed, and in- creased weight aud improved general vigor are the result. All beings except man are governed by natural instinct, and every being with astomach,except man, eats before sleep, and even the human infant, guided by tha same instinct, drinks fre- quently day and night, and if ite stomach is empty for any prolonged {period it cries and loud. Digestion requires no interval rest, and if the amount of food during the how few twenty-four hours ix, in quantity and quality, al man no hurtful difference to not beyond the physiol or how short are the intervals between om Judge.