Evening Star Newspaper, July 11, 1891, Page 10

P 4 THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C. SATURDAY, JULY 11, 1891—-SIXTEEN PAGES. country, but carriages and wagons are gener- ally used for the conveyance of travelers. SOME ODD VEHICLES. How People are Transported in Dif- ferent Parts of the World. MOTIVE POWER. Use in China, Japan and in tries The Carriages Not Ride in—The Patient Many Other € Always Pleasant Donkey as a Beast of Burden. NORWEGIAN RULRY. Among others is the sulky pulled by a pony and seating one person, with a place behind for a trunk and for a small boy, who is sent along to take buck the sulky when the passenger reaches his destination. Thi looking affair, with ite bighly poised body and peculiar springs. Andes mountains the voyager is car- jar construction strapped e two wheels gle piece of m for The Evening Star. PLE WHO LIVE IN is quite acurious- ried in a chair of pe toaman’s back. Rude carts, h are each made of x wood, are the best kind of vehicle many locali- ties of the southern continent can afford. in the Argentine Republic, in Brazil and } in Chili street cars are to be found in the | larger cities, while other ears pulled by horses | are utilized in going from one town to another. ‘This is especially so in the Argentine Republic where coal is scarce and horses are numerous. generally find some com- | fortable means of trans- With our nu- us railways and steam- boats we can be carried : for hundred of miles + he can find horse cars, for & small sum, he UNCLE SAM’S RAI without much loss 0 Il be interesting to note a few of the many more or less primitive styles of © ances used in parts of the world where the people are not s0 progressive. Line of Battle Two Miles Long on an Arid Kansas Prairie. OME TIME WITHIN THE NEXT FEW there is going to be a noise out in Western Kansas. Uncle Sam's rain makers are bound thither with a provision of explosi suflicient to stock a fair-sized volcano in a ‘They take with them three score pons, each ten feet in diameter when ex- panded. Likewise about 100 kites five feet high, afreight car full of wooden mortars to fire bombs from and many thousands of pounds of dynamite, gunpowder, other powerful agents for agitating nature with spasms. If there is not a second deluge in the region mentioned within k of effort on the part of forth and the Depa Seven thousand dc £9,000 approps nitro-glycerine and it will not jen. Dyren- ‘tment of Agriculture. ars yet remain of the or this pur- ated by Congress nd so there is no need to economize on the fireworks for the preliminary experiment. Because it isa matter of history that storms have often followed heavy eannonading in war- fare, it has been thought desirable to attack meteorological purpose con- plain the strpors tw wanrma. wh is vory hilly, the only conv with @ regular line and litters, looking very much will be selected tor operations and wooden mortars will be planted across it in drills, as it were, for a distance of about two They will be loaded with dynamite, arock and other materials calculated to te the atmosphere as much as possible, while at suitable intervals of space the balloons ged for ascension. Simultaneously a flight of kites will be let loose in the air. A SCIENTIFIC NOVELTY. The three score balloons will in themselves represent an extraordinary scientifie novelty. They are all completed now, and each one is calculated to hold about 525 cubic feet of gas— one-third oxygen and two-thirds hydrogen. at in first and then Each balloon, upon being inflated, ascends under control’ o which — serv, ut rather hard on the less-favored mor- ving bodies lik Plage and gruamented with sere The oxygen. is the double wire, to When it reaches the desired height the button of an electric instrament on the ground is touched, a spark ignites a fuse in the balloon and suddenly combine w Experiments made recently in this city show that such an oxy-h thus ignited produces ar hydrogen terrific explo- drogen balloon lly tremendous paper. vessel it- self appearing for an instant and by daylight Few things can be imagined more curious than this phenomenon, which siguifiee that the two gases, at the touch of fire, have united in the shape of a drop or two of water. which harmless parts of hydrogen and ons of oxygen. But, as has been A CHINESE STREET can. Tn Chinese cities the elect are carried around fm palanquins. These are much like the old sedan chairs of Paris and London. like a ball of fire. uid consists of two Bebind. Sometimes there are four carriers though generally two Another stvle of urban conveyance is a kind Asse NgET site 0: |. the balloons will be supplemented by great kites, each of which doubled wire instead will carry dynamite and other explosives, which will be set off in the fame way by the ele while the oxy-by¢: kite-tails go bang, the vomit forth rackarock to along the two-mile line. possibly three days the racket will be kept up, ct being to make as mnch noive as Then the expedition will hoist its almly await the down consoled for the inconvenience by the ace tion of an agricuitaral population, which learned to appreciate the fact that woisture ie | wheelbarrow. will be held by | string. Their tail fa Two persons cai It is also used for carrying merchai @ise, and sometimes a man can be seen riding 9n one side, while a pig balances his weight on Meantime, gen bags explode and the | buried mortars will heavens all For at least two and umbrellas and ur, WHat WILt BE LEARNED. It must not be supposed, however, that this pres bombardment of the heavens will be conducted | Skill with whic Before it is begun the observers of the expedition will ascend in asuitable seronautic b: | by the way the hy; ¥ of | level the explosives ientific method. A MULE Lirren. China, where the roads are ex- eb, the most comfortable traveling is by mule litter. There is consider- | tageously set off. able swinging in this style of conveyance, but | ble to the heary wooden carts, two-wheeled and without springs, which These clumsy vehicles ta jolting which alloon and find out tofind it in tho m meter works at what most advan- discover the great- amount of moisture at an elevation of | “°t .500 feet, that ix the stratum of air in which | tto do their work. er no one pretends to understand ver; y, but it is imagined that the artiti- ‘ion, as scientitic men would sort ‘of vortex or which the heavier moist ‘occasion It is Itinintinitely prefe he theory of are als used there. give the unfortunate occupa ie not soon forge cial combustifi d from the eff = up he received in a comy ney in one of these carts. even there are not so bad Siberia, whic condensation and surmised also that the small particles of water made by the explosion of the combining ox3 drogen form a sort of nucleus for other particles to gather ahout. Another in ldea is that th phere, being heavier en rons of that ¢« han the rest of the air, ut of it by concussion and fall upon the earth. RAIN MAKERS OF OLD. Il-informed persons have Leen disposed to effort which the government is making to sprinkle the arid regions of this country wih a gentie though artificial rain en, Which has been compared by peare to the quality of mercy. striven to prove that the idea was new grounded on demon- iling to reulize that methods for con- énfall are as old ag history. rts of Africa the rain maker is personage in every methods are pr and downs in lif Tian tarantass, another four-whee! is better, though | are substitnte! Weed in camer er for hau! for wheels, tho: They not sufficiently In India com- atorily No less an ate eclares that rain nsually falis alter battles, although it must be admitted that in his time gunpowder had not been in- He said that the storms were sent by the gods to cleanse in Japan a two Barikisha, wit wheeled carriage called @ ween the shafts in wed. This is of a more rapid 2 the native palanquin. es are fond of and abruptly ed with blood. Also in some parts of rope as late ax 1810 it was the custom to di storms by the firing of guns. data on this sub ct have been lacking hitherto ied by the fort: periments in we-tern Kan that the time will shortiy 5 one will be able to regulate showers for his own garden patch. however. the notion is that, sup- efticacy of explosives for producing rain once proved, communities of farmers might make it their business to plants, employing for the purpose balloons, jombs or what wot. loons to be used in the approaching govern- ment trials cost about $22 apiece, but the ex- Score or so of these would ¢ to a district for which @ ood shower might signify $10,000 or ,000 of value. ——_—+eo—_____ Science for the Adipose. From the Detroit Free Press. A well-known Detroit man is somewhat lar- ger in the girth than the lines of beauty and the ~ules of perfect physique call for. of the recent hot days he m town, and, after fanning himself till bis arm was black and blue, he said: an don't see why I get so hot. Other people ex- ‘The men who px as, and it is lik arrive when every tarning corners, The jinrikisha is a very com- Portable conveyaxce. haviag quite large springs | In Burmab « curic ppearing cart, resem- tablish detonating nts, as ther do. ‘The bal well as rercha: se entailed for e of no conseque! ¥ other countries. | "The patient donkey transportation of the world @ page to suurserate the | ‘used. hat it would take | ee in which he On one agirl from that ed, “it is very simple, in- i pardon,” he said, haughtily. Excuse me,” she twittered, “it is very sim- ple. indeed. Stout men suffer more because ity is an etherial force continually stream- from space through every solar oF celestial body. Ifthe body fe with rela- | tion to some larger body this force of gravit becomes that form of molecular motion whic! wo call heat. IS MaDAGascaR. In Madagascar the traveler is conveyed to his destination in a leather chair called a filin- This chair is swung between two long poles or handles and ts carried by four men, who rau along the road until tired out the filinaana i shifted tothe shoulders benrers and without stopping. By this means & hundred miles is frequently made in @ day. ‘This mode of traveling is also in voguein many parts of Africa. ‘TUE ROADS OF NORWAT are among the finest in the world and the mag- ent scenery attracts many foreign touriste. ‘bois are railways iu the southern part of the | bell As gravity depends upon the | in one sense, that the larger a body is the Mr. — —— was in such a state of collapse by Me tess | e had got to that point he had to carried Speaking From Experience. From the Bomervitie Journa!. It is not easy to win a woman's love, but it is even easier to teach a girl to lo: you than it is to teach ber the intricate mysteries of base DESIGNS IN RICH GEMS Precious Stones Adorned With Pic- tures of Rare Beauty. RELICS OF THE FAR PAST. Cameos and Intaglios Graven With the His- tory of Thousands of Years Ago, Which Has mo Other Kecord Than These Images Pre- served for Posterity to Wonder At. 66]EW OBJECTS OF ART, IN MY OPIN- ion, are so interesting as engraved gems,” said an enthusiast on the subject toa Star writer. “They have come down tous, un- | injured, you see, from times which transmitted hardly anything else to this remote posterity that is perfect, and as it was cf old. Fifty cen- turies old are many of these cameos and in- | taglios carven on precious stones. They are beautiful as ever, just as they were executed by artists of the past and worn by those who bought them. Not only were they prized by their original possessors for the quality of their Workmanship, but they were supposed to have & value as charms against misfortune. “The ancient Greeks and Romans enter- tained very sincere superstitions respecting them, whjch were illustrated in the designs | graven on the gems they wore. Seamen affected | the dolphin because it was believed to be the mariner’s friend, and such en amulet adorned y68 | with its image could not _but serve as a protec r€ | tion against sharks and other pncerned, preierred the representation of the prolific ‘Armga’ of the Adriatic, which wasan emblem of truitfulnexs because of the great number of its eggs. ‘The ant was similarly worn 48 a symbol of industry. Ly the frog was indi- cated the iden of resurrection, because that in- teresting batvachian renews’ its youth each spring by kicking off its winter coat and ay pearing In « brand new suit of clothes. ‘The turtle meant @ domestic inelination, being alwaysat home, while the snail was’ ‘in no * to abandon pleasant places. A serpent ted wisdom, and with its tail in its mouth deternity. ‘ihe owl was. ref not wisdom, x8 is commonly thought. acchus, engraved on a gem, was citen accom- panied by a parrot, representing the loqna disposition of the imwbriate. Wo: monly wore stones en 1 with scorpions, spiders or other poisonous things, as a protec- thon against like objectionable creatures. « THE BERTLE AN FGLEM OF IMMORTALITY. “Among the earliest gems that were engraved Were stones more or less precious that were formed into the shape of bectles by the ancient ptians. They regarded the beetle as an m of immortality, and hence it was the most popnlar of forms of ornament. inas- much as these people were quite as seriously exercised respecting the future state as any- body is nowadays. Counterfeit beeties of stone mmonly buried with dead persons, and customary to engrave upon them the expression of wishes for future repose and tions of the soul to God and One of the latter wasa hawk with a n_ head, symbolizing resur- rection. Another, the vulture, meant the mother—maternity. A goose was the son of a king, belonging toa prince. ‘The business of engraving scarabw in ancitnt Egypt was a reg- ular trade. Not only were these products made to order, but dealers in thei kept a varied stock on hand for easual orders. When a per- son died unexpectedly the surviving reiatives repaired ton shop of this description and looked over what was to be had in the way of carven beetles, The latter were inscribed with a great variety of appropriate mortuary sentiments, and it wus merely requisite that those most nearly interested in the remains should make their choice and have the name of the deceased added. Before the funeral the scarabwens was placed beneath the mourn ppings. It often happened that living persons provided themselves with the requisite beetles in antici- pation of their own demise, just as pe pus hierog! THE GEM ENGRAVER. “The occupation of the gem engraver was once held in high respect. Most people have heard the story of Tryphon, who made for King Polemon a signet in intaglio, which rep- resented a group of mythological divinitics Jerowning the royal ge an with laurel. | So 8 mje imper- ishable token of his glory on jacinth, ld be transmitted to future gen that he bestowed upon the privilege | cutting it ut with € rations artist the exalted { immortalizing his own name by to a corner of the work. ut times the greatest artists vied h other in the engraving of gems. But you must really have etudied the sui any degree the consum to aj they operated upon the stones, which were to than both nd palette, | Where tis color or that was needed they had al they worked apon. ed for this purpose in A spot scrved for the cup | from which Socrates was represented in the | of swallowing the draught of hemlock m. The vari-colored strata of the stones were Utilized to the utmest for their natural tints. One stratum gave a diadem, | hair, another the beard, another and the lowest for a bac soared from flam the rose tints of fair in th | Spotted stones ti | a marvelous way aperishable rock and jocks were aade eternal al substance. To sued heights did “The ancient Greeks wore engraved gems in rings of silver, gold and bronze, as early aw 600 B.C. By the Komans they were adopted as seals, though at first their use as such was re- stricted to the emperors, who assumed the right of giving like permission to others. For some time this right was only granted to men im authority. Aiba: of kingdoms wore ‘as a part of their official regalia, mals do today. Subsequently sen chief magistrates end mili otticials acquired the right, which was in time extended to the army and citiz + Many of the latter wearing rings of iron. Readers of eastern tales will remember what power the seal of Sol- omon had to inclose a genius in a bottle or to accomplish other marvelsequaliy extraordinary. Asseal ring transmitted from one monarch to another has commonly been respected in the past asan emblem of authority. THE ORIGIN OF SEALS. “The ancient Assyrian nearly 6,000 years ago put in moist clay their seals, engraved in intaglio upon precious stones, on chests and doors, in order to prevent their being opened. | There were no locks or keys in those days, If they wished to send a private letter, they would often seal it with a hippogriff, which fabuious- winged horse was regarded us the emblem of ecreey. Centuries later the Greeks and Romans adopted similar devices for the same purpose, and ft lean historical fact that curt- ous women and other prying persons with an y | itch to tind out what was none of their business used to have skilled workmen make forged seals for them, #0 that they might investigate without detection the private aiairs of their lords or neighbors. It Is curious to observe at this day the complicated geometrical patterns iu which some of the ancient Roman seals are cde Vie designed, unmistakably for the ose of de~ feating the ingenious counterteiter, just as the engravers at the bureau of engtaving and printing try by similar means to multiply the forger's difficulties. “One of the most ancient and beautiful of engraved gems that have been discovered is a cameo representing the pharaoh Ptolamy Phil- adelphus and Lis lovely queen Arsin reigued in Egypt 150 years before Christ was born. It is as perfect today as when it was first carved, and one can scarce imagine that the portraits are not taken from persons living at this moment, ro lifelike are they. A prettier woman than Arsinoe must have been rare even among the Greeks, to which race «he and her husband belonged. ‘The 'tolamies were a dy- | nasty of Greck emperors, anfi Cleopatra was no African beauty, as is commonly imagined. There were several Cleopatras, all of whom were celebrated for their comeliness, but that is neither here nor there. AN INTERESTING GEM. “Perhaps the most interesting and important engraved gem ever found was one that bore a legible inscription locating a store of treasure in @ hill in Pontus. ‘There. the inscription said, much wealth that once belonged to Mithridates might be found, and, sure enough, when the t was dug into, a priceless deposit was dis- closed, including, among other things, hun- dreds of onyx vases, amulets, cuskets and trap- pings for horse and man, all encrusted wit cameos and intaglios. “Because real precious stones were scarce, the artists of antiquity executed many of their works on gems of paste, which in days of old were made surprisingly well, mitating very Beautifully the ‘the emerald, the ruby, onyx, agate, chalcedony aud red jasper. Itas a Very curious fact that these imitations have ac- quired much additional beauty with age, inas- much as burial in the earth for centuries has i | mostly adorned with representations of tesque divinities and hideous animals. of tl temptation. naissance came it revived and was applied by the conch sheil was brought into requisition for the purpose. render it impossible that it should ever be very valuablo for the purpore. During the eight- of counterfeiting cameos, which was a natures of classic artists. It may well be im- agined what distress would necessarily be oc- casioned to enthusiasts in this brench of re- search by such a proceeding. art development it is merely necessary to re- fer to the coins of thi plied innumerably by dies.” A Posatble Lump of Gold There Which Tempts been agitated in Washi: atives and two or thr<e Senators who have used | tion for boring a hole in the earth sev- eral miles in dopth. recogni value in the shape of precious metals mineral substances is locked up out uf reach beneath the crust of this planct. All the riches dug out of it represent merely the most superficial and ineffective surface. recesses of the sphere and it is plain that human being might be a thousand times @ Monte Cristo. insuperable obstacle to that most earth is large the surface 1 about two and one-half times as much aa water, it is know aver: able that the great mass of the sphere is iron. But there are other metals more heavy than iron, and these would naturaliy fo mt globe. Awong them may be mentioned most impor geological surv would rather exj tion of gold at his notion being that sueh of the y as is found on the surface of the earth is only an accidental det or thr than gold, and one of them is platinum, which has doubled in vear or twe, ow duction. bers of Congress and other persons of keen Judgment should consider the advisabi boring a hol» in the earth for the purpose of | that wondrous sphere of flaming gas, and will be disg struck bef podes and s other end those works up to date is t globe increases oue degree for every eighty | of the power of the sun's rays is affe feet m depth. ag to imagine that possible results, comme cially speaking, could be secured without dig- | ging is made surface of stan and reached, spout up of its own accord, mining. in little or nothing, and 4 new age would dawn upon civilization. that be, to all intents and purposes, a voleano; but any dan threaten mig) lishing the works on an open praitie. of boring for twenty very «mail compared with the results to be an- ticipated, be placed in the hands of the Departmeut of the Interior. his anxious fa asa fri asa distant relative mop} mightn't 1?” swallowing something large and buoyan if you could be a—be a—sister to me?* From the Electric scent from afar the stories of the enormous catches of our friends, with the tales of what might have been shown if the fisn that hit were been despised by the ancients, inasmuch as | Written for The Evening Star. some of their finest works of glyptic art are HA’ SUN’ executed in it, Chinese engraved gems are] W#4T THE SUN'S RAYS CAN Do. Many | Some Day They May Be Harnessed for Work- em are done upon jade, which material is ing the World’s Machinery. held by them to be emblematic of all virtues. Doubtless its extreme hardness is associated | wow THEY BUILD PLANTS by them with the notion of impenetrability by AND MAKE HUMAN BR- INGS—WILL THE ORB OF DAY BURN OUT AND ‘THE EARTH BECOME A DEAD PLANET?—WHAT BURNING GLASKES CAN Do. [7,384 YERy cuntovs THING To cox- sider that every human being has literally been made by sun'srays. Whatever one eats, the RENAISSANCE OF THE ART. “With the general lapse of art at the end of the tirst century of the Christian era gem en- graving fell into desuetude. When the re- the rich to the embellishment of their cos- tumes and military equipments, as well as to | Material of which goes to compose the body is the adornment of vases, drinking cups, &c.|™made to grow by the light and heat of that ‘The great number of precious stones require ‘heavenly orb. Upon its effi the plants for such purposes exhausted the supply and Py effulgence the plan’ depend for their development, and upon things Yegetable all animals must rely for food. Thus it may be said that every man or woman rep- resents @ certain quantity of stored solar energy. The force of gravitation constantly sum mons attention, because the whole scheme of j existence depends upon it, but, while the Power that pulls things down isso evident, how many people ever consider the mysterious Potency of the sunbeams to lift things up? It is not the soil that upraises the plant. Phoebus, ‘as the ancients called him, builds all the trees of the forests. Not only does he set one parti- cle of matter on top of another in the process of construction, but in each tree HE LOCKS UP A STORE OF ENERGY thonsands of times greater than that which was expended in merely erecting the trunk. This may be seen when the energy is unlocked by burning the tree under the boiler of an engine, which will produce power enongh to raise thou- sands of logs equally big. ‘The monarch of the woods may fall and turn to coal in the soil, though Having several strata of dif- ferent colors in its make-up it afforded « suita- ble material for a substitute. However, the vase with which itis carved and its fragility eenth century, to eatisiy the demands of en- thusiastic amateurs, a large business grew up intaglios and forging the sig- ‘If one asks the usefulness of this branch of country and of the civilized world, which are but cameos wulti- a BORING TO THE EARTH'S CENTER. the Covetous, tifle rehome of much impertence has en recently, 80 a STAR A ae till keep) isoned within reporter learned. During the last two Cen | ie gar ini Keebing imprisone, energy gresses there have byen a number @f Represent- | which ages afterward may be liberated an a printing press or other machine. newspaper iteelf ia printed by sunbeams h fell upon the earth ever so many cen- | turies before man was first born. Thi | on which these words are marked was made from material grown by the sun. With # little trouble taken for the’ purpose of calculation the amount of solar radiation expende turning out the sixteen pages of today’s STAR could be stated with approximate. accuracy. HOW LONG WILL THE COMBUSTION LAST. Prof. 8. P. Langley, secretary of the Smith- sonian Institution, calls attention to the fact that the human race is maintaining existence by keeping itsclf warm at this great fire of the sun, which called the genus homo into being. x influence in favor of an appropria- It has ed that an inconce long been pie amount of other tching of the Once render accessible the internal very Surely the problem presenta no nious of ji jie When it goes out mankind will vanish als animals, man, who may be said already to have 4 erste = sll but reducod mature herself to subjectina. | {ue aUetiton ie therefore of the most absorb __ WHAT GEOLOGISTS THINK. tion has lasted, for what length of Geologists are agreed that the interior of the | time it will continue to endure and composed of metals. Whe: ter of the planet weighs only ag | of what nature it is. Respecting its intensity many comparisons might serve for she purpose of conveying a vivid notion to the mind. For example, suppose that all the ice and snow at the arctic and antarctic poles could be swept together and a tower made of the material a fact that toward the center the nt of things is eleven times that of pu water. This is due to the circumstance that | fifteen miles in diameter. Im wine that it could while this sublunary orb war cooling| be preserved untouched by melting and condensing the heavier particles | while. the aceumulations of successive sought the middle. Therefore it is prob- | winters were heaped upon it until it sould be 240,000 miles high and stretching to the moon. ‘Then conceive that there should be concen- trated upon it the sun's entire heat for one second. - In that brief time the whole would be gore—melted, boiled and dissipated in vapor. NOT ORDINARY BURNING. How is this heat maintained? It is readily proved that if the sun itself were one solid block of coal it would burn out altogether within a few centuries. But it is known ab- solutely that during historic times there has been no noticeable diminution of the sun's heat, for the oliveand the vine grow just as they did and where they did 5,000“ years ago. Thus it is evident tliat the proces con cerned is not one of ordinary burning. Only one theory would account for the phenomenon, and that is unquestionably the true one— namely, that the sun's own slow contraction develops the heat it givesout. Of course there must be an ultimate limit to the shrinking of in acen- of the ation immediately about tie ntly go! giet Gilbert of the other day that he st to find # vast accumula- at point than anywhere else, liow metal us. However there are two substances known even more weighty ‘ket value within the last ug 40 the increased cous of pro- NOT UNREASONABLE. So it is not unreasonable that certain mem- ity of extracting some of its metallic con‘onts. For | science looking into the future declares scientific perposes a pit has recently been | that the heat is enouge to last sunk at y,to the depth ofa | four or five million of years longer mile, Unfortunately ‘has been struck, ; betore it” sensibly fails. “Within ten | and ne results which add very maz | Uullions of years it will have ceasec to give out terially to humun knowledge” have | 40Y Warmth worth mentioning, but before that thus “far been obtained, Another well | Period arrives man will have discovtinued his sbeen driver at Wheeling, W. Va., as far | interest in the subject, inasmuch ax he will | long previously have passe! off the face of the n as three-quarters of It is ary, and the bo ding atti bh, which will then be reduced to the con. Pais Of abort agement | dition of a dead planet like th n. Ob- isnot | Viously. it is possible that som ing star nes out at the anti+ | My lull into the sun and in this way restore os into it at. the | the wasted energy of ages by the collision, bat ct has ‘beon learned from | SUch an event seems hardly lik t the heat of the | A VERY STRIKING ILLUSTRATION. cded by a simple lens used No very great burning lens has been con- strneted for along time. During the last ce |turyan enormous one was mauve in F Il” the heat falling = upon it oncentrated upon # smaller one jthe smuller one concentrating it in |turn, until at the very focus it is said | that iron, gold and other metals ran like melted butter. In England the biggest burning glass on record way made about the same time for | the British government, which designed it as a preseut for the Emperor of China. It was three feet in diameter und beneath it even the diamond was reduced to vapor. ‘The emperor, | when he got his lens, was much alarmed lest possivly “it was sent by the English for the purpose of injuring him. By way of a test a smith was ordered to strike it with his ham- mer, but the hammer rebounded from the solid glass and this was taken to be conclusive evidence of magic in the thing, which was im- mediately buried and probably is still repoaing under the soil of the celestial kingdom. TO RUN MACHINERY. Many attempts have been made to utilize the sun's rays for running machinery. The idea ought to be in some way practicable, inasmuch quare yard of earth receives enough NO COMMERCIAL, RESUETS. : No really scientific person has been 80 foolish being much further than this, Estimate and that at twenty miles from the the earth every known sub- —metals, rocks and ail’—becomes fused liquid Once let this point be urally whatever is below must without expense of the price of. metals would be reduced to Immediately market the Tt has been suggested artificial such an conduit would h it weuld otherwise be obviated easily by estab- ‘The cost tainly be miles would ee nd Congress could easily afford the necessary, which might appropriately see Feeling His Way. From the Chicazo Tribune. in the shape of sunbeams to represent “Nellie,” he said, with a kind of experi-| 0mO,, Nome Power, Even on | such | @ mental, immature, early home-grown emile on | noontide heat is” enough, could. it all II ma nd, may I not?” ‘ertainly, Alfred,” she replied. Au—as a good friend?” x count on you as—| be utilized, to drive all the’ steam engiues in the world. Sun machines have ualredy been made to go, though not successfully as yet from the economical point of view. However, the ea day is not unlixely to arrive before long when “To be sure. Pe a the thing will be done and the orb of day fairly You have no objection to looking on me as— | harnessed for working all the engines cu the perhaps?” * earth. Ehave no objection to that.” Second cousin us it were?” am willing to be your second consin.” “Or first cousin once removed?” he persisted, ing his forehead with a trembling hand- ief. Well, I have no objection to thut, either.” And’ I might as well be a first cousin, +0. —___ What She Excels In. Awoman cannot bait a hook, Or kill a mouse or r: Without & glass in which to look She can't put on her hat. A woman cannot throw a stone, And bita thing kerplunk, But biess her, she aud she alone, Knows how to pack a trunk. es, I suppose #0.” “Do you feel, Nellie,” he went on, hastily ‘The duds that she can stow away, if wan should pack them, are So mult.tudiuous that they ‘No, Alfred. . . . . . . . Would fill a baggage car. The invitations are out. = —Detrott Free Press, ———+e- Ear rey Native Writers of Mai: A Sure Thing. Congressman Dingley in the New Engiand Magazine. Review. As the fishing season is upon us, and we can Maine is distinguished not only for its states- men, jurists and professional and.business men who have achieved wide reputation at home and abroad, but alaofor its authors, poets, scholars and artists. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the first of American poets, was a native of Maine, educated at Bowdoin, and for six years a fessor in that college; N. P. Willis, the distin- guished poet and author; John Neal, the cul- tured journalist and literatear; Seba Smith, the brilliant writer and the original “Major Down- ing,” and his wife Elizabeth Oakes Smith, who was the first woman in the country toappear on & public platform; Geo. B. Cheever, the distin- guished clergyman, who was prominent in the early days of temperance reform in this country; Jobn 8. C, Abbott, the well-known author; Elijah Kellogg, the charming writer of juvenile i Orne Jewett, the popular author of “Deephaven” and other charmin; oniy lauded, I would like to present to the electrical fraternity the Sure T) outfit, ho; save the souls of the fishermen and the pa- tience of their friends. Our electrician, when reparing for a de; oft. adds to hi Y' condenser and the Sure Thing, with enough insulated wire for aline. A movable cap(A) slides on a brass He and is held in position a spring. Mie line ts ‘mate ot flexible wire rubber, insulated with rubber Abbott, the well-known author and preacher; Sargent 8. Prentivs, whose eloquence mo and thrilled great assemblages covered, the hook bein lape,, excepting « small section near the barb, ‘The battery g and condenser (C) are con- nected in the bout, one side of the latter being grounded by a plate (G) in the water, while the other is connected with the 6] lle of the float. As soon as the fish nibbles he pulls down the and Harry Brown, the well-kuown Jobn A. Andrew, the distinguished and sel war the talker and writer, who, graced the i bernatorial chair of the old bay state and the cap closing the circuit, and receives the eon- | fulbernate i a teeola b he condenser, thus paralyzing if not Ailling him outright "Ihe fsb will then float | the United States ‘Say to the surface aud can be landed in ascoop net. | Aresses As will be seen, it is not to handle the pole at all afier once placing it im position, as the working is ontirely automatic. ——— 900 She Cannot Help ‘From the Somerville Journal. Court, all natives of Maine. blessed if I know whether she ofall the novels she reeds—greatly. to the | the ball or down to the beach fors heroes’ disadvantage. see dip.” : ‘ | on each of its | countries, 1t is al | reads skulls, ri dish: {suspended in a |rafters. A | to the corpse cutter’s jand made up wit | thrown to dogs | methods of burial are considered highly dear- | able. as a burning glass. | |them to avow their guilt Loilil | poured on their chests. | focated with water or to himse: one who wives. Ifa woman's husbs sidered perfectly proper for her to tal personall; ‘The child is disco ‘Thibet is trbuta books; Spofford, the gifted author of “sir Rohan's Ghost,” aud pera vlanee ye as no other ora- tor has since Whitefield: Edward A. Brackett and Franklin Simmons, the distinguished sculp- tors; Walter M. Brackett, George W. Seavey painters; icra! Massachusetts; John D. Long, camp bien 906 ctalihveted seheles, were TALK ABOUT A FAR-AWAY LAND, How People Live and Amuse Themselves in Mysterious Thibet. ACCOUNTS BY CHINESE TRAVELERS OF #TRAXGE CUSTOMS THERE—A PLANT THAT FLIES AND IS ‘TAME—LAMAISM AND POLYANDRY—TANCY BUR- TALS FOR CORPSES —CRIMINAL PUNISHMENTS. CURIOUS COLLECTION OF FACTS respecting Thibet, as represented by vari- ous Chinese authors and travelers, has been made by Mr. Woodville Rockhill, who has him- self explored thet mysterious country of mid- dle Asia. On New Year day at the capital city, Lh'asa, there begins a season of festivity. One of the entertainments is called the “Spectacle of the Flying Spirits.” The performers stretch an enormously long rope made of hide all the way from the top to the bottom of Mount Potala; then they fasten grooved blocks of wood to their chests and sail down the line like so many swallows. On top of this same mountain dwells the pope of the Buddhist religion, who is called the tale lama. He 1s also the incarna- tion of the God which chieily protects. man. kind. On the 90th day of the month there is another great epert, when the king of the devils is driven away. ‘A. priest is chosen to play the part of the tale lama, anda layman selected for his wit and activity takes the role of the demon. The latter smears his face with black and white paint and goes before the pretended tale lama for the purpose of mocking him. The two have an arzunwent on religion, the issue of which is finally referred by mutual agreement to a east of the dice. These dice are very big ones, about the size of apples, but the poor fiend kas no show at all in the gamble; for his die is blank on every side, while the Inma’s has the highest number e Thibet, aw in Christian laudable to defraud the devil. Being beaten the king of the devils is fright- ened and runs a! all the people after him, firmg guns and cannon, so ¢ he is obliged at length to hide in a hole in the moun- | tain, where provisions have previou been placed to feed him for a few days while he re- mains in con - ‘there are neurly as many di ‘Thibet as there are human inliabitanta, and the priests or lamas” are kept very busy exorcising thei because otherwise they would sw: where and do no end of miscit one is sick or annoyed in any way the devils are responsible. and the only eensil thing is to go and hire them off. For this purpose the aioud from the svcred_ writings, blows a horn made from a haman thigh bone, beats a drum manufactured out of two human sa belland telisover rosary of aped beads cut out of human skulls. The lamas also doa large business in fortune . ascertain the fates with 3 they burn sheep bones for the same purpose or gaze into bowis of water. Ifary A FLYISo PLANT. According to one author, there isa very as- tonishi: curiosity in Thibet in the shape of a plant that flies. It resembles a dog in shape, is the color of tortoise-sheil and is very tame. If lions or elephants see it they are frightened, “hence it is the king of beast! There is also akind of black doukey which ean cope in fight with the tige: n the icy peaks of the Himal: 6 this imaginative writer, there is a uoW Maggot,’ resembiing the silkworm in appearance ‘and weighing nearly a pound. It is excellent to eut, but too much of it will make one bleed at the nose. Seventy li from Lh asa isa convent on top of a hill and a great hole fuil of white clay that is good to eat. As tust asthe cl: ay more tekes its place Behind the cony large lake, and evil doers who go near alwa: tumble into it. Ihe Thivetans used to cast Buddhas in copper and the smailez they were the more they were wort. Chinese ;hilosophers suy that manners differ every hundred li of distance, and customs are no longer the same every thoucand li. Thus the ways of the Thil 8 vary, but in most parts it is usual fora woman going to see a priest to smear her face with molasses. If this is not done it is suid that she is try- ing to captivate the lama by her come- liness—an unpardonable crime. A sign of politeness ou meeting a person is to hold up the clasped hands and stick out the tongue. When a man dies one-half of his property goes to charity and the other half to the lamas. His family gets nothing. One of the writers quoted observes that, in Case of death, the oorpse is tied up with the head between the knees and raw-hide bag from the days later it is taken ee, where it is tied to cut off and givén to few p a post. ‘The flesh is the dogs and the bone these For small misdemeanors men and women are stripped and beaten in the market place. Great criminals are Lound with ropes and whipped with raw-hide lashes, If this does not persuade still protest their inno their ni A woman who chooses to remain single and to earn her own living is regarded as au object i of scorn and derision, whereas she who can | properly perforin the dutics of a wife to three | or four brothers at the same time is accounted jadmirable. It costs so much to suppor: the 200,000 priests in Thibet, which has only 2,000,000 inhabitants, that a man cannot afford the luxury of a wife all , and so polyandry able, however, ordinarily ew com porary substitute; in fact, the sexual relations are very promiscuous. The lamas are nom- inally ‘cehbate. They own no property but nearly all the gold and other valuables in the country find their way into the great monusteries &s religious tribute. When the tale lama dies his spirit is supposed to pass into the body of some child, thus effect- ing anothe~ incernatiou of the benevolent god. 1 by drawing lots and is upon confirmation of his nomina- Exnperor of China, to which nation priest to frighten | From Life. One evening as they sat beneath ‘The moon s soft rays 80 pate, Moved by an impulse boru of love He kissed her through her veil. ‘Next evening as before they sat Beneath the star flecked dome, Yet not exactly as before, She'd lett her veil at home. Tou Mason. ————~+0e —___ A EUROPEAN BEAUTY. More About the Famons Comtesse Aymery de la Kochefoucauid. From the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, Who is the most beautiful woman of Europe? It would be difficult if not wholly impossible to answer that qui ion under any circumstances, but the cable reports and letters from Eu- ropean correspondents daily add to the diffi- culty. One asserts that the wite of Prince Ser- gius of Russia is entitled to the honor: another claims it for a daughter of the reigning house of Denmark, and handsome woman this last is, too, and she come from a family of beauties in their day; but still another correspondent nominates ® member of English royalty, while another favors a German lady, another an Aus- trian and so on to the end of the chapter. One of the latest claimants is the Comtesse Aymery de la Rochefoucauld, » Parisian belle, who a pe as be- ving reproduction of Marie Antoine Polit only eituia tupi tebe eoeeeaee her admirers have Inid claim to the still higher honor of being the beauty par excellence. If ber pictures are trathful she is certainly ahand- some woman, but whether everybody will unite in granting her this honor is another matter, there is such a difference of opinion as to what uty. However, if ancestry counts for she certainly comes from a women have always been notable for their beauty. E EH i ei i H i i i Ae if MARRIED HIS TYPEWRITER, And ts Convicted of Inconsistency by Means of the Verbatim and Deadly Parallel. From the Chicago Tribune. He was in the midst of a dissertation on the woes of man and the indifference and thought- lessness of women when he noticed that bis wife was using a pencil industriously. “Mary,” sail he, “what are you doing?” Then, as he glared at ber, she You talk @ great deal about being consist- ent, John, and say you never find fault except under the greatest provocation. I should like to read youa few extracts from my note book. This is a verbatim report of a brief conversa- tion that took place night before last: “Mary, where in thunder are my slippers?” t ‘Just where you left them, my dear. “Where L left ‘em, eh? “Well, you're a fine wife. Too busy running around millinery shops to put ‘em by my easy where T gan reach ‘em, I suppose. Where did’ I leave ‘em? Come, trot ‘em out and be quick about it. The idea of making me go chasing all over this measly house after slippers when I'm all tired out." Don't you care anything for me?’ “And this, John, I took down last night: “What's the matter, John? “Matter! Matter, Mrs, Blinkins! spired idiot has put m; middle of the floor for me to stumble over. Started to look for ‘em and nearly fell on the top of my head. Some people have enough to last a canary bird over ni Why, John, you said—— ‘Ob, of course. said to put "em where I Some in- neck. ‘That's just like me, but if you'll just leave "em in the same place e} ‘em without crippling myself for life. “Tonight, John, you started in like this: ‘Mary, Leuppose you've put those slippers of mine in the cellar, or under the kite range, or somewhere. You can find n blamed fool hiding places for ‘em than any o Iknow. Here I've been hunting Yor ‘em fifteen minutes. You couldn't find ‘em with a vearch warrant. If ve got brains enough one single idea I wish you'd — then, John, you noticed I was taking ped. ‘if you will go on—" amed the paper into a corner, chair and exclaimed in disgust: 1 ore e kicked ove “Well, that's the last time 11 marry my | typewriter.” \ow ine’s trying to explain his last remark. He Knew His Customer. From the Detroit Pree Press, A man without a hair on his bald head came into the barber's shop and sat down on a chair. “shave or hair said the attendant. shave, please,” was the answer. When the shave was finished and the b headed mon left, the customer who was getting bis haircut in the neat chur suid to the bar- te “Why did yon ask that man if he would have his ha Did y “Oh, not at all, sir,” sec, sensitive on that point. I treat this gentleman just as 1 do every customer who come site down on the chair. hair to becut, and I know that he has no hair to be cut, and he knows that I know he has no hair to be cut. Nevertheless he likes to be treated as if he hada bead of hair, and he comes regularly.” ——_~--____ ‘aken Too Literally. From the Detroit Free Press. A woman went into a Cass avenne drug store to have a prescription filled. The druggist compounded the drugs, and, as he handed the bottle to tho customer, he said pleasant “Here's your preseription—ma'am —shake! “I'll do nothing of the kind, woman, “and I think you've # good deal of im- nee to ask me to.” You don't understan “You was the answer. 8 like this: A bald-headed man is rather tion yqu must shake won't take the prescription if it's going to make me shake,” objected the customer. “Good heavens, woman, it's the bottle you are to shake,” shrieked the d ; “ ood will it do me?” she queried. “He means,” said the draggist’s assistant, coming to the rescue, “that the mixtnre in the, bottle should be well shaken before taken.” “Well, couldn't he have said wrathful customer, as she looked a farewell picion at the unfortunate druggist. oo Seaside Fanciss. From the Boston Gazette. A charming bit of sentiment is contained in the following incident: Miss A. and Mr. B., both well-known Bostonians, were enjoying an evening on the rocks at Pigeon Cove, a lovely | moonlight evening, during which an offer of marriage was made and accepted. After a Miss A. said to her fiancee: “1 want you to mark this very spot wh sitting, and for a wedding’ present I want a set its made from a piece of the rock mark it.” Only a few months later marriage and a trip to Europe was ar- Mr. I. went to the-rock, found with- the mark, chipped off a piece and of our jewelers, who cnt from it and polished stones for a bracelet, pin, ring and sleeve buttons. It was a beautiful and unique set with nothing of the polished granite appearance, but more of the mors ced in a white satin case, lined A green, was an exquisite present. ———_~e- A Devoted Ornithologist, From the Detroit Free Press. A Gratiot street woman was ont in the back yard cleaning her bird cage and filling it with nice bits of lettuce and other daintics for the warbler within, when @ travel-stained citizen came around the corner. “Ab,” he said, with kindly interest, “I see you love the feathered songsters.” “Yes,” she replied shortly, after recoveri from hur surprive. “What do you want?” “Lalso love birds, madam,” he went on, re- gardless of her question, “and ——” suppose you want a cold chicken, or a quail on toast, or a reed bird on a cracker, ora Dantam on a silver salver, or a—— Re threw up his hands imploringly. ‘ou Wrong me crucliy, madam,” he eried; “I assure you 1 want none of these. But, madam, 1do want 10 cents to buy some bird seed with.” “You can't drink bird seed,” she snapped at him. “Again you wrong me, madam,” he almost wailed. “I want them for a sweet little part- ridge I am raisin, She looked at Lim enviously and gave him chance to go on. “You sec, madam, it was this way: Some time ago I had the misfortune to «wallow a partridge egg, and being so busy in my profession as not to think of the flight of tim month ago that the egg’ had hatched in inner man, 80 tospeuk, and of course I coul | un slippers right in the | Then abe hastily placed thi tep on ‘em and roll over and break my | night Pll get | ghe knew ch | at the flowers, and tn hoped that in her tuture years be as pure as the petals of her w that her heart, as th might shine Like gold. He knows that he has no | | the folloy are perfect! ti exclaimed the drng- I mean that when you take the preserip- a! carelessness accommod: is told of a certain modation notes, asked the | an explan it very frequently happe kite Was used to raise the wind. twei at the Santa Fe land ottice. flict between agricultural aud tai Judge Sloan on the witness st inally located ths interest because of the “magnet so frequently in times past claimed by Judge Sloan for this humble répresentatve of the equine family. magnet for the discovery 0 or copper deposits: im fact, it is satd that whene eve tain path, he eros Snochad, te dicot rkonn| atte beg prised, not to way shocked, to discover about a OF the Juige's numer tt afford to have a poor little bird starve right on | a — A BIT OF HUMAN NATURE, Just an Everyday Cemetery Scare, bat There Were tears in It, From the New York World “Do you know that the depth of human emotion is absolntels unfathow * queried an elderly man on a Sth avenue elevated train the other da “Mebbe.” answered his prosaic companion; “but why do you may soy Vell, I was just thinking of « little thing I saw in Greenwood cemetery Memorial day. A woman in mourning siood on the out- skirts of a crowd that was listening toam orator di ing a glowing ou! grave of one of the herors who had fought by his side in battle. The woman was deoply ine terested, but the fair-baired baby girl that ac- companied her was not ed about from place to pli beautiful flowers on the across one grav single dower, and failed to thr kraves. pickit tle frock was alm with them. These she y neglected grave and stood off admu effect of her work. verge of crying, for , ald not let th flowers re j main on the deserted grave without sinning. “Bat God was watching over the acts of that jlittle one. He provided for hor wants. Far in an adjounir ag wild and um: hour she rea pant and the deserted great mou sight. Then she h and [asked ber For haif an the daisy field © head of tae Jonx MeGovrns, Died Janwery 12th, 1989, A . “Tt was her fa’ not know it. He m ther approached, looked asping her child to © with hot tears and her breast, covered it Kissen, “While she did so the few whe had watched the child, who saw her sense of honor revealed in the return of the stolen fh #, inwardly see MOEN Is, Peculiar Slang Phrases for Pounds, Shillings and Pence. Among certain classes of persons in London ing terms, says the Eyuitable Hecord, y understood and commonly weed: A joey is equal to 4 pence, A tanner is equal to 6 pence. A bob is equal to 1 shilling. A bull is equal to 5 shillings. Half a buil is equal to 2 shillingsand 6 pence. A quid is equal to £1. A pony is equal to £25. A monkey is equal to £500. A kite means an accommodation bill Cop- snapped the | Per or bronze coins are familiarly known as browns, while money generally is designated. in, dust or blunt. word “kite, din Ireland, Apropos of this a goo nglish judge F jing in acase in an Irish court where recovery was sought of an indorser of one of these accor The word kite, freq used by counsel, was new to his lorasht; the counsel infor while is ad the learned judge thes his country the wind raised the kite, ed thut in Ireland e 2 ‘art of the Art of War. From the Youth's Companion. Every one knows that a sudden shock or Jar, ‘4s in leaping or jumping, is felt loss af the per- son rises at the moment on his tocs. A naval officer and a friend were in the vicinity ofa mine while some blasting War in progress. At the moment of the explosion the naval officer went through a series of peculiar gymnastics, His arms hung limp at his ides, is mouth was wide open aud Le stood on tiptoe. “What is it? Are you hit by « stone?” asked the friend, a trifle auxiously. . just an old memory,” ficer. “That wasa when T was on aimau-o “I don't understand, replied the of- of my manual of Temarked his f “Bhat is the way we used to stand fired a mortar,’ rephed the officer. “It looked a bit curious at first to see forty or fifty men standing on their toos with thet mouthe wide open. But we were led to do it, and as it lessened the o -five pounds of gunpe it as into any other regulation and thought ne more of it. “It did not secm ridiculous then for it was a part of the art of war.” * — ~ Judge Sloan's Magnetic Pony. From the Topeka Capital. Rather an interesting conte Isis the old con- sutd d atterward if ward wanted to know if the j Jd roan pony” when he first discovered the mine and was ame wered in the affirmative. Reference td the “old roan pc mine to 1 is of local influence” tis related that this pony was a veritable d, silver, lead in going along hy street, road or moun= ground bencath which was paying mineral his hair would immedi- ately stand erect and that bis rider, Judge Sloan, would receive a shock which warned him of the presence of mineral wealth beneath that ground, and that, it is said, is the secret numerous locations all over tee A Surprise. my premises, as it were, 0 Lat once procured | From the Mainzer Tazwbiatt. some bird seed and sent them down to it with | Widower (to his little danghter, aged ten)— great success, and now, madam, I desire ten | «pora do you know that Susanne, our house. cents more to— Rut he never finished it, for the woman | Keeper, is going to be married?” drop od her bird cage and reaching for a boe | Dora— Dh, I'm so glad we are getting rid of handle she made a break for him that was en-| the old pelican. Won't it be jolly? But who te firely too vigorous for a man of uny gallantry | going to marry her? to resist, and Le went away rapidiy. Father—*Well, 1 am.” HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE.