Evening Star Newspaper, April 23, 1892, Page 10

PALACE AT SAN CHRISTAVOA. ee DOM PEDRO'S AUNTS. In the Footprints of the Popular Bra- zilian Emperor. oS See SAN CHRISTAVAO PALACE. ‘The Suburban Kesidence of a South Amer- | Jean Monareh-—-Solemn Court Ceremontals | --The Annaal Procession of the Third of | May---Hew the Empress Dressed on State Occasions. Brom The Star's Traveling Commissioner. Rio ve Jaxzimo, March 12, 1992, 0 SHORT A TIME HAS gone by since royalty lived and moved and had its being in Brazil that visitors to the cap- ital are still interested in its late familiar nts, and the citi- zens—yet loyal at heart to the institutions to whieh they and their ancestors were born— takg as much pride in 4 showing them off as before they began masquerading at republi- canism, One may spend a profitable week im visiting the several homes of the late emperor and following the paths he trod, acceptably to ail men, for more than} half a century. First one should hunt up the oldest city palace (built im 1743) in Praca D. Pedro Segundo, which, up to the last day of the empire. served a3 a sort of overiiow honse for the holding of court receptions on unusual gala days azd was thrown open to the populace on every Corpus Christi day that they might enjoy = peep st the crown plate and jewels. For more than a hundred years the vice regents of Rio had no official abiding place. until, in 1690, the Port guese king purchased for that purpose a bu ing in the Kua Direita, whose site is now occu- pied by the new exchange. ‘THE FIRST PALACE. Tt soon became too small for the increasing dignity of the colonial governors, and then the palace in the Praca D. Pedro Segundo was erected. There is nothing palatial or imposing about the latter. though it is said to have cost 8 mint of money—possibiy because its ancie builders were better mathematicians than the employers in distant Portugal. It has had so many additions and annexations from time to time that its original character. if it ever pos- sessed any, was lost long ago. In 1908, when DoM PEDRO, AGED TWENTY-FIVE. King Joao VI, arrived with his family and court (having been compelled to take refuge in Brazil to escape capture by the French), the palace was altogether insufficient for the shel- ter of so many persons. So the Carmelite friars ‘on the opposite side of te street gave up their convent for the use of the king, and it was con- nected with the abode of rovalty by a covered bridge thrown across the thoroughfare, which sull remains, MANY ANNEXES, Another bridge of light iron work, also cov- ered, spanning the Seventh of September street, connects the old convent with the im- Petial chapel. Still there was no: room enough meet the extraordinary demands of this royal family and their numerous retinue, and build- ing after building was appropriated and an- nexed until the whole neighborhood became & Continuous “palace.” For many years Queen EAR THE —who is spoken of as a Jezebel, inno ind ber prototype in temper-made her home in the Carmelite convent, The suite | of rooms on the third floor, now occupied by the Institute Historico—whose library seases books of great vaiue pertaining to Bra- zilian history—is pointed out as having been her private apartments, MANY QUEER STORIES f&re told of these evly scions of Portuguese Foyalty. For example, it is said that Miguel, brother of Dom Pedro I and uncle of the late emperor, used to divert himself and his profli- gate associates by seizing a sucking pig from stall in the public market, the point of his sword, while all the nates | thereabouts hastily hid their babies under their Petticoats, expecting them to be served in the nog sq) ness might catch them exertion, Itwasin the deysof King Joao VI thata is charming, its white walls in bold relief against the dark green mountains of Tijuca, in the midst of extensive grounds of much natural beauty, laid out in winding avenues, stretches of emerald lawn, artificial lakes, thickets of ornamental shrubs, with fountains and statugs at frequent intervals. all shaded by the most splendid trees of the tropics. ‘To REACH BOA VISTA PALACE. Take a carriage at your hotel door and drive down the Rua Cattete, skirt the bay along the Praya da Gloria, rattle through the Rua das Manguerras (street, of leather pipes), dash under the aqueduct arches of Mate-Cavallos (horse-killing avenue); turn into the Rua das luvalidas (street of sick people), and then fol- low the Mata Porcas (pig-killing street) until at last you come to the direct road that leads ont to Sao Christavao, The wel!-paved ave- nue has lamp posts set on either side and is lined with handsome suburban homes set in gardens of perpetual bloom shaded by feathery palm trees. ‘That huge white building on the left, its glittering walls and cupola crowning eminence overlooking the bay, is one of the few institutions of Kio which we shall not visit, It is the famous lazzaroto—‘Imperial Hospital dos Lazoras”—founded by the Jesuits SEAR RIO. more than a century ago and still cared for by the brotherhood Santissima Sacramento da Candelaria. It is said to be crowded all the year around with lepers in all stages of the loathsome disease, and good Brazilians never look at its white walls without crossing them- selves and muttering prayers for the helpless wretches, SCENES EN nOUTE. You pass groups of mules, with skin-covered panniers containing fruit, vegetables, poultry and charcoal, on their way to market; laven- deras (wash women), clad in the “livery of the sun” (black hide). and not much else. balanc- ing huge baskets of clothes on their heads: jaunty negresses, fat and bejeweled; and car- riages of the wealthy with coachmen and foot- men in gorgeous liveries—all so precisely like other suburban streets that you are not aware of being within imperial grounds till suddenly the great palace looms up before you. But it is not so near at haud as it looks, for the drives are winding and circuitows.and you bowl along | steadily at a smart space for a full half hour— during the greater portion of whieh time the building is invisibie—before you enter the splendid avenue of mango trees that leads to the main entrance. THE INTERIOR, Ascend a flight of sixty wide stone stairs and you will fird yourself in a corridor or gallery which runs around the four sides of a vast inner court yard and communicates with the principal rooms of the palace. Fountains are playing in the court below and bright flowers blooming as gaily as when the emperor and his gentie spouse took pleasure in thera. ‘The mulatto soldier who shows you about the ce leads first into a long hall lined with paintings of Brazilion heroes, Napoleonic bat- Ue fields, saints, Madonnas and friars. Most of the floors are of native woods, satin and rose predominating, laid in mosaic. AN INTERESTING APARTMRST. The smallest but perhaps most interesting apartment of the suite has its floor inlaid to represent an incident well known in Lusitanian history—a woman presenting her two sons to Alphonse. The table in this room is the same on which Dom Pedro I signed his abdication April 7, 1831. History tells us that the arbi- trary temper of the ‘old monarch had caused endiess controversies, which culminated in a revolution as sudden and bloodless as that of 1890. A BLOODLESS REVOLUTION. On the memorable morning the citizens as- sembled at sunrise in the Campo da Santa Anna todemand of the emperor that he restore the ministry which the people preferred. The re- quest had been repeatedly and respectfully urged without avail, and on this day the throne POST OFFICE, RIO. tottered, for the national guard and a consid- erable portion of the army had gone over to the side of the populace. An adjutant was dis- patched to Sao Christavoa for a final answ and the hard-headed king, unwilling to gi but knowing himself unable to cope with vox populi, abdicated on the spur of the moment in favor of his little son—the Dom Pedro who lately died in exile after more than half @ cen- tury of prosperous reign—then not quite six years old. It is related that the adjutant returned to the Campo at full gallop, waving aloft the decree of abdication, which was everywhere received with liveliest demonstrations of joy. Thein- fant sovereign was borne in triumph to the city, and the ceremony of his acclamation as “Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual De- fender of Brazil” was performed amid wildest enthusiasm aud vivas to DOM PEDRO SEGUNDO. ‘Two days later, while his mortified father still remained on board French ship in the harbor, the baby Dom held his first court re- ‘THE IMPERIAL BED CHAMBER. The apartment next to that in which Don spen’ and, jing French windows overlooking a charming vists of forests and moun’ groves and gardens, THE GUARD ROOM comes next and in its center is a fluted column, surmounted by a wivern, around which swords and halberds are arranged. Marble statues stand all around—Egyptian divinities, Pomona, Diana, a Medicean Venus, and the same un- fashionably formed female leaving her bath, which has evidently not been thorough, judg- ing from the dust collected on her Sealer Beyond is the chapel, with Our Lady of Sor- rows upon its altar, and by her side St. An- thony holding the Blessed Babe. The most conspicuous feature in this historic sanctuary isa huge painting of St Peter de Alcantara, the patron of Portugal, There 1s a musenm in the building devoted to antiquities, which con- tains, among many other interesting things, a lot of” ancient Peruvian pottery; money that circulated in the days of Socrates, Plato and Aristides; coins of Rhodes, Rome, Thrace and Athica, and a fine collection of antiquities from Herculaneum and Pompeii, which wero pre- sented to the empress a few years ugo by her brother Bomba of Naples, THE IMPERIAL LABORATORY AND THEATER, Adjoining the museum isa laboratory, set apart for experiments in natural philosophy and chemistry, fitted up with an air pump, electrical and other apparatus, in which the emperor is said to have greatly delighted in his younger days. Beyond the Jabcratory is a complete little theater, and upon its drop cur- tain 1s painted a scene whose quiet sarcasm was probably not intended by the artist. It is called “The Landing of the Portuguese,” and represents a group of astonished Indians. to offering a crucifix, while a company of frowning warriors, with’ uplifted Spears and battle axes, stand ready to back the in his philanthropic mission of impress- Ang new doctrines upon the natives, THE THRONE uoom. We purposely left the throne room to the last. Itis large. lofty and gloomy as a tomb and never used except by candlelight, for the Brazilians have been extremely tenacious of all the solemn fooleries of Portuguese court ceremonies. For example, on every 3d of May during Dom Pedro's long reign he opened in Person the session of the assembly general, and the procession from his throue room to that of the senatorial palace was a surprising pageant. There were the halberdiers (foot guards), with their battle axes; dragoons and hussars' in picturesque uniforms; mounted military bands; six enormous state carriages, each with six splendid caparisoned horses aud liveried postilions and coachmen, for the offi- cers of the imperial household; the chariot of the empress—a strange affair, ave be- longed to Sebastian, who lost his life warring with the Moors—drawn by eight iron grays; the magnificent imperial carriage, its eight mulk-white horses decked with Prince of Wates plumes, followed by a long cavalcade of troops and an innumerable company of civil- japs, ‘THE EMPRESS, surrounded by her maids of honor, in their robes and trains of green and gold, was always attired in court costume—consisting of an un- derdress of white satin heavily embroidered with gold. rich lace falling over the corsage and forming the sleeves, which were looped at the shoulder with magnificent diamonds. The train was of green velvet with gold embroid- eries like that on the skirt and a broad sash— scarlet, purple and green. the combined rib- bons of different orders—crossed the bust from the right shoulder to the waist, and above it sparkled a mass of emeralds and diamonds. Her hair, curled in tront, was topped by a wreath of diemonds and emeralds, set in the shape ot flowers, rising above the forehead in the form coronet, from which a long white ostrich feather curled gracefully backward. THE EMPEROR, dressed in imitation of his illustrious ancestor, King Jobn, must have looked rather funny. He was obliged to wear white satin from tip to toe. even his shoes and the roses upon them being of the same material. His naked throat was surrounded hike a school boy's by his shirt frill, whose triple row of edging r--tcd on a long ermine tippet, nowadays ealied n Loa ‘The suit fitted his stalwart legs and arms so snugly that he looked in imminent'danger of bursting through, and he must have been thankful for the voluminous train with which, in that sorry case, he mixht envelop himself. He carried ‘the royal scepter in his hand—a long, shm, gilded pole—which he grasped about two feet from the top, as hermits are painted with their staffs. On his head was the crown, a great golden spheroidal, which might have been modeled from a melon, its orbicular sections meeting at the top and supporting a globe, surmounted by a tall cros, OPENING THE ASSEMBLY. Arrived at the senate chamber, a plain room, forty feet square, the emperor, assisted by the marquis who bore his train, ascended the throne, which was merely a high-backed chair set under some draperies behind the seat of the presiding officer. Senators and deputies were all in official costume—green coats but: toned up to the chin and halfcovered with lace, white pantaloons with laced seams, swords an chapeaux. As a rule Brazilians are corpulent and rather below the middle height, and when his majesty’s magnificent six fect four inches towered head and shoulders above them he looked “every inch a king” inspite of his un- dignified toggery. His annual address to the senate setting forth briefly the conditions and necessities of the empire was not unlike our President's message, only it occupied a good deal less time in the reading. ‘Iben he de- clared the session aberta, nodded to the em- press in the gallery, picked up his staff, bowed Tight and left to the senators and descended to his chariot, foliowed us before by the mar- quis carrying his train and all the dignitaries of the courtand members of the assembly. And then the procession solemnly returned to Sau Christavoa, through streets strewn with flowers and bung from end to end with crimson silk. IN THE GARDEN. From the gloomy throne room we went down & flight of stone steps to a flowery sun-lit garden, thinking within ourselves that the contrast was not greater than between the pomp in which the good Dom Pedro lived, ap- parently beloved by all the people, and bis sad death in exile, with none so poor as to do him honor. ‘The garden is full of cinnamon, sago, citron and tamarind trees, and has an oblong artificial lake, surrounded by alternate vases and statues. ‘The attendaut pointed out a mar- bie bench, which he said was the favorite rest- ing place of the royal pair in their morning promenade, and we sat down upon it wonder- ing whether after all life is worth living under the shadow ofacrown. Faxsix B. Wap. es eres: A Diary Curious and Useful, From Lloyd's Newspayer. Shee! A Japanese journal describes a curious diary keptin a family of a well-to-do farmer in the province of Koshiu in the center of the main island. Ithas been kept regularly for more than 300 years, The diary has naturally be- come voluminous. Seven or eight oblong boxes, 2 feet wide by 5 long and 214 in height, prin- cipally used in Japanese houses for storing bedding, are said to be filled with them. ae to Fwss arisen = tween t neighborhood, eac! claiming to be the ori family or stock, The dispute was set! by referring to Mr. iazake, the, presunt bead of the family Mes diary, who dit in one carl ancestors FE WASHINGTON IRVING. Recollections of a Visit to the Author at His Home. BEAUTIFUL SUNNYSIDE. A Region Made Romantic by Irving Him- self---A Pleasant Welcome to His Pictur- esque Home---Incidents of a Memorable Visit---On the Banks of the Hudson. ee ‘Written for The Evening Star. ATE IN THE S8UM- mer of 1857 the writer, in company with asmall party of friends fresh from the saintly valley of Shaker, Lebanon,and the martial, spirit-stir- ring precincts of battle breathing West Point, made a stop at Tarry- town, of drowsy note, as it is said to have been the wont of fat burghers for a lazier Purpose in the olden time in order to view with mortal eyes the famous localities de- scribed in the veritable “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and, if the fates were propitious, to catch a glimpse of the doughty chronicler him- self of the marvels therein portrayed. After once more refreshing ovr memories by reading the weird tale with due deliberation, the expectant party of sight-seers hired a clumsy antiquated rockaway of unwieldy d- mensions, drawn by clumsier and more anti- uated steeds of more unwieldy dimensions than even the conveyance, and rolled heavily along the dusty road toward the celebrated seene of the story. Following one of the high- terraced streets of the original town, and passing the fine monument erected to the cap- tors of Maj. Andre, upon the identical spot where he was summarily arrested, a pleasant drive of a mile or so brought us to tho little old-fashioned Dutch church of Sleepy Holiow, with its quaint architecture and ancient moss-grown burying ground, where now quietly reposes the revered dust of the once genial Geoffrey Crayon. A few furlongs beyond this hallowed spot was the little wooden bridge over which madly galloped Brom Bones in pursuit of the wretched schoolmaster, the sorry victim of a practical joke, and whence the headless horseman huried his terrible pumpkin at the hapiess pedagogue. Here awakened fancy took wing for the first time in our meanderings, and_ distinctly conjured up the ludicrous tabieau of the piratical-looking, buceaneeringly disposed Brom Bones and the trembling Ichabod Crane together upon the rather shaky bridge of plank during that awful night of supernatural horrors, THE OLD MILL. Further on, in a modest little dell ofa genuine English sort, hiding, as it were, away from the rude stare of the prying visitor, stood the old mill, its wheel still turned by the waters of the willow-bordered lake just large enough to sail a single flat-bottomed boat. Doubtiess the lovely Katrina Van Tassel sauntered time in girlhood by the brink of this tiny mill pond, plucking the ice creamy and blanc mange looking water lilies and fishing for shiners and e backs with a crooked. pin, recisely as did the shoeless, hatless, sun- Prowse urchins of both sexes to whom we tossed bright coppers as we passed. Here we turned short about, and, on the way back over our route, our hitherto embarrassingly silent and painfully lugubrious jebu, a trifle ciumsier, more antiquated and more unwieldy of dimensions than his horse and carriage, if that were possible, pointed out on the left of the broad highway a low-rooted, yellow- ainted building of two stories, quite fallen into decay, which he assured’ us, in a melancholy, unmelodions voice, was the iden- tical, original and undoubted mansion of the Van T , Where that sumptuous scone of wine and wassail and revelry occurred at which the thoughtless telling of’ well-authenticated ghost stories suggested to the wicked Brom Bones the trick he 0 soon thereafter played upon poor Crane to rid himself of a rival aud the fair but fickle Katrina of the amorous s all awkward and absurd addresses. Thetegend from this familiar standpomt be- came a firm, fixed fact, neither questioned nor questionable, and rather more real, actual, material and likely to our nighly mes. merized minds than the immediate occur- rences then trauspiring before our very eyes. We had seen Sleepy Hollow, the bridge still haunted with memories, the Van Tassel manor house itself, and why, therefore, should we, while in our sober senses, doubt the truth of the recorded narrative. We didn't—we scorned to do it; and nothing now remained in order to completely verify the whole business, Brom Bones, Cranc, bridge, headiess trunk, and all, but to behold at home, in his own house, at his own desk, in his cozy easy chair and com- fortable dressing gown and slippers,the famous historian himself. Unsatisiied "curiosity ight of the literary representative of nd native land, among the blossoming bowers of oft-vignetted Sunnyside. THE ROAD TO SUNNYSIDE. Accordingly, the next afternoon the services of our taciturn jehu and bi Z vehicle were again cailed into requisition. The weather was clear and balmy, and scarcely a cloud dimmed the uniform azure of the summer sky. In the distance, but not afar, sparkled the broad blue Hudson, and on the opposite shore nestled the village ‘of Nyack, its white houses shining like eggshells in the sunlight. A drive southward of an hour, along the ridge above the river, over a fine macadamized road, skirted on either side by velvet lawns, well- trimmed parks and tasteful abodes of wealth, brought us to Irvington, and presently to the avenue leading through the grounds of which were so _ plentifully wooded as to quite as appropriately merit the name of Shadyside through the gateway, 8 iy creepers of rich green foliage arching over. head, an act of sacrilege was committed by a thoughtless ehiid of our party for which we felt sincerely sorry. A solitary trumpet flower drooped its concave petals from outa cluster of leaves down within ready reach of the hand, The child suddenly plucked the too-promiment flower, which perbaps had pleased the eve of its owner as he rode in homeward, and placed it in her bosom as a fragrant memento of her visit, And yet, doubtless, the tender-hearted author, whose realm we were so rathlessly in- vading, would have rather seen it there, fit emblem of maiden purity and innocence, than hanging selfiybly upon its stem, IRVING'S HOME. ° Leaving the carriage near the gate our com- pany strolied idly away among the trees that lined both sides of the approach of the oft-de- scribed home of venerable genius, just peeping au antique gable at us through the deuse boughs. Yes, there was Sunn oz¥, quaint, eccentric, dainty rud Duteb, with a weather- cock on every peak and dark vines kissing its furrowed old face, just as in the frontispiece to the “Sketch Book.” and there, too, us if re- sponsive to our inmost and utmost wishes, lingered upon tho lawn the genial, nature. loving, cheery-faced Geoffrey Crayon him- self, dressed in the pliin, easy garb of ® country geutlemau, eyeing us beuignly and presently bowing a kindly greeting to us a» be closed the volume in his hand and ad- vanced to meet our host, who had accompanied us and with whom he bad had jong acquaint- ance “by reason of vicinage.” Mr. irving stepped lightly forwaS@ for his years and shook hands cordially with cach momber éf our party, who in turn was introduced, He was a man, rhape, of some five feet six or seven inches in height, square of shoulder, though not stout, with a clean-shaven face, bushy brown wig and an extremely neat if not elegant appearance, His smile was pleasant and winning and his were few but warm. “Make yourselves atbhome,” he said; ‘go inside my little nest if you desire, and the g:ounds are open to your foot- steps.” Remarked one of our party: “You have ba! this beautiful-spot a reflex of your writ 3 2h WE oie savonpteaent, 23, 1892-SIXTEEN PAGEs. beautiful Episcopal church of ‘Tarrytown, of which Mr. Irving had been for many years a member and vestryman, A comfortable old- fashioned family barouche punctualiy brought the distingtished bookwright and several of his relatives to the church steps. The solemn reading of the liturgy and a good, moral hom- ily from Dr. Creighton, the rector, fully re- warded us for our coming, and a parting look at Geoffrey Crayon, the last wo were ever des- tined to have, as he smiled a ly good-day toan old acquaintance or two, who lingered upon the porch to speak a passing good-bye, imprinted a still more indelible memory of him upon our hearts and minds. A trifling incident, showing Washington Irving’s fondness for even the lowest forms of animal creation, was told us by our worthy host. A party ‘of gentlemen from the city, old friends of his, having made Mr. Irving a morning’ call, one of the group, while loitering "on the | lawn which lay around the author's home, espied a small striped adder gliding nimbly away among the grass. Pursuing it, he tried to strike it with his cane, but Mr, Irving ran swiftly tu the spot and picking up the passive le stroked it gently with his finger, exclaiming with some reproachfulness in his tone, “My dear sir, my bed sir, pray do not hurt the charming little in The poet pbell declared that Irving had imparted additional clarity to the English tongue. It may also be said that, with a weil- known author, the man was “very human, in- deed.” In truth, there never lived on earth a being in whom “the niilk of human kindness” more manifestly abounded, Gratefully and affectionately we tarn to the works of Wash- ington Irving as those of the purest and sweet est American prose writer of his time. Davip Grauam Apex. ae A GENTLEMAN OF HIS WORD. Twelve Years Not Too Long for One Man to Remember a Promise. “What makes some men the soul of honor?’ asked the story teller. “Every one of us has had some experience in fife to prove to us that there are men of unimpeachable honor. I think the most honorable gentleman whom I ever met was aman of absolutely infernal luck. I first saw him ina frontier town, He had been a cowboy, but he had got caught in a ter- rible winter back on the plains, and at the time I first saw him he was only a wreck of a man, with legs misshappen and weak and eyes that were nearly blind. He seemed to be just clinging to life in that little Colorado town, doing what little he could in bar rooms or going slow errands until fate should be kind enough to take him away from his misery. He stopped me in the street one night, “Will you lend me £10," he said roughly. ‘I am in a bad way and I need it.” “Now $10 was a good deal of money to me at that minute, for in my western experience I had my ups and downs, and at that time I was having my ‘downs,’ Wouldn't a dollar do you? I asked, for the fellow looked so bad that I wanted to do some- thing for him, but I knew that I should never see my money again. “"No,’ he said doggedly, ‘it won't. I want togoto Denver. Iam about crazy with pain and I want to get there and see if I can’t find some relief. Ihaven'ta cent in the world.’ (There were a good many men in that little town who were in the same predicament.) “But I can't spare £10,’ I answered. ‘I need it.’ ‘You don’t need it so much as I do,” he said fiercely. ‘I tell you, man, that the hell that I am suffering would kill you. Lend it to me. Til pay it back to you. “Give me your name and . Til find you—if I live.” Il, T gave him. the $10. [told him that he need not worry about paying it back, Lex- pected to get out of my troubles some day and then I should not feel the need of it, “No,” he said, ‘I won't tonch it on any other condition, I want to pay it back with interest, 12 per cent a year.’ (Money was worth some- thing out there. ) “So I wrote out my name for him, giving him y permanent uddress the home of my fam- in the east. The next day be went to Den- ver, Shortly afterward i climbed into a saddle and rode away to ‘punch cows.’ I punched them with varying success all over the Colo- rado grazing fields for nine years. Having had enough of cattle raising by that time and my ideas of great fortunes having been con- siderably modified, I sold out my cattle and ¢ back to God's own country. “Of course, after the first few months follow- ing my loan of $10 to the cripple he never exme into my thoughts, though there were times when that 10 would have been a good friend, but I completely forgotabout it, Thad been east for three years, had married, and was the proud father of the two handsomest children in New York, when a letter was for- warded to me from my father’s home in Mas- sachusetts, It was from the cripple. In it was & post office order for my $10 and interest on it for twelve years at 1 per cent a month. There was no word in the letter except thanks for my kinduess and the assurance that he was now ‘doing pretty well for him.’ Icall that mana gentleman and I told him so when I wrote him, and I also told him something in the letter whieh I hoped would please him--that on that day Thad made the first bank deposit for my baby son and that the amount was $24.40, his loan and the interest, and that though the in- terest for the boy would not be anything like 12 per cent, the deposit ought to bring him good luck.’ That's all there is to this _— THE LIEUTED T'S REVENGE. He Literally Blew Out the Brains of His De- fenseless Antagonist. Panis Letter to Chiesio Post, Au event which occurred in a certain cavalry regiment about 1866 helped to put down bully: ing and suppress the duelists, who were the chivalrous gentlemen that usually practiced it. In this regiment, stationed at Mar- scilles, the captain of one of the troops was a notorious bully, He took special delight in torturing the youngest of his lieutenants, a bright, laughter-loving lad who was the de- light of the regiment—ofiicers and men, One day after mess the cuptain grossly insulted the boy, and followed itup by calling him « liar and slapping his face, The lieutenant flushed and left the room. He had previously a bis courage in Algiers, and his com- trades could not understand why he shouid toerate such continued insults, ‘They fol- lowed him to his quarters and told him that if he did uot call out his enemy he would have to goto Coventry. The young officer explained that he had ‘strong religious scruples about duelling and could not conscientiously go out, Finally the colonel of the regiment sent him the alternative—cither fight or leave the service. ‘the boy theu agreed, on condition that the fight should take place with pistols and over a hundkerchief, One of the weapons was to be londed and the other unloaded, They re to bechdsen by lot ‘The men stood up, each holding the edge of a handkerchief, At the signal the captain pulied the trigger, when it was fuund that he hold the unloaded pistol. All eyes were now fixed upon the calm, res- Clute, fair-haired boy. ‘Tho spectators were confident that «s he held his adversary in his power he would either discharge his pistol in the air or not shoot at all. But not so. He took deliberate aim, and placing the muzzle of his pistol as near the other man's fuco as he could reach blew his brains out. Then lean- ing over the te form of his enemy he dipped @ handkerchief in the blood and smeared the face with it. ‘Then, with exulta- tion, he turned to those in the field and said, “There! do you consider that I have. wiped out the blow I received?” He then strode from the ground and that evening sent in his Tesignation, He shortly afterward retired to ‘T. Caseaknow Jeuks (to his new valet)—“And what is your name, my good man? ae ee tar AN EXPERIENCE IN A LABOR RIOT. ‘The Recollections of s'Volunteer in the Fitth | Wherein This Country WIM Suffer in Case Maryland. ‘Written for The Evening Star, The description in Tux Star of the conflict | treat to exclude the people of the United IN THE FLOWERY KINGDOM. SURE DEATH FOR Born. AChalionge That Proved the MIM Young Sothees Sn aeeae, Tenderfoot a Man of Nerve. “Supposing that China should carry out her | Prom the Chicago Inter-Ovsan “T once saw a challenge to a duel issued and between the mob and the militia at Pittsburg | States from her shores, tho iximediate loss to | accepted aud the time, place and weapons nated. during the riot of 1877 has induced me to write | O0#elves involved by such action would be as | nomi to Tax Sran some reminiscences of a volunteer nothing compared with future consequences, private in the fifth Maryland regiment of the | *Hich would signify enormous damage to our scenes at Camden station during the riot of the | interests commercially and otherwise. same date in Baltimore. Fri 7 of reporter the other day by Commissioner Romyn es tanrme a fer dnvwloag ag Jey. of | Hitcheock, who has recently returned to Wash- paragraph in a morning paper’ to tbe effect | ington from a visit to the dowery kingdom in that the fifth regiment would go that evening | bebalf of the world’s f to Cumberland to raise a blockade upon the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, enforced by the striking boatmen at that point. Foreseeing in | sources are vast. Ti: & moment that the arrival of several compa- nies of disciplined soldiery, with arms in their hands, would be the virtual and instan- taneous dispersal of the Dlockaders and that the regiment would probably bivouac for several days on the crest of the Alleghenies until order was permanently restored along the canal, I thought I would volunteer to go along with the boys. I had been with the boys from "61 to °65, and knew that the trip to Cum- beriand would have only the foil of danger to set off the picture of sheer fun and enjoyment. ‘The mere anticipation of cool breezes and mountain forests was exhilaration itself, with the sun blistering the stones in the streets, VOLUNTEERING FOR SERVICE. That afternoon I was sitting on the front steps, when a momber of the fifth passed rap- idly by, and the general alarm began sounding from the cavernous lungs of “Big Sam.” I hailed the soldier and asked him if the fifth were going to Cpmberland and, if so, if { might go asa Voluatecr. To both of th queries he having responded affirmatively I joined him and we hastened together to the armory, over the “Richmond Market.” And, right ‘here, Iam free to say, that I bad no ink- ling or apprehension in ‘tho least of civic broil cr tumult, or [should have been exceed- ingly backward in coming forward, having had all and more of the experience I hankered after with villainous gunpowder. I found. on arrival atthe armory, a corporal, whose business denied him the pleasure of the trip, and who ndly lent me his uniform and equipments. hen the regiment fell into the ranks some forty rounds of ammunition was dealt out to each man, Capt. Zollinger of company H was in command, a typical soldier. whose splendid courage and coolness, I am satisficd, saved many lives during ‘the ensu hours, and whose death, two y the accidental discharge of a gan, cast a lo over a large circle of warm friends and ad- mirers. “Before the regiment — started for Camden station le = said few words to the command, charging the men to preserve their alignment and to pay no at- tention to the mob." Here was a time of da Here was a pretty how d'ye do! Here was th first flush of an amateur excursion to the mountains, THE MARCH TO THE DEPOT. Tho regiment, about 200 strong, moved in good order down the broad stairway to the short and narrow street that opens into Eutaw street and turned down the latter, filled with a dense mass of jecring men and boys, and com- meuced its march to Camden station. There was no attack upon the regiment until it reached Baltimore sireet, about four blocks from the station, At that point the mob commenced ta throw missiles and to bl way of the regiment. occasionaily injuring a soldier so seriously as to test the nerves of his comrades, When the command got withia a couple of blocks of the statior became so serious that the ordered to halt and tix bayonets, From this point the march was made at a double quick, the mob sullenly retiring in front and closing up behind the regiment. meantime peiting it with missiles, I do not know how many were burt of the regiment. I | a great delica was siruck twice, and painfully, but not seri- ously hurt, But the surgin mass of the mob was more exciting than battle I was ever in. A brickoat at five paces is more trying an ordeal than a iminie ball at 300 or a caunon ball at 900 yards, BESIEGED IN THE DEPOT. Once safely within Camden station we could seck the seclusion of the train, in waiting readiness, Butno sooner had we taken our seats than stones were flung throagh the win- dows, which soon made the situation more ani- mated than cheerful, We were ordered to form on the platform outside, when we learned that the mob had disabled’ our engine. Another one was brought down toward the train and this was run by the mob into the pit of a turn table, Then, as if warming up to their business, the mob rolled some barrels of kerosene down the platform and set them on fire. Being a mere private in the ranks I never knew nor do I yet know why all this incendiarism was permitted When there were two huadred soldiers present with forty odd rouuds of cartridges, By this time night had come on. ‘Capt. Zol- linger piaced a cordon of pickets at the inter- section of Camden and Eutaw streets, Camden and Howard streets, Barre (on the south of the depot) and Euiaw' and Barre and Howard streets, A short distance in the rear of these picket lines the different companies stacked their arms and remained near them, By this time the entire police force of the city was at the station. and the mob was pressed beyond this military cordon. Many of the latter jeered at ‘and threatened the picket lines during the disquieting night. When Saturday morning came everything was gone, but there was a boding sense of apprehension and unrest throughout the day which the com- | With 21,000 aman can establish a pawnshop or ing on of night justified. AN ANGRY MOR, With the shadows of the evening came the shadows of great crowds of angry and turbu- Jent men; and soon the shops at Mount Royal were ablaze and the gleam of other fires was seen, About midnight the aspect of affairs grew so grave that the authorities determined to disperse the mob with the police, supported by the soldiery, and to arrest those whose atti- tude scemed the most menacing. A squad of forty picked men. by Marshals Gray and Frey and Col, Harry Gilmer, would dash masses in front of ' the different t lines, firing ther pistols in ir, and each one seizing a man and pulling him inte the gentlemen's sitting room at the ation. The prisoners were there guarded by chmeuts of the fi/th until they were taken the vans to the jail. While this was pro- gressing they wrenched loose the iron seats, smashed them and flung the fragments through the windows aud doors at the soldiers. There was an attenunted, cadaverous, grotesque- looking tan, a typical comtnunist, in the gang, who from time to time barrangued his com- panions in an incobereut and inflammatory fashion, when they would break for the win- dows and doors, to Le met by a congeries of bayonets, At the picket lines the threatening and hooting died away as the night waned. ‘The members of the fifth were by this time pretty well exhausted from want of rest aud two nights’ nervous strain, while their minds were naturally filled with misgivings of evil and troubie. ARRIVAL OF TYE REGULARS. Just after daylight, being relieved from picket duty, I lay down on the pavement with the step for a pillow, when I hear®a familiar sound—the rumbling of frtillery wheels, I looked down Camden street and saw a body of United States troops approaching the station. Iknew, then, instinctively, that the danger was over. Going way down under the sta-| tion shed I lay down and slept for hours the sleep of perfect eecurity and whem I awoke I sew a battery of U. 8. artillery under the | that a choice brand, which shed. The next morning I returaed my uni- form and equipments to the leader and regis- tered a double-breasted vow that thencefo:- different | the wall to the outer The affair, however, did not come to any been: The speaker was “Dan Quins,” the well known writer of wild and woolly western char. ecter and dialect stories, “It was in Deadwood,” said he, “about eight years ago, and the two men who were to huve been the participants had been snarling at each @ther for many days, One of them wasa young consumptive-looking fellow from some- where east, and of course was held in mach conterapt by the old-timers. In some indotin- many of these seemed to have a kind of respect for him, as on om ions he had given evidence that or all, he was ‘¢ He was to these semi-admirers an unknown quantity, aud while they were all anxious for some opportunity to present imself in which b Would show what he was made of, of them cared to furnish the looked- The man who did the snarling was, per *, the only man in the select clique that beng aroand the saloon where the fimaliy mate ized who did m the tenderfoot had any nerve. tmiseed an opportunity to. inti ‘On the night in question the two men had bee unusually spiteful, and it was a cinch that there woald be trouble before the daylight broke in. “Finally the old-timer made a remark to the other thai © Was no mistaking. It meant business. The young fellow heard it, and, without moving a hand. announce: to the other that he had heard the remark and that he bad 8 proposition to gmake. The crowd was in the right humor and the boy was a! ed ge “Hie seid thathe was a tenderfoot. He was aware of it, he decla . and he felt sorry bat he also said that if the other would give 4 fearshow he would fight m. Then he what was considered a remarkable antagonist to In but to issue Such was the opinion expressed to ® STAR He added: “The country is on the point of being opened to foreigners and to the influences of erviliza- tion for the first time in its history. are altogeth veloped and in rendering them available enormour and most profitable opportuni Will be afforded to Yankee enterprise and. in- genuity. We kaow almost nothing of the em- pire as yet owing to the fact that exploration has hitherto been impracticable, The few travei- era whote appetite for adventure und discovery has given them courage to traverse the int rior have dono so in disguise at the risk of theur lives. It 1s known, however, that there are mines of gold, silver, copper, iren and coal fabulously rich! Amogicas machinery and en- gineering skill will bé in demand for opening them and extracting their weaith. CHANCE TO BUILD RAILWAYS, “We will have achance to furnish locomo- tives and other mechanical apparatus for thousands of miles of railways, Already the giuning has been madgof a great rail system. which will eventually gridiron the ¢ tire country. An imperial edict has recentiy authorized the construction of a road from ukow almost to Pekin, to be known as the reat Western railway. it will not quit reach the capital itself, because conservativ prejudice is still strong enough to forbi Transforming the residence of the emperor intoa commercial terminus, The road now in existence between Tientsin aud the coal minos, 100 miles in length, is to be mamediately extended 500 miles further. Another is projected from Kawloon,opposite Hiong ke to Canton, a distance of 100 miles, Tin s00n to be 100 miles of iron road on the of Formosa, thirty miles of which hi constracted, A WONDERFUL PEOPLE. ‘The Chinese are a w Popularly supposed that rice, on account of its cheapness, is the chief diet of the ek In rv it ts a luxury the Millet, “a very nutritious ¢: known to the western world, is one of their most important foods, They consume a gi deal of pork, which costs very little, because pigs of tho razor-back species are plemtitu everywhere. The pig is the domestic ani mal par excellence. She sleeps in the living room, recognizes her mame and displays in her intelligence the inherited results of cen- turies of training. § litters twic Of her offspring the males are fatt ntto mark opt for bree every meal of the famil the day she torag ficlds and drains. * as Apperire ror cats. “The Chinese in the vicinity of Canton, from whom are recruited nearly all of the immi- grants to this country, have a remarkable ap- petite for cats You will see cate hanging ady dressed in the butchers meat looks white and c I dare say it has an ex Cats are regularly propagated for the ket ia that region. They cam be raised profitably because they are 40 prolific and ‘tat finding their owa food. One finds them for sale alive in the shops, in cages reads for killing —biack and white, gray, yellow ani ailkinds, The rich people regard cats’ eyes as '¥, those of black cats being con- sidered the choicest and bringing the highest said, consciontious scruples against being the aggressor ina quarrel, but he was perfect willing to do the square thing when thegsho down cam “Well, after much park agreed to the deal and the eb: The boy at once a tho big fellow lenge was issued, pted it, named guns ax the Weapons, the piace the saloon and the tim Tight then. But his condition ander which the duel was to be fought was the remarkable part of it, He insisted that he ‘us opponent should stand face to face, with the toes of their right boots touching. ‘Their guns were to be in their belts, and at the word draw and fi ‘There could be on It was a daring proposal, but whether it was a bluff or not was never known, The other crawfished, bought all the liquor on hand and apologized.and the outcome of it was that the two mea became partners. But nobody in Dead- wood ever intimated again that the young fei low was lacking in nerve. He showed that be had something about him Her Little Pad, From the New York Times, Ata noted book shop in 6th avenues young girl, who looked like the miniature painted on the vellum of missals, gave to the cashier « little memorandum book in covers of morocco, mouse colored, ornamented at the corners with arabesques of silver. “This.” she said timid, index of authors and titles of books me in Taine's “History of English Liter 1 wish you would get for me the por- trait of every author and the title page of every book. My grandmother is illustrating the books of Scott with all the plates she can find, and I think this will be as interestin Yes,” said the cashier, “but have you a for- tune larger than Jay Gould's? I ask because the first title page thet I think of is the title page of Shakespeare nets,” the value which is unlimited, Of course, you wish th book to be perfect. , It is the very bad transla se ; during the rest of for herself in the stre: ts and mice are not commonly eaten. save in case of famine. There is a joke about a ginary dish, of which I was asked if I had It 1s called ‘honey and is supposed to be made by in- mouse in a piece of honey comb, b of the real dishes are almost equally curious, however, For exam ple. I once ate a sort of hot cake, in the middle of whien I found inclosed a piece of ice. How such a feat of cookery was accomplished I am unable to imagine. THE CHINESE OF THE LOWER CLASSES, ‘The Chinese who come to this country are all of the lowest laboring class, They are not of the agricultural population. but are from the cities and towns where they live by carry ing burdens. digging, and so forth, The dwell in houses of mud, which aro made of the proper cousixtency and —plus- tered over a framework of bamboo. Ordinarily the house has two rooms. In one the family lives, eats and sleeps, while in the other the ¢ gz is done. The a platform about three feet high, oc- cupying ove-half of the living room. It 1s built of brick and covered over with mat- ting. members of the household goto sleep they tie down upon it and roll themselves up in such cove sess, In winter a the heat from which is convey parts of the brick couch by a sort of winding flue, finally making its way through a hole in No.” she said, tion by Van Laun, of Taino’s work, which I To make a Grangerized work which fect I want bad impressions of sec ints, title pages of pirated editions for 10 cents. Otherwise my extra- illustrated ‘History of English Literature’ would not be harmonious,” sat, WER, Saved the Trouble of Asking Mamma, From Texas Siftings. “Mamma,” said Johnnie, “can anybody hear with their mouth?” Xo, child; I don't think they can,” replied the mother. “Then, mamma, what made Mr, Jones tell sister he wauted to tell her romething and put lus lips to her mouth instead of her ears! The mother didn't answer Johnmie, but turned her attention to Mr, Jones, but that worthy genticman made it all right by proper explanations, > Swinging «a Club. From the New York Weekly. Mrs, Muicahey—“An'phwy is y'r husband workin’ wid all thim fureigners, breakin’ stone on th’ road bevant? : Mrs. Mulhooly (with proper pride)—‘Sure aoe only traming fur a poke yay ‘th’ police force.” ——— ‘The Brave Fireman and the Dummy. From Judge, BACK AND FORTH. “Returning from the United States to China set himself up in some otter kind of business, ‘To come to America costs #50, Even the poor- est person can borrow that amount of money, becanse in China a debt contracted by an indi- vidual is always an obligation upon hi family. An important item of importa- tion from CMina into the United States is hens’ eggs, of which 126,300 dozen were brought over last year. Another considerable item is firecrackers. On the other aud, we export to China great quantities of such edible delicacies as sea slugs, cuttle fish, sharks’ fins, abaloue meats aud sea weeds of various kinds, which are gathered by pig-tailed fishermen on the Pacific coast,” wuy HE Certain Symptoms That Denoted the Satis- fuctoriness of the Case. From Harper's Bazaar. “lr, Munn sent for you while you were out, doct d the young man who was learning the healing art in the office of Dr. Bronson, “Munn? Ihave no patient of that name. Where does he live?” “‘Steenth street, No. 675.” “Ah! Ho is a new patient I'll take you with mo that you may observe how an old practitioner becomes acquainted with the peculiarities of a man he never treated betore. Arrived at Mr, Munn’s resideuec, Dr. Brot son and his assistant were ushered into the sick man’s chamber. After noting the patient's pulse and temperature, and making a few in- Quiries, Dr. Bronson continued: hat are your cating habits, Mr, Munn? For instance, what did you take at diauer last Het Vell, doctor, I hada very simple dinner— nothing but a little turtle soup, hauuch of ven- ison, and afew such dishes.” y wine?” justasip. Only a giass‘of table claret and bottle of Moct and Chandon.” ‘Ab! Um! Do you smoke?” “limit myself to one cigar after dinner, and I import myself from Havana,” “I see.” Very well, Mr. Muan,” the doctor went on, as he wrote a prescri “You ward Ishouid steer clear of military rendez- | must keep quietly in your room fer some time ‘Yous on the mountains. se At: WAGNER'S OPINION. ‘The Greatest of All Composers Admired Bee- thoven, Bach, Mozart, but Not Schumana, From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat. The musical predilections and studious in- Voutxteem, | and not cat any meat. I shall have to put you on a mutton broth regimen for a few days, but T'll bring you out all right. Send and get this Preseription compounded. Then take a tea- spoonful in a wine of hours. I'll have to when I am certain I shall find you much better. Good morning, Mr. Munn.” clination of the great Wagner are best shown| When the physician and his student had by an enumeration of the works which were his constant companions, Beethoven's sonatas, quartets and tempered clavichord of Bach, Mozart's sym- “Bi the weill- | tor. and I would reached the street and were driving back ‘the office the latter said: ad “I notieed carefully all your inquiries, doc- like to ask one question.” «