Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1893, Page 12

9 a 1 TRIPLETS AND ALL CRAZY. Doctors at Bellevue Surprised by the Bassett Sisters. What the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, New York, regard as one of the most pecu- Mar cases in the history of lunacy was re- ported at the hospital the other day. On the records of the institution appear the mames of Elizabeth Bassett, thirty-five years old and Susan Bassett, thirty-five Years old, Brooklyn. On the records of St. John’s Hospital, Brooklyn, appears the name of Millie Bassett, thirty-five years old, Brooklyn. The three women are triplets and are suf- fering from insanity, says the New York Bun. About six weeks ago Annie and Ellen Taylor, twin sisters, were admitted into the insane pavilion at Bellevue Hospital. The case of the Bassett women Is the first on record at the hospital where triplets have Deen discovered to be crazy at the same time. Late last Friday afternoon Susan and Elizabeth Bassett walked into Bellvue Hos- pital, and Susan requested a private inter- wiew with Dr. Wallace, the examining phy- sician. She introduced herself, and said she feared that her sister Elizabeth was hope- lessly insane. She had tried to hide the truth from herself, but had finally consid- ered it her duty to take Elizabeth to the hospital. Dr. Wallace had a talk with Elizabeth. A few moments’ conversation convinced him that Susan's judgment had been correct. He diagnosed the case as one of imbeci‘ity, and told Miss Bassett to take her sister down stairs to the reception room. There Registrar Green took the crazy woman's Bame and address and assigned an attend- @nt to lead the new patient to the insane! Ward. Susan insisted on accompanying ber sister to see that Elizabeth was comfortably provided for. When the two women entered the insane ra Susan began to explain to Dr. uglass, the physician in charge, the na- ture of her sister's ailment. She talked Fationally at first, but finally became very excited and began to be incoherent. The @octor watched her closely, and then, to the astonishment of the nurses and attendants, “Why, this woman fs a good deal crazier than her sister. I think her history had better be taken also.” Susan did not seem surprised at the en- mouncement. She gave her name, age and address, and added that she was a laun- dress. She said her nearest friend was Mrs. Sarah Wood of Brooklyn, and that she had another sister, Millie Bassett, who was con- fined in St. John’s Hospital, Brooklyn. The case seemed of so much interest that @ message’ was sent to Mrs. Wood telling her that the sisters were at Bellevue Hos- pital. When Mrs. Wood received the news she considered it her duty to inform the third sister. fBome weeks at St. John’s Hospital, suffer- ing from a supposed nervous trouble. When she heard the condition of Susan and Eliza- beth she insisted upon visiting them. The doctors at St. John’s decided that serious consequences might arise if the woman's wishes were opposed, and, accompanied by @ physician, she was taken to Bellevue Hos- pital. In the meantime the other sisters had been declared insane, and transferred to the state lunatic asylum. The third sister was taken to Dr. Wallace, who discovered, much to his astonishment, that she, too, ‘Was a fit subject for an insane asylum. The @octor who had her in charge said that she Was all right when she leff St. John's Hos- Pital. The physicians were inclined to ac- count for the sudden development of in- ganity in her case on the theory that the knowledge of the condition of her sisters hhad affected her reason. Millie was taken to Brooklyn, and will be transferred either to Bellevue Hospital or to the Flatbush Asylum. Mrs. Wood says that the triplets were born in New York of Irish parentage. Susan been employed in a laundry in Fulton street, Brooklyn. Some time ago her hand Was crushed in an ironing machine, and its ee was supplied by an artificial member. e has begun a suit against the laundry company. Until her ‘t to Bellevue Hos- Pital on Friday no one suspected that she was imsane. She was a member of the Marcy Avenue Baptist Church. Elizabeth has been weak-minded since her birth, but has been considered harmless. The third sister, Millie, is the widow of Richard Hussy, a war veteran, and received a pen- gion. Some time ago she was attacked by @ nervous trouble and was admitted into the Brooklyn Hospital. A feature of the case Is that each triplet wonsiders the others insane and stoutly de- nies that there is anything the matter with her own mental condition. ——swe- Electrical Frauds. Under the head of “Medical Electrical Frauds” may be classed all electro-galvanic belts, shields, insoles, brushes and rings. They are all absolutely worthiess so far as a@ny electric or magnetic effects are con- cerned. Imagination is a wonderful aid in ‘curing certain diseases; especially is this true when the ailment Is more or less im- aginary. The agent is ever ready to take advantage of every opportunity to help on the deception. He will call attention to the glow (warmth) produced by the insole, the | blister made by the air-tight lining of a/| elt or shield, or the sore caused by the | zine or copper as the effect of the electric current. The writer had the Privilege of Millie had been a patient for | THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1893-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. A DOMESTIC DRAMA. What the Passengers on an Eastern Road Heard and Saw. From the Chicago Tribune. Coming over on the Michigan Central the other day a tall, fine appearing man and a handsomely dressed, refined looking woman were seated just in front of a plainly dress- ed, sweet faced old lady about seventy years old. Every little while the man would turn and address a remark to the elder woman, and her eyes would glow with pride, for he was her son, and though his wife did not seem over-cordial--perhaps she was not proud of the old lady—yet she would deign to drop a word or two once in a while. Finally the son turned—as the porter in- formed them of the dining car in the rear— and said: “Well, mother, Emma and I will | go now and get our dinner. You know she needs a good warm dinner. You have brought your Junch, I see. I will send you in @ good cup of hot tea,” and the couple rose and passed into the dining car. After they had left “mother” sat looking out of the window, and appeared to be in deep thought—not over-happy, perhaps. Fi- |nally she reached under the seat and | brought up the little worn-out black basket json” had noticed and held it on her lap, |fingering the ribbon it was tied with in a thoughtful way. Just as she opened it the train stopped at a station. The door was suddenly flung open and a cheery-faced, handsome blonde stepped in. He appeared to be looking eagerly for some one. ean ool his glance fell on the little old Mother!” he cried trf a delighted voice, “My John, my John!" and the two were clasped in a loving embrace so genuine as to | Cause tears to rise in the eyes of one of the | Passengers, and the rest looked on in an in- terested manner. “Where are Frank and Emma?” he in- | quired. | “They have gone into the dining car. Em- ma isn't well, you know, and has to have a good, hot dinner.” She repeated this in an | apologetic way, for she saw a look in John's jeyes that she did not fail to read—and Frank, was he not her son, too? “But you didn’t wish any dinner, I sup- pose,” and his eyes fell on the little basket. He saw it all at a glance, but he must not hurt his mother’s feelings thus. “And are you not glad to. see me? Are you | Rot surprised? I found I could join you here | lustead of waiting until you got to Chicago. | And now tell me, dear heart, isn’t this dear Uttle basket the same that Frank and I took our lunch in to school? I thought so,” as @ smile rose on the faded sweet face. “Well, I’m awfully hungry; s'pose we keep this for supper and you come with me |and eat a nice, hot dinner. No, no ex- | cuses.”* As they left the car they met the other | couple. “Hallo! John! where did you come | from?” “How do you do, Emma? I came, | Frank, just in time to see our mother had a Substantial meal,” and they passed on. When the passengers who heard and saw it all arrived at Chicago they saw a hand- some young man with a little black basket |Fanging on his arm tenderly assisting a sSweet-faced old lady through the crowd. A | carriage was called and they drove off. No one seemed to see anything of the other couple, } ———_+- e+ —_____ COLLEGE GIRLS’ FUN. A Lot of Freshwomen Gt a Sensa- tonal Rise to the Venerable Prex. From the New York Advertiser. “They may talk about the college boys ‘and their hazings and tricks, but for real genuine fun you can’t beat the college girl,’ id a young freshwoman the other day “Last year—you know the men’s college is |Tight near our seminary, and so they call |on us every evening—the president made a |neW rule. “He declared that we must dismiss our guests at 9:30, and we decided we would not do it. After a great deal of plotting and planning we hit upon a delightful plan, and it was a great success. The boys se- cured a big basket and two ropes and a pulley for us, and this we hid during the jday and at night fastened two great hooks on the sill of our study window. The boys sent up their cards in the basket, and then after inspecting them with a lantern to make sure they were not burglars, we haul- ed them up. “But one night the grave and dignified President caught us and planned a little surprise for us. He found one of the boys’ cards in our rooms and placed it in the basket. It worked beautifully, and we haul- ed him half way up before any one thought of using the lantern. “Then Miss Flyaway held it out the win- dow and took a peep at him. One glance at the spectacles and bald head was enough, It was lucky for that president that we did not let him fall to the ground in our hor- ror and amazement, but we held on to the ropes until we decided what to do. “We couldn't let him down again; he would only come up and catch us, and we couldn’t drop him, bad as he Was, and we certainly didn’t intend to help him carry out his plan by hauling him up, so we compro- mised by securing the ropes and letting him hang there in mid-air, “He begged and implored to be let down, offered us any bribe we could wish for and examining an electric belt with a spinal column attachment, the cost of the whole | thing being $20. This was remarkably cheap, considering the disease it was warranted to cure. The box in which the combination | ‘was packed was covered with a long list of @iseases ending with &c., &c., leaving one | to infer that had the box been larger they ‘would have been longer. The current gen- erated from this belt was not sufficinet to affect a delicate galvanometer—a galvano- meter capable of indicating one-tenth of a milliampere. The minimum electric current Used by competent medical men is from two to five milliamperes. in a recent libel suit in England it was brought out that the or- dinary current generated by an electric belt is from one-four-hundredth to one-tive- hundredth of a milliampere, and constdéring the various paths open for the passage of this current—the lining of the belt, the un- derclothing, the surface of the skin—the chance of any of this infinitesimal charge @ntering the body may easily be imagined. Bost of these belts and shields are worn 4m such a manner that they form a closed circuit around the body, thus putting the body in a magnetic field, if there were any gurrent. Some recent tests in the Edison laboratory show that this can have no ef- fect. The armature of a large, separately excited dynamo was removed. A person then placing his head in the strong magnetic field occupied by the armature was tunable to tell when the current was turned on or off. Experiments were also made by rapidly reversing the current in field magnets, and before no effect was felt. The London imes has refused to advertise any of these @lectrical frauds. The electrical journals @re full of advertisements of all kinds of electrical goods, yet not one of them will ublish an advertisement of any electrical it or similar contrivance. This fact alone is sufficient evidence of the character of these goods. In a leading agricuitnral rantees its columns to be free there appear weekly from ve illustrated advertisements of Rut peo- $s prob- m frauds, three to ti @lectrical belts, Insoles or shields. ple like to be humbugged, and this ably as harmless Frost Fancies, Brom the Omaha Bee. fhe Frost King ame from his home in the north, Ms tipped brush, le touch of his i Over wy window he swept. Whe wraithlike scenes of his pectral lines he wrough! northern bome rt ‘The gleaming caves where the icy winds, | In esaes hide, and hemlocks tall ‘$s resching wide. frozen seas, jeer horns, But the jealous Gazed bard at Erased m day bad dawned, | King’s work, | flery glance, | ish quirk. sena. and spreading trees, I ‘where, my fairest dreams, ir. ‘As frail and Chicago's D. Show Opened. The Chi k Ciub’s dog show @pened at the\Vest Side Armory Wednesday Over 70 dogs have been entered, and al- mest la re represented. There Were many tors lance all day intl Saturday jt slugging tactics. wasted more eloquence on us in that first hour than he did during his yearly lectures. But we had no visitors that night. He amused us and we wanted revs left him. cad ps “He tried to jump, and up on the rope, At last he howled, till every one in t to climb down the wall but failed in everything. viet like an Indian, e town was aroused, and even the boys turned out to see the ter: ror of their worst nightmare, crimson with i in mid-air in a clothes The Gentle Sport With Which We Uele- brate the Day. From Life. There's no doubt that foot ball as played today is a most scientific game. How to arrange a ton of youthful flesh, bone and muscle so that it shall drive an inflated ball to a given point, notwithstanding the opposition of another ton of youthful hu- manity, is a most interesting problem. The captains and professors of the game study for hours over this question and evolve some very interesting tactics for the use of the material at their command. To the public, and especially to the friends and relatives of the youthful com- Ponents of these masses, there is coming a belief that not enough attention is paid to the safety of the eleven units. Each of the eleven may be a son or a brother whose future usefulness may be impaired by considering him too much as a unit of force and too little as a human being. Public sentiment is against the coddling of boys, but it is also against making a shortened leg or dislocated vertebrae proba- ble adjuncts of a liberal edication. All Life would say to its foot ball friends is that if they care for the permanent popu- | larity of their game they must make it as little brutal as possible. One thing is cer- tain—the referee should have autocratic power, and should use it, to rule out of foot ball playing permanently and for all time any player who shows even a tendency —s00 The New York board of trade will send a memorial to Congress, asking that any new tariff bill shall not go into effect before July I next. The charge of inhumanity made against Capt. John Risk of the Mallory line steamer Comal. at New York. has been withdrawn and the captain is fully exonerated. A flood far more disastrous than that of May, 182, occurred at Ottawa, Ill., Thurs- day. It occasioned by a break in the Ilincis and Michigan canal, THE SANTA CLAUS CLUB. A Way Provided for Sharing Christ- mas With the Poor. “We choose this time because it is a time of all others when want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?” Maybe not exactly the same words are spoken, but exactly the same appeal is made to many an old Scrooge today. If no one comes around with a subscription book, the wistful,pinched faces of half-clad little ones on the street, the look of suffering of many @ poor woman, the dull despair in the faces of weary men vainly searching for employ- ment, makes thé appeal to those who can read such language with eloquence more touching than any tongue ever knew. So to every one rejoicing in abundance at this season the question comes, “What shall I put you down for?” The little folks of The Evening Star Santa Claus Club have answered that question for themselves. Each one has taken a dime from his Christmas money to be used in helping the needy. Several thousands have already joined the club and the en- rollment ts still going on. The club is or- ganized for work. It has arranged to use its funds and to employ the funds contrib- uted to its treasury by friends of the move- ment in a manner that will do the greatest good to the greatest number. Subscriptions sent to The Star will be acknowledged and paid into the treasury of the club. Dona- tions of provisions for distribution by the club may be sent to any public school build- ing. Those who have clothing, in clean and good condition, ready for immediate dis- tribution among the needy, may send a postal card to The Evening Star notifying the club of the fact, and the package will be called for. Intending contributors should bear in mind that the provisions given should be done up securely in packages and their contents briefly described in the mark- ing on the outside. The Santa Claus Club. Nearly everybody knows now about The Evening Star Santa Claus Club. It was organized originally for the boys and girls in the city to enable them by co-operation to do a good deal of good with the dimese| they could spare from the Christmas money. The idea was that those who had @ Christmas at home, with all that the word means, should share in this way with the less fortunate, the Tiny Tims and the \Scores and hundreds of others besides whose state Tiny Tim's condition would seem one of affluence. Members of the club take part in the active work of charity by finding and | Feporting cases of need. As a token of membership to each is given a badge, a handsome pin bearing the emblem of the club, @ star, and having a ribbon suitably inscribed. This charity, conducted in the name of the children, was found last year to be one of the most effective agencies em- ployed in relieving distress. Considerable money was raised and it was expended judiciously, the club having the advantage of the assistance of the organizations al- ready in existence for relieving the poor. Its own far-reaching organization, extend- ing to every quarter of the city, gave it facilities for investigation and for the ad- ministration of relief which no other or- ,Sanization enjoyed. This year the club pur- Poses to do even more than last year. It | wants the help of all the good people of the city, and so the question is “What shall 1 put you down for?” WRITING TO SANTA CLAUS. Letters for the Good Saint Sent to “The Evening Star.” Some of the children while pleased with the thought of helping those who are poor and ready to join The Star Club, will want to communicate directly with Santa Claus and to inform that presiding genius of the holiday season exactly what they would like to have in their stockings on Christmas morning. Some of the children have evi- dently learned from experience, poor little things, that the patron saint is not as fa- miliar with their needs and wants as they have been taught to believe. So they con- clude that they will write to him themselves and a number of letters have been received at The Star office addressed to Santa Claus, Zero Land, care of The Star, A perusal of these missives will convince anyone that they are the honest expression of childish hearts. Take, for example, the following: Dear Sandclose I wish that you will bring me somethink for christmustgift., I whont @ magitiantton., And a set fire Sunew., and a shae And my little sitter wont a bady and @ stove and sone disis. And my Mother and Father sumthing to San 1883, \dclose. This one has a variety of wants. Dear Santa I would like you to bring me a Doll house and little doll to go in it and the house furnished nicely, and 2 dozen marbles bring Papa some book, and Mamma watch case Aunt Lina a pair of White kid gloves, and Lillie a wai and chain Neila 2 bisk fig- ures and Papa 1 little bottle of Rose col Mrs. H. a box of Powder and Tom a nice necktie and me a little dinner bell and Christmas tree and fill my stocking with nice things and a slate sponge, and the dools nice and bring me a silver watch chain, and a Doll 18 inches nice, and some picture cards. The writer of the following letter has just begun to learn the use of a pencil. Dear Santa I thought I would write you a few lines to ask you bring me a pair of gloves and an express train soldier set and a gun and drum. The stocking or pair of stockings that this young man had in mind has probably not yet been made: Dear St. Nicholas I w'sh you would put @ gun im my stocking. A hoby-horse, a drum, a boat, a slay, a ball, a sord, a whip, knorr’s Ark, a soldier suit, a horn, a game of ten pins, a tenis bat and bail, a whell barrow, a little bango a box of candy and a lot of nuts and five cents and some pic- tur books, FIRED ONE SHELL. A Target 200 Feet High Escaped Un- touched Owing to a Mistake in Orders Among the passengers who arrived in New York late Monday night from the West Indies was Mr. Frank Creelman, says the New York Herald. Mr. Creelman sailed from New York in the Brazilian cruiser Nictheroy. His duty on board the cruiser was to show the crew of the pneumatic aerial torpedo thrower—or dynamite gun, as it is popularly called—how to work the piece and to teach the officer having charge of the gun all that could be conveyed concern- ing its costruction and manipulation. Mr. Creelman gave a Herald reporter a sketch of life aboard the new war ship un- der its present semi-naval commission. As soon as the Nictheroy was fairly at sea the work of stationing her crew for action began. Her officers were assigned to duty as fol- lor Capt. Baker in command on the bridge. The fighting command was given up wholly to Lieut. Commander Hill, whose station was also on the bridge. In case of venturing into Brazilian harbors the Nicthe- roy will be piloted by Capt. Baker, Whose knowledge of South American waters is un- sually accurate. wcteut. Craven was the ordnace officer, having a general charge of and responsibil- ity for the ship's battery. was at first assigned to the direct command of the two 4-Inch rapid fire 33-pounder Hotchkiss guns forward, but later he took charge of the rapid-fire 55-pounder aft and the adjoining pieces of the secondary battery—-pounders and 1-pounders. Lieut. Brinley commanded the forward aivision, which contained the pneumatic gun and the two 33-pounder Hotchkiss guns. To Lieut. Lowe was given charge of the ammunition supply division. The secondary battery of 6-pounders and l-pounders on the berth deck, and the broad side Howell torpedo tubes were assigned to Lieut. Conway, and the guns in the second- ary battery on the pilot house and midship house were controlled by Lieut. Sparling. Getting Ready for Work. 5 For several days after leaving New York each officer was busy shaking down his men into their places and learning which were the most experienced and best drilled men-o’-wars-men among them. It was necessary also to do a good deal of work on the guns themselvs, as they had been put aboard ship so hastily that much re- mained to be done to make them efficient for sergice. The 63-pounder, it was found, was not supplied with a sight, and Mr. Creelman improvised one out of a piece of wood, which served Its purpose very sat- {sfactorily until the America arrived from New York and turned over the missing sight to the Nictheroy. Sithe pneumatic gun was fitted with a telescopic sight similar to the device invent- ed by Lieut. B. A. Fiske, United States Navy. This sight consists of a telescope at- tached to the port trunnion. Having once set the telescope at such an angle with the axis of the gun as corresponds to the eleva- tion that will give a certain range the of- ficer aiming the plece merely has to keep the gun trained on the object aimed at and fire when the telescope crosshairs are on the object. How the Gun is Sighted. Range tables have been determined by practice or each size of projectile. The dis- tance to which a projectile will be thrown by the pneumatic torpedo thrower has been calculated at 15, 25 and 35 degrees of ele- vation for varying amounts of air pressure admitted from the reservoir into the gun chamber back of the shell. At 15 degrees the range with the standard 200-pound pro- jectile varies between 1,250 and 2,500 yards, according to the air pressure u In firing the Nictheroy’s gun Lieut. Brin- ley had an experienced gunner, formerly in the British navy to manage the elevation. With a range table in hand the gunner noted the elevation necessary to give a range equal to the reported distance of the object to be hit. As the ship approached the object or receded from it the elevation was changed as desired. All that Lieut. Brinley had to do was to keep the gun properly trained on the target and pull the firing lanyard when it bore. Target Practice for Two Days. The Nictheroy went to sea from St. Thom- as on two separate days for target practice. On the first day she visited Sail Rock and made good practice with her powder guns. The 55-pounder was fired with a common shell, and it was seen that the rock scatter- ed where the shell struck. Three shots were fired from the port 33-pounder and several from each of the smaller guns. The prac- tice was very good, and Sail Rock was con- siderably knocked to pieces. Sail Rock, as its name Indicates, resembles a ship under full sail. It appears to be about four hundred feet long and two hun- dren feet high. On the second day of target practice the pneumatic gun was first trained on Sail Rock with a dummy prejectile—that is, a torpedo containing no charge, but ane exactly to resemble a genuine loaded shell. There was a moderate breeze blowing at an angle of about 60 degrees across the line of fire on the left hand gide and a light sea was running. The ship was headed off nearly at right angles with the line of fire, so that the gun was trained nearly on the port beam. This position was the one, of course, in which the roll of the vessel would most affect the accuracy of the firing. The First Shot Fell Short. Lieut. Brinley got the distance by word of mouth from the bridge, and when 2,200 yards was reported he was all ready to fire. fhe dummy made the graceful curve that is characteristic of this gun’s work and plunged downward in a direct line for Sail Rock. It failed to reach the target, how- ever, by fully one hundred yards. Lieut. Brinley explained that ne had fired as the ship was rising from a roll toward the tar- get, and that he had tried to make an al- lowance or the ship's motion between the time of pulling the firing lever and the es- cape of the projectile from the tube. Evi- dently, he said, he had overestimated this time and the corresponding amount that the range would be increased. | After firing this dummy projectile the engines were stopped and the ship drifted along while live torpedo containing 200 pounds of wet gun cotton was roused up out of the hold. By the time the piece was loaded the Nictheroy was heading toward Sail Rock, and starboard helm was given her as she backed away. The rock was soon about a point or two forward of the port beam, but the distance was only about 1,250 yards. The gun had been laid for 2,200 yards, which is considered a desirable fight- ing range. A Shot That Was Out of Sight. Just then Lieut. Commander Hill, on the bridge, shouted to Lieut. Brinley that as soon as the ship reached a distance of 2,200 yards from the rock he could fire. The lieu- tenant misunderstood the executive officer. Thinking that he had been told to fire at once he trained the gun on a black stain { in the rock and pulled the firing lever. As the distance was nearly 1,000 yards short of the supposed distance the projectile took a flyer over the rock, just clearing it on its downward plunge. The line aim was per- ect, but as the torpedo struck on the fur- ther side of the rock no one could tell whether it exploded or not. The fuse was set for a delayed action of one second and a jhalf, and cherefore if the explosion took |place must have been so far below the sur- ace that no noise would have been heard at the distance at which the shell struck. A Wave the Only Evidence. Some observers said that they saw a con- siderable wave break around the edges of Sail Rock just after the falling of the shell, and it was thence inferred that this wave was due to the shell’s explosion. As such a wave might have been caused by an ex- plosion, {f one took place, it was believed abvard the Nictheroy that the explosion had occurred, But, so far as certainty goes, there is none. The fuses failed last February at Port Royal, and there is reasonable doubt whether the present fuse will be any more certain in its action than they were. In tnis case no one saw the shell explode, and the evidence that it did explode is far from conclusive. It seems probable that if the Nictheroy goes into a fight she will have an entirely unknown quantity on her side of rena e rapidity with which the Nictheroy’: crew learned their duties at both rede matic and the powder guns sho’ to be mostly trained men-o’-wars- se0- Fun With the Troliey Current. From the Springfleld Daily Republican, People in the neighborhood of the corner of Main and State streets had some excite- ment yesterday afternoon. A trolley supply wire in some way broke away from the in- sulator and came in contact with the fron pole. The electric fluid soon reached the sidewalk and filled the icy bricks, so that several persons received severe shocks. | _ For a while, as the first victims watched for the ones who might follow, there was }lots of fun. A man would come along, and, as he reached the limits of the electricity’s | force, would stop and look down to see what had struck him. A step forward and an- other severe shock, and he would grow pale, and all sorts of awful things began to rush on him. Dire diseases which began by such awful symptoms, the victim would reason, must be shortly fatal, but soon the laugh of some watchers, or the sight of another vic- tim, would reassure him, and soon the cause was found. But the funniest of all was a little dog, who came running joyously down the street and on to the charmed walk. Then came a howl of wild anguish and surprise, and the dog tried to leave. But he couldn't; the harder he tried the closer he was drawn to- ward the pole. He lay down; worse yet; | every hair formed a wire, as it were, to con- | duct the fluid to his body. At last a desper- jate jerk, and he fell into the gutter, where \he found relief. Soon after the wire was fixed and the fun ceased. ————+0+ |_ Fire started in the hold of the steamsmip | Herman Winter of the Metropolitan steam- | ship line, at her dock at Boston Thursday morning. A great deal of water was pour- ed into her, smothered i after causing $1,500 damages. TO ASSIST MR. MORTON. Career of Mr. Dabney, the New As- sistant Secretary. The appointment of Dr. Dabney as us- sistant secretary of agriculture was @ surprise from the fact that there were forty-eight candidates for the position and not a scrap of paper advocating the appointment of Dr. Dabney was sent to the President. He was selected because the President wanted a southern man, who combined scientific knawledge with a fa- miliarity with the agricultural needs and conditions of the south, and who was also not lacking in business ability. Mr. Morton represents the wheat and corn section of the country, and Mr. Dabney the cotton and tobacco lands. He is a practical, es well as theoretical, farmer; is a well round- ed man; fits the place, and ts an example of the office seeking the man, rather than the man the office. Charles William Dabney, jr., is a native of Hampton-Sydney, Va., Where he was born in 1855, His father, Robert Lewis Dabney, was for many years professor in the Union Theologi: Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, and is now professor of philosophy in the University of Texas. Mr. Dabney, pere, was Stonewall Jack- son’s chief of staff and biographer. Chas. W. Dabney graduated from Hampton-Sid- ney College in 1873, with the degree cf bachelor of arts. After teaching a clas- sical school for one year, he entered the University of Virginia and graduated there in 1877, From 7 to 1878 he was pro- fessor of chemistry and mineralogy in Emory and Henry College, Virginia, and from 1878 to 1880 he was studying chemis- try, physics and mineralogy at Berlin and Goettingen, and received the degree of Ph. D, at the university of the last named city. He filled the position of professor of chem- istry in the University of North Caroliaa, and was elected state chemist for that pine- tree commonwealth. In 1881 he was the di- rector of the North Carolina agricultural ex- periment station at Raleigh, and state chemist of the geological survey and board of heaith. While in Raleigh he published several standard papers on points !n or- ganic and agricultural chemistry, anid a number of bulletins and reports of the experiment station. He was the first to discover the phosphate deposits in North Carolina. He also made explorations for pyrites, and collected the useful minerals of the state for exhibition in the state museum. He represented North Carolina at various expositions, and was elected chief of the department of the government and state exhibits of the New Orieans world’s exposition in 1884-85. He published much lterature on drinking waters, foods, drugs, &c., of North Carolina. Dr. Dabney advocated technical education in various papers and lectures, and was instrumental in the establishment of an industrial school at Raleigh, which has since blossomed irto a college of agriculture and mechanic arts. He was elected by the board of irustees of the University of Tennessee to the presi- dency of that institution in 1887, and has done much to promote its progress in the erection of laboratories and the enlarge- ment of its curriculum. In 1889 he received the degree of LL.D. from Davidson College. He is a member of several German and American chemical societies, the American Institute of Mining Engineers and of the Virginia Historical Society. ——————+2. Cruiser May Be Named Chattanooga. Mayor Ochs of Chattanooga some time ago wrote to Secretary Herbert of the Navy Department requesting that one of the new cruisers be named in honor of that city. A letter received by the mayor from Wash- ington gives indication that the request will be favorably considered. -se0— Criminals’ Bodies for the Doctors. Members-elect of the Ohio general assem- bly have received copies of a circular letter from Dr. J. S. Pyle of Canton, Ohio, urging the enactment of a law appropriating con- demned criminals for medical research. He would have them placed under the influence of opiates, in order that their brains may be laid bare for study and examination in ly- ing form by physiologists, and then pain- lessly killed by opiates. ———_—_- e+ -—___ Knabe Pianos, 817 Pennsylvania avenue. Eugene d’Albert: From fullest conviction and tn one hour the fire was ,I declare them to be the best instruments of America.—Advt, THe GENvIaTS JOHANN HOFP’S .Mitt, THE HIGHEST AWARD MEDAL AND DIPLOMA AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN One dozen bottles without being It exalts the energies, @ true sense a “FLESH Beware of imitations. EXPOSITION, CHICAGO, 1893. give as much strength and nourishment as a cask of ale stimulates nutrition and aids digestion, and is in AND BLOOD MAKER.” ‘The “Genuine” has the Signature of “ Johann Hoff” on the neck label of every bottle. EISNER & MENDELSON CO., Sole Agents, 162 & 154 FRANKLIN ST., NEW YORK. FORGOT EVEN HIS MOTHER. A Californian’s Memory Gone as the Result of a Surgical Operation. From the San Francisco Examiner. George C. Hunter of Oakland has lost his can recall nothing of his past life. mind is a blank. He does not remember his wife or his mother. Though he had a good education he has forgotten how to read or write, and the multiplication table had fled into regions from which he cannot re- call it, He remembers that a face is famil- jar, but that is all. The name of anything about the person he cannot recall. about two inches in width and about four inches in length, was carefully removed and the press- ure upon the brain relieved. It was i seen that the splintered bone had lacerated the membrane of the brain. The doctors then began to cultivate the injured brain and its coverings. The process of granuls- tion has gone on day tire membrane has been restored. The gap in the scalp will now be by the difficult operation which involves the use of er walk about and he js to well. He remembers what is told him, intelligently about everything — since his return to consciousness, but of that he cannot go. ~ a tee Deplorable Pens in Which Malefac- tors Are Locked Up. ernment has none st all. like the Chinese. Moreover, I respect them. But in two details of their national life they merit unqualified condemnation, Their hos- pitals and their prisons are unmitigated na- tional disgraces. The deplorable condition of the Chinese prisons is justified in the national philos- ophy. To the Chinese mind a law is a thing to be obeyed. A law concerns millions and conserves the welfare of millions. It must be held inviolate by the individual, be his whim—his personal bent whatever it may. The Chinaman who disregards any item of the Chinese law becomes @ social leper. Individual tendency, moral fll health, inherited traits—they are taken into ac- count not at all, This is cruel? Yes! But it renders existence possible in the over- density of Chinese population. No Chinaman is “noble” except through personal fitness. There are two exceptions to this rule—two only. The direct dezcena | ants of Confucius have a rank of their own. It is a higt rank. It is respected. But it ves them no power of interference with Sctomal affairs. The descendants of an empefor are never less aorta they have no necessary power. 4 then, in chine, “every man is served accord ing to his deserts. a Bs A Chinese prison is called a “cangue. its outer door is barred with bamboo, an is guarded by petty soldiers or policemen. The “cangue” contains two rooms and two yards. One room and one yard are for men. The other room and yard are for women. The space set apart for women is very much smaller than that for men. B women’s quarters and the men’s quarters are alike in being entirely devoid of any provision for personal comfort or for per- sonal decency. Chinese prisoners are by the government provided with absolutely nothing but the space beyond which they may not pass. If their friends thrust food to them through the bars of the prison fence the law does not ——, Otherwise the prisoners may starve. law does not interpose. I used to take food to the Shanghai prison yards. I was not jeered at. A Chinese; crowd is, I believe, in bie of jeering at a woman. But 1 was demned for it. and a high Chinese official remonstrated with my husband. I used to buy Chinese food at a cheap chow-chow shop, and, when I reached a prison fence, hire a coolie to feed the poor, starving wretches. I did not quite care to feed them myself. And it was quite im ible for them to feed them- selves. No Chinese prisoner can reach his own mouth, for his neck is invariably lock- ed in a board, which is about three feet square. It is very heavy and galls the neck. It blisters or osgifies the shoulders. The “pig-tail” drags heavily over it, and pulls the poor enlocked head uncomfortably to one side. It prevents the hands from lift- ing rice or water to the craving mouth, and from brushing from the ti nose one of the myriad insects that infest the prisons and the prison yards of China. ———+ e+ —_____ To Outwit the Dynamiter. From the London Daily News. Our Paris correspondent tells us that chemistry is offering a means to oblige would-be dynamiters to betray themselves should they try to carry about hand gren- ades and cartridges. It is to mix dynamite with certain salts that give out a stench and to plunge cartridges into a solution of these chemicals. The unless with leather gloves which had boos taken off with great care, would be at once detected by the smell. Nature warns us in this manner of the presence of mice, foxes and musk rats, of wild felines and of differ- ent species of snakes. ——-o-—____ Police Saved im From Violence. Hugh Higgins, proprietor of a restaurant at 209 South 7th Street, St. Louis, was arrested Wednesday night on a charge of criminal assault on three girls, all under eleven years of age, whom he enticed into his place. He is fifty-four years old. The Vicinity of the restaurant was a scene of wild excitement, and the prisoner was hur- ried away to prevent violence. ———— +e. Has Confidence in Mitchell. “Pony” Moore, father-in-law of Charley Mitcheli, will start from England for the United States on January 4 to witness the fight at Jacksonville, Fla. between | ene and Corbett. He will back Mitch- ell to the amount of £5,000. jut the ti Tak tf Hy 5 i i i E : i = i t : i gee ae i ie & F g ait g pies g i i & gelatine dynamite safely packed trafls of the rock, # request to readily acceded. The hour was o'clock on Saturday, and shortly that time thousands of people from beris and adjacent 2 narvon and other towns—took up ad tageeous positions in the neighborhood. Punctually at the appointed time Mrs. Assheton Smith fired the time fuse, and at 5 5 5 3 a E i ef ist in s pessing buret of sunshine, be- — eo ominously and the loose clattered and finally he abyss below with deafen’ uproar, which, mingling with the thun: of the exp! dyna- there great gap, in which glistened here End there pinnacles of splintered rocks, ————+e2+—____ American Girls and Titles. er, especially if he be a nobleman bankrupt in purse and health, she must be resigned te sacrifice her independence, have her Amer- Panton of man. Of course, there are Amori- alier of a few months before has into a selfish, unsympathetic from whom she cant neither expect nor consideration. He seldom fails to ing but names to him. remon- same ine eo gee of Se wah Se er er ican, evokes little genuine sympathy in for eign society. eee —- Not at All New to Him. From the Chicago Tribune. “This is a photograph of my brother,” sai@ the young woman, who was showing the family album to the visitor from the far west. “Poor Jack! He's in trouble et col- lege. He's fond of horses, and has wasteg so much time training his team of bays that the college authorities have suspended him. Did you ever hear the like?” “Why, yes,” said young Mr. Lariat. “It's a common thing in Arizona for men to—to get suspended, you know, on account of too much fondness for horses.” i