Evening Star Newspaper, September 1, 1894, Page 13

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1894—EIGHTEEN PAGES. 13 — PLANISPHERE FOR SEPTEMBER. ‘This chart shows the principal stars now visib le at 9 p.m. enter, the zenith. SKIES IN SEPTEMBER a Some of the Principal Luminaries in the Heavens. HOW TO FIND THE Grecian and Indian Stories of the Constellations. | | ae THE INTERESTING PLANETS} Written for The Evenia; Star. One of the most marked of the north cir- cum-polar constellations is Cassiopeia, known also as the Lady in the Chair, of simpty as the Chair. At about ¥ o clock this censtellation may now be seen to the right ct the Pole star, and at about the Same altitude as that star above the nort- | zon. ‘The arrangement of its five brighter | stars in the form of a rather b-oad etter | | | > W renders it easy to idenuty. Directly beneath Cassiopeta and nearly midway between it and the horizon may be seen a star of the second magnitude, which marks the teginning of a line of five stars, | of nearly the same splendor and about the | same distance apart, clirving upward to- wards the right, and terminating in a rec- | tangular figure completed by tne addition of two other stars still farthe: to the right. The whole group of seven stars forms a jarge dipper like figure, of rather more than twice ie rength of the Great Lippe: im the Ursa Major. ‘The frst and lowermost of these stars belongs to Perseus, the next three, to Andromeda; the remaining three, to Pegasus. Above and to the left of Cas- | stopeia is Cepneus. ‘bese Mve constella- tons, or rather the personages from whom they were named, are associated with one another in mythological story, and the as- terisms themsefves are, probably, of a very ancient origin. | Grecian and Indian Legends. Evwlence of the great antiquity, not oaly | @f these constellations, but also of the story | associated with them, was found by Lieut. Wilford India. “In order,” he says, “to | prove by every species of evidence the iden- tity of the Grecian and Indian fables, I one | right requested my pundit, who is a learn- ed astrologer, to show me among the stars ation of Antarmada, and he in- ich I had to show him first as an as- with which I was acquainted. He sm afterward brought me a very rare and Wonderfully curious book in Sanscrit on | the “Constellations out of the Zodiac, and with @ aelineation of Capeya, or Casyapi, seat i with a lotus flower in ‘her hand, of haimed with the fish near her, holding the head of a monster, which he had slain in battle, drop- ping blood, with st.akes instead of hair, ac- cording to the explanation given in the book Cassicpeia is always represented seated im a chair, which is sometimes placed on a raised dais. She is drawn either in a very airy costume, more befitting a nymph than a queen, or in full, flowing robes, according to | the fancy of the artist, and she holds her | arms raised, the hands bent inward, prob- ably as she held them when she made her | impious boast. Cepheus appears to have been of small ac- count as a King, and he is equally unin- teresting as a constellation. None of the stars im this asterism is above the third | magnitude. | The body of Perseus, as the figure is| drawn on the chart, is marked by a notice- able Y-shaped group of stars—the central | ene of which is the star already noted—| which a strong imagination can shape into a human figure, and which may have been the original of the constellation, though it now forms but a small portion of it. Per- seus carries in his left hand the head of Medusa, in the forehead of which stands | the star Algol, the “blinking demon” of ihe | Arab astronomers. Variable Algol. Algol is an interesting variable star. After shining for about two and a half days | as a star of the second magnitude, It begins to lose its splendor, and in the space of | about four hours it fails to the fourth mag nitude. It then begins slowly to brighten, and in another four hours it has recovered | its usual splendor, thus to remain for an- other period of two and a half days. The now accepted explanation of this singular | behavior of the star is that it has a dark | satellite revolving round it, which period- | ically intervenes between us and it, and cuts off a portion of its light. A “mini- mum” of Algol will occur Monday evening at about 9 o'clock, eastern standard time. One who will look for the star at that hour | in the position shown on the planisphere— note tne triangle which Algol makes with the bright star in Perseus, and that in the left foot of Andromeda—will find here two stars of about the fourth magnitude, some two or three degrees apart. The more northerly of the Uwo is Algol. By midnight this star will be found far outshining its humble companion, and quite as bright as the two stars with which it forms a tri- angte. Andromeda and P. us. Andromeda is represented in a recumbent posture, manacied by each of her out- stretched hands to an imaginary rock. The constellation is well marked with stars and is easily located. The star in the left foot —Gamma Andromedae—is a beautiful col- ored double star, easily separated with a small telescope. Its components are orange | and green. The position of the famous nebula is indicated on the planisphere by | a small circle. It is just above the outer- | Most of the three stars—two of them of the | fourth magnitude—vhich form the “girdle.” | An opera gi 1 show it distinctly as a | Febulous star. The winged horse Pegasus—said to have mounted to the skles of his own accord and with his own wings, after having cast his rider, Bellerophon—is a rather fanciful constellation: still, its location can easily be made out by means of its three brighter stars. These stars in connection with that in the head f Andromeda fort large re, known as the square of . sterism easy to recognize when once noted. With Queer Vames. The principal constellations now above the horizon toward the the whale, just rising, the southeast; Aquarius. Capricorn, half a goat ster; puth ar tail for the ¥ the Southern Fish, in Its circumference Is the horizon; Its To compare with the heavens, hold it overhead. which is Fomathaut, a star of the first magnitude; Sagittarius, the archer; Scorpio, just setting; Ophiuchus, the serpent hoider, and lastly the writhing serpent itself. Here is a fine field in which the imagination can revel—with the ald of a chart. In midheavens, toward the west, may be seen the constellation Hercules, known an- cier tly also as Engonasin, the Kneeler. The sketch of him given in the planisphere was drawn from life, 1. e., from the stars them- selves, not from a’ chart. Directly overhead is the Northern Cross, known astronomically as Cygnus, the Swan. The Beginning of Autumn. On the 22d of this month, at 8:20 p.m., Washington mean time, the sun will “enter Libra,” according to the almarac, and au- tumn will begin. That is, the sun in its ap- parent annual round of the heavens—caused by the earth's revolution in its orbit, and performed in a direction from west to east —will then cross the celestial equator, and its course during the ensuing six months will be in the southern hemisphere. The path which the sun would appear to pursue among the stars, could they be seen in the daytime, is plctted on the planisphere. This path is known astronomically as the eclip- tic. It runs along the center of the zodiac— the broad “animal girdle” which forms the highway of the sun, moon and planets—and is divided by the twelve zodiacal “signs” into twelve equal parts. The signs now above the horizon at 9 p.m. are marked on the planispher> with their familiar cabalis- tic symbols. Named in order from west to east they are Scorpio—a part only—Sagitta- rius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and a part of Taurus. They bear the same names as the constellations through which the ecliptic passes, and formerly coincided with them. But owing to the fact that the equinoxes—the two points at which the sun | crosses the equator—are not stationary, but are slowly sliding along the ecliptie from east to west, the whole series of signs bas in the past 2,000 years been displaced some thirty degrees toward the west, so that the sun now enters each sign a fuil month be- fore ic enters the constetlation of the same name. ‘The Moon's Path. Our planisphere for this month shows also the moon's path and the position of the moon at 9 o'clock on every evening when she is above the horizon at that hour. The numbers indicate days of month. It will be seen that on the Lith the moon will be near her “ascending node”—the. point at which she crosses the sun's path from south to north—and also near the vernal equinox, where the sun's path crosses the equator. |The sun will then be at the same distance from the autumnal equinox, on the north side of the equator, and will therefore be at the exact opposite point in the heavens. The moon will be “full,” and since she will be very close to the sun's path an eclipse will take place. It will be only partial, however, only about one-fourth of the moon's diameter being immersed in the earth's shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout the eastern and central parts of the United States. The hour of the moon's entering the shadow will be about 10.50, Washington mean time, varying a few min- utes with the locality. The Pinnets. Mercury will be an evening star after the 3d of the month, but will be too near the sun to be visibie. Venus is still a morning star, about an hour and half in advance of the sun. Mars is an evening star and is above the Lerizon at 9 p.m. He is in the constellation Aries (sign Taurus), about ten degrees south of the pair of stars which mark the Ram's head. The planet exceeds in brilllancy a star of the first magnitude, and no one who will look for it in the place indicated can fail to identify it. Jupiter now rises soon after midnight, and before the close of the month will have be- come an evening sta~. Saturn has practically closed his season for this year, setting before’s o'clock. Ura- nus sets an hour later. Neptune, a short distance east of the star Aldebaran, rises at about 11 p. m. ———— Will China Be Rent by Revolt? From the Boston Transcript. The recent reports of the danger of re- bellion in China are similar to the predic- tions of previous years, and in all prob- ability they are just as unreliable. In 1876 China was full of rumors of plots and in- sarrections, but they all vanished, or rather diminished to the ordinary amount--for the empire is never wholly free from such “agitating” gossip, as the mandarins call it. Sooo after the news spread over China that there might be war with Russia, be- cause China refused to ratify the treaty made by her embassador, Chung How, ru- mors grew up like mushrooms, and the prophets of coming revolution’ scattered their predictions with great liberality. This was in IS8L and I882—before China had telegraph lines to all the chief cities and important strategic positions. In one large city a plot was actually discovered, and like the gunpowder plot of England, it came to light only just in time to enable the mandarins to avert the danger. Li Han Chang, the brether of Li Hung Chang, was the governor general of the two provinces where the conspiracy was hatched, and he lost no time in hunting down the plotters. As it was an urgent matter, he did not wait for instructions trom Pekin, but beheaded cver fifty of the accused in less than a week, aad soon the crisis was |. The rebellion was nipped in the bud through the treachery of one of its agents. A serious insurrection broke out in Man- churia in 1891 through tke lust and villainy of a military mandarin. For a time the gover! ment was alarmed at the success of the rebels, but Li Hung Chang sent a large force armed with foreign rifles, and then the revolt was crushed—not, however, till over 10,000 men had lost their lives. An- other conspiracy was discovered in 1892 in the Yangtse valley, and, though resolute measures may have been necessary, the whole foreign community in China were shocked at the horrid barbarity with which the viceroy of Nankin stamped It out. The fact is, there are many secret soci- eties in China always waiting for an op- rortunity to rise up and throw off the yoke of the present Manchur, or, as some call it, the Tartar dynasty. Hence, as soon as there is the least prospect of war, rumors are rife that rebellion is coming. Will it come now that China is actually at war with Japan? Probably not, but if it should, there is less chance than ever of achieving success. The network of lines by which the government can forward patches all over the empire, the improved condition of the army, the possession of foreign rifles and all military requisites, render it: much easier for the ruling powers to maintain their position than it was in past years. It is true that the reigning dynasty has | dene far more for the Chinese people than the tite nw previous native dynasty did, and the and cfticial classes—who have im- power and influence in the country— hav thing to risk and little prospect of any 1 advantages from a rebellion. li-nce, the prospect of insurrection in China and th ances of its success are ul indeed. Referm is the word for ss¢ people, not revolution. NATIONAL EXHIBITS Some Recent Changes in Uncle Sam’s Great Museum. PRESSING NEED FOR ANOTHER BUILDING The Men Who Devote Their Lives to This Work. SCIENCE MADE GRAPHIC —— Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. ERMANENT RESI- dents of the capital, most of them, prob- ably seldom visit the National Museum, mainly because, like other points of inter- est about the city, of its convenient prox- imity. When they do inspect its contents it is, in most cases, on the occasion of the presence in the city of some out-of- town friend in neea of experienced guidance. Should such residents, depending on pre- viously acquired knowledge, give directions concerning the location of some exhibits in the museum the visitor would be misled and the resident would find even himself, after a time, somewhat of a stranger in the big building so frequently receiving new ob- jeets of interest. Changes of arrangement are periodically mad», and old employes say there is searcely any prominent object other than the great cast of the Capitol statue in the center of the museum that has not been altered in location. Some Official Change Those who have not recertly gone into the “chapel” of the Smithsonian building to enjoy the beautiful corals there displayed will be pleased or otherwise cn their next visit to find two large cases containing a superb aggregation of “horrible” snukes, and also a fine lot of turtles in great va- riety. Both snakes ard turtles are ar- ranged amid “natural” surroundings, and the effect is quite lifelike. Some of the rattlesnakes are premium specimens on the score of size. Official charges at the museum come about slowly, but still a few innovations have oeen made the past summer. F. W. True is now entitled executive curator, but this Is merely a nominal improvement upon curator-in-charge. A. Howard Clark has been transferred to the office of Sec. retary Langley, and in his place the hii torical relics and the printing oflice are looked after by R. Edward Earll, who had acted as the museum’s world’s fair agent. The snakes and their learned curator, Dr. Stejneger, have been moved from the south tower of the Smithsonian to the mu- seum building, and the bottled worms of the department of helminthology have been taken from the museum to the Smithson- ian. Dr. Stiles of the Department of Ag- riculture Is the honorary curator of this branch of the museum's work. Since Mr. Walcott was made director of the geclogi- cal survey the powers of his assistant at the musetm, Charles Schuckert, have been amplified, but the former retains his rela- tion of honorary curator of invertebrate paleontology, in the same way that the removal to Chicago of Prof. Holmes and Mr. Watkins does not affect them in their respective museum capacities of honorary curators of aboriginal pottery and trans- portation. The natioral herbarium has been given quarters on the east balcony. for the ac- commodation of geod part of the bo- tanical specimens under Mr. Coville’s care at the Agricultural Department. = Need of More Room. In many parts of the building the critical visitor is impressed with something of awkwardness and even disorder in the dis- posal of exhibits. A more deliberate in- spection will show this to be the inevitable consequence of the crowded condition of the place. The increasing demand for room is constantly adding urgency to what Sec- retary Langely wrote four years ago, “that unless more space is provided the develop- ment of the government collection, which is already ‘partly arrested, will be almost completely stopped.'” Another building as large as the present structure could be filled with material now held in storage, and “it has become necessary to decline many of- fers of collections for want not only of ex- hibition space, but even of storage room where they may be temporarily cared for. Osher institutions are becoming more and more active in the quest of material, and possessing the advantage, easily secure what should remain in the care of the gov- ernment. Donors generally feel this to be so, and the greater part of the matter that is given for public exhibition would go to the National Museum were its officers able to provide exhibition space. The growth of the museum fiom the start has been un- precedented in the history of museums, and so vigorous that only a year had passed after the occupancy of the new buildings in 1882 that the board of regents of the Smithsonian advised Congress to erect an- other. The census of material in 1882 showed about 193,000 specimens Ten years raised the number to 3,028,- 4. This year is about 3,500,000. Accessions come from all parts of the world, and from many sources. Be- sides the steady stream of donations, a great amount comes from the work of the scientific staff in the field. Then every United States consul is a collecting agent for the Smithsorian, and the museum ts the repository for the matter gathered by the executive departments. Over 20,000 North American mammal specimens (not counted In the museum census) from the mammal division of the Department of Agriculture alone, and are contributed to the study series stored away in dark draw- ers, and will ultimately go to the museum as its property. The specimens in the cases preserved for study largely outnumber those in view. Stacks of boxes filled with fossil plants, largely from the geological survey, incumber the south balcony—dis- play is out of the qrestion, though not ur- gently desirable. The attendance at the museum on ordi- nary occasiors, runs from 500 to 1,500. Dur- ing the Pythian gathering it passed 6,000. Three years ago a bill was favorably re- ported by the House committee (though it made no further progress) providing for the erection of a much-needed structure to be located on the other side of the Smithsonian building and across the street from the Agricultural Department grounds. It was to cost about $500,000, to cover over six acres of ground and afford three times the exhibition and office room of the present building, which eost $315,000. The relations between the museum and Smithsonian are intimate, but each is a dis- tinct entirety. The museum is a national interest, a workshop and repository of ma- terial. The institution 1s, in a sense, an in- ternational office for the organization of the scientific work of the whole world, and was, happily enough, brought into being by the gift in trust of a citizen of one great nation to the government of another. The Smithsonian is largely sustained from the proceeds of the Smithson and minor funds, while the museum is supported by congres stonal appropriations, which amounted this year to about $180,000 for all purposes. The Directing Minds. As the museum is under the care of the Smithsonian, Secretary Langley is the head of both establishments, though Dr. G. Brown Goode, the assistant secretary, has more immediate charge of the museum. F. W. True, the executive curator, has prac- tical charge of administrative affairs. As a scientist Dr. Goode is eminent in many flelds, and the visitor at the muscum will look with greater interest upon the superb collection of musical instruments in the north hall (surpassed by only two or three in the world) to know that it has been de- veloped under Dr. Goode’s personal care. He te said to have expended inuch of his private means toward {ts advancement. Mr. True is the widely known curator of mam- mals. His specialty is the study of the cetacea and other marine forms of the class. Prof. Otis T. Mason, the ethnologist, and president of the Washington Anthropo- legical Society, is of the curators one of the best known to the public. The work of Prof. Thomas Wilson, the curator of pre- historic anthropology at th Smithsonian, is closely connected with that of the depart- it ment of ethnology. 'The other salaried curators are Frederick A. Lucas, compara- tive anatomy: Robert Ridgway, birds; Dr. Leonard Stejneger, reptiles; George P. Mer- rill, geology; S. R. Koehler, zraphic arts, and R. Edward Earll, historical relics and animal products. The honorary curators of the depart- ments and sections aré: Prof. W. H. Holmes of the Field Columbian Museum, aboriginal pottery; Paul Haupt, oriental aniiquities; Captain C. E. Bendire, oology; Dr. Tarle- ton H. Bean of the fish commissfon, fishes; Prof. O. C, Marsh of' Yale, vertebrate fos- sils; Wm. H. Dall of the geological survey, rollusks; Pref. C. V. Riley, late of the De- partment of Agriculture, insects; Dr. C. W. Stiles of the same department, helminthol- ogy: Richard Rathbun of the fish commis- sion, marine invertebrates; Charles A. Wal- cott, director of the geological survey, in- vertebrate paleontology; Dr. Charles A. White of the survey, mesozoie fossils; Prof. Lester F. Ward of the survey, fossil botany; Frederick V. Coville of the Department of Agriculture, botany; Prof. F. W. Clarke of the survey, minerals; Prof. W. O. Atwater, Middleton, Conn., foods; Bernard E. Fer- now, Department of Agriculture, forestry; J. Elfreth Watkins of the Chicago Museum, transportation and engineering; J. W. Col- lins, Chicago, naval architecture; William C. Winlock, exchanges and physical ap- Paratus. Dr. Frank Baker is the acting manager of the National Zoological Park, which is under the Smithsonian's control, and Wm. Palmer is the chief taxidermist. The work of Thomas W. Smillie, the chief photog- rapher, is of scientific as weil as artistic importance in its connection with the deli- cate physical researches conducted by Prof. Langley and the astro-physical observatory. The business details of the two establish- ments are in the hands of William C. Win- lock, the chief clerk at the Smithsonian, and W. V. Cox, the chief clerk at the museum. Specimens sent to the museum or Smithsonian pass first into the care of S. C. Brown, the registrar, by whom they are as- signed to the appropriate curator. The cor- respondence cencerning them will be in the hands of R. I. Geare, head of the division of correspondence and reports. eee PRINCE OF WALES AS A HOST. How One Dined and Slept Aboard the Royal Yacht Osborne. A writer in a London weekly describes a night on the Prince of Wales’ yacht. The unidentified guest says: “A telegram from Sir Francis Knollys, saying that the Prince of Wales invited me to dine and sleep on board the Osborne, took me to Cowes one Friday afternoon in the yachting season. “It was a beautiful day. A fresh breeze was blowing from the west, and the flags of the yachts, the guardship, the Victoria and Albert, and the Osborne, flew stiffly from their respective mast: Reaching Cowes at 5 o'clock, I went to the hotel in the first instance to get a cup of tea and a little rest after my journey from town. I falled to learn what time was the dinner hour on board the Osborne, but I arranged for a boat to take me on board at 7 p.m. “Assuming that dinner was at 8 or 8:30, this would give me ample time to dress. To dress! Ah! that was the question. The thought suddenly struck me that I had heard that the guests of the Prince of Wales, when afloat, are expected to attire themselves in yachting jackets of a special pattern. “I think I had beén told that the prac- tice dated from the time when the prince visited India in the Serapis. At all events, I had no such garment, and there was no time to procure it. At 7 o'clock I embarked with my portmanteau in the wherry I had engaged. “What ship, str?’ Said the boatman. “I told him. In a fewiminutes we were alongside. The Osborne -is a comfortable paddleboat of about 400 tons. She is paint- ed a dark blue, picked out with gold and white. An electric launch was alongside. I scrambled up the companion and was greeted by Capt. Milne, the commander. The Prince Was Gracious. “The prince was not yet on board, and to the popular captain of, the royal yacht I confided my difficulty about costume. He confirmed the impression I had gained that on board the Osborne ordinary evening dress is discarded in favor of a marine gar- ment. Just then his royal highness came on board, and was saluted by the officer on watch and the captain. “Entering into conversation with me, the prince was good enough to excuse the de- ficiency in my toilet, for which I apologized. The Osborne's deck is carpeted and covered with an awning. Comfortable lounges and deck chairs are scattéred about, and there is a strat ge blending of the smartness of a man-o'-war with the luxury of a yacht. In a short time I was shown to my cabin, a most comfortable siateroom, hung with a pretty chintz of an exquisite freshness. ‘The P. and ©. and the Cunard Company have larger cabins, but none so prettily and compactly arranged. The steward brought me all I wanted, and I was soon ready for dinner. Entering the drawing room below deck, while awaiting the assembly of the company, I bad leisure to notice the lovely flowers and exquisite taste of the decora- tions. Beautiful water-color drawings of fair scenes In southern waters adorned the walls or bulkheads, and but for the sloping heel of the mizzenmast rising through the floor there was nothing to tell that we were | attoat. A Brilliant Dinner. “In a shore time every one was assem- bled, and, the dinner being announced, the Duke of Cornavght led the Prince of Wales to the dining saloon on deck. Some twenty guests were present, and a beautiful sight was presented when all were seated at table. Lovely fruits and flowers graced the board. Beautiful ladies anl famous men in the highest spirits surrounded it. The glass sides to the saloon were withdrawn, and we sat at dinner in the midst of a fairy scene. Already some of the yachts had begun thetr illuminations. The town of Cowes and the quay were gay with colored lights. Beautiful music was being discoursed from the upper deck. After din- ner and cigars, the electric launches were ordered alongside, and we were all con- veyed to the Royal Yacht Squadron head- quarters, in order to gaze on the fireworks in ease and comfort. The work of trans- porting the whole company was carried out with the greatest ease and comfort in a few moments, each guest being told off to a boat. On’ landing at the squadron boatslip, we were conducted to the balcony of the clubhouse, where the fireworks be- gan with the firing of the gun. It was a beautiful night, and the scene could not be matched by any country except Eng- land. Those of us who were to sleep on board were conveyed to the Osborne in the same way we had come. We arrived on board after midright, when some sand- wiches and aerated waters, with perhaps a slight admixture of good old Scotch whisky, were acceptable. The prince stayed up to the last, the life and soul of the part “In the morning a cup of tea was brought to the cabin by the steward, and at 9:30 breakfast was servel in the beautiful dining saloon on deck. The air was fresh, and the Uttle ripple against the side of the royal yacht was a pleasant sound. The scene by daylight was perhaps even more entrancing than the fairy fireworks of the night before, and a hundred yachts were tripping their anchors preparatory to a start. The prince enters. We alf rise and remain standing until he is seated, then continue our break- fast. After the meal a few brief words ac- complish_ my courtebus, dismissal, and I embark for Cowes, én route back to town, not altogether sorry, that my visit, pleas- ant as it was, is over.” | nein nite The Strongest Crentures. From Pearson's Weekly: | What living creatdre is possessed of the greatest bodily strength in proportion to its size? This honor must be divided be- tween the cockchafer, the hive bee and the flea. It is rather difficult to apply a test to prove which particular insect among the borers, the jumpers and cerriers is the strongest, but there is no question that in proportion to their size insects undoubtedly possess the greatest strength among living creatures, The flea can jump a foot high, more than 100 times its own length, and taking its average jump as thirty’ times its own length, it is as if a man jumped as high as the gallery of the monument. The spring of the tiger and the leap of the kangaroo are insignificant when compared with th Plateau, in testing the strength of insec by the weight they can raise, found the smaller ones relatively stronger than the larger ones. A cockchafer was strong enough to lift % times its own weight, a small hive bee 23.5 times the weight of itself. Judged by this standard, there is nothing comparable to it among other in- sects or among the larger animals, and it may be safely asserted that these insects divide honors between them, for though boriag insects pierce the hardest wood, it is by the wonderful adaptation of their boring instrument rather than by abnor- mal strength. A GENUINE GHOST STORY HOW A VIRGINIA GENTLEMA WAS ONCE BADLY SCARED. pe Written for The Evening Star. WAS NEARLY frightened whitenair- ad once,” said an old Virginia gentleman to a Star reporter,““by a circumstance that was nearer the super- aaturaé than any that had ever happened to my knowledge. I had never before in my life believed that the ghosts of the depart- ed revisited the Glimpres of the moon, and,” the old gentleman continued, “if you gentlemen” (there were three others in addition to the representative of The Star in the party), “if you gentlemen want to hear it I'll give it. I'm garrulous tonight, anyhow,” he added. It was a sociable quartet that was being entertained by this hospitable Virginian. The welcome to hig country home had been fervent and sincere, and after. a bountiful supper, in which hot biscuit, fried chicken with cream gravy and Icvely honey fresh from the hive tempted the appetite, we were on the wide porch reposing in comfortable rocking chairs, and all of us smoking pipes. Certainly' We all wanted to hear of any spiritual manifestations that had beset our friend. He received general assurance of that, and he told his thrilling story in a manner that interested his guests deeply. The Ghost Story “Before the war,” he began, “I lived just about five miles from here. I had a friend living in the neighborhood. Parson A— he was called, though he was never a mem- ber of any church, in fact, his presence at meeting was infrequent. His reverence, however, for religious subjects, or perhaps, more marked was it for religious people and his respect for their opinions, got for him the soubriquet of ‘Parson.’ My affection for him was very sincere, as is my regard for his memory. The one thing that I never could reconcile to his views was his absolute belief that there had been cases, and were even then, when the dead came back upon earth and manifested their pres- ence to those whom they loved. He was a devotee to Shakespeare and had respect for the playwright’s ghosts and witches. Well, the Parson—I speak of him in this | way reverently and _respectfully—some years before the war moved away from here into the northwestern part of the state. He was fairly well-to-do, owned a number of ‘blacks,’ treated them like the Virginia gentleman he was, and had their warm affection. He owned some fine horses and prided himself upon them, his nice wagons and his excellent gravel roads. My friend began to decline in health after he went away. I visited him often and attend- ed to considerable business for him, and at the different times I was with him I noticed anent his failing health. The Parson's Promine. “He knew it was failing, and that rapid- ly, and one evening he said to me suddenly, without any reference to his condition: ‘Joe, if I die before you and I can—mind you, if I can—I will come back from the shadowy bourne and reveal to you my presence on earth.’ Ten days after that he was laid away in a little graveyard in the village near where he had lived. That was tn the month of March, two years be- fore the war. In the following September I had business in that part of the state and stopped at the house of my old friend to pass the night, having adv'sed the fam- ily of my intention to do so. I arrived about 8 o'clock in the evening, and not for one second during my journey—and I was two days making it, going on horsetack— could I get out of my mind my old friend's declaration that if he could he would, after death, make known to me his presence on | earth. It did not exactly make me uncom- fortable; but I remembered it, that was all. When I arrived I was met by old Parker, one of the servants, who was glad to see me, and took charge of my horse. He seemed uneasy, and said he wanted to talk to me; so after I had grected the family and taken supper I went out and found the old fellow waiting near the stable. Does You Believe in Shadders? “The first thing he said “Mars Joe, does you believe in shadders. “ “What do you m:sn by shadows, Parker?” said I. “‘Ghoses,” he plumped out, and the word gave me a cold thrill, for it b zht back all the thoughts of what the Parson had said and that had encompassed me on my journey “I ridiculed Parker, even though he had made me feel uncomfortable. I told “him not to be a fool and that he was old enouch to know there never was a ghost. Dut Parker was not to be convinced. He had never seen one himself, but nearly ev ether darkey on the place had imagined that he had seen the spirit of the Parson at midnight wandering among his wagons about the barn. After my interview with Parker I returned to the house. There was company there taking up the spare rooms and I, not being a stranger, was to rest for the night on a lounge in the sitting room. It was nearly midnicht when I was bidden good night and dm: n. T had hardly become composed when I heard the faint tinkle of a clock chime 12. It seemed the saddest striking of a clock I ever listen- ed to. I kept perfectly quiet and was get- ting sleepy, when T heard a strange sound. It was like the turning of a wheel on the even gravel paths that the ‘Parson’ always had kept in such good order. Tt stopped and turned again and then began revolving very rapid T jumped up 1 the noise stopped instantly. tw Puzzled. “T had ate a hearty supper and thought T must have fallen asleep and ha’ the right- mare, so I laid down agaia. T had st quieted my nerves when that wheel turned around again. 1 could hear the wagon coming along like lghtning on the gravel; road, and T thought it must have been just in front of the house, so rap.dly did it see: to run. T at once jumped to the window. Before T could open the shutter the sound ceased and the y again as quiet as a tomb. In a cold iration I pushed open the rT. I expected to see my dead friend driving one of his wag- one over, thouch T felt he would not harm me. I needed no light, for the luster of the September harvest moon rivaled in {ts brightness the noon-day sun. I went out to the barn. There were the wagons standing on the gravel walk as T had seen them early in the evening, and the scene was one grand picture of peace and quietness. An apotheosis of calmness. T didn't know but what T was losing my senses, but I went hack to rest, if T could, and, to my horror. gain, just I became quiet, came that nd of wheels crunching on the gravel. This was more than mortal could bear, and T ect up_and Nt the lamp. I sat it on the table and Mstened, but there was no nois: then, and T became thorouchly frichtened. “On the wall back of my lounge hurg one of those squirrel cages, with a tin house and cylinder outlet, and In that cage was a timid but very Hvely squirrcl, who came cut every t the place was quiet and took gymn. ereise in the cylinder. You have prot all seen such a per- formance and can understand how like to the turning of wheels upon a gravel path it could be conjured into seeming. Every time I rose and made a noise the squirrel retreated Into the house. But, oh, how ri Heved I was when I solved the mystery. How is that for a genuine ghost story, said the v Was just as geauine all agreed that any ghost ste Well, come the house,” said the host, “and we'll deal with spirits of another order and then we'll all go to bed and dream of ghosts—if we want to.” tutional remeds when yo Do wot be i The genuits & MENDELSON om every bot t sparen ee ee a ee ee The Achievements of Medical Science far More Wonderful than the Magic of the East. The Remarkable Experience of Post Mas- ter Woodson, of Panama, Mo.—For Ten Years a Cripple—To-day a Well and Hearty Man. (From the Kansas City Times.) The people of Rich Hill, Mo. and vieintty, have recently been startled by a seeming mir- acle of healing. For years one of the best known men in Bates and Vernon counties has been Mark M. Woodson, now postmaster at Panama, and brother of @®State Inspector of Mines, C. C. Woodson, of this city. The people of Rich Hill, where he formerly resided, and of his present home, remember well the bent form, misshapen almost from the semblance of man, which has painfully bowed its head haif toearth and labored snail-like across the walks season after season, and when one day last month it straightened to its full height, threw away the heavy butt of cane which for years had been itsonly support from total help» lessness, and walked erect, firmly, unbesitat- ingly about the tivo cities, people looked and wondered, The story of the remarkable case has become the marvel of the two counties. Exactly as Mr. Woodson told it toa Times re- porter, it 1s here published: “For ten years I have suffered the torments of the damned and have been a useless invalid; today Lam a well and hearty man, free from almost every touchof pain. I don’t think man ever suffered more acute and constant agony than Ihave since Iss, Therheamatism started then in my right knee, and after weeks of suffering in bed I was at last relieved suifi- ciently to arise, but it was only to gct about on crutches for five years, the ailment having setiled in the joint. Despite constant treat- ment of the most eminent physicians the rheu- matism grew worse, and for the last four years 1 have been compelled to go about bent half toward the ground. In the winter of 1890-91, after the rheumatism had settled Into its most chronic form, I went to Kansas City upon ad- vice of my brother, and for six weeks I was treated in one of the largest and best known dispensaries of that city, but without the slightest tmprovement, Before I came home I secured a strong galvanic battery, this I used for months with the same result. In August, 1892, I went to St. Louis, and there conferred with the widely known Dr. Mudd of hospital practice fame, and Dr. Kale of the city hospital. None of them would take my case with any hope of affording me more than temporary re- lief, and sol came home, weak, doubled with pain, helpless and despondent. About this time my attention was called to the account of a remarkable cure by Dr. Wil- liams’ Pink Pills for Pale People of locomotor ataxia, rheumatism and paralysis. I ordered some of the pills asan experiment. When I began to take them, the rheumatism had devei- oped intoa phase of paralysis; my leg from the thigh down was cold all the time and could not be kept warm. In a short time the pills Were gone, and so was the cane. I was able to attend to the duties of my office, to get about @s a welland strong man. I was free from pain and I could enjoy a sound and restful night's sleep, something I had not known for ten years, To-day am practicatly, and, I firmly believe, permanently cured of my terrible and agonizing ailment. No magician of the Far Eastever wrought the miracie with his wand that Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills did for me.” To verify the story beyond all question of doubt Mr’ Woodson made the following affi- davit: STATE OF MissouRt, 1 COUNTY OY BATES, ) I, M. M. Woodson, being duly sworn on my ath state that the following statements are true and correct as I verily believe. M.M. Woonsox. Subseribed and sworn to before me this 34 day of March, 1804. Joun D. Moore, Notary Public Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People are manufactured by the Dr. Williams’ Medicine Company, Schenectady, N. Y., and are sold only in boxes bearing the firm's trade mark and wrapper, at 50 cents a box or six boxes for $2.0. Bear in mind that Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills are never sold in bulk or by the dozen or hundred, and any dealer who offers substitutes in this form is trying to defraud you and should be avoided, Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills may be had of all druggtsts or direct by mail from Dr. Williams’ Medicine Company. eeoeeeovese :StylesofFootgear are now bei called for, and we are ready for you. Below sre a few of our o $ _reices for Ladies’ Shoes, viz.- > $2.55 for which others will change $3.00. “ 2 for which cthers will charge $3.50. 4 $2.00 for which others will charge $4.00. $ $5.50 for which cthers will ebarge $5.00. $ 4 We are not through with Oxfords yet. J Have a gout showing of Russias and °° Ressets—sizes small, however. The @ prices ace 69 cents for a $2.00 line, 3 e ‘98 cents for a $2.50 line in block and $ $1.29 for a $2.50 line of Rossets 2 om $The Warren Shoe House, > W. RICH, 919 F ST. ea Po FORSOOS OO oecooes ees eae none, $6 Per Doz. STRAWBELRY, DIAMOND AND FAN Cut = Glass Tumblers. ALA ; DOZEN. fertor quality goods, ske im every respect in all styles and Cuttings @ wt os a SHSESO GOS REC ASS ys on hand. M. W. Beveridge, CHINA, GLASS WARE, &c., ! 284 1215 F AND 1214 G st. eee EO NO! WISHES NEVER BOUGHT FURNITURE. YOUR CREDIT IS GOOD! notes —no iptcrest— just Promise—and a little money once a week or onre a month. Are you ready for the big Prtbian encawpment? Bead this list of prices—then come up and talk to us Gurney Kefrigerators—30 sizes—all prices, Cotton Warp Matting best qualitics— all prices. Plush or Haircloth Parlor Suite Solid Oak Bed Room Suite, $13. rd. nse a yard. Reliable Ingrain Carpet, 35e. por yard, Ail carpet made and laid free of cost, No charge for waste in matching tige ‘ores. Solid Oak Extension Table, $3.50, 40-pound Mair Mattress, §7. Woven Wire Springs, $1.75. GROGAN’S MAMMOTH CREDIT HOUSE, 819-821-823 Tth Street Northwest, bl Between H and I Streets. ect > So a a oe as An Approval-winner, {Our Famous Elgin ‘BUTTER. @ COMES IN 318. BRICKS. $ seer was ts eee or ea 30C, $ Deiehbo-s Will—send at oa ap- ¢T. D. Daly, 917 La. Av. rf =o and Retail. Established 1857. @ Poxsesses a toothsome, one, We do what none of our Ib proval. wd “Se 4O 2e 62 2e 02 0% eo SOOSHSSSSOTORSSOCORSS FACIAL iBLEMISHES. ‘The only mstitution in the south de- voted exclusively to the treatmest of the Skio, Scalp and Biood and the re- woval of Pucial Blemishes, ACNE, SUPERFLOOUS Harn, PIMPLas, MOLBS, ECZEMA, WARTS, RED NOSE PIRCRLIS, RED VEINS, TATIVU MARKS, VILY SKIN, SCARS, BLACK HEADS, AND ALL BLEMISGES DANDRUFF, OF THE SKIN. SOOSOPESO SOO OCESOOEODOOCE Dr. Hepburn, DERMATOLOGIST Graduate of Jefferson Med. Col, Phila, and the Royal University of Vienna. MEKTZ BLDG., COR. 11TH AND F STS. Consultation free. mhté cott Seesecocesescesoqooeoces ‘Most Delicious Baked “Sugar Loaf” made of strictly pure ingredients. mt readily dry out. Better, if the second “day it's baked. More more appetizing than used, you will sour EF Every ha 7 rocer, basa’t it niepinane Weel ace ‘that Fou" are supplied’ promptly. : OStON «. ». veary. peor. ; Substitute. 3 :S.& B, Reversible? : Mattress : 3 3 Has cotton on BOTH SIDES and at the ends, cotton on ‘The “one-sided” Mattress has 1 GosTs See that 8. of the 284 Be nraannanncasecassnessesee ane side ONLY. caters well it. appears in each corer label, else It's Rot the genuine, OOO ( ¢’ When You Think Of ‘Wall Papers WeWantyoutoRemem Carpets. Make your selections before the busy ‘season. Our Fail Carpets are now in, and We are prepared to offer a complete line im all grades, latest patterns and color- ings. Rugs, Art Squares, ete. Prices and workmanship guaranteed. Horace J. Long & Co., Wall Papers and Carpets, 524 13th St. N.W. au2i-Im . Corsets. ~ | Just opened, a case of 25 doz. C. Extra Long-watsted Comets. —-—— drive Only $1 Pair. —_ Fitted aad guaranteed. Money back. Whelan’s, 203 F St. Only. Ladies Will Be D B. As a special 222 elighted to know that their Gloves, @o: that have become solled since maEIe eties” began can be made again matchless I Process, Ritbe fabrics “done | Anton Fischer, 996 G St. 3. TIOSES gn SONS. uth and F Sts. N. W. au21-1m YOUMAN’S” NEW YORK FALL STYLE HATS NOW READY. ADES AND STYLES AT , $2 AND $4. DAVIS’ SONS, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. FORD WATER ‘ES. CURES WIEN OTIUERS ram, POKD IS THE BUST TABLE WATER. Cares Bright's Disease Diabetes, Kidnes, Bad Ger, and all Urinary Troubles. Drop in and try & glans. Por sale by all @ruggists, or at Depot, 1429 M ¥. ave. mw. vin ICED TEA when SI Ann fav to ALA, uly L holds fue ste NOW. BOOED, as25 rs and thirst-ow: weatl CHELLSS oat