Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1895, Page 15

es HIGH SCHOOL DRILL The Annual Competitive Contest to Occur Next Month. PROSPECTS OF THE VARIOUS COMPANIES Views of Staff Officers and of the Captains. ALL HARD AT WORE HILE THE ATTEN- tion of the District of Columbia Nation- al Guard and that portion of the citi- zens of Washington interested in things military is fast be- coming riveted on the big interstate drill and* encamp- ment, to be held in Memphis, Tenn.,May 11 to 21 next, because of the proposed par- ticipation therein of the National Fencibles and the Morton Cadets, the pupils of the Washington high schools, their parents and scores of friends are looking forward with perhaps greater interest to the annual company competitive drill of the regiment of High School Cadets, which is booked to occur in the National Base Ball Park, Thursday and Friday afternoons, May 23 and 24. The High School Cadets have been truthfully termed “The pets of the Wash- ington public,” and the history of the or- ganization is too well known to permit of repetition. Thousands of persons will be in attendance at the coming competition and the views of officers of the regiment in regard to that event indicate that the drill this year is being prepared for with unusual care. Col. W. Morgan Shuster, who fs in com- mand of the regiment, in making a com- parison of the coming competition with that of last year finds several points es- dentially different which are worthy of consideration. “In the preparation fer t contest the rules and circumstances are Quite dissimilar,” he says. “Last year the question of extra drills was left to the discretion of the company officers and @ great amount of outside work was the result, so much, in fact, that it was considered detriment- al to the other du- ties of the cadets. Capt. Auer. This year the school authorities have de- creed that there shall be no extra drills unless ‘Specially designated for the entire regiment at certain definite times by the Proper authority. Thus an absolutely fair basis is attained, placing the merits of the drill not upon how much drilling a com- pany has done, but upon how much each company has accomplished within the lim- its of the regular periods. “The nine captains last year had a de- cidedly novel experience in interpreting a drill program . which was an absolute de- parture from anything that had ever pre- ceded it in the way of High School com- petitive drills. This year the program is precisely the same, with the addition of the regular setting-up exercises. Thus the officers, and in many cases the men, who will drill this year, had valuable experience im the contest last May. Furthermore, the Trograms were given out somewhat car- lier this year than has been the custom, thus affording more time for preparation, and, therefore, the standard of drill should be quite as high as that set last year. At the coming drill blank cartridges will be used in many of the firings. The setting-up exercises referred to are intended to de- velop the physique of the cadets and to keep their muscles and joints in a proper state of flexibility for the other movements prescribed in the drill regulations. For this Teason, the set-up of a company will count as an important element in the approach- ing competition.” According to Lieut. Col. Henry Leonard, the regiment this year surpasses in almost every respect its predecessors, and the companies are larger at every school, with the exception of the Eastern. Lieut. Col. Leorard is a pupil of the Eastern, and he says: “The prospects of the prize coming. to this school are not, in the opinion of many, as good as they were last year. No one can tell, how- ever, at so early a stage. Each of the companies is drilling for all it is worth,and the only instance wherein the drill of this year is easier than that of last May is that extra drills are not allowed. Of course, the coming Capt. Butts, contest is awaited with unusual interest, because the winning captain will be presented with a handsome medal set with diamonds, donated by Mr. Allison Natlor.” The major of the first battalion, which Includes the four companies at the Central ool and the company at the Western School, is H. T. Domer. Maj. Domer is a brother of Capt. Charles 8. Domer of the champicn National Fencibles, and is con- sidered an expert regarding things military. He reviewed the coming drill at some length, and his statements are interesting. “In the first battalion all the companies are working hard in preparation for the drill,” said Maj. Domer. “All are shape, and no prediction can safely » as to the winner. The prize rib- bons will undoubtedly go to the first bat- talion, for the drillmasters, without excep- tion, confess that the companies of the second battalion have but small prospects s. This is due chiefly to the fact > is not a company of the second hat has been commanded by the cers throughout the entire school yeat, zany changes having been made in the ccmmissioned personnel, both at the Eastern and Business schools. This will, of course, count against them, and, fur- thermcre, these same companies are not so large nor do they contain the same ma- terial that composes the Central and West- companies. The efficiency and discipline of the first battalion during the year 1804-95 have not been equaled by any of Its predecessors,” continued Maj. Dom- er, loyally. “This is due largely to the harmony, — co-opera- tion and untiring ef- forts of the com- manding officers. Every member, from the major to the low- est private, is at his pest fully uniformed and accoutered every Monday and Thurs- day during the hours of drill. There is no lounging in this bat- talion. Everybody is wideawake and at- ding strictly to business. Capt. Sommer. Whenever delinquents are found they are promptly and severely censured by the commanding officers. These things all go to make up a battalion that reflects great credit both on its members and upon the Central school. “In sizing up the companies several points may be observed,” Major Domer went on to say. “Company A was par- ticularly fortunate in the appointment of its officers, and under their careful and able Instruction and management it has reached a high position in the regiment. Its discipline Is the best in the battalion and the company pride and spirit is such that will help out very materially in striv- ing for the coveted red ribbons. It is par- ticularly strong on the foot movements and its firings are perfect. “Company B is the largest organization of the regiment, and makes a splendid showing, being composed of the very best material. However, its discipline is not what {t should be, but this defect will be remedied in short order. This company in a voting contest recently conducted by the High School Review was adjudged to THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. a = = == the most popular company at the Cen- High School. Its many friends expect tral great things from it this year and there is no reason why their expectations should not be realized. “Company OC is Blso a com- pany and its disci- pline is excellent. Its members are structed in the fine points of the drill and all work togeth- er, Like company C of last year, it marches ‘round the corner’ and drills where it is free from observation, hence its rivals have been unable to watch its movements. The company is deter- Capt. English. mined to make a hard fight for the flag. “Company D is expending its utmost energy, in endeavoring to once again triumph on the drill field, like its champion predecessor of last year. The company puts up a sharp, snappy drill that means business, and is strong, both in the manual and the foot movements. Its quick ca- dence infuses a vast amount of life and spirit into its maneuvers, and it will make a fine showing before the judges. “Company H of the Western School, the fifth company of the first battaHon, is reported as being in excellent form, and I am certain that it will be an important factor in the approaching contest. . “Thus all the companies of the first bat- talion are neck and neck in the race for the flag,”” concluded Major Domer. “some- thing that could not be sald of any pre~ ceding battalio! It is the general opin- ion that Major Domer is entitled to a large share of the credit for the present high standing of the battalion. Maj. John W. Steward of the second bat- talion is a pupil of the Eastern school. His command {s made up of éompanies F and G of the Eastern, and companies E and I of the Business school. Maj. Steward had the following to say concerning the situa- tion: “The two companies at the Eastern, F and G, are not, apparently, in as good con- dition as compared with the remainder of the regiment. The prime reason for this, perhaps, is the fact that there have been many _ resignations and subsequent pro- motions during the school year, and though the officers are capable and thoroughly co m pe- tent to fill the pos!- tions, _ nevertheless, the changes _neces- sarily involved much embarrassment to the companies. The assigning of a new commanding officer Capt. Jones. to a company always proves detrimental to the progress of that company, because not only does it require some time for him to make himself acquainted with his duties, but also his company seriously suffers in the meantime. Confidence in him and ac- quaintance with his ways have to be ac- quired by his men. This has been the case at the Eastern in both company F and company G, and indeed, the same is the case at the Business; in fact, not an origi- nally appointed captain now holds his posi- tion, so, of course, all the other company officers have likewise been changed. Com- ing, as it does, near the end of the year and so close to the drill, this badly handi- caps the companies concerned. “The attendance in both company F and company G this year has been especially poor,” continued Maj. Steward. ‘Three companies were originally planned at the first of the year as the allotment of the Eastern school, but now each com- pany consists of but three sets of fours, double rank. There- fore, lack of interest and enthusiasm is noticeable, I regret to say, but as_ the time of the drill ap- proaches the condi- tion is sure to im- prove. There is still time for our com- Capt. Sites. panies to make a strong showing against company H, which is recognized as the coming champion. A number of the cadets are of the opinion that because Capt. Taussig of company H won the individual! drill at the recent bene- fit of the Morton Cadets, his company will capture the High School prize,but the com- pany which has the best reputation prior to the competition usually falls to the rear in the contest. “Notwithstanding its drawbacks the hopes of’Capitol Hill are as big as ever, and they are, doubtless, not without foun- dation. Both of our captains are cool and collected, and as much depends on them, there is nothing to be féared on that score. More spirit and a better attendance will set both companies on their feet, and the other schools may expect to hear as much as ever from the Eastern when the drill comes off."” Capt. H, A. Auer of company A ts work- ing very hard in preparation for the drill, and he expects to give the spectators some- thing of a surprise. ‘As far as the second battalion ts concerned,” said Capt. Auer, “I have nothing to fear, and I only regard one company of the first battalion as a possible successful rival. The regiment seems to me superior this year, not only in drill, but in that greatest of all features of a successful military organization—disci- pline.” Company B is the largest in numbers in the regiment,comprising five sets of fours. Speaking of company B, the High School Review says: “Company B, heretofore the unlucky company of the regiment, never yet having won the prize ribbons, is show- ing up in splendid style this year, and, in fact, appears to be the best attended and farthest advanced of any at the Central School. The general excellence of this company 1s exceedingly praiseworthy, and reflects great credit upon both officers and men.” Having constantly in mind the two facts that the coming contest is rather close at hand and that no extra drills are allowed this year, company C, according to Capt. J. G. Somner, is do- ing its best. The cap- tain states that the gradual reduction in size from five to four ets of fours would seem to make work easier, but as every member on the roll is to be in the drill—no picked companies this year—the advantage of four over five is hardly appreciable. Company D, which was the prize com- pany last year, is Capt. Taussig. keeping very quiet and at the same time working very hard. Capt. William English has nothing to say in regard to the drill at present, preferring to let actions speak louder than words. “This company has never been doing bet- ter; each man has the best interests of the drill at heart, and realizes that it is no dis- credit to be a private,” said Capt. J, Ever- ett Jones of company E. “Ever since the program of the coming drill was received each man has been working hard in an ef- fort to make our showing as good, if not better, than that of ang’ other company in the struggle for the ribbons.” ‘The commanding officers of companies F and G, located at the Eastern School, de- cline to say anything in regard to their companies or the coming drill. Captain Joseph K. Taussig of company H states that as he has been unable to,watch the drills of the other companies, he is un- able to state with any degree of accu- racy what his chanoes are for win- ning the drill, but he adds that the com- pany is working hard and will be in at the finish. “Company I of the regiment this year is far superior to that of 1893-14," said Capt. F. O. Grayson. “The company this year is small, but the boys Capt. Grayson. are determined to pring the flag to the Business High School. My command is the junior company of the regiment, and has but one opportunity to try for the ribbons. But, with the earnest efforts of officers and men, I think we shall be very near the top when the decision of the judges is made. FOR INDIGESTION AND NERVOUSNESS Use Horsford’s Acid Phosphate. Dr. W. 0. HOYT, Rome, Ga., says: “I have found it both an agreeable and useful remedy in many cases of fodigestion, and also iu nervous troubles attended with sleeplessness and a feeling of exhaustion.’ THE HEAVENS IN MAY A Fascinating Trip Among the Glowing Constellations. IN THE CELESTIAL MENAGERIE ——— The Wonders of the Ringed World of Saturn. LIKE TINY MOONS Written for The Evening Star. io HE GENERAL AS- FA. pect of the heavens Z at 9 o'clock tomor- row evening will be found to differ strik- ingly from that pre- sented by them at the same hour three months ago. Then at 9 o'clock the Milky “Way stretched di- rectly overhead, forming a central band of concentration among the stars, while on either side, toward the east and their number, only partially accounted for by their nearness to the horizon. In the interval since then the celestial sphere has performed one-quarter of its annual ap- parent revolution. The Milky Way now skirts the horizon at the hour of our ob- servation, and as we look overhead we face in the direction of one of its poles— in the direction in which, according to the Herschelian view of the structure of the heavens, the universe of stars has the least extension. We may still see the fir- mament thickly studded with stars, but they are not quite uniformly distributed over its surface. There are bright stars everywhere, near the horizon as well as cverhead. In fact, some of the brighter of the stars—Procyon, in the west; Capella, Spica and Antarres, in the southeast—are at a rather low altitude. Another striking feature of the heavens {ts the dead black- ness of the background on which the stars twinkle, especially those near the zenith, due te the comparative fewness of tele- scopic stars in this part of the heavens. As we face in this direction we are looking out into the blackness of empty space. Of the constellations now Visible a few only are sutficienuy well marked to ve of interest. Leo, the Lion, will be found in the southwest, at about two-thirds of the Gistance from the horizon to the zenith. His head and shoulders are formed by the curved group of stars popularly known as the Sickle, in the handle of which is the star Regulus. -To the left of the Sickle and now just pest the meridian is a quadrangle of stars, of about the size of the bowl of the Great Dipper, which marks the position t m’s hindquarters. The brightest of these four stars—that at the lower lef hand corner of the quadrangle—is Denebola. At is cf the full second magnitude, and is in the brush of the looped tail of the Lion, His hi r elongated group of fourth- stars. His forepaws extend for- ward, giving him the appearance of s ing on his prey. The asterism is 2 striking one, and will pass with imaginative observers very well for the skeleton of a lion, although we are told that originally Leo’ was a considerably larger consiella- tion than this. The third star in’ the Sickle, reckoned from Regulus, is Gamma Leonis. It is of the second magnitude. It is a very pretty double star, and is a fine object for a smail y nearly the position of the fant” of the November meteors, known as the Leonids. Leo is one of the zodiacal constellations. ‘The next in order toward the east is Virgo. Virgo contcins one bright star, Spica, which marks the wheat-car carried In the maiden’s left hand, but the constellation Sun the Horizon ~ Mercur Sun and Planets. is cn the whole poorly marked with stars. The head of Virgo is near the star Dene- bola. The feet are toward the east. Nearly midway from Spica to Denebola is Gamma Virginis, a star of the second magnitude. It is the central star of five which combine to form a broad V-shaped figure, of which one side extends toward Regulus, the other toward Arcturus. Named inorder from right to left, these Beta, Eta, Gamma, Delia and Eps 2 Jast—that nearest Arcturus—being known also as Vindemiatrix, the Grape Gatherer. Gamma is a double star, and is especialiy je stars re found to re- ning a true bi- ich the components bout each other, f n. Below and to the right of Spica is a tra- pezium of four stars, the brightest of the third magnitude, which constitutes the Crow (Corvus). The figure is of about the size of the rectangle in Leo. The lower- most and brightest of these stars bears the Arabic name Al Chiba, which means the “tent,” a name which would seem to be- long ‘properly to the constellation rather than to any single star. The figure is, at any rate, more suggestive of a tent than of a bird. Still farther to the right is the cup (Crater), the bowl of which is formed by a heat semicircle of fourth magnitude stars, open toward the east. The base of the cup is marked by a line of three stars on the right. This constellation and the preceding are both brought out well with an opera glass. The Crow and the Cup stand om the back of the Hydra, or Water Serpent, a constel- lation remarkable chiefly for its enormous length. The head of the Hydra is formed by a short curved line of three stars—a very pretty object for the opera glass, which shows quite a little cluster here—midway between Regulus and Procyon, and below a straight line run from one to the other star. The tip of the Hydra’s tail is di- rectly beneath Spica, midway between It and the horizon. Cor Hydrae, the bright- est star of the constellation, is now directly below Regulus, about half way to the heri- zon. Although of only the second magni- tude, it 1s conspicuous from its lonely posi- tion. Its Arabic name, Alphard, signifies the Solitary One. Very nearly overhead, and now at its greatest altitude, is the Great Dipper in the Ursa Major. Arcturus will easily be reeog- nized from its position on a continuation of the curve of the Dipper’s handle. Between Arcturus and the bowl of the Dipper and on the extension of a straight line drawn from the Pole Star through Alioth—the in- nermost of the three stars which form the Dipper's handle—is a star of the third mag- nitude known as Cor Carolf, Charles’ Heart, so named in honor of Charles I of England. It is the principal star in the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici). It is a double star and is a fine object for a small telescope. The four stars, Cor Caroli, Arcturus, Spica and Denebola, form a large lozenge-shaped figure known as the Diamond of Virgo. The Planets. With one exception the planets are now evening stars and, more remarkable still, with this single exception they are all above the horizon at 9 p.m. The exception is Mercury, now in close proximity with the sun. After the 4fh of the month, when it will be in superior conjunction with the sun, Mercury also will be an evening star. It will become visible in the west before the close of the month. Saturn was in opposition to the sun—that west, there was a noticeable thinning out in in the northwest; Vega, in the northeast; | is, In a positionzsuct that the earth lay exactly between it and the sun—on the 24th of April. Ittis, therefore, now-in its best position for! obsérving, and although eclipsed in splendor Sy both Jupiter. and Venus, it claims-our‘xpecial attention. It will be found some ten’ degrees directly east of Spica. It has the appearance of a star of the full first magnitude, and will easily be recognized from its orange-yellow color. There is no ‘fixed-star” of equal brilliancy in this part of thé heavens. The characteristic feature of Saturn 1s familiar, at least throtigh pictorial illustra- tions, to every one who has given even the most casual attention to astronomy. Yet no one who has hot “seen for himself the image of this ringed ‘world floating in the field of a good telescope can have more Saturn. than a feeble impression of its surpassing beauty. No drawing, no photograph can reproduce the delicate shading of the rings and the faint hues of the belts of the planet, which are always of necessity repre- sented too conspicuously. ‘They are far less marked than those of Jupiter. It is, be- sides, only when we look at the object itself that we get the impression of a mighty mysterious force holding in equilibrium in empty space these enormous appendages that encircle the planet's huge sphere, borne along with it in its orbit, yet ever preserving their relation tp it. The bright ring seen about the planet, when viewed through a small telescope and which, it may be said parenthetically emall as it appears, bas a diameter of over 170,000 miles—is shown by a larger instru- ment to be double. The division, known frem its discoverer as ‘Cassini oe is at about two-thirds of the dista: the interior to the exterior margin. Of the two rings thus formed the inner is the brighter, at least near its outer edge, where it is brighter than the planet itself. Besides this double bright ring, which has been known since the Ume of Galileo, its discoverer, recent drawings of Saturn show a third and interior ring, always de- picted as fai i P uill- cently fal x or “crape” ring. This feature of the planet was discovered in 1850, independently by the Bonds, at Cambridge, and by Mr, Dawes, in England; and it is a curious fact that, although it required the finest instru- ments and the mest skilled observers to discover it in the first place, it has ever since been visible through instruments of quite moderate power, iliustrating how easy it is to miss of seeing a faint object which is quite perceptible when ong knows of its existence. The chief interest in Saturn centers upon these rings. La Place demonstrated mathe- matically that they*could not be solid and maintain their e prium and Prof. Pierce subsequently demonstrated that they can- not be fluid. What, then, is their natuy The view now generally held of them is that they consist of millions of minute bodies, which may be described as “1 for want of a better term, ‘ling about the planet in its own orbit, a tiny moon, independently of the rest. al condition of this planet still nit is possible conjec- n of ac- such as ase of res are to be s ort upor its ng a stud. in th Of ‘the most significant of the few One known with certainty about this lanet is that it is an exceptionally light body, to use a familiar term nsity, as deduced from the movements of its sat- js only about one-eighth that of the . The planet would float upon water, with one-fourth of its bulk Since the evidence inst the supp. intensely heated as to be wholly gaseous, although it appears to be enveloped in. va pors, We seem to be driven to the alterna- tive conclusion that the matter of which it is mainly composed, is really lighter than that wHich forms, the bulk of the other planets. It is, of course, idle to conjecture what this matter is. The cut given herewith is desizned merely how the present aspect of the rings. These rings are inclined to the plane of the ecliptic about 27 dezrees, and since they al- ways slope in the irection, the axis of the earth always points in the same direction, the view which we obtain of them varles according to the part of its orbit in which the planet happens to be. THE PAPERHANGER'S SrorRy. He Tells How He Lost His Fingers in a Barber's Shop. From the Chicago Dispatch. “ ‘I am always nervous in a barber chair. You won’t wonder at it when you hear my story. I afh a paper hanger by trade. I was engaged to be married to a young girl and a villain got the best of her. He was a barber. I procured a pistol, but I never-got a shot at jim, for he left the small town where we lived and years passed before I met him again. That happened one day in a small town in Arkansas. I had improved my position and was traveling salesman for the house I had previously bought my paper of. “When I got to C— I went into a bar- ber shop to get shaved, and without look- ing at'the barber flung myself into a chair. I was about half shaved before it dawned upon me that 1 was practically in the pow- er of a2 man who nad done me the most tremendous injury one man can inflict upon another, eatediy sworn to have my life. ach other at the same moment. ‘I threw my left hand behind me to draw my six-shooter and at the same mo- ment he sprang at me with his razor. I sped it with my right hand and drawing weapon shot him through the heart. He fell to the floor. When I looke hand three of the fingers were m s have felt nervous in a barber chair ever since.’ ”” ——_—-+ e+ Why Tilden Never Ma Bigelow’s Life of Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden never married only because he never felt the need of a wife. His health was always so uncertain; his mind from youth upward was so constantly absorbed with large affairs, public or private, most of the time with both; his temperament was so purely nervous, and women were, so far as he could see, so unimportant to his success In any of the enterprises upon which his heart was set, that marriage never became the subject of leading inter- est, as it does, for a time at l2ast, with most men, whether they marry or not. vied. In fa he never knew any woman inti- mately enough to fall completely under the influence of sexual charms. He seemed to have been betrothed in early life to his country, and the democratic party occu- pied with him the place of offspring until it was too late to think of having any other. ——_+e+—___ The Sugar Trast Prosperous. From the New York Tribune. The American Sugar Refining Company has filed a report of its assets and Mabili- ties for the year 1894 with the secretary of state of Massachusetts, as required by law. The statement shows that the company is in a prosperous condition, but it fails to give any detalled particulars of the operations of the ‘concern. From the re- port it will be seen that the sugar trust is decidedly weil off, despite the frequent eloquent appeals of the managers to the public, asking for confidence in their re- ports of “hard times with the trust. The assets show among the Items $19,428,000 in cash and debts receivable, $28,201,599 in investments, and $43,119,866 in real’ es- tate and machinery. SEER Second Sight. From Texas Siftings. Fannie (to her bosom friend Gussie)—“I hear that you and Charlle have quarreled.” Gussie—“‘Yes; we don’t look at each other any more. That {s, I don’t look at him, but I have quite often caught him looking at me. Fannie—“Well, Gussie, if you can see peo- ple looking at you without you looking at them you ought to go into the clairvoyant business.” : BUCKINGHAM’S DYE FOR THE WHISKERS docs its work thoroughly, coloring a uniform Drown or Mack, which, When dry, will neither Tub, Wash off nor soil linen. |THE MAN WHO LAUGHED LAST ———— BY WILLIAM #. WASSELL ees (Copyrighted, 1895, by William H. Wassell.) ILENCE FELL ON the group of soldiers as Robinson entered the squad. room. The newcomer was drunk and = sullen and ugly looking.But he reeled over on his iron bunk, and then the cards, the con- versation and the newspapers were re- sumed. Only Nelson, a big hulk of a fel- d low from the moun- tains of Tennessee, kept his sleepy eyes on the drunken man, for Nelson had a grudge against him, and was ever on the alert to make matters even. The cause of the grudge was a masquer- ade ball the soldiers of the garrison had given the winter before, and spring had ccme and gone, and now the summer was almost over, and still Nelson had found no opportunity to square the account. Some man in ore of the cavalry troops had proposed this masquerade ball, and immediately every soldier in the garrison indorsed it favorably. The commanding officer, glad to have the men enjoy them- selves In any way not remotely connected with conduct to th: prejudice of good or- der and military discipline, gave his per- mission without a restricting murmur; and at once every soldier, every soldier's wife and every soldier’s sweetheart in the ad- joining frontier settlement began to devise suitable costumes. Nelson was a man who blushed at even the name of a woman, but in his slow, la- borious way spent nine-tenths of his time thinking of one of the girls in the near by town. And thinking was hard work for Nelson, much harder than sawing wood or walking guard; but the girl was pretty and worth the time. She had just the neces- sary tinge of Indian blood to make her eyes big and her hair black and her lips full and red. Nelson was always afraid to speak in her presence, but the masquerade ave him dreams of greater success. He determined to go as an Indian, a regular second edition of cld Sitting Bull, and his costume was an easy matter. The Indian trader had ghost skirts, war bonnets and moccasins in abundance, and Nelson gave up his month’s pay for an outfit. that might have been in service in the Custer affair. The days preceding the great event he was more silent than ever; his thoughts kept him busy. It never entered his dull brain that the girl might prefer another, and so his one object was to summon up the courage to approach her. To be with her all the evening—that was the aim be- yond which he could not think. When the great day came he went with the other men to orate the hop room. The poor little post boasted of one hall where religious rvices, school for enlisted men, dances and lectures were held, according to the r hour and day of the week. But ster lent them flags, and the *n made stars with their sabers, aneuvering t way and that way eded in covering up most of the st ces on the lamp-smoked walls. me one skilled in lettering cut out a big Welcome” in gilt, and they put it up on mers at one end of the hall. The dominoes, the queens of hearts, the ses of liberty and the other masque- rading clowns were walking around in a nd march when Nelson entered the hall. s woman brave in his war feathers ave a big grunt of satisfaction as he he sight of the ample form of a dairy i know her anywhere,” he then, with a motion that was ve, he took the place of the dairy maid’s ner and appropriated her for the rest e evening. All his efforts at conversa- we: painful that the dairy maid re were a few nods of her head or a gentle pressure of his arm. Se’ eral times a dancer tore her bodily aw from him and whirled her madly over the smooth floor; but when an assumed boot- black fel! on his knees before her and tried to put a polish on her shoes, Nelson was fighting mad. ‘At 11 o'clock every one was to unmask. At that hour the burgler would sound “taps. and as the fil note rang out on the still air, Nelson, with courage born for the occasion, seized the ribbon that held the mask and head dress completely cover- ing the dairy maid’s head. “You've been hidden long enough,” he said, “and now I'm goin’ to— Heaven above!” he screamed, and with one wild lcok around the room he fled across the parade to his barracks. They found him an hour later sitting on his iron bunk, moaning and cursing in the darkness. “My partner was a man,” he groaned, “that Gamned.lttle Robinson.” Tho men of the company expected a fight, but that was not the revenge that Nelson wanted. He could have picked up Robinson and dashed out his brains, but no one would laugh at that. They had laugh- ed at him, and the time would come when he would’make them laugh at Robinson. ‘This was the reason he lay on his bunk and with half closed eyes watched his enemy fall over in a drunken stupor. The card playing was resumed in the squad room, for drunken men are not cu- riosities on the frontier. Presently Rob- inson got up and staggered out through the doorway, and Nelson followed him as soon as he could do so without attracting attention, Out along the road he saw the drunken man take drink after drink from a big bottle, after a while sitting down in the middle of the road, and finally stretch- ing himself out full length on the ground, the empty bottle at his side. Nelson picked him up in his great arms and carried him to a clump of bushes some tistance from the road. Then he went sack to barracks and took a big bundle of something from his locker. Seer ene, To say that Fort ‘Barrenall is a weak expression. At the unoflicial hour of five in the morn- ing the commanding officer rushed to his office and roused the sleeping orderly, who, but half awake, almost forgot to salute as he ran out toward the adjutant’s quarters. Phe adjutant tumbled out of bed, dres: miekly and took up a properly cadenced Gouble time to his office. The sergeant major was then rudely aroused from a com- foriing dream of increased pay, and as this kening dld not incline him peacefully toward mankind in general and his subor- dinates in particular, he ordered his clerk to arise and dress, and be blessedly quick about Jt, too. ‘All this required time, but time is not the root of all evil in army administration. Just as the reveille gun was fired, exactly one hour after the commanding officer had discovered the offense which not even the ‘Article of War could cover, this was The commanding officer sat . s excited 6 the situation. in his office at his desk; the adjutant sat in the next office, with his feet on the par- ticular desk assigned to him. In the third office sat the sergeant major before a desk with many pigeon holes, while near him, at another desk, sat his clerk. Owing to the scarcity of rooms, it is impossible for the sergeant major’s clerk at Fort Bur- renall to have a separate office; hence, the sad admission that one in authority sits in the same office with his subordinate. But— each man in his office, at his own desk—the time was ripe for the operations of war. The commanding officer called the adjutant. “Mr. Parker,” said he, “the existing con- dition of affairs is one that must be treated with most deliberate consideration. How- ever simple may be the solution of this af- fair, sir, I do not wish to make any move in the matter until it has been considered from all points of view. To this end I have made a rough draft of a letter which I wish you to send to the Indian agent at once, sir. At once, sir,” he added, emphat- ically. The adjutant took the sheet of paper to his own office, slowly deciphered the writ- ing, rewrote a word here and there to make it more legible, and then called the sergeant major. “Sergeant,” said he, “I want you to write out this communication, prepare it for the commanding officer's signature, and then send it at once to the Indian agent. Under- stand? If it isn’t written in ten minutes I'll_ know the reason.” The sergeant major retired to the next office with military haste, seated himself at his desk and called his clerk. | “Barnes,” he said, “rattle this off on the typewriter and be quick about it or I'll fire your lazy carcass out of the office and get a new clerk. Click-clickety-click went the typewriter, and in two minutes the man-who-does-the- work handed the communication to the sergeant major. The sergeant major took it to the adju- Highest of all in Leavening Power.—Latest U.S. Gov't Report Ro al eB ABSOLUTELY PURE Baking - Powder tant, the adjutant took it to the command- ing officer. The commanding officer signed it and gave it back to the adjutant, the ad- jutant gave it to the sergeant major, the sergeant major gave it to the orderly, swore at him three times, and five minutes later the deed was done. The communica- tion was deposited on a desk in the Indian agent's office. Incidentally it may be ex- plained that the Indian agent's office is about 200 yards from the offices where all this writing took place. It was still so early in the. morning that the Indian agent had not reached his office. In fact, the communication was there just an hour before he was. If the orderly had been sent to the agent’s house, the com- munication would have reached its destina- tion this one hour earlier, but this would have been frregulai. What the agent read when he opened the letter was as follows: FORT BARRENALL, O. D., September 7, 1893. The Indian Agent, Big Ration Reserva- tion, O. D. Sir: Lhave the honor to inform you that during the night of September 6, 1893,there has been an Indian burial, according to the old customs, within the limits of this post. I wish to do nothing towards exciting the Indians by pulling down the corpse, but on the other hand, I cannot allow such a structure to remain within the limits of the post. An early reply from you on this sub- ject is requested. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN ABBOTT, Col., Blank Infantry, Commanding post. . . . . . . . To begin with, the commanding officer had brought all this trouble on himself. He was well advanced in years, he could not sleep in the mornings, and thinking that every one else should agree with him, he usually had his regiment turned out for drill as soon as it was light enough to see. Sometimes the dew made the grass too wet for drill, and then he allowed the men to remain in barracks, while he, for lack of something better to do, trudged around the board walk and called it exercise. He al- ways tested the grass first thing every morning by walking through the little plot in front of his quarters, and as it was the duty of the officer of the day to sprinkle this little plot with a watering can when he made his midnight inspection of the guard, the commanding officer generally found an unusually heavy fall of dew, and with a sigh ordered the musicians to sound the “recall"—no drill. Now if the commanding officer had been In the habit of remaining in bed until a reasonable hour some soldier would have discovered the buried Indian and torn him down to get the relies buried with him. But as the commanding officer took his accustomed walk this memorable morning his eye caught a strange sight, a thing uncanny, rolled up, propped up, stretched out on the limbs ‘of the big cottonwood that stood in the northeast corner of the post. The commanding officer put on his glasses and blessed his soul several times stonishment before he could believe his serses. ‘Then he left the board walk and started for the trpe. What it was there was no doubt—a long bundle somewhat larger than a man, with dirty rags covering it, stretched out and bound to a rude scaffolding witn pieces of », the scaffolding resting on the heavy boughs of the tree. At one end of the bundie the painted feathers of a war bon- net were visible, and yes, there was the pipe, too, that the spirit was supposed to smoke while on the way to the happy hunting grounds. At the foot of the tree were some pieces of jerked beef and some water in a stone jar, both of which the weary traveler would need before he reach- ed_his destination. ‘The commanding officer looked at the surrounding country, at his watch, and then at himself. Yes, that was Fort Bar- renall; nothing about it had changed since the day before. It was-broad daylight and he was dressed as required by existing orders; therefore, he was not in bed and dreaming. He glanced at his boots. “Why,” exclaimed he, “the grass here is as dry as a bone, while in front of my quarters there was a heavy dew. But that is nothing compared to this astounding burial. For ten years past the Sioux have buried their dead like decent Christians, and here I wake up one morning and find they've not only gone back to their old customs, but they've even used a military reservation and a military tree for their purpose.” Then the commanding officer rushed to his office, repeating the articles of war and the army regulations, but finding no clause that in any way covered the thing out on the tree. The events already narrated in reference to the official communication to the Indian agent next followed. The Indian agent's office was noted for its deplorable lack of system. If matters had proceeded regularly, the agent would have cailed his head clerk and given him instructions, and these instructions would have gone downward in the scale of official rank until they struck some one low erough to do the actual writing, and then, going up and down several times more, weuld have landed eventually at the ad- ministration building of the military post, two hundred yards distant, in the form of a return communication, which, in sub- stance, would have had the honor to in- ferm the commanding officer, Fort Bar- renall, O. D., that the Indian agent, Big tation Reservation, O. D., had received the first communication, dated Fort Barrenall, O. D., September 7, 1808, and would give it his earliest attention. But, fortunately for this tale, which, im thut case, would have stretched out through several months, like a Chinese play, the agent was sadly irregular in all his work. He simply clapped his hat on his head and waixed up to see the commanding officer. By this time the greater part of the gar- rison was looking at the queer grave. The commanding officer strode up and down, gave his glasses a final adjustment, and claimed, “I'll be blowed.” The portly major of the regiment thrust his hands deep down into his spacious peckets, arched his eyebrows and made a letter O with his lips, so great was his as- tenishment, and then ejaculated, “This beats the old Harry.” One of the numerous second lieutenants, who had sense enough to know that his cp inion would not be asked, ; would be worthless, in any ca away from the circle of ladies who were “Oh-ing” and “Ah-ing,” and when out of bearing range, ventured the remark, “I'll be blanked ff this isn't a devil of a row.” And the last new buck private, who was afraid to speak in the presence of his ccrporal, or sergeant, or in fact in the presence of any one who ranked him—and every one did rank him—went away off by himself, stepped outside the fence that di- vided the military from the Indian reserva- tion, and then relieved his mind with,"Why don’t they knock the dink-dankity-dink- Gog-dankity-dink thing down out of the dinkity tree, and then they'll find out some- thing about the dink-dankity thing?” The Indian agent walked rapidly toward the scene of excitement. He was very pop- ular with the garrison officers, and as he strode along every one greeted him with a cordial “Good morning, major.” All Indian agents have the brevet rank of major, the pay of an average first lieutenant, and the emoluments of a brigadier general. He ap- proached the commanding officer with a smile on his lips. Of course, not being a military man, he could not appreciate the enormity of an offense which not even the sixty-second article of war could cover. The commanding officer grasped his hand and shook it warmly. Then he pointed, with slow and awful meaning, to the thing stretched out on the tree. Both men looked at the dirty bundle, in fact every man, wo- man and child Jooked at it, for they felt that the critical moment had arrived. The Indian agent opened his month, and got as far as “Colonel, I am sorry- * when he was stopped by an exclamation of rage from the cammarding officer. He glanced again toward the tree. There, in a sitting position, swathed in the old rags, with the war bonnet cocked cn one side of his swollen head, his eyes big and red and full of startled wonder, sat Private Robinson, company F, Blank in- fantry. No departed soul reaching a strange and unknown beyond could be more greatly surprised than was Robinson, as he sur- veyed the gaping crowd. No multitude of old gaped more at an unexpected miracle than did this little assemblage of officers and soldiers who had just seen not only the dead come to life, but also an Indian come out of his cocoon a full fledged white man. felson, who stood back on the outskirts of the crowd, was the first man to laugh. It was the first time that his features had relaxed since the night of the masquerade ball. SATURN'S RING. Viewed in the Light of a Recent Al- leged Astronomical Discovery. From the Indianapolis Journal. If Prof. Keeler of Pittsburg has positively demonstrated and established the fact that the rirg of Saturn is composed of innumer- able small satellites, he has achieved a notable feat in astronomical discovery. The theory that the ring is so composed is not new entirely, but it has never been fully verified. Prof. Keeler’s process of reason- ing is not only scientific, but exceedingly ingenious, and it Seems that he has solved an astronomical problem of long standing. The ring of Saturn is itself one of the strangest mysteries of astronomy. Why Saturn alone of all the planets of the solar system should have a ring is incomprehen- sible. Jupiter, which is more than three times as large as Saturn, has no ring, and all the smaller planets get along without one, Saturn alone being supplied with the exceptional and apparently useless appen- dage. The ring consists of three apparent rings, lying in one plane and of different degrees of density. The inner edge of the ring is 5,900 miles from the planet itself, and its total diameter is 172,800 miles. It was first discovered in 1659, and has been more or less a subject of speculation and observation by astron mers ever since. It was at first assumed to be solid, but that theory was abandoned. Then the accepted theory for a long time was that it consist- ed of a vast number of particles or minute bodies free to move relatively to one an- other; in short, that it was fluid. The the- ory was largely conjectural. For about twenty-five years past the ring of Saturn has been a subject of continual vigilance and study by astronomers.Search- ing telescopes in all parts of the world have been pointed at it at regular and fre- quent intervals, and there have been few nights in the year when sharp and learned ey€s have not been trying to unravel its mystery. In 1870 M. Teouvelot, a French astronomer of note, at that time in this country, but who afterward returned to France, ‘began a series of observations of Saturn, first with his own telescope at Cam- bridge, Mass., and later with the much larger ones at Harvard University and the observatory at Washington. In 1876 he an- nounced some interesting conclusions, but none touching the composition of the ring except that “the matter composing the dusky ring,” meaning the part nearest the planet itself, “is agglomerated here and there into small masses,which almost whol- ly prevents the light of the planet from reaching the eye of the observer.” From 1875 to 1877 Crofthall of Washington made a series of cbservations which led to no definite conclusion beyond confirming Mr. Teouvelot’s description of the appearance of the dusky part of the ring as “some- what like particles of dust floating in a ring of light traversing a dark chamber.” In 1881 Dr. Meyer, a Swiss astronomer, made a series of observations which led to a careful revision of the figures relative to the dimensions of Saturn and the diameter of the ring. Prof. Kirkwood of this state had, as early as 1868, demonstrated that the division in the ring or the space be- tween its inner and outer parts was due to the disturbing influence of Jupiter, and this led Dr. Meyer and others to the canclusion that the ring was formed of separate parti- cles moving round the planet to a certain extent as independent satellites. Owing to the peculiar position of the ring from 1884 to 1886, inclusive, the winters of those years were more favorable for studying Saturn and its ring than any which will occur again till 1914. During these years the great refractor at the Washington ob- servatory was frequently pointed at the Saturnian system, but no material addition was made to the stock of knowledge on the subject. Observations of an eclipse of one of Saturn’s satellites in 1889, made at the Lick observatory, California, showed that the ring cast as dense a shadow as that of the planet itself, and this was thought to disprove the theory that the ring is made up of a vast number of satellites, since no matter how great the number, it was thought they could not have the effect of an opaque body. From this brief outline of Saturnian ob- servations during the last twenty-five or thirty years, an outline which conveys no adequate idea of the patient research, pro- found study and immense learning which have been brought to bear on the subject, it will be seen that not much advance has been made in determining the character and composition of the ring. Astronomers can estimate its mass, determine its dis- tance from the planet, measure its diame- ter and calculate its mathematical ele- ments, but what it is composed of or what purpose, if any, it serves in the economy of the universe they have not been able to discover. The fost powerful telescopes have revealed more clearly the proportions and outlines of the ring, but its composi- tion has remained an insoluble mystery. If Prof. Keeler has succeeded in solving it and can demonstrate the correctness of his solution he will have earned undying fame in the astronomical world. Saturn already has twice as many moons as any other planet in the solar system, namely, eight, while our earth has only one, and Jupiter, whieh is a far larger planet than Saturn, only four. If the ring is really composed of moons Saturn could afford to spare a few for the other planets. --+ 0 The English Joke. From Life. Lord Rittles—It's well enough for you Americans to joke about us Englishmen never being able to appreciate one of your jokes. But I smile; for I can retaliate that I have never met an American who could understand one of ours. Petersbe (thoughtfully)—You are right— you have us there! — A Day Witt Cholly’s Feet. From Life.