Evening Star Newspaper, July 6, 1895, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1895-—TWENTY PAGES. 17 INN AT WW ALSTADT. A PERILOUS ASCENT To the Summit of the Lofty Dach- stein, SPENDING A NIGHT IN A HOT On the Next Morning Through Snow and Ice UNTIL THE TOP IS REACHED Lorrespondence of The Evening Star. HALTSTADT, June 10, 1895. LTHOUGH THE Dachstein ts not as well known to Amer- feans as Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn,Mon- te Kosa and several r peaks of the eastern and western Alps, ft is neverthe- less one of the three most celebrated mountains of Austria and it can be said of the Hohe-Dach- stein as of its sister the Gross-Glockter and the Ortler—many have been the lives untimely sacrificed in attempting its ascent. Its tame translated into English means Roof- stone, and this has been a mest appropri- ate selection, for after leavi and hut and crossing that ice—the Karlseisf-ld—and being con: ed by the huge mass of gray rock aris- ing abruptly from the surrounding glacier, there is nothing in the world that the peak is so suggestive of as the roofstones waich one is wont to see upon the shingled and thatched rocfs of the Swiss and Tyrolese chalets. Haltstadt, on the lake of the same name, is at its foot, and it is from here that the ascent is usualiy made, although it is at times ascended from jadmime, the opposite side of the mountain, and ce- casionaNy from the termins of that most beautiful lake at Gossauschmted. Tiais lit- tle village Haltstadt is typ:cal of the Salz- kammergut, a section of country rich in deposits of salt, as well as in bold scenery and magnificent lakes. Every year one hears more and more of this region, and, although not as well known to the aver- age tourist as Switze: d and the Tyrol, it is nevertheless becoming a dangerous oar its lakes beirg intinuely more beau- tiful, and its scenery ever so grand. Ischl and Salzburg within its confines are cer- tainly two of the loveliest little towns in Europe, and their enormous popularity and © of patronage from year to year them world-renowned. Such a quaint village as Haitstadt, par- tially situated on the side of a steep moun- tain and partially upon piles driven into the lake and appearing from a distance, as though it were getting ready to slide with- in Its depths, I have seen nowhere, and ar- tists also, like myself, must regard hamlet situated at the foot of that treach: erous mountain as picturesque and unique, for all over Europe one may behold the picture in oil and in print. When my wif and myseif, in comy y with two Engl! spinsters, ascended the Hahe-Dachstein we started from Haltstadt,taking with us four guides. We had made preparations the night before for an early start, and at haif-past five in the morning were in front of the little hotel See Auer, ready to make the ascent, but there was, as there is al- ways upon these mountain trips, a delay of an hour or more before we got started, for there are so many things to be looked after—the lunch, the wine, the brandy, the ropes, the ice shoes. the Alpine sticks, the ice picks, and finally the guides them- selves. : It was extremely cold while we were waiting and there was no sun in the fore- neon. Owing to its peculiar situation in the mountain, at Haltstadt, the sun does “not become visible until it has made a cir- cuit arovnd the hills and reached the op- posite side of the lake. Not until then is there sunshine, and this feature during the heated term of summer is one cf its se- ductive charms, while in winter, “when there is an excessive fall of snow, it is a barrier to all travel, the days on its ac- count being very short and .the nights, when measured by darkness, exceedingly Jong. Y in mountains, A Glorious Sensation. ‘The assent of the Dachstein commences very gradually and there is no climbing until an hour and a half has been con- sumed in walking through a narrow val- Jey, on both sides of which there are in- numerable splashing waterfalls, which empty themselves with great noise into @ mountain torrent crossed and recrossed by bridges and logs, but after that time has elapsed an exceedingly stecp grade is reached, in which there is no turn for sev- eral thousand feet, and which for that reason robs one of his breath before the first winding is reached, but when this turn fs passed und after that pull 3 left and one ceases to hold his hand ove: his palpitating heart and the iungs breathe deeper and the heart heats slower and that superincumbent weight of a sphere has been removed, how glorious it does feel climbing higher and higher and how one forgets the guides and the ladies, and, 2 ster and faster, finds himself some lofty emimen alting until the whole party kas come pon the old the chi 5,000 feet be flelds of grain Jakes upon whose ing to and fro and rafts of ti roads and observe the an skiffs andering, 4 flight of the h, waft- ing them: 5: tamits of the highest mountains, are broken ito frag- ents only to be gathered and to be orbed in turn by others of larger s While enchanted by the magnificent view spread be us We are startled by a sud- den ru s in the busnes and in a ofas two frightened dcer rush ai the path and in a moment becoie lost in the depth of the forest. We resume walk- ing and the time comes w mountain ash and the g way en the huge -eful spruce give to the scrubby and contorted oak, and still continuing climbing an elevation is soon reached where there are nothing but rocks and holders interspersed with grass and shrubs, At the Simoni Hat. The ladies wander from the road to gather the shapely thistles, the six dif- ferent kinds of gentian, the large, the medium, the small, the dark blue, the light blue, the Alpine roses, the buttercups, in shert, the ten and twenty flowers indig- erous to the Alps, and I look back and behold the guides’ moving slowly along, weighted dewn and resting heavily upon their staffs.,1 observe them as they seat themselves Vy the side of a huge ledge and partake of the refreshing water flow- ing from a moss-covered crevice. They attract my attention and pointing to a small black speck upon the highest crest I irfer rightly that it is the Simoni hut, where we will spend the night and from whence at en early heur in the morning we will resume our journey and crossing the great glacier ascend the Hohe-Dach- steim The snow line is reached, for an hour and a half we behold the hut, which, instead of growing n er appears to be- come more remote, and finally after having climbed five hours we reach its very wel- come shelter and throw ourselves upon its roughly constructed cots. The guides prepare a meal and having partaken of the same we go out of doors to seek a sunny rock and bask in the sunshine until the ecld and nightfall drive us within. By this time the little room is crowded with tcurists, who, smoking and drinking, to- gether with the smell of the ail, make the room so clese and uninhabitable that there is no sleep save for the fittest, and at 2 o'clock in the morning, before any cne else, we leave the hut,’and a path illuminated by a dinly lit lamp held in the hand cf the head gaide leaas us to the glacier five hundred feet beiow. Al- though the cold night has hardened the snow there are places where It has been rerdeted slushy by the iniiumerable rivu- lets of water pouring over its surface, ard there are treec ous crevices and deep beles, within which the is an ominous rearing, and at the bottom of which rush- ing water is discernibie. ‘To step in one of these would mean cer death, and it as happened oa this r that a rty ef tour! the me and red of the onlooker, have been carried —their bodies never to be recovered. stepping upon the glacier the ice shoes are strapped upon the feet, and the or, beticr, the life-lines, are re- moyed from the backs of the guides and a/ljusted around the waists, a space of ten feet being left between each tourist. Seven of are roped together, our chain*being unusually long. Step by step we move alcng, the bead guide plunging his s now and then into the snow to determ its character. The is such a din of rushing water above dnd beneath the glacier that our voices drowned, and » progress in silence. One of the guides makes a misstep. In a second he has dis- appeared from sight, but, with the agility cf a eat, he leaps from the icy pitfall, and, recovering himself, gives the line such a tug that it throws the ladies and myself cH our feet. We retreat, and, circling around the slushy area it to the right, and, at the suges n of the guides, walk with the greate: haste toward the pyramid of rock, nearly three hours dis- tant. The condition of the ¢! r is bad, and we must hasten so as to get back be- fore the sun shall have softe: snow still more. The grade has become very steep and our task herculean. Every muscle is strained, and it is really won- derful to note with what pluck and per- severance the laGles are wading ankle-deep through the precipitous banks of snow, and how very much better they appear to be breathing than myself or the guides. The endurance which they display is in- deed something wonderful, but I noticed, to my sorrow, that the gulde whose clothes had become drenched by reason of his ac- cident has become s' , and that the other three are not at all pleased that the ladies stand the trip so well, and I observe that two of them are welshting the poor women down by throwing their combined weight upon the rope. It is a mean ad- ventage they are taking of the weaker sex, when reminded of their most con. they sneer and make ating signs about the snow. They n paid, and their object seems to be to tite them or to induce them to offer additional secompense to carry them to the top. The ladies perceive the guides’ object and wish to turn back, but I beg them to continue, and assure them if they will but allow me I shall yet take them to the summit of the huge cliff, the base of which is now not more than half an hour distant. be A Perilous Ascent. Finally it is reached and I behold such a spectacle as I have never witr d any- where in the Alps, and my ‘blood fairly curdles when I see what confronts the ladies. There is a huge ledge abou 1,500 feet high, with wallsealmost perpendicular, and this is to be ascended by means of the massive iron rings fastened at irregular intervals to the walls by means of project- ing iron spikes, upen which the insiep of the shoe is to be placed—by means of a hempen rope rendered rotten, as I later earned, by three years’ exposure to the weather—by means of foothokis cut into the rock, by meaus of wire strung along the crevices, and, finally, by the assistance of sure-footed guides. I have no doubts about my ability to ascend this rock, for outside of the accompanying danger it seems easi_c than walking through the snow. The hands and arms will be called into play, and it will be something like climbing a tree. The ladies, stimulated by a drink of wine, ex- press their desire to make the attempt to reach the summit, and having my wife roped to the head guide, I bid him to ascend, taking my place between my wife and one of the English ladies. The start is made, the fourth member of our party, roped to both a guide in front and behind, is in our rear, and slowly we ascend the Hohe Dachstein. I caution every one not to talk and not to look back, but to watch each step and to heed the guides; but one of the party losing her foothold, when about 500 feet are covered, becomes un- nerved by this mishap, and to my horror I notice she is dangling at the end of the rope as pale as death, and as though she were going to faint. We halt, and admin- On the Mouninin Heights. ring stimulants at the suggestion of her r, the two turned back, taking three 8 with them. i the assistance of the remaining guide my wife and myself continued our ‘ent. Looking backward I see that the ladies and the guides have safely reached the glacier. I breathe a sigh of relief and ect over the danger attending the ex- pedition. Foolhardiness is a proper designation for this under: but then, who does not risk his life in sport, and where would be the charm in mountain climbing were it not accompanted with peril? Not a year passes but a score of lives are lost in the Alps, and not a year when there is not more climbing then during the pre- ceding year. The very necessity of carry- ing a rope Is a warning of danger, and yet, what think you of a tourist in the Tyrol of Switzerland who does not carry a life Ine elther across the shoulder or upon his knapsack? When that snowy arete, which is about two-thirds of the way up, is reached, I realize that with a single guide it will he impossible to cross it with my wife. So, finding a rocky place, I leave her and cross it alone, slipping once or twic, but always Tecovering my- self in the nick of time. The sensation is like climbing a tight rope suspended high from the ground, where it makes but little difference on which side you lose your balance, as a fall in any event will be the same. Having crossed this ridge of snow and ice, I reach the last rocky wall, and pulling myself up by means of the dangling rope and fron rings, reach the icy summit, from which there is but one view for me— my wife 500 feet below, and the sight of the two English ladies making their way across the glacier. book,I write down my name as an evidence that I have reached the summit, and then de: zs nd by ancther path, and reaching the snowy arete the guide shows me where 2 month before a student had lost is life by being precipitated a distance of 500 feet, his guide saving himself by cut- ting the rope. When we reach the glacier we find that the sun has softened the snow very much, d at times we are not ankle deep, as be- fore, but knee and waist deep in the snow. Although it is down grade we descend very skwly, and when we reaca the hut are well exhausted. A few glasses of wine stimulate us, and having taken a plate of oup and a huge piece of rye bread, we descend, and being overtaken by a heavy fall of rain, wet and tired, make our way back to Halstadt. JOHN H. METZEROTT. —————— CLD MAN'S CRISE. AN The Stranger Whom He Muriered for Money Wns His Own Son. From the Lozdon Daily News. The Wilna papers report a shocking drama enacted in that city a few days ago. A man who, as a youth, had emigrated to the United States many years ago, and there amassed a considerable fortune, re- turned a fortnight back. His appearance was so much changed that his old neigh- bors, with one exception, failed to recognize thelr youthful acquaintance. The excep- tion was an old friend of ti was leaving Wilna on a short absence by a departing train just as the young man alighted. Finding himself unrecognized, the young man spent a few days loitering about his old haunts and picking up in- formation of his father and sister, the lat- ter a very pretty girl whom her brother had left a3 a mere child. One evening he went to his father’s house during the lat- ter’s absence. His sister was greatly at- tracted by the strange guest who had so many interesting experiences to relate, and they supped together. The brother, feign- ing fatigue, begged to be allowed to remain over night, as he had something of im- portance to say to the girl's father in the morning. The sister, though somewhat surprised at the request, consented, and prepared his sleeping apartment. On her father’s late re- turn the g:rl informed him of their une pected guest, and dilated, unfortunate! on the stranger's wealth. The old man’: cupidity was aroused, and during the ni he stole into the guest’s bed room, and murdered him in his sleep with an ax. During the next day the old nei, hbor, now returned, who had recognized the young man at the railway station, came with a number of fri is to hear the news of their emigrant rejatives in the states. ‘Where is your son?” he inquired of the. murderer “Whose son?” the lz ching . “Your own boy neighbor, ho returned some days ago fortune. Did he not sleep Suddenly the whole hor- shed upon the unhappy : off to the seullery v's body was hidden. He is now in ison, but it is said his reason is shaken, + e+ MONUMENT TO A TREE. el Proposition That in Being Talked of fn Wobuen, Mass, From the Boston Transcript. It is not a difficult task to set people talking about a monument in the memory of almost any dead man in these t 5, but it is not often that one hears about a proposition to erect a monument to a tree. Some people think that the tree that first Lore the toothsome Baldwin apple did more for humanity than a good many men who nave been honored with monuinents, and so it is proposed to erect such a mon in Wilmington, two miles north of Nor! Woburn. The matter is being talked of Woburn, and the people look with favor upon the scheme. The inscription wiil be as follow: AN “This pillar, erected in 1895 by the Rum- ford Historical Association, marks the estate where, in 1 Samuel Thompson, esq., while locating the line of the M Sex canal, apple, dle- discovered the first later named the Baldwin. feet st 10 degrees north. The apple first received the name Pecker Because of the avoodpeckers around tha tree. Thompson found the apple to be a Pec Exact new variety, and he and his brother Abijah its c: ed many trees to be grafted w scions. It through the influenc Col. Loami Baliwin, the celebrated gineer, that the apple ned a wide jebri and soon became known as the ——___+ e+ ____ Valuable Testimony. The police officer from Swampoodie was testifying against a prisoner charged with drunkenness, and the lawyer was bully- ragging the witness, as usual. “You say,” nagged the attorney, this man was drunk?” “Yes, sir.” “How do you know he wes drunk?” “I found him flat of his back on the road with a quart bottle on one cide of him and the contents on the other. “Aha,” sneered the attorney, what was in the bottle?” “Tt was empty.” “Empty, eh? How could a man get drunk on an empty bottle? “There had be2a whisky in it. It was labeled, and besides I could smell it.” “Are you willing to swear that he drank itz” “Yes, sir." The attorney became very serious. “Now, Mr. Officer,” he said sternly, “you haye just said you found the prisoner flat of his back with the bottle on one side of him and the contents on the ocher. Will you please explain to the court how you can make your statements agree?” The officer smiled softly, as he turned to the bench. “Tf it please the court,” he said, “the bot- tle was on the outside of him and the con- tents were on the inside of him.” Then everyhody, except the attorney, laughed, and the officer made his case. eee Bound to Be Killed. From the Atlanta Constitution. It was the killing scene in “Fra Diavo- lo" at the New Lyceum. Fra Diavolo had been shot. He was mortally wounded, but he had to kill Beppo ‘ore he died. He had the gun to do the b with, and,- pale and exhausted, but nerved with determination, he half rese and pointed the gun at his old follower, who had betrayed him. It was a thrilling moment. The audi- ence held its breath. Nervous people shut to stop the shock of the report. avolo pulled the trigger. There a dull ¢ , but no report. Although dying, Fra Diavolo looked sur- . He was determined to kill Beppo, he wv ‘ked aw again. There was er Ieaden click, but no report. ‘fhe audience grew nervous. They wanted the job done and over with. They didn't relish the experience of being kept on a strain listening for the report of a pistol. Bravely the dying man ‘tried it a third time, There was no sound. And then Lorenzo, who had no possible excuse for killing Beppo, but who had a good gun, stepped forward and exploded the direction of the man if anxiously to be slaughter- spo had to be killed, and Lorenzo was equal to the job. The curtain went down and the audience laughed. A minute or two later there was a loud report behind the curtain. The bad cart- ridge had been made to work. Se Electricity for Deafness. From the Boston Transcript. Many advanced aurists are now investigat- ing the effect of mechanical and electrical vibrations in curing deafness and various diseases of the ear. A prominent New York practitioner has invented an instru- ment which gives a sustained note of reed- like quality over several octaves of the scale. Close to the instrument fs a tele- phone trarsmitier,through which the sound passes to a receiver at the ear of the pa- tient. The exact pitch at which the ear is found to exhibit normal symptoms fs first ascertained, and then the corresponding nete on the instrument is started, and the concentrated vibrations are allowed to play on the ear drum of the patient for a speci- fied time every day. Another leading au- rist is experimenting on the effects of vari- cus kinds of electrical vibrations in the treatment of ear affections, and some promising results have been obtained. Whatever may be the outcome of these val- vable investigations it is certain that ordi- mary telephone conversation is heard much better by some people than by ethers, even where there is no manifest superiority of the organ of hearing. “that “so? And a The guide brings me a J MY MAN JENKINS BY WILLIAM 1, WASSELL (Copyright, 1995, by William H. Wassctl.) For a second lieutenant who has been in the service only six months I flatter my- self that I have quite a decent establish- ment. My furnishings are very limited— most of them belonging to the quarter- master’s department; but in the west, you know, one can Keep up quite a smart ap- pearance by cons:antly referring to the antique furnishings one has stored away in the city—I mean New York, of course. I sometimes fancy that some of my brother officer fellows are laughing at me, but I don’t mind that. Am living up to a prin- ciple, and on the whole, am quite con- tented with myself. And every one admits that I have the best trained man in the Post. . Blatvisky, or something like that—forget what—was his name when he first became my striker; but, of course, in talking to my smart acquaintances, the ladies of the garrison, I could not refer to him as my striker, Blatvisky, don’t you know. So I changed his name to Jenkii so English it seemed to me, and, of course, I preferred to call him my man Jenkins, rather than Jenkins, my striker. Simultaneously with this change I per- suaded him with a $5 bill to remove his mus- taches. During my very short experience in the army I have noted many pleasing and many displeasing facts. I am quite taken with the idea of getting a soldier to wait on me hand and foot for only $5 a month; and it is delicious to have him drink my whisky on the sly—so like a real English servant, you know. And really, Iam glad when he drinks the horrid stuff, because when I drink it, it makes me cough and brings ‘the tears to my eyes—I have to drink it straight, without water, because all the old capiains drink the!rs that way. And it is very pleasant to have a man who is so well disciplined as my man Jen- kins—no matter what I tell him he always answers a most respectful “Yes, sir.” For instance, when any one is with me I drawl out, “Jenkins, don’t forget to varnish my boots.” “Yes, sf says my man without the slightest hesitation. as a ratter of fact, being in the in- fantry, I don’t wear boots; and Blatvisky merely goes out to the unfurnished kitchen and blackens my shoes. But between “Blat- visky, blacken my shoes,” and ‘Jenkins, there is a wide social rence that Lam most anxious to main- And Jenkins is a man of my own creation; for when I got him, he didn't even know that a man who pretends to be at all smart wears one scarf on a bright day, but a diiferent one if the skies are cloudy When I first joined my regiment I thought I was to be thrown among very smart young men. -Imagine my surprise. I was ed to the bachelor mess—mess sounded very clever—just what an lish dragoon would s. But when dinn Was served, lieutenant threw away his tied mess call, and said, ‘Come a-running.” Of course I laughed, 1 was very much shocked. he same evening I went out to play tennis. My duck trousers, my coat, my shoes, my. Madras shirt, were all of the latest; but herror of horrors, I played with a fellow whose: trousers were not turned up at the bottom. He beat me, too; But I fancy the sight of these trousers ‘Ganerved me. he only redeeming feature of that even- the cali of an old captain, who talked until 1 o'clock in the morning about his travels in dear 6ld England. Of cours + havirg heba ‘iiearer England than my thumbed guide book, could not follow ; well, but his conversation was so ing. My captain is a horrid fellow, so decided- ly American, don't you know. Once he sent an orderly to teli me to drill the com- pany. I put on. my best clothes—made in London to fit the figure—and gave them what TI call a deucedly fine drill, f you are il said I r may go to your barracks, “barracks,” it’ much more English ee quarters,” and I could sympathize wi he- poor company fellows because V've been ill myself—the first night I tried te drink my whisky straight. After my drill 4 fellow from the com- Pany enme.over to my rooms and said he weuld Tike to talk to me. He wa: custishman, I could tell by his ent. He told me a really interes tale about being the young: English away to return to me lord, tance. ‘Tre following morning my stupid cap- tair came to tell me that thereafter he would Grill the company himself. I told 1 about the younger son, and he actuai- Jaughed at me, the-great stupid. He told me that the younger son got drank— as if an Englishman would ever get more than tipsy. He also said that he had to serd the younger son to the guard house, viich would probably remind him of his ather's ancestral castle, and that I would never see my $10 if I waited until an En- glish lord sent a monthly remittarze to Fert Barrenall. But anyhow, ‘be fellow was an Englishman, and if one to lese his money it is comforting io know that he was beaten out of ft Ly an En- glishman. In fact, it is quite the smart trirg, and on the whole I’m awfully glad it hap, ed. Again must say I am per- fectly mtented with myself. But about my man Jenkins. One morning I awoke and found to my horror that the horrid chill had not been taken from my room by Jenkins’ usual small fire. “He’s such a stoopid,” said I to myself. I went into my dressing room, and there another surprise awaited me. My tub was in plain sight, but it was filled with water that was perfectly cold and had not the slightest suspicion of perfume. My boots stood at the door, but not. a sign of a var- nish was on them. Soiled underlinen was in confusion all around the room. Heaven alone knows how I managed to pull through that beastly morning. Before doing anything, I put on my cigarette Jack- et and took a B. and S. in my big, thick glass in order to gain the sirength neces- sary to think. A brilliant thought came to me, a deuced- ly fine idea. I resolved to act as my own man in the absence of my man Jenicin: Don’t know how I arrived at such a happy conclusion, but at once became more con- myself. ‘ead out my underlinen to make r selection for the day. A giance ‘ry oson of an When he we he promi: S$ soon as his father, the sent him his next monthly rem! out of my window showed me that the cloudless. Now, my underlinen all the same, but a principle is a prin- ciple, and one must live up to it. And real- the mental task was quite fatiguin making selection, I found it nece: to take a stcond B. and S. uniforms .are, all the same, too—a id restriction placed on a fellow by jiowing one no oppor- y for indiviguality. Faney being re sly com nd wearing the san —precisely the sime_styles as are worn by all the other fellows. However, I spread out my three uniforms, glanced a second time out of my windows, and carefully made my selectfon.* In the matter ¢f shirtirgs, I congratulate myself that evén my man Jenkins could rot have done Setter. The tightly fitting blouse, edged in’ mohair, of course, allows no sign of one’s shirt to be visible, but it is a great consolation to the well-dressed man to know that, If he were suddenly killed in some “horrid war, his friends would not have to blush fer him when they saw what manner of shirt he wore. The sky was still cloudless, so I selected a reen shirt with a tiny red stripe and—the sky was still cloudless—a yellow scarf of my own creaticn. As I walked down to the mess I flattered myself that not even my min Jenkins—valuable fellow—could have done better ‘At the mess I met the unkindest blow of By my plate was the morning paper, but of course I couldn't open the beastly thing. for I saw at a glance that it had not been ironed. True, my paper—a New York daily, of course—was a week old before it got to me at Barrenall, and doubtless very little of the horrid dampness and nasty odor of printer’s ink—I think that is what they call it—remained in it; but a principle 1s a principle, and 1 could not think well of myself if I read a morning paper that had not been ‘roned While at breakfast I began to think seriously of sending my man Jenkins aw: without a character, but my thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of my brother [ene ly, hor “Hello, old Duke d’Swagger,” said a sec- ond Heutenant fellow. “Why didn’t you com? over last night! Whist club, you know. Started out at whist and wound up trying to better a pair in the draw. Rath- er looked for you.” “Thanks, awfully, old man,” I drawled, ‘but I’m all knocked up this morning. My man Jenkins, you know, failed to appear, and reaily I had to do my own work.” As a matter of fact, I had stopped play- ing poker with my brother officer fellows, because I always lost when I tried it, and no man who thinks anything of himself can lose to such a beastly American lot of fellows. “Why,” said another second_ lieutenant fellow, “your man got into trouble last night. He was hived in a poker game after tay Haven't you heard about it?” 'No,” I answered with as much show of interest as ene dare exhibit when his own man is mentioned. ll, I was officer of the guard yester- day, and you know the old man,” this is the way we have of referring to the coio- nel of our regiment; “you know the old man is getting very keen about soldiers gambling, particularly when they run their games after taps. The officer of the day gave me a secret order to take a patrol at 11 o'clock and go all over the post, inspeet- ing for games that were being run on the quiet. First, I struck a gang of them, ali soldiers, in the old root house back of F company. They had the cellar fixed up in gtyle, and have been playing there for some time by the appearance of the place. I -would have passed it unnoticed, because it is underground, and not a sign of a Hght was visible, but as I approached it I saw the shadow of a man going down the steps. They were very much surprises when I made them open the door, and marched the crowd, six of them, straight to the guard house. “Afterward, I went down the laundress line, and as-I passed the Chinaman’s house I heard a suspicious jingling of chips. I tried the front door, but it was locked. Posting. my guard at the other doors I knocked at the front door. Who's there?’ asked a soldier voice. ‘Open this door,’ I replied. “There was a consultation, and then the ‘same voice whispered through the key- hele, ‘Go ‘round t'sth’ back door.’ “They evidently thought I was some sol- dier wanting to join the game, and I felt rather mean about it, but, of course, I had my orders. At the back door they admit- ted me without a word, but when they w who it was they scrambled in all cirections. Under the tables, behind the dcorg, in the closets, at the windows, every man made a frantic effert to escape, but, of course, I gathered in the whole crowd. Just as I was leaving the house I saw a suspicious movement in a great pile of soiled clothes, and, kicking away the Chinaman’s leundry, I discovered your man Blatvisky. I wish you could have seen him when I ordered him to come out of his hiding place. He was a sight. But you will have to do your own work today, for the entire crowd, poker chips, cards all, are now in the guard house. My men Jenkins hidden in the soiled linen?” I gasped, and then I vowed that Jenkins would have to take three baths Oefore he again entered my rooms. I discovered later that my man Jenkins was in the straights. He had been con- of a number of minor offense: is what they call them—and pid captain was determined to send him before a general court-martial and have him dishororably discharged the service, if possible. in awful predicament for me. cy a fellow about to lose a man who is thoroughly broken to a fellow’s wants! 1 went to my stupid captain, and told him I really couldn't get along without my man Jenkins. “Jenkins be d—d,”’ said the vulgar fellow. “If you want to save Biatvisky, you be his counsel when he is tried. I want to get rid of him, anyhow.” liis last 'emark was rather funny, you w, but I flatter myself that I can tell when a fellow is making game of me. But it gave me an idea that was worth trying. You know, a soidier has a right to have an officer for his counsel when he Is tried by a general court-martial—think that is what they call it. So I went over to the adjutant’s office, and I got me a copy of the nasty charges against my man Jenkins. The thingamebob specification said: ‘In that Private Blat- visky, company C, blank infantry, did with- out preper authority absent himself from his company quarters after 11 o'clock p.m., and did engage in a game of poker at the quarters assigned to the Chinese laundry- man. All this at or near Fort Barrenali, O. D., on or about July 16, 1893." I wrote the thingamebob words on a sheet of my crested paper, so that I would know just how to defend my man Jenkins. I sent to the guard house and had my man Jenkins fetched over to my rooms. Of course, I could not allow him to come in after his contact with the soiled linen, but I questioned kim through my open dow. I read the beastly charges pre- ferred against him. “Sir,” said he, and then the fellow told me a story that msde my eyes open. “Don't fay a word about that except among yourselves,” said I. It was 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and, de- siring to dress for dinner, I sent this great unwashed fellow Lack to the guard house. i felt sure that I co clear him before the court, a: congretulated mysclf that after a process of fumigation I could once more enjoy the pieasure of saying: “Jen- kins, don't forget to varnish my boot: On the day set for the trial ef my man Jenkins I put on my London uniform, for which from London my horrid tailor has had the impudence to send me several bills. I felt very much pleased with myself, for I krew 1 would surprise the court-martial. At a long ta»le in a big room all the of- ficer fellows sat. They fetched my man Jenkins before them, and they all stood up and swore something out of a little book about trying my man Jenkins without par- tiality, favor, fear or a‘fection—something like that—doy't remember exactly. The judge advoca‘e fellow asked Lieut. Winters a lot of silly quesuons about his name and his rank and his station. Fancy asking a fellow his name when you know him and see him every day, even eat your meals with him. The Winters fellow told all about catch- ing my man Jenkins playing poker, and abeut pulling him out of the soiled linen. I blushed for shame. When my turn came, I fetched in one of the soldier fellows who had been caught with my man Jenkins. The judge advocate fellow asked him his name, and then I wrote on a little slip of paper—that’s the Way they do in their odd courts-martial—I wrote: ‘What game were you playing that pight?” “What game were you playing that right?" read the judge advocate fellow frem my slip of paper. “We wuz playin’ ecarte,” said the soldier fellow, with a low grin. I sent for four more witness fellows, and they all swore they were playing ecarte. I felt very much pleased with myself, for, of ccurse, any fellow can see that if you charge a soldier fellow with poker play- ing and then prove that he was playing ecarte, of course, you acquit him of the charge. And I hoped the court would be smart enough to recognize that soldiers sould be encouraged to play such a royal Engiish game as ecarte. Last of all, my man Jenkins raised his right hand and swore he would tell the whole truth and all the truth—something like that—don’t remember exact words. “How long had you been playing?” asked the judge advocate fellow. “gbout an hour an’ a half, sir,” answered pan Jenkins. nd you been winning or losing?” § such interest in a lot of " game. Such bad taste to ters over with a person in my an Jenkins’ position. : wuz loosin’ up t’ th’ time Loot’nint Winters catched us,” answered my man Jenkins. ‘Jus’ before he came—’ “You got a good hand?” interrupted the vulgar judge advocate fellow. - ‘sii answered my man Jenkins, getting excited. “I picked up me cards an’ finds I had big dick.” “What is that?” “A pair o’ aces an’ a pair o’ kings.” “And then you drew one card?” res, sir.” “And you caught—" “I catches another ace, sir, so—” “What game were you playing?” asked the judge advocate fellow, with a laugh. I saw it all. Of course, my man Jenkins, like a great stupid, had to get excited and tell a horrid tale of a poker hand just after he had said he was plying ecarte. He had been lying to me, the rascal had, be- cause he knew I would think all the more of him if I thought he had been playing such a deucedly fine game as ecarte. My man Jenkins is now a thing of the past. The common fellows on the court sentenced him to be dishonorably dis- charged. I had to get a new man, but I can’t persuade him to remove his mus- taches. If I tell him to varnish my boots the great “stupid always asks, “Does th’ loot’nint mean t’ black his shoes?” He tried to iron my morning paper, and burned it in four places. And he’s so un- English that he will not steal my whisky. On tke whole, I feel that life is not worth livirg. A principle is a principle, oo you know, it’s very hard to live up to A TAX ON BACHELORS The Novel Scheme of a Frenchman to In- crease the Revenues, After Thirty-Fiye, if Unmarried, M. Decroix Would Make Every Man Help Pay the Public Debt. From the New York World. France needs money, and in order to help raise it one of her social reformers has brought forward a scheme to tax bach- elors. The budget for 1805 has, with the greatest difficulty, been arranged, and there seems but little likelihood of that of 1896 being properly balanced, or of an equilibrium being established by the Ribot ministry, so that the financial condition of the country is causing alarm not only to those who have the reins of the govern- ment in hand, but to all parties. Patriots are ransacking their brains for new devices by which the empty coffers of the state may be replenished. Among re- cent lucubrations which have been taken into serious consideration by the minister of finance are the taxes on noblemen, a heavier, tax on alcohol, and, finally, the project of taxation on bachelors. A World correspondent has had an interview with the originator of the latter system of tax- ation, which appears to have been his hob- by for the past thirty years. M. Decroix, founder of the league against the abuse of tobacco, has forwarded his petition to the chamber of deputies, where he hopes it will be examined before long. Said he: “The idea of taxing bachelors is an old one with me. Although my latest petition is only just forwarded to parliament, I have been thinking the matter over for the past thirty years. This is how it came about. I was a veterinary surgeon at the time, in a regiment of chasseurs, in Africa. I noticed that the chief of a squadron in my regiment, a married man with a fam- ily, had the greatest difficulty in making both ends meet. On the other hand, his colleagues of the same grade, receiving the same pay, with no private income, were leading a most agreeable life. “It was from the observation of these two men that I derived my idea of im- posing a tax on bachelors. I expressed the cpinion that the difference between the lives of two officers of the same rank should be lessened. er since I have con- ducted in France a campaign in favor of a tax on bachelors, in the me way, but not with such good results so far as I have achieved in the campaign against the abuse of tobacco. ¥ first petitien was forwarded to the ative assembiy in and met with a very different reception. Three years later a prefect of police encouraged me to to continue my cfforts, so I presevered h my petitions. And, although people say that within the past thirty years times have changed considerably from an eco- nomic point of view, my principal argu- ment in the sixties was precisely the same as it is in the nineties. “I tried to make clear to the represen- tatives of the people that, at an epoch when everybody is pinched by the want of relative luxury, bachelors enjoy a veri- table privilege. They pay less taxes than the poorer classes. (Consequently they have more money at ther disposal for all kinds of dissipation, which is more injurious than useful to society at larze. In my opinion, there Is no excuse for a bachelor when he has attained the age of thirty- five years. From that period of his life until his death, unless he should marry, I propose tl he should pay an additional 10 per cent of the amount of his ordinary taxes. “This would be far from making things equal, but it would be a step in the right direction. Of course, officers of the army, sailors and the clergy would be exempt from this bachelor taxation. ‘The most curious fact to note Is that the originator of the tax is himself a bachelor. He says that he deprives him- self of ajl “satisfactions inherent to his condition,” and that of his modest pen- sion he devotes as much as he can pos- sibly spare to the funds of the league against the abuse of tobacco. Although unwilling to marry himself (he says he is too old), M. Decroix expresses his willing- ness to settle the tax for his own part, and insists that his project is patrioti asmuch as it is the bast remedy ag: the depopulation of the country, malt sianism and aleohotism. “If my idea is adopted, as I hone it will be.’ he concluded, “the young girls of France will owe me a statue.” ——_-+e<. -__— DISMAL SWAMP CURIOS. Strange Things Found by a Govern- ment Scientist in a Queer Region, “I have just returned from a visit to the Dismal Swamp,” said Dr. A. K. Fisher, ornithologist of the Department of Agri- culture, to a Star writer. “It is a strange region, full of oddities that are not to be found elsewhere. The purpose of my ex- pedition was to investigate the fauna of the locality, and of rare mammals and birds I secured quite a number. Snakes are abundant and are alleged by the natives to be venomous, but all that I saw were harmless. When I picked up a good-sized one from a log and held him by the neck, the negro who was paddling for me shud- dered so that he nearly upset the boat. “I found about fifty species of birds breeding in the swamp. One of them was Swainson’s warbler, which is very rare. I trapped several species of small mice—rice mice, field mice, golden mice and lemming mice. The lemming mouse ts hard to catch, because it will not take any sort of bait; the only way to capture it is to set a trap in its runway. I set my traps in dry places out of water. Among other things I got two rare shrew's. “There are plenty of cattle in the swamp —smali, dark and very wild. They are the progeny of animals that have strayed from domesticated herds. Hunters stalk and shoot them like deer. Bears are numerous. In the autumn they feed greedily on the fruit of the sour gum. Wildcats, opos- sums and raccoons are net scarce, while squirrels are remarkably abundant. The squirrels have discovered an easy way to get a living, by going along the shores of Lake Drummond and picking up the nuts and berries which have fallen into the water and drifted in windrows. They trot along th> logs and fish them out with their paws. Deer are common, but hard to get. In the fall hunters run them into the lake and catch them with dogs. “There is fine fishing in Lake Drum- mond, which centains plenty of perch,black bass, two kinds of pickerel, three species of sunfish, and other panfish. There is no dry ground in the swamp, and one sinks at every step to his knees in mud. The cane which forms brakes all through the south fs abundant. Together with a varied undergrowth, it is tangled with vines that run up into the trees, so that half a mile an hour is a good rate of progress. One must carry a knife to cut the vines, walk- og being further impeded by the cat-briar, whose thorns catch in the clothing and h on like hooks. ‘he boats used in the Dismal Swamp are all. dug-outs, mude from cypress logs, twelve fect long and very narrow. To shape such a craft properly is a nice piece of work. The novice who steps into one of these boats ts’apt to go out on the other side, but the native stands up and paddles with security. The water is darker than amber and excellent to drink; it is said to be a sure cure for raalaria. There is no malarial disease in the swamp. The swamp is full of magnolias, from the size of bushes to trees sixty feet high. When I was there, they were full of flowers. The cypress trees are cut for shingles. The best trees for the purpose are those which fell from twenty-tive to fifty years ago, and are now covered with moss. The negroes wade in and cut off the moss and rotten bark. Then they cut up the log into shingles on the spot. The next best tree is one that is newly fallen, and the third quality is the tree that has to be felled. “The Dismal Swamp is the most northern of the great morass swamps. Lake Drum- mond, in the center of it, is four miles long and of an oval shape. There is a very odd fact about the Jericho Ditch, which ex- tends for a distance of eleven miles from the Nansemond river to the lake. From the middle point of the ditch the water runs both ways; there is a current toward Lake Drummond and another current in the opposite direction toward the Nanse- mond river.’ —_>——_ Country Milk, From Life. Prospective Boarder—“Do you haye good Summer Landlord—“Do we! Why, this Place is only forty minutes from the city.” BUSY BIRD ARCHITECTS, The Marsh Wren and His Fondnem for Constructing Nests. While everybody who has had any ex. Perience of rural or suburban life is more or less acquainted with that delightful but somewhat erratic songster, the house Wren, how many are there, aside from profes- sional ornithologists, who have any knowl- edge of his covsin who makes his home down un the flats and in the marshes along the Potomac river? In general appearance and in restlessness of character the two birds are quite similar, but in some other respects they aiffer widely,more particularly in their selection of a habitation. Our upland friend affects the vicinage of man and his wcrks, and chooses for his home the aban- doned nest of a woodpecker, or a box placed by the kindly hand of his brother” biped, but he of the marshes is independent of all such helps, and constructs for himself @ domicile that is not only eminently suit- able fer the purpose, but is a marvel of ccnstructive skill and patient industry. Go down on the flats or on any of the marshes along the Potomac about the first week in June, when the sedges, bulrushes and coarse marsh grasses are well grown, and you will be greeted by a low, soft, crepitating warble coming apparently from dczens of ¢ifferent points among the rank Vegetation, but you will search in vain for the songsters, for as you advance into the jungle, they will steadily recede, keeping always just In front of you, and before you have gone far you will hear them at the same distance in the rear and all around. While this song cannot be considered as in any sense a musical one, it has a cheery sound and seems indicative of a contented and happy disposition, and shows that the scmewhat damp and malarial surroundings have not been able to depress the spirits of our diminutive friends. ut @ marsh wren does not as a songster he more than commesien for this deficiency by his skill as an archi- tect, for in the matter of house building he is an artist of the first rank. Look about among the rushes and tall grass and you will probably soon discover a bunch of ary grass as large as a cocoanut—or perhaps larger—suspended between half a dozen stalks of herbage a few feet from thr ground. If this be carefully examined it will Be seen to consist of an oval-shaped, Y neatly woven a y rerfecu aby all, and apparently ut look more closely and sce if ‘ find a hole anywhere that may serve as ar entrance tc the interior. You may be lucky enough to discover it at once, or you mas search some time before you hit upon {i and some people have given up, and de clared that there Was no entrance, but it i there all the same. Having found the Goo: to this snug domicile, run your finger it and feel the interior. You will probably fizd the bottom without any soft lining, anc damp almost to wetness. You will natura? ly infer that the nest is not yet finished and the birds have nét yet laid. Should you pee Ped gd this structure apart yor at it requires all the st you have about yout pegs A careful search will probably shor many other rests similar to this one, anc after a while one may be found with : soft Mning and containing eggs. These, $: the full clutch has been laid, will be abou: six in number, and if you take them o1 for examination will be seen to be of : brown mahogany color, forming one, of thc few exceptions to the general rule that egzs in comcealed or covered nests arc White. A careful explovation of the mars? will usually show about one occupied mes. to every five or six vacant ones, and the cesual observer will conclude that there 1: quite a colony of birds, but that only a few of them have ffhished their nests and laid, but, to use the expressive slang of the age, “that’s where he's off.” While other birds that build much simpler nests than this are content to build but one, this eccentric creature fairly revels ir house building. Having constructed two or three of these abodes, the lady in the cas selects the one most to her liking, and m3 lord at once puts in the proper furnitur: and bedding, and preparations for a family are at once begun. But our friend is, as has been stated, a house builder by trade, and being blessed with a supertiuity of time and energy, he goes on building house after house upon every available site, and would, perhaps, keep on all summer, were it not that six wide-open and ever-empty mouths are soon, like Oliver Twist, con- stantly asking for more. As it fs, five or six nests besides the one occupied are usually completed each year, representing, so far as we can see, so mu waste of energy. Scientists have formed several more or less plausible theories tc account for this surplus nest building, b none of them have ever satisfied even the! own authors. It is probably the surviva) ef a habit once useful, but now no longer necessar: To get a sight of the birds requires that one remain for a time perfectly still and concealed among the rush Curiosity i: now transferred to the feathered biped who will try to get a peep at the intrude. whose whereabouts are no longer reveale: by kis movements; and for this purpos: he will perch upon the highest availab) Solny and so afford a chance for inspec- ion. This peculiar bird is not confined to thi part of the country, but is found in ever: suitable lecality east of the Rocky moun- tains, In many places where no ta! rushes are found it contents itself with grass no higher than one’s knees, provid- ed it is so thick that the nest, though not more than a foot from the ground, is completely concealed from above. On’ the other hand, when willows abound in th marshes, it will sometimes select a build- ing site seven or eight feet high. These, however, are extremes. The nest is more commonly about® three feet from the ground, or water, as the case may be, and is hard to match as a specimen of bird architecture. ——— Tin and Coffee for Children, From the Popular Health Magazine. Tea and coffee should be positively inter- dicted to all crildren and there ehould be no exceptiors to this rule. In the families of ihe poorer classes it is found that tea and coffee are given freely to all children and even in the better classes tea Is used too much. The parents take ft and the children naturally want it, and when the parents are weak the children get it. Tea is a powerful stimulant, upsetting the di- gestion, exciting the neryous system, which predominates in the growing child, and causing nervousness, sleeplessness and a host of other evil effects. In England, where tea is used much more than here, many cases of tea poisoning are seen an- nualiy at the hospitals and dispensaries. Children, who are much more susceptible to all such powerful stimulants, are much more powerfully affected by these bever- ages, and consequently they should never be allowed to use them. —_+e+____ Keeping Everlastingly at It. From the Electrical Review, Genius fs really only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between fail- * ure and success is so fine tha® we scarcely know when we pass it—so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved suc- cess? As the tide goes clear out, so it comes clear in. In business, sometimes, prospects may seem darkest when really they are on the turn, A little more persist- ence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious sug- cess. There is no failure except in no long- er trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of pur- pose, ——_+e+____ Ample Amends, From Puck. “Madam,” said the druggist humbly, "J have come to make a confession to you. You believe that your husband, who died last week, committed suicide, but such is not the case. I cannot conceal the truth any longer—the clerk made a mistake and gave him morphine in place of the quinine he ordered.” “Oh, heavens!” sobbed the widow. ‘If you had me genes the mistake before it was too late!” “Yes, madam; I know ft ts too late mow to rectify the mistake, but I am ready to make all the RS ore power.” yhat! oh, w! 4 Place yourself and children on the free soda-water list.” Worth It. From Life. Bingo (sternly)—“Bobbie, Mrs. Blimgon next coor says you tied a cannon r to ker dog’s tail this morni Ty hasn't been seen since. Now, ait, £d Mk to knew what you gain by such conduct?’ Bobble—“I gained @ dollar bill from 1 husband.”