Evening Star Newspaper, August 23, 1895, Page 11

A GRIM EXPERIENCE BY HAMLIW GARLAND. ——_+——_ 2 (Copyright, 1895, by Irving Bacheller.) ‘f have becn in most states of the Union my friend, and in all the larger cities ere and south at all times ofgthe day or ight, and I’ve had only two moments of fear—that Is, apprchension of personal as- alt. One of these is called to mind by a para- graph in this morning's paper. I was on a lecturing tour in the west, and was spend- ing an ‘off night” in a little town in south- ¢rn Iova. There was no possibility of get- fing away until the next morning, and there Was only one little hotel. Still, I was not domplaining. It was glorious September. ‘The smell of ripening corn, bleaching stub- ble and yellowing vines whelmed the little village In {ts depths as the odor of the sea closes round and over a ship. The day nad been misty and warm and odorous, and the night came cool and clear and aromatic. To the north lay the grain fields; to the south ripening forests stood, and a swift, clear little stream moved busily. After my supper at the little hotel (where I was eyed with a certain suspicion, it seemed to me), I went out into the street which ran trregularly away into the per- fect darkness of a moonless night. I sauntered with loitering step enjoying the quaint, abrupt turns in the street, so different from most towns of the plain. It accommodated itself to the river, whose dashing roar below added to my thirst, end § watermelon seemed the necessity of my re. ldenly a man appeared at my side. I studied him through the dusk with eyes of inquiry. He was a heavy-sct man, dark- faced and gleaming-eyed. He wore a wide white hat, and as he spoke his breath smelled strongly of whisky. “Hello!” he said, and peered into my face, lauzhing in embarrassment. “Ha, ha; I-a Nice evenin’, ain’t it?” “Very pleasant, surely,” I repl His eyes seemed fixed upon a small silver badge (a club badge) which I wore. He took hold of my lapei and laughed again In a still More nervous way. ise “Strollin’ around a little, stranger? He seemed to have taken me for some- body ¢ and now hed to gracefully re- tire. To help him out, I said pleasuntl Yes; I'm looking for a yood watermelon. He laughed a third time more foolishly than before. “A watermelon?” Yes. I feel like a nice juicy melon—a native one. I suppose they raise ‘em round here’ Si"No. We ship ‘em all in,” he said hastily. But now I've accosted you, by mistake, Tl see you through. Come with me. *'The fellow's laugh turned to something harder, and I did not exactly relish his officio Y was convinced of his in- toxice that ‘u's elaborate courtesy ‘was one of the thousand forms drunken- ness assumes. However, I followed him across the street toward the dull light of @ pair of windows. It was cvidently a fruit and cigar store. ‘As I entered I looked first at the coun- ter, where tobacco was displayed, and be- bind which a young man stood staring at me with keen, hard, unwaving eyes. A Tagged, uncouth group of men stood (or sat) Immovably, as if my entrance had smitten them into wax figures. Their eyes were very much alike, I noticed. They did not change countenance or make a tmotion. There was something uncanny in thelr analyzing stare. My guide shouted unnecessarily loud (it appeared to me), “Got any watermelons?” No-one replied, and he crossed the room @nd said to the young man behind the counter, “Here’s a man who fs all right ér_he's. a—seamp!” There was a touch of explanatory em- “Hello!” phasis on the word scamp. He was shak- ing with suppressed excitement. Suddenly I divined what it all meant. Whey took me for a detective. I had been ‘watched every moment since landing from the train, and my unconsciousness had een taken for the coolness and polse of an experienced officer. I have the habit of ca ng my hands in my overcoat pock- ets, and as I stood there I faced them with both hands thus hidden. I weighed at that time 180 pounds, and my light over- cat flung open in front exaggerated my pulkiness. Altogether, I suppose I looked v dangerous and very cool, which I y was not. pause was getting awkward, when @ man who was drinking beer and’ eating ckers at a small table said oracularly: ain't done well in this county ; too damn dry guide now coll =— = ¥ GSES F and Ete Storage Warehou ted himself. “No. ith Streets, as st. bear M. ——These prices are fill- ing the big Matting rooms daily with crowds of buyers. They’re re- markably low — much lower than usual—made so by the pressing de- mand for more room by September 1. 1,009 yards White China Mat- th wlar 1c. quality. Re- 5c. &c. 1 and Check ings, 10 patterns — quality. Reduced Fancy Jointless ce Tees fancy checks far Be. quailty Wea roc. 4,000 yards Extra Quality Fancy ae ina Matting, checks lar ity. I2\yc. 7c. 20. 23¢. : ina Matting, the ting made, in fine ‘32%. and duced to... BHC. of China and gths of on 5 to the regular selling 90 Remnan' THE EVENING STAR, FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1895-TWELVE PAGES. i1 We ship ‘em all in; that’s what I told the stranger.” He was a bullet-headed man with broad shoulders. He had a stubby beard over his jaws, which added to the threatening expression of his face. He shook with ex- citement, which was not fear. His eyes Were sinister, and those of a tall faded- a man who is all right or a scamp.” looking man who stood back to the stove seared me. I have not looked into such eyes many times in my life. I saw signifi- cance in the attitude of the tall man. His only sign of nervousness was the motion of warming himself before the fireless stove and the exaggerated slowness of his spitting. They all seemed to wait to see what I would do. I leaned against the counter, keeping my right hard in_ my pocket. I did not design to do this. I in- tended to seem composed, and I succeeded in appearing dangerous. I was facing six or elght rough and dan- gerous men, prcbably eriminals. They were all between me and the docr. I felt in my benes the chill of apprsaching trouble, but I kept my voic2 as steady as possible. My hat brim concealed the anxious look I probably had in my eyes. res, I'm lookirg for a nice, fresh water- melon,” I said in a wondronsly frank and winning voice. “And if you haven't any T'll try somewhere else.” I straightened up as if to go, but my guide, who stood between me and the door, Suess, now I've run up agin you, I'll see you through.” Several of the men rose at this as at a al. ne guide said to one of the younge: en: “Bill, you see if Beggs has got any, 1 wait ‘here.”* Yh, thank you,” I put in. self. Don’t trouble-—" No trouble 'tall,” said the tall man, who lcoked like one of Miss Murfree’s moun- taineers. “I reckon it’s our dooty to kind o’ sea a stranger through. They”s a man out on the Midge o’ the town that raises watermelons. I reckon he'd give ye one if ye went out there.” There was no misunderstanding the cov- ert threat in these words. “We've just been plum worried to death over mer lookin’ for watermelons, an’ I reckon we'd just better turn in and hunt some up fer ye.” They closed in upon me silently, -lazi as If Interested in my talk. They all eyed the silver star and crescent on my coat. I kept my hands in my coat pockets be- cause my arms were too numb to take them out. IT was also not in a hurry to tempt the darkness of the street till I had made my peace with these fellows. I made a bold sally. “Look here, my friends, you're on the wrong track. I’m not a spy. I'm a traveling man, and off here for the night. Ask Reed.” This was a wrong shot. “We don’t go much on Reed, and we know the kind 0’ travelin’ man you be. What's that badge on yer coat?” “It's a society badge. Do you think I'd be fool enough to wear a badge if I was a spy?” That was a center shot. It made every man recoil a step. “That's a fact,"” two or three said. I pushed my advantage. “If you don't believe what I say, send up to Reed’s and bring down my baggage and open it—or send some one up with me. I’m not look- ing for trouble; I'm a plain, everyday bus- iness man"—here I grew bolder. “But I'm not going to be interfered with. I'm to take that 6 o'clock train, and I'd like to go to bed early.” There was discussion among them. They talked little, but they had signs which served for expression—a veritable sign lan- guage. I waited, with both hands in my pockets, again assuming a careless air. The tall man took a couple of his companions aside. My guide stocd near, studying me intently. I remembered how far ore was from any other shop, and that it was getting late. I reflected on the probability of the support of every disreputable in the town. I was a prisoner at the bar. ~ At last the tail old man came back. heid out his hand. “I guess we've made a mistake, stranger; the joke is on us. I shook hands, keeping my left hand in y pocket. “That's all right. No harm done so fai “Rill, see him safe up to Reed's,” guide said. “All right, Bige. I thought he was square, only I thought you ought to know.” “Jest a secont!” commanded the tall man Bige. “I wouldn't say nothiug about .thia if I was you.” He spit lazily. “I'd jest let It was our mistake, an’ so “I can go my- He m: “All righ o’ my concern. as I sald.” My guide laughed and the rest joined in, and while they guffawed we got out into the night. My guide chuckled for a block. At last he said: “That's a good one on us. Ye see,” he said, confidently, “Jim, there, is sellin’ beer without a license, and the boys are a little owly when a stranger comes round. Pro- hibition keeps the boys pretty wide awake. It's all right, but, as Bige said, I wouldn’t mention it to Reed if I was you.” “Oh, I won't. As I say, I don't live in the state, and it’s none o’ my business.” He warmed in admiration. “The boys rather liked your grit, too. The way you kep’ yer hands on yer guns kind o’ made "em careful.” ‘Then for the first time I saw the signifi- cance of my habit of carrying my hands in my overcoat pockets. I was quite willing to pose as a brave man—at that distance from “Bige.”” I said, quietly: 3 ‘t lookin’ for trouble, but, of course, any man takes care of himself.” My guide laughed again. “Well, it’s all right now; the boys are as glad as you are that it didn’t come to a brush. Somebody would ‘a’ got hurt sure. There’s Reed's light, so I'll leave ye. Gocd-night, cal “Good-nigh| I heard him chuckling as he went down the crazy sidewalk, and as I turned to cross the road I found my knees were shaking, and there was a queer tightness across my chest. The shake did not leave my limbs for an hour, and all night long I argued the case with that tall old man with small, flerce eyes. I took the early train, and as It drew out into the cool sweet September morning that experience in the saloon seemed like a bad dream. It seems so to me now, yet here is the paragraph. My friend handed me the clipping. It was a telegraphic dispatch. “BLANK, Iowa, November 20.—Deputy Marshal Williams has succeeded at last in his efforts to apprehend the moonshiners of Appanoose county. Last night he made a raid on Coon Creek and captured ‘Bige’ Miller and his two nephews, Hank and Bill, after a desperate struggle.”” “And the tall man was ‘Bige? " I said. “Undoubtedly. And when I read that paragraph I had a chill; it could so easily have been ‘another mysterious murder in a saloon,’ etc., ete. “Moral?” I asked. “Keep on the lightest side of the street,” he replied. I said, cheerily. “It's none I was just after a melon, —_-___ One of Many. From the New York Weekly. Deacon De Goode—“My! something must be done to stem the tide of divorce now sweeping over this country. The very foundation of civilization is menaced, and—" Congressman—‘T'll bill this very da: Deacon De Goode—‘Um-er—can’t you wait a few weeks? My own divorce case n't through yet.” introduce a national er The Star Out of Town. THE EVENING STAR will be sent by mail to any address in the United States or Canada for such period as may be desired at the rate of fifty cents per month. t>But all such orders must be ac- companied by the money, or the paper cannot be sent, as no ac- counts are kept with mail subscrip- tions. ODD THINGS IN THE MAIL Some of the Onriosities Which Are Found in Packages, Efforts te Escape Letter Postage, Which Are Detected as a Rule. From the New York Times. “They even ser.d—but I can’t tell all they do send—the funniest things.” It is very interesting work that is done at the post office by Miss Daisy James, the discoverer of the Roosevelt sawdust-filled “bomb.” There is such a variety of things besides bombs that she can hardly name them. “This matter will make people open their eyes, I think,” she said yesterday, speaking to a reporter about the “bomb” and her work. ‘People do not realize that all the unsealed packages they send through the mails are opened. “Yes, it is really very interesting, al- though sometimes it is a little monotonous when we cpen package after package with- out finding a bit of writing. It is the writ- ing we look for. We are making money for Uncle Sam. Sometimes there is $14 or $15 charged up in extra postage in a day. “Now, there is a photograph with a let- ter around it. Letter postage will have to be paid on them. There is a pair of glasses inclosed with a letter. Letter postage will have to be paid on them also. The glasses are gold bowed. = “We have very valuable things pass through our hands—diamond rings that are sent to jewelers to have the stones securely fastened; then there are loose stones— pearls, diamonds and sapphires—evidently sent from a jeweler to some Maiden Lane firm. “Then, when an engagement is broken and the ring is returned,it goes through our hands if it is net prepaid at letter rates as first-class matter. . We get all the love letters, too. The young lady sends back those she has re- ceived and the gentleman returns hers. “I opened a package this morning marked ‘Dynamite.’ No, it did not frighten me, for it was a pasteboard box. People would be apt to send a substance like dynamite in a tin or wooden box. ‘Then, I could smell an apple. Inside the box was a line of writing—‘Don't let any one get this.’ ” “You didn't, did you?" asked Mr. Chase, superintendent of the unmailable matter department, with a laugh. ‘Well, they had to pay letter postage for said Miss James. “A great many people send dead birds and animals of ail kinds to taxidermists by mail,” said Mr. Chase. “Don't they smell dreadfully?” lated Miss James. When they are too bad,” continued Mr. Chase, “and I have to dispose of them, I keep the wrapper and notify the person to whom the package was directed. If a pack- age is in a passable condition I send word to have it called for. “Revolvers and firearms cannot be sent through the mails unless they are in de- tached pieces. When I receive one I notify the person to whom it is sent to call for it. If he ts at a distance and cannot do that, upon his written order I will notify an ex- pressman to take it.” This is one of the many kind courtesies extended to citizens by Uncle Sam and his assistants. “People send dead rats and mice by mau, as a joke, I suppose. They are sent to women sometimes. The men do not get all the fun.”” “You don’t mean to say that any one would send a woman a dead mouse by mail?" asked the reporter. “Certainly,” replied Mr. Chase. “[ suppose they know how afraid women are of them, dead or alive,” said Miss James. “All the packages not prepaid at letter rates that are mailed in this office we ex- interpo- amine,” said Mr. Chase. “We ulso ex- amine all that come into this office for New York city delivery, and letters in transit coming to us through the railway mail servic: No sharp-pointed instruments ar2 per- mitted in the mails, upless properly pre- pared. Fluids and bottles must be properly packed, and nothing having a noxious odor can be sent through the mails. Matcnes and ail explosives are debar Candy can go by maii if properly put up. “Berries and fruits of all kinds come through the mails in various stages of de- comrosition,” sald Miss James, “and dead flowers. ‘There are beautiful flowers some- times. All kinds of wearing apparel come to us, and now and then we find in, a package a long letter. The sender ever thinks any one in the post office will find the letter, But we do, and then, if only 99 cents has been prepaid on a package that weighs nincty ounces, 90 cents more will have to be paid to meet the :ost by letter weight. It is cheaper to send letters by themselves.” “Any one who sends a letter that way,” said Mr. Chase, “is subject to a fine of $10. It {s not often that any one is fined, but it is sometimes done. If any one refuses to pay the extra postage the matter 1s pressed and the fine collected.” “Clothes and books are some of the things which weigh heavily, and are ex- pensive when sent with a letter in the package,” satd Miss James. ‘“Pincush- ions are very heavy, also. “We never consider as writing congrat- ulations or good wishes when sent with presents, but a single line of personal in- formation or anything of that kind sub- jeets the package to letter postage. Bible texts, which are sometimes sent with pack- ages, we do not count as writing. “Soiled handkerchiefs are some of the unpleasant things people mail. Some kinds of packages that come through the mails day after day from the same persons we become accustomed to and know just what is in them. There are tobacco firms which send out a great many pipes, and there 1s never any writing with them. “Lots of snakeskins come here, but I do not mind handling them. I 2m afraid of snakes. I do not know what I should do if I met a real live snake, but I al- ways unroll the skins to see how leng they are. Sometimes the snakeskins are very long—four or five yards. The.rattle- snake skins have the rattles on them. “The other morning a little dead dog came in the mails. It was only a puppy, two or three inches long, and was very cunning.” ———__+ + ____ She Understood the Trick. From the San Francisco Post. ‘A short time ago," sald Deputy United States Marshal Harris, “‘an old rancher up in the mountains of Lake county grew tired of walking five miles over the hills to get the country paper from his mail box, so he felled a big tree across the road so that the stage would be compelled to travel a longer route that led past his house. A warrant was issued for his ar- rest for obstructing the United States mails, and I went up to serve it. “I found the old man sitting on his back porch smoking his corncob pipe, and com- menced reading the warrant: ‘The prest- dent of the United States sends greeting.’ Just then the long barrel of a muzzle-load- ing rifle was shoved out of the kitchen door ard almed at my head. I saw a ner- vous littl2 gray-headed woman at the other end of the gun with her finger on tho trig- ger. I could see a bright gray eye twink- ling through the buckhorn sight as she remarked: “You git, an’ don’t you come snoopin’ roun’ hyur agin. The President sent his greetin’s onst before when the ol’ man cut some timber on gov’ment land, an’ it cost him ‘bout a hundud dollars an’ mighty nigh a month in jail. Then he found out that the President didn’t know nuthin’ about it. If the President vants to be friendly with the ol’ man he'll have to come right hyur without sendin’ no greetin’s. Git!’ ” e+ —_—___ The Pony Pulls the Bicycle. From tae New York World. J. C. James, the young but 180-pound son of a rich New Yorker, has invented a plan for bicycling without the bother of using the pedals. He hitches a pony to his wheel and drives it around the town, holding the handle bars with one hand and the whip and the reins in the other. This queer-looking rig has attracted great attention in Morristown. At first the quiet people objected to it as being flippant and an enterprise not undertaken in good faith, but now they haye got used to It. Others have tried the plan, but they find it hard to carry out, and several have Vqg ped their noses. The trouble is to train the pony and to mount, to say nothing of the @Mculty of steering with the handles and reins too. It is hard to look graceful, but young James does it, TRONCLADS_IN ACTION. = = A Vessel’s Vulnerable Points Found in Her Personnel and Motive Power. Capt. A. T. Maban in fhe Century. A warship is vulnerable in two chief re- Spects—in her motive ‘power and in her per- sonnel. It is imagimmble that one might be wholly neutralized without materially in- pee the other. The question, not only of icday, but of a cestury’s standing, is— Which is it better tmattack in order to sub- due the ship? In:olden days the British habitually attacked =the personnel, che French the motive power, and each was in- consistent, for thesaim of the former was to insure decisive results and that of the latter to avoid them: Each has had its advocates, and consequently there is some- thing to be said on each side, but upon the whole it is, I think, fair to say that expert- ence replies—attack the men. And the rea- son is much the same as a hundred years ago; not only is it impossible to have the men as well protected as the motive power, but the destruction of the men who handle the offensive powers of the ship makes the motive power practically useless. Now the weight which a ship of given size can carry is limited, and must be distribu- ted among several objects, of which gun- power is one, and the question has to be met—how shall this gunpower be subdivided among the different classes of guns? It your aim is the motive power you want heavy guns, for the motive power—the en- gines and boilers—are given the utmost pos- sitle protection, by position, by the -hick- est armor, by the coal stowage, the pro- tective deck and so on, to pierce which great force is required. But heavy guns mean few guns, and few guns mean few shots, and few shots mean fewer hits, while of those that hit, if they strike the protective system of the engines, etc., few- er still penetrate, a truth long foreseen, yet very generally dropped out of sight, and which the Yalu battle has singularly confirmed. On the other hand, the weight of armor required to protect the water line adequate- ly makeg-it ‘impcssible’ to’ extend” by” sim- liar means adequate protection to the bat- tery spaces,-except only those occupied by the heavy guns, and even where these are adequately protected—impervious, that is, to the missiles from those lighter guns technically called “rapid-fire’—-there can be no question that their accuracy of fire is sirgularly embarrassed. For that reason it is sought to alm and fire them from an exterior position—the conning tower, for instance—a plan of which it is enough here to say that, except for the heaviest guns, itis tending to fall into disuse. Considering the vast importance of secur- ing the best practice from the heavy guns —for I am not at all arguing against them, only against their excessive number—Iit be- cemes necessary to beat down and keep down all the other fire of the enemy. If success in this is attained, a distinct and immense advantage Is gained for the heavy guns over those of the enemy, for if the rapid-fire guns which have established their ascendancy cannot penetrate the turrets, they can greatly annoy the men in them ard may enter the gunports. This superi- ority, if maintained, must result in victory. It has long seemed to me that the mutual relations of the heavy and rapid-fire guns of a ship have a strong analogy to a field battery of artillery and its infantry sup- perts, the latter of which at once protect and secure the efficient service of the for- mer. However that may be, the rapid-fire gun of moderate caliber has just now fair- ly established its position as the greatest offensive power in naval warfare. a AN UNCONSIDERED TRIFLE. A Man Banks $50,00@and Then Placid- ly Fergets All Abeut the Deposit. To say that there muat'be at feast $2,500,- 000 lying In London’ banks which has been forgotten is no exdggération at all, said a bank manager to one of our representatives the other day. If an ihvestigation could be made, he went on, ft would most likely be found that this unclaimed sum ‘was nearer $5,000,000 than, $2,500,000. oo ai A most ‘curious, casp was that of a wealthy merchant, in; Leadenhall street, whose forgetfulness was a byword. Ten years ago he put, $80,000 in his bank, to his private account, and immediately forgot all about it, having neglected to fill up the counterfoihin his deposit book. A few months age, while tearing up some old papers, he came across a penciled note bearing the words, ‘Bank $50,000,” and a Gate which he was,umable to decipher. He made inquiries into the matter, and found that he was wealthier than he thought by $50,000 with interest. How he overlooked the amount it fs difficult to say. He fs still noted for the haphazard way in which he keeps his private accdunts. ‘The old Wéthan who forg6t'tHe existence of a legacy .of $1,000 a year from her mas- ter was another instance of carelessness. Here the old lady, a one-time housekeepar, could hardly read or write. When she re- ceived a letter from her late master’s solici- tors to the effect that the legacy would be paid quarterly on application at a city bank, the lucky woman for a fortnight was none the. wiser. The impcrtant look of the seal’on the'en- veldpe and the fine note paper caused her to mak inquiries, and a frieadly neighbor, after much effort, spelled through the let- ter. The old lady, who was in poor cir- cumstances, could not believe the good news, and so, without going to the bank, she decided that the letter was a hoax. seties ea Let Him Smoke His Pipe. From the Buffalo Christian. The following story of a German Diog- enes is perfectly authentic. When King Frederick. William IV visited the Rhine provinces, in the year 1843, he made a short stay at Wesel, where he called at the house of the oldest man in his king- dom, aged 106 years. He found him com- fortably seated in an old arm chair, smok- ing a pipe—his inseparable companion. On the king’s arrival, he rose to his feet and stepped forward a few paces, but his maj- esty made him sit down again and talked to him with the greatest freedom, the old man puffing away at his pipe all the time. When about to leave, the king asked him if he had any wish that it was in his power to gratify. “No, thanks, your majesty, I have ali I want in this world,” was the reply. ‘Really! Just think for a moment; we mortals have generally some particular desire or aspiration.” “Well, sir, now I come to think of it, T might have a favor to ask. My doctor in- sists on my taking a walk every day on the ramparts.* Every time I pass the pow- der magazine the sentry shouts to mo from afar: ‘Take that plpe out of your mouth,’ and as I walk very slowly, my pipe goes out every time. Now, if your majesty would be good enough to order the sentry to let_me smoke my pipe in peace all the way, I should consider it the greatest kind- ness you could confer on me for the rest of my natural life.” The order was given, and the old fellow enjoyed the privilege for more than two years and died at last with his pipe in his mouth. ——— ~+00 Became His Own Successor. From the Philadelphia Recard. A good story is told:at the expense of a prominent Chestnut street hotel keeper. Employed as a pértef about the hotel was an elderly man named Mike, who had been an attache of the hotel for eight years. His most prominent feature, and one of which he was-very proud, was a beard of luxuriant growth. One day last week the proprietor “of the hostelry was pacing the lobby when Mike happened to pass. The proprietor was in a very disa- greeable frame of mind, and he stopped and looked at Mike with an evil light in his eye. “Come here, youl” he yelled at the porter. “How long have you been here?” “Nigh onto eight years, sor.” “Well, you've been here long enough. You needn’t come- back tomorrow. I’m tired of seeing you about.” The poor por- ter was thunderstruck. He went to his friend, the day clerk, and told him all about it. “What’ll Oi do?” sald he, “Oi've a woife an’ family for t’ support, an’ Oi can’t get another job.” The clerk thought for a moment, and then sald, suddenly: “I have it. You go home and shave off your beard, and then go to the boss and tell him you heard he needed a porter.” Mike followed this advice the next day and secured the situation, be- coming his own successor. The proprietor has never suspected the trick. —_—- —+0e+_--——_ Cruel to the Parson. From Brooklyn Life. Mrs. Drowsie—“Your clothes are getting quite shabby, my dear.” The Rey. Mr. Drowsie—“Yes, but (loftily) when I ascend the pulpit and begin to talk they don’t notice my clothes.” Mrs. Drowsie—‘No; they all have their eyes closed then.” TITLES FOR NEGROES Some of the Black Race Honored by Royalty. Ira Aldridge, a Former Marylander, From the Position of Valet to Fame as a Tragedian. John B. Bruce in Boston Transcript. ‘There have been many negroes in Europe and the West Indies who have received distinguished consideration in the way of decorations from the crowned heads of the old world. The Black Rosclue—Ira Ald- ridge—who created such a furor in Europe many years ago as a tragedian, and who was frequently carried from the theaters in whick he performed upon the shoulders of his enthusiastic auditors to his hotel, was loaded down with medals, the insignias of various royal orders, the gifts of kirgs and queens whom he had charmed and delighted by his magnificent imper- sonations of the characters he assumed. Aldridge was a Maryland negro, and first went to Europe some time in the 40’s in the capacity of valet to a distinguished American tragedian, who, discovering his talents and bent of mind, encouraged him to become an actor. He performed in the principal cities «f Europe, and it is re- corded of him that when he played Iago in the city of Moscow, in Russia, a number of students who had witnessed the per- formance unhitched the horses from the actor's carriage, after the play was over, and dragged him in triumph to his lodg- ings. In Sweden and Germany and Eng- land his name was a household word. He stood in the front rank among the great- est actors of his day, and the nobility of Europe held him in the same regard and treated him with the same consideration that Americans bestow upon Keene, or Barrett, or Booth, or any other great actor who has made himself famous. Ira Aldridge gave no performances in Europe which were not witnessed by one or more members of the royal family of the ccuntry he was in. In personal ap- pearance he was very dark in complexion, with a full, round face, which was covered with a closely shaven beard. He was nearly six feet in height. He had large, lustrous eyes, and a resorant voice, which he kept under perfect control. Honors for Royalty. As Aaron in “Titus Andronicus,” and as the Moor in “Othello,” he established his fame as the most realistic actor who up to that period had ever essayed those roles. The newspapers of that period showered unstinted praise upon this remarkable negro, and he was lionized in fashionable society and feted by the nobility. The King of Sweden knighted him and the Emperor of Russia conferred a decoration upon him. His n-edals and decorations from other persguages were estimated at the time of Ris death, 1867, to be worth over $250,000. Aldridge owned nine villas, situated in various parts of Europe, and each of them handsomely furnished. His principal resi- dence was in the city of London, England, where he entertained in a royal manner the legions of friends who sought his com- pany and that of his charming wife, a Swedish baroness, by whom he had thres children, He died in 1867 as Sir Ira Ald- ridge, K. C. M., and a host of other titles given him at various times. An article in Wilkes’ Spirit of the Times for 1859, among other things, in speaking of Alaridge, says that “he was one of the most polished and modest of men, thoroughly refined, unostentatious, and un- obtrusive in speech and manner.” In i877 Edward Wilmot Blyden, a full- blooded negro, born in the Danish West In- dies, was appointed by the president of the republic of Liberia minister plenipotentiary of that government at the court of St. James and was received with marked con- sideration by her xraclous majesty Queen Victoria at Osborne, July 30, 1878. The Marquis of Salisbury, at that time secre- tary of state for foreign affairs, and now prime minister of England, introduced Dr. Blyden to her majesty., Dr. Blyden was soon after elected an honorary member of the aristocratic Athenaeum Club of London, He 1s an author and linguist of world-wide reputation. Queen, Victoria has recently conferred the Victoria cross upon a coal black negro, a corporal in one of the West India regi- ments, for having saved the life of his com- manding officer by throwing himself in front of the latter and receiving in his own body the bullets that would have otherwise found lodgment in that of his captain. Peter Salem did something like this during our revolutionary war. In Civil Life. In 1878 or '79 the president of the re- public of Liberia conferred upon the Ameri- can minister, the Hon. John H. Smyth, in consideration of friendly services to the republic, the title of “Knight of the Order of African Redemption.” In a letter dated at the Palace of Madrid, February 11, 1882, King Alfonso of Spain writes to the president of Liberia as fol- lows: Great and Good Friend: Desiring to give you a public testimony of my royal appre- ciation and my particular esteem, I have had special pleasure in nominating you Knight of the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabel the Catholic. I am pleased by this action also to furnish new proof of the desire which animates me to strengthen more and more the friendly relations which happily exist between Spain and the repub- lc of Liberia. And with this motive I re- peat to you the assurance of the affection which I entertain toward you, and with which I am, great and good friend, your great and good friend, ALTONSO. Palace at Madrid, February 11, 18 There are few better lawyers anywhere than are to be found among the educated blacks cf the British West Indies. The at- torney general of the Island of Jamatca ccme years 1g0 was a negro, by name Burke, who was said to be as eloquent of speech and as formidable in argument as his great Irish namesake, Edmund Burke, who, it will be remembered, said on one oc- casion, “Graat men are the guide-posts of a nation.” The black Burke was famed not enly for his oratory, but for the soundness of his legal judgment and the fairness of his decisions while acting as attorney gen- eral. He was knighted some years ago by Queen Victoria. In Freetown, Sterra Leone, there lives a very ordinary-iooking little black man,who has the regular negro features and hair. In stature he is less than five feet in height. Like the immortal Richard III, he shrugs his shoulders when he walks, but, unlike him, he does not sing out, “Shine on, bright sun,” etc. He is Sir Samuel Lewis, and was knighted by Queen Victoria about four or five years ago. He is one of the ablest lawyers in Sierra Leone and repre- sents the interests of some of the wealth- fest firms in England. Sir Samuel was re- cently offered by a firm in London £9,000 per annum to locate in that city and attend to its lecal business, but he declined the offer, preferring to remain with his people in Sierra Leone, with whom he fs a great favorite. . The lord chief justice of Trinidad, W.I., Sir Conrad Reeves, is a negro scholar and a cultured and refined gentleman, upon whom Queer Victoria some years ago conferred the order of knighthood. He isa K.G. As lord chief justice of ‘Trinidad he wears the wig and flowing robes with lowly grace and dignity. For many years he was queen's counsel. He is greatly esteemed for his ur- banity, his learning, and his great ability asalawyer. He is one of the mest polished and finished gentl2man at the English bar. His name is the synonym for probity and integrity. He ‘s a man of great wealth. —___+-e+_____ Case of Intimidation. From Life. Lawyer for the defense—“I charge the prcsecution with attempting to intimidate our witness, Mr. Enpec.”” Lawyer for the prosecution—“‘What have we done?” Lawyer for the defense—‘Allowed his wife to visit him.” Don’t be Fooiish and take some other brand of condensed milk, thinking it is just as good” as the GAIL BORDEN " | EAGLE BRAND “It Has No Equal - CARLYLE MUSEUM AT CHELSEA. The Effort to Restore to the House of the Sage Its Historic Interior. From the London Times. : The purchase of Carlyle’s house, 24 Cheyne Row, Chelsea, has been completed, and the house will henceforward be open to public inspection. It was wisely de- termined that no formal ceremony should be held, as the place does not readily lend itself to a public celebration, and no time could be less suitable for such a purpose than the period of a general election. It may be, perhaps, thought desirable to honor Carlyle’s memory on the actual cen- tenary of his birth, December 4, but that is @ matter for future consideration. It is at least satisfactory to feel assured that the actual house in which the great writer lived for the long period of forty-seven years will be preserved almost exactly as it was on the day of his death, and will remain as a historic remnant of Old Chel- sea, when the adjoining houses shall have made way for more sumptuous habitations. The work has been taken in hand by a large committee, of which the executive members are Mr. Leslie Stephen, Dr. Gar- nett, Mr. Poultney Bigelow, Mr. Henry J. Gibbs, Mr. Robert Hovenden, Mr. G. A. Lumsden, Mr. A. C. Miller, Dr. Eugene Oswald, Mr. G. W. Smalley, Mr. B. F. Stevens (honorable treasurer), Mr. H. 8. Wellcome, Mr. C. N. Williamson and Mr. Reginald Blunt, who has been indefatigable in his iabors as honorable secretary. Messrs. Lee and Pemberton, the solicitors, have exhibited more than professional zeal in overcoming legal difficulties, though it still remains to vest the property in per- manent trustees, and to consider in what form this quaint old house, with its literary associations, may be preserved as a pubiic possession for all time. Fortunately the building, which dates from the beginning of iast century, is honestly and substan- tially built, aad with reasonable attention to repairs will outlive many a more pre- tentious structure of later date. The price of the freehold was £1,750, and the vendor generously contributed £100 for the purposes of the trust. It is hardly necessary to say that no endeavor has been spared to make it as like as possible to what it was when Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle lived in it. There are a good many ar- ticles of the old furniture in the rooms— tables and chairs, the sofa which stood in Carlyle’s bedroom; his old-fashioned bedstead and curtains, his washstand and dressing table, his chest of drawers, and his bookshelves—mostly as well constructed as the house itself, and worthy of the sturdy character of its former owner. There are also some pieces of old willow china, Carlyle’s hat and walking stick, and other personal memorials. On the drawing room walls, which are repapered exactly as they fvere in the philosopher's lifetime, hang two colored sketches of Carlyle. There is also a little drawing sent by Mrs. Alex- ander Carlyle of Kate Stirling, and other memorials happily preserved are a screen in Carlyle’s study, a little bracket, the handiwork of Mrs. Carlyle, and ‘some candlesticks. The old-fashioned dining room grate was recovered after many inquiries from successive owners; but the trustees have been unable to bring back the old steel grate of the drawing room. Old win- dows have been replaced with moldings in exact reproduction of the former mold- ings, and the work of restoration through- out has been done in a reverent and con- servative spirit. It is hoped that by de- grees many articles now scattered may find their way back to their old home, and that in time the old house may be a unique instance in London of the preser- vation of the actual surroundings of an il- lustrious man of letters. The bulk of Car- lyle’s library is fortunately preserved, and there now stand visible shelves contain- ing his “Annual Register,” “Coxe’s House of Austria,” “Ulrich yon Hutten’s Werke,” and other of Cariyle’s books, which will hereafter, with ail their copious annota- tions, be open to public view. The committee, however, still has to re- gret that the response to the appeal for funds has not been entirely satisfactory. The tctal amount contributed is £2,033, of which £1,844 has been already expended. Against the available balance cf £189 at Messrs. Coutts & Co.’s there is an estimat- ed Mability of £245 for repairs, so that there is a present deficit of £56. ‘A promise of 20 guineas has been made to cancel this debt so soon as the remaining £35 has been subscribed. A fund will also be neces- sary to provide for the maintenance of the house, und it is hoped that a total of £3,500 will ultimately be raised. Thus another £1,500 will be required to place the trust on a permanent basis. In the unavoidaole de- lay arising from legal and other difficul- ties which have still to be surmounted, temporary arrangements have been made and.in the meantime a charge of 1s. will be made for the admission of each visitor. The committee expresses its regret at the geath of many supporters of the move- Ynent, notably Mr. Huxley and Mrs. Alex- ander Carlyle (Carlyle’s niece), from the latter of whom almost all the furnishings now in the house were received. The coin- mittee concludes its report with the ex- pression of a hope that every year will bring an increasing number of visitors to testify their reverence ior one of the most illustrious men of the century. ———_-+e+. One Ruler Not to Be Despised. From Puck. “I never heard of such tyranny!” ex- claimed the Secuth American patriot. “ won't submit to it a moment longer. I will resist to the last——” “Whom will you resist?” sharply in- quired his wife, who had caught only the last few words. “Oh, not you, my dear! I was only talk- ing about the government.” a Ee SEE ———— eee SAVED A LIFE. Millicent Clark Fed on Lactated Food. Mother the Vie of a Doctor in Northamp‘on. A Graduate of Harvard Medical School. Communication for Every Parent in Washington. Sterilized Milk and Other Foods Did Not Avail. ‘The following communication to the manufac- turers of lactated food is published for the benefit of the parents In Woshington. No further com- ment is necessary: NORTHAMPTON, Mess., Nov. 20, 1994. VELLS, RICHARDSON & CO. L Sirs: As my baby fs a lactated food baby, I inclese you her photograph. When she was born she weighed three peurds, and was just fifteen inches Jong! Having arrived six or eight weeks MILLICENT CLARK. carlier than she was expected, se has been an ex ceptiorsly hard baby to raise. She was not strong erovgh to nurse at the breast, and for one week was fed from a spoon upon sterilized milk. My husband, Dr. 8. A. Clark; is @ graduate from Har- vard Medical School. At the end of the first week we put little Millicent upon the bottle, and as sterilized milk in various strengths did not agree with her, we tried ‘milk until she was one month old. ‘Then she refused to take any more of this food and her weight bad not Increamd at all, so we changed food again. We tried cow's milk, condensed milk and four of five 2ood prepara- tions, but nothing agreed with ber as lactated food, and we went back to that after each new trial, At two months old she had doubled her weight upon lactated food. Being an elght months’ ba she has always been very delicate, and she Ia st: feeding upon your food and thrives upon it. _Milli- cent was bora Aug. 25, 1893, and now is nearly 15 months old, and weighs about 20 pounds, and is very plump, ‘The photograph I inclose 1s the latest we bave. We have gotten most of the food at Co- burn & Graves’ pharmacy, of Northampton, Mass, they being my husband's druggists. Very traly, yours, ESTHER AVERY CLARK. The Blessings of.a Pure, Healing Soap Gen orty be fully realized By using Pine Blossom Soap. Absolutely pure, medicated, an*tseptic. It soothes and heals oll inflammation or red- ness of the skin, removes blackheads, cures pimples, gives health and beauty. A mod- ern family necessity. Price 25 Cents, AT ALL DRUGGISTS. Foster Medicine Co., Baltimore, Md. 42d12r-1 Aside from the beautiful light shed from a Siemens-Lungren Gas Lamp it saves the gas by burning it per- fectly, We rent them for 25c. per month. ; Gas Appliance Exchanga, 1428 N. ¥. ave. FEW KNOW ABOUT THE SHAKERS OF MOUNT LEBANON, We may not accept thelr peculfar religious views. We cannot enter into the spirlt of thelr sacrifices, and therefore we do rot study their habits of life. It is not necessary to believe as they do, but we can and do respect their sincerity of purpose and the honor and uprightness which mark all thelr business dealings, In one particular the Shakers excel all other men or classes of men. This is in the cultivation of medicinal herbs and plants. They have made it a study for more than one hundred years, ‘They are also expert in extracting from them their charac- teristic essences and medicinal virtues. This is their pecullar industry. Their lives have been de- voted to It. By it they are supported. They excel in this branch as do the monks of the order of St. Benedict with their famous liqueur called * Benedictine.” Now, this life-long study on tke part of the Shakers has not been In vain, They haye accom- Plished much good. Their medicinal extracts and cordials are known ‘throughout the world. The Shaker Digestive Cordial is probably the mest useful medicine ever given to the public. It is not a cure for all diseases; It doesn't pretend to be; but one disease it will cure, and that 1s indigestion. It is not pretended th: it will cure anything else, and a sufferer has not long to wait to see the result. The effect is immediate. Al- most the first dose will give relief, and if con- tinued a permanent cure will follow. Every druggist has been sent a supply of our handsome Donkey Puzzle Books, and a copy may be had for the asking. It tells all about the Cordial as well as Laxol, the new castor oll. ‘Try a twenty-five-cent bottle of Digestive Cor- dial and see what it will do for you. au20 Bargains In tag, Hair Switches. 2.50. Formerly $5.00, 50. Formerly $6.50, eee Formerly $10.60, ©7First-class uttendance in Hair Dressing, Shampooing, ete. ae sone “Curlette," for Keeping the hair curl S. HELLER’S, 720 7th Street N.W. Correct Stationery For Weddings. ——The finest work—latest ideas—and charges al- ways modest. Drop in and see samples. Decker, 1111 F St. N. W. au22-14d POSOSOSES SOL SOS SOC OSES OSOCS sEyeglasses== Spectacles-= ‘They'll sult your eyes—and cure those headaches from which you suffer. We'll find out just what glasses you should wear, and 2d- just them to the eyes with- but charge. You only pay for the glasses. Just now we're selling Fyeglasses of Spectacles—fitted with our finest lenses, for $ I. McALLISTER & CO,, EXAMINING OPTICIAN:! 1311 F Street, si" SUN BUILDING, au22-28d SIOPPESSSSOSSS56$S395399006 You’re Too Fat. There Are Others. Rend What They Say—They're Being Cured by De- Edison's Obesity Treatment—Hot Weather ig Here—Use Dr. “Edison's Pills, Salt and Bandg for the Fat—Not Patent Medicines—They Make Fat Folks Thin and Comfortaple, Florence Evelyn Merry, author of “Two Girls i the Fair,” writing froni ‘the Great Northern Hot Chicago,’ states that e°> had been gaining rapidly for five years until September, 1894, whem sho began using Dr. Hdisoa's Treatment for Obesity. “From Sept. 2 to Dec. 20 I took Dr. Edison's Obe- sity Pills and Fruit Salt, and was reduced 64 peunds, and entirely cured of dyspepsia. My com- plexion was rendered clear and beautiful, Mercy Sturtevant’ Wade writing from the ‘Treasury Department, says: “In six weeks Dr. Edison's Obesity Pils and Selt brought me down 44 pounds and cured me of chroaic aflinents.”” Capt. Henry Caton, long connected with the Pest Office Departmaat, writes: “I took Dr. Edle son's Pills aod Salt ‘und they reduced me 88 pounds in a month and a half.” Mrs. Col. Stanton, Georgetown, writes: “I took Dr. Edison's Obesity Salt and Pitls six weeks, re duced 35 pounds and cleared my complexion,” Francesca Townshende, secretary of the Woman's Ethical Culture Club, writes: “I had been getting fleshy seven years. “From 124 pounds I had grown to ‘Ra, Indigestion and dyspepsia made me nea: f physical wreck. Under Dr. Edison's treatment have lost 63 pounds in eleven weeks and cured my Oe Hcten. Wandall Si from b idence Mrs, Helen Sturgess, er res writes: Dr, Bllson's Obes od iy welgit 21 pounds and cu me of kidney troubles. Dr. Ealsou’s Pills and Salt have cured my brother, Col. Wandall of Department, of State, of liver disease and redu his weight 38 pounds in forty-three days."? Obesity Pills, $1.50 a bottle: three bottles, $4 enough for one treatment; Obesity Fruit Salt. $1. Obesity Band, any size up to 36 Inches, ts $2.505 10 cents extra for each additional inch In length, Send all mail, express or C.0.D. orders to us, Retall drug trade supplied by BP. MERTZ, 11th and F nw. ©. C. G. SIMMS, 1346 N. Y. ave. a. Send for “How to Cure Obesity. Mention address exactly as given below. LORING & CO., General Agents, United States, Chicago, Dept. No. 19, No. 113 State street. New York city, Dept. 4, No. 42 W. 22d street, aul43m