Evening Star Newspaper, November 21, 1895, Page 13

THE EVENING STAR, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1895-SIXTEEN PAGES. a 8 My) CORRECT SOLUTION |} OF THIS STORY, }¥ \ \ Pa 1. The Star will pay $250 in gold to the reader from whom it receives by mail, at the publication office, Pennsylvania avenue and ith street, the complete and absolutely correct solution of “Before They Were Mar- ried,” as it shall be disclosed in the final chapter of the story, to be published Satur- day, December 14, in The Star. If two or more complete and absolutely correct solu- tions are received the $250 in gold will be divided equally. 2. Should The Star fail to receive a solu- tion that {s complete and absolutely correct in all its details, the $250 in gold will be al- lotted to the twenty-nine readers whose ex- Planation shall come nearest to the true so- lution of the mystery according to their percentage of merit, and the money will be | ee as follows: ist Prize. 2d Prize. &d Prize. 4th Prize 25 Prizes of $5 each.. 29 Prizes; aggregating.............-.-- $250.00 The first prize of $50 will be paid for the explanation which comes nearest to the true solution; the second prize of $37.50 to the person sendirg the explanation next nearest, and so on, for the third and fourth prizes. The remaining twenty-five prizes of each will be awarded to the persons sending the twenty-five explanations next nearest to the fourth prize, as the judges may determine their merit. 3. The Star {s pre-eminently a family newspaper and its daily instaliment of a high grade serial story is a feature intended to especially commend it to the home circle. To emphasize—and advertise—the ‘act that The Star is a newspaper peculiarly suitable for women’s reading, the further condition is made that the $250 in prizes shall be paid only for explanations sent in by women and giris. All may read; but only women and g:rls may guess—and win the gold. “Before They Were Married” will continue in daily instaliments until Saturday, Decem- ber 7, on which date all but the final chapter will have been published. The :nterval be- tween Saturday, December 7, and Wednes- day, December 11, 6 o'clock p.m., ‘nclusive, will be allowed for forwarding of suess and the final chapter will be published in The Star Saturday, December 14. Under ro consideration whatever will guesses be re- ce!ved from any source and considered prior | to Saturday, December 7, or later than 6 o'clock p.m. December 11. For no reason BEFORE THEY | WERE MARRIED. LA HENRYC.PARKER, AUTHOR OF = “SCORNED TOTHE END, “ARBITRATION & C3 CONDITIONS OF THE STAR’S GREAT OFFER. whatever will guesses from any source be re- ceived or considered after 6 o'clock p.m. December 11, except as stated in rule 3, given below. Persons who miss the first installments can obtain back numbers at the office of The Star. Rules of the Competition. 1. But one solution can be entered by a reader. 2. All guesses must be sent by mail and in no other way, plainly addressed to “Prize Story Editor,” The Evening Star. 3. In order to put out-of-town readers of The Star on a time equality with city read- ers, they will be permitted to secure from their local postmaster an indorsement on the back of the envelope in which their guesses are forwarded, indicating the day and hour of delivery of the letter to him, and such guesses will be accepted, provided the time be prior to 6 p.m., December ll. For obvious reasons no guesses will be con- sidered that are mailed later than the time given. The indorsement, plainly written in ink, must be personally signed by the postmaster or acting postmaster. 4. Inquiries not considered fully answered here will receive proper attention if address- = to “Prize Story Editor,” The Evening tar. 5. The $250 will be awarded under the fore- going general conditions, according to the best judgment of the judges appointed by The Star, and they will have complete con- trol and final decision in all matters relating to the contest. 6 “A complete and correct solution” can be made in the reader’s own language 7nd in the number of words necessary for an abso- lute statement of-the reader's guess. It must disclose the mystery and such material facts of the plot revealed in the development of the story as may. be deemed necessary by the judges to a clear and full explanation of the mystery. The names and addresses of the winners of the cash prizes will be published in The Star at the earliest date possible after the publication of the final chapter. No. condition of subscription to The Even- ing Star is imposed. Guessers must be wo- men and girls and necessarily they must be readers of The Star, but they may read the story in The Star taken by any member of the family and need not be regular subscrib- ers themselves in order to enter the competi- tion. While only women and girls may guess and win the prizes, they can receive help as to their guess from any member of their family or from all the family. ELEVENTH INSTALLMENT. CHAPTER XI—AMELIA'S EXPEDIENT. The sight of Philbrick set the doctor's nerves on edge. His interview with Louise had not been productive of all the joy that he could have wished, but there was as- surance tn {t that his sult was not hope- less, and so much was sweet to him. He could have met Philbrick in the village with not a trace of rancor, for all that had been thrashed out In the physical encounter. But to see him here, here of all places, for, of course, he was coming to Fairview, was too much for the doctor’s peace of mind. But for the approach of his mother he might have Invented an excuse for immediate 4e- parture, little as appearance of running away was congenial to him. It is more than likely that he would have stood his groun4, but conjecture Is unnecessary, for he went down to meet his mother and relieve her ef the traveling bag she carried, and in Had Tried to Get Into the Professor's Workshop. waiting upon her he lost sight of lis rival for a time. “I should have started to bring you soon,” he said. “Aren't you early? The boy sald 4 o'clock. “A little early, perhaps,” she replied, “but I was all ready, and so I thought I would go along. I supposed you were here, Mason.” She smiled upon him benignly, and the doctor blushed. There was no mistaking the significance of her expression. It was a silent but direct accusation of being “‘inter- ested," as she would have put ‘t had she spoken, in Miss Drummond. “How are the poor, dear young ladies?” she asked, continuing without waiting for areply. ‘Professor Drummond was £0 anx- ious, of course, I would come—he said you would stay here to lunch—for I couldn’t help feeling for the poor dears being left all to themselves after such a terrible event. You haven't any objection, have you, Mason?” “Of course not, mother, how could I? It {fs just like you, though, to put yourself out for others.” “La! I put you out, too, I guess, but I've managed it ail in my mind. You will take ‘our meals at Fairview and sleep at home. low will that suit you?” ~ Here we are, Miss Drum- Louise had heard them as they went up the steps and was at the door to meet them. them. “La!” panted Mrs. Williams, “what a climb. It's like living In the garret, isn’t it? I should think once you came in you’d never go out again.” “You won't mind it after a day or two, Mrs. Willlams. How good of you to come! *Melia, here's Mrs. Willams. Why!” The last word Ss uttered as a ilttle scream and Louise’s eyes distended with pleasant excitement. “What is it, dear? asked Mrs. Williams, placidly. The doctor knew, although he had his back to the road, that Louise had seen Philbrick. “I saw somebody I knew, that’s all,” re- sponded Louise, and her cordial bow and smile as she acknowledged Philbrick’s raised hat, smote the doctor savagely upon the inmost door of his heart. “Is it possible that-he will venture his impudent presence here now?” he asked himself, and he ventured to turn about to s No. Philbrick was not coming in just then. He had turned from the road and was crossing the field toward the point where he had begun fishing in the morn- ing. Amelia came down stairs and greeted Mrs, Williams with quiet cordiality and the next minute the three ladies were plunged in household talk, planning for the coming days. Mrs, Williams insisting that she should do all the cooking, Louise that she should cook herself and that Mrs. Willlams should have a vacation, and so on. It was evidently a good start for a pleasant ex- perience all around, and there was no ap- parent excuse for the doctor to remain. ‘There was ample time for him to make his usual afternoon trip through the village before the evening meal, but yet he linger- ed. After Mrs. Williams had been shown Where her room was and had come down again, she gravitated to the dining roor as did all who went to Fairview, and sat by a window looking out and chatting composed- ly with Amelia. Loulse was flying about, evidently finding plenty of domestic work to do. The doctor drifted aimlessly from the dining room to hall and piazza and round on the river side and back again. He was looking for Philbrick, of course, and that he failed to see him gave him al- most as much concern as if the man had walked up to him arm In arm with Louise. Angry with himself at last for the annoy ance he felt over the matter, he briefly an- nounced that he was going to the village, and left the house. He made his usual calls and found that he had a good many ques- tions to answer concerning matters at Fair- view. Men stopped him on the street to in- quire what he thought of the professor's sudden departure. “I don't think of it,” was his usual reply, “he had business of his own and went open. ly, as I understand it. Perhaps if he had realized that the people regard him with some suspicion he would have managed to postpone his trip until matters were cleared up, but nobody suggested to him that he ought to stay, I suppose. ‘The villagers shook their heads. It looked bad, they thought. If he hadn't appeared to run away, the thing might have been for- gotten, but now—well, it kind of seemed as If something ought to be done about it. The doctor shrugged his shotlders at this suggestion, but he did not venture to say anything. It was hard enough for him to pursue the course he had chosen in silence, without being called upon to say something about it. He saw that it needed but a few words to instigate a movement looking to a public investigation, and that as a medical man the people were inclined to turn to him for their cue. He would not give it, while at the same time he could not bring himself to utter a flat contradiction to his own con- Yictlons, and thus still the popular discon- ent. And his own convictions? He believed that Starkweather had been stunned by an electric shock and his body thrown into the river. He hoped that Prof. Drummond had been innocent of any evil intent with regard to the shock; it might well have been acci- dent, or carelessness, but the story of the bedroom and the marvelous disappearance was wild Invention. If the professor were guilty of premeditated murder, the throwing of Starkweather into the Miniski had been @ part of the plan. If he were innocent, it Was done in terror without a fair attempt to restore Starkweather. The professor had hoped that the body would be carried far away, and thus all evidence of his crime or carelessness Would be lost. In either event it was clear that Prof. Drummond fe: fowas clean th mond feared to The doctor was conscious that there were flaws in his theory, but he regarded them as matters of detail. He felt certain that his general view of the matter was correct. Minot Hawkins, the constable, was the hardest man he had to deal with. Minot had little unworthy ambition to figure as an im- portant character by making an arrest, but he was yet sensitive to his position in the community, and there were many who egged him on to do something. He hesitated to do anything without ample justification for it, but he felt the discontent keenly. “The way I look at it,” he said to Dr. Will- jams, “is that somebody's got to swear out @ warrant on information and belief, or less somebody who knows must make a plain statement that there wan't foul play. Now, who's to swear out that warrant? Not me, for I haven't information enough to arrest a cat, and bellef I haven’t at all.” Of course it was the doctor who ought either to back up a warrant, or settle the whole matter by a professional assurance that Starkweather came to his death with- out violence at the hands of another party, but Minot didn’t say so openly. “It puts me in a kind of a hard box, Ma- he said, plaintively. ‘Oh, well,” returned the doctor, “wait a It will probably blow over. while. Prof. “One moment, doctor.” Drummond will return shortly, and if he sees that people look sideways at him, he may challenge an inquiry. I’ve nothing to say. “Can't blame ye, Mason, ‘cause you ain’t a public officer, but there’s a good many who think something ought to be done. Free frem his friendly tormentors at last, the doctor was well on his way back to Fairview when he met Philbrick. He would have passed on with a nod, but Philbrick stopped him. “One moment, doctor,” he said, good- humoredly, as if he were unconscious that his unfailing equanimity irritated the doc- tor more than a torrent of angry words would have done; “I don't expect.you to make up with me and be friends, but you asked for an understanding this afternoon, and so far as it is in my power I want to have one.”” The doctor made no comment, and Phil- brick continued: “I don't bear the slightest {If will be- ‘se you attacked me, or for any other gon. In fact, I rather like you, but I ppose that statement is offensiv: Yr s “It seems to me uncalled for,” said the dcctor. “Forget it then. I returned to Fairview thig afternoon to find my red and take away such fishing traps as I left on the ledge at the top of the house.” “Convenient,” thovght the doctor, but he didn’t say so. 2 “TI didn’t find the rod, and I shall look for it again—tomorrow. It has probably lodged somewhere along the bank.” “Where are your fishing traps?” asked the doctor. “At Fairview ‘Why didn’t you take them away?” “I'm glad you ask questions,” respond7d Philbrick, smiling, “because it makes it so much easier to arrive at an understanding. Miss Drummond suggested that I could leave them at the house. I put them in the base- ment.” itol® this your understanding as you vall ee t's about as near as I can get to one at present, doctor. I said I should go'there again tomorrow. “And the day after, I suppose. Very well, Mr. Philbrick, I think I understand you, but I’ll ask no other question. Did you say anything to Miss Drummond about our—” “Mortal combat?” interrupted Philbrick, in evident amusement. “Why, of course not, my dear fellow. You really didn’t tank I'd be so childish, did you?” “I simply wanted to know,” doctor. “I’m obliged to you, on. Philbrick looked after him with his curious smile, shook his head sdlemnly and pro- ceeded on his way. Before he arrived at Fairview Dr. Will- jams felt better. The acknowledged and determined rivalry of this Mr. Philbricl was to be preferred to a game of swbter- fuges, insinuations and repeated misunder- standings. It put the matter where it be- longed—in the hands of the lady to decide between them. . “I cannot compete with Philbrick,” re- flected the doctor, “in what I suppose ts called gallantry. I’m not witty, and I can’t smirk and make eyes at a girl. In fact, I don’t believe I have it in me to really please a woman, but I can try. Louise must love me for what I am if she loves me at all, and with that I inust be content to accept my fat Louise herself told him how she had seen Mr. Philbrick on the ledge, and had called to him not to fall in again. “He thinks his rod,” she said, “has float- ed under the hank somewhere, and he Is coming up tomorrow to look for it with a spyglass.” “He thinks a good deal of his rod,” re- marked the doctor. “Yes; he says it's a souvenir.” If Loulse thought to tease the doctor into any manifestation sy, or even of interest in Philbrick’s doings, appointed. His meeting with his responded the and ne passed dis- val had e Men Stopped Him on the Street: prepared his mind, and yet if he only knew it, an exhibition of je: might have made Louise think more highly of him. Such is the aggravating inconsistency ot ycung women—some of them. So Mr. Philbrick called on the next daj and on the day after that. Mrs. Williams observed his assiduous attentions to Louise and was disturbed, for she thought of her son, She dul not venture to spoaic pl to Louise about the matter, for ier posi- tion in the house hardly warranted that. Mrs. Williams was a sensible woman in most respects. She saw that her pp nea at Fairview was a mere formality, and was not intended as an actual guardianship, and she saw, too, that she sould not help her son by attempting to plead his cause for him. ‘There were times, too, when she doubted whether she desired his success with Louise overmuch. Nevertheless, she teok occasion, now and again, to extol Ma- son's qualities, speaking of his strugsl to gain education and livelihood at the same time, his loyalty and trae kindness of heart, and excusing his defecis, if he had any, on the ground that his early loss of his father had deprived him of proper counsel during his boyhood. Perhaps Mrs. Williams’ good sense failed her a little in these well meant discussions. Perhaps it is generally iadiscreet to try to influence a young woman's heart. At all events, Louise did not give the doctor any special comfort in the way of showing him that he was advancing in her favor. He met Philbrick at Fairview occasionall. and took pains always to conceal his ho: tility, a matter that was compa, easy now that there was an “unde * between them. Philbrick, on his refrained from indulging hi atire at the doctor's expense, and so the lays passed without apparent friction. A week after Mrs. Willlams went to Falr- view, an elderty woman was driver to the house in_a depot carriage. She brought a note to Louise from her father, in which he introduced Mrs. Appleton, successor to Betsey Hubbard, as housekeeper. “How much she looks like Betsey,” thought Louise, “only older and sourer. I'm afraid we shan't have any more good times.”” : The professor sent a message to Mrs. Willfams, asking her to remain a day or two longer, “until my return, if possible, or at all events until Mrs. Appleton in the way of managing the house. Willlams agreed to this, and promptly set to work to make the situation pleasant for the newcomer. 3 . A‘day or two after this the doctor was artled by an announcement from Con- stable Minot Hawkins. “It's come at last, Mason,” said he. ‘Twas bound to, and now there’s no stop- ping it, even if anybody wanted to.” “What's come?” asked the doctor. “The official inquiry into young Stark- weather's death. A brother of his has turned up and brought a smart lawyer with him from New York. I think there's a de- tective with ‘em, too, and they're stirring up things. I expect a warrant will bi placed in my hands before the day is over. The doctor made his round of Visits In a hurry. He was anxious to be at Fairview when the blow should fall. He had by ro means lost sight of the mystery during the days of his mother’s occupancy of the house, but he had accomplisaed nothing. Once he had secretly tried to get into the professor's shop, and had failed. He had been content to let matters rest with that attempt, for he could not see that Phil- brick was making any progress. In fact, Philbrick’s interest In the mystery seemed to have vanished utterly. He never re- ferred to it, or did anything that looked as if he had it in mind. Everything at Fairview was as usual when the doctor returned. He sought for Amelia to tell her the disagreeable news so that she might prepare her cousin's mind for it, but he was utterly unprepared for the way Amella herself received it. “The worst has happened, Miss Willis,” he said. “A brother of Mr. Starkweather has come to Belmont, and an official in- quiry will be instituted at onc: “At last!” she exclaimed, with gleaming eyes. “What!” cried the doc investigation?” she replied, with energy. “I saw how you were placed, and while I regret- ted that I had spoken to you, I sympathized with you. I do now, believe me. You could and would do nothing. So I seat to Mr. Starkweather’s people, and this, thank God! is the result.”” (To be continued tomorrow.) Se Chicago in Literature. tor; “you welcome From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Chicago has done little in the line of higher literature—with one ever memorable exception. For nearly a generation it had in David Swing a preacher whose sermons were literature, and who week after week contributed high thoughts grandly express- ed, and whose writings deserve permanence. But there has been no Oliver Wendell Yolmes among among the doctors of Chi- cago; no William Cullen Bryant on the press; no Richard Grant White among her officeholders, no Stedman on 'change; not even a William Allen Butler at the’ bar. But Prof. Swing had little time and less taste for literary work outside his weekly sermonizing. ugene Field alone devoted his best powers of thought and expression to verse, and if America had a Westminster Abbey with a poet’s corner, he would be one of few Chicago men to there find rest. AMBESEMENTS. Academy of Music.—Those who attended the performance of “Julius Caesar” at the Academy of Music last night witnessed one of the best interpretations of that play that has been seen since it was produced by the Booth-Barrett combination. As a spectacle it was fully equal to that. As in that pro- dution, Mr. Hanford last night sustained the part of Marc Antony. There he gained almost equal praise with the elder actors fcr his finished impersonation, and last night he was easily thé most conspicuous figure in the piece. The famous funeral oration was delivered with splendid elocutionary effect and won fof the actor tremendous ap- plause. Mr. Spencer, was seen to better ad- vantage in Cassiug than in any part in which he has appeared here, and Mr. James Curden Was a dignified and impressive Brutus. Miss O’Brien was happy in the role of Portia, and the supporting company was equal to the requirements. Tonight “Damon and Phy- thias.”” Romeo and Jullet_—Admirers of faultless dramatic productions cannot afford to miss the performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Academy of Music tomorrow night. Juliet is beyond question Miss Nora O'Brien's strong- est role—it is the character that she loves best of all. She looks the part,bringing to it a wealth of youth and beauty that makes her an ideal. The enthusiasm that she aroused on the occasion of her debut in Baltimore is stili fresh in the memory. Mr. Spencer's Romeo is a forcible and picturesque per- formance, while Mr. Hanford will, as dash- ing, brave Mercutio, be seen in a charac- ter widely differing from those in which he has appeared here in the past. Then, too, Mrs. Jane Germon, unquestionably the best Nurse in this country, has been specially en- gaged for this occasion. The play will be staged with all the scenic splendor and at- tention to detail that characterizes all the Hanford, Spencer and O'Brien productions. Lemon Rifles’ Benefit—The benefit given last evening for the police fund at Metz- erott's Music Hall, under the auspices of the Lemon Rifies, was a very successful affair. The program embraced some excellent num- bers, which were rendered in a manner that induced the highest kind of praise from the audience. Those who participated in the entertainment were Miss Blanche Wood, Mr. Ed. J. Walsh, Miss Merile Esputa, the Im- perial Mandolin Club, Miss Lottie Bell Ray, Miss Grace Jones, Miss Mamie Donnelly, Mr. Stephen B, Clements, Mr. Charles Skerrett, Mr. Godwin Patten, Miss Jennle Glennon, Mrs. Esputa Daly and Mr. Fred. Gaisberg. ‘The Universalist Fair.—The second even- ing of the annual fair and bazaar of the Chureh of Our Father, corner 23th and L streets northwest, was as sucessful as the cpening night. The supper provided for the guest well patronized, while music, by an Italian orchestra, enlivened the evening. ‘A program of musical and literary numbers will be rendered tonight, and the sale of fancy articles will close with this evening's entertainment. The “Merry World."—That lively con- glomeration of comedy, drama, opera and burlesque, called “The Merry World,” will next week be the attraction at Allen’: Grand Opera House. “The Merry World’ is called by Canary & Lederer the succes- sor to “The Passing Show,” but while the principles of constructien’ of the present review are much on the same line of the former play, many advantageous and bene- ficial changes have been made so as to bring everything as much as possible up to date. A number of the most recent suc- cessful productions of comic opera, dramas and comedies are burlesqued. — Principal these are “Madame Sans Gen mong Little ‘Trooper, and other opera: are comically portray: ‘A large company of competent comedian: and burlesque actors will interpret the different roles, and, prominent among them will be that drofi comedian, Dan Daly, the ver character impersonator, Dave War- field, and Lee? Harrison, Willard Simms, Frank Blair, W. A. McCormick, Randolph Curry, Amelia Summerville, Jeanette Bageard, Marie, Laurens, Nannette Nixon, Mabel Wotherspoon, Kittie Lawrence, La Petite Adelaide, the dancing sylph, and about si others. A special turkey day matinee will be given on Thursday. > COAL IN A RIVER BED. of a’ War Incident Barges Were Sunk. From the Cineinnatt“Etiqutrer, As I draw near,"picking my way over the irregular rocks that paved the beach, I saw that -the workers were not rivermen, but farmers. They were carrying the round black and gray objects high up cn the beach, and building pyramids of them, very much like those one sees made of can- non balls at military posts. “What be a-doin’ of?” ans: old fellow. “Why, we be a-gettin’ winter's coal. Cert'nly, it’s coal.” “But what makes it so round, and where do you get it?” I asked. “Why, this yere ccal was planted’ In the river during the war,” answered the old man, sitting down upon a gunwale of his skiff. During the war a fleet of coal barges was sunk up river by the shot from Mor- gan's gun. Later on the government blew up the barges to open up the channel, an’ ths coal’s been a-driftin’ an’ a driftin’ for over thirty years, and has been wore round in its travels, just like rocks would be worn. We go out to the bars and pick the coal balls out of the other rocks. When all that is on top is gone we just drift about in the shallows, and when we see a lump we bring it up to the surface with a scoop net, and get it aboard. Coal is light in water. A chunk that you can't lift on land is easily raised to the top of the water. I've got nothin’ to do just now, so I put in my time gettin’ coal. I've fished up about ten tons durin’ the week, and it's boss coal, stranger. It’s washed about so many years that most of the sulphur is out of It, and it won't soot your hands up. The wife don’t get her hands dirty hand- lin’ of it; and it burns better’n any other sort of coal.” In proof of the cleanliness of the drift coal the old man exhibited his claw-like hands, the palms of which, instead of being black, were whitened with a powder that resembled lime dust. This was ac- counted for from the fact that many lumps of coal in their travels had been covered with a deposit of lime, and were whitey gray, like the rock that contributed to their coloring. The pieces of coal ranged from the size of a base ball up to that of a man’s head, and while some were irreg- ularly shaped, with rounded edges, the great majority were turned as true as a billiard ball. Relies When ‘d one in our THE LARGEST TORTOISE. A Quarter of a Ton in Weight and Thirteen Feet Around. : From Coamos. There is reported from the Isles Egmont, in the Indian ocean, not far from the Isle Maurice, the capcure of an enormous male land tortoise, the largest thus far known. These islands lie in about latitude 60 de- grees, 40 minutes south and longitude 69 degrees, 4 minutes east. They are without fresn water, though one of them has a salt lake of consi. ble area. They have not been known hitnerto as the resort of land tortoises, thougn “the neighboring islands have them in abundance. This tor- toise and bis mate have been seen on the island recently at various times. Here are his chief dimensions: Inches. Height when walking Vertical circumference. Herizontal circumference. Length of back... Length of breast plate. Depth of concavity of breast plate. Length of tail.. Length of hind foot Circumference of hind foot. Length of fore foo! Circumference of head 1 Length of neck. hy excrescence on each side ctured to be designed as a protection to the latter when the. crea- ture is in certain positions. It is not known in other land tortoises, though It may be a peculizrity of aged males, This tortoise is 126 pounds heavier than the one now living at Port Louis, Isie Maurice, recently known as the largest captured living. —__+e+— A Dog Story. From Harper's Round Table. A London story is apt to be a hard sort of a tale to believe, but is never lacking in in- terest. The latest is of a dog who takes a daily walk with its mistress. The animal has observed that at a certain crossing the policeman stops the traffic to allow his mis- tress to pass over. The other day the dog went out alone, and when he came to the crossing he barked to attract the police- man’s attention. The policeman observed what the dog wanted. He stopped the traf- fic and the dog walked solemnly across. PENNSYLVANIA MOUNTAINEERS, They Live in Primitive Style, Regard- less of the Busy, Rushing World. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. 2 Moonshining is secretly carried on ell over the mountains. It is the earnest con- viction of those people that they have a divine if not a lawful right to convert the product of their farms into liquor, which they can really dispose of at a better price than they can the raw products. They still hold to the principle for which all western Pennsylvania rose in arms over a century ago, but they are no more ancient in this contention than they are in all their modes of life. Within the mountain cabin everything ts as primitive as without and round about. Most of these are one-story, with a loft above, and contain but two small apart- ments. Built against the log building is the massive stone chimney, and the chink holes between the notched logs of which the cabin is built are filled with mud. All the furnishings are rude and mostly home- made, and the few utensils are of the most antiquated pattern. ‘he door is low, and the windows small and few. Some cabins have stairs to the loft, some a ladder, and some only pegs. In the loft the wife has her weaving loom, spinning wheel and reel, and here she keeps ker flax and wool. It is here that the material for clothing is spun and woven. Pine knots and tallow candles furnish the light, but when night comes the family generally goes to bed. Bedsteads are generally made by the head of the family, but sometimes we find a flashily painted specimen, which has de- scended from sire to son. Cradles are hewn from logs and the rounded surface serves as rockers. If school houses are to be heralds of civilization then the mountain region is like the country of the Gauls before the com- ing of Caesar. Way down toward the foot of the range we may see a little battered and faded building, but few, indeed, are the children of the mountain region who enjoy its benefits. We scarcely ever meet a man or woman who is able to read and write intelligently, and a daily paper is an entire stranger to the mountain cabin. Only the weekly papers reach it, and these not for a month after they are issued. The mountaineer has no occasion to go to the village at the foot of the range oftener than once a month. Many of the gray- headed seers have never seen a railroad, and plenty of the strapping youths have never been a dozen miles from home. This is one place, at least, where the sports of our grandfathers are still in vogue, and the hishest ambition of a youth or maiden of the region is to attend a log rolling. wood chopping, corn husking, house or barn raising, apple é¢utting or stone pick- ing, with their accompanying nights of merriment. When theawork for which the frohe is held is finished and supper over the room is cleared, and the old fiddler ap- Pears upon the scene, and soon the strains such old tunes as the “Virginia Reel,” ‘Old Dan Tucker” and the “Irish Washer- woman” fill the evening air. One by one the couples of dancers take their places, and then ensues a period of hilarity and uproar that would rival an Indian powwow. A BRIDAL SUPERSTITION. Sewing Girls Stitch Single Hairs Into Wed From the New York One superstition that exists among sew- ing girls and their associates of Paris and New York is that if the head dressmakers will stitch into wedding garments a single hair from the head of each, they will be- come brides within a very short time after the maiden who wears the bridal outfit then in preparation. A young woman of exper- ience and with a quick eye for what would hiterest the Sun’s readers said to a Sun re- porter the other evening: “Let me tell you of this strange and yet pretty superstition which exists among scme of the sewing girls in Paris and New York. I am more familiar with the super- stition as it exists among the girls of some of the bigger dry goods shops in New York city, and so in this instance I will confine my ‘story to them. When the sewing girls in the different apartments and the girls behind the counters learn that the house has received an order for a big trousseau they besiege the head dressmakers and ask them to stitch into the wedding gown es- pecially a single hair from their heads. ‘This hair is so fine that It is easily con- cealed and cannot in any way mar the beautiful wedding gown. The head dress- makers very often humor the girls. I know positively that this superstition exists, and I know positively that in many wedding gowns, could they be picked to pieces, would be found many hairs stitched in, The girls when they go home at night tell their girl friends that a hair from their heads has been stitched into the wedding gown of Miss So-and-So, and the lucky one is immediately envied. She will be married very soon, her associates say. “Many of the girls in the big shops se- cure bits of the wedding gowns of fash- {nable brides. They take them home and treasure them up. They make collections of them, and they point them out to their friends in the neishborhood, saying, “That was Miss So-and-So's wedding gown,’ and so they go through the list. The sewing girl who possesses the greatest collection of these bits is a very important young woman In the eyes of her young woman friends. She is considered to be almost fashionable herself, because she is so near the throne. But by far the prettiest super- stition that I have yet heard of 1s the one where a single hair from so many of these shop girls is stitched into these very ex- pensive wedding gowns. RS OF MARRIAGE. ‘conditions Under Which Three Young Ladies Inherit a Fortune. From the T'all Mall Gazette. There are in Cdessa at the present time three young Russian ladies of great wealth, who are engaged in the useful callings of selling coajs, washing Hnen and serving on a farm, and the charberniere, the washer- woman, and the farm servant have received and divided among them during the last few weeks 863 offers of marriage. They have been called the Cinderellas of Odessa, because their strange fate found them out in that town, “I think that very few have sighed when fate at last has founi them,” writes Praed, and though these ladies have some cause to sigh, their trouble is a pass- ing one. A wealthy Russian had lately died at Odessa and left them a fortune of many million rubles, but on the condition that each and all should take their turn at fif- teen months’ servile labor in the conditions already specified “to the, end that, having known the life of the poor, they may right- ly embrace the life of the rich.” They may, if they think well, afterward form a league of heiresses, who shall follow the same course to matriculate as millionatres. An amusing feature is the noble self-re- nunciation of the S63 suitors, who one and all agree to overlook the fifteen months’ hard labor in consideration of the suany years which they, the heiresses, will enjoy and share ever after. “Your experience,” writes one, “will be invaluable to me. You will not only be my partner, but my gharge d'affaires.” As a French’ minister once said, “Mes charges d'affaires sont charges de m'eviter les affaires.” ++ —_____ WEALTH DISPEL LOVE? DOES A Woman Who Seems to Think That It Does—Her Comment. From the Century. “Did anybody ever tell you that In some far prehistoric time I was in love with my hand?” said Mrs, Romaine, carelessly. “Weli, I was. I used to go to afternoon services in Lent to pray for that leve to last. because the sensation wes so much to my taste. I used to have ecstatic feel- ings when his foot was on the stair and I sat sewing little baby clothes. We lived in a plainish way then; $3 spent in two thea- ter tickets was a tremendous outlay,and we waiked out to dinners, I tucking up the train of my best gown under a long cloak and laughing if the wind snatched it away from me at the corners and whipped it around my feet. Then he grew richer, and we broadened the borders of our phylxctery and then—how—when-—Jear knows if I cun remember, we grew further and further away from each other. Now, when he fs at home I ani aware of it, because he is there behind a newspaper, but that is all! When our lips meet It is like two pieces of dry pith coming together. I know nothing of his affairs, nor he of mine. 1 have money in abundance. Money—money—who cares for money when a man’s heart and soul and brain have gone Into it?” DRINKING WATER AND FILTERS. Mystery of Outbreak of Cholera in an English Regiment Explained. From the London Queen. The outbreak of cholera in the Hast Lan- cashire regiment seemed at first to be in the highest degree mysterious. The regi- ment consisted of six-companies, all ap- Parently livirg under the same conditions; barracks, food, water supply were all alike, and yet some compantes suffered much more severely than others, and one, com- pany E, escaped altogether, though cholera was raging around. The companies were transferred to the cholera camp at Kok- rail to stay the epidemic, but, strange to say, the disease broke out anew with fresh violence. It baffled the authorities, it seemed to defy sanitary precautions, and to make strange and inexplicable selec- tions. The mystery is explained in Mr. Hankin’s report, and it is seen to be no mystery at all, and cholera is found again to be due to the cholera bacillus water- borne, and to the cholera bacillus alone. All the water drunk by the soldiers was filtered; but there’s the rub; the filters gave a false security, and were, in fact, the breeding grounds of the bacilli. The water was derived from deep wells, and was pumped from tiem into filter beds. Now it was found that the water passing from the wells to the filters was germ free, but that that coming from the filter beds con- tained cholera bacilli. How did it get in? It came out in investigation that the sand used for these filter beds had been taken from the banks of the river below the town, at a spot exposed to every kind of contamination, and that several months be- fore Mr. Han! had specifically condemn- ed sand from this spot as unfit for filters. Yet, nevertheless, “owing to an ingenious mistake of a native subordinate, sand for the filter tanks was brought from this same locality. How lucky, one cannot help thinking, that there was a nameless native to blame. But still it was difficult to understand how company E completely escaped. To quote the dramatic explana- tion given by Mr. Hankin: “On cross-ex- amining the color-sergeant of this company the mystery at first seemed to deepen, for he roundly asserted that the men of his company had exactly the same supplies of food and water as the men of other com- panies, but on his being pressed us to how he knew that the water supply was the same as that of the other companies, he teplied that he ought to know, as he boiled it_bimself!” Herein lies the difference, and herein the Treason why company E escaped when the other companies were decimated. To boil the water, and thus to destroy the germs, is sufficient protection against cholera. How efficient the remedy, how practical the pre- caution, how simple the prescription, and yet those in authority will search far afield for the occult causes of the outbreak of a dire disease, which can be prevented at the beginning by simply boiling the water. When the companies moved, however, in- to the Kokrail cholera camp, in the hope that change of site and surroundings would check the epidemic, the disease broke out afresh with renewed virulence. The com- panies had taken the precaution of carry- ing their filters with them; but these proved new starting points for the dissem- ination of cholera. In unpacking and set- ting up, the filters became infected with the cholera bacillus, which remained in the filter, bred there, and actually became fresh foci of disease. At one time it was thought that if water was chemically pure it was enough; it is now known that a potable Water must be bacteriologically pure to be safe. A filter which does not filter off the germs is unreliable. AFTER LIONS, The Exciting Plensures of the Hunt Bring the Hunters Into Grave Danger. Frem the Nineteenth Century, Some of those evening’ in the jungle are among my pleasantest recollections. What greater pleasure than coming in from a successful hunt to find one’s companion has had his share of spbrt, and over the post- Frandial coffee to mutually recite one’s ex- periences of the day? The darkness suc- ceeding the fall of day is just giving way to the bright light of the rising moon, whose rapidly widening silver edge we see through the tops of the mimosa jungle. The circle of fire in the zareba throws a ruddy glow on the picturesque figures of the men grouped about them at their meal or preparing for rest. In the far distance we hear the howl of the hyena or the gruff bark of the questing lion. His majesty may perhaps bo inclined to visit us later in the evening; very well, we will give nim a royal reception. “Achmed, tell Aden to put the ten-bore and half a dozen car- tridges in my bed!” Eight o’clock—time to turn ‘in. “Where's my revolver? Ah, here it is. I will put it under my pillow, as vsual, for fear of accidents.” “Good night!” “Night!” and we are soon asleep to a brief lullaby from the sentry, who never ceases sjnging throughout his watch; asleep, but not a heavy slumber; any un- usual noise and we shall both’ be wide awake, having wakened up suddenly with- cut a movement, unless it be that of a hand to a weapon; wide awake, to drop off again the moment we are satisfied that all is well. It is a wonderful faculty of the human mind which enables it to adapt its sleep to circumstances; at home we lay our heads down and sleep till shouted at by a servant who has banged about the room for ten minutes previously; go to the jungle or the prairie, and our sleep is set on a hair-trig- ger; we wake ten times in the night and ten times we are asleep again within half a minute, having made sure all is right. As the night advances we are glad to pull the water-proof sheets over us, sometimes right over our heads, to keep off the heavy dew, which otherwise would soak up to the skin. Long before daylight Jama would be called by the sentry (whose clock was a star), and in his turn go and wake V. with the remark: “I think so, sir; it’s half-past 3.” V., drawing his watcR—our only chro- nometer—from under his pillow, would check the accuracy cf Jama’s assertion with the aid of a match, and, if his state- ment held water, would order a start. My own watch, a cheap one, broke down very soon after entering the Haud, so we had to rely entirely on V.’s timepiece, an excel- lent lever watch, for our observations. On one occasion the sentry must have dropped off to sleep a moment and then wakened up again to find the stars obscur- ed by clouds. Thinking, apparently, that he had had a prolonged nap, he woke Jama, who addressed to V. his usual matutinal salution of ‘I think so, sir; it’s half-past Imagine my companion’s. feelings when he found, on censulting his watch, that it was only just midnight! —— oo EASY TO EAT FIRE. An Ingenious Arrangement Which is Only a Stage Device. From La Nature. The so-called fire-eating magicians have long plied their trade in defiance of all ex- planations of chemists and physicians. The fire eaters usually give their performances on a raised platform, which hides the scurce of the fire, while it seems only to lift the operator a trifle higher from the flcor of the scene, and it Is ordinarily cov- ered with a handsome, carpet. It contains in the hollow space beneath it bags of rub- ber filled with ordinary illuminating gas and compressed by weights. The fire eater has beneath the sole of his foot an ingenious apparatus ending in a tube, which fits exactly into another tube coming up through the platform from un- derneath, and forming a tight connection when he steps upon it; very fine rubber tubes, of the same color as the magician’s dress, which is usually a diabolical scarlet red, run up along his body and along the arms to the farthest end of the index fin- gers; another tube runs around the neck and up under his chin, which is usually covered by a false beard, ending at his nether lip. When entering upon the stage all the lights are usually turmed down to heighten the effect cf the performance. The opera- tor steps upon the plattorm, makes his cornection, and after a sign that he is ready, the gas is turned on from beneath. When he feels that it is beginning to es- cape from the tube at the end of his finger, he lights it by means of a little push bat- ton, which is conveniently located near by, an¢c sometimes even within his clothes on the inside of the cloak. The gas once burn- ing, he has it entirely under his control, to light or tarn out any one of the various jets he has previously arranged about his bedy. The jets on the fingers are controlled by pressure of the thumb upon the thin rubter tube; the gas jet on his lip is light- el by a motion of his hand, and he always turns up his face, opens his mouth and pretends to blow the flame from his mouth, A BOLD REBEL, How a Confederate Soldier Cut Hi» Way to a Well-Earned Liberty. From the Chattanooga News. “The greatest act of daring that I remem- ber to have »een performed by soldiers of the confederate armies,” said Gen. G. P. M. Turner to a News reporter, settling himself beck in a comfortable chair in the sheriff's cftice, “was performed by a couple of men who now stand high in official life in the Lone Star state. One is H. P. Mabry, the adjutant general of Texas, and the other is John E. Love, who is now sheriff in one of the Texas counties near Dallas, the name of which I just now fail to remember. “At the time I speak of Springfield was in- vested by a federal army of 25,000 under Gen. Fremont. The confederate force, a comparative handful, was quartered at Camp. Harbin, not far from Cassville, under General McCullough. The confederates had no knowledge of the strength of the federal forces, and having been aproached by some small federal divisions that were evidently intended to incite an offensive movement by the confederate forces, a general attack on the federal lines was meditated. I was tlen serving as private secretary to General McCullough, and being constantly at head- quarters, was conversant with all, move- ments in contemplation. Before making the attack, General McCullough deemed it pru- Gent to have accurate information as to the strength and position of the enemy, and called for a couple af volunteers to go through the enemy’s lines into Springfiel? and secure the desired information. There were plenty of volunteers for this desperate urdertaking, but the two who were selected were H. P. Mabry, captain of a company in the sixth Texas regiment, and John EB. Love, captain of General McCullough’s escort ccmpany. Mabry was of New York birth He had been sent to Texas to manage a branch mercantile establishment, but when the war broke out he donned the gray, shouldered a rifle and marched forth to the music of “Dixie.” Love was a southern born man. Both were in the prime of young manhood, filled with visions of glory and fame. They acquired-both. “Dressed in civilian clothes they had no great difficulty in passing into the invested city, and they fourd accommodations at the zesidence of Colonel Parks, a man of wealth and of southern sympathies With this hos- pitable residence as their headquarters the two scouts soon accumulated what informe- tion was needed, and at night lay down for a good rest, preparatory to the difficult un- dertaking of getting back to McCullough’s headquarters next day. “There were negro servants in the house of Colonel Parks, who, of course, were sym- pathizers with the federals, and these ne- Broes betrayed the scouts, with the result that as they lay in bed in separate rooms they were awakened by the sound of a mar- tia! tread, the clatter of accouterments and words of command. Peering out from the windows the scouts saw the house to be surrounded by soldiers with the captain of the company pounding on the door and de- mandgng admittance. “Captain Mabry, already dressed, made at once to the front door, which he threw open. He stood face to face with the federal captain, ‘Surrender!’ was the command he heard. ‘All right,” he responded coolly. “He put his hands behind his back as though to hand forth his weapons to his captor, but insteai his arms shot forth, a revolver in one hand and a bowie knife in the other, and with the quickness of thcught the kife was sunk to the hilt in the shoulder of the federal captain, who sank to the ground. Leaving his knife where it was planted the nervy Mabry sprang forward, emptying his revolver point blank at the nearest soldiers in his pathway, killing two of them before reaching the gate, and him- self received a bullet that, curiously enough, struck him on the thumb and ranged upward _— the skin to the elbow and breaking no ones.” —+e+—_—___ “CAR FLOATS” IN NEW YORK. Used to Convey Citizems of the Me tropolis to and From the Mainland. From Harper's Round Table. Of all the uncommon forms that boats take, the newest, instead of being strange and complicated like most nineteenth cen- tury inventions, are almost as simple as any- thing that floats. Only rafts of logs are more simple than what we call our “car floats.” They are the newest type of boats we know, and have come into being because New York city is on an island, with only a few railroads crossing to It from the main- land. The other great and little railways, which bring and take goods and people to and from New York, all stop on the opposite stores of our harbor, in New Jersey, Staten Island and Long Island. Since the cars of one railroad often have to go past the city upon the other roads, these “floats” are used to transport them around cur island, so that goods from Boston or Sag Harbor, for instance. can be sent around New York to the tracks of the roads that will carry them to San Francisco without unloading or reloading. The floats that car- ry these cars are merely boxes, the shape of great dominoes, with railroad tracks laid upon them. Some carry six freight cars, some carry eight and some carry ten cars. Tiny little propellers that we call “tug boats” are warped or hitched alongside of these clumsy floating boxes, where they look as a little kitten would appear beside a big St. Bernard dog, or as a locomotive would look beside a house. But our queer, snort- ing, fussy little tug boats march away with every floating thing to which they are hitch- ed—even dragging huge Atlantic steamships at their sides—because they reach down deep into the water, where their big screw driven by very powerful engines, obtain a mighty hold. Because our tug boats are so small, and yet so strong, they are able to move swiftly when they have no burdens to carry. ———— Rarity for Stamp Collectors. From the Chicago Record. Postage stamps collectors will be inter ested to know that the short-lived republic of Formosa last May issued a rew postage stamps, which will naturally have great interest and value. After the treaty of peace, in which China ceded the Island of Fermosa to Japan, the people of that island refused to concur in the transfer, and proclaimed a republic, with Liu Yung Fu, who had been their Chinese governo as president. A declaration of indepen: erce, @ Constitution and an appeal to for- eign powers for support and protection was prepared by a Swiss adventurer who hap- pened to be living at Tainan, and he was appointed prime minister of the new re- pubic, The stamps are said to have been designed and issued by him. ‘There is only one denomination of the face value of 100 cash, which is equal to five cents in our money. It is of ght blue color, very rudely printed upon coarse rice paper. At the iop are the words “Republic of For- mosa” in ancient Chinese characters, and on the right in modern Chinese the words, “One hundred cash;” on the left the words, -ostage stamp,” while the center and about three-fourths of the surface of the stamp is occupied by the emblem of the republic, a rampant tiger. eS The English in India. From the Contemporary Review. Not so very long ago I heard a civil sur- xeon gaily tell at a mess dinner how the other day he had felt constrained to teach a native somewhat forcibly his respectful duty to the “ruling race.” The “nigger,” as-he put it, had his whiskers and beard tied up—as all natives like to have them when traveling—when he met him on a country road. The doctor pulled him up and demanded to know why he had not undone his face cloth when he saw a sahib coming. Then, suddenly remembering that he had a pair of forceps in his pocket, he dismounted, and, taking the poor man’s head under his powerful arm, extracted two of his teeth, saing, “Now tie up your mouth; my man. You have some excuse now.” That is how some of us try to teach the poor natives to be loyal. A sim- ilar lesson we give in a slighty different way to the wealthy and noble native. It is quite true, I believe, that a governor of Bombay felt constrained to withdraw from the membership of the yacht club when he found that the rules debarred him from inviting as his guest any native what- soever, no matter how distinguished or no- ble. ‘That was the governor’s protest against the arrogance of his fellow-coun- trymen and their supercilious treatment of the natives, and the official world of Bom» bay never forgave him for it. ——_—__+e+_____ Money to Bura. From the Salem Gazctte. Maud—“Did you know young Golightly fe» awful rich? Why, they say he has money te burn.”* Clara—"Has he? Oh, how I wish he'd take me for a matchi” res