Evening Star Newspaper, November 30, 1895, Page 16

16 HE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 80, 1895-TWENTY-FOUK PAGES. WITH THE SULTAN Pehind the Béihen tiie by Frank G. Carpenter. —__-+ —_ ABDUL WAMID'S FEAR OF ASSASSINATION A Peep Into His Harem and a Visit to the Treasury. GORGEOUS PALACES HIs y Frank G. Carpent SAW THE SULTAN of Turkey in Cons’ fnople six years ago. ‘Through our Ameri- legation I was able ‘to’ visit: mauy of his palaces. 1 wert to the treasury, and saw the pecks of (Copsrizhted, 1895, precious stones which are there stored away. I was present when the sultan took his way to the the mosque across majesty must go once a the mantle of Mahomet. of his private ten yards of him during his going to and from prayers at his favorite mosque rear d that day the honor response to my bow as he rode away, Durlig my stay in Con- stantinople I had a number of intervie with the mer closest to him, much of which could not then be published, and secured, 1 believe, as good an i of Abdul-Hamid's character as could be gotten. en the he great f of Was assassination. It was whispered that he never went to sleep at ni fear that a violent death might ¢: for upon him in the darkness. He had men stationed about his palaces and of any approa b troop ers, and w city to k Salloped like mad hen he took the tour a Mahomet's mantl through the Abdul Hamid. flear the way for him, and his rod the palace to the mosque wes walled soldiers, With a wealthy Mahomeiaa | s In a second-floor room, the Wirdows of whicn overhung the street, and saw this man rid- Ing along with his then most famous gener «man Pasha, and with perhaps a hun, dred carriages containing the favorite ladies of his harem following behind. His saddle and another curriage were in the pro- cession, and until the last moment it was not known whether ke would come to Stam- boul by boat cr across the Golden Horn by bridge. The sultan has never allowed any ne to know ef his movements beforehand. He has only trusted those closest to him. I ‘was told that he ate no food but that cook- ed in his own kitchens, and that every dish was tasted before he partook of it. The Palaces of the Sultan, He had no confidence in any of his pal- aces except that of Yildiz,which he thought he had so fortified that revolution eduld not attack him He was frightened almost to death when the czar, Alexander II of Rus: sia. was assassinated some years ago, and his life has been one of continuous unrest. He has, all told, from thirty to forty pal- aces, a number of which are on the banks of the Bosphorus. Yild’z is situated on a ill, and its grounds contain acres of ra- vines, of forests and lakes, of parks and gardens, Not far from it is the great pal- the brother of this sultan, com! ted sul- by other was crazy in the dungeons of along the Bosphorus, shed this Dolma Bagtche 000 a year on his arem, and within twelve months expended $600,000 for pictures alone, T went through the palace wh'le 1 was in Constantinople, » charged that sa‘d that he fs pint sone of the pala Abdul-Azz fu It has stal posts as large around as the man and more than six feet tall. has luxurious couches and magniticent but Abdul- feared it nd he sed it for public receptions. It nat Abdul-Az'z warned him to keep if he should ever bec e sultan, result | self to the pala A Pen ture of Abdul-Hamid. But let me tell you how Abdul-Hamid Icoked as 1 saw him on his way to mosque about six years ago. He sat in an open carriage drawn by magnificent black horses, and driven by a coachman whose body wasrresplendent in a red velvet suit embroidered with gold. The sultan sat on the back seat, and was more simply dressed than any one of the 1,000 soldiers about him. There was a red fez cap on his head, the tassel of which hung almost to his shoulders. He wore a suit of black clothes, the coat cut high like that of a preacher, Save that the coat was edged with red cord. He wore a white shirt end turn-over collar, and there was no sign of sword or pistol about him The Turkish cap has no b and I got a good view of his features. They were almost Jewish in cast, and the: reminded me much of those of the late Jay Gould. His complexion was the lower part of his face was covered with short, luxuriant, glossy, black whisk- ers. His were large, black and lus- trous, the white about them having that yellow tinge which indicates a derangs- ment of the liver. These eyes shifted to and fro as he rode toward the mosque, and it seemed to me that I could see the fear ep of Yildiz. in thém. He looked as though he had lost | sleep, and he was nervous and worn. As he rose to get out of the carriage and go into the mosque, I noted that he was about | five feet nine inches high, and he weighed ; then, I judge, about 150 pounds. 1 could see his hands as they rested on his knees. ‘They were as long and as thin as the hands of a Chinaman, and I saw that one of them was doubled up fnto a fist. When he came out of the mosque he took a differ- ent vehicle to ride back to the palace. His favorite saddle horse was present, but he sed this by end stepped into’ a pony carriage, taking the lines into his own hands, and walking the ponies until he got outside of the crowd. The road to the mosque was covered with well-watered sand about six Inches deep, and the streets through which the sultan rides are always protected In this way, In order that his royal bones may not be jolted in going over the cobble stones and macadam. The Sultan's Horses, During my stay I had a chance to see ome of the sultan’s horses. He has about 8,000 in his stables, and among these are ‘pecimens of nearly every breed in the that he has confined him- | | the palace. I saw a number of the harem ladies during the sultan’s trip acr the j city. They rode in cabs, the windows of | | driven by a swell coachman, beside whom | sultan, and who is almost as important a -inquiries as to the cost of such girl: | brit 7 ik girls ace of Dolma Gagtche, where Abdul-Aaiz, | Pring high prices, but biack girls ‘are sold | tribate from Egy world. His finest horses are of Arabian blood, and favorite mount was a beau- tiful Arabien bay. He often took rides ir | the grounds of his palace, and when Gen. Lew Wallace was minister to Constantino- ple he and the sultan often rode together. The sultan ts a good shot, and I was told that he could break a dozen vases with a revolver while galloping past them on horseback. He has always been particular as to the norses of his srmy, and each of the regirrents which accompanied him to the mosque was mounted on Arabiag: horses The Tomb of a Sultan. of cne_ color. During a talk I had with Gen. Wallace not long ago he spoke very h'ghly of this sultan, saying that he was a much greater man than he has been gen- eraliy suppesed. I was told that he did a at dexl of work, keeping track of for- gr affal as well as those of his own untry, and that he had the foreign news- papers translated for him. He has been so surrounded, however, by officials and spies thai it has been impossible for him to Know what has been going on in his coun- and tt is a question whether he has even peen sable to control the factions which make up his government. The whole ‘Tuskish cmp’re is honeycombed with spies, nople is a city of intrigues i 8. It is coubtful, in fact, the sultan car command good faith on the part of his harem, and he does not know that prove fal: Curious is favorite wife may not e to him. Things About Sernagliov. It will be surprising to many to know that the sultan’s wives are all of slave origin. The danger of assassination from the harem has made it the custom of Tur- key for the sultan not to marry. This pre- vents the political intrigues of a many- branched royal family, and all of the sul- tans have had slave mothers. Abdul-Ham- id had, I was told, 1,6 women in his royal seraglio, and as this number is r H every year by slaves from Georgia and Cireassta, the imperial narem probably con- tains that number today. It is curious to know what is done with such a horde of wives in case of the death of a sultan. It is said that the grandfather of Abdal- Hamié sewed up nearly 200 of the wives of his predecessors in sacks and loaded the sacks with shot. He then dropped them into the Bosphorus, in order that there might be no treachery among the ladies of the Sultan's which were open, and though their faces were covered, the veils were of the thin- ‘St gauze, and I couid see them almost plainly as though they had worn no veils at all. They were not, to my eyes, extra- ordinarily beautiful, and not a few seemed rather old. Hach of the carriages was sat a sober-faced eunuch with a long whip in his hand, and eunucha 1ode up and down the line, jeatousiy guarding their charg. A large part of the servants of the palace are eunuchs. Th is a chief eunuch, who has charge of all the women about the man as the grand vizier. He gets a big salary, and his intluence is such that he is able to make a fort cut of it during his office. Th: vants connected with the pa , and each of bis favorite wives has seryants of her own. At the head of the harem is the mother of the sultan, who fs known as the val tana, and who has something to d picking out and training the sultan’s wives. This woman rules the harem. She has her eunuchs and her servants, and one of the | pringipal days of the year for her is that. which comes at the end of the Mohamme- dan Lent, or ramazan. She has a lot of Georgian slaves brought to her months be- fore this. She picks out fifteen of the best looking. They are put upon diet, ure taught music, and are as carefully groom- ed as so many race horses. Just about the close of Lent she looks over the lot and picks out the one who is to be what is called the bairam bride of the sultan. This girl, 0 the story goes, is not seen by the sultan ull the night after bairam, which is the Mohammedan Easter. His majesty finds her in his chamber when he retires to rest, and the story told me at Constantinople Was that the new bride had to crawl in under tne clothes from the foot of the bed in token of her subjection. I made some and was told that the price of the slave de- pended quite as much upon her accomplish- ments as her beauty. An ordinary slave girl of desirable age ranging from twelve to sixteen brings $4"). If she fs beautiful, she may be worth $2.0, and this sultan has had mamy wives for whom he has paid as high as $5,000. Bionde beauties with blue eyes and transparent skin usually for a song. I was told that the buying and selling of slaves still goes on in Constanti- nople, but that of late years such sales have been “under the rose.”” A Visit to the Sultan's Treasury. The papers are full of the pover of Turkey. The debt of the country runs high into the hundreds of millions, and all things are taxed. The customs duties never get Into the hands of the sultan. They are paid to the foreign bond holders, and the t Koes almost directly to England. His majesty is supposed to be poor, but his private expenditures have amounted always to many millions a year, and there is a v amount of money tied up in the jewels cf his treasury. It was through the private secretary of the sultan that I got access to his treasury. Guarded by Turkish soldiers, and accompanied by officers whose swords clanked over the marble floors. I wandered about room after rocm, filled with jewels and precious stones. I feastel my eyes on ¢: loaded with enough gold plate to have broken the backs of half a dozen government mules, and I broke the tenth commandment many times as I examined the jewels. which, by the way, are kepi behind glass. There ts at least a peck of big diamonds in this treas- There are quarts of pearls of ail | and sizes, from the little seeds as big as the head of a pin to the great irides- ities the size of a hickory nut. cent bi There The Sultan’s Soldiers. big as your fist, and there are enough watches, which are set with pearls and diamonds, to fill a two-bushel basket. There is a golden cradle, covered with precious stones, in which the children of seven dif- ferent sultans are said to have slept, and I counted a dozen hand mirrors, with frames of gold and settings of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. There is one arm chair as big as that in which your grandfather sits which is of solid gold, set with precious stones, and which has a satin cushion upon it which is embroidered with pearls. This a little gold footstool in front of it. There is a toilet table the top of which is made of lapis lazuli and the feet of which ure claw-shaped, the claws being made of dia- monds, emeralds, rubies and carbuncles. Big diamonds hang down from the top of the table, and along the edge of it there is a deep fringe of diamonds. Another wonderful thing is the collection of bed quilts, which are embroidered with pearls. Tuke the quilt of a wide bed and cover it with pearls of all sizes, from those as big as a pin to some as large as the fattest chestnut. String thousands of such pearls into all shapes, so that they cover the quilt with embroidery, and you have some idea of the kind of bed clothes under which the most famous of the sultan of the past have slept. And then the collec- tion of armor! There are numerous swords, and upon one sword hilt I counted fifteen diamonds, each of which was as big as the top of a man’s thumb, and there were other swords set with all kinds of jewels. There were saddles embroidered with pearls, with stirrups of silver. There were pipes set with diamonds, and one case contained the cos- tumes of the sultans of the past, each of which blazed with precious stones. Of the gold plate there were dishes of solid gold big enough for a baby’s bath tub, and there were plates, cups and saucers, tureens and plichers, massive and heavy, made of this Same precious metal. The collection filled a number of rooms, and it must be worth many millions. It contains the accumulated treasures and relics of the sultans of the past, and when the Turkish empire is finally divided up among the rulers of Europe there will be a great scramble for t!= most precious objects in these treasury vauits. After leaving this treasury I visited the tombs of the sultans. These are to be seen In one of the mosques at Constantinople. They are made of marble, and each tomb is surrounded by a fence of wrought silver and covered with the most precious of Cashmere shawls. The fez cap of the sultan beneath, studded wit® diamonds, is placed on top of his tomb, and outside the fence, on racks of ebony inlaid with pearl, are the manuscript Korans used by the sultan, and kept there as an evidence of his fidelity to his religion. There are a number of such tombs in this mosque, but there is room for more, and the present sultan will eventually be lai@ here to rest. FRANK G. CARPENTER. —— FAME BY ACCIDENT. A Story of a French Painter and His Struggles With Adversity. The French painter, Bastien Lepage, who died recently, was pursued by unmerciful disaster through his youth in his efforts to study art, says an exchange. His mother worked in the fields to keep that sickiy boy at school, At fifteen he went to Paris alone, starved for seven years, painted without success, but still painted. He had just finished a picture to send to the salon when Paris was besieged, and he ruahed, with his comrades, to the trenches. On the first hell fell into his stu- @o and destro cture and another shell fell at hi nding him. He was carried home afd lay ill and idle for two years. Then he returned to Paris and, reduced to absolute want, painted cheap fans, in order to earn himself a living. One day a manufacturer of some patent medicines ordered a picture from him to il- lustrate its virtues. Lepage, who was sin- cere, gave his best work to the advertise- ment. He painted a landscape in the April sunlight; the leaves of tender green quiver- ed in the breeze; a group of beautiful girls gathered round the fountain from which the elixir of youth sprang In a bubbling stream. Lepage believed there was real merit in it. “Let me offer it to the salon," he said to his patron. The manufacturer was delighted. “But first paint a rainbow arching over the foun- tain,” he said, th the name of my medicine upon it.” Lepage refused. “Then I will not pay you a sou for the picture!’ The price of his picture meant bread for months and the painter had long needed bread. The chance of admission t as small. He h a silenced his hunger and carr to the salon. It was admitted. success insured Lepa: recognition, and his later among the greatest livi - oe A REMARKABLE DOG. Its great a place in public werk a place ing artists. The Intelligent Assistant Employed by a Teaas Livery Stable Man. From the Galveston News. Capt. W. L. Burke has returned from the region of which Leon county, Texas, is the center. He served proce of the district court of the United States over a district forty miles square. . At Marquez, on the International and Great Northern, he hired a horse and bug- gy, and after getting off from town he found that a dog had volunieered to ac- company him. The drive was ramified and led across farms and through lonely for- ests, but the dog, with cheerful alacrity, trotted ahead and gave warning barks when nearing bad bridges and particularly bad places in the road. The people to be seryed, In some cases, resided in cottages far from the main road, causing much painstaking in opening gates hung on home-made hinges and secured with rope tied in a hard knot. “At such times the dog whined his sympathy and watched the horse and buggy until the difficulties were overcome. , When Cupt. Burke took meals and fed the horse the dog was remember and when there was any delay about his portion he let the fact be known. When the long drive ended and the deputy United States marshal returned the horse and buggy at Marquez the dog gave a satisfied yawao and curled up in a vacant stall. The owner ex- plained. He sai ‘I always send that dog along when I hire an outfit to a stranger. I wish I had-a dozen like him.” ——— ‘OND OF TURKEY. Dogs in Rhode Island Even Killed One Intended for the President. Fron the Providence Journal. During the past year more than the usual number of young turkeys were killed by dogs. This slaughter of pouitry has presented a serious financial problem to the members of the town cornci! of Wester- ly, whose duty it is to author the pay sent of sums sufficfent to cover the farmers’ loss. Bills amounting to several hundred dollars have already been paid during the past nine months for damages to poultry by dogs. The difficulty has assumed such proportions that it is one of tne principal subjects for discussion at the regular monthiy town council meetings. It was during one of these discussions about turkeys a month or two ago that a member of the council told his fellow-mem- bers that, having occasion to dissect a dog, which had been found among a flock, he found within the heads of twelve young turkeys. The hearers of the story were incredulous, yet all were impressed with the importance of immediate action to sup- press the unnecessary slaughter of poultry As yet the problem has not been solved, and still the canines roam about the town, attacking turkey flocks and feasting upon the while meat of their breasts at the ex- pense of the town. One dog was so bold as to attack and kill an exceptionaily fine turkey a few weeks ago, a bird which had heen selected for the President’s table on Thanksgiving day. This turkey, a fine specimen, weizh- ing thirty-eight pounds, while strutting about the farm of Gideon Chesebro, fell a prey to a dog, and the next merning a few feathers and Lones told the story. Had this turkey lived it would have doubtless surpassed In| weight the one sent to Gen. Grant, which was the largest ever ship) from Westerly to Washington, weighing thirty-six pounds when dressed. Earthquakes and Lotterics. From the London Telegraph. The earthquake recently felt In Rome has already produced a result that to any ex- cept an Italian would seem incredible. It has augmented materially the receipts of the national lottery. The occurrence wax so unusual that gamblers saw their oppor- tunity, and quite a series of figures became popular. Thi irst shock was felt on No- vember 1 at p.m. One, four and thirty- eight were obviously factors in the lucky series. And then the lottery manual helped the gambler out by supplying him with other figures, chiefly 11, 90 and 30, so that among the six success was certain. Eleven ‘was most run on, as It was equivalent both for “November” and “earthquake,” and also represented the fete of St. Martin, a saint very popular since the battle of San Mar- tino. In fact, the lotteries received such an impulse from the earthquake that the offices had to be kept open on Ali Saints’ day, contrary to all usage. When the win- ning numbers were actually exposed to view, not one of the popular six was in the chair is kept under a glass case, and it has | category. MAILS AND; MORALS Efforts Made to Prevent the Trans- mission of Improper Literature. STRINGENT LAWS SUMERMES FURILE What is Done With the Stuff at the Dead Letter Office. REDUCED TO ASHES HIS GOVERNMENT has a censor. His name is Gen. Frank H. Jones, and he holds the office of first assistant post- master general. His business is to deter- taine what sort of lit- erary matter or pic- tures may properly be considered as com- ing under the head of “immoral.” Of course, all such stuff is ex- cludeu vy law from the mails. Gen, Jones may be said to edit the Index Expurgatorius of the Post Office Depart- ment. This is the list of books and other publications which have been formally and ferever shut out of the United States mails. It includes a large number of works more or less well known, The Post Office Department complains that New York ts the chief center for the production and dissemination of indecent terature. Some of the concerns engaged in iS business have objectionable books or tures to dispose of, or else have various intended for illegal purposes. Ad- ements of such stuff are sent to all sorts of people—te young men at coilege, to school boys, and actualiy in some cases to young ladies at boarding school, lists of whose names are easily obtainable. Inves- tigation of the subject has resulted in the discovery that there are persons who pur- sue this sort of Industry for sheer pleasure and not for gain. Instances of such ex- treme moral turpitude are not so rare as might be supposed. Not long ago a man was sentenced to twenty years in prison for habitual induigence in the pastime of writ- ing improper letters to girls in boarding schouls. vert! Punishing Offenders. The Post Office Department has found it- self embarrassed by the difficulty of secur- ing the conviction of criminals of this sort in New York. Oddiy enough, it is some- times argued with success in behalf of the detendants that the stuff sold or otherv ‘se circulated by them is too disgusting to be dangerous to morals. Anyway, the ac- cused are apt to evade punishment, and by their escape are rendered more bold and dangerous. The last Congress, however, possed a law making such offenses “con- tinuous” from the place of mailing to the race of destination. This means that the nder may be tried at any place through interdicted mail matter has gone The naughty pamphlet posted in ork and addressed tg San Francisco render the sender Hable to a trial by jury in Chicago or Bu‘alo. ‘There are 70,000 postmasters in the United State y one of them discovers that i r matter is presented to him for 5. he mi refuse it. Not to do so is to render himself liable to reprimand, and perhaps dismissal. Sealed matter bearing letter postage can- rot be tampered with in the mails legal- ly, but it ceases to be sacred when it has reached the dead letter office. . The letters and packages that come into that office are first receipted for in a book, and then they go to a long table at which a dogen clerks sit. There they are opened with gr®at.rapid- ity and dexterity. If one cf themyis found to contain money, the latter is puff aside, and the same is done with checks, drafts, deeds and mortgages. All such valfables are placed in a safe, and the letters accompany- ing them, if any, are fijad together with a memoranda as to the eash and other pre- cous contents. The regt of the letters, con- stituting the bulk ef them, are transmitted to the returning division, where three young ladies, who are experts in handwriting, ex- ercise their imagination on the addresses. A Fiery Deom. Now, it is not desirable that the indecent matter contained in occasional letters and packages should come under the eyes of these young ladies. Consequently, all such stuff is taken out at the opening table and put aside, including “flash” books and pam- phiets, photographs of what is called the “fancy” sort, ete. This material is put up in bundles by the clerk in charge of the opening division, and eventually it 1s con- veyed to a large furnace in the basement of the Post Office Department and there burn- ed to ashes. Now and then a sample is pre- served, to be carefully jacketed and filed away; but this is only done where the de- partment has made a decision that was rather a “close” one, the question of ad- mission to the mails being decided on a nar- zow line. Such examples serve as prece- dents fer action when similar things come up for decision. Many prosecutions might be based upon the contents of letters and parcels that reach the dead letter office. But that office is entirely divorced from the legal business of the Post Office Department. The seal of confidence rests upon all matter thus re- ceived, and is respected by the government. The penalty, by the way, for sending inde- cent stuff through the post is a maximum of 0 fire and five years at hard labor for each offense proved. Thus a person who makes usiness of violating the statute many ea get himself sent to prison for half his Efe, Immense numbers of cigarette pictures, inany of them more or less improper, used to reach the dead letter office. This fact was due chiefly to a fad for collecting such photographs that was exceedingly popular among hoys. The youngsters exchanged them by mail. All of those received at the Pest Office Department were burned in the furnace. Of course, the producers of these pictures ventured as close as they dared to the line of actual indecency. The cigarette manufacturers entered into arrangements with photographers by which the p' © turned out on an enor- mous seale. The photographers went into the market and purchased all the photographs suitable for their purpose that they could get, including portraits of actresses, dancers and even society women in ball cestume. Girls were even hired to pose. The photographs obtained were mounted in sizes matched on huge cards, 100 or more on each. Each card was placed before the camera and reproduced on a Smaller scale. From the resulting negativé whole shects were turned off, the little pkotographs be- ing afterward cut apart apd delivered to the cigarette manufactorer.sIn this simple manner they could be repypduced by mil- Hons. Bay i “HELPING” MEMORY, A S3stem That Reqakrex Good Mental Powers to Uge at A From Youth's Co m. i, The science cf mnemon’ such a science, consists 1 es, if there is y in training the mind to harg things upon their own Legs, as it were; in othr words, to associ- ate one thing with another. “In what year wag) Abraham LincoIn born?” asked a public Schogi teacher who hed been taking a course of mnemcnics urder a specialist. “I don’t remembet answered the pupil. “Don't remember! Well, you must go about it in the right y. How many muses were there?” “Nine” “Of course. Now double that number.” “ighteen. by 100." don to thet. How many Multiply that by itself.” Now add that to th and what hav ult you on “Weil, nov was born in 1s. on gong to work in } he memory reeds a bit of fy ORATOR SHUKKS’ REVENGE, He Was Londed and the First Game He Sighted Was a Burglar. From the Chicago Daily ‘Tribune. * It was an inclement night, but the gloomy- looking man who stood in the doorway of the little town hall and looked out at the pelt- ing rain did not blame it entirely on the weather. The -gloomy-looking man was Webster Shukks, leading citizen and prominent de- bater of Bainbridge township. He had come to Spiketown pursuant to announcement to deliver an address on the Crime of '73, and only three persons had turned out, one of them being the janitor of the building. The other two had heard the orator once or twice already. It was decided to postpone the meeting. The lights were put out and Mr. Shukks, buttoning his overcoat about him, turned up his collar, and, pulling his hat brim down all round, went forth into the storm. Oppressed by the burden of an unspoken speech, he wandered aimlessly about the lit- tue town for hours, regardless of the rain that soaked his garments and the mud that spattered and slopped as he wended his de- vious and uncertain way through strects whose broad sidewalks and well-built cross- ings were yet in the future. - Bitter thoughts of the apathy of the people he had come to enlighten surged through his mind, and at times he felt an almost irresistible pulse to let them slide on to their ruin without ary further effort to save them. Finding himself at last opposite the village hotel, where he had engaged lodgings for the night, he went in. Climbing the stairs softly, in order not to disturb the slumbers of the other guests, he proceeded to his room. Through the partly opened door he saw a man slipping about with a dim lantern in his hand. Webster Shukks grasped his heavy cane firmly, slipped noiselessly inside, siut the door behind him, and spoke in a low tone: “Stop right where you are! 1f you make a single movement I'll brain you!” Taken by surprise the intruder threw up his hands. “Now, you scoundrel,” said the sta an of Bainbridge township, with the saine low, {ense utterance, “I don’t know who you ore or where you come from, but I know what you're prowling about my room fer. You are here to steal!" “I—I—" began the baffled burglar. ‘There is nothing you need to say,” inter- rupted Webster Shukks, with a gleam of vengeance in his eye. “Open your head again and I'll drive you down throuzh the flocr! Listen to me. We have met this evening, my fellow citizens, to consider as calmly as we can the great crime committed against the people of this country in the year 1 at the bidding of an organization composed of a few London and New York bankers—a crime so dastardly, so fiendisn, so monstrous in its conception and heartless in its execution that humanity may well stand appalled at the mere contemplation cf it! Let us go back to the beginning. In 1792, my fellow citizens, Congress passed a mint and coinage law by which gold and silver, FASHION’S GLEAM OF SANITY. Deformed Waists Are No Longer Re- garded as a Beauty in Women. From Harper's Bazar. It is a matter for rejoicing that fashion is no longer to decree a slender waist as something indispensable to propriety and grace. The natural waist of the woman of average height is about twenty-eight inches, and any less size is attained only through arrested development or compres- sion by means of whalebone and steel. The amount of room inside these twenty- eight inches is absolutely needed for the proper working of the machinery of* the internal economy. In spite of this fact, girls very often bind their yielding ribs into such narrow compass that the waist Measures twenty or twenty-two inches only, and you will now and then hear some mother of a family, with a very different waist now, boast, as if it were something to be proud of, that when she was nineteen her waist measure was nineteen, too. It is, however, of no use to talk to young people about injurious effect of compression on stomach. heart, lungs, liver and the ar- terial system. They are not anatomists, and they do not comprehend the matter, nor want to do so; they observe that they feel as well now as they did before, and, without weighing the thought that it re- quires time to work ruin, take it for grant- ed that they always will feel as well, al- thofigh they have been told and taught that in post-mortem examinations it has been found that wherever tight lacing has been the rule, every organ was out of place and seriously injured. But although it does move them a trifle to be told that red noses and eruptive skins and flat chests are to be laid to the ac- count of the too slender waist, yet. on the whole, neither common sense nor auld-wife wisdom nor doctors have the power of conviction that fashion does, fashion says that there is no beauty in a Wasp's we st, but thai the lires of mobility and health made by deep breathing are lovely lines, fragility being some- to be feared than loved, why y_ begins to be avoided, and the lines of the Venus de Milo, of the Diana, of the Pallas, begin to come in. HOW ‘TWAS DONE. A Hand ef Four Aces Which Was Beaten Easily. From the Boston Post. “It happened in this way, your honor,” said Carl E. Carlson to Judge Burke yes- terdny. “Go on,” said the judge, filling in the pause mace by the witness. “Well,” and he looked a little flurried, “my friend William Lowe and I were on the train, sir, the train from Srugus to Boston, that afternoon. When a short dis- lauce out a game of waist was proposed. That man,” pointing to McGovern, “and his friend came into it. “When the question of cards came up, McGovern took some out of his pocket, when coined, were declared to be U mary money of the republic. T! value was the silver dollar of -4 grains of pure, or 416 grains of standard, silver. The legal ratio was declared in this act to be, until otherwise provided for, 15 to 1. It was cnacted that any person could take either of the two metals to the mint and have it coined into money, free of all charge. In its sovereign capacity, fellow citizens, the founders of this great country laid down the broad principle of the free ccinage of silver—" i There was a hoarse, gurgling sound, and the helpless villain who had been standing in a corner of the room with his hands above his head sank in a heap to the floor. Nature had come to his relief. He had fainted. ——— eee Crazy Tales, From London Punch, The Duchess of Pomposet was writhing, poor thing, on the horns of a dilemma. Painful position, very. She was the great- est of great ladies, full of fire and fashion, and with a purple blush (she was born that color) Aung bangly arms round the neck of her lord and master, The unfortunate man was a shocking sufferer, having a bad un- earned Increment, and enduring constant pain on account of his back being broader than his views. “Pomposet,” she cried, resolutely. ‘‘Duky darling!” (When first married she had ventured to aposirophise him as “ducky,” but his grace thought it infra dig., and they compro- sed by omitting the vulgar “c.”” Duky,” she said, raising pale distin- guished eyes to a Chippendale mirror, have made up my mind.” “Don't,” expostulated the trembling peer. ou are so rash!" ‘What is more, I have made up yours.” “To make up the mind of an English duke,” he remarked, with dignity, “requires no ordinary inteilee=; yet L believe with your feminine hydraulics you are capable of anything, Jane.’ (That this aristocratic rib of bis rib should have been named plain Jane was a chronic sorrow.) “Don't keep me in suspense,” he con- tinued; “in fact, to descend to a colloquial- ism, I insist on your grace letting the cat ey of the bag with the least possible de- “As you will,” she replied. “Your blood be on your own coronet. Prepare for a shock—a revelation. I have fallen! Not once—but many time: “Wretched woman!—I beg pardont wretched grande dame! Call upon Debrett to cover you!” “I am madly in love with—” “Ry my taffeta and ermine, I swear—" Peace, peace!” said Jane. “Compose yourself, ducky—that is Plantageaet. For- give the slip. I am agitated. My mind runs on slips.”* The duke groaned. “Horrid, awful slips!” With a countenance of alabaster he tore at his sandy top-knot. 7 “I have d ed you. I admit it. ed to folly. A supercil duke staggered on h‘s patrician |: With womaniy impulse—fiinging . the winds—Jane caught the maje to her palpitating alpaca, and, his beloved features with duch cried in passionate accents, “My king! sensitive plant! Heavens! It's his unlucky back! Be calm, Plantagenet. I have —learning—to—bike! There! On the sly The duke flapped a reviving toe, squeezed the august fingers. “Tam madly enamored of—my machine.” The peer smoothed a ruffled top-knot with ineffable grace. ewise am determined you shall take lessons. Now it is no u duky. 1 mean to be tender, but firm wi you. The potentate gave a sieriorous chortle, and, stretching out his arms, fell in a strawberry-leaf swoon on the parquet floor, his ducal head on the lap of his adored Jane. Stoop- ———— Glo Now Instead of Mittens. From the Chicago Tribure. It will comfort the young man who presses ihe dainty gloved hand in the dance to know that he may possess the glove later. Old evening gloves have been turned to account in the way which is most doied on by men who roll their own cigarettes or vse a pipe. ‘This fad for tobacco pouches made from to the long ends of evening gloves bids fai outdo all previous records of souvenirs. Nothing could be more simply made Whether they are embroidered or painted in water color depends upon how much value the young woman places upon the friend- ship of the lucky man who is to receive the gift. The bottom of the glove is drawn in tignuly. and eld together with a ribbon bow, a tassel, or plainly stitched. The top is siit several times for a ribbon to be run in and out twice, to allow it to be drawn together like an old-fashioned purse. Once the glove is bought and fingers worn out there is no expense attached to the exceedingly dainty gift, which is sure “ sure of His Choir. Frem the Le 1 Journal. ‘A peppery parson down east who was a turbed by his choir during prayer time got even with them when he gave out his clos- ing hymn by adding: “I hope the entire congrezation will join in singing th’s grand yran, and I know the choir will, for I them humming it during the prayer.” eee An Effective Ali. Quick Drop Dan—“That’s just what he did. When the sheriff went to the jeil to hang him, he wasn’t there.” ee g, ‘Here's a euchre deck. Ii’s all I ny 5 “He said that he was in the habit of piaying euchre with his wife, and—well, ae eccounted for his having them with hii ‘Let's make it a euchre game,’ said he, taking the cards and beginning te shuffle. His friend said, ‘Al right,’ but I objected. I told him that I knew so little about the geme that I greatly feared I could not play it sufficiently well to keep up the interest. «They agreed to help me out. “Well, after a few hands had been play- ed, and just as another had been dealt cut, McGovern, speaking to his friend, said. ‘Say, I have a poker hand here that I would like to bet a little money on.’ ame here,’ replied his friend. ‘nen they asked our indulgence to sus- pend the game while they bet on their hands. McGovern, after looking over his cards very thoughtfully, said’ that weuld go $5 on his hand. His friend seemed agreeable, and then two §5 biils were placed upon the tale and pirhed over to me_fcr_ safckesping. “The fricrd won. “After that we resumed the game of euchre, sir. “Well, we continued to play enchre for a while, and were fast approaching the Gepot, when McGovern's friend, looking casually it my cards, remarked: “What a poker hand you have.” “I locked and caw that I had four aces and a king. , “I said I didn’t know much about it. “‘Let me sev it,’ said friend Lowe. I pessed it over. After inspecting it he re- turned it, saying, ‘Ap exceptionally good © “Worth $10 any tim was the enthu- sisstic comment of McGovern’s friend. “I never bet,’ said I. “‘T'll bet yOu $20, just to see what you have,” said McGovern. “T didn’t like ft, but, encouraged by his friend and the sight of my hand, I de- posited the money. “Well, what have you got? asked Mc- Gevern “Four aces and a king,’ said I, showing my band. “It will take a straight flush to beat that,’ ren.arked MeGovern'’s friend. ““And that is just what I hold,’ said Me- Govern, throwing his cards cn the table end reaching for the money. “Just then the train pulled into the de- pot.” McGcvern and his friend disappeared, and then I began tc realize that I had been swit died.” MeGavern declined to testify. Judge Burke thereupon fired him $10. He appeal- ed and was held in $200 for the upper court. eee Promising. Gotha . 's good material for an actor in Softleigh. “What leads you to think so?” “He shed tears at his mother-in-law's funeral.” Edneation Pays. From the Cincinnatl Enquirer. Farmer Hayrix—“My boy wants me to send him to college, but T don’t believe the results is wuth the mongy, do you?” Farmer Konschock as. My cousin Jake's boy he went to collidge and growed sich a bead of hair and sich a lot of mus- cle that he’s makin’ $20 a week as the “Wild Giant of Madagascar,’ an’ only has to show twicet a da -se2-—_- The Enamored Cuira: (in three pictures.) From the Fliegende Blactter. and when} he | SAME FROM EITHER END. ——?, Why He Was Perticular About the Number of the Hotel Room. From the New York Tribums. The citizen solemnly watched the clerk with owl eyes as he wroty the number of th@room opposite the name on the register, Then he carefully scanned the number, first from one side and then from the other. It was "63." He said solemnly: “‘S-s-sh, zat won't do. Musht have so’thin’ elsh. ‘S won't do.” The clerk looked at him quizzicalty and asked whai he wanted. The guest repilcd, with an air of mystery, such as is attrib- uted to Sherlock Holmes “Musht have somethin’ else. or 30%, or something like zat.” The clerk took an inventory of stock and saw that 111 was vacant, and he assigned his mysterious visitor to that room. This satisfied the man of mystery, and he siarted off in an uncertain manner to look for the bar. He found it, and spent most of his day there. Late that night, when the clerk was retiring, he saw the bibulous guest, who roomed in the same hall with him, going to his room, He stopped and watched the manner in which the guest from the rural districts was making his Way, and wondered vaguely why he had ed for a room with a particular nw ber. He heard the man muttering under his breath as he wandered nonchalantly from one side of the hall to the other, peering at the numbers on the door. The Giv’ me 111 inebriate was muttering: “Shixty-tree. Never heard of such a thing. Won’ do. Shixty*three, shirty-six. Must have "em righ Know whe! now." Finally, he located his room, and he | Walked up to it on one side and muttered in a half-satistied way: Musht be it. S’all right.”” iddenly a great light broke upon the lering clerk, and he ejaculated: “Great Scott! Same coming and going. That fellow is a Napoleon. No wonder he Wanted a room that read the same back- ward and forward. I wonder what room he got into by mistake that made him change his code. ———_ ee THE UTILITY OF NEWNESS. A_ View of the Duties of Women aa Voters Which is Somewhat Unique. From the New Orleans Picayune. “Dey tells me," said Aunt Dinah, pausing in the dining room door, and resting her herds cn her hips; “dey tells me dat de wimmin is had a meetin’ goin’ on whar dey jiss spechifys same as de men. Is dat s0?”" Her mistress laid down the paper in which she was reading the reports of some of the brilliant papers delivered before the Associaticn for the Advancement of Wo- men and tried to explain matters to her. “Dey Ces got up on de platform, did dey,” asked the «ld woman, “an’ speak right out in_meetin’?". She was assured they did. ‘An’ dey kin talk bac! She was informed that was their pri les Bless Gord I done live to see dis day!” she replied fervently. “I lay I'll des git ver Jones at de meetin’ dis very night. De odder night I felt called on to “gori sin- ners an’ he say: ‘Set down, Sis’ Dinah, de wimmin must keep silence “In de chu'ch. Dey’s de weaker vessel.’ I was hot, an’ 1 ‘spon’: ‘Ef dey wa'nt 410 wimmin in de chu'ches, Brer Jones, whar would de eh'ch be? Who pays de preacher? Whar you get dat fine coat on yo’ back? Ain’t it de Davghters of Zion done ra‘se de money? Don’t seem lak I hear nobody compiainin’ "bout wimmin in de chu'ch when it comes to passin’ roun’ de hat.’ “You say de time comin’ when de wim- gwine run de town? Dey'li clean up things then, sho’. I boun’ de mayor himseif can’t sweep like me, let "lone dem upity pleec’men. Des give me a broom an’ I kin clean mo’ street in a hour dan de commit- tee does in a year. “An’ wimmin gwine vote, too? Good marster, how de worl’ do change! Fus’ de rigge an’ den de wimmin. Rec’on folks think scme dem wimmin what's been goin’ to school an’ colleges is got most much sense as niggers now. $44 “s dat you say? Wimmin gwine polities an’ ain't gwine sell their >) what's de good of votin’ if dey a‘n't no o-bits in it? Dis ole nigger’s been plannin’ to lay off work an’ vote fer all it's worth." SS coo —_-___ Benton's Neglected Grave. From the St. Louls Republic. Among America’s neglected graves is that of Thomas Benton, in Bellefontaine ceme- tery. A marble shaft of modest propor- tions when compared with the lofty piles seen near by stands in the center of the lot, and upon it are the family names, Brant and Benton. At the rear end of the lot is a line of graves—nine in all—and above each is a small white stone, a little more than a foot in width and about three feet in height. The stones have for tn- scriptions simply the names of the persons in whose memory they are placed. ‘There are no dates on any of the stones and nothing to indicate that under one of them rest the remains of one of the giants of the early cays of the state. The lot is neatly kept—as are all the lots in a weil- vurdered burial ground—but the graves bear no marks indicating that special attention is given to them. That of the great states- man is sinking to the level of the ground about it, and in a short time, if deft to it- self, will dissolve its fading outlines and be merged with and lost in the sod. The lit- tle stone with its brief inscription has be- come undermined, and unless soon restored may fall to the ground. —- see Man Neighs Like a Horse. From the Chicazo News. = desoin is locked up at the Harrisor. physician as to his sanity. en Italian about thirty years oid and ap- parently has no home. For a month past residents tn the neighborhood of Indiana avenue and 1Sth strect have been awakened early in the morning by what seemed to be the neighing of a horse. It occurred sometimes in the afternoon, but usually at night or in the early hours of morning, and it would sometimes last an hour. The matter was called to the attention of the police, and Policeman Olinger was detafled to look out for the horse. Sunday after- oon be was patrolling the neighbohood, when he heard the sound, but he was un- able to find the supposed horse. Meanwhile ise continued, and as the officer came the corner of Indiana avenue and treet he ran Into a man who was ly neighing. All the policeman could make out of the man’s story was that the man was in love with a servant girl who works in the neighborhood. — eee — No Future for the Heavies. From the Spectator. It is more than ninety years since the Edinburgh and Quarterly were started, and | the chance of either of them reaching the century of life is generally declared to be ote. Their more unfriendly observers rt, indeed, as they have asserted this ek, that they are already dead, and tis but the reluctance of their pro- th objects which during nothing too dull do not, to be read, except by oi | truth, 4 them, but, in p: do so, Lope to conceal the fact and the world of literature have i. parted company. Ni on of the day will willingly open s published at such long intervals or study artict or criticism, by nd even th scoming too \ h a swa reviewe 3, if not the day on of an event shou of its occurrence. as brought up ina ion of Scotlay) nad occasion to his father to a vilage near branch line of jen behind the house in > staying, he beheld wiih train go by. For a mo- aring at it with astonish- ronnipg into the house, he fayther, come oot! There's wi’ a row 0° houses, an’ by the back o’ the town. he stood nd th ran dvon