Evening Star Newspaper, April 9, 1898, Page 16

16 ‘ THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1898-24 PAGES. ;. i eo Written for The Evening Star. “Reading the article in The Star of last Saturday on shoe laces,” remarked a shoe dealer to a Star reporter “reminds me of the largest shoe ever turned out in the regular way by a shve factory. You may have seen the story of a lot of shoes or- dered by a dealer Africa, who specified that he wanted the shoes ‘all siz2s, running frcm seventeen to thirty-three, as my cus- tomers are principally members of the biz foot tribe.’ Weil, it surpasses even the lar; eet of that lot. The sho: was presented toa dealer named P. Tuperdy, more as a com- Pliment than for actual use. Its size is 100 even. The last on whica it was made used up fifty-six feet of Canada pine. It is three feet six inches in length, and nearly eight- een inches in width. It took an entire hide of leather to make it, and actually cost 3150. Mr. Tuberdy has a pretty good stzed aes this shoe would be rather loose cn aim.” x ee Rt “My recent visit to Havana,” remarked @ repr=seniative to a Star reporter, “opened my eyes to many of the peculiar conditions of things that exist in that city, and as it was my first inside sight of the Havana lottery business, I was greatly interested in it. Notwithstanding ail the war talk and preparations for war the lottery busi- goes steadily on and there are daily besides the monthly and ‘semi-monthly As the government is behind the scheme they will not give the people a Fest, the profit in it is enormous and the pecple pay a daily tax through the medium of the scheme, without ever realizing that they are paying it. The Spaniard is a sport @ll ‘the way through, and it appears that he would as soon think of doing away with ne of his meals as he would with his daily lottery ticket. Men are not the only buyers Of tickets, for I saw as many women in the Jottery offices as I did men. They reminded me more of the high flyers to be seen about @ red hot mining town than anything else I car compare them to. While none of them gpparently had a penny to spare, they all lived on in expectation of being about to strike it rich’ or win the capital prize be- fore the day was over. The Police of the city dispose of the tickets ‘s dent of the city has to take one each day, or give Some good reason for declining. The last Sunday I was there I saw an al- @alde seliing tickets to the people as they tame out of a church, though while in the ehurch they were also asked and practi- rally required to make a contribution to- ards the support of the city government. The city government as such does not sell the lottery tickets, but it has a lot of simi- jar ways to raise money. The profits from the lottery goes to the royal government, that is, the horde of Spanish officials who Bre foisted upon the island by Spain.” = eR KK & ‘The. lightning rod agent is again throughout the land,” explained a travel- ine man to a Star reporter, “and, while his business is not as good as it was when he was on the earth before, it is Picking up wonderfully. The lightning rod man now admits that the old-time iron rod af- fords little or no protection, but ha has the best scientific authority in existence to show that a properly constructed rod of copper does give protection. The lightning rod man’s harvest is made along the At- Jantic coast, and particularly the South Atlantic coast. He seldom has to work the interior country, for the average coun- try hous» provides itself with a lightning Fod as naturaily*us it does with a chimney, Dut ts devoting his energies with the own. ers and tenanis of the big city houses. In several of the states laws have been pass- ed requiring lightning rods, and a number of the larger fire insurance compaales write in their policies that they will not Pay losses frem fire from lightning unless the property has been rodded. The fact that the Capitol, Washington monument and the department buildings have light- ning rod. is of great value to the lightning Fod man, and he never loses an opportunity to make it known. This return to earth of the ligktning rod man has developed the fact that in two-thirds of the houses on which rods were constructed in the days that iron rods were supposed to protect there ts actually no protection, or very lit- tle at the most, for the reason that. as-an examination will show, ghe rods are very often found disconr: | and besides are at their ground con- the earth, so as it rests on moist ground. Otherwise a to insure at all times that lightning rod gives no more rotectii than does the down pipe that carries the rain water from the roof. In cities like ‘Washington, where modern plumbing is re- quired, the sewcr gas and trap ventilation pipe, which extends above the roof, is al- Most as good a lightning rod. It is cer- tainly ten times better than nothing.” : xe te & “While down in Abbeville, South Carolina, recently, “said Rev. Frank Parsons of New ‘York to a Star reporter, “I visited the fa- mous school house there. The building is not exactly famous for the character of the education that ts given there, though I am Inclined to think it compares favorably with its section of the country, but for the part it played during the war of the rebellion. It was in this school house that the first meeting was held in favor of the secession of South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union. It was also the place where the first resolution of secession was ever passed. In a few weeks it was the Scene of the organization of the first mili- tary organization which tendered its ser- Vices to the confederate governm=nt, which company, by the way, was the first com- pany ever accepted by that government. The first who lost his life in the war, on the side. belonged to that company. and he was the first man who en- killed by the accidental di charge of a musket, which, it is sald, was fi musk though of that I am not as posi- formed as I 2m about the other r consideration. It was also one of the first schools to be closed in conse- of the war for school purposes. All these are remarkah'e enough Ia their way &s interesting facts in connection with the Tebeilion, also be truthfully building that Jef- binet he'd the last of the confelerate govern- From this building they escaped, only @ short distance from these the confederate president and the members of his cabinet were captured. Rather remarkable, was {t not, in view of the extent of the southern states, that the end. practically, should have been in the identical building where the actual begtn- ning of the confederate government oc- curred? Now. covple with the above the other fact. even more remarkable, seem- {nglz. that Abraham Lincom died upon the {identical bed and in the same room that his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, had slept on for a long time in this city, and there fs a wonderful cornbination of the often-ex- pressed idea that this is a small world. eee te “The expression ‘more or less’ has sel- cm had a legal interpretation,” explained @ well-known lawyer to 2 Star reporier, “though, for all general purposes, the meaning {s pretty generally understood. In transfers of land, of property of various Kinds, and of quantities in contracts, In company that was fssued to the | REAL THING IN UNIFORMS “The first thing that I mean to do when I get to ‘the front,’ wherever that be,” said a Washington newspaper who has been notified that, in case of war he is to be sent to the scene of the fracas in the Interests of his paper, “is to tog out in the regular war correspondent’s get-up and have my picture taken. Every war correspondent has got to do that, or he wouldn't be a war correspondent. I'm go- ing to buy a pair of corduroy breeches, Tusset leather top boots, a flannel shirt of whatever color the war correspondents where I am sent may be affecting, a hel- met with a lot of green veiling inside of it, & big belt of undressed leather with a cou- ple of the biggest pistols I can get for love or money sticking in it. Then I'm going to sling a big pair of field glasses over my shoulder, rent a fiery, untamed steed for the occasion, and have my photo. took. I'l) have it taken with a lot o' generals and commodores and people like that swagger- ing around in fatigue uniforms in the back. ground. That'll be great, won't it? Vil send copies of the picture to my people ard to all the girls up here that I know, and if they don’t think when they see it that I’m a hot member and that I'm pretty nearly Cleaning out the opposing forces all by my little lonesome, why, I’ve got this war correspondent picture business mixed, that’s all.” NO FUN BEING’ SPANISH The small boys of Washington are play- ing soldier a good deal these days. It looks Hike rather a one-sided game. The lads who are a year or so ahead of their com- panions in years shove upon the latter the thankless roles of Spanish soldiers. ‘Then they proceed to whack the Spanish soldiers. They don't use a great amount of strategy in defeating their opponents. They simply wade in and ciub them In spots where per- haps the Spanish need most to be clubbed, and haul them around by the hair of the head and poke them with laths, and final- ly wind up by falling on them in a heap. The “Spanish” forces don’t appear-to en- joy this sort of thing very much, but they try to be as game as they can. One little fellow was observed to come out of a melee of this kind yesterday with blood in his eye. When the “American” soldiers let him up he scrambled for a plife of loose bricks and got half a brick in each hand. Then he mounted a little knoll—a brave little figure of a man, indeed—while the sol- diery of the United States regarded him wonderingiy. The little lad made his dec- laration. Thay,” he said, “fun'th fun, but I'm thick o’ thith kind o' fun. You fellowth better keep away from me now, or thome- thing’th going to happen ‘round here, u ugh!" ‘They let Sai alone after that and the game wound up by the remainder of the Spanish soidiery declining to play unless they were permitted to take the other side. —— GOLD IN A SEWER. book stores and make a them,” safd an old dealer to a “I have seen all kinds of and know their ways ‘taught by one of them fellow who has come over ten years to look Second Advent did the at the door at the king as he has every said “Good morning,” to which I res} led, and then edged along to the, ¥Secénd Advent” shelf—a space I had. selbbted for such books as I got in from tinge to time with a bearing on his Iine of stay. int a few minutes he land a Uttle later came in with 2 novel in’ his hand, which he offered for sale. Without a suspicion, I fitpped out a dime end’ tossed the book back on the end of the counter. ~ “The old fellow went off, and a bit later my clerk came th. , His eye caught dight of the novel, and out,/Well, this “Romola” has ut it In the ten-cent before I closed the ntist had picked up aoe sold it to me. Ai Ui: (i a number of decisions on the general ques- tion, but this does not always settle dis- agreements that constantly arise from its use. I think the generally understocd meaning of the term is that it implies that 20 per cent one way or another is the max- imum, and to that extent it is safe to use it. In brief, therefore, more or less means that one-fifth cf the quantity indicated can run with the contract or agreement, and it will be held to be good.” a ee “The troubles in Cuba have already about broken up the raising of fine cigar tobacco,” said a tobacco Importer ty a Star reporter, “and even if things do ever get quiet there it will be a long tiie before there wi:l be as much cigar tobacco raised there as there was severs] years ago. In this respect Florida nas been a gainer, but it is impossidle.to raise the finest wrap- pers in Florida unless th» seed can be sz- cured in Cuba. Cuban seed grows good enough for the first crop in Florida, but the seed from that tobacco produces but Beorly by comparison. In the third year the tobacco grown from original Cuban seed has gone back :o its original growth kefore it was developed in Cuba, and is positively rank. The only way the Florida vrapper growers could make any tnroad into the cigar business at all was to secure fresh Cuban seed each year, and as this supply ts now very uncertain. the Floriaa business, which has grown steadily for the bast five or six years, is sure to diminish.” x k * x “There are more free thinkers in relig- ious matters among telegraphers as a class than any other trade or calling that I know of,” observed 2 prominent elec- trician to a Star reporter, “and many of them grow to be the most pronounced in their views, without being able to exglain it. There is nothing about the telegraph business that is frreligious in any way. Of course, telegrephers have to work on Sun- day, ut so do rrinters, drug clerks, rail- road men and hests of others, who, as a rule, stick close io their early religious training. There seems to be something in the telegrapa‘ business that cuts men loose, as it were’ It may be from the fact that Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, was dceidedly Independent in his religious views, and that his follcwers absorb his ideas without being conscious of it. But the fact that there are more free thinkers among telegraphers thar. in any other call- ing, in propertiea to their numners is in- disputable. This is no new or sudden dis- covery. It has always been so, and though there have been « rumber of explanations given none of them have thoroughly ex- plained as yet.” Written for The Evening Star. Vigtis. He's a picture for a painter As he's lying fast asleep: Naught is prettier nor quainter Than the dimples as they creep "Round his little cheeks so rosy; Hes as dainty as a posy In the little crib so cozy Where he’s lying fast asleep. shouted the energetic neighbor. “That's my motto!” The other was silent. “Well, what do you say about it?” “I beg your pardon. I was thinking of those youngstors over there.” “Well, the country was made for them, too.” ‘Of course it was. Of course. But it seems hard that they must grow up to fight their way in the biter struggle for exist- ence. When they go hom at night they will rectte one of the sweetest classics that was ever penned. I wish that time could turn back and bring me to the age when the twilight hour found me saying, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep.’ I: hes but sublime because of simplictt oe be sure; it's very good in its place. t” “My dear sir, there ar? some things which we ought not to outgrow. It is @ —_———_ BIRD SONGS. And the moonbeams pause to love him As he's lying fast asieep; And the stars that sttine above him ‘Tender vigils seem to keep. And the smile so softly beaming Back an answer to their gleaming Teil of angels in his dreaming As he's lying fast asieep. ‘The Ear Has to Be Particularly At- tuned to Hear Them Correctly. From the Century. I suspect it requires a special gift of grace to enable one to hear the bird songs. Some new- power must be added to the ear or some obstruction removed. There are not only scales upon our eyes, so that we do not see; there are scales upon our-ears so that we do not hear. A city woman, who had spent much of her time in the country, once asked a well-known orni- thologist to take her where she could hear the bluebird. “What, never heard the biuebird?” said he. “I have not,” said the woman. “Then you will never hear it,” said the bird lover. That is, never hear it with that inward ear that gives beauty and meaning to the note. He could prob- ably have taken her in a few minutes where she could have heard the call or warble of the bluebird, but it would have fallen upon unresponsive ears—upon ears that were not sensitized by love for the birds or associations with them. Bird songs are not music, properly speaking, but only suggestions of music. A great many people whose attention would be quickly arrested by the same volume of sound made by a musical instrument or by any artificial means, never heard them at all. The sound of a boy's penny whistle there in the grove or the meadow weuld separate itself more from the back- ground of nature and be a greater chal- lenge to the ear than is the strain of the thrush or the song of the sparrow. There is something elusive, indefinite, neutral about bird songs that makes them strike obliquely, as it were, upon the ear, and we are very apt to miss them. They are @ part of nature, and nature lies about us, entirely occupied with her own affairs, and quite regardless of our presence. Hence it is with bird songs as it is with so many other things in nature—they are what we make them. The ear that hears them must be half creative. I am always disturbed when persons not especially observant of birds ask me to The Yellow Element Abounds in the Soil of the District. “It has often been said that there is gold in the streets of Washington,” said Cap- tain Janney Purcell, who is working the old Maryland mine at Great Falls woe an option from the original company, “but I never saw the ocvfiar demonstration of the fact until the other day as I came through Georgetown with a friend who had been out to see the work being done at the Maryland mine. We were somewhere north of P street and making our way down toward the Metropolitan car line, @ saw some men digging a sewer. Tne bank of earth thrown up was red as blood. I am an old miner and I can’t keep away from signs of gold if I see them,-and I immediately went to the spot and picked up a handful of the stuff. The man near- est to me was crushing a bit of the earth in the palm of his hand, and as he did so looked askew at me out of the tail of his eye. I saw at once the fellow had been a miner. I have mined from Canada to Mexico, and I think there is a freemasonry among miners by which you can generally tell one of the craft pretty much as you would guess that a chap who hitches up his trousers fore and aft is a sailor. “1 talked awhile with my friend, who was in the ditch for a dollar a day, and learned that he had had his chance in the Black Hills in the 70's, had found a good prop- erty, sold it well and gone to Wall street to be fleeced clean. He satd the red earth showed oxide of fron, and where that was found of course decomposition of the origi- nal quartz rock had taken place, and the gold released. I wrapped a handful in a piece of paper and tucked it in my coat pocket, where it lay forgotten until yester- day, when I panned it carefully. You never saw such a streak of “colors.” They Swept across the pan like the tail of a comet across an August night. There was” at least 5@ cents worth of gold in that one part. If I had found it in Colorado or Cal- ifornia, to say nothing of Alaska, I should have thought I had made a grand strike. But it was only dirt from @ sewer in ly poor. He had very little money, and bought as a rule the largest books he could find in the five and ten-cent boxes. The subject or character of the volumes he selected seemed to be of no concern what- ever to him. One time he got an odd first volume of the reprint Encyclopedia Brit- tanica, an old King James octavo Bible, @ worn-out medical work and an agricul- tural report. At anether his purchase in- cluded a mutilated Pope’: “Homer Junkin on Prophecy, Byron's poems, Shakespeare's Sonnets and Youatt's ‘Horse Book.” I more than once saw him buy an armful of books out of that box without looking at the titles on the back or open- ingia cover. Sige and dinginess seemed to be the only things he considered. “It was a long time before I discovered his game. One day I was up town at a certain senatcr’s house, where I had been calléd to Icok over a lot of old books which the lady of the house wanted to sell. I was busy looking over the stuff when the bell rang and inea moment the servant came and told Mrs. Senator that there was an old man at the door with books. She went out and soon came back with my old friend of the big volumes. Under his arm was a lot he had that morning bought of me. He had told the woman a pitiful story of his poverty, and begged her to keep him from starving by buying the few books he had left of a once large and fine Hbrary. He said he had parted with furniture, clothes and other things before he could make up his mind to sell his books. The game would haye worked splendidly if I had not been in the house. Mrs. Senator at once thought ‘she would do me a favor and give me a chance to possess myself of. the ol€ man’s_rare books. So she brought him in to where I was getting ready as fast as I could to skin her on a hundred or more rare and scarce geologi- cal survey reportaj; The old chap turned pale and dropped his books when he saw me. I laughed, for I saw .through the ‘whole thing at oriée. After he had gone Mrs. Senator told the his story. He never came to this storetagain.” s All is snowlike in its whiteness Whére he’s lying fast asteep, And you step with all the lightness Of the shadows as they ereep, Lest the siight ties he mighi sever And float far off and forever From the world of rude endeavor. While he’s lying fast asleep. Passed far out of recognition, As he lies there fast aslec; Is the scamp who in contricion For his deeds was made to weep; And his place-I fain would borrow, For i envy him the sorrow That must fade before the morrow, As he lies there, fast asleep. at * A Youth: Reasoner. “Johnny,” exclaimed Mr. Blykins, “what are-you doing?” “Thinking, sir.” “How dare you waste your time thinking, when you ought to be studying your les- son?” “I was thinking about my lesson.” “What book are you engaged in perusing at this time?” inquired the old gentleman. “Natural history.” “Ah, a very useful and interesting study. It broadens the ideas and assists in taking the mind from the customary cares of life without the danger of demoralization which sometimes attends frivolous forms of diver- sion.” “Yes, si “How far along have you proceeded in the study of natural history?” “I'm learning about amphibious animals mistake to think that as we develop intel- lectually; if we are so fortunate as to do so, we must leave behind all the things which We wer? taught to treasure in childhood.” ‘But in this particular case—" ‘What I have said applies to this case with peculiar force. “I must beg to differ with you.” “I have always said you were deficient in sentiment.” “Not at all. That little phrase fills m> with as much reverence as it inspires in you. But I want to say to you, sir, without any expectation of being called upon to take it back, that I should dislike mightily to live under a government which adopted ‘ that motto as a basis for its foreign pol- ——— MANNING THE YARDS. . A Ceremony That is Net What It Used to Be. When Commodore Schley took formal cecmmand of the flying squadron the other day the “yards” of the flagship Brooklyn were manned by the bluejackets, and on deck all involuntarily joined in the shout of applause. In the old navy, when United States ships were actually ships with yards, * ** “Tomorrow.” take them’ where they can hear some par- . evens the bo’sun’s mate's call, “All hands cheer | Georgetow: C., and of course it was of f 3 Sr sci ticular bird, the song of which they have | now.” There's a sample of vegetation rank ship!” was followed by a much more pic-| Vélue only ‘as a curiosity. Yet when we} ~ SHE FOUND, HER POCKET. become interested in through a description That flourishes far away, turesque ceremony than {s possible now, | 7¢#!!ze what science is doing for all —— of it in some bock. As I listen with them I Where the weeds with remorseful tears at. @ank And the blooming is weirdly gay. And it casts a spell on the folk who dwell ‘Neath its shadow in careless glee. Full many and sad are the tales they tell Of the strange “Manana” tree. branches of human industry we can rea- scnably expect that some day we shall be able to utilize the auriferous soils and rocks in and around Washington for legiti- Tate business-like mining.” ————— Only an Honest Heart. From Success. “An all-fired hot day, marm! Goin’ fur?” said an old farmer, addressing a lady who sat at his side in a raflroad station waiting for a train. = The lady drew away her rich silks’im- patiently, frowning as if to say, “You're out of your place, sir,” but she made no audible reply. “An all-fired hot day, I say, marm,’ said the old man in a louder tone, supposing that she was a little deal. “Are you goin’ fur? Why,” he continued, as no reply was veuchsafed. ‘I’m sorry you're deaf, marm. How long have you been so?” : “Sir,” said the lady, rising, “do you mean to inst e? I shall complain to the po- lice,’ and she swept haughtily from the reom. “Waal, I never!” exclaimed the old man, as he drew out the red bandanna and mopped his forehead. “Pretty tired, marm?” he continued, addressing a woman who had just come in, carrying a baby and a lot of bundles, and with two small chil- dren clinging to her dress. “Are you goin’ fur?” “To Boston, sir,” was the pleasant reply. “Got to wait long?” “Two hours. Oh, children, do be quiet, and don’t tease mother any more.” “Look a-here, you young shavers, and see what I’ve got in my own pocket,” and soon What the Wheel is Doing for the Ad- vanced Woman, The wheel has dene a good deal for the physical development of the new. woman. A little incident that happened yesterday on upper 10th: street gave interesting proof ofthis. A syeet-faced woman,.mith sil- | vered hair and clad in a plain gray. dress was riding slqwly, along when she saw ahead of her @ small boy pushing along on @ tricycle and jowing,g little blue, cart tied with a string to the axle of. his; vehicld. There were more youngsters further’ tp the street, and’ the Httle chap was looking at them and trying td_put. on speed to reach them. A emile overspread the face of the silver-haired woman, abd a sudden thought seemed to occur to her. © She rode a little slower, held the handle- bar with one hand and with ‘the other found the pocket in her dress. Skilifully she guided her bicycle close to the nettle red cert and as pane E the disengaged hand drew from the pocket a big, round, red apple, which shé deftly dropped.in the little cart. The boy did not hear it and.kepton. The woman rode past, then turned and came behind, riding slower than before. The youngster at length reached his playmates and dismounted. As he did so he saw his prize and jumped for it, then looked wonderingly around to see where it came from. The lady with the silver hair waiched him as she wheeled past'and evidently had her full reward in the child's pleasure and as- tonishment. = But the marvel to the man who saw it from the sidewg}k was how a woman cou!d when the vessels of the navy are fitted with but a sirgle yard, and that only used for signaling. At the word of command “Man the yards!” there was an amount of acrobatic scurrying on the main decks of the old ships that was calculated to make the ship-visitor hold his breath, the thing looked so dangerous. The men forward in bluejacket uniform would fairly leap up the rope ledders, and almost by the time the echoes of the command had dled away every yard on each mast would support scores of men and boys, all standing erect, most of them only held up by the crossed arms of the men beside them. This repre- sentation of a cross was held by all of the men. and it was their business to stand thus with absolute statuesqueness. Then the command “Cheer ship!” would be bawl- ed out on deck by the chief bo'sun’s mate, and there would be a yell from cat-head to mizzen that couldn't help but warm the bleod of everybody within hearing of When the men manned the yards with sail except top'ls and stuns’ls set, such Picture was really beautiful, the men’s uni- forms of blue standing out in sapphire-like contrast to the cameo whiteness of the shrouds. This was a ceremony on all for- mal occasions, such as the visit aboard the old ships of distinguished men. And man the yards and cheer ship were commands always given when one of the ol4 clippers of the United States navy wes elther de- parting for or arriving from a foreign sta- jon. feel like apologizing for the bird—it has @ bad cold, or has just heard some depress- ing news; it will not let ftself out. The song Seems so casual and minor when you make a dead set at it. I have taken per- sons to hear the hermit thrush, and I have fancied that they were all the time saying to themsel: “Is that all?" But when one hears the bird in his walk, when the mind is attuned to simple things and is open and receptive, when expectation is not aroused and the song comes as a sur- prise out of the dusky silence of the Woods, one feels that it merits all the fine things that.can be said of it. ——+o+—___ Antics of Electricity. From Lippincott's. The mention of electricity of a frisky be- bavior will suggest to most people some of its actions on the trolley, or about t! street cars, or in connection with electric light wires, when it breaks loose—which @re all of too dangerous a character to be amusing; noting not at all its pranks cn their own desks, though no “live” wire be Within a mile of them. It does not always occur to our minds that electricity is playing a little trick whea we take a sheet of writing paper from a pile and find it does not come alcne, but drags along another sheet or more, “sticking closer than a brother.” Similar action of the immense sheets of book paper on a printing press in certain states of the atmosphere—w! on to the form of type and has one or more others partially adhering to it for a moment, then taking flight away from the all familiar?” And Mr. Blykins folded his hands before him and gazed at his son with a look of wise expectancy. think so. Is man an animal?” n the scientific sense, yes. “And an amphibious animal is one that eee both air and water?” The hammock swings from its branches low, While the light guitar keeps time, And the tinseled moments that trooping go Are set to a sleepy rhyme. And a serpent coils in its foliage fair And whither he will glides he, For none are roused, save to greet Despair, "Neath the strange “Manana™ tree. ‘They wait in vain for the fruits to fall Which shine with a golden glow. It saps the soll where its long roots crawl So that only its kind may grow. Ah, sorrows fierce for a realm are rife, Whatever that realm may be, That poisons its acres and clogs its life With the strange “Manana” tree. “Then a man ts one. If he weren't, what Would be the use of having any soda foun- tains?” * Cepia and Mars. It was before the order was issued clos- ing the navy yard to visitors that two officers who were in the gun shop met with an odd surprise. They were talking over some technicalities of warfare, and paused to lean against the muzzle of one of the steel murder monsters which awaited final touches of the mechanic's skill. Into the midst of their conversation floated the strange inquiry: “Does oo love ums?” -And the response came in a higher but just as tender key: “Yumps. And does oo love uzzins? The unintending auditors gazed about in startled inquiry. Only the subject matter prevented the impression that it was a supernatural demonstration. No ghost ever said anything like that. Their eyes searched in vain for explanation of the phenomenon. —— The Canon of the Yellowstone. Jchn Mutr im the Atlantic. The canon is so tremendously wild and impressive that even the great falls cannot hold your attention. It is about twenty miles long and a thousand feet deep—a weird, unearthly looking gorge of jagged, fantastic architecture, and most brilliantly colored. It Is not the depth or shape of t ee THE NEWSSOYS’ PROFITS. ‘The War News Increases His Sales . Cousiderably. canon, nor the waterfalls, nor the green both children were on his knees eating pép- | find her pocket’on a wheel. Vedat riers dingy resting place—frequent- and gray river chanting its brave song as “My father was a newsboy on the B. and | permint candy and listening to wonderful > uncomfortable ly keeps the pressmen in an state of fidgets. Such action results from the attraction and repulsion of frictional electrieity—the game kind that is produced by the chafing of tho silk flaps against the rotating glass disk in the so-called “electrical machine.” An experiment with the same. kind of electricity, which can easily be tried, is to apply gentle friction to a thin piece of cloth or paper; when, on bringing It near the wall of the apartment, it will be at- tracted thereby, and adhere to the surface a it weod, plaster, or paper—for a brief ime. O. in war times, as I am now,” said a bright young chap to a Star reporter on a train going out of town the other night. “He says I am having the bonanza now that he had then, only it won't last so long. He used to sell extras taken on slips from the galleys of type in the old Star and Chronicle offices and got sometimes as high as 25 cents apiece for them. I don’t get much of a chance at extras, but I sell a heap of papers on my regular run. The life of a newsboy on a regular run is a pe- culiar one, and success depends on the boy. I have done well from the start, but I know boys who came in and reported only a dollar or two of sales on a run. The fact is, you can make anywhere from 25 cents a day to $10 In this business. I made $14 last Sunday. “How did I do it? Chiefly on New York papers. I run up into Virginia, where they get excited over war news on Fitz Lee's account, I suppose, and pay 10 cents apiece for New York Sunday papers without a murmur. I sold 210 New Yorks lastSunday | ‘OFY that is picturesque,” said a Washing- and a good many Washington and Balti. | ‘oN man who passed through the usual more papers, too. I sold 150 Stars the | nickel-lbrary-yarns-of-the-Spanish-main a night ees ¥ MEP php get Be Der | long while ago, “‘and that’s the history’ of cent, you know, and of course we have to | the Spanish pirates. They surely were Soe aaeee ea See METER TRS ig aad” They war gic ates Deere “1 save my money. I have my days at | they ought to challenge admiration to this home in Washington and do a little study- | ay for having at least been at the top ing there. and I have bunched together | of the heap in their line of business. ‘They quite a little money trading bicycles, I | Used to scarc the deuce out of me when t guess some of my ancestors were horse | Was @ small boy. these Spanish pirates. traders. I trade wheels just as gypsies do | I remember one of ‘em especially that I horses. I can make an old wheel look like | tead about. This amiable ranger of the new, and generally succeed in finding a | Sea Couldn't be quite bad enough to sult fellow that wants it. My nights are spent | his own tastes in that direction. So he in a little mountain town at the end of my | used to lock himself in his cabin, start lot of sulphur to burning, and, while he run. I sleep with the trainmen in the cars. Four of these cushions laid lengthwise on | chewed glass and let the blood trickle down his curly beard, he'd. mutter and top of the backs of the seats gives as soft a , bed as I want. 1 keep a roll of blankets in | growl, “This fs Sheol.’ Pretty bad man, the station office. That seems rough to | that chap, wasx't he? I used to look be- you, perhaps, but I am healthy and can | hind mea good deal when I went up dark stand it, and it saves money. Better men | Stairways after reading about that geezer then I may ever be began that way, and in | Of the deep.’ these hard times money must be saved as Ess well as earned. Besides, a penny now may To Entertain Wales. From the London Leader. be 2 dollar with me five years from Srve An haven't told you, sir, one other Recently a large estate came into the Seek te nee OTL cal oa eerie te ted eee owner. It contained some of the finest shooting to be had in the country, and the Prince of Wales had often wanted to visit it, but the owner could not afford to enter- tain him, and so did not invite him. A gen. stories about the sheep and calves at home. Next he pulled out a string and taught them how to play “cat’s-cradle.” They Were soon on the floor, happy as kittens. “Now let me take that youngster, marm,” he said, noticing that the baby wanted to be tossed all the time; “you look clean beat out. I guess I can please him. powerful hand with babies.” In his big arms, the child crowed with delight until he fell asleep. ‘Taint nothin’ at all, marm,” he said, two hours later, as he helped the woman and her charges on board. Buying a pint of peanuts from a little girl, and paying 12 cents instead of 10 cents, he munched in hearty enjoyment un- ul his train was called. “All aboard!” shouted the vonductor, and the train started. “Something bright has gone out of this depot that doesn’t come in every day,” said one who remained—“an hgnest heart.” it goes foaming on its way that most im- presses the observer, but the colors of the decomposed volcanic rocks. With few ex- ceptions, the traveler in strange lands finds that however much the scenery and vege- tation in different countries may change, Mother Earth is ever familiar and the same. But here the very ground is changed, as if belonging to some other world. The walls of the canon from top to bottom burn. in a perfect glory of color, confounding and dazzling when the sun is shining— white, yellow, green, blue, vermilion and various other shades of red indefinitely biending. All the earth ts seems to be paint. Millions of tons of it lie in sight, exposed to wind and weather as if of mo account, yet marvelously fresh and bright, fast colors not to be washed out or bleached out by either sunshine or storms. Manjak. From the Savannab News In the island of Barbados large quanti- ties of a mineral have been found which the natives call “manjak.” It is ef a bright black color and occurs at a very slight depth, sometimes on the surface, in beds one to two feet thick. It generally ap- pears under an angle of about 40 degrees, and in the immediate vicinity of rock. it is In Diplomatic Disgrace. The United States has been a nation with foreign relations for about a century and @ quarter. During that time, seven rep- resentatives of fcretgn governments have been dismissed. The first instance was the case of Genet, minister from France, Guring Washingtou’s second term. He was recalled in.1794 at the request of this coun- try for endeavoring :to stir up trouble be- tween the United States and Great Britain. During Jefferson's administraticn, Vrojo, the Spanish minister, was sent home on account of conduct .not only unbecoming a dipicmat, but even in an honest man and a gentleman. Jackson, the British minister, during Madison's first term, was recalled on 2 request from Washington be- cause of offensive criticism of this gov- errment. In 1849 Gen. Taylor, then Presi- Gent, sent the French minister, M. Poussin, bis passports. During Gen. Grant's first term, the Russian minister, Catzcazy, was recalled at our request, and during Presi- dent Cleveland’s first term a like fate hap- pened to Lord Sackville West, the British minister. Then follows the De Lome affair of recent date. In all, the recall cf seven ministers has been demanded, two British, two French, two Spanish and one Russian. SS ee Warned Gould of the Cost. From the Chicago Timcs-Herald. Paul Gore, now clerk at the Auditorium Annex, was room clerk at the Grand Pa- cific for several years. He tells a story in connection with Jay Gould’s first visit to Chicago. Mr. Gould, had registered at the Grand Pacific,.apdjwas standing in the lobby with his hands in his coat pockets, jeoking like a counfryman in town. The little militomajre approached J. P. Vidal, who wi ch peraberiiged vet ncdestl; nike what wi be. Dest way for im oe: porate icon ¥ m1 who Gould was, gave tan cane tructicn as to street Riss the necenety pes Go e yp. cova ——— A Literary Critie. “My son at the university sent me, the ‘other day, a copy of a college paper, in which one of his articles appeared,” said a Washington lady. “I was engaged in cut- ting the article out for preservation—I keep all such things, and pack them away with the baby clothes of my boys—when my old colored housemaid asked me: “What yo’ all a-doin’, missy?” “I told her that my son had written the article I was cutting out. It probabl - - peared to her that she was due to saying quitted the apot. It was more than-ware something nice then, and she leaned over riors and sea dogs could endure. As they and looked at the paper: moved away the breech of the gun came r " what nice, fime print dat ail | into their range of vision. A block of wood “And a highly interesting branch of the enimal kingdom.. Can you name an am- phibious animal—one with which we are The men were all busy at their lathes. There was no tableau in sight which would serve a logical accompaniment of the dia- logue. “Some ventriloquist is playing a trick on us, id one of the nava! men. “I don’t believe any ventriloquist would talk such idiocy,” was the reply. Again the tender murmur came tloating upoh the aes ————-+ee. On the Spanish Main. “There is one feature of Spanish his- ‘Does lovey want anuzzy bitey-wite of candy?” position this mineral is similar to the pitca of Trinidad, fo the Gilsonite of Utah and the Canadian Albertite, but it ts of a much story of the birds who built a nest in y. “man- cannon’s mouth. jak” contained 2 per cent of water, 70.85 ber _cent of volatile organic substances, 26.97 per cent of ditto solid ones and 0.18 ene Why Archie Got Mad. old “Then nothing that I can say, Archibald, | the will prevent you from going to this cruel war?” udtind “Sorry, little one, but you. know—" Boting: aw Euctpticn. “And you've decided absolutely to join} The man of susc>ptible moods and gentle the navy?” sentiments was watching some children “That's right.” Who were playing in the street. His more “Then, Archibali, will you make me a | energetic neighbor had been endeavoring to solemn promise?" engage him in-a conversation on current WS oor ag tig rag so ‘topies, but without much success. “ ell, I want you to promise me me death’ Pook bas the “Give me liberty or give much richer in natural among other purposes, the insulation of electrical conduits, for bituminous concrete and for fuel, It may to some ex- Lee NREL Interesting Almanacs. An almanac that is issued by the Chinese govern.nent is considered the most elabo- rate one in the world. It is in twelve thick volumes. which give full information as to the lucky times and places for performing the acts of every-day life. The most valu- able almanac ever made {fs in the British Museum, and it is priceless. It is said to $ oS i i F : i i