Evening Star Newspaper, June 25, 1898, Page 23

——————— THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1898-24 PAGES, FOLLOW THE ARMY Men and Women Who Make a Liv- ing Off the Soldiers. SUTLERS ARE NO LONGER WANTED How Their Place is Filled Under Modern Conditions. eg ae DOWN IN SOAPSUDS ROW ee gs From the Providence Journal. Army sutlers are discountenanced by the new regulations, and thus a very pictur- esque class of camp followers will be ab- sent from the encampments of our soldiers during the present war. The official com- Missary department will try to replace these useful adjuncts of former campaigns by suitably equipped and authorized shops, which, accompanying the troops on their travels, will supply all such things as the old-time sutler was accustomed to deal in. ‘These will !nclude various luxuries, such as canned fruits and vegetables, sugar- cured hams, sardines, condensed milk, but- ter ginger, candy, ete. Soldiers are mostly very fond of candy, and complaints have been made recently because many of the brave boys at Chickamauga and other camps were relegated to the hospital in consequence of excessive consumption of sugar plums contributed by admiring young women. In former days half a dozen women were regularly attached us laundresses to each rompany of United States troops. As a were the wives of enlisted men mmissioned officers, and nearly y were very worthy persons. > of them followed the regiments for as much as forty years, and they were offi- belonging to the mili- cheese cially recognized : tary organizations. One ration—in other words tood allowance of a soldier— Was allowed to each of them, and every en- listed man paid at a given rate for their Services as herwomen. In war time they did splendid work as nurses, and the arters occupied by them at each army post usually went under the name ef Soap- suds Row. Eight years ago, however, the War artment made an effort to dis- with them, and their rations were away. Consequently, no laundresses will follow the troops during the present campaign, and the soldier boys will have to wash their one clothes. Their Sons Became Officers. It is an interesting fact that in a number of instan sons of these army laun- Ss were educated and sent to the Military Academy at West Point, holding at this day commissions as officers. For obvious reasons, It is not desirable to men- mes in this connection, but a notable point is that of a well-known in- officer, who was coached for West nt by the wife of General Graham. He because of an imperfection er Was that he was appointed from civil life as a second lieutenant a y fore the class he tried to enter was ated. His father was a non-commi: officer, and his mother was a regimental Jaundre Women as naturally flock to the neigh- camp as crows to a Wherever our troops settle down © short a time as a two, 4 be plenty of volunteer laundres In Cuba the native women wili be only » glad to do washing for the soldiers, for the sake of making a few pennies. ile on the march, however, the men will have to wash for themselves, while the officers will em their servants, who are most commenly negroes. Officers’ servants and Mess attendants constitute quite a large class of camp followers, and ordinarily there are a good many people who straggle aiong in the wake of an army looking for employment. Under the regulation, an officer is not permitted to compel an enlist- ed man to do any sort of menial toil, such as cooking er washing. At the same time the enlisted man is at liberty to accept pay for such work from an officer. The army “canteen” has taken the place of the uld-time sutier’s store. Officers and men together subscribe the money required for the establishment of the canteen, to pay for the stock in trade, ete., and after @ certain reasonable percentage on the in- j¥estment has been paid back to them, the balance of the profit goes to the soldiers. The profits, chiefly derived from the sale ,Of beer, are very large, and they are ap- {plied to the improvement of the condition ‘of the men, paying for various luxuries which make a welcome addition to their Messes. Thus, for exampie, they are en- abled to have on their tables butter and milk. which are not furnished by the com- Mmissary. After a while the original debt [for the canteen fs paid off, and then the enlisted men run ft for themselves. No Distilled Liquors Sold. It is natural that the War Department Should wish to do away with the extortions which inevitably acompany the sutler sys- tem. Hence the new departure, which con- templates the furnishing of the soldiers through the canteens with everything that the sutlers used to sell. At the same time, \the sale of distilled liquors ts rigidly pro- hibited, on grounds that seem rational enough. The only drawback about this pro- hibition is that men deprived of whisky by Official order will always try to get it by underhand means. The consequence is that ‘the most abominable sort of stuff is smug- gled into the camps, and the men turn up drunk in squads. A retired army officer was telling the writer yesterday about the trouble he had at an army post in the far ‘west, when the sale of whisky within the post limits was forbidden by an order from the War Department. The soldiers used to sneak away at night to certain question- able establishments that were set up in the neighborhood, called in military parlance hog ranches, and y of them were con- stantly unfit for duty. The officer quoted, on his own responsibility, directed the post trader to get a quantity of good whisky and sell it to the men at reasonable price, the only restriction being that no soldier should be permitted to get drunk. The re- sult was that nobody did get drunk, and the hog ranches quickly went out of bus- iress. In the neighborhood of a settled military camp there are always unscrupulous per- sons who sell the rottenest kind of whisky by the canteen, bettle or jug. There is no law to reach them, and if caught they suf- fer no penalty beyond the confiscation of their stock in trade and perhaps a brief imprisonment in the guardhouse. Worse than these are camp followers of another kind, who prey upon the soldiers. They are Professional gamblers — short-card men, provided with marked cards and some- mes with small faro iayouts. Qccasion- ally they are “fair gamblers"—Le., experts who rely simply on their superior skill. In every regiment there are enlisted men who are such excellent cardplayers as to be ble to win large sums of money from thelr comrades. General Forsyth, the famous ‘Indian fighter, told your correspondent @bout a man in his command who after a payday—the troops having been paid off for four morths’ service—sent home $2,000 ‘which he had won at poker fairly. He won that amount inside of a week. Gambling. It ts impossible to prevent soldiers from gambling. They will do it in a corner be- hind a blanket, if no better opportunity serves. The fact that a man is fond of playing cards does not militate against his being a good soldier. The average enlist- ‘ed man, when pay day comes and he has Hquidated his small debts, is uneasy until Yhe gets rid of his mcney. Many soldiers look upon service in the army as a mere episode, getting as much amusement out ‘of it as they can. They mean to quit at [the close of the war, end they do not ex- ect to lay up anything. If any cash comes heir way they are disposed to spend it for whatever is going. These same men, like {Mark Tapley. come out strong under ad- verse circumstances, and are apt to prove ‘themselves capital fighters on occasion. {On the other hand, some soldiers save @urprising amounts of money. Paymasters lim the regular army are compelled, if the | men request it, to take money from them on deposit. On such deposits the govern- ‘ment pays 4 per cent per annum. The ques- tion as to whether volunteers ane the ‘ present war are to enjoy t ivilege has Rot come up for decision as yet. In San Francisco a few years ago a sergeant ap- proached a regimental paymaster and as- tonished him by laying down $15,000 on the pay table, asking that it be credited to him, ‘The paymaster refused, on the ground that he was obliged to take only the savings and ordinary accumulations of the men. The sergeant replied that the $15,000 repre- sented his savings as an enlisted man, in- asmuch as he had bought a wharf lot ten years before and had just sold it for the sum in question. The paymaster said that the government could get all the money it wanted at 3 per cent and it ought not to be obliged to pay 4 per cent under such cir- cumstances. The sergeant then refused to take the money back, and the matter was referred to the Attorney General, who de- cided in his favor. A Thrifty Soldier. ten. Forsyth says that when he was in command at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. there Was an infantryman in his regiment who was a company tallor. He had been in the service for thirty odd years, and had saved his money. He earned outside of his pay, by mending and altering clothes for soldiers and officers, from $12 to $20 a month, and Was reputed to have a very ‘arge sum on deposit in California savings banks. Being questioned on the subject. he told Gen. Forsyth that the amount to his credit was $18,000. He began to make deposits when he first enlisted, at a time when the savings banks on the Pacific coast were paying 2 per cent a month interest. In India an army of 3,000 or 4,000 native troops is accompanied customarily by any- where from 5,000 to 5,00 camp followers, including the wives and children of the soldiers. It used to be the same way as iar back as the day of Darius. Up to quite recent times European armies were follow ed by swarms of persons of every imagin: ble description, including numerous women of dubious character. The policy of the War Department during the present con- flict will be to discourage camp followers as far as possible. Reasonable exception will be made in favor of newspaper men, who are perhaps the most persistent of all camp followers. In speaking of camp foi- lowers one ought not to omit mention of the numerous animals which accompany every army. Every company of soldiers has its pets, always including one or two dogs, with an occasional squirrel and rac- coon. An Interesting Study That is Being Given Much Attention. From the Philadelphia Inquire All important dispatches which pass be- tween our government and its diplomatic agents and its military and naval officérs, when in service, are written in cipher. Since the dispatches are usually tran mitted by telegraph, the characters used | in them are restricted necessarily to the letters of the alphabet or numerals cr a combination of both, the point about the cipher being that to one not in possession of the “key” it is pure gibberish. If it censists of words, the words convey no meaning; or it may not consist even of words, but may be a confused and confus- ing jumble of letters. Cipher massages, or cryptograms, as they are sometimes called, are constructed up- on an almost infinite variety of plans. A ¥ast deal of ingenuity has been expended in devising methods of secret writing which, while being of a sufficiently great simplicity to be ble— to permit a m to be written easily and to be easily read by one in possession of the key—shall still be of such comptex- ity as to baffle the uninitiated. The plans upon which are constructed the ciphers used by our own government are, of course, a well-guarded secret; but that the ciphers are of great complexity may be jvdged from th Tead a short di medore Dewey, announcing his v Manila. The message was re Washington at 9 a. m., Saturd: yet it was not until nearly noon, Wore we mber well, that its meaning had been found and its plain parted to pondents he idea of writing a message in such a Way that no one can read it except the r the waiting epient for whom it is intended is one so likely to suggest itself on occasion and so easy to be carried out in a variety of Ways that we are not surprised to tind ciphers employed at a very early period. The methods first adopted, however, though they probably subserved their end well enough, were so exceedingly crude as really to afford little protection ag: the prying eye of any one possessed of the average amount of ingenuity. Polynius describes a method adopted by the Lace- demonians. When the Spartan state offi- cials wished to communicate with a gen- eral in the field they wound slant-wisa @ narrow strip of parchment upon a wand, so thai the edges met closely, and the mes- sage was then added in such a way that the center of the line of writing was on the edges of the parchment. When un- weund the message consisted of broken letters and in that condition it was dis- patched to its destination. The general to whose hands it came deciphered it by means of a wand corresponding in size to that used in writing it. One of the simplest and most common of ciphers is that in which the writer selocts in place of the proper letters other charac- ters, the use of which has previously been agreed upon with his correspondent, who thus holds the “key.” He may either use for this purpose letters of the alphabet, arranged out of their usual order, or ar- bitrary symbols—numerals, crosses, dashes, etce.—each character always standing in this scheme for the same letter. ‘This method is said to have been employed by Julius Caesar, his practice being to use instead of the proper letter that which steod in the fourth place from it in the alphabet. Thus, instead of writing “a” he wrote “d instead of “b’ he wrote “e,"" and so on through the alphabet. A message thus written has at first sight certainly a puzzling look, particularly if the words are not spaced. But its de- c:pherment fs really the simplest thing in the world, that is, when the language in which it is written is known. Probably the most difficult of the cl- phers in ordinary use is that based upon some book, the words or letters which It is desired to use being indicated in some way agreed upon by their places in the beok used as key. The famous Oregon cl- pher dispatches of some years ago, which were deciphered and published by the New York Tribune, were of this character, the key being found in a rare edition of a small dictionary. The assertion has often been made that human ingenuity cannot invent a cipher which human ingenuity cannot unravel. Tris is stating the case pretty strongly and yet some marvelous feats of Jecipher- ment have certainly been performed. No ordinary ingenuity, working without a full knowledge of the requisites of a perfect ci- pher, has ever devised one which would give much trouble to an expert at worm- ing the secret out of a writing of this sort. ————-+e-- Swiss Chimney Sweeps. From the Pall Mall Gazette. In Switzerland the chimney sweep is an official personage. He is the employe of the commune, receiving a fixed salary, his actions controlled by the government, and he himself holding on by the back straps to the car of state. He is also, as many tourists will fmve noticed, one of the few sons of the Helvetian republic who on Sun- Gays and week days sports a tall silk hat. This he wears with dignity, but it is gener. ally brushed the wrong way. On his offi- cial tour he takes it off blandly,-and in- forms the householder that he is ““empow- ered by the state to inspect his flues.” In the canton of Grisons recently the post and title of “ramoneur communal” was opened to competition. The salary ‘was £32 a year, and the candidates were numerous. But the strange thing was that they were most- ly village schoolmasters from Italy. A painful sign of the times in that unrestful land. Better,” says L'Italia del Popolo, “be a chimney sweep in Switzerland than a schoolmaster in Italy. But the Italia del Popolo has recently been suppressed. ——_—+ e+ ‘Thessaly’s Postage Stamps. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. There has been a great run on the new pestage stamp for Thessaly, which the Turkish government has caused to be cir- culated. These stamps are of the value of 5, 2 and 1 piastres and of 20 and 10 pa- ras, and so eager were collectors to possess the new stamps that on the third day fol- lowing their introduction those valued at 5 and 2 piastres were all bought up, and changed hands at 18 shillings. The stamps: of smaller value brought 4 shillings. The traders in these stamps were Turkish offi- cers and civil servants, who, now that the evacuation of Thessaly is taking definite shape, evidently thought the first and only issue of stamps by the Turkish govern- ment was an opportunity for making money not to be thrown away. 4% 23) THE LADRONE ISLANDS A Possession That May Come Along With the Philippines. Resources Are Considerable, but the Natives Are a Lazy and Shiftless Lot. From the St. Louls Globe-Demoerat The statement that the cruiser Charles- ton will stop at the Ladrone or Marianne Islands on her way to the Philippines and take possession of them in the name of the United States government is not confirmed at Washington, but, as the group Hes di- rectly in the way of our ship, it is more than likely that the report is true. The Ladrone group comprises about twenty islands, only five or six of which are inhabited, the rest being mere dots on the ocean, the tips of volcanoes which have sunk beneath the sea as the crust of the earth at this point subsided. The principal islands of the group are Guahan, Kota, Aguljan, Saypan and Tinian; but the larg- est, Guahan, which has an area of only 200 square miles, forms nearly one-half the land area of the entire group. Lying as they do, almost directly under the equa- tor, they have every variety of tropical product, and under proper conditions their population might become wealthy from agriculture alone, for no finer cotton, cof- fee, sugar or tobacco can be grown in the world than are raised in the Ladrone Is- lands, but the curse of Spanish rule has blighted every industry. The people labor no more than they are obliged to, and in the tropics no one is really compelled to work, for an abundant supply of food grows without cultivation, and clothing and shel- ter are almost unnecessary. The present isianders are mostly de- scendants of settlers from Mexico or from the Phillppine Islands. The people do not differ materially from the natives of tho Philippines, and although the islands have several good harbors, the Spaniards have done little or nothing for their improve- ment. The most considerable town on any of the groun is Saypan, on the island of the same name, the houses of which, like most of those in the South Sea Islands, are elevated on piles from two to four feet atove the ground. There are few Spanish settlers on the Islands, and the hold of Spain upon the group has been for the most part nomir al. It is a singular fact, discovered by An- son, that there are evidences on several of the tslands of a former civilization. Cy- clopean ruins exist, the architecture and di- mensions of the stones closely resembling the great ruins found in the islands of the Greek archipelago. These lonely isles mus? therefore, at one time, have been a seat of civilization. Perhaps it was before they became islands, for the Ladrone Islands are the remains of a mountain chain, which traverses the ic from north to south, having braaches to the east in other sca tered groups which here and there dot the surface of the sea. To the United States the value of the islands fs at present principally military, as furnishing harbors and coaling station but under an enlightened government the seems to be no reason to doubt that with Proper cultivation the cotton of the islands would equal that produced along the cost ot South Carolina, the sugar would rival that of Cuba and Porto Rico, and it i that the tobacco of the Ladrones ha flavor equal to that of Vuelta Abajo Val- ley. Any development within the limits of climate and sofl is possible under a civil- government, Ladrones may and the ave before them a future as great as that which lies before Porto Rico, so STARBOARD AND PORT, Origin of These Terms of Which We Hear So Much, Frem the Setentifie American. The origin of the words “starboard” and “larboard,” as used in the nautical vocabu- lary, has been attributed to the Italian words questa borda, meaning “this side,” and quella borda, “that side,” says Cas- sier's Magazine. Abbreviated, these two phrases appear as sta borda and la borda, and by corruption of languages were Soon rendered “starboard” and “larboard’’ by British saliors. These two words sound so much alike that frequent errors and accl- dents occurred, and years ago, therefore, the use of “larboard” was discontinued and “port” was substituted. A correspondent of this journal has made the point that the former term has been in use in the English language from a remote period, occurring in Anglo-Saxon as “‘stear- board,” and in middie English as “‘stere- board, while in later times it was written “sterboard,” from which it developed into its modern form, “starboard.” It originally meant, so our correspondent says, the board, or side, of the ship on which. the man who steered it was placed. It may be called a native English word as distin- guished from one of imported origin, and it possesses a special interest in its indication of the method of propelling and steering in vogue from very early times. The an- cient mariner could run before the wind with his single square sail, but he could deviate only a few points on either side. Unless, therefore, the direction of the wind agreed with the course of the vessel, it was necessary for him to be in constant readi- ness to modify his direction by the help of the oar. The illustrations of early English manuscripts and the later figures of tapes- tries exemplify the old square rig, with auxiliary oars and steering from the side. In these examples one or more heavy oars are used at the bow and on one side only; while the course is kept by a steersman with a lighter, and often paddle-shaped, oar, worked near the stern, and invariably on the starboard side of the ship. This method of rowing survived until recent times, and was well shown on the coal “keels,"” which added so picturesque a fea- ture to the navigation of the river Tyne. These vessels were managed by crews con- sisting of three men and a boy; they had a single square sail, and carried some twenty- odd tons of coal. When unable to run be- fore the wind, resort was had to rowing, and this was done by a single heavy bow oar, worked on the port side by two men and a boy, while the skipper kept the course, rowing in time with a lighter oar, called a “swape,"" from the stern on the starboard side. “The fixed rudder, hinged from the stern post and operated by a tiller, was a later development in ship con- struction. The Tyne “keel” exemplifies the earlier practice of our ancestors in steering by an oar from the right side of the ship, and from this comes the designation for that side as the ‘ or starboard. Evolution of the Sideboard. From the Architectural Record. The dresser began service in the kitchen @s a table, advancing until it was composed of a top and two shelves below, supported by four legs. It was then used, not so much as a place for dressing the meats as a serving table, on which dishes were placed befere being allotted to the mem- bers of the household. At a later period a Portion of the dresser became inclosed, and after that an extra shelf, with sometimes a hood, was placed on it. It was not then an article of kitchen furniture, but stood in the hall or ving room. As a result of the desire to reduce the quantity of furni- ture in the hall, the credence and dresser were combined as one article, with a closct and shelf below and several shelves above, the whole surmounted by a canopy. Then it was like some of our sideboards, though it was not known by that name until the eighteenth century, when it assumed the long, low table form, with drawers and cupboards below. The name sideboard prior to this had, however, been applied to tables as early as the sixteenth century. ee Chinese Do Everything Backward. From the Richmond Christian Advocate. Th3 Chinese compass points to the south instead of the north. Men wear skirts, the women trousers. Men wear their hair long, women wear it short. Men carry“on dressmaking, women carry burdens. The spoken language is not written, and the written language is not spoken. Books are read backwards. Footnotes are inserted at the top of the page. The Chinese dress in white at funerals, and in mourning at weddings, while old wo- men always serve as bridssmaids. The Chinese launch their vessels side- ways, and mount their horses from the off side. ‘The Chinese begin their dinner with das- sert and end with soup and fish. In China the hands of clocks are im- movable; it is the dial that revolves. RANDOM VERSE. av The American Flag. When Freedom ftom her morntain beight Unfurled her standard to the air, She tore the axure And set the be of Hight, rs of glery: there! xcTKeOus dyes ‘The mitky beldric of the skies, An With streakings of them ‘Then, from She called her eagle be 7! st he aymbol of her choseit riped i pure celestial margion in hand land! Majestic monarch of the clond! Who rear’st left thy regul torm, To hear the ten-pest Trumpings loud, And see the lightning lanées driv: When strive the And Child of the sunt t rolls the drum of heaven, thee "fis given To guard the banner of the tree, To hover in the sulphar smoke, To ward away the battle stroke, And Like rainbows on t bid its blending: shine afar, The harbingers of victory! Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fy, ‘The sign of hope and triumph bigh! When speaks the signal-trampet tone, And the long line comes gleaming on, Ere yet the lifeblood, warm and wet Has dimmed the glistening bayonet. Each soldier's eye shall brightiy turn where the sky-born glories burn, By And, as his springing steps advan Catch war and vengeance from the glance, And when the connon mouthin loud Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud, And gory sabers rise und fall Like shoots of fame on midnight’s pall, Then shall thy m eor glances glew, ‘The cowering foes shall shrink beneath ch gallant arm that strikes below ‘That lovely messenger of death. Flag of the seas! on ocean wave ‘Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave; When death, careering on the gale, Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail, And frighted waves rush wildly back Before the bron Fach 4 Sha lo's- reeling Tack, ying wanderer of the sea bok at once to heaven and thee, And sinile to see thy splendors tly In triumph o'er bis closing eye. Flag of the free heart's hope and homet Ry angel hands to valor given, Thy stars have lit the welkin don Aud all thy hues were born in heaven! Forever float that standard sheet, Where breathes the foe but falls before us, With Freedom's soil beneath or r feet, E ver ust —JOSHPH RODMAN DRAKE, Mand Miller. Frem the San Franciseo Argonaut. Mand Miller, In the summer's heat, Raked the meadow thick with wheat, ‘The Judge rode slowly down the lane, Swcothing his horse’s chestiut mune, “With wheat at a dollar per,” said “This maid 1s about the size for m Tken he smiled at her and she blushed at bim, And over the meadow fence he “Will you marry me, And she teld him Alas for maiden, alas for Ju For old designer and whe lim, sweet maid?" he sald. ea," and they were wed, Ze, Held drudge. Lord pity them both and plty us all, For Maud didn't own the Waeat at all. And the Judge remarked when he learned the cheat: “Don't talk to me about dollar wheat!’? For lov y hi ——_-o+____ Love's Beacon, “I am my love's—my love fs mine!"* art sings through the happy days, bas made a sacred shrine ‘That gilds the gloom of parted ways And burns In fires of Light divine— And fn, and through, and over all, Its maichless glory Shines above— Hoy “er the shades of darkness fall— ‘The beacon light of a loyal love, MARY DE! Grass. H. G. Paine in Harper’s’Bazdr. When T look from ogt my‘ window, I tr Rr often wondered why 8 upon my Pathway (Though to keep It dwn I try), Splte of hoving and ‘of raking, Grows so rank and Ssh hd high, While my lawn is bleak and barren As my bald spot it is bare); Si Al ree a bide of gress is growing To reward iny watepful ¥are, 1th peeks of “Best mixed lawn seed"? T have thickly scattered there. So at last I ‘That rN try IN sod my path tonjorrow Aud Tl water It determiged dlgepent was a dng; But 1M strew thy dawa with gravel Or a four- Tren, unless my Has simply been The grass will ach bed gf élay. past, expertence in vain, grow upon that lawn With all its might and main, And from encroaching on the path Wl cheerfully refrain. ee To Lucasta, (On Going to the Wars.) ‘Tell me not, sweete, T am unkinde, ‘That from the nupnerle Of thy chaste breast and quiet minde, ‘To warre and armes I flee. ‘True, a new mistresse now I chase— "The first foe in the fleld; And with a stronger faith’ embrace A sword, a Lorse, a shield. Yet this inconst: As cy 18 such thou, too, shouldst ador I could not love thee, deare, so much, Loved I not honour mere. RICHARD LOVELACE (1650). —+ e+___. Foolish Questions, From the Cleveland Leader. I saw a sweet young mother with Her first-born’ at her breast: “And what's the baby’s ame?” I asked Of her so richly ssed. She looked at me with pity, as She proudly poised her head: “We call him Dewey, six, of course,” In tender tones she said. I met a dainty lttle girl Who led a kitten by a string, Aud as I stroked her head, I asked: “What do you call the pretty thing?* Bhe looked at me with wide blue eyes, And us she went her way, “I call my kitten Dewey, sir,” I heard her sweetly say. I met a curly-hended boy Who had a brindle pup; “And what's your doggy’s neme?” I asked, A ‘He gazed at me in wonder, and He proudly cocked his head: “T call him Dewey, sir, of course,” He pityingly said. held the creature up. I stopped beside a rustic stile, And beard a milkmaid sing’a son; “And what's your bossy’s nume?” Faskea ‘The lassie as she came along. She looked at me in mild surprise, And as she strode away, “Why, T heard the maiden say. With sunbeams, broc ks, and- Dewey is her name, of course,”* see. To One Who Died Young. I. Zangwill In ‘The Independent. Forever you.g, forever young! Lo, Death bath stolen thee from Time, And Love hath stolen thee from Death. Forever thoughts of thee have clung Round Nature—woodlend air thy bresth, ‘Thy voice the planetary chime. Forever loved, seen everywhere, In flowers thy lps, in stars thine eyes, My soul grows roya! by such grief. Forever young and layed and fair, ummer ektes, With bud and blossem, bird and leaf. Commosplace. Kathleen Kayanagh in Naw. Gifeans Picayune, I am so dreadful comm Because I am content to' 'e c@, friends say, acts BL, Within the narrow grcove ‘God’ wise, Just will Means, evidently, I should’ Fhe claim that 1 should I may be wrong, but, tru! 'gttivé’to elevate my sex mani yu me, Unwonted seems our’ Mberty, Our ears are free to fondig heb and hear Spring Dirds sing rhaps-tles, ‘igh. clear. Our eyes, too. when and yxherg they will, behold Yon tlated skies of pink id. Our feet, unfettered, on can Itghtly stray, Down flowery, scented wiliwodl way. Where buttercups in early: besaty shine, Red honeysuckles climb asd vine. Our lips can sympathize and cheer, Breathe words of hope, of. trust siucere, whisper pretty com When things look dark’ and drear: with glad intent Ort pliment. Our hands. quite independent, ene rH True Our ‘ucts of kindness shape and shoulders nob! cot le, earnest effort make To burdens bear for Christ's sweet sake. Our heart Pulsate and We, women, have no Think of the privilege 1s can palpitate with joyous strain,- ache with weary pain. ‘ guest "Wh. sisters, mine, THEY POINT TO VICTORY Figureheads Have Always Been a Prom- inent Feature on Warships. Each Nation Had Its Own Emblem— Famous Models That Are Now at Annapolis. From the Philadelphia Record. Sad to relate, our modern mariners give very little thought to figureheads. A war- ship feels any number of times securer with a few torpedoes up her sleeve than she possibly could with the most aesthetic or formidable figurehead on her stem. In fact, look about any harbor and note how few ships boast anything in the shape of this sort of a mascot. Yet, time was when a vessel would as soon have thought about Starting out with a leak as without a fig- urehead, and the farther back we go the more was this a fact. The earliest dist ered model of a figurehead belonged to a pleasure boat of one of ancient Egypt's dark-eyed queens, being in the form of a lotus, and so very much to her mind and heart that she had it buried with her: but warships with animals carved upon the prows are known to have existed in Egypt before the day of this queen, in fact, as early as 100 B.C. The subject usually corresponded to the name of the ship. This was before the introduction of rams. A few figureheads, as well as anchors and rams, found in the ruins of the locks at Athens serve to give a notion of the dimen- sions of ancient Grecian warships. The niche occupied on the Flying Dutchman by the human skeleton was the niche that in the middle ages was occupied by a saint, and this in turn was an outcome of a way they had in the days of the Roman consuls of taking their lares or tutelary gods to sea in the after part of the ship. Apparently each particular nation had a favorite emblem. The owl was as con- spicuous on the Athenian ships as was the cock, that emblem of vigilance, on the Prows of the Phoenicians. The shining blade of St. Theodore, the patron saint of the Venettans, was their favored figure- head, while the British lion became so uni- versully the figurehead of English ships that other nations who followed closely the naval architecture of this “first nation on the sea’’ adopted also the lion, as much to conceal their identity as because they were bullt after English modeis. So common was this that in France the curve of the bow was known as the “sweep of the lion.” Of the few figureheads preserved at our al Academy that of the Delaware, which was launched at Norfolk in 1820, at tracts the most attention. This image, called by some Tecumseh, by others Pow- hatan, or even King Philip, is not believed to be a portrait, but rather to represent a great sachem or a powhatan, a title having among the Indians a significance quite like that of pharaoh among the Egyptians. At any rate, here he is, with his tomahawk, his arrows and his stern brow, as much a Part of the scheme as the cadets them- selves. = After the civil war the figurehead of the Columbus, which Commodore Macauley burned and sunk at Norfolk in 1861 in order that the confederates might not gain pos- s_flshed up and brought to the The figurehead of the Ma donian, which for four years used as a practice cruiser, is there, too. The Mace- donian, originally a French ship, was cap- tured from the French by the English. In 1812, after a short, fierce fight, she became an American ship. A wooden figurehead in the shape of a lfon did duty as a mascot on her quarter deck at the time of her cap- ture. Other of our historic figureheads are the bust of Washington, from the line-of- bate ship by that name, the figure of St Louis on a receiving ship and the gilded eagle which once belonged to the Niagara. Though the origin of the figurehead be lost in obscurity, let us hope and believe that the figureheads of our warships will lead them to a thrilling victory. This is surely ged by the figurehead on the M, of Commodore Schley’s fleet, stands for Samothrace—The Winged Victory, +o DOMES’ © DIFFICULTIES. SETTLING Strange Divorce Customs in Vogue in Various Countries. From Tit-Bits, Easy are the methods of settling domestic difficulties in Upper Burma. When a hus- band finds that his better half is not the unalloyed blersing he had been led to think, he calls into his house all the old men and women of ‘his village and expresses his desire to divorce her, and a trial by candle is prosecuted. The husband and the wife are each given a candle, which they light simultaneously at the order of the eldest person present and place in the middle of the floor. Then ey ene in the house sits around and Watches to see which candle burns out first. If the wife's does so the husband has a right to divorce her, even against her will, and turn her and her relations out of his house without more ado. If, on the other hand, the husband’s can- dle burns out first, the wife has the option and right of either refusing a divorce or agreeing to it, and turning her husband and his relations out of the house, which, with all goods and chattels it contains, be- comes her personal property. In Cochin-China, when husband and wife find they can no longer agree they give a dinner, to which they invite their rela- tions and the patriarch of the village. The latter, during the meal, takes the chop- sticks of the pair and breaks them, and by his action they are legally divorced. With a certain tribe of African savages, when a husband desires to be rid of his Spouse—a fairly common occurrence—he takes her to the door of his hut or tent and strikes her across the back with three rushes three times, crying, in his savage tongue at each blow, “Wicked, naughty, bad,” which constitutes the tribal form of divorce. A husband in Madagascar may divorce his wife for the most absurdly trivial of- fense. All he kas to do is to cail his friends and relations to the door of his house, and in their presence give his wife a small coin and push her out, saying, “Madam, I thank you; go.” An underdone dinner will amply justify him. When divorce ts mutually agreed upon by a Japanese pair, they wend their way to the temple where they are accustomed to worship, with a large scarf tying them together by the arms. Kneeling before the altar they bow three times, and, having undone the scarf, they rise and depart by different doors, and by this formality be- come divorced. ——+o+____ FINEST BICYCLE ROAD KNOWN Is in India and Runs From Lahore to Calcutta. From Chambers’ Journal. The road I have in my mind is in India, and stretches 1,200 miles from Lahore to Calcutta. It is the famous Grand Trunk road. Let me explain its nature, though ore carnot do so by comparison, for there is no road of five miles in England that is anything like it. It is level; indeed, there 1s not above a mile the whole distance where even a lady reed dismount to wall. Around Battersea Park is supposed to be the easiest little spin in London. ‘The Grand Trunk road is infinitely superior to Battersea Park. The material with which it is made is called kunker, and if you care to turn that word into concrete you have an idea of what it is like. It 1s excead- ingly hard, and as smooth as a prepared Pavement. There is no dust. When I first got on this road and enjoyed the !ux- ury of easy traveling, I said: “This is mag- nificent; but in a little time I suppose it will become gritty and uneven.” I went 50 miles, 100 miles, 200 miles, 500, 600, 700 miles and it was always the same, with not even a small stcne to give a jog. Near- ly the whole of the way is lined with a double row of majestic trees. The con- crete road runs like a long white ribbon down the center, and along each side are loose-soil tracks, over which the native bullock carts creak a slow two miles an hour. With two friends I rode across India during the hottest time of the year, in April and May, and was never seriously in- convenienced by the heat; for, at a pace of fifteen miles an hcur, one could always create a draught. ———_+o+____ Mushroom Neck. From the Springfield Republican, “Mushroom neck” is what they are call- ing the latest disease attributed to mush- rooms. When a person is seen walking the streets with his face painfully turned to the right or the left, his eyes glued to tne | ground and moving in fitful giances from one stump to the next, and with a general | look of expectancy on’ his face, as though A NOBLE CHARITY supreme happiness were distant about =e eight feet and had consistently remaine NM so, it may De Inferred that he is a victim | Work of the Brotherhood of Pity at of “mycologitis.” His friends pass him and he sees them not; if he keeps out from Florence. under the bicycles and trolley cars it is by some such miracie as preserves somnambu- sts. For all the time he is wondering whether the litde brown specks in the grass are the veritable marismius orcades, in which case he ts in for a toothsome dainty for dinne: i ene TO CARE FOR THE SICK AND POOR or only iis hateful, poisonous on counterpart, the false champignon, + oo -——_____ i yi JUMPED INTO THE HULL Ring. | Devote Their Time to a Real Labor Licut. Scott Lost His Cap, but Went of Love. After It. From the Philadelphia Times. are Apropos of Second Lieutenant J. H. Scott, ZADY C SVERY C2 the Philadelphia boy who is the executive | READY FOR EVERY CALL oflicer ef the Hudsen, who pulled the Wins- low out of a hole when disabled at the bombardment at Cardenas the other day, a story of his love of excitement is given by @ classmate while the pair were on the United States boat Chase as cadets on their practice cruise. The vessel was at Lisbon, Portugal. The starboard watch of cadets were ashore on leave. Some, with “Hutchy,” as Scott was familiarly called, went to see a bull fight at a suburb of Lis- bon called Cintra. In the royal box that afternoon in August of 1588 ‘sat the pres- ent ruler of Portugal, then a debonair and democratic youth. Suddenly 4 cadet’s cap was seen to fly through the air and drop in the center of the arena. The owner, none other than “Hutchy,” jumped into the ring, grabbed a spear from a dazed matador, and, after giving his trousers a sailorlike hitch, the hero of Cardenas pro- geeded to assail a lvely runt of a bull, The multitude that crowded the tiers rec- ognized the uniform and yelled, men, Women and children: “Viva el Americano. Suddenly the bull fell. The first bull killed in a Portuguese arena for twenty years, and that by a Philadelphia boy. However, with spear in one hand, and his cap in the ether, looking very much scared, “Hutchy” Was conducted by some attendants to the royal box, and received, much to his sur- prise, not only corgratulations, but Prince Carlos removing a signet ring from his finger, presented it to Scott. The affair was the talk of Lisbon for several days, and as a result of the celebration that fol- lowe for the ting had to be wetted, “Hutchy” and his chums were kept on board the Chase for a month or more. +o-—__ Sold to Gen. Grant. From the Clncinnat! Commercial Tribune. While chatting over Dewey's marvelous victory and the chance of his shelling Man- ila, Captain J. G. Frederick, a confederate veteran of Parkersburg, W. Va., said: “I never hear of the shelling of a city but that I am reminded of an incident which hap- pened while Grant was shelling Petersburg. Our side had become so accustomed to the singing of the shells that we paid Mttle at- tention to them. Consequently I was at- tracted as I passed a large auction house by hearing the auctioneer announce ‘that during this sale General Grant has agreed to cease firing,’ and, while I knew it was a joke, I could not help but wait and see | the result. Article after article was knock- ed down to varicus purchasers until it came to an immerse wardrobe, which the salesman said was a bargain at $1,500 (con- federate money.) It started at $500 bid, ad- vanced $5) a bid until it reached $1,000, when a large shell dropped upon it, knock- ing it into smithereens. As-the shell hit it the aucttoneer, with a laugh, shouted, ‘sold to General Grant for $1,000! and the sale proceeded as if nothing serious had oc- curred. The auctioneer was C. C. Burton, famous throughout the south before, dur- ing and tor fter the war for his coolness and ready wit.” ——— Why They Wore Armor. Frem Pearson's. To such a pitch of ¢ practice of using buttons in the shirt drive the men of the middie ages that they adopt- ed the plan of wearing brass or steel armor, fastened together with metallic bolts. The popular idea that men wore armor in order to fight in it is manifestly absurd, since no man could possibly have fought when in- cased in half a hundredweight of metal Armor was worn solely in order to avoid the worry of shirts with missing buttons. There were distinct advantages connected with the chain-steel shirts. When one of these garmefits came home on Saturday night from the washerwoman the owner could feel reasonably certain that the metallic clasps at the neck and in the bosom were all in their proper places, for no washerwoman could have succeeded in detaching them without the use of a cold chisel. If it did so happen that the washer- | Woman's husband had been run over by a steam roller while wearing a steel shirt be- longing to one of his wife's customers, and one of the metallic fastenings had thereby been injured, the customer in question could not accuse his wife of negligence, and demand to know why she failed to keep his shirts in proper repair. oe Looking Out for Comfort. From the Nashville Banner. Some thirty-odd years ago, during « course of acquaintanceship between the armies of the civil war, in which both taught and learned, the grays were the teachers in one important respect. They were not long in realizing that looks were of very small account in war, and that the nearest possible methods of comfort on the march were desirable as of great ad- vantage. Instead of imitating the Union boys in wearing cumbersome uniforms and bearing awkward packs, they wore short pants stuffed into long socks, which pre- cluded the disagreeable communication of dust to the body, and instead of regulation caps that pressed on the head like weights of iron and offered no resistance to the heat and no protection from the glare, they wore large slouch hats, which greatly miti- ated those discomforts. The northern troops passing through Nashville have adopted that example—hat, socks, blanket-strapping and all. They wili be thus enabled to march with a degree of comfort unknown to their veteran com- rades of "61. ———_+e+____ A Queer Old Geography. From the Hartford Courant. Among the interesting old books and papers belonging to the late Edw. W. Wells of this city was a geography that lets in some light on the state of general informa- tion in the world a century and a half ago. America is “the last quarter of the world” and the “north part of the conti- nent is very little known.” Tha map of North America gives all the region north- west of California as “parts unknown.” The great lakes are down as Superior, Ile- nols, Huron, Erie and Frontenac. “N. Eng- land” is all one little patch reaching up to the St. Lawrence. Louisiana occupies most of the middle country. The “Oyo” river is the name of the Ohio. The chief town of New Jersey 1s said to be Elizabeth Town. The climate is thus explained: “In the north are vast unknown Mountains, per- petually covered with snow, from whence the Winds blowing the greatest part of the year these Countries become much colder than ose in Europe in the same lati- tudes. It is interesting to noie that this work that is more than a century and a half old should advocate quite vigorously the con- struction of canals acrors the Panama and Suez isthmuses. ——_+2-____ ‘The Nose Lasts Longest. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. Bone and cartilage enter so largely into the structure of th nose and determine its characteristics, that it undergoes little per- From the New Instrated Magazine. Most visitors to Florence have seen the brethren of the Misericordia bound on some mission of mercy, gliding silently, like black ghosts carrying a black catafalqur, through the city. All heads are uncovered as they pass, and the most ribald and un- couth carter draws his mules on one siile 40 give more room No wonder the Florentines are proud ef their confraternity, the finest charitable institution that ever was founded. Any one can give money, but the brethren give personal fatigue, and are often exposed to infecticn. No winter snow or burning summer sun stops the devoted band. Thre times a day the bell of the Misericordia Chapel, in Piazza del Duomo, rings to ca those whose turn it is to carry sick poor to the hospital. Ten brethren usually go with each Itter, under the orders of @ Capo di Guardia, who is distinguished by a beg ied round his waist. This conta! brandy, cough lozerges and the key of a drawer under the litter In which Is a drink- ing cup, a stole, a crucifix, the ritual and some holy water, in case the sick person should die on the way. The long dress and the cowl with two holes for the eyes are of black cotton, and black galters «re worn, so that the brethren may not be recognized by the color of their trousers. The cowl may only be thrown back outside the city gates and in certain specified streets; If it rains hard or the sun is pow- erful, a black felt hat is worn over it Four brethren carry the Hitter, which weighs about 180 pounds, and the reserve men keep one hand under the poles in case a bearer should stumble or fall. A slight tap on the pole is the signal for changing bearers, which is so skillfully done that the sick or wounded are never shaken. As they relieve the others, the fresh men say: “May God reward you!” The answer is: 4 If they have to go a long way, sixteen brethren are told off for service, and should the case be a very bad one, a brother walks on either side of the litter to watch the in- valid’s face or feel his pulse. Removing the Sick. When the house door is too small to mit the litter, the Capo di Guardia and six brethren go to the sick room. Tenderly and carefully they carry the invalid on a thick quilted coverlid to the litter, and the arched top is opened against the street, so that curious passers-by should not see the sick person. Before leaving the room, the Capo di Guardia leaves a small sum on the table, in obedience to a legacy left for that pur- pose to the confraternity by two pious citi- zens long ago. If the invalid is the bread- winner, or the poverty of the family evi- dent, the Capo di Guardia begs the brethren to do yet another charity, and holding his hat together like a bag, goes from one to another to collect alms. He asks the sick person whom the money is to be given to and, without counting, pours the contents of his hat into their hands. The members of the Misericordla take It by turn to go at stated hours to the houses of sick people to change their linen or beds, or to sit up at night with those who are too poor to pay @ nurse. In maladies like rheumatic fever, when the slightest touch 1s agony, they are eften called to rich folk to lift an invalid— so gentle and sure from long habit is their touch. No member is allowed to accept anything—money or food—save a glass of water, in any house. Some one is always on guard at the Mis- ericordia Chapel, and if an accident occurs a message is sent there to call a litter. Then the great bell of Giotto’s Tower, just oppo- site the chapel, 1s tolled in a peculiar way— twice for an accident, three times for a death—to call the brethren who are on the list for that day. Twice it has happened to me that a shop- man has left his wife to serve the clients in the shop, while he hastily threw on his cloak and tore out of the door. The first time, being new to Florence, I thought the man had gone mad. My face, I suppose, showed surprise, for one of the customers said, “Eh, signora, don’t you hear the bell? —an accident.” A Typical Case. A member of one of the oldest and most noble families of Florence told me some of his experiences with the Misericordia. A typical case was one evening in the oid Ghetto, now destroyed. A poor woman on the eve of her confinement was lying in the room where her husband, his brother and two children were ill with typhoid fever, and the Misericordia had been called to take her to the hospital. She lived on the ninth story of the tower of the old ‘Tosa Palace, up a precipitous and narrow stair- case with many turnings. The question arose how to carry her down in safety, and was solved by my friend, who crept under the quilt, which was held by four bearers. On hands and knees he went backward down the long staircase, with the poor wo- man resting on his back. It took nearly half an hour to reach the litter in the street and my friend was stiff for many days afterward. He stood godfather to the baby boy, who came into the world three hours after the woman reached the hospital, saw 2 the child's education and made a man of ‘im. peration did the Various Orders, Besides the seventy-two Capi di Guardia, thirty of whom beiong to the Priesthood and forty to the laity, there are some hundreds of Glornanti (day workers), Stracclafogit (paper tearers) and Buone- voglie (well intentioned), who have no voice in the management of the confra- ternity. The Giornanti are bound to serve one day in every week, or if they cannot do this, to sleep one night in the week at the Mis- ericordia, where there is a room with four beds. They go there at 10 p.m., and can- not leave until 5 in the morning, when the first mass is said. The queer name of Stracciafogli comes from the old custom of their tearing up Paper slips when they had one hundred. A slip was given to each man after he had accomplished a journey, but they are only expected to do four during a month. No apprentice is admitted into the confrater- nity without his master’s consent, nor any youth under age save by his father’s wish. No servant tn livery can belong to it, nor can any barber, hairdresser, coachman, cobbler, seller of fish or of salt meats and sausages or any person following a trade which is considered mean or vile. No man can be of the Misericordia who has been condemned in @ court of law or is notori- ously an evil liver. Characteristic of the Italian passion for regulating everything are the innumerable laws and reguiations laid down for the conduct of the brethren ceptible change, as a rule, with the lapse of years. The brow becomes wrinkled, and be, and the eyebrows become heavy with annual payment gives them a right to be the crop of many years’ growth.- The nose | buried in the cemetery of the Misericordia shows no mark comparable famil-| (unless the family object), and to fifteen jar facial indications of the approach of old | masses for the repose of their souls. When age, and practically enjoys immunity from |a Capo di Guardia dies his place is filled the ravag>s which time makes on the other | by the Giornante whe has the longest serv- features of the face. Next to the nose, | ice; he is in turn successed by the Straccia- Frobably the ears, as a rule, show the few- | foglio who has shown most seal and chas- est and least obvious signs of old age. tay. -.