Evening Star Newspaper, March 24, 1900, Page 23

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 1900-24 PAGES. 23 — THEIR OFFICES ON WHEELS How Railway Managers Do Much of Their Work. Detaiis Thought Ont and Probiems solved on Their Private Carn safe From Intrusion. = \ i =nend most. of their al woile h MT ‘ va Mg in hit 5; : “Lor Lee out of ten rail : tel you that more U} when in their Gina may be P sithful enger, people will ceived quarters be to iation nt the oritied 1a bi official's iexram ani ystem, it taft busy are. of frequently for the pur- ht agent station attend de: lin the u -h cann Perhaps he the on officials ¢ f track ethiy it er man has superin emule second tat er while on th pave a party of ther monotonous 1 when he is ob! ¥ in tray eae y as he can talk no matter how ¢ and ts v iz tockho! M ‘ d deal has been ar- oh: ‘te cars. With time « atter: 0 5 te i, except b st many an » examine and can jud; actual han when rvation a thou: t of the best mate- st ideas inclu in a railroad man oc- im the right Ith is consid- everything should * should run * of acci- ul from a_business = » other. ‘Then, tha used as an experiment ue of new id ven- 3 ‘$ not om placing them on a num- iger cars for the same purpost Commandeering. F Comm: sroperty on the a the . ued & I all the ins of it has so far It will be much ers by and by, when and Cape Col- advantageous as a 4s 4 military operation. They have brou home to them time the terrible price of the ve rushed into. a their own soil thi feel the cost of the ortunately, they toa he = yery riecrsdy war, have feen ent, on the ene- different thing for when they have to live on will y wide word in days. There i: palary © for ‘ in the republic, not on only, but wherever seizable ¥ happen to be. In the inter- <3 oF Boers private property Eyeryting that can be “ti mmc 0 & road- from a Mae is contraband of Tar. Refore aigm was it month the Soe commandeered the whole of t field. It is not often that a bel- chance to loot thirty miles of ef at a stroke. But this felded much to the ly they cannot work vantage, for they have ternative scheme to tax ) per cent on their gross ut a dozen of the richest mines a being worked under gov- ‘vision, ostensibly for account rs, but the gold passes, in the into the treasury, and the the owners may not take for years, if ever. Meanwhile, the ent will have the use of the gold. The Native New Zeal From Blackwood. At sunset one evening we sauntered into @ Maori village, and found ourselves in the grassy inclosure wherein sat the tribe eat- ing its evening meal. Some natives might have resented our invasion. Not so the Maoris. With unaffected pleasure they made us welcome. Swarthy faces beamed upon us; many brown hands were outstretched to grasp ours, and tattooed lips, in hos- pitable if quite unintelligible language, in- Vited us to partake. Round two large dish- es the entire party of men, women, girls, Youths and babes were squatted, and ft was Interesting to see that in this tribal com- mune ioe seated child had evidently = much right to put his paw in the dish am help himself as had_his elders. ad In a pool of gravy in a tin pan lay arge hambone at which an infant was picl . but the chief provision lay in a grea’ sh full of kumaras sweet potatoes) and some green vegetable. In addition. ‘s a splendid loaf of bread, round, there w fiat, nicely browned and closely xesemabling a huge wheaten scone. The method 5 effi -ooking was primitive, but apparently e cont, scatehing the glimmering of firelight in one of the larger huts, we entered anc found that it proceeded from some glow- ing wood ash or. Over the em- bers were set which formed en rude grill, wheresn was placed a large pan containing another loaf, while a third till in-the dough stage stood on the floor dy for baking. mr —__-e2___—_ The Inadequately Clothed Dream. Prom Longman’s. ‘There is the painful class of dream which may be labeled the inade y elothed dream. In this class of dream it occurs to us to come down from our bedrooms, to mingle in society, even sometimes to be pre- sented at court or to take part in the high- est and most solemn functions, in a cos- tume that we should deem scarcely ade- quate if we had been just roused from our shout of “Fire!” The degrees of ative nudity are very paroue and it is remarkable that neve! far as I has human being (that is to say ever in his -mperate climates) ippeared. before his fellows in an yy Ar 2 or idyllic lack of cos- commonly very adequate. that the police ri tly interfere in the remus Tndeed, that fear—the ensio police interference for the Doe the publ PMnorals-—is a factor in the : that we feel in our irselves going abroad in we are couscious of a mevshire of uneasiness, we ean feel that we did € Mu putting ¢ this or that ab- Motels nulispensable portion of our ward- room, but it is 3 hame and, horror that ‘ pally to find in we were And K that our appe riends among same degr give we s our unfortur ¢ oursel nce to pain f our appear of euMSt us. ould re a He A hame t t ficient sense shame to Wak > ved our- wake to find t ave 0 n selves in such n as to be the reproba- tion of every right-minded man and wo- man. SS ee From the London Ne Which aster day in 1900 ple think E ould be kept 2 and not on April 15. The rule the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 2ist day of March; and if the full moon happens upon a Sunday, Eas- ter day is the Sunday after.” The n Whitworth, vicar of All Saints . who is an expert in the mat- in the All Saints’ Magazine in order that the church might not sndent on future astronomical calcu- of rules by which on which the full 1 to fall. This fic- iv 's be found in ning of the prayer ymmon consent of wes cular full moon is 1 of Easter. give Saturday, Paschal full son in the heavens two minutes after astronom’ full If we fol- is the moon tit the mee na by the the jastical moon er on the 1th. It, should, ‘owever, be noted that the Jewish deter- nawation of the Passover depended not_on > tt oon, but on the fourteenth day the new moon. And the Christian rule ._ Now the (ecclesi- 30 (April), full moon Gin the eorrectly on the Lith day eh tronomical full that wha book) fa moon, though the moon just mi that date. ———-+e+ ‘Transvaal Diamonds. From Chambers’ Journal. all It is not known that the dia- mond-producing region of South Africa is not confined to Kimberley. The United States consul at Pretoria recently reported that the output of diamonds in the Pretoria district during the year 1898 was valued at nearly ne thousand pounds, the largest stone found having a weight of thirty-eight ‘Although the industry has not de- veloped with any astonishing eapiay, it embe ‘st “stone per carat of the Pre- inst 26s. of those yund at | and 343, per earat-for the diame ) Jagersfontein, in the Orange F The total quantity of diamonds fuund in the Trans in 1898 wi carats, Valued at €4 The d at the alluvial diggings are of und, as at Kim- <."" A pure white twelve Times the Unfortuna: a diamond crisi tters in A been throwr idle. —_____—— Under the Rainbow. ¥ a for The Eventug Star by Elizabeth Worth- alee ington Fiske. If women all had souls sincere, Were all men brave and true, If ardent love bad never need Of rosemary or Tue; Did bitter Dlasts forget to blew, Did Mastide always reign, If we “could read our titles clear" ‘To our estates in Spain; If honest toil might win tts meed, ‘And generous strife Its lays, If mated hearts might wed and live ‘Thro’ changeless golden days; If sin, and shame, and want, and woe Should fl-e the footstuol quit And truth, and peace, and sweet good-will, Rise fresh each dawning light; If sou were you, and I were I, If you should come to me And say, “I love you!" oh, how fatr ‘This weary world would be. ——_+——_ _. Old Times, There are no days >, The days whe ae the good old days— we were youthful! When mimeTind were pure of mind And s&ech and Siutoeare truthful; Before e for sordid gold Secame man’s ruling passton, And before exch dame and mafd became Slaves to the tyrant Fashion! ‘Phere are no girls like the good old giris— Against the werld I'd stake ‘em! As buxom and smart and clean of heart As the Lord k1 how to make ‘em! They were rich in spirit and common sense ‘A piety all-supportin They could bake and brew, and had taught school, And they made the likeliest courtin'! There are no toys lke the good old boys When we were boys together! S ‘when the grass was sweet to the brown bare feet, ‘ime pled the laughing heather; Whe the wee sung to the summer dawn Of the bee rece, Willows clover, Or dewn by the mit te Whip-poor-will Echoed bis night sous OY@T. : ‘There ts ro love Tike the good afd love ‘The Wve that mother gare y - We are olf, old men, ye? we pine again For that precicus grace—God gave us! So we dream and dream of the good old times, And onr hearts grow tenderer, foader, As those dear old dreams bring ‘soothing gleams Of heaven away off yonder. : —BUGENE FIELD. In Time of War. From the Pall Mall Gazette. A lurid sky, And somber ‘geinst the dying gleam of day A Sanding jo dark mx eee arm upraised the passing hour to stay, Wives VPuile heroes die, mee And great bosts treinble and are overthrown: Hail to thee, Vietors! All hailtactheet Walting thy gifts to scatter—rest, renown, And fu thy stroug right band outstretched we see A laurel crown. Sad and foriorn, A figure crouching in the other's shade, Weary and spent, by lonely vigils With face close veiled lest secrets be Of anguish borne In silent watches by the side of Death; We greet thee, Mourning, heralded by sighs: raged put is Seer hand, elas’ the! Mes = in thy Ing hand, alas! there A cypress wreath. i COMMERCE OF THE PACIFIC Disoonrse of a Learned Japanese on This Vital Subject Japan's Friendly Feeling for This Country—The Orient as a Land of Promise in Trade. Kaba Otani, President of the Yokohama Chamber of Commerce, in the Independent. In so far as it has been possible, during the space of a few months, I have studied the prevailing commercial conditions in Europe and America, with the object of applying the knowledge and information thus obtained to the betterment of the for- eign trade relations of Japan. My experiences have been as interesting as they have been instructive, and I have learned much that will be valuable to my countrymen. At San Francisco nf mission in foreign lands comes practically to an end. Here is the natural American gateway of the commerce of the orient, and it is patent to me that a commerce of great magnitude with the countries of the east.cannot fail to be realized here if the merchant classes of this west-coast metropolis of the United States avail themselves of the opportunities now presented. On the part of the Japanese nation, the friendliest feciing exists toward this coun- try. The proper effort will bring about a large increase of commercial exchange be- tween America and Japan, to the great profit of both countries alike. I am des ous of seeing these trade relations encour- aged in every way. An era of progress and awned for Japan, and it 1s ambition of her statesmen that there ll be no backward step. Japan produces much that this count compelled to im- Ss country can supply a great nnot be produced in Japan. - I have visited Europe, I am better ge where lie the real interests of . in a commercial sens Jn Europe one cannot fail to note the common prosperity has th feeling of uncertainty. It permeates all business. ernmental authorities may to bolster up the among high and low confidence, and in there is no attempt to disguise the of dread as to the future. men of that continent do not their tone indicates a state mind which has reference to something that may happen—something that turmoil will spread over Europe. That very feeling rily have a scrious effect, from tandpoint, and not to take iage of that feeling will be akin to indifference on the part of the United State: How does th country communicate with the orient today? Through Europe—thr a continent that may be plunged at y time into a general embroilment. What America needs is direct communication with the nations of the Asiatic coast. In the event of war, it can readily be seen that it lies with Europe to cut off communication tween America and Asia. Europe should not be master of the sole line of communl- cation, and it is of the highest importance that a cable should be laid between Ameri- ea and the orient without unnecessary de- ‘ by reason of this sions in the east. of the United States be willing, n stands ready to join in the enterpri assume a part of the bur- den of expense even as she will share in the benetits Today, in my judgment, the United States the most powerful nation on the globe, and it Is destined to go on with tremendous There Is security here along with wealth. The ation is strong: its commerce Ss not tre ; and {ts brainy men who Seek the exp: ion of trade will look to the orient as to a land of promise. ———__+e-— The Mines of Sin m the Chicas: Ws. Sgyptans had mined the rugged sides of Mount Sinai for copper and turquolses thousands of years before Moses climbed the mountain to receive the tables of the law, and the Egyptians waged wars for the possession of these mines. M. de Mor- gan with a party of French engineers re- cently visited these abandoned workings, which are situated convenient to the Gulf country’s new po If the government He found the mineral depostts in andstone region and not In the porphy- ries which constitute the great mass of the mountain. These deposits consist of copper and tron- bearing minerals, especially hematite, and some gypsum. Among the cupriferous min- erals the most valuable were the turquoise, nT y valuable specimens of which have been discovered from time to time in the tomb and treasures of the Egyptians, says the National Druggist. M. de Morgan brought “back to France a collection of minerals, most of which were turned over to M. Berthelot, who made a most inter- esting report on the minerals, in which he stated that the copper-bearing specimens were paor in metal and not plentiful. Mining such ores must have been tedious and severe labor. Tho Egyptians were still using arms of wood and chipped or ground Stones, and copper was a rare and precious metal, the possession of which was thought to repay the most severe labor. Later on wood and stone implements gave place to bronze, which was made possible by the importation of tin from remote regions. These mines have been abandoned for at least 3,000 years, probably on account of a constantly growing scarcity of the material and the poverty of the residue in metal. The mines were probably worked from 3,500 to 4,04) years. It is thought that the working of the mines began nearly 7,000 years ago. ————_+e+____ Mlerobes in Holy Water. From the Lancet. The Rome correspondent of the Lancat recently made the suggestion that the salt which from the earliest ages has been, gied with the water usd for purposes should be modified gr it a true disinfectant. Suit as the pest known and probably #16 earilest used sub- stance for preventng decay was most like- ly added orie*nally purely from its sym- bolle meoviing, though possibly the sym- bolisr, as in so many other instances, grew side by side with the literal meaning. According to the Catholic Times of De- cember 29, 1899, the Osservatore Ro; 10 dogs. not fall in with our correspondsnt’s Suggestion, avowing that the water, belng holy, needs no human treatment apd has never hitherto been regarded as a c\ annel of disease. Th> Catholic Times goes on in the following eminently sensible fashion: “God has given us intelitgence for use, and even when He blesses requires us to’ taka the ordinary precautions which reason sug- gests. The argument that no change is ad- visable because the necessity for it has not been suspected before now cuis at. the ground of improvement.” We are glad to be able to note these re- marks of our contemporary as showing the accordance of common sense lay opinion with that of scientific men. Wa hace pre- viously pointed out how the church has al- ways takén cognizance of man's bodies as well as of their souls. There must be no standing still in either religion or science, for In both the intellect is striving to reach heights at present beyond it, but which shall ons day be attained, and that which is now dark shall be made light. 2o0_____ Lyddite Shel From Chambers’ Journal. Although all good people have a horror of war and the terrible tale of misery which ft drags in its train, there is a certain amount of fascination about it because of its picturesque and intensely dramatic ac- companiments. One cannot, for instance, read without absorbing interest of the work of our naval brigade and their awfully de- structive lyddite Shells, which, by the way, take their name'from Lydd, on the Kentish ‘coast, where the explosive is made and test- ed. Although the 47-inch gun used by the naval brigade has forty-five pounds, this a half pounds charge of cordite which ex- pels it; the weight of the lyddite in its dealing freaments, being Only. tex: Desai, ng, ents, ly ten pounds. The entire projectile is in form like apart man's cartridge, containing its own pro- pelling charge, with the addition of the bursting charge of lyddite; Getueting os the it of metal is eee only twenty- “in- STemonial as to make WEATHER IN” PALESTINE. i Rainfall and Température as They Were 5,000 ¥ehrs Ago. From Popolar Science. : We find the “early” and the “later” rain today in Palestine préef’ely as described 3,500 years ago. “Jordan overflows all its banks," in February today exactly as it did in Joshua's time, thizty-three centuries ago. Plants taken fromcmummy cases in Egypt, which must have been gathered more than 5,000 years siiige, are practically of the same size and have;the same appear- ance as those growing today. Records of vintages in France for over 700 years show practically the same dates as today. Act- ual observations of rainfall for over 200 years at St. Petersburg show no change appreciable to us, though, of course, the earliest observations wete extremely crude and somewhat unreliable. Facts of this kind might be adduced to fit a small vol- ume. On the other hand, we have records of most extraordinary cold weather in an- cient times. One winter the light wine In France froze. Another winter the River Po froze over so as to bear teams (an un- heard-of phenomenon today). In this jour- nal for June it is stated that “Parnassus and Socrate, now free from snow, were covered with ft in classic antiquity.” Also, “the name Greenland, which strikes us as so singularly inappropriate, was not in- applicable at the time it was named, in the fourteenth century.” It is entirely probable that descriptions of the cold In ancient times were much ex- aggerated. Parnassus and Socrate have snow at times, and in earlier days, when protection agalnst the cold and snow was much less than now, a little snow would go a long way. The ‘earlier voyagers from Iceland, more than 1,000 years ago, leaving a land of almost perpetual ice and snow, and reaching a land in the summer with 11s beautiful green color, to their unaccus- tomed eyes would very naturally ‘give the enland to it. In the summer id, Greenland presents a most near the Danish settle: Our oldest inhabitants nt to describe the terr lle cold and deep snows of their boyhood days as incomparably greater than ans- thing which does or can occur today, com- pletely lost thelr reckoning in the last ue n arbor by welght of the ice it; that Washington had had four inches of snow on a level, and vest temperature ever noted in’ that y. A careful study will show no appreciable change In the climate of this earth since the early historic tim or course nothing here adduced touches cli- matie changes in glacial times or in pre- historic times, which changes have been blished beyond question. ee The Queen of Spain, From Good Words. The day A!fonso died, November 25, 1885, Maria Christina's tragic position won all Spanish hearts. The king had outlived his brief hour of popularity. He too young and frivolous to measure the consequences for so democratic a nation as Spain of to- day of a frivolous relgn. He could be brave as befits a man of his birth, which he proved in the smallpox plague and th earthquakes, But his real preoccupations were bullfights and ladies of light moral: Instead of the serious sovereign Spain needed she had only a mediocre rake, and whatever may be thought to the contrar nowadays at least, the rule of the rake none of the wi And sd! Spain was once eautiful green ments to this day who have been w ter when reading of a ship that had s rk in New ¥ upon more on the verge of a olution. — But death at twenty-eight is cofisidered a tragic expiation of the follies of youthtide, and the country only remembered the king’ extreme youth and regrettéd its unfulfille promise. His errors were, after all, the rors of impulsive and passionate’ natur without a bridle to its 4 and no higher ul than the enjoyment of the hour. Sp saw but the corpse of a young man, Di which knelt a young widow. Spanish chivalry awoke when the lards ‘reflected that ‘ide Span- this young widowed queen was a forbigner, a* woman on. the point of motherhood, whose fate was In their hands. When’ the prime ministe: Senor Canovas, came into the mortuary chamber to tender her his restenation the newly proclaimed regent, terrified at the immediate prospect of her responsibilities, cried to him: “No, no, don't talk to me of business matters, at least while Alfonso is here." But she was even in that awful hour made to understand that affairs of state may not yle'd to private misery, and Reina Gobernadora, though here Were full of human tears in the presence of a human unhappiness, she was obliged to take the oath of allegiance to the king successor and to the laws of the countr Which she confided to the new minister, Senor Sagasta. ———_++___ South Africa and Domestic Animals. From the Cornhili Magazine. It always seemed strange to me that the Natal climate, which 1s, on the whole, co healthy for human beings, should not be favorable to animal life. Dogs do not thrive there at all, and soon become infast- ed with ticks. One heard constantly of tho native cattle being decimated by strange and weird diseases, and horses, especially imported horses, certainly require the greatest care. They must never be turned cut while the dew is on the grass, unless with a sort of muzzling nosebag on, and the snakes are @ perpetual danger to them, though the bite is not always fatal, sor there are many varleties of snakes which are not venomous. Still, a native horse is always on the lookout’ for snakes and dreads them exceedingly. One night I cantering down the main street of Maritz- burg on a quiet old pony on my way to the legislative council, where I wanted to hear a very interesting debate on the native question (which was the burning ong e* that day), and my pony suddenly Teapot, ope the ground like an antelope and #* a1 Shied right across the road. ‘This panic” Shied from his having stepped 4, Thin strip ot zine cut from a packi~,, ” as have been openg? #8 case, which must Store Or largess a8 usual, outside the ‘AS coon pee, Shop which we were passing. of the | 7 the pony put his foot on one end 3,2" tong curled-up shaving tt must have *Sen up and struck him sharply, waking urpleasant memorles of former encounters with snakes. € ——s00. Japanese Police Courtesy, From the Chicago Tribune. Dr. Louls L. Seaman is an authority on Japanese affairs, and he went to see the company of actors now playing at the Berkeley Lyceum to discover whether they were genuine or not, and, if so, how much. The doctor’s last visit to Japan when he was on boards tnited States trans- port, returning from the Philippines. “There was a little incident happened while we were in port,” he sald, “that showed the magnantmity of those people. A United States soldier. was out riding a bicyele, and he was ing down hill, when he ran over a "They promptly arrested him, and h taken before a magistrate. We all from the trans- port to see how thin with him. The magtstrate heard ‘t! and fined him $5 for running over a: man. ‘What!’ sald the soldier, ‘was’ the ian blind? Here, give him $20,” and he,pulldt out a $20 gold ere ag pended it over ta the ae nd what do you. ik they did? ‘hey were 80 lensed ae thes remitted tho whole fine, or would\itave done sd, only the soldier would not e\ft back, but in- sisted on Its being giten to the blind man, and then they gave him a diploma, setting forth what he had dpha” nasa Marvelous Speed bf Arcturus. From the Youth's Companjon, 4 - On a summer evening you may see Arctu- rus high’ up in the sotth*ér southwest in June or Juiy, and further downin the west in August or September; You will know it by its red colér. That stay has been flying straight ahéad ever singe astrotiomers be- gan to observe it at such a-speed that it would run from: New-York to’Chicago in a small fraction.of a minute. You- would have to be spry to rise from«your chair, put on your hat and-overcoat and-glovés and gO out on the street while:it was crossing the Atlantic ocean from New ‘York to Liv. pool. And yet if you sshould--watch that star.all your life, and live as long‘as Methu- selah, you would not berable:to dee that it macved! ae ve ‘The Souaney, pate a ‘would mi @ thousand years wot be as nothing alongside its ‘distance. ——$+ oo An irate female seeks’ admittarice to the oorput tell madam,” protests ; ; you, eee tendant, “that the editor is too tll to one A lever mind; I'll do Bite. she talking. talk to AN INTERESTING CALLING The Work of a Diver From Day to Day. Some of the Difficulties and Hardships That Eeset the Explorer of the Deep. From the New York Evening Post. There are divers and divers. Some reach their limit of efficiency at thirty-five feet below the surface, while others will work at anywhere from seventy to eighty-five or ninety feet. One sort of diver does only the drudgery of the strade. He is merely put to piling up rocks or doing the plain work mapped out for him, where b'asting has been done or deep foundations are to be laid. This diver’s work differs little from that of the hodcarrier or coal heaver ashore, except that it is conducted under water and his movements are somewhat hampered by his heavy dress. The valua- ble diver is the one with judgment and technical knowledge. He is sent down to scrutinize the abutments of bridges and sea walls, and the foundations of water- side structures and decide as to whether they need repairing. He has mastered the principles of building and stone masonry before he undertook diving. The diver of first rank examines and repairs vessels without docking, recovers co ener y, and constantly does work that demands fearless aa stence. He 1s edu- ue of new in- cated ventions. He reads t best journals on engineering and ntifie to: and watches all new developments with keen > wrecking companies have some- ailed the opportunities of the in dividual in b for himself. The ing undertakings, such as the raising of a great liner or removing of some prominent ruction, all go to the org panies, but th uch work that demands individual ¢ d tact, and the diver of recognized is kept s There are several! New York divers have gained a competency in the p| life and have retired from business. Sot still to be found for a y at their old South street t up in the boat business © occupation, They know the under-water w of the harbor and rivers as familiarly 2s their neighbors know the city streets, and when there is an accident or a new enterprise that de- mands divers’ services they amuse them- selves by planning the methods to be pur- ued The divers and the divers’ working for the wrecking companie: for the most part, foreigners, many S and Norwegians ‘having embarked ‘in, calling. Every diver has a man to him and attend his signal rope. There arc hundreds of such workers kept ready at 1 hour offices, having or some other attendants are, notice, night and day, to respond The divers who are in business for them: ves are most conservative and a business that appear and the son of an expert ains for the prof: at the proper age. responsible. It to run in familie diver nearly always sion. Such a youth wil be entered at the rnment training school for dive a After sery- ing an apprentices 1 waters he will go on a voyage round the world in a United States vessel. Much knowledge is handed down from father to son. The father who has been success! proud of his trade reputation, and as much at home in the water as on land. living down in one of the s river, there have been three generation wear the rubber suit. The grandfather w an ¢ t diver in old Dublin port for ye before he knew this harbor. The wrec that he w nd the objects he r In such a family ps by the East to cued then very different from the ships and contents that are rescued now. His old diving dress and bonnet are kept as curic the antig small 1 of his ties, and there Is a pict 1 diving beils in whic of the present diver, u to be tal n down to view the onde the sea. The records of this family are in- teresting. The old Dublin wrecker is dead. But his son fs in active work and keenly in- terested in the career of his oldest boy, to whom he has given every advantage and whom he has trained to his favorite pur- suit. The young man enlisted In the late war, scraped the bottom of the Indiana, and’ on returning to New York did similar work on two captured transports. On days when it is bitterly cold or un- usually windy the divers do not work, be- cause their attendants cannot stand the ex- posure. ‘The weather would not hinder the diver perhaps. He would not feel the cold in his stout armor under water, but for the man who holds the signal rope and for those turning at the air-pump and attend. ing to matters on shore or on the diver boat it is a serious ordeal. It is on such days, when the master diver Is cementing patches on his suit, or fixing up his books by the hospitable office stove, that he can be prevailed upon to relate his experiences. One spoke of a recent trip up the East river's bed, climbing over cables that hang seven, eight and ten feet from the bottom. This trip was in quest of some car wheels that had been lost off of a flatboat. There were thirty-four wheels missing. were valuable, and might be found any. where between 23d street and the Battery, so the whole distance must be covered. The cables hung so high that the diver might have walked under them, but that would have interfered with his Ife line. So he climbed over every one, and the m>- +.5iq_ ing the signal-rope in the bes?*..4 ‘toon. ercise great care. There-tre weird tales cf dead bodies discove»<7y yy"the diver in star tling attitude i as h escapes =, and tales of hairbreadth capes “Vnen the signals refused to work or-sue air gave out suddenly. —— 7 To Arrest Civilization. From the Forum. Dhe Boers are attempting to arrest the march of civilization, to hamper industry and to retard education. England is fight- ing the battle of civilization. A state may not oppress the subjects of other powers nor commit injustices under the shelter of pettifogging interpretations of treaties or conventions. This it may not do, because there is no international police court which will uphold legal quibbles and evastons. England fs fighting for an honest interpre- tation of the convention which established the South African republic. No one on earth values freedom more than the Boers, but, much Use tne tatiy New England Puritans, they regard it as a treas- ‘ure to be protected jealously lest some one else should share it. They want a monopoly of the rights of free men. They are fight- ing for freedom to deny freedom which shall exclude the Anglo-Saxon race from what the Boers consider their heritage. In spite of their picturesque mediaevalism and the gallantry of their attack on a vast empire, the Boers are wrong. The British are fighting for ideas most dear to the American heart—ideas for which under an- alogous conditions the United States would fly to arms. They deserye our moral sup- port and cordial good wishes. At present they wish nothing more. It is, however, iif my opinion, a great mistake to suppose that they will or should make peace with the Boers until they can dictate terms from Pretoria. Before that time comes we may have an opportunity of reciprocating the service the British government rendered us not long-asc. The end of it all is certain. The Boers will have greater freedom and better government than their own oligarchy has ever given them. The rights of ail men, White or black, will be better respect- ed in South Africa than they have been heretofore. The British-empire will be knit closer by the participation of the colonies if imperial affairs and the army will have undergone a valuable though bitter and bloody experience. —————_-+e+-____ The Origin of Confectionery. From Chambers’ Journal. The modern confectionery business is a very large on3, and it is of old standing. If we wished to trace it to its origin we might have to go back not far short of 500 years. It is about five centuries since sugar was first imported into this country, and it is probably not much less than that since “confections” began: to be. concocted. They first -app2ared in a medical’ form. Apothe- caries, whose potions were at one time very generally supposed to be efficacious just in proportion as they were horribly nasty, took to the newly imported sugar as a means of mitigating the nauszousness of i tens el Same it and coat uses. « seems to | 24 origin of the a a a Sa i IS many long years all sorts of” “lollipops were medicinal only. Sugar was too dear and th> generality of people were too poor to permit of its being eaten for its own sake alone and as a mere luxury. Somewhere about a couple of centuries ago. however, there began to appear a n-w development of the apothecary's art. “Con- fections” began to be made more or less apart from any medicinal purpose, and mersly because people liked them. The confectioner's business began to evplve as an offshoot from the profession of the apothecary, and eventually became alto- gether a separate thing. though the com- mon origin of the two is still indicated by the sirups and pastilles and troches pre- scribed by the doctors, and the “drops” and lozenges and other things sold among the sweet stuff of the confectioner. soe The Cafe in France. From Scribner's Magazine. Those who have not lived in France can form little idea of the im unt plac afe occupies in the life of an Frenchman. Clubs, as we know as the: used in England, are r: when found are, with few ¢ gambling hou: in disguise. a man rarely asks an acquaintance a friend to his apartments, the the re French- or even become, during the last fifty ye: common ground where all meet, for business or pleasure. Not in Paris on but all over France. in every garrison town. provincial city or tiny village. the caf hief attr: the center of thought, ‘ocus: which all the of mas- culine existence conver For in Paris to the udent newly arrived frem the living in) furnished rooms, modest purse the theaters nd other s of amusement are prac- ically fe is a supreme re- sour mind i . his ideas and opinions formed, m by t he hears and than by any other influ is of no importance. But the choic ve.'€ bent to a It indicates to hi iS toshade vf polit ns of lit#ature, to know a man pung mon { ‘lishment their meeting place only by . the Cafe “ranc Colonial Ladies and Indigo, From Longmans, The colonial ladies were great gardeners, and the hours they passed with their fruits and flowers must have been moments of much pleasure in their busy lives. The most famous of these ladies was the daugh- tor of George Lu planter of Carolina, and at the same time governor of Antigua, at which place he appears to have resided, leaving Miss Eliza at home. From Antigua he sent her all sorts of tropical seeds of fruits and flower: kindly to the s served certain hopeful signs wiih regard to the indigo, and, undisma. repeated ac- cidents to the young plant length ob- tained a good c Gov. Lu w so de- lighted at this sked-for su tover an I E w lish hman, bearin: rather 2 Cromwell), and “finally ob cessful knowledge and application of the complex and annoying methods of extract- ing indigo.” A bounty of 6d. a pound en- couraged the planting, and through. its profits more children were sent over from Carolina to be educated at home than from all th> other e¢ put together. Indigo was looked uy tas a Sort of current coin, and it is on record that when a little 3 ent to schoul at Philadelphia he took with him a wagon of indigo to pay his expenses, 200. Black Rain, mural. From Chambers’ The first case of black rain which comes at Grahamstown and under review occurred the surrounding distri ‘t in August, 188s, and it extended over an area of no less than 360 square mile: Since then there have happened several showers of a similar char- acter, but less pronounced in their sable character. Other showers of black rain have been recorded in Ireland, one of which Was felt over an area of 400 square miles. No one seems to have microscopically ex- amined the water which fell at G town, but it was noted that the liquid grad- ually cleared when placed in a suitable v sel, and a black precipitate fell from it In ‘the latter cases referred to the deposit has been carefully examined, and to consist of microscopic organisms which averaged about th 200th part of an inch in length, and which were Identified with the same’ fungold organisms that are re- sponsible for blight In the plants which they ‘infest, and subsequently for smut, mildew and rust in wheat and barley. ‘The writer sums up his remarks thus: “Hu- midity 1s known to contribute laze, ¢ the coptous production of fuss Protracted drought im, thereby will Zein com) fungi, @:. during the *“uralls the production of a fungoid vege- tation is largely increased. ——___+-e+____ Potomac Water. Written for The Evening Star by Mary A. Denlsou. I will write you, I will sing you, In a ballad of the city Wasnington, the favored, famous For its men of rank and power— Men who long to make great recor: Men who ycarn for grace and beauty, Talk of butiding road and palace, Boulevards and streets Imperial, Yet who say no word of warning *Gainst Potomaec’s glorious water — Water picturesque and living, Red and thick and brown and sandy, Painting everything it touches With the tinting of a master. ious Potomac water! Glorions with mud and garbage, Filled with armies of bacteria, That the poor may drink, and straightway Enter into rest through typhoid Or some other gentle agent "Prisoued in the river's chase? 2 and di regions affected aratively Yet they yearn for grace and beauty, Tatk of building road and palace, Boulevards and streets imperial. What is life to city fathers? What's humanity to Congress? While the money-tide rolls onward, Paying for Potomac water? Water that should be as free As God's sweet ‘grace, Water that should be as pure As heaven's pure face, Water thac should: be as bright As God's white light, Water that should be as clear As crystal sphere. Ab, we yearn for grace and beanty, Talk of building road and palace, Boulevard and streets impertal— As for water bathe in, drink it, Palaces are more than peoples, Fowes, Jeath and spoil axa better ‘Than God’s way of health aud helping. ——— The Popular Preacher. Lo, the smooth-faced perch of his pulpit, Fraught with a message of wrath, surveying the great congregation. Soon, as he looks, be bebolds in the midst of the people expect: Squat like a Yenomots toad, alert Mke a hideous er, One of 2 fearful fame, who, armed with invincible | time, mi illions, Wri from the ‘hand of toll the frnit of Its bur- ipReosume labor Coins from the blood of the poor the price of their bitter undoing, “ Hears, with a grit of content the mournful cry of wae mth 8 tainting touch he fouls the fountain : justice, ng and selling and slaying the soul of men ith bis money. te priest perceives the suriferous ing bare of sons of frequent ARMY SURGEONS OF OLD Some of the Horrors of Military Hospitals of the Ancients, A Contrast With the Ad meed Mod- ern Conditions of Our Own Time— In the Middle Ages. From the Lonten Pall Mall Gazette. It ts poor consolation in time of distress N that others are se off than ¢ and anxie we as tee cann be relieve iy the ssurance that human beings were still more miserable in ages gone by + Somehow, worthy folk por- in thinking that the sufferer will be cheered by that demonstration, At it should teach him patience; unfort he is seldom in the mood to learn less: any sort. But, if there be any solace in such reflections, a comparison of the medt- 1 servi ny in Ku an mies, or in the Boer army, or even in the urkish army, with that of former tim: must be comforting. It is true that curi- litle information has come down to nthe subject. If any ned person Mected the tere ts Ion ed to see his work y sting theme. But one may vent t that Whole corps of Gr sh h & Vast proportion of it deals wi » there are not six a lusi to the medical arr ments of an army. Homer clors, so to call them. tending w but eydides does not m the conclusion that they needed in at this di w t is « ” any it all, thou wh to us one them, »phon s ae y of the ected with fifth halt men are ntal i inn not commonly cit . to do 1 that there surgeons « ms probable that they ¥ n from the ranks who had s erience ur apt Thus Hippocra dressing that the tw ed by Homer for ot “priests, but warri her reference occurs in Xen, of the Sp. milits . wher battic “a Safe pi US And those who look- led.” In fact, it may be Howe know about the of the eeks is the t that something of the kind ex- And no more could be said of the if we had only the written evid guide us. Mr. Long says outrig careful study of the republican ©: find nothing about sunzeons in th army.” And he s the engin what was days after a batt ne wounded, but that is after them, and how. is now Fortunately, inseri that a legion had its me tor was attached to « ther in this nor in Romans a peks, but th com the in order ty look to the Who a doe + Probably ence ir regimental surgeons w tent enough to earn th troon: ated by to Anic Tungrian ( squadron of f stone the nam the disease anh Gre title of the medicine. We 7 suppose that an Impression of this stamp on wae was carr mental dispensary by way of The medicines, of course, were suc » should ent, recognized by their name them are mentioned by Pliny of all sorts. But the dispens in store and “made them up For such an establishmen last Bad uric a aden, near Zurich, forming part, should expect, of a’ hospital: be assumed that the h strong garrison ccupying It is a discovery mnique up sent, and profoundly interesting on t to account, though among the objects found there was nothing to astonish the learned. They have long been aware that surgical insiruments of complicated form, quite modern inventions with us, were used in Rome, and even in Athens, for the things themselves may be inspected under a glas case in th re. But the publi at large n ed to hear that this ilection of + ancient he furnished Times ri — medical, pharma Efi the late; including probes. tubes ‘auterizing instruments and even y pins’ used in han- daging wounds. were also medicine spoons in bone, and silver measuring ve sels, jars and pots for ointment, some still containing traces of the ointment use As for safety-pins, such an Ingenious dis covery of our own times, they will be found among the the Copenhagen Museum. Descending to the middle ages, } earl 3s envelops us again. Doctors sorts” accompanied a feudal army. perha for they are*mentioned occasionaily. Jo Ville speaks of them on When the © stable of France wes stunned in an Bagement, “several of the surgeon doctors in camp hastened to his tent. all through the horrors of plague that iowed there is no further reference to these sentlemen. The illness of the king is do- scribed at length, but never a word about his dectors. He who c: of the “camp sickness” without a. thril must have a strong stomach: but there is only one allusion to medical attendanc when “the gums of our people were so overladen with dead flesh that it had to be cut aw: the barbers, so that they migiit Now. “C'etait grand’ pitie d'ouir histor ic antiquities eat and erler dans le camp tes gens auxquel. coupait la chair morte; sie ot Aus his thigh iy: it served him right for his treatment of that gallant brute, Couer-de-Lion, Doc- tors enough attended him, no doubt, but the chroniclers do not notice them. “Ans how, the wound began to mortify. Leopold did not think of calling in professional aid. With his own hands he held an ax in po: tion while his chamberlain struck it with a hammer. The duke lived just long enough to note the success of the operation. When the ‘most fashionable doct in large practice were idiots—uniess, Indeed, they had studied with the Arabs or the Jews—we can tmagine what sort of men followed the army. But there is no need to imagine. When the middle ages were past, in the reign of Henry VIII, the barber sur- geons begged a charter, and in support of their petition Dr. Gale recounted his ex- perience when ordered to report upon the Medical service of the English army be- sieging Montre' “According to _com- mandment, we made search. * * * Some Were sow-gelders and some horse-gelders, with tinkers and cobblers. * * * We de- MANGER wire cirurgiesi StTUIF They had io cure men withal, and they would show us a pot or box which they had in a budget, wherein was such trumpery as they did use to grease horse heets, and laid upon Scabbed priest, as he stands in the | horses’ backs, with rewal and such like. And others which were cobblers and tinkers they used shoemakers’ wax with rust of old pans, and made withal a noble salve as they did term it." The report ts long, but this extract shows its burden. Judge then ~*=-t like were army surgeons in the earlier ———_~+ «+____ _ Mixed Emotions. From the London Chronicle. To illustrate the feeling of Ireland toward the predominant partner, an actor who has lately been touring tells the story of an old waiter in a Dublin hotel. “When are you going to get home rule in Ireland, John?” was the question, “See ye here, sorr,” said the old man, “the oniy way we'll get home rule for ould