The New York Herald Newspaper, March 20, 1876, Page 4

4 THE BOOK WORLD. Edward King’s Pen Portraits of French Leaders. ANNA DICKINSON ON THE WARPATH. | The Poems of Edith May—An Amer- ican Songstress, THE BLACK HILLS. Frexes Fourtica, Leavers. By Edward King, New | York: G. P, Putnam’s Sons. ‘Tho Putnams did well in choosing Mr, Edward King to write the volume {n. their series of Brief Biographies m French political leaders. Mr, King ts a youfig Amer- | can Journalist who has epent.a considerable portion of ls life tn France, where he has the persoual acquaint- ce of most of the leaders of whom he writes. Ho looks at the men who surround him with unprejadiced syes, and his opintons are formed with an appreciation and honesty that make his book of more than ordinary | Interest and value, His observations are keen and Intlligent, and his style is graphic, vigorous and graceful, Ho 1s never for a moment dull, but then who | sould bo in writing of such brilliant Frenchmen The | bare record of -their lives would stir the blood | °f the coldest of men, Mr. King has made | ® careful study of his subjects, fact | he bad begun “taking notes” dofore he | Was addressed by the Messrs, Putnam, Mr. T. W. | Higginson, the editor of this series, say's in his preface | to this volume, “1 know of no ex'sting book in any | language which comes so wear to comprising just the | information needed among us in regard to the present | political leaders of France.” ‘The work was all written in Paris, where the author ts still living tn an atmos. phere created by the partisans of whom he writes, and that fact gives a fresbness and charm to the book and fonds 1% its enthusiasm, Mr. King does not claim to have dipped into a critical analysis of bis subject, but | merely to havo given a series of pon portraits of con- lemporsneoas Yrouch waders, aud in that object ho bas succeeded inost admirably,” Atong his most strik- | Ing sketches are those of Victor Hugo, Adolphe Thiers, Léon Gambetta, Jules Simon, Marshal MacMabon, Ed. ward Laboulaye, Emile Gilivier and the Comte do | Paris, There are tn all twenty-throe sketebes in Mr, King’s book, Rochefort, Jules Favre, the Comte de Chambord, the Duc d’Aumale, the Duc de Brogiie and Jules Grévy have all intensely interesting histories, A Parixe Ixvestwnyt. nna E. Dickinson, Bos- ton: James R. Osgood & Co. Miss Dickinson's last trumpet blast 1s one of her tlearest and strongest, and it is to be hoped that it will penetrate through the thick walls of prejudice and awaken @ responsive chord im tho manly Atmerican breast. In this little book, which contains about an | hour's reading, will be found all ‘the freshness and | piquancy that charms the listener in Miss Dickinsoa’s lectures. “A Paying Lnvestment” might arouse more \pplause were its arguments set forth in the magnetic | Mtyle and impressive voice ot the lectarer, but they towid not be any moro convincing than as they stand, Phe investment that it would pay to make 18 to give the rising generation the proper siart—to set it well on fis feot Lofore it is taught to run, “We open wide our doors and invite the world to come in, What sort of pro- viston do we make for these guests when they appear? We swallow them, certainly. fo wo digestand assim. | late them? Or are all tho nerve forces used in other | ehannels and exhausted in other enterprises!” Again | she says of the American:—He converts himself tron | manhood into a sort of double back-action machinery; | do swathes himself in interminable folds of business till | be isa species of mummy, He drains his body of all | ite resources to run his money grinding engine; and sapped and wodermined, or in actual ruins, with ‘brain Woublo’ or ‘half dead (rom dyspepsia,’ has the supreme fatisfaction of bearing people say as he goes by thom 0h the streets, ‘A wonderful man, that! wonderful! be- Fan tifo without a dollar, and is worth half a million!’ | Presently the same people will say as be passes thom— tarried, not walking—‘Dead? Of course he ts dead No man could bold out at his pace long. I hear his ‘will t# to be contested.’ It is no uew thing for Writers to ery out against the absorbing interest Ame! eam men have in “business,” bat Miss Dickinson, even when she handles a trite subject, puts % so that we seo it in a new and stronger light, The chapter in which she calls upon men to do thetr duty in local politics is particularly convincing. The way many men neglect their autics as voters is ort reprehensible. There are hundreds of men who Bot only stay away from ward meetings, but neglect to ote on election day; then they complain of bad laws, | terrupt oMcials, &c, “Who governs America to-day?" | asks Miss Dickinson; “the people? Nobody believes | i, It ig governed by the politicians, whose trade, ‘whose business it ts. = Men of education, of intoili- twenty-five years ago, the eye soon grows familiar with the signature of “Edith May,” attached to poems that draw the reader back to them again and again by the churm of a grace and beauty springing {rem power, unmistakabie ifimmature, by the wealth of a budding imagination whose perfeet bloseoming would have placed its owner side by side with Elizabeth Barrets | Browning as seer, while ber power of artistic utterance already surpassed that of the world knowo Poet, save in a few of the latter's happiest efforts. Yet to-day the little book which holds those collected poems is almost unknown. It was published in 1851 by # Philadelphia houge, and followed in 1855 by a Second edition; bat both were issued in a guise too ex- pensive for extended sule, Very soou after the ap- Pearance of ihe second edition magazine readers missed the name which they had learned to welcome, and, al. though there were some who for years questioned and wondered what had become of one whose writings bad made them take her to their hearts asa friend, the surges of time, which so swiftly efface the traces of almost ail our lives, swept out of public memory the records of song left by the soaring voice so soon hushed to silence, and the new edition of tho singer’s lite book, published last year, came unheralded, and kevins almost unknown, Yet tt ts a book that must awakon a decp interest in the minds of all levers of true poctry who may make its acquamtance, and we gladly call to it the attention ofa new generation of readers, sure that they will thank us for so doting. by @ hopeless walady from attaiming in thts world to | a periect harvest, without recoguiaing in them @ Power which, bad it beeu sufered to atta its full de- Velopmont, mast have mado the name of “Edith May” one of the greatest in American literature, “Sdith May" was the nom de plume assumed by ® young lady whose real name we violate no confidence tn giving 48 Miss Anna M. Drinker, phian; but she grow up and her mind among the cout scenery, the then alinost un- tamed by Susquehanna county, in a home whe of ro wealth and culture combined to give her every advantage in their power, and in asociety which, If ainall, was one to recognize and encourage her genius, She was but seventeen when she begau her brief career uty, as the “singer of noble pooma,"’ Three things stand out tw bold rehef from the very beginning of one’s acquaintance with what she bas written, and grow more aud more marked as you know ber better— hor utimate kuowledge and love of nature; the power whict tho associations of old romance helt over her imagination; the inherent dramatic gift which enables her to comprohond and represent truly life and char- acter allen to her own—not alone tn ite mood and etr- cumstagee, but tn the forces, the motives, the passions that sway ‘tavd make it whatitis Had health re- mained to her she world would have had another true dramatic — poat As i+ {2 sho has given us nothing I absolute dramatic form save | two or threa brief translations, = But her | ballads and narrative pocms are alive with | dramatic Gre ant directness. “Edith May” never tor an tustant comes i2 between the speaker in the story and the audience, One of her most striking ballads ia | “Christmas,” in which a mother tolls the story of the Christ child and that of her own brief life to her little ove before the kiss of the icy cold folds them in dreamless sleep to awaken on Christmas morning in the beyond, But there are others of them, specially “Lady Clare,” “Alino’s Choice,”’ “Rosabelie” and *The Love Quarrel,’’ which would be the chosen favorites with different readers, Each is delicious in its own way and each is written ina diferent key, Instead, how- evor, of any of the ballads, we haye chosen for quotation this exquisite soNG. Dawn paints thy lattice; The virginal hours Fold in thy sweet soul Its night-biooming lowers; Lakes in the hollows, And clouds m the skies, Drink in the hght Like thy b Sunbeams betray Where bright waters be— Moro of my heaven, Ou! smite thou for met Lo! trom yon peak, Where the red rowan clings, Bottly the day descends, ‘Trying her wings; Hares shake the copses And lirks brush the leaves, And swallows stir ligntly Benesth the broad eaves; The bird ts awakenmng His song on the tree— Bird of my morning, Wake music for me! Woe should like to give here one lyric of a very diifer- ent character, entitled “fwo Chants,” which is most marvellously impressive in itssolemn beauty, But it . is 400 long to quote entire, too pertect to break, One | | would scareely chip off a fragment trom a perfect crys tal to show the loveliness of the gem. Some poems o- all poets are like rose bushes; you may gather a flower toshow what the rest are like, But others should ve given cutire or not at all. Of “Edith May's’ longer poems there are nearly a dozen that tella story, the most powertul being that which 1s placed first in the volume, ‘“Maddalena’s Con- fession."” Maddalena tells the story of her life to the wonce, of ambition are too busy about their own per- | oval gains and gettings and spendings to hew planks | of platforms or to investizate the character of those — ‘who are tostand upon them, or to see that the piat- form ts rightly supported.” If the platform builders | arc unit for gentlemen to associate with, how much less aro they it to rule and govera these same fastid- | tous gentlemen. Suppose that the most intelligent and | ‘Most substantial men in every ward attended the mect- ings during a campaign and gave the weight of their culture and respectability to the selection of candidates for officd, would not the result be more satisfactory than | is at preseat? Of course it would, The eve of slection, says Miss Dickinson, should be to every man ® vigil, and bis action at the polis a sacrament, In tuts | sountry no man can live to himself for bimsell aloue. Bhe discusses the negro vote, aud apologizes for us | use by saying that we bave left them uninstructed with sis tremendous weapon. An a means toward a great end, she recommends tompulsory education, With allour free tnustitutions we have more uneducated citizens than many Kuropean countries, Of the 28,558, people in this land there | are 5,658, 144 who can neither read nor write; iu brief, | bae-AfNh ofthe population, and the majority of these are native born Americans, We quote:—‘There is no Gisoase more subtly penetrating, none more desiruce tivo, more suroly death froighted to such a goveru- went as ours than that of ignorance. Andif those who we iufected, having the means provided to wash and de made whole, refuse so to do, then, m self-defence, | We ought to soe that @he means they reject are used, snd used eiticiontly to a healing ana wholesome end.” Miss Dickinson is down on trades unions, “What | want,” she says, “is training schools, scien- | Milo wud polytechnic. There are too many clerks, | and wot cnough skilled artisans among Amert- | fang, Let us have more schools, vettor at- | Weaded, technical study asa sort of high sehoot out- | growth of the common school, that asthe one fits the | boy for the pertormance of his general dutios as a cit. | izen, so tho other may prepare him for the special du- ties of his trade or art, Let us have more knowledge, More light, for the good of the individaat and the good Of the wnole.’ The chapters son reform are Among the strongest in the work and should be read { by every logisiator in the land, “It costs more to nog. fect our duties than to accomplish them,’’ says the Writer, and 60 it does, In the last chapter the woman 6 the polls question is discussed, not violently or ex. Miedly, but calmly and rossoningly. “Women who, 4 & rule, are so cleanly and careful in their own houses, and such admirable nurses in their own homes, and such capital organizers iu their own smal! domains, Would seo that all questions concerning the general health of towns and cities, the general care of hospitals And asylums of all sorts, were better met and answored Yhap they are by the men who now face and settle them. No set of wowen would keep house in such a Athy way as men keep it iu the streets of great cities, No set of women would keep house to such a waste and to $0 little comfort ax mon keep it in the body of public \ostructions under their control.” In conclusion Miss Dickinsou says:—‘So, not alone for the worki’s sake, Aot alone for the sake of men and women in connection ‘With time and the things of time, but for the sake of | @baracter growth, the growth of the soul, do I ask that each man aud cach woman shall do his and her work where it may be found, and do it till work for | ‘them is done.” Poems, By Fdith May, A new odition, elegantly illustrated, York: James Miller, publisher, Looking over the numbers of the Home Journal, of Graham's and of Sariain’s magazines, published | garnered her sweet soul; when, victory of the ¢ cou’ | swayed ber when at the altar sho was named ‘the Bride of Christ.” Then, going back to her days of childhood, she paints her palace home and the beaut ful sister who was her tdol, who tn her wonderful love- | liness left her seaside home for the court, and returned thence no longer ‘the bright Aurora’ of Maddalena’s ehildnood :— I never knew What sorrow lke a tearful angel rent The veil between my sister’s heart and God, Her brow was as the forehead of a saint, Bearing the marks of thorns, and on her face ‘one looked except to breathe a sigh that tracked Some upwinged thought to heaven, And so the story goes on, telling how, unconsciously, the soul and the future of the ehild Maddalena were swayed and fashioned unchangeably by the daily inter- course with her sister, util— Once more Ginevra stood Flower-crowned and jewelled, but beneath the light Of tall cathedral tapers, and how the impression is made deeper by the tale of Ginevra’s life in the convent afterward until “death Maddalena con- tinges— Mags nor prayer was said; p there be Who swear a hovering crown n ber brow jatut glory, and around odors, while awed priest ecliug abbess with rapt u looks the “fe Deum Lausaimus! So -he pi the cross that wore 1 bear upon my br Its outline upou hers. But before this consammation is reached there are years of struggle with ihe haunting imfuence of the departed sister, tor fe looked very fair, and love was tempting her through the voice of one, of whom she | | says, in childhood— We twain Prayed, kneeling at one abrine, toge:ber sent Our mated voices, like paired larks, to heaven, ud, walked where the gardea jouuiaing ya mouths, The marvel of the poom {js in the subtle and mas- terly manuer in waich that strife ts depicted, and the | i sister's spirit is foreshadowed and the only possible conclusion, as, im one dramatic ne alter another, the speaker goes on to recall her past. Al lirst reading one is so wrapt in the simple, yet subtie, story, the tnteuse homan interest, as scarce to take note of the tmaginative beauty of the poem as | awhole aad ta detail, Afterward a partial sense of | luis takes one back to it to linger over every page. | The most perfect transcription of the effect of tho | miserere in St, Peter's, upou a soul sensitive to masic, with which we have ever met, is m this poem = “Guido Savella,” “Count Julio” and “The Chaplet of Bronze” come next in power, but th are all told by a third | person, not by the actor in the story. There is lyric after lyric in the book that shows sn innate comprehension of varying character and mood far beyond the years of the writer—a knowledge of the lessons of lite that seems lke experience. We com- mend the book to all lovers of trae poetry, sure that ‘hey will thank us for introducing them to it, aad that | beiore they close it they will share our sadness that such | great gifts should have been shut out from attaining to | gull fruuton, What “Edith May” bas given to us while | she could ia too precious to be ‘‘williugly let die.” Soll, cilmate, | 1 ie | Tne Buack Hints: Routes, scenery, timber, gold, geology, &&a By Colonel RK, James Miller, publisher, ‘The military chief of the Black Hills expedition of Jast summer has writt briet account of the country | explored, which wili doubtless be sought aud read by | those Whose imaginations have been inflamed by the glowing pictures of the “New Eldorado” which aro reflected from Weatern cameras, They will glean from | It ts im- | | | | possible to study these first fruits of a genius shut out She came of old | and honored Qnaker liveage and ts by birth a Philadel- | was formed | ent contessor, beginning with the rapture that | | 1, howover, nothing but the sober reality—nothing to prolong the serious illusion caused vy stale and exag- geruted stories of Ophir-hke mountains arfd Cahfornian valleys, Colonel Dodge's brochure is a truthful state- ment of the resources and characteristics of the coun- ) 'Y, ascertained by scientific examination. Professor Newton makes a valuable contribution on the subject | of the geological formation of the Black fills, which is one of the most interesting éf natural problems in the | United States, In description and narrative the book to seek their fortunes toward tne setting sun, and for whose benefit, mainly, it was written. {1 will ve of equal interest, however, to all who watch the dovelop- ment of the great West, Tun American Kxnyeu axp Sporting Fino. Arnold Burges. J. B. Ford & Co, This book treats of breeding, breaking and kennel management of the different kinds of sporting dogs, | and is very interesting and will well repay perusal ‘The book is illustrated with tine likenesses of English and Irish setters and pointers, Gentlemen who indulge in field Sports requiring dogs will find much valuablo | tuformation ip this book. By LITERARY CHAT, The London Sportsman is to be issued hereafter as a | datly journal, price one penny. ‘The learned Professor Hefel History of the Coun- | ells of the Church” 1s at last being translate into | English, and the second volume will soon appear trom Clark's Edinburgh Press, Longmans, the London pubtisher, announce: cries of French classics, to include translations of the | dramatists from the sixteenth century to the present time, | The second volume of the Earl of Shelbourne's me- nearly as bad as Lord Chatham, his master and model One of the completest Oriental braries ever formed in Parts in May. The Persian portton ts very rich and has some splendid manuseripts. ‘The busy and indetatigable Mrs. Oliphant will ne xt write a series of papers on Windsor Casilo for the St. Nicholas Magazine, To the many collections of books illustrative of Eng- lish folk-lore has been added Mr, 't. F. Dyer’s “British | Popular Customs,” arranged according to the calendar | of the year. Macmillan & Co., London and New York, will very shortly issue “Floral Decorations for Dwelling | Houses,” by Miss Anuie Hazard, edited by an Amori- can expert. | Mrs, A. D.'T, Whitney, one of the most popular of Yunkee story writers, calls her next book, now in Os. good’s press, “Sights and lusights.” It tsa novel of | New England lite, Janes Miller has in press some letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in connection with R. H. Tnorne's “Recollections of Contemporaries.” An extensive history, in two volumes, of the city of | New York, by Martha J. Lamb, long in preparation, 13 In the press of A. 8. Barnes & Co, J. H. Coates & Co,, Philadelphia, will print “King and Commonwealth: A History’ of Charles I. and the Great Rebellion,”’ by Messrs. Cordery and Philpotts. ‘The great Kgyptian ‘Book of the Dead’? is to be pubs lished from a thorough collation of the different mauu-' acript texts, under the auspices of the Berlin Academy | and the British Museum, A new Franco-Russian review has been started in Paris, styled Le Spectateur : Revue Franco-Russe, NEW YORK COMMUNISYS. WHAT THE COMMUNISTS THINK AND WANT. ‘The annual meeting of the Communistic fraternity of New York was held on the 18th inst, at No, 293 |! Bowery. The object of the meeting was to ecidbrate the anniversary of the 18th of March, 1871, memor- able in the annals of modern France. Tu imitation of Anglo-Saxon customs, what the French report terms a “lonch’? was provided. The meeting began at seven | P, M.,; Citizen Davis presiding. At the opening of the proceedings Auguste Bianqui was clected by acclamation to tho Sonorary presi” dency. 4 Letters from its correspopdents in Europe and America to the soctety were read, and a propagatidist committee, consisting of the Citizens P, Tispoli, C, Reuter, Y. Estaban, Van Berg and David (Secretary) was elected, Then followed the toaste:— | By Citizen Crossz—To Auguste Blanqul, the indefa. | Ugable athlete of the great social struggle of labor against capital; to the groat revolutionary Communist, the leader of the army of equality, te which the inem- | bers of this society esteem it an honor to belong, may the expression of our sentiments reach bim through | the prison walls within which a territied middle cluss | bold bin, | _ (Death had already opened Blangqai’s prison doors tor | hit. J | By Citizen Romxet—To the union of true revolu- tionists, Let us be united, in order to raise the courage of faint-hearted workers.’ But in order to compass that union let us weed out of the revolutionary army all | hypocrites who look upon the straggle simply as a | means of attaining position, of gratifying perso | ambition or wicked vanity, Let us unmask the | traitors who are undermining our work by calumny and other equally odious means. | — By Citizen Lucy Havssx—Vo the women of the rev- lution, to Louisa Miche! and Mary Férd, whose devoted- ness should be an example to the wives, daughters and sisters who are fighting for the recognition of our nights, By Citizen Berox—To the triumph of social rights, to the annihilation of class privileges, to the advent of lity. wen Davip—To the logic of tho revolution. olution be who wills the end must will the means, By C tizen Havser—To the inemory of F By a New Meuver—lo the Communistic Revola- | ticnary Society, to its aspirations and its saccess, | Friends, I thank you tor having admitted me among you, jor, like you, I want io seo a speedy revolution. Yeo jong the yoke bas weighed upon us, and the lence of the shock must « come the tightness of | the grip. T am a Comm , and, hke you, T want | real equality. Is it not revolting for us, Workinginen, | to endure hunger and go about in rags, While a pack of jed capitalists, society people, revel im y expense? Tam an athert, for my mind | cannot admit what science positively denies, Tam tor | a proletarian dictatorship in order t@ consummate the | social revolution, We need an iron wrist to master the | middie class alter its ae socal conditions if it yic j teeteta, Long live the social revolution! equahty! ve eres wero repeated, } thasasin, by all present, | Cinzen Davin tien remarked that it was getting late, ! and it would be Well for the weubers of the society to mt themselves at the mc in progressé at the mbly Rooms in favor of the widows aud to grind it to powder if it Horran for with tremendous en- | the wm ceived Inox ‘sputeh was re- g thut the revelunoniats of | that city were kecpug the 18th of Masel, Ab was supposed that the same was being dove a St Lous und Boston, FU JAMIN AYMAR, | ‘The funeral of Aymar, of the shipping | house of Aymar & Co., one of the oldest merchants of | this city, took place yesterday aiternoon from Grace | charch, of which Mr. Aymar was the oldest veatryman, | The numerous relatives and friends of the deceased almost filled the church. fhe casket, which was of ) rosewood with solid silver handles, was almost hidden from view by the floral tributes, which were of tho Most elegaul description, [he services were conducted by the Right Kev. Bishop Potter, assisted by Bishop untington and the Rov. J, Clough Tivbetts, | STILL Ad OTHER TEMPERANCE LEs- SON | 18 extremely meagre, but these features are not ossen- | Mal to satisfy the curiosity of the class who are eager | | that we need no longer “view with alarm’? the appar. | moirs, says the Athencum, proves that he was ay bad a | letter writer os many of his contemporaries and | was collected by Jules Mobl, and will be sold at auction | to monid it to the new | nd the president declared | | ma e upon it, | , mand that will be made upon | a Voice from Heaven” was then given, alter which | | Pley’s funeral hymn was sung with fine effect, Atan carly hour yesterday morning a patrolman of | the Kighth previnet, South Brookiyn, found the body of a man lying in a Yeoant jot on the line of Seventh avenue, between Ninetoonth and Twentieth streets, and, procuring an ambulance, bad the romaine re- moved to tie station Lease. it was there asceriained that deceased was a man of intemperate habits, and had been on a spree for several days, His name was James Carberry, and he was employed in the Pheoaix Chemical Works Last night be started to cross the Jota, when, becoming Bume with the intense cold, be Inid down and soou “slept the élecp thas knows no ak iD, A EW LABOR E N CHANGE. A mocting of representatives of diferent Odd Fel- lows’ lodges was held at the Turn Hall yestorday, when Scommittce wax appointed to take charge of anew Inbor exchange which is to be established under the wuspices of the Oruer, The exchange is to be located io St. Mark's place. THE SWISS SOCIETY, The Groetli Verein, a Swiss benevolent association, gave au anniversary entertainment at Coburger Hall, in Stanton street, last night, The entertainment boro proceeds: & musical and dramatic character, The of the adair will go to @ cuaritable fund, | to be done on both. The knowledge of these facts has | | cupy the épuces assigned them, and a probability that | the interval from the present time to the opening day | in May next, THE EXHIBITION. PRESENT CONDITION OF THE BUILDINGS—WHY MXUIBITORS ARE BEHINDHAND—Aa uusronr- | ous CAL DEPARTMENT. PurapeLrma, March 1S, 1876. ‘The date of the opening of the Exhibition is less than eight weeks distant, but a vast amount of work yet re~ mains, to be di to have everything in place on the loth of May. The three principal Exhibition struc tures—the main building, Machinery Hall and Horti- cultural Hall—have been for some time ready | for the reception of goods, but exhibitors ao | not scem to have taken advantage of these | facilities, and the buildings, consequently, re- | main comparatively empty. The remaining two of the five main struchures—Agricultural building and Memorial Hall, or the Art Gallery, with its new exten- siou—are yet unfinished, considerable work remaining led observers to fear that the emptiness of the com- Ploted buildings and the backwardness of two tmpor- tant ones at this Inte dave Mave tmdicated an indifler ence on the part of exhibitors in seudigg goods to oc- everything would be in confused unreadiness at the opening day, To be behind time with an international exhibition 18 to follow precedent, to be unprepared at the opening day being the rule with such | affairs conducted by “the elfete despotisms of arope.”? Something better is expected of our Centenuial show, which has so far been further advanced im preparation than | any previous world’s fair, and it is gratifying to kuow, upon the assurances of the Centeunial Commission, | ent dangers of disappointment and delay. In regard to the coupletion of the twa principal un- | finished buildings, the commission says that by tis day week the Agricultural building and Memorial Hall will both be ready tor the reception of goods, thus | | feady for the opening, The Centennial National Bank | headed by Mra, Howard Townsen practically demonstrating the claim of being further advanced in readiness than other exhibitions have be- fore openmg. ‘The Agricultural buiiding will be tor- | mally laken possession of Rext week by the Board of | Finance, 018 said, ‘The enclosure of the grounds will | be begun very shortly, and after April l the general | public will not be perinitted to enter. From to-day | the buildings are buried to them, the tens of thousands who dally Visit the grounds ih imereasing numbers having been tound to bein the way of the workinen. | ‘Yhe backwardness of exhibitors, and Atericans par- tucuiarly, tn sending their goods to the completed buildings ts thus explained:—T'ne Director General says | that careiul estimates show the probable number of in- | Yoices (not exhibits, but packages Which may contain | muny articles) will be about 80,000, this will include | articles trom all uations, abroad and athome. The Bureau of Transportation is prepared, it is thought, to handle 7,000 packages a day, provided there are no delays at the Custom House, ‘und, thereiore, it could dispose of the Whole estimated uumber of packages of gouds im about twelve days, Feeling contident Of this ubility, those who have secured space have uot yet been urged very strongly to send their goods, although @ circular has just been issued officially m- forming them that articles can be received, Exhibitors do not care about sending until the last moment, by | Teason of the great oxpense of caring for their goods ih | ‘The Commissioners do not antictpate the sume delay and confusion im handling goods which oc- cured at Vienna, where huadreds of packages were thrown off the cars outside the city and scattered for |. weveral miles along the roadways, and they, therelore, fecl no uneasiness because of the absence of American 000s. f Ivis remarkable that the oldest nations m the world and the most distant have been the first two come to bring their products to the youngest. Egypt, Japan, Sweden and Norway have, in the order named, al: ready brought their exhibits to the fair, before an Aterican article was put in place, A STRANGE AVVOINTMENT, The Hera the other day announced the fact that » complaints of extortionate charges by a Custom House | broker iu entering forvign goods for the Exhibition | had had the effect of causing the appoiutinent of | J. W. Hampton, Jr, by the Centennial Commission, | to attend w such formalities at the expense of the commission, It is « singwar fact that this Mr, Hamp- — ton is the very broker who has made the entries for all the tureign goods that have arnved, with twelve ex- ceptions. A HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT. — * ' A suggestion made some time ago, regarding the formation of a historical departineat with early colomtal relics and a collection of objects tliustrative of the history of the ‘teen colonies has just taken: shape in the Appomtment of Colonel Frank M. Etting to take charge of the matter, Colonel Ktting ts the Chairman ot the Committee on the Restoration of In- | depenucnce Hall and the National Museum, aud takes great interest in sch matters, The following cir- | cular bas been issued :— Usitep pint Cunrenniar sno iete | ition MILADELPUTA, March 9, 1876 The Historical Department of the Céntenuial Exhivi having beon established under the authority of the com- uission by the Direewor Genoral, is announced to the States, and their earnest aud im- mediate invoked, ‘The pluu Is to commem srate the events of pre-Revolution- ary history, aud to awaken the memories of the men who participated im the civilization ot America and in its prog: ress toward the establishment of universal righis, Such historical review, appealing oljectively to the eye, 1s to the proper colebration of the one luudredth an- y of the national Independence, ion of the permanent Art Building has been set | ark and illustrate the colonial epoch. rick nts will be allotted to the thirteea States, white yother country” will ulvo assume her appropriate essen niversal A pol apart to ition. Pethe walls will be dovoted to historical paintings of events | and to portraits of individuals, while cases a plate glass will be provided tor the reception of such objects of interest As serve to give redlity-life to the portraiture. In order to perteet the plan it is {ndisponsabie that every epoeb in the progress of euch colony, Irom its first settioment to its aa 2i9n of indepeudunco, should be ehronologieally pre- Hixtirieal, antiquarian and professional societios, colle: giate Instit pubtic Hbraries are cordially invited | rf 1 list of the local events wh | ‘tag. eof .sock | ANK M. BETTING, | Chief of the Historical Department, — | ed :—A. T. Gosnons, Dire: H 1t is proposed to bring the whole collection down to | the culmination of the pre-Revolutionary history of our | country in 1776, taking the most striking epochs in | each colouy. Ib is, 1m bricf, teaching history by the | object system of mstruction, a large portion Of the col- | Jecuou being authentic portraits of the persons and | places famous in the early times, Colonel Etting wall procure the assistance of antiquarians and historians.in | the States to be repregeuted, the origimal thirwen | colonies being represented as follows in the order of their settlement:—Virginia in 1607, New York in 1609, Massachusetts in 1620, New Mompshire in 1622, New | Jersey iu 1024, Delaware in 162%, Connecticut in’ 1630, Maryland in 1682, Rhode Island in 1635, North Carolina | in 1650, South Carolina in 1670, Pennsylvania in 1682, | Georgia mn 1732. THE OPENING EXERCISES, | ‘The opening march for the iuaugural ceremonies on | tho 10th of May is to be written by the great German | composer, Wagner, in response to the invitation of | Theodore Thoinas, director of iusie, and is to be dedi- | cated to rbe Women’s Centenmal Organization of the United States. fhe programme entire will be finished in a day or two, ‘The last allotments of space in Machinery Hall were 480 square ieet (o Chili aud 409 square fect to Norway. The pavilions which the German and Brazillan_em- pires are erecting are now under full headway, They are progressing rapidly and will be finished in ample | tie Jor the openmg day. * NOOUKAGING TEMPERANCE, | The Grand Division of the Sons of Teinperance have | taken the water supply to the thirsty in hand and have | arranged to supply lee’ water, free Of cost, on the grounds. A lountiin will be crected at the ‘intersec- tion of Belmont and Fountain avenues, The design | will be m the style of a Greek tempic, 23 feet in diameter aud 36 fect high, enclosing a fountain § feet | ju diameter, This fountain will contain 26 spigots. | The tank will hold between 4,000 and 5,000 gailous of | water, a supply fully equal, it is thought, to the de- | TUX SUOK AND LATHER BUILDING. The applications for space in the shoe and leathe! building have reached the number of 47, and there ar more anticipation, Lhe spaces ure divided as fol- | lows :—Seventy-tive to boots and shoes, 118 to sole and | rougu loather, 60 to harness, 36 lo morocco and sheep- skins, 16 to rubber goods, 23'ty saddlery hardware, 01 to machinery. ‘Square Feet, Square Feet, Boots and shoes. 87 Tanks... cere Old | dole leather .. 3,000 Blacking.. wee 142 Rough leather. , 7 Suddiery hatdware,, 658 | Harness, kip and cali 1,200 Machinery woe 1426 | Moroceo andsheep., L158 Forewgn, 000 | Harness and saddlery 1,508 Rubber goods....... 680 Total, ENGLISH POTTERY. | collection of poreeluin, earthenware, Parian | exhibited by Messrs. Brown, ; of Hanley, England. A spe cious aud eicgant pavilion In which to display the arti- cles has been coustructed, ad will be sent over with | the goods, Its of timber, but the tramework 1s partly | concealed by rich crimson drapery, and partly by @ Very interesting collection of exainples of mural deco- rations, by moans of tiles executed by a new process. Around the top runs gilded fretwork, and in a promi Bent position are the royal arms, the firm being pot- ters by appolotinent to Her Majesty. NOTES OF PREPARATION—ARLICLES ARRIVING, Puapeiruia, March 11, 1876, There will arrive in this city on Monday morning next a company of military engineers from Spain, who will represent their special department at the Exhibi- tion, An escort bas been tendered them by the State Feuciblea, Captain Ryan, commaader, the crack com- pany of this city. They will be the recipients of an entertainment and atterward be reviewed by the Mayor. ‘The wostern side of the terrace surrounding Memorial Hall bus been selected as the spot for the erection of | the colossal granite statue of the “American Soldier,” MWe gift of the New hag ond Granite Company of Hart- ford. The statue of from a single block, wiil be placed on tho castern side of the same terrace, This work of art bas been loaned Wy. M. Digkerson, the American banker of Florence, taly. ‘The scenes in Machinery Hail are becoming interest- tng. Cars are constantly arriving aud being run into | New York Volunteers (Duryce’s Zouaves), is to be held | lppe, Lopes Netto, Vice President “of the Brazilian | author of the drama ‘The Patriots,” which took a | was taken up, | square and the other city parks; whether the work | day at Philadelphia betwoea Bogardus and Roberts did | Schworen and M. V. ‘ashington, of marble and cut | be NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1876.-TRIPLH SHEET. i and aro ly unloaded by of an Reta ing Lae ‘the targeet’ Blends OF ma- chinery are handled with as much ease as one would ift a few pounds. Among the latest matters of interest are some finely finishes steam engines trom the Amos- works, Now Hampshire. One of our largest firms, Gus bi & Sa. .use erecting a massive blast furnace, appendages, On the Belmont drive the New Hampshire. building ‘bas been commenced, aud wil) be pushed rapidly to Troy Stove Works and the Liberty Stove Works, of this city, are busily engaged in erecting structures | in close proximity to each other, and promise to be | ave started their structure, and trom the architec. tural designs it will be made elaborate and an orna. ment to the grounds, | ‘The Pennsylvania Raliroad Company are erecting a | massive depot just outside the grounds. It will cc tain every convenience for travelling, and, though temporary, will, % the comiorts that the means and facilities of this corporation can , command. Work upon the dairy buildings will © commenced next woek. TO THE PATRIOTIC WOMEN oF | NEW YORK. Haviug been duly appointed and confirmed as a | member of the Executive Cumunttee of the | Women’s Pavilion at Philadelphia to represent | New York State at large, I appeal to” tho women throughout the State to form tn each town a branch committee of inspection of its own ex- hibits. It is earnestly recommended that a fund be | Taized to assist those unable to bear the expense of | forwarding work, Also to send operatives to ply their Various industries in the nuance of the Exhibition, vilion during the con- | he State organization, | promises heartily to co-operate with the Women’s Centennial Union in | its endeavor ty insure u creditable dixplay of New York | haxdiwork, art imdustries aud inventions, — id all Boceseary information will be furnished } on application by letter directed to Mrs. George W. Cullum, Chickering Hull, Fifth avenue and Eighteenth street, Now York sity. - KLZABETH HAMILTON CULLUM, Mancu 18, 187 WOMEN’S CENTENNIAL UNION. The Women’s Centennial Union, acting through the | New York Committee, have propared a programme of | attractive entertainments to be given in this city for the purpose of raising funds, On the 2ist and 22d of March there will be tableaus, among them a represen- tation of The Republican Court,” altér Huntington's well known picture, by descendants of the men and women. The artist hus portrayed as surrounding Mrs, Washington, the Jays, Clintons, Adatn-es, Livingtonsy Morrises, &c. On the 28th mst. “A Silver Lining” will be acted, and on the 30th “A Caprice.” 1 tertainments will ollow, which are not yet announced, ‘The women of New York are earnestly appealed to to aid the committee to crown their efforts with successg DURYEE’S ZOUAVES AND THE © TENNIAL. A meeting of the surviving members of the old Fifth ren | | at three o’clock on Saturday afternoon of this week for the purpose of sending a uniformed representation to the Centennial. Officers and members of the old or- ganizahion in this vicinity are earnestly requested to be present and take part in the movement, The place of meeting will be room No, 17, on the third floor of the Post Oilice Building. SCHENCK AT HOME. THE EX-MINISTER TO ENGLAND FULL OF DE- TERMINATION, BUT TO DO WHAT HE WON'T | TELL. Yesterday, after a passage lasting fifteen days, dur- | ing which she experionced very violent and adverse | winds, the steamship Abyssinia, with ex-United States Minister Schenck on board, arrived at Quarantine, Staten Island. The huge hult of the steamer was cased | in au enamel of ico; hor smoke stack, usually red, was white with salt, and from her lower rigging suspended a picturesque mass of frostwork. In the cabin with General Schenck were Senor Fe- Commission to the Centennial; M. Fernando Amant, | prize at the recent competition in France, and Mr, Charles Lamson, owner of tho ill-fated ship Harvest Queen. The log book of the smoking rooin | contains accounts of fierce poker contests, but the naine of General Schenck dovs not appear. Ieaniry peared the log book to be authentic, the General hav- juz completed the voyage without playing a game. He Was an interested spectator during the first 1ew di but subsequently, and during the heavy weather, he remained below, whether irom mal de mer or disgust at the lack of art displayed in the game as played by foreigners, the pron redo not know. Shortly alter breakfast erpreed morning a Heaatp reporter, Who had ce the ship with Dr. Mosher, of Quarantine, had a conversation with Mr. Schenck. The ex-Minister said he thought it would be im- | page! and undignified, under the cireumstances, for im to make a statement to any one before reporting to hig government—in fact, he had nothing to say. Of what had transpired during the last fortnight he knew very little, and could consequently give no opinion, HK LEFT BNGLAND IN GREAT HASTE; had packed his things up im a hurry-scurry way, and was, indeed, inconvenience of such a burried stood when it was remembered that he had been in England for nearly five years and was rather settled | there, He said that just before he lett England be sullered with a rather dangereus physical indisposi- , tion, but once he made up his mind to come to | America he dismissed his ailments as trifling things. Said he, “When I made up my mind to come tT eame,” | Ashe said this bis jaws scemed to ecnti and to press strongly upon one another. In a moment his | | lace, which before had tho most mediocre roast-beet | expression, assumed a totally different character. His | eye brightened, he moved himself to geta moreerect | position in his chai, and then seemed a man bora tor | resistance and strife. There was in his face the same bull dog look of determmation which bas made Grant famous. His spirit had returned, and be yentared the | remark that he felt much bettor now than when he left England; much betier, im fact thamhe had felt for a | long time, When questioned as to whether he would return to Liverpool and allow bis case to undergo tn- vestigation, he said he did not know what his iuture movements would be, 1t was bis intention, he said, to go to the house of a friend in New York, to see his banker, and then to go to Washington, The passengers of the Abyssinia say that the General was Very much nettied when he learned trom the pilot that Mr. Dana bad been appointed to sueceed him. It will be remembered that he jeft Mr. Hoffman, Secretary of Legation, as chargé @afaires ad interim, but his | action in the matter was not considered wheu Mr, Dana. Was appointed. Rumor has it that he considered the administration did not treat him rightly in the matier Of appointing his succes: FUNERAL OF LOUIS FROMME. The funeral services over the body of Louis Fromme were held yesterday , at the Masonic Tempie, corner of Sixth avenue and Twenty-third strect. Cecile Lodge, of F. and A. M., of which Mr. Fromme | was a member, received the remains in the corridor Jeading to the grand staircase, and the representa- tives of the Protective Order of Elks, with the imme- diate friends and relatives of the ¢ fol- | lowed in the procession: As the congregation entered the organist, Professor Vearco, Letboven’s funeral march, A funeral psalm, ‘Coie, ye disconsolate,” was then rendered in admirable style, after which hou Faithful Unto Death,” from the | oratorio of “St. Paul,” was sung by Sr, Wilkie. “1 Heard The | Worshiptul Master of Greenpoint presided, and Brother W. 1. Woodruff delivered the discourse, The pall | bearers were I’. Ratuaciotte, Louis Rentz, F. Rosack, | of the St. Cocilia Lodge; Charles T, Whe, Adolph | George and Edward Knight, of the Benevolent and | Protective Order of Eiks, ‘The remains were conveyed to Cypress Hills Come- tery. THE PARK COMMISSIONERS, At the meeting of the Park Commissioners on Satur- day the subject of the construction work for the year It ombracod the consideration of all | the unfinished work in the Central Park, Tompkins should be dono by contract or by the day, and tho reduction of the wages. Orders were given to adver- | tise for bids for tue grading and curbing in Tom square by contract. Commissioner U' Donohue oilered the following resolution :— 1 pre laborers’ waxes "Kesdlved, requested to give ty, Whether ho The resolation was lost by the fohowing vote :—Affir- mative, Commissioners Martin aud 0’ Donohue; nega- tive, Commissiouers Stebbins and Williamson, PIGLON SHOOTING, Captain Bogardus has come to the city to eomplote the arrangements for the match proposed between himsolf and Ira A. Paine, ‘The match which was to have taken place on Satur- not occur, as Roberts forteited, A novel contest has boon arranged between Charles Bayliss, The conditions | are that they are to shoot al twenty-five birds each, to | selected trom William MeMahon’s coop, eacn to trap, handie and pull for the oth: “Phe pevaity shall be for the party losing mat & forteiture ot his gun aod a ise on his part not to shoot pigeon again for one year from the date of shooting the mateh,’’ The mateh will come of to-morrow (lues- day) at one o'clock P, ML. | tion along the beach. | Action was taken to support the THE WAR IN CUBA, — PROGRESS OF THE COLONIAL CONTEST AGAINST THE POWER OF SPAIN—CONDITION OF A¥VAIRS IN THE 1SLAND—THE FORCE WHICH THE ROYALISTS REQUIRE YOR 178 RETEN- TION—WBHY,. THE REBELLION IS NOT PUT Down. Poncs, P, R., Feb. 27, 1876. A gentleman who has just returned trom a tour of several weeks’ duration through the central and west- ern departments of the isiand of Caba, has written the folowing slight deseription of the state of things ex- isting there, which is not without interest as the ex- pression of the impressions made upon the mind of av intelligent and observant man, conversant with the language and habits of the people and weil qualified in other respects to form an accurate opinion, He iat AN INTERESTING TOUR, “My late trip to Cuba has been of great interest to mie; thas enabled me to obtain an insight imto the state of affairs there, and has afforded me some ides of tho trae condition of political and other matters. It must be ever a subject of reproach to the Spanianis | that for upward of seven yours the so-called revi tion has beeu sullored to eontiaue, aud that the island has been constantly declining in wealth and pros. perity, while the Spaniards have been losing ground instead of gaining any during that period. CHARACTER OF THE MOVEMENT, “1 say the so-called revolution because at present the disturbances which prevail cannot properly be credited with the name of revolution, The rebels now consist eblefly ofscattered bands of ranaway nogroce and China /'men, who are nothing more than thieves and incendi- aries, acting without concert or connection and with- out any political aim or object, as the men now leading them are of a similar stamp and character, The ac- tual state of things is nowadays undoubtedly sustained in consequence of the fearful demoralization and core ruption pervading every government department, but chiefly notorious in the management of the custome and military branches of the admtnistration, SIXTY THOUSAND TROOPS, “Between Sagua, Remedios and Puerto Principe on the north side, and Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Villa Clara on the south, there are now posted ahout the country nearly 60,000 Spanish troops, besides the volunteers domg service in the towns and suburbs, while it is | generally estimated that the total forees of the rebels dn the forests and monntainous tracts of that region und coming close up to Colon do not amount to more than 6,000 men, or about one-tenth of the Spanish force in campaign against them, WANT OF ENERGY, “1 travelled as fur as Caibarien on the north side and Cienfuegos on the south, crossing the island twice, and from what 1 saw myself and heard constantly con- firmed by resident merehants at the seaports and by the planters in the country, there is no serious effort made to put an end to the rebellion, ‘The oflicers seem. to cure about nothing but making money by any avail. able means, the troops are not ade tape Jed, and tote besides, almost powerless in having to operate agai the fastnesses and naturally protected retreats of the Tebels, so that in fact 1 am surprised that no more property is being burned and destroyed than js actually the case, MATERIAL Losses. “As it is, the destruction ts very great. Tho cane fields are vontinually being set on fire—sometimes by the rebels when the paymene of blackmail exacted from the estates 18 resisted, sometimes by the slaves themselves working on the estates—but it is seldom that a property is totally destroyed. Still this occu id happen almost within range of my person in teord interior, about au a sixty iniles Colon, A band of about filty men cai "4 night and burned a railway station and alarge sugar os- tate just outside of Colon, and close to where were more than 2,000 Spanish troops, without these having come to the rescue or even pei, Ae to pursue the rebols! “Phe owner of the estate haa just betore recelved an advance in Havana of $100,000 on his crop, JOVELLAR—HIS_ GOVERNMENT, “Now all attention and all hopes are concentrated upon the new Oaptuin General, Jovellar, but having the exal (6 and experionce of his many ‘be. fore them, business men, at any rate, are not dis) to place much reliance upon his successtully dealing with the many difficuitics he has to contend with, The fact is that to do any good at ail he would require ta begin by hanging a lot of the officials im cach depart ment in order to bring about a radical change. Of late every steamer from Spain has been bringing out fresh batches of olficials, hungry and needy, to take the places of the old ones returning home gorged with the products of successful plunder, “It is commonly asserted that if only fifty per cent of the duties, taxes and contributions Taixed were ac- counted for the treasury would bave more moncy in its coffers than could possibly be required for tha legitimate necessities of the government, SHOULD HR PAIL. kK ‘Jovellar is ex to act energetically and hon- orably. He is unquestionably popular im Cuba, and enjoys an excellent reputation; and the fact that he bas left Spatn when be was gaining such an important: name and position for himself leads to the presump- tion that he has been influenced by real interest in the affairs of the island, and has come out with the fali in- tention of doing whutone man may to bring about salutary reforms, aud, if it be not too late, to save the situation, In him, however, the Spanish government plays its last card to maintain dominion and power over Caba, and if he, too, should fuil, a chaos of dis+ order and ruin must ensue. TRADE. “Business in Cuba is at present in a very aepressed condition, The crops of sugar and tobacco will be small, and the prices of the former article are not remuverative, Many plantations close to the rebellious districts have been abandoned, and even some of the planters near Havana are talking of stopping the cultivation of the cane until they can be relieved’ of the enormous contributions new exacted trom them by the government, Near Sagaa there is a property paying $600 monthly for beet vione tor the use of tha troops quartered there for ils protection. The cost of provisions und of the chef necessaries of life is enor- mously high, and but for the power conferred by the unserapalous use of slave labor, forced up to its ut- most piteh, it would be impossible at present to con- tinue the cultivation of the sugar cane in Cuba,”? The Diarvo de la Marina states that, from informa tion which {ft has from all the chief producing dis tricts, the sugar crop will this year full thirty per cont, or about 200,000tons short of last season's, THE BARNEGAT COLLISION. It was ascertained yesterday that tho vessel sunk of Barnegat on Friday evening by collision with the schooner Adelaide J, Alcott was the brig Frank Clark, belonging to the State of Maine, She was bound from St. Thomas for New York with a mixed cargo, and ig now a total loss. She went down in six fathoms of water, carrylag to the bottom Captain Samuel Morton and his wite, who were below at the time of the col« lision, and also the first mate, Simpson, All the others on board effec:ed their escape from the sinking brig. ‘The story of the collision, as told to the writer yes- terday by Mr. Charles C. Webrum and Mr. Charles W. Alcott, the owners of the schooner Adelaide J. Alcott, is as follows :— The Adelaide J. Alcott, was pound for Virginia, Ii She was under a two-reefed foresail and ker, ning before a heavy squall in about a southwest direc. The sunken vessel, the surs vivors say, Was running in about a northeast direction, The lookout on the Alcott first saw the red light of the brig. She continued her course, also showing her red light. “Suddenly the brig chan; directly toward the shore and showing her gt when only about 100 yards away. The captaiy of the Alcott, ‘who was at the wheel, immediately sheered off to clear the brig, but a snow squall of considerable violence struck his vessel and he struck the brig a little aft of the forward rigging. In twenty minutes the brig sunk in about six fathoms of water, bow foremost, the stern remaining above water all night, The brig was in the second mate; the captain, his wife and the first mate were below, and were the only persons drowned. Two children we also below, but were rescued with the crew. The schooner remained fast in the gap she bad ploughed into the side of the brig all night, so that the saved persons could scramble on board, and no boat had to be lowered. The Alcott belonged to New York, and is not materially damaged by the collision. The persons saved trom the Frank Clark were the second mate, James O'Neil; the steward, William Regan; the two children, who wore adop' childrem of the captain and whose names are not known, and the following men, who were her erew :—Charies John- son, John Hooy, James Connolly, John Reid and James 0 "The collision occurred about eight o'clock in the evening; the night was band dark and the sea at the time was running pretty hig! BURNED TO DEATH. ‘Tho infant daughter of Thomas Hallahan, living at No, 415 Pearl stroct, was burned to death yesterday morning by her clothes catching tre. The child was tied In a chair near the stove and left alone, The of the little sufferer attracted the attention of but before she could extinguish the flames the infant was beyoud recovery. THE CLOVHING CUTTERS. A mocting of clothing cutters was held at the Tenth Ward Hotel yesterday, to perfect a reorganization of their trade union to keep up the price of their labor. t+ hour move. ment which the Gorman Cabinetmakers’ Union pro pose to inaugurate, THE RESULT OF A ROW. John Breen, of No. 201 Bleecker atreet, received « severe cut in the wrist while engaged in an altercation, with unknown men in a saloon om Carmine street, was sent to Bellevue Hospital } it