The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 29, 1895, Page 25

THE SA FRANCISCO CALL, DAY, DECEMBER 29, 1%95. 25 Now t e canaliis to be equipped | with electrical propulsion for the purpose | of securing more rapid speed in the trans- | portatic of merchandise, lumber and interesting to remember, says w York Mail ana Express, that the | ct. ain. it the Ne canal was once a great passenger route, which, after destroying the coach service | between Albany and Buifalo, was itself | extinguished by the railroads. From 1830 10 1850 there existed what were called swiit | packet-boats, which carried passengers | from the Hudson to the lakes in three days | and two nights. | I'hese packet-boats were some ten feet | longer than those devoted to freight | and two feet narrower. Their bows were | sharper and the lines more slenderly | drawn. Each of the three or four lines | had a distinctive color, being known as ?he red, white or blue packets. The| interior of each boat was fitted up as a cabin on the sleeping-car vrinciple, bert being formed by extending the velve cushioned seats that ran afi‘ong the sides and by letting down shelves above. Ample ‘skylights in the upper deck zave ventilation and light to the cabins, while at night they were brilliantly illuminated by handsonmie swinging oil lamps. A long movable table was built up in the center of the cabin floor for each meal, the kitchen being in the bow, and guests | had to pass dishes to one another, there | being no room for the waiters to pass ! through. The cooking was simple but | excellent. The forward part of the cabin | Wwas curtained off at night for women. On the upper deck the skylights were | flanked by comfortable seats, and there | Wwas an abundance of folding stools. In fair weather passengers passed most of | their time on this deck, paying due and | heed to the warning cry of “‘Low | ven at frequent intervals by the | steersman. Then it was necessary fo sit | down on the deck to avoid a_collision between one’s head and the rustic bridge. The traction power for a packet was fur- | nished by a team of three horses in tan- | dem fashion, the animals being selected for their ability to keep on the trot for two hours. The changes of teams were made with surp g celerity and precision, the speed of the packet being checked for an instant. Stoppages were only made for the landing or embarkation of passen- tboat was met passed it was a rule of *‘the r0ad” that freighters must steer away from the tow path, and, by checking headway, drop their tow lines in the water for the packets to pass over. This enabled the packets to | maintain their rapid speed and so save | time. These packets were largely patronized | by commercial travelers, as drummers | were thea known, while the remainder belonged to the better classes who could afford the expense. The cost ofa from Albany to Buffalo was $12 which included meals for the three One of the delights of the trip was the frequent opportunity for taking a walk. Sometimes it was a chain of locks, such as those at Lockport, or the canal ran in a long loop to avoid a valley or go round a hill or mountain. Then thecaptain would inform his passengers, and most of them would jump ashore at'the designated point and start off for a ramble under the guidance of the purser. He usnally led his charges into a pleasant lane and paths through the meadows for a mile or two, and when the party again arrived on the banks of the canal there were always a grocery and a modest tavern at that point. The purser would then replenish his larder at the first and the passengers could sit on the benches under the willows and | refresh the inner man to their hearts’ con- tent. Captainsand pursers received com- missions from these taverns for “steering” passengers to their doors. In about an our the packet would come in sight, the speed slackened, and ‘“‘all aboard” rang over the fertile tields. Then the tow rope grew taut and the boai rushed on. The great sport of such a trip was the resence of as passenger ignorant of the ow-bridge danger. It was a remarkable fact that whenever the packet approached such a bridge these ‘‘tourists’’ would almost invariably rise from their chairs and stand. “Low bridge!” shouts the he!lmsman; but the words fail on unheed- | ing ears, and then the bridge rushes on its | victim, who goes sprawling to the deck. amidst shouts of ironical laughter from | his fellow voyageurs. The packet-men | were, however, too gallant to allow n! woman to pass through this rough experi- ence, and many a fermale passenger had‘ found herself suddenly seized by a watch- | ful deckhand, who, unceremoniously | seated her in time to avoid a crack on the | head. When the startled and indignant fair one resented this apparent rudeness the man would merely point to the reced- ing bridge and go on attending to his| duties. A packet-boat could carry eighty passen- gers very comfortably. and as the arrivals usually equaled the departures the boats were always full. Many an honr was whiled away listening to the vocal efforts of musical passengers, or the minstrels, who would come on board and “'do a stage’ in bopes of making a few dimes, in which they were successful. Bmoking, reading and games of checkers, chess or cards added to the amusements, but no gam- bling beyond venny ante or penny points at whist or cribbage was permitted. But when the Central Railroad entered the field and ran express trains on rates near those charged by the packets their patronage eradually fell off, and the boats tinally disappeared in 1856, just as the mail conches had gone before them. Those who can remember this method of travel Jook back fondly to the days when they sailed through green meadows and fields of waving corn or wheat, past big forests, rivers and lakes, cities, towns and villages, with no dust to annoy one and no jolts to shake your body. When eleciricity is laced on the Erie canal such boits might made profitable, for they could attain a speed of twenty miles an_hour. ‘As an ac- | commodation line for ehort diktances it would be a boon, while for leisurely tour- ists the route would afford an opportunity for seeing the country not attainable on an express train. MACHINERY OF NEW WARSH‘P‘S. Complicated and Has to Be Handled Carefully. That newly and hastily commissioned fast craft of modern types are, under our present system, peculiarly liable to break down is, unhappily, no fresh discovery. All recent maneuvers have taught the same obyious lesson. Yet, instead of alter- ing the system which is to blame, {he authorities, year after year, have steadily pursued a policy which, as common-sense as well as experience demonstrates, quat be both dangerous and awfuily expensive. We have certain vessels—torpedo-boat de- stroyers and torpedo-boats—the machinery of which is compliceted &nd in parts al- most as delicate as that of the most elab- orate: chronometer, and which is, more- over, quite different in character from the machinery with which, in ordinary serv- ice, naval officers and men bave opp_artn- nities of making themselves acquainted. | Prudence would suggest that such craft should never be intrusted to people who have not especial experience. To put strangers into them to the builders and designe: the personnel, ris to the vessels, antago- i toservice efficiency and costly to the public purse. But, with very few excep- alike unfair | tions, strangers are always put into them, | and that at short notice. It isin complete eonformity with our gloriously haphazard | manner of doing evefything. The very natural result this year was that out of twenty-five destroyers and boats (includ- ing both Dasher and Contest) engaged | thirteen came to grief of a more or less se- | vere kind. It was not the fault of the offi- cers or the men, for humanity is not born | with the heaven-sent gift ot ability to man- | age any strange craft that may be encoun- tered; it was chiefly and mainly the fault of the system. What ought to be done has been pointed ‘out over and over again | by writers and speakers, both in and out | of the service. There should be always a considerable number of destroyers and oats in commission at home and abroad, and all officers and men who may be liable to be called upon to serve in similar ves- sels should be tematically . passed | the year 1886 is of little or no use tows the conduct of a 200-foot destroyer of Boilers are aifferent; engines are diffe: ent; speed is ditferent; turning capaci | different; sea-going qualities are different. Experience gained in a- bath chair would | be about equally useiul toward the proper management of a racing bicycle. And thus, although a few officers and men, in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, do occa- | sionally get some practice in boats of old type, it does not follow that they are much more competent than their fellows who have spent their time in slow gunboats in China or the Red Sea for taking care of a | Bruiser or a Surly. The lesson taught often enough before has been this year so | convincingly illustrated and accentuated | that I cannot supposz that it will be any longer neglected.—Fortnightly Review. A NEW PEDAL ATTACHMENT. Foot Clip for Bicycies That Locks and Unlocks Automatically. Among the mass of new inventions for the general benefit of bicyclistsis a toe clip. Riders have, as a rule, been skepti- cal regarding toe clips, for the majority of them, while having one or two good feat- nres, are defective from the factof being stationdry and requiring considerable prac- tice to secure the feet properly on the ped- als without bending the clip. This new toe clip bas several good feat- ures. The construction is such that when the pedal is notin use and hangs down- wurg the toeclip swings out of the way, so that the pedal may be caught by therider’s foot without any attention being paid to the clip. g The instant the foot is vplaced upon the edal the clip flies up into pesition, where it locks firmly, and when the foot is re- moved from the pedal it turns with the clip on the under side, the mechanism im- mediately unlocks of itself, and is at once ready for further use. By the use of this clip the side guards on the pedal may be dispensed with, as the clip is provided with a metal strip which acts as a guard and which can be made wider or narrower, to suit the rider’s foot. The clip can be readily adjusted to fit almost any make pedal. The construction is very simple, baving no parts to become disarranged or get out of order, and the weight is only three ounces.—New York Herald, CHAIN ARMOR IN THE ARMY. Well-Known Articles of Trade to the Service. Settine aside at once at once all talk about protections that are perfectly bullet- proof, I give you my assurance that an immense number of the officers of our army and navy who go on foreign service, especially when one of our “little wars” is expected, provide themselves with certain easily recognized protections. These, mind you, are well-known arti- cles of trade to the service. The common- est and most msual type of these protec- tions consists of fine but - beautifully tempered’ steel chains, inclosed in soft Jeather, which run along the shoulders, down the outer side of the arms _and over certain parts of the body. These can either be sewn into a particular tunic or they can be adjusted separately and put on like harness. Take it absolutely that bundreds upon hundreds of sets are sold. The most valuable of all chains, in con- nection with accouterments, are those which guard the head, and in cases where the regulation cap or heimet is not suffi- ciently protected in this way specially made chains are sewn inside the same anu covered by the lining. Only those who have beon in actual con- flict know how valuable all the chains mentioned are 1n minimizing the effects of sword. cuts. As regards protection, both from sword and buliet, the general belief of officers nowadays seems to be in thor- oughly tanned leather and great quanti- ties of tight-fitting leatber under-tunics are made for officers, the favorite pattern — said to be the invention of the late B8ir Richard Burton— being that which forms a not too prom- inent ridge down the center of the chest. I have heard innumerable stories from ofticers of bullets which have been diverted dangerousto | AND E&@ M or SCIE&‘E%JRR in some degree by these leather tunics, some of which are lined with woven steel wire. Of course none of these things are supposed to be an absolute protection but only a sort of palliative. A West End gunsmith who sells a great many chain-mail body protectors, which fit almost like an ordinary vest, and are very expensive, sells a large number of them to army men, and he not long sent & gross, as many as he could get made in time, to Japan, where they were snapped up like wiidfire, as he tells me. I have had made on behalf of individual officers, who have themselves drawn the design, a variety of different patterns of what you might call armor, but fine flexible chains and leather have entered into nearly all of them.—London Tit-Bits. BALLOONS IN WARFARE. Rapid Progress Has Been Made in Aerial Science. The balloon that can be steered is no longer & problem of the future; it isan accomplished fact. Dirigible airships have been built by both the French and German Governments, though all data re- | poor soidier be the victim, the living tar- | get of the fight—the king, members of | Parliament and other im | ages concerned in the making of the war | keeping at a safe distance. When such flying-machines become common, as Mr. | Maxim has remarked, the first man to be | attacked will be the monarch or Pre | dent; thefirst building knocked down will | be the royal palace, the second the Par- liament House. | With equal pointedness Mr. Maxim sug- | gests that flying machines would be most | useful for invasion. No hostile man-of- | war can get near the United States now | without a big fight, but an enemy’s bal- loon might enter the country overhead | with perfect impunity. Flying machines lare the only possible defense against | | flying machines. 1f the upper atmosphere |is to be a theater of warfare in time to | come, this Government ought to be pre- pared to play a part. Up to now it has | done nothing. | Enormous sums are spent on coast de- | fenses; the cost of creating and maintain- | ing a fleet of airships would be trifling, comparatively. It is reckoned that if half Eommc person- | ferocious feathered fiends. a dozen batteries, of four balloous each, ment was eminently logical: If nerve ac- tivity did not reach the hair root, it could not affect it. 8 The grayness of hair commences at the hair bulb,where the cells are produced, and rises upward to the tip. Itis caused by a deficiency and the degeneration respect ively of the pigment matter. The celor- ing stuff either gives out or retrogrades. The chemist can performthe same for you in an incredibly short time bf simply soaking your raven or auburn locks, re- moved from the head, in alcohol or ether. An instance of accidental hair bleaching in Switzerland came under the professor’s notice. A peasant boy had undertaken to Tob an eagle’s nest of its young by hang- ing over a mountain precipice, hiscom- rades dangling-him on-a_rope. To pro- tect himseif against possible attacks by the old birds he carried a long sword. The boy had captured his prize, and was about to be pulled up when the parents of the little ones, attracted by their brood’s cries, attacked him with claws and beaks. To ward them off the young fellow struck out with his sword, and perceiving a cer- tain pull in the rope saw that he had hit the hawser, which. hung only by one strand. R Terror seized Lim; he might be plunged in the abyss every second, a prey to the There seemed no hope whatever, tili his friends, by their quick and well-calculated action, succeeded in landing the seemingly doomed boy safely, and a drink of kirch soon revived him.” But when he took off his cap to throw it 1n joyous fashion into the air it was seen that his abundant brown hair had turned white from root to tip. Dr. Alibert tells of a case where a A TOW OF MODERN From “‘Waterways From the Ocean to the Lakes” in Scribner's Magazine for January. Y STEEL BARGES ON W WUy, R, 1 LD g e ety S |phum N7 THE ERIE CANAL. | specting them are kept secret as the grave, says a correspondent of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. For many years past France has maintained a School of Aeros- tation at Meudon, at which experiments are carried on under conditions of the ut- most privacy. Itis koown, however, that cigar-shaped balloons have been made there which *are able {orun ata speed of fourteen miles an hour, and eyen maneu- ver in the teeth of a fairly sirong gale of wind. This is accomplished by means of a very large and light cloth-covered screw propeller, which is operated by an electric motor in the car. Incidentally the Germans have been try- ing to find out what defense could be made against such balloons. The answer seems to be that the strongest and best equipped army would be helpless and at the mercy of asingle airship of the kind hovering overhead and dropping a car- tridge containing high explosives. To fire at 1t with rifle orcannon is hopeless. Ata height of only 1000 feet a balloon is an ex- tremely difficult object te hit. Tests proved that the most expert marksmen in the German army could not strike such a target more than once in sixteen times. Atan elevation of a mile a balloon is wholly out of range of a modern rifle, ow- ing to the attraction of gravity, and no cannon has yet been invented that can be aimed accurately toward the zenith, A first class mortar—the only large gun that will throw a projectile directly upward— will send a ball to the vertical height of considerably over a mile; but to make the shot with any degree of precision at a tar- get moving overhead is out of the question. Projectiles from cannon or mortars, as opposed to balloons, are, therefore, not worth considering. As for rifle-bullets, scores of them might pierce the envelope of the gas bag and yet dono important narm. Such a bullet does not leave a cir- cular hole when it has passed through; the aperture is partly closed by the torn were stationed at different points along | the Atlantic Coast, no hostile squadron | could come within reach of the cities along | the Eastern seaboard. If they ventured | near the ships could be sunk by dropping nitro-glycerine cartridges upon their decks. 1t is by no means necessary that a car- tridge dropped from a balloon and aimed at an enemy’s vessel should actunally strike the latter. If it comes anywhere near, that willdo as well. Fifty pounds of dyna- mite exploded within 200 feet of the most powerful ahif of war would sink it inev- itabl{]. or at least kill every man on board. Furthermore, the cartridge does not have to be dropped from far aloft; it may be | suspended on the end of a long rope and detached at the proper moment, actually | falling from a distance of only 100 feet or | 50 above the doomed craft. Supposing an overcast sky, the balloon might descend into the lower layer of clouds, and, while | half concealed, discharge explosives. A practical use for airships in war has already been found in tne captive balloon, which is elevated to a height of 1000 feet or so, being anchored to the ground by a rope through which a copper wire runs. This wire affords telephone communica- tion with the aerial car, from which the observer gives notification of what he sees. In this way a fall description of the enemy’s formation, movements and forti- fications can be obtained. If desired, the telephone wire may communicate with the headquarters of the commanding general miles away. The whole apparatus is car- ried in three wagons, one conveying the balloon packed in a basket and the others containing cylinders filled with compressea hydrogen gas. When it is desired to make an ascent the balloon is ready in fifteen minutes. Sketch maps may be sent down by the rope. It has been mieested that if the voyag- ers in a war balloon are operating at night and desire a clear view of the camp or forts of an enemy they have only to drop one of the new “illuminating bombs, " which will explode on reaching the earth, f il fg —— edges and not much gasescapes. A balloon containing 30,000 cubic feet of hydrofen can afford to lose a great deal of gas before succumbing through lack of buoyancy, Meanwhile, if weakened, it can float away and then descend. The only possible protection against war balloons is a fleet of war balloons. Sooner or later Uncle Sam will be obliged to build such a fleet, unless he is to resign himself to the prospect of being wiped off the earth. All this, on the face of it, would seem to be a look into the far future; but it is not such in reality. The progress of invention does not pause; it goes steadily ahead, and the navigation of the airisa fact practically accomplished already. In order to render practicable such things as are here suggested, a very little improve- ment is needed. The warships of the future will be air- ships—airigible balloons carrying high ex- losives in small compass, which may be ropped wherever they will work the most destruction. Hovering over great cities like gigantic birds of prey, they will compel subjection on whatever conditions may be prescribed. It follows that the conditions of conflict between nations will be wholly altered. No longer will the A BALLOON SECTION OF BRITISH ARMY ENGINEERS. by e 2 oy each one of them lighting up the sur- roundings with 100,000 candle-power. WHY HAIE TURNS GRAY. Terror, Grief and Anxiety May Change the Color of Your Hair. Professor Pohl contributes an interest- ing article to the New York World on the human hair. Few persons know that the hair is a barometer of a man’s health and character, and that it is influenced by his mental condition from time to time. The hair consists of a root, a shaftand a tip, the latter two being the projecting parts. Its substance is composed of a herny ma- terial containing the pigment granules, which are developed in the root and the color of which depends on the presence of a peculiar oil, sepia tint in dark hair, blood red in red hair, and yellowish in fair hair. While it has been generally ad- mitted that the hair of all mammalia has nerve connection, a similar state of affairs lhu; been aenied with reference to human air the modern physiologists. Their argu- woman’s hair chang'd from black to blonde after a fever incident to childbirth. The insane asylum at Dalldorf, near After afitof After anger. After terror. passion. Human Hair After Mental Excitement. Berlin, harbors a female idiot, aged 13, who experiences alternating fits of com- parative quietude, followed by periods in which she exhibits terrible excitement and extreme nervousness. On her quiet days her skin is dry and her face pale, while during her periods of nervous ex- citement she displays great emergy and her cheeks then are red and her skin is generally heated. The color of her hair changes almost visibly with the temperature of her body; it is a yéllow blonde while her skin re- mains dry, and becomes auburn when she is excited. The change occu's within forty-eight hours and on the third day is at its height. Medical reports set forth that patients suffering from disease of the nerves in the head become gray at the very spots where pains manifested themselves. This change, in. the majority of cases, took place slowly; in some cases it occurred over night. A young man 18 years old, serving in the German army, had been discovered in the act of hazard-playing by his chief. He feared dishonorable dismissal anc spent twenty days in dreadful anticipation. ‘When, finally, his case was passed on, his colonel decided not to punish the young fellow on condition that be promise never again to touch a card. After it was all over a bunch of hairs was cut from the cul- prit’s head to subject them to microscopi- cal investigation. In this counection it should be stated that the growth of hair allows of measure- ment day by day. At an average gonng eople’s” hair grows at the rate of fifteen ines (twelve lines make one inch) g‘er month, but there are exceptions. y young friend’s hair, according to previous investigations, grew only at the rate of one-fourth of a line per day. Taking this for the basis of my examination, says the professor, it was easy to determine on what particular days certain portions of. the hair, which I cut from his head, had formed. I found that, beginning with the particles formed on Juiy 5 and terminat- ing with the formations of July-24 the hair had changed from brown to reddish and light bluish tints, increasing in intensity until, under the microscope, it appeared: almost a yellowish white. The young man’s diary showed that during that period he had gambled, losing steadily. Consequently, his nervous ex- citement grew apace. On the 24th 1t reached its height, and then he found himself vis-a-vis of Nemesis, personified by his superior officer. After that followed a period of quiet.resignation, during which the hair assumed its natural color, but as the day of judgment drew near, in the second week of August, the tint changed again from brown to brown yellow and bluish green. The inference is obvious. A gentleman of my acquaintance re- ceived on October 16 of last year news that his only son was suffering from a fatal malady. On November 4 the patient' was ?fi"l recently. The past lack of | declared to be out of danger. Five days knowl dge accounts for the skepticism of | later I cut a bunch of hair from my friend’s shead, and after conducting preliminary investigations similar to those in the case of the young soldier I let the mlctoscoge tell the story. The formations from the root upward, covering -a period of five days, were entirely normal, those formed between October 16 and November 4 ex- hibited the following tints: Black blue turned red, red turned yel- lowish brown, yellowish brown blood orange, blood orange a light yellow. I also diswverefi another phenomenon in connection with this case. The particie of hair grown on the day when the man experienced a sudden shock seemed to be bent so as to make a flaw in it, and at the concave part of that impression I found a number of infinitesimal corpuscles, appar- ently partsof the hair root. This shows the tremendous force which the nervesand muscles exercise over the hair, a symptom, by the way, which the average individual finds exemplified in the sensation com- monly called “goose-flesh’ or goose-skin. Itis endured asa consequence of sudden fright or terror. The skin of the head for the moment looses its smoothness, the bair roots elevate, the hair itself becomes rigid, the color of the skin is pale. Medical science explains it as follows: The hair tontains certain muscular fiber cells which arisc in the upper part of the corium. As each hair enters the skin ob- liquely, forming an acuate angle with the surface, and as the muscle lies in the cor- responding obtuse angle, its contraction erects the hair, that is, makes it stand up. These goose-skin sensations were ob- served in a lesser degree in certain cases where they could not be accounted for as the consequence of sudden terror, al- lhough the nervous tendency predomi- nated. I know many women who have lived through all sorts of distress and troubles without a hair in their head changin color, while others likewise affectea turn gray at the sides and the fore part of the head at an early age and in_a short time. What does it prove? Simply that the first-mentioned parties retained theirequi- librium, their joyous disposition, while their friends gave way under the burden. FIRED BY THE SUN. A Gun Discharged Without Human Agency. In the paper of last Saturday appeared an account of a strange accident, in which aman was killed by the discharge of a gun while lying,asleep on a lounge in his room, the weapon being discharged by re- flected rays of the sun falling upon the cartridge chamker of the firearm. Since the publication of the story a cor- respondent from York, Penn., writes con- cerning the accident, and refers to a simi- lar case, in which, through the efforts of a clever Cincinnati lawyer named G. C. ‘Wallis, th:e person accused of murder and sentenced to be hanged was set at liberty, the circumstantial evidence on which he was convicted being entirely exploded by & witnessed demonstration as to how the accident really occurred. The York correspondent referred to Volume 13 of the Criminal Law Magazine, page 607, on which a full account of the affair appears. The cast was that of the State of Tennessee against Avery, tried in Henry County, that State, and is one of the most remarkable in the history of criminal jurisprudence. In June, 1887, Charles Ensley, the cousin of a man of the name of Avery, was killed in his room while lying on a lounge, about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The weapon which caused the death was a small rifle, sending a 32-caliber ball, | throueh Ensley’s brain, No one was in the house at the time but Ensley. An empty rifle was found lying on a rack ona wall of the room in which .the killing oc- urred, and the bullet fitted the tube. Avery was arrested for the crime, as he was the only living close relative to Ens- ley, and by his death profited to the amount of about $100,000. Avery was tried, pleaded not guilty, but was con- victed of mnrder in the first degree and was sentenced to be hanged. Heappealed to the Supreme Court and engaged Mr. Wallis to defend him. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Cir- cuit Court on technical errors. Two mis- trials were brought about, and then came the strangest part of the story. The brilliant allis struck the keynote of the mystery. In Angust, 1891, he had the riffe loaded and hung on_the wall. A white sheet with the form of a man marked on it was placed in exactly the same position occupied by Ensley when lying asleep, and a heavy cut-glass pitcher of water, like the one found in the rogm, was placed on the shelf above, The temperature . was ninety degrees in the shade, one of the hottest days of the year., The pitcher acted as a sun glass, and the hot rays of the sun shining through the watar refracted directly on the cartridge chamber of the rifle. Eight witnesses were in the room, and a few miinutes after 3 o’clock a puff and re- port occurred, and the ball struck the outlined form back of the ear, in the exact location where Ensley was shot, and the theory of circumstantial evidence went to pieces. The incident, being witnessed and sworn to, readily explained itself to the jury.—Cincinnati Enquirer. A NEW FUEL. Solidified Petroleum Which Burns With- out Smoke or Odor. A French naval engineer, Paul d’Humy by name, has been exhibiting in Sheffield and Liverpool, England, specimens of sol- idified petroleum. His process is a secret one, but he claims that it is capable of pro- ducing a fuel as hard as anthracite coal, and much more easily handled. In com- bustion it burns without smoke or odor, and leaves a residuum of only about 3 per cent of ashes. The hardened petroleum is neither volatile nor explosive. It is con- sumed slowly and from the outside until it is all burned away, and it is a great gen- erator of heat. Of this consolidated fuel three cubic feet are said to be the equiva- lent of a ton of bituminous coal. ‘Whether this invention shall prove to possess commercial value will depend in some measure upon the economy of its manufacture and of its beat production. The test of these qualities have not yet been completed. n the railways and navigable waters of the Caspian Basin in Russia crude petroleum is the common source of heat production for motors, and it is found cheaper than coal supplied to that locality. In oceanic navigation, and especially on battleships and war cruisers, the advantages of the new- fuel are ap- parent. . It is estimated that 2000 tons of it wounld do_three times the service of the same weight of coal. Here is a saving of space to be used for the stowage of freight. In handling it a large proportion . of stokers and liremen could spared. It would enable war vessels to remain at sea three times as long as they do now without vis- iting coaling stations. These are but a tithe of the gains that will accrue to indus- try and commerce if M. d’Humy’s claims shall be mgde good. His experiment will be watched with a very general and eager interest.—Philadelphia Record. - A Check for Nearly $25,000,000. An unpretentious ceremony, which took place at the Bank of England at i1 o’clock on Saturday morning, affords striking evi- dence of the fact that London is the cen- ter of the monetary world. Here were as- sembled representatives of China and Japan, the former to hand over and tke latter to receive a check for £4,900,000 odd, the price of the evacuation of the Liao-Tong Peninsula by the Japanese troops within three months of such pay- ment. The uninitiated might have antici- pated that the transaction would take place in coin, and that the Japan- ese representative would take away their due in gold in a four-wheeled cab. fortunately, however, there are material difffeulties in the way of sich a primitive Esrgeeedinx. A million sovereigns weigh ,750 ounces troy, which may be roughly estimated as between seven and eight tons avoirdupois, so that, allowing a tonas 4 fair load, some thirty-five vans would have been required for theoperation. The procedure adopted was thercfore much easier. Mr. Horage G. Bowen, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, was pres- ent with a check for £4,900,000. represent- ing the gold which had been paid into the bank to China’s credit.. This check he { i | Un- | handed to China’s representative, who, with a grave bow, handed it to Japan's representative, who handed it back to Mr. Bowen, who in turn walked to another of fice and paid it to the credit of the Japa- nese Government, where it will lie until drawn against. . A few weeks ago a somewhat similar procedure was gone through when China paid £8,000,000 on account of the £32,000,- 000 due to Jupan as war indemnity, and thrice again, it is to be presumed, these gentlemen will meet at the bank and go through the same performance. Of the £37,000,000 which will_thus have been placed to the credit of Japan at the Bank of England, at least £20,000,000 will, 1t is stated on’ good authority, be spent on ar- maments, mainly warships, and of this amount a large proportion will go to Brit- ish manufacturers. *‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. London Graphic. OVER TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD. An Interesting Relic of an Old New England Home. As a specimen of the title work of the long sgo the piece of which the accom- panying cui is a reproduction, is certainly acurio of interest and value. It was res- cued from the vandalism of ignorance by Colonel George Dougias Brewerston, a fine specimen of the olden times himself. The RN Qo STRetd old home of the family still stands, a wreck of its former spl-ndor, in Newport, R. L It is situated on Thomas street, n what is now known as the factory district. It was called Whitenall House then, and bas since been reduced to the condition and uses of a tenement-house. In the large rooms of the old mansion the mantels, or rather fireplaces, were sur: rounded with tiling. When it came under the charge of the present agent, and was transformed into the home of many fami- lies, the delicate art of these tiles was hid- den under an ugly coat of black paint. The one pictured here was rescued with one other from the great dining-room of the house where many a fine feast was spread in the memory of Colonel Brewer- ton. Here Malden, the master of minia- ture painting, gained his first inspiration. He was the uncle of the present possessor ot these treasures, who says be will not part with them for anything. This one, unfortunately, has been_a little damaged, but the exquisite work is well enough pre- served to be appreciated. ORIGIN OF JINGO. How It Came to Apply to Advocates of a War Polioy. The origin of the word “jingo” is inter- esting at this time, when one is confronted with it so often. At the time of the close of the Russo-Turkish war, which, as all readers of history know, terminated so disastrously for the Turks, and caused a feeling of apprehension in England that the Russians were bent on takinz Constan- tinople and the ultimate dismemberment of the Turkish empire, a change whick could not be tolerated, the public feeling found expression in England upon the stage in pantomimes and in the music halls by numerous patriotic songs. One of these was as follows: The dogs of war are loose, and the rugged Russian Bear, il Bett 0 blood and robbery, has crawied out of s lair. It seéms & thrashing now and then will never help to tame That brute, and so he’s ont upon the same old ame, The Lion did his best to give him some excuse To crawl back to his den again—all efforts were no use. He nungered for his victim, he’s pleased when biood is shed Bnthlewa hope his sins may all recoll on his ewn e: CHORUS. We don’t want to fight; but, by iingo, it we do ‘We've got the men, we've got the ships, we've got the money, t00. ‘We fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true The Russlans shall not have Coustantinople. The song became most popuiar and was heard on every street coraer, from every organ grinder, and was whistled by every bootblack. Shortly after this the election cam;nign began in which Gladstone, {he head of the: Liberals, attacked the To party, then led by the Earl of Beaconsfield, who was in power. The Tory foreign pol- icy was ridiculed, and they were stizina- tized by the Liberals as “the party of bloodshed, glory and jingo.” From the time of this election campaign, which resulted in the defeat of the Tories and the accession of the ‘‘peace party,” Gladstone’s 1880 administration, the word “jingo’ has been used to denote an indi- vidual or section of a_party ready to rush, without mature consideration, into all the horrors of war. 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