Newspaper Page Text
LADIES’ COLUMN.
Street Toilet of a Japantit rtaiden.
The toilet of a Japanese damsel is a
matter of no light consideration, and to
be in good time for the fair she must be
up and dressing long before sunrise. Her
long, coarse tresses of raven black hai r
must be washed, combed and greased till
the head shines like a knob of polished
black marble; her cheeks must be rouged
to the proper tint; the throat and neck
powdered, carefully leaving, however, on
the nape of the neck three lines of the
original brown skin of the owner, in ac
cordance with the rules of Japanese cos
metic art; the eyebrows must be care
fully rounded nnd touched with black;
the lips reddened with cherry paste, with
a patch of gilding in the center. IVher.
all this has been done, and the layers of
clothes properly adjusted, the “obi,’’ or
huge sash of many colors, tied in the
knot of the prevailing fashion, the clean
est of white socks and the newest of
blacK lacquered clogs put oh the feet,
the belle is ready, and with the proper
allowance of pocket handkerchief paper,
her tobacco pouch, pipe and fan. she
sails forth, turning her toes well in, and
playing in well affected demureness
with her fan. Her mother is likewise
painted, combed and adorned, but not a
vestige of eyebrow graces her forehead,
and her teeth are as black as jet, accord
ing to the rules of married women. Her
father is clean shaved, his “queue,’' or
topknot, smoothly pasted on his head,
and his raiment, new, stiff and shining,
with the family crest embroidered on
back and sleeves. —London. Queen.
til n Woman** l.yiiiiiasiiinr
The first thing that impresses one on
entering the women’s gymnasium is their
air of cheerfulness. Evidently it is a re
gion where no one breaks records, and
whose, occupants disport themselves with
a mind and body equally nt ease. The
effect of the gymnastic suits is rather
nondescript, and the spectator is at first
constantly startled by boyish figures in
blouse waists and Turkish trousers, sur
mounted by feminine hairdressing; and
to an observer of the costuming of the.
Harvard gymnasium, whose only orna
mentation consists of a pair of eye-glasses,
the incongruity is heightened by an active
gymnast with lace rutiles in her sleeves
and bangles on her well-developed wrists.
The feminine taste for adornment is
not to be overcome even by athletics,
and more, than one pair of Indian clubs
are jauntily tied with ribbon. They are
swung in the regulation manner, how
ever, and the girls pull chest-weights and
swing on the flying rings with ns much
skill and less solemnity than their
bro,hers. They are a pretty sight, with
free, easy movements and their fresh
color heightening with exercise, nnd are
especially agreeable to the eye because
of their infinite improvement upon the
school girl of a decade ago.
There still exists schools, such as one
we knew, where, at fortnightly intervals,
the pupils tied their sunbonnets on se
curely, and, under the care of several
teachers, walked down to the entrance
gate, walked back to the gardens, in and
out several times through the prim box
bordered paths, and then walked into
the house again. At the eml of the year
they were bleached like so many stalk s
of celery. It is the good work of the
gymnasiums to make such institutions
anachronisms. Motion Transcript.
FmMoii Votes.
Ilibbons tn gold ami silver brocade
and jardiniere design*, arc very popular.
The newest stud buttons are made of
Imitation old Greek coins in gold or in
silver.
Gilt, lend color and jet l eads are in
troduced in wide bands of serrated
edges.
Some exquisite black grenadines are
beaded with jet woven in, in moyenage
designs.
Soft ottoman silks, gros grain, trico
tine and the faille Francaise are the fa
vorite grades of black silk.
Jet medallions, in close rows, form the
collars of elegant mops, trimmed w ith
jet fringe and passementerie.
A very practical novelty is the new
velvet ribbon bow attached to a clasp
pin. These l ows come in all the popu
lar shades, and are extremely serviceable
as a garniture. A lady has only to pin
and unpin them to apply them to any
toilet that may please her fancy.
The pretty checked and striped silks
make very cool and stylish suits for sum
mer. There are very pretty chine silks
that are adapted to the same purpose.
China silks come in white and all deli
cate tin s, both plain and embroidered
and make most lovely dresses. Em
broidered pongees have the patterns done
in red, blue or brown on the natural
color.
A Great Painter’s Methods.
De Neuviile, the French painter of
military scenes,recently deceased,carried
his love of the realistic so far as to smash
the windows of his studio, tear the doors
off and riddle the walls with bullets.
His models, most of them soldiers who
had made the campaign, were often
nearly suffocated by being piled upon
one another : the horses that came to him
from the knacker’s yard still alive were
shot in the workshop itself, so that they
might fall naturally. All this was to the
great dismay of his neighbors, who, in
the beginning, not knowing what to
make of all this noise, frequently ran to
the police. The guardians of the law in
their turn invaded the premises in order
to prevent what they imagined to be
wholesale slaughter. They only found
De Neuviile with disheveled locks, pis
tol in hand, arranging his scene, and re
tired with a handsome pourboire to wash
down the smoke of the gunpowder, with
which they were almost choked. — Neu
York Tribune.
Summerville (!?njette.
VOL. XII.
THE TRUMPET BLOWS.
The brown clods quicken into creeping green,
The hushed air whispers low,
!>aro boughs burst out in tender, misty sheen,
violets blow;
The orchards blossom sudden like a bride,
And far hills melt in haze,
While golden willows stand on either side
Along the brook's glad ways.
Glancing with quiv’ring wings from bough
to bough
The bluebird finds his mate;
A trill—a dash of piercing melody—
Nry, coy one, why so late/
In every little wood a bliss to ring—
The trembling, fluttering birds;
With rapture satisfied the copses ring,
A joy beyond all words.
To the light kisses of the odorous air
My pulses rise and fall.
Enchanted by that timid touch, awa
Os one who stirs in all.
I, too, am borne by influences deep;
I tremble, like the rose.
Love hath awakened all the world from
sleep—
For me the trumpet blows!
—D. H. R. Ooodale, in Harper.
ALMOST A TRAGEDY,
It might be truly said that a band of
music welcomed them upon their arrival,
for as the hotel coach drove up to the
door, Mr, and Mrs. Winsum, the sole
occupants, stepped out to the tune of
“See the Conquering Hero Comes," one
of the various melodies with which the
numerous guests of the Mountain house
were entertained on pleasant afternoons.
Dark hair and eves, •well-cut features,
broad shoulders, five feet ten. such wa®
Mr. Frank Winsum, who sprang firs
from the clumsy vehicle and assisted a
little lady with golden hair, violet eyes,
perfect complexion, retrousse nose Mrs-
Frank Winsum.
The bridal couple, for such they proved
to be, were received with undisguised
satisfaction.
We were getting tired of the despotic
I control exercised by Mrs. Vandeville, a
I tall, dignified woman, exceedingly
slender, with a Homan nose, piercing
black eyes, and an imperious manner,
which overawed most of us. more particu
larly her husband, a meek little man,
w ho was a terror in his office and a slave
at home.
She had directed the social element of
Mountain house for a month past, and
so completely subjugated its inmates
that I fancy we hardly ventured to take
a drive before consulting her as to the
! best road.
The new people were on their honey
moon trip, and an event of so novel and
I romantic a nature claimed immediate in
terest.
Mrs. Vandeville, who was the mater
nal parent of two auburn haired daugh
ters, eyed the fascinating bride with
cold suspicion.
“Who are these persons?’’ she sard in
a severe tone, looking round her small
I circle of adherents. “We ennnot be too
carefid. We are wives" -this with a
scathing look at her timid spouse—
■‘and mothers.” casting a sentimental
glance nt. her fair progeny, who imme
diately began to whimper; “and it is
due to our families that we should find
out exactly who these Winsums are be
| fore allowing ourselves to become inti
mate with them.”
Although fully agreeing with their
leader that evening, the next day an in
troduction to the enemy completely
routed their prejudices, and one and all
shamelessly went over to the other side
without instituting a single inquiry as
to their antecedents, or, in fact, asking
anything about them.
Mrs. Vandeville accepted the situation
but it was evident she did not intend to
relinquish the field without a struggle.
She had chosen the picturesque spots
for picnics, superintended the ice
cream parties, occupied the post of
honor in all the rides, led the songs in a
high soprano key during our moonlight
, sails: therefore it is hardly to be won
dered at that she failed to yield grace
fully to the younger and prettier woman,
1 but on the contrary cherished a feeling
of bitterness, and determined to be
avenged upon her lovely rival.
We were located aka sort of farm
house hotel almost on the top of the
Murdock mountain in Sullivan county.
There were not more than forty boarders
i —just enough to make a pleasant party.
Before the advent of the Winsums it
was divided, each clique endeavoring to
supersede the other: jealous, and in
many ways quarrelsome. But somehow
this bright little couple soon changed all
that.
They were not well off, that was cer
tain. and occupied the cheapest room in
the house. The bride’s dresses, though
fitting exquisitely, were made of the
plainest materials, here and there trimmed
with a bit of ribbon, which, together
with her piquante beauty, made her en
tirely charming. Th., were both brim
ming over with talent.
Frank possessed an inexhaustible fund
of clever songs, and. with a good bari
tone voice and an excellent knowledge
of music, accompanied biinself to every
body’s satisfaction.
As for little Mrs. Frank, she was
really wonderful. She invented de
lightful games for the children, taught
the girls the newest and most intricate
stitches in crochet, drew exquisite
sketches of the prettiest views about the
. vicinity, and, in fact, proved positively
I invaluable.
SUMMERVILLE, GEORGIA. WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 5,1885.
Mrs. Vandeville became sullen with
.disappointment, and finally declined to
oin us in any of our innocent amuse
. ruanian
Summer waned, as the poets say, and
we were beginning to meet at breakfast
time with questioning looks and “What
shall we do next?” written upon every
face. No one had anything new to pro
pose, and our social circle seemed at a
standstill.
During the week Mrs. Vandeville
maintained a mysterious silence that |
aroused suspicion, and presently vague '
whispers were circulated to the effect
that the facinating Winsums were not j
what they appeared to be; that their as- ■
ection in public was a delusion.
This dreadful rumor demanded instant |
investigation.
As a matter of course, the ladies ques- j
tioned Mrs. Vandeville, while the gentle- ,
men interrogated Mr. Vandeville, who j
nervously admitted that he and his wife, i
hearing strange sounds issue from the ’
AV insums’room, which adjoined theirs,
considered it a duty to society to listen, ;
and in consequence thereof had heard j
the most dreadful things, adding under
his breath, “It makes my blood run cold
to think of it, and you must excuse me,
for I will say no more.”
This was enough. Several guests who
still remained loyal to the Vandeville
colors congregated in that lady’s room
at a late hour the same night, not only
to verify Mr. Vaudeville's statement, but
also to satisfy their own curiosity.
The door of a large closet which sepa
rated the two rooms was purposely left
open, and ordinary conversation could be
easily heard.
Mrs. Vandeville looked virtuous and
important; her husband disgusted and
abashed. A tiny clock on the mantel
chimed eleven. A slight rustling could
be distinguished, and the listeners be
came interested.
i Suddenly a low voice broke the op
pi essive stillness; but the confused jum
; hie of undertones was too indistinct, and
| disappointment was plainly visible on ;
every countenance.
After a few moments of inaudible con
versation, the voices grew louder and
still louder, until, the occupants of
Mrs. Vaudeville's room, in their excite
ment, exhibited signs of immediate be
i traval.
That lady made an imperious ges
ture, and the eavesdroppers listened
breathlessly to the following dialogue:
“I will hear no more, I tell you.
What have Ito live for? I placed my
honor in your hands, nnd how have you
; repaid me?"
“Indeed, Harold, I have always loved
you, always been faithful to you!”
“Harold! "echoed Mrs. Courtenay, the
Vaudevilles’ dearest friend. “Then his
; name isn’t Frank, after all!”
“Hush!”
The stern voice continued:
“Oh, Marion!”
“Marion!” ejaculated Mrs. Courtenay
in horror; “why, she said her name was
Eleanor,"
“Hush!” murmured the assembled
party again.
“Oh, Marion, you dare assert your in
nocence, knowing that I hold the actual
proof of your guilt here in my hand?
What is this letter, but an avowal of
love for the man whom I have taken by
the hand and called friend, and who de
ceives me beneath the very roof we both
, call home?”
“Gracious me!” whispered Miss Mer
ton, a gentle spinster of forty. “He
must mean brother Fred. You know
how outrageously she flirted with him.”
, “Silence!” said Mrs. Vandeville.
“Harold, have mercy; do not shut me '
, out from your heart. See, upon my
, knees I plead to you. In memory of the
many happy hours we have been to
, gether, listen to me, and jl can explain
. all.”
■‘How dreadful!” gasped Miss Mer
ton: “and they pretended to be a bridal
couple.”
- “Enough! not one word. To-night
> you leave me forever.”
5 “Oh! this won't do at all,” cried Mr.
Courtenay, who was usually an extreme
’ Iv quiet and punctilious man. Seme
1 thing must be done. The propriety of
this establishment ought to be main
s tained. A departure at such an hour
would be ruinous.and create disagreeable
- gossip. Mr. Vandeville,you must knock
> at these people’s door and tell them all
1 is known, that no scene will be permit
ted. To-morrow they will be more than
* welcome to take their leave; but by al|
means beg them to make no disturbance
at midnight. We will follow and in-
1 dorse anything you may consider proper
i to say.”
. The party fell in line, and in another
I moment were facing Mrs. Winsum’s door,
r from whence a faint cry was at this in
stant audible.
Emboldened by this sound, Mr. Vaude
ville rapped hastily, and a hearty “Come
I in!” responded.
Pushing her husband aside, anddraw-
• ing Mr. Courtenay by the arm, Mrs. Van
deville entered the room, followed closelv
by the remainder of the party.
, The picture that confronted them was
. decidedly embarrassing. Frank Win- 1
sum, comfortably ensconced in a capa-
> ciou- rocking chair, held his small wife
upon his knee; her fair arm was about
. his neck, her golden hair mingledwith
- his chestnut curls as their two heads bent
over a yellow covered book.
“Oh, my!” said the little woman,
springing up; “is this a surprise party?
’rank, dear, put on your coat,” and,
with her face suffused with blushes,
she rattled on: "You see, we came to
our room early this evening, because
we were getting up a little plan for
something new; so we’ve concluded
it would be a good idea to arrange a
series of private theatricals; but, as
you've caught us reading over a play
book; you shall be taken into the secret
at once; therefore,” —with a dramatic
gesture—“enter all and choose your
parts. ”
“f think, my dear Mrs. Winsum, that
we already have the characters best
suited to us,” said Mr. Courtenay, who
was honestly ashamed of his share in
the conspiracy.
“Why, I don’t understand you. What
characters do you mean?”
“Those of busybodies and fools;” and
thereupon the whole story camo out.
The next day tw-o trunks marked
“Vandeville” were conveyed to the sta
tion. Mr. and Mrs Winsum became
I greater favorites than ever, and a roar
ing farce was the only result of what
had promised to become “Almost a
Tragedy.”
Scenes in Sonora.
Around these oases, says a letter
Sonora, Mexico, were scattered a fbw
mud huts, often merely a roof of dry
branches supported on crooked tree
trunks. Sometimes an adobe house
; with heavy wooden trellis-work over the
openings, a brick roof covered with a
foot of clay, and the whole whitewashed
represented the casa mayor of the ran
cho. Within reach of the water wo
i could see a few rosas and nulpas (corn
patches tilled, the first with a species o
hoe, the second with a Mexican plow
but beyond this no sign of cultivation
could be discovered. The yellow grass
of the prairie seems, notwithstanding
the apparent dryness, to be excellent
fodder tor the cattle, which many
were grazing near the railroad
line, and ran away as we camo
near. There is no murrain, no diseases
of any kind to frighten the ranchero.
Provided the rainy season has been a
fair one, he knows that his herds are
multiplying and arc in good condition.
If there has been but a slight fall of rain
he must simply drive his stock nearer
to the next river. For himself and his
household he has raised enough corn to
: last until the next crop; he has as many
chickens as ho will want, a few pigs,
and now and then he kills a cow or an
ox, which gives him meat enough for a
month or so; and from the grease ho
makes the dozen candles he requires (the
fibre of the weasel makes a very good
wick). His saddle is still in good order, ho
has a carbine, an imitation Smith and Wes'
j eon, a belt full of cartridges, anil a good
mule. By selling a cow he can buy
enough cotton to clothe his family and a
l little coffee and panocha (brown sugar),
which are his luxuries. Once a year ho
can indulge in a new hat. Beyond the I
above ho has nothing to wish for. Ho
looks with astonishment at the passing
train, and wonders at the stupidity of
people who crowd the occupations of a
week in one day. What is the use of
going so fast? If you get through with
so much to-day, what are you going to
do to morrow? Following this line of
philosophy, he prefers to ride along the
road within forty yards of the rail track,
and prefers supervising his pack train
himself to taking a ticket, checking his
luggage, and having nothing more to
occupy his mind. After all he may b
right.
American Fables.
A Fox made a call on a Peasatft and
asked his Advice about Reforming from
his Evil Ways, but in place of any Words
the Peasant gave' Terrible Whack
with a Long-Handled Shovel.
“How can you Explain such Outrage
ous Conduct?” demanded the Fox, as he
limped out of reaching distance.
“Experience has taught me,” replied
the Peasant, “that Reformation is most
always letting go of Poor Mutton in
order to grab for Sirloin Steak. As a
Reformed Fox you would let my Old
Hens alone, but go for my Young i
Geese.”
Moral: The Fox was Working for
both chicken and goose.
Tire cooper’s complaint.
A certain Cooper who made many
Barrels went before a Judge and desired
to Lodge a serious complaint against the
i Family living next door to his Shop.
"The sound of their Mill grinding
Coffee at noon gives me a Chill,” he
complained, “and I ask for an Injunc
tion to Suppress the Noise. They have
no Right to Disturb my Peace.”
“But you maintain a continuous
Pounding from 7 in the morning to 6 at
night,” protested the Judge.
•‘True, your Honor, but mine is a case
, of Necessity, while they can drink cold I
Water in place of Coffee.”
“And by the same line of Reasoning
we can put our Flour in Sacks instead
of Barrels. Your Injunction will not
Lie—costs, 111.50.”
Moral: Our Hens never Annoy the
Neighbors, but how awfully the Neigh
bor’s Dog does Rack our Nerves Free
Press.
Fellows who paint the town red over
night are liable to feel blue in the police
j court in the morning.— Siftmge.
LIFE IN AFRICA.
<neer Incident* ot Travel Among I
Wild Tribe*.
When an African chief travels he
takes the whole or a part of his house- i
hold with him. The simple aborigines,
therefore, are apt to look upon the soli- •
t«ry white traveler who wanders through |
their country without a single wife in j
his train as a suspicious character. They
are quite sure he needs close watching to
prevent his running off with some of the
females of the tribe. Dr. Barth, the ex
plorer, said, after living five years in
Africa, that it would be better for a trav
eler in those regions to take his wife
with him, if possible. He said the na
tives would respect him more, and he
would get along better. “They had
nothing to object to me,"he wrote, “ex
cept my being a bachelor. ”
If the traveler has no wife the native
chiefs, as a rule, are not backward about
offering to supply the deficiency. Nearly
all the explorers have had some annoy
ing experiences with kings who were
anxious to have them settle down, marry
into the royal family, and grow up with
the country. Some travelers have felt
compelled to leave very abruptly in order
to escape the attentions of women who
were determined to detain them as their
husbands.
Dr. Buchner, the German traveler,who
lived for six months at the capital of
the Manta Yanvo about five years ago,
was in»ch distressed by the deep inter
est with which ho had unwittingly in
spired the sister of that Central African
potentate. He describes her as a mid
dle-aged and remarkably unprepossess
ing person of great avoirdupois. She j
insisted that Buchner take her for his
wife and settle down comfortably as the
joint proprietor of her extensive herds I
and fields. She importuned him so fre
quently that he was glad to escape her
nt last by quitting the country.
One of the daughters of the king of
the Ainbuellas, near the Zambesi river,
fell desperately in love with Serpa Pin
to, the Portuguese explorer, who re
turned to Africa a few months ago. Her
elder sister, who ably abetted her matri- '
monial designs,was very indignant when ’
Pinto refused to marry the young girl.
She wanted to know in the shrillest of
tones, if there were any prettier women
in the country he came from, and what
sort of a man he was anyway. The
sharp-witted wife of one of Pinto’s por
ters heard the row and entered the hut.
Assuming an air of great indignation,
she told their royal highnesses that Pinto
was her husband, and they had better let
him alone. She bundled them out of
the hut, and Pinto and his party left
curly next morning to avoid any further
complications. In the picture Pinto’s
book contains of the infatuated young
woman she appears to be quite a fine
specimen of an African beauty.
Explorers have learned by experience
that it is best to permit their porters to
take their women along with them, even
if their journey is to be thousands of
miles in length. When a carrier has his
wife with him he is not likely to run
away. Beside the women carry bur
dens nearly as heavy as those of the men.
They wash and cook better than the
men, endure fatigue better, carry their
burdens more cheerfully, and work for
less pay. African women have proved
valuable adjuncts of nearly every expedi
tion that has penetrated the continent
in the past ten years.
Mr. llore, a missionary on the great Lake
Tanganyika, found near the southern
coast three years ago a flourishing tribe,
whose ruler was a woman. She was a
good-looking negress, nearly forty years
old, and she was attended everywhere
j she went by a train of fifty ladies in
waiting. Mr. Hore was the first white
man Queen Mwema had seen, and stie
thought she would like to have the pale
faced stranger permanently near her res
idence. She begged him to live in her
town, and when he insisted that he
could not, she did not let him go until he
had promised to send some of his breth
ren to reside in her district. The queen
I said she would give them houses and
. plenty of land. At last accounts a mis
-1 sion station was about to be established
in Queen Mwena’s town.
The late King Mtesa, whose subjects
inhabit the beautiful shores of Lake Vic
toria Nyanza, made a unique response
when a missionary applied to him for
i food supplies two or three years ago.
j He listened in silence to the good man’s
petition, and then sent an attendant out
into the streets of Rubaga with instruc
tions that the missionary did not hear.
Presently the attendant returned with a
dozen damsels of Uganda in his wake.
Then his majesty informed the poor mis
sionary that he was tired of supplying
\ him with food. He had concluded to
j present him with these women as his
| wives. They would plant his garden,
; prepare his dinner, and support him very
handsomely, and he musn’tcome bother
l ng around the place any more. Mtesa
was very angry when the missionary dc
; dined to accept this w holesale matrimo
nial offer, lie told him to shift for him
; self, and the poor fel.ow and his com
i rades would doubtless have had to flee
from the country if Mtesa’s envoys to
England hadn t opportunely returned
with such wonderful stories of what they
bad seen that the politic despot thought
I it best to keep on good terms with the
NO. 29.
whites, He restored the missionaries to
favor. Last year all his daughters were
I permitted to receive religious instruction,
' and one of them, who was converted,
now occupies as king’s sister, a position
of large importance and influence among
the Waganda.
On the great interior plateaus of Afri-
J ca, whose inhabitants are generally much
superior in mental and moral develop
ment to the coast negroes, the men ex
hibit a good deal of affection for their
women. Livingstone, who usually speaks
of African women as ‘ ‘ladies, ’’makes many
allusions to this fact, and so doSchwein
furth, Burton, and other explorers. The
red-skinned Nyam Nyams are as noted
as the Zulus for their intelligence and
bravery, but if any of their women are
captured by an enemy they will make
any sacrifice and incur any disgrace to
get them back again. The coast negro,
however, appears to know neither love
nor jealousy. Mr. J. Menteiro, who has
lived for many years on the west coast,
says that he never saw a negro there
manifest the least tenderness toward a
negress, or give or receive any caress
that would indicate the slightest loving
regard on either side.
It is to the credit of the natives that
the white women who have entered the
depths of Africa with their missionary
husbands have almost invariably received
kind treatment. If they could endure
the climate they had nothing to fear
from the aborigines. Mme. Tinne is
perhaps the only white female traveler in
Africa who has been killed. She wan
dered in safety among the blacks of the
upper Nile, but fell a victim at last to
Mohammedan fanaticism. Travelers
i say they would often be unable
to make any progress whatever
; among the most savage tribes if
they were not able to convince
the natives that they possessed super
natural powers. A few conjurers’ tricks
will often open the way among savages,
who would fight the explorer if they did
not think he could bewitch them all.
Young Thompson, who recently came
back from the Masai country, traveled
far on his reputation as a man who could
j take his teeth out of his mouth and put
them back again, lie had two false teeth
on a plate. When argument and en
treaty availed nothing, he had only to do
the teeth act to get about everything ho
wanted. A chief south of Lake Nyassa,
i who had never seen glass, became the
warm friend of a missionary whose watch
he was examining. He could see the
hands right before him, but he couldn’t
put his fingers on them, and he thought
the. white man by some occult power
kept him from touching them.
Some petty chiefs have been in the
habit of appearing before explorers and
personating their sovereign the Big King
for the purpose of getting a handsome
' present. The explorers have found a
' means of exposing these frauds. As a
I rule, none but great chiefs are allowed
to possess gaudy or Dt/ghly-colored
cloths. If such goods are offered to a
sub-chief who pretends to be the king
he refuses to receive them, and stands
; revealed as a fraud. Consul Elton car
ried a quantity of red velvet with him in
I his travels through East Africa. He says
he reserved the velvet for great chiefs or
impostors, and that in both cases it
answered admirably.— New York Sun.
■ Guns That Burst Easily.
Tn bravado a young man placed the
muzzle of his fowling piece under the
I water and fired the charge. The result
was the bursting of the barrel near the
I breech, and the mutilation of his hand.
Another placed and held the muzzle of
his gun square against a piece of plate
window glass and fired the charge—
powder and bullet. The glass was shat
tered, so was the gun barrel. Another
instance was that of an experimenter
who had heard that a candle could be
fired from the barrel of a gun through an
inch board. He drove a candle into the
muzzle of the gun. fired, and the ex-
I plosion split the barrel almost its entire
length,and did not even drive the candie
from the muzzle. Still another burst of
a gun-barrel was caused by the use of
wet grass as a wad, well rammed down
' over a charge of shot But perhaps one
of the most singular exhibitions in this
line was a Colt’s navy revolver, which
some years ago was sent to the factory
lin Hartford, Conn. This was before the
adaption of these pistols to the metallic
cartridges, and it is probable that in
loading with open powder and ball only
a small amount of powder got into the
, chambers, and the bullet was not pro
1 polled with sufficient force to drive it
from the muzzle; at least the bullet did
not go out, but lodged. As the shooter
i did not know whether the bullet es
caped or not, he kept on firing until the
( barrel burst or bulged, and when it was
sawed in two longitudinally there were
found fourteen bullets wedged one into
the other, and so much “upset” by the
hammering of the successive explosions
or the powder charges that some of them
were not less than one inch in diameter,
flattened dies instead of conical bullets.
—Manufacturer and builder.
The territorial government of Dakota
j has offered $5,000 for ihe discovery and
development of a mine of anthracite coal
in that territory, and prospectors are
i busy.
Ono Day.
Ono day—some day—l know that wo sbsd
meet,
Ah, well T know:
That day, loit love, wilt thou seem just an
sweet?
Nay, nay, not so.
Yet let us meet. That day I shall not tear
To hear thy tone—
To take the oft-kibSed hand, once found so
dear,
Within mine own.
I shall not tear to look into those eyes
Where Love’s light glowd,
A signal star new risen in the skies
To jx)ir»t my road. '
Then let us quickly meet—l have no fear—
Os that old bliss—
Meet as friends meet. Yet, oh, come not too
near—
Let us not kiss.
I do not fear thy eyes, thy grace, thy tone;
But woo is me,
TLy tender lips might make mo all thine own
Who now um free.
—Philip Bourke Marston.
HUMOROUS.
Be content with your lot, especially
if it’s a lot of money.
“We meet to part no more,” said
the bald-headed man to his hair brush
Women are not inventive as a rule
They have no eagerness for new
wrinkles.
Mrs. Partington said that a gentle
man laughed so heartily that she
feared he would have burst his jocular
vein.
The base-ball umpire now prepares
Himself against disaster,
And lays in quarts of arnica
And yards of sticking plaster.
An Austrian naturalist has discov
ered the nervous system of sponges.
It lies in the vicinity of the pocket
book.
They say that canvas-back ducks fly
at the rate of two miles a minute, but
this probably means after they get into
a restaurant.
“Why conies not my lover to me?’
wails a poetess in a Chicago paper.
Ten to one he’s at the skating rink
With another girl.
There won’t be any white elephanr
in the circuses this year. The price
of whitewash has advanced until the
business won’t pay.
A book agent went into a barber
shop and asked the proprietor if he
could sell him an encyclopedia. “ What
is it like ? ” asked the barber. “It is
a book that contains exhaustive in
formation upon every subject in the
world.” “ No,” said the barber with
an injured air, “ I don’t need it.”
The Evolution of the Horse.
I remember having seen somewhere
a picture of Adam in the garden of
Eden riding a barebacked mustang, a
lion gamboling by his side. But in
holy writ the horse appears in only one
aspect—-as the war horse. “He saith
among the trumpets, ha! ha! and he
smelleth the battle afar off, the thun
der of the captains and the shouting.”
In Genesis the name does not occur at
all. Nor, as a matter of fact, could it
do so, seeing that the first “horse
(the first that science knows of) was
a little, five-toed, sharp-nosed creature,
much too small for a man of even our
degenerate stature to ride upon, and
otherwise also unsuitable for a steed,
and it is, therefore, very probable that
“the first man” never was on horse
back. Yet the use of the animal dates
back to a prodigious antiquity. The
Assyrian sculptures show us high-bred
and carefully caparisoned chargers
3,000 years and more ago. Nor is it
at all likely that they were the first to
train them, for the horse is a native of
central Asia, and the early Aryan is
hardly likely to have wasted such a
useful beast. At any rate, that per
fection to which the extremely ancient
Assyrian monuments show us that the
breeding had attained some eighteen
hundred years before Christ must cer
tainly have taken a long time in de
velopment. — Gentleman’s Magazine.
Ivy on the Walls of Houses.
Land and Water has done a use
ful service in pointing out the fallacy
of the widespread belief that ivy train
ed against the walls of a dwelling
house is productive of damp walls and
general unhealthiness. The very oppo
site of this is really the case. If any
one will carefully examine an ivy-clad
wall after a shower of rain, he will
notice that while the overlapping
leaves have conducted the water from
point to point until it has reached the
ground, the wall beneath is perfectly
dry and dusty. More than this, the
thirsty shoots which force their way
into every crevice of the structure
which will afford a firm hold, act like
suckers, in drawing out any particles
of moisture for their own nourishment.
The ivy, in fact, acts like a greatcoat,
keeping the houses from wet, and
warm into the bargain. One more vir
tue it has, in giving to the ugliest
structure an evergreen beauty.— New
York Evening Post.
A Cautious Man.
He was a mathematical chap, and
always engaged in making intricate
calculations on paper. The marriage
was to take place on Friday, but he
suggested to his prospective mother
in-law that it had better take place c»
Thursday.
“Why do you wish it changed?” she
asked suspiciously.
“Well,” said he, “I have been mak
ing a calculation, and I find that my
silver wedding will come on Saturday
evening, and that would never do, as
that is the evening I have to go to the
lodge.”- Siftings.