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THE GOSSIP OF GOTHAM.
Tilt New Confidential Adviser oi
President Cleveland.
Yachting to Be Tabooed—Detail* of
the Incident That Broke Up That
Vanderbilt Party.
Copyright.
New York, Sept. 15.—When President
Cleveland makes anew friend, thesignifl
cance cf the fact is not likely to be un
derestimated. Indeed, as far as New
York politicians of eminence are con- \
corned, the chief magistrate is watched
as narrowly as
.tc-' . thougn he were a
\ medieval despot
Jt/T . surrounded by a
retinue of jealous
JSQf IB courtiers. Who
ffHfv ever is suspected
WaU / of hav in g a !
yjtf “pull” with the |
administration
\ -y ■s.vil,-becomes a |**r
sonage immedi-
Vwv atel.v The very
l"
f' 1 iS' I in tliis direction
’ ' ' is Chief Justice
Fuller. The
thief JusTim Fri.i.Fß. Chief Justice of
the United States is very rarely a politi
cal factor. Administrations may come
and they may go. but the supreme court
goes on forever. Not often does any
President constitute any member of that
august tribunal his personal adviser. But
within the past few weeks a decided
change has been effected, and Melville
V. Fuller is now doubly great.
He an I the President had their first
very nutalne confab not long before the
date of that much-quoted letter to Chair
man Wilson. Subsequently they were
notioed in each other's company on vari
ous occasions, and it was declared that
these conferences were invariably fol
lowed .-b.v some note-worthy public act of
Mr Cleveland.
It required no great stretch of the in
ductive faculty for I lie observers to con
clude that Mr. Cleveland had appointed
an e: Ira ollicial adviser. It was asserted
that lb. chief justice had delayed his de
parture for Yaioc. where lie was to pass
the summer, purely oa account of Mr.
.Cleveland s \ ish to sec him on some im
portant matters. Another theory is that
theTresident whiles to cement bis not
100 cordial relations with Adlai E. Stev
enson in tough the intervention of the lat
ter's v. a r*;h friend. Mr. fuller. The de
termination of the Illinois democrats to
broni Mr. f tevenson has disconcerted
Ulster:] members ol the party, and it lias
been soul that the Vice President has
■been promis'd another term if he will
swing bis followers into line for a man
after ( le.veland s heart.
Fe Ut s as it may. it seems certain that
something is afoot, something out of the
ordinary , and in which the chief justice is
concerned Th, only cause for anxiety
expressed by New Yorkers is that a con
spiracy appears to he hatching to give the
democratic presidential nomination to a
westerner. Ibis booming of western
availability is declared to be Cleveland’s
way of heading off Hill. At any rate.
Chief Justice fuller is a sudden and
unique power in | ofitlcs.
TO YACHT NO MORE.
Yachting has become suddenly very un
fashionable. The veritable craze for it
which ravaged New York's plutocratic cir
cles has quickly subsided iu view of a sud
den lively and
super s t i t i o u s A
dread of -its un- b.ffrw
lucky con se -f
quences. The dif- w' fjk \ \
licuifles of the ”m\ \ \
Vanderbilt fam- / Ljjt \ \ \
lly Teaehed a cli- / mh\\ \
max during that / *ijSH \
famous cruise on t. 'iiSS#] 1
the Valiant. The li fgjjffx \
incident which W VO'/ / i
precipitated the lb j //.
crisis lias yet to tft\\' W'Sffll l/
l>e related in de- Ja.\\ vfbll
tail. It seems ®)MrVA
that by the time m%
the party of (,o
tham revellers
had reached the
■ Mediterranean, a 4 **
w ell defined tm- _ '
pression pr e
vailed that Mr.
and Mrs. William anew source or con
1v . Vanderbilt tention.
were not on the best of terms. One eve
ning tiio. whole party assembled for
dinner. Mrs. Vanderbilt announced
that the yacht would change
her course and proceed toward
the coast of Africa. Mr. Vanderbilt,
from the accounts of this mel
ancholy difference now current in the
plutocratic precincts of the metropolis,
bad already arranged for a cruise along
the southern shores of Europe. This cir
cumstance he announced with more dis
regard of his wife's wishes than seemed
becoming, and as some sort of justifica
tion, he said that “the party” would like
this course better. Mrs. Vanderbilt is
reported us having retorted that, from
personal inquiry, she knew her guests to
be otherwise inclined. The embarrassed
members of the party thus found them
selves a sort of marital battling ground.
Mr Vanderbilt did not have aboard his
fidus Achates, the man who for years has
kept the peace in this distracted house
hold. There seems to have been an ani
mated exchange of personal opinions be
tween the multi-millionaire and his wife,
and as a result Mrs. Vanderbilt arose
from the table and swept away to her
stateroom. She never again appeared at
a meal aboard the Vigilant while her hus
band was at table. It is further reported
that when the haughty lady left the
dinner iu scorn, the other female mem
bers of the party went off with her.
This, however, was not meant as an inti
mation that they sided with the hostess,
but rather as a tribute to appearances,
being meant as an ordinary departure
from the meal, that the men 'might enjoy
the wine anil cigars. But, of course, the
party was broken up. and all straggled
back to New York as best they might.
It is further whispered that not a few of
them are quite indignant at thus being
dragged so far away from home on a
cruise me&rit to be 16rig, and for which
they sacrificed mauy engagements to
make, only to disband amid scenes of dis
cord .
The other great yachting expedition of
the year, that of the Goulds, seems to bo
likewise unlucky Mrs. Gould is said to
be alarmed .over the health of. her eldest
soo and auxions to remain in Eurojie on
his account. But Mr. < iould wants to
come home.- As for John Jacob Astor,
when he goes yachting, he runs into all
manner of craft, and nearly sank u ferry
boat in tlie North river on one occasion.
No. yachtiug is iu bad odor among rich
New Yorkers.
catholics ok new fork to subscribe.
The wealthy Catholics of New Y'ork,
and there are a great many of them, are
preen - t„ contribute liberally to the
i ♦ building of the
A AV ' ‘great cathedral in
V ,AQ Irondon. which,
LJi < utter lieing tirojcct
iQaf'AK&i?JOa , ”<1 some tnirly
JjEZfktwl • ears, is.it is an
" -unced, to be un
—MliXTI i#L dertaken at last.
Xf A - * Ihe sum of tSOU.OU)
rSt L n is already in hand,
•ijjjt— _. _ * having been col
* looted throughout
*•' ...i all Christendom.
and tho site purchased by Cardinal Man
ning during Ids ecclesiastical activity for
something like #275.000, is one of thu most
desirable iu Westminster.
The plans are expected to reach New
j York before many weeks, the architect
j ure being of ancient basilican style, very
unusual in the metropolis of the world.
The Pontiff is quoted as having ex
pressed. through the medium of a letter
to Mgr. Satolli. his conviction that the
Catholics in the United States will con
tribute liberally to the undertaking.
| Those who hare seen Constantine's
Church of St. Peter, at Home, can form
i a very correct idea of what the new
cathedral will look like when completed.
The corner-stone is to be laid next June,
it is announced, and the edifice will seat
8,000 persons, and there is to be a graat
' monastery connected with it.
The building of this immense structure
is additionally impressive as being the
I first occasion in years that the Homan
| Catholic world has been asked to unite in
an international undertaking.
CYCLING GIRLS.
To such lengths has the passion for
cycling in New Y'ork been carried that
the streets are at times positively unsafe.
It is the girl riders who are chiefly respon
sible for this,
since they yield c“TBi
themselves so gv
unreservedly to
the seductions
of the wheel as gfoSSB
to dart a bout
Broadway like ffEaSjfffSHF
ors. Of course,
will be as imper
ative w ith a girl
as he would he
girls who take A
to the wheel are ' ff”
would not do to '
offend. The cos- '-sill
tume worn by \\ Y 9
these cycling '\’*o'
feminines are al
so becoming the new terror.
more and more wonderful. Theiold-fash
ioned blue is giving way to
the searlatine blouses and white
leggins. Now that the society
women are likewise cyclists, the newest
costumes come from Paris, and in not a
lew instances are worth hundreds of dol
lars. It being reported that Mrs. Cleve
land has announced her intention of in
vesting in the newest thing in the shape
of a bicycle, the fame which such a course
on her part will confer on the wheeled
machine may be expected to spread tho
epidemic. As it is, one of the serious prob
lems before New Yorkers is this question
of the bicycle girl anil her tendency to
ride rough shod, or, more correctly, air
tired, over the rights of her fellow crea
tures.
BARNSTORMERS happy.
The army of tragedians out of employ
ment who during the past month made
New York's Kialto a stamping ground, is
gradually dwindling away as one after
another finds
x, - %-T means to bo no
' • longer at liberty.
' The eagerness of
J.'"".** the actor in
I Gotham to part
o — -rr? with liberty on
l-z ,-y-~a Mf " almost any terms
tn/feSaNi is wonderful, and
El WronlWuiujV that they have
disposed of the
I > objections bio
freedom is evi
deneed by the
growing scarcity
of unengaged
business booming. members of tho
profession. Most competent theatrical
authorities look forward to a very pros
perous season, a fact which speaks vol
umes for the general return of better
times. Alf Hayman, the guardian of the
Frohman theatrical interests and one of
the best forecasters of a season in the pro
fession, deems the outlook' very bright.
Rarely have so many elaborate combina
tions been preparing to take the road, and
the amounts invested in them are quite
large. Now it is certain that experienced
managers would not put theso heavy
sums into companies of one kind and an
other without feeling sure beforehand of
some substantial return. The fact that
the country at large is deemed a good
field at this time for the numerous com
panies shortly to go out from New' Y'ork
is pronounced the best possible augury
for those good times sighed for so long.
SBW TORKEBS SEE SNAKES.
Quite a taste for snakes of all kinds has
been developed among Now Yorkers.
There is now a thri\iug trade in them
carried on by various dealers, and the
more dangerous
varieties, such as -A
the boa. the can- Y r .
nibal king and f '' v I ,
the long constric- fe ). — I,—
tors, sell most • I
readily. More ' t "'
than one Goth
amite of eminence !
keeps a cage full jj (. <skwL~!
of hissing ophi- /
dfansin his home. ■ |IV—AA T i** y
The artists were if 1 J Ii
the first to take Il I
up the fad, and l|P§fe3l //
Charles H.Higby, ttnsß \ /.
the export in dec- ' ,1— I
- art. has a [
whole studio full )‘ //
of them. They ' y
have recently // ,
conferred unique
celebrity upon hiobt’s
this young elab- pavohitr snake.
orator of the weird, and his ability to do
almost anything with a tierce serpentine
monster brought biin the other day an
offer from a well known amusement man
ager to enter his combination as a snake
charmer. Higby says he feels insulted.
Some of these snakes cost very large
sums, and only the wealthy can take up
the hobby to un.v extent. However, those
who fear the reptiles in the flesh, are
making up for it by h&vinvr serpentine de
signs introduced into their home decora
tions. It is not likely that this newly
aroused passion for snakes will last ion*
for New Yorkers are quickest to weary
of any whimsical fad. But it well illus
trates the tendencies now prevailing to
take up anything, no matter what, that
promises a relaxation from the boredom of
living upon more money than one knows
what to do with. David Wechsler.
MILLIONS TO A SHOEMAKERS
WIFE.
Partof a Vast Indian Estate Fall* in
a Connecticut Woman'* Lap.
From the Philadelphia Record.
Norwalk, Conn . Sept. 9.—Several mil
lion dollars seem to have fallen into the
lap of Mrs. William Baker, wife of a
stitejier in a New Canaan shoe factory.
There died in England nearly twenty
years ago an uncle of Mrs Bnsine Bore!,
who is Mrs Baker's mother. He had
accumulated an Immense fortune in In
dia, the estate now being valued at £43,-
000,OOP. There were some difficulties In
the settlement, but these have at last
been overcome and Mrs. Uorel recently
received notice of the settlement. Mrs.
Horel is a native of France. Bhe has two
sisters and a brother, and her share of
the estate will exceed £10.000,000. Besides
Mrs Baker, Mrs. Horel lias three chil
dren.
* Our cook disprove* the old saying, I think
that Satan sends the pooka
Disproves It’ Why. 1 think she proves It
she > an atrocious cook ’
’ 1 hat s pist ihe oolnl. If she U come from
Satan shed have known more about cook
Ing."—Harper * Ha. ar
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1X94.
A GREAT POKER GAME.
The Plan to Play it This Antumn in a
Gsfat Tourney.
Thousands in a Jack Pot^What
Famous Men JSave to Say on the
Subject.
{Copyrighted i.
New Y'ork, Sept. 15.—Poker playing has
never involved anything like a severe
mental strain, whatever may be said of
Its effect upon the nervous system. The
literature of the game has heretofore
largely consisted of anecdotal fragments
calculated rather to elucidate the deport
ment of the great in crises of one kind or
another than to afford material for the
pages of the scientific historian. Now.
however, we are on the eve of a revolu
tion fully as momentous in its way as is
that of the earth upon its axis. The
learned societies whose transactions af
ford such delight to all whose livelihood
is connected with the size of printers'
bills will find a rival in the movement
which seems destined to reach a climax
in the assembly of a poker conclave and
The Final Bout.
('empress, of which the published pro
ceedings will mark an epoch in the use of
jack pots.
The whole affair had its origin in the
merest trifle, but so did the Punic wars,
for that matter It was to a New York
enthusiast that the idea first occurred of
a prearranged series of poker games
played in different cities throughout the
country by parties of local chip redeem
ers. To take one town only, say Buffalo.
Six poker players have a game on an
evening to be selected. Each man has #2
in the pot and it takes $5 to open. There
Deing *l2 In the game to start with, it
follows that were four only to stay in at
the opening there would be #52 to win at
the very lowest. Nor need it be pointed
out to a tryo in the game that endless
contingents might arise in which tho pot
would much ex-eeed that sum. However,
let it go, as they say on Coney Island, at
#32.
Now, under the terms of the compact as
arranged, poker players all over the Union
would have united in these little games.
The winner of each does not, however,
pocket his earnings. The #32 in every
case is reserved for a grand fund made up
by the hundred odd games so played
throughout the country. That would
make #3.200 in all. The winning hundred
would meet in convention and arrange for
a now set of winners. Twenty games of
five players each woula be organized.
Each man must put up #2 to a Jack-pot as
befiore, with #5 to open. The limit, it
should be stated, is #5 all the way through
this series of games.
Well, then, there would be a #lO pot in
every instance and twenty of them at
hat. Three men on an average stay in
the game when the jack pot is opened.
That would give twenty $25 jack pots or
To a New York Enthusiast the Idea First
Occurred.
£590 more to add to the original sum of
£3,200.
The twenty men who come out of this
second ordeal as winners now form an
other series of five games of four players
each. Needless to say there would be an
adjournment between each series long
enough to settle differences of opinion be
tween gentlemen and to deter
mine the choice of a referee,
whose decision in all cases must
be final. But when the twenty
survivors get together for their five
games under the same terms as have pre
viously prevailed, it follows that £2 from
each man and £6 to open would mean
£* at least as the pot in each. Five times
£l* gives £9O to swell the sum in hand al
ready.
Now comes the final bout. The five vet
erans who thus come out of these various
ordeals sit down together to a glorious
final game Ihe pot would be £3,290, plus
£3OO, plus £9O. or £3,790. It would still be
a jack, with £2 apiece to come In, or £lO in
all, making £3, *00 to start the game with.
The limit is still £O. The winner of this
final pot pockets all the money.
But it was Willis B. Hawkins, king of
poker pot* and advertising columns,
whose bluffs have made his name a house
hold word wherever such tilings as raises
are known, who not only expressed bound
less enthusiasm over the tournament to
come, but perfected a plan under which
the contest will take place, and which,as
will be seen, materially changes the as
pect of the contest as originally outlined
Here is what the editor of "Brains” said:
"The initial work yf the great national
Jackpot has not all been done as yet. but
it has progressed so far that I can give
you a comprehensive outline of the games
as they will be played. I propose to di
vide the United States into six grand dis
tricts. Kacb of these will be subdivided,
and each of these subdivisions again sub
divided. and so on until the smallest sub
divisions shall represent a population of
not more than 10,000. Games will be
played simultaneously in each of the
smallest subdivisions at a date set
by the governing oommittee. The
six men in each of these sub
divisions who shall first make
application (with a self addressed
envelope enclosed), will be appointed
to play the game for their subdivision.
; Each of these shall ante *2, making the
I jackpot of that district aggregate #l2.
j The winner of this jackpot shall own all
I winnings above the original #l2 in the
I jackpot. This #l2 will not belong to him,
but must be anted by him in the game to
be placed by the second district, com
posed of six subordinate districts That
is to say, the six players of the second
district will ante ¥l2 each, making a jack-
I>ot of #72, and this rule shall hold good
for all the ascending districts until the
final grand uatioual jackpot is played,
when the winner takes theentire contents
of the pot, plus whatever he can win from
the other five luckiest poker delegates in
America.”
Mr. Hawkins was then asked for an
estimate of the amount of the final pot
The great poker sage of the Tribune build
ing replied heartily:
“Oh, bless you. any poker player can
figure that out. I don’t mind intimating
that the winner of the last pot can write
his check in eight figures on velvet.”
It is superfluous to indicate how limit
less a field this concatenation of conclaves
affords to the world of poker players it
opens up a territory in the domain of
jackpots that has never been explored.
Consider, too, the endless variety of
which the scheme is susceptible. The
original £2 of each player may be made
£lO, a sum which would seem a bagatelle
to legions of players since the final pot
3 t) o9s|
/' i tod \
In the Interest of Scientific Societies.
would equal $20,000, and the cost of being
a competitor in the final game would not
exceed SIOO. As all Americans know,
many a man has “dropped” £5,000 in one
game of poker.
“It is glorious, glorious!" exclaimed
Bernhard Gillman, whose genius as a car
toonist does not prompt him to despise
the delights of poker. “When such a
scheme as that is put in operation, as it
surely will be, we may expect such a
wave of popular enthusiasm for poker as
will cause it to become the game of
games. The idea is so simple, yet so
grand, that one wonders it has Dever oc
curred to anybody before. But that is
the way with all truly great inventions.
Their simplicity is their main character
istic!”
“Is poker still worthy of being styled
our national card game?” the eminent
cartoonist was asked.
“Undoubtedly. The fact that its great
simplicity does not involve any intricacy
in pay, and the quiet proceedings of its
devotees have not caused it to figure very
much as a factor iu public discussion
Yet how much we owe to the game after
all! Without poker there would have
been no Bret Harte. It was poker that
inspired those immortal linos beginning:
Which they had a small game
And All Sin took a hand.’
“Then we have the poker story. Our
congressmen and actors owe their greatest
fame to the narrative power with which
they relate poker experiences. Yes,”
concluded the artist, reflectively, “I
think this new idea will make history. It
will cause almost a poker craze, when,
too. admission could he charged to see
these games. The public would flock to
witness such play, especially for a jack
pot of thousands of dollars. The gate re
ceipts would pay expenses.”
It is among gjtors that the tournament
to come arouses most interest.
“You can b't your life,” declared that
famous theatrical manager, Charles
Frohman, when the matter was broached
to him, "that the profession is heart and
soul in this idea. Think of the glorious
possibilities of the thing. lean lust im
agine Nat Goodwin in an affair of that
sort. It would be the- breath of life to
him. He is such a lucky fellow that I
lev 1 sure he would come out a winner.
Think of winning £6,000 or more on an in
vestment of £IOO. Very few poker re
cords could beat that. Then there is
Henry E. Dixe.v. That man has
a more brilliant record as a
devotee of the game than any
living man. with the possible ex
ception of Henry Watterson. In my opin
ion the coming event will be of historical
importance as tending to bring together
brilliant players from all over the coun
try. Moreover, there are certain moot
points In the game which have never been
settled and which the tournament could
determine once for all. How come it, 1
wonder, that while we have had whist
tournaments and euchre conclaves, the
devotees of poker have never come to
gether in national council) Well, we will
change all that it seems, and I am glad of
it.”
“What is your exnerience of the effects
of poker playing on actors’” "I have
noticed that the best actors are lovers of
the game. If you go over a list of the
great names in the profession, you will
find that they are nearly all fond of a good
game of poker.”
The observation of Mr. Frohman ap
plies with equal force to many other
walks of life. Even John G. Carlisle
varies the burdens of the Secretaryship
of the Treasury by taking a hand in a
lively round.
Of course, this series of games cannot
be arranged without some preliminary
negotiation. It will require considerable
correspondence to inugurate the first
play, but any party of six is eligible, and
the stakes must be sent to the committee
selected by general consent. Let, at the
latest, this autumn or winter witness the
final contest, the winner of which may be
pardoned for regarding as a mere babe in
arms that popular character, the man
who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.
A BELGIAN MANDARIN.
The Romantic Career of Chinese Cus
tom Official.
While the young American bicyclists,
Messrs. Allen and Sachtelbeu, wore cross
ing the desert of Gobi, they heard much of
a mysterious and powerful official called
the Ling Darin. No one could tell who or
what he was Finally, as they emerged
from the desert, starved, ill, and ragged,
they were met by a richly dressed man
darin, according to the story they tell in
the .September number of the Century.
He greeted them cordially in clear but
broken English, and, mounted on waiting
horses, they were attended into the city
of Su-chou. “It was some time before
the idea Hashed across our minds that
this might indeed be the mysterious Ling
Darin about whom we had heard
so much. ‘Y'es,’ said he, ‘that is what I
am called here, but my real name is
Splingard.’ He then went on to tell us
that he was a Belgian by birth; that he
had traveled extensively through China,
as the companion of Baron Richthofen,
and had thus become so thoroughly ac
quainted with the country and its people
that, on his return to the coast, he had
been offered by the Chinese government
the position of custom mandarin at Su
chou, a position just then established for
the levying of duty on the Russian goods
passing in through the northwest prov
inces: that he had adopted the Chinese
dress and mode of living, and had
even married, many years ago, a Chinese
girl educated at the Catholic schools in
Tien Tsin.
“We were so absorbed in this romantic
history that we scarcely noticed the
crowds that lined the streets leading to
the Ling Darin’s palace, until the boom of
a cannon recalled us to our situation.
From the smile on the jolly face beside us
we knew at once whom we could hold re
sponsible for this reception. The palace
gates were now thrown open by a host of
servants, and in our rags and tatters we
rolled at once from tne hardships of the
inhospitable desert into the lap of luxury.
“A surplus is not always so easily dis
posed of as a deficit—at least we were in
clined to think so in the case of our Su
chou diet. The Ling Darin’s table.which,
for the exceptional occasion, was set in
the foreign fashion with knives and
forks, fairly teemed with abundance and
variety. There was even butter, made
from the milk of the Tibetan yak, and
condensed milk for our coffee, the first we
had tasted since leaving Turkey, more
than a year before. The Ling Darin in
formed us that a can of this milk, which
ho once presented to Chinese friends, had
been mistaken for a face cosmetic, and
was so used by the ladies of the family.
The Ling Darin's wife we found an excel
lent and even artistic cook, while his
buxom twin daughters could read and
write their own language—a rare accom
plishment for a Chinese woman.
“As guests of our highly respected and
even venerated host, we were visited by
nearly all the magistrates of tho city.
The Ling Darin was never before com
pelled to answer so many questions. In
self-defense he was at last forced to get
up a stereotyped speech to deliver on each
social occasion. The people, too, besieged
the palace gates, and clamored for an ex
hibition. Although our own clothes had
been sent away to be boiled, we could not
plead this as an excuse. The flowing
Chinese garments which had been pro
vided from the private wardrobe of the
Ling Darin fluttered wildly in the breeze,
as we rode out through the city at the
appointed hour. Our Chinese shoes, also,
were constantly slipping off. and as we
raised the foot to re-adjust them, a shout
went up from the crowd for what they
thought was some fancy touch in the way
of riding.”
A BALL OF FIRE.
The Storm at Chicago Accompanied by
a Novel Display.
From the Philadelphia Press.
Chicago, Sept. 10.—One of the rarest of
meteorological phenomena was one ob
served in Austin, just outside of the city
limits last evening. Out of the black thun
dercloud that overhung the town feil a
blazing ball of fire, which struck in front
of the residence of Kev. E. C. Towne, 5,943
Midway Park. Its descent through the
atmosphere was accompanied by most
vivid displays of lightning. In the ground
where the fire ball struck was torn a hole
‘more than a foot wide, and of consider
able depth. The earth was riven for some
distance near this excavation, and tne
soil was hurled away from the base of an
elm tree close by.
This curious and yet terrific manifesta
tion of electrical energy in the air was
seen by many persons. The afternoon
had been sultry, and during the evening
great masses of black clouds came up
from the west and southwest. Suddenly
their came an unusually sharp peal of
thunder—not the deep roll that is so often
heard, but a crackling crash, which
sounded as though the sky were of glass,
and had been shattered by a mighty blow
and the fragments were tumbling in mad
ruin to the earth beneath.
At the same instant the lightning
leaped from point to jioint, clothing every
object In a blaze of intense white light
which changed in the twinkling af an eye
to blackness. At this moment the fire
ball fell. It came through the air with a
hissing sound just as a thunder crash
shook the earth It fell on the ground
near an elm tree, a few feet from the
residence of Kev. E. C. Towne, who was
a spectator of the wonderful phenomenon.
LIGHTNING GAVE HER BPEEOH.
A Little Girl's Hearing and Voice
Restored by a Miraculous Bolt.
From the Philadelphia Record.
Winfield, L. 1., Sept 9.—A bolt of light
ning, which struck John Zelinka's house
last night, restored as if by miracle the
hearing and voice of Mary Fisher, 13
years old. who had been deaf and dumb
over eight years.
The bolt went through a two-foot brick
wall into the dining-room, where Mr Ze
linka, Mrs. Fisher ami her little girl were
discussing the storm It passed between
Mrs. Fisher and Mary. The two sat mo
tionless several seconds, when the little
girl got up, and, pointing her finger to
her ear, said
"Mamma. I hoar that. Let', go home.”
This is the first time, it Is said, that she
ha* spoken since an attack of scarlet
fever left her deaf and speechless
COUPON OFFERS.
Five ~~ w
is about the sum which-the Treasury of Germany
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It seems that 1
Emperor William of Germany
is having a new* crown made for himself, and is mos t
anxious to obtain, to be set therein, the new Cape dia
mond, weighing 971 carats, more valuable than the f a *
mens Kohinoor, and believed to be
The Largest Diamond in the World.
It is known as the “Excelsior,” and is now deposited in
a massive safe of the Bank of England, having been
found last June in the mines of Jagersfontein, Cape
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mine inspector. This dazzling gem is
Fully 3 inches high, nearly 3 inches broad,
and is white, of a very slight bluish tint, with matchless
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Just as the Emperor desires the finest on earth in
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geography, geology, geometry, chemistry, botany, nat
ural history, or a thousand and one other subjects, in
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Any day, every day and all day.
Hitherto you have been asked to pay from S4O to $l5O
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supplying it at a purely nominal price.
Rand, McNally & Co.’s Encyclopedia and
Gazetteer,
in 23 volumes, 800 quarto pages, is now within the reach
of the readers of the MORNING NEWS for 2 coupons
and 10c for each volume. You may call at our counting
room for the volumes, or send the coupons and 10 cents in
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That reminds us that we have not told you much in this
notice, about what the volume contains, and that it does
contain, among the
80 Full-page Colored Maps,
covering every section of the globe, information about the
places before mentioned and thousands of others of which
you may be uninformed. Would it not be well to look
some of them up? The large number of Astronomical,
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Complete Atlas of the World,
give a vast fund of information for which you might
search through many rare and costly volumes without
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glance of the eye. Why not read, in the
Thorough Encyclopedia.
about the production of great diamonds like the Excelsior
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they are found, in the
Gazetteer of the World,
which we give you also? The grandest of the English
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Quite up to date,
with much information not to he found in any other pub
lication. To Illustrate, embellish and add clearness to
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have included, at great expense,
2,000 Fine Engravings*'
The entire work is printed on superior papen in large,
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To bring out the full beauty of the Excelsior diamond it
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get that, in your case, to gain the full benefit of our gen
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The Effect will he Dazzling.
MORNING NEWS, Savannah, Ga.
14