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A CHILD'S LIFE IN INDIA.
AN EXISTENCE NOT AT ALL LIKE
THAT OF YOTJNG AMERICA
Sons of the Poor Have Few Games
and 1 Besin Work Early —The
Hard Fate of Girls.
The young folks of India, says Thomas
Stevens in tiu whine, are a very interest
d““ : bJj“y ‘o? 1 1 aJd'humSe
bora poor
parents, tillers of the soil, his life is
more like the existence of some domes
tic aaimal than a human being. he allowed
During his early «e-h«ad youth d and is qmte
to piay b e
naived, i in tlie terrible beat or the In
sun, from which he seemed to derive no
harm. His head is shaved, and the
fierce suu glares down on his shining
pate with a force that would give an
American baby sunstroke iu an instant.
He delights to roll about in the hot
dust, and in wet weather, to make mud
pies, b.iild mud bridges, and dam gut
ter». In the vicinity of his home iss re
to be a tank of water, and in this he
paddtiu .“about India In fact? village the is Lvfrage almost
small boy in an
an amphibian, living in the water very
nearly as much as on the land.
He has few games to play, and no
tovs to speak of, but amuses himself iu
the way 1 have described. He grows up
like a rank young weed, a strange respects, creat
ure, brave as a lion in some
and timid as a hare in others.
As soon as he gets big enough to do
anything he is packed off every morning
to take the goats and cows to graze in
the jungle. These jungles are full of
venomous snakes and wild animals.
Thousands of little Indian boys are killed
by the bites of thousands poisonous reptiles killed every and
year, and other are
devoured by wild animals. The boys
get so accustomed to all these things
that they soon become quite fearless of
the dangers of the jungle. They walk
about quite naked in the long tiger-grass their
that waves many feet higher deadly than
heads, well aware that serpents
abound, and tigers lurk tor their prey.
Yet these same youths would very likely
scuttle off like rabbits if they saw a
white man coming toward them.
The life of the little Indian boy of the
poor village classes is very hard. He
knows nothing of the pleasures, the
games, the jolly times of the American
boy. From the time of his birth, till he
is live or six years old, about the only
difference between him and a young
goat is that he eats cooked food. Very
primitive fare he gets, too; from one
week’s end to another he tastes nothing
but milk and coarse, heavy pancakes, his
called ehuppaties. From this age
life is one dreary round of drudgery.
The little Indian boy is prematureLy old
fashioned. All work and no play sub¬
dues boyish spirits, and you see all the
youngsters of au Indian village squatting
ou the ground in the evening, old
intently to the stories of the men.
The boys of the larger cities, where
life is more active and stirring, are well_ a
little livelier, and the children of
to-uo parents fare better, of cour-e.
have seen some very curious capers cu
by the swarms of Indian youths in the
streets of a city.
SomeHmes I used to see little
with three streaks of red or white pig
moot on their forehead, making them
look very mu. h like small clowns with
painted faces. These voungsters
the children of Brahmans, or priests,
re^a: ded as more holy than the other
chddren, with whom they must not play
or associate with too closely.
youths are taught from early infancy to
believe themselves holier than children
who are not Brahmans, and to keep
themselves apart a$ much as possible.
Therefore, in the streets, you see the
children divided into cliques or casts,
some groups are all Brahmans with
painted faces, in other groups are no
® r ^ m ^ nS at ’
1 he boys of wealthy nt, Hindoo tt* a par n .
lead quite a differen t life from the
ones. A Hindoo father, rich, rarely
refuses anything his boy might wish .to
Many of the sons of rich Hindoos re
ceive a fair amount of education these
davs; some are sent away to college, "private and
others are taught at home by
tutors. Of late years, too, tne English
Government has encouraged education
among the mass of the people; schools
are being established all over the country
where ambitious youths may learn to be
come clerks, accountants and writers,
Many children of the middle-classes are
sent by their parents to these schools,
and it is to be hoped that by and by
even the children of the poor villages
”*Tlw'life of‘the*little’Hindoo‘girl darker than that of ia her a
great deal
little brother. Girl babies are thought very
of in India. A few years ago
some of the high caste Hindoo tribes
tribes were not holy enough to marry
them should they allow them to grow
up. This cruel custom has been put to
a stop by the English Government aa far
as possible. But many thousands of
gm-babies are destroyed every year,
even now, in secret.
The little Hindoo girl 33 married by
her parents, sometimes before she is a
by‘their 8 Xng 8
ried parents before they
are old enough to know anything about
such things. And stranger still,although
chU J d“n J thev maTnever seTevIfon elLh
other Hntil they are grown up*.
These are curious arrangements from
our standpoint. But the most curious
things about these marriages, and the
saddest is that if her husband dies the
widow is never allowed to marry again, India
There are hundreds of widows in
Uss than five years old—yes, thousands
of them! And these poor little mites of
girls who have been married and made
widows, without their own knowledge
or consent, have to remain widows all
their lives, mourning for husbands whom
they never saw!
NEWS AND NOTES FOR WOMEN.
The ostrich feather is again in vogue.
fashionable. Applique trimmings are exceedingly
L h ? s “2. emums " e cor ‘
8a 0
Br° c * d ' s are in increeied demand for
evening dresses.
Bracelets and bangles are on the top
wave of popularity.
White angora sets are once more de
cidedly fashionable.
Round waists and belted waists are
popular r f or home dresses,
A J¥ tl .J nde . drcSS , Was de ,
signed . by the “°n bridegroom. # *
Kate Field’s latest lecture is on “Tho
Gospel of the Grape.”
Persian and oriental patterns lead,
both in silk and woolen goods.
Q ord of heavy tinsel and is used to edge
th(J brim8 of fe!t fiats bonnets.
Dark velvet hats in Directoire or Gains
borough styles are very much worn,
House dresses for afternoon wear are
now made just long enough to touch the
floor,
Belva Ann Lockwood sent a congratu
latory telegiam to Piesident-elect Har
rison.
In Bcveral places in the West large
bee farms are managed entirely by
women.
Mrs. Harrison wears a bustle and is a
firm believer in the practical value of
that article.
Basques are simply shaped at the
back, while the fronts are most elabor¬
ately trimmed.
Some of the new tea gowns are trim¬
med down the front with a band of
ostrich feathers.
In this country the practice of phar¬
macy by women is likely to make great
headway before loDg.
Ex-Queen Isabella of Spain, devoted who now
lives in Paris, has become to
the American game of poker.
Mrs. Albert II. Moore, a noted Phila¬
delphia society leader, is tbj possessor
of diamonds valued at $50,000.
Beaver cloth raglans, trimmed with
braid and fur, are the popular winter
morning wraps for young ladies.
this Ostrich feather muffs arc imported
season to carry with ostrich boas
that are worn with dressy toilets.
“The high heel is going,” says au ex¬
change. Yes, it-ds always goiny. It
clatters on the pavement all day long.
Close-fitting sleeves, reaching nearly
to the elbow, are still very fashionable
and are made in lace and beaded tulle.
Velvet is to be more popular this sea
son than ever, many very elegant toilets
being made up entirely in this material,
Mrs. Cleveland has become an expert
w fifi the rifle, being able to hit the bulls
eye g V e times out of seven at 200 yards,
The women of Birmingham, England,
kave receat i y presented Mrs. Gladstone
w ith a cameo portrait 1 of her famous hus
ban( j
A late fancy is the use of two furs in
the same f garment, as cape of seal with
collar an( epaulet * of Persian lamb, and
.
’
One of the most .... fashionable ,, combma
turns for evening wear this season wi l
be t be revival ot the old Continental coi
ors - bub an( ^ blue,
Belted blouse waists of the surah silk
or jersey wool are worn by young girls
and misses, and are similar in style to
those worn by ladies,
if Queen Victoria were a private lady
she would be known as Mrs. VVettin, that
fieing the family name of her late bus
band, Prince Albert,
gcciety people wiU Charleston, be shocked to
learn that down in s, C.,
tke co i ored boys braid their mules’ tails
j . ^ chrysanthemums, J
.
| in variety forms,
a of new usually inclos
in = P' ain * narrow vests,
Gimps and galioon3, dull silks and
moires and broad and narrow ribbon are
now the favored dress trimmings. Plush
and velvet, are seldom used.
The best blankets made in this country
come from the manufactory of a woman
in northern Vermont and bring a higher
price than any other brand.
The richest black costumes have &
skirt of velvet with a Directoire coat of
brocade that has figures so large that one
deg jf, n covers the entire breadth.
The most approved bodice, b, tailor
?°“. 8 resembles those of riding
bablts in c ? t * fbey differ greatly,
however . the matter f f
in ° f r u ' e ’
The polka dance was introduced into . t
obtained its name in Prague in 1835.
A model of a reaper at the recent Cin
cinnati Centennial, in the Government
Department, was ticketed as the inven
turn of Elizabeth bmith, of New Jersey.
The Queen Regent of Spain has got a
young Iri h woman, Miss Georgina Da
venport, as a governess to the King,
Ttlug ^ avoids offending any political
pa A ^’ favorite combination costume has a
^'^fi 0 0 ^ 3 f skfitTf
which worn
dark green bordered with golden browt
beaver.
It was Mrs. Mackey who started tin
fashionable fever for black underwea:.
by wearing it under a wondrous baL
gown of black tulle with diamond orna
ments, that she wore in Paris at* a
private fancy ball, at which she per
sonated the Queen of Night.
DEEP SEA CABLES.
The Earth Encircled by Nine
Great Submarine Wires.
How the Work is Done by a
Little Army of Operators.
Although it is comparatively a very
brief period since the first submarine
telegraph cable was successfully laid be¬
tween Ireland and Newfoundland, such
vast strides have been made in the per -
f ection construction and laying of deep
gea cabks that tho earth h now ,i m0 st
entirely girdled by them. Tho coast
lines of tho Americas, Europe, Asia,
Africa and Australia are festooned with
countloss miles of submarine . cables ,, that ,
loop gracefully from the ocean bed at
regular intervals to touch at some busy
seaport or relay office. There are now
ma . ® groat f ,„h submarlao mftr in G eab’e cab '° c° comnanies m P anle9
in tho world, with over sixty thousand
miles of cable, extending to the re¬
motest parts of the habitable globe.
The greatest of these companies is the
Eastern Telegraph Company of London,
with 39,000 mile3 of cable under its
control This line starts from Land's
End, England, an<J runs under the
ocean to Lisbon. From there it loops
to Gibraltar, thon under the Mediterra¬
nean to Malta and Alexandria, ovorland
to Suez, under tho Red Sea to Aden,
under tho Gulf of Arabia to Bombay,
looping around to Madras, to Singapore,
to Saigon, to Hong-Kong, Amoy and
Shanghai, ia China, to Nagasaki, end¬
ing at Vladivistock, Eastern Siberia.
Africa i3 looped on tho east from Aden
to Zanzibar to Cape town. On tho west
coast 4000 miles of cable only touch at
four places. Another long cable runs
from Lisbon to Pernambuco. South
America is fostooned on both coasts
as far south as the Argentine Repub¬
lic. Tho Eastern also has a lino to
India through Persia, thenco through
tho Persian Gulf. Thero are nine
working cables between America and
England. All tho West India islands,
tho Grecian Archipelago and Australa¬
sia are reachod by cables.
To work these vast longths of subma¬
rine cables a good sized army of opera¬
tors is employed. Not much has boon
written about these men, but these deep
sea cablo operators constitute one of the
finest bodies of skilled workers in the
world. All the cable Lines are manu¬
factured and owned in England. These
cablemen are brave, fearless and far
above the average iatelligence. They
never flinch from going where duty calls
them, and they are most important fac¬
tors in commerce, diplomacy and pro¬
vincial government. They are groat
travelers, and numbers of them havo
been in every part of tho known world.
The deep sea cablemen are taught tho
rudimentary elements in London. They
are then sent to Porta Kurno, Penzance,
where they become familiar with tho
working of the siphon recorder, tho
■park and tho transmitten When pro¬
ficient they are detailed to any placo
touched by cable. Those operators are
well paid, work short hours and very
seldom leavo the service. They arc
called upon to work in the deadly fevers
of Panama and Africa, to face wild
beasts in India, to work among prowl¬
ing bands of robber nomads in Arabia
and Persia; they must live in tho
cholera-stricken cities of Siam and
China, the yellow fever of Cuba, the
torrid climate of South America and tho
bleak coast of Eastern Siberia. But in
Ue of the fact that tho cable liae8 aro
.. , , ...... . ,
al roa ” 8UC P es 1 ea a ® aua r e9 »
* be morality rate among the cable opnra
tors is Tory low. This is no doubt due
to the fact that the companies are con
tinualiy changing their men about in
8Uch , P laces , - Aa . °P erator 18 detailed to
very unhealthy places for six months or
*J~r. He is thee ...t to aom<i«,
healthy spot Men are often trans
f errQ d from Panama to Nagasaki or
Cape Town.
To keep 5—■*.«. the se Taat ] inaa ia order a
that purpose and tho men spend a few
pleasant months on board them, taking
turnabout. If an operator marries and
loC ates in a place P he is allowed to re
Th verv /?■, nleas
exC8 P^ ar ® detailed
to dangerous or unhealthy stations.
The men always rely on the protection
of the home Government and they fear
lossly go to stations in the wildest spots
of Arabia, Turkey, Persia or Africa,
conscious of tho fact that if the natives
molest them a British gunboat will soon
make things howl in that vicinity,
The largest force of operators are
ko P l ..... repeating ____ stations, where all
messagePhave to be transferred. At
Suez and Aden 60 cable men are em
at each station. On the Ameri-
c^c. Bide the largest force is at Heart's
Content, Newfoundland, where therp
are 40 men. This is a steady colony of
cable operators. Nearly all of tho
older men are married, and are bringing
up families. They have a chapel,
school, club-house and own their own
houses. At tho cable stations the com¬
pany builds several buildings, including
the office, a club-house furnished with
a piano, billiard table, card room, and
all conveniences. Single men live here.
Marriage is encouraged, and when
a man marries he is given a small house,
his fuel and the doctor’s services, all
free. Life is made as pleasant as possi¬
ble, and tho stations aro furnished with
boat houses, sail and rowboats and fire¬
arms. Tho men aro given thirty days’
vacation with pay yearly. Tho leavo
is cumulative, and if a man works fivo
years he is given five months’ leave
with pay, and his passage paid to
whatever part of the world he may live
in. The cable men are regarded as a
species of supernatural beings by tho
different wild tribes in outlandish
countries. —[New York World.
A Professional Rattlesnake Killer.
The Albany (N. Y.) Journal’s Lake
George correspondent writes:
Isaac Davis of Hague, who in four
years has killed upward of 1,400 rattle¬
snakes, and who last fall, at the county
fair* of this vicinity was the first to
handle rattlesnakes in public exhibi¬
tions, recently killed four monster rat¬
tlers near Sabbath Day Point, This
year he has killod upward of 400, for
which he has been paid a bounty of 25
cents per snake. He makes rattlesnake
hunting, catching and exhibiting his
whole business,and is paid $50 a month
during tho season by property owners
about Hague for killing snakos. IIs is
believed to be the only man in the
world following this occupation. He is
an intelligent man, fond of reading, of
quiet demeanor and gentle disposition.
All his friends apprehend that ho will
moot his death some day in handling
these reptiles, but tho business Booms to
have a fascination for him outside of
tho remuneration it affords him and tho
dissuasions of his friends only seam to
confirm him in his liking for tho busi¬
ness. He always carries with him a
remedy in case he should be bittep, but
does not fool any spocial coniidonco in
its efficacy. lie is a man of 43 years
and killod his first snake before ho was
six years old but never wont into regu¬
lar snake hunting until four years ago.
His father before him was tho famous
snake hunter ‘‘Mint” Davis, who used
to kill them for tho oil to sell to drug¬
gists. Tho old man is said to havo
been bitten several times by snakes and
to have cured himself by use of “rattle¬
snake weed.” It used to bo a standing
joke about the lake that when a rattle¬
snake bit old ‘ Mint” D.vis, it was tho
snake that was poisoned to death. The
old man certainly seemed to have no
more fear of a rattlesnake than a child
for a kitten.
Injury of Bandaging the Eyes.
The custom prevalent among physi¬
cians as well as the laity, of tightly
bandaging or tying up the eye as soon
as it becomes inflamod or sore, is
branded a bad one by a writer in
Health. Ho says: “It precludes tho
free access and beneficial effects of tho
cool air, and at tho same time prevents
and greatly retards the froo egress of
the hot tears and morbid secrotions of
the inflamed conjunctiva or cornea, or
both. In those cases, too, where a
foreign substance has got into the eye,
the bandage (which is usually clapped
on the first thing) presses the lids more
closely against the ball, and thus in¬
creases the pain and discomfort by aug¬
menting the lacerations caused by tho
foreign body. This cannot fail to bo
harmful In those cases where the
light is painful it is my habit to adjust
over the organ a neatly fitting shade,
which, while it excludes thf light, al¬
lows the free access of air.”
How To Sharpen a Pocket Knife.
A largo dealer in cutlery expresses
i the opinion that not one man in filty
knows how to sharpen a pocket knife,
“A razor.” says he, “must be laid flat
on the hone, being hollow ground and
mmiirinn» S finn edrr % - Rut * norkat P
kod® requires a stiff edge, and the mo
ment you lay it flat on a stone, so as to
touch the polished side you ruin the
edge. Tne blade must be held at an
angle of twenty or twenty-five degrees
have an edge similar,4® a chisel
This is technically called the ‘cannel,’
and is marked on all new knives by a
fine white line which i^^^not remove
or touch the polishe
improperly whetted 1 iSirefiea con¬
demned as too hard or too soft without
reason.”—[New York Tribune.
Just So.
For thus it is with men of brain,
Finding their fortune on the wans,
And hoping they may take a riwf—
Advertise I
The greatest men who live today
Have found in this the only way
To swell beyond the common size:
Advertise 1
It never yet was known to fail
To brighten times and make a sale;
To bind your luck with golden ties.
Advertise!
And so, whate’er you have to sell,
Do this at once and do it well;
Keep it before the public eyes—
Advertise!
So let your name be Jones, Smith, Grime*
Try this one way to cheat hard times; _
You’ll find herein the secret lies:
Advertise!
When times are hard and cash is low,
And trade comes in most awful slow,
What is it that I would advise?
Advertise!
When folks go streaming past the door,
And never step inside the store,
My best advice do not despise:
Advertise!
When drawer and pocket both seem thin.
And much goes out and naught comes in.
If you would be exceeding wise,
Advertise!
HUMOROUS.
A handsome couple—Two dollars.
“Lives out” all her days—The hiradl
girl.
Tho children’s hobby—A wooden
horse.
In tho matter of fans the Chinos*
take the palm.
Thero is a cheerful ring in an en¬
gaged girl’s laughter.
Even a rug-god perqpn may not feel
mat-rimonially inclined.
The most appropriate sfioes for police¬
men are tho copper-toed variety.
Bundles of comic valentines are tho
laughing stock of the newsdealer.
A dead fruit tree is like a ship drift¬
ing at sea. It has lost its bearing.
Tho way a ship is bound has no rela¬
tion to tho restrictions of commerce.
“Talk is cheap”—tho exception be¬
ing whoa a lawyer is talking for you.
Tho tax collector is always sure to
come arouad in duo time to every man.
yho druggist charges tho soda foun¬
tain and makes tho customer pay
cash.
Although corn has many kernels,
thero is no sign it was first grown ia
Kentucky.
Now is tho time when a man can
shovel in his own coal and tell people
ho is paying an election bet.
The old ILiy state always makes a
good showing of her militia when she
presents her troops in Mass.
“It is fillin’, but not fattenin’,” as
tho old Irish lady said of tho water she
fed the pig an hour before she sold
him.
Grammatically speaking, it may b«
said that criminals and the judge differ
widely in regard to the length of sen¬
tences.
Milkman—Did you wish to settle for
your last month’s milk? Housewife —
Not today; I guess you’ll have to
chalk it, as you usualty do.
There is a great deal of danger in
telegraph wires. A man standing in
front of a stock ticker the other day
was heard to complain of befog badly
hit.
“My dear young lady,” said a gush- 1
ing artist to her, “you are positively
lovely! Wouldn't you like me to do you
in oil? 1 ’ “Sir,” exclaimed her father’*
pride, indignantly, “do you take m«
for a sardine?”
It was at the breakfast table. Mr.
8milingboy was telling Mrs. S. about a
farce he had attended the night before.
“Ah,”»aidhe f “my dear, you’d have
died laughing if you could have been
there 1” Then he added in a tone of
burning enthusiaam: “How I wish.
you had.”
A Reasonable Demand—She: Not
Mr. Harding, it can never L But I
will always be a sister— e (rie
ing): Oh, that’s the deal, yWt? Well,
then, sister, if you’ve got your thimble
handy I wish you would sew up the
knees of my^trousers that I have sacri¬
ficed in finding out our relationship.
The little boy had come in with hjs
clothes torn, bis hair full of dust and
his face bearing unmistakable marks^f
a severe conflict. *0, Willie! Willie I”
exclaimed his mother, deoply shocked
and grieved, “you have disobeyed me
again. How often have I told you not
to play with that wicked Staploford
boy?” “Mamma,” said Willie, ‘Mol
look as if I had been playing with any¬
body?”