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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?”