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' The English admiralty say that tin
total abolition of masts an 1 subs in all
future fighting ships lias become abso¬
lutely necessary.
In the retirement ot Bismarck. ti:o
American hog may not bevinduatel,
observes the Indianapolis Jjurual, b it
it is at least nv^n-od.
China for several years ha- been in¬
creasing her military force in the j r n - -
inces adjoining tiie Amoor and ?tout
forts have been erected at pnints most
likely to be threatened by limsian in¬
vasion.
Horse bade riding is constantly grow¬
ing in favor in New' York and other
large cities. L rge sums of money are
being put into “riding-schools.” and
the investments are proving profitable.
Good saddle horses were never in better
demand than now.
Vital statistics show that out of evpry
100,000 of population in cities only 28i
persons die of consumption, while oul
of every 100,000 of population in rural
districts, only 163 persons die of con-
sumption. In diseases of the nervou-
system the figures are respectively 255
for the ci!y, and 150 for the country.
The Washington Stir says: “An
open lamp in a coal mine is like a
match in a powder magazine. The two
sets of things have so much feeling for
each other they cannot exist apart when
brought nearly in contact. Pennsyl¬
vania coal mine horrors show that this
principle of natural law is not fully
appreciated in the Keystone state.”
The United States navy is now large¬
ly made up of aliens. Admiral Porter
Btates that 20 foreigners enlist in the
navy to ojie American, aud he points
out the danger to the service liable to
arise from this predominance, “It is
very clear,” comments the New York
News, “that if a majority of men in
the navy are foreigners wo could not
rely upon them in case of war.”
It is stated that in the 492 cities in this
country containing more than 5,000 in¬
habitants, there are 15,000 policemen,
whose salaries amount to $15,000,000
a year, and that they make 50 arrests
each, annually. If these statistics are
correct, remarks The Twentieth Century,
it will be seen that the average labor of
a policeman is one arrest a week, for
which the working people of tho co un¬
try pay $20.
In his annual message to the Legis¬
lature for 1S9) Governor Francis E.
Warren of Wyoming Territory recom¬
mended the passage of a bill absolutely
forbidding the killing of buffalo within
the Territory. Wo are glai to learn,
announces tho Forest and Stream, that
this recommendation has been acted on,
and that the Legislature, just ad¬
journed, has passed a bid prohibiting
the k Ling of any buffalo in the Terri¬
tory for ten years. This is a matter in
which all the inhabitants of Wyoming
ought to take an interest, for scarcely
anywhere in the United States, except
within her borders, are any wild buffalo
to be found.
Hypnotism in England, if the quota¬
tions sept by cable from the London
Lancet are to be believed, has attained
to startling perfection as an exact and
practical science. A certain Dr. Bram
well appears to possess the power of
exercising the hypnotic influence, not
merely by presence and contact, but by
letter or telegraph. A patient received
a note with tho following directions:
“Go to sleep by order of Dr. Bram-
well," and forthwith tho accommodat¬
ing patient went to sleep. The sugges¬
tion is a startling one. For there can
be nothing about the letter or the des.
patch to indicate, before it is opened,
that it is hypnotized.
Says the Salt Lake Evening Times:
‘‘There was never a city in the Union
that has changed, as has Salt Lake,
from a sleepy overgrown village to a
metropolitan city, in so short a time.
Where but a few years ago the common
one-story adobes or the dingy frame
dwellings were the only structures thaf
greeted the eye, today large business
blocks, elegantly constructed, are seen.
The dirt paths along the street are sup¬
planted by wide walks, and the patient
^horse which, a decide ago, with diffi-
hilty hauled a little dingy omnibus
from place to place now contentedly
munches oats while the electric motor
dashes across the city with its loads of
humanity.”
There are now thirteen monitors lying
idle, the original cost of which was
nearly $7,000,000. In their present
condition they are not only u-e ess, but
a source of expanse, an 1 Rear Admiral
Jouett favors a plan for converting
them into floating batteries f< r coast
and harbor defense, which could be
done at an estimated cost of $1,1)00,-
000 .
The annual catch of fish on the Euro¬
pean and North American coasts is com¬
puted by a German statistician tc
amount to 153,000 tons. A ton of fish
corresponds with twenty-five sheep iD
weight and with twenty sheep in nour¬
ishing power. Therefore the total
European and North American catch
equals in number 42,003. 000 sheep and
in nourishing power 33. 000,003.
Recent sham battles in France id
which the new smokeless powder was
use! have demonstrate 1 that the rod
breeches of the French soldier. when
deprived of the veil of concealment
that the old -fashioned powder smoke
afforded, are altogether too brightly
conspicuous from afar for the safety of
the wearers. Consequently, there are
plans on foot for depiiving the defend¬
ers of La Belle France of these tra-
ditional and highly cherishei garments.
Whereat the soliiers are wroth and
sorrowful.
The facetious New York World ob-
serves: “The mirket in old masters
is very much depressed. On the last
evening’s sale of the DeGabalda pict¬
ures in this city a It ibens was sold for
$150, a Leonard da Vinci for $60 and a
Velasquez for $132. 50. These prices
indicate that old masters will soon bo
sold in job lots at cut rates, and thus
placed within the reich of even the
impecunious lover of time-worn can¬
vases. Imagine the joy of getting a
Rubens with a pound of tea or a Van¬
dyke with a bar of soap!
There would appear, asserts Argosy ,
to be some magical properties in the
closing yeari of each period of a hun¬
dred. Did you ever take note of the
fact that nearly all the great events in
the history of civilizition occurred in
the last quarter of a century? America
was discovered in 1492, Shakespeare’s
first play was published in 1594, the
English Revolution took place in 1688,
that of the colonies in America in 1776,
and of Franca in 1793, while coming
down to our own time, what
strides have been male in the
department of science sines
1875! The electric light, the tele¬
phone, the phonograph—all have been
perfected since that year, while during
the same period the time of crosling the
Atlantic by steamer has been cut down
by three days. This whole subject is
indeed a very interesting one for inves¬
tigation, and by going still further
back than the point from which wc
started in the above summary, out
readers can discover for themselves ad¬
ditional proof of the partiality that
great events seem to evince for great
numbers.
According to the New York 1'imet
the recent assignment of three more
officers by the War Dapartment to duty
in Europe makes our force there quite
numerous. It will now inclule as at-
tachcs of legations Mijnr Post of the
Engineers, at London. Captain Hein,
First Cavalry, at Vienna; Captain
Bingham of the Engineers, at Berlin,
Lieutenant Borup of the Ordnance
Department, at Paris, Lieutenant Allen,
Second Cavalry, at S . Petersburg, and
Lieutenant ALUs, Twelfth Infantry, at
Copenhagen, together with Captain
Zilinski, Fifth Cavalry, and Lieutenant
Lomia of the sain a regiment on les ?
restricted duty. The navy adds
to this forca three attaches,
Lieutenant Commander Emory
at London, Lieutenant Sar¬
gent at Vienna and Rome, and Lieut.
"Ward at Paris, Berlin and St. Peters-
burg. The Navy and Marine Corps are
also more or less represented by tht
officers of vessels on the European sta¬
tion, or on special occasions, as during
the last "World’s Fair at Paris. The
army in like manner often sends special
representatives for the European man*
oeuvres. These military and naval offi-
cers are expected to keep the govern-
ment informed of whatever of impor¬
tance is going on in the art of war,
either in tactics or in new weapons oi
appliances. Certainly it cannot be com-
plained that there is any lack of agents
on the other side of the ocean for this
purpose.
POLITE SWEDES.
A Nation of Gentlemen from
King to Coal-Heaver.
The Universal Truthfulness
and Honesty of Norsemen.
The beautiful politeness and courte¬
sy of the Swedes is a thing that is very
striking to visitors. They have a large
assortment of bows, bobs, courtesies
and hat-liftings, according to age and
sex, but the lifting of the hat to mere
acquaintances reaches, I fancy, much
lower down in the social scale than
elsewhere in Europe; it looks odd to
see the butcher boy in a blouse elabor¬
ately taking off his hat to the baker’s
assistant. I suspect, on examination,
Swedish hats would be found to con¬
tain a little extra stiffening, in order to
enable them to stand the wear and tear
of these greetings in the market places.
On one occasion, when going by
steamboat to Upsala, I noticed a very
quaint example of this national trait.
The steamboat, as it nears Upsala,
passes through many shallow reaches
of the Malar Lake, where the depth of
water is insufficient to allow of the
passengers being landed in the ordinary
manner directly on the landing stages,
and so have to be taken on shore in
small boats. The ferryman on shipping
his complement of passengers would
first take a dozen strokes or so in order
to clear the screw of the steamer, and
then would carefully lay aside his oars,
rise from his seat, and take off his hat
with a solemn bow to the people sitting
in the stern whom he had just taken
oil the deck of the steamer. He would
then row on again and put them ashore.
This did not occur as an isolated in¬
stance, but regularly every time the
passengers had to be lauded by shore-
boats.
1 he women of the middle and lower
classes are little ..... if at all behind their
v husbands v . and , , brothers m . this , matter.
m, lheir . good . temper . and , pretty behavior
are il orthy of all praise. The servant
girls „:, Ia in ■ Dalecarlian n , peasant dress, , the ,
cafe * mamscllc, .. aacl , . he
„ youeg person,
employed m shop, a, make the pretti-
est of all possible little bob courtesiei,
and so, oddly enough, do ,he young
ladle, of good family up to the day of
their confirmation, which ceremony
take, place rather later than with us,
generally about the age of siateeu.
From that day forth they put their hair
up aud take to bowing. °
The Upsala students amuse one a
good deal by the elaboration and car-
emoniousness of their manners. Auy
day during the vacation a few of them
may be seen gathered around a table in
the garden cafe of Ilasselbacken or
Tivoli, drinking their punch. They
are mostly lads under twenty, but they
bow to each other, and make little civ-
il speeches, and pledge each other
with solemn salutation, all according
to the strictest Swedish etiquette, as if
they were middle-aged gentlemen of
high dignity and position but slightly
acquainted with one another. Tney
certainly take themselves very seri¬
ously.
The custom of pledging or health-
drinking is a survival from very ancient
times. The glass is raised, a slight
bow made, the word skal (literally
bowl) pronounced, followed by another
slight bow, when the glass is replaced
on the table, generally empty; it is not
de rigueur, however, that it should be
so, but in Denmark, where a similar
custom obtains, the glass must always
be drained to the last drop. To En¬
glish eyes it appears quaint to see this
complicated ceremonial observed to¬
wards each other by college companions
not yet out of their teens.
That this universal courtesy and po-
liteness is not merely on the surface is
proved by the trouble to which Swe des
will invariably put themselves in order
to be of use to a stranger in need of
help or information. So much is this
the case that I at last tried to avoid
making my way in the country round
about Stockholm, because it so often
happened that the countryman whom I
interrogated would lay aside his occu-
pation and accompany me some little
distance in order to make sure of set¬
ting me on the right path, For this
service he would seldom accept any
recompense.
Another point which soon attracts
the attention of visitors is the punc¬
tilious honesty and truthfulness of the
Swedes; this is best seen in the many
little incidents of daily life, "When
asking for places at a theatre, for in-
stance, the ticket e’erk never fails tc
inform you if, owing to the crowded
state of the house, a better positior
would be secured with a cheaper ticket
than the one asked for. Again, when
parcels are taken out by steamers from
Stockholm to country places in the
neighborhood they are just thrown out
on to the quay, where they frequently
remain half the day without being
claimed. It never seems to occur to
any one that they could possibly bo
taken by any one but their rightful own¬
ers. On a trip of any length, as for instance
to Gothenburg by canal, a little book
lies in the saloon of the steamer in
which each passenger keeps his own
recount of the number of meals, cafe3,
cognacs, etc., he may take during the
journey. But, indeed, it is impossible
to talk to a Swede for any length of
time and not see how incapable of any
meanness or dishonesty he must be.
There is nearly always a simplicity and
straightforwardness of manner the very
antipodes of affectation, which is cer¬
tainly a very pleasing attribute, and
wh ch can scircely fail to convince the
least observant person that he has be¬
fore him a man who thoroughly
respects himself, and who walks very
steadfastly on the straight line. The
Swedes, you feel, are a nation of gen¬
tlemen down to the coal-heavers and
the wharf-men. — Temple Bur.
A Duffer Meets a Consumptive.
You have seen the duffur—-a hulking
big fellow, with a bullet head and lots
of wind aud fat, but without an ounce
of sand in his craw. He always picks
his man, and he always means to be
certain that he has got hold of some¬
body who can be bluffed aud bull¬
doze J.
There was a chap of just this sort—a
duffer from Dufferville—in the crowd
of passengers J? obliged to wait at the
•
depot , . m . Decatur, , Alabama, for several
, hours on account . of , a railroad .. , accident,
. half If , hour everybody , , sized . , , him .
Alter an
up for , what , t he , was, , but ho , was per¬ 1
nutted . to go ,, blowing 6 around , because ,
no one wanted , , the excitement of a
row . Ha b „ a3tel j of w> fl h „ „ aJ hj ,
victoriw> M(1 he , rleJ to „
, ^ " , T™'
g0t r ey0 ’ ,° lm n ° ow-cyc f<*>- man
*
f J.T“ T im,lj 00 hu
7,“^°/ !' >t,0n .
“ QS Um ' ;
“ 1,0 " a ‘ “ dered , ,m “P l , °°V° ™ d T' , plat-
form he coughed in a hollow and dis-
ma i way. Duffer arranged to meet
him in his walk, and at ones loudly
demanded:
“D:d you move my valise off the
seat? ’
“No, sir,” was the reply.
“Well, I want to find the man who
did; I can mop the earth with him ir
two minutes.”
4 4 Wei!, I don’t care who it was. 1 )
“Oh! You don’t! Mighty indepen¬
dent, you?’’
4 4 Go away from me, sir! I don’t
know you aud don’t want to.”
“Don’t you? If you were only a
well man I'd make you eat mud. As it
is, don’t give me too much sa 3 s or I’ll
teach you manners. ”
4 l You are a loafer, sir—a first-class
loafer!” said the Buckeye, as he con¬
tinued to walk,
“I never strike a sick man," replied
the other, “but I will tweac your nose
once just to reduce your temperature.
Now come--’’
He reached out with thumb and fin¬
ger, but ho d da’t get the nose. In¬
stea l of it he got it biff! bang! in the
face with the right and left, and as he
went down the consumptive kicked
him to his feet and knocked him over a
baggage truck. He didn’t get up
again until two men assisted him. He
bad two bunged eyes, a bloody nose
and a bleeding mouth, and he looked
about in a helpless way and stam-
me red:
“Gen—gentlemen, lead me some-
where where I can be alone.”
"When he had gone some one asked
the consumptive if he wasn’t afraid the
exertion would give hi m a hemorrhage,
and he replied:
“What do you take me for?”
“Aren’t you a Northern consumptive
on your way South?”
“Not for Joseph I Tm a professional
contortionist on my way to fill an en¬
gagement in Cincinnati. I saw that
duffer sizing ms up, and so play el to
catch him. If he should want anything
more send him around.”— N. T. S*iy
At Milking Time.
At milking time, when shadows climb
The pasture bars, and sheep bells chime
High up along the sunset hill—
’Tis sweet to wander where he will
And take no thought of care or time.
The heart of boyhood in its prime
I.’ghts up with joy the cheek of grime,
When katydids come out and trill,
At milking time.
There’s not in any land or clime
An hour so sacred, so sublime,
As that when patient kine distil
The wines of life in many a rill
Of rippling and resilent rhyme.
At milking time.
—James N. Matthews.
HUMOROUS.
A business done on tick—Telegraph-
ing.
Where everything is a miss—In a
girl’s boarding school.
The lovesick maiden h most always
too small for her sighs.
When Columbus first appeared upon
the stage he made his egg-sit.
4 4 He’s a chip of the old block.” “Is
he? What a stick his father must be!”
Sword-swallowers ought to try saws
for a while. They would be more
toothsome.
4 4 How long was Bearson’s speech?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t have my gas
meter with me.”
Ferocious—A term applied by man
to those animals that object to servi ng
him in the capacity of food.
Lady (calling on friend)—Oh, isn’t
itsplendil? I have mile six calls,
and you are the only one I’ve found at
home.
4 4 Do you think I look pretty m this
habit, Jack?’’ “Pretty? You’re as prettj
as a picture—and I’d like to take the
picture.”
“That cigar you smoke has its ad-
vantages.” “Like it?” “No; that’s
just it. A friend doesn’t feel hurt if
you don’t offer him one.”
McCormick—1 want two poached eggs
on toast. Waiter—Yes, sir. “ And be
sure and have them fresh laid.” “Yes,
sir; I’ll have ’em laid on the toast,
sir.”
Girl (weeping)—I’m yso sorry you
have to go on the road again. It al¬
most breaks my heart. Drummer—
Don’t cry, Fanny, I’ll manage to pick
up another girl somewhere,
A young man alvertises for a place
as salesman, and says he has had • a
good deal of experience, having been
discharged from seven different whole¬
sale houses within a year.
She (just gone into housekeeping)—
How did you like the shirt I ironed for
you, Alfred? Didn’t I do it benutiful-
ly! He—A ou do nothing by halves,
my dear. dou did it up brown, of
course.
First Aoung America—Why wusn’l
ycruptode fire las’ night, Chiramy? ,
Second Aoung America (extremely dig-
gusted)—I wus; but, just my luck, it
wus put out de minit I got dare, 1
alius wus a Jonah on afire, anyhow.
Cross-Examining Counsel—Isn’t your
husband a burglar? Witness—Y-e-s.
Cross-Examining Counsel—And didn’t
you know he was a burglar when you
married him? Witness—Yes; but I was
getting a little old and I had to choose
between a burglar and a lawyer, so
what else could I do?
I’m the European cloud of war;
I’m never out of sight;
1 don’t know what they keep me for—
They never have a fight.
But I’m forever on the list;
At every passing hap
lliey tell me I’d be sadly missed
If I were not on tap.
California’s Remarkable Soil.
“The soil of California is so fruit¬
ful,” said a native of the Golden State,
“that a man who accidentally dropped
a box of matches in his field discovered
the next year a fine forest of telegraph
poles. ”
That s nothing to my state,” said a
native of Illinois. “A cousin of mins
who lives there lost a button off his
jacket, and in less than a month ho
found a brand-new suit of clothes hang¬
ing on a fence near the spot.” — Texas
Siftings.
aluable Scrapings.
The roof of the Philadelphia Mint
was recently painted at a profit, Me-
chanics proposed to paint it for $800
but the superintendent authorized the
work to be done by the employes.
They scraped the roof, and from the
scrapings recovered $1450 in gold and
silver. The painting itself cost only
$ 150 .