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ipill A-•»- ~ V7- . - - DIAMONDS IN AMERICA. Bait • Billion Dollar** Worth Owned Aw>ftww| Rapidly Increasing* In no country are there more dia monds to be found than in the United States, according to the population. It is estimated by a leading Maiden lane (New York) diamond dealer that there are upward of 1500,000,000 worth of diamonds in this country. Moreover, this vast amount ia increasing year by X«“- Until quite recently diamonds were rarely cut in this country, but Amer ican inventors have developed a process for diamond cutting which is vastly su perior to that done abroad. The loss in weight through cutting is sometimes fully one-half, but the value io increased probably more than two fold. The Dutch city of Amsterdam has been the great diamond cutting center of the world from time immemorial and up to a few years ago over 13,000 peo ple in that place were directly or indi rectly dependent upon this trade. But it was not reasonable to suppose that Amsterdam should continue to hold a monopoly of diamond cutting. As one of the greatest importing cities of the world, New York gradually offered in ducements to diamond cutters, and an industry has been gradually built up here that is now very flourishing and profitable. In 1858 Henry D. Morse of Boston invented a machine for cutting and polishing diamonds, and since then improvements have been made upon it that are very important The foreigners * continue to polish their stones by hand, but in this country machinery is large ly used. A famous gem .expert places the total value of all the diamonds in the world at over $1,000,000,000, of which $850,- , 000,000 worth are in the hands of deal ers, carried as stock. All of the other diamonds are in the hands of private in dividuals, and the question naturally arises, who owns them? This is not so easily answered, except in the case of large and world famous gems.—Godey’s Magazine. PAYNE’S DESERTED TOMB. Remlnlacenee* of the Author of “Home, Sweat Home.” The old Christian cemetery at Tunis is one of the strangest sights in that strange town. Just off a busy thorough fare, under an ancient archway, is a heavy wooden gate, much worn by the lapse of time, thickly studded with fan tastic nails and provided with a prodi gious knocker. The latter, however, is not needed, for the gate yields to an energetic push, and you find yourself in a large, walled inclosure, half garden, half graveyard, where an Italian wom an is hanging out clothes among the gaunt white tombs. It is 13 years since any one was buried here, and the place is beginning to look neglected. The modern cemetery is now outside the walls, and its guardian told me that many people came to him to inquire for the monument of “an American poet” or ‘‘an American consul, ” and he had to send them to the old graveyard. The monument in question is that of the author of “Home, Sweet Home,’’ and it bears the following inscription upon its sides: “In memory of John Howard Payn, author of ’Home, Sweet Home.’ Born June 9, 1791; died April 9, 1853. Erected A. D. 1855.” [American Arms—eagle surmounted by motto “E Pluribus Unum. ”] “Died at the American consulate in Tunis. Aged 60 years and 10 months. ” “In the tomb beneath this stone the poet’s remains lay buried for 30 years. On Jan. 5, 1888, they were disinterred and taken away to his native land, where they received honor and final burial in the city of Washington June 9, 1888. ’Then be content, poor heart.* ” “Sur* when thy gentle spirit fled To realm* beyond the azure dome With arms outstretched God’* angel said, ‘Welcome toheeven’* home, sweet home. * ** There is a certain appropriateness about the fact that the author of the exile’s most pathetic anthem should have died so many thousand miles away from home.—London Sketch. Bough o« Solomon. The following incident happened at one of the “catecheesms” which are held periodically in Scotland for all the members of the kirk of a certain dis trict. “The lesson was in Ecclesiastes,” says Mr. Johnston, “and one day they had been discussing the verse in which Solo mon says, ’Among a thousand men I have found one, but among a thousand women have I found not one,* meaning one just and good and upright. And an old Scotchwoman, when she had listened in silence and heard the rest accept it as present and gospel truth, got her dander up and rose to her feet “‘Hoot!’she said indignantly, her eyes blazing. ‘Do you find why that was? It was because nae dacent woman wad be seen in his company. ’ ”—Mil waukee Wisconsin. Hmr, IuAmUT She—Do you believe in platonic love? He—l hardly know. Doyon? She—Well, of course there may be such a thing, but—but—well, between two such people as you and—and— He—No, not between you and me. Ah, Helen, platonic love would not do for me! I, must speak. Oan you—can you— She—Oh, Alfred, how did you guess my secret?—Chicago Newa A new invention is erne to make tele graph wire out of paper. The interior cable is lead covered, , and thin spirals of paper are wound around each interior wire. The cost is said to be one-fifteenth of rubber insulated cablK Beware Os the man who smiles when he’s angry • he’s dangerous. And be-* ware also of the man who looks glum when he’s glad; he’s probably a humor- ancientwcksTebs QUEER CONJURING FEATS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Uttle experiment* In Which Boiling the Head* Off tiring Animal* Waa a Nece*- ■ary Adjuact-How They Killed a Hor*c and Cured Him Again. Conjurers in ancient times were not very respectable members of society— when successful, they enjoyed the repu tation of having sold their souls to the evil one, and when of inferior ability they gained notoriety by being either drowned or burned. The medieval ma gicians as well as the Egyptian magi and the Chaldean sages were only a strange mixture of chemist, conjurer and charlatan, and as these gentlemen were in the habit of using their sup posed occult powers to theiftown advan tage they were naturally unpopular. The feats of jugglery performed by these craftsmen were intended for the mystification and not the amusement of the public, and for centuries conjuring had to it only a black side. The amateur conjurer of today is not always a popular individual, save with children and the unsophlstocated yokel. To the general public he is merely a bore of greater or less magnitude, whose performance is so obvious as to deceive no one. It is hard to realize that this person is no mere mushroom growth of modern society, but in point of fact his role is one of a respectable Antiquity, for he is to be found treading close upon the heels of the magicians and in the days when witchcraft was still rampant. This is significant of His reputation even in those early times, for had any one taken his tricks seriously he would doubtless have been run to earth and done to death as a wizard. In the middle of the seventeenth cen tury, in the earliest years of the res toration, a number of tricks were pub lished in one of those facetious books which seem to have occupied the press to a great extent at this time, but which, owing to their popularity, have for the most part perished. The chief recommendation to the greater number of these tricks is that no apparatus be yond the utensils of everyday life is necessary. Also it is suggested to the performer that be can make some small profit out of his entertainment by prevailing on his audience to bet with him on the result of the trick. “To set a horse’s or an asse’s head upon a man’s head and shoulders” seems impossible out of the land of Faery, but we are informed that by boiling the head cut off from a living animal, “the flesh boyl’d may runne into oyle, ” and then by mingling the 1 hair beaten into powder with this oil and anointing the heads of the standers 1 by, “they shall seem to have horses’ or 1 asses’ heads” —a costly experiment and 1 fearsome if successful. But, besides this, one can ‘‘make peo ple seem headlesse, ” and this without bloodshed and by the following simple receipt: “Break arsenick very fine, and boyle it with sulphur in a cover’d pot, > and kindle it with a new candle, and the standers-by will seem to be head lesse. ” Doubtless a strong imagination is necessary for success. 1 Some of the tricks are such as would nowadays cause the performer to be disliked, to put it mildly. For instance, ! “have a nut filled with ink, and give ■ this unto another and bid him crack it and see what he can find in that,” which being done “will cause much 1 laughter. ” “To keep a Tapster from frothing his Pots” must have been an amusement to the wags of the period, and for this “provide in readinesse the skin of a red 1 Hering, and when the Tapster is absent do but rub a little on the inside of his pots, and he will not be able to froth them, do what he can, in a good while after.” “To counterfeit a diamond with a white saphir” is a most useful accom plishment, but the fraud is likely in these days to be discovered and is more a chemical experiment than a trick. Several tricks are recommended which have animals as their subject and are for the most part brutal to our modern ideas. Perhaps the least objectionable is “to seem to kill a Horse and cure him again,” which may be thus accom plished: “Take the seed of henbane and give it the Horse in his Provender, and it will cast him into such a deep sleep that he will seem dead. If you will re cover him again, rub his Nostrils with Vinegar, and he will seem to be re vived.” The “seem to be revived” sounds rather ominous, and it is to be noted that the correct quantity of hen bane is not mentioned, so that it might be best to try this experiment on some one else’s horse. “To make a shoal of Goslings draw a Timber logge” sounds interesting, but unfortunately the directions are vague. “To make a shoal of Goslings or a Gag gle of Geese to seem to draw a Timber logge is done by the verie means that is us’d when a Oat draws a fool through a Pond, but handled somewhat further off from the Beholders.” London fltandard. Whitehead Torpedoes. A Whitehead torpedo carries 220 pounds of wet gun cotton and weighs ready for service 1,160 pounds. Its maximum length is 16 feet 5 inches and its greatest diameter is 17.7 inches. At a speed of 28 knots per hour it has a range of about 850 yards. The torpedo is drived? by compressed air at a pressure of 1,850 pounds per square inch, which operates a three stage engine. The men of Berlin* have an odd habit of brushing and combing their hair and whiskers in public. In the restaurants and cases men pull out their implements - and “spruce up” while waiting for their orders to be filled. They do not take the trouble to leave the table, ei- WARSHIP wonpip. HOW JACK “RIGS CHURCH” IN UNCLS i SAM’S NAVY. Divine Servtoe cu Sunday on Board a I United State* Man-of-war and How It I* Conducted The Church Eufin and Ita Meaaina - The Chaplain. When there is seen flying from the gaff of a United States man-of-war a : small, white triangular pennant, bear ing on its field a blue Greek cross near , the pike or halyard, it is a signal that . divine service is being held on board. “Rig church I” is one of the regular na val orders, issued usually at about 10:80 on Sunday morning. Church is “rigged” in various peaces according to the construction of the ves sel and according to the weather condi tions. If the day is fine and not too cold, the quarter deck will probably be selected, although in some ships it is customary to hold the service on the forward part of the gun deck. In stormy weather the berth deck below, is used, where the men may be under shelter, though they are more cramped far room. Assuming that the service is to be held on the quarter deck, the arrange ments for it will proceed about like this: When the bugler gives the signal, the “church ensign” is hoisted to the gaff, and some of the men, under the direction of an officer, bestir themselves briskly in making the simple prepara tions which are necessary. A table or desk* covered With the American flag, is placed at the end of the quarter deck for the chaplain. A few wardroom chairs are brought up from below and ranged along the starboard side, where the officers are to assemble, and benches or capstan * bars resting on buckets make seats for the crew on the port side. The organ—for every ship that has a chaplain is provided with an instrument of this nature—is put in a convenient place. If there is a band, and its serv ices are desired, a few musicians are se lected and stationed near by. Then the ship’s bell is tolled for about five min utes, giving the officers and men, wher ever they may be on board, sufficient time to assemble, if they are so inclined. The boatswain may call down the hatchways “Silence, fore and aft, dur ing divine service I” but it is well un derstood by the entire crew that the ship must be quiet now for about three quarters of an hour. Finally the bell stops, the captain, after a glance around, makes a sign to the chaplain that all is ready, and the service begins. How it is conducted depends upon the denomination to which the chaplain belongs, and various sects are represent ed among tho naval clergymen. The singing, accompanied by the organ, which is played either by an officer or .by some musician among the crew, is generally fine. The men enjoy it, and their voices ring out strong and fresh in the open air. During the.prayers they are required to remove their caps, but throughout the rest of the service they may remain covered. When it is over, the order to “Pipe down!” is given, and church is “unrigged.” Sometimes an evening service is also held, but this is not the general custom. Attendance at church on the warships is of course not compulsory, but the offi cers are expected to attend byway of furnishing an example, and most of them usually do, accompanied by per haps about half the crew—sometimes more and sometimes less. But by no means all the ships of the navy are provided with chaplains. For tho 60 or more war vessels now effective for service there are fewer than 80 chaplains, or less than one for every two ships. They are attached to the lar gest and most important vessels, where their ministrations may reach the great est number of persons. A queer incident happened a few years ago, when one of the modem cruisers was put into commission. It had been intended that she should carry a chaplain, but when the officers’ quar ters were completed it was found that his room had been entirely overlooked. No accommodation for him thus being available, the ship put to sea without a chaplain and did not have one for at least two years. In an action the chaplain’s duties are with the sick and wounded. Occasion ally, however, his aid has been required at the guns, and in many instances the chaplains have proved themselves hero ic fighters as well as good preachers. In the old days of the navy the chaplain wore the full uniform of his rank—lieu tenant, lieutenant commander or com mander—but it is now customary far him to wear a suit of black or the regu lar costume of whatever church he rep resents, sometimes with the insignia of his rank upon his sleeve.—New York Tribune. The Army Officer** Trunk. The army officer’s trunk, which is an article of limited but regular sale in peace times, being sold chiefly to regu lar army officers, is a stout, well made trunk of rather generous proportions, so divided inside as to afford spaces for both military and civilian attire. There is a place for an officer’s chapeau and one for the silk hat of a civilian and room for the different clothing, and the trunk is large enough to admit a sword laid diagonally. A trunk of this sort is made not of sole leather, as might be supposed, to withstand rough wear, but with a rigid frame, so that it can be roped or strapped on to a load or packed with other things piled on it In the ex igencies of wagon or other transporta tion without being crushed or damaged. —New York Sun. Broadly speaking, the essential differ ence between merchant ships and war ships is that the former are designed to amagtheir loads or principal portions thereof low down in the hold, whereas warsfSJaliave to carry their heavy bur dens or armor and armament high up cm their sides. JAIL FOR STUDENTS. QUEER PHASE OF LIFE AT HEIDEL BERG UNIVERSITY. Some of tho Marne* Which Adorn the Prioon Register naff tho “Crime*" For Which Their Owner* Wore Incarcerated. The Rule* at tho PUee. In England the student’s body is com mitted to prison only by tbo civil au thority. In Oxford, it ife true, the vice chancellor deals with undergraduate naughtiness, principally in the form of debt and insubordination, for which he may impose a mcmentary penalty, but he does not deprive the defaulter of lib erty. There is, or wa \ a legend that r certain apartment under the old Olaren don building was realty the university “quod,” but for its authenticity it is impossible to vouch. Cambridge has its spinning house for female offenders—not lady students, but ladies who might prove a delusion and a snare to the niaro male undergrad. There, if we except tho irksome penalty of “gating” (confinement to college or lodgings after a stated hour), our aca demic efforts at incarceration may be said to end. In Germany, however, the academio dungeon is a very stern fact The Hei delberg “caroer” is famous. Every read er of Mark Twain will recall his enter taining description of the place and how he contrived to visit it, even unwit tingly enlisting as his guide a “Herr Professor." His pretext was to see a young friend who had “got” 24 hours and had conveniently arranged the day to suit Mark—for the German student convict goes to prison on the first suit able day after conviction and sentence. If Thursday is not convenient, he tells the officer sent to hale him to jail that ho will come on Friday or Saturday or Sunday, as the case may bo. The officer never doubts his word, and It is never broken. The prison is up three flights of stairs, and is approached by a “zugang” as richly decorated with the art work of convicts as the cell itself. Tho apart ment ia not roomy, but bigger than an ordinary prison cell It has an iron grated window, a small stove, two wooden chairs, two old oak tables and a narrow wooden bedstead. Tho furniture is profusely ornament ed with carving, the work of languish ing captives, who have placed on record their names, armorial bearings, their crimes and the dates of their imprison ment, together with quaint warnings and denunciations. Walls and ceiling* are covered with portraits and legends executed in colored chalk and in soot, the prison candle forming a handy pen cil. Some of tho inscriptions are pa thetic. One runs, “E. Glinioke, four days for being too eager a spectator of a row. ” If fouY days were meted out to a mere spectator, what, one wonders, had been the sentence of the participa tors? It must have been a moving spec tacle. Another record (also quoted by Mr. Clemens) has the savor of a great name to it. Os course it is the son that is meant, not the father. The legend is, “F. Graf Bismarck, 27-29. H. ’74.” This Mark Twain interprets as a record of two days’ durance vile for Count Bis marck in 1874. Had 1874 been leap year one might have been inclined to interpret the numeral ‘ ‘H” as February. But the “29” makes this difficult. So perhaps the humorist is right. A third specimen is too tragic for comment It simply says, “B. Diergandt —for love—four days.” Ungenerous successors to that sad chamber have dealt harshly with their forerunners’ reputations by ingenious substitution of heinous crimes, so that certain prison ers go down to posterity as having been punished for theft and murder. The prisoner must supply his own bedding and is subject to various charges. On entering he pays about ten pence, and on leaving a similar sum. Every day in prison costs sixpence; fire and light sixpence extra. The jailer supplies coffee for a trifle. Meals may be ordered from outside. Every prison er leaves his carte de visite, which is fixed with a multitude of others on the door of the cell. This queer album is glazed to protect the photographs. Academic criminal procedure in Hei delberg is curious. If tho city police ap prehend a student, the captive shows his matriculation card. He is then ask ed for his address and set free, but will hear more of the matter, for the civil authority reports him to the university. The Oxford regulation, by the way, is in certain cases almost identical In Heidelberg the university court try and pass sentence, the civil power taking no further concern with the offense. The trial is very often conducted in the pris oner’s absence, and he, poor wight, may have forgotten all about his peccadillo until the university constable appears to conduct him to prison. But thither, seeing he may choose his day, he always repairs cheerfully.—London Sketch. How We Use Our tore*. If you are fond of such statistics, read this table, drawn up by Gabriel Pei gnot: A man of 50 years, of ordinary health, of active life, of regular habit,. comfortable in all circumstances of money, should give out of 18,250 days 6,082 days to sleep, 550 to sickness, 1,522 to his meals, 5,582 to work, 671. to exercise, to sports, the hunt, travel 8,808 days, and he should have con sumed 27,080'potmds of bread, 6,080 of meat, 4,675 of vegetables, eggs and* fruit, 81,180 liters of wine, spirits and water. —Boston Journal It is estimated that more than 75,000 fishermen go out of New York* every Sunday and that they spend on an average of $2 each on the sport Postal authorities have decided that mail matter need not be delivered at houses where vicious dogs are kept un chained. -■. ■ - AN OPEN LETTER To MOTHERS. WE ARE ASSERTING IN THE COURTS OUR RIGHT TO THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE WORD “CASTORIA,” AND “ PITCHER’S CASTORIA,” AS OL’R TRADE MARK. I, DR. SAMUEL PITCHER, qf Hyannis, Massachusetts, was the originator of “PITCHER’S CASTORIA,” the same that has borne and does now on eoery bear the facsimile signature of wrapper. This is the original “ PITCHER'S CASTORIA,” which has been used in the homes of the Mothers of America for over thirty years. LOOK CAREFULLY at the wrapper and see that it is the kind you have always bought on the and has the signature of wrap- per. Ho one has authority from me to use my name ex cept The Centaur Company of which Chas. H. Fletcher is March 8,1897. n Do Not Be Deceived. Do not endanger the life of your child by accepting a cheap substitute which some druggist offer yo” (because he makes a few mere pennies LV the in gredients of which even he does not know. “The Kind You Have Always Bought” BEARS THE FAC-SIMILE CrGNATURE GF The Kind That Never Failed lou. TH* C«HT*U* OMM.T, VT UUMIAT *TMCT. N*W T*M OITT. SHOES, - SHOES I IN MENS SHOES WE HAVE THE LATEST STYLES—COIN TOES, GENUINE RUSSIA LEATHER CALF TANS, CHOCOLATES AND GREEN AT $3 TO 83J50 PER PAIR. IN LADIES OXFORDS WE HAVE COMPLETE LINE IN TAN, BLACK AND CHOCOLATE, ALSO TAN AND BLACK SANDALS RANGING IN PRICE FROM 75c TO $2. ALSO TAN, CHOCOLATE AND BLACKL SANDALS AND OXFORDS IN CHILDREN AND MISSES SIZES, AND CHILDREN AND MISSES TAN LACE SHOES AND BLACK. T'k 7 “EB T3‘r*\*Dl\.T ' LL 1 \AZ . JCr m -EXiQ rTvJ-sl JfaJ, WE HAVE IN A LINE OF SAMPLE STRAW HATS. —GET YOUB — JOB PRINTING DONEAT The Morning Call Office. * . We have Just aupplied our Job Office with a complete line of btat»ODery kinds and can get up, on short notice, anything wanted ia the way <M LETTER HEADS, BILL HEADS STATEMENTS, IRCULARB, ENVELOPES, NOTES, V MORTGAGES, PROGRAMS JARDS, POSTERS' DODGERS, EktX, MA We c*avy toe >wt luenf FNVEWFES ve? ; this trade. Aa aUractive FOSTER cf aay size can be issued oa short notice. Our prices for work of all kinds will compare favorably with those obtained any office in the state. When you want Job printing oljany [description five a call Satisfaction guaraateeu. ALL WORK DONE With Neatness and Dispatch.