Newspaper Page Text
TALKING BY TICKS.
details of the work done
IN TELEGRAPH OFFICES.
'Groat. Accuracy and Clearness Re
quired of Telegraphers—Their
Wonderfu 1 Hiijn LanffuaKe—
Sending- Cable Messages.
. More than 2000 telegraph operators are
employed in this c ty, says the New
York Commercial Ad i-rtiser. Their
work is essentially skilled labor; they
themselves style it a profession. The
greatest degree of accuracy and clearness
Js required in ‘.heir work. The omission
of a single letter in transcribing, the
addition of a letter too many, may some
times involve a suit for damages, and
cost more than a year’s salary. Oper
ators must, therefore, be thoroughly
expert, they must be steady, jsober and
reliable, iu order to retain their positions,
Though less than a century old, the
principles at least of the electric tele
graph are known by every schoolboy. It
is in the detail of the business that the
public is ignorant.
There are several classes in the pro
fession : Ordinary line bauds, cable oper
tors, those who know more than one code
of communication, those competent to
keep hooks and take charge of a branch
’office. possessing more than the ordinary
requirements, are competent for more
than ordinary positions. It is not essential
for an operator to be a walkingdictionary,
or to know anything about the spelling,
or other matter of a telegram. His only
duty is to send and receive messages
letter for letter as they come to him.
*ln cypher messages this is ©specially es
sential. In receiving this must he done
by sound, by listening attentively to the
little instrument as it clicks out in long
or short ticks, dots and dashes, as they
are called, the various combinations that
represent letters and ligures. T..e sense
of liearingin this way is developed to an
almost abnormal quickness.
The receiving operator, by the very
tone of the instrument, can tell whether
it is a familiar or unfamiliar hand that is
on the other end of the wire,' and can
e en recognize a friend’s touch almost
the minute he grasps the key.
Good telegraphers can read or send
their sign language by almost any means.
It is employed in army service ior sig
naling on the field by means of sunlight
flashes reflected by a mirror, in which
the s'ght, instead of the ear, is employed.
Tli ■ same idea is used in transmitting
across an ocean cable, the length of
which does not permit of sufficient elec
trical power to work a “sounder” instru
ment, but mere y gives a little electric
flash of exactly the sa r.e character as the
most miniature flash of lightning, the
series of wai hare read by observation
in a dark room, the duration of the flashes
t corresponding to the dots or dashes that
constitute the letters on the “sounder.”
All cable messages must he repeated by
more than one operator; they are always
handled by an ordinary operator first and
, seat to a special cable office for trans
mission across the sea. This is essential
as a rule, for while the Morse code of
telegraphy is used almost invariably
through America, the Continental system
is preva ent iu England and Europe
generally, and is used now on most of the
cables. The chief difference between
these systems is that the Morse plan
utilizes space, or brief intervals between
certain dots or dashes to constitute
certain letters, while the continental
system has no spaced letters and is,
therefore, a little longer and more cum
bersome. The letter C, for instance, in
the Morse system, is represented by two
dots, a space and a dot, and the letter R
by a dot, space <fnd two dots, the letter Y
by two dots, a space and two dots, the
tetter O by a dot, a space and a dot, etc.;
while in the continental system these
letters are represeuted by a greater num
. her of dots or dashes combined without
space.
It is said that a person with a natural
ear for music can most Quickly become
an expert telegrapher. Members of the
profession can communicate with each
other by a simple pressure of the fingers
of one upon the hand of the other ac
cording to the intervals of dots and
dashes, which, together with other ways
that naturally suggest themselves to an
ingenious mind, constitute systems of
communication readily usable in church
or anywhere else within seeing or hear
ing, if not ol feeling distance.
The motions of a fan can convey the
language as distinctly as writing. In
sending messages, every letter con
tained in them must he faithfully re
peated. For an hour or more at a time
the receiving operator will have to
write message alter message, interrupted
only by the signal “ahr,” something
this way:
• signifying “another
message.” This is continued until the
long series is ended by a full point.
Then the receiver is obliged to make
sere that he has made no errors, and
sends Hie acknowledgement “O. K.,”
i sounding:
. . . This signifies “all
right,” to which he adds his signature
of one or two distinguishing letters
which are also put on each message
under the space on the blank “sent by”
i. and “received by,” so that each message
can be traced. No two operators in the
same office can have the same signature.
The average pay of an operator is about
¥75 a month for men and £SO a month for
women. This can be frequently' aug
mented by extra work time. Cable
operators and those in exposed positions
tn the West get higher salaries.
The Dollar Plant.
A queer little growth makes its ap
pearance in the wire crass country of
Georgia. It is called oy the natives the
dollar plant, from the singu arity of its
leaves, which are perfectly round, lying
flat upon the ground, and when full
grown the exact size of a dollar. When
the plant is pulled up it is seen that the
leaves retain their perfect roundness
from their incipiency, and grow through
fill the gradations the money takes from
the size of the silver five cent piece to
dimes, quarters, halves and the coin from
yhich it takes its name. At this season
it throw-, out from the centre a cluster
of yellow flowers.— Brooklyn Eagle.
If a man empties his purse into his
p head, no man can take it away from him.
Any investment in knowledge always
pays the best interest.
A Soldier’s Life Saved by a Dream.
Rev. L. W. I ewis, in his “.Reminis
cenees of the War,” published in the
Christian Ai rotate, relates an instance
where a drearn saved the life of a soldier.
“A man by the name of .oe Williams
had told a dream to his fellow soldiers,
some of whom related it to me mouths
previous to the occurence which 1 now
relate, ile dreamed that lie crossed a
river, marched over a mountain and
camped near a church located iu a wood,
near which a terrible hattie ensued, and
tn a charge just as we crossed a ravine
he was shot in the heart. On the ever
memorable th of December, 1801 (Bat
tle of Prairie Grove, Northern Arkansasi,
as we moved at. double quick to take our
place in line of battle, then already hotly
engaged, we passed the c hurch, a small
frame building. I was riding in the
flank of the command opposite to Will
iams, as we came in view of the house.
‘That is the church I saw : n my dream,’
said he. I made no reply, and never
thought of the matter again until the
evening. We had broken the enemy’s
lines and were in full pursuit, when we
came to a dry ravine in the wood: and
William said: “.lu3t on the other side of
this ravine I was shot in ray dream, and
I’ll stick my hat under my stftrt.’ Suit
ing the action to the word he doubled
up his hat as he ran along and crammed
it into his bosom. Scarcely had he ad
justed it when a minnie ball knocked him
out of line; jumping up quickly he pulled
out his hat; waved it over his head,
shouting: ‘l'm all right.’ The ball
raised a black spot about the size of a
man’s hand, just over the heart, and
dropped into his shoe.”
Here the prophecy was a long time
ahead, and foretold the exact coming of
a hall depending on a combination of
circumstances which it would seem im
possible for reason or intuition to foresee
and foreknow. Its fulfillment is pe
culiar,for guarding against it the danger
was averted and the dream proved un
true. %
The Mexican Congress.
W. E. Curtis says in his book. “The
Capitals of Spanish-Amerlca,” that in
appearance the members of the Mexican
Congress will compare favorably with
those of our Congress, and they are far
in advance of the average State legisla
ture in learning and ability. The t.rst
features that strike a visitor familiar
with legislative bodies in the l nitecl
t-tates is the decorum with which pro
ceedings are conducted, and the scrupu
lous care with which every one is clothed.
During the night sessions it is usual tor
all of the members to appear in evening
dress, which gives, the body the appear
ance of a social gathering rather than
a legislative assembly. Nine-tenths of
the members are white, and the other
tenth shows little trace of Aztec blood.
There is never anything like confusion,
and the laws of propriety are never trans
gressed. One hears no bad syntax or in
correct pronunciations in the speeches;
no coarse language is used and no wran
gles ever occur like th se which so often
disgrace our own congress. The states
men never tilt their chairs hack nor
lounge about the chamber; their feet are
never raised upon tne railing or desks;
there is no letter writing going on; the
floor is never littered with scraps of
paper; no spittoons are to he seen and
no conversation is permitted. Extreme
dignity and decorum mark the proceed
ings, which are always short and silent,
and the solemnity which prevails gives
a funereal aspect to the scene.
But everybody smokes. The Secre
tary lights a cigarette at the end of a
roll call, and the Chairman blows a puff
of smoke from his lips before he an
nounces a decision. The members are
constantly rolling cigarettes with deft
lingers, and the people in the galleries
do the same, so that a cloud of gray
vapor always hangs over the body, and
in the dark corners of the chamber one
can see the glow of burning tobacco like
the flash of lire-flies. But cigars are
never used, nor pipes, and no one chews
tobacco.
Only Woman Killed at Gettysburg.
Among the interesting things concern
ing the battle of Gettysburg 1 have seen
no allusion to the story of jenny Wade,
who was the only woman killed in that
conflict. She was a young and very at
tractive girl, living in a double, red
brick house on the Baltimore pike, east
of the town. On the first day of the
combat, when the Eleventh Corps, under
Major-General O. O. Howard, was forced
back to Cemetery Hill,and 5000 of their
number captured in the streets, Jenny
was engaged in her usual household oc
cupations in the kitchen in rear of the
dwelling,and a Confederate bullet.pene
trating the front door, traversed the di
rect and connecting hall and buried
itself in the poor girl’s bosom, killing
her instantly. She was engaged to be
married, and her lover was fighting
among the Union troops. By a strange
fatality he was killed, as neat ly as could
be ascertained,about the same time as his
sweetheart, neither of them, of course,
learning aught of the death of the other.
The house is still standing, and was con
spicuously decorated with bunting dur
ing the reunion.— Washington Capital.
Value of a Good Voice.
There is no doubt that one of the most
useful qualifications of an orator is a good
voice. Burke failed in the house through
lack of it, while Wm. Pitt, through the
possession of it, was a ruler there at the
age of 21. Mr. Lecky says that O’Con
nell's voice, rising with an easy and
melodious swell, filled the largest build
ings and triumphed over the wildest
tumult, while at the same time it con
veyed every inflection of feeling with the
most delicate flexibility. The great
mabrity of celebrated orators have been
aided by the possesfiou of a good voice.
Webster’s voice, on the occasion of his
reply to Senator Dickinson, had such an
eflect that one of his listeners feltallthc
night as if a heavy cannonade had been
resounding in his ear-. Garrick used to
say that he would give 100 guineas if he
could say “Oh 1” as Whitefield did. Mr.
Gladstone's voice has the music and the
resonance of a silver trumpet. Gentle
man's Magazine.
The Czar of Russia is a great fisher
man, and he has just bought in Finland
a tract of land with a river swarming
with salmon. His imperial wife is also a
fair fly caster, and can manage a wicked
fish with ease and grace.
The Oxford English Dictionary shows
that there are 15,000 words in current
v.se beginning with the letters A and B.
THE RACCOON
AN ANIMAL OFTEN DISCUSSED
RUT SELIiOM SEEN.
Avoiding; Pie I-launfs of Men —Fo
mate Coons More Sociable Than
Males —Coons Always Drink
Re lore Touching Food.
Even in localities where coons arc
must abundant nine out of ten of the
present generation never saw one, and
ievv people know anything about them
or their habits. Although the coon pre
fers the vicinity of civilization as his
habitat, he plans to keep aloof from the
eyes of men, and habit renders this an
easy task. By day he lies close in out-of
the-way retreats, in the depths of hollow
rocks. He wanders forth only at night,
and although h.s foraging expeditions
may take him to the very doors of the
farmers, and even within the very bound
ary lines of villagers, he never betrays
his presence. If more than one coon
is brought to bay in a tree they will in
variably be females or a mother coon
and her offspring, The female brings
forth her litter only once in two years,
and from the coming of a litter to the
arrival of another she and her young are
ne er separated.
She keeps her little family together
till they are two years old, and in pro
tecting them will tight the attacking dog
or hunter till she dies. Many a good
coon dog has been forced to retreat be
fore the fury of a she coon fighting for
her young, and if she is captured the
whole family fall victims to the hunter.
The animal scent the coon leaves on the
trail is at all times less than that of any
other game quadruped, and when the
female is nursing her young during the
summer manths her scent is hardly per
ceptible the dogs, thus saving her and
her litter from many a race for li.e. The
scent of-the coon grows stronger as the
cold weather advances, and through
November and December the dogs fol
low it with comparatively little difficulty.
While the female coon is social and
domestic, the male is quite the reverse.
He is surly and solitary, ranges entirely
alone, and gives no care or attention to
family matters. If two males meet in
the woods or fields they light furiously
and not infrequently to the death. An
o d eooa hunter of this vicinity tells
how he once surprised two male coous
fighting in a corn field. They were so
frantically in earnest that they flew into
each other even after the dogs had
jumped upon them and taken ahand in
the dispute. The male makes his range
for forage much wider than the female
does, and having no one to look after
hut himself more frequently escapes the
hunter.
In spring and summer the margin of
brooks and ponds and the soft mud in
swamps and bays in every coon country
are always thickly indented with the
graceful footprints of the cooti, for in
these months he spends his nights in
catching frogs, fish, lizards, grubs and
mussels, which are then his chief sub
sistence.
Later on he ranges among the huckle
berry and blackberry patches and leasts
on the fruit. When the milk comes in
the corn is the coon’s gala time, for he
loves the tender succulent grains, as the
farmer knows to his sorrow, and great
are the r sks he will take to forage in the
fields. It is not until the beiries are
gone and the corn grown tough in the
ear that the coon begins to look about
for his winter stores. These he lays by
plentifully froyn the beechnut, chestnut
and acorn crops, and on these crops de
pends the hunting of the coon when he
is at his best. During the nutting season
he is tat and solidand wide awake, pro
vided there are plenty of nuts. If the
crops are a failure the coon goes to his
winter quarters thin and miserable and
poorly prepared for the long winter’s
sleep and fast, wanders forth on every
day of thaw, though the snow may 1 e
deep on the ground, in search of such
fag ends of provender as may fall to his
lot. At such times the unfortunate
coon may be seen hovering, wan and
haggard, on the edges of the farm and
door yards, waiting for an opportunity
to pick up scraps from the kitchen, the
poultry yard or the pig-sty. One pe
culiarity of the coon, which, like most
of his peculiarities, has es aped the at
tention of naturalists who write books,
is that he never touches food until he
has quaffed at some spring or brook,
,even if he is compelled to go faY to find
it. Old coon hunters say that the coon
dips every mouthful of his food into
water before eating it, but, like all old
hunters, old coon hunters say a great
many things that it would bother them
to prove.
It is doubtful whether there are many
people who know that in no other coun
try on the globe besides the American
continent can the coon be found, and,al
though he is a favorite game in the
South,is nowhere so gamy and excellent
in. condition as iu the Middle States.
When the coon grows inordinately fat
and large he lessens his chance of falling
a viet m to the hunter, for then he ven
tures hut a short distance from his hiding
place and gives the dog small opportu
nity for finding his trail. It was rare,
for this reason, even in the days when
coon huntfng was a science, that a coon
over twenty pounds in weight was ever
bagged, although they have been krjown
to attain a weight of forty pounds.—
Mail and Express.
Curiosities of Nomenclature.
The Earl of Sandwich, for whom the
Sandwich Islands were named, a some
what profligate nobleman in the last
century, the boon companion of John
Wilkes, and the person against whom
Erskine thundered in his famous maiden
speech, was the inventor of the well
known luncheon staple called the sand
wich. In this connection it may also be
said that the tailless coat called the
spencer was the contrivance of another
English Earl, Lord Spencer. Spencer
and Sandwich were coupled together in
some once familiar verses, two lines of
which were:
The one invented half a coat,
The other half a dinner.
Blankets were named after their first
makers, three brothers in Bristol, Eng
land, named Edward, Edmund and
Thomas Blanket, who established a
large trade in this article of woolen
goods, and were the first manufacturers
of it in the fourteenth century.
The first watches were made in 1470.
Iltny Storms are Made.
Our earth only receives a small frac
tional part of the sun’s heat; hut. wtiat
ever that may he in the year, more or
less than the average, the entire surface
of ou:- earth must fael -uni Bo sub cut to
the cfle is. And one thing is certain —
namely, that a year or ser.e< of yearn, of
excessive sun-heat will inevitably he
years and sea-ous of atmospheric dis
turbances, because increase of heat will
produce excess of evaporation, excess
of electric action, and, necessarily, exces
sive precipitation; and, during a preva
lence of this sun-hiat, there must he
over limited areas violent storms both
summer and winter.
When very large areas of tluv atmos
phere have been, by excess of heat,
-Brought into an unequal state, as large
areas of lower stratum of highly-heated
air and vapor, which is also intensely
electric, the conditions to produce sand
spouts, water-spouts and tornadoes, are
fully ripe. The upper and colder layer
of the atmosphere cannot cool the lower
highly-heated and vapor-lndened stratum
so even and quickly as to prevent vents
in the form of funnels forming from the
lower stratum to the higher stratum,
and causing a rupture which takes up
ward in a pipe form, just a« water in a
tank or basin, having a bottom means
of discharge by a pipe, flows out with a
whirlpool motion—in # our northern
hemispere always in the direction of the
hands of a clock—and so heated, highly
elect ic and excessively vapor-laden at
mosphere breaks into the cold atmo
sphere above when at the level of the
“dew point” invisible vapor becomes
visible, parting with its latent heat,
which so rarities the air as to force some
of the condensed atmosphere in visible
cloud, mounting thousands of feet above
the condensed dew point and into a re
gion above the highest peaks of the high
est mountain.
To feed this p’pe, or, as in some cases,
pipes, the lower stratum flows’in from all
sides to rotate and ascend with the in
tense velocity of steam power, sufficient
to produce ail the disastrous elfeets of
the wildest tornado, there being almost
a vacuum at the ground or water line,
as the phenomena may be on the land or
over the sea. On the land trees are
twisted and uprooted, houses are un
roofed, solids of various kinds are lifted
from the earth, and human beings liava
been blown away like dead lea es.
There are, also, records of railway
wagons having been blown o i' the rails.
In deserts entire caravans have been
buried beneath a mountain of blown
sand—camels, horses and men; while iu
Egypt there are ruins of cities, massive
temples and monuments deep buried in
the adjoining desert sand. At sea many
a good ship caught by a tornado has
been overwhelmed and sent to the bot
tom whole. —Pa l Mall Gazette.
Mysterious Warning t.
We see and hear through the medium
of the whole body. Close or bandage
your eyes ever so tightly, and if the
visual organs be healthy radiations of
light, and even forms and scenery, will
singly or panoramically appear. Stop
the ears ever so well and still sound is
not shut out. There have been well
accredited signalizing warning appari
tions toclosed*eyes, and the clairaudient
nerves have repeatedly, when the ears
have been artificially stopped, heard
warning words. In their natural condi
tion both eyes and ear 3 have seen and
heard remarkable things. Lord Broug
ham and John Wesley had their experi
ences, and Proctor, the astronomer, ha?
averred his belief in such marvels. The
American Psychical Society investigated
the case of a iran at Oil City, Penn.,
who, on approaching a clock in his room
which had suddenly stopped, although
wound up, heard the \oiceofhis brother
at Grand Rapids, Mich.,ufttrijhe words:
“I’m gone, I’m gone 1” The irext day he
received a telegram that his brotnerdied
at that time, and four days afterwards
received a letter stating that the last
words of the dying man were: “I’m
gone! I'm gone!” The British Psychical
Society narrates the cases of two sisters
living miles apart, and who at night met
in their carriages at the cross-roads on
their way to their mother, who had ex
pressed a dying wish to see them and
which the daughters had heard at night.
The evidence is cumulative. So, also, is
cumulative the testimony relating to the
transference of sounds of consolation to
livina persons. Jessie Brown, while in
India, heard the Scotch pipers of Gen
eral Haveloek inarching to the rescue of
Lucknow when no one else heard a
sound. The quick ears of some Edin
burgh people are su’d to "have heard the
voices in the air whch told that King
James lay dead on Plod den Field with
many a knight and noble around him.
The Indians have acute ears and aver
that they hear voices constantly by which
they are guided. The emotions are
mysterious, hut we know that they
quicken preternaturally the senses, and
especially the sense of hearing. There
are ears that can detect coming footsteps
when others are deaf to them as posts.
There are hearts that feel the approach
of loved ones.— New York Mercury.
New Way to Get Money.
The inventor of one of the latest
swindles in New York usnally represents
himself as an Englishman. He has a de
cided cockney accent, is always well
dressed, and presents a very genteel ap
pearance. When he thinks he has an
easy prey he approaches his victim with
an eyeglass in hand. From one rim the
pebble is missing. He explains that he
has just dropped the glass and shattered
it. The remaining glass is simply a shade
for an eye that is totally blind, and by
the broken glass life is unable to see at
all. He is a stranger in a strange land,
and is, unfortunately, writhout money.
It the gentleman would kindly loan him
the amount with which to replace the
broken glass he will be able to return it
soon, for when he can see he will be en
abled to attend to remunerative business.
Then to cap the climax, the fraud gives
an illustration of his blindness by walk
ing against the wall, or a fence, or a
building, as the circumstances permit,
and bumping his head. This generally
catches the victim, who goes down in the
pocket and brings forth some change,
ranging from ten cents up to a dollar.
The blind fakir is profuse in thanks, and
feels his way out from the presence of his
benefactor only to lay in wait for another
victim.
For the last week he has been plying
his busine-s in the vicinity of the Grand
Central Depot. —New York 8 in.
LAND OF BELLS.
TUNEFUL PEALS HEARD EV
ERYWHERE IN BELGIUM.
Antwerp Cathedral’s Ninety-Nine
Dells— The Pride of the Lam!,
Worth ft! 00,000 An An
cient Mode of Casting.
In Belgium, day and night are set to
music; even the wind that ranges over
her compagnas is fraught with sweet,
harmonious whispers. Those peals of
hells, playing the same joyous strain,
possess a wonderful fa>c nation for the
listener. livery seven minutes there is
bell music.from some gray old • -a
such as St. Eomhaud, Mechlin. . lie
sound floats to us in moments of dis
couragement, and we choke down a sob
at the recollections that it brings. It
comes to us in the crowded city street
between the pauses of summer rain, and
it drifts through our dreams at night,
tinging our dormant fancies with a semi
consciousness.
There are ninety-nine bells in the
Antwerp Cathedral: forty form the
carillon, fifty-four are smaller in com
pass and tone, and the remaining five
are very ancient, and are rung at an
elevation of 274 feet. '1 he oldest of the
five, “Horrida,” hears the date 131(i,and
is a peculiar shaped bell which, from its
extreme age and chronic rheumatics, the
Antwerpiaus have, of late, permitted to
live in silence. Then comes the “Bur
few,” which may be heard daily at the
hours of five, twelve and eight. Next
is the hell wh.ch rang for the first time
when Carl the Bold entered the city, in
14tK. It is called “;t. Maria,” and its
companion is “St. Antoine.” Last of the
five and the pride of the land is (he well
beloved PCatolus,” given by Charles Y r .,
reputed seven and a half tons.
It is vulved at one hundred thousand
dollars, contains gold, silver and copper,
and is only u-ed about twice a year.
The quarter hours are divided by two or
three notes, the number doubled is rung
for the quarter itself, quadrupled for the
half hour, while at the hour a peal of
music issues forth that shakes the
entire belfry.
■Suppose wc pass in imagination to the
ci’vof Mechlin iu th • year Kffi-iffi to the
furnaces aud work shops of Peter \an
den Gheyn, and witness the casting of
some of these mighty bells. W hen the
hollow space between the cover of clay
aud the clay' mold is the precise cast
required, the critical moment lias ar
rive!, and the skillful workman produces
his rarest metals (the “Rosette” copper,
with its uni t* pink bloom, relined tin,
glistening like si.ver, certain proportions
of z. nc aud antimony, known to the
smith alone) aud throws them into the
caldron.- At a given signal, the molten
m ss is allowed to ru-h through an open
ing and till the hollow mould. When it
has cooled the hell is finished.
Kings and princes of the blood royal
have blood by these caldrons and have
thrown in go.d and silver, a costly ring
or a bracelet, with the name of holy saint
or martyr, as a token of success.
home of the decorations and inscrip
tions upon the old bells are wonderfully
beauti.ul as well as interesting. The
former are in low relief and illustrate al
most every variety of subject, while the
lines, in raised letters, are often sugges
tive and touching.
“Petrus Hemong me fecit,” is the in
scription familiar to all hell-hunters in
Belgium. The grand hells of Mechlin
and a number or the Antwerp
chimes beanie same name, while in the
belfry of Bruges (which “thrice con
sumed and thnee reuuilded, still watches
o’er the town”) is to be found upon the
carilion the name of Dumery. There
seems to no limit to the num
ber of Bells ui Belgium.
Besides the ninety-nine in the Ant
werp cathedral, St. Kombaud, Mechlin,
has forty-five; Tournay, forty; St. Ger
trude, at Louvain, forty; Bruges, forty
one, and Ghent, thirty-nine, but for all
the seeming multitude, there is scarcely
a citizen wiio does not reverence the in
dividual history of each hell. To him
they are not mere masses of metal emit
ting a mechanical sound, they are the
grand old sentries of his country, which
have tolled mournfully for dead patriot
ism, or rejoiced in loud tones at ttie exit
of a tyrant. He would tell you that
such aone is a “storm-hell,” which warns
the traveler of the approaching hurricane;
another is the “peace hell,’' whose sourfd,
in days gone by, brought assurance that
the enemy was quiet; this one is rung at
the opening and shutting of the city
gates; that one proclaims the hour of
prayer. Ah, Belgium, loving and be
loved of hells! Thy many-voiced, chim
ing patriarchs hold daily communion
with man, but they are not of him, they
summon him to hs duties; they swing
for his griefs and pleasures, “ringing
out the old, ringing in the new,” almost
for ever and ever. 'lbese valiant spires,
gray and constant in the upper air, dis
course together over the heads of frail
humanity, and their speech is rocked
from tower to tower by the music of the
ail Is — Chicago Current.
Coffee With the Arabs.
Iffio great event of the visit to an
Ara»o family m Palestine is the coffee.
The .host has a kind of brazen shovel
brought, in which he roasts the beans;
then he takes a pestle and mortar of the
oak of Bushan, and with his own hands
he pounds it to powder, making the hard
oak ring forth a welcome to the guest.
Many of these pestles and mortars are
heirlooms, aud are richly ornamented
and Beautifully black and polished by
ageTaml use. Su h was the one in ques
tion. Having drunk coffee (for the
honored guest the cup is filled three
times), you are quite safe in the hands
of the must murderous. So rnr do they
carry this superstition that a mau who
had murdered another fled to the dead
man's father, and before he knew what
had happened drank coffee. Presently
friends came in, and, as they were relat
ing the news to the bereaved father,
recognized the murderer crouched by
the fire. They instantly demanded venge
ance. No, said the father, it cannot
be; he has drunk coffee, and has thus
become to me as mv son. Had he not
drunk coffee the father would never
have rested until he had dyed his hands
in his blood. As it was, it is Said
he 'further gave him his daughter to
wife, Commercial Advertiser.
A fool may have his coat embroidered
with gold, but it is a fool’s coat still.
HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.
. The Rose of Orde
How can I tell her!
By her cellar.
Cleanly shelves and whitened witffik
I can guess her
By her dres-er.
By the back staircase and hall, #
, And with pleasure
Take her measure
By the way she her broom*
Or the peeping
At the “keeping”
Of her hack and unseen rooms;
By her kitcher’s air of neatness,
And its general completeness,
Wherein in cleanliness and sweetness
The Rose of Order blooms.
—Builder.
Gathering Rose Leaves.
The delightful work of gathering rose
leaves is best done eariy in the morning
or late in the evening. Shake into a
wide basket the petals from ro es thal
are about to fall to pieces. The rose
ieaves shou dhe spread out on a sheet
laid down in a dry place where the wind
will not disturb them. Ross leaves
gathered on different days should not
be mixed, but each collection on the
sheet should be stirred and turned every
day: wheu they are all nearly dry.they
can be heaped together ani finished off
on another sheet. When quite dry put
up*in self-sealing fruit ars. These
dried leaves alone, packed in as tight as
they can be pressed down, may be used
to till a fancy jar which, when left open
for a short\ime, will perfume a room if
the rose leaves are stirred up a little.—
New York World.
- '■<
A Useful Contrivance.
For the benefit of tired mortals whe
recline in hammocks most of the tmu
during the warm months there is a con
trivance irom which, if properly made,
they will derive much ease and comfort.
Make a square frame of wood and covei
with any light fabric, and place a thick
fringe of the same at the Dotioni. To
the top of toe frame nail three pieces of
hoard, two at the sides aul one in the
center, the three meet in- together, ot
attach cords iu the same manner by
which hang to a screw above the ham
mock. On one side of the frame atta-b
cords a» for a kite, and have a cord long
enough to put .through another screw ou
a post on a line with the side of the
hammock, which, when swung, will
cause the l’rqme to swing and stir a de
lightful breeze. A damp towel can he
attached to the bottom, instead of the
fringe, during the intense heat. A-trng
tied to a screw on another post, if pulled,
will swing the hammock. If this is too
much exertion let some one else pul! it.
This frame, with more adornment, can
he utilized us a fly fan. —De roil Free
Press.
Apples in Many Ssyles.
Lubig says: “Besides contributing
large pioporrion of sugar, mu il ge and
other nutritive compounds in the form
of fond, apples contain such a tine com
bination of vegetable acids, attractive
sui stances amt automatic principles,
with the nutitive matter, as to act
powerfully in the capacity of refriger
ants. tonics and antiseptics, and when
freely used at the season of ripeness, by
rural laborers and others, they prevent
debility, strengthen digestion, correct
the putrefactive tendency of uitrogeni
ous food, avert scurvy and pro lahly
maintain and strengtlion the power of
productive labor.”
“Of all fruits none are more healthful
or afford a greater variety of dishes than
apples. We give the following recipes
for preparing them, all of which will be
found to bfe excellent:
“Stewed Apples. —Pare tart apples,
cut them in quarters and remove the
cores, put them in a porcelain kettle,
stew with sugar, add the juice of half a
lemon and a lew hits of the rind, cover
with boiling water and simmer gently
until tender. Dish very carefully with
out breaking the pieces and serve cold.
“Baked Appi.es. —Wipe sweet apples
dry and clean, remove the cores without
paring, put them in an earthen dish and
hake in a moderate oven until tender.
Seive cold with sugar and cream.
“Coddi.ed Apples. Pare tart apples,
remove the cores, stand in a kettle,
cover with sugar, pour in a little boiling
water, put ou the lid and allow the ap
ples to steam ou the bank of the stove
until very tender. Dish carefully with
out breaking, pour the syrup over them
and stand away to cool.
“Compote of Apples. Quarter,
peel, core and cook a dozen apples with
a little water and sugar. Take up the
apples, boil down the syrup, add a sliced
lemon and a handful of raisins, let jelly
and pour over the apples.
“Apple Snow. —Pare and core some
large apples without dividing them.
Boil some ric e for ten minutes, drain and
let cool. Spread the rice iu a 3 many
portions as there are apples on small
cloths, tie the fruit sep,irately in these
and boil for three-quarters of an hour,
turn them carefully on a dish, sprinkle
with sifted sugar and serve with sweet
sauce.
“Apples with Whipped Cream. —
Fare and a#e large juicy apples, lilt the
cavities with sugar and a littie lemon
juice and a little grated rind, put them
in a pan with a little water in the bot
tom. Sprinkle the top with sugar, bake
them and when done set to cool. Cover
entirely with whipped cream, sweetened
tnd flavored.
“Apple MftRiNOUE. — Boil tart apples;
after they are pared and cored rub
through a coianderand sweeten to taste.
To a pint of the pulp stir in lightly the
beaten whites of six eggs, flavor, put in
a pudding dish, set in the oven, brown
and serve with custard.
“Charlotte de Pomme.— Cut ten soui
appies into quarters, peel, put them in a
kettle with hot water and two cups of
sugar, and stew until they are clear.
When they aie done, line a large dish
with slices of sponge cake, turn the ap
ples iu, make a round hole in the middle
and riii with the syrup in which the ap
ples were cooked. Then put them in a
stove oven for an hour. Turn it out on a
dish, place over the top slices of sDongi
cake. Serve with sugar and lemon
juice.
“Apple Float.— Pare aud slice some
ripe apples: stew down and run through
a sieve; beat to every quart of apples
the whites of twelve eggs and a pound
of sugar. Flavor with extract of lemon.’
Portable electric lights, to he -hung to
a coat button, are the new invention foi
the benefit of readers upon cars. Thus
each one can become his own lightning
hug.