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HA HI.EM. GEORGIA
PVBI.PH El> EVEKY THUKaDAY.
Ballard «** Aililuaon.
I*llol HILTOK*.
Here i» what tl.< Panama Canal Com
p.-.uy ha* |Hir<hiM I of machinery: There
are, either nt work, en r ute, or in conrae
of construction, 20J Izirojxian locomo
tive* of 11»,2<M» horn 60 American
locomotive* of 4*400 liorw-|x>w<'r, 116 ex
cavator*, 28 large tug*, 144 •team pump*,
97 traction engine*, and a vast number
of other (team appliances, amounting iu
all to 07,400 horse-power.
The Philadelphia Press finds rauno for
c >ngrat<ilation in the disappearance of
another toll-bridge from Pennsylvania.
With toll-bridges arc also going In great
degree the toll takers of c nntncrcc. Cot
ton is now b night and sold by < able be
tween Manchester and the interior of
Texas on through bills of lulling. And
this fact but illustrat' S the completeness
with which old frontiers are being broken
down by thov wonderful levellers, the
locomotive and the t legraph.
The dial far es of the huge clock—the
second largest in the world -which are
to go into the tower of the Public Build
ings in Philadelphia, wiil be 26 feet in
circumference. The minute hand will
be twelve feet in length, and nt the ex
piration of every sixty seconds will move
over thirteen inches. The hour hand,
one foot shorter, will move more than 6
1-2 foot every hour. Chimes of bells will
probably Ihj connected with the elaborate
mechanism, so that the quarters, halves
tnd hours will be musically announced.
Aus ralia is a continent of many cli
mates, and there are comparatively few
products of the soil that can not l*o pro
ducer! in one or another part of it. A
commission has been sitting at Melbourne
to consider what vegetable products can
lie advantageously grown in the Austra
lian colonics. Mr. Moore, director of
tho Sydney botanic gardens, was one of
the witnesses, and he recommended the
increased growth of the olive, the caper,
the poppy, the castor oil tree, medicinal
rhubarb, inadder, rape, indigo ami mus
tard.
A dollar a month will keep a Bengal
(India) man alive. Here is certainly the
•pot on earth Where contontmcnt, aufli
cicney, paradise should lie. A dis
tinguished Brahmin recently quoted
from official reports the statement that
80.000,000 of the Hindus am always in
• state of ra mi-starvation ; that most of
the diseases are the result of hunger:
that 8,000,000 or 4,000,0<)0 die every
eleventh year of acute famine. Over a
lar/’i* portion of China a famine is
chronic. Only a few years ago 7,000,000
starved to death in one visitation.
A San Francisco newspap-r describes
• remarkable scene that took place at tho
funeral of a young man name I Frank
Peachy, in that city, a few days ago.
The father of Frank, a man gray-buarded
•nd bent w ith age, met tace to face with
bis funner wife the mother from whom
he had been separate I twenty five yeats.
The father resides at lew Angele s and tho
mother at Oakland. They had married
•gain snd had families Their actions
ovei the body of then boy was sad to
bchci d. The father tenderly stroked the
hail of his son and the- mother kissed tho
tipi. Both wept bitterly, but neither
recognised the other. At tho grave the
old mother knelt down and prayed while
the earth was being thrown over her
•on's coffin.
Not long ago Patagonia wm believed
to be one of the most desolate end unin
viting parts of the world. Wo have
learned w ithin the jtMt three years, how
ever, that a great deal of Patagonia is
not to be judged by the bleak and ver
duroless Atlantic seaboard. Tho Argen
tine military cx|>editiona have brought
borne some astonishing reports, which
•re- uow supplemented by tho discoveries
of Col. Fontana. I’hia gentleman, tho
Argent hie Governor of tho Chubut
province, has put explored the Chubut
River from its mouth on the Atlantic
coast to its head streams in the C'ordil
Icraa, travelling 3,000 miles, and cross
ing in various directions a large region
extending 250 miles south of 43 degrees
South latitude. In a letter which the
President of the Argentine R public re
ceived from him n few weeks ago, Col.
Fantana said that he had discovered
manv fertile valleys, well-watered plain*,
immense tracts of rich pasturage, a num
ber of lak«*. and extensive forests con
taining trees of unusual size, "I have
found, ’’ he writes, “new lands of a su|m--
rior quality, well adapted for coloniza
tion and cattle raising, with a healthful
ssUmste, an übuudsnee of woo.l. and
useful minerals. This region, 1 believe,
is destined to becoino one of the most
iMautiful and pnw|<erous parts of tho
Argentine possession*.' 1 The country
•explored by Cui. Fontana lies jti‘< a lit.
tie south of he region* coni-erniag which
previous exped.tious tu<kv al. i »t equally
jglow ng reports.
' The beautiful late at Clumlrer park,
the Duke of Newcastle's place in Notts,
lay* the London Truth, was recently
drained, and the fish were driven into
extensive dam* which adjoin it. The
bike has just been refilled and the fish
have been restored to their old quarters.
AI ton t 12,000 pike were put back, and
several thousands of carp and eels.
Many of the pike were very large, some
of them weighing 40 pounds. There
were shoals of tenet an I p-rch, and tho
carp were also of immense size. Clumber
lake had not been disturbed for two
hundred year-, so it is probable that
many of the pike and carp hive at
tained a patriarchal ago. The biggest
fish were carried by the keepers in th ir
arms, and those under 30 pounds were
conveyed in tank*.
A writer for a Hpringfleld, 111., paper
asserts that he has recently found in a
gravel stratum along the Sangamon river
In that State, three rough diamonds of
the first water, and at least a dozen to
pazes, all found in tho same locality.
He also states that he ha* found a large
number of pearl* in mussels from tho
Sangamon. The gentleman, whoso
name is not given, is vouched for as a
man of trustworthiness and education,
and is understood to have had experience
in the diamond mines of Brazil. These
stones have already been tested by an ex
perience I lapidary and pronounced to be
diamond*. Tho topazes arc easily dis"
tinguished as such. They arc all largo
enough to be cut to fair advantage.
While the finder lays no claim to having
made anything like an extensive dis
covery, he believes occ.xsionnl precious
stones will be found wherever this stra
tum of gr.vel overliei tho limestone.
He is reticent about the exact place of
the find, but it is know to be within less
than eight miles of Springfield.
Expensive Geese.
Speaking about Senator Mitchell, of
Oregon, a Washington letter to the Cleve
land Leader says: Some of his first cases
(Senator Mitchell's, in Oregon) were cu
rious ones, ami one is spoken of in regard
to four geese which were killed by one
of the wen thicr citizen* of Portland,
and which belonged to a poor German.
Mitchell took the case, but, owning to
the perjury of the man who killed the
geese, he was not able to win it. Ex-
Attorney General AVilliams, commonly
known at “Latin lelet Williams,” was tho
opposing lawyer. After tho case had
been concluded Mitchell told his client
th.it he thought it likely that the man
who killed tho geese and swore ho did
not, would boast of how he had out
witted them when about the saloons that
evening, and that he had better follow
him up ami see. He did so, and sure
enough, after the defendant had gotten
a glass or two of whiskey into him he
began to boast of his outwitting the lit
tle Pittsburg lawyer, and he said before
witncasoi that he had killed the geese,
but that they could not prove it against
him. Upon this M tchell demanded n
new trial, and he got a verdict in his cli
ent’s favor. Attorney General Williams
carried tho < use to the Supreme Court
and in the end, though tho geese were
worth only S2O iu the beginning, tho
man who killed them had to pay S4OO in
costs. Senator Mitchell was in tho
United States Senate from 1873 to 1879,
and his present term of service will not
expire until 18111.
B ‘ill Ing the Bound*.
The ceremony of beating tho bounds
which w.u carried on w ith great display
in two or three parishes in England re
cently, is very old, says the ZMZI Mall
Gazette, and scarcely deserves to be kept
jp. Os course any excuse for a holiday
is popular with tho boys, and there arc
adults who think that every institution
that is old is necessarily venerable. The
truth is, this practice belongs to a time
when average Englishmen could neither
read nor write. It was necessary that tho
bounds of tho parish should be ascer
tained, and the limit kept fresh in tho
public mem ry. There wore no civil
engineers in Queen Elizabeth s days, and
no ordinance survey map in KingMiime’s
Both law and custom favored a usage
which was necessary for the public weal.
Once the procession of boys with their
willow wands round a carriage drawn up
in a street so as actually to cross the
boundary ot the parish. They opened
the door of the vehicle, and the beating
of the bound* was conducted though
the carriage. The owner remonstrated,
but the law seemed to be against him.
The ceremony i light be less popular w ith
boys if the old programme were rigidly
carried out. In v ry early times boys
were whipped on the parish confine. It
was found even before Lhcki's dav that
pain was a great aid to memory, and vil
lage cronie* or parochial officials had
reason to renumber the bounds of theit
parishes.
The Luckless Friday.
It is very probable that not a single
sailor lives who docs not belie* i- that
Friday s an unlucky day. Captain
iltrr.-table, of t. .qas t od, endeavored to
disprove th a by laying tho keel of n ship
on Friday. 11 ■ launched her en Friday,
named her ou Friday and nlwava went to
sox on Friday. The war was finally
Io ton Friday, and the captain, two
luatn* and twclr- seamen were drowned.
; JVey r<««.
Rae and Reset.
Rm and fom, is it so!
Wbsre rose* bloaaom. must rue grow,
And shad* tha rr sea as they blow.
The row* spread their lovely sheen
Ufnn the swelling meadow's grwm,
And light the field* with joy eerena
Hut in their midst there stands the rue.
With saddened mien and ashen hue,
And reaches up Into the blue.
Rue and rose* must it be!
.May not the roses blossom free,
Anil joy in sunshine perfectly!
Ahl no; for joy i< one with pain;
They both must follow in Izrve’s train.
And when one comes they l>oth remain
So long as love and sorrow m"et,
Ho long must rueaud rose* sweet
Together bloom, to be complete.
—Caroline Hazzard, in Independent
THE RUBY NECKLACE.
“Come! Come! What the mischief—!”
I could say no more, as I slid rapidly
down the step* under the impetus of a
vigorous shove from the man just coming
out of the club. I arose with wrath in
my eyes, and then
“Harry!”
“Fred! Well, this in a surprise—
thought you were in Switzerland."
“Returned on last steamer. Very sad
news. Aunt Jessica died last Wednes
day week. You heard of it, I suppose?”
“No; I hadn’t. I had been in Florida
and just returned.
“Very mysterious case altogether, old
fellow,” said Fred, after we had ad
journed to the smoking-room. “I don’t
mean Aunt Jessica's death, although
that was very sudden—about her prop
erty, I mean. lam her only heir.”
“Let me congratulate ”
“No, don’t. It isn’t worth while.
The fact is, there is no property.”
“You surprise me? I thought your
aunt was rich?”
“So did I,” said Fred, gloomily; “we
were not on very good terms and I didn’t
know much about her affairs, but I
thought she was worth at least sixty
thousand. Well, I find a house and
some pretty fair furniture, pictures and
so forth—say ten thousand all told and
no trace of the remainder.”
“Hidden in an old stocking,” I sug
gested, “or in the family bible or secret
panel. I’ve read of such things.”
“So have I,” answered Fred, with a
sickly smile, “and I’ve nearly torn the
house to pieces in tho past three days in
my mad search.”
“Don’t give it up,” I said encourag
ingly.
“I won’t,” said Fred. “Help me old
fellow, will you?”
I said I would, and, of course, I did.
Fred and I went over Aunt Jessica’s
house, from cellar to garret, turned
every blessed thing inside out, explored
every nook that could by any possibility
contain gold, silver or bank notes, and
even ripped up the floor in a dozen
places. Nothing! I was iu despair; so
was Fred.
“Aunt Jessie's fortune is a myth,” I
said decidedly. “You had better be
lieve it, Fred; it will make it easier to
bear. ”
Fred thought so likewise, and so we
separated; but the very next day he
rushed into my office, all ablaze with ex
citement.
“I am on the trail,” he shouted.
“Sit down,” I said, shoving a chair
toward him. “Where is it buried!”
“Nowhere,” he replied savagely. “It’s
spent 1”
“Worse and worse!” I cried, in dis
may. “Do you mean to say that your i
aunt squandered fifty thousand dollars in
a year!”
“Listen, will you?” roared Fred, “and
stop guessing.” You know Miss Car
brook? Violet Carbrook? Beautiful
girl—very—dashing—sort of companion
to Aunt Jessica?”
“Yes, well?”
“I met her by chance last night, and
she cleared up the mystery in ten
minutes. It seems that aunt, about six
months ago, converted nearly all her
property into cash, and realized over
forty thousand dollars. Then she bought
—you cannot guess what she bought!”
“A ship?”
“Nonsense —a necklace of rubies!”
“What in the name of common sense,
did she want with such a thing?”
“It is my private opinion,” said Fred
earnestly, “that she did it with the in
.ention of keeping your humble servant
out of her property and she has succeed
ed admirably.”
“You mean that the rubies have dis
appeared?”
“Entirely."
“Fred'."said I with a gasp, “this is a
very re-markable yarn, Who ever saw
this necklace?”
“Miss Carbrook, said Fred promptly,
‘She describes it as composed of 30
stones of th • finest water, as I can very
well imagine from the price forty-five
thousand dollars.”
“Did your aunt ever wear it?"
“Never; she kept it in her dressing
ease just like any common trinket.”
“Was she the last one who saw it—
Miss Carbrook, 1 mean?”
“I suppose so, but—see here!” (with
great violence) “do you mean to insinu
ate that she—”
“No, no," I said, hastily, “certainl
not; if it has got to that stage I don’t
dare to suggest anything. Let us sup-
pose that tho earth opsned and swal
lowed them!”
“It may lie a joke foryou,” said Fred,
with a groan, “but it’i a very scriou*
matter to me."
"I know it,” said I, soothingly, “and
I’il go and help you pull down the house
any time you say the word. In the
meantime let us go down to tho club and
take dinner.” We had a nice little din.
ner, and Fred'* gloom began to fade
under the influence of good fare.
Presently he looked up and caught the
waiter’s eye.
Mr. Spoffard—how do, sah—said the
sable attendant with a grin. “Glad t’
s< e you sah! Hope you 'joyed yessup,
sah!”
“Ah, Henry, you rascal,” said Fred,
“I thought you had been hung long ago
for your imprudence."
“No, sah?” laughed Henry. “Jes
the same old Henry, sah—no betta'—no
wins. ”
“How’s the family, Henry? Wife all
well? and tho children—three, Henry?”
“Fou’ now, sah, an’ all fust rate, sah,
fust rate. The madam's doin' ov nussin’
off an’ on. Wor in 'dendance on yer
aunt, sail, in her last illness.”
“She was!” cried Fred, with a start,
“perhaps—perhaps—pshaw! what’s the
use!”
“What has hit you now?” I ventured
to inquire.
“An idea,” replied Fred, “brilliant or
otherwise, rem tins to be seen.” “In my
present situation I cannot afford to let
any clue drop. Wily not seo Mr*.
Henry?”
“Why not, indeed?" I assented blank
ly. “But why?”
“About the—you know what," and
Fred checked himself as he caught
Henry’s inquiring eye. “Would it ba
out of place, Henry, if I were to make a
call on your wife—say to-day?”
“No, sah,” replied Henry; “proud ov
do honah, sah. If you’ll wait till six
gemtnin, I’ll 'scort you.’’
“Agreed,” said Fred, as he dropped a
dollar into Henry’s nimble palm, and we
arose from the table and sought the
smoking-room.
Six fifteen P. M. found us ushered into
the neat sitting-room of Henry’s home,
confronted with Eliza and four children.
We both knew Elizi, so no introduction
was necessary’
“Lawd bless you, sah,” she explained
in response to the first question, “’deed
an’ I wor wid her’ an’ I mus’ say, sah,
dat she wor very tryin’—very much tryin’
onter a pusson’s nerves. Sich complaints
an' fault-findin’s. Well, sah, I arned my
money—’deed I did.”
“I don’t doubt it,” said Fred sympa
thetically. “But, tell me, did you no
tice, anywhere in the room, before or
after my aunt’s death a—a necklace of
rubies ?”
“No, sah,” answered Eliza decidedly;
“never seed no sich thing.”
“It’s no use,” I whispered to Fred; i
“it’s a blind trial.”
“So it is,” said Fred despairingly;
“let us go.”
But we were detained by Henry, who
always had an eye to the main chance.
“Don’t either of you gentlemen want
to buy a dog?” he asked suddenly.
The question was so unexpected and
so ludicrous, under the circumstances,
that we fairly roared. Fred was the first
to recover himself, and, wiping his eyes,
said: “Yes, I suppose so. Trot him
out, Henry.”
Henry disappeared into an adjoining
room and returned leading a little bull
pup, the nastiest creature imaginable.
He held it out to Fred, and. to my sur
prise, it was eagerly snatched.
“How much?” demanded Fred
hoarsely.
“Fiv Seven dollars,” said Henry,
noting his eagerness.
In ten seconds Fred had the money in
Henry’s hands. Then, with an apparent
effort to be calm, and at the same time
covering the animal with his top-coat, he
asked: “Where did you buy the collar?”
“Dat wor mine,” put in Eliza, grin
ning. “I foun’ it on de slur ov yer
aunt’s room. Purty beads, sah, but they
h'int no count. We don’t charge nuffin
fur de collar, does we, Henry?”
“Not a cent, sah,” said Henry.
Once in the open air Fred grasped me
by the arm, and, holding up the bull
pup to my view, said iu an awe-struck
voice:
“Look at his collar. It is the ruby
necklace!”
* * « # »
“So you are to be married next
month?”
“Yes; you will come to the wedding,
old chap?"
“Os course. Your present to the bride
will be, I suppose, a ruby necklace?”
“Not exactly; can't afford to carry
round so much idle capital, and I’ve con
verted the rubies into cash. Violet will
wear diamonds. Rubies are unlucky;
that is, they nearly proved so to me, old
fellow.”—Nine Fbri New*.
A Cause for Anxiety.
“Mamma, you read the other day that
a tiger died of eating sawdust!”
“Yes, dear. He swallowed it w : th
his food. Sawdust was thrown into his
cage to keep it clean.”
“Mamma, is there any likelihood of
my doll dying? She’s gone and eaten
herself chuck full of sawdust."— Ca I ,
CLIPPIAGS FOR THE CLRIOUL
Frogs’ legs from Canadian marshes
sell in New York at forty cents a
jxjund.
Paris to-day has a new pet—not a black
tulip, but a green rose. It is a pertcot
•pecimen.
Against poison,so far as has been hith
erto ascertained, the elephant is practi
cally proof.
The amount of emery stone annually
shipped from Smyrna to Great Britain,
the United States, France, Germany and
Belgium averages 7000 tons, the relative
quantity consumed iu each country being
'm the order named.
A workshop of the stone age has been
discovered near the gates of Paris, and
has yielded nearly 900 hand-worked
flints, including pieces of polished
hatchets, scraper.*, blades, points and
♦.wo or three little polishers.
An elaborate table, just completed foi
Lloyd's Iley Isler, shows that last year
there were built in the nations of the
world 692 vessels of over 100 tons each,
and 382 of these ships were built in the
United Kingdom and 68 in the colonies.
Mumps have become epidemic in Mul
mer, Canada, and one credulous young
man had a halter put around his neck,
was led to the creek to drink and was
then led seven times around the barn.
All this was to prevent an attack of the
dreaded disease.
It has long been a question of doubt
as to how far beneath the surface the roll
of the ocean could be felt. A diver at
work on the Oregon at a depth of 120
feet found it so heavy that he could not
keep his position while making
fast to a trunk which was to be hoisted
up.
In the Ardeune* ten cups of coffee are
taken after dinner, each cup having an
especial name. The first cup is the Case,
which is coffee pure and simple; the sec
ond cup, the Gloria, has a small glass of
brandy added in place of milk, while the
rest have increasing quantities of brandy
until the cory de I’etriee or stirrup cup is
reached.'
Neither photography nor the micro
scope was known in the days of Cicero,
yet he mentions that the whole of Ho
mer’s Iliad had been written on a piece
of parchment so small as to be inclosed
in a nut shell. A Frenchman, after
years of practicing, wrote the four canoni
cal prayers of the Roman Church on one
of his finger nails.
Superslitions About Clocks.
Some people are superstitious about
clocks. Nor is it any wonder. An old
clock comes nearer talking than anything
else on earth that is made of wood and
metal. How often as boys, or even as
men, have we lain awake at night to hear
the old clock tick away the minutes and
strike the hours. When every one else
was asleep we could hear ths old clock
untiringly going on with its duty, and
wc imagined that it was saying something
to us, and then that it was going to stop;
and then—well, then we were asleep. But
speaking of superstitions, I remember,
says F. G. 8., in the Cincinnati Tmes
fitar, one night when, with a friend, I
was sleeping in an old Pennsylvania town.
There was an old clock, such as I have
described above, which stood in the
hallway. During the night we were
awakened by a sudden crash. Then all
was still. Nothing was thought of it,
but we wondered what time it was, and
I looked at my watch. Exactly 3a. m.
And yet wo did not hear the clock strike.
In the morning we went down and the
old timepiece was silent. One of the
cords which held the weights had
snapped during the night, and that was
the crash we heard. The accident had
happened at 3 o’clock, as the hands in- |
dicated. Nothing was thought of it
until my friend received a telegram from
home, saying that a brother had died at
3 o’clock that morning. At best it was
only a coincidence, and yet who would ;
not feel a trifle superstitious over it?
Indian Sword Performers.
The favorite sword for performing feats
in India is the gauntlet-handled pata.
The swordsman will first show the keen
ness of his weapon, and his command of
its weight, by cutting in two a leaf laid
flat on the outstretched palm of a friend,
or by cutting a cloth hanging loose in the
air. He will put one sword on each hand,
and, so armed, springing from his feet on
the bare ground, will throw somersaults
backward and forward, following each
movement with a wondrously complicated
and simultaneous gyration of both swords
around his head and body. He will have i
the naked sword, more than 5 feet long,
doubled-edired, sharp-pointe.l, and keen
as a razor, lashed from the back of his j
neck down his back, and will again, from
his naked feet, re]>eat the somersaults.
Again, with sword and shield in his
hands, he will leap headforemost through
the stretched-out loop of a rope, held by
two men at the height of their heads, as
a circus-rider leaps through a paper hoop,
and light safely on his feet. Small won
der if the gaping crowd of spectators ;
applaud vociferously; that the carpet of |
the plucky athlete is soon covered with
a harvest of small change; and that the |
recurring festival*, with these profitable ■
opportunities, prevent the knowledge of
the old sword play from dying out.
BladcitooJ.
CYCLONESAT SE.\.
Dreadful Disasters Often Oc
casioned by Them.
A Hurricane in Whiffi a Fleet was D,.
stroyed and 3000 Lives Lost,
It is not very remarkable, says the
London Telegraph, that ships when
norantly or deliberately steered i nto
cyclones should lose their masts. p OJ
sibly what is most surprising is that ves
seis should outlive such tremendous e| e .
mental conflicts. A steamer in th- h eart
of a cyclone is in no better plight th-n
a sailing ship, though it may perlia->,
supposed that she w.ll gain a certain mj.
vantage from the lightness and slender,
ncss of her spars as compared with those
of a sailing vessel, even should the latter
have her top-gallant masts on deck Tho
features which render the cyclone the
extremely perilous thing it proves is, first,
the veering of the wind, with its enor
mous fury at the centre, and, secondly
the colossal pyramidal seas which are
formed in tie middle of it. There are
many cur ou incidents of disaster on
record. In the case of the Thalia, for
example, very shortly after she had beet*
hove to she lost every stitch of canvas,
her mizzenmast, boats, wheel, and com
pass, had her rudder head split, and sus
tained much other damage. Yet her
captain, to his credit be it said, found
opportunity, amid all the tumult
of the hurricane and the fearful
cross seas, to note a swing in the wind
alternating four or five points, first blow
ing northwest and then a little to the
southward of west and so on with the
regular rhythmic stoke of the beat of a
clock. An awful illustration of the
power of the cyclonic gale lies in the his
toric loss of an Indiaman named the
Swift, that was swallowed up in the
heart of a revolving gale and vanished as
utterly as though her fabric had been
formed of vapor. Four.hundred souls
were lost in her, but the peculiar interest
of her story lies in the circumstance of
her having had on board the crew of Her
Majesty’s ship Providence that had gone
ashore on a coral reef some time before.
The vastest calamity, however,for which
the cyclone, down to the present time
down to even these days of underman
ned and ill-found craft of all sort—is
responsible, is that of the loss of the
prizes taken by Admiral Rodney on
April 1, 1782, along with a great num
ber of merchantmen and most of the
men-of-war convoying the fleet. There
were three battle ships of seventy-four
guns each, one of 110 guns, prizes of
seventy-four and sixty-four guns, amount
ing in all, with merchantmen and others,
to ninety-two sail. A cyclone burst
upon this fleet on September 16, 1781
In those times there was little if any
knowledge of the law of storms, and the
ships unhappily hove to on the wrong
tack. Next day, at 2in the afternoon,a
shift of wind of terrific violence took
them all aback, and the issue of this
memorable storm was that the whole of
the men-of-war, with the exception of
the Canada, foundered or were abandon
ed, while such was the havoc among the
mcrchantmen that it is generally accept
ed as the greatest naval disaster on rec
ord. Three thousand seamen are said to
have perished. Our sea captains have
plentiful knowledge nowadays of the
laws which regulate these terrible storms
and the rules laid down for the avoid
ance of these inconceivable savage at
mospheric outbreaks are so plainly writ
ten and so easy of comprehension that
disaster befalling a ship from a cyclone
may commonly, with little fear of doing
injustice, be attributed to bad seaman
ship. There are, of course, exceptions,
tnd there need be no reason to suppose
for one moment that the Huntley Castle
was dismasted through stress o:i an ac
cumulation of c inditions against which
it would be absurd to suppose that the
master could have held his own.
The ‘Wrayon .K:cket.”
The latest scheme for squeezing the
Congressmen is what is known as the
“crayon racket.” An enterprising but
impecunious young artist is accredited
with its discovery. There are several
others who arc working it with him, and
with astonishing success. The crayon
racket is played something like this
style: The young artist usually finds
out something about his intended victim
in advance. A vain man is particularly
susceptible. After having discovered a
Congressman w(th the necessary amount
of vanity, and this is by no means a dif
ficult matter, he buys one of his photo
graphs, which are upon sale in the lobby.
Then by means of the solar print process
he draws a life-sized crayon. Ten dol
lars is a fair price for one of these
pictures. After the crayon has been
completed he has it framed and takes it
to the Capitol. The member is invited
to inspect it in his committee room. The
artist tells him that his face is such a
strong one and shows sc much intelli
gence that he drew it from sketches
made in the gallery to show what he
could do. If the victim desires to pur
chase it he wi 1 sell it, frame and all, for
SSO. In nine cases out of ten the com
bined infl'rence of the flattery and th»
crayon gets in its work and the artist
makes a very handsome profit upon his
investment.— Boston Traveller.