STONE OF THE SEPULCHRE
A Visit to the Ancient Tombs
of Damascus.
Underground Cavities that "Were
the Tombs of the Great
Once
A correspondent of the New Orleans
Times-Democrat says in a letter from
the Holy Land: Seldom have I been
so interested in an antiquity as I was
in-the door of this royal cemetery. To
the left of this hole was a groove, in
'which a monster block of granite,
shaped like a millstone, fitted quite
snugly. One man from below could
roll this stone over the portal, if he
was initiated; but 100 could not move
it if they knew not the art. A low,
dark passage, scarcely large enough to
admit a man, leo to this ancient but
ingenious door, and wa3 the only ave
nue by which it could be opened prior
to the excavations of our own times.
The mouth of this secret passage was
neatly closed with a trap door, placed
on the very brink of a pit Only those
thoroughly acquainted with the place
could ever have detected the methods
of entrance. Evidently grave ghouls
were feared in those days and here, as
much as now in your own land.
Now I can understand how the
stone wa3 "rolled away" from the
door of the Lord's sepulcher! Now I
can understand why "that other disci
ple" stooped down and looked into the
tomb.
"We entered the hole with lighted
candles, and prowled around to our
hearts' content in the magnificent
apartments of rock beyond. The
chisel marks on the walls were a3 fresh
as if they had been made yesterday,
save where tourists, yearning after
cheap immortality, have used candle
flames to smoke their names upon the
stone. There appeared to be four
large chambers, with numerous apses
hewn out for the reception of one, two
or three bodies. Of course the sar
cophagi and most of the doors have
long since yielded to the onslaughts of
time and Christian vandals. One mar
ble sarcophagus is still exhibited at the
Louvre, I believe.
Mr. Floyd told mt of a touching
tragedy which occuired some twenty
years ago in these tombs. A party
got to joking as to the amount of
courage it would require to visit the
tombs at dead of night, alone, without
a light. A wager of one pound was
the result, and one supposedly brave
man agreed to come that night and
'stick his knife into. a log of wood
which was deposited there for this
purpose. Night came. The party ac
companied the man to a grove near by
with lanterns, examined his knife, and
then waited while he made the de
scent. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes
passed, but the man did not return.
The others then became alarmed and
went in search for him. They found
him in the appointed vault, lying over,
the log in question dead!
An investigation developed the fact
that the knife was still sticking in the
log, but had passed through one of the
man's coat tails. It was pitchy dark,
and doubtless the man had become
frightened almost to distraction as he
crept to the log. In this excited con
dition it is supposed that he stuck the
knife through 'his garment. Thenf
when he arose, and was suddenly
pulled back, it is hardly a wondet that
the life departed out of him from
sheer terror.
Undoubtedly these subterranean
cavities were once the tombs of great
men; but scholars differ as to the an
tiquity which they represent. Some
throw them back to the time of David,
while others maintain that they are
not more ancient than the Herodian
age. As ner as I can learn, the ma
jority of thinkers incline to the belief
that the tombs were constructed for
Helena, the widowed Queen of Mono
bazus, King of Adiabane, during the
time of the famine predicted by Agabua
in the days of Claudius Caesar.
A Long Pneumatic Tabe.
A company is getting ready to build
a pneumatic tube for carrying letters
and small packages from Chicago to
New York. The idea at first seems
impracticable, but on examination it
turns out to be feasible. Two tubes
are to be made of brass, which will
run side by side, although it is said
one tube will be tried at first. A pow
erful engine with an exbaust-wljoel is
to be stationed at one end.
IV la aaid
that if the tube is propesly made and
planted no air will escape. The right
of way it is believed can be secured
for nothing, or at a nominal expense
and the main cost will be the tube and
the engines and stations. A letter, a
sample of grain, or package of any
kind which is to be sent, is Inclosed in
a leather ball. A ball presents the
least friction as a rolling object, and
the leather is to be stiff and heavy. A
continuous current of air is passing
through the tube constantly. With
one pipe the plan is to reverse the
engine every hour the first hour forc
ing air into it at the Chicago end and
sending packages to New York, the
next hour exhausting the air at Chi
cago and drawing the packages as
quickly back The men who have it
in charge do not say how long it will
take to send a package this way, but
claim to be able to do it in less than a
minute. Stations will be established
at the important cities on the route.
It is expected to p :y a large profit.and
to do the - business of the telegraph
companies, express companies, and the
mail. They say the scheme of sending
crude petroleum by a pipe for long
distances, as is now done, was laughed
at at first and that this one is more
practicable, if possible, and not nearly
so costly, as the pipes are to be small
and can go around curves and over
hills as well as on a level. New York
Graphic.
Moral Courage In Kvery-Day Life.
Have the courage to discharge a debt
while you have the money in your
pocket.
Have the courage to do without that
which you do not need, however much
your eyes may covet it.
Have the courage to speak your
mind when it is necessary you should I
do so, and to hold your tongue when it
is prudent you should do so.
Have the courage to speak to a
friend in a "seedy" coat, even though
you are in company with a rich one,
and richly attired.
Have the courage to own that you
are poor, and thus disarm poverty of
its sharpest stincf.
Have the courage to tell a man why
you will not lend him your money.
Have the courage to "cut" the most
agreeable acquaintance you have, when
you are convinced that he lacks princi
ple. "A friend should bear with a
friends infirmities," but not with hi3
vices. ' -
Have the courage to wear old clothes
until you can pay for the new ones.
Have the courage to prefer comfort
and propriety to fashion in all things.
Have the courage to acknowledge
your ignorance, rather than seek credit
for knowledge under false pretenses.
Have the courage to provide an en
tertainment for your friends within
your means not beyond.
Have the courage to take a good
paper, and pay for it annually in ad
vance. Christian Witness.
' Kangarooiu?."
Kangarooing is the most interesting
sport in Australia, says a resident of
that country. It is one of the most ex
citing sports in the world. Large
meets are organized, parties of from
twenty to thirty joining in these hunts,
They ride to the kangaroo grounds, and
as soon as one is sighted the two dogs
are released and the horse3 are given
their heads. If the Australian horse is
well up in the business, and if you let
him take you instead of you trying to
take him, he will carry you safely,
avoiding the trees and underbrush. A
good, strong kangaroo will give you a
long chase, and very often the dogs
cannot follow him. In this case, when
the horseman gets up to the kangaroo,
he takes off his stirrups and strap and
knocks the animal over the head,' which
effectually stuns him. lie is then kill
ed and skinned. The hindquarters are
given to the dogs. Yes, it is good
enough eating, but too strong to be
palatable to those of delicate taste.
The tail, on the contrary, is considered
by epicures to be delicious when made
into soup.
The average size of a kangaroo is
about four and a half feet high, but the
"old man kangaroo" is often six feet
high, and is very fierce when cornered,
and is known to have ripped men open
with a single blow from one of hi3 hind
less.
( Commander Schley has never been
on the sick list since he entered the
service, about twenty-flve years ago.
TOPICS OP THE DAT. Niagara Falls, court-martialed and Co-operation In England.
' sentenced to death. Ilisjsentence was, j it will probably surprise most pec-
""Captain Joe," the local chief of the however, commuted to 800 lashes, i pie to be told that in England cc-ope-Washoe
Indians, says that there is a from the result of which he never re- ' ration has made such headway as to
squaw living in the outskirts of Car
son, Nevada, who is nearly one hun
dred and fifty years old. Her grand
son, at the age of thirty, was one of
General Fremont's guides when he
crossed the plains. -
"Sometimes our misfortunes are
blessings in disguise;" as, for instance,
the last flood which inundated Cincin
nati so cleansed the city that it has
been unusually healthful ever since,
Most cities would be benefitted by a
mild dose of the same medicine.
A professional gambler, say3 an
Eastern paper, who has just returned
from a "Western tour reports that
gambling is dying out in the "West,
few houses bsing open and the stakes
so small that they are hardly worth
playing for. Even on the Mississippi
boats gambling is strictly prohibited.
New Orleans, with its licensed tables,
appears to be the gambler's only refuge. ,
Possibly the traveler did not pause a
night or two in Chicago.
A local paper of Dakota is responsi
ble for the following: A Dakota
farmer in 1881 planted a single grain
of spring wheat ' and from it grew
twenty-two stalks, each baaring a f ul
head of wheat, yielding in all 860
grains of wheat; 760 of these were,
planted the next year, producing one
fifth of a bushel of splendid wheat
.This was planted last spring, yielding
seventeen bushels, making 1,020 pounds
of wheat from one grain in three years.
The revision of the Old Testament,
which it was hoped, would be out this
year, will probably not make its ap
pearance before early in 1885. The
eighty-fifth and last session of the
English revision committee has been
held, but months must intervene be
fore the complete work can be given
to the public. Nothing is positively
known of any changes made in the old
version, the revisers on both sides of
the Atlantic having kept their pledge
of secrecy.
Benjamin Franklin left $5,000 to
Boston to be loaned in small sums to
young married mechanics under 25
who had served an apprenticeship, had
nA f,, o,i o.;,ra Krm,ia
gwuu wu., r -
ior tne repayment oi lue money in au-
nual installments. The changed con
dition of mechanics, the decay of the
apprentice system, and other causes
have made the bequest of no value to
those for whom it was intended under
the rules Franklin laid down. The
fund now amounts to more than
$290,000, and is increasing at the rate
of $10,000 a year.
A wonderful farm is that known a3
Baldwin's Santa Anita ranch, in Los
Angeles county, California. It com
prises 1,200 acres in grapes, 16,000
orange and lemon trees, 2,000 pome
granates, 3,000 English walnut trees,
2,000 almond tres, 2,500 peach trees,
4.0C0 pear trees, 2,000 apricot trees,
1,000 fig trees, and subsistence is
furnished for 25,000 head of sheep,
2,000 cows and pigs and several hun
dred horses and mules, and this year
before harvest could be seen 17,000
acres of golden grain.
A correspondent of the Illustrated
London News say3 that the best sol
diers in the world are not Englishmen,
as an Englishman would naturally
think, but Montenegrins and the men
of Herzegovina. These mountaineers
"are of stalwart proportions, heroic
courage and marvelous military apti
tude. They are without rivals any
where in the world." Next, he says,
come the Turks "the private soldiers;
brave, patient, hospitable, enduring,"
they "come second among the warriors
of the world." After the Turks "un
doubtedly come the English," though
he admits he has not seen the German
army in the field.
A curious claim pending in the
pension office at Washington, belong
ing to the war of 1812, is one present
ed by the widow of Anthony Coslo,
alias Anthony Castle. Ic cites that
Anthony Ca3tle, who died in 1870 at
Ann Arbor, Mich., joined the British
forces in Canada, that he deserted in
1814, crossed on the ice to the Ameri
can side of the river and entered the
United btates service. After serving
here six months he was retaken by
the British at a point six milea below
covered, and for which a pension wa3
granted him. This pension his widow
asks to have increased.
i The farmers will be interested in
the fact that the agricultural interests
will be largely represented at the
Southern World's fair at New Orleans
The exposition has offered $62,000 in
premiums for cattle and dairy exhib
its, $10,000 being for the latter. Min
nesota has added $2,000 to the premi
um list for dairy products and appara
tus. A number of herds of cows to
supply milk will be exhibited, so as to
allow of a practical showing of the
working of the machinery. The com
missioners, of Minnesota, are anxious
to have the International dairy con
vention convene in New Orleans
during January, and al30 to have the
National Butter and Egg association
meet there at the same time.
Reports from Odessa give a gloomy
view of the ravages of the cattle plague
in several llussian Provinces. The
authorities are opposed by the people
when any attempts are made to stamp
out this pest. In Samara the plague
is spreading rapidly and causing severe
losses, but a Government Commission
recently despatched to Nicolaievsk to
investigate tha disease and attempt to
check it, were driven out by the
peasantry and barely escaped with
their lives. The peasants were
willing to have their cattle cured
but when the Commission at.
tempted to kill and bury the diseased
stock, they were set upon by the
women, armed with kitchen utensils
and behind them came the men armed
with f pades, flails, scythes, and similar
weapons. The Government oilered to
pay three roubles for each ani-
. mal slaughtered, but as this was no
the full value of a healthy animal, the
: peasantry would not submit to what
they thought was insufficient compen
sation, and now the plague is spread
ing unchecked.
I The London inner circle railroad is
a marvelous feat of engineering skill.
! It runs throughout its entire distance
' under the busiest centre of the larg-
o ,
est citv in tne worm, anu me operations
; l - .
""o -
struction have proceeded without seri
ous injury to or interruption of business
or traffic. Quicksands have had to be
passed through, beds of old rivers
spanned, lofty warehouses and mas-r
sive buildings secured while their
foundation have been undermined, and
an intricate network of gas and water
pipes sustained until supports had
been applied them from,below. Added
to this the six main sewers had sever
al times to be reconstructed. Day and
night the work has been carried on for
eighteen months, and now the engi
neers are able to announce that their
tunnel is complete. The laying of the
rails and the building of the stations
are the only portion of the immense
work that remains to be done, and in
a very short time trains will be 'pass
ing over the whole of this wonderful
subterranean road.
Freaks of Watches.
Watches are queer things. They
possess some unaccountable peculiari
ties. For instance, some time about
the beginning of last summer, when
there had been a succession of fine dis
plays of aurora bore lis, it was esti
mated that in a single night in the
City of New York the mainsprings of
no less than 3,000 watches broke. This
estimate is based on actual inquiries.
Fine, sensitive watches are particular
ly liable to be affected by electrical at
mospheric disturbances. During the
months of June, July and August,
when these phenomena are most fre
quent.thereare more mainsprings bro
ken than during all the remaining
months of the year. They break in a
variety of ways.sometimes snapping in
to as many as twenty-seven pieces. It
is a fact that since the introduction of
the electric light has become so general
a large number of watches, some of
them very fine ones, have become mag
netized. While in this condition they
are useless as timekeepers. This de
fect used to be incurable, and because
of it thousands of watches have been I
thrown away after much money has
been spent on them in vain attempts
to persuade them to keep good time,
nduce a cautious journal like The Lon
don Spectator to predict "that long be
fore the century is out the whole of
our working class will be in associa
tion, and will have the staple trades
of the country in their hands or under
their control." Yet the statistics of
the movement seem to show that such
a prediction is not idle exaggeration.
At present there are over 1,200 socie
ties of working-folks, numbering 600,
000 members. Almost all of them are
heads of families, and they therefore
represent two millions and a half of
people, or one-twelfth of the whole
population of the kingdom. These so
cieties possess a capital of $15,000,000,
and make a net profit of $10,000,000
yearly. Besides this they have a
Wholesale Society, now in its twenti
eth year, which on a capital of $200,
000 does a business of upward of $15,
000,000, with a net profit of $160,000.
This concern has branches and depots
in Scotland, Ireland, this city, France
and Denmark, and owns three large
steamers which ply between England
and the Continent on the company's
business. And the constitution of
this already great Union pledges it to
"the promotion of the practice of
truthfulness, justice and economy in
production and exchange (1) by the
abolition of all false dealin g, either di
rect or indirect; (2) by conciliating
the conflicting interests of the capital
ist, the worker, and the purchaser,
through an equitable division among
them of the fund commonly known as
profits; (3) by preventing the waste
of labor now caused by unregulated
competition." No society is admitted
to the Union unless it agrees to accept
these principles as its gaiding rules of
business.
There is thus established a system
which promises in good time to solve
the most difficult economic problems of
the age, and to find a common stand
ing ground for Capital and Labor.
New York Tribune.
Thorns Held Sacred.
In Ulster, Ireland, the thorns are sa
cred; no plough approaches within
some feet of them, and even to touch
their branches is unlucky. Innumera
ble are the tales of fool-hardy persons
i j
breakinsroif leaves or bousrhs from
such trees, and who were punished by,
losing the guilty hand, or by its being
so torn by the thorns as to be crippled
for life. Sometimes a man alone at
work in the fields would hear his own
name distinctly called, and, looking up,
would see all the little f c lk in green
dancing on a hillside or playing among
trees, and whilst he gazed they would
all vanish again. They are in popular
legends the very embodiment of caprice
and fitful zeal for good or evil For
no apparent cause, some man or woman
is suddenly singled out for every sort
of favor; the ashes on the hearths are
changed by night to glittering gold,
the empty cars are filled with well
water by the toil of the tiny friends,
the housework is done, and the barrel
kept full of meal; and then on a sudden
they forsake the favorite of a fortnight,
and pelt him with petty woes till he is
half wild, or, maybe, dry up the supply
of milk, lame his horses, or blight his
child. Their love of children, and
their longing to carry them away.have
suggested many touching ballads, and
they are supposed to be willing to give
any good gift to a household in return
for leave to rock the cradle.
Emotions aud Health.
Phvsician3 make a mistake if they
treat their patients with material reme-
dies alone. There is a psychological
element of cure. By agreeable emo
tions nervous currents are liberated,
which stimulate the blood, brain and
viscera. Th3 emotions of persons aro
more important to health than most
physicians suppose. Agreeable emo
tions are curative in their influence
upon invalids, while disagreeable emo
tions often produce disease in persons
of good health. A dyspeptic under
the influence of depressing emotions
cannot at his own table eat an ounce
of food without subsequent distress;
but at the table of a frienl, under
agreeable circumstances, he can eat a
hearty meal without discomfort.
Health and Home.
Of the 4,500,000 dead letters handled
in Washington last year, over 13,000
were malle without any addrcs3( and:
1 0Yer 200,000 without stamps.