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About The Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1885)
WE ALt LIKE SHEEP. "We all like sheep," the tenors shrill Begin, and then the church is still. While back and forth across the aisle, Is seen to.pass the "catching'' smile. "We all like sheep," the altos moan P In Ion" and rich and mellow tone, While broader growa the merry grin " And nose gets further off from chin. "We all like sheep," sopranos sing Till all the echoes wake and ring; The young folks titter, and the rest Suppress the laugh in bursting chest. " "We all like sheep," the bassos growl The titter grows into a howl, And e'en the deacon's face is graced With wonder at the singers' taste. We all like sheep." runs the refrain. And then, to make their meaning plain, The singers altogether say, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. HOW I MADE MY FORTUNE. Three of us were sitting in a small room and contemplat ing the hardships of our destiny. "Without money one can do noth. ing said George; "were I to hit upon a speculation that would have done honor to a Rothschild, coming from a pauper like myself, no one would think it worth attending to." "I," said Albert, "have actually fin ished a work which would establish my reputation as an author if I could find a bookseller to buy it." "I have petitioned my employer for an increase of salary," I exclaimed, anxious to contribute to the chorus of lamentations, "and he told me that for forty louisa year he could get more clerks than he wanted." "It would not so much matter," said George, thoughtfully, "if, besides be ing poor, we did not seem poor. Could one of us only be thought rich" "What is the useof the shadow with out the substance?" I asked. "Of every use," said Albert, "I agree with George; the shadow sometimes makes the substance. The next thing to capital is credit." "Especially," returned George, "the credit of having a good fortune. Have none of us a rich uncle in India.'' "A cousin of mine went to Jamaica or Martinique, I forget which," Isaid, innocently, "and he nevercameback." "Capital! That is all we require," ex claimed George. "We will conjure up this cousin of yours, or, could we not kill him? Yes; James Meran, oi Mar tinique, deceased, leaving a sugar plan tation, a hundred negroes and a for tune of one hundred thousand louis to his well-beloved cousin, Louis Meran." We laughed at the joke, and I thought no more of it; but George and Albert, slightly excited by the fumes of a bowl of punch which I had sent for to do honor to the testator, lost no time in concocting, and afterward publishing, a full account in a local newspaper of the fortune that had been left me. The next day sundry friends dropped in to compliment me. Of course I en deavored to undeceive them, but they would not take a denial. In vain I assured them it was a hoax; it was of no use. Several people remembered mv cousin James very well, and had seen him at Nante before he embarked in 1879. Among others came my tailor, to whom I owed a sum, which was not quite convenient for me to pay at that moment. No doubt the rumor of mv cousin's decease had sharpened his memory. I wished my two friends at a place that should be nameless. "Good-morning, Mr. Mayer; 1 sup pose you have come for these fifty francs? "I hope, sir, you don't think I came for such a trifle as that. No, sir; I came to take your order for a suit of mourning. "A suit of mourning!" "Yes, sir; cousin's mourning. Dark bronze for morning wear, black trous ers and waistcoat." "At the present moment, Mr. May er "I hope, sir, I have done nothing to forfeit your patronage?" "But I repeat, I have received no money at all." "I hope, sir, you won't mention such a thing; there is no sort of hurry," ex claimed the tailor, who busied himself in taking my measure with slips of paper. After all, my wardrobe did need some additions, and 1 said nothing more. "Mydear sir," said the next visitor, "I have a very great favor to request of you. Buy mv house. You are very rich; you must be on the lookout for safe and lucrative investments. Sixty thousand francs are nothing for you a mere fraction of your income. With me the case is different. I thought Mr. Felix had made up his mind to buy the premises, and now I hear he has changed his intention. What is to become of me? I have a heavy de mand to meet, and I don't know where the money is to come from." "I buy your house? Why it would be madness to think of such a thing." "Madness! no such thing; you could not nnd a better investment anywhere. In two years, with trifling repairs, it will be worth double its present value; you will never see such a good oppor tunity again. Say done, and I'm off." And he was off, without leaving me time to put m a word. Two hours after in walked Mr. Felix, evidently not in the best of tempers "Really, sir," he began, "you have taken me quite by surprise. The house is indispensable to me. 1 reckoned on it as if it were mine, and only offered fifty thousand francs because the owner is embarrassed, and I felt sure he would be obliged to take them With you, sir, the case is different; so I came to ask you if you will let me have it for sixty-five thousand francs?" Fifteen thousand francs dropping all at once into the lap of a poor fel U-w who had to work hard to gain eight hundred f rancs in a year! I could hardly believe my ears. "I cannot give you an answer just now,sir,"Isaid; "but if you will take the trouble to call again at 5 I'll see what I can do." At a quarter to 5 Mr. Felix made his appearance. I spoke to him with candor: "I should tell you, sir, that I had no thoughts of buying the house till the owner prevailed on me to do so. You say you want the house-, any other wiil suit me equally as wellrso I accede to your terms." "You shall have a draft onParis for the amount in a fortnight," replied Mr. Felix, who bowed and withdrew, apparently enchanted with my ways of doing business. A draft upon Paris! The circum stance appeared so- unusual to me that I thought I ought to send to Paris to get it cashed. I wrote ac cordingly to Messrs. Flanges & Bege ret, the only firm I knew there. I was in the habit of receiving through them the interest of a small sum that had been left me by an uncle. I in formed them that, having funds at my disposal, I wished for information as to the best mode of investing them. The significance of the word "funds" varies very much according to the name and position in life of thespeak er. The rumor of my legacy had reached Paris; so that when I spoke of "funds" it was evident that I meant a considerable sum. This was proved by the following letter: 'Sir We are in receipt of your esteemed favor of the 17th current, which reached us after the conclusion of the last loan negotiated by the Cortes, in which our firm has an interest. Desirous that our friends should have an opportunity oi par ticinatinu in an investment which we con sider profitable, we have taken the liberty Of placing twenty tnousanu piastres lu yonr credit. Should that amount appear too considerable, the rise oi tnose securi ties admits of your selling out at a premium. Flanges & to. To this was added a postscript by the head of the firm: 'We have heard with pleasure of the re cent good fortune that has fallen to the lot of our old friend and correspondent, anu beg to offer him our services as oecasion may require." Twenty thousand piastres! I let the letter fall in sheer amazement. What would have been ray as tonishment if more conversant with the terms of commerce and more attentive to the enclosed amount current. Ihad seen that what I took for principal was only theyear lv interest? I lost no time in writing to my correspondents to inform them that the sum was much too large. "I have receivedno money, I said, "irom Martinique, and it would be impos sible for me to meet my engagements." An answer came by return oi post: "We learn with regret that you have misgivings with regard to the Spanish loan . According to your order we have sold out all the stock assigned to you, which brings in already a net profit of . -i . ,l j t w;n, ,..-To,.h eignty tnousanu nanus. icgoiu to your property at Martinique, we are too well acquainted with the de lays which bequests at such a dist ance must necessarily involve to think for a moment that you can be immediate ly put in possession of your inheritance, out your signature will suffice to procure you all the money you may require in the mean, time. We take the liberty of remind ing you of the advantage of making timely investments, lest, when the legal arrangements are ended, you should find difficulty in getting good interest for so large a capital. With the hope that you may entertain a better opin ion of German securities than you do of Spanish, we hand you a prospectus for establishing a bank atGrunningen. You will please to observe, sir, that no deposits is required and that, as calls are made at long intervals, it will be easy for you to sell your shares, should youchangeyour mind, without you having any occasion to make any payment. We have placed fifty to your credit, and have the honor to re main," &c. Eighty thousand francs! the amount was a perfect mystery to me; no doubt the clerk had made some mistakes m thefigures. Myposition wasbecoming embarrassing. Congratulations pour ed in from all quarters, especially when I made my appearance in black from head to foot. The Journal de Goub- mouches thought it right to publish a biographical sketch of my cousin; and the editor wrote to me asking for further particulars. Ladies connected with all sorts of societies begged that my name might be added to their list of subscribers, and the money Ihad to pay for postages was something alarm ing. To escape from this avalanche of inquiries 1 hastily departed to Paris. Directly I got there I called on my bankers, by whom I was received as heirs to a large property generally are. "Sorry that you have such a poor opinion of the Spanish stock," said Monsieur Bergeret; "there has been a great rise; however, we only sold out hall vour parcel. "Would you have the goodness to let me know what the present value ot the remainder might be?" I replied. "Certainly, sir, ten thousand pias tres stock at seventy (the piastres be- i ji j n i.: ing at nve uaucs, iiiiity-nveceiiLiiiiesj, the sum already paid being it you sell out to-day you will, with the pro ceeds of last sale, have from two hun dred and ten thousand to two hun dred and twenty thousand francs." Very well. You said something about a German bank I think.' "Yes; the government made some difficulty about granting a charter, but it is all settled now, and the prom ised shares have risen considerably. "Can I sell out?" "Certainly; you have fifty, at four hundred and fifty florins profit ; that will bring you in about sixty thousand francs." 'Without any calls to pay?" 'None whatever." "That seems strange, but you are no doubt well informed. I should like to find a secure investment for those sums; would you have the goodness to tell'.me what would be the best?" "You cannot have anything better than our own five per cents. Iknowof nothing more secure; at the present price of that stock you get six percent ( for your money. I can easily under stand that you would be worried by ' such trifling details as these; you will j soon have more considerable sums tc j look after." "Then, if I invest the combined pro dace of the German and Spanish stocks ; in the five per cents., what should Iget a year" "Let me see. Three hundred thou sand francs funds at eighty Eighteen twenty: yes, twenty thousand francs a year." There ore few moments in my life when I look back with more satisfac tion than on those occupied in my in tesview witi M. Bergeret. I doubt if . should hava belived in the twenty thousand francs a year if it had not been for the fifty napoleons. In- the meantime- my two friends were shocked at the success of their story, and were not a little alarmed at my sudden journey to Paris, which was attributed by others to legal busi ness. George and Albert then began to fear that I really believed in the an thenticity of tha invention they had concocted. Three days after my return they came to see me with long facesv "My dear Louis," said George, "you know your cousin is not dead." "I cannot be sure of that," I replied "for I am by no means convinced of j his existence." "Well, but you know that this in heritance is only a hoax." "To tell you the truth, I think we! are the only people who are that opinion." "We have been very wrong to origi nate such a foolish invention for which we are sincerely sorry." "On the contrary, I am much oblig ed to you." "But it is our duty to- contradict it, and to confess how foolish we have been." Truth cannot remain- lbneeoneealed. Peorjle began to wonder that ne news came from Martinique; the wise and I prudent shook their heads omiaously I when my name was mentioned.. "The most ludicrous leature in tne case is, said one, "that nenas enaea by believing in the truth of his own invention. For my part, I must say that he was- always rather skeptical about that inheritance." "And I also," said Mr. Fehx.though it has costaaefifteenthousandfranes." On seeing- a dozen letters on my ta- bte one morning, I guessed that the babble had burst. Their contents j were much alike. For instance: "Mr. Mayer's respects to Mr. Mer i, and, having heavy payments to meet, will feel obliged by a check tor the amount of the inclosed." "My replies disarm all doubts of my solvency: "Mr. Meran thanks Mr. Mayer for having at last sent in his account, and incloses a check for the amount." My cool and unconcerned demeanor kept curiosity alive for a few days longer. "What a lucky fellow, said one. "Luck has nothing to do with it," rejoined another. "Me has played his cards wen ana has won." Once or twice, I felt compunction of conscience, but a moment s renection convinced me that my own exertions had no share in my good fortune, and I owed it all to the universal public worship of the golden calf, and the truth of Albert's axiom "The next best thing to capital is credit. m HOUR m A COLLIERY. j ABOUT DREAMS. How a Person Should I.ie in Bed From Every Other Saturday. A French physician, Dr. Delaunay, tells some interesting facts about dreams. These are embodied in a com munication to the Societe de Biologie of Paris. It is well-known, when a per son is lyingdown,thebloodflowsmost easily to the brain. That is why some of the ancient philosophers worked out their thoughts in bed. Certain modern thinkers have imitated this queer method of industry. During sleep, so long as the head is laid low, dreams take the place of coherent thoughts. There are, however different sorts of dream; and Dr. Delaunay's purpose, in his original communication, is to show that the manner of lying brings on a particular kind of dream. Thus, according to this investigator, uneasy and disagreeable dreams accompany lying upon the back.. This fact is ex plained by the connection which is known to exist between the organs of sensation and the posterior part of the brain. The most general method of lying, eprhaps, is on the right side; and this appears to be also the most natural method, for many persons object to lying upon the side of the heart, which it has been more than once asserted, should have free action during sleep. Nevertheless, Dr. Delaunay's state ments hardly harmonize with this opinion. When one sleeps upon the right side, that is to say, upon the right side of the brain, one's dreams have marked and rather unpleasant characteristics . These characteristics, however, are essentially those which enter into the popular definition ot dreams. One's dreams are then aptto be illogical, absurd, childish, uncertain, incoherent, full of vivacity and ex aggeration. Dreams which come from sleeping on the right side are, in short, simpledeceptions. They bringto mind very old and faint remembrances, and they are often accompanied by night mares. Dr. Delaunay points out that sleepers frequently compose verse or rhythmical language while they are lying on the right side. This verse, though at times correct enough, is ab solutely without sense. The moral faculties are then at work, but the in tellectual faculties are absent. On the other hand, when a person slumbers on his left brain,1 his dreams are not onl yless absurd, they may also be intelligent. They are, as a rule, concerned with recant things, not with reminiscences. And, since the faculty of af ticulated language is found in the left side, the words uttered during such dreams are frequently corprehensible. Down Through the Eearth Crust Into a Coal Mine The Bewildering Sensation of the Descent In the Cage. A writer in Chambers' Journal says: Through the earth's crust into a coal mine! Will you come? Take first a glance around the pit top; peer do wn the black hole you are to descend; look up at the huge wheels overhead, and comfort yourself with the thought that the ropes, though they seem so much like spiders' threads, aremade of steel and will bear thirty tons. Take this lamp, unless you prefer ai candle stuck in your hat, collier fashion; and as the age so thc-platform is called in which men and coal are alike conveyed clicks on the catches, step in, clutch the iron rod which runs along its top to steady yourself, and) prepare to drop a qurater of a mile in no time! A bell rings and we- are off. Before the qualmy sensation, so suggestive ot sea-sicknesss,- is fully realized, with a rattle and jerk the cage stops, and you find yourself be wildered and helpless; for the candles cast so dim a glimmer as merely to render the darkness visible. We v-ill sit on this bench for a minute, till as the phrase is we "get our pit eyes;" and then start, escorted by the man ager, to see such objects of interest as naturally attract a novice's attention. First of all while we are waiting for our carriage to drive up let us pay a visit to the stables; capital stalls, cut out in the solid rock, at present un tenanted save by swarms of mice, which scamper off in all directions as we bring our lamps to bear on the well filled mangers. Surprise number one. Wonderingly,. we ask; "Ho.wdid mice get here?" "Brought down in the hay, you know; and they multiply so alarm ingly that we keep cats and pay them weekly wages, that they may wash down with milk their monotonous mousy diet. We shall see some of the horses as we go our rounds." So our guide informed us, and added:: "Come now; it is time we started for our drive." Accordingly, we- return- to-the spot, from which divers small tunnels of im penetrable blackness radiate-; each of us crams himself into an oblong box on wheels, and a train of some dozen or so "trams," as they are called, is at once set in motion by a plump, powerful horse. He has not seen day light for eight years, we learn in an swer to our questioning. The uniform temoerature warmer in winter, and cooler in summer than on the surface suits the equine constitution won derfully; and then there is no ram underground. Dark as it is, our Dob bin has sense enough to step outside the tram rails at any stoppage, and so the trams nass without touching him. Doubtless many a whack on the heels has taught him this lesson, for the string of carts is drawn by a loose trace-chain only. Don't omit, while going along this road cut through rock and coal, to keep a good lookout for any curiosi ties we may pass; only noiayour neaa well down, or it will come in painful contact with the timber props which support the roof, and which rest upon each side on stout upright posts. See! there is a perfect lepidodendron, stand ing just as it grew, when these dark places of the earth constituted a swampy forest, densely covered with reeds and ferns, and trees of which the ornamental monkey shrub, Araucaria imbricata, is perhaps the best repre sentative among our country's present-day growths. How many thou sands of years have elapsed since this trunk a core of stone within, but without the actual bark with its seal like markings stamped out in solid coal waved its spiky branches be neath the open canopy of heaven! And yet, through all these ceons, press ed as in a girl's album, fern fronds of most fragile and exquisite forms, deli cate as lace work, as if photographed on stone, lie beneath the enormous mass of superadded strata, as perfect as when they shot theirgraceful stems up into the steaming air in which our coal measures were laid down in such lavish profusion. Verily, there be "sermons in stones." "show us where they are digging coal," is naturally the first request as we leave our comfortable vehicle. But if riding was bad, walking is worse; if that can be called walking, where, with bent neck and stooped shoulders tall, men progrees with fre quent head bumping along a road of a painfully low pitch. Soon we come to where, by the dusky light of a flicker ing "dip," we see a half -naked collier lying on his side, the better to drive his pick into a narrow seam of coal; while, near by, others are hard at work upon the thicker veins, hewing out big blocks of shiny blackness, in terspersed with cataracts of small coal, which other men shovel rapidly into trams, for conveyance to the up per regions. It is a very busy scene, for all these honest fellows are on piecework. As we co on to visit other workings, our guide stops at a point where a disused road runs down to the right "deeper and deeper still." to tell us this odd story: "This spot is believed by the miners to be haunted. They are, you know, very superstitious, and now none ot them will come this way without company. It seems that a, enrtor whose dlltv it Was to push trams of coal along here to the horse road we have just left, one day heard footsteps as of a man approaching him from the opposite direction. He stopped, to avoid a collision, and dis tinctly heard the stamping of heavy hnnts. and a sound as of some one cpi-xnincr miirl off them on the rails TTo chritPfi t.n him to hurry np, but sot no reply. He held out his candle n.r. sin n.i-m 's length, but saw nothing He went on to the spot whence the sounds had proceeded; but there was TnoontinentlViheboltea p-st workings and told his weird tale to sympathizing ears. The storv has been corroborated again and again bv s dangers who had never heard it. Hush! there it is! Can't you hear it?" Our lamps had been taken from us under the pretense of trimming them, and at this instant they went out, we were in the blackness of darkness. Few people know what absolute dark ness is. "Yes," we faltered; "we do hear a strange noise. How do you account fOT it?" "I can't" wasthereply. "It maybe water in the abandoned road there. It may be an nnexplainable echo. Sounds are audible at enormous distances un derground. We had a similar scare years ago." Here the bailiff succeeded in rel'ghting the lamps, to our great relief. "In another part of the mine the men were constantly hearing mys terious knockings which they quick ly put down to santanic agency. So I took careful measurements of the spot, and found 5fc to be just under an iron foundry, where a steam hammer was at work 400 yards overhead. But the colliers stick to their own theory still." A little further- on we were told to climb on all fours np a steep, low and narrow cutting, technically called a "gug," up and down which a small boy was dragging, apparently with the greatest ease, a wicker basket, fasten ed by a chain to a rope rounu ins waist At the top he filled it with the coal that a miner was hewing; at the bottom he emptied it into a tram such as we have described. "This was the work which the last woman who worked underground had to do. Her son is employed here now. Just think what a change has taken place in the past thirty or forty years! about big enough for a hen to go through. You'll hardly believe me when I tell you that five weeks ago there was a road five feet high running down there. On Sunday evening the deputy bailiff was going his rounds to see that all was right for the night men who repair roofs and keep the roads good to come down when he found his five-foot way contracted to a height of only two feet. He crawled through to see what had happened, and fortunately got back safely before a flood of water burst through the spongy, fire-clay floor, which it had crushed, up in such a remarkable manner. All the work ings below this point were flooded and are not in a fit condition for coal get ting. How much worse it must be in hery mines, where gasses rusn out in the same sudden manner, dealing death to scores of hapless colliers. We have no sueh awful perils in this pit, thank God! Yet our men have ample hard ships and dangers to face. Now that you have seen them work, don't omit when occasion serves, to say a good word for those who do so much for England's prosperity our colliers." With which parting words our oblig ing cicerone put us under care of a subordinate, who led us back safely, by the way we had come, and brought us up out of the horrible pit into the cheerful light of day. The "Coward" in Battle. Here is a regiment with its right flank resting on the woods its left in an open field near a group of hay-stacks. Three pieces of artillery in front have been playing into the pine thickets half At the present time there is not, solar a mile away tor the last ten minutes, as I know, a single-woman in the col- but without provoking any reply. liery at work, either under the ground Watch this man this Second Lieu- or at the surface, in tne west oi r.ng- tenant oi company v. tie is almost land, though in other parts of the a giant in size. He has a fierce eye, a eountrv female labor is still used at roaring voice, and men have said that the pit top." Such was the manager's he was as brave as a lion. When the comment. regiment swung into position and the A (rain we march on in Indian hie, battery opened he said to himself: stODning here and there to watch some "How foolish in us to attack the swarthv giant the dim light makes them look immense drive in his pick with a dull thud and bring down ava lanches of "black diamonds;" or to notice how, with sledge-hammer and drill, holes in the rock are bored to re ceive the charge of powder; or hurry past, half choked by the pungent smoke, where the shot has just been fired, and the pleased workmen are shoveling up the copious results of their skillful blasting. We have already noted some of the fossils of the vegetable life of long-past ages. Here we catch sight of living, . . .... -i 1 1 i . apparently thriving spiuers, tnougu they are colorless and diaphanous, presumably from lack of light, and perhaps also through insufficient nu trimentfor what can they find to eat? Not so the fungi, which hang, like huge puff-balls, from long threads rooted in the roof. But they, too, are pale and almost substance less, so that if you hold a candle, or even clap your hands against them, they crum ble to powder. Looking at this stange growth, we think of that impris oned miner, who, when he was rescu ed, after many days of starvation, well nigh dead, was found to be cover ed all over face and hands and all with a kindred plant. Oh, the horror of the quietness and stillness in which a fungus could thus root itself, and flourish on a living man! Now for an adventure, II you are veiitm-some." our guide cries as we reach the top of a long steep incline worked bv a horse and an endless rope. "Did you ever try tobagganing on snow? This is a gooci substitute these bits of plank I have had made with a groove to run on the rails. Sit on it so, and off we go!" Off we go," exactly described what happened; for we kept tumbling over, either on the rope on one siue, or eise enemy when he was seeking to retreat! This blunder will cost us many lives. Our fire will soon be returned, and it will be goodbye to half our regiment. I shall be one of the first to fall. If I was one of the rear-rank privates, I'd give all the money I hope to ever have." As three five ten minutes pass away and the fire is not returned, the coward begins to pluck up heart. He blusters at the men, tries to joke with the officers on his right, and says to himself: "Egad! but this may turn out all right. We are in no danger thus far, and if the enemy retreats we shall share the credit. Imusttryandmake everybody believe that I am disap pointed because we have not been or dered to advance." Boom shriek crash! Now the ene my open fire in reply. They have six guns to answer three. In two minutes they had the range, and a shell kills or wounds five or six men. The coward's cheeks grow pale again, and he whis pers: "Great heavens! but we shall all be slaughtered! Why doesn't thecolonel order us to retire? Why are men kept here to be shot down in this way? What a fool I was not to go on the sick list last night? If it wasn't that so many are looking at' me, I'd lie down to escape the fire!" Another shell a third fourth fifth and thirty or forty men have been killed. Men won't stand that long. They must either retreat or advance. "We shall advance," whispers the coward. "The order will come to dash forward and take those guns. Shot and shell and grape will leave none of us alive. What folly to ad vance! I hope I may be slight ly wound ed, so that I shall have an excuse for seekingcover in someof these ditches." An aid rides up to the colonel and against the rough, rocky wall of this mves an order. The colonel rides to narrow passage". If the charm of to- the head of his line and orders the lines Vinmrnnintr consists in a mdicious mix- fli-pssed for an advance. JLhe men ture of speed and danger, this method dress under a hot fire, and the coward of going down a colliery incline doubt- groans aloud. less resembles it closely. But for all that, I should prefer to walk, another time. Arrived at the bottom, bruised and shaken, we find ourselves in a sort of dome of coal. Its height is perhaps fourteen or fifteen feet; and, in our It is awful to die this way: How idiotic in me to accept a commission to enter into service to put mysell in front of death! Oh dear! if I could only get some excuse for lagging be hind!" The lines dash forward into tne inexperience, we at once exclaim: "Ah, smoke the enemy's fire grows more this is more like the real thing!" rapid the dead and wounded strew the ground. vvnereano wnai oi coward? Three days later the col onel's report will read: I desire to make special mention or the case of Lieutenant . As the regiment advanced the captain and first lieutenant of Company F were killed by the same shell, leaving the second lieutenant of Company H in command. He was equalto theemer gency. Springing to the head of the company, he encouraged the men for ment and tnen leu mem suiiiigui. No!" the manager answers; "you are mistaken. This is only a 'fault, ana will soon narrow down again to its nor mal thickness of live or six feet. You fancy it is easier to hew the coal here; quite otherwise. There are narrow bands of 'shale' every here and there in these walls of coal, and it requires considerable skill and care to keep this out of the trams. While, if the hewer fails to send . up his coal reasonably clean, it is condemned, and he gets no nav for it . Then there is great danger n. mm from falling stones wheri the roof is at the guns, two pieces of which were- too high. Jsor example, noi iuiir a,yj capiureu uy dud tuinjjnj. we had an accident here, not witnout a comic side to it. One ot tne coiners was endowed with an immensely large nose. While he was at work a sharp stone fell in front of him. It fortu nately missed his head, and would have dropped clear of any ordinary mortal; but the nose came in the and from it a good tnicK biice was cut on. xne man buucicu uiui.u pain, and was laid off for a long time; but on his return to work he was complimented on the vast improve ment in his appearance, aiiu ma J' name, 'The rseaK, ieu mw uisuac Christopher Did Not Discover America. Pall Mall Gazette: A short time ago- we referred to the violent dispute go ing on in Central America as to the - .. , r r . 1 1 C . . last resting-piace oi tommuus, oau Domingo and Cuba being the claimants for this honor. The questionhas been raised whether Columbus ever set foot- on the American Continent at all. it: was commonly believed, and is stated in most, modern histories,, that tht- l XUUV UU. I . , - A loci i f ii j.u . -. fhnnsp front navigator in ins iuiuiu aim this open, well-ventilated and roomy voyage landed on the coast belonging nlace to work in, if to the present Itepublic of Honduras. 111 fry ni nuw ,vi"vi i especially atter we naa oeen e"e" t " Zu x r,T HSA tnmra. to'the faint and close odor which an- dent of the Republic, desnea tc .com- rt.Vier vein hard bv gives When we complained of nausea and begged to be taken away we were told that, strangers had been known to vomit after standing by the face of this seam of coal for a few minutes "The smell serves one useful purpose, in indicating at once what strata we are working; for, as far as I know, our guide informed us, "this is the on,- a new administrative uisLi-iub place and calling it Colon. But he de termined first to look into the origi nal authorities himself, and having done so found reason to doubt the ac curacy of the popular belief on the subject. Having communicated his doubts to Don Milla, a learned Gtiate makn. who has written a history ot Central America, in, which herepro- i - , . - i-i ,i : . j :4- n , lv stinKing vein m tuo iuduio. v"r""". , '. . w . j.u.. quite safeT there is no choke damp or duces the usua stateraenc, w other noxious gas, I can't explain reexamined all the sdocumets of th LiiUfc 1114. Vtnnv vw ' - . an error had arisen through a misrep resentation of a single passage in ait old chronicler, and that Culnmbus re ally never landed on the continent. how it is so; it is only one of the many nuzzles that confront the mining engi neer. Another is where the water comes from we constantly have to r-onterid with. Look at that hole.