1
UP IN A BALLOON.
An A ronaut'n Account of Ilia Voy
age Aci-ohm the Kiigliiih Channel.
"Wo started from Hastings," soys
Mr. Simmons, "under s.nnowhat unfa
vorable auspices, the wind being north
easterly at the time. A crowd of some
40,000 persons had gnthered to witness
our departure, and as w e urn-ended they
pave us a tremendous cheer. My fel
low jmHsenger, Mr. Small, a photog
rapher, was so lost in admiration of the
maguifloent panorama of Hastings lying
below us that I hod to warn him that
Le must be quick if he wished to obtain
a photograph, and we just got the appa
ratus ready as we passed over the
beach, the balloon being at that mo
ment (3:25) to an altitude of 3,000 feet.
At 3 :30 we hud a long range of coast
line. Eastbourne pier being exceedingly
distinct. I thought we wero a trifle too
near Beacby Head ever to make any
point of land on this side of the Atlan
tic, but when we attained an altitude of
7,500 feet we southed a trifle more. Ap
pearances were, however, much against
our ever reaching land, and I must ac
knowledge that I won sorely tempted to
come down off Bonchy Head and get
picked np. But this would have been
rather too ignominious, and I decided
to keep on our course. We had the
satisfaction, a few minutes later, to rind
Beach Head receding north of us, and
we quickly settled our minds to 'make
a night of it' if necessary.
"At 4 :!50 we were over a magnificent
cloud scene; here and there patches of
the coast line could be descried far
away to the west, while at a vast dis
tance there was a gap through which
we got a patch of sea, with three or
four ships very distinct. A moment
later and the great curtain of clouds
.had shut out our lust lnnd-mark. Mr.
Smll got his apparatus ready to se
cure a cloud effect, but his shutter
missed lire two or three times, and this
suggested some little improvements for
;8uch experiments in future. From 4:30
to nearly suuset(to the people on earth)
our altitude ranged between 8,000 and
1),000 foet. During this interval we got
peeps at the sea many times, but no
land was seen.- We could see the
sun's rays two hours after he had with
drawn from earth and set). The
shadow of the balloon on a cloud
looked very much like a shuttlecock,
the car forming the butt end, and the
balloon and cords forming the feathers.
Tho transition from day to night was
very slo..' and gradual, and as daylight
departed the moon s rays from dead
gold gradually changed to bright sil
ver. .Mr. Small said, 'Did yon see that
shooting star?' I said, 'Wait a min
ute, and I will show you another.' The
balloon had commenced to revolve, and
this motion made it appear as though a
bright star was darting through the
air. It was, of course, an optical
illusion.
"A remarkable appearance was caused
by the reflection of the balloon in the
focussing screen of the camera. When
we surrounded with a bla?k cloth the
frame round the glass wo could see the
ky, stin, moon and stars inverted, and
the balloon cleaving its headlong down
ward course through illimitable space,
the effect being more extraordinary.
Soon after 7 o'clock wo began to get
-cold, and set to work to don our Han-
nels, etc. Our largo wrapper got tightly
jammed in the rigging, but tho hard
pulling necessary to get it loose soon
made us feol warm, and, having onoe
got up a good circulation, we did not
during tho entirovovageogain feel cold.
Tho cork jackets, which were supplied
by Mr. Cornish, contributed greatly to
warmth. During the night, for more
than an hour our altitudo did not vary
twenty feet. This was exceedingly en
couraging, for upon our power of pois
ing so nicely depended our chance of
floating aloft all night. When the
balloon did tako a slight downward
turn I carefully noted how much
ballast it would take to 'stop her.' The
temperature of tho air was very regu
lar, and I found that soven pounds or
eight pounds was sufficient.
"At 10:13 we saw a vessel almost un
der us, and came down low enough to
hail her. This w did as lustily as wo
could, but at first got no response, only
a remarkably distinct echo from our
own voices. At hist a voice was lit ard
on deck. 'Voila, balloon, balloon!'
'Aroyou Knglish?' No reply. 'Par
lex vous Francaiso?' 'Oui, oui,' we re
plied, but with all our French we could
not ascertain our whereabouts, nnd
whether we wero over tho English
channel or the Atlantic.
"At 10:25 something slightly darker
than tho normal horizon could be
faintly discerned. We kept ourselves
absolutely motionless, nnd, listening in
tently, we seemed to hear in tho same
direction a sound os of a far-distant
rolling surf. I looked long and eagerly,
until I exclaimed. 'It's nothing but a
mist,' for it seemed to change its form,
and at last to vanish into 'thin air.' I
passed nearly another hour intently
watching for lights until a similar dark
portion of horizon was brought under
our view. We could not possibly
bring ourselves to believe it was land,
because no lights could be seen up to
tliis time, but at last there was an un
mistakablo flicker in tho exact direction
where 1 was gazing. 'Look along my
finger as a telescope. What do you
call that?' 'A lighthouse,' exclaimed
Mr. Small. I said. 'I believe that
dark strip before i is land, with sea
j just beyond it again. If it turns out to
" be so, be prompt in doing everything I
t) tell you, for it will bo sharp work to
Jvj land on that strip.'
' "Tho sound of surf was now nnmis
1 takable, and in about tJio samo time as
; I am taking to tell this, tho lino of coast
i was presented distinctly to our view,
; - every niiuuto getting more distinct,
f J Tho sea now beun turipplenp sharply.
lien minutes and we wero passing tho
coast line, and sharply darting toward
the other sea beyond. 'What sort of
jrronnd are wo coming down on ?' said
Mr. Small. .'Rugged rocks and stone
walls, I believe,' 1 said. 'Hold on firm.
Out goes the grappling irons.' At first
jt would not hold, bt tsoori it got wedged
into a crevice ia the rocks, giving us
just tether enough to pass over the
precipice and dowu,cn to the beach.
There w as just room for us between the
receding tide and the rocks, and none !
to spare, nad we gone ten yon's fur
ther and half a second longar we shoulj
have been in tho sea.
"We hoard whispering near us. Ia
a few moments a man and a woman
appeared, but would not at first ao
proach us, fearing, I suppose, we were
some monsters. By and by tliev gained
confidence, and then they told in we
were on Cap de la Hogue, tho ex' rente
northwest point of Franco. We then
found that our informants were M.
Angnsle Lavem, of Canton de Beau
mont, Arrondissement Manche and
his wife. They most kindly helped us
to empty the balloon of its contents,
and gave us supjter and shelter for tho
night. Next morning, at 7 o'clock, we
went to view the scene of our descent,
and Mr. 8mall photographed it. We
afterward proceeded to Cherbourg, and
thence home."
Home Facta In the For Trade.
"I know a sportin? man that bought
a coat, the ornamental skin of which
came from Maine. He wanted some
thing striking aud cheap, and what do
ou suppose he got? Give it up? Well,
he calls and thinks it Australian mink,
but it is good, honest American skunk
a good fur, too, and sells well, only the
name would kill it if we retained it.
Over 350,000 skunk skins are handled
by the trade every year. New York
and Ohio furnish the majority. They
bring from the trapjier 50 cents to a SI.
Thoy are deodorized by a new and satis
factory process, and are very popular
under fancy names.
"What wo call fur in the trade," said
the expert, taking up a skin, "is this.
You see, by spreading open tho hair of
this i-euJ there are two kinds of hair;
one, the fur that is short and lies close
to the skin, and another the overhair
that is long and what we see at a first
glance of the animal. The difference
between the two is very great, the fur
being soft, downy, silky, and sometimes
curly, while the overhair is coarso and
rigid. Each has a peculiar value for
many purposes, but particularly in
felting; tho tine, upon treatment
to hot water, readily joins in a
solid mass, while the long hair can
bo woven and spun. When tho animal
is alive the uses of the two hairs are
seen. The tine underhair keeps out
water and cold, while the overhair
prevents felting and entangling. In
some cases one is extremely valuable
alone, and in others the combination is
equally so.
"The house cat i one of the most
valuable of the fur-bearing nuimals,
and when they mysteriously disappear
from tho back fence tliev often rind
their way to the furrier. It is an actual
fact that in 1882 over 1.200,000 house
cats were used in the fur trade. Black,
white, Maltese, and tortoise-shell skins
are most in demand. They uro made
into linings, and used in philosophical
apparatus.
Mormon Wives.
The Mormon priests tell the Mormon
woman that plural marriage is the or
dinance of God 1 That all it brings her
of anguish is necessary self-denial to
win God's love, and that to submit to
it is her duty. A ghastly burial cere
mony that is practiced by tho Mormons
rivets tho hold polygamy has on the su
perstition of these creatures. Every
wifo that is buried has a black cloth
laid on her face, and the Mormon women
are taught to believe that on the resur
rection day, when the righteous are
called into the joys of their Lord, no
hand but that of a husband can remove
the cloth, and that unless the cloth is
lifted by his hand she must remain in
outer darkness forever. A wo.nau who
believes that and tho Mormon women
believe it can't help behavirg herself,
no matter how many wives her husband
takes. She has to keep 'on the right
side of the only man who can take oil
that cloth.
lleart-Ilrokrn but Level -Headed.
A lawyer for a Imsiiand who is being
sued for divorce had a visit yesterday
from the client. The client is madly
in love with his wife and believes that
she wishes to bo rid of him only to be
free to nmrrv another. "I can't live
without her," ho said to his legal nd
viser, "and I am sure that away down
in her heart she has a little feeling for
me. I am going to test her." Ho
pulled out a pistol and said : "I nm
going to her with this and say: 'Here,
shoot me down; I don't caro to live any
more. "
"Yon had better not,'' said the
cautious legal man; "she might pull
the trigger."
"I don't caro for that," replied tho
heart-brokon husband. "I don't caro
for that; I have filled the weapon with
r blank cartridges."
A Npcclal VchmcI for Ntanlcy.
. A vessel of special ami ingenious de
sign is being prepared for Stanley's uso
in Africa. It will bo propelled by a
stem paddle-wheel, and the hull will
will bo arranged in such a manner that
it can be readily subdivided into a num
ber of sections, each leing floatable and
provided with fittings for receiving four
largo wheels. These wheels can bo at
tached to each section while allout, so
that it can be drawn out of tho water for
transport overland without difficulty.
Each of tho subdivision of tho hull
forms, when fitted with the wheels, a
complete wagon of itself, capable of
carrying tho machinery of tiie steamer,
merchandise, stores, etc. It is to be
completed by the end of this year, and
will bo tested allout under steam on the
Thames.
The Climate Tir Hood Voters.
An English newspaper says Ameri
can singers have made a much greater
mark in Great Britain than American
actors, notwithstanding the conspicu
ous absence in America of long-established
academies and colleges of music.
"The climate," it adds, "clear and dry
as it is, will scarcely uccount for the
iiumVr of' good voices produced in
America, for one effect of tho Ameri
can climato is apparently to pinch the
throat and cause the higli-pitched tones
and the usual twang by which the
enunciation of so many Americans is
marked."
WHAT BROKERS DRINK.
financier Who Find Forty WbUklc
' a Day an F.any Load.
Ono of our reporters has been inter
viewing saloon-keepers ou the subject of
wbr.t brokers drink. ' How manv drinks
do brokers take in a day?" replied a
well-known New street saloon inau.
"Let me see. Well, I should s ;y they
will average np fifteen apiece between
10 in the morning and 3 or half-pat 3
in tho afternoon."
"What do they most drink?"
"Straight whisky; almost entirely;
generally a little selt::er with it. A
drink called 'whisky daisy' was intro
duced down here a few years ago, and
became quite popular. Somehow it fell
out of sight; but this summer it was re
vived and has liecome very popular
again. It is made something like a
whisky-sour, with the addition of seltzer.
But plain whisky is the handiest for
brokers. Wheu they do come out for a
drink they only have a niiuuto to spare,
and few care to wait to have a fancy
drink made up."
"Do they drink just the same whether
business is good, or bad?"
"Well, I think they drink more when
thev are not doinff their best. The work
and excitement, you sec, is jus! tho samo
in unprofitable times, sometimes more,
and then there is the additional want of
something to cheer the drooping spirit.
Brokers are not drinkers in the souse of
drunkards. Yon will, In fact, never see
them under the influence, or very rarely.
They requiro nlove all things a level
head, and when they get down in the
'morning yon will find them as clear as
a whistle. I know several brokers who
take during bnsiness hours in Wall street
livnnt.v ami twentv-fivfl drinks of whisky.
J jr
and there are some who can and do
drink as much as forty drinks, and are
never what is oomnioulv called 'full.'"
"What is the size of a broker's drink?"
was asked.
" Well, that has a great deal to do
with it ; they take what I should call
small drinks, not a linger deep with'
the linger held side .vays alongside tho
glass, mind you."
It is well known to all who aro ob
servers of Wall street men that it is sel
dom one is found undor the influenoa
of liquor. When tho stock exchango
closes there is a rush for homo, and by
half-past 3 few brokers can bo found in
the vicinity of Wall street. They are
great home people and are much de
voted to their families. They live in
such a whirl that tho quiet of the fire
side is a great boon to them. I hey dif
fer as much in their choice of brand in
whisky as they do in their opinions on
the workings of the market, aud certain
brokers go to this rosort and none other
becauso their peculiar flavor is there,
and others to that for the same reason.
One reason why brokers aro given to
the occasional stimulant is that they
seldom find time to lunch, and tho
drink is made to answer.
English Opinion or the "II ab."
It is obvious that what Amu'icans in
modem times have learned to call, aud
sometimes to sneer at as "Boston cul
ture," was based on tiie most rigorous
Puritanism; and it m.iv bo that a good
deal of puritanical gall and wormwood
entered into the concrete of their foun
dation of learning. The sages who, in
the midst of a half-cleared w ildorness,
were so sternly resolved that their
young men should "forthwith enter
upon the study of Aristotle and Tim
cvdides, of Horace nnd Tacitus, and tho
Hebrew bible, used the.r own nitol
lojtiiiil gift-t oiul their own scholastic
attainments in a certainly eccentric and
not altogether beneficent fashion. They
were very earnest nnd verv conseieu
tious, but tho Spanish inquisition was
not fuller of intolerance and of the rago
for persecution than wero tiie.se exiles
for conscience sake. 1 ho r:nd of Bos'
ton culture was very harsh, but the
fruit within, when it ripened and it
took a long time to ripen proved vtry
sweet and of a most excellent sivor.
The Boston of the present day is as
jovous a city as nnv other in tho t'nitod
States. Opera and drama, concerts
and lectures, flourish there abundantly.
I me art is extensively and apprecia
tively patronized, and, as for science,
an average Jiostonian young lady pos
sibly kuoivs much nioro anout organic
remains, tho old red sa;idtone, and
vertebrates foshiled in blue lias than a
dozen average English girls fresh from
a finishing school. A great many mors
publishing linns, with t.ioir books, an 1
magazines, aud reviews, must migrato
from a city full of ngrocahlu places of
meeting and refined society ere Boston
ceases to bo "the hub of the universe'
from tho Bostouiau point of view.
A ThIrtj-.ThreB Ye.trV Mlce;.
In tho very heart of tho Adirondack
wilderness is Ion tied what is known as
'"the d--.sei t.id village." Fifty years ago
S(l,000 acres of land wero purchased by
n man ii iiiwl I fi'tiilcrson. nml ofluT
capitalists, a St. ir iancis Indian having
disclosed 10 me party mat mo region
was rich in ore. A blast furnace, a
forge, a saw mill, tenement houses, a
store, a school-house mil a bank were
erected, and hundreds of thousands of
dollars expended in cutting roads and
otln r improvement's. Operations wero
carrio 1 o:i twenty years. In l.Hl'.l Hen
derson was accidentally shot dead, ami
five years later lm.-iuess was suddenly
suspended. Tho ponderous water
wheel and machinery aro just w hero
they stopped thirty-three years ngo.
Wheelbarrows and tools lie around as
though operations had been discon
tinued only yesterday. The village is
now tho head purlers of a New 1 oik
sporting club, and tV greater part of
the year Myron ButtVs. au'ent of tho
club, and his family, are tho only in
habitants of this once busy spot.
Itc-ntly to Hivear Any Way.
A Chinaman h id to give his evidence,
and was asked how ha wo lid be sworn.
His reply was: "Me no care; clack 'ini
saucer, kill 'irn cock, blow out 'iin
matches, smell 'iin book, all same."
He was allowed to '"smell 'im book."
French Writer: Io you complain
that tho roses have thorns? Let us re
joice that the thorns Live roses.
llookkecplng and Itag-Plckinx Com
pared. Something light and genteel is what
most of . tho yonog women who
have to work want. I don't blumo
them for it, but as a rule it
don't pay. Ninety-nine in 100
would rather le "salesladies" at $5 or
$i a w eek than take hold of a trade that
would give them $8 or $ 10. (Speaking
of salesladies, you may have heard that
the Biiperlativo idiot who invented that
word died lately of softening Of the
brain, but I am sorry to say it is not
true; he didn't have enough brain to
soften.) A great many young women
now take to bookkeeping. They would
do much better by taking to millinery
or dress-making, but those look more
like real work than bookkeeping. The
bookkeeping ranks are terribly over
erowdod already.
An item nowgoing tho rounds says a
New York business man who lately ad
vertised for a bookkeeper at $10 a
week, received 700 applications for the
place, and that there are 500 bookkeep
ers out of work in this city. It seems
to be the samo old item that has done
service the same way any number of
years, but though an exaggeration, it
contains enough truth for a moral any
way. New York certainly has an enor
mous number of bookkeepers and mis
cellaneous clerks out of work. The
kind of work they have to sell is not in
demand at loast, there is an immense
deal more of it than tho demand rails
for. All tho Italian rag-nickors can find
plenty to do. Tho Chineso washee
washee men are busy all the year round.
Most men who know how to sweep the
streets can find employment. Nine
tenths of the hod-carriers are always at
work. Blacksmiths, carpenters, masons,
bricklayers, cabinet makers aud so on,
who know their trade, need not be
pinched except in very bad tunes.
But tho bookkeepers and miscella'
neons clerks are all the time walking tho
streets looking for something to do. A
great many of the poor fellows may bo
found every night in tho cheap lodging
houses along the Bowery and Chatham
siuaro. Ihe rag-nickers, street'
sweepers, hod-carriers, etc., don't have
to go to those wretched places. I don't
mean to say that it is better to bo a
rag-picker, street-sweeper, or hod-carrier
than a bookkeeper, but what I do
say about plenty of work for the former
and very little for the latter is a fact
Somo bookkeepers in Now York are
paid as high as $10,000 a year, and
manv get from $3,000 to $5,000; but
two-thirds of the wholo number regu
larly employed are glad to get $10 to
$15 a week. I have myself had men
offer themselves at $7 and $8 a week
H pain's "DarW-lilanclnn" Maidens.
We in America are apt to judge of
the Spaniard by the Mexican and tho
Cuban. Nothing can bo more different.
Whatever their faults or virtue, the
Hispauo-Amcricans seem to have taken
nothing but tLro language from what of
the conqueror s blood they may have.
All else has come from the native, Ln
broken in pride, undelased by evil
habits, self-respecting, sober in speech
as in food, the Iborian needs only a
leader to again tako his rightful place
iu the family of nations. And the
woman ? Is sho beautiful ? I hardly
know; but she is tho most bewilder
ing, bewitching, fascinating of all Eve's
daughters, lhere is a magio in her
step, a poise of foot, a grace of
rhythmic motion, a proud tenderness in
her dark eye ; a something voluptuous
which is yet chaste ; a magio in hor
smile, such as no other race or clime
can show. Beautiful? A man whose
blood runs rod within his veins may see
lieauty elsewhere, but he has never folt
tho perfect charm of woman s womanli'
ness until ho has met love looking
from tho melting brightness of thoso
matchless orbs which none but Spain's
"dark-glancing" maidons bear. There
is no neglect hero. 1 ho flrcss may not
be rich, but there is not a fold ill
placed. To her is paid tho reverence
of passionato devotion, otill is opuin
the land of romance and ot song, bo
cause her men are brave, her women
worthy to be loved.
A CIiIiichc ItfMtuurant In France,
While the French are inarching into
China, a Chinese restaurant has in
vailed Paris. Among tho delicacies of
its bill of fare arodcsiraitcd eggs. I resh
duck eggs aro covered with a mixturo
of cinders, lve soda, powdered licorice.
lie in oil and aro left for several months
until their yolks become first green
and finally black. The darker tho yolk
tho greater tho delicacy. Tho birds'
nests from which tho far-famed soup is
made are built by a species of swallow
which abounds on tho coasts of .lava,
Ceylon and Borneo, and practically
consists of a gelatinous substance ob
tuined from marino plants. Tho nests
are boiled either in chicken broth or in
milk with almonds. The result very
much resembles vermicelli soup, but is
more costly. Tho Chinese restauranter
also offers Id's customers smoked sharks'
fins, dried cuttlo and saltod rats.
ttilizliis the Water rower of Falls.
It is proposed td utilizo tho water
power at the falls of the Potomac, a
few miles above Washington, for the
purpose of lighting that city by cloc
tricity. The plan Is to put a fluster of
powerful lights upon the top of fiio
Washington monument, which is 400
feet high, and this will givo tho city a
condition of perpetual moonlight. Tho
experim"iit will bo interesting and valu
able, and ought to be encouraged. Tho
idea of supplying motive power for all
New York by wire from Niagara falls
has often been talked about, and tho
Potomac scheme, if successful, will
deiuuiistrato its practicability.
Mopped tho FoollnhocN.
' A Willimantic factory girl wroto her
name and address ami a desiro to bo
married in a nice little note, which she
placed inside tho band of tho hut sho
had just finished. Her father bought
the hat. On his way homo that even
ing ho paused at a honso which they
were plastering and obtained a slender
and supple lath. Tho girl will here
after make hats plain.
THE POOR CONGRESSMAN.
How He MaHt Fconomlae to Have
Money While Llvluc In Wantiing
ton. Judge Iutmwlrll In Philadelphia Prom.
I ran across a congressman the other
day, who was looking for quarters for
himself and family for the coming ses
sion. Ho is a poor man, who is obliged
to live on his salary, and who is, there
fore, compelled to count the cost of
everything and cut his cloth close.
A congressman s salary is $;,000 a year
and mileage, and an allowance of $100, 1
believe, for postage I cannot mention
the name of the one I all ml o to, but he
has a wifo and three children. ' His
mileago amounts to about $200 or $300 a
year ; so his whole income is less than
$5,500 a year. Out of this sum he must
pay three or four or a half dozen coun
try newspapers for printing tickets la
mere nominal service for a good deal of
money); he must pay for banners,
transparencies, flags, brass bands, hand
bills and I don't know how many other
things, to say nothing of his own ex
penses in the campaign. Added to all
this, ten chances to ono ho has to pay
pretty dearly for his nomination not,
perhaps, in buying delegates, though
that is often done, 1 am told, but In pay
ing car fares, hotel bills, etc. So you
see that when a congressman comes to
Washington he does not have $5,000 a
year to his credit.
Mv friend, as I have said, is a poor
man, although ho is one of the ablest
men in tho house. Ho nover niado a
dollar improperly, and does not know
how to be dishonest. He stands as
high as any member of the house.
haul he, "1 don t know w hat to do.
havo lived in every way. When I first
oamo to Washington 1 wont to a hotel,
with my wife, leaving my children at
home and at school. I kept up my
house at home, and my expenses there
wero little loss than if I had been there.
My hotel expenses, including washing
and the outrageous extras one always
finds on his bills, wero never less than
$300 a month. My expenses at home
were about half as much ; so, yon see,
I could not stand that. The next win
ter I went to a boarding-house ond loft
my family at homo. Of course I had
to havo a parlor and bed-room I paid
$100 a month at tho boarding-house,
But I did not live; it was simply a mis
erablo existence. A boarding-honso
tablo may givo good, well-cooked food,
hut you aro obliged to meet and bo po
lite to people whom you do not care
for, whom you detest, in fact. Then I
was deprived of my wife's company,
which, strange as it mav seem, I still
apprcciato. Well, that year, by close
einomy and many deprivations, I came
out about even, The uext year I hired
rooms and had my ' meals soul
in from a neighboring restaurant
But this life wus very unsatis'
factory. I had to take my break
fast at a certain hour, whether
I wanted to or uot, and my dinners
wore served at the somo timo evory day,
and they wore nearly always cold when
brought. But a member of congress
cannot always be at his dinner at the
exact minute. The bouse may sit late,
or Micro may be a caucus or a commit
toe meeting, or you may be detained by
constituents, or a dozen things may
happen to detain you. Well, last win
tor, as you know, I took a furnished
house and brought my entire family
here. I shut up my house at homo, but,
Great Cn-sarl my expenses drove nit
wild, though I tried to live very quietly
and cheaply. What I shall do this
winter heaven only knows. I snposo
1 must go back to tho boarding-house.
A congressman's life is but a dog's life,
after all." ' -
Amntcrdam and Itottcrdnm.
i-'
Amsterdam nnd Rotterdam look like
no other cities in tho world. They
havo hydrocephalus, iiito enico
oceans of water everywhere. Ainster
dam is built on eighty islands, coir
nected by 300 bridges across tho muddy
ditches thoy call canals. Tho buildings
mainly aro of unpaintod brick, with
gable-ends to tho streets, and they aro
erected, like thoso of enice, on mill-
ions of piles driven into the mud. But
this alluvial deposit is not so firm as
tho sandy sediment m tho Adriatic la
goons, and so it happens that almost all
of the houses hero and in ICotterdam
are out of plumb. You cross a bridge
nuil instinctively hositito 1 1 advance,
for it seems ns if tho buildings ahead
wero about to tumble down and crush
von. On both sides of tho street
they bond forward toward each
other, so that their cornices are
two or threo feet nearer than their
bases. You gather courage and pro
coed, and further on you seo other
houses bowing. Here is a tall, toppling
chimney, and around it in a circle are
various houses gravely saluting it.
Nouo of tho buildings soem to fall
down at loast I did not detect any in
tho act but they rise and cngago in
their bricky salaams at almost every
onglo from the perpendicular, nnd m
utter disregard of tho feelings of way
farers. Crazy littlo steamboats tra-
verso tho dirty littlo canals; great brick
warehouses boldly bend over and look
down into their turbid mirrors; mer
chantmen from Java tvJjrk their yards
up through tho branches of sycamore
trees upon tho banks; hero and there
ships climb up tho ladder-locks; tere
and there windmills churn tho air and
jiour the water out into the sea. This
is a queer old town. But I should
think tho Hollanders would wash their
canals.
Ireland')) Itt-rurniatorica.
Ireland hasten reformatory schools
five for girls, five for loys. There
were at tho tiloso of hist venr O.'li bovs
and lHlJ girls in reformatory schools
The yearly decrease since 1877 ia the
number of young female oIIimhUi s in tin
schools is "cry remarkable, but opno
sito results have been obtained in the
boys' schools, tho inmates numbering
more last year than ever )efore; 'JMl nro
1 Ionian Catholics and 15ti Protestants.
There are sixty-one industrial schools,
in which thero are 2,418 boys, and 3,(100
girls, being an incrcaso of four bovs and
171 girls.
Don't hops to squelch a cnurtMiip by abunp;
When heart art trump clulm nro of little
uso. iTauutou Republican.
A Remlniaccnee of Lincoln' Anami
nation.
Junius Brutus, who was buried yes-
terdav, is the first of the brothers to die
since the tragic end of John Wilkes
Booth, eighteen and a half years ago,
and the event has brought to mind
some reminiscence of that great tragedy.
hen John ukes Booth committed
his crime his brothers hud not seen
him for some mouths. The last occa
sion on which they hod acted together
was iu the previous year at the Winter
Garden, where tho brother who is just
dead also played. At the time of Mr.
Lincoln's murder the two other broth
ers were iu Boston. Junius Brutus
was manager of the Boston theatre. He
had gone home and was in bed when
the telegram reached him of the accu
sation that had been made against his
brother. Not believing it he rushed to
the telegraph otlico and sent dispatch
after dispatch without any result. Then
he went round to the newspaper offices
to mako inquiries, but could get no pos
itive nows. It was before the days of
interviewing and everyliody respected
his grief even tho terrible reporter.
hdwin Booth was attending a dinner
at Boston, which I believe was given in
his honor. At anv rato he was just
about to riso with a champagne glass in
his hand to reply to some toast. It
was at tho Taikcr house. Suddeuly a
waiter came in and interrupting him
handed him a dispatch. Mr. Booth put
down the champagne glass and asked
to be excused a moment as the message
was of the utmost urgency. He opened
it; turned deadly pule and sank in his
chair with his head on the table, ex
claiming, "My Ood ! my God 1"
Thero was great excitement in a mo
ment. Somebody picked up the dis
patch and read it, and then ono by one,
the peoplo left tho room. At about 4
o'clock tho two brothers, Edwin and
Junius, met, both of them crushed with
the weight of the terrible calamity.
They went away together and what oc
curred between them will never be
known.
The late Junius Brutus Booth never
mentioned his brother's naiuo again,
and was deeply moved if ever the sub
ject was broached iu his presence. He
accompanied Edwin when the re
mains of John Wilkes Booth were re
moved from Washington to the family
tomb at Baltimore, and was present at
the re-intermeut of tho bones of his un
fortunate brother.
Failure la Fine llonsc.
r r t . . , - ,
"I can tell yon, moreover, that not a
single one of tho many owners of ex
travagantly built houses is ever fully
satisfied with it.
"Only the other day I was called in
by the owner of a house lately built,
who wanted his extension room lead
ing out of a 'display library' put in
comfortlj shape. "I just want it easy
and homelike,' he said, 'and no art busi
ness and antiquities about it ; just fix
the door so people will thinki it is a
closet, and put a heavy lock on it ; I
like my ease once in a while in the old
fashioned style,'
"A month ago I colled upon a gentle
man who wanted i&me work done, and
was shown into a very plain but cozy
little corner in one of the most extrava
gantly built houses in this town.
" 'Como in ; come in here,' said the
owner a littlo gloomily ; 'it's tho only
comfortable spot in this house. I
furnished it myself; now I want you to
drag out all that stained glass stuff and
break it up ; just put in something I .
can seo the sky through ; that's all 1' ''
"'But,' I reniorkod, 'those windows
cost $1,800, besides all tho heavy wood
" 'Now you just do as I say,' said the
old gentleman, 'and soud your hill to
mv office: I can't breatho in this place:
it's a regular pocket church.'
"If you only knew how much is dono
of what wo call 'blind' work, you would
comprehend something of what a furious
thing art becomes when it degenerates
into a rago. Every one imagines he can
toll you how to make a home; but real
homes are not made by either advico or
contract they grow. A thing of beauty
is no doubt a joy forever, but its loveli
ness does not increase when it is over-,
loaded with so-called 'art' rubbish,"
Halite in Central Africa.
Ono word for tho black babies. They
aro endowed with plentiful crops of
hair which is finer in quality and less
curly than that of their parents. They
squall terribly and often, I fear, from
"cussodnosB." When a mother can
stand it no longer sho tako tho child,
and giving it a preliminary shake, de
mand to know if it is going to ho good.
This is tho first time of asking, and no
infant wiiii spirit wonld yield so soon,
so its rejdy is generally defiant. Then
it is again taken and shaken well,' but
now its strangled sobs nnd agitation
prevent un intelligible reply to tho re
pented question. A terriilo up-nnd-dowu
shaking .follows, and tho apoplectic
bubo con'only givo an inarticulate gur
glo to its indignant mother's thrice re
peated inquiry. Whereupon it is sol
emnly and soundly smacked, to the sat
isfaction and ultimate tranquillity of the
lookers-on. Baby nature and tho
method of maternal education aro much
tho same all tho world over.
Livingston. Montana.
A Bor.tcn correspondent with the
Villard vmty wrote from Livingston,
M. T. : "Livingston is let-s than a year
old; but it lies at tho gateway of the
Yellowstone valley, at tho junction of
two railroads, and intends to bo a great
city. It has lots of saloons, dance
houses, and tumbling places that keep
open all night long, and it has already
two banks and threo newspapers. Tho
regular frontiersman wants three
things a bank wh'e'ro ho can keeji his
earnings, a gambling plaeo and saloon
and dance house combined where ho can
spend them, and a newspaper iu which
ho can read tho names of thoso who
wero slaughtered the night before.
Livingston, however, is toning down
and becoming rospcrtablo. Capital is
a good police force, for it demands pro
tection ; and if the law docs not give it
tho law-abiding will."
M. Worth, the Parisian dressmaker,
is 55 years old, fat and bald.