Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Eugene City guard. (Eugene City, Or.) 1870-1899 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1891)
RAILWAY LITERATURE. THE GUIDE B00K3 THAT ARE PUB LISHED BY RAILROADS, Yat (ami Arc Spent la Hiring Capable Wrlt.r. and Eic.ptlonal Artltu to R. produce Sc.nerv for Cotly Volume to I Advertl the Liu. Tbe greatest rivalry among railroaJ men if in tbe getting out of guide books. Several year ago a rich onthern rail- road published a luxuriously gotten up book as handsome as almost any example of a rich edition of Shakespeare that men and women display upon a parlor center ', table. It was thought then that the ; limit of enterprise and expenditure bad r been reached, and that there never wonld ' be anything finer bearing the imprint of a general passenger office. But that elegant volume is almost for gotten now Its defects were that its ' pictures were ready made, and repre- aented a low grade of art, while the . letter press, or reading matter, was the work of the general passenger agent a ; clever man but not a professional writer. Today no such pictures and no such writing is accepted for a representative guide book. A school of artists has grown op to meet tbe demand for such work, and they are salaried by the big printing and , bank note engraving companies that get ' out these books They produce careful, artistic and clever pictures, and manage to give them the appearance of the choicest pictures in the magazine. As a matter of fact, the latest guide books are imitations of the magazine in every particular except that they in clude no advertising pages. But the ; more wealthy railroads will not employ ' these professional guide book illustrat- ors. They secure high class artists who r are too independent to sign their names , to what they do, but provide the best , work of which they are capable, because they are better paid for it than for any other work that they do. BIO PRICES PAID TOR WORK. Men who study such matters are able to recognize the personality of the art ists in their methods of drawing, and aucb persons often see a painting or a tndy of a picturesque place in one of tbe art galleries 01 hi ;:n tirt sale at the same time that they receive a copy of some guide book Illustrating other beau ty spots in the same region in a set of drawings by the very same artist, who has been whirled hither and thither in that part of the country in a special cor at tbe expense of tbe railroad company that monopolizes tbe traffic. In that same car with tbe artist goes the general passenger agent, but be no longer writes tbe matter in tbe book. He has secured tbe services of some well known literary man of the second or third class to describe tbe region with bis pen for a higher rate of remunera tion than the writer could get for any other work. Two thousand dollars below the highest price that baa been paid for the illustrations in a single guide book, and in all probability no first class book of the kind has been written for less than $500. These books have been poured from the presses of the best printers in tbe country in editions of from 6,000 to 10, 000 copies, and have cost tbe railroads from five to twenty cents a copy Some are designed to appear like novels, some like stories of adventure and some like books of travel Their titles are such as are likely to prove attractive to large bodies of citizens. Not to quote any one of them, but to show what sort of bait they throw to the public, they may be said to be named in some such way as these: "Where to Camp Out," "Where to Oo This Sum mer." "Three Days and a Thousand Trout," "Hunting the Mountain (ioat, "Pure Air and Bulsam Pines," "Country Board." "Cheaper Than Staying Home. One enterprising western railroad man has issued a little book on etchings, ex quisitely printed, and made to close up into a large envelope tied with a satin bow knot. SOME NOTABLE PECCLUBITIE8. 1 Some of the very best map making that has been done in this country bos grown out of tbe competition ingnide books. Just at present the rage is for bird's eye, vie ws, however, and these are cleverly made to show every hill and stream and village and patch of forest in vast areas of country They all omit every indication of marsh land, and all are printed with green ink, in order to produce the most astonishing effects of universal greenery, shade and cool ness. . It is a noticeable characteristic of all them that they show only one railroad, never any more. No guide book pub lished exhibits Chicago as accessible by more than one railroad, and enormous tracts like North Dakota and Utah are aiade to appear to depend upon a single line of rails for their means of internal traffic. In such maps railroads seem to reach a degree of perfection that is not noticed by those who travel most upon them. I For instance, they are al ways straight, direct lines from point to point, precisely like the great highway that Nicholas marked down upon the map of Russia with a pencil and a ruler in order to show his engineers how be would con nect Moscow with St. Petersburg. Not even the Rocky mountains are able to hinder the absolutely straightforward coarse of any railroad. On the maps the line of the tracks goes straight along past the mountains as if they were mere Tots in a wheat field. The reading mat ter in the guide books shows that each railroad avoids mosquitoes and malarial regions with tbe same success. I Where there are no mosquitoes the writers say so, and where they are as thick as peas In a pod the most dignified Hence is maintained with regard to them. But there one sees how greatly competition has elevated this class of literature, for only a few years ago these books were as unreliable as the old (fashioned circus posters. They do not lie today. The next thing will be that they will tell tbe truth. -New York Sun. Uetter a aba I. MiM Plumpleigh (of tbe suburbs)- Why can't yoo urge a reduction ox fcuvs on our roadf Tlie Editor (gallantly)-I can, but I know one fair that I hope will never be reduced.-Pittsbarg Bulletin. A rural youth calls U new tusyi f strict scb4mam"EiperiebecanesIeis dear teacher.-Detrolt Free Press. r . - , , , TT.. aars IL BrooardeL the French savant, sayl that La 80 eaaee out of 100 typhoid urm r is caused by polluted water- r ON THE MOUNTAIN Tiro the hi bun? vale Mk But aw aim? t ne drop dm vtnss. HtclimtM vita roowp eum and tiov, Ur pause trail ta gaj nut nag Tim anau-hm from w. o k mm. la busy un mot nappy pour: But burr aiv ne kitm wwc dream. i nrougn ckxtaioa 041 id aoiDt US Tim carrle u to deauj1 dart cat ' Wlta burned flight id fake oetowj But bar auov tt Kenia to wau. And 0017 bkl u oigoer go. for the maintain nlopei we leant On lemon from our teacher. Time Tta who Kite aim wing to earn What tfccv alooe can rracn who climb. II L, Touemaco, India' Troup of Monk?. All along this road to this side of Ah- ouuauaa we saw many troops of monkeys of all sizes, from that of a terrier dog up 10 a large setter now romping over the ueius close oy tbe track, or springing from branch to branch on tbe trees, or sit ting up on some prominent limb wisely watching us as we whizzed by They are sacred, and tbe natives uever hurt them. although they are fearful thieves and make destructive raids upon fields and orchards We also saw large numbers of peacocks noble birds, with talla and plumage of great beauty They. too. are sacred A foreigner would be mobbed should be shoot one They, as the mon- keys, are not wild, as travelers books would lead us to suppose Thev are free. and roam as they please, but are hardly iesa tawe man the same birds are 00 aa American fann They are rarely seen far away from villages and farms. Carter Harrison in Chicago Mail. Peculiarities of Comport Photograph. A very curious point In composite photo graphs is that almost Invariably this com bined picture is that of a better looklnir person than any of the Individuals who have contributed to It Some of these photographs now lie before us. Bere is one which has been taken from a number of criminals, and. as we bave lust indl cated. the picture Is much better favored Al . L. . , t man me various low crowed, coarse mouthed individuals who have contributed to make it up Another picture we may call attention to as being a great contrast to tbe last, this Is a group of ten girls wuo are me mem tiers or a literary dub. The picture Is that of a bright looking, Intellectual girl of about 19 years of aire. Tbe face la thought ful and tbe shape of me Dead Indicates irreat intellectual cower. The same observations are applicable to another photograph which is before us. to which several sclent I fio men have con tributed each his share. Chambers' Journal. Khrewdne. of a Planter. Negroes are deeply religious In charac ter, though they maintain a too rigid separation between religion and morality. There was once a planter "up tbe coast," whose flocks and herds suffered from the depredations of bis colored neighbors His method of self preservation waa unique. lie built a church which he presented to the negroes upon one condition This con dition was announced to the congregation from the pulpit by their minister It was that so long as nothing was stolen from this planter's place so long would tbe sanctuary remain open, but upon tbe dls- appearance of the first article the church was to be closed, never to be reopened. Tbe plan worked faultlessly, and while other plantations suffered as of old, tbe originator of this scheme possessed his goods in peace. New York Post. Woodpecker'. Justice. A year ago a pair of red headed wood peckers determined to peck a bole in the boarding under the eaves of a house, aa woodpeckers of teu do. The owner of the house, not liking such mutilation, after repeated efforts succeeded in driving them away, and they went to work at once and dug a hole in the nearest tree. When the birds' home was finished and housekeeping had begun the farmer's boys captured the female as she sat in the nest and kept her in a cage, hoping to catch the male also. Two days later he returned with an other wife. The boys relented at the sight. They gave Mrs. Woodpecker No. 1 her liberty and awaited results. To their surprise the male woodpecker, after a relentless pursuit of about six hours, killed her. Then he destroyed the one egg which she hud laid, and contin ued housekeeping with wife No. 2 as if nothing had happened. Cor. Youth's Companion. Beating Street Car Hallway. It is hard to get ahead of the street car companies, but some people in Chicago think they are going to do it. They are having constructed vehicles exactly like street cars, except that the wheels are a little larger. They are gauged to fit the car tracks, and it is proposed to run them on the tracks j ust like any horse car, with out asking with your leave or by your leave. They will stop like the street cars and charge the same fare. If the car companies object, owners of tbe new vehicles will point to tbe fact that they are siinpiy oumiouses, wmcn are en titled to use any portion of the public streets, whether tracks happen to be there or not. If the car companies don t like their tracks to be used they are at liberty to take them away. Exchange. Kami That Statesmen Write. Among Lord Granville's other amiable possessions was that of a very neat and scliol.-i.-ly handwriting. Perhaps this is one rei.son for his popularity with press men. On the whole, however, states men c rtainiy uo not wni v.arse iwxu writi rs." Mr. Gladstone's band is in deed spoiled by over indulgence in post cards. Mr. Balfour s baud is not pretty, and Mr. Goschen's is execrable. Mr. John Morley's hand has character, but is not always easy to read. Lord Salisbury writes ciearly. So do Lord Rosebery and Lord Hartington. But it may be doubted whether any of those we bave mentioned write at once so prettily and so legibly tis did Lord Granville. Pall Mall Gazette. When Toa Co to Earopo. A bint from one who knows continental hotels: I carried with me one good sized bedroom pillow encased in dark summer silk, and wished many times that I had irouicbt one or two more, as one is forci bly reminded of tbe block and guillotine when placing tbe head npou some of the miserable contrivances politely called pUlows in many placts in Europe. An apparatus called a lactorite has re- . 1 V .... nu.1 V, w fnuirh rluniiri. . . . . ... , barrel ranidlv m. vol red. and if a certain temporal ore is necary for tbe reaction th barrel is r,nir , K-, i. tiirL PARIS NEWSPAPERS. SIGNED EDITORIALS ARE COMMON BUT NOT UNIVERSAL, rornlirn AAVIr. T...I..I 1.K t.-i.. ...,,.. ad AbMltjr-Leeal Column. Rut Wba, Th M,ouid "- rn .1 Ad- f.rtuing-cnp,!.!, tbe N.wa, The editorial department of the Paris pajK-ra, which is their leading feature. Is often able and brilliant. The habit of signing editorial articles Is common! but by 110 menu, universal Among the ex reption. are the Tenipa. tbe Debate, and La I'aix nie Matin lia.au article dally from one ol rural writers, amonir whom tPe J"1"1 omiott. Euiajiuel Areue, IUuto 1 and John Leniolnne Each writer ex presses and la rveponsible for his own opinions only, and as they represent all shades of politics except Socialism, what tbe paper says one morning Is flatly con tradicted by Its article of tbe following day What are called "general articles" by the American newspapers are almost always signed by Paris writers. They may be literary, critical, or may cover a wide variety of Interesting topics. Among the best contributions of this class are those of Anatole de la France and Uugbes lo Roux. written for tbe Temps. Foreign affairs, so far as regards the continent, are of late years treated with Intelligence and ability The domestio politics of the t'uited States are still poorly understood by the majority of French Journalists, with tbe exception of a few who have crossed the ocean. As to the foreign continent In general it Is fairer than that of tbe London newspapers, which is not paying it an extravagant compliment, rrobalily not less than sixty members of the senate and chamber of deputies are connected with tbe Paris newspapers, principally as contributors. Tills lewis to what would be considered in other countries violations of parliamentary privilege, or to occurrences that strike foreigners as somewhat Indelicate, Jour nals not hesitating sometimes to publish fiirt that should be kept secret, or to give 8Keches of their own writers in extenso with fulsome compliment. IN TIIK LOCAL COI.CMXS. The local columns of a Paris newspaper are not what they should be or what their readers would be glad to bave thorn, for want of room The great city Is a mine of sensational material, tragic, comic, grave, gay. but always interesting if properly treated As a Paris newspaper is usually a small four page sbeet, printed in coarse type on bad paper, it la difficult to get more Into it than tbe literary and political matter that must In any event appear, and a mere resume of local events If the foreign news is of great Importance, local matter Is crowded out. If a single local event Is sensational all other local matters, no matter how interesting In themselves, must make way for It. Re porters of some papers sign their names. This practice sometimes causes curious displays of egotism, the writers forgetting that which they bave to narrate is their own personal experiences The facts are obscured by their efforts to obtain them, their little deprivations, and the articles of food that composed their breakfast. Tbe self consciousness of French nowspapor writers is always notice able, whether they sign their arti cles or not Tbe editorial "we" often appears In tbe editorial columns. It Is hard for a correspondent In a foreign capital to give the farts In a dispatch without prefacing or interspersing them with useless personal detail Aside from these evidences of imperfection and Jour nalistic Juvenility, the local columns are usually readable, and sometimes bright and witty The Paris interviewer, who is a recent institution already become universal, Is, If possible, more unscrupu lous and Imaginative than his American confrere. A Paris newspaper office Is not usually an abode or luxury 1 be trance has a fine building, of which it uses but a small port itself The Figaro Is handsomely Installed in the Rue Druot. Tbe Petit Journal, the newspaper of tbe bonnes, coachmea and garcoua, has comfortable quarters in the Rue Lafayette. Most of the papers of small circulation are hi the upper story of some large building, where their business, editorial and composing departments are crowded Into a few small, badly ventilated and poorly lighted rooms TOO MANY NEWSPAPERS. There are far too many newspapers in France for tbe number of readers, and they cannot all be rich. Tbe revolution ary, socialistic and some of the ultra radl cal newspapers are sold at one sou. Most of the others are sold at two sous Some are sold at three sous, with another sou idded when tbe size Is doubled, as In the case of tbe Saturday edition of tbe Figaro. A sou Is sometimes added to tbe Paris price for purchasers In tbe departments The newsboy cuts no great figure In Paris. Men, boys and women cry certain sheets In the streets, but if one wants a news paper be bas usually to go to tbe news stands Prices of advertising are high, and Paris merchants do not care much about tbe newspapers aa a means of mak ing their goods known. The space occu pied by legitimate advertising Is small, therefore the newspapers have to dopend for support on their circulation and on subsidies paid for their hifluence- These are sometimes large, and constitute their chief means of livelihood. Paris newspapers working for the most part with an Insufficient staff, the habit of copying from one another's columns Is general, paragraphs being taken verbatim by tbe evening from tbe morning papers and vice versa As tbese paragraps often contain opinions and individual ideas, they read curiously when met with hi succes sion in several different Journal. Dis patches two or three days old are often seen in some of them. An Important oc currence happening In some European capital, like Bismarck's speech In tbe reichstag. is known, as regards Its gen era! Import, In San Francisco before it is in Paris The speech In question was de livered about 2 o'clock Tbe Temps that appeared at 4 80 had nothing of It. and the Solr. appearing at II p m . only a few words Parts Cor Baa Francisco Chron Ida Faa Wmuji Railroading. The record of the Pennsylvania limit ed mail train ha again been lowered, and again it knocks out all previous time Recently the train made the run from Columbus, O., to this city, 1W miles, in fonr hours and four minutes, making fifteen stops and a number of slowdowns, l ne run to uraurora was i made in two hours, and from Bradford to this city in two hours and four min utes. A great deal of the distaac was made at tbe rate of eighty miles aa hour. "We had an engine," said Conductor Taylor proudly, "that could climb a tree." Indianapolis News. . . A REMINISCENCE OF MR. BARNUM. Ho II Cot rirru I'oater Into Cana- da Without l')liif th Duly. "One of P. T. Illinium's most suc cessful feats of bniuhiorlcinciit," said a New ViirkiirlliuiitliKPil.lv "uu .....1 I ' I " UjX)n ,lie i-ullaimll ,.stiin autliorl- T,,e wUmn .I,,,,,,,,,,.. j Wtre always pla.in.Hl fur In advance, bj,j o0 winter lie mn.lo up his mind ' to ,tt'w Jlvnt 'i"',", d menagerie ! "'roiiijli Canada during the summer ftf,,'r "l0 "(,Jt- This gave liiin about ! two years in which to mature hi pious, "One important item of 11 showman's expenses consists of his udvertisinir ! placards, nn.l Mr. Knmiim was nlwava ! lavish with these iruiidv prints, lie was aware that the l'un:uliun wivem- liient Imposed a high duty oil this class of imports, and yet ho wanted to vtint (.lunula red, yellow, blue and itreen with a lavislmess that no showman had ever displayed there In-fore. "ow there was no printing house anywhere In Canada that could begin to turn out the kind of work that Mr. Haniiiui required, either in size, color or finish. Nevertheless, his immense ixist- era came under tho same classiUfntinii as much smaller lithographs mid printed colored matter did, and ho knew that the Dominion custom authorities would not nlmte one Jot of the full toll, but would rather rejoice at the opMrt unity to millet the foreigner who would con vey so much money out of a country. "So liamiim studied the question a while, mid llimlly sent on ut onco a great lot of circus posters of the most gorgeous designs, whereon yellow lions clawed stried tigers, and brown licars foiled with blue liipNiHit.iiui till the gore Mowed into beautiful crimson backgrounds. No agent appeiired, when the posters were detained by the Canadian customs oliieers to pay the duty. They were accordingly held for twelve months, then duly advertised for sale for three months more, and finally put up at miction with a lot of other unclaimed parcels, and were des ignated in the catalogue merely its 'col ored prints,' "Noliody took any interest in thein when the auctioneer called for 11 bid, and dually the whole batch was knocked down for a son' to a secret agent of the circus, who had Urn sent up by Mr. Illinium for that express purpose." Now York Tribune. Hrii-lvril h a 1'rlvale Individual. Ono of the authors of "The Ctarand His People" gives the following instance of lolstoi's independence of thought mid action: General Loris MclikolThud been given such unbounded mwer to act against the niliilivts that, u he said, he was vir tually created view eincror. Ho dis covered hi the course of his ofllcial in vestigations that 0110 of tho leading ni hilist chiefs was in the habit of visiting Tolstoi, and one day Melikoff himself went out to the novelist's country house, lleforu the visitor had an nounced himself Tolstoi recognized him and said : "You are Loris MclikolT. Do you come to Bee me ollleially or as a private man? If you come officially here uro my keys. Search, open everything. You nro free to do so." "1 do not come ollleially," replied Melikoff. "Very good," answered Tolstoi, mid culling two stalwart servants he said to them, "Throw this man out of tho house I" The order was obeyed to the letter, and Mchkcff dared not seek redress. Wit of the Rmall People. I was descanting on the angelic dispo sitions and ways of some dear little children in a fond mother's presence tho other evening. "They are very trying," slui sold, "but then they are funny. We hod company tho other afternoon and the children were brought In. I asked Ethol if she still remembered her text 'Oh, yes, mamma, "Is I my brother's saloon keeper?'" "I was very nngry with little Robbie tho other evening, mid had prepared to give him a good spanking. He looked up at me so funny, and says, 'Muiiima, youse better not monkey wiv the bund wagon. ery angelic, but where do they learn such things?" Chicago Times. Jlletter to II ore Left Vnuld. A literal "thing one would rather not have said" was overheard in a Sixth avenue elevated train the other evening. A man and a woman were discussing Mr. Howclls' works and their effect while reading them, The inun asserted that he invariably found something responsive in any page of them he turned, whereat the woman innocently questioned, "Don't you think that Is because he always writes of such commonplace, everyday people and hapitenings?" When you come to think of it that was rather severe New York Times. Poor Kliootlng. No record of the work of the big guns on the big iron clods of Europe is allowed to be published, but the gun ners admit that the big cannon are so nnwieldy that an enemy a mile away might be fired at twenty times before being hit by accident The best of the gunners further declare that the mania for big guns has Ix-en run to foolish ness. Detroit Free Press. la a For Store. Mrs. Savezrien Rlcbe (In fur store to salesman) I want to look at a pair of fur Dallas. Salesman (doubtfully) I don't think I know what yon mean, madam. Mrs S. R. One of my friends has bought a pair of bones and a sleigh, and she said she got tbe paraphernal las to go with It, sod I want a pair, too Salesman (face reddening) We are all out of them today, madam. Judge. Lincoln a a Ball ftplltuir. Leonard W Volk, tbe Chicago sculptor, says that once when taking a plaster cast of President Lincoln's bands be detected a scar on tbe left thumb Noticing that It had attrartmt hi attention the presi dent said "Yoo have beard me called rail splitter, well, one day while sharp ening a wedge on a log the axe glanced off and nearly took the end of my thumb oft That's the scar. 'New York World. WAH AND AERIAL Sim's, POSSIBILITIES REGARDING FUTURE FLYING MACHINES. Uow Vast Nvlr and i:pnlve Land formication Might II Kndrad I'm let Antiquity of th Idea of firing. Snni Srhenie. of th Anelenl. Regarding the rate of propulsion of the future flying machine, Proteasnr J. Elf tetii Watkins, the distinguished mechani cal expert, declares that it simply depends njNin the size of the profiler used and the rate at which the fans are revolved. In his opinion the old theory that the at mosphere was too tenuous a medium for a propeller to act upon has been demon strated to be nonsense. HufhVient resist- L aIV..,I l.u It 1 ii.l . 1 .m war, v, .1 u re i..er pww.u.e.n rm'i uiuue 0-VM, IHJ mm lb wultlU lltJfc ue too much to surmise that a properly con structed air ship might accomplish the distance between Chicago aud New York within an hour's time. Necessarily, however, there would be a limit to rapidity of flight, inasmuch as a propeller ceases to projiel after a certain number of revolutions per second has been reached. It is opcti to any one's ob servation that a vessel's propeller, oper ating in the water, often revolves much faster when the craft is moving slowly than when it is going fast Attention was called by Mr. Hazen to the tremendous revolution which the in troduction of practical air ships would work in tile methods of offense and de fense in war. Fortifications, on which it is suggested that Undo Sam shall ex pend f'.'O.OOO.OOO aa soon as possible, would be of little use against flying ma chines that could drop dynamite and other explosives from aloft Likewise ships of war, however heavily armored, would be at the mercy of hostile aerial navigators. COSTLY Ol'Ns RKNDI'Jir.D I'SKLESS. In such a case batteries of a descrip tion altogether new would have to be devised for shooting vertically, and the general defending a position on terra tirma would be obliged to assail the winged foe with volleys of bombs di rected upward, as one would shoot ducks on the wing. Should such a state of affairs come to pass, it seems likely that tbe conflicts or the future between uatious will have to be fought out in the air between squadrons of flying men-of- war. About that time one would imag ine, it would be considered that the K'riod had arrived, so long looked for by military thinkers, when there could be no more lighting because it would be too vastly destructive. Having achieved the conquest of the waters, it is natural that man should likewise desire ttie mastery of the air, aud thus in all ages the human race has been ambitious to fly, The earliest at tempt in this direction recorded by tra dition is the mythical account of Dis dains, who, having constructed the cele brated labyrinth for Minos, king of Crete, was so unfortunate as to offend that monarch, and being imprisoned, escaiod with the aid of wings made of feathers cemented with wax. Another ancieut story of Archytas, of Tarentum, who constructed a wooden pigeon Unit had power to fly, so nicely was it balanced by weight aud put to motion by inclosed air. If there Is any truth In the account, it seems probable tliut Archytas was a fakir and worked his bird with a string, as is done on the stage. The ancients, generally shak ing, made no attempts iu the direction of aeronautics, believing that the power of flight could only appertain to the most powerful gods. OLD SCHKME3 fKR Pt.YlNO. Four centuries ago an ingenious gen tleman named Lauretua Laura tiub- iished a statement to the effect that ll.,,'.A.,m, fllln.1 t.,lli nll,uiluAM I nr-ltothH.n..n. l.l muvinil in tho , air, but it is not recorded that the ex periment was ever subjected satlsfao- torily to scientific test In 1070 a Jesuit Francis Lana. proposed to make four coptwr balls, each twenty-five foet in diameter aud only four ooe-thousandtiis of au inch in thickness, from which the air was to be exhausted. To these balls a baskot waa to be at tached, with a mast aud sail, and the calculation was that the contrivance would carry 1,200 pounds. Unfortunate ly it wus discovered that the excessive thinness of the copper spheres would cause them to be broken when a vacuum was created inside of them by the press ure of the atmosphere from without Nevertheless, this suggestion ap proached more nearly to a practicable idea in aerostatics than any othor offered up to the time of tbe invention of tbe balloon in 1 733 by the brothers Mont golfier. So lute as 1773 Joseph Ualien, a Dominican friar and professor in philosophy, contended that it would be possible to collect the rarefied air of some lofty mountain top and inclose it in a huge vessel a mile in diameter, which would carry fifty-four times as much weight as did Noah's ark. Funnily enough, nearly all the early theorists on this subject imagined that Uie atmosphere merely covered the earth like a shallow ocean, on which the aerial vessels they had in mind were in tended to float, like ships In the sea, with their upper portions in the diffuse ether that lay above. Washington Star. Why Milk loan. Professor Tolomei, an Italian chemist, concludes that the ozone produced by electric discharges In a thunder storm coagulates milk by oxidizing it, and gen erates luetic acid. Mr. Tread well, of the Wesleyan university, in discussing this, states that the action is not a mere oxi dation, bat is in part produced by the growth of bacteria, which is very rapid in hot, sultry weather. New York Times. Doubtful Consideration. 'My husband is the dearest, most con siderate man in the world." "Uow does he show iW "He knows I hate tobacco smoke in the bouse, and so be goes to tbe club every night after supper and smokes there. Harper s Bazar. When Pud. Meat. "Good morula', Jones." "Good momln'." ' "Beastly momln"' " "Beastly "-Hatchet In Parts there are said to be tSdOnle who make a living by waking people op In lbs! morning They must do a rousing bust ness. Boston Commercial Bulletin. A Philadelphia firm of soap manufact- nrers bsve s kettle that holds 471.000. pounds of liquids and six kettles that bold ' 100.000 pounds each. I I wise woman complaint. She I No r fur th llouMkeeplng-la-a-Mai Young Man of th I'erlod. An elderly country woman, who has chaperoned two charming nieces through tho dangers and delights of a gay Now York season, claims to have discovered one of tho gravest evils menacing modern society, and gave her views at elalioruto length the other day. "The ladylike young man is at the bottom of the mischief," she re marked animatedly, "and so long as he is allowed to flourish of course girls can't and won't marry. Who do 1 meant Why, that hybrid housekeep ing creature. "Our first encounter with the new fitnivlml Miwtr mum iri uvlum mpilu nunm ; ,,,41, to ttfft Rt Mr y 's rooms. 1 hesitated about accepting, but yielded mid went Still, I felt for tho poor fellow's natural perplexities, and bought a nice bag of Jumbles, some lump sugar, and took a few extra spoons along to help him out ill a tight place. "Well, bhss your heart, when a neat white cuped maid answered the elec tric bell, and pushing aside long shadow curtains ushered us into ait elegant parlor, I begun making every apology, being sure we had stumbled into the wrong plaeo. Hut, no; hero came our host, bowing and smiling, begging us to take off our wrus, and excusing himself for preoccupation just as have done a thousand times at home by saying the kettlo refused to boiL Well, while he talked to the girls I be gan looking round for some place to hide those odious cukes and heitrd the spoons rattling In my pocket "With each survey I took tliut paper bag grew bigger and tho silver jingled under the folds of my dress. Hut the polished mirrors, bowls of roses, eru broldered scurfs and charmingly dec orated walls were as nothing to a scene over in the left hand corner next the 11 replace. "Tliero sat the tea table, In all its glory, with Mr. V hovering round it like a protecting spirit He hud lady ostensibly presiding, but no old maid could have kept a sharper eye on tho tea cups. Ho discussed the differ cut varieties of tea with warmth, de fended the Infusion process, gave his reasons for patronizing a particular bakery, and In the meantime handed round bonbons and salted almonds to Ills half dozon men and women guests. Prom confectionery the talk drifted to naHry, and with a glow of genuine prido our entertainer exhibited a set of exquisite doilies lately added to his linen closet Ho advocated drawn woik mid tho outline stitch in white floss as rather superior style at after noon functions, and then got on the subject of china, which was evidontly his hobby. I'.acu fragile cup and saucer was diluted upon hi turn, the delicacy and benuty of the porcelain naturally load ing to a wholesale abuse of servants. Mr. V and a man (?) friend sitting near agreed that they never permitted Hiddy to lay a finger on the properties of their pantry. They laundered every piece of china and plate personally to Insure safe handling, and used only pure linen towels In order to avoid lint As you may Imagine I sat aghast to hear such conversation between two bearded oreutures, and was scarcely surprised afterward, when a woman of the party ventured an opinion on the subject of sweeping, to hear both of them summnrily suppress her. "now, i want to know wiio our l"1ght)rs, sisters Olid nlooes are to marry f" continued the wrathful lady. "Certainly not those finicky Miss Nancys; and there are no longer any bachelors, it apears nice, Jolly fel lows, who couldn't tell a mop from range or a broom from a lambrequin, who went buttonlesa, and with boles in their socks, till some nice girl took com passion on them ; who were lonely and needed companionship, helpless and wanted a woman's hund to keep a neat hearth and wurm their slippers. "Since that first afternoon I have been to twenty teas of the same sort in as many different apartments. New York fairly swarms with this new type of huiniuilty, and with each exhibition of his effeminacy I grow more dis gusted. My girls are athletic ride, swim, hunt and use the horizontal bar. Naturally, when their hosts talk bread and butter they become painfull r em borrassod, feel out of their elntneufand make alMiird mistakes. "New York Sun, Repelling Fire with a Druaa. A Are of a strange nature appeared In Wales in 1C93. According to the most Intelligible account concerning it now in existence, it come up frdm the sea near Harlech. At several places near that place and all over Merioneth shire it did much damage, burning hay, houses, barns, etc. A person writing of it said: "The gross over which it moves kills all manner of cattle that feud upon it But what Is most re markable Is that any great noise, such as the beating of a drum or sounding a horn, effectually repels it from any house." tit Louis Republic. Not a Lucrative On, The pay of the ofllcial watchman of the village of Sprlngstille, hi Ilessen, has not Increased In a century. One hundred years ago this valued official received one cent a day for his services, and "Old Helnrleh," the present watch man, aged seventy years, receives the same compensation. Truly the pay is not princely, and the American office holder will wonder how Heinrich man ages to live on it after paying the usual assessments to the party. New York World. "Mv.Urv Oold." Ail analysis of "mystery gold" reveals an alloy of copper, silver, gold, aluminium and iron, the last probably being an Im purity Even when present In small pro portion, tbe aluminium resists the) oltrle dd test Arkanaaw Traveler. Obealtjr Karroo DIordn a rrenco scientist aovances too toeory that obesity Is a nervous disorder, snd: should bs treated by avoidance of mental and physical fatigue and a diet of eggs, soup, mux, nc ana potatoes. CucagO: Tunes. The Slave of Chine. Tbe question will naturally arise ta many mind bow these vast numbers are maintained and eoutrolled Iu servitude. Tbe answer Is that all people are taught obedience to tbe head of tbe family, whether that person Is the real parent or whether be merely stands la loco parentis, The teachings of parents, of the schools, of tbe books of religion, and of tba gov ernment, are all In favor of such obedi ence and submission There can be no Uvtng In China outside of a family To be a nobody's child Is to be so outcast and bunted like the wolf on tbe mountains, la order to live In a bouse, to travel on the highways or byways, to buy food or clothing, to get employment or shelter, a government paas Is absolutely necessary, and that Is always based upon a family pass All law. all the officials and all the people of a vast and donaely populated country are jolued against any fugitive from a family In addition to all these the terrors of re ligion and superstition are brought to bear to enforce obedlunce to the family law. It la Implicitly believed that those who are disobedient In this world or outside the family association will be wanderers and outcasts through all the worlds to come, it is the terrors of this belief that make the victim of tbe Chinese family authority go uncomplainingly to the lin gering, but sure death of the guano Islands of Peru, to the pestiferous rice and cane fields of Cuba, and it is these terrors of tbe future which make the un fortunate slave girl. endure Uvea of shame and infamy In foreign countries, where by raising a band they oould be freed. San Francisco Chronicle. Chef and Their AaiUtanU. One has to look outside the private houses, no matter how grand thoy may appear, to find complete kitchens. Their number Is confined to tbe hotels and swell restaurants The force of a com plete kitchen embraces a chof, who ought, at the same time, lo be a maltre d'hote, and have charge of the choice and prepara tion of dishes, snd of the adornment of the table and dining room without ever having to put a hand to any of the cook ing, unless he chooses to prepare some sauce of which be la ths designer, or to garnish a dish, as some happy notion selxes blm The chof In a European palace or castle Is an artist and not a workman. The most hs does is to prepare sauces, dress meats. and beautify and make attractive entrees and cold dishes, dividing all rough and Heavy worn among bis assistants. In such so establishment there Is a second cook, what you might call a meat cook, who prepares the principal dishes, an entre metier, who has to do with ths little made dishes, the preparation of croquets, frying of potatoes or hashing of them with cream; In fact, who prepares all verrotables and does the frying Then there should be a pastry cook to look efter all the sweets. But we must ffoelsewhore than New York to find any such kltehon establishments In private houses. Now York Sun. The Porter of Havana. Seated at a little table not more than two feet square, well within the shade of the cool entradaa of the better private residences and all public buildings, wiH be seen a strangely grim and quiet person, who Is usually the ouly figure in the fore ground of a ' lovely picture comprUlug sougful court, Interior gallorles, wondrous marbloa and colored glasses, tropical blrda and flowers. This Is the portero. Thoush the household depends upon this man for si) wise protection and safoty, he Is not of It, snd he seems to sit eternally at his little table, oblivious to everything save bis oc casional Immediate duties, rolling out cigarettes as though his very life depended upon this task alone. Ills livelihood prac tically does, for, though a faithful sort of animal, he Is poorly paid. The maur thousand portero. of Havana have become an Important fuctor In cigarette manufact ure. For each 0.000, which tn a wheel like package are called una tares, they re ceive un escudo. a sum equal to nineteen hillings In American money. Edgar L. vvaaeman m new xora Mall and repress. Several OrounilleM luperatltlon. There are thousands who believe It Is healthy to rise early In the morning; whereas It Is a hygienic crime for a man to get up before be wants ta The desire to sloop late In the morning Is one of na ture's most emphatic. Intimations that more time Is needed for repairs. For a man to go to work In tbe morning In a sleepy, semi -comatose condition Is .Imply gradual suicide There Is another pop ular delusion that a man should stop eat ing whlls be Is yet hungry. lie might ss well stop breathing before his lungs are filled. Hunger Is the barometer that tells ths state of the stomach. A man Is never hungry unless hs ought to eat There Is another delusion that nlirht air Is un healthy as If any one could got anything but night air at night There la really no ah- so unhealthy aa day air bottled up and kept until night There has been no wsy discovered for preserving air like huckleberries by bottling Yankee Blade! Railroad Dulldlng la Tcnneewe. A smart citizen of Tennessee was in New York a few days ago to see about raising money for a proposed railroad tins down In his oountry, and when asked to explain, hs said. "There s no explanation aboct It This Is to be a railroad 200 miles long." "But about the company. "Oh, that's been organized and sH the officers elected. "What's the capltaH" "Fifty million dollars." "How much stock has been taken?" "About $300 worth." "" "What, only 300 worth?" "That's all, mister, and If yon fellers down bere will only pitch In and cobble op the rest of It, we'll go ahead and make things hum." Texas Sittings. RevlTed Intenwt. Boston Book Dealer Yes, madam, there seems to be a sudden and enormous demand for the works of Mr. Lowell and Dr. Holmes. Madam To what do yon attribute ths Increase? Book Dealer Well I think tho down fall of Mr Sullivan has bad something ts do with It-New York Sun. Charge of tbe light brigade Ths yearly appropriation demanded for tbe care of ths street lamps. Boston Budget Never allude to a dressmaker as kQss Sew and sew. Bingham toa BepubUcasv When the German military maneuvers are over, the Emperor will hold a special nn-i i M1i hih v. .m preside in person, when reports of the condition of tbe people in West Prnssia will be read and measures of relief, the necessity oi wmcn is aany more appar- ent, will be considered. t