A Famine in the Polar .Regions.
On the second day out from St. Mich
;aels wo reach St. Lawrence Island, where
it was reported a famine had swept away
nearly the whole population during the
previous year. The island is ninety
miles long from east to west. We
steamed along close in by the shore,
working our way through the ice. At
last the settlements were reached, and
each one that was visited presented the
same dreary scene of death and desola
tion. Not a sign of life was to be seen
.anywhere. Not a solitary dog or rat was
to found about any of the rude huts; but
in front of the houses, in a ghastly row,
lay the dead bodies of those who had
succumbed to the terrible hunger. They
had laid there for fifteen months, and we
were probably the first to look upon them.
Their clothes hadrotted off their bodies,
but the forms were preserved by the cold
so that they looked like mummies. The
skin was drawn tightly over their ema
ciated faces and forms, and looked like
ancient parchment. So perfectly had
the dry air preserved them that we could
distinguish the bodies of the men from
the women by the tatoo marks on the chin,
which is one of the peculiar styles of
feminine face ornament. In a few houses
bodies were found in various postures,
just, as they fell in the last agony of
solitary death. As long as there were
any survivors to perform the services,
the corpses were placed in the regular
rows in front of the huts. At one place
we found fifty bodies side by side, some
being the remains of little children,
while others were the corpses of old
people,
"The usual litter and refuse which
surround the Esquimaux huts were
lacking, and there was not a scrap left of
any kind of food. The cleanly gnawed
bones showed that they had eaten their
dogs; they had even devoured the rats
which infested the village; they had
chewed up the old bits of walrus hide
everything which would satisfy the crav
ings of hunger. At last they had per
ished miserably, dying by inches, with
no hope of succor and no chance of es
cape. At least five hundred of the
poor wretches suffered this hideous
death. To explain this terrible famine
which was as unusual as it was fatal, it
must be added that the season was one of
unparalleled severity. The natives of this
island were large, robust men and ex
pert hunters and fishermen. But like
most of their race they were improvident
and made no provision for such a winter.
The cold set in early and continued with
out interruption. The mercury was 40
degrees below zero for weeks at a time.
The cold and the violent storms prevent
ed them from going out on the ice to
catch walrus and seal their main de
pendence for food in the winter. Their
scanty stock of meat was soon exhausted;
they were many miles from Siberia and
could not have reached it alive in the
face of the bitter wind. At the north
west end of the island we found a settle
ment of about 250 people. These had
suffered severely from the famine, only
about one-naif of the original colony
having survived. They had had a
larger stock of provisions than their un
fortunate neighbors and thus escaped
complete annihilation.
"At this settlement two sailors from a
wrecked bark were left several years
ago. They were living there still, hav
ing adopted native customs. One had
taken a native wife, and the woman's
husband, on attending to reclaim her,
was killed by the sailor. The customs
of the natives are savage and brutal. It
is usual for the old people, when they
feel that they can work no longer to an
nounce the fact to their children. Then
the poor creatures are taken out of the
hut and either knocked on the head or
stabbed by their sons. If they fail to
give warning of their helplessness the
children are quick to detect the signs of
age and promptly dispatch their parents,
generally by beating them over the head.
The bodies are seldom buried ; they are
cast to the dogs who devour them.
At this place also we had now evidence
of some native peculiarities the ease
with which they could see at a great dis
tance with the naked eye, and the mar
velous way in which news was transmit
ted from the most distant points. A
native will describe the dress and
appearance of a man who is approaching
at a great distance. A white man, even
a sharp-eyed sailor can just make out
that it is a human figure. So, if any
thing occurs on the coast, if a piece of
wreck comes ashore, the full particulars
will be known in a very short time 1000
miles from the spot where it occurred.
It is a wonderful system of telegraphy,
one nativo rushing off to pass the news
to another, and thus spreading the intel
ligence over hundreds of miles of
territory in a single day. The informa
tion which was received in this way was
always very accurate.
CouiiDn't KiiiL Him. There is a man
in Detroit who was wounded five times
in less than ten minutes at the battle of
Fair Oaks. The first bullet entered his
left arm, the second gave him a scalp
wound, the third hit him in the foot,
the fourth buried itself in his shoulder,
the fifth entered his right leg. While
he was being carried to the rear, the first
two men who took him were killed.
While his wounds were being dressed,
an exploding shell almost buried him
under an avalanche of dirt. In being
removed further to the rear, a runaway
ambulance horse carried him. half a mile
and dumped him out; and yet he is
seemingly hale and hearty, and walks
without a limp.
A certain sort of credulity is not rarely,
combined in the same character wiui ma
trust; and those great men who are the
nst suspicious by nature are not the
nm fin able to flattery. I
W ' v
That Spanish Baby,
The narrative of the circumstances and
surroundings attending the birth of the
Boyal baby in. Spain has a very ludicrous
side to it when compared with the births
of ordinary babies. As a rule, these oo
casions are strictly private, the company
being limited to the patient, doctor.
nurse, and the youthfr.1 stranger. Even
the fond and expeo uil father is merci
lesly kept out of the room and not al
lowed to see the offspring until it has
been put in presentable shape. In Spain,
however, when Koyalty assumes parental
responsibilities the occasion is made into
a grand show. The populace of Madrid
nocked around the palace walls and
waited all day for the result. The more
favored were admitted inside. As soon
as the Queen felt the first symptoms of
travail, she communicated it to the doc
tor. The doctor told it to my Lord
Sexto, the Chamberlain. The Chamber
lain told it to the Captain of the halber
dies of the Guards, and the Captain of
the halberdiers of the Guards sent eighty
messengers to tell the Ministers and the
Diplomatic Corps and some native person
ages who were to be allowed admission.
In the Queen's bedchamber were the
King, the ex-Queen Isabella, the Prin
cess of the Asturias, the Archduchess
Isabella, and all the ladies of the Boyal
household. They occupied the boxes.
In the ante room or parquet were other
noble personages and the two wet-nurses,
who had been kept on hand so long that
they must have been dry. In other
parts of the house were chamberlains,
guards, grandees, marshals, generals,
knights, judges, prelates, mayors, alder
men, filling every available place, for
grandees m Spain are very plentiful.
There they waited patiently for the ar
rival of the Prince who was to establish
the Spanish succession. For months all
Spain has been rent with discussions
over this arrival. Parties have been
formed upon the issue girl or boy. The
campaign resembled our own Presiden
tial selection except that, so far as is
known, no' question of sex is involved in
ours. There was the same excitement,
however, the same uncertainty, and
probably the same vigorous betting on
the result. Only one thing appeared
very clear. If a girl,, every thing would
be deranged. If a boy, the sun
cession would be established. bo
the halberdiers and musketeers
stood motionless as statutes on the stair
cases. The ministers, marshals, grand
ees and diplomats posed in silent dignity.
The doctor and the wet nurses bustled
about. The Princesses exchanged sig
nificant glances with each other. The
father stood by looking much like an
idiot, as fathers always do on such occa
sions. There being no small boy in the
household, everything went off quietly
and inorder, and the Queen, it is to be
presumed, performed her part with
queenly dignity and grace. Thero
appears, however, to have been a general
impression that the stranger would be a
boy, principally because a girl would be
of no particular use. The people wanted
a boy. All the spectators wanted a boy.
The father wanted a boy, but probably
the mother wanted a girl, and, as she
was the party most directly interested,
she had her own way about it. One can
faintly imagine the feelings of Alfonso
as he carried the babe upon t a
salver, and, removing the drapery,
exhibited to the crowd a girl. In
the bitterness of his heart he
must have muttered to himself, as did
Eccles when ho found the cold tea on the
mantel, "This 'cos 'ard." And the vast
assemblage must have re-echoed in their
hearts also the. samo declaration as they
turned away inwardly disgusted that
they had hung around the palace apart
ments for hours in their good clothes
just to see a girl baby! There is no
statute in Spam, however, which forbids
trying it again, and the next time when
the grandees, and the chamberlainsand
things assemble at the palace, and the
eighty messengers hurry off" to announce
Christina's pangs of travail, thero may
be better luck. Meantime, as the ques
tion of sex is of no consideration this
side of the water, the American people
can heartily copgratulate the Queen that
she has a little Princess, and, for a time
at least, is freed from the tremendous
resjjonsibilities and innate depravity of a
boy. It may be bad for the succession,
and a disappointment for the father, but
he can well afford to wait and let his
royal spouse enjoy the comxort of her
little Princess for a time.
Do Tour WorK Well.
Whatever you do, do well. A job
slighted, because it is apjmrently un
important, leads to habitual neglect, so
that men degenerate, insensibly, into
bad workmen.
"That is a good rough job," said a
foreman in our hearing, recently, and
he meant that it was a piece of work
not elegant in itsolf, but strongly
made and well mt together.
The training of the hand and eye . to
do work well leads individuals to form
correct habits in other respects; and a
good workman is, in most cases, a good
citizen. No one need hope to rise
above his present situation who suffers
small tilings to pass by unimproved, or
who neglects, metaphorically speaking,
to pick up a cent because it is not a
dollar.
Some of the wisest law-makers, the
best statesmen, the most gifted artists,
the most merciful judges, the most in
genious mechanics, rose from the great
mass.
A rival of a certain lawyer sought
to nuiniuatc mm publicly by saying:
"lou blacked my father's boots
once.
Yes," replied the 'lawyer, unabash
ed, "and I did it well." And because
of this habit of doing even small things
well, he rose to greater.
Turkish Domestic Life.
Every Turk leads two lives. He may
be in the society of Europeans during
six hours of every day. He is then well
dressed, vivacious, perhaps intelligent.
But this part of his life is not the part
which forms his motives, it is not then
that the final causes are- at work which
eroverns his acts. His life when it is in
the busy whirl of tho world, is super
ficial and unreal. Howartificial it is can
be seen in the alacrity with which, on his
return to his harem, he lays off the
broadcloth clothes of his public exis
tence, and dons the white baggy trousers,
the open necked vest, and the long gown
dear to his heart. He is only ready to be
at ease when ho releases his feet from
patent leather and from stockings, and
thrusts them into unheeleu slippers.
Then he is himself, for he is at home.
The harem is to every Turk his refuge.
Toit he may flee from every care. About
the harem cling all tho sweetest as
sociations of his life. All his best feel
ings find exercise in that sacred place.
His mother, perhaps, is there, or his
sisters. There only he enjoys the prattle
of his children. There alone in all the
world can the tired man find the balm
of sympathy. There he has his
books, and can study in peace if he
will. Thero he enjoys the riches of his
splendid flower garden. In the domain
of the women, with hills and vales and
moon-touched sea before his eyes, he
dreams away his summer evenings under
the subtle spell of nature. And here he
meets the controlling influences of his
life. The women othe harem, mothers,
sisters and wives, wait upon the man
coming wearily home from his struggle
with life. They are to him humble
servants or merry companions, as his
mood is. They please him with chil
dren, or leave him alone with his books,
at his behest. Sooner or later, however,
they assert their woman's right of talking
on serious topics, and then they have
him at their mercy. Now these women
who make the home of tho Turk are
rarely his equals in mental acquire
ments. No question of blood rules the
selection of wives among the Turks. A
woman born in a mud hovel often rules
in a pasha's palace. At the very best,
Turkish women rarely have any educa
tion beyond the primer. They believe in
signs and wonders; in the active agency
of evil spirits; in the existence of a grbat
dragon who periodically attempts to
swallow the moon; in cliarms and
incantations. In short, they are as su
perstitious as they can be after years of
hereditary ignorance. But thpy are
positive in opinion, and intolerant
of opposition. Moreover, they are,
above all things else, ardent and bigoted
Mahammedans. Such are the intel
lectual surroundings of tho Turk during
that part of his life which he loves. And
when the women of his house turn the
conversation upon public affairs, the
poor man is helpless in their hands, be
cause he knows the futility of logic m
such discussion. Often a pasha meets
at home a petition which he has refused
in his office, and yielding to sheer im
jjortunity on the part of his women, he
rewards the shrewdness of the man who
has found means to invoke such aids.
Often it has happened that the pasha
disappoints an ambassador, and violates
his promise to support a new ' measure,
because the women of his household ob
ject to the deviation from custom. He
must yield to his homo circle, or break
with them entirely. These women are
under no influence by Avhich their opin
ions may be changed. They live in a
world of their own, and are entirely un
aware of an existence preferable to their
own, and know nothing of that outside
world to which they are simply curiosi
ties of intique origin.
This glance at the home life of the
Turk and its influence upon him, leaves
little to hope from the Turks in the di
rection of voluntary abandonment of old
systems and practices. JIarpci,'s Jay
azinc, The Gullloilne.
Just at daybreak, the murderer, Men
escion, was executed. According to cus
torn he was kept in ignorance of the
time fixed for his death until within a
few minutes of the execution. He had
passed the evening in company with two
jailors, who had for some days been his
constant companions, in playing cards,
and an unusually bountiful supper
which was supplied to him, might have
aroused his suspicions, but it did not.
and at midnight he went to sleep.
Shortly before daybreak the governor of
the prison, with the priest and execu
tioner and his assistants, . entered the
corridor leading to the cell of the con
demned. Tho jailors, at a signal,
opened the door of the cell, and on first
awakening Menesclon, informed him that
his last hour had come and admitted the
priest. The latter remained with
Menesclon for ten minutes. The Gov
ernor, tho executioner and assistants
then entered. Menesclon was in agony J
of fear, and it was with difficulty that
the exocutioner made what is called "tho
toilet," cutting the hair of the prisoner
short, cutting off the collar of his shirt,
and binding his hands behind him. This
being done, the convigt was hurried
through the corridor to the door, which
opened upon the square, where the guil
lotine was ready to receive him. The
scene at this moment was terrible som
ber. The sun was just rising, but its
light was obscured by dense clouds, and
at tho moment the prison door opened a
violent storm of thunder and lightning
broke forth. The condemned at this in
stant was overcome with terror and sank
almost to the ground. The assistants of
the executioner had to drag him to the
guillotine, which had been erected only
a few paces from the portal of the prison.
In a moment afterward the knife had
fallen and all was over.
Romance and Reality.
Tho Cinm'nnfiti Enmiirer savs that at
Iiexinirton. Kv.. on the 26th of last
1 O 7 '
month, occurred one of the most inter
esting weddings that ever transpired
in that city. One week sinoe, a dapper,
quick-spoken bright-faced Massachusetts
man put in an appearance here, and the
first question known to have been asked
was, "Where is the Daily Press office?"
When the question was answered, away
he put to find it, and, when entering,
said, "I am from Providence, B. I., and
have brought you copies of each of the
daily papers, and many of the New York
papers, which I hope, are in advance of
the mails." His open, bright, direct
manner attracted attention, which
ripened into confidence and to some ex
tent personal regard. This was the last
known of him to the public for several
days, when it became a matter; of com
mon talk that Miss Fannie Brown was to
bo married within a day or two to a Mr.
Daniel Bruce, jr., of Providence, B.I.
Miss Fannies position in society war
ranted some of our best people in taking
an interest in her, and they began at
once to inquire, "Who is Mr. Bruce?"
Away the story went, until at last some
old crone, with a memory never at fault,
called attention to an advertisement in
the Daiig Press, July 6, and later, to
the following effect:
"A gentleman with no bad habits, in
good circumstances, doing good business
and making money, but not rich, desir
ing to marry, but not seeing among his
acquaintances any lady whom he prefers
above all others, wishes to correspond,
with a view to marriage, with a young
lady of the following description: Must
be of good family, unquestionable char
acter, kind and affectionate, good singer
or good pianist, smart and intelligent,
good form, good conversationalist, 'and
about 25 years of age. Advertiser is
sincere, and wishes no foolish corres
pondence. Address Ernest Elmwood,
Providence, B. I."
Two and two at once made four; tho
story took a new turn; the gossips prog
nosticated evil, and the young lady's
friends, old and young, flocked to see
her in scores; but not a word wassaiu oi
Ernest Elmwood. The wedding came
off, the church was filled with the
friends of the bride, mainly members of
the same church, and the pastor pro
nounced the marriage ceremony with pe
culiar solemnity and unction. The bride
and groom have now gone to their home
in the East, but the talking ones of the
city are still on tiptoe to know more, ana
thfi names of Daniel Bruce and Ernest
Elmwood are by many regarded as syn
onymous terms. The young lady will
answer the description to a jot. She is (
modest, refined, cultivated in the arts,
and accomplished in all departments of
music. Air. JJruce is a brigut-iaceu mau
of 40 vears of acre, with the appearance
of 2G, is a druggist at Providence, B. I.,
was a soldier of four years aunng tue
war with a commission of a Captain of
Cavalry, and is so open and pleasant in
his manner as to have gained the confi
dence of all who have met him. But the
end it not yet. The question now is,
are Daniel Bruce, Jr. and Ernest Elm
wood identical ? and if so, is this to be
the end of Providential wife-getting m
Kentucky ? Many young ladies who are
cognizant of the facts in the case are ex
cited, and it is intimated that the adver
tising columns of the press will in the
future be watched by the fair sex with
particular interest.
Mother Biickcnlyfcc.
While at Beno the other day I had
the goodfortuno to meet with "Mother
Brickerdyke," as the Union boys used to
call her. No adult lover oi his country
need to be told who this lad is, or what
her eventful and woful history. Living
at Galesburg, 111., at the time of the
breaking out of the rebellion, she at
once hastened into the field, bearing a
commission from the Governor of her
State as matron of field hospitals. So
discriminating, careful, and executive
was she that she soon won the
confidence of the general officers,
wlip acquiesced in and generally as
sisted in carrying out her measures of
relief." She was always at her post in
tho front, often exposed to direct fire,
and made a target for rebel bullots, but
was spared to perform much needed
work all through the War and since.
Thousands of soldiers came under her
immediate care, and as she moved busily
from point to point, now establishing a
field hospital, now bringing up trains of
supplies, she often came in contact with
oflicers, but always to conquer and carry
out her humane work. She had a theory
that for all bad business, delinquency,
or cruelty, some oilicer was to blame. If
an orderly drove oil one of her dairy
cows (of which she always had several
hundred on hand), she sent a provost
guard after both the cow and the order
ly's officer.
" She once punished a drunken surgeon
by placing him out underan umbrella to
sit for two hours on a pile of garbage
which he had allowed to accumulate. He
was very angry, and when released, went
down to Sherman's headquarters and
entered complaint. "Who do you say
punished you?" asked the Genoral.
"Mother Brickerdyke," replied the sur
geon. "Oh, well," rejoined Sherman,
with a laugh, "you had better resign and
go homo. 'Mother Brickerdyke' is al
ways right in her judgment, and besides,
there is no help for you, for she out
ranks me."
"Mother Brickerdyke," as she will al
ways be called, happened at the Beno
depot when Secretary Schurz passed
home lately. Eagerly the great states
man pressed through 'the throng, and
in loud tones called her up to
him and gavo her such a greet
ing as fow American women may
claim. True to her instincts, Mrs. Bric
kerdyke soon began to lecture him npon
certain duties which, she thinks, devolve
upon him to perform, the while several
voices called out from the train, ;ell
well! There's our grand old -Mother
Brickerdyke,' of the Army Hospital, and
she's at her old business too of command
ing officers!" and each prassed forward
to grasp her hand and claim recognition.
Mrs. B. is now 06 years old, rather
stout, but hearty and active as ever.
She comes of a long-lived family.- and
expects 15 or 20 years of busy life yet.
Sbo has been foremost in establishing
hospitals and orphan asylums in the east,
and is now engaged in improving our
school system, offering plans so wise
and simple that our legislators will do
well to hear and heed.
An Afghan Woman's Shoes.
The slippers and shoes are of Cabulese
moke, and are very pretty. On a pale
green background beautiful patterns are
worked with gold and silver thread and
parti-colored silk, until the effect is more
like that of a fairy slipper than one for
daily use . But a stout leather sole is put
on, with high heels rudely bound with
iron, and then the work of art is com
plete. The stalls in which their slippers
and shoes are made are the gayest in the
whole bazar. A Cabulese's foot is small,
almost to deformity, and the baggy
trousers by contrast make them appear
exceedingly petite. From the few faces
seen, and those chiefly of old or passee
women, it is difficult to judge of tho
famed beauty Cabulese are said to
boast of. Tho children are certainly,
as a whole, the prettiest I have ever
seen. Their complexions are red and
white with a tinge of olive pervading the
skin, eves black and lustrous, well-shaped
features, teeth to make a western beauty
envious, and bright, intelligent looks
that sadlv belie the race to which they
belong. Their mothers must be beauti
ful, for their fathers are generally vil-lianous-lookins:
the men losing all the
pleasing traits which as boys they pos
sessed. The lady I havo described as
seen in the zebanna for a moment was
certainlv handsome, and was far lighter
inT;omplexion than a Spaniard; her eyes
were certainly worth the praises sung by
Hafiz, but the sensuous lips were a niue
too full and noutinc It was just such a
face as one imagines in a harem, and
would be in keeping with tho languorous
life of a voluptuary to whom sensuality
is a guiding star. Such faces always
lack character, and would soon prove in
sipid in the eyes of the West. The
Cabulese ladv. when journeying, is
either carried in an elaborate wicker
work cage covered with the inevitable
flowering linen, or rides Amazon fashion.
A Cow Boy's Outfit.
A correspondent of a new York paper,
who journeyed across the great staked
plains of Texas with a companion decked
ot in the costume of a cow-boy, de
scribes the dress as follows: He wears a
whitish felt hat, vast of brim, and with a
neatly-rolled red handkerchief tied
around the minute proportion of a crown;
a blue wool shirt, also' surmounted in
the region of the neck with a red ker
chief; calfskin leggins, trimmed with
leather fringe and buttons down the
outer seams; spurs fiercely long in the
rowell and given to jingling bravely; two
belts, holdiucr in their loops 100 rounds
of cartridges, "half for the revolver sus
pended from one of the belts and half
for a repeating carbine. In additio'n to
these accountrements are a formidable
looking knife (to be used, however, for
the innocent purpose of butchering game
or cutting pork) and a lantern quirt
hanging froin the wearer's wrist. The
owner of this ominous finery rides a
tough, square-built chunk of a pony,
which at times evinces a morbid desire
to send his owner flying through the
sky. The saddle on the pony is a well
housed, "double-rigged" one, made, as
'shown by the quantity of leather used,
with an eye to the enconragemeut of the
trade in that staple. Slung from the
high horn and cantel of the saddle is a
gun sheath containing a Winchester car
bine, and also attached to the horn are a
coil of rope and a water canteen. A pair
of saddie-bags lie across the seat. At
the back of the saddle are tied coat and
overcoat of oiled canvas in cowboy's
language, a "slicker." Such an equip
ment is the net outcome of cow-boy ex
perience in Search of the useful and the
beautiful, and with such tho cow-boy is
prepared to travel through the world.
Egyptian Locks. Up to the latter
half of the last century we had not
reached to tho excellence of the locks
that were in use in Egypt and China
tnousands of years ago, and have now
for a very long period run in the line of
re-discovery and re-application of what
had been tested so long ago in them.
Tho essential principle of the Egyptian
lock was movable pins or nails 'dropping
each independently by its own weight,
into the bolt, and securing it on being
touched at the right point by correspond
ing pins at the end of the true key, all
of them requiring to be raised together
to the proper height. The very latest
idea in lock-making may be regarded as
suggestions or applications of this prin
ciple. A Secret. "Can you keep a secret?'
said Mr.Middlercrib, impressively, look
ing at his wife. "Indeed I can," she
exclaimed eagerly, running across the
room that she might cling to tho lappels
of his coat while she listened. "Well"
said the brutal man, "you can do a great
deal more than I can, then. 1 never
could remember one long enough to tell
it." Burlington Hawk-Eye.