FOREIGN GOSSIP.
Loss Until 200.000 or tlin 125,000.
000 heathen womon in India can road,
Cardinal Manning has boon liro
moled to tliu vlco-tireidonoy of tlio
Loiufon Nowspnpor Fund.
A profit of olght million florins
was netted hy the nnlion.il library ol
Austria-Hungary lift your.
A lino wn lot down Into nn r.x
tlnot crater at Molokal, Sandwich Isl
ands, n distance of tli niii thousand llvo
hundred foot without reaching liottom.
- Quito, in South Amnriun. la tho
only city in tho world on tho Kquutor,
.ami tho Him rises nnd sots thero tit six
o'clock tho year round. N. 1'. Wit
ness. Denmark is known ns a romnrka
lily level country. Surveys of last sen
son find only tu'o points In tho klug
doin that reach nn elevation of live
hundred and forty feet. Gtlden Hide.
A (Jlnsgow yacht, destined for
jicreh fishing in Soulli Australian wa
ters, has boon lilted with olectrical ap
paratus expected to light up the water
to tho great depth of sovontoou fath
om. Cyprus is proving to firont Hrltaln
nn expensive luxury, because, although
the Income from revenue rises some
$;H)0,00l) above expenses, something
over SlfiO.OOO has to be paid annually
ns a subvention to Turkoy. Congreya
tionalist. - In a Liverpool cigar factory, where
one thousand girls are employed, a tiro
brlg-tilo, composed of tho operatives,
hits been orgaui7. d. Tho girls are
well oflloercd and drilled, and at a re
cent "blaze in the factory did cfllclenl
nervice hi subduing tho Humes. .V. O.
Times- Democrat.
-The project of e mnoetlug Hal'
with Sicily by a sub narine tunnel is
again diseuss d. The estimated cost
of the work is over fourteen millions of
dollars The depth .of the sea along
the proposed line is over live biinilr'e I
feet. The length of the tunnel would
probably not exceed llvo nillos.--.V. )'.
J.cdtjer.
- Hituyiti .Nanjlo. now professor of
Sanskrit at Tokio, has been Mint by his
monastery ou n scientific nnd religious
mission to India, lie went to tKford.
sonic years ago. to study S.utskrit un
der Prof. Max Midler, and received the
honorable degree of M. A., on leaving
England. He is the anther of several
learned works on Htiddhlsm.
- One of the newest and heist of the
ninny circus s In Paris has just
Innught out an old production a
Spanish fair with all Its ailjnue s, lis
beggars, its niandolliiists, its peasants
and merchants iu costume, its audi
ences and songs, and, to crown all, its
hull tight. This Is one of the most
amusing and picturesque spectacles
Mien In Paris for many years.
- The monk of St. Hiriiard, who
devoted themselves as ardently to the
study of science as t the rescue of
wayfaring men, hnve brought the tele
phone into th.dr service of mercy. The
famous hospice is now in telephonic
communication with the Outline de
Pro, and tlt! village of S. Pierre, ns
also witlt the Outline d i Font lute and
the village of St. Oltoniy, on the Ital
ian side. -Urooklun liayle
-Mrs 11 -nrv Wood's grave is in
lltghgate Cemetery, near those of
Ueorge Whit, P.uepa Kosn, Frederic
Maurice, (leorgo V.i'idonltolV, 11. Ornbh
Kobinsiin, Alaric A. Watts, Lord
Lyndliurst, and 'lt. father, mother
and little daughter of Charles Dick
ens. Near bv, also, i the tomb of
Wonibvvell, tho famous menagerie
showman, surmounted by a full-slaed
lion in marble.- v.in UudgeJ.
Some odd re-i !e its huvo arrived
t tlte Paris xoo. They include a three
striped paradoxitro from In linn; a
Scop's owl, captured at sea near Aden;
u white-fronted heron, from Austra
lia; a Stanley parakeet, from West
Australia; a Hurmolstor's earlanta.
Southwest Hruail; a black sternottiere,
from Wot Africa, received Iu ox
ohange, anil twotnws. The "juiiows"
hlightly troubled u, but tho pamdox
ure, the Scop's owl, the black stento
there, and the llurtiieister's cariuma
puexle us entirely.-- taieijjo TYmia.
THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE.
Tim World's MikI XlucultlppiU Tlir;trr
n Monument of Art.
It Is a superb monument, this house of
Molicre, a verltalde liraud Seigneur's
palace, with sumptuous saloons, h
Malr-ens ndor.m I with statues, gal
lcrit! full of picture, busts nud Mutu
ary, and the thousand souvenirs that
bear eloquent witness to a long and
gloriou- jwst. The exterior, from the
surrounding colonnade to the lantern
on the summit of the roof, give one
the impression of immntahle and
grandiose stuldllly. The tinrrow
entrance doors of Indescribable wlui,
and innocent of all ornament. charm
ou hecauao thoy remind yon of an
other nge. And the grand vestibule,
which loiks like n Florentine crypt,
that qxtclout, vaulted rotunda periled
with statue-, the walls covered
with antique uilrror-gla iu Muall
Mnums, lite Mjirys thst radi
ate (Ml nil s-idMs pi.tixltsl by
the ushers of tb (uodh e vi aiwl
rtimliHu, with their hvv kiher
ebalus of uft'xv hugi'iff round their
ittMtk,)Mtxv Uill'Mvut from any tkiugone
lias ever su! . . . KariNg tlw Mrw,V
htnuds n HiarUe H(ue by Ds id
l'Aurr iviMywtiutf Tdi! ul-
Jug h r4 Ih ih i tun ut .t'.'.itiKle
of a Cer tUiuklii f tVe i. im..
of Id tMira. Ou eitlMT d of la',- ,
ma mv iljPorto ttiue ( J; d
niW. CVuely My Doet. aud to h Irft
Cloyiugv r' stsine f It 'chL m!m iv
1HaHmS Trvly, ilrHl in u
nutique iwpluta and holding jv.n,ril
iu lite baud. In Uio vcubuio vl Ut
eiitrnuca from tho Placo du Palah
ltoyal. tiontoil in niches softly lighted
by two tnodost roflcctors, nro the two
tutelary geniuses of lliohousn, M diore
and Cornelllc, chlsoled In marhlo by
tho sculptors Audron and Tal
gnlerc. LL us pass along tho
broad lobby botwoon two rows of mar
bin busts and walk up thn grand
stalr-ca.se, which is comparatively
recent, havinir bom ndd mI by the
archltest M. Clmbrol, when tin Thea
ter l'rnneais was onlarg'd In 180 1,
thanks to land gainvd by street im
provenii'nton the sfdo of the Place du
Palais Kval. The public foyer and
the whole s uitli fae.ule of the th'-ater
date from tin same year. 'I bis stair
case, willi its marble caryatides by
Carrier llolleusn. Its rich iron balu
strade, its lino architectural linos, de
nerves nothing but praise. Unfortun
ately it leads only to a lobby, and one
must turn to the left to outer the pub
lic foyer or crush-room. This foyr
looks like a rich and artistic salon,
with it profusion of doll onto gliding,
its pilaster, its mirrors. its
graceful ornamentation, and fine
deeorativo paintings. batcil com
fortably in an arm-chair or on a sofa,
one can contemplate at one's ease a
rare collection of masterpieces of
French sculpture of the eighteenth
century placed around tho room. In
the midst of a mass of vorduro ami
(lowers Voltairo occupies tho placo bf
honor at one end, not as a dramatic
author, not as one of tho grand ances
tors of the house, but because his statue
Is the finest that Ho itlou ever made.
At the other end of the room, on each
Ide of the moiiiimental chimney-
piece, nro busts of Molicro nnd Cor
neille, and in front of each of the six
teen (tilted pllnstors Hint divide the
walls Into panels stnndsou it.s pedestal
a marble bust of some celebrated au
thor, bv II iu lou, Cafll U'i, Piijoti, IS lizot
or others an admirable series, which is
continued along the adjoining gallery,
at tho end of which we admire Clesin-
ger's seated statue of George Sand.
The foyer nnd the gallery of busts con
stitute f.ir the public the ntiHcum of
the Ooincdio l'Yancnisn. Hut these
two rooms contain only a very small
part of the artistic treasures of the
house. In every passage, in every
room, on every stairway, on every
wall, there are busts, pictures, engrav
ings, historical souvenirs, which the
public does not. see. I ho artists
green-room, tho directors ca timet, in
particular, are most interesting, but.
if course, unless you hive friends at
e iiirt you can, not enter these rooms.
Happily, a far, at least, ns the sculpt
m e is concerned, tho greater part of
the masterpieces are placed permanent
ly within the public view, iu the foyer
mil tlte passages.
At the present day the richos of the
('oinedin are so abundant th it for want
if room even masterpieces have be lef,
it dark c inters, u isen nnd almost for
gotten. At the Couteilie Kraneaise, in
lie actors' greenroom, nud in the pub
ic foyer, almost all the master porlrait
sts of the eighteenth century, seulpt
irs and painters alike, may be studied
it tlie.r best work. The sculpture is
particularly admirable. The statues
mil busts of the museum of the Come
lie may be compared witlt the antique
censures of the museums of Italy, and
be conclusion will be that tho seulp
nr's art never achieved its end with
note truth and more of the ideal than
: did by the chisel of llottdon, Cnllicri,
V ijou nnd l)a id d' Angers. For they
ire really splendid nnd rndiant with
entity and genius, these busts to which
into has contributed the master
ouches, giving life to the flush, nnd
tceentunting tho expression according
o thescnlptor's Indications. Theodore.
Child, in Hurler's Magazine.
ALL ABOUT CALICO.
Iiitriuliii'tloii nt tlu I'ulirlo from tmlln
luto llollnuil met Ureal Itrltutii.
The derivation of this word is very
interesting, ns of such nn ancient date
U its origin. Mr. Leonowens says in
Iter "Travels in India' ' that "in the
vear 14'JS, just ten months and two
Uys after leaving the port of Lisbon.
Vnsco da (Tama lauded on the coast of
Malabar at Calient, or more properly
ivalo Uho.la. -City of the Hlaek Cod
less' Calicut was as that period not
otly a very ancient seaport, but an ex
ensive territory, which, stretching
along the wtMern coast of Southern
In lia, reached front H out bay and tho
adjacent islands to Cap Comorin. It
wn at an early p.riol, so famous for
its weaving and dyelug of cotton
c'oth, that its tiatno became,
idcutirtod with the manufactured
fabric, wheuco the uatue calico.
It is now generally admitted that this
Ingenious art originated iu India in
ery rvmole ng, ami f row that coun
try found Its way into Kjtypt. It wns
not until toward the middle of the
seventeenth century that calico-printing
was Introduced into Knropo. A
knowledge of the art was aoquirtl Uy
mm of the servants iu the service
of the Dutch hVisi.ludm Company and
carried to Holland, whence it was in
troduced in ludon ia the year 167&."
U was urprisiag fur grown -up chuV
trea, as well as our )oung Mks to
iearu that P.iny a early as the nrsl
eenturv uwnthws in ht uatural hU-Uirj-
iV. there exUtetl in K't a
oii, ;tu! in thsl f dyeing while
do h . l m-u ran U dejviesl
iilici it loau of such antiquity. 11m
-tu.Ul mtke-up of the )rt.'ut 4nj'
.r.a U 'k lown w::h tsiUfiu;i ujn
;i.f i i ... divs but "Wlia: kind of
'. a .re lit the u.mJ Ca
- Tor a pii' ol abject shame
ttnl th- farw f a jxig de thai is
bung l xl thiongh iho sUxsu by a
dude lMoAu HerX.
WOOD PRESERVATION.
Thi aioltioil Snrorfiilly Ailoatort nt the
Cliiirlontown NavT Yard.
For ninny yours thero wero many
complaints and dissatisfaction with
modern ships iu tho nnvy, becauso of
their early decay, resulting from a law
of nature which has nover boon entire
ly overcome. Many unsuccessful ofTorts
have boon mado to do this but thus
far practical tests ham not demon
strated tho thorough efficiency of any
of them. Tho process of presorvation,
as applied at the Ciarlosiown Navy
Vitrd, adopted in 1877, gives tho most
satisfactory results, greatly increasing
the durability of the wood. Tho creo
sote jTrocess was applied to several
ships, and, although meeting all re
tpiiroinonts as a preservative, it entit
led a strong odor which tainted all the
food on board ship, rendering it so dis
tasteful that it. could not bo oaten. For
this reason it was found necessary to
abandon this process. The chemicals
used in the present method of
preserving do not smell bad. and after
exposure to air or water for a fow
weeks thero is nono whatever. It i.i
admitted that this process is superior
to all others, and as it may bo of inter
est to many of the readers here append
ed is givon tiic. method of tinib T pres
ervation by impregnation nt tlte
Cltarlestown Navy Yard.
Timber of allMiiiiensions is loaded
on cars, which are run into a copper
cylinder six foot in diameter ami eighty
feet in length. A pipe leads from the
bottom of thn copper boiler to a steam
boiler; this jiipo is pierced witli numer
ous small holes to permit tho free es
cape of the steam. Steam is then ad
mitted, which will thoroughly saturate
the timber, piv-sing out the sap. witlt
the exception of soin of its albumen
parts, which, together witlt tile con
densed water, will run off at tho bot
tom of the copper cylinder. The
steam answers the double purpose of
driving out the sap, and at
lite same time rendering tho tim
ber, which ns found in the mar
ket, can not bo expected always to be
evenly seasoned, uniformly prepared to
receive the impregnation. Tho gate at
the end of tho boiler being hermetic
ally sealed makes th lingo cylinder
perfectly air tight. Now-a powerful
air pump, connected with the cylinder,
is set in operation, for the double pur
pose of extracting the condensed steam
contained in tlte limber nnd of extract
ing the air to form a vacuum. When
tho vacuum is estnbl shed, tho copper
cylinder is filled with a solution of sul
phate of copper, and by means of a
force pump a pressure of from one
hundred to one hundred nnd twenty
pounds to the square inch is applied.
After the timber is saturated witlt sul
phide of copper the residuum is let oil'
and a vacuum is foiled again, and a
solution of chloride of barium is ail -utitted.
Thi form.-, in n short time a
chemical combination with the -ulphat
of copper, forming insoluble salt
of sulphate of barytes, and tho timber
is ready for use.
The destruction of all wooden struct
ures iu salt-water by iho ship worm is
only question of time when tho wood
has not been impregnated. When the
temperature of the ocean is high titis
ship worm will destroy wooden struct
ures so thoroughly in two years that
they become thereby unfit and unsafe
lor uo, and have to bp renewed. All
elVorts to slop the action of these mi
crobes failed until this process was in
troduced. Many failed partly because
the nature of some application was
either such that they would not enter
into the green, sappy wool, or that
they washed out easily by the action of
lite water, and partly because such ap
plications were confined to an outside
coating, which, when removed front
any otto given point, afforded no pro
lection, for worm after worm then en
tered nnd the whole slick was quickly
destroyed. Kven to case a whole pile
with shoot copper is only a temporary,
though costly remedy, for only so long
as the whole armor remains intact and
incloNos the stick in a water-tight man
ner is it protected.
The nature of tho proee-s hero de
scribed i such that sticks of any
length, oven when cut tlte same day.
can easily be imptvguato.l thoroughly
from one end to the other, an 1 the
crystals precipitate I along the inside
of the jvures of the w.hv.1, as tho tvsult
of the combination of the two chemic
als, form h coating inside these
pores, which neither can hs removed
by mechanical action ror tho action of
water, as ulphat of barytes is insolu
ble in water or aekls Soft wood, such
as jluc whitewo.d. beech, etc..
which, when tmnreparod, only last
from two to three years, has beou
found when prepared by this process
to lie in good nod s..und condition aft
er .xteen year' service. Railroad
ties which have been impregnated
have been found free from decay after
cxoiire for fifteen years, which testi
fies to the efficiency of impregnation.
Jtaitoff MiiH j'rt rr.' QttMiU.
TOOTHSOME CHEESE.
Niitrn Ixak-aHo Wfclrh Can !! .MmU
ly ltw.- Ititlltct IttcniiA
There are several kinds of chee
that can be made w here bat two or
three cows are kept, ami several ol
iheiu are delicacies as well as Nu
tritious food. Fir&t may be mentioned
the rreant chetsse, as rich a batter bat
with a ptwioaaeed rheeee Aaror that
make it quite acceptable as a dish
for leen. This i made a follow:
The mith U pat ia fallow paa ia the
i.-u .1 war. and at tha end of twelve
t. u.Ntaepaa are set oa a iv oaty
-d t !.. i ;Loi uillk will
inu through irradaaily until the fllni
uf ix a h hi :ak and bconat- w rio
t -1 The n i.k p.i ust not I mi I. ani
h n wju-iih-4 iuthcirnUr it is re-
! moved from the stovo and set back on
the shelves. After twolvo hours It is
ready to bo skimmod, and thn cream is
Inkon off in a thick, semi-solid mass.
This is called clouted croam, and is
often eaten by itsolf as aihlicacy. which
it really Is. If it is cliurnod it makes a
ratllor flat-flavored butter, but it will
keep sweet a vory long time for
months, or a 3-ear, or more. This
thick cream is dipped off from tho milk
and put in email wooden molds, about
five inches long, threo wide nnd two
deep. These are laid upon a foldid
linen or cotton cloth which absorbs tho
whey which d ains from the cream.
Tho cream snon becomes solid and of
tho consistency of now-muli baiter;
then tho molds nro lifted off from tho
cheeses anil thes are left to drain for
u day longer. A little salt is sprinkled
upon tho elieos.rs when thn molds are
removed, and they nri lit for uo at
any time after draining for twenty-four
hours. Thee cheeses soil in tho Euro
pean and English markets for lifty
cents each and weiglt ono pound,
Another small cheeso is mado from
tho curd of sour skimmed milk or but
termilk, and i a very plonsnnt relish
for a supper or a lunch. Tito sour
milk is set upon tho stove in the
pans and warmed until (ho curd
sets. This is dippid out into a
thin muslin cloth and hung up
to drain. When the whey is drained off
the curd, slightly salted, is molded
w i ll the hands into small, round cakes,
llatloned somowhat. and thesi are
packed into a stoneware jar and set iu
a warm cloet for a few days to
"ripen, " when they acquire a. pro
nounced cheese llavor. 15y longer
ripening tho curd elm igoi to a rat iter
pasty consistency, and the cheeses may
become sticky and covered witlt blue
mold. When this happens, the ripe
ness is c iinplele; the cheeses are
scraped free from mold and set away
iu a cool, airy dace fur consumption.
In the opening process the cheese ac
quires a buttery texture and becomes
soft. Hy longer keeping nnd exposure
to a warm teinperaiitrc, a vory good
"Liuibnrger'' may bo mado in this
way.
An exquisite small chees" ma be
made in imitation of the Neufchatel,
which is exceedingly popular in the
large citiesboth in America nnd Europe.
This is made of sweet fresh milk, to
which is added the swept croam of
the previous milking. Tlio fresh
milk of a good butter-yielding
Jersey cow would make thc-e cheeses
without the addition of cream. The
mixture of milk and cream is warmed
to eighty degrees, and sufficient rennet I
is aiiiieu anil snrroa into it to maKoinei
curd in an hour and a half or two
hours. The curd is clipped out very
carefully with a strainer, as soon as it
is firm enough not to break, and is put
into cylindrical molds about six inches
in height and two or three incites in
diameter. Theso molds nro made of
tin; a small fruit or oyster can. having
the top and bo:tom incited off on a hot
stove, would make an e.xce.lent mold
for this kind of cheo-c. The molds
should be pierced with holes to let the
whey drain oil and are placed on a
clean fol led cloth to be tilled. As soon
as tlte curd becomes finn onotigh it is
turned out of the mollis and set on a
table covered with a straw mat to per
mit the still exuding moisture to
drain off. These cheeses are eaten
fresh when ten or twelve hours old. ot
they are lighlly salted, wrapped in
paratline paper and kept in a cool
place, neither dry nor damp, whore
they will keep a long time in good con
dition. This same process is ued for mak
ing small, flat, round chooses and oth
ers squnre or formed in molds of vari
ous shapes as tarts are made. Cheeses
of this kind are often flavored in vari
ous wavs by the ailil'Mon of powdered
sage, anise seed, dried sweet herbs
pawdtred. etc., and for the production
of a verv rich cheese like the English
Milton, or the hrenc'i Roquefort, sorn-
blue mold is sown among the curd by
adding small fragments of an old
cheese. It is a curious fact in cheese
making, that the.growth of theso pecu
liar fungi in the curd dvelops a re
markable change of character, pro
ducing a soft, rich, butlerv texture,
and a very pleasing, sharp flavor,
without any of the strong nmmouiaca!
tlor acquired by some of those ripened
in a warm teniMratnre and with
out the mold. The.-e blue
veined eheess are highlv e
teemed ami exceedingly imnular
iu European countries and especially
in K lglaud, where the very tine Stilton
cheeee sells for fifty cents a jwuud,
and requires one or two year to
ripen before it is thought fit to be eaten.
The fungi doubtless grow in the cheese
at the expense of the nitrogenous por
tion, and thus prevent the formation ol
ammonia which accompanies a certain
stage ef putridity, while they keep tht
cheese sound and develop a more high
ly carbonaceous character a butter)'
character by the exhauliou of om
uf the nitrogenous element. Swob,
cheese U highly digestible and nutri
tious, and while it is a matter of taste,
it ik certain that the mold is not at ail ia
jarioiia, and to some extent may be
considered uefuL Rurmt .Vr J'orUr.
The coal bods of China aro fire
iinxi a- larfM as tboee of all Kurope,
while poM, r, lead, tin. copper,
iron, marble and petroleum are al
found in the grwatott abundance. Ow
ing to the prvjotlie of the people th
mine hare never been worked to any
. xtead. it beta tho fopalar beliof ia
Ca'.a thit If ILcse 1X-I- are o.jBjJ
.bouad f demons and spirits iro-
priol in the eartb would come fori I
and till th U.llrV M'Ull ai' ai.vi (
NATURAL MONUMENTS.
Wild Mini Impi-Mdv Fconen In the Mount
ains of H't Virginia.
Up hero among the highest altitudes
of West Virginia, on tqp of the anti
clinnl ridges, 3,600 fect abovo the level
of the sea, among the conglomerate
erics, stand a number of stupendous
monuments or monoliths whose pecu
liar features, preserved by their silici
otts character from tho leveling power
of atmospheric agencies, degradation
by water and erosion of time, to all ap
pearaiices sound and perfect as when
iu the carboniferous ago the lands wero
cast tip in lateral folds. These impres
sive monuments are in some cases l.r0
feet high hy several hundred in width;
their crowns aro generally somewhat
concavo in shape, tlio outer rim of tlio
bowl being in sonio instances several
foot higher than its center. Tho most
peculiar feature, and one which has"
been gazed upon by visitors with awe,
and is regarded by tho native with that
degree of reverence only found among
a rural Christian people, is the fact that
in tho center of each stono is a hole,
varying in size, but perfectly smooth
and regular in nil. In ono instance,
which will describe nil, the hole at the
surface is two foot in diameter, de
scending into tho hard stone several
feet, with a regularity of size which
could not be made moro perfect with
modern ingenuity and instruments.
Holow the space begins to broaden into
.in ovoid shape, until it has assumed
tho shape and form of the interior of a
long-necked bottle or that of a perfect
rone with a long stem. At the bottom,
many feet below tho mouth,
lies a round stone ol great
density, surrounded and often
covered with very line sand, which
partakes of the nature of the rocky
walls about it. The belief- and theory
of tho natives and those vi-itors who
have, go.no many miles through these
almost pathless wilds to see them U
that when this part of the world was
covered with water, many centuries
past, large rocks or stones of great
density had been carried by tho flood
and deposited upon those stones, whose,
concave crowns having created a sort
of whirlpool by the resistance of the
outer walls or ris sent the denser
rocks in a whirl and constant grind
ttutil they bad wrtrn themselves down
into the bosom of the larger stones.
As iho depth increased a correspond
ing rcsijtMnec ensued, causing the re
volving stones, by their increasing
velocity, to grind further into tlte sides
of the walls, until they had worn them
into tho shape above described.
Measurements were made by several
visitors a short time ago and tho shape
of each cavity was exactly the same in
form, only differing in sizo in propor
tion to the round dense stone lying at
the bottom. In all instances tho neck
of the ovoid-shnped hole was the merest
trifle Jarger in diameter than tlio round
stone. Several effort were made to
get one of tho round stonos out of it.
resting place nnd to the surface, but
the attempts always failed.
These monuments of the birth of na
ture tand almost three thousand feet
abovo the level of the lands of Ohio
lioriVring on the river of that name.
W9.Mt7r (ir. IV.) Cor. X Y. World.
CANES AND CRUTCHES.
A Denier Clntini That They Are Supplant
In? Artlllclal l.iinliN.
"Yes, sir." said a maker of artificial
limbs in San Francisco, "men are get
ting to be proud of plain wooden legs
and empty sleeves. The time lias not
long gone by when 1 received nu
merous orders for legs, with feet at
tached, wondroiisly combined .with
cork, wood and steel, with springs that
moved a finely as those in a watch; in
fact, leg? that, with their trousers cov
erings, wero quite as presentable in
good company its the lost limbs they
replaced. If any attention was at
tracted by tho somewhat stiff move
ments o their owners, the pitying ou
sel vers would say: 'Poor fellow, bo
has a touch of the rheumatism. 1 can
sympathize with him; I nm troubled
with it myself occasionally.'
Nobody then evor said to a friend
who asked him to take a walk: You
must pardon me, but I have only ono
leg.' He made some differeut excuse;
illness in his family; indisposition; any
tiling but inability. Hut how is it now?
Why, a fellow who, half a dozen yirs
ago, jKtked his leg into a sewer when
he was staggering to his home a little
before dawi:, and fractured it so badlv
that no repairs were possible, leans
back iu his cbair and, resting a dirty
stick upon the table, while he quietly
smokes a big cigar, sas to the com
pany: 'There, gentlemen, is what
Shiloh left me. I'm an old soldier
and, hang me, I'm proud of if' "
"I believe the manufacturers of
canes are responsible for the decrease
in the sale of arti-tically made crutches.
You see a mau with a strong stick iu
his hand can manage to hobble along
tolerably well, even though has
only one lever limb to support him,
and if he has in addition a plain, old
fashioned wooden-leg. nut uudcruiiucd
by drink, as one of Dickens' characters
says they sometimes become, he can
walk atvat well enough to nui-di all
the business that a oue-lcgged urn; is
ever likely to be called upon to do. Of
courte men kne this, loug ago, but it
U only lately that they have taken it
into their tuphl head to imagine that
ooe leg ie U-tter than two, if the lie
with which thev account for the los of
the iM one U only bumcienlly
skltlfolly constructed to be credited.
"It k for thfe reaoa that 1 Wave
taken to selling walking ticks and
caue& Fale l-gs won't iupport ma
an longrr. .' Waiter iacm
L-tertturt- is a jood walking slick, bat
a bod ctuuh. It wa a vwy guod
crutch for him, however, but apart
from that little inconsistency he did
not weigh his words. A walking-stick
is a crutch, moro's the pity and a cheap
one, too.
"Then, thero aro a great number of
men who carry their love for elegant
canes into the, regions of foppery, where
ns the best false leg that was ever mado
was only intended to conceal its ident
ity, anil could not be worn more grace
fully by a fop than by a pensioned
minor. Cnncs with silver tops (with
which the market has been glutted for
the past two years, silver being cheap;)
sticks so light that if the fingers grasp
ing them opened they would be apt to
fly up instead of falling down; sticks so
heavy that they .seriously handicap
their owners in a long walk, and would
disappoint both hound and hunter by
sinking if ?no of them were thrown
into a pond for a water-dog to replevy;
canes witlt the head of tlio 'missing
link' on the handles, and canes with
out any handles nt all. They combine
to knock tho false leg from under the
men who tell the same story, whether
they left a limb on the battlefield of
Gettysburg or in tho vicinity of a Penn
sylvania coal-mine."
"Ironw ood and lignum viicc make the
favorite canes for heavy men; bamboo
and mnlacca sticks aro more in vogue
among light ones. The redwood of
Hritjsh Columbia lias recently come
into the market, and makes about si
heavy a stick as any wood known. It
has a rich port-wine color, and is very
handsome. In tho event of an argu
ment, it would strike home when logic
failed, for it is as convincingly weighty
as a bar of iron, and has a great advan
tage over a sword or a pistol, inasmuch
as it never misses lire, and its possessor
can't cut or pierce himself by falling
upon it in an unguarded moment.
"Another objection to the artificial
leg is that a man walking with one
through the snow feels the cold in his
toes, although he has no toes to feel it
in. It is vory queer, but it is an nbso
ltttc fact. The sensation of chill re
mains, even when three feet of iron,
wood, cork or steel spans the space be
tween the cold earth and the sensitive
point. Whether a man wears a well
made artificial leg or an old-time wooden
'peg,' it is very necessary that the lower
extremity of the false limb should bo
well shid. A cane used in conjunction
with a common 'stick leg' cases tho
pressure on the ground, and may have
some advantages over the scientifically
made limb, but it decreases our profits
enormously.
"I once sold to a sportsman a leg
that was simply a gun-barrel, with a
cork in the bore. He loadtll it. before
he went out for a walk, and if lie canto
across a flock of birds he just pulled
out the stopper, leveled bis limb and
fired at them." Han Francisco CalL
CLIPPING AND FILING.
How I lu Turners or I lit fast Ilefuoeil tho
Coin r tle Iti-ulni.
"Milling" tlte edge of our gold and
silver coins, termed also "graining"
and "erenating." first employed in
1 C 10, to prevent their being injured by
wear, and more especially by being
clipped by rogues, is a hint taken from
tlte ancient Syrians and Romans, who
treated their coins similarly and for
like reasons, by cutting out regular
notches round the bonier, so as to show
the inside of tho melal. Hut the old
forgers were not to be so easily beaten,
and made corre-mondiug incisions iu
their copj cr imitations, plating them
over with silver. Clipping,
filing and sweating coins that is, im
mersing them in some strong acid that
will eat awa the sin-face, thus causing
them to lose their weight, and conse
quently tlyir value are among tho
clumsier dodges; while the plan of cov
ering pieces of iron, lead, copper and
other metal, cut to tho size and shape
of the coin to be imitated, with a thin
plate of gold or silver neatly stamped
and soldered at th? edges, which can
only be detected by weight and sound,
calls for a greater degree of skill and
manipulation. Hy a law of the Em
peror Constantino false coiners were
declared guilty of high treason and
condemned to be burned alive; by tho
law of Athens, all counterfeiters, de
bascrs and diminishers of tho cur
rent coin were subjected to cap
ital punishment. and in -our
own country theso offenses aro
deemed high treason, and not only
these, but the mere fact of buying, sell
ing, conceal ig or knowingly having
in jKissossion any implements" or tools
for the coinago of money. A curious
statute was framed in the reign of
(leorgo II. to the effect that "any of
fender shall be pardoned incase (being
out of prison), he discovers and con
victs two other offenders of tho same
kind." It is also contrary to
law to consign money to" the
melting pot, the 'punishment
for which, iu the reign of Charles
11., was "(1) forfeiture of the same,
nil also the double value; (i?) the of
fender, if a freeman of any town, to be
disfranchised; if not, to suffer six
months' imprisonment." Hy a statute
of William ill., "any person' but, vng or
selling, or knowingly having" in his
custody, any clippings or tilings ,.f tho
coin of the realm, shall forfeit the
same and i'600, one moiety to the King,
and the other to tho iuformer. and bo
branded on the cheek with the letter
K.' The counterfeiting of foreign
coin is also considered a misdemeanor
and breach of the peace, ami liablo to
a punishment of one year's imprison-,
men t for the tirst ott'ene ami sevon
years' penal servitude for the second.
C'Aawom' Journal.
Naval academies ami gehool-ships
twnt out some pretty good skipjwrs, but
old ohaetiB ojut doubly disouuut thctn
when U oomo to quantity.