BISMARCK OF TO-DAY.
Ill Personal Appeiirnnrn r.nd UN Ahilltt
in an Orutor.
Bismarck has grown old during the
u u lull JU(UO IIIS iilllbUVlll to It 1I11U
3 snov, and his walk less erect than
in former years, hut the power of his
faco and the might of his eyes live still
the same as they did ten' years ago.
When ho sits down it is as if ho was
on guard, his sword laid across his
knees, as formerly old 1 In pen used to
sit, and though he is no llagen In
guilt and wickedness, he is a liagon in
faithfulness, and, if need he, in stern
wrath. And he is on guard at the
gales of the Fatherland.
Bismarck, as every body knows, is
not an orator I nearly said, thank
God. ho is no orator. His speech has
been likened to a forest stream which
rumbles over stones and roots. The
comparison is somewhat poor. I
think 1 know a better, though a rather
technical one namely, his speech is
like quicksilver drawn out. Take a
drop of quicksilver containing some
lead or zinc, put it on a pane of glass
and hold it slantingly. The drop
swells and rolls, but presently it stops,
becomes thinnor and longer, remains
immovable for a niomont, gathers now
strength to tlow, becomes thin ouco
again, and so forth. Thus it is with
the Chancelor's words; llrst half a
sentence comes out. then he hesitates,
stops, or utters a short Inarticulate
sound, and goes on again, it is ovi
dont that to speak is a physical exer
tion, but even whon he is in lirst-rato
form ho does not talk fluently.
But on closer observation the reason
appears very soon. The form of his
speech is improvised on the spur of
tho moment, but, unliko many fluent
speakers, he does not use the first ex
pression which may como to his mind,
but while he is uttering the first half
of a sontoneo lie is thinking how to
shapo the second half in order to ex
press exactly what ho wishes to say.
If ho makos a joke or a slight observa
tion ho speaks quickly and without
hesitation, but as soon as ho returns to
the serious treatment of apolitical sub
ject this painfully-accurate expression,
tho result of montal work, becomes
again apparent, which shows that he
endeavors not to say a syllable which
ho can not reconcile with his respon
sible position. This is tho reason why
his speeches concerning foreign poll
l!ru wul Htm oflininl ili nlomutie doeu-
merits, every word is carefully con-
slUoreu.
His voice is peculiar, high-pitched
and not very powerful. It has been
called a thin voice, but this only ex
presses one of its qualities. Another
is that it is so remarkably young that
one would think it almost incrediblo
for a man of his ago to possess such a
voico. If one does not seo him while
ho is speaking it is difficult to beliove
that it is not a young Lieutenant of
twonty-eight who is speaking (which,
by tho way, is rather a pity, sinco tho
snarl and tho drawl of the Gorman
Lieutenant is detestable). But put in
connection with this quality it can
sound extremely soft and flattering,
and I should not bo surprised if in
termor years, when ho was Ambas
sador, some of his personal successes
had been duo just to this timbre of his
voico. Cologne Gazette.
A PREHISTORIC CANOE.
The Itnro Arclimoliiiclc il TreiiHiiro
He-
eelitly round in Knglund.
A discovory of extreme urcha olog
ical interest has been mado upon tho
Barton section of tho Manchester Ship
canal. On Wednesday, while tho ex
cavators wore at work in what is
known as tho "Salt Eyo" cutting, tho
steam navy brought to light a prehis
toric canoe. It was embedded in tho
sand twenty-five feet below tho sur
face. With some difficulty tho canoo
was removed to a shod in tho vicinity
of tho engineer's oflico, and examined.
It was found to consist of a portion of
an oak treo roughly hewn and fash
ioned. In length this rollc of a long
past ago Is thirteen foot eight Inches
from end to end, with a width of two
feet six inches. Notwithstanding tho
lapso of centuries, tho marks of tho
axo aro distinctly visible in tho Interior
of tho canoe, tho width of tho blade
of tho implomont used whothor
of flint or Iron bolng apparently
about throo Inches. Unfortunately
tho vossol sustained some damago
in tho ruthless grip of tho "navy," tho
bottom having boon cut through
at tho bow end, whllo a por
tion of ono sldo is broken in.
But for this mishap tho canoo
would have been recovored practically
intact Tho bow is shaped so as to
loavo a projecting block, through
which a holo Is drivon, evidently for
tho purposo of fastening it by moans of
a ropo. At this point tho grain of tho
wood Indicates that tho anclont work
man had cut through tho heart of tho
treo, and that a portion had broken
away. Another ploco of wood appears
to havo boon fitted into its place and
fastened with two stout woodon pins.
At tho opposite ond tho canoo has boon
strengthened by tho fixing to it of a
species of gunwale, consisting of tho
naturally bent arm of a tree, also hold
in position with pegs or pins of wood.
It is Impossible to fix tho preclso period
of tho canoo, but tho circumstance that
it boars no traco of a nail or any iron
work may, porhaps, aid tho formation
of an opinion upon this point. Tho
wood, particularly of the bottom, is for
tho most part quite sound. Tho eanoa
rested in a bed of sand and loaves,
among which hazel-nuts woro found.
In the immediate vicinity several largo
trees havo been discovered, leading tu
tno conclusion that tho bed of tho canal
is being cut through what was onco a
fores; Manchester Guardian.
CARE OF INVALIDS.
nint for Nurse iiml Others llarlng
ChitrRe of Sick-ltooins.
A large, sunny room should be se
lected forthe invalid; if without a car
pet, so much tho better. Sunshino as
a disinfectant is worth bushels of chlo
ride of lime.
The bed linen should bo changed at
least once In ,hreo days; tho blankets
once a week, those that havo been re
moved being hung in tho open air for a
few hours, then thoroughly aired in a
w.u.rm room.
J'ho room should bo kept thoroughly
ventilated, and a temperature not low.
or than 0S nor higher than 70". If
the patient is kept warm, air may be
freely admitted without tho least danger.
The carpet of a sick-room should be
lightly brushed onco a day with a wet
ted broom. The furniture and wood
work should bo wiped with a damp
cloth. Dry dusters and feather brushes
are worse than useless.
Tho cro-.s-ihoet should invariably be
kept free from crumbs and wrinkles. :is
tho-o ntv a frequent cause of bed-sores.
Whenever the least redness shows on
the patient's body the skin must be at
once bathed with alcohol, thoroughly
dried and dusted with powdero I oxide
of zinc.
A sheet folded lengthwise, laid across
the bod, with the upper edge just touch
ing the pillows and tho ends ligr.tly
tucked under the mattresses, will be
found to add greatly to tho patient's
comfort. It does not wrinkle like a
single sheet, and crumbs may be read
ily brushed oil it.
The nurse's dross should invariably
bo neat, tasteful and pretty. Slippers
or boots of felt should bo worn. To be
continually smoothing tho bod, pester
ing the patient with sympathy, and
saying a dozen times an hour: "How
do you feel now?" is enough to drive a
sick man wild.
Meals for invalids should look as
tempting as possible. Tho tray should
be covered with tho whitest napkin,
and the silver, glass and china should
shine with cleanliness. The patient
should not bo disgusted by a display
of too much food, and should not bo
consulted beforehand as to what he will
eat or drink.
In bathing the invalid never uncover
too large a surface at once. Pin a
blanket round the scolders, fastening
it bohlnd, anil removoi the night dress
under that. l'ut tho hand under the
blanket and sponge the skin, a small
portion at a time. ' A .woman's hair
should be combed every day if she is
able to bear the fatigue. If it has be
come tangled a little sweet oil will
loosen it.
Household troubles should bo kopt
far from the sick room. Above all, an
invalid or an apparent convalescent
should be saved from Ids friends. One
garrulous acquaintance may in half an
hour undo tho good of it week of ton
dor nursing. In long illness a small
bed table will be found indispensable.
Every cup, glass, spoon and utensil
used should bo takon out of tho room
and washed as speedily as possible. As
to walking on tiptoo and whispering,
nothing can disturb a nervous person
more. Home Topics.
AMONG THeVoULTRY.
A ISreetler Tells How to C.iro fur I'ouls ol
livery Description.
Sulphur is not good to give the young
chickens.
Kerosene and lard make a good oint
ment for o:ily legs.
After the chickens aro two or three
weoks old thoy can bo fed on cracked
wheat.
If the eggs are to bo hatched koop a
drake for every live ducks in order to
bo sure.
Novor keop a slop holo whore tho
poultry can holp themselves if you ex
pect to maintain health.
Ono advantago with ducks is that
they do not harbor lico. Thoy have
too much oil.
Ono advantago with Pokin ducks is
that only a low fence Is needed to con
lino or keop them out.
On the farm the laying of fivo dozen
eggs ought to pay for keeping a hen a
year. All above this Is profit. On tho
farm it will nearly always pay to plant
a fow rows of sunflower seed especially
for tho poultry. Geoso aro fond of
weeds, especially of purslane, and will
often do good servico In killing out
and destroying woods. Very often a
fow drops of turpentine put in tho
drinking water at this tlmo will pro
vent tho gapes. If tho chicks aro al
roady alTeotod, a drop or two on a small
piece of bread will cure. As a rule
guineas should bo hatched under lions
near tho houso. Thoy aro naturally
rather wild, and this will aid materi
ally in making' them gontlo, if tho
young guinoas aro kopt ne-irtho houso.
Milk is much hotter food for poultry
during the summor than corn. Corn is
heating and fattening, two conditions
that, as a rule, ought to bo avoldod.
unless feeding for tho market.
Tho value of tho manure should al
ways bo considered in keoping poultry
properly managod. It is ono of tho
best fertilizers that can bo had and Is
well worth tho-trouble of gathering up
and storing until ready to use.
('aro must he takon that tho nests aro
kopt as free from lico as possible. One
way of doing this will bo to clean out
occasionally and substitute fresh, cleati
material, burning up tho old and using
kerosene, carbo.le acid or sulphur to
clean out tho nests.
As tho weather bocomes warmor it is
necensary to provldo good ventilation
and the more thoroughly this is don
the more comfortable tho poultry can
bo kept. Direct drafts -hould. how
over, bo avoldod, and yet at night, dur
ing tho summer time, euro should le
taken to havo as cool aa possible. St
Louis Republic.
FREAKS IN AFRICA.
I
ITorniMl Men, Men with Tnll, leron wltj
Spoiled Skim, Hint Dwarf.
Mr. Carl Steckelmann, who llvec
several years In West Africa, made a
largo collection of curiosities illustrat
ing the arts, habits and superstition!
of the natives. His collection, whlcl
is now in Indiana, where he lives, ha; 1
attracted attention, and there wort
many visitors to the museum which h
opened in Indianapolis last winter
There aro curiosities of other sorts, '
however, in all parts of Africa, and
it would not take a smart howinnr j
long to pick up freaks enough on the;
west coast to stock a dozen museums. I
Entirely outside of the dwarf tribes,,
who are among the strangest people If I
the world, explorers find here and
there little folks of advanced years j
who are made much of. and i
ate usually seen at the resi
dence of soino chief. Only one ol
these little follows has been honored
with much attention in records ol
travel, and his picture appears it
Spoke's story of his discovery of tin
Nile sources. On the west coast Doko
dwarfs may some times be seen in tin
crowds along tho shore when a vessel
arrives. Mr. A. B. Ellis was of tho
opinion that with one of these dwarfs,
a boy he saw with two stomachs, a fow
Albinos, who aro by no means uncom
mon, and two or three horned men he
could set up a dime museum or nr
mean pretensions.
Tho horned men. sad to rdale, we-ir
their horns not on their foreheads but
on their check bones. They belong to
a small tribo that Is found north of
Asliauti, ami a few of them sometimes
get down to the coast, where tliet
have ceased to be curiosities. Some
surgeons who examined two ofthes'j
men a few years ago, decided that the j
excrescences on their cheeks weiv of
an osseous nature. They form lumps, I
rounded at tho extremity and i
projecting about an inch from the
face. They aro not particularly
ornamental, but they would probably
be worth a fair salary to the possessor
if exhibited in a Bowery palace of
amusement.
Two or throo travelers havo written ,
of ft Iloman Catholic priest in Fernan
do Po, who is willing to make affidavit
that he has seen three men in Gaboon
with short tails. These curiosities
seem to have made good their escape.
Many travelers in the early days re
corded marvelous stories of Africans
who wore tails, but none of the chron
iclers had salt enough to catch them.
Years ago a female slave, who was said
to havo como from Central Africa, was
examined in Constantinople by a phy
sician in the hospital there, and he de
clared sho had an unmistakable tail,
about two inches long. smooth
and hairless. She said she be
longed to the great Ninm-Ninm
tribe. Tito fame of this tribe as :
wearer of talis was spread far and j
wide in Africa long before a white
man over visited thorn! and Mr. EllU '
says the story still circulates on the
coast. But Sehweinfurth spoiled tho
sensation, though ho pronounced tho
Ninm-Niam the finest specimens of
physical beauty he ever saw.
Other curious people in Africa aro
persons who seoin to be naturally
spotted, not like tho leopard boy
known to our museums, but with
patches of yellow or brown which
diversify thoir otherwiso black skins.
Another interesting peculiarity has
also been recently observed. That is
that different members of the same
family aro soni'tlines of different
colors. Blan.c children and brown
children are found to bo brothers and
sisters, just as wo havo brunettes and
blondes in tho sumo family. This
peculiarity lias also boon recently ob
served by Dr. Finsch among tho na
tives of New Guinea. N. V. Sun.
SHE GOT THE EARTH.
A Muy Incident Wlileli Is us Funny us It
Is lCeiillitlc.
A woman who had been looking at a
"To Bent" on Second street brought 1
the key back yesterday noon and said:
"I like the houso pretty well, but "
"That is all right, madam," inter
rupted tho owner. "You woro going
to speak about tho need of repairing.
I have just contracted to pay a firm
$3.10 to paint every thing."
"That will bo nice. I was going to
say"
"Excuso me, but I shall havo the
woodon fence replaced with an Iron
one."
"Will you? And I"
"And every room will bo ropapored
in tho most expensive manner, mad
am. 1 shall put stained glass Into all
tho front windows, got now front
doors, build a now barn In tho rear,
buy more land on each side and add
five clothes closets."
"How nice! And you ?"
"I told you tho ront was $10 per
month, but I am satisfied that tho fig
ure is too high. I shall roduco It to
$l'.1, solid my own teams to movo you
in, pay your water tax, cut tho grass
for you. You noedn't mind paying
your rent in advance, but give it to mo
whenever you huvo no other uso for
it."
"You aro very kind," sho answorod
after a momont's thought, "l-.t you
boo you know I promlsod to look at
another houso, and I'm a littlo partic
ular, you know, and so J am much
obliged." Detroit Freo Press.
Ono of tho candidates at a rocont
teachers' .examination in Chippewa
County, Mich., wild, in answer to
tho question, Give the principal oc
cupation of tho inhabitants of your
township?" "Fishing, farming, and
on election day eliing thoir votes."
CHILDREN IN ALGIERS.
Oreut dinner Wrought In Their llntilU
t'nitrr till- Inlluelice of I'dtiriltlnti.
The city of Algiers, tho capital of
tho great French province of Algeria,
In Northern Africa, has so mild a cli
mate that snow Is almost unknown.
The average temperature in .lanuary
is fifty-four degrees; palm-trees grow
freely in th-i gardens and suburbs, and
tho country has a tropical aspect. No
little excitement was produced, there
fore, when one day last winter there ,
fell snow enough to cover the ground.
The last such snow-fall had takon
place in 18(11. so that none of tho
younger people of tho country had
ever seen any thing of tho kind.
The sensation was so great, indeed,
that all the schools woro closed, and
the pupils, rushing out, were heard to
make stub remarks as these:
"Look ! It Is raining cotton !"
"Lot's get some, and take it homo
and save it!"
Tho boys gathered masses of tho
fleecy snow to keep for a curiosity,
and were astonished to seo it turn into
water in their hands.
The boys of Algeria are a strnngo
race. Most of them aro Arabs, whoso
speech was brought hundreds of years
ago from Arabia. They are Mussul
mans In religion; if thoy go to thoir
own Arab schools, called zawyas. thoy
are taught little except to recite verses
from tho Koran. Thev are for tho
most part bright and merry, much like
other hoys among themsolves, but in
clined to he grave and suspicious In
the presence of foreigners.
Girls are seldom udmitted to tho
Arab schools, and they do not go, ex
cept rarely, to tho French schools.
Thoy are usually married at an ago
when American girls aro still playing
with dolls. A good proportion cf tho
Arab boys attend the French schools,
and in some of the towns all the Arab
children speak and write French.
Thero is. however, a race of people
in Algeria who aro much more eager
to learn than the Arabs. They are tho
Kabyles, who, although Mussulmans
in religion, some scientists believe to
belong to the same raco as tho Inhab
itants of Southern Europe. They aro
mostly farmers and mountaineers, and
arc very industrious; thoy aro eager
to learn, and send all thoi'- girls and
boys to school wherever schools aro
founded. Among them aro some
strange colonies descended from tho
ancient Komans, and still calling them
selves Romans, or "lluml."
The Algerian Jews, too, who aro
descended from the Jews whom tho
Spaniards banished from thoir country,
pay much attention to tho Instruction
of their children.
Under the inlluenco of education
great changes aro taking placo in tho
character of tho population of Algeria,
which, at tho boginnlng of tho present
contury, was almost entirely Mussul
man, and practically uncivilized. Now,
although thero aro not quite half a
million Europeans in tho country, more
than a million people speak tho French
language.
Algeria, moreover, is but a part of
tho French domain in Africa. There
aro French colonies hero and thero
around the whole northern half of tho
continent, and nearly all Northwestern
Africa, including Tunis, Algeria, Sono
gal and a great part of tho Western
Soudan, promises to become French
eventually.
Tho French flag has boon carriod as
far into tho interior of Africa as Tlm
buctoo, which, not many years ago
was a synonym for all that was strung,
far away and luaccossiblo. Youth's
Companion.
AN EXPLORER'S RUSE.
lie Suys It I'll)- to Keep on the Hlght
Side or tho Old J.lldles.
When Dr. Finsch landed in Astrolabe
Bay, Now Guinea, a whllo ago, ho wont
with an escort of sailors a short dis
tanco inland, whero ho found burled In
tho forest a largo village. Tho party
was accompanied by somo of tho vit
iligo men whoso acquaintance thoy had
cultivated at tho shoro. Tho women,
howovor, wore none tho loss frightened
nt tho strange appearance of tho visit
ors, and most of them ran off into tho
woods. A few old women, howovor,
who had been bravo enough to faco
the strangers, woro rewarded with
presents, and through thoir ofTorts tho
other women were soon induced to re
turn. Dr. Finsch says that throughout his
explorations he took particular pains
to ingratiate himself with tho old wom
en. Ho often found that thoy wloldcd
important influence, and their good
will was very helpful. Ho admits that
ho did not always find it a particularly
agreeable task to win tho favor of tho
older womon, for thoy aro not fair to
look upon. But it was to his interest
to havo all tho old ladles on his side,
and so he put his best foot forward to
mako them think ho was a very nice
sort of a follow.
Dr. Fitisoh advances ono rather novel
ldoa about tho womon of uncivilized
trlbos in tropical countries. Ho ro
ports tho well-known fact that thoso
womon Iohu their youth and freshness
while still young, but ho adds that
thoy would not seem to fade so
early In life if thoy woro clothing and
understood tho arts of tho toilet, with
which women in other lands long con
trive to conceal advancing years and
artificially supply tho charms thoy
havo lost. N. Y. Sun.
Tho Yturbldo. In tho City of Mox
Ico, is probably the grandest hotel in
tho world. Jt was built by tho Gov
ernor for his palaco, and cost $!l,000,
D00. It contains a room used by Gov
ernor Yturbldo for u chapel that b
frescoed In bolld cold.
SCIENTIFIC WARFARE. . j
TTjn IncreillliJ.r Julrl Work "T 1'liotO"
cruplioiK u Itullct lillo In Motion.
The prooiit of the art of war is hard
to keep pace with, and It is impossible
to foretell the future. Military art has
become omnivorous of science. There
ts not a branch of science that is not.
now called In to Rid In the art of war.
In the days of Captain Marrviit when a
younger son was too stupid fori he law.
too bad for tho pulpit- and couldn't lx
made a doctor of, he was stilt .l in the
army by the purchase of n commission,
hence the latter enine to be oo:isidond
the profession of "the foo1 of the
family."
"What would the author o. '.Mid
shipman Easy" have said il lie had
been told that Lloutenair Albert
(! leaves and Ensign Stokely Morgan
had succeeded In photographing a
projectile In liight? In Austria last
year Prof. Ansehuetz muveodod In
getting a photogvnph of a riile bullot.
the projectile moving at the rale of
L.'tOO feet a second and lb- plate
which ho uhmI for tho purpose being
exposed for only .000070 of a second.
The two English ofilcors named used a
service llotchkh rifle, weight of
charge. 70 grains; weight of lead bul
let. 4H.1 grains: with an initial velocity
of about 1,100 feet a second.
Prof. Aiisohuetz, of Lissa, ha suc
ceeded in obtaining remarkable and
interesting results in photographing
the flight or cannon-balls from the mo
ment of their projection to their strik
ing the target or other object aimed at.
lie demonstrated the perfection of his
studios on the trying-grounds of the
Gruson works near llnckau. Ills plates
wore submitted to the expert, Dr. Koe
nig of the Berlin university, who was
perfectly able to mako therefrom the
desired practical calculations. He
established the fact that the projectile
thus photographed had a velocity ol
100 meters a second and that the dura
tion of the light thrown upon the pho
tographic plate did not exceed tho lon
thousaudth part of a second.
Tho theory ot the motion of projec
tiles is a subject regarding which vol
umes havo been written. An Austrian
chemist named Much has photographed
a number of rille-bnllets in motion by
means of the olvclrlo light and thus
presented somo remarkable phenoui
ejin. In this operation his plan Is to
illumine the bullet by letting it break
an electric current, but tho velocity ol
the bullet must exc.'od that of sound
in order that tho conditions of the air
before and behind tho projectile can
be shown. After various experiments
Much succeeded In It's efforts to photo
graph projectiles fired from Werndl
and Guedes rifles having, respectively,
an initial velocity of 1158 and .Ilk) meters
per second. Tho photographs ob
tained in this manner showed nn air
formation in front of tho bullet having
tho form of an hyperbola, while be
hind it alinost.a vacuum was formed, in
which, when the Initial velocity was
great, thero were somo curious spiral
motions. From tho description given
there appeared from these photographs
to bo a great similarity between the
motion of a body through tho water
and that of a projectile through the
air. Chicago 'I iuies.
SHETLAND PONIES.
An Importer Tells U here mill How the
l.lltlit llornes lire Ohtiilneil.
Many erroneous ideas prevail In re
gard to the trade In Shetland ponies;
in fact, tho vast majority of Ainurlcans
know very littlo about tho manner in
which these animalsaro raised and the
character of the people who raise thorn.
For instance, it is tho popular belief
that the buyer goes to Shetland and
picks up a drove of ponies as easily as
ho would a flock of sheep in Texas.
But such is not tho fact, by any means.
Tho largo island is about forty-llvo
miles square, very rough and hilly,
and is populated by small farmers.
Tho climate Is quite severe In tho
winter. These farmers own small
patches of ground, and live in small
stones houses generally. Every farmer
owns one, two, three or moro Shetland
inures, from which thoy raise tho
ponies, and shelter them in rudo
sheds. Tho animals live principally
on potatoes, turnips, and a peculiar
kind of spear-grass, Indigenous to
that country. As soon as tho warm
spring days como tho country Is visited
by buyers from England and tho conti
nent, who como to catch bargains for
tho nobility. Tho ponies aro In groat
demand for tho wealthier classes of
England, who buy them for thoir boys.
These Shetland farmers are a common,
ordinary set of men, not what you
would call really Intelligent, but thoy
huvo a keen eye single to a good bar
gain in selling a pony, and tho buyer
has to uso as many tricks of the horse
trader in that country as in Yankee
dom. To gather tho last drove of
ponies I purchased ihure 1 had to ride
over a largo portion of tho island
over hills and through ravines covered
with snow picking up ono and two
ponies hero and there. Tho price for
a pony is usually ', and It costs from
X'8 to jL'10 each tobhlp them across the
North Sea to Aberdeen, Scotland. By
the time a pony Is landed in America
It has cost the shipper about $12.1. Sev
eral of thorn always die on tho sea. Out
of sixty-one in tho hist lot J lost thirty.
Tho smallest full-grown thoroughbred
Shutlaud pony is thirty Inches high and
tho largest only forty inches high. But
thero is a largo trade in tho I'nltcd
Slates In ponies raised in the north of
Ireland, and thoy aro sold hero for
Shetland pontes. But they aro not
Shotlands. Thoy ;;ro bred with other
homes and aro larger than the
genuine specimen. St. Louis Globe
PomocruL
SOUNDS OF NATURE.
Rtutlo Whoso Interpretation NppiU If
Anrlrnt or Secret Art.
'1 he sonnta hits boon called tho most
perfect form of piano music knowu,
and in that, although Haydn and Mo
zart exeeled, Beethoven Is tho chtof of
all the composers, and all that can bo
said by a singlo instrument has been
written for the voico of tho piano. But
although It takes a Beethoven to mako
tho theme and its variations one and
although it takes the llrst of mechani
cians and. designers to elaborate tho
instrument that is to givo them musical
expression, and although it takes pa
tience and skill and talent, and some
times even genius to bo able to uso
brain and lingers so its to interpret tho
thought of Beethoven, yet thero is an
other music, unwritten, and to bo
played on no ono instrument, nnd it
takes neither genius, nor mechanism,
nor industry to hear and feel and in
terpret these unformulated strains of
nature that music which exists every
where throughout creation, which lias
its tone in every object, which re
sounds whore the sea touches tho shore,
whero tho snow sifts through tho
air, whore tho voico strikes tho hill
side, where the leaves stir against ono
another, whore the wind wings and tho
stars soar through space. To read this
music ono needs no anclont or secret
art, no written page, no instrument
nothing but a soul. Ono can not crit
icise it; ono can not any its time is im
perfect, its measures aro incorrect; but
ono can watch Its themes dovolop al
most as easily as in tho music rendered
by the player where tho left had keeps
tho time and marks tho measure tho
"leader of tho orchestra, "as Beothovon
himself said, whllo tho right hand
wanders away at Its own sweet will in
all subtle freedom of variation to re
turn to it again.
Ono hoars tho molancholy in tho wail
of the rising wind at twlilglit, whon
tho trees murmur together In sadness;
one recognizes it, marks it deepen nnd
strengthen, diminish and dio away;
ono hoars tho joy of a sea-breezo in
tho sunshine singing in over tho
crested ridges, and sighing itself soft
ly away in full contest as It washes up
tho sand; ono hears tho hum of happi
ness any summor morning blending In
a rich chord with the murmur of bcos,
tho flutter of idiot Insect, tho soft
rustlo of boughs, the singing of tho
distant birds; one gets tho note of in
effable sweetness and sadness in tho
Bound of evening bolls strained
through reaches of air and floating
over water, of rorlal remoteness and
alien Indlfferonoo In tho far-off fleeting;
of tho echo; ono gets tho voico of con
quest roaring on its way in tho cry of
the wintry storm; for in ovory tiling,
from tho resonance of granite to tho
whispering of a breath, tho stroko of tho
stono-cttttor's hammor, tho measured
falling of tho Hall, thero Is music for
tho oar that can hoar It; and ovon
when tho tones hold in tho heart of all
theso sonarato objects of naturo aro
not musio In themselves, and struck
togothor mako not music, but discord,
j vot as tho sound recedes It filters Itself
i to harmony, for the discord dies boforo
tho sound does, and loaves only at last
a sweet sonority swimming and falling
along tho air. Ilarpor's Bazar.
SOME SHARK STORIES.
Tney Are Good, Hut to u Mini Up u Troo
They l.oolc linprolmliln.
Last night, In a company of con
genial spirits, tho conversation turned
on sharks, thoso scavengers of tho sea.
Their voracity, staying qualities, and
ability to swallow any thing and ovory
thing that came their way was dis
cussed at somo length. A young man
who had novcr been to sea said ho had
read slorlos of monster man-eating
sharks following ships for weoks, ac
compnnlod by an aching void which
able seamen alono could fill with any
degrco of satisfaction to tho shark.
Ho had also road of a sailor who was
on dock ono day grinding his knlfo,
with a boy turning tho stone, whon tho
ship gavo a suddon lurch, tho wholo
outfit wont overboard and was swal
lowed by a shark. Tho sailor and his
boy kopt at work, sharponed tho knlfo
to a razor edgo, cut thoir way out of
tho shark and woro plckod up by a
boat lowered from tho ship.
Tho man-of-war's man said that
story was a littlo too improbable but
that ho could toll ono himself within
tho bounds of reason. "Whon our
ship was in Honolulu," ho said, "I
was ashoro ono day in tho launch, a
small steamboat usod for conveying
officers and sailors to and from tho
ship. Wo woro lying at tho dock and
whon tho cnglnoor attempted to start
his engine on tho return trip sho re
fused to work. Thinking, porhaps, that
a rope or something had fouled tho
propolor, tho cnglnoor lookod over tho
stern and found that a monster shark
had swallowed tho whool, and though
wo prodded tho cuss with a boat-hook
It rofusod todlsgorgo tho cast-Iron dol
loacy. Wo thon slowod tho boat
around, and heading for tho ship, a
milo distant, wo managed by jabbing
tho fish with boat-hooks, to make it
furnish motlvo power, and thus got
under way. Tho coxswain stood at tho
tiller and utoorod for the ship, but just
as wo got alongsldo tho vossol tho
shark gavo a suddon lurch, broko tho
propolor short off at tho boarlng, and
got uway with IU Chicago Ilorald.
A lady's pnpor gives tho following
recipe for getting rid of tho stnoll of
fresh paint in a bod chambor or living-room:
Slicoa few onions, and put
them in tho mlddlo of tho room. After
that it will bo deslrablo to got rid ef
tho Binoll of tho onions. This cm.
easily bo dono by putting on another
coat of paint.