•ermed to be a highly musical people, yet only
the soloist Interested them. The chorus and the
orchestra, even the climax of a masterpiece by
Gounod or Wagner, left them indifferent. They
liked the chansonette, which they learned quick
ly and were fond of repeating. They liked
melody, but harmony was out -A touch v.iih
their musical sense.
In the theatre they paid considerable attention
to the dialogues, but they seemed incapable of
any sustained effort of the Imagination to follow
the Intricacies of the play except in the part
bordering on the centre of the plot. They liked
comedy, and they were often seen at She Tt.eatre
Cluny for the same piece. They , ' ij. not enjoy
the Odeon, yet they were never known to hiss
ever. when others did. Their only sign if disap
proval was silence. One day they vere so
pleased with Coquelin Junior that they rose
shouting "Lao! Lao'" and talked of the inevi
table subscription to nd him a little present,
but were prevented by friends.
THE POETICAL, TOURNAMENT.
In the hou?e they arranged theatrical enter
tainments among themselves, but their favcrite
pastime was the poetical tournament. For this
an examiner, a copying clerk and The candidates
for the petition were chosen. Next the
object «a< agreed upon. It was either fantasti
cal or historical. The metre was heptasyllabic,
of two verses running parallel on two subjects,
or containing two words put in a :ixed place in
each verse. The examiner opened a page in a
book, the copying clerk named a certain line,
the subject was taken from that line :ind the
competition began. A bell was suspended by a
thread, which half an hour later was cut by a
candle burning down to it_ The fall of the bell
ended the competition. Those who had s- nt
more than one proof were fined a trifle. The
successful competitor became examining resi
dent for the next term. This pastime developed
their wits to a surprising degree. While Euro
peans came to the salon with their witty sur
prises already prepared, the Chinamen's wit
sallied forth, ever quick, natural, unconscious.
On the other hand, their minds closed against
real poetry. Apart from the clever cutting of
their diamondlike wordings, their verses had no
gr> j at merit. They were rather unconnected,
lifeless an J unsentimental, without freshness,
fori-e or fire. Repetition was sought, while orig
inality was neglected; memory was kept con
stantly busy, but originality remained asleep.
Although punning on almost everything
everywhere, they carefully avoided politics.
Only ill-bred people discuss politics in China.
Their politics is in the hands of experts who
are the b«»st men in the empire. To discuss
their doings is ■ sin as serious as that of dis
cussing the rule of their own parents in the fam
ily or the method of their teacher in the school.
Even when the ruler is evidently bad, revolt
ali ne. not discussion, can remove the evil, and
revolt, to be successful, must burst at once, with
nu previous warning.
- I "f L: Hung t'har.s many laid
• £ trap? f>>r them t'i find just wh it
■ him, arid his journey. J■ .
■
... Hung <'hariK."
When Paris was ■ the It
tried hard to cli it nion on the
■
:
SEW I'SL FOR LIQriD ill:.
Consular report from Frankfort, Germany.
<'arl Linci-. who is giving special attention to
machines for producing liquid air, describes in
the journal of the Association of German En
g:rieers; a furnace designed by Mr. Hempel fur
an ingenious application of this substance. The
• furnace is intended to burn low class fuels, such
lignite and peat. The combustion is intensi
v^tii d by turning the gaseous mixture obtained
* by evaporating liquid air on the fire. Nitrogen
is first set free, afi~r which there remains a
t--ii> containing at least 50 per cent of oxygen.
The price of this gaseous mixture is said not to
exceed *1 cents fur 1,000 cubic feet.
J\hl i\ rqr latch DIET.
From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
S. Wcitzmann, a Haines merchant, who is
h-re. has sold a irr> at amount of merchandise to
the Indians for ih.-ii potlatch. Kodowatt is the
gr< atcet buyer.
"1 have already soil and delivered -7r» boxes
of pilot broad, 'or hardtack, to the Indians for
tho potlatch. Pilot bread is one of their great
e:-t delicacies They dip it in lard, soak it in the
611 of the candlefish and eat it with the utmost
d< ;i^M. I have seen a buck and his squaw sit
down beside a box of crackers and eat until all
were gone.
"In the coming potlatch the Indians will also
eat a great deal of sugar, canned peaches,
canned grapes, cakes and candies. 1 have sold
"J.7*> boxes of food plies to George Shortridge,
another memb/.r <f the tribe, who will also take
a big part in th celebration. Many other Ind
ians have bought as .high as twenty-five boxes."
•1.r.1.F EATERS'" UNIFORM ABOLISHED.
I
Visitors to the Tower of London will grieve
to find that the historic and picturesque cos
tume <>f the Yeomen of the Guard will hence
forth be worn only on Sundays and State occa
sions.
Instead of th<> quaint Tudor uniform of scar
let and gold, with ruff and buckles complete, to
which the public have been accustomed for so
long, a utilitarian age now dresses the custo
dians in blue serge, the coat being ornamented
with a red collar, red stripes, and a bandolier of
b!ue and red. A royal crown with the letters
■ V. K." and fl'--ur de Us are emblazoned on the
The new hat is also a sorry substitute for the
soft wide head covering that added such a dis
tinrtive feature to the old costume, the disap
pearajice of which in favor oX a cheaper rival
v. ... cause regret to many.
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT:
GEORGE YON T.. MEYER.
Who will probablj General Draper as An - to Itah
GEORGE \ns LEININGEX METER,
rHING ABOUT THE MAX WHO MAY BE
TIIK NEXT AMBASSADOR TO ITALY.
:i Leining< i whose nai
• • Italian
Embassy, is not . . ■ ■■:.- served in
the Massachusetts House of Repr< ■ ntatives
than two-thirds of the men
with him called him "Mr. Yon Meyer."
rs and proofreaders make the same mis
take, and the error h:is been a s.'ur<-- of an
noyance to tr.e man
Mr. Meyer's paternal grandfather came to the
United m Germany toward thf
st century. Mr. Meyer was born on Bea
con Hill, Boston, on Jun.- 24. 1858. His father
was a native of New-York and his mother was
Miss Grace Helen Parker, a nativi
and a granddaughter of the late Bishop S
He received his early education in the Boston
b, and was graduated from Harvard in the
class of TH 11 took ai part in ath
' - and ls am< n r :" the '79 rowing
crew, i>n l< la mercan
ise ati.i has ! n engaged in a>-tiv.- busi
r sii • ■ r of the firm
of Linder & Meyer, which was organized by his
father :n IMI.
Secretary H I week that the ap
-. j Rome had not been formally of
KISSAM HALL.
The building which William X V'anderbilt has given to Vanderbilt University in memory of his mother.
fered to Mr. Meyer, but there is a widespread
opinion in Washing-ton that be will be named.
AN OLD TIME ENGLISH ELECTION.
From The Westminster Gazette.
The only contest which occurred at Gatton
within historic memory was curious enough.
Sir Mark Wood, who had been one of Its mem
bers for several years, had as his colleague in
the Parliament of 1812 Sir William Congreve,
the inventor of the famous "Congreve rocket."
The latter resigned in 1816, and the baronet
wished his own son to fill the vacancy. There
were only three voters in the constituency — Sir
Mark, his son, and his butler, named Jennings;
but as the son was away and the butler had
quarrelled with his master, an opportunity was
afforded for a singular revenge. Jennings re
fused to second Sir Mark's nomination of his son,
and proposed himself; and a deadlock was
averted only by Sir Mark coming' to terms with
th« refractory butler, whose nomination be sec
onded in order to induce him to act as s
to his son. Matters being thus put formally in
train. Sir Mark arranged with Jennings that the
former's vote should be alone given, and the
ate of the poll at Gatton'a only known
I stood thus: Wood (Tory), 1; J.-nnings
(Whig), 0.
THE SAME KIND HERE.
From The Philadelphia Record.
"Have you ever noticed that nearly all p
get fat?" asked a man who keeps his eyes
open. "This would seem to disprovi
that walking in the open air is - f re
ducing superfluous weight. I have known new
men to start on th- ir beats weighing no
more than U.I pounds. En six months they
would tip the scales at l-".n, and in a yeai
the l!'Ht mark. It must be the slow sauntering
in the open air that does it. for I have noticed
that while policemen grow fat, th-- housi
geants, who art- ontiru-d to the stations, are In
variably thin. Those who patrol the E
sain the maximum weight in about three years
The muscles then harden, and. <i -spite their ap
parent burden of flesh, the men usually develop
Kn-at activity. < >rie of th'- best runners and
rs I know is a policeman who weighs
nearly three hundred pounds.
77/ K ART OF FELLING TREES.
From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The felling >>f trees is in itself the work of an
artist, and among the best paid men In a logging
camp arc- thus- .- rm this work. The tree
Is first notched on the side it is intended to fall.
Th;s is done with an ax--. Then, on th.- r-\> -r.se
.' ■ >rk to cut in. until with a
the giant timber wavers and tot-
ters from its perpendicular position, and with a
loud crash falls to mother earth. It Is a most
Inspiring sight, and one that after years spent in
the woods will not fail to attract attention. The
good feller will always find a place on which his
timb* r can come down without breaking. In
this he selects an aerial path not crowded by
other trees.
Once the tree strikes the ground it is deserted
by the feller and becomes the prey of a corps of
sawyers, barkers, snipers and other classes of
labor. It is first harked and stripped of. its
branches, and afterward sawed up into lengths
to which the tree is most suited. Then the yard
engine begins its work.
But this is the modus operand! in an up to
date camp, in the interior, where no line of
load has yet reached; there are numerous other
ramps different in character. No shrill whistle
of engine or puffing or steam is h»:ird. < en ami
horses perform the work of tin locomotives. The
method in felling and preparing the trees is the
same. Transportation, however, is over skid
ways on roads to the water.
A VANDERBILT MEMORIAL.
HANDSOME BUILDING GIVEN To TUB
UNIVERSITY AT NASHVILLE,
Kissam Hail, the gift of William K. Vander
bile as a memorial to his mother, Maria Louisa
Kissam Vanderbilt, will be formally presented
to Vanderbilt University, Nashville. Term., on
Oct ber _:;.
The building stands >n a prominent site with
in the campus, sot far from University Hall.
In matt-rial and architectural style it is lik-- the
other buildings, but it is superior to them all in
beauty. It is built in the form of a hollow
Bquare, after plans by Richard H. Hunt. The
basement is of cut stone. Above it rise three
full stories of repressed brick, white pencilled,
with Bedford stone trimmings. The fourth
floor is built with a dormer window effect In
the middle front wall Is a memorial tablet of
Tennessee marble, bearing the name of the
donor's mother in gilt letters.
Th<> first flour contains a reception room to
the right of the left hand entrance. This room
is 14 by 2.S feet. A small hospital is located on
this floor. Five walls divide the building into
four compartments. There are a few single
rooms, 14 by 14 feet in size, but most of the
building is arrangr-d in suites. A space 14 by
28 feet, with f'>ur windows, is cut up into a
central study and two single bedrooms with
three closets. Handsome fireplaces, perfect
ventilation, electric light, steam heat, double
floors with a "deadening" substance i-
finished in hard pine, plate glass windows
and a commanding view of the hil!s that sur
round Nashville are among the features of th"
memorial building, which was erected at a cost
Of over 5130,000.
BEER AND CANDI HY THE YARD
PECULIAR WAYS IN WHICH DEALERS ADVERTISE
THEIR WARES
'Beer by the yard" is the subject -if an article
recently published in an English newspaper.
The place where this strange method of selling
ii'iuids is in vogue is given as Boxley an 4
vicinity.
"The liquor." says the story te i - trough!
in a glass vessel three feet high, with a verj
narrow stem, terminating at the bottom !n ■
globular bowL To drink it. however, without
spilling a drop is no easy task, and at many
places the stranger who ''.in io so is permitted
to have his draught fr f payment. At first
the accomplishment of the feat appears simple
enough, and the beer flows gently from the nar
row stem; but n> sooner is the wssel tilted suffi
ciently to allow of the air entering the b-'V;
than the liquor is driven thence with such vio
lence that the luckless drinker receives about
half a pint in his face or down his clothes. To
the natives, however, the feat, from constant
practice, is by no means difficult "
The sale "f be»>r by the yard has not yet been
introduced In this country, but "candy by the
yard" is becoming popular.
At several watering places stands were main
tained last season for the sale of "old-fashion-d
steam candy by the yard." At some of the
places the sweet mixture was sold "off the hook"
direct from the hands of the candy puller, but
in nmst instants, the candy was in long strips
about t\v'. wide, ai:J from these strips
a yard or half a yard would be cut off. At >ne
mountain resort the candy man did what he
>rt busin '-.<, and sent yards of
mdj product in especiallj ma'!-- boxes to
all parts of tUfi country, and it was !ars>-ly
through his enterprise that 'candy by the yard"
•■ known.
1 VEGETARIAN
From The Chicago News
"That man." remarked the great detective, "la
undoubtedly a vegetarian of the most pro*
nounced type."
"How do you make that ou'?" queried hie
friend.
"Oh, that's dead easy." replied the great de
tective. "He has carroty hair, reddish cheeks, a
turnup nose, and a ease look."
3