Evening star. [volume], September 03, 1898, Page 23, Image 23

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
BIRDS OF THE SEA
Have Been Too Little Observed by
Trained Naturalists.
EABITS OF THE LORDLY ALBATROSS
Mother Carey's Chickens Are Be
loved by All Sailors.
BOOBIES BELIE THEIR NAME
From the 1?d<1oq Spectator.
It is suiely a matter for congratulation
that the sentiment of mankind toward
what we are phased to call the lower ani
mals is certainly, if slowly, tending in
the direction of kinder e.nd more merciful
appreciation of them in nearly all their
varieties as knowledge of them grows from
more to more. As perhaps Is but natural,
this benevolent feeling is most strongly
marked for birds, those feathered Zingari
of the air whose blithe evolutions above
are moie envied by man than any other
power possessed by the vastly varied mem
bers of the animal kingdom. In obedience
to the growing demand for more intimate
knowledge of birds and their habits whole
libraries have been written, and still this
literature increases: but while in this there
Is nothing to cavil at, one cannot help Reel
ing that the marvelous life of the sea birds
has received far from adequate attention.
Like so many other denizens of that vast
and densely populated world of waters,
their inaccessibility has hindered that close
observation by trained naturalists neces
sary in order to describe them as they de
serve, while as yet no marine Richard Jef
feries or White of Belborne has arisen.
And this want is really to be wondered at,
scring how fascinating is the stud?. of
? ?1 ??lembering
oceanic fauna, and remembering ^ftiat a
wealth of leisure Is ent'^y^^l *Jy masters
of sailing ships, which. afford oppor
?? * ? t
tunitles for obsjrvtfigthe Ufe of the sea
people.
The Lordly Al!>atro??,
Easily first In point of inteiest, as well
as size, comes the lordly albatross, whose
home is far south of the line, and whose
empire Is that illimitable area of turbulent
waves which sweep resistless round the
world Compared with his power of vision
(sailors give all things except a ship the
epicene g?nder "he"), the piercing gaze of
the eagle or condor becomes myopic, unless,
as indeed may be the case, he possesses
other Sf-nj<i3 unknown to us by means of
which he is made aware of passing events
ii teresting to him at incredible distances
from them. Out of the blue void he comes
ui.hasting on motionless pinions, yet at
such speed that, one moment a speck hard
ly discernible, turn but your eyes away,
and ere you can again look round he is
gliding majestically overhead. Nothing in
rature conveys to the mind so wonderful
ar. idea of effortless velocity as does his
calm appear* nee from vacancy. Like most
of the true pelagic birds, he is a devourer
of offal, the successful pursuit of fish being
Impossible to his majestic evolutions. Hi^
appetite is enormous, but hls*>Qw*??rof
abstinence are equally gre^l^fna" often fur
day:? he goes witjiua' Either nourishment
than a >lrlnk_jj?- bitter sea. At the Gar
gantu^p anquet provided by the carcass
i.ead whale, he will gorge himself until
incapable of rising from the sea, yet still
his angry scream may be heard as If pro
testing against his inability to find room
for m^re provision against hungry days
soon to follow. Respite his incomparable
grace of flight when gliding through mid
air with his mighty wings outspread, when
ashore or on deck he Is clumsy and ill-at
ease. Even seated upon the sea his pro
portions appear somewhat ungainly, while
his hug> hooked beak seems too heavy to
b- upheld. On land he can hardly balance
himself, and the broad silky webs of his
feet soon become lacerated. Thus his visits
to the lene and generally Inaccessible rocks
which are his breeding places are as brief
as may be. since even conjugal delights are
dearly purchased with hunger and painful
restraint. A true child of the air. land is
hateful to him, and only on the wing does
he appear to be really at home and ease
ful.
other* of the Family.
The othe' members of the albatross fam
ily. who. with their chief (Diomeda i'xul
ars). are all classed by whalers under the
ugly name of "gocr.eys," bear few of the
majestic characteristics of their great
head. The "mallymoke," which" comes
nearest to the albatross In size and beauty,
is actually found north of the line, a fact
which severs this bird very widely from
the albatross in geographical range. Also
he Is much livelier and more given to
bustle fussily about. It costs him far less
exertion to rise from the sea for flight
than the unwieldy paddling run along the
surface nec~s3ary to give sufficient impetus
for raising the huge albatross, and conse
quently his aJlghtlngs are much more fre
quent. Hut he is undoubtedly a beautiful
bird, suffering only by comparison with the
most splencld of all sea fowl. A brown
kind of albatross, with a dirty white beak,
Is very much in evidence south of '2u de
grees south, dropping continually into the
turbulence of a ship's wake, and diving to
considerable depths after scraps. Sailors
call them Cape hens, for some mis'.y rea
_gon which is never given. Among southern
birds they occupy much the same place In
the esteem of those who are acquainted
with them as does the sparrow at home.
A general favorite a.mon? seamen Is the
Cap" pigeon, a pretty, busy little sea bird
about the size of a dove, but plumper, with
a black head and an elaborate pattern In
black, gray and white upon its open wings.
Around the 3t?-rn of any passing ship large
numbers jf these fluttering visitors hover
continually, their shrill cries and unweary
ing mane.vers contrasting pleasantly with
the d.ep monotone made by the driving
keel througji the foaming sea. In common
with most southern sea birds having
hooked beaks, they are easily caught with
hook and line, but will not live In captiv
ity. Thoughtless passengers, wearied with
what they call the tedium of the voyage,
often amuse themselves by shooting these
graceful wandtrers, although what satis
faction may be found in reducing a beauti
ful .Iving thing to a useless morsel of drag
gled carrion Is not easy tc see. Occasion
ally a passing ship finds h?rsel? accom
panied fur a very short lime by large flocks
of small dove-colored birds, which, how
eve^. do not seem to care much for the as
sociation with vessels so characteristic of
sea birds generally. These are known as
whale-birds, probably because In the me
lee that gees on round the carcass of a
dead whale they are never seen. Indeed
they would stand but little chance of a
meal among the hordes of larger and more
voracious feasters. Mention must also be
made of a peculiar and unprepossessing
member cf the petrel family, which looks
irore lik? a disreputable albatross, but is
somewhat scarce. Known indifferently
amorg whalemen as the "Nelly" or the
"stinker." it seems probable that this bird
Is the southern representative of the arctic
fulmar. whi.-h is abundant In the nort*
His chi.-f peculiarity is -his forwardness!
No sooner does a whale give up the ghost
than the Nelly boldly alights upon the
black island-like mass and calmly com
mences to peck away at the flrm blubber
while thousand4 upon thousands of other
birds Wat Impatiently around, not daring
to do likewise. Hence the terrible threat
current In whaleships. "I'll light on ye
like a Stinker on a carcass.
Mother Carey's Chickens.
At the bottom of the size scale, but in
point of affectionate interest second to
none, com -s the stormy petrel, or Mother
Carey's chicken, a darling wee wanderer
common to both hemispheres, and beloved
by ail sailors. With its delicate glossy
black and brown plumage Just flecked with
*hite on the open wings, and its long slen
der legs reaching out first on one side and
then on the other as if to feel the sea it
nestles under the very curl of the most
mighty billjws or skims the sides of their
reverberating green abysses content as
does the lark over a lush meadow Howl
ing hurricane or searching snow blasts pass
unheeded over that velvety black head
The brav.- bright eye dims not, nor does the
cheery little note falter, even If the tiny
traveler must needs cuddle up close under
the lee of some big ship for an occasional
crumb. Only once have we known an "in
dividual imiel or senseless enough to harm
a stormy petrel, and then the execrations
of his shipmates fairly scared him Into re
pentance. They seem to have solved the
secret of perpetual motion, and often at
night a careful listener may hear their
low try even if he be not keen-sighted
enough to see them flit beneath him.
the Shore*.
But apart from these true oceanic no
ir.;t.Is are- the large class ot sea birds who,
while gathering their food exclusively from
the sea, never go to any great distance
from lard. This difference between them
and the birds before mentioned is so
strongly marked that, unobservant as sail
ors are generally, there are few who do
not recognize the vicinity of land upon
catching sight of a man-o'-war bird,
booby, gannel or bo'sun. All these birds,
whose trivial designations seem somehow
more appropriate than the nine-jointed no
menclature of the schools, frequent for
preference more accessible shores than the
craggy pinnacles generally chosen by the
bolder outfliers. Of the first named, the
"man-o'-war" or "frigate" bird, very little
can be said to his credit. Michelet has
rhapsodised about him in a curious effu
sion. of which one can only say he seems
to have confused three distinct birds un
der one head. Were this bird to receive an
entirely appropriate title, it would be
"pirate" or "buccaneer," since it Is only
upon the rarest occasions that he conde
scends to ftsh for UlmseU, choosing rather
to rob humbler birds of their well-earned
prey. No sea bird mounts so high as he.
rising into the ciear blue until only a black
speck to the unassisted eye. Usually, how
ever, he contents himself with a circling
poise at an altitude of about 200 feet,
whence he keeps steadfast watch upon ail
that transpires beneath. With his long
tail dividing and closing like the halves of
a pair of shears, and the brilliant scarlet
poush at his neck occasionally inflated, he
waits, waits, until some fussy booby, like
an overladen housewife hurrying home
from market, comes flapping along toward
her nest. Then the broad pinions suddenly
close, and down like lightning com-a the
marauder. With a wild shriek of terror
booby disgorges her fish, but ere It reaches
the water out flash the black wings again,
and with a grand sweep the assailant has
passed beneath his frightened victim,
causht the plunder, and scared skyward.
In like manner these birds may sometimes
be seen to catch a flying-ftsh on the Wing,
a truly marvelou? feat. It la, gevertbeTess.
a pathetic sight to see them, wnen 0I4 age
or sickness overtakes them, sitting in lone
ly dignity among' the rocks where they
breed, Tielpiessly awaiting with glazing
?yes and drooping plumage the tardy com
ing of deliverance.
-53
Belies Its Name.
As for the booby, whose contemptuous
name Is surely a libel, space Is now far too
brief to do anything like justice to Its
many virtues. In a number of ways It
corresponds very closely with the manners
of our domestic fowls, notably In Its care
of Its brood, and utter change In its habits
when the young ones are dependent upon
It. Of stupidity the only evidences really
noticeable aro Its Indifference to the ap
proach of generally dreaded dangers when
it is drowsy. At night one may collect as
many from their resting places as can be
desired, for they make no effort to escape,
but look at their enemy with a full, steady
eye wherein there Is no speculation what
ever. Numberless instances might be col
lected where the tameness, as well as the
i abundance, of boobies have been the means
of preserving human life after shipwreck,
while their flesh and eggs are by no means
| unpalatable.
THE EMPRESS TIEN.
The Romantic biU ^rae History of
Real Ruler.
k "the Boston Trnn?<*rlpt.
The true story of th? woman who is at the
head of the Chinese empire, and who has
Just summoned Li Hung Chang back to
power. Is of extraordinary significance as
well as Interest. It has been told how, dis
appointed with her son's w?ak and charac
terless rule, she has again taken into her
own hands, openly, the reins of power
which she has held In truth for a genera
tion. This monarch, who Is comparable to
1 Catharine of Russia In her sagacity and
shr.-wdness and Judicial wisdom, was once
a slave. "When she was a little girl she was
sold by her father to be a slave in the fam
ily of a viceroy In a remote province of
China. Her father was of Tartar blood,
and one of those who could read, and would
not hav? thought of selling his child, al
though she was "nothing but a girl," but as
the family had become destitute in a rebel
| lion the little girl of eleven suggested this
means of getting bread for her mother and
1 little brother and her father?the little
brother whom long after she sought and
made rich and powerful.
Tuen served the viceroy's wife and moth
er-in-law, and was taught spinning and
other useful arts by their maids. When
she was twelve she embroidered a beautiful
tunic for the viceroy, and he was so de
lighted with it that he offered the little
slave whatever she wished most. Thjn
Tuen fell on her knees and declared her
heart's desire. She wanted to learn to r;ad
like her father. It was a most extrJiordl- '
nary request. The viceroy told her that
girls could not learn such a thing, but T-uon
told him she v.-as not to blame that this
gods had made her a girl, and she could
not heip longing to know how to read So
her master had her taught, and. his own
daughter dying after a time, she was adopt
ed as a daughter of the house and given
baautlful clothes as well as lessons.
Later the viceroy received some political
honor from the Emperor of China, <ind be
ing desirous to give him a beautiful and
worthy present in token of acknowledg
ment, he followed the artless oriental cus
tcm and sent Tuen to Pekln. The girl's feet
had never been bound, of course and she
could walk upon them, and her mind was
developed b;yond that of most Chinese wo
men. The favorite slave of the Emperor of
China became the favorite wife, and when
the empress consort died sh5 became Em
press of China. On the journey by river to
Pekln. with servants sent with her by the
viceroy, she had given a ring to a young lad
who saved a man from drowning in the
river. Sh; had promised the ring to any
one who would save the drowning man.
The youth to whom she gave the ring had a
bright, intelligent face; he was a sa'lor In
the coarse clothes of the lower class That
was LI Hung Chang.
IXirlng her son's minority Tuen was rs
gent, and now as empress dowager she
again assumes command. The emperor Is
sixty twenty"four years old; the empress is
Beethoven'* Last Performance.
Prom the Denver Newt.
The pathetic story of the last time that
Beethoven ever touched a pianoforte is
not very widely known. He was traveling
frt-m Baden to Vienna In response to ;ui
urgent call from his favorite nephew, who
was in trouble, and to save money was
making the greater pert of the Journey on
, foot. A few leagues from Vienna he be
came exhausted, and was obliged to ask
I a night's shelter at a humble house near.
The family received him kindly, gave him
[ suj per, and then invited him to a com
fortable seat near the fire. Then the head
of the house opened a small piano and the
sons each brought an old musical Instru
ment and all f>egan to play.
For twenty-flve years Beethoven had been
deaf, and the music was unheard by him
but he could see its deep effect. Wife and
daughter laid their needles down and listen
ed with tears stealing down their cheeks
while the musicians played, with moist
eyes dimming the notes. Beethoven watch
ed 1 heir emotions enviously, and when the
players ceased asked to sfee the music that
had moved them so. The pianfst handed to
nim "The Allegretto in Beethoven's Sym
phony in A." He flushed with happiness.
?\.a? Beethoven! Come and let us finish
it. Going himself to the piano he played
the remainder of the evening, following
the concerted music with heavenly impro
?l0^wF.aV?t0 ',he n,*ht h* Played while
tn? others listened enraptured
When he went to bed his veins seemed
full of fever. He could not sleep, and final
ly stole outdoors for fresh air. remaining
until he was thoroughly chilled. In the
morning he was too 111 to proceed on Ms
Journey, and his anxious hosts sent for'a
physician and summoned his friend t in
Vienna. Hummel was almost the only one
to come, and he stood Inconsolable beside
the m.Lster s bed as he lay there. Beethoven
moved and caught Kummel's hand in both
of his own. "Ah. Hummel. I must havo
had some talent!" he said, faintly Thev
were his last words.
Ivory Veneer*.
Fmm the Scientific American.
Veneer cutting has reached such perfec
tion that a single elephant's tuak thirty
inches long is now cut in London Into a
sheet of Ivory ISO Inches long and twen'.y
inches wide, and some sheets of rosewood
and mahogany are only about a fiftieth of
an inch thick.
A DAY WITH THE POPE
How the World's Qreateat Beligious Monarch
Spends His Time.
Divided Ip as Ke?ularly u the Dial
of a Clock?His Frugal
Habits. . j, ,
From the London Mall.
Of all Christian churches that of Rome Is
the greatest, and over Its 230,000,1100 r.;em
bers the pope reigns supreme. He is the
greatest religious power in the world, and
at the present time, when his health Is giv
ing such anxiety, some account of his daily
life cannot fail to be Interesting.
As the great clock of St. Peter's strikes
seven the pope's valet enters his bed room,
a large square apartment, simply furnish
ed. Throwing open the windows Centra,
wishes his holiness good morning and pro
ceeds to assist his venerable master to
dres3. His toilet completed, the pope per
forms his morning devotions and proceeds
to the next room, which is fitted up as an
oratory^ where he celebrates mass. Occa
sionally highly privileged persons are per
mitted to be present at this service, which
lasts about forty-five minutes. A second
mass Is afterward celebrated by one of the
household prelates, at which all the in
habitants of the Vatican, including the
pope, are present. His holiness then break
fasts in his study, the meal consisting of a
eup of strong soup and a few chocolate,
pastilles.
The pope then goes into the library,
where he gives an audience to specially fa
vored pilgrims. It is in these Interviews
that the marvelous memory and learning of
the pope are best shown. German, En
glish French, Spanish and Italian?his na
uve language?he speaks with fluency. His
holiness addresses each pilgrim in his own
language, jllscusBing with them the leading
topics of their respective countries. Ijso
reads many newspapers, and Is fully ac
quainted with the world and all its doings.
His visitors gone, the pope commences his
day's work. His first task is to revise and
alter the work of the previous day, for lie
is a most painstaking and fastidious
scholar. While engaged in these literary
labors he refreshes himself with an occa
sional pinch of snuff.
At 10 a. m. the secretary of state,
Cardinal Rampolla, enters, and with him
the pope goes through the political corre
spondence of the day.
The pope's annual Income has been esti
mated at ?520,000, and about E200.000 of this
goes in maintaining the Household of the
Vatican. Though by no means a miser,
Leo is very careful; his valet keeps all his
keys, with the exception of the key of the
strong box. which the pope himself retains.
His holiness gives away largo sums In
charity every year.
At noor. the pope dines; the meal consists
of an omelette, a roll of bread and a little
cheese, washed down by a single glass 2l 1
red wine.
The pope th;n takes hia onfTstitutional In
one of the nunigjou* TTails of the Vatican,
after which- is carried in a sort of sedan
,jy two stalwart lackeys into the gar
den and placed In his carriage.
He is driven down the avenues, accom
pi nied by an officer of his guard and two
gmdarmes. At the Cascata dell' Aqulla
the pope alights, and. leaning on a stick,
strolls up and dnt/n the terrace. Here is a
fine vineyard, w lich is one of the pope's
hobbies, and a p ofitable hobby it is. seeing
that it yields an annual harvest of 1,500
gallons of wine.
The pope amures himself with catching '
small birds with nets, a sport in which he
was an expe-t when a lad, and of which he
is still very fond. The cultivation of tea
rcses is another hobby of his holiness.
Near this place, the pope's playground,
stands the huge tower of the Citta Leomi,
a building which dates back to the eighth
century. As evening approaches the pope
proceeds to this tower alone, and until sun
set he remains in its solitary dungeon. |
What he does there nobody knows. It has
been suggested that he indulges in a nap, j
or that he arranges his future plans; at all I
evints, much of his literary work is done
in this large, empty room. As the sun j
goes down the pope returns to his apart
ments, and, after telling his rosary, sets to '
wr rk. and does not retire to rest until mid- |
night. When seeking an inspiration he |
walks to his study window, and. drawing
aside the curtains, gazes long and silently |
at the brilliant sky of an Italian night.
At 12 o'clock his holiness goes to bed, to j
wake up at 7 o'clock to live the same day
over again.
The pope Is in his eighty-ninth year, and
despite his great age he is a marvel of phys- j
ical and Intellectual vigor. Since his elec- '
tion to the chair of St. Peter his death has
been foretold scores of times, and the I
tumors of his ill-health have filled number
less newspaper columns. But Leo XIII has j
proved the truth of the adage, "Threatened
men live long." and though old age has bo- j
gun to tell upon him there is every pros- j
pect that the pope will give the lie to fu
ture rumors by refusing to dlo for some
years. He is one of the cleverest scholars
and statesmen of the age. while his piety
is great, ang he is austere to the verge of
asceticism.
Such is the daily life of the man who Is
regarded as their spiritual and temporal
ruler, and as infallible in oil things, by morj
than one-half of all the Christians upon the
face of the globe.
Doctoring the Chinese.
1' rom tlie St. James' Gazette.
Medical science In China is not as ad
vanced as it was in Rome 2,000 years ago.
The so-called doctors cannot tie an artery,
open an abscess or reduce a dislocated
l.mb. Every Chinaman has got something j
real or imaginary the matter with him.
and there was great curiosity to see the
methods of the foreigner; therefore, when
Dr. Wenyon arrived there was no lack
of patients. The/ came daily by the hun
dred from far and near?from an area three
or four times that of England. In seven
teen years they numbered many thousands,
and some of them, as Dr. Wenyon says, be
came the center of an influence more or
less favorable to western thought and
western m. n. Dr. Wenyon has many curi
ous stories to tell In connection with the
medical work. The literati, who are th?
great instigators of riot and murder in
Ch.na declared that they ought to open a
rival hospital, and they did open one. A
staff of native "doctors" was found, and
the building was called "The Hall of Ten
Thousand Virtues." It was a splendid
building, but somehow that did not assist
the cures. Two afflicted friends came to
Fatshan, and they decided one to go to
Dr. Wenyon's hospital and the other to the
rival place. In three weeks Dr. Wenyon's
patient waa well, and on going for his
friend to the other hospital, found that
he was dead. The doctor tried to console
him by saying that they had burled him
in a splendid coffin. "In fact, coffins were
a great necessity at that hospital," says
Dr. Wenyon. "When I went there I found
that they had laid In a good stock. So
the people came to us. It was a question
of coming to our hospital for a cure, or
going to the 'Hall of Ten Thousand Vir
tues' for a coffin. One day there came a
stately gentleman, a learned man belonging
to the upper classes, having a painful dis
order needing surgical treatment. He hired
a private room, and I operated on him, and
In a fortnight he was well. He had not
told me who he was, but before he went
away he said, 'You might like to know who
I am, and I want to tell you, because X
am so grateful for being cured of this ter
rible disease. I am the Tiead doctor of the
'Hall of Ten Thousand Virtues.' "
How Wale* "Spliced the Main Bracc."
From Harper's Magazine.
The prince's Intimacy with the navy is to
be discerned In the genera! signal made by
Admiral Sir Nowell Salmon, V. C.. at the
close of the memorable review at Spithead.
"I am commanded by the Prince of Wales,"
he wrote, "as representing the queen, to ex
press his entire satisfaction with the mag
nificent naval display at Spithead, and the
perfect manner In which all the arrange
ments were carried out; and, at his request,
I order the main brace to be spliced." It
need scarcely be explained that to "splice
the main brace" is an order to serve out a
glass of grcg ail round. Intemperate ab
stainers were dreadfully shocked at the
idea of the Prince of Wales encouraging the
consumption of intoxicating liquor, but the
38,577 officers and men who had been on
duty all day long honestly felt that by six
bells (11 p.m.) the order was timely and
welcome. No one can Imagine the "conse
crated person" of the kaiser ordering a
flasa of grog all round.
RANDOM VERSEj,
i\ tr
R<*?e.
J ">!'
Clifton Bingham in Chaa&bers'^ournal.
Sweet rose. uwakiqg to tfee light.
Into this fair wuQd bora
A little folded bud.at night,
A flower at brealt of mxim!
Yet thou j* tiny teat of dew
Within thy heart dost V**r,
Though earth la gl^l an<f life Is new,
And thou art swe$t aiiij. fair!
Sweet roae, unfold thy h?irt and shed
Thy perfume wider yefc
Though soon the stumer hours are fled.
Thy fate, sweet jftme, forget!
With fragrance all jlie gaxUen fill,
That those who p?ss afui see
Shall deem the bri$t world brighter still
Because of it and. thee;
Sweet rose, God mflfce thee fair to take
Thy tiny place aUd pafct.
To soothe some spirit like to break,
To cheer some burdened heart.
Weep not for a ugh 6 that fate may send.
Bat, ere thy day is spent.
Live out thy life ua*o Hs end.
Theu die aud sleep content!
Waiting.
Paul Laurence Dunbar in the Cosmopolitan.
The sun has slipped his tether
And gslloped down the west.
(Oh, it's weary weary waiting, love,)
The litt'e bird is sleeping
lu the softness of its ueat.
Night follows day, day follows da^n
Aud so the time has come and gone:
And it's weary, weary waltiug, love.
The cruel wind is rising
With a whistle and a wail.
(And it's weary, wesry waiting, love.)
My eyes are seaward straining
for the coming of a sail:
But void the sea, and void the beach
Far and beyond where gaze can reach I
And it's weary, weary waiting, love.
I beard the bell-buoy ringing?
Ilow long ago it seems!
(Oh, it's weary, weary waltiug love.>
And ever still, its knelling
Crashes in upon my dreatps.
The banns were read, my frock was sewn
Since then two seasons' winds have blown?
And It's weary, weary waltiug, love.
The stretches of the ocean
Are bare and bleak today.
(Oh. it's weary, weary waiting, love.)
My eyes are growing dimmer
Is it tears or age, or spray?
But I will stay till you come home.
Strange ships come in across the foaml
And it's weary, weary waiting, love.
Away.
I cannot sty, and I will not say
That he is dead?he is Just away!
With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand,
He has wandered into an unknown land,
And left us dreaming how very fair
It ueefls must be, since he lingers there.
And you?O you, who the wildest yearn
For the old-time step and the glad return
Think of him faring on. as dear
In the love of There as the love of Here;
And loyal still, as he gave the Wows
Of his warrior-strength to his country fr^
Mild and gentle, as h?,w*Sf>rave?
When the swe^yt ^ of his life he gave
?*Sfple things:?Where the violets grew
- *>iue as the eyes they were likened to,
The touches of his hands have strayed
As reverently as his lips have prayed:
When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred
W as dear to him us the mocking-bird;
And he pitied as much as a man in pain
A writhing honey-bee wet with rain
Think of him still as the same, I say:
He is not dead?he is just away!
?JAMES WH1TOOMB RILEY.
The Price W,e Pay.
From the Boston Ileral^
Yes, }ie was the only^one-tilled?
Not a battle, of cofose. with only one dead?
But that one was ny all. *
And the pages were birtKrcd as I read,
"Killed at the front,"Toin'Burton;"
One man. "not mdeh of? a loss," it said,
But 't^as ull that I had.
And more than the* knew?
When they buried my hope with my dead.
In his blood-stained bottle shroud.
Hied that his country might live.
That a people oppi?RcA<jriIght be free.
It made him a hero, you say;
Perhaps, but he Ws alwfays a hero to me.
For I knew him and ^ov? dl him.
Dead, dead Oow at the /rant,
And he was oniy a. Jad^-i
Only one life for u victory,
But that life was 4^1 that 1 had.
Otd_FI?i8;.
Ilubbard Parker in the ChiJournaL
What shall I say to'.yrti, Old Fluff?
You are so grand Ui every fold,
So linked with mighty.deeds of old,
So steeped in t?loo{3 wtiere Jicroes fell,
8<? torn and pierced 1# Shot and shell,
So < aim, so still,* so firm; so true.
My throat swells at the sight of you,
^ , Old Flag.
What of the men who lifted you, Old Flag,
I pon the top of Bunker's-Hill,
W ho crushed the Briton's cruel will,
*31id shock aud roar and crash aud scream,
Who crossed the Delaware's frozen stream,
Who starved, w ho fought, who Med. who died.
That you might float in giorlous pride,
Old Flag?
?' women brave and true. Old Flag,
Who, wh.le the cannon thundered wild,
Sent forth a husband, lover, child.
Who labored in the field by day.
Who, all the night long, knelt to pray,
And thonght that God great mercy gave,
If only freely you might wave,
Old Flag?
What is your mission now. Old Flag?
W hat but to set all people free,
To rid the world of misery,
To guard the right, avenge the wrong.
And gather in onajoyfpl throng
Beneath your folds in close embrace
All burdened ones of every race,
Old Flag?
Itlght nobly do you lead the way, Old Flag.
Your stars shine out for liberty.
Your white stripes staud for purity.
Your crimson claims that courage high,
for Hcnor's sake to light aud die.
S? . '^against the alien shore!
>>e II follow you e'en to Death's door,
Old Flag!
When I Played Golf.
From Life.
When I played golf I learned to eat
fcotno things 1 dared not oat before.
I learned another tongue complete,
I learned to lie about my store.
When I played gjlf I learned to flirt?
An opportunity most rare?
And as I camcoeff the dirt,
I picturesquely learned to 9wear.
When I played golf I learned to steal
The balls tlie other players lost.
to 8I>end my all and feel
Twas wrong to stop and count the cost.
When I played golf my great concern
>>as this:?I say it to my shame?
The only thing I did ndt leurn ,
Was how to play the cussed game.
Grief and God.
Stephen Phillips in Cornhill Magaslns.
Unshunnable is grief; we should not fear
The dreadful bath whose cleansing is so clear}
For He who to the Spring such poison gave,
Who rears his roses from the hopeless grave;
Who caused the bube to wail at the first breath,
But with a rapture seals the face of death;
Who circled us with pale aspiring foam.
With exiled Music yearning for her home.
With knockingr. earJy and with cryings late,
The moving of deep watt*rs against Fate;
Who starry the skies with yearning, with those
fires,
That dart through dew ftelWlnflnit* desires;
Or largely silent and so>Jvisiftii bright
Direct a single look of Jytarejall night;
Who gave unto the mooH thai hopeless quest.
Condemned the wind to*wariflfer without rest;
lie, as I think, intends3ftuifo*e shall rise
Only through pain Into ills Paradise.
Woe. woe! to tho*?rwhqjpJirtfdiy suspire.
Drowned <n security, r^rnotg^rom fire;
Who under the dim sky iiuif jyhispei'lng trees
By peaceful slopes amrpassnlg streams have ease:
\\bose tne^t is their uncommitted sins,
Whose thought Is helm#*, bufr they Bhun the gins
And those overflowing pils th&t take the strong.
The baited sweetness a&l thy? honeyed wrong;
Wlio sink, not once enkindled, to the tomb.
Eternal smllers from ttreir mother's womb.
No sacred pang d is turbiftfceiF secular life.
kludlng splendor and escaping strife;
for tfcsy tS^aot; under earth
Ihelr bodies urge the meaner flowers to birth:
Unstung. unfiled, untenrpted^fcas their soul;
Easy extinction is theirAitn&st goal.
To t.iose whom He dotn l<nt*God hath not sent
bueh dread security, saft content;
Young are th*>y carried^to tife*fout of pain,
Ii? coldest anguish dippW a^tn, again;
Or else Into His burnirtg areUhey led,
Desirous of His glory Ut be dead;
When He uescenda* like Semele they die.
Proud to be shriveled in His ocstacy;
w I tIle ntffbt of life they ebb and flow
Ijnuer the cold Imperial moon of woe.
Some of His favorites are too fiercely wrought
ro spend upon the sunny earth a thought.
But ever by an inward peril driven,
A?-giect the gleaming grass and glimmering heaven.
And some by thorny sweetness are betrayed,
By beauty of those bodies He hath made;
And some o'erwearied, have so tired a head,
???* II** children to be laid In bed.
But He hath branded on such souls His name,
? know them by the scam of fl&me.
As Christ in the dark garden had to drink
Tpe hrinimlng cup from which His soul did shrink;
As Dante had to thread -the world of fire.
Ere be approached thi Rose of his desire:
So fear not grief, fear not the anguish, thou.
The paining heart,-the clasped ana prostrate brow;
This is the emblem, and this is'the sign
By which God singles thee for fields divine;
From such a height He stoops, from such a bits*.
Small wonder thou dost shudder at His kiss.
ST. THOMAS' COAL WOMEN
They Do the Work of Carrying Coal to the
Ships.
Balance Heavy I.oatla (.'pan Their
Head*?Satnrally They Are
a Sturdy Lot.
From Harper's R?:ar.
When cable communication between the
United States and Cuba was cut off us ?
result of the active operations of our army
and navy against the Spanish colonies in
the Caribbean sea, the telegraph stations
among the neighboring islands took on an
importance which they had not hitherto en
joyed. The principal place* which soon be
came familiar to us as news centers were
Kingston. Jamaica, Cape Haltien, Haiti, and
St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies. St.
1 Thomas, having a good landlocked harbor,
also became prominent as a coaling station
for press boats and dispatch vjssels and as
the headquarters of some twenty-five news
paper correspondents, who made It their
base for gathering and disseminating the
news of the progress ot the war. The town
of St. Thomas, sometimes called Charlotte
Amalle, Is one ot those delightful spots
built on a hillside, surrounded by tropic
vegetation, facing the sea, and blessed with
a climate that varies little the year around,
the temperature rarely falling b"tow TO
degrees or rising above DO degrees. Al
though a Danish possession, the language
of commerce and society?sue.1! society as
there .Is?is English. The majority of the
population, however, is made up ot negroes
and mulattoes, who speak a ulalect con
sisting of a mixture of broken Dutch, Dan
ish, English, French and Spanish. These
negroes are the descendants of the slaves
who were Imported about ltJSO to cultivate
the plantations of the Danish West India
and Guinea Company, and they are mostly
tine specimens of the black race. The wo
men. in particular, are strong and well de
veloped, and by reason of their strength
and endurance have made themselves an
important factor in the commercial devel
opment of the island. It is said that ves
sels may coal more cheaply at St. Thomas
than at any port in the West Indies, and
doubtless that is true, tar there is seldom a
day when some steamer is not coaling at
the wharves, and the ships of all the navies
have made this island their principal coal
ing station for years. Perhaps this quaiity
of cheapness is due to the employment.
women laborers, for they are a^Vust ei'
clusively used in transferrin^ Coai trim
the sheds to th^_ JjU^xers. They do the
Wi? beiiSr "TTuqutcker than men, and are
ciieerful at their labor. Hundreds
' VZ. women are employed in the work of
supplying one ship, and thus a continuous
line of these sinewy carriers may be seen
striding up the gang plank, balancing their
loaded baskets on their heads, while an
other stream, unladen, pours over the
ship's side on to the wharf.
These St. Thomas coal carriers use large
baskets for their work. They carry these
on their heads, and so skillfully balanced
that no accident ever occurs, even on the
steepest or slipperiest of gang planks. So
expert aie these women that they can thus
carry a load of from 150 to 250 pounds of
coal. While at work they usually sing some
peculiar and monotonous negro melody, and
when the loading is being done at night,
by the light of flaring torches stuck in the
ground near the coal heaps, these long,
crooning processions of erect black women
form a picture that is weird and im
pressive.
These women are trained to the work of
carrying loads on their heads from baby
hood almost. When they are not older,
than five years they are taught to earry
small loads on their heads, and thus they
become familiar with the science of perfect
balance?for it must be a science. At nine
or ten the girls are able to carry heavier
loads in larger baskets, say from twenty
to thirty pounds, and they become pro
ficient in the work by walking many miles
all over the island carrying fruit and
merchandise for sale. Thus at sixteen the
negro girl is tall and robust?lithe, vigor
ous. tough, all tendon and hard flesh. She
can now carry a burden of from 100 to ISO
pounds, and becomes useful in the employ
of the coal companies.
AVhile at work these women wear no
shoes, and dress in the very lightest and
oldest portions of their scant wardrobes. So
light and abbreviated are their costumes
that thefr muscular forms are displayed to
advantage, and as they work they form
magnificent pictures of human development
and strength. They are neither slow nor
lazy, these negro women. They walk at a
rapid, springy gait over the rough wharves
and coal paths, with a swinging, easy,
graceful motion of the limbs, and absolute
equipoise of the head and shoulders.
???
A SiEW POMPEII.
Discovered by Excavator* ou the Site
ot Ancient Prieue.
From the Uterary Digest.
This title is perhaps an exaggeration, but
It is certain that If the published reports
are true, th9 German archaeologists who
are excavating on the site of ancient Priene
have made a discovery of the highest In
terest. It is well known that Priene Is in
Asia Minor, and that the modern city of
Sa-msoun occupies its ancient site. Several
years ago an English expedition unearthed
and studied the temple of Minerva, the
chief sanctuary of the city, built by order
of Alexander; but its ruins, although in
teresting, were abandoned, and they have
since been despoiled by the inhabitants of
the neighborhood. In 1895 the Germans re
sumed the exploration of the region in be
half of the Berlin Museum, at the expenso
of the Prussian government and under the
direction of a young architect, Wilhelm
W llberg. The work of excavation is al
ready sufficiently advanced to enable us to
Judge of Its rare Importance; a whole city
is being unearthed, in almost as good pres
ervation as Pompeii. And this Is the mor?
inportant because up to the present no
similar discovery has ever been mado that
gives precise indications of the general ar
rangement of a Greek city, of its public
monuments, or Its Individual dwellings.
The city thus exhumed is assuredly of the
period of greatest Greek beauty; the ttreets
cross at right angles and are laid out with
the greatest regularity, and we can identlfy
colonades, theaters, market places, shops
and houses with their decorations and in
terior arrangement. South of the temple
ot Minerva has been found the agora, sur
rounded with great colonnades, while open
ing on one of Its corners is a small square
edifice somewhat resembling a theater and
constituting perhaps the place of meeting
of the city council. It Is In admirable
preservation, and sixteen rows of seats can
be seen still in place.. Worthy of note is a
vault In on* of the walls?a thing extraor
dinarily rare in Greek architecture. We
should add. In closing, that among the
struotures that have been eritlrtly exhumed
Is a theater whose scene is Intact, which
will doubtless solve some of the problems
connected with this special part of the
Greek theaters.
WEATHER MEM IS 1747.
How Franklin and Jefferson Co-Op
perated In Taking Observations.
From the Forum.
About 100 years after the Invention of the
barometer, viz.. In 1774, Benjamin Franklin,
patriot, statesman, diplomat and scientist,
divined that certain storms had a rotary
motion and that they progressed In a
northeasterly direction. It was prophetic
that these ideas should have come to htm
long before any one had ever seen charts
Showing observations simultaneously taken
at many stations. But, although his ideas
In this respect wore more important than
his act of drawing the lightning from the
clouds and Identifying it with the elec
tricity of the laboratory, yet his contem
poraries thought little of his philosophy ot
storms; and It was soon forgotten. It will
be Interesting to learn how hs reached his
conclusion as to the cyclonic or eddylike
: structure of storms.
Franklin had arranged with A co-worker
at Boston to take observations of a lunar
eclipse at the same time that he himself
was taking readings of It at Philadelphia.
Early on the evening of the eclipse an un
usually severe northeast wind and rain
storm set In at Philadelphia, and Franklin
was unable to secure any observations. He
reasoned that as the wind blew fiercely
from the northeast the storm was of course
coming from that direction, :.nd that Bos
ton must have experienced Its ravages be
fore Philadelphia. Reports Indicated that
the storm was widespread. What was the
POOR OLD PORTUGAL
Spain's Hapless Sister is in Dire
Straits Just Now.
ADVERTISING NATIONAL DECADENCE
Both Land and People Are in
Need of Tilling.
GOVERNMENT 13 ROTTEN
From tb* P?U Mull
Portugal excites compassion. 8he U so
bright and hajtpy a land. If you go to her
with no intention of seeing more of her
than Mr. Murray's handbook bids A>u see.
But tarry awhile in either of h?r pr*n?.ip?l
cities, read her ne^ipaper#, watch the
shrugs which the men at the <-asa* de cam
bio change your sovereigns into reis at an
ever-Increasing agio, listen to the gossip
at her clubs and cafes, and mark the ex
traordinary number of special Vasco da
Gama postage stamps in the Lisbon shop
windows. Then you must realise that
though the average Portugese has no love
for the average Spaniard. Portugal may
be excused for feeling a sort of pitiable
and Intimate sympathy for her step-sister
Spain in this poor mantilla-clad lady's
present humiliations and difficulties
To begin with. the Vasco da Gama busi
ness seems to some of us an Incredibly
foolish sort of advertisement of national
decadence. Portugal somehow has missed
that melancholy Joke. The rest of Europe
sent deputations to congratulate her on?
goodness knows what, and to enjoy the
banquets and other festivities provide.!.
And Portugal herself is now struggling
win* might and main to defiay these ex
penses by the sale of pretty commemora
tive postage stamps.
In 11 okttr of Vases da Ciama.
There Is rather a neat little "free fair" In
Lisbon, also In honor of the centenary,
modeled distantly on our Earl's Court ex
hibitions. The cardboard fifteenth century
castie an<i indian elephants of colossal sixe
are" successful enough, and it doe* one
good to see the trim warehouses of Portu-,
guese manufacturers Jjjre ?n vjew. to
prove how prosperous the country OVS1}*
to be. But enthusiasm Is absent at thjs
show, to see which you pay noth'rvg.
exquisite blankeis and rufts, the Pottery
and the seductive biscuits, sugared and
plain, appear to interest no or.e. Tnere are
neepshows, waxworks, Edison's inventions.
Nautch girls, cheap theatrical perfo m
ances of the "gaff " kind, and dorer.s of re
fined-looking drinking tents. I
however, pays little heed to an> of thenv.
Such money a* it has to spend It plung s
on the humble tee-to-tums. It is profouml
ly Instructive to see the people?old mt-n
and maidens, young men and even children
?crowding for these penny and twopenny
gambles, also in honor of the wiiif-jbear..
ed Vasco da Gama. PubUc cock fights are
an added feature of this free fair. Lisbon
was not at first at all sure about the pro
priety of these entertainments but the
press has convinced It. They have gre.it
moral and material advantages. one
scribe Informed the public. As a spertaile
thev stimulate to courage, and also dls ract
the mind from reflecting upon the mlserj
of life. The writer was serious. t?K>. Yet
we ail know that Portugal can breed brave
men without the aid of lighting bantams,
and no country in Euroi>e is more
ful In landscape and more balmy In Its
climate. .
A Kolten Uovrrn ment.
The other evening, while I was admiring
the gas-outlined caravel of Da Game, on tl.e
'ront of Oporto's town hall. I heard ? fur
tive whisper of "Beef. Beef!" It came
from a youth in a high collar, who ptom
enaded arm-in-arm with his chums on tho
waving pavrtinr.t of the praca. It *a*
meant to be an insult But there was noth
ing more of it than that, and tho lad look
ed elsewhero when he caught my eye. 1
am told that the occurrence is not new. It
Is not that Portugal has any particular rea
son for hating us, but she cannot help hav
ing quick fits of Jealousy when she realises
how rich we are and how poor she Is, slid
how we become twice as rich even as we
are when we bring our pounds sterling into
Portugal aj>d receive more than S1""1 reis
apiece for them. Instead of the par value of
4.500 reis. _ .. ,,
The government is, of course. rotten It
has been so almost from time immemorial.
To a northerner it Is mysterious how four
million people who are not cowards tin
spite of the cock-fight loser's Innuendo) can
submit eternally to be robbed and harassed.
But the southern temperament has to be
considered. Further, more than two-thirds
of the Portuguese are Illiterate. The bulk
of the population are agriculturists, win
have no time to spare for sedition; they
must be in the fields from tunrise to ?uu.
set every working day if thfty are to |?a;r
their taxes and live. And. chief thing "f
all. and a fact much lamented openly in
Oporto, where they air their thoughts with
extreme freedom, there is not a mail lu
Portugal willing, and therefore able, to
head a revolution. Otherwise
Th? People in Power.
And yet no one has a bad word for tho
king, or aught hut a good one for the
queen. As a constitutional monarch. Dom
Pedro has fair excuse for not interfering
with his precious cabinet, who are supposed
to represent the nation. The ydo not rep
resent it, but they have made a fine study
Of the art of retaining the power they have
so long misused. It has been said recently,
that "only a cynical and immoral country,
would continue '.-n such a sta.te of torpid
ity." But the chui- ies fill In Portugal, nor.
Is cynicism usually the offspring of Illiter
acy. And to the stranger it seems that
Portugal treats him with an honesty reach
ing to the verge of simplicity.
At Bussaco there Is a famous convent in
the woods. Wellington made It his head
quarters when he had his eye on Massena
before the battle. Until a short time ago
it was state property, and for its superb
architecture it leserves always to be under
state protection. But for want of money
the state allowed it to pass into the hr.nds
of some hotel proprietors. At the present
moment the stone masons am dressing Its
majestic exterior and Its Interior Is being
cut up into bed rooms with views from ti e
windows of extraordinary beauty. It Is to
be a "grand hotel," of course?the notice
boards say so. Tet no one believes it wilt
ever come to maturity and be haunted by
bwallow-tfaled polyglot waiters. Tiic hoiol
promoters, like the government, find them
selves short of money.
Four Peuce s Day.
In the local factories wwmeu work all
day for four pence of Portuguese currem-y.'
which you or I could buy for a trifle mora
than two pence, and the Briton at large In
the land need p*y no more than two shill
ings and six pence a day to be lodged and
well fed at high-class hotels. It Is culy_
in Lisbon and Oporto that the shopkeeptr^
seem able to cope with this problem oft
the aid. ar.d even here few of ihtm have
dared to raise their prices except on Im
ported goods. At different shops they
charge differently for the TauchnlU vol
umee. But, with very few exceptions, the
hotels throughout the land keep their <id
tariffs on the bed room walls, and their,
dinner tables are as lavish of good thinKS
as ever.
A statistician has Just published a book
to prove that It is all due to the amount of
uiyultlvated land In the country. Everjr
seems surprised to learn that 49 peg
cTZt of Portugal's area Is left to Itself, a*
compwred with Belgium's 8 per cent and;
Herman)'s 0 per cent. But one doesn't feel
quite sure about Senhor Anselmo de An
drade's Inferences, although Portugal cer
tainly ought not to have to import corn
? tuffs. Bad rulers and a weekly, resigned*
people wculd override the advantages of)
Increased cultivation of the country. The
national mind wants tilling as well as the'
land. If all Portugal could be sent ton
school and taught arithmetic for a wee*
the nation might yet be saved without ca
tastrophe.
One of the strangest streams Is the wcrld
to in East Africa. It flows in the direction
of the sea, but never reaches It. Just norih
of the equator, and when only a few miles
from the Indian ooean, It flows Into a
deeert, when 1t suddenly and completely
disappears.
surprise of Franklin, when, after the slow
passage of the mall by coach. h?- h,;*rd
from his frijnd in Boston that the night of
the eclipae had been clear and favorable
for observations, but thit a terrttk north
cast wind and rain storm began early the
following morning. He then sent out in
quiries to s-jrrouriding ftage stations, and
found that at all places soutliw^st of Phil
adelphia the storm had t*-gun earlier, and
that the groater the dilttnco the earlier
the beginning, as compared with Its advent
in Philadelphia. NorMi^sst of Philadelphia
the time of the beginning of the storm had
been lat-jr than at that city, the storm net
reaching Boston until tweivs hours after
Its commencement at Philadelphia.
In considerlns thjse facts a line of in
ductive reasoning brought Franklin to the
conclusion that the wind always blows to
ward the center of the storm; that the
northeast hurricane which Boston and Phil
adelphia had experienced was caused by
the suction exercised by an advancing
storm eddy from the southwest, which
drew the air -apidly from Boston toward
Philadelphia, while the source of the at
traction?the center of the storm eddy?was
yet a thousand miles to the southwist of
the latter place; that the velocity of the
northeast wind increased as the center of
the storm eddy advanced near?r and nearer
from the southwest, until the wind reached
the conditions of a hurricane; that the
wind betwj>n Boston and Philadelphia
shifted and came from thi southwest after
tho center of the storm eddy had passed
over this region, and that the force of the
wind gradually decreased as th? centsr of
attraction passed farther and farther away
to th? northeast.
Another man whose name is dear to the
hfart of every patriotic American conduct
ed, in conjunction with his friend, James
Madison (afterward bishop), a series of
weather observations, which were begun In
1771 and continued during the stirring
times of th? revolution. This was the sage
of Monticelk), 1 homas Jefferson. Madl?in
was near the sea. at the colonial capital,
Williamsburg. Va ; Jefferson was at Mon
ticello. 120 mil 's west. They took simul
taneous observations for several yjars. un
til the British ransacked Madison's house
and carried off lila barometer.
Had the telegraph been In existence J?f
ferson and Madison would doubtless have
conceived the idea of a national weather
eervlcj.
MODERN WAKS ARE SHORT.
Nations Have Lost the Habit of Kltcht
Ibk on to Uratify Pride.
FV"tn the Review of Review*.
The war between Spsin and the t nited
States was ended on August 12, having run
a course of less 'that four months. All re
cent vrgfs in which important meml<ers of
The world's family of rations have been
pitted against etch other have been of a
short and decisive character. Last year's
war between TucJtey and (Jr^ece began
April 17 and was terminated by a truce
preliminary to a final peace treaty at the
end of four and a half weeks. The Greeks
had thought that their superior navy and
the esprit de cotps of their people would
offset the great superiority of the Turki; h
atmy. But the Greek fleet accomplished
next to nothing, and the Invasion of the
Turkish army was irresistible. The war
be-tween Japan and China showed the great
superiority of the Japanese both on sea
and on lanJ, with tho result that a war
wbich began on July 25. 18D4, was ended
by the utter defeat of China after eight
Ricn'ns. T4e great war of Bussia against
Turkey, which began April 24. lhTT, came
to an end with the Russian army lying Just
outside of Constantinople nine months
later. The Franco Prussian war, which be
gan July 23, 1870. fciind the Prussians mak
ing peace at Versailles on January 2*>, 1K71.
Bismarck's A-ar of 1MW, in which Prussia
made an attack against Austria, lasted
only seven weeks. Civil wars and insurrec
tions have a tendency to drag on for a
longer timo; but all the circumstances and
conditions of modern life are favorable to
brevity and positive conclusions in wars
between distinct i.allcns. Nineteenth cen
tury life is practical, and nations have lost
the habit of fighting on and on merely to
gratify a false sense of pride or out of con
siderations of hatred and revenge. The
cumulative force of precedent has
to make It the established rule of modern
statesmanship to seek peace with a public
adversary on the best terms possible at the
earliest moment when It Is clearly appar
ent that the fortunes of war can have no
favorable turn. To fight on when there is
no hope of victory Is to commit national
suicide. Modern public opinion?at least ill
all countries having parliamentary institu
tions?acts forcibly and sensibly upon ques
tions of this sort. It is not that patriotism
is a waning motive in the hearts cf men,
but that other motives have come to play
a greater part tl an in former generations.
WHEN PLANTS SLEEP.
They Have Varlosn Hours, bat A11
Take a Rest.
From tbe Gentleman's Magazine.
The mimosa, goes to sleep when night
comes on, or even a dark cloud passing ovar
the sun will cause its leaves to fold up and
the stalk to sink down, and in fact the
whole plant goes to sleep. In going to sleep
the mimosa Is not, however, at all singular,
many species of plants closing their leaves
and flov ers at night. On the other hand,
there are ooma which, like tbe beasts of
the forest, hi.il the setting sun as a signal
for activity. This sleep of plants, which is
the sexne physiologically as animal sleep,
does not exist without reason. The art of
sleeping Is, in the higher animals, sympto
matic of repose in the brain and nervous
system, and the fact of plants sleeping is
one proof of the existence of a r.ervous sys
tem In the members of the vegetable king
dom.
Plants sleep at various hours and not al
ways at ni3i?t. The duration of plant sleep
varies frcm ten to eighteen hours. Light
and heat have little to do with plants sleep
ing, as different species go to sleep at dif
ferent hours of the day. Thus the common
morning glory opens at dawn, the Star of
Bethlehem abjut 10 o'clock, the ice plant at
noon. The goat's beard, which opens at
suLrise. closes at tr.ldday, and for this rea
son Is called "Go-to-bed-at-noon." The
flowers of the evening primrose and of the
thcrn apple open at sunset, and those of
the nlgm-flowering cereus when It is dark.
Aquatic flowers open and ckse with the
greatest regularity. The white water lily
closes its flowers at sunset and sinks below
the water for the night; In the morning
the petals again expand and float on tho
surface. The Victoria Regla expands for
the first time about 6 o'clock in the even
ing, and closes in a few hours; it opens
again at 6 o'clock the next morning, and
remains so till afternoon, when it closes
and sinks below the water.
For upward of 2,000 years continuous at
tempt* have been made to elucidate the
phenomena of sleep without success; many
theories have been promulgated, but they
have fallen short of explaining it. We
knew that sleep rests the mind more than
the body. or. to put it In another way. the
mere physical, as apart from the nervous
portion of the organism, can be rested
without sleep. Negatively" the effect of
sleeplessness proves the value and neces
sity of sleep. And this is seen in a marked
manner in tbe case of plants.
A Summer Evening In Morocco.
I Prom tbe Saturday Review.
From the little mosque of the village
arises the watchword of Islam, and with
long-sustained musical not** the "mued
! dm" calls the faithful to prayer. In the
gathering gloom one sees the Arabs con
; gregating at the mosque, and a minute
later the monotonous buxz of their prayers
Is heard.
Then for a moment the sky" is Illumined,
and the strange after-glow, a gauzy mist
of golden film, enwraps the whole sccne.
The plain becomes crimson once again, ar.d
tbe heivens are ablaze with shafts of light.
Black and gloomy against the glowing sky
stands the outline of the stone village and
its gardens. The owl ceases her already
commence hoot, hoot, and si)>nce reigns.
It Is but for a few moments, and then
night falls so swiftly, so surely, that it
seems as though a veil were drawn over
the scone. The cattle cease their lowing
and the flocks and herds their bleating,
and in their place the watchdogs bark.
Where but a minute ago the tents were
visible there Is naught distinguishable now
but the glow of the campflrea. The falling
heavy dew brings forth the pent-up fra
grance of the earth, and the night air Is
heavy with the scent of tbe orange blos
som In the gardens near by.
For an hour the stars reign over the
world, the deep sapphire sky ablaze with
their myriad flres; then they in turn fade
before the moon as through the steamy
mist of the plain she rises in th? east.
Then all ths world is silver, and silence
reigns supreme except for ths little owls
la the olive tree*.