Yorkville enquirer. [volume], March 11, 1891, Image 1

About Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006

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lewis m. grist, Proprietor, j %\\ Jndepctulcnt Jamilj Jjtacspapfr: Joi] tltE; fromotion of thij |olifii[!tI, jSoqia!, ^prultuijal and (Jontmeijcial Jntcrcsfs of tin; jSoullt. | TERMS?$2.00 A TEAR Df ADVANCE.
_______ _ . YORKYILLE, S. C? WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1891. USTO. 5.
' ' '' ' ? ?
I
PART n?CHAPTER IV.
THE RACE FOR THE FLAG.
&
Jonathan give* a fierce ruth, lap* the
mare and passe* her with one bound.
The applause and flattering kerchiefs
had not moved the quiet soldier, absorbed
in the trial to which he was going unprepared,
tor honor'tsake. But the familiar
war cry of his old foes brought a
flush to his cheek, and his eyes glowed
with deeper light.
Cameron was at his horse's head. He
swung lightly from saddle, and HoyneCecil
met him with outstretched hand,
saying bluntly:
"General Everett, permit me! HoyneCecil,
of the Guards. Your name is
known on both sides of the pond, really.
Consider it an honor to ride against you
today."
But De Chavirac, who had been keenly
noting Jonathan's points, turned
abruptly and, without introducing himself,
said in French:
"Are you very sure, monsieur, that
this horse has no record?"
Everett's eyes flashed into the Frenchman's
an instant.. The challenge he had
just publicly accepted was unmistakably
plain. Then he answered quietly:
"The horse has one record, Monsieur
le Comte?a war record."
Chavirac turned crimson, for he had
been military attache while his regiment
was oat to pieces in AJgena. Jtsut just
then the bngle sounded thrice; every man
sprung to saddle, and the gallant, curveting
quintet stretched into a warming
gallop ere they bunched for the send
off.
As they passed a keen gambler sitting
on the gate cried out:
"One hundred to two hundred on
France against the field! Nine to four
against any named man!"
'"Taken both ways!" cried a clear voice
behind him. It was the Pierrot
"Show your face," answered the gambler,
gruffly. "Who the devil bets with
a mask?"
"These are not masked," retorted the
Pierrot drawing a roll of bills from his
breast "Cover them in the hands of M.
Pietro Bartol yonder. I name the Tan
kee."
The bet was made, and Adrien Latour
whispered a few words in the willing
ear of M. Pietro. Before the drum had
tapped that worthy had set his tipsters
to work and covered several thousands
of fKn /vlila
Turning near the distance flag as evenly
as at parade, the five soldiers gave
head and rushed down the home again,
closely bunched. The Mexican led
slightly, Everett and De Chavirac nosed
on his quarter in mid-track, HoyneOedl
at the fence, and the German close
behind him, outside. So they sped by
the stand, going evenly. CoL Campbell
gave the word, the drum tapped and
they were off.
The course to be ridden was the track,
itself and a figure eight on the infield,
entered by a hurdle at the first quarter.
Thence a long straight pull, with hedge
and blind ditch, led to the second gate
on the track, where the course doubled'
down the back stretch and re-entered
the infield for a quarter mile pull to the
home quarter on the track. In this
straight chute was the water jump?
sixteen feet of water, scarped and show-i
ing full twenty-eix feet of clear jump to
it. Once over this, it was fiat racing
home, save the fourth and last hurdle,
thirty yards beyond the distance flag.
The speed had picked up at the first
hurdle, the Mexican taking it first and
gaining a length before Jonathan and
j/Empereur rose together and skimmed
it almost in their stride. The chestnnt
got over two lengths ahead of the roan,
who lost ground in gathering for the
jump. Down the chute in the infield
they went for the heavier jump at the
hedged ditch?which was taken in the
same order, though the Englishman
pulled farther away from the roan and
crowded the black closer. But the steady
Mexican mare, seeming bent on making
the pace killing, widened her gap on the
French horse at the second hurdle,
though he took it easily and followed her
down the back stretch in a splendid rush.
It was plainly nobody's race, the horses
not yet having shown their best, and the
men all riding well in their differing
fashions.
De Chavirac sat rather far back in his
saddle, showing iron grip of calf and
knee, but evident use of his stirrup. He
rode, too, with a heavy hand, lifting the
willing horse to his jumps by strong use
of the bit. The German rode with heels
down and short stirrup leathers pulled
taut; but he sat his horse, and swung to
the motion of the heavy brute. HoyneCecil's
was the English cavalry seat?the
bent knees and feet thrust to instep in
the irons. He rose to the leaps with his
horse, till daylight showed under him,
leaning far forward with the swing, as
thongh to help the jumper over.
Everett and the Mexican rode almost
alike. Each sat well down in liis saddle,
erect and easy, the leg dropping straight
down, and holding only by strong knee
clamp that left calf and ankle free. Both
carried the foot level in the long stirrup,
whose solo use seemed to be support for
tha uralirhfc nf tVifl lnwor laor nnt do ono
r"v " ""O"" " ,V5I "" ? * /
aid to the seat. Bat it was in light, flexible
feeling of the bit that both differed
moat from their transatlantic rivals. The
latter held their horses and lifted them
at every jump, not doing the light "wrist
riding" that guides by barely feeling the
mouth and keeps man and beast in perfect
sympathy.
Just within the track was the third
hurdle; gleaming beyond it showed the
wide water jump, the test leap of the
race. Everett fplt it time to close the
gap on the gallant little Mexiean and
shake off L'Empereur. A pressure of his
foot, not of the spur, and a slight shake
of the reins, were answered by a splendid
rush of the black, that sent him to the
mare's flank as she rose to the fence.
Almost side by side the black and the
white took the leap, skimming it with
ease and without lifting to it. Then,
with a quick backward glance, Dale
Everett took in the field. Close behind
him?so close he could almost feel the
hot breath from the crimson nostrils?
thundered L'Empereur, his lank head
straight out, his eyes glowing as fiercely
as those of the rider with set lips, who
plied spur and whip ut every bound.
Behind, in easy reaching distance, HoyneCecil's
horse was going steadily and fast;
thirty yards behind him Von Schlegen
pounded on, practically out of the race.
Then, for the first time, Dale Everett
spoke to his horse, and, to the amaze of
? Puritan
By J. <?. DE lEOJ'l,
thor of "Four Years in Rebel Capitals,"
"Juny," "Cross Purposes."
EDICATED TO HON. HENRY WATTERSON, |
Memory of Schoolboy Days, Still Unforgot- i
ten, as Our Shadows Lengthen
Toward the Sunset.
yright, iSoo, bjr J. B. Lippincott Company, and
puDlisned by arrangement with th-em.
Ch&vlrac, now thundering by his side, '
he checked rather than urged the horse.
"So, boy! steady?so?o!' was his :
quiet caU, and the bay shot by and kept i
a length's lead down to the water. For j
little by little the tremendous pace was >
beginning to teU upon the mare. But j
| she still kept her lead, and once safely
j over the water there was a short quarter ,
only down the homestretch,
j No let np now in the pace. Scarce
j twenty yards ahead gleams the bright
1 water, and La Vega raises hin whip and
swings it over the mare's ears with a 1
"whoo!" as he sends the crnel spars into j
j her sides.
; With whip and spar and voice De ;
Chavirac urges his noble hone. He, too,
sees that the despised Mexican once
across the water, the sternclxaae might
not be long enough for stride and bottom
to telL
And what both knew could not be unknown
to a rider like the American.
Tearing as the speed was, he knew his ,
horse the freshest, and he fell; a thrill as !
he recalled that Jonathan's speed had j
not yet been fully tested.
With a sharp, quick word, and scarcely
tightened grip npon the bit, Dale
touched the spur to Jonathan and rushed
ahead, to reach the water even with the :
Frenchman and the white mare, gain- :
ing on them at every bound of the now i
well aroused black.
Thirty yards, twenty yards, ten only, i
: between the white's nose and. the water, j
| the Frenchman lapping her flank, the ;
black three lengths behind.
With a wild, uncanny cry La Vega
i raised the gallant little maro to the leap.
I Rising lightly, she cleared the water,
I bnt landed so perilously close to the
J bank that its edge crumbled, under the
| heels that spurned it into the water,
| only the impetus of her rush keeping her
steady.
And as the white mare landed from
ber leap De Chavirac?his tseth set, his
eyes gleaming and his body bent forward
as if to push his horse onvrard?drove
both spurs into L'Empereor's sides and' I
lifted him fiercoly with the bit.
Dale Everett, thundering on, not three |
lengths behind, heard the shsxp, clicking |
sound of snapping steel.
The terrible truth flashed into his brain, j
even before his eyes beheld its confirma- |
tion. The fierce tug of the eager French- !
| "i?n had snapped the right lever of the j
' bit; the heavy right hand was suddenly
released and the whole power of the pull
thrown npon the left, just as the grand
horse gathered for the spring. Swinging
half round he pawed wildly in air?once!
Then, unable to recover, he rolled over
and fell heavily on his side, square across
the ditch.
From the stands and partly from the
track the full horror of the accident was
seen?though its cause was not?before
i the eurav of the huge Bplasli fell back
! into the ditch. Women turned away
their heads, and a wild terrified yell of
| Wafting went ont from & thousand
I throats.
But what could warning do then?
What need, indeed, of warning to the
! man who had ho often ridden calmly in
| the race of death?
Thundering on, his blood now aflame,
his terrible hoofs not five yards away?
! almost already trampling prostrate man
; and beast?on, closer, faster, thundered
; the massive black!
And checking him neither by word
nor bit?no, urging him hotly with voice
and spur?his rider was as one blind to
i the dread mischance before him,
j "Now, boy! Up, boyl Up!"
The bold, cheery cry rings out above
! tramp of hoof and shout oi! maddened
i men. Clear and strong it f mts back to
I them with message of cheer. And with
i the words the firm hands steady on the
' reins; the lithe body swings back in the
! saddle, and as it sways forward both
spurs go cruelly home.
Up goes the gallant horse, five feet be- ;
fore the leap is reached?up into a tre- I
mendoos bound that straightens beautifully
and sends him over prcatrate horse
and rider?well beyond the water. Ho
clears the leap gallantly, bat he lands In j
the very tracks of the Mexican mare'
The heavy hind hoofs are "well tip on j
that treacherous brink, but the pounded i
earth slips beneath them?once!
The horse has done its best. Now for
the man's turn! Again that quick intuition,
fostered only in discipline and in
active warfare, called upon sure agility,
bred only in the training oi: the cavalry j
school, and even as the horse's forefeet j
struck the bank Dale Everett cast loose |
his stirrups and braced himself lightly !
to the left.
As Jonathan's hind feet touched his j
master's hand pressed strongly on his
neck, weH forward, and with wonderful >
quickness the man had landed on the ;
bank, his left hand grasping the mane, :
his right the cantel of the saddle. Thus i
lightened, the horse's instinct urged an- |
other trial, the man's strength and ,
weight thrown into the scale; and,
quicker than can be told, with scarce a
break in his stride, the gallant black
gathered for his next bound and took it
just as the practiced hurdler swung
lightly from the ground, using his rise
for leverage, and dropped into the saddle
he had quitted but the second before.
No stopping for stirrup now, no
finesse of hands or head, no ear for the ,
roar of voices, the distant clapping of j
hands?meed for that grand leap!
One thought only was in Dale Everett's
brain?a thought that seemed to flash t
down" the leathers and magnetize his
horse. ne muse win mat mcei ne nau
risked too much, for others and himself,
to lose it now! And, ar.swering the
thought, the black straightened his great
: neck, stretched his lean muzzle level ont,
and strained every muscle to overtake
the mare, flying along full forty yards
ahead.
Scarce a quarter of a mile to do it, too;
but man and horse were as one, and the
longer kride told with every jump.
Voice, hand and spur drove the black
along now as he had not gone before.
The gap was closing fast, ohreo lengths
?two?scarcely one! Once more La Vega
called upon his mare, with v oice and spur
and whip. With final effort she answered
grandly, mending the great pace already
made.
Had Everett misjudged the stay and
fleetne8s of the Mexican? Had he waited
too long?
A trifle pale, he shakes i.he rein loose
and gives the black the spur. In a rush
like the wind the steeds tear on toward
the stand, a hundred yards uway. Closer .
forges the black; he reaches the mare's
flask, her girth, then laps her, hose and
i nose, for twenty yards!
The silence of death hangs upon the
crowds. With bated breath and straining
eyes women and men hang on that
gallant trial. Suddenly the silence breaks
with a wild yell.
Just as the corner of the long stand is
reached the little mare slip', inch by inch
away from the black, almost showing
daylight between!
Thirty yards to hold that lead, and
the race is hers! Everett never moves
his eyes from tho maroVhead. Erect,
easy aijd calm, he presses the spur lightly
I on the noblo horeo under hi m. Jonathan
j is doing his best! So they tear along;
half the stand's length is passed, and
Jonathan only hugging the white mare's
girth.
Again the wild yells rise from stand
and stretch. 'Tis plain now'that-the
race is won, and that the Yankee has
lost it!
Suddenly a white flash of the whip in
Everett's hand rises high in air. Once,
twice, it comes down with full force of
that limber wrist full on the black's
neck. Never before has he felt the lasht
With a quiver of the nostril and a wild,
human appeal in the eye, Jonathan gives
a fierce rush, laps the mare, passes her
with one bound, and rushes under the
string with her nose at his steaming
flank!
So rapid is the pace, so sudden the
change, that the shouting crowd scarce
realise it before the flashing steeds are
round the curve puHing up, and the English
captain races in, a good third.
Then they look up the home and see
the roan just graze the distance flag, and,
far acroes the field, men are running to
meet the Count de Chavirac, as, streaming
with clay and mire, he leads a limping
horse toward the back stretch gate.
PAST II?CHAPTER V.
THE CREOLE CARNIVAL.
Mardi Gras morning in the Queen City
of Carnival!
_ The great day of the ante-Lenten revel
never breaks npon a sleeping pity, and
New Orleans was early astir, with that
nniqud buzz and flurry which so exceed
buzz and flurry elsewhere, when once
your Creole population does get wide
awake. And nothing wakes her so very
wide as the carnival festa.
This one, after long abstinence, was
peculiarly exciting; and far west into
the Americanized city, away east through
quaint old Frenchtown, carnival echoes
rang and carnival sights greeted the eye
on every side.
The entire population, home and transient,
seemed to have beaten the son out
of bed, and before he wiped the mists
from his forehead maskers thronged the
streets in ante-bellum number and variety.
For the carnival was on in all its
general aspects, if not with all that lavish
expenditure of taste and money
which makes the displays of the Mystick
Krftwe of Comns uniaue in brilliance
and in beauty throughout the world.
Public masques, singly and in groups,
on foot or mounted in saddle or vehicle,
would prevail; masquerade balls of every
grade, from decorous dance to reckless
romp, would be held, and universal
levity of public revel, strangely restrained
by influence of habit and blithe
but rarely vicious temperament, on the
hither side of licenso, would sway the
hours from morn till midnight. But the
first stroke of 13, in warning of Ash
Wednesday, would drop the mask from
sinner and Baint alike, sending all to
their knees for a penitential season of
the flood's duration, with Sundays
thrown in pour lagniappe, as the Creole
Baith.
And, to crown the whole, the Mystick
Krewe would give its first pageant
through the streets in five long, somber
years.
Since its mysterious origin, in 1857,
that venerable lodge of mummers had
annually given entertainment, instruction
and delight to residents and visiting
thousands, in a series of masked processions,
steadily growing in grandeur
of conception and richness of display.
But when the war cloud settled down
upon all that was bright and gay in the
southland its murk shadow hid the
The Krcwc was coming.
glories of the carnival as well, and the
Krewe was but a brilliant memory to
manv?an eacrerlv expected novelty to
some.
That singular society, so secret in its
membership and methods, yet so beneficent
and gracious in its results, was
popularly surmised to embrace the fashion
and highest culture of the Crescent
City, as it surely did her wealth and her
artistic sense. But they who composed
it had lost riches, comrades, all save
honor, in the stress and struggle of those
bitter years; and they had not chosen
"to make a Roman holiday" with the
grass yet ungrown on graves of kith and
kin. Indeed, to the present day those
tasteful pictured emblems sent to their
elect in many a distant city have borne
blank circles with those years, from 1861
to 1866, when the only revel was the red
one dedicated to Mars.
But once again the great Krewe was
to crown the carnival with one of its
glittering pageants; and round that
event centered the keenest and most
curious anticipation of all the holiday.
For, mysterious in all things, these
unique mystic societies of the chief cities
never advance the slightest hint of what
that subject theme may be which they
ever illustrate with a tact and taste and
brilliance that can be appreciated only
by being seen.
But meantime the true carnival spirit
ruled the hours. Grotesque costumes of
every nationality known, of many designs
quite unknown; bizarre monstrosities
or cleverly imitated shapes of
beasts, birds and even fishes, glittering
armors and cheap dominoes wero met on
every hand. Some went to their frolic
singly, some in pairs or in groups of
varying size. Most were on foot, but
many a gallant cavalier curveted along,
while vehicles of every sort, some richly
decorated, bore merry maskers, all forgetting
the grim past in the absorbing
frolic of the present.
Sidewalks everywhere were crowded
early in the day, and from many a balcony
and window?notably in the less
pretentious residences of the American
citv?peered piquant, pretty faces, in
tent on the now novel revel and eager to
lose no jot of it all tho long day. To
these occasional cavaliers, more ambitious
than their pedestrian co-maskers
and habited in best regality of cotton
velvet and glittering tinsel, waved gauntleted
hands, checking their steeds long
enough to toss flowers or confetti at the
fair ones. And they would in turn receive
perhaps a flower?more probably u
tissue paper cartridge loaded with flour
or a torpedo to explode before the horse's
nose.
Restaurants, cafes and wine shops
threw wide their doors, receiving liberal
patronage, for, numerous as were the
maskers, tenfold greater was their al
fresco audience. The entire population
seemed turned into tho streets, and at any
unusual squeak of tin horns, or louder
beat of drums, patrons of cafes would
rush to the doors, fork in hand and
mouths full, to lose no point of passing
fun.
But of all lookers on none approached
for wide eyed wonder and absorbed curiosity
the federal soldiers of the city garrison.
Composed of almost every nationality
and coming from every city of the
Union, save thoso where mummery was
born almost with the century, this public
masquerado was to them inexplicable
as interesting. And very wistfully they
gazed, too; for tho spirit of universal
mummery has in it strong infection, and
they could not yield to it. Strict orders
had been issued that no soldier should
mask, or disguise his uniform, under any
pretext, and only officers off duty wcro
permitted that privilege, after formal report
of intention to their commanders.
Tho general was a true soldier, and ho
justly realized tho serious results possible
to chanco from a mixture of differing and
discordant elements, under tho tempta
I Gods and novel conditions of Che incog - I
hit?"By
Jove! the general's head is level as ,
possible on all matters of discipline," our :
irrepressible majorof the quartermaster's
department enunciated' to a group of dis|
gnised officers in Gen. Everett's garden
aboatnoon. The major had removed his ,
ample mask, but ruefully regarded"its
flattened nose, as he threw back the hood
of a flaring red domino. ""Why, Arnold,
suppose a lot of ignorant soldiers had 1
I been caught, as we were, under that
balcony on Rampart street!"
"I don't think the results would have
! been battle, murder and sudden death,"
| laughed the aid-de-camp, mopping his
brow, after removing his mask. "But !
; you should have seen the major bear
himself, general. Ho is as great in pilot- >
| ing green bands through a carnival as lie >
; is at ordering a breakfast."
"Oh, I'm an old masker," answer**!
the major, complacently. "When I was i
a brevet at Fort Pike, in the forties, I
i used to run down here and attend the j
| masked balls at the old Hotel St. Louis!
: Ah, my boy, those were days! Bnt that
i was hot work under the balcony."
"Rather," put in the junior aid.
"Why, generul, the major led a charge J
on a bevy of the prettiest girls and bombarded
them till our flowers were gone,
i Thev returned the fire with flour car
tridges and torpedoes, and when we
turned to retreat a crowd of a dozen harlequins
charged us with bladder clubs
and routed us utterly."
; "It was hot!" grumbled the major. '
"Look at the nose of that mask, sir! j
And I believe those cartridges had pep- ,
per in them. One of the cursed things j
got down my back, and it is tingling
now."
"Well, I've had enough of the fun," ,
said Col. Barnes dryly, wriggling out of
a long gray domino. "I've read of car- :
j nivals for years; but I never expected to ,
fly about in a mask and pelt strange j
young women with flowers. Hang it! )
| if Mrs. Barnes gets hold of the story!"
"Psliaw, man!" retorted the major, ;
| "do not desert us. We've only seen the
beginning of the fun yet. And, Dale,
j are you not going in for a trial?"
! "Hardly in that way, major," Everett
answered. "It is a trifle infra dig. to .
ride steeple chases, and I may as well let i
masking alone. But really I believe I !
enjoy the day better as a looker o:a. Like
! Barnes, I was most eager to see a Creole 1
carnival; but the reality exceeds any
I fantastic thing I had imagined."
j "Just wait till to-night," the major ;
j said. "If the day interests you the
! Mystick Krewe will delight you. And j
then the balls! They are something only |
to be dreamed of. But you had better |
try a domino before night just to see I
how it feels."
j. "I may take a turn among the maakers
this evening," Dale answered. "Late
i to-night, after the pageant, I join the
' general's party and take the ladies to j
I the opera house and to the Kreweball." I
j "Toujoure perdrix!" laughed the ma- !
, jor. "Always the ladies!"
Everett made no answer, and Arnold j
suggested that time was passing, and '
! asked the major if he was rested,
j "Like a giant refreshed," cried the vet- j
: eran. "Give me another mask! Bind up ;
my nose! Well, this will have to do. i
: We'll meet here at 3, Dale, and tap that >
I Cliquot I lqst to Barnes on your con- I
, founded water jump. But I tell you, ,
! my dear boy, I'd rather pay for wine j
| enough to fill that ditch than have had
' Johnnie Crapaud beat you!"
"I know it!" Dale answered frankly,
grasping the major's not over clean
. hand. "But the horse won the racenot
I. Come, Barnes, we'll follow these
j revelers at a distance and not lose the
i sights outside."
i "That is a magnificent animal of yours,
i general," Col. Barnes said, as they fol
lowed the maskers to the gate. "Singular
name you gave him, though."
"Oh, that was the Point name for my J
chum," Dale answered. "The class j
called us David and Jonathan, and the !
yearling colt was a graduation present
from my mother. I named him after j
Latour, and I have always been glad of j
it when I mounted him for a fight"
" Was your friend killed?" asked IJie '
colonel, who was not sentimental.
"Nx>, thank God!" Dale answered j
earnestly. "I heard yesterday that he |
was safe and well, and he outranked me 1
when his side lost."
"He was a rebel?" Barnes queried, in
surprise.
I "He was a major general in the Confederate
army," Everett replied, with
emphasis.
Barnes made no answer. He was, as
I he described himself, "Cape Cod born,"
j and he had his prejudices, underscored
| by a Minie ball. But he was talking to :
! his ranking officer, and a passing rush !
j of maskers changed the subject apro
poe.
The carnival was at its acme now. |
Even greater crowds than before j
streamed down the cross streets ond '
i overflowed into C'anaL Costumes of |
j every shape and color mingled 'svith the ;
t everyday dress, making a shifting kaleid- j
oscope in the bright sunshine, and oyer !
the tramp of many feet, and the shrill !
treble Assumed for better disguiie of the ;
maskers, floated constat, happy laugh- i
ter.
Strolling along the two Federal officers j
came in sight of the Clay statue. Around !
it a huge throng had collected. Colonels |
of several regiments had ordered their I
j bands to different points to aid the pub- >
! lie holiday; and the magnificent one of '
the Ninety-sixth infantry was ,?iving a :
i concert here. Every age and color were ;
j seen in tho unmasked faces?the ebon,
i shiny skin of tho negro, the swart Diego,
j and the bright lemon skin of the quadroon.
Old, crumpled facpd French
women led chubby children along; the
j fresh skinned Irish woman dandled her
j babe in vigorous arms; while jrale, i!air
! octoroons, tastefully and quietly dressed,
leaned on the arms of dandy young men
who might have passed for club men on
Broadway, or petits creves on the
: Champs Elysees. Maskers here, ;is every- i
where, in numbers; and a goodly sprink- j
ling of bluejackets dotted the crowd, !
the faces of their wearers ever showing j
amused interest.
The band was playing a popular
waltz, the heads and feet of the music j
loving natives keeping time. And here
and there, in the limited space, fantastic '
dancers whirled in grotesque measure,
aided by the Harlequin or Pirerot dresses j
they wore.
"A wonderful people, these," Everett
said, quietly. "Who wculd think, to
walk those streets to-day, that this population
was just rising from the set back j
of a terrible defeat? Who could dream
of the material loss it has suffered?of i
the agony and suspense endured.?of the
hopes that are ashes and the future that j
is?what?"
"The mercurial temperament." Barnes
answered, again from far Cape Cod. I
"They aro French, and a Frenchman
would dance on his grandmother's grave, j
1 I see nothing very wonderful, general,
in their enjoying tho first holiday they
havo had since the obsequies."
"People that react as I have noticed
these southerners do," Dale answered,
"havo too much elasticity to bo conquered.
Wo havo beaten them, but they
will teach us a great lesson yet in their
conduct under defeat. I don't think you
appreciate them, Barnes."
"Perhajw I do not," tho other answered
dryly. "I have no friends in tho Con|
federate army."
Just then tho band broke into a medley
of national airs. The "Marseillaise"
swelled out, blending into "God Save
the Queen;" that in turn losing itself in
the new "Wacht am Rhein." Suddenly,
picked up by the piccolo, "Dixie''?the
tune adopted by Abraham Lincoln?
shrilled out loud and clear. In u second,
even before the crowd caught the infectious
thrill, tho blue coated boys gavo
voice, and then came cheers and cries
from every throat in tho crowd to almost
drown the music. Again "Dixie"
swelled loud and clear; again tho wild
applause rang out. dying as tho music
softened and almost ceased, only to rise
lond and defiant as "Yankee Doodle"
trotted in upon his unmusical "little
pany."
This time the crowd needed no cue,
thfi stilling voices rising into a roar
louder if possible than before, and sustained
until the brief strain died oat
Again the cries swelled out, aided by
hands and feet and shout of "Bis I" "Eicorel"
and the rival battle pieces had to
be played again and again.
Everett slipped his arm into the colonel's
as they turned away.
"No, you do not understand, theue
people. Neither dooa our general, 1
fear. If we will let i<*be so the war is
over!"
As night fell lire cagiivai was in fell
blast, for all rocalled^that at 1he fist
stroke of midnight m safes most be tossed
aside and theoretic sackcloth replace tire
mouey.
Through the dusk many hued ccetumes
filled the eye wtthcolor; tlie high,
squeaking treble of maskers' disguise
piped above music, laughter and the omnipresent
tin horn; old time scenes of
peace were re-enacted in tlie very center
of warlike occupation^mid the evening
air was glad with passi^niaskeni1 songs.
And still the most iuxertsted and most j
wistful of all observers were the Federals?men
and officers off duty. Everywhere
they mingled in the throng, giving
and taking chaff with high good
humor and equal regret that their general's
order forbade participation. For
in all that revived revel not one untoward
incident, not one rude act even,
had been reported; and the fears of the
timid were wholly set at rest by the inborn
courtesy and tact of the Creole.
And now thei throngs began to form
spontaneotisly in order, lining the sides {
of Canal street in .dense masses, added j
to each instant from ike emptying i
houses and by fresh crowdi i pouring down ;
the side streets.
The Krewe was coming:
Ushered in by rosy glow of distant,
pulsing light and softened blare of j
brazen march advanced that strange j
procession so dear to creole tradition, so J
little understood beyond i ts reach.
Deep Bilence fell upon the massed j
thousands; every eye striiued to catch j
the first hint of the cunningly hidden
theme of the night's display. Tben
gradually through the rcsy cloud were
seen the rich and stately forms, in antique
guise, marshaling tlie mystic best,
and next transparencies that told its
subject theme to bo "Paat, Present and
Future."
Nearer, slow moving, came the brilliant
and unique pageant, incarnating
thought through deft design of form
and color, lit by a thousand bright reflectors,
toned to softer glow by coloied
fires.
The Past was typified, by imposing
figures of war, destruction, conflagration,
want, grief and terror?each a
chapter of the moving epic, varying in
suggestive shape, and each made clearer
by congenial fo rms atteuc^nt. All were
in classic pose and richly draped, with
strict adherence to best models of antique
art. And slow they passed, between
the silent masses, all delighted
with the glitter and the glory of 1;he
show, all stilhd by memory of the recent
past from which it drew its being.
Then came The Present., more modern
in conception, but allegoric still?personified
by industry, commerce, ajjriculture,
science, art and history. Plain ly
recognized, each of these stalely
shapes passed on, arched by its floating
cloud of rosy light, each greeted by appreciative
plaudits for its beauty and
sympathy for its suggestion.
And last rolled by the last division of
the myBtic trilogy, The Future. Radiant
and fair of promise showed her beautiful
figure, the calm face grand and noble.
And round Tba Future grouped peace
and hope and love, simple and pure, as
emblematic of the new life to follow that
active Present born from the hot and
evil Past!
And again that sensitive southern
populace, ever apt to read tho lessons of
mystic allegory, clave the night with
plaudits, loud, long and heartfelt!
"Singular people, these Creoles!" the
general remar.lced to a brilliant party on
his balcony. "A pretty affair; but, poor
as they are, I can't see why they throw
away thousands on a useless show."
"I hardly think it useless," Dale Everett
answered qnietly. "It strikes me
that this Krewe of Comus teaches deep
lessons to ltspnblic, and that they not
only enjoy but understand them."
"I hope they do," the commander replied
bluntly. "But is thero another
people under the sun who, under such
circumstances, would attempt it?"
"Probably not," the Puritan soldier
answered. "Hut is there another that,
so attempting, could.so succeed?"
[TO nK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.]
Self Supporting; Indians.
"For the benefit of those people who
think the Indian will not work," said
Commissioner Morgan in u recent interview,
"I want to mention the sum
which we paid out last year for Indian
labor. It was $042,000. This money was
paid to agency and school employes, to
farmers, interpreters, police, judges of Indiau
com ts, for huuling supplies, for produce,
hay, wood and other supplies purchased
from them, for breaking land ou
government property and for logs cut and
banked by them. I contend that this is a
very good showing for Indian labor, and
the sum paid would be ten times as large
as it is if there was work enough to give
employment to all who wish it.
"The Umatilla Indians of Oregon have
been under care of the government for
thirty years, and are practically self sup
porting, and would long ago have been
entirely iudependeut hud their lands
been allotted to them in severalty. The
total population is only 1,000, yet last year
they harvested 350,000 bushels of wheat,
cut 2,000 tons of hay, and other crops in
proportion In a very short l ime, I think,
this tribe, us well as others who have rich
lunds and fair opportunities, such us the
white settlers select for themselves, will
Lhi able to staud alone.
"TheUtes, who a few years ago were leading
the life of nomad savages, haveOOOacres
under cultivation, and raise goodly quantities
of wheat, corn and oats. They have
learned the art of irrigation by meaus of
ditches. The Jicurillu A pitches show an
inhoru thrift. Though the white senders
have all the Lost lunds, and the Indians
have no water for irrigation purjjoses, ihoy
cultivated last year 350 acres with fair rej
suits and cut 400 tons of hay. They have
built for themselves, uud are now occupying,
sixty houses, and have received very
little help from the government."
Struugu lteunlon of Two Agvd Sin tern.
By the merest accident two sisters buve
been united ufter long years spent without
knowledge of each other's whereabouts.
Iu the fall of 1825 George Gordon, of Xcniu,
O., took into his family uu orphan girl
named Rebecca Gates, thcu living at Bellbrook,
the same county, uud ever since she
has resided iu the family, growing to be
j an aged woman, but never marrying.
She ministered to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
in their life, old age and last days; witnessed
the marriage of their duughters, and
still remained in the family, sinct the
death of Mr. Gordon serving us housekeeper
for his two sons, who are now
bachelors well advauced in yeaiv. Ali this
time, or most of it, Rebecca supposed thut
she was the only one living of her family,
but the strange fact has developed in the
past few days that she has a sister who
| lias l>een living all these years no further
away than Clermont county. The lost she
iiad heard from any of the family wua a
letter received from a brother in 1837. The
sister iu Clermont county, who lives at
Jmurel, and whose name is Mrs. Elizabeth
llalphill, recently wrote to the ]>ostmaster
at Bel [brook, asking him to inquire of
some of the old settlers regarding the
matter, anil one of the village's oldest inhabitants
remembered the circumstance of
George Gordon taking the girl to raise,
*' - 1 ?
UUU 11)0 Clew W)W huuu luiM/nvu.
Joy of uii Octogenarian Father.
Adam Oberhoizer is mi 80-year-old resldent
of Wapakoneta, 0. A year or so ago
. lie induced a young woman to marry him
! Ly giving her a large oil farm and $5,000
Mwh. The other day she presented him
with a sou and heir, and Adam vented hia
joy by going about the streets singing at
' the top of hia voice.
fUsccltanmts fading. j
THREE AUTHORS OF NOTE.
A Student of American City life and
Tiro English Novelists.
Jacob A. Riis, author of "How the Other
Half Lives"?a thorough and comprehensive
study of New York tenements and j
their denizens?is a native of Denmark, '
He reached America when about 20 years !
old, with no definite filans or purposes. ,
When his money gave out he worktSl at j
anything that came to hand. In the fall !
of 1870 he wus employed at a brick yard
near New Brunswick, N. J. He was in i
sore straits at this time, and once slept in
a graveyard. Another night he was com- i
polled to seek shelter in a New York police
station. Recalling those hard times, Mr. j
Riis recently told a reporter:
"Tbe nlgbt i slept in a ponce siauuu x
had picked up near the North river a black
and tan dog (poor little beastl), and I carried
it into the station. I had one thing of
value, and that was a gold locket I wore
inside my shirt. It had a lock of hair in
JACOB A. BI1S. j
it. That night some of the lodgers took it
from me while I was sleeping, and when I
found it was stolen?the one thing that
connected me with home?I made a complaint
to the sergeant, who ordered the
doorman to kick me out. 'Do you come in
here,' cried he, 'and sleep, und yet tell me
that you had a gold locket on your neck?'
It did sound ridiculous. When I got outside
with my dog I was angry enough to
go back and demolish every one there. I
wandered off a space, and while I was gone
the dog had a fit in the street and fell
down; a crowd gathered, and a policeman
came aloug and clubbed the poor animal*
to death before my eyes. It seemed to me
| that was the very last link that had given
away."
Subsequently Mr. Riis obtained a posil
tion in New York as a newspaper reporter.
He worked until lOo'clock at uight on his
first assignment, and w:is too proud to tell
Hny one that it was the third day ho had
not broken fast. When he reached the
stairs to his room be fell in a dead faint
His circumstances speedily improved, and
I he was nmde police reporter. While doing
| this work he gathered many of the facta conj
tained in his deeply interesting book, whicJk
i has been one of the literary successes of
! the season.
America is soon to be visited by Mr. Farjeon,
the charming novelist, upon whom it?
was at one time expected the mantle of
Charles Dickens would fall. Although
this fair promise of his early years has not
I been fulfilled, Mr. Farjeon is one of the
foremost and most successful of English
story tellers, lie was born in London
! about flfty-flve years ago, and early devel!
oped the faculty of fiction writing, being
in the habit of amusing his schoolfellows
B. L. FARJEON.
| with tales of bis own invention. After
' leaving school Mr. Farjeon served an apj
prenticeship as compositor in a newspaper
I office. When 2a years old he went to Aus;
tralia, where he brought out his first book,
] "Grief," from which he still draws a royal
A- anmn "Tnulllltt MflFVol" Afl/1
| bjr, JLUCU UtlllU VVOUIIM ?v. ~
| delightful Christmas story, "Blades o'
! Grass." The advance sheets of the latter
i were bought by Harper Bros, for a good
round sum. Since then Mr. Farjcon lias
! been paid as high as $1,">0U for advance
proof sheets of his novels.
Mr. Farjeou has muny ties to bind him
to the United States. His father and
mother rest in American graves, and he
1 wooed and won an American bride, Mar|
garet, the daughter of Joseph Jefferson,
i the famous Rip Van Winkle of the Ameri|
can stuge.
I Rider Huggard, another prominent En;
glish writer whose wonderful romances of
African life and adventure have been
widely read in the United States, is on a
visit to the western hemisphere. He arrived
in New York a few days ago, accomj
panied by his charming wife. After a
; brief tour of America, Mr. Haggard will
i go to Mexico to study the shadowy history
of the ancient Aztec race, with a view to
j
KIDEK HAUGAIiD.
incorporating some of their mysterious
surroundings in a new novel. In personal
! appearance Mr. Haggard is very tall and
slender, and bears a remarkable resemblance
to Cecil Clay, the husband of Rosiua
I T_ 1. * 1 ... I....,T."- ...-.li.il. n/tma/ltdmia
V OMT1, UIU UtiCilUCU I'iUgunu wviuvuivimvi
FOR HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
i
How a Party of Friend* May l'as* a Very
I'leaHunt Evening.
The following will be found suited for a
club or coterie of friends who desire to
I make their meetings of intellectual profit
! as well as pleasure. Arrange a tourist
) party, the idea being for euch guest to repI
resent in costume some country or provinces,
and contribute appropriate selec!
tions to the evening's programme.
A TOURIST PARTY".
If the entertainment is to be given at
home state in your invitations whut is expected
of the guests; if given by a club, of
course the necessary explanations will bo
made verbally to the members. Let each
dress as nearly as ]>ossible in the costume
of the country chosen. After the costume
is under way investigation will bring to
1 light some description of the country or its
people, some good story?not too long?
which shall hit off the National characteristics,
some interesting historical narrative, !
or a fine selection from a representative
writer or poet. Select something of general
Interest and to the point as regards
the nationality represented. If one is a good
dialect reader, a recitation or reading affording
scope for that talent would help to
make a pleasing variety in the programme.
For a gentleman representing Japan the
costume should be a loose silk robe extending
from the neck to the feet, and
fastened at the waist by an elaborate girdle.
A loose wide sleeved jacket is worn
over this. Of course sateen or any similar
material might be substituted for the silk.
The feet are incased in white stockings and 1
straw sandals. A selection from "The Ml- ;
kado" would be an appropriate contribu- j
tion to the programme.
The costume of the Japanese women is ;
very similar to that of the men. Paint and |
powder arc used lavishly ror tne race, ana
the hair, which is worn high, is plentifully
adorned with ornamental pins placed at
every conceivable angle.
A typical Chinaman in the everyday
walks of life wears short, wide trousers
and a sort of sacque reaching nearly to the
knees, the material being either cotton or
silk. White stockings and toe slippers of
silk or cotton and having very thick soles
are also worn. A wig would be necessary
in order to have the queue. The gentleman
taking such a character might read
the "Heathen Chinee." ^ * r
The Chinese woman wears a costume of
the same pattern, but the material is usually
black. The hair is dressed like the
Japanese with the same abundance of pins.
A short sketch of the life or the teachings
of Confucius would be Interesting.
A good pianist might well wear the characteristic
costume of Germany and play
one of Mendelssohn's "Songs Without
Words" or Beethoven's sonatas.
France's representative would find a vast
field for fine selections in the writings of
Victor Hugo.
Italy, the land of song, should surely be
the chosen country of one whose voice
gives pleasure to her friends.
A varied programme and one full of interest
might thus be arranged, aud the evening
be most enjoyably spent.
Descriptions of costumes, a few of which
have been hinted at, may be found in books
on the various countries, stories of travel
or encyclopedias. J. D. COWLE8.
IS HE A MARRIED MAN?
The Borlons Side of a Joke Perpetrated
by an Illlnola Lawmaker.
Dan 6. Ramsay, one of the members of
the Illinois legislature, confesses himself in
a quandary; he is unable to determine
whether he is a married man or a bachelor.
The difficulty is an interesting one, inasmuch
as it involves the-troublesome question
whether a contract of marriage entered
into in a spirit of fun is valid in law.
tMr. Ramsay, who
is himself an attorney
in practice
at East St. Louis,
met Miss Bessie
Caldwell of that
town one day
while she was
laughing over the
report that a marriage
by contract
entered into by a
couple at JohnsDAN
0. RAMSAY. town, Pa., \vas regarded
as binding.
Mr. Ramsay contended that it was a lawful
commou law marriage, and Miss Caldwell
told him to draw up a similar contract.
'"For what purpose?" asked the
lawyer. "Never mind," was the response;
"just draw one out."
Mr. Ramsay clipped the contract in
question from A newspaper, pasted it on a
slip of paper, and signed it. The young
lady attached her signature to it, and the
document then read:
Wo hereby certify that on the 1st day of December,
1890, we united ourselves in marriage at
Johnstown, In the county of Cambria, having first
obtained from the clerk of the orphans' court of
said county a declaration that he was satisfied
that there were no existing impedimenta to our so
doing. Signed, D. 0. Rutair,
Attest: Bessie Cain well.
R. J. Long, J. P.,
Frank E. Millord.
The fact that such a contract was in existence
soon became public property, and
the result was a spirited controversy ar> to
whether or not the parties were man and
wife. Mr. Ramsay contended that the affair
was neither more nor less than a joke,
and Miss Caldwell admits that she is ignorant
of what its legal force may be. Mr.
Ramsay is troubled, however, by the un
pleasant notoriety growing out or tne matter,
and is afraid that Miss Caldwell may
bo injured by the joke. "There is really
nothing in it," he explained to an interviewer.
"Suppose we had signed our
names to a deed to property which was
clipped from a newspaper. That would
not convey the property, nor do our signatures
to this clipping, put there in a spirit
of humor, make us man and wife. I have
been the groom iu several mock marriages
at church fairs and entertainments of that
kind, aud I know that this Affuir amounts
to nothing more than a joke which has
taken a ruther disagreeable turn."
"We never hud any idea of getting married,"
said Miss Caldwell, in giving her
version of the affair. "Pshaw! it was just
in fun. Once we went over to St. Louis
together, and we joked then about eloping,
and Dan always said afterward that he
I had proposed to elope, and he had bluffed
me clean out."
It Is believed in East St. Louis that the
legal question involved will be settled by
another ceremony, aud that Mr. Ramsay
aud Miss Caldwell will speedily be married
in real earnest.
No Waste In Sugar Barrel*.
"The great majority of the sugar and moIbsou
hogsheads which are exported in this
city," said a well known importer to a reporter,
"find their way back to the West
Indies again. The hogsheads are [bought
from the dealers by some enterprising firm,
who take them apart, clean the staves and
bind them up into shooks or bundles, and export
them, together with their heads, to
Cuba. One firm have a yard In SoutL street
in which they prepare 2,000 hogsheaiia per
week for export The export trude in new
shooks to the West Indies is also an important
one, these last selling at from 91 to
6L75, while the second hand shooks bring
fifty to seventy-five cents. The stave trade
of New York is in the bands of a few firms,
and as more than 11,500,000 worth of cooper
age stock of this kind is exported, in addition
to what is used in the immediate vicinity,
the business is a large one. The staves
which are so largely exported from New
York to the Mediterranean and to England
ore white oak. They come from the West,
largely from Michigan. Staves are usually
exported in the rough or unfinished state and
range all the way from $00 to $150 per
thousand for hogshead staves and $.S0 to $2UU
for the finer grades, such us are used for the
higher priced goods, and are known to the
trade as pipe staves.?Now York Mail and
Express.
She Owes Her Life to Cold Water.
Cold water is a remedy long favored by
those believing in the hydropathic treatment
of disease, but now it would seem
that it is also eilicacious as a deterrent to
suicide. Recently Miss Jessie (Jilmore, a
young lady of Augusta, Kan., having had
a misunderstanding with her betrothed,
wrote farewell letters to all her friends in
' ? i I-? i
I lUWliaim net lUTfi 111 uui bv/11, buvut
j unci started for Wuluut river to put an end
j to her misery. She carefully prepared for
i the fatal plunge, but llrst tested the water,
and finding it too cold her nerve failed,
I and she readjusted her attire and returned
I home. The letters had l>een read during
j her absence and a search party organized
: to recover the Ixjdy. Differences were ad!
justed, and now in place of a funeral there
\ will 1x5 a wedding.
I
Wants the Old O Ulcers lie tired.
The recommendation of Secretary Tracy
that provision bo made for retiring navul
officers when they reach a certain age is attracting
general attention. The secretary \
, points out that under the present rules the
day is not far distant when the whole I
grade of lieutenants will be composed of I
men between the ages of thirty-seven and '
1 fifty-four. They, of course, will have only
subordinate responsibility, although in
the prime of physical and intellectual
vigor, while their superiors will lie persons
far advanced toward old age. It is for this
reason that Mr. Tracy suggests a change
in the regulations. He wants to see i
younger men fill the ranks now occupied i
by tlio graylteards. (
From Chicago to London by Water.
At various terms during the last ten or
a dozen years venturesome mariners have I
sailed medium sized lake craft from Chi- j
cago to London and back again. Now
that the Wclland canal has lieen enlarged
to a i*ermaneiit depth of nine feet capitalists
have organized a through freight
steamer line, and hope to make a success
of all water traffic betweeu the British isles
; aud the metropolis of Illinois.
THE WORK OF CONGRESS. .
Washington, March 4.?At noon <
to-day the 51st congress (in the opin- 1
ion of many veteran legislators the ]
most remarkable since the war) came 1
to an end by constitutional limitation, i
From first to last the sessions were in- <
teresting and eventful, and for no long <
periods were they ever characterized ]
by the dulness which occasionally for i
days at a time marks the proceedings <
of nearly every congress, and especial- |
ly of those congresses in which the i
first session is usually prolonged. 1
The actual working time of the 51st 3
congress exceeded that of any of its
predecessors, and the nominal working i
time that of all except the 50th con- 1
gress, and in the number of measures
brought to its attention, and the num- 1
ber, variety and importance of those J
acted on, it likewise surpassed all pre- i
vim in ennoreases. (
Three measures, any of which in intrinsic
importance and popular interest
would bo sufficient for a national issue,
stand forth pre-eminent among all 1
others: First, the McKinley tariff bill, i
which became a law; second, the sil- 1
ver bill, on which in the first session a
compromise was .effected., baaed ,
monthly purchases of 4,500,000 ounces
of silver, which in turn was followed
by a more radical measure that failed
of passage, and third, the Federal elections
bill, which, after a protracted,
bitter, hotly fought and intensely exciting
preliminary struggle, failed in
the senate to reach a decisive vote on
its merits.
Radical innovations in the rules of
the house added interest to the proceedings,
and a determined but fruitless
effort to adopt the most vital of
these innovations formed part of the i
history of the last part of the sessions
of the senate. Even in its mortuary
record congress, was remarkable, the
call of death having summoned no
fewer than twelve of its representatives
and three senators.
Many of the bills enacted into laws
appropriate an unusually large amount
of money, and the expenditures authorized
will exceed those of any
peace congress since the foundation of
the government. The total appropriations
made by the 50th congress were
during the first session $395,337,516,
and during the second session $422,626,343,
or an aggregate of $817,965,859,
while appropriations for the first
session of the 51st congress were $460,627,697,
and those of the second session
will probably bring the total appropriations
for this congress to $1,000,000,000.
. '
The comparison of the work of the
congress just closed with that of its
predecessor makes the following ex
hibit: Bills introduced in the house in
the 51st congress, 14,033, against, in
the 50th congress,12,654; increase,
1,379; joint resolutions, 274; increase,
10. Senate bills, 5,129, against 4,000,
or an increase of 1,129; joint resolutions,
169; increase, 24. Bills passed
by the house, 1,748, of which 1,513 become
laws, and by the senate, 1,305, of
which 673 become laws?making the
total number of laws during the 51st
congress 2,186, against 1,834 in the
50th congress; increase 362. The senate
also postponed indefinitely 616 senate
and 18 house bills, this being
equivalent to defeat.
During the 50th congress 161 bills
were vetoed and during the 51st fourteen,
the most important of which were
the act establishing the record and pension
office of the war department and
the acts providing for public buildings
at Bar Harbor, Me., Dallas, Texas,
"1- >T V A lft
J1UUSOU, i>. l.t UUU 1 ustmuwa, inu.
Out of eighteen contested election
coses the house seated eight of the Republican
contestants and declared the
seat of Breckenridge, of Arkansas, vacant.
Two cases?Goodrich vs. Bullock,
from Florida, and McGinnis versus
Alderson, from West Virginia, in
which the committee recommended
the seating of the Republican contestants?were
not disposed of, and the
elections committee itself never acted
on the Eaton vs. Phelan (Tennessee)
case.
The senate disposed of its sole contested
election case by seating the
two Republican senators from Montana.
As the result of the work of congress
a great number of measures
which have for years occupied more or
less of the attention of the legislative
branch of the government will be
transferred to the executive and judicial
departments of the government,
there perhaps to become equally familiar
acquaintances.
Among the "old stagers" which are
now laws are the copyright bill, the
private land court bill, (to settle disputes
arising over Mexican grants in
Western States and Territories,) the
postal subsidy bill, Indian depredation
claims bill, timber and pre-emption
law repeal bill, making general revision
of land laws, customs administrative
bill, general land forfeiture bill,
bill to relieve the supreme court by the
establishment of intermediate circuit
courts of appeal, United States judge's
salaries bill, and the direct tax refund
bill.
The Blair educational bill, for appointment
of an alcoholic liquor commission
and eight hours' claims bill,
are measures which were defeated on
a test vote ; while among those which
after passing one house failed of action
in the other and will doubtless be
wrestled with by succeeding congresses,
are the bankruptcy bill, the Conger
lard bill, and army reorganization bill.
The l'addock pure food bill, the
Nicaragua canal bill, the Pacific railroad
funding bill and the Inter-State
commerce bill to permit limited pooling
of earnings by railroad companies,
r..:m,i ,?
are among Hie measures ?un.ii iuiiv.il iw
reach a vote in either house.
Among the measures on which neither
house acted, except in some cases
by committees, were the sub treasury
and farm mortgage lulls, service pension
bill, Canadian reciprocity resolution,
bill to encourage the construction
of an inter-continental railway, postal
savings bank and postal telegraph
bills. Butler's bill to aid negroes to emigrate
to Africa, woman suffrage and
prohibition constitutional amendments,
income tax bill and various other radical
financial and political measures.
"A UUOI) ITSTOMKK OF OI KS."
When Rodney came into the club
the other evening, one of the boys remarked
:
"Ah, Rod, you're looking pretty
slick!"
Yes, and I am feeling pretty slick,
as you term it. My eye-teeth have
come through since the last time I was j
around here. One evening, not long
ago. I dropped in at Brack's to get a j
few bowls: and while I was sitting at 1
a table drinking. Brack, after shaking j
hands with several convivial friends i
and bidding them good-bye, chanced ;
to come near my table. The old fel- j
low that was waiting on me?the one i
we call Bismarck?thought to pay me j
a high compliment by giving me an :
introduction to his master, and turn- J
ing to Brack said :
This is Mr. Rodney, a good customer
of ours.'
"Brack sat down and ordered the '
drinks. He was exceedingly jestful, j
and laughed immoderately at some lit- j
tie pleasantry uttered by himself, and 1
I attempted to be of good cheer, but if !
I smiled at all it must have been in a ;
constrained way. for certain words lay ,
with shudder-inspiring clamminess on ,
my mind :
: 'Mr. Rodney is a good customer of
! ours.'
' Many a time had I sat at that table,
I studying the faces of the clamorous ,
crowd about me, and many an ui-epent
dollar had I left there, bat never before
bad it struck me that I had been
picked out as a 'good customer of our*/
[ went out with the words still ringing
in my ears, and meditatively strolled
along Michigan avenue. Hundreds
of resplendent equipages whirled
past. A man gaily waved nis hand at
me. He was driving a handsome span
cf horses. I recognized Brack. 'A
good customer of ours.' Good customers
of ours had provided him with
that striking turn-out. But where was
my team?
"I went home. My wife was cooking
supper. We could not aflhrd to
keep a girl.- My wife had said so, and
[ had agreed with her. She had oftdn
declared that 1 was working too hard,
and that it was no nfbre than right
that she should attempt to cat down
expenses. I had agreed to all this, for
I knew that I did work hard, and I
prided myself that I bad never Dee*
intoxicated, and yet?I was 'a gopd
customer of ours.' We sat down' to
Bupper. My wife?and how frixy she
did look?sat with her arpSrestingoa
the table. 'Aren't yowgoing to eat
anything?' tasked.
" T7ot nowv she'ans wered, 'I'm so
tired that I haven't any appetite.'
(< 'Mr. Rodney is a good customer of
ours,' the tea-kettle hummed, and a
cat, purring at the leg of my chair,
seemed to repeat the words. A chill
crept over me.
" 'What have you learned at school
to-day ?' I asked my little daughter.
" 'I didn't go to school to-day,' she
answered.
"'Why?'
"My wife looked up wearily and
said: 'Her shoes are worn out. &he11
have to wait until we can get her a
new pair.
"Great God ! 'A good customer of
ours.'
"I went into the sitting room anfrlay
on the sofa. A troop of reproachftil
thoughts skurried through my brain.
And then, old, villainous human nature
tried to soothe me; 'You were
never drunk,' it said, 'you have always
been kind to your family. You
drink of an evening when your work
is done, but you need some sort of recreation.
You spend money, it is true,
but why does a man care to live if he cannot
enjoy himself occasionally.'.
Ah, how easy it would have been to
yield, but truth, in a sad tone of repro
val, waved aside the tempting
scoundrel and said: 'The money you
spend for beer would make your home
a rest-inspiring and happy place. You
say that you must have recreation.
What recreation has your wife? Whose
good customer is she?'
"My wife came into the room and
sat down near me.
" 'Are you very tired ?' she asked, in
a voice low and sweet with sympathy's
music.
/. /it_ af T ij . l.?l? U..4
" "i>0 r 1 L'UUIU UUl licip UUk Ubioiui,
'I am oot tired, but a good customed
of?I mean that I am a brute."
" 'Why, what do you mean ?' she
asked in surprise.
"' I mean exactly what I say?that
I am simply a brute. I have wasted
many a dollar that I should have
brought home; my selfishness has kept
you hard at work when you should
have been reading some entertaining
hook. In truth, I am a good customer
at a beer hall and you are a slave?'
" 'Oh, don't say that, dear,' she implored,
gently smoothing back my hair.
'I am sure that your position demands
the spending of some money. You
must not be made to appear selfish.'
"' Oh, no,' I replied bitterly, 'I must
throw .money away?I must be a
thoughtless brute at home so that I
may not appear thoughtfully selfish
among my town associates. We'll not
discuss it, but we shall see.'
"We have seen," Rodney continued .
after a short pause. "We have seen a
girl in the kitchen; we have seen my
daughter, bright and well clothed, going
to school?have seen my wife rested
and cheerful, and especially have we
seen that I am no longer 'a good customer
of ours."'
Definition of Bible Terms.?A
day's journey was about twenty-three
and one-fifth miles.
A Sabbath day's journey was about
an English mile.
Ezekiel's reed was nearly 11 feet.
A cubit was nearly 22 inches.
A hand's breadth is equal to three
and five-eighths inches. A finger's
breadth is equal to one inch.
A shekel of silver was about fifty
cents.
A shekel of gold was $8.
A talent of silver was $538.30.
A talent of gold was $13,809.
A piece of silver, or a penny, was 13
cents.
A farthing was three cents.
A mite was less than a quarter of a
cent. A gerah was a cent.
An ephah, or bath, contains seven
gallons and five pints.
A bin was one gallon and two pints.
A firkin was seven pints.
An omer was six pints.
A cab was three pints.?Evangelist.
Vcir There are more ducks in the
Chinese empire, says an authority,
than in all the world outside of it.
They are kept by the Celestials ou
** An
every iunu, uu me puvmc vu
the public roads, on streets of cities,
and on all the lakes, ponds, rivers,
streams and brooks in the country.
Every Chinese boat also contains a
batch of them. There are innumerable
hutching establishments all through
the empire, many of which are said to
turn out about fifty thousand young
ducks every year. Salted and smoked
ducks and ducks' eggs constitute two
of the most common aud important
articles of diet in China.
It is said that between the island
of Madagascar and the coaat of India
there are 16,000 islands, only 600 of
which arc inhabited. In any of these
islands a man can live and support his
family in princely luxury without
working more than twenty-five days
in the year. In fact on some of these
islands he needn't work at all, as Nature
provides the food, and no clothes
are required. It is strange that the
great fraternity of lazy men have not
drifted to these islands ; or it would be
if they were not so lazy.
Sidr A novel entertainment was recently
invented by a country social
club. The ladies were requested to
bring thread, needles and several buttons
; the gentlemen, hammers. The
ladies were given a block of wood with
* * J J
nails and a nummcr, anu urovu us
many nails into their blocks in five
minutes as possible; tho gentlemen
taking sewing materials and sewing
011 as many buttons in ten minutes as
possible. Prizes were given the successful
competitors, and all had a merry
time.
BaT Here is a very clever pun from
Rowland Hill: When at college Hill
had a conversation with some of his
companions 011 the powers of the letter
h, when it was contended that it
was 110 letter but a mere aspirate.
Rowland took the opposite side, and
insisted on its being, to all intents and
and purposes, a letter and concluded
by observing that if it was not so, it
was a very serious thing for him, as it
would occasion his being ill all his life.
HaT "Mamma, where do the cows
get the milk?" asked Willie, looking
up from the foaming pan of milk
which lie had been intently regarding
"Where do you get your tears ?" was
the answer. After a thoughtful silence
he again broke out, "Do the cows have
to be spanked, then ?"