Savannah courier., December 17, 1891, Image 1

About Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979

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Kntered at the J.ot-Oflioe at Savannah as Second Qui Matter. .
VOL. VII. -NO. 51.
SAVANNAH, TENNESSEE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1891.
One Dollar Per Year.
4
THE TREE'S GIFTS.
All docked la aatuma red and sold,
A bravo old tree raised high
Ills head, and man; people saw,
A dully thoy passed by
And on tliom all iho red leave fell,
Kaoh one Its bolpful tale to.tcll. 1 -
Unto tho children rompltiR hj
The colors spoko ( t Joy; j '.
To maids the red meant love and life,
And to the growing boy i '
H moant ambition, tiro and youth, - ,
Bo each ono found a llrinj truth. ' '
The poet folt a bllagful pain, ,
Amidst the glowlnjf ehowcr,
This ripened to a bohr, which moved
Tbo world by Hs sad power. - 1 1 1 ,
Tho artist caught tho benuty rare,' j ? ,
And made a picture, wondrous lulr. '
The man cf thought found In the leaves
A sormon strong and (,'rund, '.''
Which to a mullltudo be gavo,
Inspiring heart and hund.
To saddened ones, the rustllnst broaih
Bald: "Lifols change; there ts no Jeatta."
. .
And when tho last loaf fell tho tree
Found oomfort In the thought , ' ::
That bo who gives ts ever rich, ' , '
And so his heart failed not,
And now, through all bis walttnjj days,
Ho lifts to Hoaren a sonpr cf praiso.
-Myrtle K. Cbcrrymnn, tn Dotroit Free Press.
FATE OF THE PENNIES.
Why
It la tbo Mint la Coining
Gents by Millions.
Ninety-Four Millions of Thorn Minted
I.at Year, and Still tho Cry Is for
Moro-AVelBht of a Dollar IUU
Mutilated Money. . .
What becomes of nil the pennies?
It seems to bo with them very much
as it Is with pin3 nobody knows whero
and -how they disappear. Yet they
vanish in some fashion. La:;t year tho
Philadelphia mint coinet 04,000,000 pen
nies. It would take a good-sized build
ing to hold so many, but they did not
begin to supply the Bevcr-satisflcd de
mand for more. Just now tho estab
lishment referred to is hard at work
manufacturing further supplies, and so
it will continue.
Bronze cents are subject to more ac
cidents than happen to any other
United States coins. It is said that a
penny changes hands in trade ten times
for once that a dime passes from ono
pocket to another. Being of small
value, these littlo pieces aro not taken
much care of. There- are a thousand
ways in which they get out of circula
tion, and thus the minting of them has
to be kept up continually. The metal
blanks from which they aro made by
tho simple process of stamping are
turned out for Uncle Sam by contract
by a factory in Connecticut at tho rate
of a thousand for ono dollar. Ao they
come from the machines, fresh and
new, they look like glittering gold
One may get a notion of tho number
of pennies lost from tho history of the
old half cents. Of thes;, 800,003 were
issued a few years ago. Where arc
thoy now? A few aro in the cabinets
of coin collectors. None havo been re
turned to tho mint for recoiuage or are
held by tho treasury. Nobody sees
them in circulation. All of them ex
cept somo hundreds "saved out by curio
hunters have absolutely disappeared.
Of tho old copper pennies, 110,000,030
still remain unaccounted for, save that
once in a long whilo ono sees a speci
men. There are'inoro than 8,003,000
brottfco two-cent pieces somewhere out
of 4,600,000 of them that tho govern
ment issued. Of nickel three-cent
pieces, nearly 2,000,030 aro yet outstand
ing, although it is seldom that one of
thorn is como across. '
Inthe treasury here one day recently
the quostion camo up as to tho
weight of a dollar bill. Scales of per
fect accuracy were brought into requis-
ition, and the surprising discovery was
mmlo that twenty-seven one-dollar
notes weighed exactly as much as a
twcntv-dollar crold piece. Tho latter
just balances 540 grains. However,
the bills weighed were perfectly crisp
and new. Trial ' made with soiled
notes, such as como in every day for
redemption, showed trrat;tvver.ty-ven
of them weighed considerably more
than the twenty-dollar coin. Every
paper dollar on its way through the
worli continually accumulate! dirt, so
that after a year of use it is perceptibly
heavier.
Tho actual weight of paper money
which the treasury sends by express
every year to all parts of tho country
is in the aggregate enormous. Since
July 1 it has dispatched $38,000,000,
nearly all of it in small note3, to the
south and west for the purpose of mov
ing the crops. The bank, lend this
this cash to the farmers on whatever
they grow, and thus the products of
tho field are harvested and shipped.
Speaking of tho redemption of paper
money, a very novel and interesting ap-,
plication was made tho other .day to
tho division of tho treasury which has
this business in hand. ' The story, as it
came out, was as follows: -
An ingenious youth employed to
sweep out a New York bank devoted
attention for a considerable period tq
gathering up the crumbs from tho tills
in the shape of corners and other bits
of notes such as get torn off and fall
about in any place where dollars are
counted. In the course of time, ho got
together a quantity of scraps of the
sort sufficient to fill a pint measure,
and he sent them on to the redemption
bureau at Washington in a box, with
the explanation that they had been
eaten by mice.. He stated the amount
at 8200, and asked for new bills in ex
change. His little game was betrayed
on tho face of it by the fact that tho
pieces forwarded represented, if any
thing, not less than $1,000. The usual
affidavit was demanded from him,
swearing toJi WAgss; but ho had not
thought ofifjV' tufrcmentand lacked
the nervcet j"ni.t. luckily for him
self. 4 swallo
Undou. Sf slot redemption division
does soif 1 "J swindled, though
not ofteij
ployed tj
are won
ous how
few cki.
set an
The othei
Bent a wo
nitSfnl ri'
ien experts em
T 'money sent in
Vaurpsi It is marvcl-
V. poko over a
f
burnt it Hardly more was left than a J
fragment big enough to show the fig
ures of the denomination, but she will
get tho money baclf Mice aro great
destroyers of paper currency, and somo
ol tho most hopeless specimens that
come in have been chewed up for beds
by those littlo rodents. Sometimes a
pill box full of indistinguishable ashes
will arrive, accompanied by a certifi
cate stating the amount' represented.
Of course, such a caso is hopeless. It
is usually a kitchen-stove catastrophe.
Kitchen stoves burn up uioro coin
every year than is lost in any other one
way. Teoplo will conlldo their hoards
to them for hiding, and when they aro
lighted the greenbacks go up in smoke.
The greatest sum ever consumed by
fire in this country was C1.000, 000. That
amount went up in smoko at the-snb-
trensury, but the government was able
to replace it at the cost of paper and
printing. It has been estimated that
one per cent of all the paper money
issued is lost or destroyed.' Of tho old
fractional currency it la reckoned that
$3,000,000 has been totally lost.
A few days ago an , old colored man
from across the J'otomac in. Virginia
brought to tho treasury an extraordi
nary looking lump of metal. He said
that it wo3 a lot .of 'silver'1 dollars,
halves and quarters, which he had put
in a tiB can some years back and hid
den in the stone wall of a barn by re
moving a ctonp and plastering up tho
orifice. When recently ho took out tho
box, ho found that trickling water had
rusted it almost away, covering the
coins with oxido of iron and sticking
them together in a mass. .,' Assistant
Treasurer Whelpley had tho lump put
into acid and treated with lye and saw
dust, so that the silver pieces came out
as pretty and bright as when they wero
minted, and tho old man carried them
away delighted.
One day thi3 week a $ note on tho
national bank of Iiho la Island at
Newport camo in for redemption. , On
tho face it looked quite new, but the
back was washed perfectly clean, so
that not a mark wai brt on It. .Tho
joke of it is that tho bureau of engrav
ing adopted tho brown bn'.t ' for such
bills on th3 ground that it could not bs
washed off, as tho graoa back can bo.
It was intended la this way to prevent
counterfeiters from procuring treasury
paper by rendering not:a of small de
nominations blank with acids and print
ing big ones on them. This is tho first
time that confidenco in tho indelibility
of the brown iuk has" boon disturbed.
Even tho seal on the front, which is
done in the same ink, has entirely dis
appeared in tho bill described. Whether
the thing was dono for a jest or by ac
cident the authorities do not pretend to
say. . ' , i
Tho new designs soon to bo made
for tho entiro series of 6ilvcr ccrtifl-
cates execpt tho one for two dollars al
ready completed will furnish a big job
to the bureau of engraving. Only tho
basks aro to bo changed, but the
making of a single ono of these money
plates, with all tho lettering and goo
metric latho ;. work Involved is ,a or-
midablo task. It Is not on tHb ac
count that Chief . Engraver ;Casilear
thinks tho ' proposed . alterations! nn-
wise. His opinion is that it is a mistake'
to change the appearance of currency
more often than is absolutely neces
sary. The people do not readily accept
paper cash that has a strango look:
To ..'" illustrate this Mr. Casllear
told i how ho happened to ' bo' 1
New York at ono time during the ''war
looking out for a gang of counterfeit
ers. To- avoid making his presence in'
tho city conspicuous he put up at
second-rate liot.'l whore he Was unf
known. 'For some purpose he handed
to the clerk at the desk . a brand-new
fifty-cent note. It was an Issue just out)
with Gen. Spinner's portrait on it, the
likeness having been substituted for
picture "of Justice with her ' scales!
which tho forgers had imitated very
rii t
The clerk looked at the note 'with
evident suspicion, and handed It back.
"1 never saw anythi ug like that be
fore," he .said. ' .; "
It is good, ' I asatuo you, " replied
Mr. Casilear. '
"I don't believe it," said the clerk.
"Very well," rejoiued Mr. Casilear,
It doesn't matter, though I know it is
good, because I made it myself." , -
Tho clerk smiled sardonically.
"That is just -what occured to roe,"
ho said. ' "Therefore I refused to ac
cept it," i J :
Mr. Casilear felt that tho Joke ' was
on himsoii, so no treated nimsen to a
bottle of soda-water at tho bar and left
for Washington that evening. Wash'
ington Cor. N. Y. Sun. 4' '
1 ? ' f That Bljrhatur of Toora; f
Why make it so small that it requires
unusual care and leceri eyesight to read
it? Why roako it so cprpplitncd that
no human being but its maker can de
cipher it? '; Why sprawl it all over a
check or letter sheet? This writing pt
a signature is not a small matter with
those whose correspondence reaches
thousands of letters daily, We have
frequently seen all the force in an of
fice spend half an hour to decipher a
signature which should have been writ
ten so as to be road at a glancev-. Soma
foolishly entertain tho idea that an in
tricate signaturo, is, less easily forged,
when tho truth is that ono that is plain
and bold is extremely hard to copy. As
examples of what a?siguature, 6Bould
be, study those of George Washington,
John .Hancock, . Hon. . Hamilton Fish.
If yon want to be eceentrio, take Hor
ace "Greeley's signatured for 'a 'model,
but spart," oh, spara ns TourJdeas o4
siprawlcomplexity. novelty,' undef the
mistaken notion that it' insnrcs 'safety.
It robs others of time and patience,
and is a nuisanco to everyone who
handles . it unless thoroughly con-1
versant with your abnormal sign man-'
uaL These remarks are prompted by
the receipt of a signature measuring
five-sixteenths of an inch, although it
is composed of nine letters, and should
occupy not less than ono and one-half
inches, and better IX two. American
Grocer. '
She "IIow can wc keep them from
knowing that we aro brides and
-oin?" llo "Oh, if anyone asks ma
ji nrn m wifa I'l' 'No,"
n Wfe.
CHILDREN'S SUPERSTITIONS.
Many of Thmn Arc Very Grim, but Son
of Them Aro Disregarded, i . ,
The superstitions of childhood ara
grim, grewsome and absmtl. I remem
ber many of my own: I do not mean
such superstitions as are passed down
from their Ciders' to the children in u
family, such as it is bad luck to dream
'of a wedding or to turn a chair the 1
wrong way, or to break a looking-glass
or to start any enterprise on Friday, or
.that it is good luck to pick up pins, to
aee the new moon over the right shoul
der or to have a cat como to the house.
No; there are superstitions which
belong distinctly to the period
of childhood, and which exercise
a shaping influence over the actions of
those who firmly believe in them. With
a view to ascertaining what supersti
tions are current among the children of
tho present day, I gavo over one hun
dred children, of varying ages and at
different times, an exercise in oral com
position, in which each scholar in the
class was called upon to give testimony
as to what cobweb had been spun serosa
his brain. The tradition concerning
the spider, with its accompanying his
torical fact concerning the llruce's in
spiration of courage and perseverance
from the spider in the hut of hiding,
holds a first place in their minds. As
for the other superstitions, they were a
jumble of signs and wonders, of omens,
of talismens, of mascots and hoodoos.
One boy gravely assured me, and his
experience was vociferously corrobo
rated by a score or more of other boys,
that "to spit on the bait brought good
luck in fishing," and that "if you spit
on the chip in 'hop scotch' you'll hardly
ever miss." ' ' ' ' '
' That the darky should be considered
a mascot will occasion no 6urpri.se to
those who know aught about the lore
of superstition. But theschoolboys of
this city certainly have a peculiar way
of. testifying their participation in ' the
belief. "If you get a'uiggar to spit in
your Jmt," said one boy, in a tone of in
tense conviction, "it will bring you good
lack." And whether or not it ' receives
credence, the fact is that before going
up to their rooms on examination days,
or befor engagiug in games of contest,
the white boys present their hats to
the darkies in the school-yard, and re
spectfully request their dusky brethren
to use them as cuspidors, for the sake
of bringing their wearers good luck!
Boys who sell newspapers believe
that the first nickel received in pay
ment for a paper must be held in the
hollow of a clinched fist and blown up
to bring quick sales and pleasing profits.
To insure success in playing marbles,
they must bo blown up, both to keep
them from slipping out of the hand or
into the pockets of the other fellow.'
To bring good luck take an adobe mar
ble one of clay is meant and attempt
to. throw it over a house. If it. is like
vaulting ambition and overleaps itself
to fall on the other ; side, success - is as
sured. While playing marbles, to pro
tect one's own stock and, to get posses-,
sion of more than he carried into the
game as stakes, the youthful gambler
must fortify himself with such mutter
ings as "Chesa terra," or "Oip," "Geno"
or "J ono," the last malediction evident
ly being a corruption of .the word Jonah
a modern allusion to an ancient affair,
to the 'hoodoo of mariner, whale and
Nineveh! j- r y
.....Childhood' being 'a prolonged period
of teething, many.boliefs regarding
those important .factors are current.
Yor instance, a, tooth pulled out and.
cast away, and then swallowed by, a
dog, is sure to be replaced in the mouth
"of its', former; owner, by a dog tooth!
To throw; a newly-extracted, tooth over
the shoulder at once, find it; repeat the
operation a second' time,' then a third,
and not find the tooth after the third
throw, means good luck will follow
,with all the teeth. Too much elation
of spirits is followed by a correspond
ing fit of the blues so to sing before
breakfast is, to cry before dinner. To
see a load of hay,. "go wish on it," and
tp watch it until it gets out of sight
. or turns a comer, insures the ful
fillment of tho wisli.. .When an "ovn-
w.inker falls out, it should be placed
on the palm of , the ' hand, . or on
the back; and blown at three times by
a second person, while its owner makes
a wish. If it is puffed off at .the third
.blow, sure sign that the wish will .come
true. Of course the wish-bone supersti
tion holds its sway. -
Another superstition which seemed to
be highly popular among the children I
questioned was to this effect: Let a
child take a piece of.' paper and bow to
every child he meets, whether acquaint
ed or not is immaterial, and check off
each bow until he has counted one hun
dred on tliis slip of paper. Then let
him bury. the paper, making a wish as
he does so, and if on returning to the
spot a week later he can excavate the
paper his wish will come true. Seven
bows to the new moon will also insure
the coming true of a wish. ' ,' '
Among all children it is considered
Tery bad luck to turn a garment which
has been put on wrong side of it, or to
go back after something which has
been forgotten. Both of these super
stitions may be regarded as protective
measures adopted by children to re
strict the exactions of too captious
parents and guardians. Any account
of the superstitions of childhood would
be far from complete were no mention
4o be made of the belief that to step on
the cracks of the sidewalk means fail
ure in lessons. So, if you see children
tiptoeing to school, you will know that
they are looking out for their monthly
reports. -
Warts, those most aggravating ex
crescences on the hands of youth, are
regarded with deep superstition. To
get rid of them their unfortunate pos
sessor must steal a piece of meat, or an
onion, rub either upon the warts, wish
ing at the same time to have the warts
disappear. Then the meat or the
onion must be buried, and the warts
will disappear.' Lastly, to count warts
insures multiplication. Beware I Si
Vernon, In San Francisco News-Letter.
Thousands of men have commenced
at the bottom of the ladder, and stayed
there. Others have carried bricks and
mcrtar and reached the top by honest
iaaiutrj.
SUBLIME SELF-ESTEEM.
the F.iij(llli f'harartrrlstlo F.ihlblted al a
, Krrcut I'ouvsuUon.
The sublime manner in which some
Kugilshnion visiting 'this' country as
sume a self-impm-tuuce was ably Illus
trated at a recent medical. congress held
in' Washington. Among those in at
tendance were a number , of distin
guished phys'ieiiins from London, and
from their high standing in tho profes
sion they were shown many honors by
their brothers on this side of tho water.
Their temporary clevutinn was duo to
an appreciation of the, efforts as bene
factors to Immunity and not to their na
tionality. One of these savants fell
into the bunds of two eminent Ameri
can practitioners, who heaped honors
upon him to their own amusement. On
one day of the session the president
gave a reception to the members of the -
oongress, and Sir John Sinythe, M. IX,
as his name might be, attended, accom
panied by histwo American friends'
The line was formiug to pass through ,
the east room us the trio came in sight,
and just as they" arrived the marine ;
band struck up on air, probably "Hail,
the .Conquering Hero Comes.'' ' .4
"Sir John, the band wail just wait
ing until you came, and it just played
tho ir to welcome you," said. one. of
the Americans, quiz.ingly. i - ,
"Don't you know,'' Sir John re
plied, "vou Americans do me! so
much honah. In my own-, country-
I'm ! just a wee . bit t of $ man','
Two physicians near vta, head J of "
the lino gave Way to the new arrivals
with mock profound bows. , Sir John
felt highly elated His friends intro
duced him to the president with even a
fulsome identification,' and in Mr. Har
rison's eye was a suspicious, twinkle aa
he spoke with great consideration to Sir
John. . - ; . ' '.
The Englishman was in high' spirit
as he passed'from the ; room, and then
the Americans solemnly informed him
that. the entire reception was given in
his honor; that the president had de
sired to meet him, etc., ad nauseam.
Sir John returned to England thor
oughly convinced 'of the great impor
tance of Englishmen in the wild of
America, while his littlo. experience, at
the White House was a standing' joke
in the medical congress. Indianapolis.
Sentinel. , . . , ' ,. . . . ' . ..
' Oddities or Kant Indian life. - "
The recently-published letters of the
late archbishop of Bombay givp somo
interesting glimpses of life, in India.
"After breakfast," he says in ..one of
them, ''I hud to listen to an address
and then to a scries of complaints
against the parish 'priest, who was
present and defended himself vigor
ously. A curious rase of conscience
came before me. The pagans hod con
secrated 'aicock to one of their gods.
The bird is taken to the shrine, of
fered to the god, "' arid then set free.
Can a Christian kill the cock and eat
what has been offered to idols? The
common Christians dare not touch such
a bird for the world. I fear the priest
shot, it and made one or two good meals
of it" Of the same sort is the follow
ing: "Not long since a devout Hindoo
gave a live bull to one of his gods, and
turned the nnlmal loose. A less wor
shipful mortal collared the bull and
yoked him in his cart. Thereupon fol
lowed a lawsuit; the -devout man
claimed die bull, but the judgefdecided
that the bull y'as pot fciahe had given
it to his god and , -lie 'implied that. the
deity had not looked after, kjij proper-
tv " Chuurrn TllllPR. '
Ladies Without an Object,
Ladies often give as a reason why
they do not take exercise: "Oh,
don't" like to go out' without an ob
ject." ' They seem to be' unaware of the
fact' that -to a well-organized frame
motion and fresh air are positive daily
necessities,' irrespective of any "ob
ject," save the cool play of the wind on
the temples and the healthful glow
which follows a brisk walk. Medicine
is a joke to it. Nodoctor.be his di
ploma ever so pretentious, could effect
with simple means a more magical re-
niilt. - When it i considered what
beaittitlcr" exercise in the open air- Is,
we marvel that the female portion of
the community-are so prone- to neglect
it. A little chilliness in the air, a lit
tle sprinkling of rain! a high wind, an
inability to display a fine dress what
inadequate reasons for staying" in the
house and growing sallow, irritable
and sick! N. Y. Ledger.
The Kitchen.
We masculines havo yet to learn that
the kitchen is the most important end
of the household. If that go wrong the
whole establishment is wrong. It de
cides the health of the household, and
health settles almost everything: Heavy
bread, too great frequency of plum
pudding, , mingling of lemonade and
custards, unmastieable beef, have de
cided the fate of sermons, legislative
bills and the destiny of empires. The
kitchen knife has often cut off the
brightest prospects. The kitchen grid
iron has often consumed a commercial
enterprise. The kitchen kettlo has
kept many a good man In hot water. It
will never bo fully known how much
the history of the world was affected by
good or bad cookery. Talmage,
Domestic Health Hint.
Mr. Oldchappe Ho, ho? And so you
are married and are keeping house and
have 110 girl. Well, I sympathize with
you.
Mr. Youngchappe I don't need sym
pathy.
"Tell that to the bachelors. I'm
married man. . Your dear little wifey il
just out of boarding-school, isn't she?'
' "Yes."
"Ha, ha! Ithonehtso. And you are
already suffering the agonies of dys
pepsia, aren't you?" ,
"Never was better in ray life."
"Eh? . What's that? And with
young wife doing the cooking?"
"She doesn't She makes me do it
A, Y. Weekly?
The Location of Boston. Boston
Girl VMiss Newe Tawk. what is Bos
ton nearest to?' "Miss New ' Yawk
"Well, Broolcline, perhaps." Boatoi
Girl "Nc, indeed." Miss Newe Yaw
"Then what?" Boston Girl "WfcTi
geaveV'-Yukeo Blad
SCHOOL AND CHURCH.
The free schools for colored chil
dren in Virginia for the pust twenty
years hove cost nearly six million dol
lars. ' The estimate Yor tVie 'iiiaiiileiuince
of the public sehoolsqf ;N-w York for
the ensuing year is 54,027,833. which in
cludes' Rl.000 for an exhibit at the
world's fair. , ' ,
. Two uruduiites from Harvard "An
nex" will open a school at Moulo Park,
San Mateo county, Col., to prepare
young women for college, with special
reference to Stanford university.
Frances E. Willai-d wants to have a
professor of total abstinence connected
with the new American university in
Washington, and proposes to raise a
fund to support such a professorship.
The imperial university at Toklo,
apan, is probably the largest in the
world, having an enrollment of two
thousand scholars, and a faculty of
forty members. It is under govern
ment control.
The number of students seeking
1 mission into the St Vladimir univer-
ity at Kiev, Russia, is four hundred
and sixty. Of this number ono hun-
red and sixty are Jews. According to
the prevailing lawB only thirty Jews
can be admitted.
The chupel . in the sequestered
A ugustinian convent at Heidelberg, In
which the monk, Martin Luther, had
preached during the convention of the
order in 1M8, has been given for a place
ofworship to a newly-organized Lu
theran congregation in that reformed
city.
- The summary of the work done by
all the Christian denominations in Utah
is about as follows: Eighty-five mission
Christian schools in seventy-eight dif
ferent towns, employing one hundred
and seventy two Christian teachers and
educating about six thousand five hun
dred pupils, three fourths of whom are
from Mormon families. ..
The Icelandic version of tho New
Testament was printed in Denmark in
1540. Tho three hundred and fiftieth
anniversary of this event was celebrat
ed with much rejoicing by the Iceland
ers resident in ana near Winnipeg.
They are good Lutherans,, and show
their faithfulness by earnest study and
obedience to the Word.
-The oldest college graduate in
America, so far ns is known, is Amos
Andrew Parkeri of Fizwilliam,' N.' IT.
He is also the jalftmhtis' who has been
irraduated the greatest number oi
vears from an American college. ' He
graduated from the university of Ver
mont in 1813, ud recently he celebrat
ed his one hundredth birthday. Ho is a
finely-preserved old gentleman, does
not look' to be more than seventy-five,
and rends, writes and gets about like a
man of fifty.
According to Practical Electricity,
electrical instruction is now to be added
to the other studies in the course provid
ed for young men in the evening classes
of the Young Men's Christian association
of Boston. Mr. A. P. 11. Fisk, a gradu
ate of tho Massachusetts institute of
technology, and at present engaged
with tho Thomson-Houston Electric
Co., will deliver a course of twenty
four lectures 011 successive Friday
evenings, and the course win ne uiius-
trated by numerous experiments.
-One of the aids offered to prospect
ive students of Vassnr, not well-to-do,
is tho scholarship of 8300 awarded by
the Vassar Students' Aid society. It is
loaned to a student who passes the en-
rauce examinations without condi
tions and covers half 01 all the cx
penses for ono year. Examinations
are held in nearly a dozen of our lead
lug cities. The chairman of tho com
mittee managing this scholarship is
Miss Jessie F. Smith, of South Wey
mouth, Mass.
HOME INFLUENCES.
fhe Foundation Stonpn In the Character
of Children.
Unhappy and undiscipliued homes
are the caldrons of great iniquity. Par
ents harsh and cruel on the one hand,
rr ou the other hand loose in their gov
ernment, are raising up a generation of
vipers. A home where scolding and
fretfulness are dominant is blood rela
tion to the gallows and the peniten
tiary! Petulance is a serpent that
crawls up into the family nursery
sometimes and crushes everything
Why, tnere are parents who even
make religion disgusting to their chil
dren. They scold them for not loving
Christ They have an exasperating
way of doing their duty. Blessed is
the family altar at which the chil
dren kneel. Blessed is the cradlo
In which the Christian mother rocks the
Christian child. Blessed is the song the
little ones sing at nightfall when sleep
is clobing -the eyes and loosening . the
hand, from the. toy. on the pillow,
Blessed Is that mother whose every
heart- throb is a prayer for her children's
welfare. The world grows old, and the
stars Wilf fccasd to 'Illuminate it, atid'
the waters to refresh it, and the moun
tains, to ,guar,d it and its long story ot
sin and 1 shame lurid glory and triumph
will hiriVto m1mk but influences that
started. in tho early home roll on and
up through all enmity blooming in,
all the joy, waving in all the triumph.
exulting in all thff song, or shrinking
back into all the darkness. lather.
mother, which way ... are you leading
your childrca?-Talmngc. .
Layer Cak.
In making layer cake one sometimes
tires of using jelly or chocolate for fill
ing, and figs and raisins make an agree
able change", as well- as a richer Cake.
Take oaeJialf pound of figs and one cup
of raisins., .Cut the figs in half and
steam the raisins for half an hour, then
chop while Warm. Beat the white of
au egg to a stiff f iOih apd add to-, the
fruit, together ' with , two-thirds ot
cupful of granulated pugar ana one
teuspoonful of . vanilla. .. This is how
readj to be spread between , the layers
of cake'. A good formula ' for layer
cake is as follows: One cupful of sugar,
one-half cupful' ot feutter, one-half cup
f ul of Bweet milk, the beaten whites of
four eggs, two cupfuls of flour and t
heaping teaspoonful of baking pgw-
1 der.-rjan Fvaaciaco taroaicie,
HARD ON BABIES.
Nine Mothrri Out of Ten Inflict Torturci
't'non Their Flint-Uorn.'
Babies aro subjected to .so many
hardships that it is a source of constant
wonder that some of them do not dio.
Young mothers by reason of tholr in
experience are generally to bo oxensed
if they sometime fail to hide the point
of a pin in the garments' of their off
spring. Thoy are also to be pardoned
if they occasionally fail to discover
that it Is colio and not hunger that
makes a baby wake tho hmisohold la
the small hours of tho morning with
its wailing. Nino mothers out of ton,
liowevcr, manage to inflict tortures
akin to barbarism .upon thpir first
born, actuated by their intense solici
tude that fresh nir shall not enter their
babv's luntr. Of course they don't
want the? dear littlo thing to catch
cold, and so they put as much wrapping
around ten pounds of humanity as Is
commonly used to envelope au Egypt
ian mummy.
The other' day two young women
boarded a south-bound cur on State
street at tho Madison streot crossing.
They looked enough aliko to bo sisters,
and ono of them carried a six-weoks'
old baby. ' She was a 'dowdy mjss to
whoso tender care the baby had been
confided . by its mother. And the
baby! It was wrapped in a bundle of
flannel thick enough to ward off the.
bitinc air of an Arctic winter, with
heavv flannel hood tied under its fat
and dimpled chin and a thick white
veil drawn clqsc.ly across its.f ace. The
car was well crowded with passengers
and the atmosphere was decidedly
close. Before Adams street was reached
the baby was gasping for breath as it
lay on its nurse's kneo. To make mat
ters worse the psor little thing was
forced to lie flat on its stomach, while
a ceaseless drumming was given us
back bv the' g rod right hand of the
dowdy girl. The -mother, blissful in
her ignorance, sat all uuconscious that
her damns s life was in danger.
Pat, pat, pat pat went tho dowdy
girl's hand. '"I think baby's going to
sleep," she confided to the mother at
her side. Pat, pat, pat, pat the girl's
hands went up and down on the baby t
back. The little,, martyr squirmed and
wricfflcd. finally manaciuir to moan
loud enough to call attention to its con
dition. "Oh, my! she s wn
said the dowdv trirl. anU'.CV
turned end for en'liii
whilo the patting conJinn
scarcely perceptible JircAk.
"Thirtv-sccoa' street!" bawled the
conductor, and the dowdy miss shifted
tho patting ta her left hand. Her right
arm had tired and she patted just a bit
stronger, pleased, no doubt, with the
belief that she was putting the baby to
sleep. The fact was tho bab7 was in
imminent danger of taking its last, long
sleep. - -
'Forty-secon street! called the con
ductor, and then a motherly old woman
betrayed her solicitude for tho baby's
welfare. ' "I think you had better take
that veil off," she said, leaning over to
the dowdy miss, "for the baby is chok
ing." And she pointed at Its purple
face to prove her words. "Don t you
see its mouth full of that veil? For
goodness sake, take it off!" she added
with much earnestness.; ' Ihe young
mother looked up surprised and then
alarmed. ' She hastily removed the veil
and the baby gave a visible sign of re
lief bv reiraininir a healthy color. But
the dowdy girl's hand kept np its rhyth
mio motion. Broad smiles began to
chase across the faces of the passen
gers, and the patting operation was the
focus for all eyes. One old gentleman
could stand It no longer. "What's the
matter with the child?" he inquired
with much anxiety. "Has it got some
thing stuck in its wind-pipe?" Then
the passengers laughed. 1 be dowdy
girl looked insulted, and without deign
ing to reply continued thumping the
baby's back. ' At Fifty-second street
the young mother, the dowdy girl and
the much abused baby got off, and the
motherly old woman, the old gentle
man and all the passengers breathed
easier. '
As tho car rolled southward more
than one passenger wondered to him-
belf how long a bany would live if sub
jected to such treatment every day.
Chicago Herald .
Afternoon Jtecoptlon Irees .
Combinations of velvet and silk or
satin are preferred for the handjme
and somewhat statolydooking dresses
worn for afternoon receptions.- Indeed,
for all classes of good dresses, velvet is
to be lavishly used. A Paris model ban
a princesse back and train, of velvet
Tho front of the skirt is also of velvet,
but is covered with a square-eorhered
apron of silk with an elabirately em
broidered edge in Arabesque pattern.
This aprcm extends across one side and
the front of . thoapaco..bctween the
sides of the train. On the right is an
A-shnped panel of silk mull wrought in
old-thread embroidery. The. vest is
of silk and is shirred in ,below the em
broidered collar, and extends below the
waist-line, where it is covered at the
lower edge by the folds of the apron
which are draped over it Embroidered
revers turn back .to meet the tops of
.the sleeves,, which are of embroidered
silk and are finished with puffed capes
of .velvet drawn up with metal cords,
The bonnet is made of velvet matching
that in the dress. The skies and crown
are laid in flat plaits and a band of rich
gimp in motal and beads covers the
sides and forms a coronet. Aigrettes
of motal and soft plumes trim the bon
net Velvet strings are fastened at the
back of the bonnet and tie in a small
bow just at one side of the chin. N. Y.
Ledger. 1 - ,
Barely.-, ... , - .,. .
"Passing on now to economic ques
tions' said the prosy lecturer, "let us
consider what would be the effect if
the world's visible supply of sugar"
''What does . he know about the
world'a visible supply of sugar?" whis
pered the bold .youth; in the dark
corner of the room as he tried to pass
his arm around the sweet young maiden
silting by his side. Chicago Tribune.
"Yes," said old Grumply, "my
daughter reverses the old proverb
Instead of having two string to her
bow bhe Vceps two beaux on 9 string,
r-yiakes Aiagazme.
ii 1,
ifrTiood,
with a
PERSONAL AND LITERARY.
Gladstone pays but littlo attention
to doctors, and lu some respects is very
reckless of his health. He is frequent
ly seen out of doors without an over
con at times when the wind seems cold
ami raw to a younger man. But he
rarely takes cold.
Somo criticism has been mode of
the prince of Wales for shooting in kid
gloves, and calling him a butterfly
spoitjiinan. Iho English press aro In
dignant at this accusation and say he Is
by fur the finest shot in the royal fam
ily, and can hold his own in any coun
try. James Parton, in a littlo talk about
Charles Kingsley at tho timo the lutter
author visited America in 1879, declared
that the perusal of "Alton Docke," up
in a New York garret, gave him more
pain than any experience he had ever
had before or Bincc, so harrowing was
the delineation of suffering and degra
dation. - , :
Prince Henri D' Orleans is a nice
looking young man of agreeable man
ners, who is often seen in the Parisian
world, chiefly in thehousesof members
of the monsrehio party. If ho hss any
marked characteristic it is his extreme
ly English appearance, which is accent
uated by his almost exaggerated style
of English dress.
Osman Pusha, thc5hcro of Tlovna,
has been located as sealer in the
kitchen of the sultan of Turkey. His
peculiar business is to seal all the
dishes for the sultan's table as soon as
they -are- prepared, and thus secure
against poison they are carried Into the
royal dining-room, and the seals broken
only in tho sultan's presence.
Robert Harrison, who has been
librarian of the London library for more
than thirty-four years, has had a re
markable opportunity to meet and
know personally many of Great Britain's
greatest men and women. Among his
acquaintances have been Thackeray,
Lord Lytton, Charles Keade, George
Eliot, Carlylo and Gladstone.
Frank B. Sanborn, tho philosopher,
Is a man whose name is not often heard
by the world these days. Yet in Emer
son's time he was the brightest and
best beloved of the coterie of scholars
and poets who gathered about the Con
cord jape- js" born- still lives in Con
cord, andis Identified with the modern
school of philosophy there. He is a
tall, slender man, aud when he appears
in Boston - is conspicuous for a broad
brimmed, soft white hat and a big red
uowni(r era
.fVs Vi
flowing cravat.
irginia Fair, the young Call-
Heiress, wllrhcreafter make her
fcfhio In New York. She is a charming
young girl in her early teens. She is
refreshingly natural, as bright as the
proverbial dollar, and wonderfully
worldly-wise for her age. She Isa tall,
slender girl, with thick, curling hair of
russet brown, very decidedly tinged
with auburn, and with great gray eyes.
When the fair Virginia Fair attains her
majority she will be one of the richest
young women in America. Her educa
tion, which has hitherto been conduct
ed in a convent, will continue under
private tutors.
HUMOROUS. I
O'Brien "Yis, Dennis is a foin mon
I've kr jwn him forty-five year." Mc
Sweeny "So hov I. O'Brien "Oh!
come off; he's no ninety years old."
He "Why do you move awny from
me one 1 tnougnt you were going
to kiss me." He "I wasn't. Bless you,
I wouldn't kiss you for the world." N.
Y. Press.
That Howl Explained. Charlie
What makes the old cat howl so?"
Waiter"! guess you'd make a noise il
you was full of flddlestrings inside."
N. Y. World.
George "Betting is a fool's argu
ment" Harry "Of course it is when
the chances of winning are against
you." George "That was the idea I
was seeking to convey. Boston Iran
script . , . . ' :
Wouldn't Say Beans. Clara "Mr.
Mild is very bashful. We make him
stay to dinner, and at the table we
couldn't get him to say beans.' Stella
''Why, he would starve to death in ,'
Boston." Brooklyn Citizen. x 1
She Wants to Please. Mrs. Young- '
wife "Have you any beets?" Grocer
".Yes'm." Mrs. Y. "Please send me
np two pounds of live ones." Grocer-
Live ones?" Mrs. Y. "Yes, my hus
band says he has no use for dead ones."
Minneapolis Tribune. 1
Photographer (to small . boy)
'Now, sonny, you see this picture of a
boy with a gun? Fix your eyes on that
and look pleasant" Small Boy "I
can't I'm afraid." Photographer
What are you afraid of?" Small Boy
"I'm afraid the gun'll go off."
Too Many Buts. (In the Gloanv
'ing) Algernon ' Du Bois (fondly)
"Sweet girl, fain would call yon
mine,-, but but " Sweet Girl (softly)
."Well, dear?" A. Du B. (hesitating
ly) "I dove you fondly, but " S. G.
(icily) "Algy, if you please, cease be
ing a goat and talk like a man." Pitts
burgh Bulletin.
Couldn't Catch Him. The motliei
of four daughters, of whom one has re
cently, been married, was asked by
young man sitting beside her in the
drawing-room whom she would like foi
a son-in-law. "And which of my girls
could you like best?" He (fighting
shy)-"The married one." Fliegends
Blatter.
Think; : Before You Speak. Mlsi
Whopper "Now, you don't think these
shoes are too small for me, do you?"
Clerk "They look a little tight" Mlsi
Whopper "Well; I shall go where 1
can get a pair to fit me." Prbprietoi
(who has heard all) "Young man, yo
have grossly insulted a lady. I don'1 '
want such a man in my employ. Yon
are discharged, sir." Brooklyn Citizen.
nome-Seeker (inspecting a flat)
"How in the world are people to live in
such cubby-holes as these?" Agent
"Easy enough, mum. All yon need ll
folding-beds and camp-chairs and self-doubling-up
tables, and a few things
like that" "Humph! I can hardly
turn round in these rooms myself."
"I see, mum. It's too bad to be afflict
d, ttuin, You shouA4 tftkt ft&U-s"
1 1
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X.
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-XI.