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(Paris Letter.) The the great of the successful trial of the gigantic Wheel for the the question of the Champs tures of the The first wheel of (his kind was con structed for the Chicago exhibition, but it did not, attain the dimensions of the one under consideration. The met al entering into the structure of the French wheel is steel, furnished by the Societe des Forges et Acieries da Haumont (Nord). The weight of the metal employed is no less than SOO tons. The wheel is designed to revolve around a horizontal axis situated 220 feet above the level of the ground, and moving in two bearings that, rest, through the intermedium of a heavy oak beam, upon two frames. At its periphery there is a series of cars that 3| "y. nine The foundation is of concrete made of Portland cement. Two excava tions, addition of the eighteen feet square and thirty- feet deep, were made in the earth and were filled with a mixture of sand, pebbles and pure cement without the Big Wheel at Paris Exposition The Mammoth Structure is Practically Fin ished.—Successfully Tried. Paris Exposition settles the practicability of scheme that, the newspapers city so the time of of the seriously questioned at its proposal. An emulator 300-raeter tower erected upon wil be one of de Mais, the great wheel the most striking fea exposition. It stands on the Avenue de Suffern, opposite the celebrated gallery of ma chines of the exposition of 1889. The idea of such a construction is due to Mr. Gravdon, an officer oT marines of the United States navy, who tool out a patent for it in 18S:J. The present project emanates from an English so ciety. The operation of mounting look place the other day under the di rection of Mr. Slitkins. an English en gineer. The general work of construc tion, the installation of the material necessary to revolve it and the light ing of it were confided to W. B. Bas set. THE WHEEL AS are carried along In the rotary motion of the apparatus. The diameter of the wheel is exactly 93 meters (305 feet). At the lowest level to which the cars, can descend thejr will be ten feet above the ground and the highest point that they will reach will consequently be 315 feet above the surface. Between the two external fellies are suspended a cer tain number of cars designed to be used fis saloons, parlors, dining sa loons, reading-rooms, concert halls, etc. The total weight of the wheel, inclu sive of the empty cars and exclusive of the axis and frames, is 1,430,000 pounds. The axis weighs 79,200 pounds and the two frames 873,400. The total weight of this architectural monument is, therefore, 2,382.600 pounds. Each car is capable of accommodating thir ty peruom:, and the number of cars is forty. Supposing the average weight of each passenger to be 154 pounds, the total load upon the foundation will be 1,167 tons. IT of any hydraulic lime. Each monoliths thus formed has a weight of 230 tons. It is upon beds that rest the wheel. frames consists these the two that Bupport steel frames Each of these of four lattice connected by heavy girders steel and diagonal cross /braces beams. They were mounted in detached pieces that were bolted and riveted together. The axis, which is of first quality Martin steel, manufactured in Eng land, is a heavy hollow piece about fifty inches in length and of an ex ternal diameter of thirty-six inches. The shaft revolves in steel bearings lined with a metal of peculiar composi tion—a mixture of lead, £in and vari ous other substances. This alloy is designed to prevont the friction of steel upon steel, the coefficient of Which is very high. From each side of the axis radiate 160 flexible cables of steel wire two inches in diameter, which are attached to the fellies of the wheel, and'are provided with stretch en for stiffening them after being put in place. The rotary motion of the wheel to obtained through a double cable, which embraces it and winds around windlasses actuated by a 120 liorse-power steam engine. The se curity of the operation of the appara tus is assured by several instantane ously acting brakes, which also control its motion. The engine also runs a dynamo, the current of which will .sup ply arc and incandescent lamps. The electric communications, smart ing from the ground, are effected through cables that follow one of the frames and end at the axis. From this point the cm-rant, is transmitted to the periphery by cables, and to the different posts of electric distribution by circular plates and contact brushes. The processes of iluminating every part of this huge structure fur nish a means of obtaining all the plays of light desirable. As the wheel re volves, the shining of the lamps in space will give it the aspect of a piece of fireworks. The wheel makes one revolution in twenty minutes, inclu sive of stoppages. Access to the cars is obtained through a system of stair ways and landings so arranged that eight cars can he filled and emptied simultaneously, without any blockade, in less than one minute. Each car is 42Vi feet in length. THE HEAL JACK HORNER. Tack Horner of the Christmas pie really existed, '..hough wheiher he de served the title of "good boy" is ex ceedingly doubtful. He was, however, a fortunate rogue. When Henry VIII. suppressed the monasteries and drove the monks from their nests the litle- f\ NOW APPEARS. deeds of the Abbey of Mells were de manded by the commissioners. The Abbot of Glastonbury determined that he would send them to London, and, as the documents were very valuable, and the road infested with thieves, it was ii.—cult to get them to the me tropolis safely. To accomplish this end. he devised a very ingenious plan. He ordered a savory pie to be made, and Inside he put the documents—the finest filling a pie ever had—and entrusted this dainty to a lad named Horner to carry up to London to deliver safely into the hands for whom it was intended. But the journey was long and the day cold, and the boy was hungry, and the pie was tempting, and the chance of de tection was smal^ So the boy broke off a piece of the pie, and beheld a parchment within. He pulled it forth innocently enough, wondering how it could have foui^i its way there tied up in pastry, and arrived in town. The parcel was de livered, but the title-deeds of Mells Abbey estate were missing. The fact was that Jack had them in his pocket. These were the juiciest plums in the pie. (Jtreat was the rage of the com missioners and heavy the vengeance they dealt out to the monks. But Master Jack Horner kept his secret, when peaceable times were restored he claimed the estates and received them. Good Frt«tln{ Compound. Medicus, Sr.—Well, young man, have you anything of interest to report? Medicus,Jr.—I have discovered a freez ing compound that beats anything yet discovered. M., Sr.—What is the for mula? M., Jr.—It is composed oLequal parts of the expression of Bullion's face when I asked for the hand of his daughter, and that of my nearest friend when I requested a small loan. :Hls Con«ol»tlon. "Who wa3 it 6aid I was a back num ber?" said Li Hung Chang, •indignant ly. "I said so," answered the em press dowager, with a stony glare. "Well," he answered more softly, "ntaybe I am. But I don't know as I care much what kind of a number I am so long as I have a dollar mark In front of me."—Washington Star. BONES FROM OMDUHMAN, F.rsi Consignment of Ucrvlih Skeleton* Arrlco In E.onloi, There has just arrived in London the first consignment of dervish skel etons from the battlefield of Omdur man, says the London Daily Mall. There is no outward and visible sign in London of a brisk market in ana tomical human bones, Indeed, public sentiment might receive a Bhock were a central depot or building to ho es tablished for the necessary trafflo and barter in skeletons. Nevertheless the metropolitan skeleton market is steady and lucrative enough, though no sales ai advertised or auctions announced. To secure a constant supply of skele tons up to the mark of trade stand ards and technical requirements is not an easy matter. For no bone, however tiny, must be missing, slnco an incom plete bony scaffolding would be value less to the medical student. A wide spread belief exists that skeletons are obtained from the unclain^d bodies of workhouse and hospital Inmates To |-«ome extent this is true, for such bodies, after use in the dissecting room, furnish further useful object lessons. But the number of un claimed bodies is small compared with the demand for skeletons, so that deal ers must go further afield in their search for medical school material. A big battle offers an obviously large harvest of skeletons, and already some of the dervishes killed at Omdurman have found a market in one of the London hospitals. It is only right to state that there is not the slightest possible chance of a British soldier having been converted into a market able skeleton. Due and careful pre cautions were taken to prevent such a contingency, so that any surviving bones from the Soudan victory are only those of the fighting dervish. One of the principal dealers in London states that these fine, athletic dervish es make the finest skeletons ever put on the bone market. It is not so easy to insure a supply of well-developed skeletons," he says, "for many of these are obtained from the stunted, half starved type which ends its days—un claimed and uneared for—in a" casual ward or hospital. The dervish offers a rare opportunity in skeletons, end though the expense of transport is very great, the type of skeleton he makes is sure to command a price sufficiently high to cover the extra cost of fieight. Only a small percentage have come to London—the rest have been distributed among the other large European cities, such as Vienna,Berlin, and Paris. Great care has to be taken in selecting specimens from a battle field, for those with shattered or brok en bones will not furnish an entire skeleton. Of course there Is always a sale for skulls and single bones, but the aim of those who supply anatomic al dealers Is to obtain entire and per fect skeletons, for these naturally bring a higher price. After the Franco Prussian war the skeleton trade bade fair to be overstocked* and dealers 'held back' their surplus stock, lest prices should be too much 'cut.' There was not a single German skeleton of fered—it is always the vanquished who come to an anatomical end. It's a curious thing," continued the connois seur in bones, "that the skeletons of Frenchmen should be so much whitei than British bones." ARMY AND NAVY. A Manila correspondent states that the natives there regard Admiral Dewey as a supernatural being and struggle to get scraps of cloth or any other article he has possessed, think ing they have peculiar healing vir tues. A careful scrutiny falls to reveal a single pong that possesses any char acteristic melody or sentiment which will permanently identify it with the Spanish-American war. It is reported that the natives in Manila believe that the song "There Will Be a Hot Time in the Old Time Tonight" is our na tional air, they have heard it so often. A native Ifland, when asked if they had heard our national song, respond ed with pride that they had, and pro ceeded at once to grind out "The Hot Town." Tho German service contemporary gives some interesting details on the marching performances of the troops engaged in various celebrated cam paigns, says the Army and Navy Jour nal. Thus the highest average of dis tances marched by troops during the campaign of 1796 is to be credited to the French, who, on the authority of General Lewal, marched daily on the average a distance slightly exceeding fifteen and a half miles. In the war of 1866 the highest average was that attained-by the Prussians, marching thirteen and a half miles, while during the Franco-German war the highest averages were for the Germans (dur ing the march on Sedan), thirteen miles, and for the French troops, nine and a half miles. In the case of the mounted army the record is held by Murat's cavalry, which marched 497 miles in twenty-four days during the operations of 1806. He Know. Teacher—What is a fossil? Little WiMie (raising his hand)—I know, please. Teacher—Well? You may tell us what a fossil is. Little Willie— That's what mamma said you were the day you sent me home for a better ex cuse when I stayed out because we heard Johnny Tripp's sister had the measles. BUBIiiom. Goodly—What is grander than a man- you can trust? Cynicus—One who wiU trust you.—Jewish Comment 1 CHASED BY WOLVES. •Before any railroad had been built along the upper Mississippi all traffic in the summer was by steamboat, which carried also the mail. In the winter everything was carried by stage. There was a line of mail stage3 between St. Paul and Prairie du Chien —or the southern terminus may have been La Crosse at the time of which I write. These stages followed the river how much of the distance on the ice I can not say, but in my neighborhood, where the river expanded and became Lake Pepin, the route was all on the ice. Leading down to the lake, on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides, are many ravines or coulees, worn by the water courses and wood ed. Even now there is much wild land among the bluffs. It was in the latter part of January years ago that 1 found myself at Hawk's Landing, on the Minnesota side of the river just below the foot of the lake, whither 1 had gone with an uncle. He found that his business would detain him longer than he ex pected and he decided to send me back alone on the stage. It should have left the landing at 1 o'clock, but it was delayed somewhere down the river and did not arrive till nearly 3. It was a full afternoon's drive to Lake City, but the driver said he had a good team and promised to get through on time, notwithstanding the late start. He was a rough and dissipated man, but he had the reputation of always keeping sober till after the day's trip had been completed. But the delay may have upset him, and I think he began drinking before we started, al-. though no one then noticed it. He certainly had provided himself with a large bottle of liquor, as 1 soon had occasion to know. I suppose I could not have been more than 12 or 13 years old, although a life in a new country and on a farm had given me ability to take care of myself beyond my years. When we departed from the War Eagle House on the levee and swung up the road under the shadow of WTa basha Bluff, with the horses at a gal lop, I felt a sort of admiration for the -Jl W a\\ THREW OUT THE TRUNKS, driver, notwithstanding his roughness. We slackened somewhat when we got beyond the line of houses along the single street and soon rounded the bluff and kept along the edge of a bank above the frozen river. We soon came to the lake and turn ed down Fond du Lac Point, and out upon the ice, where the road was marked by little cedars. I found cause to be alarmed at the state of the weather. The wind had freshened a great deal and the snow was drifting rapidly. It was not sufficient to shut out from our sight the row of ever greens, and we could see even the bluffs at either side of the lake but the fine snow was sifting along over the ©rust like streaming hair and rap idly filling the track. This made our progress slow, but the condition of the driver was soon a greater hindrance. He drove either with the horses on a run or a slow walk, although they walked more than they ran. Wo were not yet half way when the sun was only a little above the Min nesota bluffs, with big orange sun dogs standing up each side of it. Just as it disappeared below the bluffs the driver slid out of the seat into a drunken sleep in the bottom of the sleigh. I climbed over into the front seat and took the reins myself. "You seem to know how to drive do you think we can get there to night?" asked the other passenger. "I can drive four horses," I answer ed, very proudly. "We can get through, I guess, if it doesn't storm so that we can't follow the trees." I had for some time been looking anxiously for the lights of the town, although there was no hope of seeing them yet, when my attention was at tracted by a dark object on the snow far to the right toward the Wisconsin shore. The man saw it and said: "What's coming over there—some other teams?" "They wouldn't be going so fast," "I answered, picking up the whip from the bottom of the sleigh. The shadow wag now directly to the right. "It's some sort of animal," went on the man. He paused for a moment and added: "They look like big dogs." At that moment there came a cry 1 had so often heard at home, only much deeper, harsher and louder. "They're wolves," I said,and I crack ed the whip at the horses, although that was hardly necessary, as they heard the savage howl as well as we did and knew it meant danger. The second time I looked back I saw that the pack was much nearer. I could make out the leaders and see that there must be twenty or thirty of the animals, all told. My fellow pas senger was clinging to the seat and crying to me to drive faster, although the horses were fairly running away, and I Lad practically no control over them one way or the other. "Can't you throw out the trunk and back seat?" I shouted to him. I heard the man throwing out the small sacks and the buffalo robes. The robes seemed to delay the wolves longer than anything else. They stopped and tore them to shreds. We got a quarter mile start. All of this time the drunken driver was sleeping like a log in the bottom of the sleigh. The horses were becoming exhausted and I could feel that they were going slower. I now urged them on with whip and voice, but it seemed to make no difference. The howling behind us began to come plainer the wolves had left the robes and were again gain ing on us. Right ahead I could see a high ridge in the ice where it had cracked and shoved up. A notch had been cut in it just wide enough for a sleigh to pass through. I held the reins steady and tried to slow up a little, in the hope of steering safely through the narrow crack. As we came upon it I saw a dark streak be tween the rough cones at either side the crack had opened two or three feet during the day aud new Ice had form ed. We struck the opening in the ridge squarely the nigh horse reared up and jumped over the new ice, but the other stepped ou it and broke through with one forward leg. He fell, but the other horse dragged him and the sleigh beyond the crack, where we stopped all in a heap. I jumped over the dashboard and fell in the snow beside the horse. He was struggling to rise, but 1 guessed what had happened and threw my body across his neck and felt of his leg. It was crushed and broken. 1 got out my knife, cut the breast strap which held the neckyoke, and called to the man to unhook tli^-4races, which he managed to do at last. The wounded horse was again strug gling to rise and had sprawled himself out of the way. 1 shouted at the other horse he started with a bound and the man and I threw ourselves into the sleigh, half knocking out our brains as our heads struck together. We looked back and saw the whole hungry pack fall upon the abandoned horse and bear him down just as the poor animal had succeeded in getting upon his three sound legs. The horse that was still attached to the sleigh plunged on bravely for some distance, with the sleigh tongue al most plowing in the snow, but he soon tired out and dragged himself along in a startled way. But it made no differ ence, as the wolves never pursued us again. We got out and walked beside the sleigh to keep warm, and, as the crack was only two miles from town, it was not long before we reached our des tination. A party of men went back to get a shot at the wolves, but, their hunger being satisfied on the fallen liorse, they made off before the hunt ers could reach them. The next morn ing the passenger took the down stage back to civilization, vowing that he had had enough of the northwest. The drunken driver w*as promptly discharg ed by the stage company.—Youth's Compan-ion. Always the Saiu«. Somebody has unearthed a book written by Barthomolew Anglieus, about 1260, of which one of the most amusing chapters is on the children of his day. They dread no perils more than beating with a rod (he writes), and they love an apple more than gold, and make more sorrow and woe for the loss of an apple than for the loss of a heritage. They desire all that they see, and pray and ask with voice and with hand. They keep no counsel, but they tell all that they hear and see. Sud denly they laugh, and suddenly they weep. Always they cry and jangle that is, unless they be still while they sleep. When they be washed, anon they make themselves unclean again. When their mother washeth and combeth them, they kick and sprawl, and put with feet and hands, and withstand with all their might. All of which makes it appear that those 1260 youngsters were the same then as now. Why She Refused the Boom. A German lady, arriving for the first time in-England, drove to a first-class London hotel, asked for a room, and was shown into a very small, scantily furnished one. She said, in a deter mined manner, and in very broken English: "I will not have this room." "No, ma'am," said the porter, and brought in the first box. "Man!" re peated the lady, emphatically, "I will not have this room!" "No. ma'am," said the porter, and brought in the second box. The lady thought her faulty grammatical construction was the reason for the porter's continued obstinacy, and repeated, with a stern distinctness: "Man, I will this room not have." "No, ma'am," said the porter and brought in the third box, whereupon the lady left the room in dignantly, but the porter drew her hurriedly back across the threshold, pulled a rope, and, to her intense as tonishment, the lift went up.—Tit Bits. 1IU Principle. "Are you in favor of an open-door policy?" "Well," said Aguinaldo, "I suppose the door will have to be opened. But I now that want it understood right I tickets." propose to be there taking A Proud Record. She—Have you ever climbed an Alp? He—No but I went up to my office in the twenty-seventh story one day when the elevators were out of order SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT HOLLY They Are Numerous and Some Are Ter« if.ilngr. Many are the legends and supersti tions connected with the holly. Old authors write of the tree as the hul ^er and the holm, while in our old ballads it i3 nearly always the holliu lul tfs includes it among toe trees that grew in the forest where Una and her gentle knight sought "covert." Coles, in hla quaint "Herbal," tells us that the smaller branches of the holly may be used in decorating houses and! churches, and that those of a larger size are ''very necessary for carters to make whips aud for riding rods," and, "which may seem a little strange" to the reader who knows no better, "one of his friends had a holly tree growing in his orchard of that bignesse that, being cut down, he caused it to be sawed out in boards, and made him self therewith a coffin, and," if Mr. Coles mistakes not. "left enough to make his wife one also." "Both the parties," he adds, "were very corpu lent. and therefore the reader may im agine the bignesse of the tree." In some parts of Yorkshire, curious ly enough, to this day it is believed that If more ivy than holly is used in the Christmas decorations, the wife will ."wear the breeches" for the ensu ing year. An old farmer was once seen pulling down the ivy with which the kitchon was decorated. "I'll ha' noan o' this," he whispered to his squire. In Yorkshire, too, they have the beau tiful superstition that Christmas is the one feast of the year in which the fairies may rejoice they may hear the Holy Name without having to flee and hide, and they have been heard to join in the carols. Once a little elf-child, we are told, was forgotten by some mischance, and was heard weeping and wailing up and down the house, though none saw him till Whitsuntide. Speak ing of this to an old woman in Dev onshire, she assured us that the fairies had left the child "of purpose." If any one had had wit to sprinkle (christen) him, he never would have gone back to liis people, but would become a Christian child. The holly used for decorations, both in church and house, should be taken down on Candlemas eve. or misfortune will come on par ish or people. In taking down holly in some parts of England it is thought unlucky to prick the finger if blood comes, but if a leaf stick to dress or coat it is a good omen. In old days a branch of holly picked on Christmas eve was as efficacious as the rowan, or mountain ash, in protecting from witches and warlocks or evil spells. A twig, brought from church, might b» kept, like the Eastern palm, for the same purpose. Your cattle, too, will thrive, and your sheep and goats bring forth twins if you fasten up a bit of holly in stall or manger or fold, that God's creatures may rejoice with man on the anniversary of His birth. ACTIVITY IN CHINA. There Is news of considerable indus trial activity in China. Not only are the Germans in Shantung forging ahead in the matter of railway con struction and the matter of coal, but the Chinese themselves are beginning to show marked signs of a determina tion to turn the immense mineraF wealth of the country to their own profit. An edict has been issued ap pointing Chang-Yi director of mines in the Metropolitan province, with power to form syndicates to work them. This shows that the empress dowager has grasped the situation, and means to fight Western nations with their own weapons. These efforts, laudable as they may be, are, of course, predoom ed to failure. Without European as sistance nothing can be achieved even by the quick-witted Chinaman, as was amply demonstrated by the complete failure of the viceroy, Chang Chih Tung, to construct railways unassist ed a few years ago. It does not fol* low, however, that the Chinese are in capable' of fully acquiring Western knowledge of mechanics only they must drop their pride and go to work in a different spirit. Meanwhile there is serious news about the emperor's health and we fear that the event, so often alluded to in these columns, is rapidly approaching its cousumma tion. Hlg Gingham Aprons. Perhaps the most unusual presents ever received by a man were bestowed this Christmas upon a Brooklyn man who cooks. They were two big blue and-white checked gingham aprons, long and large, and with ample strings to encircle the masculine waist. man makes at times a descent kitchen when the demonstrates how a be broiled or some merous things it The to tho maids are away and good steak should other of the nu of the preparation of which for the table he considers thai, he has an expert knowledge. Upon such occasions has been his custom to borrow the first maid's apron con venient. This good, housewifely ten dency to use an apron being known, there came to the man from out of town the two big aprons, which were probably the best appreciated of all his Christmas gifts and were exhibited with the greatest pride.—New York Times. How He Won Her. "Ah," sighed the rich widow "how do I know that you do not wish to marry me simply for my money?" "Darling!" cried the man, who was young enough to be her son, "have I not written poetry for the magazines? And did you ever hear of a poet who allowed money matters to enter into his calculations?" Why don't poultry raisers feed their hens on egg plant?