Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — Page 4

SENTIMENT AND HUMOR The Courtlng-Stlck. pn the early New England days there was In most houses a large assembly-room, and there the family and all the guests and chance raliers g-tber. d on winter nights about the blazing fit e-logs. For tuo convenience of young lovers, for there was no “next room,” rourting-sticks were used; that is. long wooden tubes that could convoy from lip to ear sweet and secret whispers.] Sunshine bathes in a golden tide Tumbled treasures of >atin and lace; Grandmother’s chest stands open wido; Over it bends a blossoming fUc’. Here is her girdle of sylph-like span, Stomacher studded with jet and pearls, little shoes that tho dance b j gan— Grandmother was a rose of giih! Margery’s curious eyes are b: ight, Margery’s fingers are deft to suit; What does she bare to the woods* ing light? A silent reed ?—or a sto less flute ? Grandmother reaches a faded hand. Never a word do her old lips say; flose to her ear the hollow wand She holds, with her dim eyes far away. Fainter, more vague to the dulling sense, Margery’s laugh with its silvery flow! What is it hearkens, alert, intense, To tones of seventy years ago? "Dixliog, I love you!” ‘‘Oh share, dear eyes, Glances tho broidery cinnot miss!” ‘‘Whisper! I hear, though a breath replies!” “No one is looking—sweetheart, one kiss!” Creepeth a flush to her withered cheek, Murmurs her voice like a dreaming shell: “Love, I am here! C nst thou hear me speak? Living or dying, 1 love thee well!” Grandmother’s hair is whits as snow— Brown the curls which tho g asses hide; Bent her form with its burden slow— A shattered pine tree—her lover died. Margery, road the riddle plain! Sleepeth the lighter, or lif ■ or death? Free, at love’s call, to their tryst again Flyingon wings of an echoed breath! —[Mary A. P. Stan-.bury, in Now England Magazine.

THE MAIDENS’ REDOUBT.

A most interesting ceremony has just taken place at Sebastopol, the historic, Russian fortress on the Black Sea. This was neither more nor has thau the unveiling of an obelisk on the very spot where, thirty-seven years before, during the crisis of the Crimean War, the women of Sebastopol, answering the appeal of the gallant old sailor, Admiral Korniloff, assembled en masse to join iu the defense of their native city. It was an assemblage that knew no distinction of rank or social station, comprising the daughter of the boyard and the child of the hiitnble9t citizen, who cheerfully joined in the sacred task of preserving their hearths and homes from the grasp of an alien foe. These heroic women erected with their own hands what was known as the Maidens’ Redoubt, a fortification which performed most effective work in resisting the besieging armies and sucin inflicting serious damage upon them. The picturesque and touching ceremony was under the chief direction of Rear Admiral Narbutt, commander of the Fleet at Sebastopol, and of the Governor of the city. Admiral Narbutt, who is also a member of the board of the celebrated Military and Naval Museum, first suggested the idea of erecting the memorial, and when the matter was favorably decided, the necessary preparations were entrusted to him to be carried on under the auspices of the Museum. The monument itself is of dark Crimean granite. In design it is a fine obelisk. Upon one side of the base is the following inscription: “Here was situated Sebastopol’s Maidens’ Redoubt.” Below this arc the words: “This earthwork was thrown up by the women of the city in 1851.” The obelisk faces the school built by General Meukoff, in memory of the siege, and devoted to the education of the children of Sebastopol’s defenders. Attached to the school is a Home for Aged Soldiers. The great hall of the Menkoff School •was prepared for the reception of the children, mostly grandchildren of the women who built the redoubt. A great concourse filled the immense chamber to hear the Metropolitan, who, with a number of assistant churchmen, was present to deliver an oration and pronounce the benediction. By the time the service was well under way the scene became impressively interesting, the large number of young persons dressed in holiday garb listening reverently to the words of the distinguished cleric who stood upon a dais robed in the rich and picturesque vestments of the Greek Church, while near Mm were grouped the more prominent lay members of the Committee of Arrangements.

Following the Metropolitan’s oration came the singing of the memorial hymn in which several hundred juvenile voices joined and many persons were moved to tears as the children sang what was really a ptean of praise to the heroines of the siege. Many of the latter were actually present; others—not a few—had succumbed to the hand of time. The general proceedings which marked the unveiling of the memorial were in the nature of a gala celebration. The children of the town marched in procession, dressed in white and bearing branches of laurel. The entire garrison turned out with bands and banners; there was a church parade, the priests chanting a memorial hymn, and the proudest and highest of the citizens marched in line on foot. Sebastopol, in Bhort, was en fete and for several days gave herself up to feasting and rejoicing. No one present remembered anything equalling the celebration in spontaneous enthusiasm and unanimity of sentiment. But it is only fair to add that the object itself was one well calculated to arouse the deepest patriotic feeling. It was a tribute to Russian womanhood and incidentally a tribute to the womanhood of the world. The tale of the long siege of Sebastopol by the allied armies of France and England, and which furnished the occasion for this display of female heroism is a wonderful chapter of history. In September. 1854, the allies were marching on Sebastopol from the European ride, flushed with the victory they had gained on the heights of Alma. On the other hand, the defeated Russian army, “ill-armed, ill-commanded and ill-maneu-vered,” was in full retreat, also having Bebastopol for its objective point, intending to there rally and decide the issue of the Crimean war. The great fortress was in a precarious condition seeing that Frince Mensehikoff in massing his troops prior to the Alma fight had left it very poorly garrisoned. General Todleben, then a lieutenant - colonel of engineers, was in charge of the fortifications, and when the news came of the reverse the Russians had sustained at Alma, he at once suspended the more elaborate work then in progress and beut

all his energies on the task of covering the forts with field work in order to sweep the ravines with musketry and shot. The northern side of Sebastopol most needed Todelben’s attention, as the allies were advancing from that quarter, but it was also of the first importance that the south side be guarded against attack. Vice-Admiral Korniloff was in general command at Sebastopol, and had under him fourteen line of battle ships and seven frigates lying in the Roads. These vessels were manned with a large naval force, which, in case of necessity, could be landed to co-operate with the garrison. The retreating Russian army under Mensehikoff had now reached the left bank of the Bel beck, close to the city, but the ground presented physical obstacles rendering the position untenable, so the Prince thought of occupying the east of the post road between the Belbeck and the Tchernaya, but here he failed again for the same cause. It was therefore finally decided to move to the south of the city and to this end the army crossed the Inkermann Causeway, while the Tarouteuo regiment was detached to increase the garrison in the north fort.

Assembling his officers, Admiral Korniloff told them that the victorious allies would probably advance on the northeast and force the Russian fleet to retire. He suggested the desperate alternative of sailing from Sebastopol harbor to attack the allied fleet at Cape Loukoul, and if the attack proved unsuccessful, they were to grapple with the enemy and blow up their own vessels alongside those of the former. The allied armies would then, bereft of their naval support, easily perish before the Russian troops on land and the Russian fleet be extinguished in a blaze of glory, delivering the country. But his officers did not take to Korniloff’s plan and when the Admiral solicited the aid of Mensehikoff, thelattter replied with an order to sink seven ships at the entrance to the Roads to bar any hostile fleet. Koruiloff sadly complied with this order, issuing instructions accordingly. The five oldest line of battle ship, and the two oldest frigates were those selected for the work of premature destruction and ten others were moored on the south side of the Roads to cover the north side with their guns when the enemy should appear in that direction. All the other vessels except the steamers were placed in the South Bay then to be sunk should the fortune of war decree that the city and harbor must be yielded to the enftny. Late lu the afternoon of the 21st of September the orders were carried out. The sad procession of the doomed vessels moved to the passage of the channel at the mouth of the Roads between the Alexander and Constantine batteries; and the other craft took up position along the shore. The array of ships at the entrance to the channel impressed tho enemy with the notion that the Russians were abtmt to give battle, and in view of a possible attack Korniloff deferred tho landing of the artillery from the ships about to be sunk, but at Op. m., the signal to carry out the order to sink the vessels was given by the raisiug of the national colors above the city. All night work was necessary to effect the removal of the material from the ships and wondeiful activity was displayed so that by daybreak on September 3, five ships slowly disappeared under the waves.

A pathetic oecu r renee marked the destruction of the Tri-Sviatitelia, a line-of-battle ship, which refused to sink although the water poured through the breaches purposely made in her timbers. At last the “Gromonossetz” was directed to fire into her; the gallant sailors obeyed and watched the operation with full hearts. When the water finally closed over the grand old ship, tho rugged tars actually wept. Meanwhile Todleben had energetically pushed the fortifioations on the south side of Sebastopol, covering it with field works near the Bistion du Mat. This battery was armed with seventeen guns. All that the brave defenders accomplished was done at the cost of the greatest self-sacrifice and most unceasing toil. There wa3 no time to construct anything but the earthworks,and the convicts from the jails were pressed into service. The allies had arrived on September 27, and the besieged garrison were in hourly dread of an attack, knowing the weak defenses would succumb in any determined assault. They were, besides, now deprived of the presence of Mcnschikoff’s army, which vacated the position south of the city and proceeded eastward to Baktchiserai. The allies, following in the wake of the Russians, crossed the point where the latter turned to the east, thus menacing the southern side. They also threw up batteries there, forcing the Russian war vessels to leave. The position of the besieged was not a reassuring one, with their comparatively small garrison and weak defenses beyond which at a distance of some throe miles lay intrenched an invading army of 00,000 men, rendered confident through recent cesses in the field. The voice ot the brave Korniloff had been heard making a cheery call on the citizens of the leaguered town to aid in the manual labor on the defences. The response, immediate and enthusiastic, was mainly notable for the noble manner in which the women of Sebastopol joined in it. Casting aside all other considerations, remembering only the peril of their city, deaf to all save the calls of duty, these undaunted emulators of the heroine of Saragosa stood forth to defend the sacred soil of Fatherland. Seizing pick and shovel, they threw themselves into the work with an energy that knew no fatigue, laboring night and day with superhuman effort. Repose was sought only when exhausted nature demanded tribute, and when sleep fell upon the tired eyelids the brave women rehearsed iu dreams their waking struggles. What a sight it was—one which might have glowed from the canvas of a de Neuville to inspire a world. What mattered it if, beyond the breastworks of Sebastopol, there gleamedflifar the lurid watchfires of the invader’s bivouac, and around those toilers of the night stray bullets and death-dealing fragments of shell ploughed up the earth they were hastily forming into resisting ramparts! On, on to the completion of their mission ere the foe should have time to hurl his forces against the bulwarks of Muscovy! Owing to the unanimity of action among these brave women, the supply of labor upon the Maidens’ Redoubt 'was inexhaustible and relays were constantly available, so that in an incredibly short space of time the earthwork was brought to completion. The part it played in the siege was a most important one, constantly harassing and obstructing the operations of the besiegers and acting as a formidable obstacle to their plans. It was a worthy companion to the ‘■Cremailliere battery of StanislaffSky,’ to the Krassoffky, and to the heavy careening batteries. But not without a heavy less of life was the nreat work com pie -ed, for the

casualties among the heroines vtere numerous. As I have said, the toilers were of all classes and the victims included several ladies of rank and distinction. Maria Ivanovna Papovna, a daughter of Major General Ivan Popoff, was killed by a splinter of a shell; the Princess Schahovskaya was crippled for life, a stray bullet having struck her in the ankle, and Angelie Leprandi, the young and beautiful daughter of a leading Russian General, the victor of Balaclava, while acting as leader of a gang of sappers, received a shell wound from which she died about six months later. There was a laurel crown for each and everyone, bnt in the case of too many it was laid upon an untimely grave.— [Valerian Gribayedoff, in Philadelphia Press.

QUEER THINGS PEOPLE BELIEVE

Here are some of the superstitions which are still believed by thousands in one part of the country or another: That crystal is congealed ice. That elephants have no joints. That the sun dances on Easter Day. That a dead man weighs more than when he was alive. That a kingfisher suspended by the beak indicates the direction of the wind. That a diamond is softened or broken by goat’s blood. That a man has one rib less than a woman. That the tenth wave at sea is the greatest and most dangerous. That purslane in a bed prevents visions. That a coffin nail on the threshhold of a chamber keeps away phantoms. That to tread on moonwart loosens horse’s shoes. That rue prevents witchcraft. That a bay leaf is a preservative against thunder. Thatahandful ofasmart causes ahorse to carry his rider easily if put under the saddle. That docks boiled with the toughest meat would make it tender. That if it rains on St. Swith in's day it will rain more or less for forty succeeding days. That when one of a family dies, the bees will undergo some calamity if not informed of the death. That some remedies ought to be applied three, seven or nine times. That the seventh son of a seventh son is a genius, or that he can heal scrofulous persons by the touch. That the head of a malefactor exposed on the highway renders the person before whom it is held unable to move if it is duly prepared. That sheep should be shorn and pigs killed when the moon is at the full. That peas and beans should be sown when it is on tho wane. That an artery goes from the wedding ring finger to the heart. That spirits are detected by candles burning with a bluish light. That a piece of tallow near the flame betokens death to one of a family. That the howling of dogs portends a death. That to kill a spider, or to kill a snake, is unlucky.—[Yankee Biade.

Something Big In Sausages.

In former times it was the custom in many German towns to manufacture sausages of enormous length, and carry them on festive occasions in solemn procession through the streets. On New Year’s Day in 1558 a giant sausage 108 ells in length was carried in triumph by forty-eight persons. But in the year 1583 it took ninety-one persons to carry a sausage 596 ells long and weighing 434 pounds. The chronicles of the period says: “The butchers’men were all neatly attired in white blouses. The first man wound one end of the sausage several times round his neck with a portion of it hanging down in front, the rest followed at equal distances carrying the trophy on their shoulders, and the last one had the other end wound round his neck like the man at the head of the procession." In the year 1601 we are told that the sausage attained a length of 1,005 ells, 130 of which were presented to their Serene Highnesses at the castle. All this happened in Konigsberg. In 1613 the Emperor Matthias regaled the Princes of the House of Austria with a tournament, at which the butchers of Vienna gave a representation of a peasant’s wedding, and paraded the streets with a sausage measuring 999 ells.—[Duisburger Zeitung.

Sentenced to Matrimony.

A young man and a young woman were contesting possession of a piece of property, the one claiming under an old lease, the other under an old will. “It strikes me,” said the Justice, “that there is a pleasant and easy way to terminate this law suit. The plaintiff seems to be a respectable young man, and this is a very nice young woman. They can both get married and live upon the farm. If they go on with the law proceedings the property will all be frittered away among the lawyers, who, I am sure, are not ungallant enough to wish the marriage not to come off.” The lady blushed and the young man stammered that they “liked each other a little bit,” so a verdict was rendered for the plaintiff on the condition of his promise to marry the delendant within two months—a stay of execution being put to the verdict till the marriage ceremony should be completed. This is about the first couple ever sentenced to matrimony in a court of law.— [The Gripsack.

The Bed Apples of Oregon.

The romance of the red apples of Oregon in the gold decade is one of the idylls of our past; one that we never expect to see revived, dearly as we cherish it. It wa3 part and parcel of the extravagance of that period, and as graphic in its way as tales of Ormuz and of Ind—fitting accompaniment to California’s dream of gold. The Oregonian of the forties is becoming scarce; only enough are left for object lessons. There is come to the Pacific a generation that knew little or nothing of the rhapsody of the golden age. These men arc practical; $1 a bushel seems price enough for them. Years ago a few men, not fanners, attempted to make a pleasure of horticulture and planted trees to vary the monotony of sedentary life. They were often professional men.—[New York Tribune.

An Eagle Rides a Colt.

The other morning, says the Springfield (Oregon) Messenger, an eagle was seen descending _in a lowering circle above Kelly Butte. When within 100 feet from the ground, it swooped down on the back of a yearling colt. The colt started down the hill at a rapid rate, with the eagle clinging to his back. After an apparently enjoyable ride of about fifty yards, the eagle rose and circled up beyond the clouar.

THE JOKERS’ BUDGET.

JESTS AND YARNS BY FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS. She was Crushed.—'Thrilling Adventure.—Wise Willie.—She Knew by Experience, Etc., Etc. SHE WAS CRUSHED. “Well,” said the intelligence man. as a haughty waitress invaded his office, “what brought you back s'soon? Weren’t the boarders high-toned enough?” “Boarders are all right—it’s the missus. Why, she actilly ordered me to take off my jewelry afore I went into the diningroom.” “Well, did you?” “Not much, I didn’t. The idee! All the jewelry I had on was a watch and chain, an’ a few stick-pins, an’ my earrings, an’ gold glasses, an’ the ornyments in iny hair, an’ four engagement rings, an’ a pair of gold bracelets, an’ one brestpin. S’pose I’d been rigged out with jewelry like some of the boarders! Sakes alive 1 I’m just crushed!”—[Detroit Free Press. THRILLING ADVENTURE. “When I was out in Coloraydo,” said the man with the ginger beard, “me and another feller was chased by Injuns fer fourteen mile through athicket one night. It was mighty lucky fer us that there was a thicket, too. The woods and bresh was so thick that they couldn’t get no chanoc to shoot at us. But there we went, liokety-hrindle, on a dead run, and the night a 3 dark as a stack o’ black cats.” “But how could you run through a thicket at full speed if the night was so dark?” The man with the ginger beard was not to be caught by any such question as that. He smiled at his interrogator in a pitying way, and explained: “How could we? How could we, eh? W’y, I thought ev’ybody knowed that the air was so clear out in that country that a man can seeonadaik night jis as well as he can in the day time.”—[lndianapolis Journal. AN ECONOMICAL MEASURE. Hare—Why are you letting your beard grow, Brush? Brush—For two reasons. First, because I can’t afford to spend the money necessary for shaves; and, second, because I can’t afford to lose the blood spiilcd in shaving myself.—[Truth. PERSPICACITY. Physicus—l see the physicians are encouraging football as one of the healthiest of games. Dizzicus—Yes. They’d countenance the handling of cholera germs as a beneficial pastime, if it were possible.—[Puck. WISE WILLIE. “Willie! -Willie!" said the boy’s mother. “What are you crying for!” “N-nothin’,’’ sobbed Willie. “The idea of a boy like you crying for nothing!” “W-well, it’s nicer th-than cryin’ for something, ’cause w-when you cry for something y-you don’t always get it, but w-when you cry for n-nothin’ you d-do get it.”—[Harper’s Bazar. SHE KNEW BY EXPERIENCE. “My dear, look down below,” said Mr. Grandiose, as he stood on the bridge with his wife, and gazed at a tug hauling a long line of barges. “Such is life; the tug is like the man, working and toiling, while the barges, like women, are —’’ “I know," interrupted Mrs. G., acridly, “the tug does all the blowing, and the barges bear all the burden.”—[London Tit-Bits. lIE KNEW. “Women have no minds,” said lordly Jack, “Whatever the world may say;” “I am sure they have,” growled Arthur back, “And they change them every day.” SIIE CAME NOT. Her fairy-like fingers swept over the keyboard— Her fingers so shapely and slender—- , “Oh, mother, come back to me!” softly she sang, Iu a voice, Oh, so soulful and tender! In vain from her lips came the yearning refrain, In vain were a daughter’s fond wishes, For her good old mother was out in the scullery Washing the supper dishes. —[Chicago Tribune. WASTED SYMPATHY. Aunt Sarah (during her first visit to a fiat)—Mercy! Who’s that poor fellow the janitor's throwing downstairs ? Hall boy (carelessly)—Oh, that’s on’y one o’ th’ tenants, ma'am.—[New York Truth. A PECULIAR FAMILY. “That office boy of yours seems to be quite smart and intelligent.” “Yes; and he comes of a very peculiar family.” “Indeed?” “Yes. There is never any sickness in it during the winter. His uncles, aunts, grandfathers and grandmothers all die in fine weather. In short, during the base ball season.”—[New York Press. GREATE9T OF HIS SET. “Wheah is Chollie? I have not met the deah boy saw a week.” “He went to Lunnon to get his haih cut.”—[lndianapolis Journal. PLAYING FAST AND LOOSE WITH HIM. “I thought you said this was a fast boat.” “She was when I sold her to you.” “ How do you make that out?” “Fast to the wharf.”—[New York Press. A CLEAR CASE. Solo I shall sue this paper for libel. It calls me a liar, a beat, and a horse thief. Bolus—You are sure to recover. You know the great principle in law, the greater the truth the greater the libel.— [Truth. lIIS STRONG PERSONALITY. Willy—Why, Cholly, you heah? 1 thought I passed you on the street just now. Cholly—Not out for an houah, deah boy. Willy—Well, it must have been some otliah fellau, with a dawg and cane just like yours.—[Brooklyn Life. THE GENUINE ARTICLE. Old Lady—ls this a genuine alligator bag? Dealer—Yes, ma’am. I shot that alligator myself. Old Lady—lt looks rather shop-worn. Dealer—That’s where he hit the ground when he tumbled off the tree, ma'am.— New York Weekly.

ONLY ONE WAY. Mr. Micawber —I wish I knew sorn« nice easy way to make money. Mrs. Micawber—Well, my dear, you might get your life insured, and then die. DAYS OF RECKONING. Wife—When we go anywhere now we have to walk. Before marriage you always called a carriage. Husband—That’s why we have to walk now. REASON FOR GRIEF. Old Gentleman—What’s the matter? Little Boy (crying)—Papa gave me a penny to buy a school pencil, and now—boo, hoo, hoo! Old Gentleman—Well, here’s another one. How did you happen to lose it? Small Boy—l—l didn’t lose it; I —l spent it for candy and—and lost the candy.—[Good News. A GREAT BTATE. Mr. Gotham—California is a great State, I hear. Mr. Oakland —Great! It’s immense. Everything grows like mad. I can remember when the first grapes were planted, when the first fruit trees blossomed, and the first market garden was started. Now look at us! We could supply the world! Why, sir, if you plant one grain of corn this year, you’ll need a whole factory to make agricultural machinery for you next year. Mr. Gotham—You don’t say. I have been told, too, that California has five natural bridges; Mr. Oakland—Yes, that’s so, and it isn’t two years since we planted the first one.—[New York Weekly.

CONSULTING niS TASTK9. Little Boy—Do you like to go boating in the summer? Grandpa (anxious to inculcate caution) —N-o, my son, I’m afraid I'd get drowned. Little boy—Do you like to go skating in the winter? Grandpa—No—l’m afraid I might fall and hurt myself. Littld Boy (after some thought)—Do you like to turn somersets on a feather bed?—[Good News. A PERPLEXING SITUATION. Clerk—Madam, this letter is over weight. CoraSpondence—Why, how is that? Postal Clerk—You have put two Columbian stamps on it.—[Puck. equal to the occasion. She —I>o you think it possible for a man to love two women at once? He—Ye9, fifty at once, if they were all like you.—[New York Press. APPROPRIATE MOURNING. Mrs. Newbridjs— Why! You are in second mourning, and your husband has not been <lead a week 1 Mrs. Weed —But he was my second husband, you know! —[Puck. A MARKET SCENE. Fish Dealer—Can I sell you a nice green turtle to-day, ma’am? Mrs. Newbride—No; if you have any ripe ones I’ll take a couple. ANOTHER WANT SUPPLIED. Mr. Gotham—What’s that? Went over to Europe and made a fortune in one year? Mr. Getthere—Yep. “My goodness! What line?” “Hammers and chisels.” “Of all things! Who bought them?” “American tourists.”—[New .York Weekly.

The Roustabout’s Cues.

A pleasant feature of the sugar business of the bouts in the South is the songs of the men as they yrork. A long skidway or slide is arranged from the top of the bank to the boat, and the barrels or hogsheads are thus slid on board. The man at the top will sing, as each barrel is started on its way, a sort of notification to “look out beiow,” and the man on the boat will answer in a way that means “let her come.” The most striking words I caught were; Bar’l, bar’l, here goes bar’l,” Here goes bar’l, all full sugar,.’ “Tell de troof, black man, tell de truth down dar,” “I’ll ax my wife if she'll go to town Sunday,” “Sugar, sugar, dey ain’t nuffin’ like sugar,” “When a mule kik yer, hit ’im in de eye,” “Never steal sugar; go an’ ax the boss,” and perhaps twenty other impromptu phrases, njany of which I oould not eatch When some of the plantation hands can be spared they will ship for a trip of three or four days. If the man be married the leave-taking is some times pathetic, yet ludicrous, and if he returns all right he is as much an oracle to some of the plantation hands as is a man who has been around the world. On a recent trip the boat was ready to back out from a plantation landing and seven colored girls and women stood in a row waving their adieus to those on board. One of the roustabouts started at the end of that row and kissed every one of those women. The mate called out to him to hurry up. When he got aboard the mate said, “Why didn’t you hurry?” He replied. “I did hurry up as fas’ as I could. I couldn’t kiss ’em all ter wunst.”—[St. Louis Globe-Democrat

The Banana Boom.

New Orleans leads the country in the importation of bananas, and the trade has certainly helped New Orleans in many ways. The business has been fortunate from the start in enlisting enterprise on the part of ships, railroads and merchants, and the combination has been strong enough to bring success. A good deal of the enterprise has been shown in finding places in which to dispose of the fruit, and the quest has tried the quality of the importers. Bananas can now be regularly bought all over the country, and most of the fruit is distributed from this port. Special trains are run in every direction, fast time is imperative, and hustling agents place the orders ahead, so that there is no delay. A little delay often means total loss. The Pacific coast is one of the latest territories invaded. Mistakes have been made, and bananas have been sent to some places where a car load of bananas could not be sold in a month. It has taken time and money to find this out, and the enterprising speculators have often lost as high as SI,OOO on a consignment. The weak spots have been pretty well sifted out, however, and the far west promises to be one of the banana? strongholds. All this serves to introduce the fact that one firm has shipped ten car loads of bananas to the Pacific in the last two days. The Southern Pacific has several times carried as large a cargo of the fruit within the same space of time, but it is the largest quantity forwarded by one firm in forty-eight hours. The fruit will be distributed along the coast. Some of it will go as far north as Seattle, and Los Angeles will be the cargo’s southern boundary.—[New Orleans Picayune.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Prof. W. F. Willcox, the eminent political economist, has contributed an interesting paper on marriage and divorce statistics to the Political Science Quarterly. His investigations have been thorough, and, from figures covering a period of twenty years, from 1866 to 1886, he has been able to sift out averages which indicate the rather startling circumstance that marriage in the United States is becoming a failure. That is, it is steadily falling off. especially in the cities. And not only this, but divorce is gaining as rapidly in popular favor as marriage is decreasing, Professor Willcox points out that, with the exception of Japan, which has more divorces per fear than any other nationality, the United States is far ahead of other countries in this respect, and that of the Christian countries we are in the lead by considerable majority. It is also shown that the age when young men and women marry is gradually but surely advancing. The average young man of to-day, who lives in a community where there is no especial pressure to become married (in some sections of the far West a man will get married at almost any age if he can find a wife), waits until he is twentyseven years and about two months old before he ventures into the field of matrimony. This is an advance of just one year over the average of 1871, and to him who can appreciate the value of statistics this will appear as a remarkable difference, and one for which some distinct, cause may be found. The experiment of a telephone newspaper, so to speak, is being tried in the city of Buda-Pesth in Hungary. A central exchange for the collection of news on all topics usually treated by an ordinary journal has been established, and from this point items of news, together with editorial comments, are hourly sent to regular subscribers over a telephone wire connecting with houses, stores, offices, factories and hotels, as may be desired. Stationary receiving tubes are mounted so as to be on a level with the ear and each telephone instrument is supplied with a wooden tablet upon which subscribers may jot down such notes as they wish to make. The news exchange is divided into two departments. In the editorial rooms the matter for transmission over the wires is collected by a oorps of reporters and writers much as in an ordinary newspaper office. Then the copy is sent to the distributing office, where men with distinct and resonant voices send it to the various subscribers over the "telephone wire. The news is given in either German or Hungarian tongue. The charge for the service is seventy-five cents per month. From receiving new 9 over the telephone to listening at home to an inaugural ad'dress or Congressional debate or sermon, operas and lectures in distant cities would seem only a short step. ■

The process of reclaiming the Arizona deserts goes on apace. During recent years many irrigation projects have been put on a working basis, and districts varying from a few thousands to hundreds of thusands of acres are being rapidly brought into agricultural and horticultural use. The greatest project of this character yet undertaken was practically begun a few days ago, and plans for one still greater are announced. For the first, contracts have been placed involving an expenditure of more than $2,000,000, for the construction of reservoirs and canals to utilize water from the Gila River in reclaiming 300,000 acres of land, which will be first-class fruit and vine land. The dam will be one of the largest in the country, and seventy-two miles of canals are to be constructed. The second project contemplates the reclamation of 400,000 acres of now arid land, with water taken from the Rio Verde, stored in three immense reservoirs, and distributed in 150 miles of canals. The land and the canal routes have been surveyed, and the $2,500,000 necessary to undertake the work subscribed. Much of the land will make good orange growing land. Josiaii Quincy, the new Assistant Secretary of State, is the fifth member of his family to bear the honorable name of Josiah. So great is the filial respect in which this baptismal name is held that it used to be averied by the people of Quincy, Mass., where reverence for the town’s namesake family has become a cult, that the present Mr. Quincy was originally christened Josiah-Joeiah. The old historic home of the family at Quincy has long been one of the finest estates in New England, embracing as it does a beautiful piece of woodland lying on the margin of the sea. That particular part of the New England coast is most attractive to the eye, for while sufficiently stern and rock-bound in winter, in summer it smiles like an isle of Greece. Almost adjoining the Quincy estate, and perched on an elevation at the very brink of the ocean, is the modern house of John Quincy Adams, who also i 9 one of the tutelar divinities of the towD.

A NCMBEft of years ago horse thieves were so troublesome in western New Jersey that an association of farmers and oitizens was formed to run them down, and several arrests were made. The organization proved to be so effective that it is maintained to this day, although so quietly that even the thieves seldom know of it until they are nabbed. An active committee of men called “seekers” goes out on the trail whenever a robbery has been committed, and information relative to the crime is spread with surprising quickness. Occasionally the thief, finding himself in danger, will abandon the horse, and sometimes—for a thief is usually contemptible—will drive it into a quagmire to become hopelessly bogged, or tie it to a tree in the woods to starve. Vegetarianism in the United States does not discard the use of a meat diet merely because it is unnecessary or harmful, but also because 'of the cruelty inflicted on animals by their wholesale slaughter in the catering to the meateating habit. This principle is followed logically to its end, and shoes made entirely of felt are largely coming into use among vegetarians. Not only they claim does the use of leather necessitate the killing of animals, but it is injurious as a covering for any part of the body, while woolen or felt is a natural and beneficial projection. Sats Captain Cameron in “Great Thoughts”: “Africa has a bigger future than America. Australia or India. It is the richest of all, but, of course, everything depends on management. Take South America, for instance. It is very like Australia. The Europeans could bring up their children well there. The natives are very teachable. Even the hitherto wild tribes are already drilled into good police, engineers, riveters, etc. Take my word for it, Africa is the hope of the future, and will be the salvation of an overcrowded world.” A story is going the rounds of a wonderful electric loom which will weave the coarsest carpet or the finest linen. It makes no noise in operating, os each shuttle and moving port works indc-

pendcntly. The present power looms run 140 to 180 picks per minute, but this contrivance easily picks 250 to 300 a minute. Altogether it is very wonderful, but no details of its construction or data of practical tests of it; workings have yet been made public. London, according to report, is a pretty bad place. More than one-third of all the crime of the country is said to be committed within its limit, 25,000 of its inhabitants are annually arrested as drunk and disorderly, and it has on the average 75,000 people annually taken into custody by the police. Its common lodging-houses shelter about 27,000 persons. In connection with the recent bill before Congress providing for automatic couplers for freight cars it is interesting to note that over 3,000 patents for such devices have been granted and that alarge number of applications are on file in the Patent Office awaiting the decision of the examiner.

THE BODY AND ITS HEALTH.

Benefit of Yawning. —“ Not only is: it very healthy to yawn,” says a French physician, “ but artificial yawning should be resorted to in cases of sore throat, buzzing of the ears, catarrh and liketroubles.” It is said to be as efficacious in its way as gargling the throat, with which process it should be combined. The reason stated is that during the act of yawning there is considerable stretching of the muscles of the pharynx and soft palate, which are in this way put through a sort of massage ; besides this, in the act of yawning the throat tubes contract and drive into the pharynx the mucus that has accumulated.

Text Books Spread Contagious Dis-eases.--Physicians have lately been calling attention to the danger of the transmission of contagious diseases through the use of text-books in the public schools. There have been several epidemics of diphtheria in School No. 41, at Dean street and New York avenue,Brooklyn, and it is believed that the disease has been conveyed to healthy pupils by the use of books which had been in the hands of other pupils bofore they fell sick. There is grave danger of the spread of disease by the use of the free text-books in the schools, the same books going to a different pupil every term. The books are also taken home, and if a child is taken ill are returned to the school and given out to others. A disease microbe from the lungs or skin would lodge In a book and remain dormant until the book was opened. Straighten the Back. —One of the greatest and most common deformities of the day, observes a medical writer in the Boston Transcript, is one that with care and attention can be remedied. It is the round-shouldered or stooping habit. Many of the most natural figures show this tendency to stoop, while in the narrow-chested it is marked to a painful degree. And yet, by raising one’s self leisurely upon the toes in a perpendicular position several times a day this deformity could be easily rectified. To do this properly one must be in a perfectly upright position, the arms dropping at the side, the heels well together, and the toes forming an angle of 45 deg. The rise should be made very slowly and from the balls of both feet, and the descent should be accomplished in the same way, without swaying the body out of its perpendicular line. The exercise is not an easy one, but may be accomplished by perseverance and patience. It can be modified, too, by standing first on one leg, then on the other. Inflating and raising the chest at the same time is a part of the exercise, and if persevered in will ultimately show an increased chest measurement, development of lung power and perfectly straight and erect figure.

“Microbks Good and Bad.”—“Microbes Good and Bad ” was the subject of a lecture delivered by Dr. E. B. Foote before the Brooklyn Philosophical Association recently. Dr. Foote began by saying that microbes are known by a number of names, such as germs and bacteria. Sometimes Ithey are classified as plants, but they should always be termed animals. They are to be found everywhere, and the agriculturists, the dairymen, the surgeons, and even the sick people, are always fighting these little animais more or less. They stick their noses into all our affairs, and have often ruined a whole kingdom. The study of microbes first began in 1861, but it was not until a number of years later that the office they occupy in our lives was fully understood, when Pasteur made some remarkable discoveries. It was,from Pasteur that we learned the exact relation between microbes and contagious diseases. As is well known, microbes are very small, and a drop of water would afford a microbe as much room to sport around in as would New York harbor a whale. Even the common fly and the potato bug have their pest in the shape of a bacteria, for at certain seasons of the year they are attacked by the microbes and soon drop out of existence. Bacteria do not look alike, hence students are able to dis tinguish typhoid fever germs from consumption microbes, etc. Microbes breed exceedingly rapidly. One microbe under the right conditions will in twelve hours produce 17,000,000. Hence we can ■readily see, comparatively, how indestructible they are? While bacteria or microbes are generally supposed to be of Bo practical use, it must be admitted that the theory is a delusion. This world would be deluged with mummies were it not for bacteria. It is the microbes that attack the bodies of all dead animals and destroy them. Microbes and all germs in water are killed by repeated boiling. In the human system the bacteria and microbes which come to the blood are arrested by the White blood corpuscles, who play the part of policemen. The microbes are taken to headquarters, the heart, and turned over to the sergeant, the liver, who, after confining them for some time, sends them out of thle system. Thus, so long as the blood is in a healthy condition, we can readily see that there ought to be no fear of disease.

ABOUND THE HOUSE.

Dry the tin dishes before putting away. A few drops of salad oil on tar stains will remove them. Add a pinch of salt to whites of eggs to make them beat up quickly. Vinegar will remove the disagreeable odor of kerosene from tinware. To make brooms last longer than they usually do, dip them once a week in boiling suds. This toughens the strands. Spirits of ammonia, if diluted, applied with a sponge to faded or discolored snots in a carpet will often restore the color.