Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1896 — Page 4

AN “OUT-OF-DATE” COUPLE. We are "so out of date,” they say, Ned and I; We love in an old-fashioned way, Long since gone by. He says 1 am his helpmate true, In everything, And I—well. 1 will own to you He is my king. We met in no romantic way ’Twist “glow and gloom.” He wooed me on a winter day And in—a room. Yet, through life’s hours of stress and storm, When griefs befell, Love kept our small home-corner warm, And all was well. Ned thinks no woman like his wife— But let that pass; Perhaps we view the dual life Through roseate glass; Even if the prospect be not bright, We hold it true The heaviest burdens may grow light When shared by two. Upon the gilded scroll of fame, Emblazoned fair, I can not hope to read the name I proudly bear; But, happy in their even flow, The years glide by. We are behind the times, we know, Ned and I. —Chambers’ JournaL

WEDDING GIFTS.

“Pooh! Presents!” said the Old Married Man to the bridegroom. “Don’t think you’ll get what you want. I’ll tell you my experience. “As the time for our marriage drew near I used to call at the house every available evening and whisper confidentially to the curly head which exactly fitted my shoulder that I was the luckiest fellow on earth. On one occasion Agnes sighed and murmured dreamily that that was just what she felt “That was on the sth. “On the 12th I stopped in a minute at noon to see if she loved me ns much as at 11.15 the night before. She replied that she did—that love was unalterable —but that she must hurry upstairs now or the dressmaker would get her skirt flute-shaped instead of organ-piped. “On the 14th the presents began to arrive—also the relatives. It became an unsettled problem which of the two were more numerous. Aggie had cousins once removed, I had several uncles and aunts, All were well off; in fact, it was a curious coincidence that we were the only poor branches on our respective family trees. I was in an insurance office—fire insurance, not lire insurance—and when I had communicated to her the news of my recent protpotioh she had promptly declared in the face of her family’s unaccountable preference for Henry Walker (who was not so good a fellow as I by any manner of means) that to be Mrs. Joseph Lounsbury and live in a small house on a very small income and bliss was precisely her ideal of existence. So we were not marrying as a speculation; nevertheless, since marriage comes so seldom in one’s life, we had hopes that our moneyed relatives would do the handsome thing. “They did. First came a complete set of knives, forks and spoons in a polished wood ease. They were from the cousin Aggie had been named for. ‘Such a sensible present’.’ said her mother; ’they will last a lifetime.’ “ ‘Yes,’ s:»id I, ‘it will take us a good while to wear all those out two at a time.’

“ ‘Don’t you suppose we’re ever going to entertain any company, Joe?’ asked the girl of my affection, tapping me on the cheek with one of the forks. “The same night I had a note from her, saying: ‘Dearest Joe, you ought to see the lovely after dinner coffee spoons Second Cousin Mllly has sent — no two alike. Orange plush case. Isn’t is exciting? Don’t tell, dear, but I almost wish they’d been something else, for I think some of the girls are going to give me spoons.’ The rest of this letter was not interesting—to you. “This was the beginning of an avalanche of spoons—Charter Oak kikkius,

nutmeg spoons, soldiers’ monument! spoons, witch spoons, bust spoons, por- | trait spoons (I called these last our picture gallery, and suggested that they should be framed in ribbons and hung up In the parlor). One of our friends sent a pair of salted-almond spoons, * hoping that we would exchange them if j they were duplicated, but It turned out that those were the only ones we had. The sugar spoons were all marked. There were five of them. “It is a time-honored custom in our office when one of us is married for the rest to ‘combine’ and buy a picture; and you could generally tell what year a man's wedding came off by a glance at his parlor wall. Williams, who was married in ’B4, had ‘Far Away’; Brown’s, a few years later, was ‘The Three Fates.’ Ours was, of course, the latest thing out. It had a silver frame. “As the days went by and pieces of Silver piled up on us I was more than once reminded of the couple whose courtship was conducted in Browningese, and who were fitted out by their admiring friends with a Browning tea set, with quotations around the edge. ‘Oh, the little more, and how much it is!’ The Fords had a run on china, but a good deal of it got broken the first year. The Smiths’ specialty was etchings; they had enough for every room in the house—only, they never had a home; they have boarded ever since they were married. Finally the climax came, when my old Uncle John sent us a solid silver tea set I hadn’t expected anything from him, unless perhaps a Bible or a Webster’s Unabridged, for he didn’t enjoy giving anything away. Aggie was getting too tired to be very enthusiastic, but her mother was delighted, and it was no use thinking that I would just as soon have had the money. ‘“This makes 103, dear—nine more than Susie Fish had,’ said her sister. " One hundred and two,’ said Aggie. “ ‘No, dear, 103 —102 came this morning.’ “ *Oh, I know 1 shall never get this list right!’ exclaimed Aggie, diving for her blank book. *“Look out, or you’ll be handing that book to the parson for a prayer- «•*’ •*><> I-

“‘Wouldn't be a bit surprised,’ she answered, smiling; Aggie could smile when she was tired. “Well, we were married. A man breathes easier wheu it’s over with. ‘But, Aggie,’ I said, as the carriage door slammed ou us, ‘if it ever happens to us again, let’s leave out the heathen superstitions.’ “'I know it,’ said Aggie. ‘I begged them not, but they would smuggle some in. See any in my hair?* “ ‘Some in your hat brim,’ Ibrushed her off, and she seized the newspaper I had carefully brought along to look like an old married man, and conjured with it a minute, holding it out by an improvised handle. ‘Here,’ she said, ‘the very children in kintergarten know how to make paper dustpans— now* brush the carriage seat.’ When we got out I gave the hackman a dustpanful of rice with a bill on top. There, burn it,’ said I. “ ’Did you see him chortle in his Joy? 1 said Aggie, giggling; ‘Joe, do you feel like a married couple?’ “ ‘Lots,’ said I. “Our ten days in Washington had only one bogie—the blank book. Aggie said she must finish her notes. All I could do was to sit by and fret, and put ou the stamps; and she told me I hindered her more than I helped, and slit* was awfully glad to have me around, it made her reel better.

■ “We began housekeeping in a cheerful way in a little house on a new street. It was something like to come home to one’s own dinner table. We had so much silver that it looked funny with our plain china— nobody had given us a lot of ice-cream sets and things. I tell you marriage is a lottery when it comes to wedding presents. I liked seeing Aggie’s face in the sugar bowl, though. Every night the little maid (imported to live up to the spoons) brought them and all the rest upstairs on a tray, and we packed them away in the chest we had made, and a pretty penny it cost, with its combination lock, which went into the end of the closet where nobody could get at it. One night we came home at 12 from a reception, and as we stole upstairs not to wake the sleeping handmaiden, Aggie so sleepy herself that she tripped on her wedding gown and I had to hold her, we came upon the whole array on the floor outside our door.

“ ‘lsn’t it imposing? so safe!’ said I, but Aggie said, desperately, ‘I shan’t care anything about going out evenings any more if I’ve got to put that silver away after I get home.’ “ ‘Let it stay there.’ “ ‘Oh, I can’t. Mamma thinks we’re so careless. We dou’t appreciate things enough. She says, if any one had given her such elegant tilings when she was married she wouldn’t have dared to close her eyes!' “ ‘Take more than that to keep my eyes open,’ But I helped Agnes to shove the tray under a chair, and drape the train of her wedding dress over it. “ ‘What on earth are you doing, Aggie?’ I asked, on coming in for dinner one day. All I could see was one foot and a skirt ruffle in the closet. “Aggie Scrambled up enough to catch me round my knee. ‘Oh, Joe, I’m so glad you’ve come!’ “ ‘What is it? You’re ready to cry.’ “‘That’s what I like about you; you don’t have to be explained to. Henry Walker wouldn’t have known I felt like crying if I’d screamed it at him!’ “That made me feel pretty good (though dinner wasn’t ready). ‘But what?’ “ ‘lt’s the silver! I came up to change the forks and spoons so they should get worn alike, and I’ve shut the paper with the combination in the chest, and I can’t remember what it was!’ “I got down beside her. It was hotter than Mexico in that closet I turned and tried the lock. ‘Do keep your dresses out of the way, they tickle the back of my neck.’ No good. ‘Well, I guess we’ll use the old forks to-day,” said I; ‘I don’t believe they’ll fade away yet awhile.’

“ ‘Oh, I’m so sorry—but—they’re every one shut up in that chest.’ So we laughed. What else was there to do? It was so funny when Deming came home with me to tea—we’d asked him some days before. It wouldn’t have been funny with some girls. The table looked principally white china, and the kitchen knives and fork didn’t go ! round. Ever cut omelet with a pewter i spoon? It is great. “It wasn’t quite so funny when three hot days had gone by and we had nearly smothered sojourning in the closet, and no news of the combination. ‘Don’t tell mamma!’ pleaded my wife. I began to think I should have to call in a locksmith, when one evening Aggie startled me by jumping out of bed crying. ‘l’ve got it! I’ve got it!’ “ ‘Got wliut—a nightmare?’ “’l’ve got the combination! I’ve been working on it all the time, and it just came to me in my sleep. Get right up, Joe, and hold the light, and mind you don’t set anything on fire.’ In another two minutes the front of the front of the chest fell down, and behold our household gods! ‘lf anybody wants to steal them between now and daylight, they can, that’s all,’ said Aggie; ‘but I’m not going to shut that lock again to-night for nobody!” “In the fall there was a burglar scare about town, and Agnes’s mother came over and gave her a lecture upon locking the windows. She said we really ought to have a burglar alarm. To please her I had one put in. Election night I went down to town, telling Aggie not to sit up for me, for I should wait for the returns. It was 1 o’clock j when I opened the front door very softj ly, not to disturb Agnes. Br-r-r-br-r-ke--1 plunk!’ I had forgotten the alarm. “Before I had time to say a word or even turn down my coat collar, my wife | appeared at the head of the stairs. She j pointed a pistol at me. Her hair hung loose, and she was in her—well, never mind; but she looked distractingly pretty. “ ‘lf you come one step further I’ll fire!’ she cried. “ ‘lt’s Joe, Agnes,’ said I, meekly. “‘I don’t believe it! Take off your hat!”

“l took it off and made her a low bow. ‘Don’t shoot your husband, he’s doing the best he can.* “Agnes laughed hysterically. ‘Oh, Joe, I was so frightened.’ “‘And to think you should point a pistol at your own husband!’ “ Tt wasn’t loaded, Joe.’ “ ‘Agnes Lounsbury,’ Bald I, ‘do you mean to say you were so rash as to aim at me with a pistol that wasn’t loaded?’

“ ‘But I shouldn’t have fired It, anyway, it wasn’t cocked.’ “ ‘Well, this ends the watchman burglar alarm business,' said I. ‘We’ve had about as much of it as we want To-morrow we’ll decide what silver we want to use every day, and the rest shall go down to the bank.’ “We’re able to breathe now. The silver stand on the sideboard, and as yet nobody has carried it off, if they do, Agnes’s mother will say she expected It, for we aren’t the careful people they used to be in her generation. Once in a while Aggie quarrels with me because some dish or other that would make a show for company is at the bank, and I don’t see my way clear to bring it home under my arm. ‘You can have them all home and trust to luck if you’d rather,’ I say. “ ‘l’d rather they were at the bank, because then I should have them, you know.’ “ ‘Don’t see it,’ said I; ‘but its just as you say.’ “When our anniversary came around we had a present and a note from one of Agnes’s elderly friends. The note ran this way: “ ‘My dear Mrs. Lounsbury: We send you our best congratulations on your anniversary. My husband will have his little joke you know; and as some one told him that the Lounsburys hpd so much silver given them on their wed-

ding that It was a positive embarrassment to them, he says you ought to be ashamed of being such at your age, while the older generation lias not even accumulated souvenir spoons, and sends you this little gift to remind you of the fact, “ *Oh, Joe! it’s silver!’ for I had punched a hole in the paper. ‘No, it isn’t, no, it isn’t, it’s plaited. We can keep it. It’s a pudding dish, or for oysters, you know. How kind. And plaited, too. It didn’t cost much, Joe, did it?’ “ ‘A few dollars, I should think.’ “ ‘How good! Perhaps even less, Joe?’ “ ‘Perhaps so; it’s rather light weight. “ ‘lsn’t it delightful? We’ll have some oysters in it to-morrow night, and ask them over to tea.’ “‘I should feel dreadfully to have that takeD,’ I heard her murmur that evening. “ ‘What for?’ “ ‘Because it’s such a comfort to have one thing that you don’t care whether it’s stolen or not.’ “ ‘You’re getting sleepy, Aggie. But I know one thing that “goes on, goes on forever.’ ” “ ‘What?’ “ ‘Our storage rent. I reckon in a few years we’ll have paid for the whole outfit, and then we’ll fetch it home and keep open house for burglars with a clean conscience.’ “ ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Joe,’ said my wife.”

A Terrible Revenge.

John Ferris, the veteran stage driver, who in the early ’so’s drove the stage on the overland route between Independence, Mo., and Santa Fe, in relating some of his interesting experiences to a group of friends the other day,told this story, to which the New York World gives credence: “The small-pox outbreak among the Comanche Indians in the year of 1855,” lie said, “caused a stir throughout the Western country. I carried the first news of that devastating plague to the outside world. I was making one of my trips, when I stopped at a small trading post on the Neosho River. Great excitement prevailed because of an outbreak of small pox among the Indians, who thickly populated that section. Hundreds of the redskins had died. “Small pox had up to that time been an unknown disease among these Indians, and the outbreak was the result of one of the most terrible schemes of revenge 1 have ever seen recorded. In the spring of 1855 two young men, whose names I have forgotten, went out to the plains for the purpose of spending a few months. The object of the trip was for the benefit of the health of one of them. They reached Council Grove and resolved to remain there a short time. They decided to get a taste of buffalo hunting. They left Council Grove early one morning on a two weeks’ hunt. They were I mounted on good horses, which soon 1 attracted the covetous eyes of stragi gliug bands of Indians.

“On the third day they came upon a large herd of buffalo and had an exciting chase. The invalid young man killed one of the animals and had dismounted to view his prize when a big, strapping Indian rode out of a clump of trees, shot the white man and scalped him. The companion of the murdered man saw the horrible crime, and thinking that a similar fate awaited him, put spurs to his horse and headed for Council Grove. He was closely pursued by the Indian. The white man escaped and reached Council Grove in an exhausted condition. The companion of the murdered man vowed to have vengeance upon the whole tribe for the foul deed which one of the members had committed, and he kept his vow. “He returned to his home and learned that the hospital there contained several cases of small pox. He made the acquaintance of one of the attendants of the hospital, and induced the latter to sell him a number of blankets which had been used to cover the small-pox patients. He then boxed the blankets and shipped them to Council Grove. He went out and distributed them among the Indians. The disease | spread rapidly and they died by the score. “The young man who brought out ; and distributed the blankets remained ! at Council Grove until he saw the outj break of small-pox fairly started, and ' then returned to his home. The United | States Government set on foot an inI vestigation as to the cause of the outj break, and it was discovered to lie in j the blankets brought from the East. A ! large reward was offered for the arrest j of the young man, but he left the coun- | try as soon as he found that he was j wanted. He never returned, so far as I I know.”

It has recently been discovered that soapsuds will answer the same purpose as oil in the midst of a storm at sea. The captain of the Scandia chanced recently to run short of the latter requisite, and bethought him of dissolving a large quantity of soap In water, which he forthwith discharged over the bows of the vessel. The effect was instantaneous.

HOW CUBA’S PATRIOTS RULE

THE MEN WHO SWAY THE DESTINIES OF THE NEW REPUBLIC. Typical Episodes of the Rebellion—A Crisis Coming— Filibuster Law—What Diplomats Say. Before very long the government of the Cuban Republic will be in a position to ask the recognition of its belligerency by foreign powers from every standpoint of international law. Heretofore, as is weft known, the insurgents have had no capital in the accepted meaning of the word. To be even a belligerent, as the expression is understood in diplomacy, a power must hold at least one seai>ort or metropolis. The insurgents exjieot soon to be in possession of at least two sea coast towns in Cuba. It will then be Impossible for their government to remain unrecognized in either Europe or America. The revolutionary government of Cuba was organized at Camagney, on September 19, 1895. The president of the Republic, Seuor Salvador Cisneros, is the ex-Marquis of Santa Lucia, who formally renounced his title of nobility when he Joined 4 the revolution in 18C8 and lost his estate which was then confiscated by the Spanish government. The secretary of war is Mario G. Menocal, a very young man who was born in the province of Matanzas. He was formerly the assistant secretary of war. Rafael Poetnondo is the minister for forenign affairs, or secretary of state, as we would say. The interior department is under the charge of

RAFAEL PORTUONDO, Foreign Affaire.

SANTIAGO GARCIA CANIZARES, Interior.

Senor Canezaies, a highly educated and much respected native of Remedies. He has written several works on Cuba. Severo Pina lias the difficult treasury portfolio. He hails from Santa Spiritu and has given up a small fortune to the cause. Every officer of this young government is perpetually on the move. Life lias few pleasures for them just now. The Cuban flag contains one star for the island and five bars to represent the departmental divisions. B. J. Guerra, Treasurer of the Junta, lias received several numbers of the first paper published in Cuba in behalf of the independence of the island. It is called El Cuba no Libre (The Free Cuban.

The place of publication does not appear anywhere on the paper, and Mr. Guerra says that the editorial staff and the entire printing outfit are part of Gomez’s army, and that the paper is published at whatever place they may happen to be. One thing seems true, and that is that the course of the United States Government with regard to the Cuban question is destroying its prestige with the Cuban party. The same talk that was reported from Honolulu, of looking to England to take the island under her shield, is heard in Havana. That some strong power willing to give Cuba peace, with wise laws and a popular form of government, must ultimately succeed Spain in power here seems not to admit of doubt. Cuba is resolved to separate from Spain, and the time will surely come when she will carry out that resolution. Her destiny is annexation to the United States, or such political relations with it as will amount to the same thing. Geographical and economic conditions impel irresistibly to this solution, and political and social conditions on the island make It the only wise consummation for Cuba herself. Spain, in her pride, in her sentimental passion for the heirloom which costs her so much treasure and blood to keep, will fight against it in vain. She might as well seek to stay the tideof years. The independence of Cuba, unprotected by the United States, would prove disastrous. Conservative Cubans know' this, and they divide only on sentimental grounds. Part of th£m cling to the Government of their fathers and look to Spain to establish home rule in Cuba. The far greater part, educated in the United States, enamored of Democratic government and convinced of the wisdom of the American system, turn to the United States for the same boon. Even those who honestly seek independence as an ultimate condition know its and would found a republic with limited suffrage In which the ruling class would be determined by educational and property requirements. The danger involved in independence is made clear by these facts: Qf 1,500,000 people there are 500,000 blacks and 1,000,000 whites. The whites are divid-

ed into bitterly hostile classes—an overwhelming majority of native born Cubans who have lived for years in resentful subjection, and a minority of Spaniards, who have dominated and plucked the majority. The political ideas are in extreme opposition. Rancorous politics have engendered bitterness between them. The majority of the white are countrymen, who, whatever may be their native intelligence, are without that education which ought to be at the basis of independent selfgovernment. Very many of them are victims of poverty in a land abounding in the sources of richness. Vast areas of land are in the hands of a few men, who enjoy great wealth. Associated with them in interest are the blacks. A people whose freedom has come to them since the negroes of the United States were set free, there existence here presents practically the same social and political problems that exist in the Southern States. With freedom they have the right of entry with the whites to public places on equal footing, but they do not assert it There is a social dead line between the races in the town. In the country it is not so marked. Their mutual interests draw whites and blacks together. It needs but the statement of these facts to reveal the dangers that beset independent self-government of Cuba. Even the Spanish party would weleom annexation to the hated United States rather than a political state in which they would be placed at the mercy of a people suddenly raised to political power from a condition of political suppression. It is in the power of the United States to determine the future of Cuba. It is

MARIO O. MENOCAL, War.

SALVADOR CISNEROS, President.

a fair question whether it is not their duty to solve the problem. Spain cannot do it. She may conquer, but she cannot pacify. Her conservatism stands in the way. Her rule has become insupportable to this people. Autonomy at her hands is already a rejected gift Cubans distrust her upon substantial grounds. Separation is incsribed upon the banner of the lone star. The wisdom or unwisdom of annexation to the United States is a serious question. From an economic point of view it seems the wisest course. From the political point of view self-interest appears to militate ngainst sentiment. Hut the objections based on social and political grounds are not so great when viewed at hand as when considered at a distance. The social and political conditions and the governmental questions rising from them do not differ greatly from those existing in many parts of the United States. The people of Cuba are well affected toward the American system. They are Americans in thought and in aspirations. Their intelligence and its possibilities under cultivation are displayed in the accomplishments of those of them who have enjoyed the advantages of edueation.Under the influence of liberal laws, with the estab-

lishment of public schools, upon the American plan with the burden of taxation to support an extravagant government removed,with the disestablishment of the church, unhampered trade with the United States, and the Incentives which wise government holds out to Industry, one can hardly picture too roseately the prosperity possible on this island. It is marvellously fertile. Until now its exports have been great in proportion to its productive population, notwithstanding adverse conditions. To-day, while diplomacy hesitates and dickers and proposes impossible

SEVERO PINA, Treasury

things, the island falling Into ruin as the resut of a conflict which of necessity cannot end except with the ending of the conditions which have bred it. The situation in Pinar del Rio ProI vlnce is appalling. In addition to the horrors of barbarous warfare waged by Spain, famine and pestilence threaten. San Cristobal is overcrowded with people who have fled from the country. Families in the town share their homes with these refugees. One man had eight families under his roof. People are living in corridors and even under the trees in the plaza, while some are building palm leaf shelters wherever they can find a few feet of vacant ground. A commission was sent to Havana to seek Government assistance for these poor people, but the commission has returned, bring word from Gen. Weyler that the government can do nothing for them. Day after day Maceo’s bands have been riding through the country, driving the people from their homes and applying the toureb. “To the trenches or to the mountain*!” is the cry. “This land must remain clear. You must be with us or with Spain. By “the trenches” is meant the towns in actual possession of the Spanish. On the southern coast of Pinar del Rio the Spaniards hold but six towns, which are surrounded by fences of iron rails and ditches, with forts at intervals. Nearly all the other towns have been burned, some actually wiped out of existence. Some thirty have been destoyed by the insurgents, while a few smaller towns have been destroyed by the Spanish troops on the same plea the insurgents urge—that they offer shelter to the enemy. A Spanish column came into San Cristobal a few days ago bringing a load of Singer sewing machines and some bags of clothing. The troops claimed to have captured an insurgent camp. As the Spaniards made no boast of any combat the general Impression is that they raided a town.

The Spanish columns are in action In Pinar del Rio all the time. Gen. Serano Altamia returned after a five days campaign, with a great many of his men missing. A farmer going on horseback to his potato patch, near Santa Cruz, fell in with a squad of insurgents. Being ordered to tell where he was bound, he said he was going after some sweet potatoes, which was the truth. He was told to go on, and the insurgents continued their way. For some reason the farmer became frightened and turned back, again meeting the insurgents. When asked if he had not come from San Cristobal, he replied that he had. Then some one recognized him as the man who a short time before said he was going for potatoes. He was denounced as a spy and a hasty trial was held. The frighten man failed to give a clear account of himself and he was hanged. These, in brief are typical instances of the present state of things in unhappy Cuba. In an elaborate publication issued by the War Department regarding the military strength of the powers of the world, a chapter is devoted to Spain’s forces at home, her army of operations in Cuba and her military resources. Some of the attaches of the Spanish Legation in Washington take excepton to a chapter in regard to the army of operations in Cuba and it may be that when the publication Is received and considered in Madrid, the Spanish Government may have something to say about it to the United States. According to the publication, Spain has now In Cuba 118,730 men, of whom .20,000 sailed from Spain on February 12, 1806, and composed the ninth expedition. The eighth expedition consisting of 6,317 men, sailed in December last.

The total number of Spanish troops in the island on December 1, 1895, was 92,413 divided in this way:—lnfantry, 82 battalions, one disciplinary brigade and Borne independent companies, 79,000 men; cavalry, two regiments of the Cuban establishment, with 18 squadrons, furnished by certain designated regiments of the home army, 7,000 men; artillery, one fortress batallion raised in Spain for Cuban service; one mountain artillery regiment raised in Cuba and six mountain batteries raised in Spain, 2,300 men; engineers, 1,658; transport companies, 1,055; sanitary brigade, 700; local guerillas, 700. Now, a word as to our obligations in the matter of filibustering. In the first place the report that Spain would demand the extraditions of filibusters who fit out expeditions from this country to help the cause of Cuba excites only amusement in diplomatic circles in Washington. We have no extradi-

tion treaty with Spain which covers political offences. The nearest approach to anything of that sort, are certain provisions in the treaty of 1877, as modified in 1882, which deal with murder, attempted murder, and piracy ; but these would require so violent a stretching to make them cover the most flagrant of filibustering cases that probably no foreign secretary or diplomatic agent would care to make himself ridiculous by attempting it In the second place the filibusters who give so much trouble to Spain are not Spanish subjects committing crime

on Spanish soil and fleeing to this country to escape the penalties of the Spanish law, but American citizens bent on helping forward a revolution of Spanish subjects. They are subject to the domestic neutrality laws of the United States, and to them alone. To illustrate the difference, take the case of a man named Morton, who is now in Cuba awaiting trial for some offence committed against Spanish law, but whom the authorities of this country want extradited so that they can punish him for a heavy forgery by which he victimized an American business firm. The Spaniards have refused to give him up on the ground that he is a Spanish subject and not an American citizen fleeing from justice in his own country. As long as the Spanish government makes this point on Morton it' will not stultify itself by demanding the extradition of any American filibuster.

Bicycles as Calamities.

Business men will presently be looking for a new St. George to demolish the latter day enemy of trade, the bicycle. One hears the same complaint on every side, “The bicycle has ruined our business.” While this state of the case is doubtless exaggerated there is still a modicum of truth in this oft-repeated wail. The bicycle fever seems to have spared no one, and as a natural consequence money that was once spent in many directions is now sunk in wheels and the concomitants thereof. It is well known that no branch of trade has been more visibly as well as radically affected by the bicycle craze than the manufacture of watches. A large number of well known firms which once found it profitable to make watches have abandoned their manufacture for that of bicycles. This Is said to be the case with well known firms in Boston, Canton, 0., and Rockford, 111. These concerns are still turning out wheels, but the wheels are no longer put in gold cases. The falling off in the demand for watches is justly attributed to the increasing number of twenty-first birthdays which are now glorified with bicycles. In the good old days his proud father always presented his hopeful son with a gold watch when the latter celebrated his accession to manhood’s estate. Now the boy must have a bicycle. In the brave dayiflpof old, when a girl was pretty enough to deserve everything she wanted she asked for jewelry or clothes or diamonds, or a poodle dog. Now she insists on a bicycle. All of which is refreshing and amusing when considered from the point of view of poesy or athletics, but to the last degree tragical when looked at through the spectacles of the honest tradesman. For the retail jeweler no longer sells papa watches or diamonds, the dry goods dealer no longer measures out silks and laces, the cigar man fails to .sell perfectos to Mary Jane’s young man, and is forced to lay in slabs of chewing gum instead. Even the tailors feel the strain. Men roll about so much in bicycle suits nowadays as never to wear out their other clothes. Theatrical managers complain bitterly that the bicycle is hurting their business. Sweethearts used to go to the theatre together when they felt the need of a let up in the ardent exercise of spooning. Now they go bicycling together. A prominent manager says that the loss to theatres on account of the mad craze for wheeling was simply incalculable. He declares that persons who never In the past were known to go out at night unless they went to thetheatre now fly about on bicycles every night and never darken a theatre’s doors. He declared that unless a change for the better occurred very soon the theatres must inevitably go to the wall. If men and women flew to the wheel with the same persistency for another year there would literally be nobody left to support the theatres. Indeed, the bicycle appears to be “hogging” everything. It confers few benefits upon the world of trade, except In the domain of confectionery and soft drinks.

Saloon-keepers are by no means satisfied with the drift of things. They say that they are selling very little hard stuff, and still less beer, to bicyclists. It appears that the wheelmen find it necessary to stick to soft drinks in order to stick to their saddles. An Immense quantity of candy is consumed by both sexes. Women are said to be Incessant chewers of gum and sweets when on the road. Men are becoming converted to the habit, and instead of smoking, as they used to do, now munch mint stick, suck lemon balls or chew gum. Wheelmen have also discovered that cycling and smoking are irreconsilable. What is the result? Retail tobacco dealers will tell you that there is a tremendous falling off in their receipts. An authority on the tobacco trade told me that the bicycle had lessened the output of the manufacturers by 70,000,000 cigars annually. Chewers also find it inexpedient to use the weed in their rides, and many have even gone to the length of giving up the habit altogether. In conclusion, attention is called to the phenomenon that some of the Chicago theatres have given up their Sunday performances because the patrons who used to flock to them now pedal their ways into green fields and over asphalt roads. The bicycle already rules the world, and its reign has been joyfully accepted. But what is the business man going to do when the woman upon whom he relies for his fortune spends all her pin money in outing suits?

Siberia’s Great Railway,

There are to be about 200 railway stations distributed over the new Siberian railway. The rolling stock will comprise 2,000 locomotives, 3,000 passenger cars and 36,000 goods wagons. The passenger traffic will be almost exclusively confined to third and fourth classes, and the tariff will be very low. The works in connection with this great undertaking are being pushed on with much energy, and the work, is expected to be completed' in about six years. The opening of this line will shorten the journey around the world by about twenty days.—Railway Age. The deepest gold mine In the world is at Eureka, Cal.; depth, 2,290 feet