Indianapolis Journal, Volume 50, Number 315, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 November 1900 — Page 20

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CAREER OF MARK TWAIN

A STOnV III-'TKN TOLD. HIT OSK that in: aus iii:ii:titio. wi:ll. Characteristic of the 31 an nml Ilia Work That Appeal Peculiarly to V.oyn and 3Icn. James L. Ford. !n Collier's Weekly. I myself was the original discoverer of Mark Twain, at least so far as our school was concerned, ami the other day, as I at talking to the. ruddy-faced and grizzled man of sixty-five, my memory went back Just one-third of a century, and I saw myself once more seated with my companions round the tig" stove In the upper hall of the old schoolhouse rubbing with witchhazel extract the shins and elbows that had been bruised In the playground, and reading aloua tn turn from the "Jumping Frog." We were too young then to understand a great many things that some of us know now. I knew that I had no Idea that the author of the little book of sketches that had fallen Into our hands was In the legitimate line of succession to the leadership of American humor a line that may be ald to have begun with Lieutenant Derby and ended with' Bill Nye. I do not mean to say that Mark Twain was deposed from the leadership, he simply rose to higher thing?, and now, wisely enough, is devoting hl3 later years to books which, like 'Joan of Arc" and "Huckleberry Finn," arc far more likely to outlive tho twentieth century than are "The Innocents Abroad" or "The Gilded Age." "We were too young, we boarding school youngsters, who gathered nightly about the big stove to anoint our shins with witch-hazel and our minds with pure, healthful and vigoratlng humor to this very day the peculiar smell of that ointment never falls to recall to my mind the story of the bad little boy who did" not come to grief we were too young to know anything about the history of American humor or the technique of the professional humorist. But we had pretty clear ideas as to what was funny, and on the night that I came to the upper hall with the "Jumping" Frog" In my hand we had an adjourned session after the teacher had made his rounds, and, until far into the Tdght we sat listening to thoa; wonderful stories and muffling and chokln,? down our laughter for fear it would bo heard two floors below. That eight we voted that tho new humorist was pretty nearly as funny os Dickens and considerably funnier than Artemus Ward. I have learned a great deal since then about humorous literature, the way in which It Is prepared and the men who have achieved fortunes and reputation in some cases, delirium tremens and poverty in others, by their skill In Its preparation, and row, after a lapse of a third of a century, I see no reason why the verdict rendered by half a dozen boys on that winter's night should be reversed. A LIFE WITH A LESSON. The story of the life of Samuel I. Clemens has been told and retold a thousand times. But it is a story which cannot be told too often to the rising generation of America, nor la there any writer In the land, no matter of what sex, age or previous condition of seriousness, who can fail to profit by a close study of a literary career which had Its beginning in our own native soil, and whose constant upward tendency from that day until the present has scarcely a parallel in the craft of letters of to-day. It is Impossible to discuss his work without comparing it in a way with that of his contemporaries and taking into account the rather peculiar literary age in which he has lived and achieved his reputation. One of the peculiarities of this age is that it has produced very few writers whose work has improved and mellowed and ripened as the years went by. The subject is not a pleasant one for consideration, nor do I care to mention by name the many who have entered the field with a book or story of remarkable brilliancy and promise, and then gone doddering slowly down the broad path that leads to weak babblings and afterward complete silence. We have only to mention the name of any American writer of the past quarter of a century and then ask ourselves, whether It is his first or his last book by which he is recalled to memory. That will tell the story, and I am afraid that In nine cases out of ten the story Is not one of sound healthful literary growth. I do not think that anyone will deny that Mark Twain's name will be linked in our literary histcry with that of his later and mora serious work the finer fruit of ripened thought experience and travel rather than with, the first outcroppings, rich as they were, cf that rative humor that was so keen and. homely and racy of the soil. But a few days t-go, as I listened to his talk about hl3 Journey around tho world and thought of the great and honorable tasx for which that Journey had been undertaken, it seemed to me that the great humorist had not ret passed his prime; and as he spoke vaguely and in uncertain notes about the work which he has laid out for his future years, the Idea impressed Itself upon me that the great book of his lif-5 is yet to be written, and that, should his life be spared, it mil remains for him to give to the world the work by which he will be remembered throughout all time. A DEBT OF HONOR PAID. It Is scarcely necessary to speak of tho enormous debt of henor that impelled Mr. Clemens to undertake the most extended lecture tour of tho age at a time of life when most writers are thinking only of rest from their labor. It is a pity, however, that the complete story of that reraark- . able Journey of the strange and distant lands visited, of the enormous audiences that assembled everywhere to see this representative American writer, of the rapidity with which the debt was wiped out cannot be to!d in full as a valuable lesson to th rising generation. There Is one fact In connection with it. however, that must have inipresset itself upon those who have either heard Mr. Clemens talk about It or read the printed intei views on the day following his arrival, and that is his keen senso ol the dignity of humor. I wish that every actor, as well as even humorist, could be made to study the way In which this distinctive American, on his return to hla native Land, rises to the dignity of the occasion and discusses the countries that he has visited and the remarkable personages whom he has met with a seriousness that the subject demand?. Nothing is carter for a comedian than to "clown" a part for the purpose of "getting n lkugh." But there is only one way in which a comedian can win enduring popularity and renown, and that is by knowing when to. resist the temptation to be funny. It Is a pitfably small achievement to make the unthinking laugh. The comedian can do it by falling down on the stage and v making a face, and the traveled humorist can always prod guffaws out of fools of a certain class by calling the Queen of Kngland "Mrs. Guelph," and alluding to the Kmperor of Germany as "Bill." HE CAN BE SERIOUS. In this school of literary humor, the counterpart of that to which the comic Mage policeman, with his red whiskers and rtuffed club, belongs, the average oyster opener can be taught to excel In a few easy lessons. But it is only a great humorist with the proper respect for his profession who can be serious and respectful and dignified when he knows that a great part of hfs audience Is hoping and expecting that he will be funny at the expense of what he has seen and learned in foreign lands. "After having traveled and seen and studied as much as I have during the past live years, and especially after having been received with such great consideration wherever I have been," said Mr. Clemens thoughtfully. "It would ill become me at the moment of my return to speak lightly or in a merely humorous vein of my Journey." And that remark is thoroughly characteristic of the man. lie was Ijc tortus in AustraUzia ct th tlma

of Fresidtnt Cleveland's Venezuela letter, but not even the feeling engendered by that document could Interfere with tho cordiality of his reception or the success of his entertainments. At Frctoria he saw President Krugcr and also paid a visit to the Jameson Haiders, who were there In prison and whom he endeavored to cheer by telling them of the various great works, such as "Den Quixote" and 'Pilgrim's Progress." which never would have been written had not their authors been put in Jill. But somehow, according to Mr. Clemens, his words did not seem to have a very cheering effect on that fortunate rrlson. The pleasantest city that ho found in Europe was Vienna, where he remained from July, 1S7, to May, im There he made one or two speeches that have since become world-famous, and met a great many of the principal citizens. Including among others the Emperor of Austria. x His present plans are not yet decided upon, but it is probable that he will spend the winter In New York, where he has hosts of friends and where he Is certain to become a notable figure In the social and literary life of the town. In the spring he may return to his old home in Hartford, there to devote himself to the literary work that he has in hand. HIS PLANS UNCERTAIN. Paradoxical as it may seem, it is the subordination of the humorous element to the serious side of his character that has made Mark Twain's work perhaps the greatest of its kind in this country. It is because of this serious vein of thought that he is bound to outlive men who have been mere funraakers or Jugglers of words. I shall never forget that it was he who first taught me the important lesson that bad little boys do not always come to grief in the end, and particularly cheering that lesson was to me at the time that I learned it. Some of the good little boys who read the "Jumping Frog" at the same time that I did, have not acquitted themselves as well as their teachers predicted that they would. ;'.ud personal modesty prevents any reference to what has since happened to some of the others. It was that same quality of truth and seriousness that gave a real value to "The Innocents Abroad," which, apart from its delightful humor, Is one of the very best books of Europeon travel that I have ever read. The author of that book the Clemens of a third of a century ago was a man well schooled in the life of the Mississippi river and the crude civilization of Western mining towns. He was a man who absorbed knowledge naturally and easily, as. fortunately for him, his pores had not been clogged by a four years' course of classical education. He had been thinking for a long while before he began to write, and when he took up his pen he set about his work with a seriousness of purpose that was akin to the seriousness of his face, and that solemn manner of delivery which we expect in our humorists, and which at the present day is a puzzle to a good part of the British public HIS HOLD IN ENGLAND. Atermus Ward was the first man who ever dared to say funny things in London with a serious cast of countenance, and it is largely due to his Influence, and in later years to that of Mark Twain, that our national humor has obtained tho extraordinary hold that it now has on the Englishreading public of the world. The Mark Twain of to-day Is the Mississippi pilot of "Jumping Frog" fame, mellowed by forty years of the sort of education that only contact with the very best side of the world can give, lie has the same drawl, the same bushy hair, the same serious face, clear eyes and ruddy skin. Ills education has been of the kind that sinks deep and leaves externals almost unchanged. Few men of his day have enjoyed better opportunities than he for seeing life under many and varied conditions, and knowing the distinguished men and women of his own and other countries. What he found to do during the ten months that he spent In England, or the twenty that he passed in Vienna, he did not tell me; but that the world will be the gainer for his work and study during that period of time, I have no manner of doubt. The marvel to me is that a man can remain so many years abroad and return so little changed as to externals, and with not a perceptible trace of foreign manner or accent. I suppose It Is because his personality which Is strongly American permeates him through and through, and is not a mere outward veneer to be removed when the fashion changes. THEY FRACTICB HYPNOTISM.

Orthodox Physicians Unconsciously Indebted to "Suggestion." New Orleans Times-Democrat. "Speaking of hypnotism," said a listener, who has himself been something of a student of the phenomena, "it Is a curious fact that a good many physicians who are disposed to scoff at the whole thing as a delusion and fake are Indebted to 'suggestion' for most of their orofessional successes. I know an eminent surgeon in New Orleans who declares that there has never been h genuine case of hypnosis on record, yet who is unconsciously one of the most accomplished and successful hypnotists In the country. I accompanied him recently when he called on a patient who was suffering from a light attack of pneumonia, and I was both amused and interested In quietly observing his manner. He entered the sick room with a brisk, buoyant tread, and his cheery 'Good-morning' at once brought a smile to the face of the patient. 'Well. well he said genially; 'I see you're im proving. You are a great deal better than you were when I called last night! Let's see now much your fever has gone down. With that he produced a thermometer and took the sick man s temperature. 'Nearly a degree!' he exclaimed. 'That's arood! that's very good, indeed. At this rate you'll ioon be sitting up! I noticed, howerer. that he gave the trained nurse some earn est Instructions in the hall outside, and on cur way home I asked him how the natlent was really progressing. 'Oh. the case is still in statu quo he reqlled, 'but I hope fcr some Improvement to-morrow Then hi3 fever hasn't gone down?' T said In some surprise. 'Not vet said he; 1 let him think so merely to encourage him. Nothing like keeping tnem in a cneerrm rn.me or mina. you know A change for the better did set In during the day, and it was unquestionably very largely, if i ot entirely, attrib utable to the strong suggestion given by the doctor. Yet I am certain he would indignantly deny that ho had made usa of hypnotism In treating the case. Scm of the fld-tlme doctors, who were lamentably unscientific, effected wonderful cures, and It was generally conceded that their "bed side manner had a good deal to do with th results thev nchlevc-d. Beside manr-er. suegestlcn and hypnotism are all inter changeable terms. The old timers were simply tnconscious users' of the mysterious r.nd potent agency wh'cn we are lust be ginning to understand how to intelUgtntlv direct." Thoughtful Cnltfornlan. Chicago Post. A very cautious gentleman of wealth died In San Francisco last week, and hi? will exposes the fact that he has left JÖ0 "for any widow that may appear." As unexpected widows are very apt to appear after the obsequies of gentlemen In San Francisco, this act of prudence Is much to be commended. San Francisco is one of the marrylngest towns our modern civilization has produced, although the weddings are not abounding with that publicity and eclat which characterize similar functions in the East; hence the disagreeable and embarrassing revelations after the funeral. In leaving small but courteous sums for the alleviation of possible disappointments the etiquette of married life, as under stood in certain California circles, Is gracefully maintained. The Cry of the Young: Women. Give us a little joy, O World, We re o rouvp ant tron;. So nt for love's usages. For laughter and for socg. O World, our Joy 1 In thy hand. Withholden Ions and Ion; Or If youth's rapture be not thine to give, A littla rest or leave to cease to live. Life called us. not desire for life. And we .obedient came. Were blindfold set. nor knowing why. To play Fate's losing fame For foolish stakes, a crust of bread. Or tili retreating fame. .Daily we play, from dawn to set of sun: Nijhtly wo cry. "Oh. that the play were done." Each hold a dream within her heart Of future or or pat, A dream of mother, lover, child. Too rolffnart-Tweet to lat; A ml race dim In dimming eyei. We know but hold It faC I -et outlawed Kau take his re and roam: .Give o cur birthright. World love, peace and name. lielen IL Hullls. In Atlantic Monthly.

ANCIENT MARINER'S TALE

THE BOAT WAS SO GREEN THAT THE TI31DER5 SPROUTED. A Foatlnjr Arbor In the Sea, hut the Crew Came to Grief, nu the Vessel Finally Refused to Move. New York Times. "Well, I'm blarsted! exclaimed Cap'n Billy a3 the skipper ended his yarn. "Bless me, if that ain't h goodun." The storyteller was a long, raw-boned fellow. His clothes hung loosely after the ttyle of the sea. Ills face, tanned by wanderings in many clirnes, was puckered into countless wrinkles. From his mouth there issued as he talked periodic fountains of tobacco Juice, each of which was hurled through a crack in the floor with mathematical precision, an accomplishment to 'which the skipper was largely indebted for the great respect in which he was hela by the iamlllar spirits with whom he kept company. There was once a time when this prince of yarn spinners was known by a civilized name a name with two, maybe three, parts to it, like those of ordinary people. But when years ago he madehls appearance in South street nobody knew who he was, nor did he ever vouchsafe any in formation on the subject. After a while he cams to be known as "the Skipper." Everybody called him by that title, and his stories of the sea were repeated to the far corners of the East river pier line. Folks wondered ho at old he was, for, although the wrinkles on his face would have done credit to a mummy, his coal black hair was as thick as a boy's. All In all, though his gaunt form, six feet and more in height, was as well known along South street as the piers themselves, the skipper was a most mysterious character. "Bless me, if that ain't a gooa un, sam Cap'n Billy again. "Sure thing it is," echoed cap n jerry. "Great!" interjected a 'longshoreman over In the far corner. Bully!" remarked his companion, with emphasis. Then they all went away from their club the office of a certain towboat company. where they assembled, each day to do honor to the memory of the late Baron Munchausen. And after they had separated they repeated the skipper's' story from one end of South street to the other, until everybody, from tho fat bartender in Cuyler'a alley to tho pier guards at Corlears Hook, had heard it. This was the story: " 'Twas when I was in th West Indy trade somethln like twenty, or thirty, or forty years ago. My bosses held out in Fortland, Me., an they owned sev'ral schooners an' a good-sized brig when I went to work with 'em. I was put aboard o the brig. For a voyage or two after I took her she was all right, but then she got wrecked, an the crew, bein me an' twenty others, waa picked up out o th water by a steamboat. "We got back to Portland an found we were all out o work. Th bosses didn't want to fire any o' th men they had on th' other ships, an they didn't have no new ships to put us on. So there we were stranded. HAD A BOAT BUILT. Well, after I'd been there a day or two, an idee hit me. I took my old mate aside Sam Sullivan was his name an' put him nex to th whole scheme. He'd already told me as how he'd a bit o com stowed away in his jeans, an' I knowed I had a little myself, so we 'ranged things fast enough. Then we set out together for a certain pint on th coast, fifty miles or so b'yond Portland. At that pint there was some boatbulldera that I knowed about, people that built rowboats an' small sailing craft, an sometimes little schooners. They vre rough builders, for sure, but I'd heard Oey could put up a boat that d keep out th water. " 'We'll get a schooner for oursels," I said to Sullivan, 'an' then we'll do bus'ness in th Indies on our own hook.' 'He was agreeable, so we started out to fix th deal. Th builders named a price, an we paid 'em part o' th money, promisin th rest by-an -by. ' Then wo watcneu em put together th schooner. For sev'ral months they worked, usin green wood cut fresh from the forest an' It didn t cost em a cent, for that was a long time ago, an not many folks lived in th' country round about, so th boatbullders jus' snagged their timber from th Uov'ment. 'At last she was finished. Gee! She was rough lookln'I Green as grass all through an' through, rigged with sails that looked like bags, carryin' trees she was-a peach! But th tar they pitched her with was all O. K. an' she. was built to last for good. She didn't leak a llttlo bit, an th way she went through th' water was a sight, seein as she was so clumsy like that It didn't seem possible she could be sailed at all. But she was a good schooner, as far as jus goln was oonserned. 'Twas other things that was th' trouble with her, but we found out too late what them things were. "Off we sailed. We had got together a crew of ten likely chaps, me an' my mate had, an' 'twas our plan to go as fast as we could to Cuby, ther gettin a cargo o stuff to bring home an' smuggle in. In about a week we'd got along as far as th' Virglnny or Carollny shores, when suddenly th trouble begun. "Early one mornln Sullivan come a-bust-ln into my cabin, wavin' his hands an' yellin like mad. " 'What's up?' said I. " 'Come here,' he howled. 'Come herequick!' "I went, when I reached the deck Sulli van grabbed me an plnted his finger to ward th starboard bow. JImmlny Christ mas! What d ye s pose I saw there? 'Twas a tree, a livln', growin', green tree. 'Twas growin' right square out o th deck, an' it had already gone up seven or eight foot high. I ran up an' looked at it. No. there wasn't no doubt of it. Our green schooner had begun to sprout. "I ain't supersteetious not a bit but that got me. An there was th mate, a yellln liko a demon, an a-crossin' himself all over. Th men, too, was on deck by this time. They were skeered right, I can tell you, an you wouldn t 'a blamed em. either, for a tree growin out o the deck of a schooner did really look kind o spirit like. " 'Get together, boys.' I said, when I saw em Iookln so dumnumoxed. 'Get together. Taint no narm done, we u have a bit o shade aboard if this thing keens un.' "1 had a hard time suyin that an Dretendin' not to be frightened, for I felt sort o curious. But I put on a brassy lin an made as if I didn't care a little bit whether th blasted tree was growin there or not. In fact. I told th men that I'd had the schooner made for a tree-grower on purpose. "Well, we got halfway used to th thine that day. Th tree growed two foot more before noon. Then another one shot up at ' mm. mitist, tin , wiien we nrst saw It. It was only a little bush: but it growed fast, an before night we had two gooti-sized snaders. "Th nex day a whole forest be can to come out. 'mere were trees on top o' th fo'c'sle, an trees at the hatches' openln's. an trees growin' to sea from th' ship's sides, an even a few little shrublike bushes sproutin out o the masts. The bigges ones on deck was gettin .way ud in th1 riggin', an' we had to saw off a limb or two to keep 'em from tearin th sails. In rac, 'twas ail we could do to keep them trees down durin the nex week or so. for when we got along about opposite th Flor ida coast we must ve had a hundred or two of em on board. All the time we'd been hackln off a few of them that was growin on th ship s sides. . ROOTED TO THE SPOT. "Then th' worst thing of all happened. One mornln we woke up an found we weren't movln through th water at all. Th sails were full set, an th wind was spllttln 'em to pieces, but th' confounded schooner wasn't budgln an inch. I went all round an xamlned things. 'Ceptln for the trees an' bushes everywhere nothln seemed to be wrong, an for th life o' me I couldn't see how a few saplln's, If they were properly trimmed, could stop th ship. "After goln through th inside an over th top o her, I took a look over th deck rail. Down as far as th water line there were lots o stumps, where we'd been chonim vu. uw ticca mat uku fciuwea tüere.

but these stumps an a few more that had sprung up over night didn't seem to be doln' any harm. To save my boats I couldn't see what th' trouble was. "Th' mate an th crew had been Iookln round, too. but they wero Jus as much puzzled as I was. "'It's a hoodoo said Sullivan. 'It's a hoodoo. "Then he began crossin himself, an th crew looked ekeered. I was skeered, too, but I tried not to let on. "Suddenly th truth came upon me. I skinned into my cabin an got a dlvin' helmet an told one o th' men to put it on. Then I ordered him to take a look under th' water an see how th bottom o th schooner was comin' along: an when he climbed down on th port side an dropped in with asplash, me an th' mate an' th rest o the crew leaned over th' raiiln to watch him come up again. "He didn't take long. In a few minutes his head came a-bobtin up, an he began to climb abroad, usln th' stumps on th' ship's side for a stepladder. When he threw off th dlvin' helmet he was white in th' face from bein' skeered, an' 'twas some while before he'd tell us what he'd seen. But finally he openeß up. He said there were trees all over th' bottom o' th ship, trees as big as molasses barrels an' so tall that they'd already growed clean down to th floor o' th sea nn struck new roots there. He said the branches were takln' hold to a coral reef, or Somethln' o' th' kind, an' that there was sev-ral thousand of 'em. "Well, we didn't know what to do. There watn't another dlvin helmet abroad, an' th' trees down below were too big and there were too many of 'em to be sawed off by one man. Meantlmes th wind was tearin our sails to flinders, an th trees on th' decks were sproutin higher an' higher all th' time, an' th' leaves on 'cm were gettin so thick that We couldn't see th' sun through "em. "Th' only thing to be done, it seemed, was to haul down th' canvas an' jus' stay where we were till some shlp'd come by an pick us up. So we took in sail th little we had left an' then ate breakfast an waited. For a week we staid there. Th' trees growed an' growed. We didn't cut 'em off any more, but jus let 'em alone, an' when wo got used to 'em we had a fine time smakln' our pipes In th shade an' not glvln a cent how hot th sun was, for it couldn't hit ua a bit. AN ARBOR IN THE SEA. "When th week was up th schooner wasn't nothln but a boomln arbor. From

her water line to th top o her mainmast there were leaves, leaves, leaves, an big branches from the decks an' sides had be gun to stretch out ten or fifteen yards over th water. I'll tell you that schooner was green, she was a No. 1 sprouter. 'What was goln' on underneath all this time, you can guess. I s'pose tnere must 'a been enough timber down there to build forty ships with, for once when th diver went down he told us tnero was at least 20,(100 trees a-growlng out o th bottom o th schooner. 'Our provisions had begun gettin low. for we'd counted on reaehin Cuby before this, an' we were Jus beginnin to get real anxious when a llttlo old steamboat sighted us. Her cap'n saw a big bunch o' trees shootln' out o th' water an came over m our direction to see If he'd discovered a new island. When he got pretty close he sent a Doat over, an', as it came near us, me an my men climbed out on some branches an hollered we were there. v hen th boat trot under U3 we ex plained th' case to th officer In charge. An what d'ye think. He wouldn't b'lieve us at first, but at last, when we persuaded mm to SKin up a limb an come aboard, he had to b'lieve. Then all th fellers as had come with him in th boat crawled in, too, tnrougn in leaves. They said they'd be busted If they'd ever heard or seen th like of it before, after which they went back to tn' steamer an' told their cap'n all about it. Then he thought they were lyin and told 'em so. but. when they swore tnev weren't, he came over an took a look at us himself. "He told us to get in our lifeboat an come aboard th steamer, sayln he'd take us to New York. But we couldn't use our boat, for it was all full o bushes, so he took us off in his gig, an' a week later we'd hit dry land again an' were Iookln' for Jobs right here on South street." As the skipper reached this point In his tale he paused abruptly, as if through talking, and cut off a fresh chew of tobacco. "JJut what became o th' schooner?" Cap'n Jerry asked. "Go 'way!" replied the skipper. "Do you mean to say you never heard this story before? Why, everybody In th' world knew 'bout that green schooner. Th TInitpfi States gov'ment, when they heard 'bout it, sent out a whole fleet o' warships to Investigate, but somehow they never located th schooner. Maybe a cyclone blew her to pieces, trees an' all. How should I know what became of her?" A WOMAN'S VI13W OF SI 11 CHI A. The RuMMlnn Peasant Xot Downtrod den, as So Many Have Described. Anna N. Benjamin, in Ainslee's Magazine. "I think that there la a sreat donl of mis conception concerning the Russian peasant. He does not Dresent thn itsflosx rl den, hopeless picture which so many peo ple nave arawn. rnysicaiiy he seems almost peerless. I do not refer alone to his health and strength, for the massive blonde type is pleasant to look at, and, as a whole. oresents more claim tn nprsnnni Ho-mtv among the men than any other, except, pernaps, tne iianan. one element or the more or less latent power of the Russian peasant Is his ability to live In the utmost simplicity. His brawn is produced by the consumption of black bread and sour milk. o leqmre no luxuries, iie is simple, and he IS Stolid, but not dull. In KihpHn nt least. h I rnntntfH x-lt'-i Ma lnt Vi- to devoted to his family, and shows a' neverJ. 111.. A .... ianing tenaerness ror his children. If he lacks in entsmrUn nnH In h.iwlnasa oWHtv it must be remembered that he has encountered nothing to develop those quailAt . ... . lies, tie maKes up tor tnis to a certain extent by his thrift and frugality. lis greatest curse is drink, which is th hoo ting sin of the Russians, but If any race can sianu excesses, tney can. "I have spoken entirely of the peasant, the moujik, as he is called, yet no description of the growing population of Siberia would bo complete without reference to the Coasacks. whom we mpt at pvprv turn T Cossacks are the arms and legs of Russia, wnne tne moujik is the backbone. The Cossacks won Siberia for Russia when they were the darlnur frlns- nf hpr nnnniaHnn grown adventurous and warlike by their irequent connicts witn tne Tartars who crowded Russia's borders. In them is concentrated the enterprise and the aggresiveness which the moujik lacks. They cut the path and the moujik followed, and the descendants of these hardy pioneers live throughout Siberia touuy, iornung an nereaitary military caste. In every group of people who crowded to welcome our teamer on the- shore shone the white blouse and kepi or tne Cossack, while his sons are dressed in a miniature uniform of the same kind The military governor at Vladivostok is a Ccssack, and several Cossack officers trave:ea tor some distance on our steamer. Their regiment was scattered among the different villages along the bank. Since A m m . . me trouDie in the East it has probably been mustered in and gone to the front. So strict are the lanra nf hroHtv nmnrtcr tht fncflacks that it is almost impossible for an ofucer wno was not born one to obtain a Command in a Prialr ivsHmpnt T sow no greater evidence of Russia's admin istrative ability than the present results vi turning an almost iawiess xorce into a loyal and powerful arm of her service. ine people themselves rorm the most jricturesque element of the Siberian village. The men wear the Russian cap, and tho blouse, most nttpn nf rAri. whllA li-s nnlw boot that they know comes to the knee. or aoove n, m manuora wnnicies. The women. In bright print gowns, are mostly bare-footed, except in winter, and wear a Ktrcmer over tne neaa. uut even Defore you see the people you are Impressed With the dual snlres of the small Rrwlf church which rise above each small place. cringing to thU distant land the Russian message of Christ and a faint echo of Byzantium. In the group on the bank is the village 'pope' in a long cassock, his fair nair iauing in silken waves aoout his fchmilr!rt T fnnn1 it fTnrwfhl tn tit! V hold my admiration for the thoroughness and the consistency of the Greek Church. xnuugn we may ODject io us exclusive svstem. wo Trmf ilmit that thr I noth ing of the dog-ln-the-manger attitude about ii. w nerever Jtussia senas ner moujiK sne fends also her pope, whose lire must often fc sl rtrcarv o-rflo- tTn most Jnslpnlflpant Siberian village is not without the same rengious Bnviieges tnat are to oe ootainea In Russia." Seek and Ye Shall Find. The bee. In searching through the l?afy bower. Soon scents the fragrance of the honeyed flower: The vulture, scorninpr what is pure and good. Finds only foulness in the verdant wood. So tl In life that which we eck we find; Good men look for good motives in mankind; Cad men look for the bad and find It there Both bee and vaulture breathe the elfsame air. Xadi&napollg. Junta William Calhxh&a.

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reo. 129 SNAKES IN DUTCH GUIANA. Many Lives Are TLoat In the Jangle on Account of Carelene. New York Times. "Speaking of snakes," said a mining engineer, "I do not think there is a spot on the face of this earth equal to Dutch Guiana In that respect. There they have large snakes and small nakes, red snakes and green snakes, amber-colored snakes and golden snakes, snakes harmless and snakes deadly, round-headed snakes and flat-headed snakes, and snakes ranging through the entire list of colors from mud gray to striped orange and red. "If you are a tenderfoot in the country, before you leave Paramaribo for the gold fields in the Jungle the natives will warn you against the snakes. On the way to the fields, four hundred miles up the river in a canoe, you can shoot n dozen or more water snakes if you are watchful. Once in "camp and accustomed to precautions, before you get into your hammock at night you turn it inside out to oust a possible parrot snake that may have taken kindly to your bed. ' During the night, if you are called upon to leave camp, you pick your way along the Jungle trail with a lantern held low to light every inch your feettraverse. In the morning when you come to the embers of your camp fire you will find a bunch of snakes curled up around one another to keep oft the chill of the night in the warm ashes. 'And so it is, snakes, -snakes, snakes. Throughout 40,000 square miles of Jungle it is one continuous snake paradise. "Barring death by Jungle fever, more miners and prospectors are annually taken off by snake bites than by any other cause. Human life in that country weans, leas than it does here, and so it is that mine owners do not compel their negroes to wear shoes, and so it Is that in the brushwood surrounding some of the older camps there are scattered mounds bearing neither name nor Inscription, but pointed out occasionally by veteran miners as the place of 'So and So. poor devil, bitten by a snake.' "One of the most grewsome sights I ever witnessed was an attack by vultures on the body of a dead snake. We were pulling up the Saramacca river one afternoon in a mining boat. A dozen negroes were pulling their hearts out on the oars trying to yank the heavy .boat around a sharp bend against a rushing current Toot by foot the boat crawled along, hugging close to the shore under a maze of overhanging bushes. The naked black backs of the rowers dripped perspiration, till their ebony hides glistened as If greased with oil. "Suddenly a black streak shot down from. tne brush and witn a curse ana a cry of pain the bow oar dropped his oar and clutched his upper arm. Instantly there was confusion, and amid a confused Jabber cf Dutch negro dialect the boat drifted backward. There, stretched across tho top of the bushes, sunning himself as if nothing had happened, lay a long snake with a black, shiny back and an orange-colored belly. The fellow seemed all of twelve to fourteen feet long. He languidly raised hi? head for a look at the Intruders, but that same Instant there was a shot. The head dropped and the snake lay still. We lft him there intending to pick him up on the way home to get his skin. "About two miles away there was a speck of a vulture soaring in circles high in tho air. We went our way. Ten minutes later there were five specks about one mile away, soaring high in the air. We had not bucked another half mile before we had given up hopes of the snake skin. The buzzards had increased to a dozen in number and were darting directly over the dead snake as if to make sure that his life was. extinct. Then, amid screeches, there was'a combined descent. In a minute they rose, their beaks fastened into the long, limp carcass. Higher and higher they carried theJr grewsome load till, high up in the blue sky, a tug of war began. The snake was torn into sections. One of these fell. Before It had gone a hundred feet one of the birds shot after It. He caught his morsel before it had fallen another hundred feet. Then he retired among the tangle of the forest, as did the other vultures, and a scene of Jungle life had been acted. "One of the most harmless and one of the prettiest snakes in Dutch Guiana is the parrot snake. He is a little, three-foot arrangement, grass green, pink-eyed and, among snakes, probably the most knowing. These little chaps are often found in. camps. Their only objection is that they wriggle when you He down on them. They become very tame if encouraged, and take readily to civilization and sugar. In return for their board they keep the camps clear of mice and spiders. "But for each variety of harmless snake in Dutch Guiana there are five of the most venomous type. These are known by their fiat, triangular heads and by their sluggishness. A poisonous snake rarely move out of the way of an Intruder. He waits to strike, and If he strikes, recovery depends on what antidotes may be at hand. For this reason every white miner and every foreman over a gang of men carries in his hunting bag a bottle of concentrated ammonia and a tourniquets The precaution taken by white men in that Jungle against snake bites is to wear thick woollen socks and high laced boots. Others, In preference to wearing heavy boots, use leggings made of canvas lined with strips of whalebone. Through these protections it is Impossible for a snake to strike deep enough into the flesh to insert venom. Many an old ralr of boota scarred with snake bites la treasured as a memento by Its owner. But it Is when men grow careless and discard their protections that they are dangerously bitten. "When a man has been struck no time Is taken to suck - the poison out of the wound. Nine times out- of ten the wound is In the leg below the knee. The tourniquet Is slunjr about the lej above tha wound, and, after bcin.7 drawn tl-.i. with out Trltlnj to cuc!x tta zzlzi : :zzi t!:3

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wound, amonla Is applied. From time to time the tourniquet is loosened to allow part of the poison to work Into the system, but no more than the system can tala? care of at one time. In this way the entire poison is gradually worn out by the system instead of getting in its full deadly force at once." VALUE OF VIOLINS. One Favrnbroker Who Lends but a Dollar on Any Instrument. New Orleans Times-Democrat. "On a violin I will loan one dollar; no more," declared a little old pawnbroker of the local Latin quarter, replying to tho question of a casual curio hunter, who wa3 looking over the strange medley of odds and ends that littered the dutsy counters. "Yes?" said the visitor, politely; "but you refer, I suppose, to the general run o: violins. When an Instrument is of real vah'o you make fcn exception, of course." "Of course I do not!" retorted the pawnbroker sharply. "To me a violin is a violin, and Jl Is what I lend. Oh! to be suro they protest often! Sometimes they shed tears. They assure me it is old. rare, worth I don't know what. 'Very well,' I reply; 'then take it to a musician. Me I am a pawnbroker, and I lend Jl on Addles, provided they are in good order. No, 1 did not always have this rule," admitted the old man. smiling grimly. "I thought once that I knew something about violin myself. My father was a musician and played for twenty years In the orchestra at the French Opera House. I was brought up, as you might say, among fiddles; but pshaw! Let me tell you what they did: One day a man came here with a dirty old case under his arm. Ho took me back in the passage to open it and said: Sh-s-s! it is a Stradl Well, to tell you the truth, it was a very fine looking instrument. I examined it carefully, and it had all the marks. It was signed 'A. 8.' As for the man, he told the usual story poverty and so on but he told it well. I was more than half convinced; still, I took him to my friend Edgardo, who had a repair shop on the next corner and was a known connoisseur. When Edgardo saw the fiddle his eyes stuck out. 'Antonio Stradivarius!' he whispered in my ear. I led him into the hall. 'Are you sure It is genuine? I asked. I stake my life. said he. Well, I lent the man $300, and promised to keep the fiddle for him six months. In a week or so another musician In distress showed up a friend of the first man. He had a Magglni burnt-amber varnish, seventeenth century. I took him also to Edgardo, who was enchanted. 'You are in luck,' he said, privately; 'there is a colony of these fellows. Just from Europe. They are very poor and have magnificent fiddles. You will get them all I lent $250 on the Magglni. In a month I had three more a Guarnerlus and two Gaglianos. Altogether I advanced J575 on them. Then one day the orchestra leader from the French opera came into the shop. He was a distinguished man and wore the red rosette of the Legion in his buttonhole. We got to talking about violins, and, to surprise him, I brought out the 'Strad.' I give you my word I thought that man would never get through laughing. But I was already on my way to Edgardo's, and what do you think? his shop was closed, cleaned out, for rent! I never saw him again, nor tho five worthy musicians. The fiddles I sold for $S apiece. It seems there is a factory in Brussels where they make them by the gross. Since then I have established my rule a violin is a violin, and as collateral It is worth $1, if in good repair. When they protest I say: 'Go to a musician. I am not a musician. I am a pawnbroker. " AT THE SIGN OF THE WItEX'S XEST. The Home and Pleasant Personality of Joel Chandler Harris. Literary Bulletin.' Joel Chandler Harris, who has lately withdrawn from Journalism in order to give his entire time to creative work, lives In West End, a pleasant suburb of Atlanta. The Harris homestead is a modest brown house, set back from the shady street. In one of the posts of the gateway fronting the house a wren yearly builds her nest and hatches her young, and this has prompted Mr. Harris to call his home "At the Sign of the Wren's Nest." Although all about are trees, shrubs and flowers, the outdoor attractions of this home are but the frame to the picture, for when one enters the hou.e he finds its every nook and corner bearing silent witness to the tastes and habits of its occupants. The master's study on the second floor is furnished with books, magazines, writing desks and other tools of the literary toller, but Mr. Harris is so simple in his habits and so fond of his family circle he has been a devoted husband from his youth and is a happy father and grandfatherrthat more often than not he Ignores his study, and, with, his wife beside him, writes with a pencil on a little pine table that is as portable as a camp chair and travels up stairs and down stairs and out on the broad veranda. It was in this informal fashion that he wrote his latest, and, perhaps, his best book, which has given a legion of admirers Joyous introduction to wise and witty Billy Sanders and to the inimitable Captain McCarthy. Wrhlle one of the greatest of living writers, Mr. JIarrls is one of the simplest and most unassuming of men. "Success," says a friend, "has not caused him to part with any of his native modesty. It has vaguely dawned upon him that his writings are popular, and that his pen is bringing him an ample Income, but it is still a mystery to him. Famous men in England write to him; French and German publishers issue translations of his stories: fashionable clubs in the great cities tender him receptions; publishers ask him to send them something a magazine story, a novel of plantation life, or even a history of Georgia; but none of these communications can disturb the even tenor of his life." Philosophie. I wish but what I hire it will: I wander net to elte fcr rnorf; I like the pUlne. I cMir. no hill; " In jrrratest tterme I ritte cn thore. And luh at thni that tolle In valne To ct whit caukt t lost rxine. Z3wri Djer.

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written on the basis of the full val. & Loan Co., AMONG THE SULUS. Farts Concerning the Exlatence ( Mnvcrj and Poljgnmj- There. The Outlook, which, as the readers cf the Journal know, is a religious weekly, nonpartisan in politics, and of outspoken views on public questions, some time ago sent a special representative to the Philippines ia order that it might secure an unbiased report of conditions there. Incidentally this correspondent, Mr. Fhelps Whitmarjh, studied the situation in the Sulu archipelago, and the result of his observations aj pers In the current issue of the Outlook., la view of the absurd charge made by erj,o nents of President McKinley' administration during the recent campaign that tha United States government was encouragir.j slavery and polygamy in those Islands, th statements of this correspondent, here reproduced, are of especial Interest. lie says: "The Mcro, among other thinps. looki upon slavery as a necessary Institution, anj he considers polygamy no hin. The slavery of the Sulu archipelago is the t.ime as that found In some parts of Luzon an! Li Mindanao. . It Is not at all a checking system; there are no whips, no taskmasters or bloodhounds, not a suggestion of Tncl Tom's Cabin;' the basis seem to be more that of a retainer than a bond slave. Ia Sulu a man may be enslaved tor indebtedness which he cannot pay, by capture In war or piracy, or hi may be born a slave. Although slaves are looked upon as part cf a man's riches, since the Dutch, under pressure, put a stop to the traffic in th-ir possessions, they are no longer considered ai merchandise, and in these days, 1 am assyed, a slave is almost never bought or sold. The Moro slave lives in the same house, eats at the same sitting, and is clothed in the same way as his master. The great difference between the old American slavery and that of Sulu Is that her it is no degredation the' slave seems to be socially th3 equal of his master and he Is treated in such a manner that It Is Impossible to distinguish him from his maf.er. He appears to work only when It p!eal him. and. though he has the right to purChase his freedom, he seldom docs so. When taken prisoner by a rich datu wnoe store of provisions I ample, he has rot infrequently been known to refuse hi liberty; and ho often deserts one master for another. While a imest of the hoppftabl brothers Schuck who, by the way, are the only white settlers of tr.e whole Sulu group I found an interesting state of affair: bearing somewhat on this question. The father of the present Schueck family, at his death, kit some thirty or foTty Moro slaves. After the American occupation these slaves were given their liberty. Not one of them left; they are still working on the estate, though now for wages, and a nourihlr.ff Liberia coffee plantation is the result. But this is merely a side light. What I wish to make plain Is that slavery la Sulu Is not the dreadful thing that some people believe; for the most part, it is no more than a datu or wealthy man being responsible for a number of the Ijwer class the rich taking care of the po.-r. This being the case, there Is no need of any one going into hysterics over tl.e matter, or any need of the I'nited Mates abolishing slavery at the moment, it would undoubtedly be a grave mistake to attack the system by law at this time, when everything is being done to bui.l up a firm basis of confidence and friendchip with the Moros. The evil may t discouraged in many ways without actual legislation: and. with islands so small n area as the Sulus, such discouragement, together with the Influences of trade and the contact with peoples of a higher degree of civilization, all of which are now being felt in the little archipelago for the first time, will gradually and without friction put it down for all time. As regards polygamy In Sulu. although the Moros are permitted by their religion to take as many as four wives, they do not commonly take more than one, principally for the reason that very few of them can afford it. As a rule, polygamy Is confined to the Sultan, the datus and other head men. As an exception, however. I may sar that I made the acquaintance of a Moro farmer who had three wives and fifty-three children, and a very nice littl- village they made. Whl.e not exactly a part of tl. Mohammedan religion, the Koran distinctly allows a plurality of wives, and any direct Interference with the institution would doubtless be taken as an attack upon the faith, and probably lead to a holy war. Both the British and the Dutch, in !flr government of two or three millions of .Mo; hammedan subjects, have wisely ignore-i polygamy, and the United States, in it handling of the Moros, cannot. I think, c j better than follow these successful colonizers example. "In coming from Luzon, where the undercurrent of popular feeling had been so uneasy and so decidely contra-American, th contentedness of the Moros, their lack cf outcry for or expectation of Independence, was to me especially noticeable. The Moro do not in the least know what civil government meajis, and they are too little developed to hve it applied. Military power will be needed to control this race for a generation at least: and, with the poi exception of appointing a few civil servants, which can be done by the military authorities, civil government would be not only a mistake, but an absurdity. Tha same thlny applies equally to the whole department of Mindanao and Jolo, In which perhaps nine-tenths of the entire population are Moros and pagans." Ten Cents Saved. Philadelphia Press. Gazley Now that we'ro engaged, my girl is beginning to make me economize. You know I used to take her a pound of W-cent tonbons every Saturday. llazley Yes, and now she insists on a cheaper sort, eh? Gazley Oh! no. You can get two pounds of the &)-cent kind for 51.50, so sho insist! cn & two-pound box.