Ligonier Banner., Volume 34, Number 5, Ligonier, Noble County, 4 May 1899 — Page 7
——————— A e o R S eSR S e —————————— . RS "‘ =M AR RARRY ' B I e /.‘ ?4-'_; < . -"f{‘ S ‘fii\' [ Y D DA ‘ - ) -y ” b \“’ ) Y. = )< [\ B L 2 - y‘j" \‘<— T By~ F#l.Costrue. - [Copyright, 186, by D. Appleton & Co. ; All rights reserved.) 52 ) SYNOPSIS. | o Master Ardick, just reached his majority and thrown upon his own resources, after stating his qgase to one Houthwick, a shipmaster, is shipped as second mate on the Industry, bound for Havana. Mr. Tym, the supercargo, descries a sail. The strange vessel gives chase, but is disabled by the Industry’s guns. In the fray one of the crew is killed and Houthwick is seen to fall. The captain is found to be dead, put theé Industry is litttle damaged. Sellinger, first mate takes charge and puts into Sidmouth to secure a new mate. Severaldays later, when _well out to sea, an English merchantman is met, whose captain has a letter addressed to Jeremiah Hope, at Havana. The crew of the vessel tell strarnge tales of the buccaneer Morgan, who is sailing under the king’s commis- | sion to take Panama. One night a little 1 later, the English vessel having proceeded | on her course, a bit of paper is slipped into | Ardick’s hand by one of the sailors. This is found to be a warning of a mutiny plot headed by Pradey, the new mate. Ardick, consults Mr. Tym. They resolve to secure the mate, but Pradey, eavesdropping in the cabin, makes through the door and arouses the crew. Capt. Sellinger joins Ardick and Tym. The crew break through the nosv barricaded door, but are forced to retire, having lost seven of their number. Finding themselves now too short-handed to manage the beat, Pradey decides to scuttle and desert the vessel, taking his men off in the only availabke boat. The captain, .supercargo and second mate soon discover their plight;, but hastily constructing a raft get away Jjust before their vessel sinks. The next morning a Spaniard draws near them. The man in the rigging shouts: “If you would board us, take to your oars. Be speedy, or you will fall short.””.. On board they are sent forward with the crew, bheing told they will be sold as slaves on reaching Panama. The ship’s cook they find te be Mac Ivrach, “frae Clagvarloch,” so a friend. TFour days later the Spaniard is overhauled by a buccaneer flying the English flag. The three Englishmen and Mac Ivrach plan to escape to the buccaneerona rude raft. “Sellinger, the last to attempt to leave the Spaniard, is disabled. Just after the others put off they sce a figure dangling from the yard arm, whom they suppose is Capt. Sellinger. Hailing the buccaneer, our three friends find themselves in the hands of their old mnate, Pradey. He treatis them kindly and oifers to do them no harm if they will but remain quiet concerning the mutiny he headed. The Black Eagle, Pradey's ship, comes to Chagre, Cuba, which town they flnd Morgan has taken under the English flag. From her.the Black Eagle with Morgan's fleet proceeds to Panama. The command consists cf about 1,200 men. Having landed, they march on the city. The assaultion the city is begun. Narny of the buccaneers fall, and 91dick is wouneed. Through the smoke he sees Pradey approaching. Thecity at last falls. Ardick, coming to, finds Tym had rescued him from the murdercus hand of Pradey by killing the villain. The Spanish flag has been hauled dosvn from the castle and the men allowed to plunder the eity at will.. Mac _lvrach spies a figure coming toward +hem, and exclaims: ‘'The gaist o’ the captain.” It is indeed Sellinger. He recounts his late adventures, then he Jeads them to the rescue ot Don Enrique de (avodilla, who had been kirnd to him on the Pilanca, the Spanish vessel on which he had been a . prisoner. Flight is the only courge cpen to the dion, his wife and daughter (I_)ona\Ca‘r—
men.). They just manage to leave the buitding when Capt. Towland comes to ¢iaim the dona as his prize, under.the buecaheers’ rule. Mr. Tym parleys to gain time flor the fight of his partey, then allows the men to enter. Secking shortly to ioin the don, they ‘come upon his dead hody. They also find his wife has been slain ard the young cona taken prisoner to the castle, and }mmediatelv conceive a bold plan for her-rescue., They soon discovér her exact whereabouts, and amid the carousals of the men, manage to again free her and eseape in a small beat. The third day out a sail is spied which they
raise rapidly, their craft having little spced, but the wind soon fails both vessels, and a small boat is put out from the stranger. 2
CHOAPTER XIX.—CONTIXTED.
“We will hold on stegdily and yet without tiring ourseives.,” said the captain. “The farther we can draw those fellows from the ship the better, especially since the wind may by and by spring up.” L TLis was clearly wise, and we went on to carry ouf his plan, the boat astern-of course continuing to gain. “We had best stop rowing,” said Sellinger fimally: Sin faet, 1T am a bit blown. Unship cars; Mac Ivrach, and prepare to put your breath to another ‘purpose.”. r - “It is time we armed.,” said Mr. Tym, rising. “Ardick, you will have to explain the matter to the sencrita, which is a harsh duty, but may not be avoided. She.must be cautioned as to lying low when the bullets begin to fly.” “It is almost worse than the fighting ‘to tell her,” I said. sith a sigh; “but, ‘as you say, it must be done.” - I stepped along to the cuddy accordingly, and in a tone which I made as commonplace as I could spoke her
name. She instantly answered and parted “the curtain. : I pitied her o that I could not easily recommand my words, but after a moment managed to explain what had happened. She bore the news better than I had feared, .though the color very quickly {eft her cheecks. “I will obey you, senor,” she said, as I finished. “I know that you and your companions are brave and will beat off those ecruel men,*{f it be possible. . You would have your weapons, and I will fetch them.” ° 3 With this—to my surprise, for I had not thought her such a heroine—she . brought the swords and pistols and handed them to me. . I praised her spirit, and she faintly smiled, lifting her dark eyes for a moment to mine. I helped her from the berth, and as my companions were waiting, and this was no time for gentiment, turned back to them with the weapons. = We fell to loading the pistols, and Dona Carmen, after a long lock at the approaching boat, sat down quietly on one of the neighboripg thwarts, It was idle to deny the desperatevess of our situation. A well-armed boat’s crew to contend against, and we numbering only four, and of those but three well skilled in arms! To be - sure, Mr. Tym was an astonishing fighter; and I understcod the usz of the sword better, perhaps, than any “but two or three of Morgan’s entire force. but yet this was only a ¢'rcumscribed matter, and one quickly altered by a well-aimed pistol shdt. Yet two advantages we did have, though becth were small compared with the fearful odds. This was, first, the bet- . ter target that the enemy must present as he drew nigh, and, secondly, ‘the freer play we should have for our swords when it came to the final melee. The buccaneers’ boat drew on apace, and at last began to cut a c'ear shape, as she rose on the swells und we got the measured flashes of her oars. It
how soon the opening bullet might fly). and I crossed over to her and told her so, she consenting, though with a long breath and a sad little clasping of her hands that seemed to be most pathetic. I said what 1 could to hearten her (God knows it was little, and that, with the best resolution I. could muster, but hollowly spoken), ‘and returned to my former place, my spirits. lower, I think, than at any time since the buccaneer had hove in sight. There were still 'a few last things to be done, such as to make a bunt of the sail, and run the boom up out of the way, and to'lay tHe oars along forward, and these, with no more than a word or two, we did.
By this time the coming boat was almost within pistol shot, and, bows-on-though she was, we could make out something of her size and the number cf her crew’. She seemed to be an ordinary ship’s longboat, nigh as big as the sloop, and by such a view as we_ got, when she fetched her downward’ tilt, contained not fewer than 14 or 15 men.” Some of these were in armor, as we saw by a broad gleam here and there, but the greater number wore no defensive gear, though now and then there might be a simple headpiece or patch of breast harness.
It continued to grow, and shortly I could resolve the figures of the men, and could perceive a quicker play of light on ’?heir arms and harnesses, which I tock to mean that they were making some stir of preparation. A bit nearer, and the fellows in the bow began to serew their heads about and look over their shoulders, and as the stern uptilted on a swell I perceived one man rise and fetch a long stare at us. They were yet tog far off and the boat too unsteady to be sure of faces, but I took this person to be Towland. I glanced at Mr. Tym, wondering whether he was for giving some challenge or hail, but it seemed not, or els 2 he woul® be waiting alittle lenger, for he made no sign.
The man that I had taken to be Towland hew sat down, but with the strokes that immediately followed the boat had drawn some fathoms nearer, and with that, asit seemed of a sudden. the different faces on board came out. The man in the stern sheets was in‘deed Towland. and besides him I perceived Capt. Blyte, Paul Cradde and several of the different gangs.
_There was now no time to lose if we would in any sort parley, for they were almost upon us. Indeed, 1 had already iooked for some opening shot, which perhaps ounly a fear of harmiog Lady Carmen had deterred them from giving. Nevertheless Mr. Tym continued as before, each hand holding a pistol, and his air unmoved. .
Of a sudden the bow of the approaching boat began toswing. As thelong side gradually opened up the carswere tifted and hung dripping, and the heavy craft forged sluggishly down upon our quarfer. Towland bent forward then, and in his harsh woice shouted: ;
“Sloop ahoy!” Whereupon Mr. Tym rese quietly to his feet. ;
" “’Doard the boat!” ‘ “Do you surrender?” “What will you do with us if we comply ?” - . : " “We will carry you back, and Morgan shall judge you.” “And what,” pursued Mr: Tym, calm--Iy, “will,you do with the lady?” Towland appeared to hesitate. “She shall not need to complain,” he said at last.' *9f you will know, Capt. Blyte and I mean jointly to care for her.” “A very pretty plan,” rejoined Mr. Tym, and he almost smiled. ‘“Nevertheless I fear it will not do. It may be ihe lady issomething over particular.”
Towland stood like a great iron statue for a moment, as though hardIy able to eredit thisaudacious answer, Then he turned and wmade a swift sign. Instanily the fellows at the oars let fall and gave way. S “Now!” cried Mr. Tym, whirling upon us.- “Up and fire!” ~ Promptly enough we responded. As Towland gave his sign we thrust forward our weapons, steadied them while one’s pulse might give a single beat, and fired. :
“Down!” shouted Mr. Tym again. We fall dropped, and 3 no sooner so than five or six pistols banged in' response, and at ieast one ball buried itself with a spiteful chug in the boat. We serambled up, drawing our swords and remaining pistols, ard as the smoke lifted were able to see what we had done.
Boih bow oarsmen were gone andin a little space amidehips, piled up {o a shining kind of bundle, was one of the fellows in armor. Al passed, an it were, at a glimpse, for the smoke was hardly up and we ready in our places before the other fellows at the oars gave a few furious tugs, and theis bow came churning up to our quarter. We stood fast with our last pistols, and as the oars rattled in and the boat’s nese forged past, we feterhed swiftly to bear and let go. Some one-shouted, and T thouzht there was a crash, as though at least one fellow had gone down, but before the smoke had fully cleared their bow ground along our side and the boat’s length of them balanced themselves for the spring aboard. From here I lose nigh all but my own personal part of the business. 1 know that the nearest fellow came first to Mr. Tym, and received a swift understroke that whipped the whole side of his reck open, and thereupon fell backward, and I believe also that the next man made a fierce but ill-judged thrust at the eapfain, but beyond this 1 have no clear thought of the general doing.
: CHAPTER XX. OF THE END OF QUR DESPERATE - FIGHT. As for my own personal faring, the first that seemed to happen was that a red-faced man came suddenly before 'me, and that he clapped his foos on the ‘gunvinle of his boat and made a fierce ‘slash at me. I met the blow with a strong guard, and thereupon, very swiftly stooping, I gave a darting kind of thrust, upon which my weapon was checked somewhere in him and he dropped out of sight. Then a blow—luckily not heavy —lighted on my headpiece, and the flash and smoke of a pistol shot half blinded me, and the next that comes clear is that I was struggling to free my arm from some one’s grasp, and that I felt a hard knock on my breast‘piece, as though a sword or dagger point had struck there. -
I made a full recovery of my senscs with that. It was the negro Gabriel who was gripping my sword arm, and he it was who had dealt me the blow (doubtlessaimed at another spot) that I had taken so luckily on my cuirass. No one else seemed to be striging with me, and indeed the negro himself was between me and most of theothers, he having forced me, it seemed, back toward the rail. There was no time for aught but desperate action. My left side was swung away, and in my left hand was still my dagger. I had not forgotten a certain trick, learned alongshore, and, without in the least struggling to free my arm, I set my feet suddenly, fetching us both to a standstill, and before he could in the least guess my purpose I let fly a low but powerful kick. I cannot say whether the shinbones of a negro are of the tenderness that is sai.i; but I do know that Gabriel gave an agonized vell and instantly released my arm. His hand was already lifted. with his knife in it, but that business went with the pain, and he let go the weapon and ran ducking backward, cradling the leg in his locked fingers. I stayed not to give him time torecover. My sword now. free. I made a quick dash and let go a vengeful thrust. The point took him fair in the midst of his broad breast, and he gave a kind of bellow and thrashed instantly forward and to the deck. So quick and peculiar was his fall that I had no time to withdraw my blade, and it snapped short off close by the hilt. Comnsiderably dismayed, for it was a poor time to be disarmed, I let fall the useless hilt and jumped backward. I had scarce alighted when something gave a hard bump and rolled to my feet, and thereupon uncurling—l can describe the motion no otherwise—l perceived it to be the maimed and bloody figure of Towland. He was no more than before me when fhere came a surge of tangled fighters, both Mr. Tym and the captain in the midst, and like a straw before their impact I was flung staggering back. whereupon, bringing up ‘at the rail; I could not, despite a desperate scramble, save myself, and went over backward into the water!
Notwithstanding the headlong manner of my falling and my heavy cuirass, I came pretty quickly io the surface. I was too good a swimmer to be easily put abont by such a mishap, and therefore swallowed no water except at first, and made the strokes that returned me to the surface with measurable composure. The sloop had already drifted three or four fathoms away, and I could therefore get the range of her deck, which T did in a kind of desperation, little doubting that I should behold the worst.
" To my passing great amazement, while Sellinger and Mac Ivrach had cdisappeared, Mr. Tym still maintained the struggle. He had fought his way to the forward deck, and, brought to bay there, was steadily holding off the whole crowding pack! !
Yet a moment of this, for of course it could not last. Paul Cradde and Blyte made a furious rush. Blyte wegt downunder a lightning-like thrust. but
Cradde seized Mr. Tym round the waist and flung him heavily to the deck. The other wretches gave a yell and began to swarm up. and with that—forgetting even my own desperate case—l cried out and closed my eyes. lopened them again, when there was a great shout, followed by a hard banging of steel, and on staring that way I saw the uprisen and bloody figure of Capt. Sellinger. his sword in'his hand, and three of the buccaneers in full reItreat before him. I looked hastily to see what bad become of Mr. Tym, but to my surprise he wasstill lving where Cradde bad fiung him, Cradde himself ‘being nowliere to be seen. It wasall barely before iny eyes when the three buccaneers, as Ihough recovered from their panic, and ashamed of flying before one man, fetched to a halt, and with a few hecavy cuts and thrusts forced the captain to a stand. 1 tried to rally my wits, for it was surely time I was taking my part in this business, and, with a few paddling strolkes, striving to come to the strength and nafurTalness of my limbs, I let out toward the sloop. I had little fear of being shot at by the three buccaneers, even if they noticed me, for, as they were using only their swords against the captain, it was clear they had nn loaded firearms, and, besides, the volleys of the entire company had all along been' light, as though none but the leaders had been provided with pistols. This, indeed, I bad already guessed the cause of, Tow!and and Blyte fearing for the safety of Dona Carmen. :
I pushed on boldly, then. orly fearing lest the captain should not hold out, and gradually drew toward the dipping stern of the sloop. She had drifted some little distance away in the time-that I had been in the water, and,’ with my heavy armor and wet clothing, I could -make but slow progress, so that it was some seconds before I was finally close. In that time the captain saw me, as did the buccaneers, and while the former gave a joyous shout and waved his sword, the three men swore and looked irresolutely at one another. “Fling me the slack of the sheet,” 1 called out, as I came under the stern. I perceived there was no time to waste. Here was a moment of anxiety, for now the sight of the deck was entirely cut off, kwnt afier an instant the end of the sheet came snaking over and dropped by my side. IcaughtiteagerIy and gave a strong pull. which showed that it was fast, and began to draw myself up. : ! "Novw, indeed, T was hard put toit. for not only was I on the rack mentally, but the physieal strain of lifting my wet and armorad body from the water was ‘almost ‘more than my weakened muscles would stand. Once I was on the verge of slipping back, but, with a desperate and altnost savage struggle, I thrashed my leg around the line and got a turn which stayed me. Againup I erawled, and at last I could reach an arm over the rail. Now T thought 1 heard a step along the deck, and quickIy following this there was a loud splash, and with that the boat leaped and rocked. I hung fast and stared anxiously up, #nd thereupgn, to my infinite relief, Capt. Sellinger looked down upon me. v : i [TO BE CONTINUED.] . . Force of Habit. : Kitty (musingly)—Why does a man always tell a girl she is the only one hc ever loved, I wonder? Jack (absently)—Force of habit, probably.—Town Topics. ;
- HOLDiNG ALGER IN. in Spite of Republican Remonstrance the Beef Combine Holds On. The New York Tribune is not only the foremost republican paper in the United States, but it is moreover a particularly zealous champion of the McKinley administration. It was an original McKinleyite in the ante-con-vention days when Thomas C. Platt and the machine in this state were assailing McKinley with every form of vituperation. Theeditorof the Tribune, Mr. ,Whitelaw Reid, has been twice designated by the president to confidergial and important duties, showing the relations of mutwal confidence which exist. Nevertheless, the Tribune has editorially done some plain talking about the beef scandal, and the Tribune’s Washington correspondent savs: ;
“It is a bad business, .although republicans are perfectly confident of the prasident’s rectitude of purpose.. Buf, whether justly or unjustly, it is undeniable that many of the most clear-headed repubiicans of the capital feel that Secretary Algeris largely responsible for the situation created by tHis beef investigation. It:is felt by these party men that through Gen. Abger’s influence, impelled by those~in the department who controlled him, the president in some sort has made himself the champion of KEagan by the ill-considered mitigation of as righteous a sentence as ever was delivered by a court, rendering the whole proceeding little better than a farce. ! e
“Many practical politicians felt, and of late have often expressed the conviction that the president should let go of Secretary Alger. Some republicans no doubt admire the president for so doggedly upholding his secretary under fire, but they are not numerous. Few prominent republicans are found now who think he is acting wisely in doing so. A mere individual i 3 nothing, the party is everything, in the estimation of these men. Gen. Alger's pretracted retention in office, now of questionable policy in any event, and-so obviously detrimental to the president’s personal interests, is becoming a subject of deep speculative wonder everywhere and to everybody.”
As the Tribune correspondent very justly says, “the beef inquisition has become a most extracrdinary affair, and the light thrown on the methods of the war department bureaucracy by recent unexpected developments is .a matter of grave concern to the country.” But the question arises, is it not ulready too late for the president to unload? He has sentenced Eagan to a vacation on full pay; he has appointed a court of inquiry, composed of Gen. Miles’ enemies, to investigate Miles’ grave charges; he has rewarded the friends of Alger and Algerism, and, so far as he dares, will undoubtedly punish Gen. Miles, the common soldiers’ friend. , .
Alger has openly announced that he will net go unless he is kicked out. To kick him out would involve the greatest publicity to all these various scandals: The administration seems to be between Seylla and Charybdis. It might get rid of Alger; but of its own complicity with and support for Alger. ism, it cannrot get rid.—Albany Argus.
A WIND BLOWN REED.
The Republican Czar as an Obstacle to National Progress. .
“Speaker Reed is no fool,” Mr. Hanna is quoted as saying, when asked concerning the reported determination of the man from Muine to antagonize the administration.
There is a possibility that the Ohis senator overrates, the stuffed czar's astuteness; Mr. Reéd has been troubled with political strabismus ever since the national convention that noeminated McKinley, and cannot see much farther than the pug nose on his face. Overfeeding is at all times disadvantageous; and Mr. Reed has fed with such gustatory ardor upon his own greatness and ambition, that his intellectual indigestion is undergoing a disorder of the most aggravated type. Hissystem generates spleen like a weasel’s,and yellow jaundice has had such an effect on his appearance that he has mistalken himself for a worshipful Chinese Joss.
As Mr. Reed stood before the house during the last hours before congress adjourned, he felt proud of himself, and his nostrils distended with the pantings of victory: he had defeated the Nicaragua canal bill; he had defeated the Dbill for promotions in the navy; he had been insirumental in making a scandal of the civil service laws and _the census; in various ways, so far as he dared in the face of public opinion, he had frustrated the policy of the president, and had sprouted quills of displeasure and criticism at cvery measure- like a fretful porcupine. :
Reed is a big block in the way of national progress. He is a barnacle on the ship of state. Like John Sherman, but without as much reason, he is embittered by disappointment, and his spirit; crying “Havoc!” ranges for revenge like Ate, “come hot from hell.” After the lesson of the Oregon, the killing of the canal bill and the substiiution of a measure but little if any bLetter than the one passed by the Fif-ty-fourth congress was mnothing less than a base betrayal of the people’s interests, and this for the benefit of the grimy-handed agents of the Panama canal scheme, who brought shame and reproagh to France as they will bring disgrace to this country if given the chance. The perpetuation of the Santp-son-Schley controversy, itself one of the most regrettable consequences of the war, thus giving new force to the qguestion as an element of discord in the navy, was an example of petty pettifogging unworthy of a backwoods court of justice. These are: but samples of Reed his- works.—Xansas City Independent. Everything Fixed. : It is all settled. The republican national tieket for 1900 is to be McKinley and Hobart, the same asin 1896. Speaker Reed has given his pledge that he will not be a candidate for the nomination against McKinley. He will not thing of opposing him; never did think of it. Gov. Roosevelt—well, Col. Roose- i velt m’{ht have had some thoughty about the presidency when he came home from Santiago and heard the shouts of the excited crowds that welcomed the rough riders, but Gov. Roosevelt is in a different position. Senator Platt has the governor’s plans in his keeping, and Senator Platt has pledged the governor and state of New York to McKinley and Hobart. The republican national convention will be held as amatter of form, but it will have nothing to do beyond approving the ticket already made and construct a platform broad enough for every faction in the Dalt, = = = S ;
PROTECTION AND TRUSTS. A High Tariffi Abrogates the Only Layw That Can Down Monopolies. When Attorney General Griggs defends his inaction with regard to trusts on the ground that there is no law that is strong enough to curb them, it is evident that nothing will be done by the attorney general to relieve the people of trust oppression. But there is another law besides that written in the statutes that can reach the trusts, and that is the law of supply and demand. ‘L Protection abrogates this law because it shuts off the supply of commodities from abroad and leaves the demarnd without a competitive supply. By removing this protection, as the New York Journal points out, competition could be revived and the rule of the trusts be broken. : Concerning this matter, the Journal pertinently asks: “Why should we give the $7,000,000 borax trust the power to tax American consumers five cents a pound on borax?
“Could not the $30,000,200 Knit Goods company and the $50,000.000 print cloth pool get along without duties of 50 per cent. and upward on the things that peeple must wear? “Would it not be. possible for the United States Cast Iron Pipe and Foundry company, capital $30,000,090, to make a living without nine dcllars a ton protection? ‘ “Is the $30,000,000 National ILead company in dice need of the proceeds of a tax of 11, cents a pound on lead?
“Could not the $45,000,000 western lumber pool destroy our forests fast encugh without the stimulus of a duty of two dollars per 1,000 feet on pine boards?
“Do the consumers of sugar feel morally bound to pay tariff taxes of $20,300,000 a year to.the sugar trust and its allies, with their capital of $128,000,000?
“Are the various steel trusts, total capitalization $367,650,600, so poor that they must have outdoor relief in the form of duties of from $6.72 per ton upward on steel and its products? “Is not the $50,000,000 American Tin Plate company a sufficiently robust infant by this time to be able to dispense with its pap of IY, cents a pound on tin plates?” ' These are significant questions, and if the administration wants to help the people it can do so by putting 21l articles controlled by trusts on the free list.
This would not require a long series of suits at law; by one simple amendment to the Dingley bill the good work would be accomplished. If those republicans are sincere who are arguing against trusts, they will urge the administration to make a move in the direction indicated.—Chicago Democrat.
HANNA AND THE SPEAKER. The Republican Doss Is Buosy Over a Successor to Czar " Reed. No one conversant with the facts of recent political history will doubt that Hanna will be consulted concerning the speakership of the Fifty-sixth congress. His say-so is likely to be an important factor in determining who shall be chosen to fill the place made vacant by the retirement of Mr. Reed. The report that Hanna has decreed that the spealker of the next house shall be a man favorable to the Hanna-Payne subsidy bill is not calculated to excite surprise. It is entirely consistent with Hanna’s record and affiliations.
Hanna’s relation to the federal government is mainly of a business kind. He did not purchase a seat in the senate for the sole purpose of being near the president so that he might counsel him how to paddle his canoe safely through the shoals and quicksands of practical politics. Marcus, the Axgrinder, is not serving as the Sejanus of the administration purely for diversion or for the purpose of preserving his health. He has laid his services and talents upon the altar of his country, but, all the same, he intends to reward himself for his sacrificial offering by appropriating some of the golden candlesticks and jeweled ornaments. Mark is a shiposwner, and he has shipowning friends; the members of the Standard Oil trust among them. To remunerate them and him he has framed a measure known as the Hanna-Payne subsidy bill, whose mission is to legislate $400,000,000 out of the pockets of the people of the United States when congress meets. The speaker will be an important influence in engineering this scheme of robbery through the house. Mr. Hanna may be depended on to exert all his resources to secure for the place an individual pliant to his plans.—St. Louis Republic.
POINTS AND OPINIONS.
* ——lTt is rumored that Alger may be sant as minister to France. His style of statesmanship would be better fitted for the Spanish court.—Denver Post. ——Lawyer Thomas B. Reed will get an income variously estimated at $50,000 or $lOO,OOO a year, with no embalmed beef to worry him.—Albany Argus. ——Hanna has provided for the nomination of his man McKinley, but he is considerably worried about the balance of the contract.—Kansas City Times. .
| ——Alger is upheld by Mr. McKinley | in hanging on to his cabinet portfolio. i That’s right—the president knows that ’ Alger bought it and paid good money for it.—St. Louis Republic. l ——Boss Croker pleads as an excuse that Platt is worse than lhe, but Quay has not found anyone with a record so bad that he feels safe in pointing to as a horrible example to prove that there are others.—Chicago Record (Ind.). —President McKinley is considering how far the anti-imperialists can go without being guilty of treason. It has never occurred to him that nonenforcement of anti-trust lawsis worth his consideration.—Chicago Democrat. ~——The Quay jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and yet there was probably not a man on the jury who was not convinced in his own mind that Quay was guilty. This is another of those cases which tend to weaken respect for our judicial system. The people see the defendant go free, believing him guilty beyond question. They know he can command money and Influence to an almost unlimited extent. They put this and that together, And who can blame them ?—lndianapoI‘filgentmel‘ ‘, o od T
) < Y 081 QH 9 /% 5 > E ; S ! ‘u 5 , ’, s 3 k&"flfiv 's‘ E N - - ) = Bada oD A A\ S g 1% yoo = D \l\! ) & = : Y-S T e Ve U\ D e e A RAINY DAY. ) “Oh, dear!” said Ned, “what shall T do?’ It rains so very hard I can’t go out to play at all, - Not even in the yard." it’s just as mean as it can be That it should rain to-day, And I am forced to stay indoors And have no chance to play.” _ “Come up inteo the attic, Ned,” Called'out his sister Bess. - *“There’s lots of curious things up there. We’ll have some fun, I guess.” And soon they climbed the attic stairs. ~ Against the window pane . And on the shingles overhead ) They heard the beating rain. ) Around among the “curious things” They played and romped and ran; . Ned found a cap and sword and gun, © - And was a soldier man; C While Bessie dressed in trailing gowns That swept the attic floor, And played that she was very rich And kept a ten-cent store. Then Bessie she was very sick, And Ned was Doctor Gray; . He felt her pulse, and hawed and “hemmed,”’ ) ~ And then he said good-day. When he got home he sent his bill—’Twas cheap enough, she said—'Twas forty dollars were she well, And fifty were she dead! = Then Ned became a circus clown, And played beneath a tent; And when the circus came along, Of course Miss Bessie went. The clown he hopped and danced and sang Till Bessie laughed: “‘Oh, dear! I never seed a funny man . Who acted quite so queer.” - And while they played it ceased to rain, ~ The sun shone in the room. “Oh, dear!” said Ned, *‘l hate to stop From playing quite so soon.” “Me, too,” Miss Bessie said. o, “We've had such fun at play— - A splendid, jolly time—l wish 'Twould rain most every day.” ‘ , —William G. Patten, in Golden Days.’
TWO CLEVER DEVICES.
How Boys and Girls Can Construct ~ Simple Instruments That Are ¥Full of Sweet Music. )
There is in Scandinavia a popular belief that all lost pins are gathered by gnomes or mountain sprites and used as weapons in subterranean battles among hostile factions of those mythical and diminutive hill dwellers. One need hardly seek, however, such remote places to find good use for stray pins. They can be employed in making at least two different patterns of musical instruments—dolls’ instruments, perhaps, but nevertheless full of sweet musiec.
It is well known that the vibrations of a metal rod fastened at one end will
— 35 — .
produce a tone the sound of which is regulated by the length and thickness of the rod. ‘A pin fastened to a board by its point and put in vibration (struck) by a nail or a strong needle is no exception to this rule. Whether arranged in rows, as shown in figure 1, or in a circle, pins will vibrate when “struck,” and the tone may be made to conform to a certain scale of tune by inserting the pins at a greater or less depth in the P¥ard.
Figure 2 represents a row of pins arranged in a circle and touched by a needle, which is set in motion by a hotair wheel. i
Carefully examine figure 2 and you will easily- see how the device may be made. Half-inch pine beards will do, or even shingles, for the framework, and the air wheel should be made of paper after the manner of the ordinary whirligig. Waxed twine will serve to connect the whirligig wheel with the wheel ‘that moves the needle, and the machine should be made as light and easy-runningas possible, but the sounding board, or base, should be made of well-seasoned, close-grained wood. "To
™ 5 A~ B . - RIS~ ‘ . ~\\ ’ . | I Fig. 2. sy T e T 3 5 ¥ g C) pi gl N\ , N, e a—“‘ | N properly place the pins to make the desired tune drive them in very slowly, testing their sound frequently, and as soon as a pin is at the proper “pitch” or gives the desired sound leave it and pass to the next one. The pins must be straight and strong and placed ina perfeet circle. - -When the pin-music machine is completed arrange it on a shelf or box, so that it will stand with the air-wheel portion six or eight inches above an ordinary lamp. The hot air from the lamp will make the air-wheel revolve; this will make the needle move along the circle of pins and play a tune.—J. Christian Bay, in Chicago Record. : Asked Where She Was “At.” - She was a dear old lady and she certainly didn’t mean to use a slang expression. In fact, it is doubtful whether she would have recognized her question as an exclamation of the street at all if the bystanders Fadn't laughed heartily. She was using the drug store telephone and talking amicably over the wires to some well-known acquaintance. “Well,” she concluded, finally, “find out about it, will you, and call me up again. Where am I? Why, I'm in——l'm in—why, I guess Idon’t know where I am. Wait a minute,” and she turned to one of the amused clerks and ‘widened his smile into a hearty laugh by naively questioning: *“Where am I at?’—-Chicago Times-Herald, =~ ' ' - ———————————ii g 2 __How Spain Raised Momey. ~ Under Spanish rule a chief source of Income to church mwm, Snreel e oo n R O R e
. FERRETS ARE USEFUL. In Europe Thiey Are Used ax Alds by ° Sportsmen and for Ridding S e Houses of Rats. The ferret, practically unknown int this country, is an almost indispensa-. ble adjunet of country life in England. There this fierce, snakelike little animal is used for hunting rats and rabbits from ‘their burrows, and never a gamekeeper but has a hutch-that serves as a home for the little “varmints.” The ferret is regarded variously by naturalists ‘'as an albino variely of weasel, or a deviation from the usual type .of the polecat. It differs from the polecat mostly in eolor, which is usual=— ly yellowish-white, though the coat sometimes- runs considerably darker, or pure white. The eyes are pinky-red and sharp as - needles. The animal measures abont I#4 inches, exclusive of its tail, which is about five inches long. In pracfical use for the purpose of bolting rats or rabbits from their holes, the ferret has to be used when hungry, £0 as to make it fierce, and is almost invariably muzzled to .prevent it from ‘killing its quarry and then sleeping off its gorge.in the burrow. It often hasa bell attached to its neck to aid in locating its whereabouts when under ground. ' Ferrets are very susceptible to cold, ‘and need warm hutches and bedding while in the field, and tt_xey often travel
R R S S ’ :0:02020:0:0:{'.0.0,0:0:0:0:.:.:&.“t‘ 2R lIIRELLELKLKL ...QE:0:0:0:0:‘:'::.:"o’.‘.’.::::’:::o}E ; L R .0,:" SO -‘:’\"fififi X .‘.%;0:0’0‘0’0:15 ‘ e o ‘g@\%‘{‘mg AN \‘\?‘\s\\_,\\\_\\\::“j::flg;;;‘.:g:\,( SN\ 200N\ = el 7 N 4 V 7 ! 27NN Y (e G 2 Tl e u . \:‘V‘l;A,_".‘: = Por—— S e E NS AL =e E £l IR Z : LSS T FERRETS AT SUPPER. in a keeper’s side pocket. They are, of course, carnivorous, but in capiivity thrive on plain bread and milk, with an occasional rat or bird thrown in for a luxury. 3 ‘
. ‘On this side of the Atlantic ferrets have been seldom used except by some men ‘who have made a business of ratcatclfiflg, i. e, clearing buildings, ships, ete., of rats. One reason for this may be the comparative scarcity of the burrowing rabbit.- The methods empioyed in hunting rabbits-with ferrets are two. If it is'desired to bag the rabbir, i. e., catch him alive, for coursing with terriers. or -any other purpose, loose nets are spread over the mouths of the burrow, into which the bunny bolts and becomes entangled. More usually the rabbits§ are simply bolted into the open, so affording very lively snap-shooting, especially when there is plenty cf eovert, and it Decomes necessary to bowl the swift-footed little beasts over while they are crossing some strip of ground no wider than an ordinary road. )
It is- c()mmon to find persons inanifesting the utmost repugnance to these animals, which may be due partly to their snakelike way of coiling togcther in a tight knot in the straw of their hutch, and partly to the idea that they are unclean and unsavory.
Like the domestic pig, the ferret may frequently ‘be uneléan—Dbecause it has no chance to be otherwise. Thisis the- - of those human beings who will not clean the hutch or pig pen, as the casé may be. For example, when they are fed-a bird or a rat, they never touch the' skin, and this of course-should be - removed, as it will speedily bezome offensive.—N. Y. World. g
BEARS EAT INSULAT«RS.
They _'l‘hoxight They Were Ci*ah Ape > ples or Some Other Delicacy ) ‘Dear to Bruimn’s Appetite.
: A railway cannot get along satisfactorily without a telegraph lin:. For’ every train that is run on the road a dozen telegrams are sent over tl ¢ wire, ‘and it would be a-dangerous operation to. sand out a train without this constant supervision. In northern Maine, some years ago, a railroad was laid, and the usual telegraph Hne erected by its side, but it lookad for a time as if the road would have to be abandoned. The ‘telegraph acted as if bewitched; 2very day there was a break in a certain pateh . of woods, and in nearly every cas= the insulators were found to have deen either broken or torn‘from the wire and pcle. No one could imagine why persons should commit such damage fzom mere malice, and there certainly codd be no monetary reward in stealing "n--sulators worth a few cents each. Tnhe company hired detectives, and finaliv discovered that bears were doing as! the mischief. Oné man suggested thaz the bears thought the insulator knobs were crab apples, but of course no one knows the real reason. So thecompanz/ invited some hunters to camp in tha% ‘patch ‘of timber, and in a short time the bears emigrated to some place where it was safer to climb telegraph poles.— Golden Days. : . Priests the First Smokers. ‘Unquestionably smoking had already been practiced by the Indians for centuries when Columbus first reached these shores. It was with them to a great ‘extent a form of religious ceremonial. - Dr. Daniel G. Brinton, the famous ethnologist, thinks that it had its beginning in the blowing tube cf the medicine man. Ignorant savages are disposed to regard the human breath as possessing magical properties, and it may be supposed that burning leaves were introduced into the tube for the purpose of making the breathing visible. The Indians smoked many kinds of plants, such as sumae, red willow bark and the leaves of the kinnikinick or bear berry, and tobacco doubtless was a discovery: resulting from a selec- © Most Temperate Nation. ' /The Greeks were perhaps the most temperate of the ancient nations. True they had their wine, but it was of a mild charicter, contafning but little out the addition of water, and to drink: drank for exhbilaration, and never al-