Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1889 — Page 2

ALLAN QUATERMAIN.

A Record of Remarkable Advent urea and Discoveries.

BY H. RIDER HAGGARD.

SYNOPSIS (Alltn Quutermsin chafing under the restraint* of ciriliiation. and in the death of hie eon Harry being lonely and disconsolate, without kith or kin, concludes to make another trip into Africa. He had heard vaguely of a distant part of Africa being peopled wtth a strange white race, and he proposer if possible discover tue truth or falsity of the report. He broached the subject to his old friends and associate adventurers in Kukuanaland—Sir Henry Curtia and Captain John Uood,—who, themselves wearied of their bituation, eagerly join in the expedition. Thereupon the party embark for their new field of adventure. They soon reached Lamu, and with the aid of the consul complete arrangements with a party of Kakai Askai to transport their goods. This party was loth to make the trip, but was induced to do no by the demands and threats of Umsionogaas, a deposed Zulu chife.whom Quaterraaln had known in other adventures. Tea days after leaving Lamu the party found themselves on the Tana river. At Chara they had a quarrel witli the headsman of the boarers, who wanted to extort extra payment. As the result be threatened to set

the Masai on them. The party embarked on the river in canoes. At night they deemed it unsafe to camp bn shore, and therefore anchored in midstream. At a late hour, Quatermain. being awake, felt the boat move. Soon a hand was thrust in the canoe, and on eof the VV'&kwafi was stabbed to the heart. He uttered a piercing yell and Quatermain, grasping Umelopogaas’s battle-ax, struck a terrifflc blow at , tho hand and severed it from the arm, the hand falling into the boat. Dark objects were.then seen moving toward the ehore, aud it became known that the Uaeai had conspired to murder them as they slept. The warning was in time, and their lives were saved. The party resumed its travels.and,after many hours of arduous labor, they reached the mission station. They received a hearty welcome. The station was located on an eminence overlooking tho river,and was surrounded by a high stone wall, with a ditch on the outer side filled with water. There were a garden and many beautiful cultivated flowers witbin the enclosure. The missiyn consisted of Mr. Mackaunie, his wife, little daughter, Flosßie, a French cook, Alphbnse, and several uativee. Hero Quaterm&in received further information 6f the nnKftowft wilte race they were seeking. It is feared the Masai will attack the travelers here. Flossie determines to obtain for Quatermain a specimen of the ‘Qoya’.lily. one of the largest and most beautiful ffowefsknown. Alphonse tolls the story of his life—of the heroic blood of his grandfather which does not course thro’ hlayeina; of- hia love for hi* Annette Prawn for conscription.lie hunts for glory on tile bloody battlcgeld; satified while in barracks Places his Annette under protection of his cousin. Ife is ordered to Ton. quin. Does not want to be ripped open. Deserts. Flies to his Annette. Finds himself supplanted by his cousin. Strikes and kills his cousin. Flees. Now finds himself in Africa.] The reader vAill bo enabled by this synopsis to enjoy the remarkable story that follows:

CHAPTER Y. UMSLOPOGAAS MAKES A PROMISE. Next morning at breakfast I missed Flossie, and asked where she was, “Well,” said her mother, “when I gotup this morning I found a note pot outside my door in which— Well, here it is, you oan read it for yourself,” and she gave me the slip of paper on which the following was written: Deabest M —. —lt is just dawn, and I am off to the hills to get nr. Q— — a bloom of the Illy he wants, no don’t expect me till you tee me. I have taken the white donkey; and nurse and a couple of boys are coming with me —also something to eat, as I may be away all lay, as I am determined to get the lily if I have te go twenty miles for It. Flossie”. “I hope she will be all right,” I said, a little anxiously; “I never meant her to trouble after the flower-” “Ah, Flossie can look after herself,” said her mother; “she often goes off in this way like a true child of the wilderness.” But Mr. Mackenzie, who came in just then and saw the note for the first time, looked rather grave, though he said nothing. After breakfast was over I took him wide and asked him if it would not be possible to send after the girl and get her back, having in view the possibility of there still being some Masai hanging about, at whose hands she might come to harm. “I fear it would be of no use,” he answered. “She may be fifteen miles off by now, and it is impossible to say what path she has taken. There are the hills;”-and he pointed to a long range of rising ground stretching almost parallel with the course followed by the river Tana, but gradually sloping down to a dense, bush-clad plain about five miles short of the house. Here I suggested that we might get up the great tree .over the house and search the country round with a spyglass; and this, after Mr. Mackenzie had given some orders to his people to fry and follow Flossie’s spoor, we proceeded to do. The aseens-of- the mighty iree was' rather a jumpy performance, even with a sound rope ladder fixed at both ends to climb up, at least to a landsman; hut Good came up like a lamplighter. On reaching the height at which the fern-shaped boughs sprung from the bole, we stepped without any difficulty upon a platform made of boards, nailed from one bough to another, and large enough to accommodate a dozen people. As for the view.it was simply glorious. In every direction the bush rolled away in great billows for miles and miles, as far as the glass would show, only here and there broken by the brighter green of patches of cultivation, or by the glittering surfaces of lakes. To the northwest Kenia reared his mighty head, and we could trace the Tana River curling like a silver snake almost from his feet, and far away beyond us toward the ocean. It is a glorious country, and only wants the hand of civilized man to make it a most productive one.. But, look as we would, we could see no signs of Flossie and her donkey, so at last had to come down disappointed. On reaching the veranda I found Umslopogaas sitting there, slowly and lightly sharpening his ax with a small whetstone he always carried with him. What doest thou, Umslopogaas?" I asked.

•*I smell blood,” was the answer; and I could get no more out of him. After dinner we again went up the tree and searched thesurrouding country with »' spy-glass, but without result When we came down Umslopogaas was still sharpening “Inkosikaas,” although she already had an edge like a razor. Standing in front of him, and regarding him with a mixture of fear and fascination, was Alphonse And certainly he did seem an alarming object—sitting there, Zulu fashion, on his haunches, a wild sort of look upon his intensely savage and yet intellectual face, Sharpening, sharpening, sharpening at the mur-derous-looking ax. ‘•Oh, the monster! the horrible JBftnt” said, the little French cook, lifting his hands In amazement. “See but the hole in his head; the skin beats up and down like a baby's! Who

would nurse such a baby?” sad he burst out laughing at the idea. For a moment Umslopogaas looked up from his sharpening, and a sort of evil light played in his dark eyes. “What does the little ‘buffalo heifer 1 ” [so named Jby Umslopogaas, on account of his mustaches and feminine characteristics] ““say? Let him be careful, or Twill cut his horns. Beware, little man-monkey, beware!” Unfortunately, Alphonse, who was getting over his fear of him, went on laughing at “ce drole d’un monsieur noir." I was about to warn him to desist, when suddenly the huge Zulu bounded off the veranda on to the space where Alphonze was standing his features alive with a sort of maligious enthusiasm, and began swing, ing the ax round and round over the Frenchman’s head.

“Stand still,” I shouted; “do not move as you value your life—-he will not hurt you;” but I doubt if Alphonse heard me, being’, fortunately for himself, almost petrified with horror. Then followed the most extraordinary display of sword, or rather of axmanship that I ever saw. First of all the ax went flying round over the top of Alphonse’s head, withan angry whirl and such extraordinary swiftness that it looked like a continuous band of steel, ever getting nearer to that unhappy individuals skull, till at last it grazed it it as it flew. Then suddenly the motion was changed, and it

seemed to literally flow up and down his body and limbs, never more than an eighth of an inch from them, anc. yet never striking them. It was a wonderful sight to see the little man fixed there, having apparently realized that to move would be to run the risk of sudden death, while his black tormentor towered over him, and wrapped him round with the quick flashes Of the ax*. For a minute or more this went on, till suddenly I saw the moving brightness travel down the side of Alphonse’s face, and then oiit-• ward and stop. As it did so a tuft of something black fell to the ground; it was the-tipofeaet>f the little Frenchman’s curling mustaches. Umslopogaas leaned upon the handle of Inkosi-kaas, and broke into a long, low laugh; and Alphonse, overcome with fear, sunk into a sitting posture on the ground, while we stood astonished at this exhibition of almost superhuman skill and mastery of a weapon. “Inkosi-kaas is sharp enough,” he shouted; “the blow that clipped the ‘buffalo heifer's’ horn would have split a man from the crown to the chin. Few could have struck it but I; none could have struck it and not taken off tho shoulder too. Look, thou little heifer! Am I a good man

to laugh at, thinkest thou? For a space hast thou stood within a hair’sbreadth of death. Laugh not again, lest the hair’s-breadth be wanting. I have spoken.” “What meanest thou by such mad tricks?” I asked of Umslopogaas indignantly. “Surely thou art mad. T wenty times didst thou go near to sidy ing the man.” “And yet, Macumazahn, I slew not. Thrice as Inkosi-kaas flew the spirit entered into me to end him, and send her crashing through his skull; but I did not. Nay, it was but a jest; but tell the ‘heifer’ that it is not well to mock at such a 3 I. Now Igo to make a shield, for I smell blood, Macumazahn—of a truth I smell blood. Before tlie battle hast thou not seen the vultures grow of a sudden in the sky? They smell the blood, Macumazahn, and my scent is more keen than theirs. There is a dry ox-hide down yonder; I go to make a shihld.” “That is an uncomfortable sort of retainer of yours,” said Mr. Mackenzie, who had witnessed this extraordiphonse out of his wits; look!” and he pointed to the Frenchman, who, with a scared white face and trembling limbs, was making his way into the house. “I don’t .think that he will ever laugh at ‘le monsieur noir’ again. l ” “Yes,” answered I, “It is ill jesting with such as he. )yhen he is roused he is like a fiend, and yet he has a kind heart in his own fierce way. I remember years ago seeing him nurse a sick child for a week. Ho is a strange character, but true as steel, and a strong stick to rest on in danger.”

“He says he smells blood.” said Mr. Mackenzie. “I only trust he is not right. I am getting very fearful about my little girl. She must have gone far, or she would be home by now. It is half past three o'clock.” I pointed out that she had taken food with, her, and very likely would not in the ordinary course of events return till night-fall; but I myself felt very anxious, and feared that my anxiety betrayed itself. Shortly after this the people whom Mr. Mackenzie had sent out to search for Flossie returned, stating that they had followed the spoor of the donkey for a couple of miles and had then lost it on some stony ground, hor could they discover it again. They had, however, scoured the country far and wide, but without success. After this the afternoon wore drearily on, and towards evening, there still being no signs of Flossie, pur anxiety grew very keen. As for the poor mother, she was quite prostrated by her fears, and no wonder, but the father kept his head wonderfully well. Everything that could be done was done; people were sent out in all directions, shots were fired, and a continuous outlook kept from the great tree, but without ay&il. And then at last it grew dark, and still no sign of fair-haired little Flossie. At eight o'clock we had supper. It was but a sorrowful meal, and Mrs. Mackenzie did not appear at it Wo three also were Very silent for in addition to our natural anxiety as to the

fate of the child, we were welgheii down by the sense that we had brought this trouble on the head of our kind host. When supper was nearly at an end I made an excuse to leave the table. I wanted to get outside and think the situation over. I went on to the veranda, and, having lit my pipe, sat down oh a-seat about a dozen feet from the right hand end of the structure, which was, as the reader may remember, exactly opposite one of the narrow doors of the protecting wall that enclosed the house and flower garden. I had been sitting there perhaps six or seven minutes when I thought I heard the door move. I looked in that direction and listened, but being unable to make out anything, concluded that I must have been mistaken. It was a darkish night, the moon not having yet risen. Another minute passed, when suddenly something round fell with a soft but heavy thud upon the stone flooring of the veranda, and came bounding and rolling along past me. For a moment I did not rise, but sat wondering what it could be. Finally, I concluded it must have been an animal. Just then, however, another idea struck me, and I got up quick enough. Tho thing lay quite still a few feet beyond me. I put down my hand toward it and it did not move; clearly it was notan animal. My hand touched it. It was soft and warm and heavy. Hurriedly I lifted it and held it up against the faint starlight. . • '

It was a newly severed human head. I am an old hand and not easily upset, but Town that that ghastly sight made me feel sick. How had the thing come there? Whose was it? I put it down and ran to the little doorway. 1 could see nothing, hear nobody. I was about to go out into the darkness beyond, hut remembering that to do so was to expose myself to the risk of being stabbed, I drew back, shut the door, and bolted it. Then I returned to the veranda, and in as careless a voice as I could command called Curtis. I fear however, that my tones must have betrayed me, for not only Sir Henry, but also Good and Mackenzie arose from the table and came hurrying out. - - “What is it?” said the clergyman, anxiously. Then I had to tell them. Mr. Mackenzie turned as pale as death under his red skin. We were standing opposite the hall door and there was a light in it so that I could see. He snatched the head up by the hair and held it in the light. ‘ ‘lt is the head of one of the men who accompanied Flossie,” he said, with a gasp. “Thank God it is not hers!”

We all stood and stared at each other aghast. What was to be done? Just then there was a knocking at the door that I had bolted, and a voice„ cried, ‘ ‘Open- my father,’ open!’’ The door was unlocked, and in fled a terrified man. He was one of the spies who had been sent out. ‘ ‘My father, ”he cried, “the Masai are on us! A great body of them have passed round the hill and are moving toward the old stone kraal down by the little -stream. My father, make strong thy heart! In the midst of them I saw the white ass, and on it sat the Waterlily [Flosgio]. An Elmoran [young warrior] led the ass, and by its side walked the nurse, weeping. The men who went with her in the morning I saw not.” “Was the child alive?” asked Mr. Mackenzie, hoarsely. “She was white as the snow, but well, ray father. They passed quite close to me, and looking up from where I lay hid I saw her face against the sky.” £ - “God help her and usl” groaned the clergyman. “How many are there of them?” I ■ * “More than two hundred—two hundred and a half a hundred.” Once more we looked- one on the other. What was to be done? Just then there rose a loud, insistent cry outside the wall. “Open the door, white man! open the door! A herald—a herald to speak with thee.” Thus cried the voice. Umslopogaas ran to the wall, and reaching with his long arms to the coping, lifted his head above it and gaz.ed over. “I see but one man,” he said. “He is armed, and carries a basket in his hand.” “Open the door,” I said. “Umslopogaas, take thine ax and stand thereby. Let one man pass. If another follow, slay.” The door was unbarred. In the shadow of the wall Stood Umslopogaas, his ax raised above his head to strike. Just then the moon came out. Tnere was a moments pause, and then in stalked a Masai Elmoran clad in the full war panoply that I have already described, but bearing a largo basket in his hand. The moonlight shone bright upon his great spear as he walked. He was physically a splendid man, apparently about thirty-five years of age. Indeed, none of the Masai that I saw were under six feet high, though mostly quite young. When he got opposite to us he halted, put down the basket, and struck, the spike of his spear into the ground, so that it stood upright. “Let us talk,” he said. “The first messenger we sent to you could not talk;” and he pointed to the head which lay upon the paving of the stoop—a ghastly sight in the moonlight; “but I have words to speak if ye have ears to hear. Also I bring presents;” and he pointed to the basket and laughed with an air of swaggering insolence that Is perfectly indescribable, and yet which one could not but admire, seeing that he was surrounded by enemies. , “Say on,” said Mr;-Mackenzie. ‘ ” “I am the ’Lygonifrai’ [war captain] of a part of the Masai of the Guosa Ambonl. I and my iwen followed these three white men,’’and he pointed

to Sir Henry, Good and myself, “but they were too clever for us and escaped hither. We have a quarrel with them and are going to kill them. ” “ Are you, my friend?” said I to myself. “In following these men we t.hia morning caught two black men, one black .woman, a white donkey, and a white girl. One of the black men we killed—there is his head upon the pavement—the other ran away. The black woman, the little white girl, and the white ass we took and brought with us. In proof thereof have I brought this basket that she carried; Is it not thy daughter’s basket?” Mr. Mackenzie nodded, and the warrior went on. “Good! With thee and thy daughter we have no quarrel, nor do we wish to harm thee, save as to thy cattle, which we have already gathered, two hundred and forty head—a beast for every man’s father.”* Here Mr. Mackenzie gave a groan, as he greatly valued this herd of cattle, which he had bred with much care and trouble. “So, save for the cattle, thou mayst go free; more especially,” he added frankly, glancing at the wall, “as this place would be a difficult one to take. But as to these man it is otherwise; we have followed them for eight days, and must kill them. Were we to return to our kraal without having done so, all the girls would make a mock of usv So, however troublesome it may be, they must die.

‘ -Now I have a proposition for thine ear.- We would not harm the little girl; she is too fair to harm, and has besides a brave spirit. Give us one of these three men—a life for a life—and we will let her go, and throw in »the black woman with her also. This is a fair offer, white man. We ask but for one, not for the three; we must take another opportunity to kill the other two. Ido not even pick my man, though I should prefer the big one.” pointing to Sir Henry; “he looks strong, and would die more slowly.” “And if I say I will not yield the man?” said Mr, Mackenzie. “Nay, say not so, white man,” answered the Masai, “for then thy daughter dies at dawn, and the woman with her says thou hast no other child. Were She older I would take her for a servant; but as she is so young I will slay her with my own hand—ay, with this very spear. Thou canst come and see, an’ thou wilt, I give thee a safe conduct;” and the fiend laughed aloud at his brutal-jest.

Meanwhile I had been thinking .rapidly, as one does in emergencies, and had come to the con-i elusion that I would exchange myself against Flossie. I scarcely like to mention the mattor, for fear it should be misunderstood. Pray do not let any one be misled into thinking that there was anything heroic about this, or any such nonsense. It was merely a matter of common sense and common justice. My life was an old and worthless one, hers was young and valuable. Her death would pretty well kill her father and mother also, whilst nobody would be much the worse for mine; indeed, several charitable institutions would have cause to rejoice thereat. It was indirectly through me that the dear little girl was in her present position. Lastly, a man was better fitted to meet death in such a peculiarly awful form than a sweet young girl. Not, however, that I meant to let these gentry torture me to death—l am far too much of a coward to allow of that, being naturally a timid man; my plan was to see the girl safely exchanged and then to shoot myself, trusting that the Almighty would take the peculiar circumstancesbf4he ease into consideration and pardon the act. All this and more went through my mind in a very few seconds. “ALI right, Mackenzie,” I said, “you can tell the man that I will exchange myself against Flossie, only I stipulate that she shall be safely in this house before they kill me.”, “Eh?” said Sir Henry and Good simultaneously. “That you don’t.” “No, no,” said Mr. Mackenzie, “I will have no man’s blood upon my hands. If it please God that my daughter die this awful death, His will be done. You are a brave man (which lam not by any means) and a noble man, Quatermain, but you shall not g°.” . ’ „ “If nothing else turns up I shall go,” I said, decidedly. “This is an important matter,” said Mackenzie, addressing the Lygonani, “and we must think it over. You shall have our answer at dawn.” “Very well, white man,” answered the savage, indifferently; “only remember if thy answer is late thy little white bud will never grow into a flower, that is all, fori shall cut it with this, ” and he touched the spear. “I should have thought that thou wouldst play a trick and attack us at night, but I know from the woman with the girl your men are down at the coast, and that thou hast but twonty men here. It is not wise, White man,” he added, with a laugh, “to keep so small a garrison for your “boma” [kraal!. Well, good-night, and good-night to you also other "White men, whose eyelids I shall soon close once and for all. At dawn thou wilt bring me word. If not, remember it shall be as I have said.” Then turning to Umslopogaas, who had all the while been standing behind him and shepherding him as it were, “Open the door for me, fellow, quick now.” This was too much for the old chiefs patience. For the last half hour his lips had been, figuratively speaking, positively watering over the Masai Lygonani, and this he could not stand. Placing his long hand on the Elmoran’s shoulder, he gripped it and gave him suoh a twist as brought him faoe *Tr,e Mini Elmoran or young warrior can owu no proper y, ho all the booty they may -in lu battle belong* to their la then alone.— A. Q.

i to face with himself. Then, ttirusting his fierce countenance to within a few inches of the Masai’s evil featherframed features, he said in a low growling voice: “Seest thou me?” “Ay, fellow, I see thee.” “And seest thou this?” and he held Inkosi-kaas before his eyes. fell ° W ’ 1 866 the what of “Thou Masai dog, thou boasting wind-bag, thou eapturer of little girls, with this ‘toy’ will I hew thee limb from limb. Well for thee that thou art a herald, or even now would I strew thy members about the grass.” The Masai shook his great spear and laughed long and loud as’ he answered, “I would that thou stoodst against me man to man, and we would see, and again he turned to go, still laughing. A ‘ ‘Thou shalt stand against me man, be not afraid,” replied Umslopogaas, still in the same ominous voice. ■ ‘Thou shalt stand face to face with Umslopogaas, of the blood of Ghaka, of the people of the Amazula, a captain in the regiment of the Nkomabakoai, as many have done before, and~ bow thyself to Inkosi-kaas, as many have done before. Ay, laugh on. laugh on! to-morrow night shall the jackals i laugh as they crunch thy ribs.” : When the Lygonani bad gone, one of us thought of opening the basket he ! had brought as a proof that Flossie was really their prisoner. On lifting the lid it was found to contain a most lovely specimen of both" bulb and flower of the Goya lily, which I have already described, in full bloom and quite uninjured and what was more, a note in Flossie’s childish hand written upon a greasy piece of paper that had been used to wrap up some food in.

“Dearest Fatheb and Mother, i-.m the note.—“ Tue Masai caught us when wo were coming home with the lily. I tried to escape but could not. They killed Tom; the other man ran away. They have not hurt nurse and me, but say they mean to exchange us against one of Mr. Quatermain’sparty. I will have nothing of" the sort. Do not let anybody give his life for me. Try and attack them at night; they are going to feast on three bullocks they have stolen and killed. I have my pistol, and if no help comes by dawn I will shoot myself. They shall not kill me. If so, remember me always, dearest father and mother. lam very frightened, but I trust in God. I dare not write any more as they are beginning to notice. Goodbye. Flossie.” Scrawled across the outside of this was. “Love to Mr. Quatermain. They are going to take up the basket, so he will get the lily.” When I read those words, written by that brave little girl in an hour of danger sufficiently near and horrible to have turned the brain of a strong man, I own I wept, and once more in my heart I vowed that she should not die while my life could be given to save her. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

A WATER SPOUT.

An Interesting Observation of an American Officer. Among the reports of the Hydrographic Bureau for October is the following remarkable account of a waterspout by Chief Officer Calloway of the American steamship Santiago: w On the 99th day of April, 1889, at about 6:30 o’clock a. m., lloyal Island (one of the Bahamas) bore about, distance four miles; wind light from south- | southeast, weather partly cloudy. Observed a waterspout forming off the starbord bow (ship heading southwest), and moving in tho direction of the , steamer at an angle of throo .points. ! On account of its close proximity, I wa* about to sleor clear of it. when I observed it breaking, about thirty yards from the ship. Immediately | afterward the steamer passed through the outer edge of the whirlpool, the diameter of which I should judge tu have been about fifty to seventy yards. ‘ ‘On j)a3sing through the outer edge | I observed that the center was hollow, the water circling from west to east, or against the sun. The water that fell on the deck was very salty, and the drops as large as a fifty-ceut piece. I During the few seconds of our passage of about thirty or thirty-five miles per hour. I did not observe any calm in center at all. the water arising from it resembling an inverted fountain, j After clearing it the wind resumed its regular force, about fifteen miles per hour; Being the officer of the wAtch, I had little time to obierve the barometer, but it fluctuated one or twohundredths and then resumed its pre- | vious reading. “The clouds above and around the spout were very ragged and much disturbed, similar to those in a thunderstorm; their motions wore very rapid, ascending, descending and breaking away from each other. The water was whirling rapidly for several minutes alter the break, showing what tremendous circular force there must have been. I mayTncqtion that upon passing through it the steering of the vessel was not affected, sojif there was any ourrant at all It must have been eircular and confined to theeonter.”

Dosen’t Work by the Piece. Old Sol—You’re five minutes behind time. Town Clock— Oh, I work by the day- | Pretty Near It, Though. First Whiskey Barrel—Are yon empty P Second Whiskey Barrel—Not by ajugful. Soltis. First Eleotrio Wire —What’s the aewfeP- w . Second Electrio Wire—Shooking. Extending Its Arms. First Tree—How’s business? Second Tree- Branching out

WINGED MISSILES.

A scheme is on foot to construct ars B road up the Jungfrau. Louisiana is becoming a very imports B| sugar and lumber state. n The Union Pacific is building a new id: BH Southward through Utah. BH The average life of an ocean cable, as ; Hi present constructed, is twelve years. H| More business men and fewer la wye Bm Only policemen and stars are allowed shoot on the streets of a well-regnlate city. m The Canadian government has subsidize B§ a steamship line between Vancouver China. |||| A tailor requires many yards tojeover H| man, but a burglar will cover bim with H small revolver. H Over 1,000 cars of Ohio grapes have bee shipped this year to points west of th^H Rocky Mountains. jjl There is a good deal of sense in the ol< sea proverb: “He that embarks with thH devil must sail with him.” fl| The Pacific Coast is becoming a grea Hj manufacturing section. Taousanls of JagH anese are arriving there. H Ex- Congressman Stephen F. Wilson, o I Wellsboro, Pa., has built for himself cH granite tomb in shape of a log cabin. H It is said that Nontaafa do©9 not blarniH Germany for not recognizing him, for he H hardly Knows himself with trousers on. H Wine is one of the staple products of H France. Over 7 millions of the people H there are engaged in cultivating the vine. H English syndicates have invade! the Aus H tnan empire, and are buying up breweries H in Bohemia, and printing offices in Vienna. H There is talk of negro colonization on a H large scale in Mexico. White labor is H gradually crowding black labor out in the fl South. ■ ' ' B There is considerable “helloing” going B on in this country all the time. About 300,- B 000 telephones are in use in the United B States, B

j Rev. Dr. William H. Furness, of Phila- I delphia, although over ninety years old, can I ■till make a glowing address when he gets I , warmed up. I Jay Gould is being done” by a portraitll artist in New York. The wits are remark- II ing that it is the first time that one haafl • beenuble to him up.” j | The tallest smoke stack in America is at II Fall River, Mass. It is 340 feet high. The II tallest chimney in the world is at Paisley, II Scotland: it is 500 feet high. I One of the results of the French exhibi- j| tion has been to make the London hansom jl cab very popular in Paris where it haa-jl hitherto been in no special favor. I The French Government is having rifles 1 turned out for the army at the rate of 1,000 1 per day. The rifle sends a small bullet I I through 15 inches of solid oak at 2:20 yards. I A South Bethlehem (Pa) liveryman has I learned a bit of wisdom expensively. The | woman for whom he left his family and I business left him in turn, and with S3OO of I his cash. * | A number of English subscribers have re- I solved to build a monument at Fort Ticon- I deroga to tho memory of Lord Howe, whoss I forgotten grave was discovered there somi weeks ago. The brain of the country are going into business instead of law, and that profession is going down hill. Technical schools are attracting thousands of young meii of the best families. The Russian emperor, as he grows older, becomes in appearance more and more like 1 a typical Cossack;.colossal in figure, entirely bald flat-nosed. and enormously-must- 1 ached and bearded. There is a little hill in Queensland, only a few hundred feeth’gh, which is attracting well-deserved notice, because it has made Queensland the greatest gold-produc-ing colony in Australia. At Plant City, Fla., there has been found what seems to be a half or;mga-with a , smooth skin and a half lemon with a rough skin, the latter being a little larger, growing together as one fruit. Dr. J. Milton Bowers, of San Francisco, who three years ago was sentenced to death for poisoning his wife has _brought suit—against three insurance companies for sll,IKK) insurance on her life. The railroad companio3 are doing quite well; earnings are better than a year ago; freight is plontier than cars and locomotives, and the car-builder 4 are in many places working at night to catch up. There have been iwo springs discovered iq Bramweil, W. Va., which are only about fifteen feet apart, the water of one of which is colder than ice, if possible, while tho othalmost reaches a boiling temperature. American wild turkeys have been successfully acclimatized in Austria on that portion of the estate of Count Breuner which is known as the Danubian meadows, and great flocks of them are to be seen in his forests. A ramie company with a capital of $1,000,000 has been organized at Philadelphia to encourage the cultivation of ramie and to build machines for the decortication of tho fibre on the plantations, and to establish mills to bleach and spin the product The king of Siam is a magnificent object in state attire. He glistens from head to foot with jewels worth more than $1,000,000. It is commonly reported in Bangkok that ho has 3 X) wives and eighty-seven children, though the exact figures have never been given to his subjects. A minister of the gospel, a son of a prominent minister of Lexington, Ky. f is attempting the extraordinary task of committing the entire New Testament to mem- . ory. He has been working on it for years, and, as he has a wonderfully retentive brain, the work is in a fair way to early completion. A Parisian architect, proud of his magnetic powers, sent the bonne amU of one of bis friends to sleep the other day, and could not rouse her. Two hours’ har-J work by a chemist were necessary-to bring her to consciousness, and then tho amateur mesmerizer and his friends found theinsolves in custody. The most notable incident during the Queen's autumn sojourn at Balmoral baa been her return to the Glassalt Shiel, where she has twice dined and slept, for the first time lor seven years. The Shiel had pot previously been visited by the Queen since the death of John Brown, at whose instigation it was built. Cheap Bessemer steel, costing a row cents a pound, can, by a simple process, be transformed into a high grade, firsts class steel, so hard that drills cannot penetrate It Made into annor plate, heavy shot cannot go through it Thy hardness of this steel can be graduated; that is, made exceedingly hard on lhe;outsida of the armor plate, and as it foes in, made soften