Bloomington Courier, Volume 2, Bloomington, Monroe County, 26 April 1895 — Page 3

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VETERANS' COMER.

SHORT STORIES FOR THE OLD SOLDIER'S PERUSAL. (Sen. Early's Bald and How Ic Startle.l Wash ins; ton An American Whose Example Might Be Followed witb Profit Lincoln's Theolozy. WAS HARD AT work in my studyWhen I heard a gentle tap; "Come in!" and in came my Josie, Tearful from some mishap. And I knew that she was lonsins To be cuddled in my lap. "I bruised my finder orful. And papa, it does ache so! "Well, well, run away to mamma. For I can't help it, Jo." She raised her tear-wet lashes "Papa, you might have said Ohr " The study door closed softly And I was left alone. With nothing to hinder my writing But the thought of a tender tone, So loving and so reproachful 'Twould have touched a heart of stone. Have a tender .word, my brothers. For the little troubles and pains; It was not beneath our Master, It is far above our gains; It will hasten the heavenly kingdom Where only love remains. Gen. Early's Bald. In a general way we understood that the city was cut off at the north and east, and that the famine of market stuff, New York newspapers and other necessaries of life, was due to the cutting of railway lines leading northward. For two or three days we had no mail, no telegraphic messages and no railway traffic. Our only communication with the outer world was by steamer from Georgetown, D. C, to New York. Washington was in a ferment; men were marching to and fro; able-bodied citizens were swept up and put into the district miltia, and squads of department clerks were sent to drilling in the parks. It was an odd sight to see men who had been thus pressed into the public service, dressed in linen coats or in partial uniform, being put through the manual of arms by an impromptu captain, who in turn was prompted by his orderly sergeant (a messenger employed in the war department). These sons of Mars were all under command of Brigadier-General Bacon, a worthy grocer of Washington, who was the militia commander of the District of Columbia. The city was also garrisoned by one hundred men. Veteran Reserves, as they were called (or Invalid Corps), with a few dismounted cavalry. These weak and unorganized forces were thrown into the fortifications, and Washington stood agape while we listened to the sound of the rebel cannon less than ten miles away. Gen. Halleck was then living on Georgetown Heights, where the blue-coated invalids mounted guard over his residence, and the bugles nightly blew "peas on a trencher." Illnatured people were ready to suggest that the rebels might be guilty of petty larceny should they rapidly march down Rock creek and seize upon Halleck, who for various reasons was bitterly unpopular in Washington. The President and his family were at their summer residence, the Soldiers' Home, on the outskirts of Washington, about half way between the outer line of fortifications at Fort Stevens and the city, but on Sunday night, the 10th, Secretary Stanton, finding that the -enemy was within striking distance of that point, sent out a carriage with positive orders that the President should return to the White House. Lincoln, very much irritated, and against his will, came back to town. He was subsequently greatly discomposed and annoyed when he found that the assistant secretary of the navy, CapL G. V. Fox, had kept under orders a small navy vessel in the Potomac for the President's escape in case the rebel column should succeed in piercing the line of fortifications. The wildest estimates of the force of the invaders were made, and flying rumors were to the effect that Early, Ewell, Imboden and Breckinridge were in command of some forty thousand men. As a matter of fact, there were, according to the records, not many more than twelve thousand men. There was a vast amount of hurrying to and fro between the war department, the White House and the exterior lines of defense, and the telegraph wire was constantly worked to its fullest capacity. There were not a few domestic rebels in Washington who looked on this commotion with undisguised glee. It was probably believed in the north at that time that President Lincoln was greatly disturbed by the Imminence of the danger of the capture of Washington, but I learned from his own lips that his chief anxiety was that the invading forces might not be permitted to ge away. Speaking of their escape afterward, he said that Gen. Halleck's manifest desire to avoid taking any responsibility without the immediate sanction of Gen. Grant was the main reason why the rebels, having threatened Washington, and sacked the peaceful farms and villages of Maryland, got off scathless. If Lincoln was the meddlesome marplot in military afr fairs which some have represented him to be, he would have peremptorily ordered a sortie of the Union forces, then numerously massed inside the defenses of Washington, but although he was "agonized" (as he said) over the evident failure of all attempts at pursuit, he kept his hands oft. A Roman Triumph. In ancient Rome a triumph was an honor awarded to generals for decisive battles over foreign enemies; it was never granted for victories achieved in civil war. The power of granting a triumph rested with the Senate, and it was a prime condition that the victorious general, on his return from war, should not enter the city until the triumphal procession should escort him. This procession was headed by the magistrates and the Senate. Then came the trumpeters, who were followed by the spoils, which included arms, stat uea, standards, and representations of battles, and of the towns, rivers and

mountains of the conquered country. Next came the victims intended for sacrifice; as a rule, these victims were white oxen with gilded horns. They were followed by the prisoners that had been kept to grace the triumph! and after the prisoners came the chariot in which was seated the triumphator, or victorious general. The chariot was covered with laurel, and the triumphator was attired in a robe of purple and gold; in his right hand he held a laurel-branch, and in his left an ivory sceptre. A slave held the golden crown of Jupiter above his head, and kept saying to him: "In the midst of all thy glory, victorious one, remember that thou art but a mortal man." Last came the soldiers singing songs and shouting "Io triumphe." This procession started from the Campus Martlus, outside the city walls, and passed through the city to the capitol. Triumph-days were gala-days in Rome; the streets were gay with garlands and gorgeous colors, the temples were all thrown open. When the procession reached the temple of Jupiter on the capitol. the triumphator placed the laurel-branch on the lap of the figure and thank-offerings were made. A feast, prepared for the magistrates and the senate, and sometimes for the soldiers and the people, concluded the triumph festivities. The triumph must have been a muchcoveted honor, for we are told that Lucullus, on his return from Asia, waited outside of Rome three years for his. D. V. F.

I Am an American. A dinner was arranged in a southern city in honor of a visitor from a northern state, and the host, when the cigars were lighted, began to rally his guest by repeating some of the usual sectional jokes. "We now have a northern Yankee at our mercy," he remarked, jocosely, "and hope that he may not be intimidated by the presence of so many southerners. We can assure him that revolvers and bowie knives have been left in the anteroom and that he is safe, at least until we get our bats and arms." Everybody laughed and expected that the visitor would respond to this bandinage by making use of his privilege of ridiculing southern peculiarities. He surprised the company by speaking in another vein. "Our host," he began, "traveled with me in Europe and I observed that wherever we went he registered himself as an American and never as a southerner. "I thought it was a good example to follow and invariably put myself down, not as an northerner, but simply and proudly as an American. What seems to me singular is the fact that two men who were content to travel all over Europe as Americans, should fancy that they are anything else in their own country. I do not know why I should be anything at home that I am not when I have crossed the sea and gone among foreigners." By this time the company perceived that they were to have something better than old-time Yankee talk and sectional quips. They encouraged the visitor to continue by applauding him heartily. He ended by making a common sense appeal for a more general use of the good old word "American." "Let us not be nroud of our common country," he said, 'when we are abroad among strangers and ashamed of it when we are at home. I am from the north and you are in the south, but there is no source of patriotic pride open to you that is not mine as well by virtue of my birthright as an American. Nor can I glory in anything that is not yours also. If there be anything to be ashamed of it is a reproach to us all." The company rose when the visitor sat down and joined in singing " Hail Columbia" and "He's a Jolly Good Fellow." They voted it one of the best after-dinner speeches that they had ever heard and congratulated him heartily upon his success in substituting wholesome and stimulating patriotism in place of the light diet of acrid sectional jokes. Youth's Companion. Lincoln's Theology. Immediately after the earliest battles of the war, most of the sick and wounded were brought to the Philadelphia hospitals for treatment, and I was in daily receipt of letters from my denominational friends soliciting me to visit husbands and brothers who were among the sick and wounded. As much of my time was thus occupied, and at considerable expense, it was suggested by the Hon. Henry D. Moore that application be made for the position of hospital chaplain, and it was on the recommendation of Mr. Moore and Governor Curtin that the president made the nomination. Soon as it was announced in the papers that my name had been sent to the senate for confirmation, a self -constituted committee of "Young Christians" (?) consulted with a few others, as bigoted as themselves, and volunteered their services to visit Washington and try to induce the president to withdraw the name. It so happened that when these gentlemen called upon the president Mr. Covode was present and made known the interview to a reporter, and it thus became public. "We have called, Mr. President, to confer with you in regard to the appointment of Mr. Shrigley of Philadelphia as hospital chaplain." The president responded: "Oh, yes, gentlemen; I have sent his name to the senate, and he will no doubt be confirmed at an early day." One of the young men replied: "We have not come to ask for the appointment, but to solicit you to withdraw the nomination." "Ah," said Lincoln, "that alters the case; but on what ground do you wish the nomination withdrawn?" The answer was: "Mr. Shrigley Is not sound in his theological opinions." The president inquired: "On what question is the gentleman unsound?" Response: "He does not believe in endless punishment; not only so, sir, but he believes that even the rebels themselves will finally be saved." "Is that so?" inquird the president. The members of the committee both responded: "Yes, sir." "Well, gentlemen, if that be so, and there is any way under heaven whereby the rebels can be saved then, for God's sake and their sakes, let the man be appointed." Lincoln Memorial. Glass, copper, zinc, lead, platinum, carbon, plaster, petroleum, silk, cotton, and paper are used in the manufacture of incandescent lamps.

WOMAN AND HOME.

CURRENT READING FOR THE FAIR SEX. What the Women of Fashion Are Wearing General Notes and Gossip That Will Interest Haines unci Damsels Household Hints. N A RECENT number of the Phonogram, Catherine Weed Ward gives some good advice to women planning to sit before the camera: "The greater number of sitters are utterly ignorant as to how materials, colors and styles of cos tume will appear in the finished portrait, and the operator is blamed for what is, as a rule, not his fault. As a rule it is well and should be requiredto avoid very positive patterns, such as large plaids, checks, wide stripes and much jet or other glittering trimming and much jewelry. Sharp contrasts in materials, trimming or style of cut are a decided detriment to a pleasing portrait, and as a rule the tone of color should harmonize with the sitter's complexion and hair. Glistening silks are difficult to light well, as is any material which does not easily lend itself to soft folds. Dead luster silk, soft woolens, crapes, fleecy tissues and similar materials are very effective.'" Mrs. Ward advises, too, that one should soften, by rendering it indefinite, the line between skin and dress, both at neck and wrists, remembering always that however well a costume may appear in reality, it alters before the camera and may call attention to what might otherwise pass unnoticed. A Tell Tale Fichu. Gowns take on the character of their wearers just as do gloves and shoes, and are as indicative of one's disposition as the bumps on one's cranium or the lines of the face. The facts in the case have not been brought down to a science yet, but they are all true. The swing of the skirt, the lines of the waist, the angle of revers after a week's wear, are all significant of the character of the wearer. It is easy to distinguish the stylish woman from the bucolic female by their respective gowns as they hang in their wardrobes. But there are other qualities that shine forth in the gown which a close observer will soon detect. This truth is seldom more strikingly illustrated than it was in the case of the gown shown above. The first time I saw this costume it was worn by a dainty, dreamy maid of the most innocent type, and it had the filmy, summery look which some maids have in common with the mists and zephyrs of that seductive season. There was a fine lace fichu of immense proportions, which was draped around the neck and shoulders and then hung nearly to the bot tom of the dress. This fichu was the chief characteristic of the costume, and the manner in which it was draped was the key to the character of the wearer, as was afterward apparent from the appearance of a gown exactly like it, which was worn by the fashionable lady pictured above. This young woman is perfectly aware that she wears a pretty gown and it is j evident from the pucker of the fichu.

Afli-1

The waist Is plain erepon with velvet sleeves, but this is very little in evl dence under the fichu.

Sharp-Pointed Revers ami Basque. Cashmere coloring, a soft blending of many colors and a tendency to. the designs found in old cashmere shawls, is just now popular. This much may be said of the stylo: It is becoming generally, and much material in a bodice willgo with any shade of skirt,, or with any shade of gloves and other accessories The reverse of this is true of the simple gown of this illustration, for here th jacket bodice is of dark bro wn cloth, an A the skirt of mode colored stuff. The. former hooks in the center, where it isornamented with three large button and has double fronts, each off which forms a point at the bottom, curves over the hips, and gives a circular basque in the back. The upper one of the fronts is trimmed with a large sailor collar of mode cloth and the lower one has pointed revers. The sleeves are full, the strap belt plain, and chiffon rosettes appear on the collar. Crepon grenadine is by all odds the handsomest and the most expensivematerial offered. It is deeply crinkled, and creased, yet it is transparent. It comes in solid colors inlaid with satin. and silk stripes, and it is also seen in changeable mixtures of colors and of silk and wool. It is a material that has no counterpart in the offerings of previous seasons, and unless it becomes a stock texture for all time, as is velvet and satin, the money put into it now will be a sad waste. Just now it adapts itself to stylish effects charmingly. It is draped over an underskirt of silk or satin, often following classic lines and folds, and is weighted heavily with edging of jewels and spangles. Summer outdoor and garden dresses are to be made low necked. Women had a fight against that last year but we must now submit. They may wear ruffled muslin scarfs, as did their grandmothers, and great, big, baby mull hats, but shoulders seen by candlelight don't look as well by day, as some venturesome ones will find out. Fashion Notes. The skirt and blazer will be quite as. popular as it was last year. In accordance with a suggestion, dress skirts are in the market, and may be had in serge, cheviot, cann l's-hair and various wool fabrics. This is in response to a most imperative demand, and will be found a very great convenience for ladies who have heretofore been obliged to make their own skirts. Some of them are extremely well made, and not specially expensive; others are as bad as can be, and cost in proportion. Of course, there are high-grade skirts in elegant materials of all sorts, and for these there is a steadily increasing call. Simple house dresses of nun's veiling, tamis cloth, fine cashmere and the various light-weight woolen fabrics, with which the market is well supplied, are among the absolute necessities for the well-dressed woman. As if there were nt enough variety in styles and materials, ow importer has sent over a dress of pale-blue satin, with an overdress of chiffon, and over this a drapery of the thinnest net, embroidered in floss silk. China silks are being made up into the most exquisite tea gowns. They are trimmed with lace and embroidery and ribbon, and are among the comforting and dainty accessories in which every woman delights. Eton jackets are to be vorn. One costume is of black cloth, with Eton jacket trimmed with white satin. The lapels, collar and facings are of white, and, while exceedingly delicate, the effect Is rather pleasing.

EMG LYELESS

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BUT FOR THE PORKER'S KIND HELP HE WAS A GONER. Tackled by a. Wildcat He Hail, Gone Out to the l'ig Pen to. See What the How Was About, and the Cat Jumped at Him. The other night Obed Comstock, a farmer living two miles north of Lambs Road, N. J., was awakened by the squealing of his. pigs that were shut up in a pen a few rods from the house. He got up and dressed himself, took a lantern and went out to see what the trouble was with the porkers. The pig pen was an enclosure of considerable size,, and at one end was a shed in which the pigs slept. The squeals came from this shed, and jumping inside the fence, the farmer ran to the shelter and swung his lantern, under it to see what was the trouble. As he did so there was a snarling sound, and the next instant Comstock was knocked flat by some kind of an animal that had jumped from a corner of the shed, striking him fulli in the head. The lantern went flying across the pen and was extinguished: The moon was shining, and when Comstock got up he saw a big wildcat crouching-on the ground a few feet away, getting ready to. leap upon him again-. The farmer had no way of defending himself against the animal, and, turning, sprinted across the pen; He was just about to leap over the- fence when the cat landed on his back. The- animal's claws were long and sharp; and' they penetrated Comstock's coat and sunk into his flesh. The pain made him. frantic and he dropped on the ground and rolled over. This tactic didn't please the cat and it let go and got a fresh, hold on Cornstock's leg.. The farmer, a muscular man,, was no slouch for bravery. He grabbed the cat by the throat and pinched It with, such force that the animal let go its hold on his leg. Comstock tried to keep his grip on the animal's throat,, but it dug away at his arms so viciously with its claws that he was obliged to let go. The cat tried its best to get at the man's face, but he protected it with his arms. He was lying on his back, the cat giving him no chance to get up. The animal's mad was up and it fought with the fury of a demon. Comstock was doing the best he could, but the tide of battle was going against him. His flesh was lascerated, lie was bleeding profusely from the wounds, and he suffered severely. The affair would, undoubtedly,, have ended disastrously to him had not a helper come in the form of an old sow, who had been snoozing in a heap- of straw in a eorner of the sty. The animal was a valuable breeder that Comstock had owned a good many years. She was long and thin, and her jaws were fitted out with ugly looking tusks. The wildcat was chewing on Comstock's arm vigorously when the sow ' charged on it. She ran her nose under the cat, and the next minute it was whirling in the air. When the cat landed it struck on its feet and in an ! instant was on the sow's back. Its claws evidently went through the rind, for the porker gave an angry squeal, and running to a spot where a board was off the partition between the outside of the pen and the shed, went under, scraping the cat off its back. In a twinkling she came bounding through the entrance to the shed into the pen and faced the cat, which leaped at it. The old sow was awake to the movement, and when the cat came down it landed on her tusks and was once more sent whirling into the air. The tusks had evidently done good work, for when the cat came down it seemed to be weak and irresolute. The instant it struck the ground the old sow rushed at it, and catching it between her teeth shook it as a terrier would have shaken a rat. When the old sow let go its hold the cat fell limp as a rag, unable to move', and the enraged hog drove her tusks into it repeatedly, until it was torn to pieces. Comstock managed to crawl back to the house, but it will be some time before he is able to do a full day's work, and he will bear the scars of the battle to his grave. ENGLISH LOCOMOTIVES. Those Recently Built Show Plainly the Effect of American Influence For the Mexican railway the English line extending from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico the firm of Neilson & Co., Glasgow, has recently built a number of ten-wheeled locomotives for passenger service, which show very clearly the effect of American influence in modifying the ordinary English type of engine. The bogie truck is used and there are outside cylinders, although the steam chests are inside, after the English practice. Plate frames are used instead of bar, and the wheels are not equalized. Although the cab Is of the English pattern and the English regulator is used in place of the American throttle, the valves are balanced, an American device, and American West inghouse brake gear is fitted. The tender is carried on two fourwheeled trucks. The principal dimensions of the engine are: Cylinders, ISVfc by 26 inches; driving wheels, 60 inches in diameter; truck wheels, 34 inches in diameter; total wheel base, 23 feet TVs inches; boiler, 53 inches diameter, 11 feet long, tubes 1205 square feet; area of fire grate, 24 square feet; total weight in working order, 55 tons 10 hundredweight. The account given in our foreign exchanges of the engine includes a sketch of the line over which the engines will operate, which is some of the heaviest kind of construction. It climbs a total distance of 8,132 feet above sea level at Vera Cruz, dropping back to 7,509 feet above sea level at the City of Mexico.

The several gradicnts, curves and tunnels on the line are particularized, the most severe grade being about sixteen miles of a practically continuous grade of, 1 in 25..

MOCKING BIRD FOOD.; It Made a i Decided Sensation in a Chica?o Street Car. A north side cable car the other day was the scene of a most comical incident. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the car was comfortably filled with ladies returning from theii shoping tours, says Chicago Tribune. Sitting between two ladies was an old gentleman of patriarchal appearance. Suddenly both the ladies uttered a shriek and jumped from their seats. The conductor rushed forward, and on his inquiry what was the matter the agitated ladies pointed to the old man. "See! See!" they cried, "look at the worms." And sure enough on the old man's overcoat and trousers crawled about half a dozen fat, yellow worms about an inch long. When the old man found out what was the matter, he slapped : his hand on his knee and commenced to laugh. "Well! well! Don't be scared; ladles," he said; "they are. only flour worms for my mocking birds. I can't understand: how the pesky critters got out of the box- and the old man hauled a round paper box, , with a hole in the cover, from out of one of his pockets.. "I got a couple of hundred In here," he said. The worms were gathered together,, the ladies quieted down, and. the old. man amused the passengers with- a description of his beautiful' mocking birds; . The car had by this , time approached: Lincoln park, when a lady sitting, third from the old manmade a sudden grab at her dress somewhere about the knees. "Oh; my, I must have some of them!" she exclaimed, to the amusement of the other, passengers, and an expression of agony swept, over her face. She looked help--lessly round at the passengers,, and finally signaled to the conductor, to stop: the car,, jumped out in a hurry, and disappeared among the trees in the park. The old man, unconscious of the new trouble his worms had caused, was talking to- a lady on the other side about his mocking birds, when he was told of what had happened by one of the ladies. He looked a little regretfully on the box of worms and said: "Why didn't she tell me? Why, they are absolutely harmless. I wonder how many she got away with?" THIS BIRD IS A KICKER. The- Ostrich Stands Eight Feet in : BisBare f ;law. I would like to know the name of the man who originated the falsehood that the ostrich, when pursued by his enemies, sticks his head in the sand. This man never saw an ostrich or when he did, he and not the bird stuck his head in the sand, for, weight for age, an ostrich could give that particular brand of man about ten stone and a beating. An ostrich that has been brought up on the bottle, or dosed with paregoric, will stand eight feet high when he has done growing and weigh 300 pounds. He can kick harder than a mule, travel faster than a horse and grow fat on food at which a goat would elevate his nose. It is more difficult to make his acquaintance now than It used to be a few hundred years ago, for he has been taught by experience to look upon man as an enemy. He takes no pride in his feathers, but he does not want to lose them, being accustomed to them, and knowing that they are useful In keeping off the dew, or, at least, counteracting its effect. He is a dangerous bird when driven into a corner, says Outlaw In Black and White, a3 he uses his feet with great dexterity, and if he plants them on a man, anywhere between his collar button and the waistband,, the man's relatives always claim the insurance money if there's any on him. THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION: One of the Interesting Features Which. Will Attract Attention.. One of the most interesting and Instructive features of the government display in the forestry building- at the cotton states and International: exposition will be a set of three models, the one to represent a 160-acre farm in the hill lands of the south, which by bad management, and especially by improper cutting of the forest, has become gullied, furrowed and silted over, such" as one can see almost In every state. The next model will show how with bush dams, with ditching, proper drainage, with terracing, with sodding and replanting, the lost ground may be recovered; while the third model, representing the same 160 acres is to show how, finally, the farm should look ideally, with the fields and meadows and forest growth properly disposed, in good condition, the roads running at proper levels instead of up and down, the fences reduced to the smallest extent practicable. It is hoped that this object lesson will be studied by every farmer and stimulate him to improved methods. Pat's Kepose. Not long ago a venerable Pat landed for the first time on Chinese soil. Soon he was surrounded by natives, who began to chatter rather a broken sort of English. Pat, who was quick tempered, was not long before he let fly at one of them with a dish he seized from a ware shop close by. A Chinaman's face was badly cut, and Pat wae soon brought before the English consul. "Why have you done this?" demanded the consul, to which Pat replied: "Och, sure, the ugly haytheim spake broken English, and I just gav; thim broken china In return."