TH E STUD-AD.
LARGEST PAPEll
-PUBLISHED IX COXCORD.-
n)XTUNS ilOKK KKADING
MVl'TKll THAN ANY OTIIEK
VWVM IX THIS SECTION.
A MV I.E.
1KV.IN
Vr,n X. bncl;adncz;ar,
vvoah sab,
VI::ir is you iryiuix to go, sah ?
1M hail yoii I"01' t0 kiunv bahl
IVc ft hjMi'.i' ob do lines.
YouM Letter stop dul pranciu',
You's j'oweiful fond of daiicin',
Bui I'll lr-t 111 years advauciu',
Dat 111 cure 7CU oh yur s"iues
"Look lui:li, mule! Better lainJ out,
I'as thin? you know you'Jl liu' out,
How quick I'll wear dis line out
On your ujly stubborn back.
You nteda'i ny to steal up
An' lit" J it precious heel up,
You's got to plow dis liel up !
"o i has, sah. for a fa:
Dar, dat's de way to do it !
jie'seoaiin' ligiit down to it;
Jes watch him plowiu' t'roo it;
D.h jiiirsr siiu'c no fool.
Home f jlks dey would a heat him!
:,'ov dat v.ou.d ouly hoy I him,
You must reason wid a mule.
"tie minds me like a nisrger;
If he was only bijrgtr
He'd feUh mighty finger;
He would, I tell you! Yes sah!
See how he ket i s a clickin',
He's aa gentle t s a chicken,
An" ntbher ihiuks ob kiekin'
V.'oah, dar, Nebuchadnezzar!
Is dis licali n:c, or not me?
Or is de debble got me?
Hab I laid here mor'n a week ?
3at mule do kiek 'amazin'
.De beast was spil'd iu raising;
.15 .- night I sped bo's grazin'
On tedder side de creek-
The XTlle.r.iul-TIuentl Tree.
Imagine the luxury of such a
tree, and the delights of going out
to your needle and thread orchard
and picking a needle threaded and
already for business. Odd as it may
r-ccu to us, says a writer in the St.
Louis Republic, there is on the
"Mexican plains, just such a forest
gro w tit. The tree partakes of
the
and
natar
of a gigantic asparagus
,5 largo, thick, fleshy
aves,
reminding one of the cactus, the one
pupn laily known as the "prickly
pear." The ''needles' of the needle-and-thread
tree are set along the
edges of these thick leaves. In or
der to gt t one equipped for sewing
it is only necessary to push the
tho.i: or '-needle" gently backward
i it its 1'eshy sheath, this to loosen
i! f:vm i he tKidioulsid-; covering of
the ie f. : nd then pull it from the
t. A hundred fine fibers ad
he;e to the thorn-like spider webs.
I'.v twi.-liiij the "needle" during the
drawing operation this liber can be
draun out to an almost indefinite
length. The action of the atmos
phere toughens these mi mi to threads
amazingly, to such a degree as to
nntke a thread twisted from it, not
larger than common Xo 40, capable
of sustaining a weight of five
pounds, about three times the ten
sile strength of common "sis-cord"
thread. The scientific name of this
forest wonder is tensynana muca
dina. Asheville Democrat.
(uorge W. Yauderbilt, the young
est, of the sons of the late "William
II. Yauderbilt, is determined, in ad
dition to his well known palace in
Xew York, to have tli3 most mag
nificent private park and the lordli-f-t
country estate in America. Tj
that end he has recently bought at a
cost of f-ao.f.mo nearly 5,000 acres
lying just ouisiue 01 tins town a
tract of hind fully one third larger
thai '.our magnificent Fairmount
Park, aloiit one-third of the acreage
of which lit 3 under the Schuylkill
a-;d the Wissahiekon. His
scape garderer is already at
land
work
living out and beautifying these
exteuive grounds at an expense of
r-iti'i ) more. ms architect is
buay -e aring the plans for a lord
ly pleasure house, like an old style
French c-h-ifeau, which will cost an
a hii'.ional t'400,000.
ilis model i-taM.'S. which will be
s:v tiered our Hit? ,",C0O tiered, for
t!ie purpo.-e of h. -using thousands of
hoi.-cs sii.d cattle of the very bluest
of blue Lo-. iiie b!ood, wiil cost, it is
(aid, at least $300,000 mere. So
yo.! see thai the estimated cost al
ready foots up to the magnificent
fci;ni of 1(1,000. The shortest
distance from the stately entrance
gates to the sfill statelier mansion
t.f the lord of this vast estate will be
fo.ir miles by ;i magnificent roadway
tkty feet wi!e, and it is said that
will will more than fifty miles of
macadamized roads within the
ground;.
v.-ry s!ep
li caution i
of life shows how
i required- Goethe.
11 is govt to rub and polish our
train against that of others. Mon
taigne.
it is a great misfortune not t
have mind enough, nor judgment
T 1 .
enough to be silent.
VOL. TIL NO. 4.
TIte Vkm to Which Yeitaniloaulsm
May he Put.
Fun, of course.
It is always amusing
so. Always innocent?
It niav he, however.
Yes, quite
Afraid not
Dementis on
the person using it.
All laughter is a combination of
o
surprise nungieu n . .
approval. All perfect vencrinca.
work causes surprise, but sometimes
disapproval to those who are not "in
the game." A person who is at the
butt end of a joke 13 not expected to
see the point of it.
Ventriloquism itself, however, is a
illusion. v e
have
verv curious
watched it under the workings ct
celebrated stage performers. There
are two erronous popular notions re
garding it. One is, that it is a special
gift unattainable by ordinary mor
lals, and the other that the Tentril-
oquist produces the sounds he utters
from his stomach, as the worn ap
pears to signify, and throws them
(1 tlmt na be nleases. As
11113 uuu , 4--- ,
to the first point, any one can learn
1 ffninntiijo. mid. rPETardiiiff the
second point, the fact is, that no
TTvin ran produce vocal sounds other
wise than with his laryux; it is sim
tf.v nf rheatinsr the ear. It
r.j
is a very ancient art. It was known
to the Egyptians more than 3,000
years ago, and is said to have been
much used by priests of old to make
the oracles talk, and for other mirac
ulous purposes. The simplest ven
trilocal trick for the beginner to try,
is performed by going to the door of
a room full of people and opening it
slightly, thereupon conducting a
conversation with an imaginary per
son in the hallway. The deception
can be made very effective if at all
well carried out A more difficult
thing of the same 6ort we saw done
the other day, when, upon entering
a room in a big office building, we
found a red-faced man conducting a
violent quarrel through a speaking
tube with somebody five floors higher
up. His own remarks were very loud
and fierce and the replies were faintly
audible. We were surprised to find
such a thing going on, and it was
not until afterward that we learned
that the red-faced man was doing
the whole conversation. Yentrilo-
quist3 often play such quaint tricks.
The following are a few of the
uses to which ventriloquism has been
put, and are strictly correct, as they
passed under our own observation,
and we can vouch for them. I he
perpetrators were Various persons.
some well skilled in the art, others
partially trained, all being successful
however.
A newly married husband, in an
adjoining room, locked the door, and
carried ou a conversation with a sup
posed woman, whose voice he imita
ted perfectly. The language used
was full of endearment. The wife,
. 11 1 1 L
in a irenzv, wouiu nave uurst open
the door, had not the husband ad
mitted her.
"Where is that woman?" she de
manded. "Gone," said the husband, coolly.
"She has not goue. Who and where
is she?" '
"Gone," he repeated.
"Xo, I am not gone," cried a fee
ble voice from a closet, "I am not
gone; I m stiffling; I am suffocating.
Help! Help!
"For God's sake, George! exclaim
ed the frantic wife, let her out!
Where is the key? This a terrible
affair! Oh! George! how could you?
and only married three days! I
shall go wild. Is she another wife
of yours:"
"Help: Help! 1 am dying, came
very feebly from the closet now.
The key was procured, the door
opened, and no one was there.
"I am under the sofa," cried the
same feeble voice.
Both husband and wife dragged it
out in ha3te, but she was not there
The secret was told at. last; the hus
band hal studied Yentriloqnism a
few months before at the Martyn
Co'lege of Elocution.
A man sat at an open window one
summer's evening, his wife ciose by,
reading.
"O, Mr. Marshall, is your wife at
home?" inquired a female voice from
the 6treet below; "if she is not, may
J come in? You know me; I am
Fanny."
m The wife shot out of her chair,
thrust her head out of the window,
saw ouly a deserted street, rushed
out of doors and searched everywhere
for the culprit, but in vain. On her
return she asked imperatively:
"What woman wa? that, sir?"
"I did not seo cr hear any woman,
he said."
"Don't tell me that, sir," replied
the wife.
"Do you want Fanny to come to
see you when your wife is gone
away?" said the strange woman, now
in the back room.
"Yes, Fanny will come and see
him!" replied Mrs. Marshall, "but
his wife will be at home! Xow look
here, Mr. Marshall, I want to know
what this means, and who this wo
mon is, and where she is."
"Why, Mrs. Marshall," said the
husband coolly,"you are going crazy."
"Yes, you are going crazy; Fauny
says so," replied the female voice.
The scene that ensued was climac
teric. Mr. Marshall had ta prove to
his wife, by repeated experiments,
that he was. a ventriloquist, before
she would accept his plea of not
guilty, lie got the worst of it.
3.
A political orator had made an el
oqueut speech iu behalf of his party
at a public debate. His opponent
was to answer him, and had just
arisen, when a ventriloquist, who
sympathized with the first speaker,
cried:
"Fire! Fire!"
The voice seemed to be outside the
building, but close by. It was dis
tinctly heard by everybody. The
vast audience arose and rushed from
the hall. The party of the first
speaker won at the polls.
4.
At church one Sabbath day, a very
wicked and accomplished ventrilo
quist was present. The preacher had
a habbit of stepping from behind his
pulpit to the right side of it, -while
illustrating his ideas. On this occa
sion, when he stepped to the right,
a voice, that seemed to be directly
under his feet, cried:
"You are standing on my head!
Do, please get off."
The astonished ar.d startled di
vine got off as quickly as he could.
He looked at the spot, then at the
audience, then at the spot again, per
fectly bewildered. lie avoided that
place during the remainder of the
sermon, but the temptation to step
aside while illustrating L13 thoughts
with anecdotes, was so great that he
next took a position on the left of
his pulpil.
"Oh! sir, you are standing 011 my
lerrs. aud it hurts! Do please set
off."
The congregation aud minister
were too astonished for utterance. A
hasty benediction was pronounced,
and the services ended. They made
a search under the platform for the
unfortunate individual, and the ven
triloquist aided them, lijev never
knew who he wa?. His name, how
ever, appears aiuoug the graduates
of the Martvn College of Elocution.
5.
At a paity one night a certain
chair was vacant. It was easy, large
and attractive. A young man took it.
"Don't sit on me! Get up, quick!"
He did get up quick, and looked
at the seat, then under it, and beh.nd
it. Xo one there.
"Well that is strange," he said.
"Of course, it is strange; don't try
it again, said a still small voice
from the chair.
"Where are you?" asked the young
man.
"In the cushion."
The tlelusion was so real that the
young man asked permission to cut
the cushion open, which was grant
ed. Nothing was found that did not
belong there.
"Well that's strange," he said.
"Of course it's strange; drop me."
He, himself, was the ventriloquist
and no one suspected it. The event
wa3 always remembered.
0.
A Frenchman in Delmonico's iu
New York, had ordered a whole
chicken. It was brought to him.
He. took his knife, whittled it, was
just about to cut the fowl, when a
prolonged and agonizing groan came
forth from the chicken:
"Oh-o-o-oh!"
The Frenchman dropped his knife
s.ud fork, nud looked in all directions
to discover the cause of the sound.
The room was full of people, but
everybody was intent upon their own
affairs. Again he took his knife
and was just inserting it iu the fow l,
when a second sound, more appall
ing than the first, was heard. He
dropped his knife, snatched his hat
and hurried from the room, looking!
bak once at the fowl as he turned
the earner at the doorway.
Everybody was intent upon their
own affairs. The ventriloquist was
at a farther window reading a paper.
The Frenchman returned to his na
tive country the following week.
7.
At every entertainment given by
a ventriloquist, numerous tricks are
played upon the audience. Until re
cently the methods by which the art
could be learned were never given to
the public It affords pleasure
of an innocent kind to all who
are brought within its amusing pow
ers, and it is sure to bring wealht to
any person who cares to master it.
CONCORD, N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14.
Gordon's C'barmeU Life.
For the first two years of the war
the life of Gen. Gordon appeared to
be protected by some omnipotent
power. Iu leading his men he was
constantly exposed, and though oth
ers fell on every side of him he re-
maiiK'd uninjured. He was bruised
many times, but never once was a
drop of his blood spilled. Ilis
clothes on several occasions were
pierced and rent by bullets, his hat
was twice lifted from his head and
htscauteen was shot from his side
without his being hurt.
Finally a superstition grew among
the men that their leader bore a
charmed life. And when the open
ing shot at the battle of Sbarpsburg
was tired it was asserted that the
bullet had never been molded that
would break the skin of Gordon. Be
fore the close of the gret fight,
however, not only one but many bul
lets had found their billets in his
body, and the Sjxth Alabama Kegi
ment, which he then commanded,
mourned bitterly because they be
lieved that their leader, who knew
not wh it fear meant, was beyond all
hope. In that one fight Gen. Gor
den had more narrow eseapes than
almost any other man who survived
through the great four years strug
gle. At the beginning of the engage
ment a shell burst immediately in
front of him, and a large piece struck
him fairly in the chest. A bad
bruise was inflicted, but Gordon nev
er showed that he felt the pain of it
and continued at the head of his
men. Shortly after the explosion of
the shell a bullet passed through the
fleshy part of his right leg, but still
he made no moan. A handkerchief
tied about the limb absorbed the
blood and served to set an example
of endurance to the men. One hour
later a ball passed through the same
log, between the leaders and the knee
joint; another bandage was applied,
and still the commander continued
at his post. Only half an hour later
and the left arm, raised to emphasize
an trder, fell useless, a ball having
passed through it, serving in its pas
sage every tendon and also a small
artery. The constant loss of blood
made him weak, but the mighty will
conquered pain, and all requests to
retire from the fight were re-fused
with scorn. Fifteen minutes later
and a Minnie ball tore through his
left shoulder, breaking in two and
leaving half the lead buried in the
bone. Tottering anil scarcely able
to stand, Gordon turned to rally his
men, and as he did so the final
wound was inflicted. Square in the
left cheek the bullet struck, coming
out under the ear. At last the won
derful physical energy gave way, and
the dauntless commauder fell for
ward, with his mutilated face buried
in his cap, and so he would have
died, drowned by the blood that flow
ed so freely for his country, but for
a bullet hole which had pierced his
cap unnoticed, and allowed the red
fluid to escape. How long General
Gordon lay there unconscious he
never knew, but the sensations he
experienced, as he himself describes
them, must have been very terrible.
He says he felt that a six pound
r 1
shot had carried away his head. He
argued with himself that if his head
was gone he could no longer think,
as the brain must have been destroy
ed. Then he concluded that he was
dead, and it was only the immaterial
part of the man still hovering over
the useless clay that was thinking;
finally he decided that if he were
alive he could move his legs, but if
he were dead he had no legs. With
a great effort he did move his limbs,
pierced as they were, he d'-ew them
almost to his chest. The effort sent
the little bipod remaining in his
body to the brain, and he recovered
consciousness only to faint again.
When he next came to himself he
was 011 a litter being taken to the
rear. For seven months Gen. Gor
don remained away from his com
mand. At the end of that time,
though his wounds were ouly par
tially healed, he returned to duty as
brigadier-general.
He passed through several other
desperate connicts without injury,
and was not wounded again until at
the battle of Sheperdstown, n 18G3,
a bullet struck hjm in the head iqst
above the hair aud inflicted a bad
wound,
On the 2 6 t.h of March, 1765, the
battle of Sheperdstown was fought,
and General Gordon, as a carps com
mander, received his last wound, a
ball piercing his right leg.
Among his relics Gen. Gordon
keeps an iron-bonnd pocket book
which once saved his life. He carried
it in his pocket and a ball struck it
and bent it doable. Had it not
been for the pocketbook the missle
would have torn through the hip
bone and would almost surely have
caused death.
AND ARB.
Remarkable Duels.
From the San Diego Union.l
One afternoon last week there was
a large and interested crowd of
amusement seekers in and in front
of the large side widows of Knox &
Yan Hareu's drug store. The cause
of the gathering waj one of a rather
unusual nature. Several days be
fore two centipedes, one large and
the other small, were brought into
the store, and also a tarantula. They
were left in separate receptacles and
all alive.
On this particular afternoon it
was determined to see how the ani
mals would act when placed togeth
er. A layer of sand about an inch
thick was spread over the bottom of
a glass globe, and first the two cen
tipedes were dropped in and with
them a horned toad. His majesty
with the horns took no part in the
trouble which disturbed the other
two. He seemed to be acting simply
as the referee of the fight. The
two centipedes crawled over him and
rolled over him, but hardly awaken
ed his sleepy nature. Not so the
others. They circled two or three
limes around the globe and finally
came in each other's way. Each de
sired to crawl over the other and the
battle began. It was short but it
was exciting. Xo two pugulists
ever went after each other with more
vim or more apparent determination
to do each other harm than did these
two centipedes. Their cat-like
claws were repeatedly imbedded in
each other's bodies, but the smaller
one could not stand the strain, and
when they-, came together for the
third time, about two minute3 after
they were first put in, they clinched
and wound about each other, keep
ing their claws goingin scissor-fash-ion
upon each other's bodies until
the smaller centipede dropped out of
the struggle, elead.
The body was taken out of the
globe and soou after the tarantula
was dropped iu. The centipede had
not had time to recover any strength
after his battle with his fellow and
his sting had lost its death-dealing
qualities, so that this battle was also
short. The two animals closed only
twice, when the forceps of the tarau-
tnla crushed through the head of the
larger centipede and he died quick
ly. The tarantula had apparently
received no injury and looked mad
enough to have fought a whole regi
ment of cen ti pe eled.
One of the company who had
watched two battles was impressed
with the way the centipede fought
in the first battle, and entnred the
assertion that the centipede was the
better fighter. He knew where one
could be obtained and went after it;
meanwhile the crowd waited. When
he returned he brought a centipede
nearly four and a half inches long.
It was immediately dropped into
the globe and the fight, which was
then begun, lasted fully three-quarters
of an hour, and was exceeding
ly savage while it lasted. The ta
rantula did most of the fighting,
but, after the first attack, invariably
got the worst of the round.
The tarantula fights with a pair
of pinchers which are thrust out
just below or from the lower part of
the head. These are very hard and
stronsr enough to leave mai Ks ou a
o
lead pencil. The centipede fight
with a double line of oat-like claws,
which are ranged in rows along, the
side of the body. In fighting the
tarantula spreads himself out, and
after backing away after the manner
of a crawfish until he can get no
further, springs upon the enemy,
thrusting out the pinchers and
erasnincr whatever portion of the
o 1 o
body of the enemy comes within
reach.
In the battle in the globe the two
came together a dozen cr more
rounds, breaking away and return
ing to the opposite sides of the globe
at the close of each. Finally the
two came together, and the centi
pede seemed to get the hold he had
been looking for, and the tarantula's
body was quickly wrapped up in the
fold of the armed body of its oppo
nent. Meanwhile the hundred
claws of the centipede were working
rapidly and with such effect that
the life of the tarantula was soon
over. The victorious centipede did
not come out unscratched, as the
forceps of the tarantula had pierced
his body in several places, from
which the black mattery life fluid
was running. He survived the bat
tle only a few hours.
Negro emigrants from the eastern
part of the State will keep the trains
on the Western road pretty well
crowded. Last bundar s batch was
estimated at 1,000.
1890.
WUnfH (lie Matter with Reynard.
Rockingham Rocket.1
The "foxes have hole3," but
they are not keeping to them out in
the neighborhood of Ledbetter's
factory, but have been cutting up
some very strange antics'lately.
Last Fall some wagoners camped
near Daniel McDonald's lane. Be
fore bed time two of the men went
to a branch near by to get some wa
ter, leaving one man sitting by the
fire. Directly he heard a noise in
the bushes near him and was sur
prised to see a fox leap over the fire
and take a seat on the ground with
in a foot or two of him. And there
Reynard sat, unconcernedly, for
some time and then walked leisurely
off.
A short time after, Mr. Alex Mc
Innis was walking along the road
near his house when he met a fox in
the road. He called his dog a
small lice and the dog and fox had
a "hand-to-hand" fight. In the
melee the dog was bitten in both
forelegs and Mr. Mclnnis had to go
to the dog's rescue with a stick.
The fox retreated, and the dog died
shortly afterwards.
On Tuesday morning before
Christmas as the hands were going
to work at the mill he was attacked
by a fox, which got a firm hold upon
the leg of his pants. He called for
help, and the fox's throat had to be
cut and his head split open before
his hold could be broken.
And now for the strangest of all.
Mr. William Watson, who lives near
Ledbetter's mill, had two hound
pups which slept under his dwelling
house at night. One night Mr
Watson heard a terrible racket un
der there and went out to see what
was the trouble. The moon was
shiuing brightly and he saw that a
fox had one of the pups by the nose,
shaking him vigorously. By dint
of much hollering and noise Mr.
Watson finally scared the fox off and
put his old hounds after it, who
chased it for several miles, and then
gave up the chase. Iu three hours
the fox was back and after, tbe pups
again, wnen the old hounds came to
the rescue and gave it a slight race
but finally lost the trail and the
fox.
Have they got the rabies, or foxa-
phobia ?
A Dollar Worth 850.
St. Paul Pioneer Tress.
A fact ot greatest interest to nu
mismatists is the finding of the
missing 1804 silver dollar. Only
four silver disks of this date were
ever put into circulation, and for
years the wherereaoouts or tne
fourth has been eagerly searched
for, the owners of the other three
being known. Of course the lim
ited number gave the silver quartet
a fancy price iu the eyes of coin
collectors, and they have been held
at relatively speaking, enormous
figures. Many people throughout
the country have religiously looked
at the date of every dollar received
in the hope of finding the valuable
dollar. A few days ago Dr. Ed-
ward Walther walked into the Com
nicrciM .National liank and pro
duced the sought-fox piece. lie
had found it in the southern part of
the btate, where it had reposed, no
one knows how longf, in the stocking
of a Norwegian. The doctor parted
with $150 in current bills to obtain
the treasure; but as the dollar is
listed by coin dealers at $850 he will
hardly be a loser by the operation.
At present he announces; a determi
nation to keep it, but the tempta
tions of ardent numismatists may
cause him to change his mind.
Bank officials state that there is no
question of its genuineness.
A Letter from Mrs. Dnvls.
Beauvoir, Miss., Feb. 1, 1890.
I have engaged to prepare a bi
ography of my late husband, which
will be published at an early date.
In order to make to book as com
plete as possible, I shall be greatly-
obliged if our friends, whose person
al recollections of Mr. Davis would
throw light on any event of his life
or tend to illustrate his character,
will record them and forward them
to me. As I shall endeavor, as far
as possible, to tell the story of Mr.
Davis's career in his own words, I
shall regarel it as a real service to be
furnished with copies of any letters
from my husband relating fo any
public topic that his surviving
friends may have preserved.
My address will continue to be
Mrs. Jeffersox Davis,
Beauvoir, Miss.
The Virginia legislature adopted
a resolution requesting the repre
sentatives in Congress from that
State to aid the passage of the bill
before said body authorizing the
Secretary of the Treasury to loan
money to farmers at two per cent,
interest
WHOLE NO. 108.
At the I'arlH Exposition.
Anioi.g the many wonders there
is noi:e that shows more accurate
scientific knowledge ou the part of
the makers than the enormous globe
on which the earth's surface is de
picted. The diameter is forty-two
feet and the surface is five hundred
and twenty-five square feet, and
these figures are said to represent
just one millionth of the dimensions
of the great original. The scale
permits close detail. Large cities
have the outlines and some of their
principal thoroughfares expressed,
all drawn to scale. Everything that
relates to the earth, its geography,
its political divisions, all its means
of communication on land or sea. is
shown. The globe is made of stout
pasteboard in four hundred pieces,
covered with plaster, fastened to a
skeleton of wrought-:ron ribs, and
although it is very heavy, so finely
adjusted is the balance that it will
turn at . the lightest touch. If it
were rotated at the same velocity as
that of the earth, its movement
would hardly be visible, as a point
at the equator where the speed is
greatest would move at the rate of
only an inch a minute.
Barristers and Attorneys.
There are two classes of lawyers
in England, one being called barris
ters, the other attorneys.' When a
case is to be tried, the attorney who
has taken it from the client, gets up
the evidence and prepares the papers,
in short, does all the work necessary
to bring it into court. There the
attorney retains a barrister to con.
duct the case in court. Hence, bar
risters rank higher than attorneys.
We often see the letters Q. C. written
after the name of a barrister. The
title, queen's counsel, for which the
letters stand, is an honorary one,
given to an eminent practicioner at
the bar. One possessing it is enti
tled to wear a silk gown. A queen's
counsel cannot act as junior counsel
in a case, and as he cannot always be
the leader, he sometimes finds his
title an inconvenience. The iudsres
in England are chosen from queen's
counsel.
A VAs SIarj .
"That young man draws quite a
decent sort of salary," said a by
stander in the Richelieu rotunela, as
he pointed out a man of thirty-five
or forty who wore a look ou his face
which indicated that he could decide
a business proposition while an or
dinary man would be gathering i
into shape to think about it. "What
is his salary? Just twice what the
President of the United States re
ceives. xes, sir, tnat man receives
$100,000 a year for his work, and I
don't doubt he earns every cent of it
for his company, for he carries an
enormous business on his shoulders.
Who is he? The president of n
prominent life insurance company
I don't know of any other business,
though, that can afford to pay any
such a salary a3
Tribune.
that." Chicago
Sleeping with tbe Head to the Xorth
The superstitious belief that hu
man beings should sleep with their
heads toward the North is now be
lieved to be based upon a scientific
principle. The French Academy of
Sciences has made experiments upon
the body of a guillotined man, which
go to prove that each human body
is in itself an electric battery, one
electrode being represented by the
head and the other by the feet. The
body of the subject upon which ex
periments were made was taken-im
mediately after death and placed
upon a pivot free to move it in any
direction. After some vacillation
the head portion turned toward the
Xorth, the pivot-board then remain
iur stationary. One of the Profes
sors turneel it half way around, bu
it soon regained a position with the
head-piece to the North, and the
same results were repeatedly obtain
ed until organic movement ceased.
Their First Appearance.
The first watches were made ta
Nurembnrg in 1477.
Coaches were first used in England
in 15C9.
The first telescope was used in the
some country in 1C08.
The first union nag was unfurled
on the 1st of January, 177C, over
the camp at Cambridge. It had
$hirteen stripes of white and red.
and retained the English cross in
one corner.
The first lucifer match was made
in 1798.
The first steamboat plied the
Hudson in 1807.
The first horse railroad was built
in 1826-7.
The first iron steamship was built
in 1830.
THE STAHDARD.
WE DO ALL KINDS OF
job "vtoee:
IN THE
NEA TES T MA NNER
AND AT
THE LOWEST RATES-
An Appalling Disaster.
New York "World.!
London, Feb. C. An explosion
occurred today in a colliery at Ab
ersychan, in Monmouthshire, ten
miles northwest of Newport. Three
hundred miners were imprisoned,
and for several hours no communi
cation could be had with them. An
opening was finally effected and at
noon 150 of them had been rescued.
A number of those taken out are se
verely injured. Rescuing parties
then began the searching for those
remaining in the mine. Up to four
o'clock this afternoon forty bodies
had been taken out.
The cause of the explosion was
the flooding of pits adjacent to that
in which the explosion occurred.
By the flooding of these pits gas was
dislodged and forced into the pit
where work was in progress, and
there it - was ignited and exploded.
There must have been a great quan
tity of gas, as the explosion had tre
mendous force. It was heard at the
istance of a mile. All the gearing
in the shaft was thrown into the air
as if from the mouth of a volcano,
and simultaneously a vast, bright
olume of flame shot upward, follow-
by a dense, heavy column of
smoke.
The first party of rescuers organ-
zed endeavored to penetrate the pit
through the old workings. They
sot far enousrh to be able to see
groups of the dead, but they could
not reach them and were compelled
to retreat by the suffocating volumes
of smoke that rose in the direction.
Upon the first appearance of a dim-
nuticn in volume of smoke rescuers
went down the main shaft and
cached the scene of the catastrophe.
They rescued a large number of
miners yet alive, but all very badly
burned, and they brought out sixty
dead bodies, nearly all so mutilated
that the recognition of their identity
impossible.
The latest estimate of the dead is
150.
A Good Work.
Marion Harland, the friend and
helper of women everywhere, has
taken up the work of restoring the
nined monument marking the
burial-place of Mary the mother of
George Washington.
One hundred years ago this ven
erable woman was interred in pri
vate grounds near Fredericksburg
Virginia. In 1833, the corner-stone
of an imposing memorial was laid by
President Andrew Jackson. A pa
triot citizen of Xew York assumed
tiie pious task, single-handed, but
meeting with financial disaster, was
compelled to abandou it.
Marion Harland says truly in
her appeal to the mothers and
daughters of America to erect a fit
ting monument to her who gave
Our Country a Father that "the
sun shines upon no sadder run in
the length and breadth of our land,
than this unfinished structure.
The publishers of The Home-
Maker, of which Marion Harland is
the editor, offer, as their contribution
to the good cause, seventy-five cents
out of every annual subscription of
two dollars to the Magazine sent in
during the next six months. Every
such subscription must be accom
panied by the words, "For Mary
Washington Monument"
The offer is generous and should
meet with an enthusiastic response.
How Saints are Made.
State Chronicie.
It is proposed to make Jeanne d'
Arc a sam t by canonization, lhe
precess is interesting. She must
first be made "venerable," then be
come "venerable servant of God,"
and after that must be beatified.
Before she can be made "venerable"
a trial, or a proceeding in the nature
of a trial, must be had before the
Congrepation of the Cardinals at
Rome. Signor Marini will plead her
cause, and Mgr. Caprara, the learned
lawyer always employed by the Va
tican in matters concerning beauti
fications and canonization, will op
pose her. To this end he is now en
gaged in a close study of her life to
find out tbe sins committed and all
the worst points iu her life. After
these arguments are heard, the Car
dinals make their decision. If the
Cardinals decide favorably, argument
is then made before the Pope. K
the Pcpe consents, Joan of Arc will
be made "venerable," and in the
course of several years will be can
onized Certainly if any human
ought to be canonized it is this brave
and dauntless maid whose beauty
and courage were only excelled by
her devotion to duty and her trust
in God.
It i3 proposed to hold an interna
national exhibition in Berlin in
1897 which shall eclipse the recent
exposition in Paris.