1
IF D J ES NOT COUNT BY YEARS.
Life does not count by years
'Tis circumstance that makes the solid sum
Of our existence. Smiles and tears,
And hopes and fears, unbidden come.
To some, a day seems but a fleeting hour
Where pleasure waits there is no call for
tears.
:To others, writhing 'neath affliction's power,
A single day is lengthened into years.
Life does not count by years
The polished brow its youthful look may
hold,
E'en while the heart, stung by the cold
. world's sneers,
Lies in the tortured bosom sore and Id.
In this great world of mingled good and ill
Philosophy's clear page reveals the truth
That, view life's stormy problem as we will,
'Tis. our surroundings that make age or
youth.
Francis S. Smith, in Nero York Weekly.
JOHN LONG'SSACRIFICE
BY WILLIAM BAYAKD HALE.
It had been a bitter summer for Jolin
Long. At least, it ought to have been.
It was a miserable career, indeed, that he
regarded, if he cast his eye backward
over his life. After he had thrown away
several years and considerable money at
college, and bad wasted some months in
a business office, he had employed him
self as a campaign sneaker in a far off
.State first on one side, but finally on
the other. . j .
After the election, when he had used
fill the money he had made and all die
could borrow at home, he had tramped
to Cincinnati, for miles and borrowed a
hundred dollars of his uncle. Then,
with a harum-scarum chum, he projected
a magazine. The prospectus was bril
liant; alter the first number the editors
left the city, John going home and the
chum into sanctuar- to develop some new
scheme.
The new scheme was developed. It
took the shape of a;school for boys the
Kentucky Classical College, it was to be
called. The chum aforesaid furnished
' the capital this time. John procured the
degrees of B. A. and Ph. D., they got
out a glowing catalogue, and the, Ken
tucky Classical College opened with fine
prospects on September 17th.. By, OctoV
ber 1, two boys had come. They were
graduated with honors on the 2d, and
th.? faculty got home hs boat it could,
' bo John had been home all summer!"
To $ sure, he ha.4 not been idle. He
had laid out a trip through Europe,
which he p'roposed to tramp after the
fashion of Bayard Taylor, writing letters
to def,," ernpnses.
He had corresponded with, all the lead
ing journals, but somehow had not suc
ceeded in impressing any sufficiently to
pet an advance upon which to ;start.
Then, too, he had opened the Great
Western Literary Bureau, which institu
tion read, criticized and touched up4man
uscripts for would-be authors, anjd did
other such literary work. This was what
tiie prospectus announced; however, it
was never called upon to do any work.
It was becoming a very apparentfthing
that John Long was "no account.'' And
he knew it well enough; none realized
more than he that he was visionary, im
practicable and lazy; he laughed at "his
own schemes, and had no faith in their
success, yet he vowed he would starve
before he would work like other men.
If ever he had a serious moment he -must
.have dispised himself ; yet I do not know
that he did.
lack of what we call common sense; he
avowed himself brother to fools ; he used
to say that, like Lamb, his sympathies
were "with the foolish virgins and the
man who built his house upon the sand.
I have known him to spend his last dol
lar for a theatre seat, or for a dinner at
an uptown hotel, when he knew he Avould
have no supper and no bed at night.
If John Long had had the genius of
Poe or Goldsmith you might admire'him.
We expect improvidence as to common
things in men of genius. But John was
only a commonplace fellow; never did a
brilliant thing that I know of. He
might have made a successful man, as
men go; he; was, perhaps, as bright as
the average; but at a certain point in his
life he failed to be impressed with the
practicalness of living, and went off into
idling and dreaming.
Now, there was Arthur Brooks. The
two boys had a fair start in life; I be
lieve John was the more clever; but
Arthur always got on best. John was a
disappointment, even when he was a boy,
and it was so through all his life. He
lacked the element of success.
John and Arthur were great friends;
they grew out of boyhood together, and
were loyal to each other as young men-
yes," even after. they became rivals for the
affections of Lucy Harris. What on earth
had become of what little wit John Long
had when he thought of entangling a
woman in his own miserable existence I
do not know. But Lucy undoubtedly
liked him. You do not care to know
how great friends they became; how, of
all living beings, John, poured out his
heart to her, and how tender and good
she was to him. You might like
to know that she was beautiful; with a
bewitching face and true eyes, and all
that could be asked for in a lovely girl.
Ah, they were good friends, John and
Lucy, and they talked of those things
that burdened most heavily their foolish
young hcorts ; the mystery of, that life
into which they had been flung and that
frightened them when first they were
awakened to it, the awfulness of life and
of the sceptre of life." And so John
grew to love the sweet girl with all his
heart. . It is little enough good that can
be said of John Long, but his life was
the better that he carried through it al
ways a pure love for Lucy!
He never told her of it. It is not to
be doubted that he would have been fool
ish enough to have done so; but
one
evening, when he was home the last time,
she told him as she would have told her
brother of her betrothal to Arthur
Brooks. It was not till she Was through
that the realization of what it was to John
. flashed upon her. And John told her he
would go away.
John left that very night. It may be
that after that he would have liked to
have made a man of himself, but his old
habits were upon him. He wandered
about the South for a few months, per
suading himself that he was studying the
race question, and that presently he would
write a series of magazine articles that
.would startle the country. Finally he
brought up at Atlanta with his money
gone. 0 course, he had to look for
avork then, and, with unusual good luck,
he managed to get position on one of
the morning papers.
t It would have been strange if haxl
held it longer than four months, and be
did not. It was earlv one morning in
October,after his own work was up,that,
as he sat at the telegraph editor's desk,
his eyes were caught by a special which
had just come in. It was the story ol
the murder of William Harris, the fathei
of Lucy. He had! been found dead and
by poison. A dispute, a peculiar will,
and other circumstances indicating mo
tive, pointed to the newly married hus
band of Lucy Harris as the murderer.
Arthur Brooks had been arrested and
was now in the county jail. The dis
patch spoke of smothered talk of lynch
ing, and said the jail was an old one and
not strong. John Long easily pictured
the violence with which the old love for
Brooks would turniinto an overwhelming
wave of wrath; hej knew there would be
no stopping to weigh the evidence.
John Long walked out into the early
morning air. He drank in the charm of
life. The shadowsj lay long, and there
was a thrill and a, joy in every breath.
How hard for Brooks, with the blood of
youth in his veins, to yield his life. How
could Lucy live without him? Never be
fore had John so felt the pride of life as
he did now that it seemed that his rival
was about to lose his. The earth was
never so bright, the! earth was never so
fair. If you wiU look in thfe Atlanta
of that day you will find this from
his pen :
"The china trees are hanging out their
banners, yellow. aoldeD. glorious, bright
signals of the changing season. The
hickory and the maple are blushing a
little and the docrwood has lisrhted his
torch in the still embers of dying sum
mer, ine persimmon is taking on a
color that fills the eyes of old Brer 'Pos
sum. The honeysuckle blossoms again
around the porch, there is no touch ot
change in the wisteria vine, and the au
tumn flowers in the j garden borders are
gray, lne change lacks tne melancholy
aspect of the North the saddened skies,
the haze-hidden hills that seem to stretch
into some far country, where lies the
longed-for carcassomel The birds have
for the most part broke up housekeeping,
and are frolicking with their families in
the woods. In the summer's interlude
the mocking bird is renewing its melo
dious utterances, and there is an added
sweetness in its note . And the change
will go on, growing richer and more
wanton in coloring, till the cold hand of
winter tears down the whole royal pano
rama.
'It was no little
thin
that the man
that could appreciate life thus should
give it up. " I - ,
Noonfound him on 'the north-bound
train; by the next nponjie was in Cin
cinnati; and by night home. The village
was quiet ; he went to his old room and
went to bed During thgpight- faia
wen thundering tnfougn tne valley; ,he
heard the whistle and the roar of the
fires when the furnace door was opened,
heheard it cross the bridge and go down
between the hills till the sound faded in
to an echo, and then died. And, as in
years before, his fancy followed it
through the night, out of the valley, in
to day and the warm and cheerful world.
The morning came; the light crept
through the little panes as it had done
before. John Long had been thinking
as he rolled homeward on the train-; he
had laid another scheme, and he felt
sure this one would not fail. And
the
his
old
out
the
last twenty years
had passed from
mind, and he wTas
living again his
innocent childhood. He walked
through the village and stopped at
house on the hill, where i he had come to
live with his aunt whenVhis father in the
city died ; he looked f rmva. its veranda far
dow the dusty pike, Land remembered
how, his first spring thfcre, the waters' of :
the river rose and covered it as far as the
eye could reach. He , stood long and
watched the shadows chase each other
across the hills on the other side of the
valley, as he used to do, long summer
days. - I
There was no mistaking the temper of
the people with regard to the murder of
William Harris. With the night shadows
fell a hush on the town, j Mothers gath
ered their children into the house, and
closed fast the doors. Men might have
been seen straggling down the east pike,
on horse and afoot. They stopped on
the first bridge out, and at midnight,
from out the shadows of ' its' ancient raft-
a troop of silent menimarched forth.
Straight to the jail they wert; they never
asked for the keys, no one wanted them.
A stout stick on the shoulder of a dozen
men broke down the doors at a few
blows. They knew the cell; it had but
frail bars, and they were soon down. In
thirty minutes after the lynchers left
their rendezvous Arthur Brooks was in
their hands. j
The preparations were simple. A short
rppe hung from the sign of the Hamble
house, and underneath it was a store box.
Upon this Brooks was hoisted.
"Shall he die?" said the man who held
the rope. These were the first words
spoken. j
"Let him die!" "answered a hundred
voices in a terrible bass. And a thrill of
horrid interest ran through them as they
waited for the final moment.
: But a third figure was upon the box. It
was that of John Long. He took the
noose from off Brook's neck and placed
it about his own. He saidl not a word
but stood with folded arms and head
thrown back. And one of; them told me
that, standing so in the moonlight, some
thing of his old boyish beaiuty came into
his face and made him look like the noble
man he might have made.
. " Are you guilty instead
they shouted.
of Brooks?"
"Brooks is innocent," said Long.
"Did you kill Harris?"
"Brooks is innocent."
"Never mind him," they shouted then
"Up with Brooks! String him up!"
"Gentlemen," said John Long, "I am
guilt-, and not Brooks. I meant th
poison for Lucy, and her father got it."
God forgive him the lie t . In the in
stant that followed perhaps he wondered"
it the truth would ever bej known, and
whether Lucy's children would ever play '
above his grave, and whether she would
teach them the meaning of the words:
'Greater love hath no man than this,
that he lay down his life for his friend."
Perhaps, dying so in dishonor and shame,
the merciful Father permitted him to
know that it would be so.
never heard the yell with
pushed the box out from
Perhaps he
which they
under him.
They stood still then and lei
him hang.
Presently one of them noticed
that his
hand was quite cold.
It wis a week after that night when
Arthur Brooks had gone home in joy to
his bride and John Long had waited out
in the : night that they found the note
William Harris had left, betraying the
fact that a disordered brain had led him
to suicide.
Then they knew. Atlanta Constitu
tion - ' '
WOMEN ON A CANAL.
IN THE CAB1XSOP BOATS THAT
NAVIGATE THE ERIE.
Neatly Furnished. Places How the
Women Pass Their Time Their
Social Circles A Girl Prod
igy of Nine Years.
. There are few among the many who
watch the long lines of canal boats enter
ing the Erie Canal locks at West Troy
that have the faintest idea how.the wo
men aboard these boats live, and what
class of people they are. The prevailing
impression seems to be that none but the
roughest of " women would or could live
on board such craft, and that the life
and surroundings must be of the hardest
sort.
Bright and early one morning our ar
tist climbed aboard one of a long row of
boats that were awaiting their turn to
pass through the weighing lock at Green
Island, and almost the first step he took
after getting aboard, he met an elderly
woman in a neat print dress and white
apron, -who "smiled in a quiet way when
the visitor's business was made known.
"So you want to see how women live
aboard these boats, and be told about it,
too," she said, as she led the way back
toward the cabin companionway. "Well,
I for one. am right glad you have come,
and that what you hear and see will be
printed, for I realize more than you do
how great a prejudice exists against us
as a class and also how widespread are
the false ideas entertained in the public
mind relative to our life along the
canal."
She directed the visitor to stoop low
as he began the descent of the cabin
3tairs, and the admonition came none too
soon, for the stairways are low and steep,
with noliead room to spare. But once
inside the ' cabin it was quite another
matter, fo'r a considerable portion of
these big boats is allotted to living
quarters.- This cabin was especially
roomy and home-like, for the floor had
been scrubbed and rescrubbed until it
was as white as snow. .
In the centre of the room a large square
rug left but little of the floor boards to
be seen. It was of a pretty, bright pat
tern, and a little white dog lay fast asleep
in the centre of one of the big red roses
that graced the pattern. Over this sev- '
sral other hair ot carpet mats had been
placed at the foot of the stairs or by the
lounge- that stood, to the right of the
3oor. - The curtains, of
01
aaintywhue stuff.
-Uttered with the
.-..iig oreeze as it swept softly in over
a bunch of "love entangled" that grew
in a little flower pot on the window edge.
Pictures were everywhere about the
panelled sides of the cabin, and a canary
bird in a gilded cage sang sweetly in the
window near the pretty flower. The
doors of the stateroom stood open, and
disclosed a pretty picture of snowy bed
spreads and fancy pillow shams, while
the kitchen, with its shining pots and
pans, was an ideal place for a good
cook.
"We do most of our cooking up on
deck during the warm weather, and the
men put awnings up to shield us from
the sun. It keeps the smell of the cook
ing away from the cabin and leaves it in
a much cooler condition," the woman
explained, as she kindly offered a cup of
warm coffee to her visitor.
In the course of a ten minutes conver
sation she succeeded in giving the news
paper man a most correct picture of the
life of the awage women who must find
their homes n the water by the side of
a father, brother, or husband. During
the winter months most of the boats tie
up in the Erie or Atlantic Basins at New
York city, and through all these long
winter days the, women aboard the 200
or 300 beats go visiting and give parties
and dances pretty much the same as
their sisters on land whose abiding place?
have rather more stability. Through
the summer, of course, there is less
opportunity for social intercourse while
the boats are on the move, but when
they tie up for orders or to' load at the
principal points the women get together
and often organize a party to go off on
picnics and excursions on land, the men
being busied in loading their cargoes.
When the artist boarded the second
boat a tall, broad-shouldered man, evi
dently the captain of the boat, seemed to
be in especially good humor, for he
laughed over the mission the artist had
stated to him before interviewing the
women at the other end of the boat,
which, as the Captain explained, was
their especial "stamping ground." While
going up he stopped the newspaper man
suddenly, and after an inquiry as to
whether he were married, explained that
he . had two good-looking daughters in
the after cabin, and that he would, after
discovering that his caller was a single
man, have to consult their mother before
he would run the risk of letting him see
them. This he did in a good-natured
way by calling down the hatch of the
cabin: "Say, there, Jennie, here's a
young dude that wants to make pictures
of how ye live ; think it s safe to let him
down there among the gals?"
In answer his wife came up the com
panionway and welcomed the reporter to
the cabin- helm, with instructions to
make himself "to home." It would have
been a most bashful young man, indeed,
who:would not have felt at home among
this jolly party. The Captain was ver
bose to the limit. His wife insisted that
her visitor needed a cup of warm'eoffee
and some cakes, and cakes and coilee he
must have. The girls, with their pretty
faces, came right up to the interviewing
scratch, and told everything they knew
about canal-boat life, and how they were
treated by clerks in the stores when they
went shopping in town if they asked that
their purchases be deliveredoa" eaaaL
thoafe'vszi vjmr : "
"Why," explained thyvw&. 1 1; 3
two, "those clerks were aUfeWdajiiee
to us for any use until they discovered, as j
we were paying our bills and giving or
ders for delivery of goods, that we were
living on a canal boat. It was just two
rich to see how their jaws fell when they
thought how nice they had been to. or
dinary canal people
The gestures and tone of voice which
accompanied this little bit of information
were laughable. Then the two came over
to where the artist sat sketching the
cabin, and while they watched the draw
ing grow they each in turn gave him the
full story of how they had spent last win
ter in the Erie Basin of the dances and
parties and weddings and the fun they
had had roaming over the 300. boats.
And when he clambered over the side they
called after him; "Now mind and send
us each a paper with the pictures in, for
you know
women on canal boats can
red
At the entrance to the cabin of the
third boat a sharp-eyed, stern-featured
.matron stood
miarrl nuPT t.wn TVTfittV
giris that were
companionway
peeping over irom rae
to get a look at the
then engaged in the
stranger just
rather ungraceful
act of climb-
mg over tne siae. a aog ac me
matronVfeet asserted his right to stop
the stranger's advance until the stern
faced Cerberus bade him "lie down."
It was "ironing day" on board this boat.
Here, as on the other boats, everything
was neat and clean, though the two de
clared they were 'really ashamed to bring
you flown here, we are so upset with
spring cleaning." On another boat there
was a good organ and. a young woman,
who boasted that she was the captain's
daughter, could steer a boat, cook a
dinner and play the organ, and was only
nine years old.
Altogether, the women of the canal
have quite as niGe a life and just as nice
people as the average of their sex who
reside on land. Troy (-2V. T.) Press.
Fish That Climb Trees.
The traditional notion of a 4 'fish out of
water" is that of a helpless and gasping
creature ; yet, 1 as the author of "Glimpses
of Animal Life" reminds us, many fish
deliberately choose to diversify their ex
istence by seeking, land and air. The
perch often leaps into the air for flies , and
can -be carried for long distances in damp
grass without suffering harm.
One of th3 species, which lives in Cey
lon, and is known as the Kavaya, some
times leaves his pool and takes a short
journey over the grass. He prefers to
make these little excursions by night or
in the early morning, when, he can be re
freshed by dew, buf'sometimes, led no
doubt by urgent necessity, travels over a
hot and dusty roiSl under the midday
sun. The fish known on the Gauges as
the 'climbing perch" is very tenacious
of life and may be kept alive five or six
days out of water. After this experience
he seems as a fish newly caught.
There are remarkable tales told of this
fish, which is said to ascend cocoanut
palms for the purpose of drinking their
sap. This little refreshment over, it re
turns to the water. Of course such fish
are automatically different from those
which exist only in the water, but na
turalists suggest various reasons for their
peculiar hardihood-. It is agreed that
they possess a cavity near that of the
gillSjWhich, contains the air retained there
for respiration.
That they breathe air directly from the
atmosphere and not through the gills has
5::P!y;vm raet m tm
dan lie" carried, jf Jong distance in water
mixed with mud, whereas, in pure water,
they soon die. The muddy water cannot
pass through the gills, and the fish must,
consequently, have depended upon air
alone.
How Haircloth is Made.
Many people understand, of course,
how haircloth is made, but for the edifi
cation of those who do not, we will ex
plain the process. In the first place,
horsehair cannot be dyed. It repels col
oring matter ; so to make black cloth it
is necessary to secure natural black hair.
The horses, in many cases, absolutely
wild, running unrestrained, are regularly
coralled and shorn. Of course black
hair is preferable, but sometimes gray
stock is utilized. Not only the tails, but
also the manesare cut; the hair is
bunched. These lunches seldom contain
hairs of less length than two feet; some
are even three and 1 J feet, and the thick
ness of the bunche't' is usually two or
three inches. The Siaircloth looms are
provided with what'Jwe may call a nip
per, in place of shuttle, and the nipper is
so finely actuated tjr.at it travels across
the warp and seizes from the bunches
one hair only the jaws of the nipper
being too fine to" grasp more than one
and carries it across the weft threads,
dropping it into its exact place. The ac
tion of the loom mechanically forces the
hair next to its predecessor, the warp
crosses upon it, snugly holds it in its
place, the nipper travels back and seizes
another, and so on and on. The delicacy
and almost human accuracy with which
each separate hair is placed between the
warp threads is really incredible, Up
holder er.
Burned the Wrong Man.
A thief of Ninghien, near Nihgpo
(Province of Che-King, China) called
Lai-t'ow (scald-head) was robbing a
house recently in the village of CheUg
kiatuan when he was heard by an - old
man left in charge of the place,, the
owner and his wife being at a party. The
caretaker went up stairs to look, but
found no one, for the intruder had hfd
den himself in the rafters of the roof.
The watchman then proceeded to treat
himself to a solitary pipe, and by some
mischance set fire to the house. The
building burned while the old man slept
on, and the thief came down again to
finish his wrork, but was alarmed at see
ing the flames, and was making the best
of his way off, when he was caught by
the villagers. Unfortunately for him,
the fire spread until seventeen huts were
burned down. The lynch law practiced
in Chinese villages is very severe upon
incendiaries and in the minds of the vil
lagers there seemed no doubt that in
Lai-t'ow they had caught one red-handed.
His appeals for justice or mercy met with
no response ; they tied him hand and foot
with straw ropes, poured lamp oil on the
poor wretch,' and hurled him into the
burning mass, where death after some
minutes put an end to his terrible suffer
ings. London Telegraph.
The Italian National Dish.
Ravioli is the Italian national dish. It
is expensive and is made with great
labor. A celebrated Italiah chef gives
this definition of its component ""parts :
You take," he said, "some breasts of
chTckensV a little sausage that is made
only in Italy, and of which very little is
iised, as it is for flavoring only,: calf's
brains, parsley and bietola, and this is allj
mixed into a paste. If you can afford w
you will also use truffles. Then you
make a pastry of eggs, flour and butter;
there must be no water used. This
pastry is worked hard on a board and
rolled as thin as paper. Then it is cut
into forms by using the top of a sherry
glass. The edges are scalloped and the
paste is put between two layers. Then
it is boiled in broth for thirty minutes
and put upon a platter; over it is poured
a gravy such as is used for macaroni, and
the whole is served with plenty of Par
mesan cheese. To make this properly
requires an experienced cook ; but once
it is eaten the diner will never forget it.
It will linger in his dreams as one of the
delightful things of life." Argonaut.
The first locomotive' was used in this
country in 1829. .
DIAMOND CDTT1NG.
HOW GEMS ARE PREPARED FOR
; THE MARKET.
v
The Stohe is Cat and Polished
AainsVhe Grain Operations
ReqiTiring Great Care In
the Designer's Hands.
After the preliminary steps of weighing
and recording the diamond a rough draw
ing is sent to the cutter. He carefully
examines the stone to determine the grain
and best method of procedure, taking
every advantage of the stone to produce,
as much material as possible in a fine
brilliant. When he finds the grain he
looks for the points of the stone. In
some stones there are two points, in
others three5 and never more than four.
Now, knowing the gram and the points,
that determines him inv placing the tabie7
or upper face of the stone. The grain
must always run into the table to facilitate
the polishing of the facets. The purpose
of the table is to admjt light and to act
as a mirror in reflecting light in the
facets of the pavilion (the back of the
stone below the girdle), and which light
is again reflected as many times as there
are facets in the crown or top of the stone
above the girdle. Naturally the facets
determine the brilliancy of the stone.
The cutting and polishing must always
be done against the grain of the stone or
there is danger of chipping and so ruin
ing a valuable brilliant.
The shape determined, the cutter put!
the stone into a cement of resin and sand
stone on the end of a stick shaped very
much like a miniature wooden pin used
in bowling. The stick has the same fat
body, just large enough for the hand to
comfortably grasp, with a narrpw neck
and branching out into a head about one
half the size of the bodr. On this head
goes the cement and the stone, and when
the cement hardens it holds the diamond
absolutely stationary. Two sticks, each
with a diamond, are used, as the cutting
is done by rubbing one stone against the
other. To help him in cutting and save
the diamond dust, which is afterward
used in polishing, th2 cutter has an iron
box eight inches long, four inches high
at the back, two inches in height at the
front and three inches wide.
The slant to the box gives the cutter
opportunity to move the sticks m any
direction. In order that his hands mav
be steady and exert all their force keep-
ha ctnnflI! .
--He ohnut onft inch hirh or, in,rM
inthe 3anifnFed about
three inches 'thffVont: 4 ton
surface of the box is divided into two.
compartments one at the back, about
-' .
three inches wide by one and a half
inches long, with ft sliding top to hold
the diamonds td be cut; the other five
inches long and the width of the box,
with a movable fine sieve about half down
to catch the dust coming from rubbing
the two stones together. This dust, after
going through a fine sieve, is received in
a small drawer which comes out through
the front of the box. The cutting is the
most important and hardest part of the
preparation of the stone. From the con
stant rubbing the fingers become disfig
ured and knotted, aud to save them
in the heavy blocking of a stone a
small machine has been invented. Only
two of these machines are in use. The
machine works on the same principle of
rubbing two stones together as the sticks,
but cannot do such fine work as is done
by hand.
The polisher takes charge of im: stone
after it has passed through, the hinds of
the cutter, and judges his work fiim the
condition of the stone whejti received. To
polish the stone with mathematical
exactness, as has to be dne to get the
best etfect, the operator has a wheel -or
"lapp," as it is technically called made
of an alloy of iron and lead cr copper.
This lapp makes 2500 revolutions a
minute, and has to run with the least possi
ble friction and bengrfectly balanced. In
order to get thest friction either end
of the spindle of the lapp rests on a small
piece of lamp wick saturated with lubri
cating oil; The polisher has a little cup
shaped piece of lead, with a copper rod
shank- called a "dupp" that he fills
with a mixture of lead and pewter, in
which he puts the diamond. The. shank
of the dupp is then put in the end of the
clamp.
This clamp insures the diamond being
held in a steady position, and by weight
ing it any amount of pressure can be
brought to bear on the diamond. On this
lapp is used the diamond dust made by
the cutting, and so practically but little
of the valuable stone is wasted. The
greatest care is taken to prevent the
dupp getting heated and this is done by
repeatedly dipping it in the small tub of
water that stands in front of the polisher
on the table. If the dupp should get
heated the metal holding the diamond
would soften and the stone get turned,
either fracturing it or cutting it uneven
ly. In polishing the girdle of the dia
mond is never reduced, as this determines
its size and consequently its value to a
certain extent. Never more than four
stones arc put on the lapp at one time as
the polisher has to be on the alert to pre
vent the dupp heating from the rapid
revolution of the lapp. In the case of
very fine work two stones on the lapp at
one time give the polisher all he can at
tend to. The shank of the dupp is made
of copper so that it may be bent and thus
present a different facet to the lapp with
out removing the diamond from the
dupp.
The stone after the polisher has finished
with it, is given to the designer's depart
ment, and the design made of which it
is to be a part. The diamond, with the
design and a quantity ot gold, is
given 4
to one of the gold workers. This gold is
then made into thejrequired shape, and
the gold finisher proceeds to dress and
polish it until it is ready for the diamond.
Now comes a most important part of
h.ework in making a perfect piece of
lfewelryl asd-iliat is - the setting of the
stone intoaegma.;'ine setting must be
done so that the beads of the j gold only
lap sufficiently to secure the stone and
not to take away any of its. brilliancy.
The gold setting for the stone is put on
the end of a cone shaped stick' in shellac,
and is thus held perfectly steady while
the diamond is being fitted in its future
resting place. The diamond is carefully
put into the hole intended for it
and the beads bent over just enough
to hold. it. The upper part
of a stone is always larger than
the bottom, so when the top is held
firmly the stone is secure. Set in this
way the greatest possible extent of sur
face is exposed to the light, and so the
greatest brilliancy secured.
Then the completed piece of jewelry
is sent to the finisher, and the piece made
ready for the salesroom-
Sapphires and rubies are cut like dia
monds, by the use of the sticks, but pol
ished in a copper lapp, instead of one
made of gun metal. Ruby powder is
used in place of diamond dust in the pol
ishing. The same number of facets in
crown and pavilion are cut in diamonds,
sapphires and rubies. Emeralds are
very often cut with the old-fashioned
step, cut with diamond ' pavilion and
using a polishing copper lapp and ruby
powder. Neva YorTc Herald.
A Smoking Tree.
Newton, a vigorous mountain town,
west of Charlotte, N, C. , has a curiosity
that beats by a large majority the rain
tree which gained such notoriety in Char
lotte in 1886. It is a smoking tree and
baffles all efforts at expIanatioEb jfc.il?
white mulberry tree and stands on the
gidewalk. in front of the residence of
Levi Yoder. i
It Was brought from Illinois a year or
two ago and is now about ' twelve feet
high, with a bushy top and many lateral
branches. On a recent Sunday one of .
the family noticed a puff of smoke pro
ceed from one of the limbs, and by
watching it closely puffs identical in ap
pearance to cigarette smoke were seen
starting every now and then from all over
the tree, sometimes from the leaves,
sometimes from the bloom, sometimes
from the bark of the limbs or trunk of
the tree. The puffs are at irregular in
tervals ; sometimes two or three at once
from various parts of the tree and some
times they are several seconds or a half
minutes apart. ' They just seem to come
at haphazard from any part of the tree,
and as they ascend in the air look exact
ly like the smoke from a cigarette.
Since the curiosity first became gener
ally known, large crowds, both of town
and country people, can be seen there at
any time in the day. All doubting
Thomases are soon convinced, on the first
visit, that the trees "do smoke." Among
the white people it is only looked upon
as a curiosity, and maDy, of course, make
explanations of the phenomenon, which,
perhaps, are plausible enough to their au
thors, but which carry very little convic
tion to the minds of others. Richmond
(Va.) Times.
Baby Culture In France. '
The heart of many an American mother
, must yearn in pity over French babv-
hood, and the impressions made by those
poor unconscious dots of humanity must
uc ulul uiA.uug uian au tne spieauors oi
- 1.1 - 11 A ' 1 1
lue J capital itseii. An Indian pa-
Pe ft" f d liappysubt nV
frlSOn Fren
A Mr IT I m 9' n E I, IV III. .11 I.I.I II F I n I I W II 1111 IV
t - & . o r " -
worn for at least the first six months to
prevent it from taking cold and to train
the ears to "lay flat and close." Next,
the weak body is tightly swathed within
thick flannels or blankets legs, arms and
1 - a
au ana over tnis tortured mummy is
drawn the ornamental slip, and baby is
supposed to be happy and comfortable
for the few preliminary stages of its exist
ence. I have seen a child thus bandaged
moan and cry itself absolutely purple in
the face, the while the anxious mother
hovered over her offspring with manv a
word of endearment, astonished that her
soothings were of no avail. An English
matron and a tender, good woman she
must be recently undertook to wage an
energetic warfare against the prevailing
absurd treatment of French children, but
the results of her single-handed battle
have been very smallas yet. The French
people, and especially those of the lojei
classes, cling to old customs with a Su
perstitious tenacity that is discouraging
to the bravest of reformers. Philadelflic
Times
Itizzling.
Do you rizzle every day? Do yot
know how to rizzle? One of the swell
doctors in town says that it is the most
wonderful aid to perfect health. "I
masticate my food very thoroughly at
dinner," he says, "and make sure to
have my. family or friends entertain me
with bright talk and plenty of fun. Af
ter dinner it is understood that I am go
ing to rizzle. How do I do it? I retire
to my study, and haviag darkened the
room, I light a cigar, sit down and per
form the operation. How to describe it
I don't know, but it is a condition as
neaily like sleep as sleep is like death.
It consists in doing absolutely nothing.
I close my eyes and try to stop all action
of the brain. I think of nothing. It
only takes a little practice to be able to
absolutely stifle the brain. In that de
lightful condition I remain at least ten
minutes, sometimes twenty. That is the
condition most helpful to digestion, and
it is that which accounts for the habit
animals have of sleeping after eating. I
would rather miss a lat fee than that ten
minutes' rizzle every day." Chatter.-
A Nation of Coffee Drinkers.
The United States is, without a doubt,
a nation of coffee drinkers. The imports
from South . America amount to ovei
525,000,000 pounds annually, of which
sixty-nine per cent, comes from Brazil.
The second largest shipper to this market
is Venezuela, eleven per cent. The first
Cost in this country averages ten cents
and a fraction of a pound, aggregating
$56, 317, GOO. The first record of pro-
j ducfeion in Brazil begins with 1870, when
ISOJpOOjOOO pounds were shipped to the
UnifM States. fV marluwa.
! reached inl885,w.
of shipments. 0i
i pense in Brazil is4iog,e&
! market. Freight charges as Etgaaf
I fourteen cents a . ton a mile have been
paid, which, from a. distant plantation
to Iiio Janeiro means from $1.75 tc
2.50 a sack. The highest charge from
Rio to New York is sixty-five cents a
bag.
Sew York Herald.
A Prehistoric Village Found1.
The site of a prehistoric village has,
just been discovered on the Ohio side of
the river, about one and one-half miles
north of Parkersburg, W. Va. The
town site comprises an area of about four
.acres, and over the entire area the earth
is generally slightly burned, having a
reddish color, and is thickly intermixed
with
fragments
of pottery, streaks of
ashes and fragments of bones of animals
and human beings. In several places are
to be seen the ruins of what seem to be
ancient fire-places, containing charcoal,
intermixed with ch'arred huts of various
sorts. In and around these fire-place I
are iouna ornaments anq implements,
such as battle-axes, belts, knives drills,
spear and arrow points, and ornaments
made of bone and slate. The spear and
arrow-heads are of fine workmanship,
and all of very hard substances, as agate,
chalcedony, camelian, quartz, jasper and
slate. PiUshirg IHspatek.
Prilling: into the liram.
Professor Souchon, of Tulane Univer
sity, New Orleans, La., proposes the ex
ploration of the brain through capillary
holes,instead of resorting to the trephin.
According to this, after the hair has been
nipped from the selected spot: by sharp
scissors, and the scalp has been rendered
aseptic, a hole is to be made through the
soft parts of the scalp with a sharp
pointed aseptic bistoury -through this
the bit of a watchmaker's drill is to be
introduced, and a hole drilled through
the skull, the bit being guarded to pre
vent it penetrating into the brain sub
stance. This-bit being withdrawn, the
needle of a hypodermic syringe, twice as
large as the ordinary needle, is to be in
troduced into the brain ; if a tumor is
present, the needle will convey a feeling
oijrsfencejiif, however, jio solid tumor
fstTfeTent, the "needle "must be gradually
forced more and more deeply into the
brain, the piston being retracted at in-
tervals, in order tnat any nquiu ac me
point of the needle may be withdrawn
ancTexamined. Professor Souchon has,
convinced himself that suoh a procedure
is quite safe, and points out the advan
tage that several parts of the brain may
thus be explored at the same sitting : he
also thinks the day will come when the
skull will be drilled in the cose of
cerebral hemorrhage, and the blood
aspirated here as in other situations.
Chicago Times. J
The Prince's Oak Keplantcil.
Sir Julian Pauucefote, the BritisT.
Minister, at the request of the Prince ol
Wales, has planted a young oak sappliup
in front of the tomb of Washington, at
Mount Vernon, to replace the onc'whicb
the Prince planted in 1862 aud which
died afterward. This tree grew from 'iin -English
acorn which the British minister
brought from home with him when he
returned with his family. : Oa thcvocca
sion of the planting Sir -Julian made a
most happy speech, in which he thanked
the ladies of the Mouut Vernon Associa
tion for their aid. He concluded as fol
lows:' "I hope that this English oak tree will
be more fortunate than its predecessor
and will endure for many generations as au
emblem of the sturdy; qualities which dis
tinguished Washington and the race from
which he sprang. I hope, also, that it
will endure as a token of the Reeling of
attachment and ' admiration entertained
by the royal family of: England and the
people of England for this great and
kjndred nation, which owes so much to
the genius and virtues of Washington."
- L, - "fi
AUecdote About a Famous Bandit. V
The New York Star says:v 'Amthei -Mexican,
story occurs to me, which Was
told r5e by a Texas dry goods merchant.
It seems that a noted bandit, Cortina,
had been the terror of Northern Mexico
for years. Failing to subdue him, the
Mexican Government made him a Major
General of the army, and put him in
charge of the Rio Grande border. He
was furnished witji a full staff and head
quarters force and started out in full en
joyment of his dignity. At the end of
the first month of his service his military
secretary brought thq pay-roll for his ap
proval. It was headed by the name ol
Major-General Cortina and continued with
the names and pay erf the other members
of his. military family, and ending up
with the total for the entire amount to be
so disbursed. Cortina examined the doc
ument carefully and laboriously. But,
reaching the end, he burst into an ex
pression of wrath, drew his revolver and
held it At the terrified secretary's head,
shrieking with rage : "Villain I What is
this? .Who is this 'Total who re'cciVea
more than uortinaJLL
A Fresh-Water Tie Binds Two Oceauff.
It is. not generally known that by fol
lowing up rivers and creeks that the two
oceans are connected in the United States,
for part of the year, yet such is the fact.
Following the South Platte, the Big
Grizzly, the Little Grizzly and Chedsey
Creek, we find that it starts from a lake
on top of the Rocky Mountains, running
dojvn into North Park, aad from the
same lake called Summit Lake there
flows down on the other side a stream
called Fish Creek. Fish Creek flows
into the Bear River, near Steamboat
Springs, and the Bear flows into the
n 1 -,-,1 n l i -i i
uinuu, ouu lilt; uiuuu nuu uiccu lurui
the Colorado River, which flows throuo-
the Grand Canon into the Gulf of Ca
fornia, which is connected with the
i.ihu. 1 1 Lilt. iiiut-r Kiui ;i I I f-1 ivr
through Chedsey, Litile Grizzly and
Orizzly Creeks, it flows into th6 Plat
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers . into the
Gulf of Mexico. Yankee Blade.
Use3 His Fingeri as Forceps.
A bright mulatto, with long hair and
broad brimmed, wild West looking hat,
applied to City Clerk Bridges Smith the
other day for a license to pull teeth.
His manner of plying his trade is some
thing out of the usual order.
He uses no instruments except his fin
gers in extracting teeth. By means of
long practice his fingers have become as
strong as forceps, and he claims he can
pull teeth faster and with less pamihan
any dentist with instruments.
The Japanese dentists have long been
noted for their ability to extract even
the most refractory teeth by means of a
gentle but firm manipulation with their
thumb and fingers, but this negro, who
calls himself "Willie Yellowstone." is.
m ' . - - - 7
r asjenown, the first colored inantoT
v-a thing. Macou (Ca.) Tel-
The Do-r's Grotto.
The "Dog's Grotto" is a curiosity near
Rojo, Italy. It is a cave, the lower part "
of which is said to be filled with deadly
gas so that while a man can walk about
unharmed, a dog, breathing the lower
air, is asphyxiated. To prove it, they
have a dog called Columba that is taken
into the cave whenever a visitor appears.
After a short time the animal seems. over
some by the alleged gas, and has to be
carried out and resuscitated in the f re3h.
air. The dog is so well trailed that
whenever she sees a stranger approach
ing, she gets up and trots off to the cave
to get her asphyxiation. This happens
many times a day, but the dog seems
none the worse for it Yankee Blade.
A Monster Alligator Killed.
Messrs. Murdoch R. Roberts and Frank
Dickin, living near Dickin'a Ferry -on
Dog Riverain this county, killed the
monster' alligator of this county. It
measures .seventeen feet in length and
eighteen inches between the eyes. When
cut open a gallon jug filled with inolasses
was found in his stomach. This is no
fish story,-as the above gentleman who
gave us the information are regarded as
truthful and reliable. Poaazwuto (?Ya.