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The Exeter Advocate, 1890-9-18, Page 2SrOKANE FALLS Ro 1114014"S CIREkT RIVA Tortir or Fifty Meo. grueheci to Death or Blowa AteM8 BY A BLAST EXPLOSION. Tante hotographer Crow the Nivaro, River A Spokane Falls, Wash., despetth gays On Saturday evening a premature blitat the Northern Paean yaecla killed fifteen ON & SMALL NARROW WIER preens and possibly more. The fall ex - just before the, heer of quitting !writ. Peat Wtteh Made the glpeetatere Reid .tettge force or men was engagad in bleating , ' out a lenge molt pile in tlieNoethern Pepin.° '. 'freight 'pods in the eastern part of the city. From 50 to 7$ moo were at work in the out at the time. Some of the workmen were preparing blasts to be touohed off after other workmen and teams had departed for the night. One blast had been prepared. In putting in the second it was exploded, the jar Also touching off the first blast. Twenty-five thousand cubic feet of rook were thrown over upon the unsuspecting mass of humanity with terrible results. lent of the disaster is not known. It was WOWS AND WORSE. Time only heightens the horrors wrought 'by the premature explosion of a blast in the Northern Pacifiafreight yards here last night. At 11 p. m. the men engaged in taking oat the mangled victims were forced to desist, because among the rooks which were being cleared away were five other blasts that might be exploded in the taste of removing the mass of debris that buried the victims. Up to that hour eighteen bodies Mid been taken out. There are yet 27 men unaccounted for, all of whom are probably buried beneath the mighty mass of rook. The fatality was terrible. The men were given no chance for life, It was either instant death or slight injury. There were about 200 pounds of giant powder in the blast. The accident was mused by some one's carelessness. The man In charge of the blast and three assistants were blown to stoma. It is the custom to prepare blasts and charge them lend at the hours of 12 noon and 6 p.m., after the men have left work and gone to a place of safety, to shoot them. In this case it Seems that one blast had been prepared and the foreman, C. McPherson, was preparing a second. The men had all finished their work, and were putting on their coats and picking up their lunch pails ready to go to their homes after the day's work, when they met a horrible and expected death. Either the rook was too hot from the action of the drills or else the tamping exploded the second blast, and that exploded the first. A man who was tamping paid the penalty with his life. A man who stood beside him escaped with slight bruises, although 20,000 cubic feet of rock were hurled for hundreds of feet in every direc- tion. Another man who was near the -deadly blast, and who was supposed to be dead, was seen shortly after the explosion in a half -crazed condition, walking around with his clothing torn to shreds. THE CLIFF TELL ON TEEM Their Breath. Yesterday's performance oenee off in WI- liant weather, although the forenoon was cloudy and threatened a continuance of the heavy min that had fallen the night before. This feet was, doubtless, one of the causes that prevented a good attendance of Toronto people. Only a small proportion of the speotatore came from the Queen City, al- though from the American side and the district around the Falls there was a fairly large gathering. Dixon was advertised to walk the rope at belt .past 3. By 3 o'clock a small crowd gathered on the verge of the precipice op. posite the Elgin hotel,on the Canadian side. The centre of cariosity was the wire cable, t luee.quarters of an inch thick, which stretched a space of over 950 feet from bank to bank, spanning a gulf at the bottom of which. TWO HUMMED FEET BELOW, The men were working in a cut, levelling off the ground for the new freight yards. The cliff of rook on the side of the out which was being removed was twenty feet high. The blasts are so arranged that the rock is thrown toward the out. Not antici- pating the blast, about 30 men were under the cliff when the blast exploded. A great mass of rook and earth rose in the air and pitched over into the out, burying the men beneath its awful weight. None of them had. time to run, but a few escaped in a miraculous manner. Over 100 men were M work in the adjoining outs and at once were on the mane of the accident and began with picks and shovels to search for bodieh. From all over the huge mass of rook groans and shrieks issued, and the air was filled with the horrible noises and the appeals of the wounded and dying. A short half hour and all was still, except for the working. men with picks in hand, who by the light of lanterns worked late into the night remov- 'Mg dead bodiee. the crowd. He appeared quite fearless, dthi when rahlwaY Over the river he hp trepidly locked up at a passing train on the cantilever. He Welked backwards, rolled a beep, wrapped himself in the flags, Etna otherwise exhibited his nerve and skill, and when he had fietilthed the crowd was mitts - lied they had been given more than had been promised. The cable on which the exhibition was given was stretched in 1887, and 'Prof." Stephen Peer, on dime 22 ot that year, walked across for 625. RC got on the wire three deem afterwards, while unsteady fecra drink, and fell to the woke 100 feet below, receiving fatal injuries. The brother of that unfortunate rope - walker latuig the sandbags on the cable and guyed it for William Leary, who put it won when he was proprietor of the Elgin House and who has since been Minim to find people to walk it. The feats of Blondin and Parini, each with a man on his back, and thole acrobatic per- formance! on Leary's wire cable, which is the first to be thrown across the river, and Harry Leslie's daring, sad the " nervy " Fronde woman, Opilterina, are all notable. Then in August, 1887, a men called Deline, now working in Buffalo with the Electric Light Company, alleged to walk the cable, but reconsidered it and disappointed the people. Mr. Dixon's receipts from his work were small -25 per cent. of the Tor. onto boat excursion, 10 per cent, of the bridge toile and 10 per cent. of the Buffalo =Mini= receipts, together with the sub- soription Wien up in tin contribution boxes whioh were circulated among the crowds His object in making the exhibi- tion was to Meow that he could perform the feat, and next summer, with two or three exhibitors in different lines, he wants to give e three days' time " that he expecte will draw great crowds. Be also talks of starting a photograph gallery in New York, with his rope -walking as an advertisement. How He Felt. The Professor's own graphic words Met night were:. Now I had reached the testing point. I nerved myself as well as I contd. I kept saying to myself "Steady now, Jack; steady now. You're going to do it all right, but steady." And here l noticed that the guys which were to steady the centre part of rope were not working and that the cable was swaying he the wind. This of course somewhat unnerved me, but I Boon steadied myself, being determined to succeed. The danger of this part of the journey, the great height above the water, the swaying of the rope and the full knowledge of my personal disk kept my wits at the highest tension. I had to change my point of vision every • moment or two. If I looked steadily at the rope for more than three monde I would imagine that the rope, like the rushing water, was moving in the same direotion, and my senses would begin to reel; but the moment I changed my point of *ion and would look one time at the bridge, another at my hand and another at the Warming - pole, thus varying the centre of observa- tion, I was enabled to resist the illusion. So impressed was I with the,ngravity of the situation that I occupied' tally five minutes in crossing the 200 feet of the centre of the river. The wire was swaying at snob a rate that I had to exercise the greatest care; but when I was over the centre and felt that the greatest danger was passed my spirits rose steadily, and I had no difficulty in, sitting on the rope and kneeling on it. When I was fairly over the bank the hardest part of the walking occurred, as the guy ropes at this part were utterly useless, and the cable shook in the wind more than the aspen. I got safely through and was heartily congratulated by those on the American side. The first thing I did was to take a small infusion deem dedylem with% little soda mixed therein. / A riummmusx CANTER. the green and swirling waters of the Niagara River seethed and roared as they rushed onward in the resistless current whose embrace means death. The cable was firmly guyed at both aides to the rooks and to the piers of the Cantilever bride by stoat though small cables of galvanized iron wire, newly put ap for the occasion, and was weighted at the juncture of the guys by bags of sand, each weighing seven. teen pounds, and working upon pulleys so as to deaden as math as possible the vibra. tion of the wire. The work of attaching the guys and attending to the safety of the cable was done by Mr. W. Peer, brother of Mr. S. Peer. Bat when every precaution bad been taken, it looked a perilously slim thread for a man to hang his life upon. At twenty minutes past three the rope. walker made his appearance, dressed in the drab tights and black trunks which his recent appearance at Hanlen's Point had made familiar. Es had selected a stout pair of moccasins as his foot -gear, the soles of which he carefully rosined. He looked cool and collected, bat it was evident from the whispered remarks of the spectators that most of them looked upon him as a suicide. At exactly half -past 3 the performer raised his balancing pole, twenty-two feet six inches in length, and weighing shirty pounds, and with one foot on the wire ad- dressed the crowd in a few words, stating his intention of walking across and then going through a series of feats on both sides of the river. Then he stepped on the wire and went steadily forward, his progress watched with intense interest. The great depth of the gorge and the length of the cable were realized as the figure of the daring walker dwindled almost into minute- ness on approaching the middle of his peril- ous journey. A single false step or the least faltering of the nerves STREET CAla HORROR. A Locomotive Crashes into a Car Injuring About a Dozen People. Some Fatally. A Cleveland despatch says: A frightful accident occurred at the Wilshe avenue crossing of the New York, Chicago, and St. Louis railway in this city about 7.30 Satur- day evening, by which at least a dozen persona were terrible injured, some fatally. The crossing is on a std. grade, down which runs an electric street railway line. At the time the accident ocoral a freight train was standing close to the crossing on the south treck. An electric motor, draw- ing one car; was approaching train the south. The safety gates were put up, and the road apparently clear. Just as the motor had crossed the railway track a locomotive, running twenty miles an hour, dashed out from behind the freight train. The pilot of the engine struck the electric train between the motor and trail oar, tear- ing them apart and hurling one to eaoh side of the track. At least a score of persona were on the trail car, and they were tumbled about in all directions, some being hurled about a dozen feet away, and others pinned under the oar, which was demolished. The street railway barns were close to the scene of the wreck, and a rescuing party was soon on hand. The victims were hurried away in ambulances to the hospitals. Following is a list of injured: Minnie Mock, crushed, died at hospital; A. Moore, right arm crushed, leg lacerated; Annie Nieman, collar bone broken, face out; Louisa Mock, out on bead and arms; Edward Watson, right foot crushed ; Chas. Woode, body bribed: Geo. Somers, leg cult; George Neff, several bruises; Lizzie Cable, badly bruised; Lizzie and Eliza Bragg, cut on head and bruised; Mrs. Mooney, leg sprained; Frenk Rose, bruised About the hip, arm, and shoulder; Leona Howell, out about the legs and head. Death ore Captain. Many who have pruned the Atlantic r the Cunard liner Bothnia and latterly on the steamship Umbria, will regret to hear ir)f the death of Captain Wm. 1dolidiokein the popular commander and commodore of the lite. Captain Mollfithan, who was 70 years old, succumbed to an illness of a year's duratien at hie home in Liverpoel on Sunday morning last. Efe wag a favorite with Moan travellers, notwithstanding his bluff mannera. lite believed in running steamships for all they were worth, re- marking that, in the event of collision, the ship going the fastest would be least baited. Mies Kate Menden'an Englishwoman, bag been decorated by the Empress with the insignia of the Russian Red Crows for service5 as a nurse during the war with Turkey. Archduchess Stephanie went on the 14th inst. for the fitst time to Disporting, to see the place where her husband, Archduke Rudolph, died so tragically. She prayed for a long time in the (lapel, at the foot of the altar !Meted on the !Mot formerly mote pied by the bed of the Archduke. The Atchdritheis vieited afterward the home for invalids and old people Which has been Wilt in art Outbuilding of the New Convent Of Meyerling. MEANT DISTANT DEATH. But Dixon di not falter. Several times he stood on one foot, waved his hand, or knelt down on the wire, and all with evi- dent ease and confidence. In thirteen and a half minutes from the time of leaving the Canadian Bide be stepped on the American shore amid loud cheers. After a met of four minutes he, walked out again a dis- tance of two hundred feet and went through a performance, whioh included wrapping himself in the American flag and waving his cap and handkerolaief. He then drove across the bridge and gave a similar per- formance on the Canadian side, walking backwards for a considerable distance, and being photographed sitting on the wire, with the British ensign around him. The only approath to a slip. was made when approaching the Amerman shore The walker's right foot slipped an inch or two to one side, causing him to sway a little. There was a breathless moment of suspense, but he recovered himself with hardly an effort. At the middle of the rope a guy had broken, and it was here that the difficulty of balancing was greatest, owing to the jerky motion of the wire when guyed on onlyone side. The guy that broke was of inferior wire, the supply of good material having given out. Prof. S. J. Dixon is 38 years old, 5 feet 63 inches in height, and weighs 138 pounds. Re is of a wiry and motive frame, and evi. dently possesses great nerve. In his younger days he had some practice in rope. walking, baying given exhibitions when about 18 years old at Clarksburg, on Georgian Bay. But he declares that his chief practice was obtained during his recent exhibitions at the Island. "All the practice I have bad," he observed, "does not amount to more than a few days' hard work. If I had a month or two steady, practice I could do some things on that wire that would astonish you.' He pea With no special training, and takes no extra care of himself. He intends to cross again next season if the financial conditions are satisfactory. The cable is owned by Hotel -Keeper Leary, of the American dile, who ex- pended e500 upon it. Mr. Leary was ex- ceedingly surprised at Dixon's success. "He will never get to the centre of the :-ope ; he is going to certain death," was We lugubrious prophecy. He was agreeably disappointed in the result, as were mane others. Whatever may be the true ethical standpoint with regard to such exhibitions, and the wisdom of permitting ropewalkers to minister to the popular love of sense. tion, there is no doubt that Mr. S. J. Dixon)of Toronto, hen established his reputation as the possessor of clear grit and exceptional skill. Another Account, At 3.30 Mr. Dixon made his eppeeramie dressed in yellow tights, black silk trunks and me, and with buckskin melamine, their* soles well rosined, on his feet. He !ironed from the Canadian side to the American, and eve further exhibition& of various feats neerboth shores. He carried a balancing pole longer than rope -walkers usually carry, measuring 22 feet 6 inched add weighing 80 lbs. As be stepped out on the sagging wits he was encouraged by a cheer. The sides of the river are at that place over 875 feet opera. The cable gagged 22 feet it the centre with the weight that had been pelt on to steady it, amounting to 070 pounds. Gime stayed to the bridges and banks prevented much Swaying. A Union Jack and the State and Stripes fell gently waving from the cable on the China, clian and Ametioah sides reepectively. With bated breath the spectators watched Mr. Dixon make the first 50 feet of the trip, and horror would creep on tberri when the walker melted to hesitate. Halt a dozen time e on the journey soma he stopped, stood on one foot, kneeled down, sat down, laid dorm, and Went through variotie other manoeuvres that tow first to the Wieldy and thee he the applause of • •• • TYRANNY IN THE glum ARIL I,ead to Mutiny in the Bird Battalion of the West India Regiment ••••••••••••••••40,........, AND THE MURDER Or AN MUER, A Halifax despatch saye : Fuller details have been rammed from Jamaica of the mutiny of the mon of the First Battalion of the West India Regiment and of the killing of Sergeant White, notwithstan4- ing the efforts of military officials to sup- press the facts. These details show thet the regiment is in a thoroughly demoralized condition, and compered with it, the Gren- adier Guards are models of discipline. The official story given out of the shoot- ing of Sergeant White was to the effects that while temporarily insane and alone be took °huge of the fort lemma as the Apoe- ties' Battery, attempted to shoot his cap- tain, and,refusing to surrender himself, lie i was shot n the effort to capture him. The military authorities had the man promptly buried, and at first refused to afford infor- mation to the oivil authorities, intimpting that the oivil power had nothing whatever to do with military discipline, but the coroner insisted on having the body ex. humed and on holding an ingrown. The fads throughout show that Sergt. White was discontented with his treatment. He had been on duty at the fort for five months, and had frequently been refused leave of absence to see his family. A soldier can only see his captain by consent and in the presence of his immediate superior. The muse of the whole tronble with the Grenadier Guards and of half the discontent in the British army was the tyrannical conduct of the sergeant - majors. The same difficulty mused the mutiny in the West India regiment at Jamaica. SergteMajor Hodgkinson re- fused Sergt. White permission to see Capt. Norris. This denial of the right of every British soldier drove White to desperation. There were a dozen men on guard, who evidently fully sympathized with him. White armed himself with a Winchester rifle and 46 rounds of ammunition, took charge of the battery and resolved to kill Capt. Norris and the obnoxious sergeant. mayor. The rest of the men at the battery did nothing to prevent him carryingnut his murderous designs. On Friday Mr. Dixon kissed his wife, whom he left in tears in Toronto and set forth, in company with his friend Eddie Bond, for his deed of daring at htiagara. euriving at the river he got pp rgrehe wire without its being guyed and walked on it for a considerable distance. He took off his coat and sat on the rope for from 20 to 30 minutes, looking at the madly flowing river below. His intrepidity did not give way and he felt satisfied that he had the ability to do the feat announced for the following day. He came away fully satis- fied with his preliminary canter. The Pin. tosser then sought repose and passed fairly good night. In the morning he took two seidlitz powders, ate a light breakfast, and made arrangements to have the rope properly guyed. This, the Professor claims, was not satisfactorily done, as the cable swayed considerably in the centre whilst he was on it. Notes of the Great Feat. Mrs. Dixon was sick in bed in Toronto on Saturday, and was more than relieved when she got a telegram announcing the Professor's success. Mr. Dixon was born in New York State but was raised around Georgian Bay. This is the fortieth performance he has made of his wire -walking abilities. His first exhibition was at Clarksburg eighteen years ago. He had no special training be- fore his Island and Niagara exploits. The Professor himself is a wiry man and always equal to the occasion. On Satur- day he wore moocasins and cotton socks. These will be on exhibition to -day. Saturday's feat, not counting stops, wee accomplished in 133 minutes, but the pro- fessor will bet $1,000 that he can cross the river in ten minutes or even lees. Professor Dixon intends to make this offer to the managers of the World's Fair at Chicago: If they will erect two Eiffel towers 500 feet high and 1,000 feet apart be will give daily exhibitions thereon during the big attraction. Mr. Dixon goes to Niagara to -day and will remove the guys from the wire rope. It cost him $60 to have these guys erected. Bishoprics appear conducive to long life in England. There are at the present moment no INS than five spiritual peers of the House of Lords who are over 80 years of age. The Bishop of Worcester is 83, the Bishop of Bath and Wells 82, the Bishop of Winchester 80, the Bishop of Norwioh 81, and most vigorous and lusty of all, the Bisrop of Chichester who, at the age of 88, is still able to make long clic:mean tours, to read and enjoy Stanley's last book and to express eynephtley with those Who find pleurae in dancing. East Tawas', Mich., is meetly run by ladies. One is postmaster, another runs the telegraph Office and has female messen- gers, another runs the beet hotel, lady printers get out the weekly newspaper, a lone woman manages a big tea home, and two others have general stores, the school teachers are women, and so are the stoke clerkS. A. dancing club has been formed at Sarnia. The fires which broke out almost siniul- famously in four different parte of &denim, yesterday, and which destroyed 12,000 houses and most of the public buildings, have been extinguished. Twenty thothand persons are hOlnelOSS. Mr. Henicker Heaton, M. P. for Canter- bury, England, the advocate of penny post- age, is in Montreal on his way to Washing. ton. ATTACHING THE FORT. Capt. Norris ordered Corporal Allen, with an armed escort of eight men from another fort, to arrest White. They went within 500 yards of the battery and stopped, saying they were afraid White would shoot them. Capt. Norris again ordered them to advance, but they refused, offering the same excuse. Capt. Norris upbraided the men for their cowardice, and said if they would not advance be would do so himself. He then walked up to near the battery and asked White to surrender. The latter re- fused unless Capt. Norris brought Sergte Major Hodgkinson to the battery with him. All this time the men who were at the bat- tery with White failed to interfere. Then Norris, finding his escort panic-stricken, went off to another fort and obtained twenty picked gunners and sappers under Capt. Brett, R. E. Some hours elapsed be- fore they arrived, but when they did so they attacked the battery from two points and poured in a fusttede of bullets. But in the dusk Sergeant White and his men sheltered themselves behind the cannon, and thus escaped the fatal missiles. They returned the fire promptly, and Corporal Dawaon, of the attacking party, was shot in the shoulder. Finally Sergeant-Major Hodgkinson got the drop on his enemy, Sergeant White, and sent a .bullet through hieleart. Mho firing limited about half an hour. It was 11 o'olook at night when Captains Norris and Brett re- captured the fort from the mutineers, who had held it for 24 hours. Captain Brett says he found the soldiers sitting and laughing about the place. A gereral court- martial was ordered, but the result had not been made known when the steamer left. The regiment was paraded by Major- General Clive Justice and a- number of non-commissioned officers were degraded for their unsoldiemlike conduct and dis- graceful disregarded of duty. Major-General Justice after stripping the badges .of the arms and breasts of the officers said he hoped they would never again have to re- sort to such an expedient for the mainte- nance of discipline and in the interest of duty, or that any men under his command would ever again act so unlike soldiers. Thirtymeven of the men and of the die. graced offioers have.been exiled to Barba - does. The affair has produced a profound sensation in military circles. TABTED OLD Southampton iatrihers Repaleell at the .e.914t of the 130,y.mlott MANY OF THEM WOUNDED. A London cable says : The Southamp- ton strikers made a riotous dentmetration last night, and were only dispersed at the point of the bayonet. The trouble began with the dock laborers preventing the de. palture of several Maine. The ateikere also 'besieged the gates of the dock and pre - Vented the entrance of ()Meals. Two companies of infantry arrived Shia evening 0,4a drove the mob from the rails. The dookmen made desperate attempts to break the line formed by the troops. Some of them took the horses from the ebbe !stand - Mg near by, and mounting them, charged furiously upon the soldiers. The troops, however, stood firm and repeatedly re- pulsed the strikers. A number of the horses were bayonetted and florae of the riders were seriously wounded. By thio time the crowd had been greatly augmented and Volley after volley of stones was hurled at the troops. One lieutenant had the bridge of his nose broken by a atone, and two others were severely hurt. At this juncture the Mayor appeared and read the Riot Ant. This only added to the fury of the mob, a section of which stormed the Mayor's business premises and smashed every window in the place. The troops were now supplied with ball cartridge, each man receiving twenty rounds. The mob still keeping up the attack, the soldiers were ordered to charge, and the whole line advanced upon the crowd with fixed bayo- nets. For a moment the rioters made a show of resistance, but seeing many of their number fall, pierced by the bayonets of the soldiers, the mob broke and fled in wild disorder. The excitement throughout the city to -night is intense and farther trout is is feared. ENGLISH NIGHT MAIL comes to Grief on its Way to Paris—A Van Goes Over an Erobankm ent—One Man Killed, A Paris cable says: Early this morning Paris wan startled with a report that a frightful accident had happened on the Northern Railway. Information was soon forthcoming that the English night mail from London to Paris had come to grief. The following is the official report of the disaster which was embodied in the report made by the Chemin de Fer du Nord to the Minister of the Interior: "Between Ailey and La Faloise, the night mail from Lon- don ran into a piece of iron work that had been dropped by a goods train. The consequence was that the engine, two car- riages and the Mail van left the rails and went over an embankmefft between five and six metres in height. Fortunately there was only one passenger in the car, riage that went over theetnbankment. He was an employee of the Chemin de Per du Nord, and he was killed. The driver and fireman escaped. The guard had compound fracture of the leg and other injuries. The passengers escaped without injury. They were conveyed bath to .Amiens and brought on to Paris by another route, and reached Paris at half -past nine with the mails. There was no interruption to the London. Paris traffio except a delay of about a quarter of an hour to the half -past eleven express train through having to work tem. porarily on a single line. Chinamen who passed through Montreal in bond yesterday spoke very bitterly of being treated with such indignity, and said their Government would be likely to re4 taliate. Rudolph Rankey, of Pert Larobtoti, Out,, has been committed for trial at Sarnia, charged with selling fire to the butcher shop of William Davis at Port Lambton, A very influential citizens' committee has been appointed in Montreal te make arrangements for the reception of Admiral Watson and Prince George, who are ex- pected to arrive on Tuesday. The maohiniate and boiler makers em. ployecl be the shops of the Pennsylvania Railway at Pitteburg have been notified of the adoption of the ninebour day at the same compermatien per hOur as before. Detective Grose of Montreal, has taken an action for damages against ma. Strange, a member of the Labor Conference at Ottawa, for having described private de- iv:elvers as an ended hay of blackmailers, NEW YORK'S KEW L.W. Two ()Isere:A-A-Smoking Boys Arrested While Enjoying Themselves Illegally— A Tender -Hearted Policeman. , wET,COME TO STRAN,EltS. The Haspitableltec—eption that a tree Conn, try Gives to Travellers. Travellers whp have entered the terri- tories of all the European monarchies and despotisms lose their enthueiasm for the tree institutions of America when they strike its Custom Homes. In England they are asked whether their baggage 00atiline any tobacco, spirits or English reprints, When e traveller replies in the negative he is allowed to depart without upsetting the contents of hie Munk. In Idreuee, Germany„ Belgium, Italy and other Bemoan coun- tries the baggage is barely opened, and the traveller is rarely subjected to the formality Of an examination as to his identity. When, however, be sails for the Uniled States he is informed on shipboard that he must fill up a blank giving the following informa- tion : NSeogatem: Country Ay to which he belongs. Country to which he is going. Number of pieces of baggage. The official idiot who prepared that blank did not know that the information he strove to obtain respecting age and sex was utterly worthless for statistical Fur - Pa :‘,13 6 0 h 61 tber0 aWh u s e h oleft h e didnot ote tkn countryawthe a ger° °eft those who entered by way of the Canadian frontier. iierAquarantine a Custom House tug steams alongside, and the impootore Metal themselves In the saloon. Then one of their number distributes a circular warning all persons not to bribe any customs ofatilal. Each passenger in turn tekee a met on the left of the examining inspeotor, one answers such questions as may be put to him. He gives his name, his poet -office adtlrese and a list of the various packages belonging to "Have you anything in your baggage other than wearing apparel or persona* effects not merchandise? Have you an presents 7" In the case of a lady passenger he would add: "Have you any dress goods not A New York eapatoh of last Tuesday night says: Policeman Downing, of the Elizabeth street station, was on duty on the Bowery yesterday when he was approached by a grim -faced individual, who said harshly: "Where have you been 2" "I have been here all the while," replied Downing. "Why, what's the trouble?" . "A great deal,' saidthe man. "A person is wilfully violating the law on your post, and here I've been looking for you for ten minutes. The criminal has probably escaped by this time." The policeman followed the man to the corner of Canal street, where the man pointed to a dirty -faced, weak-kneed lad not two* feet high, who was standing com- placently on the corner with a lighted cigarette in his hand. "I'm not going to arrest that kid," de- clared the policeman. "It's your duty to do it, sir 1" shouted the man. "What is your number? I'll report you for neglect of duty." When the lad felt the policeman's hand on his shoulder he cried, and 500 persons gathered in the space of five mmutee. Abuse was heaped on the bead of the police. man by the onlookers, who declared it an outrage to arrest a child. The policeman never felt more uncomfortable, but he was unable to explain that he had made -the arrest against his own inclination. The man who had caused the trouble disappeared. The boy was Meyer Levy, aged 7, of No. 16 Ludlow etreet. "Don't ory, there's a nice little boy," tenderly said the newly -appointed Justice, Clarence W. Meade, who is being " broke in" by Justice Smith. . Justice Smith said, "Go right home. Don't smoke any more cigarettes. It is against the law." Richard McManus, aged 15 years, of No. 242 East Thirty-ninth street, was standing at the corner of Thirty-ninth street and Second avenue smoking a cigarette Tuesday night,. and Policeman O'Neil, of the East Thirty-fifth station arrested bins. In the Yorkville Police Court yesterday the lad pleaded ignorance of the law, and Justice McMahon discharged him after he had promised to give up cigarette smoking until he attained the proper age. THE MAID AND THE MEERSCHAUM. A Pittsburg Girl Wins a Husband in a Strange Way. A Pittsburg, Pa., despatch says: The firm of S. D. Oche ns Co., importers, of this city, recently received an invoice of very fine meerschaum goods which had just been placed on sale. Miss Maria New. ball, one of the firm's employees, was assigned the task of taking the articles from the packing and placing them in the show cases. As she was handling one of the largest pipes she found a note in the bowl from Franz Diebert, of Berlin, a carver in meerschaum, sayinghe was anxious to marry an American girl, and if any of them saw this note be would like them to write to him, and if they suited each other lee would marry her. The sequel of this has just been learned. Miss Maria Newhall answered it for 'fun more than anything else. Several letters have now passed between them, and photo- graphs have also been exchanged. The couple seemed to be wall pleased with each other, and in his last letter Diebert said he wouli shortly visit America, and then when they saw each other, if it was mutu- ally agreeable, he would take an American wife home with him. • It is a queer romance of life, and will doubtless have a pleasant finish. —Lord Tennyson is said to have recited "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and the" Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" into a phonogragh, no that the vibrant melodies of his voice may be heard "in summers that we shall not see." THE W/sDOst or 'FEAR% The plump little oysterlet shivered in fear, And cried to its Mother, "Oh, dear This world is So big and so bright, my roanortla, That I'd like to live out my first year. "Oh, where can I hide to take in all the show, And myself not got took in,' you know? I am juicy and tender, and Thar / will be The Arst of our family to go." made up? In the event of the passenger answering " No" to these questions, he ie asked : "Do you swear to the truth of -your anewera ?" and replying " I do," he is then invited to sign an affidavit to that effect. A little bard numbered to oorrespond with the number of the blank which he ban signed is then given to him. After a tedious delay the . passenger reaches the dock and then presents his check to the Chief Inspector, who details a subordinate to see whether the passenger has perjured himself. This is a chilling welcome to the land of the free. A lady only recently returned from a prolonged Continental trip declares, after going through the Custom House at New York, that it was the Ivey unpleasant experience she bad ever idita in a Custom House, and the most disagreeable incident in the entire journey. nil Americans returning to the United States from a journey in Europe complain in the most • eraphetio terms of the Custom House, annoyances. The dread of seasickness is mild com- pared to the horrors of the New York Custom House, where the trunks are not only ransacked but where a shipload of passengere is often forced to remain over i night n Jersey City became the customs officials refuse to examine their baggage. When the Inspentor is secured, courtesy is not always extended if anything is disoov. ered which he thinks is dutiable. Generally le he does not know. Any per cent. of the purchasing value imoharged, and the Gov- ernment does not always receive the whole amount. h No doubt. -'much' smuggling is done. This could he largely corrected if more judgment were used; but travellers are treated like criminals, which leads them to " declare " nothing and to claim all as "personal." It is most unreasonable to suppose that travellers will not buy for themselves and friends some of the thousand and one charming things seen in the shops abroad—things which America does not produce—and by purchasing them the American workman is not injured. It in equally unreasonable to suppose that any one will " declare " these sioall things. Sometimes when an over -conscientious per- son does " declare " them a most absurd duty is charged. Why should the officers not he obliged to furnish a list of the dutiable articles and the duty upon each? Why should the traveller be obliged to pay the duty asked? These officers are not sufficiently clever to remember all the rates. What chance has a person who may be going to a remote part of the country to enter a protest or reclaim the money? The fatigue of waiting for several hours upon the dock and the annoyance of seeing the contents of a well -arranged trunk turned upside down are bad enough, but are as nothing compared to the feeling that • one is being swindled and is powerless to. remonstrate. The English would not stand such a state of things for a month, yet Americans, who constantly boast when abroad of their free institutions, endure this without com- plaining, except when they are sure it will' not be heard.—Philadelphia Record. Than the withered old crone gave a wife Iittle grin, " the tenth year I've reveled in tin; We'll jump into this can, for it goes to the church, And the soup we will never get in." —The neweet sit machine is fitted out with males, Meg tester, electric battery, height -register, lift and horee-racing attachments, all for a nickel, and there's a Man down town who was mean enough to "beat" it with a nickel tied on a string. The Qtiebea Legislature it to be called Mk the despatch of business On Idovenaber 4th. The remains of M. lit axi mullian Fleisch- mann, the millionaire yeast manniacturer, who died at sea on board the Hamburg steamer Columbia on September 1) have arrived in New York, French Poultry Figures. Poultry -breeders may read with interest. the following statistics which have beenA collected, says our correspondent, for the, I French Department of Agriculture. The income derived by French people who rear fowls, according to octroi and market re- turns, is 337,100,000 francs, of which 153,500,000 francs represent the value of' the flesh and 183,600,000 franca that of the eggs. The quantity sold in poultry yards is Immense, as is also the number used in the - homes of those who rear fowle. Thetie figures do not find their way into Madre Mos.—London Daily News, What a Single Letter Will Do. In a re cent lecture a professor of Ian. gasps, moromenting on the diffioulties. foreigr h 1 had to overcome before they could master our language, made mention of the following pbilologioal oddities: The lette d changes lover into clover, d makes a crow a crowd, h makes eyed keyed, g changes son into song, I transforms it pear into a pearl, a changes a hoe into a shoe, t makes bough bought, and to /mime omen women. In response to the invitation extended by Admiral Itiounier, naval commander at Toulon, the Britian Mediterranean squad- dron, Vice -Admiral Hoskin commanding, entered the hatbor at Toulon yesterday - morning. As the warships entered the port a gelato of 21 guns wag fired, which. was answered from the shore batteries. The flag of Prance was then hoisted upon the British flagship and sainted with. ghee' guns. The French ironclad Ver. Mideible and the Spanish ironclad Pelayie each ran the Britigh ensign to the tore - masthead and Betel 6 salute in its honor. A large crowd gatikereci upon the (Mays to. witness the ceremonies. I 4.? •