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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1906-8-16, Page 791 a. r A . CURRENT TOPICS Tho penitentiary is coining to bo re - guided a d ec a mire c gel l mat and frit t us a Place fur 1; r men to become penitent. The efforts to- ward prison reform begun by John How- ard and E1irabeth Fry have been oar - teed on by other pbilnnihropisls until ° the Idea of punishtnenLthas yielded to the idea of preparing prisoners for fu- ture usefulness. The comfort or the improvement of the prisoner was u thing a no importance so long as the thought' enbln. +4++++++++++++++++++++ Willi [yes Iliol sce Nol } ++++++++++++++++++++++ The men crouched over the 1111 e 000khlg-stave, covetous of every wale. of warmth that escaped item and spent itself on the cold, damp air of the was to prevent crime by the terrors of jail life„ When 11 .was fully realized that no terrors of the law would keep men from the conmlission of offenses, attention was directed to the rectum - Ilan or offenders. Heredity, environ- ment, and other predisposing causes were given their full weight, and the view was taken that in all sane men was a germ of good which might be devel- oped. The physical, mental, and spiri- tual needs of prisoners were consklered. ,,,Without losing sight of the fact that the safety of the community requires the seclusion of those whose criminal Im- pulses cannot otherwise be controlled, all well ordered prisons now aha at the reform of all prisoners capable of re- form. Under the old theory it was desirable that a man who had once been In prison should be easily recognizable when re- leased, so that all might be on their guard against him. The close cropped hair and prison pallor marked a man when first released, and the look step, which had become second nature to his muscles, showed Its effect in. instinctive movements which an exeprienced eye readily understood. The man was branded as truly as if a brand were on his brow. Under the ?Iew theory a man is given every chance to prove that he is wiser, and stronger than before. He is allowed to go his way among men lice other men. The lock step has been abolished. The released prisoner has no mark lo distinguish him from other men. He hes his chance. The need of the lock step for the protection of the prison guards is no longer Solt. With incrcnscd care in the custody of prisoners escape is so infrequent that it is not taken into account. Tho stripes are abolished, be- cause it is not necessary to be able to trace a fleeing convict, and the possi- bility of an organizes] rush far liberty provided against by other means than the lock step. Hereafter a released con- vict need not be haunted by tho fear that his unconscious movements will be- tray his past to those who know hila only as at honest man. 11 it proves un- worthy, the law concerning habitual criminals is applied with all the sever- ity 1lecessa'y to protect the state, but the punishment is for the new offense, not for the old. Accounts aro squat's(' when prison is left behind. Even the plants take ancesLhetes in the twentieth century. One of the pro- fessors of the Copenhagen university, whose name is withheld, has obtained a results from the application of antes - thesis to plants. He first completely narcotizes the plants, and then lays them aside in a condition in all respects analogous to lethargic sleep, which lasts for rt considerable period. On their re- vival from this state they begin to bud and flower with remarkable profusion. The known physiology of plants does dot explain the phenomenon, but those who have seen the results of the experi- ments with either and chloroform et - test to the reality of the results. Growing geniuses by the surgeon's knife is promised by Parisian experi- ments. They have at least cued Idiocy. The idea was conceived that idiocy was frequently caused by the premature un- ion of the bones of the skull in infants where no congenital causes were ap- parent. Acting on this assumption, the French surgeons removed a portion of the bony covering of the skull on sev- eral patents, the idea being that Lhe brain had no room to expand commen- surate with the growth of the child. The results in many cases proved the correctness of the theory. In some in- slances the 'results were Marvelous. Ono idiot girl began to show signs of re- covering; intelligence the day the opera tion was., performed. OU11 GOOD ENGLISH. - "Bridget 1" "Yes, ma'am." "1 am very tired ,and I am going to lie down for an Hour." "Yis. ma'am." "1f I should happen roe at five o'clock,'" "Yis, ma'am." So my lady.iies down, folds her hands, closes her eyes, and is soon in the land of dreams. She is awakened by the clock striking six, end cries instant- 1,$' "Bridget 1" • "Yis, ma'am." "Why didn't you call 11e at five o'clock, as I toad you 16 de?" "Shure, menu,' ye could mo to call yo If ye dropped off, 1 looked In oft ye at five, and ye hada't dropped alt at'all Ye was lyin' on rho bed In the now place, saxid asleerr" to drop off, call The hand that held the letter he was reading shook under the grip et the in- exorable malaria; with the other Mold he constantly brushed his lank, black hair from his forehead, wearily. Ho was only a young mal—.'curcely more than lhu•ty, but hard living and hard working, and, perhaps, hard thinking, had left their weeks upon his hand- some face. _ ' My Own Precious Boy.—I hope -you, are quite well. Call me selfish if you will, darling, but it is my ]lope as 1 dic- tate this that you are not peosperhlg, but are so wearied by your long exile as to be wliling to return home. My own precious boy, darkness has fallen 'upon me; the old eyes that have done so much weeping—for husband, for chil- dren, for friends—have almost sudden- ly shut me from the visible world. I am blind, Jimmy, old my loneliness has becomesmore intolerable than ever. I shall never see you again, Jimmy. You cannot conceive what that means to ate. For the last four yea's—ever -since you left home, indeed—I have been longing to see my dear big boy again ; and now I may hear you, feel your strong arms about me, kiss you, in my old age receive strength from your youth—but I shall never see you... . " . You ars ail that is left, and I ask you to conte home to me, Jimmy boy. 1 Thy no great .stress on the ee- quest. dear, because 1 know you will come if it is a reasonable request; you have always been a true son, and I know you would never have left me if it had not been for that cruel girl. But she and her husband no longer live in this country to make it distasteful to you, and 1 have moved to this little town to be nearer the sea, across whose bosom you must come if you are over to return to me. So that you could come back and settle down with me, and lead me in my blindness. without any- thing to remind you of the old sorrow that drove you from tmder your mo- ther's wing. There is no one here who knows you or your sorrow, my darl- ing, and since I inherited your dear aunt Jane's fortune I have been in .most salisfectory circumstances, as I think T told you when I sent you a remittance last. "I won'L say more lest I should induce you to return against your own inolinet- tions; I will simply close my eyes to the dim suggestion of light which alone is visible to me and fancy I can see you here, Jimmy, 1 am dictating this lo Miss Weston, my lady -companion, just as I should write it if I had eyes to .see. And 1 enclose you a remittance.—Your fondly loving mother, Rachel Margin." Ills strong lace twitching, the men lowered the letter and stared into the open Trap of the little stove with swimming eyes. "Poor old soul I" he murmured, softly. Then he hid his face in hie hands and tried to think coherently. The irony of the affair stimulated his imagination, and the pathos of it stirred the sym- pathy of his nature so that he felt a sense of personal sorrow, as he might have done if she had been his own mother. 1-10 pictured her siting by her fireside with her blind eyes turned to sho glare, and her knitting or books, or whatever she had used to while away her empty hours, pushed aside for ever. He fan- °tech she was wondering what her Jimmy's answer to iter letter would be; he guessed she would speculate whe- ther he or a letter from him would ar- rive first—by the earliest mail -boat. And the mal raised his head sud- denly and glanced at the form of the dead man in the corner. And the groaned. "I won't write and tell her 1" he cried, fiercely, "That I will not do r He sprang up and began walking about the cabin with feeble steps. "But she must have a letter by the next mail, poor soul. Oh, if 1—" 110 stopped suddenly, and; leaning against the jamb of the door, tried to conquer the tears that his emotion, playing on his physical weakness, forced into his oyes. He sat down again at the.. stove and re -perused the letter, Presently he rose and got paper, pen, and ink from a locker, and began to write. "My own darling mother," he wrote; then paused, reflectively. ""I am dic- teeing this to my pal, John Wilson, as 1'm"—again he paused—"'just now suf- fering from a touch of malaria. Don't be alarmed, dear another; It isn't ser- ious, but it makes one's hand shake so that I can't write myself. I shall be all right again in a few days, and then= "And then—what?" he muttered. "If there's nothing serious the matter, what should prevent him writing or keep shim away from her? I could keep. it up for a few weeks, then her common sense would tell her he'd be well enough to write or dangerously bad; and the poor so111-1 don't know 1" he said, wearily, tossing the scarcely be- gun letter intb the 8tove,' and glancing over Mrs, Margin's again. . I may hear you, feel your strong arms about me, kiss you, in my old age re001V0 strength from your youth—but I shall never dee you, . . , There is n- one here who knows you Or your sor- row, my darling, end since I inherited your Aunt Jane's fortune I have been in most satisfactory circumstances, , : 1 will simply l elOse my eyes . . and pY y Laney I can see you here, Jimmy. Ile dropped the Inter, and told his hot face int his hands. ""J6hn, John," he moitered, sternly, pl�ently, "ft's oaly 'your vile selfish - note that has put the Idea 1010 your head, bon't think it I Don't imaggine thou're dfs esed to ttttesriPt ppueh a Nsky ing he brighten the last teoi years of a loving 615 'v�•omaws lonely IU '( you are thvl1it of r reeliwo 1 din Wore wattled, It might be generous and noble, although ridiculously hnpt'oba- ble; but circumstanced as you ere. without a soul to earl you by uamo, et the e' , tot t mil of our tether, l IL ought ht lie 1 Y I, obvious v01. I' � of la t that you two thbnJcin yourself and trying Lo inIagiuu 11 would be In 110 old lady's interests," Ile was silent fora long lingo and al - 11001 motionless, When he did move his mind was' settled ; and, picking up a riptide, lie went out of the cabin to dig a grave. "Jimmy, Jimmy—you Have came 7" The old lady rose' weakly, but meek- ly, and, tuning inwards the door', groped for him. He looked at her and hesitated, an expression of fear enter- ing his Ince as he realized suddenly that the die was east; That he had bar- tered his identity with the deur!, and nmst in future live by subterfuge. 'filen Ile stepped up to her and took hor out- slrelcited hands. "Yes; I have come," he whispered, brokenly. "clave I taken you too much by surprise?" "No=oh, no," sho answered, turning her fade up to his as if she were strug- gling against her blindness to see him, No ; I felt you would cone, my darl- ing; I felt in my heart you would come." "'tnd you are happy—you will not feel lonely now ?" ho asked, gently, as he led her to the sofa in the wide win- dow of the handsome room. "Yon are not blind now, for I an your eyes." She gave a little gasp of happiness, and leant sideways upon his shoulder, fondling one of his hands excitedly, And he looked down at her silvery head, and, bending, kissed her. II, was an honest kiss; it was the token of his dedication of his life to her so long as she should live; the waster of a lonely life had found a service he could ren- der to another by fraud. And the fraud proved loss difficult to maintain than he had expected. He and James Margin, although not bound ey any tics of real friendship, had been such inseparable companions in mis- fortune that their adventures and ex- periences had been almost identical; so few lies were told. Once or twice ice detected an inclina- tion on his "mother's" part to broach the subject of the girl whose cruel con- duct had driven her son from her into exile, but he had forestalled her by hinting that the subject was distasteful to him; a hint that she readily accepted. And because she felt that memory must not be revived by any reference what- ever to the past she allowed It to bury its dead, with her own hopes for his future secreted In her heart. Nor where there technical difficulties. There was no one who had known' Jim- my Margin to confront him but the mo- ther herself, and by the tender devotion which seemed to come quite natural to "I scarcely know,' replied the girl, hint he stifled any instinctive suspicion vaguely. that may have arisen imperceptibly in • "'My child," said Mr.s Margin, taking her mind. In a ward, the swindle was her hand, "I can be frank with you be - entirely lacking of dramatic episodes ; cause you love me, and you Imow'-1 only his own heart rase against him, would not urge you against your own only his own conscience condemned 'him inclinations; iL is my dearest wish that as an impostor, you should marry my boy. I believe, 11 was, perhaps, in conceding a point _you could, 11 any woman could, male to his conscience that he arrived most him happy; and he would be worthy ef- approximately to discovery. He had you,•, often turned over in his mind the gnat "Such a son as he is --so devoted, so ter of Jimmy's inheritance. There was thoughtful—could only be a good hus- no -doubt that Mrs. Margin would be -band," Margaret murmured. queath the whole of her fortune, ex "My dearest girl 1" exclaimed the old cept for a grateful bequest to Miss Wes- woman. "How happy you stake me ! ton, to him, and he did not wish it so; Do you. mean you would marry him if Ile had, 131(105(1, determined that . it he asked you?" would be absolutely impossible to ac- "ph don't—don't jump at conclusions cent it, especially as there would be no like that, dear," cried the girl, frighten - excuse whatever for continuing to pose ed. "I didn't mean that—I didn't mean as lanes Margin after the old .lady's even to imply it ; I respect him more death. But the difficulty was that, if than any man 1 have ever known— the fortune were left to him by will, by more, I honor him. And ---yes," she refusing it he would throw it, if not into added, dropping her voice to a whis- Chancery, then certainly to some dfs- per,"I love him dear Mrs. Margin ; tent and unknown relative of Mrs. itt you must never tell him so, or hitt Margin's, whom she could not desire of 1to him. You won't, will you ; oh, should have it. premise me you won't?" It was necessary, therefore, that the „Ott COu115e not I Do you think I fortune sltouid be willed away from hint ; and there was no question in his should so abuse your confidence, even mind that MIss Weston should receive to gain my own ends? It Is a secret it, for there was no one in the world, between us, darling. But I hope he apart from himself, whom the old lady will lead you to tt,l him yourself before loved, but Margaret Weston, I laevo you both:' Mrs. Margin and John Wilson were Don't speak of leaving us, dear; we sitting on the sends one glorious sump- are both so fond of you, and you are as mer day—she in a deck -chair end he on a link binding us together for a Lime, a rug besido her. He hod been reading 'But there was something prophetic in. to her somewhat- spasmodically, be Ivens. Margin's words, for only a fort cause he broke off occasionally to "see night later she toll ti, and it quickly be - for her," as he called 1L to tell her oI came apparent that she 'Would never ee things passing under her blind ryes, well again. Just 'now his eyes were turned from IL was a great blow to John and Mar- ius book towards the tall, graceful garet. John had never before quite figure of Margaret Weston, who had realized how happy he had been, in strolled down to file edge, of the recut- spite of his conscience, or how deeply Ing sea, and was standing watohing a in his heart she had planted the love he little launch slaking round an out- had never been able to bestow upon his juttsg oliff, where the currents were Own mother. And itwnsnot only that he notoriously strong and dangerous. would lose her, but there was Margaret, "Mother," he said,softs "i want to There could be nor"excuse for continu- ing to you abut—about a delicate ing the Imposture after Mns. Margin's matter—about money. I suppose you death. Have made a will lit which the name of The end came somewhat suddenly, Janes Margin stands somewhat con• but not so much so that the dear old spicuously P" „al„ ladyther, unprepared. herMargaret gt Pert giro Yes, she answered, smiling. 13to a sudden wrench, and a restful sense why will you persist in referring to of weakness stole over her. yourself 10 that way—ss if you were a She sent for John—"my Jimmy," she third person 4" "Do I?" he said, as if conscious of It whispered, He ,hurried Into the room, for the first time. "Well, I won't. But looking whiter than she, with his jaw what 1 want to say is you must make a sot firmly. new will,or add a codicil, so that Mar- Margaret ]molt at the other side of garet ges the money. I don't want It, the bed, and 1t was a little dry sob from I dori't need it; but she, being alone as het' that broke the silence. far as financial resources are con O11, don't you cry for mo," murmur- cerned, will need it; and she deserves ed the old woman, with a .,smile that well of you. A man can do without ]tad something of the serenity of the money and always fall on his feet" He future In it; I am happy, and I have dropped his words one by one, award been happy, thanks to you, my dear how empty his arguments sounded, ones. Only one wish have I to be fub "Dear noble Jimmy," she murmured, filled. Take her hand, jimmy—take , holding .a stand out to hlm and smiling end let me hear you tell her that you tenderly. "But there is enough for hove her." both ; 1 have amply provided for her, John started and turned a haggard Andand— " face to rho girl, - She kept her eyes She checked herself, pursing her lips averted until slle detected by a furtive thoughtfully. glance something behind the look .01 "But I wont accept anything, lie fear In his ; tlsenshe looked fully at his, answered, a nota of rebellion In his expectantly, yet doubtfully, volae. "I absolutely refuse 11, And I 'Tell her, Jimmy. I know It --1 have shall do so, even if my net should dl- bolt sure of i1; murmured the dying vert the money to the Crown." - woman; "1)111'101 me hear you tell her." "Jimmy 1" she exclaimed, in surprise. "Margaret," he whispered, breathless - "Dear mottle," he returned, more ly, I love you I Then 1110 passion ont y "do it tet please me. I wont swept ever him ; he had told her what gently; argue the matter with you, and I won't he wotid never have let her know. So ditioloe6 my reasons ; but --it let her truly knew,. "I love you better "Bol, it doer boy ---e" than ---there fere - 00 Words to loll you. "DO it to Tease Me,"" ha repeated, how I love yon 1" he panted, his dark p 11yes gleaming, "Glva me some reasnnl,' she said, turning anxiously totva'els hien. "No ; I don't want to co1vertgy0u to nay views ---1 want you to do It because 1 ask you," She leant ant bac cal' and re- mained silent for einfe moments, Gradually a smile stole into her face. "Very well," she answered, faintly ; "IL shall be as you wish." Ile sighed with relief. 110, had never been 60 n0ar to betraying himself, even which he was prepared to do in carry his point; and be was grateful that it had not been n0105slu'y, He v'unted to curry the fraud to the end, that 11110 might, never know that her boy had died in a Canadian cabin, and that he, 70110, had tricked lien into loving lien. Mrs. Murgin was far from interpre- ting the episode correctly, and from that time forth she gave John and Margaret Weston greater opportunities for being alone together than site had done be- fore, for hitherto sho lead doubled whether he was sufficiently cured of the old wound to have remarked how sweet and pretty o woman Margaret was. 13u1 it seemed to her that her sal was slow to seize the opportunities she created, and that Margaret was wont to treat shim as if she were not certain of him, . And thus, one day, after a 'e'ebod:ng attack of weakness, she touched upon her dearest wish to both of 1110111 severally. Perhaps never be- fore had site so keenly missed the sense of sight which would have enabled her to read their hearts by their faces, as she could not by the'words and pauses. John divined her meaning very prompLIy. "You are suggesting her as a wife fon me, mother?" he said, in a hollow tone. "Have you not seen enough of her lo understand her sweet disposition Mrs. Margin answered, interrogatively. "She would make you an ideal wife, Jimmy. "I love her, and I should be happy indeed to know you love each other." He was silento for a time, and she wondered at the pause ; she could not see the strained look in his eyes, or the pressure of his lips; and so she failed to guess what desperate hope and hope- less despair site had aroused within him. ' "It is impossible," he said, at length, speaking abruptly. Your tone alarms me, darling I You don't mean you have contracted—" "A marriage?" he laughed, harshly. "No—no. But it is not less impossible than if I had. Don't talk of ft, mother." ""The old, old sore," she thought. Still she was not without hope, and later she tactfully approached the., subject with Margaret. She told her the story cf Jimmy's broken faith in women. "What are you thinking?" she in- quired, when Margaret remained silent after the recital. ✓tli r % dog edI , ib lie watched anxiously the dying wo- man'S lips. Would she speak 7 Mari she YT(? He raised himself. and bendingul R over her 110 kis. sed her. Asa drew back her lips parted In an exquisite settle, while a breath like a deep sigh escaped her. Margaret rinse quickly, as 11 she guerse(l tile meaning of the slgli, and leant ovrr the bed, her burs dimming her sight, Then she streigtilened her- self, and drawing her breath, painfully, whispered :-- "She died happy, John, in the knew - ledge that we love each other." Ile skived at her blankly, and swept his forehead with his hand, "John?" ha repealed, dully. "Yes, my name's John—John Wilson. I'm glad you've 101111(1 it out; I meant—but I don't understand t" "I found, some months ago, your photo In a letter written by James Mar- gin, and he had written across it, 'My pal, Juhn. Wilson. I knew then who you were; 1111 then 1 had only guessed who you were not—by your. writing." "You guessed --you knew ! And yet at her deathbed you could tell her that you loved—a man you knew to be a thief 7" he said, hoarsely. "A m;' hmur- znured,ost her eyes honorable gleami1111efng proudlyse at great regularity on the American block him 'through her tears. I often wished system. "And I levo you, 7imrny," answered r ' ' e girl, MILES OF TIN STREETS°AUTtICNTIGAFED RECORD RI,, , /' F, C I A I IRU ART.Fn "GOLDEN CITY." OF TIM Peculiar Architecture of Johannesburg —Laid Out With Great 1b'pularil'y. After struggling for half an hour through pungent brlokllelds of arid clay, cracked by the heat of the sun into a thousand fissures, dodging shunting trains, end snorting engines on a mazy goods siding, the inquisi- tive visitor to Jnhan nrsburg finds him- self on the outskirts of 'Tin Town." Topograpilfrnlly, the district Is Yvederlorp; technically i1 is the "ex- propriation area"; actually it is the Koitr quarter of the "Gulden City." Here the bleak man foregathers with wife and family, and here the fiery cross of revolt Is being raised, with what results only the future can show, writes a correspondent of the Landon Express. "Tin Town" is more than a mile in length and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. It is laid out with that she could know you as i did, and levo you es -John Wilson, as 1 do. But it was best—" She stole round to his side, while l,e watched her In boundless arm ozenen8 at her words. "You made the little last of her 1110 supremely happy," she whispered, looking up at ]nim. "You are not a thief, for you gave more than you re- ceived. Lock—at her smile! She must know now ; she must have met him. Do you think she loves you lass because she knows?" She. laid her hands upon his arm and drew closer to him. "I love you, John," she murmured. He threw a doubtful, questioning look at the sweet, smiling face of Mrs. Margin ; then, turning quickly to Mar- garet, he took her in his arms. SECRET SOCIETY'S REVENGE. Ragan Police Afraid to Proceed in Murder Case. A peculiarly heartless crime has been committed at Lecco, on Lake Como, Switzerland, In the name of -the "Go- morra," the notorious Italian. secret so- ciety. - A young man named Navazzo, who formerly lived at Naples, joined the society when in „his teens, and remain- ed a faithful member until a few months ago, when he married a beautiful Ilalt- an girl of 19. Navazzo, who was a steady, hard- working young man and a clever cab- inet maker, wished to rid himself o1 his old associates, and sent in his resigna- tion to the Camorra. He received a reply to the effect that he knew too much, and was too useful a member for his resignation to be accepted. He prayed and begged vainly for his release, Lately he was ordered "on a private mission,' and, rather than obey the command, he left Naples secretly with his wife. The young wife woke up on a recent morning at the boarding-house where they were staying and found her hos- bend lying dead by her side, with a stilletto in his heart. On the stiletto the word "Cairene" had been engraved. This fact left no doubt" as to who had committed the crime, and when the pollee heard of it they refused to take any action. SECRET PRISON IN VATICAN. An Interesting Discovery Made in Ste - line Chapel. Interesting discoveries have been made in the Vatican at Bottle during the exam - illation of the building, which is show- ing signs oI decay. A secret prison has been found between the garret and the roof of the Sistine Chapel. These cells, which resemble the famous Plombi of Venice, are supposed to have been a, place of confinement for recalcitrant car- dinals and other high ecclesiastics ,who offended the people of olden times. Through long disuse the situation of the prison had been forgotten, but, 11 is known that such cells existed, and that one or two cardinals died in them. They are not exactly luxurious, and de- cidedly cramped in size. Wall decorations by Giovanni da Udine and Plerhn dol Verge have been found, under many coats of whitewash, In some of the apartments of the Vati- can, having been hidden for centuries. It is certain that the Apostolic Palace. which dates from the fiftieth century, will have to be entirely reconstructed. Most of the walls, internal and external, are in a dangerous state through the successive alterations and additions made by various Popes. COAL -MING IN A UNIVERSITY. The authorities of Birmingham Unt- versify have recently opened on the Unm- versity grounds an experimental coal- mine, occupying clearly an acre of ground. The purpose is to give practi- cal instruction to students in all the problems and operations of coal-min- ing. oal-mutting. They are excersied in underground surveying, the connection of suu'faco with underground surveys, the testing of ventilation, Lhe measurement of ah' volumes and velocities, the Motion of air currants, the various methods of breaking coal, and the management of different kinds 61 drills and cutting -ma• chines. The 'completion of this artiichal mine- hs0 been awaited with interest, and it is expected toprove very valu- able in teaching the soienoe of mining. - �-w- --4" TUE MYSTERY &IOW. "Don't forgot to visit the mystery show while you are 111 Europe." tom see, that's In one of the Ger. nn cities, Isn't ft?" "No, it's in Bene, Switzerland. I re, ter to the International sausage exldbi' Lion," The streets are unpaved, and the at- tempts at the construction of side- walks are pitiful in their primitiveness. The roadways of red earth—dotted with crawling Keith' babies—are marred by unpleasant undulations end hollows filled with stagnant rain water, near which myriads of pugnacious mosqui- toes are forever buzzing. The crowning feature of "Tin Town" is its architecture. Never were houses more strangely built, nor the weird structures of nightmareland more ac- curately realized. THE PRINCIPAL MATERIALS from nglich this great living area has been constructed are petroleum tins, the tin or zinc linings of imported packing cases and large quantities of the lead used in the tea trade. From these limited means, with battens of, wood for use 'as framework, are con- structed dwelling places very similar 1, that made by Peter Pan and his youth- ful crew for the protection of Wendy. Every man is his own architect and builder, and the work of erecting these twelve or fourteen feet high sties is simplicity itself. First the ground is marked out, generally exactly square, and at each of the four corners a sturdy stake, some ten feet in height, is driven in. These aro strengthened and sup- ported by cross pieces. Then the archi- tect, his wife and eldest children wan- der abroad in search of tin. In the colonies one seldom sees petroleum in a cask. It is generally sold In two, four, or six gallon tins. The consumer purchases a specially manufactured pump and draws off the oil as he needs it. As the tins aro not returnable, they are pressed into all sorts of strange services. Fillall with earth they are used for building walls; painted green they are turned into Rower boxes ; they are in common use as pails, drinking troughs for cattle, boilers, cooking utensils, besides a thousand and one other familiar ob- jects. Yet, despite this accommoda- tiveness, many find their way to the rubbish heaps. and are eagerly pounced upon by the "honing" Kaffir. The tins are cut open, hammered tat and nailed to the upright battens. In a couple of hours—given a sufficient sup- ply of material—the citadel' walls are complete, and this sound box of a house only requires the corrugated iron roof and a tin chimney—or, rather, smoke outlet—to finish it. The luxury of fire grates is unknown. The fire may be lighted anywhere, and the DENSE VOLUMES OF 5111011E are expected to ascend skyward in the manner provided. Those of the 80,000 Karlin in "Jo'llurg" who do not dwell in mining compounds reside in one 01the several miles of "Tin Town" streets. Seen from a distance in the strong glare of the Aglrica11 sun the bizarre collection of human dwellings looks like some en- chanted dream city. The tin walls re- flect back the sun's rays like walls of sliver, and even the dull roofs of cor- rugated Iron are transmuted into something "mystics, wonderful" by the philosopher's stone of the sun. At close gaurters the scales fall from the eyes, and the awakening is rude indeed, The Kaffir multiplies prolifically, and these unsavory roods are always filled with their naked, copper -skinned off- spring. They crawl about the ant - infested roadway and paddle or flounder in the hollows of foul smelling water with evident enjoyment. They are plump little mites, these children. They are much more precocious and develop more rapidly than European infants, and they certainly take life much more good humoredly. Tho male population of "Tin Town" does not arrive home until evening, but always before 9 o'clock, for by the law of "Jo'burg" no black, save those in charge of rickshaws, is allowed on the streets after this hour, Then ho can loll up against his" tin walls—making them crackle and rattle like cancenh'aled thunder—and smoke its clay pipe, while he discusses his short, but seditious, outs to freedom. In the frail habitations of "Tin Town" the flames of revolt have been steadily fanned since the Anglo-130er peace, and it would be a suicidal policy to under- estimate the present menace Or to Ig- nore what is behind It. REASON ENOUGH. Benevolent old gentleman, reseuing one small boy from the pummelling of two others : "What are you hurting this y ?" dedobousoforhe made so many mistakes " in his at'ithmetiC this morning.' "But what business was that of yeah ?" Why, he let us copy tier answers from his," - Tho man *ho itas never found out hew lucky 11, Is pesst]tle to be is lucky, Wings; Of riches are' Aa unsatisfactory Its the Stings of poverty, SOME t RIS;11AIi1C IILE f N A MA'I'lilh O fAXp DOINGS. Courted and Wedded Within Sixty Itlinutes—Mrs. Ayres 'ltfat'rfcd Nine Ilnshards. A new flan has been added to the -. loner and interesting list of nuthentl- ceied matrimonial records by the mar- riage if Captain Kuhns, of R'laysville, Ohio, 10 Mrs, Sarah Crawford. of the . same town. 11- is set only years since the 100crs begat their eourtsblp, and since the galluut captain. who went through the Mexican and American Civil Wars, was thirty-one years old when he first mel his fiancee, it follows that he has reached 111e age of 101 years. The marriage certificate, indeed, established the fact, and also mentioned that the blushing bride had just entered - upon her second century This is a very different sort of record from that of Mr. John T. Kruger; of Wahush, Neb., for whom is claimed the distinction of being the only man in the world who 8008 married to his wife, in strict accordance- with the laws of a civilized country, within sixty minutes of first having set eyes on her. As might be expected, this "hustling" was the outcome o1 a wager, Mr, Kruger having somewhat recklessly betted a friend a "level hundred" that he would ask the first girl he met on - leaving the hotel where he was staying to .marry him within the shortest possi- ble cmc. He was exceptionally lucky, for the girl chanced to be unusually pretty and quite willing, though AN UTTER STRANGER TO HIM; and, already stated, in something under the hour they were made man and wife.as Statistics prove that most men and women are content to be married once in a lifetime, but in the United States, where the matrimonial and divorce laws afford great facilities for record breaking, and the penetration of the frees gives publicity to everybody's affairs, people appear to take a more liberal view of the holy bonds. There is Mrs. Ayres, of Taylor County, for instance. That is to say, she was Mrs. Ayres when last mentioned In the Press, but since she was married to no fewer than nine husbands before she *as thirty-three. it is quite possible that she is Mrs. Something -Else ere now. It is a singular fact that this re- cord was attained without the lady having once to have recourse to the Divorce Court. Four of her husbands were shot dead, one died suddenly in a public thoroughfare of heart disease, another was killed in an accident. and two died in their beds. So far as we can discover No. 9 survives. Recourse to the Divorce Court natur- ally simplifies record breaking of this description, but the well-knovn feat. performed by Mr. and Mrs. Collin, of Chicago, -is still uneolipsed. They have been married to and devorced to each other three tinges. Mrs. Cofiiin is A SUCCESSFUL NOVELIST, and a daughter of the millionaire Amos Snell, who was murdered some years hack in very mysterious circumstances. At one time, in one of 1110 periods be- tween marrying and divorcing Mr. Coffin, Mrs. Coffin relieved the mono- tony by marrying a Mr. Walker. But it was not a successful innovation, and she shook off the name of 'Walker in the Divorce Court and re -married Mr. Coffin for the third time; but only to oe divorced from him...shortly afterwards. A more satisfactory sort of record, perhaps. and certainly a more wonder- ful "break," is held by Mr. George Den- ville and his wife, who last year made a trip from their home in South Dakota to Washington. at the invitation of President Roosevelt, who had ex- pressed a wish to congratulate them personally on bringing into the world twenty-seven children and never having had a single child. Mr. Dunvile and his wife are still young, being respectively iourty-four and thirty-nine, and their goodly fam- ily has gathered around them with great rapidity, invariably arriving in triplets—eight sets of three boys, and one set of three girls. No doubt both parents are to be heartily congratu- lated, but all the same, few people would envy Mrs, Dunvile the task et cutting bread-and-butter for her chil- dren's tea 1 LOCKS OFL O�NG AGO. Ware Fret Used in 1110 Time of the Pharaohs. At Kanark, the visitor is shown the sculptured representation of a look which is almost exactly like one kind of lock used in Egypt at the present day. Horner tells us that Penelope used a brass key to open her wardrobe; he adds that it was very Crooked and had an Ivory handle. A Greek writer who liv- ed in the last half of the twelfth cen- tury explains that such keys were gin-, doubtedly very -ancient, although still to* be seen in Constantinople and else- where. Roman locks, like the Egyptian,- re- - quh'ed a partial sliding of the key; theywere, however more intricate, Various ornamental designs are. ob- servable on medieval German lock cos- ` - es; while in the seventeenth century WO - have the "letter lock" (so called because, 101 order to openit, certain letters on a series of exterior rings had to be, ar- ranged into a word or combination to which corresponding rings inside the lock had been set), and some elaborate designs In keys whioh aro quite in keep. ing with tho revival of art. Ragnier, a French engineer who toe qulred considerable reputation towards the close of the last century, produced some very ingenious keyless leeks, to open which outside knobs had 16 be turned to certain marks. The, prineipla of the lever look was the invention 01 Barren, In 1174.;' A man may do the best bb earl ani! still gat the worst Of 1t.