Barry Herald

FUN AND FANCY. IT'S no sign the musician is broken up because be gof-S all to pieces. "I tirmly believe that we r ho aid iove oar enemies." Jack: In that case I declare war upon you at once." TOM My tailor says my new suit fits like tilt paper on the wall." Dick Oh. yes 1 presume he said that because it's 'hung up,' you know." TOM • I understand that he has met with financial reverses." Will: "Oh, dear. no. He wasn't wealthy enough for that. He has merely gone broke." | B;NK8 What made him so mad ?" Winks He | told his wife she had no judgment, and she just i looked him over critically from head i c, foot and said she was beginning to reaiise it.' | HOUSEKEEPER: "Yes, I hare an umbrella that needs mending: but, if I Jet you have it, how am I to know that you will bring it back?'' Umbrella j Mender Haf no fear. I always sharge more for mending dan I could zell zee umbrella for. GEORGE (on the way from the theatre, to his wife): f What, beastly street lighting We i. Maudie. what are you crying about?" Maudie: "I was thinking how angry you used to be in this same street only j six months ago every time we came to a light." ) A LITTLE girl, hearing her mother say that she was going into half-mourning, innocentiy asked her if any of her relations were half-dead ? i JACK You never told me Miss Fairgiri was an j athlete." Nelly: Well, is she:" Jack:" Yes, she has thrown me over." MANAGER You won't have stage-fright when j your turn comes, will you ?" Amateur Not a bit. j Why, I recited my part before my wife without | quiver!" I THEY say poverty pinches but nothing is mow comfortable than a poor old pair of shoes. LAW is like a sieve; it is easy enough to set through it, but one must be considerably reduced before he gets through. SHE felt the strong arm of the law." he said, speaking of a womon who had got into trouble. How delightful," commented the demure young thing. "What is delightful?" he demanded, iiy surprise. To feel a strong arm," she answered, softly. DOCTOR: "Put out your tongue." Little Tommy: -No fear. I did that to the teacher yesterday, and got an awful hiding." FOND PARENT When you grow up, Bobby, yoe will thank me for beating you like this." Bobbyz Perhaps I will. But that won't prevent me from taking it out of my little boy." TEACHER: "Now, Patsy, would it be proper to say, You can't learn me nothing' ?" Patsy:" Yes'm." Teacher: "Why?" Patsy: "'Cause you can't." HUNGER is a terrible thing, but some men consider thirst more so. An, no," she sighed, I shall never marry." Oh, I wouldn't take such a gloomy view of it," he replied. "You may get into a place some time where women are scarce." MAMMA: I wonder why it is that Georgie plays and sings so much for Albert since they've become engaged ? She never seems to cease from the time he comes into the house until he departs." Papa: I think she wants to make sure that he really lovea her." FERRT ".Miss Morton told me that she thought you were quite a humorist." Hargreaves Really. I——" Ferry: "At least, I guess that was what she meant when she said that you were such a funny little man." •' Yori, worship," said the counsel, "tbis man's insanity takes the form of a belief that everyone wants to rob him. He won't even allow me, hie counsel, to approach him." "Maybe he's not so crazy, after all," murmured the Court, in a judicial whisper. THEATRICAL MANAGER: "I regret to say, W. Book, that I am much disappointed in you. Your acting in the love scenes particularly seems cold and passionless, altogether minus the divine afHatus." Actor: "It's not want of the 'divine afflatus' sir, but the leading lady eats onions." WHEN a swimmer wants to make a successful dive he must throw himself wholly into it. TIMMINS I only want to live until I can become famous." SIMMONS: I would not mind living thirty or forty centuries myself." ScRiBus (excitedly): The edition of my book is exhausted!" Castleton: It's a great mistake, old man." Scribus What is ?" Castleton To be so generous!" JOHNNY: Pa, is there anything more valuable than diamonds?" His Father: "No, son. Why?" Johnny Oh! I was just wondering what they gav- Methuselah on his 500th wedding anniversary." POPPER, vy do you always draw your pencil from der top to der bottom in remarking does trousers ?" "1 key, your popper vas an honest man. I am sticking exactly to der truth ven I say does trousers ex vas marked down BRIHE: "I'm so afraid people will find out that we're just married that I've made Will promise to treat me in public just as if he had no thought for anyone but himself." Matron: I adopted that plan when I was married, and my husband never got over it." CLARA: Did the newspapers notice your papa at the great banquet ? Freddie Yes." Clara: Well, mamma said she could not see his name in the list." Freddie: "No, but the list ends up with and others.' That means papa. They always mention him that way." You say you want to marry my daughter. Have you spoken to her ? Yes, sir," replied the young man, "and have gained her consent." "Well, if she has said 'Yei;that settles it. Anything I might say or do would not have the slightest induence." Then the young man went home, and wondered if he wae not too young to marry such a girl. SON-IN-LAW I married your daughter, sir, and I must say I have never ceased to regret it." I sympathise with yoa, my boy; I married her mother." I SHOULD like a room with an iron bedstead," said the tourist in Ireland. Sorr, Oi haven't an iron bedstead in the place. They're all soft wood. But you'll find the mattress noice and hard, sorr," re- plied the hotel proprietor. MAGISTRATE: "The assault you have committed en your poor wife is a most brutal one. Do you know of any reason why I should not send you to prison r Prisoner: If you do, your honour, it will break up our honeymoon." WE call some people cranks because they can't be turned. MANY a man has lost a lot of money through the hole in the top of his pocket. PARSON I wonder if any of the bride's relative* are present ?" Friend Oh, yes; I saw some people in the next room counting the presents.' YOUNG MISTRESS This isn't a clean knife, Jane." New Servant: Isn't it, mum? I don't know how that is. I'm sure it ought to be. The last thing cut was soap." Miss SILLEIGII "I think I shall go in for land- scape painting. Ieit difficult to learn ?" DeAubery: "No. it's comparatively easy. All one has to do is to select the right colours and put them on the right places." LoRn H.: Boresome spoke for nearly an hour at the meeting last night." Timms: "Yes. I left when I heard him say there was really nothing new to be said upon the subiect. I knew that meant that he would go on indefinitely." I HARDLY know what to do with that young man,* said the plumber, speaking of a recent employe. Why ?" "Well, he isn't prompt enough to be given the task of making out the bills, and he isn't procrastinating enough to be a success at doing hit work." LITTLE Annette had been taken to a concert f4 the first time in her life, and on her return home wat: asked to give her impression. Oh, auntie, there was a lady who screamed because she had forgotten her sleeves, and a waiter was playing on the piano all the time." 1:' WHAT is the plural of man, Johnny?" asked thC- teacher of a small pupil. Men," answered Johnny. Correct," old the teacher. And what is the plural of child ? Twins was the logical but un- expected reply. ARE the troubled waters accountable for the sad gea waves ? WIGG: "I wonder why so manv more men than women die suddenly ?" Wagg: I suppose the women wait a little while in order to have the laet word."

IJ*- LITERARY EXTRACTS. TJIE SCOTS BRIGADE.— The street is very quiet now. On this gray afternoon, But still I hear the bugles I A And eke the marching tune That passed at morn along the way: A gallant show they made The heroes of the land to-day, The bonny Scots Brigade. A crowd was with them all along, Through park and square and street—• A noisy shuffling city throng That yet drowned not the beat Of steady steps that left their ring E'en as the march, that stayed In halting hearts and following; Good-bye the Scots Brigade. They passed into the city gloom, Beyond this nameless street; A sudden quiet filled the room, Behind the tread of feet. Ah some had cheered the banners' sway, But some had wept aside And, trembling lips could hardly saJ- Good-bye! the Scots Brigade. Home hearts that dread the woes of war Be calm and strong to-day, The van of fight in fields afar Is Scotland's right alway. And when our banners float again From out the battle shade, >: God grant we may not seek in vain The loyal Scots Brigade. —Idcalo. Tiras RAJAH'S DIAMONDS.-—In an article on The Eomance of Lock-making," in CasseWs Magazine for November, Mr. Randal Roberts tells a good story of the ingenious device by which the disappearance of an Indian potentate's diamonds was brought to as •end. His Highness applied to Messrs. Chubb to help him out of his difficulty. It should be mentioned that only seven of his servants had accesss to the box which contained the jewels, and apparently it ought to have been an easy matter enough to discover the culprit; but the thefts were so well organised that all ordinary methods of detection failed, and whether the rajah dismissed his retinue or put them to death on suspicion, the thefts continued with unvarying regularity. Then, in his last extremity, the rajah be- thought himsetf of Messrs. Chubb. An Englishman in a similar position would have contented himself with ordering a safe, the lock of which was impervious to any key but his own, but the Indian devised a more wily expedient. He wasn't content with merely pre- serving his jewels he wanted a safe which would help him to catch the thief. So he requested Messrs. Chubb to make him a safe fitted with eight different keys, one for each of his servants and one for him- self. A small piece of glass about six inches square was to be let into the fronti of the safe, and the lock was to be so constructed that the photograph of the particular servant that had last opened the safe was to appear immediately in front of the glass and to remain there until the eafe had been opened by another key. One hardly knows which to admire most, the clumsy ingenuity of the rajah or the skill with which Messrs. Chubb carried out the idea. It iJJ sumctpnt to say that in less than a week the famous firm had devised an apparatus which would contain the seven photographs. This apparatus was then fastened to the inside of the safe, and communicated with the lock. By a startlingly clever mechanical contrivance the key of each servant, as it turned the lock, simultaneously acted on his photograph, and brought it into view." CURIOUS FACTS AND FANCIES ABOUT BRIDGES.— "According to you, Pat, the Devil owns a good deai of property in Ireland," a tourist once jocosely re- marked to his carman, who had been pointing out Devil's Kitchen." the "Devil's Bridge," &c. Maybe he does, your honour," was the prompt reply, "but then, you see, he's like the nest of the gentry hereabouts, he don't live on his estates." Sometimes popular tradition assigns to the Evil One the rank of bridge-builder; in other cases The Devil is repre- sented as-attempting to foil the efforts of the human architects. The pious medieval builders of a bridge near the St. Gothard Pass were thus sorely ham- pered in their work, which By'the Devil's craft was overthrown He toppled crags from the precipice, And whatsoever was built by day, In the night was swept away." At length the Abbot of Einsiedal erected a structure which was to be allowed to stand, provided "the first living thing which crossed it" were sacrificed to the Evil One—a compact fulfilled by the astute Abbot'# standing at the head of his finished work, and Throwing o'er it a loaf of bread Which a hungry dog sprang after." Many an ancient bridge, however, has its legend of a human life sacrificed to ensure its strength and ",tability; of a victim immured in its foundations, as was sometimes done in the case of other ancient, buildings. The traveller through rural England will often come upon curious specimens of ancient bridges. There is the singular triangular bridge" at Crowland, in Lincolnshire, whose triple arches, converging in one, are said to have been erected by the pious monks.of the Abbey, as emblematic of the Trinity. There are the many massive but narrow inediicval bridges whose architects thoughtfully provided nooks in the walls of their structure into which foot "passengers might squeeze themselves -while a vehicle passed over. There are haunted bridges, and bridges of evil reputation, like the Gold Bridge in the Eastern Counties, which no bridal procession will ever cross, A wedding party, so runs the legend, were passing over this bridge when St. Edmund King of East Angliar, was flying from his Danish foes and the bride espying the monarch in his place of concealment, betrayed him to his enemies. From that hour, misfortune was supposed to rest upon any wedding party who crossed the bridge, j i Round <by distant bridge br ford Goes the bridal train, Never more a happy bride Crossed Gold Bridge again.* There have been legends ot enchanted bridges, lifco the one which, in 1381, "a certain necromancer" offered to construct for the Duke of Anjori, who was then besieging a castle in Spain the magician under- taking that this bridge, formed of thick air," should safely bear over the attacking force, ten men to go a front," provided none of the passengers used the sign of the cross for if any make the sign of the cross on him, the bridge shall go to nought, and all on it. fall into the sea. Accord- ing to Froissart, the Duke of Anjou rejected this proposal with indignation. God forbid we should do anything by enchantment, or win our enemy in such a way and ordered the head of the necromancer to be "incontinently stricken off." There are bridges with melancholy associations, as the famous Bridge of Sighs" at Venice. The same title, by the way, is locally given to one of the bridges at Glasgow, over which funeral processions pass to the cemetery. Bridges in ancient towns were usually lined on either side with houses, and formed busy thoroughfares. Old London Bridge was built after this fashion, as were hundreds of similar structures in other towns in Europe. The town bridges are still among the local lions of many a city. Very curious is the old covered bridge at Lucerne, upon whose walls the grisly dance of death" is depicted. Bridge building still enables the architect to exhibit the chief proofs of his skill. The tubular bridge over the Menai Straits, the Forth Bridge, the Sus- pension Bridge at Clifton, stand as monuments, of the triumphs of the engineer's art. There is a legend of a mediajval architect who had, with infinite thoughts and plans, constructed a bridge by which he expected to make his fame, but who found, to his horror, on reviewing his calculations the day before the opening of the structure, that he had made an unfortunate error in his estimates, and that the bridge must infallibly collapse as soon as its supports were removed. The loving ingenuity of the architect's* wife saved him from ruin and despair; under cover of night she secretly stole out and set, fire' to the bridge, and its designer, in re-erecting the accident- ally (?) destroyed structure, profited by his dearly- bought experience, and was greatly praisefl and honoured for his skill and success.—Globe. INDIA.—Few things would probably strike old Indians whose retirement "dates 10 or 20 years 'back more forcibly, could they revisit the land of their exile, than the immense strides that have quietly been going on through the length and breadth of the land in the direotion of material civilisation. It is not only that the large cities are keeping up with the van—Madras and Colombo have their electric trams, and Bombay is about to follow suit, while the bicycle is ubiquitous—but the tide has reached the most outlying places. Here is asmall country [town .—a specimen of dozens more in Western India, a place of no importance, one would say, and unknown to all but the most minute ihaps yet it has its rail- way station with four trains a day, its telegraph sta- tion, a daily post which will carry your letters for a half-penny (not to say farthing post-cards) for thou- sands of miles, to Aden or Rangoon, with a lending library with standard English and native works and a go-as-you-please subscription, the high-water mark being two shillings a quarter; the night ma" from Bombay brings tyou the daily paper of the previous day. the evening supplement of which enables you te read the important telegrams about the same time as many of your London friends. Truly, we must begin to set our pictures of Indian life in a new fntot, Itci&ure, Htm*. i THE VENDETTA.—Very few of the practices which I seen; irrational, but are found to exist in many tribes at great distances of space and time, are wholly with- out some explanation in utility, and the vendetta is no exception to the rule. The English, who feel the impulse of revenge less than any other people, are apt to think of the vendetta as springing from pure cussedness," an evil kind of vindictiveness peculiar to certain localities but although hatred enters mto it, the vendetta had its origin in the necessity for self- defence. At a time when murder was frequent, and outrage on women always to be feared, when there were no judges, no police, and imperfect tribal or- ganisations, human beings, struggling as, outside Africa, they did everywhere towards some sort of order and security, insisted in the interest of general safety that the family to which the victim belonged should avenge the man's death or the woman's loss of honour. They made the blood feud imperative, and directed that the assassin or the ravisher should be hunted to the death by those most directly affected by the crime. With some tribes compensation was possible, as it is now among Arabs, but with others the rule was absolute—the killer must be killed. No matter what the original motive of the slayer, there must be blood for blood, or murder would never cease. Nay, retri- bution must go further than that. It might happen that the guilty person was too well defended to be reached, or he might fly to a distance not to bepassed over by his victim's avenger, or, in an age of violence, he might die before retribution could overtake him. In any of these cases his son was liable, or his brother, or, in extreme cases, even his whole family. The object in short, was to exact the penalty so that, it would be felt, and so prevent a recurrence of murder, which would necessitate incessant watchfulness and defensive battle at inconvenient moments. The system was, In fact., defensive, and has been kept up to this day, though the civilised now entrust its maintenance to judges and policemen, and relieve the relatives of a duty felt to be so onerous that its performance was insisted on by the greatest of the early penalties, a complete tribal boycott. The man who refused the duty was held to be dishonoured, and as such cut off from human association by a sentence which, as was soon discovered, was worse than death itself. Backed by this tremendous sanction, the law worked success* fully, the murderer was always himted, and, except. on strong provocation or tinder strong tempratio*, murder became comparatively infrequent. So useful 'was the institution that the Mosaic legislators only mitigated without abolishing it, by the institution of sanctuary cities—an expedient afterwards adopted with modifications by the Christian Church—and that to this hour the great source of order through- out Arabia is the rellletance of the hereditary brigand to arouse the blood feud by murdering the member of anv powerful house or clan. He will defeat. him in a skirmish or rob him to the skin, but he will not kill him except in fair Jight, or subject him to any outrageous insult. Of course, the system was originally imperfect, as it dispensed with full proof of guilt, and, of course also. abuses arose in it, the greatest being the habit which sprang up of consider- ing the avenger of blood a just subject for the blood feud—an innovation which made it possible that the duty of the vendetta might fall on the relatives not only of heoriginal victim, but of him who suffered for the crime of killing him, and might thus cover whole tribes and descend for generations, like the fends between nations which have lasted centuries. -pcctator.. PHOTOGRAPHY AS A ROYAL HOBBY.—An article i. the November Win(hor Magazine deals with photo- graphy as a Royal hobby. It is illustrated with excellent specimens of snapshots taken by the various members ,of our Royal family. "The Princess of Wales is a photographer of more than ordinary ability she and her daughters keep their kodaks busily employed on every possible occasion; and were the Royal portfolio of views and photos to be thrown open to the public view, the biographical work of our future historians and writers would be substantiallv assisted, and, one ventures to think, uniquely benefited. At the time of Prince Charles of Denmark's visit to England before his marriage, Princess Maud's Camera was kept continually busy. Often the Royal lovers might have been seen starting for a ramble in the Norfolk lanes and fields, their cameras slung across their backs, and their trained eyes ever oft the alert to detect a subject, be it pas- ture, peasant, or prince, on which their photographic zeal might be expended. At an exhibition of amateur photos rheld by the Eastman Kodak Company, some short time ago, in Regent-street, there were exhibited many excellent specimens of kodak pictivroe taken by the- Princess of Wales, the Duehess of York, Princess Henry of Jftattenburg, the Duchess of Fife, and Princess Charles of Denmark, besides all admirably executed set by Princess Victoria of Wales. Many [distinguished Royalties have stood before the camera of the Princess of Wales, who, it can easily be imagined, would havo hut little difficulty in securing a numerous clientele,' while her winning, fascinatiug manner would imiirediateiv dispel all those traditional drawbacks associated with having one's photograph taken. Princess Victoria of Wales, besides manipulating her kodiik on land, has, like H.R.H. Princess Henry of Battenburg, taken the little leather covered black box to sea. with her on some of her yachting trips. On her father's boat. Princess Victoria snapped' her sister very effectively, seated in a deck chair, while she hfis also taken several of the officers. Speaking of water pictures reminds me that the Princess of Wales secured a fine impression of the harbour of her native place. Stockholm, with the small steamers plying here and there, and the masts and sails of the bigger merchant vessels clear in the background. Ships, indeed, appear to be popular subjects with our Royal amateur photographers. Princess Beatrice is said to have much pleased the Queen by her prowess in taking good pictures, and there is little doubt that her Royal Highness in- herits much of the late Prince Consort's love for pictures and everything connected with art. Another Royal Princess, who has become a successful photo- grapher is the Duchess of Fife. Both in London and in Scotland, the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales has manipulated her camera on the most varied subjects. The Duchess of York is a mopt enthusiastic amateur in the art of picture reproduction. In selecting her own subjects, in diligent "i'vidy of point of view, in focusing—perhaps the most important point of all—and in releasing the shutter. Princess May has made herself quite proficient; and the Duke of Yoik. who has himself 'pressed the button' on more than one Occasion, is nearly as interested as his popular wife in the final results of expeditions with a hand-camera. That the Royal picture-makers are not ashamed of their work, is fairly evident from the fact that many of the snapshots they have created figure in frames on the walls of Royal residences, distinguished visitors may inspect and admire them. The Queen herself has a special bureau at. Windsor in which repose morocco-bound albums containing a whole series of snapshots, the work of her daughters and grand-children. And all the Royalties whose photographs are reproduced here have a gold-em- bossed album, in which copies of their own and their relatives' snapshots are beautifully engraved. This little book is marked Royal Edition,' and was pre- pared exclusively for Royal patronage; such being the case, I refrain from describing it further." A HINT TO EMIGRANTS.—To Englishmen who have travelled much in Canada it cannot fail to be a matter of surprise that new-comers from Great Britain usually push so far inland. Ordinarily imrtfigrants who are going to settle on the land have no place in mind east. of Winnipeg. Most of the young English- men who come out to Canada to engage in farming press on to the West. The reason for this no doubt is that there are free lands in the West, and that the railway companies, which own lands in the West. and which desiro to fill up the territories served by their railways, keep the West to the front in Great Britain. Lately the Maritime Provinces have become con- cerned that the stream of immigration should continuously go by them, and the Legislature of New Brunswick at its last session determined to take measures to make New Brunswick and its opportuni- ties for immigrants better known in the Old Country. New Brunswick has comparatively little public land which can be given to settlers but cleared farms cin be obtained very cheaply within the province, and although wheat growing on a large scale is not ppacticable, there is a wide range of farming which can be made to pay. Life on a New Brunswick farm is as pleasant, as on a farm in England. Condi- tions are more settled there than in the new provinces of: the Far West. There is less isolation than on the Far Western farms; while New Brunswick, like the neighbouring province of Nova. Scotia, has beautiful harbours, and lakes, rivers, mountains, and valleys, which are quickly becoming the recreation ground of the thousands of people from the cities in the Northern States of America. There is in the life of the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to commend them to English people who are seeking new homes and new opportunities, and these provinces have the further advantage that they are on the coast, and nearly a week's travel nearer to the Old Country than the Far West provinces, towards which the stream of English immigration has long been setting. The writer of this paragraph would be the last in the world to write a disparaging line about the North-west; but he has often felt that the Maritime Provinces were too much ignored in Eng- land, and when at St. John a little while ago he was glad to learn that the Government of New Brunswick was contemplating bringing the advantages of the Srovincps before people in the Old Country.— leisure Hour.

IDA: There is some controversy aa to the kind of corneretone for the girls' college." May Why cao't use a brick of ira-oream ?"

READINGS FOR THE YOUNG. SHELLFISH THAT SPTY SILK IN THE SEA. Man has discovered food, medicine, ink, jewellery, and many other useful things in the sea, but until recently almost anyone would have laughed at the suggestion that material for a silk dress could be found growing in the sea. Scientists have found, however, that the pirma fish, a shellfish found in the Mediterranean sea. secretes silk similar to that which the silkworm makes its shroud of and like that with which the spider makes its web. This secretion is used by the pirma to attach itself to the rocks. For this purpose the silk is deposited in large quantities. This substance is gathered by fishermen, is washed in soap and water, is dried and carded and finally spun into thread, which has an attractive golden brown colour and is soft and lustreful. In Sicily this silk is often made into handsome fabrics and garments. HERMITS AND FIDDLERS. Of all the many oddities, none seemed stranger to me than the fidder and hermit crabs, which are found almost everywhere on the salt-water shore, remarks a writer in Our Animal Friends. The fiddler is a pert little creature which delights in parading about when the tide is out and the sandy bottom is free for him to travel over. It is some- times pin. long, generally considerably less, and it gets its name from the fact that it has two very disproportioned claws, one of which is three times as large as the other, so large, indeed, that you wonder how the little fellow manages to carry it about. Whether the crab is at rest or travelling, the claws, big and little, are held aloft, and this position gives them the decidedly comical appear- ance of fiddling. All are fiddling, and all are, so to speak, dancing, for they keep moving about on the sand, although far from rhythmically. They look aa if they had nothing to do, but if you observe care- fully, y will find that they:are picking up particles of food. Sometimes two crabs maybe seen pulling and hauling at the same scrap, and they act much like a pair of boys <en gaged in a tussle over a plaything. If you wish to put the whole assemblage to flight you will have to rush is, and the whole collection dis- appears in a manner to surprise the beholder. Then we discover that there are thousands of little bur- rows in which these diminutjve crustaceans live on the shore sands. At low water on the sea shore at Cedar Key, continues the writer, I have seen a thou- sand fiddlers at one time, but if you walk over the strip there will not be one in sight. NAMING BABIES. In some countries curious customs prevail in regard to selecting a name for the baby. A Hindoo baby is named when it is 12 days old, and usually by the mother. Sometimes the father wishes for another name than that selected by the mother. In that case two lamps are placed over the two names, and the name over which the lamp burns the brighter is the one given to the child. In an Egyptian family the parents choose a name for their baby by lighting three wax candles. To each of these they give a name, one of the three always belonging to some dignified personage. The candle that burns the longest bestows the name upon the baby. The Mohammedans sometimes write desirable names on five slips of paper, and these they place in the Kore.n. The name upon the slip first drawn out is given to the child. The children, of the Ainos, a people living in northern Japan, do not receive their names until they are five years old. It is the father who then chooses the name by which the child is afterwards called. The Chinese give their boy babies a name in addi- tion to their surnames, and they must call them- selves by these names until they are 20 years old. At that age the father gives his son a new name. The Chinese care so little for their girl babies that they do not give them a baby name, but just call them No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, according to their birth. Boys are thought so much more of in China than girls, that if you ask a Chinese father who has both a boy and agiri how many children he has, he will always reply, Only one child." German parents sometimes change the name of their baby if it is ill; and the Japanese are sure to change the name of a child four times. BY MUSIC. Courting by means of a flute is very popular I among the Sionx Indians. The flute is made of willow, or some other wood that has a bark easily detached, and is mmally about one foot in length. It has several perforations through the bark, each of which represents a musical note. The sound pro- duced, though somewhat shrill and fife-like, is not unpleasant, to the ear. The Indian youth who desires a wife first men- tally nxes his choice upon some maiden of his tribe. Then, some pleasant evening, he takes his flute and strolls through the village in the direction of the tepee of the maiden's father. He stations himself in a convenient spot, about 50 or 60 yards from her abode, and then, drawing the reed from beneath his blanket, begins to playa plaintive strain. While the young man is discoursing these strains the maiden has remained quietly within her father's lodge, listening to the serenade with characteristic Indian composure. When it beoomes perfectly apparent to the father that his daughter is the object of this musical attention, he steps to the edge of the wigwam, glances in the direction of the player, and, if it is dark, issues forth, and cautiously creepfc behind the youth and ascertains who he is. Then he returns to his daughter and makes known his wishes in words somewhat like these: "Go. my child he is a worthy Dakota, and will make you a good master"; or, "Remain, my daughter; he is not a desirable person." The maiden, in obedience to her parent's wish, advances timidly towards her lover if he is favoured; or, if the paternal judgment condemns him, with- draws into the dark recess. of the tepee. In case the suit is favoured, and the maiden has gone out to meet the warrior, the young man upon seeing her approach, gives a triumphant" toot" upon his flute, and then, throwing down the instrument, rnshes forward to greet her whom he has so easily won. CAT'S FJYES USED AS TIMEPIECES. It may be that some time you will find yourself in a place where there is no watch or clock. Should you be desirous of knowing the hour, or even the fraction of an hour, at that particular time you must look around and see if you can find a cat. Should pussy be loitering in your neighbourhood you can, if you are an expert in reading the language of her eyes, find out the time of day without the aid of those ticking inventionzs which have entered so largely into the regulation of our lives. If read aright there are no eyes more expressive than pussy's. At mid- night the pupil is very round and large and full. After that hour it begins to decrease ill size and grows gradually narrower until noon time, when it reaches the smallest limit, being then nothing more than a fine dark streak across the eye. The meridian having been passed, the pupil. reverses proceedings and begins to enlarge. Possessed of some knowledge of this mute language, you may be able, provided pussy does not object to being interviewed, to get a pretty accurate idea of the time. Of course this rule applies out of doors only. UNKNOWN ANTARCTIC ANIMALS. There is every reason to believe that the Antarctic continent, certain evidences of the existence of which have but recently hfeeh discovered, is considerably larger than Europe in area. It contains more than eight million square miles. Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink, who has journeyed well into this region, and has ob- served it carefully, declares that it contains some large and fierce carnivorous animals at present un- known to science. It. will be remembered that neither the polar bear nor any other large carnivorous land animal has been found in Antarctic latitudes. Mr. Borchgrevink, however, thinks that he has dis- covered traces of some such creature from curious wounds observed on the backs of a number of seals. It was frequently noticed that the furry skins of these animals exhibited scars indicative of wounds they had received. At first it seemed reasonable to suppose that such wounds were received in the furious combats which, under certam circumstances, seals wage against each other. Careful examination of the traces of these wounds have shown that they could .have been made only by some immense, power- ful animal, at present unknown to zoologists.

BURMESE WONDERS. The Burmese have discovered two startling novelties for their recent holidays (says the fiudiatt Daily Newts). One is a bubbling well near the race- course on the road to the Pagoda, the water of which is said to have cured an up-country Burman of lep- rosy. The well has been visited by many thousands of people. The other attraction is a bright star- like light said to be emitted from near the top of the Shwedagon, and which many respectable Burmese Buddhists vouch to having seen. Naturally such a vision attracts crowds to the Pagoda who, perhaps, would not have gone had there been no wonder" reported. Visitors naturally make offerings to the Pagoda, and the funds will benefit by the discovery.

ELBOW bracelets are Worn by the dancing girlsthi. aeason. When the bracelets are bejewelled there is quite a oretty glint in the merrv whirl.

V -71 SCIENCE NOTES. ON very dTiri Slights a wliite light can be seen farther than anyrp^hef folc^u^ -¡;- {",J To clean grease lamp globes, rupjWith a linen ra3 dipped into a hpfc.splution of potash;i rinse with cleat water and rub dry. t GLASS iragfe'gnat^d^with water isinsjble at 200deg TC. The "water glass" swells up with loss of watei if heated, and is^cqnyej-ted to a w porous mass. TnE American-turbine torpedo boats, shortly to be put on trial, each have four'shafts, and each of these carries two propellers and is driven by four steam turbines. BEFORB purchasing a thermometer, the instru- ment should be tested by inverting it and allowing the mercury to fall to the end in a solid stick. If it separates into small columns the tube contains air, and will not register accurately. A NEW magnetic separator for extracting iron and steel from mixed metal borings employs an electro- magnet, which is periodically demagnetised, instead of the ugual permanent magnet. With the latter there has always been difficulty in removing the iron and steel when once attracted, but with the revolving electro-magnet, by cutting off the current at times the metal will detach itself and drop into the receiver. SILK may be electro-gilded in the following manner: First it is rendered conductive by impreg- nating with silver nitrate solution, this being after- wards reduced with grape sugar and dilute alkali, or preferably with Raschig's reduction salt. Solutions of lead acetate or copper acetate may take the place of the silver nitrate. The silk is then treated in a solution of sulphide, of sodium, of ammonia, or of hydrogen. A conductive coating of metallic sul- phide is thus produced, and on this gold may be precipitated by the electric current in an ordinary plating bath. COMMENTING on the,amount which a spider actually consumed during 24 hours, Sir J. Lubbock says: At a similar rate of consumption a man, weighing 1601b., will require a whole fat steer for breakfast, a steer and live sheep for dinner, and for supper two bullocks, eight sheep, and four hogs, and just before retiring nearly four barrels of fresh fish," AN article on "Women and the Emotions," by Professor Mantegazza in the Humanitarian, says that man bears false witness 100 times to a woman's 17; man for forgery and counterfeit coining was convicted 100 times to a woman's 11; in France women are summoned before the tribunals four times less than men. Taking the whole of Europe, women are five times less guilty than men. A NEW method of bonding return rails involves the use of a supplementary copper conductor following the line of the track and bonded to each length of rail. The bond itself is a thimble in which a short flat pin fits. Both the thimble and pin are perforated with circular holes at right angles to the axis. Through these holes is passed the copper conductor, the thimble is inserted into a hele in the web of the rail, and the flat pin is driven in. The conductor is thus bent into the shape of a U, the two limbs of which fit into corresponding circular channels in the thimble the latter is expanded and forced tightly against the sides of the bole in the rail. MK. EDWIN G. DEXTER has made a study of the effects of the weather on human conduct, the results of which are rather surprising. He shows, by a system of tabulation, that misdemeanours involving., violence, such as assaults, are more common in bright weather, and that the same is true of suicides. On the other hand, mental errors, such as mistakes in bank figures, are more common in damp, rainy weather. His inference is that the excess of energy produced by a bracing condition of the air is responsible for more violence than is the ugly temper caused by bad weather, because the latter. while lowering the spirits, diminishes the activity of men. "THE investigations of Vito lo Bosco, an Italian hygienist, show that paper and tapestry wall-cover- ings in houses are favourable to the preservation of disease germs. On the other hand, walls covered with stucco or good varnish can not only be readily freed from germs by washing, but they possess the property of cleatising themselves spontaneously from bacteria lodged upon them. It has been found that the germs of typhoid, of cholera, and of pneu- monia, when placed on such walls, perish within 24 hours, while on walls covered with dried size they survive for weeks and even months. Dampness in- creases and prolongs the danger. INTERESTING experiments with the odours of herbs have from time to time been made, and it has been found that many species of microbes are easily destroyed by various smells. The odour of cloves has been known to destroy microbes in 35 minutes; cinnamon will kill some species in 12 minutes thyme in 35. In 45 minutes common wild verbena is found effective, while the odour of mint has destroyed various forms of microbes in 50 minutes. The essence of cinnamon Is said to destroy the typhoid- fever microbes in 10 minutes, and it is recorded as the most effective of all odours as an antiseptic. It is now believed that herbs which have been found in Egyptian mummies.were placed on the bodies more for their antie^tic properties than as mere ornaments or objects of sentiment. A RUSSIAN engineer, M. Olschewsky, after long re- searches based on the method of Michaelis, has made a goo4 artificial stone. < Michaelis showed that hot steam acting on slacked lime and ground quartz produced a hard silicate of lime, resembling the natural stone. Olschewsky employs two to 10 parts by weight of lime, and,98 to 90 parts of sand. Artificial bricks and slates are ipade in this way, and as they do not 'absorb moisture like natural stone, they are bettej- for some building purposes. The blocks are whitish, but can be coloured artifi- cially. Their form depends on the mould, and can be highly ornamental.TIB Oefrtnany, Denmark, Holland, and Russia this new industry is flourishing so well that already 100 works are making the stone. It promises to 3n parts of England, where sand and lim common-for example, Snrreyand Kent. AN electric fog-horn has been invented by a Cana- dian electrical engineer. A aphtha engine supplies the motor power for a dynamo, which furnishes the electric current by means, of which three pairs of electro-magnets operate balhjdozen clappers, which strike against a large gong with the frequency of about 36,000 strokes to a minute, producing an almost corftinuotis sound. Its eSectivenessin en- hanced by a' ltaeehanieuion the principle of a mega- phone, by mesuwof which the sound is not only in- tensified, but thrown in the required direction. According to the Western Electrician, the sound from a small model was heard a distance of two miles. A full-sized fog-horn is to be sent to the British Columbia coast, where it will be installed and put in operation at once. IT has been asserted-that, given a mineral deposit that will adequately repay for the working, no matter where it happens to be situated, the mining engineer will suggest a means of reaching it and bringing it within the sphere of practical utility. From time to time confirmations",f the truth of this assertion come to hand, and the goldfields of the Witwaters- randjn the Transvaal at the present time are fur- nishing an example. It is only quite recently that the mining world was astonished to hear that some shafts had attained the exceptional depth of 4000ft., and it was concluded that at 5000ft. the limit for practical purposes would be reached now, however, with various improvements, particularly in ropes, a depth of 6000ft. has been attained, and winding engines have been installed to do this wind in one stage in a minute and a-half. In the Mining and Metallurgical Section of the En- gineering Conference of the Institution of Civil Engineers held this year, mention was made of the possibilities of working gold mines to a depth of 10,000ft. in the Transvaal, with a vertical shaft, working to a depth of 6000ft. by a surface installa- tion. whilst the other 4000ft.. would be sunk and worked by another installation underground.— Engineer. electric energy at 3d. per unit, it is calcu- lated that an electric lift of the direct-coupled high. speed type can be operated on average duties in a block of offices, making, say, one hunflred trips' per flay, anef having' a tnaawuaiHft carrying capacity of five persons, for ,a cost of 6d. per day, or 4a. per day if electricity is 2d. per unit. ■COPPER lighting-conductors are usually in tapes having a width of from fin. to lin., and a thick- ness of from fin. to lin.; or they may be of copper wire rope having a diameter of from fin, to fin. for dwelling houses and similar buildings. A copper rod having a diameter of jin. and a weight of *l891b. per foot is frequently used. When an iron rod it employed, it is generally of fin. diameter. IN connection with the anaesthetic effects of the electric current, it is stated that with a current of 28,000 alternations per second passing between the elbow and tho hand, a oeedlr can be painlessly run into the forearm.

ART AND LITERATURE. TIIE Department of Prints and Drawings in the. British Museum has just acquired a sketch-book containing a large number of drawings and designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The book was given by Lady Burne-Jones in accordance with what was known to be the wish of her late husband, who was anxious that this collection of notes for many of his most important decorative works should become the property of the nation. The value and interest of the gift can scarcely be too highly appreciated. BY collecting The Hitherto Unidentified Con- tributions of W. M. Thackeray to Punch Mr. M. H. Spielmann has done a service to those who, while desirous of possessing every scrap, of whatever quality, that" Michael Angelo Titmarsh" ever pro- duced, are not fortunate enough to own a complete set of the volumes of the Lomlon Charivari issued in his lifetime. Of course, many of the pieces, if not the majority, are readily identified by anyone who is familiar with Thackeray's style or styles, frequently as he was imitated by others, while his illustrations, scores of which are here reproduced, are usually sc characteristic that it would be difficult to mistake their origin. The complete and authoritative bibliography from 1843 to 1848" is a valuable ( feature of the book. ACCORDING to a recent writer, Great Britain pro- duces fewer than a third of the number of new books published by Germany, not many more than half ol the new books produced by France, and consider- ably under the total produced by Italy. The numbers given are: Germany, 24,000 new books per year; France, 13,000: Italy, 9500; Great Britain. 7300: United States, 5300; Netherlands, 2500. If, how- over, England is thus low in the general production •f new books, she leads in the production of novels, heading the list with 2438. Germany leads in educational works with 5442, arts and sciences with 2938, belles lettres with 2453, and travel with 1139 while Italy leads in political economy with 2994, and France in history with 1164. SoiiK of his countrymen who warmly sympathised with M. Zola's action throughout the Dreyfus scandal have presented him with a terra-cotta group, the design of which shows a well into which Truth, who has managed to get out, is precipitating the sol- dier and the priest who have impeded her exit. I THE Emperor Francis Joseph has conveyed to Mr. Richard Wallace Hester, the engraver, his pleasure in accepting the first proof copy of his engraving of Munkacsy'e famous picture Ecce Homo." A SMALL drawing in coloured chalks, by the cele- brated artist, Adolf Menzel, was recently sold by auction at Berlin for 1540 marks. b. S. R. CROCKETT, "Q," Mr. Max Pemberton. Mr. Levett Yeats, Mr. Tighe Hopkins, Mr. F. M. White, and Ouida contribute complete stories to the Christmas number of CasselFs Magazine, while the serial which is begun in this number is by the popular American novelist, Mr. Robert W. Chambers. The Marquis of Lorne writes on Windsor Castle; Mr. Fletcher Robinson takes the Royal Horse Artil- lery as the first of a series of Famous Regiments" Mr. Malcolm Salaman gives an appreciation of Sir Henry Irving from intimate personal knowledge: while Mr. W. F. Alden writes of Christmas Games," and Mr. W. B. Robertson tells the secrets of Some Stage Effects." Five Rembrandt photo- gravures reproduced from popular pictures in this year's Royal Academy form a feature of the num- ber. SIR WiMJAM FRASER, the author of several excel- lent volumes of anecdotal history, adopted the plan of giving his stories separately, each with its own heading, thereby avoiding the necessity for intro- ducing mere "connecting links," which very often contain nothing to justify their uae save the property of the chains uniting the slaves in an equatorial cara- van, weighing down the anecdotes that they, bind together. The method is, no doubt, a little abrupt, but it has great advantages in these days, when economy of time is so important an object in our daily round. The latest instance in which it has been adopted is that of Sir Edward Russell's recently- published book, That Reminds Me THE needs of our soldiers and sailors at the present time have not been forgotten by Mr. Henry Frowde, who has prepared a special Oxford Bible, on Oxford India paper, with red edges, bound in khaki, for their use. This Bible, which is called, ap- propriately enough, the Knapsack Bible, weighs less than 5oz. THE author of "Isabel Carnaby" expresses her views about novel-writing through the columns ot the Young Man and also of the Young Woman fat December. Miss Fowler says: I don't approve ot the novel which deliberately preaches. Still I think a religious novel may be a great power for good. The great masters have all painted sacred pictures, and if we may have the sacred picture why not the sacred novel ? A great novel reaches people in a way that hardly anything else does. Dickens simply revolutionised society. By holding certain things up to ridicule you exercise an enor- mous influence. That is why I think the morbid novels of the present day are so very bad. They in- duce a morbid tone of thought. I think it is a pity to write about bad people or bad subjects. It's a pity to deal with unpleasant subjects at all, not only from the artistic point of view, but from the per- sonal point of view as well. The author must, of course, be true to nature, and when he draws a cha- racter he must make tbat person say just what he most likely would say; but it seems to me that we could do without a good deal of the unpleasant side of modern fiction." Miss FOWLER, it will be seen (remarks a writer in the Morning Post) refers to Dickens as an illustra- tion of the influence of fiction, but we must assume that she thinks it a pity that he wrote about such bad people as Alfred Jingle, Job Trotter, Squeers, Ralph Nickleby, and Bill Sikes. Equally must she regard it as regrettable that such bad people as Colonel Altamont and Becky Sharp, the Blind Man in "Treasure Island." and the Uncle of David Balfour were ever described by Thackeray and Stevenson respectively. And then we have Hamlet and Othello. Was it altogether a pity to deal with (such) unpleasant subjects at all, not only from the artistic point, of view, but from the personal point of view as well 1" Perhaps, however. Miss Fowler would exclude the drama from her strictures on the evil side of fiction. THE propriety of holding an international artistic congress at Paris during the Exhibition is being seriously discussed, and a meeting of delegates from the chief French Art Societies has been held to decide upon a programme of proceedings and to draw up a scheme of organisation. It is quite pos- sible that such a congress, conducted in the right spirit, would have an excellent effect, for there are many questions which could be profitably discussed by artists of influence in their profession, and there are many points of educational policy that would bear expert investigation. But care would have to be taken to exclude from the meetings of the congress those visionary enthusiasts who are apt on such occasions to waste valuable time by propounding theories of no practical value and of no general interest. IF there is a fashion in the style wherein novelB are written, there is also a fashion in their titles. John Halifax, Gentleman," set an example which at the present time is followed in such forces as "Jobn Ward, Preacher," and" Joan Smith, Spinster." Then the interrogrative titles, such as Whose the Crime ?" Whom Did She Love ?" or To Whom the Prize?" have long been rather popular. Two or three years ago Mr. Anthony Hope gave us "The Indiscretion of the DuCbess." The formula of this title may not have been wholly fresh, but it has proved highly attractive to other writers of fiction. The latest illustrations of this fact may be seen in The Infatua- tion of the Countess," by Percy White, and The Intervention of the Duke," by L. Allen Harker. There is, of course, an illimitable scope of such titles. The Impecuniosity of the Marchioness," The Inconsequentiality of the Earl." and the Incapacity of the Knight," may probably (says the Morning Post) be looked for in future lists of forthcoming works of fiction. THE LIFE OF DR. BERRY," on which the Rev. J. S. Drummond has been engaged for some months past, will be published by Messrs. Cassell and Company on Monday, December J THI first volume of the Master Musicians. series projected by J. M. Dent and Co., under the editorship of Mr. Frederick J. Crowest., has just been issued, and a particularly tasteful production it is, as to typography, artistic embellishment, binding, and general get-up," affording earnest of a most in- teresting and valuable series, which should certainly command very considerable vogue amongst music- lovers and in cultured circles generally. The initial volume appropriately deals with Bethove-first indubitably of the great masters of music—and comes from the well-qualified pen of the editor of the series. Mr. Crowest treatso his theme in a way at once scholarly and popularly, sufficiently and concisively. He is deeply appreciative and eloquently advocative of the immortal Bonn master; II and not one of the myriads who admire Beethoven ought to be without tbe dainty book Mr. Crowest has written, while all those to whom the wondrous work of Beethoven is but partly known should hasten to possess a copy and acquire with it a new delight in life.

THE Prince ot Wales has sent a present of 30 pheasants for the inmates of the Royal Eye Hospital, Beuthwark. THE French Government intends to propose to the Chamber that Madame Klobb shall be accorded, m [ addition to her military pension, a sum of 6000f. per [ annum

———— — ——— -.c POST FREE. LS if vim wish for Manly Vigor. s-enci for the be>t and most valuable work on ATROPHY and VARICOCELE, by M.D., Ch.M., with special chapters on the explanation of Vital .Secrets, and the certain CURE OF Prostration, DEBiLiTY and DECAY. This work is he purest guide in ESSENTIAL MATTERS, and treats in an exhaustive manner the subject of the various diseases which emanate from abuses of all kinds, as well as those which aiise thion^h in) fault of the sufferer. A few of the ailments which the work treats of are Exhausted itality. Spermatorrhoea, Youthful Imprudence, Lost Manhood, Premature Decays Despondency, Loss of Energy, Weakness, Varicocele, Dimness of Sight, Briin Fag, Nervous* ness. oil the Skin, Loss of Memory, Melancholy, Noises in the Ears, Liver Complaints, l.htddci and Kidney Complaints, and every form of disease peculiar to the Urinary Organs. It should be read by everyone, and will be found of inestimable value. Its compilation is tlut result of many years' experience in the treatment of these diseases, and the author is sure that it will be found a complete treatise on these distressing ailments. Write for a copy to-day, and I will send one FREE OF CHARGE. Address: Surgeon," 7 Bristol Gard Brighton, Sussex, England. Name this paper.