HE AMERICAN
M ON STEMS OP THE DEEP
Maaaaa ml
IMIIW.
Perhaps tU finest Mustrmtion of the
invent! and cft.tP.,oii.-
- v lyyi US vl
bu to be found ia the world to-day U
ne of the superb steamships which
have of late year reduced the tut
Atlantic Oman to little more than a
Anglo-American lake. Take, for in-
ntanoe, any one of the most recent ad-
4itions to the splendid fleet of "ureas
greyhounds," it hardly seems possible
lor even the most brilliant imagination
to conceive of a human structure more
perfect in all thoe details that to
gether constitute the acme of safety,
speed and luxury. If other steamers
may with sufficient accuracy be called
floating- hotels, this one might with
equal propriety be termed a floating
' club-house as well as a hotel of the
highest class. For the purpose of this
article a brief survey of the dimen
sions and equipment of such a steamer
will make a good starting point
Her length is, say 510 feet; breadth.
8 feet; depth, 40 feet. She is. in fact,
ne of the largest vessels in the world.
her displacement, when fully loaded.
being not less than 16,000 tons, a figure
surpassed, II at all. only by one or two
of the huge Italian ironclads recently
jauncnea. it is not eusy to give any
just conception of what the above di
mensions mean, or to help those who
have never seen one of these floating
palaces to realize the enormous amount
of constructive talent, adaptive skill,
and artistic feeling, as well as money,
that they represent In the words of
. the Engineer, it is, perhaps, because it
seemed almost impossible to do so gi
gantic a subject justice that the litera
ture, if we may use the word, of Atlan
tic passenger steamships is deplorably
meager."
Nothing that art and science can do
ft render the ship beautiful without
and within, luxurious, safe and swift
Is left out Of account In addition to
being minutely subdivided by athwart
hip bulkheads there fs a longitudinal
bulkhead running fore and aft and
forming a mighty backbone that gives
additional rigidity to the whole struc
ture, greatly increasing the security in
event of accident Furthermore the
doors closing the different compai-t-
ments can do shut instantly from the
flying deck by pulling small wire ropes,
while there are automatic arrang
menU by which these doors will close
W themselves if the water rises unduly
in tho bilges.
As to the fittings and furnishings
that contribute to the ease and com
fort of the fortunate passenger it
would require columns to describe
them. The chief architectural feature
Jp such steamers, of course, the sa
loon which becomes a banqueting hall
of almost awesome brilliancy. The
length often exceeds sixty feet and
the breadth is but little less. Fancy
so vast an apartment being at one's
command in mid-ocean. Standing
under the lofty dome of many-colored
glass and gazing about at the multitu
dinous mirrors, the golden figures of
tritons, nymphs, and mermaids dis
porting in an ivory sea, tho richly
carved cabinet work in English oqk,
and the great round ports in their
elaborate setting of rich brass repousse
work, one can not quickly grasp the
idea that all this splendor Is simply
part of a vessel of a ferry-boat play
ing between the old world and the new
it seems to belong more properly-to
the palace of some mighty monarch.
The same feeling is produced by the
sumptuous state-rooms with their wide
four post bedsteads of gleaming brass,
the spacious library abounding in
.books, the gorgeous smoking-rootjl,
fit for a prince's use, and the other
departments of this ocean monarch on
board of which the population of a
good-sized town might stow away
comfortably, for her normal carrying
capacity is 300 saloon passengers,
175 second class and 855 steerage,
making up with the 168 engineers,
etc., in the engine-room, tho 40 sailors
In the forcastlo, the 25 cooks in the
gallery,, and the 60 stewards in the
pantry, nearly 1,600 souls; 3,000 tons
of coal and 4,000 tons of cargo being
carried besides. ...
Here then we have excellently illus
trated the utmost that man, so far at
least has achieved in the line of naval
architecture for the passenger. service.
Competing lines will no doubt make it
their business to see the latest addition
: to tho fleet and go one better. They
will, perhaps, succeed in effecting some
further improvements, but it iR not
Jikely that much antecedent to Hello-
my's A. D. 2, 000, at all events, we will
have any such marine monarch as that
outlined in the following words: "She
"will be' over quarter of a mile in length,
' nd will do tbe passage from Sandy
Hook to Liverpool in thirty-six hours,
being one night out She will be
driven by' electricity, and in such a
.fashion as to keep railway, time, de
spite fog or storm. Passages can do
secured by flash photograph. -Edison's
patent' and the ticket will include an
opera stall, or a concert ticket or a
seat in a. church . pew the opera
: house, concert hall, and church being
. all on board. A covered ring for horse
exercise will also be provided, and a
racing track for fast trotters. A base
ball ground and tennis courts will also
form a portion of the attractions. For
business men a stock exchange will be
operated, the quotations being posted
from the tickers every two minutes on
the vibration system. The leading
papers of all countries will be re
printed each morning by the electric
reflection system. A spacious con
servatory, containing the choicest
flowers of all climates, will afford an
agreeable lounging place, and the bou
quets will be provided gratis."
So Itlaiiy Women.
There are more women in British
India (124.000,000) than there are
men, women nnd children In Great
Britain, France and Germany put to
gether, with the population of several
minor European states cost in si well.
TWAS EVER THUS,
" " T" A
. I Tnty-Bve hundred VrS ag
Prnc" th AMjrU
wrol ,tler lo of U Imp rial
eourt- l lcn lh u,lfr hanght-
,ly retmked for presuming to um the
tnmUlar title of "aUtr" ia addressing
th royal lady. Yesterday la Baltimore
j n English translation of this letter
was published by the Johns Hopkins
University. Dr. Christopher Johnston
has been working for some time to put
lie out the dignified terms in which one
woman of those ancient days rebuked
another.
The letter was not written with Ink
upon a sheet of tinted paper, as would
be done by a fair dame to-day, but was
inscribed in cuneiform characters upon
a tablet of baked clay. It is in thirteen
lines, and the royal lady did not waste
words to express her contempt at the
other's Impertinence. The tablet was
written only a few years before tbe de
struction of Nineveh and the over
throw of the Assyrian empire, which
Is generally placed by historians
having occurred in 606 B. C. It is one
of the few remains of that period which
have come down to the scholars of the
present day. It was discovered a score
or more years ago and many Assyrlolo-
giats have tried their band at a trans
lation. Dr. Johnston, in working upon
it, did not have the original tablet, but
a picture of It. The royal lady who
wrote the letter, or who probably dic
tated it to her scribe, was the Princess
Sheruaeterat, a granddaughter of the
famous Assyrian monarch Azurbana
pal, called Sardanapalus by Green writ
ers, who, in addition to being a great
conqueror, was the founder of an ex
tensive public library and a patron of
literature and tbe arts. The letter is
translated by Johnston:
Message of the king's daughter to
Asshur-Sharrat. Thou dost not prop
erly address thy letter to me, nor use
the title to me befitting thy station.
People might say, "Is she the sister of
Sheruaeterat, the oldest daughter of
Aahur-etll-llanl-uklnnl, the great king,
the mighty king, king of hosts, king of
Asiyria?" But thou art only the
daughter OX the daughter-in-law of the
wife of Asurbanapal, eldest son of
Esarnaddon, king of Assyria.
Dr. Johnston suggests that this last
sentence was probably a crushing blow
for the recipient of the letter, as the
peculiar expression "daughter of the
daughter-in-law of Asurbanapal'e wife"
was most likely a reference to some
delectable bit of court scandal in the
famous Asiatic empire. The doctor al
so said that the rebuke was a perfect
ly proper one from what is known to
day of Assyrian etiquette In letter writ
ing. "If the Udy.'Asshiir-Sharratt, ad
dressed the princess as sister without
being so related," said he, "she certain
ly committed a gross breach of eti
quette and was guilty of an imperti
nence which richly merited a rebuke.
Even if she was actually her sister, it
is doubtful whether she could have so
addressed the eldest daughter of the
sovereign family. We find a prince
speaking of his father as 'the king, my
lord,' but never as 'my father.' And
among private individuals, except
in the case of near relatives, It was
the invariable rule to address each per
son by his proper title, with the addi
tion of the words 'my lord.' "Balti
more Sun.
Tha Thrca-Horaa Fir Team.
The two poles of a business vehicle
to which three horses are driven
abreast are fixed in place, and in hook
ing up the team the middle horse is
backed in between them as a horse
might be backed into a pair of shafts.
Of course that wouldn't do with a fire
team, because it would take time. On a
three-horse fire apparatus the poles are
made to tilt upon pivots running
through them near the Inner end. When
an engine or truck is standing in the
house only one pole is tilted up, the
one toward the side of the house on
which the middle horse Is stalled. When
an alarm sounds the middle horse rush
es to his place, stepping under the rais
ed pole. ' When the pole is dropped its
Inner end rises into a holder in which
it is securely and firmly held by a
spring catch. The time that it takes to
put the pole in position after the mid
dle horse has stepped under it is sim
ply the time It takes for It to drop a
fraction of a second; it fastens itself.
Hlcyclaa Pinching tha Shoe Trade.
"Talk about the street railways los
ing by the advent of the bicycle," says
a shoe salesman, "I think it is the shoe
manufacturers. Of eourse, there is a
demand tor bicycle shoes, and that
practically opens a new market; but it
must be a limited market when it is
considered that one pair of such shoes
will outlast three pairs of ordinary
foot-coverings, not because the shoes
are better, but because they are not
subjected to the scuffling wear of the
others. People ride to and from their
work all the time now, where they for
merly walked or on bad days rode in
the cars. If a person wants to go
around the corner he will get on his
wheel instead of walking, as he once
did. It is these thousands of steps
that he saves that save tbe shoes and
make the shoeman's heart sad." New
York Tribune.
Mot Fair.
Passenger That young lady over in
the corner is very fair.
Conductor She? Why, ehe ain't no
fare at all! She's a director's daughter,
riding on a pass." Waterbury.
It has been suggested that the boards
of health of large cities require the
wheels of all milk wagons to be
equlppsd with rubber tlrts.
A FIGHT FOR A BRIDE.
la IhMmI Attaa4Ug tav Ha
aa l wn AaMf aha fttaria.
Tit oblong wedge, the Maori order
of batale. advanced singing In a low
toue. and gesticulating in what they
would have called a mild maimer, re
lates a writer in the Popular Hcieno
Monthly. On they advanced, the
movement raisin? no suspicion in the
breast of tlioir auvoraariea, it being
. part of the customary ritual of the war
dunce, until the thin end of the pha
lanx overlap! the Mania, aud stood
between thein and the gab of the pa.
Suddenly a change was visible in the
antics of the g atiroa; their gesticu
lations became violent the r eyes pro
truded, their howl were thrown back
and their throats uttered a mighty
shout As the cry passed their lips a
streuv. of warriors rulifd up the banks
of the cully and joiuud tbe cluster of
their coinradtts. now swollen to a coin
pact mat's of 600 men. When the
Mania realized the ruse practiced upon
them they never for a moment thought
or giving up the sir cause of the in
cursion without a struggle.
Jnu the pa poured both parties the
Mania to rally round the girl; tbe
Ngatiroa. except the small party ex
pressly toid orr to curry away the ladv.
seeking every mun sn opponent to
wrestle with. fcsoh party was anxious
to avoVi bloodshed, both being "Tribes
of the Kiver."
ine uproar was therefore Greater
than had they been engaged in actual
warfare, it being more difficult to mas-
ter a man by strength of muscle than
to knock a hole through him. At
length superior numbers prevailed,
J hose who fought around the lady
were dragged away; she was roughly
seized, and such a tugging and hauling
ensuea mat, nad she not been to the
manner born, she must have been rent
to pieoos.
At last but one young man, a secret
admirer of the lady, retained his hold,
An active young follow who had so
twisted his hands and arms into the
girl's hair and fought so vigorously
wno nis logs that he could not be re
moved until he was knocked down
senseless.
Ihe contest ended, and the bride
being borne in triumph to the canoes.
both parties proceeded to pick up their
weapons and smooth their feathers.
Everything had beon conducted in the
most honorable and satisfactory man
ner.
COULDN'T ET HIS PIPE.
Captain .' Ingenious Expedient to De
feat an IuvoatlTe Adversary.
There were two captains in the
th cavalry. Each was proud of
his record, his horses, his family,, his
dogs in short everything that was
his. If ono had a thing that he par
ticularly prized, tho other had a bet
ter one, or got one, or tried to get one.
Captain X. had a very old meerschaum
pipe, and, scenting an antiquity, he
sent it to an expert in New York, who
returned it with n certificate to the ef
fect that it was 300 years old. Ho im
patiently waited until the officers as-
Msmbl'd at headquarters the next
morirng. exhibited his prize, and read
tho litrures on the expert's certificate.
Captain B., his rival, declared that
his family had a meerschaum pipe that
had been in their possession for 900
years. '
Captain X. was too polite to
reminil Captain B. that neither tobac
co nr pipes were known in Europe
SWO y-ars ago, and he went home
cruch';u. There a bright idea occur
red t him, says the New York Sun.
He ;ut, a figute be.'ore the 300 on hty
certificate, and his pipe was certified
to be 1.300 years old. Tho next
morii'iig ho Returned to headquarters,
announced mat ne naa made a mis
take- in reading the certificate the
previous day, and that his pipe was
really 1,500 years old To prove it
he showed the certificate.
CHARLES LAMB'S NATURE.
It
I'omuiued Kiudlineu With i
Oood-
Humored Satlrirol Itent.
The Chautauqua? says of Charles
Lamb that hi po.-ueseed that highest of
heart qualities, universal human ten
derness. He always saw tho best in
men and awakened it, sometimes from
a long sleep. '-How could I hate him?"
he said of some one, "Don't I, know
him? I never could hate any ono I
knew.'' It was this ready comprehen
sion ot every man's nature that made
him ay, m his whimsical way: '-I love
a fool as naturally as if I were kith
and kin to him."
Nor was it a fondness which made
him blind to his friend's foibles. Of
queer Martin Burney he wrote: "Why
dees not his guardian angel look after
him? Mybe he has tired him out"
Of Wordsworth, who had declared ho
could have written "Hamlet" if he'd
had the mind, he said: "It is clear
nothing is wanting but the mind." Of
his landlord he wrote: "Ho has 45 a
year and one anecdote." Of every
body he made keen characterizations,
but always with kindness.
Growth or rhrlMtian Work.
Seventy-five million dollars is con
tributed yearly in the United States to
the sustenance of the church. 31,000.-
000 more being for purposes purely
devotional. V lttatn the century now
drawing to a close 100,000,000 copies
of the Bible have been printed in 226
ainerent languages, rilty years ago
there were 502 missionary stations in
foreign parts; there are now o,765.
Fifty years ago there were 608 ordained
missionaries; to-day there are 6.C90
such servants of the Lord. Then there
were but 1,266 other laborers and
helpers abroad; now there are 40, flfl2.
Philadelphia Times.
Cork.
A process has been discovered by
which the specific gravity of cork can
be reduced one-third, thus producing a
material only half the weight of com
mon cork. This will enable anyone at
sea to carry a life-be V in hat pocket
THE WAV TO SHINE.
las for ttoaawlag Rrllllaal Cm
attaaaltak
in there advanced and Intellectual
unvs every young woman aspires to
w me lea ier of a anion ami the diner-
out moat sought by hoatranes because
n ner brilliancy, but vsrw few h..
tne wisdom to know jui how to at
tain this desirable position in atM-lat.
And yet it is not very difll. ult A
notebook, a retentive Uriuort and an
ordinary command of the Eugllah
language are tne necessities.
Into the notebook ahould ro thoae
goon aiorlss. those admirable bit of
repartee which are floating about
Anecdotes about persons who are of
passing Interest should also be lotted
down. Then on the afternoon of the
dav when she wishes to da.ile, the
young woman will simply have to cast
tier eve over the paires of her
anduinandsho is e juipped for con
queht It is even advisable for the wonl.l-
be convetsationaliot to iro to thm
older and more brilliant than herself
and humbly a.u tn h ..,..k.,i
It would be a mark of fUtterinir re.
gard for which tho cotcher outrht t,
be willing to pav in choice jokes and
rare stories alwavs provided that ha
orshtfdld not need the entire stock
on hand for the same dinner. Th ire
need be no deceit about using such
stories. The woman who says: Oh,
oy tue way! Have you heard Mrs.
Jones lastr will have satisfied every
claim of honesty, and at the same
time will have contributed to the
success of the partv. And if one is
willing to study colors and styles for
one's dinner irown whv not a tor (a ttr
one's table talk.
CANNY TRICK OF TRADE.
How A. T. Stewart Kent a Una airu.
nagee llefore Ilia Store.
Hundreds of men look back unon A.
T. Stewart's establishment as both a
primary and a grammar school for the
dry good- trade in New York and one
of these hundreds told this storv the
other night "Stewart's store." he
said, "was opposite City Hall park.
Ball, 11 ack&Ca, jewelers, and Learv.
the hatter, had stores on the hlnnlr
below.
Stewart noticed every day that
there were private carriages in front
of these stores while their occupants
were inside, and there were seldom
any in front of his store. Private car
riages were conspicuous in New York
at that time, for there were very few
of them. Stewart wanted them
to stand in front of his place as
an advertisement It would give the
Impression that the occupants who
represented the wealth of New York,
were in sine buying goods. He hit
upon a scheme that kept a row of
private carriages in front of his store
all day. He p.tid the driver of each
carriage a shilling to drive up to his
door and wait there until they were
wanted.
MARRIED A ZULU.
.th.
Mlatake Mailt- hy a World's
Fair
Hoila Fountain (iirl.
Basiro Uuruella is a Zulu who was
on exhibition at the world's fair. He
left for his own country a few days
ago, taking with him as his wife a fair
American girl, whom he had become
acquainted with at a soda fountain at
the fair. He met the girl only a few
times until he fell head over ears in
love with her and she reciprocated the
attachment In a few days more thev
were duly married.
The young lady has no relatives in
the world except a brother in Texas.
She in said to be thoroughly infatuated
with her dusky husband, and is very
anxious to get back to his native land
with him. He has nine other wives
there, but he says he intends to give
them all to his brother without delay.
He claims to be an aristocrat and of
the immediate family of the king of
Zulus. His young wife will probably
have plenty of time to regret of her
choice after she has lived awhile in a
Zulu hut and learned how women are
treated in that country.
Ilurlali Among- a I tare of Clantn.
Behres, who visited the Easter
islands in 1722, says: "The men of
those islands average twelve feet in
height and are broad in proportion.
The tajlest men on board our vessels
could pass between the legs of these
children of Goliath without bendintr
their heads." Late discoveries in the
islands mentioned go a long way to
wards establishing the truth of
Behrc,s' assertions. Their burial
places are huge mounds of stones
covered over with immense stone plat
forms, the whole surmounted with
images of human beings carved in
stone, these statues, in some cases,
being as much as eighty feet in
height
YanlnhliiK Dark Continent.
Great Britain is entering upon an
other great enterprise in Africa, start
ling in its boldness and magnitude,
and making greatly toward the de
tention of both empire and civiliza
tion. This is the establishment of a
telegraph line from Alexandria to
Cape Town, through the very heart
of the continent Contracts have al
ready been signed for constructing
the line for more than half the dis
tance, and the work is being' rapidly
pushed, so that the whole is expected
to be in working order in a year. At
this rate the title "Dark Contiuent"
will soon be a misnomer.
Like a Tnrk.
One of the stories that has drifted
out of the Plaisance into the newspa
pers is of the mosque there, where
prayers were said daily at regular in
tervals for the natives. A pious
woman passing accosted a young Ori
ental and chatted with him, finishing
with a nod toward his prayer house
and the remark: "I hope you go to
church every Sunday like a Chris
tian." "No," was the oulck reply: "I
go every day, 1 Iks a Turn."
Fifty Years in
Church
7si
BY. REV. CHARLES CIUNIQUY,
THE AMERICAN
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