Nebraska Newspapers

    .
I It Is ns"J for lining wardrobes 4
I dra wei s.
TENT DWELLERS
Twelve thousand people in the Mis- th -n c -otfon-rloth communities. One of
sour, Kansas r.ilneial district l.va in i thvj It--! rest of Ji-plin, beyonJ the
i'-ut the year round. I nil net. its denizens setm to he related
It Jot '.in. th ir.etr- foils of the ells-j to the r.imada of Turkestan, albeit It
tt .1 1, cut of a ii',;,u!a:!( n estimated at j Is I lain they have deg-.-nerated. They
VA). I') per c nt dwell In tents. In 'stop in certain plan s for certain peri
t:,e outlying camp th? percentage of 1 ods of time and thn move on to an
ttnteis ! larger than in town, tut the other locality, r.ewr getting far away,
raU is decreasing. While there arc- and in the course of a year return two
ri:'-re p op in Joplin crd the mining! or three times to the first camping
ns;ilct at this time tvhn-e only too;
tree is a sheet of 12-ounee iu Itins?
t;.n at the same tin.e a year bko, the
increase lias not ki pt pace with the
total groAlh of population.
Caste finds i:n way among tenters as
e:tain as it c-ulsts anywhere, and the
lii.cs (if eb -mat cation are usually drewn
in moral (rounds. No matter how
H:aitemd the circumstances of a tenl
li;S fiimily is. If they be decent and
n,ow a disposition to be fair and honest
iti their d 'ulir.ss with neighbors, they
viiil find plenty of sympathy and assistance-.
Not all people live in tents
l-caue they cannot afford to rent a
Lout-;. Instances are known where,
i-iuce the boom set In, men have rented
their bouses and moved their families
Into tents. Others have chosen tenting
In order to save exorbitant rents, while
Mill others endure this mode of habita
tion, so that the family may be near
the work of the breadwinner. Borne
few, and they are very few, compel
their families t live In tents so they
an have more money with which to
gamble and drink.
An instance of this kind is railed to
rnlnd of a man whose services com
manded ll.l per week, whether he work--d
all the time or not. When his hab
its and condition became known the
other tenter In the locality made It so
uncomfortable for him that he left. Hud
the fellow only expended half his In
come on lbor and trap tallies, and the
other half In prospecting while the
wife took In washing to keep the fam
ily going, no violence would have been
done the ethical code of the tenting
community. '
The foregoing relates more to the
pros perous side of tent life In the min
ing district. There are slums even In
A NEW AFRICAN MAHDI.
England is getting worked up oven
(he tidings that a new African Mahdl is1
l.reparlng his IO.OOO.CiO followers for a
boly war which may break out this
year. The successor of him who fell
In the Soudan is Senussl. and he lives
J:ist now l.t Joffo, south of Tripoli.
The cloud on the North African horl
fcon has been gathering for some) time.
It is by no means generally known
that at any moment a cyclone of Mos
lem fanaticism may sweep over Kgypt,
A'k .Tin ami Tui.ls.
This Is In the north. And further
fioutli in the tragic continent, owing to
the same ciuse. civilization In Nigeria
ami the French Soudan may be put
tack for another generation. The rapid
expansion of a Mahometan secret so
ciety, with Its inevitable Jehad, or holy
wr. among the Arabic, Berber and nc
KToid races of the Western and Central
Koudao. 1 a factor in current life In
the Purk Continent which at any mo
ment may assume a terrible import
mice. The year that Gordons' life went out
t Khurtoum, In 1HS5, the followers of
Benussl wete eftlbated at about 3,000,
100. Since then the movement has grown
so enormously that probably over 10.
M0.0O0 sons of the Prophet are sworn
member of this organization. Far
sway from the White Man's Africa,"
burled In the heart of the long sandy
wairtes that spread In endless silence
from Tripoli to Iake Tchad, Is being
sccumulated vast sores of the most
modern war material, without the pos
sibility of Interference by the Christian
powers most concerned England and
ITranue.
Joffo, the headquarters of the new
Mahometan Mesnlah, Is 600 miles west I
at the Nile and about 700 from the
NAVY SHORT
4
Washington. D. C Hpeclal.)-The
savy department was under the neces
llty todiy of ordering the I'nlted
Btiites cruiser Detroit to the Ports
mouth navy yard. New Hampshire, to
no out of commission. In addition to
this, orders have been prepared to put
the Miirblehend out of commission at
Mire Island, and telegraph orders have
been sent to Admiral Watson to send
the gunij'Kit Bennington and Concord,
now at Manila, home to Han Francisco,
wlteie they will also be put out of com
mission. The big battleships Indiana
ml M in'cnchusetts, which have Just
been overhauled st the New York navy
y.rd, ore aso to be sent to League
Island about the first of the month to
be Inhl up in ordinary Instead of being
cnmnilHHlotied.
This .'rinaikable reduction of fhe
number of ships In commission Is as
cribed at the tiovy department to the
lack of a sufficient number of officers
to furnish complement" for the ships
bftolutely required for iimvmI purposes.
The bittle.hlp Kcsrsarge has Just been
put Hi commission snd the Illinois on
the AtlinUe side nnd the Wisconsin on
tno Pacific side also must b comtnls-
inn.l trim' llatelv In order that the
nips can ! taken from
the hands of
the contt actors. Then there M aouia,
IN MISSOURI.
place.
Ail the remnants, ragtag and bobtail.
the lame, halt and blind of the equine
creation se.-m to have descended to
these people after being cast oft by
the poverty-stricken wood haulers of
Shoal Creek. If there latter are the
veritable hewers of wood of the min
ing district, their legatees are drawer
o fwatT, for about the only employ
ment that is ever known to engage
their attention is the distribution of
water for domestic uses to their more
provident and w: thy fellow tenters.
They are ragged, dirty, laxy and almost
wholly abandoned. On the banks of
the streams, particularly along Turkey
creek. Just north of Joplin. and seques
tered In the timber, is one of the places
where morals are none too strict. Yet
In this place certain unwritten laws are
respected, one in jtartleular being a
sanitary measure relating to keeping
the stream as wholesome as possible.
It might be imagined that life in these
tents is hard to endure In the winter.
It Is undoubtedly hard enough, but It
is likely the heat of summer, with Its
decaying vegetation and tainted water,
causes more suffering and disease In
the tents than in the winter. In the
winter season the tents are made tight,
and as fuel lb cheap, a fire keeps them
so warm that flaps have to be thrown
back for vetsttlatlon. Being built on
the ground and banked up around the
sides, tents are more comfortable In
winter than the most of the little rough
pine cabins that are built up off the
ground, and where the biting winds
come up through loose floors, giving
their inmates colds and pneumonia.
There are many kinds of foolishness,
but the meanest kind Is selfishness.
North African littoral. It lies at a point
due south of Tripoli and a little to the
east of the caravan route to Bornou.
There is reason to believe that at ths
front In South Africa, among the In
dian bearers, there are several repre
sentatives of the new Mahdl, who have
enlisted to report upon the events of
the war. The most extraordinary fea
ture of this conspiracy Is that some of
Its members declare they have acquir
ed the strange secret of brain teleg
raphy, whereby they are enabled to
Send messages over vast distances.
As a military force his followers are
Infinitely superior to the Ill-armed Sou
danese whom the Anglo-Egyptian army
defeated at the At hara and Omdurman.
Twenty thousand Manlleher rifles, it Is
said, have been bought at Liege. Bel
gium, for the new Mahdl. Kvery one
of these weupons was landed at Tripoli
and carried on camel back to Joffo.
The Italian war office has lately been
offering for sale ft number of Its dis
used field guns. Several have been
bought and, curiously enough, shipped
to Tripoli. Always Tripoli, for there
the Sultan of Turkey reigns supreme,
and that astute monarch Is too wise to
run foul of the leader of 10.OOCV.000 of
the most reckless fanatics that Islam
has enrolled.
What is the policy, what are the alms
of this truculent Moslem? In a word,
to revive a great militant Mahometan
empire In North and Central Africa and
Incidentally to turn out the two unbe
lieving powers. It Is one of the quali
fications of a great leader to bide his
time. Semifsl has waited for a quarter
of a century.
sBsiu uWMiaci nou,l ajB Xoq itus
jo sjn aqj U spojdd jsailuoi aqi
OF OFFICERS.
smaller craft, like the Htrlngham and
the Chesapeake, also calling for com
missions and crews.
The extent of the shortage may b
suggested by the fact that for all of
the four greHt guns fn the double tur
rets of the new battleship Kearsarge,
but one officer could be spared, Involv
ing undue risk, even In times of peace.
The navigation bureau is authority fot
hte statement that there are fully 1M
vacancies in the line of the navy, and
the total number of officers Is really
less than It was fifteen years ago, not
withstanding the great Increase In th
number of ships. The projected short
etilng of the course at Annapolis pro
vided for In the pending naval bill
would not substantially relieve the sit
uation in less than fifteen years, so th
officials are striving to find some meth
od for temporary relief, such, perhaps,
as the graduation of the Annapollt
classes for the next two years one year
In advance of the usual time, or sn
authorization for the Immediate ap
pointment to Annapolis of alout 100
extra cadets.
I
"I regard Miss Helen Hay." said Wil
liam Ilean Howells recently, "as one of
j the most promising women now writing
(nw.
: THE BASUTOS OF
Ibiti.'i and line: art- emerging e it h e
other with having sliired up th- Cu
suto chiefs to threatened particpalion
in the war In the Transvaal.
"In the event of a Uoer violation of
Hasutoiand," Fays Spencer Wilkinson,
an expert who is wilting on the South
Afiican tiiuatlon, "compelling the h: it
ish agent to give the liusuio chiefs a
free band, it is to be hoped that the
imperial government will-lay before the
governments of the great powers the
true history of this delicate subject."
At the same moment, as tnough in
refutation of the claims made by the
British, an uprising of the Ashantl
tribes is reported, tr.e occasion bc.tifi
the endeavor of the British governor,
Sir Fiederick S'itihell Jiuugson to ukc
poFsession of tl ijulelen St iol ot
Afahanti." One hundred Hussais have
been tolled off from the Tranbvaal to
protect the British governor.
Hasutoiand Is highly Important to
both Britisher and Boer just now. it
lies ari'oKs the river from Hloemforitein
south of Natal and southeast of the
Orange Free State, it Ih a mountain
ous territory at the headwaters of the
Gariep branch of the Orange river, on
the inward slope of the Drakenburg
range. It was seized by the British in
lSfili, and has since been vicariously
held. The territory Includes 25,M)
square miles, and has a population of
172.97S.
The Basutos are the wealthiest, most
powerful and best -armed tribe of the
Iieehuana race. In 1879 they possessed
from 15,000 to 20,000 stand, of arms.
Strong in the sense of their power, they
.vlthbeld their taxes In that year from
the Cape government, and the result
,ng war ended practically in the ttl
jmph of the Basutos.
The Basuto la a vigorous, enterpris
ing mountaineer, conspicuous among
ill the African tribes for his industry.
In appearance he has the softer, gen
ller stamp of the Kaffir type. His bod
ily forms are less massive and sharp
than the Kaiiir; his stature is on the
average less, and he carries himself
wit hsomething of a stoop.The strength
of the Basutos lies in their occupations
of peace. They have provided the nils-,
slonaries with 'their most tractable
scholars, even though their -subsequent
perfoimances did not always corre- ; expedition was In charge or hir r rancis
spond to the expectations aroused by ' Scott, and on January 18 Coomassie
their capacity for luarnlng. They are i was entered. The king submitted to all
much fonder than the Zulus ot acting j the British demands, but as he was Un
as hired laborers for Ihe colonists and . able to pay the Indemnity the treasures
Dften delight in wearing cast-off Euro
pean clothes. They are cunning and on
-.he lookout for easy and sometimes
lishonest ways of making money. Inno-
;ent social games seldom cease among
;hem.
Among the Bechuanns, which Include
HOME LIFE OF
New York (Special.) Mrs. Martha
Van der Valk, wife of the Rev. Ir.
Murehonus H. A. Van der Valk, was a
guest at No. .114 Hudson street, Hobo-
ken, last week. She received much so
lid I attention from prominent residents
of that city. .She had Just returned
from the Transvaal, where during four
years she, her husband and two chil
dren had formed part of the household
Df President Kruger. She is a handsome
woman of about 20, with soft brown
hair and expressive features. She
rpeakg EngllBh as well as she does her
native Dutch. She talked interestingly
before she left for Muskegon, regard
ing her experiences In President Kru
ger's home.
"One of the marked traits of the
great Boer leader Is his hospitality,"
jhe said. "My husband, children and
myself have had great proof of this.
We went from Delft, Holland, at the
invitation of President Kruger early In
IS96. He had been a personal friend of
my husband's father, and he Invited
ny husband to become tutor to his
three children to tlnlsh their educa
tion, i 1 ' i ' J ' i?
"When we arrived at Durban we were
met by two officers of the president's
army, who had been delegated by him
to escort us to his home. He and his
wife were at the railroad station at
Pretoria to meet us when the train ar
rived. He almost embraced my hus
band and gave me and my children a
warm welcome.
"We were charmed by his cheery,
simple manner, absolutely free from
all ostentation. The carriage he led us
lo was an ordinary Inndau. There was
only the driver on the box, and he wore
a very simple livery. When we arrlvect
at the presidential mansion we found
a substantial supper awaiting us. The
home of the president Is Just as unpre
tentious as his own clothing and man
ner of life. It reminds one much of the
villas one sees ut New Kocheilo, or
along the New Jersey coast.
"We found that a wing of this house
had been reserved for our use, and we
discovered In them evidences that muc h
thought and care had been bestowed
on our comfort. Our supposed tastes
in literature, for Instance, had evidently
been closely considered, for we found
books there that my husband knew
were often read by my father.
"My husband found the two sons and
daughter of President Kruger very
highly educated. Indeed, he discovered
that his main duties were to Instruct
litem In biblical lore, although they, had
received mm h religious Instruction
from their father. Never have I spent
so pleasant a four years as when I was
member of President Kniger's house
hold
We found him always the same
SOUTH AFRICA. :
the 1;ar.ito, there is never the; startling
nudity of tiie Zulus; they modestly cov
er themselves with a leather band fast
ened back and front to a broad belt.
The women tover themselves with
apioris to the !:nees, fore and aft, the
ouier apion having: a fringe of glass
bei.es. Poor people wear simply a hide;
richer persons wear furs of Jackals, or
Iwid tats carefully sewn together; rich
women wear those of the silver Jackal;
the chiefs wear leopard skins. Fortun
ate hunters alone clothe themselves in
the tl.in of a gnu, with the tail dis
played behind as a trophy.
The Bi-suto native weapons are a
mudi'ieaiion of those of the Kaffir, the
principal being the throwing spear sup
ported by the baliie-ax. and the two
edfced dagger-knife. Their shield is
short, of scalloped form and usually
made of ox hide.
It is reported in a late work by Prof.
I'liedrieh liatzel that in originality, el
egance and fir.encs sof work the Basuto
woodearvings exceed the best done by
ilechuana or Kaiiir people. Their per
formances in earthenware, too, are re
markable, among which may be men
tioned the paunchy store vessel, on
three low feet, towering up higher than
a man and covered with an Inverted
dish. Regular huts are built over these
store vessels, and the entire harvest of
millet of maize is stored in them. The
tiilK Is squally skilled In weaving and
making pretty mats and baskets.
Their devotion to peaceful Industries
Is so inborn and bred that great pro
vocation of much money would be re
quired to drive them into war, but
when once thus driven they will give
an account of themselves, as when they
have been compelled to Join the Mata
beles In some of the historic corilliets
of Uochuanaland.
The "Golden Stool of Ashantl" which
has caused the uprising of that tribe,
Is said to be an immense throne of
solid gold, absolutely pure. In 1896 an
expedition against King Prempeh was
sent by Great Britain to Ashantl, in
order to punish thlB king for various
outrages committed against Brltlshsub
Jects. He had usurped much British
terirtory, and had refused to allow the
presence at uoomassie, me capum ui
Ashantl. of a British commissioner. The
, , , . i .
In his palace were seized. The chief
of these, the Golden Stool, could not
be found, and it was alleged that
Prernneh had buried it. The other
treasures were taken to ixmuon anu
publicly exhibited, being much admired
for their artistic workmanship.
00M PAUL.
whole-souled man, a real man among
men.
"He has no housekeeper, except his
wife. He could not have a better one,
by the way. She Is the typical, care
ful, thrifty, cleanly Dutch house"row.
She oversees the kitchen and the mar
keting and keeps few servants. Al
though the Krugcrs are wealthy, there
Is no waste anywhere about the house.
They give lavishly to the poor. Indeed,
I cannot say enough about their char
ity. The family is really fairly idol
ized by their neighbors and by resi
dents of Pretoria. Rich and poor are
proud of them.
"President Kruger Is extremely punc
tilious In, regard to religious services.
Before each meal there Is a short cere
mony, and immediately after breakfast
come family prayers and a short ser
mon by him to his little household.
Frequently neighbors come in to par
ticipate in these family prayers.
"The president alms to act absolutely
according to the dictates of his con
science, as he believes God wants him
to act. My husband I, knowing mm
as well as we do, can see In every
move made by him during the present
war evidences that he is directing Its
conduct from religious motives. That
Is the chief reason why I do not believe
the British will defeat the Boers, even
though they have a hundred soldiers
to the Boers' one.
"Poul Kruger, by the way, conducts
his armies with the same absence of
show and formality that he does his
household. He Is the most approachable
man Imaginable. He deprecates any
bowing or scraping to him. He wants
to be treated Just as one gentleman
treats another. He despises any one
who cringes,
"President Kruger, or Paul, as he
prefers to be called by his friends, has
but one ambition In life. That Is to
lead his people Into Independence and
freedom and enable them to live a life
of simplicity In the fear of God and
doing reverence to Him."
When Lady Tauncrfote leaves Wash
lngton she will, It Is said, receive as a
gift a diamond sunburst to cost $-5,-000,
the money to be raised by her so
ciety friends as a mark of esteem In
which she is held. Each contributor
Is expected to subscribe $25. Tht. dia
monds will not be as large nor the sun
hurst as brilliant as would be the case
had there been no South African war.
Madame Caroline Hertlllon hns been
chosen as doctor of the administration
posts and telegraph In Paris, This Is
the first time a woman has been nam
ed for an official position of this chur-
' at ter In France,
It 1 Vnew tbe box where Hie Miiilrl
are kept.
No ini'tter how large the key
Or strong- the ioit, 1 would try o
bard
'TwoiiM open. I know, 'or me.
Then over the land fcnd the sea,
broa dcast,
I'd n-afler the smiles to play.
That the children' faces might bo-d
ithem fast
For uiacy and many a day.
If I knew a box that was large
enough
To lioid all the frowns I meet,
I would like 10 gather them, every
one,
From nursery, school, and street.
Then, f.-iding- and holding, I'd pack
iheni ill,
And. turning- the monster key,
I'd hire a giant to drop Mie box
To the depths of 1he deep, deep sea
Americ-au Jewess.
1 OSSI M I ItKI N.
iulei-CHling FacT oueeruIiig Their
Virtues uud I Mi-
Alder, good for waicr-pipes and
piles, capital for the foundations of
buildings situated upon bo's; it be
comes black as jet and almost ;m
jierisliable. when used for piles in
bwaiuns or under water. The KiaHo
of Venice is founded on aider. It is
excellent for clogs, shoe-heels, wood
fa (shoes, cc.gs for mill-wheels, turn
ery, chairs, jolcs, and garden props.
Jl is said 4hait Heas dislike it.
Alder nourishes whatever plant
grows in its shadow.
Ash, rite Veu us of the forest.
tscd for all tools employed in hus
bandry, carts, wagons, wheels, pul
leys, and oars, it bursts into leaf
between May 13 and June 14.
Grass will grow beneath it.
.At Donirey, .near Ciare, is the hol
low trunk of an ash tree 42 feet in
circumference, iu which a little school
used to lie kept.
In Woburn Park is an ash tree 90
feet liiRb, 15 feet m girth (3 feet from
the g-roumi), and containing a grand
total of 872 cubic feet of timber.
The ash 'tree at Carnock, nlawted
in 1596, supposed to lie the largest in
Scotland, is 90 feet high and 19 feet
in girth (5 feot from the ground.)
Dr. Walker says he measured an
a.h tree in, I.-ochaber churchyard,
Land. 58 feet in gimh (5 feet from the
the ground.)
Aspen tree. No grass will grow in
its vicinity. The legend is that the
cross of .Jesus was made of this wood,
ami hence its leaves were doomed to
tremble till the clay of doom.
Ah! tremble, tremble, aspen 4ree!
We need not ask thee why Ihou
shakest;
For if, as holy legend saith,
On thee the Savior hied 'to death,
So wonder, aspen, thai thou quak
es! !
And till in judgment all assemble,
Thy leaves accursed shall wail and
' tremble. E. C. 1!.
J'.eech tree, employed for clogs, tool
handles, plants, mallets, turnery,
large wooden screws, Hounding- boards
of musical instruments, scabbards,
baud-boxes, book-covers, coffins,
chairs, and bedsteads; bilt for chairs
and bedsteads it is not fi't, as it is a
favorite resort -of the ptinus pectini
cornis, whose eggs are deposited on
the surface of the wood, and the
young worms eat their way in. Floats
for nets are made of -the 'bark. It is
excellent for wood fires, and is called
in, France bols d' Andelle. The beech
bursts into leal between April 19 and
Way 7.
"The Twelve Apostles." On an isl
and of the lake Wetter, were twelve
nvajesitice ibeech trees, now reduced
to eleven, for a zealous peasant cut
down one of 'them, deciaritig "that
the traitor Judas should have no
part nor lot with the faithful." On
these beeches are cut the names ot
Charles XI., Charles Queen
Eleonora, and other distinguished
visitors. Oilier famous beecues are
the Frankley Beeches, in Worcester
shire. Virgil's bowl, clivini opus ucime
dontis, was made of beech wood, and
I'iiny tells us that vessels used in the
temples were made sometimes of the
same wood.
The beech, like the fir and chest
nut, is very destructive of vegetation
beneath.
Birch, used by 'the ancients for pap
yrus, i he wood is tiseri for the been
of shoes, cradles, packing-boxes,
sabots, drinking cups, brooms or be
soms, rods, torches and charcoal.
"It supplies ' Ihe northern peusant
with his house, his bread, his wine,
and the vessels lo put it in. part of
his clothing, mm the furniture of liii
bed."
Ilirch loves 1lie coldest places.
I'.lacMlion is formed iivto tee'lh for
rakes and into walking sticks, belters
written on linen or woolen with sloe
juice wiifl not wash out.
It is mi id I bar Joseph of Arimathet
planted his s-lafT on the south ridg
of Wen ry-n II Hill (now Werra!),
where it grew and put forth blossoms
eery Christmas day afterwards. The
original tree was ilcs'trnyed in liie
reign of Charles 1. by n pnri t hiv sol
dier, who lost his life by a splinter,
which wounded him while so employ
ed. The variety, which blossom?
twice n year, is now pretty common
"The Holy Thorn has been inlrci
cluecd into tunny parts, and is tiow
grown in several gardens nliotit Clin
tonbnry and its vicinity. IMgrimaue
continue to be made to this Iree even
In Mr. Kyston's time, who cKed 1721."
Warner, Kvrniug I'ost, Janiiiirv
1753.
llo, ned for turnery, combs
nintlien"a!iral instruments. knife,
liiit'dles. lops, screws, bn t ton-moulds
niieil eiy,Ta lings. Ilox wood will sinl.
In water.
A decoclion of box wood promolei
flie (irowlh of hair, and n oil di;
tiMt-d t'eor.i 't ' shavings, i :t cille f'.t
lieniorrlioids, tool li-iiche, epilepsy,
nt '1 stomal li-wonvsi o w nre lold.
Cedar, used for clear boxes. It i
tiflefiil to mollis uud (lias, and hcuct
(berry ir"t used by Ihe turner,
formed into chair and hoops. It i
naineil cio iuii'a'e mahogany, t.t
which wood, buth in grain ami color,
it approaches nearer than, tuny other
of this country. Jt is stained black
for picture fra'mes. The cherry tree
was first j introduced from Flanders
into Kent, in the reign of Henry VIII.
"Mere than a hi:i:drecl men, during
a seige, were kept alive for ntariy
two mouths, without any other suste
nance than a littie of this guru taken,
into ihe mouth and suffered grad
ually ro dissolve." Uasselquist, Iter
I'alaestimun (1757.)
Ch'siiiut tree, the tree introduced
into the pictures of Salvador Kosa.
The wood is used by coopers and for
water-pipes, liecause it neither
shrinks nor changes the color of any .
liquor it contains. It is, however, bad
tor posts, and grass will not grow
licr.earh its shade.
Staves that nor (-brink nor swCil,
The cooper's close-wrought cask ta
chestnut owes. Bodsley.
The roof of Westminster Abbey,
and that of the "Parliament nouse."
Kdinbiirg. are made of chestnut wood.
In Cobham Park, Kent, is a chest
nut tree 40 feet iu girth v5 feet froiu.
the ground.)
At Tortworth, o.ouees-tershire, is a.
chestnut tree 52 feet in girth. Even.
in 1150 it was called "the great chest
nut tree of Tortworth." -ir. Marsh
ham says it was 510 years old when
King John came to the throne, which
would carry us back to the heptarchy.
If so, this tree has tallied the whola
history of Knglanu from the Komau
period to our own.
The horse chestnut bursts into leaf
between March 17 and April The
Spanish chestnut fully a month later.
Cypress hurts the least of all tree
by its droppings.
Dog Iiose. So calied by the ureek4
Ikunordon), because the root w
deemed a cure for the bite of a mad
dog.
Elder Tree, used for skewers, topi
of angling rods, needles for netting,
turnery, i he pith is used for electro
meters and in electrical experiments.
An. infusion of elder leaves will de
stroy insects on delicate plants bettee
than tobacco juice; and if turnips,
cabbages, fruit trees, etc., are brush
ed with a branch of elder leaves no
insect will infest the plants.
Elm is used for axle-trees, mill
wheels, keels of boats, givnwales.
chairs, coffins, rails, gates, Tinder
ground pipes, pumps, millwork, pat
terns.
(rase will grow beneath its shade.
The elm is pre-eminent for the.
tenacity of its wood, which never
splin.ters. It is the first of forest
trees to burst into leaf.
Toads and frogs are often imbed
ded in elm trees. 'l,uey creep inro
Eome hollow place or crack, ami be
come imprisoned by the glutinou
fluid of the new inner bark (liber and
alburnum.) Some have oeen foun
alive when, the tree is cut downk bub
they need not have been enlbedd'i,;
long. -
At Hampstead there was once ai
famous hollow elm, which had a--staircase
within enrl seats at rne top
At Ulythfield. in Staffordshire, was
an elm which. Kay tells us, furnished:
8.Gf0 feet of planks, weighing 97 torn.
The elm at thequers, BucKingham
shire, was planted in the reign of
Stephen; the shell is now 31 feet iifc.
girth. The Chepstead Elm, Kent, con
tains 268 feet of timber, and is 15;
feet in girth; it is said to have had
an annual fair beneath its shade io
the reign of henry V. The elm at
Crawley, in Sussex, is 70 feet higj.
and 35 feet in girth.
Fig Tree. The leaves of this tree
have the property of maturing gam
and meat hung amongst thenu
Fir Tree. In Ireland the bog firs.,
beaten into string, are ira-nufaetnref
info rope, capable of resisting the
weather much longer than hempea,
ropes. The bark can be used for tan..
Tar and pitch are obtained from th
trunk and branches, .me thinnings
of fir forests will do for hop-poles,
scantlings and rafters, and its tim
ber is used by builders.
Grass will not grow beneath fie
trees. t v
She Obeyed the Qaeaa. " -
The late King of 'tlx; Ketaertaud
lout no opportunity of impressing ou
his daug'tuer Wiilielnmia an idea ot,
her great importance. On one ocea-
Bion the IVaroness A' an B was.
taking the prescribed promenade with
the young princess, when, a man oik
horseback iapieared. It was the
baroness's brother, who had just re
turti'cd from Java. Leaping from bht
horse, he clasped his sister in hm
arms, covering her face with kisses.
Wilhclmiina, who wis seven at the,
time, was thoroughly scandalized,
and the barones's hastened to send off.
her 'brother. Not another word wai
sjKiken, and the walk being e-noVd,
tliey returned to the palace. Th
It tie girl' recounted the story, whio
the queen listened to attentively,.,
thinking of the irate king and hut
thick cane. . "Finish your lunch.'
i-'h:1 said to her l;i lighter; l vill
speak to the king." "It i for me ta
sM'nk. 1'npiH mad!" me promise tmvef
to hide .iinylhing from him." "Yotir
father was in good health then; mv
he i very ill, and I fnrbid you t
tremble him. Without replying, the
little; girl nme and went toward thet.
door. "VrinccMK, tihe Qucc-ti of ilol
luncV orders yon to tay here and
lciM'p silent." said l)iicen Em me. Wil
llelniinii stopped, drew back, then,
making a profound ormrtcxy, Maid:
"Since If !s the quern Who give tlie
order. I obey, but" turning townrt
1hi trembling govornes-s "I Imp
such a thing will never occur again.
Ts-aties "l.rt vim n pirtty nice af
fair at. ()iper.ilvetinerV. Jte-re won m
pi-of;-s'vir of magic. t cnterlii'lTi der
guests, ui'i'H he vr grwit, ton, hirt ha
couldn't do nl his tricks." (.'olirn-teia
"Mow vers clot?" lit:iK -"Vrlh ha
vnnled some vim should lend him a
i:.:ii:'i:d ring, uiutt nobody wwldk"
l'uck.