ODD SIGHTS WHICH WILL GREET THE
AHERICAN SAILORS THERE
/ 'siLftide LADY
Not the least interesting of all the
places at which the American fleet
will touch in its sail ’round the earth
"'ill be the little island of Malta, in
the Mediterranean sea, south of Sic
ily. There the great fleet of battle
ships will stop on its way home from
the Pacific to the Atlantic, via the
Suez canal. Outside of diplomatic,
naval and military circles, little is
known of this mere speck upon the
map of Europe.
Students of history will perhaps re
call the presence there of Napoleon
1.. who pillaged the churches, stripping
them of their gold and silver, and
shipping the booty away, only to have
his vessel founder in a gale and los
ing all. To-day, in the churches are
solid silver gates and vessels that
were overlooked by Napoleon's men
for the reason that they were painted
black to deceive the eye of the van
dals.
On the northwestern shore or this
island is St. Paul’s bay, clearly identi
fied with the apostle's shipwreck and
made the subject of many famous
paintings, adorning the walls of the
churches in Valletta, the principal city
of the island.
The stirring history of the Knights
of Malta is forcefully present in all :
its romance, and the island is rich in
relics of these valiant mem To the
feminine mind, Maltese lace, that ever
popular fabric, is suggested, although
this material is not directly connected
with the island of Malta, the lacema
kers living upon the adjoining island
of Gozo.
Most important of all—England has
these islands, making Malta the base
of supplies, coaling station, garrison
and rendezvous of the Mediterranean
squadron. From the British, the Amer
ican admiral and his officers will re
ceive attention. The sailors will view
the island in its simple life, explore
catacombs and visit the ancient Cit
ta Yecchia. At San Antone the officers
will be entertained by the duke of
Connaught, who is at present com
mander-in-chief of the military forces
of the Mediterranean.
On the fourth day after leaving Gib
raltar. the traveler to the east finds
himself in the Malta channel, a strip
between Sicily and Malta. Upon
bright days the snow-ciad peak of
Etna makes itself visible. At the south
the rocky shore of Gozo is outlined.
Eastward, bright in its orange color,
lies Malta.
One is first impressed with its
snow-white buildings, low and solid,
and with the spires of the churches.
In the distance the huge dome of Mus- j
ta church, the third largest in the
world, stands like a sentinel, guarding
the people of the old city in the cen
ter of the island. This church. wTith
its huge dome, was built by natives j
who worked only upon Sundays and
holidays and without wages, the labor j
covering a period of 27 years. No
scaffolding was used in its construc
tion.
The two great harbors spread their
arms invitingly and within there is '
ample anchorage for the “big 16” fleet
of T’r.clo Sam. The huge breakwater,
poking i;s nose into the channel,
sp.eaks of the enterprise of the Eng
lish in protecting this wee spot from
tempests.
The buildings skirt the shore of the
harbor, rising abruptly to the eruin
The Sultan’s Name.
American and English newspapers
have a way of mangling the name of
the sultan of Turkey. Often he is
called simply “Abdul”—nothing more.
Sometimes it is “Abdul the Artful.”
“Abdul the Wary.” The proper way
to write the name, according to the
London Chronicle, is “Abd-ul-Hamid,”
or as some would transliterate it.
“Abd-'l-Hamid." This means “Servant
(or slave) of the praised one," i. e.,
God. or Allah. The “ul" or “ T’ mere
ly represents the Arabic definite ar
ticle, which in writing is always joined
to the following word.
“Abd" is the very common first
name with Mohammedans, as in Abd
ul-Kadir, Abd-ul-Latif, Abd-ul-Aziz.
“Abdul," with or without the Hamid
makes nonsense, but no one seems to
notice it.
On this principle George du Maurier
might be called “Georgedu” for short,
and T. P. O'Connor would lose his
nationality under the Italian looking
disguise of “Thomaso.”
The number of sugar factories in
operation last year in Russia was 278.
INTERIOR or OTdOm's CONVENTUAL Eo
ence that forms the principal thor
oughfare of the city of Valletta.
t'p through the narrow stone streets
you are driven to the hotel, passing
upon every hand men who wear the
uniform of King Edward. The bare
focted. or sandaled, native trudges
leisurely along. Here and there one
sees a group of Maltese women, their
faces half-hidden beneath the faldette.
This primitive race is deeply at
tached to their national usages for
which other nationalities sometimes
show lack of consideration. The fal
dette is a peculiar mantilla of black
silk worn by the women. It is some
times called onega. In shape it re
sembles a huge poke bonnet or skirt
turned over the head. It is gathered
in on one side and kept in place by
an arched whalebone. This is operated
very skillfully hv the women, and
gives them the nun-like effect re
marked by the visitor.
The ovens of the knights still sup !
ply the garrison. The present postof \
lice on Strada Mercani, formerly the
Palazzo Parisio, was occupied by Na- !
poleon I. as his headquarters when he !
was at Valletta. A tablet marks the
spot for the tourist.
Strada Santa Lucia, or, as it is
known by the tourists, the "street of
steps," is a decided novelty. It leads
from the lower town along the bay
to the main street of Valletta. Strada
Reale. This climb is lined with shops,
and here aiso are found at the corners
the saints’ shrines, before which burn
the candles placed there by the de
vout peonle.
The governor's palace is all that one
could picture as typical. Here is the
room hung in rich tapestry in which
the house of assembly for the local
parliament meets. Here Italian is
spoken, this language also being used
in the courts of justice on the island.
It is declared by the commercial
classes that the use of English as a
supplement to Maltese and Italian
would he desirable.
St. John's Conventual church is next
in importance to the palace. Within,
from floor to celling, it is one blaze
of memorial antiquity. The floor is i
paved With tombstones of more than i
400 chevaliers. With the heraldic em
blazonment in marble mosaic, aud the 1
sculpture, bronze and paintings, a ;
wealth of history is unfolded. This I
wonderful church has its chapels, each
devoted to the nationality of men who
have figured in the stirring history of
the island, each chapel having art in j
oil and marble.
No visitor to Malta ever leaves with- I
out first visiting the Chapel of Bones,
beneath the Hospital of Incurables,
which adjoins the burial place of the |
knights who died in hospital and who
were buried in mantels a bee with
their white cross. This chapel's archi
tecture is rendered in every detail by
the bleached bones of humanity. At
the base of the altar is a tablet bear
ing an inscription. The following is a
translation:
: D. o. M. :
: TIT E W< IR LD IS A ST A G E.
: Ol tl LIFE A TP.AGEDT
: ALL IS ILLUSION: ALL A FIC- •
: TION.
: DEATH THE CLOSE OF ALL :
: THINGS. .
: IT UNMASKS AND SOLVES -
ALL.
: THOU. WHO LI VEST. PONDER :
: ON THIS.
: PR A Y THAT PERPETUAL :
: LIGHT MAT SHINE ON •
: THOSE WHO REST HEREIN. :
: GO IN PEACE. REMEMBER :
THAT THOU SHALT DIE. :
The mortuary connected with the
hospital has a singular relic. It is a
place where the body is left 24 hours
after death, with straps fastened to
the hands and feet. The slightest mo
tion would set a bell ringing and thus
prevent any iikelihod of being buried
alive
Both the islands of Gozo and Malta
are honeycombed with caves which
date from the period of Phoenician
occupation. These catacombs are at
tractive in their gruesomeness. One
enters them at Citta Vecchia, where
native guides are always waiting to
earn a few pennies for the privilge
of escorting you through the mazelike
corroidors extending in all directions.
How to Avoid Cramps.
‘ ^nu often hear of people dying
from cramps while in swimming,” said
a physician, ‘‘but the fact is that a
very small percentage of persons real
ly die from cramps while bathing. Be
the bather a good swimmer or other
wise. he or she usually gets more or
less water in the ears and when a
large quantity of the fluid finds its way
there it floods the ear drums and
causes the nerves leading to the brain
to become paralyzed. This naturally
forces; other vital nerves to cease per
forming their duty and the result is
death. If people who go in swimming
would, as I save done for the past 40
years, put a piece of cotton in each ear
to prevent the flooding of that organ,
The New Arithmetic.
Boggs—How much is two times one,
plus one?
Joggs—Why, three, of course.
Boggs—No; a man, wife and baby;
two and one to carry.—Half-Holiday.
Different Then.
‘‘First come, first served,” is true
enough unless you make a practice
of never tipping the waiter.
Sultan to Decapitate
His Court Astrologer
By V/ILLARD W. GARRISON
Soothsayer Gets In Bad with the Stars and Is Now in Jail
Wise Sage Will Offer
Up His Head as
New Year’s Gift to
turkey’s Highest
Potentate—Recital of
the Country’s Trials
and tribulations—
Some High Officials
Flee—Others Are
Jailed Before They
Can Escape — How
His Majesty Feels
About the R^egal
Distress.
J
X-COURT AS
TROLOGER AB
DUL HU DA’S
New Year's of
fering to the
sultan of Tur
key will be the
former’s head.
This is the
latest bit of
wireless news
from the im
perial palace at
Con stantinople.
and it is vouched
for by Lord High Guardian of His Maj
jesty's Wearing Apparel Mafid Mo
hammed, who whispered the words
across the plaza to a tall blonde lady
who wras interested in stars before
they thrust Huda into jail.
It all came about in this manner:
At a recent star chamber session
between his majesty and the court
astrologer, Huda informed the sultan
that as far as he could discern by
daylight the orbs of the universe were
in their correct positions, thus lending
security to the monarch.
A few days later the Young Turks
started revolution.
A few days after that the sultan was
compelled to proclaim that the equal
rights constitution of 1S7G would again
be in force. This he did with one j
ABDUL HUDA.
eve pinned upon the threat that the
empire would be disrupted by the mal
contents.
Then be fired the cabinet.
And appointed a new one.
Finally a minor palace official at
tempted to locate his majesty's vitals
between the ruffies of the latter's coat
cf mail.
Each day as his majesty smoked his
long pipe, dismissed these disturbances
by a new shifting motion, the impres- j
sion began to gain strength with him j
that all was not serene.
The use of the word serene in his ‘
thoughts immediately recalled the star j
predictions of Abdul Huda, but then j
no better star-gazer was to be found
in the empire, for had not the imperial
guardian cf the Turkish empire tested
him many times and found that Ab
dul's predictions were always true?
He had.
Then menially the sultan went over
what his astrologer had told him only
the Friday previous.
Mars, the star which portended for
war, was gradually fading away, and
Huda had also said that within a few
weeks there would probably be no
Mars.
The big dipper, suggestive of the
horn of plenty, was brighter than ever,
it was true, for had not Huda in al!
his wise raving said it?
Mercury, the swift one. whose ex
istence was a memory of work, was
soon to go into a perpetual total
eclipse, so had Abdul said.
Huda's inside reasoning had also de-;
picted the eventual union between
Jupiter and Venus, which, cf course, |
PALACE OF THE SULTAN IN CONSTANTINOPLE.
augured well tor friends of the sultan.
Surely, then, there was no cause for
trouble, the ruler soliloquized to him
self. He paused and pondered and
then lit up with a new kind of to
bacco.
Fifteen minutes elapsed.
“Ha, I see it all,” he whispered to
the royal fox terrier. “Huda's in bad
with the stars.”
Then in a loud voice:
“Corporal of the imperial guard,
front!”
In came the trusty band, weapons in
hand.
“Hunt up Abdul Hilda, royal astrclo- j
ger. and bring him hence," ordered his
| majesty.
Within a few minutes, Huda, his
j trunk packed for his vacation, was
j ushered into the regal presence, wrell
J knowing that the signs had been
switched under his eyes.
“Off with his head!” shouted the
sultan, rising from the divan.
Fifteen brown forearms pulled 15
; shining sabers and were ready to de-1
; liver the fatal stroke with the same
I regularity that governs up-to-date mel
! odrama.
“Stay, slaves,” quoth his highness,
; “1 would fain give him a worse pun
; ishment beforp I am ready to deprive
: him of what little gray matter there
| may be beneath that bald pate. To
| the dungeon with him."
The day's routine over, the sultan
reseated himself upon the divan and
thought of whaf had best be done.
Finally he decided that there could
be no place just like jail as a punish
ment, and so Huda remained there.
However, the siory goes, the former |
1 student of the stars will offer up his ;
j bead on New Year's day as his sacri-1
fice for getting into the evil graces j
■' of the stars.
I
Previously everything had looked
splendid to the monarch. The Young
Turks had not objected to his harem
until Hilda got in bad with the planets
and many of that party had promised
to leave the country rather than be
called to purgatory by decapitation.
As each step in this fearful condi
tion of things came to his mind his
royal highness decided that it looked i
darker for Abdul Hilda's head and also
rather dark for Abdul Second's safety,
the latter being the sultan himself.
There was no one else to blame it I
on except the astrologer. Had not his
plea of sickness when other nations
pressed him for the return of their
loans, always been sufficient to quell
them? It had. and he could see no
other reason for the status than by re
turning to his original reason.
If things went wrong in this man
ner Huda must have been in league
with the palace camarilla.
A double tap at a secret bell, an
order shouted down the speaking tube
and the officials of the palace camaril
la were pinched.
This retinue included Riza Pasha,
the former minister of war, and Rag
hib Pasha, one of the justly exalted
and highly honored court chamber
lains. Ilecause he considered the dig
nity of his position Raghib barricaded
himself within his cyclone cellar a
few plazas from the royal mansion
and prepared to sell his life as dearly
as possible. He opened fire on the
police, but his ammunition soon gave
out and the minions of the law es
corted him into the royal presence,
who meted out 30 days and costs in
the royal dungeon.
Because the court soothsayer's re
port had been doctored, the sultan set
about to corral the entire body of
hangers-on, who daily loafed about the
ABDUL HAMID, II.
Sultan of Turkey.
“Power Behind the
Throne” Gone and
the Monarch Is Com
pelled to Dictate
His Own “Copy”—
Cheering of the Mul
titude Outside the
Royal Palace Greatly
Disturbs the Ruler—
Granting of Constitu
tion of 1876 Is Great
Victory for Young
Turks Party—Other
Events in Revolution of
Form of Government
court. This done he issued notice that
parliament, representing the people,
would be held in the fall.
He had to issue the notice himself,
for the former power behind the
throne—Achmed Izzet Pasha, his sec
retary—smelling the trouble by a far
better method than that which the
astrologer possessed, skipped the coun
try and a few days later was reported
in the United States.
Then in viewf of the new order of
things within his realm, Abdul II de
cided to call home his ambassadors
at foreign capitals. Hence not long
ago we read in press dispatches that
Mehmed Ali Bey had been recalled
from Washington and a successor ap
pointed. The Turk recalled from the
national capital is no other than the
father of the missing secretary, and
as a consequence it was expected
that the pair would connive together
as to the best mode of procedure in
the present case, for both might be
made a part of the consignment of
corpses which the sultan had billed
for the morgue on New Year's day.
Thus by the foregoing will be seen
that things are in a bad way in Turkey,
I2ZETT PASHA.
and despite the fact that they cheer
the sultan outside of the palace until
he has to empty the court water pitch
er upon them so that he may sleep in
pfeace, many of the tall Turkish minds
have announced that they "are going
away from here, never again to re
turn.”
And the cause of all this trouble, ac
cording to those who sympathize with
his majesty, is none other than Huda
himself.
Therefore he is pining away the
idle hours in the jail's solitary con
finement pen. playing solitaire with
the covers from Turkish cigarette
boxes, which the guard shoves to
ward him with his manna and water
twice a day. The only solace which
he had on first entering the jail was
that within two months he would have
a full pack of cards for they furnished
him a box of cigarettes with each
meal. That is. his friends did. For
they provide his luxuries, while the
actual bodily necessities are given by
the ruler himself.
However, let it be said that the as
trologer does not know of his fate, and
he probably will not until the time
comes for him to be led out to sac
rifice his star-filled cranium to the
art which he has studied throughout
his 49 years.
As Turks go he is a young man still,
and being unmarried there probably
will be few who mourn him. His only
acquaintances were court officials, and
they had little love for him for the
reason that he would at every oppor
tunity take their predictions from
their mouths and turning them into
magic Turkish words return them to
the sultan as sayings from the Zodiac.
TRAMPS WHO DO GOOD.
The story is told of a Pennsylvania
tramp who in his wanderings up and
down on the earth carries his pockets
full of nuts, which he plants as he
goes. For three years he has followed
this practice, says the Virginia Pilot,
and during that time is said to have
planted thousands and thousands of
nuts, always seeking the out-of-the-way
spots—rocky hillsides and abandoned
lands at the edges of creeks and
streams—so that the chances cf the
trees being destroyed before they
grow up and mature will be minimiz
ed. This old tramp is doing something
more than guaranteeing the future
youth of Pennsylvania against the
loss of the joy of nutting. He is set
ting an example in tree planting which
the farmers throughout the land may
well follow with profit to themselves
and to the country. This nut-planting
tramp recalls another member of the
wandering tribes. He was known
throughout the country as Apple Tree
Johnny from his habit of planting ap
ple seeds in fence corners and other
nooks. Many a wayside fruit tree is
said to owe its existence to Apple Tree
Johnny.
Us? cf Adjectives.
Certain adjectives are reserved for ]
man and others for women. A man is
never called “beautiful.” Along with
“pretty” and “lovely" that adjective
has become the property of women
and children alone. "Handsome" and
the weak “good-looking" are the only
two adjectives of the kind common to
either sex. Even “belle” has no real
masculine correlative in English,
since “beau” came to signify some
thing other than personal looks. It is
singular that “handsome” should have
become the word for a strikingly good
looking person, since its literal mean
ing is handy, dexterous. But “pretty”
likewise comes from the Anglo-Saxon
word meaning “sly.”
HOUSE
WORK
Thousands of American women
in our homes are daily sacrificing
their lives to duty.
Iu order to keep the home neat
and pretty, the children well dressed
and tidy, women overdo. A female
weakness or displacement is often
brought on and they suffer in silence,
drifting along from bad to worse,
knowing well that they ought to
have help to overcome the pains and
aches which daily make life a burden.
It is to these faithful women that
LYDIA E.P!NKHAIM’S
VEGETABLE COMPOUND
comes as a boon and a blessing,
as it did to Mrs. F. Ellsworth, of
Mayville, N. Y., and to Mrs. W. P.
Boyd, of Beaver Falls, I’a., who say:
“I was not able to do my own work,
owing to the female trouble from which
I suffered. Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vege
table Compound helped me wonderfully,
and I am so wcL that I can do as big a
day's work a* I ever did. I wish every
sick woman vomd try it.
FACTS FOR SICK WOMEN.
For thirty yer.rs Lydia E. Iflnk
ham’s Vegetable Compound, made
from roots and herbs, has been the
standard remedy for female ills,
and has positively cured thousands of
women who have oeen troubled with
displacements, in fit mmation. ulcera
tion, fibroid tumors, irregularities,
periodic pains, backache, that bear
mg-down feeling, flatulency, indiges
tion,dizziness,or nervous prostration.
Why don’t you try it ?
Mrs. Pinkham invites all sick
women to write her for advice.
She lias guided thousands to
health. Address, Lynn, Mass.
ON THE MOVE.
Timid Bard—D-does poetry go
around here?
Cruel Editor—Some of It does
That last batch you submitted just
went out of the window.
A TEXAS CLERGYMAN
Speaks Out for the Benefit of Suffering
Thousands.
Rev. G. M. Gray, Baptist Clergyman,
of Whitesboro, Tex., says: “Four years
ago i suirerea mis
ery with lumbago.
Every movement
was one of pain.
Doan’s Kidney Pills
removed the whole
difficulty after only
; a short time. Al
though I do not
like to have my
name used publicly.
I make an exception in this case, so
that other sufferers from kidney trou
ble may profit by my experience.”
Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a box.
Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo. N. T.
Danger in New York Roads.
There is an average of seven car
collisions a day on the steam, subway,
elevated and surface railways of New
York.
vvk srci.i, gi ns and ti: ads cheap
& buy Furs & Hides. Write for cntai. e 105
X. W. Hide & Fur Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
Never trouble another for what you
can do yourself.—Jefferson.
Lewis' Single Bip'er straight 5c cigar.
Made of extra quality tobacco. Your
dealer or Lewis’ Factory, Peoria, 111.
Telling the truth accidentally Is apt
to be embarrassing.
^yyruprt]igs
^Elixir tSenna
acts gently yet prompt
ly onthe bowels, cleanses
fne system ej|ectually;
assists one in overcoming
habitual constipation
permanently. To get its
oenejieiol ejects buy
the genuine.
plantijactured bptne
California
Jig Sxrtjp Co.
SOLO BY LEADING DRUGGISTS-KH ^BOTTUL
