National Republican from Washington, District of Columbia • Page 7

Ti1 -iBIfl IvTATIGAIi BEPUBTJrqAKF, EBIDAT MOSUSTG-, MABCH 4, 1881. A TOWER OF SKULLS. A GRIM MEMENTO OP VEKGEANGE, She History of a Little Maud Off tlie Coast of Tunis Fate of the Spanish Inradersin the Sixteenth Ontary 25,000 Human Skulls Built Into a Tower. Off the African Coast, Feb. 1.

Since I wrote from Gibraltar, ou the hare run wore than half-way along the North African seaboard, ana mv next trip will probably be dated from cither Tripoli or Malta. But in tills, asm xnanv other cases, the most striking sight has been reserved to the last. Oran and Algiers, Stora and onstantine, Tunis and Carthage, I hare seen and described before but amongall these famous spots there ness of appearance or In tragic splendor of historical association, the flat, sandy, desolate-looking islet of Jerbch, which is now vanishing into the fast-fidling shadows of night as we glide away to the eastward. Even in these days of muvorsal travel, however, this modern Aceldama is almost unknown. No personally conducted plague of human locust has ever scoured its shores.

Not one tourto in a hundred has overheard so much as its name. Here and there In some old annual or some last-century book, of travels yon. may per-liaps light upon a casual mention of the Island and the hideous-wonder of art that makes it famous; butthebeatcnrathsofexistingtTavcl-eem to have completely passed it by. Baedeker despises it, and Murray knows it not. Even a well-read traveler might pass it a dozentimes without the least suspicion that he was looking upon the scene ofonc of the bloodied tragedies recorded ui still commemorated "by monument whose "liastlvinffenuitv has now no parallel upon the tare of the earth, save the terrible "mounds oft Timour," in the depths of the great Central Asian desert.

nniMXC SOETUWAED along the Tunisian seaboard in one of the little coaners with which these waters abound, you find in the angle formed by the intersectionof the Tunis coa-t-line and that of Tripoli, a large, low, nearly circular island, which at first sight appears fully as barren and desolate as the gray unending sands of the African shore along the southern horizon, your map will tell you that this uninviting is called the LJe of Jcricb, a name which, unless you happen to be unusually well-read in the chivalric chronicles of the sixteenth century, ill probably leave you just as wise as you were before. Apparently, hovi ever, your Arab fellow-passcngers aro better Informed, for the first glimpse ofthe island scem to produce nn cxtraordinary commotion among them. Hands are eagerly jiointcd at the longgrayisb -yellow band whichlies almost level with the smooth bright water, and the slumberous black eyes flash fire under the ishcdow ofthe huge white turban, while the name or "Burj-er-Roos" flies from mouth to mouth. Even should yon happen to linvc learned Arabic enough to know tbat.tuls mysterious word means. tower of skulls," you are hardly likely to be very mnch enlightened thereby.

The captain ofthe ves-Eel, should he be an KngMshma will give you but little help in your embarrassment, anu cring your appeal for information only by a knowing grin and an admonition to "keep your eyes open nud ou'll see a pretty queer sight before very long." LITTI.T: ISY LITTLE huge grayish-while mass begins to define itself upon the flat, sandy shore of the island, standing up gaunt and grim against the warm, dreamy blue ofthe lustrous sky. As we approach, this formless heap gradually shapes itself into frowning ram-pcrts, and turreted battlements, and massive towers, aud all the barbaric grandeur of a genuine Eastern fortress. At its feet the bright blue sea breaks in glittering wavelets, wltile behind it an oasi of rich foliage amid the hot, brassy yellow of tliesaudy shore the vat banner-like leaves of the date palms droop voluptuously upon the breeze-less air. No paiutcr could wish a. liner study; but the most striking feature of the panorama is still to come.

A sudden turn of the coast reveals a projecting headland, surmounted by a tall white tower, at sight of which the shouts of Burj-er-KoosI" burst forth again with redoubled energy. The strange building is cone-shaped, and altogether not unlike the giant ants' nests of Africa or South America, but many yards in height and resting upon a bae as broad as tiiat of a cathedral tower. Moment by moment, as the ship nears the land, this mysterious structure stands out more and more plainly. It is not longbeforc you begin to notice that the seaward face of the tower has crumbled beneath the actionof wiud and weather, revealing through a wide gap the dark hollow of the interior. As you gaze there breaks suddenly out of Its gloomy shadow, just where the light enters it.

a yellowish, ghostly glimmer, like dim lantern-light seen in a vault. You have recourse to your glass, and perceive with a momentary thrill of horror that this strange glimmering proceeds from the teeth of thousands of human skulls, which fill up the whole interior of the building. TIHs 15 THE FAJIOCS "Burj-er-Roos," or Tower of Skulls, which for tliiec centuries pat 1ms given to this remote nook st strange and terrible renown. The vengeance of Timour has left upon the banks of the Oxus more than one Golgotha of this kind, which I had an unexpected chance of examining during the Khiva exhibition of 187S. In Europe, however.

there is but one similar monument, which, tis might be expected, belongs to Turkey, the only European country in which such a relic of utter barbarism would not be out of place in the nineteenth century. The traveler who rides along the great southern highroad from Belgrade to the Sofia rass over the Balkan sees by the wayside a pyramidal building in which are imbedded 30,000 "human skulls. Nor docs this ghoul-like memento date back to any remote age of half-human ferocity. It is no older than the year 1S06, when Servian declaration of independence was answered bj Turkey with the massacres which have left Christian heads a lasting memorial of what the "unspeakable Turk" has always been and always will be. But among all these trophies of death there is not one which can claim to bo cither as well preserved or as hideously artistic as the fatal tower of Jerbch.

It seems as if those who planted it here for an eternal monument of their vengeance had taken a grim pleasure in making it as imperishable as the hatred by which that vengeance was devised. THE SKULLS AEE RANGED in symmetrical layers, like shells in the cases of a museum, each layer being supported upon a kind of trest'ework formed from the larger bone3 of the tkeletons which have 6erved as the materials of this ghastly architecture. The care with which every bone hasbecn placed and the gradual tapering offof the higher tiers toward the point of the cone, so as to lessen the strain imposed upon the basement, render the whole structure as solid as a pyramid of stone. So strong, indeed, is its stability throughout and so carefully has the outer coaling of sun-baked clay which bind the whole together been laid on that the storms of more than three centuries have been powerless to work it any farther harm than Uie gap in its seaward face. What a study for Gustavo Dore, who would doubtless throw out its gaunt whiteness in stern relief against the gloom of a stormy sky and let a flash of lightning half leveal the skeleton figure of Death himself, standing shadow-like beside the tower and scanning with a ghastly grin this hideous trophy of his might.

Accounts vary as to the total number of skulls which it contains, but by comparing the statements of the old Christian chroniclers with those of local tradition one may safely assume that this gloomy old mausoleum has absorbed into itself the lives of at least 25,000 men. rnoji the natives themselves there is but little to be gleaned respecting the famous catastrophe, sava the vague and confused tradition of a great victory achieved by their forefathers upon this spot, and the extermination of a vast number of" unbelieving But when you turn to the Christian historians of the period, Jos fiad the story complete in every detail, told Mith a graphic minuteness and childlike simplicity worthy of Herodotus or of Froissart And a grim story it one of the most colossal tragedies oftlmtstmije era, when everything, whether for eood or for evil, was done upon a gigantic bcale. heighten the" tragic effect, with thejoyou departure from Malta, in 1561, of Count La Cerda and his splendid armament, to conquer the city and princlptlity ol Tripoli in the name or Philip if. Gallantly do the doomed men sail forth lu the elory of the summer morning, upon the fatal venture from which they are never xetum. The smooth, bright sea echoes with laughter, and the rising sunlights ip their glittering arms and fantastic bravery, above fimijfi, i.

wnosc spirit, alas i so widely different from their J5. But even during the short southward voy-e we hearorawny things which bode no good "wieaaventure. "Little prayer or chanting of wcs t0 bc lieard among them, but ny foul te, much drinking and dicing, UNSEEMLY JESTS, comfri revelry' for tLc-v wist nt otlhe evil to that vins WiBed their eyes to the intent make HIs Judgment upon them the UeeaunH. anwhJIeLa Cerda himself drinks boastS loudly in a fashion that mnv well cunaM.i2?r iU for tbe "wees a expedition SEW sueh a leader. But at the first i v- me of TrinoH i "swuls au bristling cannon Hedimtlvt? brag8art's courage cools at once.

sm SMqv back to Malta for I u' altering his i aitoops down upon thcunde' fended Island of Jerbeh. At first he Is only too successful. The island is swept with fire and sword, the unprepared enemy slaughtered without morcy, and the only daughter of their principal chief, Yokdah, cruelly outraged by Juan de la Sacra, bravest and worst ofthe profligate cavaliers of Spain. Watching a moment when her captor's attention is diverted from her, the forlorn girl snatches up a dagger and stabs herself to the heart, invoking with her last breath the vengeance of God upon those who profaned the service of heaven with THE DEEDS OP IIELL. From this point onward the shadows of coming destruction gather ever darker around the doomed host.

"When word was brought to Yokdah of what had chanced, he answered naught, but gripped the hilt or his cimeter till the blood started from hi3 fingers. Then his lips moved, but no man wist what ho spake; howbeit, they might well guess by his look that it boded no good to them of Spain." The bereaved father had not long to wait for hisTengeonce. As if heaven itself had doomed them, the Spanish Teterans, flushed with their easy victory, relax their wonted vigilance and give themselves up to the wildest excess of debauchery. Like lightning from a clear sky destruction falls upon them in the midst of their fancied security. Two smaller detachments, scattered through the outlying villages, are cut off to a man, and Yokdah's fiorce swordsmen, with their thirst for vengeance still unslaked, sweep onward to attack the main body, which lies in the town of Jcrbeh itself.

AT DEAD OFjaCHT "the Spaniards are startled from their drunken sleep by the yell of Allah Akbarl" (God is victorious), and instantly the -whole town is one whirl of struggling figures and tossing arms and blazing-torches and flashing weapons and hellish uproar and merciless butchery. But such a combat is toounequaltolast. Outnumbered and unprepared and -basely abandoned by thejir. pusillanimous leader, the invaders are, -soon driven pell-mell down to the -shore, -where the battle "culminates in a scene of horror worthy of Dante: "The Christians being put to the worse, flung themselves into the sea, thinking to fly unto their ships; but even thither did the infidels pursue them, raving like savage wolves. Thus was the fight waged in darkness amid the waves of the sea athiug unthought of heretofore AND WITH SCCII EAGE did they grapple one another that many sank nnd were drowned thus locked together, refusing to quit their hold.

Many also were slain with the sword.and manymore, being borne down by the weight of their armor, perished miserably. Of all that has been in tho town, none escaped and last of all died Juan do la Saera himself, whom God's vengeance suffered not to live. For when he had well-nigh gained the ships a Saracen grappled him; but Yokdah, tho chief, cried aloud, 'Harm him not; I keep him for my own prize And by the force of many he was taken alive, and was dragged back to the shore. Then the infidels, the battle being ended, gathered the heads of them that were slaiu and built them into a tower; and Saera, when he had endured many and grievous torments, such as none but Saraeen wit could devise, was beheaded, and his head laid on tho summit ofthe pile by Yokdah, their Prince, as being a fitting crown for such a monument." A Plea for the Fallen. Written for The Jlrpublican.

Go into any of our great cities and -walk up and down the streets, looking upon either side, and you will see thegaudy attire and flash manner which mark the wanton. Visit the places of vice and wretchedness which abound and you will find somebody's sisters, daughters, wives yea, and mothers, too rolling, in the gilded coach of sin, on toward the palace of destruction. Death, as footman, stands behind ready to open the door when the short, unsatisfactory journey shaU have been ended; and then, at last, a weary, stricken heart ceases its throbbing, and the grave closes over a life which might have been made beautiful and lovable had there been more of forgiveness, of sympathy, and of Christian charity in its surroundings. If there is one class above another deserving commiseration it is that made up of these social lepers these sisters, daughters, wives, and mothers of somebody. ONCE TIIEV WEEE PCEE and of spotless reputation, some of them, perhaps, the pets of society.

Doubtless aU were once loved by kindred hearts; but, alas! as in the case of our first parents, so it proved with them; the tempter entered into the Eden of their lives and they fell, never to rise again. They fell, and with the mark of a sin upon their foreheads of a sin for which the social world knows no atonement weredriven forth frome homes and friends to wander up and down the toilsome paths of life seeking rest yet finding it not; objects of pity, yet scoffed at and spitupou by even the beggars met upon the streets they walk with aching hearts and weary feet. Famhhing, not only for kindness, but oftentimes for food, they look into the future with heavy, hopeless eyes, to see not one single ray of hope or SYJIPATHY FOE THEM. It may have been the gnawlngs of hunger that first led them aside from the path of virtue; but society, the well-fed portion ot it at least, makes no allowance for this weakness of the flesh that prompts people to sin rather than die of starvation in a land of plenty. Surely surely these pariahs of our social system, whatever the cause of their falling, arc made to do bitter penance for their violation of the Divine and moral law; and, although they repent in sack-cloth and ashes, yet there i3 no release from tho bondage in which one false step places them.

In all the world there are few who will say to them, like One of old, Go and sin no more but there are mnltitudes ready to cast the first stone." For them there is no remission of sin. The stain is upon them. THEY AEE ACCURST, and tho Christian matron and virtuous Christian maid, as they pass one of these, their poor, fallen sisters, draw their garments more closely about them lest her touch prove contaminating to their purity. Little care they that beneath the gaudy dress or faded frock there throbs a human heart yearning for Sympathy, for one kind word even-little care they, for they are pure; they never sinned they have no need for a Saviour. Let the Master judge Thus it is with the victim and the victor over her rides in his coach, mayhap, and joyously mingles in the society where Christian men and women meet as the peer in social position of the best of them.

The matron who so scornfully passes his victim on the street invites him to her home; THE MAIDEN' rET-MITS mS C03IPAKY and attentions, while her parents (good, churchly people, as the world goes) approve her course; and all of them well know his history. Wc frequently hear it suggested of such a one, Oh, he was only sowing his wild oats." But stop, friends, and think of it. "Sowing his wild oats?" What, then, shall the harvest be when the souls of his victims rise up in judgment against him? That the evil alluded to is widespread all will admit That its. growth should bo checked, if not altogether eradicated, none will deny; but how may this desirable object be accomplished? We have societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and children; we have societies for the prevention of vice; but they either havo no application to, or else fall short of what is needed so far as regards the class' under consideration. Why not organize an association having for its object the inculcation of the commonest principles of humanity OF EVEX-HAHDED JUSTICE to woman as well as man of Christain charity? If the recognized leaders of society in its different grades would so band themselves together nnd would treat with but one-half the contempt and loathing they lavish upon their poor wrecked sisters those who sought and wrought their ruin if they would but give such to understand that society's doors would be closed against them as well as their victims, they would bring to hear a most powerful engine to aid in suppressing the great evil preying upon our race aud sapping the very foundations of our boasted civilization.

Men love themselves too well to choose to he poorly thought of. Call it self-respect or what you will; there is a feeling in each man's nature which causes him to read social ostracism to fear the loss ofthe good opiuion and regard of the circle in which he moves, more than loss of fortune, and some even fear it more than they do death itself. THEN LET THE SOCIAL LAWS be reconstructed upon the basis of morality, and apply the gauge of virtuo to both man and woman. Wherevervice appears let it be discountenanced promptly, positively, persistently. Be just to all, but at the same time be merciful, charitable, and forgiving.

Bemember that while some are strong and cupahle of successfully resisting temptation, there are yet many others who are weak, and who of necessity yield to the allurements of vice. Admonish the erring by precept aud example, and cucourtge the fatten ones who would again pick tip the thread or a puro life by kindly Then we shall have more truer, manlier men and fewer degraded, unwomanly women, and the world in which wc live aud move will be the better for it. Aa Empress' Gin. Augusta, Empress of Germany, has received from the Empress of Japan a holiday gift ot beautiful Japanese dogs. They arrived at the palace in charge of a Japanese official, who had conveyed them all the way from Yeddo to Berlin carefully packed in a handsome kennel, the interior of which was luxuriously lined with silken cushions.

Boiled rice is the chief of their dlct," and grave doubts are entertained by the Berlin zoological authorities with respect to their mviimaMzation. The eminent animal painter, Sncrllng, has been commissioned by the Empress SS theirportraits. OLD RELIC. LETTER OF JOHN QUIHCY ADAMS NeTcr Before Published as His FredHctlOtt The Beoion Why His Same Was Kept from th Pnblloln ConneclioH With It Intoreitiag Beading. Below will bo found a copy of a letter and preface written by John Quincy Adams, but never before known as his production.

The letter to Mr. Adams was written before the election, of Andrew Jackson, but the compilation of tho work mentioned was not printed until after that event. When Jackson's proclamation appeared It was added to the work. Tho publisher, Mr. Long-worth, did not append the namo of Mr.

Adams, lest party prejudices should affect the sale WASirciGTOsr, 10 December, 1632. Dr. Joseph Seavy, 122 Eldridgz Street, ITeic York: Sir: I now enclose a preface for the publication which has been recommended by you and is contemplated by Mr. Longworth. I have endeavored to mako it conformable to your views, and adapted to the purposes of the publisher, which appear to me to be correct and highly laudable.

Whether I have succeeded in this desire or not, It is for him and you to judge. If it should meet your and his approbation, it is at his service. If not, I will thank you to return the manuscript to me. Your observations respecting the importance of furnish ing to 'the -people the means'of. being intimately acquainted with tho Constitution and fundamental- laws by which they are- governed and protected are equally judicious nnd patriotic Your proposal for the formation of associations in the several States for the preservation of the Union and of tho Constitution is deserving of great consideration.

But, before attempting it upon an extensive scale, it wotdd perhaps be advisable to settle some principles upon which the associates should be agreed, and some concerted mode of action between the different societies forthe promotion ofthe common object. It might be necessary to use much precaution informing such societies to keep them within the precise limits for which they would be instituted. Tarn, with much respect, sir, your servant and fellow-citizen, J.Q. ADAMS. PREFACE.

The compilation here presented to the public consists ofthe three following documents: 1. The Declaration of Independence, issued by Congress on tho 4th of July, 177G. 2. The Constitution of the United States, first organized on the 4th of March, 1780. 3.

The farewell address of George Washington, first President ofthe United States, to the people of the United States, dated 17th September, 179G. Although these three papers are In some respects of a character distinct and separate from each other, yet between them there Is a close and intimate connection upon which it is believed that tho citizens of the Union cannot too earnestly meditate. The Declaration of Independence was Issued in Hit name end by tlie autftoriti of the good people" of thirteen of tho colonies of Great Britain then existing on the continent of North America. It was promulgated by a Congress of delegates not from the colonial governments, but from the people of each of those colonies, in hostile and revolutionary opposition to those governments. Tho delegates of this whole united people declared tho thirteen colonies to be free aud independent States.

It was not a separate declaration by. tho people of each colony of its own independence, but an united and unanimous declaration in the name of the whole people that the thirteen colonies were free and independent States. In the copies usually published of this Declaration the names of the States to which the delegates severally belonged have been improperly added, but they arc not in the original declaration, an exact copy of which is here given, and in no part of which will be found the name of any ono of the States into which the good people of the whole, by this act, issued in their name and by their authority, converted tho thirteen colonies. The declaration was issued in the name and by the authority of the whole people. But after constituting the thirteen colonies tree and independent States the people of the Union did not immediately proceed to form a government for tho whole.

They thought it more suitable to their condition and circumstances to adopt a separato government for each of the States and a mere confederation for thewhol, tehe effect of which was that each State considered itself not only free and independent, but sovereign, and the confederation which they adopted was a mere league of alliance "between sovereign powers with a congress not even of plenipotentiaries and possessing none of the authorities of a government. This confederation was soon found to be utterly inefficient for the wants of the people, and by its imbecility brought the Union itself to the verge of dissolution. The indispensable necessity of a general government was felt, to be sanctioned by the whole people. To form such a government the States were not competent They could only propose it the people, and this they did." This produced the Constitution of the United States, drawn up by a convention of delegates from the Legislatures of twelve of the thirteen States, proposed by the Congress of the confederation to the Legislatures of the several States for submission to the people referred by the Legislatures of the States to convention of the people elected for the express and solo purpose of deciding upon its adoption or rejection, and solemnly adopted by the conventions ofthe people of each and every one ofthe thirteen States. The Constitution ofthe United thus became the act of the xohole people, and that there might be no possible honest mistake on this point, that the whole people and the peoplo of every part might know the full extent of the engagements which they contracted by this instrument, the convention prepared It in the form of an act of the whole people, speaking in their own name and in the first person, We, the people of the United States." And so it was understood by George Washington, president of the convention which prepared the Constitution.

His farewell address afterward, upon declining a second re-election as President ofthe United States, was not to the States, but to the people; and to them, in speaking of the Constitution ofthe United States, he styles it tho free Constitution, the work of your hands;" while in recommending to them with all the solicitude of parental affection the preservation of the Union, ho denominates it the unity of government tchich constitutes you one people." The present publication is deemed peculiarly seasonable at this juncture, inasmuch as doctrines of a very different character have been recently broached with regard to the national compact in a quarter of the Union where they were least to be expected doctrines directly tending to the dissolution of the Union, and too probably got up with thatdesign. According to thoso theories, there ia not and never was a people of the United -States. States, in which the people have no part at alL According to these statesmen and sages, when the signers of the Charter of Independence declared the name and by the authority of tho good people whom they represented that the United Colonies were free and independent States they were guilty of fraud and falsehood. There was no good people for them to they were tho representa tives of States, sovereign before they existed, and usurped the name and authority of an imaginary people. In the samo school of reasoning we are taught that when the people of the United States, in their own name and in tho face of all mankind, declare that they themselves ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States, the whole people proclaim a lie, for the whole people had noUiing to do with the establishment ofthe Constitution, and no such people, in truth, exists at alL Again, when Washington, upon declining a second re-election, mado a solemn farewell address to the people of the United States, he was raising his voice to a nonentity.

When he told them that the Constitution was the work of their own hands he was speaking to the winds, and when he adjured them by all that could enlighten their understandings and all that could affect their hearts to cling to that unity of government which constituted than one people. As to the life blood circling through the heart, he was raving like a maniac to a creature of his own imagination, which had no existence in nature. If these first principles were the speculations of an hospital of lunatics, the appropriate treatment of them would be an increase of vigilance ofthe officers of the institution, to keep the devisors of them more quietly in their cells. But they are tho aphorisms of men in high authority under the Government of the Union itself of mon honored by that very people whose existence they deny with one among the highest of their trusts. And for what are they advanced and supported? To organize revolt under the authority of a siDgle State against the laws of tho Union.

For this the people of one State have been stimulated to madness. For this a domineering faction among tlicm have issued an ordinance to levy war against the Union. For this they have nullified (for they could not annul) the lawful authority of the Union within the limits of the State. Upon this basis is erected the whole system of South Carolina nullification. There is, then, aspeclal andurgentmotiveforlhe publication of the documents united together in the following pages.

In the rapid and constantly growing increase of our population there are mnltitudes of our active and responsible citizens to whom they are not familiarly known still greater multitudes who have never iiMine opportunity or comparing thorn together, and of observm- the light which they reflect iipon 6h other. The authors ofthe Ordinance ofDisuaion." havo issued, among other state papers of the same stamp, an address to the separate people of each State of the Union, setting forth their principles and their determinations. The publisher of the three papers here combined presents them as a full and irrefragable refutation ofthe South Carolinian; address. And, preferring the example of Washington, the lather of his country, to that ofthe nullifying convention ot South. Carolina, he dedicates this threefold cord, not easily to be broken, nonto the poopla of each separate State, but TO TOT JEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.

FAVORING CREMATION. Ah Interesting Communication ou an Important Sabjoct. To the Editor of The ItepubllcanSit A special dispatch to tfilPkiladelphia iVewfrom Lancaster, February ,9. says: "Catharine Giberson is the name of a maiden lady of this city, aged seventy-three yearswho boards in a fashionable quarter of the city, and is possessed of considerable means. She has lived here for ten years, and previously lived for; many years in Mount Joy, this county.

She is a lady of more than ordinary intelligence, and Is much respected and beloved for her Christian virtues. Recently she -was taken ill, and within acoupleof weeks her physicians have informed her that she could not recover. As soon as she learned ''this fact she requested her friends to have her remains taken to the "Washington (Pa.) crematory, there to be cremated. Her friends tried to dissuade her. but shc.

pereistenUy requests that this shall be done. Her onlyliving relatives are nieces" and nephews in the West, and they have been acquainted with her desire, but abhor the thought of granting her request Her death. Is momentarily expected, but whether her dying wish will be regarded omot remains to be seen. Undeniably, this is a dreadful state of affairs. It ia enough to fill the stoutest heart with dismay.

If deprived of the privilege of having our wishes strictly carried out as to our final disposal, what is the use of living at all If obodyhas any sort of a chance to say what shall be done with him here, so beset are we by beggara on the street, beggars in the churches, beggars In thert loans, beggars everywhere. If a mau has a hit of money his life is a burden. He is besieged, he is hounded, he is hunted with mangy curs; ho is nattered and fostered aud "fired" into his sis-by-three of brown earth, and all that is left or remembered of him la his kindness by some old servant who did for him those humane offices that parasites ignore. If a woman is so unfortunate as to come into possession of "the siller" she immediately becomes a fool or a selfish feminine hatefulness. Sho cither wastes her substance on young Solomons, or In great, empty charities, or on dres smakers and jowelers, or she saves it FOE nEE EELATIOX3.

Madre de Dios Had she notbetter buy fig leaves of diamonds and braid her hair with black pearls than live and leave to relations? Maybe these Gibcrsons will cremate the pld lady perhaps they will have done so before tlds article greets tho public but all the samo it opens up a grandly serious subject Are we not to be the arbiters of our own fate Here is a woman of means considerable means," and yet she objects objects strenuously to being chucLed under the ground, as these barbarians insist all flesh must go. She is a lady of more than ordinary intelligence," tho acount goes on, and is much beloved and respected for her Christian virtues." The fact of her living in Mount Joy appears to havo had no special bearing upon her present depravity; but the name of the village may in some occult way have had a metaphysical effect upon her. Two weeks, illness but aggravated tho old damsel's fantasy but the nephews nnd nieces in the West have, upon cognizance ofthe ancient's claims to be gotten rid of in her own sweet war, made a holy kick." I use the words advisedly, for upon so grave a subject any sort of a stiff rejoinder would be Iioly. And up to this present writing that old lady has no idea what is to become of her. She does not want to 7o oui and rot.

In her darkened chamber what horrible visions of the close, foul earth haunt her. She puts her worn, old body in its white mantle, thrust into its narrow, satin-lined bed by rough, untender hands, feels the jostle and lurch of the hearse, hears the jest and jeer of the driver, the straps as they are drawn, as into its damp bed TIIE COFFIX SWINGS; hears the dull monotone of the clods, as one by one they fall on the upturned face tees darkness visible. From out the closed eyes, the thin lips, the slender throat, the old but ever pretty fingers lightly folded over a violet from the trcsse3 of snow-white hair, where once a loving touch smoothed the brown braids, crawl unclean, noxious tilings, writhing, struggling, multiplying, till all that was of woman born is foul maggot aud putrefaction. In horror sho shuts out this damnable sight, and sees the tired hands forever folded, the weary heart forever still violets.on her Jjreast and lilies round her pillow; a glow, a whiftv white heat, a handful of ashes, an urn at the foot of a rose tree, a memory beautiful always to living aud dead. This wish of Miss Giberson brings to my mind the first cremation of a woman in the United States that of Mrs.

Pitt-man, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Ben. PIttman is known all over this country as an advanced thinker, an artist, a genius, aud the father of stenography. His wife was as a rcmarkablo a woman as he is a man. She.

too, was a writer, an artist, and a genius. These TITO ORAXD SOULS gave birth to a daughter, who is a modest embodiment of both father and mother. A blue-eyed, red-haired, petite maidic, with a voice as sweet as a thrush and a hand as deft as her father's, a soul as white as her mother's, and an individuality that is her oicn. For years Mrs. Pittman had been a martyr to bodily ills, and the disposition of her frame after site vacated it was discussed and decided.

Under her own favorite rose-tree In their cottage lawn rests tho urn that holds her handful of ashes. Father and daughter sit in tho warm sunset, and their thoughts of the dead are mingled with no horrors of the church-yard. They look from the fire-light out into the winter night of snow and sleet with no sighs for the lonely grave In which a loved form is rotting. In their beautiful home her handiwork is seen on lintel and hearth-stone in exquisite carving, but under the rose-tree her ashes lie In a tiny urn, which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt nor thieves break through and steal. O.

J. E. Rich Senators. I believe that the day "will come when the majority of the United States Senators will bo millionaires, and will hold their seats by virtue of the fact that they are millionaires. As I run my eyes over the list of Senators who will compose the Senate after March 4.

18S1, 1 pick outnearly twenty Senators, each one of whom Is worth more than 8300,000. The richest man in the Senate, of course, will be Fair, of Nevada, who is wo rth a great many-millions. Probably he is worth as much as all the other Senators together. Next to him in estate, I suppose, is Daxid Davis, of Illinois, a man who has the reputation of having gathered millions. Next to him it might be hard to name the Senator, but, if Mr.

Eugene Hale can be called the possessor of Zach Chandler's millions, then he is very likely to be the third richest Senator. The now Senators will be conspicuous for their wealth. Miller, ot California; Mahone, of Virginia, and Sawyer, of Wisconsin, are known tobeworth more than 51,000,000 apiece. Sewell, of New Jersey, is a railroad man, and is reputed very wealthy. John Sherman, who is scarcely a new Senator, gets the credit of having more than 51,000,000.

Among tho present Senators who hold over, and who writo their fortunes with seven figures, are: Blaine, of Maine; Cameron, of Pennsylvania; Davis, of West Virginia, and Plumb, of Kansas. The following are known to bo worth more than S500.000: Hill, of Colorado; Brown, of Georgia; Groome, of Maryland McPherson, of New Jersey, and Pendleton, of Ohio. Van Wyck, the new man from Nebraska, must be rich, for heTs reputed to have paid 860,000 for his election. Many of tho other Senators are Among those not already mentioned who possess at least 3100,000 apiece are Merrill, of Vermont; Anthony, of Khode Island;" Conkllng, of New York; Bollins, of New Hampshire Jones, of Nevada (most ofthe time); Saunders, of Nebraska; Windom, of Minnesota; Ferry, of Michigan; Kellogg, of Chicago (Louisiana); Allison, of Iowa; Harrison, of Indiana, and Bayard, of Delaware. These names make up more than one-half the Senate, and they show that riches and senatorships go together.

WasMngton Correspondent. "A Mean, Hateful Tulasr." A remarkably rosy-faced young lady turned her ankle while crossing the street and fell in a faint almost in'Sillibub's arms. Sillibub is a modest man, a very modest man, and the situation was a trying one; but he managed to refrain from dropping his lovely burden into the dirty snow, and got her into the corner store, a crowd following. "Give her some water," cried one. The water was presented to her lips.but she did not drink.

"Bathe her face with it," suggested another." Sillibub was about to follow the advice, when a sudden thought struck him. He laid down the glass and whispered, in horrified accents: "Perhaps shes painted!" He had broken tho spell. Two eyes and one mouth opened, and one little tongue was set in motion. The fainter flounced out of Sillibub's arms like a mackerel out of a fish-basket, at the same time informing Sillabub that he was "a great mean, ugly thing, there! "Boston Transcript Cotfaee Ballt. I don't like a cottage-built man," said young Sweeps to his rich old uncle, who was telling the story of his early trials for the hundredth time.

"What do you mean by a cottage-built man?" asked his uncle. "A man with only one story," answered young Sweeps. That settled it. Young Swespj was left out of his uncle's wilL A RACY RETROSPECT. SALARIES OF THE OLDEH TIMES.

Department Life Forty Years Ago Tat Era of Spam Oil and Penay Dips A Paals la tho Senate' Chamber How Gas Was In trod need. United States Official Register, 1843," (or the Blue Book of nearly forty years ago) la the title of a musty tome hut yesterday discovered among some public documents cast away as worth less. Although not worthless, it might well be buried to share the fate of nearly all whose names i records as the faithful clamorers for the old flag and a salary. All but a few of tho officials therein named are and have long been under tho sod. Many of the family names still linger throughout the District, and in many cases the descendants have, either by the vicissitudes of politics or the promptings of an ambitious nature, sought more congenial fields for making a living and achieving fame and reputation.

Some representatives of long-departed ones yet held office in 1851 and cast their fortunes with the fruitless effort which culminated in disaster at Appomattox. IN THESE OEDEX TOIES the thirteen original States seemed to maintain a pre-emption claim on the public crib, as they largely predominate among the names then prominent. Virginia, from beiug the mother of Presi dents, probably presumed also on the maternal relationship to the holders of the public teat, as she leads the van, Maryland closely following, with Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and, occasionally, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and North Carolina in the rear, Tennessee preserves Tie'rself in official history Ly one representative, and Ohio "Ye gods and little fishes!" was then content with three Government clerkships. Verily must those three Buckeyesliavo been prolific of posterity, or had a contagious fever wonderfully hereditary for three appointments to increase In forty years to C50, the present number of Ohioans employed in this city alone. THE POLITICAL AFFINITIES of office-holdera were necessarily mixed, as the presidential election was then in progress under peculiar circumstances.

Tyler was hi the White House, disowned by his "own Whig party forthe veto ofthe national bank bill, and scorned by the Democrats on general principles for lack of party fealty, while Polk and Dallas were competing for popular favor with Clay and Frellnghuysen. There was then an uncertain tenure of office, as now, and the war against useful officials (as will forever be) to make room for worthless applicants inpayment for political services. People were content with more moderate salaries than now, which served as well, though, in view of the moderate cost of living. Cabinet officers then drew 50,000, chief clerks of Departments $2,000. and the clerkship grades ranged from 51,000 to 51,000, the lower figures predominating.

Army and navy pay was likewise small, as a major-general lived sumptuously on 51,225, when the present yearly pay of 810,000 or thereabouts is not unfrequently attended with a cry for more. ONE WOEXD SCARCELY BELIEVE that departmental work, clerical and otherwise, was formerly monopolized by males, and that the employment of femalo clerks, counters, copyists, was an innovation of the last two decades. Prior to the Rebellion females were scarcely ever seen in public buildings except on sight-seeing errands; but the gigantic struggle forthe maintenance of the Union brought about this, as ell as many other beneficial changes. The drain upon the male population for military service temporarily paralyzed the resources of many families, nnd the presence of fathers, sous, and brothers, standing to their guns uuderthe wallsof the Capital, brought hundreds of female relatives here to look out for their comfort and welfare, while the natural increase of public business opened up occupation for the worthy of both sexes. The entering wedge was the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which, from a small beginning, has grown into the present large and systematic branch ofthe public service.

Since then females have been employed in all the Departments, with results gratifying to all interested. ABOUT TILE CAPITOL there were no open grounds, as now, the enclosure being surrounded by a high iron fence, only removed a few years since and placed on tho street front of the Smithsonian and Agricultural grounds, nuge gateways opened on tlie north and south sides of the roadway on the main front, and smaller ones on East Capitol street and Maryland and Pennsylvania avenues west. At ten o'olock every night strong-lunged watchmen (then only five, D. M. Wilson, James M.

Waller, Isaac IT. Waltes, John Wirt, and Thomas Scrivener, the latter still living) sang out, clear and loud, Close the gates," when no passage could be had through the grounds till sunrise following. Parties going through at the closing hour and couples whispering love in the cosy summer-houses were often caught, and escaped without scaling the fence only through tho friendly offices of the watchman on his rounds. No statuary adorned the grounds (Grcenough's Washington, now facing the east portico, being then in tho rotuuda). The east park contained a fish-pond and the west two small fountains.

Tlie features of happy memory-were the flower-beds of various designs, teeming with roses, tulips, dahlias, hyacinths, and the choicest flowers In season, to enjoy the fragrance of which the statesmen of the day came frequently. There the graceful blackbird, robin redbreast, oriole, and chirping wren, since exiled by the pugnacious English sparrow, mated, flourished, and increased their families. WHAT WOULD TEOPLE THINK NOW to be turned away from the gates leading by the semi-circular drive to the White House door? True, there were no guards there for that purpose but the building was regarded strictly as the private residence of the President, and but few ventured beyond the sidewalk, save on social calls or for attendance at receptions. The comparatively small amount of business entailed directly on the Executive was nearly always transacted through Cabinet officials. Republican success, however, and tlie development of Republican theories upset this as well as other Democratic customs, and now the Chief of the Nation can be approached by card or otherwise by the humblest in the land.

A single private secretary then sufficed for work which has so increased as to require a small force of clerks, contracting somewhat the quarters of the presidential household and rendering necessary what will be provided at no distant day, an Executive Mansion commensurate with the dignity of the office and the growth ofthe Republic. GAS WAS NOT KNOWN THEN as an illuminating power, and the necessary light in public buildings, as everywhere else, was supplied by sperm-oil lamps or the dull and not inodorous "penny dip," which was needed only by the nightly custodians of tlie public archives, rendering the oil-room one of the important adjuncts of public furniture. There were gorgeous chandeliers of crystal though, as many yet remember, in the White House and the Capitol, with their hundreds of wax candles. When congressional sessions were prolonged beyond the short recess afforded time for lighting the countless tapers above, which flickered with every current of air, and frequently dripped molten mementoes on the garments of conversing groups beneath. QUITE A PANIC RESULTED ONCE in the Senate chamber by the sudden parting of the ofthe huge chandelier there and its crash in innumerable fragments on the floor.

In ISIS or thereabouts gas was first introdnccd into the Capitol by James Crutchett, whose manufacturing apparatus was in the court under the west front ofthe office ofthe Secretary of the Senate, and the descent by ladder from the skylight above ofamanto light the chandelier in the nail of Representatives was the signal for a general nervous tremor for fear that giddiness or a misstep might precipitate him among the chairs and desks unceremoniously. A monster pole, sixty feet high, through which ran a gas pipe, was erected on the top ofthe dome, and from the light of an Immense lantern which crowned it ordinary print could be read within a short distance ofthe CapitoL It was deemed unsafe, and removed after a few months use. THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT then included the employed there were McCuntock, loung, James N. Barker, Richard Ela, J. F.

Hartley, J. Madison Cntts, John M. Brodhead, Thomas J. Cathcart, David W. Ma-hon, since First Auditor, and Charles W.

Forrest, loth living; Anthony Hyde, now Mr. W. W. Corcoran's private secretary; Silas H. Hill, Know-Nothing candidate for mayor of Washington T.

H. aillis, A. H. Mechlin, John H. Houston, Peter G.

Washington, Thomas P. Trott, Fitzhugh Coyle, afterwards successful merchantand banker; Lemuel J. Middleton, John F. Boone, William H.West, since chief clerk of the Department, and Michael Nourse and still living, Grafton D. Hanson, Thomas A.

Scott, John D. Barclay, Dr. John B. Blake, and Colonel James G. Berrett, ex-mayor of Washington.

In tho Land Office were George C. Whiting, Joseph and John Wilson, John H. Waggaman, and O. H. Bestor, deceased; nnd Moses ICelly.B.

T. Reillv, and Ash-ton White, yet living. TOE STATE DEPARTMENT stood where the north wing of the Treasury now is, and included the Patent Office and Census Bureau. Here were Francis Markoe, A.H. Derrick, R.S.Chew, Thomas W.

Dickins, Daniel Buck, David Hlnes, Samuel H. Cutts, and John CBurche; also William. Hunter and W. P.Faherty", who are still there. THE WAB DEPARTMENT included the Pension Ofoco and Indian Bureau, showing John Potts, John H.

Ofiley, John D. McPherson, Thomas J. Abbott, and George Phelps, both still in the Quartermaster-General's Office; James Ereleth, Joseph G. Bruff, Morris Adler, Crulkshank, Columbus Munroe, Ed. Brooke, Andrew Balmain, T.

Montjoy Hanson, John M. Hepburn, French S. Evans, nd Commissioner of Indian Affair T. Hartley Crawford, afterward Judge of the District Criminal Court. TUB NAVY DEPAr.TMENT presents William G.

Kidgely, John J. Berret, GeorgeF.de la Roche, William S. Parrott, Hugh A. Goldsborough, Thomas Fillebrown. Moses Poor, and Lindsay Muse, who is still messenger there also Conrad Schwarz, an eccentric German draughtsman, possessed of a rural homo just outside of Georgetown, which he bequeathed to his friend.

Dr. Snyder, who met his death by falling from a tree located on his welcome bat fatal legacy. THE rOST-OKFICE DEPARTMENT had for chief clerk John Marron, and when asked by Postmaster-General Cave Johnson if the Department couldn't get along without him, replied "That might be; but damned if he could get along without the Department." Horatio King, sinco Postmaster-General; James Lawrenson, George A. Bohrer, Josiah Dent, father of Commls-sionerDent; W.H.Dundas,andA.N.Trcrely; also James H. Marr, whose long and faithful services have just been recognized by a special increase of pay.

A TOOTHSOME TALE. How Two Toothless Misters Agreed to Receive Culls la tbe Same False Teetb. Oakland came very near being the scene of another case of emotional insanity, Dut which, unfortunately for the reporters, terminated in a comparatively uninteresting assault and battery case. It appears that two maiden sisters, living on. Jackson street, near Tenth, inherited such exceptionally "fragile" teeth that some time ago they both concluded to have thempnlled out all aronnd.

and sets of false teeth made to Tho sets were exaet diinHont(. andm Juno rwAntfv lost hert over the side of the ferry-boat, Maria Bgreea to a proposition- oy wmcu tne use or tne remaining set was to be equally divided among the two, thus avoiding au additional expense these hard times. This economical scheme worked fairly well until New Year's Day, when it was decided that Maria was to reccive of course in the teeth until three p. after which they were to dazzle the remaining visitors between Jane's coral lips. This arrangement was accordingly adopted, and the hitter sister walked about impatiently in the room overhead, or else retlessly killed timebypeeringovertbebannistersat the new arrivals being welcomed at the parlor door by her sister's effulgent forty-dollar comline smile.

Finally, the long-expected hour struck; but, to the astonishment and despair of the toothless watcher overhead, the relief guard from below did not arrive. In vain the enraged sister above pounded on the floor and slammed the door as.a warning hint Stillthe erring sister did not respond. Atlast.abont four p. thedefrauded partner iatbe tooth contract took advantage of her sister accompanying.a departing guest to the front door to lean.qver,tha second-story railingand remark, in a voice of suppressed passion, "Ugh glug muggityglugwugt" which being translated from the language of the toothless, which closely resembles the sound pro duced by blowing into the bunghole of a barrel, meant, "Are you coming with those teeth Yes, I am not," replied the traitor, who by this time was chock full of chicken salad, claret punch, and impudence, and who didn't care a tinker's mother whether her unfortunate relative gummed it until the crack of doom or not. Mug ger rug jug ug wng lug wug gcrce flip skee dug." fiercely mumbled the other, which boiled down into the normal Oakland tongue meant, "You Maria Ann, if you don't bring those teeth instantly, Til come down there and scratch your hateful eyes out "Ta-ta," replied the tantalizing tooth monopolizer; better take a nap and sleep it off But, instead of utilizing this sisterly advice, Jane determined upon a sortie in force, and the result was that while Maria was in the act of helping the next caller to some chicken salad she was suddenly snatched by the back hair and the salad dish smashed over her head.

In immediate succession to which her irate assailant forced her over the coal-scuttle and shook out of her head the disputed article, interspersing which proceeding with ignominious! firing out tbe caller aforesaid on his undertaking to interfere. All this was put in evidence before the justice of tlie peace the next morning, and, pending the outcome ofthe trial, all the restorative articles of Oakland are shaken to their bulls-eyes with the scand al, and several well known amateur dramatists of that bailiwick havealready constructed first-class society dramas from theaboveampleplot.and are only waiting to put the verdict into the last act Derrick Dodd in San Francisco Post. PEELERS PERQUISITES. How tlie Police Captain or New 7orb Collcet Blackmail. Dr.

Howard Crosby, of the Society for the Prevention of Crime, is very much aggrieved because the plans devised by himself and Superintendent Walling for a wholesale "pulling" of gambling-houses proved abortive the other day. At twelve o'clock midnight the four places marked for pulling" were in full blast, and gambling of every description was going on. At one o'clock, when the descent was made, not a tool was to be seen, and there were only one or two men lounging about in each place. Of course the proprietors bad been informed of the contemplated police raids. Says Dr.

Crosby: "There Is only one thing to do. That is, to have police captains ofa better class and higher morality, and pay them three times the salary they now receive, so that they would not take the risks of blackmailing. At present many oftho police captains are of low moral character. The bribing is done in this way: The captains who want to get an income from these places do not go themselves; iftheydo.it ia to bluster, be very brave, and to order the houses to be closed; but a woman goes into the place, and says to tho proprietor: 'I am a poor woman; won't you help me a The proprietor says Yes, here, take and gives her what those present suppose to be a SI note. Instead of being $1 it Is 550.

Now can you mako anything out of this Certainly notr because he would say 'Ihave done nothing except to assist a poor woman a Tho woman meets a friend at a groggery, and this friend says nave you sold those The woman replies: 'Yes, and here is the handing the proprietor $10. The man goes to some official, maybe a sergeant, and says: Here is that S00 you loaned The next day the captain finds 520 in his drawer. He docs not know how it got there, but he puts it into his pocket. Then he is asked Did you ever take a Ho indignantly answers: 'No. Who ever saw me take a Now, what can you do? We have traced cases where we were morally sure that tho man was guilty.

We have had three, five, or eight affidavits to that effect; but they have been made by women of bad reputation. This evidence we cannot go to court with, and the man gets off. A high official told me that one captain a year by blackmailing." A'ew York Dispatch. HE SPOKE TRULY. A Scotchman.

TVfao UsenTrutli Rather than Poltteaess la His Speech. It was at a table filiate in Europe where Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Americans from the Northern States were present that a gentleman from the South repeatedly set forth the tyranny which the Southern States were suffering, and especially denounced tbe administration of General Grant At last a bluff old Scotchman, grown weary of his vaporings, thus addressed him You are from the Southern States of America "Yes." "And ye had a civil war therer "Yes." And ye were an officer in the Southern army "Yes, I was colonel of a regiment" "And ye got licked?" "Well, yea." "Was anybody shot?" "No." "Was anybody transported?" "No." "Weel, then, what the de'il are ye grumbling about? If we had ye in England we would have hanged a thousand of ye before ye could havo appealed to the civil law, and we would have transported other thousands of yo to Australia, where ye owt to be now picking up stones." There was a moment's silence, and then the whole company burst into a roar of laughter and applause. The colonel was squelched, and nothing further was heard from him. Salaries or British Ministers. The salary list of the British government shows the relative rank assigned to Washington as a diplomatic station by the European powers.

The British Minister at Paris receives an annual salary of at Vienna, at Constantinople, at St Petersburg, at Berlin, at Pekln, at Madrid even, while at Washington Sir Edward Thornton is obliged to live on 523,000 and a very considerable number of allowances. In point of grade the Europeans rank Washington practically with the missions to Brazil, to Japan, to the Hague and to LisboB. Giicago Tribunn BOMBAY BEEEZES. INDIAN ORNAMENTS AND THINGS. The Telephoae ia tfc Orieat TJwTtorey aaa Vto Sails Peaslaas.

or Iadlaa eers-The Mohnrmm Sometalag-AJtoet tfc Weatker General Kbtea. Special Correspondence of The SepitiUeasu Bombay, Jan. 22. TKe native East la, dians are very ennning workers In gold and sIItm ornaments. Their necklaces, bracelets, broochw, lings, andnose-rings exceed those of Eurppw manufacturers in beauty- of finish and deafcga.

The women are excessively fond of jewelry ornaments, and deck themselves from earUa childhood with as many gewgaws as they caa procure. Like the barefooted newsboy, who stood shivering on the frosty pavement one cold morning, and informed a sympathizing gentleman that he could do without shoes, but was suffering ibr a breastpin," they can do without clothing, bat, must have jewelrr. The natives also excel in wood-carving on sahdal-wood and execute very beautiful work-boxes, card-cases, photograph frames, and other fancy ornaments. Th carving on some of them is so exquisitely fine that they almost seem like Impossible productions. Some particularly beautiful articles are- work-boxes, desks, and brackets, from Vlragapataau They are made of porcupine qullb.

encased ia ebonyandllnedwith costly sandal-wood. Oriental embroidery and ornaments of Benares brass arr too well known. to need description. THE TELETHON IS INDIA. For some weeks D.

P. Orme. Clement D.Xcgan, and others have been in India, endeavoring to obtain, the conseutof the Viceroy, Lord Ripon, to tha establishment of telephonic communication and exchanges in this country. Some little progress had been made in this matter, when tha suddea and protracted illness of the Viceroy caused a delay. MeamThflo news ofthe decision of the Brit ish government that the telephone and telegraph were identical, and should therefore be governed the satne laws and the samc of Parliament, reached India.

This caused another stopoase. The whole matter hasnow been referred to government officials in London. The telephone company are fully confident ofa satisfactory arrangement of affairs. The work of taking subscriptions for telephones In Bombay Is progresslns more favorably than the most sanguine had expected. Several hundred subscriptions have already been received, which is remarkable, considering the exceedingly short time since the question of telephones was mooted there and the sparse-ness of European population.

The Bombay Gazette comments thus on the recent decision of tha government: "The ordinary telegraph and the post-office are by no means analogous in their condition to the telephone system. The telephone, if generally adopted, would, government management, bring a government official into every counting-house; whereas th telegraph and post-office are only visited hy those who need to go there. Iu other words, the government will be hronght by the attempt to work the telephone pystem-into perpetual and possibly-irritating contact with the business community of all large cities, and It will find it very difficult to manage matters so as to give entire satisfaction to its customers, who will not be disposed toreiiak official bounce on the part of its agents." TENSIONS OP INDIAN OFFICERS. After twenty years of service in ths army of India, an officer, if he resigns and returns homo is entitled to receive 191 12s. per year pension-after twenty-four years, 292, and after twenty-eight years service, S05, and afier thirty-two years, 4C5; for thirty-five years' service he receives GO0, and afier thirty-eight years.

750 These pensions are so small that themajority of tha officers prefer to remain in the service and draw their pay rather than accept the pension. This action ofthe officers has been a serious bar to the promotion of the junior officers. A scheme to prevent this was Introduced by the government A sum of ready money was offered every officer resigning, in addition to the pension. This plan worked very well for a whllo but an officer who has served thirty-eight years Is entitled to colonel's allowance, or what is termed offreckonings," and said officers began to wait until within a month or so of the time when they were entitled to the off reckonings, and then resign and claim tha largo sum of money offered to those resigning. They thus received their pay nearly to the time when they would bc legally retired and a large bonus besides.

It is now proposed to make a change; that is, to increase the pensions of all officers according to the number of years they have served, and after they have served thirty-two years compel them to resign, whether they desire to do so or not. GENERAL NOTES. The Viceroy of India has so far recovered as to be again able to resume his official duties. On ths 21th of December the rumor that Lord Ripon had resigned caused much regret In official and social circles but the rumor was soon discovered to be unfounded. His Lordship has the general good will of the people, and his official acts have been characterized by firmness, decision, and good judgment.

He is at present in Calcutta, where he is accompanied by his charming wife, Lady Ripon. The fever with which he has been prostrated Is of a malarious kind peculiar to India; on which few persons irho reside any length or time In this country escape. Lord Ripon had only been a few months in India when he succumbed, to its influence. At the time of this writing the weather is. delightful; not too warm Indoors, but "justwarm enough to bo pleasant" The gardens are filled with bloomins: flowers and the birds are singing from the branches of tha tamarind trees.

The great crows are flopping their wings and cawing, as if fully aware that they were masters oftho situation and entirely safe from pistols and shot-guns. I think there are many farmers in America who would be glad to have several colonics of these birds emigrate to the more hospitable shores of India. Christmas Day and many of our holidays are extremely quiet and not much observed as holidays here, and those days arc all the more quiet from the fact that the Mohame dans have their Mohurrum holidays some week' before our New Year. This excessive quietness seems all the more strange and peculiar as remembrances of the Washington small boy, with hU horn, torpedoes, and fire-crackers, float through my brain. All this vision ia dispelled as the native servant with turbaned head and the picturesque oriental costume, brings me my dinner of curried fowl and rice.

There are some fresh fish, edible birds, and other varieties of rood in India, but the chief staple of diet is rice and curried fowl. THE JtOHURUCU, or the New Year of the Mohammedans, commences on the 9th of December, and its celebration continues for one week. The natives on these occasions get themselves up in great style, painting them-selves on their naked skins in stripes of yellow and green, after the manner of circus clowns, and march around the city with banners and drums, making the day and night hideous. THE WEATHER it delightful, like pleasant summer weather in America. The days are warm and the nights cool enough to be covered with a blanket I am sitting by the open door of my room at ray hotel, overlooking trees laden with tropical fruits and filled with singing birds.

For weeks not a cloud has. flecked the sky; not a drop of rain has fallen nor has there been wind enough to raise a dust Tho country round about is mountainous, but the soil of the valleys and plains very fertile. Cotton and rice are the principal productions of this country, and Bombay is said to contain some of tho richest cotton fields of India. Sugar and indigo are also among the products of this country, and tho cocoa palm and teak-tree are indigenous to its soil. The city contains manufactories of silk, woolen, and cotton stuffs.

Bombay, next to Calcutta and Canton, is the greatest commercial emporium of Asia. The English portion of the town is at one end and the Mohammedan and Hindoo portion at the othe end. L. M. O.

Tbe Great Baby. The first and most famous of existing rubles forms part of the Imperial States crown made for Queen Victoria in 183S, embellished with all the gems left after the destruction of the regalia during the period ofthe Commonwealth, and subsequently added to by purchases. This ruby, standing in the centre of tha Maltese cross, on tha top ofthe British crown, and the most conspicuous gem on It, is believed to be, on tolerably good authority, the same as that worn in front ofthe helmet of King Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt. Unlike famous diamonds, rubies have no proper names, but this one In the British crown might be called the "Agincourt" Its history can be traced back to the year 1367, when, after the battle of Nagara, near Vittoria, King Pedro of Castile presented it to Edward, the I' Black Prince." This "Agincourt," if so It can be called, has a small hole bored through it after a fashion common in the East, to be hung by itself round ths neck.

Tills hole is now filled in the front part by a small ruby, to be distinguished only from the stone by closo examination. Of about the same size as this ruby is another, formerly among the regalia of Austria, but of the present existence of which little. If anything, Is known. The Emperor Rudolph IL received it In 1SGQ from his sister. Queen Dowager of France, it being valued at the time at CO.000 ducats, or about 30,000.

It would now probably be worth not far from half a million sterling, the value of the ruby having increased in value more than that of any other precious stone. The Antiquary. tola SI i. I A l-A-g-'-- s-.