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THE STORY OF THE "NISERO " It Is Told In, One or the Survivors of me “rock. A story which may in some respects be compared with that of Robinson Crusoe himself is told in a little volume just published. It is entitled “The Wreck of the Nisero, and Our Captivity in Suma- tra," and is written by W. Bradley, one of the survivors. Mr. Bradley, who was third engineer of the vessel, kept a diary of the sufferings and adventures of the shipwrecked crew during their detention in the island, and the tale is told from these daily records with a clearness of language, a sharpness of outline, and a fullness of detail which Defoe himself has scarcely surpassed. The Nisero was an iron screw steamer of 1,818 tons, which set out from Liverpool in June, 1882, on a voyage to Penang. _ She was nearly wrecked by grounding on a sand-bank near the Twelve Apostles. seven days from Suez, but was got off, and reached Penang on July 22. From Penang the steamer went to Singapore. Batavla, and some other ports, and was then chartered by a Chinese merchant for three months to trade in rice. On Nov. 7 the crew were short of coal. and put about for Acheen head. On the next evening the vgssel ran agmund again, and became a wreck. The crew of eight and twenty men escaped with difficulty, and found themselves at Pong-ah, on the Sumatran coast, a hundred miles or so south of Acheen head, to which they had been directing their course. The wrecked crew at once realized their position. The islanders were at war with the Dutch, and they would be taken for Dutchmen. The first natives they saw were evidently bent on plunder; but the cook, who was a Chinaman, was able to make himself understood, and explained that they were Englishmen. Presently an armed party appeared with a chief, who sent them a present of ban- anas as a token of good-will. In the morning the chief sent for them to the village, and gave them a poor hut, con- sisting of one small room, with a roof that let in the rain. He sent them a couple of rifles and some ammunition, but they felt that they were captives. Next day the rajsh 'of Tenom came, and showed some suspicion that the fair-haired among them were Dutchmen. In a day or two he informed them that had they not been able to explain their nationality, not one of them wonld have been spared. He told them that some natives of the inte- rior had on their knees besought him to massacre them. Underpretense of sav~ ing them he took them off to Tenom, leading ,them by a roundabout course, through frightful swamps, with an armed escort ahead, till they again reached the coast within sight of their starting place. The way then lay along the shore to the mouth of the Tenom river. Here they were put in another wooden house, better than that of the Pongah chief, but still incommodious and unhealthy. Tenom itself is a poor village of sixteen or eight- een huts, several of which are shops. Here they began to see the plunder of their own steamer gradually arriving and being appropriated by the natives. One day two steamers. evidently searching for something, came into sight at sea, and a few days later two peddlers appeared, one of whom slipped a couple of notes into the hands of one of the sailors, one from a Dutch captain, the other from a Dutch resident on the coast. The letters told them to be patient and discreet, as they were in the hands of a barbarian and a ruflian. 0n the same day letters were brought from a Dutch captain by a na- tive of Acheen, giving the same counsel. Some stores were also sent which gave them two days of proper food. There was a letter to the rajah offering a ran- som, but he was away at Pongah plun- dering the wreck. Next day he told the captives he would take them“ inland. They could do nothing but go as he bid them, though every step was further away from the chance of rescue. The new quarters were a day’s iourney up the stream, or one of its afi'luents. They were close to the rajah's own house, andfwere in three huts. Here they spent Christmas, the Christmas dinner being rice and a little salt fish, with water to drink. The captain had meanwhile gone to assist in the negotiations, offering all the men as hostages for his return, but never returning. He sent them word that new demands had been made. nd that he was going to Rigas ina Du h eunboat to see what could be done. The New Year came with hopes of rescue. which soon vanished. The rajah ttld them he had passed his word to the gov- ernment for their safety, but the Dutch had threatened ‘to bombard Tenom, and he must take them further up the coun- try. They heard the bombardment, as they were being hurried inland. One place of captivity was given them after another, and they spent their time in such sport as was was permitted. On the 22nd of February a letter arrived from Commander Bickford, of the Pega- sus, telling them of the efforts which were being made for their release, and especially of the presence on board of Mr Maxwell, who understood the Malay language, and was afavorite with the people. Still the weeks passed on and no rescue came. Stores arrived now and then, sometimes letters and newspapers. but no deliverance. On the 23rd of March an Italian sailor died, and there was much fever and dysentery among them. In the early summer unmistak- able symptoms of cholera appeared, and three more men were dead before the end of May. Altogether' seven out of twenty-eight who landed died and were buried together in a little cemetery, around which their surviving comrades made an ornamental fence, with a large cross in the middle of the ground, and smaller crosses at the head of every grave. Meanwhile they never seem to have been quite out of reach of friends. From lime to time stores were sent, sometimes letters,and their condition and treatment improved. The summer passed, and it was not till september that they actually set out on then- we to freedom. As they went through Pongah i the Nisero they had abandoned ten months before still lay on the shore, her masts standing, portions of the poop and forecastle still showing, but her midships completely under water, and the shore strewed with the wreckage. On the morning of the 10th of September, they went on board the Pegasus, Mr. Max- well, who had been the agent of their cle- liverance, following later in the day. It is clear from Mr. Bradley's narrative that the delay in their rescue was due to the vacillalions and greed of the Acheen chiefs. The chiefs were not intentionally unkind to the captives, whose sufferings were due to the climate, the savage. life they were compelled to share, and the privations they had to endure. The long period of endurance and suspense was lightened by many incidents of sport and curious observations and experience. In lfifteen months from their first starting they had got home again, having in the meanwhile, as Mr. Bradley says in his concluding words, gained the sympathy of two nations and seen adventures enough to last a lifetimeâ€"[London Times. W The Great Wall of China This stupendous wall, which extends across the nor thern boundary of the Chi- nese Empire, and forms the barrier be- tween China and Mongolia, is deservedly ranked among the grandest labours of art, and as one of the most remarkable of human structures, and is, perhaps, the most wonderful monument of human in dustry ever exhibited to the world. It was built during the reign of Tsiu-Shec~ Hwang-Tee, the founder of the Tsin dy- nasty. It was commenced two hundred and fourteen years before the Christian era, and finished in about ten years, se- veral millions, of men working unremit- tingly in its construction. This wall is carried over the summits of high mount aius,, some of which are a. mile in height, across deep valleys, and over wide rivers, by means of arches. in many parts it. is doubled or trebled. to command impor- tant passes, and is built in the most sub- stantial manner, especially toward its eastern extremity, where it extends b a massive levee into the sea, in which por- tion the workmen were required, under penalty of death, to fit the stones so ex- actly {hat even a nail could nowhere be inserted between the joints. ‘ In some parts, where less danger was apprehend- ed, it is not equally strong, and towar the northwest consists of a wall two feet thick on each side of the structure, the lower part of which is composed of hewu stone, and the upper part of brick, the intermediate space being filled with earth, forming a. very firm rampart. z The Chinese wallis fifteen hundred miles long. twenty-five feet high, and twenty feet' thick at the top. Six horsemen can easily ride abreast on its summit. Towers are placed along its whole extent every one hundred yards, which was considered twice the distance an arrow could be shot, so that every part of the wall might be within reach of the archers stationed in the towers. These towers, or massive bastions, which are square,are forty-eight feet high and forty feet in width. The stone employed in the foundations, an- gles, and towers, is astrong, gray gran- ite, but the upper part of the wall is made of bluish bricks and a remarkably pure and white mortar. According to Sir George Staunton and Du Halde, this great barrier, which has been and will continue to be the wonder and admiration of ages, was constructed to protect China from the eruptions of the Tartars, 2,000 years ago. It is estimated that the materials em- ployed in this immense fortification would be sufficient to construct a wall six feet high and two feet thick twice around the world. It is certain that civilization had made considerable progress among the Chinese when it was only dawning on the nations of Europe, but their early history is shrouded in fable. Their earliest exist- ing records are the writings of Confucius, who lived five hundred and fifty years be- fore Christ, and from that period they descend in an unbroken series to the pre- sent day. Undcr their earliest dynasty they obtained such prosperity that the Mougom and Tartars invaded their terri- tor» lor plunder, to prevent which they built the great wall which has ever been considered as a wonder in the world. â€"â€"â€"m~.-Hoâ€"â€"â€" Wealth and the Pressure of Pop. ulation. Wealth is usually the accompaniment rather of a' dense population than of a scanty one. Within the past half century the population of England has doubled, but its wealth has increased fourfold. Belgium, with a population of 485 to the square mile, is better off than Spain with but 90. To take an extreme instance. According to Soho-‘lcraft,’ an Indian hun- ter required for his sole substance seven- ty-eight square miles ; his direct interest lay in the death of every rival who in- fringed on a territory which in England would support 30,000 people. The rea- son America can now support so many million more of population is because these millions have brought with them the civilization which has been the re- sult of competition in the old world. It is pressure of population which has raised man from savagery. it produced the dilu- sion of the race, forced man into the social state, and compelled each advance by one tribe to be followed by its rivals, or they would take a diminished chance of existence. The struggle for life, in which unfit varieties are eliminated, leav- ing the fitter ones to transmit their su- periority to their offspring, has been the guarantee of development. l English in the Elousc of (ominous. Y E P 5’ d The language used IntheHouseof Com- mons, sans the Pall IlIall. (laintle, is ex- ceptionally English, and the small part that foreign languages play in the con structinn of t-ur ordinary speech is re markable. Owing in a great measure to its monosyllabic character the Sax-in is extremer forcih e and impressive B uh from l‘is natural genius, and from Lil long practice, Mr. Gladstone is uudr‘ubr. edly the best orator in the H. use . f Commons. A careful alinlullsl or the de- rivation of the language employed by Mr. Gladstone in his speeches gives lllr‘ fol lowing results .' Seventy per cent of no, Words Saxon, 13 per cent. Litin, and l3 per cent French, the remaining 4 per cent. being comp: sed of words derived from different sources. One fat-r. is pe~ culiur. With all his liking for Greek. and his well-known attainment: in that. language, his usage of words derived from that source does not equal 1 pr cent. Even or: topics involving an ap peel to early history, such as the theo- logical side of the discussion on the Par- liamentary Oaths Bill, Mr, Gladstovve's language is scarcely more classical. as the fi urea in lhe lat‘er instance stood thus: Saxon, 72 per tent; Latin, 15 per cen’.; French. ll per cent. ; other words, 2 per cent, of which Greek again forms less than 1 per cent. An analysis of the speeches of the leader of the Opposition shows that in his language there is a great similarity with the component parts of Mr. Glad- stone’s. Sir Stafford Northcote's speeches give the following results : Saxon. 70 per cent.; Latin, 16 per cent ; French. 11 or cent.; other words, 3 per cent. Sir William Harcourt is a forcible speaker, and, when occasion rrquircs, he is v ithnut an equal in invective and sar- casm ; in general his speeches, both in style of delivery and subject matter, are much above the average of the House. They show the following results : Saxon, 77 per cent. ; Latin, 15 per cent.; French, 7 per cent.; other words, 1 per cent. Mr. Bright does not speak mu ah now, and since his great soeech on the Irish Land Act of 1881, which kept. the House crowded until long past midnight, he has spoken comparatively seldom in Parlia- ment. There is no question as to his be- ing a great orator. As a speaker he has always been regarded as an Englishman of the English; but, strange to say, an analysis of some of hislaler speeches gives figures which vary but little from those of the other speakers already quoted. They stand thus: Saxon, 74 per cont; Latin. 12 per cent.; French, 10 per cent; other words, 4 per cent. No one could possibly refer to the pro- minent speakers in the House without including Lord Randolph Churchill, for lately, upon all subjects, great and small, he has had a great deal to say. A speech of his on the franchise question gives the following results: Saxon, 72 per cent; Latin, 16 per cent.; French, 6 per cent.; Greek, 2per cent.; other words, 4 per cent. Naturally the best speakers in the House are‘ looked for among the occu- pants of the first two benches, but below them are many good speakers, like Mr. Cowan and Mr, Morley, are to be found ; and, whatever may be said for the opin- ions and tactics of the Irish party, it must be confessed that there are some very able speakers to be found in its ranks. From these few figures two facts are de- ducibleâ€"first, that the language of all the speakers quoted appoximates greatly to one standard ; and secondly, that the greatest strength of the language is de- rived from the Saxon element. Taking the words derived from the French as be ing originally Latin, it may be said that of the language used in the House of Commons, three-fourths comes from the Saxon, and one-fourth from the Latin. Both our political and literary history of the past accounts for the number of La- tin words used, but still they are only words of general acceptance, and words whose import is perfectly well under- stood. The utilitariau theory applies no- where more strongly than in the case of a language, and if a word is useful it is sure to be retained. A Little Hero. A sad story of a French drummer boy is told at Heidelburg, in connection with the last siege of that city. The Austrians were in possession of the place, and the only means of attacking them was by crossing the old bridge over the river Neckar. But the defenders were well prepared for the attack ; they placed their cannon in such a manner that it covered the bridge and its approaches The French planted their cannon on the opposite side of the river, and kept up a terrible fire, but were utterly unable to dislodge the Austrians from their end of the bridge. The attackers were deter- mined to take the city, but had no other means of doing so than by crossing the bridge, and that was swept by the guns of the opponents. They made repeated charges from their side, but each time they advanced they were mowed down by the Austrian artillery, or repulsed at the point of the bayonet. The French band advanced as far as the centre of the bridge, exciting the soldiery with their martial strains, but were compelled to retreat with the retreating men. Again and again the musicians advamed and re treated. with their comrades, until at last, a little drummer, disdaining flight, mounted on the parapet of the bridge, and although his fellow-bandsmen tied, with the soldiers, stood his ground man- fully, beating a wild air to recall the men to the charge. On rushedthe fierce Aus- trians with fixed bayou ets, whilst the lit- tle hero, still beating his drum defiantly, was run through the body by some brutal foe. As he fell over the bridge into the rapid rushing river below, the poor boy cried out, “Oh, my nether lmy mother I" The last words of the little conscript were heard, both by friend and foe, and are yet rememlwredin lleidelbnrg. On wild nights, as the peasm t CIUBEES lhri bridge, in fancy he still see: the fonu «f the lir- ile drummer-boy beating the fiercs alm on, and still amid the rush of tllI'. Wafers be imagines that he bears his (lying “l-TdS, “Oh, my mother I my iuotlu-r l' l. Substituti- l'oi' Slll‘fliifll‘h‘» A Tmlmlm curl'répivhdvnt at Lul’nc, Mu . lllakl‘f‘lhll announcenmnt that tho sawiiuesimported from the lllediterraneau urn rapidly liecuming a tradition. A sub- stirum has been found in small herrings winch are caught on the comm of Maine and New Brunswick. in IS?“ the first ennui g factory was established in East- pnrr, and slv-ce than eighteen other fa)- rorirs hue been started there, bcsi les eight at Lubec, three at Jonesporf, two at Robinson. and one at each of half a damn near by places. The business rx~ tun-is from the middle of April to the middle of December of each ear. In 1877 there were packed 1.500 cases of 160 cans each, whereas in 1883 there were sent to market 200,000 cases. About five cents will cover the actual amount of con- verting the herrings into a lot of sardines Says the correspondent : “ To catch the fish. weirs are constructed, built of pil?-s driven where the water is about twenty toot deep, and rhe spaces bet-teen inter- laced With rails and brush. An opening is left in the weir, through which the fish enter at high water, and a. deep selne closes this aperture when the writ is well filled. Before low water, the fis xerman, with a large scoop net, take the fish out of the weir into their brats. The fish are offered for sale by the hogsheadful to about seventy-live boatmen employed by the different factories. When there has been a large ‘ catch,’ the bidding is dull and the prices are low ; but when only a few of the weirs have been replenished the Competing bidders become excited, ands. locker-on is reminded of a stock exchange. Early in 1877 one dollar per hogshead was thought. 1:0 be a. good price; but in the last year 330 has been paid. After the highest bidder l- as secured his stock, he starts his boat and hoists a sig- nal flag. to notify hit employers that he is on his way to their factory.” Dexterous cuttersâ€"mostly boys and girlsâ€"trim off the heads of the fish and draw the intestines with one movement of their knives The fish finally reaches the flaking-room well-washed and drained. “The flakes,” says the correspondent, “are wire trays about two feet by three in size. The flaking is performed by women. The fish are spread in a single layer on the flake to avoid contact while basing. When a flake is fall it is moved to a rack in front of the oven. The oven is fitted with ten revolving frames or skeletons. which altogether hold forty flakes. The man who works the oven takes each flake from the rack and places it on a revolving frame. By the time the last frame is filled the flakes on the first one are sufficiently baked. 0n the re- moval of these to the racks they are im- mediately replaced by other flakes of fresh fish. From the racks men take the baked fish to the packing tables. where women arsort and pack them in tin boxes, from the smallest variety to the largest packed in an oval can and henceforth to be known as sea trout. When a tray of cans has been picked and covered with oil and the other ingredients used, it is handed to the “header,” who inserts the cover, and from him it is passed to the sealing-room, where the covers are soldered. After soldering they are packed in a cooler and then placed under heavy pressure in a steam process kettle. The boxes are then each tapped at both ends, and through one hole hot oil is injected until it flows out of the other, when they are both quickly sealed, and put into a revolving cleaner and are rapidly whirled in saw- dust. They are then scrutinized by the tester. If by the pressure of his hands he perceives a leak, it goes to the leak mender and is again revolved in sawdust. Nothing remains now but to label and nail up in cases, when they are ready for shipment to New York, and are thence soon distributed through all parts of the country. How They Saved the Bank. Many years ago, in consequence of a commercial panic, there wasa severe run on a bank in South Wales, and the small farmers jostled each other in crowds to draw out their money. Things were rapidly going from bad to worse, when the bank manager, in a fit of desperation, suddenly bethought him of an expedient. By his directions, a clerk, having heated some sovereigns in a frying-pan, paid them over the counter to an anxious ap- plicant. “ Why, they're quite hot,” said the miter, l! he took them up. “Of course," was the reply ; ‘ what else could you xprct? They are only just out of the mold. We are coming them by hundreds as fat as we cam." “Coining them l" thought the s'mple agiicullurist. ‘ Then there is no fear of the money running short I" \Vith this their confidence revived, the panic abat- ed, a! d the bank was enabled to weather the storm. ‘ “.04...an Shaving; by Wire. Superfluous hair, and especially tlza which disfigures the faces of women and girls, is now removed by a process termed electrolysis. An ordinary galvanic bat- tery and a fine needle, the latter attached to the negative cord, are all the instru- ments required. The number of cells needed depends upon the activity of the battery, the delicacy of the patient’s skin, and the strength of the hairs to be removed. The needle, which is a line flexible one, is introduced into the small sack which holds the root of the hair, and by means of the galvanic current the point from which the hair grows is cfl'ec- tually and completely destroyed. ,W’lint the Boo): is Doing. The tides mus: (l imiinly by the m .on, as in vl‘r‘, ranching ho‘d of the pater .w the audio. I‘VVlllVrH around on its axis. This 1mm; cune faction on the earth as it. n roll is, ml friction, is everyone luruvs. causes loss of power. Suppose u. W’i’li‘lul, wnli lair around ils run like circular Mosh such :43 13 used for hair-brushing by nmchmeiy; if this brush be TBVUlVlIlg' rapidly, and. we hold our hand over so lightly m the hair an; that it is slightly rubbed backward as the wheel revolves, we can understand that the speed of the \Vllttl Will be gradually dilllll’llhl’ltd, until an lastitwfll be brought to a standstill, provided there is no addi- tional power communicated to the wheel, by machinery or hand, beyond What was given to set it spinning around. Now, this is somewhat analogous to what is happening to the earth in its rotation. Thule is reason to suppose that the action of the tides is slowly but surely lessening the speed of the earth's rotation, and. conskquentlj, increasing tle length of the day, and mat this aczion willuontiuue until the earth ievolves on its own axis in the same time that the moon takes to revolve around the earth. Then the day, instead of bciiiztwenty- four hours, as n w, will be about twenty- eight day s, and the earth will be exposed to the full blaze of the sun forabout four- teen days at a time. The change this Wlll bring about on the earth can hardly be exaggerated All life, both animal and vegetable, will be destroyed; all water will be evaporated ; the solid rocks will be scorched and cracked ; and the whole world reduced to a dreary and barren wilderness. It is supposed by some that the moon has already passed through all this, hence its shattered and bare-looking surface: that the earth, being so much larger, has more quickly acted upon the oceans which once were upon the moon’s surface, and stopped almost entirely its revolution around its own axis, thus causing it to have a day equal to twenty- eight of our days, and the heat of the sun has already done to it what in future ages it will do to the earth. ___...._..._.. HT", Scotch Curling. In the course of time a great many an- ecdotes have gathered about the game, and stories are repeated illustrating its fascination, its deVelopement of the vi:- tues, and its superior attraction over any- thing else in life, except beef, greens and whiskey. It is said that the presence of the minister and gentlemen in the game restmins profanity. A player who could not entirely control his indignation at a stupid comrade, and did not like to in- form him befors the minister where he was going, exclaimed, “it's a guid thing ye’re gaun where there'll be nae ice." An enthusiastic Kilmamock curler, absorb- ed in the game from day to day during favorable weather, expressed his earnest hope that his wife, who was ill, “wadna dee till there cam’ a thaw, for ozherwise he wadna be able to attend her burial.” A couple of farm servants saw the minis- ter going to the curling pond. One of them criticised him, and said that instead of curling every day he ought to be mak- ing sermons and Visiting the folk. But the other defended him, and thought he should take every chance he could get at hurling the stone. “If I were a minister, and therewas any man inthe parish wadna tak’ at least one day's guid curling every winter, I can tell you what it is, lads, I load keep him back at the sacrament.” The Rev. Adam W'adderstonc, minister in Bathgate, was an excellent man and curler, who died in 1780. Late one Sat- urday night one of his elders received a challange from the people of Shotts to the curlers of Bathgate to meet them early Monday morning ; and after tossâ€" ing about half the night at a loss how to convey the pleasing news to the minister, he determined to tell him before he en- tered the pulpit. When Mr. Wadderstone came into the session house, the elder said to him in a low tone, "Sir, I’ve something to tell ye: there's to be a parish play with the Shotts folk the morn, atâ€"” “Whist, man, whist l" was the rejoin- der. “ 0b, fie shame, John 2 fie shame ! Nae speaking today about warldly re- creations.” But the ruling passion proved too strong for the worthyclergyman’sscruples of conscience, for just as he was about to enter the inner door of the church he suddenly wheeled round and returned to the elder, who was now standing at the plate in the lobby, and whispered in his car, “But whan’s the hour, John? I’ll be sure and be there.” Let us all sing, ’l‘b at music dear to a curlei‘s car. And enjoyed by h m alone-â€" The merry clink of vhe curling risk And the boom cf the roaring stone The Mysterious Bag. Make two tags each abouts. foot long and six inches wide, of some dark mate- rial. and sew them together at the edge, so that one may be inside the other. Next make a number of pockets, each with a cover to it, which may be fastened down with a button and loop. Place these about two inches apart, between the two bags. sewing one ide of the pocket to one bag and the other side to the other. Make slits through both bags about an. inch long, just above the pockets, so that you can put your hand in the bags : and, by inserting your thumb and finger through these slits, you may obtain en- trance to the pockets and bring out of them whatever they contain. it is, of course, necessary that a variety of articles should be put in the packets. Before commencing the trick you may turn the bag inside out any number of times, so that your audience may conclude that it is quite empty. You can then cause to appear ordlsappear any number of articles of a light nature, much to the amusement of your audience.