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About two weeks ago, as Edward Wil- liams, a professional trainer of wild beasts, was going through his perform- ances in a Paris circus, a lioness that had long been under his care sprang upon him. He managed to get out of the cage after a most desperate struggle with the infuriated animal, but was terribly la- uerated, and soon fainted from loss of- blood. Still more recently, a man one gaged in a like occupation in Vienna was almost instantly killed by a lion whose cage he had entered, and was nearly de- voured in the sight of several thousand spectators. These occurrences have caus- ed several papers in Europe to demand that a stop be put to the practice of al- lowing persons to enter the cages of wild leasts for the purpose of afiording en- tertainment to spectators. There is nothing new about these occurrences, A large number of persons who have en- tered the cages of beasts naturally wild have never come out alive. Still, many tiger-tamers and lion-trainers have lived to a good old age and died in peaceful beds, leaving; corpses that were not dis- figured by scars of any sort. Van Am- burgh went into the cages of wild beasts as frequently as the politicianl of Ohi- cago who are crying for reform visit grog- shops, and never received any injury. Garter entered the cage of wild beasts al- most every day for about fifty years, and never had a scratch from one of them. Maccomo outlived half a dozen genera» tions of lions and tigers, and is now re- ported to be living in Italy, hale and hearty, and ready at any time, despite his great age. to subdue a lion for any showman. Bidel, the greatest wild beast tamer F rance ever had, stated that he had no more fear of lions, tigers, and leopards than he had of cattle, horses, and donkeys, and that he had never been injured by any of the former, though he had by the latter. He held his art in high esteem, and considered it (2f value The Art 01 Wild Beast Taming. The mosques of Herat are made ex- ceedingly picturesque by bluish-tessellated tiles ; the bazars are rich, and swarm day and night with motley groups of men from every part of central Asia, Afghanis- tan and India ; and bearing in mind all these facts, together with the fortuitous geographical position of Hex-at, it is no Wonder that the famous city is coveted both by Russia and England. It possesses the unenviable reputation of being one of those cities so happily situ- ated by nature that it must become perpetually the object of every powerful nation placed in its vicinity. few weeks ago, a. professional in an Eug- lish traveling circus boasted of the skill he had acquired in training animals that no one else could manage. The spec- There have been disputes about the true strength of the fortress. In 1846 General Farrier. of the British army, gave it as his opinion that the place was only an immense redoubt, which a Euro- ean army could reduce in twenty days, ut it in significant that in 1837, with the assistance of two English engineer lieu- tenants, the Heratees successfully held at bay for ten months a Persian army of 36,000 men suoported by fifty pieces of artillery, which were in many oases di- rected by expert Russian cflieers. The city is nearly quadrangular, with faces about a mile long, and the high in- ner wall of defence is pierced by four gstes pointing toward the different great cities with which it has communication. Thus, forinstance, the great gates in the cel- ebreted walls of Delhi were known as the Lahoree Gate, the Cashmere Gate, and so on. The stupendous earthwork upon which Heret is built has been the wonder of modern times, bring. according to Sir Henry Rawlinson, the great Eastern authority on such matters, 250 feet in width at the base, fifty feet high, crown- ed by a wall 25 feet high, and 14 wide at the base, and supported by no fewer than 150 circular towers. which again are protected by a. ditch 45 feet wide and 157jn depth. Situated picturesquely upon a spur of the Hindoo Kooah range, and surrounded by a. bewildering network of deeply irri- gated rice fieldsâ€"so bewildering that cavalry operations are made impossible with any freedom of actionâ€"Horst is at the same time powerfully fortified arti- ficially. Recent Russian travellers have averred that nowhere in the East is the art of canalization carried out so tho- roughly or on so vast a scale as it has been in the valley of Herat. where the waters of the Hen-i Rood are utilized to the utmost extent. This state of circum- stances naturally makes Herat a valuable basis of supplies for any army that may be fortunate enough to obtain possession of it. It is therefore no wonder that Herat has become a singularly important point of Central Asian commerce, roads forking from it into Persia, Kabool, Kan- dohar, to Beloochistan, and northwards through the Merba oasis. and Turkes- tan which is known as Bokhara. While Hex-at possessesimmense interest historically, it occupies geographical im- portanceof such a nature as has for many centuries made it the central point: for furious fighting among tribesmen and nations. Again and age-in it has been made the {mus fcr Persian fury and amBiuion, and itis only by continual hard fighting that; it now remains in the hands of the Ameer of Afghanistan. When England obtained, by intrigue, chicane and hard fighting, the dominant control of Hindeshan she fully recognized kHemt as one of the points d'appul from which an enemy might threaten that dominance, and hence it became the fashion to name the city “ the Gate of India.” The Stronghold over Whit-h l’ngland and fillusuln are (luau-cling. FAR-FAME!) HERAT. lgera, and 19, horses, never been though be his art in .b of value 11d With the advent of the pugnaoious English sparrow. which, if it carried a hip pocket, would most certainly be lia- ble to early apprehension for carrying con- cealed weapons, more innocent members of the feathered family tool: to the woods, and. having no other foes to face, these diminutive agents of the street-cleaning department fight among themselves with extreme desperation and a. fearless disre- gsrd of their surroundings. Yesterday afternoon two of them, for ressons best known to themselves, came to an issue, and. seeking a. clean place on the sidewalk in Vine street, went at each other at an awfully wicked way. There were no po- lice in sight to stop the mill, and soon the two birds were surrounded by a dense crowd of men. The little belligerents clutched and scratched and presumably swore at each other in choice sparrow talk. One of the bystanders finally stoop- ed down and picked them up. They perched in his hand and fought with no abated fury. Then he pulled them 8.; art, but they fluttered back to the sidewalk and clinched again. Once more he raised them in his hand and with the same re- sult. Again he drew them apart and The Prussian army counts among its higher oflicera 4 Field Marshal Generals, 53 Generals of infantry and cavalry, 77 Lieutenant-Generals. 130 Meier-Gener- als, 256 Colonels. 276 Lieutenant-Colo- nels, and 1,143 Majors of all arms. Of the Lieutenant-Generals about 5 per. cent do not belong to the nobility ; of the Major- Generals 18; of the Colonels 28, of the Lieutenant-Colonels 41, and of Majors about 43 per cent. This proportion is nearly reversed in favour of the bourgeois element for the category of Captains and snbaltern oflicers. A singular faot Is that the number of iron Crosses worn by offi- cers is becoming smaller and smaller; the highest number in any one regiment is 26 in the Twentieth Infantry. ovér the adjacen]: the sparrow roost In 1884 there was not a single death from small pox in either New York or Brooklyn. Boston, Baltimore, and San Francisco had each one death; Chicago 2 Cincinnati 22. Philadelphia 35, and New Orleans 291. New York takes the leed in deaths by measlee,djphthetia, and whoop- ing cough; Philadelphia in deaths b scar- letina and typhoid fever, while goston heads the list with deaths by diarrhtual disease, having over 800 cases more than New York. The American Machinist gives the numâ€" ber of locomotives belonging to American rnilroada at 29,227. Reckoning the life of a. locomotive at twenty-five years, there should be 1,169 of them constructed in order to malutmn the stock. A car wheel lasts about: eight years; America” are using 10,000,000 of them and produce 1,2»0,000 yearly. Nearly 4,000 miles of underground tel- egraphic cable has been laid in Germany, crossing seventy rivers, and leven or eight miles is laid under water. Most of the cable cont-aim seven wires and the rest four. The value of the fllbmaws and shark's fins exported from India to China last year was Rn. 600,000. The value of th product of Bombay mills, mostly cotton twist and yarn. exported to China was Rn. 16,200,000. There are over fifty penitentiarie- and 2,400 gaols in the United States. They contain 50,000 criminals. and their esti- mated cost is $500,000,000. Mary is the most common of all names in England. there being 6,819 out. of every 50,000 individuals answering it). William comes neit. with 6,590. 1 day.’ Whereupon a. quiet man in the ‘ crowd asked permission to enter the cages alone, which was granted. He handled the lions, tigers, and bears as if they were 1 kittens, put them through all the tricks they had been accustomed to perform, and deliberately came out of the cages. Several successful trainers of wild animals have been persons of scientific attain- ments, but many have been ignorant negroes and uneducated Hindoos. Courâ€" age and presence of mind are necessary endowments of the trainer of wild beasts. He must have nerve and quickness of ac- tion. Some species of animals are sub- dued by persistent kindness and the ex- ercise of continued patience. Others are brought into subjection by exciting their fear. Among the same species of animals are some that are soon render- ed tame and others that always retain their savage instincts. Few of our boys would be afraid to enter the cage of “Old Bob," the pet grizzly bear whose home has long been in Union Park. He has been a very amiable animal since his childhood. Still, his brother was a sav- age monster who would as soon devour a school-boy as a young fawn. Bears of nearly all species are very intelligent animals, and some of them are exceed- ingly playful and amusing. Pet bears are very common in India, and nearly everyiegiment hasa bear that is regu- larly fed with rations furnished the sol' diers. It is said to be a singular fact that beasts bred in captivity or captured when very young are often more danger- ous and difficult to render tame than those caught in their native wilds when of mature size. tators apylauded him as the “lion 9f the jnln A Ferocious Sparrow Fight. FACTS AND FIGURES. id and with the :2 l8 drew them apa. Arned to the icy pa‘ roofi in the din in the city par ued mom 5; arc, ) the sidewalk a more he raised h the name re- mm apart) and e icy pavement difference. The 4 mnAn n -n-L 00K kind. One or two leaves must be bruised and. applied to the pert, and the wound will be clcabrlzed In a short time. The following recipe will be found ex- cellent for breakfast or lunch : Mince any kind of cold mesh, season with pop- per and salt, and add afew bread crumbs. Cover the bottom of scallop-shells or small saucers with the meat, putting in each a blt of butter ; break a fresh egg on top of each and set in a hot oven; when the egg begins to cook sprinkle a. little cracker powder on it and a dues of salt. Serve The leaves of gemuiums are an excellent application for cuts, where the skin is rubbed off, and other wounds of that Then he rubbed his eye! and saidin- Ifanbly, “ just off the eta r-board bow, an." each and let begins to co powder on i hot. 1 British sailor at the Battle of the Nile, at the moment when the (fiicer of tho watch said to him, “Do you make out: the flsg-ship on the port or starâ€"board bow,Bill ?" was struck by a bullet in the head. For fifteen months that: sailor re- mained insensible, but not dead,with a ball in his skull which could not be ex- tracted. In the fulneas of time he was taken to Greenwich Hospital and trephix.ed,when the foreign body was removed from the neighborhood of his brain. Colonies of rotifers may be “desiccated” and rendered apparently lifeless ; and In this condition they may be kept for months and years,and possibly centuries. A single drop of water will restore them to life, and the wheel-bearers will instantly resume their functional ac- tivity “ precisely at: the point where it won so rudely broken off. ” This remin"| us of Is glory, oftenrepeat- ed, though possibly not capable of stand- ing tlle _st_.ri_ctes}1_ investigatiop : _ Men have made strange pets in their time. MLJadez Hogg keeps some of the strangest, in the form of a. few of the infusoria called “ wheel-animelcules.” These rotifera have many curious quali- ties,among which in that of suspending animation for an indefinite period with- out ceasing to live. The greatâ€"deck, as it now appears with- out a single gun, looked lonely enough. We desci nded by way of the decks be- tween to the cock-pic, Where the gallant: sailor died. It is a damp. gloomy, and si- lent place. where, on that eventful day, and at the close of Nelson‘s greatest bet- ile, the great chief was tenderly carried. The gallant esilor had requested that a mantle be thrown over him, so that, as they passed through the decks, he might not be recognized, lest his crew should lose heart in the desperate struggle. Around him,in the moment of death and of victory, stood a few of lhjs faithful officers waiting for his spirit to take its flight. It was at Southsea that the hero had embark- ed to fight the enemies of his country. The spot is now marked by one of the “ Viotory’s ” old anchors ; and to the same spot, later, came the returning boats in solemn procession| one of them bearing the remains of the hero of Trafalgar. What a contrast! England can well afford generous honors to such a naval chief. Suspended Animation. As we descend in the scale of animal life, we find that what kills the higher animall does not: injure the lower. Cut; a polyp in two and you have two living polyps instead of one dead polyp. Break off a lob-ter’s claw, and another one will grow. You may freeza a fly, but youcm- not freeze it to death. The following, from the St. James Gazette, not only to- ters to another possibility of infusorial life, but shows how a human life may be prolongodwihhoub the person’s having any consclounneu: After mining on board, an escort in pro- vided. Visitors are requested to mutate! their names and contribute a trifle toward paying for this escort duty by the crew, whose chief employment is to show visit- ore the interesting places on board. We first went on the main-Jack. A brass plate eat in one part of this deck is in scribed, “ Here Nelson fell.” Our guide said that “ Lord Nelson had no right to stand near this spot,” and that. “ he was killed by one of his own men, who hot him from the cross-tree: ” ; but we did not one to liaten to such a atory, believing, ra- ther. as indeed is the truth, that Nelson was killed by the enemy. Wm ‘em If thos retry in distilled Household Hints 32 ve wild ducks to dress and rosin well among ihe tannin of the but the drug will water. mute I); flu )u among According to the Building News, manu- facturers of wood mosaic say that they have found by experiments that hard maple on end is from four to five times as durable as marble and equally as dur- able as the hardest baked tile. It is re- ported that two end-wood floors were laid in the elevators of a. public building in Chicago about fifteen months ago, and that the floors are in as good condition as when first laid, althouvh each elevator carries from 1,000 to 2,L'00 people daily. Lord Durham'sincome is precisely what the late Lord Lousdsle's was when he succeeded his fatherâ€"£71,000 a year ; and it is thought that Gladys, Countess of Lonsdale, the bereaved widow, was at one time, at all events. not unwilling to assist, as Countess of Durham, in getting away with a. second income of the amount named. At present she is reduced to a pitiful £5,000 23 year. Her marriage with Many pains and penalties attach to the office of Irish vicero in these days, but In the presentation isees at the drawing room he is sometimes permitted to taste many sweets in full. Some girls are so frightened about this kiss, and some so eager, that they give instead of waiting to receive. It is on odd idea, one which evidently originated in a. more kissing age than ours. One can imagine what Lori Spencer may think of it, but what does Lady Spencer think ! aarians, whoâ€"Ba veri nameâ€"Al; Valeria drb'mg they had beerl ggunded 'b‘y the Diocletian more than a century 1 ly, and had retained, as anhonor his own family name of Valerian DOV The enormous wealth of the Orleans Princes is chiefly derived from Louis Phillppe's mother, who. in consequence of the death of her brother the Prince de Lsmbslle, became the sole heiress of her fsther, the Duke of Penthievre, the rich- est subject of France. The Duke died in 1793. His daughter had two days before his death been divorced from her worth- less husband, who was thusdebarred from touching her property. Flfty years ago France imported only 7,000 tons of oranges per annum, one- third of which were imported by way of Merseillea. The total importation of oranges Into France in 1884 amounted to about, 50,000 tons, 42,000 tons of which came from Spain. The import: from Al- geria have risen from seven tons in 1836 to 5,000 tons in 1874â€"3 fact which Frenchmen regard as another marvellous effect of progress of their beautiful Afri- can colony. A French statistican has discovered than up to the present. 2540 emperors and kings have governed 64 nations. Oat of this number 300 hive been driven from their thrones, 64 have abdicated, 24 have committed auicxde, 12 have become in- sane, 100 fell in battle. 123 were uptur- ed, 25 died martyrs, 151 hnve been usu- ainated, and 108 htve been condemned to death and executed according to luv. The present month, it is said, will Wit- noes direct steam communication by water between Cologne and London. The Ba- den Screw Steamship Company of Msun- heim has had constructed in Holland 3. double screw boat; for both river and Ocean navigation, which is built of steel, of 750 tons burden, drawing 8 feet on the Rhine, and, by water-ballast, 11 feet a: sea. In an article on “Inebriehv among Rail- road Engineers.” in 1he Phifaielphia. Medical and Surgical Reparter it: is stated that these men are exceptionally temper- ate. The nerve and brain exhaustion nt- tendant. upon their occupation is so great, however, that “inebriety among them is very precipitate and fatal." The Pacific Medical Journal referring to a recent. writer who asset-Cs that Maine lumbermen are free from dylpepsla be- cause they are in the habit of using chew- ing gum, says that “if he would add to his suggestion of chewing gum that of be- coming s lumbermsn the remedy would be very effective. The Medical World reports 5 casa,n0w under observation, in which the putient'a hairâ€"which had become prematurely grayâ€"Es slowly returning to its original color under the internal administration of le( sphorized cod liver oil. The World had previously noted similar restorations under the ssme treatment. An alligator 27 feet and 7 inches 101 g was recently caught out of Lake Wlmlicu, Florida, by VVyman Jones. He killed four dogs with one sweep of his enormous tail after he had been dragged ashore. The railways in England are severeiy aficcted by the general depression. Peo- ple don't. trnval, became they can’t af- ford it. First-class passen era ride third, and third-class puaaengers ide under the seats and dodge the ticket-collectors. Nancy Nance. Nancv Dance Hance, Nancy Vance, and Nancy are mentioned as residents of on counties of Georgia. A bottle of medicine was prescribed to 8. Toledo mm, with directioun to take “a teaspounful in water three times a day " He tuok it dailyâ€"in his bath tubâ€"and gotwell. Mme. Adrinette Palu has just died at Saint Pierre de la Martinique at the age of 121 years. She had a cistinctrecollec- tion of all the p rinci pal a van ts of the French revolution. The Sublei, one of the great streams of British India. is probably the awxfteat. large river in the world ; it has a descent of 12,000 feet. in 180 miles, an average of about 61 feet, per miie. merely renewe the East. Mr READABLE ITEMS. ncen mmflgqm ; that red 'b‘y the Emimrox 1 a century previous , a_s gphonorary title '21ch Dance, Nancy 9, and Nancy Mance ideuts of one of the £71,000 a 'om th'e' Roman triage with ndefinitely A comparison between the condition of India and China. he: been made by Sir Richard Temple, with a view of ascertain- ing whether the population of China is ex» aggerated in the native statistics, which show that the number of inhabitants is now over three hundred and forty-nine millions, being two hundred and twenty- seven persons to the square mile. In British India there are one hundred and eighty-three persons to the square mile. Sir Richard Temple concludes that there is probably no great exaggeration in the Chinese figures. although he deems them somewhat in excess of the truth. A correspondent gives the following : Provide Zfive |pounds of tallow, or three pounds of tellow and two pounds of resin (use any proportion of resin you please within a limit of two-fifth of the whole.) Melt the tallow and resin together, let them cool to 120 degrees by the ther- mometer, then pour into this mass slowly the lye made from one pound of caustic soda. 98 per cent pure, and two and one-half pints of cold water. Stir the mass verv thoroughly while pouring in the lye. The aim is to intimately dis- tribute the lye through every part of the grease. When it is well distributed, the mixture will drop from the stirrer like honey. Pour this now from the kettle into the 9. box lined with an old cloth, to prevent from sticking. Set it in a. warm place and wrap it weli with blankets for forty-eight hours. Then cut it inlo cakes to suit. This is good hard soap when snfliciently dried. But you may not succeed at the first trial. The first time I tried the lye was not combined with the grease, so that when it was pour- ed into the box the lye ran out through the bottom of the box, and I lost it ; a second trial brought good soar). I would nrlviun A case of lockjsw, caused by a wound to the hand, has been successfully treated at the Sunderland infirmsry, in the north of England. The patient was a. lad fif- teen years of age. Chlora] and bromide of potassium were the principal medicines administered. The patient was abundant- ly supported by nourishing food, and the utmost care was taken to maintain an equeble temperature of 65 degrees Fah- renheit in his room, whiie he was rigor- ously guarded against draughts of air. kettle ourthe stove a few water added. Boil it ‘and soda sofa-soap â€"a white jell In an abstract from Comptes Rendus. Protease: John Trowbridge, of Harvard College, gives an interesting account of a sexies of experiments made to ascertain how fer the light of day penetrates into the waters of Lake Geneva. It goes down to a. depth of five hundred and fifty feet, where it is about equal to the brightness of a clear night without any moon. The curious fact is recorded that in cloudy September weather the light descends further than in the bright days of Au- gust. The Medical Society of the Hospitals in Paris has set on foot an inquiry into the cantagionsness ofpulmonary consumption. Questions on the subject have been ad- dressed to all physicians practising in France. Similar efforts to collect infor- mation in England mud in Germany have not proved specially successful. Of twen- ty-three thousand English practltioners only fifteen hundred answered. and in Gennnny but two hundred out of sixteen thousand. ledge of aeronautical science was of con- siderable value to the French during the Franco-German war. The Boulder Uommittee of the R)ya Society of Edinburgh has made a report ascrib'mg the boulders in Scotland to “an oceanic current; from some north-wester- ly quarter, bringing menses of floafing ice, with boulders upon them,which bould- ers were deposited on our hills, then aub- marine, when the ice stranded on these bills” The committee will not undertake to say from what country these boulders must have come. An expedition will be fitted out at the Melbourne observatory to observe the to- tal eclipse of the sun on the 8th of Sep‘ mmber next. Tne party will go to New Z:aland, whxch is said to be the only land nr Bha world from which the total phase mu be seen. The duration of Lutaltty is but two minutes rnd a. half. The death is announced of the well- knnwn French balloonist. Mons Louis Goéard, who made a. moat perilous as- cenc wmh a dozan person: in a monster balloon, some twenty~two years ago, and was nearly killed by being dragged along the earth when coming down. His know- Mr. Ellis Lever ofl'ars a um equivalent to twenty-five hundred dollars as a prize for the invmtion or discovery of a. safe substitute for gunpowder in coal-mining operamona. Newa comes from France that crema- tion will shortly bu recognized by law in that country, as a legal mode of disposing of the dead. Observations made at seventeen me- teorological stations in Prussia indicate that, in forest-covered districts, the daily variations of temperature are less than in the open country. According to the Bulletin of the French Scientific Association. there has no) been a single death by lightning in the city of Paris or in the Department of the Seine since the year 1864. The eucalyptus will not grow in the hill districts of the province of Assam in British India. Making Hard and Soft Soap n'mmzsnmfsumnHt ITEMS. , aoithat when it was the lye Vrainr out through the have your dru put it i minutes you will uld XI with have 191'