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LONDON THE GREAT IS PROUD OF HER MESSENGER SERVICE. Never f‘ccnsed of Loafing or lmpndcnce' Audhlwnys Ah‘l‘l and Energetic ~§ome or the "arlous Errands Performed by the Messengersâ€"So Work is Too Strange For the Boys Io Undertake. London has a messenger service of which the British metropolis is proud. 1!. provides Smart, capable, ambitious lads, who vie with each other in executing their tasks, n a manner that: will win recognition and reward. BRIGHT MESSENGER BUYS. A writer says :â€"“A correspondent of! the St. James’s Gazette mentioned that, having :rebired Lo 3. spot in the north of Scotland twenty miles from any railway station, and five hundred from London. he was flattering himself that: he was sufl‘ici ently removed from all things savoring o the monsser city. But 10, in his pathway as he descended the hillside on his home- werd Way, unconcernedly stepped along a boy in the uniform of the London District Messengers with s bundle of fishing rods over his shoulder. He had been chartered from the Piccadilly office by two gentlemen on a bicycling tour. His duties, to valet them, travel with their luggage, while they were laboriously breasting hilly roads on safeties, and apparently to enjoy an occn. sional day‘s fishing. Who, would nol be a. District Messenger boy? “ But, upon further inquiry, it appears that, the stern path of duty occasionally leads messengers inbo places where they would prefer not to goâ€"and to undertake duties which are, to say the least, unpleas- ant. Not long since a private hotel rang up. When the boy presented himself he was told to send the biggest and nrongest they had. Fortunately a tall, strong lad of about eighteen was xn the office, who was in training for the police. He was accordingly dispatched to the hotel, it being about midnight, and was conducted to a bedroom upstairs, where he was told he was to sit up with agentleman who was in, and keep him in bed. After being there about an hour he came to the con- clusion that they had left him in charge and such proved to be the case. The boy, howeVer, stuck manfully to his post till the morning. Recently there was another curious case where an unfortunate man deranged in his mind appeared at one oi the oflices and asked for two boys to sit up with him to protect him. One was sent and the other was to follow, but before he came the man got so nervous that he sent the first boyâ€"â€"to his no small reliefâ€"for a policeman as well. pn “The public do not realize how carefully this elaborate messenger service is organ- ized. Every effort is made to insure the efficiency and absolute promptness of the service. Even amessenger police force had been organized in every district. The duties of this police are to occasionally. at uncertarn hours. petrol their district to take notice of any messenger who might chance to be improperly dressed, or per- forming his duties in a. Slovenly manner. The chances of this, however, are very remote, for a messenger is not only encour- aged to perform his errands in good time by the bestowal of silver medals carrying gratuities with them, but an offender in this way is first Warned, then fined, and lastly dismissed. Taken altogether, the discipline of the service, which is in the efficient hands of an old Horse Artillery- mau, who is enthusiastic in praise of his lads, is admirable, and strong esprit de corps pervades all ranks. of “Since this admirable organization took London by storm the General Post Office has lost, some of ins most treasured laurels, and moan emphacically been baten on its own ground in certain directions. The new service is so expeditiously and accur- ately performed, and withal so cheap, that often the demands of the company’s resources are diflicult to comply with, and many a time every messenger from a station will be out simultaneously. In fact, the organization is and feeling that a. service so praiseworthy and admirable must be a. matter of quickly growing interest, We have gleuned some particulars at headquarters for the benefit -of our readers. It is satisfactory to see, in the first place, that their healthy outdoor work has an excellent efiect on the army of boys in the company’s employ. All of them look the very picture of health, and despite their numbers, cases of sickness are extremely‘ rare. As an instance of the ceaseless call on these young messengers, a. fair example of a couple of dsy’s work at a. single branch may be given. At the Piccadilly office recently considerably over '800 cells were performed in two deys,some of these representing long journeys into the country, and including many trips into the suburbs. “Quite recently the company have start- ed a number of bicycles, so now for a. small additional fee an extra. accelerated service can be given. The royalties inflicted on the company by the Post Office are so excessive that several additional features have lately been introduced. “No erk is too strange for a. London District Messenger boy. Nothing ever surprises him. Quite recently one was ‘rung up’ for by an institution. On arrival he was conducted on he the Inform where GROWING AT A MIGHTY RATE, MOUNTED MESSEXGERS. A RAVIXG LUNATIC, a lecture on ambulance work was In pro- gress. His pteBBDCe was required tor we purpose of and having various limbs bound up “The otficials take a particular pleasure in taking on the stafl' one-armed or one- handed lads of good character. One of the oldest boys in the company’s service is one- handed; but if he is deficient of his proper complement of limbs he makes up for it in medals, of which he has earned four. Such an array is a. guarantee of good conduct and trustworthiness, so it is not surprising to learn that this boy has carried hundreds of pounds at one time with him to various parts of the country. In the summer he and another equally trustworthy lad took charge of the canteen of a. volunteer camp 1-4,, _ a i ' ' . “Few people have any idea of the work involved in summoning a. messenger. They little dream of the miles of Wire which have been laid, of fihe bsbtery-room beneath the district. office, of the difliculty of finding reliable superintendents. of the anxiety 0’ the superintendents to afford a good service to their numerous clientele. These winter storms haw-given theforemanlinesmanmany an anxious moment. Spsns of wire susp- ped by furious aqualls mean circuits sus- pended, and that means complaints from subscribers, naturally indignant. “ One feature of the meSsenger service has scarcely yet been developed, and is little known. When it is. it is sure to be‘ appreciated; for it is so simple and so per- fect in insuring its objectâ€"viz., absolute wetchfulness on the part of a. watchman. THE TELL‘TALI‘Z (‘LOf‘li is all very well, but it only tells its tale on the following morning. In the meantime the watchman may have been drugged or murdered, or be drunk. But under the Messenger Company system the watchman is obliged to signal to the district office at stated times, either hourly or half~hourly, as arranged. Should the signal not arrive within three minutes of the appointed time a messenger is sent to enquire the reason. Thus insistence can at any time be summon- ed Without the watchman leaving the building. A report is sent every morning to the manager of the building showing the times st which the watch cslls came in. “ Had this syatem, which is now in GP- erntion at the Cafe Royal. been there soon- er the murder of the night watchman must have been detected within an hour, or even a much shorter period. This would have probably meant the murder’s detection and possibly saved the life of the victim. “ In conclusion. the following are among the various errand? performed by the com- pany’s messengers; Leading a blind man about, taking a young lady to school, taking children to school daily and bringing them back, taking luncheon down to river picnics, acting detective in plain clothes, down into the weatconntry to pay a county court summons, shopping at, the stores, baking a newly arrived Indian servant, to the play, and a newly arrived German cook out for (and bringing her hock. to the disgust of her fellow servants, who hoped he had left her there.) Many other amusing in- stances might be related. but the list would be a. very long one. There is one other point which should be mentioned, and that is the utility of the fire and police call. Many serious fires have been extinguished by the prompt arrival of the ‘ Fire Queen,’ summoned by the call box. As will be readily understood, it is of paramount im- portance thntimmediately on the disomery of a. fire the whole energies of the person on the spot should instantly be devoted to extinguishing it. If, therefore, he has ready to his hand a. means of summoning assistance, without rushing out of the house to give an alarm, thereby making a draught which will fan the flames, it will he odds in favor of the fire being got under control by the prompt use of handy appli- ances at the initial stage. A couple of minutes’ delay might mean the total de- struction of the house. By the use of the callbox a fire, which broke out at 3 o'clock on a. Sunday night in a. house in Green street, Grosvenor square, 3 month ago, Was confined to two rooms. Had it not been for the prompt use of it the whole house must have been burned down. The police call, too, is in almost daily use.” Sport That Almost Necessltales the Wear in: of Leather Clolhlng. The bush is horribly dense and thorny, and the thorns are of such a. nature that the strongest cord breeches can scarcely withstand their assaults. The old girafle bulls, with hides nearly an inch thick, care for no thorn in the forest, and plunge through the armed thickets as though they were black current bushes. There is only one thing to be doneâ€"to forget the sickle thorns and follow them. The spurs go in, the gallant pony snringa forward, and the chase begins. It is tl'uly headlong. Crash go the tall giants, their long necks rising and falling rhythmically, their heads some- times bending low to escape a bough which all but scrapes the withers. it is wonderful how such monstrous game can evade branches and tack this way and that among the interruptions and obstacles of the forest. It is a. tough gallop. indeed, but in ten minutes the hunter has driven his pony right up to the tail of the nearest bull, and, from the saddle, has fired his ‘ shot. He falls behind a little, then closes up and tires again. Both bullets, planted‘ close to the root of the tail, have plowed deep into the short body of the giraffe and and done their work. The painted giant falters, sways, and then in an instant falls crashing to earth, carrying with him in his ruin a stout sapling. Dark chestnut of the coat (almost black with age upon the back), this old bull, measuring nineteen feet from the hoof to the tip of the false horns. forms a. noble prize indeed. As he lies there in the long yellow grass, he looks. surely, the strangest of all survivals of the fauna of the dark ages ; a priceless and pathetic relic left to the modern world by the rav- ages of time. Little Johnnyâ€"I’m goin’ to be a good boy, so I’ll be real religious when I grow up; .Fond Motllerâ€"annm’3 own treasure ! Would you like to be a. minister ‘2 Little Johnnyâ€"No’m ; I want to play the big drum in the Salvation Army. GIRAFFE HUNTING IN AFRICA. SIMULATING A C(JBPSE, A WALK I.\' THE PARK Johnny’s Ambition Home Sewing Points. “I see you are doing a job I have always disliked, Mrs. Peters.” said Mrs. Price, as her friend resumed the work laid down at her entrance. “I often wish we could return to the old fashion of buttons and buttonholes on all dresses. it is so difficult to have hooks and eyes look nicely.” “I used to find it so," replied Mrs.Peters, “until I learned from a dressmakerI had at the house. W hen ready for the facings,l turn down both sides of the front about l quarter of an inch on the side for the eyes, l and about half an inch on the Side for the hooks, and haste it. Sew on the hooks and eyes, evenly, through the little rings, and also over the sides to keep them firm. You need not break 03' the thread every time, but carry it from one to the other. When this is done, out the facings, and overcast them across the eyes and under the hooks. In this way hooks and eyes are both covered, except the little part that is needed. The only dilficult part is to have the eyes project the exact distance neces- sary. which should be about an eighth of an inch.” “I think those directions will help me next time,” said Mrs. Price. grateful y. Now I‘ think I will tell yon what I learned from». dressmaker, though I think very likely you may huve practiced it.” “I always had trouble with my skin: sagging in the middle of the back, until I learned of semng large eyes on each side of the middle of the belt and hanks to match on the seams of the waist. I never had anyymore lrouble of that kind. ... ..v u “pimps lac-3t,” waé the answer, “let me hear it." J .. , w, “Yes,” remarked Mrs. Peters, “I have used that plan and found it, very saiisfac- mry. Please excuse me a moment, while Ilookior a bit. to mend this undershim‘ with.” Returning a few moments later,‘ she said : “I can't bear to see flannels and stockings or other clothes mended wuh thread or material Lhac does not match. I sometimes think a hole is almost preferable to a grey stocking darned with blue, or black underskirc bound with red,or a brown atch where there should be a black one. untons, all kinds of mending threads, in cotton, linen, silk and wool, bindings in taffeta, ribbons and even webbing by the yard are to be bought at most reasonable prices for making old things as good as new, and for keeping the new in perfect condition." “For that reason,” remarked Mrs. Price, " I think it would be an economy in the same direction to buy the some makes and colors in flannels and hose from season to season. so that one may have material to reinforce weak places without, buying it." “ That is true,” was Mrs. Peter's Feply, “and for that, reason I often think it) econo- my to dress in one color entirely or to dress a. child so.” “ Yotiitrion'firmean always in one shade of color 1’” asked Mrs. Price, rather depreâ€" catiqgly. . .u .‘ -1 “ Oh: no, indeed," was the quick answer. ” But if one's clothes and hats and gloves were either all blue. of which many shades could be used from the darkest navy blue to light. blues in wash goods. and shirt waists, it would save much trouble in match- ing linings, silk, thread, etc., left. over from dressmaking. Or, if they were all brown.” 7“I belieéle theie is Something in your idea, Mrs. Peters. I shall think about it.” Rice. While rice is often seen on the table, it is with many people considered a. dish only fit for invalida, and with others always cooked in one of two or three ways. This should not be, for there are many dainty and pal- atable ways of preparing it. In cool weather when cooked rice will keep for several days, cook quite a. quanti' ty and press in in a mouldâ€"a. long or square cake tin makes a good one. Either simply boil the rice in water or cook it in a double boiler, using one cup of rice to three of sweet milk. When cold, out off slices as needed. One pretty way of using is to spread layers of bright-colored jelly be- tween slices of the cold riceâ€"three layers Another fancy dish is made by taking slices of the rice, rubbing butter over them and browning in a broiler. Spread on a hot platter and put. cooked chicken (minced) on each slice ; garnish wich parsley and serve hot. Simply browned in butter and served as “ rice boast," it; is a delicious and easily prepared breakfast, dish. of rice and two of je11y~then slice down through it and serve cold, with cream and sugar. Cook the rice and pack in wet cups; when cool. turn out. on a. flat dish and place a lump of jelly on top of each ball and serve either with cream or a sauce made of sugar and butter. When the rice is cooked in milk it is converted into “cream- ed rice” by adding (as soon as cool) a cup- ful of atitfly whipped cream seasoned with lemon. Pile roughly on a dish and serve when very cold. Plain boiled rice is to some tastes an in- sipid dish, bus if served with lemon in is very different, in both taste and appear ance. Before putting the rice on to cook. slice 8. lemon chin and cover with sugar. When the rice is in the dish ready for the table, pour the syrup over it and place the slices of lemon over the hop and serve one or mm: 01 the slices With each dish of rice. Rice fritters are made by boiling a cup of rice in a. pint of milk. adding the beaten yolks of three eggs, a tablespoonful of sugar and two of flour. When cold, add the whims of the eggs, beaten stiff, and drop by spoonfuls in hot lard. Fry 3. deli- cate brown. Soup Krout and Bologna. This meLhod of preparing cabbage is given by a. Dutch woman who was noted for making excellent sour krout : Slice cabbage with a. slaw cutter or very sharp knife, sprinkle a little sale on the Hausehoiw‘ bottom ofa jar or cask, put: in some col)- bage and salt it as you Would the same quantity for cookino. Pound and pack it; down closely, about an inch in depth, with swooden pounder, but be careful not to bruise the cabbage. Now put in another layer of cabbage about an inch in dep nh and sell; it as before, then pound down. Fill the cask or jar, pressing each layer down as hard as possible without bruismg the cabbage. Cover the top with two lay- ers of cabbage leaves. an oaken board and heavy weight]. Pour water over slowly till it shows a little at the top. If the cabbage was packed very firmly, a very little water will suffice. Tie a. thin cloth over the cask 3nd set it in a moderately warm place until fermentation ceases. This may be determined by the non-appearance of bubbles around the outside. It, will ordinarily require three or four weeks to complete the process, when a cloth should be tied over the cask and it, should be set in a cool place. If no water is used the kreut will not. be as white: if too much salt is used fermentation is checked. Bologna Sausage.â€"Thia receipt for mok- l ing bologna. has been tested and found to be good : Take three pounds at lean beef, three pounds of lean pork, two pounds of fat bacon and a pound and a half of beefl suet : put the lean meat into a saucepan of hot Water and set. the saucepan over the fire {or half an hour. Cut the pieces fine, each kind by itself. Chop the suet and bacon, each by itself. Season each with e per, a. little thyme and ground mace; chop all lightly together. Fill skins with 1 the mixture, tie them in lengths, and put them in heat brine for ten days, then smoke them. To prepare the skins: Take beef intestines, cut them in long strips, wash thoroughly in warm water, turn them and ‘wasn again. Scrape thoroughly, wash in two or three waters, then soak them in salt water till wanted for use. The skins must be handled carefully in the process of cleansing as they are often quite tender and tear easily. TESLA‘S MARVELLOUS INVENTION. The oscillator Expecled lo Dlsplace lin- gincs In Ocean Ships. Tesla’s latest invention. the “oscillator,” is described as being the core of a steam engine and the core of a dynamo combined, making a harmonious mechanical adjust- ment. This combination constitutes a ma- chine which has in it the potentiality of reducing to the rank of old bell metal half the machinery at present moving on the? face of the globe. It may come to do the entire work of the engine of an ocean steamship within a small part of the space l they occupy, and at a fraction of their cost both of construction and operation. It wil do this work without jar or pounding and will reduce to a minimum the risk of de- rangement or breakage. There is nothing in the whole range of mechanical construc- tion, from railway locomotives to stamp mills, that such an invention may not revolutionize. The essential characteristic of the machine is the application of the pressure of steam to produce an extremely rapid vibration of a bar of steel or piston, which, in turn, is so adapted to a set of magnets that the mechanical energy of the vibration is converted into electricity. The extraordinary result is that practically an absolutely constant vibration is established, and a power is obtained greatly beyond that obtainable in the most costly expansion engines using a. similar amount of steam. Moustaches Prohibited. This is the rule at the well-known hank ing house of Messrs.Coutts & Co.,59 Strand. None of the bank clerks wear moustaches, and it has long been considered a. point of business etiquette that all the gentlemen employed at the bank should wear frock- coats during business hours. A clerkship at Messrs. Coutts’ is considered one of the prizes in the banking profession. Some of the men are university graduates, many have been educated at one of the great public schools. while several have been called to the English bar. Some years ago an attempt was made to have the unwritten law regarding moustaches rescinded, but it was found that a greater number preferred the old custom to remain in force than were in faVor of its abolition. ’Ihis curious custom is also said to prevail in some of the large tea houses in the city. while it is well known that some Church of England bishops prefer the curates under their charge to be clean shaven. A lady who tried about three years ago to enforce a shaved face on the groom in her employ- ment,and dismissed him at once because he refused compliance with her order, found that the law gave her no such power, and was mulcted in £.) lor wrongful dismissal and the costs of the action by the Judge of the Bedford County Court. An inspection of the clifl’ between DoverI and St. Margaret’s shows that an enormous slip has taken placee-the largest subsidence of coast 0113', in fact, which has occurred for many years. When it happened, on Sunday, a dull ronr was heard in the distance, followed by a cloud of dust from debris, which blew across Dover Bay almost like a sea fog. There is every appearance that when the frost breaks further slips will occur, as there are several places along the clifi" where there are great cracks on the top, as well as in the face of the clifi‘. One is right in front of the convict prison, which, in course of time, as well as the South Foreland Lighthouses and the Corn- lhill Coastguard Station, must stand in great danger of slipping into the sea unless some measures are taken for the protection of the foreshore. So serious has been the effect in recent years of the encroachment of the seal. that the whole line of diff between Dover and St. Mar- garet’s is becoming extensively honey- comhed at the base. Associate with men of good qtulity, if you esteem your own reputabion; in is better to be alone than in bad company-â€" Wuhingtom The Sea’s Inroads on England. The output of the shipbuilding yards in the United Kingdom in 1894 exceeds that of 1693 by more than 210,300 tons, and the prOpOK'UOD oi steam tonnage to the toml tonnage launched in larger than ever before. The country has not, says The Saturday Review, reached the production of 1889 which was 12%; per cent. greater than tint of 1594, but last; year was the best of the past five years. Six hundred and fourteen merchant vessels of a gross tonnage well exceeding 1,000,000 were built last year in the United Kingdom, against 318 vessels witha groaa tonnage of 270,000 built in the colonies and foreign countries put to- gather. The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the recent debate on the depression of trade, said that at the present tihle there is twice as much cotton imported for mann- tacture as there was twenty years ago, that cotton in half the price. but that A Severe neprnsuon. mu II Shlplmlldlng and in lin- (‘ollon :nul Woollen lm‘lun try Trade Is Fairly Good. WAG ES ARE HIG HER. He contended tlmt a. fall in prices affects the profits oi the capitalists most, but that the thing in which the laborer is interested is the volume of trade. If there are so many millions of pounds of cotton imported. and worked up there mustbeso many more thousands of men employed, and it is a. fact that the volume of trade has not diminish- ed. “What has happened in the last ‘ twenty years hes been thisâ€"that the laborer who works up the material gets a. far larger share of the profits than in tormer days,and no doubt thatisagnmto him,buta loss to the third partner,who gets a smaller ahare. The quantity of raw cotton imported in 1893 was 12,600,000 cwt. : m 1894 it was 15,965,000. The imports of raw wool in 1803 were 672,000,000,and 1894 699,000,- 000. In 1893 the exports of cotton yarn were 206,000,000 pounds, in 1894 236,000,- 000 pounds, and the exports of cotton manufactures in 1893 were 57,700,000. endin1894 57,000,000. 80 in both cases the values were larger, but the quantities of material were immensely larger.” Sir William Harcourt also made as to pauperism. In 1851 pauper-ism on the total population was 4.5 per cent.; in is now 2.4 per cent., or about one-half. or children under 16 it. was then 5; it is now “2.3. From the ages of 16 to 60 is was 1.4: it is now 5. In old age after 60 it was 2L5; it is now 13.7 In 1849 the mean adult pauperism was 13 per 1,000 :it has now fallen to 7.7 :hut it never fell much below that figure until after 1871, when the fall in prices began. This has refer- ence to the period since 1871. From 1849 to 1871 the fall was down to 7.7 but. it has now fallen concurrently with the fall in prices to 2.4. There is severe depression in Great Britain, no doubt, but there are facts also which tell on the other side, and Show that the progress of the people in comfort and abundance of food has been continuous. AMENITIES OF THE BATTLEFIELD. They Are occasionally Abillfll and Show l‘lemlrul Lack ofLoglc. Archibald Forbesaays the abstract. theory of the “ amenities of war ” is preposterous You strain every eEort to reduce your ad veraary to impotence; he falls wounded whereupon, should he comeinto your Mada, you promptly devote all your exertions to saving his life and restoring him to health and vigor, in order that he may go home and swell the ranks of your enemy. This is, no doubt, humanity, but. it. is supremely illogical. Mai-bot rs counts in his memoirs perhaps the most absurd application ever made of the theory of the “ amenities.” In the battle of Austerlitz a. body of beaten Rue. siaus, about 5,000 strong, strove to escaPe across the ice on the Satschan Lake. IVE- poleou ordered his artillery to tire on the ice, which was shattered, and men and horses slowly settled down into the depths, only a. few escaping by means of poles and. ropes thrust out {50m shore by‘the French. Next morning Napoleon, riding around the positions, saw a wounded Russian oflicer clinging to an ice lies a hundred yards out and anti-eating help. The Em- peror became intensely interested in the euccor of the man. After many failures, Marbot and another ofl’icer stripped and swam out, gradually brought the ice floe toward the shore, and laid the Russian at Napoleon’s feet. The Emperor evinced more delight at this rescue than he had manifested when assured of the victory of Austerlitz. He had no compunction as to the fate of the unfortunates whom his artillery practice of the day before had sent to their death. Why Ice Floats. Ice is specificolly “ lighter" than water just about to freeze, and, therefore. floats upon it. That is one reason why the formation of ice usually, but not always begins at the surface. Another reason is because of its peculiar low of expansion. The general law is that cold induces con- traction. This holds good in the case of water only to a certain point. When water has cooled down to within 7.4 deâ€" grees of freezing it ceases to contract as before. and, with increased cold, actually begins to expand, and continues to do so until it freezes. This expansion causes the colder portions of the water to rise to the v ..... r V, . h _ surface. Abovg we have sand that 106 does not always begm to form at the surface of the winter. The exception is in the case of what is known as “ground” or “anchor ice." In this case the whole body of the water is cooled at the same time to below the freezing point, and the substances at the bottom, such as the stones and pebbles of river or lake beds, serve as nucleus or point of congelatiou and crystallization for the water. This rare species at ice is formed under such ‘peculiar circumstances that others than [students and experimenters seldom see it. AN INTERESTING COMPARISON BRITISH TRADE