remedy. Close to the crossing was a pile of lumber, and climbing that he
leaped onto the roof of the car and released the rope guiding the pole
onto the wire. He took his life in his hands, for his brave act was all
enacted in the face of a fast approaching express, and the sudden start
nearly threw him from the roof. In the general excitement that followed
the little fellow slipped away, and for some time the impression
remained that the rope had loosened itself just in time. But the
railroad company knew of the boy's brave act, and he did not lose by his
courage.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
[Illustration: Royal Baking Powder]
[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
[Illustration: BICYCLING]
This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.
Again it is necessary to give up the Department to answering questions.
There are many inquiries which can be and are answered by letter, and as
they are special requests on certain particular points not of any great
general interest, we do not mention them here. Some points are brought,
however, which are of such general interest that when it is possible we
mean to answer them in the ROUND TABLE. Many requests have come during
the last week or two asking how to keep a bicycle bright, what to put on
it, how to take it apart, and so on. In HARPER'S ROUND TABLE dated March
24, 1896, No. 856, there is a carefully prepared article, entitled "The
Care of a Wheel," answering most of these questions, and a copy of this
issue can be obtained from the publishers by sending five cents in
stamps. One or two correspondents mention one, two, and three week trips
which they are planning, and they ask what they should carry in the way
of luggage and hammock. Another article, published in the same issue of
the ROUND TABLE, entitled "Bicycle-touring During Summer Vacations,"
will be found to cover most of these points. Of course there are many
points which a wheelman most surely can learn for himself by experience.
At the same time the general suggestions made in these two articles will
be found useful to anyone who has either touring or the best care of his
bicycle in mind.
YOUR CONSTANT READER asks about the expense of touring. He is about
starting with his brother on a tandem to run from New York to Washington
and return, spending about two weeks on the trip. He asks if the Road
Book of the L.A.W. gives the best route. It certainly does. One may
find, however, a somewhat more detailed description, with map, in the
ROUND TABLE, Nos. 812, 820, 821, 844, 845, 846, 847, 848, 849, which can
be procured at the regular price from the publishers. Our correspondent
then asks about the price of such a trip. This is always a difficult
question to answer, since the amount of money spent depends more on the
man than on the trip. A trip from New York to Washington and return,
occupying two weeks, or any other similar trip occupying that extent of
time, may be done for $30 apiece, that is to say, about $2 per day for
each man. There is no question about it. Such trips have been made at
such rates. Of course that means a care in expenditures that is totally
beyond the capacity of some people. It would mean that meals should be
procured at farm-houses along the way, and that wherever possible nights
should be spent either in farm-houses or under the sky in the fields.
The last plan is often not the least interesting part of such a trip,
and if the bicyclists--if "Your Constant Reader," for example, who is
going on a tandem, and can thus carry a good deal of baggage--can
procure a bicycle camping outfit, such as is used in some of the
military bicycle companies, there will be few more comfortable beds
along the route. When it rains, the farm-house or inn can be resorted
to, but as a rule the out-door nights will be quite as pleasant. In
making such a fort-night's journey, however, the average young man will
do well to make an appropriation of about four or even five dollars a
day, and then he will not have much left when he gets home. Fifty
dollars would be a reasonably small amount. And that takes no account of
a bad fall and consequent fracture to the wheel.
L. E. BARNET asks how to join the L.A.W., what are its advantages, and
what its purposes. We have announced from time to time at the head of
this column that we would give information so far as possible concerning
the L.A.W., and this has been done in a great many cases. Mr. Barnet's
questions give an opportunity for us to say a word regarding the
purposes of the League. This organization is composed of men interested
in bicycling in all its many branches, in the construction of good
roads, and in the protection of the rights of all others who are riding
wheels. If you join the League you become a member of the division which
is composed of all the members residing in your State. This division
issues road-books of one kind or another, some containing maps, others
only description. By becoming a member and paying two dollars you
receive a copy of this book free and a ticket or member's card which
gives you somewhat reduced rates at hotels of standing all through your
State, and all through the United States for that matter to-day. In the
many League meets you may take part in racing and so on, and most
important of all, you become an influence for improving the roads of the
United States in a way that would be totally beyond your power as an
individual.
THE HUNTER.
BY EMMA J. GRAY.
This very lively game is played by both boys and girls, and the more, of
course, the merrier. The hunter must be a boy, and to decide which boy
it is best to count out. Use for counting the old rhyme,
"Ana, mana, mona, mike,
Bassa, lona, bona, strike,
Hare, ware, frown, stack,
Halloka, balloka, wee, woe, why, whack."
Whoever is fortunate enough to have the word "whack" counted to him is
out, and then the rhyme must be repeated over and over, and finally the
hunter is left. It now becomes his duty to name the rest of the company
as his equipments as sportsman, and also as his game--for example,
pointer, setter, two species of hunting-dogs, and shot, belt, powder,
gun, powder-flask, rifle, cartridge, rabbit, squirrel, partridge,
kingfisher, etc., etc.
Put two rows of chairs back to back. There should be one chair less than
there are players. This done, each one of the company except the hunter
takes a chair. The hunter, standing before the rest of the players, then
sings, to the tune "I love a sixpence,"
"I am a hunter, a jolly, jolly hunter;
I love hunting as I love my life."
This he may sing over as many times as he likes, but finally stops short
in the middle or anywhere, and immediately calls out a name--for
instance, "Shot." The person bearing this name must at once rise, and
hurrying towards the hunter, must take hold of the back of his coat or
jacket. Then the hunter continues his song, and calls for each one,
until all are behind him, each holding firmly to the one in front. When
all are in place, the hunter starts running, all of the party following
and holding tightly together. He may run around the chairs or wherever
he pleases, provided he keeps in the room. For fully two minutes this
must keep up, when suddenly he will call "Bang!" and instantly sit on
one of the chairs. Of course there is a great scramble for every one to
do likewise, but as one chair is short, some one is necessarily left
out, and this person now becomes the hunter.
The game now continues as before, or it may be varied by the hunter
having to find something hidden.
Any object may be placed out of sight in the room, and when the hunter
nears it, the company may aid him by the usual words, "warm, warmer,
hot," or "cool, very cold, freezing, zero, below zero," etc. If he finds
it within five minutes, he may choose another hunter, but if not he must
pay a forfeit, to be determined by the rest of the players.
Or the game may be played in a similar way by the use of nautical
instead of hunting terms. Should this be preferred, the hunter becomes
the captain, and instead of singing to his company he may blow a few
blasts on a horn. He is supposed to be on shipboard, so he must have
ship equipment, crew, officers, passengers, cargo. Again the players
must be named, only this time call them life-boat, rope, anchor, sailor,
steward, captain's boy, purser, first mate, doctor, etc., etc.
[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB]
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
THE KALLITYPE PRINTING PROCESS.
The kallitype printing process was invented and patented by Dr. Nichol
of England, professor of chemistry in Mason College. The name
"kallitype" is often confounded with "calotype," the name which Talbot
gave to his paper negative process, patented in 1841. Both names are
derived from the same Greek words meaning "beautiful picture." Kallitype
paper is coated with two iron salts--ferric oxalate and ferric
nitrate--and with silver oxalate and silver nitrate. The action of light
on the ferric oxalate is to reduce it to ferrous oxalate. This paper is
not a printing-out paper, but must be developed. A developing solution
is prepared as follows:
Rochelle-salt 1 oz.
Borax 3/4 oz.
Water (filtered) 10 oz.
Make up a solution of 20 grains of bichromate of potash and 1 oz. of
water, and another solution of four drachms of ammonia to 1 quart of
water. When ready to develop the prints, add ten drops of the bichromate
of potash to the developer. Place the prints in the developer face down,
taking care that no air-bubbles form on the surface of the paper. When
the paper is thoroughly saturated it can be turned face up. Leave the
prints in the developing bath for at least twenty minutes, then, without
washing, place them in the dish containing some of the ammonia and
water. This is the fixing bath. Leave them in this bath for about ten
minutes, then turn out and cover with fresh ammonia and water. Let them
remain ten minutes in this second fixing bath, wash and dry.
The prints made on this paper closely resemble platinotype prints, but
the process is much cheaper. If purplish tones are desired, make up a
developing bath with a quarter-ounce of borax instead of three-quarters.
The developer containing the three-quarter ounce of borax gives black
tones. The bichromate of potash added to the developing solution keeps
the prints clean and increases contrast.
SIR KNIGHT BERT A. PORTER, Strong, Me., asks if directions have
ever been given for copying pictures and mailing interior views; if
a brass plate can be prepared so that a picture may be printed on
it; and the best kind of paper to use to obtain clear lights.
Directions for making interior views will be found in Nos. 805,
806. If one has not a copying-stand, the best substitute will be a
board the width of the camera bed, and about five feet in length.
At one end fasten a piece of board large enough to allow the
picture being tacked to it, having it at exactly right angles with
the long board. The camera is then attached to the board at the
best point for making the picture. This simple method of arranging
the picture and camera does away with the trouble of adjusting the
camera and picture so that the lines will be parallel. Use
orthochromatic plates if the picture is colored, but any good plate
will do if the picture is black and white. Use a slow plate.
Pictures may be made on wood, leather, porcelain, and textile
fabrics, but pictures on metal are not successful by the ordinary
process. Any good aristo-paper will give clear whites if properly
toned and washed. Sir Knight Bert would like to correspond with any
one who wishes to purchase a 5 by 8 camera.
[Illustration]
A SOLDIER OF NAPOLEON.
Most of us nowadays, when thinking of the Napoleonic wars, consider them
as a part of the remote past, and it is difficult to realize that there
may be people still living who took part in the battles of Marengo,
Jena, and Waterloo. But all of Napoleon's soldiers are not yet dead, and
one man who fought under the great French general is said to be living
now near Cleveland, Ohio. Whether that is true or not, it is a fact that
only recently one of Napoleon's old warriors died at the Soldiers' Home,
Kearny, New Jersey.
His name was Henry Mueller, and a picture of the old gentleman is given
herewith. He was born in Germany in 1794, and when the French armies
invaded Prussia Mueller was fifteen years old. With many of his
compatriots, he was drafted into the Grand Army, and marched off to
Russia to fight the Cossacks and the cold. He was at Moscow, and tramped
all the way back in the disastrous retreat, suffering untold tortures,
and seeing his fellow-soldiers falling in the snow almost at every step.
But Mueller kept up, and lived to get back into Germany, and to fight at
the battles of Bautzen, Leipsic, and finally in the great battle of
Waterloo.
After Napoleon had been captured by the British and sent to the lonely
island of St. Helena, and the great armies of Europe had been disbanded,
Mueller took ship and came to the United States. Not long after his
arrival in this country the Seminole and Mexican wars broke out, and the
old spirit of the soldier was reawakened in Mueller, and he went again
to the front, this time wearing the American uniform and fighting for
the American flag. So much warfare had now made a confirmed soldier of
the German, and so when the war of the rebellion broke out in 1861 he
again took up his musket and fought through the entire war.
One of the most wonderful things of all these experiences is that
Mueller was never seriously wounded, and managed to keep himself in such
good health that he lived to be over one hundred years old, and spent
his last days in peace and comfort in the Soldiers' Home, smoking his
long German pipe on the lawn under the trees, and telling of his own
personal experiences, which, to most of us, are part of a very remote
history.
* * * * *
A POUND OF FACTS
is worth oceans of theories. More infants are successfully raised on the
Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk than upon any other food. _Infant
Health_ is a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Send your address to N. Y.
Condensed Milk Co., N. Y.--[_Adv._]
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Postage Stamps, &c.
$117.50 WORTH OF STAMPS FREE
to agents selling stamps from my 50% approval sheets. Send at once for
circular and price-list giving full information.
C. W. Grevning, Morristown, N. J.
[Illustration: STAMPS]
100 all dif. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c., 200 all dif. Hayti,
Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List FREE! C. A.
STEGMANN, 5941 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Mo
STAMPS
=10= stamps and large list =FREE=!
L. DOVER & CO., 1469 Hodiamont, St. Louis, Mo.
[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
[Illustration: COLUMBIA BICYCLES]
HARPER'S
PERIODICALS
Hold their place in the front rank of the publications to which they
belong.--_Boston Journal_, Feb. 19, 1896.
MAGAZINE, $4.00 A YEAR
WEEKLY, $4.00 A YEAR
BAZAR, $4.00 A YEAR
ROUND TABLE, $2.00 A YEAR
A Good Story about Mr. Blaine.
It often happens that men in public life find themselves in possession
of sources of power--or it may be of weakness--of which they did not
dream, and which, in not a few cases, they themselves maintain they do
not possess. Sometimes they are at a loss to know why the public insists
upon attributing the peculiarities to them.
During the political campaign of 1884 some gentlemen, serving on a
reception committee, met Mr. Blaine on a railway train journeying toward
the city at which a great meeting was to be held. Mr. Blaine was the
Republican candidate for President, and, of course, the centre of
interest. Always one of the most charming of conversationalists, he sat
in the centre of a group of admirers who, as the train sped on, asked
him questions of the campaign and of himself.
"May I ask you," interposed one young man, "if you know why people
insist upon cheering so wildly whenever you come in sight? Or, not to be
too blunt, do you know the secret of your magnetic power? This power you
possess more than almost any other man in our history, unless it might
have been Henry Clay."
"Now, frankly," said Mr. Blaine, "I do not. All I know about it is that
ever since, as a young man, I began speaking in public, people insisted
upon 'cheering wildly,' as you say, 'almost insanely,' I say. They did
it, too, before I had said or done anything, so it could not have been
my record in public life. I cannot explain it, though I have often been
asked to do so."
"Then you found it one of your assets as a public man, just as some
other men in public life have found a reputation for coldness a deficit,
so to speak," observed the chairman of the reception committee, an older
and a more experienced man than the first questioner.
"Exactly," responded Mr. Blaine. Then, thinking of his pending
candidacy, a cloud of trouble flitted over his face, long of a peculiar
whiteness, and he added, "I am trying to realize on that asset now."
Great as the "asset" was, he failed to realize his greatest hope upon
it.
* * * * *
A Hammock Convenience.
These summer nights I camp out often. The other night we told
riddles, and I told this one. It was not guessed. The answer is
"Hatteras."
My first is an article of dress,
One, two, is the man who will make it.
My last is as-- But if I tell more
You'll have no chance to mistake it.
My whole is a point that can't be disputed;
That its position's a sound one was never refuted.
J. G. BATTERSON.
ASBURY PARK, N. J.
* * * * *
A Wonderful Look Ahead.
My uncle is an electrical engineer, and he told me to-day something
of the future, so wonderful that I send it to the Table. May I call
it a prophecy?
"The young person of to-day," said my relative, "who reaches the
age of forty-three years--just my present age--will see, in that
year of grace which will be 1925, a very different state of things
from what I see at the same age. We talk of our own wonderful
progress, but you, my young man, are destined to see changes in the
next twenty-eight years that bring you from fifteen to forty-three
beside which past changes are modest indeed.
"To begin with, you will see people flying through the air--that
is, there will be mechanical flying-machines, under perfect
control, that will carry passengers and packages through from place
to place by the 'air route.' There is no doubt of this. Flying is
solved.
"In the second place, you will see light not the expensive thing it
now is, but as cheap as water, and turned on in every house at
will, as water now is in towns and cities. It will be vacuum light.
"In the third place, you will witness the passing away of the
steam-boiler, the furnace, and the coal-dealer. In your city of
1925 there will be no trolley poles, and, more startling still, no
horses--or at least very few horses. The horse is doomed. Neither
will there be screeching locomotives on the railways. Compressed
air and electricity will take the place of steam and horses. People
will not order coal delivered at their houses, nor will any ash man
come around to make his morning litter. Your city of 1925, and your
country, too, will be rather more desirable places to live in than
they are to-day. I envy you your youth. I shall be, if alive, past
eighty, and too old to enjoy such novelties."
What does the Table think of this wonderful look ahead?
ASHBEL P. JOHNSON.
BUFFALO. N. Y.
* * * * *
Kinks.
NO. 7.--POETICAL PICTURES.--BIRDS.
Fill the blanks with the names of birds answering to the description,
and find out the author's name. Answers will be published soon.
"O *****, that dost wing
Thy flight from the far away!
Thou hast brought us the signs of the spring,
Thou hast made our sad hearts gay." (1)
"From post to thicket
Hops the ******* blithe, sedate;
Who, with meekly folded wing,
Comes to sun himself and sing." (2)
"The ***** and the ******** piping loud,
Filled all the blossoming orchards with their glee. (3-4)
The ******** chirped, as if they still were proud
Their race in Holy Writ should mentioned be, (5)
And hungry ***** assembled in a crowd,
Clamored their piteous prayers incessantly." (6)
"The noisy ******** twitter 'neath the eaves." (7)
"The ********* beats his throbbing drum: (8)
The ********** pecks and flits: (9)
The ****** flashes by." (10)
"The *** red-breast
Peeps o'er her nest
In the midst of the crab-blossoms blushing." (11)
"From morn to morn a merry ******
Sings hymns to sunrise." (12)
"Yonder gaudy ******* harshly cries,
As red and gold flash all the eastern skies." (13)
* * * * *
Answers to Kinks.
No. 6.
1. Drum. 2. Assassin. 3. Bat. 4. Sole, soul.
[Illustration: THE PUDDING STICK]
This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young
Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the
subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.
"How shall I perform an introduction?" inquires a girl who likes to do
things gracefully, and who is entirely right in her notion that for most
things there is a right way and also a wrong one.
Introducing people is neither difficult nor occult, and it requires no
special training. There are a few very simple rules to be observed. You
present a gentleman to a lady, and a younger to an older person. You are
careful to speak clearly and distinctly, for nothing is more
embarrassing than to have a stranger's name mumbled so that it remains
unknown, thus defeating the end of the introduction. You do not say,
"Mamma, let me present my classmate," leaving your mother to guess at
the part of your speech which was really the most important; you say,
"My classmate, Miss Leonard." And, equally, when you are introducing
Miss Leonard to your friend you do not say, "Alice, may I introduce my
cousin Sophie," in which case neither young woman would have the least
idea of more than the other's Christian name. If a person is a
personage--a professor, or doctor, or clergyman, or in any way noted or
famous--the tactful young girl makes the title a part of her
introduction, so that the people presented to him are aware that they
are honored by the new acquaintance.
When you ask your friends to a little informal tea, at which a visiting
friend in town, or an author, or artist, or distinguished stranger is
the guest of distinction, you simply write on your own ordinary
visiting-card: "Tuesday [or whatever day you select], July --, from four
to seven. To meet Madame Thus-and-so." No formally engraved invitation
is required for what is a purely spontaneous affair in which informality
is part of the attraction. The day and hour arrived, one stands near the
door of the drawing-room with her guest, and with any other lady who is
receiving with her. As they enter, friends who call are presented to the
guest; the guest is not presented to them; and here the rule about age
is waived, for the company are gathered for the express purpose of doing
the guest honor and giving her pleasure. Only light refreshments are
needed in summer--iced tea, coffee frappé, small cakes, and very thin
biscuits, with possibly an ice, are admissible at such a gathering.
To the girls of fourteen who anxiously inquire concerning the length of
their frocks I can only say that custom just now indicates common-sense
in this matter. Have your frocks to the tops of your boots, and enjoy
the freedom of walking, and playing games, bicycling, etc., which this
length gives. A girl of fourteen needs very simple frocks. She is not
out in society, and nothing in the way of costliness or great elegance
is expected of her, nor would it be appropriate.