Part 2

On this occasion General Weyler sent his messenger to Gomez, with a very polite request.

Gomez, however, wasted neither time nor politeness over his reply.

"Tell your general," he said to the messenger, "that I do not consider him a man of honor, and that he has lowered himself too deeply to be on a level where he can confer with me."

The insurgents are in great numbers around Havana, and are making constant attacks on the suburbs of that city.

Their force is now so strong that no one can leave the city by land, and no provisions can be brought into it.

It was decided that an army should be led against the besiegers, and General Weyler (having been commanded to do so from Madrid) decided to lead this army himself.

He found himself so hemmed in by insurgents that he was unable to leave the city except by boat, as all the roads are now in the hands of the Cubans.

* * * * *

The results of the military bicycle trial on Long Island were most satisfactory.

The company started out with thirty-two men, and arrived home with twenty-eight, three having been sent back on business, the fourth man being the only one whose wheel was too badly damaged to be ridden.

The company travelled three hundred and ninety-eight out of the five hundred miles planned. The rest of the distance could not be made on account of the dreadful weather.

It rained every day of the trip, and the soldiers had to contend with muddy roads from start to finish.

In spite of these drawbacks the expedition was a complete success, and it is said that it will prove of the greatest value from a military standpoint.

The bicycle ambulance had to be abandoned on the second day out, as it was unsuited to the heavy roads over which the troop had to travel.

The accidents to the wheels were: ten rims broken, seven tires punctured, twenty spokes, two bearings, a handle-bar, and a pedal broken.

Happily there were two bicycle machinists in the party and they were able to make the necessary repairs, so that all the wheels were usable throughout the entire trip except one, which was so badly broken that the rider had to leave the company.

Captain Lyon, who was in command, says that it has been shown that the bicycle can be of great service in military operations. He says that under the very worst conditions a wheel can accomplish much more than a horse.

He thinks that the weight carried on the machine has very little to do with its endurance, but at the same time in future trips would recommend that a carbine be carried instead of the musket, which he considers too heavy and cumbersome to carry on a wheel.

An effort was made to send a despatch by one of the troopers from Jamaica, L.I., to the camp at Peekskill in seven hours, a distance of one hundred miles.

Private Walter Dixon was chosen for the service and started out at seven o'clock in the morning.

He did not reach the State camp till six in the evening, owing to mishaps. He was thrown from his wheel and stunned during his journey, and lost a long time while recovering. His actual time in the saddle was eight hours.

This was considered the most important event of the trip.

In war time the carrying of despatches is one of the most essential duties, and much depends on the promptness of their delivery. To be able to send a despatch a hundred miles in eight hours means a revolution in modern warfare.

The weather and the mosquitoes combined in an effort to make the trip as difficult as possible. When the men arrived in New York they were tired, grimy, mud-stained, and punctured with mosquito bites, but very happy over the success they had had.

They never once sought shelter in hotels, but, rain or no rain, camped out as they had intended to.

Another trial of the bicycle has been made in the West, and it has again come off with flying colors.

The Twenty-Fifth United States Infantry Bicycle Corps has just completed a two-thousand-mile ride from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis. The trip took forty days.

The riders and wheels stood the journey remarkably well, and the lieutenant in command considered the trip a great success.

* * * * *

The constant rain that we have had for the last few weeks has called to mind a very curious old superstition which will amuse and interest you.

There is an ancient English rhyme which runs:

"St. Swithin's Day, if then doth rain, For forty days it will remain; St. Swithin's Day, if then be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mair!"

The history of the origin of this legend has been handed down to us through the chronicles of William of Malmesbury.

In the early days, before printing was invented, the records were kept by the monks in the monasteries.

The monks were, indeed, the only people who understood how to read and write.

The records were written by them on parchment or vellum. The margin of every sheet was very wide, and beautiful designs were often painted thereon The first letter of a new paragraph was always beautifully illuminated, as this method of decoration was called.

These ancient manuscripts have afforded us much of our knowledge of the world's history.

William of Malmesbury, to whose patient care we are indebted for the story of St. Swithin, was a monk in the monastery of Malmesbury, a town in England, about fifty miles from Stratford-on-Avon where Shakespeare was born. It is situated on the Lower Avon, a branch of the same river which flows through Stratford.

William was librarian of the monastery of Malmesbury, and was also a noted historian. He was born in 1095, and died in 1142.

His "History of the English Kings" and "Modern History" have formed the foundation of the later histories of England that have been written.

William also wrote several other books telling the history of his church, and it is in one of these that the story of St. Swithin is found.

In those days the people were very superstitious, and believed in signs and wonders, and frightened themselves silly with every strange noise or unusual occurrence, for everything that occurred was supposed to be a sign that something was going to happen.

According to the record of William of Malmesbury, Swithin was a great scholar in his day, and was chosen by King Ethelwulf as the tutor of his son Alfred. This was the Alfred who afterward became Alfred the Great. He was the king who was scolded by the old woman for burning the cakes.

When Alfred came to the throne he made his old tutor bishop of Winchester, and Swithin became a very great man indeed.

In spite of his greatness he was a very modest man, and did not care for pomp or show.

When he died he left strict instructions to the monks of Winchester, that he was to be buried in a "vile and unworthy place," outside the monastery.

The monks obeyed his wishes.

The fame and piety of this good man lived after him, and when many years had passed, and the memory of his dying wishes had grown fainter, the monks determined to adopt the good Swithin as their patron saint, and give him a magnificent resting-place inside the cathedral.

Some of the older monks protested, but their objections were overruled, and a day was set apart for transferring the good man's bones to their new resting-place.

According to William of Malmesbury this act was performed on July 15th, and St. Swithin's bones were no sooner lifted from their humble resting-place than the most awful storm of rain that England had ever known burst over the country. For forty days it rained without ceasing, until another flood was feared.

The monks were terribly frightened, and expressed great sorrow for the mischief they had done, but they did not give up their prize. The bones of St. Swithin were kept in Winchester Cathedral, rain or no rain.

Ever since then, according to the same chronicler, if it rained on the 15th of July, or St. Swithin's day, it was sure to rain every day for forty days.

* * * * *

A new postal regulation has just come into use.

It is at present only in force in thirty-six of our principal cities, but if found to be as satisfactory as it is expected to be, will be used all over the country where there is a free delivery of mail.

This new plan provides for a house-to-house collection, as well as delivery of mail, and also for the sale of stamps by letter-carriers.

This is accomplished through the use of a combination letter-box, with which each householder is supposed to supply himself.

The box is to be placed where the postman can easily have access to it without whistling or ringing bells. Instead he will unlock the mail-box, take from it all the letters that want mailing, and put in their place those which he has to deliver.

It will be a very pleasant thing to be able to post letters without going off our own doorsteps, but this is only half of the comfort which the new box is going to be to us.

In each post-box will be a special envelope containing blanks, on which the householder can order one and two cent stamps and postal-cards, putting the money to pay for them into the envelope with his order.

The postman collects this envelope with the regular mail, and hands it to a special clerk, who takes out the money, fills the order, and drops the envelope in the mail for the postman to deliver on his next round.

Unstamped letters can also be posted in this very delightful box, and special delivery stamps can be secured by stating on the blank the number of letters that are to be stamped, and enclosing the money for the same in the special envelope.

All unstamped matter is turned over to the clerk who has charge of the envelope department. He buys the stamps, sticks them on, and despatches the letters.

This service is only rendered to people who buy their own boxes.

The post-office does not undertake to furnish them, but only to give good service with them when they are purchased.

* * * * *

A wonderful feat of swimming has just been performed in England.

A man named McNally, a champion swimmer, and a native of Boston, Mass., has attempted to swim across the English Channel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, a distance of thirty-five miles.

This body of water is the most uncertain and the roughest of seas.

Many people who are fine sailors and have made many voyages to Europe say they would rather cross the Atlantic than the English Channel.

The reason for this is that the vast body of water which forms the North Sea, in forcing its way between the narrow straits of Dover, is driven into short cross-waves and currents, which make the sea always choppy and rough.

Many swimmers have made the attempt to swim this Channel before, among them Boyton, and Captain Webb who lost his life in an attempt to swim the Niagara Rapids.

No one has so far achieved success.

McNally succeeded in reaching within three miles of the French coast, but he was then so exhausted that he had to be pulled into the boat and give up the attempt.

He had announced that he would swim the Channel, and had been some days in Dover, swimming over a part of the course, and getting himself in training for the final effort.

He started from the Dover pier, followed by a row-boat in which were two sailors, a newspaper man, and his trainer.

When he started out he had no intention of taking the swim. He merely went out for exercise. The weather was so foggy that his companions urged him to turn back and exercise later in the day.

He, however, kept on, and when he was about six miles from the shore the fog lifted, and wind and tide all being in his favor, he determined to make the trial then and there.

He was in the water fifteen and a half hours, and swam steadily all the time at the rate of about a mile and a half an hour.

Swimmers will be interested to know that McNally used the breast stroke continually, only occasionally changing to a side stroke for relief.

He never swam on his back. He says that this method of swimming interferes with the muscles, and gets them out of condition for resuming the breast stroke.

Swimmers as a rule seek rest and relief by turning on their backs, so the opinion of an expert on such a subject is well worth having.

Apart from the interest we all feel in great feats of strength and endurance, such an attempt as that made by McNally is valuable to us, as it shows us the length of time it is possible for a swimmer to remain in the water without becoming exhausted.

Swimming is an accomplishment that every boy and girl should acquire, and the knowledge that if a swimmer keeps cool, and has his wits about him, he can remain in the water for a considerable period without danger of drowning, should be taken to heart by every lad and lass who contemplates boating as a part of the summer's enjoyment.

G.H. ROSENFELD.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY

FRUIT-PICKER.--Fruit-picking is such an easy matter for boys that I think it is the girls who will chiefly appreciate this contrivance. It too often happens that there will be a very tall tree with fruit well out of reach, and a girl at the foot of it who is not an expert climber. Her mouth need no longer water in vain. This fruit-picker is very ingenious. It consists of scoop-shaped jaws worked by cords and springs, and mounted on a pole of suitable length. Attached to the jaws is a long, funnel-shaped bag, which receives the fruit and allows it to drop without injury right into the fruit-picker's hands.

SAFETY-BRAKE FOR CHILDREN'S CARRIAGES.--So many accidents occur with baby-carriages that this ought to be a great comfort to mothers, and a great help to the "little mothers" who mind the babies. Children's carriages are made so light that their weight is very slight, and a puff of wind is often enough to set them in motion; and if they chance to be on an uneven sidewalk they are likely to roll into the road among the vehicles. This simple brake, which keeps the wheels from moving when the handle is released, will render this impossible, and make it safe to leave the carriage, baby and all, without the fear of harm coming to it.

It seems as if the danger to the children attracted the attention of more than one person at the same time, for other brakes also have been brought to our notice, the same in intention, but differing in design.

GARMENT HANGER AND STRETCHER.--This is a very simple and ingenious arrangement to combine a garment hanger and stretcher. The two are made in one, and consist of a single piece of wire bent backward on itself. The ends are secured to a support which can be attached to the wall, and at the other end of the double wire it is bent upward and downward, so as to form a strong spring holding the two parallel parts closely together.

COMBINATION ERASER.--The combination eraser is a handy little tool, and seems calculated to find its way to every writing-table. As its name implies, we find combined in the one tool an eraser, a blade, and a smoothing-tip fitted in the stem of the blade. Besides this, a brush can be at will secured to an extension of the tip, thus bringing together all the implements necessary for erasing.

CORN-HOLDER.--Corn is never so sweet as when it is eaten off the cob, and in spite of burned and greasy fingers too, most people prefer to enjoy it in that way. This corn-holder will enable one to so enjoy it without any such drawbacks. It consists of a pair of lever-arms which work like scissors or shears. One end of each curves inwardly and has a pointed end which will enter the corn. There is a chain below which will keep them fixed in the necessary position for firmly holding it.

CORRESPONDENCE.

MR. WILLIAM B. HARISON.

DEAR SIR: Pardon me for calling your attention to an error in your valuable paper, THE GREAT ROUND WORLD, which has many friends here. On page 1,036 you speak of the steamer _Pewabic_ on Lake Michigan. This should read Lake Huron. The wreck lays about twenty miles from Alpena. Some of the readers thought this should be corrected. Hence I take the liberty of this letter.

Wishing you best success for the paper, I remain

Yours truly, H.H. WITTELSHOFER. ALPENA, MICH., July 19th, 1897.

DEAR SIR:

We acknowledge the receipt of your letter, with many thanks, and are much obliged to you for calling our attention to the matter. EDITOR.

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