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PRISON LIFE, AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF A CONVICT'S EXISTENCE. hni out In.ni Ike real W.rl.l add all H* (le mid i: \ r I irnii- n 1 1 tor Pr !> nr r h> la PliMl Hi) A-irr Dar "I Hi* tame Id Task. Like unto a great city viewed from a distant hill top i* the mighty has* tile of the State of Illinois, the world famous prison located at Jol- iet. Even the casual visitor to the prison, like ihe casual visitor to a great ex position, seel but little of the inner life that goes on year after yesr behind the grim walls, sad knows sliil less of its pop- ula:ion and their way*. Fourteen hundred men sod women with- out a country form the criminal colony at Joliet men and women upon whom the door* of the world have been closed, to whom the activitiei of life are denied, and who do nothing but breathe, live, work, and thick. Within tne wails are enclosed some twenty acres of grouud, occupied by work- shop* and other buildings. The walls around the enclosure are from twenty-five to forty feet in height. Then are two gates in tnese wall*, on* on the east and one on the west ude. Both are closely watched and guarded, and no- body can pais through them without coming m cloae range of the guards on the wall carrying their Winchester repeating rifles, able to discharge sixteen rounds without reloading. There are two cell -housei, one containing a block of bit hundred, and the other four hundred cells, rising in tun of one hun. dred cell* each. The cells are all seven feet long, four and a half feet wide, and Mvsn feet high ; each wall it a single flag- stone and w ii lh floor, which serves for the ceiling of the call beneath. The cell- door* are of iron bars. A MOXOTONOCi LIFE. In prison one day is pretty much like an- other ; the silence, toil, aud rigid discipline of Monday is continued on all the other days of the wsek. On Suidav, however, the convict nai the privilege of remaining locked in his cell, after chapel services, un- til labor commence* agsin on Monday morning. When a nsw convict arrivssat the prison he is tint taken to the guardi' hall, where the heritf removes the ironi from the con vict's limbs aud turn* him over to the authorities. The receiving officer then take* the new convict to ihe bath-room, where be u ordered to strip off everything and take a bath. In the meantime hi* suit of citizen'* clothing i* gathered up. If it be covered with vermin, ihe enlire outfit i> consigned lo the flame* and destroyed. If it be a half-way decent suit, it is repaired and cleaned, and probably soon worn out by some convict whose term ha* expired. When the new convict Heps from the bath-tub he is clothed from bead to foot in the striped or "zebra" prison suit, which is alternate white and black stripe*. Previous to donning this suit the convict must stand naked before the officer until a record Is made of every scar, mole, or India-ink mark that appears on bisperion. Thinmem- orandum is afterward made a part of the new coi vict description, and is copied on a card, which also contains two photographs of him one aside, or profile view, and tae owerafullfrontview. He is now taken to the convict barbsr.who clip* hit hair and (haves oifhis board or mustache. It . popular error that a convict'* bead ii shaved or the hair cut close. This i* never done at Jol- iet. A description of the new arrival is taken by Till BP.RTII. I.us SYSTEM, adopted from the French, the most perfect system that has yet been devised for the identification of criminals. It consists of what i* termed the anlhropometric method invented by M. Alphonw Rertillon, of Paris, and was first formulated at the World'* Prison Congress held at Rome in 1S85. It is now successfully employed in France, Russia, Japan, the South American States, and by the nhief prisons and police officials of numerous other countries. ' Aiithropometric" ia not such a formidable thing a* it* name would indicate, being nothing more than the addition to 'he ordinary descripti ,-e record, or rogues' gallery, of a register of carefully taken measurements of bone dimension* of certain portions of the body, such as the height, the length and the width of the head, the length of the left middle ind little tiugers, the length of the left foot, the lenntl. of the left fore-arm, the length of the right ear, the measurement of the outstretched arms, the Measurement ot the trunk from the bench to the top of the head of a person tested, and the color of the eye. These measurements, with the scars and marks, personal peculiarities, and the two photo graphs, make up a record thai no criminal haa ever yet succeeded in escaping from, no matter how often he changes bis name. HIS rHOTOORAPH TAKES. After the new convict has had hia descrip- tion taken he ii turned over to the prison photographer, and hie photograph becomes apart of the prison records, furnishing an unfailing means of identification should the convict ever escape from prison. When an escape does occur (but this is very rare) hundreds of copies of the man's pict urc and printed descriptions are tent broadcast through the mails and a liberal reward U offered for his recapture. The rogues' galleiy at Joliet now contains 5,000 photo- graphs and is destined to become one of the greatest repositories of criminals' pictures in this country. The photograph of the Chinese "highbinder" Chmg-Hing-Wy, is a sample of Ihe way criminal pictures are taken. At six o'clock each morning the 1, 4OO con- vict* are) up and ready to march out. At a given signal the long lever which holds each galUry of M cell-doors shut is drawn, and ihs u*xl instant from out the cells pop the inmates. The galleries are alive with striped beings who begin pouring down in lines to the atone floors below where they quickly take their places in line, one behind me other, each man wilh his right hand i resting on the shoulder of the man in ad- vance, each gang distinct , with its guard alongside, and wan lock-step they are marched into the yard and to the sewer openings, where their cell-buckets are emptied, and the buckets themselves hung ou racks. Now they about face, and march >ack to the cell-house. As they tj'e past the long tables that contain THE BREAKFAST RATIONS, each man seizes a cup of coffee, a pan with meat and potatoes, and several slices of bread, ana then goes on to his cell. All meals are now eaten in the cells the dining rooms were abolished ten years ago. No man is stinted in his food, though ms appetite be an extraordma-iy one. For instance, there is "Honest John," a third- term thief, who is never happier thau when he is in prison "doing lime. He is a bit of a crank, and, like most weak-minded persons, possesses an abnormal appetite. Hi* ration-pan in tilled with a double supply of everything, and it is said that a* he eats his abdomen may be seen to swell like that of a Digger Isdian : but "Honest John" is a hard worker and earns hi* food. The convict bill of fare i* varied to suit the season* of the year. On Monday the break- fast consists of bacon, gravy , coffee, and bread ; all other days of the week the breakfast is composed of meat hash, bread, and coffee. The dinners are made up oi fresh beef or pork, corned beef and cab bage, potatoes, soups, stews, etc., oach taking it* place on the bill of fare for different days of the week. The suppers consist simply of bread and coffee, with sometimes a lit lie batter or molauek. Work commence* each morning at seven o'clock, when the different gangs tile oul of the jell-house* and march across the prison- yard to the shop*. The guard* mount taeir high stand* and are in position lo tee every man under their charge. PURELY CANADIAN NEWS, INTERESTING ITEMS ABOUT OWN COt'NTRY. OUR .illkrrnl Kt ..ill tarl, .u. P.ilnl, Irani Use tlliinllr lo Ihr I'u. 111,. Kingston is organizing a hockey club. J. M. Ingeraoll, of Woodstock, ii dead. The new mill at Ayr IB almoist finished. Bellevill* ha* organized a humane society. A Belleville citizen has a white-winged sparrow. The new Presbyterian church oi Paris cost $40, 000. lumber campr throughout the Ottawa val- ley. J. B. Mulliersill, butcher, Oshawa, has a cow which gave binh to triplts the other evening- The animals were all perfectly formed, and at present are doing well. The Yarmouth & Annapolis Railway has been absorbed by the Windsor * Annapolis, and the united lines will hereafter be known as the Dominion Atlantic Hallway I "inpauy. Rev. James Morton, who (or the past fourteen yean has been incumbent of St. James' ohuruh, Fergus, recently tendered his resignation to the Bishop, and hai been superannuated. Twenty thousand dollars ware paid out , by the City Treasurer of London to retire a I number of debentures issued in I Mitt. This A 13-year-old son of Mr. Leolair, Ottawa, **ue bears seven pel cent, interest, while the city now borrows money readily at U i cent. Fully 30,000 barrels of apple* have none forward already from Annapolis Valley to the Kiifcliih market via Halifax, besidei the large tjuantity <>t early fruit sent to Halifax, .St. John, and elsewhere. is missing. A 280-pound bear was shot at Minesiug this week. Guelph buyers ship Maniloulin sheep to the States. very CHINA'S USELESS FLEET. !' Jlatlve *aval r.nalnrrr> ami Worrlfn ers Will t Serve, surprise had been expressed at the uselessness oi the Chinese tleet in the war against Japan. The former power has in commission 00 European build and model- led vessels. Twenty-three of these are of the best modelled types of their class. Sixteen are heavy ironclad ships and cruis- e rs, with the batteries belonging to their class: of Krupp and Armstrong, I'aifisser and Whiiworih six and eight-inch rifles. With such armaments, %nd being equal to any- thing ot their tonnage and weight of bat- tery that Japan has, why has the Chinese fleet not given a better account of itself in the late naval actions with Japan. The reasons for this are furnished to the intelli- gence departments of both France and Eng- land not for general publication, but sole ly for the information of the Admiralty and naval officers. China's fleet haa accomplished nothing for two causes. The f?rst, is that China is short of naval officers ; the second, and it almost as important as the first, is the nearly total collapse nf the steam engineer- ing department ot the navy, liefore the present war began the chief engineers of all the principal modern cruisers and war vessels wire Europeans. Service under a native captain in the Chinese fleet was never very agreeable at best. Nothing but the large compensation they received kept them in their places. But when the war began and the natural antagonism between the two races became pronounced, every Knglish and Scottish chief engineer quit the service. They wept soon followed by the Germans and the few other foreigners. Though the Chinese artificer is a gooil metal-worker, he doe* not comprehend the scientific feature* ot high-class steam engineering. He ha* no text-books in hi* language, and he cannot read Knglish, French, or German. Thus the Chinese ironclads have not had their highest quali ties, in the matter of speed, developed, be cause the engineers do not know how to produce the best effects. Another most serious weakness is a lack of proper "stoking." All naval officers are well aware of the vast importance of good "tiring" on men-of-war. K>eu with the let trained firemen in the world, they often fall short in obtaining the highest 9 peed because of imperfect firing. The Chinaman is not a stoker at all by nature and it is difficult to make one out of him by training. They seem to be unable to understand how the boilers should be treat- ed and the furnace* managed. Their local coal, too, is very bad, and, as Knglish coal is expensive, it is the object of the Chinese naval commander to consume a* little AS possible, on the score of economy. China will never be a nival power until her high officials learn thai a good Heel aannot oe maintained except at a great ex- pense. Then is not a native captain, or even an* admiral, who would dare under- take lo circumnavigate the globe. I'h.na, up to this time, ha* nevei had much need for a seagoing fleet. Its service haa chiefly demanded vessels of the gunboat order '.hat could be used in the shallow waters of sounds and rivers. They are not sailors at all, and now they are confronted by condi- tion* that were unexpected and unprepared for, they do not in the least understand what they should do. The Chinese mind is slow to grasp or comprehend new condi- tions. This is why they are so much be- hind Japan in the comprehension of Kuro- pean military and naval tactics. These explanations come fioni a British captain now in the north- west Chinese seas, and a French admiral in the same waters. Their views are singularly alike in assign ing the causes of China's failure to utilize lo the highest degree her really excellent ship*, ironclads, and cruisers. The Kettle 1'oint Indian* have a good baud. Large crowd* daily visit the new asylum at Belleville. The Baptist church at Cornwall is under- going repair*. This week Montresl exported 5,000 bar- rel* of apple*. Mr. John Cant has resigned as a member of tialt's council. Farmers are shipping Itrge quantities of apples to Ottawa. A. i '. Toura-ngeau, postmaster and Mayor of Quebec, in dead. Dr. D. H. Cameron, Emenon, Man., died suddenly last week. Ed war! Blacker, aged SS, an old resident of Brant county, is dead. Second bloom on fruit tree* is common this season throughout Ontario. The value of building done in Stratford this year amounted to $101,400. In September 17.1.00O bushels of wheat were marketed in Carbsrry, Man. Testing for oil on the second line of Plympton is proceeding this week. The Petrolea water-works company i* testing the water near Marlhaville. Five or six new island cottages will be built at Chippewa Bay next spring. Fall wheat throughout the country i* re- ported to be in excellent condition. Rev. H. A. Tudor, of Winnipeg, is mov- ing to South Africa, as a missionary. The Port Stanley young people have organized a self improvement society. The Hamilton, Waterdown 4 Uuelph Radical Railway project i* being revived. IT. J. B. Peters ha* been appointed C. P. R, Railway surgeon at Medicine Hat. Rev. D. C. Lawson. a well known West- moreland county, N. B. , clergy man i* dead. . uelph'n Board of Trade i* considering the establishment of roller mills in that city. At a funeral in St. Thomas the other day , the Christian name of the six pallbearers wao John. Kingston's Kindergarten system is the A FEW FACTS. The 250,000 Indians of the United States hold !l:J,(K>U,UOO acres of laud, exclusive of Alaska. Thomas Parr, an Englishman, born in 14M3, lived unni I (!:<:. I I.VJ years), aiid then died because of eating loo heartily. Twenty yeva ago southern planter paid men to haul away cotton seed and burn it. Now they gel from$Oto$S a ton for it. A piece of iron has been found in an air chamber of the great pyramid. It is be- lieved to have been there 4,000 years. H. \V. Yniiiig, of Augusta,!!!., owns a Bible that was printed in the year 1(115. It is believed to be the oldest Bible in America. The most curious paper weight in the world belongs to the Prince of Wales. It is the mummified hand of one of the daughter* of Pharaoh. It is slated that in this country (here are now m daily service 800,000 telephone*, with 500,000 mdes of wire.over which 000, 000,000 messages areaunually transmitted. A married couple in Sawada, Japan, ac cording to a native paper the father Kt'2 vears old and the mother l.'t.~> have a family of fourteen, including a sou aged 105, and a daughter 108. There is a monastery at St. Hunurat, on an island neat Cannes, France, which was built :n the fourth century. No woman has ever been allowed to enter it* walls during ihe 1,400 years of its exis tence. Kvery Japanese barrack has a gymnasi- um, and the Japanese soldiers rank anvmg the beet gymnasts in '.he world. In hall a minute they can scale a 14-foot wall by simply Itouniiing on each other's should ers one man supporting two or thro* others. IN THE COMING DAYS. A Lengthy Attachment. __ "Your wife says that your servan girl ha* left you." Fogg "Yes. We had become greatly at tachedto that girl, and ws lhalT never lx abln to till the void she has left in ou household," Figg "Then she ha* lived with yon fo some time '" Fugg "Oh, yes; more thau fie week* subject of discussion by the Schcoi Board there. < leorge Thomas was convicted of pocket picking at Peterborough and given tw years at Kingston. The Congregation of St George's Angli- can church, Lowville, has decided to build a news stone church. A large number of hone* in the vicinity of Ottawa and Hull are luffering from a disease known as " pinkeyes." The <;. T. K. threatens suit against Brant ford for damage done its properly by flood prevention nnpiovemenM. Triplets, all boys, were born to the wifi of Edwsrd Owens, of Parker, Out, last week. He i* U-' years old. The barn and contents belonging to Mr. Stewart Smith, of South Fredericksburg, ha* been destroyed by fire. Rev. F. W. Kennedy, for some years rector for 83! ton. Out, left for Japan to engage in missionary work. Rev. Robert Aylward, late of London, will be inducted to the pastorate of the Parkhill Presbyterian church next week. Large numbers of navvies are still being sent up by the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound railway to push construction work. An expreis package containing $2,000 sent by Martin, Mitchell it Co., Winnipeg, o Wawancaa.has disappeared mysteriously. Mr. Adam Kaufman, ot Ha.lt n, Waterloo ounly, has a sample of wheat 1,817 years Id. It was found in the ruins of Pompeii. Harry Riddle, of Bradford, had an arm adly crushed a few days ago while pulling >m machinery in position at Luke s mill. Rev. J. R, Adams has been ordained a* esident pastor of the First Congregational niirch, London, assistant lo Kev. Dr. Neil. A dwarf pear tree in the garden of James ummiford, J. P. , of North Ridge, Ont., i* overed wilh a mass of beautiful white lossoms. The body of Samuel Hutton, who wa* ,rowneil in the St. John yachting disaster some weeks ago, was found at Dipper Har- >or, Sunday. Mr. William H. Milburn, on* of the eaohing stall of the Belleville High school, ha* been made Principal in place of Iho lat Jr. Wright. During the quarter just ended the value of shipments from Canada reported through the United Stoles Consul at Windsor was 18,975,97. Mr J.K. Burgess, M.A., a graduate ol Queen's University, ha* been appointed professor of classics and mathematics at Huron College. The average cost per day of niiinttii.ini prisoners in the Middlesex county jail fo the year ending September 30th was 5 am 7-100 cent* per day. Lord and Lady Aberdeen will take u their residence in Montreal for the winte months, and a brilliant social season is ex peeled there in oonseu,uencn. It is estimated that more than one ihou san'4 young men from Hull have alread left to work this winter in the differen .MI.II will i m. I inn all Ahem Pair, UK :! The old gentleman slowly lowered hi* paper as he became conscious that his daughter, pa'.e but determined, wa* Hand- ing before him. 'I have sent him away forever," she said wilh an effort to appear unconcerned. "Who ?"he asked. "Harold, ' she answered. "1 wa* deoeiv- ed in him grossly deceived. Why, oh, why should so fair an exterior conceal so false a nature ?" "Tut ! Tut !" protested the old gentle- man. "It is only a lover*' quarrel." 'Nay, it is more ?" she cried. "It is a matter thi strikes at the foundation rock upon which our Government rest* * I have discovered that Harold i* a Conservative." "Oh, well, that's not so terrible ':" "What !" she exclaimed. "Do you trunk thaa I a Liberal voter uouli be happy with a Republican ? Never !" "But you might pair otf," he said . "Thai's what Harold wanted me to do, but I told him I could never be his,'' she returned. Narrow Escape. Mr. Wilson h nl read so much about the danger of a certain much-talked about disease that he had done his best to make Mrs. Wilson and thuir little daugh ter Maud chow their grapes and eject the seeds, instead of swallowing them according to the usual custom. Maud found the new method little to her taste, and her father hail frequent occasion to reprove her for not minding his instruc- ons. One day tne little girl was under the ealher, and her mother thought it neces- sary to administer a dose of medicine, in lapeof two small pellota. These, after the nanner of ihoughlf ul parents, she concealed a spoonful of marmalade, which she then tiered to the unsuspicious patient. A moment later she was startled to hear laud exclaim : Here, mamma, here are the seeds. Vasn't it lucky ; I came awful near swal- owing them." British Stock Note;. The importation of food to Great Britain enormously large. Receipt report* give he value of the living animals imported or ihe first eight month* of the year ai about f40,oOO.OOO,an i-v.-rease of some $10, MHMI over corresponding time last year Of dead meala the value was about $75 000,000; of butter, $4.*>,000,000; of "margar me," $10,000,000: of cheese, 114,000,000 of eggs, gll'.OOO.OOO.and of grain, 9160,000- XX). In most oases the imports were. gi eater than during corresponding times last year. A significant change ha* taken place n the British trade m horse*. For the tirs eight months of this year !i,:t,Vi were ex ported, of which only '280 were atalliona while l.'),6U were imported. The Unitet Slates supplied 'J.T.V.l geldings, aud Can ada '2,102. These two countries pai about $150,000 for horse* brought froi (jreat Britain and received about $1,001 000 for those sent to that country. THE WEEK'S NEWS Mr. John Hums, the Knglish labor leader, is lo bs invited to visit \\ iiuiipeg. A movement is on foot by the City Coun- cil of Winnipeg to construct a new yt?ra of waterworks for bre protection only. Serious prairie tire* are raging between Winnipeg aud Portage la Prairie, and thousands ot acre* of hay laud have already been burned. It i* understood that in response to ih* lemands of the ( 'auadiau liovernmeu' th* United States authorities will take steps to regulaui Ihe aalmnu fishing at Point Rob- erts. John Kehoe, an inmate of the St. Vincent de Paul IVuiirniiary, to which he was sen- tenced for murder in 1KSS. died suddenly at the penitentiary on Friday from the ex> cesaive use of tobacco. Cha*. Judd, a temporary clerk in the Model branch of the Department of Agri- culture in Ottawa, committed suicide on Thursday morning by nhootini; himself in ihe temple wilh a one-barrelled pistol. The heads of the different depart menu of the public service in Ottawa have been advised to have their estimales fur Ihe next year ready a* soon a* possible. This is taken as indicating an early session of Parliament. The crown t*e against the four lirand Trunk railway conductors ou trial in Mon- treal for knocking down pawengosi faree was concluded on Thursday. Judge Dugas aid he would go over the evidence and notify counsel when he would be ready to hear argument. Mia* Bertha Wright, president of the Young Women's < 'hristian Association, Ottawa, tho new building for which ha* just been completed, was the recipient on Saturday of an anonymous letter of con- gratulation on the .-enult of her labor* a* presid ant of the association. The envelope also contained two hundred dollar*. ilKKAT BRITAIN. Sir Alfred Stephen, formerly (iox-ernor General of New South Wales, is dead. He was ninety-two year* of age. It is estimated that live thousand ton* of tin plate* were loadrd on Thursday at Swansea, Wains, for the United Slates. -ir lieorge Trevelyan, Secretary for Scotland, addressing the Liberals of Clan- gow on Friday, said the country would lie better otf without a liuuae of Lords. The Royal buck hounds have just com- menced the neaaoii uf hunting the tame deer in Windsor park and adjacent country, and the Humanitarian League is moving vigor- ously against the aliened sport. Mr. (ieorge K. Foster, the (ianadiau Minister of Finance, has arrived in London. His mission is to llc.at a small loan lo re- place the floating indebtneu, ou which a higher rate of interest is being chartted thau need be paid on a new loan. I NITKIl VTATES. I'ni. Hreckmridge ha* brxn suspended from communion by Mount Horel I'reoby- terian ohurch in Parm, Ky. , until nuxt February. William <'. l.iphardt. a school inspector who was convicted at Detroit nf receiving a bribe, was sentenced on Tliuisday to rive veam' iinpnionnieuU His lawyer* will en- deavor to obtain a new trial . From the top uf Mount Hamilton, Cal., scienlist* have innde the linetl negative* of the moonever regirtored on sensitive plat" - Hills, valleys, and craters not visible through the telescope are perceptible. In a private interview at Ann Arbor, Mich., ex-Speaker Thos. K. Reed said thai I the Republicans should be successful tin* fall nolhing furlher will be done with the tanlf until after I SUB no that business may have a chance to revive. Seven masked robbers held up ihe norlh- Ixnind passeuger tram on the Dichmood, Frederickaburg, and Potomac railway on Friday night, blew open the express oar wilh dynamite, and carried off about one hundred and titty thousand dollars from the express safe. '.KMIHAL. Lieut. Baert, the Belgian explorer, died recently at Leopoldsville, in the Congo State. r nited States Minister Denliv at I'ekin says that the report* of danger to the for- eign resident* of I'ekm are exaggerated. The Spanish Colonial Customs Depart- ment has declared that herring and had- ock entering Cuba ami Porlo Rice are utiable under the tarrilf. Sir Halliday Macartney, Councillor of le Chinese Legation in London, declares lat the report that China was suing for Mace is untrue. Tho New South Wale* Legislative A- imbly recently passed a resolution favor- H! tlm x tension of the franchise lo women y a vote of fifty-eight to twelve. Strong protests com from the foreign and native inhabitanta ot Constantinople gainst the oppressive policy of espionage uforced by the Sultan's I Government. The Budget Committee of the French 'hamber ot Deputies will insert in the estimttes a credit of one hundred thousand ranos to test the new serum diphtheria emedy. Th* French expedition to Madagascar will number fifteen thousand men, and the overnment is negotiating wilh shipping companies for a fleet of foru steamships to >e used as transports. Kx-('han :ellor Leist, formerly the *!er- mau administrator nf ihe Cameroon*, was lound guilty on Tuesday by ihe Disciplin- ary Court at Potsdam of abusing his auth- ority and of immorality. H i announced in St. Pi tursburg that the condition of the C'r.ar has perceptibly changed for th* worse, and his death i* re- garded as close at hand. He is ton weak to permit of his removal to Corfu. Mr. Dupuy, the French Premier, ha* ordered the expulsion from France of six Spanish toreador* who took part in bull- fight* on Sunday, at which bulls warn killed in defiance of the law prohibiting such contest*. The Indian Government does not confirm the announcement made in a Lahore paper that the Ameer of Afghanistan is dead, but t h report is generally believed, and some anxiety ii felt regarding the European* in Cabul.