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ll) . away to the south. .â€" WOUhD-BB BIUYOLISTS. lone Valuable Suggestions on uni-Ill; flow to Ilde. He was an enthusiastic wheelman. would get up at daybreak for a spin through the coun rnd hurry home from busi- ness at big t for a brief run on his safety. He found some sort of a eontrivanee which he clamped on the front. rt of his machine, and into it he strap his chubby, two- thay rolled along over the smooth roads. he man next door looked with envy upon the wheelman. He thought his neigh- bor was having altogether too much fun. “ Look here," he said a few evenings ago as the man with the wheel lifted his little one down from her perch, “ it seems to me I’d like to ride one of those blamed things. I’d get one ifitdidn’t take so long to learn." " But it doesn’t take so long to learn.” “ How long do you think it would take me 3” “ “’ell, you look like a man with an or- dinary amount of gray matter in the up. per part of your head. I guess you could learn to ride in about an hour. “ An hour ! Go on ; your joking. Why, it would take me a week.” “ Bet you I can teach you to ride inside of an hour.” “ Go you a box of cigars.” “ Done. Of course you’ll do your best and follow my instructicns ‘3" “ Sure. I’ll order a wheel to-morrow and we'll tackle it early the following morn- ing.” _ “ I’ve got a ‘ cinch’ on these cigars.” said the man with the wheel after his neighbor had gone away. “I’ve taught fifty iiten to ride, and I never yet found one who, if he followed instructions, wasn’t riding inside of an hour from the time we started. It's all in getting a few little points.” “ Any patent on your scheme l” inquired the man to whom the man with the wheel addressed himself. " Not any. Come along and see how it is done. Then you can tell others how to do it and when they find out how simple it is they’ll get wheels and the army of cyclers will receive thousands of recruits.” On the appointed morning the invited guest was on hand bright and early. The man with the wheel, with dusty knick- erbockers and wrinkled coat, had just returned from a little spin of ten miles. The man next door appeared in a spick and span uniform and a wheel that was a thing of beauty. They walked upfto a nice piece of road. “Now, this is the kind of aplace you want,” said “ the professor,” as he was dubbed by his companions, and he led the way to the east drive, which sloped gently “ Any place where you get a gentle grade is all right. Now, first of all, take off your saddle and saddle post so they won’t bother you. . “ But where’ll I sit if they’re gone?” ” You’re not going to sit for a few min- utes. try to remember it. Without going into the science of the thing it is enough to say that to maintain your equilibrium it is neces- sary to turn your steering wheel in the dir- ection toward which you are falling. Don’t forget that. Turn your wheel in the direction toward which you are fallin . Don’t turn it too much ; a little will do a great deal, and just the moment that the tendency to fall has been checked, straight- en the wheel. “ Now for your position. Stand astride the rear wheel grasping a handle in each hand. You will notice a little step on the left side of the rear axle. Put the ball of your left foot on the step, give a slight push with your right foot, and stand right u on the step. Of course you keep hold of) the handles and lean well forward. If you lose your balance completely you are only a few inches from the ground and can jump off without trouble. “ Now give us the time.” “ Seven-ten." “ All right. Now make your start, don’t be afraid, and don’t forget about that front wheel turn it the way you are falling.” ’lhe student put his left foot upon the step as directed, grasped the handles, and essayed to push off. It was a dismal fail- ure. He couldn’t get the right foot off the ground. The machine flopped over side- wise to the left. “ Just incline the machine slightly to the right," said the professor, “ so that when you throw your weight on the left side the center of gravity will be directly over the point where the lower part of the wheel touches the ground.” The student followed directions and this time got up on the step all right, but forgot about his steering wheel. He made no of- fort to turn it as the machine fell over to the right, and down it came With a crash. The rider made a Wild leap and landed on his feet all right. He picked up his ma. chine. headed it down hill, and tried again. “ Work that front wheel. Feel for the center point. You will find itaud can tell when you are on the center. Work the handles from side to side. No matter if you do wobble around wildly. It’s all right. You can’t hurt yourself.’ Half a dozen times or more the student, who was by this time perspiring violently, tried to make that start and get into a standing position on the step. Finally he made it and the machine rolled six feet before it toppled far enough to make him dismount. Then it came easier by degrees. He rolled six feet, ten, a dozen, twenty, wobbling wildly, but sticking to the step and manag- ing to keep going. Finally he rolled the lull length of the ill without dismounting. " Bravo 3" shouted the professor. “Now we are ready for the saddle.” He put it in place and set it as low as it would 0. "how," said he, “start just as you (lll before, and after you have begun to roll and feel moderately steady slide gently forward into the scat. Let your legs hang strai ht down. Pay no attention to the pods s. The loweriu r of the center of gravity will make a elf ht chance in the manipulation of the lien Ice, and that will be all you can attend to for a moment-" The student followed directions, but the first time did not get into the seat at all, the whole thing going over just as he was about to slide into the saddle. "Don’t be in a hurry," said the profes- sor. “ Take it easy; you have plenty of time." Again he tried ; this time with better luck. He went fifteen feet before losing control of his machine. and the next time he went further still. " You‘re all right,” said the rofessor, approvingly, as the student rel ed the machine uphill and mop» pod if: brow. “ You‘re a rider without any year-old daughter. There she rode like a ird on a branch, springing up and down as Just listen to what I tell you and He I l question. You have mastered it. Now, this time after you have get well started draw up your, legs and drop your feet on the als as they come up. Don’t try to war them, but just let your feet follow them around. Then if on feel steady be~ gin pedaling easily an steadil , making the pressure on the pedal equ from_tlie time it asses the perpendicular until it reaches t e low point. Then let it carry your foot up until it reaches the top, and resume the pressure. Don't lift your feet from the pedals.” The student started out bravely, but the moment he raised his feet to feel for the pedals he forgot about his steering and made a wild lunge into the turf of the side of the road. Three more trials made a great im- provement,and on the fourth attemptherode a hundred yards: Then the professor raised the saddle until it was high enough to allow the rider to reach the pedal at the low pomt with ease, and started him out for the final whirl. He kept his balance beautifully, rode 200 yards, turned around, and came back wearing a. smile of triumph. “ Time 2” said the professor. “ Seven-fiftyâ€"forty minutes, professor.” “ \Vell, I win these cigars." “ You do. I thought you’d lose.” " It is simple enough,” observed the pro- fessor. “ If one will try to ride on the step and can master the blaiicing there he can, ride in the saddle. Let him try it and see for himself.” And now the man with the wheel and the other man with the wheel ride together, forgetting business cares in the exhilaration of the exercise. They have already planned several tours together, and are talking seri- ously of a club, to be composed of neighbors who will be roped in sometime in the near future. Two of them are in it now, both being taught by the professor’s pupilâ€"one in thirty-five minutes and the other in forty-five. W A Man Who Saw St. Geor ge- The patron saint of England has been dead a good while. the year of his death be- ing generally put at 303 of our era. In the general decay of all sublurary thin s includ- ing human bodies, it would bar ly seem possible that there can be yet in existence any portion of a man who had set his eyes on a person who died sixteen centuries ago. Nevertheless,the fact of such a phenomenon seems tolerably well established. then St. George was put to death under Diocletian, for embracing Christianity, there were present at his martyrdom a number of persons who were so touched at what they saw that they turned Chris- tians. Forthwith they were all arrested and decapitated at Nicomedia. One of these persons was Akindynos, who be- came a notable saint of the Greek Church. After his death his churches of the Orient divided among them his remains. A portion of his skull became the property of the Church of Saints Camus and Damien in Constantinople. A Russian pilgrim, Archbishop Anthony of Novgorod, who visited the capital of the Eastern Empire in the year 1200, and who left a manuscript account of his Visit, which has come down to us, venerated this relic, and has ' en a description of it. A silver plate was ast- ened to the bone of the saint, and on this plate was engraved his name and bust.- Four years after the visit of the Archbishop in 1204, the Latin warriors of the Fourth Crusade took Constantinople, and the spoxls of the innumerable religious edifices of the city became the property of the conquerors, and, transported to the Vl’est, were bestowed there on various churches and monasteries. The piece of the skull of Saint Akindy- nos was allotted to 8. lord of Frenche-Comte, long apart of the kingdom of Burgnudy. He was, propably, a Sire de Vadens. How; ever that may be, the possessor of the relic presented it to the Cistercian Abbey of Rosieres, a rich monastery which is entire- ly destroyed, but which stood in what is now the canton of Arbois. The piece of the skull was carefully preserved in the abbey of Franche-Comte. It is mentioned in an inventory of the property of the convent made in 1714. In the time of the Revolution the relic of Rosieres disappeared with the abbey and the church. The monks were dis- persed, the monuments destroyed, and pre- cious objects sent to the melting-pot. From that time to this nothing was ever heard of the skull of Saint Akindynos until this year, when it was discovered in a remaak- able way. The parish of a priest commune iii the vicinity of Rosieres, the Abbe Gui- chard, an archaeologist of reputation, in some excavations he had made among a mass of wood-ashes contained in an old saltâ€" pit, l m. 50 c. under ground, found the bone of the saint, with the silver plate still affixed .to it. The fragment of skull is a portion of the left parietal fossa. The silver plate, a work of the tenth century, is of circular form. On it is engraved the bust of the saint, with his name written in Greek characters. The figure is that of a young man ; the hair is long, the beard pointed. The late is fastened to the skull by four little ands of metal and eight nails. Your Legions of Ancestors. Did you ever stop to think how many male and female ancestors were required to bring you into the world? Let us reason together on this subject and see if we can- not prove it to be aniost curious and inter- esting theme to write and talk about. First, it was very necessary that you should have a father and a mother-that makes two human beings. Each of them must have had a father and a mother, that makes four more human beings. Then, again, each of these four had a father and a mother, mak- ing eight more representatives of God’s greatest handiwork. So we go on back to the birth of Christ, or through lift -six gen- erations in all. The result of sue a calcu. lation, which can be made in a few minutes by any school child, will show that 139,- 925,017,489,534,976 births must have taken lace in order to bring you into this world. ('es, you who read these lines. All this, too, since the beginning of the Christian era, not since the beginning of time, by any means. According to Proctor, if from a single pair for 5,000 years each husband and wife had married at 21 years of age and there had been no deaths, the population of the earth would now be 2,199,915, followed by 144 ciphers. Verily, the human mind shrinks from contemplating such immense numbers. W In the recent battle in Honduras between Gen. Bouilla and Government troops the former and four of his officers were captur- ed. One hundred persons were killed and wounded. Golden Thoughts for Every Day- l Mondayâ€" Up to the bills I liftmlne o co. The eternal hills beyond tlib skies; Thence all her help my soul derives“ There my almighty refuge lives. He lives-the everlasting God, That built the world. That spread the flood The heavens with all their hosts He made, And the dark regions of the dead. He guides our feet. He guards our way; His morning smiles bless all the day: He spreads the evening veil, and troops The silent hours while Israel sleeps. Israel, a name divinely blest. May rise secure. securely rest: The holy Guardian's wa eful eyes Admit no slumber nor surprise. â€"-{Anon. Tuesdayâ€"Observe on a summer’s evening VEGETARIAN ISM. No Reason Why nan Should Absolutely For-sake the Planners. We are continually being told, says the London Telegra b, that in the first ages of the world man ind lived wholly on the vegetable productions of the earth, and that even at this day millions of human beings in Asia and Africa subsist in a simi- larnianiier. Then we have that eminent authority, Sir John Sinclair, who noted that the Tartars, who live principally on animal food, possess a degree of ferocit of mind and fierceness of character whie form the leading features of all carnivorous animals. Furthermore, we are reminded that the celebrated surgeon, Mr. Abernathy, maintained that many persons acquire pre- posterous noses, others blotches on the how Other bees “Ct: and the“ 8° and d01ike' face, and others inflammation of the eyes wise. Wearied by the heat and labor of the day, they slumber peacefully in the calyx of the flowers, The latter inclose them with their tender petals, and the gentle whispers of the evening zephyr rock the reposing and well-secured insect on its balmy couch. How sweet the rest l So do then also slumber in the calyx of the Rose of Sharon. Forget thyself in thinking of Jesus. Be He thy all, and his promises and merits the covering over thee and the pillow beneath thy head. 0 then, what does it matter if the tempest howls without, and creaking night-birds flutter around thee? Soft is thy couch, and the banner over thee is love.â€"â€"[Bisliop Wilberforce. “'ednesdayâ€" ’Tis a liferlongvtoil till our lump be lcavonâ€" The. plotter! what's come to perfection per- is es. Thing: learned on earth we shall practice in eavcn. lVoi-ks done least rapidly, Art most cherish- as â€"[Robert Browning. â€"--all arising from irritation of the stomach, caused by eating animal substances. It is true that the great doctor, who was him- self of a convivial temperament, when he was asked why he did not practice what he preached, replied by remindin the in- quirer of the old. story of t e arson and the sign pcstâ€"both pointe the right way, but neither followed its course. The Vegetarian Society, who lmet in council at Salford, by Manches- ter, in August, 1829, were just as enthusi- astic, and in many respects just as unreas- onable, as the Vegetarian Federal Union, who banqueted and orated recently; but, at the same time, it is obvious to those who have attentively studied and diligently tested the principal components of the food of man, in different countries and under varying conditions of civilization, that there are many admirable features in the vegetarian crusine, and that the kitchen in question should be, to a reasonable extent, encouraged and patronized, were it only Thursdayâ€"My retirement was now be. for the reason that the English people do come solitude; the former is, I believe, the not eat half enough green meat. and best state for the mind of man, the latter that when they have any vegetables on almost the worst. In complete solitude, their tables those esculents are, in nine the eye wants objects, the heart wants at- cases out of ten, abominany cooked. With tachments, the understanding wants reci- 8- little taste, a little appreciation, and a procation. The character loses it tender- modicum of common sense, a cook, who ness when it has nothing to love, its firm- need not be by any means a vegetarian, ness when it has none to strengthen it, its might and up a dinner of 5 or 6 courses, sweetness when it has nothingm soothe it, containing no fresh meat whatever, but its patience when it; meets no contradic- comprising such animal products as butter, tion, its humility when it is surrounded by milk,eheese and eggs, of a nature thoroughly dependants, and its delicacy in the conver- to satisfy an exigent committee of epicures sations of the uninformedâ€"[Hannah More. who, on most days of the week, were meat Fridayâ€"â€" 0ft ave I walked those woodland paths, Without the blest foreknowing That underneath the withered leaves, The fairest buds were growing. Today the south wind sweeps away The types of autumn's splendor. And shows the sweet arbutus flowers, Spring's children pure and tender. 0, prophet flowers lâ€"withlips of bloom Outvying in thy beauty The pearly tints of ocean shellsâ€" Yc teach me faith and duty! “\Valk life's dark ways,” ye seem to say, “With love‘s divine foreknowing, That where man sees but withered leases, God seessweet flowers growing." â€"[Albert Leighton. Saturdayâ€"It is not good for man to be alone. Hitherto all things that have been named were approved of God to be very good; loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good.-â€"-[Milton. They Know as Much as Men. A recent lecturer on ants and their ways described those of South America, who build immense structures and provide space eaters. Who can say anything adverse to green pea soup with rice, in which the peas are stewed with sliced onions, carrots, turnips and a head of celery, strained through a sieve, flavored with mushroom catsup, rendered smooth with butter, mingled with rice boiled very tender; . thickened with the yolks of eggs, and with milk or cream ; boiled up again, and served up hot with sippets? White purees of turnip, Jerusalem artichokes, arrowroot, barley, sago, semolino, potatoes and pars- nips can be made as tasty as soups of spin- ach, peas and young cabbage, while brown pottages, full of wholesomeness and flavor, can be prepared from onions, carrots, toma- toes, hop-tops and such herbs as beet, sorrel leek and purslain. It must not be thought that either the Salford vegetarians of 1829 , or the Vegetarian Federal Unionists of 1892 have any claim to the invention of purely vegetarian soups, or, indeed, of any of the more conspicuous items in the modern vege- tarian bill of fare. Recipes for most of these dainties were printed in a folio enti~ tled “The Diet of the Diseased," the work of a worthy physician who flourished early in the reign of Charles I., but who, while he f0? Pl“? Storage 0f grain- ,WOOd fights» 111' scrupulously admonished his disciples to Pabltmfs’ hardWOOd trees, quefihelr 110953 abstain from the fleshpots, whether they {MO forty compartments- ,NOl'lcmg the mm' were Egyptian or English, did not hesitate mg “ms- the “Final said MPG}! might 13° to enjoin the generous exhibition, as bever- learned from their cleanly habits and their ages, of old ale, Canary Wine and cordials‘ wonderful sanitary arrangements. Some kinds of ants do not keep cows but live en- tirely on grain. Mr. Plunket gave some facts about their interesting harvesting operationsvâ€"stating that they planted and cultivated a kind of ass called out rice and were so advance in civilization that melting was understood by them. Then there are mushroom growing ants who cultivate fungus, and others again who use umbrellas. Several species make raids on the black ants, rob them of their la.er and compel the poor black ants to be their slaves. In the burying of their dead ants show wonderful intelligence, having come- teries and even bury their slaves in a differ- ent place from their masters, and are quite up in funeral pageantry. In conclusion the lecturer said that much could be learned from ant life, in their wonderful govern- ment, common brotherhood, nursing and care of the young, temperance, and love of fresh air. \V. F. Liescliing, writing in the new number of the Selborne Society’s Jlfagazinc on ants in Ceylon, says he saw one day a string of ants streaming forth, evidently in search of “pastures now.” He flicked away the leader and waited to see the result. An immediate halt was made by the foremost ants and a scene of the utmost confusion ensued. The ants from behind kept arriving at the scene of the catastrophe, and there was soon a black crowd of ants liuddlin and jostling one another. Some detached t iem- selvcs from the main group and took a turn round, trying to find traces of their leader. At last the tail end of the line arrived, and after brief consolation they all started off again, and a line soon began to unravel itself from the tangled mass, moving back to the hole from which the whole company had so lately started on “pleasure bound or labor all intent.” The Horse in Battle When it comes to a battle, a horse seems to know everything that is going on; but he does his dutfi nobly, and seems tobe in his element. 6 enters into the s irit of the battle like a human being. He allows no fear of death ; and it is singular that, if his mate is shot down, he will turn to look at him, and seem pleased. A horse in my battery was once struck by a piece of shell, which split his skull. The driver turned him loose, but he walked up to the side of the gun and watched the firing, and, when the shot was fired, would look away in the direction of the enemy, as if to see the effect of the shot. When a shell would burst near b he would calmly turn and look at it. l 'hen he saw his own team go- ing back for ammunition he ran back to his own place and galloped back to the caissons with the rest. When the lieuteth push- ed him aside to put in another horse he looked at the other sorrowfully while he was being harnessed up, and when he seem. ed to realize that there was no further use for him he lay down and died. The lieuten. ant strongly asserted that he died of a broken heart. June Song. 0 sing of a scudding sky in June lâ€" He who can sing it sweetâ€"- When the yachts of God are all abroad, Ten million in the fleet: Nor mightiest hand in all the land Can stay one snowy sheet! The oriole and the bobolink Fling challenge to the nail: The clover nods to the in lkweed pods, And thedaisics dot the swale ; The soul of the rose on light wing goes And sweetens all the gale. Ah! fair is the grccnworld underneath! But 0 for the blue above! To leave the grass and lightly pass, As the pinion of a dove, To the snowy boat that seems to float To the haven of my love! Then boy for a scuddlng sky in June, I \thn the world is fresh and sweet; When the yachts of God are all abroad. vTen million in the fleet: her migh tiest hand in all the land Can furl one flying sheet! In Paradise. According to a Mohammedan legend, ten animals have been admitted to paradiseâ€" the dog Kratim, the faithful follower of the seven sleepers of Ephesus ; Balaam’s ass, Solomon’s ant, J ouah’s whale, the ram which was offered in sacrifice instead of Isaac, the camel of Saleb, originally created out of a rock ; the cuckoo of Belkis, the ox of Moses, and Alborak, the horse which conveyed Mohammed to heaven and back again. To these some add the beast which the Savior rode on his entry to Jerusalem, and the faithful mule which bore the Queen of Sheba to Jerusalem. When Mary, Queen of Scots, was sent to the scaffold her little dog un- noticed, followed her, and when her cloak was laid aside the little animal crept beneath it, nor could it be induced to move, and was finally taken away by force. The faithfulness of the little creature has secured it a kind of immortality, for no artist of the last scene in Mary’s unfortunate life omits the lap-dog, and this act of devotion prob- ably inspired a recent revieWer to include it amen the ten fortunate animals admitted to the )Iohammedan paradise. Foxes Are as Bad as the Rabbits. Australians have had bitter experience of the mischief which rabbits are capable of doing, and now they seem likely to have trouble of a similar kind from the introduc- tion of foxes. An Australian journal, uot- ed in the Ma number of the London zool~ ogist, says t at foxes have already spread over a wide area, and are most destructive both to lambs and poultry. They attain greater size and strength in Australia than in England, and the mild climate is highly favorable to the increase of their numbers. “ It must be very disheartening," says the writer, “ to all who have stock of any kind to lose, to find themselves confronted by some new enemy introduced by thoughtless or selfish persons. If some energetic steps are not soon taken, nothing can prevent t e spread of foxes over the whole continent." _ »‘ A A GREAT RAILWAY. Russia's Trans-Siberian Line Bela: Pas! ed with Vigor. The statement that Russia had concluded to stop work upon her Trans~Siberian Rail- way, from Vladivostock to the Ural Moun- tains, has gained general credence through- out the western world, but such b not the case. ‘Russia has no intentions whatever of calling a halt in the construction of this all~importaut railroad, and so long as she is unfettered by a war in Europe her son plus energy and talent and all the money she can divert into this use will be em loy- co in car dug on the work alrea so extensively n. The knowledge that the Chinese Govern- ment has contracted for and commenced the construction of a counter line of railways running along the northern Chinese from tier, connecting the larger cities and im r- taut military strongholds, has tended,0 to urge forward rather than detract from the anxiety shown by the Russian officials in hastening the completion of the Trans~Si~ berian line. This railway, when completed, will insure Russian supremacy in the far East. It will put Vladivostock, the naval station of the User’s em ire on'the Pacific, within fourteen days of t. Petersbur and within tendaysof Odessa and Sebastopo , and thus leave the Russian fleet, in case of war. to act offensively against the commerce and other interests of the enemy without fear as to the safety of Vladivostoek. The troops from the Siberian interior posts can be hurried to any threatened point along the coast, and the railway will guarantee their arriving to garrison any port days in advance of the arrival of a hostile squadron. Along the Chinese border the advantages of this strategic line of railway are very great. Running as it does close along the frontier, it affords a ready means of landing and massing any available number of Rus- sian troops at any point from which it may be desired to make an invasion of the Ohm- ese provinces or an attack upon any desired fortress. CHINA SET- TO “'ORK. As slow as the Chinese Government has been to take note of the inroads made b foreign countries against the peace and we - fare of their ancient empire, it has realized the importance of this move of Russia and does not propose to be caught napping. To this end foreign engineers have been em- ployed and railways planned and routes surveyed along almost the whole of the northern provinces of the em- pire. In addition telegraph lines to all the principal cities and fortresses are being pushed forward as rapidly as the materials can be obtained from the foreign finns con- tracting for their delivery in China. The material is supplied wholly by English and other European firms and is brought to China by sea. The vessels unload their car ass at Hankow and from there it is car- rie overland to the points at which the construction has been begun. The money necessary for building these lines has been appropriated, ofat least such a sum is made payable annually as will cover the expenses incurred in the construc- tion up todate of payment. The work is largely done by soldiers and convicts, and by this means the heavy cost of the under- takin is eatly reduced. No time has been fgixed or the completion of these railâ€" ways, but judging by the eagerness with which work is being pushed forward it is safe to predict that they will surely be in operation before the Trans-Siberian line is completed. It is most remarkable that, coincident with the terrible famine in European Russia, the Usuri Valley, through which the Trans-Siberian Railway runs, has pro- duced this year a prodigious cereal crop, insomuch that the authorities have been compelled to come to the agriculturists’ re- lief by purchasin at one time a year’s supply of rye for t e entire Russian army. The Usuri Valley is one of the most prolific valleys in the world, but at present only a small part of it has been brought under cultivation. Yet this small section has produced during the past year such an enormous crop that were there a means of transporting it to European Russia it would go far toward checking the horrors of the present famine. W'Iiat an incentive for expediting the work of the railway l LENGTH AND COST. Strategic considerations have been hereto- fore mainly ur ed for the speedy comple- tion of this rai way, but now a new induce- ment has arisenâ€"that of striving to avert the recurrence of abnornal abundance in one part of the empire and a wasting famine in another. It is a problem which urgently calls for a prompt solution of how the work can be most readily prosecuted. The railway as now surveyed and being built will present no serious engineering difficulties, and it is of supreme importance to the entire world in its commercial and. olitial aspects. It will comprise a total engtli of 4,785 miles, and will cost roughly $200,000,000. The construction of the line is divided into six divisions, and these divisions are subdivided into sections of 100, 200, or 300 miles, according to the nature of the country. The contract for the building of the line is let by the section, thus enabling many contractors to come in for small portions, and consequently greatly expediting the completion of the whole. In addition to the large number of famine sufferers employed in the construction of this work and of others previously engaged in it, it is now suggested to use Chinese and Japanese laborers. Convict labor, upon which much reliance was at first placed, as been found to be very dilute and expen- sive, and free labor is not an ciently, avail- able in Siberia to meet the demand. For reasons which at first seemed cogent and satisfactory it was decreed that only the Russian proletariat should be employed on the construction of the railway, but now it is quite evident that without the aid of an army of Chinese coolies the consummation of the undertakin must be delayed to a period that must e detrimental to the in- terests of Russia. In view of this fact negotiations have been opened with a Vancouver syndicate for transport from Canton of several thousand laborers, who hadbeen previously engaged upon the Canadian Pacific Railroad, to 8i- beris for work upon the Russian line. The agents of this syndicate have made an ex- amination of the route of the railway and are now engaged in making estimates of the contract for finishing it. The mortality from cholera at Method, Persia, has reached 400 daily. ,_..__.._-i A. _.4,.A, ..