Various

“ We are glad you find The Great Round World interesting.
Editor.
Dear Mr. Editor:
I have had only two of your papers. I like them very much. I am going to save them and have them bound. It is so muddy here, and it was muddier last week; the mud was half a foot deep. There is a man that runs a dray-wagon here, and he has two little mules. He whips them almost to death.
A little while ago a poor dog went by with a tin can tied to his tail; the boys that did this filled it full of dirt, and the poor dog was half scared to death. ”

“ It was decided that the expedition should land at Banes, an important seaport on the northwestern coast of Santiago de Cuba. A few days before the ship was expected, the Cubans appeared in large numbers at Banes, ready to attack the Spanish soldiers, who occupied a small fort there.
You will remember that Santiago de Cuba is the province which the Cubans have under control, and which is really "Free Cuba."
The Cubans are so strong in this province, that the Spaniards remain in such forts as they hold, and make very few attempts to interfere with the insurgents. ”

“ While there we had the good fortune to be admitted to a pin-factory, an iron-foundry, a watch-factory, and the most extensive brass-works in the world.
I shall here limit myself to a brief description of the last.
Brass is made by melting together in large crucibles certain proportions of copper and zinc. The heat applied must be considerable, for during the fusion of the two metals a white flame from the zinc and a green one from the copper flash from the mouth of the crucible. When properly mixed the molten alloy is poured into rectangular or cylindrical moulds. ”

“ The Turkish officers with great difficulty succeeded in quieting their men and persuading them that the Highlanders were men and friends, but the fame and the terror of them spread all over the island.
The insurgents heard that a new race of men had been landed by the allies, and in their ignorance and superstition they fancied that some new and terrible kind of creature had been sent against them. ”

“ They spoke about the troubles of the foreigners in the Transvaal. Mr. Hammond declared that the Boers made life so difficult for foreigners that unless some change was made, the people of Johannesburg would revolt.
Dr. Jameson went to Pretoria at Mr. Hammond's invitation, and saw for himself the condition of things.
Plans were then made to overthrow the government, and to make a pretence of finding out who the people would prefer to have for a President, by taking a man-to-man vote of the whole population. The person chosen by this vote was to be declared President. ”

“ The French have been especially eager to make an alliance with him, before any other nations could get ahead of them. Abyssinia is a country rich in gold and ivory, and the friendship of Menelik is also valuable, because of the trade that can be done with his country. One expedition has been sent by the government to make the treaty, and at the same time another has started under the command of Prince Henry of Orleans. ”

“ They will be tried by court-martial, and it is feared that the General will be shot as a rebel. If Rivera is shot, it will create a great deal of indignation, as it is the custom to exchange prisoners of war, and not to kill them. General Weyler has, however, sent out a proclamation, that any man found outside the Spanish limits without a proper pass shall be shot, and as Rivera of course had no pass from the Spaniards, it is feared that Weyler may take advantage of his proclamation to have the unfortunate General shot. ”

“ It is well to remember that the pin-machine is a purely American invention, and its immense advantage can be fully appreciated if we recall that it does the work that was required of eighteen distinct hands hardly more than fifty years ago.
Pins are made of either brass or iron wire. Those made of the latter are much cheaper, as the price of iron wire varies from three to five cents a pound, while brass wire is usually worth fourteen. ”

“ Germany already owns a rich province in the neighborhood, and she has for some time been sending arms and soldiers, able to teach the Boers the art of war, across the continent, from her province on the West Coast, to the Transvaal. ”

“ Though she is such an old lady, she keeps herself thoroughly posted about everything that goes on in the world. There is no question as to what she shall be allowed to read—she reads everything that is of interest to her ”

“ Report says that the Cubans and Spaniards were so friendly together, that they even held a peaceful parley, in which the Spanish informed their new friends that they were a little short of water at the fort, and the obliging Cubans sent them up a fresh supply.
It is a great advance for the Cubans to have the free use of a port, where they can safely receive their cargoes, and it shows very clearly that success is indeed, coming to the Cuban arms. ”

“ It is expected that with the wonderful harbors and docks the new city will possess, its future as a centre of commerce will be most prosperous.
The Mayor of this great city will be a very important person, and great care must be taken in choosing the right man. ”

“ The soldiers are in such a state of anger that the officers no longer dare trust them in the towns, for fear that they will mutiny.
The regular soldiers have received no pay for seven months, and are rebellious on that account. The volunteers are furious, because the weapons the Spanish Government gave them when they first enlisted, which were rifles of the very finest kind, have been taken from them, and replaced with old-fashioned weapons that have been in storage on the island since the war ten years ago. ”

“ The civilized nations had hardly recovered from their surprise at this defeat, when they were astounded afresh to find that the savage king Menelik had no desire to overrun the Italian country and punish the invaders for their attack, but having put them outside his borders, he settled quietly down to enjoy the blessings of peace. ”

“ By taking a vote of the whole population, every Uitlander would have had a vote; these foreigners would of course have voted for the person who would let them have things their own way, and as they outnumbered the natives, the poor Boers would have had their rights taken away from them by foreigners, who, according to their laws, had no right to vote at all. ”

“ Jameson have been bold enough to state this, cloaking their misdeed under a tale of gaining more lands for their beloved sovereign, and both have had the courage to say that they only made one mistake in the Transvaal matter, and that was to fail. Had they been successful, they would have been forgiven.
The angry feeling between the Boers and the English is daily growing stronger. It is feared that war cannot be prevented. ”

“ The Greek army along the frontier is so large and powerful as to be beyond the control of diplomacy. It is stated, on good authority, that if the King of Greece were to listen to the Powers, and order the troops back from Thessaly, the army would revolt, dethrone him, and carry on a war on its own account. ”

“ The insurgents are fighting bravely, and the Powers, though doing their best to prevent trouble, are in much the same position that they were a week ago.
The real excitement of the week has been the landing from the British warships of a troop of Highlanders. These soldiers, by their extraordinary dress, caused a panic among the Turks, who, not knowing whether they were friends or foes, mortals or bogies, proceeded to attack them. ”

“ The eyes of the world were turned on Abyssinia and its wonderful king, and the result has been that the various nations interested in Eastern Africa have decided that the friendship of Menelik is well worth having, and they are all hastening to make friends with this powerful king. ”

“ Chamberlain says that Her Majesty the Queen will insist upon the terms of this treaty being obeyed.
Though England is taking such a very decided stand in the matter, she is far from feeling at ease as to the result. It seems that Germany is taking more interest in the affairs of South Africa than is pleasant to England.
It is feared that if war does break out in the Transvaal, Germany will join with the Boers and the people of the Orange Free State in fighting England. ”

“ The Greeks show no disposition to obey the demands of the Powers, and it is said that Russia refused to join in blockading the Greek ports, because she believed that it is no longer possible to keep peace between Greece and Turkey. ”

“ It is in reality the ship's diary, but it is called a log-book, because its chief object is to record the speed of the vessel.
This speed is found by using an instrument called a log, which is attached to a line, divided into equal spaces by knots. These are placed certain distances apart, so many to a mile. The log is made in such a way that it will remain almost stationary in the water when thrown overboard. The line, wound upon a reel, is allowed to run out for a few seconds ”

“ The five little Pepper boys and girls live in "the little brown house" with "Mamsy." Their father is dead, and they are very poor. They gain a rich friend, a very nice boy named Jasper, and all go to live in his father's house, "Mamsy" becoming the housekeeper. ”

“ The convicts have been sent out from the prisons to help pile the sacks of earth on the levees, and companies of engineers are stationed at all the weak spots along them, to guard against the banks giving way. ”

“ The Cubans fell into the trap set for them, and were beaten. The Spaniards in their turn were making off with the booty, when a larger body of insurgents arrived on the scene, fought the Spaniards, put them to flight, and carried off the recaptured cargo to a place of safety. ”

“ They then slide along a groove to the main body of the machine, where they fall into slits properly distanced, and are pressed into the paper in rows, twelve in all, containing five hundred and sixteen pins.
Shield or safety-pins are made in about the same way, only there are twelve instead of three different stages before the pin issues from the machine absolutely complete. After this it has to be washed and tinned as above described.
The factory has more than fifty machines, which operate themselves so perfectly that they require the supervision of about ten men only. ”

“ Singing mice are very rare; but we have been to the store where we get our lizards, and tadpoles, and goldfish, and the man who keeps it has promised to see if he can hear of one. If he is fortunate enough to find such a mouse he is to let us know, and if you send us your address we will tell you how much he wants for it, and where you can see it.
Editor.
Dear Editor:
A number of us girls have formed a society named The Daffodil Reading Circle, of which I am the president. ”

“ When we read it we said, Master Gray has gone off with his pen and paper all by himself to write to us, and that pleased us very much, because we want all our boys and girls to talk to us in their letters just as if they were speaking to us.
You seem to be a friend of dumb animals. ”

“ The machine which does this is perhaps one of the most ingenious ever constructed. Quantities of pins are thrown from time to time into a rapidly vibrating hopper, which causes them to pass, one by one, into a trough-like slide, that holds the pins by the head ”

“ All along the river people are sending petitions to the various mayors and governors, begging them to forbid the river steamers travelling during the night, and to have them move as slowly as possible during the day. ”