The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 56, December 2, 1897

The book is full of those little simple nothings which seem hardly worth telling to the outside world, and which are so full of meaning to those who have lived them through.

The diary is only here and there varied with an account of a bear-hunt, or a dog-fight, or a wily bear coming along and stealing a dog or two for his own private consumption. It is at times hard to realize that these men of whom the journal treats were heroes ready to sacrifice their lives in the interest of science, and that in this peaceful, homelike way the greatest voyage of the century was being made.

It will interest you to know that Nansen used every available modern invention to help make his voyage successful and bearable.

In the Arctic regions there are long months when there is no day. The sun disappears beneath the horizon, and does not appear again for weeks. There is no day and no sunshine, only one long night.

This time is the most trying period for Arctic travellers, and many poor fellows have gone insane under the terrible oppression of the months of darkness.

When this time came, and the sun had bidden its good-by to the Fram, Nansen lighted his ship by means of electricity, generated from power obtained from a windmill. When the wind failed the crew manned a capstan, an apparatus used for hauling anchors on board ship, and which Nansen applied to this excellent use.

With light to work by, plenty of work to do, and books and games for the evenings, one would have thought the men were well supplied, but Nansen added yet one more pleasure to their store. A friend had made the expedition a present of a phonograph. Nansen had his faithful wife sing into it all the favorite songs of the day, and so the sailors had one more comfort for their peaceful evenings, in the singing of well-known ballads by a well-loved voice.

The five Competitor prisoners have been released from Cabana fortress after an imprisonment of nearly twenty months.

The names of these five men are: Alfredo Laborde, William Gildea, Ona Melton, William Leavitt, Charles Barnett.

By the release of these five men Spain has given us a very decided proof of her desire to keep our friendship.

She has not done the thing by halves either, for an order has been issued to return the prisoners any arms that had been taken from them, and to restore the schooner Competitor to its owners.

The five prisoners will sail for New York at once, and will have the happiness of eating their Thanksgiving dinners in their own country.

Three of the five men are native-born Americans; of the other two, one is an Englishman, and the other a naturalized American.

Spain has, however, released them all unconditionally.

General Weyler has just arrived in Spain, and the trouble we were anticipating is about to begin.

As we told you, his ship had to put into a Cuban port for repairs before he could really set sail for Europe, and at this port he received a deputation of citizens, and repeated to them the speech which had made the Spanish Ministers so angry.

He has been questioned as to the truth of the reports of this speech, but so far has avoided giving a direct answer, and complains that the reports are too long.

He arrived at Corunna, but it was expected that he might land at Santander, and so his admirers in that city set to work to raise funds for a big reception to him.

One of the features of the affair was to be a flight of rockets, six thousand in number, which, upon exploding, should scatter ribbons inscribed "Viva Weyler."

Subscriptions were immediately started to secure the funds necessary for this magnificent display.

After two weeks of uninterrupted labor the committee had secured $7.80.

The persons in charge of the fête became a little embarrassed how to spend this sum. As it had been collected from, and sent by, unknown admirers, it could not be returned.

One practical friend suggested that one of the committee should make a sketch of the celebrations as they had intended them to be, and spend the $7.80 in having a nice photograph made for Weyler of the proposed festivities.

The promised reforms have not yet been granted to the Cubans, and it is reported that General Blanco is so annoyed at the condition of affairs that he is on the point of asking to be recalled.

He finds he has been deceived about the state of the Spanish army in Cuba, and the dislike of the Spanish party in the island to Home Rule has also been a sad stumbling-block in his way. These people throw every possible obstacle in his path.

The General feels that he is in a false position, and is most unhappy over it.

Spain is expecting him to open a brilliant fall campaign, and he is unable to do this because he finds himself at the head of a body of ill-paid, hungry, and disaffected soldiers, who are neither fit for difficult work nor willing to undertake it.

On the other hand, a portion of the Cubans are expecting reforms and help from him, and this he cannot give because he is hampered by the ill-will of the officials and the delays of the home Government.

The peasants have been permitted to return to their homes, and permission has been given to commence sugar-grinding. But in the present state of the country this permission amounts to nothing. The planters have no money to pay for grinding sugar, and unless the Government aids them it will be impossible for them to begin operations.

The peasants have no homes to go to, and unless they are cared for until they are able to care for themselves they must starve.

An edict was issued arranging for certain lines of cultivation that were to be started by the peasants, in the hope of helping them. The laborers engaged in this work were to report to the military commanders, and be under military protection.

Nothing further has, however, been done to carry out this plan, and indeed it seems doubtful if anything can be done. Spain has no money, and the Spanish soldiers need food for themselves—how then can the Spanish commanders supply the peasants with farming implements and grain, and care for them until kindly earth yields its crop?

General Blanco seems to have unearthed some serious frauds during his investigation. He has asked the Spanish government to send out a general named Escribera to him, that he may make him account for the cattle which he is supposed to have supplied for the consumption of the army, but which never came to hand.

In the mean time the Cubans are gaining victories all over the island, and the leaders seem more determined than ever to accept nothing but liberty from the Spaniards.

General Gomez has notified President McKinley of this fact.

He sent him a note in which he recited the struggles and sufferings of the Cubans, reminded him of the blood that had been spilled in the cause of freedom, and assured him again that under no circumstances would the patriots end the war until Spain had given up the island.

A Spanish general has been sent out by Blanco to take command of the eastern army, and reduce the rebels to submission. He reports, however, that the troops under him are in such a poor condition that he can expect very little from them.

In Spain the Carlists are causing a good deal of anxiety. The Pope has received certain information that a great rising is indeed contemplated. Espousing the cause of the infant King Alphonso, he has sent a letter to the Spanish clergy, desiring them to refrain from encouraging the rebellion.

There are constant rumors of risings, and arms and ammunition have been seized in several towns of Spain.

It seems certain that Don Carlos is only waiting for a favorable opportunity to commence hostilities.

The sheriff and deputies who shot at the strikers in the recent trouble at Hazleton have been indicted by the Grand Jury for murder, and must all be tried for this crime.

The Grand Jury is a body of men, generally twenty-four in number, whose duty it is to look into complaints of crimes that have been committed, and decide whether they are really serious enough to go to trial.

A trial by jury costs the people a great deal of money and time, and it would not be right to allow this money to be expended unless it was pretty sure that a crime had been committed, and that the accused person was in some way connected with it.

A man will sometimes accuse another of a crime for spite. If it were not for the Grand Jury the case would be brought before the judge, and it might take weeks for the accused man to prove his innocence. In the mean while he would have been branded by the world as a criminal.

With the Grand Jury such a state of affairs is impossible.

The Jury must first be convinced that the supposed crime has been committed, and then that the accused person is connected with it, before they find what is called a true bill, and allow the case to go to the courts.

In the Hazleton case the Grand Jury has decided that a crime was committed by the deputies in firing on strikers, and the sheriff and his posse will have to prove that their action was justifiable, or else suffer the penalty of their crime.

G.H. Rosenfeld.

BOOK REVIEWS

STORY OF ULYSSES

This book consists of a series of stories of the fortunes and misfortunes that befell Ulysses in his wanderings for ten years after the capture of Troy. The stories are arranged in a different order from that in the Odyssey, and form a most delightful narrative. The author, Agnes Spafford Cook, is an excellent Greek scholar, and has been very successful in making the deeper meanings of this great poem shine through these stories of the trials of the wisest of Greek heroes in his struggle against the efforts of the gods to prevent him from returning to his native land.

The book is well illustrated and attractively bound in cloth. Price, 50 cents.

"Pierre and His Poodle," by Elizabeth W. Champney, is a prettily illustrated, bright little story of a little French boy and his master's poodle. Pierre, in his attempts to find Popotte, the runaway poodle, has many adventures, strange and fascinating. He finally recovers the dog, and the story winds up with happy futures in prospect for the hero and heroine and their friends. (Dodd, Mead & Co.)

LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS

Editor of "Great Round World."

Dear Sir:—Being advised that The Great Round World was a very interesting and useful paper for use in the schoolroom, I have for several weeks been a subscriber for your magazine. It is needless to say that my pupils as well as myself have found the articles contained therein very interesting.

In your issue of November 4th I notice that there were printed several letters from a school in Foxboro, Mass.

As my pupils are interested in letter-writing, I think it would be a great incentive toward the accomplishment of good work in that direction if they may be allowed to write a batch of letters to the editor of The Great Round World, with the hope that one or two of the best of them will be printed in your paper. Hoping that you will give the letters, which I herewith enclose, your gracious attention, I am

Very truly yours,Harriet B. Raymond.Westport, Conn., November 11th, 1897.

Dear Madam:

We are only too happy to comply with your very pleasant request. It is our desire to be of service to our readers, and if the fact of writing to us will help them in their studies we shall be only too delighted to have them write to us as often as they feel inclined.

Pray tell them that we will take pleasure in answering every good letter that we receive.

Editor.

We take pleasure in publishing the two following letters from our little friends in Poplar Plains.

All the letters were interesting, and showed that the young readers had studied The Great Round World very carefully. We would have been delighted to publish them all, but space forbade.

Editor.

Dear Editor:

Your paper is so very interesting that the teacher reads to us some of the stories, one of which I liked very much. It was about the forest fires, and we were very anxious to have the next paper come. Some of the other scholars of my school are going to write and tell you what they think is the best story. Good-by,

Your friend,Edna R.C.Westport, Conn., November 12th, 1897.

Dear Editor:

My teacher has been reading some very interesting articles from your paper, The Great Round World. I think the most interesting articles were about the forest fires, the Klondike regions, and about the large and useful bicycles, and about the great wars that are going on now. I think you are very kind in sending your paper to the people.

Your friend,I.da B.K.Westport, Conn., November 12th, 1897.

Dear Editor:

I am very much interested about Cuba and all the wars that are going on, also about Klondike.

I wish you would write something about the mines in Mexico, because my father has gone down there to some mines.

Yours truly,W.E.W.Ogdensburg, November 14th, 1897.

Dear Young Friend:

Many thanks for your kind letter.

We will be glad to chat with you about the mines in Mexico as soon as we can find space.

The Great Round World is a newspaper. We try to tell you week by week of the important events that have been happening in the world. We have therefore but little room in our pages for any stories that are not closely connected with some recent event.

To give you pleasure we will endeavor to make room in the earliest number possible.

In the mean while, will you not send us an account of the mine to which your father has gone? He has probably written home to you and told you some interesting things which we should all like to know. Won't you write us another letter, giving us your father's account of the mine he has gone to?

Editor.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY

POCKET-KNIFE.—Here is an excellent thing in pocket-knives.

Attached to the handle is a revolving plate which, when the knife is opened, turns round and catches the blade firmly, making it impossible for it to close and holding it absolutely rigid.

So many accidents have occurred through the slipping of the pocket-knife that it seems strange such a simple device as this should not have been thought of before.

We are aware that there have been several knives made with springs to hold the blade firmly when open, but these have all been large and clumsy knives, whereas the one illustrated is really what it pretends to be—a pocket-knife.

G.H.R.