The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 57, December 9, 1897

It is to be hoped that the idiotic Dr. Wolff will be given a recess of several weeks. He seems to need rest from his Parliamentary duties.

The unruly party, which is opposed to the Government, is infuriated at the passing of the resolution.

They declare that it was a violation of their constitutional rights, and a meeting was held to decide what they should do about it. Nothing was, however, decided upon.

A terrible fire has occurred in London during the past week.

It is the worst fire that has visited the city since the Great Fire in 1666, when the whole heart of the city was burned.

This fire, though it consumed 13,000 houses and laid waste 400 streets, compelling 200,000 persons to camp out in the country, has always been regarded as one of the greatest blessings London ever knew.

London had been visited by a terrible plague, and the city was built with such cramped and narrow streets, the upper stories of the houses projecting and nearly touching one another, that the infection was borne from house to house, and it did not seem possible to stamp out the disease, because there was no means of properly airing and purifying the city.

The horrible disease would seem to have passed away, when suddenly there would be a fresh outbreak, carrying off hundreds of victims, and bringing terror into every heart again.

Then the great fire broke out. For four days it raged and consumed everything in its path, but at the same time it so thoroughly purified the city that the plague was stamped out for good and all.

The present fire occurred in the most crowded part of the city, in the heart of the business quarter.

London is not laid out like an American city, in blocks and squares, with broad straight avenues running for miles, crossed at regular intervals with wide and open streets.

It is, in the older part, a network of narrow roadways, with courts and alleys lying back of them. The streets turn and bend and twist and go in every direction, and leading out of them are other little winding streets. These side turnings are delightful for those who know London well, because you can turn down here and up there, and cut off corners this way and save miles that way, by threading through these strange byways that lead in and out of the highways.

In case of fire, these time-saving lanes and alleys are most dangerous to the welfare of the city, for they are very narrow, with houses on either side, and flames can easily reach from one side of the street to the other.

This is precisely what happened at the recent fire. It sprang from side to side of these narrow ways, until much of the business portion of London was in flames.

There has been a good deal of talk about this fire, because the first engine did not reach the scene of the disaster until fifteen minutes after the call had been sent, and it has been said that the English firemen are not nearly so expert as the American.

It seems hardly fair to criticise the English firemen without knowing the difficulties they had to contend with. Some of the streets through which they had to drive are hardly wide enough for two vehicles to pass, and the fire occurring at midday, all these ways were blocked with carts.

The English firemen cannot drive as rapidly and recklessly as our firemen do on our wide avenues, for any attempt at such driving would mean certain destruction to engine and apparatus.

The English alarm system does not appear to be so perfect as ours, but otherwise the same engines are used, and the department is finely organized. The arrangement of the city is all that prevents them from doing the quick and effective work that we can accomplish.

When a fire breaks out here, it is the duty of the person discovering it to run to the nearest fire-alarm box, and, opening the box, pull down the hook he will see inside. This causes a signal-number to appear on the key-board in front of the operator at headquarters.

The number tells him the district in which the fire has occurred, and with one touch of a telegraphic key he sends out an alarm to the thirty-odd engine-houses in the neighborhood of the fire.

The pressure on the key at headquarters releases the horses in the stalls of the various engine-houses. Instantly these clever beasts dash out of their boxes and place themselves at the shafts, the collar clasps around their necks and harnesses them to the engine; the men slide down the poles to their places, the gates swing open, and the engine is out and dashing along the road in less time than it takes to tell about it.

By the use of regularly appointed signals, the first fireman who arrives at the fire can inform headquarters just how serious the fire is, and whether more engines should be sent.

On one occasion a great fire broke out in the busy part of New York city. It was a serious fire; and according to the records at headquarters, in less than four minutes the first batch of engines had arrived and three extra calls had been sent out, which were speeding half the engines in the city to the scene of the fire.

It will interest you to know that the fire department of the city of New York has reached such a degree of excellence that the risk of serious damage and loss by fire has been greatly reduced, and, in consequence, the insurance companies have lowered the rate of insurance; that is to say, they do not charge people as much money to insure their property this year as they did last year and have done for many years past.

The anxiety about Professor Andrée has increased. The steamer which left Tromso, Norway, in search of the explorer has returned, and reports that no traces of him could be found. Search parties were sent out in every direction, but nothing could be discovered.

The vessel sailed on November 5th and returned on the 21st, and her crew declare that a most vigilant search was made.

The vessel was sent in consequence of the report brought in by the wrecked whalers that they had heard cries for help.

A strange freak of nature is reported from Kansas.

The railroad station of Rozel, eighteen miles from Larned, has been swallowed up.

When the people in the neighborhood went to bed at night, the station was in its usual place; in the morning the station, two or three small elevators, and a few other small buildings had disappeared.

Investigation proved that they had been swallowed up, and had disappeared in a chasm.

The depth of this rent in the earth cannot be determined. The hole is said to be about an acre in extent, of oblong shape, with walls reaching straight down for seventy feet, at which depth the hole is filled with dark, stagnant water, into which anything that is thrown immediately sinks.

No lives were lost, as no one remains at the station over night.

The interest of the surrounding country is intense, and many theories are advanced as to the cause of the catastrophe.

Some think that the station dropped into an immense cave, and others that it was caused by the underflow of the Arkansas River, which is overflowing its banks at the present time. Others think that this section of Kansas is over an immense underground river or sea.

A similar accident occurred in Meade County, Kansas, ten years ago. A section of land crossed by a public road disappeared in a single night, leaving a chasm which is a notable landmark to-day.

The plans for the Bronx Park Zoölogical Gardens in New York city have been perfected, and are now before the Park Board for acceptance.

From all accounts, the new Zoo will be one of the finest animal gardens in the world.

It will cover two hundred and sixty-one acres of land, and is to combine picturesque scenery for the pleasure of the visitor, with roomy quarters and as nearly natural conditions as possible for the animals.

The buffaloes are to have a huge field appropriated to their use, where they can roam at will. The visitors who wish to see them must climb a wooded hill, from which they can view the beasts without disturbing them.

The lions and tigers are to have open cages, where they can romp and play.

It is proposed to paint the walls that divide these cages one from another with African landscapes, so that the captives may feel as much at home as possible.

The monkeys in the new Zoo are to be accommodated with a little artificial forest, where they can roam freely. The birds are to have a huge tree-grown aviary, with bathing-ponds and every desired luxury.

The gardens being so large, and the extent of the domain of each class of animals so spacious, it has been found necessary to arrange a means for the visitors to see all the beauties of the Zoo without undue fatigue.

It has therefore been decided to use electric motor-carriages throughout the park. Two fine roadways are to be constructed, which are to meander through the gardens, taking in all the buildings, ranges, animal enclosures, and lakes and ponds.

One roadway is for vehicles going in one direction, and the other for carriages going in the opposite way. By this means the visitors will be able to see everything in the gardens without getting tired.

This must be a lesson taught by the World's Fair in Chicago. There you had no choice between walking until you almost dropped from fatigue, or being wheeled about (at ruinous expense) in an invalid-chair by a stripling youth who would pant and perspire until stout and healthy passengers felt in duty bound to get out and walk to save their charioteer's further exertion.

G.H. Rosenfeld.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY

Currycomb and Brush Combined.—This is such a fine article for the comfort of our animal friends that we cannot refrain from telling our young readers about it.

Many of you may have curried a horse, or stood by during the process, and watched him shrug and twitch with pleasure as the little iron teeth scratched his skin, and have seen his coat grow glossy and satiny as the brush was applied as soon as the currying was over.

Now this operation is most delightful to a horse; it is to him what taking a bath is to us; and properly done it makes him feel fresh and vigorous and quite happy to do his master's work.

If it is not well done he feels restless and dirty, and the pores of his skin become clogged, and the good horse gets sick.

Currying a horse is quite hard work, and lazy grooms do not like to do it, and so they have invented a means of shirking the brushing which is very unkind to the horse.

Every owner wishes to see his animals with glossy, shining coats, and so bad grooms, to save the trouble of currying and brushing, will rub the horse over with a cloth, dipped in kerosene. The coat will shine beautifully, but the poor horse is made most uncomfortable.

The currycomb and brush prevents this wicked practice, by making the cleaning of the horse so easy that it is not worth the laziest man's while to oil the horse instead of currying him.

As you will see by the illustration, the currycomb has a dandruff brush attached to its outer edge. As the comb is withdrawn the brush passes over the skin that has been curried, brushes it clean of dandruff, and makes it smooth and glossy. After one good currying with this device the nag is ready for harness, his coat sleek, shiny, and, above all, clean.

You young people who are the happy owners of horses, must always make sure that the gloss on your favorite's coat is the result of health and cleanliness, and not kerosene.

Car-step.—This excellent device is the invention of a young lady of Pittsfield, Illinois.

Every one who has travelled in Pullman cars knows the discomfort of that last step before you reach the ground. It is true that the porter is always waiting with a little wooden stool on which you step from the high car-step above, but for old people or lame people or nervous people there is always the dread that they may miss the little stool, and be tumbled over on the platform.

This invention is to prevent any such difficulty.

The steps of the Pullman cars can only be a certain length, and must not jut out beyond the sides of the car, otherwise they would be liable to be torn off when the oar passes through tunnels or narrow places. It is therefore impossible to have them built any longer than they are at present. The new invention, however, adds a step without going beyond the proper limit.

It is done in this way: The step is made of iron, and is joined to the regular wooden steps by strong rods. When the train is in motion the extra step folds under the car-step. When the train stops the porter touches a lever, and down comes the extra step, making the descent from the car as easy as walking downstairs.

It is a fine invention, and we hope soon to see it used on all Pullman cars.

G.H.R.

BOOK REVIEWS

There has just been published a collection of sketches and essays by Charles Dickens which have hitherto been uncollected and none of which has been reprinted in the United States. This cannot fail to be an extremely interesting book to the great army of admirers of Dickens. His books always bear the unmistakable imprint of the master, novelist's mind—in his fun, satire, and humor going hand in hand, as well as in his sincerity and interest in the poor. Everything that Dickens wrote has upon it the mark of genius, and this book will come as a delight to many.

("Old Lamps for New Ones, and Other Sketches and Essays," by Charles Dickens. The New Amsterdam Book Company: 350 pages, cloth, $1.25.)

PRIZE CONTEST

Owing to the improper character of many of the prize contests which have recently been offered by many papers and to the criticisms which have been called forth by them, we have decided that it is best to withdraw the contest begun in No. 55. We know that these contests are of great interest to our readers, and hope that we shall be able to renew them in the near future without subjecting ourselves to the risk of criticism which so properly attaches to any of the prize contests being published.