The Great Round World And What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 24, April 22, 1897

Mr. Chamberlain, the English Colonial Secretary, is trying his best to upset this treaty.

He declares that, according to an understanding made between England and the Transvaal in 1884, the Boers have the right to govern their country as they please, but they must not enter into any treaties or relations with other countries, without the consent of England.

Mr. 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.

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.

She has lately sent three thousand of her soldiers out to South Africa.

While we are on the subject of Africa, we must speak of the expeditions that are being sent out from France to Abyssinia, with the object of making commercial treaties with King Menelik.

England is also sending out an envoy to the same country.

The reason for this sudden interest in Abyssinia comes from the great victory won by the Abyssinians last year, a victory which brought them into importance as a nation.

In 1896 the Italians, who have colonized a portion of Eastern Africa, bordering on Abyssinia, invaded their neighbor's country, with the intention of conquering it and adding it to their own.

The Abyssinians, a race of dark-skinned people whom we have been accustomed to look upon as savages, met the Italians on the open field of battle, and, without ambush or any of the usual savage methods of warfare, defeated them, the Italians leaving twelve thousand killed on the field.

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.

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.

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.

This last has no political work to do, but is going in the interest of science and commerce. The Prince intends to explore the country, and find out what its chief products are, and what part of its commerce will be of value to his country.

He is writing most interesting accounts of his journey, which are being published in the papers, and we shall probably hear much that is new and interesting of this country.

In one of his letters he gave an amusing account of the astonishment of the natives over a graphophone (a present for King Menelik).

He at first put in a cylinder on which was recorded a song, sung by a great singer.

Strange to say, the natives received this with neither interest nor astonishment; the single voice did not seem anything out of the way to them. When, however, a cylinder with orchestral music, bugle calls, and a stirring march was put in place, their delight and surprise knew no bounds.

The mention of this brings another wonderful invention to mind, the animatograph, the machine which throws pictures on a sheet; the figures in them move as though they are alive.

During the Queen's Jubilee, which will be celebrated in London this spring, it has been arranged to have a number of animatograph pictures taken of the procession and all the finest part of the ceremonies. These, it is said, are to be kept in the library of the British Museum, to show future generations what kind of people lived in the nineteenth century.

This should be a very interesting collection, and probably, if the idea is successfully carried out, we shall have a set of these same pictures brought to this country, and be able to see just how our English cousins celebrated their great festival.

The news of the floods continues to be very serious.

At New Orleans the Mississippi River has reached the danger level, and the severe rain-storms which have visited the country during the past week have made the people in the city very anxious.

Certain of the streets are already swamps, and the river has risen within a foot and a half of the top of the levees.

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.

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. The wash from the paddle-wheels after they pass has done a great deal of damage, and in many places has helped to break the levees.

In several of the river towns all business has been forbidden, and all the men ordered to go to the levees and help to shore them up.

The slightest extra ripple of the waters at New Orleans brings them over the banks and floods the streets, but the banks are still safe.

England has just presented a very valuable manuscript to us, that has long been kept in the Bishop of London's palace at Fulham.

This book is called the log of the Mayflower, and is an account of the first voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers, and a history of the Plymouth Plantation.

Several previous attempts have been made to get this manuscript from England, but it has remained for Ambassador Bayard to secure the gift for us.

The manuscript is supposed to have been written by Gov. William Bradford, and if this is true, it can hardly be the log of the Mayflower, because the log is usually kept by the captain.

Every ship that sails the sea keeps a log, or log-book, in which is entered the progress the ship is making, and any facts of interest as they occur. 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 number of knots that have been paid off the reel are counted, and in this way the speed of the vessel is calculated.

The book in which the record is kept is called a "log"-book.

The book that England is giving to us is probably the diary of William Bradford, which he kept while on board the Mayflower, and it is said to record the account of the colony after the landing, and to contain many interesting accounts of the treaties with the Indians.

It is to be kept in the Boston Public Library.

The Tariff Bill has been hurried through the House of Representatives, and, having passed that House, has now gone up to the Senate.

There seems to have been a good deal of haste in the manner this was done.

Talking over alterations was not allowed, and the bill was forced to a vote, in spite of the fact that many of the Republicans were against it.