Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-08-05

squares marked with figures, with a crutch-
shaped stick, 1t seems about the simplest OF
games possible, but the young ladies bring an
amount OF croquet cheating to bear in playing
II that IS appalling considering that there is
but plank between them and eternity. One
sanity looking Madonna faced young female
KICKS the quolts into position and out of posi-
tlon under cover OF her skirts IN a way that
is her adversarles truly desplse: 1t is felt that
she shg ought t, to Ia have "Fraud,' branded on her
iOrehead in the biggest job type of the New
York sam When the weather is particularly
Dalmy there is dancing on deck, and when it
rams or blows there are indoor amusements-
proverbs, charades, singing, &c. Our Ob'iging
band enivens the voyage with music morn
ing and evening on deck, and at dinner in the
cabin On Sunday it supplies. sacred music,
or approximately in that direction, as il were
AT any rate it is not lively music Sunday
evenings, according to the customs of the two
countries, the Protestant Americans gather
In the saloon and sing hymns while the Pro-
testant Germans, in another cabin, indulge in
social amusements with secular music.
SMOKING-ROOM POLITICS.
Of an evening the bald headed old fellows
who are not in demand in the ladies' cabin are
apt to gather in the smoking room, where
they discuss the fifty-two elements of pack of
cards, and, at the same time, such matters as
the Eastern question the European balance
of power. Bismarck, BeacOnSfeld, and Ameri-
car can politics. Upon the latter the other night,
the tax dlfted to the next Presidential
New Yorker, veteran, democratic poll
tician, who was a delegate to the st.
Louis convention, expressed the opinion
that very many democrats of that city and
state would vote for him as a safe man. He
declared that if Grant and Tilden were in the
field, the latter would not go out of the city
with more than ten thousand majority; that
II Hendricks was the democratic nominee he
would leave the city with perhaps forty-tiv
state against Grant. The Germans would
quite generally go for Grant, he said.
A young indianapolis lawyer, (WhO was
gallant Union solder,) who wants to see Ben
Harrison nominated by the republicans. said
that three tOurths Of the republicans of Indi.
ana were for Grant.
A Chicago business man, republican, dead
against Grant personally, and a third term for
anybody, was willing to cOncede that it looked
a little GrantiSh now, but he thought this was
due to the natural pride of the Americans
ed in Europe. 1t was sometime vet before the
nomination, and he doubted if Grant could
retain that eclat.
A New Orleans business man, democrat,
said Grant could not carry southern state
but being questioned if any republican could
he said probably not.
TWO or three other smokers, one of them a
Western NewY Yorker, concurred in the opinion
that Grant was looming up and would be hard
to beat. give this talk for what it is worth
as a presidential straw from the off hand
views of half dozen Americans from different
quarters of the Union. Perhaps it only indi-
Gates the felow-feeling of lot of smokers for
d COllllduc.
ROMANTIC EPISODES IN THE CAREER OF A
STEAMER.
A huge iron steamer like the Mosel, with all
its various departments of machinery, freight,
and hotel, managed with methOdical precision.
seems SO thoroughly matter offact concern
that one would scarce give it credit for any
romance about its career. Yet our prOSaic
looking Mosel was the steamer selected for
the most tragic fate that ever befel a vessel
freighted with human life. This was the
steamer upon which the dynamite fend,"
Ihomassen, had arranged in 1873 to place his
internal machine with the design of blowing
1t up, to secure the insurance on boxes filled
with SaWduSt purporting to contain freight
OF value. The machine, it will be remem-
bered, consisted of piece o. ingenious clock
work, arranged to run for five days and
then to explode quantity of dynamite in the
same package sufficient to blow the steamer
taken passage on the MOSel from Bremerhaven
to Southampton, where he intended TO leave
the vessel and have it 60 to its doom. The
steamer On cart, but providentally (for the
steamer and passengers 1t slipped from the
hands OF the cartman in unloading it and fell
killing or WOunding $50 people. ThOmaSsen,
Immediately after the explosion, shot himself
through the head, but before he died confessed
the details Of his plan of unparalleled atrocity.
project fOr six years; yet one OF our paSSen.
gers who knew him. and met him frequently
most light hearted and kindly of men, and was
held by his associates in the American Club
at Dresden to be a thorough good fellow. He
had endeavored to introduce his machine and
bogus freight on several steamers of different
nneS but had always failed from one cause
and another, as he did in this final attempt,
which ended his career. The amount of in
SuTance he had effected this time was only
about $500, and for this petty sum he was will
ing to murder a whole ship load of people,
There was at the time good deal of uneasi-
m ha mir nj tha frnxr
the fear that he had accOmplceS in his scheme
and that the devilish work might be continued,
put al the evidence ELECTED then and since
goes to show that no other human being had
any share in 1t. ThomaSSen had travelled all
over the world, and while in the United States
married in ST. Louis. His wife Ca beautiful
HIS death, as it appears he had run through his
money. Some charitable people raised means
to support the family but she turned out badly,
deserting her children, and it was subsequently
aSCeItalned that Der reputation was not OF the
best before her marriage. The police authOri-
ties of Germany, France, and the United
States had her under surveillance for a year or
two, as she travelled, but nothing was deve-
Oped to show that she had any completely in her
husband scheme.
TIRED OF LIFE.
Another incident, out of the common, in the
career of our steamer was the fate of young
lady passenger, who, returning to her native
Germany after residence in America,
mounted the rail OF the vessel when at the
mouth of the Weser, only few miles from
her home, and threw herself into the water
Life preServers were thrown to her, and the
captain shouted to her to seize one, but she
answered with a negative gesture of utter
despair, and deliberately thrust her head
under the water. Her waterproof cloak
buOyed her up, and boats sent out from the
steamer rescued her body before it sunk but
she was found to be drowned beyond reSuSci-
tatiOn. 1t was learned that she had been be-
trayed and deserted in America, and that the
dread of her shame being known at home
caused her to put an end to her life.
ANIMALS AT SEA.
1t is a fact perhaps not widely known that
most of the wild animals procured for the
menageries and geological gardens of Europe
and America are brought from Africa by a
German New Yorker named Reichie who has
an aquarium in that city. 1t is another curious
fact that these animals should come from
Africa mainly through North Germany. 1t
seems they are collected in Africa (manly
cubsl and brought to Trieste, and thence to
North Germany, and from there are distributed
to the countries where they are needed. 1t
thus happens that the North German steamers
frequently carry these animals to the United
STATES; and it is interesting to hear about their
habits on ship-bOard. The lions, tigers and
hyenaS are great towards in storm. They
also suffer good deal from sea- sickness, and
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