The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-16

SANN ANAhA ~
herself miraculously restored. The bystanders
never failed to ask the auack for his secret.
and he. giving himself out as an inventor who
was going to England to dispose OF his patent.
said that nevertheless for humanity's sake he
would dispose OF q few bottles OF his medicine
Just before the boat arrived In port for tho
sum Of 20 francs each. The silly people who
bought them had thus no time to discover that
the drug" was only colored water. an I'M
lucky discovery reserved for their return voy-
sge. This cheralier d'industrie was arrested
while walking in Paris. where he was recog-
nized by one OF his dupes.
The great British Museum library has Just
undergone its semi-annual cleaning. The
treatment is interesting. II takes 100 men
six days OF full hard work to renovato the IL
brary. and the cost Of labor aud materials for
this never falls below $500. Every square inch
OF the kamptullcon composition with which the
floors are covered is carefully inspected. Whor-
ever a piece shows signs OF being worn. It is
cut out and replaced. A layer Of gum is spread
over the floor. and on this the kamptulicon Is
laid. Then an iron roller. OF the kind used on
suburban lawns. is passed over the surface
until every wrinkle has been smoothed out.
When the kamptulicon is all in place, the wash
ing brigade get down to work. Ittakes statute
mile OF india rubber piping TO carry the water
W Jlltbt lOlleTSS ulu bnls, IL muSJ Dt Itllchi-
bered. suflces only to cleanse a section Of the
vast area at a time. When one mile of gallery
and reading room has been flushed and washed
the hosepipe Is shifted to another.
While the washormen arc splashing hither
and thither the desk inspectors and book In
spectors are not idle. The duty OF the former
Is to examine all the desks and chairs in the
library. and report in every case where re-
pairs are needed. About sixty chairs get
broken or seriously damaged every half year.
Nearly q hundred lose their casters. The
book examiners do not open each volume.
That is done systematically throughout the
year. They simply remove the volumes. dust
them. and sprinkle the shelves with equal por-
lions Of powdered camphor and finely chopped
tobacco. This is done to keep off the insidious
bookworm. and the tobacco bill Of the British
Museum annually exceeds that of q dozen
smokers. The tobacco leaves are specially
chopped by n well-known firm Of tobacconists,
and the dust is blown from a bellows-like ap-
paratus along the shelves.
All books whereof the bindings appear In a
bad condition are either doctored on the spot
or sent out for rebinding. The dilapidated
leather Ii plastered with paste, to fill up holes.
and the beaten yolk OF an egg is then laid on
with a sponge. Before the composition dries a
hot iron is passed overit. and the binding looks
almost as good as new. There are a humble
OF old recipes for cleaning and renovating
books, removing stains. de-, preserved in the
library archives. These have been handed
down from generation to generation. After
the cleaning is over q regimen of women start
fires through the rooms and corridors, as damp
is fatal to books. Not a single book was re-
ported missing after this stocktaking nor was
there one case OF wilful mutilation.
The topic in London to-day Is the riding OF
the American jockey. Sloan. Thousands who
take only the most casual interest in the turf.
but are always attracted by great horseman-
ship. are asking expert advice on the intrinsic
merits Of the American style OF riding. A
sportsman sends an instructive letter on the
subject to to-day's papers. He says:
Let me see whether l can give an e~xplana-
ton OF Sloan's success. In the first instance
1 should say he is a man OF absolute courage:
and it Is this which. combined with kindness,
wins the confidence of all the lower animals
and is the first essential of a good Jockey.
Horses are wonderful judges OF character.
Secondly. Sloan's position. exactly that OF a
monkey on q stick. does offer less opposition to
! the air than the ordinary seat OF a horseman.
In scientific phraseology. it diminishes the
friction to a minimum. Again. this position
enables him to grasp the reins within a foot OF
the horses mouth. and the nearer the object
l DS Nv IHO " uCCululcl1 Cuu De up
piled the directing force. Thirdly. Sloan. I am
convinced. recognizes the great fact that II we
are either in a train or in a conveyance or on
horseback we can become one with the NOV
ing mass IL We sit still. This Is proved by the
well-known fact that a circus rider does not
jump over the banners; he simply lets his body
become o moving mass with the horse. and as
he approaches the banner he Jumps into the
air. The impetus which he has obtained from
the horse carries him over the banner nearly
as quickly as the horse has travelled, and
he alights on the steed's back. but
IL we watch the barebacked rider we shall see
he does not keep interfering with the horses
movements. He in effect says the animal will
do his part OF the work il left alone. Those who
have watched Sloan in his races will have
noticed how he jumps off rapidly. and Mt once
settles down on his horse, and is not constantly
changing his position in the saddle, or inter-
ferinR with the special step of the horse; be-
cause it must be that each horse,
like each man. has his or her special mode Of
progression. Sloan simply makes himself one
with his horse In movement; he does not
offend the naturally sensitive temperament OF
such a beautiful creature as n thoroughbred
horse: he does not sacrifice a race for the sake
OF making an artistic finish. but with I'M
equalled skill and judgment. and with a cool,
intelligent head. he wins his races when and
how he can. always remembering that friction
means loss Of energy. and that interference
with a horses method means loss Of power and
opposition to nature. For my part, | am glad
to see Tod Sloan on our racecourses. 1t will,
I hope. be the cause of young men who arc OF
light weight. good traditions and intelligence
making jockeyship their calling. There is
ample room for them. and they might serve a
good purpose
Opponents Of the American style sayth chief
thing Sloan has taught them is that some Eng
lish jockeys sometimes try not to win. There Is
more crooked riding on the turf than is brought
to the eyes OF the jockey club stewards. but no
fair-minded critic makes that a detractlon from
Sloan's wonderful success. Madden, the most
promising Of the English jockeys-he won the
Derby on Jeddah this year at 100 to l against
now sits his mounts in the American style.
Bayard'S Visit to Now York for n Dog.
From the Washington Post.