Another report about the use of the X rays in the French Custom-House has reached us.

This time the rays were applied to thirty packages which had arrived by parcels-post. It took but fifteen minutes to examine the whole of these packets, and their contents were discovered without the necessity of breaking a seal or untying a string.

The amusing part of the story is that the thirty persons to whom the parcels were addressed had been asked by the officers if there was anything dutiable in them, and all had replied in the negative.

The confusion and trouble were therefore great when forbidden articles were found in twenty-seven out of the thirty packets.

The French officials are very strict about such matters, and enforce heavy fines for attempting to bring things into their country without paying duty on them.

The senders had had no idea that the X rays would be used on the packages, and had arranged them so that on opening they would appear to contain nothing dutiable.

One basket was labelled fruit. Had it been opened in the ordinary way the officers would have found nothing but apricots and plums, unless they went to the trouble of emptying the whole basket out—a thing that is seldom done. When the X rays got to work on this packet a pair of patent-leather shoes was revealed, hidden away amongst the fruit.

Another bundle was labelled, "Specimens of clothing—without value."

No sooner was it held before the X rays than it was seen that a quantity of cigarettes and English matches were rolled away inside the linen.

All this was found out without so much as breaking a seal or untying a string.

At the same time that the news of this excellent use for the X ray reached us, we observed statements from several prominent doctors and electricians, warning people of the danger of using this wonderful light without a proper knowledge of its properties.

It seems that under certain circumstances the X ray is capable of inflicting a very serious wound. It acts in the same way as fire does, and burns the skin so severely that it is a very long time in healing.

Nikola Tesla, the great electrician, says, however, that this trouble only arises from want of knowledge as to the proper way to handle the rays. If they are held at a certain distance from the skin, there is not the slightest danger of accident.

The curious part of the wound inflicted by the X ray is that the burn is not felt at the time the mischief is being done. A person can allow his skin to be exposed to the X rays until it is badly burned without experiencing any pain until some time after the damage has been done. The injured part first swells, and then shows all the symptoms of a burn.

One man who had exposed his foot to the rays to discover a rifle-ball that was lodged in his heel received a burn that took eleven months to heal.

It seems curious that such a severe injury could be inflicted without any warning of pain. No sensation of warmth is felt until the part is burned, and then, according to Mr. Tesla, the pain does not seem to be on the surface as in ordinary burns, but deep-seated, in the very bones themselves.

There is fresh news from Brazil and Uruguay.

In Brazil, the insurgents, under their leader, Anton Conselhiero, were defeated, and the town of Canudos, which had been their stronghold, was taken from them.

So severe and crushing was the defeat which they sustained, that it is thought that the revolution has been brought to an end.

The battle lasted four hours, the rebels fighting with great courage and determination. The well-trained government troops proved too strong for them, however, and when the Brazilian artillery was brought to the front, and began to pour a steady fire into the rebel army, the ranks were broken and the insurgents fled for their lives.

The Brazilians pursued them hotly, and it is said that when the fight was over Conselhiero's army was almost annihilated.

In Uruguay the rebels have gained the upper hand, and it is hoped that that war will also be brought to a close very shortly.

The Uruguayan insurgents were much stronger than the Brazilian; indeed, they outnumbered the government troops, and fought so fiercely that Uruguay had to give in and ask for an armistice.

This the rebels granted, and during the cessation of hostilities negotiations for peace were immediately set on foot.

The terms of peace which the rebels offered were that they should have the right to choose the next President of Uruguay, and the governors of six of its provinces. They also demanded that all insurgents who had been dismissed from the regular army should be reinstated, and all who had been exiled on account of the rebellion should be allowed to return to their homes.

The Government is not willing to grant these terms, but it is thought that the rebels are so strong that they will be able to insist on the acceptance of their conditions.

Company E, of the Eighth New York Regiment, has started on an important military expedition.

It is the desire of the commanders to find out just what the practical value of a bicycle would be in time of war.

To demonstrate this, Company E, which is the bicycle company of the regiment, received orders to make a week's trip on Long Island, instead of going to the state camp as usual.

It is the intention to have the command cover a distance of five hundred miles during the week, each man carrying with him the regulation kit of a soldier on the march.

This outfit consists of the canteen or water-bottle, knife, fork, spoon, and combination frying-pan and plate, a blanket to sleep in, and of course a rifle, bayonet, and cartridge-box.

With the bicycle command, all these articles had to be stowed away so that the hands should be free to control the wheel.

The blanket was therefore strapped on the handle-bars, the musket slung under the saddle, the cartridge-box and bayonet hung from the soldier's belt, and slung across the shoulders were the canteen and a haversack containing all the other articles.

With all these articles the bicycle will be heavily loaded, and one of the points which the authorities especially wish to prove is whether it is possible for men to make any distance on wheels when they are so heavily weighted.

The baggage that we have described is the very least that a soldier can carry, and if no great distance can be accomplished with such a load, the wheel is of little value for purposes of war.

The military authorities are also desirous of proving just how reliable the bicycle itself is. Every one knows what the wheel can do on a level road or smooth track, but it has not been demonstrated how a troop of wheels will last on rough country roads.

Company E has taken no tents; the men are to sleep under such cover as they may find on the way. No food has been taken, or provided for; the men will have to forage, or seek for their own rations.

Their one extra is a bicycle ambulance. This is a very novel affair, and is made of a covered stretcher slung between two tandems. The men have been allowed to put kettles and coffee-pots inside the stretcher at the start, but if in case of illness the ambulance is needed, even these small comforts will be left behind.

They have with them an engineer to make maps, and a photographer, who has a camera slung under his saddle instead of a musket.

The experiment is to be made on Long Island. When the Shinnecock Hills are reached, two days will be spent in scouting and reconnoitring, with skirmishes and sham fights to follow.

They will thus have a week of practical campaigning.

While we are on the subject of wheels we are reminded of a recent decision that bicycling is illegal on Sunday in New Jersey.

This fact came out through a lawsuit. Two