E SON'S ££>*r| 3 F. D. BENNETT , " (Copyright, by Bhort»tory Pub, Co i Every eye in the courtroom was fixec' upon Richard Ferguson, reporter for the Morning Post. The young journalist stood facing the judge in silence. It was the second time in a single day that Ferguson had emerged con spicuously from the ranks of his pro fession. The first occasion was in the morning when he scored a "beat" for his paper on the conviction of an ac cused millionaire, the events of whose sensational trial had filled columns of the press for many days. The jury had deliberated for three days and two nights and the defendant's fate had not been decided until the early hours of the morning. The verdict was sealed and the en velope containing it had been left in the court vault Yet the judge had read in his morning paper, two hours before he appeared in his chambers, the result oi the jury's deliberation, the number of ballots taken and the way the jurors stood at each vote. So positive had been the announce ment in Ferguson's paper that there was no room for belief that he had made a lucky guess. His report was so accurate that it made the reading of the real verdict a farce. The judge looked sternly at the reporter, whom j he had known for years. "Did you write that article?" asked | the court. "1 did, your honor." "I shall demand a full explanation of you, and perhaps of other persons," —the judge was severe now—"for there is something radically wrong here. 1 cannot cite you for contempt until I know more of the case. Do you object to replying to my ques tions?" "Not in the least." replied Ferguson, in the best of spirits. Representatives of the other papers had permitted admiration to take the place of envy and they crowded closer, in anticipation of hearing something interesting. The Jury was present, 1 llfiflll S WV> "Did You Write That?" Demanded the Judge. all of the court officers were on hand, and even the night janitor had come in response to a hasty summons. "What has occurred this morning." began the judge, slowly, "is an im position on this tribunal. These 12 gentlemen, pledged to secrecy by their oath, the bailiff in charge of the jury, and the officers who guarded the jury room are under a pall of suspicion. "In some manner a representative of the press has obtained information from the sacred precincts of the jury room. Some person or persons must be guilty of contempt, if not a more serious charge. "A point arises here which it has been my fortune never to have en countered personally before. There are limits to the latitude whifrh news papers can demand. Mr. Ferguson has expressed his willingness" 1 " to an swer truthfully the questions which I shall put to him." The silence was oppressive, and the crowd surged agaivst the rail, leaning over to catch every word that was uttered. "Mr. Ferguson." the judge began again. "I know that you did not guess at this verdict ?" "I did not." "Will you read the marked portion of this newspaper clipping and tell us if these are the words you wrote?" Ferguson picked up the paper and read: "The first ballot was eight for conviction and four for acquittal: the second ballot was ten for conv'ction and two for acquittal; the third was the same, and at the fourth Juror Ste phenson alone held out against capi tal punishment. Not until the fifth ballot did the jury agree to send the accused millionaire to the gallows." "Did you write that?" demanded the Judge, leaning far over the bench un til he could look squarely into Fergu son's face. "I did." "When did you learn of these facts?" "About 2:25 this morning. I barely had time to reach the office and write it for the last edition of the paper." "E>id any of the jurymen tell you what had transpired in their room?" "No, your honor." "Did you contrive to overhear their deliberations and arguments?" "That would have been impossible through an ante-room and three doors. 1 did not learn it in that way." "Did any of the bailiffs give you in formation?" "No, sir." "Did you tamper with the envel ope?" "I did not." "Who told you, then?" "No one." The judge was perplexed. He knew that Ferguson told the truth, and that he was endeavoring to keep the source of his information a Secret. Suddenly an inspiration came to him and he smiled because he had not thought of it before. "Did somebody write you the infor mation?" The court was sure that this would bring the desired result. "No one wrote it for me," replied Ferguson, "and no human being gave me the information." A stir went through the courtroom '■ at this announcement and the judge seemed completely baffled. "Would you so state under oath?" "Under oath, yes, sir," echoed Fergu son. "No one knew those details at | that hour but the jurymen and myself, ! and 1 may add that 1 have not ex | changed a word, letter or signal with j any of these 12 gentlemen." | The foreman of the jury was called j before the bar. "Mr. Tillotson," said the judge, point ing at Ferguson, "Have you seen this man before?" "Yes, your honor, during the trial." "Did you speak or communicate with him since the verdict was agreed up on or sealed?" "1 did not, and I can safely vouch for my colleagues, also." "Well, then, Mr. Ferguson," said the judge, turning to the reporter, "will you kindly explain how you came into possession of this information?" "1 could refuse to answer on con stitutional grounds—on tlie plea that I might incriminate myself," replied Ferguson. "I will not do that, but I have a tavor to ask. May I put to the janitor of tiie courthouse three ques tions?" "Certainly," assented the astonished judge, and he called the janitor before him. "When did you clean out the jury room?" asked Ferguson. "As soon as the jury left it —about 2:20 this morning." was the response. "Where did you empty the waste basket containing the jury's ballot slips?" "In the alley, sir." The janitor looked apprehensive, as if he feared thai he was about to get into trouble. "Did you see a man out there?" "1 did." "What did he look like?" "Very much like you, sir." "That's all," replied Ferguson, tri umphantly. MORE THAN HE DESERVED. Careless Husband Tells of Experience with Wife's IV'oncy. Fiank .1. Reed, general passenger agent at Chicago of the M'onon rail road, was in Indianapolis the other day, telling a good story on himself. It had to do w«th his wife's bank ac count. "A couple of months ago," he said, "I was about to leave the house when my wife handed nie her bank book with S3OO to deposit for her. I promised to attend to the matte prom ptly. "I went down to my office and forgot all about the errand I had promised to perform. Three weeks later Mrs. Reed said to me that she had some more money to putin the bank, and inquired what 1 had done with her book. My mind was a blank on the subject, but I lamely suggested that perhaps 1 had left it at the bank to be balanced. With fear and trembling I hurried oil to the bank to find the book and was startled to learn that it was not there. "All that I had ever heard about lost letters and careless husbands and such things flashed across my mind. I realized that 1 would have to make good in some way. Thinking the bankbook and money might be in my desk, I tore off to the office. In throw ing off my overcoat I felt a package in one of the pcckets. I had the contents of that pocket in my lap in a jiffy. It was my wife's bankbook and her $"00 just as snug and safe as if it had been on deposit with the trust com pany. "During the three weeks' disappear ance of that money 1 had traveled thousands of miles, checked that over coat in ten or fiiteen different hotels, had it checked in as many check rooms and barber shops, had it brushed by hotel and Pullman cat porters, and bad jostled against hun dreds of people. All this time that money rested there safely." "Does Mrs. Reed know about it?" asked another railroad man. "I should say she does," replied Reed, "and I can't get her to trust me with the mailing of even a post \1 card." —Indianapolis Star. FRUGAL MR. GIGGS GIVES HIS WIFE A LESSON IN ! ECONOMY. But a Ruined Tree and Much Discom fiture Result from His Efforts to Save a Few Dollars. The rustling of an evening newspa per as it was folded hastily and laid aside came from the head of the table. Mr. CJiggs turned hastily in his chair and peered at Mrs. Giggs over his glasses. "What's that?" he asked sharply. "1 was saying," Mrs. Giggs answered, as she poured the coffee, "I was say ing that those trees in the front of the house need pruning. They're just too ragged for anything. Now to-mor row you call —" "That's it. That's it. Call up a tree trimmer, eh? More expense. I won't do it." Mr. Glggs' tone was spiteful. "But John —" "Don't John me, don't do it. Every time you look at me it's more expense. Don't you know anything but the art of spending money?" Mrs. Giggs' answer was apologetic. "I just thought I'd mention it," she sf id. "Yes," Mr. Giggs replied, "that's the way you always do. Now if those trees must be pruned, I guess it'll have to be done. But I'm not going to Sfend s9.f>B for some wild-eyed freak to jab at those trees with a hack saw and then look wise as he takes the money. If any idiot's going to fool with those trees, I'll do it myself. Got a saw?" "Nothing but that rip saw you got the other night." "Nothing but.a —; say what do you want, a whole carpenter shop? Now, gimme that saw; I'm going to fix those trees." An admiring group of neighborhood children gathered on the front steps to watch Mr. Giggs as he came from be hind the house, saw in hand. "Now," Mr. Giggs said, "the way to trim a tree is to trim it. Guess I'll climb the tree." For about ten minutes Giggs was busy with his pocket knife cutting off small twigs and branches. Then he decided that the top of the tree needed attention. "Takes up too much sky," he yelled to his wife from among the branches. "''ll just climb up and top off that top limb." "O-o-h-h-h. John, do he careful." "Huh." And the answer of Mr. Giggs was sarcastic. "Any old time father don't know what he's doing— well, just call the hearse." From limb to limb he clambered un til finally he came within reach of the top branch. "Hold below where you're sawing," Mrs. Giggs urged from the porch, "if you don't, you'll—" "Shut up," Giggs answered testily. "Who's doing this, anyway?" Deeper went the saw into the wood. Sudden ly. there was a crackling. The limb leaned far to one side and Mr. Giggs, horticulturist, went with it. But he didn't stop. Still clinging to the saw with one hand he went downward, through the branches of the tree, to fall, saw and all, upon the pavement. Slowly he picked himself up and iin:ped to the house. "Mrs. Giggs," he began painfully, "Mrs. Giggs, I —" " A feminine shriek interrupted him. "John McAnanv Giggs, you've gone and killed yourself—all because of that mean, hateful, parsimonious old nature of —and just look at that tree. Ruined. Every limb broken." "Well, look at me," Giggs said plain tively, as he inspected a bleeding finger. "Serves you right. That's just what It does. Yes, sir, it serves—well, Mr. Gtegs, I'll tend to the spending of the money after this. Do you hear? An swer me —do you hear?" But Mr. Glggs was silent. Profound Sagacity of Rats. The average rat possesses extraor dinary sagacity. On a sailing ship bonnd to Calcutta from Cape Town some time ago it was decided to try to reduce the number of rats which had boarded the vessel at the latter port. The end of an ordinary cask was planed perfectly smooth, coated with grease, and a meat bait tacked to the center. The end was fixed on with two nails, halanced so that should anything touch it off the center it would go down. The cask was partly filled with water and buried in the bal last to within a few inches of the top. The first Right over 200 rats were caught, the second night few, the third non* was caught. It.was found by the marks of rats' feet in the grease and the missing bait tfiat they had discov ered the exact center, and took the bait as they liked. Half an inch on either side of the center meant death. Interruptions. "I spore John is still takin' life ensy," said the woman in the spring wagon. "Yes." answered the woman who was carrying an armful of wood. "John has only two resets in life. One is thai tie has to wake up to eat, an' the other is that he luis to quit eatin' to sleep." Entirely Simplified. Abstracted Theoris*.—What do you think cf the race problems? Disgusted Gothamlte —Ain't no prob lem. What's the use of picking a winner if you can't put a bet up on biiu? | PERSONAL VANITY GREAT BOON. : A Blessing Vouchsafed to Man, Thinks Mr. Macßlink. "The longer I live," said Mr. Mac- Blink. "the more 1 think that the great est personal blessing vouchsafed to man is personal vanity. "Do the mighty snub us? We smile and think that we are better than they. Are some men richer than we? Why, we know for some we could have made twice their money with half their chance. "Are we homely? We think we are handsome. Why, the men we see, old and young, looking in the mirrors in the sides of the elevated cars are proud of their clothes, proud of them selves from their heads to their toes. "They may live narrow lives, and if they only knew it, with no hope of ever getting out on the hroad road; but they are satisfied with, more than that, they are vain of themselves. And what a blessing! "Are we not content to wear cheap clothes because in our fond vanity we think that we ourselves give them an air of distinction? So in many in stances. "And does not the same hold true as well to our views of all our belong ings? Do we not think that our broken down, rattletrap, dingy old automobile is really the fastest machine on the road if we would only once unshackle her? Don't we think that our lumber ing old clumsy gaited six-minute horse could go in if we dared to give him his head? Don't we think that our yacht or our power boat could make anything else in the water look like 30, yes, like 20-or even 15 cents if we were once disposed to show what it could really do? "Do we not think that our chickens are really the very best specimens of their breed, and do we not think that ours is the finest lawn? And our chil dien, whatever they may be, are the finest children that ever were born? "Is is so of many things, and all these are cheerful, happy, helpful no tions that even the most timid and shrinking of men may cherish. Our vanity is not only a protector and a shield, it is for us a castle within whose walls we can dwell In serenity and security, in sweet satisfaction with ourselves: and in a world so full of things that otherwise would jar us, is not this a great blessing? Many a man's lot in I'fe has been softened, has been made happy, by his harmless per sonal vanity." Fierce Hailstorms in England. Large stories are told of the damage done by hailstones in Minnesota re cently. However. Old England itself has some statistics to show. On May 30. 1697, a terrific hailstorm visited Seafcrd, Sussex. Some of the "bolts" measure 4v s inches in circumference, af'er lying on the ground for fully seven miputes. On June 24. in the same year, the most disastrous visita tion of the kind in modern times rav aged | arts of Essex and the adjacent counties. Animals and poultry were killed f.nd crops ruined. At Ingatestone the hail broke through a slated roof, and at liaddrw it went through windows and cut the blinds to pieces. The damage in Essex aione was at least 5500.000. The latest storm of exceptional vio lence occurred in Huntingdonshire on August 2, 1&0 G. The "hail" consisted of hard pieces of ice, from three to four inches in length, and killed rab bits and other small animals whole sale. Reval an Ancient City. Reval, where Russian czar and Brit ish king met not long ago, is de scribed as a curious outpost of the Russian empire. It is the capital of Esthonia and stands at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, about 230 miles from St. Petersburg. The town is mainly German, like all other towns in Russia's Baltic provinces, and is of great antiquity. in 1284 it. acquired an the privileges of a Hanseatic city. Affording to an old saying, "Esthonia was hu elysium for the nobility, a heaven for the clergy, a mine of gold for the stranger, but a hell for the peasant." Among the strangers who settled there and got themselves In cluded in the Esthonian nobility were tnilitaiy adventurers whose descend ants still exist under the name of Douglas. O'Rourke and L?wls. In 1710 Reval surrendered to Peter the Great, who provided it with a military har bor, and it is now one of the chief sta tions of the Russian navy. Taxicab a ChineEe Invention. Few persons imagine that the taxi cab is an ancient Chinese invention. A far eastern journal. l'Ostasiatische Lloyd, proves by drawings taken from a famous collection, the "Tsan thu-hae," that vehicles kindred to the taxic.il) existed in China 800 years ago. The "giligulicha" was fitted with an instrument which sounded on a dium every mile passed. Moreover, the Chinese taximeter was provided with a compass, a desirable adjunct when traveling in a country whors routes are not indicated. The Rerult of Association. "That young man who comes to see you. Maud, has such an explosive man nc r." "You must remember, mother, that his father was In the fireworks busi ness." The Knowing Child. "Pa, when are you going to take me to the park?" "Wait until the cool of the evening. my son." "But, pa, 'sposc there ain't any?" 1 ( //FEKLTCWEN I WHEN THE MEN COME HOME TO LUNCH. STELL you, we hustle to When the men come We can't put them off In With a hurry, a gulp and a munch. If potatoes aren't left from the dinner before We slice raw ones, ex- Add bread crumbs, milk And set them the oven within. fgg Not one ounce of meat! Never mind, there are •" eggs. Or in haste we can borrow, if nei»d be, Just scramble a few—l'm sure this will do If the man of the house isn't greedy. "There isn't a bit of fresh bread," you say? Fix some toast—bread he never will miss, Make drawn butter sauce from the old scraps of cake. And garnish the meal—with a kiss. HOMELY GOSSIP. To the woman who gets discouraged because she is "only a housekeeper," and spends her time in the despised "domestic ways," these words of John Ruskin will prove a comfort: "What does cookery mean? It means the knowledge of all fruits and spices, of all that is healing and sweet in fields and groves, and savory in meats. It means carefulness and in ventiveness and watchfulness and willingness. It means the economy of your great-grandmother and the science of modern chemists. It means much tasting and no wasting; it means English thoroughness, and French art, and Arabian hospitality; and it means, in fine, that you are to be perfectly and always—ladies." When bread is like a honey-comb all through is the time to make it up into loaves. When the loaves do not retain the dent of the finger, they are ready for the oven. When meats are putin to roast it is better ]to have no water in the pan. It may be added later, when the meat has begun to brown. It is never a good plan to put both old and new milk in the same cake. Use either one, but not both. Better, at a pinch, add a little water. Never stick a fork in a fowl or roast to turn it or to see if it is done. This allows the juices to escape. Take a small, clean cloth in each hand, and turn slowly to prevent spattering. Put all meats in boiling water to re tain the juices by a quick searing of the outside. THE BACK PORCH. tCKKTAIN porcli at the Seemed a cyclone's track; Boxes, barrels, a sack And a ladder. Old cans of tomatoes, A peck of potatoes— (The Early, or Late Kose, No matter). Said the milkman, di»- "That porch railing's It got me so flustered This mornin', T fell over the cat. Tripped on that old hat, Spilled cream on the mat Si Without warnin'." Now that porch is swept clean. There's a hammock between A table and screen Aud a posy. And the owner. Miss Page, Hung up a bird cage, I've not seen, in an age, Things so cosy. Now this Is the moral, I'm sure we'll not quarrel, Hut crown with a laurel My neighbor: A clean porch is good For a whole neighborhood, And nobody should Mind the labor. Jellied Apples. For this season when apples are be ginning to be moderate in price, it is well to have a variety of recipes for their preparation. Select, for this style, large, firm apples; pare and core them, then fill the holes with currant jelly, sprinkle with granulat ed sugar and a little lemon juice. Place the apples in a pan with a little wa ter and bake them until candied, but not broken. Preserved ginger will be found delicious in place of the jelly. And—speaking of ginger—try a mix ture of chopped nuts and preserved ginger in sandwiches. They are a pleasing novelty, but if found too dry, add some of the juice of the ginger. Potato Flour. This is something our grandmoth ers thought essential to good house keeping. It makes breads, cakes and puddings more light and tender. It is prepared by allowing grated pota toes to settle and soak in water — changing the water often, and rubbing through a sieve. The farina must be then pulverized, bottled and tightly corked. A little of this is a wonderful addition to ordinary flour. Beet Pickles. One quart boiled beets, chopped very fine; one quart raw cabbage, chopped. Putin two cups of sugar, tablespoon of salt, one teaspoon black pepper and <-'ne-quarter red pepper. Add horse-idQish or onions, as pre ferred. Cover with cold vinegar, and seal tight. HOMELY GOSSIP. t PICTURE OF English farm life in the four teenth century present®' a striking difference from a chronicle of the farmer's needs to-day: The early writer says: "I have no penny pul lets for to buy. nor neither geese n<w; pigs but I have two- greec< cheeses, a few «urds.? and cream, and am «a£- en cake, and two loaves of beans and bran baken for my children. I have no salt baeao nor cooked meat collops, but I have parsley and leeks, and many cabbage plants." Dried fruits, prunes, etc., are muc.Es better and require less boiling, it wa ter is poured over them and to soak over night. In the morning boil in the same wa ter until tender, sweetening five min utes before taking from the stove. Th« value of early sweetening is lo;-;t iu the boiling. Save the Cinders. In cleaning the grate in the morning, you will find there is a quantity at coal which, burned on the outside;, looks like cinders. To prove that I falsi is not always so, take a lump of glowing anthracite coal, fresh and glowing from the fire. Throw it iirto water and it will look black and dead on the outside. Break it open with Si hammer, and it is a red-hot mass w»nb-- in. This proves that time, and plenty of air are needed to burn out the coal,, and what we call ashes and cinders are often excellent fuel. Turbot. This recipe will apply to any of the ordinary fresh fish. Steam (or boil) the fish until quite tender; take out bones and sprinkle with - pepper and salt. For dressing, heat a pint «>I milk, and thicken with flour. When cool, add two eggs and a half cup but ter, then season with very little onion and parsley. Putin a baking dish a layer of fish, then of the sauce, then one of fish, etc., until the fish is fu11... topping off with bread crumbs. Bake half an hour. SIDNEY SMITH'S SALAD DRESSING r— r—• WO large potatoes. I* 1 passed through kitcla- Ofn~ i J en sieve. Unwonted softness to "ie sa ' !u ' £'V«. \/rfh. Of mordant mustard ad£t a single spoon. (Distrust the coii<iiinent. ) which bites too «ot>n.) Hut deem It not. rluiugt made of herbs, s. To add a double <iuuuii- Three times the spoor with oil of lulKvit.. And once with 7in«caT ,j procured from town. True flavor needs it, and l your poat begs; The pounded yellow of two well- txnlec? < eggs. I>.'t onion atoms lurk within' ttte bowV, And. half suspected, animate tftle v.ltole- And lastly, on the favored compound toKB. A magic teaspoon of anchovy saate. Then, though green turtle fail,. 'Jiongt.x venison is tough, Though ham and turkey are not HMJ*.'? . enough. Serenely full the epicure- shall say. "Fate .cannot harm me—l Kavt dined to» day." Fruit Frappes. A nice dish for dessert ('if unexpect ed company comes in), is a 112 nappe of some sort of fruit. Of course, Ibis pre supposes that one is near an ice cream r stand. In small frappe cups place some fruit —fresh or canned —add Ibe ice cream, and on top put another light layer of the fruit. Sprinkle sugar over all. This is nice for an emergency,. and if one cannot get the ice cream., make a souffle by mashing the frnlt, berri<js, bananas or chopped pineap ple. very fine. To the well-beaten whites of two eggs, add sugar, and. lastly the crushed fruit. Ted's Favorite. This is a pleasant change fn tfce manner of serving the ever popular' strawberry: Place alternate layers; of strawberries and pulverized sugar in a giass bowl. Pour over theiu «r --ange juice in the proportion of Uir*e oranges to a quart of berries. lA>t stand for an hour, and serve well sprinkled with pounded ice. Some use. claret instead of the orange juice . Simple Fried Cakes;. One quart unsifted flour, one tea spoon soda, two of cream of tartar, one of salt, one egg, and a little "shortening." Last, putin a cup «r sugar and milk to make a soft Scat ter. Fry in hot lard. Home-Prepared Mustard. Two tablespoons mustard, one tea spoon sugar, one-half teaspoon wait;, boiling water to mix it well. When cold, add one tablespoon olive oil ami vinegar enough to thin it. This; will' keep several days. Try the Smiles First. Tears are woman's reserve force, ic • be used only when smiles fail to -win —Chicago Record-Herald. Value of Genuineness. He who persists In genuineness wiRJ Increase in adequacy.- Thomas LyxicJa.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers