THE COLUMBIAN, BLoOMstfURa PA.
Ahtsmulki Attended The U. S.
Naval Ac.uLniy.
POPULAR WIT! I CADETS
At One Time He ?nd Hi3 Friend Wirj
Hazed to a "United Statci
Smoker." Hazers Found Latir
They Had Struck a Pair of Tar
tars. His Reply to Dewey.
"I was at tli - Naval Acad my wiih
'ommodoro .lu!.-ii;u!la of the ,la; .n
st; Navy, who was recently wo ir.iied
.1 the bridge of his .ship," s..id an
American naval officer. "A plucky
fellow, a more level', eadol chap yU
have never met . i - was graduateJ
in 1871!. Tart of l. e time his friend
Sataro Ise was in t:io academy wilb
him.
"At the Academy Mats, as lie vm
rail ! . was very popular ami ho was a
midshipman whon It tried men's i- mis
at tho height of the hazing period. At
that time the plebes Ii veil d:wn in
the old quarters, herded. ti3 it worn,
to themst Ives, and thoro Mitsmull.i
and Sataio began their cxperienca.
They had never hoard tho word ha.e,
hail no funei pi ion of its moaninr;.
"Onu night, hearing a lotid voice i"i
tin if room, I wont over; and when I
opt nod the door, all 1 could sco wan
a dense Mi.oko out of which rune
several ann. I was .-rK .1 hond'osig
into the room and iho !o;ir slammed
to.
"Tho daps wore being treated to ;i
I'riited States smoker. The windows
won; all dosed and oven t!io keyhole;
and crack under tho door wcr.!
stuffed.
"On the narrow mantelpiece stoid
the future Japanese hero. Mal.-iiirila.
looking like one of his old-fash io-O'd
Idols, hut as smiling as n basket ct
chips. He was ordered by iho hvvra
to sing a song in Crook. Of tho lan
guage he knew hut two words Alpha
and Omega anil those h.) worked
on so cleverly and with such good
nuMiro that ho was lifted down..
"Sataro had a sickly c;.sr in thnt'shi
he was green aliout the gills, as one
of the bovs expressed : h:it neither
pnlit a word. They tool; the medicine
with a pluck which wi.' their snlvi
tion, as tho man who rosvied or took
exception to the horseplay bad a hard
tlnio.
"In half an hour the air In the
room was unbearable. You could cut
the tobacco smoke with a knife, U
-.-as go thick, and oven the hazers
i to beginning to weaken. Two of
Y.m twenty hazers soon found It eon
."nlont to get out. Then Mats spoke
tp.
"We sorry you third class men have
engagement," he said. "Wo like you
Stay and srroke P.no'ber pipe."
"A few of the third class gentle
men Iau?h"d, but nearly all evidently
realized that they were up against the
nil thing. Another now rptreated
while the rest loaded up their pipes
and puffed furiously, trying to make
a spurt which would run tin .laps out
of the room. I had to join, and being
ft hardened smoker I filled a big pipe
and made up my mind that as I was
an ally of Mats and Sarato perhaps
we could turn the tables.
"I puffed great volumes of Rmoke
and never said a word. You have seen
the smokestack of a torpedo destroy
er getting up steam with soft coal?
Well, I looked something like that.
"Not a word was spoken. Most of
the third class men were at that stage
at which they did not dare to open
their mouths. Tho light became dim
mer and dimmer.
"I sat on the bed next to Mats and
he gave me a nudge in tho side and
fairly erupted with smoke. He not
only pumped up great clouds, but he
quietly blew It across tho room where
the hunch of third claRs men sat gasp
ing and perspiring. One of them told
mo later that he would have given
$100 to have got out with honor.
"The minutes dragged along and I
was filling my fourth pipe when I saw
that Mats was smoking two. He had
got his second wind and was settling
down to real enjoyment, while all I
could see of Sats was a bluck spot,
his hair In a purple cloud.
"I don't know how long we could
have stood it. I confess that I did
not feel altogether happy myself when i
Mats said:
'"Any third class gentleman like1
I
There are plenty.
"The mere suggestion drove one of
the hazers out. Then the others put
up a mean Job. One of them cried
out suddenly that tho officer of the
day was coming around. Thereupon
the crowed tossed their pipes Into the
chimney place and ran
"It was merely a (subterfuge to en
able tho men to get out. MatsmuUa
Toad smoked them out, and when all
were gone he turned to me with the
remark: "Third class men don't
smoke much,' at which we laughed
heartily; then we opener the win
dows and door.
"What clinched Matsmulla's popu
larity was the fact that the officer of
the day Dewey, I think did come
along before all tho smoke had dis
appeared and that Matsmulla took -II
tho blame for the violation of ihe
rule against smoking and that ho uld
not give away any of his hazors."
Sheila of Duck Eggs Jet Black.
James Ela of Ripley, Ind., owns a
larfro flock of ducks that lay eggs vf
which the shells are Jet black.
Bleaching fluids will not remove tho
color. Ducks are hatched from the's
black shelled eggs as covered with
thick, black hulr, Poultry exports
cannot explain tho causa of this
freak of nature.
URIU AT ANNAPOLIS.
A Classmate of Daring Japanese Ad
miral Tells of Cadet Da3.
In the April "World's Work"
Charles W. Stewart, a classmate of
Vra at Annapolis tolls some Interest
ing stories of tho dnrlri; Japanese
miral who sank tho Wiring n :i 1 t'
Korletz at Chemulpo. Among oiler
things Mr. Stewart say.-.; "I'riit and
Serata (who al"o became a rear ad
miral In tho .T.ip:itir:!: navy) wora
roommates and churns before end dur
ing their cadothip. They were com
municants In tho Presbyterian church
at Annapolis. They occupied room
No. 8. ntnl our oh'ss pun was 'Why
nro the .laps like cows?' and the an
swer was 'Because they ruminate.'
This did not visibly please 1'rla, but
Serata was immensely delighted.
"t'rin was quiet, cool, reserved
deep, studious. When he spoke It
was evident that he bad been think
ing hard. In the first throe years
Serata stood higher In studios, grad
uating fourteenth In the class. 1'rlu
developed steadily, nnd In tho last
year led Serata In marine engineer
ing, shipbuilding, public law, French
and Spanish. Serai a excelled In oie
triolty, ordnance and navigation.
I"riu has advanced stop by step, prov
ing his ability In diplomacy and tlio
construction, development and equip
ment of Japan's effective navy.
"At graduation I'ri was twenty,
sixth In his cla:'s. His best work was
In English history and law, seaman
ship, language and tactics. His
knowledge of literature was excep
tional. He was fond of reading the
Bible, Shakespeare, Aesop, Bacon,
I'oo and Franklin.
"Like all Japanese. I'riu give 'ih'
the sotind of 's.' Thirty-throe was
pronounced 'sirt y-sroe.'
"I'riu married a Japanese woman,
a graduate of Vassar college whose
sister married Kurlul, the Japaneso
minister of foreign affairs. Ho Is the
father of throe sons and three daugh
ters. At the age of 44 he Is a roar ad
miral. His classmates at Annapolis
will not, be rear admirals, In the or
dinary course of naval promotion un
til 191C.
Manchuria's Agricultural Centers.
Liao-Yang. Hal-Cheng, and Chikiau
are growing communities where Rus
sia and China are planting agricul
tural colonies. The treaty port. Niu
Chwang. or Ylngtze as the natives
call It, has been built up by the bean
cake trade. Lying about thirteen
miles from the mixith of the Llao.
It Is the station for the exporting of
skins, furs, cereals, and timber. It
was formerly a military station, but
In 1861, after a foreign settlement was
made, It became of commercial im
portance. Tho town proper Is thirty
miles from the station and the land
between Is laid out In bean farms.
The climate is healthy and bracing;
the port Is closed by Ice sometimes
four months of the year. The popula
tion Is now about 70.000. Tho Char
tered Hank of India, Japan Mail
Steamship Company, China Shipown
ers' Association, Deutseher Lloyd,
New York Life Insurance Company,
Mikul Bussan Kaishla, Indo-Chlna
Steam Navigation Company, and other
important Interests are established
here.
Grain of Wheat as Standard of Weight
By an English law enacted in 1206,
it was provided that a silver penny,
called a sterling, should equal In
weight thirty-two wheat grains, well
dried and taken from the center of
the ear. From this It seems evident
that the grain of wheat was the pro
totype of the standard grain. The
weight now known as the grain is, of
course, copied from governmental
standards. In 1826 certain weights
and measures were legalized in Eng
land, and in 1827 copies of these were
furnished our government, among
them being the trop pound, equivalent
to 5,760 grains. The origin of the
signs commonly used for tho scruple,
dram and ounce does not seen to be
known. It Is not unlikely that they
are entirely arbitrary. St. Louis Re
public. Origin of "Abide With Me."
How the beautiful hymn "Abide
with Me" came into being is recalled
by the efforts which are being made
to complete the rebuilding of the
Lower Brixham church, England,
which was begun thirty years ago Id
' m .1 ii r v x. .
memory or me aumor oi wie nyim,
the Rev. Henry Francis Lyte. At the
age of 51 he found himself doomed to
die of consumption. In sorrow at
having to leave his work unfinished
he prayed that it might be granted
to him to write something which
would live to the glory of God when
he was dead. Hi3 prayer was grant
ed and he wrote "Abldo with Me" ou
the last evening that ho ever spent
at Brixham, after preaching to his
congregation for the last time.
First Use of the Torpedo.
Torpedoes for the destruction
of
vessels were first used In the spring
of 1861 by the confederates In the
James River. In 1865 the secretary
of the navy reported that more ships
had been lost by torpedoing than
from all, other causes. Gen. Rains,
chief of tho confederate torpedo ser
vice, put the number at 58, a greater
number than has ben destroyod is
all the wars since.
The Churches of Moscow.
There are 1800 churches in Moscow,
They are the wealthiest churches Id
the world. One, St. Saviour's cost
nearly $14,000,000 to build. Tho Rus
sian church is the natlou's great
wealth storehouse tha nestegg which
will be hatched out when the great
crisis comes.
Ilffl Of BB
Are Ready to Make Any Sac
riiice for "White Czar"
DO THINGS BY LUI'ULSE
They are Sociable and Very Charit
able, Never Turning Any One
Away Also believers in Fatal
Ism, Whatever Comes Is Gener
ally Accepted as "God's Will."
Without considering furtlier the di
verse and varied elements that are
represented In the peoples of Rus
sia for a book on each would scarce
gi o one a complete understanding of
thorn all we may turn to the real
Russian for tin soul of Itns:,ia of to
day. "Scratch a Rusrinn nnd you will
find a Tartar," say the French. This
Is otily half true. There is Tartar blood
In the veins of many of the Cx.ar'a
subjects, but In tho Huskmii of olj
Russia, found In the center of the
Imperial domain, there is none.
Groat Russia, as Russia proper Is
known, contains the heart of Rus
sian civilization. Hence, If nt all,
one may see something of tho real
Russian character.
"r.ut," says a European authority
on Russia, "only that me.n who can
sympathize with Russian charncter
can hope to understand and define it.
The basis of the character ami tho
prime move of all iho actions of the
Russian. Is the heart, with its li;;hts
and shades. Its noble sensations and
Its erroneous Impulses."
This writer, who Is by no moans
unsympathetic, etiumcraio;; the chief
traits of the Russian character undor
these heads:
Devotion to country nnd religion.
The Russian Is ready to make ony
sacrifices for tho "white Czar." wtio
to h!ni Is the por.-o;ii!':cn ion of both
religion and country. Fidelity Is thus
a prime element In the Russian char
acter. A love of tho paternal authority
and a veneration for fatherhood aro
strong elements In Ihe Russian char
acter. A Russian cr.lls the Czar, the
priest, his own father, and the aged
"father;" he cills all men "brother."
Between different ranks there may
be an implied modification of the
brotherhood, but the form of address
Is always "brother." The colonel of
a regiment addresses his men as "my
sons," and the men address a parent,
calling him "my colonel."
Open-handed hospitality. Whoever
knocks at a Russian door Is received
with kindness. Though the house
holder may love money, he will make
no charge for the best his larder
holds, and will give up his bed to a
stranger. The aged beggar is not
sent empty handed from his door, and
In the earlier days of the exile sys
tem It was a custom in Siberian vil
lages to put outside the window at
night, on a high shelf built for the
purpose, where dogs could not reach
It, food left from the table for the
homeless prisoner who might wander
that way on a night Journey toward
supposed liberty.
Fatalism. Whatever comes, It Is
accepted as "God's will." In the case
of a child sick with rroup, a Russian
nurse refused to do anything for It,
on the plea that "God had sent for the
little one." When called to arms tho
Russian would not think of doing
aught but obey the call. It Is tho
voice of fate.
Lack of Individual perseverance.
The Russian does things by Impulse,
being guided by his temperamental
dictates, and not by the head. If he
fall In an undertaking he will abandon
it and begin another. Individual per
sistence Is not a virtue in his eyes.
System and order do not appeal to
him. He loves change and lacks fore
sight. He works with precipitate
energy, but unsteadily. He has no
idea of thrifty management.
He looks lightly on discomfort, and
submits gracefully to circumstances.
He is sociable at all times, charit
able, and never says 111 of a fallen
enemy.
Such are the main characteristics
of tho "great" Russians, that Is, the
Russians of central Russia, whether
found at home, as settlers In Siberia,
or with tho czar's armies.
Of their faults so much has been
heard, through unsympathetic chan
nels, from which none hnvo escaped,
that we may well leave them to those
who do not care to dwell on the
better side.
The Japanese and Ship's Captains
"The Japaneso war reminds me,"
said an old-time Bath, Me., sea cap
tain one day this week "of the earlier
times before Japan was so free with
other nations as she Is to-day. In
those dayB, when a foreign ship enter
ed the Japanese ports, the captains
were obliged to place his Bible and
rudder In charge of the chief officer of
the port and leave It there until he
was ready to sail. Of course, he
wouldn't sail without either, and the
Japs could easily keep tabs on the
movements of all ships In their har
bors." Facts About Corea.
The area Is 82,000 square miles.
There are nine treaty ports.
Gold the great mineral wealth
nearly J3.000.000 worth exported an
nually. Tho population is 17,000,000, Includ
ing 25,000 Japaneso, who control the
country's activities.
Education costs $165,000 and relig
ious sacrifices $186,000.
Tho navy consists of twenty-five
admirals and one iron built coal
barso. Tba World's Work.
TRAFFIC IN TWO CITIES.
More Travellers In fJtw Ycrk Than
In Lonoon.
There Is more (ratHc, decidedly, In
London than there is in New York,
but tlio flr.ures ivo -.itly published In
tho English capital to prove tho great
er amount of travel tin ro In a day,
compared with New York, fall to
take into account nil of New York's
transportation f'eilil ios.
Thoro nro coo miles of railway of
All kinds within the boundaries of
London. The railroads of New Yorlc
city (with .l.onii.iHio l.y.s population
than London) have more than 800
miles, of whli h the Metropolitan has,
approximately, 2'0; the Manhattan
Elevated. 115: the Vnion (Huckle
berry), and the Mrooklyn lineB
f!(0. This Is exclusive of the mile
ace of the New York Central and
Hudson River, the New York and
Now Haven, tho Long Island nnd the
New York and Futnani within the
city boundaries.
The number of passengers carried
by the Now York lines exceeds a bil
lion In a year, which Is iioO.oiio.OOO
more than are carried by the lines
within the boundaries of London In
the like period.
There Is a much larger number of
vehicles In the streets of London
than In the streets of Now York. The
number of cabs In the English capi
tal Is much larger than tho number In
us In New York nnd thj London
omnibus system Is very extensive.
It has been pointed out that. Picca
dilly, between the hours of 1 and 2
p. m., Is the most crowded point In
London. There Is a record in twelve
hours of more than 1.1.000 vehicles
passing a given point.
These figures appear large, or would
appear large, until compared with
the Manhattan entrance of the Brook
lyn Bridge.
More people travel In New York In
a day than in London, a larger city,
but in New York fewer people walk
than in London. More ride.
The White Man In Hvtl.
Hedged about as fie is with the
barrier of caste, the white mnn in
Haytl generally feels his Impotence
for good or 111, and Is looked down
upon accordingly. It requires a most
powerful Incentive for one to reside
there continually; nnd. as if to miti
gate the asperity of this outlook, the
native does not Incline to favor a
leng'hy residence there for the for
eigner, of wuatever nationality.
Although prevented from making
haste to bo rich by being debarred
from the customs (which Is tho source
of all emoluments in Haytl), and pre
vented from sacrificing his life on the
altars of his adopted country by 'in
imitable laws, the white man of ex
ceptional talent can both acquire
wealth and achieve Immortality by
dying early in his career, without
causing sorrow to the native resi
dents. It may be true, as the Hay
tlans cssert, that their frequent rev
olutions are strictly family affairs,
and that the foreigner Is perfectly
safe provided he goes Into hid'ng
while the lighting continues but the
fact remains that very few foreigners
in Ilaytl ever die of old ago. In a
land where somebody or other is
nearly always out gunning for some
body else, there Is the danger, an
ever-present danger, of being shot.
It may not be with Intention; but
therein the real danger lies; for no
Haytlan was ever known to hit what
he fired at though he Is sure to hit
somebody, and that somebody Is usu
ally the highly respected foreigner.
Even an execution Is no exception to
the rule, for It requires whole volleys
of musketry to slay one solitary vic
tim, and It rarely happens that he
does not have several Innocent attend
ants to the spirit land, slain by bul
lets that went astray. From the New
York Evening Post.
Silkworms Produce Colored Cocoons.
French sa'entlsts have discovered
by experiments that silkworms may
be made to produce cocoons of almost
any desired colors, as the ordinary
white, yellow or green was known
to vary with the fooir, this was col
ored artificially and worms eating
dyed privet leaves yielded cocoons
of corespondlng red, blue or othef
color. Plants have been similarly
colored by food, some blue French
beans exhibited In London a few
years ago seeming to have resulted
from a chemical peculiarity of the
soil.
"To Insure Promptness."
An odd little word of threo let
ters, which greatly influences the
treatment a man gets In public din
ing places, goes back a couple of cen
turies to the coffee houses of Eng
land for its origin. At the doors of
eating rooms thoro hung brass
bound boxes, engraved with the
phrase "To Irtsure Promptness," and
Into the slit in tho top customers were
expected to drop coins for tho waiter
The Initial letters of that phrase
have ever since been used to express
the fee given to waiters nnd serv
ants as an extra Inducement to them
to do their work well, or as a requit
al for service promptly rendered.
A St. Petersburg experience.
An American wished to move from
tho Hotel Europe, the principal hotel
In St. Petersburg, to a smaller hotel
around tho corner. Ho came down
with hla bag packed ready to go.
"Sorry," said the manager, "but; you
cannot leave this hotel or reglslor at
another hotel until we get your pass
port from the police, and that will
take a day and a night. You must
go through exactly the sumo proced
ure as if you wra leaving the coun
try." The World's Work.
United States Plans fcr the
Building of Them.
SIR W. VAN I10RNES VHAV
The Government Has Three Alterna
tives! Coold Eiihcr Euild With Its
Own Forces, Let Ccnt.-acts or En
dow With Power a Con-.pany With
Same lotcre-iU as Ita Own.
Pir Wiilia n Win Home has given
Borne very good advice touching pro
jected railroads in tio Philippines,
drawn from his experience Pi Cuba.
Sir William declares that the suc
cess which has attended his efforts
In Cuba Is largely due to the methods
employed in dealing with the natlvo
inhabitants. Had he and his col
leagues boon guided by a short-sighted
policy of chipping off Sir William's
opinion he wouid have boon doomed
to failure. Seeds would have boon
l i.'.iited which would have borne bit
ti r fruit for generations. Ho endeav
ored not only to otitnln, but even
iii'!. to deserve the confidence of tho
natives from tho very outset, as tho
basis of operations. Ho employed
only native labor In constructing the
four hundred miles of tho Cuban rail
road, nnd awarded no building con
tracts. To have done so would, In
Sir William's view, have been suici
dal. Kis fiiceess in Culm convinces
1,1m that the to'ine policy should bo
followed in the Philippines If the dual
objec t of the American govt rnmont
io educate the Filipinos In respect
for the Americans, and confidence In
t';e;n, and, at the same time, to bring
about the Industrial development of
the I ilands Is to be secured.
The government has throe alterna
tives in constructing the projected
Philippine railroad; It could either
build the line with Its own forces,
or It o.iuld let contracts for construc
tion, or, thirdly, endow with fuffl
e;ent power some company wlu.se In
terests would be the same as the gov
ernment's Interests. The annual cost
to tlio American government of pro
viding for eight hundred miles rf
Philippine railroad would be no moro
than the annual cost of maintaining
a single regiment. If by the construct
ing of railroads the necessity of a
standing nrmy should bo removed,
nnd a native constabulary established,
the Inestimable benefit Is apparent.
Harper's Weekly.
The Russian Peasant.
The truth Is that the Russian peas
ant, 100,000,000 of him, is under pres
ent conditions slowly starving to
death. His average earnings In tho
central provinces are 17 and 18 co
pecks (8 or 9 cents) per day through
out the year; during the busiest har
vest time they rise to an average of
27 to .18 copecks (13 to 16 cents a
day) ; during the wholo winter ho and
hl3 family earn nothing. His diet 1
consists of meal, flour and grits, cab- '
bage and potatoes; no meat, except- I
Ing three times a year. His diet is 1
insufficient, and less than In any civ
ilized country. The hovel he lives
In Is two and a half yards long and
one and one-half yards high, harbor
ing the whole family and whatever
cattle he possesses. These data are
taken from official sources.
Is It a wonder that tho Russian
peasant has morally and physically
degenerated? That the women are
Immoral, dreading maternity, and
given to a frightful extent to infanti
cide? That the men aro nomads,
leaving wives and children for months
often years, trying to earn something
In 'own or In far-away districts? That
the recruiting In these central prov
ides shows progressively physical
unfitness for the army? That the
health of the women Is bad, and that
the rate of increase in the population
In this "black-earth belt" has dropped
to 0.26 against 1H In the whole Em
pire? Harper's Weekly.
An Absent Minded Man.
"I suppose," said John Sharp Wil
liams, the Democratic loader In tho
House, "that the most absent-minded
man In the South lives In my town
In Mississippi. He Is a lawyer, and
he forgets his name half the time.
One day last summer he had to go
til) to tho Court House on some busi
ness. He took a piece of paper and
wrote on It. 'Back at three o'clock,'
and stuck tho paper on the door of his
office.
"He finished sooner than ho ex
pected nnd came down the street
thinking out some weighty problem.
When ho climbed up the stairs to his
off'ce ho found the sign, 'Hack at
three o'clock,' staring him In the
face. He took out his watch, found
It was but a quarter past two and
sat down to wait until three"
In the Japanese Navy.
The average age of the Japanese
Navy Is lower than that of any other
navy In tho world. No one over
twenty years old Is accepted for en
listment. The average height Is five
feet four Inches less than tho aver
ago height of any inner navy In the
world. The World's Work.
The Names of Denmark's Kings.
Denmark's kings for ll.SS yi :mn have
nil been named Christian or Freder
ick. This is not the result of acci
dent. It Is the law of Denmark that
Christian must be suoee. ,V .-r,.,j.
crick, and Frederick by Cliri . liiii. To
nttaln this, and without (lie changing
of names, In case or death or other
mason, every Danish prince, no mat
tor "what oilier names ho may receive
always Includes Christian and Fred
crick among them.
HALLETT GLACIER.
It Is the Only Known Glacier in
the
Interior of Our Country.
The history of the discovery of this
glacier is an Interesting one. An
old boar hunter chanced upon tho field
on Mummy mount, which he called
"tho largest snow-field In the
Hookies." Before his death, which
occurred shortly alter, ho inentionoil
this discovery to a gentleman then
living in Denver, who devoted mtieh
lime to tho exploration of now moun
tains and strange loca'itios In and
about this neighborhood.
In 1SS2 this gentleman, a Mr. Hal
lett. vlrited the spot entirely alone.
In trying to ascend the nor'h side of
the icolli id he sudd-'iily broke through
the bridge of a hidden crevasse, but
by extending his elbows be managed
to extricaie himself from his perilous
position and relumed In safety to his
camp. This Incident finally led him
to wonder whether this might not bo
a glacier. In ISSfi and 1SS7 Mr. Hal
Ictt, In company with an experienced
mountaineer, who was as familiar
with the Alps ns with the Rockies,
twice revisited the spot. I'pon tho
flr.it of those expeditions, after a care
ful examination, the true nature or
this vast expanse of snow and ice was
for the first time positively deter
mined. Here in tho heart of Colorado
existed a true glacier showing cre
vns;os. moraines In short, all tho
characteristics or the well-known
Alpine t'laeiors of Switzerland. To
this was given the name It now boars,
"llailett Glacier," in honor of the man
who. In such a startling way, made
the lirst real discovery. St. Nicholas.
Free Libraries In Siberia.
Ail the chief Siberian towns have
free public libraries, but naturally all
are on a small scale. It surprises
one, even, on going into the National
Library at St. Petersburg, the capital
city, to find so compnrativoly restrict
ed In its limits a public reading sa
lon for the biggest city of northern
Europe. B is twt much bigger than
jono or the side rooms in nosion
j beautiful biblloteka. Perhaps the
chief Siberian library is that of Ir
kutsk, In the heart of Siberia. It Is
a substantial brick edifice and Is lo-jcv-rd
on the second floor of the mu
is?'i;.i, so that the library building
serves a double purpose. It has soma
15.01) volumes, very many of which
jn?3 In tho different languages of
lEur .pe, and have come Into the II
,hr. ' from different sources; a few
frti. government sources, but mainly
irev iting from the clearing up of dead
cilo'.i effects, when the books they
lhavo brought with them were tura
led over to the biblloteka. This
Inucleiu has made the library n fairly
'select one, and all brainy standard
authors will be found represented
i there, both Russian nnd foreign. But
jthe real literary and educational town
of Siberia Is Tomsk, about midway
:between Irkutsk and the Cral range.
Here there are three universities, and
lit U the book and miblish ne depot
of Siberia. The public library at
Tomsk Is a tree log and brick faced,
, double windowed, coldproof building,
.located near the governor's house and
jthe theatre. It Is more Russian in
; Its contents than tho Irkutsk library.
iThe volumnge Is about 4.000. Th9
chief Russian periodicals are re
ceived so that the institution is both
a library and a current literature)
readlug room. Boston Transcript.
Rickshaw Men and Spanish.
Tourists In NagasaM, Japan, ars
often surprised to hear tho sampan
men and the rickshaw meu In th
street shoat Spanish words to white
passersby, as, "hey. am'go"- (hey.
friend), or "hombre," a common ex
clamation of attention meaning
man. In the stores me salesmen
also use similar terms, as "no sabe,"
meaning "don't Know," etc.
The explanation is simple. Th
Japs themselves do not know that
they are using Spanish words; they
believe them English slang. They
have learned them from American
soldiers homeward bound from tha
Philippines. The Yankee boys, used
to employing Spanish phrases In
speaking to Filipinos, inEtlnctlvely do
tho same with the Japs, forgetting
that their language is different.
Effect of Heat Upon Isinglass.
A curious result of the fire in the
Bibb warehouse was the effect of tha
heat upon several hundred dollars
worth of Isinglass. After the valu
able papers of the firm had been re
moved from the safo on the night of
tho fire to a place of safety some one
suggested that the pile of Isinglass,
which stood near by, be locked within
the safe upon the chance of its being
thus preserved. It was preserved,
hut io curiously did tho heat affect It
that while retaining Its form and sub
stance, the sheets appeared to ho
transformed Into silver foil and were
quite as opaque as that article.
Rooster Saved Row of Houses.
Early one morning a barn belong
ing to Ceorge II. Potteo at Baltimore
caught fire. The flames gained rapid
headway and were nearlng a row of
two-story houses, whon a rooster, evi
('ently mistaking the red glow of the
(lames for the dawn, began such a
lusty crowing that the tenants were
awakened. Tho row of houses was
saved, although the barn was destroy
ed. Prince's Smallest Conscript.
Tne sMiullost conscr'pt ut the latest
drawl!,;; for service in tho French
Army was Joannes Cbabaud, of Ver
piMkro. His height is 2 foot U
Inehis, and ho weighs 67V4 pounds.
Hla ago Is twenty-one, JjidlanapolU
News. . , , ,