THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBUttA BASHFUL YET FEARLESS If 1 had been caught In such a sit uation by anybody but John Denton I ifcould have been terribly annoyed. There I was sitting on the floor of the nursery with hair tumbled, my 1km red, and a great rent across the front of my skirt where It had been saught by a nail a few minutes be fore during a fierce bllndman's buff rtmrage. My little sister Alice wn having a party and of course I had to assist In intertalnlng the guests. There were (sat twelve, seven boys and five girls. When John Denning tapped at the ioac I said '"come In," carelessly sup posing it was one of the servants. 1 beg your pardon, Miss Latour. ("hey said I should find you here, tfut perhaps I have made some nils- "Not at all, Mr. Denton," said I as I scrambled to my feet. "We are lUased to see you. Sit down on on Jm piano stool. The chairs have Men taken into the other room. We save been playing bllndman's buff." "I I received this Invitation," ent on Mr. Denton, taking an enve lope from his pocket. The gilt-edged card within read: "Miss Latour requests the pleas ire of your company on Tuesday, De cember 29, at five o'clock." I looked reproachfully at my sev-m-year-old sister Alice. She had ent one of the printed Invitations In vhlch the printer had neglected to osert the name "Alice" to John Ben. .on, and the great booby had taken It or granted that I was the Miss La 'our, so he had come In full dress a lice contrast to my torn dress and itsheveled hair. 1 did not care much what I said to loan Benton. Ever since I had met nlm at the Warren's ball three Booths before, my brothers all de Wed that he was In love with me, Mt was too bashful to tell me so. Not that he was backward where nen were concerned. My brother Will ook me to the Stock Exchange one nornlng, and I saw John Benton, lth his hat on the back of his head, jrasping a brass railing with one tantf and shaking the other, holding ome papers In the face of a savage ooklng man, and shouting at him at he top of his voice in the most rte tant manner. Hut Mr. Benton was not thinking .bout the market as he walked over o the piano stool in his cress suit w! white necktie and snt there with n of the most sheepish smiles I ver saw on a youii man's face. "Now, Lou, you must sit down on -ae floor again, so that we can play "srfelts. And you, too, Mr. Benton, me on," said Alice. . John Benton blushed and looked " S me. Most of the penalties were In the ape of kisses, and I felt nervous un l my turn came. Alice held for lts over the head of a particular -lend of hers, a girl of her own age id it was the duty of the latter to ty what would be done with the vner of the article. There was my mdkerchlef held up threateningly. I am ashamed to say that my ?art beat quickly when Alice re lated the familiar Jargon, and I 'lrly Jumped when she with a mls Mevlous glance at Mr. Benton and yseir stepped and whispered to her vtend. Then she went on with the jestlon: "What shall be done with the .vner?" Clear cut and distinct came the an wer: "She shall kiss Mr. Benton." "Oh, It's Lou it's Lou!" shouted lloe. There was silence, as everybody "cept Mr. Benton looked at me to re the operatloln performed, when a iby voice at my side said: "I'll tlss him for you, Lou." So Stella climbed up to Mr Bon n's neck, with one of her hands on 8 white shirt front, and, as she 'Id herself: "I tlssed him right on the mouf, :id it tlttled my nose!" I did not want to play at forfeits ly longer it was too dangerous, I proposed that we should all ag." "Ess, I tan sing. I know lots of ngs." "Yes, Stella, lot us hear you sing . e all by yourself." Bo she commenced deliberately: "Little blr-die, or. the tree (a long oath) on-the-tree! (another long veath) on-the-tree!" Then she stopped, and with a rughty disregard of the desires or lulonB of her audience that would ve been worthy of a petted prima nna, turned carelessly round on r.- Benton's knee and looked out of a window while the company wait- . her pleasure. "Oh, loot loot at the big birdie on e tree out of the window," she said ddenly pointlug downward toward nere I knew a tall tree grew close the bouse. Ir. Benton was apparently startled r the evidence of Stella's keen vis it for I saw him Jump as his eyes llowed the direction of her finger. i controlled himself at once, as ha piled Quickly: i inius, mat is me snaaow of a rod In the moonlight, and r.ot i rdie, Stella." m "No, no, I saw a birdie on the tree," she persisted. He put her down and she ran over to me. As I took her on my lap I heard the door close and saw that xotin Denton hau disappeared. '"1 want some more sugar candy," announced Stella, imperiously. " I shall have to go down for It, Stella. It is all In the dining room," J. said. "Well, go down. I'll be dood." Of course I had to go. I left Stel. la to Alice's charge and ran swiftly down the stairs. The nursery was on the third floor. I do not know what Induced me to open the door of my parents' bedroom as I passed it. I did so, however. It was quite dark save for the narrow bar of moonlight forcing its way through the branches of the poplar outside the window. i glanced carelessly Into the room, with my hand on the handle of tho door, and was about to continue my Journey to tho dining room when I felt a current of air from an open window, and saw something whito gleaming In the moonlight for an in stant, and then disappear. "What is that? It looked like a hand," 1 thought, as an indescribable feeling of terror passed over me and left me shivering. There was not a sound to be heard in the room save the rustling of the curtains as the light wintry breeze blew them from the window, but I was certain someone was there. He was inside the room by this time and I noticed that his footsteps were noiseless, as if he had no shoes oi ag he moved across the bar of moonlight toward the bureau where my mother always kept her Jewelry. 1 saw a round path of bright yellow fall on the keyhole of the top draw er and then heard a metallic rattling. The thief was picking the lock. If I could only scream or call Will? The drawer opened; the man was fumbling at the contents, when crash! The yellow flash of light dis appeared, and, with a fearful word, I saw the man fall, another . man holding him. Then a pistol shot rang through the room and echoed up and down the stairs, and the room was flocked in light. Somebody had switched on the light . For a few seconds my eyes were so dazzled that I could not see anything. Then I saw two men rolling on the hoor in a desperate struggle, while a pistol lay Just outside of their reach. The man underneath with his closely fitting plush cap, was scowling at me as he tried to release himself, and I thought I could see murder written on his thin lips and e-hort, turned up nose so plainly that I should have been In farfr of hang ing him on the spot. In the battle, Just as my father and Will reached the room the combat ants turned over; a very red face, which, however, was anything but sheepish now, was turned toward me. The face of John Benton! Will had the thief by the arm In a moment, while John Benton lay pant, lng on the floor. Then It was I saw a great red stain on the white shirt front. It was blood. Somehow, I forgot all about the thief, Will, my father everything as I threw myself down by the side of John Denton and pressed my hand kerchief over the red stain. "John, John! What Is it? Where are you hurt? Oh. father, he is kill ed!" I screamed. "What shall I do?" I will never believe again that Jonh Benton was ever bashful, for he Just put ono of his hands on the back of my head, pulled my face down to his and whispered: "Do Just what you are doing now: and as you have commenced to call me John do it all the rest of your life and let me call you Lou." There was a sudden disturbance. The thief had broken away. "It is not serious," said John, sit ting up. "That fellow cut his hand in some way while opening the bu reau and he rubbed the blood all over my shirt, that's all." I bit my Up and gave John a look that should have frozen him. It did not have the proper effect, however, to he followed me upstairs to the nursery, where the racket of play had rendered the children oblivious to the i.isturbance below. As he took Stella on hla knee he said: "You must sing 'Birdie on a Tree' lor us again, will you?" "Ess, I will sing It for you. You raus tlss Lou for me now. She has dlven me lots and lots of tandy." "Yes, I think so," said John. "And 1 11 tlss her for you. And he actually did. , Perquisites of Fatness. According to a writer In a contem. porary magazine it is the fat men that get all the goods things in life. They are conducted to the beat tables at restaurants, they get the coiner seatg in the theatre, and always Hoern to have enough money to get along without worrying. When a fat man enters a drawing room doesn't he ol ways get the most cinfoi'tible ckui. asks tho writer. VVIwn his hat blowi off on a windy day, doesn't tonio one always run after It for him? No one expects him to get up in a "bus or ft train to give his to i lady he would block the gangway if he did Even bis wife doesn't expect him to stoop to pick up things when she drops them. Everybody tella him their best stories, because they like to hear blin laugh. London Cnronl cle. Midget Laplanders. Laplanders are the shortest people In Europe, the men averaging 4 feel 11 inches, the women S feet 9 inches, OF THE Millionaires Who Spent Fortunes on Merest Fancies. HOW THE MONEY DOES FLY, Spendthrift Young I'-nnUcr Who Lit a Cigarette with a Fifty round Note Got Two Black Eyes ns a Sequel to the Escapade. No man is more careful, as a rul, with hla money than your million aire. He would never have made his fortune If be had not acted on the principle of taking care of his pen nies. But when a very wealthy man dies and leaves his fortune to Irre sponsible 'heirs, then it is that the money flies. We have all heard of the man who uses five-pound notes to light his pipe wTlh, and mos of us have put him down as a mytli But he really exists. At a fancy-dress ball a younger member of the well-known Blelchroder banking family, lit his cigarette with a note, not for five, but for fifty pounds. Tho sequel was rather amusing. An attache of the Austrian embassy, viewing this childish bit of swagger, called Blelch roder "a young ass." The Juvenile millionaire resented his remark with a blow, whereupon the other sailed in and administered a well-deserved thrashing. When tho police stopped the fight the millionaire was found to be the possessor of two beautiful black eyes. In France there Is a law by which the family of a spendthrift can apply for an Injunction to control his wild expenditures. Such an injunction was recently obtained by the rela tions of a youth named Lemalre. It appears that the boy he was hard ly more was at Cherbourg, during his military service, when chance took him into a menagerie. Greatly pleased with the animals on exhibi tion, he went to the proprietor and asked what be would sell the whole business for. "One hundred thousand francs," was the reply. Without a moment's hesitation, the youth wrote a check for that amount, and so became the owner of a large and miscellaneous assortment of savage pets which he had not the faintest Idea how to control or man age. American millionaires are credited with all kinds of eccentricities, and really fiction could hardly outvie fact with regard to their whims. A man named Flelschmann is so de voted to baseball that he keeps two teams at his country place, where they play before him every day that he is at home. Board, lodging and salaries are all on a lavish scale. Another, named Sands, has a passion for models of cathedrals, abbeys and churches. These are executed to scale in solid silver, and already fill a large room. Their cost to date has been 65,000 pounds. Speaking of silver, the Rana of Oodeypore, a Hindoo prince, not long of helmet, cuirass, buckler and gauntlets, made entirely of virgin sliver, the edges being decorated with 2.2-karat gold. Another Indian prince ordered last year In London a complete set of bed room furni ture, all of solid silver. The four posted bedstead alone accounted for a tone of silver, and the total cost of the order exceeded 15,000 pounds. It Is not Hindoo magnates only who go In for costly articles of per sonal use. We read with amazement, not long since, of the Sultan of Mo rocco's golden camera. The Khedive of Egypt's pet extravagance is har ness. His four-horse set for state occasion has buckles and ornaments of solid gold, and cost 14,000 pounds. Rich women are not behind men in weird and amazed extravagance. The4 wife of a certain Chicago mil lionaire has a scent distilled from rare variety of water lily, which costs her 5 pounds a drop. It takes over a hundred tons of the lilies to make a small bottleful. Another millionairess, namely. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, actually closed-one of the most important theatres in New York the Knicker bocker for a night, in order that the company might present the first act of the play. "The Wild Rose," at an entertainment she was giving at her Newport home. The fact that she had to pay 700 pounds for the concession, besides salaries and other expenses, running to another 300 pounds, did not trou ble her In the slightest. Kiddle of the Vniverse. The world is still in the making. At this point science Joins hanrli with Christianity, which teaches that the world is in the remaking. When, however, we ask how far natural selection goes to explain the socret of the universe, we are forced to recognize at once its extremely narrow limitations. The Gullible Public. "Sometimes," said Uncle Eben, "It 'pears to me like de public was com posed of people hangln' 'round want In' to be fooled. An dars alius mo' or less competition among de smaht men of de country 'bout - who's gwinter hab de pleasure of tendln to do Job." Washington Star. Have Vou Thought of This, Girls? The girl who" gets hiarrled during leap year must be very beautiful (n -' "I!?. ? .cape suspicion. WHIMS GUARDING jOTl MONEY. Checks Agnlnst Thefts of Currency While In Process of Printing. The paper money of the Govern ment is brought in lronbound chests, locked and sealed, from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to tho cash room of the Treasury anl there delivered upon receipt to Jnram A. Sample, chief of the division of Is sue, In sheets of four bills each. They are complete with slgnat.i.i-' and numbers, except for the snle, which Is printed upon them vvlt'.i power presses in a small apartment under the cash room. These presses are worked by two portple, uuuffy a man pressman and a woman feeder or assistant. When the seal has been Imprinted upon tho bills they are counted automatically, bound In packages of equal numbers by bands of paper, marked, signed by the persons who have handled them, and passed Into the adjoining room, where tho sheets are cut, tho bljls are recounted and Inspected, so that the imperfect ones may bo thrown out. They are then bound into packages of tqual amounts and taken to tho drying vault, where they lie upon the 'shelves for several weeks, until the ink has become per fectly dry. Every safeguard that Ingenuity can contrive is placed around those transactions, and the chief of divi sion can tell which of his hundred or more subordinates have touched the different bills in the vaults. He knows who received them, who printed the seal, who wrapped and cut them; for every package is num bered and its history is recorded In an enormous book. The combination of checks is so complete that Mr. Sample would know within twenty minutes If a single bill were missing, but he has never had occasion to test this knowl edge except twice, within fr'teen years. Only two attempts have ever been made to steal the money of the Government while It is in this stage of its history. On one occasion many years ago a pressman passing a 'pile of notoe upon the table of his neighbor slip ped the top sheet under his blouse without being observed and carried it with him into the lavatory, where he was successful in concealing it. The theft was discovered within five minutes and it was clearly apparent that he alone could be guilty, al though the evidence was purely cir cumstantial. No one saw him take the money. Therefore he was not arrested and was never publicly charged with the crime. But he was dismissed from the service and he knew the reason why. The bills were never recovered. He probably destroyed them, as they did not ap pear in circulation. On another occasion eight or ten years ago a colored messenger whose business was to haul the money about on a cart slipped a loose sheet into his pocket unobserved while passing between the printing and counting rooms. This theft was also unseen, but the responsibility was fastened upon him. The pile of notes was complete when it left the pi inter, for It was counted and reg istered automatically in the press. When It reached the counting room one sheet was missing and the pack age had not ben out of the possession of the colored messenger In the meantime. Therefore he alone was responsible, and as he could not offer any satisfactory explanation he too was dismissed from the service, but was not prosecuted .because there was no direct proof of his guilt. Headdress of Indian Ruler. The maharaiah of Ilnal hit n headdress of gems which is valued at IZ&0.000. It is worn only on state occasions. The front and crest of this part of the maharajah's regalia are lormed by a mass of close-set diamonds, while a fringe of large drops of pure emeralds hangs over tne lorebead. Male Friendships. Remarks have been made lately as regards the apparent decline of close personal friendships between men. Perhaps something In our busy modern life accounts for our lower note In masculine friendships. Per haps too, much that belonged to in terchanges between mart and man Is now possible between woman and man, as equals. Light. ItellfrloiiN Works in Dialect. A missionary deaconess in Ilhorla has edited In native dialect a book containing the Ten Commandments, tho Apostles' Creed, the doxology and a number of tho best-known hymns. The book is not only the first book published in the dialect, but the flrft successful attempt to mnke It a written language. Here's Quulntness. The teacher gave to the class the following sentence for a writing ex ervlce: "The owl files swiftly and silently after his prey." One boy handed in, "The owl flies swiftly and silently after he has said his pray- When He Takes Second Place. Though his wifo frequently may have tried to make him reallez it, a man never realizes Just what an in cidental and insignificant thing he Is until the Baby comes to the house. Syracuse Journal. Long Railroad Bridge. A two-mile railroad bridge has been recently completed across the Columbia river, in the state of Wash-ington. OF Penal Settlement Where Life is Worse Than Death. AMID THE NAMELESS HEAT, Resides the Men-lies Severity of the Labor to Which the Convict Are Held the Terrible Cllnintc Flier vntes Every White Miin. The pardoning of tho French mur derer Soleilland created so much In dlguatlon because his deportation Is looked upon as an encouragement of murder, and probably tho murderer himself, too, In Ills solitary confine ment, thinks that after esianlni: denth he Is destined to live there a happy, idyllic life and end his days in peace, tiuh is, However, a great mistake. The bagnio of French Gui ana Is worse than death; It Is hell on earth. A political criminal, Llard Courtols, who, ofte living live years with the deported, was pardoned on the occasion of the amnesty granted in the Dreyfus afVIr, gives this de scription of tho penal settlement: "There the most terrible torturo ever devised by tho modern pennl law awaits the unforunates. Death is a hundred times more desirable than this nunlshment. Tlcslde the merci less severity with which tho convicts ion scidni; nun nimii i vuimwn are held to their hard labors there, I. 11 11.1.. ..II. 1. threatens the terrible climate that enervates every white man, however strong his health. No one can stand this nameelss heat. During the sum mer the mean temperature by day Is 30 degrees R. in the shade. In the evening it vields to a cold humldltv. During the winter there are Incessant ram showers, but the heat is not less enervating. If it does not rain for any length of time the swamps be come partly dry and produce noxi ous vapors that are the cause of fatal diseases. The air is permeated with Infectious miasma, to which more than half of the new arrivals immediately, succumb. After six months the number of the remain ing la still less. The statistical in Oulrles to to show that of everv hun dred prisoners eighty die in the first six months. Marsh fever and con sumption accomplish with great rasldltv the work which the Presi dent's mercy spared the executioner. To breathe means, in Guiana, to be come Infected. Add to this, at night, the swarms of files and mosquitoes whose sharp stings pierce all covers; of insects that die into the nores nf the skin an carry poison into the oody; or vermin or every description that attack the unfortunates when asleep." There are. to be sure, some privi leged prisoners, who are allotted a piece of land and can live with their families; but their number is insigni ficant five to every thousand! In 1899 there were 35 of such privi leged of 7,000 deported. And all those who do not enjoy this privi lege know nothing but their place of work, where they wear themselves out by incessant hard labor, driven by the whin of the cruel warden, tor mented by hunger, despite fever and disease, without a word of complaint that would only entail the severest chastisements. In a few weeks the new transnort of prisoners to which also Soleilland belongs will arrive on the vessel La Loire at the Safety Island (between Koyai and Joseph Islands), and at the floating wharf they will be sub jected to a narow search. Everything they possess Is taken away from them, the dearest article of mem. ory that unites them with the world or yore they have to surrender. "Abandon hope," that dreadful in scription on the entrance of Dante's rurgatory, slowly engraves Itself with flaming letters on the hearts of the convicts. In herds of one hun dred they are being driven to their places or labor In the interior, and a hopeless life, terrible In Its monoton ous cruelty, begins for them. They nave to cut trees and transport wood. Profound silence by day and by night, interrupted only by the whiz zing of the whip, the curses of the supervisors and the groaning of the exhausted. When the convict has borne this wretched life for a num ber of years and, however dulled and brutalized, is still capable of keeping up his courage by a faint glimmer of hope, he mav. iwrhnn. advance from the third class of con victs, to which he hitherto belonged, 10 me second class. This, however, means only an Inslirriiflciint of life; there Is tho same hard labor, me same surrerlng, the same priva tions, though he has the satisfaction of looking down upon others vho fare even worse. And after a num ber of more years he Is admitted to the first class. And, If during the whole time he has not been guilty of the least Infraction of discipline if his superiors are kindly disposed 'to ward him. if all the conditions re quired by law are compiled with, then he may perhaps be recommend ed for the dreamed of privilege of being allotted a small piece of land that, despite hard work, affords him a scanty existence and at least allows him to breathe freer. But how many dream this dream in vain, and the only relief offered them is a small spot of earth surrounded with man go tree the grave. New York's Water Supply. New York city's water supply will rome from a watershed of BOO square I BID JOHN 0. ONJOIIL ELECION Agrees with Georgia Negro Whe Thought Each Man Elect ed Himself. Atlanta, '(in. fbo views of John D. Rockefeller on tho theological doc trines of election and predestination were related to' tho Baptist ministers of Atlanta ns n result of a discussion of tboso doctrines at their weekly meeting. The Rockefeller views were pus Rented by (lie Rev. John White of At lanta, who preached at Rockefeller's til u reh in C'levelnnd Inst summer. 'While riding with Mr. Rockefeller In his automobile," said Dr. White, "wo begun to discuss election and the theology taur.ht at the University of Chicago. I related to Mr. Rockefeller tho story of the Georgia negro and his explanation of election. He was jokingly asked what thU election means ntid be answered: " 'Well, you sec, tho Lord and the devil are nlwnys voting; ono for your salvation i.nd ono for your damnation, and whichever way you votes you gets elected accordingly. Mr. Rockefeller laughed at tho story nnd then declared that his view on tho doetrlno of elec tion coincided with that of the negro. Mr. Rockefeller further declared that the same view dominated tho tbeoloKy being taught at tho University of Chi cago." Dr. White raid that Mr. Rockefel ler was so impressed with the storr j of tho negro's views on election that ne nau me story taken down by a I stenographer when they returned from I . t ... . . the automobile ride. THE COST OF THE CENSUS. Efficient Organization Means Saving of a Million Dollars. Washington, D. C The next cen sus of tho United States is for the year 1910 and appropriations for the cost of collecting the statistics must be made by our next Congress. The Director of the Census has Issued bis annual report to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and has asked for an appropriation for the next fiscal year of 14,00l),000. It is estimated that the actual cost of the census proper will be 112,930,000 but the re mainder will be taken up In paying for the four annual Investigations and the two biennial reports. The cost of our last census, that of 1900, was 112,620,000, and the Direc tor believes that the count for 191S can b made at an Increased cost of only $410,000. Formerly the cost of taking the census was increased $ per cent from decade to decade, m that an increase of $410,000 is romark ably low In view of our greatly en larged population. However, there are several reasons for this enormous saving- the tabulating apparatus will be built by the Census Bureau instead of renting It as heretofore, and tho machines are of greater speed and efficiency; the operators of this ma chinery will be paid by piece work, and, in the words of the Director, "tie fact that the ofllce Is now organized at the highest point of efficiency, that no time will be lost in getting ready intesting the aptitude of green clerks and In developing new systems, means fully a million dollars' saving In the organization of the thirteenth cen sus." PRINCE'S BAD MANNERS. Chairs Placed Far Apart So He Can not Pinch the Lady Guests. Belgrade, Servla. The wife of ono of the Ministers accredited to the Servian court has Just learned why the court dinners are so wearisome. Her husband told her after she ia slsted that it was ridiculous that chairs should be placed such a great distance apart around the table that the King's guests had to bawl at one another. The story Illustrates only one of the Idiosyncrasies of Crown Prince George, who is regarded as a charac ter by the little diplomatic world here. At table Prince George Is an un pleasant neighbor for ladles. When he feels admiration for a woman seat ed next to hira he has a peculiar meth od of jiving expression to It Urn pinches sometimes the lady's arm. And so the King, in order to spare his women guests this annoyance, gave orders to ,have the Prince's chair some distance removed from his right and left hand neighbors. As this iso lation attracted attention, the rule was extended to all the chairs, whica are now set In "open order." CONCRETE BOAT IN USE. European Experimenters Behind the Times In Plans for Construction. Baltimore, Md. Baltimore has the first and only practical sailing vessel built of concrete In the world. The boat has been In commission elevea years. The experiments 'jelng made in Europe caused shipping men to call to mind her construction. The craft Is the Gretchen, built and owned by Daniel B. Banks, consulting engineer of the Fire Board. She is a two-masted schooner yacht, 65 feet long, with an 18 foot beam and draws 14 feet of water. She is one of the lloe.t of the Baltimore Yacht Club, has L accommodations for a dozen persons mm win carry all that car. be loaded into her. Abandon Ancestor Worship. Singapore, India. The Chinese here to the number of 180,000, have re solved to discontinue tho practice of public ancestor worship, , including feasts and public processions, and to devote the money thus saved, est wanted at $100,000 a year, to educa tional purposes.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers