IIOFICKFII, HOUSE WHERE MARK TWAIN'S HERO LIVtD TORN DOWN. Hannibal, Mo., Where Place Stood, Unconscious of Its Greatness — Anecdote of House and of the Two Mark Twains. Hannibal, Mn. —Huckleberry Finn's j ancient, habitation in North Hannibal, near the river front, has passed from the earth. Since Hannibal has admit ted that Mark Twain was really a great man it has taken particular pride in the "hoary-headed" domicile and the revenue derived from post cards showing the structure would have built a much better house. R. H. Coons, the owner of the property, recently had the "Huck" Finn home torn down to erect a row of modern flats, which will have, it is hoped, a livening effect on the somewhat I dreamy district of North Hannibal. A characteristic story is told in con nection with the house. One summer day a gentleman from the east came to Hannibal to secure data for a Mark Twain story. He could And Hol liday hill easily enough without a guide, because it towered tip to the sky on the north end. and prevented the town's further extension unless the ;.',o'.ul citizens take a i. iti'jn to tun nel. A.i lea man was asked for the direc tion to Huck Finn's cottage. "Never heard of him," said the na tive. "Ho sure don't live in these parts." The stranger went west a block and accosted a boy with a fishing rod on his shoulder. "He don't run with our crowd," he said. "Maybe he lives down by the bridge." "I'm not looking for Huck Finn him self," said the visitor. "He's dead, but "Then you might try the grave yard," replied the boy. "It's up yon der —the stones is marked, I reckon." Presently a citizen came along who could furnish the information. Muck's home was only two blocks from where the ice man said "he didn't live in those parts." In the basement door stood a black "aunty," with her hands resting on her hips. She wore a tri colored handkerchief on her head. "1 knows." she said; "you's one o' dem relickv hunters." "I'm engaged in gathering some ma terial in reference to Mark Twain," House Where Huckleberry Finn Once Lived. said the easterner, pleasantly, "and as this is—" "Well, you' needn't go no furder," said the big aunty hospitably. "He's right heah." "Who's here?" "Mark Twain." "In this house?" "To be she!." "What's he doing here?" asked the surprised visitor. "Ah doan' know, but yo' kin cum in an' see." She led the way to another under ground apartment, and. with pride, pointed to something on a pallet. The stranger's eyes, gradually becoming accustomed to the semi-light, distin guished an infant pickanniny busily endeavoring to swallow its glossy arm. As the two came and stood by the bed it suspended operations and thought fully regarded thein out of two big white eyes. "Quite a baby," said the guest. "How'd you come to call it Mark Twain?" "Da tole me if Ah did that. Mistali Bam Clemens, wot' used to lib heah, would sen' 'im suinthin' nice." "Did he?" "Ah reckon Mistah Clemens thot hit was nice," she said, doubtfully; 'he sent 'im a raazer an' a lookin' glass." "Mr. Clemens was grateful?" "Mebbe so. And he writted to my ole man sayin' if the raazer did what he expected he'd be pleased to sen' a tombstone fer th' baby." "Mason and Dixon's Line." "Mason and Dixon's line" is a refer ence to a boundary which was estab lished in the years intervening from 1763 to 1767, between the colonies of Maryland and Virginia on the one side, and that of Pennsylvania on the other side, by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who were two Eng lish civil engineers. So thoroughly was the allotted task performed by these young Englishmen that an 184S revision of the survey failed to detect the slightest error. The United States government also, as recently as 1901, has caused the Maryland por tion of the noted boundary line to be again revised. True American Spirit. Within two years since the great earthquake which undid San Fran cisco, that heroic city has put $ 100,- 000,000 into building operations, of which, according to trustworthy state ments, all but $-1,000,000 came from local sources. Public Debt Has No Terrors. The municipality of Vienna has a public debt of exceptional magni'uii* which it now proposes to increase by 4L* pun-bat** of co«i in i Let, in Moravia. I N RAILROAD TO FORT CHURCHILL. Locomotive Whistle Will End Romanes of Canadian North. Ottawa, Ont. —Civilization will apaln reach out a long steel arm of railway to snatch from the Indian and trapper a huge chunk of the wilderness. The dominion house of commons has voted approval to a project to build a line to Fort Churchill on the westward of the Hudson bay. This marks the beginning of the end of the Hudson Hay Company's rule of the northwest territories, a monopoly which 4 tlie fur traders have held since 1656. Sufficient funds for the project will at once be appropriated, in spite of the opposition of the Hudson Bay Company. Its completion means speedy access to ail to the furred rich es of the frozen north and a new out- I L^ V hujdsohSi avl) Terminus of Projected Railroad. let for (he hardy wheat of the Cana dian plains. Fort Churchill is one of (he few trad ing posts still maintained and gov erned by the fur monopoly. It is sit uated at the mouth of the Churchill river, where the ranoes of the trappers from the inland lakes slip silently down each spring to exchange their cargoes of pelts for the coin and rum of his majesty's servants. It is 900 miles north of Duluth and 400 miles from the nearest railroad station. | Water connections by means of the | river and a score of inland lakes make | ihe fort the key to the commerce of ! the provinces of Kunwatin. Saskatchc | wan, Athabasca and Northwest Alber ia. From Fort Churchill large canoes J and small steamers can go 800 miles l into the interior. The country is the I home of the musk ox, the polar bear, I the walrus, the brown bear, the cari ; bou and moose. It is one of the richest i game countries in the world. TO REPORT ON ALASKAN COAL. Wallace Atwood, Going to Territory for Government. Washington.—Wallace W. Atwood, who has been appointed to estimate the value of coal in Alaska and report on the best site lor a coaling station UW / -JiTkZOQD in the territory, for the United States geological survey, is an instructor in geology and physiography in the Uni versity of Chicago) He spent two years investigating the mineral depos its and mines of Alaska. Mr. Atwood was graduated from the University of Chicago in 1807 and lias held positions in the United States geological sur vey and the state geological surveys of New Jersey, Wisconsin and Illi nois. West Has Not Had Due Share. Since the United States government began to patronize expositions, down to the Jamestown fair, congress has appropriated a total of $28,7fi2,2. r il for world's fairs, of which only $485,000 has been spent west of the Rocky mountains, at the Lewis a.jj Clark ex position. Cuban Sugar Production Short. As a result of a drought It is now generally acknowledged in sugar cir cles that the Cuban suffar production r this season wtlr not exceed POO.OOC 112 tons, a deficit of about LOO,OOO ton- I from t be previous orop. - i STOESSELIN PRISOB DEFENDER OF PORT ARTHUR NOW A BROKEN MAN. Loss of Uniform His Greatest Humill ation Watches from Window Winter Palace Where He Once Was an Honored Guest. St. Petersburg.—An American news paper correspondent recently was per mitted to interview Gen. Stoessel, ihc defender of Port Arthur, in prison Here is what be writes: Two cold blue eyes examined me through a tiny wicket in the door, and a rough voice said: "What do you want ?" "i wish to see Gen. Stoessel," I an swered. "Have you permission?" said the voice. "Here is my ticket." I said, pro ducing a card on which it was stated that the commander of the fortress oi St. Peter and St. Paul bad the honor to accord me leave to sea the "noble man Stoeswel." The gate in the high stone wall was opened and a soldier appeared, lit then showed the way to the reception room in one of the buildings in the court beyond. We had not long to wait for Stoers sol. Punctually "t ouo o'clock h? came i'tto the room. He v•> f'rer In a black frock coat, bis voice w as weak tmrt lie looked old ,md more wrinkled than when he was 011 tria. a few months ago. He in now a brok en man who realizes tVnt h ; hun lc .1 in the game of life. 'Ob. yes. one can live here, and in sufficient comfort," he replied to our inquiries about his life, "but it is a vegetable existence. More than any thing I feel tiie loss of my uniform. J I MADAME.-JTOEJJEL H For 40 years I have worn the dress of an officer and now I am not allowed to put on the coat, of a common sol dier or to use a military cap." "How does your excellence spend the day?" I asked. "It begins very early for St. Peters burg,' lie replied, "at nine o'clock they bring the samovar and I take tea. The authorities do not provide broad and we have to provide that for our selves. Alter a light, breakfast I dress and go out for a walk in the little gar den. At one o'clock I and the other officers imprisoned in the fortress dint together and after the meal i alway:. find my wife waiting to see me. W< have a right to receive friends on 1 % once a week, but the czar has ac corded me the special privilege to see my dear wife every day. She re mains until three o'clock and is not permitted to stay longer. When she is gone I stroll in the garden for u lit tle and then I settle down to work. 1 am writing my memoirs." "Perhaps you will allow me to see your room," I said. "1 have special permission from the governor to do so." "Certainly," replied Stoessel, "but 1 warn you it is not very imposing." We crossed the courtyard together, entered another building and were soon in a vaulted apartment, furnished with great simplicity. There was a little bed", a square table, a cupboard and, behind a screen, a wash-stand and two comfortable armchairs. The lapping of the waters of the Neva could be heard on the stone walls, a monotonous, plaintive sound, half sad and half soothing. Through the barred windows a glorious view could be seen Far across the broad expanse of the river stood out in the bright sunshine the winter palace. "I have often been there to see the emperor; I have dined there and years ago danced at th< court balls. I never expected to see it.day by day from a prison window." Stoessel sighed as he looked sadly towards the palace and then, turning to me, said: "There is only one beau tiful thing here, the church. 1 lov.} to go there and stand near the tombs ol '.he czars while the choir is singing the praises of the Lord a:;d of'the Vir gin. That rests and comforts me. In my heart I know that I did what 1 rensidered best for my country, but a scapegoat had to be found lor the sins of the army during the war and I suffer for many." The heavy door was suddenly thrown open and a harsh voice said: "Your guest must go." "Come and see me again,' said m> unhappy hoe', and 1 left him still pa* ing at the paiace across the Neva. -fra- I- -*V- >,V; jr-.C' If |- "'J •- i_ < pY= j= p=s > / ' Loomis I r | | / / 4 —-j^W- HS. WORTHING, Mrs. Gregory Worthing, said to me the other day: "I cannot un derstand why it is that so many mothers think their ducks ars swans. Now, there's Mrs. Brown, always boasting about the rapid progress that her Dorothy has made in music, and my Ethel, who did not begin until a term later, plays a great deal bet ter. "Different moth- Jit crs boast of different things," she went on. "but alm-st all ov.t i lyelf toast, about r.omething in tneir « hildr< n, ;n 1 i'or my part 1 think ihe chi!.!:«-n in this place aro very ordimry. Greg ory cariles hima* II vary much better than most children, because I insist ed upon his going into New York to take dancing lessons when he was not eight, but the average boy of to-day is awfully slouchy. And yet I heard Mrs. Harrison talking about ht-r son Arthur being as straight as an In dian, and that he got it from his fa ther. Fancy, that undpr-sized little John Harrison! "And Mrs. Winslow says that Bar bara sews remarkably well for a girl of ten, and she is always showing me the last thing she has done. Why, Ethel sewed well naturally. 1 never taught her a stitch, but she does all my towel hemming now. But I never would think of boasting of it. "And the other day 1 happened to say that Gregory has quite a correct ear, and that now that his voice has changed he sang better than any of The neighborhood sale, held at an old homestead, brings out. the impor tance and the force of the man who has be"n thrifty and who has ready money at command. It is a sad pic ture —the passing of the farm, the dis integration of a family, the blighting of a thousand memories that cluster about a hearthstone. At such a time the squeaky voice of ready money be comes thunderous in tone, awing the modest aspiration of a neighbor who looks toward the purchase of a yoke of cattle, a wagon, a colt; and when ready money seems determined the promissory notes of the modest fall back into tameness and silence. But ready money does not care to acquire everything at a neighborhood sale. Being material it looks to material things, and its estimate of the spir itual is but. shallow, so, when at the Groggin sale Lim Jucklin outbid Stoveall, and become possessed of a pile of old books heaped on 'lie floor, some of his friends marv«ied that he should have run the risK nf exciting the opposition of the wealthiest man in the community. "Oh, I knew that he didn't want 'em," said Lim as he climbed to a seat upon the rail fence, a low but esti mative throne of observation. "In his house they would be just so much rubbish. They don't talk to him. and when a book don't speak to a man it Is the dumbest thing in the world. It can't make as much noise as a pig, for a pig squeals; quieter than a duck, for a duck quacks—it simply takes its place along with the brickbat or the old shoesole that curls up in the sun. But when a book even whispers to a man it tells him the . sweetest of se crets. It tells him that he ain't a blamed fool, and this is a mighty im portant piece of news. Whenever I see an old book 1 think of Abe Lincoln. He gathered corn for two days, keep in' up the down row, for a life of Washington, and you men that have humped yourselves all day behind a wagon know what that means. He was lendin' his body to the work of openin' up his soul. It came hard, that book did; it meant backache, for it took Lincoln a long time to reach down to the ground, but it meant more than if he had been worltin' for a hundred dollars a day. Don't under stand me to say that every man that thinks so much of a book will be great; he may never be able togo to a sale such as this and buy a yoke of steers, but in the long run it will be worth more to him than all the steers that Old Elisha was a plowin' when the call came for hlrri togo up." "Rut the prophet was a bandlin' of »teers instead of books." remarked stoveall, who had come walking sic w -I,v to Join Lim's audience. "Yes. that'* a fact," Lim replied. the boys in the choir, and that was enough for Mrs. Demock. She began, and she talked and talked about the beauty of Clement's voice, and said that he took after her. Absolute con ceit, and yet she never imagined for a moment that 1 noticed it. Now, with Gregory, his singing comes perfectly natural, because I have always sung, and in fact when I was a girl I use J to be always asked to sing in com pany, hut when I married I gave it up." When 1 remembered that to my un prejudiced eyes Gregory was a good natured hobbledehoy and Ethel a kind hearted hut hopelessly commonplace child, I couldn't help wondering with Mrs. Worthing why it is that so many mothers think their ducks are swans, (j)— & —<•) F THERE is a boy that I admire in the suburb in ■wli!ch I live, which 3uburb i'l in Connecticut, by the May, it is Tom Bingham. He iu tail an you from breakin' yourself down try in' to keep up with some man that can make money easier than vor can, and he will always be there, jest a little in front of you. Love your feller-man, for lie's all right in the long run. He's got more sympathy than hate. Some body may tell you that human nature is all selfish, but don't you believe it. Well." he added, getting down off the fence. "I must box up my gold now and cart it home. Coin' my way. Brother Stoveall?" "Yes, Jucklin, but you are no com pany for me." "I reckon that's right," Limuel re plied. "I know it must be right, fo* 1 haven't got anything you want." (Copyright. by Opte Hea.l|