SOMEWHAT STRANGE. ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Queer Facts and Thrilling Adventures Which Show that Truth is Stranger Than Fiction. A RATHER perplexing trick of pho- tography recently worked out by F. A. Gilmore, of Auburn, R. I., is ex- plained as follows: The trick is that of taking what appears to be the head of a living person on a platter forming part of the furnishing of a dining-room table. Although the way in which the work is done is very simple, pictures made in this manner | have been extremely puzzling and are | of especial interest to amateur photog- raphers, as they suggest other meth- ods of producing novel effects. In this case a centre leaf was removed from an ordinary extension table, | the lady to be photographed then | being seated so that her head ap- | peared just above the table top, on] which the cloth and other articles were arranged as nearly as possible in the usual way, as shown in one of the views, the table being built up in place of the removed leaf suffi- ciently to support the cloth and other articles. To make the illusion com- plete, a pan cut away so that it may be conveniently placed around the neck, has the appearance in the pho- tograph of being an ordinary platter bearing the head of a living person. “I NEVER took dreams,’’ said J. L. Santer, of Lex- ington, Mo., ‘but from recent ex- periences I am inclined to believe that there is something in the my- | steries of sleep after all. About two ,months ago my wife informed me that she had dreamed of a marriage and that it was a sure sign of death. Two days afterwards my grandfather was killed by a train at Omaha. Following this up, my better half warned me to look after my financial interests, as she dreamed | was being treated for hysterics. To dream that I was being treated for anything, she informed me, was a never-failing sign that I would suffer a financial loss. In less than a week came the Sedalia Bank calamity, and I am out $2,000. Just before I left home I accidentally broke a looking-glass. Now I am told that I will have seven years of trouble. It has not materi- alized, but I expect to receive a tele- gram before morning informing me that my boy has been drowned in the river, my house has been de- stroyed by fire, or that something else equally as horrible has curred.”’ any stock in OC “Tue hardest thing to train a wild beast to do is to perform with a weak, defenceless animal,” remarked A. L. Hutchins, an old circus and men- agerie hand, who has deserted the arena and ring for mercantile pur- suits. ‘‘I remember once several years ago an effort being made to persuade a very docile lion to lie down with a lamb. idea was certainly a good one, but it took several lambs and also several weeks before the lion, which was willing to jump through a burning hoop, sham death on being shot, ete., could be persuaded so allow a lamb to enter his den with impunity. Twice he killed a lamb in the presence of his trainer, and the second time he near ly killed the trainer, who rather reck- lessly tried to get away the carcass. Finally the lion would tolerate a lamb in its den just as long as the keeper stood over it with un iron bar. But the effort was so evidently forced, and the performance was so utterly lacking in smoothness and interest, that it was abandoned after two or three attempts.” he Ix company with *‘Skinny,’’ a cele- brated pickpocket and housebreaker, Professor F. Starr, of the University of Chicago, has left Chicago for southern California and Old Mexico. Professor Starr is a specialist in an- thropology and criminology. He be- lieves that the criminal is as much Flatbush, N. Y, It is, perhaps, half an acre in extent, and is owned and managed by an elderly Englishman and his wife. This couple occupy the smallest and stuffiest of board shanties, and they live surrounded by a mass of dogs—big dogs, little dogs, good dogs, bad dogs, one-eyed and two-eyed dogs, Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, collies; férriers, spaniels and plain dogs. The surrounding region is of bare hill, with slimy pools in the pouches of land. There are snakes, catbriars and smells. But the dogs seem to enjoy it, and their loud chorus can when an infrequent stranger stum- bles into the neighborhood. A VERY strange electric phenome- at the village of Flora, Ind., the other day. A heavy black cloud was seen approaching from the west, ac- companied by a sheet of fire. came over the town it earth causing a wild panic among the frightened villagers. Its descent to explosion that shook the earth The leaves were burned from the trees, but no builings ware set on fire. The broken glass was invariably sucked outward, There were no thunder reports. The explosion was instantly followed by a dead calm and a clear sky. A FEW Bundays ago the family of Mr. W. A. Wykeham Musgrave enter- Oxfordshire, England, they were sur- prised to see a partially built robin’s nest on the book ledge against a pray- er book and a hymn book. The fam- ily immediately decided to occupy another seat and to leave the little red breast unmolested in its strange abode. On the following Sunday the nest was completed and contained day the bird sat on the eggs during the whole of the service. It has now been found, says the London Stand- ard, that the bird hatched four young ones, and the mother flew in and out of the chapel during the last Sunday with food for h rs 0 Service er young. already been of the w Fliteh instituted AN application has made for this year's celebrated prize the of Bacon." in 1244, for who will go to the priory and ling on two sharp-pointed stones will swear that they h quar- relled nor repented of their marriage within a year and a day after celebration.” The awarding of the flitch has been revived of and is the occasion of fun. It will be some time in August, award Dunme The prize wi “*that rey th ) £31 1 ENee- $ ave nos its inte vears of a great festival this year awarded ThE visible supply of dogs in Evan- ston, lll., was somewhat reduced one day recently by an iron post of the North Shore Eleetrie Railroad. Through imperfect insulation the post became charged with electricity, and six vagrant dogs rubbing against it after the manner of their kind were ushered into the canine here- after with great suddenness, A crriovs case of death from blood poisoning is reported from a Berlin (Germany) hospital. The victim was a young girl, and it was proved that her death resulted from the light- blue tunic of her sweetheart, a sol- dier, touching a scratch on her arm. It appears that there was some poi- sonous ingredient in the dye of this particular uniform. Miss Kate Jouxsox, of Hamilton, Mo., got angry because a horrid man said no woman could drive a nail straight, She grabbed a hammer, Then she felt better. ELinv ScrivNer, of Beattyville, Ky., had a line set in the river with a crawfish for bait. A catfish swal- lowed the crawfish, and then a pike swallowed the catfish. Elihu says the first victim spread his fins out inside the second one, so as to hold as'the savage is from the civilized! man. a companion, in order to have a good opportunity of studying him and try- ing the effect of a different environ. ment. In southern California the professor will make a study of the Penitent sect that practise cruelty on one of their number every Good Fri- | day. He will be joined there by Pro- | fessor Harley, and together with their companion will explore the ruins of | Sonora, the ancient city of the old | Mexicans. There is considerable speculation in Chicago as to the out~ come of the professor's experiment with “Skinny.” The lice are al- most unanimous in the belief that the Jrotesdor will get the worst of the rgain, Tue latest Methuseleh story comes from England This time it Is not from a man who has a distinet recol- lection of Napoleon's grandfather, or an old, old lady who witnessed the execution of Charles the First, or nursed the infant Cromwell; nor yet does this story tell of a devoted cou- ple who arm in arm have wandered town the path of time together since their wedding day, the same day that George Washington's father and mother were married, and are now about to celebrate their platinum wedding. This time the hero is a horse, and a Rory grandivtherly old torse, too. He nged to the Mer- sy and Irwell Navigation Co,, but their empl nt recently and smbarked for the hap hun WitLiam HoLues, of Sandersville, has a young turkey that has four perfect feet. Two of these are located on the site of a missing tail. invariably prevent any close investi. tion of its structure by unsympa- A BLACK French poodle in Gavers, over them at night, like a hen over chicks, it sounds something like a quack. Two young Kentuckians caught a wild cat in a trap. They loosened the trap from *its moorings and set their three dogs on the wild eat. Two of the dogs are dead, and the wild eat, with the trap attached, is miss- ing. A WHALE 100 feet long was washed ashore on the north beach at Yaquina Bay, Cal., a fow days ago. The un- terrified natives killed the monster with axes and tried out its blubber, with fun and profit to themselves. ERR Corns. i: Hard and soft corns are cured only by removing pressure and rubbing, Dorn plandn are sory uastul, The t have a salicylic preparation in them, which softens the orn. If the round hole in the plaster is too small, it is easy to slit the plaster a little way from the centre outward :: dons Places and fhleteh the hols, plaster before apply Turn the stocking wrong side out it over the 0) * Inster New York a AGRICULTURE IN CHINA, Small Farms and Primitive Methods with Excellent Results, An interesting report of Chinese agriculture has been recently pub- lished by the Washington Depart. ment of Agriculture. The system of culture is said to be very primitive, but is conducted with the greatest care and closest attention. Thus the productiveness of the soil is main- tained, and the vast population is supported without difficulty. The two most characteristic fea- tures of Chinese agriculture, and to manure and the system of irrigation, Manures are available source. Where there are is labori- The in agricultural number and of They are the rudest chiefly the plough, the hoe, the harrow, the rake and the stone roller. A plete outfit for farming, including a or a donkey, may be $20 or le The prin- rice, beans, sesamum, Indian corn, cotton, barley and buck- Large areas are devoted to the growth of mulberry trees for silk- worm culture. All cereals fully planted in furrows, wide dis tances apart and hand cultivated. The yield is larger than the average in this country. The condition of for aN. millet, tobacco, whent poppy, the farmers, in The dift of land holdings provinces, where reasonuble comfort. vary greatly In the the land the farms are small more than two acres An Acre supports one person, in erent southern provin- fertile averaging not One-sixth of {i five ces, is most an 3 $1.11 acres is a desirable farm, while a wealthy owner who } Nothy of seven greater 801 acres, fertility the i the condition of the p not equal to that of the north, the land is less fertile and the are larger. There are farms 100 and 500 acres cultivated by fami- ith i where farms here of Vina . ' 3 lies of unusual numbers, sor as many as 200 members working together in perity. The wages paid farm siderably running Inborers vary con C8 num, possible for a fs with nothing, petency for the support wif of land and the nec SSAry farmin: in twent cine ng Lo acquire of eet woth an and irds Sn yY-8ix Yours, In theory the land is the property of the State, and is held by the pro- pristors of taxes, held erty. Fra« and Agrarian China centuries ago, and mu proposed remedies have without Several years ago an attempt was made improve the condition of agriculture by loaning farmers the money of the State at 2 per interest. The scheme was a disastrous failure. The report concludes by remarking on the peace and contentment of the agricultural due to the equality of the citizens before the Inw. The system of selecting officials by competition by rendering the son of the humblest agricultural laborer eligible to the highest offices Is direcly responsible for this state of contentment, and it is this which so Inrgely contributes to the stability of the Government, #t heen SUCCeNs, cent. classes, Tattooing the Eye Ball, There is no telling what medical science will do next. Edward Shaw, United States Consul at Asuncion, Paraguay, and son of the well known newspaper correspondent, is here on leave of absence and is at the Riggs House, ington friends were shocked beyond greeting him that his left eye was a whitish gray disc instead of a sparkling mate for its hazel com- panion, se¢ it from rheumatic iretis,’’ said Mr. Shaw to a commiserating crony ing. speak of one’s eye being tattooed, but that is what my physizian is go. ing to do to mine, and I have no doubt the operation will be as satis factory and successful in my case ns it has been in that of others whose optics have been similarly treated.” ~{ Washington Star, Stronger Shafts Needed. The weak point in the modern ocean steamship, as developed by the competition in the *' greyhound” line, appears to be the propeller shaft; and this is the particular ob- jest to which engineering inventive skill should address itself. That a shaft can be made which would be capable of withstanding any strain, however tremendous, that tempestu- ous seas might hurl upon it will not be doubted by scientific minds; and it it be possible in the scientific sense it should be attainable practi. cally. Success would not only ine sure great to the inventor of a ot its use the nan —-— NOTES AND COMMENTS. THE yearly average of suicides in Germany is about one in every four thousand of her people. This is greater than in any other civilized country. Turkey has for some planning a great exhibition, to be held in Constantinople in 1896. 1898 on account Exhibition, which is Pesth in it until 1897 or the Millennial exhibitor. Avrnoven women have equal ac- cess with the men to the College of Of all the callings as in the re- It must be that the women know this, A GERMAN aeronautic society is to They are ex- very far apparatus, man, and important results are ex- pected from the experiment Em- peror William is greatly interested and has contributed largely toward the cost, -. Ture uneasiness which was felt in India recently by the smearing of the mango trees in some of the provinces much allayed. As » May 10, the an: it OC. iver. was in- has been curred prior te sary of the great mutiny, terpreted as a mysterious native sig- 1 seditious i it n nal portending MOY e- ing but tl some having passed, rd Landsdowne that it ii ante Alfred 1. L, 14 and others have $a y 1i8innl : had no political sig ment il Nir yal z generations of Dabolls have interruption for 694 : ip i Yeas ie at nl publication of the New ngland Almanae and Farmers’ Friend. David A. Daboll, the present editor, has made all the ealen Ons since 1864 H« id. His began i now ther, and is eighty venrs Nathan Dal bold his father wan Daboll the David Natl | has weather exact posi- and the Press within Philadelphia That the South |} has it the elements of a great future | clear studied the uring iI8 LiNeions & to any one who has visited it or the census returns or watched tens t ha YOOrs, tative progress | s made d It 3 demonstrate the and iron acres of ences of States the last fifteen to pile fi fact. mine up figures Lo its conl fertile yd are all ervid the Dauthern $4 oun timber its broad their future greatness have to buiid upon. The could easily sustain or rn States the population they have and their wealth should be twenty times what it now the fen times g£iztieon MN is, Tue old States Soldiers veterans in the United Home at Santa Moni. ca, Cal., have been buying town lots lately at a rapid rate, and have formed a litle village which they have named “Keeley.” This, says the New York Tribune, is in grateful recognition of the effects of the gold cure, for many of the old soidiers were unfortunately most fit subjects for the treatment. On the quarterly pay-days for the pensioners, dusty road from Santa Monica<by- the-Saa out to the Soldiers’ Home, a distance of three miles, would be spent their meagre and fitful incomes in riotous living. The publie-spirited people who live in the town took a practical interest in the sad failings of the old soldiers, who the cure with effective results and work in their new village, Carrort D. Wnicur, says in the Forum, that out of every 100 adults were 26 single, 65 married and 9 wid- owed. There were 81 single, 64 mar. ried and 5 widowed out of every 100 i i 100 females. The States still shows the smallest pro portion of single and the largest pro- reverse is true in Ireland and Scot lend. The excess of males over fe- 510. The excess of single males, 25761,688. In Maine, New Hamp- shire and Vermont there are practi- cally 54 single, 42 married and 4 wid- veod males, and 49 single, 42 married and 9 widowed females, These three States have the smallest proportions of single, and the largest proportions of married, in the whole country, while the proportion of widowed is faiiy as large as in any other part of the Union. Propasry few Americans know Mat in Westminster Abbey, among the memorials of those whom Great Britain delights to honor, is a bas- relief of him whom more than any other America reveres. Not that it was pat there in honor of an Ameri- ean, oh, dear no! Bat odd sears after his execution Maj. Andre's remains were moved from their place of interment near the Hudson River to Westminster Abbey, and a marble tablet ornamented with a group of figures was raised above m. In thig.group two J essonnges are con- {in efigy in Westminster probably i {sion of so distinguished a rebel | nmong Engiand’s loyal dead. A { glance shows that Washington's head { has been freshly replaced, and the in- | formation is given that the last of { these emphatic vindications of Sara- toga, ‘the field of the grounded arms,” occurred over a dozen years | ago, A HISTORICAL retrospect of the | efforts to control and restrict the use | of spirits suggests an evolution and | growth that has not been considered before, says the Popular Science Monthly. Outside of biblienl litera- ture, whose teachings and laws are 80 often quoted, a remarkable chap- ter of legal enactments and restric- tions can be traced. Beginning with the fragmentary inscriptions found on Egyptian papyri and monuments, and extending to the codes, philoso- phies and enactments of the greatest philosophers, rulers and judges of Grecian and Roman civilization, there is a continuous record of prohibitory laws and restrictions concerning the use of spirits and drunkenness. The laws of the Spartans were far more absolute than any modern ments, and were also remarkable { the clear comprehension of the ture of spirits and their action on | body. These laws were many years, and were highly com- mended. English many records of prohibitory, restrict. of which were very prominent a time, then fell tu Laws of similar import } followed the path of civilization from the and wherever its have been used. They have urged and defended by the gre I hilosophers, teachers and leaders of civilization, ’ enact. for na~ the active for history contains ive laws, some for into disuse, Inve earliest dawn spire been £54 * ‘’UBL Tur proposal to establish teur Instit for India, made in Bombay by publie a Pas- origi ] lle been Mad brought 18 aoubie asped has me os nns : dian benevolence~that tenderne hu- fen t and the wards animal as well a8 towards tial ERsenLiag SAYe many a horrible death it expresses fear that the probable i ¥ saving of human life could only be accomplished at a cost of certain suf- fering and { multitudes of animals, death to A et more philosophic the anti-vivisectic India with regard to this view of The immediate to be that the richer Hindus shrink, not only on humanitarian considera- tions, but also on religious from giving subscriptions in aid of a project which otherwise would have generous support. Even if the humanitarian arguments for and stich an instita be regarded as fairly the religious doe trine of the sanctity of life of all sen- tient beings, they say, still remains, The question is whether the influence of Western teaching or of the Oriental tradition will prevail in the end. , rs Aig 1631 IFIOUR QisCussion, on a f bai +1 that basis than that of NILES, Is going on in the result case seems grounds had their nat apa te LUA balanced From Small Beginning. best salesmen we the very wholesale “One of the have on the road, if best,”” said a well-known dealer, ‘““‘came to us ten years ago from the backwoods, and a greener fellow you never saw. I met him the first time he came into the store, and gave him his start. He told me about the kind of country he lived in and its remoteness, and said he wanted not didn’t want to be a common peddler. “‘We can’t give you a salary,’ | all you sell for cash.’ *** J] don’t rightly understand this { commission and per cent. business, I ain't used to it; but I'll tell you { what I'll do; you just agree to give me ten cents on every dollar's worth i I well and I'll undertake it; that's | plain enough for anybody to under- | stand.’ “1 iet him go at that,” | the merchant in conclusion,” “and | made it up to him at the end of the [| year by putting him on the road | tell the story every time we gave him a raise, and we gave him one yester- day, and I've told the story a good many times.’ | Detroit Free Press. A ASAI Laugh. Learn to laugh. A good laugh is better than medicine. Learn how to tell a story. A well-told story is as welcome as a sunbeam in a sick room. Learn to keep your own trou bles to yourself. The world is too busy to care for your ills and sorrows. Learn to stop croaking. If you can- not see any good in the world, keep the bad to yourself. Learn to hide your pains and aches under a pleas- ant smile. No one cares to hear whether you have the earache, head- ache or rheumatism. Don’t ery. Tears do well en in novels, but they are out of in real life. Learn to meet your friends with'a smile, The gova-numored man or woman is glways welcome, bus the DANGERS IN FLOWERS, Their Odors are Hurtful to Health, Science Says. Science has succeeded fairly well in making humanity shudder over every bite or sup it takes because of the deadly microbes that ere said to abide in everything eatable or drinig able, and now it has started off on an entirely new crusade. You mustn't smell flowers now, or, if you do, you take thie consequences which science says this wsthetic pleasure entails, A very learned French specialist, M. Jonl, has just issued in Paris a treatise bearing the title “Le Danger des Fleurs,” He writes most pro- foundly of the chemical decomposi tion of the atmosphere caused by the off by flowers, and the consequent great increase of carbonie gas; of the partial asphyxia which results to human beings breathing this vitiated air; and of the poison ing of the system caused by inhaling the emanations of the essential oils contained in flowers. He backs up his assertions as to the subtle vicious- flowers by citing indivi odors given x ness of CRECK, M. Joal says 1 especially Injurious t Organs, The rose with a strong ) tests, be avoided, He knows ¢ } Ir > f ie smelt os and should, he pro- j of oper atic singers who have completely lost their voices through their passion for certain flowers. To persons the perfume of the violet is particu- Others s id avoid scent soe larly injurious. hou the lilac, and others Personal isceptibil do with the INJUrious « flects t result from smelling certain and M. there! hat rtionlar How } wihal particuiar HOWEeTrs si the cards tar fas #1 IY Las Joal cannot avoided certain temperaments, The w r cites a case woman wihiou the smell cur rious conit young woman and a bridal this illustration might lead supposition that there is m than M. He tells of a soldier who | n under the eff ~p § i § & AS Joal n Ous srr Bost TE ¥, “4 11 3 ho oul ianciion, iIsaqirect result of the of of the floral decorations 1 at least, be useful in supplying excuse to the anew man who wakes up in with evil the morning ‘a head As to the the voices of « in his vos 134 cARuli flowers on 4 effects of cacher » and % itis pera singe work is keeping flowers in their their dressing rooms at Mme. Richard of the forbids her pupils about and it Mme. Krauss, one of the star sis now at the room wit ginger can but the homes or in § tw 3 i dap f © i Laas i Ps i alls have <. tInera, 1 ; to flowers wt rears - them, is asserted t Opera, refuses to stay in h a bunch of violets Ame the 1 of perfume of acs makes her hoarse. Even Mme. Calve is cited as that from dizziness and headache after sit- i ting in a room ecentaining | or mimosa. She is quoted as giving { an instance where, after sit zat a { concert, she received a bouquet of { lilac, and after inhaling the perfume a minute or so, she completely lost her voice, and did not regain it until she had taken a walk in the open air. This suggest a serious consiageration of the custom of presenting bouquets of flowers to singers, or of sending boxes of flowers to one’s best girl. In fact, if M. Joal knows what he is talking about, science’s new crusade means revolution, as well in the | world of fancy as in that of fact. a other TOses, stand sine saving she suffers tuberoses Zin Mark Twain's Philosophy. Nothing so needs reforming as | Behold the fool saith, “Put not all { thine eggs in the one basket’ '—ivhich {is but a manner of saying, ‘‘Seatter your money and your attention’: but the wise man saith, “Put all your eggs in the one basket and— | WATCH THAT BASKET.” If you pick up a starving dog and | make him prosperous, he will not | bite you. This is the principal dif- | ference between a dog and a man, We know all about the habits of | the ant, we know all about the habits {of the bee, but we know nothing at | all about the habits of the oyster, It seems almost certain that we have been choosing the wrong time for studying the oyster, Even popularity can be overdone. In Rome, along at first, you are full of regrets that Michelangelo died; but by and by you only regret that you didn’t see him do it. © July 4th. Statistics show that we Jose more fools on this day than in all the other days of the year put to- ther. This proves, by the number eft in stock, one Fourth of July per year is now inadequate, the coun try has grown so. e Century, Last of the Great Bustards.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers