Wk a long horseback ride during the af ternoon. While the Chief Executive usually goes to his office Christmas morning to give attention to the more fmportant affairs of state that may be pressing for attention the remainder of the day is given over to a holiday vacation and thus he is enabled to de- vote more time than usual to his daily horseback ride. The President's Christmas excursion also differs from his ordinary daily outing in that in stead of being attended, as is usually the case, by the army sergeant, who acts as the President's orderly, he is accompanied by Mrs, Roosevelt or by a party of personal friends, The dinner to which the President and his family and guests sit down about 7 o'clock in the evening Is served in the private dining room which is located in the northeast cor ner of the White House, The state din- ing room where are served all the great banquets given at the Presidential Man- slon, is spacious and imposing but lacking in that coziness and cheer which is essential to a Christmas feast and so the Xmas dinner party, which numbers perhaps fourteen to pixteen persons is served with the traditional yule-tide delicacies in the family or private dining room. Colored Waiters at the White House. The scene of the President's Christ. mas dinner is the smallest room on the main floor of the White House although it is fully twice as large as the dining room in the average private residence in the land. The room is THE DESERT GROUSE. KNOWN AS THE SAGE HEN AND COCK OF THE PLAINS, A TYP= ICAL AMERICAN BIRD. Is the Largest of the Grouses and Feeds Mostly on Sage—Has a Hand- some Coat of Plumes and Makes a Savory Roast. The desert grouse is a representa- tive American bird. It is, of course, not as exalted and herole as the eagle, and 1s not spread over so wide an area as the common chioken, but for all that the desert grouse is typleally American. The bird is more famil- farly known to travelers, dwellers in the arid and semi-arid regions of the United States, and sportsmen, as the “sage hen,” and, as a matter of course, where there are sage hens there are sage cocks. Often the bird is referred to as the prairie chicken, but the ref. erence is Inaccurate. It Is a game bird of great beauty. It was named “Cock of the Plains” by Lewis and Clark who, though perhaps not the first whites to make the acquaintance of this bird, at least were the first white men to identify It as a distinct ornithological species and to pause long enough in the ardous busines. of exploration to give it a name, Found Throughout the Arid Region. It is seen in all the arid and semi arid parts of the land where it has Where the Turkey } ts Cooked. President's Private Dining Room. fn the Colonial style with white walls and wood wc and is furnished with rare old pleces of mahogany furniture Mrs. Roosevelt in out-of-the-way local fties in Virginia and Maryland. The dinner is served by colored weailers and the table is laid with Mrs. Roose velt's new china—delicate ware taste fully ornamented with a Colonial pat tern in gold, each plece bearing a tiny geprescutation of the seal of the United States in colors The dinner is prepared In the Te fitted White House kitchens, which are Jocated in the basement directly below the private dining room. ‘There are two kitchens, one about 25 by 40 feet tn size and, opening from it, a smaller kitchea of about one-half the size, Or dinari.y tae equipment of the smaller or family kitchen is sufiflent for the preparation of the dinner for a select party at the Executive Mansion, but at Christmas the great hooded range fn the larger tiled kitchen is brought nto use for the roasting of the thirty- ponnd Christmas turkey, sont by Hor- ace Vose, the Rhode Island farmer who gor thirty-five years past has sent each gear a magnificent specimen of the king of fowls for the President's Christmas dinner. Gobbilers from Far and Wide. Indeed, the President's Christmas dinner does not cost him very much, for Uncle Sam pays the wages of many of the White House employees who have a hand ia preparing it and almost all of the “goodies” which grace the fes- tive board are donated by admiring friends of the President, Not only does Horace Vose send a prize-winning turkey, but gobblers that rival it in size come from poultry ralsers in other sec- tions of the country, and there are donations of cranberries from Cape Cod, a parcel of the famous “Roosevelt potatoes” sent by the farm hands on the President's estate at Oyster Bay and other delicacies sent by “neighbors” far and near, Such marketing as is necessary to fill out the menu for the President's Christmas dinner is done by Henry Pinckney, a colored man who holds the position of White House Steward and draws a salary of $1,800 a year from the government for managing the domestle affairs at the White House, A day or two before Christmas Steward Pinck- ney sets out in the unpretentious vehicle which serves as the President's private market wagon and makes the round of the markets—for the White House patronage is not confined to any one merchant. In preparation for the Christmas dinner it is presumably not necessary to purchase any coffee, sugar, salt or other staples, for all such sup- plies for the Presidential mansion are purchased in quantity end kept inna storercom adjoining the kitchen, which Yooks like un full-fledged grocery store, All in all, the White House Christ mas festival comes preity near being a counterpart of the old-time, old- fashioned institution of our forufa- well on toward 8.30 o'clock "ere of mince pie has disap- pot been exterminated, and is very common in those great dry stretches of the continent where man has not v sage brush grows. To say that this bird has its home in the droughty re gions of the United States Is to may how extensively it is distributed, for everybody who knows anything about the country, knows how vast is that empire laid down on the early maps as “desert. plied to the unwatered reaches of the west is misleading. On those des erts there is plenty of vegetation and animal Mfe. Though in many places water is scarce, life may be easily sus- tained in these American deserts, Ir rigation shows how fertile these lands are when the water is poured on AN over dry lands grows that wild shrub, called by botanists artemisia, but which everybody else calls sage brush. Feeds Mostly on Sage. No doubt it belongs to the same family as does the garden sage of the we T The extent of the government Irrl gation problem is Indicated by a rec ent schedule Iseun] by the Reclama. tion Service of the Interior Depart ment, showing that the work of r™ claiming the desert is well under Yay. At this time the government plan In various stages of progress requiring the expenditure of $32.870,000, which will supply water for the irrigation of 1.830,000 nerves of land, the expense being $17.00 per acre. Other govern ment reports estimate that there are about 000,000,000 acres of so-called arid land, whose chief nets ae sage brush and eactus is amounts to more than onethird of the United States, and out of w.lch might carved four countries a The word desert as ap east, It has the dustgreen color of sage, smells lke sage, tastes like sage, and animals that feed on its leaves and yellow flowers flavor thelr flesh with sage. Well, wherever this plant grows the desert grouse may be found The grouse feeds and fattens on sage, There 18 nothing he likes hgtter, He must have it. ‘Let the sage be de- stroyed and the bird moves on, The desert grouse Is the largest grouse of the western world and It Is exceeded in size only by the great grouse of Europe-—the capercailzie, It is very superior In size and strength to the common prairie hen or the pinnated grouse, usually welghing twice or thrice as much as that bird. It will measure two or three feet from tip of wing to tip. Living In a gray land, nature has provided for the protec- tion of the bird by making It also gray. It is curious how nature looks after its creatures by making thelr color, as a rule, harmonize with the landscape, In grouseland tuere is a great deal of alkali in the soll and over that grows the gray-green shrub- bery. The sage grouse seeks ity safe- ty in concealment rather than In flight. ! Hanasome Though not Brilliant. Though the general color effect - of the grouse Is gray yet it has markings of white and black. A large black patch underneath the bird's body 18 sfent- ure of the desert grouse. On his shoulders be wears epauletts of white. The reason for these white ghouls ders Is that In Dbrowsin. through the sage brush ~ all his days the heavy gruy feathers are worn off, exposing the fine white nether feathers. > The grouse, though not a high- fiyer and not so aglle on the wing as his eastern cousin, possesses great leg power. He Is active and speedy as a runner, rather quick to take fright and is an expert in losing himself among the brush. It should not be under- stood that these birds do not rise from cover. They often do. Hunters seek 80 to frighten the birds that they will rise. It Is not difficult shooting then, The grouse of the desert has that general grouse trait 00 “whirr™. When be rises it Is sald that he whirrs louder than the eastern grouse. When thoroughly roused to his task he Is a pretty strong fiver and can go a mile at a stretch, alternately sailing and flapping The flesh of the desert grouse good when not too sages The young birds, when feeding on grass-hoppers, are unsurpassed for tenderness and flavor. The older birds, as the other feathered tribes, are not so tender as the young. When feeding exclusively on sage their flesh i» strongly lmpregnated with the flavor of shrub, somewhat unpleasantly so. One is reminded of the taste of par tridge meat when that bird has bees feeding on resinous buds in the an tumn. WQ ——— He Trusted Rockefeller. Dr. Gustav C. BE. Weber, of Cleve land, Ohlo, recently consul at Tjurem. burg is one of the ploseer doctors of his city. Years ago he was visited by a young man who required a surgical operation, but explained that he was only getting fifty dollars a mouth would i a : i ¢ would risk it and It took the youth about a year to pay up The lad was John D. Rockefellet, and only a short time age he sent for Weber, asking for medical advice, there having been & recurrence of the trouble for which Weber had operated forty years ago! Weber made an examina tion and told Mr. Rockefeller that any medical student could do it and that he himself was out of practice. Rocke. feller opened a drawer, counted out $500, and handing the roll to Weber remarked, “It does not take so jong to pay the bill this time." Weber de- clined the money, saying he wished no fee for a friendly visit. “Take it.” sald Rockefeller, “and give to some poor medical student, who is struggling for hiz education.” Weber remarked in telling the story that he couldn't think of any struggling medical student just | then and-—-, but what was the ail- i ment that required a surgical opera ! tion? shown by the various expert estimates {which place the additional area which ean be irrigated at from 75,000,000 to 100,000,000 acres. The government plan as provided for in the irrigation law Is to store the flood waters of the | wostern rivers, reclaiming this land ian fast as possible; but the settiers who take the land are required to (pay back to the government the cost jof the construction of each project, so that the actual » to the gov. ernment will all be paid. The final estimates of the possibilities of in. creased population are one person to each Irrigated ncre, so that there sooms a future population for the West an great or greater than the to. tal population of the country today. Ten or twenty acres, In the more high Iy developed irrigation sections of the West is stated to be sufficient for the support of a family, owing to the fact that under Irrigation numerous and sure oops oan be ralscd. In the Boutbrwest, or four crops are grown on the same land each year, ® with all | CATHOLIC DIVORCES, VATICAN ANNULS MARRIAGES IN CERTAIN CASES.~ATTOK- NEYS OF ST. PETER. Ambassador Whitelaw Reid appoints son of English Earl as Chief Lackey ~The Tipping Question.~Other For» cign®ossip, It is stated on authority that the Vatican will always annul a marriage if it can be proved to its entire satis. faction that one or the other of the parties to the alliance was not a free agent in the matter. One of the most notable cases of annulment of a prince. ly marriage, on grounds such as these, the marriage bonds of the reigning Prince of Moneco and his first wile, Lady Mary Hamilton, At the same time the Vatican pronounced the mar- riage null and void it also pronounced that her son was, in every sense of the mother was a princess of the reigning honse of Baden and whose father was the English Duke of Hamilton, was forced by her kinsman and guardian, POPE PIUS X. was the dissolution some years ago of | word, legitimate, Princess Mary, whose | — camo - mended for doing something to endn an honest penny, If his pay is not much, his duties are not particularly onerous, and If ambitious he will have plenty of spare time in which to lobk around for a better job, Meanwhile he is comfortably domiciled at Dor chester House, the marble palace in Park lane, which Ambassador Reid has taken as his London residence, The Hon, Walsh Is ecugaged to be married to Lady Norab-SBpencer- Churchill, the youngest sister of the Duke of Marlborough. Though she can hardly be called youthful, ghe is several years younger than her flance, As far as pedigree counts for any- A Tension Indicator thing, however, the Hon, Walsh is no bad match for her, for he can boast | ducal blood, too. i | If the Duke of Devonshire’'s rule! { against any of his servants accepting “tips” could be successfully introduced in this country all would be well, There {are & few of the old nobility of Eug- land who set a laudable example of | prohibiting their servants accepting | Bratuities from visitors or guests. The Duke of Devonshire, for instance, makes it an joflexible rule that no servant of his shall take a tip. When, however, a party of Americans recent- ly visited Chatsworth, the Dule's Der- byshire seat, aud were entertained to of the tension at a glance. Its use means time saving and casier sewing. It’s our own invention and is found only on the luncheon and shown over the beautiful grounds by the Duke's steward, the | leaders of the party thought the usual! “shell out” wust be the climax of the! day's enjoyment. The party consisted | of four men and three women, and | among them $35 was subscribed, With! commendable discretion the money was not offered to the steward, who, of course, is above accepting recognition | of the kind, but to an underfootman, | who eaw the party to and from the | rallway station, But the footman | pointed out that it was against the | rules of the Duke's establishment to] accept gratuities “in money.” That seemed to suggest way of getting | around the rule. The next day various articles of jewelry reached the stew- ard from London with the request that they be distributed among the stafl at his discretion. The aders of the pari; : were Edmund H. Abbott, of New York und Alexander Cattanach, of Baler Mass., and both had introduction from Bir Thomas Lipton. The Duke | a 1 $ Ri the lal ¢ Emperor Napoleon, to give her hand ia mariage to Albert of Monaco, | The latier showed himself a singularly | neglectful and unkind husband, and her | life at Monte Carlo became so intoler-| | able that she took to flight, carrying her infant child with her. She sought refuge at Florence, where the Italian police, acting on behalf of the Prince, made a sensational attempt to take the boy away from her. The piot was frus- trated by the Grand Duchess Marie of | Russia, who took mother and infant) under her protection and defied the Italian authorities to cross the thres. bold of her residence. Princess Mary, after that, married Count Tassilo Fes- tetics of Tolna, one of the magnates of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who occup.ed an excellent position at the Court of Vienna, Prince Albert of Monaco married again, the next Prin- cess of Monaco being an American girl, | A danghier of a New Orleans banker, ! Michael He His second matri- monial venture, however, turned out as unfortunate as the first, a divorce breaking tae ties between them. ; AR Bg ing the righis of the Roman Catholic Church, and adding to the perfection of ita wonderiul and thorough-working mashine, is the oder or society of “The Attorneys of St, Peter”. It Is safe to say that nine out of ten people in this country have pever heard of this order of legal counsellors of the Vatican, which, ia this country, is rep- resented by some of the brightest legal minds, It is composed of eminent Roman Catholic lawyers in different parts of the world, with braasches in the various great capitals. The order was founded by Pius 1X, and the first of the statutes of the order indicates its object, restricting, as it does, the membership to those members of the legal profeseion who have given ade- quate proofs of their unselfish devotion | % {lage to sell and Duchess were not in residence at | Chatsworth at the time of the } but the latter sent one of her ®naid specially up from London to look aft the ladies. The beauties of Matlock | Buxton and Bakewell were fully ex plored before they returned to | Yan Calava. Visit, | town ———— — Humor of King Edward. Returned tourists who have been in| touch with the nobility in Europg bring back a few good stories of King Edward. One tale runs like this: The King was driving alone in a dog cart! near one of his country palaces one! day and canght up with an old fish woman, who was trudging to the vil her wares, She did not! recognize the king and asked him for a lift. He responded graciously and helped her into the cart. As they drove along she begged him to buy her fish pleading poverty and a big family at home. The king-eaid he had plenty of fish st hogy and would not bl Teves he would give her his portrait which he thought would be just as good as buying her fish “Ye are a fine looking man, but you: portrait would not buy shoes for the children,” said the old woman. “Oh I think it will help you,” he responded, and maded her a sovereign which has on one glide his profile. When she saw that she was riding with the king and spilied he» fish. The king handed her another coin and dropped her out at her destination. At another time when he was Prince and attending a theatre, a fire broke out near by and every one helped to quench the blaze The Privee in evening dress, worked with the others In passing buckets of water. A big pompous mat was stand. ing by doing nothing “Why don't you help? asked the Prince The to the interests of the Church, espe- cially in legal matters. The only in-| signda of the order is a medallion show. | ing a violet cross on a white enameled | ground. ® 1 believe | am correct in say- ing that Cardinal Rampolla has charge of the order, Our Ambassador at the Court of St James, Mr. Whitelaw Reid, has at {only the Prince of Wales.” pompous man swelled up and remarked, “1 am a gentleman, sir, and do no such menial tasks” “Don’t let that hurt you,” responded the Prince. “I am — Cost of Discovering America. Hast appointed his chief hickey. He is {the Hon. William Walsh I'he post | | bestowed upon the Hon W h Is | that of controller of Mr. Reid's house | hold, an office quite unknown in this} democratic country of ours but which | [exists in many aristocratic families | {in England and in all royal establish. | | ments, from the King's down. In| reality, the comptroller is a species of upper servant, ranking several de grees higher * than a chief butler, whose business jt is to see that all domestic matters run smoothly, Mr. Redd is the fst American ambassn- dor to employ such a functionary, but | no other American ambassador to the | Court of St. James has lived In wo | much style as Mr Reid maintains, As | that is what Americans seem to ex. | pect of their representatives abroad nowadays, when they pay for it out of thelr own pockets, Mr, Reid Is really to be congratulated on his suc. cess in obtaining the services of the son of a belted earl as his chief Jackey. The Hon. Walsh Is the third son of lord Ormathwalte, Third sons of peers are usually no t well i iis { | thousand dollars for The great extent and value of Queen Isabel's jewel bag, the proceed of : in |. Sewing Machine. We have other striking improvements that appeal to the careful buyer. Send for our clegant I T. catalog. Wire Sewmve Mace Co. Cleveland, Ohio, Foster’s Ideal Cribs Accident Proof IF YOU WANT A JACK Bend for our Jack Catalogue, Bure to com | tain the description of exactly what you welt | Hydraulic Jacks our Specialty Watson-8tillman Co. 46 Dey Bt, N, XY, City. a BOOKS —BOOKS We bave published some good ones specs | lally suited for farmers, Books that will help | every farmer to make more out of his farm | Write for our catalogue. WEBB PUBLISHING CO. 8t. Paul Minn. PENSIONS. Over one Million Dollars allowed our clients during the last six years, Over one Thousand claimsallowed througli us dur- ng the last six months, Dige ability, Age and Ine crease pcsions obtained in the shortest possible time. Widows"* claims a falty. Usually granted within 90 days if placed with us immedi- ately on soldier's death, Fees fixed by law and payable otit of allowed pension. A successful experience of 25 years and benefit of daily calls at Pension Bureau are at your service. Highest ref- erences furnished. Xocal Magis- trates pecumniarily benefited by sending us claims, TABER & WHITMAN CO., Warder Bid'g, Washington, D.C, i which fitted out Columbus, Is more or Jess of a myth. But in these days, when millionaire yachtsmen spend a hundred a little racing yacht and think nothing of it, the ex. pense of Columbus's whole fleet seems entirely insignificant. The sum of £32.000 covered the whole outlay neces. sary to secure and equip the three ves sels, while the Great Admiral’s salary was £309 per annum. The two other commanders were paid $200 each, and the wages of the crew were $2100 a wonth., Of course, money In those days was worth a great deal more than now, and there were not very many places In America at that time where the sallors cared to ask for “shore leave,” so that their wages were SILOS Pine, Pir, Cypress and Yellow Pine, Write for Catalogue. Eagle Tank Co., 281 N. Green St., Chicago, Kil. SHason Feil PIANOS AND ORGANS a clear .aving. BULL oy VELY off. The Hon. Walsh Is to be com -— Wudghwe, for Man and Vouth wire Wh tare shmetutel vy wnbrrakable ™ HEWES & POTT Ry Ee eo Dae hen,” os an fog, | STANDARD OF THB WORLD warranted wonorediing mets] pare, AE BEST SUSPENDER MADE, 3 -e Ady PENDER 86 cenia, wold Melt Malem ne werd, | ST RAP LOC KS LYNCH PERFECTION YALE PRINCIPLE —— The NEWEST THINGS for CHRISTMAS | WEDDING (and other) PRESENTS They are the only Lock Buckles with the Yale Principle and are made of Manganese Bronge, which looks like gold, is stronger than steel and will not rust. Locks alone (casily large, $1.00, (Beautifully band engraved and including 20¢ extra); with strap for trunk, $1.59 | for case, $1.00 prepaid and re. attachable). Small, 50c ; medium, T8e | turnable if pot delighted. Booklet on request. Balesmen and sales | women wanted everywhere, LYNCH MFG. CO. - ¥ Madison, Wis, |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers