V Mie mmth. ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY S. 1S16. Vol.t No. 318.-Enteri.-a at I'itUbarg I'ostofficc, November 1. la, as sicond-class matter. Business Office Corner Smithfleld and Diamond Streets. Kews Rooms and Publishing House 75, 77 and 79 Diamond Street EASTERN ADVERTISING OFFICE. KOOM 21. TRIBUNE BUILDING, EW YORK, where complete files of THE DISPATCH can always be found. Foreign advertisers appreciate the con venience, llorue advertisers and friends or THE DISPATCH, -while In .New York, are also made welcome TUB riSPATCII is irpularly on sale at Brentmo'. S Union Square. -Kew York, aid 17 uii-e. ae ropeia, Parts. JVancc tchere anyone uho has been disappointed at a hotel news stand can obtain it TERMS OF TIIK UISPATCU. roTAGE fkxe r the united states. Daily JJisrATCii. One ear f SCO Daily -Dispatch. Per Quarter 100 Daily Dispatch, One .Month JO Daily Dispatch, including Sunday, lycar. 10 00 Daily Dispatch, includlnESundav,3m'ths 150 Daily- Dipatci. Including Sunday, lin'tu 00 fcUSDAi Disr-ATCH, One leir ISO Weekly Dispatch, One Year 1 IS The Daily DisPATcn Is delivered by carriers at Scents per veek, cr Including Sunday edition, at to cents per week. P1TTSEURG. MONDAY, DEC. 22, 18ML OUK LEGISLATORS' PLANS. The programme which the Allegheny county members of the Legislature have marked out ior themselves in the orcaniza tiou of the Legislature may be characteristic bat it can liardlv be regarded as creditable. It is not proposed that the Allegheny county delegation shall hold any caucus or make any pledges on the Speakership, in order that they may be free to throw their sup port to the Speaker whose support will re turn the best usufruct to the Allegheny county delegation. This is not at all inconsistent with the record of statesmanship usually attained by Allegheny county legislators. The idea that Allegheny county, as the second constituency of the State and containing the second and third cities of Pennsylvania, .should take the leadership in organization or present any distinct features oi legislative elicv. docs cot occur to the average polit ical peutleman whom we send to assist in the making of our laws. It might perhaps be considered possible by some theorists that it would be possible for Allegheny county to present the policy, for the support oi the whole ot "Western Pennsylvania, of legislation to advance the canal project which will give the Western part of the State water transportation to the lakes. But sush considerations are entirely foreign to tlie principles ot selection by which our leg islators are designated. Xetertheless it would be discreet for our statesmen to consider whether their policy Is the best one to attain their professed pur pose. The oid proverb about two stools is ro the lioint, and it is also a commercial fact that the fellows who most urgently rush into the market, do not invariably reach the highest prices for their goods. Merelv, as a matter of making a good negotiation, might it not be wiser lor the representatives of Allegheny to put up a candidate (or Speaker, to whom they would be so much attached that they could not be induced to locate tueir votes elsewhere except on most solid considerations? It is a pleasant rarity to find one member from Allegheny county presenting the .ex ceptional aspect of desiring to vote fjr a Sneaker who will put anti-corperation men on the committees having such matters in charge and give the industrial and laboring interests a fair representation on the com mittees shaping legislation. "We hope that 3Ir. Jones will continue his search for such a candidate, and, if he finds him, will cast his vote tk.it way, as a testimony that he re gards the interests of the people as of more importance than political deals. CHICAGO'S COMING AHt-SniP. There is interest as well as pleasure to the public in the renewed assurance from Chi cago that the great air-ship wiiich has been frequcatl promised from thatcity will soon plume iu wings for flight and make a rapid transit voyage to New York. The renewal of that promise, although unaccompanied as yet by any pioper proportion of perform ance, is barked by the usual capital of 20, 090,000 on paper. As' this is nearly as reach as the sverage railroad can boast and r.bout hatf as much as those powerful bodies, the trusts, make the public pay dividends on, that amount of fiat capital entitles the announcement to the respect and credulity of the public. It would, beyond question, be a great achievement for Chicago capital to set the first of the aerial navies afloat "When the Western metropolis can boast itself of this feat, as one who pntteth off his armor rather than one who putteth it on, the rest of the world will be ready to do It reverence. The perfection of this form ot navigation will cause the greatest revolution yet experienced in industrial nnd commercial development. It will do away with railroad franchises, solve the question of monopolies and humble the pride of the corporate kings. An invention which can do that is entitled to the public gratitude, and we will all do homage to the new 20, 000, 000 air-ship corporation when it runs its air-ships on schedule time. Put besides the impolicy of shouting be fore one is out of the woods, there is a cogent reason why Chicago should not in dulge in too unlimited advertising concern ing its pioneer air-sbip'until that adventur ous vessel is actually set afloat The world at large might mix up the project with the "World's Fair, and to get that enterprise advertised as a ballooning scheme would be unfortunate. THE INDEPENDENT POLICT. Another refinery and pipe line is added to the list of independent enterprises by which the petroleum producing interests propose to free themselves from the inevitable re sult of haying but one purchaser for their product Most of the enterprises which have taken definite shape so far are of local importance; but tbey are undoubtedly steps in the right direction and lead up to the ultimate solution. , That will be reached when the projects attain the scope ot competing pipe lines which will bring the production of the various fields to some central point like Pittsburg, whence the refined product can be distributed to consumers all over the country, or gain access to the seaboard for export When that is done the end of the Standard's supremacy will approach, sim ply because the ability to choke off competi tion in the refining and distribution of oil will be taken away. The inter-State com merce Jaw will prevent discriminations on the railroads; the rivers will afford a practicable route for export oil and the distribution of refined to the "West and Southwest If the Standard undertakes to buy up competing refineries and pipe-lines the producers can afford to go into the busi ness of building and selling them ior profit When that trre&t corporation is fully loaded up with such property the producers can be certain that the multiplicity of competing purchasers will ensure them the fair price for oil that is fixed by free competition. In the mean time the natural result of com peting purchasers of oil may be seen by the advance in the market which has taken place concurrently with the first definite plans for independent establishments. That such an advance was largely Intended to head off such enterprises is more than prob able; but it demonstrates that the one thing which the Standard fears is the growth of competition which would disturb its control of the crude market THE BALLOT REFORM MEASURE. The circular of the Pennsylvania Ballot Reform Association, which is given else where in these columns, outlines the measure which will be presented to the Legislature, and sets forth the results which are to be obtained by it, in a succinct form. As both parties in the last campaign were pledged to ballot reform, the natural suppo sition would be that a measure like this, which effects the desired purposes in the simplest and most direct manner, would be sure of a prompt enactment Previous ex perience, however, somewhat disturbs that faith. Pour years ago both parties were pledged to an anti-discrimination measure. But when it came to the enactment of the measure the attempt was first made to palm off a law that would amount to nothing, nnd finally no measure at all was adopted. In that case corporate interests inspired the action. It is quite possible that political interests may oppose similar obstacles to ballot reform. Under such circumstances it is cogent to point out the fact that the measure outlined in this circular is a simple, direct and un objectionable manner of reaching the car dinal purposes of ballotlreform. Its princi pal features are facility of nominations, which can be made either by party conven tions or by the indorsement of a reasonable number of citizens; the official ballot, printed at the public expense ; the isolation of the voter while preparing his ballot ; the open count of the vote ; and finally the preservation of the secrecy of the ballot, without resorting to the slow and question able method of repealing the constitutional provision for the numbering ot ballots, by the enactment, which The Disfatc ? has always pointed out as the proper provision, that the lists of voters shall be sealed up before the ballot-boxes are opened. These provisions are well calculated to effect the following desirable results: Inde pendent nominations arc madr. easy; all candidates, rich or poor, are placed on a plane of equality so far as th-expense of printing tickets is concerned, and the ex cuse for big campaign funds is taken away; the resort to smooth bore or "trade off" tickets is made impossible; and finally the ability of corrupt agencies to either coerce or purchase voters is restricted by keeping from them the knowledge of what the vote actually is. When the ballot is secret the use of money to purchase or threats to in timidate a voter will be practically useless. A measure which at once attains all the purposes of ballot reform and avoids the difficulties presented by the Constitution, should be sure of a favorable consideration and prompt passage. Let us hope that our legislators will give this bill the treatment it deserves. THE LIST OF FLYERS. The long list which is published in this issue of The Dispatch, of horses which have made a record of 220 or better, is an interesting exhibit of the progress which has been made in the cultivation of the American trotting horse. Within "the memory of every middle-aged man, the time was when no horse had ever trotted a mile at that rate, and, as will be seen by the list, the number of those making that record for many vears occupied a very brief list Another indication of the same progress is found In the fact that formerly it was the custom to publish lists of horses making records of less than 2:30; but now their number has grown to such a size that it is only possible to publish the list of 2:20 trot ters. This increase in speed is the legiti mate result of science in the breeding and training of trotting horses; and the progress points to the day when the lowest record will be below two minutes and the only list considered worthy of preservation will be that of trotters who hare made 2:10 or less. international marriages. The divorce of Mrs. Burke Boche from her aristocratic British husband, whom she cot tired of supporting, is widely re ferred to as an evidence that international marriages for the sake of cultivating aristocratic connections are a failure. For all the true purposes of marriage, the evidence is good, but unnecessary. Every one knew that in the first place. But the purpose of such marriages being only to obtain for American heiresses the fame of purchasing an aristocratic husband, we are unable to sec that the result in this case is a proof of the failure of the enter prise. The lady in question still enjoys the fame of having married into an aristocratic English family, and has got rid of the bur den, which was a tolerably clear part of the contract If she had not succeeded in get ting the divorce, the penalty ot the marriage would undoubtedly have been greater. The perfection of a patent by which real lightning is produced on the stage leads to the expression of a lively hope that the art of realism will eventually be pushed to the tri umph of producing real actors there. The discovery that Governor-elect Boyd, of Nebraska, is probably not a citizen of the United States, and therefore ineligible to of fice, is referred to as "proof of tho looseness with which our naturalization laws are admin istered." As the statement of tbs case is that both the Governor-elect and his father have voted and held office without complying with the requirements of naturalization, we should take it to be more cogent proof of the looseness of oar politics in putting up men for office without waiting to see whether tbey are citi zens or not The allegation that it was not lime but mud that was thrown at Parnell is evidently put forward as a vindication on the principle that mud-throwing is the regulation practice in political campaigns. The question how long the new railroad agreement will last is occupying some atten tion of onr esteemed cotomporaries. Previons experience with similar agreements warrants the prediction that this one will last until It is discovered that it is to the interest of some corporation, or for the profit of some manager, to slice rates a little. Then the new combina tion will go over to tho majority. The information that Senator Ingalls has taken a two weeks' leave of absence from tho Senate, to look after his Kansas lences. Invests the trip with the sentiment of a farewell tour. Out in Kansas the Farmers' Alliance of one county has undertaken the function of re instating by force a farmer who lost his borne j by foreclosure of a mortgage and ot evicting the tenant who had taken his place. This Farmers' Alliance must think that It has at tained the"' power of a great railroad corpora tion to nullify and set aside the law with im punity. The scientific sharp who thinks that America most soon relapse into a state ot sav agery, must have been studying the reports of slagging matches and football games. Law partner Miller as a nominee to the Supreme Bench of the United States would be a little moro creditable than the appointment of political partner Divver to the Police Bench of New York. But neither nomination is of exactly tho sort calculated to enhance public respect for the Impartiality and infallibility of justice. Just at present some of the Pittsburg streets present an exceedingly eligible field for the display of street-cleaning talent No wonder the methods of French judges seem peculiar to those versed in the practice of law in this country. The French judges Seem to be imbued with the idea that one of their most important functions is to secure the conviction of criminals. PERSONAL PECULIAEITIES. Mayor Chieger, of Chicago, has la grippe. The family of Senator Ingalls will all bo together at Atchison on Christmas, for the first time Id five years. Senator Joseph M. Carey, or tho new State of Wyoming, who has just taken his seat in the Upper House, is physically the largest man in the Senate. Generae Booth is a tall, stoop-shouldered man. with a prominent Roman nose and a patriarchal white beard. He is 61, and the father of a large family. Russell Sage, the financial magnate, is a tall-built, gaunt keen-eyed, hayseed-looking man, of nervons manner, with a long, clean shaven face, fringed with a scraggy, iron-gray chin beard. The lite General Terry wa3 one of the few civilian commander who won the respect and admiration of the West Pointers. That is to say, his soldierly qualities were so pronounced and effective that his lack of military educa tion was never spoken of to his disparagement In a recent interview William D. Howells was askei as to his method of work, and if his plots wer outlined before he began writing, lie ans weed: "As the saying goes. 1 usually know how tho story is coming out but of course the detail ot the plot is developed as we write, and often, too, the incidents of our daily llfo are woven into the story." Rudyard Kipling is not yet five and twenty. In appearance he is a short stout, pale-faced, brown-mustached, Indian-born man, with keen blue eyes, and a resolute face, on which time and incident have prematurely traced many tell-tale marks, though a boyish smile at times breaks through his almost melancholy expression. He wears a pair ot spectacles with divided lens, which, together with scarlet fez, give hire a somewhat cynical look, and calls himself "the man who came from nowhere." In manner he is somewhat Bhv. Justin McCarthy is a gray-haired, bushy bearued, mild m-r.uercd little gentleman of nine and fifty years, and wears spectacle:. Ho is cif ted with much energy, which breaks out in various ways, being at onco a politician, editorial write novelist and historian. Ho is profoundly courteous, and bis p -".'arcentary colleagues are said to lament his "distress -jg want ot native ferocity.'' He.san abnormally early riser, and the car A-:) "lick of bis type writer is colncidea: with the prod'-Clon of a stream of pleasant fiction, which appears at regula' intervals. He is also an inveterate first-nighter and the father of a 30-year-old son, who carries on his father's literary business at the old stand. A WOMAN'S IDEA ON MAGIC. The Wife of a Famous Professor Reveals Some of Her Knowledge. Mrs. Hermann In N. Y. Herald. The entertainment furnished by the ma gicians of the present day is of a mnch higher order than that presented to the public 30 or 40 years ago. The old tricks were well enough in their way, bat amusement seekers look for and expect better things. Agents in Europe are always on the lookout for novelties. I never saw a magical cntertainmen. until I attended a performance of Prof. Herrmann at the Egyptian Hall in London. A friend had seats for a matinee, and induced mo to go. The trick that I like best is that in which a live dove is taken from an omelette which Mr. Herrmann cooks before the audience. I made my first appearance on the stage in the famous trick called "Tho Mystery of the inquisition," and from that tlmu until now have takeu part in every performance given by Prot Herrmann. I was the first to appear in that well-known and attractive feat. "The Vanishing Ladv." and in the "Black Art" and "La Crem ulon," all of which are popular with the public. I like the work, there is so much variety and excitement in it I am constantly studying up something new in the magician's art Just now I am rehears ing a uove1 and marvelous trick in magic, which Is one of the most ingenious and Intri cate that have ever been invented. It requires great skill to perform well and is likely to cre ate a sensation. TO SUCCEED COLQUITT. Georgia Alliance Men Say They Will Elect Calhoun as Senator. rfS PKCIAL TELEOBAM TO TUB PISPATCH.1 AUGUSTA. Dec 21. Mr. Pat Calhoun is to bo a fixed figure in Georgu politics, and if the Farmers' Alliance can mako it so, be will bo the successor of Alfred H. Colquitt in the United btatcs Senate. An Alliance man, high up in the councils of the party, said to-day: "The Alliance has learned a lesson from its defeat by Senator Gordon and will not be cangut napping tho next time. In the next State election there will be a regplar Alliance candidate put up in every county pledged to vote for the Alliance candidate for Senator. Tbo issuo " will be so de fined that there will be no dodging it We had enough of Colquitt. He has always fanned upon the farmers, but when the time for action came he was always ionnd wanting. The gal lant fight made by Calhoun for the Alliance has endeared him to the brethren, and if you could attend the meetings as I do, you would soon find out what a bold he has upon the peo ple. If the apportionment bill had been so framed as to allow a Congressman-at-large in the Fiftv-sccond Congress. Calhoun would have i been the roan. As it is, we will reserve him to succeeu coiquitt. A NUN'S QUEER STORY. She Makes Serious Charges Against a De troit Convent Management Detroit. Dec. "L One of the inmates ot the House of the Good Shepherd here left the in stitution snrreptiously some time ago owing to a misunderstanding with the Mother Superior. The matter came to light to-day when the truant nun was toned at tho residence of friends in this city. She said, upon, being questioned, that the reason she left was that tbo Institution wasn't run properly. The tasks set tbe Sisters were too onerous and in many instances impossible to perform in tho allotted time, under which circumstances tbe delinquent was whipped by a machine strap. In addition to this tbe food was extremely poor: everything they ate being begged. One Sister died from the effects of something she ate at the home some time ago. One girl died while sbe was being whipped. The Mother Superior of tbe institution de nies tbe charges of the truant nun, and Bishop Foley says he does not. place any reliance in the story. Tho Religion for ChrUtmas. New York World. There is more religion in a box of toys and candy for a poor child, or a fat goose and a baske: of goodies for a destitute family, than In a volume of sermons or a ton of tracts. Tho Ghost Dance in Ireland. from tbe LeadvIIle Herald. The dispatches give quite unmistakablo evi dence thatthere is more war in Ireland than in the Sioux country. ' DEATHS OP A DAY. Mrs. Mary L. Mulholland. Mrs. Mary L. Mulholland, wife or Robert Jlal- holland, tbe well-known contractor, is dead at the nee of 13 years. The funeral will occur from the family residence m busquehauna street Bast Kna, to-aay. at 2 f.v. w Mrs. Betty Robinson. Mrs. Hetty Robinson nled yesterday at 7 A. il, in the 91st year ot her ace. The funeral will occur to-day from Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Union avenue, Allegheny. SNAP SHOTS IN SEASON. n Don't turn-over tbe new leaf on New Years Day until you-tear up tbe old one. Of course you were down town Saturday or Saturday night Txte weather didn't keep you inside, did it? JIf yoa weren't von missed a treat What an object lesson of hap piness, prosperity, affection, contentment was furnished on all sides a pano rama of plenty and progress, a parade of bundles! Peace and plenty were holding carnival. Healthy, happy faces were reflected in the bright lights of the shop win dows. Cheery chatter fell from the lips of the walkers and those grouped before the bnge glasses through which shone gift goods of every conceivable shape, size and material. The close observer could not hear a sigh, the sharpest ear could not detect a murmur. All seemed satis fied with the rolo they were playing in tho treat drama of .life. Envy may have been there, but it was buried ont ot sight And the shopkeepors, weren't they just busy! A glance at their faces told the story they had to tell, and told It welt too. Surely this Christmas will be a merry one. Tbe thousands who braved the slippery, slushy pavements were not out to gratify Idle curi osity. Tbey must have been out for business, and what pleasant business, too purchas ing dress goods for the Christmas tree, buying happiness for tho home, bar gaining for a token which will cement a friend ship, gathenng links for tbe golden chain which binds the brightest star to a birthplace in tbe lowly manger. All tbe goodness and the glad ness were tbere. The smiln chased away tbe sorrow. Tbo bearer of tiny package seemed to have as mnch joy in his or her heart as be or she who beamed over the edge of huge bundle. Of conrse the goods were not evenly distributed. Life forbids this, you know. But the happmessi was, and that's what counts, after all. , The woman who rubs the rouge on her cheeks only manages to deceive herself. A draw game The lottery. If you stammer, and want to stop it don't try,to talk. The green is above the red all over tbe world now. A great many people looiismy ueueveinati if they dress loud they will make a noise in the wnvld ' 1 Look Out Below! Tiny little raindrops Falling on the snow Lying on the hilltops Make a flood below. The churches should set a good example whenever opportunity offers. But after the heavy snow last week the broad and long pave ments surrounding tbe edifices were neglected. How do tbe good people expect uprightness un der such conditions? It's not a sign of neglect to see a lawn go to grass. An old maid can be a god-mother, of conrse. A moveable feast A banquet on a Pull man dining car. While the Irish leaders are fighting Balfour is rushing provisions to tbe distressed districts. He may finally reach the hearts of the people through their stomachs. The drug tr'dedoei not feel th9 holiday) boom until tbe week alter. It costs health to put a coat on the tongue aud perhaps a doctor bill, too. You do not neod to be an artist to draw a sigh.- The oil producers would like to ad?pt Stand ard time. Before Succi commenced his fast he lived for about . week on salt wate. Whatever is true is be .utiful. There's .-. universal law of symmry in all things. It's equally true ot tho tiniest flower and the great formulas of mathematics. IT is said there's nothing new under the sun. You cannot make tbe woman in the millinery store believe th:. If we are made of clay some of us were over-. baked, judging from the color of tbo vessel. The Lot el guest never grumbles about the length of tho bill of faro. The active "bull wheel" bears tbe oil market The weather has simply slopped over. If Succi should come hero and livo on Alle gheny or Monongahela water for 43 days he X would accumulato considerable real estate. Only a Question of Time. Tbe poor must walk while rich folV ride. But m the end sleep side by eid 3. Equestriennes should take kindly to mat rimony. They grow accustomed to the bridle rem, you know. If the puff sbonlders worn by tbe dear girls keep on growing they will take the place of the tall theater hat The place of the seal A woman's back, ap parently. The miser Is tbe human bloodhound, because bo keenly follows tbe cent IF all tbo males wero subsidized tho girls, rnll nnt iiv ,nn nnitn an frnniiiiTiltv 'I The bank of life won't stand overdrafts. The Standard Oil Company has declared a quarterly dividend of $3,000,000. No wonder the producers cry for quarter. THE shipping bill may be swamped by tbe load it nas to carry. Scrape off the oaraiacles, gentlemen. lawyers undergo more trials thanrthe men in other professions. A satisfactory finance bill One marked $20. Men will not regret the extinction of the seal family. The French Spy draws good houses here, but on the Rhine it would only draw a bullet Before Justice can be mesmerized the baudage will have to be removed from her eyes. After the failure dollars are worth all the way from one cent to one hundred. Imitation Is tno smcerest form of flattery, of course. But then, a monkey can imitate, you know. Brides usually carry a prayer-book, but most of tbem turn their thoughts to a pocket book. The saddest period ot a pretty woman's llfo is when the wrinkles lime and sbe begins to fade. Then comes the tussle between art and nature. Bad nuts are the hardest to crack. It looks as it Santa Claus would have to travel in a skiff in this section. Sitting- Bull won't down. Bis ghost bas set the goody goody Indians dancing. A PAVING stone gathers mud. Willie Winkle. Fleeting Newspaper Topics. From tbe American Advertising Keporter. It Is curious to note the advent and duration of "leading topics" in the newspapers, 'i'ho elections, the financial stringency, etc., and now we have Parnell almost ad nau'seum. It make3 the world seem small to contemplate tbe tempest raised aroundit by one, man's deflec tions from the line ofmorality. SUCCI TEE SUCCESSFUL, His Heart Too Mnch Exposed. Savannah News. J Faster Succi bas grown so irreprossibly chipper that bo is now engaged in posing tor tbe admiration of pretty girls who go to sea him. One of them, bo says, touched his heart When a man comes to be such an animated cadaver as he is, his heart is unnecessarily ex posed. If he wants to protect his shriveled old gizzard, he'd better put on another gay necktie or stand behind a barrel. This Is winter. A Hard Winter Broken TJp. New York Press. A Western wit described a man who had escaped lynching after tbe rope was around bis neck and his body twice raised from the ground as "looking like the breaking up of a hard win. tor.." The description fitted Siguor Succi at the conclusion of his 45 days' fast A Waste of Endurance Philadelphia Record. Succi ended his 43 days' fast in New York last night having lost much flesh and gained a little notoriety. The only fact which has been shown is that man is capable of great endur ance; but this has often been demonstrated in other and far more useful ways. A Political Gibe. Chicago Mall. Big. Succi will complete his 45 days' fast to day. He feels as did tbe hungry Republicans when the election of Harrison insured their re turn to the flesh-pots of office after tour years of fasting. Succl's Life. Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. Succi will end his fast in time to partake of Christmastido tare. Forty-flve days of starva tion, and then a surfeit of dainties! Such is life! Succi's life! Macaroni Goes TJp. Minneapolis Tribune. Succi will finish his fast of 43 days this even ing. Dealers in macaroni have already pushed the price upward a few notches. Sued a Fleet One. Norrlstown Herald. Jay-Eye-See is a fast horse, but Succi is a faster. INVADEES OF SLBEBIA. The Chinese and tho English Factors of Progress In That Region. New York Tribune. Those who havo been accustomed to regard Siberia with horror as a terrible and desolate waste colonized exclusively by the criminal population of Russia will be surprised to learn thatthere are two enterprising nations, name ly, the English and the Chinese, who consider insufficiently attractive to be worthy of inva sion. The conquest upon which they are bent Is or an economic rather than of a political nature, and their object is to secure posses sion, not of the rulership, but of the trade and commerce of Siberia, tbe value of which according to Baron Nordenskjoid, the highest authority on the subject Is stnpendons. Siberia, he declares, surpasses tbe North American Continent in its area of cultivable soil. Its forests are the largest in the world, ad Its mineral resources are immense. While tho Russians are striving by every means in their power to exclude the Chinese, who, much to their dismay, are swarming alon" the auriferons banks of the upper Yenisei river, tbey are. disposed to foster and assist (British enterprise in Siberia. The animositv between the Muscovites and tho English, which is so marked in the European portion of the Czar's mighty empire, seems to be replaced by feelings of warm friendship east of the Ural range. English engineers have been selected to devise the system of irrigation which is to transform Southern Siberia into the ereatest rottoa yielding country of the world; English capital has been bespoken for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and exceptional facilities, including a remission of all import dutiet, have been granted to tbe British pio neers of trade upon the Siberian rivers. OUK ARCTIC PARADISE. Some of the Charms of Alaska Pictur esquely Set Forth. New York World. Wo understand there are eartbqunkes up yonder, a considerable assortment ot volcanoes, cheap ice, good skating in winter, more mos quitoes in summer than Jersey ever claimed and pie ity of chances for young men to grow up with the conntry. At present the territory is sparsely inhab ited, unless you count the seals on thn coast Untl tbe wolves in the woods. Land is cheap, and tho opportunity for hard work abundant The inhabitants are industrious have to bo or starve to death. At times the sun gets dissi pated and stays up all night; at other titnoi he sulks and re fuses to get up at all. As for the climate, you pays your, money and you takes your choice. You can freeze to death on the uplands if you have any fondness for that sport and you can acquire 47 different kinds of malaria on tbe lowlands, so that when yon get tired of "shaking" in ono way you can be ac commodated with another. Alaska is a fino and picturesque example of the tail end of creation. It has lofty mount ains, with ready-made toboggan slides ten or twelve miles long, magnificent streams so full of fish that every day of tbo week sosms to be Friday, and a soil which will grow potatoes if those esculent and succulent vegetables, in stead of fooling tbeir time away as they do in the East will get up on their hind legs and be ready for the farmer's cellar in a little over a month. IHE LABGEST KITE IN THE WORLD. An Interesting Experiment of Four Hart ford Young Men. Hartford. Dec. 21. Four young men in Terry vllleLun T. Bunnell, Arthur C. Bunnell, A. Andrus and Wallace T. Cook are tbe orig- Aviators and makers of a kite which Is probably tbo largest in the United States, if not in the world. The dimensions of tbe kite arc: Length of upright stick. 16 feet: ot cross stick, 12 feet; of tall (made of stout rope in which is secured large pieces of sacking and "burlap"), 140 feet; area of canvas, about 200 square feet A "clothes line" rope is used for the "string," which is 1,200 feet long. Recently, during a high wind, the kite was launched into space for the first time. After It was well started fonr young men held tho "string," and at a heizht of nearly 1,000 feet, with their united efforts, they wero unable to manage it and were dragged over swamp and brush land for quite a distance. Tbey required tbe help of two others to reach a tree near the house ot Mr. Andrus, where the end of the clothesline was tied to a tree, and the kite sailed gracefully over tbo village until night fall at an altitndu of over 1.U00 feet On ac count of the prevailing high wind it was found that tbe tail was too short and a common sheet was used to obtain the necessary length re quired. This, when the kite was at its greatest height, appeared no larger than a man's hand. Tho Bad Lands WeU Named. From the Detroit Free Press.! Tbe Bad Lands, which are so often men tioned, is an area of hill, gnlch, rock and Bink holes, In which tbo cactus will barely grow, and yet some land boomer will get bold of tbe coun try in a year or two and trail tbe arbutus across it, and squeeze Eastern greenhorns out of their cash. Opened His Bank With Prayer. Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. I It used to be said that Kean, the Chicago financier, sometimes opened bis bank with prayer. It has now developed that there was more preying there than was generally sup posed. A Plausible Explanation. Ffom tbe Nornstown Hcrald.j "It is said that Jay Gould is growing more economical." Perhaps tbe fact that he has been twice fined S100 within a year for refusing to serve on a jury may explain his sudden fit of economy. Tills is Quite Probable. From the Mansfield News, Dem.l If Cal Brice is traced to a place where he pays a just amount of taxes, it may yet be discovered that he does not live anywhere. This would place him in a more embarrassing position than his double enumeration. Mightier Than Pen or Sword. St PaulPloneer-Press.l Mr. Parnell has demonstrated that while the pen m'ay be mightier than the b word, a crowbar takes tbe cake. Bostonese for Sitting BuU. From the Toledo Blade. In Boston the best society speaks of the late Bloux chief as the Sedentary Bovine. ' THE LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. HISTORY OF ONE OF ENGLAND'S MOST FAMOUS EDIFICES. Battles Have Been Fought as Well as Be ligious Services Held, Within Its Walls A Long Lino of Bishops, Some of Them Quito Notable. iwnrrriQi fob thb dispatch-i 'F-HE first sj liable of tbe name "Lincoln" is British; the second syllable is Roman. Tbe first syllable occurs in the names of other towns which the Britons founded, such as Dub lin; the second occurs In the names of other towns which tbe Romans founded, such as Cologne. The full namo or the old town in the old times was "Ltndutn Colonia." The second syllable tells us. then, that there was once a Latin colony upon this spot. "Bin" means pool, and "dum" means hill; so the men tell us wha are learned in the Celtic tongue. And so tbe first syllable gives us a glimpse of tbe place on which the colony was planted. Here is a his tory and a picture in one word. The most prominent object in Lincoln is the bill, which is high and steep. Tbe pool bas been mostly improved away. It was little more at best than a big marsh. The drains have dried it up. On the top of this windy bill tbe Britons had a town before anybody 'in their island bad ever beard that such people as the Romans had existence on the planet; that is to say, about 2,000 years ago. And when the Romans came (and conquered, as their habit was), tbey turned tbe little old town into a walled camp. There are still traces of their occupation. There is still standing the arch way of one of the gates of that ancient wall. You stand beneath It and look up at the ereat stones which the Roman soldiers laid in their places, and you remember that while that morlar was yet soft Cbrist may have been preaching under tbe skies of Syria. You can read in tbe museum the names of Roman captains who defended tbe town against its original possessors, and lost their lives in the savage warfare. "We, their comrades, erect these tahlets to tbeir memory." Then came the Saxons. And, by and by, Panlinus, tbe missionary, wbo converted tbe Mayor of thetown and persuaded blm to bniid a church. And, after that, tbe Danes; destroy ing Christianity a second time, and leaving as tbe chief trace of their presence the word "gate," meaning a street. The streets in Lin coln are most of them "gates." Finally came the Normans, and William built tbe castle, which you can seo to-day. How a Monk Became a Bishop. Thzee was a monk in William's army named Remigius, who was possessed of money and influence enough to provide that eminent com mander with a big boar, whose crew was 20 fighting men. And William promised that in case ot victory, he would give this loyal monk the first vacant bishopric in England. He was as good as bis word. The Bishop of Dorchester presently died and Remigius was made Bishop in his room. But Remigius liked not the looks ot Dorchester. The diocese was the largest in England, but the town was contemptible. He looked about his wide jurisdiction to find a better. Aud presently he lighted upon this tine hill of Lincoln, and here made bis choice, and the diocese of Dorchester became tbe diocese of Lincoln. At once Remigius began the Building of a Cathedral church. That was at tbe close of tbe eleventh century. The front of Lincoln Cathe dral is different from any other fiat, high, cut straight across the top, with turrets at the corners and the two tail western towers rising behind it Across the front runs a series of queer, rude panels, grotesquely carved with Old Testament pictures, and inserted (ont of order) into the nail. The greater part of this wall was built by Remigius. The panels be longed to a church which stood hero when that ambitious Is orman made bis wise decision. In 1092 tbe church was ready for consecra tion. The day was set and tbe invitations wero distributed. All the Bishops in England were to be present. And they all came, all the Bishops of England except two. One wan Robert of Hereford, wbo was an astrologer, and had read a secret in the stars which kept him comfortably at home. The other was Remigius himself. Remigius was dead. Robert had read bis obituary writton across the sky, and so bad stayed away. Not a Scene of Peace. piFTT years after the building of tho Cathe dral there was a week or two of -fierce fighting, partly beside tbe church and partly In the church itself. Stephen and Matilda were contending for tho crown of England; and the two armies bad come to blows in Lincoln. Matilda held tbe castle; Stephen seized the great stono church. The two buildings stand close together upon the snmmit of the same hill. So tho fighting prospered back and forth; the Cathedral being filled with soldiers, stones and arrows being flung from the vantage of the roof. At last, upon Candlemas Day. there was a decision of tbe matter. Tbere had been Ill-omens In tbe air tho day bpfore. Stephen bad attended mass in tbe desecrated Cathedral, and when he bad made his royal offering of a great candle tbe candle broko in twain In the priest's bands; the golden pyx. too, hung above the altar, had snapped Its chain, and come down in a sorry tumble. It looked bad for Stephen. And tbe omens proved true nroohets. The desccrator of tbe Cathedral went out to the battle and lost it, and was carried in triumph across England and lodged in prison. And. after the battle, came an earthquake. Tbe building of Remlgins bad now endured not quite a century, when of a sudden it was rent from top to bottom. And wben the next Bishop, Hnsh of Avalon, came to visit his ca thedral church, he found a wall or two, and a stone pile. You stand before the Cathedral ironr, anuiooK upauove cue wan wnicn itemi gius built, and you see that tbe upper part of it is terminated bv two turrets, each as tall as a church spire. Each turret has a statue at the top. Ono statue represents a bisbop, dressed in his robes, with a crozier in his hand and a mitre on bis bead. That is Bishop Hngb. The other statue is tbe figure of a ragged boy blow ing a big born. Tbe boy, they say, was a cow herd, wbo made a contribution, out of bis scanty earnings, toward the building of this house of God. He gave a hatful of silver pen nies. There they stand, the Bishop and tho cowboy, in perfect equality of honor, teach ing a lesson in religion (that God cares more for what a man brings in bis heart than for what he carries in bis band), and teaching another lesson, also a lesson In history. For it is significant that these two figures, thus standing side by side at tbe front of Lincoln, represent the two great nations who wero then contending for the mastery of England, and whose united blood flows in our veins to-day. Tbe bisbop was a Norman, the cowboy was a Saxon. And when you remem ber bow Briton and Roman join in this Cathed ral's name, you see that here are met the four races who have In turn dominated this island. Did Not Suit tho Time. J-Jugh, ot Lincoln, was a good bisbop in a bad time. He lived in a day when the princes of tho church were fallen into such sin that the most popular poem of the time was a fierce satire abusing all tbe prelates from the popo down, called "Bishop Goliath." He was "too good for tbe easy-living laymen of Lincoln, and they knew it They wanted a very different bisbop. But the king was seized for tho moment with a reforming zeal; be desired, be said, to appoint one bishop of whom his Master might approve. Hugh was such a good man that after he was dead (that is the usual time) tbey called him a saint And there were so many miracles done at his tomb in one of tho side chapels of the nave, that they built a long addition to the choir, and. behind the altar, set the Bishop's tomb and put a fine shrine over it. The shrine is gone, but the choir is tbere, tbe glory of tbe Cathedral. Tbe "angel choir," call it because, at tbe intersections of tho arches, angels are playing upon instruments of music Tbere are two St Hughs in tho history of Lincoln; tbe other is called "Little St Hngb." His tomb is In tbo wall of the south cholr-alsle. Little St Hugh was a small boy who Isreported to have been murdered by the Jews. He was Slaying ball ono day, the story goes, and the all (as balls will) tumbled over the wall of tbe neighboring garden. And when Hugh went after it the Jew's daughter invited him into tbe house, promising him candy, and he rever came out acain. Tbo Jews kept him fcr ten days, and then crucified blm. But bis r, other got bis body, and such a funeral the; had in the old church! Tbey set the boy among the martyrs: and in a hundred ways tbey made the Jews pay dearly for it Probably, a liel The Jews were unpopular neighbors, because they were Jews, people said; but really because they were rich and prosperous, and everybody owed them money. It is sometimes a good deal more easy to forgive our debtors than our creditors. Anybody was willing to believe any bad thing about a Jew. Howeyer, here is the tomb. Its Greatest Bishop. tt was about this time that Lincoln had her greatest bishop. His name was Robert Grosseteste. He was one ot the most notable scholars of his age. Ho had written books upon philosophy and mathematics and theo logy. Grosseteste had not been four weeks a bishop beforo everybody in the diocese of Lincoln knew it First, and most of all, tbe monks. Within the first year of his episco pate, he visited every monastery in his juris diction, and at tbo end of the round seven abbutts aud four priors bad boon turned out nf their tat places, and bettor men set In their room. That was a labor of Hercules. Bishop Robert had bis greatest trouble with his Catbedral. Tbe common idea tbat a Cathe dral is tho bishop's church is a mistake, in .England. The bishop has the right. Indeed, to seat himself in a certain chair in the Cathe dral chanceL Bnttbls is pretty nearly the be ginning aud the end of ills particular authority. Tbe great man of tbe Cathedral is tbe dean. That did not accord, however, with tbe opinion of Robert Grosseteste. He was determined to havo his anthority respected in every comer of bis big diocese, be ginning at this big church on the hill. Tbat was the beginning of a fight "In I will come," said the bisbop. "Never," answered tbe dean. One lay tbe bishop did come, but found nobody at borne. Not a priest nor chorister kcDt his place. Finally tbe Pope interfering, the bishop got bis way. Yin Appeal to the Stones. TTwasin the midst of this struggle that a queer thing happened. The precentor ot the Cathedral was one day preaching a sermon tbe subject ot which was the bisbop himself. And after calling the bishop all tbe hard names be could think of, be exclaimed, "If we were to held our peace the very stones would cry out against blm!" Whereat the stones began indeed to uttor a low grumble; tbere was a rumble and a crackandacrath and down came the great central tawer upon the heads of tbe congrega tion. That was not an unfreqnent accident In tbe history of mediaeval cathedrals. The am bitions mediaeval builders paid but a passing attention to foundations. So tbe tower fell, and when tbey built it up again into its present shape, they turned disaster into benediction by making it tbe glory and the delight of tbe Cathedral, tbe finest gothic tower in England. Thus tbe Catbedral chnrch of Lincoln got its finishing touches, and Englishmen have chiefly occupied themselves since then with breaking down its altars and backing at its pillars and destructively "restoring" it afterwards; and so fitting it to be what It is a history in stone of tbe ups and downs, tbe vagaries and devotions, the simplicities and extravagancies ol English piety. They have a bishop tbere to-day wbo desires to restore some of the old beauties of tbe place and tbe service, and everybody is after blm, the Archbishop of Canterbury lead ing the pursuit But there is no real contra diction between truth and beauty. We will all learn tbat one of tbese days. G. II. A HEW OCCUPATION FOE STUDENTS. Tho Boston Gas Company Employs School Boys to Read Meters. Boston, Dec. 21. The Boston Gas Light Company bas adopted a. new plan for taking tbe meters and for making out tbe bills. Last October the company began employing students to go around and take the statements of the meters at the close of each month and to deliver the Dills the following week. It was a new move in Boston, though tbe experiment bad been tried in Chicago a year or two ago, and has been working successfully ever since. The idea originated with the company, and not with tbe stndents. because wben men were hired they had to be taken into regular employment Since it takes only about five days to take the meters and two to deliver the bills, tbe idea was to get persons wbo could work for that period for ordinary day's wages (52). and whom it would not be necessary to employ after tbat special work was done. The only persons tbat seemed available were college and high-school stndents. Accordingly the advertisement was pub lished, and applications came in fast, so tbat tbere has already for some time been a con siderable waiting list The young men are from various, institutions tbe Eagiish High School, Somerville High School, tho commer cial schools. Boston University and Harvard. The stndents at the Institute of Technology cannot come in for tbeir share of the employ, ment since they cannot miss lectures, and dur ing the monthly period for reading the metars the employes must woik all day, just as wage earners. AN AUCTION OF D0IXS. Many Celebrated Ladles Unite In a Pretty Littlo Scheme, New York. Dec. 21. The doll show in tbe Judgo building is abont over. To-morrow tbere will be an auction sale of dolls dressed by a numbe. of well-known actresses, and by Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Cleveland, Mrs. Morton and others. The following men have con sented to act as auctioneers: Chauncey M. Depew, Marshall P. Wilder, Joseph Polk, Lewis Harrison, William H. Crane, Neil Bur gofs. Denman Thompson. J. Do Angelis, Rus sell B, Harrison, "Tony" Pastor and W. J. Arkell. The auction is to take place promptly at 2 o'clock. Saturday all the prizo dolls were placed upon a separate table. In the morning there was a large delegation of poor children present as tbe guests of the proprietors of Fiank Leslie's Il lustrated Newspaper. After inspecting the dolls the children were photographed on tbe steps of the building. Tbe rooms were filled dunng tbe afternoon and evening. Tbe phono graph on the second floor continues to attract large crowds. On tbe pretty stage in the main room the 20 young ladies from Boston gave one of tbe best programmes of tbe week. Airs. Percy and her associates were busy all day pointing out special dolls and directing tbe af fairs generally. A DEAF AND DUMB BOOSTER, A Strango Buffalo Freak Which a Showman Can Utilize. Buffalo, Dec 2L A gentleman living on the outskirts of tbe city near Black Rock owns a curiosity tbe liko of which Barnum never dreamed of. It is a deaf and dumb rooster a full-grown, brilliantly plumed, brown Leghorn chanticleer tbat bas lost his voice, can neither crow nor cluck, nor make any other audible sound with his vocal apparatus; does not wako up tbe neighborhood at 3 o'clock in the morn ing with an everlasting cook-a-doodle-doo; does not give an alarm of hawks every time a black cloud crosses the sun. but is still as much tho lord of tbe chicken park as ever. He bas not always been thus. Up to the time he was eight months old be was as noisy as any young rooster need be. Then be got bis bead caught in a barbed wire fence in snch a way as to mangle his neck and probably tear out tbe vocal chords. Losing the power to make sonnds.be evidently forgot how to hear tbem. At least now, attbe age of three years, he gives no evidence of bearing. Bat he makes his eves answer for ears and voice, too. If anyone wanted proof that be was really deaf and dumb those eyes would be convincing. There is noth ing he does not see. The Late Unlamented S. BoIL From the l'awtucket Telegram. 1 No one mourns for Sitting Bull. A sigb, and "let him R. L P," is all that is vouchsafed. It is well tbat tbe country is well rid of the old mischief maker, no doubt, but it is well also that the country rest under no suspicion of ex pediting bis demise. Lone Star Lonesoineness. From tbe Chicago Tribune. There were 1,651 Prohibition votes cast in Texas last month. Tbe figures show tbat there is an average of about ono Prohibition voter for every 103 square miles of Texas land. A Prohibitionist must be a lonesome man down there. Tho Jayhawker Senators. From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. It wonld be much better for Kansas if Sen ator Plunib instead cf Senator Ingalls were seeking a re-election, as In tbat case sbe would be sure of keeping both of them in her service. Jndged From Present Appearances. From the Louisville Courier-Journal. Tbo weather prophets are still predicting a severe winter. As this is the third year In which tbey have predicted severe winters, no doubt they are right this time. Raw Material Duty Free. From tbe Chicago News. English dudes and titled cads are very prop erly admitted duty free a3 raw material. UNDER THE MISTLETOE. They told me a kiss Is not amiss; Under the mistletoe; So during tbe dance On Christmas Eve, I awaited a chance To bring Genevieve Under tbe mistletoe. But alas and alack ! While waltzlnir bact, (With another girl, you know), IsawGenivieve And a cavalier Osculate '.Neath the chandelier Confound the mistletoe I Bo durlnz the whirl With the other girt I came to the mistletoe: I kissed her fair And she hung her head. While Genevieve Blnshed angry red. Ignoring tbe mistletoe. I tried next day To explain away lln-aiTalror tt.cmlslletoo; She'd not have It so. And bade me go ' I might be her brother. Welt I wedded the other. . a - .a mAArl Tin TnltltlA IASU -.;....-. .- ,.. vb. r-11. 0. Hard in Cincinnati Post. CURIOUS CONDENSATIONS. An Atchison woman made 70 pumpki pies one day last week. A Japanese novel written by Euoyt Bakin consists of 106 volumes. Three thousand dogs were drowned lr tbe Detroit police during the year. An Atchison drygoods house sold $ worth of pocket handkerchiefs to one woma one day this week. An electric railwav has recently bee opened In Switzerland which ascends the pea of Roucbberg at an angle of TO degrees. Michigan farmers are raising thei mortgages this year by tbe extraordinary crop of potatoes and tbe excellent prices they ar receiving for them. The government of Siam is vested in: duarchy, bnt practically it is a monarchy Tbere Is a second or vice king, but the first o senior king is the real ruler. The Paris Gas Company is said tob the first of the important European gas com Sanies tbat shows a visible decline distinct. ue to the increase of electric lighting. There has been an enormous increase ii the value of land in Berlin. For a piece o property in tho suburbs, which was sold fo S4S0 SO years ago, S130.000 is now demanded. Chicago bas annexed and absorbed untf one can go out and shoot wild turkeys insldt her city limits, and sbe has sufficient pasturi range to feed 10,000 Texas steers all summer. A scholarship of $200 is offered by tht Vassar Students' Aid Society, for astuden wbo passes all the requirements for admissioi to the Freshman class at the examination to b( heldnJune, 1S91. It is proposed using tbe Eiffel Tower tt exhibit tbo rotation ot the earth by tbe Foncault method. The pendulum Is a bronzr wire 33Q feet long, with a steel globe at the end weighing 198 pounds. The Turtle clan of the Iroquois claim tc have descended from a fat tnrtle. which, burdened by tbe weight of Its shell in walking, contrived by gr- exertions to throw it off and thereafter gradually developed into a man. The Catholic magistrates of Ghent have recognized tbe Salvation Army as a sect and have fined a number of persons wbo were brongbt before tbem. charged with having created a disturbance at meetings beld by the army. A rapid penman can write 30 words in a minute. To do this he must draw his quill through tbe space of a rod 16 feet In 40 minutes hii pen travels a furlong, and m five hours and a third a mile. In every tobacco factory at Key West tbere is a "reader." Cubans and Spaniards cannot talk without gesticulation. In order to keen them from talking and dropping their work in order to nse the hands, a person is hired to read aloud during working hours. A horse at Flint, Micb., tried to make a short cut and go across a railroad bridge. About half way acros3 be slipped a cog and bis front feet fell between tbe ties. A nassenger train was obliged to wait about half an hour while tbe horse was being taken off. A special train of three cars arrived in the Union Pacific depot at Walla Walla, Wash., last week with a ghastly cargo, consisting of tbe entire contents of tbe military graveyard at Fort Lapwal. Idaho. Tbere were unward of 60 caskets, nearly all receptacles of soldiers' bones. A popular error is to suppose that fungi are eatable and toadstools poisonous: tbere is no snch line of demarkation. nor. str'ctly speak ing, has tbe word "toadstool" any precise meaning. Very many fungi are eatable, the number of poisonous varieties being exagger ated. A wealthy Canadian is traveling about the country with a mission. Tbat mission is to save shoe leather to tho world. He insists that if everybody wonld cover three inches more at every step tbe saving in boot-, and sboes in America alone would be $27,000,000 per year. A man in Jackson county, Ore., ha3 been plowing this fall with a steam engine and bas found tbat it works quite successfully. He pulls eight plows with bis engine and turns over tbe soil at tbe rate of IS acres per da v. The cost of running the outfit is not over $5 per day. A Greenville, Mich., woman missed one of her turkey bens and supposed it was dead until she saw ber coming in from tbe road with Is little ones. The- mercury was swinging around close to zero, hot tbs old ben real bed it was near tbe holidays and the hatch ing went on just the same. One of the results of the late Pan American Congress has been tbe establishment in the State Department of a "Bureau of tbe American Republics." whose principal object is tbe dissemination of useful information con cerning the commercial conditions and advan tages of tbe several American republics. The French postal administration has just Introduced a convenient plan for enabling people In remoto villages to send a telegram, although tbere is no office in the place. All such village aro to be connected to the nearest telegraph office bv telephone; so that tho mes sage can be spoken to the telegraph office where It is dispatched. There is now lying; at the De Lamar office, says the Silver City (Idaho) Avalanche. a silver nntrget which will be seen by a good many million people two years from now. for it is proposed to place it in the Idaho exhibit at tbe World's Fair. It is a chunk of silver glance with mases of ruby silver running through lr, and weighs SCO pounds. In the first six years of the "forties" co other American city could compare in gayety, or In the bravery and show of wealth, with the City of Mexico, which wa far more important than ever Pans was to France or London to England. It was not only tbe seat of Govern ment the residence of foreign representatives and the largest city: it was in manv senses tho only one. A "common drunk" was run in by the Kansas City police the other day. Shortly after his release be rushed into tbe station de manding to know what was done with the Sl.cOO in gold be bad In bis pockets wben be was arrested, since that amount ot the precious metal woitd weigh abont eight pounds, the justice doubted the ability of bis pocket to carry tbat amount Oscar Trigg, former Superintendent of tbe Madison (Ind.) Poor Asylum, has a block of wood a pieco of a beech limb in the heart of which tbo growth shows a perfect likeness nf a woman, dressed in tho style of three or four years ago, tbe skirts flounced, tucked, gathered and pinned back and tbo arms carried a la kangaroo. It Is a wonderful freak ot wood growth, unaided by art in tbe least At the last election Indians on the res ervation in Isabella county, Micb.. wero about evenly divided, half Republicans, halt Demo- -crats. Political aspirations with them are con fined to the lower steps only. They become justices ot the peace, township treasurers, con stables and school officers, but no red man bas ever received the honor of a county office. The white man takes caro of that because it Is fat A minister at Sault St-. Marie, Mien., left his pulpit in disgust tbe other evening. Suddenly stopping in the midst of a sermon, he said: "Tbere is flirting, talkrag, note w riting, gum-chewing and visiting going on here, and 1 will stop until you get tbrougb." He waited 15 minutes, and the festivities in creased instead of diminished. He then told tbe janitor to lock up the temple, and the audience went out tickled to death. THE GHOST DANCE OF WITS. He went o'er his speech Some two hours after, And pnt in parentheses (Heart) (Cheers) and (Laughter). Puei. The Youth's Companion Tbe ballet dancer so gay. Cincinnati Ttmes-Star. The tramps are about to petition the Kansas Kallroad Commissioners to require ties to belaid uniformly so tbat a man will not have to take a long step and a short step when he goes from dace to place. It's wearing on the nerves as well as the legs. Topeka Journal. Bjinks Have you ever seen anything like Mrs. Lowcutte's dress since vou were born? BJones Well er not since 1 was weaned. -Veto lor Dramatic llirror. "Ow-wowl" shrieked the man with a hammer. "I've hit my own nail." What a fuss to make over a small matter!" ex claimed the lath. "Here yon have been pounding my nails all day and I haven't made a com plaint." Chicago limes. Dam Pedro's throne brought S100 at auc tion. Should Speaker Reed's chair be sold In the snrlnc It will go considerably below those nsurej. S'. Lout Courier-Journal. Mrs. Pancake (to tramp) What do yoaT do when vou're worklnz? ' 1 Tramp I'm a canvasser. Mrs. Pancake What do vou canvass for? Tramp (eloping with the luncheon)-My UvlaVj aaa.-Xa( Wfllngi, i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers