RATES OF ADVERTISING.
On fqnare, on Inch, on tneerttoa. 1 1 00
On Square, one Inch, on month 00
One Square, one Inch, thr month 0 00
On Square, one Inch, on year 1" 00
Two Sqnan a, on jear 15 m
(Vnartcr Column, on year 00
Halt Column, on year M "0
On Colamn, on year '" 00
Ucal adrertlitenients ten cents pr line etch in
aertion.
Marriage tnd death notice gratl.
All bill for yearly advertisement collected qnar
lerly. Temiorary adrertlremenu muat b pa In
advance.
Job work cuh on dllTry.
THE FOREST REPUBLICAN
li pnbllihcfl ti j Waitnctriay, by
J. E. WENK.
OIHo la Bmearbaugh A Co.'i Bundiiig
KLM SntEKT, TIONESTA, fa.
Forest republican.
Terms, . . tl. BO per Year.
No inlwrriptloni received for a ihortor period
than Ihrc months.
Oorraapondenc solicited from all part of the
country. No nolle will b Uka of anonmom
niuunlcatlon.
VOL. XX. NO. 2G. TIONESTA, PA., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1887. $1.50 PER ANNUM.
The United States Signal Service now
embraces 182 stations, from which re
ports arc made dnily, and employs about
400 men, exclusive of ft couple of litta
drcd clerks In Washington.
It is stated that in ten years ten mill
ion acres of forest liavo been destroyed
by flro in tho United States. In tho
South it is common to burn off tlio tim
ber so that tho lands may grow better
pasture.
According to tho United States Postal
laws and tho United States Ho vised
Statutes, a husband or wife cannot open
one another's letters, and may bo proso
cuted under Section 8,803 of the Re
vised Statutes for so deling.
Tho various computations of the
amount spent yearly in this country on
liquor are very curious. One speaker at
a temperance meeting at Brockton, Mass.
asserted that from the sum spent every
year on liquor 1,000 1 gold pices might
be put ou each word in the bible, and
that even then thero would be $5(1,000 to
sparo.
Washington is the best shaded city in
the world. At present thero are 03,000
shade trees in its streets, most of them in
flourishing condition. Of this number
23,803 are soft or whito maples, 833
sugar and black or southern maples,
2,78(1 Norway maples, 804 scarlet or red,
422 sycamores, 4,0-13 ash-leaved maples,
5,121 American lindens, 7,050 Carolina
poplars, 5,305 American elms, European
elms and mixed elms, 4,579 sycamores,
or butto wood, oud European plane trees,
etc.
A farmer near Hudson, Mich, got his
V.wifo to help him lower his mowing ma
rhino from the barn loft, where it had
been stored. He fastened a rope to it,
and passing it over a pulley asked his
wife to hold the end until he descended.
She had just then taken a hitch with the
rope around her waist, when the mower
crashed down to the floor, and simul
taneously sho shot up where tho mud
wasps do their nest hiding. There has
been only ono subject of conversation in
that family since, and Bhe has done all
the talking.
The sword recently presented to Gen
eral Milca by tho people of Arizona is
said to be, with one possible exception,
the finest gift of tho kind ever received
bv an officer of our arm v. The hilt is of
white shark skin and gold, and is set
with a huge amethyst. It is ornamented
also with an engraved portrait of Chief
Natchez. The scabbard, which is of gold,
bears on one side -a portrait of Geronimo,
and a scries of pictures of warfare on the
frontier. On the other side is the in
scription of presentation. The Spanish
blade is o perfectly tempered that its
point can be made, by bending, almost
to touch the hilt. The cost is kept secret,
but is supposed to bo not lest than
10,000.
Within tho past three years four cases
that h ive excited national interest have
been tried in Chicago, and in each case
the jury has brought in a verdict which
has accorded with tho evidence and
public opinion. The juries are known
as the "Joe" Mackin jury, tho Anarch
ist jury, tho McGarigle jury and tho
"boodle"' commissioners' jury. A con
viction has been secured iu every case.
Tho results aro that Mackin, tried for
altering election returns, is in prison,
the anarchUts are awaiting the decision
ef the court on an application for a new
trial, McGarigle has escaped to Canada,
and the "boodle" commissioners have
cither paid their fines or are awaiting
tho issue of an appeal to a higher court.
Statistics aro not ulways amusing, but
often suggestive, and those of the Dead
Letter Office are depressing: 4,500,000
letters were last year sent to tho Dead
Letter Olllre for various reasons, of which
8,500,000 were unclaimed letters, 112,
C50 were returned from hotels, 314,700
wero misdirected, 133,1100 were held for
unpaid postage, 11,134 were without
address. Of these 4,044,845 were opened.
1,518,825 wero returned to writers, and
2, 550, 000 wero destroyed. Of the above
letters 17,385 contained money j 20,260,
drafts; 34,400, receipts, paid notes, etc.,
and 85,000 contained postage stamps.
Must of these are sent by occasional let
ter writers, who find the writing and
mailing an irksome duty; and the loss
of a letter to them is more annoying
than the loss of a letter to a business
house.
The United States Treasury agent in
charge of the Alaskan seal islands reports
that the British marauders, during the
last season, have taken 50,000 skins on
the islands belonging to the United
States. The seals are killed not in the
waters within the disputed jurisdiction,
but on the islands. The British case is
made up on tho theory that the offences
against the statutes of the United States
are committed within the waters which
are claimed to be part of tho high scus.
The fact seems to bo that the British ves
sels land their crews on the islands and
kill the seals during tho breeding season.
The ofleuso has a far larger importance,
therefore, than is involved in an occa
sional infraction of the rights of this
country. If the British position is
agreed to, the result must be the exter
mination of the seals.
ONE GOOD LIFE.
A sunbeam piercing the forbidden shade
Of some drear prision cell has often brought
Quint to troubled spirits, and has mado
Dark, morlild brooding change to peaceful
thought.
Bo one good life will prove a guiding light.
To brighten paths weak mortals oft find
drear
A beacon in the narrow way of right
To lure th fallen to a higher sphere.
The American.
THE CASKET'S KEY.
IIY J.IXY It. HOUFER.
When Chester Seabook,young, wealthy,
intelligent, and ambit ions of literary fame,
weut to Italy to collect materials and to
consult authorities before beginning his
firojected tragedy of "Cirsar Borgia," his
ricods and relatives in New York were
f5r from anticipating tho actual results
of his researches. These had brought
aooui ins acquaintance with a certain
Dr. Alexander Marini, an aged physician
of Milan, who claimed descent from one
of the collateral brandies of the Borgia
family. This old doctor's grand-daughter,
Lucreia Marini, was wonderfully beauti
ful, an Italian blonde, glowing with
tho freshness of extreme youth, being
then hardly seventeen, and with all the
lustre of a loveliness which, as her
grandfather declared, revived and repro
duced tho charms of her of tho same
name who was the famous bi ido of Duke
Alfonso of Ferrara. The tragedy re
mained unwritten, and Chester Seabrook
took to wife this dazzling creature. If,
wedding in haste, he afterwards repented
at leisure, the outside world was des
tined never to know. His married life
lusted a little over ono year. His brill
iant Italian wife died iu giving birth to
a son, and the young v. idower returned
to his nativo land with his littlo child,
possibly a wiser man, but certainly a
sadder one. It was an ominous fact that
i t i . , ... .
ue never rcicrrcii to ins wile in any way,
nor to the experiences of his few mouths
of matrimony. A miniature, painted on
ivory and reproducing the glowing yet
delicate beauty of the fair Lucre.ia, was
all that remained to him of that episode
in his life. That, and the boy, who had
received the name of Louis, and who
boro well his transfer to the United
States, growing and thriving as though
ho had been bom under the shadow of
tho Stars and Stripes.
When Louis was a little over twelve
years of age his father died suddenly of
typhoid pneumonia. He had one only
sister, Mrs. Richard Marsden, and to her
aud her husband he bequeathed the
guardianship of his son and Hint son's
large fortune. It was a liealthy-natured
ml happy family in which the boy grew
to manhood. Mrs. M:irsilnn. tlir.. anna
were all o'der than Louis, and did not. it
is true, take very kindly to their cousin
But her only daughter, little Grace was'
some years his junior, nnd, us is often
tho case in such Instances with in
telligent, precocious little gills, she de
veloped a great fancy for her moody boy
cousin regularly took him under her pro
tection. The poor boy needed all the affection
that could possibly be bestowed upon
him. He was never strong, and his dis
position was gloomy and morbid to a de
grco that was extraordinary iu one that
was to so great a degree a favorite of for
tune. He was shy and silent to a painful
extent, nnd, despite his Italian origin,
ho developed no taste for either art or
music. He decided early in life to be
come a physician, but, after studying
medicine for some few years in a desultory,
languid way, devoting the chief part of
his time to investigations concerning the
nature nnd properties of poisons, he sud
deuly announced that, on attaining his
majority, he had made up his mind to re
linquish all idea of studying n profession.
And he likewise astonished Mr. and Mrs.
Marsden by making formal proposal for
the hand of Grace.
Theso proposals were negatived nt
once, and decidedly, by Mr. Marsden.
"You are both of you too young to
think of such a thing as marriage, or
even of an engagement, Louis," bis
undo made answer. "You are only just
twenty-one, and Graco is but a" few
weeks over sixteen. Moreover, I have
decided objections to the marriage of
first cousins."
"You do not know to what you doom
me, uncle," was the gloomy response of
the young man. "Graco is all that I
have to live for upon earth, and if 1 lose
her " -
"Now, do not talk nonsense, Louis,"
responded Richard Marsden, briskly, but
not unkindly. "Grace is too much of a
child to be allowed to listen to your
proffers of affection. She cares no more
for you than she do -s for Ned, or Harry,
or Frank. You aro like a brother to her
nothing more and I do not mean to
havo her mind disturbed by anvtliin" 1
i:i. l I.:.. - i . .: i ' J . ..?
una luvu-iiiaKiu. jcsiucs, you uavo
seen nothing of the world, as you should
do before choosing a wife and settling
down to matrimony and quietude, (io
abroad speud tho next two years iu
European travel, and then "'"
"And then you w ill jiiveGrace to me;"
eagerly asked the youth, his p;ile face
flushing and his dark eyes glowing as he
spoke.
"1 make no promise; I will enter into
no compact with you on that subject.
Y'ou and Grace u-ust both bo entirely
free, and if either of you should fall iu
love with some one else "
"I cannot admit the existence of such
a possibility as far as I am concerned,"
Louis made answer, passionately.
"Nevertheless such things ure possible,
and havo often occurred, especially
where two such childreu as you both art
were concerned. Now let mo hear noth
ing more on this subjei t. 1 shall send
Grace to slay with her mint, Mrs.
Eluvyn, in Washington, until you are
gone, and I shall feel seriously displeased
with you if you broach to her any sub-
i'ect connected with love and matrimony
icfore her departure."
And ao well and carefully did Mrs.
Marsden (w ho was at once acquainted by
her husband with all the details of the
affair) watch over her daughter, that
Grace wert away for her visit wholly un
conscious of the conquest she hail male
of her cousin's affect ions. She was, to
tell the truth, so delighted at the idea of
a journey to Washington, of a sojourn
with her favorite aunt (whose daughter
Alice was about her own age), and of
alt the things she meant to see and do,
that she lost sight of the fa' t that Cousin
Leuis wns going to sail for Europe in a
few weeks, and that she would not see
him ng.iin for a long, long time. In fact,
tho peculiarly morbid disposition of the
young man had finally become repellent
to her bright nature, and though she was
always affectionate and kind to him, she
felt, unconsciously, a certain degree of
relief in the thought of his absence.
"You must not forget me Grace," ho
said, fervently, at the moment of her de
parture. And the young girl answered,
gnyly: "No fear of that, Louis. Even
if you never write to any of us, I shall
always remember you. For you arc my
cousin, you know just the same to me
as one of my brothers."
Louis was about to utter some protesta
tion respecting this announcement on
Grace's part; but a significant touch on
Ins shoulder from the hand of Air. ..Mars
dcn recalled that gentleman's stern pro
hibitions, nnd he contented himself with
kissing with fervor the little hand that
Grace frankly placed within his own,
unheeding the fresh young face that was
helil up to him for a parting salute.
"How odd you are, Louis, not to kiss
me good-bye !"' sho cried, gayly, as she
sprang into the carriage; "remcmber.you
must write your first letter from Home to
me. And be sure you tell mo what you
think about St. Peter's and the Colosse
um. I wish I were going with you to
seo them all."
"If you only were "muttered Louis, as
the carriage drove away. "There goes
my guardian angel, anil I must go forth
alone to meet the demon."
A few weeks later Louis Seabrook
sailed from New Y'ork for Europe. Ho
did not fail to write to Grace more than
one impassioned love-letter shortly after
his arrival ; but the child, perplexed, un
symputhi.ing, and half provoked with
what she called "Cousin Louis's fool
ishness," made no response to
his fervent protestations. Louis took
the hint, and the correspondence there
after was conducted on a more tranquil
footing. To tin's change a sharp reproof
from Mr. Marsden, and a treat of forbid
ding altogether any interchange of let
ters, probably contributed largely. The
traveler wrote but seldom, but he often
sent tokens of regard and remembrance
to his uncle's family, aud especially to
Grace One of these was a line copy of
the celebrated portrait of Ciesar Borgia,
by Haphael, which is one of the noted art-
treasures of the Borghese Palace. And
in the strangely beautiful face, with the
evil tendencies of tho inner nature look
ing from the large eyes and curving the
tu'l red lips, Mrs. Marsden recog
nized with a shudder a strong re
semblance to the countenance of her
nephew. Indeed, ho alluded to the
likeness of himself in one of the infre
quent letters received from him during
his sojourn in Home. "I must be a true
descendant of the Borgias," he wrote,
"for my likeness to the Raphael portrait
i has been commented upon even by total
strangers, and wncn i went to see my
great-grandfather, Dr. Marini, when I
passed through Milan, the other day, his
iirst exclamation on beholding me was,
'You arc like your mother's race.' By-the-way,
what a wonderful old man he is!
1 have promised to pay him a long visit
on my way back to Paris, and he tells me
that he will then confine to my keeping
sundry family relics of great importance.
I confess that I am very curious to see
Iii in. He is nearly ninety years old now,
but preserves all his faculties unim
paired" A few months later Louis wrote that
the promised visit had been paid,
nnd that Dr. Marini had placed iu his
hands some curious and antique objects,
several of which had at one time be
longed to tho famous family of Pope
Alexander Borgia. "Amongst these," he
wrote, "is an ivory casket of exqusite and
arti tic workmanship, it possess certain
singular properties which I shall describe
when we meet." Next camo the news
ot the death of the old doctor, who had
seemed to have lived thus long for the
express purpose of bestowing his cher
ished heirlooms on his great-grandson
nnd sole direct descendant.
The two years that had been fixed as
the period of young Seabrook's absence
had nearly come to an cud, and he had
already written to announce the dute ut
which ho would sail for home, when he
received from Mis. Marsden tho news of
Grace's engagement to a young and
talented lawyer, Stuart Hastings by
name. The match was one that was
satisfactory in every way to Mr. and Mis.
Marsden, and, to do them justice, they
had both looked upon the attachmeut of
Louis for his cousiu as a mere boyish
passion that had not survived the tests
of time and absence. This letter received
no response, but Louiswrote a few hurried
liues to Grace, declaring his intention of
being present at her marriage. "And to
prove to my pretty cousin that 'I bear her
no malice for the way that she has trilled
with my affections," he wrote :"I will
bring her a wedding present such as few
brides iu this nineteenth century have
ever secu.
But it was not till the day before that
fixed for the ceremony that Louis made
his appearance at the house of his aunt.
lie reeuved a warm welcome from Mrs.
Marsden, who had always looked upon
him as one of her own children.
"You have grown tall and manly,
Louis," she said, lifter tho first greetings
were at an end, "but you look wild,
haggard and feverish. Are you suffer
ing from malaria? You must not fall ill
ou the very day of your return the eve
of (trace's wedding day. Your playmate
of bygone days would feel sorely grieved
if you were not to be present to-morrow."
"Ah, yes where is Grace? I had for
L'olten Grace!" the young uiun responded.
hurriedly. "I want to see her I have
i ,. r. ,
my weutung-giii rcauy ior ner, ana l
want to present it to her myself."
"Go into the library, then, and I will
send her to you in a moment. She is just
having her wedding-dress tried on for tho
la-t time, and I will tell her not take it
off, for 1 want you to see how charmingly
she looks in it."
And with a nod and a smile, Mrs.
Marsden disappeared.
Some ten minutes later the door of the
library, where Louis was pacing the floor
impatiently, was slowly opened, and ihe
bride-elect, graceful and charming iu her
vesture of snowy satin, with a mieu of
grave sweet muidenliucss, advanced w ith
outstretched bauds to meet the newly
returned wanderer. He gazed upon her
for a moment w ith a lowering brow and
a bitter smile.
"So it is thus that I find you, woman
that I loved," lie said between his tcath,
"on the eve of your marriage, all radiant
and smiling in your bridal finery!"
"Cousin Cousin Louis I" stammered
the young girl, amazed nnd half alarmed
at Seabrookc's demeanor.
"Oh, you need not be afraid I have
not come to overwhelm you with re
proaches or tell you all tho ill that you
have wrought, my Cousin Grace. I have
brought you a present from beyond the
seas. Take it, and with it such blessings
from me as you and youi kinsfolk richly
deserve."
So saying, he turned toward the table,
and brought forward to tho light an
ivory casket that stood there, still half
shrouded in its wrappings. Divested of
these, it showed in tho sunset light as a
marvel of artistic beauty. In hiidi re
lief upon the lid was carved the meeting
of Bacchus and Ariadne, and the sides
were adorned with a representation of
the bridal procession of the god, wherein
bacchantes nnd satyrs, nymphs and
fauns, and cupids nnd panthers, were all
mingled in graceful confusion. The
mountings of the casket were in antique
silver, and on a shield just above the
lock were engraved tho intertwined in
itials "C. B.,"snd below these a "V."
surmounted with a ducal coronet, the in
signia of "Casar Borgia, Duke of Yalon
tinois." It was a gift worthy to be
offered by an cunmored monarch to his
future Queen.
Grace drew near nnd gazed with breath
less delight ut the exiiuisite workman
ship of tho ivory carvings. Meantime
Louis took from his pocketbook an an
tique key in darkened Bilver. This, too,
was a veritable work of art. The tube
was held iu the upraised bauds of a mer
maid, whose curved fish-tail formed tho
handle of the key. I his handle on its
outer edge was bordered with small,
scarcely perceptible points, or spines.
which would be apt to wound the hand
of any one trying to open tho lock and
not warned to take due precautions. This
key Louis carefully fitted into the lock of
the casket.
"Open it open it, Grace!" he cried
with feverish eagerness. "Within you
will find inclosed a necklace of the
choicest pearls to be found in all Paris.
Open it open it, and tell me what you
think of my wedding presents."
But without touching the key the girl
glided forward, nnd, resting her clasped
hands ou the lid of the casxet, sue
looked into the dark, troubled depths
of her cousin s eyes with a tender serious
ness in her glance that caused hi in to
turn pule unit to look aside.
Dear Cousin Louis," she said, "you
have brought me a magnificent gift, but
do not think me exacting or ungrateful
if I ask you for something more, lou
know I am going out to morrow to a
new life, and 1 want to take with me all
the kindly thoughts and affection of
those who loved mo when I was a little
child. You feel bitterly towards us all,
I know, because I could not love you
better thau 1 have done just ns I have
loved my brothers. It will cast a shadow-
on the brightness of my wedding-day
if I think you are still displeased with
my parents, and still feel unkindly
towards me. Dear Cousin Louis my
brother Louis in memory of our old
pleasant days together, will you not
grant me my request? Take back your
lovely casket and your necklace of pearls,
and give me instead your frank brotherly
affection once more."
He fixed his dark, burning eyes on the
soft blue ones raised so pleadingly to his
own.
"So you will not open the casket,
Grace?" he said, hoarsely.
"Not till you promise. to grant me my
request. Ah, Louis, have you forgotten
all those days when we were children to
gether, and little cousin Grace used to
pet vou, and watch over vou, and keep
her boisterous brothers from teasing you?
l ou were always very dear to mo, Louis
be my dear brother once again and al
ways." Still gazing fixedly upon her, he drew
the casket towards him, unlocked it,
threw back the lid, and withdrew the
key. Ho held up his hand with its open
palm turned towards Grace as he did so,
and tho astonished girl could see upon it
one or tw o minute drops of blood caused
by the punctures of the points on the
hundle of the key.
"Take your casket and your pearls,
Grace, and with them my full forgive
ness. Y'ou do not know what good
service I have dono you to-day. I have
swept from your path a bitter and
dangerous foe. l)id you ever read
Victor. Hugo's 'Esmeralda?' There are
four lines in an old translation of that
poem which are now ringing in my brain :
" 'Mine be th tomWuud thine be light and
life.
I die, and Fate avejiges thne. Tis well.
I go. Oh angel of my; life, to learn
If Heav'n is sweetias were thy love. Fare
well.'" So saying, he took Grace's head in
both his bauds, kissed her tenderly ou
the forehead, aud departed.
A week later tho community was elee
tr'.ticd by tho news of the sudden death
of voung Louis Seabrook, whosuccumbed
- Ti i - i j-
io a rapiu ami mysiunous mautiiy a icw
days after the marriage of Miss Marsden.
The disease which proved so speedily
fatal batlled all the scicnoeand conjectures
of the physicians (tilled in to utteud him.
They agreed that his symptoms closely
resembled those produced by the bite of
a serpent, aud finally decided that the
patient had fallen a victim to some acute
und mysterious form of blood-poisoning.
It was only Richard Marsden who
leurned the truth, anil that was after the
death of Louis Seabrook. Amongst the
papers of the deceased wasj found a letter
j addressed to his uncle. It set forth iu
I rambling, incoherent fashion these facts:
I brought the casket of Casar Borgia as
: a preaeut to Graco,"
h il a. . 1 L ...1.1 .
ho wrote, "intend
ing that she should not long survive her
I marriage. The little points that stud the
handle of the silver key, and that are ar
ranged so as to puncture the hand of any
one who tries, unwarned, to open the
! casket, contain a deadly venom. But,
once brought face to face with my fair
I and gentle cousiu, I could not find it in
my heart to carry out my purpose. Two
natures have striven for supremacy in my
soul. The one isthecruel serient-cuniiiiig
infuse 1 there by the Borgia blood of my
I maternal ancestors. The other is the
' frank kindliness of my American father.
, What if the tirst-Uttined clement should
once again win the upper hand, as it did
when I planned I. race a bridal gittf 1
have deliberately tested on myself the
death-dealing properties of the poisoned
key. I have destroyed it. Never again
will it work barm ou any human being.
Aud never again shall I. I would not
live to deal with fresh temptation, -per- j
haps to succumb to them. The legacy ot i
my great-grandfather has wrought evil
for no one not even for myself. I go
" 'To where, beyond these voices, there is
peace.' "
Frank Leslie').
How An Earl Coins Money.
Warwick Castle, which is one of the
great federal castles of England, affords
a very handsome revenue to its present
occupant, the Earl of Warwick, through
shilling admissions being charged to view
all except the private living apartments.
The present Earl, writes a correspondent
of tho New Y'ork World, is a poor man
for ono in his position. He has been
obliged to live quietly and husband his
resources to do his best to free this
property from the debts upon it when it
came to him. The estate was loaded
with mortgages when he received it.
His oldest son, Lord Brooke, married a
few years ago one of the great heiresses
of England. Looking back over the his
tory of this family, I find that nearly all
of its financial successes have coma
through the marriage of a rich young
woman. Ibis heiress who married Lord
Brooke is a spirited young ludy who re
fused the hand of Prince Leopold when
it was tendered her a few years ago. Up
to within a few years there was no ad
mission fee charged nt Warwick Castle.
Then the butler and the housekeeper
were permitted to show people through
at certain hours of the day, and they
wero permitted to pocket tho fees paid
them. The result was that these two
people accumulated a great fortune dur
ing their 20 years' service, and have now
set up as magnates of county kitchen
circles. The present Earl now takes th s
revenue to himself. One of the peculiari
ties of this business is that the tickets of
admission are not sold on the castle
grounds. There is a strange avoidance
of any apparent connection upon the part
of the castle with the financial features
of this transaction. At the porter's lodge
you are told that tickets can be bought
at the little humble house in the fendul
row, under the foftv battlements of this
most aristocratic abode of one of the
greatest peers of the realm. Y'ou visit
this house and there your money is taken
through a little wicket, and in exchnnge
you are given a ticket which entitles
you to be shown through the castle.
Commissionaires are on duty there, and
they display the treasures and the
beauties of the place with the same
business-like method and manner ol
people in charge of any of the show
places of London. The money deposited
by the visitor finds its way to a bank to
the Earl's credit, affording him at the
present time a clear not income of fully
f 15,000 a year."
The Age of Railroads.
Few people realize the extent nnd im
portance of the railroads in the United
States. We have grown so familiar with
vast railroad systems that we do not ap
preciate their magnitude. The building
of a new railroad now creates very little
comment. There are about 140,000 miles
of railroad in the United States. In all
the world outsjde there are less than
200,000 miles. We have over two-fifths
of the railroad mileage of the earth. In
the State of Georgia alone there are
several hundred more miles of railroads
than there are in the German Empire.
And this proportion is increasing, for
nowhere is railroad construction proceed
ing so rapidly as in the United States.
These facts indicate a great change in
the old conditions of comjnerce. Fifty
years ago an inland town of any consider
able size would have been an impossi
bility.
Population was thick at the ports
and grew sparse with the increasing dis-
iBiiv.c iiTcis ntui iiic era, jnufunus
are now the 'great channels of trade.
They make ports amid the mountains.
Railroads are bdilt right along the banks
of our great rtveis, and compete success
fully with water transportation. There
never was a time when railroad enterprise
wus bolder, or when railroad investments
were, on an average, more profitable. It
is impossible to set a limit to the possi
bilities of railroads in this country. At
lanta Constitution.
Buttons From Blood.
A retired member of "the finest" H
about to engage in a new, queer, odorif
erous but a paying business. Ho is going
to make ear-rings and buttons from
blood. "Near Chicago," said he, "there
is a factory that employs 100 people, who
make buttons from the waste animal
blood that conies from the abattoirs neui
by. Hirst, the man who introduced the
industry iu America, lost heavily at it io
the beginning, but is now immensely
wealthy. I have a son who worked in
tho Bridgeport factory and understand!
the business thoroughly, and I think
there's millions in it. Not only button!
are made of blood, but earrings, brooches,
belt clasps, combs and other little things
of the same cla-s. In England there art
lots of these factories. In the Bridge
port factories they use about 10,000 gal
Ions of blood per day. Only fresh bed
blood is used. Pigs' blood, it is be
lieved, would answer fully as well, but it
costs too much to collect it. During the
drying process much of the blood evap
orates, imt w hat remains is pure albumen.
Air York iliiil mid fijiret.
Stopped Just In Time.
The well-known horse traiuer, Profes
sor Gleason, says "whoa" is tho sacred
word of a horseman. It should never bt
used unless he wants his horse to stop,
and w hen it is used the horse should al
ways stop. Compliance with this rule
recently saved the life of a boy on a funu
not far from Albany. He was on a mow
ing machine, and accidentally fell in
front of the mower. As he fell he shouted
"whoa" to his horses and they stopped.
The rutting knife of the machine was
resting ou top of tho boy's foot when he
was taken up. Had the horses taken a
single step more the lad's foot would
have been mangled to pieces. AUnmy
Juuntal.
A Guarantee Against Itain.
Go, ltounie and quietly dress,
And wo nolo the fair will go;
Tli grand utfair is rich anil rare,
'Tit, said to Im the tlntst show.
Much to enjoy, lutu-hl to aimoy,
No fairer duy you'll hud;
The i.kh'S are clear, you ve miught to fear,
t'liibrvllaji we will leave iMloud.
From btoruu becure 1 teal o,uiu secure,
The reaou why 1 will expluin;
The heavens bright will rcct our stht,
' "ttUi weutlier prophets say twill ram
-oWlull'l Sum.
BOWSER'S INJURED ANKLE
IT IS THE CAUSE OV MUCH ANXI
ETY AND TROUBLE.
A Chapter in tho Domestic litre of
the Bowser's Graphically Recited
by Mrs. Bowser.
Five days ago Mr. Bowser was brought
homo with a sprained ankle. He got it
by a misstep off tho sidewalk. I had
tho doctor come up to look at the limb
to see that no bones were broken, and he
went away assuring Mr. Bowser that he
would be able to walkout in four or fve
days. He had scarcely gone when tho
patient asked mo in a pitiful voice if I
thought ho was going to die?
"Going to die, Mr. Bowser? Why,
what nonsense! What put that idea in
your head?"
"I have a presentiment. I I think I
ought to draw up my will."
"It's all folly. You've got nothing
but a simple sprain."
"Simple! 1 tell you this is a terrible
thing, and if I live two days it will be a
great wonder to me. The Bowser men
die hard, but they have to die as well
as other folks. Do I look like a man
struck with death?"
"Not a bit of it. I never saw you
look more healthy."
"Mrs. Bowser, don't you deceive mo!
Deceiving a dying husband is an awful
crime. Has the door been muflicd and
tho girl told that no callers are ad
mitted?" "Certainly not."
"And aren't you going to send the
baby over to mother's until you seo
whether I die or get well?''
"Not a bit of it. Don't bo a booby,
Mr. Bowser. When I broke two ribs
last fall you simply remarked that
ought to know better than to fall against
a board."
I tucked him up nnd patted his head
and he cried. He wanted me to hold his
hand and I sat and held it until he fell
asleep. Then I went up-stairs to do a
little work, nnd hadn't been gone over
fifteen minutes when I heard him shout
ing at the too of his voice. I ran down
and he thundered at me:
"Is this your love for your crippled
and dying husband;"
"I had some work to do."
"Work I can you think of work while
I lie here sulfering untold agonies!
What is making up an old spare bed
compared to the life of your husband?
Are you iu n hurry to seo crape on tho
doorJ"
"Come, Mr. Bowser, don't bo unreason
able. I will do everything for your com
fort, but things nrouud tho house must
be seen to."
When evening enmc Mr. Bowser had a
slight fever, aud ho grew more pettish.
Ho wauted me to telegraph to his
brother in Japan, his sister in California,
and to telephone the doctor.
I put in an uwful night with him. Ho
heard cats and burglars and forty other
noises, and he refused to go to sleep for
fear he'd die without knowing it. At
midnight after I had helped him turn
over about twenty times and had upset
his pillow until the case was worn thread
bare, he wanted me to telephone the
doctor nnd ask if a sprained ankle ever
struck to the heart. I rang up the cen
tral and the following conversation
seemed to take place:
"Doctor. Mr. Bowser has crown
steadily worse since you left, and I don't
believe he can live an hour longer, les,
I have done as you told me. Oh, you
knew he d die before morning, eh? Oh,
yes, I shall be pretty well fixed lor a
widow. About six hacks, I guess. I'm
no hand to make a spread nt a funeral.
Y'ou might "
"Mrs. Bowser!" yelled Mr. Bowser at
the top of his voice, and wdien I ran into
the bed-room ho was sitting on the edge
of the bed, hair on end aud lace palo us
death.
"What do you want, deur?"
Well, tho poor man actually fainted
away in his nervousness, and when he
came to I had to sit and hold his hands
while he caught catnaps. Tho swelling
was nearly gone from his nnklo in the
morning, and he could dress himself and
hobble about. He, however, drew up
his will, had two or three mysterious
conferences with purties he sent for, and
I saw him looking over a lot of photo
graphs ot monuments ana tombstones
I caught him weeping once, and when I
stroked the back ol his neck, and called
him my poor, crippled gazelle, he looked
up in u pitiful way and said:
"Mrs. Browser, it's awful hard to hava
to die at III v nge."
That was Mr. Bow ser for the first two
days. On the third ho went down town,
and on the fourth he gave up his cane.
When he came home to dinner I was on
the lounge with teeth and ears and eyes
lull of U' liralgia.
"Now what !" he roared out.
"I'm dreadfully ill, Mr. Bowser."
"Bosh! A little neuralgia! Mrs. Bowser
you've got no more sand than a grasshop
per. If I were as big a baby us you are
I'd live on southing syrup."
"But- but when you had nothing but
a sprained unkle, you you ."'
"When I fell fourteen feet, Mrs. Bow
ser, and c nn ked two ribs, upset my liver,
t li ned my right leg clear around,
knocked my elbows loose and brought
on brain fever I lay here without a mur
mur or complaint, and you know it I
You are a booby a regular booby, and
I'll go back dow n towu for my dinner."
Ihtroit y-Vfn I'rtm.
A Sportsman's Paradise.
An official return of the number of
game of all kinds that have been shot in
the Austrian empire during the last season
has just been issued, and the figures cer
tainly show that sportsmen have a lino
time of it in the dominions of the Kaiser
Francis Joseph, who is himself a perfect
Niiurod. One million three hundred
and nineteen thousand and ninety-eight
hares und 1,100,104 purt ridges head tho
list. Next come 0X,uS pheasants
and 8i,0ti7 quails, 70,000 stags und
roebucks, tlO.UOO chamois, 55,187 wild
ducks, and 25,453 foxes. There were
only 2,51)11 wild boars, 32 bears, and 123
wolves. Upward of i'5,000 was paid in
indemnities for damage to the woods
and lauds that were shot over. London
Truth.
A sharp-eyed traveler reports that
within a year the Mormon women havo
generally discarded their plain garb and
now appear as gayly attired as their
Gentile sisters,
MORNINO.
Lol from out the Orient splendor
Comes th day,
While about his chariot golden
Sunbeams play;
Dewdrops on the meadow grass
AU alight,
Glinting In the yellow sunshine,
Diamonds bright.
From around the homely cottage,
AVhere they creep.
Wake the purple morning glories
From their sleep:
Waken roses, fresh and dewy,
To the light,
Blushing from th wind's caresses
Through the night
Listen to sweet nature-music,
'Mong the trees;
Singing bird and rustling leaflet;
Humming bees
'Mong the scarlet honeysuckles,
Robbers bold
Are they, with their loads of treasure.
Yellow gold.
And the fragrance of the meadows,
Perfume rare,
Sweeter than Cashmerian roses,
Fills the air.
Life again has slowly wakened.
Newly born,
And with every bud and blossom
Greets the morn.
lirllt Bremer, in IK Current.
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
It would seem natural for a carpenter
to walk with a lumbering gait.
An unpopular "fall" resort a banana
peel on the sidewalk. Hold Mtit.
" My bark is on tho sen," remarked the
man who sent his dog on ship-board.
Merchant Traeeler.
The fishermen has no difficulty in mak
ing both ends meet when he catches an
eel. Iiustun Courier.
Even a doctor who speaks only one
language may yet understand a great
many tongues. QoodaW Sun.
When the days grow sad and lonely,
Love and youth and friends depart,
There is naiight like a Bologna
Sausage to cheer up his heart.
Uoodall's Sun.
There is nothing consolatory for tho
patient suffering from a severe cold in
head to be told that "colds attack tho
weakest Bpot." Salem Neiet.
If you want to get a good idea of
tumultous motion vou want to watch
the agitation of the bustles of two women
dancing a hop waltz. Boston Trantcript.
Joegs thinks his girl the pride of earth
He pictures her in glowing colors,
And loes her for her modest worth
(Said to be thirty thousand dollars).
Tid-Bits.
"And what makes you think I'm a
slow reader?" asked Merntt. "Because,"
replied Miss Snyder, "I lent you a book
more than a year ago Bnd you don't seem
to have finished it yet." Judge.
"Who is that young man that just
called on you?" asked the senior member
of the firm. "He's connected with the
Squarup Life Insuruneo Company."
"What does ho do?" "I don't know,
but, judging from his deportment, I
should say he must be custodian of tho
assurance." Jferehant Traveler.
Brief Snake Stories.
The County Clerk of jjo.nokeA r'"
responsible 'ToTTuiTTWi '"ifVi-fly UrnS
killing a snake eight feet long.
A farmer, living on the old Pcachtrce
road, Atlanta., Ga., counted over 150
snakes in an hour's stroll on his farm re
cently. A black snnkc, five feet two inches
long, entered the house of Alonzo Bald
win, of Missouri City, and dined on four
pretty canaries that were in a cage hang
lug against the wall.
After the poultry house of Willis Perrry
man, near Bonne Terre, Mo., had been
nearly depopulated, he tried rat poison,
and found tho next duy in his hennery
a dead bull snake of enormous size.
Pat Pierce's wifo saved her four-year-old
boy, who had been biten by a moc
casin, by sucking the wound, giving the
child whisky and putting a tooacco
poultice on the wound. She lives near
Macon, Ga.
The thirteen-year-old daughter of Cal
vin Banks, of Grillin, Ga., was bitten on
her foot by a six-foot rattler whilo sho
was topping cotton. Remedies wore
promptly applied, but the child died in a
short time.
Whilo chopping wood, David McGran
nahan, of Yellowstone, Wis., was bitten
ou the end of his finger by a rattlesnake.
In a second, with one blow of the axe, he
had amputated the linger, and he never
felt any effects from the bito.
An Athletic Prod Igy.
Wesley Welch is an athletic prodigy.
He has gone barefooted every summer of
his life. His first shoes ho paid for with
quails that ho trapped, lie never took
medicine; was never sick. His speed
und endurance on foot ure wuuderful. A
noted fox chase is recalled iu which ho
cuught the fox after a run of four hours,
when all but two of twenty-five hounds
hud given out in the ruu of from fifteen
to twenty miles. Ho refers to Mr.
Goodwin and Major Jones, of .Memphis,
who saw him catch the fox. About
twenty men ou horseback started in tho
chase. He is confident that he can ex-
eel in speed aud endurance both hound
uud horse in a long race. He has made
a mile iu 1 :58, aud ten miles in eighty
minutes. His longest and best walk waa
from Atlanta to Chattanooga iu a day
and night, one hundred aud forty miles.
He had two companions on the start, but
left them behind. On a hard journey of
this kind he wants no food but sweet
eued coffee, und he will refrain from eat
ing the day or ao beforehand. Ho says
we all eat too much. Ha prefers w ild
game and then mutton uud beef to hog
meat, and regards chicken as the worst
of meats. SatheiUe American.
About the Banilclloii.
Have you ever wondered how this
common wild flower got its name of
dandelion f Well, you must know that
its petals are supposed to be like tin)
tooth of a lion. Now the French for
"tooth of lion" is dent de lion, of which
our word is almost a direct copy. Curi
ously enough, this resemblance seems to
have struck the Greeks also, for their
iiumih for the flower i leontodon, which
! means "lion's tooth.'" 'J.ittU J-'vU:"