VOL. XX XXI.
0 Stock Nearly Complete M
|| T' c targes* Best and Cheapest Line of M
j Furniture and Carpets w
r We have Ever Shown Yo". H
y Carpets and Rugs—all kinds —at lowest prices.
{ { Bed Room Suits from $25.00 to $150.00. fA
\ Combination and Library Cases $7.00 to $40.00.
Music Cabinets and Writing Desks—any finish— r J
\ $8 to S3O. k 1
J Couches —velour or leather —steel construction r 4
r, sl3 to S6O. k]
V Parlor Suits —Davenports and odd pieces—from
W. $5 to $85.. • ]
L' Buffets —Sideboards —-latest designs—from 518 fi
r to SBS. %]
y Chiffoniers and Odd Dressers—oak, mahogany fj
W, and bird's eye maple—s7.oo and up.
Special line of Mirrors and Pictures at very low r A
fj prices. ft]
k One hund.ed different patterns in Rockers of all TJ
f kinds —at prices you cannot dispute.
We are showing a large line of Round and Square
4 Extension Tables —and Diners to match. It will pay pi
1 you to see us before buying. f f
We will show the largest line of medium-priced fc *
fancy Parlor Stands and Library Tables this store f J
has ever carried —dainty and inexpensive Xmas •
presents.
Ask for what you don't see. We can furnish your k j
house from attic to basement. fij
DON'T wait for DISCOUNTS later. It's a mis- kl
take. Come, make your selections and get our best J
prices NOW! We are Ready-to-Sell. #
There Are No Installment j
Prices Asked at This Store.
COME nsTTFTcTcOMPARB. j
BROWN &• CO. t|
No. 135 Horth Main St., Butler. >1
THE MODERN STORE. g
Sale Coutinued UutilSaturday Evening, Nov. 5 I
GREAT CROWDS ATTENDED LAST WEER
MANY HEW BARGAINS ADDE©.
OUR GREAT Firry SPECIAL SALES
were certainly appreciated by the publio and in order
to give many who were unable to get out last week an
opportunity to share in the bargains, we have decided
to oontinne these sales until Saturday evening, Nov sth.
THE STORE BRIMFUL OF BARGAINS
STOCS THE MOST Ujp-TO-DATE.
EVERYTHING OFFERED SEASONABLE GOODS.
COME THIS WEES SURE.
EISLEK-MARDORF COMPANY,
SOUTH MAI* STREET J QfM
I t-L\Send in Your Mail Orders.
OPPOSITE HOTEL ARLINGTON. BUTLFR. PA.
I $75 to $l5O
■ For Fifteen Minutes Time
Ej Pretty high wages, Eh? 'that's what people are
■ making who take abvantage of
I [NEWTON'S
■ Price Sacrifice Pianc Sale
E| On accoun4 of cleaning out my store in order
Ejj to get it finished for 'Christmas tr'side. It will sell
■ at factory prices, and many less. I will
■ quote you a few of the bargains I have for yoy;
H Upright fully warranted, retail price, $275.0 Q.
■ 6»>t Price #'Bs 00
■ Upright Piano, fully warranted, retail price, $375.00.
■ Sale Price $225.00
R Upright Piano, fully warranted, retail price, $575,90.
■ This piano has been used, but is a bargain, $250
H Squre pianos from $25.00 to $125. Orgaps frorr|
0 SIO.OO up. 10 pgr cent, fgr cash.
H There are |4 of these Pianos to select from—new
H and used—so you certainly ought to make a selec
■ tion. Bring this advertisement with you.
1 NEWTON'S
I Ql? South Majn, Open Evenings,
K E K
i
E Werchant Tailor, jg
Fall and Winter Suitings
( JUST ARRIVED p
vy 142 North Main St.
KECK
___ 1
"vHE BUTLER CITIZEN.
1 For Sale. I
Si The real estate of Mrs Marys
3 \\. Muntz, deceased, consisting of
the following- tracts, all located in jg*
§( the Uorough of Butler, Pa |Bj
Main street and extending along the B. & ESS
O. R. R. about 500 feet. This tract is well gg
*si| adapted for manufacturing or warehouse jsg;
2nd. The homestead of about two acres,
j[l|[ having a large comfortable dwelling house jUs
*|& and outbuildings, fronting 150 feet on Main
street and lying between the plank road
jj| and the B. &O. R. R., having a frontage |§k
Sgjl on the latter of over 500 feet. This tract ]g
is unexcelled for manufacturing purposes.
and has a never failing spring of water jg
jS 3rd, A tract of about eight acres south %=&
jel of the plank road and west of Main street.
This tract can be subdivided into about gg
forty buildings lots, commanding a splendid
jet view and within a few minutes walk of the jsis
business portion of the town,
Sgj£ 4th. A large lot fronting 120 feet on
g Main street and having thereon 3 two story j|p
jHf frame slate roof dwelling house in excel- fl§s
>f- • lent condition and wiih all modern con-
S veniences,
*/' For prices, terms, e'c,, inquire of Jg
| John N t /Vluntz, j
IBf NO. 637 8. Main Street, Q utler, Pa, ®
t&35 A?. Wallace Silver Plate fj
I 1 | ■ and especially the new "FLORAL" pattern ■
■ I II Soup Spoon and Dessert Fork of which we K
II II RALSTON & SMITH, I
IM 110 West Jeffer&ort Street, Byl'er P3 *1
f} Fall and Winter Millinery. 1
?? Arrival of a large line of Street Hats, Tailor-made 3;
• a and ready-to-wear Hats. All the new ideas and
designs in Millinery Novelties. Trimmed and Un- 3;
J 4 trimmed Hats for Ladies, Misses and Children. All Jp
the new things in Wings, Pom-pons; Feathers,
Ostrich Goods, etc, etc.
» Rockensteln's I
• i iji
3j Mi 11 i qery Km pori um, #
jj I South Street -- - ' Butler, Pa.
P/\TRICM
(VTffl WOMANS SffOE v)
THE FATIGUE OF SHOPPING
1 is greatly lessened by comfortable footwear. The flexibility of Patrician
Shoes for women makes walking a pleasure. All the attractiveness, stylt;
and service of a enstom-made shoe is found in the Patrician- There art
I 3* styles to select from
DAUBENSPECK & TURNER.
People's Phone 633. 108 S. Main St., Butler, Pa.
BUTLER, PA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1904.
Nasal Catarrh quickly yields to treat
ment by Ely's Cream Balm, which is agree
ably aromatic. It is received through the
nostrils, cleanses and heals the whole sur
face over which it diffuses itself. Druggists
sell the 50c. size; Trial nze by mail, 10
cents. Test it and you are 6ure to continue
the treatment.
Announcement.
To accommodate those who are partial
to the use of atomizers in applying liquids
into the nasal passages for catarrhal trou
ble*, the proprietors prepare Cream Calm in
liquid form, which will be known as Ely's
Liquid Cream Balm. Price including the
spraying tube is 75 cents. Druggists or by
mail. The liquid form embodies the med
icinal properties of (he solid preparation.
Prescriptions!
For prompt an 1 " rcful
service, pure drugs and
right price have your
prescriptions filled here.
Mail orders receive
prompt atten'ion.
The
Crystal
Pharmacy
M. LOGAN, Ph. G.,
Ml T ( lISS'Mt TO ,
!Si .a's C y c ta» Pti ;ma y,
HOT 11 PHONES.
136 N Main St., Butler. Pa
Du Y<;u buy Medicines?
Certainly You Do.
Then you want the- best for h
le ast money. i hat is our mott
ome and see us wher. in neea <>
anything in the Drug Line an.
iv>- are sure you will call aga %
We carry a ful line of Uroy
Chemicals Toilet Articles, etc.
Purvis' Pharmacy
8, tj, PURVIS, PH. ii
Both Phones.
213 S Main Rt. Bntler Pa.
~5\4
J plf
1 v 1
i ij *•
| Selling as 3 hat is no £
J no great shakes—but f
4 selling such a hat as the J
i I
t Imperial
J at $3 is Something '
$ They are guaranteed. 1
* We have dozenß of dif- £
ferent shapes. 4
4 Have just rooeivad i*ew 2
f Shirts and Neckwear, £
* t
J SOI4E AGENT: J
\ Knox Hats, |
i Imperial Hats.j
Jno.S.Wickj
* Peoples Phone. 6)5. #
$ HUTLEK, i'A. J
The Hunting Season
Is Approaching.
We have on display the most complete
line of hunting outfls ever sljQWft jn
Bntler.
VI diffet'&nV .ptylf a of Hunting Coa's
ranging iu price from $ 1 to £>.
A large line of «uiis and rifles in price
from $2 to S4O.
An immense stock of loaded whellx.
A complete lino of ieggins, cleaning
Vod», gun cleaners, recoil pads, belts,etc.
Everything for the dogs—collars,
leads, chains, whips, muzzles, (Jog
cakes, etc. At
Douglass'
341 8, Main St.
Sporting Goods.
yyM. H. MILLER,
FIRE and LIFE
INSURANCE
and REAL ESTATE.
OFFICE —Room 508, Butler County
National Bank building.
i —^
Bhe Desertion of
Daifodil Maid
By RVTH SANTELLE
Copyright, l'JOt, by T. C. McClure
)
Ou the subject of how he had beeu
Inveigled into his present position
Harrington was more inclined to beg
enlightenment than to furnish it. llad
It not been for the aggressive solem
nity of the vestry walls and the en
grossing task of getting successfully
into his white gloves, an undertaking
whieh habit had taught him was not
to be regarded with levity or indiffer
ence, he might have fancied it all a
hideous dream.
But here were Bob at his elbow,
looking as self conscious as only bride
groom can, and the rector in cere
monial vestments fluttering his service
book leaves. Kealest of the real!
Coufound it all! After thirty years
of sanity how had he been drawn into
this worst of transgressions? But
when a fellow is the best friend you
have in the' world and is so beastly
happy and so dead in earnest over the
thing and comes at you with that
tears his eyes voice—ln short, when
he's Robert Montgomery Blake, what's
to be done?
At any rate, it was done, and he who
had carried himself unscathed through
the campaigns of one season after an
other was the victimized best man at
last. Harrington felt suddenly as ill
at ease in his dress clothes as a college
boy at his first "prom."
Even now the organ was pealing its
preliminary riot of music. A moment
more and the march would summon
them forth to the altar rail to await
the rest of the party. They had re
hearsed the "business"' night with
half a dozen caudles and supply music.
The bride would have her wedding
march played by no other than a west
ern school friend, who was to arrive
late, Down the two aisles would
t*ome the lines of ushers and brides
maids, the toddling ring bearers, the
maid of honor in yellow, with hat of
palest green and an armful of daffo
dils (Madeleine had confided to him
all the sickening details), then the
stately bride on her father's arm. If
one must marry, Madeleine was the
right sort, and Rob was getting about
the best there was.
This daffodil maid of honor was an
other of his miseries, a second out of
town friend of Madeleine's, a pale crea
ture who would match her daffodils,
\iea ripg the impossible name of Claris
ua. If Madeleine hadn't betrayed her
overinterest In the pairing oil and elab
orated so upon his official duties to
Miss Daffodil it
"Heavens, Bob! There's our cue!
Take a brace, old man. I'll stand by
you!" Then internally. "Yes, with the
heart in me like n flstfwl of liquefied
air!"
Custom and good breeding save many
a day. Everything moved delightfully,
and the breath holding moment of the
ceremony arrived- was 'ar na
Jlarrington over got in his memory of
iM'oafiian, As they faced the altar
his eyes were arrested by a vision. It
AvaM seated before the organ in a bow
er of palms, and the soft lights fell on
a glorious crown of shining auburn
hair. The side of the face was to\Yf\i'd
him, and there was a faint tuipreaston
of a filmy green gqwu,
It wa* kbe violent beginning of a
tempestuous end. The sight went
through hhn like a physical shock. He
sa\v only the lovely picture, iu»)y
the soft music that fell from tho slen
\ler linger*. fbo first usher profiled
him intq consciousness when the ring
was demanded, the daffodil maid had
to clutch an unproffered arm for the
recessioual.
Once outside Harrington came again
into his self sufficiency. the sec
ond carriage wtuy MP the yellow con-
was hustled into it, the door
biammed upon the astonished girl, a
peremptory "drive on" issued, and a
hatless young man dashed breathlessly
around the corner to thu urgan en
trance. .lust in time! In another ve
hicle auburn head wns being ex
tinguished.
"Why, Joe Harrington! What's
wrong?" The bride's brother was a
clear headed master of cereiftcniios.
"You belong with Clarissa, you
know."
"Yer*. I know. Some mistake. Every
body excited, of course, Say, Dickie, 1
can go in here just as well. l)ou't wor
yy, old man. I dou't mind In the
feast."
"All serene! Here, Ethel, you can
shelter this carriageless Joe." A n 'l
Dickie flew off to see that s\ich ''care
lessness as the Uesl man's being
Btraude<V' was not repeated.
"Ethel," mused Harrington as the
rubber wheels started, leaning forward
and devouring her with his eyes, "Eth
el, it suits so admirably I might al
most have knowu. Madeleine only told
(iip Uanuan."
Tl'e red-brown eyes met his square
ly, "Joe." she said meditatively. "Yes,
I like it. She only told ir« Mr. Har
rington."
"You came"—
"Only this afternoon,"
"Why have you never come beforeV"
"I didn't know there was anything to
eome for,"
As she spoke they flashed under an
nre lamp, and, bending eagerly toward
her, he caught the shine of her eyes.
It was enough. His hands groped au
Instant, then gathered iu her two
warm, yieldiug ones.
"Oh. girl, girl," he whispered ex
ultingly, "I knew the moment I saw
you that you had come for my sake!
But how, how have I lived all this
while and never found yon';"
"I cannot tell., dt*U'. only that now
|. the right time," was the low re
sponse.
Holding both her hands in one of his
own, he slipped to her side and tipped
her head back against his shoulder.
UM eyes sought hers in the gloom of
the carriage, glorying in the revela
tions brought by the passing lights.
"The right time of all the world,
girl, of uil the years that have been
for you and for me —the right time for
the seal of the promise for tiiose that
are to come for us," he said with
quiet intensity, his lips closing on her
unresisting ones.
After a moment she straightened
herself with a happy little laugh.
"1 think we must be nearly there."
"Yea. Wretchedly short drive. Oh,
girlie, girlie, 1 am so proud of you, so
glad! What will they think of us, to
be sure? I wasn't haviug a bit of a
good time, and now I'ui ever so grate
ful that Hob Insisted eu making me
best man."
"Why. but, dear!" It was a veri
table gurgle of astonishment. "You're
not dreaming of telling n>\v? It
would never, never do. We've not
even been ntroduced! I'm t » I<• here
several w.you I"mv .uul it must
coiii<; to wrj gradual.}'."
"I suppose so, bless your proper lit
tle heart! But isn't it a wee bit more
unconventional to have it happen thus
than that it should merely be known
of? Anyway I promise to be the most
persistently lovelorn of any swain who
ever aspired to fair lady's hand. Ah,
here we are!"
Fortunately the avenue was well
shaded just before the blaze of light
at the steps was reached.
Dickie greeted them—how he had
managed to pass them a certain team
might have borne breathless testimony—
in an agony of contrition, his very
first blunder. He supposed, of course,
they'd met. Clarissa had come alone.
Madeleine had been Investigating and
wrenched from him the whole sad tale.
Clarissa wouldn't say a word. They
sweetly forgave him and were smiling
ly introduced.
During the ensuing hours of the re
ception Harrington, ingenuous to the
point of bluntness. found use for all his
skill as a dissembler. The auburn head
was an irresistible magnet, and his
telltale eyes followed where his feet
were forbidden to tread. Again and
again he dragged himself back to the
daffodil maid und his proper duty, to
find her always mysteriously smiling
at him out of a quizzical face. It was
hard that the first madly happy hours
of one's life should be made to speed
so slowly, but at last the bride and
groom were off in a shower of rice,
kisses and merry cries.
Then quoth the maid of the daffodils
to Dickie, "Do look at Joe and Ethel!"
There they stood on the top step, hand
In hand, placidly and absently waving
after the disappearing carriage with
their disengaged hands. The other two
members were clasped.
• *•«•••
It was three Interminable months be
fore Harrington was permitted to an
nounce a farewell dinner to his bach
elor friends. When he reached the
club on the memorable night a letter
awaited him bearing the familiar for
eign postmark of Mr. and Mrs. Blake's
honeymooning nest. Over the signa
ture of Madeleine Blake he read the
following:
"Bless you, my children! Nothing
could delight me more, especially when
It's my own particular little pie. Joe
the woman hater! Joe the celibate!
Clarissa was already engaged, you
know, so made a willing martyr on the
altar of my schemes. And my Ethel
had to play instead of standing by my
side, where she belonged. If she had
not—if you'd thought you belonged to
her by custom, Joe, Joe—my beautiful
girlie, instead of becoming the happy
Jklrs. Harrington shortly, would have
•hared the sad, sad fate of the daffodil
maid."
"And thus," observed Harrington,
with a charitable grin, "do some peo
ple flatter themselves."
Wanted It to Come Gradually.
One evening recently a well known
writer received a check from a maga
zine which was a good deal larger than
he had anticipated. The occurrence
seemed worthy of a celebration; so, in
company with a young artist, who had
SQUietimes shared his dinner on a less
prosperous occasion, he sought a res
taurant noted for its expensive menu.
With a luxurious shrug and with in
difference to the cares of the world, he
ordered an elaborate repast. His com
panion, being of the sex especially
thrifty whew dealing with household
matter*, begged him to be cautious.
No. Indeed, for that night he was
Prince Bountiful.
At length it came time, as It always
floes with things both good and evil,
for the reckoning.
''Waiter," drawled the host, "bring
me my check. And. waiter, bring it
T•e-r-y gradually."—New York Tribune.
The Dentil ot Ctvrtrar.
Courtesy lay dead.
Ou either side of her mangled form
her sisters, Gallantry and Chival
ry-
The fatal wounds in the breasts -of
each were so similar that there could
be no doubt that they had all been
made by the same weapon, wielded by
the same ruthless hand.
Above them stood and wept their
tottering parents, themselves 111 cato
feath with the infirmities of old age.
Respect and Veneration.
When Cqvoner Observation arose
ffOli. u careful inspection of the three
dead forms he brushed the soil from
his knees and said to Policeman
Shame, who stood close by:
"Make no delay in arresting the
Modern Street Car on suspicion. It
is my firm belief that he is guilty of
all of these cold blooded mur
ders."—Baltimore American.
The Dainty Ant.
Ants have no set time for brushing
up, but certain conditions plainly incite
thereto, as when they feel particu
larly comfortable, as after eating or
after awakening from or before going
to sleep. The keen sense of discom
fort aroused by the presence of dirt
Incites to cleansing. Often one may
see au ant suddenly pause in tlm midst
of the duties of field or formicary and
begin to comb herself. Here is a moun
tain mound maker driven by the pas
sion of nest building to the utmost
fervor of activity. Suddenly she drops
out of the gang of yellow workers and,
mounting a nearby clod, poses upon her
hind legs and plies teeth, tongue ami
comb. For a few moments the aim of
being is centered upon that act. Around
her coign of vantage sweeps to and fro
the bustling host of builders with all
their energies bent upon reconstruct
ing their ruined city. She combs on
unconcernedly. From top of head to
tip of hind legs she goes, smoothing
out ruffled hairs und removing atoms
of soil Invisible to human eyes. Her
toilet Is ended at last. —H. C. McCook
In Harper's Magazine.
The Charm of Victoria Kail*.
How the \ ietorla falls impress a vis
itor Is recorded in Miss C. W. Mackin
tosh's journal of a tour in South Africa.
Miss Mackintosh says; "We perceived
no hint of the falls, only seeing before
us a screen of rocky based, bright green
forest, apparently closing in the river,
like a lake. Ten minutes' walk brought
us to the camp, on a cliff which liter
ally overhung the gorge, and we saw
the cataract thundering down into the
boiling pot at our feet. The walls of
the chasm, 100 feet high, were spanned
by a rainbow. The charm of these falls
lies not in the one overwhelming crash
as at Niagara, but in the cumulative ef
fect of various glimpses, the matchless
beauty of t!i# surroundings and the
strangeness of the whole setting, but
chiefly In the columns of spray, called
the "thundering smoke" and in the
ever changing rainbows. The mile wide
river suddenly drops Into a yawning
crack in the ground, stretching right
across the stream at right angles to
the banks, a foaming trough, quite
narrow, of which the walls rose 400
feet above the surface of the water."
lr you neglect your business and
hare a rival who attends to his, look
otL—Atchidon Globe.
HIE POWERFIL FLEA
|TS REMARKABLE STRENGTH AND
FEROCIOUS APPETITE.
Thla Tiny Prut Klicarea In Ancient
LfKriiil, Sonic and Story—Attempts
Which Have ilecu Made to Tame
Thla Hs>maon of the Unlverae.
While ;{-»d oUI St. Dominic was seat
ed in his cell, calm and passionless,
pondering upon the vices, the miseries
of the world, a flea was sent to tor
ment him. and these pestiferous little
nuisam-es havefteen with us ever since,
to torment saint and sinner alike.
The flea is characterized by the en
tire absence of wings, by having the
body compressed, the legs long and
stout, the coxea remarkably developed,
giving great leaping power. The mouth
parts are well developed and adapted
for suction, all the species in the adult
stage feeding upon the blood of mam
mals or birds. In a word, Mr. Flea
belongs to the fourth order of insects,
suctorea, composing the single genus
pulex linnaeus. The flea is clothed in
armor quite as indestructible as that
of a knight of old.
Among the several species of fleas
which have received the attention of
the government's entomologists are the
human jigger, or clique; the hen, opos
sum, house, bird, rat tend mouse dog,
cat. squirrel, spermophile, rabbit,
pocket gopher, sand and a number of
others. Of these it is difficult to de
termine which gives the greater an
noyance to humans. All are bad and
many worse—tormentors of the most
pronounced type.
And yet these Jumping, biting, tic
kling pirates have figured in song and
story. Many an old German legend.
Bavarian and Swedish story and many
an old French song have had the flea
for their hero, and so it must be that
the flea has its place. Ancient mythol
ogy relates that Orion was a giant,
hunting wild beasts and, like them,
very naturally coarse and unrefined.
Earth, disgusted, killed him by the
sting of the scorpion. Pan became en
amored of his sister, aiyJ Diana, to res
cue her, turned her into a flea. The
Ilea has been embalmed in classic lore.
It was considered among the gods as
becoming enough to serve as a meta
morphose in extremities.
If fleas could be tamed they would be
profitable, but according to entomolo
gists fleas are tamed about as much
as a rattlesnake. Mouffet tells of a
mechanic named Marks who made a
gold chain as lopg as his finger with
lock and key which a flea dragged
after him, and there was a golden
chariot which he drew likewise. Bing
ley mentions that a Mr. Boverlck, a
London watchmaker, exhibited an
ivory chaise with four wheels, the fig
ure of a man sitting on the box, all
drawn by a flea. The same man after
ward constructed a landau with fig
ures of six horses hitched to it, a
coachman on the box, a dog between
his legs, four persons inside, two foot
men behind and a postilion on the
fore horse, all of which were drawn
by a single flea.
One is at a loss which to admire
most, the ingenuity and patience of
th© man or the strength of the flea.
Latrelle tells of a flea which dragged
a silver cannon twenty-four times its
own weight and manifested no alarm
when it was charged with powder and
fired off. Rene mentions that in 1830
he saw at a fair in England three fleas
drawing a carriage in the form of an
omnibus, another pair drew a carriage
and a single flea a brass cannon. The
only way to subdue a flea is to starve
him and attach a small weight to his
hind leg so that he cannot Jump.
That fleas are great pugilists there
can be no doubt, as it has been repeat
edly shown that they will fight to the
death and will land such blows as
would make some of our pugilists
blush. If a dozen or more fleas are put
in a glass Jar for a day or two you will
sec the mangled remains of the dead
dnd wounded as the result of close
companioiishlp. They will stand on
their hind legs and buffet their oppo
nents with the others. They roll and
toss and tumble until It is painful to
see the wrecks left behind. After ono
of these battles In a glass Jar one
champion lived ten days, with no an
tennae, one eye gone, three plates in
the Ride smashed in and only the first
Joints of four legs to go upon.
But the flea even in this wretched
condition was game to the last and
died breathing defiance, the rays of
light scintillating from his black eyes
with the brilliancy of a blacksmith's
forge in full blast on a dark night.
Ills power is in his legs, and he is the
most accomplished of vaulters. No
position appears too difficult for him
to assume. Attitude in every variety Is
familiar to him. He leaps upward,
sideways, forward, backward and
takes a dozen somersaults while you
are wondering where he will light. A
good healthy flea, it is estimated, can
leap 200 Hints the length of his body.
When about to leap or Jump the legs
are drawn up to the body as close as
possible and then shot out. The flea
comes down very near the spot from
where the leap was taken. Every de
scent U nearer to the center. Of this
you may convince yourself by placing
a flea in a drop of red ink on a piece
of white paper and letting him Jump.
The flea Is always hungry, his appe
tite Is never satisfied, and he will ex
ercise his sucker Just as long as he Is
permitted without interruption. With
him there is a "continuous perform
ance" so far JIB gratifying his appetite
is concerned. There Is no creeping,
crawling or flying insect which can ap
proach the flea in strength, size consid
ered. He is beyond question the Sam
son of the universe.—Washington Star.
Odd.
"Divorces are multiplying."
"That's odd. I thought that their
function was to divide."—Town Topics.
OMENS GOOD AND BAD.
the Folly of Believing In Calickr
Days and All tbe Heat.
When fortune tellers swindle the
poor and ignorant we should make
them suffer smartly for It. Certainly
the ingenuity of a professional fortune
teller is in itself educative. The craft
with which she throws out veiled hints,
the subtlety with which she pounces
upon any lucky shot and the diplomacy
which she uses to extort confessions
are often magnificent.
Observe the rapt, far away look with
which she asks you abruptly, "Who Is
Ethel?" There is a possibility that
you know some one of that name, In
which case the odds are that you will
afford lier some clew for intelligent
anticipations. If, however, you indig
nantly deny any such acquaintance she
can always fall back upon the very
safe statement that the name will be
familiar to you later on.
Such procedure reminds us of the
famous dodge of Disraeli, who. when
ever he met a man whom he did not
know, but felt he ought to know, in
quired suavely, "How is the old com
plaint?"
Playing this little comedy one day
In Tall Mall, he was met with the dla-
No. 4 2
concerting reply: "Complalut! I never
had an ache or a pain In my life."
Whereupon he put his head on one side
Hud said, with a sympathetic sigh. "Ah,
I meant the wife." The secret of the
Buccess of most charlatans Is that if
they go on making a sufficient number
of shots some of them are bound even
tually to hit the mark.
We remember the case of a clairvoy
ant who told a fair client that two good
spirits were watching over her and
that their names were Juliet and Jane.
The visitor stoutly declared that there
were no such persons. But when she
came home and told her mother of the
episode she was reminded, to her
amazement, that those were indeed the
names of two sisters who bad died In
infancy.
Fortune telling, we should say, is a
harmless pastime so long as It is not
taken seriously. But what about edu
cated and most respectable folk who
take It very seriously? We are accus
tomed to pity Dr. Johnson because he
could not pass a lamppost without
touching it, but what shall we say of
people who forego important enter
prises on days which they imagine to
be unlucky, who deliberately make
themselves the sport of chance or re
sign their reason to designing adven
turers?
We would not fly In the face of an
cient beliefs, the origin of which may
have been forgotten, nor do we forget
that the founders of Thirteen clubs
have often perished miserably. But
the person who really cares about
omens, unlucky days, upsetting salt
and all the rest should know that he is
a fool.—London Spectator.
A Chinese Story.
"There was once upon a time a very
unfillal son," said a Chinaman. "So
disobedient was he that if his father
told him to go to the east he would go
to the west; if his father told him to go
to the west lie invariably went to the
east. All his life long he had been dis
obedient. At last the old man, as he
lay on his deathbed, greatly feared
that his undutiful son would not take
the trouble to bury him in a favorable
spot. After much cogitation he thought
of a plan for Insuring what is of such
vital importance in Chinese eyes. 'lf
I die,' he said, 'you must bury me in the
water.' The father concluded that, in
acordance with his usual line of con
duct, the son would do the exact oppo
site of what he was told. So, after
congratulating himself, no doubt, on
his astuteness In arranging to get bur
ied in a good place on dry land, the
old man died. But, alas, his admirable
scheme failed. After the father's
death the young man said to himself:
'All my lifetime I have disobeyed my
father. Now that he is dead I will
obey him this once.' So, in scrupulous
obedience to the dying injunction, he
buried his father in the water."
Too Complacait.
Mr. Grote, the historian of Greece,
seemed incapable of caring for him
self when moved by consideration for
others. His exaggerated acquiesceuco
in what lie thought a constructive ob
ligation Is illustrated by the last sit
ting he gave to Miilals, who painted
his portrait.
The studio was cold. Mr. Grote had
removed his overcoat and presently
felt sensibly chilled. Yet he did not
complain nor resume his overcoat.
"Why did yon not say you were
chilled?" asked Mrs. Grote when she
learned the circumstances.
"I did not like to appear to reproach
Mr. Millais for letting the fire go out."
"Well, but there was your thick
overcoat?"
"Yes, but I did not know If he would
like me to put it on."
"What could one do with a man so
Incapable of caring for his own abso
lute necessities?" remarks Mrs. Grote
in her "Personal Life" of her husband.
"Had 1 beA present, it is superfluous
to say, all these scruples would have
gone for nothing."
Drylngr an Umbrella.
When you come in out of the rain
don't plump your nice silk umbrella
ferrule down into the umbrella stand
unless you want to ruin it. That lets
the water and tiny specks of grit run
down Into the lining under the iron
ring that secures the ribs, and it stays
there, making the silk tender and rots
It. Neither should you leave the um
brella open to dry, as that stretches the
ellk and makes it stiff, and it will soon
split. Shake it well, then close it and
stand it handle down where the water
will run off. Never set nn umbrella or
parasol away tightly folded. It will
split out just as soon again. Leave the
folds to !le loosely.
EFFECTS OF TOBACCO.
In Some Cases It la Stlmalatln* and
la Others Narcotic.
Whether or not tobacco is a stimu
lant has been a vexed question ever
since the* time of Oviedo, the first
writer to describe it fully, who says
that the Indians of Hlspanlola used to
bacco to produce Insensibility, whereas
others among the old Spanish discov
erers say that the natives smoked to
stimulate themselves to fresh exertions.
Men whose business leads to expo
sure to weather or to violent physical
exercise, such as sailors, soldiers,
watchmen, navvies and field laborers,
all take tobacco as n stimulant and
have done so from the first.
These classes are mentioned as spe
cially large consumers of the weed in
Dr. Everard's "Panacea," published in
1659. Hobbes and Newton both used
tobacco to stimulate. Goethe and Heine
hated it. Scott smoked profusely; but,
according to Mr. Trelawney, Byron
"never smoked pipe or cigar."
Modern experience and observation
seem to indicate that tobacco is n stim
ulant In moderation and a narcotic in
excess, in this respect resembling all
other Intoxicants, using the term in its
widest sense, from tea to opium.
CAT'S CRADLE.
Orlffln of the Name of the Familiar
String and Finger Game.
Cat's cradle has been familiar to most
of us from childhood as a game for two
players, in which the first winds a
looped cord over the fingers of both
hands in a symmetrical figure, and the
second Inserts his fingers and removes
it In such a way as to produce a dif
ferent figure. This they do alternately
several times, always changing the
formation. The art consists in making
the right changes.
The coril forms a rude representation
of a manger, and the name originally
was "cratch" cradle, cratch being a
manger (creche, French), such as that
in which our Saviour was laid. "They
layde hym in a cratche," was Wyclifs
translation of Luke il, 7. The word is
still used in Itoman Catholic countries
in that particular sense.
The Abbe Trevost says In his "Man
uel Lexique," "Cratch is the name giv
en to a manger for cattle and which is
consecrated by the birth of Jesus
Christ." To the present day the racks
which stand in the* fields for cattle to
eat from are called cratches.