SULLIVAN REPUBLICAN.
W. M. CHENEY, Publisher.
VOL. XI.
The United States contain more than
1700 distinct and separate railways.
It is now held that there were twe
distinct epidemics of cholera in Europe
last year.
Mortality is greater among the Alas
kans than among any other citizens of
the United States.
The Congress of Colombia at its late
session appropriated .$150,000 a year for
the encouragement of foreign immigra
tion.
General Harrison is the only surviving
ex-President of the United States; Mr.
Morton is the only living person who
has occupied the office of Vice-Presi
dent.
The Couriei-Journal learns that Pro
lessor Wiggins lays the blame for the
cold weather, the cholera and the rest of
the ills with which the earth has recently
been afflicted on the conjunction be
tween Jupiter and Mars.
Travel from the North to Florida has
never been greater than during the pres
ent season, declares the Chicago Herald,
and the large sum? of money that have
been invested in railroads and hotels to
accommodate this travel are paying good
dividends.
The lalest legislative break in Missouri,
recorded by the Detroit Free Press, is a
bill req liring all the butterine sold in
that market to be colored pink, this
mark being evidence to the purchaser
that he is not buying tlio genuine article.
No special provision seems to have been
made for the protection of those who are
coloi blind.
The St. Louis Star Sayings is con
vinced that a little learning is not so dan
gerous a thing after all. English insur
ance statistics show that fifty per cent,
of the authors and statesmen, forty-two
per cent, of the clergymen, thirty per
cent, of the lawyers, twenty-seven per
cent, of the teachers aud tweoty-four per
cent, of the doctors reaah the age of
seventy.
With France still in a fer.ucnt, Ger
many looking for sorni one to trea lon
the tail of its coat, Italy li lancially
troubled aad the Czir of all the It'issias
hiding in a bomb-proof cellar it was a
great sight, exclaims the Washington
Star, to see Prcs'dcnt Cleveland bow
and smile to half a million repressnta
tives of the happiest aud most loyal peo
ple in the world.
The Chicago Herald alleges that a
French syndicate is buying up all the
worn out pouies on the frontier for ex
port to Paris, the inteution being to con
vert them into food for the people of the
gay metropolis. Hinpophagy in France
has evidently become a disease, for a
healthy sto.nach would hardly crave the
flesh of spaviued horses in preference to
the healthiul beef from the Chicago abat
toirs.
According to the Baltimore A'nerican
Mr. Cleveland has a middle aged Cab
inet. Their ages are thus giveu: Cleve
land, fifty-six years; Steveosoa, fifty
eight; Gres'.iam, sixty-one; Carlisle,
fifty-eight; Bissell, forty-six; Limont,
forty-one; Herbert, fifty; Olnee, fifty
eight; Smith, thirty-eight; Morton,
sixty. Secretary Herbert's shore arm
can sympathize with Seeretaiy Gre sham's
short ley. It was a Fedes*! buKet in
the Wilderness that shortene I tlif- Cor
nier and a Confederate btriiet near At
lanta that shortene 1 the latter.
Baron B'eicbroedcr, the millionaire
Berlin banker, is dead. He was one of
the syndicate w'.iich undertook the ad
justment of Austriu's currency system
for the purpose of restoring specie pay
ments. He was the author of that por
tion of the movement which so di
rected the currency of foreign exchanges
as to draw the flood of gold from the
United States, which now has amounted
to nearly $100,000,000 in two years.
There is no reason, however, to suppose
that gold shipments will cease on
account of BleHhroeder's death.
A inathamatician, who evidently has
abundant leisure, hai been figuring, re
lates the New York News, ou the size
of the mortgage we should now bo
carrying if Columbus had pledge i this
country for the cost of his outfit.
Starting with the assumption thit the
expenditure cost Isabeile SIO,OOO, he
adds interest com.>otindeu every six
months. At the present time the
amount foots up nearly 271 quadrillion
dollars. Taking the population of the
United States at *15,000,000, the little
obligation reaches nearly 117 million
dollars for each inhabitant. It is con
sequently a great relief to know that
Columbus never set foot ou North
America. It would be very embarrass
ing to have u musty mortgage for that
dizzy figure preseate 1, with the cus
tomary notice of foreclosure,
EASTER.
Easter, smile o' the year I
Brlnger of music and flowers I
Easter, whose skies are clear
With spring days' lengthened hours!
What shall we say that is new?
What shall we sing that is oldf
Sermon or sonnet or chant
Gilding refinded gold.
Yet, Oh ttrightness returned,
Well may I glorify thee I
Never the world again
Sunless and chill shall I see.
Quickened from clay, the reed
Springs from the glow above;
Up from my heart has leaped
The shining lily of love.
Peal, Oh carillon, peal
Every change to bo hear.lt
Sing in the chapel, choir!
Trill in your meadow, birJl
Thou who kneelest in church
(Thy thought from earth apart)
My Easter offering, love, —
To the altar of thy heart t
—E. Irenoeus St« venson.
THE OLD WELL SWEEP.
BY HELEN FORRRST GRAVES.
It OU goin' to take
that well sweep, away,
Jot ha in—the well
I "2? sweep that was there
when I was a baby?
Don't do it, Jotham—
Squire Sedgick
beckoned to his son to
lay down the uplifted
axe.
Mrs. Sedgick stood in the doorway,
with a fat, old-fashioned tumbler and a
glass-towel in her hand.
Elleq, the daughter, paused in the act
of tying up an obstreperous young honey
suckle shoot; and old Grandsir Sedgick,
leaning on his staff, with his gray hairs
blowing in the fresh spring wind, look
ing not unlike one of the ancient Druids.
"Why, father, we didn't know you'd
care," said the squire. "It's a rickety
old thing, anyhow—"
"Well, so'm I a rickety old thing!''
quavered the octogenarian. "But you
wouldn't go at ine with an axe and a
mallet, would you? I used to draw water
with that well sweep afore I stood as
high as the curb."
"Well, well," soothingly uttered the
squire, "if you've any feelin' about it, it
shan't be touched! Only, sence the pipes
have been laid from the spring up on
Savin Hill, Eunice, she thought —"
"I don't keer what Eunice thinks!"
said Grandsir Sedgick. "The pipes from
Savin Spring ain't nothin' to me. I'd j
ruther hev a glass o' clear water from the
old well than all the springs in crea
tion 1"
"So you shall, father—so you shall I"
said Mrs. Sedgick, picking up the
knotted cane which the old man had
dropped, and tenderly guiding his foot
steps back to the cushioned chair on the
porch, which he had just left.
But Ellen tossed her much be-crimped
head.
"It's the only well sweep left in Ken- j
dal,"muttered she. "Horrid old fashioned |
thing! Everybody calls our home 'the !
place with the well sweep.' It's too I
bad!"
"Hush, dear!" said Mrs. Sedgick. I
"Grandsir's a very old man, and he's
never got over the shock of Dora's run
ning away."
Deaf though he was, the old man's
ear caught a word here and there, wheu
it was least expected that he would. He '
looked quickly around.
"Dora," he repeated—"little Dora!
My son Adam's daughter, with the black ,
eyes and the real Sedgick features!
There ain't but a few things that I care '
for left in this world, and Dora was one
of 'em. What have you done with :
Adam's orphen gal—eh, Eunice? The
gal that hadn't no one but mo to look
after her?"
A distressed look crept over Mrs. i
Sedgick's kindly face. She hesitated
visibly.
"It wasn't our fault, father," said she. |
"Dora was always a restless child, and t
she somehow couldn't seeui to be con
tented in this quiet place."
The old man shook his leonine white |
head.
"I dunno nothin' about that," said
he. "All I koow is I miss little Dora,
and I want her. Jotham," turning ab
ruptly to his stalwart son, "where's
Dora?"
"I don't know any more than you do,
father," said the squire, leaning up
against the porch pillar, and saying to
wife in a lower tone:
"What has set him off thinkin' of
Dora just now?"
"Thir.kin'! Ain't I always thinkin'
of her?" piped up the old man. "Adam's
gal, that was left to us to take care of;
and Adam WAS always the best of the
family! You nagged her, and you wor
rited of her, and she was too hig'n
speritcd to stand it, and now she's gone,
an' you say you don't know nothin'
about it. Eh"—and his voice grew
thriller—"that was what Cain said, mind
you, when the Lord asked him where
his brother was I That's why I set here
on the porch, where I can see half a mile
down the road, to get a sight of Adam's
gal, Dora, comin' back where she be
longs I"
The three lookers-on glanced un
easily at each other.
Martin Sedgick, the son, flung his axe
emphatically on the ground.
"Grandsir speaks the truth," said he.
"The house ain't itself sinco Dora went
away."
And he stalked gloomily down the
hill, to where his handsome four-year
old colt was tied to the fence rail, await
ing its daily exercise around the squars.
"Eunice," said Squire Sedgick te his
wife that afternoon, "Martin is getting
restless again. He wants togo West."
Mrs. Sedgick clasped her hands nerv
ously.
"Martin—our only son!" she cried.
"He was just beginning to be recon
ciled to life o» "lie farm, wh<tu Dora j
LA PORTE, PA., FRIDAY, APRIL 21,1893.
went away," said the squire, dejectedly.
"And it was aha that reconciled him.
Eunice—if we could get Dora bock
again? It's as my old father say*—she
was the luck of the house."
Mrs. Sedgick burst into tears*
"It wasn't my fault, Jotham 1" she
said. "I always liked the child, though
she wasn't no more like our folks than a
corn flower is like a squash blossom.
But she and Ellen couldn't somehow
agree. Ellen always wanted Martin to
marry Miss Brownlee, and ahe up one
day and accuaed Dora of settin' her cap
for Martin, and Dora couldn't atand that;
and when they appealed to me, I'm
afraid I didn't take Dora's part quite so
strong aa I might hev done."
"I knowed a woman's tongue was at
the bottom of it all," said the squire,
with some bitterness. "Poor Dora I"
That night the whole Sedgiok fam
ily were aroused by a light blaze in the
dooryard—the old fashioned well sweep
burning up. Grandsir, in his flannel
dressing gown and knotted atick, his
leonine head well outlined in the scarlet
glow, looking more Druid-like than
ever.
"You done it o' purpose," said he,
feebly shaking the stick at the assembled
family, who were trembling in the door
way. "You know you did. Pirat Dora,
and then the old well sweep. The only
things I keered for in this world—and
now they're both gone, an' I may as
well lie down and die!"
"I didn't mean any harml" hysteri
cally sobbed poor Ellen. "I was light
ing a taper to seal a letter—Marian
Brownlee always uses the new-fashioned
colored wax to seal her letters—and it
burned up too quick, and I flung it out
of the window, but I never dreamed it
would fall among the dead leaves around
the old well curb and set it ou tire! I
didn't mean any harm!"
"Don't fret, father," said the squire.
"We'll build it up ag'in—me and Mur
tin—jnst exactly like it was before."
The old man shook his head.
"It won't be the same," moaned he
"it won't be the same! Nothin's the
same in this world!"
And he took to his bed from that
day.
Poor Ellen hung down her head like a
drooping lily. In neither case had she
intended any actual harm, but in both
instances she felt acu'ely responsible.
Martin was making preparations togo
ojt West. Grandsir seemed to have lost
all interest in the surrounding world.
Her mother went about with swollon
eyes and a pale face, and Squire Sed
; gick sat by the hour on the front porch,
looking as if he had lost his last friend.
One violet-scented April afternoon,
■ however, Martin came home from the
' city, whither he had been to purchase
i some absoluto necessity for his travels,
with a flat parcel under bis arm.
"Look, mother!"he said. ''lt'ssomc
thiug for grandsir. I don't know but
' what I've been extravagant, but I declare
to goodness I couldn't help it. The
minute I set eyes on it, I thought of the
dear old man lyin' up Airs in his bed.
i It's a picture," he added, as Ellen came
: hurrying to his side—"an oil painting
, with a floe gilt frame. Ex ictly like our
, old woll sweep that was burned down,
with the red barn in the distance, and
I the sun settin' behind the woods, just as
I've seen it go down times without end.
You don't know how queer I felt when
I saw it iu the store window, and I went
in and paid twenty dollars for it. I'd
do without them campin' blankets and
the fur robe,' mother; but I wanted
grandsir to have that picture."
They hung it up on the wall opposite
the head of his bead, and when the old
man waked from a nap, just as the sun
set beans shone over the mute canvas, he
looked at with a smile.
"It's our old well," said he, not evinc
ing the least surprise. "Just like I was
a-lookin' out of the window at it. I've
got the well sweep back ag'in now, and
p'raps Dora'll come next. Who knows?"
And for the first time in a week, he
got up and dressed himself, and deigned
to give a sort of conditional approval to
the repairs going on in the burned dis
trict.
"It looks too new now," said he, ad
justing his "far-away" spectacles. "But
p'raps in a year or' two it'll be more
weather-beaten an' nat'raMike. I can
allays look at the picter, though, when I
want to see the old well sweep."
Ellen pulled her brother's sleeve as he
stood intently regarding the bright little
oil painting on grandsir's wall.
"Martin," said she, "nobody ever
could have paiuted that picture by guess.
It is our old well sweep, and there's the
very butternut tree and the broken
shingles on the barn roof. And don't
you remember, Martin, how fond she
used to be of painting?"
He turned suddenly around with an ir
ra "Why didn't I think of it before?" ho
cried.
******
Mr. Solomon Feldinan, sitting behind
his desk rail in the darkest corner of the
dark little art store, was startled from an
abstruse financial calculation by the ques
tioning gleam of a pair of dark eyes close
beside him.
"Is it sold?" a solt voice timidly asked
—"my 'O.d Well Sweep!' I see it is
gone from the window. Oh, Is it possi
ble that I can be so lucky as to have sold
that picture?"
Dora Sedgick was very plainly dressed,
ner shoes and gloves were unmistably
shabby; there was a certain pallor in her
skin and sharpness in her features which
told of a battle with the world, in which
she had not as yet gained the advantage.
But at that moment her face seemed
transfigured with exultant joy.
Mr. Feidman referred to his books.
"Twenty dollars," said he, with lead
pencil between his teeth. "Not a bad
price for a beginner, and twenty-five per
cent, commission. Price of frame, five
dollars, and—and here is your ten dol
lars. You might as well send something
else."
A shadow from without made the lit
tle gas lighted cubby hole look a degree
dingier than before at this inomeut.
"Could you give me the name and ad-
dress of the person Wbo painted the pic
ture t purchase 1 yesterday—the 'Old
Well Sweep?' " asked the Voice of Martin
Sedgick»
The Veiled and shawl wrapped figure
turned suddenly around, so that the
flickering gaslight shone full on the dark
eyes and mobile lips.
"Martin?" she cried out, with an in
voluntary step forward.
"Dora—my Dora! No, you shall not
draw away your band!" he cried. "I've
got you now, and I mean to keep you—
yes, always, Dora?"
******
"Eh?" cried Grandsir Sedgick, rous
ing himself from one of the frequent
slumbers of extreme old age. "Dora, is
it? Adam's little black-eyed gal? Well,
I knowed she would come back before
the Lord sent out a call tor me. Some
thin' told me she would. They've fixed
up the old woll sweep, Dora, and you're
back again I I hain't nothin' left to
wish for now."
"And she's promised to be my wife,"
declared Martin, with his arm passed
carelessly around the girl's slim waist.
"And Martin's given up the Wostern
plan," ecstatically cried Mrs. Sedgick,
"and he's going to be content to settle
down here for good and all."
"And oh, I'm so glad!" gasped Ellen,
while the squire slapped his son's back
in an encouraging fashion.
Old Grandsir Sedgick looked from one
to the other with a serene smile.
"I hain't nothin' left to wish for,"he
repeated.—Saturday Night.
Facts About the >k-leton Industry
Paris is the head-centre of the skele
ton trade. The mode of preparation is
a very delicate operation. The scalpel
is first called into requisition to remove
the muscular tissues. Its work being
done, the bones are boiled, being care
fully watched meanwhile that they maj
not be overdone. After this cannibalis
tic procedure tbey are bleached in the
sun. Even then spots of grease are sure
to appear when they are exposed to heat.
The French treat these with ether and
benzine, securing thereby a dazzling
whiteness, which is a distinguishing
j mark of their skeletons. They are war
ranted never to turn yellow and to stand
the test of any climate. New York in
midsummer is not too hot for them.
They are put together by a master hand.
A brass rod with all the proper curva
lures support the spinal column. Deli
cate brass wires hold the ribs in place.
Hinges of the most perfect workmanship
give to the joints a graceful and lifelike
movement. Cleverly concealed hooks
and eyes render disjunction at pleasu-e
possible. The whole construction plainly
indicates the care and skill of an artist
snd connoisseur.
Domestic skeletons arc generally the
work of amateurs. Janitors in medical
colleges rescue bones from the dissecting
rooms and cure and articulate them.
They find purchasers among the students,
who on the completion of their studies
resell the skeleton, if happily the market
is not glutted. A second-hand skeleton
may thus be had at quite a reasonable
figure—occssionably as low as sls.
The imported article, however, ranges
from SSO to S4OO. The very high-priced
ones are valued because of the preserva
tion of the nervous an I circulatory sys
tems. Of course, they are beyond the
reach of modest purses, and, as a taste
for medical and scientific research has
not yet developed among the millionaires,
very few | 0 skeletons are sold. They
arealwayr special order. Avery fine
French sic ,leton may be had for $l5O,
and that is as high as tha general run of
purchasers care to go.
Skulls, hands, and feet may be pur
chased separately, but to obtain a rib, an
arm, or a collar bone, the whole affair
must be bought. A skull and cross
bones, suitable for decorative purposes,
cost but $lO. Tae skull has but oae
cut; it may be pretty, it is not artistic.
For $22 a skull that wili unhinge and
reveal its hidden contents is possible.
The bones of the ear are co nprised in
this treasure.—Boston Herald.
% The Aouud City's Name.
The city having been named in honor
of St. Louis many suppose that tho pro
nunciation should be "St. Looie," be
cause that is the correct pronunciation
of the name of the saint. Louis is not
an English name, and Hume, in angli
cizing it in his history, always writes it
"Lewis." All the French kings of the
name "Louis" are "Lewis" in Hume's
writings. Those who say "St. Looie"
in speaking of the city may think it is
more honor to the sainted King of
France, for whom it was named, to use
the French pronunciation. On theothor
hand, our language is English, and it is
perfectly natural that there should be
those who hold that the name of our
cities should be as nearly English as
possible. The"St. Looie" pronuncia
tion will never cause any one to forget
why the city was named St. Louis, and
if it is the most popular it should be
generally accepted. Doubtless the ear
liest settlers never said "St. Loois," but
it is a Kong time since they were here.—
St. Louis Post-Dispatc'i.
Aristocratic Indians.
There are no people in Maine in whom
the aristocratic instiuct is stronger or
who have more pride of birth than some
of those who live in Oldtown Island.
At present the tribe is greatly agitated
over the questiou whether an adopted
child shall be admitted to the inner I
circle of the island's Four Hundred. A
year or two ago Mr. and Mrs. Sabatis
Shea adopted a child from another tribe,
the child being half white, as are many
ot the Maine Indians. "Owing to the
fact that the child is a half-breed and
belonged to another tribe, "says an island
correspondent, "there is a certain class
on the island that is trying to prevent
her from having her rights, while Mr.
Shea claims she is entitled to all tho
rights of the tribe, as she was legally
adopted. There are other cases of simi
lar nature, but no trouble was ever made
before, and Mr. Shea proposes to fight it
out in a legal way."—Lewiston (Me.)
Journal.
PRESIDENTS AI DINNER.
HOW THE NATION'S CHIEF EX
ECUTIVES HAVE DINED.
Washington and the Shad—Enter*
tainraents ot Early Dayt-*Liater
President* Careless Enters.
X <TT"HAT did the Presidents eat?
\/\ ' is not so frivolous a ques-
Y V tion as the light-minded
and unscientific would im
agine. Let us try to answer it with
gravity and reverence.
Washington had plain tastes. As
President be was even inclined to be
economical. He used to lecture his
steward every week on the evils of ex
travagance. But the steward, an ex
cellent man named Frauncei, who wor
shiped Washington and had a proper
sense of the dignity of his position,
would mutter at the end ot each weekly
lecture; "Ay, he may discharge me if
he will, but while he is President and I
am steward hi* table will be supplied
with the best the conntry can afford."
Washington bad a special fondness for
fish. One February an early Delaware
shad, caught in advance of the season,
was seized from the market by Fraunces
and served up triumphantly at the Pres
idential table.
"What fish is that!" cried Washing
ton, as the savory odor met bis nostrils.
"A shad, sir," said Fraunces, glee
fully. "The only one in the market,
the first one of the season."
"But the pricel" Washington's face
grew stern.
"Three—three dollars,"stammered the
steward.
Washington's sternness increased.
"Take it away," he cried. "It shall
never be said that I set such an example
of extravagance."
And the dish which was too great an
extravagance for the President was
carried off into the kitchen, where the
servants ate it with no qualms of con
science.
Washington's immediate successors,
Adams and Jefferson, were light caters
in private, but the former gave stately
and magnificent banquets, while the
latter kept a generons table in the large
free-handed Virginia style. Forty guests
was no unusnal number, and it is said
that the marketing for a single day fre
quently amounted to as much as SSO.
Madison revived the State dinners of
Adams's time with a good deal of the
attendant ceremonial, which Jefferson
had discarded. Yet Mrs. William
Winston Seaton in her diary rather
slights one of the banquets at which she
was present. "The diunsr," she says,
was certainly fine, but still I was rather
surprised, as it did not surpass some* I
have eaten in Catolina. There were
many French dishes, and exquisite
wines, I presume, by the praises be
stowed upon them; comment on the
quality of the wine seems to form the
chief topic after the removal of the
cloth. Candles were introduced before
the ladies left the table, and the gentle
men continued half an hour longer to
enioy a social glass." But Madison
himself was a light drinker. When he
had bard drinkers at his table he would
invariably dilute his wine with water in
order to keep up with them, or else
merely touch the glass to his lips while
the others took deep draughts.
In strong contrast to Madison's ban
quets were those given by Andrew Jack
son. He hated conventional etiquette
even mere than Jefferson did and set his
face more sternly against ceremonial.
He always used a steel fork himself and
provided his guests with one steel fork
and a silver one. After dinner he
moked a long-handled corn-cob pipe.
At his farewell reception Jackson intro
duced a curious novelty. This was an
enormous cheese a yard thick and as big
as a barrel in circumference, which was
cut into three-pound pieces and dis
tributed among the guests. This proved
such a great success that Van Buren was
tempted to emulate the example. But
the cirpets and the furniture suffered so
severely from the greasy crumbs which
fell upon them that the experiment
was never again repeated, and indeed
the custom of serving eatables at general
receptions came to an end forever with
Van Buren's lest term. It had grown
to be such a glaring abuse that just
prior to the election of 1840 hungry
crowds had besieged the East ltoom,
clamoring to be fed, and threatening to
vote against Van Buren if they were not
entertained.
The deaths of two Presidents may be
directly associated with the table. The
first President Harrison caught a fatal
cold while out marketing, his invariabla
custom, before breakfast. Taylor died
of cholera morbus, resulting froqi a
hearty meal of cherries washed down
with ice milk, which he partook of on
his return from a Fourth of July cele
bration. In an hour he was with
cramps; in five days he was dead.
With the exception of President
Arthur, the later Presidents have alt
been rathei careless eaters, paying small
attention to the delights of ths table
when they dined en famille, and allow
ing their stewards or the ladies of the
White House to take full supervision
over the State banquets. President
Arthur, however, though a light eater
was essentially an epicure, who took a
great interest in the affairs of the
kitchen, and made the supervision of
his dinners a mattei of earnest study.
His private dinners are said to have cost
as much as $5 a plate, his public ones
over |lO. President Cleveland, on the
other hand, during his first term, is said
never to have entered the kitchens of
the White House, and though blessed
with a wholesome appetite and a
stomach capable of digesting anything
set before him, he has no epicurean
tastes. Garfield, when be entered the
White House, was tormented with dys
pepsia, and was forced to confine him
self to plain dinners. He and Ruther
ford B. Hayes were the only Presidents
who were not accustomed to serve wines
with their meals. Like most abstsiners,
Hayes had a sweet tooth, and was es
pecially lond of cake and caudy.—New
York World.
Terms—sl.oo in Advance; 51.26 after Three Month*.
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
Chinese botanist* can grow oaks in
thimbles.
Science announces that cholera bacilli
do not live long in the body that has
been properly buried.
The University of Pennsylvania, Phil
delphis, is to haw a building entirely
devoted to chemistry.
It is necessary to use high pressure m
order to transmit the electric current
economically to long distances.
The Edinburgh Review says that the
commonest form ot color-blindness is
that which thinks green identical with
red.
Coal of an excellent quality and in
large deposits has been discovered at
Djebeli-Ebou-Feyaz, in the district of
Zer, Asia Minor.
There is a reptile common to the
Sacramento Valley, California, known as
the blowsnike. A full-grown blowsnake
thinks nothing of swallowing a half
dozen eggs at a time.
The auger that bores a square hole
consists of a screw auger in a square
tube, the corners of which are sharpened
from within, and as the auger advances,
pressure on the tube cuts the round hole
square.
The modern lecturer relies greatly up
on the projection of illustrations upon a
screen, and the lanterns for this purpose
have been so improved that effects and
illusions of a most wonderful kind are
now obtained in the lecture-room.
M. Van Rysselberghe, who died re
cently at Antwerp, was the inventor of
the meteorgraph, an electric weather
register, by means of which the con
ditions prevailing in various localities
may be shown at a central station.
Much research and investigation war
rant the assertion that man is not the
only animal subject to dreams. Horses
neigh and rear upon their hind feet
while fast asleep; dogs birk and growl,
and in many other ways exhibit all their
characteristic passions.
Electricians are now considering the
feasibility of using potentials up to hun
dreds of thousands of volts. With the
potential of 100,000 volts the power of
Niagara could be transmitted to Chicago,
with a loss not exceeding twenty per
cent., and it could be sold at that place
in competition with steam power, prob
ably to commercial advantage.
A large dirigible balloon, intended to
make headway against air currents of
twenty-eight miles an hour, is being
made in France. It will be similar in
form to the La France of 1884-1885, but
larger—23o feet in length and forty
three feet in its greatest diameter. It
will weigh sixty-six pounds per horse
power, and will be propelled by a screw
in front with a rudder, behind.
The enameled iron of various colors
which has become such a common ar
ticle of electrical commerce is made, ac
cording to a French industrial piper, by
dipping the iron plates into an enamel
ing liquid composed of: Borax 21 parts
(by weight), soda salts 6, boric acid 15,
washed sand 25, feldspar 12.5. saltpeter
3.5, flour spar 3 parts. The plates arc
then dried and fired. Coloring is Ob
tained by using metallic oxides.
Change for ths Passen er".s §1).
There is a conductor on the Eucli 1
avenue street car line who played a
clever trick on a passenger the ot'ier
morning, which has probably taught
him to have his fare ready hereafter
when he boards a car. The passenger
lives away out at tho end of the line,
and was so punctual that he ciught ths
same car every morniug. About a week
ago he tendered a $lO bill in payment
for his fare. The conductor did not
have so much money at the beginning
of his trip and told the passeuger that
he would pay the nickel out of his o*u
pocket and be could return it the fol
lowing morning. The next morning the
business man agaiu presented a $lO bill.
Again the conductor - paid the fare for
him.
This occurred four mornings in suc
cession. The fifth morning the same $lO
bill came around, but the conductor was
prepared. He drew a heavy bag from
beneath the seat and handed it to the
passenger with the remark; ''Here's
your change, sir. It's all right. l'v,e
counted it." He bad secured 1030'pea
nies the night before and kept twenty-'
live of them for the fares he paid for tho
business man. Tae bag contained' 975
copper coins. The passenger took the
bag and rang for the car to stop. He
now rides on another car. —Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
A Tree S(M>O Kiars Old.
On the island of Teneriffe, one of the
largest if not the very largest of the
Canaries, about half way between the
Porto Santo and the summit of the fa
mous Pico de Tyde, the highest point of
land on the island, stands the consider
able town of Orotava, famous for its
wonderful "Dragon Tree," the identical
botanical specimen which Humboldt
pronounced "the most ancient vegetable
relic in the world." Humboldt made
calculations on its age in several different
ways, and declared that it was between
5000 and 6000 years old. Sir John
Herschel often alludes to it as the oldest
tree in the world. For at least twenty
centuries the Guanches used the immense
hollow of this ancient tree as a temple of
worship. Its eventful career was sud
denly terminated in the summer of 1367,
when it was uprooted and almost entirely
destroyed by a hurricane.—St. Lo iis
Republic.
Rais n; Swans.
Swans are not hard to raise; they sell
at S4O and $75 per pair. A farmer at
Biddeford, Me , is making quite a suc
cess at swan breeding, and his profits
must be quite large each season. Tne
average hatch yields from three to six
young swans. They hatch usually about
June and mature in fourteen months
from birth. Tney are very cross when
with a brood, and need watching con
staufly unless pecned up closely. —New
York Inde,pendeut.
NO. 28.
' ; 7
THE PATIENT SEASONS.
How patiently the seasons bide their timet
No murmur from the bud that mootlii
ago
Wat ready, where the earth inclined, to
blow; • •
The4)4i At are liihj |l j iu their-ohoeen home.
No doubt there are oommuoings 'neath the
snow.
And some bright eyes that never close In
sleep.
And some sharp ears that listen well and
keep • ■» • •
Sweet hope alive in little hearts below. •
Then let the winter wesr itself away, •
Borne thither on the breast of freighted
rills; 112 '
A dream of spring has touched the con
stant hill*, •
And made the valleys patient of delajr,
—Mary A. Mason, in Youth's Companion.
HUMOR OP THE DAY.' . v
Bright periodicals—Comets.
The man with a long head is rerelj
head-long.—Binghamton Leader.
It's queer about shops—they're never
shut up unless they're shut down.—
Elmira Gazette.
There never was so big a fool that he
couldn't learn how to count money.—
Atchison Globe.
The figurehead of a collegers usually
the professor of mathematics.—Phila
delphia Record. '
Many a man who "starts off
spoils everything hy coming back,—
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Pew men who go into maple-sirup
manufacturing make an unadulterated
success of it.—Troy Press.
Some men are like woodpeckers—they
can't send in a bill without making a
big noise about it.—Truth.
Many a parachute jumper would lie'
living to-day if be had never taken a
drop.—Binghamton Leader*
The man who waits for appreciation
generally gets it in the shape of
epitaph.—Milwaukee Journal.
"Does she make a good wife?" "Well,
it is doubtful. Her husband tiolongsto
four clubs."—New York Press.. . .
To harrow one's feeling* is not the
most profitable way of cultivating an
acquaintance.—Boston Transcript. *
The picket fence was outtined B'iarp, r
The moon was clear and pate.
Her lover long ago had left,
But thereby hangs a tail. • • ,
"The pleasantcst way to take cod Aver
oil,'* says an oldgourraand, "is to fatten,
pigeons, with it and then eat the pigeoas."
—Tit-Bits! »
The Professor—"What is happinjss!"
The Philosopher—"Th» condition of
forgetting that you Are ut»happy,
Chicago News.
A man whose tongue is his entirqg
capital defies the exigencies of commence
and succumbs to nothing less than a
paralytic stroke. .«v • * »
He's a dealer in rby .ues an i,in. '.'roc'is," «
An exponent of both avocations,
And cm furnish quotations of stoc <s, '
Or supply you with stoc is of quotations,.
• —Trufei.'
Dives—"l always share myself. l A ■
won't trust a barbftr on my Jace." f
rus—"l always shave myself, too. .No.
barber will trust mi on ray face.";— Ch
icago Tribune. :
Bluster—"l made a speech to-night
the banquet which will make me immqr-.
tal." Mrs. B—"And it was oaly last
month that you got your life insured I'*
—Boston Transcript. • * •
"Charlie, didn't you promise to try •
and break yoursetf of the habit of using;...
slang?" Charlie—"Yes, tnammt, and you
bet I'm gettin' there with both feetj
don't you see."—lnter-Ojean.
"Do play something, please, Mis*«
Pianothump," said the hostess, aij vuac- ,
ing to her music loving guest; "it's
getting prttty late," but not balf* the"'
guests are gone yet.Cnicago Newg. ■ 112
Mr. Nuwife—"So this is cottage"pud-%
ding, eh?'' Mrs. Nuwife (proudly)
"Yesl Can you guess how it's made?"
Mr. Nuwife—"Well—er I should thitrlcJt
of pressed bricks, dear."—Chicago Inter- ■
Ocean.
Johpson—"When I do.marry I intend.,
to 'marty a sensible girl, if I catj find
one;" Toruson—"Notf, there's 'MTss l
Sbarpe; she gave me i«p:"
"Just the girl I want, Won'{ yoa j.in-
troduce me?"—Tit-Bits. t . .
No man hfls ever been able to explain
so simple a problem as why the brilliant*
sun should ltiviah its light in broad day-*
light, while only a second hand luraj
nary is vouchsafed Vo man in the nfgtif'
time.—Boston Transcript.
"Yeur trffvel so much oil the cars* I
should think you would go armed*"- >
"Armed 1" exclaimed the suburfranitQ.
"I do. I never travel with less than
fifteen or thirty pounds of heavy bundles '«
that I could use in an emergency."— >
Chicago Tribune. . • t
Little. Mabel--"Mamma, don't y«u
think I can teach Fido to talk?" ' Mam ha
—"No, dear; what made you think you
could?" Little Mtbel—":Wail, _ w£on I *
gave him his dinner he growled just likq..
you say |>apa dobs when his meal doero't
please him."—Chicago Inter-Oceaih/ v iJ *
Mr. Billus—"Seems to meJ-.Marm;ttbio i
children don't speak half as. good' Eng
lish as they did before they began. to
to school." Mrs. Billus—"For mercps ,
sake, John, how can you expect tbeia to *'
learn everything at. scliodll.. i wished j
you would quit harping on that
language fad of yours."—Chicago Th
buue. ...
His Secret of Happiness.
"Professor"' said a gentleman recently
to the famous Professor Bltckie* of"
Edinburgh, "may-lask the secret, of' your >
happiness?" i ,
"Yes," replied the genial Professor,
who, in his old age is as sprightly and
merry as a- schoolboy. "KWbe Istha'*
secret. I have no vain regret* for |h» c
past, I look forward with to top '
tutute and I always strive to do' mj "
duty."—New York iierald. *>