SULLIVAN JBIFE REPUBLICAN.
W. M. CHENEY. Publisher.
VOL. XII.
The iin-st draught horses in the world
an* seen iu the streets of English
cities.
An estimate of the size of Texas
may be obtained by considering that
it is flfty-four times as large as Con
necticut.
The owner of some once busy ship
yards in Waldboro, Me., has been
plowing them up for conversion into
grass fields.
As evidence of the loneliness of tho
Pacific Ocean it is stated that the
steamer City of Peking on a recent
trip sailed 1240 miles without meeting
ft single vessel.
Homestead farmers in this country
earn eight per cent, of the total earn
ings of the Nation, and their farms
and stock represent seven per cent, of
tho National wealth.
It is reported that the Ghezirah
palace, situated ou tho banks of the
Nile, is to be converted into a hotel;
that a line of steam ferries is to ply
across from Cairo, and that the Nile is
to be tunneled.
Tho United States produce 2220
pounds of grain to each inhabitant;
Denmark, 222"); Canada, 1500 ; Russia,
1200; Roumania, 1150 1 ; Spain, 1100;
France, 990; Sweden, 980; Argentine
Republic, 850; Australia, 760; Ger
many, 700 ; Belgium, 600 ; Portugal,
550; Ireland, 500; Scot land, -190;
England, 3(10.
Henrik Ibsen, the Swedish dramat
ist, is desirous of visiting England,
principally, as he declares, to see the
old men. "In all other countries," he
says, "tho best work is done by men
between forty and fifty years of age;
iu England a man of seventy or eighty
is still in his prime. I should like to
see such men as Gladstone, Salisbury
and Herbert Spencer."
The Japanese Government is said to
have demanded that tho Hawaiian
Government extend the voting lran
chise to Japanese on the islands, the
same as to Europeans and Americans.
In tho opinion of the San Francisco
Chronicle "the demand has no legal
backiug, for every Nation has an ab
solute right to regulate the elective
franchise for itself, but if Japan shall
insist Hawaii will be powerless to re
sist, unless she be backed up by sonio
strong Nation."
Says tho Century Magazine: Tho
United States sells its forest lands at
52.50 an acre, lumber companies in
directly acquiring a square mile of land
for little over SIOOO, while tli» timber
ou it is often worth $20,000. The
French Governinent forests return an
average profit of s2.soan acre annually
from timber sales, or two and a half
per cent, interest ou tho value of the
land. The United States now owns
only enough forest land to provide u
continual timber supply to its present
population, if forests are managed and
used as in Germany. The United
States is exactly iu the position of a
man making large drafts ou and using
up an immense idle capital, which, if
properly invested, would return an in
terest sufficient for his expenditures.
Iu Ihh.'i tin Govtriiiuent of Bavaria
sent an expert forester to study the
timbers of the United States, who
Mated: "in fifty years you will have
to import your timber, and as you will
probably have a preference for Ameri
can kinds, we shall uow begin to grow
them, in order to bo ready to scud
them to you at the proper time,"
The Boston Advertiser reports an in
creased demand at the office of the
Massachusetts State Board of Vgricul
lure for its descriptive catalogue of
abandoned farms. This fuel taken
alolicwoiil I furnish no indication that
piirehusi s Wi fi colli. mplat. ■I, lait, as
the Advertlael point* out, there was
also during lie hard tllin > of |M7d i
UtdUMuhli men use in the dt maud foi
tui lit lauds, Ulel rt a* ihillg from this
aiming,) it i> . 'lf In un. nufortu
liult )" I*l-1 li| llt y the tlllUgelii'V ol lie
pa*t || » weeks Wi II to be Colltlllllcd It
h .hi likely ilull (he 'abandoned
farms' Mould be bought up very larg>
i> \ imt iiie.,i,»idi ruble eU» ~112 null
o|.i (»ti>e« have Mtved up mom.v, ami
lli 11 lie Shut loan id solll. 11l 111.
Ma.su. bus. Its millo wa. be long
loluiiiiiiu a* a li tter lhiu« than I.
It is estimated that 119,000,000 cop
per pennies have been lost to circula
tion in the century since tho United
States began to coin money.
It is a fact of curious interest that
twenty-four of the 6100 murderers ar
rested in tho United States iu 1890
were blind men.
A queer new law iu Chihuahua, Mex
ico, permits any one to shoot at sight
a person caught stealing cattle. Sncli
a law seems like a dangerous invita
tion to the holders of private grudges.
The American mosquito has crossed
the Atlantic, is entertaining itself to
its heart's content on the blue blood
of England, and, according to the
New York Ledger, is getting in its fine
work most effectively.
The religious census of Australia,
just completed, shows 1,485,066 mem
bers of tho Church of England, 84,118
Catholics, 493,369 Presbyterians and
394,564 Methodists. These are the
four most numerous denominations.
A learned Gorman who has devoted
himself to tho study of physiology and
allied sciences makes a startling asser
tion that mustaches are becoming
commoner among women iu the pres
ent day than in tho past. He says
that in Constantinople among the un
veiled women one out of ten possesses
an unmistakable covering of down on
the upper lip.
Kerosene oil is rapidly growing in
favor as a cheap illuminant in China.
The consumption, which was 8,256,-
000 gallons in 1882, had risen to 49,-
348,000 gallons in 1891. Of this
amount eighty per cent, was imported
from America and twenty per cent,
from Russia. The illuminant before
kerosene was introduced was bean or
tea oil. The Chinese have discovered,
however, that kerosene is cheaper and
gives a much better light. It is called
fire oil by them.
It is mentioned as an instance of
what tho fashionable world has come
to that a recent private concert given
in London cost the hostess §12,500.
According to this figure entertaining
one's guests will soon be impossible,
and society must inaugurate some new
method of keeping its end up in that
line. First-class artists over there ask
sums ranging from SIOOO to $2500 for
three or four songs, but, fortunately,
the number of these artists is limited,
and those who employ them are the
painfully rich.
The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House
of Commons would feel lost if he had
to exercise similar functions iu ono of
our American legislatures—sayiu Kan
sas or even Illinois, declares tin* Chi
cago Herald. He is too easily upset.
Mr. Erskine—for that is the gentle
man's name—is described as going
about during tho recent fracas "Ihj
seochiug infuriated legislators who
were engaged in the fray to desist.and
begging others who were marching
arotiud with their hats ou, to remove
the offending headgear." Imagine an
American Sergeant-at-Arms bogging
and beseechiug. lie would use a club.
Tho series of official reports setting
forth the material and educational
progress of the country, recently is
sued by the Mexican Government,
though not marking so great an ad
vauce as expected, is still very oucour
aging. During the past twenty years,
the period covered by the comparisons,
tile railway mileage lets increased
twentyfold, and the telegraph mileage
eightfold, followed iu eaeli case by a
proportionate increase of business.
Exports and imports have largely in
creased, us have also manufactures and
agriculture, aud the appropriations of
the Federal aud State Ooyeriiinents
and municipalities for educational
purposes has udvaneed from 91,1XM1,-
WW to IVriee and pros
perity have been secured, especially
during tin Presidency of General
Dial, who holds the reins ul Govern
luenl with a firm hand, uud who is not
I afraid to suppress lie tendency til
revohitiouar) movement by the prompt
application of Military form The
| coiinlr.v still sufli t», howwvei, from
I tin lack of csii iui lor produetiv. in
dii-try ou the pun ul ih< upper claw*»,
whoa i iiii i ambition is i.< hold public
ilttees, initialing 111 this tea peel thi
j Argi iitiues, and tie aim nc. of trained
habits of 111 dust r> .14 tie part of lb
11. bull ul, I lain I I e-i whleh tiollsll
; lull I'>iii ll!tt<> ol th' populall Hi
VI le.l I* ui'i lln • I. 11 In ill 4«i *t» iu,
I mlgiuiil t..i> tilup thi ta-»l n.l out
i< i».m. I 11, |4t'piti>!t -, ula leh ar
{ ly piinn- | 1., th>. lin 11 urn nt, which
ii,.t.l ..( M ui.l .1. e ii.,1,,. I |« t'fclfcua
tiu* 'I mi i ih> la Lai I'.,
LAPORTE, PA.., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1893.
SONG OF A HEART.
Dear heart—l love you ! nil the day I wonder
If skies are rich with blue,
Or bending black with tompost and with
thunder,
Poor heart, dear heart, o'er you !
Doar heart—l lovo you! when palo stars are
gleaming
(Sad stars to me, and few !)
X wonder If God's lovelier lights aro stream
ing,
Dear lioart, doar heart, o'er you 1
Dear heart —if life had only ono bright blos
som,
One rose to meet the dew—
I'd kiss it, climbing to your restful bosom—
And wear its thorns for you !
—Atlanta Constitution.
OLD ROSES* ROMANCE.
T was n barren
country,and Wad
gory was generally
9 shriveled with
J heat, hut he al
ways had roses in
/jj; Jj -,7 his garden, on his
window-sill or in
x **' his button-hole.
M&JL&uLj- Growing flowers
under difficulties
was his recreation.
That was why he
was called Old Roses. It was not other
wise inapt, for there was something
antique about him, though lie wasn't
old ; u flavor, an old-fashioned repose
and self-possession. He was inspector
of tauks from this God-forsaken coun
try.
Apart from his duties he kept most
ly to himself, though when not travel
ing ho ftlwnys went down to O'Fullen's
Hotel once a day for a cup of tea—tea
kept especially for him; and as he
drank this slowly he talked to Vic, the
barmaid, or to any chance visitors
whom he knew. He never drank with
any one, nor asked any one to drink,
and, strange to say, no one resented
this. As Vic said, "he was different."
Dicky Merritt, the solicitor, who was
hail-fellow with squatter, homestead
lessee, eocatoo-farmer and shearer,
called him "a lively old buffer."
It was he, indeed, who gave him the
name of Old Roses. Dickey sometimes
went over to Long Neck Billabong,
where Old Roses lived, for a reel, as
he put it, and ho always carried away
a deep impression of the Inspector's
qualities. "Had his day," said Dickey
in O'Fallen's sitting-room one night,
"in marble halls, or I'm a Jack. Run
neck and neck with almighty swells
once. Might live here for a thousand
years and he'd still be the nonesuch of
the back blocks. I'd patent him—file
mv caveat for him to-morrow if Icoulil
—bully Old Roses!"
Victoria Dowling, the barmaid, lifted
her chin slightly from her hands, as
she leaned through the opening be
tween the bar and the sitting-room,
and said: "Mr. Merritt, Old Roses is
a gentleman, and a gentleman is a gen
tleman till ho—"
"Till he humps his bluey into the
Never Never Laud, Vic? Rut what do
you know about gentlemen, anyway?
You were born live miles from the
Jumping Sandhills, my dear !"
"Oh," was the quiet reply, "a wo
man—the commonest woman—knows
a gentleman by instinct. It isn't what
they do, it's what they don't do; and
Old Roses doesn't do lots of things."
"Right you ate, Victoria; right you
aro again! You do the Jumping Sand
hills credit. Old Roses has the root
i of the matter in him—and there you
havo it!"
Dickey had a profound admiration
for Vic. She had brains, was perfect
ly fearless, and every ono in the
Wadgery country who visited O'Fal
len's had a wholesome respect for her
opinion.
About this time news came that the
Governor, Lord Malice, would pass
through Wadgery ou his tour up the
back blocks. A great function was
necessary. It was arranged. Then
came the question of the address of
welcome to be delivered at the ban
quet. Dickey Merritt and the local
doctor were proposed as composers,
but they both declared they'd only
"make rot of it," aud suggested Old
Roses.
They went to lay the thing before
him. They found him in his garden.
He greeted them smiling in his euig
mat leal way, and listened. Whih
Dickey spoke, a flush slowly passed
over him, aud then immediately left
| him pale; but lie stood perfectly still,
his hand leaning against a sandal tree,
I and the coldness of his face warmed
up again slowly. His head having
. been bent attentively as he listened,
. they did Hot s«-e uuythllig llllllsllal.
After a moment of silence and in
scriltalde deliberation, he answered
! that he would do a* they Wished
1 Mcke y hinted that he Mould i piiri
some luformatiou about Lord Malic,
I past career ami his family's history,
j but he assured them that he dltl liol
Uet d It , aud his ey« ■< idled Stiluew ha<
ironically with IHckev s face.
Win I. 111. two hu I . . 111 | ,
sat iu his room, a handful of h -Iters, n
photograph, and m eouptu of decora
iitiiin »pr> ad out before him ; his tin
tier* rifling uu tin in, and his look .n
gaged »llt< a very far hurt»oii
ik« (luti'iiiul Vaiuc. He was mi l
oUlslth thi township by the cili/.ii'
snd • acorled 111 a durly and uui.i. r
ous e««aica le Tint puwt d the in
! specll"U holts. I'he gslbu »»-
' bloomlug, and on |ht roof m fl<M wa
ll) ii Mru> kb ii. ... nlui I. .i
•el- lot lh. |he I id Mailt' ».kol
wholmd tln ff) will | |..p.,». d stop
ping f«r s mmuu ul to tbu «,
quuil.lant. wf lUowmi, addlli will
• 'la, slight **ti»«i»i, thai if tin oltl
ia| i ut till ( i't i I'lll.' til HI ft ksi lillnl
U' |i«> thtir |i*p<l'tlt lh. II tk'lKllluf
M»< ii iliiitrwr maa p«> hi i.i i
UJ ihi I.»
| ll.tl OU ll—. .ws a. im lh (*«i t, i
fc>.| in tl«» h ii" aa I titmj hit wilU
out seeing him. Ho was sitting un
der n willow at tho Billabong, reading
over and over to himself the address
to be delivered before tho Governor in
the evening. And as ho rend his faco
had a wintry and inhospitable look.
Tho night camo. Old Roses entered
tho dining room quietly with the
crowd, far in the Governor's wake.
According to his request, ho was givon
a seat in ft distant corner, where ho
wits quite inconspicuous. Most of tho
men present were in evening dross.
He wore ft plain tweed suit, but car
ried ft handsome rose in his button
hole. It was impossible to put him at
a, disadvantage. Ho looked distin
guished as ho was. He appeared to be
much interested in Lord Malice. The
early proceedings wore cordial, for the
Governor and his suite made them
selves most iigreeable, and talk flowed
amiably.
After a time there was a rattle of
knives and forks, and the Chairman
arose. Then, after a chorus of ' 'hear,
hears," there was general silence. The
doorways of the rooms were filled by
the women servants of the hotel. Chief
among them was Vic, who kopt her
eyes mostly on Old Roses. She knew
that ho was to read the address and
speak, and she was more interested in
him and his success than in Lord
Malice and suite. Her admiration of
him was great. He had always treated
her as a lady, anil it had done her
good. Ho had looked earnestly and
kindly into her brown eyes, aud—
"And I call upon Mr. Adam Sher
wood to speak to the health of his Ex
cellency, Lord Malice."
In his modest corner, Old Roses
stretched to his feet. Tho Governor
glanced over carelessly. Ho only saw
a figure iu gray, with a rose at button
hole. The Chairman whispered that it
was tho owner of the house and gar
| den which had interested Ins Excel
-1 lency that afternoon. His Excellency
J looked a little closer, but saw only a
1 rim of iron gray hair above tho paper
I held before Old Roses' face.
| Then a voice came from behind the
paper: "Your Excellency, Mr. Chair
man and Gentlemen—"
At tho first words tho Governor
started, and his eyes flashed searching
lv, curiously at the paper that walled
the face and at tho iron gray hair.
| The voice was distinct aud clear, with
modulated emphasis. It had a pe
culiarly penetrating quality. A few in
the room —and particularly Vic—were
struck by something in the voice—
| that it resembled another. She booh
found the trail. Her eyes also fastened
on tho paper. Then sho moved and
j went to another door.
Here slm could see behind the paper
nt an angle. Her eyes r.m from the
screened faco to that of the Governor.
His Excellency had dropped tho lower
part of his face in his hand, and he
was listening intently. Vic noticed
i that his eyes were painfully grave and
j concerned. She also noticed other
things.
The address was strange. It had
been submitted to the committee aud
though it struck them as out-of-the
wayish, it had boon approved. It
seemed different when read as Old
Roses was reading it. Tho words
sounded so inclement as they were
i chiselled out by the speaker's voice.
Dickey Merrit afterward declared that
many phrases were interpolated by
Old Hoses at the moment.
The speaker referred intimately and
with peculiar knowledge to tho family
history of Lord Malice, to certain
more or less private matters which did
not concern tho public, to the author
ity of the name and the high duty de
volving upon one who bore the earl
dom of Malice. He dwelt upon the
personal character of his Excellency's
antecedents, and praised their honor
able services to the country. He re
ferred to the death of Lord Malice's
' eldest brother in Rurmuh, but he did
it strangely.
Then, with ucuto iucisiveness, he
drew a picture of wliut a person in so
exalted a position as a Governor
should be and should not bo. His
voice assuredly had at this point a tine
edge of scorn. The aides-de-camp
were nervous, the Chairman apprehen
sive, the committee ill at ease. But
the Governor now was perfectly still,
though, as Vie Dowliug thought,
rather pinched aud old-looking. His
eyes never wandered from that paper
nor the gray hair.
Presently the veiiee of the speaker
changed.
"But," said he, ''in Lord Malice we
have the perfect Governor; a man of
blameless uud enviable life, and pos
sensed abundantly of discreetness,
judgment, administrative ability and
power; the absolute type of English
nobility and British character!"
Thell he dropped the pap. r from Ik
fore his face, and his eves met those
of the Governor, and stayed. Lord
Malice let go a long, choking breath,
which sounded very much like iui
mensurable relief. During the rest of
the speech delivered 111 u liln tem
per. I voice he kut as in a dleani, yet
ills eyes intently llpl'll the other, who
ll.iW seellied toll Clle I . 1111 < t 111. II re«d.
He till lib ll ull by the pleasant resttn
alien I*if Ills tones, all I sent the blood
itching d< ll.ditfullv tlir iii h Vie D •*
Una's veins.
Will u lie sti down tie re was 1111
men#- applause Th. G..». nior r.«.
I Ul reply. lie s|Hik«> 111 a low Voice,
but uh) one listening olllilde would
have »aid thai Old It < » w.u> still
speakiug lb this r. ..Ilium, in.
girl Vie hu I trailed to itthel* ll waa
n.,* uppar. 11l lo m.uy, lull Dick y
l suld alii i ward that it ass simply
cms. of but hand bf..ding nunc .
to aulkm jr. I ..iisit „»• « alike, just
> us »tad t.WUfcfs übd »fl.l-" —l%i*)| 1-
dtd
11. u i a»i I ul th UuniMui'i
s 1t.,-liiy t*'i.' uii his up. on mi
li. , , i , "4nd, s> I «<•< indtbu4
to D' ulltau,, N Ik. Ii . Unas of ihi
ihi « *M*b
this reception and th;i address just do- I
livered, so am I indebted to Mr.—
Adam Sherwood for his admirable lan
guage and the unusual sincerity of his
speaking; and to both you and him
for most notablo kindness." Imme
diately after tho Governor's speech
Old Roses stole out, but as he passed
through the door where Vic stood his
hand brushod against hers. Feeling
its touch, ho grasped it eagerly for an
instant, as though he was glad of the
friendliness in her eyes.
It was just before dawn of the morn
ing that the Governor knocked at tho
door of the house by Long Neck Bil
laboug. Tho door opened at once, and
he enterod without a word.
Ho and Old Roses stood face to face.
His faco was drawn and worn, tho
other's cold and calm.
' 'Tom, Tom," Lord Malico said, ' 'wo
thought you were dead —"
"That is, Edward, having left me to
my fate in Burmah—you were only
half a mile away with a column of
stout soldiers and hillmen —you waited
till my death was reported, and as
sured, and then came onto England ;
for two things, to take tho title just
made vacant by our father's death,
and to marry my intended wife, who,
God knows, appeared to havo little
care which brother it was. You got
both. I was long ft prisoner. When
I got free, I knew ; I waited. I was
waiting till you had a child. Twelve
years have gone; you have no child.
But I shall spare you yet awhile. If
your wife shall die, or you should havo
a child, I shall return."
The Governor lifted his head wearily
from the table where he now sat.
"Tom," he said, in alow, heavy voice,
"I was always something of a scoun
drel, but I've repented of that thing
every day of my life since. It has
been knives—knives all the way. I
am glad—l can't tell you how glad
that you ivre alive."
He stretchod out his hand with a
motion of great relief. "I was afraid
you were going to speak to-night—to
toll all, even though I was your
brother. You spare me for the sake—"
"For the sake of our name," tho
other interjected, stonily.
"For the sake of our name. But I
■ would have taken my pnnishment,
! taken it in thankfulness, because you
] aro alive."
I "Taken it like a man, your Excel
lency," was the low rejoinder.
"You will not wipe the thing out,
] Tom?" said tho other anxiously,
j Tom Hallwood dried tho perspira
| tion from his forehead.
"It can never be wiped out, for you
' idiook all my faith in my old world.
| That's the worst thing that can hap
peu a man.l only i.t-Ueve iu the very
| common people now—those who are
\ not put upon their honor. Ono
doesn't expect it of them, aud unlikely
! as it is, one isn't often deceived in
them. I think we'd better talk no
i more about it."
"You mean I had better go, Tom?"
"I think so. lam going to marry
; soon." The other started nervously.
! "'You needn't be so shocked. I'll come
back ouo day, but not till your wife
dies, or you have had a child, as I
I said."
The Governor rose to his feet and
went to the door. "Whom do you in
tend marrying?" he asked, iu a voice
far from regal or vice-regal, only
humbled aud disturbed. The reply
was instaut and keen. "A barmaid."
The other's hand dropped from the
! door. But Old Roses, passing over,
I opened it, and, mutely waiting for the
I other to pass through, said: "Good
| day, my lord !"
The Governor |>assed out from tho
pale light of the lamp into the gray
and moist morning. He turned at a
point where the house would be lost
I to view, and saw the other still stand
| ing there. The voice of Old Roses
kept ringing in his ears sardonically.
He knew that his punishment must go
, on and ou.
And it did. Old Roses married Vic
toria Dowliug from tlw Jumping Sand
hills, and there was comely issue, and
that issue is now at Eton; for Esau
came iuto the birthright, as he hinted
he would, at his own time. But he
aud his wife have a way of being indif
ferent to the gay, astonished world.
; Aud, uuoummon as it may seem, he
has not tired of her. Loudon Speaker.
Substitute* a ringer lor ll Nose.
Fre.l Daroy, a buy eighteen years
old, is at St Slary's Hospital, llochester,
N. Y., recovering from the first stage
of a peculiar surgical operation. When
yuiug, necrosis of the nasal bones de
stroyed his uoso, leaving all unsightly
depression. Doctor John O Howe, a
Rochester specialist, undertook to pro
vide an artificial none, lie has done
no b> amputating the third linger of
the left hand at the llr»t joint ami
taking the boue of the middle ting, r
for the bridge of the artificial nose,
I hi skill of the face was raised and the
ltif.« r put iu place and stitched to the
Itiuaiie above the lione. In order to
~i curi circulation sin I maintain life in
the It II :r ■ I ill. Ilitlld has bet ll hound to
the file. 1111 I. Week, bill will lie re
leased on Hun lay by an aliquitutloli at
the linger'* u iHitnl joint, slt. r which
11. w nostril' Will be . slaldlslud IU Coll
motion will, tin old Doeioi Bows
has h«d uIW MUM .<1 thi Ittttd before,
t'hh . li . I
Human Hh. lctiui I a. ul) •Hie IVet luu*.
M I I ill, Ihi I'll 11."ll BClelltl I, Ul
Iu iii 'ii raph i n plant* W
Da iphlii iu J annul > 11. 1011, u | i,
known an tin tliaut's Field, a
li k t.iMib tiilitj fist lung, la.lt.
- f..l widi an I • Hhl hit high was .Its
VWtVfed Wh> u "pi ui 111 wws lorn. I
to colli .in a hamuli sk< htun . utll.
ft, t wiilu w, i • lh- sti i||.U it uii I
, i*l.l till ihlek 112» ■lb hrtftst In in.
to thi !•»'k Ui I' •lh a eft.- < ».h
nil- 11l Ihi .(1 »». ><• • boot and hi*
•hiuiiot.l • i•• i. nrawnml l ui kit >n
jhu lh *t lam* l» i '.l lu,
Terms--.51.00 in Advanoe; 51.25 after Three Months.
RATS. MICE AND ROACHES,
THEY SWARM AT THE DEPART
MENTS IN WASHINGTON.
Vermin Are Destroying Many Valua
ble Pupers -Koilents Cleane.l Out
of the Wlitte. House.
VERMIN make much trouble
for the Government at Wash
ington. Until recently the
White House has been infested
by myriads of rats. They were cleaned
out at tho beginning of tho Harrison
administration by an expert with fer
rets. The wooden floors in the base
ment of the Executive Mansion were
taken up and concreto was laid down
instead. This was done mainly for the
purpose of keeping out such four
footed foes iu the future. The mice
in the building are few, by reason of
tho efficiency of a black aud white cat
that strayed in and settled down in tho
kitchou four years ago. When Grant
becanio President for the first time the
rats were so aggressive that Mrs. Grant
demanded the removal of the stable,
which then adjoined tho building on
the east. But tho destruction of the
stable did not remove the rodent pests.
In fact, they were so bold that ouo of
them tripped up tho fat colored cook
as she walked across tho kitchen, and
she killed it by Bitting down upon it.
The animals made a network of tunnels
under the brick pavements and in the
walls. They were not content with
ordinary food, but preferred the rem
nants of state dinners. Crump, steward
of the White House under Hayes, swore
that a banquet committee of the older
rats used to examine his books each
night for tho purpose of finding out
what would be served for dinner tho
next day.
Tho Pension Office is tho chosen
haunt of rats. Swarms of them adopted
the building as their home while it
was as yet iu process of construction.
At present the walls are alive with
them, and tho floors are full of their
holes. They feed on the remnants of
2000 daily lunches eaten in the build
ing. Such scraps commonly find their
way to tho waßte paper room, which
serves the rodents as a breeding place.
In the samo buidiug sparrows are al
most as great a nuisance as tho preda
tory quadrupeds described. They
make their nests by hundreds among
the timbers beneath the lofty roof. In
summer pigeons Hy in through tho
open windows and raise families on tho
premises. Some of these aro "homers"
lost on journeys with messages.
Ruts used to do a great deal of dam
age at the Postoffico Department. They
ate quantities of money orders and
postal notes, as well us blank books.
Much damage was done by them to
"dead" packages in the storeroom for
such goods. So, two years ago, a rat
catcher was employed, lie brought
ferrets and cleared out tho building.
Incidentally he astonished the officials
by crawling all around the structure,
a distance of four blocks, making his
way beneath the flooring of tho sub
basement, where there was no space
to wriggle through save such as had
been left in putting down the
sewer and gas pipes. This ferret
like proceeding is very destruc
tive to health, on account of the bad
air an 1 mephitic gases encountered.
Three hundred and odd cats are regu
larly kept on the rolls of the Postoflice
Department to prevent rats from eating
the contents of mail bags. Formerly
rats were very bad at the Patent
Office, but they were driven out with
ferrets. They used to chew up a great
many valuable papers, making their
nests among the stacks of patent rec
ords, covering half a million inven
tions, which occupy many thousand
cubic feet in the basement.. The few
rodents which still remain are kept
down iu numbers by nearly a score of
cats. <•<
The Treasury lias not been able to
get rid of the rats which infest its
building. Ferrets were tried a year
ago with only partial success. Some
iof the tloors were torn up and what
j appeared to be the principal breeding
I place was discovered iu tho waste
' pa)K-r room. A good many nests were
destroyed. Fortunately, the pests
cannot get at the paper rnouey to
gnaw it, because it is shut up in safes.
I At the Senate end of the Capitol there
j are very few- rats. This seems odd, in
asmuch us there are a great many iu
! the sllb basement of the Hollst Wing.
. Oiilv a year ago they caused a fire in
! the folding room by nibbling matches.
They are fond of eating the paste off
! the wrappers of public document* also.
1 The Governinent I'riutiug Office,
| which was badh troubled with rats
' a few years ago, hu-- Iteeii wholly de
] sorted by them for some time past.
Aiiothei nuisance that atlll.'t* the
' (loverumeut departments li rot. dies.
The I 'elision Office swaruis with them.
| At night the watchmen catch In fut
! Oftef aud keep lllflll lllttil MurUlUg 111
ueetwhuwd Imm lh. n th. \ i>> d
' them to the goldtlshi * iii the fountain
111 the nildille of the gr. .1 colli I I hu
; hitler gobble tin m greedily, which tact
1 suggests that posslbl. such >lllllll
I might bo mud. use of by sugh rs for
; bull Th. solvit title library of th.
Put.lit I lie Is tflslted OU.'i ill two
. liars tiy ull ftp. It who dcslrot* all
tin rout In* b> f,attract lh. Wat,
Hist aud Na» > llmldiug u* I lo Is
I overrun with mi. It. . bnl lh. . hav>
I i. „ I out 11- d.am
uu ui ro<<ai of lh. li nt -oi 14. pi. nis
In > iu Imihi r. l a I l. il • ilh
lo t, h. » l it.i. ui< wi aI. sol lie in
uht.l 111 Ik' Willi. II >l* O thai th
• h rk* I't. ». Hi obll I lo pal lh. it
I i ' ' ' ■ ■ I. ' '
ll th. U i. M ioi lh, » .». !» »i.
i hll.d t>. ui' ul ll kit..l |l" wi. •
»it 1 bi. - I I i ■!' i hu, ■ lln •
NO. 1.
THE WIND'S STORV.
lam sure that the wind Is speaking, /
For each flower is nodding its head,
And the limbs of the trees are creaking—
I wish that I knew what it said.
Some story, perhaps, it is telling,
A story of some distant land ,
But to mo it is like the swelling
Of breakers upon the white sand. „
The leaves wa't a moment to listen,
Then shake with a perfect delight,
All the flowers like diamonds glisten
And nod first to left, then to right.
The wind passes on in its measure.
And long ere the story is through
The forest is dancing with pleasure-
I wish I oould understand, too.
—Flavel Scott Mines, in Frank Leslii'l,
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
The general run of men —After tho
last street ear. —Philadelphia Record.
Tho man who falls in lovovery often
dislocates his common sense. —Puck.
To make bills is human; to pay them
—these days—is divine. Pittsburg
Bulletin.
Forged notes can always be properly
classed among the gilt-edged paper on
a bank. —Chicago Inter-Ocean.
The most popular bird of passage
arriving at the port of Sew York this
month is tho gold eagle.—Baltimore
American.
"That," said the man who smote a
calamity howler, "is one of the best
financial strokes I ever-made." —Wash-
ington Star.
Tho photograph of a boy never look,
like him, because no one ever saw a
boy as clean as he is in a photograph.
—Atchison Globe.
The clerk who attempts to live be
yond his means will soon be obliged to
live beyond the reach of his friends.- -
New Orleans Picayune.
"What sort of a girl is she? ' '•'( h,
she is a miss with a mission. "Ah '■
"And her mission is seeking a man
with a mansion."—Sketch.
Occasionally you will meet a man
who seems to think just as you do.
What clever ideas he has, and what a
pity he is so scarce. —Blizzard.
Jack the Clipper has been arrested
in New York. The girls whose tre«ses
he cut will be present at his trial to
upbraid him.—Galveston News.
Customer—"Do you suppose you
can take a good picture of me? ' Pho
tographer—"l shall have to atsv/er
yon in the negative, sir.'—Vogue,
Unmixed evils rarely occur. Tho
fact that money has been tight is eaid
to have resulted in a good deaj of
sober thought.—Baltimore American.
It is not true that "every man
His price has," as they say—
I know of one, au honest man,
Who gives himself away.
—Vogy.e.
A man never looks so helpless and
insignificant as when standing around
a dry goods store waiting for his wife
! to got through trading. Lowell
| Courier.
It is very hard to explain the
j tions of country life to a city man who
| has just investigated the voltage of a
black-faced butnble-bee. Baltimore
I American.
"And yon are poor?" "\es, but wo
aro happy." "Happy in your pov
; erty?" "Yes, for every one unwind
!us is poorer than ourselves. New
i York Press. '
Miss Antique — "How nienn tWese
newspapers are! Here is a inlttmn
headed 'Proposals,' ami H is all about
public improvements and such nou
sense."—The Club.
Mrs. Skidmore (reading) "Pli !-
ippa Faweett, who won such great dis
tinction as senior wrangler at Oxfor I,
is still unmarried." Mr. Skidmore
"No wonder." —Detroit tree I ress.
Watts—"l can't see what reason
you have for comparing old m:.i
Gotrox to a sausage Potts "■ «-
cause his stuff is all that makes hiui •(
any consequence."—ludinuupolisJo :t
--nal.
Gas well "I'm disgusted with you ;
Mr. Van Rrnniii." Dmluum " Air.
"He does nothing but ilirt with .he
girls." "Then you don't like tut a
man's efforts all nii»s dir. .'ted.
Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
"Can't you settli this bill l .
sir?" asked the tailor of the delinquent
M. P. "No, Snip, it wouldn't b »
' liainentary. I've in r. lv glau> >l. r
it, you know, an I I can't pas i i til
until after its third reading.' rid-
Bits. ,
He blushed a li.T\ r. I , h.-r It art
went pit a pat; *h ntlv li in: l t
head, and looked duWN IM til «•'
He trembled in hi* *p' "h; It.
from * here he sat, atel *h »11 I a ' 1 1
seriH'.'h, "Vou'r. .itliu : "ti iu,> '' «*
li t Hits.
",ii jtMt only have av. • V va • >
iuslea i »112 tw.*., this
theV told in. I iillUl . ill. r •%. up
half litv vacation or i.. I . -ti .■>»
mii i I wuhrii i iii H
unfit I Kilter than wo hit"! lb
I JII t.lfe
"M. u af. -wot to b. trti t I It.
marked to h> r *. > ui».i a t I m •' »'
eonltll friend "On ui> tlr»i I
ller (in li I. »a« tl>, "in« It I'ikel. «'l
Him' t<»r> le i> • -li > it tint lit
allelic that f0i1..a..1 t»aldu'l b
Urok' ti with a L. haiui «
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