Porto Rico means door to riches. The Spaniards Lave kept it shut t.nd locked so long that it may prove a misnomer. Tne formation and title of the Ig norance club of Rochester, N. Y., was suggested by a magazine article which related the experience of a man who li;i,d a habit of jotting down in his notebook such topics as he found ignorant of, the desired in formation being sought at the earliest opportunity. The officers of the Philadelphia Museum have received a letter from New Houth Wales, in which it is said ; "When the federation of the Austral ian colonies shall have been accom plished English and American dealers will commence to build large factories in and near Sydney. Several large firms have already arranged for them." Many an American boy, as he reads of tl>e delirious feminine effusions on Hobson kisser, dancer and best man and the extravagant mascu line panegyrics on Hobson man of courage, good habits and brains —looks at himself in a glass and wonders if he possesses any of the attributes of embryonic great ness, if he ever will have a chance to sink a Merrimac, if-he will be the Tdol of all the people. Without such ideals as Hobson to look up to oar youth would degenerate into a very leprosy of effeminacy. The Baltimore American says:"The effort to introduce foreign quail into this country has apparently pro* e i a complete failure. Several years ago sportsmen through this country were deeply interested in the attempt made in tliis state to propagate quail from other countries. Many birds were imported into this city,and then liber ated throughout the state. These have apparently all disappeared. The most conspicuous attempts were trans porting here of birds from the Scilly Isands and from China. The money spent in this direction was a loss. The last attempt on an elaborate scale to stock Maryland with exotic birds was by Frank T. Redwood, the stock broker and member of the Baltimore Yacht club, and a hunt for his birds reveals the fact that none of them are to be found." The Berlin (Germany) Reichsanzei ger has published an official statement of the finances of the kingdom of Prussia which is of great interest in many ways. It shows Prussia to be the most prosperous industrial state in the world, and explains how it is able to meet the heavy charges imposed by the political and military situation of Germany. With a popu'ation of about 32,000,000, the public debt of Prussia is rather more than SSO per eapita, or about 81,025,000,000. It has been increased by $450,000,000 in the last six years, but of this amount only about $25,000,000 was expended on unproductive work. The cost to the state of the whole debt is only 855,000,000 a year, while the net rev enue receive ! from the public works and state properties is over $135,000,- 000. The net revenue of the railways belonging to the state, which in 1880- 81 was only $23,000,000 during past years has averaged close on $75,000,- 000, and for 1898-9'J is estimated at $100,500,000. The state domains and forests yield an average of $12,500,000. A new and a widening feature in library work has been introduced in the pub ic library of C/evelandand in the Cambridge (Mass.) public library. It is that of looking up references nee le I by members of various literary societies or clubs, and systematizing the same by cards. In Cleveland clubs deposit their programs for the year's work with the woman in charge of this department, whose assistants look up the subject-matter in a Ivauce, thus greatly facilitating tha prepara tion of club papers. The board has also set apart an alcove to be known as Club Corner for the special conven ience of club members, men and wom en. It is filled with cases of books most called for by clubs—histories, travels, etc. The same line of work has been carried on in Cambridge in connection with the Economy club, a society of about seventy-five young men, who meet once a fortnight to discuss economic and political ques tions. The club issues a prospectus at the beginning of each of its two terms, giving the subject to be con sidered at each meeting, the subjects of one or more essays, and the res olutions npon which there will be a debate. 'llie librarian and his assist ants follow this list, aud for the two weeks preceding each meeting keep « selected list of books and back num bers of periodicals designed to fur nish the information needed on the subject specially reserved for th<» members of the club. Des Moines, lowa, last year had a Seni Om Sed festival, and many of the people wish it repeated hereafter annually. The title looks weird; ex amination shows that it is the naina of the city reversed. A bust of Oliver Cromwell has been placed in the corridor of the British house of commons. The house ol commons has come to think more of the great Protector than he once did of the house of commons. •Professor Koch of anti-tuberculosis fame has made a new discovery. Ho has come forward with the startling announcement that ho knows what causes malaria, It's mosquitoes. Now Professor Koch may be a very great man, but he has simply begged the question. If mosquitoes cause mala ria, what causes mosquitoes? That's what this patient world wishes to know. Tell us how to get rid of the mosquitoes, and we shall not worry about the malaria. The Hawaiian government has, in co-operation with a syndicate of plan ters and merchants, organized a pi geon post service between the eight largest islands of the Sandwich Archi pelago. Communnication had previ ously been carried on under difficul ties and at irregular intervals, vessels not always being able to reach the islands. Several hundred birds have been trained to the service, aud the attempt to establish a daily bird post has been attended with success. The most distant of the outlying posts is two hundred and fifty miles from Honolulu, the central station. Dr. Andrew Wilson of London writes thus: "I have received several letters of late reiterating a question I might well be tired of answering, 'Bo tomatoes cause cancer?' But for the fact that one takes a pleasure in stamping one's foot ou a misleading statement calculated to prejudice peo ple against a vegetable food which is entirely healthful and safe, I should grow weary of asserting that not a jot or tittle of proof has ever been offered in support of the outrageous state ment noted above. One might aa well allege that cabbage causes can cer, for there would be no more proof to be had concerning the tomato myth. I can only repeat that the tomato is an excellent vegetable enough, aud may be partaken of by those with whom it agrees without any fear ol its initiating any disease whatever." It is narrated that when the Well man Polar expedition, which is pro ceeding under the American Hag, pul in at Archangel, a Spanish trading ship was lying in that port. The Rus sian authorities were so fearful of a great sea fight between these twe mighty warships that they held tha Spaniard until twenty-four hours after the American had sailed. This is probably the funniest thing that hap pened in the course of the entire war. If that Spanish merchantman had gone out lirst and had bottled up the Welliuan Polar expedition, no doubt the Royal Geographical Society ol England would have sent its Baltic fleet to our aid, and thus the whole Anglo-Russian imbroglio would have been forced into open Avar, and the question of British rights in Chins would have been settled at once with out the aid of further speeches by Mr. Goschen, says the New York Times. When you come to think ol it, it is really quite dreadful to con template what might have happenod if the Russians had let that Spaniard loose. A novel method of ascertaining the point of escaping gas is practiced in Ghent, Belgium. The outfit consists ol a large hand drill or auger, several hollow tubes or pipes of the required length, a few corks fitted with quills through the centre, a bottle of Or- Palladium, and a few bits of white paper. Several paving blocks are re moved over the gas main, holes aro bored in the soil, aud in each is planted a piece of the hollow piping* on the upper exposed end one of the corks is placed, with the quill in the' centre running up and down parallel with the pipe. A small piece of the white paper is dipped in the Or-Pal ladiuin aud pushed into the open quill —twenty or thirty such detectors be ing putin position at one time—and, if a leak exists within, say two yarde of them, the effe-t of the escaping gas will be evident upon the paper, reudered sensitive by the reageut, aud it will at once turn black. The effect of the action of the gas upon the de detector first placed in position be comes evident before the last one ol a row of twenty is set up. The gas coinpauy of Ghent causes regnlai tests to be made in turn in all th( streets of the city, and the loss by leakage is ••». rO"T,TFTI. Tattoo had just sounded, and the oien were making down their bunUs for the night when the first sergeant entered the barrack room and called for Private Donovan. "Here!" answered a voice from the lower end of the room. "Report to the adjutant, mounted, for courier duty as soon as you can possibly get ready," and the sergeant ilosed the door with a bang. The young fellow who had answered (he sergeant's inquiry was not more ihau 19, but tall aud well-made, with that trim appearance for which the imerican soldier is noted. As he was foiling a blanket and getting together the articles usually required for such iuty, the first sergeant again entered tnd impatiently commanded him to aiake haste. "Never mind any extras, Mickey; ihe adjutant seems to be in a terrible lurry to get you off; so just take an txtra hundred rounds of ammunition »nd enough rations to last you for one lay, get your horse aud report to him it his quarters. The sentinel has or iers to let you in the stable to get the tnimal out." "All right, sarge, old boy," said Mickey, with an utter disregard of the liffereuce in rank that was common in ihe days of frontier service. Twenty minutes later Donovan drew rein at the adjutant's quarters and lismounted,but before he could tie up tiis horse Ihe door opened, aud Lieu tenant Haley appeared. "Private Donovan, C troop, reports {or detached service, sir, "and Mickey's right hand was raised to his hat with military promptitude. "Very well,Donovan,tie your horse to that post and come inside." Whe'n h ■ entered tha room the lieu tenant addressed him iu serious tones: "I want to tell you, Donovan, that Ihe duty you are about to tnter upon Is fraught with great danger to your lelf, and, iu fact, you stand a good •hance of never returning; for I want you to ride to the railroad with a nies lage to the commanding officer, who has gone there to meet his daughter, [ have just received news by a scout that the whole Cheyenne nation >yill probably be on the war-path by day tight tomorrow." Mickey did not wince, and the lieutenant went on: "If you succeed in getting through, the general can remain thereuntil the mounted troops, (vliicli will immediately follow you, irrive to escort liiin to the post. 11 you can get through Dead Man's L'anon very early in tbe morning you may be in time to cross the open country before the Indians are astir." "If there is such a thing as reaching the place I will deliver your message to the general," said Mickey. "Any written message to be carried, sir?" "i'es; here is a paper you will de liver to General Parr, if you manage to get through, which explains your journey to him. The train is not due at Rock Creek until about 10 o'clock in the morning, so you have time to ride the distance with a good horse." Donovan took the orders, placed them iu the inside pocket of his blan ket shirt, unhitched his horse and leaped into the saddle. He crossed the parade at a sweeping gallop and in a few minutes was lost to sight in the darkness. General Parr was an offi cer who commanded the respect and good-will of every man iu his regi ment. His daughter was worshipped by all the enlisted men because of her kindly ways aud the interest she man ifested iu them upon lier anuual visits to the post! She had discovered on a previous visit that Mickey was the pupil of an intelligent man iu one of the troops, and she at once interested herself in his studies, assisting him in many a lesson while he was on duty as orderly at her father's quarters. To this young fellow, whose only memories were of kicks and cuffs, home ess wanderings aud starvation, this lovely young girl seemed a being of auother world. He thought of her as he rode along through the darkness and felt a thrill of pride in the fact that he had beeu selected to warn her father of the threatened danger and probably save her from death at the hands of the Indians. At the end of three hours Mickey had reached the first range of hills, and he knew it must be after midnight. He did not want to push his horse too hard at the start, for if he succeeded in getting through the canon there was still a stretch of level prairie over which he must race for 30 miles to reach the railroad, and if the In dians were out again it might end in a race for life. After allowing his horse to browse for a few minutes, he tightened the saddle-girth, mounted and set out for the next range. It was difficult work riding down the steep incline into the valley, but once at the foot he raced across the bottom lands and did not draw rein until the tow'ering heights of the Black Hills loomed up before him. Here he gave his horse a short rest,while he himself munched aliard tack and refreshed himself with coffee from his canteen. He decided to take the trail leading over the summit instead of going through the canon, for he reasoned that he would be in a better position to make a light outside the canon than in it, if the Indians had already en tered, and also he stood a greater chance of escaping observation. By the time he reached the summit of the range great bars of golden light were beginning to shoot through the eastern heavens. He anxiously scanned the prairie that stretched away below him to the horizon, but not a living thing could he see upon it. Congrat ulating himself upon this, he pushed rapidly across the mesa that formed the divide and was about to take the trail in descent when his attention was attracted by a dark, cloud-shaped object that had suddenly risen upon the verge of the southern horizon. There was no need to ask what it was. "Indians" was Mickey's first thought. As he watched it the cloud grew larger and larger until he was able to distinguish the outlines of the ponies and riders. The young trooper knew that it would be impossible for him to cross the prairie without being discovered, but he did not falter. He had no idea of giving up. He opened the flap of his saddle pocket that contained the extra ammunition, loosen* I his revol ver in its holster and was about to urge his horse down the trail when he saw another cloud of dust rising di rectly east of him and in the direction he must travel. Mickey began to think that all the Indians in Wyoming were out. Sud denly his heart almost stood still, for out of the dust emerged :i government ambulance. There was no mistaking it. The four mules were .on a "dead run,"and the driver was lashing them to their utmost speed. Mickey divined that the general aud his daughter were occupants of the ve hicle, and his first thought was, "What cau I do to save the young lady?" for he could see the Indians were in full cry and endeavoring to reach the canon ahead of the ambulance. He noted with joy that it would be impossible for them to intercept it, and in the same instant a thought came to him by which he might save both father aud daughter. It was a des perate resolve, which might cost his life, as he knew, but no thought of self-preservation eutered his mind. He led his horse into the thick brush alongside the trail, took the extra am munition from the saddle pockot and rapidly descended to a point about 50 feet above the roadway which com manded the entrance to the canon and at tlie same time sheltered him from attack, except from above. The canon is so narrow at its open ing that not more than one vehicle at a time can enter; on the north side the wall rises sheer to the summit of the mountain, but the southern face is broken up into rough ledges that form excellent hiding places as well as for midable barriers. To gat at him the Indians would have either to force a passage and climb the steep side of the cliff or mount by a trail to the summit and then cautiously descend from rock to rock. Settling himself behind his breastwork and scattering cartridges around within easy reach of his hand, he waited for the ambulance to pass. For one instaut he was tempted to hail it as it passed and secure the aid of tlie general and the driver, but he dismissed the thought, for to stop the ambulance would be to endanger "the young lady." As the team dashed into the canon Mickey noted that the mules were running with a lightness which show ed them to be comparatively fresh and good for at least 20 miles. He caught a glimpse of the general with a car bine firmly grasped in his hand, and on the back seat he saw a white, fright ened face, the image of which never after left him. When the Indians advanced to within 50 yards of the opening, utter ing fiendish yells of triumph in the expectation of speedily overtaking the ambulance, which, they knew, conld not keep up the breakneck pace through the tortuous windings of the canon, they were surprised and stopped by the reports of three shots which rang out from the ledge of rocks on the face of the cliff. Three Indians hung limp upon their ponies as the whole baud rode back out of gunshot. Black Eagle, who commanded the Indians, was sharp enough to know that the attacking party were not sol diers, for otherwise there would have been a charge. He reasoned that the party must be a very small one to be intrenched in such a manner. Seud ing forward a dozen warriors to draw the fire of the besieged, he closely watched the face of the cliff and made out that but one man was firing. Moving his band south until they disappeared from the view of any one on the rocks, he hurried them swiftly townrd the opening, intending to make a dash into the canon and trust ing to the swiftness of the movement to disconcert the marksman above. He planned to send the main body on in pursuit of the ambulance, while a suf ficient number remained to dislodge the man who was preventing them from following their prey. Mickey waited for the mpearance of the Indians with every nerve strung to its highest tension. He thrilled with satisfaction at each moment's de lay, for he knew that the troops fol lowing him would make good time and probably meet the ambulance be fore the Indians could overtake it. When they had reached the point of vantage sought, Black Eagle's signal was given, and they dashed into the opening. Crack! crack! crack! went Mickey's carbine. Then as rapidly as he could fire he discharged the six shots from his revolver. He noted a confused jumble of ponies aud Indians in the centre of the road way, but others jumped over them, and he saw them streaming away far up the canon. Again the carbine cracked. Six, seven, eight are down; nine, no, he had miss.-d that fellow. "Strange," he thought, "that I cannot hit that red pate; the fellow must bear a charmed life." Again the hideously painted face came within range, and us Mickey rired he was filled with exultation to see the savage roll down the rocks. Now tufted heads were beginning to appear from behind every boulder, and shots were spattering on the rocks around him Ah—-had a hot iron beeu thrust though his left shoulder? A moment later his right foot also was seared by an Indian bullet. He hardly felt the pain of his wounds. He was thinking of the fair young girl, whose image was indelibly imprinted upon his heart as she was whirled past him a short time before. Suddenly a rock rolled dowu from above. He turned to look up. There was a blinding flash before liis eyes and then darkness. When the general returned at the head of the cavalry troop to the scene of Mickey's adventure he found the lad lying where he had fallen. He was dead, but the body had not been mutilated, for the Indians had been driven off by the approach of the troops. In the regimental descriptive book of the Fifteen cavalry the following re mark is entered opposite the name of Michael Donovan, C troop, in the handwriting of General Parr: "Born in obscurity, reared in pov erty and ignorance, yet possessed of the divine attributes of a hero! The voluntary sacrifice of life that others might live is greater than the duty of a soldier; it is true heroism."—Youth's Companion. UUAINT AND CURIOUS. There are 400,000,000 Chinese. Cameron, Mo., has a four-legged chicken. Switzerland has a deaf and dumb Salvation Army corps. There is a well in West Virginia which discharges natural gas with a roar that can be heard six miles away. A Jananese bride gives her wedding presents to her parents as some slight recompense for their trouble in rear ing her. As to the length of life of fish, it is said that the ordinary carp, if uot in terfered with, would live about five hundred years. Seymour lveyser, postmaster at Manheim, X. I'., lias an apple tree which was brought from Holland in the seventeenth century. It still bears fruit The time necessary for the conver sion of a forest tree, or a part of it, into a printed paper in a recent test made in Germany was two hours and thirty-five minutes. A queer exhibition was recently held in Berlin, Germany, that of the Vegetarian society, in which sixty children were shown who have never touched other nutriment than vegeta rian. In Berlin the firemen wear water jackets with a double skin, which they are able to fill with water from the hose. If the space between the two layers becomes overfilled the water escapes through a valve at the top of the helmet. The Sandwich Islanders estimate women by their weight. The Chinese require them to have deformed feet and black teeth. A girl must be tat tooed skyblue and wear a nose-ring to satisfy a South Sea Islander. African princes require their brides t-j have their teeth filed like those of a saw. The Age of Miti'vel*. We have witnessed the accomplish ment of many apparent "miracles" in recent years, such as the freezing of mercury into a solid bar when poured into a white hot crucible, by means of liquid air;tlie making of light without heat by means of electric vibrations in vacuum tubes; looking through solid bodies by means of the Roeutgen rays; studying the beating heart of a living person, and seeing his skeleton through the fleshy tissue and even through the garments; telegraphing without wires; transmitting autographs and likenesses by telegraph; diving beueaththe waves in a submarine boat; analyzing the sun and stars by the spectroscope: measuring the heat of the moon and stars by the bolometer; operating rail way trains and street cars with the electric force; moving carriages and horses by the storage battery; imitat ing the flight of birds by means of the aeroplane,and many other equally marvelous achievements. Some of these discoveries and in ventions, says the Philadelphia Record, are still in an experimental stage; some are interesting mainly to the student of original research in pure science while others have aa iinme iliuta uractical value. SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS. A French scientist has succeeded in obtaining metallic calcium free from impurities. Dr. Sharpbil says : The elephant does not smell with his trunk. His olfactory nerves are contained in a single nostril, which is in the roof of the mouth, near the front. Foreign authorities assert that tuber culosis is prevalent in all countries, irrespective of climate and other con ditions. In Europe, Professor Ley den states that it is responsible for at least 1,000,000 deaths annually. A French army surgeon claims sev eral advantages for a bullet of com pressed paper covered with polished aluminum, the chief being that the wounds are surgically clean, hea'.ing with little risk of blood poisoning. Ooroninm, a chemical element hitherto found only by spectroscopic examination in the sun's corona, has been found by Professor Nasini in the gases given off by Mount Vesuvius. It is supposed to be much lighter than hydrogen. .From 11215 answers to questions pub lished two or three years ago, Messrs. V.and C. Henri find that a person's first memory may be of an event oc curring as early as the age of six months or as lute as eight years—two to four years being the usual age. A boring has just been made at Rybintz, in Silesia, in which the earth's crust has been penetrated to the depth ever attuned so far. The boring was made for scientific purposes. No unusual features, however, presented themselves, except that the thermom eter indicated at that depth the pretty high temperature of 150 degrees Fah renheit. ICelic* of tli«» S|»tui*h Armaria. One of the most fatal spots for Ar mada ships had been Sligo bay, Ire land. When Geoffrey Fenton went to view the scene of disaster, he found Spanish guns sunk half a horseman's staff in the shifting sand, and "num bered in one strand of less than fivei miles in length above 1100 dead corpses of men which the sea had driven upon the shore;" and the country people told him "the like was in other places, though not of like number." Somewhat later, the lord deputy, on his way, as he expressed it, to despatch "those rags" of the Spaniards which still infected the country, saw with amazement the masses of wreckage scattered along a beach on the same coast—timber enough to build "live of the greatest ships that evtr I saw, besides mighty great boats, cables and other cordage, and some such masts for bigness and length as I never saw any two could make the like." A copy of the sail ing directions given by Medina Si donia, found perhaps in some cap tain's sea-chest among the wreckage, fell into the lord deputy's hands. A grim smile must have flitted over his face as he read the words: "Take great lieed lest you fall upon the Islaud of Ireland for fear of the harm that may happen unto you upon that coast." An Armada relic still more touching than these instructions is part of a letter written off Dingle, Kerry, by a Spanish captain, begging the presi dent of Minister for friendly treat ment. Into a bundle of state papers which tell, in the language of the vic tors, the awful story of shipwreck and bloodshed on the Irish coast, this fragment, rusty and stained as if by salt water, has strayed like a wail from the vanquished.—Century Maga zine. An Historic Cnri-luirp. An historic carriage owned by the late Dr. Evans has been offered for sale at the Paris Tattersall establish ment, but it was decided at the last moment to retain the vehicle as an item of the estate. In it the doctor left Paris with tlie Empress Eugene on Sept. J, 1870, when he was assist ing her to reach England. It is in tended by the heirs of the noted den tist to transfer the carriage to the Evans Museum, which is to be founded in America under the clauses of the doctor's will. The vehicle will be temporarily handed over to the care of the old coachman who drove the empress, her attendants and the doctor to the coast in 1870, when she was about to em bark for England in Sir John Bur govne's yacht. The vehicle is a lan dau with accommodations for four persons, and was built in 18(57 for the Exhibition. About ten years since Dr. Evans had it recleaned and reem belisued, in order to make a journey to Greeuvillc over the same ground as that traversed by liiin with the Empress in 1870. Daring that long drive he stopped at the same places en route as those selected on the memorable journey.—London Daily Telegraph. Fruit Oremlnj* for Shows. The best dressing for black leather is orange juice. Take a slice or quar ter of an orange and rub it thoroughly all over the shoe or boot and allow it to dry. Then brush briskly with soft brush until it shines like a looking glass. A most convenient dressing for tan shoes is the inside of a banana skin. This is rubbed well and evenly all over the shoe, and removing all spots and dirt as well a* giving a fine polish, which last is brought out by using a flannel cloth for wiping dry and another clean flannel for polish ing. A slice of lemon is also used as a tan leather dressing. Patent leather must never be blacked or polished with anythiug but an oil. They the hardest kind of shoes to keep in good order. It is necessary to take a clean sponge and clean them from all dirt before applying the oil. It may then be rubbed dry at once with a flannel or other soft cloth which will not scratch the patent —Com mercial Tribune.