The Chicago News says a man ihould always wait for a lady to sit lown before seating himself. Unless there is only one chair in the room. There is net much satisfaction in & bank's being shown by a defaulting tashier that it was richer than sup posed before the cashier got through With it. The next star to be added to the Sag of our Union will probably b( »ne of Oklahoma plus Indian Terri lory. Together they have an area o) »ver 80.000 square miles and a popu lation of 720.000. A copy of "Tamerlane." the firs! Cook published by Edgar A. Poe, wai lold in New York City the other daj tor $2050, which is more money that Poe ever received for all the writing ie did. It's a fine thing to be appre :iated sooner or later. Boston is Introducing in the mattei >f school buildings an innovation tha' will not only prove a great conven ence to pupils, but in the end resuli n a material reduction of their cost The idea is that tliey shall be made portable, to the end that they may be itilized wherever the most needed. Steel barges of great carrying ca pacity, which have been so success fully employed in the lake traele, are low to be introduced on the Miss ssippi river. They will so add to the safety and cheapness of river carry ng as to prove a new inducement foi Ihe shipment of all kinds of heavj !reight by water routes. The steady Increase in the size o: ships is causing every commercial port '.n the world to enlarge its facilitiei .'or the accommodation of the bigges', :ype of deep water craft. Dover ii ibout to spend $5,000,000 in the recon Itruction of its docks, which are toe small to meet modern wants. The ne\s locks are to be made large enough te receive and float the steamshii Oceanic, which seems now to be ac :epted as the maximum standard. Professor Marshall in his princi pies of economics is of the opiniot that $500,000,000 are annually spent by the working classes and possiblj $200,000,000 more by the rest of the population of England, for purpose! that do little or nothing towards mak !ng life nobler or happier. This con dition does not apply alone to Eng land. The money that is squanderec tor worse than useless objecti throughout the world would banisl poverty from the world itself, thinks the St. Louis Star. It has been discovei'ed that capita punishment was inadvertently abol ished in Indiana by a law passed ii 1897. The old law declared that ex ecution should take place either in the state prison north or the state prisoi south. The new law changed thi names of the prisons to the Indian: state prison and the Indiana reforma tory, so that the prisons designate* for execution no longer have any legal existence. The case is a curioui Instance of the unintentional miscar riage of legislation. Strangeiy enouph, the experiment O' sending Lapland reindeer to Alaska ir the care of experienced Lapland herd ers seems to have been a failure, an* to have cost the federal treasury a con tsiderable sum without adequate re turn. Both the deer and the Laps de velop a deplorable tendency to die ot prematurely. One of the returning herd masters says that the climate ol that part of Alaska to which the deei und their shepherds were sent was n« more rigorous than that e»f Lapland In which the aninutls and their Ueeperi alike thrive, but for some mysterioui reason Alaska food aud Alaska condi tions of the weather were deadly te most of the two feioted and four foot ed exiles. It is a puzzle. Who cat explain the causes of sickness and uca'.a among tjie herd# and their keep ers? An ordinance passed recently li San Diego, Cut., pres; nts a somewha' gloomy prospect for the America! breeders of Belgian hares. Hari meat. It Is reported, has become i drug on the California market, anc two or thrM large owners of the anl mats have announced their Intend >t to turn them loose on the country It Is through u fear that this e-e>urs« may become general that the super visors of San Dlei;o have lined a pen alty. varying from >2O to 1100, for lib erattug hares. The little eiuadrupedi are paitleularly fond of the bsrk ol young fruit trees as au article ot food, ami th-» western grower* art bi-coiuiug ettriiuely s»pi eheiml ve fol their orchards. The llclgiuit hart boolll 111 tbe wet-t. where it resldet particularly, i«cwi si say at the mo Visit L Ttaß automobile Is steadily forging to the front. There are at present 13 horseless carriage clubs in the United States. It la now claimed that the Chinese discovered America 1000 years before Columbus. Inasmuch as there was a very poor opening for the laundry business over here at that time they passed it by. According to a recent decision of the supreme court of Pennsylvania the right to use a gas pump to in crease the production of an oil well is upheld, even though its use re duces the production of wells on ad ;oining property. Women lawyers are to be admitted :o practice in the courts of France. IVhen it is understood that in French ;ourts judges and spectators mingle spithets, invoke the populace to 'conspuez" each other and often come to blows, the innovation can be bet '.er appreciated. The waste in the resources of civil zed humanity is illustrated concisely 5y Professor Marshall in his "Princi >les of Economics" in the statement :hat, in England alone, $400,000,000 is mnually spent' by the working class ind $2,000,000,000 by the rest of the English people in ways that do little, 112 anything, toward making life nobler >r truly happier. A noiseless street car wheel has been invented and it is now in use on '.he Chicago street railroads. The wheel is made of chilled steel. The tire is, however, adjusted to the main part of the wheel and a layer of pa per is inserted between it and the K'heel proper which absorbs the sound. Whenever a tire wears out it is a simple matter to substitute a new )ne. With St. Louis footpads donning evening dress to ply their vocation ind a Chicago highwayman extending professional courtesies to a real es ;ate man who he had inadvertently held up, it is obvious that the West :ontinues to sustain its prestige in the etiquette of robbery. Jesse James is gone and his great art with him. but tiis polite manner and his magnani mous spirit survive among his suc cessors. The commissioner of Indian affairs expresses the belief that there are ns many Indians within the territory now Included between Canada and Mexico ind between the Atlantic and Pacific is there were when Columbus first crossed the oceau. It may be so, but the matier is open to doubt. The fig ures of the recent censuses, it is true, show no falling off in the Indian popu tation in the present generation. Hut conjectures as to the number of the aborigines in the time of Columbus ;an be onlj- the vaguest of guesses There were no census enumerators imong the natives in 1-192. Recent designs in furnaces and auto matic stolcc rs reveal such gratifying progress in solving the problem of smoke abatement as to encourage Uio belief that the "smokeless city" it ml altogether a dream, but a possibility of the twentieth century. In fact, if we may judge from the progress already made In perfecting devices for the not a "smokeless century" it will b6 no excuse for tolerating the "smoke nuisance" for another decade. Ther6 are abundant and gratifying indica tions that if the twentieth century is not a "smokeless century" it will be the fault of inefficient municipal gov ernment and not the fault of the scientists. Martin L. Mowry, now serving a life sentence in the Rhode Island state prison for the murder of a woman, and hence adjudged civilly dead and in capable of suing in his own name, ap peared recently in the common pleai division of the Rhode Island supreme court and testified in his own behalf in a suit brought for him by his ad ministrator. The suit wis brought against the estat • of Klisha Mathew sou, the claim being that Mathewsor owed him ? .000, sluoo for 20 years' ser vice and flnOO as a present given hire by Muthewson's uncle. The suit wai brought originally by Mowry In hli owu name, but the court ruled that iu he was .serving a life sentence for raur der he was civilly dead and hence In capable of suing- A doctor was ther Appointed Ills administrator for the pur limn of can > ing out the suit. I'vet j then the iltfence claimed that Mowrj could wot b>< recognized as a witness Hut t tie jll |g • decided that though lit was civilly dead for certain purposes for other purpose* lie was still alive Hence l ln* lemuikttbltf spectacle of k man civilly d.ud actually appearing It court aud testifying for hi* tiAiiiinls trator lit a eutt agulust thu festal ) <1 I> nou* UwUt civilly aud physically a- *4 t THEIR WEDDING DAY. \ BY A. M. CAMERON. Such a bare little place! cold and dark and comfortless as a room well nigh innocent of furniture must be, yet sweet and clean and orderly, and above all —home to old sick Molly and Timothy, her husband. "Bring her over at once, then, and the sooner the better; perhaps this will make the journey easier," said the doctor, as he laid a shilling on the table and breathed a sigh of relief. He had come ready prepared to meet the hundred find one difficulties and ob jections usually put forward in such a case, but the convincing arguments had been all unneeded, for Molly had risen to the occasion bravely and had consented to become an in-patient at the big hospital across the park that very day. So, his task successfully accomplished, the doctor turned to leave the room. "Might it be tonight?" It was Tim othy who spoke. "I'll bring her for certain tonight, but we'd like to have just this one day together first." "No, bring her at once as I told you; why, the sooner she is in the sooner she will be out again, you know; what übjections can you have?" Timothy hesitated, but a glance at Molly's thin face and a certain eager, wistfulness upon it gave him couarge. "It's only this, sir, and it may seem a poor sort of reason to you. but this is our wedding day, we've never spent It apart yet—and—" The old voice faltered, and the sen tence was never finished for the young man himself interrupted it— "Reason! why it's the very best of reason, if you had only said so at once! Bring her tonight then by all meani; good-by till then." Left with liis wife, Timothy seated himself beside her and patted her hand encouragingly. "Hospitals are such fine places, Moll." "Very fine, dear," and she looked at him with the smile whose sunshine had made life bright to him for so long. "Such splendid food and nursing, Moll; and the rooms! why, I'm only afraid you'll be looking down on this poor little place when you come back to it after a bit so well and strong; for it's wonderful how well folks do get in those hospitals, Moll, quite won derful." "Yes, Timothy, so they do, very of ten." Her lips trembled, but only for a mo ment. Then, with a brave attempt at cheerfulness, she continued — "But Tim, my man. it's getting on, and we're wasting precious time, shan't we begin?" And drawing nearer still, Timothy began. It was an old. old custom with them now. Year after year in the same simple fashion, though never be fore in such a room or with so little to help the keeping. Formerly the little anniversary festival had been as a sort of happy duet between them, each In turn reviving some sweet old mem ory or cherished recollection. Today, however, Timothy had it all his own way for Molly said little only lay back and smilled contentedly or shook her head gently as the case demanded, while she listened one more to the old familiar story tl.at time only seemed to make more dear. And Timothy told of the happy ;ourting days, happy though wise folks had shaken their heads and had au gured ill of this foolish marriage; of a certain April morning when a dull old London church "had seemed so still and solemn, anod yet so strangely bright; of the friends—and he named them one by one—who had collected at her home near by to wish them well; and at last of that real home coming, the settling down in the poor little attic rooms which his love and thought had made so sweet and snug and eosey. "And the violets," she putin quick ly, "don't forget the violets, Tim." potatoes, fried potatoes—and I don't "Ay. the violets. 1 pinned them on myself, didn't I? The sweetest bu«ast knot I could find for the sweetest lass in all the world to me." He paused again and she watched him keenly, anxiously. "Yes, Moll,"* he resumed presently, "don't let us shirk it, old girl; then —" but his voice sounded strange, and she could barely catch the words, "then came that grand first dinner party of ours; you and me for guests, and fish —fried fish it was. with potatoes—fried potatoes—and I don't know what be sides; and yon laughed so because I eouldu t help to cook them, do you remember, Moll? l)o you remember?" uud throwing back Ills head. Timothy burst suddenly into a laugh so strange aud wild that it well-nigh tore poor Molly's heart in two. Then, ns sud denly ceasing, he burled his face in his hands and sobbed us though his heart must break, while the quiet tears ran down her old cheeks tot), and what could she say to comfort him? For nine and thirty years thut little anuiversarv feast had been celebrated HO worthily, every item of thut happy first meal together repeated, and now! "Oh, my Moll, my Mull," he sobbed, "you must go without it today. I've no mouey left, not even u penny; poor girl, my poor, old girl." Shu dared not trust herself to speak, ouly stroked the gray head softly, tenderly. suddenly he raised It.and looking not ut her but at the doctor's shilling, he pointed eagerly to it. "Moll"' Hut she shook h«r hewd sadly. "It Has fur Ihu cub Tliu Tlier* l» neither train nor 'bus to help me, and I must go in, you know." He sat still once more lost in thought. Then jumping up excitedly he stood before her and spoke fast and eagerly. "Moll! think! You know the park, quite near? Could you with my arm, my strong arm, dear, could you walk to its gates? You could? Then listen, Moll; I'll carry you through, it's not far, and then, why then, it's but a step on the other side to the hospital door, do you see, old woman, do you see?" Moll nodded, but looked confused. The nod, however, apparently satisfied him, for he offered no further explana tion, only asked if she minded being left by herself for a bit, and then, smiling mysteriously, disappeared. Left alone, Molly lay still, too tired and weak to wonder much at anything, while her mind wandered dreamily back again over the pages of that old life story whose joys and sorrows seemed today to have become so strangely merged in one; till at last she remembered no more, the tired eyes closed wearily, and calmly and peacefully old Mollie slept. Timothy's re-entrance awakened her and she smiled a welcome. He came forward eagerly, his old face ilubhed and glad, his little body bent half double over the covered tray his shaking arms were carrying so proudly; a tray from which there is sued forth the all-pevading smell, ap petizing or sickening as the case may be, of—fried fish! "Shut your eyes tight, old girl, just for a few moments," he cried out; and still beaming from car to ear, Tim brought forward a little round table, placed it near Molly's chair, and softly and quickly proceeded to lay it. Fish potatoes! bread! butter! tea! milk: Why, what more could king or queen desire? And all from the marvellous possibilities of one bright shilling; Then, diving into the mysterious depths of a back pocket, Timothy pro duced therefrom a little bunch of vio lets, crushed indeed and faded, but sweet still, and bending softly over Moll he gently fastened them on her breast. Then seating himself opposite to her he told her eagerly she might "look." Her unaffected surprise was rich re ward indeed. "It's your cab, dear heart," he cried. "Your cab! you couldn't use it and a riding horse too, could you? and here's >our horse all saddled and ready. It's quite right and square, Moll," he added, quickly, as he caught sight of an expression of doubt on her honest face. "Didn't the doctor say it was to make the journey easier and won't it, old girl, won't it? Ah, I thought that would settle it.' Whatever she may have felt, Molly had not the heart to object any fur ther, and so the wedding feast pro ceeded. Timothy picked out the daintiest and most tempting morsels he could find, and for his sake she did her best bravely, but It was hard work. Every thing tasted so strangely today; even that blessed cup of tea seemed to have lost the magic of its strengthening and reviving powers ;and at length, all further effort impossible, she waved off the last proffered morsel and lying back wearily, shook her head. "Eat it yourself, you don't cheat fair, my man; and, ah, Tim," she added sadly, "you've forgotten some thing after all. for that day you drank our health in a glass of beer." Timothy expected this, and was not to be taken unawares. "Beer!" he answered unblushingly, "ah, yes, to be sure, so I did; and I was just thinking as I came along how tastes change. Why, there's a some thing almost unpleasant to me in the very idea now! So today If you please, my lass, I'll just drink your health in tea." Molly said nothing. Only for a few minutes the room seemed dim anu misty, and life was very sweet. And so once more that wedding feast was kept. « • * • A little later, just as the short sprint day was drawing to a close, the lew pedestrians hurriedly wending their homeward way across that quiet bit of the park, paused for a moment to gaze at a somewhat unusual sight. It was that of a little old man. weak and tot tering himself, but pushing bravely and steadily on with eyes firmly fixed on the still far distant gates, and car rying on his back, her thin arms clasped about his neck, her hands firm ly grasped in his. an old sick woman, Molly, his wife. Hearts are kind, and more than one friendly offer of help had been made to Timothy, but though grateful for the offers he had seemed almost impatieut at the delay, and declining all assist ance had plodded quietly on again. He could hardly have told how often he had stopped to rest since .first that strange journey had been begun; cer tainly each time that the shelter of a friendly seat bad been gained, often #f necessity when there had been no such help at hand. Somehow he had fan cied himself so much stronger than hud proved to be the cose, for It sure ly could not be that Molly was heavier than lie had imagined, and she so Weak ami ill! At first her cough had been terribly bad and it bad torn and hurt htm so to hear It; but of late it had seemed to gel better and at last it had ceased altogether, and verv gratefully Tim* jihy had thanked Cod tor that. A few UU-mebU: a»o they hud stopped to lest again for the last time and he had questioned her tenderly as to how she aid. Her face looked paler he thought, hut sue seemed easy and happy, and she had smiled so sweetly at him as she answered rather drowsily, "Quite comfortable, Timothy, only very sleepy; good night, my man."and he had kissed her lips tenderly and rever ently as he always did, and then cheered and comforted had once more pushed on. Ah! there were the park gates al most reached at last; and indeed it was time, for his old arms ached ter ribly and his old knees threatened to fail him altogether. He spoke encour agingly to her from time to time, but she had evidently fallen asleep for sne did not answer him. It was better so. he thought, for now shecouldnot guess how tired he was, and it would have hurt and vexed her sorely had she known it; his good old loving Moll! Only a few more weary steps and the gates were really gained. Passing through them on they went, these two strange travelers, and the little band of urchins in their wake noticed that just before the great door of the hospi tal came in sight the old man panted more and more and his poor little stock of strength seemed almost ex hausted. Yes, the labor of love was all but over now; one more eifort and the goal was reached. Worn and weary, and spent with fatigue, but still clasping tight that precious burden, Timothy stumbled up the last steep steps, and as friendly arms drew him into the sate shelter of that lire-lit hall, and kindly faces looked pityingly into his, the place seemed suddenly to become confused and inisty, the voices to re cede further and further away, till at last, wrapped in a mericful uncon sciousness, he remembered no more. Faithful unto death; his task was done; that kiss in the park had indeed sealed their last good-by, and his lov ing old arms had held her to the end. For,as they gently unclasped her arms from about his neck, they saw that Molly was dead. ■s « * » They would so willingly have kept him on, at least a day or two, till he should have recovered somewhat from the shock of that first sad awakening, but the old man was firm. The littlo attic room was his for a week or two longer and then—why, then there was the"House," he said; the dreaded law of separation had lost all power to hurt him now; he would just take one more look at her and then go home. They went with him to where sho lay, the matron end a doctor; not the friendly young doctor of the morning, but another whose face looked unsat isfied and tired. Something had gone amiss with his life-springs of late, and since then he had ceased to believe in the possibility of good, either human or divine, and now he eyed Timothy with a half curious, half pitying gaze. The latter shed no tears, had shed none indeed since first they broke the news to him; the comfort of them might come later, perhaps, and there was time enough. He stood by her now, perfectly com posed and calm, scanning earnestly each still feature and though to learn it the better by heart. Then it laid his honest, old, work-worn hand on hers and kept it there for a moment. "The ring." whispered the doctor to the matron. "It may buy him a drop of comfort at least. Let him have it." She hesitated, then touching Tim othy gently on the arm she painted to it. "You will like to have it, perhaps?" she asked softly. He glanced down at it, such a poor little line of goid, worn thin in long and loving service for him, and shook his head. "Thank yon, ma'am," he answered gratefully. "You're very kind, but I'd rather not. Come good or ill, my old woman would never part with that, and I won't take it from her now." He hesitated for a moment, then gaining courage as lie looked into tho matron's sympathetic face, he contin ued — "if I might make so bold, ma'am, would you let me have my dear girl's bonnet?" Very tenderly sne gave it to him, such a poor, rusty thing, and he re ceived it reverently as we do some thing that is sacred and very precious; then with a grateful "Thank you, ma'am," he turned to leave the room. He glanced towards the doctor as though to bid him good-by too. but he had moved off from them and seemed busy over something at the further end of the ward. So Timothy went away. He had almost reached the great outer hall when he heard the sound of hurrying footsteps behind him and his own name spoken, and turning round he saw the doctor. The latter looked at him silently for a moment, and there was an expres sion on his face that had been wanting there of late. "Will you shake hands with me?' said the doctor.— Waverly Magazine. Koynlty In th« SCHIM. The Cri de Paris has put all the sov deigns and rulers of Europe into the scales and weighed them —ll >t polit'.- (ally, but physically. The heaviest •uler In Europe is Carlos of Portugal v\ ho weighs 202 pounds. The second In heaviness is Ferdinand of MulgarlP v. Ith 192; the third Is Oscar of Sweden whose weight is 176. KalF»-r Wilhelm of Germany weighs nearly 176 pounds; Kaiser Franz Josef of Austria-Hun gary, tT>4 pounds: Leopold of ltelgliiin 143. The Russian Czar is very light; has lost H pounds during the last two years. The "little'' Queen of Holland weighs >7l pounds, and 'ht of Hollanw weighs 171 pounds, and the still smaller King of Spain only 99 pounds. President weighs IM' pounds. MY SILENT LOVE. My love Is lying still, ' My love lias gone to rest: Her liands are 1 ighll v crossed Lpon tier gentle breast. Ti'f'ad .R°f i'y ; Wlilsper low. While I my vigil keep— My love is nine months old! How sweet she Is—asleep I —Chicago Tlines-Ilerald. HUMOROUS. Hoax—How did he make his money? Joax —In mattresses. Hoax—Then why doesn't he retire? "I may be a faiure." remarked the flying machine, "and yet I can truth fully say that there are no flies on me." Miss Gotrox—But. Clarence, papa objects to you because you have to work for a living. Clarence —Well, I won't' after we are married. Nell —I do so lovo to hear Mr. Knowitall talk. Isn't he delightful? Belle—Yes; and so unintelligible. His conversation is just like magazine poetry. "Men of my profession are very good story-tellers," remarked the barber. 'Yes," assented the smart ing sufferer in the chair, "and they usually illustrate their stories witb cuts." "What do you think of this portrait of me, my dear?" asked Witherup. "It is very smiling and pleasant," said Mrs. Witherup. Then she added, wistfully: "I wish you'd look like it once in a while. John." Tommy—Pop, tell mc sotne conun drums. Tommy's Pop—Conundrums? Why, I don't know any conundrums. Tommy—Oh, yea, you do. I heard mamma tell Aunt Mary today that you kept her guessing all the time. "I see." remarked the star boarder, "that a new cult has been started ad vocating the use of uncooked food exclusively. "Sh-h-h-h-! not so loud!" whispered the nervous board er; "the landlady might hear you." Tess (who has wandered into the sporting page by accident) —"BostoD has a phenomenal pitcher recently discovered in the west." What is a phenomenal pitcher? Jess—Oh! I sup pose it's one that can hold an awful lot. "I suppose," said the visitor to the penitentiary, "that prisoners are al ways anxious to have their terms ex pire." "Some of them ain't," replied the guard. "Remarkable! Which are they." "The ones that have life sen tences." Patient —C-c-can you c--c-cure st-st stam-m-mering? Physician—Yes, sir Do you wish to take the full course of treatment? Patient —N-n-no. T j-j-just w-w-want to learn to s-s-say ch-ch-ch-chrys-chrys-an-the - the-the m-m-m-mum so I can tell the fl-florist what I w-w-want before the ch-ch-the fl-flowers w-w-withgr. OUGHT TO BE PROUD OF IT, Our Congi-ciifl the Mont I lit creatine ltody of Men in (lie World. "The Congress of the United States is the most interesting body of men in the world. It comes nearer to being a representative body than any other that ever existed. It is the microcosm of the Republic, presenting in concen tration all the extraordinary peculi arities of the nation whoso work it is selected to perform. Its average of ability is higher than that of any other parliamentary body on earth. Each oi its members represents a larger con stituency than is represented by any single member of a European parlia ment, and with very few exceptions each member is a good representative of the constituency for which he Btands. Those who sneer at Congress and at Congressmen sneer at the voters who selected them. Luckily that sort of thing is going out of fashion. People are beginning to appreciate Congress for what t really is, and it is getting better all the time. "There are very few members either of the House or of the Senate who are not of native birth. To be exact, there are just 10 representatves and six senators. In the Fifty-sixth Congress, curiously enough, one of the members is Henderson, the speaker, who is a Scotchman. But he is as genuine an American as there is in the land. Con sidering the proportion of foreign tc native-born In the United States, thf percentage is insignificant, especially when it is remembered that the aver age member of Congress is one whe has been given to moving about the world and shifting his environment Out of 352 members of the present House only 217 represent the states in which they were born, and of this number only a few still live in the Congressional district where they first saw light. The average Congressman Is a hustler. He has been ambitious oi else he would never have found his present place. That he has been suc cessful in some measures goes without saying, and the fact that so many of them have broken away from theii early surroundings, and have gained new successes in new fields, simply goes to show something of the energy and force that have helped to make the American Congress what it Is."— 1,. A. Coolldge. in Ainslec'S. Klertrie Ori» Viiieltrr*. A remarkable mining project 1? afoot In Switzerland. Owing to the great difllcut!> In securing coal tc work the bed* of hematic ores In the Hurnese Oberland, nt :ir Melnlngen, an electrical aerial tramway Is to lie built for carrying the fires to th«> village of Innert Klrchen, In the valley below. Here the water power of the river Aar Is available, and a f-u.ooo horsepower electric plant Is to be erected. This current, beside being utilised for gen eral power purposes, will be em ployed for refining the ore In a spe- L-ially deslgutd electric Miu-lter
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers