McKlnley, like our other two as sassinated presidents, left only a small fortune. The International Seasickness asso ciation and tho Amalgamated Hay Fe ver society should fuse and break into politics. Arizona olives are said to be better than the imported ones. Evidently nobody has found out, as yet, how to adulterate them. The mission of the new problem sto ry is said to be "not to settle prob lems, but to raise them." Most people can raise their own problems without any assistance. The new woman is in the medical profession to stay. The first of the class obtained her diploma in 1849. There are now COOO women graduated in medicine in this country. Electricity is finding additional favor in Swcdon. The government of that country is figuring upon utilizing it as the motive power upon all the rail roads of that country. The supera bundance of water power in Sweden renders this easily possible. New England still holds the record for density of population in the United States. Rhode Island has 407 inhabi tants to the square mile, Massachusetts 349. New Jersey comes third with 250 and Connecticut fourth with 187. There are only lour other states —New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio— which have more than 100 inhabitants to the square mile. A sea-going suction dredge has been specially constructed at Richmond, Va., for use in the southwest pass of tho Mississippi river. The craft is able to steam at the rate of 10 knots an hour. If it can be operated in rough water, which no dredge yet in vented has been able to do, it may solve the problem of reaching the gold bearing sands underlying the ocean off Cape Nome. The cost of harvesting wheat on tho Pacific coast has been so lessened by the use of automobiles that a greater amount of the grain can be produced at the same actual expense than in the Argentine Republic, where labor costs only a fraction of a dollar a day. The larga automobile traction engines, now used in California, are of 50 horse power, and are provided with driving wheels 60 inches in diameter. They do the plowing, planting ar.d harvest ing, in their proper seasons. One trac tion engine performs the triple work of plowing, harrowing and planting in one operation. An Englishman of distinction mak ing his first visit in the United States brought it to a close in Washington, and called at the White House in com- pany with an American friend. A pub lic reception was in progress, and, falling into line, he paid his respects to the president first in that way, and subsequently met him for a f-nv mo ments in a private audience He laughingly explained to the president that being in America Le wanted to do as the Americans did. Az they walked away together, the American asked the Englishman what had impressed him most in our free government. "The accessibility of the chief magis trate, and the absence of all arms and force from his official residence," the Englishman's reply. "Links with the past" has been & standard heauline in the English news papers ever since the new century be gan. The theme is an old one, but many of tho examples cited have been most interesting. It would seem impos sible, for example, if it were not proved that Miss Courtenay, who signs her self an octogenarian, could have talked with the boatman who took out. Mr. Alexander Pope for his constitutional row at Richmond. From Paris an even more striking instance is reported. A gray-haired prisoner was brought be fore the police justice for some trifling misdemeanor. "Have you no rela tives?" asked the judge. "No. My parents are long since dc-ad, and my only brother also died a hundred and thirty years ago." "A hundred and thirty years! No trifling with th« court," cried the outraged justice. "But I'm not joking, your honor," said tha prisoner. "Just listen. Mr father married young, at 19, and within a year had a child born who died short ly after birth. After the death of his first wife, he married again, at the age of 76, and I am the offspring of that marriage. I am now nearly 73 years old. Reckon up, if you please, and eee if my only brother did not die 120 years ago." The justice could only admit this apparently incredible link witn the past •fhe decline of British agriculture ac companied the rise of the American farmer as purveyor to the world. The extinction of tho red man is a myth, for the state of New York still contains a population of 5257 classed as Indians. rhere are now 3294 miles of irrigat ing canals in Nebraska, which have cost $4,773,084, and which water 1,698,- 831 acres of land. The number of Arctic expeditions now in the north seems to indicate a disposition on the part of the explor ers to discover the pole by means of the human chain device. The pines in southern forests have been destroyed so rapidly for a num ber of years that much anxiety has been felt by those who realize the im portance of preserving broad stretches of woodlands Since 1875 the whale fisheries have fallen off from 200,000 barrels of oil to 80,000 barrels, while whalebone has fallen from 10,000,000 pounds to 400,000 pounds. Petroleum accounts for the decreased output in the former and steel stays have taken the place of the latter in women's corsets. America's latest invasion has dis rupted the ancient glass-blowing in dustry of Belgium. An American firm has paid $40,000,000 for the principal glass-blowing business in that country. Consequently there is a new impetus against American methods, and the Belgian parliament has been asked to "keep tho rascals out." The decline in the glass industry in Belgium, and its wonderful facilities for continuing it, led the American investors to save it. The use of the Roentgen rays on the human body has been open to the ob jection that mortification of the ski.i often followed the operation. This tendency of the rays' effect has been overcome by a French physician, who has found that the tubes worked by alternate currents of high frequency and high tension never produce erythe ma, but that, on tho contrary, the rays so obtained possess the curative prop erties recognized in electro-therapeu tics. From France and not America comes the latest novelty in insurance, says a London correspondent of the Pittsburg Dispatch. Up to the pres ent the Yankees have led the way in innovations, and many of them have been so popular that they have been grafted onto English and French sys tems, but so far no American com pany has been bold enough to insure a candidate for parliamentary honors against risk of failure at the polls. A French company, however, has under taken this work. Young Lochinvars in Kentucky go about with downcast looks, for Indi ana's Gretna Green is under a ban. For generations it has been easy for eloping couples to cross the river and get married with great expedition be fore irate fathers could bar the sud den rates. But tho majesty of the law north of the Ohio is wrinkling its awful brows, and warnings have been given to ministers and to local offi cials near the border that Inlecorous haste and disregard of tho provisions of the statutes as to parental consent In the case of minors and concerning licenses must be sternly repressed Hence the melancholy countenances ol many a lovelorn swain and many s tender hearted maiden in the state oi fair women and fast horses. In the matter of recognizing the clos» relation between sound teeth and goot' health we have made great progre&f since the days when a little aching ir a child's molar was the signal foi "yanking" out tho offending tooth, says the Chicago Record-Herald. Per haps no grievance that is now treas ured up against parental neglect if so keen as the one that is cherished bj the person who has grown to man hood's estate to find himself shorl three or four molars or bicuspids— perhaps even a front incisor, which it a disfigurement for life. But we ar« still far behind tho countries of Eu rope in recognizing the c-loso relatios between bad toeth and disoasc, accord ing to the opinion of Dr. Truman W, Brophy, who was ono of the two dele gates who represented the United States at the recent International Den tal Federation in London. Dr. Bropli> was especially impressed with tin means observed by European govern ments and municipalities to promott public knowledge of hygiene and tc make the people understand the neces sity of cleanliness. In England he was particularly struck with the attention ps.id to th 3 care of the teeth. I An Affair of Honor. When I was last in Paris I had a letter of introduction to the Countess do Clairmont, •who lived in a venera ble mansion in the Faubourg St. Ger main, near the ancient abbey church. I found her to be an aged lady of a very old family, a very devout church goer, and a bigoted Legitimist, believ ing in "divine right" and the Count ie Chambord, and fully expecting that he and his white flag would rule the iestinies of France when Orleanlsts, Bonapartists and Republicans would be forgotten. Apart from dogma and politics sho was, however, a very charming and interesting person. She had evidently been very handsome in her youth, and even in her old age retained a little coquetry and much spirit. At the recital of some deed of daring and heroism her black eyes would flash and sparkle and her lips tremble with emotion. It was like going back to the past century to sit in her dim drawing room, with its juaint old furniture, rich and relig iously preserved, hung with portraits nf her ancestors, and hear her talk ot warriors, priests and nobles, whose mitres and swords had decayed, and whose moldy and moth-eaten banners, waving in church and chapel, are but tattered rags with the blazonry illegi ble. One day I was looking at the por trait of a lady so lovely, with a sweet and melancholy beauty, that even the disfiguring costume of the last cen tury, especially the abominable high head dress, could not mar its effect, for you looked only on the face and forgot the accessories. It was from the pencil of Mme. Lebrun. the fa vorite artist of Marie Antoinette, who has left us such touching souvenirs of the unhappy queen. "That laxly, I am sure, bad a story," I said. "I need not ask if the original was a relative of yours, Madame, for I see a family likeness in the head." "You are right," she said. "That portrait might pass for my own like ness as I looked 50 years ago. I have a miniature taken at the same age which looks like a reduced copy of .Vlme. Liebrun's charming picture." "And the lady was—?" "Pardon me," said the old countess; "I will tell you her story at full length. It is an old family history, but it is thought to have some of the ele ments of romance. Perhaps it may be of some future use to you as a story teller in your own country. So arm yourself with patience, cousin, and hear with an old woman's garrulity." The old lady called me cousin be cause at somo far away period there was a matrimonial alliance between our families, long before my grand father emigrated to America. I will not attempt to relate the nar rative in the language of my hostess, but condense it and tell it in my own way. The original of Mme. Lebrun's pic ture, then, was Victorine de Grantier, wife of Hector de Grantier, a gentle man of wealth and family. The mar riage was an exception to the general rule of French marriages, being a love match. The parents of the lady had permitted iier to choose a husband for herself; and though among her many suitors were some more eligible in point of fortune and opportunities for rising in the world than Hector, she gave him her hand because she could bestow her heart with it. De Grantier was handsome, gentle and warm hearted. He had no vices, and but little ambition. He was a poet and a painter, though not a profession al ona, and he was in easy circum stances, although not reckoned a man of wealth. Never was there a happier couple, and when the bride's father and moth er, who died within a few days of each other, left the world almost hand in hand, the certainty of leaving their (laughter the partner of a man devoted to her, heart and soul, soothed their last moments. There was a shade of melancholy in Victorine's nature, and she often thought to herself that her married life was too happy—that it was like a still, bright, summer day, so perfect so full of sunshine, so heavenly, that weather seers pronounce it too lovely to last, and regard it, with shaking heads, as the precursor of a devastat ing storm. And the storm that wrecked the happiness of Victorine was near at hand. Among her rejected suitors was a wild, boid man, named Raoul Mal travers, an ensign in the royal navy Of a very distinguished family high in power at court, who might well look forward to the prospect of seeing the broad pennant of an admiral float ever hi 3 own quarter deck. But, with all the qualities of a noble race, he was stained with many vices. He was a gamester, a duellist and a libertine; prodigal with his gold, cruel with his sword and fatal in his hates. Although his rejection was couched in the most respectful terms, It roused his worst passions, and he swore to wreak a deadly vengeance on the rival who prospered where he had failed. The hand he could not win himself should never be clasped in wedlock by another. In this temper of mind he went to sea. It must be borne In mind that this project of vengeance was a secret locked in his own heart, to be di vulged In action, not in words. There fore, when, some months after the marriage, the ensign returned from his cruis6, the incident did not create any alarm in the breast of Mme. Victorine de Grantier. One morning when she awoke she missed her husband from her side, but this caused her no surprise, for he was in the habit of rising without disturbing her, dressing, and then tak ing a ride on horseback. But he al ways returned to breakfast, which was served punctually at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. When, therefore, it came *a be nearly noon, and he did not make Ills appearance, she was naturally un easy His horse was very spirited and might possibly have thrown him, she thought But, on inquiry, It appeared that the animal was in his stall, and that M.de Granthier had left the house on foot Mme. de Granthier ordered tho breakfast things removed, after mak ing a slight repast and then took up a book to while away the time until her husband's return. At 1 o'clock a visitor was announced —Capt. Paul Beauregard, an officer in the French Guards. He was an intimate friend of I)e Grantier, as well as of the lady, and scarcely a day passed without their seeing him. "My husband. Have you seen any thing of him?" she asked. "I have been with him all the morn ing. madame." "Where is he? Why did he not re turn with you? How has he been en gaged ?" Capt. Beauregard replied to tho last question: "In an affair of honor, madame." "A duel?" "Yes; and he has been wounded. I thought it best to prepare you for the accident." "He is dead," shrieked the unhappy lady, as she fell back in convulsions, for she had read the truth in the cap tain's face. Beauregard rang the bell and left her in charge of her maid, while he went into another room. It was agony hitter as the pangs of death to listen to her wails and sobs and shrieks; but in an hour Florette, the waiting maid, pale, frightened, with swollen eyes, for .she, too, had been weeping bitter ly, came to say that Madame de Gran tier was calmer and desired to speak with the captain. The officer found the lady white as marble, but strangely quiet and col lected. "Hector Is dead?" she half asked, half asserted. Her friend drooped his eyes. The answer was sufficient. "Now tell me how this happened," said the lady. "Hector was kind and gentle and courteous. He had no ene my—how could he have, for he never wronged a human being." "That did not prevent, his having an enemy—a mortal foe —who last night publicly Insulted him and thus forced a challenge from your husband." "Ay, honor compelled Hector to draw the sword. But the name of that vil lain —the murderer?" "Raoul Maltravers." "He, the man whose hand I rejected? Oh. my poor, dear murdered Hector. Why did we ever meet? Fatal wasvthe hour in which you saw and loved mo. Often have your lips told me that I had made you the happiest of men. Little did you dream that I would giv« you death as well as love." "I implore you. madam," said the captain, "not to view this tragedy In that light. An unforeseen calamity lias fallen on you, and my heart bleeds at sight of your distress. But I can do more than pity; I can and will avenge Hector. Raoul Maltravers dies by my hand." "Hold!" cried the widow, with sud den and startling energy. "I forbid you to espouse this quarrel. I have my own purpose of vengeance, and no man, not even you, shall be permitted to stand between me and my predes tined victim. He has robbed me of more than life, but I will requite him I was a fond, weak, gentle, loving, happy girl. They who know me hence forth will know me as a tig:ess thirst ing for human blood. But no word of this to others. Bo my friend in this extremity, as you were his true and ioval friend to the last moment, and conduct the funeral rites. You see how calm I am when I can speak these words without convulsions." When Victorine was alone with her dead she had a wild outburst of pas sionate grief, but it rapidly gave place to a calmness so stern that it would have appalled an observer had there been witnesses 111 the chamber of death. "Hector de Grantier," she said, ad dressing the cold clay. "If my Creator spares my life, your son, whom your eyes were never to behold, shall be your avenger. I will rear him strong, valiant, skillful, and teach him to look for no happiness, no rest, no employ ment, until he has slain the man who has robbed you of life, me of a hus band and himself of a father." Two months after the funeral the friends of the family were apprised that tho widow lady was the mother of a —daughter. Shortly after this event she retired with her infant child to an estate in Brittany. Sixteen years passed away and then Mme. de Grantier, still wearing wid ow's weeds, again resumed ner resi dence in Paris. She lived In a fashion able quarter, but in great privacy, re ceiving only relatives, making no ac quaintances. Her daughter. Claudine, had grown up a beautiful girl, the pic ture of health —a bright flower to bloom In the almost conventual gloom of her mother's house. The only frequent visitor was the young Chevalier de Hauteville, a cou sin of Claudine, and strange to say, a perfect image of the girl—the same height, features and complexion. The gossips of the neighborhood said they were born for each other and predicted a marriage between the parties. But the servants of the family asserted that the old lady would never, for some rea son of her own, probably that of near ness of blood, permit the alliance, and that the young people rarely, if ever, met. It was observed that whenever Claudino had gone to church the che valier was sure to make his appearance and when he was in the drawing room she was always absent. Whether this was arranged by the mother or wheth er this young woman and this young man, so strangely alike, cherished an antipathy equally strange, was a mys tery, like almost everything else in this mysterious household. Had the widow, foiled in her plan of vengeance by the sex of her offspring, forgotten or forgiven Raoul Maltra vers? No one knew, but no one ever heard her pronounce his name. Meanwhile Raoul Maltravers bad left the sea, not being particularly fond of the music of heavy guns, for though brave enough on the duel ground, be cause he was the best blade in France, and always sure of victory, he was really a poltroon. He had married a very beautiful heiress, and lived in great splendor. Ho had more than one affair of honor after his marriage, with a fatal result to his antagonists. One day the Chevalier de Hauteville made a morning call on Mme. de Gran tier. He found her in her boudoir, which was draped with black, and lighted with wax tapers. "You know this is a sad anniversa ry," she said. Then she added, with a sharp look of Inquiry: "Raoul Mal travers." "Dead," was the reply. "Come to my heart," cried Victorine. "Claudine, you have avenged your fa ther." "Claudine!" I exclaimed. In utter astonishment, when the old countess had come to this point of her narra tive. "Yes," she replied, "the Chevalier de Hauteville and Claudine de Grantier were one and the same person. Mme. de Grantier had reared her daughter like a man and trained her to arms in the solitude of her old provincial man or house, where a wondrously skilled professor of the sword, an Italian, 2;ave her lessons daily. You must not think too harshly of the memory of Victorine de Grantier. lam now positively cer tain that the death of her husband turned her brain, and that during all the years of her widowhood she was a monomaniac. That she inspired her daughter with her fanatical idea of vengeance is natural —the mother lived for no other purpose." "But what became of Claudine?" "She is still living at an advanced nge, a widow," replied the countess. "Doubtless harrowed by remorse for having shed human blood?" "Ic caused her great suffering for years, but the clergy whom she con sulted told her that the circumstance's absolved her from all moral guilt. She was an irresponsiole agent of her mother —her judgment deliberately perverted by one wno had herself lost the power of reason. Yet were many hours of bitter sorrow and penitence passed by that unhappy woman. And now let me show you a sad relic." The old lady rose, walked to an ebony cabinet and unlocking it took out a long, old-fashioned rapier and bade me draw it. I took forth the blade and remarked that it was cov ered with rust. "Those darker stains are the life blood of a man," said the old lady, with a heavy sigh—"for that was the sword with which I killed Raoul Mal travers." "You?" I cried. "Yes; for before I became Countess de Clairmont, I was Claude de Gran tier."—New York News. FIJIAN FIRE CEREMONY. Nfitlvea Wlio WhlUhil Over Hod Ilot Stonoft Willi Itnpunltv. Two New Zealand medical men, Drs Hocken and Colquohoun, recently vis ited Fiji, where they had an opportu nity of witnessing the now rare fire ceremony of the natives. It is so rare that the power Is now confined to a single family living on an islet 20 miles from the Fijian metropolis, Suva. These people are able to walk, nude and with bare feet, across the white-hot, stony pavement of a huge oven. An attempt was made on this occa sion to register the heat, but when the thermometer had been placed for a few seconds about five feet from the oven it had to be withdrawn, as the solder of the covering began to melt. The thermometer then registered 282 degrees, and Dr. Hocken estimates tnat the range was over 400 degrees. The fire walkers then approached, seven In number, and in single file walked leisurely across and around the oven. Heaps of hibiscus leaves were then thrown into the oven, causing clouds of steam, and upon the leaves and within the sieam the natives sat or stood. The men were carefully ex amined by the doctors before and af ter the ceremony. The soles of their feet were not thick or leathery, and were not In the least blistered. The men showed no symp toms of distress, and their pulse was unaffected. Preliminary tests failed to show that there had been any spe cial preparation. Both doctors, while denying that there was anything mi raculous about the experiment, ex pressed themselves as unable to give any scientific explanation.—London Chronicle. Twenty years ago kerosene oil was practically unknown in China. In 1890 more than 100,000,000 gallons were im ported. THE GREAT DESTROYEB SOME STARTLINC FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Poem : The Pltv of tlie Great. 1> - S. 15 Kiser—Startling Rebuke That CauseV a Younc Man to Shun Alcohol— rcsti mony of Dr. Samuel J. Kennedy. He lives in lordly style. His towers loom tall and vast; I make way for him while His carriage rumbles past; His yacht rides on the bay, His acres stretch away Through fertile fields and dells— l Hut held in check by shame, He does not (rive his nnme To the whisky that he sells. I claim no broad domains. No servants hear my call; I toil for little gains, My house is poor and small; But I am proud to sign These humble works of mine So any jmn mav see! His calling brings him shame— No bottle bears his name — But Lord! lie nities me! —Chicago Record-Herald. There's Poison In That Glass. Two young men from the Far West were on board a train the night before Christmas going East to spend the holi davs with friends. They evidently started out with the de termination of enjoying themselves, no matter who might be annoved by their jesting and profanity. At midnicht. when Bome of the passengers were trying to sleen the noise of glasses was beard —one of the party was taking from his satchel a bottle from which he poured into a glass the fierv liquid. As ho sat looking at it "giving its color in the cup" a lady sitting near said in solemn tones. "Young man, there's poison in that glass." Immediately all eyes were turned toward him as he sat pale and motionless, holding the glass be fore him. His companion said with much feeling, "That is true, and T have been drinking poison n'l my life." The thought seemed to trouble him and he put the glass aside. Science proves that alcohol is a poison. It never changes in (lie system, but, re mains alcohol. It is shunned and cast out as an enemy. It is not food for mind or body; on the contrary it destroys the mind, shatters the nerves, vitiates the blood and, worse than all, ruins soul and bodv. Young man, arc you willing to run the risk for the momentary gratification of taking a glass? it may be the fatal glass! Stop and consider. A single glass of liquor has brought many a young man to the penitentiary or gallows. Then flee to the Saviour; ask to be de livered from the evil appetite; seek for giveness, and He will hear and answer in peace. Samuel .T. Kennedv, the dentist, recent ly tried for the murder of Dolly Reynolds, gave out these words of warning to young men and young women: Do not touch the first drop of wine or liquor. Shun thpm as you would a snake. Because if you do not they will ruin you as they have well-nigh ruined me and brought me into tbe very atmosphere of an ignominious death. Two coektaili brought me where I am to-day, despised for a crime I did not commit, convicted in the minds of thousands, though I am innocent of Dolly Reynolds's murder. Thev have cast a blur on the name of my child, half ruined my dear wife's health and filled mv parents' hair with silver lines before their quiet lives mer ited it. I have charged up all my three years of frightful wretchedness to the liouor that stupefied mv memory. The night that Dolly Reynolds was mur dered I could not recollect those who bad seen me and could have proved an alibi. Those cocktails, with the chloral I took for my neuralgia, constituted knockout drops. If I hadn't drunk the cocktails T would not have taken the chloral with liquor, and it would have taken me only fifteen minutes to clear myself instead of three years. I wish it were possible for mo to talk" personally to each and every young per son who finds pleasure in the social cup. I would convince them that they are play ing with fire, joking with misery, laughing in the face of death. Leave drink alone, young people. It may not involve you. and those you love. In a miserable murder ease, but it will just as surely entail misery and suffering as it will enslave your senses and enfeeble your body.—Temperance Advocate. Of Two Bottles Beware. t Recently the press of New York con tained lengthy reports of the death by suicide of a celebrated actress, and many editorial homilies were written thereon, l'he most truthful and suggestive was a short editorial in the New York Journal, closing with these words: But as a warning to others and for the 3.1.1; eof accuracy, it is necessary to empha size this fact: The young woman died close to a table, and on the table "were a half filled cham pagne bottle and a bottle of whisky." Those two bottles told the story of the suicide. Those bottles and their brothers and sisters which had preceded them on that or some other table gave the dull jolor to the world and the hopeless look :o the future which drove the girl to sui cide. The world is none too easy, men. are none too reliable, and they are cer tainly ungrateful to the women who bear them first, and tolerate them afterward. The whole atmosphere of life is tilled with slings and arrows that keep us dodging. But the first thing to dodge is that whisky bottle and that champagne bottle which were found on the table beside the dead jirl.—National Advocate. Preferred Water to Wine. For over fifty years Dennis Swenie has served the Fire Department of Chicago, beginning at the bottom and rising to the complete control, lie now retires because his physician thinks it best for him to do so, and much against the wishes of tho property owners and fire underwriters of Chicago. He attributes his success as a fire tighter to his temperance habits. At a social luncheon at which tho chief was a zuest it was noticed that while wine Rowed freely he drank only water. A friend asked him if he was opposed to wine drinking. "Not for others, said the chief, "but 1 never know when I may be summoned to exercise my clearest judg ment in order to prevent a serious loss of life and property, and I could never for give myself it at such a time 1 should make a mistake, and had the least reason for thinking that my mental powers had been in some degree impaired through tho influence of alcohol." For a similar reason all our great rail road companies require that their em ployes shall abstain from the use of intoxi cants. j Tho Crusade in Brief. Temperance is the cause of trutti, of righteousness, of philanthropy and of pru dence. Men by the thousand who spend their earnings at the bar leave their families, destitute at home. The squalid home 3 of the drunkard, hi» crushed and drudging wife and wronged children present sickening sights to con template. A wise resolution of tho French Cham ber is aimed at the sale of absinthe, a vil lainous poison which supplies maniacs to Uieetre, Charenton and the other insane asylums of Fiance.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers