Germany hat adopted compulsory
bathing among its sanitary laws and
thus solved the tramp problem at one
stroke of the pen.
Philadelphia claims that raising the
retail license tax from SSOO to $llOO
has reduced the number of city saloons
from 5773 to 1713 since 1887 and has
knocked 4000 arrests for drunkenness
from a year's record.
The fear that the forests of the coun
try will become destroyed is accom
panied by some apprehension that the
telephone poles in cities will become
so thick that pedestrians will be
obliged to blaze a way.
Wyoming is one of the few states In
the Union which gives woman the suf
frage on the same plane as man, and
it is the only state which employs a
woman as a prison chaplain. The lat
ter is Airs. May Preston Slosson, wife
of the vice-president of the faculty oi
the Wyoming state university.
The British possessions in North
America and the West Indies are largei
than the territory of the United States
of America, including Porto Rico and
Alaska. On the North American con
tinent alone. King Edward's posses
sions are nearly 100,000 square miles
larger than those of the United States
and taking cue West Indies and New
foundland, more than 200,000 squari
miles larger.
Senor Carlos Escribana, a Peruvian
gentleman, has written a history which
is only 100 words in length, and was
awarded a gold medal offered by th(
Society of the Founders of Indepen
dence, Lima, for the best history o)
Peru comprised within that number ol
words. The society might have found
more suitable subjects for freak ex
periments in literature than the chron
iuies of its own country.
It has been decided in the New Yort
courts that the fact that a wealthy gen
tleman married his nurse, who wai
made the chief beneficiary under hii
will in return for her faithful care of
him in his last illness, does not con
stitute sufficient cause for disallowing
the will in favor of a brother who
never manifested any token of fra
ternal regard for the testator beyond
visiting his sick room on a single oc
casion for the purpose of borrowing
money from him.
According to Russian journals ther*
is no country of the world when
the death rate is so high and the aver
erage of human life so short as it
Russia. The St. Petersburg Vredo
mosti is responsible for the statemeni
that the average length of life in that
country is but 29 years. "The mortal
ity in St. Petersburg is higher thai
anywhere else in Europe, Constanti
nople alone excepted. The death rate
percentage in London is 17 per 1000
in St. Petersburg it is 40 per 1000
Among the reasons that increase th«
death rate in St. Petersburg, infec
tious disease occupies a prominen*
place."
The American life-saving service
conducted under the auspices of the
treasury department, proved its efli
ciency once more while the recent gait
was raging upon the Jersey coast
i>iany men were rescued from the sea
while the storm was at its height. Ic
one case a peculiar condition delayed
the rescue of the crew of a large craft.
When the distress signals were dis
played and the life-savers got to wort
a line was fired over the wreck at th<
first shot. But the men on board coulc
not see it for the darkness and the
blinding lashing of the sea. Four lines
were sent over before the connection
with the shore was completed. This
experience seems to teach the value ol
some form of phosphorescent line
which shall be visible at all hours and
under all circumstances, observes the
Washington Star.
A Boston woman has made herselt
very popular with her Pittsburg friends
because when addressing envelopes she
insists upon spelling Pittsburg with
the "h." Since the development ol
the patriotic movement, which has re
sulted in the formation of so many
patriotic societies, Pittsburgers have
come to take great pride in the historic
importance of their city and urge the
universal use of the final "h" in spell
ing the name of that city. In the old
days of American history this formed
a part of the name of Pittsburg, be
cause of the existence at that time ol
the famous Fort Pitt, which, by the
way, is unique among ancient fortifi
cations, as it is built of Flemish brick.
The government in official
papers seeins as yet to have no sym
pathy with Pittsburg's desire to return
to the old spelling, but strong influence
ts being brought to bear UDon its re-
InctpfsiriAlit
GPha little busy bee la three times M
Aeavy -when honey-laden as vhen un
loaded. But he can't sting any harder.
An Alabama man returned to life
Just as they were lowering him into
the grave. This may not be escaping
by the skin of the teetn, but It's get
ting out of a pretty bad hole.
Neither the landlord's failure to col
lect the rent for 14 months, nor his
neglect to notify uie guarantor of its
non-payment, is held in a Massachu
setts court decision to exonerate th»
latter.
An English judge, in charging a jury
on a case where an unhitched and un
attended horse was frightened by an
automobile, said that the onus was on
the owner of the equine who had frac
tured the law by neglecting to provide
for the public safety by securely tying
the animaL
The curious suggestion has been
made in Rouen that the trolley wires
to the streets shall be subject to use
by the fire department. The idea is
that pumps capable of being electric
ally driven shall be installed in a num
ber of suitable positions, to be switched
onto the trolley wires as occasion re
quires.
Sir Harry Johnston, after exploiting
Tganda, announces that the okapi is
probably the last remarkable unknown
animal that will be discovered, al
though he found the skins of several
beasts new to science in the Congo for
est. He says there is no special pygmy
language. The pygmies speak the
tongue of tlie forest native, though
they employ gasps instead of conson
ants.
The United States consul-general at
Vienna reports to the state department
that over 25,000 horses a year are now
slaughtered and sold for food in nearly
200 meat markets in the Austrian cap
ital. Tne cost at retail of horse meat
is about one-fourth per pound that ol
beef, and hence its rapidly increasing
consumption by the poorer people. It
Is an old maxim that ' me outside ot
a horse is good for the Inside of a
man." After a prejudice rooted in cen
turies of habit has worn away, the
horse may ba Anally adjudged equally
good for internal and external appli
cation.
The Jacksonville Times-Union grows
eloquent about oranges, and says:"The
oranges are moving, and the good
times must come again. Let others
take their gold from the gloomy depthf
of the earth; Florida gathers hers un
der God's own heaven, and finds it
colored by the royal sun himself, fla
vored by the dew and blessed by the
stars. Watch the stands at the fair,
and see if oranges were ever fairer ot
sweeter; lift your faces as the freight
cars pass and then wonder wnethei
ambrosia ever gave such promise ol
the gladness of heaven as those long
trains leave on the perfume-laden air.'
English art critics are wrought up
just now over the question of a finger.
It grows out of the statue erected iu
Manchester to Gladstone, in which he
is represented in the attitude of de
livering a speech in 1893, clutching a
roll of papers in his left hand. In 1842
Gladstone had the misfortune to lose
the forefinger of his left hand in a
shooting accident; but the sculptor re
stored the finger in the statue. The
question which seems now to be creat
ing an unnecessary and unprofitable
stir in art circles resolves itself:
"Is it true art to be unfaithful to the
facts of the case and to represent as
clutching the roll of papers a flnge'
which did not exist?"
The Women's Suffrage society of
Taris has taken a hint from the rules
governing ttreet car conductors of Bos
ton. In Boston, as is well known, tho
conductors are compelled to address
all their women passengers as
"madam," no matter what their age,
color or race. The women suttragists
of Paris have lately passed a resolution
to the effect that to differentiate be
tween "madame" and "mademoiselle"
implies a condition of servitude, and
they will have it no longer. No mem
ber of the society, be she ten years old
or a hundred, married, single or
widowed, will henceforth answer to
any appellation save that of "madame."
No such differentiation is made in the
other sex, say they. A male, whatever
his age, is always a "monsieur." Why,
then, should a distinction be made in
females except to imply a condition of
moral and material inferiority? Mol
iere, Corneille and Racine always
called their heroines "madame;" mar
ried or not. Why should the "jeune
fllle" of this enlightened age be ham
pered by such a uistinctlon? There
fore, "mademoiselle." as an appella
tion, is doomed. Thus does the great
aause of woman sweep on.
LTHE HEART OF A GIRL I
By Frances Wilson. #
They had not talked five minutes be
fore Sanford's pulse was beating tu
multuously. At the end of ten, he felt
like a man who had been offered the
Kohinoor in the rough and refused it!
For vague, uncomfortable recollections
of other days were revived when he
met Marcia Wentworth again for the
first time in years.
She was superb in her maturity and
made him see a vision. He was con
scious of a confusion of things Egyp
tian in the background of his mind —
Cleopatra, lotus blooms and the Sphinx
—for in some subtle way she suggested
the richness and splendor of more
poetic days.
"Fifteen years!" she murmured dream
ily, looking at him with sweetly mock
ing eyes. "And I, who was 17, am 32,"
She puckered her smooth forehead into
a knot and made a quaint grimace
which filled Sanford with a mad desire
to kiss her then and there.
"Fifteen years," he retorted tragic
ally, "and I, who was 35, am "
"Forgive me," she laughed with a
deprecating gesture, "and don't say it.
Take the other point of view. Fifteen
years ago" (consolingly) "you were
twice my age. Today you are nowhere
near that," and with a glance half mis
chievous, half consoling, she turned to
greet an acquaintance who was making
his way toward them.
Relegated to the background for the
moment, Sanford occupied himself in
trying to decide Just how much of that
old flirtation she probably remembered.
She was but a slip of a girl in those
fttys, and though the details had es
caped him he was still uncomfortably
conscious of the adoration that used to
shine out at him from her unconscious
poung eyes. He had a vague suspicion
that his conduct had not been above
reproach. He might have forgiven
himself that—for he had been bored!
What he could not forgive was his
srass stupidity in failing to discover in
little Marcia Wentworth the chrysalis
Df this splendid creature, all softness
and fire.
It was late in the afternoon and the
Prevor grounds, always famous for
their beauty, were at their best. It
was a scene worthy oi a poet. Indeed,
Mrs. Trevor's garden parties were
poetry made real.
"Watteau, with a touch of Omar,"
remarked Miss Wentworth as they
were left to themselves once more. "I
feel as if we were illustrating the Ru
baiyat."
"Is that a delicate way of intimating
that you wish me to bring you some
thing to drink?" teased Sanford. "And
what shall it be?"
"You have missed your cue," she
responded with smiling reproach. "But
then " and the gentle mockery
shone in her eyes once more—"a man
never does remember!"
She gave a sigh, paused for a mo
ment and then continued:
"You have evidently forgotten that
we last saw each other where we meet
today—at a garden party at Mrs. Tre
vor's. That talent for forgetting"—
Shaking her head at him smilingly—
"How much you men owe to it!"
He had forgotten—and he sparred
for time now as he racked his brain
for some detail of that far-away after
noon —some trifle which he might res
cue from the debris of the past and
make into a pretty speech. The gods
were merciful. Suddenly a slim girlish
figure in white rose before him and a
pair of dark, intense eyes gazed into
his. Still he hesitated for a moment
before he spoke in order to be quite
sure, for the walls of his memory were
richly frescoed with girlish figures—
and he hated to make blunders! Then
he spoke triumphantly, but with just
the rich touch of melancholy meaning
In his voice.
"So you think that I've forgotten?
Listen, then! Your gown was soft and
thin and white, and you wore a big
hat covered with yellow roses."
He looked straight at her, but her
eyes did not fall as in the old days. In
stead, she returned the gaze unflinch
ingly, and curiosity, amusement and
disbelief were mingled in her glance.
"Bravo!" she cried softiy: but she
was unconvinced. He saw that, and
was nettled by it. Fortunately, he
could not read her thoughts, for she
was wailing to her inner self, "Ah,
me! That I should have to acknowl
edge to myself that he's just an ordi
nary flirt after all! How crude I must
have been at 17. And yet——"
Her thoughts went swiftly back to
that day in her girlhood, when she had
met him last. The scene was the same
as today—great stretches of velvety
turf, stately trees and groups of peo
ple laughing and chatting together! On
that afternoon, she remembered the
western sky was a blaze of rose color.
How the gay scene had mocked her
misery, as Sanford, who was devoting
himself to tne beautiful Miss Carroll,
forgetful of her existence, never once
approached her, though he knew that
It would be their last meeting, as her
family was leaving for Europe on the
following day.
Today she noted with amused ap
preciation the western sky was a bank
of pale gold, and the color seemed
more appropriate to the vanished ideals
and lost illusions of 32. Seventeen —
and rose color! Thirty-two—and pale
gold!
"You were thinking ?" prompted
Banford, inquiringly breaking in upon
her reverie.
"I am thinking," Hhe answered,
bringing her eyes back to him delib
erately—"l am thinking that I will tell
you a story, But perhaps," with R
touch of maliee, "you do not Ilka
stories?"
"On the contrary, I dote upon them.
Do begin."
Miss Wentworth settled herself more
comfortably in her chair. Then, look
ing at her companion in a speculative
manner, she began.
"It's a sort of a fairy tale, and it's
about a girl. She was neither very
beautiful nor very interesting, but I
think I may say truthfully that she
was a nice sort of a girl, with a warm
heart, boundless enthusiasm and an im
plicit belief in her fellow-creatures.
I shall have to confess, though, that
she was one of the kind who blush
furiously at the slightest provocation —
you know the type —and that she was
earnest and serious—horriblyssand
a hero-worshipper to her finger tips!"
Sanford nodded his head understand
ingly.
"She was a trifle too much upon the
'Sweet Alice' style," Miss Wentworth
resumed candidly, "and yet with all
her absurdities, I myself was rather
fond of her. Of course you have
guessed before this that there came a
man!" Her voice dropped into a tragic
whisper, 'i nen she burst into a merry
laugh, in which her companion joined
somewhat consciously.
"Methinks the air grows icy! I feel
the approach of the villain of the
story!" he announced.
"Not at all!" protested Miss Went
worth in an injured tone. "He was
simply a nice, agreeable man of the
world—such as one meets often enough
to make life a pleasure. He was many
years her senior, and the girl mistook
him for a god."
She looked at her companion with in
nocent eyes, but the wicked little
gleam that lay back in them did not
escape him.
"Did the man do anything to give
rise to such a —er —delusion?"
Theie was an unmistakable challenge
in the inquiry.
"No questions allowed," came the
baffling answer. "You must let me tell
my story in my own way. To pro
ceed."
"A girl of this stamp is likely to
idealize a good deal, and you would
have been —yes, you would have been
highly edified could you have heard
some of this one's rhapsodies. 'A head
so noble,' she would say exultingly to
herself, 'was never seen before,' and
'Were ever eyes so splendidly com
mending?" Silly, wasn't it? But it
was the outcome of her conviction that
a god among men had deigned to hold
out his hand to her. And when he
opened his lips!"
Miss Wentworth paused with a rapt,
listening look upon her face which
convulsed her hearer, who laughed
rather foolishly.
"Of course the man read the secret of
the girl's heart, and her native worship
amused and flattered him. So he de
voted a good many of his spare mo
ments to deepening the impression he
had made and the girl used to listen
breathlessly.
Their eyes met. Miss Wentworth's
brimming with mirth, while Sanford
felt that he was guilty of a grin. Then
she shook her head at him and con
tinued with severity:
"As I was about to remark, the girl
listened to the pearls of wisdom which
dropped from uie man's lips and be
lieved in them as she did in holy
things, and her foolish heart was
thrilled by the joy of the love which
she thought was hers. Certainly the
man, in a high-handed, negligent sort
ol a way aid manage to give her some
such impression. How she pitied less
fortunate girls, and how full of plans
she was to make herself worthy of
him!'
A reminiscent smile hovered about
Miss Wentworth's lips, and she looked
off across the lawn as if she had for
gotten her companion.
"Girls are not usually so —so impres
sionable," he hazarded in a defensive
manner.
' xnis one was," she responded suc
cinctly.
"Experienced people like you and
me," she went on, continuing her story
once more, "can see that tnere was
trouble brewing for the girl. She never
expected it, and it came like a thun
derbolt from a clear sky. I won't go
into details. He had wearied of his
plaything. Then, there was a lady
with fair hair and the eyes of a saint
—and what was a girl's heart that it
should stand in the way of a man's
fancy?" „
"Miss Wentworth's small head rested
against the tips of her fingers, and her
great eyes looked calmly into San
ford's as she asked this question with
the impartial air of one who seeks
abstract truth.
He shook his head.
"The girl was heartbroken—horri
fied; for in the innocence of her heart
she thought that she had made a ter
rible, Immodest mistake, and that ho
never had made love to her—really!
Her face used to burn at the thought,
and she would have given her head
for a chance to convince him that she,
too, had only been amusing herself.
She was wounded in her pride and in
her heart alike —and the nights were
dreadful!" She finished incoherently.
"I see the moral looming up in the
distance," murmured her hearer plaint
ively. "It casts a long shadow and
the tip of it points to me!"
"But it's only a fairy tale, you
know." she said with a shrug, and then
continued:
"The girl's family went abroad, and
she was dragged from London to Paris
and from Paris to Rome; but her stub
born fancy clung to the man and re
fused to let go. She looked upon the
sunlit sea at Cannes, and thought of
hi*i! and stared at the midnight sun—
and thought ot mm! There was never
a moment when she would not have
jumped at a chance to return to that
pokey, little western city, U. S. A.,
just because he was there. What did
she care about the glories of the
world?"
"She used to awaken in the morn
ing wondering how she would get
through the day and longing lor night.
For, though she was wretched, she was
young and strong, and so she slept and
sometimes—dreamed!"
The last words were spoken softly—
caressingly—and sent a thrill along
Sanford's nerves.
"Did you—that is, did she really
care so much?" he stammered.
"I am compelled to admit that she
paid the penalty—as women do, you
know," came the answer in a cool,
sweet voice.
"We have not reached the end." he
urged in a low tone. "Who can tell
perhaps a heavier penalty will be ex
acted of him."
His voice was eager and there was
the old, well-remembered tendeiness in
it. It stirred Marcia's senses like a
strain of forgotten music. But she
only smiled back at him and cooed.
"Clever! You score! But to return
to the story.
"The days came and went, like an
endless procession of gray phantoms,
until one day a letter arrived mention
ing with other home news, the prob
able marriage of the man and the fair
lady. Then there was a terrific out
burst.
"I remember but one detail —the fig
ure of the girl lying prone upon the
floor and shaking with sobs. That was
really the last of ilie girl. I think wo
may say that she died that night, and
to the woman who_rose in her placo
the world has never'been quite so fair
a place. The blue of the sky is less
blue, the sunlight is les3 joyous and
the night wind isn't so full of mystery
and tenderness as wnen it blew across
the face of the girl!"
The last words were scarcely audible
and Miss Wentworth's face was almost
sad. Then she gave an impatient shrug
as if to rid herself of unpleasant mem
ories.
"Well, there came a morning when
she opened her eyes, yawned, thanked
heaven that she was alive, and thought
rapturously of a love of a gown which
was to come home that day. Then she
wondered anxiously if she had gone
off much in looks (she felt as if there
was no bloom leu!), and she knew by
these tokens that her first love affair
was over—and her girlhood decently
laid away in its grave!"
"That's about all —it really isn't
much of a story. One may lose an
arm and still be fairly happy. And yet
—one preiers the arm?"
There was something delicately
quizzical in the inflection of her words
and something delicately regretful as
well.
"You see, I miss the girl," she fin
ished as she rose and they moved off
across the grass together.
"Does it occur to you"—Sanford's
voice was grave and pleading—"that
possibly he misses more than the girl?"
The gentie raillery in his compan
ion's face as she glanced up at him
was more eloquent than words.
"That man. I take it," lie continued
huskily, "has lost liis chance —for-
ever?" There was no mistaking his
earnestness now nor the touch of hau
teur in Miss Wentworth's manner as
she replied carelessly:
"You've been Inattentive! The girl
died, you know."
That night she wrote the following
note to somebody else:
"Dear Jack: —Love is not eternal.
So, I think, if you don't mind, I'll fol
low your advice and marry you. I'm
sitting here in saekcl.oth and ashes,
abasing myself before your superior
wisdom. I sat and talked to the Other
Man today and things fell out precisely
as you predicted. A little door away
off in some remote corner of my heart
banged shut, never to be opened again.
And if it were, there'd be nothing be
hind It but a little heap of ashes! He' 3
growing bald, Jack. If you love me,
never do (hat. Come up Saturday and
let me 'splain why it has taken me so
long to find out that though there's a
difference, 32 can love as well as 17.
Forever your MARCIA."
.And then she sealed the letter and
pressed her lips softly to the super
scription a half a dozen times—by way
of showing the wisdom of 32! —The
Home Magazine.
Two Grent New Hritlffen for Venice.
It is proposed to erect two great
bridges in Venice. One to connect the
island of San Michele, which is the
sole cemetery of Venice, with the city
on the north, and one to connect the
island of the Guidecca with the city on
the south. The former is an easy af
fair, as the water, though a quarter of
a mile broad, is shallow. The other
is a serious and difficult matter, as the
Guidecca canal is reany an arm of the
sea, and the distance at its narrowest
part is over an eighth of a mile. The
Guidecca canal is also (he highway for
all the ships of any size, as it is by it
alone they can reach the docks, which
are at the railroad station. But the
Uuidecca island is becoming of impor
tance as the manufacturing quarter of
the city. One of the largest flour mills
in Europe is there. It belongs to Sig
nor Stucchi, and he has promised to
subscribe toward the expense of the
bridge 400,000 francs. Other manufac
turers on the Island will probably also
offer liberal donations should the work
be determined upon, of which there
is little doubt.
Whal'n in A Country Club'A Name?
"Why do you call this a coutnr>
club?" asked the man from abroad.
"Well you see," his entertainer ex
plained. "it's about all the the people
who belong to It care to have." —Chi-
cago Record-Herald.
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUI
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
The Utter Fallacy From a Practical Stand*
point of the Proposition to Legalize
Sunday Saloon Opening In Mew York
City—Deluding the People.
It would seem that a few minutes' sensi
ble consideration ought to show any rea
sonable man the utter fallacy, from a
practical standpoint, of the proposition to
legalize the opening of the New York sa
loons on Sunday. The proposition is made
on the ground that if the opening for cer
tain hours be legalized, law-breaking upon
the part of the saloonkeepers will cease.
This contains two fallacies: First, not the
mere fact of law-breaking, but the results
of the act unlawfully performed are to be
considered. Legalized robbery, legalized
arson, legalized murder, would still have
the same pernicious effects upon public
interests that those deeds have when done
unlawfully. The same is true of drink
selling. The public has held that the sale
of drink upon the day known as the Sab
bath is prejudicial to public interest. Of
course it is somewhat inconsistent to hold
this in -view of the fact that its sale upon
other days has been legalized. But it is
true, none the less, and our laws are made
to guard public interests against the evils
that would arise from such sale. When it
is discovered that certain men refuse to
obey these laws, public interests are no
more served by changing the law to legal
ize the now unlawful acts than they would
be served by changing our law with regard
to larceny, highway robbery, arson and
murder to prevent law-breaking upon the
part of peopde who insist upon doing those
things. The style of reasoning practiced
by the advocates of Sunday opening is su
perficial to the last degree, and would be
disgraceful to the statesmen of the Stone
Age.
The second fallacy lies in supposing that
if it is made lawful for the saloonkeeper
to sell his drinks during certain hours of
the Sabbath he will refrain from selling
during those hours when the prohibition
still remains in force. It must not be for
gotten that we are dealing with men who
are already law-breakers, and who have
not the slightest respect for law. It must
not be forgotten that the same incentives
that make them sell drink on Sunday
morning now will exist when they have
been granted the legal privilege of selling
drink on Sunday afternoon. To suppose
that the spectacle of law bending itself
down at their beck will inspire them with
such respect that they will of their own
motion cease to violate the law, is ridicu
lous. Nor is there any reason for suppos
ing that it will be easier to enforce the
law which prohibits the sale of drink dur
ing one part of the day and allows it dur
ing another part than to enforce a law
which prohibits the sale during the whole
day—on the contrary, it will be more diffi
cult.
It would be nn insult to the intelligence
pf the leading advocates of Sunday open
ing to suppose that they do not recognize
these facts. They recognize them, and
the fallacy of every argument they ad
vance is perfectly clear to them. The
people who are deluded are the good peo
ple who fail to see that the whole move
ment is merely an attempt to get the nose
of the liquor camel inside the tent. —The
New Voice.
Sea Voyages For Inebriety.
At the last meeting of the Society for
the Studv of Inebriety, Or. Wvnn West
cott read a paper in which he gave ex
pression to certain views in regard to the
use of sea voyages in the treatment of in
ebriety which should be carefully consid
ered by all physicians who, may fc-e! in
clined, as no doubt many do at times feel
inclined to advise a reformed drinker to
take a sea voyage as a moans of establish
ing his health before returning again to
his ordinary mode of life.
Dr. Wynn Westcott said that he had
formed a decided opinion on the subject.
The sort of cases which would be likely to
be sent would be those in which it was de
sirable to re-establish the general health,
and it was to be remembered that under
the most favorable circumstances life at
sea was not all rest and comfort, and thai
the nursing, dieting and quietude which
were essential for patients with perhaps
fatty heart or liver, were very seldom to
be obtained. Few cases, indeed, of ad
vanced disease of any kind seemed to him
suitable for sea life, even at its best.
There was no doubt, moreover, that the
dulness and monotony of the life, and
other causes, tended to produce thirsti
ness. Often a good deal was drunk just
before reaching the home port in conse
ouenee of the people on board being in a
disturbed, excitedsstate.and again, the pe
riod of nervous irritability, depression and
praecordial distress to which the dipso
maniac was subject were likely to be more
frequent on board ship than ashore.
Therefore, if a dipsomaniac really wanted
to get well, he should be discouraged
from taking a sea voyage. The ideal ship
for a patient who wished to travel in this
manner would be a sailing ship, which
was commissioned on teetotal principles,
with a teetotal capta>. and crew, and
which touched at scarcely a single port en
route. Such a ship, however, would he
generally difficult to find. In any case,
no reformed drunkard should be trusted
on a sea voyage alone.—The Hospital.
Production of Idiots.
When we are brought face to face with
nn undesirable feature the problem of its
removal is simplified if we know its cause.
Idiocy and imbecility should certainly be
eliminated from human society if possible;
it therefore is important to hear what Dr.
Robinovitch says in the Journal of Mental
Pathology.
If acute contagious and infectious dis
eases during childhood leave the child an
idiot or an imbecile, that child's heredity
must be well scrutinized, as the latter is
most certainly the underlying cause. Al
coholism of the parents is the major cause
responsible for the birth of idiot and imbe
cile children. Alcoholism not only causes
idiocy and imbecility of the offspring, but
also acts as a strong factor in reducing
birth rate and increasing death rate.
Children of alcoholic parents, if not idiots
or imbeciles, arc apt to be invalid in many
other ways, and are prone to die in infancy
of meningitis.
It should be borne in mind that the
above are not the historical statements of
uneducated fanatics, but the result of
clinic observation and experiment on a
number of cases.
At a Disadvantage.
It is an old story that there is less in
toxication in all grades of society than for
merly: that it is recognized that the man
who drinks to excess is at a disadvantage
in business and in his social relations, and
that men generally use more discretion in
drinking, so that while more drink may
be consumed than formerly, the indi\ idual
average of consumption is far less.
The Crusade in Brief.
Arrests for drunkenness in 129 cities ot
the United States are said to aggregate
312.000 during the last fiscal year.
Mrs. Mary Garrison, of Sioux Falls. S.
D., has commenced suit against three
saloonkeepers for selling liquor to her hus
band, resulting in his death.
In connection with the English Wesley
an Methodists there are 4804 Bands of
Hope, with 427,168 members; 1765 temper
ance societies, with 99,406 members.
The Borough of Grimsby, like the city of
Liverpool, has a large district entirely frea
I from public houses, thanks to the wisdoiri
I of the ground landlord. Lord Henea^e
I