AT THE TOP
Hut, lord," she Mid, "my shoulders still
are strong
t have been used to bear the load to long;
'And see, the hill is passed, and smooth
the mad."
Yet," said the stranger, "yield me now
thy load."
Gently he took it from her, and she stood
Straight-limited and lithe, in new-found
maidenhood
Amid long, sunlit fields; around them
sprang
A tender breeze, and birds and rivers sang.
My lord," she said, "the land is very
fair!"
Smilmit, he ai.iwered: "Was it not so
there?"
mmmffifflfflimm
THE GODS AND THE ALLY!
Br CECELIA
IBiliil
Both ot the Old People chose the
Ally because they were afraid to
trust in the gods. They had not
seen tho gods and they had Been
the Ally and had found her good to
look upon.
Of course they did not call her the
Ally they called her Mrs. Renolds.
She was a widow, rich, young and
good looking, with such a dainty, de
mure style of good looks that both ot
the Old Peoplo forgot the society
adage concerning widows, and went
to her for advice on various subjects.
And the Ally enjoyed it. She had
been a widow for four years, and it
was beginning to be whispered
among her most intimate friends that
she was not inconsolable.
Among other good qualities the
Ally was possessed of a keen sense of
humor. Therefore when the Old Lady
who lived on the comfortable estate
adjoining the Ally's own In the quiet
but well-to-do suburb, took a fancy
to the young widow and made her by
degrees her confidante, the Ally was
a little touched and more than a lit
tle amused. The crowning proof of
the Old Lady's affection came one
bright spring afternoon when she
was calling upon the Ally. It was a
long tale If you go back to the be
ginning, for It started when the Old
Lady was twenty-two Instead of sixty-two.
She had been In love with
and engaged to a certain Allan Hins
dale. But they had quarreled and
thereafter hated each other with an
Implacable hatred.
Eventually each had married an
other, though neither had forgotten.
The Old Lady's daughter Nell was
Just what her mother had been,
"Only she hasn't any pride at all,"
complained the Old Lady. "If she
had the least bit of pride In the
world she would not fall la love with
the son of a man whom her mother
hates."
"I don't understand. Can't you
make things, a little clearer?"
"Well, you see," said the Old Lady
plaintively, "I bought this place when
my husband died. He never would
get It for me. He positively refused
to live more than a half-hour away
from his business. Said he could use
all the time he would consume going
and coming in making money. I
guess he did. When he died I took
It and bought this place.
"We had tho best time you can
Imagine out here until the Falrweath
ers sold their place on the other side
of you, and then my troubles com
menced." The Ally patted the Old Lady's
hand and said "Yes?" encouragingly.
"Of course you know those people.
Goodness knows they've braved It out
long enough. I was here first and I
will not be chased out of my home.
It's just like that hateful, stubborn
Allan Hinsdale! And his son Is just
like him only not bo good looking.
You wouldn't believe It, but he was
handsome in those days," and she
sighed. '
"His son is good looking now,"
suggested the Ally.
"Yes, just. like ninety-nine out of
a hundred young men you meet every
day. They all look alike and he looks
just like the rest of them. No dis
tinction ubout him as there Is to my
Nell."
"Nell is a good looking girl," sup
plied the .Ally, diplomatically.
"Well, you can see the rest. It's
going on right under our noses, and
I'm perfectly helpless. It's Frank
Hinsdale and Nell Coover seven days
out of the week.
"It's outrageous, and Nell will not
listen to a thing I say. It's a wonder
there hasn't been a scandal before
this. Young people weren't per
mitted to act so in my time. And
every one knows perfectly well that
Allan Hinsdale and I wouldn't speak
to each other to save our necks from
the gallows."
The Old Lady rocked violently a
moment before she continued.
"I cau't see why she should be so
infatuated with him after all the nice
men she has met. He hasn't any
manners or he wouldn't smoke while
they are out playing that horrible
golf together. Even his father
wouldn't do that!" Then Ally's eyes
narrowed Just a little as Bhe said:
"Really, Mrs. Coover, Frank Is a
nice young man!"
"Well, supposing he is! Is that
any reason why Nell must make a
fool of herself over him? If those
two were to marry It would put their
parents In a pretty fix, wouldn't it?".
"Perhaps this friendship doeBn't
mean that they will marry after all,"
suggested the Ally, and then she was
filled with astonishment at the effect
of her words.
"Not marry! After such actions
as this! What do they mean then?
As soon as ever I reach homo I shall
find out If that young scamp has pro
posed, and it be hasn't J'll see to It
that he does. And I'll see to It that
he gets refused, too. If I have to call
In all the neighbors to help!" There
was a determined gleam la the Old
Lady's eyes, which were still bright
and blue bohlnd her nose glasses.
"That's what I wanted j-sm to kelp
OF THE ROAD
"There!" In her voice a wondering ques
tion lay;
"Was I not always here, then, as to-day?"
He turned to her with strange, deep eyes
aflame;
"Knoweat thou not this kingdom, nor my
name?"
"Nay," aha replied; "but this I under
stand That thou art Lord of Life in this dear
land!"
"Yes, child," he murmured, scarce above
his breath;
"Lord of the Land, but men have named
me Death."
Charles Buxton Coing, in McClure's.
A. 10IZEAUX.
me about," she suddenly remem
bered. "But what could I do in such a
matter as this?"
-jyverytning, my dear, every
thing!" said the Old Lady brighten
ing. "You can do anything with
Nell. She worships the ground you
walk on, and she thinks anything you
do or say Is simply perfect. Now
what I thought of was this" and
she lowered her voice and hitched
her chair a little nearer to the Ally.
"You know such a lot of nice young
people whom Nell has never met, be
cause she has really been away at
school for two or three years. And
If you could Introduce some of the
most eligible of the young men
they'd be sure to fall In love with
her and she would see that there are
other people In the world."
The Ally stiffened a little, and the
Old Lady, seeing this, interpreted it
to please herself. "I know It's a good
deal to ask of you, but you're the
only one of all the people I know who
can help me. I know you like Frank,
too, so I won't say all I could about
him. I might like him myself i! I
didn't know his father so well."
"Well," decided the Ally, "I be
lieve I will help you. I like Nell and
Frank too well to see either or both
of them made unhappy for life, if a
little effort on my part will save
them." She looked reflectively at
the Old Lady, who had begun to
beam. "But you must let me do
things my own way, even if It seems
silly to you."
"Certainly," said the Old Lady.
"I want you to seem to stop oppos
ing Nell. Let her see Just as much
of Frank as she likes, and even en
courage her In It, but not too sudden
ly. Be nice to him yourself and
you might, for the sake of the cause.
Just recognize his father when you
meet him on the street." The Old
Lady gave a squeak of dismay.
"I would far rather let Nell marry
Frank and then spend the rest of my
life getting even than speak to that
man now!" She fairly bristled with
dignity as she stood up and drew the
voluminous black silk coat, which
she wore la all weathers, around her
and prepared to go.
The Ally walked with her to the
door and out on the porch, and then
wished she had not. It Is dreadful
not to be able to laugh at times when
one wants to most. All the Ally
could do was to lean against a pillar
and pray under her breath for becom
ing sobriety.
As the Old Lady gingerly descend
ed the steps and sailed majestically
down the long, straight walk, the
gate opened and there entered a tall,
very straight Old Gentleman, who
came up the walk with dignified taps
ot a gold-headed cane, and whose
chin was lifted In a most dignified
manner. When he met the Old Lady,
who had become so straight she near
ly bent backward, he stepped oft the
sidewalk and stood with his back
turned, twirling his cane between his
hands as he hunted for clouds In an
absolutely flawless sky.
The Ally seemed not to notice the
very visible wrath of the Old Gentle
man as she came down the steps to
meet him and led him into her sun
warmed library. But after a little
preliminary skirmishing about the
weather depths to which the clever
Old Gentleman rarely descended he
suddenly blurted out:
"I think I owe you an apology for
the apparent rudeness I Just showed
one of your guests."
"Why, no," faltered Ally, but he
seemed not to have heard.
"It Is a little unfortunate that Mrs.
Coover and I have seen fit to occupy
homes In the same neighborhood. It
I bad known she lived here I certain
ly would not have bought tblB place.
But now I'm here and I do not mean
to be chased out of a comfortable
home."
"But why should you?" puzzled
the Ally, though she knew perfectly
well.
"Madam, It Is very awkward for
me to be constantly meeting that
er Mrs. Coover. The best thing she
ever did to me was to Jilt me when
we were younger, and I've never for
given her for that. She was an out
rageous flirt, Madam, and I was com
pletely taken In by her pretty face.
You wouldn't believe It now, but she
really was very pretty much more
so than her daughter is. That girl Is
a forward young minx. She has
much ot the personality of her father.
Very disagreeable person, the father."
"I never knew him," murmured
the Ally.
"It I thought the girl would servo
Frank as her mother did me, I
shouldn't care. It would teach him
a lesson, I've) warned him and he
will not listen. But she won't. It
ever a girl meant business I should
think It was Nell Coover. Her fath
er took Molly from under my very
nose after we had quarreled about
our wedding trip and had tempo
rarily broken off. But I want you to
help me," he suddenly remembered.
The Ally opened her eyes in hypo
critical surprise.
"It Just occurred to me this after
noon that I might tell you of my
troubte and ask you to help me. I
know It's a good deal to. ask, but It
you knew how much you can do with
Frank! He worships the ground you
walk on, and anything you say or do
he thinks Is all right. I thought you
would try to Interest him in some
other girl If I let you know how I felt
about it. If he married Nell Coover
her mother and myself would be la a
pretty fix."
"I might help you," reflected the
Ally again. "But you muat let me do
It in my own way. For Instance,
should you care It I were the cause
ot making Frank fall In love with
another woman?"
"Gracious, ho! Any one but Nell
Coover! I am willing and even anx
ious to see him married. Use your
own taste."
"Well, then, you must help. The
first thing I want you to do is to
stop opposing Frank In the matter of
seeing Nell. Encourage htm in It if
you can, without being too obvious.
There Is such a thing as too much
sugar, you know." The Old Gentle
man saw her point and nodded de
lightedly. "And It would help a lot If for the
sake of the cause you could JuBt bow
to Mrs. Coover when you meet on the
street."
The Old Gentleman reached for his
hat and cane and stood up very
straight. "Madam, I would far rath
er see my poor boy married to that
girl and then spend the rest of my
life getting even than speak to that
woman now. Good day, madam!"
The Ally planned her campaign
with much care, telling neither one
of the Old People any more than she
needed to keep their spirits up. She
took every opportunity to talk with
Nell and Frank, and finally she made
out a list of young people for a two
weeks' house party. She asked both
young people for a list of names, and
she saw the little flush that red
dened Nell's tanned cheeks when
Frank Insisted that she ask his frlond
Phil Bradley. Frank insisted that he
didn't know a girl he would want
around for two weeks other than the
ones who were there already, but
promised to be nice to those whom
the Ally would tnvite.
There was a fortnight of merry
making, and when it was all over, all
the guests departed but Phil Bradley,
who moved his traps over to Frank's
and stayed on. From that day on
the quartet was as much In evidence
as the couple had been. Nell was ob
served to be very polite to Frank's
guest, and the Ally, In the role of
comorter to Frank, was eminently
successful.
The Old Lady teamed upon Philip
and the warmth of her smiles pene
trated even to the depths of outer
darkness, where Frank was suppos
edly gnashing his teeth. She did not
take the trouble to stiffen so very
much now when she met the Old
Gentleman, and she even allowed
herself the luxury of a supercilious
smile, for she had no other idea than
that the dearest wish of the Old
Gentleman's heart was to marry his
son to her daughter.
And as for the Old Gentleman, he
was seen to cut an insultingly wide
swath around the Old Lady's floating
silk draperies, and was heard to hum
as he twirled his cane:
"We never speak as we pass by, al
though a tear bedims her eye.
I know she thinks ot her past life
turn dldl turn!"
New York News.
The Truth About Trapping.
Mr. W. H. Wright, the noted
grizzly-bear hunter, declares In the
World's Work that the trapper of
to-day lacks every characteristic
which romance has interwoven with
his name. He says:
People who have not seen can
form no Idea ot the suffering trap
per's cause, nor ot their ruthless de
struction ot game. Nothing escapes
them; even the squirrels are sacri
ficed to bait traps for marten and
fisher; and not only the squirrels
but all kinds of birds, whether game
or song-birds.
In trapping mink, otter, beaver
and a few other fur-bearing animals,
the trap Is nearly always set near
the water, where the animal when
caught is soon drowned, so that its
sufferings Is soon ended. But with
bear, marten and fisher it Is differ
ent. The bear must drag a heavy
clog about until it catches in some
root or bush. There he must wait
until the trapper comes to kill him,
and this la some cases Is not for
days. The bones ot the leg are al
most invariably broken by the trap,
and the leg Bwells to incredible size.
One trapper in one day shot nine
teen large blue grouse, merely to
try a new rifle. The birds were
nesting; be had no use for them, and
not one did he even bring to camp.
Three years ago In British Colum
bia, ,an old trapper camped near our
bear-hunting party. He shot every
thing he could find, even little ducks
and marmots. A goat he killed fell
over a cliff; and as it was harder to
recover It than to shoot another, he
shot another. He was trapping
beaver out of season, and boasted ot
having caught one that was about
to become a mother.
I have seen the spot where a bear,
fast in a trap, had been caught for
more than a week, in a thicket
through which it was impossible to
drag the trap and clog. I knew an'
old French trapper who shot seventy
three moose and elk In one winter,
for bear bait for the spring catch.
Punishing a Convict.
One of the best attractions in the
penitentiary during fair week was
Charles Holland, colored convict,
who cut oft his finger to get out of
work several weeks ago, and was
compelled to stand on a box la the
blacksmith shop, where hundreds of
visitors pass each day, and there dls.
play himself. A sign on his back'
and also In trcnt read:
"I cut oft my finger
To get out ot work."
Holland stands on the box all day
long. He has already spent nearly
twenty-five days on the box and has
a prospect ot standing that much
longer. He will be released when
his finger gets well. Columbus Dis
"IN PRAISE OF THE FIST."
MAETERLINCK'S DEFENCE OF BOXING AS
A MEANS OF ATTACK. . . ..
Belgian Writer Halls the "Human Weapon" and Declares That
Pugilism Is Essentially a Means of Promoting Peace
and Gentleness Man and Insect.
Maurioe Maoterllnck
' la the holiday season it Is well
that we should occupy ourselves with
the aptitudes of our body, once more
restored to nature, and In particular
with the exercises that most Increase
Its strength, Its agility, and the quali
ties which It possesses aa the body
of a fine, healthy, formidable animal,
ready to face all life's exigencies.
I remember In this connection that
lately, when writing of the sword, I
allowed myself to be carried away
by my subject and that I was guilty
of a certain Injustice toward the only
specific weapon with which nature
has endowed us; I mean the fist.
This injustice I am anxious to repair.
The sword and the fist form each
other's complement, and If it be not
ungracious thus to express oneself,
are not ou good terms together; but
the sword la or should be only an
'.exceptional weapon, a sort ot ultima
'et sacra ratio. We should not have
recourse to It save with solemn pre
cautions and a ceremonial equivalent
to that which we surround those
criminal trials which may end In a
sentence of death.
The flat, on the contrary, is pre
eminently the everyday, the human
,weapon, the only weapon organically
adapted to the sensibility, the resis
tance, the offensive and defensive
structure of our body.
I The fact is that if we examine our
selves well we must rank ourselves,
without vanity, among the most un
protected, the most naked, the most
fragile, the most brittle and flaccid
beings in creation. Compare us, for
Instance, with the Insect, so formid
ably equipped tor attack and so fan
tastically armor cased! Contemplate
.among others the ant, upon which
;you may heap ten or twenty thou
sand times the weight of its body
without apparently Inconveniencing
;it. Consider the cockchafer, the
(least robust of the beeltes, and weigh
what It Is able to carry before the
rings of its abdomen crack or the
'.casings of Its forewings yield. As
for the resistance of the stag beetle,
:it is, so to speak, unlimited,
j In comparison, therefore, we and
'the majority ot mammals are un
Isolldified beings, still in the gela
jtinous state and very near to the
primitive protoplasm. Our skeleton
alone, which Is, as It were, the rough
sketch of our definite form, effers
a certain consistency; but how
wretched la this skeleton, which one
would think constructed by a child!
'Look at our spine, the basis of our
whole system, whose HI set vertebrae
.hold together only by a miracle, and
our thoracic cage, which presents
only a series of diagnosis which we
hardly dare touch with the finger
tips.
Now, It is against this slack and
Incoherent machine, which resembles
an abortive effort of nature, against
this pitiful organism,' from which life
tends to escape on every side, that
we have contrived weapons capable
ioi annihilating us even if we pos
sessed the fabulous armor case, the
prodigious strength and the incred
ible vitality ot the most indestruc
tible insects.
We have here, it must be agreed,
ia very curious and a very disconcert
ing aberration, an initial folly, pe
culiar to the human race, that goes
ion increasing dally. In order to re
turn to the natural logic followed
toy all other living .things, though
we be permitted to use extraordinary
.weapons against our enemies of . a
different order, we ought among our
selves, among pen, to employ only
the means of attack and defence pro
vided by our own bodies. Were
mankind to conform strictly to the
levident will of nature, the fist
lwhich is to man what Its horns are
;to the bull and its claws and teeth
to the Hon the fist should suffice
ifor all our needs ot protection, Jus
tice and revenge. A wiser race would
forbid any other mode of combat as
an lrremisslble crime against the es
Hential laws of the species. At the
end ot a few generations we should
thus succeed in spreading and put
ting Into force a sort ot panic-stricken
respect of human life.
' How prompt, how exactly in ac
cordance with nature's wishes, would
be the selection brought about by
the intensive practice ot pugilism,
in which all the hopes of military
glory would be centred. Now selec
tion is, after all, the only really Im
portant thing that claims out pre
occupation; it Is the first, the great
est and the most eternal ot our duties
toward the race.
Meanwhile the study ot boxing
gives us exoellent lessons In humility
and throws a somewhat alarming
light upon the forfeiture of bo me of
e-ur most valuable instincts. We
soon perceive that, In all that con
cerns the use of our limbs agility,
dexterity, muscular strength, resis
tance to pain we have sunk to the
lowest rank ot the mammals or bat-,
rachians. From this point of view,
In a well conceived hierarchy, we
should be entitled to a modest place
between the frog and the sheep. The
kick ot the horse, the butt ot the
bull, the bite of the dog, are me
chanically and anatomically perfect.
It would be impossible to Improve
by the most learned lessons their
instinctive manner ot using their
natural weapons. But, we, the "ho
mlnians," the procuest ot the pri
mates, do not know how to strike
a blow with our fist. We do not
even know which exactly la the
veapon of our kind.
Look at two draymen, two peas
ants, who come to blows; nothing
could be more pitiable. After a
copious and dilatory broadside of In
sults and threats, tbey seize each
'other by the throat and the hair,
make play with their feet, with their
in London Dally Halt.
knees, at random, bite each other,
scratch each other, get entangled In
their motionless rage, dare not leave
go, and If one ot them succeeds in
releasing an arm, ho strikes out
blindly and most often Into space a
series of hurried, stunted an I sput
tering little blows; nor would the
combat ever end did not the treach
erous knife, evoked by the disgrace
ot the incongruous sight, suddenly,
almost spontaneously, leap from the
pocket of one or the other.
On the contrary, watcb two pu
gilists; no useless words, no grop
ings, no anger; the calmness ot twe
certainties that know what lies be
fore them. Tho athletic attitude of
the guard, one of the finest of the
male body, logically exhibits all the
muscles ot the organism to the best
advantage. From head to foot, no
pqrtlcle of strength can now go
astray. Each single one has its pole
In one or other of the two massive
fists charged to the full with energy.
Three blows, no more, the fruits ot
secular experience, mathematically
exhaust the thousand useless possi
bilities. Three synthetic, irrestlole,
unimprovable blows.
As soon as one' of them frankly
touches the adversary, the fight is
ended, to the complete satisfaction
of the conqueror, who triumphs so
incontestably that he has no wish
to abuse his victory, and with no
dangerous hurt to the conquered,
who is simply reduced to Impotence
and unconsciousness during the time
needed for all 111 will to evaporate.
Soon after the beaten man will rise
to his feet with no lasting damage,
because the resistance ot his bones
and his organs la strictly and natu
rally proportioned to the power ot
the human weapon that has struck
him and brought him down.
It may seem paradoxical, but the
fact Is easily established that the
science of boxing, In those countries
where it is generally practised and
cultivated, becomes a pledge of peace
and gentleness. Our aggressive ner
vousness, our watchful susceptibility,
that sort of perpetual state of alarm
In which our Jealous vanity moves,
all those arise, at bottom, from the
sense ot our weakness and of our
physical Inferiority, which toll as
best they may to overawe, by a proud
and irritable mask, the men often
churlish, unjust and malevolent, that
surround -us.
The more that we feel ourselves
disarmed in the face of attack, tho
more are we tortured by the longing
to prove to others and to persuade
ourselves that no one attacks us with
Impunity. Courage becomes the more
fretful, the more intractable, in pro
portion as our anxiously terrified In
stinct, cowering within the body that
is to receive the blows, asks Itself
how the bout will end. What will
this poor, prudent Instinct do should
the crisis go badly?
It is upon our instinct that we
tpy in the hour of danger. Upon
our instinct devolves the anxiety of
the attack, the care of the defence.
We have so often In daily life dis
missed it from the control that, when
its name la called. It comes forth
from its retreat like one grown old
in captivity and suddenly dazzled by.
the light of day. What resolution
will it take? Where ia it to strike? ,
At the eyes, the stomach, the nose,
the temples, the throat? What
weapon is it to choose? The feet,
the teeth, the hand, the elbow, or the
nails?
It no longer knows; It wanders
about Its poor dwelling which is
about to be defaced; and, while it
dotingly pulls them by the sleeve,
courage, pride, vanity, spirit, self
esteem, all the groat and splendid
but irresponsible lords, envenom the
stubborn quarrel, which at laBt, after
numberless and grotesque evasions,
ends in an unskilful exchange of
clamorous, blind, ataxic thumps, hy
brid and plaintive, piteous and puer
ile and Indefinitely impotent.
He, on the contrary, who knows
the source of Justice which he holds
In his two closed fists has no need,
for self-persuasion. Once and for
all, he knows; longanimity emanates
like a peaceful flower from his ideal
but certain victory. The grossest
Insult cannot Impair his Indulgent
smile. Peacably he awaits the first
act ot violence, and Is able to say to
all who offends his: "Thus far shall
you go and no further." A single
magic movement stops the insolence.
Why make this movement? He
ceases even to think of it, so certain
Is its efficacy.
It Is with a sense of shame, as
ot one Btrlktng a defenseless child,
that in the last extremity be at
length resolves to raise against the
most powerful brute the sovereign
hand that regrets beforehand its too
easy victory.
Watch That Speaks the Time.
A Swiss watchmaker has Invented
a watch which speaks the time from
a tiny phonograph. A very small
hard rubber plate has the vibrations
ot the human voice imprinted upon
It, and is actuated by clockwork, so
that at a given time the articulation
is made, Indicating the hour. The
utterance Is sufficiently strong to be
heard twerty feet away. It la pos
sible by means ot a' device of this
kind to combine sentiment with util
ity, as the vibrattons can be made by
by any clear voice,' and a man's watch
may tell him the time In the tonea
ot wife or children.
" PleTrVLbti, tho French culhor. baa
Just been promoted from captain ot
frigate to captain ot battleship. He
baa never quitted his sorvlco la the
ArPEXDICITlS.
A New Theory Advanced Respecting
Its Can ho.
The question as to whether It Is
advisable to operate so frequently
for appendicitis continues to arouse
the Interest of French physicians.
M. Blanchard, a shining light In
the French medical world, now
comes forward with a startling new
theory which entirely upsets all pre
conceived notions. He asserts and
says his assertion is backed by Pro
fessor Metchnikoff, of the Pasteur In
stitute that appendicitis Is undoubt
edly caused by intestinal worms.
These are of three kinds, and the
most dangerous is that known as the
trygocephal, which causes the sharp
pains 'and symptoms which indicate
appendicitis.
Microscopic examination In every
case ot appendicitis that has come
under the observation of Professor
Blanchard and Professor Metchni
koff has revealed the presence ot
these parasites In the appendix. "Ap
pendicitis," says Professor Blanch
ard, "more especially occurs during
the hot weather, and, although not
contagious or infectious, it frequently
assumes the character of an epidem
ic in certain districts."
Now, according to the professor,
market gardens In the neighborhood
of great cities, such as Paris and
London, are frequently manured and
fertilized by the deodorized and
chemically treated product ot the
city sewers. In these market gar
dens the vegetables are forced, and
examination shows that they contain
numerous intestinal parastteB, and
especially the eggs of the dreaded
trygocephal.
The professor says that a surgical
operation for appendicitis is abso
lutely unnecessary, and that It
should never be performed unless
some hard substance such as a cher
ry stone has been accidentally swal
lowed by the patient. He urges leg
islation to forbid the use ot deodor
ized and chemically treated sewage
as manure, and that thymol should
be extensively UBed against intesti
nal worms.
"Appendicitis," adds Professor
Blanchard, "when not the conse
quence of the accidental swallowing
of some hard substance. Is undoubt
edly caused by the parasite to be
found in cabbage, turnips, carrots,
and cauliflower. The danger lies in
eating vegetables that have been
forced by manures or watered by
contaminated well and spring water."
Paris correspondence London MaiL
Speuking Through the 'Nose.
The offenslveness of tho present
defect could not be exaggerated, per
haps, but it is best to guard against
exaggeration in dealing with it. Not
long ago we talked with an observant
Englishman, who was hardly the
most willing ot witnesses, but a Just
as well as a gentle spirit, and we
asked him if ho had been much
struck by our far - famed nasality
since coming amonug us. No, he
said, not half so much as he had
expected; but what he had noticed
was that we Bpoke drawllngly, drag
glngly, in. tones that weakly and
tardily did their office. It seemed
to "us, when we thought the matter
over, that there was a great deal
of truth in what he said, and we now
commend his remark, together with
our own less lenient accusations, to
the attention of the American Wom
an's Speech Reformers. What they
want to get at is the average of
fence, and not to err as to its pre
cise nature. There is no doubt that
certain of our women twang, and
whine, and whiffle, and whinny, hut
possibly close inquiry might develop
the fact that, after all. It may be a
lazy and careless mismanagement of
the voice In the sort suggested which
is most to be corrected. William
Dean Howells, in Harper's Bazar.
The Secret of the Muplo.
No thoughtful person who has
ever visited a maple-grove in the
sarly Bpring, while snow-banks are
yet lingering in sheltered hollows,
and has seen pailful after pailful of
sweet sap drawn from the auger
holes in the shapely trunks, can have
failed to wonder what forces govern
the flow of the sap. When the warm
sun touches the treetops the flow in
creases. A rise of a few degrees
in temperature often causes a great
Increase of flow, If the rise passes the
zero point, on the Centigrade scale,
that is, the freezing-point of water.
But a considerable change of tem
perature in which the fluctuations
do not cross the zero line causes no
marked change In the flow of the
sap. Dr. K. M. Wlegand, discussing
these and other related facts in the
American Naturalist, reaches the con
clusion that neither expansion of
gas in the wood, nor expansion of
water, nor expansion of the wood
itself, is the underlying cause of the
pressure which produces the flow,
but that this pressure arises from
the effects of temperature In altering
the osmotic permeability of the pith
ray cells.
Manners.
The antiquary took down a small,
fat volume, vellum-bound, with a
brass clasp.
"This is a 'Book of Manners,' "
he said. "It was printed in 1173.
Here are a few extracts."
And he read:
"Do not gnaw a bone like a dog
nor suck the marrow out of a bone.
"In peeling a pear begin at the
stalk, but with an apple begin at
the top.
"Do not wipe the hands on the
clothes, nor suck them, but use the
cloth.
"Do not eat an apple all alone,
but cut it in two and give a neigh
bor a piece.
"Wipe your nose and mouth when
you have drunk, and do not cough
into the cup.'" Minneapolis Journal
' Buying or Belling?
It Is told of the son ot a horse
dealer, a sharp lad, when once un
expectedly called upon by his father
to mount a horse and exhibit its
paces, the little fellow whispered the
question, In order to regulate how
he should ride:
"Are you buying or selling?" .
Tit-Bits.
ArPLE TREES 80 YEARS OLD.
Ihry AVer Planted by Indians at a
Historic Spot in Michigan.
Planted by the Indiana eighty
years ago, when the spot was an In
dian reservation and burying ground,
two apples trees still stand aide by
side on the bank of the Shiawasse
River near Vernon.
The trees are now of mammoth,
size, measuring six and eight feet ia
circumference, and notwithstanding
their age they are still In healthy
condition and bear fruit each year.
Near whore they stand was lo
cated the first aettlement made by
white men in Shlawaase County
about one hundred years ago. Ia
those early days the spot was one
ot the chief trading points in the lo
cality. It was located on one nf the first
trails hereabouts, and, being also on
the river bank, was accessible by
water. In those days water waa
used for travel more than It is now.
So large was the business done by
Indians and fur traders that in 1840
a bank was established here. It waa
one of the wildcat variety so com
mon In those days, and Issued a
great amount of wildcat currency.
Tradition has It that while the
bank was doing a flourishing busi
ness some ot the large holders of ttg
currency became uneasy about the
security for the redemption, of the
paper and planned a raid to loot the
bank.
The bank officials, hearing of the
plan, took the bank's specie and
burled it near the river. There still
live in that vicinity some oldtimera
who believe that the money is bur
led there yet, and many excavations
have been made in the hope of un
covering it.
The trend ot progress has been
away from this spot, and any one
visiting there to-day will find a peace
ful farming community. Detroit
Free Press.
Seven Rules For Longevity.
The following rules for living to
a ripe, old age are given by Mrs.
Henderson in her recently published
volume, The Aristocracy of Health
(Harpers) :
1. Study the laws of nature for
health and the remedies of nature
for cure.
2. Avoid all poisons.
3. Take abundant exercise in pure
air, but always short ot fatigue. So
exercise that every portion of the
body is equally benefited. As it
takes a strong engine for a long Jour
ney; cultivate lung-power by slow,
deep-breathing exercises.
4. Eat only the amount of food
that nature needs, and study what
to eat from a scientific point ot
View.
5. Cultivate normal sleep. Live
and sleep only in rooms that are well
sunned, well ventilated, and not over
heated. 6. Cultivate the habit of work in
connection with some worthy ambi
tion, tor healthy exercise ot body
and mind is as strengthening as re
pose, and should balance it. Work
while you work and rest while you
rest, avoiding all worry. Make your
self useful to the world, and feel
that you have a mission in it.
7. Avoid all environments, the
worst of which is the friend who en
courages you to poison yourself.
, Science and Manufacture.
In the Zeiss glass works at Jena
fourteen doctors of science are em
ployed, and these include mathema
ticians as well as physicists. The
great German aniline color works
employ more "scientific" than "tech
nichal" chemists. At one of them,
for instance, fifty-five scientific and
thirty-one technical chemists are en
gaged; at a second 145 scientific
chemists and 175 technologists; at
a third 148 scientific chemists for
seventy-five technicists. The re
search laboratories of these works
are lavishly equipped; one of them
possesses a library of 14,000 vol
umes; a second spends 150,000
francs a year on glassware. Tbeso
things are no doubt expensive, but
these great factories still manage
to pay a dividend of from twenty to
thirty per cent. Every newly dis
covered substance which is usable
Is patented, and in this way Germany
has managed to establish a monopoly.
Tho house of Baeyer possesses a
thousand patents at home and
1200 in foreign countries. London
Graphic.
lSurbcr's New Experience.
A good story of Charles Hawtry is
told in Vanity Fair. When making
a trip through Europe he found him
self In a small village minus his
luggage and his razors. There was
no barber's shop, but, having heard
ot a man in the village who occasion
ally had shaved people, the famous
actor sent for him, and was aston
ished at being requested to He fiat
on his back before operations' were
commenced. Thinking it a custom
of the country, he lay down, and was
shaved with ease and dexterity, but
afterward asked the niau the reason
why he requested his customers to
adopt so peculiar a position. "Be
cause, Bir," was the naive reply, "1
nevor before shaved a live man!"
Our Mew Nuvy.
In commislson and under construc
tion we now have twenty-sit battle
ships and thirteen armored cruisers,
eleven coast defense ironclads, a
large fleet ot unarmored steel vessels,
upward ot forty gunboats and nearly
sixty torpedo boats and submarines.
Of ships ot all classes we had 327
at the end of 1905; and the comple
ment bad risen to more than 83,000
officers and men, exclusive ot a ma
rine corps ot more than 6000, a force
considerably larger than the regular
army before the Spanish war. New
York Sun.
Copperhead Comes to Town.
Aa Miss Anna Montgomery was de
scending the stone stairway of the
Carnegie Library lust evening she al
most stepped on a copperhead snake
colled on one of the steps. She
screamed and ran out into the street.
The snake was killed. It meas
ured over three feet. How it got on
the steps of a publlo buildiug iu the
most frequented part of the town ia
a iSyatery. Beaver Falls Correspon
dence Pittsburg Dispatch.