THE ORDEAL BY FIRE
A Hindoo Ceremony That Puzzles
the Uninitiated.
4 WALK OVER GLOWING COALS.
The Participant* In the Mystifying
Spectaole Play With the Fiery Em
bars at Children Play With Sand
and Emerge Unharmed.
\
1 once witnessed a most remarkable
ordeal by tire at Benares, India. It
was held on the grounds of a villa on
the outskirts of the city,, and among
us were some of the most prominent
men aud women of official and social
life in British India. Army aud navy
officers touched elbows with French
savants, all more than glad to accept
an Invitation that might at least offer
opportunity either to catch some clew
toward solving the mystery of the In
dian fire ordeal or else catch the priest
% ly performers In a nice trap at consum
mate and age long deception, success
fully worked among a superstitious
and overcredulous people like the Hin
doos.
Seats had beeu arranged for our par
ty out on the spacious lawn, where a
trench had been dug sixteen feet long,
' six feet wide and four feet deep. The
fire in the trench wm lighted before
noon, but the ordeal Itself was not to
come off until after sunset. The trench
was filled with kindling wood andlogß
and was set afire by the attendants,
who kept up a blaze as hot as a blast
furnace all day long, until the trench
by sunset was filled three feet deep
t with a compact, glowing bed of red
hot coala.
We were escorted to our seats at
about tfJO. and we ware not inclined
to question the reality of that fire from
the moment we sat down within twelve
feat of It. Whatever else might be
fraud or hypnotism In this Indian fire
ordeal, we could not for a moment
doubt the realism of that scorching
beat that made our eyes smart and
grow bloodshot. We, who had come to
scoff and doubt, were soon realizing
that tb£ managers of the Benares fire
ordeal had already gained 7ft points out
of 100 Id favor of their honesty and of
their power over the mighty element
of fire, that figures so largely in orien
tal philosophy as one of the three or
four primal elements of the physical
universe.
A great commotion and babel of
volcea soon proclaimed the coming of
* the procession of priests, headed by
the arch priest Brahmapoots, carrying
a huge Indian sword, followed by the
« two minor priests who were destined
to walk unharmed through that yard
thick fiery bed. scintillating In the in
creasing darkness and lighting up the
* dark faces of the hundreds of gaping
Hindoos standing behind us. While
we Europeans and Americans, always
hypercritical aud glveu to scientific re
* search, were awaiting the coming of
the moment when our 75 per cent of
credulity was either to be shattered or
rounded out to the fullness of a com
pleted and abiding faith In Hindoo ;
control and mastery of the devouring
element of fire, our Hindoo fellow on
lookers, on the other hand, were antici
pating the ordeal with all the slmpllc- .
lty of credulous children. Ours was an
almost terrifying heart tension, and we
I almost wished that we were not occi
dental skeptics, always bent on doubt
ing things of an extraordinary nature.
The priests marched about the trench
chanting and performing mystic Incan
tations, carrying along a glass reliqu
ary, or shrine. In which was seen the
Image of the god Siva, who, in the
Hindoo religious system, Is one of the \
trinity and Is worshiped as the de- !
•troyer, Brahma being the creator and
» Vishnu the preserver of the universe.
We do not know to this day what those
priests said as they perambulated
4 about that fiery trench, but we do i
know what soon followed, for, at the
end of the Incantation, the two candl- I
dates for the ordeal plunged Into the
redhot coals and walked ankle deep
the whole length of the trench, back
* ward aud forward, time aud time
again. They played with that scintll- '
latlng, glowing lire as children play
with the sands of Coronado beach,
kicking It with their feet and stooping
down to pick up handfuls of the glow j
lug coals, tossing them In the air, to
he blown by the rising evening breeze j
all over our heads and our easily in- .
flammable clothing. We were really '
" afraid. No doubt about those sparks
and live, falling coals!
When the two priests hail walked up
and down alone through that fiery j
trench unseathed and unscorched,
then the whole Hindoo throng seemed
to suddenly catch the spirit of their
t priests, and, sure of their conquest over
the power of fire, they began plunging
I Into the trench. Old men and young
children walked through that fiery fur- I
nace, forward and backward, and j
when they had tired of this- "playing
with fire" they came out as they had
entered, not a hair or a garment .
scorched, not even the soles of their i
feet blistered.
Only males are allowed to go through
the fire ordeal.
Never yet has any scientific theory {
explained the power of the Siva wor
shipers over fire. We ourselves were
absolutely convinced that trlckery -was
not to be considered as an explanation
of what we had witnessed Los Ange-
lea Times.
A Caddie'* Cadenza.
Lady Golfer (to would be caddie) —
But what do you know about the
game? Can you make a tee, for ln
- atnhce? The Would Be ( addle Can ?
make— Why, In my young days, lldy.
I nsed ter do It that well they called
mem the teaca ddy.—London Sketch.
A Fa mo rot Tenor.
Apart from its wide range, the nat
ural beauty and sweetness of the voice
of Sims Reeves held his audiences
spellbound and fully entitled him to be
termed the finest English tenor of his
day. lie especially excelled in ora- j
torio parts, while in opera his success ]
was scarcely less pronounced. Per
haps It was as a singer of English bal
lads that Sims Reeves appealed to the
majority, and it will probably be many
a long day before we shall hear a more
exquisite rendering of "Sally In Our j
> Alley" than that of which this great
tenor was capable.—London Mail.
Neffleotfd "Ininw.
* Visiting Britisher But you have
nothing to see o\er here—nothing, I
mean. In the way of grand old things
that have long since fallen into dis
use. Gotbamite —We haven't, eh?
Walt till you get n copy of the city
ordinances.—l.ife
t'oiu |»a rln k ><*tra.
Bleeker—My wife got the l>est of me
In an argument this morning. Meeker
—My wife never got the liest of me
but once. Bleeker— \\ hen was that?
Meeker—When she married me.—Chi
cago News.
STORIES OF THE CAT.
Legends and Facts About the Still but
Half Tamed Animal.
"There are few tales of eat fidelity,
and many of dog, yet one thluks no
worse of the cat for this,"says an oh-,
server. "His very independence com«
pels respect, lie walks 'by his wild
lono, waving his wild tail, through the
wild woods,' as an inspired modern
writer has set forth. All the genera
tions have not served to tame him.
and the most domestic of the race will
revert sooner to a wild life at 'the call
, of the blood' than any other friend of
1 man. It is tlins scarcely surprising to
find that the most famous cat lovers
have been drawn from the ranks of
politicians and poets, those whom rea
sous of state or h sensitive tempera
ment have rendered averse from trust
ing their fellow creatures aud who con
sequently bestow all their affections
upon the 'fireside sphinx.' We are in
vited to believe that the most famous
of all cats, he who brought fume and
fortune to his master. Dick Whlttlng
ton, was no four legged animal at all,
j but merely the French word 'achat'—
to buy and sell at proflt—and that the
great merchant made a pet only of his
merchandise from the very beginning.
Thus In later years do the idols of our
youth topple about our heads.
| "But other legends— nay, facts—are
left us. Cardinal Wolsey, for instance,
when acting In his official cupacity aa
lord chancellor Is said to have had his
favorite cat always seated beside him,
and another prince of the church, Rich
elieu, found his ouly relaxation In
keeping a number of kittens in his pri
vate cabinet and watching their garn
, hols during his spare moments. We
cannot really reckon Richelieu as a
i true lover of the race, however, for dl
■ rectly the kittens grew to three months
he had thetn sent away and replaced
I by others. Lord Chesterfield left in his
: will life pensions to his favorite cats
and their kittens. Victor Hugo's great
cat Chanoine always sat on a large red
ottoman in the center of his salon and
received his quests Instate, showing
marked displeasure if any one failed
to caress or praise her.
"Tasso wrote a sonnet to his favorite
cat, and Petrarch had one he loved aa
dearly, we are told, as Laura. No
doubt she was the confidant of many
of his trials and consoled him for much
of the fair lady's disdain, and when
pussy died the poet had her embalmed
In the Egyptian fashion and carried her
mummy about with him everywhere.
Baudelaire, the French poet, a very
shy man, was always ill at ease In any
new house he entered until the family
cat was brought up and Introduced to
him, after which, with the eat on his
knee, he was perfectly happy In his
silent poet fashlou.
"Traditions respecting cats are, of
course, legion. From time immemorial
they have been regarded as somewhat
uncanny, omens of weal or woe, beings
to be either conciliated or crushed.
The cat worship of ancient Egypt and,
later, the Roman creed that the cat
was sacred to Diana speak of the one;
the wild charges of witchcraft —or
concern in it—rife during the dark
ages of Europe will attest the latter.
But there Is another popular belief de
serving also of mention, that which
sets forth the old maid as the cat's
only friend, a legend arising in the
mediaeval nunneries overrun with
mice, where one or more cats were
always kept and were no doubt much |
petted by the good nuns." Chicago
News.
A Hard Burial.
Some few winters ago a gang of car
riage washers was engaged washing
curriages on one of our northern rail
ways when one of them remarked to
his mate, an old soldier who was fa
mous as a long bowist, "It's awful cold
this morning, David."
"Cold! This is nothing," said David. !
"i remember when I was In Canada In
186— one of our mates died, poor chap. !
And you will have some idea wluit
sort of frost It was when I tell yon It
froze the body so stiff and the ground
so hard that we had to get hammer
and chisel, make a nick in the ground
and then drive him in with a pile
driver. That was the only way we ;
could give the poor chap decent
burial." —London Answers.
EYEGLASSES.
Hon to l'ut Tlieni on and Take Tlirtu
Off Properly*
There is nothing which more com- ;
pletely changes the effect of a pair of
eyeglasses than the habit of crowding
them on the nose with one hand. The
best efforts at llttir.g and adjusting are
all brought to naught by a person who
has acquired that habit.
The proper way to take off glasses
Is to take hold of Hit* bridge and lift
off gently without dragging or pulling
out of shape. To take off spectacles
take hold of the right temple with the
right hand and lift it off the ear. Then
turn the head to the right and the left
temple will fall off easily.
The average wearer of glasses when
be Is cleaning them takes hold of the
bridge. The consequence is that he
gradually works the bridge out of
shape, and every rub he gives the lens
gives a twist to the bridge, and in
course of time the bridge or the lens
breaks when he least expects it. There
are probably more glasses broken In
this way than any other.
The correct way to clean them is to
take hold of one of the eye pieces
where the glass is screwed on the outer
edge and clean the lens, and then re
verse the glasses, take it by the other
end piece and repeat the process on
that lens.
SOUPS AND BROTHS.
They Arr Stimulating Hut Have I.lt
tip Nutritive Vnlor.
Soups and broths made of the meat
pieces alone and without the addition
of meat substance, eggs, vegetables or
cereals have little nutritive value, al
though they do possess stimulating
properties.
A dog would starve to death In ten
days if fed upon beef broth pure anc'
simple.
Soup interferes with digestion when
ever a full meal is eaten. I consider It
ns being entirely superfluous aud ad
vise it* discontinuance in a substantial
dinner menu.
Soup, being practically all water,
plays an important part in conjunction
with the large quantities of other
liquids injected during mealtime in de
laying and Interfering with digestion i
and laying a foundation for stomach
trouble. Through it and the other j
liquids used the stomach is not only j
overfilled and unnecessarily burdened,
but the gastric secretions are so weak
ened by dilution that they can act but
slowly upon the food mass. Here
again we have the food remaining In
the stomach for too long a period, and
there is likeiy to l>e produced all of the
symptoms and signs of an iutosicatiou
due to the absorption iuto the system
of the products of decomposed foods.
Soup eaten by itself or with a light
meal, as a rule, does not act harmfully. I
| Cupid's Bargain
\ By LESLIE HOLMES. )
A Copyright, 1907, by C. 11. Sutcliffe. \
"But, my dear" — Interposed Aunt
Ella, reaching for her handkerchief.
Beth Graham resumed her interrupt
ed monologue.
"I never saw an advertisement which
balanced so tidily with one's qualifica
tions—'Wanted, services of a capable
young woman for few hours daily.
Must be well educated, have pleasant
manners, a gift for conversation and
make a good appearance. No experi
ence necessary, but large acquaintance
desirable. Apply to the Interborough
Realty Co., Street.' Now, I have
the education. Behold my diploma
from Mine. Collingwood's select school.
Thanks to my bringing up by the best
aunt in the world, 1 have the reputa
tion of being well mannered. I am
considered chatty without being a bore.
My new tailored suit gives me the
good appearance demanded. Certainly
I have no experience, but a lot of ac
quaintances."
' Mrs. Graham mopped her eyes dili
gently.
j "I cannot bear to think of you, a
Graham of Graham Center, going iuto
business. Now, there are my cameos—
cameos are in style again. Beth"—
I The girl laid a slender white hand
! over her aunt's trembling lips and
spoke with sternness not entirely af
fected.
; "Aunty, dear, never again speak in
that way of our precious family heir
i looms. So long as they are in the safe
deposit vault I shall feel that the Gra
| ham honor Is saved. I intend to an
j gwer that advertisement."
An hour later the secretary of the
| Interborough Realty company looked
with relief into the fresh, high bred
face of the last of the Graham Center
Grahams, who, thanks to the collapse
of the bank, was looking for a po
sition in which experience was not de
manded. The secretary of the com
pany, like all men of his class, ques
tioned the girl so cleverly that she had
told the story of her Inexperience and
needs long before he unfolded the re
quirements of the position. Then he
leaned back in his chair and remarked:
"I think you'll do, Miss Graham. We
have plotted ninety on the Ches
ter turnpike, and we're going to boom
the site as the Hollingworth Terrace.
We've got the Transit Construction
company interested in the deal, and
they will build houses on the Install
ment plan. We have some wide awako
chaps on the ground, but we are plan
ning a series of excursions, and we
think a bright woman with the gift
of saying the right thing at the right
minute could put through many a sale,
particularly with men. Now, such work
Is generally done on a commission
basis, but you re rather tif against It.
and we'll pay you fifteen a week and
expenses and give you a month to
make good."
He touched an electric button and
said to the answering boy:
"Send in Mr. Laughorne. He's the
working head of the Trauteit Construc
tion company and a promising young
man. You'll probably have considera
ble dealing with him. Langhorne, this
is Miss Graham. She's going to help
us out al Hollingworth Terrace."
And thus, with a sweeping gesture,
did the secretary of the Interborough
Realty company settle Beth Graham's
entrance into the business world.
Fifteen dollars a week! Why. «*ey
would have to let even Emma, ihe
cook. go. She would probably wear
out many shoes, too, tramping over
Hollingworth Terrace. And then a mel
low masculine voice broke in upon
her reflections, and she found a very
good looking young mail, with Irish
blue eyes that smiled right Into hers,
standing at attention, some pamphlets
In his hand.
"Perhaps you would like to look over
some of our literature before you Join
us on the first excursion tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow ?" echoed Beth. It seem
ed so dreadfully near, this earning of
daily bread for herself and Aunt Ellen.
But she smiled and accepted the
books. Half an hour later it seemed
to her as If Hollingworth Terrace must
be a sort of paradise for small sal
aried people and that she. In selling
homes to them, would bfc a veritable
angel of mercy.
The next day she felt differently.
The first excursion was not exactly a
success. The air was heavy with mist,
and Hollingworth Terrace seemed a
wilderness of surveyors, steam rollers,
sewer pipes and tired teams, dragging
great loads of building materials
through unfinished streets.
In one of the half finished houses a
colored man served hot coffee and
sandwiches to the few excursionists
who had braved the elements, but no
deals were consummated. After the
tms had taken the few visitors back to
the station B' th, seated on a plaster
er's horses, studied critically the tiny
reception hali, while Langhorne, perch
ed on a window seat, studied the girl
and wondered why some women looked
smart and trig even in a era
■ •oat and a soft felt hat.
"These early spring days are so un
certain," she was saying. "1 wish
there was a fireplace in that corner.
You could just ns well build one, for
the chimney runs up there from the
parlor. Theu we'd have a snapping,
sparkling fire that would make the
whole house seem charming. I believe
we'd make a sale, rain or shine."
"But the fireplaces would atld to the
cost of the bouses." said Langhorne
doubtfully.
"And make prospective customers
overlook some other Oefccts In youi
houses. I noticed you have no back
stairs. Now, every suburban house
wife likes separate stairs for her one
servant. She is much more punctilious
in such matters than the city house
keeper."
"Eh—what?" exclaimed Langhorne
curiously.
"Yes, and you should have utilized
that wasted space for a closet for rub
ber coats, umbrellas, overshoes, etc. A
woman will fall for a couple of con
venient closets when stained glass win
dows and artistic tiling are lost upon
her."
Langhorne was all attention now.
"I didn't suppose that a city girl
would notice things so closely."
"I began life in a village." said Beth
quietly. "Besides, If I am to help you
sell these places I must believe In
them, and 1 cannot believe in them
unless they are right."
pf'fore the next excursion day rolled
around Belli bad examined every house
under way, aud her suggestions for
small alterations that would appeal to
the feminine mind were received with
respect. Furthermore, all plans for
new houses were brought to her be
foreJJLte work was commenced.
1 nomngworrn .terrace became tne cen
ter around which everything moved,
and A nut Ellen studied plans and of
fered suggestions to young Lnnghorne,
who had taken to bringing drawings to
the cozy Graham flat. So far simple
cottages costing $5,000 or less had been
erected. Now they were planning more
ambitious residences and plotting the
most valuable site of their holdings, a
broad knoll that overlooked the river
and surrounding country
Here in the heart of a cluster of
pines was to be a house of old English
design, with high gables, sloping roof
and quaint interior finish. Beth watch
ed those plans grow with Jealous care.
She selected the timbers for finishing
the celling of the reception hall, living
room and dining room. The fireplaces
she and Langhorne designed from pic
tures of English country houses.
The excursions were heavily patron
ized now. Sales were made while
Beth's back was turned. Holllngworth
Terrace was booming beyond the fond
est hopes of its founders. Beth often
came in from her calls on prospective
customers to ask anxiously. "Has The
Lodge been taken?"
They had named the house of their
own planning The Lodge, nothing
more, and somehow she felt that she
should hate the man who bought it.
One night when Langhorne dropped
Into call he did not look her In the eye.
lie talked about any and every subject
; but Holllngworth Terrace, and Beth
knew that The Lodge had been sold.
"You might as well fess up," she
said, with pretended gayety.
He nodded his head.
"Yes. We withdrew, The Lodge from
tile market at 4 this afternoon"—
'•Who bought it.and, oh. do you
think they will dare to put Turkish
rugs in that old English living room?"
"Oh, no. I assure you he'll have
nothing but hand woven rugs, just as
you suggested"—
"Well, that Is some comfort," the
girl murmured. "If he has taste I
can forgive him. What sort of a man
is he. married or single?"
"Single, but he bought it hoping that
a certain jrlrl would share it with him."
"Was she with him? Is she a nice
girl? Fx. you think she will appreciate
it?" demanded Beth breathlessly. "You
know I simply love that firephu-e In
the hali!"
« Langhorne rose abruptly and paced
the floor. Suddenly he paused before
her chair, his lips firm, his blue eyes
ablaze with a light she bad never seen
there before.
"Do you think—could you make up
your mind—to sit beside that fireplace
always—with me?"
She looked up at him, her breath
coming in short, nervous gasps, her
eyes wide and startled.
"Oh, I know it's no end of cheeky In
me. but when that bloated barrel of a
Hopkins (you remember you disliked
him soi otTi red me $8,500 today for The
L>dge I told him it was sold. I simply
had to buy It myself and take chances
on you. You're the certain girl."
'Oh. Teddy! Teddy Langhorne!"
said Berk, with a glad little cry. "We'll
have hlekoiy logs to burn in the fire
places—and yes, yes. I love you! Of
course It isn't all the house, silly, but
it does count some. Yon know, we
built it together."
*******
"But to refuse $8,500 for it! Oh,
Teddy! That was downright reck
less!" she murmured later.
"Oh, I don't know," replied Lang
horne, regaining possession of her
hand. "Personally, I think I got a
pretty good bargain."
Moore and Morocco.
Moor and Morocco are words un
known to the people of that troubled
land. These people know themselves
as Arabs uud descendants of those val
iant upholders of the prophet's green
standard who swept like a flood across
north Africa at the time of the beglra.
The Morocco of the present day they
found possessed by a sturdy race who
claimed descent from the people who
were cast out of Canaan by Joshua,
the son of Nun. Their country, so far
as Its plains were concerned, was tak
en from them by the Arabs, and their
fighting strength was made to serve
the Arab cause in the conquest of
Spain. They themselves gradually took
to the mountains, to the great Atlas.
Here they have remained ever since,
speaking their own language, main
taining their own customs and racial
attributes and obstinately refusing to
be absorbed by the Arab dwellers on
the plains. These people are the Ber
bers. Their tongue is called Shilhah.
Literature they have none, In the or
dinary sense of the word, but they
have a rich store of oral tradition,
Ihyth, legend and folklore
Growth of Rocks.
Rocks do not grow in the sense that
a plant grows. They may Increase by
accretion, and they may undergo chem
ical change. The old sea bed, being
lifted up. becomes sandstone and lime
stone. The volcanic ash and lava
strewn over the plains become tufa,
hard enough for building stone. The
pebbly shore of a river becomes con
glomerate. The simple mineral does
grow, however, when It takes a crystal
form. The sparkling prism of quarta
Increases from an atom to a crystal
as large as a forearm by a process of
uddltion and assimilation, wonderfully
slow but beautifully regular, exactly
as crystals of ice form on the window
pane.
Why Bulls Hate a Red Flag.
In the first place, says an English
writer, red is a color to which cattlo
are unaccustomed, so tfiat they ma/
naturally be supposed to be startled
by Its very novelty. Scientists show
the sensation of red to be the comple
ment of that of green, being induced
by exactly opposite affections of the
retina, if the eyes of cattle are con
structed on a similar principle to our
own the continual contemplation of
green, as in trees and herbage, must
produce a state of retinal fatigue, pre
disposing a violent excitement of the
retina Immediately a red substance Is
presented to view.
I mperati ve.
An infantry soldier pained Scbeibev
died on the last day of his leave In hta
home in a little village In upper Aus
tria. The village burgomaster, himself
an old soldier, rememltered that the
commanding officer of Scheiber's regi
ment should be notified of the death,
and ho proceeded to do so In the fol
lowing letter:
"The undersigned village burgomas
ter requests on behalf of the soldier
Kcheiber two days' more leave, as oth
erwise his Interment cannot take
place."— Vienna Press.
Remarkable Vision.
An old woman who had been in the
infirmary with sore eyes told a neigh
bor that the doctor took out her eyes
and scraped (hem with lances. Non
sense, woman," replied the other. "1 e
shouldn't believe all ye hear. Jhe doc
tors would only be slufflug ye. Oh,
but ye know it's no use saying that,
for I awakened up out of the chloro
form and saw both of my eyes lying
I '
BURNING IN EFFIGY.
1
A Custom Born of tin* Superstition
oI the Ancient*.
Tho burning of people in effigy has
come from a foolish superstition of tho
ancients, who believed that by burn
ing a likeness of a person they were
Inflicting pain upon the Individual him
self. Theocritus tells us that the Greek
I sorcerers killed their enemies by magic
rites performed over the effigy of the
person who had offended them, and
Virgil also makes mention of this.
In the days of witchcraft and perse
cution one of the most common charges
against witches was that they made
waxen images of their enemies which
they melted before a fire and thus
caused the dissolution of the originals.
The Japanese still regard the efflgy
as a means of punishment of faithless
lovers, and in France to the time of
the first revolution execution by effigy
was a legal rite. In the Netherlands
the same illogical custom prevailed,
and the different religions burned the
effigies of each other's leaders with
zeal. In England the burning of ef
figies was also practiced, as it was
later in America.
Xo doubt from the ancient custom of
burning the effigy arose the idea of
placing the wax figures of eminent men
in Westminster abbey. In olden times
upon the death of a celebrity a waxen
figure representing him fully dressed
as in life was made and carried in the
rear of the funeral procession. After
the service the effigy was set up In the
church as a temporary monument, and
during the time It was on exhibition It
was customary to paste or pin pieces
of paper containing complimentary
epitaphs upon It. The royal figures In
Westminster abbey date back to the
fourteenth century.—New York Trib
une.
Too Deep.
The story Is told of a lank, disconso
late looking farmer who one day dur
ing the progress of a political meeting
in Cooper institute stood on the steps
with the air of one who has been sur
feited with a feast of some sort.
"Do you know who's talking in there
now?" demanded a stranger briskly,
pausing for a moment beside the dis
consolate farmer, "or are you Just go
ing in?"
"Xo, sir. I've just come out," said
the farmer decidedly. "Mr. Evarts is
talking in there."
"What about?" asked the stranger.
"Well, he didn't say," the farmer
answered, passing a knotted hand
across his forehead.
A Pet Tlieer.
Out of a river bed where it had tum
bled when Its dam was put to flight
some hunters in India fished a tiger
cub. In two days it was as tame as a
kitten and grew up the playmate of
the camp terriers. It was very fond
of them and the terriers worshiped the
tigress. To allay the fears of a woman
visitor the tigress was one night chain
ed up. Xext morning the animal was
found with a man under her. She had
not hurt him. He was a thief and, not
knowing of her existence, had come
within the area which her length of
chain enabled her to command. She
sprang upon him. lay on him and kept
him prisoner until guards came to re
lease him.
VEGETABLES AS MEDICINE.
Asparagus stimulates the kidneys.
Water cress Is an excellent blood pu
rifier.
Parsnips possess the same virtues as
sarsaparilla.
Carrots are good for those having e
tendency to gout.
Celery contains sulphur and helps to
ward off rheumatism.
Celery Is a nerve tonic; onions also
are a tonic for the nerves.
Tomatoes are good for a torpid liver,
but should be avoided by gouty people
Beets are fattening and good for peo
pie who want to put on flesh; so are
potatoes.
Lettuce has a soothing effect on the
nerves and is excellent for sufferers
from insomnia.
Spinach has great aperient qualities
and is far better tliau medicine for suf
ferers from constipation.
Hatching; EKRH In tbe Mouth.
Some curious examples of the egg
laying habits of certain frogs are re
lated by naturalists. The female of
one species, a species which was re
centiy exhibited at a meeting of the
Zoological society, carries the eggn
about in her mouth until they are
hatched. When the young emerge they
ure tadpoles, but fully formed, though,
of course, diminutive frogs. An Amer
ican tree frog, again, has a pouch
along the whole extent of Its back, In
which the eggs are carried until hatch
ed. It Is the Xototrema marsupiatum
of zoologists, the name referring to
this curious habit. The case of the
Surinam toad is equally curious. In
this species the male places the eggs,
one by one. In hollows in the loose skin
on the back of the female, where they
are developed.—London Globe.
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THE BOMBMAKER.
He Makes an Apparently Harmless
Letter a Deadly Machine.
So expert are bombmakers nowadays
that an apparently harmless letter may
kill any person who trie* to open It A
piece of cardboard Is cut to a size
which, when folded over, will fit Into
an ordinary envelope. The four cor
ners of this are slit Into narrow strips.
Fulminate of mercury Is spread over
three of the slits, and the sheet Is folded
and fastened together. Projecting from
each side of the folded sheet Is a little
metal strip, or detonator, glued to the
cardboard lu such a manner that the
envelope cannot be without
striking one of them. I'pon meeting
this slight resistance the hand moving
the paper cutter instinctively pushes
harder, and the result Is an explosion
that either kills or maims.
The easiest bomb to construct Is set
lu operation by simply turning it up
"slde down. It is usually a good sized
cracker box, iin<'d with paper and half
filled with a mixture of chlorate of
potassium and ordinary sugar. Into
this a bottle of a powerful acid is In
troduced. The remainder of the space
in the box is filled with scraps of metal.
Then the lid is soldered on.
All that is then necessary Is to place
the box upside down at the spot in
which it is to explode. The acid eats
quickly through the cork of the bottle
and comes la contact with tbe chlorate
of potassium. Asa result of the chem
ical combination which takes piaco
there is a terrific explosion.—Chicago
News.
THE ESPOUSAL
Ancient Ceremony of the Mutual
Promise of Marriage.
The first part of the matrimonial of
fice was anciently termed the espousal,
which took place some time prior to
the actual celebration of marriage.
These espousals consisted in a mutual
promise of marriage, which was made
by the man and woman before the
bishop or presbyter and several wit
nesses.
After them the articles of agreement
of marriage, called tabuloe matrimo
niaies, which are mentioned by Augus
tine, were signed by both persons. Aft
er this the man delivered to the wom
an the ring and other gifts, an action
which was termed subarrhation. In
the latter ages the espousals have al
ways been performed at the same time
as the office of matrimony In all the
churches abroad. auiWt has long been
customary for the ring to be delivered
to the woman after the contract has
been made, which has always been !o
the actual office of matrimony.
The ring Is a special token of spous
age. In some of the old manuals fof
the use of foreign' cathedrals before
the minister proceeds to the marriage
he is directed to ask the woman's
dowry—viz, the tokens of spousage
and by these tokens of spousage are
to be understood rings or money or
some other things to be given to the
woman by the man, which giving is
called wedding or covenanting, espe
cially when it Is done by the giving of
a rlng.~New York Tribune.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
A just complaint is an accommoda
tion.
Talk happiness. People get tired of
hearing of your woes.
The things you don't say cause you
less grief In this life than almost any
thing else.
Ever think how foolish it is to bear
a grudge? Unkind feelings have no
market value.
If you spend your time in growling
about an imaginary wrong, you are
apt to neglect your own shortcomings.
Every child Is doomed to disappoint
ment. All children imagine that as
soon as they are twenty-one they will
"do as they please."
State your views on any subject, and
if your listener says he hasn't made up
his mind it means he disagrees with
you and hates to say so. Atchison
Globe.
-Km. i
I ' I
; The Borne Paper
of Danville. !
i
Of course yon read
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EARLY FIRE IMPLEMENTS.
A|t|>Hnn<**" I'tcd In Tbla Coanlrr Im
»h«- SeTtateenth Oatnrr.
Undoubtedly the first Are company
organized In this country was formed
In .New York In 1(558. It was called the
Prowlers nnd was composed of eight
:nen, with 250 buckets, hooks and BmaJl
ladders. Where the buckets were ob
tained and whether or not they were
In addition to those owned by the town
the records fall to state. In 1679 Salem
purchased two or three dozen cedar
buckets, besides hooks and other im
plements; also the selectmen and two
others were authorized to take com
mand at flre» and to blow up and pull
down buildings when ouch action was
necessary. This practice appears to
have been much more common before
the use of engines than afterward.
Boston ou Sept. 9, 1679, ordered that
everj <juarter of the town should be
provided with twenty swobes, two
Bcoopes and six axes. The Bwobes, or
swabs, as they are now called, were
long handled mops that could be used
to put out roof fires. The general use
of swabs has long since disappeared,
but when a slight blaze Is beyond the
reach of a pail of water and more Im
proved apparatus Is not at hgjid a
long handled mop Is today the meat ef
ficient article to be used. In Japan
these swabs may be seen on many roof
tops.
In 1090 New York ordered that five
ladders and also hooks be made. In
Philadelphia no mention Is made of
public precaution against Are until
1C96, when a law was passed forbid
ding the firing of chimneys or allowing
the same to become foul. Each bouse
was to have a swab, bucket or pall.
Another act was passed In 1700 order
ing every household to have two leath
er buckets. In the following year six
or eight hooks for tbe purpose of tear
ing down houses were ordered to be
made.
a i omrary nag.
If ever there was anything in the
world that went by contraries, It is
the Chinese Hag. It will be recalled
that It Is one of the gayest of national
standards. The body of the banner la
of a pale yellow. In the upper left
hand corner Is a small red sun, and
looking at It is a fierce Chinese dragon.
About 1.000 years ago, so the story
runs, the Chinese made war upon the
Japanese. They prepared for a great
Invasion. As a prophecy of victory
they adopted a standard which It that
of the present time. They took the
sun of Japan and made it very small.
This they putin front of the dragon's
mouth to express the idea that the
Chinese dragon would devour the Jap
anese. It happened, however, that the
Chinese fleet, conveying an army of
100,000 men, was wrecked on its way
to Japan by a great storm, and all but
three of the 100.000 perished. The re
sult of recent events has not been any
more convincing than the first affair
that the Chinese flag has been cor
rectly conceived
Musical Note* and Explosive*.
Some singular facts have been de
veloped in regard to the influence of
musical notes upon explosives. When,
an "intense" explosive Is approaching
the ' critical'' stage and Its molecules
therefore are In a condition of very
unstable equilibrium, the sudden emis
sion of a musical note will frequently
bring matters to a climax and induce
detonation. It has been found that of
certain samples of dry fulminate of
mercury the lowest temperature at
which It would explode was 842 de
grees F., and portions exposed to a
heat of 835 degrees for some time, al
lowed to cool and again heated to that
degree, these alterations being several
times repeated, remained without
change. Yet particles of the same ful
minate placed, as before, on an Iron
plate, but at a temperature of 310 de
grees to 320 degrees only, would gen
erally explode sharply when certain
notes were sounded near upon a vio
lin string or a cornet. With the hu
man voice it was much more difficult
to obtain an effect of this kind, but oc
casionally such an experiment would
succeed. Similar results were noticed
with most of the nitro compounds,
blasting gelatin Included.
1111
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