Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, May 02, 1907, Image 3

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Dan's Business *
* Course. ►
i 1
By JAMES BRUCE. &•
Copy right. IW/7. by Jlonier Sprague.
T' ▼VT V
"But that was downright dishonest," ;
said Dan.
"It was businesslike," corrected Phil
lips. "Mason should not have an
nounced his plans, lie bragged about
them, and if Brat- jumped in and got
ahead of him it simply shows Bray's
superior business ability."
"That is why you prefer Bray as a
■on-in-law?" queried Dan "You want
Mabel to marry a business manager,
as It were."
"That is rather a blunt way of put
ting It," snld Phillips uneasily. "It
would be better to say that Bray's
business qualifications are a point
•tronglv In his favor."
"While my lack of them is to my I
discredit?"
"You do not have the knack of seiz
ing your opportunities," said Phillips.
"Now. take my case. I know that the
Smelter and Exploration company pur
"MY FRIKN," PLEADED THE PRESIDENT,
"LET US NOT AKOUB."
poses getting concessions in Borona. I
am going to take a run down there
and get the railroad franchise through
Camar. Camar the coast, and
the company .ii have to pay me well
for what will cost me practically noth
ing. That is business. You might en- i
large your fund of geographical infor
mation. but it would never occur to
you to profit by what you learn."
"There's hope yet," said Dan lightly
as he rose. "Meanwhile I am to un
derstand that your consent to my mar
riage with Mabel is refused'/"
"Withheld." corrected Phillips. He
never gave a definite answer when he
could help It. "Perhaps in the fu
ture"— Dan nodded. Perhaps In the
future his uncle might make him his
heir.
Johu Phillips turned to his desk, with j
the consciousness of an unpleasant epl
sode cleverly closed. It was uot until
the next morning that his eyes were
opened. Mal>el had run away. "I
have gone with Dan," she wrote. "I
want a husband, not a valuable addl
tion to the firm of Phillips & Kent."
Phillips shrugged his shoulders and
went his way. Deep In his heart her
desertion hurt, but with several big
operations pending he could not afford
to waste time. He shut his ears to the
talk of his associates, but as the days
went on and Dan and Mabel did not
appear to ask parental forgiveness his
anxiety grew. He had supposed that
when the honeymoon was over they
would come back. He was almost
tempted to delay his trip to Camar.
But there was no one else In the firm
who spoke Spanish well enough to be
trusted with the negotiations, and so
the Mabel, his luxuriously appointed |
yacht, slipped down the bay and In
doe course of time anchored In the
landlocked harbor of Porveda.
It took him two days to gain an audi
ence with the president of the tiny re
public, for there had Just been a revo
lution, and matters were slow lu
straightening out. Alvadora, the new
president, spoke English haltingly, but
English he would speak, and Phillips,
tactful, but Impatient, chafed inwardly
at the delay. He spoke Spanish flu
ently, and In ten minutes he could
have approached the subject had the
president held to his native tongue, but
this was precisely what the president
would not do.
"I splk the English. Is it uot so?" he
cried. "Bonato not one word could he
apik—he who would be presidents It
la to chlckle. Is It not?"
"Another language makes Another
man," quoted Phillips from an adver
tising card he had seen in the street
cars. "I compliment your excellencv."
thanks," said Alvadora. "You
are my friend. Is it not so?"
"But about this concession," pressed
Phillips. "Of course a railroad would
not pay very much, but we are looking
into the future, when the road shall
have made Camar great."
"Ah, yes, the railway," said Alvadora
dreamily. "For him you shall see my
business manager."
"Tour prime minister?" suggested
Phillips correctlngly.
"Is it that I spik the English so bad?"
demanded the president reproachfully
*'Non. It is you who do not under
stand."
"But a business manager is not an
official of state, but of commerce," per
sisted Phillips.
"My frlen'," pleaded the president,
"let us not argue. See my business
manager in the morning. Look; I shall
send him to you. Yaat"
"Thank you," said Phillips "But
ine&nwhlle let me show yop thA advan
tage of such a proposition^
Alvadora waved him off. Business
matters were for the business mana
ger. He was the president. It was
not well that he should Interfere.
Phillips went away thoroughly dis
gusted, and his bad temper held the
next morning as he waited at the hotel
for the advent of this mysterious offl
dal, nor did his wrath cool when a
tard was brought to him and he read,
"Daniel Carter Curtis, Business Man
ager, Republic of Camar."
"I have been instructed by the pres
ident that you wished to see me in the
matter of some concession," said Dan
as he entered resplendent in white
flannel. "I presume that It has to do
with the project that we discussed in
your office not long ago."
"How the devil did you get here?"
demanded Phillips blankly.
"Dicky Etern had bis yacht at Palm
Beach. He brought us over," explain
ed Dan. "You seem®d irritated that •
had not jumped Mason's scheme, so
came down here to pet in on this rail
road matter."
"And brought Mabel with you?"
"Mrs. Curtis hopes that you will do j
us the honor of dining with us this |
evening."
"I'll be hanged if I do!" stormed j
Phillips. "This caps the climax. You
steal my daughter and my Ideas and
then calmly invite me to dine with you
as though nothing had happened."
"Then do not let us air our private
quarrel," suggested Dan. "You want
a concession. Alvadora is pleasantly
Impressed by your appreciation of his
English and has Instructed me to be as
liberal as Is consistent with safe- j
guarding the interests of the republic."
"I could have got the concession for
a song If you had not interfered,"
stormed Phillips, "but your under
hand action"—
"Hold on!" said Dan. "You told me
that was good business. To quote
your own words. Mason had no busi
ness to announce his plans. Neither
had you. I came down here and found
that Bonato, the then executive, did
not see my scheme, so I helped the ,
revolutionists along and got the Job '
from Alvatfora. I get one-third on all
foreign concessions. I think I'll make
a good thing out of it."
"You overthrew the president?"
gasped Phi Hips. "It was your work?"
"It was easy," said Dan modestly, i
"They had been talking of It before I
came along. I just helped 'em to put
It through. You see, Bonato was in
the way."
"And you Induced Mabel to elope
with you?"
"She did not want to marry a man
for his business qualifications alone,"
explained Dan. "That Interview con
vinced her that you would not accede
to my request, so we were married
and started down here for our honey
moon. We rather thought you would
be glad to see how well 1 had devel
oped j our suggestion."
"I guess I am," said rhllllps weakly.
"You can tell her that I shall be over
tonight, and. Dan, I take back all I
said about your capacity for business.
You make out a concession on what
you think Is a fair basis, and I'll sign.
I'm getting old. my boy, and I have
had shock enough for one day."
Hint For Book Lenders.
A book borrower's allium Is the de
vice which a woman who has a flue
library has employed in order that she
may keep track of her books and that
her friends may not be delinquent In
returning them. She delighted iu lend
ing her books, but was far from pleased
In punching her friends up for their
return. Now when a friend asks the
loan of a book she acquiesces readily
enough, but requests the borrower to
write in the album his or her name
and the date on which the book Is bor
rowed. On returning it the borrower
Is asked to comment on the book and
Initial it. Tills album always is kept
in a conspicuous place in the drawing
room, where visitors are likely to pick
it up and glance It through, learning
who is not prompt in returning books.
The result is that this woman now has
her books returned promptly, as the
borrowers know they will l>e convicted
in the album if they are delinquent.
They t:ike kindly to the plan, the lend
er does uot have to prod them for the
return of the books, and she has an
album which is valuable to her as con
taining the comments of her friends
on the treasures in her library.—New
York Press.
Her Fatal Objeotlon.
"This is so sudden!"
As he hoard the girl speak these
words the astonished young man rose
to his feet in bewilderment.
"Sudden!" he repeated. "Did 1 hear
aright? More than two years ago, I
believe It was, since I first met you. 1
For several months after that I only j
saw you "occasionally; then gradually, I
very gradually, I Increased my visits, j
It took six months to get on a formal j
calling basis; it took six months more
to be a regular visitor; six months
more to call you by your Christian
name, and it is only during the last
few months that 1 have ventured, with
many misgivings, even to hold your
band. And now. after all this gradual
development of my love, you tell me
that my declaration is so sudden. Do
you call this sue Jen?"
"I do, indeed," she replied calmly.
"But for wliat reason?"
The young iady replied, with some
degree of hauteur:
"Simply this: i hardly Imagined you
would dare to speak to me like this for
another two years at least, considering
your present salary."—Pearson's.
A Thirsty Cat.
"Perhaps you think the old water in
the milk Joke has Ijeen worked to
leatb, but I've found a new variation
of it," said a south side man recently.
"You know, I have a small negro girl
as a nurse for my children, and one of
her duties is to tell stories to the kids
Just before bedtime. They always lis
ten intently to what she says, and last
night I decided to listen too. This is
what I heard:
" 'An' de cat, she got thirsty, an* got
thirstier an' mo' thirsty, an' finally she
went to a pan ob milk slttln' in de
pantry to get a drink ob watah.'
"I told the story to our milkman this
morning, and he didn't laugh at all."—
Kansas City Times.
Absentminded.
The Judge was at dinner in the new
household, according to the Philadel
phia Ledger, when the young house
keeper asked:
"Did you ever try any of my biscuits,
Judge?"
"No," replied the judge, "I never did,
but I dare say they deserve it."
Deportment.
The new steamer was on its first
trip, with a lot of landlubbers on board.
"Isn't she behaving beautifully, cap
tain. In this heavy sea?" exclaimed an
enthusiastic marine reporter.
"Yes, sir," said the gruff captain; "a
great deal better, sir, than the pas
sengers are."—Chicago Tribune.
Preparing For It.
"Hello, Stinjav!" cried Knox. "Look
ing for anybody?"
"Why, yes," replied Stinjav, "Wise
man wr.s to meet mo here at 6 o*rlock
togo home to dinner with me, and It's
6 now."
"Oh, he'll be along! I just saw him
finishing a porterhouse steak in that
restaurant down the street."- Philadel
phia Press.
CoanterlniK it Touch.
"Don't you think you're wasting
your time talking the value of econ
omy to Blank? He hasn't any
money."
"I know, but I have."—Detroit Free
Press.
There are stars so distant that a fly
ing machine moving at the rate of 500
miles an hour would require 500,000,-
000 years to reach them.
•AAAAAAAAA/ A/'AA/ A/ AAA/''AAA •
\ A Self ►
* Annihilated *
* Suitor. ►
By Jcdinnellc Walden.
Copyright, UIC, by G. 1). Daniels.
•TVTVT V ▼ V ' /T'/T\T/T/V
"A man must be willing not only to
cfi'ace himself, but to blot himself out
of existence if necessary, for my sake."
Jean Boyce made this statement
without premeditation, driven to it by
Bheer ennui. It was the third time
that she liad been called upon to give
her reason for not acquiescing In
Maurice Ankeney's belief that they
were made for each other, and this
time she wanted it to be final.
They had just turned the corner into
her home street. Jean hastened her
steps as she spoke, with a little laugh
of Impatience.
Maurice Aukeney looked at her first
with disappointment in his frank blue
eyes, then speculation and at last
amusement. "Could you care that
much for any one?" he asked coolly.
"Oh, no"—her tone was matter-of
fact—"l couldn't! It isn't in me."
'"Oh, I see. You demand it as a com
plementary quality in others."
He continued his scrutiny of her face
as a smart trap with a man and wd
mau in it rounded the corner. The
woman—a stoutlsh blond with a moun
tain of lavender plumes on her head
was driving.
The warm color that came to Jean's
cheeks as she returned the man's rec
ognition deepened as the trap rolled
past, for she knew that Maurice was
watching her, and she felt the new,
strange intentness in his gaze.
As for Ankeney, his expression sud
denly became a mixture of calmness
and stern determination. "I'll do It!"
he exclaimed. And for this apparently
eccentric remark he was rewarded by
an electrifying look of Inquiry from
a pair of dark eyes.
"Do what?"
"Efface—l mean extinguish—myself
by getting him for you."
The dark eyes became inscrutable.
"If you want Harold Buckley, you
shall have him," he continued precipi
tately as they mounted the steps of
ANOTHER AUTOMOBILE CAME TOOTING Vf
BEHIND THEM.
Jean Boyce's home. "It will be an
easy matter. He is only dazzled by her
millions. It's you he really cares for.
Madge Racer has no right to buy"—
"Maurice Ankeney, I'll never speak
to you agalu." As Jeau faced him with
this emphatic announcement her blush
es were fully accounted for by her an
ger.
"All right. I might as well die one
way as another," and be was gone.
In the days that followed Jean Boyce
had a new experience. Maurice Au
keney had never stayed away so long
before, and she had missed him, a con
dition she had not thought possible.
Still there was the counteracting an
noyance of Harold Buckley and the
heiress. It Is true, she never realized
that she cared for Buckley until she
found that he was out of her reach.
But Jean's self analysis could go no
deeper than this, and her state of mind
became chaotic once more, when one
afternoon Harold Buckley called.
Jean's resentment was not wholly
dispelled by Buckley's keenly correct
valuation of the heiress. "She was
fishing for a husband," be said, "and
It's a good thing just to know such wo
men. It makes one expert at estimat
ing character."
Jean interpreted this last remark, "A
man does uot need to be bitten more
than once," and she found herself won
dering why she did not feel flattered
by his confidence. Still she felt grati
fied by her triumph in bringing him
back. She did uot understand until
afterward why his next remark
quenched her elation.
"She has Maurice Ankeney on her
hook now, or, rather, he took her by
storm. I never saw a fellow maneuver
so." lie spoke contemptuously. "But
he's welcome."
"How small of him," observed Jeau.
Then all at once she thought of Mau
rice's strange promise to her, and she
wondered-- No, it could not be. Ho
only wanted a cloak for his mercenary
ambitions.
Jean did not feel altogether compli
mented by the ease with which Harold
assumed his old relations. Still, when
he asked her to take ail automobile ride
that same evening she accepted.
Her pride In Harold Buckley's per
sonal attractiveness was extended to
his splendid machine as they went
bounding over the road with a red
October sunset in their faces.
Another automobile came tooting up
behind them and passed them on the
road. It was occupied by Madge Racer
and Maurice Ankeney.
The vague depression that had been
haunting Jean became poignant. She
felt misused.
"Queer taste he has," she observed,
with a curl of her lip. Then to hide
her pique she conjured a spirit of dar
ing
"Oh, let's pass them! Do, do!"
Harold Buckley, ready to please her
or possibly for reasons of his own. en
tered Into the sport and put on power
With great abandon.
Jean was almost delirious with the
excitement of swift motion. "How Jol
ly" Then came a sudden jolting uud
a desperate adjusting of brakes. Thay
had struck a rocky place In the road.
Before Harold could slow up Jean was
almost shaken from her seat. The
sun's rays, on a level with their eyes,
blinded them. There was a loud re
port, a scream from Maurice Anke
ney's auto, which they had grazed In
stopping, and they toppled over Into a
shallow ditch, with an extra tire hang
loir to one of their wheels
Jean felt a sharp pain In her arm .is
she picked herself up; then the diver
sion of w hat followed made her forget
herself. The blond heiress followed ii]>
her screams by an attack upon Harold,
who had just extricated himself whole
from the ditch.
"Mr. Buckley, this is a great way to
drive!" she cried in her voice with
its slightly foreign accent. "Why don't
you look at your road?"
But she was instantly mollified by
Harold's ab.lect apologies and shook
hands with him quite sweetly.
Maurice, who had got to work with
out loss of time, had .almost finished
putting on a new tire when Jeun felt
so faint that she had to sit down on
the grass. The pain was coining back
into her wrist.
It was Just then that Maurice Alike
ney happened to look over his shoulder.
He burst out roughly to Harold, who
was still busy with the heiress, "Dou't
you see the girl is hurt?"
ITe got to her first, but in a second
they were all bending over her. She
assured them that it was only a sprain
ed wrist.
Maurice gave Buckley his handker
chief, ordering him to bandage (he In
jured arm tight, and flew back to work
again ai" the tire.
Jean received a feverish impression
through her pain that there was a
parley and almost an altercation.
Maurice seemed to be out of patience
with everybody, and the heiress played
him a close second. Jean couldn't see
all the time, but she heard Madge
Racer's voice grow shriller and shriller.
"No; Mr. Buckley must take the back
seat with Miss Boyee. I'll ride in
front."
But Mr. Buckley said that some one
must stay with the disabled machine.
It came hastily to Jean that he sug
gested Maurice as the one to do this.
At tills Madge Racer insisted that they
take Buckley's auto in tow.
After what seemed hours to Jean she
felt herself lifted up in somebody's
arms, and the next thing she knew
the wind of rapid motion against her
face brought everything clear to her.
Maurice at her side looked back grim
ly over his shoulder and swore under
his breath.
"All right V"he questioned, seeing her
looking at him. "Guess I surprised
them this time. She thought I was go
ing to wait to take Buckley in tow,
with you about to keel over there on
the ground."
"But I didn't keel over." Iler voice
sounded far away.
"Oh, no, you didn't. You're game.
I'd like to see the heiress in the same
fix."
There was so much of genuine ad
miration in his look anil tone that Jean
took new strength for a moment. She
must have been weak, too, or she
would not have said what she did next.
"Do—do you really care for her
money 5"
Maurice gave her a sharp, quick
look. "You must be out of your head,"
he muttered as he bent again over the
guide wheel.
When he was ready to leave her at
home, after the sprain had been cared
for and the color was creeping back
Into her cheeks, he stood over her
couch and asked humbly:
"Am I sufficiently blotted out?"
"I think you are," she laughed.
"Hut I'd like you to be sure," he In
sisted.
"I am sure," declared Jean, and the
look that came into his blue eyes told
her that he was satisfied.
Trespass Notices.
"Ilere is u curious notice which ap
pears on a sign near Saddlewortli
church, known to fame as the burial
place of the victim of the Bills o'
Jack's murder," writes a Manchester
correspondent. "It is a bold attempt
to escape the conventionality that im
poses Itself on other property owners:
'The law comes down with a heavy
penalty on any i>erson fouud tres
passing on this land.'"
It is only a verbal improvement on
the time honored falsehood, "Trespass
ers will be prosecuted." We prefer the
authoritative announcement that used
to appear in the grounds at a certain
learned judge's country place in the
last century. It ran: "Trespassers can
not be prosecuted unless they pursue
game or do willful damage. But rea
sonable force may and will lie used to
remove trespassers, and they are liable
to an action at common law."
It is said that this notice, displayed
at various points on the Judge's fron
tiers, so terrorized the countryside
that for years there was not so much
as a beef tin or an old newspaper
caught on the wrong side of the fence
—London News.
AN EASY SOLUTION.
How the Bectlon Boss Got the Tool
House In the Right Spot.
About ten years before the Eastern
railroad was leased by the Boston and
Maine that portion of the old road be
tween Swampscott and Salem was in
•barge of Section Foreman Timothy
Moynahan.
Ills strongest point was in doing
Just as he was told and doing that
with energy and accuracy. So when
he was notified from Beverly by Road
master Stevens that the section lengths
were to be changed and that he was to
move his tool house from the westerly
end of Salem yard to halfway between
mileposts IB and 1G he started out with
the determination to move the house
halfway, no more, no less.
To get tlrfs halfway point ho sta
tioned one of his men at milepost 15
and another at milepost IG, and at a
signal they started to walk toward
each other until they met, and to a
point opposite their meeting place the
shanty was moved. This method of
getting the correct distance did not
quite suit Moynahan, especially when
he remembered that one of the walk
ers was taller than the other and the
other tripped several times on the way
down.
He carried this in his mind for near
ly a year, when he met the engineers
measuring through for signals and
asked them to tell him as they meas
ured If his house was Just halfway or
not.
When the measurement was taken,
the house was found to be sixty feet
nearer milepost 16 than 15, and Moyna
han. on being told, remarked that he
thought he could tlx tilings Just right.
Later In the year the engineer met
Moynahan In Salem and asked liim if
his tool house was now halfway be
tween the mlleposts.
"It is," lie replied. "It's Just half
way."
"Did you have much trouble moving
It?"
"No trouble at all. I Just let it stay
as It was and moved the milepost."—*
Boston Herald.
Apples as "Nightcaps."
The apple is such a common fruit
that very few persons are familiar
with Its remarkable efficacious medic
inal properties. Every one ought to
know that the very best thing he can
do Is to eat apples Just before retiring
for the night—Family Doctor.
BOYISH DESIRE FOR WORK.
Often a Sign of Arrested Development
Instead of Strength.
I'arents often think that their son Is
especially promising because he wants
to get t<> work young, wants to leave
school and be earning. This is never a
Bigu of strength, but always of weak'
ness. When a boy wants to get tp
work instead of getting ready to work
It Indicates arrested development.
There is not one probability in fifty
that a boy who desires to leave school
at the sixth grade and is allowed to do
bo will ever amount to anything. It is
not the fact that he does not have as
much education as the other boys, but
that he does not have their purpose to
get ready for the doing of things.
Teachers often greatly err in dealing
with such boys and their parents by
trying to show how important it is
that they should know what they will
learn in the seventh and eighth grades,
whereas that is the least part of it. It
Is a case of arrested development usu
ally, and this is what should be treat
ed. treated as a disease.
We make a lot of talk about defec
tive siijlit and hearing, and we do well,
but it is vastly more important that
we "get busy" in defective mental pro
gressive development. There is a near
sightedness of parents and pupils that
Is criminal. It contributes to delin
quency and, as I think, is within the
status of and "Subject to court punish
ment.
It sometimes shows itself in diverted
attention, in dissipated interest and
often in overathletic or fraternity zeal.
The college theory is that the frater
nity chaps are the elect, but life does
not show that. The data are Imperfect
at present, but there Is enough to make
it wholly probable that when the fig
ures are in it will be clearly shown
that in the last fifteen years when fra
ternity life lias been extra social and
extra political in clannishness much of
the fraternity zeal Indicates approach
ing arrested development. It Is en
tirely clear already that this Is charac
teristic of tiie high school fraternity,
because it almost invariably means
that a set of fellows dare not trust
themselves to win honors In the open
contest, but seek it as a favoritism by
means of a little band of social high
waymen, as many of these high school
fraternities are. Journal of Education.
ANCIENT ARMIES.
Italy a little before Hannibal's time
was able to send into the field nearly
1,000,000 men.
The army of Terah, king of Ethiopia,
consisted of 1,000,000 men and 800
chariots of war.
Hannibal during his campaign in
Italy and Spain plundered 400 towns
and destroyed 300,000 men.
Sesostrls, king of Egypt, led againat
his enemies 600,000 men, 24.000 caval
ry ami twenty-seven scythe armed
chariots in 1401 B. C.
The city of Thebes had a hundred
gates aud could send out at each gate
10,000 fighting men and 200 chariots—
fn all, 1,000,000 men and 2,000 chariots.
Hamilcar went from Carthage and
landed near Palermo. He had a fleet
of 2.00 C Mps and 3,000 small vessels
and a land force of 300,000 men. At
the battle In which he was defeated
150,000 were slain.
From th* Hounllful East.
A small proportion of the flora is in
dlarenouu Tb« majority oumo from
the east, like all the great ideas on
which our culture is founded, and were
developed and improved on this classic
6oil. Italy received the lemon and
the orange from the Semites, who in
their turn had obtaiued them from
India. The olive, the fig, the vine and
the palm were grown by the Semites
long before their cultivation penetrat
ed to the west. The laurel and myr
tle, Indeed, are indigenous In Italy, but
their use for ceremonial purposes came
across the Mediterranean from the
east. The home of the cypress Is not
in Italy, but in the Greek archipelago,
northern Persia, Cilicia and Lebanon—
From Strasburger's "Riviera."
How German Beats English.
""We speakers of English," said a leo
turer, "are handicapped by our lan
guage. We can never hope for such
sonorous title# as the German's have.
"A young German matron once said:
" 'Ach, how glad 1 am that my dear
Fritz has been appointed hauptkasaen
verwaltungsassistent'—assistant cash
ier. 'Now,' she went on, 'ln my title of
hauptkasseuverwaltungsassistentln I
boast of five letters more than that
proud oberhofsteneraintslnspectorln'—
excise Inspector's wife—'can claim.' "
Why the Market Wabbles.
The financial balance Is so extremely
delicate that the slightest movement
nffects It and throws it out of gear. I
once heard of an important "deal" be
ing spoilt because a prominent finan
cier had his big toe cut by a chiropo
dist so badly that he was obliged to
keep his room.—Maurice Mortimer In
Grand Magazine
Ha L ltks cough
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JOHN HIXSOJN
NO U8 E. FRONT BT.
THE HOUSE OF LORDS
CHECKS IT HAS RECEIVED AT THB
HANDS OF THE COMMONS.
The I.oiik I'nrllnnient l'ut the I'eem
Out of Untitles* Altogether For n
Number of l>ar» Bolingbroke'»
\V«y AVitSi the .\oble Lord*.
There is an idea in the minds of very ,
many persons that the British house of
lords is supreme and can do pretty well |
what it pleases. This, however, is a
mistake. On several notable occasions
their noble lordships have been para- j
lyzed and have got very much the
worst of it in stormy arguments with J
the gentlemen of the house of com
mons.
The first occasion on which this hap- i
pened was when the peers ventured to |
differ with the long parliament, which
was at the time engaged in a life and
death struggle with Charles I. The
commons on this occasion wasted no
valuable time in talking, but promptly
abolished the lords altogether and
turned them, archbishops, dukes, belt
ed earls and all the rest of the gor-;
geous coroneted crowd, into the street, j
The gilded chamber was vacant.
For half a dozen years or so the
country got on without any house of
lords.
All the checks the house of lords j
have received have not been of such a '
drastic nature as this, of course.
Various ministries, finding that the
peers were unwilling to pass their pro
posed bills, have resorted u> the threat
to create enough new peers to swamp
the house of lords. These new peers
would, of course, have been pledged
beforehand to vote for the ministry i
creating them.
In 1711 the prime minister of thai
day, the daring and unscrupulous Vis- i
count Bolingbroke, was anxious to ter- |
ruinate the desolating and ruinous war
with France, which had been raging j
on and off for twenty years.
To effect this purpose he had drawn
up the treaty of I'trecht. It was neces-1
sary at that time that lords aud com- '
mons should agree to a treaty before
it would become valid. The commons
assented to tlie treaty, but the lords
declared that they would have none
of it and that the war must goon, j
whereupon Bolingbroke coolly but ,
firmly informed them that, rather than :
see himself defied by them, he would
create a whole army of new peers to [
vote for the treaty.
The story goes that he had a regl- [
ment of the I.ife guards paraded under j
the windows of the house of lords and j
threatened to make every trooper into j
a noble lord if driven to it. He did i
make twelve new peers, and then the [
lords gave in.
The Liberal government of 1832, with
Earl Grey as prime minister, used the
same threat. They wished to pass the
first reform bill. The lords hated this
bill bitterly.
Until then they had been practically
an oligarchy, with all the real power
In their hands. The franchise had been
so limited that only rich men, and gen
erally only the nominee of some great !
nobleman, could get Into parliament, j
The reform bill altered that. It gave :
the smaller men a chance. The lords j
expressed their deliberate intention of j
wrecking the bill.
Earl Grey retorted by extorting from i
King William IV.—who didn't like re- |
form bills, but dared not oppose the j
wish of the nation for fear of a revo- j
lution—permission to call up to the !
houcc of !ord.-» nn mnny new peers as
should be necessary to carry his bill.
The mere threat was enough for the
lords. They had no wish to see theif
order made cheap and ridiculous, as
would have been the case had peers i
become as plentiful as blackberries. I
It used to be the custom in the Brit
ish army for all officers' commissions
to be purchased. That is, an officer, in
stead of getting Into the army by
means of a competitive examination
and rising by mertt, came straight j
from school, without knowing anything j
of the new duties he was about to as
sume, and had a commission bought
for him. After that, Instead of being j
promoted as a reward for his services, i
he used to buy each promotion.
I " ,\
) I
jof Danville. !
I Of course you read
j
\! '
I > i
lli
|| THE F|EOPLEIS jt
KOPJJLAR
I APER.
|
Everybody R ids It, j
~ ,1
'
!
Publisher Every Mor"' Except
Sunday
i !
i
No. ii h. M al'.i ng-St.
i
Subscription 6 cc: . r Week.
If he bad no money ms cnances or
being' promoted were about a thousand
to one. The result was that ottlctirs
who liad grown gray in the service and
fought in many battles remained sub
ordinates all their lives, while the sons
of wealthy families who had not seen
a quarter of their service jumped over
their heads by having their way pur
chased up for them to be colonels and
generals.
Mr. Gladstone decided to do away
with this purchase system. The lords
did not wish it to be abolished. Con
sequently, when Mr. Gladstone intro
duced a bill to abolish purchase in the
army the house of lords was not dis
posed to give it a kind reception.
They threw out the bill and imagined
that they had won a glorious victory.
Rut Mr. Gladstone found that Queen
Victoria had the power to abolish pur
chase in the army by her own act if
she pleased. He Induced the queen to !
do this by means of a royal warrant, |
And the house of lords could no more j
Interfere with a royal warrant than
they could knock the dome off St.
Paul's by throwing their corouets at it.
—Pearson's London Weekly.
< ANIMAL EPICURES.
The Crab Eating Raccoon and Pecub
iar Crustacean Taste.
What made the crab eating raccoon \
first %ke to his queer diet? The
questi»n is suggested by a specimen of
this strange animal which has arrived
at the menagerie and will be happy to
oblige any generous visitor with an
Illustration of the quickest way to kill,
nnshell and swallow a crustacean with
out artificial assistance of any kind.
Doubtless the peculiarity originated In
the shore frequenting habits of the
species, and, being n delicate feeder,
the succulence of the crab, once crack
ed, was an obvious Inducement to re
new his acquaintance on every possi
ble occasion. Originally probably a
fruit eater, the raccoon la inquisitive
and dainty, both strong Incentives to
experiments in diet. When an Indi
vidual sees a small object he does not
understand, his actions fall under
three headings. He first puts the
article to close scrutiny, both with his
eyes and that supercilious upturned
nose of his; then he takes It away and i
washes it—a very characteristic action
of this water loving animal— and final
ly puts It to the grand test of eatable
ness or otherwise. If It appears un
palatable, he gives It to his wife. In
this way It is easy to imagine how the
creek loving coon, wearying of too
much fruit, made his first orab supper !
and, though he has never been able to
add a squeeze of lemon or brown
bread and butter to the repast, has be
come a confirmed lover of crustacea
ever since. All creatures make experi
ments of the sort and occasionally car
ry them on until they become a fixed
habit, and their whole structure is
modified In accordance. Nature, for
instance, never Intended the osprey to
live on fish. It was the temptation of
an old world trout in difficulties In
the shallows that first led the great
hawk astray. Some small Brazilian
monkeys, again, live almost exclusive
ly on birds' eggs, an Australian parrot
has given up a proper vegetarian diet
for an exclusive regimen of mutton,
and many other Instances of the same
unorthodox appetites might b« cited.
—London Globe.
___
Why Timothy Uraaa Is SO (.SUM,
The forage grass known to the farm
ers of the United States aa timothy la
so called t*ecause first Introduced and
extensively cultivated m raw country
by one Timothy Hanson, a fanner of
Maryland. This species of grass li
well known In England and all over
western continental Europe, where 11
Is grown extensively by moat farmers
between the Mediterranean and the I
North seas. The botanical name of this
grass is Piileum pratense. Timothy la
known in the British isles as cat's tall
grasa and In several of our eastern
states as herd, or herd's, grasd. It was
grown in large quantities In Maryland
and Pennsylvania long before a spear
of it had ever been seen in England,
the first seed of it ever seen In the laat
named country being Imported from!
America.
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