Complaint is ninilo in Philadelphia thnt high school pupils hnre to cnrry around a weight of fifteen pounds iu books. The Floridnns nre experimenting iu tbe growth of the ni liber free Tlio gum in a stnplo product, nnd it w ill bo a good tiling for tho United Htntcs it the tree can bo mndo to thrivo iu this country. Tho, Los Angeles (Cnl.) Timo says there nre Inrgo rubber trees in or nonr thnt city. Ouo of the Argument Used by tho four members of the Kynl Commis ion on Vaccination who opposed the compulsory law in England wns thnt vaccination is riskier thnn railway travel. Thoro is one fiilnl termination to every 11, 151) cases of vaccination, while of railway travelers only one is killed Among every 115,500,000. Levy Mayer.just back from Eitropo, predicts in the Chicago Times-Herald that iu time (lor runny will outstrip England in commcrainl influence. He revenls the fact, probnbly known to few pcoplo this sido the water, thnt the Kniser isquito as netivo in pro muting the financial welfnre of his Datiou as in advancing its military standing. Irish lenders iu New York City nro known to hiive received startling ns surauccs of Into from their friends iu the British rarlinment rogardiug Home Rule. They hint thnt, iu no mo form, it is about to become an accom plished fni't. It was becntiso of this that the Irish politicnl prisoners wero liberntod. Iu tho fnoo of tho gravo European crisis, England is striving at hint to unite the Irish under her Hg. f The prsfcssionnl pnrapherrnlia of Arseuo Blondin, tho celebrated tight rope walker, who crossed tho Niagara, rapids tu A steel cnblo, nro to bo sold at auction. That same rope, his bicy cle of nntiquo make, tho barrow iu which ho wheeled the patient, tho harmonica, tlio cooking range all tho accessories used by him on tho ropo over Niagara have Iain forgotten in a storehouse until lately, More thnn ono eccentric collector will reproach himself for not hnviug been smnrt enough to seek out these souvenirs of a man almost unique in iiis time. It hns been discovered thnt if hone tnnrrow is not tho elixir of youth, nt least it is a powerful tonic liono marrow is now served iu Parisian res taurants, spread raw upon thin slices ot broad iu a dainty mnnner, and it is Aid to be A very pnUtnblo morsel. Every one eats it who can afford to buy it, and butchers Are furnishod with a new branch of iudustry. Dr. Renault of Paris, prescribed bone marrow to An aneinio patient as a tonio, with immediate and most grati fying results. The news of its wonderful e Hoots spread rapidly, and at the presont time marrow-bouo eat ing has btcomo a fashionablo fad. Americnu physicians nro reporting cures of nervous prostrntion and general waste. All sorts of complications bnvo arisen in conuectiou with Italy's new postcard. The desigu of tho card is intended to commemorate the uuion of Routo with Italy aud the fall of tho temporal power of the Popo. ' Leo XIII consider a the issuing of tho card an offouso to tho church, and in de ference to his protests Austria, Spain, Portugal aud several of the Southern German states hsvo refused to reoeive it or pass it through thoir mails, France and Belgium have dono the same in a number of instances, and the expostulations have now been lid dressed by the Italian government to tbe foreign powers concerned, with claims for compensation mado on tho ground that the postcard it framed iu strict nccordauoa with international postal law. The opeuing of the Dauube to navi gation past tbe famous Iron Gates, which was formally deolnred recently by Emperor Frauois Joseph to be now accomplished, is an extremely impor tant event. Tho tremendous forma tion of rocks which prevented vessels passing the rapids which rushed over them waa greatly diminished many years ago, ao that vessels drawing nine feet could get by. The later ngin'eering operations have still fur ther deepened and extended the chan nel, ao that uow the river is navigable for all ordinary steam trafUo beyond this point. The Iron Gates obstructed tba river where it forms the bouudury line between Hungary and Survia. Even now, above this point, tba nar rowness of tbe river results in cur rent ao swift that sailing vessels can not navigate it. The 'extension, how ever, of the steam navigation of the liver is regtrdod iu Austria aa of very (rest benefit to oomiuoroe. BIDDY'S ADVENTURE. I bnvo it ou tho authority of Robert thnt Henry Howard Jiurko could be more kinds ot a fool tlmti nny other mnn in Carson County. Robert, be ing tho only mnn on that rnngo who answered to no nickname nor nub title, is on Authority I feel bound to respect. When young Mr. Burke, fresh from nn Enstern school, enmo westward to grow up with tho country, tho live stock interest whs just thou paramount, and nil tho boys expected to become cuttle kings. Ho, soino weoks after closing bis school-books, Henry found himsulf taken on trial ns horse-wrung-ler ou a citilo-rauoh, when) his asso ciates promptly dubbed him "Hun." Ho did not liko it, and said so. Where upon Robert informed him that if Hon didn't please him, hn should bo culled Hun no more. "Your umiin is lliddy." Aud Robert's decision was nun!. Liko A colt in A harness, lliddy thrashed about A good bit before ho became somewhat adapted to his en vironment. Ho was tho butt of nil tho old jokes, tho victim of the usual impositions, until a greener iiinu up peurod, whou ho settled down to the routiue of his work like tho other men, except thnt he usually did tho unexpected thing, ntid reached his cuds by devious and difllcult ways. It whs on tbo occasion of bis taking a short cut over u rough mountain, with tbo borso herd, to save a couple of miles ot smooth rond nrouud tbe point, that Robert first made the re mark set down nt tho beginning. I havo nu idea that Biddy's vuasntility in folly was the result of his greater intelligence. Robert himsulf prob nbly knew just enough to be a fool in two ways; whilo, with no mora effort, Biddy had tbo choice of half a dozon. Rut I never mentioned this viow to Robert. The chiof work of tho horso-wrang-lor is to graze tho saddle-horses nt night and briug them into camp at dawn, where each mnn selects his mount for the day. Ouo. early even ing a thunder shower caused the bunch to drift away from camp, and as the clouds began to break, aud here and theru a star showed through, Biddy realized he had lost his beariugs, Robert said afterward that nny other man would havo held tho bunch right there until morning aud turned tin m into camp half on hour lute. Rut Biddy had another way. Catching sight of Autares through tho clouds, ho recognized it for the north star, and kuowiug ho had drifted south ward iu tho rniu, bo drove his herd for half tho night toward the South Polo, uud was half tho day getting back. And that wns tho beginuiug of his oarrying a compass. On his tirst trip to town, be bought a pocket compass, and ho learned from tho county sur veyor thnt the local vurinttou of tbe needle was thirtuen degrees east. Thus armed aud equipped, he felt biiusell equal to nny emergency, and ho got along smoothly euough until Robert broke his leg. It was a "mighty bad bronk," tho foremau said ; "looked like tua bono was crushed. " Biddy was sent off post baste for n doctor. IIo took a hurried lunch, he took the best horse in his string, ho took bis compass mid that was the last seen of Biddy until tbe third day. His orders were to ride forty miles to town, get tbo doctor, uud bo buck in eight hours. I think Biddy might have made it iu that time but for tbe compass and his sudllo. Experimentally, ha had used tbe compass with suoeuss, and he now had no doubt that it would lead him into tbo town by midnight. But the saddle he rode had a broken torn, which was mended with soft iron. ' As Biddy rode along, ho lit a match from time to time, anil con sulted tbo compass. The night was windy, and to protect the light he held it and the oompass olose dowu along side of the saddle-horn, where the iron deflected the needle six to ten degrees. An error of that extent amounts to ouo mile in eight. When he bnd been riding nu hour, bo was well off tho true cotirso mid already iu trouble in tho sage-brush. Dy morning ho was in a thicket, in a trackless canon, his borso played out, himself exhausted. He el imbed a hill mid found water on tho other side then ho could not llud Iiis way back ti his horse. He spent hours looking for the horse, gnva it up, nud fortu nately lost the compass. It thou oc curred to him to follow dowu tho canon, which soon opened out iuto a little valley with a settler's cabin. Hero ho learned thnt ho wns about tho sumo distnnco from town as when bo stnrted upon Iiis ride, (lotting a fresh mount and this time following a traveled rond, ha reached town just twenty-four hours Into. More delay ensued hero, tbo doctor being nut. Finally, with Dr. Cutler iu tow, hn started back for tho ranch. During the long hours of waiting tho injured man was, by his com rades, m ido As comfortable ns might bo ; and, ns time passed beyond when lliddy should have returned, they sought to shorten it by nnuodolos of other accidents. Ktnithy said it romiiidod him of n iiinu down in Ari.oiia got bit by n snake. "They sent mo dowu to tho nearest station for whiskey. On tho wny up I intended only to tnko one sip, but I took two, nnd I never ro membered oxaelly.what happened aftur that, until I got back with tho empty jug. And tho joko of it was, the mnn was dead. " 1 Another said It obort's hurt wns just like a onso bo bad known, where the doctor cut nil' a man's leg iu two planes. "Snv, boys," said Robert, "put my gun where I can reach it before thnt doctor comes." The next morning I id Recso came running up. Ed was what tho cow boys call a (tiaturnl doctor. Ho had pulled teeth aud cut hairou that rnngo for years. 'Ed," said Robert, "I'm powerful glad to see you ; I didu't know you was this sido tho mountains. You got to stay and fix my leg." "Well," said Ed, "I shaved you lots of times; guess I cau mend your leg." Ed at ouoe set about reducing tho inflammation by application of fresh meat, preferably newly killed rabbits, split up tbo back nud rcuewed every live minutes, nud by other expedients well known to cowboy doctors. After some hours he announced that the leg would come out nil right. I may say bore that it did, and eventually became a bettor aud longer ouo than its mate. Robert was comfortably asleep, aud tho boys wero taking an after-dinner smoke outside, when Biddy came iu sight with I)r, Cutler. It was ngreod that the doctor was uot to bo allowed to see Robort, but Smith said he ought to have some kiud of a job after com ing so far and how would it do to break Bidily's leg and let him set that? When they rode up, Ed Roeso stepped forward and informed tbe doctor that it had all been a little joko ou' Burke, that Robert was only slightly bruised, hud rocovered nud had gone away. Was he mad? Well, he didn't say much, nud only grunted wheu Ed handed up a twenty, saying they wished to pay for the joke. ' Wheu the doctor had turued his horse's bead tow ird them, Biddy told tho story of his dulay. It was doubt ful what bis standing wns to be until Robert tettlud it "I urauwt'ully sorry," said Burke to Robert. "Shucks I" snid Robert! "me and you are pardiiers from this day. You saved my leg," "That's right," said Reese. "Dr. Cutler never lost so good a obnnoe to out off a log as yours was yesterday. Argonaut. Their Conclusions. Two soientists of tbe twenty-first century were examining with deep in terest a petrified body, which had just been discovered. "It is quite old," said one. "Yes," replied the other, "but not more than 150 years, I should say. You will notioe that it bus tbe bioyole faoe and the telephone ear. Those peculiarities did develop uutil near the olose of tbe nineteenth century, according to the best authorities." New York World, Tho Use or Illryclr In War. The binyole, at first regarded more ns a plaything, or as part of the imv ohlnery of a circus, to be used only by experts to amuse a crowd, ns the trnpezo, or the balloon, gradually workod its wny nnd from a toy has come at length to bo as practical for everyday use as the old-fnshiouod horse nnd buggy. Possibly there nre now in notunl use more bicycles thnn pleasure carriages of every descrip tion, nnd the bicycle has como to be a necessity of tbo civilization of our day. Its almost universal use in this country Is a mutter of geiioral remark, and whilo nt first tho domsnd for it wns regarded as a "crnzo" or a "fad," which would shortly die out, when soma now "fad" wns stnrtod, the de mand continues to grow, not only hern, but throughout tho civilized world, and presently, it would seem, tho one of either sex who does not rids tho wheel will, bo the ex ception, liko tho one iu these days who never rides the trolley or travels by railroads. Its use hns also extended to tho army, as wns noticed more than a year ngo, when some of our eoinmnnders tested its availability for tbo transmission of dispatches from ono army post to an other. In Franco it was adopted for this purpose some years ago, nnd now we lenrn thnt it In being tested for use by combatants. To do away with the objection that tho bicycle can only bo used where there nre roads, nud good ronds nt that, n folding bicyolo has been invented, which iu a few suoonds tbo rider can fold up nnd pack upon his bnck when ho comes to a bad pieco of road or has a field to cross, and with his rifle iu hand may fight ns a foot soldier very moderately bur dened. Regulations havo nlso boon adoptod providiug for tho drill of riders "in detachments ns scouts or rapid marching partisans," nnd thus "tho lighting wheelman" is expressly recognized. A folding cyclo similar to that ot tho French ouo has also been under trial for tbo Austrian army. It is described ns a small rear. driving safety machiiio weighing little under thirty-one pounds, with pnouinatio tires aud an ordinary saddle,so constructed that ouo wheel closes upon tho other, nud bo folded thnt tho rider can sling it upon his back nud carry it without inconvenience, leaving both his hands frco to handle his rifle. Whou riding there is a contrivance near the axle of tho front wheel for holding tbo rifle iu a vortiolo position. Iu tbe Gorman army there is n regular system of training tbe men for tho use of tbe bi cycle, nnd the prnctico with it is kept up throughout tho winter. Iu connec tion with tho whou! prnctico thoro is nlso a system of trainiug in tho build ing nud repair of tbo machines, tbe disposition of woights, tho carrying ot tha rifle nnd revolver, tbe precautious to bo taken with regard to bent and cold, nud to tbo care aud cleaning of tho uinohiuc. Bo, nlso, during tho re cent military manoeuvres in England a bicycle carrying a telegraph instru ment which can run a typo-writer nnd a reel of five miles of flue, flexible wire, with relays of reols extouding the service, so that ono wheel enrries thirty miles of telegraph wire nnd the operating miicbiuo, tbo wire unwind ing by tbo rotation of tho rear wbool ot tho bicycle. From this it will be learned that the wheel has already become a prac tical thing for army operations as well as for pleasure aud business, aud that iustead of disappearing from use upon tbo introduction of some new "fad" or "urazo," it has iu all probability be come, a permnnout adjunct to our civi lization. Possibly iu a short time we shall see our troops , mounted ou wheels or nt least corps of wheel men trained for special duty, as scouts or fl. inkers, performing their evolu tions ou our streets, and quite as much at home on their wheels ns the cavalry on their horses, and capable of rendering service quite as effective, Trenton, (N. J.) Amerioitu. Why They Do Not Own Their Houses. Tbe New York Sun says: Some per sons indulge in sentimental regrets that no New Yorker of moderate means may own tbs house be lives in it ifbe centrally located, but on the other band there are men abundantly able to own their owu homes who de liberately prefer to be renters because they believe that tbe money repre sented by the value of a house snoh aa they ohoose to oouupy is more profit able iu tbe form of active capital. Many wealthy business men postpone to (dd age the building of a bouse chiefly booause of suoh considerations. A Possibility. Marguerite May is engaged to that millionaire? She wou't have to worry about money auy more. Marie 'o, but he may. Troth, TERRAPIN TALK. A Food Dainty Worth Almost Its Woight in Gold. Most Expensive Kind Caught la Chesapeake Bay. First cfltoh your terrapin. This re quires a golden hook if you nre not nn expert angler in tbo wnters of Chesapeake Ray, for the diamond baeknd torrnpin is au aristocratic den izen of those wnters and worth almost bis woight In gold to the epicure of tho fashionable cafe. This vnluo set upon tho torrnpin prevents tho odiblo replilo from becoming food for the masses, his scarcity enhancing bis worth and making him a more tooth some tld-bit for the onniiind digostion of the professional dinerotit. 'J ho diatnond-bnek terrapin is only another iinmo for a small species of turtle, and timu was when tho colored people of Maryland nte them After rousting them iu their shells, nnd never dreamed of their vidua as food for a royal menu. Now a torrnpin farm is a mine of wealth to its pos sessor. A trim story is told of a poor negro fisherman who chanced upon A nest of diamond-backs near Tangier Island in lH'.ld. In four hours ho took nut twelve hundred dollars' worth nud stopped only when too ex hausted to work. Terrapins "in pound" presont nn in teresting but by no means nn appetiz ing nppenrnnce. The pound is a place whero tho fishermen keep tbo turtles until tbny nro shipped to some city to the markets. There is a pre judice in tbe minds of tbo dealers Against pound torrnpin as losing some of their delicacy when kept from salt wnter, but only sn epicure could dis tinguish a di Here ii co. Tho farms where they are cultivated are flooded with sea water, so thnt tba little ob ject preserves its delicatessen quali ties unimpaired. Thcro nre certain rules understood by those who purchase terrapin. They aro careful to observe that the extreme tip or muzzln of the head is uot in jurod, thnt tho bottom of tbe feet aro not worn off, thnt the bead is prettily shaped small, thin and pointed, and tho eyes brilliant. The feet should bo small aud slender. Those who bavo Seen these same diamond-backs crawl ing over oaoh other in tbe windows of fish storos did not perhaps appreciate their great worth. Cooking terrapin properly is suoh an art that only a chef or a Mary lander should be pormitted to givo in structions. It is rather hard on tha epicure to be told that unless tbe small bones of tbe terrapin are left in ho will not know whether he is eating tbo genuine article or not. But it is absolutely true that tbo only people who can cook it as it demands aro the Maryland cooks who learned from the colored people, and their secret of success is to handle it as littlo as pos sible, and to serve it from tbo dish in which it was oooked, thus preserving its native juices aud aromas. Ou tbo terrapin farms of tho Chesa peake a peculiar sport is indulged in by tbe men, called "terrapin racing." Tbo turtles are let loose in a large room, whero at one end a bot lire is blazing, proteoted by a guard. They all begin a scramblo for tho light and warmth, the men betting on particular ones. Tbey have no continuity of purpose, and aro likely to branch off in a dozeu devious routes, but tbo terrifpin that first puts its nose against tbe fire guard wins the race. Terrapin are rntod according to their value with a family pedigree tag, which simply gives the name of tbe state whence tbey come. First on tbe list for its terrapin is Chesapeake Bay. Next comes Long Inland. Then Vir ginia, Charleston and Savannah, Florida, Mobile nnd tho gnlf follow. Mississippi and North Carolina and other points south furnish excellent terrapin. Eighty dollars a dozen is not con sidered high for choice terrapin nt certaiu seasons and on special occa sions, A modest housekeeper saw one ! crawling over some lobsters in a fish market, and out of curiosity inquired tbe price. "What time is it?" asked tbe mar ket man, looking at bis watch, "You may have it for $3, but if it was 0 o'clock tonight aud I only bad that one I should have to charge yon more. I expect some in any moment." De troit Free Press, Oue on Mamma. "Paps, what does teacher mean by saying I must have inherited my bad temper?" "She means, Fannie, that yon are your mother's own girU" Texaa Sifter. Suicide Increasing In Japan, An essay on tbo prevalence of sill- oldi in Japan hns been written by Mr. Hallo Koknfu, a nntive statistician. Tbo statistics extend over ten years, and show thnt suicldo has been on the iucroaso in Japan, both actually and in proportion to the total number of dentlis. In 18 Ho and 1880 the num ber in proportion to tbe population reached its highest. Mr. Saito ob sorvos that during these years there was a great rise in the price of the necessaries of life. In the case of Japanese women, tho age at which stiioide is most frequont is about twenty J the corresponding period with men is twenty-five. Compara tively few women commit suicldo af ter the twenty-fifth year, but mou nre not safe until tboy are past forty. Female suicides are rather more thnn half those of males, but with A distinct tendency to iucroaso. From January to May aro tho wojst months for sui cides. The number mounts rapidly month by month from Jnnunry to May, and keeps high until Jnly, fall ing to its lowest in November. Tho suicides of December nnd Jnnunry are attributed partly to pecuniary troubles at tbo close of tho year, whon all accounts nre supposed to be closed nnd all liabilities met. A rise in July is attributed to'flnn'ioinl troubles nt tho half-year. In recent years tho use of tbe sword by suicides has decreased greatly; hanging is the method most frequently employed, uoarly throe fourths of tbe male suicides and near ly half tho females terminating their lives in this way ; but among women drowning is more common evon than hanging. Firearms nud poison are vory rarely used, probably because they nro not readily obtainable, whilo a Japanese of either sex nlwnys hns a long girdle nnd nlwnys has wnter suf ficient in tbe deep wells in every vil Ingo and Hiljucoiit to almost every house. Tho figures show that tbe iiumbor of suicides varies year by year with tho prioi of rice. Travel to Europe Increasing, Nover before, probably, have so" many Americans gono to Europe as during tbo last summer. Tho annual begira of Americans to Europo has, in fact, becouio nn event of far-reaching importance to Europe itself, main tains tho New York Tribune. Its tradesmen grow prosperous from tho patronage of woalthy Americans. Its boalth resorts find their best custo mers in Americans who havo wealth, but not health. Its railways are able to declaro larger dividend beouse so many thousand Americans travel on thern ns first class passengers. Of course, if it were not for American many flourishing hotels would have to close their doors and a small army of guides and couriors would have to go into some other business, while last, but not lenst, tbe somewhat un conventional ways of a few Americaus aro au unfailing sonrco of amusement to our European cousins. Not only are there flourishing American colo nies in tho larger citios of Europe, but they are found in its most remote cor nors,so that many of them return home knowing much more of the Old World than tbey do of their own country. Nor is there any prospect that this preference of Americans for Europe will die out. The Dnily Messenger of Paris estimates that during the last summer Americans have left 8100,000, 000 in gold iu Europe; and there is every reason to believe that this enor mous expenditure will continue to in crease in the future. How Coinstock Loile Was Discovered. Iu January, 1850, a streak of warm weather tempting some of them out, Comstoek, "Old Virginia," and sev eral others found "surface diggings" noar "Slippery Gulch." They named the place "Gold Hill," and, staking out claims, proceeded to work the de composed outcrop, .igs over Crown Point, Yellow Jacket, Batcher, Ken tuck, and other great miucs as yet un discovered. From tbe time tbey started tho rockers, using water from a spring oloso by, Gold Hill averaged twenty dollars a day to the man. June 1st, O'Riley aud McLaugbliu, wboae ciaiin in Six M.la Cunou paid only two or three dollurs a day, suddenly cut into tbe rock on the surface of Ophir, at tba north end of tbo Comstoek, and began to take out gold at the rate ot a thousand dollars a day. They had only been workiug a few bu'urs when Comstoek bappxued aloug, saw tbe value of tba dUoovery, laid a general flouting claim to a mythical atook ranch in tba reg'on, and fairly bluffed tba good natured discoverer iuto taking himself aud Muuny Peurod as equal partners. "Kentuck" Osborue afterward came in, and tbe five took up tbe original Opbir olaim. Appletons Popular Science Monthly.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers