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.