o rony of a
BLOCKHOUSE
6
v
Original.
When the Uuiou troops were maneu
vering lu the southwest they were
obliged to protect long Hues of rail
road over which they received their
supplies. The vulnerable points were
the bridges, near which the bluecoats
. built blockhouses similar to those used
by onr ancestors to defend themselves
agalURt Indians.
One afternoon a force of Confederate
cavalry attacked one of these posts.
' The blockhouse was built on the riv
er bank nt the north entrance of the
bridge, the rear being protected by the
river, running some forty feet below.
A single company commanded by a
captain constituted the bridge guard.
From his loopholes he surveyed the
Confederates, who, dismounted, were
advancing la line of battle, and his
heart sank within him at seeing n
force three times that of his own,
Fortunately they had no artillery, while
the Union troops had two small how
itzers.
;, Time and again the southerners as
,' eaulted, and every time they were
1 driven off. But nt last the defenders,
who had been for a week begging for
a new supply of ammunition, saw that
iwlthin a few hours what powder and
ball they had would be exhausted.
There was a boy In the command who
had run away from home and enlisted
at the age of fifteen. He was foud of
the water, and his captain had noticed
him often rowing a skiff he had pressed
Into his own service. Taking the bay
to a back opening, the captain said to
him:
"Go to your skiff; pull down the river
to where it Is crossed by the bridge
next below. There you will find three
companies. Von must row around the
bend, but re-enforcements can cut
across and reach ns within hair an
hour. Tell the commanding olllcer to
come at once or we will lose the
bridge."
"But will not tlio enemy see ine and
pick me off?"
"You can hug tills shore till you get
down to the bend, when you must pull
across to the point on the other bauk.
For five minutes you will be exposed
to their fire, and there ure nine chances
In ten that they will hit you."
"I see."
Catching up a rope, the captain low
ered the boy to a point some ten feet
below, where he struck a steep path
leading down to the water's edge.
The captain saw 1dm get Into his boat,
but lost him at once under the over
hanging trees. Then he waited breath
lessly till the skill' shot out from the
bank's protection to make the turn In
the rive.'. Scarcely had the boy ap
peared than bits of spray broke all
about him, bullet taps on the water.
"He's halfway over!" exclaimed the
captain, talking to himself so loud that
he could be heard above the cracking
of rifles. "But they're getting his
range. Heavens! ' He's hit. No; only
scratched. He's at it agAin. Good
Lord! There goes an oar. lie's lost.
He can't pull with one oar. And the
arm has been h:t. He's binding It ;
with his handkerchief. By thunder,
he's paddling! Some of the shots are
beginning to fall short. Hit again!
It's nil up with him. Xo; he's ou his
knees again paddling for dear life.
Twenty more strokes, and he'll be be
hind the point. There he goes. Hur
rah!" Then the captain ran to the front of
the blockhouse to see n long brown,
' dusty looking line advancing for an
other attack.
"Give It to 'em, boys," he said. "If
we can keep 'cm off for an hour the
bridge '11 be saved, ami we'll escape a
southern prison."
The attack was repulsed, but when
the next one was made the Unionists
aaw something that made their bloo.
run cold. A single man appeared roll
lng a bale of h:iy. It was to set on
fire nnd burn '.he blockhouse. He .was
partially protected by his bale nnd dif
ficult to reach with n bullet. Directly
behind him was another man rolling
another bale. Then n third and a
fourth indeed, a bug line each man
rolling his bale. The Union sharpshoot
ers picked off the first man and the
second. The third pushed on. The
fourth fell. The fifth fell. The sixth
seemed to b.ir a charmed life nnd with
,tho third was ;:ettlvg dangerously near
the blockhouse. 'Hie hay rollers came
so fast that, though more than three
quarters of them were put out of the
race, a number were now within twen
ty yards, and one man had con e so
fr that no rifle could reach him. lie
was cutting the ropes that held the hay
together. Then u comrade left bis own
bale and joined Ulm.
The captain strained his eyes across
the bridge nnd snw the head or a col
umn of bluecouts coming on a trot
"Water!" he shouted. "Some of you
men go down to the river In the rear
and pet water in your canteens! There
was little else for the purpose. If we
can keep the flames off for a few min
utes we'll save the fort."
But there was no need of water. The
Confederates, seeing the advancing
troops, who were by this time near the
opposite banks, withdrew their "fire
bugs." All mounted and dashed away,
followed by a volley from the advanc
tig lufnntry.
The boy who hud saved the bridge
led the rescue party. He was carried
on the shoulders of his comrades. They
placed him on a cot, where a surgeon
dressed his wound. His captain em
braced him and the next day sent an
account of his work to the general
commanding the district. Word came
to send the boy to headquarter)!, nnd
when he reached there he found a com
mission awaiting him. When he left
the sendee two or three years later he
was a lieutenant colonel.
FRANK P. CHENEY.
DRESSING FOR DINNER.
A Habit to Be Cultivated br All
Claaaea of 1't-mona.
"Dressing for dinner" Is regarded by
I some as a piece of arrogance nnd as
evidencing merely a desire to appear
superior to somebody else. They ob
serve no dignity in the custom and per
haps do not lea line the fact that the
change of clothes is consistent with
personal comfort and cleanliness,
whether the new garments donned bo
of the evening divas pattern or not.
The most important meal of the day
affords to those who dine hi the even
ing nn excellent opportunity of ex
changing their workaday i 'olhes for a
suit which has been brushed and aired.
The bracing effect of a change of
clothes is well known. Many a man,
being nlmost too futlg'.ied after an ar
duous day's work to change his clothes,
finds himself considerably refreshed
when he experiences u feeling of clean
liness and preparedness for his dinner,
nud good digestion luvarjably waits on
healthy appetite. The changing of
clothes may even thus favorably affect
nutrition. Nor need the changing of
clothes be the exclusive luxury of thn
persons who dress for dinner. The
hard worked clerk, the shopkeeper and
the work In gm an would all be better If
they would cast off their workaday
clothes and put on clean clothes for the
evening meal after the day of toll Is
over. The change freshens the body,
gives a gentle stimulus to the wearied
hand and head, and a brighter view of
things Is thereby engendered. The
habit Is, besides, cleanly, dignified and
becoming. Lancet.
NEEDLESS NOISES.
Maddening; ulffect of Some Sonnda
That AnnaH Ona'a Kara.
It Is the Heedlessness of most noises
that renders them Insufferable. You
sleep very well through the roar of a
wintry storm, but If some one has for
gotten to fasten a blind and it begins
to bang then you are lost. You might
as well get up and locate that blind
and fasten It first as last. The mani
fold noises of your steamer's plunge
through the night, with the perpetuul
wash of the sea. unite In a lullaby to
which the worst conscience sinks Into
repose, but a snore brenklng from the
next stateroom recalls the memory of
all one's sins. The rush und leap and
Incessant but varied grind ami clung
of the sleeping car become soothing at
last, but a radiator, beginning to fizz
and 'click after the steam has been
turned off, seems to leave the would be
sleeper no resource but suicide. If you
could get at the second engineer and
leave him weltering in his gore, you
could snatch a few cat naps. before
morning. Hut you cannot get at the sec
ond engineer after midnight In most
hotels. Continuous noises and necessa
ry noises are things you cun adjust
senses or your spirits to. but the noise
without a reason, without an apparent
right, like the gnawing of a rat in the
wainscot. Is what drives so many to
perdition. W. D. Howells in Harper's.
Clande Duvnl,
This galluut robber of men's purses
and ladies' Imirts was of French ex
traction. Duval became so rich with
his ill gotten gains that he was enabled
to retire from the profession und re
turn to France. But a quiet life, free
from the excitement of his old career,
did not agree with his adventurous
spirit. He returned again to Euglnud
and resumed, his avocation. At length
he was captured nt the Hole In the
Wall, In Chnudos street. While lu
prison awaiting his daou many ladies
of position visited him n:i I endeavored
to obtain his release, but Justice was
Inexorable, and he was hanged nt Ty
burn in January, 1070. His epitaph in
St. Paul's church, Covont Garden,
speaks of him as "Old Tyburn's glory,
Drdand's Illustrious thief." und tells
us:
Here lies Duval. Reader, If male thou
art.
Look to thy purse; If female, to thy
heart.
Much havoo has he made of both.
St. .Tames' Gazette.
Blamarck'M Iteacetmunt.
The Hamburger Nnchrichten contrib
utes the following to the stories rela
tive to the relations between Emperor
William II. and itismarck, "If the kal
ser wished to ride alone." said Bis
marck, "I could have found uo objec
tion. That he drove me away, though,
wounded me. 1 he w.i;.,e . to gut rid
of mo he should h :ve toll ire sr frank
ly, and I would have vuuea bin mouths'
vacation. If thingi git along without
me I would have remained away. Oth
erwise I should have returned. But
this! I was nearly thrown out of my
house In the Wllhchustrnsse. I had to
pack my belongings In haste, for Ca
prirl was waiting nt the door."
Walter Pntcr'a Wnr.
I remember telling Wnlter Pater
about "The Story of an Af: -an Farm"
and the wonderful hum in quality of it.
He said, repeating his favorite formu
la, "Xo doubt you,are right, but I do
not suppose I shall eVr read it". And
he explained to me that he was always
writing something and that while lie
was writing be did not allow himself
to read anything which might possibly
affect him too strongly by bringing a
new current of emotion to bear upon
him. A. Symons In Monthly Review.
After Dark.
Mrs. Gayboy (severely) What time
Aid you get home last night? Gayboy
(cautiously) Oh, a little ofter dark.
Mrs. Gayboy After dark! Why, it was
daylight when you came lu! Gayboy
Well, Isn't that after dark?
A Greater LI it tit.
Teacher Which Is farther away,
England or the moon? Pupil England.
Teacher Why? Fupil Because you
can't see England, and you can Bee the
moon.
THE EffD
OF MATEO
Copyright, 1906, by Eugene Purcells.
There was never n more nbsolute
monarch, no inntter what his color,
than KlngMateo.who reigned over three
of the New Guinea Islands thirty years
li go.
Mateo's father had made the mistake
of murdering the crew of a trading
vessel, and when word had been pass
ed around the white men would trade
with him no more. The son sent word
far and wide that nil traders should be
safe with him, nnd In time many ves
sels called at his Islands. He had
copra and oil and other things to sell,
but he wanted guns nnd ammunition
in exchange.
He hired white men to drill his war
riors nnd build forts for him. He even
got hold of n number of cannon and
had them mounted. He had the largest
fleet of war canoes on the big Island.
If bis men could have been mndo sail
ors of, the old chap could have gone
Into the pirate business In first class
shape.
For five years King Mateo encour
aged traders and whalers aud got
ready for a grand coup, and then be
struck a blow that made his name in
famous In every eastern sea. In his
principal harbor were lying two Eng
lish whalers and five trading vessels
when he gave a grand feast. It was
his wish that the crews of all the ves
sels be present, aud only two or three
men were left nbonrd when the feast
began. By drugging the liquor and
food Mateo made about a hundred men
helpless, and when they had their
senses again It was to find all tbelr
vessels captured and every person a
prisoner. When the various craft had
been robbed and stripped they were
towed to sen nnd scuttled. By this
stroke the king secured many more
firearms nnd barrels more of powder,
ns well as other things to Increase his
wealth nnd arrogance.
Three months after the nttnek Cap
tain Williams of aii Australian trader
niunnged to escape to sea in a canoe,
but had neither food nor water. He
was picked up by a vessel a hundred
miles away. It was four months luter
before a British war vessel started
from Singapore to convince King Ma
teo that there were other monnrchs on
the face of this earth. During these
seven months Mateo had grown bo ar
rogant that he defied the world. Twenty-one
of the white slaves had suc
cumbed to the climate aud the hard
work and scanty food.
Xo more traders had called In, aud,
being angry nt this, the king had deter
mined on u grand feast at which the
last of his white prisoners should be
slain for the amusement of his people.
This feast would have been held two
weeks before her majesty's man-of-war
Revenge reached the islands had not
the ruler had a spell of sickness. lie
had Issued his royal proclamation when
the armed craft came snillng Into his
harbor. She was an auxiliary, but was
not using steam. For once the British
captain resorted to a trick. He made
the Revenge look ns much as possible
like a whaler after a long voyage, aud
the few men of her crew allowed on
deck were rigged out any old way. She
had six guns, but these were so well
covered that the spies who were sent
aboard did not notice them. They re
turned to tlie king to roport-an ordi
nary whaler, and he Invited the crew
to a feast. His invitation was refused.
He thereupon ordered the craft out of
his harbor. She refused to go.
The British captain had been In
structed to move carefully nnd let Ma
teo take the lead In overt acts. He did
not have to wait long. In broad day
light ou the third day, and after send
ing off word of what he was going
to do, Mateo attacked the Britisher
with seventy war canoes, each one
holding ten men. They paddled out
from shore singing their war songs and
Indulging In many boasts. The Re
venge had furled her sails and got
steam up, and she steamed down to the
mouth of the harbor and waited. When
the first musket was fired at her, her
crew leaped on dec!: and began to
"ork the big guns. ;he was provided
with round shot, shell nnd grape and
canister, nnd the sea fight lasted only
fifteen minutes. Fifty of the seventy
ennnes were destroyed and most of
their crews killed.
Tills was tha first lii'clng King Mnteo
ever received, r.r.d It set him frantic.
He was game, however. He was lick
ed, but he wouldn't give up yet. He
rallied his battalions and challenged
the Britisher to come ashore aud have
It out fair and square. This was ex
actly what the captain of the Revenge
wanted to do. He had come after
those white prisoners, and he must go
ashore to get them. He had a crew of
250 men, and he lauded 200 of them,
divided them Into three bodies, and
when the natives advanced, still five
to one, they were bowled over by the
score, flunked right and left and licked
out of their boots In half an hour.
King Mateo's reign Was at an end
forever. Of the white prisoners only
about thirty were left. Of the natives
COO had been killed nnd ns many ns
300 wounded. Two trading vessels
came in on the day of the battle. They
were allowed to load with the plunder.
Several villages were burned, many
coconnut groves destroyed und the king
and eleven of his principal men taken
aboard the Revenge. A new king was
installed on the throne and bidden to
mind his p's nnd q's, and then the
Britisher sailed away.
The prisoners were lauded nt Sing
apore nud kept in jail for n year or so
and when turned loose became dock
loafers. Mateo Is still pointed out to
the tourist, aud the first thing he does
after being called up Is to beg for a
drink; the second Is to announce that
the British are a great and wonderful
race. M. QUAD.
THUNDER.
IXad Beliefs That Uwd to Exist In
Hays of Old.
Thunder, just because It Is a noise
for which there is no visible cause, has
always excited the imagination of the
uuscleutlllc, so it is natural that the
most outrageous superstitions about
storms should dute back to the time
when everybody, more or less, was un
scientific. Ono old writer explains the
belief of his day that "n storm is sntd
to follow presently when a company
of hoggos ruuiie crying home," on the
ground that "a boge la most dull nnd
of a mehiucholy nature and so by rea
son doth foresee the ralne that com-
, eth." Leonard Dlgges, In his "Prog
nostication Everlustlng" (1550), men
tions that "thunder in the morning
signifies wind; about noon, rain, and in
the evening, a great tempest."
The same writer goes on to say,
"Some write (but their ground I see
not) that Sunday's thunder ' should
bring the death of learned men, Judges
and others; Monday's, the death of
women; Tuesdny's, plenty of grain;
Wednesday's, bloodshed; Thursday's,
plenty of sheep and corn; Friday's, the
slaughter of a great man and other
horrible murders; Saturday's, a gen
eral pestilent plogue and great dearth."
After this the gay and lightsome man
ner shown by Lord Northampton to
ward these grave matters in his "De
feusatlve" is most cheering. "It
chaunceth sometimes," he writes, "to
thunder about that time and season of
the years when swannes batch their
young, and yet no doubt it Is a para
dox of simple men to think that a
swnnne cannot hatch without a crackle
of thunder." London Chronicle.
A STUDY IN MILEAGE.
Almoat Everjr Country llua a. Stand
ard of Its Own.
English speaking countries have four
different miles the ordinary mile of
5,280 feet and the geographical or nau
tical mile of 6,085. making u differ
ence of about. one-seventh between the
two; then there Is t'.ie Scotch mile of
5.UJ8 feet nnd the Irish mile of 0,7:20
feet four various miles, every oue of
which Is still lu use.
Then almost every country has Its
own standard mile. The ltouiuns bad
their mllle pnssuum, 1.000 paces, which
must have beeu about il.000 feet In
length unless we ascribe to Caesar's
legionaries great stepping capacity.
The German mile of today is 24,318
feet In length, more than four and a
half times as long us our mile.
The Dutch, the Dunes and the Prus
sians enjoy a mile that Is 18,440 feet
long, three and a half times the length
of ours, and the Swiss get more exer
cise in walking one of their miles than
we get In walking five miles, for their
mile is 9,153 yards long, while ours Is
only 1,700 yards. The Italian mile is
only a few feet longer than ours; the
Uoiunn mile Is shorter, while the Tus
can and the Turkish miles are 150
yards longer. The Swedish mile is six
and a half times and the Vienna post
ii: lie Is four and n half times the
length of the English mile. l'earson's
Weekly.
Wonilerfnl Monastery.
At Solovetsk, In the Ku.isian govern
ment of Archangel, Is the most remark
able monastery in the world. The mon
astery of Solovetsk Is Inclosed ou ev
ery side by a wall of granite bowlders
which measures nearly a mile In cir
cumference. The monastery Itself Is
very strongly fortllled. being support
ed by round nnd square towers about
thirty feet In height, with walls twenty
feet lu thickness. The monastery con
sists In reulity of six churches, which
are completely filled with statues of
all kinds and precious stones. Upon
the walls nud the towers surrounding
these churches are mounted huge guns,
which in the time of the Crimean war
were directed against the British White
sen squadron.
Too Eneriretle.
"Last Saturday," said the flat dwell
er, "I went out Into the hall and saw
a woman on her knees scrubbing the
marble very well, making it a beauti
ful dead white. I thought to myself,
'This Is a good scrubwoman; I'll ask
l.er to scrub my kitchen and clean my
windows. I did. 'she scrubbed all the
paint off the floor of my kitchen aud
washed the panes of two windows en
tirely out.
"I was glad I didn't ask her to wash
my face," she finished. New York
Press.
When Honeymoon Ends.
"How," said the young man who had
beeu In the, malriinonial game for
nearly a week, "can I tell when the
honeymoon Is over?"
"It will be over," unswered the man
who hud been married three times,
"when your wife stops telliug things
uud begins to nsk questions.'" Chicago
Xows.
Social Dansrer.
So long as we have nt the bottom of
our social fabric nn nrtuy of vagabonds.
hand to mouth livers nnd slum dwell
ers, half starved, dirty, foul mouthed,
so long are we In Imminent, danger.
And it is want of work which makes
recruits for this army. Mirror.
Tart Hetort.
"Young man, you are better fed than
taught," said the professor nnrily.
'Vuito right, sir. My father feeds
n:c." answered the student. London
Tit-Bits.
Generoni,
'You snld that when wo were mar
ried you would refuse mo nothing."
'I'll be still more generous. I'll not
even refuse you nothing. I'll give It to
you."
The first English work on anatomy
w bj- Thomas Vlcary. In 1548.
j..
; I The Knife Thrower
(Original.
When a mining fever struck a new
region In the west I thought I would
go out and take a band. One night
f.oon after my arrival I went to a show
that had come to the place where I had
located. It was given iu a big tent and
consisted of acrobatic, sleight of hand
nnd other such performances. There
were two brothers, knife throwers, who
showed great skill, Ben nnd Harry
Halllwell, ns their names' were given
on the roughly printed playbills. Ben's
part was to stand with his back to a
board while Harry plunted knives all
about him so that when Ben walked
away he left his outline In knives on.
the bonrd. It occurred to me that It
was a horrible way of making a living,
for an accident must surely occur In
time. But this gave the sympathy of
the audience to the brothers, the spec
tators holding their breaths till the end
of the game, then applauding vocifer
ously. The Halllwell brothers were down
for two performances, and just before
the second a specimen of the toughest
class at the mines, a thickset, red
faced, thick lipped man, with Satan's
own look, sidled around and got In be
hind the ropes on to tbe plot reserved
for the performers. He stood opposite
the knife thrower and sldewlse to the
man at whom tbe knives were thrown.
Harry had nearly pinned his brother In
when I saw a flash of light on Harry's
face just as he was throwing a knife.
It went through the fleshy part of his
brother's leg. I bad been watching the
man who stood opposite him aud a
second before tbe knife that wounded
Ben was thrown I saw the Intruder
manipulate a pocket mirror. It was he
who threw the light of a lamp Into
Harry's eyes aud caused him to mis
send the knife. The audience bad kept
their gaze fixed on the brothers, espe
cially tbe one standing for a target, and
nobody but myself seemed to have seen
the cause of the failure. I'm sure If
they had tbe man who had contrived It
would have suffered for his act. Being
unused to such scenes I prudently kept
my own couusel. A tenderfoot Is not
fitted to take part In the quarrels of tbe
people of new couutrles.
I saw Harry Halllwell give the man
a glance aud was confident that he
Was aware of tbe cause of his wound
ing bis brother. In that glance I also
saw a premonition of revenge. Of
course tbe incident ended that part of
the performance. The brothers with
drew, and the bill was finished by the
others. So fnr as I could see, the spec
tators supposed that an accident had
happened, but were so used to scenes
of sudden bloodletting that they soon
forgot It.
The next day I learned that the fiend
who had caused tbe trouble had been
Incited against Harry Halllwell for
some reason not known to my In
formant. He passed under the name
of Nevada Tim and had a black record
behind him. His occupation was gam
bling, and he pusse-l most of his time
at the Metropolitan, gambling den in
tbe place. I was also told that he had
been Informed that Hurry Halllwell
had accused him of throwing a light in
his eyes as be was about to throw the
knife, and he was looking for Harry
to kill him.
The afternoon after the performance,
hnvlng nothing to do, I sauutered Into
the Metropolitan and stood looking at
the game. I was surprised to see Har
ry Halllwell sitting at the table play
ing very moderately. He seemed more
Interested In watching the door than
in the game. I went out after awhile,
but something I could not tell what
led me to go back. There was Harry
Unlllwell still sitting at the table, the
dour on his left, and now I noticed his
brother leaning on a crutch standing
opposite. Presently the door opened,
aud Nevada Tim walked In. I saw
blm start when be saw the knife
thrower, and instead of walking
straight up to the table,, as he had
started to do, he sidled around to the
left. .
As soon as the man entered I saw
that both the Halllwells were aware of
"his presence. Ben drew a little off
from the table where he and Harry
could better see each other, and his
eyes never left their enemy for a sec
ond. Nevada Tim kept edging around
to get In Harry's rear, but In an ap
parently careless way not likely to at
tract attention. I wished I hadn't come
there, for I knew what be was bent on,
and I wasn't sure the brothers did.
Finally he attained a position directly
behind Harry, und I saw blm turn with
sudden swiftness nnd level a revolver
at the back of Harry's head, bnt before
he, could pull the trigger I beard a thud
nnd at the some moment snw the
handle of a knife protruding from his
left breast. He pitched over back
ward nnd lay perfectly still.
B"n Hilllwell had given his brother
a signal which, had It come a few sec
ond later, would have conic too late.
Harry had turned only half around and
thrown the knife over his left shoulder.
So sure was his aim that he had
pierced the heart In Its center.
I had condemned myself bitterly for
not Interfering to save a man I sup
posed was not aware of tils danger,
though something told me I might go
wrong In doing so. It tu.Tipd out that
I would have mnde a great mistake ta
Interfering. The Halliwel's bad plan
ned the affair, bnd kept out of Nevada
Tim's wny nnd gone to the gnmhllng
house to lay lu wait for him. Further
more, I found that a number of persons
present ns soon ns Nevada Tim entered
knew that cither ho or Hnrry Halll
well would not go out alive. Halllwell
could not hit a barn door with a pistol.
My Introduction to the country did
not please me and the same evening I
packed up my traps and returned to
the east. EDWARD MORRISON.
COCHINEAL.
The War tbe Tiny Inaeeta Lira and,
How Thar Are Gathered.
Merry millions of little b'uglets sup
port the vast cochineal Industries.
Where the tiny cochineal Insect comes
from Is something of a mystery, but
he does come wherever the nopal plunt
grows nnd for a loug time wss thought
to be a seed or a floweret of the plant.
The living female Insect Is twice as
lurge as the male, weighs one-tenth of
a grain and loses much weight In dry
ing, so that 70,000 are needed to make
one pound. During the rainy season
many millions of the creatures are
drowned or washed off the plants, so
that when the long dry summer comes
there ore but a few survivors on each
plant. - But these multiply so rapidly
that before long the plants ore cover
ed. The last act of the female's life Is
to deposit n lurge number of evrgs, on
which her dead body rests, protecting
them from the burning rays of tbe sun
until the little ones emerge. Iu about
six weeks after the beginning of the
dry season conies the first harvest.
Tlie plantation laborers make the
round of the nopulry nnd with a brush
go over the entire plant, sweeping the
creatures Into n bag. They then are
killed by immersion In hot water, by
exposure to steam or by drying In hot
ovens. The hot water or steam makes
them a dark reddish brown or black
cochineal. The hot ovens make them
u red gray hue or silver cochineal. The
females outnumber tbe males by at
least 200 to 1, a fortunate fact for the
phriiter, since the mules are of no use
to blm whatever.
THE CABS OF NEW YORK,
Tlie) Are Kut an Intcirrui Part of tha
Life of the City. .
The cab Is uo Integral part of New
York life. Venice without the gondola
were us unthinkable as u woman with
out b..ir. Xo little of London's com
pel, tug charm Is In its swift rolling
h. ins. These things we know. But
c.ii't think of New York In terms
of c.-ihs. Once upon n time I was In
exile. Only in memory did tbe great
ri.ie beftire r.iu. und what I saw
a.t tills: Ilu je canyons of stone and
..ti'Ci. liiK'il Willi noise and darkness,
t... i. h w hich grunt yellow worms
.T. ..-it, one i.f:er the othjr, iu inld
:;ir. Tlmt Is the picture of X.-w York
ti nt haunt.' tin exile, eveu its the out-
i. '.'eil Veue. i.iii i. obsessed by slim
! . '.: ;roiiil;l:.s cutting across Innes of
in ;t.iiaiit. Your tri e New Y'orker is
i p.- ij'.'i ted. eh-ir-iea lly carted
..i I 'lily In exciv'tioual mor.ients
t)i ..oiii i.r i..'i..ei.,' UJt-. he ride "In a
v . i. g und pair." He Is carriage
rii.iiei! to a funeral, i'.e c:.bs it iu
u . e inoi " its. when the fear of And
l-i ii it In I:, in There nri only J.nnO
li.-. .immI eiba aud Licks ou tbe Island
of Manli.'itt-'li. Of -rs there are, n(
course, plying plr.nieiilly In the duPk
'li.j't.'r.i, but even with tbc.e t!:i'iw:i
;:i tlie reckoning is ivuill. N'; tli" N'.
Yorker Is not a cubby person. Vance
i ho::ip.:u:i In Outing .M i.i.iy.hie.
A College In liokJiura.
There lay behind i. e :;v: t urcli and
the domes and the minarets u retired
precinct of ancient tree aud shadcS
walks, a grove lu tl i:'i!sr of a city,
colonnaded In quadraugiu by the point
ed arches of the students' cells. Under
the trees was a sort of summer house
or pavilion. Two or three young men
were walking In an avenue against the
farther colonnade, and on the stone
steps of a wide, shaded pool sat several
mollabs on their praying rugs. We
visited a number of the students In
their cells monastic little brick walled
rooms where they live the year around
(there are no vacations In Mussulman
colleges) and for years on end. It Is
not unusual for a student after passingl
the primary school to spend as much
as fifteen or twenty years at his higher
studies, though usually In such a loDg
course he will go through several dif
ferent colleges In the order of advance
ment. Quiet men, these students, mild
eyed, patient, often middle aged. Min
neapolis Bellman.
Girl Blares In China.
A native writer In a Chinese publica
tion remarks: "When a girl Is sold hi
China she becomes the slave of her
owner and a part of his property. She
no longer retains her freeborn rights,
but surrenders them all to the will of
those who own her. She receives no
compensation for her labor, but Is
obliged to accept such raiment and
food as her owners may be pleased to
give her. In cases of tyranny or gross
cruelty she cannot appeal for redress.
She may be resold, given away or
cast off In the streets at the arbitrary
will of her master. All freedom Is de
nied her, and she remains a tool and
chattel in the hnnds of her ow.ier un
til fhe Is sold a:;a In or until cl'.:.!i re
leases her from her unwilling fate."
Effect of Deafueaa.
An ear specialist Insists that deafness
affects all tlie senses. He says the rea
son for this Is that the ear Is only ono
servant of the sensory service of the
human system. Loss of hearing Is
really a partial paralysis of tbe brain,
but owing to the sympathetic connec
tion of the various sensory nerve cen
ters of the brain the others Indirectly
concerned have to combat for their
very life the demoralizing Influence 3t
the affected center.
Conalilcrntlon of a Motorist.
We hold no brief for the motorists,
says the Bystander, but "honor where
honor Is due." On a country road the
other day we saw a motorist delib
erately avoid (tinning over nn animal
on the highway! To be exact, it was
a clro'.is elephant. St James' Gazette.
In the capital of Honduras all the
houses in the poorer quarter ore made
of mahogany, which costs less than
pine there.