All the money in the world foots uj
over §10,000,000,000. The aggregate
wealth of the world is not known.
Europe and the United States alone
foot up $250,000,000,000.
The increase of nearly 550,000 So
cialist votes in Germany since 1890 is
an astonishing gain, and the total So
cialist poll of 1,800,000 distances by
more than half a million votes the
polling strength of any other party in
Germany. 44 1t must not be expected,"
comments the New York Independent,
• 4 that this greater progress will be
kept up, but nevertheless one who
studies the German polities has got to
keep his sharpest eye on the progress
and platform of Socialism."
The well-known fact that women
five longer than men is illustrated as
follows: The excess of females of all
ages in England and Wales is only
about 3$ per cent., (in round figures,
15,000,000 minus 50,000 to 14,000,000
plus 50,000.) But when we begin to
compare women over sixty with men
over sixty the female majority becomes
much greater, and when we once pass
eighty-five the old men are nowhere.
The female nonogenarians nearly
double the male ; there ore 854 women
over ninety-five to 354 men, and 104
gammers to forty-two gaffers who ,
own to n century.
In view of the epidemic of suicide '
which seems to have set in of late, it is
interesting to see how different coun
tries stand in this respect. The fol
lowing figures give the number of sui
cides in the various armies of Europe
per 100,000 men: Austria, 131; Ger
many, sixty-seven; Italy, forty;
France, twenty-nine: Belgium, twen
ty-four; England, twenty-three; Rus
sia, twenty; Spain, fourteen. This is
a somewhat curious list, neither race
nor climate having apparently much
to do with the relative figures, else l
why should Austria have nearly twice j
as many as Germany and Germany
nearly three times as muny us Eng
land?
One prolific cause of disaster to
ocean vessels is likely to bo obviated
before Jong, predicts tlio New York
News. That is, the difficulty that ma
riners experience in seeing or dis
tinguishing coast lights on stormy or
?°BBJ nights. Many wrecks near this
port, on the Long Island and New
Jersey shores, have resulted from this
cause. But electric science is bring
ing relief. It has been demonstrated
that lighthouses arc practical with
electric apparatus capable of project
ing light a distance equal to several
hours' sail of average craft. A light
house is about to be erected at a point
on the northwest coast of France that
will illustrate the wonders of the new
method. Tt will contain what is
termed a "lightning tlash" of forty
million candle-power, and will cast a
beam that in clear weather can be seen
sixty-three miles away. Even in foggy
weather it is expected to be visible at
a distance of twenty-one miles.
Savs the Atlanta Constitution : Dr.
Hertzka, a prominent German writer,
makes the prediction that 50,000,000
whites will some day occupy the high
plateaus of Central Africa and civilize
the races of the Dark Continent. Carl
Peters lias spent many years in Africa,
and in his judgment the country will,
Rt no very remote day, have European
settlements in all localities where they
will thrive. He does not speak very
highly of the central plateaus. There,
the nights are like winter and the days
like summer. Buch rough extremes
do not favor vegetation. The whites
are steadily increasing their settle
ments in Africa, and the conditions of
health improve as the colonists advance
and clear the forests and cultivate the
noil. But the country is not promis
ing from an agricultural point of view,
and cattle raising and ostrich farming
will not induoc white men to settle
outside of the towns in large numbers.
Dr. Peters thinks that mining, lumber
and other industries will, in the course
of time, swell the white population to
icveral millions, but he rejects the idea
that they will civilize the Africans and
utilize their labor. To overcome the
savagery of the natives would be a
hopeless task, and the whites will prob
ably kill them off as they push their
settlements into the interior. Even
under the most favorable conditions
that can be reasonably expected the
doctor declares that Africa will possess
few Attractions for white immigrants
when compared with the rest of the
world. Still, it must be admitted that
there are locations on tho continent
that would suit Europeans, and there
is no reason why their colonies should
not grow and prosper. When this i 8
said it does not carry with it the state
ment that even one-third of 1 he conti
nent will ever be fit for white occnpa
tion.
WHEN NUTS ARE RIPE.
Tho frost king comes by stealth at night,
Painting the leaves in colors bright.
With magic wand, in impish glee.
He breaths upon each 9hrub and tree ;
O'er hickory, walnut and the oak-
He sheds a variegated cloak.
And as they ope' their sleepy eyes
His breath comes thick from chilly skies.
The morning sun, in mild reproof,
Kweeps from tho fences nnd the roof
The crystal footsteps of that raid •,
He smiles upon each leaf and blade.
And welcomes to his genial rays
The friendship of a mystic base.
While voices through the hill and Jell
j Echo clenr as sliver bell.
' Glad, golden days ! O. mystic haze—
And all the swelling symphonies
Of ringing shout nnd childish mirth
The brown nuts pattering to earth ;
The scolding of a saucy jay.
Ah, glories of an autumn day I
Of earthly paradise ft type -
The frost-cro.vned woods when nuts are
ripo.
Good Housekeeping.
EPHRAIM DODD'S NIECES.
BY PAUBINK WEBTJtY.
"wap ( UMBE KTOSI
' j P eo Pj felt h
daughters of
EgMr. Dodd's
i 'i l ' vSgSj younger broth- j
jaffiL-r; ' er came from I
rf a es 6r 11
' ■ i!llhome and took j
u Ptbeir abode '
< Kill with the old
Ephraim and
Busan Dodd were honestly delighted
with this sudden addition of their
nieces to the family circle.
Mrs. Dodd soon began to talk to her
neighbors with complacency about the
responsibility of bringing up girls, i
nnd when her back was turned her j
friends shook their heads, saying : |
"It's a shame! In their old age, ;
too, when tliey were just beginning to |
1 take a little comfort!"
The girls were tall, pretty, strong !
and vivacious. Their names were I
Martha and Evelina. Each had brown j
hair, a delicately tinted face and large
gray eyes that looked at people in a
friendly, unabashed way. Martha
was thirteen years old when she ar
rived two years older than her sister I
—and before she had passed her six
teenth birthday Ephraim decided that I
she must go away to a better school
than Lumberton afforded. It was a
sad day for the Dodds when a small
leathern trunk bumped to the railway
station behind one of Uncle Ephraim's
ox teams.
Ephraim, Evelina and her Aunt
Busan clung to Martha with a frantic
earnestness in saying good-by and
then stared at one another tearfully
when the train whirled weeping Martha
and her belongings away from Lum
berton.
On the way back to the farm Mrs.
Dodd and Evelina sat on a board
placed across the cart railings, and
Ephraim walked beside them, directing
his oxen. After a while he spoke sol
emnly.
44 Taint that 1 ain't got confidence !
in Marthy,"said he. 44 1 think she'll
turn out fust-rate; but if there is any
meanness in her nature, or any hidden
dust in the corners of it, we'll know it
before long. She's started out on tho
testin' times of her life."
"Mercy," Mrs. Dodd exclaimed,
dashing a tear from her eye, "how you
talk, Ephraim! You make cold shiv
ers run all over me!"
"I Ihink she'll turn out fust-rate,"
the old man repeated; "but she aint
been tested yet, an' now she's a-goin'
to be. The city aint the country, an
their ways aint our ways."
Evelina sat rigidly erect and gazed
at the oxen through a screen of tears,
while the three, moving along autumn
tinted country roadsides, went slowly
home. There was great vacancy in
the farmhouse. They felt it everyday.
Longing for Martha, they eagerly
read and re-read the letters which she
sent regularly once a week, written in
an uncertain girlish hand abounding
in little curves. She told all about her
studies and her teachers and her
friends, sometimes even specifying the
day's bill of fare, or the color of a
classmate's eyes.
Ephraim read all the letters aloud
on Saturday evenings, piecing them to
gether like a continued story, and
Mrs. Dodd and Evelina listened. It
brought the writer very near to them. |
They always felt breathlessly inter
ested.
After Martha had returned home for
two visits, she was allowed to spend a
long vacation with one of the school
girls in her city home. Then the let
ters, arriving oftener than before, took
on brighter tints, and gave glimpses
of a luxurious town-house—vastly dif
ferent from the Dodd homstead, with
its wooden "wings" and air of humble
thrift.
Ephraim Dodd read these letters in
a serious,faltering voice while Evelina
and her aunt listened rather anxious
ly, knowing his troubled thoughts.
The faded comfort of their old sitting
room somehow touched them with a
wistful foreboding. Would it seem
dingy to Martha! Might not her new
surroundings teach her to despise the
simple homelife of Lumberton village?
At last carao a letter describing her
friend's bedroom:
"1 wish you could see what a charm
ing boudoir Dorothy has! The bed
stead is brass, and it glitters like gold.
Overhead hangs a canopy of pale blue
and white, fringed with ribbons. 1
feel like a princess sleeping on a royal
couch. The lloor is covered with soft
rngs. There ere oceans of cushions
everywhere. I never saw such a beau
tiful room/*
When Evelina read the alluring par
agraph, her heart was filled with a
sudden longing. She believed that
Martha would surely cherish her home,
in spite of its limitations, if the room
where she slept could be made a lit- ■
tie less unlike that city boudoir.
Now Evelina Dodd had an energetic
mind and active hands. The follow
ing noon she gently broached the sub
ject of her meditations to her Uncle
Ephraim and his wife.
"I might kind of chirk it up, and
give it a sort of stylish look," she re
marked, blushing.
Ephraim Dood pondered some time
before he answered.
44 'Tain't that I don't think she'll
like us the way we are as well as
ever," he said, awkwardly. "But it's
in case she shouldn't; in that case it
might be wiser to fix things up a little
fancier, an' if you're mind to do it
Eveleny, I'll lieip you."
Mrs. Dodd had strong faith in
Martha, yet possibilities loomed dis
agreeably as she thought of her hus
band's words, and she secretly worried
in the midst of the sewing and plan
ning which began almost immediately.
,4 I shouldn't care 'bout the house or
ourselves," she confided to Ephraim,
44 50 much as I would if Marthy hap
pened to get to settin' herself up above
Eveleny. I couldn't bear to see Eve
leny's feelin's hurt." 1
Mr. Dodd kept his thoughts to him- i
self as he joined in the efforts which i
were gradually transforming one of
the old-fashioned sleeping-rooms above
stairs.
Remarkable changes, indeed, were
j Vieing made. It was well that Evelina j
l possessed no knowledge of the havoc
worked by her loving zeal. For the
I massive old-fashioned furniture of
Mnrtha'sroomcouldnotbe adapted well
to modern taste in decoration. The
plain mahogany bedstead was out of
keeping with a fantastic spider-shaped
object which Ephraim Dodd manufac
tured in the woodshed, and awkwardly
j fastened into place above the bed. He
stood on a step-ladder to do this, while
Evelina and her aunt held the hammer
and nails, crying, 4 4 Oh, do be careful!"
or, ''Ephraim Dodd, you'll certainly
; break your neck !"
j The poor room, with its furniture of j
j another era, really looked abused, but j
j Martha Dodd's relatives glowed with
| satisfaction over their efforts. They |
! were obliged to make their purchases j
: at a country store whose supplies were i
not abundant, yet in the eud they felt I
that their labors were repaid.
After the canopy's frame had been 1
draped with blue denim and white
mosquito netting, Mrs. Dodd and Eve- I
lina stood and admired it from afar.
They believed that Martha would be
pleased.
Martha Dodd came back to Lumber
ton in midsummer, a time which al
ways found the place full of verdant
beauty. Bhe was carried to the
farm in a shining buggy, recently pur
chased. Her Aunt Susan and Evelina
stood smiling in the yard, and show
ered greetings upon her, before Eph
raim could help her out of the car
riage. Afterward, they sent her up
stairs alone, in order to surprise her
more completely.
Martha closed the door and remained
in the room for some time. She sat 1
down on a sofa, and stared about her |
iu a bewildered manner. When she 1
descended to the expectant group in I
the sitting-room her cheeks were 1
flushed and she was smiling. '
"Whoever thought to do it?" she
asked ; "who spoke of it first?" '
"Eveliny," Ephraim answered, red '
with pleasure.
"Ah, 'twas lovely of you all," Mar
tha said, and she went over to Evelina 1
and put her arms around her.
"How did you manage it?" she |
questioned again. "Who made the
canopy?"
"Uncle Ephraim," replied the de
lighted child ; and every one laughed '
as Martha embraced her uncle affec- I
tionately. He tried to get away, but !
she caught him and clung to him. 1
Her face was radiant.
"You've been so kind!" she cried;
"but, uncle, you needn't have done it. !
I liked it the way it was. Didn't you 1
know I liked it?"
A fortnight later Martha's friend,
Dorothy Bundle, accompanied by her
two sisters, accepted invitations to
spend a fortnight at Miss Dodd's home.
On the day of their arrival a county
fair was being held in the next town,
and Mrs. Dodd watched sQme neigh- <
bore' vehicles fly past the door with a i
good deal of interest. <
"If 'twa'n't for company comin'," i
; she said to the girls, "I might have
! , gone myself. I aint been to a fair for 1
three years." j
To her surprise Martha seized the <
stray idea almost eagerly. The girl 1
talked to her uncle so earnestly about '
the matter that he resolved to take his 1
wife and Evelina to the gaily decorated 1
grounds and stay the entire day. Thus 1
the house chanced to be comparatively 1
still when four girls entered merrily <
and rushed up the stairs to Martha 1
Dodd's # "boudoir."
"Why, what in the world!" Bertha j
Bundle exclaimed wonderingly, ah I
soon as she had surveyed the room
Two old people and a girl trundling t
over the turnpike road were two far
away to hear the peals of laughter that j
suddenly rang through the house.
"O Martha Dodd," said one of the |
girls, "it's the funniest sight I ever
saw in all my life."
"Who did it!" another asked, and
then the laughter began again.
But only three girls laughed. Mar
tha sat among some queer looking
patchwork cushions, and viewed the
surroundings gravely.
1 "You may laugh all you like," she
said; "nobody can hear you. I
wanted yon to get used to it, before
♦he folks com© home. I—" she
checked herself and the girls looked
at her.
"Why did they do it?" Dorothy
asked at. last.
Martha gazed out of the window be
fore she answered.
"They did it," she said, slowly,
"because they love me. I wrote about
your room, and they hoped to make
this something like it. My little sis
ter Evelina— *' she paused.
The listeners drew nearer and stood
around her in a little circle.
"They did the best they knew
| how," she continued, "and I like my
room as well as Dorothy's. The cano
py is ugly, but when I wake and look
' up at it, I think how their love covers
'me night and day; so you see it's a
| pleasure. ''
"The rugs are funnier," Bertha re
marked finally, in order to break the
silence, and her sisters smiled, but
they did not laugh again, in the same
way. They began to feel an interest
iu Evelina, and this increased through
the happy days which marked their
stay in Lumberton.
Ephraim Dodd's generous heart
warmed aH Martha's city company bade
him a reluctant good-by on the station
platform. The eldest Bundle girl
shook his hand cordially.
"Well," Mr. Dodd," said she, "we've
had about the pleasantcst visit we ever
had. And when Martha comes to see
us again, we want Evelina to come,
too."
The old man blushed, and Martha
nearly interrupted his stammering
thanks.
"I'll stay at home and let Evelinft
go," she explained. "We sha'n't.leave
Aunt Susan and Uncle Ephraim alone."
That evening, Ephraim unburdened
himself to Mrs. Dodd, a little remorße
i fully.
I "We needn't have felt no uneasiness
| bout Marthy," he declared. "She's
j turned out first rate; she'll stand any
| amount of testin', an' so will Eveliny,"
| Mrs. Dodd laughed tremulously, as
| nhe extinguished the sitting-room
j lamps.
"No," was the answer, "she aint
l goin' to hurt anybody's feelin's—Mar
thy aint."—Youth's Companion.
Parasol Ants.
The Kew Bulletin says that the Gov
ernment of Trinidad has passed an
ordinance for the extermination of
parasol ants, so far as its power ex
tends. The pest has become unbear
able. In fact, from the nature of
things, wherever this ant is found, a
growing civilization must wage war
to the death with it. For the creature
strips trees of their leaves, which it
neatly trims to the size and shape of a
three-penny bit and carries to the nest.
An army of aeeodoma cephalotes at
work is one of the strangest sights in
tropical America. The column may be
followed for a mile, three or four
inches in width, a serried mass of ants
each carrying aloft upright as a flag
I its green disk. They will strip a large
. tree of which they fancy the leaves in
• twenty-four hours. But nature has
! limited their ravages in the way which
j Darwin and Wallace teach us to re
j spect. Many species of trees are quite
I protected against them by peculiari
ties which we cannot detect. Many
inches in width, a serried mass of ants
will not attack them if they have a
choice. But the enterprising for
eigner brings his useful fruits and
plants from every quarter of the world,
and establishes them in the domain of
the aeeodoma. Then there is joy un
mixed. With unprotected fruit in
abundance the ants multiply as they
never could before. So the Trinidad
authorities have made a law that the
warden of any district may authorize
a land owner who "suffers, or is likely
to suffer," from their ravages, toenter
any neighbor's ground and destroy the
nests—if ho can, be it understood.
And any one obstructing such proceed
ings when duly authorized by the war
den becomes liable to a fine of SSO or
imprisonment for three months, with
or without hard labor.
Aii Elevator For Cats.
It has been such an everyday con
venience to be hoisted in an elevator
car at railroad speed, to the 'teentb
floor of a high office building, that
j one regards it as a matter of course.
It has remained for an East Weymouth
| (Mass.) couple, however, to apply the
j principle of the elevator to the feline
economy of the household with grati
' fying results. Mr. and Mrs. G. live
in upper apariments; therefore Mr.
G. had to go down und upstairs every
time their half-grown kitten was put
out of doors or let in. This became
monotonous, so one day Mr. G. placed
the cat in a basket, tied a rope to the
handle and lowered the cat, Paul-like,
to the ground. The cat evidently
grasped the situation at onoe, for since
that time she has rarely been let in or
out of the door, but has made her
perpendicular pilgrimages with all the
gravity of an old business man. The
most remarkable circumstance is that
she now gets into the basket as it rest?
on the ground beneath the window
and mews lustily until taken in. U
there were a set of electric buttons for
her to push, 'hip once, down twice,'
she would probably learn the combina
i tion. As it is she is the cause of a
j mild little sensation in the town,
und is as prondly exhibited by her
owner as would be the feline heroine
! of the balad, which in ancient num
| her is declared to have returned. —
New York Telegram.
The British Empire.
Roughly speaking, the British em
pire extends over one continent, IOC
peninsulas, 500 promontories, 100 C
lakes, 2000 rivers, and 10,5000 islands.
The Assyrian empire was not sc
wealth as this is; the Roman empire
was not HO populous; the Persian em
pire was not so extensive ; the Spanish
! empire was not so powerful.
There is a decided fancy for black
and torquoise, pink or yellow.
The old-fashioned solferino is the
next red to be handed down from ages
ago.
New evening gowns have a white
silk skirt with black silk muslin
bodice.
Shoulder-capes are made with double
fronts in Russian style and enormous
ly full plaited Collars.
In spite of the black and white fad,
bla?k and magenta is having (in pros
pect) a successful run.
Velvet-dotted moires trimmed with
mirror velvet are already ordered for
matrons' reception gowns.
The fichu cape with long ends fall
ing over the front of the skirt is one
of the features of autumn costumes.
The women of Iceland have had
municipal suffrage for more than
twenty years. They are now eligible
to municipal offices.
New York has five women lighthouse
keepers; tfew England has two.
Nancy Rose, of Stony Point, N. Y.,
has been in the business thirty-five
years.
Knitted corsets are an invention
which comes from England, and are of
service to the weak and nervous who
cannot bear any pressure of tight or
unyielding clothing about them.
Quite the latest idea in lamp shades
is to have a series of shades of delicate
heliotrope. They can be either round,
square or octagonal, and made of silk,
chiffon over silk, or mousseline de soie
without any lining.
An observant statistician makes the
amazing assertion that girls with re
trousse noses marry sooner and are
more fortunate in catching good hus
bands than young ladies whose fea
tures are of the Greek or Roman type.
All the important cretonnes are now
perfectly imitated in wall paper and
are considered very artistic. For
morning rooms and bed chambers the
cretonne and paper are used together,
and the effect is harmonious and
pleasing.
In iv plot of ground twenty by thirty
feet Mrs. Mary E. Loud, of Chelsea,
Mass., has succeeded in cultivating
wild flowera to such a degree aa to win
the commendation of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society. She has se
lected the plants so that some are in
bloom all the year.
Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, as well as
her distinguished husband, is an ar
dent lover of music, and her charities
are very apt to take the musical form,
so to speak. If a kindergarten or, a
hospital is in ueed of a piano or organ
an appeal to Mrs. Carnegie is certain
to enlist her sympathy as well as her
substantial aid.
"I used to buy Bhocs of the best
quality," said a young woman, "but
now I buy shoes at just half the price
that I formerly paid and get twice as
many pairs. The result is that they
are always fresh and fresh looking.
Of course the quality isn't so nice, but
1 think the lack in quality is mere than
made up by the increase in daintiness."
Near Madison Square, New York
City, in a side street, there may be
found a "Millinery Institute" in which
young women are instructed in the
magic art of making sls and S2O hats
out of a dollar and eleven cents' worth
of material. This should be a valua
ble tip for young married women and
others of the fair sex who would prac
tice economy.
Mrs. Sallie Walsh Johnson, who died
a few days ago in Washington, was the
daughter of the late Governor Wilson
Shannon, of Kansas, and a famous
beauty. She is said to have attracted
the attention of the Grand Duke Alex
is, of Russia, at a ball in St. Louis,
during his visit to this country several
years ago, when he declared her to bi
the haudsomest woman in America.
Among the stitched serge, cloth and
camel's hair hats, that with Tam crown
and rolled, stitched brim, is the pretti
est. The crown is lifted slightly by a
quill or two, pointing forward. This
hat was added to the small variety of
traveling hats last spring by one or
two houses, but, together with the
stitched turbau, has waited until
autumn for a more general introduc
tion.
The revival of the overskirts is creat
ing some attention in the fashion
world. They ar6 being made to fall
in long points, nearly covering the
skirt beneath, one point extending
<lown the front and another each side
of the back. Skirls without overskirts
will, however, still remain in favor,
and are being worn plain at the front
and sides, with all the fullness at the
back.
"Composition" millinery, as it is
ealled, is the millinery of the hour. A
fashionable French hat of brown felt,
fawn color, on the underside has ros
ettes of brown satin brocade and fawn
velvet with multicolored cord edging,
green-bluo wings, a peacock osprey,
and one flaming red quill, completing
a jumble of colors and materials any
thing but artistic, no matter how fash
ionable.
To carry one's fan in the hand or
swinging from the arm is no longer de
rigneur. A fan bag is an essential part
of the \oguish evening toilet. Of satin
brocade or kid, with jewels sprinkled
in aimless fashion across its surface,
the bag adds quite a dash of prettiness
to its wearer's costume. Long satin
ribbons, through which the wrist is
thrust, support this cunning fan nest.
A few sandal wood chips scattered
through the liniug invest the wind
wooer with aa atmosphvre of Oriental
fragrance,
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
The distance from the farthest point
of polar discovery to the pole itself is
460 miles.
Powerful air brakes are now being
constructed for use on freight trains
of 160 cars.
The long distance telephone has been
put in operation between Norway and
Sweden, and his Majesty at Christiania
can communicate directly by word of
mouth with hie ministers at Stock
holm.
When you speak of bees, designate
the kind referred to. There are 4600
species popularly known as "wild
bees," 3200 being natives of the Amer
icas. Britain has seventy species of
bees and sixteen of wasps; of the
latter there are 170 species known to
entomologists.
The value of vaccination against
smallpox is shown by recent statistics
from London hospitals, showing that
whereas in the unvaccinated 23.8 per
cent, died, and the remaining cases
last 47.2 days, there were in the vac
cinated cases no deaths at all, and 28.6
days was the average duration of the
disease.
it may be doubted, says an English
writer, whether our measurement of ani
malcourage has yet been sufficiently
extended, for there appear instances in
which the acts of daring are prompted
by a sense of obedience, of discipline,
and even of duty—something similar
in kind to that which marks and dis
tinguishes the highest forms of cour
age in man.
An operation for appendicitis re
vealed the fact that the disorder was
due to the presence of tooth brush
bristles. "Cheap tooth brushes," re
marked the surgeon who had charge oi
the case, "are responsible for many
obscure throat, stomach and intestinal
ailments. The bristles are only glued
on and come off by the half dozen
when wet and brought in contact with
the teeth."
A lire balloon is a recent invention
for signaling by night. The balloon
is made of paper, is portable, and is
inflated by burning spirits or even
straw or wood. When ready to ascend
a message string is appended. This is
made of combustible beads strung at
intervals on a piece of quiok match.
Different combinations of large and
small beads are used to express the
signals.
Among other interesting matters
with which the psychological labora
tory is experimenting is the subject of
time—measurements of different men
tal processes. The conclusions reached
on the average time it requires us to
make some of the commonest judg
ments were: Recognition of a ray of
light, .011 seconds; recognition of or
dinary sounds, .016 seconds; to local
ize mentally when blindfolded any
place on our body touched by another
person, .021 seconds ; mental judgment
of a distance when seen, .022 sec
onds; recognition of the direction of
loud sounds, .062 seconds; recogni
tion of short English words, .214 sec
onds; recognition of pictures of ob
jects, .163 seconds; to answer such
questions as "Who wrote 'Hamlet,'"
.900 and over.
Sufferers From "(ilhberlsh Aphasia."
The Edinburgh Medical Juurnal
publishes au article which, among
other things, discusses the question of
the effects of brain changes on speech.
A patient is mentioned who suffered
from what is called "gibberish
aphasia." This poor man knew as
well as anybody else exactly what was
going on around him. He was per
fectly sane in all respects, and, if his
tongue would have obeyed his under
standing, all would have been well.
But when he began to speak nothing
whatever but absoluto "gibberish"
would come out of his mouth. The
only coherent words he could utter,
and those only at times and by acci
dent, were "If you please, sir."
Another patient, who also was sane,
could not even read aloud correotly
from a book when the page was open
before him. When asked, for example,
to read aloud the passage, "It shall be
in the power of the college to examine
or not to examine any licentiate," he
invariably read it thus: "An the be
what in the tomothar of the throtho
todoo to majorum. " The patient re
covered in due time and spoke like
other people.
A (juecr Electric Clock.
T. F. Hudson, a convict in the
Maryland Penitentiary, has construct
ed a real horological oddity in the
shape of an electric clock. The dial
is a semi-circle of white marble with
twelve marked at each corner, the
other numerals for the hours being
figured along the arc. It has one hour
hand and two minute hands, the last
two Bet opposite to each other, and in
such a manner that one is seen at
noon and the other at midnight, and
at no other time. The seconds are
marked on a dial that turns from right
to left, while the pointer or second
hand is stationary. Hudson is a born
genius, and nearly every room in the
prison is adorned with a specimen of
his ingenuity.—St. Louis Republic.
Modesty Came With Age.
Gounod, the composer, stands exon
erated from the reproach of vanity,
which, like affectation, belongs to the
weak and the young. Age and talent
restore equilibrium, and vanity is su
perseded by legitimate pride. He one
day compared the progress of modesty
in his soul with the simultaneous whit
ening of his hair. "When I was very
young I used to say 'llater on I said
'I and Mozartthon 'Mozart and I.'
Now I say 'Mozart.'" The master re
versed the words of Mirabeau: "Hum
ble, when I consider mvsclf; proud,
when I compare myself with others,"
—Argonaut,
THE OLD MILL.
Deep in the shadow, down under the hill,
Stand the mossy planks of an old saw-mill,
Leaning far over, as if to look
At its fair companion, the rushing brook ;
For there below in the turbulent stream
Lie many a worm-eaten joist and beam.
Neglected, forgotter, left alone,
Through its broken roof the breezes moan,
And birds sing more softly their cheerful
lays.
Remembering other brighter dave,
When this tottering ruin was firm and strong,
And the mill wheel roared Its thunderous
song.
But the mill wheel lies in the brooklet's bed,
And the water's rushing song has fled,
8o the treps growing near extend leafy arms
To hide from the sight of the prosperous
farms
And protect from the sun's bright, pitiless
ray
The poor old mill, so shattered and gray.
—Alice R. Leu. in Spriugfleld Republican.
*
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
On time—Wings.
A fishing resort—Lying.
Column articles—Vertebra?.
Cut down in youth—Whiskers.
A race for wealth—The Americans.
Minds his business—The psycholo
gist.
Forcing the season—Shaking the
pepper-box.
Usually out of season—The board
ing-house pepper-boxes.—Elmira Ga
zette.
It is said that the bull is very liable
to an attack of scarlet fever.—Lowell
Courier.
After the wedding the typewriter
becomes a sewing machine.—New York
Advertiser.
We opine that a sea dog feels most
at home when he isonabark. —Seneca
Republican.
"Man wants but little here below,"
but it seems somebody else has it.—
Dallas News.
Seems strange that when a lady
wants to show her diamonds off she
invariably puts them on.—Statesman.
The long term convict isn't much of
a believer in the theory that life is
; evolved from a cell.—Lowell Courier.
After the train is captured.
After the robbers have gone.
Then come a thousand suggestions
Of how things should have been done.
—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
| "What is your beat reason for be
lieving that she'll marry him?" "Her
parents say that she shau't." —Chicago
News.
Bessie—"That young Mr. Skimpley
has over a million." Kitty (looking
over him.) "Well, he needs it!"—
Vogue.
What a lot of labor would be saved
if the sweeping glances we read about
would only take the dirt from carpets.
—Buffalo Courier.
Strange to say, many brokers are
best pleased with the stock market
when it is simply unbearable.—Boston
Commercial Bulletin.
Teacher—"Now, Robbie, take foul
slices of cake from six slices, and what
will there be left?" Robbie—"A
I lickin' for me."--Inter-Ocean.
! Professor X. (on finding a living
bug in his textbook of zoology) —"Ha,
how did this thing get here atnoug th'
mammals?"—Fliegende Blaetter.
The prophet hath a curious way
His wonders to perform :
For he predicts a sunny day
And straightway comes a storm.
- Kate Field's Washington.
"Waiter, it is almost half an hour
since I ordered that turtle soup."
Waiter—"Sorry, sir, but you know
how slow turtles is."—Fliegende Blaet
ter.
Mamma—"Georgie, have you been $
good boy to-day?" Georgie—"That'i
not for me to say. You would not
have me boastful or egotistic, mamma."
—Boston Transcript.
Teacher—"Emma, what do you know
of the orchid family?" IJmma—"lj
you please, madam, mamma has for
bidden us to indulge in any family
gossip."—Fliegende Blatter.
Mrs. Clinker —"I understand, Mrs.
Vaulters, that your son is going up
rapidly in college." Mrs. Vaulters—
"Yes, indeed. He's already broken
the high jump record."—Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
"What makes you look so unhappy?*
"Toothache." "Allow me to congrat
ulate you." "Why?" "A man who
at eighty can still have toothache ii
certainly to be congratulated. "—Flie
gende Blaetter.
Jiggers—"Young Justwed says hii
wife is a very magnetic woman." Jag
gers—"You bet she is. He asked hei
to let him go downtown with me the
other night and she showed both nega
tive and positive qualities in lesa'n
half a minute."—Buffalo Courier.
Yachts Were Always Pleasure Vessels.
The term "yacht" is derived from
the Danish word jaght, meaning a
chase; hence yachting is the chasing
of one vessel after another and, ac
cordingly, yachting and yacht racing
are synonymous expressions. A yacht
is and always has been essentially a
pleasure craft. History does not tell
us where, when, or under what cir
cumstances yachts were first bnilt,
but it is certain they are of ancient
origin and were only owned by royal
persons and great nobles, —London
Times.
Password to the Tower ot London.
A London paper says that probably
very few persons know that the Lord
Mayor is the only person—r other than
the Queen and the constable—who
knows the password to the Tower of
London. This password is sent, to tho
Mansion House quarterly, signed by
Her Majesty. It is a sui vivM of an
ancient custom.