New Orleans has a smaller police |
force than other American city of cor- I
responding size.
A French savant has discovered that
tears are bactericidal and may be de
pended upon to exterminate certain
microbes.
•'lf people will talk good times in
stead of hard times," avers the India
napolis Sentinel, "the latter will
quickly disappear."
John I>. Rockefeller lias given nearly
$5,000,000 to the Chicago University
and has what the Detroit Free Press
terms, "the good taste" not to demand
that- it be named for him.
Sir Charles Dilke, recently said in
the debate in the British Parliament:
"The most dangerous illusion any in
habitant of the iiuited kingdom can
have that we are a popular power.
We are probably the most unpopular
of the great powers."
A San Francisco woman disposed of
an estate of SIO,OOO by writing a few
lines in pencil 011 an old envelope.
Lawyers say that the will cannot he
broken, and their opinion that women
know nothing about business they ro
gard as confirmed anew. -
England is having hard times, notes
the Cotirier-Journal. Its leading
securities declined nearly half a hill
ion dollars in value during the past
year. Its imports fell off $88,000,000
and its exports $82,500,000. Its trade
in coal and textiles dwindled alarm
ingly.
Navigation of the great lakes dur
ing the season of 1893 resulted in the
loss of 123 lives. The number of ves
aels lost was fifty-three, with an ag
gregatc tonnage of 24,258, and valued
at $1,040,400. Partial losses by
strand 111 gs, collisions and fires bring
the total up $2,112,588. The shallow
waters of Lake Erie claimed nearly
half the lives lost, Lake Huron being
second.
John Hyde, expert special agent ol
statistics of agriculture, has written
an interesting monogram 011 what he
terms "Geographical Concentration."
In it he develops the fact that the pro
cess of agricultural centralization
works very injuriously to the Ameri
can farmer, and that many of his vicis
situdes arc due to the single-crop sys
tem. He shows, for instance, that
while hemp is a product cultivated in
Europe from the shores of the White
Sea to the Mediterranian, and that it
flourishes in extensive regions in Asia,
Africa and South America, its cultiva-
tion in the United States is almost
wholly confined to Kentucky, that
.State in 188 ) having produced 93.77
per cent, of all tin- hemp raised in this !
country. Obviously hemp is capable
of being produced over a wide area in
the ( nit ml .States, hut its cultivation
is almost wholly unknown outside of
Kentucky. Mr. Hyde makes a strong
plea for mixed farming, and says that
so long as American farmers persist in
devoting themselves to the production 1
in great quantities of a few things, they
caunot expect to prosper.
Oklahoma is going to knock verv j
hard for admission as a State, declares
the St. Louis Star Savings. The Ter
ritory was organized only three years
ago, but in population and wealth it is
to-day far in advance of the other Ter
ritories seeking admission as States.
The report aecompaying the applica
tion for admission as a State shows |
that she has 2,372,482 acres of
land in farm use value I at $13,022, • i
345. In the last year the farmers liar- i
vested 284,254 acres of corn, 222,310
acres of wheat, 109,374 acres of oats,
21,311 acres of cotton, 18,755 acres of
sorghum, 14.121 acres of Hungarian
inillf-t, au-1 1125 acres of br >om corn.
It is almost as large as tin- State of
Illinois, and has i population of about
280,000, which is greater than that of i
any other State when admitted to the
Union. Its assessed valuation of
property in 1891 amounted to t .
928, which in 1893 had increased to
$13.951,'W;. ft has six National banks
with deposits 0f5385,574. The Terri
torial Legislature has been attentive
to educational matters, and there are
already in nearly all the districts i
school-houses, normal schools, col- i
leges, and an agricultural and me- I
ehanieal college at the town of Still
water. In religious matters it has also j
kept pace with many of the older
States. In the Territory there are
llis Methodist churches, twenty-five
Baptist, tweutv-four Congregational
twenty-live Catholic, twenty-lour Pres
byterian, six Episcopal, aud tiftv
Christian Endeavor Societi. . This
is a remarkable showing for ()l;hihoinn
and wa can scarcely believe, adds tin;
Star-Sayings, that Congress can refuse
her admission. ;
HFATHER BELL.
Her pvas are like th heather on the Norland
hills a-bloW,
Ami her curving lips of laughter like a berry
Jn l he snow,
Jn a snood of crimson gleaming
Do, her locks of amber dwell,
And I'm dreaming,
Dreaming,
Dreaming.
Of my bonuie Heather-bell.
With footfall light n9 thistle-down she coin
eth ere I ken -,
Her smile Is like the breaking of the moon
dawn in the glen.
A myriad fancies teeming
Feed the flaino I cannot quell \
And i'm dreaming.
Dreaming,
Dreaming,
Of my bonnic Heather-bell.
Her voice is like the thrush's piping carols
in the corn ;
Its tender echoes haunt ine thro' the ntght
tide till the morn ;
Oh. her dimples shyly beaming,
They linvo - harmed mo with a
spell ;
And I'm dreaming,
Dreaming,
Dreaming, }
Of my bonnie Heather-bell.
—SamuelM. Peck, iu Atlanta Constitution, j
THE MASKED ROBBER.
BY MATILDA A. WOODCOCK.
/\ EW YEAH EVE bad
{. VV. again come, and, as
11 largo party
'-fj K of us young people
lay wg Wj. were invited to see
jfisx >j£k{ t,lu 1,1,1 year out at
Sl% V! W§, my uucle'a country
Mb 1 j Right jolly
ill <.y&ki r were t,ie inHt i,oura
Ml / AN] t 1 of the old year made
jK |'V> nucler that hospita
ls J*?.-' ble roof, aud the
large rooms rang with merry laughter
when one of the party was unwittingly
j caught "beneath the mistletoe bough."
Having wearied of dancing and
games, we gathered in the large, old
fashioned hall—another of our time
honored customs—and then, in front
of the great open fireplace, piled high
with blazing hickory logs, we passed the
last hours of the old year in story-tell
ing. One of the most remarkable of
these stories was told by my aunt, and
I shall endeavor to repeat it as nearly
I as possible in her own words:
There is always one story which
comes to me on New Year Eve ami
seems peculiarly appropriate to that
time, although it is not a joyful one.
When I was sixteen, my mother
died, and soon after her death mv
father sold our old home, and removed
to a large farm. I had been born in
the city, aud until that time had al
ways lived there. I keenly felt the
change from the gay metropolis to the
solitude of the country, but fortunate- j
ly 1 was t'oud of reading and was also j
a great lover of nature, so that iu a
measure I was compensated for the
life which i had left. I saw little of
the outside world ; therefore the most
trivial things became of interest to
mo.
One afternoon in June, when we
had been living on the farm two yearn,
I wan nitting on the porch
reading a novel and crying
over the sad fate of the heroine,
when suddenly my attention was at
tracted by the sound of wheels, f
looked up quickly from my hook and
saw a buggy rapidly approaching our
house. My curiosity was ut once
aromed, and my disappointment aud
surprise were great when I found that,
instead of a stranger driving behind
the thoroughbred little marts Lake,
one of our rough farmhands, held the
reins. Presently he drew up beside
the porch, and his errand was made
known in a few words. There had
been a runaway about a mile from us,
and the gentleman who was driving
had been thrown from his carriage
and seriously injured. Lake saw the
rnnu fall and went immediately to his
rescue. He managed to get him to a
barn near by and, after capturing the
horse and buggy, both of which were
unharmed, had driven over to see
what could be done. It would be sev
eral hours before a doctor could be
brought, to him, and he was suffering
so much pain that Lake did not like
to leave him so long alone.
Just then my father came up, and,
having heard Lake's story, said that
the man should he brought at once to
our house, and ordered one of the ;
men to harness two of the horses to
the farm wagon. A mattress was then
laid on it and of! they started, leaving
me at home to put things in readiness
for the injured man.
Our pretty spare room, with its
fresh matting and Swiss curtains, was
the one which / selected for him. It
was on the ground-floor, aml would
therefore be more convenient than any
other. Our guest, who gave his name
as John Graham, soon arrived and
was carried carefully to his chamber,
and before very long the doctor came.
Hav| Ll g the broken limbs, —for one
o. his legs an I one of his arms were
broken,— and applied some cooling
wash to the bruises, he left the patient
to our care.
It was many weeks before he was
able to move from his bed, but, be
tween the doctor's skill ancl our eare
lnl nursing he slowly regained his j
strength. Remember, my dears in
those days your white-headed old aunt
was young aud romantic, and a man
far less fascinating and handsome than
John Graham under such circum
stances might have turned my silly
head. I confess to you that my head
was wholly turned, my heart entirely
giveu HUUV t this stranger. For
weeks I was hands and feet, t< him.
Nt vi r a wish was uttered by liim that,
were it HI 1113 power, ! did not gratify,
lie was very fond of roses, and early
every morning i would gather the
choicest from our garden for John's
room. I was perfectly delighted when
tic one day told mo that my "cheeks
put the roses to shame. It was the
first compliment be had ever paid me,
and for days the thought of it made
me absurdly happy.
At last I felt that John loved me. T ,
never moved that his eyes did not fol- ;
low every motion, and how the light I
came into his eyes when I returned to I
him after some short absence! This 1
was my first love, and by it my dull
monotonous life seemed changed into j
i Paradise.
The weeks glided by. John had re- '
sovered and would soon leave us, yet j
10 had not spoken of his love J but
kfter a while the words came. We j
were sitting on the porch in the moon- i
light, in the same place from which I j
had seen him carried in ou that |
Bventful day when he was hurt.
My father's consent to our engage
ment was soon gained, as John's past
life, so far as he could discover, was '
irreproachable, and his worldly pros
pects were good. Everything went on
happily for the first few months, and
it seemed that in our case love was to
run a smooth course. I must not for- 1
get to tell you about my engagement
ring. Ijt was oue which had been j
banded down through several genera- j
tions tc John. Ho had always worn
it on his little finger. It was a ser
pent of silver, its head being formed ,
of an enormous ruby and the tail of
small diamonds. Inside the ring was i
written, "Time reveals all things." j
On the lay of our engagement John
took it from his linger and placed it
on mine with these words: "Should
aught part us, love, though years roll
between, the sight of this ring will I
bring me to protect you."
At last my cup of happiness was j
full, but it was destiued to be emptied |
to the dregs. I need not. go
over those months of misery, j
when John Graham came to I
see me with his brain stupefied by ;
liquor, and tell how I tried to bring i
him back, and how he would try and
j fail again.
At last, it came to my father's knowl- !
edge, and in one of his fits of fury at j
the weakness and loathsomeness of my j
lover, he literally kicked John out of I
the house. It is enough for me to say j
that things went from bad to worse. I j
could love John no longer, after he
had sunk so low, and at last—it was
on a New Year Eve, like this—our en
gagement was broken. I returned the
riug, but John sent it back to me,
praying me to keep it, "as a symbol
of a love that had once been true."
After this, my health gradually gave
way, and our physician advised my j
father to take me to Europe, which he j
did. We travelled several years and
everything was done to divert and
amuse me. At first, I prayed to die,
but I was young, very young, and as
the time passed by, life again became
sweet to me. Another love eamo to
me, far sweeter and stronger than that j
old, wild passion of inv girlhood, and j
in your uuelo, my dears, I found the .
perfect love of womanhood.
I had been married a number of
years and was the mother of three
i children when your uncle was obliged
to go to California to look after some J
; mines in which lie had a large inter
est. As he expected to he there for a
considerable time, we all went with
him, and decided to rent a furnished
house in the suburbs of L—. The I
! oue we fancied most was large, and
• only one story high. It was hand- |
somely furnished and had a great
many acres of ground around it. At
first, I objected to taking it on account j
of the lonely location, but the numer
ous attractions which it possessed soon (
overcame this one fault, and before
long we were comfortably settled in !
our new quarters. We had been liv- j
ing there only a year, when one even- j
ing—this also was on New Year Eve .
—your uncle came home as usual, and
after he had been in the house a few
minutes, he received a dispatch which
necessitated his starting off immedi
ately, to be gone for two or j
i three days. It was the first time
since our marriage that we had been
separated, and that night I did feel a |
I little nervous. I went to the nursery
and looked at my children, sleeping |
! peacefully, and then, taking a book, I |
read until I was so weary that I went i
| to bed.
My bedroom was large and had four '
windows. Two of them opened on the j
piazza, and two on a beautiful green !
terrace. My dressing-table stood be- !
tween the piazza-windows, and on it
was my jewel-casket, containing all my !
diamonds, and several other valuable
articles of jewelry. Usually, I kept
I his locked in an iron safe, but that j
evening I hail taken it out, iu order to 1
get a pin for my husband to have
mended in L , and I had forgotten
to put it back. After 1 was safely iu
bed, I remembered my casket, but con
cluded that no harm could possibly 1
come to it in just that one night, and 1
thought J would put. it Sway
in the morning. [ do not!
know how long I had been asleep, i
when I was awakened by hearing a
slight noise. Opening my eyes. I saw
by the light of a dark-lantern the fig.
ure of a tall man standing by my
dressing-table. My first impulse was
to scream, and then came the thought,
"If Ido that, he will kill me!" Sud
denly the man turned, and I could see j
that he was masked. Then I shut my
eyes and feigned sleep. Stealthily he 1
walked to the bed where I was lying,
and, bending over, looked at me, for j
what seemed, in my agony, to be
hours.
"O, God!" I thought, "if lie would
only kill me now!" But no!—he
moved softly from my bed, and again
walked to the dressing-table. I could
hear him take my jewels, one by one,
from the casket, and lay them gently
down. At last, the box was emptied,
and yd lie did not move, but stood as
d bound by t spell. I felt rather than
! heard tlmt lie was once more coming
toward me. Certainly this time he
would take my life, and 1 prayed God
it might be done quickly j but, no ! 1
must suffer still more. He knelt down
and put his face so close to mine that
I could feel his hot breath. 1 was like
one petrified. My blood seemed
frozen iu my veins, and had the cold
steel been pressed to my throat, I should
not have felt a single pang. My whole
being seemed held by some terrible
power. At last, he arose from his
knees and, going to one of the win
dows, blew a whistle three times. This
is all that I remember. My conscious
ness must have forsaken me.
When T again opened my eyes, the
bright light was streaming through
the blinds. At first, I had only a va
gue remembrance of what seemed to
me a dreadful nightmare, but gradu
ally the whole scene of the night be
fore came clearly to my mind and a
terror seized me. My children were
my first thought. I Hprnng quickly
from my bed, but fell heavily to the
Hoor iu a dead faint. The strain had
proved too much for me. For days I
lay unconscious, only feeling a burn
ing pain in my head; but through
God's mercy I was given hack to ray
husband and children—for not a hair
| of my little bairns' dear heads had
i been touched on that horriblo night.
The subject of the masked robber
! was never mentioned until my health
| was fully restored. One day I was in
my boudoir, idly lounging, when my
husband came in and, seating himself
! on the sofa by my side, took a small
piece of paper from his pocket-book.
It looked like the fiy-leaf of a book,
I and was covered with writing in lead
1 pencil. He handed it to ine, saying,
| "I think, little womau, you are strong
I enough to read this."
It was as follows :
"I have come here to-night with a
hand of robber intending to steal and,
i if necessary, to murder. While taking
the jewel h from your casket, I came
acrosH a ring. That ring saved you.
I looked upon your face and a flood
! of recollections came over me. You
| need never fear. I love you still,
i Had as I am, the thought of your pure
, soul has never left me, and although I
am :i robber, the memory of you has
| kept my hands clean from blood. I
j shall always keep watch over you,—
I shall always protect you. J. G."
: So the mystery was solved, and the
robber, who had robbed me of nothing,
I was my old lover. Your uncle tried to
search him out but in vain, and it was
not until many years after that,
haviug been invited to spend a
few days with some relatives of my
husband's, in the western part of New
York State, I again heard of John
Graham.
One morning, at my cousin's sug
gestion, wo walked over to the
picturesque old churchyard. We
strolled in and out among the graves;
stopping now and then to read the
quaint inscriptions. A simple gray
stone, on which was hanging a small
wreath of immortelles, attracted my
notice. I to see what might
I might be written on it, and then I
read the name "John Graham. Died
I on the Eve of New Year Day, 18—.
Beloved of the people. God rest his
soul." I asked my cousin if she knew
who this John Graham was? And sli
! told me that some twenty years before
a man with a peddler'a pack had come
into the town. His wares were good,
and he sold a groat many. As he trav-
I cled from house to house, staying, as
t was the custom in those times, first
with one family, then with another,
he became very popular, and was in
. duced to take his small capi
! tal and open a store. He
gave his name as John Gray, ami
lie was so self-denying, and did so many
! deeds of charity, that the country folk
| almost canonized him as a saint.
Their shrewd minds soon discovered
in him no common peddler, and when
fit his death an old envelope was found
next his heart, with the name John
GrAhaui in a woman's hand,and inside,
1 a lock of yellow hair, carefully folded
in paper, on the outside of which is
! written, "My guiding star," the curi
osity of the good people was at its
, height. Your uncle aud I could have
solved the problem, but we carefully
i guarded the secret, and to this day
I the village gossips wonder who "John
; Graham" could have been. I have
j never known how he happened to fall
I into such a slate of degradation as to
become a robber, but I firmly believe
that by his aft r life he made full
atonement for his sins. A New Year
Eve never passes but that I think of
John Graham, and you will not won
der that it is so, for it was a fateful
time in his sad life, I felt as though
it were almost a supernatural coinci
dence that it should have been also
the time of his death.—Romance.
Two Kills Alike.
Young Henry Miller, of New York,
got a bonanza when he was paid off
the other day. His wages were given
to him in the shape of eight new #5
bills. He put them in his pocket, and
some time afterward, when he took
them out to examine them he dis
covered that two of them were ex
actly alike. The numbers of both
were the same. This gives them great
value from a collector's point of view.
The bills were printed by the Govern
ment and issued by the Southern
National Bank of New York. The
Government number 011 each is R
476,321. The bank number is 1)350,
and the consecutive bank number
10,883. When the exact similarity of
the bills was noticed it was supposed
that one was a counterfeit. Close
examination showed it was not. The
signatures on both bills are genuine.
Plainly there was an error. Mr.
Miller says that several banks have
offered him a large sum of money for
the bills, and that the Southern
National Bank told him I li\
his own price mil they would pur
chase. lie says lie will hold lie- bills.
—New OrU .nils I'icttvuue
THE MERRY SIDE OF LIFE.
STORIES THAT ARE TOLD BY THE
FUNNY MEN OF THE TRESS.
The Common Lot—A Host on Proposal i
—Proximo Access!! —Wholesome
Advice—A Matter of Doubt, Etc.
Gay winter is not joy unmixed.
The married man Is full of woe;
Boon as ho has the stovepipo fixed
It's time to shovel off the snow.
—Truth.
A BOSTON PROPOSAL.
She—"l'm writing a story. Will
you object if I make you my hero?"
He -"l'd rather be your Leander."
—Judge.
A MATTER OP DOTBT.
Bank Examiner—"Do you consider
your safe is burglar-proof?
Bank President "Not altogether
so. Our cashier kuows the combina
tion. " —Puck.
WHOLESOME ADVICE.
Grimy —"I have so much on ray
hands at present I don't know what to
do."
Primy-"Why not try some soap
and water?"— Truth.
DANGERS SAFELY PASSED.
Sympathetic Widow—"Have you
been fortunate in your love affairs?"
Interesting Subject "Yes, very. I
never yet fell in love with a girl who
would marry me."—Life.
PRECISE.
"This is a somewhat free transla
tion," said the literary young woman
in the hook store.
"No, miss," replied the new clerk.
"It costs a dollar and a half."—Wash
ington Star.
PROXIME ACOBBBIT.
"Dumlev always aspired to be a
Napoleon of finance."
"Did he come auywhere near the
mark ?"
"Yes; he spent his last days on the
Island."—Puck.
ANGLO MANIA.
C'hollle—"Oh, she is perfectly love
ly ; she paid me such a compliment."
F wed die—"What was it?"
Choi lie —"She said I was so un-
American. "
Fweddie—"How delightful."—De
troit Free Press.
STTOAK-COATEI) PRESCRIPTION.
"Mamma, when Willie has a tooth
ache you take him to the dentist to
have it tilled,don't you ?'' asked Tommy.
4 'Yes, dear," said mamma.
"Well, I've got a stummick ache.
Don't you think we'd better go to the
candy storo and get it tilled?"—
Harper's Bazar.
KNEW HIS FATHER.
"Johnny, suppose I should borrow
#IOO from your father, and should pay
him #lO a month for ten months. How
much would 1 then owe him?"
"Six dollars."
'How do you make that out?"
'Pop would charge you interest."
-—Harper's Bazar.
A COUNTER FAD.
Primus —"We hear much about the
absurdities of fashion ; but most fash
ions have some basis in reason."
Secundns (sarcastically) "What,
may i ask, is the philosophy of carry
ing our canes upside down?"
Primus -"That's easy. It's to break
dudes of the habit of sucking them."
—Ju.lge.
A PRACTICAL SARCASM.
"You don't look like ye'd had very
good luck at dat house," said Plod
diug Pete.
"J got a cake," replied Meandering
Mike.
"Den what yer luokin' so sour
about?"
"'Twas er cake o' soap."—Wash
ington Star.
THE BILL DID IT.
Mrs. A. "Wasn't it too bad about
Mr. Poore? Just as everybody thought
he was recovering he received an apo
plectic shock."
Mrs. B. "Mercy! How did it
happen?"
Mrs. B. "Nobody knows. He was
found unconscious with his doctor's
bill for service in his hand."—Yankee
Blade.
IN CHICAGO.
Mrs. Weeder (to servant) "Liza,
what did you do with the ashes in that
jar on the mantel T"
Liza—"Sure, mum, you tould me
to carry all the ashes out, and I imp
tied them in the ash bar'l this morn
in ."
Mrs. Weeder (angrily) "lf you
make such a mistake again I'll dis
charge you ! (Tearfully.) Those were
the ashes of my first husband."—
Hallo.
BASH LOGIC.
"There's no doubt about it," said
the man who muses, "there is such a
thing as too much originality."
"Do you think so?" asked the
friend.
"I do, certainly. Take the man who
nsed to sell chestnnts on this corner,
for instance. He was doing well until
he got au idea. He considered it a
stroko of genius and immediately pro
ceeded to put it into execution."
"What was the idea?"
"He observed the effects of moth
balls in connection with his winter
clothes and thought he would try 'em
on hia chestnuts. He did so, and lost
not only his olieatnnts, but his custom
ers. '—Washington Star.
WIHHF.P HF! HADN'T TOLD IT.
(Mre, 1 wit'kculittui lihb iuvited Mr. I
Castleton to dinner, ftnd they are dis
cussing the salad.)
Mrs. Twickenham—"l hope, Mr. Cas
tleton, that you are fond of all kinds
of puddings?"
Castleton— "Ob, yes, Mrs. Twick
enham. And that reminds me of a little
incident tnat occurred to me last sum
mer. I was visiting some friends of
miue in the country (all attention
from the other guests), and it seemed
that some of them had heard nie say
that while I was very fond of all sweet
meats, there was one thing I abhorred,
and that was tapioca pudding. Well,
one day at dinner, the hostess, a most
charming woman, said to me, 'I do
hope you like tapioca puddiug, be
cause we are going to have it to-day.'
Well, of course, you know, not sup
posing there was any joke about it, I
said yes, and, well, I rather dilated
upon the fact, wishing to make her
thoroughly at ease, you understand,
when inwardly I was quakiug at the
thought of the horrible ordeal ahead
of me. I noticed that the other guests
seemed much amused, but I didn't
dream it was a joke."
Mrs. Twickenham—"Then it was a
joke?"
Castleton "Oh, yes, decidedly so.
You sec, there was no tapioca pud
ding, aud it was all a put-up job. You
can imagine my feelings, and the em
barrassing position I was in, after to
be so polite by lying out of it."
Mrs. Twickenham—"Yes, indeed, it
was most unfortunate." (To servant,
1 with emphasis) "Janiep, bring on the
tapioca pudding."—Harper's Bazar
A COLONIAL TALE.
Tn ft plaiuly furnished apartment in
: the city of Philadelphia, some years
! before the American Revolution, sat
; Benjamin Franklin. A table, covered
with papers, was before him; but his
thoughts did not seem to be upon
them. He was, in fact, looking out of
a window, with the air of a man who
is paid by the day, rather than of a
philosopher or a statesman. Suddenly,
however, lie exclaimed, "Ah! that is
| the abhorism I thought of the other
i day, aud couldn't recollect since. I'll
I just jot it down for Poor Richard's
Almanac."
But a difficulty presented itself. He
could not find liis peu. It was on the
table, and it had not fallen to the
floor. He made a careful but fruitless
search through the room. Then he
tried the table again, though he rea
soned, with that force of intellect for
which he was distinguished, that if it
was on the table he should have found
it there the first time he looked. At
Inst he happened to pause before a
mirror, and saw the pen resting com
fortable on his right ear. His obser
vations concerning this iucident were
more commonplace than might havo
been expected from a man of his
originality; but they seemed to re
lieve his mind. He sat down and wrote
the aphorism. It was: "A place for
everything and everything in its
place."
He had just finished the sentence,
when it occurred to him that there
was another thought which he had
neglected to put in black-and-white.
He had intended, at various times
since the idea first crossed his mi ml,
to make a memorandum of it; yet,
three weeks had elapsed aud it had
not been started ou its journey to pos
terity. But lie resolved that there
should be no further delay; and, dip
piug his pen in the ink, he wrote:
"Never put oft' till to-morrow what
you can do to-day."—Puck.
A Petition Oil a Clierry Stone.
Gesa Berger, the well-known actor
and newspaper man, has a picture in
calligraphy that has a remarkable his
tory. It is, in size, 30x42 inches, ami
is the work of Joseph Loew, the most
noted counterfeiter thai the Austrian
Government ever knew.
When an application is made for a
pardon in Austria the red-tape policy
of that country compels the applicant
to address the Emperor with all his
titles. Emperor Ferdinand had about
forty titles. Loew engraved all of
these, together with his petition for a
pardon, on a cherry stone.
i The letters were so tine that it re
j quired the aid of a powerful micro
j scope to decipherthem. One day when
I the Emperor visited the prison Loew
j in person presented a cherry stone to
| the Emperor, and told him what it
I contained. The Emperor made an ex-
I amination and was so amazed at the
work that he gave him an uncondi
tional pardon. Not only did he par
j don him, but he gave him a position as
a detective to trail down counterfeiters.
Loew was a well-informed man in all
j the arts and rascalities of counterfeit
ers, and in less than two years after
his pardon he ran to the earth almost
j every counterfeiter in Austria, and died
a few years ago covered with detective
j honors. The picture, although made
fifty years ago, is in a remarkable state
of preservation.
Do the Sun's Kays Put Out Fire!
Last summer while making one of
my regular weekly excursions in
search of curious natural history spec
imens I nappened upon some wood
choppers who were burning brush.
One of these gentlemen being a regu
lar reader of "Notes for the Curious,"
put the following question: "Why
does the sun, shining on a fire, deaden
its heat, suppress the rays and often
put it out entirely?" I had never even
heard a hint of the idea before, and
was perfectly staggered. I admitted
my inability to answer the question
otl hand. Returning home I repaired
to the library uud cousulted Brew
er's Guide to Scientific Knowledge,
where the answer is as follows: "Be
causo the air, being rarifled by sun
shine, flows more slowly to the fire,
and, secondly, because the chemical
action of the sun's rays is detrimental
t. combustion." —St. Louis Republic,
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
Eight cubic feet of snow produce
one cubic foot of water.
The first electric machine, globe
of sulphur, was made by Gueritfke in
1647. j
In Germany there is a law forbid
ding restaurateurs to serve beer to
people who have eaten fruit.
The apple has a larger proportion of
phosphorus than any other fruit, and
is, therefore, an excellent brain food.'*
The average cost of building an
English ironclad is $240 per ton ;
French, $275; Italian, $285; German.
S3OO.
A wind blowing at the rate of nine
teen miles an hour exerts a pressure of
but one and four-fifth pounds to the
square foot.
The newspapers report the striking
of a gas well near Portland, Ind., the
daily output of which is over six mill
ion cubic feet.
A Japanese novelty is "glass pa
per," which is said to combine won
derful transparency with unusual
strength and tenacity. The material
for making it is furnished by a Japan
ese aquatic plant.
Saechaine has a rival. A new sub
stance called valzin is now being
manufactured in Berlin under a pat
ent, and is claimed to be 200 times
sweeter than sugar, and free from cer
tain objectionable properties of
rine.
Bail way mathematicians calculato
that a train which can speed at the
rate of eighty-five miles an hour wouhl
require from seventy-two to seventy
five seconds in which to "pull-up" or
come to a standst ill. It would require
nearly a mile in which to stop.
A new process of making rain was
recently brought before the Academic
des Sciences, Paris, by M. Baudoin.
His theory is that electricity main
tains the water iu clouds" in a state of
small drops and that if the electricity
bo discharged the water will come
down.
Several farmers who had been sum
moned before London magistrates ou
the charge of selling adulterated milk,
were dismissed on proof that the thiu
quality of the milk was due, not to
added water, but to the impaired con
dition of the cows, in consequence\of
tho great drouth.
A somewhat widespread belief i
that water can be heated only to 212
degrees Fahr. This is true of uncon
fined water, but under a pressure of
ten atmospheres (150 pounds to tho
square inch) the water may be heated
to 359 degrees, and under sixty atmo
spheres 531 degrees may be reached.
The bee works harder than most peo
ple would believe. Thereabout sixty
flower tubes in every head of clover,
and only a tiny morsel of honey in
each. In order to get enough sugar
for a load the bee must visit about six
thousand different flowers, and each
bee makes, on an average, twenty trips
a day.
He Lives on Monkey Diet,
A recent session of the Missouri
Valley Horticultural Society at Kan
sas City was addressed by W. S. Man
ning, of Loudon, whose card is in
scribed, "Fellow of the Royal Botanic
Society aud Hon. Secretary and Lec
turer of the Natural Food Society to
promote Food Reform Based on Sci
ence." Mr. Manning's hobby is, as his
card indicates, "food reform." He
advocates that tho human family
should live solely on a diet of fruits
and nuts, and he practices what ho
preaches. He said in his address that
for eight years past he had not swal
lowed a drop of liquid refreshment of
any kind nor a morsel of cooked food.
He had subsisted solely on fruits and
nuts.
"My breakfast this morning con
sisted of a half pound of California
figs, two oranges and two hauanas
mashed up together, followed by a
tomato salad and a handful of nuts.
This meal was caton raw, assail my
meals are."
"What did you have for dinner?"
asked a member of the society.
"I have not yet eaten diuuer. I eat
but two meals a day. My dinner will
come between 6 and 10 oclock this
eveniug, and will be a repetition of
the breakfast."
Mr. Manning claims that an exclu
sive diet of fruits and nuts contains all
the nutriment that the human body
needs, and he claims also that the body
fed on such a diet cannot be sick. Mr.
Manning is not a crank. He i* de
scribed by the Kansas City Time# as
an intelligent, well educated, florid
faced robust man. He has proved to
his own satisfaction by experience that
the reform of which he is the apostle
is a good thing.
A Church Ma:le of Paper.
There is a church at Bergen, Nor
way, made of paper, which can accom
modate nearly 1000 persons. Its ex
terior is octagonal, while in the in
terior it is circular in form. The re
lievos without and the decorative
statues within, as well as the vaulted
roof, nave and Corinthian capitals,
are made of papier mac-he, which has
been made waterproof by soaking in a
solution of quicklime, curdled milk
and white of egg.—San Francisco
Call.
England's Torpedo Destroyers.
The Havoc, the new torpedo de
stroyer of the British naval force, can
steam as fast HH a railway train, and
can turn with such rapidity in her
own length that she would cut a good
figure iu a marine waltz. There are
to be a dozen such vessels, the fastest
steamers in the world, and they are
expected to do smart service ou occa
sion. They could catch anything
afloat, or as rapidly retreat. The next,
war will bo interesting in more wnv.}
than one.—Toronto Kmpire,