Before the end of this year every
one of the 108 towns in Connecticut
will be connected by telephone.
The Per avian oil region is said tc
cover 72,00 square miles. That of
Pennsylvania is about 050 square
miles.
A correspondent asks the Chicago
Times-Herald to "describe the Greek
cross." It would be much easier to
describe what has made the Greek
cross.
According to the London Labor
Gazette, there were 1037 strikes last
year, as against only 876 in 1805: but
the number of laborers involved was
263.758 in the latter year, and only
199.600 in 1896.
A curious illustration of the diverse
conditions that may exist in this conn*
Sy is the fact that while so many
:ple in the Mississippi Valley are
suffering from floods the New Orleans
papers are raising money for sufferer#
from the drouth in Louisiana.
A woman's bicycle club was organ
ized in Detroit the other day, but the
Free Press says that it collapsed
within a week because no two members
could agree as to the uniform to be
worn. When Colorado musters iu its
eotupuuy of women militia there will be
trouble.
While a marriage ceremony was
being performed uear Danville, Va., a
kerosene lamp flamed up and was
about to explode when the bride seized
it and hurled it through a window.
The groom then came out from under
I lie table, where he had hidden, and
the ceremony proceeded.
Promotions are coming rapidly these
lays in the upper official circles of the
regular army. What few veterans of
the Civil War are left find the age of
retirement close at baud in the young
est cases. "The army will soon be
in the hands of officers trained only in
the walks of peace," observes the New
Orleans Picayune.
For the first time in twenty-eight
years the State of Ohio is without
Democratic representation in the
United States Beuate. The long period
of divided representation began in
1869, with tlie election of Allen G.
Thurmau as the colleague of John
Ahermau. Once only has the rule of
divided representation been broken,
and that was in the Forty-sixth Con
gress, when George H. Pendleton was
the colleague of Senator Thurman.
One of the new dictionaries has in it
a pretty big and yet perhaps a useable
word, * "politicalization," of which it
seems to be itself somewhat in doubt,
nl though it half-supports it with a
quotation from the Brooklyn Eagle,
which coined the phrase. The Eagle
it seems, once referred to "the steady
politicalization of the public schools,"
j>y which it meant the subjection of
these schools to political control.
Whatever we may think of the word,
comments the New York Observer, the
danger indicated is certainly a real
one.
Illinois women arc making a strong
effort to lift the compulsory education
law of their State into activity. At
present the law only .remains that
every child shall attend school for six-
Veen weeks each year. Children easily
evade it by an irregular attendance
during the last term of school. When
.Hie school has closed it becomes diffi
cult to determine whether or not they
have had the prescribed amount of
mitiou. Actually, although there is a
penalty for infraction of the law, and
although infraction is frequent, the
penalty has never been imposed, it
is believed that a simple amendment
requiring the sixteen weeks of tuition
to be consecutive and at the begin
ning of the term, and providing for the
enforcement of the law, will be suffi
cient.
A newspaper artist has been telling
soihe of the woes of the men who make
pictures for the daily papers. He says:
"It makes me tired sometimes when J
hear some smart Aleck who couldn't
tell the difference between art and a
side of sole leather criticise newspaper
illustrations. The public doesn't un
derstand what handicaps are continu
ally thrown about our work. A few
days before election I was given in
structions to moke a portrait of one
rit* the candidates. He gave me an old
daguerreotype, made just after the
war, ami said he had had no photo
graph taken since then. Well, I made
his picture all right, but in order tc
<lo it I first had to cut off a full beard
and curl his moustache. Then I gave
iiim e hair cut, parted bis hair on the
either aide, gave him a stand-up collar
and a modem .cravat, and added thirty
years' worth of wrinkles to his face.
And yet they say such isn't art."
WHAT I LIVE FOR. j
I live for those who love me,
Whose hearts arc kind and tract
For the heaven (hat smiles above mo,
And awaits uriy spirit, too.
For all human ties that hind ino.
For the tusk by God assigned me,
For the hopes not loft behind no-,
And the good that 1 can do.
i live to learn their story.
Who've suffered for my sake;
To emulate their glory
And follow in their wake;
Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,
The noble of all ages;
Whose deeds crown history's pages,
And time's great volume make.
t live to hold communion
With nil that is divine
To feci there is a union
Twixt nature's heart and mine;
To profit by affliction.
Heap truths from fields of fiction,
Grow wiser from conviction,
And fulfil each grand design.
I live to hail that season
By gifted minds foretold.
When men shall live bv reason.
And nor alone by gold;
When man to man united.
And every wrong thing righted.
The whole world shall be lighted !
As Eden was of old.
1 live for those who love me,
For those who know me true;
Tor the heaven that smiles above me, j
And awaits my spirit, too.
For the cause that lacks assistance.
For the wrong that needa resistant e,
For the future In the distance.
And the good that 1 -an do.
—G. Linnaeus Banks, in the American.
§ VEREKER'S VAN DYTK.fj
j
(ai (g?) AD von bceu liv- |
"—iug i Bristol iu :
then spent most
prowling about
the streets of that west-country me
tropolis. He nasa man who could
not fail to attract attention, by reason
both of his striking old-fashioned at
tire—of the style which John Leech
has made immortal—and of his disre
gard of such everyday amenities n.s
barber's scissors and soap nud water:
for a more unkempt and dirty looking
old aristocrut than Juu Vereker was
surely never seen in the public streets.
He was a younger son of Sir Hudibras
Vereker, seventh baronet, whoso fam
ily was among the best in Gloucester
shire; though to be sure, this seventh
baronet's lady, and .Tan's mother, was
a somewhat obscure foreigner, a native
< f Antwerp.
In his youth he had been a painter,
who, but for his desultory disposition,
might have achieved great success;
and he had studied in half the art
schools of Europe. But he had now
practically abandoned this profession,
and devoted his whole time and ener
gies to his pet hobby—-the collection
of curios. Xo sort of rarity came
amiss to hini. Old paintings, old
china, old coins, gems, furniture, what
not, appealed to his antiquarian tastes.
Indeed, at one time or another, he had
been over a great part of Europe, in
quest of such treasures; though latter
ly his efforts had been chiefly confined
to his native land. He never fre
quented the large shops or the em
poriums of professional dealers, for
his purse was not long enough to en
able him to buy recognized articles of I
vertu at fancy prices. But lie was ever !
exploring little all-sort shops, and the j
cottages of working men and country j
villages, where be stood some chance |
of picking up a good thing for next to
nothing. With this end In view, he
was perpetually traveling about and
working from different centres, until
he became conversant with half the
towns and villages in Great Britain, i
Whenever he went away for a tour '
of exploration, he was always careful !
to transfer hia most valuable articles— I
such, as least, lis were likely to be j
stolen—to the safe custody of his j
bankers. These were chiefly iu the !
way of old coins, gems and plate. But !
besides these there was one thing j
which always went to the hank, and j
which he evidently regarded as by far j
the most precious of all hia posses-!
sions—a small and very cracked and
grimy portrait iu oils. His acquisi
tion of this painting was a source of
unbounded pride and self-congratula
tion to old Vereker. He had picked it
up at a little emporium of rubbish in
Antwerp for a few florins. When he
bought it, the canvas had presented a
flaring and abominable daub of (lie >
Madonna. But Jan Vereker's prao- j
ticed eye had told him that this was j
only a secondary use to which it had :
been put He took it home; he enre
fully cleaned off (be the upper daub.
Another paintlug Jgudsenpe—ap ;
penred beneath. But even fJ;iwas
not the original, though, apparently, n
hundred years older than the first;
nnd he cleaned ffcjs also oft'. Then he
came upon the rest thing, and he un
derstood that ha had speriei)ee<l a j
marvelous stroke of guud fortune j
There was no doubt aijout it. 'The I
painting which he had unearthed was j
an unmistakable Van JJyck.
But to make matters perfectly sure— |
though, in his own mind, he was ul- !
ready satisfied—he submitted the j
painting to half a dozen independent j
experts in London and Paris. All I
were agreed in one v.oriiigt. They uu-1
hesitatingly prououueed the piece to I
lie a genuine Van I)yck. Old Vcrekei j
was on the tip-toe of elation. Am} j
well he might be. Por to ncqjfire a
yan Dyck 011 any terms is, nowadays i
hard enough. But to have picked one ■
up for nothing, as he had done, con- 1
stituted a simply phenomenal achieve-1
n.eut.
He look it down with him to his j
home at Bristol, where he nursed and j
cherished it with extraordinary solici- j
tude. It was the darling of his heart,
j the apple of liis eye. No ionMiold
| husband ever doted inore upon a fair
1 young bride than Jan Vereker upon
, his Van Dyck. Profane people
averred that be said his prayers to it.
I'll at he worshiped it, in :i metaphori
cal sense, could admit of no dispute:
and whenever he went oft" upon a col
lecting tour he not merely, as has been
said, deposited this precious picture
with his bunkers for safe custody, but
always accompanied it to the bank him
self, and, with his own eyes, saw it
consigned to the security of the strong
room.
The firm with which he banked was
a private house, having many branches
in the West of England, and its head
quarters at Bristol. They shall here
lie introduced as Messrs. Rosier A*
Sons. Mr. James Rosier, the head of
ihe business, lived at Bristol, and was
chief manager of the bank. He was a
personal acquaintance of old Vereker's,
whose family had banked with Rosier
Ac Sons for upwards of a century. But
besides this business acquaintance, he
. found himself drawn occasionally into
' Jan Vereker's company by their simi
larity of tastes. For James Rosier was
i himself something of a virtuoso and a
j collector of curios and was enabled,
! moreover, by his wealth, to gratify this
J taste pretty freely.
One morning, after an absence from
Bristol of about three months, the old
fellow turned up at the bauk. and
asked to see his friend the manager.
He was shown into Mr. Hosier's private
room. When they hail exchanged the
! usual greetings and a few mutual civili
j ties, .fan proceeded to unfold the na
ture of his business.
, "The fact is, Mr. Rosier," said the
old gentleman, "I want some money,
i f have an opportunity of buying some
! extremely valuable works of art at a
I ilgure far below their real value; but it
| is necessary that 1 should pay cash
i down for them. Unless lean produce
j the money to-morrow [may very likely
| lose them."
I "Umph! How much do you want
■ to overdraw?"
| "Two thousand pounds."
j The manager whistled. From a man
I of old Vereker's means such a request
seemed to him to border on the auda
cious.
"A tall order, my dear sir. We could
not possibly allow such an overdraft
without security."
"No. I did not suppose that, you
would. 1 propose to offer you security,
though I admit that the security is of
a somewhat unusual character. You
already have my Van Dyck portrait in
your custody. Whatever its value, it
is considerably in excess of £2OOO.
Will you allow that, to stand as my se
| curity for the overdraft?"
i "I'm afraid not, Mr. Vereker. .11 is
| contrary to our practice to accept se
curity of this description. If you could
] deposit scrip with us, now, or title
I deeds, or obtain a satisfactory personal
j guarantee—"
I "I cannot," interposed old Vereker.
! "Not, at least, at a moment's notice.
, Besides, this picture is worth as much
j as all the rest of my effects put to
i getlier. Only four days ago a Bristol
firm offered me £4OOO for it the
! Messrs. "
With this assurance the manager
j consented to interview Messrs. .
i with the result that next morning Mr.
j Vereker had n note from Messrs. Ros
i ier Sons, advising him that, on the
j strength of Messrs. 's valuation of
| his Van Dyck, they were willing to
| hold the picture as security for the
! proposed overdraft of £2OOO, and re
j questing him to call at the bank and
comply with certain requisite formal
| ities. This he duly did, and the ar
! rangements for the overdraft were
! completed.
Now, Jan Vereker, as has been men
tioned, had named two months as the
period of his overdraft. He made it
good, however, within six weeks and
took his Van Dyck hack to his house.
I From a commercial standpoint, his
j promptness should have been hailed
I with satisfaction by James Rosier. As
| a fact, however, it was not. Truth to j
j tell, the banker had cherished a half I
hope that old Vereker might fail to re
; pay the advance; and that he (Rosier)
j would get the chance of obtaining the j
I picture at about half its market value.
A month or so later, Jan Vereker i
j started off on one of his periodical
I journeys, having, as usual, deposited
his Van Dyck again with Hosier's for
safe custody. Soon after his return
lie paid another visit to the manager
of the bank and ask for another loan
of £2OOO on the picture, which was
readily granted him for three months.
The three months went by without j
, any communication from Jan Vereker (
| being received at the bank. By the
i terms on which the overdraft hail been j
j allowed, Messrs. Rosier & Sons were j
I empowered—did they so wish it—to |
I deal with the security when fifteen j
• days after the specified term had j
I elapsed. During these last, fifteen '
; days the manager remained in a state
of scarcely concealed restlessness and !
excitement. Re was expecting a call
or a communication froiq Vereker every
day, and at the same time Imping that
lie should not receive either. He had
determined to stand upon the letter of
\ he affrpeifteut i<> flo BQ might, pq
doubt, lie considered riithey sharp
practice.
j And James Hosier's wish was aotu*
j ally fulfilled, The fifteen days of grace
| elapsed. No communication arrived
i from Jan Vereker. On the morniug
I of the sixteenth day, the manager took
• his stand upon the strict letter of the
| agreement. He paid £2OOO, plus in-
I tjerest, into the partnership account out
jof his own pocket. And thus he ac-
I quired old Vereker's Van Dyck at less
j thau hull' its value
There was no need, as jt tpruedout,
I for the banker to have been in such a
| hurry. For days and weeks went by,
I and fctill Jan Vereker remained absent
| and silent. Of this Rosier was glad,
because now, when the old fellow came
' liack, he could scarcely complain of
| hia security having been dealt with;
! whereas, if he had turned up within u
! ilav or two of the limit, ho might
I reasonably have been incensed at find*
: ing liis Van Dyck already sold.
lint it was not long before the true
1 explanation came. Hosier & Sons one
| day received a rather startling letter
i from a well-known banking tirm in
j Manchester. They (the Manchester
I bankers) had learned a few days since,
j from something seen by one of the
; partners in the newspapers, that Mr.
j Tames Rosier had, in the course of a
i business transaction, acquired posses
! don of the Vereker Van Dyck. This
| news was heard by them with aston
i ishment. for they themselves (as they
j believed) held the picture in question
j as security for an overdraft allowed to
! their customer, Mr. Jan Vereker.
I Their suspicions being thus aroused.
| they called in an expert, and he had at
once declared that their present
j security was merely a cleverly forged
1 substitute. They had, therefore, placed
! the matter in the hands of the police,
nint bad thought it their duty to corn
; municate with Messrs. Rosier & Sons,
| in case they might have been similarly
j imposed upon.
James Rosier was in a tine state of
j mind after lie had read this letter. He
j lost 110 time iu dispatching a messenger
ito Messrs. , the art publishers
I above mentioned, asking them to send
| up their Mr. (who had previously
I valued the Vau Dyck) to his private
| residence, at the earliest possible mo-
I ment. When he arrived, the painting
was submitted to him. He unbesita
! tingly pronounced it a forgery.
! In the course of inquiries it trans
pired that ten other banks in various
large provincial towns Jliad been simi
larly duped. In eacli case precisely
the same method had been adopted.
The first step was the depositing of the
real Van Dyck at the bank for safe
custody. The second, the advance
made upon the genuine work, and duly
repaid. The third, the depositing of u
skillful forgery, so artfully executed as
easily to pass for the original. The
fourth, the advance obtained on the
security of this forged subtitute. The
last, the disappearance of Jan Vereker
with £24,000.
So far us could be ascertained, he had
no confederates, and there' was little
doubt that all the twelve forgeries were
the work of his own practiced band.
Though every effort was made to run
him down, he still remains among the
number of the "wanted."—London
Truth.
WISE WORDS.
Silence seldom makes a mistake.
To have a bud habit is to have a
| hard master.
i Some of our happiest moments are
spsut in air castles.
The shortest way to do many things
! is to do only one thing at a time.
If you are looking for trouble tell a
| woman that her new wrap is unbecom-
A woman's reason may not convince,
but it often puts au end to the discus
sion.
Women seem to think that husbands
never have Hiiy need to reform their
wives.
The man who goes out of office as
pleasantly us lie does in is u very rare
I individual.
i When you are in trouble, people who
I call to sympathize are really after the
j particulars.
A person under the firm persuasion
| that he can command resources virtual
ly has them,
i There are others, but people never
j find it out until they are married, and
it is too late.
Talk] what you will of taste," my
friend, you will find two of a face as
oon as of a mind.
Fortune's ladder has no top. "No
man has ever stopped climbing for
want of another rung.
An egotist may be defined as a per
son who is so wrapped up in himself
that he pays no attention to us.
After a girl has heard some one say
she has a sad face she always goes
around trying to look sorrowful.
Since a woman can't make her hus
band like her ideal, why not try to
make her ideal like her husband.
(live self power to move a mountain,
and it will put a big sign out on it to
show who did it, as the house movers
do.
The one who works the hardest re
ceives the most blame. The idle, do
ing nothing, are responsible for noth
ing.
There is such a thing as knowing too
much. 1 have seen people who would
be wiser if they could forget half they
know, —The South West.
£le*tiio i.lfflit flit It.
William Johnson, who has just re
turned from Binghnmton, N. Y., from
a trout fishing trip to Delaware County,
made a successful experiment with a
number of small incandescent light
bulbs, which be used as bait. He at
tached tv bulb about the size of those
used by physicians, to his line near
the book. Then he made a trip up
the stream at night, throwing the
lighted bait into the water, the current
j being furnished by a pooket battery,
j His success was phenomenal.
' The fish attracted by the light would
j flock around the strange object and
; snap at the baited book. Mr. Johnson
I says he has consulted counsel, and
finds that this manner of Ashing is not
prohibited by the game laws, and ex
perience satisfies him that it is most
remunerative from a fisherman's point
of view.—New York Press.
glut Knew.
Minnie f whispering) f Mamma,
! isn't Colonel (Irimsliaw ugly?"
The Colonel—"Don fc-yoii know, my
j little girl, that it is rude to whisper in
company?"
| Minnie—"Well, it would be ruder to
1 say it out loud!" Punch.
Make a .Study of Your Hay.
A prevailing opinion of t-lie majority
of farmers is to the effect that the con
sumers of hay and those engaged in the
business in large cities do not know
what good hay is. The sooner the
people divest themselves of this delu
sion. the better. The commission men
who handle thousands of tons of
pressed hay every year have a better
opportunity to judge of the different
qualities, consignmentsjreaching vhein
from all parts and the article being of
all grades. Furthermore, it does them
an injustice, inasmuch as they ale a
very intelligent class of people, equally
well versed in their business as the
most progressive farmer is in his.
Those readers who engage in raising
and marketing hay and who have fol
lowed the market reports, have proba
bly come to the conclusion by this
time that in the future it will not pay
to raise inferior grades, but to produce
n quality which will command the
highest price and will always ho sal
able. This kind of hay is very scarce
in this country at present and is an
nually growing less, and the trade in
this article will soon he a thing of the
past unless those engaged in the busi
ness will take steps to enrich their
land and destroy the foul weeds with
which their meadows are infected. A
few tons of fertilizers every year with
what manure can he saved ou the farm
would soon make the land produce the
right kind of hay again.—Watertown
Standard.
Feed for Clitekefi*.
It is a great mistake to suppose he
cause the ehicken is small that it needs
to l>e fed wholly or oven mainly with
soft food. The plate of wet corn meal,
left where the young chicks can run
into it, trampling the food with their
dirty feet, and then leaving most of it
to ferment, as it is sure to do in the
warm sunshine, is the cause of more
mortality among very young chicks
than any other one thing. The food
even of little chickens should bo as
nearly dry as it can be to he fed con
veniently. If corn meal is fed, mix it
with uiilk curd until the curd becomes
"crumbly." So soon as they will eat,
give them hard-boiled eggs chopped
very tine. Follow this with cracked
wheat or rye. When a week or ten
days old, the chicks will eat either rye
or wheat whole, and be all the better
for it. The digestion of the chicken
is naturally strong, if not weakened by
feeding exclusively on soft food. Some
sand or very tine gravel should be
placed where they can get it. They
will only eat what they need. but
with this gravel there is all the greater
necessity for some hard grain for it to
work on in the gizzard. Whole corn
should not be given to young chicks.
It is too large a grain for tlieiu to di
gest well, and its heating nature makes
it apt to ferment in their gizzard, as
indeed corn meal may do if eaten free
ly when digestion is impaired. Some
whole small grain should alw ays he fed
to chicks while growing, anil there is
nothing better than whole wheat. The
small, shrunken grains that go out
with the screenings in cleaning wheat
are even better for ehickens than the
plump grains. They are harder, have
less starch and a greater proportion of
the nitrogenous nutrition that is ro
quired to promote growth and make
feathers.—American Cultivator,
Insect. Injuring Apple.,
Bulletin No. 31! of the Missouri
Agricultural Experiment Station,
Columbia, by Professor J. M. Sted
uian, reports the results of elaborate
experiments with means of preventing
two insects very injurious to apple
trees, and describes cheap and efficient
methods of combating them.
The insect known as the apple loaf
folder may be readily killed by thor
oughly spraying trees or nursery stook
jußt as soon as the young insects begin
to botch, and before they have had
time to fold the leaves to any consider
able extent. This spraying should he
done just as the apple tree loaves are
unfolding.
The spraying mixture should he
made as follows: One pound of Paris
green, three pounds of fresh lime, 150
gallons of water, "
Since there are three broods of this
insect eaoh year, there are three peri
ods during which spraying oau be
most successfully done.
The leaf crumpler, another insect
very injurious to apple trees, may be
readily killed by thoroughly spraying
the infested trees while the leaves are
unfolding and before the blossoms
open, with the same mixture as recom
mended above,
If ueoessary, the trees may be
sprayed again immediately after all the
blossoms have fallen, but iu thiß case
the amount] of water in the mixture
should be increased to 175 gallons.
Never spray a fruit tree while it is
in bloom: serious injury to the blos
som nnd imperfect pollination may re
sult, and in many instances honey bees
will be killed.
Never omit the fresh lime, and al
ways use two or three times as much
lime by weight as Paris green. This
will lessen the chances of fuming the
leaves and injuring the trees. Spray
with a mixture {of the strength just
given. To make it weaker is to ren
der it loss effective in killing Insects;
to mako it stronger is to injure the fol
iage of the trees. Always see that the
mixture is kept constantly stirred while
spraying. Apply with as much force
as possible, and use as fine a snfo as
can be madq. Spray tlioroug }'•
Hold the spray on the tree ig
enough to saturate it and to read
parts, and always spray from at hast
two sides.
The bulletin is for free distribtr •>&
to the farmers, and may be had by
writing to the Director of the Exp i*
inent Station, Columbia, Mo.
IlMtidling the Colts.
I On the average farm the colt is ng*
j lected. The value of the colts ot all
j ages has been below par for sev> *1
years.
| A change, however, is coming al'it
j and every one who has foresight fflc Id ,
recognize good value in every ;fejrlflg
and suckling that is in sight! Ve j
would qualify the value where tin e
has been neglect in proper breedig.
Parentage and blood lines count fn!y
as much tin. the colt at this Itiie 8
ever. The average farmer regards ie
produce of his brood mares when® t! •y
are worked as about so muclilcUr
gain, and too often gives thenmliir
food at weaning time grudgingly! 'be
little fellow is expected to take cfti">f
| himself after six months of age* i d
j make his way along with a herd >f
older stock. Such a policy manifi ts
j poor management,
j From the time the colt is eiat
| weeks of age, it should he graduny
trained to eat oats, bran, etc., and ts
| training to the halter should aUo>e
I begun ut this time. When it is th o
! months old, it should be quite ger'o
! and not ut all afraid of mankind. 111-
| tering and feeding it regularly foi a
| half hour once a day during the th <1
j month of its age should accustom it o
I the halter so that it will never in at r
life fail to be submissive to this j
straint.
i It is not wise to take the colt w h
i the dam into the field at auy timers
it is better off in a lot or pasture wli
i other colts or horse stock. The dais
j blood should always be at nornd
| temperature when she is permitted o
nourish the youngster.
Once or twice a week it is art visa''
j when the colt is four months of age i
older to hitch it beside the dam whu
she is given a short drive on theroi
1 This accustoms;the little fellow to t
sights of the world and gives its
training that will be accomplished t
this time with much less trouble th i
if it is permitted to run wild until fo
years of age.
The colt must learn by experien
and observation, and will learn as fa
as the older horhe. When well train>
to lead and to know the meaning
"whoa." half the battle of subduir
the creature is accomplished.
Every month tip to eighteen monil
of age it should be haltered in the hi ,i
a few times and also led either by hr n
or beside the team on the road. The n n
who likes company, instead of a d p
could lead to advantage the colt w 11
him when he goes a-foot. After tl i
period it should be hitched and driv u
occasionally.—Home and Farm.
FREAKS OF THE MISSOURI.
Farmers iWho Find Their Fields 111 re
l>lHuppenred Over Night.
In St. Nicholas Frank 11. Spearm n
baH a paper entitled "A Sbifti g
-Boundary," which is particulai y
timely just at present, as it tells of t e
way the Missouri River has of sn 1-
deuly changing its boundaries. \ •.
Hpearliian says;
Of course you've heard of the eu |-
ous freaks of the Missouri River—t e
"Rig Muddy:" how the sudden, trenc -
erous mountain waters roll down 1
mighty Hoods from Montana at 1
Wyoming, ricochet from side to side f
the broad valley they have eaten de >
into the soft prairies, and pour heai ■
long into the Mississippi near St. Loui ;
how, night and day, winter and sun
mer, the twisting torrent Hhifts it
channel, exits its banks, undermine
railroads, astonishes the muskrnts
keeps the tlsh studying guide-posts
worries the bridge guards, and sets tin
farmers crazy. For, just think ot it
the Nebraska farmer whose lane
stretches along the river goes to bee
thinking he will exit his broad acres o
golden wheat in the morning: but lo
in the uight that madeap river has eu
tered his waving Helds, and the like
snow they have melted away. Groin,
fences, trees, buildings, laud— are
gone! And a great, sullen, yellow flood
boils and eddies where his harvest
smiled yesterday.
Next week, very likely, the rooking
stream will make his neighbor across
the river a present of a hundred or
more acres, just because he doesn't
need them. 0( course it was natural
for a man who lost his land that way
to look longingly across the river, ami
think, after a wldle, that the newly
made laud over there belonged to hiru;
and ninny n wearisome lawsuit lias
begun to recover title to "made" laud
which lies, maybe, exactly where (he
lost farm lay, but on the other side of
the river. Perhaps there is some
equity in such a claim; but tbo trouble
is, that sort of thing is going on all the
time, and the courts said they couldn't
keep track of such pranks; that lands
acquired by accretion—mark that word
—should belong to the farmer who
owned the river-hank where they wi re
thrown up; that if the river took ynur
farm, you would have to fish it out of
the stream yon lost it in; at least, you
needn't ask the courts to give you an
other for it.
LIFE'S JOURNEY.
He went to seek his fortune
iMth light nnd joyous tread.
Ami all his bag ami baggage
"as just a crust of bread.
Ho proud and iadopcmlent
'Hint youth upon that lia'v.
Ho brißhtiy boamcd the future,
He throw the crunl away.
Years afterward a pilgrim
Without sack or load.
Hut with a stick to lean on.
Came hobbling down the road.
it was the youth you wot of
how humbled, bowed and -'bust."
And ho had journeyed homeward
To try and find that crust.
i. L. Parks, in Truth.
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
i —' 'Pa, what is an heir-at
law. Pa—"Usually the lawyer,
Bobby. —Judge. 1
I can't see why ,thev speak of the
wisdom of the serpent." "Well, you
never heard of n serpent getting its leg
pulled, did you V" —Truth.
Gosling— "JJTiss Oldstvle seems to
be very strong on literature. Miss
Giddy—"Yet, pour thing; that's nil
that is left to her!"— Truth.
"My husband is a great lover of the
beautiful." "Indeed he is. I should
think that you would almost feel jea
lous sometimes."—Detroit Journal.
Jimmy— "1 heard Tommy Jones was
ill nearly all the holidays." Johnny
and what's worse, he got well
just iu time to go to school."—Boston
Traveler.
Mrs. Hashcroft - "Is there too much
seasoning in the turkey, Mr. Billings? '
Billings—"No; I should say there is
too little turkey in the seasoning."—
Indianapolis Journal.
Freshman—"l would like to get
shaved, sir—close, sir." Barber—
' Exactly, sir; there is nothing better
for the scalp than that, if you don't
mind the looks. "—Judge.
Frances—"Yes, he is pursuing
literature." Gertrude—"lndeed. And
is lie very successful?" Frances—
I' i R "till a long way ahead of
uim."—Cleveland Leader.
' Teacher—"Tommy, if you gave your
little brother nine sticks of candy and
then took away seven, what would thnv,
make?" Tommy—"lt would make
him yell."—Harper's Bazar.
"How could you have the nerve
after hearing her—to tell her that she
sang divinely?" "Why, my dear fel
low, a woman who would sing like that
Jould he told anything?"— Puck.
The Boarding Mistress—"And she
moved away owing you for three weeks'
meat?" The Fat Boy—"Yes'm! It.
wasn't so much, muni. She kept a
boardin'-house, you know."—Puck.
"Willie Wishington," said the
friend, "is one of those people who
tell everything they know." "Yes."
replied Miss Cayenne wearily, "and
he doesn't talk very much, either."—
Washington Star.
First Cabman—"l axed him free
dollars, but he said he had only two;
an', anyhow, he said (le legal fare was
only one." Second Cabman—"Well.
I s'pose you took dc two dollars an' ac
cepted dc apology."—Puck.
Tramp (desperately, to reporter;—
"If yer don't give me some money,
guv'nor, I'll commit suicide before y '
werry eyes." Reporter (eagerly)--")
wish you would lav good fellow;
"copy" is awfully scarce!"— Standard.
Waggish Friend—"Where did you
get thut—" Spriggins (gasping;.
"Eh! Wlia—" "That hat?" "Oli!
Hat? Of course! Bought it around
the corner. I was afraid yon were go
ing to ask me where' I got this um
brella."—New York Weekly.
"Novel Itabbit Traps. '
Many of the Russian farmers west of
town are complaining about jack rab
bits falling down their chimneys and
frequently lodging therein, stopping;
the passage of the smoke. Their peu
sautlike houses—which are all pro
vided with large fireplaces and pro
portionately large chimneys—are most
ly low and covered with the "beauti
ful." The chimneys, of course, lift ve
obe kept clear of snow. After it lias
j.een shoveled away several times,
1 irge funnel-shaped cone remains, the
vails of which are rendered icv by the
Iternate influence of tho fire below
ud the cold above. Any wild an
nul prowling around on a bitter
ild night, upon Hearing one of these
moke cones and feeling the warmth
ould naturally seek closer proximity
lereto, whereupon its ventures would
ivariably result in a slide. Mr. An
lal lauding in the fire box below .
ttliu (N. I>.) Wind.
Soap From Sulitlower Seeds
Those interested iu new industries
'ay be glad to hear that it is possible
1 manufacture good soaps from sue
Lwer seeds. Sunflowers grow easily,
'id need little attention. A company
Is been organized in the United
cites to manufacture this sort of soap.
Ila claimed that the average yield of
lints to the acre is 2500 pounds gross;
lrcentage of oil is one-third the
eight of the seeds, so that 600 pounds
"seed will make 200 pounds of oil.,
'■le latter, when refined and ready to
U, in making soap, is worth about
# a pound, and is said to make the
®est of toilet soaps. The net profi I
°the sunflowers to the grower is put
a sll an acre.
lint Killing Their Fad.
I'Ue newest fad ill Scott County,,
'liana, is "rat killings," The vicinity
L lately been iuvnded by hordes ol
r 's, which are doing much damage,
''en a "killing" is arranged all the
tt u and robust hoys in the neighbor
Aid are invited, and, armed with
f'lis and accompanied by dogs, they
'in a systematic cleaning out ot
'us, haystacks and corn cribs. The
1 1 are very fierce, and several men
' e been severely bitten by them, but
' work goes on nevertheless, and tin
" age mortality of rodents at a kill •
' 'is about 200.—Detroit Free Press,