Nearly every Oriental iryiil brings j an account of the launching of some powerful new battle-ship or cruisex for the Japanese uavy. In British India no one can earn warlike weapons without a license, auO a law of this kind would be desirable in many States of the Union. Deprive the Italian of his stiletto and he would become a peaceful citizen. It is said the Tilden-Astor-Lenos Library of New York, when opened, will contain 450,000 volumes. This will bo a most excellent showing. Tho Boston Public Library, an old i institution, has only G63,73G volumes. The past summer there occurred it Germauy, according to the New Yorfc Independent, on an average over on< accident on the railways a day; and il is conceded that want of proper ma chinery aud tho needful number ol hands is to blame for the catastrophes, In England every prisoner is guar anteed tho right "to communicate with his solicitor before trial." A man recently arrested in London foi a felony can neither read nor write and is dumb. Can he be convicted legally? asks tho Chicago Times Herald. A country school ma'am, who teaches northeast of Emporia, Kan., has adopted a novel method to bring her literary productions before the public. She writes her own poetry and compels the poor children to recite it before the school. The trustees do not know anything about it. Captain William Rogers, in a letter to the New York Herald, shows how lamentably weak is the American mer chant marine. It includes only nine ty-seven ships loss than twenty-three years old, with a tonnage of 171,020. Tho United Kingdom is 1896 alone added 3G3 steamers and sixty-nine Bhips, with a tonnage of 2,797,764, to her great fleet. Not the least interesting feature ol Germauy's seizure of Kiao-Chau is that that spot had been selected by the Chiuese Government for its own use as a fortified port aud naval station. That was the first recommendation made by Li Hung Chang on his return home, aud it is by no means improba ble that it was that fact that prompted Germany to seize tho place. The English sparrow is disappear ing from New York. In places that used to see and hear much more of this noisy bird than was compatible with peace of mind, there is now no sign of him. He has either moved or been served to gourmands as a reed bird. It is about twenty-five years lince the English sparrow was brought to Now York to kill tho worms that hung on webs from the ailanthus shade trees and caught in the hats or cloth ing of passers-by. Ho did that job veil, but ho multiplied so fast that ho became a nuisance, not only in New York, but in most other Eastern cities and villages, where, among other sins, he is held accountable for the retreat of garden songbirds into the fields and woods. Hence a good riddance for his going. The almost incrediblo story that comes from Washington about the finding of a largo amount of money, in coin, bills, orders aud notes, in the desks and drawers formerly used by Congress Librarian Bpofiord, every body will hope to be true who knew Dr had dealings with that, long-term official, now retired in disgrace from the place he occupied so many years, observes the Chicago Record. "Tho discovery of this money, if indeed the iccount be a true one, is loss surpris- Jng][than was the charge of defalcation under which he left his old office. Wc could all more easily believe .hat the old gentleman was absent-minded than"] that he was intentionally a de faulter. At the time his accounts were [found to bo short there was a surprise and sympathy, but no idea that he could have merely misplaced missing valuable papers. Ho simply could not produce them, and he was put out and forgotten. Everybody wondered but nobody upbraided; they were a]l too astonished for that. And now they find thousands of dollars in those old desks and drawers, the mis cellaneous receipts of twenty-seven jrears! Tho fees for copyrights of a generation, which he had acknowledged to have received, but which he had never credited on his books, are said to bo there. It is an extraordinary story of senility and carelessness. It is to be hoped that all the circum stances will clear tho reputation of this old man, of whom all the world thought so well. He can afford to be charged with want of carefulness, but not with want of honesty." MEMORIES. Ghosts of departed hotter (lays, Vague spectres of forgotten scenes, Peace-Messengers whose presence bringa Tranquility, when twilight flings Its purple gloom, and night convenes Her spirits in the amber haze, , Dark-robed magicians by whose art Forgotten forms are conjured up, Hlirewd alchemists whose cunning hold Turns recollection's rusts to gold, And pours in fancy's silver cup The dews of peace to still iny heart I welcome you this lonely night. Crowd round my chair and revel free. Nor mind the storm-king's fractious shout Who holds wild carnival without, Throw charmed mantles over me. My restless heart with dreams delight. Haste, while the deep'ning shadows steal A-down the dusky path of uight, Dim harbingers of spirit bands Who lure the soul to unknown lands. Haste, while the embers' dying light Its mystic picture-lore reveals. What glories in your largess seem! What grotesque l'orms your magic makes. And in the lights that come and go Drenm-phnntoni of the long ago Its visions of dead days awakes, And sets thought's smouldering fires a gleam. What strange emotions thrill the heart As each Eiysiuu shade appears! Sweet apparitions gliding by As clouds float o'er a summer sky— These spirit-forms of bygone years, These phantasmas of mem'ry's art. •—Youth's Companion. HEADS OR TAILS. n, vv AIUE3." I began KlfS awkwardly, for P=JffU=ri|ll I bad never pro- I posed before,; p ' "you must know j —you must have j seen for a long I /T ff'f® time that—that— I li - s l'\ 1 love you." VI tt ■'■k -Marie cal d ' fit 'Vu\ nothing, but sal j ]/. U ( looking down al I / fiT'O cj'SyVJk her hands, which I i 18, - l Oft V\ were twisting a: Ml' o r ! >-w 1,11 ot llice that M-M' - I--;'.-' she called a """ li a rnllie rehief. She was smiling before I began. She now looked dis tressed. I do not like for Mario to look dis tressed, for she then looks as If she were going to cry. And a crying wo man is not pretty. So for tho minute 1 laid aside my own affair to comfort Marie. "Marie," I began, venturing with much trepidation to lay my hand softly upon both of hers, "what's the mat ter?" She looked up. Her lips were quiv ering, and a tear, balanced for the start, stood in each eye. "I don't know what to do," she whis pered brokenly. "Well?" I said, inquiringly, Inviting her to continue. She hesitated nervously for several seconds. Then she went on almost in audibly: "You see, Mr. Transome told me last night what you told me just now." "Damn Transome!" X said to myself; aud to Marie, "Well, I'hilip Transome is a line fellow, you know." "Of Course," said Marie, acquiescing a little too readily, I thought. "And he's good-looking." "Yes." "And rich." "Yes." This Itemizing a rival's good points to comfort the woman you love is rath lor straining on one's generosity. It isn't so bad if tho woman rewards your generosity, as of course she should. But Marie didn't. So I stopped. "Well, Where's the trouble theu?" I asked at l<*r,'th. "I don't know what to do," she re plied, repeating her former wail. 1 "I began to see. It is hard to decide | between two lovers. I could Bym j patliizo with Marie, for I had once lreen : lu a similar predicament myself. Marie did not notice the sympathy, j She merely looked uncomfortable at | this bald statement of the difficulty. | But she did not deny it. "You like me, don't you?" I ventured, I witli some fear in my heart. I Marie nodded. I felt very com j placent. "And you like I'hilip Transome?" I continued. She nodded a second time. I believe I swore at Transome again. "lint you eab't decide between us. ; Is that it?" I "That's it," acknowledged Marie, weakly. "You have tried every way?" "I have, and I can't"—here Mario blushed, hut it was a blush I did not | like, because it was for Transome as ; much as it was for me—"and I can't tell I which of you I like the better." I The person who sits in the seat of the undecided sits not easily. This 1 knew. And any decision is better than no de cision. This also 1 knew. So out ot the sympathy which I had for Marie I made up my mind to help her arrive at some decision, even though I lost by It. But I did not intend losing if I could help it. I thought for a long time; but noth ing came. Then I looked up at Marie. Iler eyes were fixed expectantly on me, as though she had instinctively learned of my intention to help her aud was awaiting my plan. "Well," said I, seizing on an idea that just then popped Into my head, "since you have tried all other ways, sup pose you toss up for us." "What!" exclaimed Marie, half start ing from her chair. "Toss up for us," I repeated, calmly. Marie sank back In her chair and gazed at me in amazement Marie's surprise at my ■ Riiprsestlon angered me somewhat. Of course I ean understand that choosing a hus band in such away may seem a little queer to some girls, But they needn't act as though it were so unusual, lie sides, there are worse ways. "Toss up for you!" Marie managed to grasp out at length. "Certainly," I replied with some as perity. "Have you anything better to suggest?" A reluctant "No" came from Marie. "You'd better toss up, then," 1 said, decisively, drawing a quarter from one of my pockets and offering it to her. She took it and gazed at it for a long time. 1 began to grow impatient, for the coin was like any other of its kind, and I could see no reason why she should study it. Then I saw that her look was the look of one who is think ing. Suddenly she raised her head and gazed steadily at me. And then a smile that I liked strangely well slowly came Into her eyes. "No, you do it," she said, returning the coin. "I don't know how." We both stood up. "Heads, it is Transonic; tails, it is I?" I suggested, briefly. Marie nodded. I balanced the coin on my first linger. I felt sure of the result, for the man never lived who is aa lucky np I am. I even began to pity poor Transome. Hut before this feeling had much op portunity to grow I Hipped the quartei whirling into the air, and, as it struck the floor, placed my foot upon it. I looked at Marie. "Which shall it be?" I asked, softly. "You," she whispered. I slipped iny foot askle and we both stopped. The laurel-wreathed head ol Liberty was up. It was Transome! We both straightened up. I looked at Marie and Marie looked at me. She was pale, and I could not have been otherwise. I had risked all on the turn of a coin—and it had turned the wrong way. Without a word, for I was nol wise In the ways of women, I walked out of the room, secured my hat in the hall, and started to open the door and go out into the street. As my hand was turning the knoh something touched my arm. I turned and looked around. There stood Mariq with a little smile—a little beseeching smile—on her face. "Dick,* she whispered, and then was silent. I still held on to the door knob. "Dick"—this time the smile was still more beseeching—"can't you see? It's —it's you, anyhow." I saw, and my hand loft the door knob. And in the little excitement that followed I also may have kissed Marie. Such things have happened.—St. Louis Ci lobe-Democrat. RAM'S HORN BLASTS. Warning Notes Calling the Wicked to Repentance. fillE sweetest flower of the gos pel is charity. Some guns kick; revenge is one of them. "No man can help his belief." Unless he has brains. , A poor picture • being put in u good light. The dullest man has in him some thing original. It is siu. The man is usually in the right who owns himself in the wrong. In religious controversy ferocity Is not the only sign of fidelity. For a certain class of minds, Infidel* lt.* is the liall-mark of genius. The waters of Lethe drown the past*, the blood of Jesus cleanses it. lie who easts stones at others, makes of himself a target for their return. For au epitaph: "lie believed in a free gospel: it never cost him a cent." "Christianity Is all very well, but a man must live." Yes, to all eternity. The confession of past folly may b* truly the profession of present wisdom The thing that makes pessimism is to find hi men what angels pos rOSS. Take carb of Number One, but take care it is the right one—the soul, not tlu body. Who would refuse the offer of eter nal life, if he could put a mortgage on it? Encyclopaedias have to ho re-writter every ten yews; the old Bible is still up to date. T temple to Venus was erected or. Calvary: it was the best the devii could do. He who always complains of the clouds receives Utile of life's sunshine I and deserves less. I The mind, like the lens, may be eon cave and scatter brain power or con j vex and concentrate it. j The man who denounces the existing | order of things should speedily suggest ' some means of Improvement, i When the X rays are so perfected ai ' to reveal a man's thought, there wit be a radical change in thinking. I St. John saw in heaven "a great mill | titude which no man could number," o) i what on earth are called "fools." , Giving an Inspiration to anothqy is like filling a lamp with oil, some time | the light will brighten a dark corner. It Is the shadow on the dial that proves the sun is shining, so with ou. lives, affliction may show the presence of a Guiding Hand. We are training ourselves here foi what we shall be hereafter; according iy, some spend the Lord's day worship lng; others, cmokiug. The Hippie Collar. The newest collar is the one known js "ripple," which really does not ripple auy more than those of last year. It differs from the old collar in that it tits snugger to the neck, and yet has the Haine effect of flaring which it had. If the collar flares too much it loses in warmth, aud yet it is the flare which is becoming to most faces. An ingen ious maker of fur garments has obviated this difficulty by making the collar slightly more flaring,- and then catch ing it in plaits about two inches wide at regular intervals. The plait is not evident except upon close inspection, and yet the collar has the effect of be ing extremely full, at the same time standing up snug and trim around the neck so as hardly to require fastening in front. Turkish Girls. Turkish girls of the better'class in the cities, after they are too old to at tend the primary schools, are largely educated at homo by governesses, many of whom come from England and France, but. unfortunately, do not al ways represent the highest culture of these nations, so that the real love of study is not as a rule, developed un der their influence. Turkish women have a great aptitude for foreign lan guages, and those met on the steamers of the Bosphorus often speak French, and it is not unusual for them to speak German and English also. It is a well-known fact that many Turkish women are engaged in trade, some even carrying on an extensive business, involving frequent journeys to Egypt and other places, which pre supposes the ability to read and write, as well as some knowledge of arithme tic. Moreover, conversation with the Mussulman woman in the capital re veals some progress at the present time in independence of thought, and, while social conditions have unavoida bly arrested the development of Tur- I kish women as a class, forces are ; slowly but surely working among them that will result in their final emancipa tion. An Economical Princess. Though always ele'gantly aud per fectly dressed, tho Princess of Wales by no means errs on the side of ex travagance. Her Royal Highness has been known to wear a gown three suc cessive seasons when it suited her, and remained fresh and handsome. For instance, at the opening of the People's Palace at Whitochapel, tho Princess wore a striking jacket of olive-green velvet, brocaded with small ripe red strawberries. There could be 110 mistaking so dis tinctive a stuff, and it was recognized by a woman who had seen the Princess iu Ireland two summers before, as one that had be<jn worn at several func tions in that country. The stylo had been altered somewhat, but there was the same splendid fabric doing its thorough economical duty. Her Royal Highness's influence, too, has ever been against excess in fashion. She has always refused to patronize very wide skirts, balloon-liko sleeves or huge over-trimmed headgear. When ordering new gowns, colored piotures of them, back and front, as thoy should look when finished, with scraps of the proposed materials and trimmings attached, are submitted for the Princess's approval, and it is a very usual occurrence for the Princess to take her own brush or pencil aud alter the pictures to please her excel lent taste. The gowns aro fitted on a model of her own figure, and the work women do not see her at all, unless considerable alterations are necessary. The clever brush has made it so cer tain just what Her Royal Highness wants, that a personal interview is needless.—London Figaro. Art Girl* in Paris. A young American, who, heaped with honors, has just from Paris, told mo, greatly to my surprise, that she thought it an idle aud unwise plan for girls to go abroad to study art until they had been drilled into the fundamental work at home. She gave me ever so many reasons for this, but that which seemed to her tho strongest, was tho fact that Paris is full of American women who, not having had their abilities tested at home, have gone there only to find that years and years of uphill work lie before thorn, with no prospects at tho end. For that which they thought to be talent in themselves has proved, when taken to tho other side, to be but a flimsy affair not worth cultivat ing for bread-winning purposes. With the poverty belonging to mo3t of these women, suffering is inevitable, and this suffering, she argues, is best endured at home, where tho young girl is near her fumily or her friends, and where the many forms of compli cated miseries incident to a life alone 111 Paris are spared them—miseries easy to endure and accepted without question if success lie ahead, and one is assured of possessing real talent ind power, but miseries that cut into she soul of one aud destroy the finer Ibers if endured for ends never possi ble of attainment. The mere cost of living may be cheaper in Paris, but the advantages ;o be derived among us for foundation work outbalanco all other questions, fine must have SSO a month to live iu Paris. With rigid economy $25 may he made to suffice for one's personal expenses. The other $25 murt be set wide for the purchase of paints aud materials necessary to her if she means to derive full benefit from her opportunities to work. —Harper's Bazar. Miss Cora Dow, of Cincinnati, is the proprietor of four successful drug stores in that city. Miss Murnauo, a man hater, ol Brushy Fork, 111., has directed in her will that no men shall be present at her funeral. Mrs. Elitch, of Denver, drives about the city in a light wagon, drawn by an ostrich. She is the only woman in the world who owns a zoological garden. Paris has drawn a line on bicycle riding in a rather unexpected quarter. Hereafter, nono of the women teach ers in the primary schools of that city may ride to and from the schools on their wheels. Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber, of Springfield, 111., a daughter of Gen eral John M. Palmer, hus been chosen to succeed the late Miss Josephine Cleveland as librarian of the Ilinois Historical Library. An original idea of a New York woman's club, whose realization must occupy some time, is for each mem ber to give a quotation at each club meeting in place of the regulation "here" when the roll is called. The wife of Senator White, of Cali fornia, does not live with him during his attendance in Washington, be cause she dreads thunderstorms, which they do not have in California, taking earthquakes as a substitute. Miss Edna Whitney, the young woman who works in a cigar factory, and whom Kansas City rejected as maid of honor at the fall carnival, is going on the stage. She will study for her new profession in Kansas City. Miss Karnsay Gibson Maitland, by the death of her father, Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, in Eng land, recently, bocomes the possessor of a rent roll of about $150,000 a year, and will soon be much richer from ground rents in Edinburgh. Elizabeth Rider Wheaton, probably the best-known prison evangelist in this country, has visited every prison in every important city in the world. She has become known to most rail road men, and receives annual jrasses over all the large lines in this country. The Empross of Austria has taken, a dislike to the magnifioent Villa Achilleion, which she had built at such a tremendous cost in Corfu, aud all the furniture and objects of art which adorned it, including tho gigantic statue of the dying Achilles, have been removed to the imperial palace at Vienna. Miss Ellen Nussey, who was the in timate friend of Charlotte Bronte, died on November 26, at Gomersal, aged eighty-three yours. It was large ly by means of the 400 or more letters written to Miss Nussey by Charlotte Bronte that Miss Gaskoll was able to give the public so much of the life of the author of "Jano Eyre." Mrs. R. N. Perdue, of Fort Scott, Kan., was recently drawn by mistake on tho jury of the District Court. She insists on serving, and says that as she voted for Mr. McKinley iu Wyoming, she is a "qualified elector, and consequently a competent juror." She believes in woman suffrage, and says she will appeal to the highest courts about her rights as a juror. Fanhlon Note*. Old-fashioned pink cameos are com ing into vogue again, and tho old-time setting is to be retained. Huguenot caps are added to the tops of many of tho short, full, puffed sleeves of evening bodies. Collars with stole ends aro worn by the woman who loves frills. They can bo fashioned by any deft fingers directed by taste. Many of the demi-trained dress skirts are cut with nine gores, and at tho back some are box-plaitod aud others fan-plaited. Tno small pad bustle is now worn with the latest day costumes and even ing toilets; and those of larger pro portions are announced. Cravats of white net, mull or liberty silk, trimmed with frills of lace, chiffon or net, are made easily aud may be as simplo or as elegant as time, skill and purse permit. Owing to their airy dnintiness they seem especially suit able for gifts. Among the handsome imported gowns seen at some recont openings, several were of black Chantilly lace, embroidered with steel or jet sequins and beads aud made over black satin. It is predicted that lace costumes will be much worn in Paris next year. Peplutns, which are added to Rus sian blouses, jacket bodices, surplico waists and similar garments, are ahaped in various ways. Some are credelated, others out in oval tabs or sharp Vandykes, and also in ciroular form, with or without plaits at the back. Velvet is in high favor for smart gowns this season. Corduroy is seen in Paris, the ribs being wide apart. Some of the swellest carriage and evening wraps have bishop slrfeves, quite wide, and the width equal from the shoulder to the narrow bands at the wrists. | GOOD ROADS NOTES, f lfef©i©i©i©ieie!Ne<e{eKMe!e:is:eKsse(©!©K3ie)e^l A Course of Instruction in Road-Building. A most excellent departure has been ma le iu Rhode Island, where a course of instruction in practical road-build ing has been instituted in the Agri cultural College, at Kingston, and the papers, announce, with justifiable ex ultation, that "this State leads the world" in such an undertaking. Tho course of instruction is to ex tend over two years. In the class room, theoretical instruction will bo provided, and the road-making plant of the college will furnish ample oppor tunity for the acquirement of practi cal knowledge. Students, who wish to enter the course, must be well grounded in the common branches, including algebra and geometry. During the first year, the course will include higher geometry, trigonome try, surveying and other English studies, In the second year, physics, electricity, physiography, geology, mineralogy and steam engineering will he taken. The practical work will run side by side with the theoret ical during the course. It will include actual work on the roads, handling the shovel, driving horses, running the stone crusher, traction engine aud road roller, and all m"chinery operat ed by the department. The student will thus actually perform all tho varied operations connected with road building, as well as receive competent instruction in all that pertains to the art. In this way, not only will a large number of young men receive most valuable training, but a demand will probably quickly arise for special instruction for older men, who now are superintendents of streets, com missioners of highways and engineers. There is here a field which is not yet crowded, or even full, As the Providence Journal remarks, "of late years there has been a demand for competent road-builders all through the States thnt have been constructing macadam highways. In most instances, either theoretical engineers or highwny j superintendents have risen to fill the 1 places. And to tho sorrow and costs of the big cities and the disappoint ment of the counties, in many in stances, the latter have £been com pelled to pay for the lack of practical knowledge of the civil engineers and the lack of theoretical knowledge of j the highway supervisors. "But, even with this school of men, ! who have been educated by building | the roads, there have not been enough | to go around in all the localities where i good roads are needed, and where J there is money to build them. A man j who thoroughly understands road con | struotion to-day may easily get a posi tion. What is needed is the educated man, who not only knows how to build | a costly, ideal road, but ono who can i economically construct an eight-foot I country road—a man who knows both the theoretical and practical end of road construction. This is tho style of graduate which the Rhode Island institution aims to turn out. * * * j At the end of the course, they will have graduated a man who can plan [ the highway, draw tho contracts, and j who is able to run tho machinery to [ build tho road; a man who knows tho | business from the hoe handle to the j tripod, from shoveling coal under the ; boiler of the steam roller to drawing the plans—a road engineer. * *j ,* j "There aro a number of openings which a practical road-bnildcr may fill. He may become u road expert for the United States Government. By passing the civil service examina tions of the Boad Division, Depart ment of Agriculture, he will be put on the list of eligibles, and as soon as a vacancy occurs will receive an ap | pointment from the Government, Then, the builders of road machinery | have a constant call for men to set lip | their plants iu the various towns aud cities which aro constantly acquiring j such equipments. They have to send with the machinery men who know all about operating it. As a rule, the men they send out • are shop hands, aud beyond the rnle-of-thumb expe rience with tlieso identical machines, they know but little. The builders say there is a constant demand for road builders with these plants, and that they consider that this is a good field for young men. | "Bat the largest field for men cdn \ cated as road-builders will probably } be found as highway superintendents among the various counties and towns. There are few first-class men in this line, and, with tho spread of the Good I Roads movement, the demand for such experts is growing." lioad Improvement Kerns. i Permanent structures require solid foundations, j The vehicle that uses wide tires is contributing its share toward better 1 highways. j About two miles of asphalt, said to be the first in the State, have been laid | at Sioux City, la. j Over two hundred townships iu Ontario are using grading machines to the great improvement of their roads. A steam roller will do the same work as a seven-ton, eight-horse road roller at one-quarter the ruuniug cost aud iu j one-half the time. j During the past year about three miles of new asphalt have been laid in j Washington. New pavements in that city are to be of sheet or block asphalt | or brick. i It is said that the Governor of Mis souri was almost alone in taking strong I ground in favor of good roads in bis message to the State Legislature last year. He is likely to have good com pany next time. Why should Congress not cease dredging uunavigable streams and erecting expf asive buildings in out of-the-way corners? The same money •pent in aiding the establishment of per manent roads would benefit the favored sections to a far greater extent, and enable Congressmen to eliow some thing of practical value accomplished. Fortunes on Tlicir Hacks. J. A. Lizotte, of Lewiston, now in Alaska, writes to his brother, Mas Lizotte, of Lewiston, that he is wait ing for the Lewiston party, and will start up country toward Klondike the last of February. He is now at Skaguay, Alaska, again, and is having a suit of clothes made for his trip North. The cloth is nearly half an inch thick, all wool and a yard wide. He sends Max a piece of it. He says: "I am glad that I did not go up to Dawson when I had the chance last fall. I could have .gone for nothing, hut thought it best to wait here. Now there are hundreds of people up there who are out of provisions and must starve this winter. The people are getting desperate up there, and there will he trouble. The mounted Cana dian police are doing all they can to make a chance to get provisions in. A party of twenty-one men recently came down with two hundred thousand dollars among them in nuggets. One man brought down fifty pounds oj gold on his hack. Every day now parties go by here pushing on to death and suffering. They seem crazed and will listen to no word of advice. The last steamer that went up the river with twelve tons of pro visions was stopped half way up by a band of thirty men who robbed it of all the provisions and escaped. When the steamer got in and there were no provisions, terror seized everyone." He advises his brother to go to Alaska next year, and he says that ho intends to.—Lewiston (Me.) Journal. The Muskrat Went Flailing. Robert McWilliams, of near Sardis, is mourning the loss of about 1000 German carp which he was raising in a small pond he had constrnoted on his place. Mr. McWilliams had watchod over his pets with jealous care, and they were rapidly approach ing that stage when they would be suitable for the table. The pond was fed by a sluice from a little run which gurgled along to one side of it. When the late drought was on the water in the run got so low it would not enter the pond through the sluice. The bottom of the pond was higher than that of the run. It was about this time that a muskrat took up his abode iu the run. Now, muskrats like Ger man carp as well as any man. This mnslirat went fishing. One night he drove a tunnel from the run up into the bottom of the pond. The rush of water that must have come down the tunnel probably astonished his ratship. When Mr. McWilliqms went out to see his fish the next morning the pond was almost dry, German carp sticking all around in the mud. In a little pool, all that was left of the pond, were several hundred carp, some of them still gasping for breach. Some of them were dipped out and placed in the watering trough. There was no way of saving the others, and they had to die in the mud. If that musk rat should comp back to the McWill iams neighborhood he will be assured of rough treatment. —Kensington. (Penn.) Keystone. Farmer and Trainmen Attacked by Wnlvee Woivcs are making life unhappy for Minnesota farmers. Henry Fellen was attacked by a pack near Deerwood, on the Northern Pa cific, recently and killed several before he drove them off. When he ran to the rescue the wolves attacked him. Fellen climbed a tree, and, seated on a limb, began war on the beasts. Ho shot several of thorn, who wore im mediately torn to pieces by the others. Fellen fired all the cartridges in his rifie, and was kept a prisoner in the tree by the animals for an hour or more, until a neighbor, who had heard the shooting and the howls of the wolves, came to the rescue. Later in the evening the crew of a Northern Pacific train discharging a cargo at the Deenvood station, was at tacked by wolves, supposed to bo the remainder of the pack which had at tacked Fellen. The men had just time to draw their revolvers and nipke for the train. Shrill blasts jjfroml, the whistle and the opening of the escape pipes for steam scared the wolves away. Already n considerable amount of stock owned by the settlers has been killed by the animals, and people are afraid to go out of their homes after dark. Tiie heavy snow and the in tense cold are driving the wolves into the settlements. Duck Ebbs in an Albumen Factory. Near Chinkiang, China, is a great albumen factory, for (the utilization of the duck eggs which are produced in that region in enormous quantities, flocks of 4000 [and 5000 ducks being by no means uncommon. The eggs are broken at the rate of from 40,000 to 00,000 per day by women, who sep arate the white from the yolk, the former being carefully cleaned and dried until they resemble fish glue, when they are packed in 400-pound cases lined with zinc. The yolks are passed through seives into twenty five gallon receptacles, mixed with a salt and borax solution, packed in 500 ■ pound barrels, and used in Europe for preparing and dressing articles of superior quality. The albumen find a ready market iu England, Frai've and Germany for dyes for the best autton goods.—Philadelphia Press. An Omnivorous Kditor. The editor ot the Orange County (California) Herald advertises that he "can use rftovewood, butter, eggs, chickens, bull calves, pumpkins, hay, petroleum, spuds, salt pork or any old thing like that. Delinquent sub scribers who are long on any of these articles and short on oash might tarry long enongh on this announcement to stamp it indelibly in their memory."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers