Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, April 18, 1898, Image 2
More wine is used in Paris in three months than the entire product of the United States amounts to. Indications multiply that the gold fields of Alaska will turn out to be richer than those of tho Klondike re e ion - According to State Engineer Adams's report, New York's commerce, from being seventy-eight per cent, of the country's business, lias fallen to thirty eeven per cent. This means, get nearer raw material, interprets the St, Louis Star. There can be no doubt that the In dians who granted the San Carlos railroad franchise as soon a3 the pro moters had stocked their tepees with beef, flour and eofl'ee, are getting civilized. Some of them will go to the Legislature yet, predicts the San Francisco Examiner. The statement is made by Chief Bon ner, of New York City, that a recent fire only confirms theory that there are no such things as fire-proof build ings. Considering the number of these high structures his suggestions as to what must be done in the way of preparing for blazes in these giant piles ought to be attended to at once. A Chicago paper complains that $130,000,000 worth of property in that city is held by absentee laud lords. And the worst of it is that many of these absentee landlords make their home in New York, thus helping to swell the population of the latter city. How to keep Chicago people in Chicago is apparently a live question in the Western metropolis. From Sydney cornea a curious story of the wreck of the brig Minora and the saving of the captain's life, though he was the only man on the vessel who couldn't swim a stroke. The other five made a gallant struggle for life, but they went down exhausted, while he clung to a plank for twenty four hours and was picked up in an exhausted condition. His case fur nishes no argument against the value of a knowedge of swimming; it simply serves to show the irony of fate, which often dooms to death the man who is the best equipped for saving his life. I : That relations between France and Germany are really becoming much tetter is unmistakably proved by the firmly re-established mutual relations in the art world of the two countries, writes Wolf von Sehierbrand. "Stars" from the French and from the Ger man art firmament are now Hitting to and fro. Here in Berlin we have had nearly all the leading names in the atricals, for instance, and just to men tion those during the last month there were, or are, Maurel, the best opera singer in France; Mme. Richard, of the Grand Opera; Colonne, the famous leader; Cocquelin, jeune; Rsjaue, and now, too, Yvette Guilbert. The latter receives $750 for half an hour's sing ing every night, which is an enormous sum for a German specialty theatre to pay. But it must be profitable, for she draws crowded houses ever night, and when she appeared at the annual Fresse ball, given for the benefit fund of superannuated writers and news paper men, she demonstrated her quickly acquired popularity by the amount of attention showu her by her hosts. The world's railway mileage at the present time is equivalent to more than seventeen times the length of the equator. In more exact figures, the world's railway mileage, according to the latest verified returns, aggregates 433,950 miles, or 38,810 miles more than in 1891. This enormous mileage is distributed among the various sub divisions of the globe in the following manner: Europe, 155,281 miles; Asia, 20,890 miles; Africa, 8169 miles; America, 229,722 miles, and Australia, 13,G59 miles. From the foregoing table it appears that America not only heads tho list in the building of rail ways, but that the mileage represent ed by the various railway systems on this side of the globe more than equals the combined mileage of the various systems on the other side. But while America is credited with the greatest railway mileage, the greatest percent age of gain belongs to Africa. Since 1891 the railway mileage of the dark continent has increased 25.2 per cent. With respect to the other subdivisions the showing is as follows: Europe, 9.7 per cent.; Asia, 22.1 per cent.; America, 8 per cent.; Australia, 12.7 per cent. For the entire world the per centage of gain is 9.8 per cent. Sixty years ago the world's railway mileage aggregated barely more than one thousand miles, and yet to-day tho globe is interlaced with a perfect net work of iron rails. What surpassing wonders has the nineteenth century .brought to pass! CHEER UP. What's the use of looking glum? Ckeer up; Brighter days will surely come, Cheer up; Tho' the storra-king holds full sway, Tho' the torrents pour to-day. Every cloud will clear away; Clieer up. No use of shedding Idle tears. Cheer up; Don't give way to foolish fears Cheer up; •Afnt no use of feeling blue If the sun don't shine on you, Bobs and sighs will never do; Cheer up. If misfortune be your share; Cheer up; Time will lighten every care; Cheer up; With the Springtime's gentle rain Buds the fairest flowers again, , Song 9 birds sing a sweeter strain; Clieer up. —P. L. McCarty, in Boston Traveler. 03000030330000000000000000 | BROKEN CHINA. | g BT IIELEX FORBE3T GRAVES. g oaoaoooooooooooooooooooooo sn i d Rosabel JM to want me. No home seems to 1 anywhere. When papa died, he told me Uncle Dallas would be kind to me, and take his vacant place. And uncle is kind, after his odd, abrupt fashion. But Aunt Alicia doesn't jure for me, and the girls look coldly on my shabby dress and pale, worn lace. Evidently lam not a cousin to be proud of. If I were an heiress, things would be very different!" Poor little Rosabel! The world looked very dark to her as she sat on the window-sill of the third-story back roam in tho Dallas mansion,which had been unanimously voted "good enough for Rosabel Raymond," and watched the dull reds and grays of the winter •unset fading out behind the crowd ing spires of the city. How desperately she longed for the snow-mantled fields, the black, leaf less woods of the country! She was so homesick, so solitary, so alone! "Oh, Rosabel, are you here?" It was her Cousin Medora's soft, sweet voice. She disliked Medora more than either Augusta or Bell, although she could not tell why, and she was vexed that Medora should see the traces of tears on her eyelashes. But Medora pretended not to notice them. "We were thinking, mamma and I," said Medora, "that you must be ter ribly dull without anything to do, all these dismal days." "It is rather lonesome," sighed Ros abel, wondering at her cousin's un usual thoughtfulness. "And so," added Medora, with the sweet smile that Rosabel always mis trusted, "when Miss Armitage told us of the place in the china-painting and flower-designing rooms—you always were an artist, you know, dear—l ex claimed, in that silly, impulsive way ol mine. 'The very idea for Rosabel!' Ton see, Miss Armitage's protege— Helen Hauvemonde—has gone to Rome to prosecute her art studies, and there is a vacancy. And the salary would be something of an object, of course, be cause—" "Of course it would be an object," said Rosabel, quickly. "You do not suppose that I do not feel my depen d.nce here?" "And," added Medora, thinking it Host not to notice this outburst, "Miss Armitage says you can obtain excel lent board for four dollars a week with a widow lady near the Rooms, and that you would save a good deal <y* time and no ond of car fares. So, if you conclude to acoept the position, perhaps you had better come down into the drawing-room and seo Miss Armitage." If there was anything which Rosa bel Raymond loved, it was her pencil. Water-colors were expensive, and drawing-boards came dear, and Aunt Alicia thought it vei-y unfeminine for a woman to set np an easel and a pal ette, full of oil-oolors, "like a man," so that her tendencies had, since her residence in her uncle's house, been literally starved. Here, at last, was the much-longed-for opportunity, and she rose with alacrity and followed Medora dewn the stairs. Mrs. Dallas and the Misses Dallas were openly exultant when Rosabel was gone. "So dispiriting "to have her around all the time, with her swollen eyelids and pale face!" said Miss Augusta. "And so shabby as Bhe looked, too!" said Mrs. Dallas. "And how on earth was I to provide her with a wardrobe, when papa made suoh a dreadful fuss over every dress that came home from Madame Fieelle's for my own girls?" "Of all things, poor relations are the most intolerable!" said Medora, spitefully. "But what are we to say if Mr. Ballard asks after her?" blurted out Bell, the most honest ond least politic of the family. "Say? Why, the truth!" declared Medora. "That she has left us!" For the secret of Miss Medora Dal las's anxiety to got rid of her pale lit tle cousin, whose mourning was so distressingly becoming, was tho fact of Mr. Hugh Ballard's admiration of the white, statuesque face, the deep larkspur-blue eyes, and the features which were as perfect as any cameo. Miss Medora had marked Mr. Ballard for her own prey, ond declared war upon any unfortunate pretender who should come in her way. "Perhaps," soid Mrs. Dallas, hope fully, "he'll never inquire about her at all." "Don't you believe it," said Bell, with a significant nod. Bell was right. The very first even- i ing that Mr. Ballard called he*in quired for Miss Raymond. Modora drooped her long lashes. "Rosabel had a cold, reserved na ture," she said. "She never seemed to become fond of any of us, and she has gone away." "Gone where?" Mr. Ballard was persistent enough to ask. "She said she would write and send us tho address," said Medora, draw ing on imagination; "but she never did. It quite went to dear mammA'O heart. Mamma regarded Rosabel AO a fourth daughter. But Rosabel nev er was inclined to reciprocate our af fection." Mr. Ballard glanced at Medora with an expression which she could not in terpret, but it nieaut simply: "If this girl is lying, she's doing it very artistically. Appearances are certainly against Rosabel Raymond; but it would take more than tho testi mony of one girl to make me believe her either cold or ungrateful." These reflections passed through his mind as he was politely accepting Miss Dallas's invitation to accompany her to Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham's musical tea, the next day. "It will be a bore," he said to him -1 self; "but Mrs. Whitworth Walking ham is a genius, and there will be sure to be good music there." There was good music there, and also delicious tea, in tho tiniest cups, each painted with a separate wild flower or bunch of grasses; cake, ices and white grapes following the bar carolas and rondolettas—and all went merry as a marriage bell, until, in turning to place a chair nearer the window for Miss Dallas, Mr. Ballard's unfortunate elbow knocked one of the priceless cups off the carved shelf of the Japanese cabinet and broke it into three pieces. "Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham will commit suicide!" cried Medora, clasp ing her hands with simulated terror. "I swear you to eternal secrecy!" said Mr. Ballard, laughing, as he wrapped the pieces in his pocket handkerchief and disposed them safe ly in his pocket. "If there is a store in New York, Brooklyn or Jersey City where this precious toy can be matched, it shaLl not be left uusearched." For every one, Mr. Ballard includ ed, knew that Mrs. Whitworth Walk ingham was almost a monomaniac on the subject of her china; and he was really more deeply chagrined than he appeared to be. "You can't match it," said Medora Dallas. And she proved to be right. In his despair, Hugh Ballard went to old Mrs. Megarreau, who was ex actly like everybody's fairy godmoth er. "What am I to do?" he said, blank "Do?" said Mrs. Megarreau, nod ding tho diamond butterflies on her cap. "Why go to tho china painting and decorating rooms, of course, in Hammersley Square. Take your sam ple, and they'll duplicate it for you in twenty-four hours. Say that Mrs. Megarreau sent you. Mr. Ballard devoutly thanked the old lady, and obeyed without loss of time. It was a huge, airy room, with the windows all glorified with winter sun shine, and a soft steam-heat modifying the rigor of the February air, where half a dozen young women were work ing at a large table. Mrs. Baker, the superintendent, who sat at her desk, took the pieces of Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham's doomed cup and looked earnestly at them, with her head on one side. "We have that shape in our wares," said she; "and I am quite sure that we can reproduce tho design—blue iris-buds and marsh-grasses. Miss Raymond's designs are some of them even more exquisite than this. Rosa bel, my dear, come here." And Rosabel Raymond, pale and pretty as ever, came forward in her brown liuen painting-dress, with her lovely chestnut-brown hair pushed back from her face. Mrs. Baker was holding out the bits of fractured china, whereon were painted tho bluo iris buds and drooping grasses, but Rosa bel never looked at them. "Mr. Ballard!" she cried, her face brightening with a delight which she was too unsophisticated to repress, "what brought you to this place?" "Miss Raymond," he exclaimed, "what are you doing here?" "Earning my own living," said Rosa bel, with quiet dignity. "Does Miss Dallas—Medora, I mean —know whero you are?" "She ought to know," said Rosabel, "for it was she who recommended me to come here. For the Dallases, I think, were getting tired of me," sho added, with a sigh. "But I ought to be very much obliged to her, for I have acquired a most welcome independ ence, and tho work here is exceedingly congenial to my tastes. Ist that the pattern you wished copied, Mrs. Baker?" she asked, taking a pieco of china. "Oh, what an exquisite group of buds! yet I am bold enough to think I can imitate it successfully." "If you can replace that cup," said Mr. Ballard, dramatically, "I am your slave for life!" "I think I can promise to replace it without any such condition?" said Rosabel, laughing. And Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham never knew that her iris-bud cup was broken until Hugh Ballard brought back its exact counterpart. "You must have some spell out of the Arabian Nights," said she, enthu siastically. "No," he answered, quietly, "no spell stronger than a woman'* prac ticed eye and skillful hand." He came no more to Mrs. Dallas's Tuesday morning receptions, and Fri day afternoon teas. Miss Medora wondered vainly why. But one day sha met him on Fifth avenue, and prettily reproached htm with hie re creant absenteeism. "I have been fortunate enough to discover the abiding-place of your cousin, Miss Rosabel Raymond," said he, gravely. Medora looked up, with a deep color mounting to her cheek. "Indeed?" said she. "It was very kind of you to secure for her such a congenial position as that," he remarked. Medora Dallas hung her head, and was silent. "But she will not remain there long," he continued, cheerfully. "I am happy to tell you that I am en gaged to her. We are to be married in a few weeks. Of course you will receive 'at homo' cards wheu we are finally settled!" Medora murmured something about "congratulations" and "delighted to hear of it." But Mr. Ballard smiled to himself wheu she had passed on. "La belle cousine is not exactly pleased," he said to himself. "But what need I care for the frowns or smiles of other women, so long as I have won my little Rosabel?"— Satu rday Night. The World's Sugar Output. According to figures which have re cently been complied by leading statis ical authorities, the total sugar produc tion of the world last year aggregated 7,385,000 tons. Of this amount 4,- 925,000 tons were manufactured from beets and 2,460,000 tons from sugar cane. In the manufacture of beet sugar Germany easily leads the list. The total output of the empire last year ag gregated 1,925,000 tons. With re spect to other countries engaged in the manufacture of beet sugar; the figures are as follows; Countries. Tons. Germany _ 1,925,000 ■Austria-Hungary 825,000 Franco 840,000 Russia 800,000 Belgium 225,000 Holland 120,000 Other countries 190,000 Total 4,925,00 In the manufacture of sugar cane sugar, Java holds the first place, fol lowed by the United States. Java manufactured 560,000 tons of sugar last year, and the United States 345,- 000 tons. As to the output of the various countries engaged in this in dustry the following table gives the latest figures: Countries. Tons. Cuba 200,000 Puerto Blco . CO,OOO Trinidad 50.000 Barbados 60,000 Martinique 80,000 Guadaloupo 40,000 Demerarn 110,000 Brazil , 180,000 Java 560,000 Philippines 190,000 Mauritius 110,00 Reunion 40,000 Jamaica 85,000 Lesser Antilles , 95,000 United States 345.C00 Peru 65,000 Egypt 100,000 Sandwich Islands 200,000 Total 2,460,00( During the past year several beet sugar mills have been erected in vari ous parts of ;tho country, and there is every reason to believe that the United States will soon be as extensively en gaged in the manufacture of sugar from beets as sha is now from sugar cane. With the resources which this country possesses there is no reason why we should not manufacture all the sugar which wo consume.—Atlan ta Constitution. The Yukon River. The mouth of the Yukon is about a hundred miles broad—that is, from one side to the other side; but there is nothing to suggest a river about it— nothing but small streams, sloughs, islands, incnmerable and disconcert ing. It is liko being brought face to face with a hundred gates, only one of which opens the way which you are seeking, while the others lead to de struction. This is the difficulty in navigation at the starting point, and the sort of thing encountered all the way to Circle City. It is touch and go, or touch and not go; and you may get through, or may stick on a bar and not budge an inch for many weary days or weeks. Eighteen hundred and fifty miles of river are before you on your way up to Dawson; and it takes about fifteen days, if you meet with no accidents—days of vast, won derful and ever-chauging scenery; nights of sileut grandeur, when you seem to be all alone, surrounded by an untrodden wilderness,silent, awesome, mysterious.—Century. RusslanlGobi Production. Russia holds third place among gold-produciug countries, aooording to the Philadelphia Record. Gold is only fouud in large quantities in the Ural mountains and East and West Siberia; the very limited output of washed gold in Finland is not of any importance. It is only natural that the Russian Government should do all iu its power to advance the gold mining industry. Its plan is to train up a stall' of milling engineers and to let these experts visit North America, South Africa and Austrnlasia. It is also proposed to attempts second extraction of gold from some of the vast quantities of residue, otc., in the various mining districts. But Rus sia monopolizes the gold. The Cycle Stile. The bicycle stile is a development of touring amid country fields and other rarely visited sections. A nar row section it cut out of the fence, somewhat il v the shape of a cross. The spaoe corresponding to the arms of the cross is for the passage of the pedals, and the frame and wheels are pushed through the upright opening. The handlebar must go over the stile. A number of these stiles may be seen in English fields, and a few are to be found in America.—New York Timet. Fruit Growlns on Hill Lands. Some of the best fruit in all sections j of the country comes from the hill ] districts, where both climatio condi | tions and soil seem to promote cer [ tainty of orop and fine quality of fruit. Hills bordering running water have rich surface soil, with porous subsoil resting on lime rooks that are slowly disintegrating, and a natural drainage. But location, however good, is not sufficient. Orcharding requires diligent, patient work, knowledge of when, why and how to spray, and how to secure protection from enemies. Never allow trees to bear fully. Thinning is one of the pest possible practices, thereby get ting less fruit, but of far better grade. —L. Gieger, in New England Home stead. Three Crops In a Greenhouse. ' Boston greenhouse gardeners often follow the last crop of lettuce with a crop of beets and radishes. Good rad ish seed is important. A favorite va riety of beets is the Egyptian. The seed is started in hotbeds and trans planted into houses about the first of May. Beets are set four by eight and radishes one inch npart between the beet rows. The care of the beets and radishes is very much the same as if grown outdoors after the plants are set. Rows of cucumbers are often set along the edges of the beet and radish beds and trained on trellises over head. The cucumbers do not shade the other crops much before they are pulled and out of the way.—American Agriculturist. New Corn Product us none Feed. In some tests made recently at the Maryland experiment station to de termine the value of oornstalks from which the pith had been removed, it was shown that this fodder fed to horses as a substitute for hay was eaten with a relish after the animals became accustomed to it and was better digested than timothy hay. After the pith has been removed from the cornstalk what remains is ground flue. The blades and husks may be included aud they may not. Horses in the habit of consuming mixed feeds take more readily to this ration than those previously receiving nothing but whole feeds. Horses which ate this new corn product continuously for five months consumed more of it at the end of the time than at the begin ning. This is satisfactory evidence that the feed is good for horses aud can replace hay. Feed For llreedlnc Ewoi. Breeding ewes have not only'fto keep up their own animal heat and , energy and provide for the growing feet us within them,but they have also to make growth of wool on their own bodies. That they do not always get enough of the right kind of food for all these purposes is shown by the fact that the wool from ewes is less valuable than that from an equal weight of wool from wethers or ewes that are not bred. Possibly some weakness of the fiber is inevitable iu that which is produced while ewes are dropping their young, when , there is naturally more or less fever. But the wool may be made much better if the ewes are given succulent food to keep their digestion good and bran mashes, which are just what are needed, not only for making the wool, but also to produce a thrifty and vigorous lamb, which is also born with more or less wooly covering when its dam must furnish from the food given her. Intonsivo Fanning. If farmers who delight in owning and working large areas could see the crops taken from small plots by the truckers near New York City, they would receive an object lesson in in tensive farming which would be ef fectual. On Long Island and in New Jersey especially, there are dozens of patches, not farms, which, with the aid of a few hotbeds, are made to pay high rents and support large families. The soil is kept to the highest point of fertility, every inch of it is thoroughly cultivated and every advan tage is taken of the lay of the land. From the first day that the weather will permit the soil being worked un til the ground is finally used for celery blauchipg, it is constantly employed in crop production; it is no unusual sight to aeo half a dozen men indus triously at work on an acre or two of ground. It is the same principle the Horist applies to plant and flower growing. If his benches yield but one crop of plants or blossoms during the year, his business is a failure. Every square foot of it must yield two or aiore crops for a profitable year's work. —Orange Judd Farmer. Use of Humus-Forming Material. The claim of Southern farmers that clover, cow-peas, weeds aud other green manurial plants turned under dry, rather than green, give better re sults, is well founded. Green manuring has been practised for centuries in Europe and for some years in our Northern States, and valuable results have accrued from such a course. But for the last few years farmers and scientific men have differed upon the plans of turning under these green crops. Our best Southern farmers r are al most unanimous in preferring to turn under the crops when dry thau when green. Necessity may have at first brought about the plan, of turning under the crops after they had beoome matured or dry, and this necessity may havo been the means of demon* strating that it was more profitable to do. The mysteries "of"Nature's 'labora. Tory stored in the soil are hard ,to un derstand in plnnt life. The same toil will produce a root that is nutritions and healthful to man and beast, and at the same time one that is poisonous to both. Yon may graft a sour apple on a sweet stock, and the same tree will produce both sweet and sour ap ples. So it is with the changes that tnke place in the soil in turning under green and dry substances. The advocates of turning under our crops when dry claim that the fermen tation that takes place when gTeen crops are turned under is different from that of the dry substances; that the green crops sour the land, and un less lime is used it is an injury and not a benefit to some. Then the crops are green in August, and they claim that lands turned up and exposed to the hot sun are in jured, This is true, as a cotton orop which requires late ploughing and close culture is more injurious to our lands than a corn orop. Some of our best farmers report an actual injury in yield of crops where cow peas were turned under green in August. But all agree that peas sown in land and turned under late intho fall, when dry, do benefit the lauds.—B. D. Lumsden, in Farm, Field and Fire side. Origin and Cure of Lice in Stock. Dr. D. M'lntosh of the University of •Illinois writes: Both cattle and horses are liable to be disturbed by the residence of at least three species or varieties of what are ordinarily known as lice. Two of these are in dividuals of separate families of the same order, end the third is an acci dental visitant received by coming in contact with poultry or from poultry roosting or frequenting the stable of. the horse. The lice known as htema topinus equi and vitula are true blood suckers, The other, the trichodeotes, liven among the hair and on the skin, irritating by its presence, not finding its food supply from the blood direct, but in the exuvia of the structures. The hrematopinus causes much more irritation than the trichodectes and can be easily distinguished by its narrow and distinct chest-bearing three pairs of legs, and the triangular head armed with a tubulous haustellum. These lice are usually found on animals that are neglected or suffering from pov erty or disease and want of proper shelter. Debility seems to bo the predisposing cause, rendering the ani mal a proper habitant for the proga gation and development of these par asites. While the inroads of the poul try lice are regulated by the condition of the poultry house or roosts and their proximity to the barn, they at tack all classes of horses, but seem to have preference for those which are at work aud in good condition. Horses and cattle my have a ferv lice on them for some time and no great disturbance will be observed. But as the number of lice increases the animal will soon show signs of uneasiness, rub himself and in some cases will rub off the hair, abrading the skiu, or the skin itself may under go a change and vesicular eruptions appear, no doubt caused by the rub bing. It is different in the case of poultry lice. Its commencement is instantaneous. All at once the horse is seized with violent itching; so sud den and irresistible is the desire the animal possesses to scratch himself that he is not easy for a moment. He will rub himself agninst any resisting body near him, stamp the ground, kick and bite himself. An eruption of small vesicles often appears on the skin, some solitary, others in patches. There are succeeded by n falling off of the epidermis and hair, leaving a small, perfectly circular, bare surface, from tho size of a pea to that of a silver quarter. The formation of these spots goes on rapidly, so that a horse with a flue shining coat may in a few days be spotted all over. The trouble does not seem to interfere with the animal's health, notwithstanding the violent itching and excitement whioh is experienced. But if it is of long continuance the subjeot will be apt to fall off in flesh and appetite and grow thin and lose his condition for work from gradual wasting of his powers. In treating either horses or cattle for lice, the cause should be removed. If the animal is poor it should be well fed and sheltered. If it is the poultry lice which are causing the trouble, the hen house or roots should he removed and the stable whitewashed with fresh lime. There are a number of remedies recommended for the de struction of lice. An effectual solu tion is made by boiling one pint stavesacre seeds and twenty pints of water for one hour. Keep it nearly at a boil for one hour longer, making up the water to the quantity original ly used. Such a solution rubbed into the skin not only kills the lice, but nlso destroys their eggs. If stave sacre seeds cannot be obtained, sub stitute tobacco instead of the seeds. A simple remedy is equal parts of coal oil and raw linseed or cotton seed oil, but this is difficult to remove from the hair. The use of a roller in road making was first suggested by Oessart in 1786, and first adopted by Polin ceau and Morandiere in 1835. The first steam roller was oonstruoted by the Frenoh engineer Ballaison. CURIOUS FACTS. Christmas cards first came into fashion in 1816. The highest recorded price for an 1 orchid in London is 800 guineas. More than a third of the French Crown jewels havo been bought by Americans. Diamonds are not dug out of the ground, but are generally found in narrow crevices of rocks. Opium eating has become a habit with the Kaffirs in South Africa. The Chinese are the chief purveyors of the drug. Alaska has a seacoast of 26,000 miles, exceeding that of the remainder of the United States two and a half times. The finest equestrian statue erected in Great Britain was that of Charles I. at Charing Cross, facing Parliament street, London. The Chinese dictionary, compiled by Pa-cut-she, 1,100 years B. C., is the most ancient of any recorded in literary history. Dulwioh, now a populous district of London, still has a toltgate across one of its main streets, at which tolls ore collected regularly. John H. Stotsenberg of New Albany, Ind., has one of the finest collections of Bibles in this country. They range in years from 1198 to 1790. England produces annually about 8 1 0 to each acre, Scotland a little less than 810, but the product of Wales an ounts to over §2O per acre. In 1816 the value of a bushel of wheat in England was equal to that of a pound of nails. To-day a bushel of j wheat will buy ten pounds of nails. The Rev. Edward Allen of Tiverton, | Devon, who has just celebrated his J one hundredth birthday, is said to be the oldest clergyman in the Church of | England. While the Bishop of Sodor and Man was watching the cutting down of one of his trees receutly, the tree fell I upon him, knocking him down. It catching on a railing saved his life. Swans, shirts, canaries and trousers were among the personal effects Sir Robert Peel's creditors auctioned off at Drayton Manor, England, and the whole lot brought only a little over 8500. There is a tree in India and Africa from which butter is made. The fruit grows to the size of a pigeon's egg. Inside the fruit are seeds, whioh are pressed, aud from the oily substance a very good butter is manufactured. 1 The office of groom-in-waiting to the Queen, which recently became vacant by the death of General Sir Henry Lynedoch Gardiner, is worth about $1,670 a year with about six weeks of annual duty. There are eight grooms-in-waiting in the House hold, who were formerly changed with the Ministry, but now their places are permanent. A Lucky Man. Smith was telling Jones about a ro mance in his life, Smith having been a bachelor, aged forty or in excess thereof, before he had fettered him self by chains matrimonial. Jones, on the contrary, had begun young, and there was much joy and verdure in his life, aud he did not look at the world and the meu and women of it with a cynic's eye. "And," remarked Jones, in response to the story Smith was telling, "you say that you and Brown courted the same lady for ten years 7" "Exactly. That is to say, it may have been a month or six weeks shy of that, but, to all intents and pur poses, it was ten years." "How remarkable!" "Rather." "And which was the lucky man?'' "Oh, Brown, of course. If yon knew me you'd know that I was never around when the lucky numbers were being drawn." "You are to be pitied; really you are, myjdear Mr. Smith," said Jones, laying his hand on the o.her man's shoulder tenderly. "Thank you, I am sure;" nud Smith brushed au incipient tear from his eye. "I don't want to be inquisitive, or open any old wounds," continued Jones, "but may I ask as a friend how long ago it was that Brown married the lady?" "He didn't marry her," said Smith, with emphasis. "Didn't marry her?" exclaimed Jones. "Why, didn't you say that he was the lucky man?" "Of course I did. I was the man who married her." And Smith looked at the simple-minded and guileless Jones with an eye that made the goose-flesh stand out on his bones and sent the creeps up and down his bock. —Washington Star. Oldest Church In Europe. The oldest churoh in Europe is that of St. Pudenziana, at Homo. About the middle of the first oentury a cer tain Roman senator had a honse on this spot. He was a Christian con vert, aud it is said a distant relative to St. Paul, who lodged with him from A. D. 41 to 50. For the religious uses of himself aud guests, he built a small chapel in this house, and when he died in 96, and his wife a year later, his daughter added a baptistery. A church was afterwards erected on the site of the original house of Pu dens, and consecrated in 108 or 145. Canon Routledge, in his history of St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, claims that that venerable edifice is the oldest church in Christendom. He desoribes it as occupying the unique position of being the only existing church that wrfs originally built as a churoh dur ing the "first four centuries, and has remained a ohurch till the present day. Its font is the very one in which Ethelbert was baptized by St. Augus tine, as mentioned by the Venerable Beds. —Tid-BRs.