The American Manufacturer, of
Philadelphia, declares that, although
the methods of cultivating cotton in
China are very primitive, the quantity
produced is considerable. Much of
this cotton is sent to Japan to be spun,
and then comes back to China to be
woven. The quality of the goods
made in China is poor and coarse, but
the amount is steadily increasing.
Too much stress cannot bo laid upon
the quiet influence which the home
exerts upon the nation. If the ele
ments of character from which great
achievements spring were not faith
fully nourished at the fireside, there
would be no victories recorded in the
fornm, and no triumphs scored upon
the field. In this crucial hour of con
flict, when the frequent occurrence of
distinguished deeds on sea and land
reminds us that the days of chivalry
have not yet quit the calendar, we
must forget to pay the tribute of our
homage to the fountain source from
which true valor springs.
M. de Mansouty, a distinguished
French chemist, says the New York
World, has discovered that the sub
stance sold in Paris as coffee is com
posed of "adulterated chicory, beet
root, turnips, parsnips, carrots, dan
delion, acorns, horse chestnuts, hazel
nuts, figs, prunes, couch-grass, pista
chios, almonds, walnuts, peanuts,
dates, apples, pears. All these sub
stances, generally in 'damaged' con
dition, are mixed together, ground
yjd roasted and mixed with n little
real coffee." How patient are these
men of science! Fancy his stickiug
to that analysis until he discovered a
separable trace of "real coffee!"
A marked favoritism has always been
shown by the Government toward the
army, thinks the New York Mail and
Express. For instance, a Major-Gen
xral receives 87500 a year, whatever
his line of duty may be, while a Renr-
Admiral on waiting orders is paid
S4OOO and on shore duty SSOOO. In
addition to this injustice the Bear-
Admiral is obliged to house himself
except when he is on shipboard or
when stationed at a navy-yard. As the
regulations do not permit an officer to
take his wife to sea with him he must
provide a separate establishment for
his family during a considerable part
of his service. In the army, quarters
are invariably provided for the officers'
families at the various military posts.
There is still another injustice in the
age fixed for retirement. An army of
ficer may serve on the active list until
he is sixty-four years old, but the
naval officer is forced to retire at the
Vfe of sixty-two.
The New York Commercial Adver
ser says: Farmers can never hope to
fscape from frequent seasons of low
prices for their commodities until they
make closer study of market condi
tions and strive to adjust production
|o consumption, supply to demand.
This is the course men adopt who are
engaged in manufacturing and mer
cantile pursuits. No prudent manu
facturer goes on producing a certain
line of goods regardless whether there
is likely to be a market for them, and
no merchant loads his shelves with
fabrics and wares unless he expects
them to prove salable at a fair profit.
The manufacturer either curtails his
output or turns to another line of
goods, and the merchant only pur
chases such stock as he feels reason
ably sure he can sell again. Of course,
it is not always easy for farmers to
anticipate market conditions. It was
impossible to foresee the enormous
deficiency in the foreign wheat crop
last year. Such advantage as Ameri
can farmors reaped from it was largely
the result of chance.
There is a great division of opinion
in the army in regard to the new
Kraig-Jorgensen gnn with which it is
armed. Its calibre is .30, while that
of the old Springfield was .45. The
smaller calibre gives the bullet great
velocity and consequently a very flat
trajectory. It was supposed that thiJ
would also prevent its being deflected
sideways by the wind. Experience
has proved that the bullet is so light
that the wind affects it very greatly.
In addition, the rapidity with which
the bullet revolves causes it to move
sideways, being what is known as the
drift. The result of this is that fre
quently it is necessary in shooting at
distances above 500 yards to make an
Allowance of from six to fifteen feet to
the side of the target. Upon the
-Springfield rifle this allowance was
made by what is known as a wind
gauge, i. e., by moving the rear sight
of the rifle to one side by a screw so
AS to make up for this deviation. The
.extent of the movement as well as the
elevation of the sights was controlled
by the squad commanders.
SHIPS _AT SEA.
Oh, many ships have I at sea
That sailed away long years ago.
Some day they're coming back to me,
But when aiid how I cannot know.
Sometimes I waudor on the shore,
And watch the far horizon dim,
Where vanished In those days of yoro
My argosies so fleet and trim.
I scan with eager eyes the waves
That dance and sparkle in the light;
A vision fair my loud heart craves,
Alas! no sail is yet in sight.
Ofttimes I And upon the sand
A broken plank, a shattered spar,
A bent and rusty iron band—
Oh, voiceless tale of wrecks afar.
JOHN SHAD, QUAKER.
'"I N early life John
J Shad had no con-
J nection with the
!p eople called
Quakers. At the
when he at
taiued to mauhood
he had no "re
/t but this
J* was owing rather
* to shyness in
attaching himself
#ll' i to any particular
\j, {s. I | . sect than to lack
pm °f spirituality of
MjH % -WiiWi nt in d. Hitherto
'il l -1 y h' B hungry heart
- MmW! had gone out to
55T-CVv- : J' the mysterious
workings of ua
vN&.'TJViL; ture, and he had
worshiped the
1 sun and the stars
nnd the clonds, the flowers and the
birds. The night winds on his face,
the cries of migratory wild fowl cross
ing the darkening sky—these were the
things that created a great yearning
within him. Iu short, he was Pan
theist without knowing it.
These thoughts held him until Dinah
Bebb came that way as a pioneer of
the Primitive Methodists—the first
woman preacher that had appeared ou
the countryside. She was a demure
looking maiden, with a good deal of
decision about her well-set mouth, and
her bearing had a quiet dignity that
comported well with her features.
Her advent to the countryside was
the signal for a solemn warning
against her and her preaching; and it
was hinted that she was a heretic, if
she was not so set down in as many
words. Dissent had never before
raised its head in Hattock, and now it
appeared in a specially heretical form.
And so Dinah Bebb was denounced.
Hattock was surrounded by a great
belt of woodlands, and its sprinkled
population consisted of small farmers
and charcoal burners. Its backslid
ings on the surface were poaching and
smuggling, the rest of the deadly sins
being kept well under. Poaching was
the unpardonable sin to the squire,
the non-payment of church dues to
the "priest." The poachers knew
thnt if they were caught they would
be "everlastingly damned," and those
who neglected to pay church "dues"
were condemned to the same state—
not outwardly, but by inference.
This last was the fate of a small knot
of Quakers who had a meeting bouse
behind the Pit Farm, and whose goods
were regularly distrained upon in con
sequence. These queer people had,
it seemed, inconvenient notions as to
the payment of tithe, and so their prod
uce was forcibly, aud sometimes
roughly, appropriated.
Finding Dinah Bebb alone, and
learning the nature of her mission, it
was one of these who took her in, when
she had failed to find a lodging among
the dwellers on the fell-side.
Selecting a time when there was no
meeting elsewhere, Dinah Bebb had
given out that she would be on the
' Common on the first Sunday after
| noon, and that she would then speak
jto the people. As the time arrived
i the woodlanders were there, but they
j mostly stood afar off. Within the
j circle, immediately in front, were a
few of the Quakers —among them some
women—and behind, John Shad, with
luo "religion" at all. These were the
respectful listeners. The rest were
i further away, and either gaped or gig
-1 gled as they watched the scene.
I Dinah Bebb stood beneath a tree
with a book in her hand, waiting.
| And then, although stragglers were
[ still coming up, punctual to the ap
j pointed time the preacher came for
j ward, and, standing upon a point of
| rock, commenced her address.
"What shall it profit a man," she
asked, "if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?" then paused.
There seemed something startlingly
new in thequestion, andagreat silence
fell upon the crowd.
She spoke quietly and impressively,
in a low, sweet voice; then, as she
caught her listeners, with more
emotion; and finally, bringing uji a
force and fire her slight frame seemed
incapable of, she ended by an agoniz
/ng appeal that was so full of an in
finite tenderness as to sway every
listener.
She had stopped. But before the
people could recover themselves she
had dropped on her knees and was
praying.
Her pale, thin face was turned to
the illimitable sky, and, with arms out
stretched, her appeal was toward the
setting sun which, with its last rnys,
just at that moment wrapped her in a
purple effulgence.
The woodlanders were impressed—
shaken as they had never been before,
and they left the Common with an un
easy feeling that, somehow, they had
been set against themselves.
Hince her coming to Hattock Dinah
Then anxious fears crowd in my breast
And veil the sunshine in the skv.
Shall thus my good ships end their quest?
Shall this their fate be by-and-by?
O friends with ships far out at sea,
That sailed away so long ago,
Borne day they're coming back to thee,
But when and how we may not know,
rereliance with sails all rent and soiled.
Battered and bruised thy ships may be,
Of beauty and grace they may he despoiled
Heavy and slow they may come to thee
,But eomo they morning, noon or night,
With flying colors or broken mast,
Our hearts will cry with a thrill of delight.
"Thank God our ships haye come in ut
last."
—Clara W. Williams, in Boston Transcript.
Bebb made the most of her time. She
had fouud out something of the wood
landers, of their homes and of what
was their condition. That night she
visited the wife of a charcoal burner
in one of the liuts, and as she re
turned along one of the rides of the
forest she was stopped by a man. He
had followed her at a respectful dis
tance, and was now awaiting her. It
was John Shad.
They drew aside into one of the
clearings, and sat down on a felled
oak. It was late when they left the
woods, and that night John Shad com
menced his conversion.
The Quakers' meeting house stood on
the edge of the clearing, its "up-keep"
being represented by the rent of the
Pit Farm. It was a small, white
washol building, with plain unvar
nished benches. An oak gallery ran
along one end, and on this was a mat
of plaited straw. About a dozen
"Friends" habitually attended, a man
and woman Friend coming on a pilliou
from one of the upland farms. The
Quakers ministered among themselves,
and as an "atteuder," and sitting just
within the door, John Shad had sat for
a number of years. This quiet, self
contained man who lived in the woods
was welcome among the little com
munity.
As time went on, and he never
broached the subject of "applying for
membership," some of the Friends sug
guested that, did he make application,
they had no doubt it would be accept
able, especially if he were found to be
at one with them on the main point of
doctrine. After pondering the matter
for a time Shad saw no reason why he
should remain outside, and according
ly made application. In this way he
might share the larger responsibilities
and partake of the fuller privileges
that attached to membership. The
outcome of his application was the ap
pointment of two aged Friends to visit
him. If the conference was satisfac
tory, they would recommend his ad
mission to the Society.
But the recommendation never came,
and it was in this wise: To pursue his
nature studies John Shad had but few
other aids than his gun—and his gun
was an un-Friendly possession. Then,
again, his leather jacket was adorned
with brass buttons depicting sporting
subjects—-buttons much worn through
transference from ono garment to an
other. These were an heirloom, and
not lightly to be parted with, although
they well! hardly less subjects of
offence than his fowling piece.
Forego his gun, his nets and snares
and all his rustic appliances? No; if
Quakerism could not embrace him
with the lovo of nature and sport upon
him he must bide outside.
The woods were wide. The seasons
would come and go, the winds and the
tides. He was content.
How much the nature hunger had
entered into his soul no one knew.
Keenly as he loved the woodland
creatures alive, his gun brought them
within his grasp. His knowledge and
collection of birds would have been all
incomplete without it. Nature was
his life-study; it had got into his brain
and blood. He had the forest fauna
by heart, and when he was not char
coal burning or peeling oak-bark, he
made excursions to widen the scope
of his observations. When learned
entomologists came collecting to the
woods, he was consulted as to the
spots affected by the rarer species of
butterflies and moths, and in this way
some of his observations had found
their way into print—into quite learned
treatises.
hi.
How Dinah Bebb became Dinah
Shad; how the hut in the clearing was
enlarged, and how John Shad con
tinued in his quiet mind and still at
tended the old meeting house need not
be told. But these things were and
so they continued for years.
No doubt the meeting was ashamed
of having rejected Shad, but it seemed
to have been the mutual misfortune
that he had been interviewed by two
of the most conservative elders among
the sect.
But then, did not the Society's Book
of Christian Discipline and Practice
set itself against all sports—sports
which were demoralizing, and inter
fered with growth in grace.
IV.
The Quakers were a reminiscence in
Hattock. Only the name remained.
Sixty years ago they had been more
than a name. Traces of them were
common—of their doings, their say
ings, of the stand they had made
against what they deemed oppression.
There was their "Book of Sufferings,"
a pretty piece of reading in itself.
Turning its yellow-f tained pages one
laughed and wept with these dead
Quakers in turn—but always admired
them. It was a curious patchwork of
comedy and tragedy, this "book of
sufferings." A "stiff-necked genera
ation," the "priest" hod called them
(having an eye on his tithe), and well
he might! But they are gone, all
gone!
True, the little meeting bouse re
mains—still lovingly tended and cared
for by therejected of the elders, John
Shad—the sole survival of Quakerism.
Sixty years ago the quiet spirit of the
little community had entered into his
soul, and he lived on in the Faith. But
he could never be induced to renew
his application. And only once, with
a quiet smile, he gave the reason. He
still wore the brass buttons of his
leather shooting jacket—and were not
they anathema?
With his eighty years upon him,
what a man was John Shad, beautiful
with age! His soul looked out of his
face. Tanned was his face, his fine
square head covered with a profusion
of silvery hair. With all his fyears,
he stood as straight as an ash-sapling
—a perfect woodlander! In his age
as in his youth, he lived face to face
with Nature. Never was such a poor,
rich man. Nature, his mistress, he
would say, dowered him with riches—
showered her bounties before him.
Where the clearings had been he
built gardens and orchards. Hanging
gardens he made among the rocks and
sears—spots in which it was impossi
ble to tell where Nature ended and
art began. He grew the precious
herbs and knew the lore of all the
flowers. His patches of corn were
among the rocks, and everywhere
about him the desert blossomed as the
rose
But over and above all, the meeting
house was his chiefest care. How he
tended itl Nothing was ever allowed
to desecrate it—nothing except the
pair of swallows that came year by
year to nest among the rafters. How
the birds of return were waited and
watched for, and what a joyous day
was that of their coming!
For many years Dinali Shad hail
lain in tho litttle burial gronud.
In the meeting house itself John
Shad worshiped on alone. Each
first-day found him here, the silence
of the place was made audible by his
presence. Sometimes when his heart
felt thankfulness became too much for
him he stood up and spoke aloud.
And what sermons were those, if only
they could have been taken down!
And so he sat on, week after week,
year after year.
Beloved by the woodlanders as man
was rarely loved, he was left undis
turbed. A strange reverence grow up
about him. His silent testimony was
more powerful than the spoken word.
The lawless countryside became more
law-abiding as his years went on. But
still he worshiped alone. It is told
how a violent wayfarer, hearing of his
lonely life, had intended to break in
anil despoil his house. But, pre
viously lurking about the premises, he
had caught Bight of the old man ail
worship. Ho saw him, sitting silent
and still, with head thrown up, as was
his wont, and, as he described, with a
bar of sunlight across his white hair.
The mau watched him for a time, then
slunk silently awny and disappeared
in the woods, leaving the weapon with
which he intended to break the house
in his fight.
And as this man had seen him so I
found him ouo Monday at noon—a day
after he had failed to make his wonted
appearance. He still sat on the seat,
only a little more rigidly than usual.
There was but little change, except
that the mouth, slightly drawn, added
a hardness to the face that was not
there in life. Curiously enough his
will was in his pocket—l afterward
learned that he always carried it in his
"first-day" coat. Subsequently the
duty fell upon me to read this quaint
document, but I must not disclose its
contents.
Suffice it, they were characteristic
of the mau—especially the direction
that his body was to bo lain in the
woods, not in the little burial ground.
And so John Shad, the very incarna
tion of Quakerism, died, but still out
side of the pale of the sect—the last
of the Quakers of Hattook.
Even with the dead man lying be
fore me, X remember smiliDg at the
incongruity of the sporting brass but
tons as they stared me in the face from
the high-cut, snuff-colored coat—
the self-same anathema of sixty year*
ego.—Boston (England) Guardian.
Mule Steak Tasty.
"A party of Idaho cowboys, who
were out on the range hunting horses
not long since, got desperately hun
gry, and, rather than kill a beef steer,
which is worth big money just now,
they despatched a young mule, whose
flesh they proceeded to eat with the
greatest relish," said Mr. Albert 0.
Blocker, of that State, at the Ebbitt.
"One of the company told me that
the steak cut from the mule was as
good as any he ever nte, but his sharp
nppetito may have been a factor in the
case. It was the first time I ever
heard of a mule being sacrificed in
such a cause, but as horse meat is
growing in favor in European coun
tries, I don't see why his long-eared
relative should not answer the same
purpose."—Washington Post.
Tim I'lilllppinea In Gold.
Canovas del Castillo's widow has re
ceived a maguificeut present from ad
mirers of her husband in the Philip
pines. _ It is a large map in relief of
the Philippines made of beaten gold,
the towns marked by rubies, the
names written in sapphires, and the
dedication in diamonds. The map is
set in a frame of gold and jewels with
a gold bust of Canovas on top, and
this is inclosed in a box of precious
woods artistically carved. The gift is
valued at §30,000. The Duchess of
Canovas will soon be the sole Spanish
possessor of the Philippines.—New
I York Sun.
THE U. S. SIGNAL CORPS.
A MILITARY BRANCH OFTEN CALLED
AN ARMY'S NERVOUS SYSTEM.
The Work In Frequently the Mont Dan.
geroni the Life of u Soldier AfToitlw—
In Times or l'dire Recruits Are Al
ways Taken From the Ranks.
When an infantryman, an artillery
man or a cavalryman by liis own choice
becomes, at the end of his enlistment,
a member of the United States Signal
Corps, he lays down his gun and
ceases to be counted among the offen
sive elements which comprise the
army. He has not, however, chosen
a lighter berth, nor ono fraught with
less danger and hardship. On the
contrary, his new place is oftener
than not the most dangerous one that
the life of a soldier affords, and cer
tainly always one of the most import
ant in modern scientific warfare.
A signal man is, by preference of
the War Department, chosen from the
ranks of the army and his officers from
the army line. Long service alone
does not make a competent signal man
of a soldier. Like the recruit in all of
the other branches, the new signal
man must go to school. A year of
hard work in the Government school
at one of the army posts fits him fairly
well for his new place.
He begins by learning what can be
done with the signal flag, the simplest
instrument in the hands of the corps.
The Myer system, by which a motion
of the flag to the right means one, to
the left two, and in front three, is
simple; bnt to become familiar with
the code, which gives a meaning to
Mie dips of the flag, is a matter of a
month or two. Once it is_ learned,
however, the student needs only to
practice it a few hours to become an
expert with the heliograph. The well
fitted signal man is a student of topog
raphy and draughting, a photographer,
an electrician, a telegraph operator
and a haudy man at carrying the sur
veyor's chain, digging pole holes or
climbing the poles after they are set.
The art of handling a balloon and of
operating it are also taught him. If
he has come to the Signal Corps from
the infantry he learns, besides all
other things, to rule a horse, and in
practice usually has assigned to him
the toughest kind of a horse, in order
that he may in the end become proof
against the ordinary injuries incident
to the wildest sort of riding, over all
sorts of countries, under circum
stances which would render any other
uniformed man hors de combat then
and there.
He works that others may fight with
the best results, and even when there
is fighting his work goes on, within
the lines if necessity demands it, no
matter how thick the bullets fly. As
an officer expressed it: "The Signal
Corps is the nervous system of the
army—its eyes and ears and tongue."
With wagons and horses the corps
starts out in advance of an invading
army, trailing a wire behind it, audat
almost every instant it reports to the
commanding officer all flint is heard
and seen. As the wire unwinds from
the reel a small detachment fastens it
to the trunks of trees, if there are any
within reach, or sets it up on poleß
cnrriod along for the purpose if the
country be bare. Another detach
ment with field glasses and photo
graph instruments rides ahead, taking
shap shots and sending back by
couriers information as to the country
and the photographic plates. In
wagons fitted with draughting boards
and dark rooms are men who develop
the plates by a rapid process, and as
hastily as possible make from them
blue prints. The mau at the board
notes the observations of the scouts,
and with point and scale hastily draws
a topographical map of tho country.
This is no rough guess work, for with
the scouts goes the skilled surveyor
with his instruments. His glass and
eompass tell him directions and planes,
but for distances he depends upon an
other glass which, by the system upon
which the artilleryman's raugetiuder
operates, tells him the miles.
Thus he learns how far a range of
mountains is awny from him, and how
high it is. If a river crosses the in
tended route, it takes him but n mo
ment to find how far awny it may be,
and over the wire back to camp goes
tho word that the engineer corps must
be hnrried forward to build a bridge
for tho passage of the army. The
courier who takes the maps to the
camp also carries the blue prints, and
the commander is thus enabled to
formulate his plans upon certain
knowledge.
Should the camp be moved a de
tachment of the corps follows in the
rear, taking up the iiues which have
been laid. If the advance of an enemy
from the rear is expected the corps
stays behind as an outpost. If the
country through which the army is
moving be infested by the enemy a
guard must stiy behind to protect the
telegraph wire.
Distauce hampers this method of
communication, but by Mcaus of relay
stations if the country happens to be
a hilly one, at intervals of fifteen
miles as the greatest distance by the
cipher code, and the one, two, three
system the observations with instru
ments cau go on without interrup
tion, while the map-making is done in
camp. The disadvantages of a bare,
flat country are spt at naught by the
war-balloon.
Varied and numerous as the duties
of the sigual men are, so compact are
his numerous instruments, that each
man can carry with comparative ease
all that he needs. In a small box car
ried slung over his shoulder are his
telegraph instruments and his tele
phone and battery. His climbing
spurs he can always wear on his
boots, and thus he can at any moment
dismount from his horse's back and
climb a tree or pole.
The surveyor's instruments are also
in a kit, and when in use are set upon
a folding tripod, which has its place in
the kit. His tield glasses are slung
by a strap, too, but the telescope used
iu long distance signaling goes in the
wagon.
Ths camera, dark room aud chemi
cals can be packed into a bundle no
larger than an ordinary haversack, and
as the signal man's extra clothes and
blankets are strapped to his saddle,
nothing need be left behind when he
goes scouting. Though the pursuits
of the signal man are in themselves
peaceful, ho is armored with a revol
ver and a sabre.
A man once enlisted in the "blncks"
ceases for all time to be a private. He
is a sergeant theD, and if excellence in
his work warrants it he is made a ser
geant of the lirst class. He is eligible
to the honor of shoulder straps should
lib still be tinder thirty years of age.
--New York Sun.
His Business Instinct.
One of the brightest travelling
salesmen in modern commerce wai
thinking seriously of going to war.
"You see," he was sayiug to the old
military mnn whose stories of adven
ture and achievement had kindled his
ambition, "I have had experience in
every branch of trade that amounts to
very much except fighting.
"X have sold nails, barbed wire,
cigars, dry goods, paper, paints, oils
and a number of things. Now it
strikes me that I'd like to handle lead
for the Government awhile."
"You would have to undergo a good
many hardships," remarked his
friend.
"I don't care. I'm not married;
nobody but myself to think about, aud
I'd like to see if I can't do something.
Of course, I may never bo heard from.
But I'm willing to take my chances at
getting a monument some day with
the rest of them."
"Of course you would want to go as
an officer," remarked tho old military
man.
"I'd like to. But if I found it
couldn't be arranged, I wouldn't stay
away for that reason."
"Young man, I like your spirit.
Anything I can do for you I will glad
ly undertake. I'll see if it can be ar
ranged for you to have a commission."
The salesman looked startled.
"No," he exclaimed; "don'tdo that,
Of course, I don't like to seem mer
cenary, but I don't want to do any
thing on that basis. I have tried it
over and over, but I never got any sat
isfaction out of working on commis
sion. Give me a salary every time."
—Detroit Free I'ress.
AVhat Mexico Grows.
Last year the output of rubber from
Mexico was one million pounds.
Hundreds of thousands of rubber
trees are planted, aud in a few years
most of our supply of rubber will come
from that country.
Notwithstanding that Mexico is
tropical, corn is king there, as well
as in our Western States. The value
of the Mexican corn crop for 1896 was
over 377,600,000. This is ten times
the value of the coffee raised in
Mexico.
The wheat in Mexico amounts in
value to nearly 330,000,000 a year;
the rice crop is worth §6,000,000;
310,000,000 worth of beaus are grown
each year, for beans form a staple
article of diet among the peasants.
Potatoes are grown iu Mexico to the
sum of $1,000,000, but the Chili crop
exceeds it three times. Sugar is
grown to the value of $12,000,000;
pulque, $2,000,000; cotton, $8,000,-
000, and nearly the same amount of
coffee. Five million dollars is what
the tobacco crop for last year yielded.
- Milwaukee (Wis.) Sentinel.
Why We See Stars.
If a man falls so as to strike his
head violently on the ice or on the
pavement, or if he gets a blow over
his eye, he is said to "see stars."
The cause of this curious phenomenon
is found in a peculiarity of the optio
nerve.
The function of that nerve is to
convey tho impression of light. It
recognizes nothing in the world but
light. It is susceptible to no other
impression, or, if acted upon by any
other agent, it communicates to the
brain the intelligence of the presence
of that ageut by sending along its
fiber flashes of light only. Irritate
this nerve with a probe or other
instrument and it conveys no sensa
tion of pain, but simply that of lumin
ous sparks. The pain of the blow on
the eye or the fall on the head is
realized through the nerves of general
sensation; but, insusceptible to pain
or other fooling, tho optic nerve seuds
to the brain its report of the shock
by Hashes, sparks aud "stars."—•
Chicago Chronicle.
Domestic Affairs ot Ostriches.
When an ostrich is preparing to
hatch she scratches a hole in the
ground about tho size of a bushel
basket. Eggs are then laid day after
day, and arranged around the hole.
When twenty-one are laid the bird
kicks them into the hole, and nt night
sits on thorn. The male bird performs
this duty in the daytime, thus per
mitting his partner to obtain exercise.
—Boston Globe.
"The Clung of the Wooden Shoonl"
There is a curious little Holland
village in Wisconsin, named "Little
Chute," whose chief manufacture is
wooden shoes. The people there are
as thoroughly Dutch as their progen
itors. The town stauds on the ground
where Pere Marquette had his winter
quarters, and where the Dutch priests
instructed the Indians.
The Oueen Kecent'n Ancestor.
The most dramatic feature of the
fall of Spain is that her present
Queen Regent, under whose sway the
last colonies are being lost, is a direct
descendant of that William the Silent
who struck one of the first and dead
liest blows at Spain when she was at
the height of her power.
COLUMBIA PUTS HER GLITTERING
ARMOR_ ON.
Columbia puts her glittering armor onl
Not boasting in her might—
Not for mean conquest—not to make dis
play
Of her fine powers—not, by her proud
array.
To threaten and affront tho waiting
world;
Nor in mere cnvngelust for war's delight
Is her unsullied banner now unfurled;
But to set right
The base and treacherous wrongs, too long
endured
And that the world henceforth, shall he
assured
Her children's blood may not ho lightly
shed.
It is her blood that cries!
To arinor, now, that cry, her comely bead
Is filleted with steel—her lips, firm-pressed.
And from her leveled eyes,
Tin* dangerous light
Of battle plays beneath her pallid brow,
Liko lightnings from a summer cloud at
dawn,
As, with pained heart, fierce-swelling la
her breast,
Her gleaming sword is drawn,
To answer that cry now,
Columbia puts her glittering armor on.
—Robert Burn 9 Wilson, in Ainslee's Maga
zine.
PITH AND POINT.
"How did you get on at the police
court?" "Fine!"— Scraps.
Auntie—"When I was your age I
never told a lie, Tommy." Tommy—
"When did you begin, auntie?"—
Tit-Bits.
"My wife," said Tangle, "is a.
mind reader." "Pity my lot," said
Jangle, "my vife is a mind speaker."
—Tit-Bits.
Optician—"Yes; you see double. I
can correct the fault with spectacles."
Patient—"Hurry! Maybe it isn't
twins, after all."—Jewelers' Weekly.
Her Father—"Have you heard my
daughter sing, young man?" Edwin
(nervously)—"Ye-es, sir; but iu spite
of that I—l should like to have her,
sir."—Ally Sloper.
"Is Jack seeing much servico at
the front?" "I judge so from the
fact that in every letter home he
speaks of being awfully hard pressed."
—New York Tribuue.
"I always test my poems by read
ing thorn to my wife," said the youth
ful poet. "I should think that was
testing your wife," answered the can
did friend.—Chicago Evening Post.
Doctor -"Well, Pat, have you tuken
that box of pills I sent you?" Pat—
"Yes, sur, be jabers, I have, but I
don't feel any better. Miwbe the lid
hasn't come off yet."—Boston Travel
ler.
Miss Scott—"Yes; she has been
saying all manner of wicked things
about me." Friend—"You should not
heed her, dear. She merely repeats
what other people say."—Current
Literature.
Bill—"Do you consider amethysts
unlucky?" Jill—"I should say so! I
had a collar button once with one in
it, and the thing used to roll under
the bureau nearly every morning."—
Yonkers Statesman.
In Earnest.—"Do you think their
engagement really means anything?"
"She says it means more tandem
rides and ice cream than the last one
she managed, or it will be broken off."
—Cincinnati Enquirer.
"The doctor would like to see yon
inside," said the maid to the caller
who was waiting in the reception
room. "Not much!" said the startled
patieut; "he can't try any X-ray on
me."—Yonkers Statesman.
Ilanleigh—"Do you enjoy bicy
cling?" Foote—"Can't say that I do;
but then the only experience I have
had is in being run into. Perhaps if I
should learn to ride I might enjoy ifc
better."—Boston Transcript.
"He's a man of large calibre," re
marked Jones to Brown, speaking of
un acquaintance. "Indeed," was the
reply; "how do you make that out?"
"He's a great bore." "Oh!" mur
mured Brown, and fainted away.
Professor (discussing organic and
inorganic kingdoms)—" Now, if I
should shut my eyes—so—and drop
my head—so—and remain perfectly
still, you would say I was a clod. But
I move, I leap. Then what do you
call me?" Voice From Rear —"A
clodhopper."—Tit-Bits.
Are Women Braver Than Men?
The question whether women are
more courageous, or whether they are
constitutionally less sensitive to pain
than are men has recently been raised
by the Fortnightly Review. Doctors
and dentists all over the world agree
that they hear pain with more forti
tude, and in most instances submit to
painful surgical operations with more
bravery than does the so-called stronger
sex, from whom more endurance is to
be expected.
A woman who will scream at the
sight of a mouse will undergo every
Variety of dental operation with cour
age and facility. Dr. Evans, the cele
brated American dentist of Paris, gave
it as his experience that women swoon
under the dentist's hands lunch less
frequently thau men, and the general
testimony of surgeons in hospital prac
tice is to the same effect. However,
doctors disagree as to whether this is
due to superior bravery on the part of
the women, or whether they are physi
cally insensible, as compared with
men.
Patriotic Dutch Horticulture.
In view of the coronation festivities
which will take place at the end of
August and the commencement of Sep
tember next, the Dutch florists are ex
erting themselves to grow red, white
and bine, and, in particular, orange
colored flowers, with which to adorn
their country on the great occasion.
The moutbretins furnish beautiful
orange flowers, with which the royal
crown aud initials are traced against
the black mould; and there is a new
orange rose which, at the suggestion
of the Grand Duke of Luxemburg,
has been given the English title of
"Sweet Little Queen of Holland"—a
very pretty and welcome idea.—X <u\-
don Chronicle.