SOME KEOOKDS OF 1900.
REMARKABLE CASES OF MARRIAGE,
COURTSHIP AND DIVORCE.
Quirk Time in llimlini- an<l Loosing Mat
rimonial Ties Great Trices ToUI for
Cattle—The Shortest Murder Tiiul on
Record—The Prize Servant Girl.
Ambitious record breakers in di
verse and curious fields have had their
busy days iu the year 1900. Many
achievements outside of sports and
athletics seem to have established
high-water marks that may serve to
inspire emulation in the first year of
the new century.
For one tiling, Dan Cupid was busy.
In the cream-colored city of Milwau
kee, where the best families speak the
language in which Heine once scoffed
and Schopenhauer sighed. Louis
Hirsch, one line July day, fixed a new
criterion on the perilous side of matri
mony by wedding his mother-in-law,
Mrs. Albcrtina Abrahams. It was said
that he had learned to love her cook
ing before he proposed and she ac
cepted him. Many of the wise and
learned have married their cooks, but
,> liirsch, waiving disparity In ages, out
v did the old-time philosophers and
solved the mother-in-law problem by
-one bold stroke of genius. The bride
groom was 30 and the bride 60.
In Minneapolis, the other day, Ed
ward Roth shattered conventional
Ideas by marrying his stepdaughter,
who is 18, this proceeding having
transposed his former wife, from
whom he was divorced. Into his
mother-in-law. The latter is said to
have been as indifferent as if she had
never met her son-in-law.
From Chicago, long noted for its
surprising statistics in marriage and
-divorce, comes the record for the
swiftest courtship of the year, though
not the speediest divorce. One cold,
inhospitable February day Charles
Korpes stepped into a Chicago saloon.
Now it happened that the owner of
this particular bar was a buxom wid
ow. Korpes sized up the comfortable
surroundings. After 15 minutes of
wooing he proposed and was accepted.
The sequel was told in court one
mouth later, when the erstwhile bux
om widow was seeking relief from her
husband's extravagance and his habit
of drawing a revolver on her to en
force his demands.
More marriage licenses were issued
in Chicago in June, 1900, than in any
previous month of Cook county's his
tory, 2150 couples obtaining permits
to wed. Chicago's Gretna Green is St.
Joseph, Mich., across the lake. All
Sunday matrimonial records were
broken there on Aug. 12, when 78
couples were joined together for bet
ter or for worse—mostly worse, prob
ably.
Courtship and marriage implies di
vorce to a greater or less extent. The
blue ribbon for sundering the greatest
number of tangled hymenial ties in a
single day was proudly taken by St.
Louis. Yet people sometimes will
sneer at St. Louis as a slow town.
Poor little overworked Cupid was bat
tered and hammered and twisted out
of all recognition, on Nov. 26, when
four circuit court judges took off their
coats, figuratively speaking, and after
hearing the total of 100 divorce cases
granted 50 decrees.
San Francisco contributes the rec
ord for the speediest divorce, and a
neat and workmanlike job it seems to
have been. Edwin IV. Evans, a wide
awake commercial traveler, with the
timely aid of a swift California court,
got his decree of legal separation
from an incompatible partner of the
maiden name of O'Brien in precisely
20 minutes. At 10 o'clock on the morn
-10 minutes later a lawyer submitted
ing of July 21 he filed his complaint
the wife's answer; at 10.20 the judge
signed the decree, and the liberated
husband bolted from the court room
to catch a train. But Mr. Evans, it is
proper to add. brought to his aid in
preparing the ease, the knowledge of
a professional. He was no amateur,
lie had everything cut and dried. He
had been in the divorce mill before
and had carefully written out a copy
of an old decree, which the judge
obligingly signed so that he shouldn't
miss his train.
The record for the largest aggregate
business in divorces still Is held by
Chicago, the great centre of the in
dustry. The Chicago divorce mill
grinds with a steady all-the-year
round motion. The average grist is
about a dozen divorces a day, or, say,
4000 a year. About 2000 petitions
were granted In the first Bix months
of 1900. William Bateman Leeds paid
the record price for a Chicago divorce.
It is said that he gave his wife sl,-
t 000,000.
Mrs. Charles Reeves, a patient at
the Michigan asylum, at Kalamazoo,
talked herself to death on Sept. 28.
a She talked incessantly, and when her
' vocal organs refused longer to respond
she died of spasm of the glottis. Mrs.
Anna Mitchell obtained an injunction
from a Chicago judge in November to
restrain her husband, from whom she
had separated, from talking her to
death. Mary Novak, another Chicago
woman, was arrested last May for
talking on the street. She talked when
a policeman took her in charge, she
talked on the way to the station, she
-talked in her sleep, she was still talk
ing when she awoke, she talked in the
police court and his honor offered to
let her go if she would be silent only
five minutes. A fine of SIOO made her
still more talkative, and she talked as
she was led back to her cell, and her
verbal speed was steadily increasing
as she disappeared behind the portals
of the bridewell. From such reports
it is seen that the talkers of 1900 have
made a fair showing.
With the aid of > track laying ma-
chine contractors in Wyoming boast 1
o£ having beaten the world's record
by laying 18,000 teet in one day. the
best previous record being on the Cob
Orudo division of the Rock Island road,
where 288 miles of track wore laid la
five months and 10 days.
Ail the ocean sailing experts will ro
call the records for speed made by
the Hamburg-American steamer
Deutschland in 1000. The Deutsch- i
land's greatest triumph came early in \
September, when her time from Sandy j
Hook to Plymouth was five days seven
hours and thirty-five minutes. The av- |
erage speed was 33.36 knots; the j
greatest day's run was 540 miles.
The total foreign commerce of the !
United States in the fiscal year end
ing in June surpassed by $319,720,250
that of any preceding year, and for j
the first time in our history exceeded
$2,000,000,000.
The largest lumber deal of the year
was scored by a Wisconsin dealer. He
sold to a Chicago concern the season's
product of two mills, 45,000,000 feet,
the consideration being $1,000,000.
Beef at $1.50 a pound on the hoof
was the record price for this product,
established in December at the Inter
national Live Stock show in Chicago.
A fancy steer, 4 years old. and weigh
ing 1430 pounds was sold for $2145.
Queen Victoria, it is said, held the
previous record in this line when she
sold a prize steer for $750. At this
show the highest price in the world's
history for a car lot of steers was re
corded when 15 head were knocked
down at $15.50 a hundred weight. At
this same auction Dolly, a 4-year-old
Hereford, brought $3150, the highest
price ever paid for a cow of that breed.
In April, at a prior sale, Dale, a Here
ford bull, brought the record price of
$7500, the top figure previously paid
for a bull in any country being SSIOO
for Sir Bredwell at a Kansas City sale.
In March the queen mother cow, Lucia
Estill, an Aberdeen-Angus, was sold
there for S2BOO. Chicago also set a
price an shorthorn cattle in August,
when Mayflower VI. was sold for
$2600.
The shortest murder trial on record
took place in Chicago last May. In one
hour and nine minutes a jury was ob
tained, testimony heard, arguments
made and a verdict of acquittal ren
dered in the case of Hiram Zee, ac
cused of killing a man of the name of
Miller by kicking him out of a third
story window in a lodging house.
Mrs. E. M. Holland of Kansas re
ported the prize servant girl record t
for the year. She has had her ser
vant, Ann Mason, for more than 21 I
years. This paragon of house servants
cooked the first meal Mr. Holland and
his bride ate when they went to
housekeeping and has cooked every
one since then.—New York Sun.
CULF STREAM MYTH.
MilUncKs or Climate Attributed to Whole
Atlantic Ocean.
All who still have implicit faith in
the familiar teachings of physical
geography, relating to the beneficent
effects of the Gulf Stream on adjacent
countries, will be shocked to learn
that eminent authorities now speak of
this theory as an "exploded myth."
Such, however, is the case, and the
United States department of agricul
ture, through the oillcial organ of the
weather bureau, gives its Implied
sanction to this startling disclosure.
Modern meteorology asserts that tlio
climatic mildness attributed to the in- i
herent warmth of the Gulf Stream, i 3
really due to the heat conserved by the
whole Atlantic ocean. According to
this method of reasoning the Gulf
Stream, which is itself a result of the
practically constant atmospheric drift,
has no appreciable effect On the
other hand the fundamental factor, in ■
the climatology of the north temper- '
ate zone, is that the atmospheric circu
lation is unfailingly from the west
toward the east. It is tlio breaking up
of this general drift into two eddies,
the cyclonic and anti-cyclonic, that
produces the weather and seasonal
characteristics over this vast region.
The entire surface of the North Atlan
tic ocean, north of the trade winds,
has a set from west to east, somewhat
to the northeast It is this drift, and
not the ocean currents, that carries
the beneficent influences of the ocean
over the European islands. Similarly,
the Kuroshiwo, or Japan current, is
belittled by the meteorologists of
today and practically disregarded in
its influence on climate. The modern
teaching is, therefore, that both the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans as a whole,
and not any particular current, in
fluence the climates of the countries
cast of them, owing to the perpetual
west to east drift, which distributes
the heat conserved by their waters.
Could these eircumpolar currents be
reversed, the eastern coast of the
United States would have the mildness
of Bermuda. In substantiation of this
teaching it is pointed out that the re
versal of seasons which are variously
known as "Indian summer," "green
Christmas." "anticipations of May"
and the present unseasonable weather
are directly traceable to the intrusion
of the Atlantic anti-cyclonic aerial
currents on these coasts. This sets up
a circulation from the south that pro
duces remarkable climatic effects.
Dlplomnoy Win*.
"Yes, that cheeky young Winter
green made a friend of the haughty
Mrs. De Young the very first time he
met her!"
"How did he do it?" *
"He asked her if her hair wasn't
prematurely gray."—Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
The Latin phrase "E Plurlbus
Unura" means one out of many; one
composed of many. As the motto of
the United States it means that ours
is one government formed of many in
dependent states.
Compitny Milliner*.
When we have company to tea,
I am as good as I can be.
I never 'zactly understood
Just why I am so very good.
I think it's mostly mother's sake.
But partly plums and citron cake.
—Christian Register.
Watching tlio Wasp*.
Vmong my favorite insects, writes
Charles B. Bennett in St. Nicholas,
are the common social wasps, especial
ly those that do not make any cover
ings over their nests. One reason is
because I like to study insects in their
wild state, and tne social wasps are
almost the only active insects that can
be kept, and yet remain entirely free.
By carefully bringing a nest, with all
the wasps on It, to a good place for ob
servation, as just outside of a window
which is seldom opened, the habits cf
the wasps can be easily watched with
out confining these insects at all. And
there we may watch them without any
danger of getting stung. The wasps
that do not make any covering over
their nests are preferable to those that
do, because then we can see so much
more of their habits; then, in fact, all
of their domestic habits can be easily
seen, which is not the case with most
insects.
Wasps also have the advantage of
not being rare, so that generally it is
not hard to procure a nest of some
kind; and if it should not happen to
be just the kind spoken of here, it will
be all the more interesting for differ
ent ones to tell about the history of
the different wasps when it comes to
next autumn.
And if anyone should fall in love
with these bold and truly very inter
esting little neighbors of ours, it may
be a satisfaction for him to know that
these little insects are our helpers,
even if they do like to taste fruits, for
every year the different kinds of wasps
make deadly war on the troublesome
flies and on the destructive caterpil
lars, besides on many other insects
that annoy the farmers, and gardeners,
and us.
How Monkey* Hunt for I,and Crnh*.
"Most monkeys have a liking for
land crabs, and the beasts when in
their natural element in the jungle
will often travel for miles to some
marshy region in search of a crus
tacean meal," said a dealer in all sorts
of wild animals to a Washington Star
writer. "Some years ago, when I was
in Singapore trading with the natives
for monekeys, I was one day greatly
amused to see the artful methods
practiced by jocko to trap crabs. The
monkey, having located tho where
abouts of the crabs, lies fiat down on
his stomach, feigning death. Presently
from the countless passages piercing
the mud in every direction thousands
of little red and yellow crabs make
their appearance, and after suspicious
ly eyeing for a few minutes the brown
fur of the monkey they slowly and
cautiously slide up to him in great
glee at the prospect of a big feed off
the hones of Master Jocko.
"The latter now peeps through his
half-closed eyelids and fixes upon the
biggest of the assembled multitude.
When the crab comes within reach, out
dashes the monkey's arms, and off he
scampers into the jungle with a cry of
delight, to discuss at leisure his
clevely earned dinner.
"Rarely did the monkeys seem to
miss their prey. I saw, however, an
old fellow do so. and it was ludicrous
in the extreme to see the rage it put
him in. Jumping for fully a minute up
and down on all fours at the mouth of
tho hole into which the crab had es
caped, he positively howled with vex
ation. Then he set to work poking
the mud about with his fingers at the
entrance to the passage, fruitlessly
trying now ana again to peep into it."
Tile r>nnrn of tlie l apwing,.
The naturalists tell us of many pe
culiar habits that some birds have,
among them that of dancing. The
movement to which they apply that
term is not an irregular darting to
and fro, to which tne observer must
lend the influence of his imagination
to make it appear as dancing, hut is a
well-ordered, deliberate aud graceful
act, in which sometimes a few and
sometimes many birds take part.
Opinions differ as to why they
dance. Some writers think that it is,
so to speak, merely an interchange of
compliments and courtesies between
the sexes, particularly at the mating
season; others that it Is wholly play
ful, originating in bright and cheerful
spirits.
Be that as it may. the dance of the
spurwlnged lapwing is certainly an act
of play, for the birds Indulge in it all
the year round and at frequent inter
vals during tho day, and also on moon
light nights.
The lapwings live in pairs and any
one who watches them will presently
Bee one bird of a neighboring pair rise
and fly to them. It is always welcomed
with many signs of pleasure, just as
we greet a guest whom we are glad to
see. Advancing to the visitor, they
place themselves behind it and then
all three, keeping step, begin a march,
uttering loud drumming notes in time
with their movements.
In a little while the march Is over
and then the leader, elevating his
wings and uttering loud cries, stands
erect and motionless, while the other
two, with puffed-out plumage and
standing exactly ao-east, stocp for
ward and downward until ths tipi c'
: their beaks touch the ground. They
I remain for some time in this posture,
! giving utterance all the while to a
low, rhythmical murjnur. This ends
j the dance and the visitor goes back
! to his home, to receive there a visitor
in turn.
This dance of the lapwings is unique
among bird habits, and, though it may
be considered as purely a play, no one
has yet suggested a resonable explana
tion of its remaritable resemblance to
an act of human beings.—Chicago
Record.
Uncle Sam's Helpful l.lttlp Rook*.
Uncle Sam has a large, growing fam
ily to look after—Bo,ooo,ooo or 90,000,-
000 people of all colors, spread over
half of the world—and some of the
ways he has of looking after its best
interests are most practical and help
ful. For one thing, he firmly believes
in study and investigation, for he
keeps some dozens of our calculating
J friends, tne scientists, at work or him
; all the time—-botanists, geologists,
I statisticians, weather experts, chem
| ists, pomologists, entomologists, an
j thropologists and others with exceed
ingly hard names, who are continually
| busy with the hard problems that rise
j every year in his family economy.
I When one of them succeeds in solving
! a knotty question or finds a new way
in which the great household can be
improved he writes a little book about
it and (Jncle Sam prints it for free dis
tribution. These books are issued by
the agricultural department and are
called "farmers' bulletins," but they
really cover many subjects that are of
interest to people who do not live on
farms. Breadmaking, ways of reduc
ing swarms of house flies, new methods
of cooking, insects that attack shade
trees —these are matters of interest to
thousands of folk who live in cities,
and Uncle Sam knows it and sends
them free to all who apply.
One of the most recent of the book
lets gives a list of weeds that are good
for food—weeds that very few people
would ever think of eating. Charlock
is one of them, a weed of the mustard
variety that grows in wheatfields and
is very troublesome until pulled up,
put in the pot and boiled. Then it be
comes savory and nutritious. Black
mustard, a sort of wheatfield brother
to charlock, is anoifler common weed
that cooks up into delicious greens.
Pigweed, pokeweed, dock, purslane,
marsh marigold, kale, chicory and a
weed called orach, hailing from the
steppes of Asia, are some of the field
pests which Uncle Sam's botanist has
put upon the list, of new foods. The
little book contains illustrations of
these candidates for table honors, tells
how to identify them from poisonous
varieties and urges everybody to give
them a trial.
Bailie. Who I.ivo in I hi. Sky.
I A very strange family lived up In
tho sky—Mother Cloud and her Rain
drop babies.
One day she called them all about
her and told them of a wonderful
journey which they must take, away
from her. At first they cried (for
J babies do not like to leave their
I mother), but soon they began to smile
when she said that some day they
would come back when they had fin
ished their work.
She told them that she was going to
| put them on a train in care of Conduc
tor Wind, wno would help them off
j with care at the stations where they
j wished to go. This made them very
J happy, for all children love the "choo-
I choo cars."
j So saying, Mother Cloud bade her
Raindrop babies goodby, and the train
| started, whistling and bustling through
I the air.
Very soon Conductor Wind came
along and shouted: "All passengers
off for Brookville!" Several of the
Raindrop children got off at this sta
| tion. Mother had told them to do
j whatever work at hand they found to
I do, and to do it well. At Brookville
j they found some very thirsty cows who
I wanted a drink and some poor little
] flowers just parched with the heat, so
they were kept very busy giving them
refreshment.
The train rolled on, and whistled
[ louder than ever. The next station
I was Riverdale. Here a large number
of Raindrops were helped off by the
conductor. Very near tne station was
a mill, whose wheels were turning very
slowly, as the water was low, so the
| little helpers set to work to turn the
great mill wheel which sawed the logs
into boards. Oh, how hard they had
to work!
The train moved on to the last sta
tion, Oceanside. There were only two
little passengers left to get off here,
and they were met by a great many
little Raindrop cousins. The mother
had told all the children when their
work was finished to go to Oceanside
and wait there.
Mother Cloud felt very lonely one
day for her little children, so she went
to see her friend Mr. Sunshine, and
told him how she longed to see her
babies. He was a very genial, kind
hearted man, so he said: "All right,
I'll take my golden chariot and
go for them." So he started off in his
beautiful coach, drawn by fiery steeds,
with the rainbow for harness, and all
the Raindrop children clapped their
hands with joy when they saw him
coming, tor they knew they were going
homo to Mother Cloud.—New York
Tribune.
fhlil I'l l vilcu'H.
Some of the privileges of members of
foreign legislative bodies are unique.
Danish M. P.'s can have a free seat in
the Royal theatre at Copenhagen when
ever they like. The lawmakers of Nor
way receive free medical attention and
nursing if they fall ill during the ses
sion. The M. P.'s have extended their
privilege to include courses of gymnas
tics, massage, baths, drawing and
stopping teeth—all gratis!— London
"Stress.
HINTS
For the Turkish Corner.
No cozy corner that attempts to be
Turkish is complete without its silk
scarf in gay colors, spangled with big
shining scales and draped across the
top or side. This scarf is supplemen
tal to the heavier bit of color and or
namentation that is highly desirable.
A few Turkish cushions in similar silk
and with spangles in the embroidery
phould be a part of the Turkish corner
too, though they are decorative rather
than useful.
The New I-.fi m pshndeft.
Lampshades for small lamps are
made of softest silk and chiffon, in the
shape of a large open rose, whose
petals turn downward instead of up.
The shade hangs well down over the
light, and thus the softest glowing
light is obtained. Pink, yellow and
red are the favorite shades. A dainty
green one is beautiful, but immediate
ly suggests a head of lettuce. These
shades are the newest thing for fancy
lamps. The texture is as fine as any
flower for millinery use, and the price
averages from two to three dollars.
New Use for Gnrunium.
The frangrant geranium, the old
fashioned rose geranium, so desirable
[or all window gardens, is said to pos
sess still more desirable characteris
tics than are usually credited it A
suggestion comes from abroad that it
(nay be used to keep flies way. A mod
trate sized plant is said tp be so dis
igreeable to flies that they avoid its
neighborhood, and two or three of
these plants in a room will keep it en
tirely free from pests. This Is surely
a pleasant remedy for getting rid of
the flies that linger so provokingly
after tho fire drives the chill from the
yarious rooms.
A Modern Clot lie* Closet.
A modern clothes closet Is a great
Improvement over the old wardrobe
jwith hooks fastened against the wall
pn a strip of wood. In the new closets
(for clothes, stout hooks of perfectly
pmooth metal are fastened In the un
derside of a shelf at regular intervals.
On each of these hooks a heavy pol
ished wire shoulder form or hanger up
Is hooked. On these forms coats or
other wraps and dress skirts and
waists can be hung, stretched out so
that they cannot wrinkle as they did
when several were hung together from
the old-time hook at the side of the
wall. The advantage of this arrange
ment of the clothes closet is evident.
Each garment is hung by itself, and is
stretched out when hung. Consider
ably more clothes can be hung in a
closet of this description than in the
old clothes closet with hooks at the
sides. The shell in which the hooks
are placed is useful for holding band
boxes and other articles. There is al
most always a low base shelf raised
from three to four inches from tho
floor, which is useful for shoes, boots
and some boxes.—New York Tribune.
A I'rcpnrntion for Kemnving Paint.
The French method of removing
paint is far superior to such an old
fashioned, clumsy method as burning it
off. A white, thick liquid, of such con
sistence as to remain in a thick coat
over the surface, but sufficiently thin
to be easily applied with a brush, is
employed. It is quite free from any
acid and gives off a slight odor of am
monia, which betrays the presence of
alkali.
The way in which it is U3ed is as fol
lows: It is applied with a brush over
the surface which is to be cleared, and
is left there until the paint is soft
enough, which can be easily ascertain
ed by testing it with the thumb nail.
It generally takes from 10 to 15
minutes, It is then scrubbed with a
rough, hard brush and plenty of-water,
and the coat of paint comes off com
pletely. For the crevices of mould
ings and corners a second application
is sometimes necessary, and this is, in
case of necessity, left on for several
hours before the washing.
This preparation is called French
dressing, and its employment means a
saving of 50 percent in labor and
30 percent in time over tho old
method. It also has the advantage of
not staining the fingers.
Oyster Patties—Roll puff paste one
quarter inch thick, cut with a patty
cutter and remove centres from one
half with a smauer cutter. Brush over
the cgdes of the larger pieces with
cold water and fit on the rings. Chill,
bake and remove the centres and fill
with oysters.
Glazed Sweet Potatoes—After the
potatoes are baked remove the con
tents, whip them lightly with two
well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of
rich milk, dusting of salt and pepper
and a tablespoonful of butter. Refill
the skins, stand on ends in a pan and
brown in a hot oven.
Vanilla Cream Cookies—Cream to
gether one cupful of butter and one
and one-half cupfuls of fine granulated
sugar; add one beaten egg, one-half
cupful of sweet milk, one teaspoonful
of vanilla, one teaspoonful of baking
powder and just enough flour to roll
without sticking. Cut into fancy
shapes, sprinkle with granulated sugar
Mid bake a delicate brown.
THE IRASCIBLE SECRETARY.
Confusion in llje Dnpnrtment on Account
of His Iletifncss.
There was a remarkable mix-up in
the corridor of the state, war and
navy departments last week that in
volved a messenger, an electric bell
and an assistant secretary. The assis
tant secretary in question is an exceed
ingly able official, but very deaf and
somewhat irascible. The messenger is
a model of devotion to his chief and
thoroughly inured to his ways, while
the electric bell is just a plain electric
bell and nothing more. To understand
the situation thoroughly one must un
derstand that the ordinary solid doors
to the secretary's offices are reinforced
on the outside by Venetian slat doors
which may be locked from the inside,
denying access to the room although
the inner door is still open.
On the morning in question the elec
tric bell started with a few short,
sharp rattles to call the messenger.
Then the staccato rings grew into a
long roll as though a drummer were
endeavoring to beat up a whole army
from its midnight slumber. Finally
the bell got tired and took a rest.
Then it started again and rang as
though the wires had got crossed and
never intended to untangle themselves.
Meanwhile the messenger, ordinarily
attentive to his official duties, sat
quietly outside of the door with one
foot on the table and his napkin spread
out on his lap, eating his lunch. One
might have imagined that he had
caught his chief's oral affliction, but
this was not the case. Several diplo
mats passing down the corridor toward
Secretary Hay's office took in the
scene with wondering glances, smiled
and passed on. Half a dozen messen
gers and as many newspaper men, at
tracted by the racket, stopped to in
quire what was the matter and why
the ordinarily attentive messenger did
not answer the bell. He explained be
tween mouthfuls of sandwich that
some time previously his chief in a lit
of temper at being interrupted on some
important work, had dashed out from
his desk, locked the slat door on the
inside, and going back to his desk had
promptly forgotten about the occur
rence and was at that moment using
untold volts of good government elec
tricity in trying to call his messenger.
The door was locked, the messenger
was on the outside, and the under sec
retary was too deaf to hear any knock
ing or rattling of the knob of the door.
This comedy of errors continued for
about 15 minutes, when the mes
senger was struck by a brilliant idea.
He doubled up a large blue sheet of
blottong paper, stuck it through the
slats of the door and wigwagged vio
lently to his impatient chief on the
inside. The under secretary caught
the signal of distress, there was a
creak and a rattle as a swing chair
shot, half across the room and the
sound of "language" on the inside as
the irate official rushed across the
room to unlock the door. What hap
pened to the messenger when he got
on the inside no one waited to see.—
Washington Star.
I.mitlon Jack.
In a quiet part of southeastern Lon
don there is what is known as the "L.
and S. W. Railway Orphanage." In
this home there are 150 children
whose fathers have died in the ser
vice of the London and Southwestern
railway. Eight thousand dollars must
be found each year to meet the ex
pense of feeding, clothing, and edu
cating these boys and girls. Among
the friends of the charity there is one
who gives his time so willingly to the
work of securing the means to carry
on the enterprise that he has become
famous. His name is London Jack.
London Jack is only a dog, but ho
has many times collected the money
which has bought food and clothing
for these fatherless little ones. He
is provided with a brass collecting
box, which is strapped on his back,
and he looks not unlike a small pack
horse as he makes his way through
the crowded streets of London.
Since he began the work of collect
ing, Jack has returned over SBOO. In
one month he secured S3O for his lit
tle friends, and on the one afternoon
which is called "record day," he re
turned with $1!) in his little knapsack.
But all work and no play would
make Jack a dull dog. so he has his
time for sport. He is what in known
as a retriever, a breed of dogs which
have been trained in swimming and
recovering things from the water. Af
ter his day's work Jack is taken down
to the wharf by the river Thames
and is allowed to splash in the water
to his heart's content. It is a pleasant
sight to see him swim far iut in the
river among the barges, grasp a stick
which has been tossed there, and re
turn and lay it at the feet of his
master. This he does as faithfully as
he brings back his daily contribution
for the children of the orphanage.—
Our Animal Friends.
A Good Subject to Forget.
Scientists themselves reluctantly
admit that not all germs are harmful:
they oven more reluctantly admit that
in the present state of science it is
quite impossible to tell just what are
harmful and what are not not. Let us
not, then, indiscriminately abuse them,
for even a germ may turn. Then what
is there to do? Forget about germs:
don't worry about them; just pay at
tention to sensible rules in regard to
dressing and eating and drinking, and
let that suffice. A prominent scientist
was telling a story of Pandora's box
to his little son. He was telling It with
all possible dramatic effect. "And she
slowly lifted that lid and peeped
within, and then, what do you think
came out?" "Germs!" cried the little
son promptly. Let us put that veiy
Idea of germs back in that box an&
close the lid. —Saturday Evening Post