IT IS OUR YELLOW SLAVE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PURE GOLD. tfatnre'a Forest, Ifer Virgin Cold, is Al ways Allo3'ed With Silver—There is In calculable Auriferous Dust at the Bottom of tho Sea. ' C. F. Lummis writes in St. Nicholas that the only abundant metal in tho world that is yellow is the most prec ious of them all—gold. Brass is not a true metal, but an alloy, a compound. And the color which gold shares with the sun has a great deal to do with its value. Ido not think it would be possible thnt lie should ever have come to love and admire any metal so much, to choose it for our highest cur rency and our ornaments, 110 matter how rare or ductile it might be, if it k were a dark, dull, gloomy color. The human eye never gets too old to be pleased with very much tho same things which pleased it in childhood; and no eye is insensible to the charm of that precious yellow. I like sometimes to think back to the first man of all men that ever held that "rock of the sun" in his savage hand, and to imagine how he found it, '• and how It made his sharp eyes twin kle; and how he wondered at its weight, and pounded it with one smooth rock upon another, and found that ho could flatten it. All these things come by accident; and gold was an accident that befell when the world was very young. Probably there had been a great rain thnt washed the comely lump from its nest in some gravelly stream-bank; and the pre historic man, in his tunic of skins, chanced this way and found It. It may be that the poor barbarian who picked up the first yellow nugget sank with it still grasped in his swarthy fist. We do not know even the name of tho man who first discovered gold, nor where he lived, nor when. But it was 1 very, very long ago. Before tho time of Joseph and the coat of many colors gold had already become not only a discovered fact, but used in the world's trade. The early Egyptians got their gold from Nubia; so, very likely, the discovery was first made in Africa. At all events it dates back to the very childhood of the race, and before men had invented the letters of the alpha bet mnnkind had achieved the prettiest plaything it had ever found. All gold began in "veins" In the earth's rocky ribs, but time, with his patient hammers of wind and rain and frost, has pounded vast areas of these rocks to sand, and the gold, broken from great bands to lumps, has drifted with the bones of tho mountains into the later heaps of gravel. The processeo of mining gold which still remains in Its original homo In the rocks are much more complicated. There is a vast nmount of boring to be done into the flinty hearts of the mountains with steel drills nnd with blasting, nnd then the rock which Is ' dotted with tho precious yellow flakes \ has to be crushed between tho steel jaws of great mills. Much of the gold that is mined, tco, is so chemically changed that it does not look like gold at all, and requires special chemical processes to coax it out. In all gold mining, mercury is one of the most im portant factors. It is the mineral sheriff, swift to arrest any fugitive fleck of gold that may come in its way. The sluice-boxes in extensive placer mines and tho "sheets" in stamp mills are all charged with quicksilver, which saves a vast amount of the finer gold ilust that otherwise would be swept away by tho current of water, for water is equally essential in both kinds of mining. There Is 110 such thing as "pure gold," often aa we hear the phrase. Nature's purest, her "virgin gold," ic otways alloyed with silver; and the very finest i 3 ninety-eight or ninety nine per cent. gold. California gold averages about the fineness of our American coin—ninety per cent, of purity. It is an odd fact thnt the sea is full of gold. No doubt at the bottom of that stupendous basin, which has re ceived for all time the washings of all the world, there is an Incalculable wealth of gold in dust, but the strange ocenn mine is not all so deep down as that. The sea water Itself carries gold In solution—a fraction of a grain of gold to every ton of water, us a fa mous chemist has shown. Among the historical big nuggets found in various parts of tho world there have been some wonderful yel low lumps. In Cabarrus County, North Carolina, one was found In 1810 which weighed thirty-seven pounds troy. In 1542 the gold fields of Zla toust, In the Ural, gave n nugget of ninety-six pounds troy. The Victoria (Australia) nugget weighed 140 pounds find three pennyweights, of which only ,|r'x ounces were foreign rock; nnd the Bal'.arat (Australia) nugget was thirty nine pounds heavier yet. The largest nugget ever found was also dug in Australia—the "Sarnh Sands," named for a far-oil loved one. It reached the astonishing weight of 233 pounds and four ounces troy! I wonder what Mi ner Sands felt when he struck his pick upon that fortune in one lump! Within the last fifty years Califor nia nnd Australia alone have produced more than half as much gold as the whole world had mined before Colum bus. At present the United States pro duces over $00,000,000 worth of gold a year, which is far more than any other country. South Africa and Auu tralla rank next, producing each over $50,000,000, and after come Russia, South America and Mexico. The to tal annual production of gold In the World is over $200,000,000. Yet the world is not richer in gold tly all that vast amount every year. Is losing, too—an amount very tri ifllng compared with the whole, and yet very large in fact You hear peo pie wishing thnt they owned this rich mine or thnt vast fortune, but if one could have Just the annual loss on the billions of dollars' worth of gold now in the world's hands there would be no need to envy Croesus. Every year an Impalpable golden dust—so infi nitely fine as to seem rather a vapor than a dust—is worn from all gold in use, and passes forever from our wealth and our knowledge. And in our handling, enough gold to make one person incalculably rich disap pears every year, lost as absolutely as if it had never existed. So even if the world's needs of gold were not multi plying very rapidly there would be re quired a large annual production mere ly to meet this shrinkage by "we.. 4 and tear." The quality which makes gold the most valuable of the metals is its do cility. The cunning hammer of tho smith can "tench" it almost anything. The more stubborn metals crumble after they have been reduced to a cer tain point of fineness, but gold can be hammered into a sheet so infinitely fine thnt 282,000 of them, piled one ujn the other, would be but an inch thick! And a flake of gold tiny as a pinhead can be drawn out in a finer thread than ever man spun in a spi der-thread—to a length of 500 feet. There is no end to the uses of gold. They broaden every day. In one of its many forms our Yellow Slave helps us In almost every art and walk of life. It is as necessary as its red fel low-servant, Fire—and a better In one way, since, unlike fire, it can never become "a bad master," except through our own fault. German Secret of Succeaa. The magnificent organization of trade and technical schools in Ger many is three generations old. Our competitors are not content with what exists. They are incessantly employed in. perfecting their jiractical equip ment. llow can we expect to compete with a country where thousands of apprenticed clerks, the business di rectors and commercial travelers of the future, attend their continuation school for two hours in the morning from 7 o'clock to y? Then they go to their offices, and long before nttain lug their majority they are profieleix* in at least a couple of living language*, have a thorough grasp of the whole theory and practice of foreign trade, and, above all, in their own special line have got quite to the bottom of their business. Between fifteen and nineteen with us the State knows nest to nothing of its youth, though that is the very period in which permanent character and faculty are shaped. The thousand boys who might have become technical experts or commer cial travelers as llueut and persuasive as their Continental rivals in as many tongues, would be worth a million of the elementary instructed, who re tain little more on the average than a strong taste for cheap fiction. Our expenditure upon education is largely a colossal waste, and our fnilure to provide a secondary system such as can nlone bring the seed to harvest is a national disaster and a national disgrace.—London Telegraph. Schoolboy Definitions. Q. "Who discovered the law of gravity from the fall of an apple?" A. "Paris." Q. "What is a sarcasm?" A."A sore ou your body." An "antiquarian" is "a place for animals," "harlequinade" "a kind of drink," "a dilemma" "a medicine," "citadel" "a sort of chief policeman," "neutral" "a kind of reptile" and "eulogy" a chap who feels bumps ou your head." "Juggernaut, a mountnin In Switzer land," "glacier" as "a mender of win dows," "prig" is "a little boat" and the ostrich Is "distinct." "Sapphlra was a high priest." "Chamois are a kind of big fleas." "The Milky Way" is "the thick creamy stuff on the top of the milk." "Tubleuux vivauts" means "hotel dinner." "Elopement" Is "the opposite to allo pathy."—Collection made by a Loudon Head Master. Fggs For Murket. Possibly there is truth in the pub lished statement that a majority of New Yorkers will not buy perfectly fresh eggs if they can obtuin those that are about a week old. That may account for the signs in the shops— "Fresh," "Strictly fresh" und "Twer* ty-for-a-qunrter." One of the 5000 egg cnndlers in New York says: "The only eggs thnt arc really fit to eat are speckled. The quail egg comes first then the guinea egg und then the turkey egg. Even a suck-egg dog avoids duck eggs. It is strange that more guinea eggs do not come to mar ket. Turkey eggs are too valuable for breeding, though I could name two millionaires in the "Highlands of Fifth avenue' who pay $1 a dozen for them and always nave some in the pantry. The law is dead against robbing quail and partridge nests. One of the delicacies much sought after is a mess of plover's eggs. About three dozen make a meal."—New York Press. Troubles Thnt Never Happen, 1 As the story runs, once there was nil old man, broken by years and wrin- ' kled by worries, who laid him down to die. Summoning his seven grown children to his side he delivered feebly to them with his parting breath this last message: "My children, I have lived long, tolled hard and worried much. But as I look back upon my life I find flint my greatest troubles have been tlioso that never happened." In other words, the good man had spent much of his time in crossing bridges that he was never to reach— In borrowing trouble thnt he was never to exper'ence.—New York World. Benefit to the Farmora. 1 —| —r IIE question Is often asked >• I your Commissioner how the 5 stone roads are of any partic "s" ular benefit to the farmer, and whether the Increased taxation resulting from the building of them does not amount to more than the ad vantages gained. This question Is more easily an swered, says the fifth annual report of the New Jersey Itoad Commission er, by citing the practical results In some sections of the State. Glouces ter County and the southern part of Camden County are great producers of watermelons, tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes and many other varie ties of fruits and vegetables so largely sold In the city markets. Before the advent of stone roads the leading highways not graveled were almost a bed of sand, through which teams struggled with forty to fifty baskets of produce to the Philadelphia market. The roads were so heavy tho farmers wero largely forced to ship by railroad and by boats passing down the numerous creeks that Inter sect this portion of tho country. The expense on the few baskets they wero enabled to carry from tho farms to the city were so great thoy found It much cheaper to send by car or boat. Now, since the leading roads have beon macadamized toward the Glou cester City ferry, there are from 1000 to 1000 teams a day passing to and fro on this ferry, whore probably from 200 to 400 was the maximum before. Those teams now carry from 130 to 175 live-eighths bushel baskets of veg etables and fruits, whllo before they only carried from forty to fifty bas kets. They are now carting to mar ket instead of sending by boat, as they once did, and returning with three and five ton loads of manure. Their rea son for so doing Is that they effect a very large saving. Their experience Is that the average basket of fruit or vegetables sent by boat to Philadel phia markets costs from six to eight cents a basket; tho Items of expense by boat are two cents for attendant, and one and two cents for carting in city; total, seven to eight cents; then, if the commission be added, It would •verago three to four cents more; to tal, eleven to twelve cents. By cart ing an average load of 150 baskets the farmer saves by the use of his own tenm about $lO a day, so If he were to cart about five days in a week there would be a saving of SSO a week, less tho forty expenses of seventy-five cents a day. Another advantage con sists In the produce being landeu at tho commission or consumer's door, thus being In a much better condition for salo than when going through its different stages of handling to and from the boat or cars and the rough usage of curtlng to the consignee's door. Then the farmer by marketing his own produce very often saves the commission by being enabled to di rectly dispose of it to the consumer. The charge of selling Is ton per cent.; on an average load of 150 baskets the commission would be somewhere in the neighborhood of SO. This, added to the $lO saved In transportation, swells the saving to $lO ou each load. This calculation seems large, but if it were one-half realized it shows how tho stone yards benefit the farmers. The result lias been, where the early opposition of tho farmers of Glouces ter County was marked by the send ing of numerous persons and petitions to tho Legislature to have the stone road law cither abrogated or the man damus or forcing clause stricken out, that applications arc being rapidly sub stituted for the remonstrances, making it Impossible with tho limited appro priation to come anywhere near meet ing their petitions. Another one of the results is that the farmers arc rapidly buying larger, heavier wagons with broad tires, and if the present rate of Increase keeps on the capacity of each wagon will be almost equal to that of the small boat* formerly used in this carrying trade. Tho Sand Bond. Shade harms a loam or clay road, but improves a road of sand or broken stone, since it prevents the evapora tion of the moisture from the road bed. Therefore a sand roud can be permanently improved by planting trees so as to shade the traveled way. They will prevent, in part, the drying effect of the winds, as well as Inter cept the rays of the sun. A road on pure sand is Improved temporarily by covering it with a thin layer of any vegetable fibre, as de caying leaves, straw marsh hay, waste from sorghum mills (begasse), fibrous or string-like shavings, etc. Tills fibrous materlnl soon becomes incor porated with the sand and decreases its mobility. The vegetable matter decays and wears out, and conse quently tho effect is comparatively temporary. The lengtli of lime such expedients will last depends upon the climate and the amount of travel. Sand roads improved with three to four inches of shredded wood (excel sior) have kept In reasonable condi tion for a year or two. The only thorough and permanent Improvement possible for a sand road is to add a layer of tough clay and in corporate it with the sand. This Is ex pensive at best, and it is difficult to get tile sand and clay thoroughly Incor porated in the right proportions. Enilgration from Germany has fallen from 171.000 la ISS3 to 21,000 in lfioa TINTINNABULATION OF THE STREETS Nearly Every Bell Now Means "Jump For Your Elfel" In the steady volume of the noises of the street the bell lias become the insistent characteristic the Jingling bell, the tinkling bell, the sweet bell jangled out of tune—above all, the per emptoi'y clang of the warning gong. It is not so very long ago that the bells of the street were few and readily un derstood. There was the gypsy chime of cowbells swinging on a leather belt supported by uprights on a pushcart. Its not Inharmonious jangle meant old rags as certainly as the blast of the horn meant Friday fish. The clangor of the brazen handbell, the large din near bell, pealed in a sort of inarch tempo, was a sure indication of the passage of the scissors grinder, with his wheel upon his hack and bell in hand, looking for the chance to renew the edges of domestic eutlery. Every horse on every street car wore a bell at his collar, and the rhythmic jingle was no unpleasant accompani ment to the flinty beat of iron shod hoofs in measured intervals upon the cobbles. Now the bells have only one mes sage, and a stem one, "Get out of the way!"—a message such as may be read where country turnpikes cross the tracks under the warning gibbet, with Us inscription, "Look out for the loco motive when the bell rings." The strike of every bell upon the streets in this high speeding age means ".Tump for your life!" With clang and clatter tho electric car whizzes past, and before the warning has ceased to ring In the ears will be a block away. Still more peremptory are the ambu lances, whose rubber tires bring them, scarcely heard, right down upon the wayfarer before their gong goes off with the rattle of all the watchmen of antiquity rolled into one. Still more stealthy In its approach is the bicycle, with tho weaker demand of Its con tinuous performance bell for the right of way, but foot travel has become habituated to the wheel, and is dis posed to insist upon some such rule as secures the right of way at sea to the windjammer over the steamer. The latest bell to come upon the streets is that which marks the com ing of the automobile. Some of these shrill pipe of the whistle of steam or compressed air, but others have a dis tinctive chime of two notes, like some church clock striking the half hour. For no worse sin than ringing the bells of his parish church John Bun yan saw the redhot gates of hell yawn ing open for him. Just think what a doomsealcr ho would be were he to listen to the bells of the street.—New. York Tribune. "Throw Out the Life Line.** "At Nautasket Bench," writes John It. Clements in the Christian Endeavor World, "I one day visited the life saving station," said Rev. E. S. Ufford. "and I hud shown to me for the first time a life-line with its silken strands, nnd had Its uses minutely explained to me; the story of a wreck on this dangerous coast was at the same time related by a friend. These two inci dents formed the basts of the song. "A title, you know, has much to do, many times, with the success of a com position. It not only Impresses the author, but It catches the ear of the public. So In this case, when the four words, "Throw out the life-line," came to me, I had my Inspiration. The sentence stayed with me, and I could not have thrown it off, had I been so inclined. "On reaching home I took paper and pencil, and wrote down tho words hurriedly; then, seating myself at tho instrument, I seemed to play the tune without any effort. I do not think there was more than fifteen minutes consumed In the production of both words nnd music. They seemed ready. I had only to write." A Flea For Single Hulls. Two In a bed is the usual custom of sleeping, In the United Slates at least, nnd also In Canada and England. But in German and France, says Good Housekeeping, single beds are the rule. The latter plan is more health ful and comfortable. It Is gradually coming Into use In this country. Single beds Involve more linen, more work In making beds and more wash ing, but I never knew a family to re turn to the old plan after onee giving single beds a fair trial. Especially in summer Is the single bed to be pre ferred, or even slecpiug on the floor, to two in a bed. Many families de clare tlicy never know what comfort was, during the hot summer nights, until they adopted the single beds. I might add a word of protest against allowing babies or young children to sleep with old people. The latter cer tainly draw upon the vitality of tho former. This is probably true as be tween any bedfellows one of nliou is sickly or less strong than the other. Consumption and otlieK diseases have often been communicated from one bedfellow to another. Stick I'ln In a Chicken. A. 51. Clark, of Girard, Erie County, killed a chicken for his Sunday dinner, and discovered something quite un usual in the history of poultry. In cleaning the bird his hand was some what injured by coming in contact with a sharp instrument which pro truded through the gizzard. When that organ was removed and cut open it eoutalned a gold stick pin which slr. Clark had lost about a year ago. Tho pin had worked through the side of the gizzard and fully half an Inch was on the outside, while the balnnce was inside. The gold head was untarnished. The chicken seemed to ".e in perfect health, and evidently enjoyed the diet. —Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph. Last year Germany Imported from Italy $-.1500,000 wortti ot grapes tcr table use. I^OTS i g llijjp' ! New York City.—Tasteful, comfort able breakfast or morning jackets are essential to every woman of taste. The novel May slantou design illus BKEAKFAST JACKET. tratcd combines all the essential fea tures, Is loose enough for comfort, yet graceful and becoming. The original is made of India silk showing blue figures on a white ground; but wash able materials nnd soft, simple wool en fabrics are equally appropriate. The full fronts and back are simply gathered and Joined to a square yoke of lining or to the fitted lining that extends to the waist. The deep yoke shaped In effective scallops Is included with the box plent that closes the fronts, hut the lower edges may be finished free with bolero effect or Btitched oyer the gathers if so pre ferred. The fulness Is gnthcred at the waist line In back and a ribbon AND TUCKED SKIRT passing around the waist confines the fulness in front. The sleeves are in bishop shape, hut finished with turn-over llare cuffs. At the neck is a turn over collar that Is high enough for style yet soft and eminently satisfactory to the wearer. To cut this jacket for a woman of medium size four yards of material twenty-two inches wide, two and three-quarter yards thirty-two inches wide or two and one-eight yards l'orly four iuches wide will be required. A Charming Costume. Combinations of tucked with plain material, of cream lace and white fabrics, are in the height of style and appear to gain favor week by week. The very charming liny Manton ex ample Illustrated In the large draw ing shows line batiste with cream C'luny lace, the insertion run with narrow black velvet ribbon; but the design is equally well suited to vari ous other materials. The foundation is snug fitting and closes at tlie centre front. When a diaphanous effect is desired It is well to make it of the material or of inous seline. Tlie yoke front and sleeves arc of tucked material. The back yoke is faced onto the lining, but the front Is separate and closes at tlie left shoulder and beneath the fronts prop er. The blouse is plain at the upper portion with scant fulness in back and gathers at the waist line in front. The fronts part slightly at the centre and turn back to form pointed revere. The sleeves can be in elbow or full length ns preferred. The neck Is fin ished with a stock that should bo lined only with the material and stiffened with wire to be in the latest style. It closes with the yoke fastened at tlie left shoulder. To cut this waist for a woman of medium size, one and seven-eight yards of material twenty-one inches wide, or one yard thirty-two or forty four inches wide, with one and three quarter yards of tucking for yoke, front and sleeves, three and five eight yards of insertion and one yard of edging to trim ns illustrated. To make with sleeves of plain material, three and a quarter yards twenty-one Inches wide, one and three-quarter yards thirty-two inches wide, or one anil a half yards forty-four inches wide, with three-quarter yards of tucking for yoke and front trill be re quired. The eminently smart skirt illustrat ed shows a novel arrangement and one that is admirably suited to the soft clinging wool and silk materials now in vogue as well as to the in numerable washable fabrics offered. The skirt is cut in seven pieces and is laid in three narrow tucks at each front and side seam, the fulness at the back being laid in an inverted pleat. The flounce is tucked at tha upper edge, but falls in graceful folds as it approaches the floor. To cut this skirt for a woman of medium size, eleven and three-eight yards of material twenty-one inches wide, eight yards thirty-two inches wide, or live and three-quarter yards forty-four inches wide will be re quired, with ten yards of applique, and lace squares according to size to trim as illustrated. Mink Cape For the Duchess. The women of Ottawa are to pre sent to the Dueliess of York upon the occasion of the royal visit to the capi tal a pift that is thoroughly typical of Canada. It is a cape of the finest mink procurable. The collar and flare around the edges will be lined with ermine, while the body of the cape will be lined with white satin. The garment, which reaches to the knee, is fastened with gold clasps fashioned in the form of a maple leaf, the em blem of the Dominion. The gold for these clasps comes from the Canadian Yukon. A Tint Much Worn. Apricot, a soft and generally be coming tint, is much worn in Paris and in combination with creamy lace and a touch of black velvet it is ex ceedingly effective. Favorite Color Combinations. Black and pale blue is a combina tion that this season has divided fav or with the ever popular black and white. Woman's Walking Skirt. The smart, well cut walking skirt that comfortably clears the ground lias become a necessity and makes part of evtry wardrobe. This grace ful, becoming model is the very latest May Mantou that has appeared and includes many desirable features. The back is cut with the new ripple that falls in graceful folds from a few inches below the belt, and the flounce means both flare and freedom. The original is made of homespun in mixed shades of brown and tan, hut all checks, cheviots and skirting ma terials are appropriate. The skirt is cut in live gores the side gores being narrow and is with out fulness at the belt. The flouuce is graduated iu width and is seamed to tile lower edge. At the right side is placed a patch pocket with a turn over flap. To cut this skirt for a woman of medium size six and one-eight yards WALKING SKIHT. of material twenty-seven inches wide, three and seven-eight yards forty-four inches wide or three and three-eight yards fifty inches wide will lie re quired.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers