fREELfiID TRIBOIE.
KST AHBISIFIM) 1838.
PUBLISHED EVERY
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY,
BY TnE
TRIBUNE PRINTING COMPANY, LiliiilsJ
OFI'ICN MAIN STREET ABOVE CENTRE,
LOKO DISTANCE TELEPHONE.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
FREE LAND.— The TRIBUNE is delivered h,
carriers to subscribers in Freeliind attlio ruts
of 1-ki cents per month, payable every two
months, or $1 50 a year, payable in advance.
The TRIBUNE may be ordered direct form the
carriors or from tho office. Complaints of
Irregular or tardy delivery service will re.
ceive prompt attention.
BY MAIL —The TRIBUNE is sent toout-of.
tov.-n subscribers for ,1.00 a year, payable in
advance; pro rata torms for shorter periods,
Tho date when the üb o cription expires is on
the address label of each paper. Prompt re
newals must lie madeattheexpiration, other
wise the subscription will be disoontlnuod.
Entered at the Postoffino at Freeland. Pa.
as Second-Clasß Matter,
Make all money order a, checks. ete. t pcyable
to the Tribune Printing Company , Limited.
Ac tile (fold deposits of tlio Yukon
are worked out prospectors are discov
ering line coal beds. Thus do tho use
ful treasures of earth turn up when
most needed and when men are in a
mood to take advantage of tbem.
An effort is to be made to remove a
large red oak tree from the wildest
section of Arkansas to Forest Park,
St. Louis, without Injuring it. The
tree is 100 feet high and twelve feet
in diameter at the base. A double
tramway will be built from the tree
to the river, where it will be floated
and towed to St. Louis. It is esti
mated that this will occupy six
months.
Dr. Hnrry Pratt Judson, Dean of the
University of Chicago, in addressing
the seniors, said: "Wo have no ora
tors to-day; that is, no orators of the
first class. The reason for the decline
in oratory is the vast increase in read
ing. There arc too many gabblers
without sound knowledge. We need
more thorough knowledge and clear
thinking, and oratory will take care
of itself. The newspaper and periodi
cal press at the same time make much
cratory needless and multiply tho
power of what is left."
The condition of being born a gentle
man naturally tends to develop an
overnice discrimination in one's choice
of company. It is nature, or second
nature, any way, for birds of a feather
to flock by themselves. Nothing hut
tho grace of God, or intense innate hu
man sympathies, enable a man horn
to ease to realize his brotherhood with
all the sorts and conditions of men.
And if he does realize it, the chances
are against his feelings being demon
strated and recognized, because a com
mon trait of gentlemen, and one more
approved and applauded than It de
serves, is reserve. To be reserved is
next door to being distinguished; and a
gentleman who does not hedge him
self in a good part of the time with
some assumption of aloofness is likely
to seem eccentric to bis fellows of bis
own flock. If ho goes out of his way
to cultivate fellowship with the "plain
people," critics of his own social spe
cies will be sure to disparage him as a
seeker after popularity. And yet fel
lowship must bo cultivated if it is to
bo acquired, observes E. S. Martin, in
Harper's Weekly.
Benefited by Superstition.
Superstition has built up an odd and
.iterative trade for a Kensington junk
dealer. He makes a regular business
of supplying horseshoes to people who
think there is no luck around the
house if the talismnnlc iron is not. in
cluded In the household furnishings.
The dealer in old metals handles thou
sands of horseshoes in his junk trade,
and many of these he cleans up and
disposes of to believers in the super
stition. It may seem odd to the render
that anyone desiring a horseshoe
shouldn't go to a blacksmith shop and
get a brand-new one, but the junk
dealer explains that a worn shoe is
supposed to possess more virtue as a
dispeller of hoodoos than a new one.
Blacksmiths, he states, don't clean up
old shoes, so the trade comes to him.
He has all varieties, from the light
flat Iron of the trotter to the heavy
caulked shoe of tho draught horse.
Being of an inquiring mind, the junk
dealer lias discovered that many peo
ple who call tor shoes are small store
keepers, who believe the magic irous
to have magnetic properties when
placed in cash drawers.—Philadelphia
Itecord.
There are 21,000 druggists In Eng
land, and 23,000 coach makers.
The English War Department has
offered a $4,000 prize for the best
sell' propelling military wagon.
The largest Insect known Is the elo.
phant beetle of Venezuela. One has
been found that weighed seven ounces
The farm products of tho United
States this year aro worth about $400,-
000,000 more than last year's outturn.
•THE BLOT ON POLLY'S BONNET.
How many causes intertwine
To make a perfect whole!
What wondrous power, what vast design,
Must pay its little toll!
No earth attainment now wo seo
But bears some tribute on it
From ev'ry human industry; k
For instance, Polly's bonnet.
She calls it a "creation," small
And simple as can be.
And sees no miracles at all
In its simplicity;
But when I try to Aran? out
The things that helped to make it.
So fast the pictures crowd about
I hate to undertake it.
The tip, that little tip that shakes
So saucily on high,
Was plucked one day. far, far away,
Beneath Rn Afric slcy.
I see a lordly ostrich stand
And lay its off'ring dov.m,
To help to make, for Polly's sake,
The prettiest hat in town.
A little volley next appears,
And on the ecreen I see
Dull peasants toiling through the years,
And trees of mulbcrrv;
'Tia France, where silkworms live and
spin
And f vield for loom and mat
The shining threads that tremblo in
This simple, littlo hat.
ft I **
I How I Became Best Man. 1
|| fe|
s!■? By S. Ten Eyck Prince. p|
llaiSS^SlgrsiSSi-iEigSsSSSiiSiS
THERE la an old German re
frain that runs somewhat as
follows:
a "The paradise of earth
Is found on horseback."
That morning it recurred to me, why
I know cot, for I had heard no GcV
man for years. Anyway, as I say. It
recurred to ine as I walked along tp
the spring sunshine, clad in faultless
riding attire, toward a well-known J
riding stable where I Intended to pro
enre n mount for a long ride.
It Wlss still quite early, and I found
the groom lazily pillowed against the
stable door, whistling softly to him-,
self. He glanced at my high boots
which reflected the morning sun, and
smiled, while I explained my Intention.
I chose a beautiful roan, called Darl
ing. "A horse that was as gentle as
a lamb," pertinently added the groom.
"I generally pay In advance," I re
marked, "do yon charge by the hour
or by the morning? I expect to bo out
a couple of hours."
The groom parried my question.
"We know you, sir, and will charge for
tho time the horse stays out," he con
cluded maliciously, with a friendly
pat on Darling's flank that sent him
flying down the street.
I had intended to ride along the
drives, Where the sbgde was thick and
the young lailies wandered up and
down during the morning hours, but
Darling held other views, and carried
the day with gentle persistence. What
could Ido with the beast? And, after
all, what difference does It make
where one rides so long as one does
ride? Ko we hastened to the outskirts
of the town where the sun was hottest.
That was Darling's choice. Darling
paused before the first inn and abso
lutely refused to budge, so, to give
myself a countenance, I ordered a
glass of ale from the waiter who hur
ried out, and found it as poor as I had
expected.
".Wonderful what them beasts do
know, sir," he commented, patting
Darling's glossy neck. "Now, this
one alius gets sugar here and he knows
It, sir, he do."
So Darling munched his lump of
sugar and then consented to trot along.
This earthly paradise presented
many pitfalls for me. At first Darling
skirted a never-ending wall so closely
that the polish vanished from my left
boot and my leg felt as It" it had been
plunged In an electric bath. Then he
carried rao under a row of low-spread
iug apple trees tliat coquetted with
my hat, which I saved only at the risk
of life and limb, and rumpled my well
bruslied hair. I breathed with relief
as we cantered Into a grove where the
trees arched high above me, and walls
were a thing unknown. But, alas!
there was a pond, and Darling paused
dreamily beside its reedy, swampy
shores. I was terrified. Suppose the
horse should suddenly decide to take
a bath! I patted, coaxed-, twitched at
the bridle, all in vain. Darling refused
to advance. At last my patience gave
out, I plunged my rowels into him,
setting the springs of his rear legs Into
violent disorder. The turf flew around
my ears, but always lu the same spot.
Fortuuately I had thoughtfully pro
vided myself with sugar at the inn,
and with its aid succeeded in calming
Darling so far that he consented to
stand still.
I soon discovered a slender figure in
the distance, approaching at a swift
gallop. I tugged at the reins—una
vaillngly, of course; then, to make the
most of my sorry lot and lend some
shadow of reality to the ridiculous
figure I must cut stationed before this
swamp pond, I fastened my eyes upon
the swaying branches, apparently lost
in meditation. Trot, trot, echoed be
hind me; tho lady was close at hand;
In an instant she would have passed
me. But Darling whirled suddenly,
almost flinging me over hi 3 head into
tho water, and flew along after the
ether horse. I consoled myself that at
tills pace wo should soon out-distance
her; but as we came ueck to neck my
mount slowed up and trotted along,
contentedly suiting himself to the oth
er's pace.
I know tile young lady by sight, and
felt forced to bow. ijhe nodded stlilly,
and urged her horse on, while I en
deavored to check Darling. As well
try to curb the thunderbolts. I was
powerless. She duelled on, I following
Next, wondrous fields of rustling gold
Upon my inem'ry come,
The horse 3 tugging tiirouiili the moid,
The reapersHmsfy hum;
And skilful liand3 are plaiting atraw,
And mystic patterns gleam
To make fi_ dainty framework for
What Polly calls her "dream."
But what ia thia, with aznro wing
Upon the sunshine borne?
A little bird, a beauteous thing,
Trills gaily to the morn;
I watch him bend his graceful liead,
As flitting blithely by,
He darts away in merry play
Beneath the summer sky.
A slrot rings out; the leaden rain
Sheds darkness all around,
And writkinp in its cruel pain,
The bird lies on the ground;
A stream of blood its body yields,
It quivers and is still;
And murder stains the yellow fields,
And fashion pays the bilk
So, suddenly my fanny stays,
No beauty can I see;
Gone all the charming daintiness,
The sham simplicity;
And Polly's face eocms grown less fair
Beneath her dainty bonnet,
For a little mangled body thera
Has set death's 6eal upon 1L
-—John 1L Itathom, in Ufa.
always, at Infinite peril to lite and
limb, fori was not accustomed to this
rapid pace. Besides, I am a man who
dislikes to appear .forward. I was
mortally ashamed of lay self, but So
power oil earth could check the beast
I was riding. Darling neighed scorn
fully as I tugged at the bit. and kept
on in his mad career.
Miss Van Deemen glanced con- i
temptuously at me and furnod down a
sidepatb. Darling clung to her skirts
with a deporable fidelity. And 1 had
noticed a placard Warning all trcs
pasers oil' under penalty of the law'. I
The law was, then, to be added to iny
other miseries; but I consoled myself
with the thought that Its representa
tives could sccroaly control my horse,
since I myself had failed in the at
tempt.
But Miss Van Doemea bad reached
the limit; she reiuud In her horse, and
Darling stood immovable! "Sir," said
she, anger and fear fn every line of her
pretty face, "I must ask yon to leave
me at once."
Heavens, If 1 only could! I would
even have climbed a tree, but Darling
was not to be persuaded.
"Sir—"
"Pardon me; it really Is not my fault;
it is purely accidental that our paths
lie in the same direction," 1 replied,
hypocritically.
"Then I will ret mm." said she, plane
ing at the placard In silent comment
upon my excuse. Bnt Darling whirled,
too. knocking me heedlessly against
the nearest tree, thereby barking my
knee in painful fashion; then trotted
determinedly on by the lady's side,
out on to the broad highway that was
equally forbidden to me at that In
stant.
Miss Van Dcemen bit her lips in
silence, growing alternately white and
red, and I kept on in overpowering
shame, but helpless as the Infant in
its cradle. At last she turned to me
with tears in her eyes.
"I beg you, sir, to leave xae. You
cannot imagine how dreadfully you
will embarrass me if yon persist In
this unwarranted pursuit. X appeal
to your chivalry, for I—l expect my
fiance here, with whom I am secretly
engaged. He is dreadfully jealous, so
I beg of you to leave Kiel" 1
She almost sobbed as she spolic, and
In the distance I could hear echoing
hoofbeats, which she, too, must have
distinguished. I knew the gentleman
to whom she referred, at least by
sight; and I confess I had no desire for
closer acquaintance under such cir
cumstances.
I used my whip unsparingly, but to
no purpose. Darling would not budge.
In the meantime the rider appeared
at the turning and greeted the young
lady pleasantly enough, though bo
glauccd at me disapprovingly.
"Pray Introduce your companion,"
ho said sharply. Miss Van Deemen
turned purple and looked reproachfully
at me.
"I don't know the gentleman," she
stamincved. "He happened to bo rid
ing in the same direction as I"
"Purely accidental," I repeated,
bowing, inwardly praying that the
earth would open and swallow mo np.
"Indeed!" said the gentleman, and
turned his back deliberately on me.
"Permit ma to accompany you, Mies
Van Deemen," I heard, as I bent low
over Darling's neck, apparently ab
sorbed in a saddle buckle. I heard
them trot off, and then felt tnyseif car
ried along at a furious pace, and an
lustant later I landed beside Miss
Deemen, breathless, but still in my
saddle. Mr. Courtney—eo she had
styled bcr escort—glared at me, mut
tering something between Ills tooth.
"Sir," I ventured, overcoming my
embarrassment.
"Will you have tho goodness to leave
us?" he shrieked.
"Tho road Is free to all," I replied,
annoyed by his manner, for I had not
started upon an explanation.
"But yours is not beside this lady,
whom you are insulting," he raged.
"I regret It exceedingly, but—"
"I forbid you to ride beside ber," he
snapped, angrily.
"You can forbid mo nothing. I am
not your servant"
"Sir," he shrieked, "you are nn in
solent puppy, and I mast Insist upon
an explanation for your—" Hero Miss
Van Deemen Interfered,
"Par mercy's sake, no violence!
There must be n mistake somewhere,
bnt I am sure it Is not intentional."
"Nothing could be farther from my
thoughts," I assured her, truthfully.
"Then prove It by leaving us," she
Implored.
I bowed. Then, overcome with rage
at the brute that had led me Into this
pitfall, I lashed Darling unmercifully.
But Darling merely whirled around in
a bewildering tarantella until I could
scarcely see or hear, then finally flew
across country In a wild gallop. And
behind me came a steady trample,
trample. Was Sir. Courtney deter
mined to punish what he called my in
solence, or—
Darling stopped as suddenly as ho
had started, and a tenr-stnined face ap
peared at my elbow, and behind her,
like On avenging angel, stormed her
furious admirer, and then we three
halted once more.
"So this was prearranged," he
snapped. "I thought so. You have
simply been leading me on, to make a
fool of me at last, forgetful of every
womanly—"
"Jack, Jack!" cried Miss Van Dee
men, Imploringly.
"Confess It," lie shouted furiously.
"But I don't even know him," she
sobbed.
"Then, sir, answer like a man!" he
said, turning to me. "Confess that
you know this lady."
A silvery laugh startled us both at
this juncture.
"We don't know each other," cried
Miss Van Doemcn, "but our horses
apparently do."
And, indeed, In the midst of this
anger and strife our two horses pre
sented an idyllic picturo as they stood
gently rubbing noses.
"Yes, so it seems. But how could
It happen? Isn't that your own?"
askod Mr. Courtney.
"Why, Jade, how could I ever have
gotten nwoy? Of course I had to hire
a horse. You know papa never lets
me rifle without tlie groom. I got this
one at Tnttersall's."
"So did I," I exclaimed; "that's why
the brutes stick so close."
And then we all laughed together.
After which, as we couldn't scperate,
We continued our ride together, and
at the dose had cemented a friendship
so firm that when Mi3s Van Deeuien
finally married Jack Courtney I was
was asked to officiate as best man.
But In spite of this happy conclu
sion I determined to take no more
jnorntng rides Until I knew a little
more about the art It doesn't do to
tempt fate too often.—New York Com
mercial Advertiser.
PheuolTwnal Memory of Great Men.
Muuy of the greatest men have lind
phenomenal memories. Caesar knew
tlie names of thousands of soldiers In
Ills legions. A modern man of science
often has a prodigious memory for
gpoclal terminology. Professor Asa
Gray assured mo that he could at once
vocall the names of something like
twenty-five thousand plants; Professor
Theodore Gill can do the same for
fishes. Our memory for mere words
is Itself much more extensive than is
generally admitted. The average well
to-do child of two years of age has a
vocabulary qf some five hundred
words, and Its father may have com
mand of twenty thousand more. The
ten thousand verses of the Rig-Veda
Itavo, for three thousand years, been
accurately preserved In the memories
of the Brahmins. Not one Brahmin
alone, but thousands, can to-day recite
it word for word. Thousands of Mo
hammedans, likewise, know tlie Koran
hy heart, as all learned Chinese know
t lis;!q/ classic books. The chiefs of
Polynesia can and do repeat hundreds
of thousands of words in their gene
alogies—talcing days and even weeks
fbr the recitation.
Hundreds of pianists can play all
day, and many days, by memory; aud
I have myself seen Von Bulow conduct
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony without
a score. Chess-players have a visual
izing memory; musicians have on au
ditive and a motor memory; while
arithmetical prodigies may have any
ono of the three, as we shall note In a
future discussion of the subject, or a
combination of all.—Professor E. S.
liolden, lu Harper's Magazine.
j Why They Bofc nt tho Knees.
American woolens have the reputa
tion of bagging at the point of great
est strain when made into garments
aud In some cases tailors make a point
of calling their customer's attention to
the fact that they will not guarantee
American made goods from bagging
at the knees and elbows, at the same
time bringing forth a piece of goods
that they claim to bo imported, and
which they will guarantee against
bagging for a limited time. In somo
cases tho goods are of foreign manu
facture, but as often they were inndo
In the United States, but by claiming
to have imported them a better price
can be obtained, and bagging is tho
means used to induce the customer to
pay the higher price. In some In
stances tho claim is just that certain
goods will become baggy when sub
jected to tlie strain of wearing, but It
Is unjust to claim that all American
woolens will bag.
There are various reasons why
Amercan goods or any other make
will bag, the principal ones being im
proper mixing of stock, soft twist, and
defects In weaving. In order to
cheapen the cost the grades of woo!
arc mixed, and if tho operation is
properly performed tho goods will not
bag. but If the various grades are not
thoroughly Incorporated bagglness will
result for tho cheaper grades have
very Uttlo felting properties, while the
grade that does possess felting prop
erties Is Intended to.clcse up the fibres
during fulling, so that all danger cf
bagging will bo removed.—New York
i Sun,
STEEL IN FARM IMPLEMENTS.
Little Yet In the Woffon, Bat It Nay
Cotno There Pomo Boy.
The substitution of stool for wood lr.
agricultural Implements, which lias
taken place r,f late years, is not yet
finished. It is still (joins; on. But the
transition was elilpfiy effected liettrcen
ISSO and 1800. As yet the farm wagon
is almost untouched by this great
movement. Steel axles and pressed
steel gears have been on the market
for several years, but. nineteen farmers
out,of twenty still prefer oak and hick
ory in n wagon for general use. Metal
wagon wheels with broad tires are,
however, meeting with an extensive
demand for use in hauling over soft
fields and around the farm, and they
may bo the forerunner of the all steel
wagon.
Theoretically, wood will Inst a life
time, ami yet It has been abandoned
for cultivator beams, harrow frames,
most of the wheels and a lot. of other
parts of agricultural machines. But
there Is a difference between the rail
fence, which has been known to last
thirty or forty years without being
painted, and the wood which was once
put Into a harvester frame. The latter
was full of bolt holes, which let water
In and thus Induced rot. Perhaps the
reason why wood works so well In n
wagon Is the fact that the latter lias
so few bolt holes.
L. R. Ardey. writing from Chicago
for The Iron Age, says:
"The harvester companies show
great diversity in the forms of liars
that they use The McCormiek com
pany Indicates a preference for square
pipe, which can lie fastened together
in a compnct frame by liolts, like the
members of a wooden frame. The
Deering and Champion companies use
flat bars, riveted together to form very
strong frames. Other companies use
Z bars, angles and round pipe, each
company claiming their design to be
'the best in the world.' The old wood
en 'hull wheel,' wltli wood rim and
sawe<l spokes extending clear across,
dodging each other at the hub, hns
been superseded by metal wheels. Some
of the Bettendorf tyix>, others with
'hairpin' steel spokes that are held by
nuts, cither in the rim or huh. Steel
guard or finger bars have replaced the
old wooden bars and slioet steel Is
used for platform bottoms. Some com
panies still make the deck or binding
table of wood, but others nse sheet
steel. Perhaps half of the wood now
used in the construction of a binder
is in the pole.
"In modern riding plows, cultivators
and corn planters no wood Is used ex
cepting for poles. The wheels are
generally of the Bettendorf type, In
which spokes of mack bar Iron or mild
stool are upset Into malleable hubs
and steel tires. These wheels are also
coming into general use in place of
wood for corn shellers, hay presses,
corn buskers aud other heavy ma
chines. The oldtime horse power with
wooden wheels and frame is seldom
seen in the West, having been replaced
by modem tracllon engines, which arc
now generally built In sizes that de
velop twenty to thirty horse power.
Wood Is still used principally in build
ing threshing machines, but the wood
en straw carrier has been replaced by
the steel pneumatic stacker."
BrUlftli Mnnlrlpnl Undertakings.
A report shows tint In England and
Wales 265 cities have alroady engaged
in productive undertakings, and In
Scotland seventy-four. Tills means
that nearly half ol' the municipalities
of the Island liave entered competitive
industry. Scores of towns and vil
lages are supplied by tlie existing mu
nicipal trading companies, and have no
incentive to go luto productive indus
try on thalr own account, while if they
had to compete with or depend on pri
vate enterprise they would follow the
example of their larger neighboring
communities. The aggregate capital
Invested Is nearly $300,000,000. and one
Is quite prepared to read that ninety
four per cent of this total Is borrowed
money. As iu Aiatralia, so in Great
Britain the experiments in socialism
are conducted on capital raised by
loans, and the municipalities expect tc
clear a net profit after paying the
market rate of interest and providing
for grsdunl extinction of the debt.
In 181X1 the British municipal debt
was $1,230,000,000. It Is much higher
now, and the increase in twenty years
has been 200 per cent Municipal
rates have, of course, also Increased
steadily. The annual expenditures au
thorized by parliament and the local
government board have Increased from
$23,000,000 ten years ago to $103,000,-
000 in 1800. The municipal authorities
arc not deterred by these figures from
enlarging the scale and multiplying
the number of their operations, but
there were some witnesses who ques
tioned If tlie game was worth the can
dle, and whether the advantages were,
or were likely to be, great enough to
justify the risk, expense and the Indi
rect consequences of this sort of social
ism.—Chicago Record-Herald.
Stand Up "When Fitting Sho<?
"People would find less ußßculty
with veady-tnade shoes," says an ex
perienced salesman, "if they would
stand up to tit them on. Instead of sit
ting down. Nino persons out of ten,
particularly ladies, want a comforta
ble chair while they are fitting a shoe,
and It 18 with the greatest difficulty
you can get them to stand for a few
minutes, even after the shoe is fitted.
Theru when they begin walking about,
they wonder why the shoes are not so
comfortable as they were at first triaL
A woman's foot Is considerably small
er when sbo sits in a cbnir than when
she walks about Exercise brings a
larger quantity of blood Into tlio feet,
aud they swell appreciably. The mus
cles also require certain space. In
buying shoes this fact should ho borne
In mind-"—Pittsburg Dispatch.
1 !
Ailts and bep3 in Trinidad have been
observed carrying oil' coagulated rub
ber fluid. Home species use resinous
exudations from trees as ready-inado
wax for their nests, and in some eases
actually cut the bar!: so as to cause a
flow of the desired fluids.
Dr. Eiznrro, of Cora, has published a
pamphlet In which ho tries to prove
that the Adriatic has for more than
1000 years been rising and encroaching
on Its shores, The lower parts of
Trieste are experiencing trouble al
ready, and in course of time Venice
will bo burled In the mud of the la
goon.
It has often been claimed thnt the
presence of nickel in dust is a sufficient
criterion to distinguish it as of cosmic
rather than of terrestrial origin. It
has lately been shown that nickel Is
found In soot, end hence that nlckelif- <
erous dust may he terrestrial. Gal
lium, also, la found in all aluminous
minerals, in many line dusts. In many
iron ores, in soot and in atmospheric
dust.
Some fifteen ycaro age Sir William
Crookes called attention to an anoma
lous bond in the spectrum of sama
rium. Linos were also found in its
spark spectrum by De Boisbaudran.
The element causing the band and the
lines has lately been isolated by De
marcay and named Europium. Its
atomic weight is about 131, and its
properties are nnalogous to those of
gadolinium -and samarium.
German papers state tliat Horr
Szcepauik, a former Polish professor,
now serving in tlio German army, has
invented an impenetrable breastplate,
of which be has sent a specimen to
tlx- Emperor William. It consists of a
silken fabric, and weighs less than
four and a half pounds. A ball fired
by a Maunlchcr rifle at a distance of
five paces Is said to have penetrated
less thau one-eighth of an inch intj
the substance. So many attempts
have l>een made to invent Impenetra
ble shields and clothing that further
information must lxi furnished the
wise and wary before entire credence
can be given to the report of Herr
Szeepanik's suoocss.
A mineral wax, called ozocerite, or
native parafiln, is one of the queer de
posits found in connection with rock
salt or coal. Consul Hossfcld, at
Trieste, says that deposits of it have
been discovered in Austria, Russia
Egypt, Algeria, Canada and Mexico,
but not hi quantities thnt would pay
for mining except in Austrian Galicin
and on an island on the west coast of
the Caspian Sea. In mining it shafts
are sunk until a hod is struck, and
then connecting galleries are driven.
It is a dangerous business, for the
pressure underneath often forces the
soft wax up into the shafts, and lives
have been lost hi this way. The wax
is used for making ecresin, which,
■with beeswax, is used for making wax
candles, phonographic cylinders and
other similar things.
A!>solute zero is the point at which
a substance loses every atom of its
heat. Mo one has ever produced it,
lwt the scientists believe thnt it may
be found at 4CI degrees below Fasli
renbeit zero. Professor Dewar, of
London, who succeeded in liquefying
air. six or eight years ago, at a tem
perature of 333 degrees below zero,
and hydrogen more recently, at a tem
perature of 443 degrees below, is now
experimenting with helium. To freeze
hydrogen he used liquid air as the
agent, awl is using liquid hydrogen
In his efforts to freeze helium. He ex
pects to get a temperature of 432 de
grees hcluw in freezing helium, which
will Leave him nine degrees short of
absolute zero. To overcome that a
gas more volatile than helium must
be discovered, when be will attempt
to freeze it with liquid helium.
SkxrpLug In Spoctmcles.
Some people wear their eyeglasses
or spectacles to bed, for the simple
reason that they cannot sleep without
thorn ou. At least, that's what an
optician says, and he ought to know,
for confessions were recently made
him upon the point. A woman hod re
peatedly come to him with the Ixnvs
of her spectacles so bady twisted that
he asked her how under the sun she
ever managed to get them la such a
stgte. Ho says that he had visions of
soihe childish hands having a part in
the work, some little one that liked
to play with mamma's glasses. But >
the woman said that she had been
wearing glasses so much of recent
years that Anally she had taken to
wearing them to baft as the only way
of getting to sleep. She said that it
was only within tile past l'ew weeks
that sho had had any trouble from the
custom, as she ordinarily managed to
beep the front part of her face off the
pillow, but lately she must have had
bad eleep, with more or less night
mares. Of his customers he has two
who have been addicted to this habit
of wearing glasses to bed, botli for the
same reasons. Imagiue some people
trying to wear glasses to bed, and the
condition of things In the morning.
Speaking of unusual cases lu the
wearing of glasses the optician said
that some of those who undertook to
wear glasses when lu bathing had spe
cial frames made for the purpose,
some that had a tighter grip, and oth
er's luivlng fbem made with nickel I
frail® on the principle thnt 11' they )
are lost, the cheaper the batter.—Bos
ton Herald.