The man with expectations
In gloomj', dreary days
May still go hoping, hoping
Along the toilsome ways. ,
"Some day, some day," he murmurs,
"My own will come to me;
Eome day I'll claim the fortune
That waits across the sea."
The hope he has may never
Be realised, but still
It gives him strength to labor
Up many a trying hill.
'' "" 1 1 1
A STRAIN OF ROMANCE.
i
It was late one afternoon as a man
Stepped from a small sailing boat on
,to the quay at Waterport, Gibraltar.
He felt uncomfortable and disreputa
ble. Earlier in the day, having noth
ing better to do, be bad set out for a
sail across the hay. They had run in
on the sandy beach of a forsaken spot
called Puenta Majorga. There the
boatman had taken him on his shoul
ders and carried him through the surf,
finally dropping him so that he got
nicely wet. On the return journey the
■wind had freshened and it had come on
to rain, with the result that he now
stood a somewhat forlorn looking ob
ject, with clothes spoilt by sea water
and wet sand.
It had just occurred to him that the
next obvious thing was to change his
attire, when the sound of voices caught
his car. Looking round he caught
sight of a little group some fifty yards
away—a girl, a middle-aged lady and
a brawny looking man in a "brass
hound" suit Something in the girl's
appearance attracted him, and uncon
sciously he moved nearer to the trio.
He got within a dozen paces of them,
and, standing behind a pile of crates,
enjoyed a view at close quarters.
"By Jove!" he murmured, under his
breath. The girl was tall and slim,
magnificently good-looking. He could
not take bis eyes from her. There was
a certain air of vigor and independence
about her that fascinated him.
She raised her arm Xnd pointed
across the bay to where a large white
yacht lay at anchor.
"You mean to say the Scud can't sail
to-day. Captain Flint!" she exclaimed.
Her voice sent a thrill through him.
There was the slightest, most delicious
suspicion of trans-Atlantic accent In
it, and he was enraptured.
In a drawling tone the Captain gave
an account of what had happened. It
appeared that the Scotch engineer, Me-
Alister, had gone off on a birthday
frolic, and, as the result of a jovial
little excursion in the vicinity of Aige
cirns, had managed to get hauled off
to a local Spanish jail.
The girl was In despair.
"What shall we do? The cable was
urgent—the Scud will have to get to
Alexandria by the 22d. Can't we pick
up another engineer in Gibraltar?"
The Captain shook his head.
"But we can't wait until he's re
leased!" she cried with a little stamp
of* her foot. "Something will have to
be done."
The man standing behind the crates
had been drinking in every word, his
eyes fastened on the girl's face. Sud
denly an idea flashed upon him—it was
a mad one, hut it gripped him.
Without a moment's further consid
eration he stepped forward and con
fronted the trio.
"Beg pardon," he said, touching his
hat. "I happened to overhear. I gath
ered you want an engineer?"
The girl looked at the figure before
her in astonishment. She saw a tall,
good-looking, clean-shaven ntan in wet,
60dden clothes, with the collar of his
coat turned up.
"Are yon an engineer?" she asked,
eagerly.
He nodded.
"I could take you to Alexandria in
the time," he said.
Captain Flint was interested.
"Say, young feller, got papers to
show?" he drawled. "And what's your
name?"
The man looked him hack square in
the face.
"My name is Dennis," he said. "And
I haven't got papers to show."
He turned to the girl frankly.
"You would have to take me on
chance," he said. "I give you my word
that I am capable of running the en
gines of your yacht, and getting ber to
Alexandria in the time, bar a break
down—but more I cannot say. Will
you risk it?"
The girl glanced at him hesitatingly.
"The Scud must sail " she began.
"Guess we can see in an hour or so
whether he's up to the job," said Cap
tain Flint, suggestively.
The man looked at the girl with an
Inquiring smile. She gave him one
more glance—then made up her mind.
"Y'ou're engaged," she said, briskly.
Thus it was In a short time he found
himself at work on the yacht. In
another three hours he had the steam
up, and the indies having come on
board, the Scud raised her anchor and
slowly made her way out of the bay.
As engineer he was a complete suc
cess, and quickly earned the warm ap
proval of Captain Jake Flint, from
whom he gleaned a good deal of in
teresting information. It appeared
that the yacht was the property of
Mr. Silas Lewison, a rich American,
and that the girl on hoard was his only
daughter. Her father had left her In
England, and, a few weeks ago, had
made the journey to Cairo, leaving her
to follow more leisurely in the Scud.
For the first two days he spent most
of his time in the engine room. Onee
or twice, as he sat watching the move
ments of the big cylhtders, he broke
Into a soft laugh. It was on the third
day. when he happed to be on deck,
that she spoke to him. .
EXPECTATION.
The man with expectations
Of glory in the skies
May still go hoping, hoping, _
When woes around him rise.
"Some day, some day," he murmurs,
"Joy shall be mine up there.
Where sorrow never enters
And all the days are fair."
His eyes may never open
Beyond the grave, but still
He goes with faith to bravely
Face many a fearsome ill!
—S. E. liiser.
"We are getting on famously, Mr.
Dennis. I think a good fate must have
dropped you from the clouds!" she said,
with a.smile.
He looked at her and tried to hide
the look of admiration that had crept
to his eyes. She seemed more glorious
ly beautiful tlian ever. He made some
vague reply, and she went on talking
about the yacht. It was Intoxication
to him. He had fallen desperately In
love at first sight, and he wondered
what It would all lead to.
• * * • •
The next few days passed delight
fully. He had several conversations
with her—indeed, she seemed almost
to welcome an opportunity of speaking
with him. The more he saw of her, the
more convinced was he that he had
made no mistake. This was no fleet
ing faucy; he was really in love.
Then came a bitter shock of disap
pointment. They were within, a day's
run of Alexandria, and he was about
to go on deck. As he raced up the
companion something white on one of
the stairs caught his attention. lie
picked it up and found it was a tele
gram. Glancing at it he saw that it
was the cable that had been sent to her
at Gibraltar by her father. Almost
unconsciously he read the few words:
"Get Scud to Alexandria by 22d with
out fall—Lord Hillmarch has promised
to come with us to England."
He stood staring at it stupidly; then,
as the meaning of the words dawned
upon him, a fierce wave of unreasona
ble resentment swept over him. Old
Lewison had run across Lord Hill
march, and, considering him an eligi
ble son-in-law, had schemed to bring
the two together on the yacht. The
old, stale arrangement—American heir
esses and the English aristocracy.
Would they never tire of it?
With a frown on his face, he made
his way slowly on deck, the telegram
still in his hand. A few yards away
Miss Lewison was sitting in her deck
chair, studying a book. She looked
up as the engineer appeared and
smiled. He crossed to her and held out
the telegram.
"I found this on the stairs," he said,
shortly. He caught sight of the hook
she was reading, and saw it was "De
brett's Peerage." lie felt exceedingly
bitter.
lie remained down in the engine
room the rest of the time—he felt al
most sulky.
The next day they anchored oft Alex
andria and old Lewison with Lord
Hillmarch came on board. The engi
neer kept out of the way until they
went into the saloon for lunch, then he
seized the opportunity and went on
deck. He leaned over the taffrail and
gave himself up to his thoughts. An
other hour or so and she would have
passed out of his life forever. In his tit
of abstraction he had not noticed a tor
pedo destroyer that was out for prac
tice. She was going at quarter speed
past the yacht.
Suddenly a voice broke on his ears.
"Why, it's Kenyon, by Jove! How
are you, old man?"
The engineer awoke from his reverie
with a start. A few yards away the
bronzed face of the lieutenant of the
destroyer was laughing at him.
"Can't keep away from the old game,
I see—lucky chap to be able to choose
your own fancy boat! Will you come
round and see us to-night?"
The destroyer was some distance
away by now, and the last words came
In a shout. The engineer nodded and
waved his hand.
Then a slight noise behind him made
hint swing round.
He saw Miss Fay Lewison and Lord
Hillmarch standing at the open door of
the companion. The girl was watching
him.
"He called you Kenyon," she said,
wonderingly.
Lord Hillmarch stepped forward. He
was an almost middle-aged little man,
with a kindly face. He held out his
hand to the engineer.
"That happens to be his name, you
know—Dennis Kenyon," he said, with
a smile.
Miss Lewison was still more bewil
dered. "You know him?"
"Slightly," he replied. "You see, his
estate adjoins mine at some."
"But he has been our engineer!" she
cried.
There was a pause. Lord Hillmarch
shot, a little alert look at Kenyon and
stroked his mustache. The girl stood
waiting for an explanation. Kenyon
gave a nervous laugh.
"There isn't really much to explain,"
he said. "You see, before an uncle
died and left me a bothering lot of
money and an estate, I was an engi
neer in the navy—you just heard one of
my old messmates hail me." He gave
a jerk of his finger toward the de
stroyer. "You know the rest. I was
idling about Gibraltar when I acci
dentally heard your trouble about the
engineer. I did it on impulse—l sup
pose " He hesitated. "I suppose
I must have a strain of romance some,
where In my composition," he added
lamely.
She did not speak. He moved his
head slightly and her gaze met hia
Lord Hillmarch looked from one to an- •
other critically, then a slight smile
crept over his insignificant little face.
He pulled out his cigarette case.
"Supposing," he observed, dryly, "we
all be delightfully frank with one an
other."
The two turned to him with a start.
"I just love frankness!" said Miss
May.
Lord Hillmarch lighted his cigar
ette.
"Then, as a beginning," he said cool
ly, "I'll remark that I don't think I'll
come to England in the yacht with you,
I rather fancy, you know, that being
thirty-eight, and somewhere about five
feet two in stature, with a bald head
into the bargain, I will adhere to my
old resolution and admire nothing but
ray own charming self! How's that
for frankness?"
"Gigantic!" said Kenyon.
The little lord smiled.
"Then I'll leave you to do your
share," he observed, and strolled away.
The two stared at one another blank
ly; then suddenly they both laughed.
"It's all very ridiculous!" said Miss
Lewison.
Kenyon grew sober again.
"I suppose," he said, slowly, "I must
be leaving the ship now, unless "
He paused and looked at her intently.
"Unless by a remote chance you also
have " His voice died away ner
vously.
"What?" she said, with her eyes on
the deck.
"A strain of romance somewhere in
your composition." He finished in al
most a whisper.
She lifted her nead and saw him
looking at her pleading. There was a
vague something thdt appealed to her.
And he was undoubtedly very much in
love with her. Her lips parted in a
half smile.
"I'm not certain," she said, doubt
fully. Then her eyes met his. "Why
not give me a little time to find out?"
she said frankly.
He did—and eventually discovered
that there was.—Mainly About I'eople.
Turnips antl Peats.
Mrs. Smith was not in favor of adorn
ing education witli any frills and ruf
fles. She opposeil the introduction of
each of the so-called "fads," and her
opposition was always loud and insist
ent. One morning she visited the prin
cipal of the school building which shel
tered the little Smiths for the five
most peaceful hours ol' their day and
expressed her sentiments in no meas
ured terms.
"It's disgraceful the way children
are taught!" she began, with a painful
disregard of tact and diplomacy.
"Their studies are so jumbled together
that they don't know when they have
finished with arithmetic and taken up
geography. The other day Bessie —she
is in G room, you know—came home
and said that the teacher had stopped
in the middle of a singing lesson, right
in the middle of a song, to ask how
many turnips were in a peck."
"\ r ou must be mistaken," excused
the astonished principal.
"No, ma'am. Bessie told me, and
Bessie never lies," said Bessie's mother
with a complacency that irritated the
atmosphere.
The teacher was sent for. She de
nied that she had interrupted a music
lesson to satisfy her curiosity in re
gard to .turnips and pecks. She went !
back to G room with unkindly feelings, j
but three minutes later she came back j
smiling.
"I know now what she meant," said j
she. "I asked the children how many '
beats were in a measure."—Lippin- j
cott's Magazine.
Drawing Out tlie Menn Man.
Robert Carrick, one of the richest j
bankers of Scotland a few generations |
ago, was as mean as he was wealthy, i
Being one day visited by a deputation i
collecting subscriptions towards a new |
hospital, he signed for two guineas, j
and one of the gentlemen expressing j
disappointment at the smallness of the j
amount, lie said, "Really, I cannot j
afford more."
The deputation next visited Wilson, j
one of the largest manufacturers in ;
the city, who, on seeing the list, cried: j
"What, Carrick only two guineas?"
When informed of what the banker !
had said, Wilson replied:
"Wait; I will give him a lesson."
Taking his check book, lie filled in a
check for £IO,OOO, the full amount of
his deposit at Carrick's bank, and sent ,
it for immediate payment.
Five minutes later the banker ap- j
peared, breathless, and asked, "What
is the matter, Wilson?"
"Nothing the matter with me," re
plied Wilson; "but these gentlemen |
informed me that you couldn't afford
more than two guineas for the hospi- j
tal. Halloa! thinks I, If that's the case j
there must be something wrong, and j
I'll get my money out as soon as pos
sible."
Carrick took the subscription list,
erased the two guineas, and substi
tuted fifty, on which Wilson immedi
ately tore up the check.—Tit-Bits.
Primary Occupations.
Down town some time ago a class
in physical geography was undergoing
examination, and among the ques- j
lions propounded to the hopefuls was.
the followiLg:
"What are the five primary occupa- i
tions of man?"
The proper an! authorized answer
is something like this: "Agriculture,
fishing and hunting, mining, herding
and lumbering." But one of the small
boys at whom the question was fired
got off this answer:
"Polities, keeping a store, working
for the trolley company, and being a
policeman." It might be even more
curious to know whnt he would regard
as the fifth primary occupation.—Phil
adelphia Telegraph.
i" ms i
I <E> IT I
laost In the Desert.
Y —| —T HE family of Mr. Godfrey
v I * Hughes, a member of the
| firm of nssayers owning the
"g" customs assay office, recently
went to spend the summer months vis
iting friends who own a large ranch
about seventeen miles above Albu
querque. The family consists of the
mother, two sons and a daughter. Last
Saturday the children asked permis
sion of their mother to go to a corral
some 300 yards away from the houso
and on the other side of a knoll that
obscured the corral from view to play.
Permission was granted and the
youngsters bounded away for their
afternoon frolic. Soon the little sister
wearied and the elder brother proposecf
that they take her to the house. To
this the younger brother, Emerson,
who was only six years old, demurred,
as he wished to play more. So the
older brother took his sister to the
house. Upon arrival there the mother
asked, "Where is brother?" "We left
him playing at the corral," said the
boy.
The mother then sent him back for
the little truant. Shortly the messen
ger came back, panting from ids hur
ried running, and exclaimed that his
brother was nowhere to be found; that
he was not at the corral. The fright
ened mother hurried over to the corral
and there found the report of her boy
to be true. She searched and searched
but could Cud no trace of the missing
child. At last she came upon some
little footprints, showing that the child
had taken a direction the opposite to
what he should have taken, and the
harassed mother became more and
more alarmed as the fact that her
child had strayed and was in all prob
ability lost became apparent. She
followed tit? footprints for three miles
and only ceased because darkness was
approaching and she was powerless
and had to call for aid. As rapidly as
her nervous and exhausted slate would
permit she retraced her steps to the
house dnd alarmed the household. Im
mediately a search party was organ
ized and despite the oncoming of night
started out In quest of the helpless
child.
Through that disheartening night the
wyary search continued. And the next
day the trained services of seventy
five Indians were impressed, and all
that long and trying day the search
went on, and yet no clue to the wan
derer. The grief and agony of the
poor afflicted mother were beyond con
solation. The continued discouraging
reports that were from time to time
brought her only added to acceuutate
her suffering. The tracks could be
followed for a distance of twelve miles
and then seemed to double upon them
selves and finally became lost. With
out rest the searchers continued in
what seemed their hopeless quest
The thought of the poor little tot being
out upon the dreary plains alone, with
out shelter or food, wandering on with
the helplessness of the lost, crying pos
sibly with fright, tormented by the
pangs of hunger and thirst, was sim
ply maddening to the poor mother and
friends seeming so helpless to termi
nate the trying situation.
All of Sunday night the search con
tinued, and early Monday morning the
father, who had been ignorant of the
tragedy, was wired. He arrived that
day and added his untiring efforts to
those of the large party already out.
To think of the dreadful pathos of it
all! The poor child was not found un
til Wednesday morning. It was then
found by a Mexican, who carried the
exhausted little form to his cabin,
where the child lingered for three
hours and then passed away. The or
deal had been beyond the little one's
endurance. The remains were taken
back to the ranch and next day were
interred in the cemetery of the neigh
boring village.—El Paso (Texas) Times.
Snake Chased Crew.
Captain William F. Jameson and the
crew of the towboat Juniata, of the
American Steel and Wire Company,
related an exciting experience with a
big snake above Lock 4 on the Monon
gahela River. When the steamer came
to Pittsburg Tuesday afternoon to have
her boilers inspected n number of riv
ermen. including Captain James Moren,
Captain Isaac B. Williams and Captain
George W. Atkinson and others, went
aboard her, and it was in explaining to
them the condition of the vessel aft.
which gave every evidence of having
been subjected to great heat, that the
story was told, as follows:
The Juniata had been at work all
day towing barges up the river, and
on the return trip the members of the
crew were taking things easy sitting
around on the deck. Some one saw
a strange-looking reptile swimming in
the river near the boat. It is said
to have been about six feet long and
similar in appearance to a rattlesnake,
except that it did not have rattles.
The men 011 the towboat commenced
to throw stones and sticks at It, every
body being attracted by the strange
looking reptile.
A lump of coal which struck very near
it seem to enrage the snake, and rais
ing its head two feet out of water, it
made straight for the boat. It seemed
to have a charmed life, for nobody suc
ceeded In hitting it. The captain says
it climbed the rudder to the rudder post
and came on deck, plunging through a
hatch into the hold of the boat aft
Most of the. crew beat a hasty retreat,
it is claimed, to the pilot house, when
the snake was seen to be on the boat.
As soon as the reptile was in the hold
the hatch was closed and a steam Jet
was turned into that part of the ves
sel. For three hours the place was
steamed, to make sure that the snake
would be killed. The heat was so in
tense that the tar of the oakutn in the
floor was melted. When an investiga
tion of the hold was made thefre was
no trace of the strange snake. The re
mains of a few scalded rats were all
that could be found. Where the
strange reptile went is a mystery, for
it was thought by the crew that they
had it a prisoner.
Captain George W. Atkinson says he
thinks the snake was what is known
on the lower Mississippi River as a cot
ton-mouthed moccasin, a very poison
ous reptile. They are seldom heard of
in the waters around Pittsburg, al
though they are known to have been
carried long distances in barges loaded
with fruit. They resemble a rattle
snake very closely. Their mouths are
lnrge. and when opened are white.—
Pittsburg Times.
A Thirst That Con 1,1 Sot Be Satisfied.
From the story of Chief Officer Scott,
of the Roralma, in Leslie's Monthly:
You read about that fellow down in
hades looking up and asking for water,
says Chief Officer Scott, telling of the
loss of the Rornima at Martinique in
Leslie's Monthly for July, well, that is
about as near as I can come to describ
ing it, but everything that happened
sticks in my mind like a nightmare. I
can see now one of the passengers, a
man, lying on the foc's'le deck, hid
eously scarred, crying for water.
When we gave it to him bo could not
drink it. It would not pass down his
throat. He was crawling around on
deck on his hands and knees calling
for water, and at last we were afraid
he would fall overboard, so with the
assistance of another man, I brought
him down to the main deck. As soon
as ever he got there he caught sight of
Thompson with his water can and at
once began to crawl after him for
water like a dog. The man's tongue
was literally burned out of his head.
Ilis arms were cruelly burned from his
shoulders to his finger ends. As he
lay there moaning aloud in mortal
agony one of the sailors happened to
put a bucket of salt water near him.
The man plunged his right arm into it
to relieve the scalding pain. At once
his skin broke straight round his shoul
der and stripped off his arm till it hung
like a lady's opera glove turned inside
out from the tips of his lingers. Bui
the worst burns were internal. The
fire did not seem to penetrate clothing,
but burned the exposed flesh merci
lessly.
Both Men Were Heroe*.
Leaning over the roof of his house,
lighted by the flames from a burning
building next door, John Walsh, of Chi
cago, passed to his wife, who clung to
the edge of a window below, two little
children whose lives he had saved
from the fire at the risk of his own.
Another John Walsh, a policeman from
the Chicago avenue station, was lead
ing two companions along a narrow
passage under the burning structure
to where he henrd what were appar
ently the cries of a woman.
The cries came from a fox terrier al
most suffocated. The three men faced
death and rescued a dog from crema
tion. while the dog's owner, who is
Walsh, was engaged with his work of
rescue to save his neighbor's children.
Walsh looked out upon the narrow
court separating the two buildings and
saw two little frightened faces pressed
against a window pane. He climbed
to the roof of his house. This brought
him on the side furthest from the burn
ing structure. Between him and the
imperiled children was the peaked roof.
Grasping a ladder lie made his way
around the coping to the spot opposite
the window where the children were.
Planting one end of the ladder against
the cornice of his house and the other
on the window opposite be crawled
across and managed to reach the win
dow. He took a child under each arm
and descended the leaning ladder, with
Ids back braced against the rungs.
His wife opened the window, stood
upon a chair inside, and, clinging part
ly to the ladder and partly to the cor
nice, leaning against the edge of the
roof, one at a time lowered the chil
dren.—New York Times.
Nearly Overcome by a Bal.l Eagle.
Alfred F. Eastman, of Tacoma, who
lias been living at Skagway during the
past year, came near being killed by an
immense bald eagle near Chilkoot,
where he had been hunting and fish
ing. Eastman was accompanied by D.
C. Stevens. While crossing a mountain
divide they scared up the eagle, which
Eastman shot. The bird fell to earth
and lay motionless as if dead. East
man rushed forward and tried to pick
it up, when it suddenly became active.
It attacked Eastman with beak and tal
ons, lacerating his head and tearing the
flesh on his breast and upper body.
Eastman was in a fainting condition
when Stevens rushed to his rescue.
The latter caught the eagle by both
wings and pulled It away by main
force. The eagle was then killed, and
was found to measure eight feet from
tip to tip of its wings.—San Francisco
Cltronlcle.
Had Been lT*ed.
A boy baby arrived at a certain
house and a visitor said to a little girl
in the family: "Do you like the baby?"
The little girl said she did. but would
have preferred a lady baby. "Well,"
the visitor continued, "maybe you
could exchange this one." "No, I
don't think we could," said the little
girl, "because we have been using it
for seven or eight days."—Chicago
Chronicle.
'^g^JEi^TIFIC
Acetylene appears to be making
rapid progress as a mine lamp, one
German firm having recently placed ~
lamps in lit different mines. These
lamps are portable and designed to
burn for eight hours at one charge.
M. Phisalix announced in April. 1901
that young dogs, inoculated with at
tenuated cultures of a coeco-baeillus
which he has named Pasteurella cnnis,
resisted the injection of the virus ot
distemper and the direct contagion of
diseased animals. He has continued
his experiments for a year, and has in
oculated more than 1200 young dogs
and his results show that distemper
can be prevented practically in every
case. MM. Joseph and Marcel I.ig
nicres have experimented along similar
lines and have arrived at similar con
clusions.
An ingenious use is made of the com
pressed air supplied to the workmen
in an East River caisson at New York
City. The caisson is being forced
down to the bedrock through a thick
stratum of sand, and it has been found
that the compressed air sent down to
jthe men may readily be utilized to
flrive the sand up through pipes, in
stead of removing it by the tedious
use of shovels. The sand is pure and
loose, and jets of water are directed
against it at the bottom of the pipes
When thus dislodged it passes up
through the pipes with the strong air
currents produced by the compression
In the caisson.
In the Revue de Medecln Charles
Fere has an interesting article on hu
man odors. He calls attention to the
fact that the skin possesses a certain
odor which varies much in individuals,
as well as in races. Dogs unquestion
ably recognize persons largely by their
odors. Regarding the nervous origin
of these odors. Hammond cites the
case of a woman who always gave out
an odor of pineapple when she was in
a temper, and another who smelled of
violets when suffering from an hysteri
cal attack. Dr. Fere cites a number of
cases of emotions produced by odors
reminiscent of certain events, and
finally states his belief that certain
odors are inherited or may even extend
to side branches of the same family.
A new process for making brick out
of sand and cement has been put in
operation in Missouri. No ovens or
burning processes are necessary, the
hardening of the brick beginning as
soon as it is taken from the mould, and
in fifteen days it is ready for delivery.
During the process of moulding, a si
gle brick undergoes a pressure of <>5J- 1
000 pounds. In thirty days from the
time the hardening process begins, the
brick will stand a pressure of ten tons;
in sixty days a pressure of twenty
tons. One special test on a ninety-day
brick yielded a pressure of sixty-five
tons. The ordinary pressure required
for building purposes is about eight
tons. In addition, any desired color
may be produced by the introduction
of coloring matter into the sand and
cement mixture. When taken from
the mould the soft mixture must be
handled with exarerac care. The bricks
are then placed upon large racks built
for that purpose, where they are
sprayed with water from au automatic
sprinkler every four hours. This is
done to assist the action of the cement
in settling properly. The hardening
process naturally begin at the outer
surface of the brick and continues in
ward.
Parrot Folleil Burglar.
One morning during the past winter
a jeweler in Berlin was awakened at
an early hour by his pet parrot, who
had entered his room and was vocifer
ously persuading him in gutteral Ger
man to "Hurry up and shoot the rob
bers!" The tradesman hastened to act
on the advice of his feathered friend,
and, arming himself with a revolver,
descended to the lower rooms, where
he encountered a masked burglar,
whose operations lie had opportunely
interrupted. The reiterated cries of
the parrot attracted the attention of
the police, and the thief was arrested.
The grateful jeweler gave a grand din
ner in honor of his parrot, whose timely
warning had protected his property
and probably his life.
Peculiar Writing-Paper.
Liverpool (Engt postmen have re
cently becu in u state bordering on
distraction. Some foolisb person in
that city inaugurated a new fashion
of using ping-pong balls as post cards.
The balls were stamped, an address
written under the stamp, and the mes
sage scrawled on the rest of the sur
face. The fashion spread rapidly, and
the pillar-boxes became full of these
missives, which, from their shape, gave
the unfortunate postmen aud postottice
officials an enormous utnouut ot
trouble. At last the authorities were
forced to Intervene, and It is now
contrary to the regulations to use the
little globes of celluloid for postal pur
poses.
Big Price For Pen.
Lively bidding in Vienna occurred
the other day at the auction of the
late Count Falkenhayn's relics, espe
cially when the pen with which the
holy alliance was signed on September
2G, 1815, was offered for sale. On that
occasion the pen was used by Emperor
Francis 1., Czar Alexander I. and
King Frederick William 111. The bid
ding started at 125 florins and quickly
rose to 500 florins, at which price the
pen became the property of Couat
General von Liudheim.