Blocks Cupids Plans
French Law Places All Power in the Hand*
of the Parents.
-iHEN a Frenchman proposes
for the girl he thinks he might
love, the first question is:
"Are there things against
him?"
It is understood that sowing wild
oats never makes part of the category,
except in the case of a possible dis
turbance at the church door.
To furnish one's certificate of birth
seems a most innocent requirement of
French marriages; yet young men on
the eve of wedding have shot them
selves in dread of a discovery its scru
tiny must lead to. "Acknowledged
child" burns upon its surface—the
French law will never let bygones be
bygones. Then, as the birth certifi
cate gives a direct clue to the father's
secret dossier, the errors of two gen
erations are at the disposal of those
I who can show a right to know them.
The girl's parents have such aright.
The young man cannot, dare not, re
*• fuse investigation. In the social and
administrative arms of the French
government, the details of one's errors
are writ out with such minuteness
that in a recent cause celebre a wit
ness of importance was confronted
with proofs that when he was 18 he
pawned his books; that he
dodged a cab fare when he was 23;
that he owed money for his morning
coffee at the age of 25. and that at 20
he gambled in a trlpot (purely gam
bling club).
Now you must know that the French
father's inquisitiveness grows out of a
duty to his daughter absolutely un
known to the fathers —and the daugh
ters —of America. In France the aver
age marriageable girl says to her
father:
"I have always been obedient; I
, have effaced myself; I am entitled to
I a husband. Find one for me!"
J*- These extraordinary details of French
marriage law ought to be known to
the girls of other countries when
young Frenchmen court them.
(a) Up to the age of 25 years fin-
Good Taste Demands That He Should
Not Show Himself Conscious
That He Is Being Studied,
ished, i. e., until he has reached his
?6th year, no young Frenchman ean
jf become a husband without furnishing
' to the civil functionary, who alone
can marry him. the written act of
consent of his father and mother. In
case of dispute, the father's consent
is sufficient; but not so the mother's,
whose sole consent Is good, however,
when she is a widow. When both
parents are deceased, the man must
have the consent of his grandfather
or grandmother in the same way, lack
ing whom the duty of consenting falls
upon the family council composed of
his nearest relatives.
It is a subtle law. Three times, at
intervals of a month, a whole machin
ery of stamped paper and its legal
service must be set in motion. This
gives parents four months more time.
If they choose to dodge the service,
as the widow of a millionaire distil
ler did for eighteen months on board
her yacht not long ago, the balked
\ r young folks have nothing to do but
• patiently pursue their rights through
\ "the swamp of procedure." as they
say in the Salle des Pas Perdus—"the
Hall of Lost Footsteps" of the Palace
of Justice.
When a young Frenchman, there
fore, sees a girl well suited to him,
he does not go to her and lay: "I
love you."
(a) It would be dishonorable.
(b) It would make her faint; and
(c) He would not get the chance
to try it.
Instead, he goes and tells his
mother.
His mother tells his father.
His father goes to see his brother,
or his business partner, or a friend.
Then both of them, wearing their
The Opera Comlque Has Been Used
Long for This Purpose,
best frock coats, call on some friend
of the family of the girl in question.
The proposed match is talked over
and a rendezvous is made to hear this
friend's report on how the family of
the girl receive the proposition.
r it is at some dance or dinner or re
ception that the young folks are at
last confronted with each other. Fail
ing such facilities the Opera Comlque
has been immemorially for this pur
pose by Parisian families of the
middle classes. Like most Eu
ropeaa playhouses, aH its parquet
circle and Its galleries are cut up Into
UtUe boxes. Each of tfeem has been
the scene of many a "decisive meet
ing."
The mother has her daughter sit
ting by her in the box which -she has
taken. Between the first and second
acts the young man is brought to
them by the common friend, osten
sibly to pay an offhand visit and in
quire about their health. They stay
five minutes, speaking of the play,
the weather, and the Parisian season,
and then retire.
When they have gone the mother
ought to make some tentative remark
to the girl on the young man's looks,
position, fortune, manners and so on,
endeavoring to fathom the impression
he has made.
It is admitted that mothers ought
not to instruct their daughters pre
viously for thi3 encounter. For if
The Young Folks Are at Last Con
fronted with East Other.
the girl has been catechised before
hand she will be so filled with appre
hension as to risk losing grace and
naturalness. So she may not have
sufficient self-possession to observe if
the young man be pleasing to her or
the. contrary.
She ought not to know the object of
his coming to the box, because, if
she fails to please, it is distressing
to be told so. She would be humili
ated and lose confidence the next
time.
The common friends meet again, In
their frock coats, to let each other
know what the effects have been. If,
as happens very rarely, the girl has
failed to please on close Inspection,
nothing will be said. The two friends
simply talk about the weather. But
if it ue the youth who has been found
lacking, the truth is declared, and his
friend breaks it to him later. Some
times, and there are those who de
clare it should be always practiced, a
girl favorably enough Impressed de
mands nevertheless to see more ol
the youth before she gives her word
Then it will be arranged that she
shall meet him often, but not intl
mately.
On his side, good taste demands
that he should not show himself con
scious of the fact that he Is being
studied. He goes through his paces,
social, Intellectual and physical, as
if he did not dream of her inspection.
The next step is the proposal.
The father of the aspirant, his
brother or his uncle does it for him.
His Father Takes a Bath, then Goes to
See a Friend of the Girl's Family.
The girl's father or her other legal
guardian should give him an imme
diate response. At this interview
questions of fortune and the like are
discussed in more detail; and notes
of them are made to form the basis
of the marriage contract.
Immediately he has been accepted,
the young Frenchman must get Into
his dress suit and call on his future
moter-in-law. He ought to thank hes
warmly, but without exaggeration.
Then he may ask to see the girl.
Art Relics to Order.
In Rome and Naples there are fac
tories in which "ancient" art relics
are made to order. Statuettes of
Aphrodite In bronze are manufac
tured there by the gross, and re
cently several worthless objects wers
palmed off on unsuspecting tourists
as being priceless relics which wers
unearthed in Macedonia. One fac
tory even succeeded in selling aD
unusually curious relic to the mu
seum at Athens. Unfortunately foi
the unscrupulous manufacturers,
when the experts examined it thej
at once discovered that it was bogus
and notified the Italian authorities.
Method of Inducing Sleep.
Dr. Stelner observed in Java a
method employed to induce sleep. II
consists in compressing the carotid
arteries. The operator sits on the
ground behind the patient, whose
neck he seizes with both hands. The
index and middle fingers are then
pushed forward into the carotids,
which are zompressed toward the
spine. The method is absolutely
harmless, anaesthesia is rapidly ob
tained, and the patient wakes prompt
ly, with no symptoms of nausea or
malaise.
HINTS ABOUT
HOUSEKEEPING'
For Clam Soup.
Chop fine a cupful of clums and add
to them their own liquor, strained. Put
in one cupful of water, one slice of
onion, a blade of mace and simmer for
thirty minutes. Thicken two cupfuls
of milk with two tnblespoonfuls of
flour and two tnblespoonfuls of but
ter. Strain the liquor from the clams
and stir it slowly with milk. Season
with salt and a dnsh of paprika. Just
before the soup is sent to the table, and
as it is removed from the fire, stir in
the well beaten yolks of two eggs.
The pending of China.
Time and patience are both quite
necessary factors in the successful
mending of broken china, crockery or
glass. Any such article that has sus
tained a sort of compound fracture
must be mended one piece at a time.
For this reason those who make such
repairing a matter of business require
l long time in the work, letting one
piece harden in place before another is
added. For mending broken crockery
there is nothing better than white lead.
It Is one of the few cements that re
sist both water and beat. Smear it
thinly on the edges of the article, press
them together and set it aside to dry.
A waterproof glue for repairing mar
ble or porcelain may be made by mix
ing plain white glue and milk. Into
two quarts of skimmed milk put half
a pound of the best white glue. Put
the basin containing this Into another
basin of hot water. Cook until the milk
has evaporated to such an extent that
the mixture is like ordinary glue or
even thicker. When dry, this cement
Is one of the hardest, with the clear
ness of ivory.—Boston Post.
To JEteuiore Stains From Old Lace.
The indications are that the wintei
will see garments trimmed with pret
ty appliques, insertions and ruffles of
lace in greater numbers than hereto
fore. Sometimes a piece of old lace
carefully treasured is disfigured with
yellow stains and mildew. If care
fully treated these may be made to dis
appear without having recourse to the
cleaner.
The way to remove yellow stains
from lace Is to place the stain on a
hot iron covered with linen, and
moisten it with diluted oxalic acid.
The lace must then be put in lukewarm
water, and when any gummy substance
Is thus removed fine white soup must
be used. No hot water must be em
ployed, and it must be rinsed very
carefully afterward In tepid water.
You must never wring lace, but press
out the moisture with the hand through
a clean towel. You must straighten it
out well when it is damp—the best way
is to pin it out on a cushion—and any
ironing must be done from the back.
Mildew may be removed by moisten
ing a piece of blotting paper with rnrl
flcd spirits of wine and placing the
stain between three folds of paper. So
treated, it is pretty sure to disappear.
Renovate mass chandeliers which
have become dirty and discolored by
washing them with water in which
onions have been boiled.
If a chimney catches fire throw a
handful of sulphur into the grate. As
the sulphurous fumes ascend the tire
In the chimney will die out.
To set the color of print dresses soak
them In very hot brine, let them remain
until the water is cold and then wring
out and wash in the usual manner.
Before attempting to turn out a jelly
place the mold for n few seconds in
hot water. You will then be able to
turn out the jelly without the fear of
breaking It.
When cleaning wall paper use a
dough made of flour mixed with water
containing a little washing soda. The
soda will not injure the paper and the
work will be done more quickly.
White spots on furniture may be
readily removed by rubbing quickly
and evenly with n rag dipped in spirits
of camphor. Afterward rub over the
spot thoroughly with furniture oil.
Rusty fire irons should be rubbed
well with sweet oil, left wet for two or
three days, and then rubbed with un
slaked lime. This will remove the rust
and then the Irons may be polished as
usual.
Towels should be dried thoroughly
before being put away. If consigned
to the linen closet after being ironed
before they are thoroughly aired a
mould called oldium forms on them,
giving rise to a parasite which is liable
to produce skin diseases.
Art ticking in pink finished with a
narrow border of white denim decor
ated with floral pattern in delicate rose
coloring makes a lovely cushion cover
and possesses the advantage of being
able to stand laundering. Light blue
ticking can be effectively utilized in the
same way.
The under dog doesn't always de
serve our sympathy.
BULLET IN THE BRAIN.
110 Presence There Not Always Attended
by Fatal Keult.
The idea that the human brain is
an organ BO extremely delicate in
structure that it cannot bear the slight
est physical hurt sometimes appears
to receive a contradiction in the ex
perience of people who have met with
peculiar injuries to the head. The
history of brain surgery presents some
remarkable facts in regard to the ex
tent to which the thinking organ will
sometimes resist the effects of exter
nal Injury. It has been shown that
in some cases quantities of its sub
stance may be removed without ap
preciably diminishing the normal in
telligence of the patient; while some
have been known to carry the most
fixtraordinary foreign substances im
bedded in their skulls for years.
Finds of the most singular kind
have been made in the interior sub
stance of the living human brain. The
strangest things have been known to
find entry there through accident or
design.
In one case it was the blade of a
pen-knife that was carried about in
the brain for half a lifetime without
the patient being in the least aware of
it; in another it was a penholder that
had somehow found its way there and
remained in its living hiding place
without apparently interfering with
the thinking power of the organ;
while only a week or so ago a piece
of slate pencil was recovered from a
boy's brain after it had been hidden
there for several years.
It is. therefore, perhaps none the
more surprising that many a bullet
which has found its billet in a human
brain has proved no more than a tem
porary inconvenience.
A French soldier who received a
bullet in his head during the Franco-
Germian war of 1870 carried it there
ior 27 years, and was said to have
felt no ill-effects till 1897, when it one
day worked Its way downward Into the
mouth and so rid him of its presence.
In the case of a German soldier who
was shot in the head during the Son
derbund war, he lived to carry the
leaden souvenir in his brain for 43
years, and it was not extracted till
after his death.
These two remarkable cases, how
ever, seem to be beaten by another
that has quite recently been brought
to light, the case being that of an old
soldier still living at , who for
over half a century has carried in his
head- the bullet received during the
Austrian rebellion in 1848.
Would-be suicides have occasionally
put bullets into their brain to no pur
pose; and perhaps one of the most as
tounding cases of recent years was
that dealt with at the Richmond hos
pital only a year or so ago.
The patient had in vain tried to
take his life by shooting himself in
the head, and after thus placing two
bullet 3 In his brain he was immediate
ly conveyed in a cab to the hospital.
But he was so little affected at the
time by the presence of the bullets in
his head that he actually alighted from
the vehicle, walked along the garden
path and- up the steps of the hospital,
and was then able to give an intelli
gent account of what had taken place.
In a similar case of self-inflicted in
jury that came before the doctors at
Guy's hospital a few months later the
would-be suicide, after firing a revol
ver bullet into his headj was discov
ered smoking his pipe as if nothing
very serious had happenw, and though
the bullet had penetrated the skull
to the depth of three and a half Inch
es he was able to walk part of the
way to the hospital and there undress
himself without assistance previous to
undergoing examination.
The effects of removing bullets from
the brain are sometimes as remark
able as any of the foregoing, and per
haps in this connection mention may
be made of a case of a military cadet
operated on by a doctor of Vienna just
recently.
On removing the bullet a small quan
tity of brain had also to be taken
away, the peculiar result being that,
though unaltered in any other respect,
the patient irretrievably lost all his
good manners for which he was noted.
The eminent surgeon therefore sug
gests that the portion of the brain
removed with the bullet corresponds
to what he describes as the "bump
of good manners."—London Tit-Bits.
Th English Kiit-rif.
The old English rat-pit is the latest
Parisian craze, writes a correspondent
of the London Sketch. It is not hid
den away in the cellar of a disreputa
ble mastroquet, but flourishes in all
Its pride at the Chalet du Cycle, one
of the most fashionable rendezvous in
the Bols de Boulogne. The results of
the day's sport are duly recorded, and
there is heavy betting at the present
moment over two dogs who killed 35
in identical time and who are to be
matched early in August. For years
there has been a cock-fighting club
near the Odeon, and the membership
is as aristocratic as that of the Jockey
or the Escrime. Speaking of rats
although it may be argued that it
is not the liveliest subject to harp
upon—a barbarous custom prevails at
the Halles. At the cpenir.g of the
wine shop the patron goes to the cel
lars and brings up the trap with its
victims in it. Following the tradi
tional rite, he opens it out and sets
fire to them. It is a ghastly sight, but
I am sorry to say that I have seen
men and women in evening dress who
have supped late at Barratt's looking
on applauding.
Many Smoke Clouds.
For every time he fills a pipe of
medium size a smoker blows 700
smoke clouds. If he smokes four
pipes a day for 20 years, he biows 20,-
440.000 smoke clouds.
Got Soldiers' Guns
Clever Trick Played on British Troops by Heroine
of the Revolution,
"Gurdie" has not been quite fairly
dealt with by history. The name is sel
dom heard nowadays, but it belonged
to an energetic, brave woman who, in
revolutionary times, had the applause
of her country for cleverly outwitting
a part of the British army.
"Gurdie lived at Union, N. J., in
those days a place aspiring to be the
capital of the state. One finds it to
day fast asleep, away from railroads,
and even trolley cars. Her husband
was known either as the man with
the stovepipe hat, a mark of aristoc
racy then out of the ordinary, or as
the man with the stumbling tongue.
His most salient characteristic was
his admiration for Gurdie.
When the British came up the little
elevation known as "the hill" at Union
and entered the precincts of the sa
cred First Presbyterian church, taking
the hymn books and Bibles from the
pews and ruthlessly tearing them to
use as wadding for their guns, it was
Gurdie who boldly spoke up and asked
"Is that the way you're going to give
us Watts and the Bible?"
The fight which followed was stiff
and long; the power of the young
American cannon, placed nearly oppo
site the church, was taxed to its ut
most. To-day any one passing the spot
can see this cannon preserved as a
relic where it then stood, looking the
very baby it is in the face of modern
warfare.
The enemy proved over-strong; but
winning men must eat, and of the rich
farms then lying about Union, none
were more likely to repay ransacking
than that of Gurdie and her spouse.
One of this stalwart woman's strong
points was her excellent housekeep
ing.
Near her great brick oven stood al
Cocoanuts as Fuel
They Are Likely to Prove of Great Value in Naval
Warfare of the Future/
Copra consists of dried cocoanuts.
In view of the enormous tracts of land
throughout the tropic zone that have
lately been planted with cocoanuts, it
is remarkable that copra has main
tained its price.
From both coasts of Africa and from
the West Indies the export has been
steadily increasing, and yet, though
the world seems to be easily sated
with every other kind of tropical prod
uct of copra It never seems to have
enough.
Handicapped by a sea carriage of
12,000 miles, the South Sea island co
pra has always commanded a local
price of from S4O to $55 a ton, and
now that a soap and candle factory
has been established in Australia, it is
more likely to rise than fall.
Ten years ago most of the copra
went direct to Iturtfpe on German sail
ing ships, which came out to Austra
lia with a general cargo, and loaded
copra in the islands. In the long home
ward voyage of from four to six
months the rats and the little bronze
copra beetles tunnel through the car
go. destroying large quantities.
On arrival at the oil mills it is
crushed by rollers, and the refuse,
A "Wildcat" Mine
Dynamite Used to Dislodge Ferocious Felines
from Their Stronghold.
Several mining men who had
chanced to meet in a hotel lobby in
this city were discussing the various
mines in a certain district, when one
of them spoke of a "wildcat" mine.
A logger who was sitting near
pricked up his ears at this and chip
ped into the conversation. He said
that there was the most productive
wildcat mine he ever heard of near
the logging camp where he had been
working on the lower Columbia. One
of the mining men remarked that his
idea of a wildcat mine was one that
yielded nothing but assessments and
asked what this wildcat mine pro
duced.
"Why, wildcats, of course," replied
the logger. He then proceeded to ex
plain that many years ago someone
had run a tunnel into the side of a
bill in search of coal and had run a
number of short branches and had
gophered about generally in the bow
els of the hill, but finding no coal had
finally abandoned the workings.
There were wildcats in that sec
tion and the parties who had been
prospecting for coal left several cats
at their cabin. The wildcats and the
Not Easily Produced.
John H. Converse, president of the
great Baldwin Locomotive works, not
long ago submitted himself to some
prosy interviewing by one of those
would-be philosophers who are fond
of talking of abstract matters. Along
In the course of the conversation, the
Interviewer inquired;
"Now, Mr. Converse, tell me—what
is it you find most difficult to get
out of your men?"
"A day's work!" grimly and
promptly replied Mr. Converse.
Fertile Fields of Africa.
Proof of the great grain-producing
capabilities of the Zoutpansberg Is
afforded by the fact that 40,000 bags
ways a huge pot of indigo ready to
dye the wool from the shorn sheep*.
Clean, smooth and In order, the loom
also awaited her pleasure at weaving.
Her water from "the north side of tho
well" was cooler than could be had
elsewhere; her cream invariably
turned to butter; Gurdle could smooth
out most folks' wrinkles.
When the muddy, swaggering feet
of the British despoiled her polished
floors she made it understood that
they should rest in the cellar, where
home-made wine was In casks, until
she had prepared their meal.
Leading to this place was a narrow
flight of steps and an old-fashioned
trap-door. It was, however, light and
spacious, and the men cracked many
a joke over their entertainment.
At last Gurdle called to them that
their supper was ready. "Leave your
guns stacked in the cellar," she said;
"there's no room for them above."
This they did and came tumbling up
the stairs.
Gurdie then closed the trap door
with a spring, which only she knew.
The men, suspecting nothing, fell
eagerly to eating. To her stuttering
husband, outside the window, she
quickly passed the word; and thus a
short while later a goodly number of
unarmed men were carried oft aa
prisoners by the American boys.
The signal which her husband gave
about the town as he passed from
man to man, and which has coma
down to us through history, was sim
ply the record of his clever wife's
deed: "G-Gur-Gur-Gurdie's g-ggot
th-th-the gu-gu-guns."
It sometimes costs a man sis
months of rheumatism to catch one
little six-inch fish.
after every drop of oil has been
squeezed out of it, is pressed into oil
cake for fattening cattle. The oil is
then resolved into glycerin and steal*
ine, from which more than half the
candles and soap used in the world are
made.
At first sight it would seem more
economical to press the oil on the spot
and so save the freight upon the waste
material, but the explanation is that
oil must be shipped in tanks or in
casks. Ships fitted with tanks would
have to make the outward voyage
empty, and casks, if shipped in
"shooks," require expert coopers, and
when soaked in oil become a prey to
borers.
It is possible that a new use may
be found for copra as fuel for wap
ships. It burns with a fierce heat. It
Is very easily stored and handled, and
it is only one-third more bulky than
coal, its disadvantage in this respect
being more than compensated by lta
superior heating qualities and its free
dom from ash.
It is expensive, but in naval warfare
where quick steam is everything, the
dearest fuel may often be the cheap
est. —Savage Island.
tame cats had affiliated and had taken
up their abode in the tunnel and had
increased in numbers.
Finally a celebrated bear hunter of
that region discovered the half-closed
entrance to the tunnel, and, thinking
that perhaps some wild animals might
be occupying the place, sent his dogs
in to investivate. In a few minutes
the dogs came rushing out, literally
covered with wildcats and howling
like lost spirits. While the fight was
going on the old hunter took a hand
to help his dogs and killed twenty
seven wildcats.
Dynamite was put in the tunnel at
night when the cats were out seeking
food and next day the fuse was light
ed. As it burned some cats came out
and were shot down. The shooting
of the dead cats terrified, those in the
rear and they held back till the tun
nel was fairly choked with a gurgling
squalling, spitting army of cats, and
then the giant powder exploded and
several tons of cats were shot out of
the hole. —Portland Oregonian.
The coal miner kicks because he is
kept down in the world.
of mealies have been sent since
October last to the military authori
ties in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The Impossible.
"This young man," said the city
editor, "won't do, I'm afraid."
"Why not?" asked the desk man.
"He brought a good report of that
convention in to-day."
"Yes, but in one place I see he
writes, 'Silence reigned for ten min
utes.' "
"Well, what's wrong?"
"Great Scott, man! It was a wo
man's convention."
No, Maud, dear, you can't fill a
poker hand with an ash tray.