I WAYLAID! I
: :
It was always a puzzle to me how
the partnership between Edward Chap
man and Arthur Starling ever began,
and a still greater wonder bow it con
tinued.
It was well for the credit of the
firm that he was the predominant
partner, for his impeccability, his
parsimony' (which had ever a spice of
kindness), his strong sense of justice,
and his industry, were all needed to
counteract the recklessness of Mr.
Starling. The latter had oonie into tho
firm as an adept at litigating business
(a phase of the profession which Chap
man detested!, and when be was con
scious of what be was dolufr —which
was not always the case for certain
reasons—ho was up to all the tricks
of common law practice. Each partner
had his own staff of clerks, his own
set of chambers, and Ills own lot of
clients.
It was rarely that any business of
importance came to be intrusted to
"The Flier," and when the purchaser
brought the contract for a £16,-
000 purchase in the summer of 1892,
it naturally came to Chapman's side
of the office.
The preliminary work all fell to my
share, and all went smoothly. The
completion was fixed by tho contract
for the 2'Jth of September, and, as all
waa clear, there was nothing to pre
vent tho actual day being adhered to.
Chapman was away with his family
for the vacation, but intended to come
up specially to pay ovor the £14,-
400 balance, after deducting the 10
percent paid on the signing of the con
tract.
On the morning of the 28th all waa
In readiness. The figures had been
agreed to by letter, ami an appoint
ment made with Isaac Blumenthal, the
vendor's solicitor, for completion to
take place at 2 the next day.
I had all tho papers in readiness on
the morfiing of the 2*th. It was our
practice to close at 5 during the long
vacation; but I bad some letters for
Starling to sign, and had to wait till
his return to the offloe. About 6.45 I
heard his unsteady footsteps com lag
up the stairs. Ho looked at me hazily,
and threw a wire to nut
"What do you thiak of it? Are you
ready?"
The wire was from Chapman:
"Please attend Bathlrridjje oamyfie
tlon. Son seriously 111; hair death.—
Chapman.
"Yes," said I. "I'm all reody."
"Then bo ready to cotne with me,"
said Starling. "Give Krvutzer figures
In the morning. He can draw a check,
and I'll sign it. Is the cash at the
bank?"
'He bad indorsed the purchaser's
check that morning for payment In,
but had forgotten all about it.
lie turned up at the office about
noon next day. The check was ready
for Ills signature, and he signed it. |
But the man seemed dazod. I did not,
like tho prospeot of the eampletion at
all. Still, I liked less harrtng tho re
sponsibility myself.
"You ready?" he (mid, opening his
eyes with an effort. "Then meet me
at Blumenthal's at 2. Get everything
fixed, and I'll attend with the caah."
"Very well," said I, nod left the
room. But I had no Intention of doing
what ho said.
I put the papers in the office-bag
and slipped out to the eoliettors' en
trance to the law oourte. Presently I
saw Starling come praacing along out
of New Square gale on his way to
our bank, the Chancery Lane branch
of the Union of I.otukn. I watched
him go into the bank, aml presently
emerge and turn to the left up Chan
cery lane. Then I followed quickly. I
■Was within 20 raids of him when he
crossed Holborn and went up Gray's
Inn lane.
1 followed across and turned into
tho lane. As 1 roauuksl the corner I
heard a scuffle and a yell. Running up
quickly, I saw Starling oil the ground.
With two rough-looking men holding
pim down and pulling him about. 1
had a stout ash-stick with a root knob
In my hands, and rushed np Just as
they were leaving him. I caught ono of
thern—- a tall thin, man, with a bushy,
red board and large, misshapen spec
tacles —a sounding crack on the back
of hi 3 head. He went down, doubled
up In a lump, and I hastened after the
other. But he was fleet, and I did not
care to go far front Starling, who was
lying on the pavement, with the ruf
fian I had floored beside him. At least
he ought to liavo been beside him. But
when I returned from my futile chase
of number two I could see no sign of
hint. He had recoverod before Starl
ing, and made the beet of his way off.
But on the pavement, lay a piece of
false red beard! I found Starling sit
ting up, looking dazed and disreputa
ble.
"Have you got. the money all right?"
1 cried; "or did they got it?"
He felt in his inner coat pocket. His
face fell, and he looked up blankly.
"Heavens!" he cried. "That red
whiskered man asked me where the
£14,000 was! And that's all I
remember!"
"What?" I cried. "DW he name the
sum?"
"Yes," said Starling. "Why?"
I looked at my watch. It still want
ed some minutes of
"Have you got the number of the
notes?" I asked.
"No," said Starling.
"Then will you go to the bank to
get them?" I said "I'll be round at the
office in a quarter of afi hour."
"Whom are you talking to like
that?" cried Starling. "I don't know
what you mean. It's a bit too thick.
Ab-so-lute-ly."
"I beg pardon," I said. "But I've
got an idea. Do go. I'll explain all to
you at the office."
"All right," he said. "But it brat*
me, ab-so-lute-ly."
I left Starling on his way to get the
numbers of the notes, and turned my
steps to Blumenthal's office. It was
Just 2 when I got there, the time of
the appointment. An old dirty-looking
clork, whom 1 Itad seen before, was in
the clerk's office.
"Mr. Blumenthal ready?" I asked.
"I've called to completa The appoint
ment is for 2."
I thought the old n*an looked
startled. "I'll see," ho said. He passed
through a green baize door, and came
back almost instantly. "Mr. Blumenthal
is out at lunch," he said. "I expect him
back every moment. Will you go into
his room and sit down?"
"No, thank you," I replied. I'll wait
here."
Again 1 thought the old clerk looked
startled, but he said nothing.
"We might be checking the deeds
with the schedule," I suggested.
"They're locked up in the safe," said
tho old fellow. "And Mr. Blumenthal's
got the key."
Aboil? 2.15 I saw a tall, lean man
pass the window and give a searching
glance within. He came along the pas
sage straight into the clerk's oihoe. He
stopped short when he saw me.
"Who's this Mosenthal?" he asked.
I took the answer upon myself.
"Mr. Claybroolce, from Chapman
and Starling, to complete," I said.
"What's that?" he cried. "I beg
your pardon," he continued; "but I've
just had an accident. Would you mind
malting tho completion tomorrow?"
"We won't pay interest," I said.
"No, that's all right," he agreed.
"Very good," said I. "Two o'clock to
morrow. Will that suit you? Thank
you. Good day!"
I found Starling in his room. He
looked up as I entered.
"It's, all your fault, ab-et>-lut-ly!"
he said, "if you'd met me at tie bank
as I told you, it wouldn't have hap
pened. Now you've about boken up
the show."
"Look here," I said. "Never mind
that now. Do you want to get the
money back? I fancy I know where It
Is."
"Rot!" said he.
"Have you got the numbers of the
notes?" I asked.
"Yes," said he.
"Then come round to Bcnv Btneet!"
I cried. "I'm going to apply for a
search warrant over Blumenthal's of
fice and house."
"You're mad!" he cried.
"Gome on," I urged. "I'll tell ytm all
about it on tho way round."
Of course, all tho police officials
threw difficulties in the way of an im
mediate application to the bench, but
experience had taught me how to deal
with them; and I was presently sworn
and unfolding my tale in witness box,
and making my application to cour
teous old Sir John Bridge.
"It's an extraordinary story," said
Sir John. "I suppose you know you aro
running some risk if you are mistak
en?"
"I'll take that," said I. "What I ask
for is a anarch warrant for the notes
specified in this list."
"Very well," again said Sir John.
"Yoai may as well take Burnaby with
you as well as tho warrant officer. I
find ho knows something of this Mr.
Blumenthal."
He signed the warrant and handed
It over to Burnaby. We picked up the
warrant officer, and ail three got into
the first hansom we came across. Starl
ing went baek to the office.
Old Mosenthal met us at the door.
Burnaby pushed him aside with a
word to Jones, tho warrant officer, to
keep an eye upon him, and went
straight through into the inner office.
Blumenthal was sitting in his office
chair, making a pretense to busy him
self about some patters on the desk.
"Hallo!" ho cried. "What's this?"
Burnaby produced the warrant, and
explained.
Blumenthal roared with laughter.
"That's good!" ho said. "Your Mr.
Starling gels robbed, and then tries
to compromise me!"
Now wo had not mentioned that
Starling had been robbed. Burnaby
looked at mo and winked.
"Just open that safe," he said.
"Open it yourself," said Blumenthal.
There was not a sign of the notes in
the safe. When wo had gone through
this wo turned our attention t.o the
rest of tho room.
Suddenly Burnaby paused. Ha
looked at the fireplace, whero only a
few embers smouldered.
"Allow mo to malto up your fire,"
he said.
"Certainly," replied Blumenthal, but
I thought with rather an ill grace.
Burnaby went on his knees. As he
did so Blumenthal rose from his chair
Instead of making up the fire tho jin-
I toctive thrust his arm up the chimney
J —and then Blumenthal was on him.
Between us we soon mastered the
I lawyer.
Then Burnaby said "Perhape 3'ou'd
like to find the notes yourself. I don't
think there's any doubt that they are
there now. What a lucky shot! I doubt
if I should havo thought of It, but it
was funny that there should bo such
a poor tiro on Buch aday."
Whilo ho was speaking I had thrusl
my hand as far up the chimney as i
could, and, by dint of stretching, 1
felt a little niche nearly a yard up
the left-hand side. In this I folt a pack
et, and on drawing it down it proved
to be a foolscap envelope with th
notes Inside.
As we ohecked them with the list,
Blumenthal came to himself again.
But the bracelets were on him. and h
looked at us with an evil expression.—
Answore.
When a man doesn't meet his billi
it keeps him busy dodging.
-gill.
Little Millionaires,
Twenty little millionaires,
Playing in tho sun;
Millionaires in mothorlove,
Millionaires in fun,
Millionaires in leisure hours,
Millionaires in joys,
Millionaires in hopes and plans
Are these girls and boys.
Millionaires In health are they,
And in dancing blood;
Millionaires in shells and stonee,
Sticks and moss and mud;
Millionaires in castles
In the air, and worth
Quito n ndllipn times as muoh
As castles on the earth.
Twunty little millionaires,
riaytng in the sua;
Oh! how happy they mußt be,
Every singlo one!
Hardly any years have they,
Hardly aiiy cares;
But in every lovely thing
Multimillionaires.
—Youth's Companion.
Bird That Cries Pa, Pa, Pa.
This bird is a native of South Afri
ca. It is as largo as a crow, with long
legs and bill, wings are dark green in
one light and golden in another. This
species is called hadeda. They live in
marshy places, and are easily tamed
to live in houses, and soon go iu and
out as if they were a part of the fami
ly. You would think thoy were a part
of it if you would hear them cry out
"Pa, pa, pa," like an impatient child.
Two of these birds were very fond of
the fathor of the family andl followod
him about all day. On Sundays they
would-actually walk Into the church
with hiiin, walk gracefully up the aisle
and take thoir stand near the minister,
who was their master. It was very
funny to see those solemn lookinghlrds
standing there. It was lucky they did
not cry out "Pa, pa, pa," for the con
gregation had already laughed quite
enough. The birds would not go away
until the minister was ready to go
also; then they followed biim home.
Jolly Dutch Children.
In the whole world there are no
more Jolly children than the small
boys and girls of Holland. The little
hoys all wear the loosest, widest and
most preposterous breeches ever seen.
Each pair seems big enough to hold
two boys and reaches high above his
waist, where it buttons to his small
Bh:irt The head guar is almost al
ways a small round cap. Coats and
jackets they rarely wear even in the
winter when at play.
The little Dutch girls wear long
skirts so full that one almost suspects
that there are hoop skirts under them
such as grandmother wore when She
was a young lady. On their heads are
the tightest of white caps, such as
babies wear in America. Sometimes,
under these caps, they have a hood
or bread piece made of brass, which is
kopt brightly polished and glitters
splendidly through the lace overcap.
Boys and girls wear wooden shoes
and! make.a tremendous clatter as they
play their games on the sidewalks or
the pavement. One of their counting
out rhymes spelled as it is pronounced.
Is:
Been, twee, oen Kopje the,
Een, Klontje, er bij,
Af ben jij.
A Bargain Day.
For a long time Herbert had been
praying for a baby sister; and at last,
when he was 6 years old, she came.
Though somewhat disappointed at her
limp and unresponsive state, the little
fellow was delighted at her arrival;
and as time passed on and she became
more appreciative of his attentions,
his admiration knew no hounds.
But when she had attained the ad
vanced age of 2 years and was "into
everything," as the nurse expressed It,
he was often glad to withdraw from
her society, and to betake himself and
his belongings to another part of the
house. But, as baby's devotion to him
(and Ms playthings) increased daily,
the withdrawing process became more
and more difficult; and Herbert, though
still loyal, did sometimes complain of
the unreasonable preference of his
small sister for his playthings over
her own.
One day mamma found both children
on the floor, In a corner of the dining
room, each pulling vigorously at a
scrap-book of which Herbert was very
fond.
"It's mine!" he cried emphatically.
"Mine!" screamed the baby, both
hands grasping the book.
With a great deal of tact and sooth
ing persuasion, mamma at length res
cued the book, and peace was restored.
That evening, after the usual good
night play between the two children,
mamma said:
"She's a darling, precious little sis
ter, isn't she, Herbert?"
"Yes," answered Herbert. Then, as
ho remembered the day's tribulations,
he added thoughtfully:
"But sometimes I have a bargain
day."
"A bargain day!" repeated mamma,
perplexed.
"Yes. Yon know, mamma, like what
they have at the stores —when I'd sell
her for 25 cents." —The Christian Reg
ister.
Why Flounders Are Flat.
Although little Clarenco Beach was
rather tired of living at tho bottom of
the sea, where he had been sent for
asking questions, there were so many
strange and' new things in and around
Neptune's palace that he could not
help asking about them, and so he did
not get over his unfortunate habit as
quickly as his parents expected.
One day while Clarence was out for
a walk, he thought he would sit on a
nice flat stone and take a rest, but as
scon as he was nicely seated the stone
began to swim away and Clarence
jumped up just in time to escape being
carried off. He was so excited that he
began to ask himself questions at
once, for there was no one else around
to ask.
"Well, I never!" he exclaimed. "I
wonder now if all of the stones down
here can swim, and! who taught them
to swim and why they don't swim up to
the top of the water, and what would
happen If some one should use that
kind of a stone for a sinker on his
fishline?" Then the stone came swim
ming back, and Clarence saw that It
was not a stone at all, but a very funny
fish.
"Well! Well! Well!'-cried Clarence.
"It's only a fish after all; but it's just
as flat as a pancake!"
"No such thing," said the fish angri
ly. "I am as flat as a flounder, and
there is nothing strange about that,
either, for I am a flounder. Since you
have seen fit to ask so many questions
you have got to listen while I tell you
why flounders are flat. And the next
time you hear any one say 'flat as a
flounder" yon will know all about it
"A great, great many years ago,
flounders were not flat at all, but
shaped like any other fish. In fact,
they were very graceful and well pro
portioned, and they were quite vain
on account of It.
"One day a ship sailed over the part
of the ocean whore the flounders lived,
and a young girl dropped a looking
glass out of her cabin window. The
looking glass came down and down
through the water until it fell right
Into the flounders' hack yard. Mr.
Flounder found it a little while later
and picked it up to look at it. He saw
the reflection of his own faco in the
looking glass, and he thought it was
somo other flounder who had no busi
ness there.
" 'Get out of here at once,' he cried.
'What do you mean by coming right
in here without an invitation and
walking about among my clothes
lines?' You know all fishes hang up
their clothes to get nice and wet be
fore putting them on. Of course, the
reflection did not answer, but the look
ing glass reflected Mr. Flounder's
mouth as he spoke, and he thought
the other flounder was making faces
at him. That made him so mail that
he kicked out With both fins and his
tail and he fell down on the back of
Ills nock so hard that he jarred down
four clothes poles. Mrs. Flounder saw
the clothes dragging In the sand and
she came rushing out of tho house to
give Mr. Flounder a piece of her mind.
" The very iifea,' she said. 'You
ought to be ashamed to he cutting such
didos at your age.'
" 'lt struck me,' sobbed Mr. Floun
der. 'That round thing tipped me up
and hurt the back of my head.' Then
he sat up very straight to see Mrs.
Flounder with looking glass in her
fin, smiling and bowing and putting
her hat on straight 'Oh, this Is just
lovely,' she cried in surprise. 'You
are a dear, good, old Flounder-Poun
der, to bring your little ,wlfey such a
nice present. I declare. I never knew
I was so handsome. We must go more
into society so people can see how
beautiful I am. I will give a party
this very day!'
"Mr. Flounder got up at once, and
when he looked in the glass he said:
'Hum! Ah! Well, really, you know, I
had no idea that I was so distinguished
looking. Go ahead with your party
by all means.
"In a few days the Flounders had a
very grand party, anil they Invited aD
Immense number of fishes, nearly all
of whom came.
"Before long they finished playing
all the games that the fishes knew, and
then young Mr. Sunflsh. who had been
brought up In a river where boys often
came to fish, proposed that they play a
game that he had often seen boys play
on the hanks of the river. The game
was called 'squat tag,' and all the
fishes thought it was the greatest fun
they had ever known.
"They had bfen playing for a long
time and enjoying themselves very
much when Mr. Sturgeon, who Is a
very fast swimmer, was 'lt' The very
first one Mr. Sturgeon chased was Mr.
Whale, and just as he was about to
bo caught Mr. Whale squatted in a
great hurry. He was so afraid of be
ing caught by Mr. Sturgeon that he
squatted right on Mr. and Mrs. Floun
der, who were holding each other's
hands and taking turns peeping in the
looking glas. Of course, as Mr. Whale
was nineteen million times heavier
than both the Flounders, he squashed
them just as flat as could possibly be,
and he broke the glass into little
pieces.
"As soon as Mr. Whale found what
ho had done, he said he was very sor
ry, and offered to sit on tho edges of
Iho Flounders anil squash them back
again, but Mr. Flounder said he made
it a rule never to bo squashed twice in
one day, and Mrs. Flounder and Mr.
j Whale ought to be made to go and as
| sociate with a gun foundry, for lie was
a regular blunderbuss. The party broke
up at once and tho Flounders have
never forgiven Mr. Whala for breaking
their looking glass,
j Neither ever tried to regain the old
i shape. After awhile they decided it
was the correct style to bo flat, for it
was so different from the common kind
of fishes, and all flounders are flat to
this day."—New York Mail and Ex
press.
A Powerful Dredge.
A "clamshell" dredge recently built
I for use on the levees at tho mouth of
the Sacramento river has a boom 155
feet long, and raises 25 tons of earth
at each "bite."
HELPS MEN WHO LOSE RICHES.
The Peculiar Province of a Quiet
Philadelphia Charity.
More than a century and a half ago
Alexander Popo wrote of "Humble
Allen," who "with conscious shame,
did good by stealth, and blushed to
find It tame." Modern bards could not
easily find inspiration In such a theme.
"Humble Aliens" are not many nowa
days. Charity has become an institu
tion, and, like murder, it will out.
Philanhroptsts are sorely distressed
to avoid publicity for their benefac
tions, and one cannot endow a refuge
for orphans or indigent cats without
a noisy flourish from the housetops.
It Is curious and somewhat start
ling, then, to find that right here' in
Philadelphia has existed for nearly 50
years, without knowledge of more than
a few persons, an association of men
devoted to a unique and unostenta
tious well-doing. Public ignorance of
their enterprise is all the more re
markable from the fact that among
these men are some of the wealthi
est, most influential and best known
citizens in the community.
Included in tho membership list are
such names as Jay Cooke, N. Parker
Shortridge, Lincoln Godfrey, Joel J.
Bally, Justus C. Strawbridge, Isaac H.
Clothier, John H. Converse, Richard
Wood and others of equal standing.
But it is unusual character of
their beneficence that attracts inter
est. All these men are wealthy—some
beyond the dreams of avarice—but
their purpose has nothing to do with
the amelioration of the condition of
the paupor. On the contrary, theirs
is a society for the rescue of the de
cayed millionaire.
They call it the Merchants' Fund as
sociation, and the 49th annual meeting
was held the other day in a little old
room in South Fourth street, away
from the clamors of the more preten
tious virtues.
In a word, the plan of these kindly
old gentlemen is- to relieve once
wealthy companions of their early
days, who have since lost their for
tunes, or in other ways Buffered the
vicissitudes of time.
The act of Incorporation, dated 1854,
says that the object is "to furnish re
lief to indigent merchants of Philadel
phia, and especially those who are
aged and infirm, and there is a com
mentary on tho Ironic whims of cir
cumstance in the fact that since that
time 8300,000 has been paid out in
benefits.
In that first year seven merchants
were aided at an expenditure of $1,300,
while in the year just passed 43 bene
ficiaries were on the roll, and $10,200
was disbursed. Comparison of those
figures might afford matter for inter
esting speculation. Is tho merchant
of today more reckless than he of a
half century ago, or is it that the'num
ber of merchants has increased, and
therefore, of course, tho number of
tmenccessful merchants?
More than $400,000 is now in the in
vested fund of the organization, and it
is almost constantly receiving accre
tions, so that there is plenty left
wherewith to provide for unfortunate
plutocrats of the future, if the supply
of unfortunate plutocrats holds out. —
Philadelphia North American.
Virtues of the Papaw.
Tho well-known papaw tree of the
tropics seems to possess added virtues
to those with which we are familiar.
Percy Groom, writing to Nature, says
that during his residence in China he
made some interesting observations re
garding tho papaw tree. A line of
these trees stretched between the
house and the river, and he was sin
gularly free from mosquitoes, while
other houses on the same island wore
more or less infested by them. While
frequently watching tliese trees he
never saw a single Insect alive on
them, though flies and other Insects
settled In numbers upon the bain boos
and banana plants not far away. The
papaw trees seemed to act as a ram
part to keep Insects ai a distance and
mosquitoos from entering the house.
His eplnion was oonsideramy
strengthened by the increase in the
number invading tho premises after a
typhoon had felled several of the trees,
making a gap among them.
Mr.' Groom adds that the practice of
hanging meat in the shade of the pa
paw tree to render the meat tender
seems to bo a senseless custom, but
its wide distribution causes one to
ask: Is it not possible that the papaw
treo should exhale a gaseous product
which either repels meat-destroying in
sects or exerts an antiseptic action on
putrafaclive bactoria, or. finally, is a
volatile ferment? Tho peculiar rela
tion in regard to temperature displayed
by tho proteolytic fermont of the pa/-
paw juice renders the last possibility
less improbable than at first impres
sion.
Nuremburg's Falling Walls.
Nuremberg, whose walls are report
ed to be showing signs of rapid decay,
was once about the richest and most
famous town in Europe. The well
known saying of Pope Pius II that a
Nuremberg citizen was better off than
a Scottish king was justified by the
accounts that have been preserved of
the town and its burghers. In the 15th
century there came from Nuremberg
thofirstwatches.knownas "Nuremberg
eggs," the first cannon, the first gun
lock, tho first wire-drawing machine,
the clarinet, certain descriptions of
pottery, and the art of painting on
glas. For 800 years Its new decaying
walls defended the valley of the Feg
nitz against pope and emperor. Four
hundred towers once topped tho walls,
hut only about one-third of them now
remain. Some of these towers are of
very early date, but most of them be
long to the system of fortification
planned by Albrecht Durer.—London
I Daily Chronicle.
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
In tie life of Millals It Is told how ha
once painted a double rainbow with the
colors In tho wrong order, and had to
correct it. In one of Rossetti'a pictures,
containing a sun dial, the figure is put
due east instead of south of the stylus.
A story is told of a modern artist who
through his excessive devotion to de
tail and accuracy made a curious mis
take. He painted a picture of some scap V
bubbles, and on each bubble ws= a f '
black cross. He was asked about the
cross,' and replied that all bubbles had
the cross. When the experiment was
tried, however, no cross appeared.
Much puzzled, the artist returned to
his studio, and upon blowing bubbles
here found that every one showed the
curious cross. He was much surprised
when it was explained to him that the
"holy symbol" was simply the reflec
tion of the crossbar in his skylight.
Franz, tho German astronomer, pub
lished two years ago an exhaustive
treatise on "The Mountains and Cra
ters of the Moon." In this work the
latitude and longitude of each moun
tain and crater were worked out, and
since that time his bsek has been used
in all tho observatories of tho world
as the standard. Professor Pickering, A
of Harvard, lias been at work recently
on a new atlas of the moon and dis
covered that no account has been taken
heretofore of the altitude of the
craters. He has discovered that the lat
itude and longitude measurements of
each are greatly affected by the height.
All previous measurements used in the
study of the moon by astronomers will
have to be corrected by the new series
of tables, upon which Professor Pick
ering is still at work.
Ever since Professor Tyndall first
discovered the movement of glaciers,
attempts have been made by scientists
to aseertafti the exact depths of these
natural phenomena by boring. Their
efforts, however, have not been attend
ed with very conspicuous success, ow
ing to mechanical difficulties that have
been encountered. But Professors y
Blumcke and Hess, from Bavaria, who
are well known for their studies of
glaciers, have succeeded in boring
through the Hintereis glacier in the
Otzthal Alps, and found the ice to bo
153 meters deep. The machine used for
boring was driven by hand, and some
what resembled that usually employed
for experimental boring in mines, bue
was fitted with special arrangements
for washing out fragments of ice form
tho bore hole to prevent thriir freezing
together again. The expenses of the in
vestigation, which is of Incalculable
benefit to science, were defrayed by the
German and Austrian Alpine clubs.
The Temple-Swift comet, which was
among those expected in 1902, did not
pass perihelion until tho end of Jan
uary, 1903, so that it belongs to tills
year's flock. Tho most remarkable of
the 1903 comets is tho one discovered 1
by M. Faye in 1843. It was last oh-f*
served by M. Javello at Nice in Sep
tember, 1895, nearly six months before
passing its perihelion. D'Arrests's pe
riodicay comet is due this year. It was
last observed in 1897, its perihelion
date being May 21. A comet discovered
by Dr. Spitaler at Vienna in 1890 is
also due in 1903. Two comets, one dis
covered by Professor Perrine at Mount
Hamilton in February, 1890, and the
other by M. Giacobini at Nice in Sep
tember of the same year, may be back
this year, although their orbits are not
very accurately known. Another comet
which should appear tills year Is that
discovered by Mr. Brooks at the Smith
Observatory, Geneva, N. Y., in July.
1889. It was last observed in the sum
mer of 1896. Winnccke's comet, dis
covered by Pons in 1819, is due late in
1903 or early in the following year.
In ono of his interesting notes in
Nature, W. F. Denning gives an ab- '
stract of the history of the famous red
spot of Jupiter. He tells us that ac
celeration of the movement apparent
in this epot has been noticed for some
time past. During last summer tile
movement was especially intensified.
The rotation period for 23 years of
the spot had shown an increasing re
tardation, the period lengthening from
9 hours, 55 minutes, 34 seconds to near
-9 hours, 55 minutes, 42 seconds. Then,
In 1891, it declined by one second, and
in the present year its period is 9 hours,
55 minutes, 39 1-2 seconds. What is
highly interesting to astronomers is
the concurrent development of a big
marking, irregular in shape and of a
dusky hue in the same area of the
planet. Mr. Denning suggests that thi3
second marking may have exerted an
influence on the rate of motion of the
red spot, which, in tho present year, ap- ■
poarod to be environed by tho new spot.
The recounting of these and other de- T
tails shows us the difficulties which at
tend the observation of a planet like
Jupiter. We are also taught thereby
the need for the accumulation of ac
curate details, from the mass of which
the astronomy of the future may be en
abled to draw trustworthy conclusions
concerning the history of the orb.
Automobile Comfort.
The automobilist with tendency to
cold feet should welcome with joy the
"auto heater" recently placed on the
market by a Chicago firm. It is of met
al, heavily reinforced from top to bot
tom, and cannot be crushed. It is cov
ered with velvet carpet, and may bo
carried about by means of the handles
on the ends. In a perforated box or W.~
drawer is placed a cake of carbon, pre- 1
pared by a special process and formed
into bricks under hydraulic pressure,
after which all volatile gases are driv
en off by subjection to a high tempera
ture. This carbon is consumed without
smoke or odor and there is no flame, or
dust. A single brick will give off heat
continuously for about fifteen hours.