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A DANDY CRUSTACEAN. I ALL ITS TIME SPENT IN OUTGROWING ITS OLD CLOTHES. The Life of ? Shedder Crab?How He Increases and Winn the Favor of Fishermen and Epicures?Where He is Caught. Man and Fish Are His Enemies. The shedder crab is known to fishermen equally well as an excellent bait and a costly article of merchandise. The rest of mankind is not so well acquainted with liim, yet he is a very interesting fellow. All kinds of lish show a high appreciation nf his fine analitics. which noes a long way toward proving that fish know more than we are disposed to give them credit for. Nor is the crab at all ignorant of the active demand, for as soon as he reaches the shedder stage* lie seeks the strictest seclusion which his surroundings grant. The crah is the Beau Brummel of crustaceans, and indeed no living creature gives so much time and attention to his wearing apparel. Compared with him in this regard the extremest dude leads a careless and easy life. If hewer? a member of the human family his tailor's bills would consume his entire earnings. All of this may sound ridiculous, but it is seriously said, lorthe metamorphoses of the crab are extraordinary. From the time he leaves the egg till he arrives at maturity he passes through more and more frequent transformations than probably any other member of the animal kingdom. In his infancy he is so unlike himself that for centuries he was mistaken for a nondescript, and it was not much more than fifty years ago that his identity was even suspected. JIOW HE LOOKS. The female crab carries her eggs, thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, in dumber, in a great semi-spherical bunch lander her belly until they are hatched. From that time the you ng crab has to look out for himself, and that he is moderately successful in this regard is attested by his presence in vast numbers along our shores from Maine to Texas. On emerging from the egg he looks somewhat like an impossible combination of those omnipresent products of New Jersey, the flea and the mosquito, or, to speak more definitely, he has a flat, irregular shaped body, with a long proboscis, a longer tail, long swimming appendages, with spine covered, toelike branches at the ends, and proportionally enormous eyes, not attache^ to stalks as in later life, but fixed flat upon the heart. All of these peculiarities are compressed within a minute fraction of an inch. In this stage he swims around mostly at the surface of the water, and was for a long time called zoea, for want of a better name and position in the animal kingdom. Like the nicknames of human infants, it has stuck to him, and his infancy is still called the zoea stage. I But this is not all. In his early youth he | was the victim of another zoological mistake. Having shed his skin a few times he has increased in size, his eyes have appeared on stalks, legs like those of shrimps have been developed, and nippers have been added to the pair of front legs, but his family likeness is still undiscoverable, and he was therefore regarded as a distinct and solitary genus, and therefore called megalops. UIS RAPID GROWTH. This, in which the tail and proboscis have nearly if not entirely disappeared, is even now called the megalops stage. After more shedding of his skin and further growth he finally appears as a miniature crab about an eighth of an inch long. Beiug ready to begin business as a crab he I abandons swimming as a profession and | takes to the bottom, goes foraging along the shores, or attaches himself on floating seaweed. The crab literally grows by shedding. As fast as his garments become too small for him he casts them off and appears in a larger suit. He is familiar to salt water fishermen in all sizes, from that of a tack head to a silver dollar, but how often he - u:_ ?i?11 l.ic fcllfUS Ulb bUCll III UUCOt tttX1J ouu^ca Vi growth is not definitely known. It must, however, be very frequently, for even after ho has reached the edible size he sheds once a month. Men who make a business of hunting him say that his time of shedding is the full of the moon. After he attains his full growth he ceases to shed, and indications are not wanting that he reaches a ripe old age, as specimens have been taken with full grown barnacles and oys- j ters attached to their shells, showing that ' they had been wandering about the deep for some years at least. When a crab is about to shed his shell he j seeks shallow water, and secretes himself | in the roots of the grasses or under bunches j of sedge, so as to be as much as possible out of the way of the fish, which, as before I intimated, are very fond of hiin at that ! stage, and know when and where to look j for him. The striped bass and other large fish taken aloug the margins of bays, rivers j and creeks are there, looking for shedder j and soft crabs. Sharks are also very fond ' of them. One day the writer saw a shark j at least ten feet long carefully searching a mud flat in Barnegat Bay for crabs. There ' was very little water on the flat, and the dorsal and caudal fins of the big fish were both several inches above water. HOW HE SHEDS. Fishermen have coined a number of ex- ! pre.ssive names for the different stages i through which the crab passes in shedding i his shell. A "comer" is a crab in the first , stage, when a new shell is a mere filament : or thin membrane under the old. In the | "shedder" stage the new skin is a thick, soft, elastic envelope to which the old shell has ceased to adhere, and from which ; it separates readily, even on the claws and ieet. When ready to shed the old shell j separates nearly all round the body at the j base of the legs, and the crab withdraws j itself. The shells of the claws and legs are not broken or cracked, but the new skin "is so SOit anu yielding, uuu me iuuscies m sucu a flaccid condition, that the limbs are drawn through the small openings at the joints much jus a sack nearly filled with tome lluid may be drawn through an opening much smaller than the sacl: itself." When he is ready it takes the crab only about five minutes to get out of his old . shell. Then he is the "soft shell" crab, so suitable for fryiug and so dear to the palate of the epicure. It is not generally known that the shed- j der is even superior as an edible to the soft shell. lie is then in his finest condition, Laving fattened himself to the highest ( point for the purposes of subsistence while Lis new shell is too tender to admit loco- , motion or the catching and eating of prey. After boiling his old shell is easily removed, even from his legs, and his internal j anatomy, and he is lit to be eaten as he . stands or fried in batter.?New York JSimes. A City of Bowlegged Men. "Are you bo-aiegged? Nearly everybody J else in Tacoma is." Such was the remark of one gentleman to another as they stood listening to the music on the Tacoma hotel porch the other evening. The person addressed had his lower limbs encased in extra wide trousers, and therefore the crookedness or straightness of those articles could not be gleaned by a superficial glance. Acting upon this remark of the apparently observing gentleman, who was a vis1,5c wnv tn Alji?t;L n T.'ioomii I-tee ord reporter started out to investigate the subject for himself. While walking up Ninth street he kept his eyes open, and what he saw indeed surprised him. Hardly a man or youth trod up the hill from Pacific avenue to Railroad street who was not affiicted with a bow in either or both legs. The victims were in all stages of the terrible affliction, and the eye of an obj server could easily detect he who had but i recently started to curve underneath aud 1 nlso he who had "been there" for years. Out of fifty men, youths and boys who I struggled up that hill just thirty-five were bowlegged, some much so and some just a | little bit so. In every group of three j or more the majority carried with t them bent lower limbs. One man almost ! tread one foot upon the other as he walked, I while another, a handsome young fellow | with a beautiful blonde mustache, stepped j out in a curious way, apparently conscious of the fact that his limbs were beginning I to turn, and evidently seeking to hide the j fact from the general public. j The cause of so much crookedness in the I Lilty 01 jjesuny IS <1 Iiuiurui uue UL1U suiri^ j an insurmountable one?the hills. To i climb them, and Tacomans can not do I without climbing them in some degree, is ! a strain on the nether limbs and gradually i they give way, and in some cases bring humiliation to their owners. There are plenty of handsome young men in Taco"ma today who would give anything to have their legs straightened, and as much can be said of plenty of the young ladies in Tacoma. Iron from Sea Sand. Among the numerous magnetic separaj tors which have lately been put before the public one of the most remarkable is that for the extraction of iron from sea sand. It is stated that ordinary sea saud contains from 5 to 7 per cent, of iron, enough in fact to give a large excess over cost of extraction. The machine is very simple, consisting of a cyclinderf whose surface is composed of electro magnets, revolving on the inside of an endless canvas belt. The sand is fed to the belt, and a spraj of water separates the particles, the iron being reI tained by the powerful electro magnets, and carried off on the belt to a receptacle at the other end, while the sand falls into the trough below. It is claimed that the iron can thus be extracted for about oneeighth of its value.?New York Commercial Advertiser. j> A Fine Place. An um brella maker has worked 'or rather over two years for a firm in London. She was a machinist, and was paid by the piece, so that any loss of time was no loss to her employer. Like most women in this trade, she was often kept hours waiting for her work, and was of course paid nothing for the time thus spent, though she was fined if she did not arrive punctually. Her fines ' it-l J -4.1 oil +V.OCO lur tills ttllU UbliCi Li i v iai mai/vci9?an iuvqu things being of questionable legality?are shown in her wage books to amount in the two years and a little over to the sum of ?6 fis. 9d. No account of the sums thus l deducted is rendered by the employer. The overage wage of this woman was about 10s. a week. Comment may very well be dispensed with.?Christian Union. A S2.000.000 Cheek. The largest check ever given in this country wa3 that given by Jay Gould to Thom;is Allen for the Iron mountain. He paid $2,000,000 for it, and he handed Allen a check for that amount upon his acceptance of his offer. Allen looked at the paper that represented this vast sum and said, "Isn't this a good deal of money for one man to have in one bank?" "I don't know," replied Gould; "perhaps it is. Let me have the check." Allen then handed the check back to Gould, and he handed it over to his office boy, saying, "Here, boy, take this check to the bank and have the cashier certify to it." And the boy went out and did it.?Frank G. Carpenter's Letter. Mirrors of Wood. In Germany wood with a mirror polish is coming into use for ornamental purposes in place of metal. The wood is first submitted to a bath of caustic alkali for two or three days at a temperature of about 175 degrees Fahrenheit, then dipped in hvdrosulphate of calcium for twenty-four to thirty-nine hours, after which a concentrated solution of suiphur is added. Alter another dip in an acetate of lead solution at about 100 degrees a shining metallic surface is given by polishing when di*y with lead, tin or zinc.?New York Telegram. Demand for Intelligent Machinists. A loirlinrr irrtn innmal fitfttps that im provements in the new navy are bringing young inou to the front in all department1;, not the least of which is steam engineering. In the modern ships, in addition to the great triple expansion main engines, with all their complicated parts, there are dynamos, blowers, steam steerers and auxiliary engines of all kinds and sizes, scattered in widely separated parts of the vessel, and with the small number of engiprer? carried, a large ami intelligent force of machinists is a pressing necessity. Corlc Trees. Few trees are more worthless than the cork oak as it stands, untouched by man. The wood is heavy and coarse grained; it shrinks and warps in seasoning, and decays rapidly when exposed to the air. Its bark is rough and woody, and useful only for tanning purposes. Treated by the hand of man, however, the tree produces a bark which supplies the world with stoppers for its bottles, and is, in the aggregate, immensely valuable.?Garden and Forest. Eastern and Western Wisdom. Knowitall (looking up from the paper)? What utterly hopeless barbarians the Chinese are! They tore up a railroad because they considered it responsible for the recent floods there. Levelhcad?If the railroad company cut dowu all the timber along its line, as railroad and land companies in this country often do, it was.?New York Weekly. JSad for liubics. Tom?Outrageous state of affairs! Here's an account of a New York ikaler who got $100 for a fur Jiued poodle basket, and in the next column is a story of two New York babies that died of starvation. What do you think of that? Jim?Only that New York is a better place lor poodles than for babies.?Pittsburg Bulletin. ' # ? ANCIENT PLATE IN BROOKLYN. Rare and Valuable Pieces Possessed by an Episcopal Church. Among the relics preserved by the officers of St. Ann's Protestant Episcopal church, on the Heights in Brooklyn, N. Y., is an old communion service. It consists of two plates of solid silver, nine and a half inches in diameter, with an engraved inscription around the rim of each, "St. Ann's church, Brooklyn, 1798." These were given, it is believed, by Joshua Sands, who, with his wife, was a liberal donor to the church. A massive silver flagon ten and one-half inches high is inscribed, "St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, the gift of Ann Sands, 1805." These three pieces are not used, and seldom see the light of day, but they were taken from the vault in which they were kept a few days ago by the veteran sexton, Thomas Lawrie, and shown to a reporter. The plates were first used in the small church which stood on the Episcopal burial ground, on Fulton street, between Concord and Tillary streets, and the flagon was used for the first time in the stone church at the corner of Sands and Washington streets, which was partially destroyed by the explosion of a powder mill in 1808. Another old piece of silver is a plate for the communion bread, which bears the inscription, "St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, 1816." It is 5 inches high and 9% inches in diameter. This is occasionally used in connsctiou with a cup 8K inches high, remodeled in 1879 from two silver cups which were presented to the church at Christmas, 1S50, by Mr. and Mrs. George D. Morgan. The more modern service consists of a magnificent solid silver flaeon 17 inches in height, and a plate 6% inches high and 10 inches in diameter. These two costly pieces were presented by Mary C. Waterbury in 1879 as memorials of her husband, Chauncey A. Waterbury. The following year the same lady gave, also in memory of her husband, a massive silver alms basin, measuring 18 inches in diameter, and made by Tiffany & Co. The inscription upon it is, "Honor the Lord with Thy Substance and with the First Fruits of All Thine Increase." St. Ann's is the mother of Episcopal churches in Brooklyn. It antedates the revolution, but owing to the destruction of its records during the war its earliest history is obscure. In 1778 the Rev. James Sayro was sent to Brooklyn, and remained until the evacuation of the place by the British troops. He is said to have been an adherent of King George, and held serv ices for the soldiers.?Jewelers' Weekly. Getting Bid of Buzzing in the Telephone. The Central New York Telephone and Telegraph company of this city has devised a plan by which the induction to its lines by the electric current on the wires of the Belt line street railroad is in a measure overcome. When the electric cars were first operated, and at times since, patrons of the telephone company have complained of a buzzing sound in the instrument when the receiver was placed to the ear, making it difficult to understand the person at the other end of the line. Trouble was also occasioned in the exchange by the frequent falling of the annunciator when no one had sent in a call. Investigation by the company's electricians revealed the fact that the trouble was occasioned by the electric cars. The current from the underground wires of ii ;i 1 ,i *.,,4. I<llt3 rajiruou ojjicuu uui auu iutu lucu nitu the return circuit of the telephone company. The difficulty can never be entirely obviated, but a plan has been hit upon by which the service is greatly improved. A large copper wire has been run from the central office between the line wires on which the 'phones are connected, and thence into the ground, thus establishing a balance between the two currents.?Utica Herald. Couldn't Fool the Editor. I heard such a funny story about a famous poetess of passion, whose poems ought of course to bring tremendous prices, but sometimes are rejected like those of less gifted mortals. A young editor received one from the lady, with a note stating that she would sell it to him for 510, but that from any other editor she could easily get $20. When the young editor, who is as wise as a serpent while looking as harmless as a deve, received this note he waxed sarcastic and laughed with merryscorn, for he had chanced to be in various other sanctums where this very poein had been read and rejected. He realized that his paper was a dernier resort, and carefully folding up the spasm of emotion he returned it, with a polite note to the effect that he couldn't think of taking the poem at such low rates when the author could so cjisily get double her price elsewhere. The fiery poetess tells all her friends that the editor is no gentle, man.?New York Cor. Chicago Herald. The Russian "Hire List." An order has been promulgated by the Russian ministry of the interior that every laborer must carry with him, besides his passport, a "hire list," in which the conditions under which he takes employment are recorded. Both the passport and the "hire list" must be kept by the employer as long as the laborer is in his hire, even in cases when the two parties have an oral agreement between themselves. But still, in order to facilitate the employment of laborers, the courts shall recognize a verbal contract as valid if it is satisfactorily proved and attested by witnesses.?St. Petersburg Letter. Victoria Wcttlnt Row many readers can give tlu\ surname of the royal family of Great Britain? Nearly every one that thinks himself well informed will say Guelph, but this is not true. When Victoria married Prince Albert she dropped her own family surname and took that of her husband, just as any ordinary woman in a lower station in life would have done. This is a fact seldom taken into consideration. The family name i of Prince Albert was Wettin, and so is that j of all the kings of Saxony.?St. Louis liepublic. "VVIuit a Cow l'icketl Up. Thomas Addison, of Fairfax count}', Va., ' took from tlic hoof of mi old family cow ' the other day, it is related, a handsome gold linger ring, with a large green stone setting. Un the seal \v:is engraved a Mex- i ican coat of arms, and on the inside was > the name of D. J. Hunt and a Mexican i cipher, aud dares showing the ring to have 1 beeu in t lie .Mexican war. now it got 011 liis farm and in the hoof of bis cow Mr. Addison does not know.?Philadelphia Ledger. Experiments by means of photographic plates iii the Mediterranean sea show that in the middle of a sunny day in summer the rays of the sun do not penetrate the waters of that, sea a depth of more than 150 fathoms. In September the distance penetrated is much reduced, the depression 011 the platet at the above depth not being greater than that made by starlight. A SENTIMENTAL VAGRANT. A Man Who Loved to Lie A-basklng In the Snn and Read Poetry. A (M'.rious incident occurred the other night while the detective police were scouring the Bois de Boulogne, with the object of ridding it of the many suspicious characters who had recently made it a place of resort. A poorly dressed man, seeiDg the police give chase to a gang of roughs, took to his heels and fled. The fact of his running away induced the police to follow in pursuit, but the man, reaching the lak<> before them, plunged bravely in and swam to the opposite bank in the expectation of eluding them. Unfortunately for him, other detectives witnessed the scene, and quietly arrested him when he stepped out of the water. Taken dripping wet to the police commissary's office he was of course searched. In a canvas bag strapped over his shoulder were found, first, a little case containing needles and thread, a zinc drinking cup, a pocketlcnife, two pocket handker chiefs and 460 francs in notes and gold. On the sight of this money the police commissary at oncfe concluded the man hud stolen it, and began to question him and to call him a thief; but at that moment the official was surprised by his subordinate drawing out. of the inexhaustible canvas bag twc well worn volumes of poetry, one by Alfred de Musset, the other by Victor Hugo. The "thief" said he was neither a rough nor a thief, nor anything but a hard workin#, but perhaps eccentric, individual. He was not a vagabond, because during the winter he always bad a lodging at a house he named, but during the summer his great delight was to live in the open air, baaking in the sun in the day and enjoying the coolness of the night. He neither stole nor begged in his wanderings, for he lived on the savings he had put by in the winter, during which he worked night and day as a porter at the Central market. As he never drank anything but water he was, by great economy, able to live on a franc a day, and to save at least two francs, While at work he always carried his money every week to the savings bank. He was never weary of his wandering life, for his greatest delight was poetry. His favorite authors were de Musset and Victor Hugo. The volumes found in his pouch had, he declared, been read by him over and over again, and every time with increased pleasure. Every one of the va grant's statements was, on inquiry, found to be absolutely true. At the Centra] market he had the reputation of being one of the most hard working and honest oi porters. At the house where he lodged ic the winter his reputation was equally good.?Pall Mall Gazette. Antiqnity of Gloves. The antiquity of gloves is very great. They doubtless antedate history, for the earliest literature alludes to them. They have been known and worn from the remote ages of the world. Homer, in the Odyssey, describes Laertes, the farmer king, the father of Ulysses, in his retirement: "While gloves secured his hands tc shield them from the thorns." Xenophon jeers at the Persians for wearing gloves as a protection from the cold. "Not only did they have umbrellas borne over them in iLie summer, uu uut iu winter it is not sufficient for them to clothe their heads and their bodies and their feet, but they have coverings made of hai r for their hands and their fiugers." The Romans scorned such effeminacy at that time, but we are told that at about the time of Christ the amanuensis of Pliny, the historian, wore gloves to keep his fingers nimble in cold weather.?St. Louis Republic. ,t Uses of CoflV-e. It is assorted by men of high professional ability that when the system needs a stimulant nothing equals a cup of fresh coffee. Those who desire to rescue the dipsomaniac from his cups will find no beter substitute for spirits than strong, newly made coffee without milk or sugar. Two ounces of coffee, or one-eighth of a pound, to one pint of boiling water makes a first class beverage, but the water must be boiling, not merely hot. It is asserted that malaria and epidemics are avoided by those who drink a cup of hot "coffee before venturing into the morning air. Burned on hot coals coffee is a disinfectant for a sick room, and by some of the best physicians it is considered a specific in typhoid fever.?Chicago Herald. Brides of Tender Years. Sebastiano Pietropintoand Maria Donata Grieco, two young people from sunny Italy, made an application for a marriage license at the recorder's office. The recorder at first demurred because Miss Grieco was but 12 years old, but her father gave his consent and the recorder could see no way of getting- out of issuing the license. Pietropinto was 23 years old. Just after issuing the license to the two Italians another young couple applied. They were 13. Li. Piercy, or excelsior springs, ana Mies E. M. Gibson, of this city. Piercy was 21 years old and Miss Gibson 15 years old. Miss Gibson having the consent of her parents this license was also granted. ?Kansas City Star. Where Artists Come From. "A curious statement," says a London daily, "has recently appeared to the effect that the majority of a natiou's painters are born in the country, while the architects spring from the metropolis. At first sight such an assertion seems plausible enough, and quite in accordance with the nature of things; but, as a matter of fact, the exact contrary is the case?so far at least as LonvJc.n. ?,nd Paris are concerned. We believe we do not overstate the case in saying that in England CO per cent, and in Paris 75 per cent, of the natiou's artists were born in the capital, and we are prepared to support our contention with statistics." A Plucky Reporter. Peter Finnerty, the parliamentary re lw> .........if.w.H, ,. nf Willm,.. JJUriCl| ? UO nig uiiuiumwi/uiti Wi II14WW1force's famous "potato speech." For a libel upon Lord Castlereagh Finnerty was imprisoned for eightjen months, and upon his release Lord Castlereagh, seeing him upon the street, went up to him and bluntly aslce<l him how he was. "Well enough," Finnerty replied, "to hope to live to see the day when you will cut your throat." Some years alter the hope was realized.? Sun Francisco Argonaut. A Glass lieilstcat) to Get Sound Sleep. To secure thorough sleep insulate each bedpost with glass. An Englishman who insulated his bedstead by placing under each post a broken oil bottle says that he had not been free from rheumatism or gout for lifteeu years, and that he began to improve immediately alter uie application of the insulators.?New York Journal. An interesting fact ascertained by government observers is that at the extremities of Long Island sound the tide begins to ilow inward near the bottom an hour and a half before it begins to How in the same direction at the surface of the water. A Glacier Dam Burst*. The Marjelen lake, which lies at the foot of the Eggischhorn, in the upper Valais, had bunt the glacier dam which lay across the valley, and spreading over the glacier had poured a black mass of mud, stones and broken ice into the Rhone below. Fortunately there was little water in the river at the time, otherwise the consequences might have been very calamitous for the people of the upper Valais. A peasant who was close to the lake at the time de' clares that tlie scene was most terrible i i and indescribable. When the ice dam i ' gave way the vast mass of water came i tumbling out, sweeping away the huge frntrmAnts nf thp. erlarier. with the rocks [ upon it, tumbling into the crevasses, burst; ing them up in turn, and rising over the : glacier, in gigantic waves, again to carry . I all before it. . j Just at the end of the glacier the valley i i had narrowed into a little defile, while tli6 j face of the glacier was some hundreds of j ' feet high. The water seemed to have tun ! neled under the ice, which attacked above i ' and below, gave way at last with a deafen. i ing crash, while the flood hurried down the | mountain side into the Rhone. The lake i j was nearly 8,000 feet above the sea level, [ i and usually discharged its surplus water ; j by subterranean channels, occasionally i j bursting its ice barriers, as on the present ! occasion. The cantonal government are I constructing an overflow canal, which it is i hoped will put an end to these periodical outbursts.?Swiss Yaterland. , Gen. Butler's Ways. ! A prominent public man who was one of 1 the thousands of visitors in Boston during "Grand Army week" has written the fol' lowing of Gen. Butler in a letter to a Plain! field (N. J.) friend: ' "I had just secured ray accustomed place in f lm etrmlrinrp no** rr-h 1 T5 nn ' Diif Ion f Via 1U UAIC VAll >? UUK1U| IU5 1 old veteran, entered the car and lazily ! threw himself in the seat just in front of > me. Of course there wus no difficulty in 1 recognizing his individuality, and I was much interested in the old man's eccen1 tricity. He produced from the innermost recesses of his pocket a cigar. To judge > from its appearance I should say it was what is technically termed a 'three for,' and proceeded to do with it just as a small 1 boy would a stick of licorice. 1 "Without lighting it he would fondle it, 1 inspect it, then bite at it as tenderly as only the old war horse could do. He then ' demanded a paper, which the accommo' dating conductor hastened to secure for ! him. I was amused to %ee the old gentle' man turn over the pages until his eye 1 rested upon the baseball column, and he ' scanned the scores with as much interest as the most devoted 'crank' who causes the bleacheries to tremble by his uproar and excitement when his favorite makes a home run."?New York Tribune. ? His Reason. There was a very nice dish of watercress on an uptown restaurant table the other day. A pretty young woman saw the cool and dainty dish and appropriated the whole of it. It happened that a young man seated at the end of the table had also cast covetous eyes at the watercress, and he gave the waiter a quarter to steal the dish from the young lady. When the latter discovered her loss she looked angrily around the table and saw the watercress slowly disappearing down the young man's throat. "Excuse me. sir," she exclaimed, with heightened color and infinite sarcasm. "Can you tell what you took that dish for?" The young man stopped chewing for a moment. Then, with a graceful inclination of the head, he replied: "Pardon me, madam, but I took the dish because it contained watercress."?New xorKJouruai. Sournl at Different Angles. ! in some recent experiments on the range of human hearing the ticking of a watch] was distinctly audible at a distance of 1C feet on a line at right angles to the head. On moving the watch 15 degs. in front of the line the tick could be heard 14 feet away; at an angle of 40 degs. only 6 feet, and at 55 degs. only 3 feet. Placed 25 1 degs. back of the line the watch could not be heard beyond 6 feet. The total range of hearing was about 95 degs., the direction of greatest acuteness being 15 degs. in front j of the imaginary line through the ears, i Descending from the horizontal, the hear- j ing distance increased from 10 feet to a j maximum of 12 feet at 35 de^s., and then j decreased until reduced to3 feet at 50 degs.! On carrying the watch upward the sound j decreased steadily until at an angle of GO degs. it could be hei;rd only 3 feet away.? i Arkunsaw Traveler. Klysinn Weather. There is nothing the matter with the* weather in Washington now or at any time. | Here the summer days are strings of silver pearls, which hang translucent In the cool, sweet air; the red rose kiss of June falls like a benison on every breeze that wanders down from the blue Virginia hills and, like a cooling hanfi, drops softly through ' the sunshine upon the eyelids of the rest-! ing town: the long, low lines of rustling! trees, dew laden morn and eve, bring fresh-1 tiLJL'U UiC lUOCij uwiig UUJU^, r.uu etui; , I nerveand fiber is filled with that rare tonic' I power which makes age youth aud over- j ! comes all ills that may be heirlooms to the i I flesh. And our winters are our summers' j' in duplicate, and our springs aud uutumns j will discount the other two seasons with I one hand tied behind them.?Washington Star. The Investigating Boy Ay,rain. I The 3-year-old son of a certain clergy-' i man came home from church the other | Sunday with something puzzling his young j soul. He was unusually silent all day, and , j it was not until next day that he appealed i for light aud help from his elders. At j dinner on Monday he broke forth: "Papa, they was two ladies sanged in j the choir. One lady had a wail tied back ; I around her head, so (illustrating!, and ! anther lady had a little bonnet flat down i on her ears, so (palms on ears). One lady sanged MI is name is King,' anil nut her I lady sanged Mlis name i.s Lord.' What is i his name, papa?" 1 The choir, it appeared, had "sanged'' an ! anthem substantially as set forth in the i young man's report.?New York tiun. Ills Wife's Art. | Bachelor?Still growling over your do-! ] mestic expenses! Haven't you often said ' I that your wife can make a dollar go furi ther than any other woman you knew? Benedict (gloomily)?That's just the trou- j j ble. She makes a dollar go so infernally far that I never hear of it again.?Pitts- ' i burg Bulletin. E. P. Sargent, the head of the Brother- i hood of Firemen, was formerly a Vermont! i photographer. Then ho became a United States cavalryman in Arizona aud finally a ' fireman on the Southern Pacific railroad. : He now rules over 3S4 lodges, and is said 1 to be well off in this world's goods. \ OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Over and over again, No matter which way I turn, I always tod In the book of life Some lesson I have to learn. I must take my turn at the mill, I must grind out the golden ^raln, I must work at my task with a resolute will. Over and over again. We cannot measure the need Of even the tiniest flower, Nor check the flow of the golden sands That ran through a single hour; But the morning dews must fall. And the sun and the summer rain Must do their part, and perform it all Over and over again. Over and over again The brook through the meadow flows, And over and over again , The ponderous mill wheel goes; Once doing will not suffice, Though doing be not in vain, And a blessing failing us once or twice May come if we try again. The path that has once been trod Is never so rough to the feet, And the lesson we once have learned Is never so hard to repeat. Though sorrowful tears must fall, And the heart to its depth be driven With storm and tempest, we need them all To render us meet for heaven. T T>sxMAW4 5r% Vrnoki.,n^n Cfn. ?wvocj/umo x uuaiu tu n aoui "Delikit." \ A stout nnd exceedingly robust looking colored woman went to the office of a physician to ask him if he could give her something that would "kind o' build her up." "What seems to be the matter?" asked the physician, failing to see any indications of weakness. "Well, doctah," was the reply, "I'm jess natchelly delikit." "Delicate?" "Yes, doctah; Ise alius been delikit, en it peahs like I'm gittin delikitter all de time." "You look very strong." "Dat's hit, doctah. I don't look delikit, but I am. I cayn't bar to git up in de mawnin', en I don't want?r do anything arfter I am up; en I'm so narvous hit puts me all out ter be asked to wuk." "Is your appetite good?" "Va'y good, doctah, va'y good. Nothin' I eat seems to hu't me, en I kin eat all I wanter of it, but when it comes ter doin' anything I'm that delikit I jess cayn't do hit. Hit's turriblo ter be so delikit." The doctor had had similar cases of delicate constitutions before, and, as usual, prescribed a trip to Europe.?Youth's Companion. "No Man's Land" in Brooklyn. Every schoolboy can give you the exact location of the curious strip of land lying south of the state of Kansas popularly called "No Man's Land." A description and history has been given of the original "No Man's Land," lying between the states of Maryland and Delaware. Now comes il x / - 1 J. -i? ~M 1 1_? me story wt a lost yivw ui retu iyiug in the heart of Brooklyn, N. J. It lies at the head of the Wallabout: canal, and abuts on the wall of the Navy Yard cemetery. The United States government cannot claim the tract, as it was never ceded to it. The city has no title to it, It having been omitted from the plan made after the United States acquired the Wallabout lands. The spot is 10 by 4 feet, but small as it is is quite valuable. An enterprising squatter has erected a small shanty upon it, and put out the sign,"This is No Man's Land." ?St. Louis Republic. "Annie Rooncy'a" Claswical Origin. "Little Annie Hooney" is Wagnerian. Its opening measure is to be found in Wagner's "Die Walkure." It forms the motif of the Feuerzauber movements, and as such pervades the whole scene. It is especially prominent just at tho point where Siegfried steps into the flame. Although consisting of only seven notes covering one measure with one note over, it is exactly the same as the beginning of Annie, even to the tempo. It is hardly likely that the author of "Little Annie Rooney" has plagiarized from Wagner, as it is doubtful if he is sufficiently familiar with the Music of the Future to be able to do this.?Cincinnati Times-Star. PuIliDg Against a Horse. A curious wager, with' fatal results, was recently decided at Siepring, in Bavaria. A notoriously strong man. named Freytag, bet that a horse could not move him from the door of his house. The horse was brought, and Freytag put his hands and feet against the door posts, while Stern, the man with whom the bet had been made, fixed a ropo around Freytag's neck. At the first pull the rope broke. A new rope having been brought, Slern plied bis whip with all his might, when Freytag gave a scream and, letting go, was dragged along for some yards. Ilis neck was broken.?Vanity Fair. You Can See the Sc?ne. but Not tlie Crowd. An ingenious device bus just been adopted at the Hippodrome in Paris for tho production of scenic effects in the central oval * space, without the spectators opposite being seen at the same time. An ellipticaL screen of fine steel netting is let down in comparative darkness, so as to bo about twelve feet in front of the benches. This/ is painted on the inner side with any desired scene, and as it is strongly illuminated at a given moment from the center, a spectator from any point lias an excellent view of the scene without seeing anything of the crowd beyond.?Paris Letter. Events in Mr. Deau's Career. Frank Dean, a respectable white farmer, lives at Steep Creek, Louudes county. lie is now w years or age. tie mis uesr. married four l imes, and three of his wives were sisters. lie is the father of thirty-seven children. Twins have been horn to him three times and triplets have gladdsued liis heart on two different occasions.? Cor. Dallas News. Evil Doers Will Say Amen. A St. Ixmisgenius has invented .1 rubber billy for policemen and watchmen. It is made of heavy rubber, such as is u>ed in hose, is flexible, yet very solid, and h.-.s the merit of stunning a person without breaking the scalp and causing a flow of blood. It is also guaranteed not to fracture the skull. If this be true it is an improvement upon the sandbag.?Exchange. Evening Things Up. They were talking of bowling. "Aren't you afraid, Henry, dear," she said softly"that such excessive exercise will make your right arm larger than your left?" "T imw-p thontrhfc of it in that licht." ho replied thoughtfully. "Perhaps you had better change around ou the other side."? New York Sun. A Division iu the IIouso. "Don't talk so loud," said Mrs. Binks. "The baby is asleep." "Go on. TnJk as loud as you please," put in Mr. Btnks. "Your conversation wouldn't keep anybody awake."?New York Sim.