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P:Mr. Gladstone's idea of bequests is | kbus set forth: "What is wrestled from me by the grip of death I can is no < sense be said to give." Buffalo, N. Y., has a new city charter. On this subject the Boston Transcript remarks: "Cities are generally nnamg out the necessity of simplifying municipal administration as much as possi. ble." _______ Georgia, according to the reports of its newspapers, is rapidly growing in population and wealth. New enterprises are springing up on every hand, j modern ideas prevail, and its citizens j: generally are eager to improve their |; condition. j England is becoming more and more Americanized every day, avers Munsey's ( Weddy. It appears that on the printed blanks that are to be used for the British census, the words "labor" and i "laborer" are spelled without the use- ( less "u" to which Englishmen have j hitherto clung with such touching | fidelity. ^ ( Members of the German aristocracy 1 fr 1 have no longer a monopoly of high places , in the German army. The movement gainst it began in 1866; arid since that ; time a regular weeding-out process has , been carried on, until now there are in the army of Prussia nearly as many officers from the middle classes as from , the nobility. 1 i ' "Keep an eye on Africa," exclaims the Atlanta Constitution. "There some of the greatest battles and problems of the next century will be fought and solved. Englaud and France may clash there with a result far different from the meet* m- 1 ing between Clives and Dupleixin India. France and Germany, too, will some day cross swords on the Dark Continent. In this age of steam and electricity it will not take long to build up powerful white fri colonies in Africa." ^ ? ? Newspapers flourish in all Spanish- 1 American countries. Mexico and Central ' America are full of them, and it is the ' same way in South America. Uruguay | ' has more newspapers in proportion to its | 1 population than any country on the globe. J The city of Montevideo has more daily 1 papers than London, and three times as many as New York. Buenos Ayres has ^ fourteen or fifteen dailies, a large num- ? ber of weeklies and several monthly magazines of high literary character. i "The music of the future," says a ! composer of comic operas, "will be a blending of German and Italian, not one, but both. Harmony is what the public ttfi0' ? demands. We have not at present any j distinctive American music or school of music. The only school we have are the minstrel melodies, the great composer of ^ which was Stephen Foster. These melodies embraee the 'Suwanee River,' 'Old c ^ I"blks at Home,' 'Gentle Annie,* and other well-known tunes. Beyond these we have developed no separate music. 8 Our music, like our race, must be com- -5 posite." I The Chinese who are now in Canada, 1 and who desire to get back to their native country, are working a shrewd game 1 on the United States Government, by ^ which they get free transportation to 8 China. They get themselves smuggled v . , into the United States, reveals the New r Orleans Delta, and then have some one to f f cause them to be arrested for coming into tbe country contrary to the Chinese 1 . Exclusion act. Of course the chargc is 1 r-'-i j x 1 i_ j__ t proven, aim iney are sent DacK, unaer | provisions of the act, to China. They j J ' thus beat the Government out of a free 1 passage home. An old man in Manchester, England, 1 goes by the name of Gagadig Gigadab. 1 His original name was John Smith, but f ^ many years ago he bagan to brood over t the possibilities of a mistaken identity 6 involved in such a common name. At ^ last what he feared so much actually 3 happened. One day the papers recorded * the capture of an accountant in a bank * v. for embezzlement, and through some I blunder of the reporter, the identity of the embezzler was confused with the subject of this paragraph, who was also a &K bank accountant. Then and there he determined to assume a name like unto ?_no other ever borne by mortal man. And in Gagadig Gigadab most people will agree that he has done so. p.; According to "W. J. J. McGee, in the Forum, every-day experience shows that floods are not confined to greater rivers. They affect as well the smaller ones and their tributaries, down to mill streams', and even to storm runnels; and the 6maller streams are so many that the aggregate effect of their floods is large. Once or oftener during each decade a cry gr of distress comes from Cincinnati, for j ' the basements of business houses built upon the flood plain are inundated, and the residents of the city front are driven from thtir homes by the prodigious floods of the Ohio; once or twice in each decade East St. Louis and the part of St. Louis standing on the Mississippi alluvium are flooded; from three to five times in each decade the trans-Mississippi traffic at Dubuque is stopped because the flood waters submerge the railway tracks and extinguish the locomotive fires, aud j no year passes without records of dis- I aster in dozens of towns and villages I fc./ built on the flood plains of smaller ft! streams. And the flood not only works I destruction directly; it sows the germs i of malarial and enteric disorders by which | buman life is shortened. [ ' The railroads own 211,000,000 acres of land, which is in area larger than six 6tates the size of Iowa. Since 1861 no less than 181,000,000 acres of land have been riven to the railroads. The cost of warships is as follows per ton> England, $151.25; France, $232.25; Russia, $436.25; The price per indicated horse-power is England, $151; France, $280, and the United States, $335.50. There are two natural gas companies at Portland, Indiana, and among the rules jointly adopted was one allowing no patron who had dropped from one line to attach to the other. This gave great dissatisfaction to customers, and a test case was sprung in the Circuit Court, which has resulted in a ruling against the defendant company. Baron Stanley, Governor-General, costs the people of Canada nearly $1,000,000 i year. He receives for his services 5488,666 "and his washing;" his UnderSecretary, A. J. Callatier, receives $3200; chief clerks, $4200; first-class clcrks, $3600; second-class clerks, $9850; third-class clerks, $8600; messenger, 51320. Other salaries increase the payroll of the office to $327,032, which with i few incidentals run the annual expense to nearly $1,000,000. In consideration of the serious inroads which are being made on the timber of this country by the use of wooden props in mines, it is satisfactory to note, that a patent has been taken out for a method of making steel rails into pit prop and supports for collieries, mines, tunnels, bridges, etc. The rails are cut at their ends and suitably framed ' 11 nrtcf if io coir} t.hftt. C05jCW1W? 1U puiu U U1 VViJW in *w vw??* ? -this mode of propping compares favorably with bricking and other systems. "The Jewish labor organizations of this city," observes the New York Sun, "which have an enormous membership ind represent many trades, are the most :ompact bodies of the kind in this country. The officers are powerful and inforce the rules with vigor. The members are easily subjected to discipline, respect authority, and watch the proceedings closely. There is but little wrangling in them. Nearly all of them lave bfeen organized within the past few pears." It is estimated that there are always SO,000 Americans in Italy, and that there ire now about ten times as many Italians n this country. Nearly all the Ameri:ans in Italy are well off, and nearly all he Italians who come to this country ire in poverty. In most cases the Amerisans who go to Italy spend a few weeks >r months there, while the Italians who Cfofflo ovru>/>f tf\ cfow iUUlC LU bUC UUlbCU utoww vv iere. The Americans in Italy spend heir money; the Italians in the United States earn money. One of the passengers on board of the teamship Fulda, which arrived at New fork the other day, was a famous Great )ane dog, who has heretofore rejoiced n the name "Sander," but who will lereafter be known as Imperator. His iew owner is W. E. Hagans, a well j ? /?A n >11 J W 11 UUg ittUUCLUl AOOWU ,s Mr. Hagans learned that this dog pas the tallest one living, he knew that iature had intended it for Chicago and iaid the big price demanded with cheerul alacrity. The animal is said to come icarer meeting the requirements of the >erfect standard than any others of the >reed. He has taken plenty of first j jrizes in his native land, at Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and other places, but his nost notable success was at the Internaional Show held last Msv at Berlin, rhere, although he had 150 German nastiffs as competitors, he carried off our first prizes. His height is somehing over thirty-five inches at the houlder. In color he is a golden fawn rvnu u uiauiv uaa, x?\j js uuvr buicc rears old. It could not be learned what vas paid for the animal, the owner nerely saying that it was the largest >rice ever paid in America for a German nastiff. Russian dog fancicrs tried to jet him, but, of course, stood no chance vhen Chicago entered the lists. There is a corner in diamonds, accordng to a New York Press writer, who says: Diamonds are plentiful in New kTork, but their price continues high, if a Maiden lane diamond-dealer of my icquaintance is any authority, they must :ome down in price. This is what he aid to me. 4'I.have the best of informa;ion that a syndicate of Englishmen, jacked by the Rothschilds, holds in Lonlon at the present time 16,000,000 :arats of diamonds in the rough. Their loldings may reach 20,000,000 carats. U $5 a carat on the lowest estimate of vhat they possess, their diamonds are vorth $400,000,000. If dressed they vould be worth at the very least five ;imes that much. But imagine what vould happen if these diamonds should ill be precipitated on the market at >nce. It is to the interest of the syndicate, )f course, to keep up the price. But if liamonds continue to be found in such juantities as for the past two or three rears in Africa, Australia and South America, there is no chance for them to ealize on their stock except by taking ;ncir chances on a falling market. I lave even heard of diamonds being 'ouiid in Lapland, but my experience has lemonstrated that no diamonds of any ralue ever come from a cold country, rhey -seem to have been planted in the regions almost exclusively." _ j ' . i .., 3m - IF "WE COULD KNOW. Whither do our footsteps tend? More and more we yarn to know, , As life's shadows longer grow, f Ana tne evening nours descent^ { And before os lies the end. . When the door shall open wide^ ; And behind us softly close, What to our expectant eyes J; Will the future life disclose? <Shall we see a morning break, Fair and fragrant and serene, Seeming like the blessed dream j; Of some unforgotten eve. Shall we walk in gladness on, , Under smiling skies of blue, Through an ever-deepeniug dawn, Into wide fields, fresh and new, Meeting those who came before, Knowing each familiar look And each well remembered tone, , , Though so many years had flown, Since each other's hands we took, Saying farewells o'er and o'er. Shall we talk of earthly days, Speaking low, with bated breath, Of the awful mystery Of our human life, and death; Shall we wonder to recall, How our hearts were prone to fear. How we scarcely dared to hope, In any heaven, so fair, so near? Ah! if we could only know, As the shadows deeper grow, . "Whither our swift footsteps tend, As thay surely near the end! ?Katherine S. Mason, in Boston Courier. A PAIR OF DUCKS. BY "W. H. ATKINSON. Four years ago my father indulged in i the luxury of a summer residence upon ] the shores of Lake Erie, and, wind and i weather permitting, it was my daily custom, soon after breakfast, to swim out to i the waterworks 4'crib," about one mile < from our house. At the crib?a solid j stone structure encaaed in stout wooden i piles?I generally rested for a few moments prior to starting on the return I trip. ] One morning, as usual, I was sitting upon the low, convenient ledge formed < by the ring of wooden piles, dangling < my bare feet into the warm water, which i was as still and smooth as a mill nond. t The lake was so quiet that not so much as a tiny ripple washed the water-wore i crib, and for all there was the harbor of a great city only three or four miles distant, the stillness was perfect. Suddenly I heard the sound of much, splashing, followed by the previous stillness, broken only by the trickling of water. I knew in a moment that some cne had joined me at the crib, and that on the other side of the octagonal structure a swimmer, equally as hardy as myself, was resting and cooling his heels. I thought I should-like to see the fellow who could swim a couple of miles alone just for the fun of it, so I plunged into the water and propelled myself half way round the crib. "How?dy!" I said, as I hoisted my- i self beside the pair of bare leg9, which I < soused considerably, owing to losing my hold of the slippery timbers. My mind i was centered for the moment in the ef- t fort to gain a firm seat, but as I received no reply to my salutation, I thought to s myself that the fellow must be surly, or f shy, or tired. c "Tuckered out are you?" I inquired i in that cheery, free and easy style which j one is apt to adopt -when the bounds of s conventionality have been passed, and the s individuality and social status which go j hand in hand with a suit of clothes and I terra firma have been temporarily aban- I doned. t 'Have I the honor of your acquaint- s ance, sir?" came the reply in the form of 1 a counter question, utterea in a voice as a rich and clear as a silver bell but also as i cold and cutting as a blast from Hudson Bay. i Great Scott! t By this time I was comfortably and j. safely seated, and I turned my head to t behold a girl perhaps nineteen or twenty E years old. I will not attempt to describe that girl I should only disappoint myself and weary the reader; but as she sat a there in that fresh summer morning, her t wealth of hair coiled into a knot upon a her uncovered head, her shapely neck D and arms glistening in the sunlight, she n seemed to me more than beautiful. f In the whole course of my existence I have never been accused of bashfulness, j, but I think I may be pardoned that for t some moments I felt completely 'flabber- ? gasted.' Gradually, however, my senses v returned, and it slowly dawned upon mc ^ that I ought to say something. a "Pardon me," I stammered, "I never j expected?thatis to say?well,you know, this is a surprise. I come out here every j day, myself, but this is the first time i c ever met anybody?and a lady, don't you f | 6ee?er, pardon me, I hope I am not in T ?truding?" c "Ob," she said, as sbe kicked up an extra large shower of spray with her ^ foot, "pray don't burden me with your a apologies. You addressed me so famil- j iarly that I thought we must have been ^ acquainted, and if that were so I had 0 forgotten the act." c "No, unfortunately, I cannot lay claim v to a previous acquaintance," said I, but j added, as my normal cheek asserted itself, "though I do not see why it should j. not date from to-day. If you do not object I am certain I shall not. My name is a Dilwyn John Dilwyn." "But I do object," she said, quickly. n "I ought not to have come so far, but v having got here I am a little afraid to start for the shore without a rest. I saw ^ you coming, and, at first, thought of d taking to the water. But I argued that * ' I had as good a right to this side of the ^ crib as you, and as I had no reason to leave, I stayed. But I know nothing of you, sir, and you know nothing of me, and I ob.'ect to such informal introcluc- b tions?indeed, I shall not introduce my- a self at all. Now if you are a gentleman, a you will return to your side of the crib." t "Then you will not allow me to ac- t company you to tne shore?'.' , "Certainly not!" t "You might need assistance?you say e that you are tired." "Thank ycu, I shall do very well." t Of course after that I could stay no c longer, so splashed into the water and v paddled back to my old perch. I had certainly received a set back and h been richly snubbed, but I resolved to g follow Miss Propriety, and, if possible, t identify her. So when five minutes later t I heard her dive into the water, I al- i lowtd her to gain about thirty yards of r headway and then started in pursuit. a The girl was a good swimmer, but I s was a better one. It was very easy for me to keep up with s ber, which I did, although I could te she was making for a point on the shoi nearly a mile above my father's house. Presently I noticed that she was slact ening her speed, and osce she mere] floated for a minute or two, evident] that she might rest her limbs. But si went on again, though she proceede quite slowly, and I judged that she wt very tired. She was still nearly half mile frnm land when she stoDDed asrair and raising her head slightly above th water, called out, in what was intende for a shout, but which was in reality very feeble vocil effort?"Mr. Dilwvn! It was evident that the girl was con pletely exhausted, so I made a spur and a few rapid strokes placed me at h< side. "Did you really hear me ?" she almoi whispered. "I fear I cannot make alone." "Can you keep afloat if you thro your arms over my back ? I can can you easily enough that way." "I think I can," she replied. "Then do so," I said. It cost me very little extra effort t swim with the girl resting only a part < her weight unon me. The arransremei evidently relieved her, for, when we ha gone about half the distance, she said. "It is very good of you, Mr. Dilwyr I think I can swim now." "Better not try," I answered curtly. "Tell me, then, when we reach sha low water." When we were within fifty yards c the shore and in not more than fou feet of water, I said: "You are not like ly to drown now, even if you ehoul have to walk." She loosened her hold of me, anc floating on her side, proceeded to than me profusely. But I was in a contrar humor and borrowing the words whic she herself had used at the crib, I said "Pray do not burden me with thanks, md added, "you know I would hav done as mueh for one of the small boj from the city?it is no particular credi to be commonly humane." "Well,*'she said, in a disapp&intei :one, "let me at least tell you my name [t is Lucile?" But I gave her no chance to finish, considered it a good opportunity to "g iv.en," so exclaimed loudly, "No, done :ell me. I object to euch informal in :roductions." And, with that, I swam away towar ay home. More than two years passed away,dur ng which period I did not again mee Miss Lucile, although I speedily discov ;red her patronymic. At the end of tha ;ime I saw the young lady at a neigbor lood musicale and was formally intro iuced. Alas! within half an hour I put mj twkward foot in it, by referring (inno :ently enough) to the more than infornia eception which she had accorded me a ;he crib. She was especially angry ii ;hat a local wag stood sufficiently nea ;o overhear and drink in every wore fvhich I uttered, so that much to thedis just of both of us, we were, thanks t< rim, ever afterwards known along a fev nilefl of the Lake Front as the "pair oI lucks." It took my fair would-be despot i nonth to recover from her huff, by whicl ;imc I was 'huffy" myself. So it has been?the same old story eve: lince. Whenever I have felt good an< jra.ciou3, Jjucile Has invanaDly Deen angr >r sulky; while, whenever the- youns voman has been disposed to smile, I hav< jersistently refused to bask in the sun ihine of her kindly glances. For tw< iteady years we have played at cross pur loses?a big but rather tiresome game o jluff and huff, and yet (strange paradox I ! have loved Lucile, I have ever beei he girl's ardent admirer and willing lave. That is to say, I would have beei ler willing slave had she permitted sucl , state of affairs when I happened to tx n the humor. A few weeks ago I seriously offendec 'the other duck:" I was certainly ii lip wrnnir and behaved like a Derfecl ?rute. It tcok about nine days for m< o discover this fact, and I then wrote i lote full of profuse apologies, tender re ;rets, etc. The note was returned to me unopened s I half expected it would be. But hree or four days afterward, I receivcc penitential letter from Lucile, whicl iy state of mind just then would per nit me to look upon as nothing less thai eminine hypocrisy of the basest sort. I took my heary stub pen and dippec t deep down into my red ink. Across he first page of Lucile's letter Iscrawlec 'Too late."?Upon the second page ] rrote "Rats."?Orer the third I scrib led "Chestnuts"?And upon the fourtl nd last page I printed in heavy Olc 'nrrlich tj?rt Farewell." Then I returned her letter to Lucile, t was the last straw. I was morallj ertain that I was an "A-number-one' ool; and I felt tolerably sure fhatLucilc ras not far behind me in the same atagory. Between Lucile and the temperature it was July and the thermometer stood t eighty-thr^e degrees, about two a. m.J passed a wretched, sleepless night. Vhen I walked down to the lake at sis "clock I had arrived at a very logical onclusion, namely: I could not live ?ith Lucile; I could not live without jucile; ergo?I had better die right off. Down in our little bathing house we ;ept, for prudential reasons only, a irge bottle of brandy. I took this bottle nd deliberately emptied its contents c.i he pebbly beach. Then I tore from mj lOte book a fly leaf, and with my penci rrote as follows: "I have lived a fool's life: I will die a fool1! eath, in the hope of reaching a fool's para ise. I am tired of the part I have played it iucile's game of bat and ball. I am about o swim as far as my strength will carry me, rhen I shall sink to rise no more. John Dilwyn." 4ij.35 a. m., July 10th." This document I thrust into the emptj iottle, corked it up and flung it as fai s I could into the lake?morbidly imgining, as I did so, the head lines ol lie newspapers when that bottle should te recovered: "A story from the deep. The mvsery of John Dilwayn at last solved, tc." I donned my bathing suit, but sat in he hut, perhaps half an hour, buried in leep meditation, before I entered the rater and struck out. I had left the shcre nearly a mile betind me, and, I must Confess, was beginning to wish that I had not launched hat bottle wifh its despondent declaraion. In fact I faltered so considerably n my suicidal resolve, that I deternined to halt at the waterworks crib nd reconsider the situation. So ] naped my strokes accordingly. I was very near to the low, clumsy tructure, when an intensely familiar 11 voice shouted to me across the few yard re of water-. Tlnn'f Ami if rnn irrftflt. ftflltrirf ' v Jvu ??wy jv? ~r I straightened up in the water anc ly gnzei tpward the crib, and what do jo\ ly suppose I saw? Well, I beheld thi ie 'other duck' perched on the top of om d of those old piles, grinning a distract is ingly aggravating feminine grin. Wore a of all, in one hand she held that bottle i, while with the other she displayed the ie scrap of paper containing my startiinf d statement. a But I positively refused to change nr " written programme unless Lucile woul( i- then and there promise to be my wife t, and furthermore, agree to remain in ni ;r amiable frame of mind to the end of th honeymoon. it She made both promises and kep it them to the letter. We returned horn to-day, and five minutes before I com w menced this fragment of autobiography y I left that 'other duck' in the first stage of a three weeks' sulk?simply because . want to keep house in a flat while shi insists on biding at a hotel. But a o we are not very near Lake Erie, I cannot >f at present, foresee a speedy solution o: it this latest difficulty.?Yankee Blade. d _ Twenty Questions and Answers Abon ' Steamships. 1. What -was the name of the firs [. steamship .that crossed the Atlantic, anc how long did it take her? The Savannat in 1819. Twenty-five days. (The usua ir time for one of the fast clipper ships wa from sixteen to twenty-one days.) (j 2. What is the largest passenger steam ship in commission? City of Paris I 10,499 tons displacement. ^ 3. What is the cost of a steamshij y like the Majestic? Nearly two millioi b of dollars. [. 4. What steamship carries the larges >? number of cabin passengers? Thi e Etruria. 550. s 5. What has been the greatest day'f it run of any ocean steamship? 51! miles. j 6. Is speed materially increased b] twin screws? No; but the vessel cai turn quicker, and if one shaft breaks I the other will carry her into port. ,t 7? What line has the largest trans ' in _ n a. _r n i. ? Atlantic licet ui urst-ci turn paaacugeh Bteamships, and how many? Nortl German Lloyd. Twelve vessels. ^ 8. How many steamships are there en gaged in the trans-Atlantic passengei trade? About ninety. t 9. What is the longest steamship nov in service in the world? The Teutonic t 565.08 feet long. 10. What captain has been the longest in the trans-Atlantic service? Captaii Brooks, of the Arizona, Ouion line. j 11. How many cabic passengers were landed in New York during 1890? I Ninety-nine thousand one hundred and t eighty-nine. 1 12. How much coal is consumed bj r one of the great liners in twenty-four j hours? About three hundred tons, oi 466 pounds a minute. 5 13. What is the average expense of a j single voyage?New York to Liverpool r and return? Seventv-five thousand dol? lars. a 14. What were the dimensions of the j Great Eastern? When was she launched, and what was her horBe-power? Six r hundred and eighty-feet long, eightyj three feet-broad, twenty-five leet ? draught. Launched January 10, 1856. y Horse-power, 6600. She had both side . wheels and screw. . 15. What is the length of a nautical } knot in land measure? Six thousand and eighty feet. A land mile is 5280 f feet. I 16. (a) What is the distance sailed, in j nautical miles, from New York to Liver r pool? (b) From Liverpool to New j York? (a) New York to Sandy Hook, j sixteen miles; Sandy Hook to Roches 3 Point, northern track, 2805 miles; southern track,2880 miles; from Roches , Point to Mersey Bar, lev mile?; and from the Bar to stage landing in Liver* pool,fourteen miles. Totals, north track, 3064 miles; south track, 3139 miles. " (b) From Liverpool landing to Roches * Point, 243 miles; from Roches Point to Sandy Hook light, northern track, 2780 miles; southern track, 2850 miles; Sandy ' Hook to New York, sixteen miles. J Totals, north track, 3039 milfes; south track, 3109 miles. 1 17. (a) Between what points are records estimated? (b) "What is the first 1 light sighted on the British coast? The . American? (a) Sandy Hook and Daunt?s Rock, Queenstown Harbor, near Roches ? Point, (b) Bull, cow and calf, South . coast of Ireland; Nantucket or Fire Island. 18. What is the greatest number of | immigrants ever landed in New York in a year? In a day? Four hundred and fifty-five thousand four hundred and ' fifty in 1883. Nearly 10,000, May 11, r, 1887. 19. "What was the first regular trans| Atlantic line, and when established? 5 The British and American Royai Mail and Steam Packet Co., founded in 1840, ' by Samuel Cunard. 9.0 Whnf. t.Vip rliipf lfindinrr nrtrfs ' on the European side? Liverpool, for I, the Cunard, Inman, White Star, Guion and Anchor Lines; Havre for the French; Bremen for the North German Lloyd; Antwerp for the Red Star; Rotterdam and Amsterdam for the Netherlands; Glasgow for the Anchor und State; Hamburg for the Hamburg-American; Copen| iiagen for the Thingvalla.?Scribner. r Fuel Famine. ' The bounty of nature, originally lavished on the coastlands of the MediterJ runean, did not include the blessing of J extensive coal deposits. In the course of ; the recent phenomenally severe winter , that deficiency was sorely felt in many inland districts of Spain and Italy, but especially on the Island of Corsica. The r countrymen of Napoleon are as thrifty as . Scotch farmers; they lay up food supplies for years in advance and have even f contrived to obviate the danger of overpopulation by discouraging early marriages; but they have been unable to prevent the destruction of their highland forests, and are almost resourceless in protecting themselves from frosts which ( repeatedly seemed to have equalled the efforts of a full grown Western blizzard. ?New York Voice. State Bed of a King. 'The state bed of Sobieski, the King of I Poland,was "made of Smyrna gold braid, embroidered in turquoises with verses ' from the Koran. Its supports were of silver gilt, beautifully chased and pro? fusely set with enameled and jeweled ! medallions. It had been taken from the Turkish camp before Vienna, and the standard of Mohammed had stood under it."?Chicago Timet. k v.rv* ' % ' - ' ' ' . ' -?* .y.\, s? V*.-. -.>W? ? CURIOUS PACTS. ' There are no snakes in Bermuda. i ii I;.J inii V ziimmmctt were compueu iuu years uc1 fore the Christian era. 3 t j The finest diamond cutting in the world is done in Boston. t San Francisco school-boys struck till f a teacher was reinstated. i Statistics prove that only one man in I a million lives to be 108 years old. The value of the Japanese coin called f the yen is about eighty-three cents. A mocking bird died the other daj ' at Independence, Kan., which was thirII teen years and six months old. ^Forty-eight inmates of the insant asylum on Blackwell's Island, New York, B are rehearsing a farce which they will . soon produce. , Del Pardo, Mexico, has a Frenchman 3 with three arms and six toes on each foot. I He is a shoemaker by trade, and seemr b happy and contented. s The really long-named society is to b( ? found in Germany. It is the Germai f Socicty of Volunteer Doctors and Nursei for Care of the Wounded in War. The marble ledge on Crandall Creek, t Cooke County, Montana, is declared to be "over 1200 feet wide, one mile long, (. and of a known depth of 800 feet." i The Nevada Legislature having refused kn nnnrnnrifttfl monev for the traveling | expenses of the district judges, one of | them has bought a bicycle on which tc make his magisterial circuit. An official letter from the Eastern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia to the Gov. ernment of that State says that one ol the inmates has been there for thirty-four years, and is one hundred and nine years old. It is said that so close was the physical resemblance between the late D. S. Taylor and his uncle, Zachary Taylor, that the Btatue surmounting the ex-President's mounument in Kentucky was modeled after the nephew. The first water-mill ever built was erected on the River Tiber, at Rome, A. D., 50. Windmills were in original use in the twelfth century. Tide-mills were operated in Venice about 1708. Sawmills are said to have been in use at Ausberg, Germany, about 1332. A native of Borneo stole a hammock belonging to an English missionary, and his chief sentenced him to eat the -plunder or lose his head. He was given seven days in which to ticket his palate with the outfit, and accomplished the feat. He is now "heaD honest." An Egyptian scythe recently unearthed , is exhibited among the antiquities in the i private museum of Flinders Petrie in [ London. The shaft of the instrument is wood, supporting a tow of flint saws, r which are securely cemented into it. This discovery will set at rest the speculations which have been made as to how the crops of the land were gathered in the flint and early copper age. t Rain-Making Schemes. Professor Carl Myers, of Utica, N. Y., 1 has been in Washington consulting with Government officials regarding the putting into operation of a scheme for promoting rainfalls in arid regions or during periods of prolonged drought by producing concussion in the upper atmos pbere. Congress at its last session made a special appropriation for experiments in this direction, and Professor Myers has been called into consultation as an expert. It has been observed for many years tfcat storms or rainfalls usually follow concussions of the atmosphere, as during battles, bombardments, explosions and the like. Acting upon this knowledge Professor Myers proposes experimenting with balloons, which are themselves to be explosive bombs, being inflated with one part of oxygen gas and two of hydrogen, which mixture when fired produces one of the most violent, explosions known to science. He will begin operations with one hundred bal- , 1 loons of various sizes as soon as they can l>e prepared. The result of these experiments wil. ' ?e watcnea wicn u great ueai 01 mtereati [t is knowD, of course, in a general way, that a rainfall is the immediate result of 1 :he condensation of a body of aqueous ' rapor, very much as water is expelled " ;rom a wet sponge by squeezing it. The 1 ardmary phenomenon attending this condensation is a lowering of temperature, ind the problem which Professor Myers will seek to solve is whether the same ffect may be produced by concussion. 1 The fact that thunder storms are usually I iccompanied by rain would seem to in- y licate that there is at least some ground i )f reasonableness in the concussion j iheory. If it be demonstrated that rain may bo . produced by concussion, the diseovery r Day revolutionize the character of many g parts of the globe. The rainless desert . jf Sahara need no longer be rainless, and t the arid wastes of Arizona may be re- , fiv>sl-ir>ri -with frenncnt showers. The ex perimcnt is well worth trying, whether ' t succeeds Jt not.?San Francisco ChronxaU. Educated Baboons. c The Hottentots say that baboons can t talk, only they will not, for fear they ? ?hould be made to work; and there cer- ? ;ainly is but little work to be got out of n ;hose cunning hands. Nevertheless we s fead of some baboons who have been si aught to do useful work. There was an ibituary notice a year or more ago in all p ihe Cape papers of one of these trained ? baboons, well known in the colony, who |( used to act as' signalman on the railway, p in place of his master who was lame. ^ The story was doubted by the English ,3 papers, who copied it; but we have met c] with many people who had seen the ani- |j nal at his work. Mrs. Casey Hobson, j too, in one of her pleasant little "South African Stones," tells of a baboon who -ad come under her own notice, who had been taught to ride after a Dutch Boer is groom, and to dismount and hold the lorse by sitting on the bridle when his master went into the house; and we have jeen a troupe of monkeys of various tvinds taught to do a great many curious tricks; but in these, again, they have been rivaled by dcgs.?Chambers's Jour'iul, w p Bore Three Names in Twelve Hours. ^ At Springfield, Ohio, Lizzie Ryder, d; meet sixteen, loved Barton Tavenner. il Being under age, she was adopted by Mr. 01 Osborn, with whom she had lived from M babyhood, and her name was changed to T Osborn. In the evening she became Mrs. C Tavenner?bearing three distinct family at names in twelve hours.?Jfae York Wit- b< icss. Li r't -j* j' .. ''W*. *f SUNSET IN THE FOCk {The cold gray fog of the winker daJ i Bald eea and land in thrall; Silent the vessels at anchor lay; ; A spell was over all. Who narrow lines of each vessel honnii The limit of their sphere; _ Beyond waa naught bat a world of sound? A world of doubt and fear. j Prom the yards the sails bedraggled hunft ; Bordered by drops of dew; Feathery mijrts, from the halyards flung, Like ghostly pennons flew; While the mast-head pierced the misty gray^ And vanishod at the spars, The ratlines seen but a step away "Were narrow prison bars. But sudden a golden glamour stole, . As through a tr'ny seam; It spread till the glory lit the whole, And lightened boom to beam. No shadow fell from the ray of light; The wind and sea were still; 'Twas then that the red sun Bank from sight Behind the distant hill. *. . i We saw it not as.the golden ray Gave place to tints of rose; And tbe mists, no longer cold and gray. About us seemed to close. They closer grew as the rose-light died, The mists took on their frown, '. ... And the gloom that came from either aid? ,', Told that the sun was down. v j : ?Flavel Scott Mines, in Harper's Wetklyi . PITH AND_ POINT. Purrs proud?The luxurious cat. Madder than a hornet?The object of lfo nn-rocaoa i i'A AM V? "Up to snuff?Getting nut of bed. to take a pinch.'".?Pittiburg Chronicle: , The interest you take in another man's business is never profitable.?Alehiton Globe. There is one thing that may be said of a spider; there are no flies on it.?Atckiton Globe. When a man gets in trojable it often takes a round sum to square matters.-*-* JStateman. The dentist may not be a man of ancestry, but he is one of prominent extraction.? Watkinglon Pott. A boy who is frequently chastised by his mother and grandmothor speaks of them as a "spanking team."?Texas Siftingt. Maud?"George told me last night; I was his little duck I" Ethel?"He probably discovered that you were no chicken."?Life. / Tt Ti7Qo a Ikfaacofilincettii lam'ilitnr wliA/ recently objected to a certain measure bccause 4'it would land us In a sea of doubt."?yisva Tori Tribune. Fussy (savagely)?"I ordered a ham sandwich twenty minutes ago." Waiter ?1"Well, boss, it takes some time to cook a ham."?ffarper't Bazar. The world will be nearer right when a a man has learned to laugh a little less r at his neighbor's troubles and a little * more at his own?Atchison Olobe. A woman never feels that she is altogether out of society so long as she gets an invitation every year to a fashionable milliner's opening.?SomeroiUe JournaL ' Landlady (trying to start the conversation)?"Are you fond of the antique, Mr. Slim}" New Boarder (suspiciously) ?"Um-er?not at table."?Good Newt, Of all the gifts of summer, The one that most Pd prize Would be some faint foundation For my next month's fishing lies? ?Outing Somebody as tea lor a gooa aennition of a philosopher. A philosopher is a man who earns f 9 a week and is contented with his inconfe.?SomervUU Journal. Her hat cost ten dollars it grieves me tcf state, And she only put one small dime in tha plate. ?New York Sun. De Brush?"I saw a chrome effect in oil to-day that completely captivated me." Palette?"What was it ? an amateur?'4 De Brush?"No, a sardine." New Yorli Sun. Customer?"You say this is a real an- , tique? Bric-a-brac Dealer?"It's one of the finest pieces of work bj one of the best ancient masters of the present day." ?Jeweler'$ Circular. . >, That wealth and cares unequally Divided are, 'tis true, \ i For the man who lacks tbe wealth for ona , Has cares enough for two. ?Neui York Herald. Mrs. Myserlee?"Oh, my dear Mr. SVings, you really can't go home in this :errible storm. Do stay and take supper ffith us." Wings?"Thank you; but t's really not so bad aa all that."?1funsey's Weekly. , Confusion Worse Confounded: Jones -"Con-found it all! Somebody s taken ny hat, and left this filthy, beastly, habbv old thing instead." Brown?"A -I beg your pardon, but that happens o be my hat."?Punch. 'Where are you going my pretty maid?" : 'I'm going to graduate, sir," she said. * ".Hay i go wun you, my pretty uuuar 'If you ouy me some gum you may," she said. ?New York Sun. Salesman?"As I understand your irder, sir, it is for one dozen shirts at hirty-six dollars a dozen." Travers? 'That correct (moving off); good day." ialesman?"Hold on a minute! Pardon' ie, but we require a deposit from traDgers." Travers?"Then make one liirt less."?Clothier and Furnisher. "Wash a baby up, clean and dress him v' retty, and he will resist all advances rith a most superlative crossness; but ;t him eat chocolates, gingerbred, and lay about with the coal scuttle for about alf a hour, and he will nestle his ear little dirty face close up to your lean shirt bosom ana be the lovingest ttle rascal in all the world.?London 'id-Bits. She held her head so very nearIt wasn't right, I vow? The words she came so close to hear Turned to .1 kiss somehow. She started ttack?I could not stir, I waited in dismay; Sharply the words came from her, sir, You have not shaved to-day.'* ?New York Herald. Went Before Stanley. It is not generally known that Stanley as not the xnan first selected by James ordon Bennett to find Livingstone. Jhcn the idea of a Herald search expeition occurred to Mr. Bennett he cast jout for an available man and picked it a Scotchman named McPherson or !cKenzie, or something of that kind, his gentleman set out for the East oast of Africa, got as far as Zanzibar id mysteriously disappeared. What ;came of him is a profound mystery to lis day.?-Detroit Free Press. , L t