The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 17, 1904, Image 6
r
If the Kansas bachelor tax Is a success
Massachusetts may lose some of
her surplus women.
Ferhaps the Chicago doctor Trfio
thinks bathing shortens life bases his
theory uuon the fact that tramps never
Beom to die ofi.
The President of Yale University
comes forward with a theory that only
rich men should go into-politics. But
a great many men go in just for tbe
purp??? of getting rich.
"There are in this city at least 1000
married couples living together, yet
never speaking," declares a prominent
New York divorce lawyer. What admirable
control Ub^y have over their
tempers!
Somebody clever at figures has
found out that the Weatlier Bureau
has cost us about two cents apiece
during the year, remarks the Cleveland
Flain Dealer. And just think
what a lot of weather you get for this
insignificant sum.
'A New York commission is studying
the reasons why Montreal is getting
grain carrying trade from the United
States, and a Canadian commission is
trying to find out why United States
ports carry Canadian products. The
commissioners really ought to have
joint sessions.
^
'A Dallas woman has just died at
the age of eighty-sis, who was the
mother of seventeen children, the
grandmother of sixty-eight and the
great grandmother ol' 165. Hero's a
rbance for the President to show his
appreciation by something neat in the
.way of a contribution toward a monument
The scarcity of divorces jn Canada is
remarkable. In Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba
and the territories divorces can
be obtained only by an act of the
Parliament of Canada, and from 1SC8
to 3900 only sixty-nine were so secured.
In the other provinces they
may be obtained in the courts, and,
during the same period Novia Scotia
bas granted ninety-two, New Brunswick,
seventy-three; British Columbia,
forty-seven, and Trinee Edward Island
none.
' 'A French savant points out that
spiders' webs improve the acoustic
properties of a room. He says he
knew in England a hall that was ideal
for the conveyance of sound. In an
evil, moment it was decided to cleau
' the ceiling*:, and all the spiders were
dislodged. The hall was ruined as a
place of speaking. The savant suggests
that cotton strings might be
hung loosely across .ceilings to improve
the sound-carrying properties of
a room.
?
The tuberculosis mortality has decreased
in New England. in the last
fifty years even more rapidly among
females than among males, and there
is little doubt that it will go lower yet
if the habit of sleeping with open windows
or even out of doors, not merely
asa means of cure but also of prevention)
once gets established. Without
interference with its normal activities
this entire Commonwealth may eventually
become a great open-air sanatorium;
and in that day the hotels of
Arizona will run to bad. business.
The veneration of intellectual Germany
for Goethe has been shocked by
* I a proposition to disligure the garden
of the house in which the poet lived
in Weimar, and which is now used as
a Goethe National Museum, by cutting
off a part of the garden, demolishing a
stone wall and substituting for it an
iron fence around the remaining part
of the garden. Leading artists, prolessors,
academicians and literary men
of Berlin have sent a strong protest
to the national museum against the
proposed step as a "desecration of a
* historical sanctuary."
; 44 'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody
good," and the recent cases of cruelty
to soldiers in tie German army have
ibeen a good thing for America. One
officer, Franzke, by name, has been
sentenced to five years' imprisonment
and dishonorable discharge from the
army on 1520 counts of mistreatment
of soldiers and 100 of abuse of authority.
This is a remarkable but no
doubt not an isolated case. Many sood
German youths choose to expatriate
themselves rather than submit to the
brutality, and hundreds of model citizens,
dri\*en from the German army,
find their way to America's hospitable
shores.
Professor Sandford Bell, a fellow in
Clark University, declared recently
after a scientific investigation of the
love question covering a period of fifteen
years and embracing 1700 cases,
that the love period extends from
three years to old age,.and that no one
. is safe from the fever during that
time. Men reach their maturity in
affairs of the heart at twenty-four and
women at twenty-two, he says, and
adds that the masculine stages of love
are from three to eight years, eight to
fourteen, fourteen to twenty-six (mafwAn+r.oir
f a a!/7 o era onrl nr.
imiij/, mviii; wiA iv v?u ^ ?
tending through old age. For women
in love he fixes the stages at three to
?ight, eight to twelve, twelve to twenty-two
(maturity), tweniy-three to old
?ge and through old >ige
Are ,suicje<iies more alarmingly fre
5upct nowadays, or are the newspaper:
more efficient in chronicling them'
Thus aslis u distinguished sociologist
Both.
Health Commissioner Darlington, c
New York. In speaking of the alarmin?
increase ol' pneumonia, says the preva
lence of the disease is due in a larg<
mpnKiim to oxneetoration in publit
places. Only another argument ii
favor of tbe enforcement of the spittiuj
ordinance. ^
Holt County, Mo., lias a survivJnj
grandchild ol' a Revolutionary hero
Mrs. Mary Mclntyre is her name. Hci
grandfather was William Montgomery
Blair, who was one of "Mad Anthony'
Wayne's staff officers at the storminj
of Stony Point. Mrs. Mclntyre has
two brothers in Kansas. Uriah am
Samuel Blias, and one sister in Mis
souri, Mrs. Dr.n Snyder, of Rock Tort.
A new application of electricity ha?
been made in Franco, and now tlx
power is actually used for fellinj
tr?os. A platinum wire is heated to ;
white heat by an electric current, an<
this is simply pulled through the trunl
which it outs like a big cheese. Th<
new invention should find a place ii
American forests.
Tuberculosis may be fought by wis<
methods and by foolish ones. To tb<
latter class belongs the plan whicl
the Australian colony 01 victoria is
said to have adopted. It is propose*]
to isolate consumptives, whether tbej
like it or not. and send them to a quar
antine station. Educating them in re
gard to the proper precautions foi
avoiding the spread of infection would
be far more sensible.
Dr. d'Arsonval, lecturing in Faris or
the effects of electricity upon bumai
beings, expressed the belief ibat th<
world is on the eve of a therapeutical
revolution, electricity being the modi
cine of the future. He demonstrated
the utility of electrical treatment ir
skin diseases, and said that under an
esthesia produced by electricity a pa
J * -* 1-1 l- ? ?AA4-A>3 M^vrr!.
uenx VOUJU ISUUjtticu iv ufcui,
ca] operations without narcotics.
There is nothing.new in the idea o1
taking a supply of oxygen along t<
breathe when high altitudes an
reached in balloons. It has already
been tried with excellent results. Dr
Von Schrotter's proposition to.imprisoi
an aeronaut in a cage of glass anc
aluminum filled with that gas maj
prove an advance on the earlier meth
od, but it is only a development of ;i
plan that is not original with him.
The temperance movement, which
began in 1873 with a society of foreign
residents of Yokohama, has grown until
now there are forty-six of these societies
united in a national temperance
league. The league represents 3017
members. As a result of their agitation
a bill has been passed prohibiting
the use of tobacco by children under
twenty years of age. Even the United
States might profit by such a measure.
The town of Shekpo was destroyed
and 2000 villagers massacred ou East
River, near u.inton, unina, jn an euori
to capture Ma Wong Hoi. a noted ban.
dit. The brigand took refuge in SJaekpo,
bis native village. Admiral Fong
surrounded tlie town with U."iOO troops.
Wben be requested tbe elders cf the
town to deliver Ma Wong Hoi the bandit
himself appeared and killed eight
soldiers. Thtfs so enraged tbe troops
that tbe admiral permitted a heavy
cannonade, which set the town on fire.
Two thousand perished, including many
.women and children.
The model of no structure more famous,
certainly none dearer to the peo?1a
f IKa CaiiIU Tt??ll hrt Cflan ihr
piu ui U1V tJVU(U, "ill Ut OCCil (U liiv
Louisiana Purchase Exposition than
that of "Liherty Hall," the ancestral
home of Alexander H. Stephens, VicePresident
of the Confederacy. Tin
State of Georgia has agreed to ercct a
model of "Liberty Hall" at its State
building. There is no private residence
in that State: better known than the famous
old home of Stephens, and nc
building about which centres fondei
recollections of the great man who
made it bis home for years.
Statistics of inconsequence are frequently
interesting. The latest pub
lished in this class come5; from a person
who took to studying for a few
weeks the folk who eyed themselves
in a certain elevator having two side:
freely set with mirrors, observes tb(
Boston Transcript. His first atteinpl
was to decide whether more womer
than men patronized the looking glass
during which he learned, perhaps t<
his surprise, tiat the patrons wen
equally divided between the sexes
Next he fell to studying the object o:
each sex in this contemplation of self
with the result that he opined tha
men peered into the mirror for the sol<
purfose of seeing and approvingjtfceni
Aiiu? wiiu woixieu men
seemed to be a desire to be sure tbei:
bats were tipped at tbe right angle
and tbat the numerous bows affeetec
bow by the fair sex were all in tb<
}iV
place dictated by custom. Thus ii
seems to be established that vanity
alone prompted tbe men to look, whil<
a commendable wish to be "set right'
animated the women.
j 'the lament of ,1
J ? 1
Id youth I never cared for sport;
Fresh air was not a paatsion to me;
'Athletic feats of any sort
Sent unrepsoneive shudders through
me;
l J fiau, in iaci, a eeaeiuary imnu,
, And hated exercise of any kind.
And so, when others smote the sphere
^ With bat or mallet, boots or putter,
~ I charmed with song the female car,
; And made the female bosom flutter.
I also played the zither And recited
* Poems of young loves preroaturely?bligbted.
s I sang. as I have said; I had
Tbat kind of voice that folks call."fluty;"
I trilled of "Memories strangely sad,"
r Of "Bansies" and the "Eyes of Beauty." ;
' Not mere divinely does the early-bird
Sing when the worm has recently occurred.
' At. that delightful hour of doom,
Slightly anterior to tea time,
I paralyzed the drawing room
' With trifles of my own in three-time,.
Till all the air was heavy with desire,
' And prostrate matrons begged me to re5
lire.
1
His Ciffle
; Bv Celtic
i
1 OHN BRANSCOMBE sat 1
L J, broken - hearted in his ;
- O I o dreary little room on the ]
l J| " & third floor of McCabe's :
"WOW Flats. Outside the sun was ;
shining, but John Branscombe had no i
j eyes for anything but the trouble and
despair which stared him in the face.
A glance at him was sufficient to con- 1
1 vince one that he was a refined maD, <
> an intellectual man, utterly out of keep- i
L ing with his surroundings; for Mc- ]
r Cabe's Flats were hot conspicuous for J
wealthy inhabitants or luxurious appointments.
If anything, there was 1
' among them a chronic habit of just
scraping the rent together in time to i
[ avoid ejectment. They were not a low '
class of tenants; on tbe contrary, they
.were, as a rule, clean-and industrious, ]
hard working, commonplace and hon- i
! est, who just managed to pay their way ]
i and exist, and that was all.
> And John Branscombe, who, some !
I seven or eight years before, had a mod- i
est competency, a comfortable home, a <
' .wife and friends and acquaintances in
I abundance, had fallen so low that he
t now sat there with his eyes fixed on <
the empty stove, staring into vacancy;
iWith his cupboard as bare of food as
his heart was foil of despair?black, j
numbing despair.
His mind mechanically reviews the ?
last five or six years of his life, years ;
f of boundless energy, untiring efforts,
j all endiDg in bitter disappointment. He .1
sees the wife with whom he quarreled 1
' and uarted after two years of content- 1
r ment and happiness: he sees the friends 1
. with whom he has long since severed
, all intercourse. He sees his work?his '
I beloved inventions?for which he lias
sacrificed wife, friends, money, every- i
thing, both on the threshold of success, i
and ending in nothing; the one owing i
i to a lawsuit which has dragged its slow i
length along for three weary years, and i
which is now at a standstill for lack of i
funds to carry it on; the second, on ]
which he had built all his remaining
hope?, stolen from him by a rascally
agent he had trusted.
Absorbed in his work, fired by ainbi
, tion, he neglected, unintentionally, ins
wife, a good woman, but a proud one. i
When she asked him to choose between
his work anf herself, his infatuation j
allowed him to let her go. When he
grew harder and colder to his friends, t
as successive disappointments began to <\
tell on him, he saw tbeir visits grow t
more and more infrequent, and in his j
pride said, "Let them stay away." And j
I now, ruined and penniless, robbed of
all he has worked for, he sits with only f
a pistol to console him and to put a
tragic end to a tragic life.
He gets up and takes his revolver g
from an old satchel standing in the cor- ?
; ner. He bought it when be was made
bankrupt two years ago, and fully in- s
tended to use it. A fresh idea took pos- l
session of his mind and saved him,
hope sprang up again in his heart, and
: the thought of suicide passed away.
; Now, with another disaster crushing t
him down the old notion of ending it
all has come back to him, and his mind
for the last week has dwelt upon little ^
else. He has not delayed because he l
has hesitated, or because he is afraid;
he has just simply gone Jiving on in a
. dull, meaningless way until his last t
dime was gone, and then His last l
dime was gone, and he recognizes that I
the cruicial moment has cqipe.
1 As John Combes he has lived here for t
I twelve or fourteen months, as John
. Combes he can die here. He has but to t
, destroy the letter he sat up writing the
night before, and he will be buried in a j
1 pauper's grave under the name he has t
! assumed, the name which will tell the
; world nothing.
It is the one single point he is unde- i
cided upon. Even in his misery, even t
in his despair, one desire has risen up
in his heart?the desire to fling one last
i letter of defiance at the world, and at i
those who have treated biro badly. 1
The desire has been strong upon liim i
. to let his enemies know to what tiioy 1
have brought him. I
* He laid the revolver down, opened a i
drawer in the rickety old table and. c
' drew out a letter. It was sealed and 1
; addressed to the Coroner. Hesitating f
s a moment he broke the seal and read t
, the letter slowly. 1
"I'll leave it," he said, when he had i
^ finished. "If I destroyed it, aud died i
? without a word they'd bring in tiome i
t ridiculous verdict ?that I was mad,
j perhaps ? and I'll have no lies told <
about iue when I'm dead." <
He lays the letter down and picks up :
the revolver loading it carefully t
1 with some ca? iages be takes from tbe ]
, drawer. With a grim smile be closes it i
j with a snap; be rises to bis feet.
He looks out of the window across f
* tbe housetops, bis back is to tbe door. <
"As well now as any time," be mur- <
2 mnr?, and Ins band steadily gripping
r the revolver, approaches bis bead.
j A second more and John Brunscombe
would have fallen with a bullet in his i
brain. But at that instant a voice in a 1
i childish treble says:
t "Please will you let me come in and i
r talk to you?" ]
******* j
' John Branscombe's hand fell and he ]
j turned to the door, concealing the rej
Tolver b.v bis sijie. There on the
\
f
rHE LADIES' MAN. 1*
___ J
Just then a vogue for high Tomance 11
Prevailed, and I'd a pent-up yearning; a
Ihe hollow cheek, the hungry glance, 0
Betrayed the fever inly burning;
At inconvenient times the thing would out, 0
Especially when ladies were about.
g
Somehow the carc of female hearts
At that time always fell to my lot;
.Within the maze of Cupid's arts a
I was their gliding star, their pilot; a
Not to have loved me with a blindine pas- t
sion .
Was, broadly speaking, to be out of fash- *
ion. (
6
But latterly, T don't know why, # c
That star has waned, until at last I'ni
Left in the lurch .while maijdensjy r
Toward the ruder forms of pastime; f
And now their talk is all of tennis courts, r
Of golf, gymkhanas and athletic sporta, e
I don't complain. I know there'll be "V
One of these days a mild renaissance
In the exclusive cult of Me;
I view the fact with some complaisance; .
One day there'll come an era of tne brain i
And Theodore will be himself again. J;
?Punch. t
=ZZZZH t
b
Neighbor o
s
threshold he saw a little girl about six
rears old, a child with lovely waving a
hair and great dark eyes lighting up a
face grave and intelligent beyond her jj
rears. He recognized her as the child
of some one in the dwellings, a child j
who was, during the daytime, and h
while her parent was absent at work,
taken charge of by the wife of the 0
caretaker below. He had first seen the
child about a month before, when she
bad climbed the stairs and mistaken
bis room for her mother's.
"Come in, little neighbor; I am always
glad to talk to you." TV
He 6lippejl the* revolver stealthily c
into his pocket and advanced toward
the child.
She came in, shutting the door be- a
bind her as quietly as she. had opened
it, and sat down on the chair before the
Sreplace. h
"And I'm always glad to talk to you," p
-1' - "T litre tfllklllC tO
3UC UUOVTCT1CU. JL K*\*MS ? ?.?v - ?
inybody but you and mamma. The
3thers don't talk. nice." y
"What shall we talk about?"
"About yourself. What .were you
loing as I came in?"
The man started. $:
"What was I doing? I?I was starting
on a long, long journey." ti
"You are going away! Ob, I am so? o
>o sorry. But why are you going c;
iway?" is
"Because," answered the man, trying
:o conquer . bis emotion, and speak
ightly, "because. I can no longer stcy ^
jere?there is nothing left for me but
:o go." 11
"Will you?" the child hesitated,
'will you tell me where you are going?" ^
"I am going," said the man in a voice S(
fvhich trembled in spite of his efforts
:o control it, "I am going to a place
where there is no more misery or J
wretchedness; to a place where the ^
veary can rest in peace, where sorrow, ^
ind deceit, and disappointment are un- 01
inown." " ,
The child clapped her hands. '
"And you will be happy tbere?"
The mran bowed his head.
"Yes, 1 hope so."
"But," persisted the little one, "where f
s this place?" S1
"Why do you wish to know?" he
i oL'or? o:
"Because I should like mamma to go h
here, too. Poor mamma, she does not ^
vish to stay here. She is so sad same- ^
imes, and works so hard. Couldn't ^
ihe go to this place you are telling me A
tbout?" "
"She will one day, but let us hope not
or a long, long time."
"Why do you say that?"
"For your sake. If she went as I am.
joing she would leave you behind? '1
ilone."
The child knitted her little brows and, 11
at thinking. Then suddenly she
okked up and said:
"When do you mean to go?"
"To-night." k.
"Can't you put off your journey till
o-morrow?" , ,
"Why?" aj
"'Cause I like you so much, and 1 ^
vant to see you again. It'll be ever so
ong before you come back, won't it?" !
"I shnll never come back."
The child came to the man's side and
ook his hand. "I shall never like any- '
)ody so much as I do you," she said,
ooking at him wistfully; "I shall cry ?
vhen you are goue. Won't you wait -r
ill to-morrow, please?"
The man's figure shook with the emo- Q.
ion which was stirring his soul. ^
"I will wait till to-morrow," he re)lied,
at last; "for your sake I will wait
:ill to-morrow." ^
The little figure trotted to the door. ^
"I am so glad," the child said, softly,
ind disappeared down the stairs in the n
wilight. d.
* *.* j
John Branscombo has waited in vain .
ill day for tlio promised visit from his s1
ittle neighbor. Face to face though he
vas with the srent crisis of his life, he n
lad not thought for a moment of q
jreaking his promise to the child. But n
norning had passed, the afternoon was f(
>n the wane, and night would be upon q
lim in an hour or so. All day he had s]
;at silently and patiently waiting for
;he last interview with his little frioni},; 0]
Food he had none, nor did he think of
T T ~ n.Ar/lftViH? wliv dl Ck lull?
lliy. IIlV UIIIJ U Viiuc*?.u ? - J
lot come?had slio forgottenV?was she
]]??was she gone. l(i
The afternoon passed into evening, <J(
md still she had not <?onie. A church jr
>lock outside boomed out the hour of 7 ,,
ind startled him. At last he came to 0]
he conclusion Iif had waited in vain. _]
He would listen for the clock and when j,
t struck S 'j
The sound of a light footstep on {be
stair aroused him. Then the door
opened and the child came in, excited j,
md breathless.
"You are here. 1 was? afraid you
tvould go without me seeing you."' ;1
"You didn't forget, then?" said the
man. "I have waited all day. Where ;i
have you been?' y
"Mrs. Tucker, who minds me for a:
mamma, took me out with her, and we n
have only just got home, and, oh! n
please, here's a letter for you. The p
postman brought it as we came in." c;
"A letter!" I'
John Branscombe mechanics!!* fnok r.
\
be missive. It;was addr?fesed tohim, I
ohn Combes, in a precise, legal-lookQg
handwriting. He turned it over
nd stared at the back. There, stamped
n the flap, was the address of a firm J
f lawyers he knew.
He tore the letter open feverishly and ?
;lanced through it.
"Dear Sir," it ran, "we have at last
seertained your address, and that you j
re living under the name of John
"ombefi. We are glad to inform you
hat our clients, Messrs. Effington & 1
-O., have come to a: satisfactory under-.1 ]
tanding with-the defendants in tne
ase Branscombe-vs. Ormonde, and are
iow in a position to make you an offer i
or such rights 'in your patent as you/ <
nay be disposed to cede to them. An j
arly interview will be esteemed a faor."
John Branscombe dropped into his i
hair. The letter meant salvation, and i
t had come to him by the hand of his 1
ittle neighbor who had induced him to i
tut off "the long journey" he bad conemplated.
But for her he would have
een dead hours ago, and the news that 1
t last justice was to be his would have 1
ome too late. <
He dropped on his knee and drew the 1
hild to him.
"God bless you, little neighbor," he
aid. "Providence sent your baby foot- '
teps to me."
A gentle^tap came at the door. J
"Come in," he said. The door opened | !
nd a woman stood in the doorway.
"I beg your pardon," she said; "is my (
ttle " ''
Then she stopped and staggered.
oBn Branscombe had arisen and faced
ier. * 1
His own child had saved him; his
wn child had brought husband and
rife together after nearly seven years.
-New York Weekly.
On the Installment Flan.
"What's that watch worth?" asked
fr. Klose, pointing to one in the show
ase.
"Ten dollars," replied^tbe jeweler.
"I'll take it," said the ^customer, and
fter paying for it he went out.
The next day he came,around again.
"This watch doesn't exactly suit me,"'
e said. "What's that one worth?"
ointing to another. *
"Fifteen dollars."
"I'll take that instead of this one, if
ou don't mind."
"Certainly."
A day or two later he came in again.
"How good a watch have you got for
25?"' he inquired.
"Well, $25 will get a pretty good
mepiece," said the jeweler, handing
ne out "Here's one with a gold filled
ase and full jeweled. The movement
: warranted."
"I'll take it."
He paid the difference, took the
atch and went away.
After the lapse of a few days he
lade his appearance once more.
"Have you got a first-class watch,
pith a solid gold case, that you can
ell for $50?" he,said.
"Yes. Here it is."
"Well, I'll take it," said Mr. Klose.
Here's the other watch and$25. That's
tie one I really wanted at first, but 1
a ted to pay out all that money at
Qce."?Youth's Companion^
Birds' Nests in Tiers.
In' the little island of Layson, of the
tawaiian group, which has no human
lhabitants, bird life is so dfnse that
he various species have economized
pace by building their nests, one above
ic other. The similarity of these tiers
? nests to the fats in tall apartment
ouses is quite marked. For example,
tie petrel and the wedge tailed shearrater
live in burrows which compare
'ith an apartment house basement,
bove them dwell the gray backed tern
cd the sooty tern. Higher still in g
nfli/iu a frAni/> Vkir*rl orirl
uoiico tutr XCU UiJivu wnu uuu ^
Lie Christmas Island shearwater have t
leir apartments. Higher still in e
limbs the Laysan finch and the miller f
ird build their homes. The loftier t
ranches of trees are filled with the g
?d footed booby, the man'o-war bird i
nd the Hawaiian tern. Naturalists c
ho visited the island lost year fre- t
uently crushed through the roofs of t
ie petrel burrows, sinking to the g
noes in these subterranean bird i
omes. It was necessary in walking t
bout to exercise great care lest nests ?
ad eggs and young of all kinds of u
ii'ds be trampled upon.?-Chicago News. a
r
A Winter Hardship. S
Senator Proctor, of Vermont, has a
>r.stituent -who rejoices in the name
f Mike Quinn, who lirst saw the light
E day in the "ould counthry." Quinn i
aked his claim to business patronage. V
i Rutland in the days when a great in- 1(
ux of foreigners followed the opening a
f railroad construction work, in that v
ommonwealth. Quinn opened, a livery
lable, and when he hung out his sign r
le "Mike" was missing. He said it 6
idn't suit him, and his name forth- v
'ith was M. Quinn. a
.One day a friend who had been, fig- v
ratively speaking, down in the heels, *
ropped into his office. He told Quinn n
lat he had been unlucky nil his life, 0
i fact, was born under the guiding
ar of misfortune. 3
"Faith," replied Quinn, ""and Oi'm v
vah In Ii/v*- Wllill Wli! n hllAV ^
iUi J CI Jli liiVi, iliiiu v** ??.
i had niver a sint and Oi whit hungry
i'ny?s thor toime. Oi used to fro barejoted.
but that wasn't so barrud. But n
i did used/ to moiiid it a bit when
satin* toime came aud Oi bad to run ?
k* spoike up my heel to keep tbe skate
u.''?Collier's Weekly. ^
Summoned by Name* ,
b
An exciting lover s quarrel was onco
rough t about by tbc young woman's
L'cideutal reading of a telegram where- _
i tbe unfortunate lover bad spoken of
is new yacht in terms of endearment,
ruitting to mention tbe faet tbat Ger- ^
Mine was only a boat. A similar c
lunder is reported by tbe Philadelphia ^
elegrapb.
There were live passengers in tbe i,,
reet car, and as it approached fi crossig
the conductor called, "William." b
One:mau got up and went out.
"Ann!" announced tbe conductor, and S
woman left tbe car. y
Tucked away in the corner was a lit- p
e man with a foreign looking face, n
/hen the conductor called "George!" p
nd another passenger alighted, the d
tile man awoke to the situation. Ht c<
>.se. tiptoed down the aisle and whis t(
trod to the conductor: "Before you d
alls out de name of de lady in dere, c<
II tell you I wants to git off soon. My v*
air.u it !e Paul " i
:ri > '/ - '
+
Men Lave a more acute sense of
smell tiian women.
The banana and potato are almt^t
identical in cbemicai composition.
Electricity secured from the mountain
streams of France is poetically referred
to as "white eoal."
In five minutes the average man
tvould die for want of air; for want
jf water, in * week; for want of sleep,
in ten days.
In Chicago and New York, accordng
to recent statistics, pneumonia has
low superseded pulmonary tuberculosis
as the cause of greatest mortalty.
Men who talk much have tfcek
beards grow gray earlier than their
lair. The hair of men who arc studious
sr think much, becomes gray long
before their beards.
In the interest of preventing consumption
in the hoarding, schools of
Prance, only metal bedsteads are permitted,
every child older .than twelve
nust sleep in a room by itself, and in
the kitchen and the dining room scientific
precautions must be taker
igainst the disease.
SPORT f/F THE AUTOMANIAC
ffeceasity For Laws Governing 1113 Speed
o< tte Automobiles.
The JJassachusetts Legislature of
his year, after careful deliberation,
jassed a bill to regulate the use of
lutomobiles and motor cycles. It provides
for the registering of machines
md the licensing of their operators;
t limited their speed to fifteen miles
in hour on country roads, and to ten
mijes an hour in cities or the thickly
settled parts of towns. The law was tc
?0 -into, effect on the 1st of September,
*nd now before it has really had a
chance to be tried and its workings observed
the atitomobilists, it is understood,
are organizing to secure its relea
1 at the meeting of the next Lecisla
:ure. The registration of the machines
md the numbering of them plainly,
:ogether with the licensing of their
>perators for the purpose of identification,
appear to be particularly obloxious
to those affected by these
neasures.
This is thoroughly characteristic of
:he automaniac who wishes to indulge
n his favorite sport of rushing through
:he crowded streets and over country
oads at railroad), speed without the
ilightest regard for the rights of
)ther users of p,ublic highways and
hen to evade any responsibility foi? the
iccidents he may cause by avoiding
ecognition. Such individuals can be
estrained only by the most stringent
neasures. The Massachusetts law, as it
iow stands, is none too strict and is far
ess so than the Jaw which it has been
ound necessary to enact in England
tnd on the continent of Europe. Initead
of trying to have this law re?
>ealed, the automobilists would do well
o keep quiet lest a worse thing happen
:o them.
This orgaulzed effort to haye.the speed
imit both in town and country inreased
and to do away with the means
?f identifying those who violate the
itva in hoc portnin
jentlemen of prominence in Boston to
ssue a circular letter calling attention
o the matter. The letter asks for cooperation
in bringing this matter t<j the
ittention of candidates for election to
he Legislature, so as to secure a statenent
from them of their attitude in regard
to it. The law was passed after a
areful canvass and deserves a fair
rial for a year or more, so that its
fleets may be observed. Then, if it is
ound to work any real hardship to auomobilists,
modifications can be conidered.
Experience abroad has shown
low utterly inconsiderate of the rights
>f others many automobilists are and
hat severe punishment is the only
hing that will make such listen to reaon.
The Massachusetts law is comnendable
as far as it goes, and could
ie imitated with advantage in other
tates, and the people may be depended
ipon, as soon as their attention is
roused, to second the efforts of those
noving in opposition to the effort to
ecure its repeal.?Providence Journal.
Umbrellas Now Made to Orde.J
In these progressive days one is not
bliged to buy umbrellas "ready made"
nless one choose. It is quite the fashon
to go to a manufacturer and order
n umbrella made up to suit the indiidual
taste.
The handles and tips are in great vaiety?in
gold, silver, pearl, tortoise
bell and gun metal. Some are plaiu,
,-hile others are handsomely mounted
nd decorated. When the umbrella
rears out the handle and tips, if of
be best material, will be as good as
ew. The frame can then be turned
ver to an umbrella maker to re-cover.
Among the novelties in Christmas
ifts in the leading dry goods houses
rere handles and tips, which came
eautifully mounted in a box.
How Conld It Be a Mistake.
"What a woman doesn't know about
ewspapers isn't worm Knowing, x nether
morning Mrs. B. was talking to
er husband.
"I notice in the Daily Hoodoo that
Ir. Biffkins died on Sunday."'
"It's a mistake, my dear," replied the
usband. "He died on Monday.''
"But the paper said Sunday.''
*'1 know it, but it was an error in the
rint."
liI thought so, too, at first, but I got
half dozen copies of the paper, and
: was the same in all of them. They
ertainly couldn't have made the misike
over and over again."
The husband tried to convince her,
ut it was no use, and he gave it up.
Iiwl Seventy-five Groat-Grandchildren*
Mrs. Elizabeth McLean is dead at
camrrwn at the remarkable age of 107
ears. She was probably ibe oldest
erson in the State, and was the
lother of twelve children and the
randaaother of eighty-four gfandchilren,
most of whom are living in the
ammunity of Scammon and Fronjnac.
Seventy-five great-grandehilren
are known to be living in this
juntry, besides those in Ireland,
here she was born.?Topeka Capital.
r i
I
THEY WERE MOSTLY MISTAKEN
v \
A well-known Indiana man, ?
One dark night late last week
Went to the cellar with a match ,
In search of a gas leak. J
?fle found it.) x \
John Welch by curiosity < .
(Despatches state) was goaded;
He sauinted in his old shotgun I
To see if it was loaded. \
(It was.) .
A man in Macon stopped to watcu ^
A patent cigar clipper;
He wondered if hi6 finger wm
NoS quicker than the nipper. ! >
lit wasn't.) J
i A Maine man read that the human eye?
Of hypnotism were full;
He went to see if it would work
Upon an angry (bull.
(It wouldit't) V
' \
James Wilkin^ fancied if he dieV. V
The rolling sphere would stop;
i He took the gas route to see if _ V
The world would shut up shop.' V
(It didn't.)
?San Francisco Bulletin. I
Humor oj\
J I n^fa\r ' I
M V'uu, y/
Miss Withers?"When Harold* kissed
me he told me that be loved me." The
. Friend?"What a waste of Words."?
i Town Topics.
They shiver by the steam pipes,
i While their vigils drear they keep,
Tor the frost is on the window
And the janitor's asleep. j ,
"My friend," said the parson, "yott
should be content with what y<J?\
i have." "I am," replied the grumbler; V
"it's what I haven't got that worries \
me."?Chicago News. U \
The general opinion of the neighbors
is that the Chelsea girl who has ba<l
her winter bat trimmed with sprays
1 mistletoe has gone a step too far.-*
Somerville (Mass.) Journal. f?
'Tis hard tq get along in life '< .
If fortune' tyaile or frown,
Tor first you live your income up, )
1 Then try to live it down. \
-life.
"Our new company is capitalized at
$40,000,000." "Qreat! Let me see your
prospectus." "Ob, we haven't got out
n prospectus yet. The?er?the blamed
printer wants his pay in advance."?
L Puck. IJ '\
"Impressionism," said the fiance, as
1 he gazed ruefully at the powderstained
waistcoat, where her fair .head
bad restW, "may be all right, but it's
a poor thing in engagements."?Princeton
Tiger.
"Can you support my daughter ill
the style to which she has been accustomed?'
"No, siree! I don't Intend!
to keep..right on buying her candy and
flower?. She'll have to do without
that.'?Detroit Free Press. 1
"Why," he was asked, "do you give
your audience. so much ragtime
music?" "Because," said the great
bandmaster, swallowing a sob, "that's
all that gives me my glad rags and
my easy time."?Chicago Tribune. <.1
Henley?"So you liked my brother's
C&aging at the vaudeville show last
evening? And yet some people say.
he can't sing at all!" Bentley?"He
can't. That's what makes it so inter*
esting when he tries to."?Boston
Transcript. . ,
Manager?"I'm going to start a comedy
company on the rosd in a couple
of weeks." Crittick?"What's the
play?" Manager?"Oh, I haven't written
that yet, but I heard a good joke
to-day that we can use in it."?Pbila?
delphia Press. ! , >
Dasbaway?"A few short hours ago
I was sitting with a girl, telling her V
she was the only one in ail the world '
I ever loved, and so forth, and so
fortb." Cleverton?"And she believed
you, didn't she?" "How could she help
it? Why, I. believed it "my self."?Life.
"I believe in corporal punishment,"
said the man. "You can't bring up
children right by simply talkjn' to
them. I used to get licked nearly;
every, day when I was a b Dr." Then
seventeen people arose and shotted:
"Who wants further proof that-wliipi
ping is horrible?"?Chicago RecordHerald.
"
The Discovery of Badiniu.
It was at the close of the year 1897
that I began to study the compounds
of uranium, the properties of which
had greatly attracted my interest. Here A
was a substance emitting spontaneously
and continuously radiations similar
to Roentgen rays, whereas ordinarily.
Roentgen rays can be produced only in
a vacuum-tube with the expenditure
of electrical energy. By what process
can uranium furnish the same rays
without expenditure of energy and
without undergoing apparent modifiesT?
fhft ATllr H/V?T7 Tt'llAtfl
11U11* IQ uiauiuiii iuv vuij wvuj ?t uwjv,
compounds emit similar rays? Such
were the questions I asked myself, ami
it was while seeking to answer them
that I entered into the researches
which have led to the discovery of radium.
? Mme. Curie, in the Century. ^
Magazine. ,
Nature's Equilibrium.
Some twenty-five years ago mongooses
were imported into Barbados
to drive the rats which ate the sugar
cane. Now the sugar planters have
petitioned the governor to authorize
the destruction of the mongooses because
the latter, instead of confining
their attention to the rats, have driven
out many useful native animals, including
lizards, which were the enemies
of the moth-borer caterpillars.
The caterpillars are now left free to
penetrate the sugar canes, thereby,
making holes for the lodgment of destructive
fungi. Thus in the continual
struggle for existence nature herself in
often found to have established the
best system of equilibrium, interference
with which brings more ills thaa
it drives away.
o
Zinc White From Mine Slap.
News received from abroad would
seem to indicate that Trofessor Eller
shausen. a well-Known uerman cnemist,
iias invented a process of extract
ing ainc white from slag. He and Professor
Sir William Ramsay successfully
experimented at the Hafaa mine
in North Wales, showing that a ton "of <
zinc white can be extracted from i
fifteen tons of slag by a far simpler and I
cheaper process than is now used in ai M
roundabout production from spelter.
Great Britain imports about 200,000 ,*
tons of zinc white annually from the /
United States. Germany and Belgium, {
t
'