The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, June 19, 1907, Image 7
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IboN'T WEAR YOUR RUFFLES
ALL THE TDD2.
jOh! fussy folks who fret and fume
I And carp and sneer and criticise.
[Whose presence puts an end to peace,
f From whom all pleasure quickly tiies;
[Who never yet have found a place,
f A person, function, thing, or clime
ETo suit your aggravating souls,
Don't wear your ruffles all the time.
pfou make your troubles for yourself,
[ And ruffle others as you go; I
[You want December when it's May, ,
And sigh for roses in the snow;
iYou hate to hear the children laugh, 1
You think a frolic is a crime; 1
For other people's sakes, I pray, (
Don't wear your luriies all the time.
You tire of single life, perhaps, 1
"No boarding round," you say, "for me; i
T mean to wed and settle down I 1
Ir And take some comfort, yes, siree!" '
[But you're at odds with Hymen ere '
I The marriage bells have ceased to chime.
hJust take a bit of good advice? (
Don't wear your ruffles all the time.
Your train is never fast enough, '
I Your paper is not fit to read, 1
pour tailor cuts your garments wrong,
The drama, too, has gone to seed;
The waiter does not know his place,
The dinner is not worth a dime? ?
Tis thus you're always finding fault. ]
Don't wear your ruffles all the time.
For when you climb the starry stairs
That leaa above this earthly sphere, <
!An angel at the door will say, (
"You cannot wear your ruffles here."
So if you ever wish to see
The mansions of the blest sublime,
lAnd mingle with the seraphs there,
Don't wear vour ruffles all the time.
?Minna Irving, in Leslie's WeeLJy.
iiillHE SCAREDNESS
illfpF DORMS TRIPP
^?
in^w^wril By ANNIE HAMILTON
DONNELL
"Dear land, yes, we've had an epidemic
fast enough; down to the
Bridge! But it's over 'n gone, thank
goodness, an' nobody dead, without
it's me." Aunt Roxy Knapp's lean
old face wrinkled into a smile. "My
<iear," she added, "I can count the
little creatures that I didn't nuss on
the fingers o* one hand."
Aunt Roxy had come up river for
her annual visit to little Rosemary '
IXamont. Rosemary claimed Aunt
Rosy because, she reasoned, she
might have married Uncle Rufus Lamont
"as easy as not," in which case
she would have been an aunt,
^wouldn't she?
"I suppose you ain't heard how it
"happened? No, o( course not?well,
soon's I get my breath I'll tell you
the hull story. It's a kind of funny
story the way it's turned out, but,
dear land, it might've been solemn
enough! The Bridge folks ain't liable
to forgive Mis' Tripp for one
spell."
"Miss Tripp?" Rosemary queried,
4'0h, Mrs. Tripp, with so many little
!Tripps!"
"Five?boys and girls equally divided.
She's the one I mean, my
dear."
"Aunt Roxy!" Rosemary whirled
about from the kitchen stove, "how
do you equally divide five children?"
"Two boys, two girls, an' the
twins?one a boy an' one a girl, and
neither of 'em but a half. Two an'
two's four an' a half 'n' a half is another.
There's vour five children. ?
-equally divided, my dear!" Aunt g
Roxy's laugh wrinkled again pleas- *
antly. She put out a slender old hand j
lor Rosemary's cup of steaming tea. c
.Under its benign influence the epi- 3
4emic story unfolded. a
"Dorcas Tripp was born scared, g
an' it grew on her, till when she s
come to be married and have children t
^ declare to goodness if she wasn't j
most too scairt to bring 'em up! Ep- ,
idemics was her worst dread of all. c
She was always certain the children s
were going to catch something. It t
frightened her nigh to death to hear t
they was a case o* measels in town,
or mumps, an' when somebody
dropped in an' up 'n' told her Cornelia
Higgin's boarder's little girl had
the scarlet fever, you ought to've J;
seen Dorcas Tripp's face! Before
that caller dropped out all the little c
.Tripps had the scarlet fever and the
twins was dead an' buried.
"Well," Aunt Roxy took ?. reminiscent
sip cr two, "I heard how scairt ?
she was an' I went right over. 'Aunt J
Koxy,' says sne, as paie as a gnost, i :
wish you'd button the children up,
I've got to finish packing.'
" 'Packing,' I says, took all in a
heap. Then I saw she was cramming
things into valises like one possessed.
She never looked up but
kep' right on talking. 'I'm going to
Cousin Fiavilla's,' she says. 'The
children's got their best dresses on
for traveling?if you'll button 'em
up. An' I wish you'd hurry, Aunt
Ttoxy,' says she, hurrying like everything
herself, 'I'm not going to stay
in this plague-ridden town a minute
longer than I can help. Do you suppose
I want to bury my innocent little
children! The twins are delicate
?none o' the children could ever 1
stan* the scarlct fever. What I say t
is'?kind cf screaming it out?'that
people no business taking summer ,
Doaruers an perilling u:e lives oi their
innocent neighbors! Cornelia 1
Higgin ought to be ashamed of her- t
self! First she knows she'll have (
blood on hor soul:' " J
Aunt Rpxy rockcd creakily. Yes, j
she didn't Jtnow but she'd have an- J
otber cup ?' tea. Rosemary got it 1
with alacrity, its fragrant steam fill- ]
ing the little kitchen pleasantly. <
"Well, my dear (a mite more su- 5
gar, if you please), Dorcas went. In
less'n four hours after she heard the
news she was on her way to her Cousin
Flavilla's. You know where Fia- i
villa Cross lives, don't you? A <
dreadful manufacturingplace,swarm- 1
i 14- V? n T f MCA/1 t A K A rno ] 1
Willi lliiUUCld. 11, UOwU vw iw.Ui
aristocratic up where Flavilla's house '<
is, but it's all built up with them flat <
houses now. Dorcas stayed there till <
somebody wrote from the Bridge that 1
Cornelia Higgin's boarder's little '
girl's scarlet fever had turned out to s
be the teething rash. Then Dorcas <
packed up an' come flying home with
all the little Tripps a-tripping. My <
dear" (Aunt Roxy stopped rocking, i
stopped sipping tea; the teaspoon 1
marked off her words solemnly), <
"thy dear, in?just?seven?days? !
all?those?children?were?down!" <
k "Down?" ejaculated gentle Rose- i
mary, excitedly. It seemed the cru- i
tha ctrtrv A nnt- 1
CIcll iUVlUCUt Vi V.*A. ~ ? ^ <
Roxv's stories had crucial moments.
"'Yes, on the flats o' their poor lit*
tie backs with the scarlet fever.
They'd caught it playing with some o'
those little furriners."
The dramatic pause that followed
proved Aunt Rosy a true story teller.
Rosemary waited with kindly solicitude
to hear the fate of the little
Tripps.
"No." Aunt Roxy said, as if answering
her thought, "they didn't
nary one of 'em die. I nussed 'em
all," with unconscious egotism, "an'
they all come out of it without being
leef or blind or anyways afflicted.
But they set the fever agoing all over
the Bridge, that's what they did. We
ap an' had a regular epidemic o' scarlet
fever. Only the Lord's mercy
kep' a lot of us from dying."
"And your nursing, Aunt Roxy,"
:ried Rosemary, lovingly. "Didn't
that make Mrs. Tripp feel ashamed
Df herself, 'perilling the lives of innocent
neighbors?' "
"Dorcas feel ashamed? Well, she
was a'most too scairt for that. She
didn't have a chance to feel anything
but scairt for one spell. But I was
over there last night, an' I must say
there was something sort of chastened
about Dorcas?sort of chastened.
No, my dear?no, no?I don't
never take more'n two cups at a
time."?me uountry uenueman.
UNUNIFORM MEDICINES.
Wide Geographical Distribution and
Age Make Drugs Unreliable.
So, because any mail, however igttorant,
with any motive, however ignoble,
may manufacture and sell any
of the 50,000 compounds known to
organic chemistry and may allege for
them what curative powers he will;
and because, too, of this unlimited
opportunity for fraud among the old2r
drugs, it becomes a matter of no
surprise to learn that at the present
time among the great number of
Brms manufacturing remedial agencies
there is the greatest conceivable
iiversity of science, sincerity and
wisdom.
These drugs come from the uttermost
parts of the earth?from the
lank forests of Brazil, from the frozen
Siberian steppes, from the banks
>f the "gray green, greasy Limpopo
River, all set about with fever trees,"
or from "silken Samarkand," but alnost
everywhere they are gathered
jy barbarous peoples, the lowest of
jarth's denizens. It is small wonder,
:hen, that with any one plant there
should be a variation among its individual
specimens in the proportion
)f the active medicinal agent it conains.
But when we add to this the fact
:hat, in general terms, the per cent.
)f the active ingredient depends on
;he amount of sunshine it enjoys, on
.he time of the year it is gathered,
sven on the time of tne day, on the
imount of moisture, the elevation,
he character of the soil and a dozen
)ther factors, it becomes almost a
lecessity of thought that the amount
>f "medicine" in that plant must
-arv from a maximum to nothing at
ill.
A man's wife goes bravely down
o the gates of death to pass through,
>r, if it may hap, to com?' slowly
>ack, bearing radiantly with her the
laming torch of another life. Ergot
s required. Now, ergot is a fungus
growing upon rye, where it destroys
ind displaces the ovary of the plant,
t comes from Russia, Austria, Spain,
Jweden, and where not; its chemical
maiysis aoes not seem 10 yieia run*
ible information, for its active conitituents
are not definitely undertood.
Finally, the physiological acivity
of the drug may be good, or
ittle, or zero, just as it may chance,
vhile after the lapse of a year it beomes
unfit for use. Yet it is to this
ubstance, so utterly variable, that
he physician must trust the life of
he woman and the child.?Harper's.
Evolution of the Apple.
From Professor L. H. Bailey's vallable
book on "Plant Breeding," we
ake the .following extract from the
:hapter on the "Evolution of the
^.pple:"
The original apple is not definitely
mown, but it was certainly a very
imall and inferior, crabbed fruit,
lome mostly in clusters. When we
irst find it described by historians
t was still of small value. Pliny said
hat some kinds were so sour as to
? ?J ~? ? i.?:p-. T>
attti Liitr eu&t; uii a kuilc. dui ucuri
iud better seedlings continued to
:orae up about habitations, until,
vhen printed descriptions of fruits
)egau to be made, three or four hunIreds
years ago, there were many
lamed kinds in existence. The size
lad vastly improved, and with this
ncrease came the reduction of the
lumber of fruits in the cluster, so
hat, at the present time apple flow?rs
are borne in clusters, the fruits
ire generally borne singly. That is,
nost of the flowers fail to set fruit,
md they complete their mission when
hey have shed their pollen for the
jenefit of the one which persists.
The American colonists brought
vlth them the staple varieties of the
iiother countries. But the needs of
;he new country are unlike those of
he old, and the tastes and fashions
)f the people were changing. So, as
seedlings came up about the buildngs
and along the fences, where the
seeds had been scattered, the ones
which promised to satisfy the new
leeds best were saved, and many of
;he old varieties were allowed to pass
lway.
Fruits of Reclamation Service.
Figures are now available coverng
the work of reclamation carried
>n from the organization of that service
pursuant to the act of Congress
n 1902 to the first of this year. As
1 result of the operations, which are
conducted under authority of the
Geological Survey, eight new towns
iiave been established, 100 miles of
branch railroads have been constructed
and 10.000 people have tak?n
up their residence in the desert.j
ro pave the way for these homeseek?rs
the Government has dug 12 67
miles of canals?nearly the distance
Fr?r\rt-? Wochincrtnn tn O m o Vi o Qnmo
of these canals carry whole rivers,
like the Truckee River in Nevada
and the North Platte River in Wyoming.
Forty-seven tunnels with
an aggregate length of nine and onebalf
miles have been excavated.
I lUOTHED RtllRHAn F
miUlllLll IlillLlIUnu 1
Only About One Hundred and Twe
the Isthmus of Tehuante
For Big 5
On the isthmus of Tehuantepec, in
the country through which runs the
aew railroad from Salina Cruz on the
Pacific to Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf
of Mexico, the rapid growth of vegetation
is said to be one of the most
serious problems in the maintenance
*\ /&";& 5:/: "v.:?.?/,
!.'. " J..VA .
pf-.'L*; JHEX
. ?%*!.? rM
Miw *
f 'vV-V^TE
"\W V?.V/- / v'i-i
! .*
? : v:.-: : : ? . . : :
MAP 6F TH
of the road. The engineers found, in
fact, that the tropical vegetation
grew faster than the force of men at
their disposal could cut it down. After
a number of experiments it was
found that boiling water was most
effective in eradicating this too-willing
vegetation, and now, just as the
roadbeds of northern roads are
sprinkled with oil to lay the dust, the
line of the Tehuantepec road is liberally
scalded at frequent intervals
to keep cocoanut groves and sugar
plantations from springing up over
night between the ties and blockading
the road.
Writing Table.
A Chicago man has devised and
patented an exceedingly useful combination
writing&iesk and table, an
?
Table and Writing Desk,
illustration of which is shown below.
Although at all times convenient, Individual
writing desks are not used
THE CAT OUT
Chatty Old Gentleman (as they 1
lent view of the asylum from the rail\
Escaped Lunatic?"Ah, but you c
asylum!"
Pencil Sharpener.
Every large manufacturing plant
long since recognized the value of a
La.ff? I
I ~ I
Grinds Pencil to a Point.
good pencil sharpener?one that
would do the trick a f?w seconda.
l rr
ROM OCEAN TO OCEAN.
-i.. II! I no I nnn Qui It PcnppAf*
niy-nvc mucd tung, uui h uiudoco
pec?Harbors at Each End
Steamships. t
At least until the Panama Canal la f
completed, many expect that the
greater burden of traffic between the
Atlantic and the Pacific will be
handled by the Tehuantepec National,
qn account of geographical advantages,
as it affords the shorter
Msisal I
r k(
* *'-:'A - I?,
> tr
;/n <;:bV^ m
Uity'immm
SB**,
miSSMm -
Pi
E ISTHMUS. pi
route between the chief commercial (
ports of the world.
The isthmus of Tehuantepec is situated
in the southern portion of ?
Mexico, in the States of Oaxaca and ^
Vera Cruz. From ocean to ocean the
distance is 125 miles. Considering w
the fact that the Sierra Madre Mountain
range' crosses the isthmus, the aJ
territory is comparatively level.
From the Atlantic, or Gulf of Mexico
side, the rise is gradual, culminating p
in Chivela Pass at a height of only rg
730 feet. From that point to the Pacific
or to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, ?
the descent is abrupt.
1
to any great extent at the present jt
time. The ordinary table usually
serves the purpose, paper and pencils j0
being placed in a nearby drawer. Wi
How much more useful the table w,
i shown here would be. This table has
an open top, fitting into which is the so
triangular drawer. The latter is di- ,ja
vlded into small compartments for j
holding pens, pencils," paper and ai
other writing accessories. When not
used as a writing desk, the drawer is a
lowered and the top of the table m
pushed back in guide ways, com- iepletely
hiding the drawer from view.
The table can then be used as the w]
ordinary small table for reading, etc. he
?Philadelphia Record. UI
qi
Country Doctors Dying Out. *n
rs
The country doctor is rapidly becoming
extinct as a species. The men ^
one meets at their societies look, ^
dress, talk and act as the men do at ^
any meeting of city physicians. The fir
papers presented are quite up to thfe
city standard, the discussions markedly
above those of the city men. The
surgical experiences related would tQ
astonish some men who think the t
city clinics and clinicians do all of
this work, or at least all ihat is well
done.?Kansas City Star. .
wc
V'v ' of
* :.' 1>'' .,-- ' .\ '.'. l '- . *: :** *. ' v ' "' \\*'< (10
ha
' 1 1 * .I. i n i
OP THE BAG. pj?(
)ass the asylum)?"We get an excel- an
vay." shi
>ught to see the railway from the jij]
|C01
Take, for instance, a telephone ex- 57
change, where each operator is sup- | t
nlied with a counle of freshly sham- pit
ened pencils about five or six times a mi
day in exchange for her old ones. A frc
hundred operators keep one boy busy jU!
putting points on pencils. Some of ra<
the pencil sharpeners now in use will rei
slice off the wood, but the lead must
be sharpened by hand. The pencil wi
sharpener shown here wiil trim off foi
both the wood and the lead at the
same time. The illustration shows "s
clearly the method of operation. The tei
end of the pencil to be sharpened is qu
forced by a guide against the emery re
wheel. The latter is operated by cog- tic
wheels and a handle. A few quick qu
turns of the latter will put a fine ha
point on the pencil.
th
A professor in Copenhagen University
is said to chloroform plants.
After severe* days they bud in great
profusion.
French shipping bounties have in- to
creased the number of vessels re- et
gar disss of demand for them.
CONFIDENCES OF A C
*****?$*?**?*** * *$
When I sit down with pencil and
iper and jot down the amounts I've the
ade during the past year in my pro- w^e
(ssion as a confidence man, the total "Yo
aggers me. What have I done with >"?u
? T have snuandpred mrmpv like a
rince and borrowed it a week later T
ke a beggar. I have missed my a
reakfast in order to "skin" a greenorn
of $700 and lost it all before I to v
3t my lunch. I have helped a stran2r
unload $10,000 in a "framed- me?
p" poker game and then gone to 0
*ound the corner and lost the whole B
>11 bucking another poker game, side
here is one thing I'm sure of?I'm Yell
nart enough to get another man's I w
oney, but I'm not smart enough to proi
=ep it. at t
I saw in a paper the other day a race
3t of the salaries they pay to Con- ^
ressmen, members of the Cabinet, ?Pei
upreme Court Justices, Governors bett
id a lot of those big guns. I make aton
ore than any of them, and I haven't and
cent when the notice comes up the
om the office to pay the room rent mon
move. It's always so with bunko It
en. While he is framing up a game the 1
lat will "skin" other "suckers," was
>mebody else has a game waiting leng
iat will "skin" him. as i
<10 It." tjauu
Our intended was properly imessed,
and we made a date for the aske
Mowing morning, when I was to "<
,ve the electric boot in evidence. Wht
I had to borrow $25 from the own- "1
of the poker game where I usually wen
3t my money to buy the boot the gam
st thing in the morning. nigh
I was up bright and early and and
ught the boot and spurs. Inside high
is as pretty a little battery as you ular
er saw. It seemed a shame that and
e boot was not to be used. Thei
My man showed up, prompt to the and
;nute, and I proceeded to show him hind
iw the contrivance worked. He time
is delighted. Then I told him that coul
would have to give me his money in a
bet, as I didn't intend to trust any- I bo
dy with the secret of the horse's left
me until post time, and he was me.
out to demur. . aces,
"Look here," said I, "I'll write the just
me of the horse on a sheet of pa- bluff
r, put it in an envelope addressed the :
you and leave it at a messenger He s
ice with instructions for them to low
liver Jt to you at post time. You kind
e to give me your money now to like
ke over with me. If that doesn't he s
it you everything i? off as far as him.
u are concerned." and
He hesitated a minute, but we had mon<
sured him that my horse would be "1
good as fifteen to one, and the read
ought of the amount he'eould win it, b
ercame his scruples. He handed hous
er $700 in gold to me to bet. I the f
is to keep a third of the amount ing j
in to give to the "jockey." ' W
In this sort of business the money, "L
course, is not bet at all. I wrote mom
wn the name of a horse that didn't At
ve a chance and put it in an envel- ent
e and pocketed the $700 as a clear pal s
ofit. The "sucker" came to me for Our
explanation that night, and I "tipr
owed him a fake ticket shoeing mere
m that I had bet the money-^ Of I coi
urse he had no redress. "fret
But to return to the fate of the "sucl
00 after it dropped into my pocket, ings
lad been in such a hurry to get the ?th
:ctric boot in time that I missed tips
r breakfast. When I separated mon<
the "greeny" it was after 12? not
st time to take the boat for the clien
:e track. I went from my room di- it on
?.tly to our rendezvous, where I thize
?t my pal and divided the money only
th him. Then I jumped on a car tome
r the ferry and was oif to the races. Th
In my pocket I had $350 of the best
ucker's" money a#d a lonely quar- luck
of my own. Five cents of the adve
arter went for carfare and with the near!
mainder I bought a round-trip steer
ket across the bay. In conse- game
ence when I boarded the boat I next
d nothing but gold in my pockets. Jose
1 had intended to get my lunch on recei
e boat, as I was hungry by that twen
ne, but on the after deck I met an Tt
ftotnnt Inoi* in r>nA nf thp hie Ktn- vmrli
js at the track. I als
"What's good to-day?" I asked the i
m after we had chatted a while. 000
"Got any money?" was his answer was
my question. I jingled my pock- was
full of gold. J p.Qth
; vV: ' ' . "'V-'-A
ONFIDENCE MAN. "
There is something coming off in
first race," he hastened to say
n he heard the clinking twenties,
u'll do the right thing if I put
wise?"
You know me," I said.
hen he went on to tell me about'
frame-up" in the first race by
ch a horse called Yellowstone wasrin.
tt is all cut and dried," he assured
"and you will get ten or twelve
ne for your money."
e'fore the boat reached the other
I had agreed to bet |200 on
owstone in the first race. Also
as still without my lunch, but I
nised myself that I would get it
;he track immediately after the
i.
fhen the odds went up for the
ling eventkI went round the ring
ing $20 at a crack on Yellowe.
Others were doing the same,
before post time every book in
ring was loaded with Yellowstone
,ey.
wa3 a mile race, and the minute
barrier went up I knew my money
burned up. Yellowstone got off
:ths behind the field?might just
it V 1 Kfi iU M
Why, back in Chicago, where we 1
jed to work the crooked faro dodge isbe
1 every stranger we caught loitering my
ound a hotel, there was an Oregon pocl
imbler who ran a faro game on Wa- gna1
ish avenue exclusively for bunko my
en. That's a fact. He had a big whe
ay. too, and went to Europe on his kne1
oflts. Every night you'd see the igan
:on" men line up around his faro $10*
ble and go against the same game favc
which they had trimmed the yok- "]
s earlier in the evening. It was a said
ivate game and none but '"con" I
en and crooks had the entree. No- elbo
>dy seemed to think it strange, and and
e lost our money about as regularly The
: we made it. Of course, we didn't furii
ways lose the first night, but it was boy
ily a matter of time. coni
There are no faro games in San fere
rancisco, but craps, poker and the bad
.ces do just as well, and keep the aboi
ing hunting fresh marks without A
ly let-up. Not very long ago I ting
ade half of $700 and lost it before I sa
had the price of a lunch out of it. nice
happened this way: taur
My partner and I picked up a fel- lunc
w in a place on O'Farrell street who didn
as anxious to beat the races. We coffc
ere ready to help him. My pal told race
m he knew a horseman who had incli
J ? -* - * f/N V
meming guou coming uu in a lew ^ ?
iys, and introduced me as the man. even
was offish and didn't want to have out
lything to do with outsiders, but A
lally, after the stranger had bought ring
dinner for all of us, I warmed a hors
;tle to him and agreed that I would dow
t him in on the deal. - was
"We'll make no mistakes," said I, and
hen it had been agreed that our the
>st was to be a party to the clean- coul
). "My horse worked the three- of b
larters in thirteen flat this morn- whil
g, and there isn't a thing in the I
ce that ever did better than four- that
en and a half. But I'm taking no but
ances." Here I leaned over toward the
em, looking around cautiously, as wou
afraid of being overheard and low- wou
ed my voice. mini
"I've got an electric boot," I whis- offred,
"and I'll win that race if I His
,ve to turn my nag into a dynamo in t
^ -V
wen navo oeeu i?n aw tue yuoi..
rail a cracking good race and find
fourth, but that did not save
$200. I still had $150 in my
cet and was standing in the ring
wing my mustache and snapping
fingernails in my disappointment
n a man-about town whom I
w came up and told me that Mich?
i Smith, the plunger, had sent
00 into the ring to be bet on the
irite, which was then two to one.
[t looks like a cinch," my friend
as he drifted away.
didn't hesitate a moment, but
wed my way to the nearest book
handed over my remaining $150.
horse was beaten a nose after a
3us drive. Everybody said the
tossed the race away by overidence.
It didn't make any difnce
to me anyway. The books
that $350, which was all I cared
it.
s I turned back toward the betring
cursing myself for a fool,
w a fellow being served with a
, thick porterhouse in the resant.
Then I remembered my
h." Gee, I was hungry, and I
,'t have the price of a cup of
5e about me. On the first two
s I had lost all my money, even
iding the $25 I had borrowed
>uy the boot. I hadn't bought
i a shave or a shine or a lunch
of the money.
s I "mosied" gloomily ?.round the
the rest of the day and saw the
es I would have bet on win right
a the line I tried to figure what
the difference between myself
the "sucker" who had given up
$700. The only difference I
d see was that I had the privilege
etting my money before losing it,
e he had not.
had to walk up from the ferry
night for the lack of carfare,
I was comforted somewhat by
thought that Mitky, my pal,
Id lend $50 or even $100, and I
Id be on my feet again. The
ute I saw him I knew it was all
-that his money was gone, too.
face was longer than anybody's
own. Before a word was said
i knew the other was "broke."
iVhat did you lose yours on?" he
id.
jood things in the first two races,
sre did you drop yours?"
Poker game," he answered. "I
t up to where there was a big
e going. They had been at it all
,t. I lamped around for a while
saw that they were playing them
and loose. One fellow in particwas
bluffing on every other hand ,
standing 'pat' if anybody stayed.
i he'd shove in his whole pile
make 'em lay down. I stood be.
him and he did that a couple of
i without a pair in his hand, as I
d see. So I thought that I'd sit
nd wait for him to try it again,
ught checks for a hundred and
the rest of the $350 in front of
The first hand I picked up three
Somebody opened the pot. I
stayed to draw them on and the
er raised us $50. We both saw
raise and drew two card^s apiece,
itood pat. Knowing how the felhad
been bluffing on the same
of a play my three aces looked :
a cinch. We both passed and
hoved in all he had in front of
The other fellow laid down j
I called him, putting in all the j
ey I had.
?hree aces here," I said, and was <
tiing for the pot, I was so sure of j
ut he showed down a small full '
e and took the money. I left ?
;^me minus my $350 after play- <
ust one hand."
e were silent for a while.
,et's go out and rustle up dinner i
ay," I said at last, and we went, i
. the commencement of the pres- ?
racing meeting at Oakland my f
ind I opened a "tipping" bureau. 1
idea was that he would run the <
>ing" game and I would pose f
sly as a customer. In this way i
aid hang around the office and
ize" on to any likely looking
kers" who appeared. His dealwere
to be strictly on the square
at is, he would sell a couple of J
a day and refund the buyer's ^
jy. as per agreement, if they did
win. If I landed any of the
ts for a bunch of money I did t
the outside and my pal sympad
with them, but told them he ,
knew me as an occasional cus- ^
**' * c
le business prospered beyond our
hopes. Micky had all kinds of j
in picking the winners and by f
rtising we soon had an income of .
[y $200 a day. In addition I t
ed one of our clients into a poker >
; where he lost 53500, and the 1
day I caught a boy from San
for $5 000, which he had just
ved from his guardian on his
ty-first birthday. ?
iese "killings" set us un in the i
d, and we lived like millionaires. I
o had luck at the track, and in t
middle of December I had $18.- r
in a safe deposit vauit. That i
the heyday of our prosperity. It r
a common thing for us to have t
ins but a tip for the waiter left I
I
' ' - "
, . , .. v... ; ; ' ; "
''
"
jm
tmm*out
of a $100 bill after we had had
dinner. But we didn't care nor even
think about it. It's easy to be prodigal
when you have ?18,000 in a box
waiting to be spent and more coming
in every day. V~
But it wasn't long before the tide
turned. In the first place we struck
a losing streak with our tips and the
$200 a day dropped off until we
scarcely paid office rent. Meanwhile
I was dropping big wads of coin at
the track. I couldn't seem to pick
them right. One day I lost $4500.
On another $2800. My roll couldn't
stand that long, and on New Year's '
Day I took our last thousand over
to the track. I intended to bet on
two horses?Firestone, which I knew,
was likely to prove the best two-yearold
on the Coast, and Proper, in the
New Year's Handicap. A horseman
persuaded me to stay off Firestone,
which he said was not ready to race,
and at the last moment I switched
from Proper to Logistilla. The latter
was left at the post and Proper
won.
On the way back that night I felt
natural. I was hroke. I've been
broke ever since, and the way things
look now I am likely to stay that way,
for the easy marks are staying out of
my path, If there are any In town.
Now, I am an old hind at all kinds
of gambling. I make my living b# VI
knowing more about that sort of'
thing than the man whose money I
want, and yet I squander all I make in
going against games in which my,
money isn't worth ten cents on the
dollar the moment I sit in.
Years ago I was talking with John
Condon, the blind racetrack magnate '
of Chicago. We were discussing
gambling and the chances a man has
to win. ' h|
"Well," said Condon, "there's only; -39
one way to beat a gambling game. \
Make the. other fellow go against
your game. With me any time a
man didn't want to go against my;
game there was no play." ..<]
Shrewd old John Condon hit the
nail on the head. As long as the
" suckers" play my game I get the
money. The moment I begin to
gamble in any other game where another
man has the percentage I lose
my money the same as any other
"sucker." I know ttys and yet 1 go
right on losing my money. Why?, . f|
TVioro'a a rrmnnririim. Tf T had 110.
000 I'd give it all to know the answer.?San
Francisco Chronicle. '
J
Although South America has about
twice the area of the United States, - . V:
it has only half the population. i 7^
Life insurance companies in Japan
are paying sixteen (per cent, dlvi- <
dends. In one of them the directors '
got only ?3100 fees for their year's
work.
Lancaster County, Pa., has twentyone
Presbyterian churches, and at
least three of the congregations are
almost 200 years old.
wounaea HiiK, a iuu-oiooaea oiuux.
missionary, Is organizing a revival
movement in New Tork City. He has
a wonderful flow of simple oratory,
besides a majestic presenoe. 1
The consensus of opinion among , jj|
historians is to the effect, that the
most ancient city is Damascus. There
is no doubt about the fact that
Damascus has the longest continuous
history of any city in the world.
Lord Breadalbane has more deer
on his estates than any landowner in
the United Kingdom, and yet, when
he was Lord Steward, among his perquisites
was a present of six bucks
and six does every year from the
royal herd. .
The Tower of Babel, at Babylon,
was composed of eight square towers,
one upon the other, the pile being
660 feet high. Babylon was a,
square, fifteen miles on each side, the
walls being eighty-seven feet thick
ahd 370 feet high.
The English occupation of India *
began with the administration of
Clive, in 1763. The present population
of India is 240,000,000. The
English residents in India, civil and
military, number less than 100,000.
Porson was a great talker and a
man of immense learning, and Caryle
was not far behind him, but both
svere handicapped by temperamental
lifficulties. Perhaps the greatest and
most admirable all-round conversa;ionalist
was Lord Macaulay, with
Dliver Wendell Holmes as a close soc>nd.
Horseshoeing is very ancient. It,
s represented on a coin of Tarentum,
5outh Italy, about 300 B. C. Iron
md bronze horseshoes have been
ound in tumuli in France, Germany, j
3elgium and England. It is, o?
:ourse, impossible to designate the
irst instance in which a bronze or
ron horseshoe was used.
To Encourage Thrift.
A New York man has just patented
i device for the encouragement of
hrift. It consists of a toy savings
>ank with a clock attachment. The
ilock is set in the face of the bank
md cannot be wound unless a dime
s dropped in the slot. As winding '
:auses the dime to fall into the vault
ind the clock will run but twenty'our
hours without rewinding the
:ontrivance assures an accumulation
>f seventy cents a week. The theory
s that the necessity of deDositins: a
lime every day will lead to slicing
n other coins at odd moments and1
hus establish a habit of saving.?
sew York Sun.
Automobiles and Coaching.
James Martin, at whose North'
Side stables the "Blue Dog" coach
\hich was used to make trips to
lighland Park was kept, says that
he arrival of the automobile has
iractically killed the sport of coach-J
USJ 1U ^Uicagu. iutric 10 uu?y ix\j u.vruand
for drags and brakes, alhough
they used to be most iiopuar.?Chicago
Evening PQ3t,._
J