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TIIE DEAD CLOWN". t6 By two nrid t-.vo the dumb clod? dcnchicg rf.lll. The planished spades are plied and plied above: The sly contemptuous crow's a meekly dove. Lugubrious in the willow 'gainst the wa!i. But one tiling hurts; I'd hoped (as I recall ), f At "Dust to du.il" my pretty perfumed k' 'ove flight not think shame to soil her tiny glove; But. as for that, 1 do not care at all. ? Not much, that is: and now \ must be sure To try and steep, and not to think nf her Who loved me in the wastral nights of old. I have it now. my hard-won sinecure. Tint. <cnniiilin\v f.ifo T rSf"H?rt*illlpr And though I'm happy here, the ground is cold. ?James E. Richardson, in Tito Reader. 1 A BARGAIN 1 h OF LOVE, d | By AUSTIN MA1TLAND. | "I am supposed to meet him tonight," she said. "And what will happen then?" he asked, with amusement in his eyes. She shrugged her shoulders. "Father will keep an eye on me and see that he takes me in to supper. He will point us out to every one and make me feel horribly un comfortable." She threw her head back in annoyance. "The sense of duty about it ail is so odious," she added. "I can quite understand it," he said sympathetically, and then amusement crept into his eyes again as he remarked: "And what will you do?" She clasped her hands about her knees and looked out between the curtains that protected the alcove in ?- which taey were sitting irom the hall. Through them she could see into the ballroom, where a gay waltz was in riotous progress. Everybody seemed careless and happy there. There was no one condemned as sue had been. If there had been no binding in the arrangement, it might all have been so different, she might have felt even her curiosity awakened to :;ich a pitch that it would certainly have been interesting. But to be compelled by circumstances?she who, until the calamity had come to her father's financial affairs, had been accustomed to every wish being grati^ fled?to be compelled to marry a man. whom shf> hart onlv heard nf from very vague and indefinite sources, merely because it was a family understanding?it was quite a different matter. Its advantages were those which, at her age, she could not realize at their full value. That she lie would be left penniless, if she did not fT. comply with the agreement, was al^ most incomprehensible to her. The v duty of supporting herself had never L fallen to her lot, and now when it came to self-interest ? almost selfpreservation?she felt the irksome ness or us oeiug tnrust upon ner -shoulders. V And lastly?to make it all harder 1^ still?Cyril Foster had been staying with them for the Easter holidays, and for the ball, which, for the last W few days, she had learned to look upon as a fatality. She had never heard of him before as a friend of her father's. It would have made very little difference if she had. for he had already won a higher place in her cctimation than any man had over occu| pied before. In a moment of regret, as She looked at his face, she had told him all about the doom that was hanging -over her, and. unlike other men. whoso sympathies would have jarred upon her, he had tried to laugh it into forgetfu'nesj. "It hasn't come to the point yet," he said, "and people arc given moments like these to enjoy themselves in." J As she sat with her hands clasped over her knees, she thought over his question. What would she do? She scarcely knew. It was really unkind of him to ask her. "Oh. I should be a fool if I didn't marry him," she said. She may have hoped to make him jealous, and litmay have seen the eCort, f^r he leaned forward and looked into her t face. "You will marry him if he comes''" he said. "I suppose so," she said, as indiff n f 1 v? on c-V> a /?n. 1 ^ iti mi * a.o one cumu. He took oat his watch. "Is he the only man who cculi make?" he hesitated, fearing to hurt her feelings, "who could make you happy and comfortable?" "Happy?" She laughed a littlein disgust, at the word being applied to such a case. "It's the old, o!:l story of his land being next to our::, and the combination would keep father well off for the rest of hi? life," she said. "Horribly sordid, isn't it?" she added. T-Tc. of V?;? 11.. iiv, iwv/atu Ut, *ii?> waiv.il Li lucail) . but said nothing. "You don't help me in tho least," she said. "Why don't you suggest something?" "I thought that, you'd made up your mind?" h?. said, smiling. She sighed petulantly, thinking he might have kuown that she did not mean it. "What time is he supposed to cor.ie?" he asked after a pause, v "Oh, no special time," she replied. T "Most men turn up late?and I don't suppose his anxiety is so very great." "Are you fond of making bargains?" he asked?it seemed a little I'rrolnvQntlv 4**VTr*et wnnian oi*o " "How do you mean?" she askcJ, looking at him in surprise. Ho took up her program, whore it was hanging from her fan. and toyed with the pencil attached to it. "Well," he said, "I've got a proposition to make to you." She felt almost an exaggerated curiosity about what he was going to say. - "What is it?" s:,e asked. ^ He held his watch out in front oi him cn tViaf hnfli r?f thpm rnnlri it Uill'f vwv..? ?W 4V. "It's now a quarter to 11," he said She nodded. "The possibilities are that he will come any time betv.een this and 12; there's not a train after that, Is there?" "No," she replied. "Xow, I make this suggestion," he said, stiii holding the watch in front of him, "in all earnestness, not thinki i n ?r Ihnf T n m lic*1nin?r vmv nut nf n difficulty, and probably only throwing you Into another one, but because"?he took her hand?"because I love you, Connie?and it is a bargain. Now, the man who proposes a bargain is always the one who is going to gain by it, and I shall gain everything." She was leaning back in the wicker chair, and her breath was coming faster with each word that he said. "What do ycu propose?" she asked, almost in a whisper. "When the hand gets round to there," he said, pointing with his finger to the face of the watch, "what hour will it be?" "A quarter to 12," she replied, wondering. "Just an hour from now?" Q h a or?/-1 c rn il n r? carllv K'4-V, IWUUv-U UUU . "Well, if when that hour is over, and he lias not come then, will you marry me instead?" "I said that he might come at any time till 12," she said, smiling in spite of herself. "I know you did. and that quarter of an hour is my interest on the bargain. I am quite fair with you. I offer you all the happiness of my love?against the comfort that you will gain with his money?not that you will be a pauper with me. And the advantage that I have over him lies in that quarter of an hour. Will you consent?" She looked at him questioningly. "What do you think you will gain if he does not come?" she asked. "All the happiness in life," he answered. "Are you sure that you are thinking only of me?" "No?nearly all for myself. You will think of yourself when you give me the answer." "Then I will consent," she said, "and"?she placed her hand in his? "I hope that he will not come!" It was twenty minutes to 12, and she felt her heart beating with each stroke of the clock that stood in the hall. He had not come yet, and all her newly found love was yearning that he might not come at all, or be late in coming. She was sitting in the same alcove, but with another partner, whose conversation she could barely pay attention to. And then in one moment al1 life seemed suspended in her body?a cold chill penetrated her very bones. The bell at the front door had pealed across the music that was throbbing in the ballroom. It could be no one but he at such an hour. She watched the door narrowly, in the fear of anxiety, as the butler went to open it, There was a rush of cold air, and she shivered?partly it seemed with an j ticipation. I Then she turned away as a figure | that she dared not look at came intc j the warmth of the hall. "Aren't you well?" her partnei asked, and almost before she could | answer him she heard her father's voice speaking and she turned hei ; face away. j "I'll go and get you some tea,'1 j her partner said anxiously, and bej fore she could tell him not to mind 1 about it he had left her. Still she j did not look round until she heard her father say as he reached the alI cove and stood outside the curtain, "Gcd bless you, my boy." And then the shadow of a familiar figure fell on her eyes. It was Cyril Foster. i "Then it wasn't he?" she cried, a new happiness in her voice. "Yes, it was," he said, "but he knew that under another name only j could he hope to make you love him. i Let's call the bargain settled."?New York Weekly. Cowboys Not Extinct, After All. i Despite the predictions about his prising, with which sentimental ! writers have bean favoring the public of late years, the Western cowboy ig /mi q vorffu nf ovHnoMnn j When owners of largo herds of cattle J were permitted to fence vast areas of pasture land, which they had leased, .the number of cowboys was greatly reduced. Since ail the cattle were within fence and within easy reach of the ranch house, there was no need of bold horsemen to ride among Vns herds and "cut out" cattle, for all those herded belonged to one . owner. Now, however, under the rulings of the Department of the Ini lerior, the wire fences must be reJ moved and all ranges will again be , free. Catlle will wander from one | watering plrce to another and graze over Uirfertr. areas, so that there will j again be ne. d o I conceited movement.-: among catile men for the 'round-ups," in which animals bearing their respective owners' brands will be separated. No difficulty is anjticipatod it?. securing men experi1 cured in tho handling of cattle, as ' well a'j tha nccessary number of inJ experienced youths who desire the excitement of a wild, open-air life; : !mt cattlc men are somewhat con; corned as to the outlook for good ' row ponies. Ranch men and stock owners have kept only the small supply needed for themselves, aud for ia time it is likely to be hard to find i many horses which have been broken jlo llic work of cattle-herding.? i Lv.lie's Weekly. Some French Farming. "I found more to interest me In rir.nl France than in her capital," v ; iivs 12. F. Burabam, of San Frail"While in many parts of the j public agriculture has been brought ' to a high state of perfection, in some of tho departments it is still in a primitive condition. In La Vendee, for instance, I saw women spinning with those old instruments, the dislaff and spindle, which were in use JOrtO years ago. Throughout that locality sheep were kept for their milk, were worked at the nlow and harrow, the wheat was ground by windmills, and the women went to ; market in little carts drawn by donkeys. Another odd sight was the portable stills, which went from farm (o farm making brandy, of which the 1 district produces a considerable quantity." _ A MOORISH PUKi-HMiNT IV! OFFENDER RIDING WITH FAC] Pnnnlinr TYiictflftn. A dustpan constructed along scientific and correct lines has been patent| ed by a North Carolina man and Is | shown here. It will prove interesting to the housewife at once on account of its peculiar formation, being hardly recognizable as a dustpan. It consists of the usual tray, at the end of which is an elongated receptacle * i ?~ ? - I i ? which Is open at each end, the opening ertending beyond the sides of the tray. Where the receptacle connects with the tray is a long opening about three-quarters of an inch deep. Hinged to the tray are wire rods, I which support the handle and a core, i which fits over the tray. After gathering up the dust on the tray it is allowed to drop through the opening into the receptacle. This is accomplished by dropping the handle and cover and holding the entire device up. It can be carried from one place to another in this position without danger of the dust and dirt falling I out. Great Britain gives the best pro! tection in the world to the inventor. THE GIANT HAND OF THE GREAT Novel Truck. Iu buildings where there are no elevators the problem of transferrins: r ~ i largo packing cases and similar bulky articles to the upper floors is a perplexing one. HIDH MfiY YET BE RAISUU'S. -V-c^ ' -' - E TURNED TOWARD ASS' TAIL. ?Illustrated London News. The Plug Puzzle. The following puzzle was brought to our attention by Mr. P. S. Hay, of Montgomery, Ala. We recognize in n nrAhioTYi Tx/V?lnVi nppncinnallv nn pears in civil service examinations to Cut a Plug That Will Fit Any One of the Holes. test the ingenuity of the applicant. Take a board and cut four holes in it of the relative size and shape indicated in the drawing. Then cut a single plug to such form that it will snugly fit any one of the four holes. The solution of this puzzle will be found in the second picture. In the accompanying illustration we fllustrate what is probably the simplest form of plug adapted to fit the holes. The plug as shown at A is in the form of a chisel point. If laid on its side, it will lit the square hole B. The oblong hole C is closed by inserting the sharp end of the plug into it. The circular end of the plug fits the hole D, and if the plug be turned on its side at right angles to its position at B, it will fit the triangular hole E.?Scientific Ameri UttU. It is the rule in Abyssinia that the wife is boss of the ranch. The house, with all its contents, belongs to her, and if the husband offends her she turns him out until he is fully repentant and makes amends. CRANE AT THE PANAMA CANAL. i Generally it is necessary to open ! the caso on the ground floor and 1 transfer the contents in sections. The j ordinary two-wheel truck is practical- j !y useless in such emergencies, and j only ot slignt use m naming tnc cases down the steps. A truck that should i . prove successful for cither hauling ' cases up or down steps is shown in : he accompanying illustration, the in-1 mention of a California man. The in-1 ventor utilizes six wheels, three on j jiach side. Each wheel revolves on; : an extension of the axle. The posi-! | tion assumed by the wheels of this ! i truck on :i stairway is clearly shown t j by the illustration. All jolts and jars : j are obviously eliminated, insuring j safety to the contents of the case on the truck. In addition, no unncces- ' sary strain is placed on the operator, ! it being possible for one man to , handle large, heavy articles with tha i fnifiL- ?YV'iicliintrfnn Star. Just Occasionally. Employer (engaging clerk)?"But do you always stammer like that?" Applicant?"N-n-n-no, sir; only w-w-when I t-t-talk."?Sourire. I o(?0bMMiiimcs:wiM?9 i | Household Matters, fj o ! OfiBMOSGOIIIMISBMIflOieiO | T> ,, (T1 ,w1 Vn? r>...?nino ItUJUV U ill-t VUI IUIU^I To do up ruffled net curtains, stretch out on a sheet after starching. ! Pin just to the ruffles and leave until ; dry. Take up and iron only the ruf fles, dampening as you go along. This will leave the curtain perfectly straight.?New York World. Handkerchief Eng. A useful gift to hang on dresser is made of two fancy linen handker- j chiefs with open borders. Lace to- : gether three sides with baby ribbon, putting a bow in each corner. Run a ribbon through top border to draw | together like a bag. Put the loops of drawing string over mirror, screw | on dresser, and you have a very pret- | tv cnilori hoc "Motv York Journal. To Clean a Straw Hat. Buy two cents' worth of oxalic acid; this is enough to do three or four hats. Dissolve a little in hot water and scrub the hat until it is clean; rinse under the tap and place Into the shape you require it to be and put out in the sun or in front of the fire. Then it will look as though it is a new hat. Be careful the oxalic acid bottle is labelled poison and locked away from children. ? New York World. For the Linen Closet. Pretty little lavender bags for the linen closet are made of white linen j three inches wide by five long. These i are filled with the lavender and a few drops of oil of lavender are sprinkled over the flowers to make the odor more lasting. Then a little slip cover of lavender linen, edged with lace and with the monogram embroidered one side, is slipped over the bag and is tied with lavender and white ribI bon.?Pittsburg Dispatch. Serving Crackers. The hostess who is ever on the lookout for novelties for her afternoon tea table should be sure tc j serve her crackers in little baskets I made of themselves. Use saltsd wafers for the basket, allowing one to a side, and tying them together with a narrow satin ribbon about a quarter of an inch in width. Put this on a handsome plate covered with a lace doily and pile the other crackers in and around it. The effect is charming and will be much admired. One hostess ussd these crackei baskets as corner pieces on her luncheon table. In the centre were purple asters, while the crackers were tied with purple ribbon the same shade and were filled with purpla and white grapes.?New Haven Register. YHcussHc^if NMf|f : Grahnm Gems. ? Two eggs, well beaten, one tablespoonful sugar, one teaspconful of salt, two cupfuls of j milk, two cupfuls Graham flour. Sugar Gingerbread.?Two pounds of flour, one of sugar, one-half pound of butter, tablespoonful of ginger, two eggs, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one tea cup of water. Snowballs.?Boil two ounces of i lce. a pint and a half of milk, a littlo I vanilla flavoring and sugar; when tiio i rice is quite soft put it into little | cups. Turn it out when cold and put j custard or cream around, and a little : jam on top of each. Rice Pudding.?Wash in several j waters one cupful of rice and mix I with it four cupfuls of sweet milk, I one-half teaspoonful of salt, one-half ' of a cupful of sugar and the grated I r?In rl r\f o lomnn QHr in i tTA no-ere Tint previously beaten, turn into the pudding dish and bake for three hours. Cranberry Batter Padding-.?To a cupful of sour milk add half a cupful j of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt, two j eggs and one teaspoonful of soda. [ Beat until light, then add enough j flour to make a thin batter. Flour a i pint of cranberries and stir into the ; batter. Bake in a moderate oven until baked through. Serve with sauce. 1 . i Dressing for Boiled Beets.?One. teacupful of vinegar, one tablespoon- J ful each of butter and sugar and a little salt. Mil all together in a J sauce pan, and when it boils add one- i fourth cupful of sweet cream blend- j eu wuii <4 itjasijuuuiui ui num. uui , cook up a minute, stirring, and pour I over tlic boiled and chopped beets. Nut and Potato Croquettes.? Coarsely chop enough black walnut meats to measure one cupful. Mix them with one cupful of mashed and seasoned potatoes and one cupful of 3oft bread crumbs. Stir in two well beaten eggs. Add a high seasoning of salt, pepper and onion juice, a few drops of lemon juice and three tabl^spoonfuls of beef stock. When cold mold into croquettes, dip each into ! beaten egg, roll in fine crumbs and fry in deep, smoking hot fat. North Carolina Chicken Stew.? 1 Cut a young but full grown chicken and put it on to stew in a pot with plenty of water, adding salt only, then take a pint of flour, one egg and water enough to mix into a stiff dough, which knead till perfectly I smooth. Roll out into a sheet as on nnoothlft n r> rl lot it cfsmrl tn dry for at least an hour, then cut [ into narrow strips, pull these into pieces two or three inches long, and ] drop?one by one?into the boiling stew?with plenty of water in it? \ and boil for at least an hour, shaking : the pot occasionally, but never stirring, or the dumplings will stick to- ' gether. When done, pour all into a large platter and dust with pepper. j This is a delicious stew, and tho jflumplings, besides being tender and toothsome, can be eaten with impunity by an invalid. . ! SECOND THAW TRIAL STARTS WITH A RUSH Insanity Again His Plea For Slaying Stanford White. COURT HOLDS NIGHT SESSIONS Prisoner n Chained Man?Air of Wild-Eyed Defiance Has Disap? pcared?His Mother, 111 in Pitts* burg, Not Present. New York City.?On the drama of gilded vice and sordid passions that reached a climax in the killing of Stanford White on the Madison Square Roof Garden on June 25, 1906, the curtain began to unfold for the second time, when Harry K. Thaw stood b fore the bar in the Criminal Branch of the Supreme Court to defend the charge of murder in the first degree. There were many indications when the work of getting a jury began ihat in effort will be made to make the trial move more rapidly than the drst, which took almost three months. There were night sessions until the jury box was filled and maybe night sessions while the testimony is being taken if the lawyers do not hasten matters of their own accord. Justice Dowling, who is presiding at this trial in the Supreme Court, Criminal Branch, showed that he is averse to any unnecessary delay or long drawn out arguments and speeches which characterized the first trial. The court setting was identical with that which witnessed the remarkable confession of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, to avenge whose degradation at the hands of the New York architect it was held by the defense that Thaw had been lashed to the fury that cried for blood. The personnel was practically the same that filled the court room that never-to-be-forgotten afternoon when a young girl, barely out of her teens, in a sweetly modulated and emotionless voice, told that amazing tale of murdered innocence. Thaw has changed little. His straight black hair is as wild as ever and accentuates the natural pallor of his face. His queer smile is still in evidence, and he did as much talking to his lawyers as ever, although Martin W. Littleton paid no attention to him. Thaw's mannerisms, so noticeable at the first trial, seemed a bit more pronounced and he strode into the court room with the same upward tilt to his left shoulder. Thaw did not walk through the ourt room but around it by a railed passageway on the White street side of the court room. He sat inside of the clerk's rail, a few feet away from Prosecuting Attorney Jerome and his assistant, Francis P. Garvan.Those of the Thaw family who were present had their old seats at the end of the jury box. Evelyn Thaw came early. She was escorted to the court room by Detective Moore, who is employed by her husband's lawyers, and she went to lunch with him, although Mrs. George Lauder Carnegie, Thaw's sister, and Josiah Thaw, Thaw's half brother, were present. They were the only other members of the Thaw family in court. The Countess of Yarmouth is having her own troubles in Europe, but perhaps the most noticeable absentee was the stern faced, black robed Mrs. Mary C. Thaw, the defendant's mother, who is sick in Pittsburg. Unusual efforts were made by the courts to make service on the jury attractive. The first Thaw jury was Kept in tne uroaaway uenirai nuiei, but Justice Dowling decided to provide a more modern house for the present jury. Not only will the twelve men eat most of their meals in the swell Knickerbocker Hotel, but by pressing a button they will be able to sum-' mon a bellboy and order whatever they desire in the way of refreshments. Perfectos of an expensive brand also will be provided, and the only drawback to the full enjoyment of the accommodations the State gives will be that the jurors will not be permitted to mingle with the other guests of the hotel. They will have to remain in their rooms, and their meals will be served in a private dining room. It is estimated that it will cost the county $1500 a week to care for the jurors and their guards. Should the trial last two months the expense of locking up the jury will be $75,000, which will be the largest amount, probably, ever spent 011 a jury in this country. The trial formally opened when Mr. Jerome, addressing the court, announced that an indictment for murder in the first degree rested against the prisoner at the bar, aud asked that the trial proceed. Martin W. Littleton, .chief counsel fnr Thaw then read an amendment to tlio plea of "Not guilty" which his client will enter when he faces the completed jury. This consisted of the simple statement that his client was insane at the time of the killing of Stanford White. Still Another Dreadnought. The St. Vincent, the fifth battleship of the Dreadnought type, has bean laid down at Portsmouth, England. She will be completed in two years. Prohibition Agreed To. By agreement between Prohibitionists and the saloon men, Woodville, Mirs., has gone "dry." Cavalryman Sentenced. Convicted of murdering a young woman, whom he shot accidentally while trying to kill a jealous rival, Koy Howard, a nineteen-year-old trooper of the Second Cavalry, u. S. A., was sentenced at Des Moines to eight years in prison. Stock to Employes. James G. Johnson & Co.. a Xew York firm established nearly sixty *ears ago. adopted the co-operative plan and distributed stock among oid employi s. Prominent People. Disi:\ Attorney Jerome announce.; ciuu hi is tired of public life. Charles G. Dawes, president of the Central Trust Company of Illinois, and former Comptroller of the Currency, will quit banking and finance to become a composer of music. Colonel John Jacob Astor has just spent $250,000 for a private clubhouse on his Hudson river estate, where his guests may play tennis as well protected from the weather as they are in the indoor courts of the racket club in New York. ' Brief News BY WIRE i ?????? ! v . r xv a cmv/rrnv \ The Bureau of Insular Affairs at Washington has bought for $3000 I one-thousandth of a gram of radium, i which will be used In experiments in I the Philippines. Ambassador and Viscountess Aokl left the national capital for San Fran! cisco on their way to Japan. J. C. Bancroft Davis, reporter of the United States Supreme Court for j nineteen years, died in Washington. Senator Hale, chairman of the ' Naval Aifairs Committee, in an lni terview at Washington sided with ; Admiral Brownson in his controversy : with Surgeon-General Rlxey. The $20 gold piece designed by St. : Gaudens, vhich vras recalled after j 5000 had been Issued, are at a I premium of from $12 to $15. j In the failure of the visit of Can: ada's representative to Tokio the ; State Department at Washington sees ! Japan's determination to carry out ! her own plans for restricting her toolle emigration. Powerful railroad and shipping interests were reported to be combining for the repeal of the Sherman AntiTrust act. Comptroller W. B. Rldgely urged i banks to restore confidence by resumI inz their normal functions. Because of the Industrial deprea, slon General Elliott reported to SecJ retary Mefoalf that the marine corps , is now up to Its full complement of 8700 enlisted men. Th9 President ha3 approved the recommendations of Colonel Goethala that the dams and locks of the Panama Canal originally planned to he be at La Boca shall be located at Miraflores, four miles further Inland, j ______ OUR ADOPTED ISLANDS. Catholic priests In a procession in' ! Cuba were stoned by freethinkers. I The French Government has exi tended the life of the decree granting | Porto Rican coffee a minimum im port duty without request from the I United States. The demand for teachers throughout Porto Rico is much greater than the supply. The Cuban customs receipts for the year 1907 were the largest In the history of the island. They amounted to $20,005,048, as against $18,511,296 in 1906. At the twenty-fifth annual meeting . of the Planters' Association, in. Honolulu, Hawaii, President E. F. i Bishop said that the outlook for i labor from the Orient was not cheerj ing, on account of the general stato , of feeling in the United States against Oriental immigration. DOMESTIC. Colonel Edward S. Fowler was sworn in as Collector of the Port of j New York. The endowment fund of Colorado College, it was announced at Colorado Springs, has been increased to I $1,500,000. I" A new suit brought by the "next | friends" involving Mrs. Eddy, the I Christian Science head, and her trusj tees was announced by William E. ! Chandler at Boston. Robbers blew open the vault of the j McCurtain (Okla.) State Bank, got ; $3000 in gold and escaped. The : Fairmont (Okla.) Bank was robbed ! of $1200. At Ayer, Mass., William Bake*-, slx! teen, and Howard Reynolds, aged | fourteen, broke through the ic6 on Sandy Pond and were drowned. Charles Becker, director of the National Bank of Bellville, 111., and forj merly State Treasurer, is a suicide, as a result of melancholia. Dr. Coleman Sellers, distinguished j engineer and scientist, died at his I home in Philadelphia from a general ! breakdown, aged eighty-one years. Freeborn G. Smith, the millionaire ' piano manufacturer, of Brooklyn, i was married In Baltimore. He 13 j eighty, his bride forty-eight. One hundred thousand persons who J celebrated in hotels and restaurants ' in New York City the advent of the ! new year spent $1,750,000. The avi erage expenditure was $11.50 each. S Governor Sparks, of Nevada, issued a call for an extra session of the State Legislature to consider the matter of , Federal troops at Goldfield. j At Findlay, Ohio, Byron Williamson was found guilty of attempting to , bribe a juror in the Standard Oil trial last June. A Mrs. Thompson testified at Williamson's trial that he promised her husband $500 if he brought about a disagreement in the oil trial, t FOREIGN". I Advices from Pekin say that the popular agitation is growing and that the Government is making great efforts to conciliate the provinces, i South American republics vied ' with each other in honoring the officers and men of Rear-Admiral Ss! bree's special service squadron on its 1 cruise to the Pacific. | Sir Charles Dilke said that he foresaw no complications in the Eastern or Continental relations this year, but thought that trouble was possible among South American States. The nolice of Leipsic expelled from Saxony four Mormon missionaries as i "obnoxious foreigners." Advices from Berlin say that the Foreign Office and the Admiralty aro closely watching the relations between the Uuited States and Japan. Japan is taking advantage of com* : plications with Great Britain to postpone Manchurian negotiations. The Shah took oath before Parliament to support the Persian Constitution. Fresh outbreaks of anti-Japanese fueling at Vancouver, British Columbia, are causing grave international concern over the immigration problem. The number of emigrants from Germany to the United States is ninety per cent, greater than the number going to the German colonies in East ana oouuiwesi Airu-a. Count Boni de Castellane spat in Prince Helie de Sagan's face in leaving a Paris clntrch and the two had a fight in the street with canes, fists and feet. 1 The Empress Dowager of China has issued a decree of reactionary, character forbidding all officials lo discuss State affairs, as a result of Ilia itCLlUU U1 L lit: 1IIUI1UVM w T. the Pekin Government. France and Belgium have concluded a convention which provides fbr tho maintenance of France's preferential rights in the Congo Ipdepend* ent State after the annexation o! that | terrjtory to Belgium, ???