University of South Carolina Libraries
. 1- i Tf?OS? it. ADAMS PROPRIETOR. EDGEFIELD, S. C.MEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1898. VOL. LXIII. NO. 29. . I nimmie raCT?. THE COCK AN A rooster onoe pursued a worm. That lingered not to brave him; To see-his wretched victim squirm A pleasant thrill it gavo him. He summoned all his kith and kin; They hastened up by legions, With quaint, expressive gurgles la Their ?esophageal regions. Just then a kind ot glimmering Attracting his attention, The worm became too small a thing For more than passing mention; The throng ot hungry hens and rude He skilfully evaded. Said he: "V faith, it this bo food, I saw the prize ere thtfy did." It was a large and costly pearl, belonging in n necklace, And dropped by some neglectful girl Some people are so reckless! The COCK assumed an air forlorn, And cried: "It's really cruel, I thought lt was a grain of corn; It's nothing but a jewel." A TOHT Pf fey fe'Atil* UT from the stygian (<. shadows of the flooded forest through which I had been pushing and carrying my wheel ever since the early night de scended, something suddenly loomed, - dark and high, before me. So silently and unexpectedly did the hnge, black bulk confront me, like some monster stretched across the road, that I stopped involuntarily, my heart beaW ing tbidk And fast; Then, as I Btr?i??d my ey?? td make out the na ture; of the tibjeetid raj path, itsblaCk ??tlines graddaily' resolved themselves into the shape of a covered bridge, raised high above the road on its stone piers. With an exclamation of joy, I dragged my w Leel up the sharp pitch of the roadbed and out of- tho icy water, into the welcome dryness and Bhelter of that .'-'-fuge in a flooded wilderness. For two days the rain had been pouring heavily and steadily down up on that deep valley in the backwoods of Maine, through which lay the route which I had chosen for my bicycle tour. Thinking that the storm would soon wear itself out, I had kept on my way, penetrating deeper aud deeper into the wilderness. The road, in Spite of increasing mud, had proved fair for wheeling, and not until the afternoon of the second day of rain rlid I bneonnter sufficient stttflding if?t?r id make it necessary' fdr m"? td dismount and wade. I had ddt pass cd a house since early in the morning, . but kept hoping I should yet chance apc>ii .?ome isolated backwoods fjinu ere 1SS8 night fell. The valley kept' sinking in level, however, and I soon realized that I must be approaching its lowest point, where there would be little rffcelikood of finding a habita tion. One always shrinks from turn ing . back, however, while there is a possibility of going forward, so I kept on until I came to the bridge. There was, at least, solid satisfaction in hav ing a roof over my head and dry boards under my feet, though the doors of my house stood somewhat too widely open to the chill .night air for perfect comfort. However, I was disposed to make the best of a situation which might, surely, be worse, and leaning my wheel against one of ?tho stringers of the bridge, I sat down an,d proceeded, first of all, to remove my soaked shoes and stockings and replace the latter with a dry pair from my luggage bag. When I had changed my shirt also, and wrung about a quart of water from my coat, I felt so much better that I began to whistle. "Every pickle," said I to myself, "has the elements of adventure in it; and a bi cycle trip lacks its chief charm if not spiced with adventure." Fortunately, I had the remuants of a lunch in my bag, aud having de voured the cold bread and meat and lit my pipe, I was still further disposed to take a philosophical view of the situa tion. I was, at least, sheltered for the night, and might be abie to snatch some sleep by lying close to the string ers of the bridge, at its center, where I would be comparatively out of the wind. As soon as daylight came, I could review the situation and make up my mind whether to go forward or turn back. When my pipe was smoked out, I took a walk the whole length of the bridge, using matches to light my way. The structure proved to be only about fifty feet long; an old fashioned cheap ly constructed affair, such as one al most always finds in sparsely populated sections, when it has become neces sary to bridge a stream of any size. The river, now overflowing its banks so widely, was evidently, in ordinary weather, quite narrow; though, drain ing so large a section as it did, it was doubtless deep and carried a large volume or water. As I lay down to sleep, with my head resting against one of the trans verse stringers, I heard the rain still beating fiercely against the side of the bridge; and, during my fitful slum bers, this was always the sound that greeted my ears on rousing to con sciousness. At about 3 o'clock in tb.e morning I became so chilly I could sleep no longer, and so got up and beat my arms uuHl the blood began to circulate more freely. Then I went to the end of the bridge to see if the water had risen any higher. I was amazed and startled to find that it was nearly on a level with the floor cf t u bridg?, aud was surging by with a dis tinct gurgling and lapping sound, that showed there was considerable force to the current, lt was, I knew, only a question of time before the bridge must yield to the undermining power of the flood, and yet I dared not leave it, for I realized by this time the water on the flat must be over my head. Returning to my wheel, as if for silent companionship, I sat down, lighted another pipeful of tobacco,and waited. It might have been half an hour later-my pipe was not yet burned ont-wheu I heard a sound like heavy breathing from the ead of the bridge I had lately visited, and then a distinct splashing, over and above the gurgle aud lap of the water. Presently, as my eyes were fixed on the spot whence th? Bounds seemed to ID THE PEARL Ho turned again to where his elan, In one astondlng tangle, In eager baste together ran . To slay the helpless angle, And sighed: "Ho was ot massive size) . I should have used discretion. Too latel Around the toothsome prize A bargain sale's in season!" The worm's remarks upon his plight Have never been recorded, But any one will know how slight Diversion lt afforded, For worms and human beings are Unanimous that, when pecked, To be the prey ot men they far . Prefer to bolag hen-peoked. The Moral: When your dinner comes Don't leave it for your neighbors Because you hear the sound ot drums And see the gleam of sabres; Or, like the cock, you'll find too late That ornaments external "Do not for certain indicate A bona il Jo kernel. -Harper's Bazar. r A BRIDGE. PASfNOR; come, I saw wS?t ?ook?d like* tw? dim ly burning candles, set close together', rise over the edge of the floor and slowly enter the bridge. At the un canny sight I felt ns if a stream of ice cold water were running do?wn my back; my hands involuntarily clutched my knees, and there was a strange, prickling, sensation all over my body. It was positively a relief when I heard a scratching sound on the floor of the bridge, and knew then, at all events, there was nothing ghostly about my mysterious visitor. Evident ly, it was some wild creature of the woods seeking shelter and safety, like mjself, in the bridge, I could hear it rustling cautiously about, and occa sionally uttering a slight wheezing or cduglling sound, as if to free its throat and nostrils from water: By and by tho 'animal, whatever. it was, began to sniff suspiciously, and I knew that its quick sense of smell had detected my presence. Then, for the first time, I experienced a feeling of genuine alarm. I could see the eyes of the beast glaring through the dark ness; and the size of tho phosphor escent eye-balls, and the distance be tween them, showed that the animal was one of considerable size. I was unarmed, save for a light 22-caliber revolver that would prove about as effective against a boar, wolf or cata mount as a boy's popgun. Suppose the beast should be hungry enough to crave even a meal of soaked and gristly bicycler? Shut up in that cage of a bridge, what could I do to balk him of his purpose! should he decide, td eat me? ";.> While I was debating one side of this question, and ray unseen, visitor culated to divert the thoughts of each from the other, for the time being. Without the slightest preliminary jar or lurch, one end of the bridge floated off its pier and swung down stream. Then followed a grinding noise.as the other end was dragged from its bed of masonry, and with a rolling and toss ing motion our uuwieldly craft got un der way down stream! . I had sprung to my feet, as I felt the water rushing up through the cracks in the floor. There was an in sane idea in my mind that I must make a rush for the freo ?nd of the bridge and leap into the water, to save myself from going to the bottom with my leaky craft. Then I reflected that, from the time of Noah's ark un til the present, all wooden strnctures tossed upon floods-no matter how leaky-have invariably floated until they found some resting place on dry land again. Undoubtedly, I was safer, and would be more comfortable where I was than anywhere else in that flooded wilderness-provided my fellow passenger would keep his dis tance. So I sat down again, unmind ful of the cold water swirling about my feet, and listened. I could hear nothing of the un known animal whose company I so much desired to part with. But, presently, I located his blazing eyes half way up the side of the bridge, and perceived that the beast, when the water rushed into the bridge, had leaped on one of the slanting beams, and was now crouching there, in more unreasoning terror, doubtless, than mine. I thanked fortune then for the floating off of the bridge and the iurush of water, which would, proba bly, act as au effectual barrier be tween what I now realized must be a catamount or wildcat and myself. Shiveringly, I waited for the dawn. The bridge floated smoothly enough, save when it whirled in the current and struck some tree on the river bank. Then it would tremble all through its timbers, but soon swing free and start upon its course again. The floor was about two feet under water all the time, and I soon con cluded to follow the example of my brute companion and climb up on one of the beams. Here I ensconced myself as best I could, and spent a miserable two hours, until the first gray light of morning began to steal into my prison. As objects gradually became more distinct I made out at last the tawny body of a panther, stretched, head downward, along a beam opposite mo. The fierce, fixed eyes were still turned toward me, and although the body of the beast was perfectly still, a constant vibration and slight lash ing of the tail betokened its intense alertness. Never once did it turn its blazing eyes away from mine, but for over an hour , watched me as a cat watches some bird that it is intent to catch. Then there came a sudden tremen dous shock to the bridge, and one end of it shot up several feet in the air, submerging the other end where the panther was clinging, until the water surged over tho head and shoulders of the startled beast. I saw it shrink backward up the beam, but its hind quarters were blocked by the frame work of the roof ere its head got above water. Then it launched from the beam with a mad plunge, and swam heavily past me, till it reached the shallowing water at the other end of the bridge, and climbed, half drowned, up into the morning light. At that instant, when its head and shonlders huug over the threshold of the bridge, a rifle shot rang oat clear ?hd sharp; Th? great cat quivered ?brivnliiiTely arid then sprang forward and disappeared; I slipped dowd froid my perch, plunged through the water, and climbed up where the cat had lain. Below me yawned a gulf forty feet deep, into which the flood thundered in a yellow, yeasty mass. The bridge had struck a dam, and the forward end, sliding up over its slimy verge, hung suspended in mid-air. At this point banks of the river were steep and high, with huge boulders scat tered over them. On one bank, clinging to it like a swallow's nest, was a sawmill. The greater part of it was under water, but a man stood at ono of the upper windows, with a smok ing rifle in his hand. He saw the look of intense inquiry on my face, though he could not hear the shout I raised, amid the thunder of the waters. In reply he pointed to the swirling, foaming gulf beneath me. Then I understood how the wounded panther had leaped to his death.-Detroit Free Press. . . Dewey as a Disciplinarian. "I was with Commodore Dewey when he was executive officer of the Colorado," said a financier, "and I remember one incident which shows th? manner of man he is. Ve had a fide drew, Some of them as jowerful men as ? ever saWi Four or five of them went ashore one day and came back- fighting drunk. "Three of them were men who would singly have been more than a match iu strength for John L. Sullivan. The order was given to put them in irons, and it was found impossible to carry out the order, for the men were dangerous. Dewey was notified of the situation. He >vas writing a let ter in his room at the time. "He went to the place where these giants were and he told them to come out and submit to the irons. They did not stir. Then Dewey said qui etly to an orderly: 'Bring me my re-* volvers.' And when he had hispis teis he again called upon the men to come out, and they did not move. Then he said; 'I am going to count three; if you are not out here with your hands held up on the third count you won't oome out of that place alive.' "He counted one, then he cocked the revolvers, and he counted two. We all expected to hear the reports, for we knew that Dewey meant what he said. The men knew it, too. They stepped out just in time to save their lives and held np their hands, and they had been partially sobered by their fright and the moral effect of j Dewey's glance. "One of them said afterward that j when he saw Dewey's eyes he knew j that he would either be a dead Jacky i in a moment or h? would have to yield, and wheu the "irons were put upon him he was as sober as he . .ever j was in his life. Dewey went baok to J his xporn I the letter he j was writing.' -Vhilatleiphia Press. '* In Diplomatic Disgrace. The United States has been a nation with foreign relations for about a cen tury and p. qnarter. During that time, seven representatives 'of foreign gov ernments have been dismissed. The first instance was the case of Genet, minister from France, during Wash ington's second term. He was re called in 1794 at the request of this country for endeavoring to stir up trouble between the United States and Great Britain. During Jefferson's administration, Vrojo, the Spanish minister, was sent home on account of conduct not only unbecoming a diplomat, but even in an honest man and a gentleman. Jackson, the British minister,,during Madison's first term, was recalled on a request from Wash ington because of offensive criticism of this government. In 1849 General Taylor, then President, sent the French minister, M. Poussin, his passports. During Geueral Grant's first 'term, the Bussian minister, Catacazy, was recalled at our request, and during President Cleveland's first term a like fate happened to Lord Saokville West, the British minister. Then follows the De Lome affair of recent date. In all, the recall of seven ministers has been demanded, two 1 British, two French, two Spanish and and one Bussian. Undc.- Sealed Orders. The custom of having warships sail "under sealed orders" has arisen from 1 the desire of maritime powers to pre vent their plans from becoming known to the enemy. In the American Navy such orders come from the President, and are de livered to a commander of a ship or squadron by a confidential messenger, who kuows nothing of their contents. Sometimes they are in cipher, but they are alwaj s sealed with the official seal of the Navy Department, and the paokage oannot be opened until the time marked on it, which is usually several hours after the hour of leaving port. By this precaution the newspapers are prevented from disclosing prema turely movements which may be of the greatest importance, and the spies of the enemy are rendered useless so far as their ability to discover the se cret of such movements is concerned. Sailing under sealed orders is now the common naval practice in time of war. These instructions are found in the paoket of "scaled orders," which is opened when well out to sea.-Chicago Times-Herald. Mendacious Man. Mr. Sparkle-"What an admirer ol you Joe Pumpling is. I never see him that he doesn't congratulate me on having auch a beautiful or such a youngdooking wife." Mrs. Sparkle-"What a foolish fel low Joe always was!" Mr. Sparkle-"By the way, I prom ised to meet him at the club this evening, if you don't object to my go ing out." Mrs. Sparkle-"Oh, not at all. I want to run over to the Johnstons anyway, and I know you wouldn't en- i joy it there. "-Chicago News. A Hug? Glaiis. A year ago, when a glass company in St. Louis failed and the works shut down, the "pot" was left full of molt en glass. Beceutly the property was purchased, and now it is found that the pot contains a solid piece of glass sixty-six feet long, twenty-two feet wide aud five feet-thick, estimated to weigh almost 600 tons, SANTIAGO Features of the Ci? The town of Santiago de Cuba is situ ated at one side of the harbor and about six miles from its entrance and overlooks it at the widest part. The" entrance to the harbor is very narrow, not more than about 150 feet wide, and the channel is winding until it reaches Punta Gorda, after which it widens in to a beautiful harbor. At one side of tho entrance is Morro Castle, a very old fort. "Morro" is a typical name given to all these coast fortresses. On THE FAMOUS SANTIAGO SLAUGHTER WERE SHOT BY! the opposite side of the harbor is So-: capa. The town of Santiago is low, bnfl rises as the ground slopes up from thas coast towards somo ranges of hills. Ifc was quito a business town before the;, war, and there are threo companies! there that have handled a great deal of ore, one of them as much as a thousand! tons a day. The housos are mostly ona story* high on account of the liability to earth-' quakes, but there are some of two stories. The dwelling-houses are sort rounded by spacious verandas, which? look on beautiful gardens filled with/o wealth of gorgeous tropical flowefsa The poinsettia, with its heads of briff liant-scarlet leaves which people in tfc?r North cherish in little flower-pots anti in greenhouses, is there a large tree,^ and other trees with their clusters of gaudy fragrant flowers make these gai* dens a fairy scene. There are various insects among the flowers and mosquitoes innumerable, but none of the insects are poisonous^ There is a large spider about the size of one's fist, whose bite producea a swelling and a slight fever, and a scor pion whose bite causes some irritation^ but is not deadly. There are no* mons reptiles in the island. Th> " one enormous variety of boa, calle Maja, of immense strength. It i fectly black, as thick as one's ara . '.. capable of swelling itself/but to n . v five times its natural.size, nnc??_ ^ bfocHT-Feu-ffiTj^^ " very alarming until you find om >. -i he is a lazy fellow and does not. ble himself about human beings, ! . . . satisfied with pigs and goats and . small game. There is a small sit_w called the jubo, and some other varie ties, but they are not venomous. The repose of the streets is not disturbed by the rush of cable or trolley cars. The usual conveyance, STREET SCENE IX SANTIAGO, the volante, is a long-bodied vehicle on two wheels. The town of Santiago is the see of the Archbishop, and contains the largest cathedral in the island-the Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre. Here is also the Theological Seminary of San Basilio. In this region is the highest land in Cuba. A mountain range called the Montanos de Maestra or Cobre ex tends from the Punta de Maisi on the eastern extremity to Cape Cruz on the opposite side. Pico de Turquino, the highest elevation, rises 7670feetabove the ocean. These mountains are Very rich in ore, and the Cobre copper mines, some twelve miles distant from the city, have yielded fifty tons a day, the higher grades being shipped to Europe, and the inferior grades smelted at the mines. All this, work has stopped since the war became serious. These mines were worked as early as the seventeenth cenfciry, and were then abandoned for more than a hundred years. Iron is also found there, and gold and silver have THE MARKET PLA been taken out, but not in sufficient quantities to make it profitable. How ever, none of these mines have yet been fully developed. Bituminous coal is found which gives out a high degree of heat and leaves scarcely any ashes or cinders. Near the coast it is often found in semi-liquid masses resembling petroleum or naphtha. There are some very extensive caves in these mountains, which have never been thoroughly explored. There are forests of mahogany, Cuban ebony, cedar, and other hard woods in this province, among them" one called the quebra hacha or axe I DE CUBA. and the Province. ibreaker, and the jucero, which does pot even decay after long submersion. ??The marqueterie work in the room ^Occupied by Philip II. of Spain, in the iEscurial, was made from these woods, foi which the Spaniards know the value, fond they are exported from the island in large quantities. There are no wild animals, properly eakicg, except wild dogs, whick play havoc in the poultry yards. A L mall animal called jutia that resem HOUSE WHERE THE VIRGINIUS CREW IE SPANIARDS. hies a coon and probably belongs to .the same family is found in great numbers, and has furnished many a good meal to the hungry Cuban sol diers, who trap it by the dozen. When eaten with a relish of garlic and onion it is delicious-to these who like garlic. The city of Bayamo, in the western part of the province, was very impor tant a century or moro ago, and a great stronghold of the insurgents I for there have always been insurgents in Cuba. But of late years business I arno has only 10,000. It was a law yer of Bayamo, Charles M. de C?s pedes, who, in 1868, at the head of ' 128 wretchedly armed men, rose in re bellion at Yara, and in a few weeks was at the head of 15,000 resolute though badly armed fighters. Tho Hymno de Bayamo, the revolutionary hymn of the Cuban patriots, origin ated in Bayamo. This was the Mar seillaise to which music Maceo marched. Santiago de Cuba was the birthplace of the brothers Maceo. On the opposite side of the prov ince from the town of Santiago is the Bay of Nipe. The Bay < f Cienfueg?s is said to be one of the most magnifi cent harbors in the world, both for area and depth of water; but it is sur passed by the harbor of Nipe, which embraces sixty-five miles of deep water. A Historic Gun. J. T. Harris, of Mingus, Texas, has a historic rifle which was utilized in two wars and was in the possession of two Presidents of the United States. It is an old-fashioned hammered bar rel, walnut stock Tennessee rifle,heav ily silver mounted and inscribed as follows: "Presented by J. Madison, President of the United States, to C. Reese, as a reward for heroism at the battle of Horse Shoe, March, 1814." The gun was never delivered to Reese, but was left at the Executive Mansion, where.it remained until Andrew Jack son's administration as President. He presented the gun,to Sam Houston, who brought it to Texas, and in 1833 or 1834 he presented it to Jesse Wall ing, a Tennessee friend of Jackson and Houston. Walling carried the gun .through the war of Texas independ ence, participating actively in the bat tle-of San Jacinto, and afterward car ried it in the Mexican War. The gun now has the same stock, lock, trigger and mounting, no change having been made except to alter the lock from flint to percussion fire, the same lock plate being retained.-St. Louis Globe Democrat. . CE IN SANTIAGO. A New ItRn?e-Flndcr. An Italian artist in Loudon is said i to have just perfected a new range- 1 finder, which, it is claimed, will be of f immense service both in peace and war. It is said to be a great improve ment on all range-finders now in use. The distance of any object can be as- ! ] certained by a mere gip nee through the instrument, it being show? on a I little dial the moment the objed i? J focused. True love is not so common as to I ' swell locksmiths up with the idea that ! 1 I they a?e funny men,--Puck, I 1 THOMAS JEFFERSON'S DAY. His Name ls Inseparably Linked With tbe Glorious Fourth. Thomas Jefferson, as near as any one man, maj be called the patron saint of the Fourth of July because he wrote the instrument whose adoption signalizes that holiday, and his name is further associated with the date because on this day in 1826 he died. The briefest snmmary of the events in his life is as follows: "Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Va., April 18, 1743. On his tomb at Monticello is, 'Born April 2d, 1743, O. S.' He died at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Va., at 1 o'clock p. m., July 4,1826, at more than eighty-three years of age. "Before 17C6, in Virginia, he began to agitate against the misrule of King George, and joined Patrick Henry, George Wythe and others in deter mined opposition to tyranny. "He advocated common schools and thc abolishment of slavery. Ho caused tho passage of a law prohibiting the importation of slaves into Virginia. 1 'With George Wythe and James Mad ison in the Virginia Legislature after September, 1776, he spent three years in revising and adapting the laws of Virginia to the new conditions under liberty. "He drew and caused to be enacted the statute for religious liberty in Vir ginia-tlie first one ever enacted by Legislature, and the first by any gov ernment. THE PATRIOTIC SUA "" .-. -?'.es-?i?' . t#fe "He suggested the dollar as the anit of value. "He was largely responsible for the location of the capital at Washington. "lh Congress in 1783-1784,he voted to ratify the treaty of peace* with Great Britain-settling the war his Declara tion of Independence had helped to make, and presented to Congress the Virginia deed of cession of her lands northwest of the Biver Ohio to the United States for public domain. "March 1, 1784, in Congress, he re ported from a committee and all in his handwriting a plan for the temporary government of the Northwestern Ter ritory, with a clause prohibiting slavery nrithin. This plan became the basis; ind was, in fact, embraced in the THOMAS JEFFERSON, AGED FIFTY-EIGHT, ordinance of July 13,1787, for the Gov ernment of the Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio. "After he retired from public life, in 1809, he founded the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, Va., was its rector and devoted his remaining years to its development. "In 1821 Mr. Jefferson wrote: 'I have sometimes asked myself whether my country is the better for rav hav ing livetl at all. I do not know that it is. I have been the instrument of iloing the following things, but they would have been done by others, some of them, perhaps, a little better.' Then follows his account of what he Sid. Abridged they are: "He improved the navigation of the Rivanna River. "He wrote the Declaration of Inde pendence. "He disestablished the Established Church in Virginia and secured the freedom of religion. "He was the father of the act put ting an end to entails, of the net pro hibiting the importation of slaves, of the act concerning citizens, and estab lishing the natural right of mart to ex? patr?ate himself at will, of tue act changing the course of descents and jiving the inheritance to all children equally, and of the act for apportioning THE HOUSE IN WHICH THOMAS JEFFER SON WROTE THE DECLARATION OF IN DEPENDENCE. crimes and punishments. He intro duced the olive tree into South ' ..iro linafrom France in 1789-1790, and brought upland rice into South Caro lina from Africa in 1790. He makes no mention of his service in Congress or his acts while President and does not mention having founded tho Uni versity of Virginia. He was a modest man in respect to his public acts. AMER CIRL OF '98. ?.\.'.y v: Ar. - \ . . ." IVhile President he purchased the pro rinoe of Louisana from France in 1803. "He sent Lewis and Clark and Pike o explore the Western country. He ried to enforce national rights by em >argo instead of by war. He reduced he public debt, aided trade and coni nerce and provided a system of sea :oast and tidewater defenses." The house in which the Declaration ?f Independence was written was No. 180 High street, afterwards No. 700 Harket street, and located on the lauthwest corner of Seventh and Mar :et streets, Philadelphia. England's Saucy Child. During the progress of the Queen's ubil?e the colonial princes, officers ind premiers attracted, next to the oyal lady herself, the attention of he public. Wherever they appeared ?hey were received with cheers and es )ecial honors. On one occasion the streets were jacked with spectatorr watohing the ruests depart from some royal func i?n at Buckingham Palace. The ?rowds refused to move except when tome of the Indian rajahs or Austral an officers appeared, when a way was ipeedily opened for them. A carriage presently came out of tht jates in which were three or four Americans, who had been guests in he palace. ?b:ding that the way fas complete!-- blocked, one young ellow among them shouted: "Let us pass! We, too, are colon als." The crowd divided, and as the car 'iage entered the opening he added: "We are the colonials who wouldn't et our mother spank us." The crowd caught the joke and ro >lied with laughter and applause. louth's Companion. A Wonderfully Clear Atmosphere. The atmosphere is so clear in Zulu arid that it is said objects can be seen >y starlight at a distance of seven niles. All He Required, til Skullins (the road ascent)-"Lady, stand in great need uv sympat'y." Lady-"Indeed?" Skullins-"Yes, lady. I'm one uv le unfortunate crew nv a Spanish aerchautship de United States ships aptured. Lady-"Poor mau! and so you are joking for work?" Skullins-"No, lady; food an' money i all I require,"-Judge. The waters of the Grand Falls ?Z Labrador have excavated a chasm diirty miles long. There are 2487 different varieties of Ire escapes and ladders to be nsed ia :ases of emergency. The tomb of Mohammed is covered tvith diamonds, sapphires and rubies valued at $12,500,000. The triangular bridge at Croyland, Lincolnshire, is the oldest bridge in England and one of the greatest curi osities. Vultures cannot discover a carcass by the sense of smell. They rely en tirely upon their sight when in quest of food. The word "hairbreadth," now used for an infinitesimal space, was once a regular measure. It was the width sf sixteen hairs laid side by side. British sailors have been ordered by kile Admiralty to reverse the manner jf lacing their trousers. Hereafter she bow must be tied at the bottom of :he eyelet hole instead of the top. A proverb found in one form or an jther in every European or Asiatic language having a literature is "Fa- / ?niliarity breeds contempt." Its ear iest form is believed to be of the San skrit. In 1894 the number of eattle in Venezuela was estimated at 5,000,000 lead, while to-day the total number ia aot fewer than 10,000,000 head, and t is expected the number will be loubled in the next four years. The Chinese emblem of a dragon jon8ists of a five clawed imperial Iragon, suspended to a yellow ribbon, md has the following inscription in Chinese characters: "Before it the lion rums pale and the tiger is silent." Cheshire cheese owes its excellence partly to geological causes. The red laudstone and boulder) clay, with its mmense salt deposits, of which the jounty is formed, produce a herbage )ecnliarly suited for cheese produc tion. At Soulac, in Gascony, a cross was liscovered projecting above the sand. Turther investigation showed that it vas attached to a steeple, and later a veli preserved clmrch of the thirteenth ?entury was excavated. The church s now in use. During the Civil War 5221 commis lioned officers and 90,868 enlisted men vere killed in action or died of wounds eceived in battle; 2321 commis ionod officers and 182,329 en isted me% died from disease or acoi lent, making a total loss of. 289,739. nen. Deaths occurring after tho .. , ... :::;c;-:s?*- . i ?. ? SU?TSiftgQ ti!S ?iitiid ' f MIS ^o;> |^uV'd*vi^w-. 7' .'. .... p. ??: imiaovbv#t) s.'itii roses ?.a?"?r-?r? nia nred literally "under the-rose." Pan amas, however, was betrayed, and, o escape arrest, fled to the temple of ilinerva. The sanctity of this plaoo ' orbidding intrusion for violence of iny kind, the people walled up the idifice with stones and left the fugitive o die of starvation; his own mother aid the first stone. It afterwards he arne a custom among the Athenians to rear a rose when they h sd confidential ompliments to make, the flower im ?lying strict secrecy. It was also cus omary among the ancient Germans on he occasions of festivity to suspend a ose above the table as a token that whatever was said during the feast hould be kept secret among them elves. In 1526 a rose was placed over confessionals in Boman Catholic hurches.-Detroit Free Press. Coaling Stations. England has shown great foresight i providing coaling stations all oy?jr tie world. It has these important out tting ports in the Pacific, the Atlan te, the "Mediterranean, the Indian >cean. In whatever quarter of the rorld its warships may be they will ot be far distant from some English ort, where, in time of war, they could ecure supplies. The strategic value f the island of St. Thomas, which it as been proposed this country should uy from Denmark, is the benefit it 'ould be as a coaling station in the Pest Indies. { True, it is not so very far distant ?om St. Thomas as to the Florida oast, but a coaling station at almost ie eastern extremity of the West adies would prove very convenient to merican warships. After this war is ver and the peoplo have been edu ited on the subject of coaling sta ons Congress will probably be dis osed to favor a more liberal ?policy in ie matter than it has heretofore.-? yracuse Post. * The Mlle In Many Countries. "* The English mile, used also in this ountry, measures 1760 yards, or 5280 ?et. But the mile of foreign coun .ies varies almost as much as the tnguage, so that traveling a mile is ne thing in France, aud quite another ling, either shorter or longer, in ther countries. The French system f the "kilometre," or 1000 metres, is [so used in Belgium and Holland. To polers and others traveling in those ountries the kilometre--equal to 1094 ards-is used as a muja measure. The panish mile is 1522 yards, and the iussian only 1167 yards. But the hi?ese have the easiest time of all in laking a mile record, their mile being uly 600 yards. In Norway and Swe en the mile is 11,690 yards, and in ? rermany it equals three English Liles. Other differences are: Italian, 025 yards; Portuguese,2250; Austria, 297, and Denmark, 8238.-New York . forld._ HU Objection. "What is your objection to wom l's clubs, Professor? Haven't they i good a right to organize them dves into clubs for good-fellowsbip, utual entertainment or instruction 3 men have?" "Oh, yes, madam. I don't question ?eir right to do anythiug they please, [y objectiou to women's clubs, if I ave auy, is that nearly all the club omen I happen to be acquainted ith pronounce it 'progrin.' "-Chi? igo Tribune.