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l?flE MRTIONRL BANK OF ROGUSTfl J Ii. C.. HAYNS, FtMt F. Q. FORD, Cashier. Capital, $250,000. Undivided Profit? } $110,000. Facilities of our rn agni nee at Kew Va nit Isontalning 410 ?afety-Loci: Boxes. Differ lent Sixes sr? offered to oar patrono sad the public at 93.00 to 110.00.per annum. THE PLANTERS LOAN AND SAVINGS AUGUSTA, GA. Pays Interest on Deposits. Accounts Solicited. L. C. Hayne, President. Chas, C. Howard, Cashier. THOS. J ADAMS PROPRIETOR. EDGEFIELD, S. C.. j WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 25. 1901. VOL. LXVI. NO. .12. You Will Wai Nice Christina Wc have the most < mas Goods of e-\ Goods, Fine Wat ware. No matter it. Everything ti Fino Engraving ai Cali early or writ? WM. SC-HWE 702 BROAD STRE1 ??.?.?.1 New York City.-Dainty waists, with square yoke effects and narrow open fronts, are much In vogue and are ?nanning, both as odd bodices and WOXAK>-*AHCX BLOUSE. with skirts JSmatch. The very pretty Js made of V pale blue tatf?ta^wlth front of cream lace* over white satin and trimming of fancy braid In which blue is blended with threads of silver, edged witli black; but all waist and gown mater ials are appropriate. White and pale tinted cloths are exquisite for recep tion and dinner costumes, silks of var ious sorts are much worn, and such simple wool fabrics f.s albatross, hen rietta, cashmere and wool crepe make charming gowns and waists for infor mal afternoon wear. The snugly flited lining closes at the STYLISH centre front and extends to the waist line only, but the blouse extends be low the waist and ls, therefore, easily kept in place. The fronts are laid in Bingle side pleats, at the shoulder seams, but are arranged in gathers at the fVaist line to produce soft, grace ful folds. The narrow vest front ls separate and attached to the lining, permanently at the right side but hooked into place under the left front. The back is plain across the shoulders and drawn down in gathers at the waist line. The sleeves are novel and stylish, the material being cut away at the outer seams to admit the puffs of lace, but these may be omitted and the sleeves made plain when preferred is shown in the small view of back. To cut this waist for a woman of medium size three and five-eight yards of material twenty-one inches wide, two and five-eight yards twenty seven inches wide, or one and five eight yards forty-four inches wide will be required, with one and one-eighth yards of all-over lace for plastron, col lar and puffs. Woman'! Tes Gown. Attractive and becoming tea gowns make economical as well as fashion able possessions. The woman who saves her street garments jy never wearing them within, doors and re serves her afternoon gowns for their proper service is enabled to keep well dressed at less cost than she who, pos sessing no tasteful home gowns, wears the garments of more formal use in ata is Present complete stock of Christ rery description; Fancy ches, Jewelry, Silver-. what you want we hayo ? ie best and guaranteed. . vd Repairing. 3 us your wants. IGE-RT & eO.,| 5T, AUGUSTA, G?. (.?.?.?..?.IE? her bedroom or boudoir. The very charming May Manton model shown in the large drawing is eminently sim ple yet graceful and stylish at the same time. The material from which toe original was made is old rose cashmere having an edge of black em broidery thft formed the foot-frill, revers, collars and cuffs. The yoke ia of tucked taffeta. AU bright and be coming shades of color arc correct and henrietta, albatross, and all the light weight wools as well as soft finished silks are appropriate. The foundation is a fitted lining that extends to the waist line only, onto which the yoke ls faced and to which the portions of the gown are attached. The gown itself Is cut with loose, flow ing fronts, under-ann gores that out line the figure and a back that is laid in inverted pleats to give a Watteau effect. The upper edges of the back are finished with revers. Bclero fronts that are softly draped from the under arm seam to the centra front nave revers that roll over at the upper edge and meet those of the back at thi I shoulders. The sleeves are in bishop style with deep pointed boll cuffs, and at the neck is a turn-over collar. Woman'? Shirt Waist or Blouse. Tasteful shirt waists are In.constant, demand. Each new design finds its place and creates its own vogue. This extremely pretty model by May Man ton Is one of the latest out and in cludes several novel features. As shown It is of French grey dog-skin flannel with the narrow front of white, but both plain an? figured flannels, all ivalst cloths and silks are appropriate, while the design is suited also to the embroidered waist lengths. The fitted lining closes at the centre front and terminates at the waist line. On it are arranged the portions of the IBA GOWN. waist proper. The fronts are lali in two tucks at each shoulder, that ex? tend to yoke depth and aie then left free to form soft fulness over the bust. The narrow vest portion ls plain and Is caught by the buttons to the right side and buttoned into place at the left. The backs aro tucked from shoulders to waist and give the de sired effect but are arranged over fitted lining, the lower edges of which aro 15? TASTEFUL SHZBT WAIST. Oared to form cuffs. At the neck Is 8 stock cc in pos ed of the grey with front nf white that closes, with the iront at the left side. _ _ IT ISN'T THE START ALONE, It isn't thc start alone that counts, it isn't the start alone; It's the place you hold at the end by which the worth of your work ?B known; The dancing horse and the prancing horse may be proud ere the race is run, But they never receive a cheer if they lag at thc rear when the race is done. A fool may start for a lofty goal and hurry ahead and still Be a fool if he quita with the end he sought beyond him over thc hill. If the cable that stretches through the sea' from the distant, foreign shore Fell short by a hundred little feet and ca bles were made no more, Its uncoiled lengths would fail to serve; -no answering instrument Would respond to tlie call from the far .off laud, where eager heads are bent! It's the end that counts-the end at last Sour-start, may be fine, oh, friend, e world will finally judge you by the place you hold at the end. The bride whose*face is as;low with pride As she passes along the aisle, Beholding the grand display of wealth and the fine display of style, May weep in the years that wait, while she that in poor, coarse raiment is wed May still have the love that's dear to her heart when the hair gleams white on her head. And the wonder who stands at the head of his class may falter or stumble or fall, And end as the servant of him at the foot! The start that you make isn't all. The fields may be green in the spring, where the grain is damp with the dew at dawn, But what if thc hills be parched and bare when the harvest time comes on?. The path you take may be smooth at the start, and level and straight and wide, But far away it may wind about where robbers in ambush hide! Oh, look to the end-the faraway end ere ever the die is thrown, For ic isn't the start alone that counts it isn't the start alone. -S. E. Kiser, in Chicago Record-Herald. O000O0OOOC00000O090COOCO5O ? Qoutfe Deserter. ? o _ o ? A War Romance That Beean in Sweden ? O and ?nded on a Federal Scaffold. cs O g BT MAJ. GEORGE Y. WILLI All S. O o o QOOOOOCOOCCOOQOQCQOOOOQOOO IN all wars the crime of desertion ls the most detested among sol diers, and offenders seldom es cape the penalof death called for by military law, when an army is on duty In the field, and in the pres ence of an enemy. There were more executions for this offense in the Fed eral Army in the Civil War than one not familiar with its inside history would credit Most of these deserters were men who, belonging to the crim inal classes, took to "bounty jump ing" as a change from burglary and pocket picking. But there were a few instances where deserters were Im pelled to leave their colors by motives which. lent an air of romance to the j fate they risked. When General Sheridan began his famous operations in the Shenandoah Valley, during the month of August, 1864, he was reinforced by two di visions of cavalry, led by Generals Wilson and Merritt, a part of the Nine teenth Corp3, under General Amory, and all of the Sixth Corps, commanded by General Wright. Having crushed Early's forces in the battles of Win chester and Cedar Creek (the latter being the scene of "Little Phil's" fa mous ride), the Sixth Corps returned to the lines of the Army of the Po tomac, which was still pressing thc siege of Petersburg, Va., thus holding Lee in leash. While the Sixth Corps was in the Shenandoah Valley, three men of for eign birth deserted from a Pennsyl vania regiment and entered the Con federate lines. Announcing a willing ness to enlist under the Southern dag these misguided men only stipulated that they be sent to some other point In the field of hostilities. Their re quest being considered a reasonable one, they were transferred to General Gordon's division, then fighting in the Confederate trenches that defended the city of Petersburg. Tn October, 1864, the United States Government offered pardon and Im munity to all Confederate soldiers who would surrender and take the oath of allegiance. Copies of the announce ment to that effect were scattered throughout General Lee's lines by means of kites, trigger attachments releasing the bundles of papers in midair. Among the first to embrace this offer were the three Sixth Corps men, who thus boped to escape military service and hardship. Unfortunately for them the Sixth Corps had meanwhile ar rived in General Meade's lines, and their own regiment happened to be on guard over the "deserters' corral" when they came through the lines. Being at once detected, all three were placed in strict confinement, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be hanged, a soldier's death by bullet be ing denied them, because of their en listment In the Confederate service. Three days before the one fixed for their execution I was surprised by the receipt of a note from the officer com manding the Sixth Corps provost guard, requesting me to call at his quarters. On my arrival I learned that one of the condemned men wished to see me in private. Shackled hand and foot, the prisoner was led, stumbling Into a tent that was surrounded by sentinels, and per mission was given me to enter. The man who was to suffer n shameful death was a fine specimen of manhood and It was difficult to conceive how he could have been induced to take such awful risks. "I have a favor to ask of you, slr," he began in a low, modulated voice. "I know there is no hope for me; but, If you will giant my request it will enable me to die more calmly." "What do you want me to do?" I asked. "To write a letter to thc woman I love and send her thc money belong ing to me and on deposit in a New York savings bank." "Certainly. I will carry out your Instructions faithfully." "Thank you. Now ?et me tell you my story. I am a native of Sweden. My name is Oscar-and my family live on a farm a few miles from Stockholm. Two years ago I fell In love with a young and pretty girl (here is her picture), the daughter of a farmer richer than my own.peo ple. Her family opposed my sttft| be caus^-I was comparatively poor, [and Christina and I were very unbijjpy. In an evil moment I read a letter written by a young neighbor of ours who had gone to America. He said he had joined the Union army on a boun ty of over $1000 paid him on enlisting. "A thousand dollars Is a greatJleal of money In Sweden, and h decided to emigrate and become .an Airierican soldier. To my surprise bounties had risen, and I got $1200,. all of whi& -ls now in the bank. I had no thought of ever deserting, being willing to take my chances; so left a scaled lettes In the bank, to be opened only inithe event of my being killed In battle. { It contains my will and bequeaths all the money to my sweetheart "These two men who are to dieron the same scaffold with me, entered^he service fully resolved to desert at the first opportunity. One night while we were on picket guard-togetberiat Cedar Mountain, a week or two before the battle, they revealed to me-their purpose of slipping through the Ihjes into Early's camp, and asked me tpjgo with them. As an inducement they explained that after joining the Con federates lt would be easy to get trans ferred elsewhere and the-n we coifld redesert, and get free of all military duty. "To this day I do not know why I consented to take the Rtop that has proved so fatal to all of us. But I did, and here I am In heavy irons doomed to an awful and disgraceful death. Now, however, that you have prom ised to grant my request, I aminore resigned to my fate." "Have you told this story to anyone else?" was my -natural Inquiry. "No, what would be the. use? It ? no excuse for the military crjlniej have committed. As long as my " remains Ignorant regarding the pr else nature of my death, it will i happier for her, and In time she ms with my money, get a better hus band." I took down in my notebook all the necessary details, again promisingly carry out his instructions, and.the In terview ended, "Oscar" 'being taken back to the guard tent As he had asked earnestly that I would place mj self In front of the scaffold, I obeye It was a bright, sunny Novembe morning, when the division to whlc these hapless men belonged wai paraded to witness the execution. .Ob* taining the necessary permission .front General Wright, I stood beside thejp.ro vost marshal and saw the men die "Oscar"-that was not his name as may well be supposed-stood in thef centre. As the noose was place around his neck he recognized * presence, and, just before the cap wa drawn over his eyes, he gave me a lool of thanks which I shall never forget The next Instant the, drop felt In due time rewrote to the younj woman, announcing her lover's deaf "In front of Petersburg," and the bank transferred "Oscar's" deposit to her. Three years after I received a letter from Sweden, saying that the girl had never married, but died of grief. It was the saddest tragedy that came to my notice during the entire war.-The Journalist Is the Short Story Doomed? _ In "The Editor's Study," in Harper's, Mr. Alden gives some Interesting opin^1 ions as to the magazine of the future; He predicts the passing of both th(j serial and the conventional short story: "The aim of this kind of magazine; becomes ever more and more distinct from that of the book," he says, "and; the time will come when the serial publication in lt of fiction or of history will be an exceptional thing. We ar^ confident that even the conventional short story-that elaborate structur? formerly deemed necessary-will dis appear from its contents, its place be ing taken by the vivid,, suggestive sketch, with an even stronger appeal to the normal emotional sensibility. What used to be known as the 'article/ has already been transformed, to use George Eliot's pregnant phrase, froip a diagram into a picture. The essay, as we are using it in these pages, is not the formal and extended treatment of a subject, but an expression of borrie phase of thought concerning an inter esting theme that, limited as it majy seem, has through Its suggestiveness an indefinite expansion. "The briefer the contributions to tiie magazine the greater its variety. But brevity should not be sought at the sacrifice of literary art. The brief sketch or essay or story should not bo a fragment. Brevity ls comparative; twenty pages may be short, and a sin gle page tediously long. The artistic requirement is the economy; there must be no waste." a The American Conquest of England,] "The United States." said a bojoi. publisher, "is engaged not only inj commercial conquest of Great Britakn, but in a literary one as- well. Th?re is an uprising of American wri who are producing American works [of fiction and of fact, and these wonks are taking hold in England to-dfey, Now, the thing which is most signifi cant is that English novelists are (be ing more widely read in the United States than in their native land. Thjese writers are studying American tajstc and are becoming more and more cW cerned with their American editions, for in these are the greater prafit This accounts in a measure for fan growing power of the American plub Usher and the declining authority! ol the British publisher. New Yorit ii rapidly succeeding to London as.Jlth< hook centre of the Engllsh-speal^in? people."-Washington Star. Has Monopoly of Moylng Coln* One truckman down town has j foi many yeavs had a monopoly of Jth< moving of bullion and coin, andi hi could not probably estimate */%vei roughly the number of millions Sf dol lars that he has carried on his \t*fcck For the purpose of transportation)^ol< is boxed in heavy packages. The t is guarded by several men alwaysVfam on one recent occasion when i amount Involved was very large, ?Val 1 Street was treated to the unusual sfpec tacle of the cashier and assistant dhjeh 1er of the City Bank riding on a |ioa< of gold.-New York Commercial. ..ucl th. The KgeofrPost ai By Adrien De J N France, daring the siege of Paris, at a time when the German armies were surrounding the capi tal and cutting off the Parisian population from all communication with the ou'side world, Monsieur Rampent, the the? Postmaster-Gen eral, conceived the idea of intrusting to pigeons the transmission of news, thus giving the inhabitants a knowl edge of what was going cn in the prov inces. In this way these members of A LIEGE- BRED Twist a**o? the Government who had remained in Paris were put In touch with their colleagues of the National Defense who were at Tours. In order to at tain this subject a certain number of j pigeons were conveyed by balloon from j Paris to Tours, whence they were set Itree, bearing messages photographic ally reduced to .microscopic dimen sions on very light collodion films. In those days the despatch was rolled up J and inclosed in a quill attached to the tail of the pigeon. By these means over ?150,000 official and, at the lowest, "1,000,000 private messages entered Paris., The great French shipping company l^.known as the Compagnie Transatlan tique deserves the credit of making the first attempts to establish what may truly be styled the seapost. On March 26, 1898, the steamship La Champagne took aboard, for the first time,., eighty pigeons. Three batches of birds were set free at a j short distance from the seaboard, and this in most stormy weather. The older birds safely reached their cote, while the younger ones, unable to with stand a pelting rain-fall, dropped Into the sea in- sight of those aboard. On the following day, and under like .unfavorable weather conditions, La : Champagner having "co verco*""360 miles, rescued the crew of the doomed Bothnia. Seven pigeons were sent IHIS STRIP OF BAMBOO, CONTAINING THE MESSAGE, IS FASTENED ROUND THE PIGEON'S LEG. forth, each bearing a similar despatch. They took their flight ct noon, and it was calculated that they should either reach land or some ship's maet. One of the birds dropped on tho deck of the Chatterton, in thc Bay of Biscay; the Chatterton cabled to Paris and to New York the loss of the Bothnia. A sec ond bird was picked up by a freight steamer, which thereupon shaped its course for the locality of the disaster, came across the derelict, and towed it into an Irish port. A week later a third pigeon, wounded, and minus its despatch, reached its cote. The four others were never heard of. again. The pigeons employed by the Com pagnie Transatlantique are selected with the most rlglrous care. The head must be big and round; the bill rela tively short and surmounted with a fleshy, heart-shaped excrescence; the eyes shine brightly; the breast must bunch out; the legs be short; and the wings must meet on a narrow and powerful tail. In addition to being endowed with an extraordinary instinct for shaping its course, a good carrier pigeon must possess great rapidity of flight and tremendous staying power. The first named quality-the "homing instinct,' which ls innate-is not susceptible of any improvement. The tv7o others ff A DRAGOON SCOUT - HE OAR PIGEON M: may be secured by means of progres sive and regular training. A pigeon'; education begins when it is but thre or four months old. It ls conveyed i mlle distant from its cote and then se Sea and in War. a*aud, of Paris. free. The experiment ls~renewed dally, the distance oh each occasion being imperceptibly - increased. The bird's education cannot be considered com plete, however, until lt has attained the age of three years. On land the pigeon is able to cover long distances, such as those between Rouen and Brussels or New York and Chicago. Its ratio of flight, under nor mal atmospheric conditions, is never less than 31.16850 miles an hour, and never exceeds 49.85300 miles on a long distance. The pigeons are*brought aboard the Transatlantique steamers in wicker cages having a drinking trough. As soon as the French coast is out of sight passengers desirous of sending a dispatch arc notified to prepare lt. In pursuance of this object the passen ger is handed a small rectangular card on which he ls to write as legibly as possible what he wishes to communi cate, plus the name and address of the recelver;the card is then handed to the clerk Intrusted with the transmission of the message. The clerk puts the different messages into a group.pkoto graphs them on a plaque to which ad heres a film, reducing the writing In the course of the operation to such a degree that it cannot be deciphered except with the aid of a magnifying glass. The proof is developed, the film detacbed_a~d carefully rolled, and then placed n a small Dam DOO I?^-C, hermetically sealed, end weighing hardly one and one-half gramas. To this tube is attached a light kid band, provided with an automatic button such as is sometimes used to fasten gloves. As soon ac Vie tubes are ready the pigeons are taken out of thc baskets containing them. These birds are ex tremely delicate-the slightest crush ing injures them and renders them un 7 IIS PIGEON 13 Y< 2 ARIN G THE CHINESE ' WHISTLE WHICH PBOTE0T8 IT AGAINST THE BKBHx'S TRAINED HAWKS. flt to do what is expected of them. The clerk attaches each tube to the leg of a pigeon by buttonin^jthe-kid~band above describeeL^^STpigeon is able to carry a we^htof fifteen grammes wltJtio?t*lts detracting from thc rap u?lty of its flight. The loosings take place in the morn ing, or, if the skies are too overcast, at latest before 2 p. m. Immediately upon being loosened the pigeons cire'e a few times about the ship, after which they head straight for France, in tho direction of Rennes. On arrival at the home station the tubes are taken off, the films extracted from them, and the photographic dispatches enlarged to their original size. The proofs thus obtained are pasted on a glazed card ornamented with a pretty allegorical design. It has often been asked what consti tutes the marvellous faculty of shaping its course by the carrier pigeon. Neither sea nor mountains nor forests interfere with this faculty. The bird steers its couree as if guided by a com pass. As t'.e pigeon flies at an alti tude of not more than 160 yards to ISO yards it ls not aided by its vision, for in that case, given the rotundity of the world, it would have to soar to an altitude of 7076 yards. Now, accord ing to aeronauts who have experi mented in the matter, the bird at that altitude quickly drops to a much lower one. Are they then guided by mag nteic currents? Are they endowed with a sixth sense? The matter re mains a mystery. It is impossible for the pigeon car ried away by a steamship to note the course followed by means of one of his five senses, since, during his jour ney by rall from Rennes to Havre, as well as during the one by sea, he has been altogether cut off from me outer world. And yet the bird possesses so accurate a knowledge of the road it has traveled that it makes for its cote without the slightest hesitancy and at a very normal rapidity of flight The carrier pigeon was of necessity RIES ON HIS BACK A SUPPLY OF E SSENGERS. . to be made use of for national defense s During a campaign the success of op e erations depends at most times on th a rapidity with which the commandei t in-chief is informed of the enemy' movements. To this er ise is maOc of cavalry patrols and of the field tele graph and telephone. But to Insure the safe arrival of Information none of these means is so reliable as the carrier pigeon. Scouts are liable to be made prisoners or killed, telegraph or telephone wires may .work faultily or be destroyed. These mishaps are avoided by the use of the carrier pig eon. In war time the role of cavalry con sists more especially in seeing and in reporting what it has seen. It is of ten ar. easy matter to see, but to report oftentimes attended by difficulties. Herein lies the value of the carrier pigeon. Troops on the march are ac companied by portable cotes. They consist of huge wiro cages provided w'th lateral shutters; the cage is trans ported on a two-horse four-wheeled wagon. When it ls found expedient to reconnoitre the position of the ene my or surprise its movements a. few pigeons are taken cut ; or tho portable cote and placed in a wicker cago in S TWO OP THE riGEON-CAGE W AR: shape like an infantry soldier's haver sack; this cage is strapped cn tho back of a dragoon. Dragoons are preferred for this service, for they do not carry any carbine slung about them, so that the cage is more easily attached to their back. The dragoons gallop off in the direction ordered, and before coming in touch with the enemy they commit to a very thin sheet of paper the result of their observations. The sheet is then inserted in a tube, and a little while after loosing the pigeon the officer at headquarters is in a posi tion to read the dispatch. In order to fight the carrier pigeons, to stop them in their flight and Inter cept the inf ormation borne by them, ' the Germans have trained hawks to hunt down these winged messengers.* The undertaking, was-at first ,attend?d* with difficulties, for, independently of the necessity of -estarajphlng nnn TPI-P-A scale a system of falconry, the saine .dispatch might be Intrusted to several pigeons, and hen?! it would be suffi cient for a single one to escape from the talons of the birds of prey to ren der useless all efforts made to capture the dispatch. Moreover, the pigeons are protected from tho assault of the A CASE FOB A CARRIER-PIGEON. hawk by means of a little Aeolian or Chinese whistle affixed to its tatt. This whistle sounds as the bird flies through the air, and frightens away the timid hawk. In Germany much importance is at tached to thc uso of carrier pigeons in time of war, and in the German Army greatest care is devoted tj the training of the birds, thc officers and men being given instruction in the art of handling them. In France the scouts are provided Avith a pigeon apiece, which they carry in a little iron case fa'stened to the waistbelt. The holder has a hinged lid, which is opened when the bird is to be released, and the head piece can be unfastened when the bird Is fed. In France carrier pigeons are like horses-liable to be requisitioned In time of war. Every year owners of carrier pigeons are compelled to state ; at the Mayor's office the number of ; birds they own; while foreigners are no longer permitted to breed carrier i pigeons in the country. There are at present in Paris some ; 700 owners of carrier pigeons, posses sing 14,000 pigeons, 7500 of which are subjected to a regular course of train ing. Thc total number of carrier pig eons in France is 600,000. The prico of a pigeon varies accord lng to its pedigree, age and degree f-t training. Some few years ago, at a sale in England, seventy pigeons fetched $3449. Ono of the birds, a cross between the Antwerp and Brus sels breed, brought $243-Thc Wide I World Magazine. Boy Murderer in Prison For Life. Smith Jones, aged thirteen, was re ceived at the Indiana Northern. Pri son, Lnporte, October 24, to serve a life sentence for murder. Warden Shideler says Jones is the youngest convict received in the history of the prison, and it is said that no other penal institution in the United States has so young a prisoner convicted of first degree murder. Jones killed a man twelve years his senior. The lat ter is alleged to have taunted Jones, and the boy retaliated by drawing a knife and stabbing his victim to deai -Cincinnati Enquirer. Aerolite Bnrus a Barn. It is reported from Kleff that a large aerolite fell in the village of Wisienki, a few miles from Kieff, the noise of its fall being heard for a distance of fifteen miles. ' According to a Warsaw dispatch (Oe tober 18) in the Loudon Express, the ? aerolite crashed through a barn, set !. ting lt on fire, and within half an )- hour fourteen peasants' houses were e In flames. A boy, three years old, was .- burned to a cinder lu one of the dwell s ings. THE AUSTRALIAN FLAC. A Selection Slade From the Thirty Thon sand Designs Submitted. The judges appointed by the Govern ment of thc Australian Commonwealth have made their selection from the thirty thousand designs submitted la the recent comp?tition open to Aus tralian artists and others. -The flag Codded upon has the Union Jack In the top left hand corner, with a six AGONS USED IN THE FRENCH pointed star immediately beneath lt, emblematic of the six federated States, while the other half of the flag is devoted to depicting the Southern Cross. The Government and official color is to be blue, while the mercan tile marine of the new commonwealth will fly the fing with a red ground. The approved design was submitted by several competitors.-New York Tri bune. To Ward Off iva lanches. Avalanches' are so common in Switz erland .that devices are now ,being made to control them. The Swiss form earthworks or intrenchiaent3 which' are pointed in such a fashion that avalanches coming in contact with them are" split and so driven aside. An earthwork of this kind has beens, built near , the church at Oberwald, in Wallis- It was.flt??'-'aolIow. within, but received so ' many shocks ""from avalanches that the -people of the Oberwald recently made It massive ... and solid. Primitive though this methed of guarding against huge masses of snow is, the Swiss maintain that it is prov ing of admirable service, and owing to the attention which Dr. Stelter has now drawn to the subject, it is thought likely thai many new earthworks will be erected in Switzerland during this summer. At first sight it may seem incredible that a comparatively small mass of earth and stone should have thc power of opposing any resistance to an avalanche, but experience shows that it bas, and the reason evidently is because it is properly constructed and is placed In the very spot where thc impact of au avalanche is likely to do it thc least injury. nappy Course of a Bowl?er. One of the greatest curiosities in the neighborhood of New York is now to be seen at thc foot of the Palisades. Between two frame houses built there is a giant bowlder twenty-five feet wide, which fell from a great height, at the top of tho Palisades, and sweep ing down the front cf the cliffs, up rooted big trees, tore up tons of loose stone and cut a wide swath the en tire distance. Finally, after zigzag ging from one side to the other, it rolled in between two frame houses and stopped there. Thc people were asleep in the houses when the rock started. They had bare ly time lo make their escape when lt made its appearance at their front door. They are now thanking their lucky stars that the enormous stone did not hit one of the buildings.-New York Herald. Worth lt. The cost of living, ?ve are told, has reached the highest point for a decade. Well, and is not life worth more than it ever was before? it certainly is to those of us who are alive.-BostoD Transcript. Ace Limit For Railroad Employes. A compulsory scheme of rarement at the age of si?.ty-flve of all responsi ble officials and stationmasters in the service of the iiorth British Railway Company is shortly to be Inaugurated