University of South Carolina Libraries
TRI-WEEKLY EDITION. WINSBROS.CI,_EBRARA_1 SM SPOTS. There's a fleck of rust on a fawless blade On the armor of price there's one; Theae's a mole on the cheek of the lovely maid There are spot on the sun. Jut the blade of Damascus has succored the weak, The shield saved o knIght from a fall The mole Is a grace on my lady's cheek The sun shines for all. A PLUCKY PARSONs Laura Dunning was the belle of Ash tonville-a fact no one thought for a moment of disputing. And it was not a mere doll's beauty that she possessed of exaggerated eyes and eyebrows, for every glance revealed a fund of genuine '.iumor and intelligence. Her life was a very ,pleasant one, as she was tenderly petted and caressed by parents and brothers, and followed by admiring eyes wherever her pretty *eet wended their blithesome way. Always surrounded by a crowd of suitors, she showed no si.ecial favor to any of them, and, although many would have given worlds to win her preference, they could not be jealous of each other when she received them all with the same sweet smile and pleasant greeting. But there came a change, and that was when the new minister, R tlph Osborne, made his appearance in Ash tonville. Although earnest and conscientious in fulfilling the various duties that de volved upon him, he had very litttle of the conventional "parson" in his ap rjearance. Tall, broad shouldered and muscular, he would have offered a fine model for an athlete, and he was fond of hunt 'ng. The young girls of the parish pro nounced him "splendid," and even if Laura did not say so, she certainly thought it. 7 Her bright, sweet face soon attracted his attention, and, as he found her the best-informed and most cultivated young lady in the place, he always managed to have a long chat with her vhenever and wherever they met. It was not long before she began to anticipate these meetings, and her eyes grew softer, her cheeks more brightly pink, wh'.r she saw him coming toward her. This could not escape the notice of her other adnirers; j'alousy and ill will heing aroused in consequence. "Great idea," they said, "for a canting parson to cut us ill out with the prettiest girl in town." And Ralph wondered why he could not get on better with those he would have gladly have made his friends and %ssociates. Laura's brothers and cousins were the only ones who eacouraged his genial advances and appreciated his good intentions. There was one young man who could not be satisfied with surly glances merely, but made himself conspicuous several times by his rude and unjusti 'iable remarks. The minister exercised unusual for bearance, maintaining a coolness and equanimity that revealed the posses -ion of philosophy as rare as sensible. But Laura took the culprit severely to task. She was never at all afraid to speak her mind very plainly, when she thought the occasion called for it. V ~ "Dick Lawson," she demanded, "are you not ashamed of having spoken to your minister in that way" That was only adding fuel to the flames for poor Dick was very much in love with Laura, and jealousy of Ralph was piercing his heart like a knife. She addressed him, too, exactly as if he had 'een a naughty little schoolboy. Raph Osborne is not my minis ter," he retorted. "He is a meddling iarson and a coward." I. "How do you know he is a coward?'' Laura asked, indignantly. "Bcuehe does not dare answer -ne when--" "Does not dare answer you!" she re peated, contemptuously. "He con siders it altogether beneath him to notice the ill-humnor of a silly boy!" With which crushing remark the young lady raised her head disdainfully and left him in a state of fury quite indescribable. "I'll prove him a coward before two days are over," Dick said to himself, and thereupon concocted a scheme he thought must certainly result in the minister's utter humiliation and de feat. The next day Ralph received a sum mons to visit a sick lady living several miles out of town. The road he must take was quite a lonely one, leading through woods part of the way; but the drive was pleasant and picturesque, .and he concluded to take his gun with him to shoot any game he might happen to tome across. "Miss Laura is very fond of quail," hie thought, "aud I may perhaps be ~fortunate enough to provide a dainty httle supper for her.'' So he started off in very good spirits, whistling and singing in a manner not at all suggestive of the "canting par son," as his jealous rivals called him. He had just reached the most ro mantic and picturesque portion of the country, and was greatly enjoying the .view of woodland and ravine, when a rough voice called: "Halt!" The minister was more surprised than pleased, especially as a revolver was held in very close proximity to his face. Such a position is certairly a most unpleasant one, but Ralph Osborne was a man of perfect health, mentally F} and physically. His nerves, too, were A of steel. Surprise kept him silent for a few moments. "Please remove that pistol," he said at last, very quietly. "They sometimes go off when you least expect it." The man obeyed, as if involuntarily. "Your watch and pocket-book, ant quick, too, parson, I'm in a hurry.' "Supposing I do not choose( to giv up my valuables? And to tell the truth' -here he seized his shot-gun, and aim ing directly at the man, added-"I d not choose. Now, drop that pistol a once. Turn about is fair play." His astonished assailant did as com manded. without speaking a word They were very near the brink of a ravine, the descent of which, althougi possible, was steep and uni-iviting. "Now," Ralph said, "you may gt down that bluff, and quick, too, foi I'm in a hurry!" And he still held his gun in a man ner very uncomfortable for the would be robber. The latter looked down the desceut and then, completely demoral ized, removed the mask from his face and revealed the features of Dick Law I son. "I cannot go down there, Mr. Os borne," he said, "and I own mysell beaten." He presented such a very rueful pie ture as he uttered these words that Ralph could with difficulty keep from laughing. Ministers, however, must learn to control their impulses; and although the muscles of his moutL twitched suspicuously, he spoke with a gravity most befitting the occasion. '.Dick Lawson," he inquired, "d( you know what I feel strangely tempt ed to do?" "No, sir." "Then I will tell you. I have an almost irresistible desire to get out of my buggy and give you the biggest thrashing you ever had in your life." If the young man was surprised be fore, he was still more so now, and with a deprecating look he replied: "I believe, of the two, I had rathei you would use your shot-gun." "I will not do either if you will tell me frankly and honestly what this masquerading means, and why you have cherished such evident spite against me." "Do you suppose I and my frienda like to see a strange parEcn come here and cut us all out with a pretty girl?" "What pretty girl?" Ralph inquired although he suddenly felt very much enlightened in regard to the conduct of the young men toward himself. "Laura Dunning, of course." '-You say I have cut you all out How do you know that? I do not believe Miss Laura ever said anything of the kind, and I am very sure that I have not." "Just as if we could not see with out own eyes! Aren't there girls enough outside of Ashtonville?" "Mr. Lawson, you are talking ver foolishly. I certainly shall not deny myself the pleasure of Miss Dunding's society until she ceases to greet me cordially. But we have no right, either of us, to discuss the preferences of a young girl. Now, as you seem disinclined to descend that bluff, perhaps you will dine with me? Of course, the message from Mrs. Greely was not genuine." "No, sir. I do not care to ride, but -Mr. Osborne, shall you tell anyone of this?" "Yoa would prefer not to have it mentioned, I presume, I will agree to that. on condition that you attend church next Sunday to hear the sermon I shall preach for your benefit." "I promise to be tbere," "And you have learned that a man may be a preacher without necessarily being a coward?" "You are the pluckiest fellow I ever saw." And so they parted. "I have cut them all out with that sweet girl, they say" was the minis. ter's thoughbt. "I will see for myself." He did. And Laura made her hus band's home as bright and happy as she had made that of her parents. T REE-PLANTiNG iN FRANCE reless Band Dunes Converted Into Valu' able Land with Pines. The French thoroughly appreciate he advantages to be derived from sys. ematic tree planting. Tracts of sand 1ave been covered with pine forests, md the word lande, borrowed, as it is :hought, from the German, is losing its neaning of "waste." Till a century igo alarge portion of the forest of Eontainbleau consisted of bare sand. ils, but the planting of pines was be. pmn, a variety capable of stand-ing the everest winters was eventually found, md millions of trees now diffuse ealthy and agreeable odors, besides urnishing timber and fuel. The de composed fir needles, moreover, grad. ually form a crust of vegetable mold, permitting the growth of trees and shrubs less able than the pine to live n air. The department of the Landes, :nee a barren region, with sand so loose that people had to walk on stilts, is covered with pines, and the problem of draining the subsoil has been solved, as described in Edmund About's story of "Maitre Pierre." The losses by fire and anxiety to produce something more remunerative than pine are now, however, inducing of artificial fertiliza ion. In many French watering places unes have been transformed into woods, thus holding cut to seaside visi tors the attraction of agreeable shade and a change from a monotonous beach. Shifting sands have been prevented 'rom extending inland. In some cases dunes have been acquired by companies, which, after planting them, have cut them up into building lots, and have seen them dotted with villas. Else where municipalities have taken up the matter, and in large operations the dis trict or the department has providel the funds.-London Times. Evriar man who works schemeu fnal nnlls his own leg. ON THE CROW RESERVATION. a Indian Race that Is Fortunately Fast Dying Out. Our ride from the fort to the field i -as through the pretty valley of the J ittle Big Horn. We passed one large )row village and at one point witnessed I s picturesque sight-to wit, about a g indred Crow Indians engaged in ac- s mal manual labor. Capt. Watson, tho n illitary officer in charg; of the Crow i Lgency, has established here an ex erimenatl farm, the Indians perform :ng the bulk of the work. He had them engaged In chopping down sage grass Dn the bottom as we pat-ed. These Crow Indians are the ri:jet vagrants In the world. They own -he land com posing the vast reservatIon, they have free food and ammunition In abund ance, and they only nurber about 2,300 all told. If they had their hold .ngs in severalty they would have a small fortune per capita. As we came upon the sage-brush ,miters the landscape was full of color. [he handsome ponies, with gay blan cets and rich saddles, were tethered n the plain, and the golden sunshine vas gilding their trappings with au cumnal effulgence. The bucks wore broad white sombreros and were clad In variegated blanket coats and trous ers, while the squaws could have given a June rain-bow cards and spades, so to speak, in the matter of color (though they really had hoes),. and I can truth fully say that I never saw such a for midable, forceful array and so little achievement. The men were for the most part sitting around, smoking cig arettes or lounging half asleep, while the papooses rolled in the sun, and the iquaws alone swung the glittering Woe. These Crow Indians, I take it, says Dol. Cockeril, in the New Yoik Herald, bear about the same relation to virile Indians of the Sioux stamp that the kenus corvus bears in ornithology to the white-headed eagle. When one of these Indians takes up a bit of land P and sets up as a granger the govern ment builds him a nice frame house. b As soon as the house becomes pedicul ous the aboriginal farmer sets up a tepee on his front lawn, moves his fam Ily and his penates into It, and, turns the government mansion over to his ponies. I saw a number of -instances in which the corvine son of Agricola aad thus returned, hog like, to his wal. ow. On ration day at the Crow agency these genial wards of the nation flock there to a man and woman for a frolic. P Each gang is alloted a certain number t of cattle, and they do their own slaugh tering. This is a gala occasion for the Indian and his dog. When a steer Is stricken down he Is immediately evis- ' cerated, and the leading man seizes the kidneys as a bon bouche. These are eaten warm and raw, and if the buck b is in high feather he smears his face I with blood. The liver and heart of the 9 steer are eaten by tradesmen of lesser h degree, while the squaws squeeze out a the intestines and proceed to devour 0 them with gusto, cleaning by watej h even being dispensed with. b Engaged in this sort of barbario a gustatory pastime will be found In dians who have been schooled at Carl isle and elsewhere, and who ought to know better. And right here, under thea shadow of the handsomest, best equip- t ed agency in the West, and under the eye of the finest cavalry barracks out side of San Antonio, Tex., these Ini- a dians dispose of their dead by hanging L them up in tree tops. I saw within r five miles of the fort a Crow corpse iny a tree-a very becoming place for a crow-and I could but regret the scarc ity of trees and similar ornamenta- a tions. It is somewhat satisfying -tct know that these Indianse who cling sc tenaciously to the skirts of barbaism r are not fructifying. Their census r shows an annual decrease of from fifty to a hundred.. Their general worthlessness and the vices and dis-' eases kindly translated to them by the whites may be depended on to do the business, and the Crow Indian, like the C Irish wolf dog, will soon be a reminla cence. IT WAS T HE HIGH F. aow Gerster Once Reached That Diff cult Note in the Old Academy. Melba sang in high C with ease and beauty the other night, and after the excitement and enthusiasm had sub sided an old-timer told this anecdote of Gerster: "It was at the old Academy of Mu si," he said, "and Gerster was the favorite prima donna.- She was in par ticularly good voice that night, and when she started to sing the house was absolutely silent. In fact, the stillness seemed to increase as she sang, and when she got to the higher notes peo ple seemed to have stopped br-eathing. Up and up she went, until finally I ielt my heart beating violently at the fear ' that she would be unable to reach the a limit she had set for herself. In an in- lJ dennite sort of a way I noticed that D other people around me seemed im- It] pressed with the same fear, but the o singer never faltered. Clear as a bell o her voice continued to mount, until c finally it had struck the high F. It '5 was such a wonderful feat that when she stopped the house remained silent. a People were so overwhelmed that they * could not recover in time to applaud. 1 While this deathlike stillness prevailed a. German in the top gallery, aroused : beyond self-control, shouted out: "Gott. Ia Himmel, dot vas d'er high F!" That broke down the house, broke the spell under which we were all enthralled, r and a whirlwind o-f laughter and ap- a plans followed. With her face ~ wreathed in iemiles Gerster ran off. "That was not the climax, howevel or, the enthusiasm being now let loose. a the entire audience arose and shouted and insisted upon the singer's return. She came back, flushed with triumph, and mirato si ~ng asmain. aAmin he roice mounted up as high as it nad be. 'ore, and this time the suspense was ren greater, because It seemed Im. oLsible. that she could acomplist uch a wonderful performance twice a the same night; but she was in mag Ificent voice and never faltered once, n fact, the second trial resulted In a renter triumph than the first, and the econd high F was clearer, fuller and more beautiful than the other. It was I memorable night. I do not believe hat anybody who was.,there will evet orget it."-New York Sun. A PERILOUS POSITION. Kajor Dodd Trying to Save His Horse from Destru'ction. The above cut deplets an incidenm -hich occurred to Surgeon Major Dodd, a -the Indian army, while riding along , mountain road. The road gave away eneath the horse's feetand the horse ras dashed to pieces hundreds of feet elow, the surgeon major mnilaging HOxE's HE3oIC TUGGL'roB .IFE, y great effort to cleoi himself. Th( icture shows the rider, after he ha( ot to the ground, struygllng to save his orse. It was of no avaI4 for the ant ial gradually lost what little footing had at first obtaiid on the loos ubbish, and fell down the precipice s described. The Illustration is frog sketch by Surgeon Major Dodd. Attacked by a Rhinooros. The author of "Discovery of Lakes audolf and Stefanie" had shot a ze. ra, and his men were making ready, cut it up, when two rhinoceroses ap. eared in the dIstance ,.Apparently ie firing of the gun 1id disturbed er nap, and made them thorough4 ngry. Though more 1 ur hundre( aces off, the' rhinoceroses swerved side when they saw us, and then ashed upon us with the speed of rae orses. As usual, my black compan. mns took to their heels, making for a )litary tree some distance off. It was opeless for me to think of reaching it, nd there was not so much as a blade f straw for cover anywhere. And be ind the dead zebra, which would have een better than nothing, three of my en were already crouching. There was nothing for it but to brave de situation out; so I knelt on one nee, the beter to take aim, and with iy elephant gun in hand waited to fire tl I could hope to kill. It seemed a mng time before I could cover the houlder of either of the huge beasts, nd I knew any other shot would be seless. The result was that I did not uil the trigger till one of the animals ras only some eight or ten paces off. It staggered and fell, but the next mo lent was on its feet again. It was not iled, but its ardor was cooled, for it rned away, followed by its compan )f. Twice It seemed about to fall, and did not think a second shot would be ecessary; but, it got away with un Iminished speed, and though we fol >wed it for some distance, we lost it. Easy Sum. "What does 'quartered oak' mean, ther?" inquired little Dennis McKay, rho had been reading tihe advertise 1ent of a large fur'niture mnanufactur 2g comp~any. "An' here's the resoolt av iddica on!" ejaculated Mr. McKay, with an xpression of great contempt on his ddy face. "Here's me b'y that's en a-addin' an' subthractin', mool ylyin' an' dividin' for the lasht sivin ears coom nixt Daycimber, an' has to sk his poor owid fayther the manin' f a simple little soom boike that" "Why, I didn't know-" began Den is, much abashed; but his father gave deprecatory wave of his right hand. "And fwy didn't ye know?" he broke i. "Fwy? Because the cooltivation v common sinise is not included In our coorycoolum at school, that's fwy. tan' me oop in a row, an' ask me how iany is elivin, sivinteen, twinty-wan nd fourty-four, an' it's meself that ud ave nivver a wurrd to say. But let ie casht me oy inter a windy where ere's chape chairs an' tables an' ther furnitoor, marked 'quarthered ak,' an' the owid shtory av the apple t inter four paces, that larnt me as r *y, cooms roight back to me. "There's four quarthers to Ivery lissed thing in this wurrld, Dennis, me -, an' whin a table is 'quarthered ak' accordin' to the man that sells it, e the same token you may know it's iray-quarthers poinle,aven if he makes o mintlon av it." THE Chinese government levies a egular tax on beggars and gives them i return the privilege of begging in a ertain district. REesING to make a fool of oneself t Christmss is a very good habit to ge' Katuralists are in doubt as to wheth r the anan5 in a nlant or an animat. SIRDS SCARCE IN MARYLANDN, a Reasonable Explanation of the Fact that Sportsmen Have Bagged Few. This year's bird shooting season ln Jaryland was a keen disappointment to sportsmen, and their greatest chagrin was caused by their failure to find partridges or qual where they had been represented to be in abundance before the season opened. Two reasons may be alleged for the latter. The frequent whistling of the birds in the spring I Nwhen they are about to mate is not always a safe guide to the number ol coveys that will be found in November, and not sufficient importance is at tached to the disposition of the birds to migrate. The weather, the temperae ture, and other conditions may multi ply the calls of the birds to each other in the spring and make them seem to be more numerous than they really are. The partridge, or quail, is more of a .nigratory bird than many imagine, says the Baltimore Sun, and this will account for the mysterious disappear ance of a number of coveys in Novem ber which had been seen in the latter part of August or early in September. They often follow a river, moving down one side or the other, so that.a covey may be in November many miles from where It was seen in September. This Is verified both by actual observation and by the fact that large numbers of birds turned out by clubs in the spring will raise families and disappear alto gether from the spot where they were released. It Is supposed that they have moved south of the point where they were released, for they seldom go north, and it has been suggested as a remedy that those who take the trouble to pre. serve them during the winter should release them some miles north of the spot where they would like to have them locate. The main cause of the scarcity o- t birds during the season just closed was .l the severe winter of 18913. Not only I was there an immense amount of snow I but the oold was intense and froze the small water-courses tight The birds, 1 If they can get water, can manage to e scratch a precarious living in the fields, t but they are unable to make a fight ( against starvation and thirst at the t same time. After such a winter several moderate seasons are needed to bring back the normal supply of birds. The discontinuance of wheat or small grain crops has had the effect of driving quite a number of birds from their usual haunts In search of stubble fields, and this cause for their disappearance is more likely to increase than to dimin ish. There Is one consolation to sports I nen. The birds have been quite a& 1 scarce in former7ears, and have grad. c ually multiplied under fAvorable con- ( ditions. By bringing birds from abroad 6 and feeding them during the winter t and turning them out in the spring it F may be possible to facilitate the mul. 1 tiplication. He Outbid the Aged Widow. Among the hundred or more person. Ln attendance at the annual clearing I sale- of unclaimed and seized merchan- t Eise at the government warehouse at -I Chicago recently, was Mrs. Nelson, n t old and poorly clad Norwegian woman, 1 who scanned closely every small parcelt of goods that came under Auctioneeri White's hammer. None of the larger packages were of interest to her, but I when a small box which was numbered t among the 616 various lots of goods and catalogue as "effects" was handed up she pushed eagerly to the front and in:i trembling voice bid $1. She could not hide her anxiety, an0 N'est Side dealers, suspicious that the eox might contain valuables, began to bid against her. The contents of the box invoiced $16, and after that price had been reached all bidders against the aged woman dropped out with the execption of D. D. Davis, of 114 West 32th street He ran the price up to $27. At that Mrs. Nelson paused, and, over -ome with grief, was led from the room by her daughter. The box was after. ward found to contain a picture of her dead husbaift, a lock of his hair, and a lot of worn woolen clothing that had been sent from Norway, The duty on the woolens was more than hirs. Nel. a ~on was able to pay when it arrived. e ~nd she has been waiting almost a year. a hoping that the box and contents would t go ata low price on the day of sale. r Webster's Boy Daniel. "'Fame!'" echoed Mr. *Watter-son. It "I never hear the word that I do not I think of Dan'el Webster's story of the Ii time he met an old gentleman in aa railway car, and learning that he was e from New Hampshire, thought he e would draw him out a little about the I old home State. A little more conver- 3 sation showed that the stranger came I fr-om Mr. Webster's native town. ' Here was an opportunity not to be lost. "'Did you ever hear of the Webster .'amily there?' asked the statesman. "'Oh, yes; I know them very well. V'he old man and I were great friends.( "'Aht then you can probably tell me what became of the boys?' "'Well, Ezekiel became a big lawye; -the biggest lawyer, I guess, in all e New Hampshire. The girls, too, turn I ed ouit well' t "'You don't say so; and wasn't therg t a boy named Daniel?' "The old mnan pondered a minute be I tore he answered. "'Now I come to think, there was a r ooy named Dan'l, but he went downe to Boston years ago, and no one ain't heard of him since.' "-K~ate Field'? Washington. In Balloons. One of the balloons recently sent up by French scetsswith automatic ally registeredthroersada ometers reached a height of ten miles, where the thermometer registered 110. agrees below sort. T.E T uILE OF GOVrMNOR. Vith the Exception of Two Statel There Is No Legislation for It. A c6rrespondent in one of our contem iorarles has raised the question as tc vhether the Governor of Pennsylvanic s to be addressed by some distinguish ng title, such as his Excellency. Thii s a very old conundrum, both as apply ug to the President of the United States and to the Chief Executives in varioui Oates. The.Pittsburg Times revives the his orical fact that in Congress Immediate y after the adoption of the Constitui ion there was a joint committee on ti le. There was a truly funny and long ontlnued debate on the subject with very strong disposition, participated n by both the Southern and New En ,land Representatives, that the Presi Ient should be known by some title ofhether it should be his "Electivc 4ajesty," his 'Highness," or his ."Ex ellency," was the subject of a mosi Idiculous dispute, and it was conduct d with so much gravity by some of thc oremost men of the time. Nothing was accomplished. howevei LIud we have been getting further-lrom he nonsense of titles ever since. The 'resident has none, and, with the ex, eption of two New England States here is no legislation in any of the tates conferring a title on the Gover or. It has been something of a prac Ice with many, however, to speak ol he Governor as his Excellency, and i1 is been used sometImes in official in ercourse. Its commonest use, probably, as been in petitions to the Executive vhere it seems to have been thoughi ell to use a little sweetening to securf proper hearing. In this State we have had Governor ith bad taste enough to encourage he ise of the designation, "Your Excel ency." Their communications have een announced to the Legislature a. W',m "His Excellency the Governor." 7hifs does not strike some pecple ai ughable, but it is altogether so. We .re confident that when the secretary ,f Gov. Hastings is intrusted with the lelivery of any message to the Legisla re his simple announcement will be 'a message from the Governor of the "ommonwealth," and that there will be o foolishness about titles.-Philadel ,bla Press. ASHES TO CURE CUTS. tussian Physiciane Revive an Old Method of Treating Wounds. Some of the -best-known physiclan a Russia are strongly advocating the .doption in the government- hospitals f an old Cossack custom of treating -ts and wounds with ashes. The Cos ack peasintry have treated cases in his fashion from time immemorial, .nd Dr. Pashkoff, a Russian physician, vho has been studying the treatment, 'ecently said in an Interview in a Rus an journal: "I strongly recommend the treatmen% f severe cuts and wounds with ashes. Dxperiment has convinced me of the borough efficacy of the treatment, and, a additwn", it is cheap, takes little lie to arrange, and does away with ulky -bandages, which have always een the bane of nurses and physicians. he best ashes are those resulting from he burning of some cotton stuff or nen, and only a very thin layer should >e applied. If the wound has been sade by some dirty instrument and here is danger of blood poisoning it hould be first washed thoroughly with .lotion. The ashes with the blood orms a hard substance. under whict he most severe cuts heal with remark ble rapidity." Dr. Pashkoff has experp'nented with shes on twenty-eIght car ~s of cuts and nly two of the entire number failed a result successfully. These cases rold have been cured, too, had not he nurses failed to apply prescribed tions to the wonnds before the phy cians took them In charge. It is ex remely probable that the ashes treat. ent will be adopted In the St. Peters' surg hospitals before long. A Good Price for Shot. Meyer Horkeimer, dealer in ginseng nd pelts, at Wheeling, W. Va., re elved a consignment of ginseng from .country merchant. It consisted o1' ree barrels and weighed about 300 eunds. In sorting it appeared to be ather heavy,. and several of the roots ere cut open and examined, disclosing hat they had been loaded with shot. t was imnpossible to open all the roots, o they were thrown into a tub of water nd the loadled roots at once sank. The zamination of the three barrels show d that in 3(00 poundso of ginseng 27' ounds of shot l!md been sertrd hich, at $3.50) per pound, gave th e eller a respectable profit on hi, work. ihe shot had been inserted while the oots were soft, the boles in the ende lugged.-Baltimore American. No Use for His Feet, The first mot of the new Czat' was de vered upon the occasion of M. de ers's coficial visit to the Emperor, who eceived him wilth the greatest demon traton of friends~hip, at the same time xpressng the hope thar, notwithistaud ag M. de Gilers's reporte'd wish to re ire from office, he would stil.l continue : work with him fo~t many 5 cars. "Fsut, our majesty, it is serel 17.8.:l 0: >ok at my feet, zuey will harly carryv s." The Czar r'illed: "I a:n very sor y for you; but, as f'ar as I am concern d, I do not want your fect, I wantL you) ead." "Game" At the dinner-table in a coun try hotel guest says to the~ waitress: "Miss, are you sure that. this !s wiW? uck that you've given me?'! "Wildi Well, I should think !t was. t you could 'a' seen us chasin' that tuck more'n forty timnes around thec arnyard 'fore we ketched it, I gum red evo 'twas~ wilIU" - News in .Brief. --Monongahela means-a "river with. out islands." -In Japan the flate is played onl) men in rank. Excessive meat eating is declared t. enake ill-humored, irritable people. Sulphate of atropine is the only inown antidote for toadstool -poison. -Thq Louisville (Ky.) water works has a 16,000,000 gallon pumping en ine. -Paris connoisseurs affirm that oeku borses for food are more tenler than young ones. - -The Hudson River is salty as far a Pouighkeepsie, N. Y. seventy-five mile' 'rom its mouth. Portland, Oregon, has a military company, the height of whose memters %verages six feet. -rxprimeital crops of tobacco hav, oeen grown in Oregon the past season with goreat success. -A woman of Calais, Me., has wo. renown by mending a broken door-. in ge wili. a hairpin. -The White House corner stone wb. 'nid in 1792, and the building was fir-o >ccupied by John Adams. -Fried hominy is held by epicures i general to be the proper accompani. uen t for canvas back duck. -A Cincinnati physician had diph theria in his eye, where a particle ol nucus from a patient lodlged. -A snit of chain mail, such as wa.. aJeLd about the time of William the ,onqueror, often -cost -$1,000. -Although boiling water is fatal tc most microbes, some of them endure Nxtre me cold with indifference. -There wera 230 candidates for thk ibrarianship at Lincoln's Inn, Lon. ion; which pays $1,000 a year. --The Chiiese invariably serve manhflowor with duck, and the combi. tation ii the epicures's delight. -J. H. Tyers, the famous English simmer, recently swam 100 yards in ,no minute and one fifth second. Durable artificial silk, which is both :eat and dressy, is made of waste wool cotton by the aid of chemicals. -An instrument at Rome registered as Japanese earthquake, nearly a fourth f the earth's circumference away. -The most wonderful vegetable i& the world is the traffle; it has neither 'oots, stems, leaves, flower nor seeds. -The oldest coin known is in the nint collection at Philadelphia. It was soined in Aegma in the year 700 a -It Is said that the gold product sor Montana for 1S94 shows an increase of ferenty-five per cent, over that of 893. -Canadian Indians have the old Ro man habit of alternately gormandizing and sleeping when there is a moose at he fire. -The phonautograph is a newly in vented machine which, it is claimed, - -ombines the phonograph and the type vriter. -Birds, as a rule, cannot focus the eyes on an object save at a consider'abls 5istance, and then only with great tienlty. -Klepler firmly believed the moon t< . be inhabited. He always spoke of the supposed people of that orb as' "the 6lenites." -'-The whole of the land on the globa ab-ve water level, if shovelled into the f'cific ocean, would fill only one seventh of it. -Automatic machines have beer, devised for use on a moving trsan which mechanically reco'rd the condition cl wvery foot of the track. -An electrolytic process is beinb successfully used in Sweaen for the extraction of zinc from ores hitherto 10nsidered worthless. -English oculists are intensely inter. ested in the case of a Manchester weaver whose eyes magnify objects to fifty ~imes their natural size. -. -The Philadelphia Grand Jury sug gests that the street railway companies of the city be compelled by law to adopt at once fenders on the cars. -There were two total eclipses os tho sun in the year 1712 and two in 1889. This rare phenomenon will not happen again until the year 2057.. -Rtedfield was the first meteorologis. .0 prove that in all extensive severe storms a system of surface winds' ii 'lowing in towasrd a storm center. *--Old Tonm Tudor, of Mount Olivet, Kly., celebrated his eightietih birthday by marrying for the seventh time. His tildreni do not object to the match. - -Japan is a corruption of the Ohis n'ose word Sisi- pen-kue, which means "root of day," or "sunrs kingdom,'' because Japan is directly east of China. - -A New York woman is charged .vith training her twenty months old baby to toddle into the rooms of a large boarding house and steal money- and 'ewelry. -According to Gray, Michelet and Dobby, three emiinent botanists, there is not a single known species .of mirine plant containing vegetable -A very faint comet has been dis covered in the constellation Aquarius [y Professor Edward Swift, of the Lowe Observatory, Echo Mountain Galifcrnia. -At the altitude of twelve miles the atmosphei-e has a density of about one tenth that of the surface--that is, the barometer would stand at about. thlree inches... *-Scientific research shows tas meats. tish, milk, .and other anirmal. food cost throo times' more than flour, meal, and other staple vegetabfe foods to get the same nutritious result. Wsrv.w a man ?aas nothing else to din he writns lcvtert