Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'1) R DS OF W I:D'M. c.n l1 niear sho)ws a wr:n1i:e A. rwn i a sIile off the ir.k imu41on never lifted a n:a :: nimsel f. l arposelessness is the fruit ful mothe ->. rine. A merry heart makes it May-time al .e year. Th" reward of one duty is thelpowe 'o ixil another. M'o-bid morality is worse than occa :L11 transgression. Wetlth may not produze eivilizatior I eivilization produces money. We ought not to judge of men as i ticiure or statue, at the first sight. '1 e great quality of dullness i- t< i'ntualterably contented with itself. Only evil grows of itself, while fo: 'toodness we want effort and -courge The character of a brave and reso late man is not to be ruffled with ad versity. A woman to remain beautiful in a. should put cosmetics on her soul, no ,n her face. Cheerfulness, or joyousness, is th heaven under which everything bu voison thrives. It is not so much the being exemi> from faults, as the having overcom -hem, that is an advantage'to us. Sometimes we lose friends for whnos loss our regret is greater than ou grief, and others for whom our gri is greater than our regret. A face which is always serene po, sesses a mysterious and powerful a1 traction; sad hearts come to it as t the sun to warm themselves again. Starting a Balky Horse. An old white horse attached to a empty express wagon balked as th corner of Twenty-sixth street an Broadway the other day and for thre( quarters of an hour successfully r( sisted every attempt to make ii move on. The driver belabored hi; with a whip, tugged at the reit and yelled, but to no purpose. The a crowd gathered and began to giv advice freely. One man seized th horse by the ears, another grasped th bridle and -began to pull, while tw or three others braced themselvt agair.zt the animal's hindquarters ai tried to push him forward. The cret ture didn't move a foot. Oneo wit fellow blinded the' horse with th driver's coat, after whi-h he declare the animal would move right along but the plan was a dismal failure. Ai oter insisted that if a plug of tobacc were forced into the creature's mont he would be all right, saying which h thrust a big piece of navy twist be tween the horse's jaws. The stubbor beast shook the dose from his mout - snd remained immovable. Meanwhi] the crowd continued to grow, an every newcomber had a plan of h own for solving the problem, whic by this time had effectually stoppe thie movement of vehicles in Broac way for two or three blocks in eithe direction. The horse was apparent] there to stay. The driver w.as in (de spair. The four or five policemen whi had been drawn to the scene by th gathering crowd looked sheepish an puzzled. A lady who had watclbed th scene from the window of a neighbol ing cafe, finally turned to the gent1 man accompanying her and said. "G and start that horse. These me never can do it. They don't unde: stand. How shall you da '? Simpi take a halter, walk up to~ the 'hor; quietly and hitch it to his bit ring Take the other end in your hand, spea to the horse gently but firmly, an lead him away." The gentleman wei out and borrowed a hitching stra from a hackman, and the crowd jeere him as he approached the balkin horse. He attached the strap to th bit ring as directed, patted the animi kindly on the neck and took the c of the halter in his hand. With a wol pf command he started to lead ti way, and the horse followed as promp ly and obediently as if that were e: actly what he had been waiting for a the while ! The crowd stood backi wonderment and admiration. Some< the superstitious ones declared thiat ti animal had been hypnotized. "Th'ere is no trick about it," e: plained the little woman laughingly i her friends as the gentleman rejo~ine the party in the cafe. "With a those half-witted men fooling aroun him the 'horse probably felt that h~ knew as much as they did. What I needed was neither beating nor yel ing, but the presence of a master. TI a horse as to other animals the hite] ing strap, rope or chain is the toke Df his own subjection. The sight of will subdue him when all othei- mear have failed. Horses are a good dei like some men--you may leE.d the; easily, but you can't drive them. " New York Herald. Interestini FrencL lovestig:ations in a communication to the Societ Medicate du XI~e Arrondissemuent d Paris, Dr. Rosenblith shows that el fusions of blood in sprains are ver rapidly reabsorbed by massage. I practice the injured articulation is a first immersed in very warm water arder to diiate the superficial vesseh~ after which preparation of the a fected region massage is performne outside of the injured part; it is the tradually approached, a very gent] stroke being applied to it at first followed by more vigorous frictior thus gradually producing insensibil ity. When partially obtained a mort >r less energetic kneading is pursued according to the varying degree c sensibility experienced by the pa tient, and to the massage parti tinally applied a compressive band age, with waduing, which is wrappel in a tlanel or linen band. If th strain occars in the inferior i m1s I)r Rosenhlith-contrary to the ordinal ily comme~naed practice of avoidin; movemeaPs for a shorter o. ilnge period-advises the patient to wall as soon as he can do so with >ut feel ong great pain. Walking, he says adapts the auricular surfac~e in a nat aral way and actuates the v 2mal aux lymphatic circulations by the Ou:: aular contraction. Theit N1a.ris of New Zealanid on~ T THE SWEETEST O Oh, many a merry year has life, .And many a month the year, And many a day The month makes gay, And the day with golden hours is rife And the world is full of oheer. But the sweetest hour of the fairest day Of the loveliest month and year, Came that summer night, When your eyes so bright Were telling me aye while your Ups said na3 And your heart became mine, my dear. -Phil Jansen, in New York Sun. BRIXTON'S ENGAGEN']M BY JEN'sON BURT. HERE are m an, varieties of matri monial proposal beside those whic] vt appear in novels -, and one of them made a lo t o trouble a year o two ago for Joh Brixton. Briito3 was one of the in - ,. ~ telligent fe11ow who also are adap tive, so he had ac quired a lot of ac quiaintances who were the envy of ever, one that knew him. Although he wa: e only a salesman on salary-quite i good saliary, it must be said-for i - large firm of iron manufacturers, hi r as irequently accosted familiarly b; fbank Presidents and other busines magnates, and could slap any of thesi gentlemen on the shoulder withou giving offense. As he was a bachelor and old enough to have outgrown th< habit of lounging through suceessivi evenings in houses where there wer pretty daughters, he was available foi dinner parties given by men who knei no better way of spending an evening E Everybody among his acquaintancei e wished him well, and wished the d could do something for him, but thea - repected him all the more because h< - never tried to borrow money nor aske a for any other favors. a It seemed one day to old Budder A President of the Forty-seventh Na tional Bank and a hearty admirer o: e Brixton, that he was just the man t< e throw a fortune in Brixton's way. Th< e plan came to Budder's mind suddenly o but sudden inspirations and quick a tion thereon are part of the daily lif d of the most stolid of Presidents of bis - banks. Brixton had promised to lunei *e with the bank magnate at midday, and e he appeared at the bank just in time t< d see the old man bowing out a lad; with more courtesy and ceremony thax - he imagined Budder capable of. SAs the old man caught sight o: h Brixton he exclaimed': 8 "One moment, Miss Fewse. Alo -me to introduce you to my dear oli nfriend, Mr. John Brixton. Mr. Brix h-ton, Miss Fewse, daughter of old Bez eFewse, whom every on~e has heard of.' dBrixton bowed, and lqoked curious Jy at the lady. He had seen he: 1father occasionally, before increasing 1years and doctors had sent Mr. Fewse to his final home, .and his eyer rsearched the daughters's face for indi ycations of her father's distinguishing traits. He found them too, althougl othe interview. was short. Miss Fewse was richly yet simply dressed; he: dfigure, like her father's, was dumpy, eand her face, though not rude, was ai broad and heavy, and her forehead was as low as that of old Ben himself, cStill, her manner was womanly, and ias she finally took her departure Brixton, who had a dear old mother, vas well as a sister whom he regardei eas the best young woman alive, sor .rowed to himself that a man as rich at kold Ben Fewse could not have mar ri ed some one whose blood could t have atoned for the rudeness of his own. d"Well, John," said the President, after handing Miss Fewse into he: ecarriage, "you owe me one. Any on4 of a thousand good fellows in Ne' York would give ten years of his lif for such an introduction to Miss Fews4 eas I gave you just now. Go righi . head, now, and make use of it." -You're always doing the friendly I hing, Budder," replied Brixton, sink zng into an easy chair ; "but I don'" [ quite understand it this time." ."Don't, eh ?" said the President, hastily relighnting a cigar which he had laid on his desk when Miss Fewse was announced. "Well, (puff) MissFewei is joint heir with (puff) her brother iher only brother, mind you. Old Ben's estate is estimated by his ex ecutors at eight millions; I don'i eknow how close that comes to th4 -truth-I don't take much stock il what I can't see with my own eyes ~but this much I know." Then the ~President elapped two pudgy hande tupon Brixton's knees, looked squarely into Brixton's .eyes and said, in a low. Imeasured monotone: "John Brixton, I know of my own knowledge that Adi Fewse has over orie-million---.dollar: -in good railroad bonds right in my Eafe here. 'Nough said, eh?" "Enough money, I should say, fo: an unmarried woman who doesn't hool as if her tastes were expensive. Bui what have I to do with it ? You said---' y"D~o with it?" echoed the President. "Why, yon donkey, make it you own. Marry the girl. She isn't beauty, I must admit; but she's re spectable and honest, and she'd accep you in a minute.". I"Upon my word, Budder," laughed B lrixton, "you're been in business sc long that even women seem property o you. Miss Fewse never saw me un til live minutes ago." "Perhaps not, but she's got he> Ifather's level head on her shoulders. Si~s seen dozens of other men: scarcely a month goes by without some fellow 'o'ering himself to her---for the sako cof her money, of course. She doesn't obje- .t to marrying, for, being a woman~, she has a heart; but she has nough character to wan~t a husband hr~foif she cau respect, and none of the ellows who have offered themselvei thuCas far have been of that kind." "U''pon myl word, Bndder," said the ounger muan, "I nev'er wouild have :aken you, good fellow though you ire, for a m-mn who~n ani unmarried woman would have sceected as confi~ 1hat. It Cas you credit, though, ht she seemus to have opened her aeart to you." "Oh, well, Ben and I have been iz man spcuins together. and she BOreS no sentImental nonsense About her-she isn't afraid to unload her ideas upon an old friend of the family, 3o we've talked very freely about it. By the way, she has such a matter-of fact manner that she looks older than she is-she's really five years younger than you. -. Your fortune's made, my boy, unless you make a fool of your self in some way. Let me sound her about it; you may count upon me to :o it without lack of proper respect for either of you, and I'll bet the en tire assets of this bank against a bad penny that you may announce your Bngagament within a week. Then you'll be hand-in-glove with a lot of as fellows in a business way as well as socially, and we want you-we really do."i - "Budder," said John Brixton, rising Prom his chair, "you've got a heart as big as an ox, and I'm heartily obliged I to you for your interest in me. You 3 must give me time to think about it, ihough." "Time to-" ejaculated the resident. t iring his cigar-butt at the cuspidore r with such energy that he overshot the 2 mark and elicited a howl of anguisb 3 from the bank's cat as she mistook the missile for a mouse when she opened her eyes from a peaceful slumber. "There're some things that a fellow -an't afford to think about.- Do you stop to think when a trout rises tc 7rour fly? Come along to lunch-and make up your mind on the way." But John Brixton wasn't able to give i decisive answer over the coffee and :igars. A million dollars in good 'se aurities seemed well worth the taking 9 by a man who had worked industri 3 ausly for fifteen or twenty years only tIo reach a salary of five or six thousand lollars, and an apprebiative wife thrown in seemed like so much extra luck, for John's mother and sister had for years warned him that wives who hold good husbands in proper regfrd are as scarce as model husbands. On the other hand, old Ben Fewse's daughter, who looked as much like her father as a woman could look like a man, would be a strange life-companion for a man who, in spite of much attention to naterial things in the way of business, aad inherited many fine tastes and sentiments which he kept in good, asable condition. Whoever he might marry ought to be fairly companion able to his mother and sister-two women whom he could not imagine enjoying Miss Fewse's society. But while John Brixton went ou ,hinking and wondering and compro nising, and rejecting his own compro mises, old Budder took the case in hand as earnestly as if it were a promising investment for his own bank. He was :oo good a business man to exceed iis uthority, but he and his wife took ffiss Fewse out driving the very after ioon that he had made his suggestion ro Brixton, and they took her home to linner with them, and the old man made opportunity to sound the praise of John Brixton and to tell what fine women John's mother and sister were. So, before the evening was over, Mise E'ewes was conscious of a mighty wieh that some mau like John Brixton would skher to change her nae and share her life and fortune with her. 3Brixtou had been a~t his office only .talf an hour the next morning when one of the clerks shouted: "Some one on the telephone for jou, sir." "Who is it?" John asked, raising uis eyes from a letter he was reading. "Forty-seventh National Bank President Budder," the clerk replied. -"Wait a moment," said Brixton, iropping the letter, seizing his hat and starting for the door. 'Tm out -yudo n't know when ll be in." Oeof the firm who had overheard zhe conversation asked his partner whether he supposed Brixton had been speculating in Wall'street and got mnore accommodation from the Forty seventh National than his collaterals would warrant, and the~ partner re plied that it might not be a bad thing to keep Brin~on out of temptation by sending him to South America to look after a railway contract which they sad been trying to secure through :orrespondents. As for Brixton he went straight tome and prowled about the house un 'i1 he found his sister. "Ettie," said he, "you and I have dlways been confidential friends, al though we're brother and sister. I want to ask you an unusual question, mnd I want you to answer it without ;oking, or raising of your eyebrows, or any other teasing. Suppose that I should suddenly determine that I wanted to marry, whom would you est like for a sister ?" The young woman did not start, oi .augh or do anything expressive of as tonishment, but answered promptly: "I've longed for years to see you &nd Agnes Hammice make a match. ?ou're made for each other." "Longed for years, eh?" Never :hanged your mind?" "Never. Isn't she my dearest friend? sn't she as good and sweet and hand .uome. as--as she is poor ?" "What does mother think of her ?'' "Just what I think, and what every >ne must who knows her. The dear girl would have been snapped up long ago if she hadn't been too poor to ap pear properly in the society for which she's best fitted. As it is, searcely any young men know her, except those whc re not fit to tie her shoes." "What do you suppose she thinki of me?" "Well, on general principles, she .an't help liking you; for the rest, un less she forgets everything I say to her, she must think you're tbe one supremely ,erfect man on the face of the earth." -'IH'm! What wonderful things you must have said of me-behind my back. Do you suppose you could arrange for us-she, you and I-to take a drive this afternoon?" "Yes, but-" 'Exactly; then find some excuse, after you return from inviting her, to find something which will unavoidably nrevent your going." By way of reply Ettie Brixton sprang from her chair, kissed her brother ef fnsively and hurried off to dress for e 'orning call Miss Hammice went driving with oh~n Brixton that afterno:>n, and al though she was very sorry that dear Ettie wasn't with them, she enjoyed herself greatly, after the manner of busy people whos6 special pleasures come infrequently. As the drive pro-I longed itself she changed her mind a--+t w+ti~-a wamln't hna had a~fga ure5 was more happiheis 13 that ezriage than she had ever before imagined the whole world could eon bain, there was only enough for two, Lni the mere presence of any one else, even her dearest friend, would have entirely spoiled it. Instead of taking her directly home after returning from the pleasant country lanes through which he had driven, John Brixton drove to his own home and called his ister down to the little parlor, while he remained outside to watch the horses. It seemed to him that he sat there alone at least twenty-four hours, although the parlor clock had ticked :>ff only twenty minutes when Agnes tore herself aw. from Ettie with the remark that she could not be entirely happy until she has reached home and told her mother all about it. President Budder was still at his dinner-table that evening when a let ter was brought in--4he servant said a special messenger had brought it, with instructions to deliver at once. "One-of the delights of being t anancial magnate !" growled the old man, as he tore the end from the en velope. 'Can't eat my dinner in peace. Any customer in such a hurry nust be---great Scott !" "Has some one failed?" asked Mr& Budder. "I should say so-failed to make r fortune. Listen to this: "My DEAR BUDDEn: " Perhaps men grow more bashful as to., grow older. At any rate, I'd rather write you than tell you face to face that the reason I hesitate to avail myself of your kind suggestion regarding Miss Fewse is that I am already engaged to a most estimable young woman. I shall expect you and your wife to dance at the wedding, which will be within a month. "'A thousand thanks, my dear boy, fo. our kind interest in me. As your own narried life has been very happy, I trust ou'll understand me when I say that rm narrying a tremendous fortune-thoug? avery bit of it consists of human nature.. "'Yours always, 'Jox BaIxToy."' "A million dollars-yes, three mil. lion dollars out I" exclaimed President Budder, dashing the letter to the oor. "Did you ever know such a 'pol?" "I hope so," said Mrs. Budder. 'T& like to believe you'd have been just ich a one yourself, if a rich woman had been thrown at your head when you were paying attention to me. Goodness knows, you got nothing but me when you married." "Right you are, my dear, as usual,' said the bank president, going to the head of the table and giving his wife & kiss which might have been heard a block away had the windows been open. -Once A Week. Ris One Cance. "It's a cur'ous sucemstance how wv men, fond of v'riety as they be, wil. give a man the same things t' eat year in an' out," said Captain Abljah Saw yer to Captain Nelson Judkins, as the two men sat on the wharf in -the sun one September morning. "That's as sartin as the tides," Desponded Captain Jukns "I've eat more herrin' than any other man lvin', I presue t' say." "Well, now, my woman feeds me os pickled salt fish an' baked perta*.rs,' said Captain Sawyer. "It ain't but what ft's nerishin'- foot in' well-cooked," he continued; "tut it's sing'lar how much M'ri' does set by them two things fer a stiddy diet. An' sence I've give up follerin' the sea, I ain't had but one chance to git a change o' food in the year. I cal'late I've eat about a thousand pounds o' salt fish an' fr'm thutteen to fourteen hundred per taters durin' that time." "I shouldn't wanter make no state ients as t' the number o' herrin' that I've ben obleeged to stow away," said CaptainJudkins. "But when you was down to Marthy's Vineyard, week b'fore last, you must 'a' had an opp'tun ity to git in a fust-rate meal I und' stood you stopped at the hotel durin' the day." "Yes, I was there fer a dinner," re urned Captain Sawyer, looking ab stactedly out to sea. "That was the one chance I was referrin' to." "Why don't you speak up an' say what you had?" said Captain Judkinu, after a long pause. "'Twon't make my herrin' taste any wuss nor any bet ter, so fur's I know." "Well," said Captain Sawyer, stili gazing out over the water, "when I took up the bill o' fare an' see all the dif f'rent things there was t' make a ch'ice of, my head spun round jest like a top. I looked her up an' down; one spell I had some thoughts o' orderin' a tender 'ne steak with fxin's." Captain Judkins gave a grunt of die dan. "Well, .I didn't" continued Captai. Sawyer. "I studied Quite a season over the furrin dishes, but I deemed It wa'n't best to run any resks so fur from home. An' b' that time the waiter was gittin' kind o' frmpatient, an' he says, 'What'll you have?' kind o' quick, an' decided all in a whew!" "Well, what did you have?" askee Captain Judkins. - "Why, I says, 'Bring me a mess 0 pickled salt fish an' a couple o' baked pertaters' " said the recent traveller, carefully avoiding his neighbor's eye. "It appeared t' be the most nateral thing. to say, an' so the words jest slipped out b'fore I come to a realizin' sense"' Odd Echoes. In a cave in the Pantheon, the guIde, by striking the flaps of his coat, makes a noise equal to that produced by firing a twelve-pound cannon. In the cave of bSmellin, near Vibog, Finland, a stone thrown down a certain abyss makes a rever berating echo which sounds like the dying wail of some wild animal. Elasticity of Glass. Among solids, glass is apparently perfectly elastic. A plate of glass bent under pressure and allowed to re main under stress for twenty-five years, when released and carefully tested for any permanent set was ound to have returned to exactly its original shape. Door Nails. "As dead as a door-nail," found In English texts over fiye hundred years, comes from the wooden pin pr nail used to secure the door of a hut, which by constant use would become very smooth, hard, dry, and "dead." How we long for flies and mosquitoes E"3 AND HIS UNqCLE. Chiengo Man's Christmas Gift of a Watch Traded Off for Skates. A Chicago man made his nephew a present last Christmas of a watch. The nephew lives in Indiana. A few days after the present the beneficiary of the gift sent his uncle a telegram, collect, like this: "Watch received. Does it keep Chi nagn or New York time? BOB." The uncle replied by letter that it' could be made to-keep either. It was constructed that way on purpose. With in forty-eight hours anomer dispatch, collect, was received by the uncle. It was like this: "Watch an hour ahead Chicago time in hour behind New York. What-ll I do? BOB." The uncle answered that, by mail !xplaining what might be done, and had a postcript as follows: "When you want to know anything nore about the watch, write-don't tele graph. Messages cost money." Then there was silence for a fevt lays. One morning at breakfast the antle was handed a message which read: "Dear Uncle: It won't run at all. I send this night message 'cause it costs 'nly half as much as day rate. "BOB." The uncle was annoyed, but amused. At the boy's persistence and curious Idea* of economy. "I was a boy my self," he said to his elder brother. Then he wrote to Bob to take the watch to the watchmaker, have him fix it, and send the bill to Chicago. Two days later another message: "Uncle: Man says he don't kno jou. But he knows me. I'm suffering for the so I send this by wire. "BOB." The uncle forgot that he had been a. boy and wrote his nephew a sharp let ter, lecturing him for not observing his request. "You made a mistake when you pre ented that boy with a watch," said the uncle's elder brother. "What he needs Us a hammer." "The mischief has been done," salt the uncle, "and ex-post facto remarks on youi- part are out of order." A few days later another message, aight rate: "Uncle: Shipped watch to you. to night by express. Man here says you can have it mended in Chicago cheaper than he can do it. BOB." A few hours later a package was lait on the uncle's desk. Charges 50 cents. Of course he raved, put the watch in his desk, and went about his business trying to forget it. Two days later this message: . "Dear Uncle: Did you get her? Sent ner day before yesterday. Answer. "BOB." The uncle took the watch to the firil. rm which he bought it, left it, and wrote to Bob enjoining silence on his part until he received the watch. Then the uncle was called out of town and did not return for three weeks. He ound on his desk two frantic messages and two letters from Bob. The office boy had receipted "for the messages and left them there. The last message read: "If I don't get her in two days your onduct in the transaction will be pub ished in our paper. The editor says it's a good one on you. BOB." The uncle concluded it was diplomacy o answer this by wire. He sent this: "Bob: Have been out of town. Just returned. Watch goes down to-night. "UNCLE." Two days later this from Bob (col iet): "Watch received. Not the same watet ou sent before. Is this what I read ~bout as a confidence game? I 'should think you'd be ashamed to play it on rour own blood. BOB." The uncle investigated. The concern aad sent the wrong watch. Telegrair. 'rom uncle to Bob: - "Bob: Watchmaker's mistake. Yout wn watch goes down to-night. Re turn other to watchmaker here. "UNCLE." Two days later. Message from Boh (collect): "Uncle: Watch received. I don't snow watchmaker's name nor address In Chicago. So I send it to you. Sorry to trouble you. BOB." The uncle sat down in the same at titude and despair as that described by novelists where the hero gets it in the neck at every turn. "If I ever see that boy again I wifl. ame him for life," said the uncle to his brother. "That witch has cost me in messages and express charges almost as much as 1 paid for the dratted thing originally. And the little rascal has gone and told the chain of transactions to the editor of the sheet that Is printed In his town." The other brother stroked his beard and said he made it a rule to never make a boy a present of any kind. While this situation was on there came another message. It was from Bob (collect): "Uncle: Spring in watch snappeL and two of the hands came off. I think I had rather have a pair of skates. Do you care? BOB."' This dispelled the gloom for a mo .nent. Here was a chance to get rid of the watch forever. The uncle an swered by wire: "Bob: Good Idea. Push it along. Trade quick. UNCLE." "I reckon that will settle it," said the ncle, as he trimmed his beard. That night another message from Bob. (collect): "Uncle: Hardware man says he wants a dollar to boot between the watch and skates. Answer by wire as e may melt. BOB." "I can't stand this nuisance any longs. er," thundered the uncle as he ran his hand through his hair. "This boy will drive me mad. I can't look at a wie. graph messenger boy on the streef without starting like a frightened ani mal What in thunder is there in u boy, anyhow?" His brother, a very cool headed man, seeing that a crisis was at hand, said: dThere was a mistake in the whole bus iness-a'the start. What you should have done was to have the boy sent here for repairs in place of the watch I tell you It is the boy." There was a cold gulf between the two brothers from that moment. They never spoke again atil they met in frot f a eevaorthat was not run-. iiiij Th IERsod 3 h 1 elevators in a eountr7 whe the fros never grows and the temperature Is about the same the year round. The brother said: "Thank you. How'r Bob?" Of course, Bob got the skates. The uncle has the watch. It wouldn't do to leave it In the same town with Bob. '.hicago Tribune. WAR BETWEEN MOTIVE POWERS Connecticut to Witness a Contest B tween Electricity and Steam. Connecticut is destined to be the firs' State in which the battle between steam and electricity will be thoroughly test ed, says the Utica Observer. For many years the railroad business of that State has been controlled by -what is known as the Consolidated Road. eg. islation in the past has been very favor, able to this corporation, and it has been impossible to build rival lines of steams railroad without the consent of the Consolidated-and of course this con sent was not to be secured. When trol ley cars came Into existence shrewd ob servers saw in them a possible )means of finally accomplishing the downfall of the -Consolidated, and as the im provements in the means of using and applying electricity as a motive powel were rapidly perfected the hopes ot trolley line projectors grew. The result has been the securing of a large num ber of franchises for trolley lines, and already the most important towns along seventy-five miles of the Consoli dated are united by lines of double track electric railways that permit of continuous passage. Many other fran chises have been granted and appear ances indicate that through service -nay soon be secured .between Nev fork City and Hartford. - It is an interesting battle, because It brings into competition two great forces, steam and electricity, which are doubtless destined to compete against each other in the future. It is also in teresting to note that in all cases where the steam and trolley roads parallel each other in the Connecticut example, the trolley roads have proved to be the most popular. This is doubtless In a measure due to the fact that consider able local prejudice ha.-existed against the monopoly controlling the steam roads, and wherever an opportunity presented itself to turn business over tr the trolleys it was done. IT WAS AN AWFUL SHOCK. Not So Much the Coincidence as the Actual Return of Fifteen Dollar. "Here Is one of the odd coincidences of life," said William. "Some time ago an acquaintance came to me ahd told me he was in great need of $15, and at considerable trouble to myself I let him have it. He promised to return it int few days. "When three weeks had elapsed 1 mentioned the matter to him casually, and he was profusely apologetic-would send it to me the following day sure. It didn't come, though, nor did I get any word from him. About two weeks after I met him in Broadway. He de clared it was a shame I hadn't got my money and vowed he wouldn't let an other day pass without paying me. "It went along, then, for a week or ten days, and, as my expenses were very heavy, I was cohsiderably em barrassed and needed the money badly. One night, when I was feeling'particu tbrly discouraged, I sat down and wrote him a note. I said: 'My dear sir: About six -weeks ago I soaned you $15. Lest the paying it shoui d occasion you any inconvenience ab2.-, me to hereby make you a present of the-money.' "That will bring it, if anything will, thought I. Judge my surprise when by the next morning's mail I received a letter from the man inclosing the $15. By the same mail exactly he must have received mine making him a present of it, and, by the dates, both letters were evidently written at about the saw 1hour"-Chicago Times. Unnecessary. Judge Brown, whose boyhood's home was in a small New England village, hai, and deserved, the reputation of being a most liberal and kind-hearted man. He was always glad to see his old friends, no matter how rustic they mIght seem, and gave them many good times in his beautiful city home. On one occasion the judge had some legal business in the capital of his na tive State, and shortly after his arrival he met an old farmer from his birth plade who was taking an unwonted holiday, and looked somewhat bewil dered. The judge instantly invited the old man to dine with him at the hotel, and the Invitation was gladly accepted. When the farmer took his seat at the table one of the waiters laid a bill of fare before him. The old man looked at it for a moment, and then, facing around to look thi waiter squarely in the face, he said, in a tone .that r through the dining-room: '"No need to gimme that, young fel ler. Judge Brown cal'lates to settle my bill. He come from out- town, an' I know his ways!". Little as the judge probably enjoyed this public announcement, he showed no annoyance, but nodded to the waiter who removed the offending sheet, and the old man sat beaming with pride as the judge ordered a dinner to which. he did full justice. A sntPLE MEND. - "This is a beautifulmorning, Mary,. said Mr. Fulton, graciously, as hetook his ceat at the table, at Farmer Hum sted's select-couintry boarding house. "Yes, sir, it is," replied the wait, ress. "The thunder storm passed offnice 4y in~ the night." "Yes, sir." "Looks like cooler weather." "Yes, sir." "I hope you are feeling quite well. Mary." "Quite well, sir." "And that you enjoyed thc .Farmer'r Picnic yesterday." "Pretty well, sir." "And, now, let me see; what havs we for breakfast this morning ?" asked Mr. Fuiton, as he glanced over th empty table.. "Well, there's ham, sir." "Ahi, yes, ham or - w~hat ?" he in. quired with his most engaginag man ner. "Ham or nothing I" xeturned Mary, L Vast Amount of Work BeforeIt Ca' Be Laid in the Ocea=. The making of an ocean cable Is a mask involving no small amount of skill ond mechanical ingeiulty, and it Is omething to the credit of the first cable makers -that their pattern has not greatly changed in thirty years. Whev the, Commercial Cable Company de tided to lay a new Atlantic cable las rear, the work was intrusted to the irm of Siemens Brothers, of WoolwielA ondon. As this Arm has constructed 1o less than eight out of the eleven :ables now linking Great Britain and :he United States, says the New Science Review, Its methods 'of manufacture nay be watched as typical of the blest. he first care of a cable manufacturer s to secure the very best materials. rhe copper wire, which forms the heart md essential part of the cable, must be )f the purest metal, since the purer the netal the .higher its standard of con luctivity will be. Every strand and very coil of wire that goes fgto the able is expected to reach a certain tandArd; and to such a degree of excel ence Is the making of copper wire for glectrical purposes brought nowadays hat the material submitted is more requently above that standard than be ow. The singli wires having passed the est for purity and conducting power, eleven similar strands are taken- and spun into a slender rope in lengths of me mile. Guttapercha Insulation Is :hen. applied In sheets prepared from :he raw material as it co'mes to hand !rom Singapore and other Malay ports. rhese sheets are wrapped by expe renced hands so firmly and smoothl3 .ound the wire that not an air bubble an. remain betwe'en the copper and Its nsulator. The-"core" Is then ready to )e submitted to a galvanometer test, as tscertain whether the insulation is per !ect, or as nearly perfect as that 'very flusive agent, electricity, will permit hat test having'been satisfactorily passed, a workman, whose sole busi iess it is to attend to the joining of the . ngths of cable, splices the ends of the mile lengths. Again the insulation test s applied. The galvanometer indicat ng noj'ery appreciable loss of electrfci :y, even under the strain of an alternat ng current of 5,000 volts, the core is assed into the hands of the sheathers, whose care it is to surround the copper md guttapercha w..th a more substaa al protective coveing before they are submitted to the rough action of the ea. And now the weight and size of :he cable become appreciable. Already .ach mile length has in it some 500 pounds of pure copper and 340 pounds. >f pure guttapercha. Over this is spun L coat of jute yarn weighing nearly 600 ounds to the mile. Then the cable s made the center of a twisted sheath )f steel wires of the stoutest kind, aver ging more -than 4,000 pounds to the mile. And finally a compound of tar a laid over the whole, which~brings its wn weight of 800 pounds to the mile. after the tar is applied the cable is oiled and left to soak in tanks of water mtil such time as the cable ship shall se ready to lay it in Its last resting place. Such a cable as this Is made ait :he rate of fifty to flfty-flve miles per twenty-fotir hours. Not Spoken as Spelled. The absurd and sometimes extraor Inary difference between the spellin; and pronunciation of English nameil bas been oiften commented upon. Sev eral lists have been published, but they Ere by no means complete. The follow - ring, It is believed, are for the most part ew: Woodnesborouigh, Winsbro; Woomancote, Woodmucket; Wymond bam, Windam; Yaddlethorpe, Yal thrup; Gainsborouigh, Gainsber; Esh ale, Ashidale; Brampton Brian, Brawn; Brighthelmstone, Brytun; Hallahon, Horn; Meddlethorpe, Threlthrup; Ma ylebone, Marrowbone; Ulromne, Oor am; Uttoxeter, Tuxiter; Rampisham, Ransom; Pevensey, Pinsy; Coxwold, Dookwood; Crostwright, Corsit; Holds worth, Holder; Skiddaw, Skiddy. Strachan should be pronounced Strawn; Colquhoun Is Koohoon, the ac ent being on the last syllable; Beau ehamp is Beacham; Duchesne should be pronounced Dukarn; Bethune should be Beeton; and in Abergavenny the av Is not sounded. Menizies is pronounced Iynges, Knollys as Knowls, Sandys as Sands, Gower as Goor, and Milnee as Mills. Glamis is Glarms; Geoghe gan should be pronounced Gaygan, and Ruthven is Riven.--Boston Transcript. Old-P'ashioned. Prayers. New England preachers of a hundree years ago were given to great plainnessi of speech. One of them, the Rev. .Toi seph Penniman, while settled in Bed. ford, Mass., afterward, while pastor of the church in Harvard, acquired no lit. tle reputation for what the historian of Hyard calls his "irreverent way of offering information to the Omnis eent" At the time whfen the Britis-i troops were advancing upon Lexington \fr. Penniman prayed -from his pulpit: "We pray thee, 0 Lord, that Thou wouldst send these British soldiers where they will do some good, for Thou knowest we haveno use for them aboul During a season of drought he prayet eloquently that the Lord would "vouch safe that the bottles of heaven may be uncorked and their refreshing waters oured up the parched fields." Soon the drought was broken. Da3 after day the -rain fell. The minister felt that the good work was being overs rone. So he prayed again: "We did ask, 0 Lord, .ttJo" wouldst uncork the bottles of. heavena. but we s'ought not that Thiou shouldsl bhrow away the stopples." At another time the orchards of Har yard were devastated .by insects, andj "he minister put up this petition: "We pray, 0 Lord, that Thou wil. take pity on us, and remove from our midst these ~voracious canker worms. tar if Thou lookest over this town Thou wilt see that every apple tree is as isd w8 2 fQx's taiL" r Don't Kiss Cats. It must be a terrifying revelation to those ladies who kiss their catr that has been made by Prof. Flocci, the Italian chemist. Hp found by experiment that when a cat licks its lips it spreads over them a saliva irt which there are swarms of minuE bacilli not free from danger to human beings. When he inoculated rab bits and guines pigs with this noxious ubstane th~ey died withia~ 34 hours, di