The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, August 03, 1898, Image 8

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NOCTURNE. Ons low rote quivers cn the air And die" with, a languorous pain, In a rippling rush of melody , ; Like the fali of autumn rain That li?htly stirs the rosset lsavea to dream of spring again. And all the music of the woods Laughs out in mad delight Under the bidding of your bow ; Till from its rapturous height The long linked sweetness dies away in ? to the listening night. j And as each silver cadence steals Forth from th?'throbbing strings, To me from out your violin A prisoned drrtod sings Of fairy isle and haunted shrine and long forgotten things ; When through the dim gray olive grovo The high gods walked among The sons of men and toward the reef The charmed ship slowly swung, As the siren;; called o'er the sunny sea when this gray world was young. But while I dream your fingers glide I Into a simpler strain, j And from the far Circean. isle ' f My fancy turns again Back to the reek strewn upland moor, thc hawthorn scented lane. I hear the bee's drone in the thyme, , The lark's song high in air. I see the shadows on the tars, The sunlight cn your hair, And fora moment's space forget life's uudercote of care. -R. F. Diivis in London Spectator. XRAMBAMB?ILI. 4 . There may bc a feeling of fondness in a man's heart; for various things, but* love, true love, love which endures, comes to him but once. This at least ?was the opinion of District Banger Hopp. It would be no easy matter to count the dogs he had been fond of, but there was only one that he loved and Will never forget, and that was Krain bamboli It was in the Lion's inn at Wish?u that he bought or rather bar? tered for him with a forester's assistanrv -who was then out of a place. At the. first sight of the dog he felt that affec? tion for him which was destined to en? dure until his last breath. The owner oJfc this f ne creal ure, who sat at a table with an emptied brandy glass before him, and scolding the host because he would not give him another drink for nothing, j looked the vagabond that he was. He j *w?is short, ?Stili young, and yet as sallow j as a dead ?ree, with yellow hair and^a 'scanity yellow beard. His hunLsmajair cca|j : probably a survivor of his lastf service, bore traces of a night spent in a wet gutter. Although Hopp had no liking for low society, he took a seat near the young man and at once started I a conversation with him. He soon found out that th? good for nothing had pawn? ed his carbine and gamebag to the inn? keeper and vented now to do the same with his dog, but the host, dirty extor? tioner that he was, would not hear of a pledge that aeeded feeding: At first not a word did Herr Hopp say of his liking for the dog, but he ordered a bottle of the fine Dantzic cherry brandy for which the Lion inn was famous, and, pouring out a glass of it, offered it "to the ci-devant forester's assistant. Within an hour the matter was settled, the, hunter gave 12 bottles of the same . beverage over which the transaction' was concluded, and the vagabond gave the dog-to do him justice it must be acknowledged, not easily. His hands shook so while he tied the string around the animal's neck that it seemed as if he would never get through. Hopp wait? ed in patience, silently admiring the wonderful deg. At the most he was not over 2 years old, and resembled in his coloring the rascal who now parted from him, only that he was several shades darker. His forehead was marked with a white streak which made a curve to the right and left like the needles on a ? pine twig. His eyes were large, blacks and brilliant, surrounded by light yel? low rings, clear as dew, the ears long and faultless. And faultless was every? thing about the deg, from his nails to his sharp little nose. 4'What's his name?" "His name is the same as that with which you bought him-' Kram barn buli' " (cherry brandy), was the an? swer. "Good! Come, Kram barn bali, be off -forward, march!" He might have called, whistled and pulled at him forever, the dog would not obey him, but kept turning his head toward him he still deemed his master. Then, when tho latter yelled to him, "Go OD !" accompanying the order with a vigorous kick, he howled, but still tried to crawl nearer to him. It was only after a hard struggle that Herr Hopp succeeded in getting possession of the dog, and at last he was bound, gagged and carried on Herr Hopp's shoulders in a bag to his house, a journey of sev? eral hours. It took two entire months before Kram barn buli, beaten half to death and tied up with a spiked collar after every attempt at flight, realized where he be? longed. But what a dog he became when his subjugation was completed ! Kb tongue can tell, no words describe the height which ho attained, not only in tho walks cf his profession, but in his daily life as well, as a zealous serv? ant, good comrade!, true friend and pro? tector. It has been said of other clever dogs that they lack nothing but speech, but Kram barn bu li did not lack even this. His master at least held long conversa? tions with him. The ranger's wife be? came really jealous of Buli, as she con? temptuously dubbed him. Thus two years went by, when oue day the countess, the wife of his em? ployer, appeared in the hunter's lodge He understood at once the meaning of the visit, and when the beautiful wom? an began, "Tomorrow, dear Hopp, is the count's birthday"'-he continued with a quiet smile-"and your ladyship wants to make the count a present, and feels convinced that nothing could be more suitable than Kram barn buli. " "Yes, yes, dear Hopp, " and the coun? tess blushed with delight at the kind? ness and quickness of his response, and began to speak of gratitude and to beg him to settle the price at once for which ie would be willing to part with the LUS&?J in J?^?^?|^?|^jm|rJ?^red. i **Your ladyship, i? the dog sta; ! the castle and does not gnaw every I and "break every chain, or if lie doe: I break them, does not choke bimse ; the attempt, then you may have j for nothing-he is worthless to me. The test was made, but it did no I as far as choking, for before these count lost all interest in the obsti I little beast. In vain they tried to . him, first by kindness, later by se ve: He bit. every one who came near 1 j refused his focd, and, as a hunting has not much flesh to lose, soon bec very thin. After a few weeks Hopp word that he might come for his "ci When, making use of his penni* without delay, he sought the dog in j kennel, there was a most joyful m ing. Krambambuli lifted up his v with an unearthly howl, jumped on master, and, resting his paws on breast, licked the tears of joy which down the old man's cheeks. & At this time a gang of poachers i ^ried on their operations in a bold rr ner not only in the count's forests, among the entire neighborhood. Tl leader was said to be a disreputable low, called the "Yellow One" by woodcutters, who sometimes found I drinking brandy in saloons of evil pnte, and by the keepers, who now ; then came upon his tracks, but v could never catch him, and also by spies, some of whom are to be founc 'every village. He was of a surety the boldest fell ^who ever gave trouble to honest h a ers, and must have been himself of tb "trade or he would never have been a to track the game with such succ( nor have avoided so skillfully ev trap laid to catch him. The loss wood and game became so serious il all the foresters were much exdt This was the reason that those v> were discovered in some insignifici infringement of the forest laws sn?'ei a much harsher punishment than wot have been tlie case at any other ti: \and which was out of proportion to 1 offense. This caused much indignati in the entire neighborhood, and t .head forester, who was the first to f. this disaffection, received a number well meant warnings. It was said tl the poachers had sworn to take < emplary vengeance on him at the fi: opportunity. He was an active, bra man, and, throwing all caution to t winds, he let it he well known that had recommended the utmost severi and that he would be responsible inca o?any evil consequences. The distri ranger, Hopp, received orders often than the ethers to keep a sharp lookor and occasionally he was reproach with a lack of zeal, at which, howeve the old man only laughed, while Krai bambuli on such occasions returned tl notice which was condescending shown him with a loud and disdainf yawn. His master and he wei e not to I vexed by anything from the head fo ester. One fine morning he' met the hec forester as he was assisting to evict son trespassers. It was in the linden wood at the end of the lordly park which bo dered on the count's forest, and near tl nurseries which the head forester woul have liked to surround with powd( mines The lindens were in full bloon and a dozen small boys were bus among them. They crawled cut on th boughs of the magnificent trees, breal ing off all the twigs within reach, an throwing them to the ground. Tw women were hurriedly picking them u and stuffing them into baskets airead more than half full of their fragrau booty. The head forester was ragin, about in a furious anger. He made hi keepers shake the boys out of the trees careless of the height from which the; fell. While they crawled at his feet whining and crying, one with a broisei face, the other with a sprained arm, am the third w?th a broken leg, he wa beating the two women with his owl hands. With a shudder, Hopp recogniz ed one of these as the wanton girl whon rumor pointed out as the sweetheart o: the "Yellow One," and when the worn en's baskets and shawls and the boys hats were confiscated and Hopp was or dered to take them to the justice, h( could not repress a presentiment of evil. The order which the head forester thei: called out to him, raging like a devi! in hell and like one surrounded by weep? ing, tormented sinners, was the lasl which the district ranger ever received from him. A week later he came across him once more in the linden wood dead. Judging from the condition of the body, it must have been dragged there through marshes and over stones in order to leave it at the very spot. The head forester lay on a bier of cut branches, his head bound with a thick wreath of linden blossoms and another, like a scarf, around his breast. His hat lay beside him, filled with linden blos? soms. The murderer had also left him his game bag, first having taken out the cartridges and filled it with the blos? soms. His fine breechloader was gone, and in its place was a miserable old blunderbuss. When later they found in the murdered man's chest the bullet that was the cause of his death it fitted exactly in the muzzle of the old gun that had been placed on his shoulder in mockery. At the .sight of the disfigured corpse Hopp stood motionless with hor? ror. He could not raise a finger, and his brain seemed paralyzed, so that at first ho could not think, and it was only aft; er some time that he observed to himself : "What is the matter with the dog?" Kramhambuli was sniffing at the dead man and running about him like mad, his nose to the ground. He whin? ed, gave a cry of joy and ran on a step or two, acting altogether like one in whom a long forgotten memory were awakening. "To heel!" cried Hopp, "to heel !" and Krambambuli obeyed, but gave his master a look full of wonder, and as the huntsman expressed it, said to him: "For goodness' sake, don't you see. anything? Don't you smell anything? Oh, dear master, do just look, just smell ; come, master, come this way I" Then he rubbed his nose on the hunter's knee and then crept away to the corpse, glancing back all the while, as if ho would say, "Won't you follow me?" nMniiawiawiiVii?f..?. iii mili to bag j gun and to take it'in his mouth wi j the intention of fetching it to him. A cold shudder ran down the hunte] : back and ali sorts of ideas began : glimmer iu his brain. But as sp?cule ' ing on the event was not his afcair, n to clear up matters for the rnagistra? but to leave the horrible lind untouch and to go on his way, which now 1< : him direct to court, he did no more th! j his duty required of liim. After ha had doae this and all tl formalities, that the law requires in su< catastrophes were complied with, whi< proceedings occupied all the entire d? and part of the night, Hopp called h j dog to his side before he went to bi I and said: j "My doggie, the police are now T and about, and there will be no end goings on. Shall we leave it to odie to nd the world of the scoundrel wi shot our head forester? My dogg knows the vile rascal, knows him-ye yes, but nobody else knows it. I didn mention the fact, ha, ha ! I bring ir dog into this muddle-I'm not thinkir of it." He bent down over Krarnbau buli, who sat between his outspread leg and pressed his cheek to the dog's nea? receiving in return his grateful caresse and all the time he hummed softly "What is my .Krambambuli doing? until sleep overcame him. Psychologists have tried to expiai the mysterious attraction which drav so many criminals back to the scene ( their crime. Hopp knew nothing of sue I scientific matters, but nevertheless h( with His dog, scoured restlessly th vicinity of the linden wood. On th tenth day after the death of the hea forester he had been able for the fir* time since then to turn his thoughts t something beside his revenge and wa busying himself in the count's wood with marking the trees which were t be cut at the next felling. When this work was finished, h slung his rifle over his shoulder am took the shortest way straight throng] the forest to the nurseries near the lin den wood. Just as he was entering th path that ran along the beech hedge i seemed to him that he heard somethin; rustle in the leaves, but then followe< quiet, unbroken stillness. He would al most have believed that it had bee] nothing of any importance if the do{ had not stared in the bushes in such ? curions fashion. He stood with his hai: bristling, his neck extended, his tai straight and glared at a portion of th< hedge. " Ho, ho!" thought Hopp, "wait you rascal, if that's who ir. is," aui stepping behind a tree he cocked hi: rifle. His heart beat violently, hi: breath, already short, almost left hin: when he saw the "Yellow One" step i suddenly out into the path. Two youm; j hares hung out of his game bag, aud ovei his shoulder, suspended by the wei', i known Russian leather strap, he bore the head forester's breechloader. Whal j a delight it would have been to shoo' j down the scoundrel from his safe am I bush! j But Hopp would not shoot at the meanest villain without first giving him warning. At one bound he sprang from behind the tree on to the path and called: "Surrender, limb of satan!" and when for answer the poacher tore his breechloader from his shoulder the hunter fired-by all thc saints, a pretty fire ! There was a crack instead of a re? port. The gun had been left too Jong with thepercussicneap exposed against a tree in the damp woods, and it missed fire. "Good night! Now we'll know what death looks like," thought the old mau, and at the same moment off went his hat in co the grass. The other had bad luck as well, the rascal ! The only car? tridge in his gun lest, and he was just on the point of putting in another out of his pocket when "?eize him!" cried Hopp hoarsely to his dog. "Seize him!" and "Come to me, here, Krambambuli." was heard from a kind, coaxing and, alas, well known voice. And the dog! What now happened, happened much more quickly than it takes to tell it. Krambambuli itad recognized his first master and was running toward him. When he was half way to him, Hopp whistled, and the dog turned round; the "Yellow One" whistled and the dog stopped again, writhing in despair mid? way between the hunter and the poach? er, longing to go and yet banished from both. At last the poor animal gave up the pitiful, useless fight and put an end to his indecision, but not to his torment. Barking, howling, his stomach flat on the ground, his body stretched out like one sinew, his head raised upward as if calling heaven to witness his agony of mind, he crept-toward his first master. This sight awakened a lust of blood in Hopp. With trembling fingers he put in a new cap and aimed calmly. The "Yellow One" also aimedathim again. Now the time was come ! Each of them was covered by tho other's gun, and knew it, but no matter what went on inside of them they fired as quietly as a couple of painted marksmen. Two balls flew on, the hunter's to ita i goal, the poacher's-in tho air. His band had trembled because just as he | fired the gun the dog had jumped upon him with a storm of caresses. "Beast!" ! he hissed, fell backward and moved no : more. His executioner stepped slowly for? ward. " You have enough, " bethought, i "It were a pity to waste a single grain of shot more on you. " Nevertheless he ; rested his gun on the ground and loaded it with a bullet. The clog was sitting j upright in front of him, his tongue i hanging out, and he was panting (mick , and loud, his eves fixed on his master. I When the hunter was ready with bis : gun again in his hand, the two held a conversation, of whi .n no witness could ever have heard a word, even though be had been a live one instead of the dead one. ' Dost know/or whom this lead is . meant?" "I can imagine. " "Deserter, toady, faithless brute!" i "Yes, master ; yes, ' ' "Thou wast itv joy; now all is over., UJia^nn nl^re in thee." '"i understand, master, ' and Kram banibuli lay down, resting his head en his outstretched forepaws and gazed an his master. If the cursed 'animal had only net looked at him, there would have been a quick ending that would have saved himself and the doer much sorrow, but it could not be. One doesn't shoot a creature that looks at ene in that man? ner. Herr Hopp muttered numberless curses between his teeth, each one more blasphemous than the last, and hanging his gun over his shoulder once more, he went off, taking with him the two young rabbits from thf' poacher. The dog followed him with his eyes until he had disappeared through the trees; then he rose, and his howl, pene? trating to the very marrow, echoed throughout the forest. He turned round in a circle several times and then sat down beside the dead. When night was sinking, he was found there by the ju? dicial commission, which, led by Hopp, came to view the corpse and carry it off. Kram barn buli shrank back a step or two when they carno near. One of them said to the ranger: "There's your dog. " "I left him hereon guard," answered Hopp, who was ashamed to tell the truth. But what good did it do? Tue truth came out, for, when the body was placed on the wagon and carried away, Krambambuli trotted behind, his head hanging and his tail between his legs. The next day the constable saw him creeping around the room in which the "Yellow One" lay. He gave him a kick and told him to go home. Krambam? buli showed his teeth, but ran away, as the man thought, in the direction of* the hunter's house. He did not go there, however, but led a miserable vagabond life. Grown savage and thin as a skeleton, he crept one time up to the poor dwell? ing cf a cottager at the end of the vil? lage. He sprang suddenly upon a child who stood in front of the last hut, and seized greedily a piece of bread that it was eating. The child stood still from fear, but a little Spitz ran out of the house and barked at the robber, who at once let fall his booty and ran. The same evening, before going to bed, Hopp stood ''at the window looking out into thc bright summer night. He thought he saw the dog titting at the edge of the wood on the other side of the meadow, looking fixedly and longingly at the spot cf his past happiness-the truest of the true, an outlaw ! The hunter closed the shutter and went to bed, but after awhile he rose and went *-0 the window again. The dog was no longer there. Once more he wanted to go back to bed, but he could not rest. He could stand it no longer. Let it be as it might, he could net do without the dog. "I'll bring him home, " he thought, and felt a newman after this decision. He was dressed at "the first break of day, told his wife not to wait breakfast for him, and hurried off. As he stepped out of the house his foot hit against the one he was about to seek afar off. Kraru hanibuli lay dead before him, his head pressed to the threshold which "he no longer dared pass. The district ranger never got over his loss. His brightest moments were those in which he forgot that the dog was no more. Sunk in happy thoughts he vo;.ld hum his famous, "What is my Krambam-'" but stopping in thc middle of the word, he would shake his head and, sighing deeply, would say: "It's a pity about the dog."-From the German For Short Stories. Testing Coal by X Rays. The method of testing coal by X rays is being employed by many manufac? turers, who state that it makes a con? siderable difference in their fuel bills. It is found that by turning the rays on to the coal they can tell how much ol" it will remain as ashes after it has been burned and how much will escape asgas. This is manifestly of the-first imper tance to all users of steam power. The lowcc-t priced coal is not neces? sarily the cheapest. The percentage of ash is ono of the best indications of the steam making qualities of coal. A coal .which leaves a large amount of ash has of course a relatively small amount of combustible constituents, and vice versa. The shadow produced upon the fiuoro scope by a piece of coal of a given size and thickness is apparently dependent for its relative density upon the amount of ash producing material in the piece of coal. A number of samples of uniform thickness of various kinds of coal hav? ing known percentages of ash are pre? pared The density of the shadow cast by these in the fluoroscope is compared with that of the coal to be tested, and the quantity of ash per ton in the sam? ple under consideration is immediately shown with considerable accuracy. London Standard. An Anecdote of Lincoln. At one period during the rebellion there were no less than 74 major gen? erals and 276 brigadiers on the rolls, which was far more than there was any use for. President Lincoln recognized* this mistake before anybody else, but he consoled himself by joking about it. It is recalled that on one occasion, when one of these superfluous generals was captured by the enemy, with a number of men and horses, somebody undertook to condole with the president on the subject, remarking that the loss of the captured general's service was a great misfortune to the government. "Pooh, " replied Lincoln, "ir's the horses I'm thinking about. I can malee another brigadier general in two minutes, but horses are scarce and cost S2?0 apiece." -Kansas City Journal. It is calculated that if the children j under the care of the London school board were to join hands they would reach from London to Carlisle, a dis? tance of ?UO miles. A clock in St. Petersburg has'.ir. faces, j indicating simultaneously flie time at : 30 different spots on the earth's surface, be sides the movements of the earth and planets. WHEN OLD AGE COMES ! The Gre&tes?: Enemy to Long Life Ia SriT Indulgence - Why People of Advance?! Age Should Eat Sparirgly ard Drink More Freely. Some men are 20 years younger phys? ically and mentally than others are at the same age. It is self evidc?it that old age does not begin at any set time, so far as the divisions of time divide the periods of life, but that it has to do with that subtle agent known as the vital force, an acquaintance with which enables the analytical mind to become proficient in prognosis by weighing in the balance the vitality cu the one side with the pathology on ,the other. The indication of old age may be no? ticed by ocular inspection. The figure stoops, the walk is less elastic, the rounded figure gives place to the spare habit of body, the wrinkle of time mounts the cheek, while the frost of many winters mantles the brow. The typical healthy person who attains old age is spare of body, and old age em? phasizes this fact by causing a paucity of adipose tissue. So the wrinkle of time, after all, is kindly in nature. Physiologically we notice that a diminution of the physical energy is ac? companied by a corresponding diminu? tion of the power to eliminate waste material from the body. Elasticity and strength give place to hardness and brittleness of nearly all the tissues of the body. The general health may be good, because there is a harmonious balance between the action of the, nerv? ous system and the circulatory system. However, the former is less responsive to external stimulation,'and the latter is less vigorous in old age. The vital processes conducted by the circulation, respiration and metabolic changes in the tissues are less active. There are diminished adaptability of the whole system to changes in the environment and less ability to meet the require? ments of emergencies, such as sudden demands of muscular and mental strain. The senile conditions and diseases are numerous and obvious-in the first j place, weakened digestion and assimila ! tion. The weakened vigor of the circula? tion and glandular system necessarily I weakens the power cf eliminating the excrementitions substances, which gives rise to pernicious nutrition, and that in turn is the cause of the tendency to develop malignant cr benign growths in different parts of the body in old age. The streng tendency to overeat and underdrink, together with tue natural decline of functional power, gives rise to a condition cf lithemia, which is the prime cause of the majority of deaths in old age. Li the healthy state that great glandular furnace and chemical laboratory, the liver, is capable of trans? forming an excess of nitrogenous matter, which may resuit from metabolism of tissue or exist in the food consumed, into the highly solublo excrement itious substance known as urea. This excre? ment is eliminated from the blood mainly by the kidneys and to a much less extent by tho skin. Now, in old age, with the functional power and natural vitality on the wane, together with the strong tendency to overtap this function of thc liver, we find this waste is not converted into urea, but into uric or lithic acid, a com? paratively insoluble excrcmeutitious and toxic substance, which if it appears in the blood in GufScient quantity and is long enough continued in circulation through the urinary tubules sets up ir? ritation and inflammation, which inev? itably impair the function cf the renal epithelium, and we lind this poisonous substanco is not eliminated from the system, but accumulates in the blood. This explains why old people are almost universally troubled with disease of the liver, kidneys, bladder and pros? tate gland. The unstable circulation, atheromatous changes and brittleness of tho walls cf the blood vessels, with the tendency to overtax the digestive apparatus, are the cause of many old peo? ple going to "that bourn from which no traveler returns" by the apoplectic route. Hereditary aireases naturally mani- j fest themselves when the vitality is be? low a certain level, so we are not sur? prised to find certain dyscrasic and latent tendencies manifesting them? selves at this period of life, when the natural vitality is waning. The diseases most frequently found to be the cause of dissolution among the aged are pneu? monia, diseases of thc liver and urinary organs, consumption, cancer, apoplexy and gangrene. The enemy to longevity, the author continues, is self indulgence. People who have reached an advanced age may prolong their lives and greatly add to the comfort of their declining years by diminishing tho quantity of food in? gested, thereby avoiding too large a lesidue of waste matter either in the intestinal canal cr in the form of excre mentitious matter in the blood.-Jour? nal cf American Medical Association. Weil Fed Fighters. Says the London Chronicle: "Ad? miral Dewey's interruption of the bat? tle of Manila bay to give his crews the opportunity of breaking their fast re? calls our own 'glorious 1st of .lune,' when Earl Howe, before he gave the French such a hammer:Lg off Ushant, hove to for au hour bel? re attacking to permit of his men fortifying themselves j for tho coming light wirha good meal- j a pause which caused much conjecture in the minds of thc astonished Frenen. It has ever been the Anglo-Saxon way ? to right, if possible, on a lull stomach. Wel?ingtru once said that if ever he wanted an Irish or a Scotch regiment to reach a particular point by a certain hour all ho had to do was to promise the former a drink on g( tting to its des? tination, the latter its pay, but that the corresponding bait to an English bat? talion was a good dinner of roast beef. " (icoii Sewiu? Machines from 510 CO up at Rundle's If \ou want ? pood, honest eewiDg machine irade. see Rai.d!e. Eei'C?sni of the Fishermen. It is always wi*h a vague regret thzi we read the sagas, and are thrilled by the viking's exploits. It seems na if the deeds of daring had gone by forever, and as if the heroes of the deep were a myth of the past. Absorbed in tho Norse romance, we forget that the vik? ings were only pirates, and that thsy dared for slaughter and for booty. ? the Gloucester of today had only existed then, what heroic saga would iv not have inspired ! For to risk life for glory or riches or rescue or love is in the heart of every man to do, but to risk life for a bare existence, for other peo? ple's profit and for an anonymous end partakes of that commonplace sublimity which does not form the favorite plot of poets, although once in awhile it is the subject of a daily paragraph. For the vikings are not dead From Portland to New Orleans, our harbors are full of them. They lounge upon our wharfs, and we do not recognize them. They loiter on our streets, and we know them not. But if there is a more mod? est, unconscious, or braver fellow than Jack the Fisherman, our eyes have yet to rest upon his face. He is the hardiest and most daring, the best sailor in the world today. Any continental kingdom would give i ts wealth to possess him for its defense. He is the envy of every maritime nation. Has he no value for us, beyond the halibut and the cod, the haddock and the cusk?-Herbert D. "Ward in Century. The Debut of tho Cowie Knife. To the public mind duels wera really a necessity. The man who would not fight "at the drop of a hat and drop it himself, " was soon made to feel that he had very much better not have been born. There were progressive duels, too, from which the popular mind no more revolted than it does in this era from progressive whist or euchre. It was one of them which gave Bowie and his knife to fame. In some way there had come to be bad blood, black and bitter, between him and a certain Colonel Norris Wright. After long bickering, it was agreed to meet upon the levee opposite Natchez, Miss., each with half I a dozen friends, duly armed, and there shoot the matter out. There were a doz? en on each side when it came to fight? ing. Tiie battle was arranged to begin with threes, the rest standing by, and coming in only when those of the first fight were dead cr disabled. But they j had miscalculated their own self con? trol. After the first fire there was a general melee-the reserves to a man gripped pistols hard, d**ew knife belts to a handy clutch and went into the combat to do or die.-Martha McCul loch-"Williams in Harper's Magazine. ' Thc Climate of the Philippines. In regard to the climate which a for? eigner encounters it is easy to exagger? ate its discomforts. Although it is tropical, still even in sn fri m er the cli? mate may be called healthy. From De? cember to March there are warm days, with cool nights and little rain. Dur? ing March, April and May the days are hot, dry and dusty, while the thermom? eter rises to 96 degrees at noon, but the nights are not uncomfortable. In the latter part of May and of June there are thunderstorms every afternoon with a tremendous downpour of raia. The greatest heat occurs in these months, the thermometer rising frequently to I 105 degrees in the shade. July, August and September are the months of the great typhoons, and while Manila es? capes the greatest fury of these still enough of their force remains to demol? ish many houses. During October and November storms lessen in frequency und severity, and the weather gradual? ly settles into the fine days of Decem? ber.-Isaac M. Elliott in Scribner's. Kis Only Opportunity. "Hattie," said the clerk at the blan? ket -Junter in the department store, speaking rapidly and in an undertone, "just a moment. Will you-what is it, sir? Harness department? Six aisle:? down-Hattie, do you think you could -furniture, madam? Third floor. Take , the elevator-Hattie, I'd like to know handkerchiefs, ma'am? Third counter to your right. Blankets, sir? Right here. Wait on you in a moment-Hat? tie, will you marry me?" "Yes, Tom," whispered the girl at the notion counter, still tapping with her pencil on the showcase. "Ca-a-a-a a-ash !"-Chicago Tribune. ikes. Ko End. ! Up at New Haven, W. Va., there are so many people named Isaac Roush that to avoid confusion they are thus desig? nated: Big Ike, Gentleman Ike, Spectacle Ike. Ike on the Hill, Ike In the Hollow, ? Rosa's Ike, Little Ike, Soldier Ike, Lazy Ike, Thirteenth Virginia Hie, Fifer Ike. Aunt Cassy's Ike, Drummer Ike, Fourth Virginia Ike, Hartford Ike, Dam It Ike. Kanawha Ike. Sally's Ike, Helliky Ike, Trotter Ike, Fiddler Ike, Ten Mile Ike, 4 Mart's Ike and Aunt Betsy's Ike.-Gal? lipoli s Tribune. His Distinction. Thc following is said to have occurred to a distinguished but modest divine who had undertaken the duty of a brother clergyman at a cathedral church. "I am come, " said he, addressing the silk gowned verger, "to take Canon Blank's plac e this morning. " "Pray, sir. " replied the official pom? pously, "are you the 'man' who is to read the prayers or the 'gentleman' who is to deliver the sermon?"-Household .* Words, cods headache, bad SHSt ? ? ? coated E9 git 4% tongue, pas ii) the stomach, III distress and indigestion. Do ? ? ? %F not -veaken. but have tonic effect. 2? cents. The only Jttlls to take with Hood'? Saria&arilUu