OCR Text |
Show 66 INDEPENDENT. ' B . -v.-,. -, j ' " llfti 8 JTORftS All the world knocks a knocker. A Sioux Indian has siouxed for 41-vorce 41-vorce In South Dakota. What people think about a woman doesn't worry her; it Is what they say. Folks who go searching for escaping gas with lighted lamps, invariably find it. The burglars' union Is not opposed to the introduction of Improved machinery. ma-chinery. When the political orators all get fairly going we shall" all sorely need a wind shield. - Whether or not wealth is a curse to children depends on the kind of parents they have. There Is little danger of a rise in ( the price of ice just now, but watch f out for the coal man. ; A 14 year old St. Paul boy has car- ried the latest news from the football 1 field Into the next world. Lord Alverstone may as well make up his mind that they'll never build any monuments to him in Canada. A New York boy stole and ate 150 pies and still lives. Yet some people assert that the age of miracles is past. The man who aims to lead a strenuous strenu-ous life should be sure he is aiming straight before he turns on the strenu-osity. strenu-osity. Russia is in Manchuria to stay and would be deeply grateful for informa-tion informa-tion as to what anybody Is going to do about it. Japan has - landed troops at Ping Yang. As soon as Russia gets her forces massed at Ping t'ong the trouble trou-ble will begin. An Englishman named Lever wants to lift the American cup. Mr. Lever will be a shining mark for the men behind the p'uns. A Pittsburg astronomer claims the discovery of a new spot on the sun or is it the place where Boston knocked knock-ed the ball through? . Judging by pictures appearing In the press, a Turkish army on the march bears a striking resemblance to a crowd coming home from a picnic pic-nic When a man boasts that he is the architect of his personal fortune, his hearers are apt to wonder how he succeeded suc-ceeded in evading the building inspectors. in-spectors. Airships are supposed to rise gracefully grace-fully into the circumambient without apparent effort, but look closely and you will see that each one Is worked by a crank. "Our Lady of the Snows," on the other side of the border, should re flect that she still has more territory ouo KjClu KjjJUlo.lt? ill LUC LlcAl Qunnrpn v&arc Scientists havev discovered "the burning bush" which Moses saw, or one like it, and confidence In the sobriety so-briety of the leader of Israel's hosts is strengthened. The Indian at Muscogee who leased his land six times to the Standard Oil company cannot toe recommended for his honesty, but he exhibited great business ability. The Biddeford (Me.) Record reports the "uno" cocktail, a finger of alcohol in a glass of beer Maine's necessity is certainly the mother of some remarkable re-markable inventions. j , , An Egyptian mummy that passed through a Swiss custom house recently re-cently was classed as "dred meat." As everybody knows, the average custom cus-tom house official is "an amoosin' cuss." A pet monkey in New Jersey is developing de-veloping Into an expert baseball pitcher. pitch-er. This measureably offsets the efforts ef-forts of certain members of the New York smart set to develop into expert monkeys. 7 Why wouldn't it be a good plan for the gentlemen who are trying to make their trotters do it in less than two minutes to have a strong, serviceable system of suction pumps rigged up around the tracks? Shamrock I. Is to .be converted Into a schooner to carry scrap iron. Thi3 may not be romantic but It is an honest hon-est occupation and it vindicates the racing craft from the charge that it is good for nothing except racing. The Hartford Post admires Annie Russell, but wishes she would "put on .her hosiery and shoes before the cur-'tain cur-'tain rises, Instead of before the audience." audi-ence." The Post fails to appreciate a really thrilling dramatic situation, it seems. The Shah of Persia still has some very old-fashioned notions. For one thing, he insists on doing his own official of-ficial poisoning when he wishes to iput any of his loving subjects out of the way. Some crowned heads are so fussy over these things. According to "The Financial Red Book of America" there are about 15,-000 15,-000 people in the United States who are the possessors of fortunes of f 300,-000 300,-000 or more. The names of people who are happy In America on fortunes of $30,000 or less, however, would make a book many times as large as the "Red Book." The Waltham News reports a dance of the hairspring department of the watch factory of that city. That ought to have been a lively sort of an affair af-fair If they were all wound up. A Massachusetts court has decided that a man may be arrested In his own house for drunkenness. It Is unfortunate un-fortunate that he may not at the same time be cowhided. What's theuse trying to achieve literary lit-erary greatness anyway? Here Is the New York Sun referring to him as "Samuel W. Clemens (Mark Twain)." King Edward is not the only royal mixer. The Russian czar and the Italian Ital-ian king are reaching out for his laurels. Cleveland Plain Dealer. The corporation lawyer and the conspicuous financier were waiting for the board of directors to assemme. From the Broadway pavement far below be-low the office window floated fragments frag-ments of the monologue of a toy "fakir." "fa-kir." The lawyer said to his friend: "That reminds me of the days In my teens, when I got a job driving the wagon of a medicine fakir in a circuit of the small towns of Ohio. The 'doctor had a wonderful harangue, har-angue, and I listened to It several times a day for three months, until it became riveted in my memory to this day. His finest effort went like this: " 'In the year of our Lord one thousand thous-and eight hundred and fifty-four, an English nobleman and member of parliament, par-liament, Sir Richard Seymour Planta-genet, Planta-genet, was traveling in India, casting his lordly eye over the vast domains of his sovereign queen. While hunting hunt-ing the mighty three-tusked elephant of the Ramapootra river, In company with the Rajah of Calcutta, he was bitten by a cobra de capello, the deadliest dead-liest serpent known to man, ladiea and gentlemen, whose bite Is fatal in the space of one-half hour by the clock. 'Sir Richard wrote his will on the leaf of the papyrus plant and said farewell to his weeping frieffds, when a native staggered up, torn and bleeding bleed-ing from the thorns of the' jungle, bringing a bundle of leaves of the ori-borl plant, whose secret had been confided to him by the Grand Llama of Thibet. " 'He bound the leaves on the wounded ankle of Sir Richard, ladles In a Dakota Blizzard. An Englishman who once worked on a farm in North Dakota tells of his experience in a blizzard. "Itwas a bright, clear winter day," he says, "when suddenly the sun seemed to go out of existence and the temperature of the room in which we were sitting sit-ting fell several degrees. "'She's here, cried my boss, spring-ng spring-ng up. "'Who's here?' I asked. "'Why the blizzard, man, don't you ?ee?' I went to the window. There was a dreary, wailing sound, and it seemed almost as dark as midnight. The snow, instead of falling, seemed to be driven along the ground by a hurricane.. It was like powdered glass, and froze to everything it touched. We put on our wool lined boots and huge overcoats and mufflers muf-flers up to our eyes. An old plow had been left just outside the door, and It had to be removed for fear of raising a snowdrift that might block the whole front of the house. , As I started out to do this the old farmer called after me: " 'If you touch the iron with your oare hands the flesh will come off, just as if it were red hot, and he The Old-Time Ball Club. I like to see a game of ball; I think it's loads of fun To see the players at the bat and watch , 'em strike and run And slide and yell and all of that, and yet, it seems to me The game ain't half so full of life as what It used to be. I wish you could have seen the club in which J used to play; Of course. It wasn't like the clubs yon run across to-day, For that now let me think was nearly forty years ago, And ball clubs then weren't like the ones they have to-day, you know. Our club comprised the leaders of our little country town; We knocked out ev'ry club there was for twenty miles aroun. We had no fancy uniforms, but, mind you, we could play; We made ten times aa many runs as what they make to-day! Cy Jones, the blacksmith, pitched for us, and In them days, you know, --You --You had to please the batter he could have it high or low. And Deacon Perry used to catch, except camp meetin' time, When he was off exhortin. and we used his big son Lyme. Old Squire Smith played at first, and when his glasses stayed in place So he could see the ball he always fortified forti-fied that base. Bibles in All The British and Foreign Bible society, so-ciety, which in a few months, completes com-pletes a century of work, has issued no fewer, than 180,000,000 copies of the Scriptures, which are now printed in nearly 400 different languages. The actual revision of the text of the recently re-cently completed Malagasl Bible, apart from printing, cost the society over $15,000. This is a trifle compared com-pared with the expense of translation work at the beglninng of the last century. cen-tury. Grants, by the society to Dr. Morrison and his assistants for producing pro-ducing the first Cninese Bible totaled $50,000, while to Dr. William Carey and his associates in the various Ser-ampore Ser-ampore versions the grants of money and material exceeded $25,000. On the other hand the revision of the 1-ifu Bible for the Loyalty islands, although al-though It ! occupied three years and involved 52,310 corrections, entailed no more expense for the six natives who assisted the revisers than an annual an-nual grant of six suits of clothes. The diversity of tongues to be found Some Facts A baby serves a manifold purpose in the world. He makes men and women more unselfish and furnishes the amount of trouble -trecessary to keep them comfortably busy. He sanctifies sanc-tifies home and gives the doctor an excuse to look wise. A well-ordered well-born baby with a red face and a bald head is a delight, particularly when he belongs to a friend, and doesn't spend nights in - your neighborhood. neigh-borhood. '" Every baby is the prettiest baby in the world, and it can be proven by his mother. A baby that won't eat carpet tacks, brass-headed nails and young kittens is a mistake. Babies are bosses and boodlers. They control con-trol the first , ward, along with the twelfth, rule outrageously over the counties and take everything that comes their way without asking any questions. All babies are supposed quite properly, to come from heaven, but what the angels, cherubim, seraphim sera-phim and the r of the celestial and gents, and in oue hour the noble' man was again in full pursuit of the savage, three-tusked elephant of the Ganges. The secret of the ori-borl plant was brought to England in this way and eminent physicians found that iis wonderful healing powers were able to kill any poison whatsoever whatso-ever in the blood. "'If you have coughs, colds, consumption, con-sumption, rheumatism, neuralgia or boils, the marvelous Ori-Bori Tonic will attack the seats of disease without with-out , mercy. It is the cheapest and most wonderful medicine known to man. A teaspoonful in a pint of boiling boil-ing water and a wineglass after every meal. Ah, what is this? Here is this bright-eyed young man, who says he was so lame three weeks ago that he could not work, the sole support of his aged mother He happened to buy one bottle of the Ori-Borl Tonic and comes to buy another bottle for his mother, who Is in bed with pleurisy. pleu-risy. He Is the picture of health and it touches my heart to see such filial devotion. Thanks, young man, only 50 cents, the half of one dollar. Here Is your change. Remember this Is your last chance to buy health and happiness for yourself and family.' "When the crowd was wrung dry," said the corporation lawyer, as two directors entered the room, "the doctor doc-tor used to turn to me and soften his trumpet tones to remark: 'Well, Will-lam, Will-lam, we must get back to the tent and mix some syrup and water for an early start to-morrow. And we're pretty near out of coloring extract. And don't you forget to remind me to order another gross of bottles.' " New York Times made . me put on thick gloves, and tied a heavy rope around my waist. "Now fling the plow around the corner cor-ner he said, 'and follow the line back to the door. If you can't find the plow at once come directly back.' "I bolted through the door and groped about in the 'direction of the plow. After having to come back twice to the house, I found the thing and flung it as far from the building as I . could. When I at last got back and inside of the cabin my body was frozen and I had to stay, in a cold room where I could thaw gradually. The blizzard lasted three days. The barn and outbuildings were buried under what looked like a mountain of snow. , The horses could be heard whinnying long before the men dug their way through the door. Not a mouthful would they touch until they had drunk, and they seemed almost as glad to see human faces as to get the provender. In one room of the house a Jarge amount of snow had blown in, in little sifts through a tiny chevice; not a spot-had escaped the fierce, howling wind behind the finely granulated mass of snow, with which the air had been filled for the entire three days." Judge Simkins played at second, while I proudly guarded third, x And young Doc Squilla was shortstop ana as lively as a Dira. The right was held by Elder Tubbs, the - lert by Lawyer Ureen: Cap' Siders with a wooden leg filled In trie gap Detween. And they were jest the men, you bet, designed to do the biz. Unless 'twas Green, whose leg was stjft Decause or rr.eumatiz. He was our safest player, for he never Tried to pounce Upon a fly and show himself; he'd take it on the bounce. But when we got a new-style ball he quit. Ill Jest be darn." -Said he, "If I will catch a ball that ain't made out of yarn!" y Them days the umpire had to do the bizness on the square. Or else we'd throw him out and get another an-other then and there. And sometimes , when the other side would kick too hard and loud ' We'd have to compromise the thing and leave it to the crowd. Our wives and sweethearts used to come and watch us play the ganxe, And though we'd win or lose they'd always al-ways cheer us jest the same, 'Twould do my old heart lots of good to be back there once more And play a game with jest the same old club we had before. Boston Herald. Languages. in one country is often a matter of surprise. Last year the society's agents sold the Scriptures in fifty-three fifty-three languages in the Russian empire, em-pire, In twenty-eight languages in Burma, in thirty in South Malaysia and in fifty-three in the Egyptian agency. The total Issue of Bibles, complete or in parts, last, .year was nearly 6,000,000. Eight hundred and fifty colporteurs col-porteurs sold over 1,830,000. Notwithstanding Notwith-standing all the society's "achievements, "achieve-ments, there are still millions of "the human race speaking languages into which not so much as a single gospel has yet been translated. In order to meet the claims of China, India and other vast fields of labor for Bible-women Bible-women and colporteurs, an effort J9 being made to mark the completion of the society's fiist century by raising rais-ing a centenary fund. The president presi-dent of the society, the Marquis of .Northampton, gives $5,000, while the members of the executive committee have collectively promised $50,000. About Babies. population do for tleep has never been inquired into. Boy babies are - sweetest sweet-est at 4 and girl babies at 24. A baby is a joy forever until he begins be-gins to fall out of the second-story window, turn over the water pitcher, hammer the china to pieces with his fork and investigate the medicine bottles bot-tles on the shell. Every baby Is eternally trying to find out more than he has any business knowing, and the habit of asking questions lasts through life. The touch of a baby's hand opens up heaven to a woman and makes a man willing to wear patches the rest of his naturariifo It has been ?id that every woman is entitled to at least one child. So is every man, but nobody has ever mentioned the fact. Borrowing babies is much sadder than it is funny. Some day the government gov-ernment will go into the business and keep babies to rent out as a matter mat-ter of morals alore. Every old bachelor's bach-elor's quarters will contain a nursery and clubs .will be a thing of the past. -Paris (Mo.) Mercury. BY RT ILoyiS STEVENSON.-A INTERNATIONAL CHAPTER XII. N spite of the horrors hor-rors of the day and the tea-drinking of the night, John slept the sleep of infancy. He was awakened by the maid, as it might have been ten years ago, tapping at the door. The " winter sunrise was painting the east; and as the window was to the back of the house, it shone into -the room with many strange colors col-ors of refracted light. Without, the houses were all 'cleanly roofed with snow; the garden walls were coped with It a foot in height; the greens lay glittering. Yet strange as enow had grown to John during his years uponf the Bay of San Francisco, it was what he saw within that most affected him. For it was to his own room that Alex-f ander had been promoted; there was the old paper with the device of flow- ers, In which a cunning fancy mighijpuexander had never before dared to yet detect the face of Skinny Jim, o?Tcut Bhort an Interview in this high- tne Academy, John s former aominie: there was the old chest of drawer W ere were the chairs one, two, three as before On4y the new, and the litter of clothes and books and drawing rials, and a nencil-drawlng on th wall, which (in John's eyes) appeared a marvel of nrofleieney. i He was thus lying and looking, andtf dreaming, hanging as it were, ueiweeu two epochs of his life, when Alexander came to the door, and made hia pres ence known in a loud whisper. John' let him In, and jumped back Into the" warm bed. "Well, John," said Alexander, "the cablegram Is sent in "your name, anf twenty words of answer paid. I have been to the cab office and paid your cab, even saw the old gentleman himself, him-self, and properly apologized. He was mighty placable, and indicated his belief be-lief you had been drinking. Then I knocked up old Macewen out of bed, and explained affairs to him as he sat and shivered in a dressing-gown. And before that I had been to the High Street, where they have heard nothing of your dead body, so that I Incline to the idea that you dreamed It." "Catch me!" said John. "Well, the police never do know anything," assented Alexander; "and at any rate, they have dispatched a man to inquire and to recover your trousers and your money, so that really your bill is now fairly clean; and I see but one lion - in your path the governor," gov-ernor," "I'll be turned out again, you'll see," said John, dismally. "I don't imagine so," returned the other; "not If you do what Flora and I have arranged; and your business now is to dress, and lose no time about it Is your watch right? Well, you have a quarter , of an hour. - By five minutes before the half hour you must be at table, in your, old seat, under Uncle Duthie's picture. . Flora will be there to keep you countenance; and cna wiat TV d shall See." W.t? fcsilO.ll OCO " . I ''Wouldn't it be wiser for me to stay in bed T said John. "If you. mean to manage your own concerns, you can do precisely what you like," replied Alexander; but if you are not in your place five minutes before the half hour I wash my hands Bf you, for one." ' And thereupon he departed. He had spoken warmly, but the truth is, his heart was somewhat troubled. And is he hung over the balusters, watch-,lng watch-,lng for his father to appear, he had hard ado to keep himself braced for jhe encounter that must follow. "If he takes it well, I shall be lucky," he reflected. "If he takes It ill, why It'll he a herring across John's tracks, and perhaps alitor the best He's a confounded muff, this brother of mine, but he seems a decent soul." At that stage a door opened , below with a certain emphasis, and Mr. Nich olson was seen solemnly to descend the stairs and pass into his own apartment. apart-ment. Alexander followed, quaking inwardly, in-wardly, but with a steady face. He knocked, was bidden to enter, and found his father standing in front of the forced drawer, to which he pointed as he spoke. - ' . "This is a most extraordinary thing," said he; "I have been robbed!" "I was afraid you would notice'tt," observed his son; "it made such a beastly hash of the table." , "You were afraid I would notice It?" ; repeated Mr. Nicholson. "And pray, what may that mean?" "That I was a thleC sir,' returned Alexander. "I took all the" money in case the servants should get hold of it; and here is the change, and a note of my expenditures. You were gone to bed, you see, and I did not feel at liberty to knofck you up; but I think when you have neard the circumstances, circum-stances, you will do me justice. The fact Is, I have reason to believe there has been some dreadful erro&ahout my brother John; the sdoner it can be cleared up the better for all parties; it was a piece of business, sir and so I took it, and decided, on my own responsibility, re-sponsibility, to send a telegram to San Francisco. Thanks to my quickness we may hear tonight. There appears to be no doubt, sir, that John has been abominably used." "When did this take place?" asked the father. . "Last night, sir, after you were asleep," was the reply. V "It's most extraordinary," said Mr. Nicholson. "Do you mean to say that you have been out all night?" "All night, as you say, jsir. I have been to the telegraph and the police' office, and Mr. Macewen's. Oh, I had my hands full," said Alexander.' "Very irregular," said the father. "You think of no one but yourself." "I do not see that I have much to gain in bringing back my elder broth er, returned Alexander, snrewaiy The answer pleased the old man; he smiled. "Well, well, I will go into this after breakfast." said he. "I'm sorry about the table," said the eon. .?. . ; "The table Is a smill matter; I" think nothing of that," said the father. "It's another example.1 continued the son, "of the awkwardness of a man having no money of his own. If I had a proper allowance, like other fel-lowb fel-lowb of my age, thl3 would have been quits unnecessary.", y "J. proper allowance!" repeated his father, lfl tones of blighting sarcasm, for the expression was not new to him. "J have never grudged you money for any-proper purpose." "No doubt, oo doubt," said Alexan- i l v a . u a PRtSS ASSOCIATION TTer, "but then you see you ar'n't always on the spot" to have the thing explained to you. Last night, for instance- 'You could have wakened me last night," interrupted his father. "Was it not some similar affair that first got John into a mess?" asked the son, skillfully evading the point. But the father was not less adroit -"And pray, sir, how did you come and go out of the house?" he asked. "1 forgot to lock the door, It seems,1 replied Alexander. . .. "I have had cause to complain of that 'too often," said Mr. Nicholson. "But till I do not understand. Did you keep the servants up?" "I propose to go into all that at length after breakfast,"" returned Al exander. "There is the half hour "go ing; we must not keep Miss Mackenzie waiting." And greatly daring, he opened the door. Even Alexander, who It must have been perceived, was on terms of com parative freedom with his parent; even handed fashion. But the truth is the ery mass of ; his son's delinquencies ed the old gentleman. He was cart of apples mt That Alex Bpoiled his table, takenTrrs-M ,-Btayed out all night. and then Coolly acknowledged all, was something undreamed of In the Nich- olsonian philosophy, and transcended comment. The return of the change, which the old gentleman still carried In his hand, had been a feature of 1m posing impudence; it had dealt him a staggering blow. Thenthere was the reference to John's original flight a subject which he always kept resolutely curtained in hia own mind; for he was a man who loved to have made no mistakes, mis-takes, andwhen he feared he might have made one kept the papers sealed. In view of all these surprises and reminders, re-minders, and of hia son's composed and masterful demeanor, there began to creep on Mr. Nicholson a sickly misgiving. mis-giving. He seemed beyond his depth; if he did or said anything, he might come to regret It. The young man, besides, be-sides, as he had pointed out himself, was playing a generous part. And if wrong had been done and done to one who was, after, and In spite of all, a Nicholson It should certainly be righted. All things considered, monstrous as It was to be cut short in his inquiries, the old gentleman submitted, pocketed the change, and followed his son into the dining-room. During these few steps he once more mentally revolted,' and once more, and this time finally, laid down his arms; a still, small voice in his bosom having informed him authentically au-thentically of a piece of news; that he was afraid Of Alexander. The strange thing was that he was pleased to be afraid of him, r was proud of his son; he might be pioud of him; the boy had character and grit, and knew what he was doing. . These 'were his reflections as he turned the corner of the dining-room door. Miss Mackenzie was in the place of honor, conjuring with a tea-pot and a cozy;- and, behold! there was another person present, a large, portly, whiskered whis-kered man of a very comfortable and respectable air, who now rose from his seat and came forward, holding out his hand. "Good morning, father," said he. " Of the contention of feeling that ran bigh In Mr. Nicholson's starched bosom, no outward sign was visible; nor did he delay long to make a choice of conduct. con-duct. Yet in that, interval he had reviewed re-viewed a great field of possibilities, both past and future; whether it was possible he had not been perfectly wise in .his treatment of John; whether it was possible that John was innocent; whether, if he turned John out a second sec-ond time, as his outraged authority suggested, it was possible to avoid a scandal; and whether, if he went to that extremity, it was possible that Alexander might rebel. "Hum!' said Mr. Nicholson, and put his hand, limp and dead, into John's. And then, in an embarrassed silence, all took their places; and even the paper pa-per from which it was the old gentleman's gentle-man's habit to suck mortification daily, as he marked the decline of our institutionseven insti-tutionseven the paper lay furled by his side. But presently Flora came to the rescue. res-cue. She slid into the silence with a technicality, asking if John still took his old inordinate amount of sugar. Thence it was but a step to the burning burn-ing question of the day; and in tones a little shaken, she commented on the Interval since she had last made tea for the prodigal, and congratulated him on his return. And then addressing address-ing Mr. Nicholson, she congratulated i him also in a manner that defied his ill-humor; and from that launched into j the tale of John's misadventures, not without- some suitable suppressions. . Gradually Alexander joined; between them, whether he would or not, they fnrpert a word or two from John; an,d UhatfmuTously, and spoke so eloquently or a mma oppressed wun dread, that Mr. Nicholson relented. At length even he contributed a question; and before the meal was at an end all four were talking even freely. Prayers followed, with the servants gaping at this newcomer whom ho one had admitted; and after prayers there came that moment on the clock which was the signal for Mr. Nicholson's departure, de-parture, a r : "John," said he, "of course- you will stay here. Be very careful not to excite Maria, if Miss Mackenzie thinks it desirable de-sirable that you should see her. Alexander, Alex-ander, I wish to speak with you alone." And then, when they were both in the back room: "You need not come to the office today,", said he; "you can stay and amuse your brother, and I think it would be respectful to call on Uncle Greig. And by the bye" (this spoken with a certain dare we say? bash-fulness), bash-fulness), "I agree to" concede the principle prin-ciple of an allowance; and will consult con-sult wjth Doctor Durie, who is quite a man of the world and has sons of his own, as to the amount. And, my fine fellow, you may consider yourself in luck!" he added, smiling. ? "Thank you," said Alexander. Before noon a detective had restored to . John his money, and brought news, sad enough in truth, but perhaps the least sad possible., Alan had-been found in his own house In Regents Re-gents Terrace, under care of the terrified ter-rified butler. He was quite mad, and iustdd of going to prison had gone to atorningside Asylum. The murdered murder-ed fa11, it appeared, was an evicted tenant who had i6r nearly a year pursued pur-sued iis late landlord with threats and it:.- Insults; and beyond this, the cause and details of the tragedy were lost. When Mr. Nlchloson returned from dinner they were able to put a dispatch into his hands: "John V. Nicholson, Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh. Kirk-man Kirk-man has disappeared; police looking for him. All understood. Keep mind quite easy. Austin." Having had this explained to him, the old gentleman took down the cellar key and departed for two bottles of the 1820 port. Uncle Greig dined there that day, and cousin Robina, and, by an odd chance, Mr. Macewen; and the presence of these strangers relieved what might have been otherwise a somewhat strained relation. Ere they departed, the family fam-ily was welded , once. more into a fair semblance of unity, - In the end of April John led Flora to the altar, if altar that may be called which was indeed the drawing-room drawing-room mantel-piece in Mr. Nicholson's house, with the Reverend Dr. Durie posted on the hearth-rug in the guise Of Hymen's priest. The last 1 saw of them, on a recent visit to the nprth, was at a dinner-party in the house of my old friend Gellatly Macbrlde; and after we had, in claeslc phrase, "rejoined the ladies," I had an opportunity to overhear Flora conversing con-versing with another married woman on the much canvassed matter of a husband's tobacco. "Oh, yes!" said she; "I only allow Mr. Nicholson four cigars a day. Three he smokes at fixed times after a meal, you know, my dear; and the fourth he can take when he likes with any friend." "Bravo!" thought I to myself; "this is the wife for my friend Johnl" THE END. , NAPOLEON SLEPT. Strange Explanation of Wellington's Victory t Waterloo. In a new English book on Waterloo there is some Wonderfully) interesting personal matter about Napoleon. It tells how Napoleon slept in th battle of Waterloo. ' "Others, bringing forward many particular par-ticular examples to prove this contention, conten-tion, urge that throughout the campaign cam-paign Napoleon was incapacitated by disease and in a semi-comatose condition condi-tion at the moment when energy was of all things the . most needful. The truth seems to be that Napoleon was eufferlng under the influence of a strange, and mysterious malady, the nature of which has not yet been accurately defined. A life such as his, spent in privations, latigues full of mental and physical labors, with brief flashes of dissipation, would not unnaturaiiy generate diseases from which the ordinary ordi-nary man is free diseases, therefore, which but rarely present themselves to the observation of medical men. There still . remains to be written- a work Which would prove as interesting as it would be valuable, upon the maiaaies nf expat men. and scientific investiga tion might be worse employed than In examining the physical and mental condition of such men as Pope, Swift and Napoleon Bonaparte. What is certain cer-tain in Napoleon's case, is that his malady had been growing upon him with Increasing force since 1806, that Its attacks were notified by a sudden lethargy amounting to complete pros tration, and that its effects were that at some critical moment of a battle his wonderful nower of quick and correct decision seemed to desert him; so much so that for the time being he almost abandoned .the reins to chance. At Wagram and at Bautzen he slept while the noise of battle was rolling around him; at Waterloo, seated on a wooden chair, his head drooping upon his arms, resting on a table stretched out to ac commodate his maps and papers, he slumbered heavily, oblivious for the moment, even at the crisis of his for tunes, of the events which were deciding decid-ing his destiny." ' Bull-Fighting In France. The popular belief that bull fights flourish only in Spain is erroneous. The people of the south of France have always al-ways had a liking for them, and of late this liking has grown to absolute en thusiasm. There are four kinds of bull fights. In Spain man and animal engage en-gage in deadly combat, the result of which is generally the death of the bull. In Provence, the affair Is less serious indeed, it is rather a pleasant amusement for as a rule the bull is not killed. In other places the man's sole aim is to avoid the attack of the bull, and thus to gain a prize for his superior agility. Finally, there is the open bull fight, which is especially popular in France. During such a fight any spectator spec-tator has a right to descend into the arena and try to bear-off in triumph a cockade which has been firmly fixed between be-tween the horns of the bull. But at recent French bull fights the spectators have insisted on the fight continuing until the bull is slain, and on more than one occassion this has resulted in the death of the toreador. So that .it is a question as to whether the French authorities au-thorities will allow Spanish bull fights to become a, regular amusement in France. They have trleed to save the bulls on two or three occasions recently, re-cently, ahd have failed to do so. Indeed, unless they prohibit bull fighting altogether, it is hard to say how they can prevent the fighters from killing the bulls, and ordinary bull fighting has been for so long a time a favorite sport that they will hardly care to Incur popular displeasure by prohibiting prohi-biting it altogether. ; In Persia. ... The governorship of a state is held yearly by the man who gives the shah the largest present; during his period of office he collects from the people the taxes, the present he has given the shah and a good substantial sum Into the, bargain for himself. Absolutely pitiless, his men will often seize the last sticks of an old man, and if the people, seeing starvation staring them In the face, resist, they are liable to be put to death by torture, if what was in the mouth of every one was true. In the old days It was necessary to make a frightful example of a few caravan robbers to keep the road through the Kotabs safe. In a country where it Is customary to commit suicide in a fanatical way, as, for Instance, when wives throw themselves on their husbands' hus-bands' funeral pyres "In India, an outcry out-cry often is made In England, and yet in a country full of Europeans men are taken out In broad daylight and cruelly murdered by the roadside. Ono Essential Lacking. Bashful lover I I fear I muBt seem a very Sahara of dullness thia evening, Mist, Clara. Self-Possessed Young Woman (tired of waiting)No, Mr. Pankins, you are not at all. like. a desert. You haven't any sand. .' ; ; Carrier Pigeon In Medical Fraction A doctor In the Highlands of Scotland Scot-land distributes carrier pigeons among his patrons, to be released when his services are needed. 822 One Story Is Good till Another Is Told There's a maxim that all should be willing will-ing to mind 'Tls an old one a kind one as true as 'tis kind; 'Tls worthy of notice wherever you roam, And no worse for the heart if remem- . bered at home! If scandal or censure be raised "gainst a friend, Be the last-to believe it the first to defend! de-fend! Say to-morrow will come and then time will unfold That "one story's good till another Is told!" - : A friend's like a ship, when with music and song The tide of good fortune still speeds him along; But see him when tempest hath left him a wreck, And any mean "billow can batter -his deck. But give me the heart that true sympathy sym-pathy shows, And clings to a messmate whatever wind blows; And says when aspersion, unanswer'd, grows bold Wait "one story's good till another is told!" Remarkable Silver-Leaved Poplar. There is a remarkable specimen of the silver-leaved poplar on the lawn of Mrs. Kate Wolcott, Claremont, N. H., that has lately become known to naturalists and Is being visited daily. . . It is nearly 20 feet in circumference, and its largest diameter , is 64 feet. From the base rise three prominent limbs, the smallest of which is 7 feet and the largest 8 1-6 feet in circumference. circumfer-ence. , . As no member of the "populus" family fam-ily is large growing and the "populus abele," silver-leaved poplar. Is one cf the smaller members of the family in this vicinity usually, this Is counted as a rare specimen. The tree is about 50 years old and has a spread of branches from east to west of nearly 84 feet. The spread from north to south was nearly as great, but as the southern branches were very heavy and extended over the extreme length of the house, they were cut away about a' year ago to prevent possible damage to the hoifse. One limb, running to the east,, is 50 feet in length. The wood of the poplar is soft and usually is counted as of little value, but in recent years it has been found to make good floors when sufficiently dry, and is much used for floors in this region. The average poplar is rarely more than 12 inches in diameter. Jungle Duel to the Death. A little while ago, in Kulu, India, a few hill wood cutters watched, from an overhanging rock covered with undergrowth, a duel to the death between be-tween a full-grown leopard and a bear. For half an hour the leopard "feinted round the bear, half springing at him and. striking him, until, finding he could get no "forrarder" by this means, he launched himself full at his adversary and the two rolled over together. The result was instructive. Having got the leopard's bead "in chancery," Bruin made the most of his advantage, and was soon able to walk away not much the worse. The woodmen then cautiously examined the leopard, who was quite dead, his head badly mauled and crushed, and his neck bitten clean through. The moral to those who go bear shooting is pretty ovious. It is in this simple and effective manner the strongest destroying the strong that in the jungle the social question has been solved. Curious Prehistoric Pipe. A remarkable object discovered was a stone pipe with bird head and wings in a grave not far from Simeoe. It 'may indicate that smoking is a much more ancient pastime than has been supposed. t It raises a question of where those prehistoric people got their weed, so far from the places of tobacco culture. Later was found many pieces of broken stone pipes. This particular bowl finds Its nearest resemblance in the modern metal mounted carved stone pipes of the Haidas. Chief Moses-Tjf-this region possesses the modern carved pipe. But the point is-not so much in resemblance of pipes as in the fact of the great antiquity of smoking on this continent. Possibly Pos-sibly these prehistoric smokers migrated mi-grated hither from Mexico or elsewhere else-where and brought the habit with them. Archaeology has not yet enough data to determine either where these races came from or what became of them. New York Tribune. r Watch Strangely Recovered. Charles Sawyer of Woodford, Vt while digging gravel with . which to repair the highway In Wroodford, found a gold watch, five feet below the surface, under a large rock. The watch was of Swiss make and old-fashioned. Sawyer sold it to Charles Wood for $5. Mr. Wood, who is a lifelong resident of the place, remembered that over forty years ago a man who claimed to have been a sailor came to Woodford and had with him a watch that was then quite a curiosity.- The man lost the watch in the woods and Mr. Wood believes that the one he bought is the same ons. Chicken Swallowed Scarfpin. - H. C. Hespe of Jersey City, well known dentist in that city, recently lost and recovered a diamond scarfpin J j remarkable fashion. He is a chicken fancier and has some choice fowls. One of theft was suffering from some ailment and e was examining It. The bird pecked at fcim several times before be-fore he let it go Shortly afterward he noticed that his scarfpin was missing, miss-ing, i The fowl died a few days later and Dr. Hespe diseet.d It a order to discover, if v.oible, tit re of death. To his great surpria , & -sund the sarfpin in the fowl's gizir6 THE MAGIC OF THE VIOLIN. Its Wonderful Charm in the Hands of a Master Described."" Arthur Symons thus describes the great violinist Ysaye as he appeared while, playing his Instrument: "Then the "Kreutzer Sonata bgan and I looked at Ysaye as he stood, an at most shapeless mass of ftesh, holding the violin between his fat fingers and looking vaguely into the air. He put the violin to his shoulder. The face had been like a mass of clay waiting the sculptor's thumb. As the music came an invisible touch seemed to pass over it; the heavy mouth and chin remained firm, pressed down on the violin, but the eyelids and the eyebrows eye-brows began to move, as if the eyea saw the sound and were drawing it In luxuriously with a kind of sleeping ecstasy, as one draws In perfume out of a flower. Then, in that instant, a beauty which -had never been in tha world came into the world; a new thing was created, lived, died, having revealed itself to all those who were capable of receiving it." Ashantee Vegetable Butter. In Ashantee excellent butter is furnished fur-nished by a tree which resembles our oak. This vegetable butter keeps in perfect condition all the year round, in spite of the great heat, and without any added preservative. ' Has He Found It? Polk, Ark., Nov. 9.- A remedy that will absolutely cure Rheumatism has been discovered by Mr. George Hiland of this place. Mr, Hiland is satisfied that the remedy he has used is a sure cure, for it cured him of a very seri ous case Of Acute. Rheumatism when he was so bad that he couioEnovr This is what he says: , "1 was troubled with what is called Acute Rheumatism in 1900. I was in such shape that I could not move without with-out help. I was treated by a physician, who helped me some, but I was still In great pain when my wife saw Dodd's Kidney Pills advertised as a cure for Rheumatism. She insisted on my trying try-ing them, and I felt better after taking the first box, I continued and now I am well and able to work all the time. I have found Dodd's Kidney Pills to be just what they are claimed to be, a perfect cure for Rheumatism." Mr. Hiland's very positive statement seems to settle all doubt as to whether or not Rheumatism can be cured. HER FACE IN THE WAY. What Caused Little One's Dissatisfaction Dissatisfac-tion with the Mirror. "I have no great fear that Gertrude will grow up to be vain; that is, if her present attitude toward her big blue eyes and pretty curls continues," said a fond mamma. "This morning she stepped on a stcol In front of my big mirror and stood there for several minutes regarding herself with a queer little frown, and all the while dodging from side to side as though playing bo-peep. "What's the matter, dear?' I asked, and the answer I received was so different from anything I could have expected that it quite staggered me. 'Oh, mamma, she said with a pout, 'it does bower me aw fly. Every time I look in the glass my face gets in the way!" Catarrh Cannot be Cured with LOCAL APPLICATIONS, kb they cannot reach the seat of the disease. Catarrh is a blood or constitutional consti-tutional disea"e. and in order to care It y oa must take interu-U remedies. Hall's Catarrh Cnre is taken internally, in-ternally, and acts directly oa the blood and mucous surfaces. Hall's Ca arrh Cure Is not a quack med. Iclne. It was prescribed by o:ie of the best phyBlcUns in this country for years and U a regular prescription. It is composed of the best tonles known, combined with the best blood, purifiers, a.-tlna directly on tbe results lis curing isiarm. outi -ictniiuwuiHi. -F. J. CHESET CO., Props., Toledo, O. Bold oy drufcglsfs, price 75c. Hall's Family Pills are the best. Electric Ring. An electric ring, that has the appearance ap-pearance of being set with a magnificent magnifi-cent diamond, is a novelty that will sell for parties. In the place where the gem should be set is a tiny glow lamp; a thin wire, insulated with black silk and arranged so as not to be noticed, connects the lamp with a pocket battery, while a push piece ables the wearer to switch the current on and off at will. It is curious to see a finger ring with a dull piece In the cented, and then to observe it suddenly sudden-ly flash into life as if the most splendid splen-did -diamond had been magically set in it. - ' Too High-Flown Language. Dean Hole, in impressing clergymen clergy-men with the necessity of making themselves understood by their congregations, con-gregations, often cited as a horrible example a famous classical scholar who thus addressed a handful of farm laborers in a country mission room: "In this beautiful country, my brethren, breth-ren, you have the apotheosis of nature and an apodeikneusis of theropratic omnipotence." The dean was not surprised sur-prised when he asked one of the flock what it was about, to be answered: "It was about an hour and a half." It Was All Arranged. A London barrister used to tell of an instance that occurred in his own experience of trial by jury in Wales. A well-known local solicitor named Garnons was concerned in a case. While counsel was addressing the jury its members quietly turned from him, put their heads together and then the foreman addressed the judge: "It's no use, my lord, for the gentleman In the wig to talk any more, as we agreed in the Blue Lion last night to vote for Mr. Garnons of Rhiwgoch." How the Order Was Filled. An Aden correspondent of the London Lon-don Telegraph declares that when Maj.-Gen Egerton was in want of pumps and telegraphed to London for three "Parson's "pumps" they sent him three chaplains, church of England, Scottish and Roman Catholic. r The ShorieitWar out of an attack of Rheumatism Neuralgia Is to use St.JacobsOil Which affords not only sure reHef, but a prompt cure. It soothes, subdues, and ends the suffering, Price 25c and 50c J |