I A FOOTBALL HERO.
I I I
IT WAS a great cross to Mr. and
Mrs. Bartlett that Itoger was ap
parently quite devoid of any
worthy ambition. Their two older
boys were so utterly different. I 'red
hud been graduated from Yale with
highest honors, and Horace was mak
ing remarkable progress at the Sci
entific School; In fact, they were both
exceptionally line students, which
made the contrast all the more strik
ing. Kor Itoger was sadly uulike Ms
brothers. He seemed to labor under
the Impression that he bad been sent I
to college simply and solely for the
pnrnnco of p'antirrg o r:!aV f!;t IjS". J
Apparently nothing else had power to j
kindle the slightest enthusiasm in bis !
Hluggish breast, and his father and j
mother argued and expostulated with j
him in vain.
"You are frittering away your v.ilu-
able time," they argued agalu and
again, "and are letting slip golden op- '
portunitles which, once gone, will neter
come back to you; and what have you
to show for it all but a broken nose
and a fractured collar bone?"
"Is there any prospective benefit to
be derived from these hours spent In
scrambling after a foot ball?" his fa
ther questioned, severely; to which
linger merely responded in his usual
off-hand style: "Why knows but I
may be elected captain of the 'varsity
team next year?"
"Is that the height of your ambi
tion ?" his parent returned bitterly. "I
am terribly disappointed In you. sir.
Are you to go on playing foot-ball for
ever and ever, or what do you propose
to make of your life? I'erhaps you
think that your reputation as a foot
ball player will prove an 'open sesame'
to all desirable positions? Do you sup
pose that anyone wants a fellow who
lias willfully wasted his best opportuni
ties? I had hoped to make a profession
al man of you, not a professional ath
lete, and hail even aspired to seeing
you some day In our lending law office
with my old friend. Wilkinson Smal
ley, but it's no use. Small y wants
only young men of the highest prom
ise," and Mr. Bartlett sighed wear
ily. "It does no good to talk to Itoger,"
lie rounded to his wife afterward, "for
hardly ten minutes had elapsed after
1 had been remonstrating with him
about the evils of foot ball before he
Inquired If 1 wouldn't bring you down
to see the game on Saturday, and In
formed me that he had saved two tick
ets for us."
Mrs. Harden regarded her husband
helplessly. "What did yon say to him
then?" she queried.
"I told him 'certainly no:,'" Mr.
liartlett exclaimed warmly, "and I ex
pressed my surprise at his daring to
suggest such a tiling. Show me some
lasting bcnellt. or any abiding good,
that Is to be derived from this ridicu
lous game, I to, I him. ainl then come
to me to abet you In such follv, but not
till then."
And so Mr. and Mrs. Iturilott railed
to witness that memorable game In
which their youngest son gained for
himself such enviable laurels. Once
In the Held. Itoger was like or- trans
formed. Keen, alert, cool, rising splen
didly to every emergency, no one would
have known him fur the samo slow,
Indifferent, easy-going specimen of hu
manity who grieved the ambitious souls
of his parents by his small aptitude
for tJreek.
Not that Itoger was by any means a
dunce, for his class standing was fair
ly good, but what pained his father
and mother was the recognition of
what he might have accomplished had
It not been for the nrch-enetnv, foot
ball.
The great game over, the victorious
team hastened back to their gytnua
Klum with all possible speed; they had
Home little distance to go. as the gym
nasium was not very near the ball
grounds, so that In order to reach It
they were obliged to traverse the cen
ter of the towu and cross the rail
road tracks.
Itoger. wlio had been detained a mo
ment or so longer than the others,
reached the station a short time after
they had crossed, and found the plat
forms crowded with people who were
returning from the game, mingled with
those who were alighting from Inclin
ing trains. As he stepped upon the
platform he became conscious that
something unusual was going on, and
he Immediately perceived that the tyes
of the multitude were riveted upon a
tlgure half -way across the tracks, a fig
ure pausing there In bewilderment.
"There'll a train coming each way."
Homebody gasped; "why doesn't ho got
off the track?"
The station ngeut and one or two
other officials were shouting loud'y
but the man. who was old and very
deaf, appeared thoroughly dazed. A
he was preparing to step upea the
track nearest him he caught sight of
one train coming down upon him. and
he now staggered back and was about
to plunge in front of the other down
coming express, when suddenly some
thing very unexpected happened.
As the crowd of bystanders shrank
back with horror-stricken faces, con
vinced that they were about to witaes
the horrible fare which nuts: instantly
overtake the old man. a figure in a
much-begrimed canvas jacket sprang
out from among them, and clearing
th? tr.tC...? . 1-ouuu a.-iilt-u LfS10e
the swaying form of the other.
A shudder, and a wave of pitiful re- I
gret swept over the motionless crowd.
"He can never drag him b.iok in time."
they breathed: "they will both 1 kill
ed oh. the pity of it:" j
But our football man had no thought
of dragging the unsteady figure in front
of either approaching engine. In an
instant he had tackled the man and
thrown him ria: upon the ground be
tween the tracks, for all the world
quite as If he had been an opponent on
the football field; then he dropped light
ly on top of him and lav there motion
less, while the two trains thundered
past on each side of them, and the
crowd stood waiting spell-bound.
In much less time than it takes to de
scribe the episode it was over, and
what might have been a tragedy had
proved to be only a bit of melodrama
after all; yet as Roger Jumped up and
pulled the old man on to his feet, ap
plause and cheers louder than any
that had greeted him on the football
Held rang in his ears.
Abashed and quite overwhelmed by
such an ovation Itoger made haste to
elbow his way through the crowd, and
In so doing nearly overthrew his own
brother Fred, who happened to be
standing directly In his path.
"Kor heaven's sake was that you.
Itoger?" he cried, confronting him In
astonishment.
"Do let me get out of this," his
brother responded Impatiently, "they
needn't make such a fuss because I
knocked the old duffer over," and he
bolted In the direction of the gymna
sium. Saturday night generally brought the
scattered members of the Bartlett fam
ily together, as the collegians always
made a point of coming home to spend
Sunday under the parental roof tree.
On this particular Sunday evening
all were assembled before Itoger came
In. I' red was all agog to describe the
scene that he had witnessed, but he un
selfishly held his tongue. "I'll not
spoil his story for him. but will give
him n chance to do Justice to it." he
mentally ejaculated, as he watched his
brother swallowing his soup with un
rutlleil composure.
But Itoger said nothing about the
vital subject, nnd l'red looking at him
with increasing surprise as he judi
cially set forth the respective merit
of the opposing football teams, and
called attention to their most vulner
able points.
"I'll turn In early to-night, I tli'nk,"
he yawned, as he withdrew from the
dining room. "I put pretty solid work
Into the last half of that game," and
he leisurely wended his way upstairs.
"I wish that Itoger would put a little
solid work Into something else." his
father volunteered, as he disappeared
from the room.
At this l'red, who had In times past
repeatedly scoffed at his brother's ath
letic proclivities. Instantly tired up.
"Father." he burst forth, "von're
making a big mistake about itoger.
He's got more genuine stuff In blin
than all the rest of us put together, and
ir it s rootball that s done It. the soon
er we all go In for the game the bet
ter;" and then he proceeded to give
a graphic account of the afternoon's
experience, which caused his father
to blow his nose loudly and repeatedly,
while his eyes glistened with happy
pride, and sent his mother weeping In
search of the sleepy athlete, u-lm
couldn't understand what he had done
that was worth making such a fuss
about.
A few days later Mr. Bartlett re
ceived a note from his old friend Wil
kinson Snialley, which ran somewhat
as follows:
"Hear Bartlett-I hear that your
Itoger is going In for the law, and If so.
I want him. When he gets through
with the law school you can hnn.l M,
over to nie, for he's Just the material
that I'm on the lookout for, and you
may well be proud of him.
"Me scared me out of a year's
growth the other afternoon n't t te
station, the young rascal, but In nli..
' of that. 1 wish you would tell him to
.me rouud and take dluuer with me
some night, for I wan: to talk to him.
"With kind regards to Mrs. Bart
lett. believe me. ever your friend.
'WILKINSON SM ALLEY."
When I'.oger c.'.n.e home the follow
ing Saturday, his father handed him
note, remarking: I'm afraid I
haven': appreciated your football, old
man. but I'm going to do In'tter in fu
ture: and. by the way. linger. 1 hear
that you're to piny in the game at
Spr.ngr'.eld next week: is that so?"
lloger nodded.
"Very wed. then." Mr. Bartlett con
tinued, "your mother and 1 would like
to have you get ns the best seats that
can be bough;, for we've set our hearts
upon going up to see you make the firs:
touchdown." Toledo Blade.
Treats of Photography.
1 have read, with the comments there
on, the account of the spirit photograph
ing of n child's foot upon a window
glass. I have something equally strange
to offer My father-in-law. Emanuel
Ttyder. I ves a trifle over two miles
north and east of here. He and his
family are stanch spiritualists. In the
fail of ISTIi they had a valuable horse
called Nellie, which wns quite a favor
ite. It took sick with colic. 1 think, and
.lust before it died snt upon it haunch
es with the forelegs hanging down, then
dropped over dead. Although the day
was clear the sun did not shine on that
the westi sid.ejj.t,:l'- 1'nise. a few rods
from which. :n front of a window, the
horse died
About five months afterward the low
er right-hand pane of glass in the lower
sash of that window began to look
smoky, and when the sun shone direct
on the glass the correct picture of the
horse was depicted in the sitting pos
ture mentioned. This remained so for
ten years. In the fall of lSs;t the glass
became clear and The picture faded
away, and in place were five diagonal
lines, which remained about six months
and disappeared. The glass began to
look cloudy or smoky again, and the
profile of the horse appeared as before,
and is there to this day. It does not
look like a flaw in the glass, but as If
pictured in the glass. When the sun
does shine in a direct line on the glass
the image cannot be seen, but In the
night. If a Tght Is held against the win
dow, it can be seen by a person on the
outside, and vice versa. This picture
has been seen by hundreds and is ap
parently a mystery to everybody. The
fact of this phenomenon remains just
the same, but the query is open for an
swer: How. why and by what was the
picture of that dying horse photograph
ed on that window pane? Nye, Ore.,
letter to the I'rogresslve Thinker.
Bursting Fly-Wheels.
The bursting of a fly wheel Is almost
unheard of In England. nntu-Ithsmmi.
lug the high speed engines we now have
running, yet in tne united States fly
wheel casualties have become a nmtter
of weekly report. In England we have
many thousands of high speed cast Iron
fly wheels and very large wheels up to
sixty tons weight running with very
high periphery speed, and they nil run
safely, and yet In the States they say:
"The sudden advent of the electrical ap
paratus and it-s high speeds found peo
ple making fly wheels of cast Iron with
a narrow factor of safety, or, indeed, no
laetor of satoty at all. if we consider
the Impossibility of detecting Inherent
strains and Imperfections in this
rial. No one can know the value of
material molded luto form nt a tem
perature of 2,000 degrees and then cool.
ed dow n to a 40th of this temperature,
nor can they Judge Internal struetura
by surface Indications. The fact Is that
cast Iron Is not suitable material for
tly wheels that are to be driven at hlirh
speed, nor Is It necessary to make them
of this material. There Is not even the
claim of cheapness In their favor, If the
metnoiis or making such wheels of
wrought Iron and steel were once work
ed out."
Twenty years ago a Scotch firm, who
had to make a large fly wheel for n
spinning mill, riveted up a box rim.
inane rrom rolled plates, nnd filled It
with cemented masonry or "grout." and
did a very sensible thing. London En
gineer.
Loneliness of Arctic loo Fields.
On these Island hunting trips nu om
inous silence reigned. We were then
having alternate day and night, and
tne spirit of the approaching months of
darkness seemed to hold the day lu
thrall. The weird desolation and ione
lluess of the great peaks; the Intermina
ble ice-caps, lustrous nnd cold under
the gray waste of cloud; the wide,
mossy stretches, thick-set with Irregu
lar boulders of many hues, and thickly
starred with white, pink, purple nnil
yellow flowers; the absence of life; the
windless hush all these wove a web
of awe alunit one's mental perceptions,
and made the world in which we walk
ed seem a part of strange dreams.
Century.
Fire Burns Thirty-High! Yearn,
There Is a burning coal mine ac Sum
mit Hill, near the Towu of Mnu-.M
Chunk. The fire, which was started
by a tiny accident, has raged lu this
mine since ISoS. nnd nil the trials at
xtliigulshlug It have failed.
"Why does a woman always call her
purse a pocket-book?" "I don't kno.
unless It Is because she carries In It a
memorandum telling her where to find
her pocket." Chicago Record.
r
l.r;E
53 l,r
ft-'
Kccapc from a Meteor.
A meteor, weighing nearly four nnd
a half pounds, fell in an orchard near
Namur. in Belgium, on April 13, nar
rowly missing a young workman. The
meteor penetrated twenty Inches into
the ground.
Electro-Magnetic Velocity.
Recent experiments by Monsieur
Blondot on the rate of propagation of
an electro-magnetic disturbance along
a wire showed, according to one series
of tests, a velocity of 184.1S3 miles per
second, and according to another scries,
in which the distance traversed was
nearly twice as great, 18o,177 miles per
secoud. The velocity of light Is about
lyi,3uo miles per second.
The SwlnBlna Earth,
It is known that the poles of the
earth, Instead of remaining fixed in po
sition, revolve In small circles, or curves
which are nearly circles, in a period of
427 days, and that another motion of
revolution, considerable shorter, also
affects the position of the polos. The
cause of this "wobbling" Is not known,
but Prof. Simon Xewcomb lias recent
ly suggested that It may be due to cur
rents In the oceans and In the atmos
phere affecting the equilibrium of the
globe.
The Traveler's Tree.
Monsieur Bureau, a French traveler,
disposes of the old stories about the
"traveler's tree," In Madagascar, which
has been represented as a great boon
to thirsty wanderers on account of the
water stored in its cup-shaped leaf
stalks. He says the tree grows only
where there is a plentiful supply of
water, and where ralu falls frequently
nil the year round, and that since the
leaves are situated at the top of the
trees, which are very tall, the thirsty
traveler would have difficulty in reach
Ing them, even If it were necessary to
do so in order to find water.
Nature Worked Backward.
An Interesting story of a reversal of
the ordinary course of nature, which
cost a market gardener dear, Is told by
Miss Ormerod, the English naturalist.
Watercress is eagerly devoured by cad'
dls worms, but caddis worms nre a fa
vorite food of trout. The trout In turn
have a voracious enemy in herons,
which ordinarily catch the fish after
they have grown fat on caddis worms.
Recently It happened that a large grow
er of watercress had three-quarters of
his crop mined by the ravages of cad
dls worms. On investigation It was
found that the trout, which ordinarily
protected the plants from the worms,
had been devoured, ahead of time, so to
spenk, by a flock of hungry herons,
which In thus reversing the course of
events, had brought disaster to the own
er of the watercress.
A Steam Bli-il.
Irof. S. P. Langley, the secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution, has con
structed a flying-machine, driven by a
steam engine carried bv the ninchlnn
which made two sucessful flights nt
uceoquan, a., ou May 0. The machine
ir not large enough to carry a man, and
is only intended as a model for expert
ment. It is called nerodn HHP tnun n
lug "air-runner." Its framework Is of
steel, and the length of its wings, or
j aeroplanes, from tip to tip Is fourteen
feet. No gas is used to lift the machine,
i the ascensional force bel HOT flprt vttjl
from propellers driven by the portable
i steam engine; nnd this force Is made
effective through the shape and pitch of
the wings. In the air the aerodrome
resembles an enormous bird saillnir
broad, regular curves nnd irniiinniiv
rising. When the etentu gives out the
machine, instead of tumbling headlong
I to tne earth, settles down gently and
; rignt side up. i tie engine used at pres
i ent is capable of driving the aerodrome
about half a mile. On account of Vmt
Langley's high standing In the
of science great Interest has been
; aroused In his experiments.
The Color of Water.
The fact is generally known that pure
water appears blue when light Is trans
mitted through a sufficient thickness of
It, and that when opaque particles are
.suspended in it the hue of the wnter Is
greenish. But while pure wnter looks
1 blue when light passes freely through
: it, yet when it is contained in a deep
! opaque receptacle, like the basin of a
lake or the ocean, it ought to absorb
all light and look black. Experience
shows, however, that the deepest parts
or tne Mediterranean, for instance, an-
j pear uot black but Intensely blue. This
; has been supposed to be caused by ml
cute particles held In suspension, but
the recent experiments of I'rof. Spring
at Liege suggest a different explana
tion, tie nas round that wanner cur
rents passing through pure water In
j terrupt Its transparency, even when the
aiacrence of temperature is very slight
i i in ri i
Such currents may cause deerMritirr
appear blue by reflecting pg,, , '
Hum iu-i u.-,.,.-, iiuuuKii u,e transparent
layers above. This, It is suggesteil .
plains the fact that fresh water lake
are more transparent in winter than In
summer, because In winter currents &f
ueuieu water are nor. iraversile. tl.,..
Even the shadow of a mountain f.,jn
on a bike may Increase the transim.
nnpv nf the iv;it.i. l- ...w.!;....
.. .... .lus lm SUI
i ace.
Stereotype Casting Apnarati,.
Chas. M. Conley, for years au ewpri
stereotyper and at present foreman of
the stereotype foundry of the Chica'i)
Newspaper Union, has perfected anj
patented an Invention to nutomatioiillt
operate means for locking together thi
cover and matrix-bed of a stereotype,
easting box preparatory to the casting
operation, and In like manner automat
ically to unlock the parts when thi
cast plate Is about to be removed. Pro.
vision is made at different portions of
the box against springing and warnlni
of the parts In use, thus not only avoid-
THE CASTING BOX.
Ing the danger of leakage of the molten
metal, but also Insuring a perfect cast-
plate product. The Invention la om
of great value, as it not only saves time.
but protects workmen from Injury and
makes possible a better grade of wort
The accompanying cut will clearly Il
lustrate tne improvement to the skilled
mechanic.
Childish Diplomacy.
We all know the child's aptness In
"easing" the pressure of command!
and prohibitions. If, for example, he if
told to keep perfectly quiet because
mother or father wants to sleep, he will
prettily plead for the reservation ol
whispering ever so softly. If he is bid
den not to ask for things at the table,
he will resort to sly, Indirect renilnden
of what he wants, as when a boy of fin
years and a half whispered audibly, "1
hope somebody will offer me some mote
soup," or when a girl of three years and
a half with still greater childish Hot
observed on seeing the elder folk eating
cake, "I not asking." This last may t
compared with a story told by Rom
seau of a little girl of six years who,
having eaten of all the dishes but one,
artfully Indicated the fact by, pointing
In turn to all the dishes, saying, "I have
eaten that," but carefully passing by
the untested one.
When more difficult duties come to be
enforced nnd the neophyte in the higher
morality Is bidden to be considerate for
others, nnd even to sacrifice his own
comfort for theirs, he Is npt to manifest
a good deal of skill in adjusting the
counsel of perfection to young weak
ness. Here is an amusing example: A
little boy, Edgar by name, aged Hw
years and three quarters, was going oat
to tnke ten with some little girls. The
mother, ns is usual on such ocasloos,
primed him with special directions M
to behavior, saying, "Remember to give
way to them, like father does to me"
To which Edgar, nfter thinking a brief
Instant, replied: "Oh, but not all at once.
You hnve to persuade him." Prof. Ja
Sulley. Fireproof Paper.
L. Frobeeu, of Berlin, Germany,
shows the production of a valuable ar
ticle for industrial and other purpose.
Ninety-five parts of asbestos fibre of
the best quality are washed In a solu
tion of permanganate of calcium, a'nJ
then treated with sulphuric acid, which
bleaches the fibre. After treating the
fibre tints, five parts of ground wood
pulp are added and the entire niasspu'
In the ngitntlng box, with the addition
of lime water nnd borax. After being
thoroughly mixed the material is pump
ed Into a regulating box and allowed
to flow out of a gate ou to au endle
wire cloth, where It enters the usual
paper-making machinery. It Is report!
thnt pnper treated thus will resist even
the direct Influence of a flame, and may
be placed in a white heat with Impu
nity. Ordinary paper may be made tire
priKif by trentlng with a fluid composed
of 33 parts manganate of chloride. 20 ol
orthophosphorle nclil, 12 parts carbon
ate of magnesium, 10 of boric acid, ami
2o of chloride of ammonia to a quart01
water. Taper saturated thorouebl.'
with this solution will resist great heat
Watts Heen reading anything anon
these Cuban atrocities?" I'otts-No
I've got a box of them at home ye
that my wife bought three months W
from an alleged smuggler. Cinclunat
Enquirer.
Xo wonder bees are profitable: the
rteal all they eat from the neighbor.