JWy f elloW-pd$$eD3ef'$ Story.
e e e e
PKCTILIAR sound came from
iwhind the newsnnner in the
corner of the railway carriage.
It was a prolonged groan, followed by
a string of adjectives, uttered in quick
succession, like the reports from a six
chambered revolver fired agiilnst time.
I shifted my seat a little further from
the newspnper and let down the win
dow, so as to be within reach of the
communication cord should necessity
arise. As I did so, the paper fell on
to the fat, drab knees, disclosing a red,
clean-shaven face and a pair of sav
age gray eyes.
The man in the corner appeared to
have experienced a warm time of It
behind the newspaper, for drops of
perspiration stood like small glass
beads on his high forehead, and his
face was distorted by passion, which
made him look anythlug but a desira
ble fellow passenger. I wished the
train would reach a station; even a
slight accident to stay Us headlong
speed M ould have been welcome to en
able me to put a few carriages between
me and the man in the corner. But
nothing of the kind happened, only
my fellow passenger, after staring
fiercely at me a few seconds, blurted
out:
"Them sales of great nuks' eggs
made me wild. I hate the very name
of 'em. They say the blooming bird
is extinct, and the sooner them eggs
are, the better I shall like It."
I felt relieved that my fellow passen
gen wasn't a madman or In a fit, as I
had been at first led to suppose. He
was only laboring under a little excite
ment occasioned by reading an account
of the recent sale of a couple of great
auks' eggs.
I smiled, and remarked that he was
not a lover of great auks' eggs.
"No; dash 'em!" returned the man,
savagely; "I wish the whole seventy,
which, they say. are knocking about
the world, were burnt up, and the ashes
scattered to the winds of heaven!"
I felt Interested and longed to hear
further particulars, so, taking out my
cigar-case, I handed it to him, at ttie
same time venturing to Inquire if he
had ever had any dealings in great
auks' eggs. I thought by his manner
he had.
He paused' a moment before answer
ing, while he bit off the end of his cigar.
"Well, yes or, more strictly speaking,
no," he said slowly. "But there, It's a
queer story." I ftokcd Interested, and
after lighting up he began:
"It was one night some years ago I
was accosted in the Commercial Iioad
by a shabby follow, who asked me to
buy a queer-looking thing which he
held In his arms. It looked something
between a foot-ball and an Edam
cheese, as hard as adamant, and the
color of a wnl nut-peeler's hands. The
man said he had just arrived In Eng
land from abroad, where many years
of his life had been spent. The ball
had been n present from some black
king; he did tell me his name, but I for
get it now. I know It took ten minutes
to say It, and you had to sneeze twice
at the end to pronounce It properly.
The man didn't know what the ball
was, but the king had valued it highly.
I to'.d him It was no use to me, but he
begged so hard for enough to get him a
night's lodging that I at last gave him
a trifle for It, and took the thing home,
thinking It would do to keep the door
oiH'ii, If nothing else.
"For n long time the queer old thing
was knocking about the house; It was
useless for holding opvii the door. The
only use it appeared to be was for peo
ple to fall over. I fell over it first and
injured the bridge of my nose ami
knocked a leg oft' a table. My mother-in-law
followed me over it a few days
after, and was laid up three weeks
with a black eye and shock to the sys
tem. Then one of the kids let it fall
on the cat's back, and though they say
a cat's spine Is made of India-rubber It
couldn't stand that ball, and snapped.
At last the baby mil do a desperate ef
fort to rid the house of that dashed
thing by eating It up, and lujured the
only two teeth It possessed. My wife
grew very Indignant at this, and said
the Injury to Obsidian's teeth was the
last straw that made the load too
lumvy to lK'ar, and she chucked the
Imll into the back-yard, where it lay
for months lohtnd some boxes, forgot
ten and uncared for.
"It was a couple of dnys before the
IVrby, nnd a friend of mine had drop
ped In to arrange about going, and how
we were to raise the necessary funds,
as we were at very low water. We
were having a smoke together In the
yard, while his little beggar of a dog
wa scraping alwut for ruts, which ex
isted only In his Imagination. Iu his
scorch, among other things ho laid
bare was that old ball, which he sent
rolling forward almost onto our toes.
' 'Why, Bob, what have you got
here?' cried Joe, beudlng down to ex
amine It.
" 'Thut's Just what I want to know,'
I said. 'It's a ball of mystery alto
gether.' "Joe began scraping the dirt off with
his foot, and examining carefully. Then
be began laughing for to kill himself.
It ain't a great auk's egg, eh, Bob?' he
said.
" 'No,' I says; 'I wish to goodness it
was.'
" 'If it don't happen to lay claim to
that proud title, why don't you make
it?
"'What's the good?' I answered. I
couldn't see what Joe was driving at.
" 'Why, said Joe, 'I was thinking it
was Just the article to suit that old fool,
Billy Muster. Fake It up a bit and sell
It to him as a great auk's egg. He'd
never know the difference; at any rate,
It wouldn't hurt him, and do us a great
deal of good.'
"I thought it a capital Joke. We soon
cleansed the old ball of the dirt, and set
about at once converting It Into a great
auk's egg by a good polishing up. I
have never seen a great auk's egg, and
never want to; but I should think it was
as near like one as you could make any
thing. "Billy Muster was one of those fel
lows who would never, as the saying Is,
'set the Thames afire.' He had been in
business once, and Just as he had been
on the verge of bankruptcy an obliging
relative died and left him sufficient to
pay off his debts and retire gracefully
from business. He wisely didn't ven
ture again, but gathered together the
remainder of his money, and was try
ing to do the Independent gentleman in
a tiny, gayly painted villa out Clapham
way.
"The next morning we pt out with
the great auk's egg to pay Billy a visit.
As we neared his abode we saw him do
ing the grand in "his smoklng-cap and
slippers In his six feet of front garden.
'Just taking my usual morning walk in
the garden,' he remarked, as we shook
hands. We explained that we had got
something special to show him, and he
at once led the way into his pretty
front par'.or and bade use be seated.
"Joe placed the great auk's egg on
the table, and began relieving it of the
six newspapers which had enshrouded
It. It is always well to give worthless
things a good packing; It lends such an
air of value to 'em. Billy watched the
sheet after sheet of paper being pulled
off with great Interest. As the last bit
was peeled off, and the shiny, round,
mahogany-colored ball stood revealed.
Muster rose from his chair and ap
proached the ball. 'What did you say it
was? he asked.
" 'A great auk's egg,' chimed in Joe
and I, together.
" 'A grauorkseg,' repeated Billy; 'and
what may that be used for?'
"'An ornament which no centlo-
man's house Is complete without,' an
swered Joe.
"'Bless my soul, you don't say so?'
said Muster. 'What won't they Invent
next? Well, at any rate, they are
showy-looking articles. What did you
,say the figure was?'
" 'Five guineas,' answered Joe, 'and
It s a bargain.'
" 'Dear, dear,' said Billy, 'five guineas
is a lot of money. Won't they make 'em
chonper? I could do with a couple of
sizes smaller.'
"We laughed, and said it was the
only size kept In stock, and further gave
him to understand it was dirt cheap,
several of them having been sold for
over a hundred iounds each. 'Well, I
never,' was all Muster could say. We
could see he was greatly impressed
with it, and was dying almost to call
it his. But ho wanted something to
bring him to the buying point. So Joe
rose, and began replacing the paper. 'I
see, Mr. Muster,' he said, 'you ain't a
buyer. If we go to any of the dealers
we caii get three times as much as we
have, out of pure friendship, agreed to
accept from you. I thought, as you are
now classed among the gentry, it would
have been your greatest ambition to
own a great auk's egg, which, as I said
before, no gentleman's house is com
plete without.'
"This fetched him. 'Stop a minute,'
he cried, starting forward; 'you are In
a blessed hurry. I'll tell you what I'll
do I will give you thrte pound ten.'
" 'No, said Joe; It's no good, I see,
haggling over such a bargain.'
"Muster grew very serious, and came
and took the parcel from Joe's hand,
and unwrapped the ball, and gazed in
tently at it a few seconds. Then with
out a word he went to fetch the money.
" 'Joe,' I said, iu a whisper, 'you don't
mean to let the old fellow payover the
money, do you?' for, to tell the truth,
I didn't relish this kind of business.
" 'No,' said Joe, 'of course I don't
What do you think? You know is
fair In business, love and war. Besides,
It may, after all, be a valuable curi
osity, as It belonged to a king, and
worth the money.'
"Presently Muster reappeared, and
counted the money into Joe's hand, and
we took our departure.
"'It shall be a good day for us to
morrow,' said Joe, chuckling.
"Well, to make a long story short, we
went to the Derby and blued every
shilling of that five quid. We never ex
perienced a worse run of luck In our
lives. It was a sort of judgment on
us, I thought at the time.
"A few days after Joe called round to
see me. As he shook hands he laughed
so much I thought he had gone a bit
wrong under his hat. He said, by way
of explanation, he had been .to see old
Muster and the great auk's egg. It ap
peared he had accidentally encountered
Muster, who seemed delighted to see
him, and Insisted on his going Indoors.
"One of the first things Joe's eyes lit
on as he entered the little front parlor
was the great auk's egg. A big hole
had been made In the side, disclosing
the fact that It was hollow. 'Been get
ting the yoke out, eh! Mr. Muster? said
Joe, laughing. 'Yes,' returned the old
man, in a pleasant tone. 'Was it yellow
and fresh?' Inquired Joe. 'Beautiful,'
said Muster, beaming with pleasure ail
over his face. 'You don't regret your
bargain?' queried Joe. 'No, no, that I
don't,' returned the old man. And to
show he didn't he went and got out
some whisky and behaved like a brick.
"We both agreed the old fellow must
be gone a bit wrong In the upper story.
"Soon after Billy Muster moved from
Clapham and took a large house up
west, where he lived for soine years in
good style. When asked by his friends
where the money came from, he said
he had made a very successful specula
tion. It was only when he shuffled off
this mortal coll that I, learned that I
had been fool enough to let a fortune
slip through my fingers, for that bless
ed old great auk's egg was crammed
with precious stones, which the curi
osity of the old man had unexpectedly
laid bare. It was supposed that a sailor
eomlng off a long voyage had. In a
drunken bout, lost a treasure which he
brought from a foreign shore, and
Billy Muster had luckily bought It."
Yankee Blade.
LAW AS INTERPRETED.
The right to read medical books to
jthe jury for the purpose of proving the
symptoms of disease Is denied In Blx
by vs. Omaha & C. B. R. & Co. (Iowa),
43 L. R. A. 533, although they are ad
mitted to be standard books, where
they have not been referred to by wit
nesses whose testimony is to be contra
dicted by them.
The rule that freedom from contribu
tory negligence must affirmatively ap
pear and Is not presumed Is adhered
to in McLean vs. Perkins (Me.), 43
L. R. A. 487, in case of the drowning
of employes while going to their work
in an old punt with a crack in one side
calked with waste and a psrt of one
end split off, when they were all
drowned, and thert is no evidence as
to the cause or manner of such acci
dent. The acceptance by a defendant In a
divorce suit, over whom no jurisdiction
was obtained, of the decree rendered
and his remarrying are held in Hek
king Vs. Pfaff (C. C. A. 1st C), 42
L. R. A. CIS, insufficient to stop him
from disputing the validity of a subse
quent ex parte proceeding in the di
vorce suit by which the judgment is
opened and a decree for alimony en
tered against him. .
Crushing of Jack Iarlin.
More cruel treatment was never ac
corded to anybody than that meted out
by Miss Jennie Smithklns to Jack Lark
ins. Mr. Larkins is the stenographer
and corner-stone of a wholesale gro
cery house and Miss Smithkins Is tak
ing a course In oratory at the univer
sity. Both of them live on -57th street.
Miss Smithklns has blonde hair and
innocent blue eyes. Lessons In elocu
tion and felsarte have taught her to
talk with her eyes and smile with her
reddish halr.v Larkins was captivated
as he passed" the Smithklns home on
his way to the Illinois Central station.'
They had never spoken except with
their eyes, nnd Larkins not being as
well up in Delsarte as Miss Smithklns,
may not have said all that he thought
he did. When he Judged the acquaint
ance was well established, he wrote
Miss Smithklns a note. He received no
answer. Another note met the same
fate. The third was found pinned to a
lamp post next day just In front of
Larkins' boarding-house. Seventeen
people in the house had read It before
Larkins suspected what the fun was
about There, on violet-blue note pa
per, with Miss Smithklns name cut
out, was Larkins' touching epistle, in
which he compared his auburn-haired
lady to "a star," declared that she "had
broken his heart" aud wanted to know
when, If ever, she intended to answer
his note and fly with him from stern
parental objections.
"I get a salary of flS and work for
. Your Jack Larkins," vsas the way
the letter concluded.
Larkins has changed his boarding
place. Miss Smithklns Is still practic
ing Delsarte. Chicago Inter Ocean.
THE 'YOUTH'S
COMPANION
... For I
We mean to have the new volume surpass
all former ones In the. Interest of its articles,
the charm of its stories, and the value of
its miscellaneous reading. ::::::
I The Companion Calendar
For 1900, which is given to every new sub
scriber, is a Calendar beyond compare. :
QUBSCRIBE NOW, sending $1.75, the price of a year's
subscription, with this slip or the name of this paper
and we will send you The Companion Free for the remain
ing weeks of i8gg, the beautiful Companion Calendar, and
the53 issues of the new volume to January, igoi. l 303
Send us your address on a postal and we will
mail you our Illustrated Announcement of the 1900
volume and sample copies of the Paper Free.
I The Youth's Companion, Boston, Mass.
A new cotton spindle is said to be
capable of running 20,000 revolutions
per minute, and, if so, will indeed rev
olutionize the epinning process.
Denny 'Th' gur-rul thot Oi mar
ray must be loike foine silk." Kora
"An' how is thot?" Denny "Not
shrink when it comes to washing."
Voter, in Belgium.
Under the Belgian law unmarried
men over 25 have one vote, married
men and widowers with famili.s have
two votes and priests and other per
sons of education have three votes.
Severe penalties are imposed on those
who fall to vote.
25c SAMPLE- BOTTLE 10c FOR NEXT 30 DAYS
No DISEA SE has so baffled the medical
skill of all ages as RHEUMATISM.
and no remedy has even been known
o euro iw unui "O urops,"
the Rheumatio Cure demonstrated Its
wonderful curative power
It has never failed to euro RHEUMATISM
In any form, Acute or Chronic,
tt ,,... . ...
tradb mark years of active l'ractice of Medicine i
. e. never b?fre ln ,y 35 years of practice of medicine given my testimonial or recon.
inendatiou to any patent medicine, but there Is a remedy, the result of which has come under mr
own observation ; for there is no IMsnase which has so baffled the medical skill of all aeti u
2r5S?Ifs and,to .find. Kellable remedy for the same. At last we have founjitu
. ---".. me uniuuuu nimuuiuuo tun company, cnicago, ill.
as 1
8K0,
tr,?if ..Vouo1.. mdl? wh.j?h I skillfully selected, but without desifable results. I Urn
heard of "5 DllOPS" and of its Wiwli-f,,i ,i t .i...v.
.wrS,!.- V -,?m it;us.e-willun a few iaJa- After that I prescribed it to a great number and to bj
nrP..R r.,w; i'K 1 .at lnAhe co,,rse ?f wo or TUree Weeks after they had used "5 DROPS
and "5 Drop" Plasters they were Cured.
RhmtnuheAer5 J?-,ff Hh0 ha,d- for a nmler of years, been suffering with Chronle
out r rn t '& a? ??d pll.,.ted themselvf s around on Crutches. They came to ray office with-
nd fn i"dTM d theyi Ze,Te, Pf-y Well. They give all the credit to " 6 DltOPS"
T,t l?.Pi 1:la8ters "d "'i 9 their testimony to the Sanson Itheumutio Cure Com
F . eM al.T f?r th,5 conscientious way in which they are placing these Wondor.
acL?wUdment?0ng 8uffenng hulI"ty, which they told me to write to the Company as..
mflnvAfnIsth,n?.r?therrC,1,ratlTe Pwer of 5 DKOPS" and "5 Drop" Plasters, in t gmt
Sable tS de"l withran rrU.lyTe,2m,1lU,em.and also that the firm perfectly honest ind
liable to deal with. C. A. JACKSON, Physician and Surgeon, Kearney, Neb., Aug. j9, 1699.
Mow Long Have You Suffered with RHEUM A T1SM ?
How Long Havo You Read About "n nanos'r iajm... t
ti yfiU 1? tiUnk ou ve waste1 Precious time and suffered enough? If so,
luentry Uie 5 drops ' and be promptly and permanently cured of your afflictions.
1 ,,mk. i 'T V , . . "& c lor vncumaiism, neuralgia, auuuwi
FKkSL V?' Asthma, Hay-Fever, Dyspep.
NervouZne eiSi' P5 Earache, Spasmodic and Catarrhal Croup, Toothack,
e f?? ' S,f,eP,essness, Creeping Numbness, Halarla, and kindred dis
named AFS hasUT more People; during the past four years, of the abort
curinorf thaV er remcs known? in case of Rheumatism
L aU ttet doctor9 Patent medicines, electric belts and battenei
Sank itl "leycannot ce Chronic Rheumatism. Therefore, waste no tnon
" s Drom rnoney longer, but try 5 Drops " and be promptly CURED.
contS dncA only .the bes medicine, but it is the cheapest, for a t. 00 bolt!.
foi - U For P"f Pe,bottle Prepaid by Iftail or express, or 6 bottlM
Kndm10nra ? neX,1 SO days we will sen a 25c. sample FREE to anyone
R to pay for the mailing. Agents wanted Write to-day.
SWANSON RHEUMATIC CURE CO., 160-164 E. LAKE STREET, CHICAGO.
PORTLAND DIRECTORY. , BUY THE GENUINE
UP OF FIGS
Fen on hikI Wire Works.
l'OR'IXANn WlltlC lt I HON" WORKS: WIRE
andiron fencing; ollice railing, eic. m Alder.
Blachhiwi-y Sin,,,i.
CAWSTOK A CO.: ENG1XKS, liOIMCUS, MA.
chinery, supplies. 4S-6U First St.. PMri'.ind.Orl
JOHN POOLE. Portland Or
ennp-eyouthe best bSln S
loCiilneKy.VenBi",es bil"s. tanks ft, S
TteTf V tS """'"'ills. The new
equalled L Wlndlm11. "Id by him, is u, I
SYR
YOUNG MEN!
saws i Sir
Circular mailed on uSJ.Cuillt;A1 C0- HI.
You Can't Make a Mistake by Taking the
r ii "k. m
J RrKAr vV F"ril0"Ur " on or addresn
J. K. J.AGEL, O. P. A. W. E.COMAN O a
C. O. TERRY, T. 1 X
124 Third Street, Portland. Or.
.jaKflMTfltlllrK'yT
Best Couidi Syrup. Tm UodU.
in limn. p m hT rtmr
,'Mfcl S
L eo H
... MANUFACTURED BY ...
CALIFORNIA FIQ SYRUP CO.
tyKOTE TIIE XAME.
ARTER'SEHK
Makes millions think. .
MACHINERY.
...TATUM Sl BOWEN...
29 to 35 First Street PORTLANOj
SURE CURE FOR PILES
ITuillNGPir.pro(ln(emolBturendcu7
Thlt form, well tt Blind, BlemiinK or Protrd'l
PiIm ire cured by Or. Botanko'f PK'mSl
8top itchlnir and bleeding. Abuntlw t uiik" f
Jar at drug-Hint or sent by mall. Trutiiefr
M about your caaa. PR. BUHANKU. Fhilar.
CURE YOURSELF
d.K:MSb
... .,. v.... - - - - - . . uiru-
r .n - .... A. nn inDDUli
B1 nt CTAriD uHkMIOALUO. """"" " rffU,
WINOINNATI.O.C 1 w,,u
C.m IT ' 1 "lya, I
ME.'w GnaraoMtd 11
14 J ft Pri".r' pr-P.lV
WOMAN
RELIEF FOR
That tired, lanirnld feeltiifr.tho W'J.'lpne
bark and the chronic headache will awvr
quickly If you take
Hoore's Revealed Re"1
It It an ideal medicine for women,
Vicanant to take. 11.00 per bottle at youru
N. P. v. n NO. 43-
mention tuTi paper.
:' '