LINCOLN COUNTY LEADER.
CHAS. F. ADA X. iOULZ, Pub.
TOLEDO OREGON.
The automobile Is beating out foot
ball In the race for the Fatality stakes.
The nightingale Is no more interest
ing than the midnight cat to the man
who wants to sleep.
Some city will yet break the record
by getting up an exposition that is a
colossal and unqualified success.
An enterprising Kansan now comes
to the front with a machine to com
press grasshoppers Into bricks to be
sold for poultry food. Next.
The children are now abducting one
another and demanding ransom. Our
country has Its future Pat Crowes as
well as Its future Presidents.
A man won a girl for his bride by
playing to her on a violin. But he
shouldn't be blamed for that. It might
have been a trombone or an accordeon.
King Edward's brother-in-law, the
Duke of Argyll, has published a book
of poems. The time may come when
the royal family can raise Its own poet
laureate.
The Kulser has made a major general
of Dr. Koch, which seems a little para
doxical. A man who devotes his time
to saving life doesn't seem at home
with a military title.
A surgeon in Lyons,' France, has sup
plied a rubber larynx and glottis for a
patient that works perfectly. The rub
ber neck now has a distinct and assured
standing in the world of medicine.
President Schwab of the steel trust
played golf for the first time at Glen
View the other day, and took thirty
strokes to make the first hole. There are
other games that Schwab can play bet
ter. Sir Thomns Llpton says there are "no
girls like the American girls." You
said it too late, Sir Tom. Since you de
clared you would not marry until you
lifted the cup the girls take your com
pliment as a Jolly.
When divorced women are so over
Joyed that they kiss their lawyer and
try to kiss the Judge it Is time for
young women to try to be careful In
.vthe selection of a husband. It Is bet
ter to be an old maid than to be kiss
ing lawyers and Judges in the gladness
of release from a marriage that never
should have been.
A girl who tries to make a fright of
herself or deliberately dresses so as to
look homely, when nature has endowed
her with beauty, is deficient in sense
and gratitude. We should all, of both
sexes, try to look and be our blst so
far as wo may consistently with our
occupation, means and environment,
and a growing and handsome girl cer
tainly should not make herself an ex
ception to the rule.
There Is a new wonder every day.
In the Bible the miracles number less
than a hundred. The modern miracles
run into the thousands overnight t lie
miracles of science, Invention, com
merce and enterprise. In the new part
of the old world greater records are
mounting on big achievements. In the
old part of the old world modernity Is
playing grotesque tricks with history
and making contrasts that provoke
even the serious to merriment. Fancy,
for Instance, Diogenes sitting In his tub
watching a trolley car go by and look
lug for an honest 111:111, only to hear the
conductor ring up a dnu-lnna fare on a
mechanical contrivance to protect him
from temptation.
There is little doubt in the general
mind that Edward the Seventh Is af
flicted with cancer. The denials of the
court physicians are not of a character
to settle apprehensions. The royal doc
tors do not want to put themselves In
the position of that emlneut English
throat specialist who. told a lie about
Unser Fritz In order to circumvent BIs
marck and to give the late Empress
Dowager a crown. So their denials are
rather In the nature of a plea of avoid
ance. It Is said Edward has become
more and more exclusive a ml Is given
to harsh criticism. Ills Impending doom
evidently weighs ou his spirit. lie is
an old man and a grandfather. lie has
not long to live aud the thought of It Is
not pleasant. lie waited many years
for his crown and It Is rather hard to
give It up. One cannot but pity the
orrows of the English king.
Recently a New York store sent to a
customer by special messenger a dol
lar which the lady had either overpaid
or been overcharged. A somewhat slm
liar Incident Is reported as having tak-,
en place la Paris. An American lady
taylng In tho gay capital had purchas
ed and received a fur garment which
teemed to her surprisingly low as to
price. Next day she was waited upon
by a uniformed employe of the store,
who requested permission to examine
the garment. "Ah!" said the lady to
the friend who related the Incident, "I
was afraid there was some mistake
about that coat; now I suppose I shall
either have to return It or pay more
money." But quite the contrary; tne
messenger on completing his examina
tion handed the lady a sum of money,
Informing her that she had inadvert
ently been overcharged and he had
been sent to rectify the error. Truly,
honesty is a great advertising policy.
Some months ago the statement came
from Berlin that the Imperial govern
ment had approved of a project for the
substitution of electricity for steam as
the traction power on certain govern
ment railroads. That this was some
thing more than rumor or reportorlal
conjecture appears from a later Berlin
dispatch. The dispatch states, in sub
stance, that the electric system was In
stalled some time ago on the military
railway from Berlin to Zossen, and that
the trials have been' entirely successful
in developing great speed with safety.
"The speed of the trains has been grad
ually increased," says the cable, "until
now eighty-five miles are comfortably
covered in the hour. The cars run
smoothly, and the engineers express
confidence that they will attain a speed
of 125 miles per hour." The speed men
tioned In the earlier dispatches as prob
ably attainable was 120 miles at least
and possibly 145 miles an hour. The
mechanical difficulties to be overcome
in attaining great speed by steam pow
er are in a great measure obviated by
the use of electric power. Thus far they
have been only imperfectly overcome
by devices such as the turbine engine
for avoiding the reciprocal action and
the dead points of the ordinary steam
engine. In the use of electrical power
there are difficulties also, but these
seem to have been met successfully by
German electrical engineers. If the ex
perimeutsin Germany demonstrate that
a speed of 125 miles an hour can be
maintained with safety and at an ex
pense not very greately In excess of
that Incurred for such service as we
now have, we may expect the Introduc
tion of this power In America for Spe
cial service between the larger cities,
at no very distant day. The "limited"
train of the not remote future may be
a very different affair from that of the
present time. With specially construct
ed trains reducing atmospheric resist
ance to a minimum, a trip from Chi
cago to New York between 10 o'clock at
night and 0 o'clock next morning, or to
San Francisco within twenty-four
hours may be the experiences of men
already well advanced In life. A corre
sponding acceleration In the movement
of perishable freight Is possible so that
sea food and tropical fruits may be
practically as fresh In Chicago as in
New York or Key West.
Boy Nearly Eight Feet Tall.
Edward Beaupre, 20 years old, seven
feet ten and three-quarter Inches tall
In his stockings, and not fully grown,
Is making a tour of Maine and aston
ishing the citizens.'
Beaupre is u native of the province
of Asslnlbolne, N. W. T where his
father Is a furnier. His parents are
both persons of ordinary size and
height. Edward showed no remarkable
growth until he was 7 years old, but
from that time out he flourished amaz
ingly. He worked 011 the farm aud as
a cowboy until a few mouths ago, and
now he is traveling about to get a look
at the world, his view of things being
as comprehensive as other men would
get from the housetops. He .weighs
ol7 pounds ami Is well proportioned.
He wears a No. 21 shoe and the same
number collar and his big hands re
quire a glove that looks like a small
mail sack. All of his clothing must
be made to order.
Beaupre Is having n pretty good time
In Maine, says a Bangor (Me.) special
to the New York World, the only draw
back to his comfort here, as elsewhere,
being that no hotel has a bed long
enough for him to stretch out In. Usu
ally he places two chairs at the foot of
a couch, but ofteuer he makes his bed
on tho floor.
Modern Advice to Students.
An expert tutor declares that the
practice of taking strong coffee or of
tying the head up with a wet towel In
order to keep awake aud study Is an
utter fallacy; that It Injures the health
and prevents the brain from perform
ing the finer operations Involved In
learning and memorizing facts. He
recommends, when a student grows
tired, a little light, vigorous exercise,
such as striking a bag or waving the
arms around the bead, as In club
swinging, drinking a cupful of hot wat
er. "A Dangerous Prescription.
Doctor I hope your husband follow
ed my prescription.
Mrs. Cbubbs No, Indeed! If he had
he would have broken his necv
Doctor Broken his neck?
Mrs. Chubbs Yes. He threw It out
of the fourth-story window. Florida
Tlmes-Uulon aud Citizen.
Festive Conduct.
"Did your brother-Iu-law help cele
brate your birthday?"
"Yes; he borrowed a dollar of ma."
tfeftivention
A new work by D. G. Elliott shows
that the mammals known to inhabit
America north of Mexico have incheas
ed in forty-four years from 300 species
to more than 1,000.
Waves carefully measured during a
heavy storm on the New Brunswick
coast recently proved to be forty-five
feet high from bottom of trough to
crest. They were 500 to 700 feet long,
and came at intervals of thirteen to
seventeen seconds.
The depths of the sea are nearly at
the freezing-point; they are subjected
to enormous pressures and displaced by
slow currents moving from the pole to
the equator. They contain oxygen In
sufficient quantity to sustain animal
life, and are deprived of sunlight. Is
it possible to conceive a less comforta
ble habitat for animal population? No,
from our point of view; but it must not
be forgotten that we are neither fish
nor mollusks, dnd that everything de
pends ou adaptation to the surrounding
medium.
Exploration has now revealed relics
of Menes, the founder of Egyptian mon
archy, fashioned more than 6,500 years
ago. Of Zer, the successor to. Menes,
It tg nstnntsWng to And the foresrm of
his queen still in Its wrappings, with
four splendid bracelets Intact. This
brilliant and exquisitely finished group
of jewelry Is 2,000 years older than the
Jewelry of Dahshur, the oldest up to
then known. The arm of the queen had
been broken off by the first plunderers,
and had lain hidden in a hole in the
wall of the tomb.
Mahogany-hunters in Central and
South America are men requiring much
skill and experience, and in some dis
tricts the revenues depend largely upon
the success of their endeavors. Mahogany-trees
do not grow in groups, but
are scattered and concealed In thickets
It takes two men an entire day to fell a
tree. On account of the thick, thorny
growth about the base of the tree, It Is
the custom to build a scaffold around it,
and to cut the trunk at a height of 10 or
15 feet from the ground. By this
wasteful method It Is said the best part
of the tree is lost. Freed from branches,
the trunk Is hauled by oxen to the near
est river, where rafts are made.
The depth of the atmosphere Is still
a matter of great uncertainty. The
Belgian Royal Meteorological Observa
tory has been seeking to throw light on
the problem, and has collected these
widely varying estimates to distin
guished authorities: Blot, 40 miles;
Bravais, 70; Mann, 81; Callandran, 100;
Schiaparelli, 125; Marie Davy, 187; Rlt
ter, 216. Early In the last century
British physicists generally assume the
depth to be 47 miles. Meteors, which
become Incandescent through friction
with the air, afford a means of roughly
testing these estimates, and Sir Robert
Ball shows Rltter's figures to be near
est, by stating that meteors have been
observed at a height of more than 200
miles.
The recent development of this art,
called phototherapy, Is due to Profes
sor Fluson of Copenhagen. He discov
ered that smallpox patients, when kept
iu red light, escape with little, if any,
scarring of the hands and face. The
reason smallpox scars are found prin
cipally on exposed parts of the skin is
because the blue, or chemical, rays of
light promote the suppuration of the
eruptions. Finsen next found that the
chemical rays, when concentrated by
lenses cutting out the red rays, will
cure superficial diseases of the skin,
such as lupus. Powerful electric arc
lights can, for this purpose, be sub
stituted for sunlight. The success of
this treatment at the Light Institute In
Copenhagen has led to Its Introduc
tion In the London Hospital.
GOOD STORY OF A BAD ACTOR.
He Had Been Warnel that He Would
lie Mobbe-t Some Night.
Booth Tarklngton, the author of
"Monsieur Beaucalre," tells a good
story of a certain Western actor, a man
who not only lacked the ability to act,
but was one of the worst ranters ever
seen on even remote Western boards.
Again and again he had been de
nounced as the "worst living actor,"
not only by the critics, but by his
friends, who, in their efforts to make
htm abandon histrionic fields, often as
sured him that If he persisted In his
endeavors to act he would some time
certainly be mobbed by an overexas-
perated audience, nowever, he pur
sued his way, albeit not without some
misgivings.
At a far-western one-night stand the
climax was reached. The sale of tick
ets on that particular evening had been
limited at least, none of the reserved
seats in the parquet had been taken.
The 50-cent general admission tickets
uvnovr, uuu a uuriy gooa sale, OS
theatrical performances In the town
were something of a novelty. A large
church "sociable" was another feature
of the town s evening, and for that rea
son, perhaps, liere'were few women
represented by . leneral admission paste-
boards. Perhaps for the same reason
also the men thought 50 cents none
too much to spend for an excuse to ab
sent themselves from the latter func
tion. As Is usual in country towns, espe
cially where general admission tickets
are held, the holders thereof arrived
early, and at least an hour before the
performance was billed to begin the
50-cent seats were filled. Every one
present knew every one else, and there
was much whispering over the empty
reserved seats. Finally one adventur
ous soul volunteered to Investigate, and
returned with the Information that
none of them had. been purchased.
After more whispered consultation it
was decided to storm the box office in
a body and ask permission to occupy
the reserved seats.
After much argument and wrangling
the agent told them that If none of the
seats were sold before the raising of
the curtain they might, after a few
minutes' wait and at a given signal,
take possession. At 8 o'clock the cur
tain rose and In due time the actor, as
Hamlet, advanced down the stage and
began to rant He had got well under
way and was spouting his worst, when.
at the given signal, the crowd rose and
each person, actuated by the same ae
sire of securing the best of the front
seats, rushed madly toward the stage
The startled actor hesitated, paused,
gave one look at the rapidly advancing
crowd, and, believing that the ort
heard prophecies of his being mobbed
were flho"t to he realized, gave a fright
ened cry, turned, and, with wabbling
legs, dashed off the stage. The towns
people saw no more of Hamlet that
night The next morning, says the
New York Times, the actor was found
by some of his friends, still In his play
robes, hiding in a shed about three
miles from the town of the previous
evening's performance, and near a rail
way station, where he had hoped to
crawl unobserved upon some passing
train and escape his supposed pursuers.
A PEACEFUL BOMBARDMENT.
Seeds Sown by Means of Two Old
Cannon.
Near Blair Castle stands, a high,
rocky crag named Cralgiebarns, which,
says the London Dally Mall, for a long
time looked grim and bare in the midst
of beauty, and its owner thought how
much prettier it would look If only
trees, shrubs, etc., could be planted In
Its nooks and crannies. It was con
sidered impossible for any one to scale
its steep and dangerous acclivities, and
no other way was thought of to get
seed down.
One day Alexander Nasmuth, father
of the celebrated engineer, paid a visit
to the grounds. The crag was pointed
out to him and after some thought he
hit upon a scheme. In passing the
castle he noticed two old cannon. He
got a few small tin canisters made to
fit the bore of the cannon and filled
them with a variety of tree, shrub and
grass seeds. The cannon was loaded
In the usual way and fired at the rock
from all sides.
The little canisters on striking the
rock burst, scattering the seeds In all
directions. Many seeds were lost, but
many more fell Into the ledges or
cracks, where there was a little moss
or earth. These soon showed signs of
life, and In a few years graceful trees
and pretty climbing plants, all sown by
gunpowder, were growing and flourish
lug In nearly every recess of the for
merly bare, gray crag, clothing It with
verdant beauty.
At the present time the formerly un
sightly rock Is one of the chief beau
ties of the estate, and the story of its
transformation is always related to the
visitor, and never falls to arouse Inter
est Many Royal Chairs.
Great Britain has no distinctive and
exclusive throne. Instead, there are
four the wooden chair, with the slab
of Scotch stone, In Westminster Ab
bey, whlcn has served as the corona
tion seat of the monarchs- of this
realm for seven centuries; the sump
tuous chair of state In the House of
Lords; the chair on which the late
Queen sat when holding a Drawing
Room In Buckingham Palace; and the
gilt armchair at Windsor, in which the
sovereign sits to receive letters of cre
dence or recall from foreign envoys, or
accord audience to dusky potentates.
The Czar of Russia Is even more di
versely t (ironed. Each of a dozen
chairs of state are at various times
stjjled the Russian throne. The two
most remarkable are the chairs of
Ivan the Terrible and the one In St.
George's Hall of the Winter Palace at
St. Petersburg. The former 4s of tur
quoises. In the back alone there are
10,000 of these gems. The other chair
Is of costly woods, with Ivory and gold,
richly Jeweled, and embossed with the
Imperial eagle. The seat Is of ermine,
and the arms' ore Ivory tusks.
Further East, In Teheran, the Shah
displays himself on a white marble
throne, looted from Delhi In 1730. It
Is of Ivory, overlaid with gold, and
ablaze with gems,' Its value being esti
mated at 'over a million pounds.
When a minister announces that he
desires a full attendance at a certain
meeting, as he has something of partic
ular Importance to say, the membert
know what to expect
A YOUNG) FINANCIER, ,
How a Small Boy Made Doable Profits
Out of a 1ob.
"There Is a small cross-eyed boy liv
ing In this city, who If he doesn't lose
his life through just retribution will
grow up to become a great financier,"
declared Jones. "For some time my
wife has possessed a yellow purp that
has no earthly .excuse for living. But
she thinks that be is the finest dog In
the city and spends most of her time
hugging and kissing his dirty little
nose. Finally the dog worship became
so unbearable to me that I resolved to
end the nuisance. Chancing to meet a
small cross-eyed boy one day, I said
to him:
" 'See here, boy, do you want to earn
a dollar?
' 'Sure,' said he.
"'Well, then, said I, 'you go up to
my house, watch your chance and steal
the yellow cur that you will find hang
ing around there. When you get him
bring him down to my office and get
your dollar.
"Within two hours the boy was back
with the cur tied to a rope. '
" 'What will I do with him, boss?' he
asked after I paid him.
"'I don't care,' I snapped. 'Drown
him If you want to.'
"That night I discovered my wife In
tears and I was Informed between sobs
that poor, dear little Fido was missing.
The next day she had an advertisement.
Inserted In all the papers offering $10
for his return. The third day she met
me Joyfully at the door and announced
that Fido had been found.
'"Where?" I asked, concealing a
groan.
" 'A little boy brought him back, she
answered.
" 'What kind of a boy7 I asked, sus
piciously. " 'A small, cross-eyed boy, with the
most honest face that I ever saw on a t
boy. I gave him $10, it being all I had,
and told him If he would go down and
see you that I knew you would be glad
to add $5 to It.'
"But the boy didn't show up," con
tinued Jones, according to the Detroit
Free Press. "As a matter or tact 1
hadn't the slightest Idea he would. I
wouldn't mind giving him $5 If he
would call."
On Japanese Copper Mines.
The total number of persons employ
ed In various services at the Ashlo
mines and furnaces is about 10,000, and
these with their families make up a
small city of 17,000. Of these 75 per
cent have been born on the spot, as
were their fathers and grandfathers,
and some have never seen beyond the
red hills which close In the village and
mines. They are cared for by the pro
prietor, fed and sent to school until
twelve years of age.
The village has a well-equipped hos
pital, at which the operatives and their
families are tended without charge.
Only men are employed below ground
to die the ore. worklnir In shifts of
eight hours each, while those employed
at lighter labor work shifts of twelve
hours. Women are employed at the
light tasks, such as sorting and wash
ing ore by hand, most of them being
the wives of the miners. The average
pay per diem for those engage! In
manual labor, says a writer In Engi
neering, is 13 cents In silver money
and a stated quantity of rice and fuel,
while the miners are paid by the quan
tity of ore extracted. The furnace and
shaft men receive from 11 to 30 cents
per day and the women are paid 7
cents.
They AVer Whispering.
A conspicuous corner In the business
district of Chicago is a favorite re
sort of deaf-mutes on Sunday after
noons. Here they meet for a social
hour, often to the great amusement of
the passers-by. One Interesting Incident
of these weekly reunions Is reported by
the Chicago Tribune :
Tr,-n mr.r, 4 Jl.i ,
the others. They were standing three
feet apart and talking energetically In
the sign language. One of them lean
ed over to the other, grasped his coat
lapels and drew him toward him.
When they were close to each other
the second man caught hold of the oth
er's coat, and they stood face to face.
From where the other deaf-mutes stood
it was Impossible to see the move
ments of their hands.
Intensely Interested in the perform
ance, one of the spectators, who was
not a deaf-mute, took out a pcucil and
a piece of paper and wrote this ques
tion, which be handed to the mute:
"Why are you two standing away
from the rest and talking with your
fingers hidden behind your coats.?"
The mute read the question and
scribbled the answer:
"I am telling him a secret, and we
don't want the others to hear." '
Blue Back.
The first spelling book printed In this
country was entitled "The American
Spelling Book,", by Noah Webster. It
was Issued In 17S3, and for considera
bly more than half a century was the
standard work used In all Amerlcon
schools.
Every time you buy an article you do
not want, from an agent, you pHy his
game, and be uses loaded dice.
r