ASTORIA, - ORKGON, 1 SA DTK DAI.1 DECEMBER 19.' A GOOD ; INVESTMENT. ' ' Beal Estate values mar fall, Stocks of anj kind may . . decline, banks may suspend, and so, also, may In- v A Insurance companies, but If you want to make a safe ' , yeetment and be sure of converting your cash Into something that Is bound to appreciate In value. Buy Diamonds. And now that the ralhy season Is at hand, remember that we can furnish, at reasonable cost a handsome . ... Silk Umrella for yoursela, your wife or your sweetheart . H. SEYnWR,iffjT,n,ereta! Street : Astoria, Oregon H-H-H 1111 Ml 'l""l"H"l"-H""l' 'M 1 1 ... H-H-l H'W-KtW j. IN A. G. SPEXARTH'S SHOW WINDOW ! You will find every morning during the months of, November and December J50 Solid Gold and Gold-filled watches, with . the finest Walthaii, Elin and Hampden , movements, all away below eastern prices.' 1 , Change of entire display daily. Come and : see. Count them. , : : : "As the Crow Flies" The shortest line between Minneapolis, St. Paul and Chicago is . ' - the route of the famous . North western Limited "The Train For Comfort". , ' every night in the- year. Before starting on a trip no matter where write for Interesting informa tion about comfortable traveling. H. L SISLER, General Agent.' 132 Third St. Portland, Oregon. T. W. TRABDALE, ' . General Passenger Agent, : St. Paul, Minn. BLACKSn ITH INQ. Carriage and Wagon Building. First 'Class Horse Shoeing Logging Camp Work. All kinds of wagon materials in stock for sale. We guarantee the best work ' done in the city. Prices right. ANDREW ASP. Corner Twelfth and Duane Sts. 'Phone 921. lumbing and Tinning B est Work est Prices est Material rompt Attention Given to All Orders mmerc.al Street - - - Astoria, Or. A DIRECT LINE to Chicago and all points cast; Loula vllie, Memphis. New Orleans, and all points south.' r See that your ticket reads Via the Illinois Central R. R. Thoroughly mod ern trains connect with all Iransconti? nental lines at St. Paul and Omaha. If yeur friends are coming west let us know and we will auote them direct the specially low rates now In effect from all eastern points. 'Any Information as to rates, routes, etc., cheerfully given on application. B. H. TRUMBULL, Commercial Agent, 142 Third street. Portland, Or. J. C, LIND6ST, T. T. & P. A., 141 Third street, Portland, Or. P. B. THOMPSON, P. A. P. A., "I wrHe to 1st Tm rw to I fcnmelata yoa pwe.retl. I commenced taking them Uat Novem. Mr and took two tan earn boxee and paaaeii a tape aronn U "Jong. Than I commenced taking than gain and Wednaadaj, April oh, I paeied another tape worn K ft. long and o.ar a thousand email worms. Prariona to mi taking Caacamte I didn't now I had a tape-worm, lalwaya had a amall appetite. Wm. t. Brown. 1M rVaokUi St., BrooUra, . I. fgfy Best for .; 1 1 a' The Bowels Keuant, Palatable. Potent, Taite Good, Do Good, Herer Sicken, Weaken or Gripe, 10c. 2Sc, tit. rleier Sold In balk. The genuine tablet tamped 0 00. Inaranteed to sue or roar money bank. Sterling Remedy Co., Chicago or N.Y, jo aXMMLSXLE, TEX MILUON BOXES HOME COOKING i . We are prepared to furnish good table board at the most reason able rates. Home cooking and wholesome food, and courteous treatment to our patrons. The Central Hotel K. M. HANSEN & CO., Proprietors l o T H I N GPL E A vS E S so well as uicely laundried linen.1 ' We have the neatest and most sanitary laundry in the state and do the best work.-All White help. '' ' ' r. Tenth and Duane St. T1 Tmrn-mr I J -aa-mr tone 1991. A liU JUU VIA , i . Scow Bay Iron 8 Brass Works taofactafers cf Iron, Steel, Brass and Bronze Castings. General Foundrymen and Patternmakers. Absolutely firstclass work. Prices lowest. ' hcse 2451 Comer Elfthteentb and Franklin. The Scenic Line TO THH EAST AND SOUTH. Through Salt Lake City, Leadville, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and ' Denver. iSpSBIDSIMNDE iDGIWNDWE5li5? Offers the ' Choice ' of Three Routes Through the Famous Rocky Moun tain Scenery, and Five Distinct Routes East and South of Denver. 3-FAST TRAINS DAILY-3 Between Ogden and Denver, Carrying All Classes of Modern Equipment. Porfei.t Dining Car Service and Per sonally Conducted Tourist Ex cursions to All Points East. ' STOP OVERS ALLOWED 'On. Alt Classes of Tickets. , THE "ROUND ROBIN." rr- ,;.',.' : i BTa Ob Knows Orlsla of the Strug Term. A "round robin" is one of those documents of which the name Is fa miliar to most people, but which un commonly few have ever ' seen or signed. Every one knows that the thing which bears so singular a name Is , a communication letter, : remon strance, warning or the like the sig natures to which are written around the circumference, of the circle which Incloses the body of the epistle, or radiating therefrom like the spokes of a wheel from a hub, so that the re sponsibility of signing Is equally shared. No one signatory can be ac cused of being either the first or the last to sign, of being the leader or the whlpper in. The most famous example on record probably is the remonstrance which was sent to Dr. Johnson in connection with his epitaph on Oliver Goldsmith. The doctor had prepared an epitaph in Latin, but some of his friends, who had also been friends of Goldsmith, took exception to it on two grounds, the first being that It did not quite do justice to the author of the "Traveler" as a writer, and particularly as a poet, and the second that It should be writ? ten In English. The party of friends were gathered around gir ' Joshua, Reynolds' hospitable if somewhat 111 served table, and though they found themselves In general agreement on Jhese two points, So ope had the conr a2' be willing to" "bell the cat," or, In othe?words, to take Ine lead In tackling the formidable Johnson on these two rather delicate matters. "At last," says Sir William Forbes, "it was hinted that there could be no way so good as that of a round robin, as the sailors call it which they make use of when they enter a conspiracy so as not to let it be known who puts bis name first or last to the paper." The idea was at once accepted, the address to Dr. Johnson was prepared and all signed it in the form proposed. This very interesting paper is still ex tant and is preserved among other valuable manuscripts In the library of Halgh Hall, near Wlgan, the seat of the Earl of Crawford. It begins, "We, the circumscrlbers," and the signa tures, written around the circle which Incloses tbe addrem, Include those of Gibbon, Burke, Joseph Warton, Sheri dan, Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Col man and half a dozen others which are nowadays but little known. Johnson took the remonstrance in good part, but as to not' writing the epitaph in Latin, declared that be would never consent to disgrace the walls of West minster abbey with an English in scription! The whole story is emi nently characteristic both of Johnson and his times. No one has yet been able to give a satisfactory explanation of the strange term "round robin." London Globe. NIGHT TRADE NOT POPULAR For Information or Illustrated liters tura call on or address Vf. C. McBRIDS, General Agent ; 124 Third St, Portland. Or. Breaking It Gently. This Is a true account of one person's Idea of "breaking the news gently." The cook, whose home was off in the country, appeared before the "powers above" with a letter In her hand. "I'll have to go home for a couple of days, mum," she said. "My cousin Just written to me." And she handed over the crumpled bit of paper with an audible sniff. - ' o . ; 'Dear Mary," it ran, "you bad bet ter come home at once. Your father Is very sick." And it continued with many particulars of the illness. At the end was a postscript which, like the old joke of a woman's P. 8., bad the pith of the matter. "So long as you'll be driving up from the village you may as well bring the undertaker along with you in the wag on." New Tork Times. (ELATER1TE It Mineral Rubber) . . , . , ySik i2E2 a m-oirr oof It ATERITE ROOFING ikes the plane of shingles, tin, iron, tar and gravel, and aU prered roofings tr flat and steep surfaces, gutters, valleys, etc. Easy to lay. Tempered for all 5 mates. Reasonable in cost. Sold on merit. Guaranteed. It will pay to ask for fices and information. -' . Ytl ELATER1TE ROOFING CO., Worcester Bui'ding, Portland NORTHERN PACIFIC Time Card ot Traius PORTLAND. $ Leaves . Arrives Puget Bound LimlUd.7:18 am : pir) Kansas Clty-St Lonla . Special ....11:10 a m-1:46 pre North Coast Limited I:t0 om 7:00 m Tacoma and Seattle Night Express 11:46 pm 1:05 an Tak Puget Sound Limited or North Coast Limited for Qrajrai Harbor points Take Paget Sound Limited for Olrm pia direct ' Take Puget Sound LI ml tad or Kaa can Clty-8t Louis Special for points on South Bend branch. Double dally train aerrtea oa Gray's Harbor branch. Four train dally between Portland, Tacoma and Saattl. Sir Henrr IrrlBC'a Wit. On on occasion Sir Henry Irving's company, having been called to the theater for rehearsal, found upon their arrival that they were considerably ahead of time. As Sir Henry bad not yet arrived, one of the actors in the company who was noted for his ac complishments as a mimic proceeded to give a lively and elaborate Imita tion of Sir Henry's highly character lstic acting. As he finished his dem onstration a well known voice came from the depths of the darkened au ditorium: "Tery good," it said; "very good in flaed so good, In fact, that there la no Bead for both of us In this company." Harper's, . , ;t i km Expert's Opiate). , Prisdlla Do yon approve of long en gagements Msyme-Well, that depends. If the fellow has plenty of money and takes you to everything a long engagement I endurable; otherwise it Is better to rush it through and start a freah one. Detroit Free Press. People of Astoria Have Got Out of the Habit, According to Local Merchants. PREFER TO BUY IN THE DAY Change of Sentiment Has Been Made Plain biuce Stores Have Been Kept Open , Till Late. j A remarkable state of affairs has come to light during the past week or 10 days,' according to statements made to a representative of this paper by leading merchants of Astoria, i Briefly the old custom of night pur chases has died out among shoppers, male and female. ; ,s- - j, .;' -'. When the clerks' union was first or ganized here it sought to secure a short er working day for its members. The etores of the large cities of he country were closed at 6 o'clock the' clerks said, and they believed the stores of Aeim'la should likewise be closed at 6, except during the rush season. The merchants took the matter under ad visement, were dubious as to the effect of the innovation on their business, and then, with characteristic enterprise, notified the clerks that they would grant the request. i, The howl that went up from the buy ers could be heard half way around the world. Housewives were up In arms and heaped imprecations upon the heads of the well-meaning merchants. While the agitation for a shorter work lay for the clerks was on they paid little heed to it, with feminine peculi arity, but when they proceeded, with the self-same peculiarity, to forget to order their groceries, etc., and found the stores were all closed after 0 o'clock they cried out In protest, Mrs, Jones, Mrs; Brown and Mrs. Smith held in dignation meetings on many occasions, abused the merchants like a pirate, and threatened to go to Portland or Bka mokawa to trade. But the merchant persevered In his course, and soon he angry housewife became docile. She acquired the happy faculty of placing her orders during t'he day with the re sult that the habit is now firmly fixed upon her. . And it was with the- men. .They did not take kindly to the new order of things, for when they forgot to bring home at 6:30 what their wives had told them to purchase, they were roasted. Domestio difficulties -Increased and for a time It seemed that an age of divorces would ensue. ' , ., But It's all over now. Whereas the trade between 7 and 8 at the grocery, dry goods and clothing stores was very brisk, there is almost no business at all now. People do their trading during the day and put In the evenings en joying themselves. The change In pub lip sentiment has been very pronounced of late, elnce the stores have been kept open for the holiday trade, and mer chants say it is a comparative fizzle to sit around for two hours every night. It Is expected that the night trade will be .brisk commencing Saturday and con tlnulng until after N$w Tears but' the opinion seems general that the late closing hour might Just as well have been observed a week later. The situation bears out the predic tion of the clerks at the time of their demand for shorter hours for they said then that people would soon fall Into the new order pf things and eventually lose all deslro to trad at night. '.' Trade, by the way,, has been better in Astoria than ever before. The stores have been bettered 100 per cent during the year, and Commercial street now boasts some handsome fronts, as well as Bond street." Stocks have been enlarged and shoppers have equally as fine assortments to select from as hav the people of Portland. One merchant, whose business scarcely reached $40, 000 last year, will pass the $60,000 mark by December HI. Generally business men report Increases varying from '20 to 50per cent. Of 17 merchants Inter viewed by a reporter, not One reported an increase for the year of less than 20 per cent. Not Including the monta of December, one merchant reported an Increase as compared with last year of about 19 per cent, but he expressed the conviction that the holiday trade would bring the year's Increase up to 20 per cent.' Merchants remark the Interesting fact that there is much less credit business done now than In past years, and that the demand for the bet ter classes of goods is growing. ! August Thompson, aged 16, was rj elased today from the county Jail hav Ing served out a six months' sentence for burgalry. The lad lives at Sea side and last spring, with another boy entered the store , of a man named Bergman and found the man's strong box. About $80 was taken by the boys. , Thompson was detected,', but his companion escaped. Owing ', to the youth of the lad, the authorities were inclined to be-lertlent with him, and he was sentenced to six months Imprisonment. In all he served seven months, having waited In Jail a month for trial.. His father came up this morning to get him." When asked if he would herafter refrain from un lawful practices, the lad replied that he did not know it he would, appar ently being of . the belief that fate would work out Its course In hs pari, ticular case. ,' , ; "GOLD CANNON BALLS. ' h Jana-I Hlddea Treaaar '( nm Bast Indian Prlnceaa. Not long ago an old peasant wai vanderlng In the jungle about half a mile from the city ot Ahmadhager, in India, when be found a round ball of metal. It was black and looked like an old iron round shot, but when the old man lifted it he was struck with Its Immense weight He carried It home and found on scratching it that It wfca a lump of solid gold. It weighed eight pounds and its sale made the Under rich for life. There are many more of these can non balls, each worth a small fortune, lying bid or burled in the recesses of this Jungle, and their story Is a curious one. At the end of the sixteenth cen tury Akbar, the greatest emperor Hin dustan ever saw, was at the height Of his glory. At the head of bis con quering army he summoned Ahmod nager to snrrender. The city and its rich treasure were then under the rule of the Princess Cande. Knowing that resistance could be but short, and In bitter rage again the oppressor, sbe caused all the treasure of gold and liver to be melted down. Sbe cast the metal Into cannon balls and en graved upon each maledictions agalnsb the conqueror. ! These were fired Into) the Jungle and when Akbar entered the city, Instead of the rich hoard hoi had hoped to win, he found t treasury absolutely empty. That this is not the only occasion upon which cannon balls of gold have been cast Is proved by the fact that in the treasury of the shah of Persia there may be seen In the same room where , stands the famous peacock throne two small globular projectiles of gold. They were estimated by a re cent visitor to weigh about thirty-one pounds each and are roughly madn Their origin or purpose Is, however, totally forgotten. It is only known that they are very oldChicago Chron icle ' The Pioneer Limited There is no train in service on any railway in the world that equals in equipment The Pioneer Limited train from St, Paul to Chi cago via the :t , ( y I ', C I Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway The railway company owns and operates the sleeping and dining cars on its trains, and gives to its patrons an excellence of service ' not obtainable elsewhere. The buffet cars, ' compartment cars,' standard sleeping cars and' dining cars of The Pioneer are ' the handsomest ever built. , - ; n. s. rowc. General Agtat, ' 134 Third Street, Portland 1 i wnTSm'mra.'"-'- a I - ,aT5?i!. nra 4' Commercial' -.. '