ttnnunattnttöttuu« •----------------- « " The * « « Musee ¿4 « Mystery ---------------- n By JAMES RAYMOND PERRY ” Copyright, 1900, By James R. Perry. When I reached the uiinee, 1 found Murphy in a surly temper, A wax tig ure of a woman stooping to tie hei •hoe had stood on the grand stairway leading up to the maiu gallery and had tricked many a visitor Into the lie lief that a live woman had bent to tie her shoe on her ascent to the room above. Murphy In the course of hie morning work had tipped this tigure •ver. It bad toppled down the stairs and been considerably damaged. In, consequence of which It would have to be sent away for repairs. Murphy supposed he would have to stand the expense, which added nothing to the sweetness of his temper. “It’s all the fault iv that black nager!” he grumbled in explaining the accident to me. “That Sazer. the dirty nager, bad to go arf on one iv lib drunks terday, an here Oi have tc •tbay bebolnd an do bis wark fur him, when It wuz tnesilf that wuz goin on a picnic parrty this very marrnln. Thurrsday Is his day to be arf. an Wid- ncsday is mine, an here he ups an goer away on Widnesday. OI belave be did It to spholte me, the dirty baste: Hi knew Oi wuz arfter a-goln to the plcnh parrty. He's a dirty nager. that’s what he is, bad luck to him! The devil’ll git him some day an put him a-roast in purgatory, that’s one comfort!" “Oh, you wouldn't want to see him roasting in purgatory,” I said, attempt­ ing to soothe the ruffled Irishman. “W’u’dn'tOI? Just guv me n chance!” Murphy answered. I knew that there had never been any love lost between the negro and the Irishman, but the feeling of bitterness had seemed to be strongcron Murphy’s part than on Ca'sar's. The big negro had seemed rather indifferent to the little Irishman, though the latter sei dom let an opportunity pass to annoy Caesar when be thought he could do so tn safety. I think he stood In whole­ some fear of the negro, and so never dared to go very far toward angering him. I knew Ciesar to be headstrong and highly Independent, after the man ner of some negroes, and If the whim struck him to take bls weekly day off on Wednesday, which was Murphy's day, he would do it. He would prob­ ably do It with all the more pleasure If he knew It would Interfere wltfi some of Murphy's cherished plans. The du­ ties of the musee would not permit the absence of both Murphy and Ctesar at the same time. "How much’ll It be arfter a-carstln me to git the image minded, d’ye think?" Murphy asked, eying the lady of tlie loosened shoestring ruefully. "I don’t know, Tim,” I said—"$ 10 maybe.” "Tin dollars! Holy wither! Tin dol­ lars, d’ye say? That’s tin days’ wages, an me behind on me rlnt money al ready. The saints hllp me!” Then his doleful tone of depression changed to one of anger. “Au it’s all beeuz tv that black skinned, black hearted, haytban nager. If he'd only sthayed at home, as he art to, tw’u’d nlver hev happen­ ed. Tin dollars gone, besoldes lievln to guv up the picnic parrty. It's a wicked shame, It Is, blast the nager!" After which final explosive Tim was quiet for a moment, and then, with a sly look at me. he added: “Rut OI don't suppose the tr’ger’s risponslble. He w’u’dn’t be arfter a-knowln what he’s a-doln liarf the toime.” “What do you mean?" 1 asked, rath er sharply. 1 had suspected more than once that Ctesar got drunk when he went away on bls weekly holidays, for upon bls return he was often sul­ len and 111 uatured, but he had never been tn a condition that Incapacitated him for bls duties at the musee. 1 sup­ posed Murphy would charge him with drunkenness, and so was considerably surprised when he said: "What do OI mane? OI maue the nager’B crazy; that's what 01 mane!" “Ho, bo, Tim!" I laughed incredu­ lously. “What makes you think Caesar Is crazy ?” "Beeuz they sez be is, sure.” “Who says he is?” "That’s what the nager over in the phertugrlpher’s sez. He sez Sazer wuz lu the loonatic asoyluin folve years ago.” “The negro over at the pbotogra pher*s says that, does he?” I answered. “The negro over there doesn't like Ctesar very well. I guess. Cresar was telling me only the other day how he'd cut that fellow out and stolen his mulatto wench away from him. That's why the fellow’s slandering Ctrsnr. You mustn’t believe all that one darky isays about nnotber, Tim. Darkies have Keen known to lie.” \The little Irishman grinned a little. frXm which I gathered that he did not putXmuch faith In the accusation of the ^photographer's colored man him self.\lt was my opinion that Tim had repeated the story In the vague hope that lAmlgbt reach Mr. Miller’s ears and resthit In the discharge of t’a'sar. As for (Knsar's conduct, I had never seen anything In It to suggest insanity, and I pale! little attention to Tim's parting reriUark, “If ye’d seen the quare looks Ni the nager's eyes that OI hev, mebbe yVd think dufferent. Mus ter Park.” \ Early in the afternoon a slight blaze occurred In the room where the "Mem­ bers of the RoyalX Families of Europe” were located. It was soon extinguish­ ed, but not till about $50 damage had been inflicted. \ "Sure, an what'll happen next?” was Tim's query, a question that found an echo In my own mind. \ The thing to happen »text was that third mysterious event \whlch befell the musee's history and Which 1 have ever thought was one oj the chief causes of Mr. Miller’s closing up the place of amusement and removing to another city. It Is certain that after that the attendance at the mitsee fell off greatly, and I think the enterprise never yielded any profit thereafter. It was near the afternpon hour of closing, as In the case of the two pre vious deaths at the musee, when this third tragedy occurred. Dusk had be­ gun to gather among the silent waxen Images. It was not yet dark enough to have all the electric lights turned on. nor was It light enough to see distinct­ ly the more poorly Illuminated groups. I had ascended to the gallery for some purpose, and as 1 approached the room where group 13 was placed 1 saw a small tigure come out swiftly ami dis­ appear among the shadows In the op­ posite direction. I was quite sure the person, whoever be was, bad not seen me, though there seemed to be some­ thing stealthy and catlike in his quick movements, as If be would shun possi­ ble observation. I could not see the face at all aud the form only imper­ fectly, but I thought the person was Tim Murphy. Passing on upon my errand. I ap­ proached group 13. The light nt that spot was fairly good, and when I was yet several yards away I discerned tlie form of a woman lying prostrate In front of Othello. “Another suicide!" I thought, and without coming nearer to It than with­ in a space of tlir yards at which dis­ tance Indeed 1 i .: lid Bee the white, up­ turned face, with its expression ol It wat a startling tight that met our gaze frozen horror, and the crimson stains upon the neck and dress—I turned and fled to the floor below to tell the star­ tling news. I found Mr. Miller In his little room back of the ticket office, and together we returned to the gallery above. When we had come near enough to see the body (the woman was quite dead), I knew that I had seen the face before, but could not at the moment remember where. It was a face of unusual beau­ ty, and the form as It lay there In the rigor of death was still one of voluptu­ ous roundness. Mr. Miller stooped and picked up something. It was a long bladed pocketknife, and the blade was stained with red. When I caught sight of It, 1 stood staring for a moment in stupefied surprise. A name was graven on the hamlie. Mr. Miller read it and then looked curiously at me. “Is this your knife?” he asked. “Yes.” I said, for I had recognized It. “Well.” he said, a trifle sharply, for I still stood staring at it stupidly, "how came it here?” “I lost it two or three days ago,” 1 answered, a little stung by his tone, and then, with a sudden rush of anger at his quite natural question, I said: “Do you suspect me of having any­ thing to do with this girl’s death? Do you suppose. Mr. Miller, that If 1 had find I would come running down to tell you she was lying dead up here? Do you suppose I would leave that knife of mine lying beside the body to accuse me? In other words, do you think I'm a fool?” “No. George,” answered my employ er softly. "Rut we must get this body away. You must help me." Together we carried It down to the office, and the police soon came and took charge of It. Rut before that I recalled where I bad seen the woman. It wns at a restaurant, only a few squares dis­ tant. where I sometimes ate my noon­ day lunch. The girl was a table wait­ ress there. I had occasionally ex­ changed a word or two with her. I had always addressed her most re­ spectfully and had noticed that other frequenters of the restaurant also did. Indeed she had ever seemed of a kind to whom men are Intuitively respect ful. I remember that she had been one of the most capable of the wait­ resses. There had been a reserve in her manner, a kind of crushed pride, that had struck me more than once as sad. and more than once I bad wonder­ ed a little why she wn filling such a position. Her history as it was told the next day or two lu the papers was simple enough. Her name wns Mary St.Clair, and she wns 22 years old. She had come of a good family. She had been an only child, and her parents were both dead, and she was without near relatives. At 20 she had married a young civil engineer, who a year after had died, leaving his widow little more than enough to meet the funeral ex­ penses. Thrown upon her own re­ sources, she had looked about for work of some sort. The search had been a weary one, and at last, when a position as waitress In a restaurant was of­ fered, she was glad of even that. Iler life during the past few months had been uneventful. Her beauty and sweetness of manner had Inspired a number of would be admirers to offer her their attentions, but she had dis­ couraged nil advances nnd done It, moreover, so graciously that, so far as was known, she had Incurred no ene­ mies thereby. Upon this Wednesday afternoon she bad left the restaurant at 2 o'clock or a little after, had gone to her lodging and In the natural order of things would have returned to the restaurant about 6:30. It was on her way back that she had stepped into the musee. I did not remembar selling bar a tlak- at ana wondered a little at It. fur I thought 1 should have noticed her fai e and remembered It If I had sold her one. It transpired, however, that a patron of the restaurant, u young man named Chapman, who usually sat at the table ui>ou which Mrs. St. Clair waited, had given her a ticket of ad mlttanee to the musee a few days I«*- fore. He had bought several for a party to the musee oue evening un i one of the party falling to go, had li.il a ticket left over. Probably, having a little leisure that afternoon, she had decided to use the ticket and look at the wax figures fur a few minutes. The visit bad proved fatal. Of course our first supposition bad been that It was a ease of suicide. Even after the discovery that it was my knife that had inflicted the wound 1 had a confused liellef that she must have found it and used It to kill her­ self with. I might have lost it 111 the gallery i p there near group 13. and she, finding it, might have been seized with an iusane impulse to cut her throat before the Othello, just as Edna Nethersole and Hetty Kirk had done before her. So it seemed to me. Rut the examining physician at the first glance said "No.” The wounds, or one of them at least (there were two), could not have been self inflicted. One wound was too far back on the neck to have been dealt by the baud of the owner It was a deep ami savage cut and must have been dealt by another. Rut who was that other? Upon that question the mystery lay thickest. Detectives, both private and official, visited the musee and plied me with question- When had I lost the knife? Where bad I lost it? Why had I lost it? Who could have found It? Why had the finder used It? And twenty other questions, some sensible, but most of them foolish, were propounded for me to answer. I could see that 1 was look ed upon with some suspicion, in spite of Mr. Miller’s sworn statement that I had left his presence scarcely three minutes before I returned witli the news that a woman lay dead in front of group 13 and that during that brief Interval I could not possibly have com­ mitted the crime. It was Mr. Miller’s opinion that the woman must have been dead at least 15 minutes when he reached her side. So, in spite of the vague suspicions of the detectives, 1 was left at liberty to go and come as 1 pleased. I nm sure that at least two detectives believed me to be accessory to the crime if not the principal, nnd this in spite of the fact that no possible motive for my de­ siring the girl’s death had so much as been suggested. Rut, ns regarded mo­ tive. there seemed to lie the deepest mystery. So fur ns was known, the woman had no enemies, so sweet nnd lovable hail she been, and motives for her murder wore absolutely lucking. Rut murder laid been committed un­ questionably. and, since there was no question about that, there now grew to be suspicions and then convictions that neither Edna Netliersole nor Hetty Kirk had committed suicide, but tlint both had been murdered. It was re­ marked tliat that curious expression of fear and horror which has been men­ tioned wns identical on the face of each, a look such as would scarcely be left upon the face of a suicide, it was said. This conviction only deepened the mystery surrounding the deaths of the three women. If all three had been murdered, the crime In each case had been committed upon exactly the same spot and at almost the same minute of the day, circumstances that seemed to lead inevitably to the conclusion that the crimes had been committed by the same hand. Rut whose was the hand? And what could be the motive? Roth questions seemed equally unanswer­ able. The morning after the murder I found Murphy and Ca?sar up by group 13. Ciesar was looking with much In­ terest at the spot where Tim bad told him the body of Mrs. St. Clair had been found. Murphy was flicking the dust from the faces and forms of the images with a long handled, long plumed feather duster. lie seemed to have forgiven and forgotten Caesar’s un­ kindness of the day before and was telling him glibly enougli about the grewsome find. ( to be continued . ) Tbe Blow Lauded. She doesn't go to her clubs and en- chres half as much as she did. Peo­ ple used to say this charming woman spent most of her time at these gather­ ings. One day she called on a dear friend to reprove her for her slacken­ ing Interest in the club. I believe it was a club for reforming the gas met­ er or something—anyhow It was a re­ form affair. “Look here. Lizzie,” said the enthu­ siast, "wliy on earth don't you come to the meetings? Here you are paying your dues nnd never showing up. You owe It to the club to take an Interest In the work.” “But I can't come,” explained her friend. "There’s the baby, and Henry doesn’t come home sometimes till late, nnd supper must wait, and If he wants to go out I can't go away and leave the children. I would worry myself to denth." “Well, I must say nenry Is Inconsid­ erate,” said the caller. "Why. there's my husband nnd children too. They give me no trouble. Every time I want to go to the club Charlie says he will be glad to stny nt home with Bridget and keep an eye on things till I come back. He never objects.” "Maybe,” retorted the nmlnble host­ ess, “If I had a housegirl ns handsome nnd young ns Bridget Henry would be glad to stny nt home, too, but mine Is black nnd goes home nt nights.” The blow landed, nnd Charlie hasn't been nsked to look nfter Bridget nnd the house since.—Louisville Times. The Necessity of Salt. WEAR OF THE EARTH HOW THE FACE OF OUR GLOBE IS CONTINUALLY CHANGING. Geological Agent* That Ire Always Buay In Nature'* Great Workshop. Where Man Ila* Comparatively Lit­ tle lailueuer. The atmosphere plays Its part lu geo­ logteal operations. Its corroding pow­ er. backed by rain and wind, helps to decay and disintegrate those rocks which are exfiosed to its influence, ltain completes the work thus begun. Wind blows dust, sand aud volcanic ashes over large tracts of earth—In fact, over the whole of It. It is only of late years that geolo­ gists have discovered that tine vol­ canic dust is carried over the whole of the earth's surface auu plays a very Important part in the deep sea depos­ its. On deserts and nearly rainless re­ gions blown sand will wear away the hardest rocks by beating against them. Some sandstone formations ap­ pear to have been piled up by winds. Winds cause ocean currents, waves aud storms. The great denuding power of tlie sea Is largely due to the atmosphere. Some parts of tlie Eng­ lish coasts are being rapidly washed away. Plants anil animals have their distribution considerably affected by winds and ocean currents. Again, whether living in water or on laud, animals live on the oxygen supplied from the atmosphere, and land plants absorb carbonic acid from tlie same source. Rain acts in two ways: (1) chemic­ ally by dissolving certain substances, such as lime, out of the rocks, and (2) mechanically by wearing down their surfaces as It flows over them. Any old building—a ruined castle or cathe­ dral,. for instance—shows a “weath­ ered" surface resulting from the ac­ tion of rain and wind. In sandstone structures tlie details of carving are often lost, and on old tombstones tlie lettering can hardly be deciphered. Springs are due to rainwater collecting in rocks aud rising to the surface. Rivers are fed by rains and springs. A river is a very powerful geological agent. In the hardest rocks rivers gradually carve out a valley or gorge. This Is accomplished partly by chemic­ ally dissolving certalu mineral sub­ stances, but chiefly by mechanical erosion, tlie stones, sand and mud wearing away tlie lied of a stream as they run and tumble over it. The finest examples of river action are tlie famous canyons of Colorado, which In some places are gorges 5,(XX) or even ti.txk) feet deep, with vertical sides. But, as already pointed out, rivers have a constructive action quite as important as their destructive ac­ tion. By bringing down their burden of sediment into lakes, estuaries and seas they build up great piles of rock and “sow the dust of continents to be.” Glaciers are rivers of ice fed by the eternal snows' of high mountain ranges such as the Alps. They wear out their own valleys as rivers do; they transport mud, sand and stones to great distances, in some cases sending them sealed up in Icebergs to float far out to sea and on melting deposit their burdens on the sea floor. Off the coast of Newfoundland northern icebergs are depositing a great mass of "gla­ cial drift.” The sea is a great denuding agent; but its work is more constructive than destructive. It Is tlie workshop where nearly all the stratified rocks have been accumulated and ranged in layers or strata. The rivers and ocean cur­ rents continually bring In fresh sup­ plies of debris even for hundreds of miles. Man, compared with the lower an! nials, produces but little effect as a ge­ ological agent. Still the human race has considerably modified the distribu­ tion of plants by cutting down forests and by cultivating certain plants to supply food. So with animals. Cer­ tain useful species have been cultivat­ ed and enormously Increased nt the expense of others which prove useless or harmful. But plants and animals have had, and still have, far more influence geo­ logically. Coal seams are made up of vegetable remains of former periods. Forests have an important influence on climate and on animal as well as plant life. In the comparatively un­ known world of the ocean marine plants doubtless have Important func­ tions. Marine animals accomplish a vast amount of geological constructive work. Great deposits thousands of feet thick owe their existence to small calcareous creatures living In the sea. Coral reefs afford the most familiar illustration. The force known as heat is of grent importance. The earth Is hotter below tlie surface nnd probably has a very high temperature toward Its center. In some places not very far below its surface it contains highly heated rock, which occasionally flows over tlie sur­ face during volcanic eruptions. In other places we find hot springs in con­ nection with volcanic action. Heat exercises a powerful Influence on rocks deeply burled below the earth's surface, chiefly by menus of heated water and steam. In this way rocks have been very much altered or "metamorphosed.” The crystalline schists have thus been brought to their present state by a series of chemical changes due to heat, and there is no doubt that they were once ordinary deposits of clay. sand, etc.—Hutchin­ son’s “Autobiography of the Earth;” the Appleton Company. A Novelty, “Suppose I give you your supper.” snhl the tired looking woman. “What will you do to earn It?” “Madam.” snid Meandering Mike. "I'll give you de opportunity of seeln’ n man go t’roo a whole inenl wlt’out flndln' fnult wit’ n single thing.” The woman thought n minute nnd then told him to come In and she'd set the table.—Washington Star. Although In trentles on dietetics salt figures as a condiment, it Is universally recognized to be something more; In deed It is an Indispensable element of the food of man and animals. A well known authority asserts, says The Medical Press and Circulnr. tlint when­ ever the annual consumption of salt fnlls below twenty pounds per head of population the public health Is likely Now They Don't Speak. to suffer. The deprivation of salt does Ethel—If ten nu n wore to ask you to not produce a definite disease, but re­ marry them, what would that be? duces the vitality of the organism as n Amy—Wliat would it be? whole, so that the victims of adminis­ Ethel—A tender. trative measures which restrict the Amy—And If one should ask you consumption of salt more readily fall what would that be? prey to prevailing epidemics, as well Ethel—1 don't know. What? as to endemic 'iladles. Amy—A wonder.- London Fun. / A BUDDING HUMORIST. Merry Mtmorlrt of n Fir«( Mreilntf With ArtruiUM Ward. Ou going into tin- Cleveland Plain Dealt editorial rooms one morning 1 saw a new matt, w h<> was intrisliieed to :ue ns Mr. Browne. He was young, cheerful In manner, tall and slender, not quite up to date in style of dress, yet by no means 'luibby. His hair will flaxen and very straight; his nose, tlie prominent fea­ ture of Ills face, was Romanesque— quite violently so and with a leaning to tlie left. His eyes were blue gray, with a twinkle lu them; Ills mouth seemed so given to a merry laugh, so much in motion, that It was difficult to d< ‘NC ribe. It seemed ns though bubbling In him was a lot of happiness which lie made no effort to conceal or hold back. When w e w en- Introduced, lie was sit­ ting at Ills table writing Ho gave his leg a smart slap, arose, shook hands with me ami said In- was glad to meet me. 1 believed him. for he looked glad nil the time. You could not look at him but he would laugh. He laughed as lie sat nt Ills table writing. When he had written a tiling which pleased him. he would slap Ills leg and laugh. 1 noticed ll it George Hoyt and Janies Brokenshlre at their tables were pleased with his merriment and in­ dulged in broad smiles. As I hade him ami the others good morning he said. “Come again, me liege.” I thanked him. said 1 would and went my way, thinking wluit a funny fellow he was. Within a month thereafter appeared in the columns of The Plain Dealer a funny letter signed "Artemus Ward." The writer said he was In the show business, lied a trained kangaroo, “a most unloosin' little cuss,” some "snaix” and a collection of wax fig­ ures, which lie cnlled a "great moral show.” As lie was coining to Cleve­ land to exhibit, lie made a proposition to tlie pr prietor that they "scratch each others backs"—the publisher to write up the show vigorously ami the showman to have tlie handbills print ed at his office and give him free tick­ ets for all ids family. So I found my young friend of tlie gurgle ami hay colored lialr to be an embryo humorist just bursting into bloom. Artemus, as from that time lie was best known, so,>n had a city full of friends, myself and family among them. James F. Ryder in Century Magazine. FLOWER AND TREE. Never buy a plant In bloom. Nover water plants in flower from above. In planting out an orchard do not plant more than can be manured and cared for well. A yard or lawn always looks barren without some choice ornamental trees and shrubs. On this account every lawn should contain a few choice speci­ mens of these ornamental trees. Scale Insects on plants, such as tlie oleanders, tlie fragrant olive, roses, etc., are among tlx- most difficult pests to overcome. A mixture of white helle­ bore powder with dissolved soap rub­ bed in is a good remedy. Keeping nil young trees carefully staked lends to tlie formation of clean, straight stems. These in their turn are conducive to the growth of large, healthy, fruitful heads. One stout stake should bo placed by each tree when It Is planted. Crocus must lie planted In October to insure spring blooms. It makes a tine appearance If thickly planted upon a lawn. Make a ent with a spade three or four Inches deep In tlie sod, tuck lu a couple of bulbs aud press the sod back into place with the foot. UKKttl’IiMl li Eg É Stenography. Penmanship, Telegraphy, Commercial Law, a teacher's course, preparation for Civil Service examin- ation, or entrance to any university; thorough work in seven courses including over fifty studies, given nt the old reliable STOCKTON BUSINESS COLLEGE. Be- sides these the rates are the most reasonable, the courses the most thorough, tho accommoilntious the best, the home most complete atul the advantages many. Write for particulars to • »»»»»»» W. G. Rumsey, - - a $ g j-jJ Principal Stockton, Cal. ElfutiaiM uf (•riiiiiN. A writer in the London Standard de rlnres tlie Idea that genius is usually modest to lie a popular delusion. On the contrary, he alleges egotism to be the very essence of true genius xml quotes many amusing examples. When Wordsworth, Southey nnd Coleridge were walking together and Coleridge remarked that the day was so flue "It might have been ordered for three poets." the gentle Wordsworth promptly exclaimed: “Three poets! Who are tlie other two?" Disraeli, then a mere youth, wrote to Ills sister that lie lind heard Macaulay, Shell ami Grant speak, "lint between ourselves I could floor them all." And lignin lie said. lien I want to read a good book. I write one." Our own Joaquin Miller wrote to Walt Whitman: "You and I are over the bead of tin- rabble. We know we • re great, ami If oilier people don't know it it Is their own fault." It was President Grant who, being told that a certain senator, an admit­ ted genius who was very hostile to him. did not believe the Bible, ex­ pressed Ids estimate of the senator's egotism by rejoining: "Why should lie? He didn't write It. you know.”—New York World. BLAKt, MOFFITT & TOWNE Importers and Dealersfin ™ PAPERS CARD 8 TOOK STRAW AND BINDERS' BOARD 55-57-59 « 1 Flrwl St. T« l . main 199. 3 SAN FRANCISCO. THE CUSTER patronage solicited, and no pains will bo spared to make them comfortable during their visit. DOB Market St. and 9 Ellis St., corner Stockton, San Francisco. Telephone Red »M MRS. RANFT, Prop. S am M aktin For Ct years with C, E. Whitney & Co. C has . M. (A MM For 3 y tara with C. E. Whitney A Co NEW COMMISSION HOUSE MARTIN, CAMM & CO. 121-123 Davis 8t., San Francisco. General Commission and Produce. )8pecialty. Butter, Egg« and Cheeat. Your conHignments solicited. lln, lna n Kasor. "1 need a hex razor,” said the man who slm ves himself. "Better lot me get It for you,” sug­ gested tlie i-ofoinu-d barber, who, now Unit lie Is a trolley car conductor, regards himself as a distinguished member of so- lei.' "All cutlery stores are tilled will, razors of the class known as ‘dead ones ’ When a barber buys a razor, lie takes It with the un­ derstanding tlint lie Is to try it out, and if it doesn't work well he takes It back and gels another one, keeping this up until In- gets one Unit suits him. Buy­ ing a razor, you know, I k a lottery in which tin- prizes are few mid far be­ tween. When the ordinary citizen goes to a cutlery store, lie picks out what he thinks Is a good razor, pays for It and takes Ills chances. He picks one out, too. from the bunch of 'dead ones’ that barbers have tried and found wanting. That’s why 1 advise you to let me get It for you Then If you don’t like It I can keep exchanging It until you get n good one. They needn't know I’ve quit tlx- business."—Philadelphia Record. Th* Woolsack. Buck during tlx- time of Queen Eliza­ beth an act of parliament wns passed prohibiting the exportation of wool. This product was one of the grent soiirces of the natural wealth of Eng­ land nt that time, nnd In accordance ultli the economic notions of the age the authorities attempted to keep It In tlx- country, Imagining that If It went Hnliltn of Seals. abroad, even though something more The habits of seals are very Interest­ valuable or desirable wore exchanged ing. Tlie very young seal Is helpless for It, the country would ho the poorer. In tlie water until lie Is taught by his In order to hold the Importance of mother to swim. She takes him Into this commodity before the minds of the (lie water daily on her tin ami dumps national legislators woolsacks were him In, and when ho gets tired of placed In tlie liouse of lords, where the floundering about places him on her Judges ant. Hence tlie lord chancellor, tin again and returns to her camp. who presides over tlie liouse of lords, When the young seals are well grown, “sits on the woolsack.” The woolsack, they suddenly disappear with their according to a printed description. Is a mothers and the bull seals. No one “large square bag of wool without knows where they go, and their return buck or arm* nnd covered with red is equally as sudden as their departure. clot li.” The bulls are the first to put In an ap­ “Faint*.” pearance at the camping ground. Fusel oil or “faints," as It Is com­ When they arrive, they commence nt once to prepare a camp for their mates, monly called aliout the distilleries In which they stake off, nnd for which England, according to the London Lan­ they fight until they die. In the mean cet. Is a primary amyl alcohol mixed time the female seals retanin quite n with primary and secondary propyl al­ distance from laud, floating lazily on cohols. in England It can lie obtained the water and seemingly having a good grails at some distilleries. It Is used locally ns an external application for time. rheumatism. It Is obtained from fer­ Hound to Sound Their "H." mented grain or potntoes by continu­ Tlie English middle classes have had ing the process of distillation nfter the so much fun poked at them for drop­ ordinary spirit has all "come over” It ping the letter “h” and for carrying it Is an oily liquid, with a burning, acrid forward and placing It where it should taste and an odor snld to resemble not be, possibly thus to obey the laws Jargonelle pear. It has Intoxicating of compensation, that they have be­ nnd poisonous properties considerably come sensitive on the subject, ami more powerful than ordinary spirits. many aspirate the “h” with double force when the letter should be aspi­ Must Give R Horseshoe. rated. Instead of saying "before him,” All ol. Your grocer will get it for you Ask for Pronounced civf-fny—accent on l*st syllable The Arctic Snmmrr. The arctic summer Is brief, but for weeks together there Is nothing to dis­ tinguish day and night. Once at Dvor- nik two naturalists had left their ship at different hours. When later they met, one said, "Good morning;” the oth­ er, "Good evening.” Both agreed that the hour was 7, liut while one traveler held that It was 7 tomorrow morning the other maintained tlint it was 7 o'clock Inst night. On returning to the alilp they settled that It wns last night, so they dined and went to bed again. llArnh Neighbor«. “How do you like your neighbors?" “Not a bit," said the woman who was tying a little boy's hat on. “You see, they don’t like children." "How do you know?” "They hurt Reginald’s feelings dread­ fully. When he throws stones at their dog or plays the hose on their window, they look real cross at him!”—Wash­ ington Star. The I’nplefcasnt Boarder. "You do not often get better steak than that.” said the landlady, hoping for a compliment. "Yes, I seldom eat elsewhere,” re­ plied De Grouch, to whom it was al­ ways easier to keep up bls reputation (han bls board bill. — Indianapolis News.