5
BANDON MCOllDER.
THE POET BURNS.
A- CrltleUm Whleh .in-nrpd In the
KdlnhurKh -Mnprnr.lne In 17SO.
The following brief criticism on the
poems of Hums appeared In the Edin
burgh Mn.wir.ine. October, 17S0. short
ly after the seeoml edition of his works
came out: "The author Is Indeed a
striklnjr example of native genius
bursting through the obscurities of
poverty and the obstructions of la
borious life. lie Is said to be a com
moil plcwman. and when we consider
him in .his light we cannot help re
grettiug that wayward fate had not
placd him'iu a more favored situation
Those who view with the severity ot
lettered criticism and judge by the
fastidious rules of art will discover
that he has not the norie simplicity of
Ramsey nor the brilliant imagination
of Ferguson, but to those who admire
the exertions of untutored fancy and
are blind to many faults for the sake
of numberless beauties his poems will
afford singular gratification. His ob
servations on human characters arc
acute and sagacious, and his descrip
tions are lively ami Just. Of rustic
pleasantry he has a rich fund, and
some of his softer scenes are touched
with inimitable delicacy, lie seems
to be a boon companion and often
startles us with sentiments which will
keep some leaders at a distance. Some
of his subjects are serious, but those
of the humorous kind are the best."
ENGLISHMEN OF GENIUS.
Some Statistic nn to Their Origin
nml I.enKth of Lift.
IIavelck F.llis studies of the origin
and habits of the British men of gen
ius show that most came from busi
ness life, many from "good families."
so called, and few from the clerical
profession. Of HKJ men of eminence in
ten centuries thirteen were the sons of
carpenters, live of shoemakers, live of
weavers and four of blacksmiths.
Browning's father was a clerk, and so
was Bradlaugh's; Turner's was a bar
ber, Carlyle's a mason. Huxley's a
schoolmaster. Keats" a livery stable
man, Knox's a peasant. Wolsey's a
grazier and Whitefield's an innkeeper.
Men of genius are long lived. Of
those on Mr. Ellis' list more died be
tween sixty-five and seventy-five than
in any other period. Those living be
yond seventy-five numbered 230. tho-e
beyond eighty 130. and twenty lived
past ninety.
A genius is not often an only son.
He Is more likely to spring from a
large family. Nor is he often the son
of a distinguished father. He is some
times a tall man. Twenty-six instances
are cited of great men who were six
footers and over. Among them are
Darwin, Millais. Sir Walter Scott. Ten
nyson, Borrow, Thackeray and Field
ing. OLD TIME COFFEE.
The "Way to nrevr the Ileverasre n.i
Th or IH.I In lilti'2.
An old cookbook, published in 1002.
gives what Is perhaps the iirt English
recipe for coffee. The recipe reads:
"To make the drink that is now
much used, called coffee:
"The coffee berries are to be bought
at any druggist's, about 7 shillings the
pound. Take what quantity you please,
and over a charcoal fire in an old fry
ing pan keep them always stirring un
til they be quite black, and when you
crack one with -our teeth that it is
black within as it Is without, yet if
you exceed, then do not waste the
Ojl. and If less, then will It not de
liver Its Oyl, and if you should con
tinue fire till It be white it will then
make no coffee, but only give you its
salt. Heat and force through a lawn
sieve.
"Take clear water and boil one-third
of It away, and it is fit for use. Take
one quart of this prepared water, p. :
It in one ounce of your prepared coi
fee and boll It gently one hour, and
It la for your use. Drink one quar
ter of a pint as hot as you can sip it.
It doth abate the fury and sharpness
of the Acrlmou, which is the gender
of the Diseases called Cronieal."
Boston Cooking .School Magazine.
Thc AriNtoerncy of Park.
When Theodore Parker first visited
Cincinnati, at that time the recognized
leader among western cities, he said
that he had made a great discovery -
namely, that while the aristocracy of
Cincinnati was unquestionably found
ed on pork it made great difference
whether a man killed pics for himself
or whether his father had killed them.
The one was held plebeian, the other
patrician. It was the difference, Par
ker said, between the stick 'ems and
the stuck 'ems. and his own sympa
thlcs, he confessed, were with tin
present tense. T. W. Higginson in
Atlantic Month Iv.
"VV'here Fnfthlonn Come From.
It Is said that a leader of fashion
was once driving in the park when hor
hat was blown off. The carriage wheels
passing over it made it a fearful and
wouucrrui chape, but as the wearer
could afford to defy criticism she put
it on and alnily continued her drive.
The next week dozens of hats exactly
like the damaged one appeared. This
story may be true, but it sounds like
a mere, malicious, masculine Inven
tion. London Woman.
A Finn nc I vr.
Maud Isn't the man you are en
gaged to a speculator?
Clara No. indeed! He's a financier.
"How do you know?"
"He didn't buy the engagement ring
until after I had accepted him."
Have you a friend who does well and
with whom you occasionally find fault
because he doesn't do better? This is
the meanest meanness In the world.
Atchison Globe.
Self Suitlcleiit.
A distinguished comedian who tells
stories very well was Invited to a din
ner and for the greater part of the
evening entertained the company.
When he returned to his hotel, tlior
oughly tired, his wife said:
"Well, did 3'ou have a good timcY'
"No, I can't say that I did. Indeed.
If I had not been there I should have
been ytc? "
PDLLY LARKIN
i !
--r- - -f -'rftr-TVar
All or the topics of interest have been
lost sight ot tortile time tKMiig, partieu-
larly among tlie mirsex, although men,
young and old, must plead guilty to
building air castles or dreaming pleas-
mtly of the good old summer days that
are coming, and acknowledge that the
l:u lies' and children's query of "Where
shall we go for the summer vacation?"
is receiving a good deal of quiet atteu-
tion from them jus well. They are
luestiotung rneiuis as to the auvan-
tage of this or that place, whether the
price is within their means, etc., and
going to a great ileal of extra trouble
when they can have the puzzle solved
for them by simply sending for a copy
of "Vacation 1SKM," which has just
made its appearance. The little book
let is more striking than ever before.
for it is filled from cover to cover with
beautiful little illustrations of the many
summer reports and various attractive
features. It was a happy thought of
th California Northwestern Ilaihvay
Company getting out this little look-
let, ami people are beginning to watch
for it from one season to another and
glean its pages eagerly to see what new
attractions it holds forth. The only
tiling that puzzles them after their
perusal is in deciding which one to se
lect of the many ideal places for a sum
mer's jaunt. The California North
western Kailway is rightly called "the
picturesque route of California." It
M'ttliru: fo I It rmr!t T.tMll ljtt.l i
ii.- ....i,..., ...
luuta, anta Kosa, Russian river, Son
oma, Ckiah, Redwood, Walker, ami
Willits valleys, and connecting stage
lines Jcarry you to all of the summer
resorts in Lake, Mendocino and Sono
ma counties. In this favored section a
heavily timbered mountain range pro
tects you from the fogjand winds of
the Pacific ocean, while a similar range
on the east shields vou from the execs
sive heat of the interior.
Are you run down and worn out by
constant attention to business and
household cares? I lien visit some
quiet sequestered nK)k. lake one or
more of the new lxoks that are being
talked about and while vou sway lazily
m the hammock read and dream to
vour heart's content ami rest the wearv
brain and tired nerves. Possibly your
physician has told you to do nothing
hut eat. sleep and drink, ami you will
find that by following his advice you
ire gaining ikhuhIs and losing the
weight or care and roponsinity that
has worn you out and made you ill and
irritable. Possibly you will le ordered
to th springs to drink the mineral wa-
tet-with their healing properties which
gush forth in clear and sparkling abuii-
V 1 t I
uauce m tins section, ine angler win
take his fishing tackle and saunter
along leide the nunierou streams and
laker-, confident of bringing in a good
.-tring of trout, for the waters are annu-
allv stocked with mvriads of the little
fish from the company's own hateherv
at l kiah. lhe botanist will simply
revel in the varied llora that carpet
i
hills, valleys and canyons with their
fragrant blossoms. Nature has been
lavish with her Moral attractions in
this favored part of the world, and
every jaunt into the woods reveals some
new treasure. Kverylody can gratify
his or her special whim by eonuIting
"acation l'.HJt,' ror it lurni.-hes in
formation so that vou can arrange to
stop at a hotel or private house in some
town, at a mineral spring resort, rusti
cate on some farm where you can take
life easy, or enjoy camp life with all the
coiivenieneesalKMlt you, to be had for a
nominal pries and which removes all
the disagreeable features of camp life.
Many people who have been in the
habit of spending their summers along
the line of the California Northwestern
Railway for several years past have
come to find out that it is the garden
spot of California and have purchased
homes where they arrange to spent!
the entire sc:ison in the pretty home
like bungalows they have erected for
their families and for the entertain
ment of their friends. One of the de
cided advantages to the business man
who can only get away from Saturday
to Monday is the nearness to San Fran
cisco and the admirable arrangement
of the train service to meet the require
ment.: of these men wlnse families are
spending their vacation in the country.
If you haven't got "Vacation 1W1,"
then get one, for a perusal of it will
convince you that you have found an
ideal place for a summer nsort.
I heard two gentlemen discussing
the subject or where they were to spend
....... I
4 1. - .. .1 .... . ....
men- Naeauon uu summer me oilier
lay. rinally one of them took "Yaca-
Hon 1!H)1" out of his pocket and handed
it to his friend with the remark, "Keep
it, for I have another. Don't think
- - i
you will find any trouble if you glance
ocr mat, lor it ims solved the problem
......... ... . .
for us. My IMys anil myself would
rather go camping, but, my wife does
not see it exactly in that way. She
says she knows how it would be. She
would have to do all the cooking for a
ravenous family who would come in
loo tired to get the game ready for the
frying-pan and it would keep her cook
ing and washing dishss almost con
stantly. It would be about the truth.
too, iudgimr from nasi oxnerienco.
- w i 1
Kvery year we have camped out, and
all the rest of the family would come
back refreshed and rested after their
outing except my wife, and she was
even more tired than when we started.
She gets all the cooking she wants at
home, and I made up my mind last
year that it wasn't fair and that we
would never go camping again unless
we could allbrd to take somebody along
to do the cooking and cleaning up.
This year we are going to spend our
vacation on some farm where they
have plenty of fruit, chickens, eggs
fresh milk, berries, etc. We can hunt
and tish just as well and my wife wil
get some little pleasure out of the out
ing." "My wife objects to camping
for the same reason," said his friend
sho is r5,rht. it isIli( r,lir to expet.t her
U) stay in camp and look out for the
comfort of the rest of us."
That is just the trouble with the ma
Monty of camp life experiences. One or
a few find they have all the dlsagrce-
able part of the work to do, ami it is
not long until camp life has lost alio
its charm for them and they cannot sec
the beauties or advantages that tin
more favored are ravinir about. Ji is
entirely different where one and al
i w
take a hand in place of leaving it for:
few, while they are swinging in the
hammocks, loating, fishing or hunt
ing, or reveling among the lacy ferns
and fragrant llowers
BRIEF REVIEW.
An Alimony Bill.
A proposed bill denying reinarriec
divorcees alimonv is hailed with re
joicing by the actorsof New York. V
and down the Rialto and out along tin
"road," the joyful news has spread
Senator Russell luis proved himself the
actors' friend they say by introducing
a bill depriving divorced women who
remarry the right to alimonv. Many
a leading man who has been kept in tin
woods and forbidden to parade Broad
way by reason of thearrearsof alimony
piled up in the New York courts will
rejoice, for there is hope that some day
former
qouse will niary again, if
she has not already done so. Many
witless wight who has "done time" in
Ludlow for the nonpayment of a wife's
weekly allowance will rejoice and Ik
glad. There is already talk of organ
izing a benefit committee to raise funds
for a testimonial to Senator Russell as
a token of regard from members of the
"Alimonv Club."
Chme.se School.
Each Chinese schoollov must furnish
his own stool and table for school work
and the "four precious articles," which
are the ink slab, a cake of India ink, a
rush for writing and paper. With
these he begins his wvary task of learn
ing to write and read the thousands of
Chinese characters. 1 hoe are to open
the way to the Chinese classics, and a
knowledge of this ancient literatureand
wisdom means education to the Chi-
nese. At theopeningof a Chinese school
a paper on which is written the name
of Confucius is pasted on the wall
Before this honored name the pupil
and teachers burn paper mouev and
joss sticks and bow their heads three
times to the lloor. The teacher then
tell Confucius the day, the month and
the year when the school is opened and
m m a
begs tor n is lavor. h.very morning
when the pupils arrive they must bow
twice, once for the teacher and once for
Confucius.
Flowers En Route
Over a half million women annually
get freelKHiqiiets at N lies, M ich., when
the Michigan Central I lailroad has ju.-t
rebuilt its hot-house on a scale that
doubles it formercapaeit y. It matters
not whether it be midwinter or I lit
blisteringmoiiths of summer, there is a
fragrant shower of cut t lower.- at this
pretty country Matiou-as soon as atrain
tops. More than a decade ago the of
ficers of that road conceived the idea of
raising enough llowers to enable them
to throw in the lap of each woman pas
senger a boutonnicrc oi cut llowers.
An employe in uniform, bearing a bas
ket tilled with the favors, passes through
the train distributing the fragrant
unches.
Grain of Corn
A Flemish artist has produced what
is said to oe l lit smallest painting m
the world. It is a picture of a niillo'
mounting the stairs of his mill and ear-
rymg a sack of gram on Ins back. 1 he
miU ,s 'h'picted as standing near a tor-
race. Close at hand are a hor.-o and
cart, with a few groups of peasant.
idling in the road near by. All this is
painted on the smooth side of a grain
of ordinary white corn. It 1hs not
cover a naii-iiieii .-quart, aim it is in
many respects one of the most remark-
hie art productions of the day.
The Candy Ci y
New York is pre-eminently the candy
city of the world. It has more estab
lishments engaged in its mamifacturt
and more stores handling it than any
city on earth. The output of England,
prance ami oermanv is not as large as
the output of the Cnited States: ami
probably New York City alone pro
hluces more than either of the Ihrec
ti... ;,... i
wiiitu no tliwiu . J tiv, ii tru iimi
output of New York State together do
not equal in value the candy output.
The business has assumed the propor
..cms of a mailt amomr the niaiiufac-
turin - industries
-
Within the last few years the various
colonies of Europeans in Kgypt have
built their own hospitals. There are
now in Cairo French, Gorman, Aus
trian, Anglo-American and Italian hos
pitals. The. use of electricity in connection
with farm work is luring strongly advo
cated. The idea that light is deleterious
to vegetation is said to be all wrong,
and that the contrary holds g. al.
The man who thinks the world ow s
him a living usually loses no time try
ing to collect.
Some donkeys wear long ears, others
sport decollete vests.
The lovable woman always forgets
herself.
KAY iNG TELLER'S LAPSE.
lie and Several OllicrM Fulled to
.Vote nn Alimird Error.
Banks are notoriously careful about
scrutinizing the signatures to checks
on which they pay out money, yet, as
the following incident well illustrates,
it is possible for even the most care-
ful and experienced of paying tellers
to make mistakes. The Incident is the
more remarkable because It reveals a
most curious error on the part of a
prominent business man as well as an
astonishing lapse m the case or a usu-
any accurate ami scrupulously exact
bank ollicial.
Among the depositors at one or tne
largest banks in the city is an old and
prominent linn which may be called.
for the purposes of this relation,
Aloyslus Jenkins & Co. All checks is-
sued by the firm are signed in person
by Aloysius Jenkins, its head, so that
his handwriting and signature are
thoroughly familiar to the blink ofll-
cers at whose bank he has deposited
for twenty years or more.
During the first week of this month
Mr. Jenkins got notice from the bank
that -a check signed for $1,S00 In his
handwriting,, but signed Aloysius
Smith & Co., had been paid by the
bank during the previous month and to buy things for herself and chil
the sum paid out charged against his dren'
account. Aloysius Jenkins was per
fectly certain that he had never made
such a foolish 'mistake as that. He
sent over for the check. It needed on
ly a glance to show him that he had
written It and the signature really was
Aloysius Smith & Go. Hp called up
the people to whom the check was
payable and whose Indorsement was
on Its back. They had not noticed the
mistake at all. It had passed through
the hands of their cashier and of oth
er employees and had been by them
sent to the bank, where it had been
credited to their account without ques
tion, passing the sharp eyes of the pay
ing teller and only being discovered by
accident nearly thirty days afterward.
Six or more experienced and export
business men had let that absurd mis
take get by without detecting it. It
was almost beyond belief. The only
more ridiculous thing about It all was
the fact that he had missigned his own
firm name. By referring to his letter
book for the day the enecu was uaicu
he discovered that he had been Dusy
Just then in closing up an important
deal with a man named Smith, mat
was the only possible explanation for
his slip. He has had the canceled
check framed, and it now hangs in his
ollice as a reminder that "to err Is hu
man" even in the best trained circles.
Chicago Tribune.
LEGAL TENDER.
1 he
Aiiuiitnts it Creditor Mny
Accept
In IlinVrcnt CoIiin.
Ordinarily v. hen a debtor appears be-
re a luig time creditor there is no
qm'Miouiug ol the I idled States com
in wliii ii ii e t.ebt is to be paal. but
the wide possibilities possessed by an
arbitrary creditor in stipulating Just
what coins and in what amounts he
will receive navmcnt are enough al
most to discourage borrowing.
You can't force a mean creditor to
take more than 25 cents' worth of
nickels or 2. cents' worth ot copper
cents. It vou euultl get as much as
s worth of old silver three cent pieces
et another generation you could unload
?." worth on him. just as lie would
have to take ?." worth of the silver live
cent pieces and so worth ot the ob
solete twentv cent pieces, which made
so much trouble in the late seventies.
But vou can nay out SH) in silver
dimes and silver quarters and silver
half dollars. The trade dollars, of
which there are a few still coming
into the trasury of the Cnited States
V... ..... 1 ........ !.. .ii. ,t...i.fli fwttlitfw
loi leoeiiiiJiiiMi iul- t.wiiii liwL&iuir..
while the standard dollar Is an un
limited letra! tender, as Is the old "dol
lar of our dads." the first of which
was coined in 171)1 and the last in 1S7II.
Coins that virtually have disappear
ed from circulation are gold three and
one dollar pieces, the trade dollar of
ilver. the nickel three cent piece, the
copper two cent piece, me copper nan
cent and silver three and live cent
i i 2
pieces. Chicago Tribune.
TWO COMPOSERS.
KoH.siiii Wax an Kiiny Worker, "While
Meyerbeer Wax Strenuous.
Giacomo Meyerbeer went at every
thing ferociously. The work of coin-
losing made him restless, excitable
iiul caused him many sleepless nights.
This condition was always worst in
the spring of the year. He did his best
work when the wind howled, the rain
poured dow n in torrents and humanity
generally sought refuge indoors. Dur
ing Midi natural upheavals the great
composer was in ids element. Deluged
with ideas, his fingers charmed from
the piano the rarest and most wonder
ful melodies.
Compared to Meyerbeer, Rossini was
an easy worker and always ready with
his pen. Some of his most charming
compositions originated under the most
commonplace circumstances. One day
while the composer was still abed en
tertaining a few friends the poet To-
tala brought him the words to the cele
brated prayer song in "Moses." Ros
tini read the text, and the poet, fear
ing some sarcastic remarks on the part
of t lie former, said, "It took me an
hour to write these verses."
"An hour to write such verses?'
cried Rossini. "I'll set them to music
in a quarter of an hour."
He asked for pen and paper, and In
ten minutes, while his friends chaffed
the an I hor. the great maestro wrote
that inimitable prayer song In his op
era, "Moses."
flrat rnm: of See Serpent.
Adam hastily made an Inscription In
lii.s diary.
"I want it to go on record." he ex
plained, "that we had the first case of
see serpent ever known."
Feeling lie had the bulge on the rest
of humanity, he strutted about with a
satisfied air. New York Herald.
More Definite Information "Wanted.
"Now, William." said the man of
business to the office bo3 "I am going
out to get shaved."
"Please, sir." said the boy, hesitating.
"if any one calls and wants to know
where you are will I say you've gone
to the barber's or down to Wall
street?" Yonkers Statesman.
STRIKING A BARGAIN.
A Cunc Whore .Merc .Money Did Xot
Cut .Much of u FlKure.
"Several years ago there was a boom
in certain lands in Florida because of
rich phosphate deposits," said a south
ern man. "A speculator asked one of
those simple Florida folk what would
be (lu. iOUlt price he would take for
somc. iall(1 i,efove the boom he
lia,i ,(,un unallu. to sell for SHOO. The
mvnor really didn't know. The snecu
hltoI. nfrreed to deposit In bank ?lb000
tu. OWner's credit for the land. But
tIlIs aniount of money in bank didn't
mean very much to the native.
ne s:1fd he wanted a farm of sixty
am.s with a house on It, the whole to
cost a few hundred.
" -What else?' asked the speculator.
-('an I have a horse and saddle and
bridle?'
'Certainly.'
" 'And a ritie?
" 'Yes
" 'And some provisions?'
'Yes.'
"The eyes of the native began
to
bulge. Thero was a pause.
'What else do you want?' asked the
speculator.
" 'Oh, give me $r0 for the old woman
"He then started to walk away.
" 'What else?' asked the speculator.
" 'Is there more yet?'
" 'Yes.'
" 'Well, give me a plug of tobacco
and set me down where the fish will
bite all day. and j-ou can have the
rest.' "Baltimore Sun.
POE AND POVERTY.
The Poet Wan Horn to Need and Left
It un a I.cKiiey.
According to Charles Marshall
Graves, writing in the Century, the
poet Toe was two years old when his
mother, a gifted actress, was living in
Richmond in the direst want.
Mrs. Toe's last stage appearance was
in the Richmond theater In October.
1S11. The theater burned on Dec. 2(5.
and seventy-eight people perished with
it. I'oe's father had died In the spring.
and Mrs. Toe and the baby poet and
his younger sister went to live on Main
street, in the mm in llanu region,
in a tenement cellar perpetually wet
by the Shockoe creek, which then flow-
ed through the middle of the street,
Here the wretched woman contracted
pneumonia and died. And from the
cellar the future poet, described as a
"baby skeleton," was rescued by Mr.
Allan.
Sixty years and more later Rosalie
Toe. the poet's younger sister, appear
ed on Richmond streets In poverty as
bitter as her mother's had been to get
a few coins by selling photographs of
her brother.
The man who was perhaps America's
Tea test poet and certainly one of the
few poets who have vitally Influenced
the literary art lo:h m prose ami verso;
was born into the most wretched pov
ertv and left need as keen behind him.
"When Onion Are Odorle.
Hov. many times has every flat
dweller entered his home only to cry
out in disgust because the odor of the
onion or the turnip or something else
has permeated the entire six or sevi
rooms?
"Let's stop having such things for
dinner." lie suggests to his wife. " hy.
it's mortifying to invite a friend to
dine when one knows this sort of at
mosphere Is going to knock him down
as soon as he enters the door."
As a matter of fact, there Is no need
for excluding the onion or the other of
fending eatables. The simplest way in
the world to solve the ditiiculty Is this:
Have the cook put into the cooking
vessel with your onions Just a piece of
stale bread about as big as your list.
Somehow or other the bread absorbs
the odors, and you don't know onions
are on your menu until you sit down
at the table. New York Times.
A I-'rniik Continent.
Housekeepers will appreciate this
little story of Dean Stanley: During a
visit to America, not long before his
death, he was Invited to dine with a
certain college president in a southern
town. Farly in the meal the dean in
quired of his hostess: "Mrs. G ,
would it bo impertinent to ask what is
this gumbo soup?" "Perhaps I can
best answer." was the amused reply,
"by telling you Lady A 's comment
on the uisn when sue tuneu wun us
once on a time. She leaned across the
table and called to her husband: 'You
would better try the soup. It's not
nearly so nasty as it looks! All!"
said the dean, smiling, "that was ex
actly like Lady A-
She is a cousin
of mine!" Harper's Bazar.
Zoological omencIiit nre.
The butValo in the Cnited States is
a bison; the partridge of Michigan and
pheasant of Pennsylvania and other
states is a ruffed grouse; the rabbit,
so plentiful In the market at times, Is
a hare. Both species of grouse, the
ruffed and the pinnated, are called
pheasant, partridge and patrige. and
the pinnated grouse is universally re
ferred to as the prairie chicken. Prai
rie chicken Is not a bad name for the
pinnated grouse, for it is original and
does not confound it with other birds.
but it is not right to use the names
partridge and pheasant when referring
to our grouse, for these are the cor
rect names of European sneclinens.
Heathen ItiiMlnenN Methodn.
Business among the Chinese, accord
ing to a Russian traveler from Man
churia, Is on a co-operative basis. There
are neither proprietors nor employees,
but all who work In an establishment
are partners.
From time to time small allowances
are doled out to them -barely enough
to live on-but at the end of the year
all the profits are divided.
The Chinese merchants arc so honest
that among all the ten branches of the
Russo-ChIne.se bank located in China
there has been no record since their
establishment of a single protested
note.
Alottt the Size of One.
'Is that a chicken?" asked
the
boarder dismally.
'Of course," replied the landlady.
What did you think it was?"
'A canary," answered the boarder.
ns he counted the number of people to
be served. Chicago Post
CHOICE MISCELLANY
Some Oriental IleniedleM.
R. L. Jones of Ontario was at the
Willard hotel In Washington recently,
and to a reporter he told of some of his
experiences while traveling on a recent
trip in India.
"I was sick a few days after I ar
rived in India, and I immediately ap
plied for medical assistance. It chanced
that no civilized physician was to be
had in the neighborhood, so I called
for a native doctor.
"An American friend who was trav
eling with me, but who was familiar
with the customs of the country, said.
Very well, I'll take you to a doctor.'
"lie then took me a few hundred
yards from the hut where we were at
the time, and then wheu I saw the 'na
tive doctor' administering some of his
medicines I at once lost all signs of ill
ness and felt as fine as a two-year-old.
"One of their favorite ways of treat
ing in India is to raise blisters all over
the body. This Is accomplished by the
application of a redhot iron. The blis
ter is then dressed with cayenne pep
per. " 'Gunpowder pills' also are a favor
ite medicine in that part of the world.
Twelve of them are given for a dose.
A minute later a coal applied to a slow
match leading down the throat is in
serted. A movement among the parti
cles then takes place, which either
eradicates the disease or the patient,
most commonly the latter."
Mr. Jones stands sponsor for all this
and vouches for its verity.
Queen "WIlhelnilnu'N SIiocn.
According to the opinion expressed
by a Philadelphia traveler. Wilhelmi
na. queen of Holland (one may no lon
ger write it "little Wilheluiina"). is
said to be growing "very plain." but
none has yet denied her a large share
of very "human" qualities. In proof of
tliis this same traveler tells a story
which presents her in a pleasing light.
It seems that a certain famous Lon
don photographer had been sent for to
take the queen's picture. It was the
second such commission he had re
ceived from Amsterdam. When the
sitting was over and the plates had
been developed Wilhelmina said de
lightedly: "Why. this is a much better picture
of me than you took before. I wonder
why that Is?"
"Your majesty has now a more
cheerful expression." ventured the art
ist. "Perhaps that is what makes the
difference."
"And I know why that should have
been so." added the queen instantly.
"The last time you were here I remem
ber I had on very tight boots. How
can any one look cheerful when her
feet are being pinched?" Philadelphia
Press.
Mr. I'ojser and Hetty Sorrel.
A picturesque but unpretentious old
building known as Corley Hall Farm
was recently sold at .auction in Bir
mingham. Kngland. that readers of
t.'eorge Fliot will be interested to hear
about, says the Boston Herald.
This house figures conspicuously in
"Ad.un Rede" as the home of the im
mortal Mrs. Poyser and her unfortu
nate niece. Hetty Sorrel. The novelist
was born within three miles ot the
place, and American pilgrims to scenes
of her early days have always been
shown this house on the main road to
Nuneaton.
Who has now purcll-ed it and
whether it must go the wav of all oth
er remantic landmarks has no; yet
been divulged, but once when the Pov-
ser farm was pointed out to a great
admirer of Georg" Fliot the lady said
she had rather lie in it than in the
finest house In Brook ine. and I've no
doubt she meant it too.
Fluh and I)or Story From Kentucky.
John T. Parish of the Holland coun
try says lie has a dog that can catch
more fish and better tish than any
man. He says that when he arises in
the morning, if he feels as if he would
relish a fish for breakfast, he makes
his wants known to his dog, and in a
very short time a nice fish is in the
frying pan.
Mr. Parish lives near the river, and
he says he has ejected a little plat
form on the edge of the water for his
dog's use and benefit. He says tin dog
will perch himself on this nlatform
and watch for his game. When a nice
fish that he likes the looks of mines
near enough he dives from his perch
and never fails to make a catch. Dur
ing shoaling time he frequently catch
es two fish at a time. -Allen County
(Kan.) Times.
Stock For nn Alligator Farm.
Several French dealers have recently
visited the Cnited States to purchase
stock for an alligator farm which they
propose starting in the south of
France. Alligator skin has become so
highly prized throughout France that
the animal dealers believe It will pay
tvell to raise tin alligators on this, the
first farm of its kind in the world.
Not long ago President Loub; t re
ceived a present of a hunting suit of
alligator skin. The skin is said to lie
growing scarcer cadi year, and there
Is always a great demand for it for
uoots. stioes. handbags, writing pads,
portfolios and toilet articles. Chicago
News.
PoljfcnniouH Monarch.
No loss than six foreign monarchs
with whom the Cnited States and oth
er great Christian powers maintain
diplomatic relations, accrediting minis
ters plenipotentiary to their courts,
practice polygamy. They are the Mos
lem sultan of Turkey and shah of Per
sia, the Buddhist king of Slam, the
Shlntolst mikado, the Confucian em
peror of China and the emperor of Km
rea. Kansas City Journal.
tonkins For a finch.
Tommy Are you and Sister Ethel
goin' to get married? Mr. Stedily -Why
er what put such a question In
your head. Tommy? Tommy- Oh.
nothln', only Billy Daly wanted to bet
me a nickel against a cent that the
match d never come ofi'. and I'd like
a little Inside Information. Puck.
II Ik Field.
"Why do you always speak III of
your friends?"
"What would you have? I don't
know any other persons."
FACTS IN FEW LINES
Japan, eluding Formosa, has a pop
ulation of 40.000,000.
The Irish parliamentary fuud for the
year 100:5 amounted to $03,045.
France produces more than twice as
many potatoes as the United States.
Polite Chinamen consider it a breach
of etiquette to wear spectacles in com
pany. The American Federation of Labor
has 2,31'J.OOO members, taxpayers and
voters.
A correspondent saj's the last was
the worst Christmas that makers of
dolls and toys in Germany ever experi
enced. The British people pay $5,000,000 a
year to the tlorists for their produce,
out of which $1,500,000 goes to the for
eigner. In the window of a Dunmow (Eng
land i hostelry appears the notice, "The
Encyclopaedia Britannlca at your serv
ice within."
Colorado Springs has so saloons or
low resorts. In tiie deed to every piece
of property is included a clause which
forever prohibits the sale of liquor.
A Methodist church In Kansas was
moved a distance of forty-two miles to
a new location. The moving required
eight days, and not a window was
broken.
The daily wage for skilled labor In
Italy is: For machinists. 55 to 70 cents;
masons. 50 to 00 cents; carpenters, oO
to 70 cents, and cotton workers, 30 to
50 cents.
The fishermen near the Marconi wire
less telegraph station In England have
petitioned parliament to take it away
because it, they allege, produces the
deluges descending upon them.
The pianist Paderewski in order to
show his disapproval of the Prussian
government's Polish policy has forbid
den his new opera. "Manru." to be pro
ruced in the German theater of Posen.
On Dec? 31 the 055 trade unions In
Great Britain had a membership of
1.00-I.S12 and funds amounting to 5,-
UH5.40S. The income for the year was
2.441.427 and the expenditure 2,05S.
030. A petition signed by between 20,000
and 30,000 persons is to be presented to
the Edinburgh magistrates asking that
the hour for closing the public houses
be 11 p. m.. as at present, and not 10
p. m. J
A company has been organized in
Chicago which contracts to bury people
and let them pay on the installment
plan. The Installments must all be
paid before the funeral occurs, how
ever. Tlie corporation of Vienna has voted
the golden Salvator medal to Ilerr
Turk, the Austrian Sandow, In recog
nition of his having brought honor to
the city by establishing world records
in weight lifting.
Lloyd Conway of Baltimore has is
sued a challenge for a talking contest,
open to the world. lie says he Is the
champion talker, and he insists that he
can speak 05.040 words in an hour. He
is a clerk in a railroad otHce.
Citizens of Manchester, England, are
complaining bitterly and writing to the
papers because the conductors on the
tram cars "squeeze twentj- persons into
seats constructed for eighteen," and,
worse still, "allow some people to stand
up."
A small boy whose father and moth
er. Mr. and Mrs. Kerchew. were stay
ing with him at a Chicago hotel be
came lost. When found, he had forgot
ten his nanut but remembered It when
he heard a man sneeze and was re
stored to his parents.
The last survivor of a little band of
buffaloes, the only animals of that va
riety at large in Colorado, has been
slain by a pothunter despite the heavy
penalty lixed by the legislature. The
band had been hidden hi Lost park.
Park county, for several years.
Joseph Wlodarczyk (pronounced VIo
darksick). a Russian, went into the
common pleas court at Newark. N. J.,
the other day and got permission from
the judge to drop from his name the
four letters c. z. y and k. Now his
name is spelled W-l-o-d-a-r, and he calls
himself Ylodnr.
The Colorado promotion and public
ity committee has opened headquarters
at SI." Seventeenth street. Denver, and
announces that "from now on every
energy will be bent on making Colora
do, its wonders. Its opportunities, its
resources and riches known all over
the world." A branch otlice Is estab
lished at the chamber of commerce of
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Whereas m 1S70 It was estimated
that 40 per cent of the cotton crop of
the south was produced by whites and
00 per cent by negroes. It is now claim
ed that the whites produce 00 per cent
and the blacks but 40 per cent. This,
southern men say. indicates that the
south must look to foreign immigration
to supply It with labor if Its cotton
crop Is to be increased.
Statistics compiled by the zemtvos
of forty-nine provinces of Furonean
Russia showed thai b'.U.OOO peasant
families, representing a population of
perhaps 7.000.000. had only nine acres
of land to the family, and that 2.219.
444 peasant households, representing
a population of about 1S.000.000, had
only twenty-one acres each, although
hundreds of thousands of such house
holds consisted of from eight to twenty-five
members. '
With the view of ascertaining the
proportion of foreign gold coin com
pared with the French, the directors of
the French mint requested the Bank of "
France to obtain 50,000 pieces from
the tills of different branches In the
provinces. An examination of that
coin showed that 41.5S3 were French
and S.417 foreign, the latter represent
ing nearly 17 per cent. Tlie alien gold
was principally Belgian. Italian. Austria-Hungarian,
Swiss, Russian. Greek,
Spanish, etc.
rnieonry In Turlcentan.
In a remote part of Turkestan Dr.
Svcn Ilcdin. the explorer, some years
ago discovered the ancient art of fal
conry in full llower. "Among the. horse
men were eight falconers." he writes,
"two of whom carried eagles, the oth
ers falcons, all duly hooded. In this
part of the world falconers form an In
dispensable adjunct in any formal pa
rade or procession. Later in the day
they gave us an exhibition of their
birds' powers by letting them kill four
hares and a deer, all of which were
presented to me."