BATON MCOllDER.
A GIRL'S HEROISM.
It Required CouniK to Make the
SacriUoe She Did.
A girl stood one day in the waiting
room of an otliee in London. She hail
come in answer to an advertisement to
apply for a secretary's post and was
awaiting lier hspeetion. She needed
the position, and she waited anxiously.
Presently she was called into the of
fice. and the interview was satisfacto
ry. hut she was asked to wait, as there
was another applicant to he inter
viewed. She went into an adjoining
room, and through the open door she
saw a small, pale woman, nervously
answering the questions put to her,
and could hoar the pitiful story of her
husband! death, the small children
dependent upon her and her need of
work. The woman was told, however,
that her services could not be accepted.
as another person had already applied
and had just received a promise of the
position.
The girl listening in the next room
had hardly understood what was go
ing on. but at this point her heart
bounded with joy as she realized that
.ho was the accepted person. The next
moment she saw despair written on
the face of the widow and perceived
suddenly what this failure meant to
her. "I can't do it; I can't take it from
her." she murmured. Ami without
stopping a moment to consider she
walked quickly back to the other room
and said quietly to the employer: "1
wish to tell you that on consideration
I find the position you offer would not
suit me. Good morning." And she
left the otliee without auother word.
OIL PIPE LINES.
Inerninui Ilovlep by "Which the I. out:
Tulips Arc Cleaned.
The long pipes that carry crude pe
troleum from the oil wells to the re
fineries many miles distant are clean
ed by an ingenious device. A writer
in the Omaha Iaily I Joe describes it:
As the oil tlows through these un
derground conduits some of the par
ailin in the tluid incrusts the sides of
the pipes and proves a serious hin
drance to the free passage of the cur
rent of oil.
The device that is used to remedy
this evil Is a knife about two feet in
length, with a. sharp etle, constructed
like the thread of a screw; indeed, the
knife resembles a huge headless screw.
It is. of course, slightly smaller than
the pipe through which it is to pass.
When the thickness of the crust of
paraffin renders a cleansing necessary
this instrument Is inserted in the pipe
at the oil fields. The pressure of the
stream of oil drives it forward, revolv
ing rapidly as it hurries along and
scraping the channel clean.
It turns and twists and cleanses in
this manner throughout its whole
Journey and finally drops from the
pipe in the midst of the vast stream
of petroleum that empties into the re
ceiving tanks. Its edges are duller
than when it sot out on Its journey,
but otherwise it is in perfect condition.
It is at once shipped back to the oil
wells, where it is sharpened and laid
away until its services are again
needed.
MnrU Twain Lack.
Mark Twain at one time in his early
career was a characteristically Impe
cunious reporter. One day he had
note to meet, but labored under a tola
lack of funds. Half distracted, he was
rushing around San Francisco in
feverish hunt for enough cash to tidi
him over the trying time. He rushi-d
a little too quickly, however, for as !.
was turning a corner he collided with :
little man and overthrew him. The vu
tim regained his feet and yelled. "You
do that again and I'll knock you into
the middle of next week." "My deal
sir." said the apologetic humorist, "d
it by all means. If I can get throng!
till then without breaking I'm safe.
The originality of this reply struck tin
stranger, who. after some talk, hand
ed Mark a check for the necessary
amount. Chicago Chronicle.
Modeling In ("lay.
Love has boon the mainspring of
good many actions, and it seems thai
It may claim to be the first cause ot
artistic modeling from life. Thedaugh
tor of Dibutades the Corinthian, beim.
on the eve of separation from her lov
er, who was going on a distant jour
ney. traced his profile by his shadow
on the wall. Her father tilled up th
outline with clav. which he afterward
baked, and thus produced a figure o:
the voung man. This was about Us:
B. C, and before then the art of mod
cling was unknown.
The ShnrpcMt IiiHtrtimcnt.
J hat is the sharpest instrument :n
the world. O Ibrahim. Is It not':" said
friend who watched that renowne.
armorer polish a Damascus blade.
"There Is one sharper," was the re
spouse.
"What is it?"
"It Is a woman's tongue." said the
steel smith, "and could Its acutenes
be Imparted, to any metal the Infidel.'
would have been driven from the earth
long ere this."
"It is true, Allah be praised!" piousI
responded the friend.
Vot Certain.
I suppose that picture is one Oi
your choicest works of art?"
"I don't know for sure," answered
Mr. Cumrox. "You see, mother am
the girls have Ideas of their own an'
'they won't let me keep the price tag
on 'em." Washington Star.
Snme Then n JVoiv.
Mrs. Bacon 1 see that pins have been
found among the Egyptian nnmimie
and In the prehistoric caves of Switzer
land. Mr. Bacon Oh, yes; I suppos
the fellows in other ages had as mm-;
trouble getting buttons sewed on as v.i
do. Youktrs Statesman.
anRKeKliiigr nn Improvement.
The owner of the new apartment
house was exhibiting it to his brother-in-law,
who was an architect.
"I had it built according to my own
Jdeas," he said, "and It's built for
keeps. An earthquake wouldn't have
any effect on it."
"That's a pity," said the brother-in
law. "An earthquake might improve
IL" Chicago Tribune.
1 polly mra i
i.
' . i v
Edison says that we eat too much,
and loats that he lives on a pound of
food a lay. lie eats his regular three
meals, but just enough each time to
nourish his lody. His menu consists
of meat, eggs and vegetables the plain-
est of diets with no pastries and rich
con-feetions and no salads reeking in
rich mayonnaise, ami lie does not devi-
ate from this established rule of diet he
has marked out for himself. Tastes
diller, and while the above pound of
food per day might suit Jdison, the
majority of people would cry out for a
greater allowance. One of the smallest
men, leaving out the dwarfs, that
have o"er known, was one of the big-
gest eaters in the town, lie was pain-
fully thin and as energetic and lively
as a cricket. 1 le was a minister, and
when he stood up in the pulpit no one
would dream that this frail-looking
little man thought aluio.-t, if not more,
ofwhat he was to have to eat thauhedid
about the lengthy di.-eoursc he was do-
hvering. Mill the sermon .showed a
thorough ami careful pruning down
before he was ready to deliver it to his
congregation. 1 n toad of being stupid
from hi over-indulgence m eating he
wa-wide-awake and at times soared in
his eloquence, his voice ringing out
loud and clear while his congregation
litcued attentively and with evident
enjoyment to the little minister.
A member of his congregation invited
him to dinner one day, ami knowing
his fondues for the good things in the
eating line the hostos suggested that
he tell her which were his favorite
dishes. "Well, to keep up the reputa-
tion of the Methodist church, I mod-
estly Mate that yellow-legged chickens
are a great weakness of mine, ami 1 ant
very fond of fro-h ranch eggs." "How
many egg can you oat?" a.-ked his
ii . i 9 l
wouid-no no-iess. imn i aK me 10
.-it down to les than a dozen," he re-
plied. It was aid in jest, -till there
.1.1 - ! 1
wa more iruin man poetry in ins
uggolion. He told her jus" exactly
what he wanted, and the hollos, never
believing he was in earnest, in a spirit
of fun ami having plenty of eggs, cooked
the doen. The following is what he
ite: Nearly a whole chicken with
quantities of rich dres-ing and gravy,
two slice.- of ham and ten egg, eight
hot biM-uit and butler, four ear.- of corn,
a quantity of mashed potatoes, two
wtvt potatoes a- well, stowed tomatoes.
twoeup-of codec, ehco.-c: he was helped
twiec to lemon and eiitard pie, pre-
erve and pickle.- galore. "My good-
no.-, aid the little lady alter he nad
gone, "i m glad he not a hoarder ot
mine, for I would have to go through
bankruptcy in-ide of a month. He
would t-ai me out of hou.-cniid home.'
It partook o much of the nature of
i
gormandizmg that I never cared to
hoar the little minister again, .lust a
I would got interested in hi ermon
a vision oi that tinnier, enough lor a
family which wa devoured bv him,
would come into uiv mind, and I could
not beguile iny.-elf into thinking lie
had a .-aintly look a he delivered his
sermon, the eloquent phra.-e coining
with no eHbrl, for he never wa at a
lo- for a word, ami in.-tead of being
dull and t lipid, as one would have
stippo-cd he would bo after hi over-i
heartv meal, he was wide-awake and
active a anyone could be.
A little Oerman lady threw up her
fat little hand in dismay when he
i
hcard of Kdi-on eating but one pound
of food a da v. '"Poor man." he ex-
claimed, "can't he atlbrd it, or what i
the matter? I feel sorrv for him. 1
oat i time a day and sometimes Ik
t wool i meal-if I get hungry. I get up
every morning at ha!f-iat " o'clock
ami I have eollee and rolls with mv
nusiiaud. .i i o ciocu tne children
get up and I eat with them. My Im
baud
niu im-i immii mm- -one im a I
.- . ... ....... ....... r i
bite, too,
Theii we have mush and
cream, fried eggs, toast and eollee. At
10 o'clock I get hungry again, and I
have some eollce-cake and eollee. At
noon we have meat and vegetable and
pie or pudding and coH'ee. The chil
dren are growing and must have some
thing heartv, vou know. At ."o'clock
in thl' afternoon a neighbor always
drops in, and of course I serve cake
and eollee. I hen conies our heartiest
meal at o'clock, and we take a long
time at the table. Mv husband won't
lot any one hurry then. Wo eat again
at bedtime. Mavbe bread ami choe-c
and beer, -omelimtrs cofiee.
In spile of all ht
collee-d rin king
fact they don't know what it is to call
in a doctor. They are always singing,
whirling and laughing about, the
lou-e. You never hear an unkind or
in impatient word from any member
)f tin; household. She looks ten years
younger than people of her age who
ire alway doctoring, telling of their
iches and pains, keeping themselves on
diet which they don't enjoy and
which does not do them much gcod
udgiug from their thin and dissatisfied
ooking faces. The doctors could not
mid to their thi'orv that eollee is to be
huiined or at least only taken moder-
Uely and once a day at that, unless a
small black is indulged in at dinner
time, if they took this coll ee-d rin king
amily as an example. "I expect to
.vo to he n) years old," says this little
Jerinaii woman, for J never worry
over things that cannot be helped. 1
on't 1m)1tow trouble and I don't talk
.o.uooiu ma.e -ome people nervous vi:i f(. ;M.staiice, none will dare presume . who was one of the best known ships, I s:
wrecks and keep them awake half the , :,i,. ,.i:i ,. ... theologians in New England In the hit- " 'Yes,'
. ..i.i i . , i '
. . iw i win i i inuoivii uimii Din; iitin IIUlMini
night, .-he is a well, rong woman, uU! young man of h...' ehoice her reali- !or ,,illf of ' tlie nlnejeeiith century, il- forted. 'but
idways merry and in for a good time. This she does by using a cake a.s "''T t,,u """""J" ' 51 Wr bnd Bhots
V...... ..f ii... r :i ; i- i .. ' Icinil nf iirmiment Dr Huron wmm nt-
...in: wi mi- uiiiiiv are ever sick. in
about my' neighbors if I haven't got
something pleasant to say. So many
of you American ladies worry, worry
all the time. You get wrinkles in your
face and then you go to a beauty doctor
to try ami have them rubbed out. You
pay lots of money and still the wrinkles
come, and it's because you get nervous
alli worry about little things that we
laugh about or won't take the trouble
to notice. The best way to keep your
f!U.L. fltv of wrinkles is not to worry,
not to go tearing along through life like
y(iu had to live all your days in a short
time and that you must do so much to
make a good showing. I don't think
wo were put here to wear our lives
ou( rushing all the time. The world
was made beautiful for us to enjoy, and
it is sln wrong when we don't take
time to enjoy it. We take our basket of
g1MKj things to eat and drink, invite
ollr noighlMrs's children to join us, and
U nearly every .Sunday when it's pleas
ant we picnic in the woods. AVe take
oil' our hats and lav down under the
trees ami we sing and laugh, eat and
an the time weareenjoyingand breath-
big the pure country air. The trouble
js you Americans don't know how to
enjoy life. You live too fast. Xo won-
,it.r the machinery in your bodies gives
,,( sooner than it does with us and
u.aVes you people all nerves, which tell
j eriss-cros lines all over your face and
take awav the happy, restful look. I
would rather live like we do. take life a
ntde easv and have less, for after all
VoU eanuot take anything out of thU
life with vou. You mav have more
moMlv to i,...Vl. than we do. but what
docs that profit you? it only leaves
more for other people, to light over."
BRIEF REVIEW.
Old Watches That Keep Time.
A unique collection of clocks and
watches is owned by K. .1. Marsh, of
Boone, la. A number of those, says
the .leaders' Circular-Weekly, date
hack for centuries and aiv interesting
and curious relics. One of the watches
h dated l!'s. Marsh, in order to be
I i . .
Mire oi tne date, wrote to a society m
New York having for its object the col-
lection of data of this kind. The mini-
I . , m .
ocr oi the watch was given, l iiosoci-
ctv looked up the watch and found that
lit was made in bVls. The watch has
gold works and a silver case. The
works are diamond set. The watch
keeps perfect time and has boon run-
ningsinee it wasmade. Another of the
walehe in the collection was made in
Kiso and bears the trademark, "('ray's,
Bond street, IOnV This watch has
peculiar work and has worn out the
I second ease. It also has been keeping!
good time since it came into the po-
seion of Marsh. Amongtheold clock
one hearing the date Ks7 is perhaps the
mo.t interesting, l he clock has been
m the posse.-sion oi .Marsh tor over
t went v-ono years. The woman who i
gave it to him .-tated that her great-
grandfather bad owned t he ameeloek.
Mar.-h ha two in his store at the pres-
cut time over eighty years old. One
these at present for repairs is over 'J HI
year old and belongs to the A. 1. Wil
liam family in the Fifth Ward. An-
ouier one mere lor ronnirs. winch b
over eight v-tive vears old, belongs to a
Mr, (.'rillitli. Both of those clocks
have wooden work.
Bake Clay For Food.
( 'onsumptioii of earth a food is said
to in. common not only in China, 2scw
Caledonia and Now ('uinoa, but in the
Malay archipelago as well. The testi
mony of many travelers in the Orient
is that the yellow race are especially
addicted to the practice. In Java and
Sumatra the clav used umlorirot; m ore
liiuiiiary preparation for consumption,
-7 1
bcinir mixed with water, reduced to .-J
paste, and the sand and other hardu!-
stanee removed. The clay is then
formed into small cakes or tabletsabout
as thic k as a lead pencil and baked in
an iron aiiccpan. When the tablet
emergi's from this process it resembles
a piece of dried pork. Javanese fre
quently eat small figures roughly mold-
en iroui ciav, which resen 1 1 ties I he an i-
t t i .
mal turned out in our pastry .-hops.
Making Chinaware Ancient.
The Hongkong Daily Press says:
The Kuropean seeker after curios hero
is a ourcoof revenue to nianv an un
scrupulous native vender. The method
whereby the appearance of century-old
china isimulated is to kill a dog and
place the new, comparatively valueless
porcelain in its inside, afterwards bury-
. i
mg it in the earth. At the end of a
year tho wan is trnusforccd into a
choice specimen of veritable antitiue."
Where The Maidens Woo.
Not everywhere do the boys do the
Among the gypsies of Mora-
a love letter, baking therein a coin, and
throwing it within his tent door at
night when he is alone.
Whata woman likes about having an
account at the grocer's is that, if he
should forget to charge her for soine-j
thing she gets it wouldn't be her fault.
Most every man thinks he is smart
-'"l t tackleany job till he runs up
against the problem of gradhig the
front lawn so all the rain wont run into
the collar.
It's worth thinking about that a
man's dream of an ideal state never .
I
gets nearer ton woman than a boat, a
PU"' 'd a hshiino.
There's no use to try to save money
by stopping drinking because of the
snioking it makes you do. '
WOOlllg
MYSTICAL NUMBER NINE.
It M
a Trinity of Trinities and In
Indicative of Perfection.
Nine is a trinity of trinities and In-
ill cat c.s np.-fecllou or completion. There
are nine earths, nine heavens, nine the ignorance he found ftiere. He went
poils. nine muses, nine worthies, nine to London to take part in a wild west
crosses, nine points of the law, nine ern ,0Iodrama. He ran across a news-
nvers ot i.ol , nine orders of angels
.urn nine uii-ii-s ui rami m valines so
ciety. Milton, In "Paradise Lost,"
thrice
:;ays: "The irates of hell are
threefold-three folds nrn brass, three
folds iron and three folds adamantine
rock. They had nine folds, nine, plates
and nine linings." "When the angels
were cast out of heaven "nine days
they fell."
A cat has nine lives. There are nine
crowns in heraldry. Possession Is
nine points of the law. The whip for
pti'i'!'ng evil doers had nine tails, the
superstition being that a flogging by
a trinity of trinities would be sacred
aud more elllcaclous. In order to see
the fairies, mortals are directed to put
nine grams of wheat on a tour tear
clover. The hvdra had nine heads,
Leases were formerly granted for 090
yo:frs. Even now they run for ninety-
nine years, the dual or a trinity or
trinities. To see nine magpies Is most
unlucky, as the old Scotch rhyme goes:
One's n sorrow, two's mirth.
Three's a wedding, four's a birth.
Five's u christening, six a dearth,
Seven's heaven, eight Js hell,
And nine's the devil his ane sel.
If a servant finds nine green peas
in a pea pod she may Ia it on the
lintel of the kitchen floor, and the first
man that enters Is to be her cavalier.
When the loving cup goes round it Is
the custom to drink a three times
three toast to the one most highly hon
ored or tenderly loved. As the weird
sisters in "Macbeth" danced round
the caldron they sang, "Thrice to thine
and thrice to mine and thrice again to
make up nine," and then declared "the
charm would up." The nine of dia
monds was considered the curse of
Scotland.
A TOBACCO LEGEND.
The Story of the Way In Which Mun
Obtained the Weed.
An ethnologist tells an interesting
story as to how tobacco was first ob
tained by man. according to the tra
ditions of the Menominee Indians:
"One day the god hero, Manabozo,
was on a Journey, when he perceived
a delightful odor. It seemed to come
from a crevice in the cliffs high up on
a mountain side. On going closer he
found a tavern which was occupied by
a giant. In fact, the giant was the
tenant of the mountain, and from the
mouth of the cave a passage led down
Into the very center of the hill, where
there was a large chamber. Around
the chamber wore stacked great quanti
ties of bags tilled with curious dried
loaves. From the leaves proceeded the
delicious fragrance.
"These leaves were tobacco. Once
a year, the giant explained, all of the
spirits came to the mountain tor tne
purpose of smoking this exquisite
weed. But it was not possible to give
anv ot it away, said the ethnologist.
Nevertheless Manabozo watched for
an opporunity and. snatching up one
of the bags. tied, closely pursued by
the uiant. The thief leaped from peak
to peak, but the giant followed so fast
as to finally overtake him. So Mana
bozo turned upon him and, upbraiding
him for his stinginess, transformed
him into a grasshopper.
"That is the reason why the grass-
""PP' alvas chewing tobacco.
.Manaiioo "oou tne nagiui oi leaves
and distributed them among his
friends, the ancestors of the Indians of
today. .Since then they have had the
use and enjoyment of the plant."
ANT PECULIARITIES.
Kurh Specie linn a DiNllnct Oder
IJlncernihle hy Other Ant.
Each ant .species appears to have its
distinctive odor, discernible by other
ints. Within each species there are
also differences of odor dependent on
the age of the colony and the age of
,lu 'l'"''1'1 ' whose egg Its Inmates
are produced. J lie ant s organs of
smell are its antennae, and the anten
nae consist, as it were, of a series of
noses, each of which has a special task.
one nose tells the ant whether It Is In
Ms own nest or that of an enemy. An
other imse discriminates between odors
of ants of the same species, but of dlf-
tVront colonies. The third serves the
purpose of discerning the scent laid
down by the ant's own feet, so that It
may retrace its stops along Its own
path. Another rose smells the ant
larvae and pupae, and the fifth noso
detects the presence of an enemy.
Thus If an ant be left with only the
four noses It will live peaceably with
alien ants, but while It has its fifth
noso It will fight the alien to the death.
If ants make one another's acquaint
ance before they are twelve hours old
they will thereafter live amicably to-
i
gethor. though of different species or
subfamilies. But In three days after
hatching their criterion of correct ant
odor is established, and they refuse to
affiliate with ants whose odor Is not
in accord with their standard.
IIoiv Ilncon Settled Hi in.
story that Is told of Leonard Ba-
tending a conference in one of the New
Kngland cities, and some assertions he
myde in his address were vehemently
objected to by a member of the opposi
tion. Why," he expostulated, "I never
heard of such a thing In all my life!"
Mr. Moderator," rejoined Bacon
calmly. "I cannot allow my opponents
ignorance, however vast, to offset my
knowledge, however small." Harper's
Weekly.
II in Grievance.
"Uncle Ephraiin, you are looking
much better. You found something
that cured j-our rheumatism, did you?"
"Ves, sub. But It cured uie too quick.
sh. I didn't get no use out on dem
m I a.
IWO uo,,an un n llir crutcnes i uougut
weeic ueio last. umcago nuune.
Some of the men and women who arc
doing the kindest deeds are those who
,mvo sorrow8 Qre fathomless-
Schoolmaster,
NEW SHORT STORIES
Eiilfllitn Ignorance of Indiana.
An Indian who has just returned
from England expresses surprise at
pner nmn In niiI;ulelplliaf and Uie
latter says It was amusing to hear him
(lescribe the !Snorance regarding his
rnce that exists abroad. "An English-
nmn," he said, "thinks that a red man
can run from 200 to 225 miles a day
without effort. He thinks an Apache
can overtake a deer. In fact, I read in
London a short story describing how
in a fifteen mile run an Apache caught
a deer, choked it to death and ate Its
heart raw. The English believe that
an Indian is so generous he would give
away the clothes on his back. I was
accosted by hosts of beggars in Lon-
don, and they couldn't understand why
I didn't hand out a half crown to each
or tnem. Tney also turns an Indian
will endure the severest pain without
flinching, out of pride. A young Eng
lish girl stuck a pin In my leg at a res
taurant one night and was surprised
when I said 'Ouch' and swore."
How Jim Beat the Landlord.
A part of Secretary Hay's boyhood
was passed in Indiana, and at a dinner
party recently given he said:
"In the Indiana town of Salem there
used to live a broken down old fellow
named James Hart. Hart had once
"HKItE IS THE DIME." SAID JIM.
been a prosperous real estate agent,
but drink had ruined him utterly.
"He entered one afternoon a certain
tavern, and he asked the landlord to
give him a drink of whisky on trust.
Jim, I'm sorry.' said the landlord,
....
but it's the rule here never to trust for
liquor.'
"Hart turned to a farmer who was
sitting by the stove.
" 'Friend,' he said, 'lend me a dime,
will you?
" 'Sure,' the fanner answered, and
he handed over the coin readily.
" 'Now let me have that whisky,'
Hart said to the proprietor.
"He got the drink and swallowed It.
Then he walked over to the farmer.
" 'Here Is the dime I owe you.' he
said. 'Degraded as I am, I always
make it a point to repay borrowed
money before I settle my liquor bills.' "
Took the Doctor' Advice.
There was once a learned Judge of
eighty who never took any exercise.
Not feeling very well, he consulted a
plryslcian.
"You have no business to live with-
out taking exercise," said the phy
slclan. "lou must give up your scden-
tary hablta and walk for an hour ev
er day."
"But It bores me so," pleaded the
Judge. "If I follow your advice I
shall walk myself Into a premature
grave."
"Better die correctly than live In
correcth"." snapped the physician. "I
can't understand how you can have the
presumption to be alive now."
"Yery well, then. If you insist upon
It I'll take exercise under protest,"
said the Judge and died a couple of
months later, still protesting. London
Academy.
Spanish Markamannhlp.
Clerk McDowell of the national
house of representatives has a son in
tho navy who was on the Indiana at
tho brittle of Santiatro. Ills station
WUB jn the crow's nest, high up on the
fighting mast.
"1 remember Hint Sunday when the
battle was supposed to be on," said
Major McDowell the other day. "The
boy's mother was pretty nervous. I
told her there was little cause for
worry.
" 'They don't aim their guns as high
as that. The Spaniards want to hit the
said she. refusing t. '.e coin
those Spaniards are such
aiiKht He Useful.
Senator Depew was chatting not
long ago with a congressman who dur
ing the civil war was twice drafted
and each time furnished a substitute.
The subject of airships was under dis
cussion, and the congressman asked:
"Senator, do you believe that bal
loons will ever be useful In war?"
"Well. I think some persons might
find them handy In case of a draft"
IVntlonnl and Explanatlonal.
"Is that congressman what you
would call a national figure?"
"Well," answered the village wag.
"when he's in Washington he's na
tional, hut when he gets back here
he's exDlanational." Exchange.
UnMclflfih.
"Sir," she cried when he kissed her.
"you forget yourself!"
"Oh, no," he said; "I got half of li
myself. The other half was your
share." Philadelphia Ledger.
LINCOLN'S POETRY.
Verie That Were Brought to Light
Only to Be Destroyed.
It is a sentimental habit of speech to
regret the "songs never sung." Yet
the dispassionate critic knows there Is
quite enough poetry unless It Is of the
very best. He has no tears for "mute,
inglorious Mlltons." But there Is no
true American who would not pay a
lrice for a certain batch of poems
probably long ugo destroyed
Gibson William Harris, who was a
law student in Lincoln & Heradon'a
office from 1845 to 1847, has written
for the Woman's Home Companion
some of Us recollections of Abraham
Lincoln. In putting the office in order
one morning he came upon two or
three quires of letter paper stitched to
gether Inside a desk. He turned the
leaves and found that they were cov
ered with stanzas In Mr. Lincoln's neat
running hand.
When Mr. Lincoln came In, the young
man took the manuscript out of the
desk again and held it up with the un
necessary and Impertinent Inquiry
whether the poems were his.
"Where did you find It?" asked Mr.
Lincoln.
He took the manuscript, rolled it up
and stuffed it into his pocket. It was
never seen again. The theory of tha
writer who tells the story Is that It
was taken home and put Into the fire.
HER OPALS.
A Ileanon Why They Were Not tho
Cnune of Her 3Ilafortanea.
"I think Sir Walter Scott Is largely
responsible for the superstition as to
opals," said the traveling salesman of
jewelry. "Be that as it may, It Is still
widespread. There Is a large Jewelry
house In one of the big cities which
will not handle opals. This means a
loss of thousands of dollars annually.
The founder of the house put the bar
on opals, and the thiid generation Is
keeping It up.
"I had an amusing experience when
I was behind the counter of a house
In the east. A lady came In and, hand
ing me a breastpin set with opals, nald:
" 'Mr. Jones, what will you give me
for these stones? They were an heir
loom In my husband's family, but since
the3" have come Into my possession my
husband and I have had nothing but
misfortune. We have lost our resi
dence by fire, there has been sickness
In the family all the time, and he Is ex
periencing business reverses. I must
get rid of the opals, so make me an of
fer.' " Madam.' I said, 'are you sure that
your troubles are due to them?'
" 'Oh, perfectly sure.'
" 'You cannot think of any other
cause?'
" 'No. Make me an offer, please.'
"'Madam.' I replied deferentially. 'I
regret to inform you that those stones
are imitations.' "Birmingham News,
How Celluloid Im Made.
Celluloid, the chemical compound
which bears so close a resemblance to
ivory. Is a mixture of collodion and
camphor, invented In 1S55 by Perkesine
of Birmingham, whose name for a time
it bore. The process of manufacture is
I II ''I f I .1 1
as follows: Cigarette paper Is soaked
in a mixture of nitric and sulphuric
acids until It becomes nitrocellulose.
After thorough washing, to free It from
the acids, this cellulose Is dried, mixed
with a certain quantity of camphor,
and coloring matter If required, and
then passed through a roller mill. It
Is next formed Into thin sheets by hy
draulic pressure and afterward bro
ken up by toothed rollers and soaked
for some hours in alcohol. A further
pressure and a hot rolling process fin
ish It, and results in Ivory-like sheets
!ialf an inch thick.
Truant Children' Trick.
One of the Philadelphia truant offi
cers was talking about malingering in
school children. "It Is a common
thing," he said, "and I guess It will
always be a common thing. For my
part, when I was a boy I pretended
two or three times every year that I
had a headache or toothache when I
hadn't and loafed about the house all
day Instead of going to school. I guess
you and every other man did the same
thing In your childhood too. Such sim
ple malingering as that I meet with of
ten, but now and then I meet with
cases of a complicated, serious kind.
Last spring a boy rubbed poison ivy
over his face, poisoning himself horri-
bly, so as to escape school for awhile.
Another boy the winter before hit his
foot with an ax for the same purpose.
but the ax came down harder than he
had intended and the boy just escaped
limping for life. A little girl was laid
up for a week through taking an over
dose of castor oil. She confessed that
she had wanted to make herself sick
for a day so as to escape the examina
tion that she knew she would fall In.
bnt she didn't know the amount of cas-
tor oil to take, and It was only by luck
that she didn't put herself to death.
Am to "The."
a voluntary contriuutor to maga
zlnes and newspapers had a desirable
article returned to him the other day
because he began the opening para
graph with the definite article, "the.
The editor wrote: "If we should allow
all of our authors to begin with 'the'
eyery article would so begin." There
is at least oue newspaper In New York
which will not accept a story of any
kind if it begins with "the." The edi
tor In charge, seeing the "the" at the
opening. Immediately throws the story
Into the wastebaskeL New York Press
A Qncer Coitom.
Between the mountains of India and
rersia is a powerful trine among
whom an extraordinary custom pre
vails. Women's rights have apparent
ly received full recognition, for the la
dles of the tribe can choose their own
husbands. All a single woman has to
do when she wishes to change her
state is to send a servant to pin a hand
kerchief to the hat of a man on whom
her fancy lights, and he is obliged to
marry her unless he can show that he
Is too poor to pupchase her at the price
her father requires.
A Leading: Question.
Parent Has that man asked you to
marry him, Julia? Daughter Not in
so many words, but it has amounted to
that Last night he asked me If my W
uau was as won orr ns tnev snv hf in.. I
CHOICE MISCELLANY
The Repabllc of Canada.
Twenty years ago 20 per cent of the
people of Canada would have wel
comed the annexation of the Dominion
to the United States. Ten years ago
only 10 per cent of the men who think
thought seriously of such a move,and
today no one ever mentions the matter
at all. Twenty years ago only a few
dreamers dreamed of the republic of
Canada. Ten years later 10 per cent of
the people were in favor of It, and to
day twenty out of every hundred Ca
nadians would welcome the news that
Canada had cast off the cable that
moors her to the motherland and had
blossomed out as a nation.
The relations between the people of
the United States and of Canada will
grow more friendly and pjeasanter as
the 3'ears go by because of the whole
sale swapping of citizens now going
on. Millions of Canadians have gone
to the United States, and In the next
decade millions of Americans will have
crossed Into Canada. We shall like
each other better as we see each other
more, for we North Americans are the
people all of us. Leslie's Monthly.
Fanning of the English Snilorman.
The skipper of the tramp steamer
Bumping Billy was engaging a new
crew. "What's your name?" he said
to the foremost applicant. "Giuseppe
Grinolieri," replied-the man. "Eyetal
ian?" "Yees, salr." "Yery good. Step
on one side. And yours?" he went on
to the next A. B. "Ivan Ikanoff."
"Russian?" "Bollsh, sare." "Right
Step alongside o' Yewseppy. Next
man?" "Wilhclm Zwlllanguzi." "Ger
man?" "Ja." "Yery good. Over you
go. Next?" "Manoel Ollveria. I
Portuguese seaman, senhor." "Step
over, then, Mannlwel. Next?" "John
Thompson, sir." "What?" "John
Thompson, sir." "What in th-thunder
what the what nationality?" scream
ed the horrified shipmaster. "English,
sir," replied the man. For a full half
minute the unhappy skipper stood
speechless, his countenance turning
from purple to orange and from orange
to graj and then, with a gurgling gasp
of "English, by gum!" he tottered, stag
gered and fell prone upon the ground.
Liverpool Daily Post.
Pnnninjt of the Panama Hat.
"There will be no Panama hats worth
mentioning worn this season," said M.
B. Cross, representative of a house
dealing in headgear.
"The summer of 1902 marked the
climax of what might be called the
Panama craze. Last season there was
an immense slump in this style of hat,
and this year hardly a store in the
country will have them in stock. The
cause of their decline in public favor
is easy to understand. As long as the
real and costly article was only In evi
dence the demand was seen, and the
higher the price the bigger the de
mand. This led to the importation of
cheap counterfeits, which so flooded
the market that the Panama became
common, or, rather, its Imitation. Any
way, as soon as this occurred men of
st vie and fashion discarded, the once
prized ornament of dress and reverted
I . . . A X I 1
to the simpler and always better look
ing sort of straws. In another decade
the Panama may once more become
the rage." Washington Post.
The Story Wa Worth the Price.
A decidedly seedy looking individual
who had called to see C. Wesley Thom
as, collector of the port, was admitted
to the latter's office after a long wait.
"I called In reference to Mr. Blank's
account," abruptly began the visitor.
"I guess you remember him. He paid
$4.50 into the conscience fund about
six months ago. I'm Mr. Blank's broth
er, and upon investigation I learn that
the goods he smuggled into this coun
try were only worth $4.40. So you see
he paid the government 10 cents too
much. Now, I thought that Inasmuch
as lie was so nouesc anu i am ms
brother you"
"That's enough." Interposed the
amused collector. "Here's your 10
cents. That yarn Is certainly worth
the price." Philadelphia Press.
Puhlic School In -lunula.
In Social Service are given some late
statistics regarding public schools in
Russia. There are S4.544 public schools.
in the empire, of which number 40.KJ1
are under the Jurisdiction of the min
ister of public education, 42.5SS under
the Jurisdiction of the holy synod and
the remainder under other depart
ments. Of the pupils 73,107 are adults.
3,t)l.Gt)4 boys and 1.293,002 girls. The
teachers number 172.000. The mainte
nance of these schools costs more than
$2r.OOO.X0. The average school tax
for cit schools Is $9.f0 and for village
schools $." per pupil.
The Coldeat City.
The coldest city in the world Is Ya-
kutsk.. eastern Siberia, in the empire of
the .czar and the Russians. It is the
great commercial emporium of east Si
beria and the capital of the province of
Yakutsk, which In most of its area of
1,5l,0ihi square miles is a bare desert,
the soil of which Is frozen to a great
depth. Yakutsk consists of about 400
houses of European structure standing
apart. The Intervening spaces are oc
cupied by winter yoorts. or huts of the
northern nomads, with earthen roofs.
doors covered wlth hairy hides and
windows of Ice.
Valuable Piece of Land.
A piece of land seven-eighths of an
Inch wide by forty feet long was. re
cently purchased In New York city, the
purchaser paying $30 for it, or at the
rate of ?1,029,G00 for a full city lot.
The broker through whom it was pur
chased got the value of the lot. The
regular commission In such cases Is I
per cent, but according to custom $r
is the smallest amount that will be ac
cepted by a broker.
Aanlntaace.
Which of these books or periodical-;
would you recommend?" asked the wo
man, with a pleasant smile.
Well, lady," answered the bov who
was attending to the depot news stand.
It depends. If you want genuine firs'
class information I'd sell you dia copv
of de Sportln' News, but If you Jis
wants somethln' to t'row nt de Pull
man porter I'd recommend dls substan
tlal bound book by Herbert Spencer."-
ashlngton Star.
?T