BANDON RECORDER. FACTS IN FEW LINES Sowing on buttons is not a wifely dutA In Japan. There are no buttons. The present population of (treat Britain and Ireland is about -12.7.0.0i0. London's new motor fire engine will be able to travel about thirty-live miles an hour at top speed. The eost of building electric street railways in Knglaud a mile, single line, ranges from Sl'MCT to $!.:! K). Tlie ll,0?2 carat diamond recently fmnd in the Premier mine. South Af rica, has been named the I'ullinan. By order of the Siamese government gambling, which is a government mo nopoly, has been abolished in the prov inces of that kingdom. Immigration Into Canada is incrcas lag rapidly. In 1S'. the number of settlers from all parts was P'.So. Last year the number was "1-10,000. Owing to the continued dry seasons In South Africa, which have caused the destruction of large drove of cat tle, the sinking of wells has Income a necessity. In a debate in the Herman reiehstag General on Kinen. minister of war. admitted that brutality in the army was "tin most repulsive canker" in that organization. The Theater 21 out mart re. Paris. has just lost its "jftine premier" in M. Iter thelot. who has died at the age of six ty-oue. He had been leading lover there for nearly forty years. A London motor periodical finds a moral in the Sergius assassination. It says that if the grand duke had been in a high speed auto the chances are the bomb would have missed him. There are now some Ui.Ooo modern plows in use in Greece against H.ooO antiquated oik's. Greece is said to of fer a very pood market at present for the sale of agricultural implements. Large oil wells have been discovered in the northern part of Koumania. and petroleum is now being exported to many parts of Kurope. where it takes the place of American and Bussian pe troleum. There are more suicides in Berlin ev ery year than in any other Kurope n city, and the llgurcs show steady in crease, growing from -VM in It to In lixq. This is about :rj for every Uh),ioii inhabitant-;. The keeper of the ou!y s;tio.-.:i at Her port. N. Y.. was a candidate tir jut.v of the pence. He plodg-nl himself if elected to close his saloon an 1 go out of the business. He -was dt'leuel by an overwhelming majority. Air getting into a vein while lie was undergoing an operation in St. Thom as' hospital. London, was the cause of the death of Frederick Thomas Ken nedy the other day. A verdict of "ac cidental death" was retunnnl. A lNWsuit "between two uf the oldest families in Spain hasln'on in thooo'irt for ""' years. An announ-e; !in has just been made by both parties that the case will be finally settled in the highest court in Spain in Bof. .In spite of the many jokuaaaaB, are made at the expense of the Georgia peach crop that state pr !u--id nu.ie poaches than any of the eastern "ates. It is said that there are o-r T'h-vmmi trees that bear -M'ste'ies hi ;he -state. Tiir .?10."n greenback t'lat th- gjv eriiineiu has Ikjcii looking fr so long Iws at iast leen located in lit- hands of a farmer iiviug in I lckiuson coun ty. Kan., who refuse to give up the obligation to the treasury department for redemption. Bulgaria is placing immense orders for war map-rial in Kurt. only re centiy the Bulgarian g overuiuent or dered sixty guns from the Kropp works at Ksen. Large order-: have also Iteen plal in Germany and Kng land for rilies and ammunition. To the sum of &.MHm.rtm kft by Mi. PeHbody between l-Clland Ps7.". 0:11 of which the Pea body building-; for IKor were erected in London, there has since ben add"! 1.7l.".". received for rent ami iiiter-i, making the total fuiNl. according to a rcjrt just issued. .?7."M.t.!.2."."i. As mre money comes in more buildings are erected. Yo hear often of egg-; of large size, but . H. Going of Hidden claims that lie has a blooded Plymouth Bock hen that has laid the smallest i-gg that has been rejMirted in any of the tales that are constantly going the rounds among tlK hen fanciers. The eg.: i perfect in shape, brown in color ami measures but two inches by one inch and a half. Now that Kansas has appropriated money to mark the old Santa IV trail, an enterprising citizen of New Mexico suggests that a hole! be built at Las Vegas to be called the Santa Fe Trail hotel. He would portray on the walls of its big dining room the eenery of the trail. In other rooms would lx hung paintings of okl time stagecoach es, cavalry squads, buffaloes. Indians and scouts. The sleeping rooms an to be named after the suites in the t'n lon. In the lust nine years oI.imi m .; . have been registered In Kngland. these :,r00 have been Used for !:: mercial purposes. The motor ; m users have formed an association, .-.nil it has issued a circular in whMi it i urged that commercial autom ' lisin if genenil would reduce the c.st of keeping up the roads and streets, less en the blocking of the streets by con gostod trallic ami make them less dan 'gonitis to pedestrians. To pny a debt of cents owed for ten yars Gorgo I.umi. an old sudor. wnlk.nl from Black Stiver Falls. Wis., to I ..aerosse. tlfly miles. Iiuun huttte ' up i 'oroiicr ('rouoii. of uhoui he rowd the money In IStlTi. and repaid him. Dunn said the quarter was the only bill ho owed In the wjrH and that his concictiee tmitlltl him 1111 III he hail 1 it. ;otii. Bass And of which variety is your wife, the clinging vine or the self as sertive? Cass A little of Iw.th. When she wants a new dross or a new hat she generally begins in the clinging vine role. If that doesn't bring the money, then she chang.-s to the self as sertive, and well, she invariably gets t!e dress or the hat. I rtf ill "I rend your article about Rocker feller and his objectionable coin last week, Polly,'" .said a tired little wo man with n careworn face and hands that were crippled anil deformed with rheumatism. "X read it over twice," she continued, "and then 1 Hd a sight or thinking;. My husband is a profound believer in foreign missions, while I cling to the idea that there is enough home mission work to do, not only in your own houses, but all around you, and you don't have to open your eyes very wide to see it. Well, the minister knows John's fail ing, and he comes to him for donations in season and out of season, and the family has to stiller for it, for John never refuses to contribute to foreign missions. I'm not complaining about 1113- husband, for he means well enough and he lelieves that every dollar given to foreign missions means a good, big dollar's worth to his credit in the new Jerusalem. Our own little folks go shabby, and there's many an article needed in the home that we could have if John didn't go to extremes when he is called on to contribute to foreign missions. He on ly receives a moderate salary, and yt-l he donates more than some of the wealthy members of the congregation whose bank account con tains many figures. We are not the only ones who have to deny themselves ami scheme ami economize to make lHth ends meet, and yet manage to give their mite to the foreign mission cause. The more I think about Mr. Rockerfeller's princely gift to be Used for foreign missions, the more I believe a mistake was made in not accepting the gift with thanks and using it as the donor requested, instead of calling upon the people in humble circum stances, who need every dollar, to con tribute and help swell the fund. An other thing, even if they do not like the way that Mr. Bookerfeller made his money, why should they put stum bling blocks in his way when he is at tempting to do good'.' It is a good thing that the Hew (.Madden does not stand at the portals of heaven to pas judgment on saints and sinners who knock for admission, for hosts of would-be angels would be denied ad mission ami doomed to eternal punish mciit. There are more wavs than one to look at this matter and weigh the different points, pro and con. 1 have been wondering whether Rev (J hidden and tit hers who believed as he does on this Rockerfeller question wouldn't have to answer, when the last trump sounds, for the heathen who might have been saved body and soul by the judicious use of the money that Rev. Gladden advocated refusing, Pestilence and famine go hand in hand in many of these districts and not only the soul, but the body is perishing. and the wherewithal that would bring them new life, new hope and happiness to thousands of people, old and young, is declined with thanks that the world may see Mr. Iloekerfeller's mistukt and the Church's disapproval of the rich man's method of getting it. Mean wtuie this little side play is going on with its great moral attached, there are thousands of spectators in these heathen lands guant and emaciate! and siilfering the pangs of hunger and disease people who are waiting pa tiently for dcat& to relieve them and still the great unrest and craving for the little that would mean new lifeand joy arc allowed to be a secondary con dition in sett Hug the matter Hew iiiautien and ins followers versus Rockefeller, ll is a great side-play to me, Polly, a spectacular production in which 1 see skeletons of men, women uud little children moving in a solid mass, with their 60113- arms and handr waving frantically as they beckon for assistance and plead for bread to save themselves and their little ones. The soul is as starved as their bodies. Turn on the searchlight for a minute, let it di.-elo.-e the scene in all of the heart rending phases, then ring down the curtain, for the play is s:nl; sail beyond expression. " "This money will doubtless be ac cepted and disposed of as the donor re quested, but had I been Mr. Rockefel ler 1 would have withdrawn the gift that was spurned and denounced by so many and made it a fund to keep women at home, who are left widows with little children to support, and who can see no way of providing for them, the only thing, in many casts for them to do being to put them in some charitable institution, where tinw are deprived of their mother's watch ful can and training. She with a houvy heart going out to work from day to day, striving to save a little of her scanty earnings that will enable her in time to bring her darlings home. Tiieie are thousands of such cases, and had I the money, 1 would not donate it to foreign missions but for a widows' fund at home. I would take the pas tors of the dilfcrcnt churches into my confidence and by their assistance, would have siillioicnt co-workers who would aid in a conscientious way, de serving women win were left alone with wee babies to care for, until the time was reached that the little ones could bean assistance to their mother, and she herself could then find some thing to do, when there were no longer wee babies to demand constant atten tion. Many a frail little woman, left a widow, carries the babies that need a mother's tender care, to a charitable institution and loaves them there with breaking heart while she goes out into the world to earn the meager wages , that will baielj keep herself clothed and fed. A delicatfe-looking little lady , who recently lost her husband, passes i my home every day. She had to place j her three children in an asylum, and can see ttient only once a week, tone has never had to earn her own living before; and that in itself was hard for her, still she would not complain if she could only have her children with her. .She is making a brave struggle and de nying herself the bare necessities of life that she may save a little each week so that in time she can bring her darlings home. J low slowly it counts up. I doubt very much whether she .villever live to enjoy that pleasure, for she has a terrible cough, contracted in the place where she is working, and now there are bright hectic spots glowing in her cheeks. She let one cold after another go on because she did not feel that she ought to take the price of the medicine out of the fund she is saving for her children. She lives only in the pleasant anticipation of bringing them home again, and her only joy is her weekly visits to them. .Now there is where my mission work would begin if 1 had the money. Home missions every time, Polly, and there are lots of just such cases in every town and city." What do 3011 think of thirt3'-four thousand bees in a London parlor? They tire not there 13 chance either, but it is their home and they go in and out in their own bus3' wa3. Miss Baden-Powell is the owner of the two hives of bees that grace the drawing room of her house at Prince's CJate, Hyde Park. In and out this bus3' little army of workers go through a small hole near one of the windows, through winter and summer. They produce about lL'O pounds of delicious 1101103 every year. She has had them for 3 ears, and her strange pets are never disturbed but continue to come and go buzzing contentedly in their handsome quarters. BRIEF REVIEW. li The Skin of My Teeth." Speaking of the somewhat popular lack of fainiliarit3 with the Rible, it deserves to be said, remarks the Bos ton Herald, that this deficiency is not confined to unlettered people. In a recent article on the political crisis in England Justin McCarth3' quotes the expression, "ly the skin of his teeth," and parenthetically apologizes for us ing what he calls a vulgar phrase. The expression is quite commonly rated as slang b veiy intelligent people. A (ynical commentator on this expres sion calls it an L'zisni, for the reason that Job originally made use of it in his waitings. Saith Job, in his Iiith chapter, HOth verse: ."I am escaped with the akin of 1113 teeth." A Few Palindromes. "It is a fascinating occupation," said a philologist, "to search the language for palindromes. A palindrome is word that reads the same backward as forward. Rotator, for Instance, is a palindrome. Several hundreds of these strange words are tabulated, and new ones are continually turning up In the Knglish tongue. If you can find one send it to the Palindrome societv of New York. "I can rattle off extempore a dozen or two palindromes. Thus: "Bab. refer, bib, Anna, tot. bob, peep. civic, toot, dad. madam, deed, pup, dei fied, sees, dewed, tat, did. shahs, eve, reviver, ewe. rotator, gog. pop. gig, gag. redder, level, noon, Otto, sexes." Philadelphia Bulletin. Rules for Writers. Frederick W. Seward said that when lie first started In at newspaper work Thuriow Weed said to him: "1 will give you two rules to begin with. First, neer write anything without some defi nite point and purpose; second, when you have written It, take your pen and go over it to see how many words and sentences you can strike out and how much you will thereby improve the ar ticle." Unci-: wk stood before an Kg3ptian mummy that in life had walked the streets of Thebes long before the time of Moses and we thought, "J low licet ingare all the ambitions and vanities of this life," This silent form hoped, strove ami lamented over defeats, but who recalls them now, and where is a record of their sincereit3 Had not the vandal descratcd the grave none now 011 earth would know that this embalmed chy had ever lived, hoped and longed as we do now. What kvku happens don't allow anything to sour vour nature. Cod needs cheerful, hopeful people to cany his heavy tasks here and he will not as sign responsibilities the second time to aiiN one who allow antagonisms to em bitter. Washington and Lincoln died with fresh hopeful hearts and no men were ever moie bitterly opposed. v. : , !: ;.! Hett i do v:;; . ; to re.! 1 the prc I'n-;.c!i I'tpiotiic. . iii c.c 1. .: 1 . !.":( J.e v, ;4s .- ' . union of pic ti.ird the crowd which f 11 lowed ll t wo deputies eaug!it sight of a fine- portrait of Napoleon HI. hanging on a wall. They promptlv took it down and were about to smash it to pieces when Gambella intervened. Turning the portrait to the wall, he said: "My friends, we have put up with the origi nal for twenty years. Let us be con tent today to turn his face to the wall. It is all he deserves." Kvi:.VTiii:great make mistakes. Na poleon said his enemies lost battles be cause U103 did not know the value of live minutes; yet Xupolcon lingered at Ligny after his defeat of Blucher long enough to have fallen upon Wellington and crushed him before the rain or Blucher had time to arrive. There cannot be a greater rudeness than to interrupt auother In the current of his discourse. Locke. SHRINES IN MOROCCO. Why Some People Look Upon Theiu With Suspicion. A traveler says that Christians in Mo rocco look with suspicion on the shrines of Mohammedan saints in that country. He tells the following story; "Once upon a time a boy was traveling through the country, and us night came on he fotiud himself near a white washed tomb. Knocking at the door of the shrine, he asked for a meal and a bed. When the next day dawned he was about to continue his Journey, but the keeper of the shrine besotrght him to remain In order to help him ke-p the shrine and collect the offcng of the faithful. The youth said that he must first cotisult his parent1;, ami the elder man bade him t:fke his as and seek advice of his parents nud return. The boy took the ass and rode away, but he had not accomplished halt the Journey before the ass fell sick and died. Then the boy knew not what to do nor where to turn. But when ho .had considered the circumstances 0? Iiis caseji brilliant idea Hashed Into his mind. "Having dug a pit and cast the ass therein, he piled great stones over It. whitening them with lime, and set a white Hag above, saying to all who passed by, 'This Is the tomb of St. So und so.' Then worshipers came from every side, alius were poured in ami offerings showered 'upon him. The keeper of the former shrine lost his customers and came to visit the tier, saint He when the crowd had gone approached the young shrine keeper. I ask thee by Allah,' said the old man. 'who is this saint of thine and what manner of thing is buried here?' " l will not deceive thee, but will tell thee the truth.' returnel the youth. My saint who Is buried here is none other than thy beast, even the carcass of th'ne own ass. And now, pray, who Is thy saint and who In truth Is buried in the shrine thou keepest?' 4I will not deceive lhee. but will tell thee the truth.' re died the old man. My saint Is the father of thy saint.' " POINTED PARAGRAPHS. We all make too much of our diffi culties. Few mysteries are as inexplicable as the one of how some people live. When a man brags about himself It is a sign other people don't brag about him. A mistake many men make is being a cat and imagining themselves popu lar with the mice. A man discovers that his wife is get ting old looking ten years before he makes the discovery about himself. If some people would work hard and rarn $10,000 some one would walk up and. taking it away from them, tell them they hud no business with that much money. The trouble is that, when a man is toV, he If.oks ten years younger than lie K even that leave- him ten or twen ty years older than he wants tj bo Atchison Globe. Kltrlit'iiM III the Tropic. The kitchens of tropical countries, such .is are to be found In our Spanish American land-, are like rolls fram-vho thickness of the stone walls -often two or three feet deep and the projecting, omnipresent veranda, which gives a grateful shade and which looks out on a court. The coll resemblance is en hancod by the iron bars at the windows and the heavy double doors. whi h look as if they could resist a siege. The walls are whitewashed, and the tloors are of tiles. The dining room is often separated from this room by a long staircase. Outside the kitchen in the court will stand table and closets to supplement the scant furniture of the small, hot apartment with a furnace like fire. .1 a tlur tin Old I'en nn Cooil tin ."Yew. "My pen is spoiled, and I have no other." said the bo ikkeeper. The machinest happened to be in the oifice, and he took the pen and held it ov r the gas Jet for thirty seconds. "You can make an old pen as good as new." he said, "by holding it over a Maine like this for half a minute and afterward dipping it in cold water." He dipped the hot pen in cold water as he spoke, and It sizzled slightly. "Now try it." he said. The bookkeeper tried the pen and ex claimed joyously. "By George, it's as good as new again." Two KxprejiHl vo ijitiot iitlon.t. Some sentences are like autographs; you feel that they must have been writ ten by these people; no one else could hae written thetn. Such Is this, by Talleyrand: "To suc ceed in the world It is much more nec essary to possess the penetration to dis cover who Is a fool than to discover who Is a clever man." And Napoleon's character is drawn full length In this sententious remark of his: "I command or I am silent." I. ove of Gain. To cure us of our immoderate love of gain we should seriously consider how many goods there are that money will not purchase, and these the best, and how many evils there are that money J will not remedy, and these the worst. Colton. Andrew .loll iikoii'n WriliiiRT. The letters of President Taylor are rare, but perhaps those of Andrew Johnson are the rarest, as he did but little of his own writing. His sou conducted most of his correspondence and signed his father's name to the letters. It is related that one reason why President Johnson wrote so little was owing to an accident which hap pened to him when he was working at his trade as tailor. One day a tailor's heavy Iron goose fell on his arm, so Injuring that member that he found it extremely difficult to indulge in pen manship thereafter. Andrew Johnson was the poorest writer among the presidents as well as the rarest. His handwriting was very much of 11 scrawl and can scarcely be deciphered bv the average reader. Hp Had. Woman of the House (handing him a plate of cold scraps) You look like a man wko I1113 seen better days. Fon dry Grotts Yes'in, thankee. 1 have. There was a time, ma'am, w'on I would have blushed to hand such a layout as this to a dog. Chicago Tribune. A DISEASE. Viu'ni'inih McasiircK For Its Removal Shoo lit He Taken. At middle age certain organs lose functional activity and shrink and waste away, demanding less blood and ne: ve energy. This decreased need for nutrition, If. not heeded, will result In taking into the body more food than can be oxidized and used either to build up ti.-siie or for the generation of licit and energy. The result is kid neys, Iher and other excretory organs are overworked in the effort to remove the body wastes and become diseased, rays a writer in the Housekeeper. Then nature stores up this foul material in the form of fat in all the lymph spaces, between the fibers of the muscles aud in every other odd corner in the body where it can be stowed away. In time this lifeless, useless structure of fat crowds out muscle, gland and other normal tissues and takes their place. This is what is known as fatty degen eration and always shortens life, eud ing often in sudden death from heart failure, apoplexy, diabetes or kidney disorders. The prevention of obesity means reg ulation of diet, especially In middle life and when changing from an active out of door occupation to a sedentary In door life. Often the amount of food should be cut down from one-fourth to one-half, especially avoiding fats and sweets, also soft foods, which tend to gormandizing from deficient mastica tion and too hastj eating. No wlue, beer or alcoholic drink or tea or coffee should be used. At meals even the use of water should be restricted. Exer cise should be taken in the open air and deep breathing practiced to In crease the intake of oxygen and burn up and oxidize bodily toxic matter. For those women who are overstout, yet retain a fair amount of physical vigor, the day should begin with a cold bath, plunge, spray, cold towel rub or sponge bath, after which should be tak en active exercise In the form of work, either in the open air or in a well ven tilated room, horseback riding, bicy cling or a brisk walk for an hour or more. Exorcise in a well ventilated gymnasium may be substituted for the out of door, but Is not so effective and invigorating. POINTED PARAGRAPHS. A girl is never going to go very far wrong who is a good chum of her fa ther and brothers. There Is a family in every neighbor hood which furnishes amusement for the 1 est and doesn't know it. Lvcry one has had more happy days in his life than wretched ones, but how he lets the wretched ones stand out! There are so many operations of late that a man can become distinguished by arriving in heaven all in one piece. On - great trouble in life Is that the paths for going wrotig are planted so pre! lily with fiowers at the beginning. ' c asi ui. illy a disagreeable person will lnasl that at least he Is sincere, but that Is no excuse for being dis agreeable. Three things you never discover till there is death in the house: The good ness of the neighbors, the way time drags and iiow""1ou7t the clock ticks. Atchison Globe. I-Voj.Ii Fruit. "Gold In the morning, silver at noon and lead at night" is always used with reference to fruit Most people think it means that the explanation of the prov erb is that digestion is strongest In the nil 'ruing ami weakens as tin? day goes on. But you will note that the proverb refers to fruit alone. If it has to do with the digestive power only it should be applied to all foods. The real expla nation is very different. It is that fruit freshly gathered is fitted for eating and lessons in value as the hours pass. That Is true not of fruit only, but of all veg etables. That which comes direct from the garden to the table Is the most pal atable and in every way best fitted for eou-oimptioii. Deepest Until Kver Made. The do-post haul of a net ever made in the world was achieved by Amer icans off the Tonga Islands, In the south Pacific. The trawl struck bottom J.".! imi feet below the surface that Is considerably more than four miles down but even at that depth animal life was found. Those strange beings lived in wat'-r whose temperature was constantly just above the freezing point ami under a pressure of 0.000 pounds to the square inch. To sink that net and bring it back again took a whole day of steady labor.- St. Nicholas. i'roeloy a I.lfelontc Fnrmer, "I would have been a farmer had any science of farming been known to those among whom my early boyhood was passed," Horace Greeley wrote In lMcx "Farming as understood and practiced by those among whom I grew up was a work for oxen, and for me the life of an ox had no charms." And in temperament Horace Greeley was a farmer all his life. He was born on a poor little farm In New Hampshire, and his childhood ex periences of the vocation were those of terribly hard work and a meager living as its reward. It is no wonder that printing seemed more promising to him.- Oliver Bronson Capon In Coun trv Life In America. II 11 r i-lca nr. Tin' terrors of the deep wen' perhaps neer more thrill'mgly set forth than in the description by a young lady who last year made her first trip abroad. She kept a diary, very much, says the New York Herald. Mice that of Marl Twain, when for seven days he record ed the fact that he "got up. washed and went to breakfast." There was tine important exception. When she crossed the channel the ex perience . a- so ::yr.g that she felt impelled to il"s-r;be it. "1 firmly resolved to stay on deck," she wrote, although the tempest in creased to such a frightful hurricane that it was only with the greatest diffi culty that I could hold up my parasol." A Had Recollection. First Barber- Whew! That barn stormer 11. ust be a bad actor! Second Hit to-Why? First Barber When I asked him if he wanted an egg sham poo he jumped right out of the chair and made for the door! Detroit Free Press. OBESITY IMPORTANCE OF CARBON. Without It or Itx Eqnlvulent We. Conld Hnve Sit Arc Llfjlit. The electric arc light as now so com monly used Is produced by the passage of a powerful electric current between the slightly separated ends of a pair of carbon rods, or carbons, about twelve inches long and from three-eighths to one-half inch in diameter, placed ver tically end to end in the lamp. The lamp mechanism is so constructed that when 110 current is passing the upper carbon, which is always made the posi tive one, rests upon the lower by the action of gravity, but as soon as the electric current is established the car bons are automatically separated about an eighth of an Inch, thus forming a gap of high resistance In the electric circuit, across which the current is forced, resulting In the production of Intense heat. The ends of the carbons are quickly heated to brilliant incan descence, and by the burning action of the air are maintained in the form of blunt points. As the carbons burn away, the lamp mechanism feeds the upper one downward just fast enough to maintain the proper separation. The carbons are not heated equally, the upper or positive one being much the hotter. A small cup shaped cavity or "crater," ordinarily less than an eighth of an inch in diameter, Is formed in its end. the glowing concave surface of which emits the greater part of the to tal light. In lights of the usual size, something like half a horsepower of en ergy is concentrated in this little cra ter, and its temperature Is limited only by the vaporization of the carbon. Car bon being the most refractory sub stance knowiu the temperature of the crater Is the highest yet produced arti ficially and ranks next to that of the sun. It Is fortunate that nature has provided us with such a substance as carbon, combining, as it does, the high est resistance to heat with the neces sary electrical conductivity. Without carbon or an equivalent and none is known we could have no arc light. Charles F. Brush in Atlantic. CURIOUS OATHS. Odd Way of SwenrliiK to the Troth of Oiie'M Statement. When a Chinaman swears to tell the truth he kneels down, and a china saucer is given to him. The following oath is then administered: "You shall tell the truth and the whole truth. The saucer Is cracked, ami if you do not teil the truth 3our soul will be cracked like the saucer," when he breaks the saucer. Other symbolic variations of the Chinese oath are the extinguishing of a caudle or cutting off of a cock's head, the light of the caudle represent ing the witness' soul and the fate of the cock symbolizing the fate of a perjurer. In certain parts of India tigers' and lizards' skins take the place of the Bible of Christian countries, aud the penalty of breaking the oath is that in one case the witness will become tic prey of a tiger aud in the other u:at his body will be covered with scales like a lizard. In Norwegian courts of law the lire .tide to the oath proper is a long homily on the sanctity of the oath and the terrible consequences of not keep ing It. When the witness is duly crushed by the sense of his fearful re sponsibility the oath is administered while he holds aloft his thumb aud fore and middle fingers as an emblem of the trinity. In an Italian court the witness, with his right hand resting on an open Bible, declares, "I will swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but tin truth." The Mohammedan takes the oath with his forehead reverently resting on the open Koran. He takes his "Bible" in his hand and. stoonin low. as if in the presence of a higher power, slowly bows his head until it touches the book which to him is in spired. In certain parts of Spain the witness when taking an oath crosses the thumb of one hand over the forefinger of the other and, kissing this symbolic, if primitive, cross, says, "By this cross I swear to tell the truth." WILLS OF LUNATICS. The Queer HeuueMt That Are Unde hy Innniic Person. One of the manias which are evi denced by the Insane Is a desire to make a will. Of course these docu ments are waste paper as far as their legality is concerned, but the attend ants and doctors treat these documents with the greatest respect in order to humor the demented creatures. Some of these wills would be amus ing if it were not for the sad condition of mind of which they are the outcome. One man confined in an asylum left all his money to the mikado of Japan on condition that this dignitary should vis it the grave of the testator once each year ami plant chrysanthemums upon it The remainder of the estate was to be handed over to an imaginary charity called the Brotherly Love ami Bounty society. Another lunatic in a Parisian asylum left a will devising the whole of his es tate to the possessors of Boinaii n-;es residing In and near Paris. The rea son for this was that he had rather a handsome no-o of this shape and was constantly admiring it A similar be quest was that of a patient who left his property to an attendant because he possessed one of the ugliest nasal or gans the testator had ever seen. One man. who was atllicted with the mania that he was sane, but confined in the asylum unjustly, devised a will leaving his money to the commission ers of lunacy to enable them to engage a large staff of men for the purpose of visiting asylums and ascertaining if any were confined in them without rea son. New York Times. Fooled Him. "Why am I like a pin:" asked Mr. Jones triumphantly of his wife. He expected she was going to say. "Be cause you are so sharp." and he was simply paralyzed when she replied: "Because if you should get lost It wouldn't be worth while to spend time looking for you." Stnttcred Out the Chlld'n Name. Flannery It seems his full name is Dlnnis K. K. K. Casey. What's all thlui K's fur? Fiiinegan Nothin. Twas the fault of his godfather stut terln whin he tried to say "Dinnls Ca sey." Philadelphia Ledger. ORIGIN OF PIKE'S PEAK. Indian Legend of the Formation ol Tliis Fnmou.1 Mountain. The quaint Indian legend of the for mation of Pike's peak Is as follows; "At the beginning of all things the lesser spirits possessed the earth and dwelt near the banks of the great river. They had created a race of men to be their servants, but these men were far superior to the present In habitants of the earth and made end less troublo for their creators. There fore the lesser spirits resolved to de stroy mankind and the earth Itself, so they caused the great river to rise un til It burst its banks and overwhelmed everything. They themselves took each a largo portion of the best of the earth that they might create a new world and a quantity of maize, which had been their particular food, and return ed to heaven. Arriving at the gate of heaven, which is at the end of the plains, where the sky and mountains meet, they were told that they could not bring such burdens of earth Into heaven. Accordingly they dropped them all then and there. These falling masses made a great heap on the top of the world which extended far above the waters, aud this is the origin of Pike's peak, which is thus shown to be directly under the gate of heaven, tit was formerly twice as high as now, but lost its summit, as 13 told in an other legeutl.) "The rock masses upon it and all about show that they have been dropped from the sky. The variety ami extent of the mineral wealth in the region prove that the earth's choic est materials are deposited there. And still as the constellations move across the heaver and vanish above the mountain summits we may see the spirits rise from the great river and pass to the gate of heaven. The fall ing stars are their falling burdens or the dropping grains of maize." CULTIVATE TACT. If Von Do Xnt Tonne It, Strive to A oil ti I re It. I want it recognized that tact should be taught continuously, seriously, thor oughly; that it should be placed In the forefront of education ami take Its natural first place side by side with the catechism, writes Frank Dauby in Black and White. A friend of mine recently vstiffering under a great bereavement was In the receipt of Innumerable letters and tele grams from friends, acquaintances and the general public. Out of the 1,140 of such communications two only hit the right note. Among pages of sentiment al and religious commonplace two mes sages alone touched the heart. "He was a man I loved. I am with you in your grief," was one. The other ran: "You have lost your best pal. He was mine loo. God help us both." Both of them epitomized the senders men with great hearts. But the ac quisition of tact by some of the other sympathizers would have supplied its place. Again, paying an afternoon visit re cently, my hostess, wanting a book to which our conversation had referred, rang the bell. Within two minutes the servant appeared with tea, and the fol lowing colloquy occurred: "Who told you to bring tea?" "Please, ma'am. 1 thought that was what you rang for." "Well, please don't think. I hired you to answer the bell. It wasn't the.stg nal for a guessing competition. When I want you to do that I'll supply the kitchen with a copy of a newspaper." I was not surprised to hear this lady e!Ki!.."! he: M-naiit.- fro juently. In Darkest London. In his book. ". hi.d Slaves of Great Britain." Kohert II. Sherard writes: 'There are thousands of our poor chil dren in London starving not 011 ac count of the poverty of the parents, tan by reason of the ignorance and sloth of the mothers. They know noth ing of cookery; they wish to know nothing. They do not care for the trouble. In every London shim you will find a fried fish shop or a cooked meal shop or a grocer who sells cheese ami pickies and potted things.. It Is much easier and 'less worrit lug-like to send the children out with coppers for a penn'orth of fish and chips or a bit of cheese ami pickles than to cook any thing for them." Vocation and Avocation. "Avocation" is one of those unfor tunate words that are constantly lelng used in a wrong sense. Strictly speak ing, it refers to something that calls a man away from the ordinary occupa tion of his daily life. If you earn your living by drafting conveyances aud in terpreting legal subtleties and also are often seen in leisure hours with a cam era in your hand and have a dark room at home, then the law is your vocation and photography your avocation. Lon don Telegraph. (oimI Knoiurh. "Is your name Goodeiiough?" asked a bill collector of a man on whom ho was calling. "It is." answered the man, with a look of surprise. "Then I have a bill against you." And he handed him a slip of paper. "That is not my name." said the man. "But you said your name was Good enough." "So it Is." said the man as he prepar ed to close the door. "It's good enough for me." A Desperate Remedy. Agent-1 came to deliver your book on "How to Play the Piano." Ladv But I didn't order any such look. Agent (consulting his notebook) Have you a next door neighbor named Jones? Lady 1 es. Is it for her? Agent- No; she ordered it for you. Cleveland Both Sides of n Quextlon. "There are manv th!ny von o-mv ' ' Villi 1 1 with mouev." km id Mm ,.. ,..1 - . iiuw mi;i;is philosophy. "ies." answered Dustin Stax. "but there are a whole lot more things van can't do without It." Washington Star After the Honeymoon. He We must try to keep up appear ances. I suppose you don't want our friends to know that our marriage has been a failure? She Oh. no. I wouldn't care to have them see that their antici pations have been realized. New York Press.