BAN DON RK( OHDKI
FACTS IN FEW LINES
Tokyo Is 100 yuan older tlmn St.
Petersburg.
Americans drank l,-1M.lfll.:52r. gnl
Ions of Im'w last year.
Jnjan has very fw miHiouairos and
practically ho uniitimlllitHixiro.
London's new county hall, on the
banks of Tliames. will cover Jive
and six-tenths acnes.
Tho Ixmdon Tiroes say that the
Russian govHruinent Is orderiug noth
ing in England or America that can be
obtained elsewhere.
Hie cake used at a Portland (Mo.)
weiKihig was ltakMl for a relative of
the ltrhlegrtHmi on the ovaskn of his
marriage forty years ago.
A concrete chimney Hint has been
coiunlobvl recently for a Taeoma
?mc!ter is 307 feet in height and is sait
to be the highest In tlie world of it
kind.
The most costly picture frame iu the
world Is sait! to le that which Indoles
the "Virgin and Child" to the Milan
cathedral. It is matte of hammered
gold :.! d is worth $12.V.
Keeent traveler in 'I ;'et have no
tieed that, while effects vf the rxrchtd
air are severely felt at ah:t:des of be
tween 14,tH ami 1.mi icvU on going
yet bight r all diagtv able sensations
pass o!T.
Excitement has ieen created at
Mombasa, east Africa, by the discov
ery of tbe west Afrit an ruliber tri'
(Funtumia etastiest In tlie forests of
tlie protectorate. Lou-bui syndicates
are competing for large tracts of for
est hi ml.
The large; bequest ever made by a
negro to Tnsfcegee institute at Tusfco-
gee, Ala., was recorded recently when
tlie will of Mary K. Shaw of Philadel
phia was probated. It bequeathed
s:..n00 to the institution of which
Hooker T. Washington is president-
At a meetiugoftht' Amalgamated
Society of Tailorsln i London a member
fitatetl tliat sue knew of a woman who
had made a cloth sklt - plaited,
tabbed, trimmed with bands and but
tonsfor iiineiMace. the said skirt le
Ing ticketeil in the sh ip wind ;w. "The
Best Euglish Tailor Made."
One of the siioe dealers in Lmteville.
Ky.. is buildiutr up a nice latlc trade
in wooden shoes. He has three lots
sent to him from Holland er. It year
- ami sells thein to ;b :-r:u.:.:t umiea
ors who live near Lou5s :ik n . j find
thorn of great value for we:r when
working in tlwir garden.
The British museom. I.mdi.;, b.-ts v
elded t eolkvt and k-'p gramophone
record, of the voices of tbe mt emi
nent singers and publicists. They w.ll
be for the use of posterity. Tie tl:as
tur records" will lo of nickel and prac
tically Indestructible. From the 4ay
Ing record can be stauiid at will.
Skyseraiier are forbidden in Berlin,
hut tlie architect. Professor Siesmnad
Muller. after his recent trip io Amer
ica delivered a lecture in Berlin in
which lie spoke strongly in their favor,
declaring tliat they offered great lusi
" ness advantages and were safer in
ease of ilre than any other buildings.
Swordsmanship in one or other of Its
forms is making niarkd progress iu
England. New saile- darmes are be
ing oHni and fresh elu'w fiwiued
your by year in Ioadon and the prov
inces, ami international lantehes have
lioen arranged In wbMs ilje English
toaaus have at least h ruc themselves ,
.we. I
The Manchester Fnio'j wonders when
in the laist half century that city has
had the nuiuWr of j--..p!e witliin its
ifiuits that attended : .itfr Cultural
fair In The drawing a-I of t!i
fair w.i; Iauiel Wch-tcr. nnd over
q0.4KNi ptp were on l.ai.d t- we!c;me
the zr it vtat-iuan when li- ;:nfe to
rnake hS addre.!.
The swre of Tewksbur.v 4V ii: ;. moud
at Kauioij.li Yt.. i adn:-. with
riiilior unusual reile In the sign hue.
The sisn a .sent from Bos ion tc
i:ando!ih M?veutj-six years ago by
Amos Tewksbury and was onee the
common tLinir aiaoi:c a la- of trad
ors loi sinc. jased away. Tbe sljrn
roads. "'ash and P.arter St or.-."
TIk first apie trees tbnt were ?r:aft
ed In Hover. X. II. . were in orchards
on Dover neck. The work w done
in 1741 by Major Samuel Hul who
was then a booiteaeJher. The major
praduatetl fnnu Harvard college iu
1740 and went there t teach iu the
fall of that yesr. Tlie following win
tor he cut sc;ns from choi" frr.lt
trees In P.ton :iih! In the spring CTaft
ed them Into tree.
K. II. PayiK. a well to no resicut vi
Williazn;ort. Pa., was on a visit to
New York witli hlf: duughter Florence,
wlio is not yet out .f her teens. A
fellow guevt at tbe Waldorf -Astoria
gave MK-; Payn a hint as to th st ck
market. Sl. acunl promptly. Invested
her own frtnne on the information
ami returned !wme richer by $Sn.fKXl.
nil made Ius.de of a week
i.yliig n :ri..-Tel ami brk :i amid the
bushes an I brambles at the e.sge of
tlie farm of .foes E. Uuodwiu In FHot.
Mc. Is nv slate slab which lears this
inscription: "Here lye ye lb-mains
of Simon Frost Fsq'r late fir-t ju-ti. -of
ye fouri of Common Please and Ib-g
Ister of Probate for ye County of York,
lie depart mI this life ye .'id diy of
Feb'ry. 17' age 00."
Often the Japanese imitator produce
laughable labels tliat are worthy of
noting as specimens of "English as
Fhe is .Tapancsed." Take, for Instance,
a label on a bottle of wine produced
at a native hotel In southern Japan
The label on the bottle he brought
read. "Foirron Connty Wines Utile
Seal St .Tulifti Iwutlfd by IIrdeaux."
A label pisx-ed on some a!! p- I Eng
lish Incr declared: The cflleaey 0f this
Beer Is to give the health and special
ly the strength for stomach. The flavor
Is so sweet and simple that nt injure
for much drink."
i.eonomy.
The following letter was received
from his sister by .1 New Yorker who
was away from home on a visit:
I am sradiKs ly racJi a parol contain
ing the koU, coat you wsuitr-4 As the
brass baUoss ar hravy I hav cut item
ofT to save imw;(co. Yeur lo ins sister.
j.
P. S. You w!H fr tbe buttons to tbe
right hand iwckct f Ue coat.
ARK
A man who had pushed the ninety-
third mile-stone of his life and looked
as youiifr, hale and hearty as many
men of sixty, and even les, in .speak
ing of his young and sprightly aj-
pesiranee, said: "There is no need br
any one to become old and decrepid,
ami announce to the world by their
appearance that they are ready to give
up and tep out of t ho world to make
room for son iclody else as soon :is their
summon come, and in the meantime
they goon going down the hill of life
and tand idly, miserably waiting at
the brink of the grave to respond.
1 iiere is no use iu this- giving up sim
ply because a younger generation ex-
pi eNyou to vacate and make room for
them. It all lays with the person
tliemelves. As long :m they keep the
heart young they will be young ami
take an active interest in the things
about them. There is no need to wan
dcr in the avenues of the past, living
among bygone memories that is just
id nit a.- satisfactory as wandering
among the tombstones of an old ceme
tery that is hoary with lichens and
ioim, where tney must needs scrape
away the mo-s to read that some good
man had passed out into the great un
known before you had made your
initial Ikiw into this world of trials and
tribulation-, as it appears to you a- you
jH-cr through your blue and musty
gla.-Ms. If you want to wring every
drop of brightness out of your life that
i- a good way to do it. You decide
suddenly that you have reached the
Amwniii stage of your existanee and
oiu heart may at tir-t become mel
low ami beautiful, as you look upon
the different phases of your existence
failing away and taking on the beauti
ful tint-of forgivene-s, repentance and
regret for things undone, that you
would have accomplished had you
. .1.
vii vour wav clearer; mere are me n-
'
on-s too, that vtu would banish for
ever from your life. The little world
around vou has doubtles- forgotten
ilu in lomr, long ago, but with you they
are ever pi e-ent. I here are some lH'au-
tiful, happy thoughts weaving them-
m Ivc- into the gray shaddows, to light
en them like a ray of sunshine on a
cloudy day. Your life now, with it
fitctsaml fancies, is typical of the beau
tifully tinted Autumn leaves, but watch
out for the exquisite coloring that
Mfieiis the decay of the leaves of the
:: they are turning sear and ye
low a they prepare to Jioat -ilently to
the arms of old mother earth, all their
Iteautv gone and trodden under foot.
f you muM advance into the Autumn
o,
life, don't get any farther than the
tag- when they are lighting up the
'rcst with the glory of 1 heir existence,
fhe Autumn of life can W beautiful.
out it lie- with you alone. You must
keep your heart young and take an in-
l crest in the affairs of tlie day, and not
allow you r-elvea to become'old fos.-il
that i-all that i- iieces-arv. Keep in
'uch with tiie merry, joyou- side o
nature, and don't become a sere fade
baf ihnt i- ready to drop off at the
ftr-t touch of frost or unfriendly greet
ing of the wind
I am ninetv-three ami con-ider niv-
s.e!f ju-t in the prime of life. Th
men v old world look- bright and good
U 1 He, and I believe I shall live to be
at lea-t one hundred and twenty year
old, and if it ir- a pos-ible thing, I
don't intend to allow mv-elf to become
a decrepid old fellow, helple and com
plaining, and a burden to tho-e around
me. I low am I going to accomplish
tin-, you a.-k. I am not going io
worry and cro-s bridges before I get to
them: I am not going to sit down iu
the chimney corner and -iglt dolefully
over the pa-t that ha- fled with my
youthful ideal- and bright ncs- of other
day- trooping after it ; I am not going
to worry because I have not been able
to lay up the wealth that 1 pictured
would be mine. After all, what is
therein it? I did no) bring anything
into tlii- world, ami ecii if I had it
when I go out 1 can take nothing with
me. What is llieodds? I haveenough
to live comfortably, ami what more can
I n-k. I haven't the botheraud worry
of riches, wondering how I am going
to di-poe of it. If it hud been or
dained that I should he a two or three
times over millionaire, then a pretty
big jk-rcentage of the world would look
sit me in horror and claim that I was
pos-e.-sod of tainted money, and ask
that they be spared f mm coming in
contact with -o great and crying an
evil. It wa- never intended that I
should die in my youth, if it had I
would have passed over the river Styx
long ago. Feel that depression in the
side of my head?" he asked,'as Hie
lnrted his iron-gray loeks amlipointed
ton depre ion iu the side of his head.
"A iniuna hall struck 1110 there during
the Civil War. and all afternoon ami
night I lay there on Imard ;the ship
without aid, because they thought my
hours were uumltcrcd and tliey had
uch rafts of moaning, helpless and
terribly wounded soldiers writhing on
the decks in their misery as they
waited jmtieiitly for assistance. The
physician- were working like Trojans,
bul in -pileof their ellbrts, many a poor
fellow pa ed away before the assist
ance could be rendered that, would
have saved their lives. Our soldiers
had been mowed down like grain be
fore the 1 caper and they lay piled upon
meh other on the deck. Three times
did they stop and turn me over and
size up my injuries, only to say, 1 there
i- no hope for him, poor fellow.' 1 dis-!
appointed them all, for the next morn
ing when 1 wa- supposed to be dead,
my Captain passed. We had been old
friends in our boyhood days. He gave
a cry wlie! he saw me laying there,
and ii wasn't, many minutes until I
was in the hands of a surgeon and my
wounds dressed. liven then they said
that I could not gel well but I felt
from the very lirst that my life was not
ended, that I had a mission, to per
form. The experience of Unit awful
night left 1113' hair, which was jet black
before the battle, as snow-white as you
see it to-day. There wasn't a black
hair left in my head. It wasn't fright
that did it but just pain. My, but
what agony we endured, the hopelessly
wounded that were left without even a
drop of water to cool their parched
lips. Some of the brave soldier laddic
in their delirium called for their moth
ers, sisters and sweethearts; some of
them prattled away like they were
children again, while others shrieked
in their agony, and hosts of others lay
with white, set faces ami starring eyes
turned toward the stars that shone
calmly, brightly down upon the scene
of carnage that covered the decks. If
ever my heart came near becoming a
-ere gray leaf, it was that night when
all the courage and hope seemed to be
ebbing away with my life blo id. The
light had not all been taken out of me,
by any means, and while I thought of
my loved ones at home, still the main
thought was that I wished they would
do something quickly and give nua
chance to once more shoulder my gun.
I wanted to make some of the enemy
bite the dust to avenge the death of my
biave comrades. That is nil gone,
however, and 1 am at peace with all
the world, but just remember my heart
is young and I intend io live to be one
hundred and twenty years old."
BRIEF REVIEW.
Speech Again After Twenty Years.
I'nable to speak above an unintelligi
ble whisper for twenty years, Miss .Ma
bel Penny has, by a cure remarkable
for its simplicity, entirely regained her
poweisof speech. The cure consisted
of nothing more than persistent endea
vor to sing and laugh. At the age of
six Miss Penny, as a result of scarlet
fever, lost her voice. Many physicians
ind throat specialists who were con
sulted told her that her vocal muscle.
were atrophied, and the girl became
reconciled to a life of silence. During
her subsequent years at school in
Hrooklyn all her recitations had to be
conducted in writing. Knowing that
her speech los-iiess would proven great
handicap, she learned stenography,
and for ten years she endeavored to
pass her time iu business pursuits.
Two weeks ago wishing to have her
life insured, Mi-s Penny went to the
offices of one of the local companies,
and .vas refered to its physician for ex
amination Dr. Richard Kllis assured
the girl that her vocal chord.-were iu
perfect condition; that there was no
sign of aphonia, and that the chord
were .-imply dormant from lack of ex
ercise, ".lust practice tlie scales every
day and laugh a lot," he advised her,
"and you will be well in two weeks.-"
Greatly encouraged, Mi.- Penny daily
took long walks in Central park, near
her home, all the while trying to sing
and laugh. Improvement was rapid
and sure ami a few days ago her voice
was wholly restored. She is now able
to speak clearly, in any register she
chooses, and, with no effort. At lir-t
her ellbrts to sing the scales re.-u!ted iu
only inarticulate gurgles, which, how
ever soon gave way to clear tone.-.
Polar Ice Melting Away
Physical geographer.- are
a.-Uing
whether we are now witnessing the
gradual disappearance of a glacial pe
riod. It has been known for sonic time
that the ice is dwiudiingiu the Arctic,
and it ha.- now been shown that the
ice is melting faster than it forms iu a
part of the Atlantic and perhaps in all
of it, says the New York Sun. Among
the observations that have led to this
conclusion concerning Arctic ice phe
nomena are the statements of Professor
('arwood that the line of perpetual
snow in Spitsbergen is now L'.OUii feet
above the sea: of Vou Drygalski that
the (Ireenlaiid ice is receding ami that
it would require a more humid climate
to advance the glaciers in 7:2 degrees
north latitude wheie he observed them
to their former extent, and of Dr. Schei,
who has taken photographs in Cirin-
nell Land of rook waste that had been
borne along by glaciers, this waste be
ing ol) feet higher than the present 1
level of the glaciers. The Antarctic
explorers rewrt that the ice is retreat
ing there. Mr. Ferrar, of the British
xpedition, says that the Boss ice sheet
on Victoria .Laud has retreated, on an
iverage, br miles since Boss saw it, "
years ago.
Let me say it again a love of poetry
will polish, ennoble, sweeten and ex-
and the lifeof anyone. We wTiuld not
part with the music of poetry that
sings 10 us in (inn uours lor all our
worldly wealth. Longfellow's "Bridge'
wrings eomiori wucn uie nori.on is
dark ami dreary.
Tell your children some historical
exploit in which a boy is the hero and
give them the book containing the nar
rative. Begin this character building
tairly in life. Our mothers can do
great work in this way.
An image of the Virgin Mary in a
church ut Autopolo, in the Philippine
islatplti, 1ms jewels valued at $1,501 ),()()(),
which have been given it by the devout
women natives.
A perdoti deeply read iu pure litera
ture liua companions with him con
stantly that the unread person knows
nothing of.
A few dollars are poor pay to get for
a clear conscience. Never make the
tratle,
To-morrow is not a good day in
which to do anything.
THE HEROISM
OF AUTHORS
How Brave Battles are Some
times Waged Against the
Agony of Disease.
Literature is Indebted to Pain and
Worry and Suflering for Some
oi Its Choicest Gems.
'lucre are heroes of the pen as we!
B ; of tiie sword, and the victories of th,-
fsudy are quite as affecting and mcni
rable as those of the battlefield.
If ! evnplefe list of the line exam-
pits of heroism of authors were com
piled it would reach well out into the
thousands and include a large number
of illustrious names. In fact, it is said
that few authors have done reallv great
work except under adverse cireum-
stances. Literature, as well as science.
art and history, is indebted to pain and
worry and suffering for some of its
choicest gems.
There are few liner examples of the
heroism of the study than that present
ed by Professor Finsen, the discoverer
of tiie light cure for lupus. For the
last twenty years of his too short life
he suffered from painful diseases of
the heart and liver, to which dropsy
was superadded, and It was only by
daily self denial and the strictest diet
ing tiiat he was able to live at all.
Yet for all these years, lived in tbe
very siiatlow of deatli and In constaut
suffering, he stuck bravely to his great
life work, even studying his own dis
eases with the keenest attention and
writing articles on them for medical
Journals. The last two or three years
of his life were spent lying on his back.
unable even to be carried to his be
loved institute a few yards away, and
yet the lion hearted scientist never re
laxed for a single day his gallant light
for his fellow men against disease.
The lieroNin of the Danish profess
or suggests a similar brave battle
waged by an English professor. .T. I:
(treen. the historian, against diseasi-
and pain. It was in lSOO, when the
disease which had assailed him for
many years finally prostrated him and
when the doctors gave him no hope of
living more than six months, that
Green set to work to write his famous
"Short History of the English Peo
ple." Day after day he toiled nt his
task, holding desperately on to life
and in a state of ceaseless pain and ex
haustion, and so brave was the man's
spirit that he actually prolonged his
life for five years. Even he was bound
to confess. "I wonder how In those
years of physical pain and despond
ency I could ever have written tlTe
book at all."
General Grant's memoirs, which
brought his widow the enormous sum
of $."sj0.0o, were written under even
more trying conditions than Green's
history. In 1SS4. the year before his
death, the ex-president found himself
bankrupt through the failure of the
Marine bank and face to face with tho
prospect of (Kin? penniless and leav
ing his wife destitute. It was at this
terrible crisis that he began to write
tlie story of his stirring career. But
the cup of his misfortune was not yet
full. A -cancer formed at the root of
his tongue, and the gallant soldier was
compelled to write day after day. suf
fering constant and severe agony.
Mrs. Browning, too. wrote most of
her beautiful poems confined to a
darkened chamber, to which only her
own family and n few devoted friends
could be admitted, in great weakness
and almost unintcnnlttent suffering,
with her favorite spaniel as her com
panion. The Gorman poet Heine was another
martyr and hero of the study. The
last seven years of his life were spent
on his "mattress grave." racked witii
such excruciating pain that he had to
tike doses of opium large enough to
have killed several men in order to
give him a few biessed hours of free
dom from it Through all these years
of torture he not only bore himself
with a noble resignation and cheerful
ness, but produced many of his finest
and most finished works, including his
"L.it Poems and Thoughts" and lii
"Confe-dons."
Sir Walter Scott's heroic struggle
with misfortune and failing health dur
ing the closing years of his life is per
haps too well known to call for more
than mention. Afb'r the commercial
crash came which left him crushed
with debt and with shattered health he
set to work "with wearied eyes and
worn brain" and toiled for years, often
as much as fourteen hours a day. until
the end came and witii it the lifting of
all burdens, including tliat of his debts,
every penny of which his monumental
toil had paid.
In the list are also Frank Smedley,
who wrote his book on "a bed of an
guish;" Edna Lyull, who kept death at
bay by her brave spirit and busy pen.
and Clark Russell, who set n magnif
icent example of patience by his In
dustry when racked with rheumatism.
It is also said that much of Sir Arthur
Sullivan's sweetest music was distilled
from pain. New York Herald.
A St rnlKiit Tip.
A congressman was lunching alone
In a Cincinnati cafe. Near by sat a
dignified gentleman, who casually ask
ed his waiter. "How is business?" The
man said he was not doing well, upon
which the dignified Individual express
ed regret, saying. "Personally I have
always treated your craft iu this house
generously." The waiter was assidu
ous in his attentions and helped the
guest on with his coat. The dignified
man laid his hand on the waiter's arm
and said: "Young man, you seem to
be discontented with your lot, and I
am going to give you the best tip you
ever received. Get into some other
business." And he strolled away,
leaving the waiter speechless.
How Could She DonMT
"Oh, mamma," she cried, rushing in
to her mother's room and flinging her
arms around the parental neck, "he
loves meh! He loves mehl"
"My dear child. I'm so gladl Ilns he
told you? Has he nsked you to be his
wife?"
"No, but lie's down in the library
learning to play chess with papa."
Chicago Record.
KINLEY o ULAi H.
! Aaorlutftl Press Worked to
l. ft at ft (iivv Hit? Xcivm.
tin the afternoon of Sept. 0. 11)01.
; tii out by a long period of exacting
I !.'!. I set out for Philadelphia with
ti e purpose of spending n few days at
Atlantic City. When I reached the
Ilroad street station in the Quaker
City I was startled by n number of po-li'-enien
crying my 11.11110. I stepped
up to one. who pointed to a boy with
an urgent message for me. President
McKinley had been shot nt Buffalo,
and my presence was required nt our
Philadelphia oflice at once. A mes
sage had been sent to me nt Trenton,
but my train had left the station pre
cisely tAvo minutes ahead of its ar
rival. Handing my baggage to n hotel
porter. I jumped into a cab and dash
ed away to our otllce. I remained
(here until dawn of the following
lll)i',,m--
T,,e "Peniag pages of the story of
t,ic assassination were badly written,
;U,(1 1 ordered a substitute prepared,
A inexperienced reporter stood beside
President McKinley in the Music hall
at Buffalo when Czolgosz fired the fa
tal shot. He seized a neighboring tele
phone and notified our Buffalo corre-
snoni enr anrl then nnllerl our the wire?;
in order to render the telephone a
wreck, so that It was n full half hour
before any additional details could be
secured.
I ordered competent men and expert
telegraph operators from Washington,
Albany, New York and Boston to hur
ry to Hufialo by tlie fastest trains.
All that nigl t the Buffalo office was
pmring forth a hastily written but
faithful and complete account of the
tragedy, and by daybreak n relief force
was on the ground. Day by day
through the long vigil while the presi
dent's life hung in tlie balance each
incident was truthfully and graphical
ly reported. In the closing hours of
the great tragedy false reports of the
president's oath were circulated for
the purpose of influencing the stock
market, and to counteract them Sec
retary C'ortelyou wrote frequent sign
ed statements giving the facts to the
Ass iciated Press. Melville E. Stone In
BUTTER WEIGHT.
i inn imio imsprvcr i,cnrnt-u i mm n
VKIi to u llroeery.
Live and learn. I heard a respect
able looking, motherly soul, making
purchases tor the family, say to the
groeei "Be sure to give me butter
weijrht, now, for I've been a long time
customer of yours." "Certainly. Mrs.
MaeLaren." he replied cheerily, "vou
are entitled to it if any one is." Yet
she b..ugbt no butter.
"What i butter weight?" I inquired
when she had gone. "Why, that's Just
a little soil we hand out to some of
our old customers." said tlie salesman
'I n.-1 end of making an exact pound of
antthiug they buy we make it a frac-
t. .i 01 r, vhi h tickles them nearly
Io death. Of course we are particular
lo let them see they are getting more
than their money's worth; hence we
keep 1 heir tratle."
I next asked how the store made up
for this extra allowance. "That's dead
ca-y' was the reply, "but us It is a
trick of the trade I don't think we
oiig it to tell everybody. Perhaps
other cu-tomers receive short weight?"
"If lb -v do. we don't let 'em know It."
M.iCoe jour prices are just a frac
tion ocr the market':" "Never! We
sell cheaper than nnybodj" "Maybe
:;.- g ods are inferior?" At tliat he
eu.i.leil.
Ib fei'ring to a dictionary, I learned
ll..u butter weight Is an allusion to n
custom of exacting seventeen or elght-
ei-ii ounces or een more to the pound
.f butter, po.-sihly on the ground that
the water in it would soon evaporate
and bring the pound down to sixteen
ounces, in Scotland tron weight (twen
ty-one to twenty-eight ounces to the
j turiej was u-;ed in buying butter.
Vjw York Press.
THE WEARING OF BEARDS.
At
rime xi Tax Wns
Kxnoted
for the I'ri llcxe.
Iii d.iy gone bj the wearing of a
beard va- a priv.le'o that had to be
paid lor, the tax on every beard of a
fortnight's growth being Its. -Id. in the
gr.ictoiis d.-iys ii tjucen l-Jiizanetn.
For over b.i.f .-, tenturj the monnrchs
ol Kus..ni nude thtir male subjects
who wore boards pay into the national
exchequer. This tax was Imposed by
Peter the Great in 17i.", the nobles Inn
ing to disburse lod rubles and the low
er classes 1 kopeck. The tax on beards
was kept up by Peter's four successors
on l lie throne of -til the Itussias. and It
wa- limsllj repe.iled In lTd'J by Cath
erute 11. 1 ranee, too. at ouo tune Im
po-ed a b-anl tax upon the clergj
whi.-h wa- paid by those who could
afford it. aithougli the large majority
had to yield to the razor's onslaught.
Iu the fourteenth ccnturv shavim:
was popular with young men, while the
old men were attached to forked
beards. Tiie latter custom is referred
to by Chaucer, who iu describing an
assembly savs. "A merchant was there
with a forked beard." Beards were
worn in various shapes and forms dur
ing the reigns ol Elizabeth. James I.
and Charles I., a-: the poems, plaj's and
oilier literary productions of those
periods amply le-tifj. In his "Anato
mic of Abuses" Stubbs alludes to the
barber who was accustomed to ask
his client whether he wished his beard
"cut to look terrible to your enemy or
amiable to your friends, grim and stern
in countenance or pleasant and de
mure." William Harrison, a clergyman from
whom one gains nianj' peeps at the six
teenth century, refers to some of the
styles of beards at that period. If a
face happened to be "platter-like." a
long, slender board would make It seem
the narrower. If It be weasel beaked,
then "much hear left on the cheekes
will make the owner looke like a bow
died hod and so grim as a goose."
London Standard.
I.ovotl nnil I. out.
Nell Love doesn't seem to agree
with Maud. She is thinner by twenty
pounds than she used to be. Belle
She has loved and lost, eh?
To every duty performed there Is at
tached an inward satisfaction which
deepeus with the difficulty of the task.
-Scott.
HENRY HUDSON.
Born Xo One Known Where and Dtetl
Sn One Known How.
Hudson must have been at least forty
when he died, but nothing is known of
his life before the last four years of it.
A certain Henry Ilerdson, or Hudson
alderman of Loudon and one of the
founders of the Muscovy compauj, has
been suggested as his grandfather, and
the relationship is the more likely be
cause It is certain that some of his
name and kin were interested iu the
company. It may have been upon their
recommendation that he was lirst np
pointed to the command of a ship In
the company's service in 1(K)7. Of his
early training and previous voyages
nothing Is known. The beginning of his
history is as mysterious ns its end. He
wus born no one knows where, and he
died no one knows how. He comes into
our knowledge on the quarter deck of a
ship hound for the pole; he goes out of
It in a crazj- boat tnnnncd by eight sick
men, and so fades away into the dim
haze that hangs about the desolate Ice
floes.
The four voyages of Hudson of which
we have record were not directed to
absolutely unknown waters, but tho
observations made bj- his precursors
were so untrustworthy that they were
of little service except to mislead him.
The object of his first voyage In the
service of the Muscovy company was
"to discover the pole and to sail across
It to the Islands of Spicery or Cathay,"
and on April 10, 1G07, lie, with John
Hudson, his son, sixteen years old, and
the ten men who made up the crew of
the Hopeful, took tlie sacrament to
gether nt St. Ethelburga's, iu Bishops-
gate, "purposing to go to sea four
days after." In the following year
Hudson sailed again, still In the serv
ice of the company. They reached the
Lofoden isles In a month and rounded
tho North cape on June l. A fortnight
later they encountered one of those
wonders of the deep which the seamen
of that time were so often privileged
to witness and describe on June lo.
"One of our companj, looking over
board, saw a menuaid. Calling up
some of the companj to see her, one
more came up. and by that time she
was close to the ship's side, looking
earnestly on the men. A little after
n sea came up and overturned her.
From the navel upward her back and
breasts were like a woman (as they
say that saw her); her botlj- wns ns big
ns one of us; her skin very white, and
long hair hanging down behind, of
color, black. In her going down they
saw her tail, which was like the tall
of a porpoise and speckled like a mack
erel. Their names that saw her were
Th nuns I lilies and Itobert Bayuer."
The only really incredible part of the
story Is that no more than two men
thought it worth while to go on deck
to look at her.- '
METAL PENS.
Ono ol Ancient Koittiui Mnkc I!n the
Distinctive slit.
Si .. . curious one has collected a
mass of interesting facts eonterniug
metallic pens. Some of these refer
ent c run back as far as the four
teenth and even the thirteenth cen
tury, ami. curiously enough, iu the
c.; e of the manuscript of Boliert d'Ar
toi j. the forger scribe, is said to have
used a bronze pen in order to disguise
his writing and make his deception
mo.v safe. A Roman metal pen is
said to have been found at Aosta. not
a mere stylus, but a bronze pen slit,
and there is some evidence of a pen
or iced of bronze nearly as earlj" as
the invention of printing in the t:f-to-mb
centurj'. .More than a hun
dred years ago some steel pens wen
made iu Birmingham for Ir. Priestly
and some ot these placed into tin
hands of Sir Josiah Mason in his early
days with Mr. Harrison, but all seem to
have been lost. The first pen of meta
of a detiuite date, bej-ond ail question
is one in a I Hitch patent book of 1717
At about the same time a poiite otb
of Pope's refers to a "steel ami golden
pen." but these were evidently lux
uries only, and It was not until about
the end of the first quarter of the last
ccnturv that metallic pens became
more generally iu use. Iu the "Local
Notes an1 Queries" In the Birming
ham Weekiv Post definite evidence
has been given of steel pens as earlj- a.
lhuti and more commonly in 1S17. but
It was about S'2'.i and lSiM that tin
great revolution came by winch pens
were made bj a cheaper process the
hand screw press which pierced the
pens from steel rolled into tube fash
Ion and the joint formed the slit, but
those required considerable labor to
shape them Into pen form. The use
of the screw press belongs to the pe
riod of John .Mitchell. Joseph Gillot
and Josiah .Mason, but on a careful
review of the facts it seems to be
clear that John Mitchell has the bes
claim to be considered as the original
introducer of press made pens. BufTa
Io Times.
LITERARY DRUDGERY.
Froude passed seven years in collect
ing materials and writing his "History
of England."
Nearby five years of Irving's time
wore consumed in writing "The Lifeof
George Washington."
Gibbon devoted over twentj' years of
his life to the labor of reading for and
writing the "Decline and Fall."
Dickens says Iu tlie introduction to
"David Copperfield" that he spent two
j'ears In the composition of that novel.
Bancroft devoted nearly thirty years
to his "History of the United States,"
which is not n history of the country at
all, since It ends where the hlstorj of
the country propcrlj- begins.
Cruden labored nineteen years on his
Concordance to the Bible and imme
diately afte.' Its publication was sent
to a lunatic asylum. He never fully
recovered from the mental disease
brought on by this gigantic undertak
ing. The nenlt.
Friend What was the result of tho
consultation of doctors? Invalid
(glancing at the receipted bill) It left
me in a very poor condition.
Hla Debts.
"Well, my friend, I never p.y
old debts. I forget them."
"And your new ones?"
"Oh, I let them get old."
my
PEONS OF OLD fir.
Indian Farm Laborer ; . .
Ite.-tlly Oca.MtM of Ilurttf-.t.
Tlie Mexican peon is the hiciSaji.e v.'
th.- republic. Without him th. greac
lauded estates, or haciendas, w uld l ;
in idleness, while agricultural and ccu
mt i-cial interests would stagnav. Of
a cast iron constitution, he can ensure,
apparently without effort, the hardest
fort of drudgery. His energj- comes
from a diet that consists chlelly of
ground poppers, beans or frljoles and
a large quantity of tortillas. He works
from G to 0, enjoying In the meantime
his two simple meals. In general, the
Indian farm laborers are of a submis
sive and respectful disposition. Like
the negroes of the south, they are not
far from the main building, so as to be
on hand whenever their services are
required. They usually Insist, how
ever, on celebrating their holidays,
which lessens their real usefulness
about 'St per cent. The holidays are
numerous and afford the laborer manj
opportunities to quaff from the stupe
fyiug pulque bowl. Their stock of sur
plus change Is not upt to be excessive.
It cannot be when most of them re
ceive but little over 20 ceuts a day.
Field hands In the states of Guanajua
to. Miehnocan and Qucretaro receivo
n euartlllo of corn In addition to their
wages of 12 cents a daj. One baclen-
dado who voluntarily raised the wages
of his hands to IS cents a day found
himself without laborers for two days
' the week. As the extra wnges sup-
blied living moans for the entire week,
uhat was the need of working?
fhese laborers are of all sizes and
ages; hut, whether young or old, all
bear alike upon their brow the depress
ing and degrading leathern thong that
makes of them beasts of burden. The
effect of this customary strap on the
shape of the head Is seen In the fact
that the peons the country over have
peak shaped heads tending toward the
shape of the pointed hot. The supply
of laborers Is, so to speak, perennial.
The young muchaeho receives his train
ing in watching the sheep and. the
goats, acting as messenger or prodding
tho burros In the pack train. When he
Is about sixteen years old he takes his
place with the regular laborers and be
gins to cast his eye about for a help
mate. The wife may prove useful and
enru a small wage at some such opera
tion a3 sowing seed Her life will be a
monotonous one. A strip of cloth serves
as dress and skirt, a strip of leather
provides a sandal, and in the hot re
gions the clothing for the boys Is even
as simple. AH that is required Is a
Jorongo, which consists of a yard of
cotton cloth with a hole for the head
and two depending flaps to cover
breast and back. There is no possibili
ty of their clothing Impeding their
movements, uhen the woman takes
ler husband's meal to him far out in
the fields, she takes the little toddler
with her fastened securely In her re-
)ozo. Pilgrim.
NEW YORK MARLOK.
Some of the Wonder tif TIiI.h Veel
Crowded Port.
To present to the mind an easily con
jured picture of New York harbor one
might make the comparison of the up-
....... 1 ..f . i t . .
tutiieti riKoc iiniiii, wim ino" v
straight forefinger for the lower stretch
of the Hudson, with the thumb, joint
turned out, standing for the bent East
river and the palm of the hand repre
1 outing upper New York bay. The
throe together mnke up the harbor of
New York. As Hudson river shelters
most of the north Atlantic liners while
in port, so does East river harbor those
that go to make up the truly foreign
fleets. Here tl.ej are, pier after pier of
them the steamers that go to the far
tountries. Mind the roil Brazil, Ar
gentina, Chile, Peru, west coast of Af-ri'-a.
Australia. India, China, Japan!
And hark again to the call of the ports
--Kio Janeiro. Bueuos Ayres, Valpa
raiso. St. Paul tie Loandn, Cape Town,
Tamatave. Sydney. Singapore, Hong
kong. Yokohama! And the strange
stuff of their cargoes! Kubber from
the Amazon swamps -see the naked In
dians tapping the trees and the slimy
reptiles iu the shadowy ooze; horn and
tallow from the pampas -mark theceu-taur-Iike
vnqiicro and his whirling
riata; gold dust. Ivorj palm oil from
the west coast. Dreams for j'ou there!
Palm oil and gold dust and Ivorj-; ele
phants ami sacrificial fires and trains
of captive slaves; hemp, tea, silks and
smuggled opium- and do not believe
that opium Is not smuggled into New
-York harbor to this day. You think of
all that, and your imagination flumes.
The gentlemen iu the pilot houses are
not always in placid moods. Wild eyed
men glare out from pilot houses aloft,
like eagles from their ej'ries. and pass
the time of day. Saj's one: "Where d
y think you're going? Back, will yon?''
And the other: "Back? Me back?
Me?"
"You? Yes, j-ou. you slop eyed, slack
mouthed, spine twisted fresli water
goob, you square headed, fatherless"
And so on, detailing irremediable flaws
in the genealogj-, after which both back
down and avert the impending colli
sion. James B. Connolly In Harper's
Magazine.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
Lots of men recede from ultimatums.
You might as well say a man steals
ns to say he Is frightened.
Any quarrel is unpleasant, but a do
mestic difficulty is the worst.
Haven't you said a thousand times
j-ou wouldn't stand certain things and
then stood them?
Some people complain because they
can't got Justice who should really be
grateful because they don't get It.
It doesn't require ns much patience
to put a baby to sleep ns It does to fish,
but the men can't see It that way.
How often do you know vou are
right, and yet the man j'ou are argu
ing with Is convinced you are not! And
he half convinces you that you are
wrong. Atchison Globe.
Imagination.
"Mabel has a most wonderful nower
of imagination."
,4Keally? That's the verv last thimr
I should have given her credit for."
Oh, its quite true. I assure vou.
She actually fancies that she's good
ooKing."
It Is only a long time niter having
earned it that we know anything well.
Joubert
0