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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1901)
v. "torpedo boat, hjlton, HOLLAND NE of the most remarkable tests sound recently. For fifteen hours least eight feet of water washing John Lowe and Captain Frank T. Cable. The men suffered no inconveniences whatever. They slept, ate, read and played cards. They knew nothing of a fierce storm which was raging over them, wrecking vessels and destroying prop erty. The test demonstrated that the vessel could remain under water for weeks as well as hours, so far as the ques tion of pure air was concerned. None of the air contained in the four flasks was used, and yet when the boat arose the air in it was pure and wholesome. The question of the air supply being settled, the time which the vessel can remain submerged depends entirely upon the amount of food and fuel which it can carry. The boat was not damaged in any way on account of resting on the bottom and was safe from the winds and waves above. This proves that such a boat in case of a storm at sea could quickly sink from danger. Should a hostile boat threaten it the little wonder could disap pear beneath the waves and if necessary remain out of sight and danger for days. The marvelous boat is of the same style as the original Holland submarine vessel, but great improvements have beem made in the apparatus which controls it. Experts are of the opinion that the boat is now the highest type of submarine craft. Its speed is from 7 to 9 knots an hour. It is the belief that two such boats could successfully guard any harbor or destroy a hostile fleet. It is probable that in the near future such boats will form an important, if not the atost impor tant, part of onr navy, and may be the cause of revolutionizing the naval architecture of the world. A FAMILY MATTER. She cewed a button on my coat, I watched the fingers nimble; Sometimes I held her spoil of thread. And sometimes held her thimble. "I'm glad to do it, since you're far From sister and from mother. " 'Tis such a thing," she said, and smiled, "As I'd do for my brother." The fair head bent so close to me My heart was wildly beating; She seemed to feel my gaze, looked up, And then our glances meeting, She flushed a ruddy, rosy red, And I, I bent and kissed her. " 'Tis such a thing," I murmured low, "As I'd do to my sister." Brooklyn Life. Forty-six Minutes with Death HE strike at the, "Foundry," M starting from comparatively small grievances, had thanks to the influence of a few of the leaders reached a state where satisfactory set tlement seemed impossible. The men had expected to be jmt a week, or ten -days-at the most, but nearly two "months had elapsed, and their position was almost desperate. Several depu tations had waited on old Mr. Vice, the proprietor, but had been invariably re- ferred back to the manager, with the understanding that he had full authorl- ty to deal wun mem. The manager, Shotwell, a young man - -v i "1 HE STBOVE TO SHAKE HIMSELF. ' of intelligent (sympathies, from the first had been willing ,even eager, to discuss the men's grievances and help them to an understanding. But when he found that the leaders, to whom the men had intrusted their cause, not only were dis posed to take advantage of his justice, but were seeking their own ends, at the . expense of the men, he suddenly .changed his attitude and refused to lis ten to any proposals other than abso lute surrender. He gave the three lead ers to understand in the plainest lan ; guage that under ; no consideration . would he tolerate their presence in the shops again. The result of this understanding and . the contemptuous way in which the manager had expressed his opinion of fthe leaders and their scheming roused these men from sullen spite to hatred. They could not keep the men back or - get back themselves unless well, un less Shotwell changed his mind, and they knew him too well to hope for that. Shotwell's obstinacy had surprised even old Mr. Vice, who had known him from boyhood known him so well, in fact, that he had sanctioned the young . man's engagement to Dorothy,- his daughter. It was possibly the thought - of a future partnership that made him so determined to stand to his guns now and show the old man and his sweet - heart that he was capable of holding , the reins. , Even Dorothy's lover hardly under- .stood her. She had strange ideas of. ! "soul communion" that made the mat - ter-of-fact young man gasp; and she : had an uncanny knack of demoustrat- ing the proof of her beliefs by reading his unspoken thoughts with an accu - racy that, to a less healthy, wholesome .young fellow, might have been embar - grassing. But withal she was so worn- - anly and tender, and her fancies so pretty, that gradually he grew used to them, and found himself often linger- lng over tbem and almost wishing they could be true. 311 I "---' '" 1 mm v& CIS remains under water FOR A PERIOD OF FIFTEEN HOURS. SUBMARINE BOAT AS IT APPEARS in the history of the Lnited Mates navy was successfully made m Long Island the Holland submarine boat, Fulton, lay on the bottom of the sound with at over fier decks. Within the steel shell were eight men, including Rear Admiral To one of these fancies he had readily yielded; each evening both sat wher ever they might be in silence for a lit tle time and let their thoughts go out freely to each other. "Soul talks," Dorothy called them; and whatever they were, the result was that his love for the girl grew more tender, and he knew that in some subtle manner he was coming to understand her better and better each day. These times had been inexpressibly dear to him of late. They were his moments of absolute rest from the worry of the strike, and he always felt his brain refreshed, and , afterward was better able to cope with his growing difficulties. The pulse of the strike was growing feverish, and night after night Shot well had slept at the. office, fearing some kind of an attack on the premises. By the end of the week worry and lack of sleep had told heavily upon him, and as he sat smoking In the mysterious shadows he determined tha.t this must be his last night alone; he would get a watchman to aid him. His thoughts grew vague and mixed; his pipe fell to the floor and made him jump, then his eyes closed for a moment, opened slug gishly, dropped again and he was fast asleep. With a start and a fearful sense of oppression he awoke, struggling wildly in his chair tried to cry out, and real ized that he was tied down. A cloth was wound tightly over his mouth. while the room was filled with a subtle, sickly odor of chloroform. He heard a sneering laugh behind his chair, and ..Wel yer took a purty good nap tnat time, didn't yer?" There was an an swering growl from anoeher throat, and the two men came round In front, both muffled in heavy coats, and pieces of cloth covering the upper half of their faces. One of them carried a small black box somewhat gingerly to the desk and sat it down in front of Shot well. He turned a little brass key in it and hidden machinery began to tick tack, tick-tack, like a clock. He twist ed the box around and Shotwell saw a small, dial, with the hands pointing to 9:50 o'clock. One of the men attached one end of a string to a lever on the box, and with the greatest precaution tied the other end to Arthur's left wrist. Now, see here, Mr. Shotwell, you've got just forty-six minutes, and then that thing goes off, and God have mercy on your soul. If ye should want the thing to go quicker just struggle hard, and if ye manage to pull either of them strings, well, I guess it'll oblige ye.'" "Now, Bill, we've got no time to waste. Here's the keys; you go for the safe and I'll fix the desk." Inside of fifteen minutes Shotwell's guests had gone, leaving little trace of their visit except a faint odor of chloro form, and that strange-looking black box, with its montonous tick-tack, tick tack. The whole thing had happened so U suddenly, and his brain' was so heavy with the drug, that the men were gone before he fully realized the horror of his position. As It dawned on him he could not believe It was true; It was some terrible nightmare. He strove to shake himself, but the tightening of the strings on his wrists and a half jar In the tones of that ceaseless tick-tack brought him back to bis senses with a chill of horror. He glared terror stricken at the little clock . that was ticking off the moments of his life a second each time. A few more minutes and then he broke out into a cold sweat; an unmanning fear of this un known, cruel thing crept over him, and for a while he sat, huddled in abject terror; then slowly the soul of the man steadied itself; he closed his eyes to pray, and the word that came was "Dorothy." With a fierce mental effort he pulled together his shaken faculties for her sake. For her he would die like a man. Perhaps she would know he had been no coward. Tick-tack, tick-tack, twenty minutes ' past 10. Ah! it was time to sit and talk to "Dorrie." Well, be would do It would give to her those last twenty minutes. And so he sat on, his face drawn and ghastly, but his courage ! firm sat and bade a long good-by to ' the girl he loved; thought strong, manly thoughts to her, that kept fear from bis heart But while his inmost self talked j with "Dorrie" his flesh grew gray and pinched, the lonely silence broken only 'by the steady ticking of his clock of doom. ' Dorothy that night sat reading; then later fell to wondering of Arthur alone iu that great building, and at the thought of his loneliness all her heart , went out to bimj and perhaps tome of DNDEK WATER. her soul, for her body fell asleep. Then she, too, woke with a start a start of perplexity and fear; fear for Arthur what was it? She passed her hand over her forehead, bewildered. What was It why could she not remember? Then the ticking of the clock on the mantel caught her ear caught it strangely, and she listened, breathless, trembling; tick-tack, tick-tack what did it mean? Then slowly and softly a solemn voice fell on her inner ear: "Good-by, Dorrie; good-by, darling." "Ah!" she rose to her full height was rigid there for an Instant, then quietly: "Yes, I know; I understand." She walked quietly to her father's room, took his keys, and, taking her hat and coat, slipped unseen out into the night. Tick-tack, tick-tack, eight minutes more. "Eight minutes; eight years; God! Can I wait? One brave spring now would end the torture, and no, no, for Dorrie's sake, for the honor of love, I'll live my life out to the last bitter seo ond." Shotwell closed his eyes a few moments, then opening them, saw a face to the doorway gazing at him; to him it seemed the soul of Dorrie, come to say "good-by." He was not afraid, hardly awed; It was not real; dying men's eyes are sometimes strangely clear; he noticed the hat, the coat; the face drawn with fearful anguish souls did not look like that it was Dorrie herself. A moment of wild joy was swallowed up In a still greater horror "Dorrie!" here, with that thing Oh! God; this was worst of all but her quick hands touched him, deftly untieing first the handkerchief that gagged him, then delicately slip ping those fearful strings from his wrists. "How long, Arthur?" she'whispered. He glanced desperately at the clock. "Two minutes; don't stop to untie me; water, quick! There's a bucket; fill it at the tap; it's our only chance." She comprehended instantly. Oh, how slow the water ran! She walked swiftly to the desk, took the box In her hands, and carried it, ticking, to the bucket; ', placed it in and held it, trembling, as ! the water swallowed it, until there was , a little rasping jar in the ticking. Shot ; well drew one deep, long breath as he stooped over the girl and waited for what never came. One, two, three muv utes passed; then, with a breath of half I fearful relief, he looked down at Dorrie. She was fast asleep, nestled in his arms and breathing peacefully. He waked her with a kiss. She stared at him in sleepy surprise. "Why, Ar thur! Where am I? What is it, dear? How white you look; and see, the wa ter s running au over the noor; you careless boy I oh, Arthur, I take me home." Milwaukee Wisconsin. The Roman Saturnalia. Feasting and revelry and all the mad pursuit of pleasure are the features that seem to have especially marked this carnival of antiquity, as it went on for seven days in the streets and public squares and bouses of ancient Rome from the seventeenth to the twenty- third of December. But no feature of the festival is more remarkable, noth ing in it seems to have struck the an cients themselves more than the licensed granted to slaves at this time. The dis tinction between the free and the ser vile classes was temporarily abolished. The slave might rail at his master, in toxicate himself like his betters, sit down at table with them, and not even a word of reproof would be administer ed to him for conduct which at any other season might be punished with stripes, imprisonment or death. Nay. more masters actually changed places with their slaves and waited on them at table, and not till the serf had done eating land drinking was the board cleared and dinner set for his master. A Peculiar Accident. A peculiar accident occurred "in Western town recently. The big Iron safe in a shoefactory refused to open and the bookkeeper and engineer con ceived the idea that they could burn out the combination by use of carbon and electricity. It took several hours to accomplish their purpose, but they finally succeeded, but not until they had stood for several hours in the glare of the electric light taking turns at hold ing the wire ana carbon. When the work was over both complained of dizziness and pain in the head which increased as the hours passed, and in a short time both went suddenly blind at about the same time. All efforts to restore their sight have been unavail- ! ing, for while the eyeballs appear all j right, the sight is destroyed. HOLD MOCK TRIALS. NOVEL ENTERTAINMENT FOR CLUBS AND SOCIETY. Legal Proceedings Gives Opportunity for Dramatic Display Cnltnre Club Hear Divorce Case Unrestrained by Bailiff. Seekers after novel entertainment for winter evenings have caught upon the mock trial, which is consequently doing its turn at popular favor. Fortunately the trial adapts itself to any company and may be just as amusing or just as educational as its managers care to make 1L It gives opportunity for a play of wit which livens the monotony of the regulation court proceeding and it gives plenty of room for such personal touch es as will add to the entertainment of an audience composed of friends of the players. Moreover, as a large part of the company can be subpoenaed for the trial the interest will be most unflag ging. From the Impaneling of the jury to the final verdict the audience will receive enthusiastically every stage of the trial's procedure. A ridiculous charge Is brought against a member of the party; often this is a club meeting. A young lawyer or law student is chosen for judge, as he can at the same time direct the conduct of the trial. The greatest care is taken to have everything in strict accordance with the legal custom and the slightest deviation from the regular order of trial is zealously guarded against. The law yers appear with a burden of dignified leather-bound volumes, which they con sult frequently and with ridiculous ef fect The dignity of the judge is bold ly overdrawn and his peremptory rulings Intensified until the figure be comes a laughable caricature. Primed for the occasion, the questions and an swers of the lawyers and their witness- es are intentioally mirth-provoking and the stupidity of the jurymen is meant to add to the fun. I Although some of the most difficult. problems of law are thus sometimes given an airing, a straightforward crim-: inal case is most frequently chosen as of greater interest to a fun-seeking com munity. J. Brown is tried for the mur der of his sister's cat and a series of interesting exhibits are shown to prove the assertion. At the end of several ; hours of earnest argument J. Brown clears himself by producing the cat, which has yowled all evening from its hiding place under J. Brown's chair. All of this gives plenty of opportunity for fun at the expense of Brown and the members of the court and it also gives an opening for a display of dra matic ability, which is another thing the public is fond of. Gives Play for dramatic Ability. Perhaps the most commendable fea ture of the mock trial is the fact that it gives opportunity for theatrical ability or the sensibility of the average person. Everyone likes dramatic opportunity if it is not overwhelming, as is so often the case with the out-and-out amateur theatricals. Everyone likes the play of imagination which the trial makes pos sible and the dramatic incidents which its development produces. As a spec tacular performance it pleases the dra matic sense of everyday people without displeasing their sense of, congruity in their own actions. A trial appeals to the imagination and to people who know nothing of them has a fascination and mystery. For this reason, perhaps, as much as any other, the mock trial has gamed Its present popularity. In the rush for the mysterious which is overwhelming everyone nowadays the mock trial has found its place at the head of the list of entertainments. It has taken its place as a clever means of home entertain ment and as a pleasing novelty for clubs. At an evening gathering where some other form of amusement is the prear ranged entertainment a mock trail is often interspersed with the greatest sat isfaction. The members of the com pany assume the various roles easily and if ready of wit can find good oppor tunity for fun-making. When conduct ed in this way the trial soon becomes a battle of jokes in which the cleverest Is bound to be the victor. And besides furnishing the most satisfactory enter tainment for those engaged in the rep artee It is the greatest fun for the lis teners, who perhaps can appreciate a joke even though they cannot make one. TIMBER INCREASING IN PRICE. Product Becoming More Inaccessible and Therefore More Costly. In an interesting report on the trade of Riga, the British consul writes that "as regards the wood trade of the world In general, one broad fact is ever be fore us. It takes from sixty to seventy years to grow an average convertible tree and two minutes to hew It down. Thus eacb year the supply of timber is diminished, the forest fringe recedes further and further from the ways and means of transport; each year the ex pense of working out the forest Is In- MOCK TRIAL FOR WINTER EVENINGS. creased by the extra distance the logs have to be carried. Then, owing to the nature and manipulation of the trade, consumption and supply cannot keep pace with each other; one is con tinually catching up the other, and the consequences are rises and depressions. "But, in the opinion of all who know anything about timber and bave studied the great question of supply, there must be a steady increase In the price of every description of wood goods, and each wave of higher prices will attain a higher level than Its predecessor. "As far as the Riga sawing trade Is concerned, the forests which furnish the timber are now so fur away from the rivers which carry the logs that Riga cannot be supplied unless prices are fairly high. If 70 per cent of the cost price of a log In Riga consists of the expense of bringing it dtwn from the forests, it is clear that a reduction can only be made on the remaining 30 per cent. "By the remarks I have made I do not intend to Imply that the supply of timber is reaching its end. There Is still plenty of timber, but it la becom ing comparatively so inaccessible that in many parts it can only be worked out when prices rule high. Higher prices will always render accessible for supply those forests which it was not consid ered worth while to work at low rates It is much the same, in fact, as with coal and the working of deeper levels." ARGUMENT THAT FAILED. How Admiral Kirkland Fqnelchel a Would-Be Son-in-Law. Apropos of the marriage of an impe cunious ensign in the navy a short time ago, Gome of the veterans at the navy yard recall this story of Rear-Admiral William Kirkland, who was affection ately known in the navy as "Red Bill." "A young ensign hesitating found his way into the admiral's cabin one day, and with a great deal of circumlocution and coughing finally let it be known that he loved the admiral's daughter and would be the happiest man on earth if he had her parents' consent to marry her. "No, sir!" thundered the admiral. "No, siree. Not now, anyhow. No pauper of an ensign is going to marry my daughter. You'd better wait until you are promoted and are able to support yourself before you think of marrying. The young officer astounded the ad miral by not retiring precipitately. He even ventured the reminder that the ad miral himself had married when he was but an ensign, and that bis married life had been a happy one. "Red Bill" Kirkland glared at the presumptuous speaker for a moment says the New York Times, and then thundered: "I know I married when I was an en; sign. My- father-in-law supported me for several years, too, but I'll be hanged If yours will!" A Bee as a Barometer. Such should be the title of these lines, for whoever observes these interesting insects finds, it easy enough to foretell exactly the kind of weather to be ex pected. At least, that is the opinion of many raisers of bees. Generally the bee stays at home when rain is in the air. When the sky is sim ply dark and cloudy these busy workers do not leave their dwelling all at once. A few go out first, as though the queen had sent out messengers to study the state of the atmosphere. The greater number remain on observation until the clouds begin to dissipate, and it is only then that the battalions entire rush out in search of nectar. A bee never goes out in a fog, because it is well aware that dampness and cold are two fearsome, redoubtable enemies. We do not mean, however, that the bee is a meteorologist in the absolute sense of the word. Its cleverness consists in never being taken unawares, for It pos sesses untMing vigilance. Often one may observe the sudden entrance of bees into the hive when a dense cloud hides the sun, and even though the rain is not in evidence. Cnvier's Opportunity. Baron Cuvier, the renowned natural ist, then only eighteen, accepted a sit uation as tutor in a family living near Fecamps in Normandy. The house was near the sea and he often strolled on the bank. One day he found a strand ed cuttle fish. He took it home, dissect ed it and began then the study of mol- luscae, in which he won such a reputa ttion. The ocean was his text book. This was his opportunity to learn from that text book. By embracing the op portunities offered in his three years' residence by the sea he became one of the shining lights in natural history. Queer. The prosaic individual Who has out- I lived romance finds it hard to under stand how two people can dawdle away hours and at their conclusion feel mor ally certain that only , minutes 'have taken flight. Early Marriages. Miss Budd "Do you approve of early marriages?" " ' Mrs. Malaprop "Not too early. 1 should say not before high noon,". GOOD Short Stories The late Dowager-Empress Frederick once asked Bismarck to bring her a glass of water, and, as he handed it to her, she said to a lady-in-waiting, who sat near: "He has cost me as many tears as there are drops of water in this glass." As a preface to bis attack upon the recent army appointments in England, Rudyard Kipling tells a story of a man who was carrying a bag, and of whom a fellow-traveler asked what It was that the bag contained. "Mongooses," was tne answer; my brother sees snakes, and I'm taking the mongooses up to kill them." "But your brother doesn't see real snakes." "No; but these aren't read mongooses." On one occasion Hans Richter was present at a concert given by a brother composer, at which the latter perform ed a long and not particular interesting work of his own. When the composi tion came to an end Richter expressed his criticism in a very few words. Well," he said, "I too haf written com positions to make a pile so high," rais ing bis hand three feet from the ground; "but I haf burned them!" Once, while Daniel Webster was speaking in the Senate on the subject of internal improvements, the Senate clock began to strike, but instead of striking twice at 2 p. m., it continued without cessation more than forty times. All eyes were turned to the clock, and Mr. Webster remained si lent until it had struck about twenty. when he thus appealed to the chair: "Mr. President, the clock is out of or der! I have the floor!" In one of his conversations with Au gustus Hare, Chief Justice Morris said he was sitting on the bench in Ireland, and after a case had been tried he said to the jurymen: "Now, to consider this matter, you will retire to your accus tomed place," and two-thirds of them went into the dock. Another time he said to a culprit: "I can produce five witnesses who saw you steal that cow." "Yes," said the prisoner, "but I can pro duce five hundred who did not" It is said that one evening when Dr. Friend was summoned from a rather too festive board to- the bedside of a lady patient, be felt her pulse but could not count its beats. "Drunk, by Jove!" he soliloquized, and pulled him self together sufficiently to order some harmless mixture. His delight may be imagined when, the next morning, in stead of an indignant dismissal from further attendance, he received from his patient a confession that he had di agnosed her complain quite correctly. The Duke of Wellington was once much surprised by receiving a letter which he read as follows: "Being in the neighborhood, I venture to ask per mission to see some of your grace's best breeches. C. London." He answered to the Bishop of London that he bad great pleasure in assenting to his re quest, though he must confess it had given him very considerable surprise. London House was thrown into confu sion. The note was from London, the great gardener, and "breeches" should have been read "beeches." THE MIDNIGHT SUN. Blaze Wonll Have Been Costly Had It Happened in the .islit. Mr. Ransom's nephew was building a house, but an uninitiated person, see ing Mr. Ransom's daily supervision of work and workmen, would have been convinced that he himself was the rightful owner of the new cottage. One day, while making his daily tour of inspection at the noon hour, he dis covered a little bunch of shavings on a window sill. Seizing them in his hand, he hurried downstairs and out to the big elm under which the carpenter and his two assistants were eating their dinner. "See what I found on the winder ledge!" he demanded, pointing an ac cusing finger at the carpenter. "Seems to be a clump of shavings," said the man, wonderingly, as he munched a doughnut. "Yes, sir, that's what 'tis," declared Mr. Ransom, "and I'm s'prised to think a man o' your experience should 'low such doings! "There was a man in South Plymp ton, where I was raised, that was building him a house with bull's-eye winder panes in the winders. The men that were a-working on the house left a bunch o' shavings no bigger'n this one on the winder ledge, and the sun was terrible hot, same as 'tis to-day, and it made a focus through that win der pane, and what happened? "What happened?" repeated Mr. Ran som, with increased solemnity. "Why, the shavings ketched fire, and a blaze started, that's what!" "But there ain't any bull's-eyes round here," suggested the carpenter, mildly. "Makes no odds, one way or t'other," replied Mr. Ransom, severely. "What's happened once one way may happen next time some other way!" "Did the house burn up?" inquired one of the other men, with a natural curiosity. "No, it didn't," admitted Mr. Ransom, "but that was just by good luck. 'Twas the noon hour, and I was there, for the man was a friend o' mine that I'd known from boyhood, so the blaze was put out. But s'pose it had happened In the dead o' night The whole building would have gone. Nothing could have saved it. I tell ye, ye can't be too careful "bout things o' that kind!" Youth's Companion. PAYING OFF AN OLD SCORE. Prairie Doss Get Even with Their Old Enemy, the Battlesnake. It is a familiar story that rattle snakes are often seen-entering or leav ing the humble tenement of the prairie dog. The sight gave rise to the belief, formerly held, that the reptiles and the small owls which also frequent these underground dwellings are on the best of terms with the "prairie dogs, and that all live together, a "happy family." That belief is now known to be with out foundation, and a cattleman, of whom the New York Tribune tells, once witnessed a scene which shows tnat the rightful owner ! these prai rie homes, although gomatlme forced to submit to eviction or Intrusion, know how to balance the account when the opportunity offers. On this particular occasion the cattle man was riding after some steers. He managed to get close to a colony of prairie dogs, and stopped to watch their quaint antics. Considerably apart from the others, two dogs were sitting with their nosea close together. They appeared to be much concerned over the movements of a big rattler which was lazily crawling about near them. When the snake moved a length or two the dogs became excited and danced like little lunatics, but when he ceased his motion there they were, with their noses together, managing somehow to keep abreast of him without seeming to follow him. Once the snake colled, and then the dogs had business elsewhere, but when be straightened out they were close beside him again. The rattler in the course oi his wrig glings came to a hole a$l stopped there, as if undecided whether It would be worth while to enter or not The prairie dogs began to act In an unac countable manner, as If they bad been feeding on loco-weed and suddenly felt its effects. They danced on one hind foot and rolled over. They dash ed up behind the snake as if they were aching to push him into the hole, and every little while they would come to attention, with noses together talking, perhaps. The snake soon began to slip into the hole. The dogs, although Intent upon his movements, remained perfectly quiet until the last of him had disap peared. Then they got to work In earn est, and the way they kicked dirt Into that hole would put a railway "action hand to shame. They worked systematically-. When the entrance was well filled with loose dirt they tamped it and then threw In more dirt, and tamped that They were not satisfied until the entrance to that hole was blocked and packed down with dirt until it was as solid as the original sod. Then the little ras cals seemed greatly amused, and rub bed noses times innumerable before they danced off to join their friends and relatives, apparently with the in tention of telling them all about it. An Up-Country Rising. In spite of the old saying, the lawyer who conducts his own ease does not al ways have a fool for a client The Hon. Jeremiah Mason, who was admitted to the New Hampshire bar in 1791, was a man of great height but during the early part of his professional career, says the Green Bag, was so slight and apparently frail in build that, as the phrase is, "he looked like a boy." Traveling once in a sleigh after a great snowstorm, he met a country man in a similar conveyance. - Mr. Ma son turned his horse and sleigh as far to one side as he conveniently could, and courteously requested .the other person to do the same. The other man, however, was sturdy of figure and stubborn of nature, and taking Mr. Mason's courteous speech as a sign of a craven spirit he refused to budge an inch, and demanded a free way for his vehicle. At this Mr. Mason's eyes flashed. The day was cold and he had sunk deeply Into the robes of his high-backed sleigh; but now he drew himself up and sat erect on the seat for a moment; then he began slowly to divest himself of his wrappings and to get upon his feet, gradually displaying his real propor tions to the astonished countryman, who exclaimed: "Say, mister, you needn't rise any more. I'll turn out!" Editorial Responsibility. The troubles of the literary man are seldom better exemplified than hi the case of the seedy looking poet who wandered into an English newspaper office, venturing to hope that the edi tor would accept his offering. "Give me your address," said the edi tor. "That, sir," was the frank reply, "de pends entirely on yourself." "On myself?" said the astonished edi tor. "How so?" "Well, you see," went on the un abashed poet "it's this way; if you take the poem my address will remain 77 King street; if you don't take it I shall have no address. My landlady Is a woman of her word." On Another Line. A porter at a certain station on the Caledonian Railway had been granted leave for the purpose of going to Edin burgh to be married. In addition, he was given the customary return rail way pass. During his absence a new ticket col lector had been put on, who upon Ben edick's return, demanded his ticket Benedick, who had put both pass and marriage certificate In the same pocket, by mistake tendered the latter. The collector opened and gravely scanned the "lines," then returned then with a slow headshake, and: "Eh, eh, mon, it's a teeket for a vera lang ride, but nae on the Caledonian Railway." London Spare Moments. Finding a Grave With an Egg. The Miau-tsze, a tribe In Asia, will not bury a man until they have first tested the ground with an egg. This operation is curious. While the body is being prepared for burial, a number of Miau-tsze, including the male relatives of the deceased, go out to the appointed spot bearing a large basket of eggs. Stooping down, one of the natives lets an egg drop softly on the ground. Its breaking is considered an 111 omen and another spot is selected. In this way the party often wander about for hours, dropping eggs until one strikes a place where the shell does not crack. Magnanimous. It -became necessary for an Elms worth papa to chastise mildly his small son the other evening. Some time later, wishing to negotiate for a favor, tho chastised one stated his wishes, and as an inducement added: "Papa." "Well, James?" "If you'll do this, pap, I'll excuse you for that whipping you gave me." Occasionally a foolish young man flat ters a girl until she getj too Stuck up to sneak to him.