Corvallis gazette., May 16, 1902, Page 4, Image 4

HER LITTLE FELLOW YET.
What funny creatures-mothers are!
I sometimes laugh to see
For all my bigness and my age
How mine looks after me.
She wants to warm me when I'm cold.
To dry me when I'm wet;
I do belieTe she thinks me just
A little fellow yet!
I'm not a schoolboy any more,
With satchel at my back;
It won't be many years before
I don the haversack.
I'm going to join the volunteers
My father was a "vet"
And surely then I will not be
A Httle fellow yet!
Ah. well! the mother's good as gold.
And kind as kind can be;
There's no one else in all the world
That's half as kind to me.
So let her think it if she will.
When I. too. am a "vet."
It may be I will wish I were
Her little follow yet!
Christian Work.
hi 1 1 1 n nti n 1 1 1 1 1 '
A Blue Umbrella.
41H I I I H' I I I t 1H I t i l t
OLONEL, why did you never
marry?" If a cyclone had struck
the sharp featured man who sat
with his feet elevated upon the iron
railing of the veranda It could not have
caused him to start up more quickly.
He snipped the ashes from his cigar,
paced to the farther end of the veran
da, and returning to the questioner's
side, he said:
"Harry, what made you ask me that
question?"
The young man, upon whose shoul
der the other's hand rested lightly, lift
ed his eyes. Evidently the Colonel was
deeply moved.
"Why, all men marry; that is, men
of means or anyhow, they should
marry."
"But you have not married."
"And for a good reason; I am not
able."
"But you could support a very com
fortable household if you were not
well, what you are," said the Colonel,
as he moved away.
"Ah! Hold on. Colonel; do not leave
me in that he's gone!"
The other, paying no attention to
his words, went down the broad steps
and walked slowly away in the moon
light "fknow what he means; he might
just as well have told me in so many
words spendthrift! Hang it all! I
know very well that I am careless
about finances and all that sort of
thing. If I had been forced to work
early I'd know the value of dollars and
be a very different sort of chap now.
Ah, well! Life Is too short to fret
over mistakes gone and done for. Edith
Lisle Is a here she comes now."
Was It the tap-tap of tiny feet or the
frou-frou of snowy skirts that made
Harry Lancaster's heart throb tumul
tously? It was both and the fact
that the woman he loved more than
all others was nearing him. Rising, he
tossed his cigar away, lifted his bat,
and offered the charming creature In
- white a chair.
"Do not disturb yourself, Mr. Lan
caster; I merely came for a brief walk
up and down the veranda. Isn't it a
lovely evening?"
There was a witchery In the tones of
that low, sweet voice. Harry's heart
pumped away more vigorously than
ever. If the veranda roof hadn't been
eave-frlnged with ivy the moonlight
would have disclosed the hot flush that
mantled the young man's face.
"It is Indeed a delightful evening. If
you will not rest here for a few mo
ments will you permit me to offer you
my arm for the stroll?"
She laid her dainty hand upon his
arm and the pair strolled slowly to the
farther end of the veranda; they turn
ed to retrace their steps when Edith
said:
"Was not that a firefly? Over there
among the bushes to the left? See,
there It is again, and such a glowing
one, too! There, it has disappeared."
"It may be a firefly, but It Is my
opinion that Colonel Drake of the reg
ulars Is smoking a cigar out there
among the shadows," said Harry.
"Is that charming old bear here?"
she suddenly asked, allowing her hand
to slip from the other's arm.
"He came this afternoon."
"And as I was not down to tea I did
not meet him."
"You seem to be acquainted with the
Colonel, Miss Lisle."
"Fairly, but really I ought not to
have spoken so shockingly about a line
gentleman. He Is quite engaging, but
1 detest that absurd idea about his
strange umbrella."
"Umbrella? What umbrella, may :
ask?" inquired Harry, puzzled at her
remark.
"Why, have you never heard about
the Colonel's umbrella?"
"Never."
"Colonel Drake possesses a blue, old
fashioned umbrella which is supposed
to be a very potent love charm or some
thing like that. Plainly, so It Is told,
when he Invites a lady to share its
shelter against the rain her heart is
won forthwith. Strange, is It not?"
"Absurd! Hare you ever "
"No. not yet."
"I should not like you to accept its
shelter ever though I do not believe
in such silliness," softly said Harry.
If she understood his meaning she
was coy of acknowledgment, for, lift
ing her hand to his arm again, the pair
resumed the stroll just In time to meet
the Colonel as he ascended the stops.
The Colonel lifted his hat and passed
indoors, while Harry and Edith stroll
ed and chatted the hours away.
The next morning Harry Lancaster's
heart sank when he looked from the
window and saw the leaden clouds
scurrying along the darkened sky.
"Rain! And I was to take her for a
drive! Well, I suppose I must make
the best of It and while away the time
In the parlors," muttered he, as he per
formed his toilet
When he entered the dining room he
saw that Miss Lisle's chair was va
cant. Ah! the Colonel's chair, too, was
vacant Over bis coffee Harry made
the resolve to make a break- before
night He would ask her for that dain
ty white band. He felt In his heart of
hearts that she did not dislike him. On
the contrary, as he recalled the pleas
ant past there was more than mere
friendliness In the depth of her beauti
ful blue eyes last night ajrthey strolled
along the veranda.
After breakfast be went to the smok
ing room and seated himself near a
window overlooking the white stretcn-
of sand, the curling waves, and the
foam-capped billows beyond.
Ah! A couple approached from the
beach. The gentleman carried a blue
umbrella! As the pair drew near Har
ry's heart beat wilder and wilder.
It was the Colonel's blue umbrella;
It was the Coolnel, but who was the
lady?
"Miss Lisle, by heavens! Pshaw! I'm
a fool to think there Is anything
strange about this. What do I care
about that blue umbrella, and its po
tent love charm? But I wish it had
not been Edith." mused Harry; and
tossing away his cigar he went out
upon the veranda just In time to raise
his hat and say "Good morning," to
Edith, who tripped by him.
The Colonel closed that quaint um
brella with a click as of satisfaction
as he passed Harry with a polite bow
and a "Good morning."
Two hours afterward Edith Lisle
blushed as Harry Lancaster asked her
a question. She recoveredquickIy and
said softly:
"Mr. Lancaster, the potency of the
blue umbrella is not a fietiou. He is
a charming gentleman, and I always
did like soldiers. I I thank you, and
well I simply said yes under the blue
umbrella; and 1 hope we shall remain
friends." Waverly Magazine.
MAMMOTH PIGEON RANCH.
EilCht Frame Sheds Used to House
Ten Thousand of Them.
Situated at the sharp angle where
the Arroyo Seco, or dry ditch (a ra
vine that extends from Los Angeles to
the Sierra Madre mountains, some four
teen miles away), and the Los Angeles
river (at this point eighteen miles
from the sea) meet, is one of the most
curtous exhibits of pigeon life ever
presented to the eye.
Here ten thousand pigeons, mostly
light In color, are found perched upon
the roofs of eight frame sheds. The
walls of these sheds are composed ot
hundreds of empty gasoline cans with
one of the ends taken out and wooden
boards with apertures large enough for
pigeons substituted, and thousands otf
wooden fruit boxes furnished with
square openings. The ground is gener
ally covered with pigeons until a stran
ger arrives, when there is a great whir
ring noise, the air Is full of wings and
thousands of pigeons return to their
brethren on the roofs of the sheds.
This Institution belongs to one of
Los Angeles' enterprising citizens, and
forms a great attraction to visitors
from all the country round, as well as
to numerous colored thieves, who make
a continual practice of robbing this
vast aggregation of pigeon roosts. Two
large dogs properly qualified to bark
and bite are located at each end. of
the grounds, about 200 feet from each
other. These are secured safely by
long chains to spikes in the ground.
But these, fierce as they are, do not
represent the entire force for the de
fense from thieves of the 10,000 pig
eons, two young dogs, trained to bark
and not to bite, are on duty also all
the time; these are more sleepless and
It Is the uproar they make upon which
the owner so much depends for the dis
covery of the colored thieves. Dis
ease and rats take away a great many
of this multitudinous bird population;
daily some young pigeons will be found
on the ground dead, having gone too
far from the family nest Pearson's
Magazine.
CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES.
Hiram Proved He Had a Sure Source
of Wealth.
"You talk very well, and you're not
bad looking," said Mr. Fewscads, the
village banker, to Hiram Clover, an
honest young farmer, "but you ought
to know that I cannot countenance your
attentions to my daughter."
"But, sir " began Hiram.
"I don't think that I can to argue the
matter, Mr. Clover," the banker cut In.
"1 know you are about to say that
Mabel loves you and that you can make
a nice home for her and all thai; but I
think you're mistaken. Any passing
fancy she may have for you will be
gone soon. All girls nave to go through
three or four sieges of that sort before
their affections are fixed on the man
they ought to marry."
"And yet, sir "
"Dont trouble to say anything, Mr.
Clover. 1 would spare you all unneces
sary pain. But the fact is, my daughter
would not be satisfied with life ou a
farm. And besides, pardon me for men
tioning it, but you cannot support her in
the style to which she has been accus
tomed. Mabel has had every advantage.
1 have reared her in the lap of luxury,
1 may say, and 1 cannot think of her
entering upon a life in which she might
miss the comforts with which 1 have
always surrounded her."
"The young man smiled a peculiar and
masterful smile, says the Detroit Free
Press, as be broke fii:
"Do you happen to know, sir, that I
have a flock of fifty hens, and that ev
ery hen is laying one egg a day, sir, and
do you know what fresh eggs are fetch
ing In the market at the present time?"
"Is that true?" asked the banker, pale
with emotion.
"It is."
"Take Mabel and be happy."
Sparrows Destroy Insects.
That sparrows are not the pesf they
are painted has just been proved by
the well-known English naturalist.
Bradley, who observed that a pair of
sparrows brought to the nests of their
youngsters no less than 3,200 Insects
during a single week. In the course of
one summer, Bradley states, a pair of
sparrows destroy at least 50,000 In
sects. Storks of East Indies.
In a public park at Calcutta are sev
eral birds of the adjutant species. They
are the storks of the East Indies, and
average about six feet In height These
birds parade in a stately way, and at
a distance look so much like soldiers
that strangers often mistake them for
grenadiers.
Women, like peaches, are sweetest
just before they decay. -
WORLD'S
JX. Jii -v
. u
r
CAXAL
HE Sanitary and Ship Canal of
II Chicago is probably the most re
markable artificial waterway
ever built in the history of the world.
Its total length, including the improved
portion of the Chicago Uiver.ls thirty
four miles. It has the greatest width
of any canal on earth,, having a cross
section of 202 feet at the bottom and
300 feet at the top. The ultimate object"
is to afford a water way .for the largest
ocean-going vessels from Lak Michi
gan to the Gulf of Mexico.
The work is yet being carried on un
ceasingly, the widening of the Chicago
Itiver being now in progress. Residents
of Chicago have already spent $37,378,
840 in the construction of the canal.
They must spend nearly $10,000,000
more before their part of the work is
done. Then it will cost $25,000,000 ad
ditional to complete the work necessary
to the proposed shipway. This latter
expense, however, it is expected, will be
borne by the Federal Government, and
the entire canal will become Govern
ment property.
Thus the total cost when the work at
present contemplated is finished will
have amounted to more than $82,000,
000. The Panama Canal is offered to
the United States for $40,000,000. or
less than half the total cost of the Sani
tary and Ship Canal. Had this canai
been built under conditions that prevail
In Central America its cost would prob-
THE BEAR TRAP
PALESTINE WAKING UP.
Many Signs of Progress Due to Ger
man Knterprise.
According to United States Consular
Agent Harris at Eibenstock, Palestine
has shown unmistakable signs of pro
gress during the last decade, much of
which is to be attributed to German
enterprise.
"German colonists, merchants and
horticulturists," says Mr. Harris, "are
awakening that part of the Levant
from a lethargy of a thousand years.
Three years ago a German bank was
established in Jerusalem, with -a
branch in Yafa, which exchanged $15,
000,000 in 1901. The waters of the
Dead Sea, where no rudder had been
seen for centuries, are now being plied
by German motor boats. A direct line
of communication has thus been opened
up between Jerusalem and Kerak, the
ancient capital of the land of Moab,
which still commands the caravan
routes leading across the Arabian
desert
"There is no doubt that German en
terprise will also exploit the phosphate
fields situated on both sides of the Jor
dan, when transportation facilities
shall have been sufficiently developed
to Insure success to the undertaking.
"For many years Germany has been
looking to Asia Minor and other coun
tries adjacent to Palestine as suitable
territories in which to develop German
markets. The Bagdad railroad, which
will lead through Anatolia, intersecting
the headwaters of the Tigris and Eu
phrates, to the shores of the Persian
Gulf, is an enterprise of vast Import
ance, not only to Germany, as the pro
moter, and the Turkish empire, but to
the world at large. It Is the greatest
commercial and civilizing factor that
could be Introduced into this region,
and will tap the rich territories which
composed ancient Mesopotamia. Apart
from new avenues of commerce a land
will be opened up to students and tour
ists which, owing to expense and"un
safe methods of travel, has thus far
been practically inaccessible.
"The great plain of the Hauran the
granary of Syria forms the 'hinter
land,' or bak country, of Palestine.
The railroad from Beirut to Damascus
Is said to be in financial difficulties.
Twelve months ago the German consul
at Damascus, In a report to his govern
ment, advised his countrymen to buy
not only this railroad but the unfinished
Haifa-Damascus railroad as well.
Were Germany to acquire these lines
and connect them with a railroad run
ning from Damascus to some point on
1 "STHL-- .
GREATEST ARTIFICIAL CANAL.
AS SEEN AT WILLOW SPRINGS LOOKING WEST.
ably have been doubled. The expense
is said to have been the minimum for
the amount of work accomplished.
Former Senator Warner Miller of
New York said: . "The use of the Im-
rv
LOOKING DOWN THE DESPLAlNES VALLEY FROM THE REAR OF
THE CONTROL ING WORKS.
proved excavating machienry on the
Isthiman canal would reduce the cost
of construction from 30 to 40 per cent."
The machinery, remarkable for handi
ness and speed, constructed especially
DAM AT LOCKPORT.
the projected Bagdad route she would
lie in a position to practically monopo
lize the trade of Palestine and Asia
Minor.
"The commerce of Palestine to-day""l3
not unimportant," said Mr. Harris, ac
cording to the Washington Star. "The
products of the country are wheat, bar
ley, oranges, oil, wine, nuts, figs, apples,
peaches, pears, pomegranates, apricots,
citrons, almonds, cucumbers, lettuce,
onions, wild artichokes and asparagus,
truffles, tobacco, sesame and silk, while
potatoes and other European and
American vegetables are being intro
duced by German and French colon
ists." HAVE A TREE DOCTOR.
Several Cities Add a Dendrolojjist to
Their Official Corps.
Doctor of trees Is the latest official
addition to the municipal corps of
large cities. Boston has engaged a
tree doctor to feel the pulses of the
elms on Boston common; Chicago has
a consultant to help Jackson Park re
cover from its attack of World's Fair;
New York added one to its official ros
ter when the rapid transit subway was
likely to Interfere with the boulevard
trees, and Brooklyn Is considering the
advisability of offering a permanent
position to a "tree doctor" competent
to look after the health of the trees in
Prospect Park.
Most of the Interest in city trees is
directly due to the growing fashion
for country houses and estates. City
men have learned to recognize good
trees when they see them and to ob
serve them closely enough to detect
promptly any sign of approaching de
cay. Landscape architects, who used
to be scarce, are now plentiful . and
able, and they have succeeded In edu
cating such a considerable proportion
of the general public that complaint is
soon made if the trees of a city shows
symptoms of municipal neglect or ill
treatment. Indeed, since the days of
Secretary of Agriculture Morton, who
established "Arbor day." there has
been a regular campaign of education
in favor of city trees. The direct ef
fect of this work has been the crea
tion of the "tree doptor."
The "tree doctor" is not necessarily
a practical landscape architect or gar
dener, says the Brooklyn Eagle, though
he very often stands high in that pro
fession. More than one of the really
successful men in this new occupation
actually knew very little about trees
until a few years ago. Many of them
were amateurs who became interested
t'fj
for this work, was a source of wonder
ment to the mechanical world. Nearly
every piece of important machinery
used in the entire work was invented
for the especial purpose, as nothing In
the, market could be found answering
the requirements for convenience and
speed.
The building of the canal resulted in
reversing the flow of the Chicago Riv
er, a feat long regarded as an impossi
bility. The river which, formerly emp
tied into the- lake' Is now an outlet of
the lake and empties at its other end
into the canal proper. Even yet Chicago
is debating as to which is up and which
Is down the river, which is its head and
which its mouth.
The waters flowing through the canal
are emptied into the Desplaines River at
Lockport, through the controlling
works, which comprise several sluice
gates of metal with masonry bulkheads
and a bear-trap dam. This dam is re
garded by the canal trustees as "the
greatest triumph of engineering genius
that has ever been achieved In this or
or any other country."
The sluice-gates have a vertical play
of twenty feet and openings of thirty
feet each. The bear-trap dam has an
opening of 160 feet and an oscillation of
seventeen feet vertically." The con
trolling works are operated by admit
ting water through conduits controlled
by a valve.
in the subject and took It up as an
amusement At that time there were
few facilities for the acquisition of
tree knowledge, but in recent years it
has not been hard for intending doc
tors of trees to gather knowledge of
the best methods of arborlcultur.
Sam's Choice of Brides.
Former Lieutenant Governor John C.
Underwood, of Kentucky, told a story
at the Canadian Society dinner at the
Arkwright Club Tuesday night about a
negro in his employ who was married
four or five times, every time receiving
as a gift $5 from his employer. Tile
sixth time the servant appeared Mr.
Underwood said: "This thing has gone
too far, Sam; this time you have got to
get married in the regular form. I will
get you a license from the County Clerk
which will cost $1.50, which sum I will
deduct from the $5 I am going to give
you."
Sam demurred, but finally consented
to have the license procured. He came
to Mr. Underwood's bouse In the even
ind and when the certificate was read
to him It contained the name "Mary
Ann Jones," the name of a woman to
whom Sam had been paying attention.
"Land's sakes, Marser, 'Mary Ann
Jones ain't de woman. " It's Sarah Jen
kins I wants to marry."
Colonel Underwood replied that he
would arrange it all right says the
New York Times, and would take out
another license, costing $1.50, which
sum he would deduct also from the $5.
"This Is getting too expensive," cried
Sam. "I think you better leave de pa
per'' like It am. I did wanter marry
Sarah Jenkins, but dere ain't $1.50 dif
ference 'tween dem, so I reckon I'll
take Mary Ann Jones dis time."
Great Salt Lake.
According to the report of the United
States Geological Survey, Great Salt
Lake has been steadily sinking for a
number of years. If that clear, briny
drop, of ocean, left behind when the Pa
cific rolled westward, should sometime
dry np into a salt basin, there would be
grief and loss in Utah, since It has be
come a prominent point for business
and pleasure. As to the cause of the
decline opinions vary. It is thought by
some that the lake is subject to cycles
of change, and thfs is its low water per
iod. Others attribute the sinking to the
clearing of the forests from the neigh
boring mountains, thus destroying the
protection of the head waters of many
streams flowing into the lake.
Politeness is the zero mark of love's
tLsrmonieter.
WHEN 13 A PIQ A HOG. ?
Decision IMscrasted Toons; Lawyer ad
Drove Him to Exile. .
"When does a pig become a hogT
This question waa considered of such
moment by a young Alabama lawyer
that he carried a case In which it was
brought up to the Supreme Court
When that tribunal sustained the lower
court' and decided against him h left
the State In disgust
The case is cited in the Alabama re
ports and is one of the numerous ones
in which a son of Ham was tried for
stealing a hog. Appointed by the court
to defend the negro, the young Ala
bamlan threw into this his first case an
enthusiasm born of long hours spent
with candle and. book, which had
charged his soul and now broke loose
and rudely brushed away the dusty
cobwebs of -precedent which had gath
ered In the temple of justice before the
war and bad hung there undisturbed
even by the cannon's roar.
He made the witnesses for the State
admit that the "razorback" was of
years that were few and tender, and
rested his case on a motion to quash
-"because the indictment charged the de
fendant with the crime of stealing a
bog, and the evidence was that he stole
a pig. The court denied the motion and
the Jury promptly returned the usual
verdict "guilty as charged." But the
lawyer's hot Southern blood was up
and he took an appeal to the Supreme
Court.
Unfortunately for the budding Bacon
the Supreme Court of Alabama, like
that of most States, was years behind
on its calendar, and when the case in
volving the question of when a hog is
not a hog came up for hearing the
stolen pig had grown to be a hog and
was produced in court by the State's
Attorney as a living witness to the po
tential possibilities of Alabama pigs
when given time to assert themselves.
With this ocular demonstration be
fore them of the correctness of the In
dictment in the lower court, there was
no other course left to the Supreme
Court Judges but to affirm the decision.
Disgusted by Buch "pig-headedness,"
says the New York Mail and Express,
the young man moved to Florida,
where such an experience can never
happen to him, because there they grow
pigs that can always outrun a man of
color.
WRSISWEJ
The coldest time of the day, at all
seasons of the year, is usually at 5
o'clock in the morning.
Carrier pigeons are to be bred and
trained by the German military author
ities in a large four-storied columbary
which has just been erected at Span
dan. Great use will be made of the
birds in future military maneuvers.
There are several States without
debt, but no American city, with the
single exception of Washington, the local-debt
of which Is an obligation of
Congress. State debts are decreasing
steadily; city debts are increasing.
The deepest Atlantic soundings ever
made were about ninety miles north of
the Island of St. Thomas, in 3,875 fath
oms. The pressure was so great at this
immense depth, that the bulbs of the
thermometer, made to stand a pressure
of three tons, broke.
Victor Smith tells of a family that Is
toothless. There are three brothers,
and not one of them has a tooth in his
head, and never had. Two of them
have no children, but one of them has?
three children well grown up, and the
inheritance sticks to all of them. Not
one in the family has a tooth. "The only
dentists' bills are for the three wives.
There are 1,000 halls and corridors in
the 'Vatican, and 11,000 rooms, count
ing everything, the quarters for the
Swiss guards, the stables for the
horses, the storehouses for gardeners'
tools, the mosaic factory and other
workshops, and it Is said that an aver
age of 2.200 people are employed under
the roof, most of them being lodged
there. This includes the Swiss guard.
In Cincinnati recently a woman was
taken ill of heart disease in the night.
A hurry call was sent for a doctor.
When the "doctor arrived the elevator
had stopped and he was obliged to walk
up three flights of stairs. As he opened
the floor of the woman's room she
gasped her last. The doctor sank into
a chair, panting from the exertion of
the swift and hard climb, and an in
stant inter slipped to the floor, dead.
He, too, was a victim of heart disease.
Children of the White House.
There's romping in the red room
And whooping in the biue;
There's shouting in the attic
And in the cellar, too.
The White House floors are strewn with
toys
That once were whole and new.
The shouts of gleeful children
Ring through the stately halls;
The marks of little fingers
Are on the splendid walls;
A newer benediction on
The storied mansion falls.
There's pounding on the stairways
And little cribs are where
The rooms were cold and empty.
And many a little pair
Of socks hang on the clothesline when
.They do the washing there.
4
There's gladness and there's laughter,
And with the day begin
The whistling and the singing
That help to make the din.
Ah, children of the White House, you
Have let the sunshine in.
Leslie's Weekly.
Her Suspicion.
"Is your husband suffering from the
toothache?"
"Well," answered the woman with a
tired expression, "he says he's suffer
ing. But from the way he keeps brag
ging about it I'm half suspicious that
he's kind of enjoying it" Washington
Star.
No Room for Dearest Mamma.
"But there isn't a spare bedroom in
the house."
"Oh, that's all right, my dear."
"Why do you say it's all right?"
"I was thinking of your mother, my
dear." Cleveland Plain Dealer.
No man's collections on the first of
the month amount to as much as be
expected.
LIVING IN THE COUNTRY,
Ou Gains Advantages and Kscapes a
. Multitude of Obligations.
If you get ever so rich, what Jo you
do? Buy a farm somewhere. If you
have the root of a good matter in you.
you will want to poultice a worn spirit
from time to time with healing airs
and the restful scenes of the country.
If you get ever so poor, what do you
do? Work harder, probably, if you are
fit to do anything and can find any
thing to do. But If you have a spirit
of the requisite fiber, and have come to
just the requisite degree of impecuni
oslty, and circumstances and your ex
perience of life favor Jt, you go and
live In the country. You can live very
cheaply In the country if you choose,
and possess your soul in complete in
dependence, and wear your old clothes
with a cheerful spirit
You will be quit of a host of obliga
tions to fashion, to society, which may
vex and oppress you in town, for the
price of superfluities Is by far the big-
gest Item in the cost of ordinary living.
You will miss opportunities, too, but
not all opportunity. You will live face
to face with nature. You will be able
to say you prayers in peace, and de
velop the spiritual side of you. If you
have any, with only the smallest con
cern about landlords, grocers, or rai
ment There are no taxes of any con
sequence in the country; think of that!
The greatest luxury you get there is
time, and the next greatest are sights
and sounds and smells. If you have
thoughts to think, the country gives
you a great chance to think them. If
you have books to read, you can read a
lot of them In the country, even with
kerosene at 11 cents a gallon.
On the other hand, if you have
money to spend, what a chance to
spend It the country offers you! Gar
dens, cows, horses, houses, stables,
roads, milk at a dollar a gallon if you
like, sheep, and dogs, and, most of all,
children. It is no trouble at all to
spend $50,000 a year on roads alone, if
only you start with a fairly sharp land
hunger and push out your borders
with due energy. You can get more
for your money in roads than in dia
monds or pictures, and roads are a
permanent investment. They don't
burn down; you don't have to keep
them insured; you don't have even to
keep them clean, for If you build them
well, let the weeds grow never so
thick on them, the roads will be there
still. And once you put your money
into them, it stays. You can never get
It out nor can any one else. You can
not even be taxed adequately on them,
for no assessor presumes to see much
value In a road. Indeed, a very large
sum of money can be hid in a country
place where the assessors won't find
it in water pipes, drains, and such
things. Harper's Magazine.
TREE STOLE SHEEP'S HORNS.
Firmly imbedded in a tree, a section
of which has been sent to the Smith
sonian Institution, are both horns of a
moufflon or Rocky Mountain sheep.
The horns must have gotten there so
long ago that the tree has grown
around them. The section was taken
at some distance from the ground, and
the conjecture that someone placed the
horns in the crotch of the tree does not
seem at all likely. It seems more prob
able that the animal was caught by
the horns In this position in one of its
prodigious leaps from the cliff above.
Messages to a Druggist.
A Philadelphia druggist has made tile
following collection of amusing mis
sives that have been sent to him from
time to time:
"I have a cute pain In my baby's
stummlck. Please give bearer some
thing to cure It."
"My little girl has eat up a lot of but
tons. Please send a nemetic by the
enclosed boy."
"Deer doctor a dog bit my child on
the leg please send some cork plaster
and cutter eyes."
"Please send by bearer one postal
card. Also kindly give bearer, my son,
some licorice root."
"Deer doctor wot Is good for tirefoy
fever send some quick I got it."
"Let my Johnny have a glass of sody
water. I wul come myself but I am
washing. P. S. the Ave cents is for the
i sody water."
"If you can fill the enclosed prescrip
! tlon for twenty-five cents, do so. If
not, return by bearer:"
New Way to Make AVriters
"Dis boy," explained the old colored
farmer, "wants to be a writeT lak
dem what writes de 'Pontic's Prog
ress,' en de 'Robinson Crowso.' "
The black pickaninny stood in the
corner, fumbling with his fraj-ed Iiat
brlm. "Well, what evidence has he given
of It? Has he ever written anything?"
"No, suh; he can't write he name.
Dat's what I fetch 'lm up hear fer
ter make a writer er 'lm! He 'lows
mebbe you could sorter beat it inter
'lm des frail 'lm out, lak. 'twell he tuk
ter it nachul! He already been hit
side de head wld a dictionary, an de
bigges' sort er words Is been rumiin' in
his head ever since! I think dat ef
you'd lamm 'im roun' wld some er dem
books you got dar he'd fetch up all
right Hit's my hones' beliefs dat all
dat boy needs is a fair showln', en he'll
gprise de worl'!" Atlanta Constitution.
An All-Round Muchness.
"They say there are too many adjec
tives in the latest historical novel."
"I'll bet It's the same way with all
the other parts of speech." Cleveland
Plain Dealer.