CM)
WHEN I WAS A BOY.
Up la the attie where I slept
When I was. a boy a little boy
In through the lattice the moonlight
crept,
' Bringing a tide of dreams that u-vept
Over the low red trundle bed,
" Bathing the tangled curly head,
While .moonbeams played at hide and
- eek .
.' Wirb the dimples on each sun-browned
. cheek
-When I was a boy a little boy!
-,'And, oh, the dreams, the dreams I
dreamed
When I was a boy a little boy!
I'or the grace that through the lattice
streamed
" Over my folded eyelids seemed
To hare a gift of prophecy,
And to bring me glimpses of times to be
Where manhood's clarion seemed to call,
Ah. that was the sweetest dream of all
When I was-a boy a little boy I
I'd like to sleep where I used to sleep
When I was a boy a little boy!
For in at the lattice the moon would peep,
Bringing her tide of dreams to sweep
The crosses and griefs of the years away
From the heart that is weary and faint
to-day,
And those dreams should give me back
again
The peace I have never known since
then
When I was a boy a little boy!
Eugene Field.
: The Stolen Diamond I
CRIMINAL who has any pecu
liarity about his person, such as
a missing finger, a club foot, or
auy mark made by his trade, such as
the mark on the hand of a barber,
where the scissors had constantly
pressed against the roof of bis thumb,
should be careful lest these means of
identification are not the means of his
downfall. Most of the cases which
have come under my notice have beeu
cases where the culprit has bad some
bodily deficiency which has left its
mark on something with which he has
come in contact. The experience
which I am about to relate embodies
this truth, and had not the criminal
in the case had the misfortune of los
ing one-half of his but I am anticipat
ing events.
I had Just returned from the conti
nent, where I had been sent in con
nection with the Duchess of Mentone's
stolen jewels, and was prepared to en
Joy a rest, when I received a wire from
my . chief asking me to report at once.
Upon arriving at the office he told me
that robbery had been committed at
the summer home of Mr. George Mid
dleton, the millionaire oil magnate, and
that a detective bad been wired for. As
to the particulars, only one diamond
bad been stolen, a magnificent stone of
great value intrinsically and of incal
culable worth to the family as an heir
loom. Mr. MIddleton's place was somewhere
up the Hudson and I set out at once.
When I arrived I was at once taken
to Mr. Mlddleton, who appeared very
much upset over the affair, not so much,
he assured me, on account of the value
of the stone, but it had been so long In
the family and had so much to do with
the history of the family, having been
passed down as an heirloom from one
generation to another, that he viewed
the loss as a very great calamity. The
points of the case were briefly as fol
lows: On the previous night be had
taken the diamond from the safe to
show It to some of his guests, and Mrs.
Mlddleton, who was to wear it at a
ball on the following night, had taken
it from him, and, not thinking it nec
essary to place l.t in the safe for so
short a time, had taken it to her bed
room and put it in a small casket on
her dressing table.
The next morning before going down
stairs she thought she would see if it
was all right, and was astonished to
find the casket empty. There were
many guests In the house, and at my
request I was to be Introduced as a
friend of Mr. Mlddleton. Before going
iuto the drawing-room I asked If he
would be good enough to give me some
particulars about his guests. "Let me
see," he said; "there are about twenty
guests, mostly gentlemen. With the
exception of three they are old friends
of the family and above suspicion. The
remaining three are gentlemen of high
character. One of them is a Russian
count, who came to me with letters
from intimate frleuds abroad, and one
of the others is an Englishman whom
I met In New York, and our kindred
tastes led me to invite him here a few
weeks; the other is n gentleman from
town, greatly luterested in dynamics,
and whom I met in my club. These aro
the only acquaintances that are here
whom I have met during the last year."
I was then taken to the drawing
room and introduced to most of the
guests, among tliem the three new ac
quaintances. I gained nothing that
night and noticed nothing suspicious
about any of the guests. I was rather
inclined to think that the robbery had
been committed from the inside, by
either one of the servants or one cf the
guests, as all the doors had been found
fastened on the morning after the rob
bery, and no one knew that the dia
mond was In the house (It was always
kept at the bank) but the members of
the household and the guests to whom
it had been shown on the night of the
robbery. In the morning I asked the
servant who brought me my coffee and
rolls to come in, and I questioned him
as to the guests, and If he had noticed
any of the servants were In trouble
over money matters.
"Now," I said to him, "have you no
ticed anything peculiar about any of
the guests? No matter how trifling .t
may appear to you, it may be the means
of providing me with a clue."
lie thought for a moment and theu
said that be had noticed nothing out
of the common. He had just gone out
of the room when be reappeared and
told me that he had noticed one thing
about one of the guests, but it could
have nothing to do with the robbery.
He bad noticed that one of the men
had always bad his shoes cleaned while
they were on his feet. He always col
lected all the shoes and took them down
to be cleaned, but Mr. Dane, "the man
who always talks about machinery aud
President's Own F lag
An Ensign the Existence of Which Has Been-Known
to Comparatively Few People of This Republic.
OT everybody knows that the
President of the United States
his own flag, which he is en
titled to hoist-over any boat of the
United States navy In which he may
happen to be. It is not a new flagrThe
President's flag is an institution a cen
tury old, and has, in some shape, prac
tically been, in existence ever since we
became a nation.
Congress never legislated on the
President's flag. It was established
arbitrarily by the Secretary of the
Navy, though there was never a set
of rules regarding it until 1865, when
Secretary Gideon Welles promulgated
orders which permitted the President
to display-his flag at the main royal
of any vessel honored by his presence,
the flag of the commanding officer to
be struck for the time being. These
regulations were reaffirmed in 1866,
and again in 1869, and have been in
force ever since. At that time the
President's flag was the blue field of
the Stars and Stripes, but In 1879, by
order of the Secretary of the Navy,
the coat of arms of the United States
was placed on the flag, in white, with
the constellation above in a single
curved line. A few years later the
colors of the design were changed to
brown and a crest was added, showing
the stars within a ring of clouds. There
being no way of representing clouds
with bunting, the design was painted.
This was unsatisfactory, as a few hours
of whipping in the wind cracked t&e
paint and ruined the effect "
President Roosevelt's suggestions
that the flag be changed to overcome
inartistic details and do away with
the paint, were received with favor
and the President's flag Is now the
came and had them cleaned on his
feet"
In the evening I had another talk
with the man and asked him to give me
an account of everything that happen
ed on thejilght of the robbery. He told
me that the gentleman had been out all
day, and in the evening Mr. Middleton
had sent an order to him to bring some
apples Into the drawing-room; these
apples were of a special kind grown
on the place. He had taken them into
the drawing-room and it was soon after
this that Mr. Middleton had gone and
fetched the diamond from the safe.
I made a. mental note of these facts.
Later on I had a chat with Mr. Dane,
and, being myself something of an au
thority on dynamics, I was able to in
terest him. I was looking at bim close
ly all the time we were talking. There
was only one thing that distinguished
him from any other guest. .This was
that half of one of his front teeth was
missing; It had been broken off in al
most exactly the middle.
I did not connect Mr. Dane with the
robbery; in fact, I had up to this time
not the slightest suspicion of a clue.
It was early the next morning that 1
was put on the scent. I had visited the
lawn under the window of the room
from which the diamond had been
stolen, and was looking to see if I could
find any trace of footprints on the
beds or the lawn. I did not find any
trace of footprints, but I noticed the
half of an apple directly under the win-1
dow. I picked it up and examined it
carefully. As I was turning it over and
"over I was thinking aud wondering
how it came there. ' It must have been j
thrown there recently, otherwise it
would have been swept up. Then it
struck me that apples had been eaten
on the night that the diamond had been
stolen, and I understood that no one
had gone out on that night. Of course,
I thought some one might have thrown
it there since that night Then I no
ticed a peculiarity of the marks of the
teeth on the apple. About half of it
had been eaten, and at every place
where the apple had been bitten a
small portion of the apple remained, a
small ridge about an eighth of an Inch
in width and extending the entire
length of the bite. I saw in a moment
who had been eating the apple. It was
the man with the broken tooth, Mr.
Dane, and the ridge was left where the
missing tocth must have bitten. Now it
occurred to me that it was just possible
that after Mr. Middleton had given the
diamond to his wife (which was just
after the apples had been brought in)
Mr. Dane had followed her and taken
his partly finished apple with him.
After she had left the room, leaving
the diamond in the casket, he had gone
In, and, when opening the box, had put
the apple down, and not knowing ex
actly what to do with it had opened
the window, which opened after the
fashion of a door, and had thrown it
down on the grass below. Another
thought struck me. Why did Mr. Dane
have his shoes cleaned on his feet, in
stead of having them cleaned as the
other guests did? There must be somo
reason for this unless it was a fad. I
asked my confidential servant which
was Mr. Dane's bedroom, and In the
evening when Mr. Dane was in tha
drawiug-room with his pumps on, i
went to his room, and, as I expected.
I could not find- the shoes. I could,
however, give a guess that they were
In a large box which stood in the corner
of the room. Further evidence: Why
did he keep his shoes locked up in his
box?. I pulled a bunch of keys out of
my pocket and tried to uulock the pad
lock, but not one key in my possession
would fit the lock. The next morning
by six o'clock I was being driven to a
locksmith 'with the purpose of obtain
ing fresh keys.
On the evening of that day I watched
for the appearance of Mr. Dane with a
certain amount of excitement I felt
as though 1 was going to find the dia
moud that night Presently he appear
ed as usual in his pumps and challeng
ed me to a game of billiards. I would
rather not have played, but I accepted
his challenge and we had a game. -
It seemed a terrible long game, but
at last it was finished, and he made his
way to the smoking-room, while I made
my way to his bedroom. I closed and
locked the door and then started to try
the various" keys. Almost the first key
fitted and I opened the box and got out
the shoes. They were of common make
and there appeared to be nothing out
of the way about, them. I noticed, how-
THE PRESIDENT'S OWN FLAG. -
blue background of the Union Jack, on
which is a pure white eagle, "Its
feathers heavily outlined in black. The
constellation Is in white, with the rays
of the sunburst in heavy stitching of
yellow. The "flag is of bunting and
measures fourteen by ten and one-half
feet, for outdoor use, and Is of heavy
taffeta silk, with gold thread and em;
broidery for indoor decoration. The
flag as it. now is. Is an exceedingly
handsome one and will probably be al
lowed to remain unaltered for all time
to come. -
With- Secretary Welles' regulations
were also provisions for flags which
should Indicate the presence on board
any vessel' of the vice president, mem
bers of the Cabinet and governors of
the States, but they are rarely, if ever
used. Indeed, the President's own flag
has been so Infrequently - displayed
that when President Harrison went up
the Atlantic coast in the Dolphin, with
his flag displayed, he was ridiculed by
a number of prominent newspapers,
the editors of which did not know that
the custom was established a century
ago.
ever, a little cut In the heel of the right
shoe and I put my finger in this cut and
gave it a pull, but it remained firm.
I examined It very carefully and dis
covered the head of a nail driven Into
the heel from the side, and as this could
serve no purpose there, and, moreover,
as it was. blackened over so that It
could hardly be seen without very close
inspection, I naturally thought It
might have some purpose, so I got my
knife from pocket and, putting it un
der the head, levered it It came out
easy enough, and I then pulled the top
of the heel right off, and there, snugly
resting in a bed of cotton wool, lay the
missing diamond!
I took it out and looked at it by the
light of the candle. It was a magnifi
cent stone and, I could see, of immense
value.
At this moment some one tried the
door and I fancied I heard an exclama
tion of rage and then a hurrying of feet
downstairs. I rushed toward the door
and was jus.t in time to see Mr. Dane
disappearing out of a door which led
into the grounds. I shouted out to the
gentlemen that the man who stole the
diamond was but a few yards away,
and they joined in the pursuit We
were not long In catching bim.
Mr. Middleton would not at first be
lieve It was Mr. Dane who stole the
diamond, but when I " showed him the
shoe with the sliding heel he realized
how his confidence had been abused.
So you see that criminals should bo
very careful if they have any part of
their anatomy missing, even If -it is
only half of a tooth. Mr. Dane is still
iu- the stone business, but he is in Sing
Sing. Vidocq, In the Independent
CUBA'S FIRST MINISTER.
Senor Gonzales Represents New Be
public at Washington.
When Senor Gonzales de Quesada,
the minister from Cuba, presented his
credentials to President Roosevelt the
event marked the
entry of the new
republic as a coun
try into the politics
of nations.
Senor . Quesada is
a native of Cuba
and is but thirty
four years of age.
He was born at the
beginning of the
first Cuban Insur
rection. His parents
took sides with the. patriots and were
exiled. They sought refuge in New
York, and in that city young Quesada
grew up and was educated. For sev
eral years prior, to and during the war
for freedom Senor Quesada was secre
tary of the unrecognized legation from
the republic, which then existed only
in name. During those years he be
came a personal friend of Mr. Roose
velt, who welcomed him warmly when
he received him as the minister of the
new republic.
English Tongue's Supremacy.
Two-thirds of all the letterswhlch
pass through the post offices of the
world are written by and sent to peo
ple who speak English, says Brad
street's. There are substantially 500,
000,000 persons speaking colloquially
one or other of the ten or twelve chief
modern languages, and of these about
25 per cent, or 125,000,000 persons,
speak English. About 100,000,000 speak
Russian, 75,000.000 German, 55,000,000
French, 45,000,000 Spanish. 35,000,000
Italian, and 12,000,000 Portuguese, and
the balance Hungarian, Dutch, Polish,.
Flemish, Bohemian, Gaelic, Rouma
nian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and
Norwegian. Thus, while only one-quarter
of those who employ the facilities
of the postal departments of civilized
governments speak as their native
tongue English, two-thirds of those who
correspond do so in the English lan
guage. There are, for instance, more
than 20,000 pest offices in India, the
business of which in letters and papers
aggregates more than 300,000,000 a
year, and the business of these offices
is done chiefly In English, though of
India's total population, which is nearly
300,000,000, fewer than 300,000 persons
either speak or understand English.
When a girl over 26 Is still a belief
either her father is rich, or she lives in
a big house, and gives parties.
Many a woman clothes her body until
she resembles a fashion plate, while
she lets her mind go ragged.
11 1 .
TREED BY WILD HOGS, -
Illinois Hunter Haa a Yery Unpleas
ant Adventure,
In the cane-brakes along the Illinois
river wOd hogs have appeared in great
numbers this year, coming from no ona
knows where, the St Louis Republic
says.. These hogs seem to have little
in common with the domestic species.
They are gaunt of form, long-legged.
and as ferocious as bears, many of
them with enormous beads and savage
looking tusks. Several rather unpleas
ant adventures have occurred : with
these animals, among them one In
which J. P. McGee played a part
On his return from a successful bird
hunt recently Mr. McGee saw a small
pig rolling in the dirt He had heard
of the wild hogs, but up to this time
had seen none. With the sportsman's
instinct he raised his gun, fired and
wounded the pig. Its squeals were
answered by grunts from all sides, and
hundreds of hogs issued from the cane.
McGee knew that, they meant mis
chief, and throwing down his gun, he
hastily scrambled among the branches
of a small tree. Still the hogs came,
hundreds of them, and their grunting
and squealing, added to their ferocious
aspect, were appalling to the fright
ened man. . -
The hunter felt reasonably safe a
the tree.for he knew the enraged ani
mals could not reach him. But they
squealed, snapped their ugly jaws, and
leaped up. McGee saw them chew up
and destroy the stock of his gun. And
then they began to root at the tree
wherein he sat
At first he smiled at this rooting, but
as a half dozen of the big boars kept
at It he began to wonder if they meant
to root the tree down. In the course
of a half -hour his wonder i changed to
alarm. The hogs had made a big hole
around the roots of the tree, which was
but small, and they were still rooting
vigorously. Doubtless they had learned
by experience how to get at a treed en
emy.
Night came on, and in the moonlight
the luckless hunter say countless num
bers of hogs moving about - and the
rooting at the tree went on. . Hoping
to divert the savage brutes, he had
thrown down to them the contents of
his game-bag, which had been eagerly
devoured.
Time passed, and the tree began to
sway. McGee knew well that his
chance for life was nothing if he fell
among those hogs. More and more the
tree swayed, then leaned to one side,
and the hunter gave himself up for
lost
Suddenly there was a cessation of
the grunting and squealing down be
low, and then a rush of feet The hogs
had departed, for some mysterious
cause. The hunter did not know then
and does not know now why they fled.
But go they did, and the hunter was
safe.
Waiting barely long enough to make
sure -of the departure of his enemies,
he dropped from the tree and made the
best possible time to his home.
BILL NYE AS A DAIRYMAN.
When I was young and used to roam
around over the country, gathering
watermelons in the light of the moon,
I used to'think I could milk anybody's
cow, but I don't think so now. I dou't
milk the cow unless the sign is right
and it hasn't been right for a good
many years. The last cow I tried to
milk was a common cow, born in ob
scurity; kind of self-made. cow- I re
member that her brow was low, but
she wore her tail high and was
haughty, oh, so haughty.
I made a common place remark to
her, one that is used in. the very best
society; "So" and she soed. Then I
told her to "Hist" and she histed. But
I thought she overdid it. She put too
much expression in it. Just then I
heard something crash through a win
dow of the barn and fall with a tiiud,
sickening thud, on the outside. The
neighbors come to see what it was that
caused the noise. They found that I
had done it in getting through the
window. I asked the neighbors if the
barn was standing. They said it was.
Then Tasked them if the cow was hurt
much. They said she seemed quite
robust Then I requested them to go
in and calm the cow a little and see if
they could get my plug hat off of her
horns.
I am buying all my milk now from a
milkman. I select a eentle milkman
who will not kick, and feel as though I
can trust him. Then -i he feels as
though he can trust me. it is all right
Bound to Be Bight. '
The suoerintendent was visiting the
class. It was of the variety known as
Al. The teacher was very much awed,
also very nervous. The superintend
ent had asked her to give a lesson in
number. Little 6-year-old Annie was
neither awed nor nervous, so when
the teacher said, "If four pieces of
candy cost 1 cent, how many pieces
can I buv for 2 cents?" she quickly
solved the problem. She wished to
make sure she was rignt Derore an
ivorinir. however, so. with her hand
partly shading her "mouth, she looked
at the superintendent and with a
knowing little wink whispered the
word ''eight" ani then nodded her
head 'as much as to say, "Is that
right?" The superintendent, repress
ing a smile with difficulty, nodded that
it was, and soon another little"" hand
waved frantically in the air. New
York Evening Sun.
Would Not Have Time.
Having once lost a case in New York
Counselor" Nolan . sadly remarked:
"My poor client Is little likely to get
Justice done here until the judgment
day."
"Well, counselor," said the court, "if
I have an opportunity I'll plead for the
poor woman myself on that day."
"Your honor," replied Nolaii "will
have troubles of your own on that
day." :.
Internally Wrenched.
Dick Have you got the ping-pong
wrist yet? -
- Tom No; but since our club charges
for bad plays, I've got the ping-pong
poeketbookr -
. One reason it is easier for a girl to be
more strictly honest than a boy la, that
she is never so hungry.
I IKK
rrrHERE is probably no animal.
. .11 outside of the range of conven
tional domestic pets, which pro
vokes so much curiosity among, or
proves such a magnet of amusement to,
the juvenile fraternity, either at the
circus or Zoological Gardens, as the ele
phant This ponderous and apparently
clumsy, albeit, as a rule perfectly
harmless and docile creature is a never
ending source of, delight to children.
Especially is, this the case with "Big
Tom," the noble creature in the public
Central Park of New York. He is an
unusually tractable and playful ani
mal, and consequently is a great favor
ite with the youngsters.
But one day "Big Tom" suddenly
changed his manner. He became vi
cious, and the keeper, apprehensive
that he might hurt some of his young
visitors. , fastened him up out of the
FILING DOWN THE TEETH.
way.- Contemporaneously, the elephant
displayed a difficulty in walking. At
first the keeper could -not assign any
reason for this unexpected development
on the part of his charge, and forth
with subjected the animal to a minuta
diagnosis. But he could not discover
any reason to which either the animal's
bad temper or lameness could be at
tributed, since "Big Tom" appeared to
be enjoying the best of health.
The keeper, however, observed that
the animal was lame in his legs, and
also that his toenails had grown to an
unusual extent. . It then occurred, to the
man that, possibly the animal's crippled
condition was due to the abnormal size
of his toenails. If such were the case,
then the pain "Big Tom" endured while
walking would be excruciating, and
would account for his display of bad
temper. The keeper thereupon decided
to cut and trim the creature's nails, as,
even if the operation did not cure the
malady, it would at any rate do no
harm. Had "Big Tom" been roaming
about in his native jungle, plowing and
plodding in the heavy, rough soil, the
nails would have been kept down to
their proper .size, but as he was' de
prived of these natural means of chir
opody, then the same result would -have
to be accomplished by artificial means.
But the task was not so easy as it
appeared from a cursory glance. The
keeper realized that the work would
have to be carried out with consum
mate skill, if the result were to be at
tended with satisfactory success. To
insure this end, a special set of tools
were prepared. This peculiar chiropody
outfit comprised a saw, chisel, sharp
knife, coarse, rasp, sandpaper and
smooth polishers, all specially manu
factured for the operation.
The elephant's legs were secured to
the ground by means of chains to pre
vent movement but otherwise "Big
Tom" was left entirely free, since as
the nails are of hard horn no pain
would be experienced in the actual cut
ting, though as the flesh around the
nails had become inflamed and tender,
SAWING OFF THE TUSKS,
it was feared that the creature might
strongly emphasize its disapproval of
the operation by dealing its keeper a
powerful blow with its trunk. Despite
this possibility, however, no interfer
ence was made with regard to the free
dom of the animal's trunk. Subscjr.ent
events proved that all qualms on this
point were groundless.
The. saw was first utilized to cut
away a large quantity of -superfluous
nail, and this tool was followed by the
chisel, which removed the portions in
accessible to the saw. The animal at
first appeared a trifle fidgety, but dis
played no resentment to the manipula
tions of the operator, as if he compre
hended that the labor of the keeper was
to his own advantage.
Sawing and chiseling completed, the
chiropodist proceeded to rub down the
nails to their required shape with the
coarse rasp. This filing proved no light
task, as the texture of the nail was ex
ceedingly hard and great care had to be
exercised that the tool did not slip and
Injure the leg of "Big Tom," in which
event he would doubtless have remind
ed the operator of his clumsiness in a
most forcible manner by means of his
trunk. The filing process accomplished
to the surgeon's satisfaction, he pro
ceeded to" complete his operation by
smoothing and polishing the trimmed
I nails with the sandpaper. -.
When the task was completely
achieved, the elephant was released
from Its fetters, and to the unbounded
delight of his keeper, "Big Tom's"
lameness had completely disappeared,
and his qnondanj good temper had re-
REMARKABLE
ANIMAL
SURGERY.
Dentist to the Hippopotamus and Chi
ropodist to the Elephant.
turned. Now, -whenever ."Big ,Tom"
evinces the' slightest trace of bad tem
per, his toenails are immediately trim
med. The operation always works like
a charm.: "Cutting the toenails- is an
Infallible cure for an elephant's bad
temper" is now the precept of "Big
Tom's" keeper. -
Another interesting and extraordin
ary animal surgical operation was re
cently undertaken In the arena of a
well-known traveling circus before a
few privileged spectators. The creature
on this occasion was a hippopotamus,
and the complaint was that some of his
teeth had grown to such an abnormal
length that it was only with consider
able difficulty and pain that the brute
could masticate his food. Few crea
tures are so valuable to the traveling
showman as the hippopotamus. These
animals are neither so plentiful nor so
easily caught as the elephant and as
they seldom thrive In captivity they
are, therefore, most highly prized by
their fortunate proprietors. -.
The particular hippopotamus .'upon
whom this unique dental operation was
performed is an unusually fine, speci
men of its kind, and Its welfare is ac
cordingly zealously attended to by its
owner. - It is affectionately called
"Babe," by no means an , appropriate
sobriquet when -It is remembered that
he turns the scale at just under two
tons; but the. creature is as docile as a
child,' which favorable characteristic
suggested the name to its owner.
"Babe" has ah unusually finely devel
oped set of teeth, numbering twenty
eight in alL' Among these are two very
prominent teeth, properly called tusks,
growing out of the lower jaw. They
start in a vertical direction, but bend
in a backward, graceful curve. They
are two of the most useful teeth to the
hippopotamus, being requisitioned by
the animal for tearing up the trees and
bushes upon which it thrives, since it
is purely a herbaceous animal.
Under normal conditions these tusks
grow to about six inches in length. The
rough work to which they are subject
ed by the creature when t roaming
HOW A SQUARE YARD OF
through the forests in quest of . food
prevents them from growing to a very
great length. But in the luxurious res
idence of the menagerie cage, and the
preparation of dainty dishes of loaves,
hay and branmash, the tusks have no
hard chewing to do. Therefore, they
grow to such a length that if not cut
back they would pierce the upper jaw.
prevent "Babe" from eating, and grad
ually starve him to death. Consequent
ly, "Babe" has to submit to periodical
overhaulings of his teeth the opera
tion takes place on the average about
once a year. .
In the front of the mouth, also in the
lower jaw, are two other prominent
teeth, projecting straight forward.
These are not used for biting, but for
digging up the earth when the animal
fancies a tasty root for dinner. These
also, In "Babe's" case, have to be kept
cut back, though they do not cause him
so much inconvenience, when too long,
as the tusks.
' To enable the operation to be satis
factorily performed, "Babe" was led
out into -the arena and placed near a
stout iron post which had been deeply
and rigidly fixed into the ground. The
hippopotamus looked about him quizzi
cally as if endeavoring to divine what
move was in contemplation. Chains
were passed round his short legs, and
fastened firmly to the ground. "Babe,"
not quite comprehending the meaning
of tihs secure hobbling, gave a sonorous
grunt and looked threateningly at his
keeper. But at this juncture a loaf was
offered to him, and his momentary
anger was instantly appeased.
"Babe" was then enticed to open his
mouth widely by means of further
dainties held temptingly above his
nose. At first he refused point blank,
but he finally succumbed to the bait,
and opened his capacious jaws to the
extent of two feet immediately two
assistants, standing in position, dex
terously threw chains over the distend
ed jaws one over the lower and the
second over the upper and passed the
ends through ringbolts fixed to the
post "Babe" attempted to close his
jaw, but in vain. He was a secure
prisoner, bound literally foot and
mouth.
.The keeper then proceeded to per
form the necessary operation with all
possible celerity. For this, delicate
dental work the menagerie proprietor
has provided a special outfit, consisting
of a small, finely tenoned saw, three
files, one of which Is about as coarse as
a wood rasp, and the other two very
fine and more suited for polishing pur
poses. The files are only cut upon one
side, the other faces being covered
with thick and soft leather, so that in
the event of the file slipping, off the
tooth, the brute's mouth would not be
wounded In any way.'
The froat ditftnf teeth inrt claimed
attention. The keeper set to work with
a will, merrily filing at the teeth as If
he were rasping a piece of wood fixed
In a vice. The animal gurgled and
spluttered, and large tears, like balls "
of crystal, rolled from his eyes. He
grew restless, and in two or three min
utes his struggles became so violent
that the operator had to desist - ;
When "Babe" had quieted down
once more, the dentist again set to work
vigorously, and ceased for a few mo
ments every time the hippopotamus
grew restless. Probably the animal
suffered little real pain, but experi
enced a disagreeable sensation as the
strong steel file rasped over the bone, - ;
which-proved to be extremely hard. At
the end of five minutes, one tooth had
been filed down an inch and a quarter,
and before a quarter of an hour had
elapsed both the digging teeth had
been treated and polished.
A curious feature was observed dur
ing the operation. The body of the ani
mal appeared to be bathed in blood,
and the ground immediately beneath it
was dyed a deep red. This was due to
"Babe"' violently perspiring, as the
perspiration of the hippopotamus, when
excited. Is red In color.
The dental surgeon then directed his
skill to the tusks. This task was consid
erably facilitated by sawing off the
tusk to the desired length, and then
finally grinding the teeth down to the
requisite shape by the files. They were
then polished, and the unpleasant oper
ation was completed. Great excitement'
now followed. Every man, with the
exception - of the keeper, decamped
from the scene of action. The keeper
then hurriedly knocked away the
chains holding the animal's mouth, and
also quickly hied him to a safe dis
tance, in case "Babe" proved obstreper
ous. The hippopotamus closed his re
leased mouth with-a snap, and splut
terer viciously with violent anger. He
glared at the keeper as if - he would .
have liked to have killed his tormentor.
He opened and closed his mouth sev
eral times, found his teeth more com
fortable, and. then signified his appre
ciation of what had been done to him
by sniffing about for something to
munch. The keeper warily approached
with an appetizing pail of branmash,
which "Babe" devoured with great
zest. The shackles were knocked off
his legs, at which the brute gave a
grunt of satisfaction. All signs of vl
ciousness had vanished and he accom
panied the keeper back to the cage with
the greatest content, entering which
the animal lay down and went to
sleep.
One of our illustrations depicts what
is indubitably an unparalleled operation
in the annals of pachydermatous der
matology. The elephant so securely
strapped by heavy chains to the
ground, is having a square yard of new
NEW SKIN WAS GRAFTED ON.
skin grafted on to Its shoulder. Belle
that is the elephant's name was get
ting out of a railway carriage, when
the vehicle gave a sudden jolt and she
was thrown heavily to the ground. As
she fell and struck an iron cage stand
ing near by, and severely lacerated her
shoulder, the abrasion extending ovei
a space of one square inch.
Inflammation set in, and poor Belle's
life was despaired of. The wound was
syringed with gallons of antiseptic, but
the poor brute gained little relief. The
gravity of the situation was accentu
ated by the fact that her baby would
probably pine away if Belle succumbed,
and the circus owner would thus suffer
a double loss.
Specialists were called in, and It was
resolved to remove some of the tender
growing skin from the young elephant, '
and to graft it on to Belle's wound. The
mother was chained on her side to the
ground, and a small section removed
from the baby's leg and applied to
Belle's wound. The skin adhered fo the
lacerated flesh, and gradually the abra
sion was closed up. A small portion
only was operated upon at a time, and .
the wound was soon completely healed.
Frederick A. Talbot in London Mag
azine. I0RD ACTON WAS
EUROPE'S MOST LEARNED MAN.
Lord Acton, professor of modern his
tory at Cambridge university, who died
the other day, is declared by English
newspapers to have
possessed more
learning than any
other man in Eu
rope. He was born
at Naples in 1S34.
EI e distinguished
bimself in Rome 30
years ago, by his
hostility to "the doc
trine .of papal infal
libility. Later, as.
leader of the lib-
lord acton. eral Catholics In
England. Lord Acton came rapidly Into
prominence by his strenuous contribu
tion to the controversy on the Vatican
degrees and by brilliant essays on
Wolsey and German schools of history.
All universities in England honored
him, and for six years he held the chair
of modern history at Cambridge, suc
ceeding Sir John Seeley. His last days
were spent upon a universal history
of monumental proportions. ...'..'
What the Consumer Must Pay. -The
first cargo of wheat from the
United States to England since the Brit
ish government imposed a duty on
wheat imported paid $3,000.
If a boy thinks his sister is pretty,
there is no doubt that she is.