1 THE fRASER MILLIONS
Hi HI
BMFUDENCE. I call It," wild the
fair young widow Marston. "when
you know I start for London to
morrow. Marry you, Sim Parker!
You! Why, I may be a 'ladyship' be
fore I come back with all that money."
"You may. Some folks 'lows as you
mayn't," said Mr. Sim Parker, totally
unmoved by Celinda's scorn. "You're
sold up everything?"
"Everything," said Cellnda, decided
ly. "Everything, even the cow and the
the pig. Chub cried for tl!e pig; but
the cow and the pig were sold In one
lot because they're such friends."
"But s'posin'," delioately hinted Sim,
"when you gets to London there ain't
nothin' in this yer yarn about them
millions?"
"I can't suppose anything of the
sort. No one but a a groundhog like
you, Sim, would think of such a
thing."
"I may be a groundhog groundhogs
Is very good eatln' when you can't git
uothin' else but you're spendin' all
the money you've got, after you've
paid off the late lamented' mortgage,
Jess to fetch theseyer millions. How
do you know they're yours?"
"How do I know? Sim Parker, you
make me tired. I I feel it. I tell me.
Wasn't my maternal great-grandfather
a Fraser; and haven't I all the papers
proving my descent from the Frasers
of Ochiltree? There's a matter of four
millions waiaing for me. Pounds,
mind you, not paltry dollars. All I
have to do is to go over to London,
walk into the Bank of England, say,
'I've come for the money,' and they'll
give it to me straight off. or I'll know
the reason why. I reckon to stay Just
two days in London, and then home
again. I want to buy the Judge's place
when I come back."
"You're goin' to take the baby with
you?"
"Chub? Of course I take the darling
with me. You don't suppose I'd go
without him?"
"And you won't take me?"
"To London, or marry you?"
"Both."
"Neither, thank you. I don't think
you could live up to the Fraser mil
lions." "You've sorter set folks' backs up,"
delicately hinted Sam, "with theseyer
high-falutin' notions of yours. They're
glad you're goin'."
The .youthful widow turned upon
him with a glorious light in her beau
tiful black, eyes. "And you, Sim?
You're you're not glad?"
"See that tree?" asked Sim, pointing
to an ancient rock elm which leaned
crookedly against the side of Celinda's
pretty little house the house she had
just sold.
"Of course I do! What has that got
, to do with It?"
"You'll find me leanin' agin It when
you come back; that's all." The young
fellow's blue eyes Impressed her with
a sense of power. Her own fell be
neath his masterful gaze.
"Croak away," she said, scornfully.
"If I've need of you when I come
back, I'll ask for your .forgiveness."
"That'll do me," said the Imperturb
able Sim. "That'll do me, your your
ladyship."
"Her ladyship" made him a pretty
courtesy, and held the infant Chub,
aged two and a half, more closely to
her. 'You'll be a lord when we get the
money," she said, ecstatically, to that
sleeping cherub; "and I'll dress you
up with a gold crown."
"Take my advice, sonny," said Sim
to the Interesting infant, "and don't
have nothin' to do with it. You'll
have a heap more fun with the pig. I
washed him a-purpose yesterday." He
laboriously produced a document from
his pocket. "I've brought you a let
ter." "What for?"
"It's for a big Canadian lawyer set
tled in London Hiram Gould. I've
gent him .fifty dollars and told him to
give you a show for the money."
You dared to do that!"
"Of course, I reckoned you wouldn't
take me along. Somebody's got to
take you round and give you a good
time."
Celinda was touched. "You mean
well, but you're so ignorant, Sim."
"I'm not too Ignorant to know you're
the prettiest girl in the Ottawa val
ley." "You mustn't. I'm not a girl, Sim.
I'm a widow."
"If wishin' could have made you a
widow, you wouldn't have waited all
this time. He was a bad lot."
"He was," calmly acquiesced Celin
da. "Most men are. That is why I
want the money to be Independent of
them. I wonder who bought my house,
Sim?"
v "I wonder."
"If you're very good, when I come
back I'll get you to manage things
for me."
"I'd rather manage you," said the
fervent Sim.
"Don't be so familiar. Remember,
I'm a great lady."
Sim shrugged his shoulders. "No
use sayin' nothin'?" "-
"No use."
Sim's lips worked a little. "Cellnda,
you're layin up a heap of trouble for
yourself."
"When I want you to get me out of
It, I'll tell you," she said, haughtily,
and went Into the house.
There was a big but unsympathetic
procession to see Celinda start from
the wharf next day. Four Cornerites
vaguely resented Celinda's airs and
graces, and did not believe that she
would get the money. But she looked
so radiant and confident that even the
case-hardened editor of the Four Cor
ners Gazette offered to adopt Chub un
til she came back. Celinda, haughtily
conscious of the hostility of her for
mer friends, was coldly distant, and
rather resented Sim's accompanying
her to Montreal.
But' when the boat was slowly
- "tugged" out from the wharf, and
she saw Sim's handsome face receding
in the distance. Cellnda, conscious of
certain misgivings, took the radiant
Chub down to her cabin and cried
over him a little. The story of her
being the heiress to the Fraser mil
lions was noised about all over the
ship. For the last two years Celinda
Industriously studied up the family
pedigree, and there was no flaw In the
evidence. As far back as 1750 Fraser
of Ochiltree's eldest son had emi
grated to Canada. When Fraser of
Ochiltree died his son had never
claimed his money, which presumably
continued to accumulate. One of the
Montreal papers said that it amounted
to four millions. All Celinda had to
do was to prove her identity and bring
back the money. She wanted to settle
down in the Judge's house and show
people what she thought of them. But
when the vessel got outside Quebec,
Cellnda would have given all the Fra
ser millions to be back at Four Cor
ners. But la time she recovered. Chub
(he declined to be seasick) made vio
lent love to the captain, whom he per
sisted In looking upon as a parent,
greatly to that worthy's embarrass
ment. He was a married man, and
told Chub so; but Chub only laughed
and gurgled, and wanted him to "tiss
mummy" a proposal which sent a
blush to the young widow's pretty
cheeks.
When Celinda reached Liverpool the
captain obtained permission from his
owners to take her up to town, and
leave his first officer in charge. Ce
linda had refused to marry the first
officer four times, the second officer
twice, the third officer thrice, but they
none of them bore malice, except to
pity the captain for being a married
man. "You see," said the first officer
to his companions In misfortune, "we
can afford to look down on him, be
cause he's out of It married. Now, if
the widow comes back with us for the
return trip, we can go on proposing
until she gets tired and takes one
of us. It looked at first as if the old
man had the bulge on us, but you just
wait until he goes home and tells his
wife all about it."
II.
Sim Parker went Into what had once
been Celinda's pretty house and gazed
at it with an air of satisfaction. Ev
erything was just as it had been be
fore Celinda went away to fetch the
hypothetical four millions. Chub's
cradle, already aired, stood in one cor
ner. Sim gave it a thoughtful push
with his foot and set it rocking. Some
interesting works of art on the wall
shone in fresh frames. The rooms had
been repapered and the kitchen ceiling
whitewashed. At the sale Sim had
been the. only bidder for five photo
graphs of the late unlamented Dick
Marston. With a certain delicacy he
took them Into the kitchen and put
them in the stove, as if he thought
they would thus rejoin the person
whom they portrayed. The "hired
girl" wore a new frock, presented to
her by Sim. Celinda's little pig. no
longer an outcast, in spite of his pit
eous entreaties, had been scrubbed by
Sim into a state of pinky perfection, in
ease Chub wanted to "love him." The
black and white cow looked out from
her stall and lowed to a pretty little
black and white calf which had mys
teriously appeared upon the scene. The
calf wore a collar with the word
"Chub" in brass letters.
"So far that's all right," said Sim,
as he went round the veranda and
noticed a belated humming bird hov
ering over a big fuschia In its green
tub. "Now, if parson and his wife will
only come in time' Celinda '11 git here
just after dark, and nobody be any the
wiser."
He looked at a telegram from his
agent in Montreal, and smiled. Then
he frowned.
"I dunno," he mused. "I dunno as
It's fair to Celinda to force her Into
it. Beckon she'll be feelln pretty
bad."
He heard the whistle of the night
boat as she fussed up to the long
wharf." I'd like to wring the neck of
that whip-poor-will," mused Sim, tak
ing his position against the tree he
had mentioned to Celinda. "Makes me
feel that lonesome, it gives me the
chills."
The inhabitants of Four Corners
were all indoors enjoying their even
ing meal, and the stage, after vain
ly waiting at the wharf to bring up
passengers, crawled emptily into Four
Corners.
"Juss so," said Sim, placidly contin
iing'to smoke. "Juss so. She ain't
oin to come up in the stage, and have
half the place rushin' out to jeer at
her. Not much. Nor sir. Not much.
By and large. Celinda's pretty cute."
."Are you there, Sim?" asked a pleas
ant voice, as the parson's wife ap
proached a tree.
"You bet I'm here, Mrs. Clarke,"
said Sim, with a smile; "but It's sort
of lonesome."
"You'll be very gentle with her,"
hesitated the minister's pretty wife.
"You'll be very gentle with her, Sim.
True love Is never harsh or unkind."
Sim nodded cheerfully. "You bet I'll
be gentle. Minister in there?" He
pointed to the little parlor. In which
the lamp shone brightly.
"My husband? Yes; he's very hun
gry, Sim. Don't be longer than you
can help."
' "I've got a deputation of our 'lead
ing citizens' hiding behind the barn,"
grinned Sim. "Had to pay old Parker
ten dollars afore he'd come, and Chris
Johnson five dollars; but they've
learned their speech."
"You're a good man, Sim," said the
little lady, and tripped away to join
her husband.
Presently, as Sim stood leaning
against a tree, a slight figure stole
timidly through the dusk. In its arms
it carried a bundle. A sob rose to its
lips as it looked at the cozy little
house. Then it turned sadly . away.
Chub, who was weary, began to cry.
"I wouldn't go If I were you. Celln
da." said Sim. softly.
Celinda gave a little sob also, then
choked It back. "I I wanted Just to
have one look at it again. I might
have known you'd be here. Sim."
"Of course, said Sim. quietly.
'Didn't I say so?
"They laughed at me." faltered Ce
llnda. "I went to the Bank of Eng
land with Mr. Gould, and they were
quite satisfied with my proofs. The
only difficulty was that there wasn't
any money. It had never been lodged
at the bank at all, and no one knew
what had become of It"
She turned away bitterly.
"Where are you going to put-up, Ce
linda?" Anywhere anywhere. I'm going
Into the bush." she said, fiercely. "I
haven't a friend left here. It serves
me right. I I'm only grieving for
Chub's sake."
"I wouldn't do that If I was you,
Cellnda. Here's your own bouse wait
ing for you," aH fixed up cumferable."
"My own house T'
"Of course." Sim took Chub from
her tired arms. "Your own bouse. Ce
linda. Shall I carry the little feller in
for you?"
"But I sold it."
"Well, I -bought It back for you.
You've no call to thank me," said Sim.
"You! You!" She knelt at his feet.
Sim held Chub with one hand and
raised her with the other. "111 go
away If you don't want me," be whis
pered, brokenly. 'Only, there's a dep
utation waltin' to welcome you back,
and parson's in the parlor. Brace up,
Celinda. Brace up."
"Sim, dear, will you forgive me?"
she whispered, and kissed him with
a heart and a half. "I've been wicked,
so unkind, so brutal to you."
"You've kissed me," said Sim.
"Kissed me! That answers every
thing." He led her proudly to the house as
she wiped away her tears. Once in
side, Celinda "braced up" and received
the greetings of the parson and his wife
with shy cordiality. "Would you
please marry. us, and then well have
supper?" she said, with characteristic
decision; and the parson understood. .
"The deputation" staggered in as the
brief ceremony finished. "You kin git
out again." said Sim. "You're been
asleep behind the barn."
"A In' slep' a wink. Wansb earn ten
dollars." hiccoughed old Parker. "We,
the undershlned " He looked help
lessly round.
"Citt citizens," hiccoughed Jimnier
son. "We, the undershlned"
"Well, you kin Juss go and shine
somewheres else," said Sim. "I'm a
married man, I am. and I can't hare
two cranks like you foolln round."
After making three unsuccessful at
tempts to find the door the deputation
withdrew.
"We'll take them home," said the
parson, making a sign to his wife. And
they followed the devious footsteps of
the deputation.
Outside, the river murmured at its
own sweet will. All the happy souls
who had ever loved shone down upon
them with radiant, starlit eyes as Sim
placed sleepy Chub within the empty
cradle. Slowly, slowly Cellnda turned
and hid her face upon his breast.
Black and White.
NO STYLE ABOUT JACKSON.
Hi Cook Was Called as Interpreter to
the rench Diplomatist. .
"Although 'Old Hickory' was a blunt
man in all matters of business and
reached his purposes by the straight
est road," said an old newspaper man,
"still he was courteous in an eminent
degree and bad a high respect for the
forms of social intercourse. While
president of the United States his re
ception of foreign ministers and emi
nent citizens was distinguished by
courtly etiquette and noble bearing. It
is related that on one occasion a for
eign minister just arrived had a day
and an hour appointed by Mr. McLane,
then Secretary of State, to be present
ed to the President, and, misunder
standing the premier's French and
perfectly at fault by the apparent sim
plicity of republican manners, the min
ister at the appointee! time proceeded
to the White House alone and rang the
bell.
'Je suis venu voir Monsieur le
President," said the plenipotentiary to
the Irish servant.
"An' what the dlvll does that mean?"
muttered Pat, and continued. "He
says President, though, an' I s'pose
he wishes to see the general."
"Oui, oul," said the minister, bow
ing. ; , r ; ' ?,
Without further, ceremony the gen
tleman was ushered into the green
room, where the General ' sat compla
cently smoking his corn-cob pipe, and
on the instant he commenced a cere
monious Narangue In French, of which
"Old Hickory" did not understand one
word. i
"What does the man want, Patrick?"
asked the General, without concealing
his surprise at what he witnessed.
"It's French that he's spakin in,
an with your lave I'll sind for the
cook to find out what the. gintleman
wants." r', " , -;C" ;
In due time the presiding officer of
the kitchen -arrived; the mystery was
explained, and to-the astonishment of
the cook, the servant and the old Gen
eral an accredited minister from a
foreign, government was developed.
Fortunately at the instant the Secre
tary came In, a ceremonious introduction-
took place and all parties were
soon at ease. Washington Star.
Cause and Effect.
"I beg your pardon," said the young
doctor, who had recently settled in
the neighborhood; "did I understand
you to say yesterday that you never
had any sickness at your house and
therefore never engaged a family phy
sician?" f
"No," replied Krotchett. "I said I
engaged a family physician and there
fore never had any sickness at our
house." Philadelphia Ledger.
A man who is nearly 80 years old, is
sick, and says he can't Imagine what
Is the trouble. We can tell him: he
was born too long ago. -.
After all, can you blame people for
not being as nice -as they pretend?
r"'BSMSeMBJ 1
The late surveys of the English coast
show a loss of land of forty thousand
acres since 1867, although In some
places, as at New Romney, the solid
ground has been pushed out two miles
or wore In the sea.
The city of Toronto counts on get
ting 125,000 horse-power from Niagara
Falls, although its distance from the
great cataract is ninety miles. The
electric current Is to. be carried the en
tire distance from the generating
plant, which will be constructed on
the Canadian side, by cables supported
on a double-pole line.
Evidences of the favorable action of
X-rays upon lupus and cancer contin
ues to Increase. The action Is not yet
understood, one theory being that'It
kills the bacteria, while a more prob
able suggestion Is that the Inflamma
tion set up brings an accumulation of
phagocytes and leucocytes, and these
"scavenger" cells attack and destroy
the morbid tissues.
Excessive muscular development Is
pronounced by an experienced physi
cian to be not only unnecessary, but
positively dangerous. On ceasing ath
letic training, which every person
must do sooner or later, the system
adapts Itself very slowly to new con
ditions, and digestive and liver trou
bles are very liable to follow. The
great lungs, not needed In sedentary
work, degenerate, often leading to con
sumption. The bacteria mining lamp of Prof.
Hans Molisch, of Prague, consists of
a glass jar lined with a compound of
saltpetre and gelatine, previously Inoc
ulated with luminous bacteria. In this
culture the bacteria showed enormous
increase. In two days a bluish green
light filled the Jar, sufiiciently brilliant
to show faces two yards away, and to
enable a person to read large type,
and this light remained for several
days, gradually fading away In about
a fortnight. The light Is cold and
quite safe in mines filled with the
most dangerous gases.
All readers of Scott's novels must
vividly remember the Peak of Derby
shire. This elevated region is to be
made a source of water supply for
four cities Sheffield, Derby, Notting
ham and Leicester. The gathering
ground of the water lies from 500 to.
2,070. feet above sea lerel, and corers
fifty square miles. Virtually, the en
tire sources of the river Derwent will
be collected, but one-third of the water
must be restored to the river to pro
tect vested interests along its course.
The cost is estimated at $50,000,000.
A temporary town, with houses of gal
vanized Iron lined with match-board,
and with a school, a church, a hospital
and a concert hall, has been construct
ed for the army of laborers, who will
be employed for a dozen years. There
are to be five reservoirs with an aggre
gate capacity of 10.508,000,000 gallons.
The project of climbing the loftiest
mountain on the earth, Mount Ever
est, in the Himalayas, whose tremen
dous head rises, according to trigo
nometrical measurements, 29,002 feet
above sea level, has now reached a
stage Immediately antecedent to the
actual attempt. A-party, led by Mr.
Eckensteln, an experienced climber,
has set out for the foot of the great
peak. Several celebrated mountain
climbers bare expressed the opinion
that the feat is feasible, but only by
the method of gradual ascent, whereby
the adventurers may become inured to
the" effects of a rare atmosphere.
Months and even years may be spent
in ascending to higher and higher lev
els, a long pause being made after ev
ery considerable advance. The highest
ascent now on record is that of Acon
cagua, In the Andes, the elevation of
which Is 23,080 feet, 5,902 feet, or more
than a mile, less than the height of
Everest. " .
SAVE THE LAMP CHIMNEYS.
Care Wilt Prevent Much Breakage and
. Consequent Kxpenae.
We are assured by a contemporary
that the breaking of lamp chimneys
is mainly due to unequal expansion
and that this can be remedied by mak.
ing perpendicular cuts all around tha
"bulging part" of the chimney with
a diamond ring.
Well, really! Why did no one think
of this simple remedy until now, when
lamps burn blue, and, indeed are in
danger of going out forever before the
radiance of the garish electric light?
- The . beauty of the suggestion lies
in its extreme practicability and its
ready utilzation of the means at hand.
It Is so simple, so convenient. Ev
erybody owns diamonds and every
body wants to save dimes. Some peo
ple will urge that they have to work
so hard directing trust companies and
checking off the social calendar that
they do not have time to sit down
once a week or so and scratch lamp
chimneys. Their course, however, is
perfectly clear. They must provide
the butler with a set of diamonds and
let him attend to this economy.
What a' burden is removed from the
shoulders of the ordinary housekeeper.
No more worry over breaking lamp
chimneys. A few flourishes with her
diamond 'and she has insured herself
against every chance except the light
headedness of the hired - girL
There are people, of course, who will
carry this thing to excess. They will
not be satisfied with perpendicular
cuts. Oh, no! They will begin to itch
for triangles and asterisks and chrys
anthemum patterns. The daughter of
the house will quit pyrography'to ex
pend her artistic yearnings on the dec
oration of the lamp chimneys, and as,
of course, fancy cuts cannot beachiev
ed with any old kind of a diamond it
will be necessary to have ' certain
styles for certain cuts, so that a reg
ular outfit for a lamp chimney dec
orator will probably cost several thou
sand dollars. Shades will go out ' of
fashion in order to show off ornate
lamp chimneys. Fierce rivalry will
develop in the fashionable set and
common people will go mad on the sub
ject and the manufacturers will take
the matter up and the first thing we
know we shall see cut glass chimneys
on the market. The question then will
be, considering the extreme fragility
of cut glass, is not the last state of
the housekeeper worse than the first?
But it is folly to look far ahead.
Save your dimes now and you may be
able to afford cut glass chimneys when
they come in - fashion. Philadelphia
Ledger.
BETTING ON WATCHES.
Advice of a Jeweler Who Decides the
Wagers.
In the windows of nearly all the
big retail jewelry stores down town
are chronometers. In fact, the chron
ometer has become the most valuable
part of the window display.
Two prosperous-looking men, after
comparing watches the other day with
one of these chronometers, were seen
to go inside the store and a few min
utes later to reappear. As they did
so one of the men passed a roll of
bills to the other. Then they laughed
shook hands, and separated.
" The jeweler stood inside and smiled.
"It's funny," he said, "how many
people there are in this world who
have the betting fever and how fool
ishly they risk their money. These
two men are samples. Before the day
is over I've no doubt half a dozen more
will be In to get me to decide similar
bets. Every day we have some.
"What did they bet on? Why, on
the nearness of their watches to the
correct time. Of course, two men who
make such a bet have the betting
hunch to begin with. Then they're
also stuck on the watches they carry.
"There was the difference of two
seconds between the watches in the
case you just noticed, but on that
$25 changed hands. I've known it to
be as high as a hundred.
"The difference between any two
watches is rarely less than a half
second. It's generally more. But
when a bet is made men generally
want the jeweler to decide it, and, of
course, we're always willing. I guess
quite a few thousands have changed
hands on my decisions by this time.
"A man will get a watch abroad
and pay big money for it. He'll meet
a friend who has bought one of the
crack American watches, and if
they've got the sporting instinct a bet
will almost invariably follow a com
parison of the watches.
"Perhaps both men hare set their
watches that day or the day before,
and so are willing to wager all the
money they're got with them, and
that's often a big rolll
"When one of them finds that his
watch, Instead of being almost with
the chronometer, is, say, twenty-fire
seconds out he's the most surprised
man in. the world.
"A man who bets on a watch, al
though he may think he's betting on
the surest thing In the world. Is bet
ting on something more uncertain than
a race horse. You can tell generally
when the horse Isn't going to run well,
but you can't tell that about your
watch.
"I wouldn't bet on the correctness
of mytlmefrom here to the next block.
In just that distance the mainspring
might derelop the weakness that no
test, thus far devised can detect when
It's made, and your watch is off. Then
you lose your money if you're foolish
enough to bet on what you thought was
a sore thing." Chicago Inter Ocean.
FEARS CONDUCTOR'S PUNCH.
Messenger Boy Who "Flips" Street
Cars Is Getting Wary.
The street-car conductor's punch is
becoming the nemesis of the messen
ger boys who "flip" the cars. The
conductor snatches a cap from a mes
sage carrier's head, puncnes a hole
in the visor, and the work is done.
That little hole In the bill of the cap
is a tell-tale mark, and when the em
ployers see It they know the boy has
been hitching on to the street cars.
The" use of the punch for tagging
the "flippers" has made the young
sters deadly enemies of the street
railway men, and has incidentally en
riched the curbstone vernacular by two
picturesque names. One is "nickel
snatcher," a name given to the con
ductor, and the other is "wire biter."
as the messengers have dubbed the
grip man.
The other night three "flippers"
were "hitching on" to a North Clark
street cable car. While one of the
boys was watching the conductor the
grip man reached out his long arm
and lifted the boy's cap from his head.
He handed the cap to the conductor,
saying: "Put your mark on it."
"Naw, gimme it," yelled the boy.
"Doncher punch it. You want to get
me fired? I ain't done nuthin'." .
The conductor set the jaws of the
punch over the visor, and the mes
senger set up a wail. He knuckled his
eyes and cried like a baby.
The conductor placed the boy's cap
back on his head, took him by the
coat collar, and set him down in the
street. When he was safely out of the
clutches , of the "nickel snatcher," as
be called the conductor, he lifted his
cap off his head and carefully exam
ine It to see if the punch had taken
out a bite. When he saw It was all
right he clapped It back on his head
and "hitched on" to the rear end of the
last car, yelling "wire biter" and
"nickel snatcher" at the grlpman and
conductor. Chicago Inter Ocean.
' A New-Faugled Alarm Clock.
A Philadelphian has devised a novel
arrangement, of alarm clock and phon
ograph combined, which not only
wakes him in the morning, but tells
him . why he should arise. The spring
which starts the alarm starts a mo
ment later a phonographic attachment,
which says: "Get up, you lazy loafer!
It's 7 o'clock!"
Gout Worse Than Wooden Jjoga. '
"There's a poor man at the door,
sir. 'as two wooden legs, sir, and e
says, sir, would you be good enough, '
sir, to ' -..- j
"You go back and tell the poor man ;
with the two wooden legs that he's
blamed lucky. Tell him I've got the
gout in both feet." Boston Globe.
Aluminum.
Aluminum Is superior to any stone
for sharpening cutlery.
Don't look .for praise; the more
praise you ' get, the harder the reac
tion will be.', '' . .
Some people are so mean that ther
can Insult with a compliment
The Texas Legislature has passed a
aw providing for the extermination of
prairie dogs.
Tobacco smoking has been recom
mended by some doctors in the treat
ment of consumption.
Five years' abstinence lb said to be
required If the Inebriate's cure is to be
absolutely permanent.
A full-sized farm horse at work will
require twelve' pounds of crushed oats
and thirty pounds of hay a day.
If the earth were equally divided
among its inhabitants . each person's
share would be about 23 acres.
-Out of every 1,000 pounds of beef
consumed in Great Britain in 1901 at
least 700 pounds were home produced.
An obdurate screw nail may be
irawn If a piece of redhot iron Is put
3U the head of It for a minute or so
ind the screwdriver Immediately af
terward applied to draw it.
Marriageable young ladies In China
usually wear their hair in a long sin
gle plait, in which is entwined a bright
scarlet thread. The thread Indicates
that the maiden Is awaiting a connu
bial partner.
There are 140 members of the North
Dakota Legislature, and of them fifty
one are farmers and only two are law
yers. Norwegians and their descend
nts are very largely represented in
the politics of North Dakota.
The various boards of guardians in
Lincolnshire, England, are considering
i scheme for converting tramps into
respectable and Industrious citizens.
The main idea is the establishment of
tramp settlements in the neighborhood
Df several of the towns.
The New York Tribune observes that
the new animal houses in the Central
Park Zoo give wild beasts a wider
range of comfort than the tenement
dwellers in the crowded districts of
the East Side of Manhattan . hare
known for generations.
In Lynn, Mass., 24,000,000 pairs of
shoes were made last year; In Brock
ton, 17,000,000 pairs, and in Haverhill,
12,000,000 pairs. These three cities,
therefore, turned out enough shoes to
supply one pair for two-thirds of the
population of the country.
Of those taking civil service exam
inations for appointment in federal de
partments last year 69 per cent receiv
ed the required percentages and 31 per
cent fell short of it. Of those who
passed the examinations 25 per cent
were and 75 per cent were not appoint
ed.
The cries of sea birds, especially
sea gulls, are very valuable as fog
signals. The birds cluster together on
the cliffs and coast, and their cries
warn boatmen that they are near land.
Some years ago in the Isle of Man
there was a fine for shooting such
birds.
A strange tale is told of a hawk at
the menagerie in Central Park, New
Xork. Two birds live in the same cage,
and some time back one of them de
veloped a tumor in the leg. The other
bird thereupon attacked the tumor
with its claws and succeeded in lanc
ing it.
The Greek government annually im
ports silkworm eggs from foreign
countries distributes them gratuit
ously, and has experiments made in
Its agricultural stations to learn the
best methods of silk culture from the
kingdom. No other food than the
mulberry leaf is given to silkworms
in Greece.
Long-distance telephony makes good
progress. St. Martin's de Grand has
just succeed in ringing up Nice on the
telephone and speaking through. The
distance is 960 miles. Telephone lines
will soon be opened between London
and Brussels and between Paris and
Rome. On the latter line the charges,
it is understood, will be 3s 4d for three
minutes' conversation from 6 a. m. to
9 p. m., and Is 8d after.
The age of a tree is determined by
the number of rings of wood its trunk
contains. The woody fiber Is slower in
growing in winter than in summer,
and consequently distinct rings are
formed, each representing a year. By
means of these rings the gigantic
cross-section of a California tree, 1,341
years old, is used at the New York
Museum of Natural History as a his
tory chart, and as such It shows in a
novel way the sequence of events in
the last thousand years.
"KING DOGS."
Intelligence and Sagacity at the Arctic
Animals,
The Intelligence and usefulness of
the arctic dog is declared by explorers
to surpass all under standing.. In
"Farthest North With Greely," Maj.
D. L. Brainard gives a story of two
"king dogs." Each pack of Greenland
dogs has an acknowledged leader, an
absolute, autocratic king, who has
won his way to supremacy by fighting
every other dog that dared to enter
the lists against him. Likewise each
team has its king, who exercises undis
puted sway over the others, enforces
discipline and administers punishment
whenever in his judgment It is neces
sary. "RItenbenk," the king dog of our
team, writes Major Brainard, was a
conspicuous example. , Large, with a
mixed white, black and mouse-colored
coat, a tail which curled tightly orer
his back, a broad, intelligent head and
a bright, twinkling eye, be was the
embodiment of strength, courage and
sagacity. By reason of , his great
strength and superior ' Intelligence be
had gained the supremacy of the team.
He was, therefore, the leader in all
the schemes for stealing our pro
visions. One day, when he bad stolen a ptar
migan, which had been placed for
safety on the ridge-pole of the tent,
he lay dowiv.and, apparently with no
qualms of conscience, began to eat it.
I rushed at him with a spade, expect
ing to drive him from our anticipated
dinner, but he was far from being the
coward I had pictured him. He gave
vent to a growl of defiance, and stood
Immovable, his sturdy legs wide-apart,
and his great bold eyes looking square
ly into mine. Of course I might have
crushed his skull with a blow, but my
admiration for his courage deterred
me. I threw away the spade, and
called him by his familiar name, "Rit,"
whereupon he trotted up and rubbed
his head in the most confiding manner
against my knee.
TTn. Til. 1 1 J I J . V t A .
? ucu wirauciu juiueu Liieuieiwui
Greely's pack at the Greenland town
from which he was ' named, a huge
dog known as "Disco King" was the
ruling spirit, among his companions,
which were confined In a large wooden
pen located on the main deck of the
Proteus. The battle for supremacy
was fierce and prolonged, . and Disco
King, divested of his royal authority,
was ever afterward a broken-hearted.
ancholy life, apart from his former
subjects. He had not recovered from
his humiliation on the northern trip,
although several months had elapsed
since his downfall, and he would dis
courage the friendly approach of the
members of our party, or of his as
sociates, with a churlish snarl which .
soon gained him the appropriate name
of "Howler." He never engaged In
Rltenbenk's midnight predatory raids
on our commissary department, but
would frequently warn us of the con
spiracy on foot to rob our larder. For
this and other reasons he was not pop
ular with his companions; and RIten
benk encouraged his subordinates in
their constant attacks upon his former
enemy.
OSTRICH FARMS IN AMERICA.
Abont 800 Birds Now Owned by Cali
fornia Bancbmen.
A recent shipment of forty ostriches
to Nice, on the borde'rs of Italy and
France, from California directs at
tention to this growing California in
dustry the culture of the African os
trich in America. About fifteen years
have elapsed since the American os
trich farmers gave their first serious,
attention to' this subject, according to
Town and Country. Now the ostrich
industry is ' well established in the
United States, some 800 birds existing
in the country, and these will doubt
less form the nucleus of that Immense
number that one day will cover the
mesas of Southern California, the
meadows of Arizona, the vast plateaus
of Texas and the everglades of Flor
ida, as their kind do the African veldt
to-day. . - '
The ostrich has come to stay. He
ftnaf-n llftlo tn lrmn Tint more than thft
ordinary sheep and yields an annual
value of $30 to the proprietor. One
man can take care of a hundred os
triches. The creature is hardy and
of a careless appetite. The average
Increase to the stock each year Is be-'
tween fifteen and twenty ostriches to
a pair. Some have been known to pro
duce as many as thirty-seven in a
year. The birds are kept in pens in
(in ifnrn a nrl source or revenue
has been found in exhibiting them to
many tourists who are attracted there.
Incubators showing the various stages
of ostrich life are also on view. A
growth from the size of a duck to a
height of six feet Is a question of
only six months.
When the birds are a year old their
feathers are ready for the market.
The cropping is accomplished by cov
ering the ostrich's head with a hood
and plying a pair of shears. This pro
cess takes place every eight months.
The feathers on the large side wings
are cut off near the roots, the smaller
feathers on the tall are . pulled out
without Injury to the bird, for on
the care now bestowed depends the
future health of the coming feathers.
In the course of three weeks the stems
left start to fall out and a new feather
begins to grow, which in due time Is
taken off for the benefit of the osr
trlch farmer. These feathers are
graded and sent to the feather man
ufacturers of New York, who make
them up Into those beautiful articles
of dress so dear to the hearts of those
who wear them. When the American
women can buy only the ostrich feath
er of the American ostrich, the most
sanguine hope of Edwin Cawston, the
pioneer California ostrich farmer, will
have been realized. Two million dol-
lora AoTtVi iTAsr will than remain 'In
the country. Instead of going to Lon
don and another magnificent Indus
try will have been added to the vast
resources of the nation.
The Kind of a Mo He Is.
"Quinine was never cheaper than It
Is now," remarked Mr. Bowersox as
he laid down his newspaper. "It can
be obtained in a wholesale way at
twenty cents per ounce. Some years
ago the price was In the neighborhood
of a dollar."
"How do you know?" asked Mrs.
Bowersox.
'Well, I ought to know If anybody
ought. Many an ounce of quinine have
I taken, for I was a terrible sufferer
from ague in my younger days, I can
tell you." '
"Well, that's Just like you exactly,
Benjamin Franklin Bowersox." .
"What is just like me?" asked Bow
ersox in some surprise, for his wife's
tone was one of severity.
"Why, it was just like your extrav
agant nature to contract the . ague
when quinine was very expensive, and
now that the drug is cheap enough
to place the shakes within the reach
of all you are as free from It as If
there wasn't any such" thing as ma-'
laria in the world. Benjamin Frank
lin Bowersox, If there is a more ag
gravating man than you on this foot
stool I wish some one would point him
out to me." That's what I wish."
At this point, the aggravating man
put on his hat and went down street.
Giant Palms. ' -
One of the wonders of South Amer
ican rege table life is the huge wax
palm which flourishes on the Andes.
It grows to a height of 200 feet, and
thrives not only on the plains, but on
the mountains. ' The wood is tough
and durable. The wax, which is yel
low or grayish white, Is as pure as
beeswax, and Is used for making
candles. A "peon" climbing the tree
can gather from 20 pounds to 30
pounds from each.
You really don't know enough about
a chafing dish to boast about it, unless
you are familiar with the use of paprika.