THE AMBER BEADS
By ELDREDGE HOLT.
He was a traveling salesman for a
toothpowder concern.
She was prescription clerk In a cut
rate drug store. Besides that, Bhe had
a creamy, fair complexion and light
brown eyes, shaded, It Is true, by a
pair of rimless, gold-bowed spectacles.
But that was because the light In the
pharmacy of the cut-rate drug store
was not of the best and there were
many prescriptions to fill.
He had met her at the school where
they make young men and here and
there a young woman into druggists,
so they both had their diplomas and
would some time have a little drug
store of their own, and they would
not have to keep a clerk, because, no
matter what happened, Alice that
was her name could manage to tend
store tor a few hours a day. You
know there Is a regulation that says
that every drug store must have a
, graduate pharmacist In constant at
tendance during the day and part of
the night to put up prescriptions.
Of course one man cannot be at
the post all of the time. Alice and
Paul that was the toothpowder
agent's name had It all arranged that
they could save money from the first,
tor sine she was a registered pharma
cist she could substitute in the store
for the few hours that Paul would need
to take off. Oh, yes, they were very
matter of fact and businesslike about
It and had talked over their plans tor
the future quite frankly.
In the meantime Paul was vending
toothpowder, trying to save enough
money to buy his own little drug store
and by careful skimping, with what
savings Alice could add, it would take
two years before this purchase could
be made. A long time, you think?
Yes, but If you had seen the steady
soft light in Alice's bespectacled eyes
and the lovely blush that came Into
her creamy, pale cheeks when those
eyes met Paul's, you wouldn't have
wondered that be wob willing to wait.
Moreover, to Alice and Paul, marriage
was, besides being a beautiful adven-
ture and the one and only romance,
something of a business undertaking
as well.
And there waB no reason whatever
to be rash and hasty about It. Still
at times when Paul was on the road
with his suitcase full of samples and
work grew very heavy at the cut-rate
drug store Alice's brown eyes grew
moist and she had to take off the gold
bowed spectacles and wipe away (he
tears, tears not of discontent, but Just
of loneliness and a little impatience
For Alice's mind was full of imagining
their wee home It would probably be
a little flat over the drug store to
begin with and two 'nights a week
she was taking cooking lessons at the
Y. W. C. A. so that she would be able
to concoct puddings as well as plas
ters. And Paul sometimes snarled a
little at the necessity that made him
wait so long, and when sales were not
as good as usual that meant smallor
commissions for him he would write
a letter of Impatience to Alice.
One particularly lovely autumn day
Paul sauntored into the cut-rate drug
store. Ho had unexpectedly come to
town and he wanted to surprise Alice.
Alice dropped the tost tube she was
holding when she heard his voice, and,
slipping out of her all-enveloping linen
apron, ran out to the counter outside
"I've had a hurry call to New York,
Alice," he told her, "and I've only a
few minutes between trains. But
stopped over to see you. And, say,
Alice. I've had a specially good run of
luck. That new patent cap top on the
powder makes a big hit. And I am go
ing to be extravagant. I want to got
you something from the big city,
can't afford the engagement ring I
ought to have got you, but tell mo
what piece of jewelry that doesn't cost
so very much say ten or fifteen dol
lars you would most like."
Alice clasped her hands before her
and thought tor a second.
"A string of amber beads," she said
at last "I have" always wanted them,"
Paul's face showed his disappoint
ment. Somehow he had always asso
ciated amber beads with the fact that
some old woman he had known about
wore them around their necks to ward
off chills and fever, it Alice had said
a gold-link bracelet, with a heart
shaped padlock and a koy, he would
have been entirely Batlsflod with her
choice. But Alice stuck to her plea
for amber beads. "I love the color of
amber so," she said, "and all my life
I have dreamed of having them some
time."
In ton days Paul returned one morn
ing, and, going straight to the cut-rate
drug store, found Alice and gave her
the beads. Again there was short con
nection between trains, and In a fow
minutes ho was oft again, "I don't
really like those beads," he said, "and
I can take them back and get tho
money If you say so. I'll tell you
frankly that they cost twelve dollars.
I got them at a pawnshop I happenod
to bo passing. I triod to Jew the man
down, but he wouldn't llston to a cwnt
less. You might take them to somo
regular Jeweler and And out whether
I was buncoed or not. Maybe they are
only glass."
Alice bold the beads up to the light
and reveled In the-soft, golden radi
ance that shone through them. "I am
sure they are real amber," she said.
"They are beautiful. But perhaps you
had better take them back. Twelve
dollars would be Just so much more
toward the store."
"That's right," said Paul, "but I'm
no Indian, giver. They're what you
wanted and they're what you shall
have." And In another minute he was
off with his suitcase full ot samples
for the next train.
At noon that day Alice hurried
her sandwich and hot chocolnto,
hastily taken at the fountain counter
ot the cut-rate drug store, and with
her beads In her hand she went to a
neighboring Jeweler not the best In
town, but one who was reliable.
1 am pretty sure they are real am
ber," aha said, "still If It would not
be too great a favor may I ask you to
examine them and tell me what
should bar paid for tnem?" The
Jeweler looked at the beads, but ap
parently sham none ot the joy in
their golden radiance that Alice's eyes
Indicated.
"Where did you get them, may I
ask?"
"Oh, not In town. It was In some
pawnshop in New York. I suppose we
should have known better than to
trust such a place. But they were so
bright and pretty I thought they were
real amber."
The Jeweler eyed her narrowly.
"Your Idea Is to sell them?" he asked.
"No, I Just wanted to see what they
are worth. I thought you would tell
me."
The Jeweler lowered his voice. "I
can't tell you Just the maximum price
that you might be able to get for them.
Of course in Europe they would pay
more, but traveling is dangerous. I
would be willing personally to pay
you five thousand dollars tor them,
perhaps a little more. Ot course, if
you went to New York you might get
more, but then there would be the
risk, and you might find a dUhonest
dealer."
Alice thanked the Jeweler and fairly
staggered out of the Btore, clasping
her precious beads In her hand. She
hardly knew whether the man had
been teasing her, making fun ot her
glass beads, or whether she had been
Insane, or at least dreaming. Bhe
made her way to the most conserva
tive and most expensive Jeweler in
town, unmindful that the clock on the
corner pointed five minutes to the
time that she ought to be back at the
prescription counter.
Ten minutes later she was In the
darkened examination room with two
Jewel experts. She seemed to come to
a full realization of the situation when
she heard one of them explaining: "If
you will look through thiB bead you
will see the first letter. Now hold
this bead up to the light and see the
next letter marvelous, marvelous. I
need no further proof. They are royal
amber, one of a few strings of beads
that Louis XV had made for his favor
ites. They are found only In the larg
est museums now. Perhaps the full
value ot this string has not been
known for a hundred years or more. I
will be willing to let you have six
thousand dollars for the beads. Ot
course in Europe they might fetch
more. If you wlBh to accept my offer
we will have the check sent to your
bank tomorrow or give it to you per
sonally. Of courso, In making such a
large transaction we have to go
through the form of consulting the
treasurer ot tho concern. He is out
at luncheon at present."
Somehow Alice got back to her post
She was 15 minutes late unheard-of
breach of office regulations but she
did not explain. . That afternoon she
sent a telegram to Paul asking htm to
return at once to hear the good news.
And that is why Alice and Paul
didn't have to wait two years. In fact,
they waited only long enough to find
JuHt the coziOBt little drug store for
$5,000 that you could Imagine. And
the ambor beads when they have
been restrung nnd properly mounted
will be on exhibition In one of the big
museums, although to any but an ex
pert they look much like any other
string of amber beads.
(Copyright, HIB, by tho McClure Newspa
per Syndicate.)
n n
I
. trii
1
... .
Typical Indian Village In New Mexico.
T
Prevarication Hard to Beat.
The two commercial travelers wore
boasting to each other of the morlts
of the respective fireproof safes for
which they were agents. "I guess,"
said tho first, "that we've given our
safe 'some' test, and I reckon that our
best trial was when w heaped up a
collection of combustibles round it
which took a week to burn out. In
side the safe was a little dog provided
with food and water. At the end of
the week we raked away the embers
and opened the door of the safe which
had been in the middle of that blazing
bonfire for a week. Out Jumped the
little dog, well and happy, wagging
his tail with delight." "Yours Is a
good safe," said the other, "but It
isn't In the same block with ours. We
adopted the same tost precisely, and
when we'd raked away the embers and
come to the safe at last we opened
the door and our little dog" He
paused dramatically. "Was doad," lni
terrupted his rival. "Yes, Blr," was
the reply. "You've hit it, Frozen
to doathl"
Age's Handicap.
"This advertiser says gray hairs
are often a handicap in social and
business life."
"That's true," replied the thought
ful man. "I don't know which 1b the
more pathetic figure, a gray-haired
office boy, or an old chap, white ot
poll and stiff In the Joints, trying to
appear youthful by doing some ot th
latest dances."
The Inevitable Quarrel.
"I'm glad I was married In June
Instead of October," said the bride.
"Why?"
"Because If we'd married In Octobor
we'd have scrapped over whether or
not we were going to spend Thanks
giving with my people, and then our
hbnoymooii wouldn't have lasted a
month."
Enriching the Language.
Rooently, two dusky maidens wore
overheard on a street car discussing
thjlr acquaintances. Said oue, "1
suttlnly do like Mr. Smlthers; he's
so pleasant. "
'I never mot Mr. smlthers, re
plied the other, "an' bo I nevah had
no chance to 'sporlnce his pleas.
antcallty."
HREE hundred and sixty-six
years ago the intrepid Span
lard Coronado marched a little
army northward from Mexico
across the deserts of Sonora and Ari
zona until in what Is now the western
part of the state of New Mexico, he
found and conquered and occupied a
group of Pueblo Indian towns whose
fame had reached him under the
designation of the "Seven Cities ot
Cibola," or Zunl. As the years went
on one or another of the seven allied
towns was abandoned and its inhabit
ants moved to the central one of the
group, Halona, "Place ot the Ants."
For over two hundred years now, the
whole Zunl tribe has concentrated It
self In this settlement which is known
to Americans as the Pueblo Zuni, and
to its Inhabitants as Ittlwawa, "The
Middle Place," for in native belief its
site marks the exact center of the
earth, writes A. L. Kroeber, professor
of anthropology In the University of
California, in the American Museum
Journal.
With the possible exception ot two
or three other Pueblo settlements.
Zunl Is thus the oldest Inhabited town
In the United States, far surpassing
In antiquity Jamestown, Plymouth and
other early English settlements, as
well as Sante Fe and St. Augustine of
Spanish foundation. The tribe num
bers 1,600 souls or as many as it could
muster after It had gathered itself to
gether after the first disastrous shock
of Spanish contact. The houses are
still built in the prehistoric way ot
stone masonry, mortared and plas
tered with clay, end rise densely clus
tered, terraced one above the other to
a height of four or five stories.
Live Life of Long Ago.
The life too of the Zunl, runs In the
current of long ago. Thoy have bor
rowed from tho American his shirt
and his overalls, and have learned to
like his coffee and sugar, his bacon
and wheat flour. Sheep and donkeys
they obtained long since from the
Spaniards, and many today can boast
of owning horses and wagons. But
Inwardly and in all his relations with
other Indians, tho Zunl is still purely
aboriginal. He does not know wheth
er today Is Sunday or Wednesday,
whether it is January or July; or what
the American names of the store keop
per, missionary and government agent
are. He knows these people by nick
names which he or some friend has
given them, and he reckons time by
the number of days to the next cere
monial dance ordained by his priesta.
He supports himself as his forefathers
of the Immemorial long , ago did,
through raising corn by hand culture
In sandy patches where It would seem
that the grain would not even sprout.
In the middle of the plaza around
which his town is built Btands a de
caying, roofloss and gutted Catholic
church, which his forefathers built of
adobe under the direction of Spanish
missionaries; but two centuries of
Christian regime have not influenced
tho inward spirit of the Zunl. lie
knew that soldiers stood back of the
priest and therefore he obeyed him,
yet he hardened his heart against
him; and no sooner did Spanish and
Mexican authority relax than the In
dlan quietly shook off the hateful yoke
of Imposed religion, and reverted open
ly to' tho ancient native ceremonials
which he and his fathers had kept
alive by Becret practices In hidden un
derground rooms within fifty yards of
tho walls of the mission.
Such tremendously tenacious con
sorvatlsm has" kept tho Zunl substan
tially whore they were before Colum
bus discovered America. Thoy are not
hostile to Americans, In fact their na
tive code of politeness requires that
everv one should bo treated with
courtesy. They are merely muirrer-
ent to ourselves. All that every Zunl
asks is that he should be loft alone
to support himself, to practice his re
ligion, nnd to live his life as his fa
thets did, without Interfering with
anyone and without being Interfered
with.
It Is no wonder then that these re-
mnrknble people have long attracted
extraordinary attention from anthro
pologists and students of the aborlg
Innl. Frank Hamilton dishing, whose
genius in certain directions has never
been equaled among any or tils cot
toaguts. took up his residence at Zuni
nearly forty years ago, anil became In
LEGEND OF F0NTEN0Y BATTLE
every sense a full member ot the tribe,
looked on as such by the Zuni them
selves. He took part In their war ex
peditions against the hated Apache
and Navaho raiders; became a mem
ber of )!. of the six sacred Klvas, and
was Initiated Into the religious so
ciety of the priests of the bow. A
host of other students have followed
in his footsteps and the list of an
thropologists who have visited Zunl
includes most of the eminent names
in America, such as Powell, McGee
and Mrs. Stevenson, to mention only
some of those no longer living, as well
as Tylor and other famous foreigners.
Know Little of These People.
With all this study accomplished,
one has however to be at Zunl only a
few days before being aware that our
knowledge of the life of the people Is
very incomplete; In fact that in many
respects the ground has scarcely been
scratched. Mrs. Stevenson for In
stance has published a quarto volume
four inches thick on the ceremonies
and religious system ot the Zunl, yet
any tourist In a week can see rituals
enacted with full pomp to which she
barely alludes. It Is not that the
studies that have been made are In
their nature superficial. In fact many
of the published accounts are inten
sive in their detail, It is the Zunl
life of culture that for all its aborigin
ally, is so intricately complex that no
volume however thick could hold all
that is to be said about any one ot its
several phases. No one knows ex
actly, but there must be nearly two
hundred gods and mythological char
acters that are impersonated by dis
tinctively masked and costumed danc
ers. There is not a month, and at
certain seasons not a week, without a
public dance in the town, and at no
tlrao a day without some sort of re
ligious ritual.
The family life of the Zuni is lived
precisely as if no white man had yet
set foot on American soil. The peo
ple are divided Into sixteen clans each
named after an animal or plant. De
scent in these clans Is not from the
father as we inherit our names and
as titles and royal succession descend
In Europe, but from the mother. A
Zuni Is of his mother's clan but he
recognizee his relationship to his fa
ther's people by calling himself the
child of his father's clan.
Along with taking precedence over
the men in carrying the group names,
the women own the houses. A man
may, by the labor of his own hands,
erect a new house for his wife, from
quarrying the rock to laying the roof,
while she 'does nothing more than plas
ter the walls; yet let a divorce and
separation take place, and the prop
erty unquestlonlngly belongs to her.
The Zuni are as monogamous a peo
ple as we. They look with repugnance
not only upon polygamy, but also upon
subsequent marriage with a former
wife's sister or relative. At the same
time, divorce is easy. Persons have
only to separate. A man tired ot his
wife leaves her. For a woman the
procedure is not quite bo simple ow
ing to her property right in the house;
but at that, she need only nag and
abuse her husband until he takes his
little bundle of clothes and returns to
his natal home. If misplaced affec
tion or stubbornness prevent him from
taking the hint, she can have recourse
to the more drastic method of simply
Installing his chosen successor, in
which case nothing remains for the
deposed husband but to leave quietly.
It would certainly seem as If the Zunl
had long ago achieved for themselves
some of the most radical portions of
even the ultra-feministic program.
Historian Shows It Was the English
Who Requested Foe to Fire
First
Is It possible that Monsieur Clemen
ceau, himself so lettered, so learned,
has pronounced this phrase: "At Fonte
noy our fathers said to yours, 'Gentle
men the English, fire first!" And it
is thus that M. Clemenceau expressed
himself before the English. How could
he lend the authority ot his name to
so evident a historic error!
It was an Englishman who, at Fon
tenoy, requested the French to firs
first. Were it nothing more certain,
Voltaire, Informed by his friend, the
Marquis d'Argenson, has related the
scene in his "Summary of the Century
of Louis XV."
The English officers, lifting their
hats, saluted the French. The count
ot Chabanes, the duke ot Blron, who
had gone forward, and all the officers
of the French guards returned the sa
lute. My Lord Charles Hay, the cap
tain ot the English guards, cried:
''Gentlemen of the French guards,
fire!"
The Count d'Auteroche, then a lieu
tenant ot grenadiers, afterward a cap
tain, said to them, in a loud voice:
"Gentlemen, we never fire first. You
will please fire."
It was a principle ot the French In
fantry to draw the first fire from the
enemy. Marshal Maurice do Saxe,
who commanded at Fontenoy, vigor
ously prohibited his army from firing
first Our officers were simply obey
ing his orders In refusing the proposi
tion ot the English. Le Cri de Paris.
For the Defense.
The present fashion ot exceedingly
short skirts, says a French paper,
quoted by the New York Post, is a
cruel one, because it uncovers such
a multitude of too solid ankles. The
chief beneficiary in the case is the
shoemaker, whose Job it is to bring
art to the aid of nature and create the
Illusion ot charming lines where noth
ing ot the sort exists. But the shoe
maker's task Is not always an easy
one. In Paris especially those sub
stantial lady patrons of his expect a
great deal. Therefore a certain fash
ionable artist ot boots In the Rue de
Rlvoll has adopted a precautionary
policy. Upon his circulars and upon
placards in his shop there is printed
a notice conceived in the following
terms:
"M. L. respectfully reminds his pat
ronage that shoes cannot be held re
sponsible for the detects ot the foot
or ankle of the wearer. They cannot
therefore be taken back after the cus
tomer has once put them on."
R EDMUND OTIS HOVEY,
curator of the department of
geology and Invertebrate pale
ontology of the American
Museum of Natural History, has re
turned from a three months' expedi
tion to the Lesser Antilles. He spent
most of his time on the Islands ot
Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Vin
cent, where he continued the studies
of the active volcanoes of the West In
dies, which he began in 1902, during
the great eruptions of Mt. Pelee, Mar
tinique, and the Soufriere of St. Vincent
Doctor Hovey spent 16 days on the
Island of Guadeloupe, three ot which
were spent on the summit of the Sou
friere, where temperature observations
on the fumaroles were made and sam
ples of escaping gases collected. These
fumaroles have been active, with va
rying degrees of strength, during all
the historic period of the volcano. A
marked increase of discharge of sul
phurated steam took place at the time
of the eruptions of Martinique and
St. Vincent, and an area several acres
in extent was then added to the active
region. The vents maintain the force
of their discharge, but the temperature
does not in any case exceed 100 degres
C. (212 degrees F.). '
On Martinique he devoted most of
his time to Mt. Pelee itself, and the
ruined city of St. Pierre, and spent
several days in camp on the old sum
mlt plateau of the volcano, which is
450 feet above the sea, and which for
merly bordered the pool of fresh water
known as Lac des Palmistes. The new
cone, which stands as the enduring
tion, while the ruined city of St Pierre
now contains about thirty new build
ings of durable construction and a res
ident population of between two ana
three hundred people.
One Side Still Desolate.
The zones stretching down the south
west side of the volcano lying between
the Seche and Blanche rivers, which
was the route traversed by hundreds
or perhaps thousands ot destructive
eruption clouds, Btill lie drear and
desolate, because the soil was com
pletely swept away by the blasts,
and the material left behind as well
as that added by the eruption is too
porous for the retention of the water
necessary to restore it to fertility.
Furthermore, the rainfall ot the west
side ot the island Is much less than
on the east side, and the region is
dried by the rays of the afternoon sun.
From Martinique Doctor Hovey pro
ceeded to the Island ot St. Vincent,
where more than three weeks were
devoted to the study of Soufriere,
twelve days of the time being spent
In camp on the volcano. Here, as in
Martinique, the vegetation has re-established
itself more thoroughly on
the windward than on the leeward
side of the mountain, the windward
side being that which recoives the
greater rainfall, and the leeward Bide
not only receiving less rainfall but
also suffering from the heat of the af
ternoon Bun. Considerable portions ot
the Soufriere received Immense de
posits of gravelly ash from the recent
eruptions, and these are largely bar
ren at the present time. Other areas
received a finely comminuted ash
A Fins Digestion.
"He says he halls from the pie belt."'
"Well, what If he does?"
"That Un't remarkable, of course,
but 1 tried to borrow a couple of
pepsin tablets from him and he said
he nevor used them.
Not Interested.
"Who was It." Inquired the student.
"that said 'after me, the deluge?' "
"Don't ask mo," rojolned the super
flclal persou. '"I never did pay niuc!)
attention to woather prophets."
Fitting Food.
"Great Scott Maria, I told you I
give me tome suitable food, and I'll
swear every dish on this table It
something pickled." '
"Well, to are you."
Strange Signs on Ships.
Strange signs frequently hang from
ships which puzzle even dwellers in
seaport towns. A basket slung from
the mainmast head is a sailor's sign
to notify that the cargo has been load
ed or discharged, 'tis the case may be,
and that the ship Is ready to start on
her next trip. This she cannot do un
til the usual board ot trade formalities
have been observed, and the ship's
papers which, while a ship is in port,
are deposited with the board of trade,
have been returned to the captain. A
generally mysterious emblem Is
besom lashed to a mainmast or bridge
railing. This is to signify that the
vessel Is for sale. Occasionally a
dark blue stripe may be seen running
for and aft on a vessel; as a mat
ter of fact this is a sign of recent be
reavement Blue is the sailor's mourn
ing, and tho stripe ot this color takes
the place of the black margin or band
used by the landsman as a notification
ot death.
First Real Flying Machine.
The flying machine (that Is, the
hoavier-than-alr machine) that first
bore men through the air successfully
was an American, and not a German
machine. Tho trick was pulled off by
the Wright brothers, Orvllle and Wil
bur, along tho North Carolina coast,
on December 17, 1903.
' Ferfect Ventilation Scarce.
Absolute dryness and perfect venti
lation, tho two conditions necessary
tor the prevention of rot ami uecny
In bulUlliiK timbers, are seldom. If
ever, obtained. To ventilate tho Bmr
and wall construction or a house prop-bi-Iv
would render It a veritable firo-
trap, through which fire, onco started,
would sweep from top io wnwm nun
end to end.
Therefore the only practical solution
of the problem Is to adequately protect
and vontllate those tinioers mai come
In contact with masonry or are ex
posed to ground moisture. All tim
bers in contact with masonry should
be heivtly coated with asphalt or tar.
The seepage of air through the
cracks and Joints of the framing will
usually be sufficient to ventilate the
Inclosed tlmbors ot wallB and floors.
Safety First.
"When Mrs. Twobble speaks with
an air of finality you get the Impres
Blon that there is nothing more to
say."
"True. At least that's the Idea Mr.
Twobble always gets."
Grand Opening.
First Comedian "Did you score a
lilt with your new specialty?" Second
Comedian "Did 1? Why. the audience
gazed In open-mouthed wonder before
I was half way through." First Come
dian "Wonderful! It Is seldom that
an entire audience yawns at once."
St. Paul Dispatch
Concentrated Cider.
Two new products of surplus and
cull apples are described In tho last
annual report of the United States bu
reau of chemistry, in manufacturing
concentrated cider the apple Juice is
frozen solid and the block of Ice Is
crushed and placed In a centrifugal
machine which removes the concen
tinted cider, leaving the Ice bjhlnd
The product, when diluted with water,
has practically the flavor and qualities
of the original apple Juice. The con
centratod cider torments very slowly
at refrigerator temperatures, but at
room temperatures ferments In a few
weeks. It is, of course much cheaper
to transport than ordinary cider, Ci
der sirup is made by clarifying and
boiling down applo Juice, and it Is said
to be ot value for table use.
MT PELEE, MARTINIQUE,
Power Carried Far.
Current is being transmitted from
Sweden to Denmark through a subma
rine cable between Helslngborg, Swe
den, and. Elstnore, Denmark, a dis
tance ot about ton miles. The power
comet from waterfalls in south en
Sweden.
May Have Woman Curates.
Woman curates are being suggested
in England because so many clergy
men have gone to tho trenches and be
cause theological students who have
not already enlisted will be absorbed
under the compulsion act unless they
are physically unfit
For ten years before the war there
was a steady decrease hi the applica
tions for ordination, owing, In some
measure, to the modern recognition ot
the fact that a young man of what Is
known as "good family" may engage
in commerce without any social die
advantages. Genteel starvation is no
longer preferable to getting a good
living outside "the professions," and
the candidates for the church have
gradually been narowlng down to
those who feel an earnest call to
preach or to undertake tho more ex
acting torms of Christian work. The
war apparently has but hastened the
process.
Faith of the Druses.
The Druses, whom the commander
of the Turkish expedition against
Egypt Djemal Pasha, is reported to
have incited to revolt against the gov
ernment as an act of revenge toward
Enver Pasha, are a remarkable sect
Into whose faith various religious doc
trines are interwoven. Among these
figures those of the Pentateuch, the
Oospola, the Koran and certain Mo
hammedan allegories, une peculiar
feature of their cred la worth noting
at the present time. They believe that
the resurrection will be ushered in
by war between the Mohammedans
aud the Christians, and thoy wait only
for an Armageddon, In which they
claim they are destined to take a
prominent part
New Thumb" Grown on Mn,
George Merrell, prosldeut ot the
Wrisloy Perfume and Soap Manufac
turing company of Chicago, will be
able to continue his hobby ot piano
playing, as Dr. Otto Bryning of St
Mary's hospital, Jamaica, Queens, has
.noroeded In growing halt an inch
on Mr. Merrefs thumb, which was
amputated In a motor car mishap near
Jamaica recently.
By stimulating the formation ot
granulations on the stump, Doctor
Bryning acconipusneci me iasx. iew
York Dlspatcn to muaaeipnia Bul
letin.
Domestle Bliss,
Mrs. Neighbors Do you and your
husband live happily together?
Mrs. En peck Sure. I'd Just like to
ee my husband try hot to live hap
pily with me.
monument of the great eruption, near
ly fills the old crater adjoining the
plateau, rising some 600 feet above it
The famous spine, or obelisk, which
rose some hundreds of feet further in
to the air, disappeared entirely nearly
ten years ago through disintegration,
and the cone, as viewed from the sea,
presents a fiat top, whose apparent
smoothness does not prepare a visitor
for the actual ruggedness of surface
which he finds on climbing the mountain.
Mt. Pelee Quieting Down.
At the time of Doctor Hovey's last
previous visit in 190S the new cone
was seamed with fissures which dis
charged great volumes of steam and
gave temperatures as high as 500 de
grees C. (900 degrees P.). The present
expedition found considerable steam
still issuing from these vents, but no
temperatures exceeding 100 degrees C.
(212 degrees F.) could bo found.
On the east or windward side of the
volcano the vegetation lias re-estab
lished Itsolf to the summit of the moun
tain, and oven the forest is beginning
to reassert Itself. The whole aspect of
this Bide of the volcano Is verdant and
peaceful and givos no indication of the
devastation ot thirteen years ago; even
the rocks ot tho new cone are more
or less thickly coated with moss, while
the sldo and top cf tho old cone are
covored with grass, ferns and bushes,
In addition to tho moss and lichens. On
the summit" plateau the campers found
an abundance of red raspberry bushes
bearing flowers and green and ripe
fruit.
Su;ar plantations on tbe west side
ot ML Pelee have been reinstated as
far as tho Roxelnno river, within the
border of tho original zone ot annlblla
BETRAYED BY HER RULERS
France Unprepared for Great Struggle
With Germany That Was Un
dertaken In 1B7P.
"Franco was beaten In 13T0," wrote
Prof. Charles Downer Uazcn In the
Amoricau Magazine, "becaute ehe was
hopelessly unprepared for '.be elemen
tal contingency thct may couie to any
peoplo, a3 all history nnd all reason
abundantly prove Her uurrcpared
noss pervaded i-verv aspect cf the na
tional life. Her government, hor ad
ministrative eyctcci. her diplomacy,
her army and navy all bore cumulative
witness t? tho truth that a successful
war cannot be Improvised, but Is the
reward ot long, patient, intelligent
labor. Her unpreparcdneFS was none
tbe loss because her rules announced
that she was absolutely ready. Olll-
vier, ths Load of the ministry, declared
In tin chamber of deputies that he ac
cepted the war 'with a light heart,' a
phrase he was destined to be still ex
plaining until his death. The minis-
tor ot foreign affairs, Gramont let the
chamber understand th?t a triple alii-
which retains water better than the
coarse material, and suffers more rap
id decomposition. This fine ash is
now coated more or less thickly with
moss and lichens, and often bears, In
addition., bushes, trees, and tree ferns.
The outer limits ot the original zone
of annihilation showed merely a de
struction of the vegetation then coat
ing the mountain slopes and did not
suffer destruction or deep burying ot
the soil.
Palms and tree ferns have regained
their pristine development and beauty
in this region, and forest trees are
growing. On tbe east side ot the
mountain the sugar cane plantations
which flourished before the eruptions
are now largely restored to cultiva
tion and present a heavier growth of
cane than before, while on the west
Bide the peasant proprietors are al
ready taking up "provision ground" .
on the lower slopes of the volcano It
self. The great crater of the Soufriere is
beautiful enough to repay the lover of
scenery for a special trip to the island.
It Is about nine-tenths of a mile across
from east to west and three-quarters
of a mile wide from north to south,
and a lake approximately half a mile
In diameter now occupies Its lower
portions as its predecessor did In the
days before the eruptions which
changed the whole appearance ot the
mountain. In 1902-3 there was a little
pool of muddy water in the bottom of
the bowl through which disturbing
columns or puffs of steam were con
tinually rising. In 1908 the pool was
much larger, was yellowish green in
color, and was not disturbed by any
eruptive discharges, but did not fill the
bottom ot the crater.
anco would within a few hours be con
cluded with Austria and Italy. More
over, 'after a victory we shall have all
the allies we want The minister of
waf, Marshal Leboeuf, declared that
the army was ready, more than ready,
ana mat n tne war should last a year
we would not have to buy a singlo
gaiter button.'"
Warlike Cake Decorations.
A feature of present-day London
weddings where the bridegroom hap
pens to De a ngmer, is cake decoration
symbolic ot his branch ot the serv
ice. Toy cannons done in sugar, aero
planes or battlesbips of minute pro
portions are nsed, as the case may
be. V
A powerful overhead structure,
capable of handling many tons of ore
at once, used for unloading vessels at
Duluth, was not strong enough to re
sist the winds at that place, and was
brought down by a storm.
Optlmlstlo Thought
A wise man pays homage to worth!
a tool to wealth.