THE OCEAN CURRENTS BURNINO OP THE WINDSOR HOTEL IN NEW YORK CITY. TREND OF THOSE IN THE ARCTIC TO BE DETERMINED. PLiludelphla Geographical Society Huke« an Arnault Upon the Problem of DiacuveriiiK the North Pole—To Liperiment with Floating Casks. The Geographical Society of Phila delphia is fairly embarked upon Its latest assault upon the problem of dis covering the north pole. This Is one of the most important ventures in geo graphical discovery Initiated In recent years. It contemplates the determina tion of the direction or trend of the oceanic currents of the arctic region, for the purpose of ascertaining the con ditions of drift which there prevail. The latest polar exploration origin ated In the course of the 111 fated Jean nette expedition and the later and more successful drift of the Pram, under command of Nansen In Ills farthest north expedition. The present project for the determination of polar drift was conceived by Rear Admiral George W. Melville, engineer in chief of the United States navy, who was an officer of the Jeannette expedition. After the disaster that overtook the Jeannette Melville was deputed to search for the lost bodies on the shores of northern. Siberia. The severe experiences of Melville during these perilous expedi tions were not without results that bld fair to contribute Important knowledge to the problem that lias thus far battled the researches of geographical science and coBt many lives during the past BOO years. For Melville believes th it through observation made then the pole will be ultimately reached. In a paper read before the Americau Philosophical Society late In 1897 Rear the polar Hoe are about the size of an Admiral Melville outlined his plan of ordinary beer keg, but with conical search. He proposed the construction j rooded ends of brass. Each cask will of small, strong casks, designed to l contain a glass tube. Into which will meet the requirements of a long drift lie Inserted a memorandum of the lo between arctic floes, possibly of three cality of the placing the casks in the or four years’ duration. He suggested drift, with blank Instruction in sev that these casks be built of heavy oak eral languages, requesting the tinder, staves, with conical ends, and encircled wherever the casks may Is1 drifted, to With steel bars, In order to resist the Inscribe on the memorandum the loca Utmost pressure of Ice. tion by latitude and longitude of the The Geographical Society of Phila tind, and with the request to forward delphia undertook to carry our Rear this Information to the nearest consular Admiral Melivlle's novel proposal. For representative of the finder's country, more than a year the society has been or direct to the Geographical Society engaged upon the execution of the of Philadelphia. Each glass tube is In plan. Fifty casks have been construct closed In a small wooden trough, which ed In San Francisco, under the super- will be placed through the bungbole of The Third Party. He came lurching aionnd a corner ind staggered up against a pedestrian waiting for his car, and after getting rettled down upon bis feet again he laid: “Be careful of yourself, old fellow ' ind not get run over.” “But your are tiie one to be care tui,” was tlie reply. “You’ve got a ¡ag on, while I’m perfectly sober.” “That’s something I never could un- lerstand,” observed the inebriated, liter a pause. “The man wiio is tight ilways thinks it is tlie sober man who is drunk, and vice versa. Tell you what I honestly believe.” “Well?” “We are botli sober, and that lamp post over theie has got a|3 drunk on I” —Pittsburg Post. serene atmosphere, but opposite to a thin vaporous cloud, if a human being stand on a high hill between them, a wonderful image is seen on the cloud curtain. moving as the man moves, at one moment clear and the next fading away. This is a kind of natural magic lantern, where the cloud takes the place of the white screen, and a man, or men, of the slides. The highest peak of tlie Hartz Mountains, called the Brocken, is the place where this is oftenest seen, so the linage is called the spectre of tlie Brocken. But mountain eers see it often on the high Alps. The changing rays of the morning sun make the giant shadows vanish and reapper, and tlie moving cloud-screen gives them motion. LEWIS CARROLL. WHEN THE CENTURY BEGINS. It Was a Fruitful Topic of Discussion One Hundred Years Ago, An Eye to Business. — ‘‘Bigsbee is a terribly melodramatic fellow, isn’t he? He said he’d drain his heart’s blood for the woman he loved. Do you think he meant it?” “Why, I guess so. Bigs- oee is agent for a drain and sewer pipe soncern.” In a new jackscrew for raising heavy bodies tlie spiral ribs inside the frame ire replaced by a series of steel balls which mesh in tiie grooves on the beaded shaft and deciease the friction is the shaft is turned. ing his face to the south he would say: “I am now 1,800 miles from the city hall of New York.” But if be had put tlie stone numbered 1 at the city hall, then the stone to bo placed at one mile, from the said cor ner would have been marked 2, and the stone marked 1.800 only 1,799 miles from New Y’ork. But placing the stono marked 1 at the said corner would sure» ly mislead the traveler in determina-i tion of how far he was from New York, for seeing 2 marked on tlie stone lie “What’s an empty title, pa?” “An would conclude that he had still two miles to traverse to be at the New Y’ork smpty title is your mother’s way of tailing me the l.ead of the house.” city hall. An immense amount of discussion is current as to the exact time when the present century ends, and the next one begins. Some very clever arguments have been advanced on various phases of the subject. The reader who fol , lows up all of these will be rewarded witli a vast amount of curious informa tion. With tlie great deal tliat is specu lative and purely theoretical, some most curious and bewildering proposi tions are brought to the front. A good deal of this is new to the person who The man who first printed the im lias not reflected over the matter be A Sure Stand. fore. All that is being gone over, how The following story of a really smart mortal Declaration of Independence ever. is old. thrashed material. As the retort is from “More Humors of Cleri- was John Dunlap, an Irishman from t Strabane, County Tyrone, in which place he was born in 1747. Peculiarities of the Author of “Alice in Wonderland.” lntciidcnce of Past Chief Engineer George F. Kutz, U. S. N„ an officer who Is well acquainted with Melville's plans. S|H*eially prepared messages, to be placed inside the casks, are now en route across the continent. In •» few days these messages will lie inclosed in the casks and the northern Jou-my will begin. Ity means of Pacific whal ing fleets, whose co operation lias been generously granted to the society, and also by the United States cutter Bear, acting for the United States hydro graphic service, the casks will be shipped northward. Of the fifty, twen ty-tlve of them will lie curried by the steam whalers of the Pacific Steam Whaling Company, fifteen by the rev enue cutter Bear an I ten by whalers owned by George Siebers A Co. Dur ing the next year It Is contemplated to send fifty additional casks. the cask and the hole will be securely closed. EWELL IN- A bl UMP. Queer Living Quarters of Five Men in eoutliern Australia. Sometimes the rodents and the birds make homes In tree stumps, but man lias usually selected different quarters. To Determine I’olar Drift». The plan of operation, so far as can lie determined at present. Is to de posit these casks on let* floes, north of both the American ami the Asiatic con tlnents. fot the purpose of determining the polar drifts These drifts are be lieved by many gisigrapliera to pass In opiHised diieitlon.i. one northwestward from the Siberian coast, ami which Is assumed to .correspond with the drift of the Fratn; the other northeastward from tlie archipelago lying north of America nnd Issuing eastward lu the sea that lies west of Greenland. Henry G. Bryant, the present Presi dent of the Geographical Society of In the township of Wynnasty, South Glppsland. Australia, however, tlve men have converted a huge gumtree stump Into a very habitable dwelling. This queer home is two stories high, the up per story being reached by a regular stairway. A glance at the accompany ing picture of the stump house will con vince you that the tree must have been a giant of its siiecfes. Wonders of Nature. Philadelphia, has generously contrib uted to the society the funds needed to carry this novel polar expedition Into immediate execution Mr. Bry ant is a graduate of Princeton Uni versity. He la an explorer of wide ex perience and Is at present on an ex tended voyage In the West Indies. The casks which will be sent through If two pieces of lookiug glass are held on the opposite sides of a lighted lamp or cantile, an endless series of bright Hames may be seen at one time. So, In the cold north, when the air is full of mluute floating Ice-flakes, the sun with Its halo Is reflected many times, and the traveler sees two, four or more tuock suns with crossing halo rings of startilug patterns. In hilly countries, w here the sun rises tn a A Compliment tor the Scots. An old 8cotch lady in Detroit is « little bit prouder of her nationality 1 than of anything else io which she tan lav claim, and never misses a lhance to boast of what her countrymen | have accomplished. She never tires j >f telling what they have done, dwell ing particularly upon Scott, Burns. tVallaee, Bruce and Ian Maclaren. “Mother,” said her son, aRer she had heen discoursing upon her favorite ¡heme the other day, ‘‘you honestly reein to think that no good can come ixcept out of Scotland. 1 fear it’s he mming a eort of mania with you. You'll be claiming yet, mother, that Gladstone, Washington, Lincoln, Dewey and all the best of our greatest Itnen in modern times, were born in Scotland.” “Weel, I’m nae so sure >• that, Jamie, but there be ane tiling I do ken o’ the gude men ye name, laddie, a’m >st a’ o’ tliim had intellect 1 much to be Scotchmen.”—Detroit J Free Press._________________ _ 8. D. Collingwood, In the Century, de scribes some of the odd ways of Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice in Won’ derland.” That he was, In some respects, eccen tric cannot be denied; for instance, he never wore an overcoat, and always wore a tall hat, whatever might be the climatic conditions. He would wear only cotton gloves. In these small per sonal matters he had a great fear of extravagance. At dinner In Ills rooms small pieces of cardboard took the place of table-mats; they answered tlie purpose perfectly well, he said, and to buy anything else would be a mere waste of money. On the other hand, when purchasing books for himself, or giving treats to the children lie loved, lie never seemed to consider expense at all. When making tea for Ills friends lie used in order, 1 suppose, to expedite the process—to walk up and down the room waving tlie teapot about, and tell ing meanwhile those delightful nnec- dotes of which lie had an Inexhaustible supply. He had a strong objection to staring colors In dress, ids favorite combina tion being pink and gray. One little girl who came to stay with him was ab solutely forbidden to wear a red frock, of a somewhat pronounced hue, while out In his compauy. At meals he was always very abstem ious, wlille lie took nothing In the mid dle of the day except a glass of wine and a biscuit. Under these circum stances It Is not very surprising that the heal’.fty appetites of his little friends filled him with wonder, aud even with alarm. When lie took a certain one of them out with liini to a friend’s house to din ner lie used to give the host or hostess a gentle warning, to tlie mixed amaze ment nnd Indignation of tlie child: "Please lie careful, because she eats a good deal too much.” Two Valid Excuses. Last week, late in the afternoon, a case was called by Judge Sutherland In Couuty Court. "I would like to ask. your Honor, that this ease go over until to-morrow," said one of the attorneys. "On what ground?" said the Judge. “Too tired.” “Yea. your Honor. I have hvtl nrgn- Ing a case all day lu Part II. and 1 am really too fatigued to go ou with this trial." "Very well, let the case go over. Call the next case.” The next ease was called and another attorney arose. "May it please your Honor. I would like to ask this case to go over." "For what reason?" "1 am too tired.” "Y'ou. too? What makes you tired?" "I hare been listening all day to my learned friend iu Part II."—Rochester Herald. When a girl of sixteen, who Is pretty, aud has good clothes, gets a sail look in her eyes. It means that she has heard It Is becoming; nothing more. The Bible tells us God created man In His own image and nearly every uiali thinks hr is the one referred to. Under Henry V, an act of parlia ment ordered all tlie geese in England to be counted, and tlie sheriffs of the sounties were required to furnish six trrow-feathers from each goose. There was a young man from Lenore, Who boldlv went off to tiie war; The "beef” made him sick, He recovered quite quick By the prompt use of old Jesse Moore. Somehow we always expect the fel low who gets mad first to come out of tlie argument second best. , Mothers will tind Mrs. Winslow's Sooth ing Syrup the best remedy to use for their ihildren during the teething period. Naming a battleship George Wash ington is all right, but could a ship with that name lie at anchor? flT® Permanently Cured. No ntsor nervousnea rilO after first day’s use of Dr. Kline's Great Nerve Restorer. Send for FKl.K Scl.OO trial bottle anti treatise. DR. R. H. Kr.INK Ltd., 930 Arch street, Philadelphia, Pa. People who talk most- about others’ leltishness are frequently tlie worst. “I DO MY OWN WORK.” So Says Mrs. Mary Rochietto of Lindon, New Jersey, In this Letter to Mrs. Pinkham. end of each century approaches the old. old question is mooted, people get thinking and naturally the same ideas that presented to their great grand grandparents appeal to them witli the first blush of something original. A century since, as the year 1800 ap proached, the prints then current were tilled with a good deal of discussion as to whether 1800 or 1801 signalized the beginning of a new century. One of the most entertaining and interesting papers on tills subject Is comprised in a letter written by Gen. Philip Schuy ler of historic fame. Feb. 11, 1779. It Is addressed to his eldest daughter. Mrs. Angelica Church, aud was in dited to set at rest in her mind the I bnffilug pros aud cons concerning tlie | century-end! ng Ideas. At that time men of sound sense, and of such can dor as to be incapable of subterfuge i which cavilling about words affords, held antagonistic views as stubbornly as though millions were involved. Gen. Schuyler premised everything on the fact that the birth of Christ, be ginning at tne first minute of the first day of January, computation com mences with a cipher 0. Some theor ists placed 1 at the birth of Christ. In stead of at the end of the year from his bir’h. rejecting, he claimed, one en- ( tire year out of the series composing the Christian era. Here is his quaint, practical proposition to Illustrate: Suppose, he says, a surveyor was di rected to begin at the city liall. New York, to measure on a due north course. 1,800 miles, and at the end of a mile to set up a stone to indicate how- far that stone was from the city hall, wbat mark would he place upon it? Surely be would mark It with the num tier 1. If he should proceed one mile farther, and set up another stone, this , be would mark with the numh>r 2. and proceeding thus, when he had run 1.800 times eighty chains he would set up a stoue and mark it 1,800, and. turn cal Life,” and Is told in connection with a church in one of the eastern counties of England: The church possessed a valuable Bible, which was used only ou Sun days. During the week It was kept In a box which rather curiously formed the stand upon which the reader of the lessons stood. Ou one occasion, when this was being shown to a visitor, tlie remark was made that It did not seem very reverent for even a clergyman to tread upon tlie Bible. “Pardon me.” the old verger replied. "In this church, sir, we take our stand U[xin the Scriptures.” Sitt ng Bull's Grave. A broken wooden headboard and a neglected mound of earth In the Fort Yates, N. D„ military cemetery mark the resting place of Sitting Bull the great Sioux medicine man whose wily brain planned the deathtrap of the Little Big Horn into which General Custer’s command fell. On the broken headlsiard is written: “No. 54. Sit ting Bull. Indian.” Relic hunters have cut most of the headboard away. The Devil in a Candlestick, An odd candlestick is in brouze of the brilliant flaming red always as sumed by Mephistopheles iu masquer ade. It represents his satnnic majesty in all the familiar brilliancy, with liorus and cloven foot the latter serv ing as a standard. The tail Is curved Into a loop handle for the candlestick and the candle Itself, of the same flam ing red wax. fits tietween the horns. When the sons of a great church worker show no inclination to study for the ministry, she begins to build her hopes on one of her daughters mar rying a preacher. Love finds the way In. but it has to be thrown euL •* I was bothered with a flow which would be quite annoying at times, and at others would almost stop. “ I used prescriptions given me by my physician, but same state of affairs continued. “ After a time I was taken with a flooding, that I was obliged to keep my bed Finally, in despair, I gave up my doc tor. and began taking your medi cine. and have certainly been greatly benefited by its use. "Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound has Indeed been a friend to me. " I am now able to do my own work, thanks toyour wonderful medicine. I was as near death I believe as I could be. so weak that my pulse scarcely beat and my heart had almost given out. I Could not have stood it one week more, I am sure. I never thought I would be so grateful to any medicine. “ I shall use my influence with any one suffering as I did, to have them use Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound." Every womah that is puzzled about ker condition should secure the sympa thetic advice of a woman who under- ttands. Write to Mrs. Pinkham al Lynn. Mass., and tell her your ill* * Pfun der sw *• »