TILLAMOOK HEADLIGHT, MAY 14. 190^.
I
Methods of the Big Bank Ex­
change In New York City.
MARCH OF THE MESSENGERS.
Ths Way Millions on Millions of Dol­
lars In Checks Change Holder? In a
Few Minutes In the Daily Balancing
of Accounts Between Banks.
going, taking with them the packages
of checks which have been deposited
with the settling clerks. The latter
still have work to do. Their assistants
rescue the little tickets from»the com­
partments into which they were drop­
ped. and the settling clerks scan the
amount of them to see If they agree
with the totals on tbe exchange slips.
When first he entered tbe room the
settling clerk gave the proof clerk in
the manager's gallery the amount of
the checks he brought with him. N<rw
he ascertains the total of the amount
Soon he Is able
I deposited with him.
to tell whether hls bank has a debt or
credit balance, and this Information he
communicates to the proof clerk. Then
the clearing house knows exactly how
much cash w Ill have to tie moved from
bank to bank in adjusting balances.
Forty-five minutes Is the limit allow­
ed for making the exchanges and prov­
ing the balances, and tines may be Im­
posed If the allotted time Is exceeded.
But ft Is rarely necessary to impose
fines, so rapid Is the work of the mes­
sengers and so simple the system of
exchange. Most of the work Is done
tiefore the messengers get to the clear­
ing bouse. The checks for exchange
with other banks are Inclosed In sep­
arate envelopes, and these envelopes
are arranged In consecutive order In
the delivery clerk’s bag. so all needless
delay In depositing them Is eliminated.
To make the clearing finally complete
It Is of course necessary to exchange
the cash. "Accordingly,” says James
G. Cannon In hls book on "Clearing
Houses." "before half past 1 o’clock
each debtor bank, in compliance with
the requirements of the constitution,
pays Into the clearing bouse the amount
of Its debit balance and obtains a re­
ceipt for the same signed by the as­
sistant manager. After half past 1
o’clock the creditor banks receive at
the clearing house tlielr respective bal­
ances and give their receipts for the
same In a book provided for that pur-
pose, but In no case can a creditor
bank receive its balance until all the
debtor banks have paid In.”—New York
Post.
‘‘Clearing!" That word is tbe order
for the shuffling of many feet and tbe
pattering of thick enveloiies upou bard
wood. Men with leather bags bung
against their chests like buss drums
pass up aud down rows of desks at
which other men sit aud as they go by
deflly baud out brown paper packages
contaiulng the equivalent of millions lu
gold. Thus do the bauks of New York
transfer mouey each business day.
As vast as the figures involved in the
operation are. they do not make an
Impress upon the mind. One is more
apt to wonder whether tlie gray haired
messenger lu tbe blue serge suit would
succeed In disorganizing the line if he
gave tbe wrong envelope to bank No.
49 and. If so, whether he w ould be con­
demned forever by hls associates. But
no one seems to make a mistake, aud
tbe visitor has no reason Jo worry
about tbe |iosslbillty of misplacing $28,-
000,000 even for half a second. Tbe
machinery of the clearing house is al­
most too perfect to slip a cog.
Tbe clearing bouse begins to show
signs of activity as early as 9:30 o'clock,
when tbe vanguard of bank runners
makes its appearance. They travel In
pairs and are mostly young men, al­
though the veterans have not all re­
tired. Their badge of offlce la a bag,
any sort of bag, suit case, telescope,
kit bag, canvas bag. Sometimes it has
the name of tbe bank It came from
printed across the end. More often it
A MARKET IN MOROCCO.
bears no distinguishing mark.
Further, its Identity is frequently Ths Best Place to Study the Ways of
hidden behind an exceedingly shabby
the Wily Natives.
exterior. That Is perhaps a virtue. At
The place of all places to see the
all events. It Is not considered good Moorish
people Is at their markets, for
form In banking circles to be ostenta­
class and kind of them Is there,
tious. A strong bag even though it be every
and when you have seen one market
old and chafed Is Just as good a vehicle you have seen them all. for there is a
for a fortune as a new one and Is less racial similarity In the Moors the world
likely to produce burnings In the heart
of a thug. So this is the reason why over.
The first thing about a Moorish mar
the young men who sweep up the mar­ ket
that attracts the attention of a
ble stairs look as if they were carrying
traveler
Is the farreaebing- odor or,
bags tilled with their own clothing iu-
stead of other persons’ checks. Self rather, the multiplicity of odors, for
1» a composite character about
conscious they are not despite the loads there
the smell of a Moorish market that can­
they carry, and one might well imagine not be equaled anywhere outside of
they were going upstairs to change
China. Before you can even hear the
tlielr garments for gymnasium suits.
But when the visitor reaches the floor continual wrangle and Jangle of the
place you can smell it.
above and climbs to the little gallery market
Once there the Interminable Jumble
at one end he realizes that not basket of things and folks Is disconcerting,
ball, but another game, Is to lie played. and the evidence of dirt everywhere
Already tbe players ure preparing to takes from un American all desire to
take tlielr positions. At the side walls deal
in eatables, for tlie Moors seem to
are lienehes oil which delivery clerks be wholly Insensible to dirt of any
are sitting, their bags at their sides, kind and every kind and have no objec­
and op|M>slte Is a solid counter divided tion to fruit and berries that have come
Into about seventeen compartments, to In unprotected over miles of dusty and
tlie front of which ure affixed. If occu­ sandy roads.
pied, tbe name plates of different
These people are natural traders, sec­
banks. Beyond the first Is a second
to none In their ability to obtain
counter and between the two a ruck for ond
the highest possible price or equally
huts and overcoats. A broad aisle with ready willingness to let the article go
more benches and hatrncks separates for a mere pittance rather than miss
the two rows of couiiters from dupli­ making a sale.
cates on the opposite side of the room.
will begin the price of n lamp
Settling clerks, who take their places nt They
3 shilling!' and after a little haggling
on high stools behind tbe outer rows will come down to 1 shilling, but if you
of counters, face the walls. Those at move on they will thrust the lamp into
the Inner counters face the center aisle.
hand and ask ypu to give them
At the elbows of the settling clerks your
anything for It that you will, and it Is
staud their assistants, who are re­ a sale, no difference liow small may be
quired to sign tbe exchange slips pre­ your offer.
sented with each package of cheeks.
In nearly all countries the every­
As the clock nears lu one glances where present and always the same
from the high dome, with Its row of donkey is an Inevitable adjunct of a
electric lights, to the acene below. The Moorish market. The whole animal
clerks at the compurtmeuts have made kingdom would be searched through In
themselves comfortable. Tbe imssen valu to find any creature more wholly
gers standing at ease before them devoid of impulse and sentiment than
have slung their bags and are ready. thlsjmposed upon little beast.
A minute passes. A man appears at
I.lke a fatalist philosopher, he is
the rostrum In the gallery and rings a wholly
resigned to the order of things,
gong twice. Eyes lielow are uplifted | and nothing can cause him to stir from
as he makes an announcement about the even tenor of Ills ways. Caressing
out of town banks that will hereafter
even food do not seem to add any
clear through different correspondents. and
to hls satisfaction, and lieating and
Tliiit^s not of particular Interest, but abuse do not detract from hls tranquil­
he pauses briefly aud tlieu utters the lity. —
'
Ills features
art? perfectly linuio-
magic word, "Clearing!”
bile.
The messenger for bank No. 1 crosses
As he stands In the market place orte
the room at one end of the counters may pet him and give him bits of grass
and takes the place of No. 97, w ho has or fruit and he will not raise hls bead
moved down a pace. Simultaneously or even open his eyes. He is the su­
fifty other men have taken a step tor- preme. Ineffable resignation in flesh
want. and the tramping and scraping ami blood. And no Moorish market Is
of feet come regularly. No. 1 has complete without him by the score.—
■lapped an envelope down tiefore the World's Events Magazine.
clerk at No. 97'» compartment, droppad
a ticket into a slot, offered au exchange
How to Stick Stamp*.
allp for signing anil passed on to No.
"Say."
the postoffic* clerk
pu without uttering a word. Each of who was remarked
off duty as he watched a
No. I'a fifty associates has duplicated friend affix two stamps Io the corner
hls performance in every detail, aud of an envelope, "why don't you put
so the exchanges, ns they are called, those stamps on horizontally Instead
have been fairly started.
of vdftically? Don't you know you
In the meantime tbe settling clerks would save a lot of work for us stamp
are doing tlielr share of tbe work era If you put your stamps lieside each
Long »lie»'Is of paper In front of them other Instead of under each other? We
are balug filled out with the total always have to make two strokes when
amounts of the checks presented by canceling vertically pasted stamps by
the men who are clrcliug alaiut the hand, anil they don't work well through
counters, making monotonous but not tbe stamping machines either."
unpleasant sounds with tbelr feet
"Is that so?" Inquired bls friend as
Suddenly, when you arc Just l«glnn!ng he took another envelope ami proceed
to understand what It Is all about, a •»1 to affix two stamps to It In a ver­
halt Is called. No one says anything, tical position. "Then, by the ijjeat
but every one stops. You ask why. horn spoon, why deesm't the govern
and some one say* tbe exchange* have ment sell Its stamps In horizontal
been completed You ask bow 4300. Itnea? Ixxik at these. Here I bought
000.000 can change hauds tn exactly 20 cents' worth of two cent stamp*
fifteen, minutes by Hie clock. and tlie and they come to me lu vertical lines,
same person looks at you with a pity­ If I buy five two». I get them attached
ing smile and remarks. "Why, you'vs one to the bottom of the other. Do
Just seen It done."
yon think I'm going to the trouble of
There la marked silence fur a nn> tearing each stamp off Just h> pies»* a
ment after th* f**t hat* stopped mor­ government clerk by pH »ting them ski*
Ing. The crowd In tile room begins ta by Bids? Guess again.'V New York
thin out, for the delivery clerk> are
,r—
. * /
4l
A.
WORD ODDITIES,
Some
Interesting Curiosities cf
English Language-
tho
Mil
9
CRYSTAL GAZING.
If You Want to Try It. Thi. Will T.H
Yau How to Proceed.
Haviig satlsti'“! ul-vself ,bat 80108
people roally would see hallucinatory
picture* in a glass ball or In water 1
examined tbe ethnological side of the
question. I found by studying work»
of travel ami anthropology that many
savage »nd barbarous races> gaze ln<
water polished basalt, rock crystal*,
and so on, for the purpose of seeing
dHant events, foreseeing t,,e
detecting criminals, and so forth. It
dX not seem to me credible that so
umnv aud so widely separated peoples
should agr.e with ancient G‘eek9
the races of western Europe m staring
away tf they did not see hallucinatory
pictures. So 1 believi that some neo­
ph- do see them. Nor Is this fact now
denied by professors of psychology.
I have never been able to foresee
fro m character, complexion, habit of
mind and other Indications what per­
sons would prove capable of descrying
even fancy pictures In a glass ball.
Tbe best gazers of my acquaintance,
those who hit ou pictures coincidental
with actual events unknown to them
or with the secret thoughts of a com­
panion. are t>otb of them not unfamil­
iar with other curious experience*,
But I have tried with the gluss bull
t„q or three other friends who have
two
teen what are vulgarly called "ghost*"
In haunted houses, and In the glass
ball they can see nothing, while people
«ho never saw ghosts do see "coinci­
dental" pictures In a glass ball.
If any reader* care to make experi­
ments 'they can begin by purchasing
a bail. or. of course, a glass Jug of wa­
ter will do. or even a teaspoonful of
ink, In some cases, but both are Incon­
venient and may spill. Having got the
ball, it is best to go alone into a room,
sit down with the back to the light,
place the ball at a just focus In the
lap on a dark dress or a dark piece of
cloth, try to exclude reflections, think
of anything you please and stare for
live minutes, say, at the ball. That Is
all. . If after two or three trials you
see nothing in the waj'
ay of pictures In
the ball, you will proBabiy never sue-
ceed.—Andrew Lang.
Here is some English that seldom Is
written and some other interesting cu­ Droll Incident In ths Reign cf
riosities of Mother English.
Jarnos I. cf England.
Honorlficubilitudluitatibus is a rath­
er long word. You cannot find it in
tbe dictionary, but you will find It used A TRICK C.’l AN AMBASSADOR
lu Shakespeare aud some of the other
early English writers.
The Different Interpretations of the
Tbe word is meaningless. The only
Same Acts Performed by a Crochety
interesting point about It is its length
Spaniard and a Hard Headed and
Twenty-seven letters in a breath are
Canny Old Scotch Butcher.
quke a few. But our dictionary gives
It Is said that King Janies 1. ou re­
some almost us long—for instance, the
following two of twenty-four letters moving to London was waited upon by
tbe Spanish ambassador, a man of eru­
each:
dition. but who had a crotchet In his
Transubstantlationelists.
bead that every country should have a
Inant hroponiorphis-ibility.
Here are some of the other boa con­ profess >r of signs to teach him and the
like of him to understand one another.
strictors:
The ambassador was lamenting one
Twenty-three letters:
day before tlie king this great desider
Disproportionablen esses.
atum throughout all Europe, when the
-Twenty-two:
king said to him: "Why. I have a pro
1 n tercomm unlcabll Ities.
fessor of signs tn the northernmost col
Twenty-oue:
lege lu ui.v dominions—viz. at Aber­
In tercon vertiblll tie*.
deen—but It is a great way off. perhaps
Twenty:
G90 miles."
Hlstomorphologlce (ly.
“Were It'10.000 leagues off I shall
Interdlfferentlatlon.
Supersensitiveness-is.
see him.” said the ambassador, "and
Hypersensitivenesses.
am determined to set out In two or
It is safe to say that the ordinary three days." The king saw he bad com­
reader would not run ou to one of mitted himself and wrote, or caused to
these in a hundred years, and if be did l>e written, to the University of Aber­
he would run the other way.
deen. stating the case and desiring the
It Is Interesting to know that the professors to put him off some way or
entire ulpbabet can he arranged lu one make the Iwst of him. The ambassa­
intelligible sentence without the repe­ dor arrived, was received with great
tition of a single letter—Just twenty- solemnity, but soon began to Inquire
six letters In the following sentence, which of them had the honor to be pro­
and no two alike:
fessor of signs.
J. Q. Vandz struck my big fox whelp.
Being told that the professor was
That simple sentence is the hardest absent in tlie highlands nnd would re­
possible one to write ou the typewriter. turn uobody knew when, the ambas­
So many of the letters in tbe alphabet sador said, "I will wait Ills return,
are used so seldom that even a good though It were twelve mouths.”
typist has to study out the combina­
Seeing that this would not do and
tion before finding some of them. This that they bad to entertain him at a
sentence is tbe only known one that great expense all the while, they con­
contains every letter in the alphabet trived a stratagem. There was one
but once and makes sense.
Geordy. a butcher, blind of. an eye. a
Another interesting word group in droll felliw. with much wit and rogu­
which tbe entire alphabet Is put into ery about him. He was got. Instruct­
seven words and only thirty-two let­ ed to lie professor of signs, but not to
ters are used is: "Burst, fed, Jingle, speak on pain of death, Geordy
i
cheer-
quip, vim, hack, zyxomma.” This Is fully undertook the role. Tlie ambas-
Circumstantial Evidence.
the smallest number of words that tbe sadory was told that the • professor of
During a discussion In regard to cir­
alphabet can be Included lu.
signs would lie at home next day, at cumstantial evidence a lawyer told of
Two intelligible sentences, however, which he rejoiced greatly.
a remarkable case which, he said, ap­
of eight words aud thirty-two letters
Next day Geordy was gowned, wig- pears in the Virginia reports. It was
apiece have been found. They are:
ged and placed in a chair of state in this:
Quick brown fox Jumps over the lazy dog. a room In the college, all the profess­ A man was discovered drawing a
Pack my box with five dozen liquor Jugs. ors and the ambassador being in an
Tbe first sentence Is often used in adjoining room. The ambassador was knife from the prostrate form of an­
testing the types on typewriters ou ac­ shown Into Geordy's room and left to other man near a roadside, The wit
count of the shortness and the fact converse with him as well as he could, nesses rushed upon him and took the
that it Includes every letter and has tbe the professors awaiting the Issue with weapon from him. It was still drip­
ping with the warm blood of the vic­
advantage of making sense.
fear aud trembling.
tim. He was accused of the murder.
Here is a list of the longest mono­
The ambassador held up one of hls but asserted hls Innocence, He clalm-
syllables in English:
fingers to Geordy; Geordy held up two
Seven letters, through; eight letters, of Ids. The ambassador held tip three; ed that be bad happened along the
strength, thoughts, starched, thrilled, Geordy clinched hls fist and looked road but a few moments liefore and
straight, squalled, schnapps; ulne let­ stern. The ambassador then took an saw his alleged victim struggling w ith
ters, strength*, squelched, scratched, orange from hls pocket and held It up; another man. Before he could come up
the unknown had driven hls knife
splotched, stretched.
Geordy took a piece of barley cake
Probably the most interesting word from bis pocket and held that up. home aud bad fled Into some brush
curiosity is the one made up of the After which the ambassador bowed to close by. Seeing the knife still In the
greatest number of other words in the him and retired to the other professor, breast of the fallen man, be stooped
regular sequence. That word is in­ who anxiously Inquired bis opinion over and drew it forth Just as hls ac­
cusers came on the scene. That was
discrimination.
Iu-dlsc-rim-ln at-l-on of their brother.
contains seven words and is only six­
“He Is a perfect miracle," said the his story. The knife being Ideptltled as
teen letters long. That is allowing a ambassador. “I would not give him the property of the accused, no cre­
dence whatever was placed lu his tale
fraction more than two letters to each for the wealth of the Indies."
word, and only one word is repeated.
"Well.” said the professors, "to de­ He was tried, convicted and hanged.
A year later the man who had really
Here are two that have six separate scend to particulars."
words within the one:
“Why.” said the ambassador. "I first committed the crime while on hls
Ass-ass-ln-at-l-on—
held up one finger, denoting that there deathbed confessed that he was the
Assassination.
murderer and told bow he bad stolen
is one God; he held up . two. . signifying
_ „_ Ig
In-fln-tt-at-l-un—
that these are the Father and Son. I the knife from the innocent man who
Inflnltatlon.
had been sent to the gallows.
There do not seem to be any that can held up three, meaning the Father, tbe
Y_______ _____
be split iq» Into five sensible parts, but Son and Holy Ghost; he clinched his
A
Perfect Marriage.
fist.
to say that these three are one.
here are several quads:
Most people know and admire the
I then took out an orange, signifying
In-sat-l-at*—
Insatiate.
the goodness of God. whogl . es h s crea­ work of the versatile William Blake,
Ass-ass-aln-ate—
tures not only the necessaries. but tbe poet an I artist, but few people know
Assassinate.
luxuries, of life, upou which the won­ the story of hl* perfect marriage, for a
In-vesl-lgat»—
Investigate.
derful maa presented a piece of bread, perfect marriage it was Indeed. In
In-lt-l-ate—
showing that It was the siaff of life 1780 Blake fell In love with a pretty
Initiate.
girl called Clara Woods, but she did
and preferable to every luxury."
Two three-part words that make The professors were glad that mat­ not care for him. and the blow was a
sense when the parts are taken »epa- ters had turned out so well; so, having severe one to the impressionable young
rately are:
got quit of the ambassador, they next man. He left Loudon and took up hls
To-get-her—
got Geordy to hear bls version of the abode at Richmond, where be lodged
Together.
signs.
with a nursery gardener named Bouch­
In-no-cent—
Innocent.
*'VY ell. Geordy. bow have you come er. Mr. Boucher had a beautiful daugh­
The dictionary is full of funny and on and what do you think of yon ter. < 'atherlne, and sbe became the
curious things, This is only a small man?”
confidant of the poet's love affair, and
"The rascal!” says Geordy. "What he:- generous sympathy so cheered
part of the unusual things that you
can find out about words In an hour's did he do first, think ye? He held up Blake's mental sufferings that he grad
perusal of the most wordy book in the cue finger, as much as to say. You uall.v fell in love with tbe gentle girl
English language—New York Press.
have only one eye. Theu I held iip two, His affection was warmly returned
meaning that my one eye was perhaps and Catherine Boucher married Wil­
as good as both bls. Then the fellow liam Blake on Aug. 18. 1782. It was
The Wisdom of Experience.
There was uo doubt lu the minds of held up three of hls fingers, to say that an Ideal union. The young husband
the Hobart family that young James there were but three eyes lietween us. took a delight lu teaching hls wife
had a remarkable gift. It remained and then I was so mad at the scoun­ who was all eagerness to learn, and
for an obscure uncle from the Cape to drel that I steeked my nelve and was the modest gardener's daughter be­
drop n word of caution and of worldly to come a whack on the side of hls came eventually a cultured woman.
head and would ha' done It. too. but v ho was an ardent hero worshiper of
wisdom.
"You say he's wonderful farseelng for your sakes. Theu the rascal did her clever husbaud and who cheered
and can tell folks Just bow things are not s 'op with his provocation here» but. his life more than any one else could
forsooth, takes out an orange, as much Mrs. Blake learned to color her hus­
going to. turn out?" be inquired.
"Yes, It seems so," said Janies' ador­ ns to say. Your poor, beggarly, tsiij baud s drawings and was extraordl-
ing mother
country canuot produce that. I show­ narily adept In the work.
"Well, now. If you want him to tie the ed him a whang of a bear bannock,
most onpop'lar man anywhere round, meaning that I did nn' care a farthing
Discovery cf Osteopathy.
you Just let him foretell and prophesy for him nor hls trash neither as lang s
The man who discovered osteopathy
and forecast." remarked the old uncle 1 ha' this. But. by a' that's guld." con was a great sufferer from headache."
grimly. "If you want him to keep a eluded Georly. "I'm angrv ret that I »m l, a man who claims to know. "He
few friends you must shunt bhr i ff nt. dibit thrash the hide o' the scoun­ tried every remedy on earth almost,
to some other track. I.et him workout drel!”—London T P.'s Weekly.
but could get no i>ermanent relief. One,
sums lu Ills head. That's a harmless
• i.' he had a terrible headache aid
practice."
Th* Wily Owl.
"ellt ',l»Jul» his front yard to lie un-
"But why?" faltered the mother.
A party of horsemen were traveling thrni ShU, ° °f “ b,g tree nnd reRt hl»
"Just this." answered the authority «tong Bridge creek, a tributary of Bad throbbing head ou tbe cooling grass
from down ou the Cape. "When he Water river. Wyoming, when their suspended from a limb of tbe treewas
prophesies things 'll go wrong and horses suddenly shied off the track at a rope swing used by the children
they do go wrong the beft of the blame the sound of a "rattle" Search was
‘ K..man ay uuder ,hls »wlug for
will be laid straight on his shornJers. made for the snake, but It was finally awhile
and finally put the rope under
When be says they'll go right and they found that the sound proceeded from bis head to act as a support. In n few
do folks ’ll be too busy enjoying tbou. the burrowing owl. which Ilves In the fflomeuts he was surprised and pleased
selves to remem tier your James. And burrows of th* prairie dog. often tt Is to fin ] that bis headache was much
when be says they'll go wrong »nd said. In company with th* rattlesnake
Rvi'," n‘"lbalf an h0,,r lhe ,M,ln ha''
they go right they II call him a fool Sc.tM
« poster party heard the
Now. I'm above seventy, and you mind owl gb* a third rattle, And whenever goae. He began an investigation He
th‘> rOpe ’wlnR b™*«
they passed th* sp,„ ,, nve warnl ' on thL'n
what 1 tel* ye!"—Youth's Companion.
2P ‘»e nerve In the beck of the head.
i " J’L1' and the hon‘e’ •lwV
Wi h r
,lrp »,oPPed tbe headache
N.^ru,tbe,raVk
-American P
H»r Bad Accid*nt.
’ ,h nw' ■”">$ he deeded that many
"Dld you ever bave a bad accidenti"
Pal. could be relieved If nerves Xld
The lady chauffeur bit ber llp.
the proper treatment-a mas-
of po mao m,re U*«fi thy-
•'I met uiy husband by accldent." sbe
•elf -Tert nee.
-
J and h» ma.ri^ “n '*,eo®ath,r ’«•hool
hdmltted. —Cincinnati Enuu.ier.
“k_niade « (fraud success.
, Nashville Tennesseean.
i
ETIQUETTE IN KASSALA.
f
A Ch*t B»tw**n a Mai* Heath«*
Tw* Naliv« Ladin.
Some of the traditional obsen.^
tn the polite society of otlier l.iafi,
ford, lu addition to amusement, et*.
slderable opposition to the free |ot-
course to which modern coining
have accustomed us. Mrs. Hpeefiy
one of tbe first English ladle* to
Iiassala. gives a goo.l Instance of mi«
In her "Wanderings In the Sufixn’’
when relating how she and her hui.
band received their first callers. Their
patroness was an Italian lady who had
long been a resident of the city.
“In tbe morning a rap came to the
door.” writes Mrs. Speedy, "and on
opening It I saw m.Ida me. with two
Arab women, standing outside, siie in.
qnlred cautiously If Charlie were with-
in. and on my saying that he was >b9
made a sign to the two ladies, wbo
drew the thickly concealing shawl still
more closely over tlielr hidden ;aeM
and moved off to one side in the pas­
sage. turning their backs to the door­
way.
"She then explained to me that tig*
wore oTVery” high rank and of a vmj
strict sect and must on no account be
seen by a strange man. especially not
by one who was of another nation nnd
an Infidel. They were, however, very
anxious to see me nnd hid com" Iodo
me that honor, and If Charlie v quid
not object to go below or Into -oa«
other room for a few minutes they
would make their visit very si. .: t
"I represented the state of the c,
and he at once consented to absent
himself, hls only regret being thnt be
should not have a chance to <• ar -sq
with the e ladies, as there were iu jy
things which he wished esp?
to
know nnd which he was not !
have any opportunity so g. d >■ >'w
present for ascertaining. In tn~i,. |
represent* 1 this side of the qties a
to madame. and after much hesitation
and whispered cbQyeraatlon In th.- pax
sage a compromise was effe led.
"It was arranged thnt. completely
veiled, the Indies should enter the
room, not venturing to turn tlielr heabs
In the direction of the masculine hea­
then, an 1 that be should bef \e they
entered turn hls hack to tbe direeden
by which they r. onld come in.
“This was all strictly carried out. aud
thus, back to back
n • oust 'erabl*
distance apart, au edifying conversation
went on for half an hour, question’
being put In bland. Inquiring tonesand
dulcet replies given, which appeared to
be quite satisfactory to both parti*»."
The Longest “Straight.”
To the Bueuos Aires and Pacific
railway belongs the peculiar distinction
of having an Its system tbe longest
straight stretch of railway In the
world. Tbo length of tills Is 2O.">%
miles, and It is situated ou the main
line, between 158 and 393% miles from
Buenos Aires. The straight was for­
merly broken by reverse curves form­
ing a detour around Luke Soria. Tbe
longer portion wns then 175 miles long
and was even theu the world's record.
Tbe lake having, however, practically
dried up. the company suppressed tho
curves, and the cutoff was opened to
service on Oct. 15, 1907. It seems that
when the -line was set out In the sev­
enties. at which time the country was
In tbe bands of tbe Indians, after leav­
ing Junin, which was n military out­
post and the last point of contact with
the Buenos Aires civilization, a courss
of about we t-north west was set and tbe
line run straight across the flat pampa»
until It met another line alomt sixty
miles long, which was pushed out east­
ward from the western terminus. Villa
Mercedes. There were no obstacles of
Importance to avoid, and hence th*
phenomenal l>ee Hue.—Engineer.
Cain’s Wifs.
“I never discuss marriage." said the
late General Fitz-Hugh Lee. "without
thinking of an old colored preacher la
my state who was addressing his dark
skinned congregation when a whits
man rose up lu the back of the build­
ing.
“ ‘Mr. Preacher.’ said the white man.
“ ‘Sir to you.’ said the parson.
“‘Mr. Preacher, you are talking about
CaJn. and you say he got married in the
land of Nod after he killed Abel But
the Bible only mentions Adam and
Eve as being on the enrth at that time.
Whom. then, did Caln marry?’
“The colored preached snorted wltii
unfeigned contempt.
“‘Hohl’ he said. ‘You hear dat. hr«!-
eren an’ sisters? Y’ou hear dat fool
question I am axed? Caln, be went to
de land o’ Nod. Just ns de good book
tells us. an' In de land o’ Nod Fain
gits so lazy an’ so shlf'less dat he up
an’ marries a gal o’ one o' dem oo
'count pore white trash families dat
de inspired apostle didn't consider
flttln’ to mention in de boly word.’"
Departed Glories of Fea.
Fez the "fertile." the Rome of the
western Arabs, still retains traces of
the magnificence which made her In tbs
middle ages the rival of Mecca. In ths
twelfth century the holy city, to which
when the road to Mecca was closed
pilgrimages were made, contained as
many as 700 temples, fifty of which
were adorned with marble pillars. Is
those old days the city wns the haunt
of philosophers, physicians and astroBj
omers. A mere formal pretense «*
study is now all that Is practiced.
“They have Euclid in folio volume». •
traveler writes, “but neither copied
nor read. The teacher alts croesleT
ged on the ground and repeats In •
drawling tone between singing »•“
crying words whlrb are echoed by the
scholars sitting around him.” Fes. how­
ever. Is honest enough In one respect—
she does not believe In outward sbo*-
In the interior of the bouses ar*
meats decorated with paintings »nd
arabesques, while the cataide
are aften built of mild.
»