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WHO KNOWS?
ho of us know
How otir n**xt neighbor faros ?
How of tho w(jos and many cares
That rise like mountains in their wa rt
And who of us can aav
We know of that large world we never t
The world of poverty !
Who of us know
How much of pain a smiling fa<*e concetto
How little of the sunlight ever steals
Into the lives of those who seem the happieett
The one who makes us merry with the jest,
May he not carry in his heart so free
A wound he does not wish the worid to see;
Who of us love.
And loving, cherish but the empty name,
And feed our hearts on naught; the flame
That burns so brilliant and so bright.
That lights our path as do the stars of night,
Goes out as quick as heaven's lightning flashes,
And leaves us—ashes!
—George Wilmot Harris.
The Versailles Locket.
UY WOOD RUFF CHAKK.
Reginald Fontaine owed his prosperity
largely to personal skill as a workman,
and to correct tastes. In part, also, his
success win* the result of economy, and
that sound judgment which led him
when once he had saved a little money to
rent the principal corner store in town and
advertise briskly. And part was due to
his name, which had an aristocratic
•ound.
Fontaine was a young man of tine ad
dress, with a knack of apt apparel, and lie
quickly became the leading jeweler. His
credit was excellent from tlie start. He
bought discreetly of the manufacturers,
won and held the popular retail trade, and
in five years rose to a good commercial
position.
One September morning a stranger
asked for Mr. Fontaine at his store, a gen
tleman of foreign accent and appearance,
handsomely attired, with a shrewd, ener
getic face. He was salesman for a French
manufacturing firm, who solicited trade
direct with American retailers. His
prices seemed high, although his wares
were original in pattern, and the stones of
superior purity and lustre. In fact, it
was a grade of jewels more costly than
Fontaine had yet carried, and it appeared
doubtful if his quiet town would justify
such expensive investments. Accordingly
he declined to buy.
The stranger retired, but in a half-hour
returned again. He had made inquiries
at the banks, and satisfied himself of the
jeweler's responsibility. He now offered
to leave a few articles on commission, for
the purpose of introducing his styles.
Fontaine welcomed this proposal, "and
gave the required receipts, obtaining a
dozen very handsome gold breastpins,
bearing ruby, sapphire, and emerald
in unique settings, and a costly locket.
He exulted over the brilliant additions to
his exhibit, which would at least lend
eclat to the stock and add to his repute.
The locket especially was a notable ac
cession, and he gave it a conspicuous j
plate-glass shelf of his corner show win- I
dow. It was oval in form, of solid gold, I
adorned with delicate bas-relief work and ;
dainty enamel. It was studded with a j
cluster of five diamonds on each side.
These diamonds were clear and vivid,
uniform in size and quality, and of ra
diant depth.
“We ought to give that locket a name,”
•aid Jean Fontaine, as he stood by the
window, admiring it. Jean was Regi
nald’s brother and chief clerk, a skillful
and competent assistant.
“Suppose we label it former property
ot Mari-' Antoinette,” suggested Regi
nald, who was wont to make free use of
his imagination.
“No, no!” replied the more prosaic
Jean. “We can’t ascribe historical qual
ities. It looks too new. We might call
it ‘A Congo Souvenir,’or ‘The Tonquin
Trophy.”’
Reginald demurred.
“Notone in ten of our customers will
know it is French, or even understand
such a name. They will think it was made
in Connecticut, unless we state the con
trary. I will have a little placard printed,
naming ii the ‘Versailles Locket.'and an
nouncing maself as importer.
Accordingly, next day appeared a deli
cate advertisement in black-and-white:
“The \ ersailies Locket.—Our own Im
portation.—Direct from France.—Genu
ine Diamonds.—Fine Gold.—Hand
Graven.—Price, $3,000.
Time passed. The ladies of the town
came, examined and admired the locket.
Christmas went by, and still the jewel
lay in its satin bed upon the plate-glass
shelf unsold. The breastpins were taken,
but the locket proved too expensive for
Fontaine's patrons. Twenty-five hundred
dollars was the sum he stood accountable
for to the French manufacturer in pay
ment for this locket should lie make a
sale, and although in confidential mo
ment he offered it to epecial customers
at twenty-seven hundred, no one profited
by this liberal discount from the set
juice. Every night the locket was care
fully put away in the burglar-proof eoui
partment of his huge steel vault, and every
morning its plush box was restored to the
show-shelf, but the jewel seemed likely to
remain as an advertisement until the
traveling saleman reappeared to claim it.
One day a gentleman came in and left
his gold watch for repairs. This was a
tall, majestic person, whom Fontaine had
often seen of late upou the streets, wear
ing a heavy sealskin cap and a melton
ulster, with collar and cuffs and pocket
laps of seal fur, and clad throughout in
costly deference to fashion. His watch
was heavily chased, and very valuable.
He was particular to take a receipt in the
name of F. F. Barton, and departed
abruptly, without so much as recognizing
in Reginald Fontaine the proprietor of
the promises.
At the appointed time Mr. Barton re
turned for his watch. Fontaine in person
waited on him. and noticed the massive
signet ring worn by his customer, the
onyx monogram of which seemed cracked.
Mr. Barton threw down a fifty-dollar bill
with an indifferent air. ami gathered up
the change without appearing to take
count of it. He hooked the golden loop
of his heavy chain into its buttonhole, re
*tored the watch to his pocket with an
tir of satisfaction, and turned away.
“I see that your signet is broken,” said
Reginald Fontaine, respectfully.
“A little." replied Mr. Barton, draw
ing on his fleece-lined glove.
''l am now taking orders for signets.
Phould you wish to have the stone re
placed at any time, I can have it du
plicated with precision at reasonable
cost.”
The visitor bowed as he pulled on his
other glove, and replied:
‘lt is anheirloom in my family,and was
cracked a century ago. Nothing could
replace it.”
“In that case, of course not,” rejoined
Fontaine. He drew from a drawer a
ring-tray. "If you are interested in rings,
examine these. I have some odd forms
here. I don't expect you to buy. sir; but
I am an enthusiast in my trade, and if
any one likes to look. I like to show the
goods.”
THE MONROE ADVERTISER: FORSYTH. GA., TUESDAY. APRIL 19. 1887.— EIGHT PAGES.
And, infant, it was a feature of Fon
taine's sagacious jxdicy that he tried to
have every customer see as many of his
wares as possible.
Mr. Barton glanced incuriously over th
tray.
“Eve seen acres of rings," he replied,
with a curling lip. And he continued to
button his gloves.
“Is there anything I can show you that
you are interested in?” continued Fon
taine. jxditely, replacing the tray.
“Family jtlate, tableware, children's or
ladies' ornaments "
Mr. Barton had faced towards the door.
He turned about with feeble curiosity to
ask:
“What have you in the way of ladies’
ornaments?"
Fontaine led his customer to a show
case glittering with bracelets, combs,
jiins. and other bijoutry.
“The variety has been a little broken
by our Christmas sales ”he began.
“No matter, 1 need not trouble you,”
interrupted Mr. Barton. ‘‘There is noth
ing here that I wish.”
“It is the best assortment in town!” re
torted Reginald Fontaine.
“Very likely. But I came from Paris
only six months since, and shall return in
the spring. I think I can afford to wait
until that time before I buy.”
W ith sonic* warmth Fontaine flew to
the show-window and caught up the
locket. ll** put this before his scornful
visitor.
“Here is something you have never
seen excelled in Paris or elsewhere.”
Mr. Barton looked at the locket in si
lence. lie drew off his gloves and took
up the jewel. He examined it minutely,
and said, at last:
“These are genuine brilliants?”
“Guaranteed true diamonds.”
“Avery handsome affair—very hand
some. This came from France?”
“Versailles. It is a masterjiieee, sir,
known as the Versailles Locket.”
“What is the price?”
“Three thousand dollars.”
Mr. Barton inspected it closely, and
laid it down at last w ith manifest change
of beaming. He looked at Reginald
Fontaine more cordially, and said, in an
insinuating tone:
“I presume you w ould shade that price
a little for cash?”
“I might, a very little,’’ returned the
jeweler, now* speaking coldly in his turn.
“Well, I’ll see. I’ll send my w r ife
around to look at it. She likes such toys,
but whether she will buy or not is quite
uncertain. Luckily for me, she has money
of her own. For my part, three thousand
dollars is too much to put into a jewel.”
“What is your business, Mr. Barton?”
inquired Fontaine.
“Importer of oil paintings. lam also
commissioned by wealthy people to buy
works of art abroad, and usually make a
trip once a year. Am here now* to receive
a shipment from Antwerp. My wife and
I are stopping at the Desplaines House.”
He laid down an embossed card, neatly
engraved with his name and bearing his
crest, bowed and sauntered out.
Three days later a messenger came to
Reginald Fontaine with this note:
“Dear Sir: Please bring the locket to
Room 34, Desplaines House, at two o’clock
this afternoon. My wife* wishes to see it, and
is unable to leave the hotel. I can’t promise
you that she will buy: but, as you like to show
your wares, I would be pleased to have you
submit the locket to her. “Yours.
F. F. Barton.”
Reginald Fontaine thought a moment.
Then his dignity asserted itself. He
called his trusty brother, and showed him
the note.
“Jean, I'll let you wait on these peo
ple. Sell the locket if you can. Get
twenty-seven hundred if you can't do
any better. Take good care of the
locket.”
A porter led Jean that afternoon to
Room 24, and knocked upon the door.
“Enter said a voice w ithin.
Jean went in. A lovely young woman,
richly clad, with pale face and languid
air, reclined in an easy-chair. Before her
on a centre-table was a tray of wine
glasses. Mr. Barton stood opposite, and
still upheld a newly opened bottle from
which he had just poured a tiny glass of
dark w ine. He bowed to Jean.
“You are from the jeweler’s?”
“Yes, sir.”
‘ ‘Step forward, if you please.”
The jiorter went out and closed the
door. Jean handed forth the locket,
which Mr. Barton passed to his wife.
“How beautiful!”
She held it to the light and examined
it critically.
“Had you not better take this now?”
said Mr. Barton, proffering her the glass
of w r ine.
She took it, and looked toward Jean.
“Perhaps this gentleman ” she said,
suggestively.
“ Certainly,” replied Mr. Barton. He
poured out two more glasses, and pushed
one toward Jean. “ Will you join us,
sir? It is port. Do you like sweet
wine ?”
Jean was very temperate and unused to
liquors. But here were a couple, evi
dently of high social rank, accustomed,
uo doubt, to the foreign use of wine. It
might give offense to refuse, and bargains
often hang on trifles. He responded
courteously, and sipped the sweet port to
the quick bottom of his glass.
“ Take a seat here,” said the lady.
Jean accepted a large easy chair by her
side. She turned her bright, dazzling
eyes upon him,
“ You are certain these are real dia
monds?”
“ Warranted genuine, madam,” re
turned Jean.
His voice sounded thick to his own
ears, a strange oppression rose into his
brain, the world seemed rocking upon
endless waves, and the lady and the locket
appeared to float away —aw ay.
* sje sje * * * *
When Jean awoke, twilight filled the
room with fantastic shadows, and rays
from the street lamps fell flickering on the
walls.
He knew he was in a place he had seen
before, but all was so unwonted, and the
languor that lay upon him was so deli
cious and enchanting, that he felt sure he
was in a dream from which he hated to
awaken.
Even the loud knocking at the door
failed to rouse him to reality, and when
he heard his brother's voice crying out in
alarm: “Jean! Jean!” it only stirred his
wrath, as if summoned at an unwelcome
hour.
Then followed silence, and he sat mar
veling at the luxurious surroundings, and
the mystery of his presence here.
The' turning of a key was followed by
the quick entrance of the hotel clerk and
Reginald Fontaine. The jeweler darted
forward to his brother and clasped his
arm; he looked into his dilated eyes and
bewildered face, and cried;
“Jean! Jean! What is the matter?
Where is the locket?”
The locket! Jean sprang up. His
lethargy departed. He understood, and
tottering toward his brother, fell sense
less at his feet.
* * * * *
Ten days later the French salesman re
appeared. In vain Reginald Fontaine re
counted these facts and urged delay until
the swindler was captured and the locket
recovered. The Frenchman only
shrugged and listened, and at the end re
peated: “Settlement!''
Fontaine at last drew a check for the
amount of his indebtedness, and the
Frenchman disajipeared.
Time passed. No trace was found ot
Barton nor his lovely wife. One day. in
New A ork. Reginald visited the Rogues'
Gallery at Police Headquarters. He saw
many faces there not in the collection of
his home officials—-among these, F. F.
Barton, and the French salesman who
had commissioned the locket!
Although the police could not explain
this coincidence and scouted his conclu
sions. Fontaine always believed himself
the victim of a double conspiracy: that
the knaves traveled the globe with ample
capital, one placing jewels stolen abroad
in the hands of responsible dealers in
small American towns, the other follow
ing to recapture the prizes, and the
original conspirator returning to demand
payment for the loss.
But while he never placed hand or
eyes again ujion the French salesman, lie
had the satisfaction of adding his testi
mony to the catalogue of evidence
against Mr. Barton at a later day. and of
seeing him consigned to jirison. The
Versailles Locket, however, never reap
peared, but Mr. Reginald Fontaine con
cluded that his experience was worth the
two thousand five hundred dollars which
it cost him. He deals no more with un
known foreign manufacturers, neither
does he trust valuable jewels among
strangers.— Frank Leslie's.
A Characteristic of the T'linkits.
The T'linkits, writes Lieut. Scliwatka,
in the Independent , never understand the
meaning of a joke, and if it is of a practi
cal nature they are sure to get quite angry;
and if it is not, it falls as fiat on their na
ture as the reading of last year's almanac.
They will sometimes “guy” each other a
little, at a personal mishap, as slipping
down in the mud. falling in the water, or
something similar thereto, but beyond
this they never go, or seem to understand.
Any adventure that has a funny character
to it, and that we would dub “a good
joke,” rolls off of their intellect like water
off a duck’s back.
A white man. living in Sitka, did a
great deal of hunting to while away the
time; and to increase his score among the
ducks which he sought, the most abun
dant of all game thereabouts, he sent East
and bought a number of duck decoys.
These were placed in the water where he
knew those water fowl were generally
plentiful, and they were left until they
had succeeded in decoying some of the
birds about them. They came under the
observation of a young T’linkit hunter,
who ran to his house and got an old
worn-out shot-gun, and then he com
menced the not very difficult task
of crawling upon the decoys, needlessly
keejiing out of sight behind the logs and
brush of the beach until, at the water’s
edge, he was about forty yards away, and
safely hidden behind a big drift-stump.
He then preceeded to let the dozen de
coys have a ringing discharge from both
barrels that nearly tore his shoulder off,
and set his ears to ringing like buzz-saws,
but that, of course, had no effect on the
wooden ducks, much to the young man's
astonishment.
He wasted a great deal of ammunition
before the truth dawned on his mind.
Now an American boy, under similar cir
cumstances, would have crept back to the
brush, hiding closer to the ground than
before, and after getting well out of
sight, would have taken particular pains
to have forgotten all about it as soon as
possible. Our Sitka youth, on the con
trary, was in a rage, and he lost no great
amount of time in hunting uji the owjex
of the decoys, arid despite the hitter’s im
moderate laughter, which only angered
him the more, he insisted on being paid
for the ammunition he had expended on
the wooden ducks, and was so persistent
in his demands, that the owner jiaid it to
get rid of him; and which thoroughly set
tled the case, for the Indian had no shame
or modesty as to the jiart he had acted in
the adventure.
Animals that Change Color.
There is a tiny crustacean, the chame
leon shrimp, which can alter its hue to
that of any material on which it happens
to rest. On a sandy bottom it appears
gray or sand-colored; when lurking
among seaweed it becomes green, or red
or brown, according to the nature of its
momentary background. Probably the
effect is quite unconscious, or at least in
voluntary, like blushing with ourselves—
and nobody ever blushed on purpose,
though they do say a distinguished poet
once complained that an eminent actor
did not follow his stage directions because
he omitted to obey the rubrical remark,
“Here Harold purples with anger.’’ The
change is produced by certain automatic
muscles which force ujj particular pig
ment cells above the others, green com
ing to the toji on a green surface, red on
a ruddy one, and brown or gray where
the circumstances demand them. Many
kinds of fish similarly alter color to suit
their background by forcing forward or
backward certain special pigment-cells
known as chromatophores, whose various
combinationa produce at wiil almost any
required tone or shade. Almost all rep
tiles and amphibians possess the power of
changing their hue in accordance with
their environment in a very high degree;
and among certain tree toads and frogs
it is difficult to say what is the normal
coloring, as they vary indefinitely from
buff and dove-eolor to chocolate-brown,
rose, and even lilac. GdrnhiU.
A Powerful Explosive.
If melinite, the new explosive invented
by a French chemist, is all that the gov
ernment of France claims, it will revolu
tionize warfare. General Brialmont. who
has recently been experimenting in Bel
gium with the new explosive, has advis and
the Roumanian Government to suspend
labor on the defensive works around
Bucharest. He asserts that it will be
necessary to devise new plans to with
stand the new explosive. If Bucharest,
one of the very strongest fortresses in
Europe is unable to withstand the force
of melinite, the coat fortifications of all
the world may be considered worthless.
It is worth while to bear in mind, how
ever. that bluffing is a favorite move in
the game of European diplomacy just at
present. Russia, for instance, claims
the invention of an explosive a trifle of
ten or fifteen times more powerful than
melinite.— New York Commercial.
A Very Sanguine Man.
“There goes one of the most sanguine
men I ever knew. ”
“So?”
“Yes, his impli it faith in the advance
ment of civilization, and the good things
the future has in store for us is simjily
wonderful.’’
“Does he think the future will bring
messenger boys who can walk a mile in
half a day ? Surely he is not so rash as
that.'’
“Oh. worse than that. Why he actual
ly argues that the next century m ill bring
barbers who can cut a man's hair, and not
let more than half of it drop down the
back of his neck.— Siftings.
PAPA-NO.
CURIOUS HISTORY OF AX ISLAXD
IX THK PACIFIC OCEAX.
Once the Home of a Powerful People
—Their Mammoth Monolithic
Gods and Idol Platforms
—Tablets of Wood.
A San Francisco letter to the New
York Herald describes Rapa-Nui, or
Easter Island, in the South Pacific. It
is two thousand miles from the coast of
Chile, and is a little triangular island
only thirty-five miles in circumference.
This little speck in the waste of waters
has a history of its own which stretches
far back into the remote past, and every
where on its lava covered surface are the
traces of a much larger and much more
active race than that which now ekes out
a miserable existence within its narrow
limits.
There can be little doubt that at one
time the population of Rapa-Nui was
very much greater than it is now. The
traces—-they can hardly be called ruins—
of considerable towns, a road which en
circles the entire island and several cross
roads, all indicate an active and consid
erable population. The idols or statues
still exist in considerable numbers, and
though no attempt is made at their pre
servation their colossal proportions and
the fact that they are known from out
side evidence to have stood for many
years shows that a large number of work
men must have been engaged in their
production and erection. All over the
island, and especially on the southern
coast, are the platforms on which their
huge images stood, some of them still be
ing almost intact. On the hill are the
traces of terraced forts. In the craters,
of which there are three of unusual size
on the island, are images in all stages of
completion, some almost ready to be
moved, others still with only the very
roughest attempt at outline, while still
others can only be guessed at from the
way in which the rocks is being quarried.
According to all accounts the original
hewers of these idols and builders of the
cities were a warlike jieople, and inter
necine wars must have been as common
on Easter Island, with their concurrent
cannibalism, as on other islands of the
Southern Pacific. Implements of war
are common, and to this day they are
made in the same form as those used by
the first jieoples. The spears are made
of rods, with sharp pieces of thin obsid
ian firmly attached to the end, and in ad
dition to this weapon, which the natives
of to-day throw with unerring accuracy
to a distance of one hundred feet, there
was a mace, made of hard wood, carry
ing a knob of large size and of the same
material.
The wonder and attraction, as well as
the jieculiaritiy of Easter Island lie in
its images. These figures are from three
to twenty-seven feet in height, and from
two to eight feet across the shoulders,
weighing from a few hundred weight fo
twenty tons. None of the figures are
now standing, though many of them lie
close to the platforms on which they must
have stood. Asa rule but little attempt
has been made at shaping the bodies of
the images, the huge head and shoulders
alone being formed, and showing some
considerable skill. The figures were gen
erally set up with the face turned toward
the sea, the platforms being usually
erected against the hillside. The stone
used is trachyte,* the eyes often being in
laid, and the hy often covered with a
cap or —**--* u fa. which was also
inku_ ~ t*don~ *4*es, in
something apjiroacliing a symmetrical
pattern. With the exception of these
crowns the figures are of one solid block,
the crowns being simply placed on the
top without mortar or cement of any
kind.
The faces of the statues are well formed,
the noses large and regular, the eyebrows
raised and very marked. The ears,
especially the lobes, are of huge size, in
accordance with the custom of the Poly
nesians to distend them by the insertion
of blocks of round wood or ivory. They
have no moustache, but occasionally a
chin beard, and often have the hair thick
and heavy over the forehead and passing
behind the ears. The general contour of
the face is round. The arms, when
formed, are not distinct from the body,
but simply raised above the rest of the
surface. The heavy hair over the fore-.
head may only have been introduced to
afford a larger surface for the support of
the crown.
Although it is known to be a custom
among South Sea islanders to slit the
lower lip and distend it in a similar way
to the lobes of the ears, stilly that the
elevations on the chins of these idols are
meant for beards there can be no doubt,
as they are furrowed to represent hair and
do not simply project out directly below
the lower lip, but follow the curve of the
chin.
_ In addition to these stone idols the na
tives have a large number of wooden gods,
probably Penates. These they jiart with
readily at a fixed price of twenty cents a
piece. The figures are of a dark, yellow
brown toromiro wood and have large
cracks in them. The god in the figure of
a man is complete, having a very long
back and with every joint standing out
clearly. The arms are long and the legs
disproportionately short. The ears are
large, the eyebrows heavy, with bags
under the eyes, the whole face bearing
in general outline a considerable similarity
to the features of the stone figures.
Another wooden god is much more
curious because it represents an alligator
having the mouth underneath the flat
snout, though no such animal was ever
seen on the island or known to exist on
it. The eyes of the alligator are simple
holes, while those of the man have the
pupil of black lava and the iris of white,
both being perfectly round and con
centric.
Hardly less interesting than the mono
liths themselves are the stone platforms
on which up to a comparatively recent
date they still stood. These platforms
are from thirty to forty feet long, twelve
to sixteen feet broad and three to twelve
feet high, and are built sometimes
against the hill side in the form of a
truncated cone, the portion next the hill
being built in. At other times they are
like flat tables. No cement has been
used in their construction and they are of
large blocks of hewn stone, carefully
faced and put together with excellent
joints. On some of these jtlatforms as
many as twelve idols stood: others sup
ported only two. Platforms in a good
state of preservation stand on almost
every peninsula, while their number near
the craters suggests that they were
erected in propitiation of the gods, who
in their anger rolled burning lava down
the mountain sides. There are no in
scriptions further than an occasional rude
sketch of a tree or branch on the stones
composing the platforms, and round the
base there was often a wide white stone
footway. The stone used in their con
struction is exclusively basalt.
In addition to these monumental re
mains referred to there are a few very in
teresting evidences of a higher civiliza
tion in the possession of the people, in
the shajie of wooden tablets, on which
are inscribed certain rude hieroglyphics.
These tablets are of smooth wood, about
eighteen inches long by four inches wide,
one inch thick in the centre and rounded
off to the edges. The characters are
scratched on in regular lines and rejtre
sent small outlines of birds, fishes, tur
tles and men about an inch high. One
peculiarity of these hieroglyphics is that
the characters written on one line ap
pear always in an inverted position rele
tive to the next following line, necessita
ting the turning of the board at the end
of each successive line. Many attempts
at deciphering the inscriptions have been
made by different jihilologists, but with
out success. At present there is no tree
on the island which could produce a
block of wood sufficiently large for the
formation of these tablets'.
There are one or two churches on the
island, and a school in which Spanish is
taught. The native language is a Polv
uesian dialect, resembling the Tahitian,
and having many words in common with
the inabitauts of that French colony
The climate is moist and variable. A
few poor horses and several wild cattle
roam about the island at will. The na
tives take a great interest in the vessels
that occasionally touch their strange
home, and amuse themselves climbing
up the rigging and following the sailors
about.
The present chief is a man of subdued
manners, and with three ministers, rules
the wild islanders in tranquility.
A Siberian Survival.
We were not fortunate with our plant
hunting on Mount Washington. Perhaps,
for want of a local botanist to show us
the lurking places of the rarer species, we
did not succeed in finding all of them.
But some of the most interesting - to a
British naturalist could be gathered
everywhere without the trouble of seek
ing. When the little, jiuffing, oblique
locomotive that drags up from Marshfield
to the summit stopped awhile to rest and
refresh itself after its steep climb up
Jacob's Ladder, we jumped out eagerly
upou the snrfaee of the mountain; and
there, among the erratic bowlders of the
Great Ice Age, 1 lighted at once upon
broad beds of two plants my eyes had
never before beheld in the living state—
one. a pretty tufted White Mountain
sandwort, and the other a beautiful bright
golden avens. So thickly did they cover
the ground on that high shoulder of the
great ridge, that all the passengers were
filling their hands with big nosegays to
carry away as mementoes of the moun
tains. The sandwort in jiarticular starred
all the crannies among the rifted rocks
with its delicate blossoms, and bright
ened up the otherwise bare and forbid
ding soil with the mingled green and
white of its densely tufted bunches.
Are,naria, Grcenlandiea is its scientific
name—a name that tells at once the bet
ter jiart of its curious history; for this
little plant belongs by right to the frozen
shores of far Northern Greenland, and
the little colony that lingers on here in
the clefts of tiic rock has lived on the
chilly summits of the White Mountains
ever since the close of the Glacial Epoch.
—Popular Science Monthly.
Electrical Searches for Ballets.
When President Garfield was slowly
dying at Elberon, and the attending sur
geons were locating the. fatal bullet in
spots clear away from when*, after death,
it was discovered, an electrical apparatus
was constructed by Professor Graham
Bell for the purpose of finding tin* bit of
land. The failure was ridiculed, much to
tire chagrin of Bell arid the doctors. The
discovery has since been made that Gar
field lay on a metallic mattress, which
frustrated the electricity. Now,under the
sanction of Ilia New York Academy of
Medicine, a machine has been c instructed
and tested. The machine consisted of a
battery, coils and other familiar tele
graphic devices, but principally of a thin
steel jirobe connected with the wires in a
manner invented by Bell. The surface
of the patient over an imbedded bullet
was cocained, so as to deprive it of all
feeling. Then the jirobe was thrust in.
As the end of the steel came within six
inches of the bullet, the surgeon with his
ear to a telephonic cap heard a humming
sound, which grew Jouder as the metal
was approached. The flesh was jabbed a
number of times, and the trial was re
garded as a success. Later a war veteran
submitted to a search for a bullet that
had entered his chest and remained some
where in him for twenty years. The
needle hummed its way to the lead’s hid
ing place aud it was removed. Dr. John
H. Girdner. who operated the instrument,
said that its use would have saved Gar
field's life in all probability. —New York
Sun.
Wedded to the Woods.
Peter Leroyez ajipearecl at the state
fair at Portland, Me., last year and sur
prised the crowd by driving a moose at
tached to a sulky. Since then he has
been called to France to lay claim to a
fortune of $30,000. He has returned and
lives in the Moosehead Lake wilderness
with his squaw, forty miles from any
other human habitation. He is the most
eccentric capitalist in Maine. Leroyez
sprang from a French family of good
blood and projiertv. A wild youth, a
hater of civilization, he ran away from
home, immigrated to America, and finally
went into the woods on the border of
Maine, where he married an Indian
woman and built himself a rude hut.
Here he dwelt for years in the most primi
tive style, living on fish and game, trap
ping fur-hearing animals, frolicking with
the moose that he adopted into his family,
and making occasional excursions into the
world, where his queer looks and cos
tume, his long hair, and his strange wavs
made him an object of wonder. After lie
heard, last fall, that he had inherited his
fortune, he pledged his moose for S3OO to
Mr. John Eveleth. of Greenville,and with
this money went to France. After com
ing back with the gold he redeemed the
moose and went directly back to the
wilderness to his squaw and his old life.
He sleeps on pretty nearly S3O/*JO <■ ; v
night up there under the pirn -, forty
miles from everybody. The only luxury
in which he has invested is anew buck
skin shirt.
A Giant Beetle.
There is now to be seen at the Liver
pool Museum a living specimen of one of
the giants of the beetle world, which
measured about four inches in length, and
which was captured near Rio de Janeiro,
early in June last year, and jiresented to
the museum by Frederick Taylor, of Rain
hill. These beetles, notwithstanding
their enormous size and ferocious appear
ance, due to the horns growing from the
head and thorax, are perfectly" harm!*
subsisting during thrir laval state on rot
ten vegetable matter. The sjiecimen un
der notice is feeding freely on the frufl
of the banana. This is the only specimen
of these large beetles ever seen alive in
Liverpool.— New York Telegram.
The wise man does not speak of all lie
does, but he does nothing that cannot he
spoken of.
BUDGET OF FUN'.
11l MOKOI S SKETCHES l lIOM
VARIOI S SOURCES.
A Casr of Necessity—Times Have
Changed—No Sign of Sweet
ness—Why a Calf is
For Sale, Etc.
Minister (to boy who is digging for
worms): “Little boy don't you know
that it is wrong to work on Sunday, ex
cept in eases of necessity ?"
Boy (going on with his digging):
“This i< a ease of necessity. A feller
can't go fishin' 'thout bait."— Sifting*.
Times Have Changed.
Anxious Daughter—‘‘Mother, did papa
have his salary increased when he was i
married?"
Omaha Matron—“ No. my child."
“I don't suppose he had any money
saved up. did he!’’
“Not a penny. He spent all he
earned.”
“Did you get along comfortably ?”
“We were very happy."
“Well, you know. George hasn't been
able to save a cent, but"—
“See here, if that poverty-stricken fel
low dare to show his face here again I'll
get your father to kick him out!"—Oma
ha World.
So Sign of Sweetness.
“There is a young man in the parlor j
wishes to see you. miss.” remarked the
hall door attendant at a downtown resi
dence.
“Did he bring anything with him any
box or parcel ?"
“Only a cane, miss.”
“Did Ids coat tail rattle when lie
walked, as if there was a package of
candy in his pocket ?"
“Nothing of the sort, miss.’’
“Then tell him I’ve gone to visit a sick
friend and won't be home for a week,”
replied the fair girl, falling back into a
horizontal position, and resuming her
perusal of “Truth Stranger than Fic
tion; or, The Liar Unmasked.” —<'Huton
Bugle.
Why a Calf is For Sale.
A few days ago Mr .Tones was away on
business and in his absence his better half.
Mrs. J., bethought herself of something
that would agreeably surprise Mr. Jones
and make him smile real broad when he
came back. What did she do ? She bought
a calf. Did you ever mv or know the
woman who, when she allowed her fancies
to roam over things of comfort, didn't
dream of a cow and plenty of milk and
butter and cream? She thought of the
satisfaction that Jones would have when
once again it would come around time to
pay the milkman. She was as pleased as
pleased can be when she saw the calf
in his stall and tied up.
That night Jones was no! apprised of
the new member of the establishment.
The next morning he was. Going into
the barn he saw a calf's tail whisking in
the frosty air. lie saw also the remnants
of a S4O harness, he saw a colt, shorn of
that rarest element of beautv in a horse,
viz.: a flowing tail -gone the same way
as the harness and a bushel of oats.
Jones was mad. He says that at first he
was mystified. Then he saw the calf.
The way that he sailed into that calf,
with a club, he says, was a caution to
evil-doers. He danced around her, for
ward and back, grand right and left,
balance to partners, all promenade. He
was getting proud of himself. He was
spitting on Ins hands to give the animal*
the final coup de grace when Mrs. Jones
came out. and, like Pocahontas, inter
ceded with the man and the club and the
calf's life was saved. Mr. Jones says that
now, on the fence at his house, appears
this sign:
“ Calf for sale. Warranted to chew
railroad iron. J. Jones.— ljac inton (Me.)
■formal.
He Had Been in State Prison.
A stranger entered an Austin saloon the
other evening, and after scowling at the
half-dozen sitters who were gathered
there, he said:
“Would you gentlemen object to tak
ing a drink with a man what's been in
State prison ?"
He was a big, muscular fellow, with a
bad eye in his head, and he rested his
left elbow sort of careless on the bar, fac
ing the crowd, his right hand reached
playfully for his hip pocket.
All jumped quickly to their feet at the
invitation and advanced toward the
bar, exclaiming in chorus: “Certainly
not, stranger!”
“I’m proud to drink with you," said
the foremost man, grasping him warmly
by the hand. “I don't think any less of
of a man because he has been in State
prison. In fact, I’ve served seven years
in one myself.”
“I have broke jail in three States,”
said another; “yet I ain’t proud. Give us
your hand.”
“I have never been in State prison,” re
marked a third, “but I don’t know how
my case may turn out when they get
through with it up to the Court House.
It looks pretty squally.”
“I believe in giving a man a chance, ”
said a fourth. “I've got a brother in tlie
Louisiana penitentiary, and I wouldn't
like to see folks give him the cold shoul
der when he comes out. "
‘ ‘Many an innocent man goes to pris
on,” remarked a fifth man. "I would
be there myself, I reckon, if the State's
chief witness hadn’t up and died ju-t be
fore the case came on. It was a close call,
I tell you.”
“Well,” said the stranger, “since you
seem to be such a hard lot by your own
confession, I retire my invitation. I have
been in State prison for several years, not*
as prisoner, but as prison superintendent.
I will see you later, no doubt,” and pay
ing for his single drink he departed, leav
ing an inconsolable crowd behind. Texas
Siftings.
Bill Nye on Etiquette.
Whenever I am invited to any large
doings where fair women and brave men
in their other clothes are apt to congre
gate, I always inquire if there is to be
any etiquette there. The presence of
etiquette at an otherwise happy gather
ing has frequently debarred me from at
tending, and compelled me to spend the
evening with my family, where I could
lay aside all restraint and my coat.
80. the life of a President, fraught as
it is with the most virulent and malig
nant form of etiquette, would possess no
charms for me, and I am not surprised
that the boys of America refuse to rise as
one man and be President, fearing very
naturally that some time at a State din
ner they might get the great men mixed
op and the error telegraphed and cabled
right and left,, or at some other official
festival and hurrah to a plenipotentiary
the wrong place might be assigned to the
delegate-at-large from Farther India, and
the wife of the clergyman from Sweden
find herself drinking from the mustache
cup that properly belonged to the minis
ter from Nova Scotia.
lam sure I am not pessimistic or any
thing of that kind when I say that eti
quette is destined to make itself so
prominent as a part of official life at
Washington that a plain American citi
zen, with a small bag of sulphur tied
around his neck and a conscious
ness of rectitude in his heart and a
smooth potato in his pocket to keep off
rheumatism, will be seen there no more.
Other nations have given themselves
over to the false joys of etiquette and
where are they to-day? Empires, powers,
and principalities have in former times
forgotten their duty to the common peo
ple in order that they might devote them
selves to the 11. S. V. P. and P. P.
business, or that they might work a
wedge of custard pic under a big red
mustache by means of a four-lined fork,
and where are they now ? Other and more
democratic nations, who drank their tea
from a saucer with great satisfaction and
low. purring sound, have conquered
t hem . —Ch icago New*.
Germany's Fighting Strength.
Military service is compulsory upon all
Germans. The term of liability begins
at the age of twenty, and lasts for twelve
years, at the expiration of which the sol
dier passes into the Landsturm. and re
mains still available, in exceptionable
circumstances, up to the age of forty-two.
He spends only his first three years with
the colors. The next four he spends
in the reserve; and for yet another five
years lie belongs to the Lamlwchr. This
system provides the empire with a peace
effective of about 445,000 m n and offi
cers. The army is organized into armv
corps, of which there are normally seven
teen. There is, in audition, the Corps of
the Guard, having its headquarters in
Berlin: and there arc also twenty bat
talions of Rifles and several independent
cavalry divisions, which, in time of war,
would be attached to the various “ar
mies." each consisting of two or more
corps. Every army corps is divided into
two divisions, each of two infantry
brigades, each of two regiments, each of
three battalions: and to every division
arc attached a regiment of cavalry, four
mounted batteries of artillery, one or two
companies of engineers, a pontoon train,
and ammunition and provision columns-
The ordinary strength of an army corps is;
infantry 25.456 men. with 1.172 horses;
cavalry, 1.594 men,with 1,760 horses; ar
tillery. 1,560 men, with 1,200 horses and
48 guns; engineers (if four companies),
860 men, with 76 horses; train, etc., say
600 men, with 600 horses; total, 29,970
men, \\ ith 4,808 horses and 48 guns. The
total war strength of the army corps is
57,189 men. with 10,617 horses. 96 guns,
and 1,551 carriages. The seventeen mo
bilized army corps would therefore in
clude 652,123 men, with 180.189 horses,
1,632 guns, and 26.027 carriages. The va
rious unattached troops would bring the
effective men and officers up to 828,980,
with 260.978 horses, 2,846 guns, and 32.
016 carriages. These figures represent
the total of the first line of them tivearmy
in war time. The reserve field troops
would number in addition 436,766 men,
with 95.350 horses, 1,002 guns, and 13,-
695 carriages, making with the first, line
an active total of 1,265,476 men. with
365,528 horses, 3,84 m, guns, and 45,711
carriages. Behind this mass of men stands
the garrison army, composed of the depot
and garrison troops, and a portion of the
Landsturm called out to replace the Land -
wehr in the field. This, according to of
ficial estimate, lias a strength of 809,817
men. with 40,340 horses, 576 guns, and
1,225 carriages. It may thus be said that,
without calling out the whole of the
Landsturm Germany can command 2,075-,
563 men for the defence of 'he Father
laud Loudon New*.
Last or the Buffalo.
It a sad thing to say, but the great
American bison is practically gone for
ever, writes William T. Hornadav. The
Pacific Railroad, the Sharps ride, and
man's insatiable destructiveness have done
their work, and the noblest ruminant of
them all has gone flown before them.
Fhe leaden hail of the breech-loader lias
swept the millions of buffaloes from the
face of the earth before a single strong
band has been raised to stop the merciless
slaughter. To look back ujion the buffa
loes a>- they were a few years ago only
adds to our regret for their fate; but it
may serve to point a moral v'wy strongly
in the direction of our few remaining elk,
fleer, antelope and mountain sheep.
Here, then i> the history, in brief, of the
extermination of our grandest and most
valuable American mammal:
Twenty years ago buffaloes swarmed in
countless thousands over the whole of the
great pasture region of the West—from
the Saskateliawan to southern Texas, and
eastward from the Rocky Mountains to
the border of civilization. Their number
was estimated variously at Lorn six to ten
millions, and later figures have proven
that the former was by no means over the
actual fact. Within the memory of man
or the limits of history, so far as I know,
no other spj.' >f-s of quadruped has ever
existed on the earth in such mighty multi
> udt s as did Bos Amcricanits 4 wentv years
ago. Often and often have plainsmen
said to me, in speaking of former times:
“The whole country was literary black
with buffaloc- as far as the eye v mid sec!
Every hill was covered and everv hollow
was full. There were* thousands of
square miles ,>{ them, and when a big herd
was encountered traveling it seemed ac
tually interminable. One that I knew of
wn five hour- ;n passing a given point in
a solid column, V-n to twenty abreast,” on
a dead run.” Trains on the first railway
built arross the plains were sometimes
topped for hours at a 4 ime by thousands
of buffaloes swarming on the Hack, and
travelers have gone ovei a hundred and
twenty miles of territory through an al
most unbroken herd. In ail that we have
read of the marvelous abundance of wild
animals on the plains of South Central
Africa, even the most exaggerated ac
counts fall far below what we actually
know of the presence of the buffalo in
the United States.
Oueen Victoria's Coach.
Messrs. Holmes, coacbmakers of Derby,
have just renovated a state coach belong
ing to the queen. It is one of the
queen’s six dress state coaches. and has
been made nearly equal to new for m
during the jubilee year. It is an exceed
ingly handsome vehicle. The armorial
bearings are of gold, a- well as the door
handles and the crest and Order of St.
George on the roof. The carriage is
painted vermillien, picked o t with gold,
and the springs aDd all the iron work are
gilt. The doors and the back and front
are ornamented with the royal arms, and
the smaller parts have representations
upon them of the crown and garter and
the Order of St. George. The coach is
lined with blue silk, and 4,000 leaves of
gold hrve been used in the decoration—
Cos < rt Journal.
All He Had.
So saintlike, so divine he seemed.
With features formed in blandest mold,
Good name a jewel bright he deem'd
Worth more than gems of sordid gold;
He needed help, his note he drew,
To serve a saint I felt; ight glad;
But when, alas: that note was aue,
His goodly name was all he had.’
—Detroit Free Press.