Newspaper Page Text
ASPIRATION.
I envy not tin* min
Hi* lavjnh light;
Rut O to ho th*» one*
Pule orh of night.
In Rilrncc and nlonr
Communing with mine
1 «
' not the
That froahenH all
The parching hill and plain;
Rut () the mimll
Night-dewdrop now to he.
My noonday flower, for thee!
- John B. Tubb, in Ihirper’a Magazine.
130003000000000000ooooooco
8 HOW BETl'Y WAS LOST. |
§0300000000000000000000000
1MID little Dorn
did not like usu
ally to go ilown
t o w n shopping
with her mother,
hut Hetty adored
It, uB she used to
fiiiy in curious Im-
llatlon ot the talk
of older girls.
Dora was twelve
yours old, and had
been down town
so many limes
that there
n o longer a it y
novelty In It
while Hetty win
only five, and had
hnrrtly ever been
at all. Neverthe
less, when mother proposed the trip
one lino October morning, hotli little
girls wore pleased, Betty oil general
principles, and Dorn because she liked
to select her own lmlr ribbons, anil
also beenuse she wanted to sec the
display window at Lawson’s store,
"The girls were talking about It at
school,” she said. "Harriet Graham
snhl I Just must go down. Each day
they lit up (lie window differently
•Yesterday It was n kitchen, and Har
riet snhl there WHS a little girl In It
'who ployed cook. She swept up the
room, and she cooked things on the
stove, and idle scrubbed the kitchen
table, and shu washed the dlslicH In
the dearest dlshpan and dried them on
pink and white glass towels. Day
he fore yesterday, whon Lillian saw
It, It was a parlor, and the little girl
played she was a lady and wore n long
dress and nil sorts of things.”
1 That was very exciting for Dotty,
mid It was' a contented party tliat took
the electric ear, rode through tho Sub
.way, which still seemed to Hetty like
some mysterious, cnclinntcd cave, nud
started on the brief tour of Inspec
tion and shopping which Mrs. Warren
had planned. They bought' Betty's
shecH and hat nud Dora's ribbons and
gloves before It became convenient to
pass by tho wonderful window, which
In tho minds of tho children was their
chief goal. It equalled and even sur
passed their hopes.
"There, now, Betty Warren!” said
Dorn. "Did you ever In your life sea
unythlng sweeter than thnt Uttlo girl
)n thu nursery? See, she is dressed
like a nursemaid to-day, taking cure
of tho children! Look nt the twin
brass beds, and that precious craillo
,wltli tho lluffy pillows mid the silk
coverlet! Don’t you wish you could
lio an advertisement little girl, and do
nothing hut play with Such lovely
tilings V”
Betty said nothing. Sho was taking
In. nil tho delights of tho nursery, mid
bad no words of comment ready yet.
Tho whlo window was furnished liko
a small room, and tho little girl, who
was Just then malting up a bed, was
Just about Betty’s Size., Very cunning
sho looked in her nursemaid's cap and
apron, with n sett frill of muslin about
her neck nud tho quaint arrangement
of her half. All tho furniture, of tho
room was fascinating, hut the crown
lug chnrm here, as In every real, nur
sery, was thu children It contained-
the doll llgures which seemed to glvo
tho tiny nursemaid so much care.
She rocked the baby In Its cradle—In
different to tlio wise Instructions given
by those who know better—dressed
and undressed dolls that took tho
place of older children, showed
black Dinah how to put a log prop
crly-on tho grate lire, anil once sho
oven found It necessary to make tho
little hoy doll stand In the corner for
being naughty to Ills sister.
Mrs. Warren and Dorn both gazed
.With great Interest, and Belly was
.wholly absorbed.
“Oh, wlint a .hnppy Uttlo girl she
must bol" sho murmured softly,
"I don’t know rfjout that,” said her
mother. “It must ho hard to turn
piny Into worts. Sho looks ns earnest
over It ns Dora does over her arith
metic problems. I should think this
crowd of persons looking nt her would
make her nervous. I feel sorry for the
little thing."
"Well, any way, mnmmn, they draw
,the curtains every Uttlo while to give
her rest,”,su!d Dorn, comfortingly, ns
>they turned reluctantly away.
They stopped for nn Ice-cream soda
before taking llio cars for home, nud
It was here that Mrs. Warren met an
old friend of hers with her daughter
Lillian.
"It Is tho greatest piece of good for
tune thnt I have mot you," said Mrs.
Hathaway. “I have Just been trying
to rench you with tho telephone. Our
old friend and schoolmate, Susan
Haskell, is coming to luncheon with
me, and I want you to come right
homo with mo now, for she Is to he In
the city only about four hours, on her
way southward.”
Mrs. Warren was pleased .with tho
thought of seeing her old friend, but
hesitated a little about tho children.
“Of course, Dora, can go home alone
all right,” she said, "but I wish Betty
wore not here. Sho Is /such a little
fly-away you must kcepf tight hold of
her." ■ l,
mamma Is going with you?” asked
>ora, eagerly. Mrs. Warren seconded
the Invitation, and the three children
finally left to go home by them-
i. After (bat. I.Milan had one or
minds t o’do In the ulghborkood,
and then Hie girls went to the florist's
to leave nn - order from Mrs. Kaflm-
wny. But nt Inst they were fairly
started toward Hie subway entrance,
where they meant to lake the ears.
Suddenly, at (he same minute, both
girls missed Betty. Neither could tell
how' It happened. She Imil been skip
ping from one to the other, holding
now Lllli(in’H hand atttl now Dora’s,
saying lllile, hilt making her presence
constantly ovlden(. And now she was
gone.
"Why, she had” hold of my hand
hen I was til. the llorlst’Kl"
"yen, anti site went out to tho front
of the store■ to’sco those Japanese
flowers.*'
Was It before then that wo met the
man with lltc balloons, and she
wanted one?" >
■Oil; dear, 1 don’t know,” said Dora,
almost crying. ‘‘Wo must go bnck
and look for lief."
Thou a hnppy thought occurred to
Lillian. .
■Perhaps,sho went bnck to Lawson’s
to look In the window again. Don’t
you romoitther.how she wanted us to
go bnck for one more look?”
So tho girls hastened to Lawson’s,
finding the usual crowd before the
window, hut, no sign of Betty. Then
they wcut straight to a policeman
and told the wholo story, and then
there was telegraphing to thu central
station, and tho policemen were noti
fied to he oil tho lookout for a little
girl, five years old, yellow hair, blue
dress mid a little black silk bag In lior
band. It was Dora's flrat Impulse to
start for her mother, But Lillian anil,
the policeman advlsefl her to wait a
little longer,.and {the policeman, sure
tlint the Uttlo one could not have
strayed far, began a systematic wall:
np one street nail down the next, tlio.
girls following-ngd looking Into all the
stores.
"Somehow, J cptinot help thinking
nil the;,lime of'Lawson’s," said Dom,
Anally. ; “I,ct's , go .hack there once
more, and then, If’wo do not see Bor,
1 wlll go Btrnlglit to mother, though I
know * shall die If I’have . to toll her
Betty, Is lost—poor, little frightened
thing, as X know 1 she Is tills mlnutol"
So’to Lawson’s they wontagain,
and mingled:With the crowd In front
of tho window, lint no Betty was
there. They wore too disconsolate to
look Inside, and tho crowd, which
seemed lilgger mid more amused, than
ever, hustled! them along. They hnd
almost passed, when suddenly tlioro
was a little stir, and a sharp rap on
tho gliiHH made than turn their bewil
dered eyes, anil there, with a doll In
each arm, (ho rocking chnlr from
which sho hhd risen still swaying
hack and forth, with shining eyes,
brimming o’vor with fun mid excite
ment, her yollow hair tossed hack and
her cheeks aglow with delight, was
Betty, not frightened, not troubled,
but supremely, radiantly hnppy,
Dorn and Lillian stood motionless
with nninzomcnt, and If Lillian at
least felt that sho would like to shako
the unrepentant enuse of nil tliolr suf
fering perhaps she 13 hardly to ho
blnmeil. But In Dora’s mlnfl Hie Joy
of beholding again 1 lior llttlo, sister,
alive and uninjured, bnulshcd every,
thing else. An attendant who wns
watching from tho Inside thou beck
oned tho girls In, and they heard tlio
whole story. Botty had walked In all
alone, and going up to a clerk nn
nounccd unhesitatingly her desire “to
he nn advertisement.” He was sur
prised to see so small a child alone,
and asked her If she wore lost.
"Yes, I suppose I’m lost, but they’ll
find me pretty quick, nud I want to he
nn advertisement while tlioy nro hunt
ing." Tlio clurk laughed, mid called
to a gentleman who wns Just passing
in tho alslo of the store.
"Mr. Harris, here’s nil applicant for
tho position ot window girl, nud I
think slic'd make a good one."
Whon ltotty hnd repeated her story
and told her mime, tho gentleman hnd
her take elf her Jncket and hat, and
lifted her carefully to tlio big win
dow sent.
"They'll And her quicker there than
anywhere olse," ho said. "Besides, It
will please her, and her mother Is ouo
of our best cnslomors. It Isn’t a bad
advertisement, Indeed, to linvo tho
daughter of lion. Hamilton Warren
ns ouo ot our employes." And ho
laughed ns If lie enjoyed the joke.
Tho girls must linvo passed the first
tlmo beforo the preliminaries were
settlcjl.
“I hope you'll like it,'\sa!d tho child
who yielded her undesirable place to
Betty, To Betty It was anything hut
undesirable, however. She felt that
her tlmo wns short, anil simply sot to
play with all the single-mindedness
and apparently nil the unconsciousness
with which'slie wotilil lmvo played in
her own room nt homo.
“Well, 1 knew sho wns never shy
tu her lifel” gasped poor Dorn, divided
between jOy nt the recovery and simme
for Betty’n shortcomings. “But
never dreamed of her doing a thing
like thntl llow could you run away
from us, Betty?'.’ she salil, reprovingly,
as tho child’s jacket and hat were
being restored. “Wo were dreadfully
frightened.’’
"Didn’t run away," was the coaxing
answer. "Didn't run away at all.
took hold of a Inily'H dress, and
thought It was you, nud I was turning
my head to look nt the balloons. And
when I looked around It wasn’t you,
and tho lady looked cross nt me, aud
this wns just next door. And
couldn't see you, and I hnd to come
in.”
Just es they were leaving the store,
accompanied, to the door by several
hnd given the desired permlstlon to
Betty came up.
"Hut we always pay for oar adver
tisements, my dear,” lie said. And ho
handed Betty n generous box of choc
olate peppermints and a bright, new,
shiny- ten-cent piece, and Betty went
home as hnppy ns a queen.—Christian
Register.
FILIPINO DWARFS. (j ;
ns Curious Durnrls In ills ritlllp-
plne Islmids.
President McKinley recently received
from Professor Dean C. Worcester,
of the Philippine Commission, a very
Interesting account of the curious
black dwarfs of the Philippines. There
nbout 23,000 of these plgniles, ho
says, anil they are known ns Negritos.
They nro to be found of pure race In
tlie provinces of Bataan, Luzon anil
also hi Northenst Mindanao. Some of
tlicso have been gathered Into settle
ments by missionaries,' who are try
ing to. civilize them, while others,
mostly halt breeds, live near Cln'ls-
thin towns, where they do a little work
front time to time, for which they rp-,
pelvo payment in the form of trinkets
or cloth. Sometimes a Christian fam
ily will buy a. dwarf child and rear It
for a servant, But usually It escapes
to tho forest as soon ns It Is big
enough.
These dwarfs are romnrkably like
monkeys. According to Dr. Becker,
the average stature of the men Is four
feet eight Inches, and the women nro
three or four inches shorter. Their
chests are not well developed, and they
linvo no calves to tholr legs. Each
big too Is widely separated from the
others, nud tho throe outer toes of
each foot are turned' Inward, ns In
some monkeys. Their feet urc large
anil clumsy, nnd their pair, instend of
growing all over the bond, Is distrib
uted over tbo scalp In regularly scat
tered clumps. Their heads are appar
ently too large for their bodies, nnd
the mop of wool which they weiir
accentuates this effect. So nfonkoy-
llko are they that they counterfeit
npcs In a startling manner, their jaws
projecting far beyond their noses and
their faces deeply wrinkled, like mou-
ys'. ■ > £,■ [
Tlio men wear no clothing except
cord drawn around the waist, from
which hangs a small piece of cloth,
whereas tho .women wear an uprou
made from the lmrk of a tree.
Marrlngo among tho Negritos Is In
dissoluble, and only one wife Is al
lowed.' Matrimonial customs vary
among them,'but usually tho ceremony
of mnrrlnge Is unlike anything ot tho
kind to ho seen anywhere In tho world.
It takes the form ot a tost of marks
manship, the young woman herself
being the target.
She stands nbout titty yards from
her lover, holding under her nrrn a
maRS ot palm lonvoB. Ho fires a blunt
arrow, and If It passes through the
leaves without striking tho girl this
two lire married. If he falls tho un
ion 1 Is ^forbidden, but ns the Negritos
are very expert with tho how such n
thing rarely happens.
Tlio Negritos tiro very Independent,
and neither tho Spaniards nor the
Malays havo over been nble to sub-
duo thorn. Of a geutlo nature, they
never kill h human being wantonly,
but they regard with suspicion tlio
Christianized natives, who often mal
treat them. If attacked, they defend
tlicniBelvcs vigorously, nnd In retalia
tion will rob and destroy tho fields of
their enemies or even assail their vil
lages nt night. To their children they
Ivo tlie names of birds, plants or
Insects. They cannot count above
ten, nnd, while nble to distinguish col
ors well, have no words for them. If
plague breaks out, such ns cholera
or small pox, they nro apt to desert
tho sick.
‘.'Oli, Mrs. HntlmwnJ-, mayn’t Lil
lian come, to lunchepn with me. if i admiring clerks,. the gentleman who
. An klilioile In Ills Career.
There Is a middle-aged, unmarried
man hi this town who lias the making
In him of a confirmed old bachelor
in such proportions to Ills other com
ponent parts that nothing short of dl-
Ine Interposition can save him. He
tins been courting a young woman for
a year or more In his peculiar fashion,
and last Suudny night It occurred to
him that an appropriate moment hnd
arrived for him to mnke a formal pre
sentation of his claim nnd have it act
ed upon. It happened at a picturesque
resort In tlie mountains of Loudouu
County, and tho soft summer air nnd
tho quiet valleys stretching miles
awny nt tho feet of the lovers should
havo roused nil the 'romance In man’s
nature, nud made a declaration of this
cort of a poem nnd a fantasy,
skipped all that, however, nnd came
to tho momentous question pretty
much ns a hunter comes to a fence.
“Miss Katherine," lie said, after a
very little “mooning,” “will ybu' bo
kind enough to marry mo?"
“No, sir,” slio replied, with commend
able promptness and Indignation.
"Indeed; why not?" bo Inquired eon
sldorably surprised at lior answer.
"Simply because 1 don’t want to.”
To most men tills would have been
In tho nature of total extinguishment,
but tills man Is different,
“Well, well,” lie said, apparently
studying out the proposition, nnd not
nt nil overcome by the young worn
an’s answer, “tills Is what 1 would
call an episode In my career—an epi
sode, Miss Katherine, being something
thnt is entirely unexpected."
Then he began talking about some
thing else, and sho got up nud went
Into tho house.—Washington Star.
Thu llorlln Museum.
The Berlin Museum of Natural His
tory contains l.SOO.OOO animal speci
mens, representing 200,000 species, kt
is estimated that a total of more than
400,000 living species has now been
described, of which tho Insects number
2S0.00C; birds, 13,000; fishes, 12,000;
reptiles, S300; amphibians, 1300; spider
family, 20,000; sliellfisu, 50,000; worms,
SOOO. -il-'L.i ...
A O(■ oil KF.mil Urn.
T il 10 question ot tho Improve
ment of the Amerlcnn roads
has been for a long tlmo ngl-
tntlng the minds of the peo
ple who take a pride la the welfare
of the country, writes James Wilson,
Secretary of Agriculture, la Harper’s
Weekly. • Tourists have been forced
to make comparisons unfavorable to
tho home highways when they have
gone abroad and seen the beautifully,
level nnd well-kept roads of Great
Britain aud ninny of the Continental
countries. It will be good news to the
whole nation to learn tlmt ronil Im
provement Is to bo made a special
study, nnd wide inquiry to ho set on
foot among the several States ns to
the best ways nnd means of placing
tho highways of the country upon
a superior basis.
Tlie Department of Agriculture has
a little ronil office by which a few
thousand dollnrs a year are spent
nlong tlie lines of both educational
nnd practical work. Innumerable
projects havo been advanced, consid
ered, nnd abandoned ns being Inade
quate to meet the difficulty of Improv
ing our highways. One of these pro
jects led to the sending out by the
Department of Agriculture, wltliln tho
Inst yenr, ot experts to moot nnd co
operate with different-bodies in vari
ous States for the purpose of carrying
on practical experimentation with steel
tracks that would cnnhlo the farmers
to get tliolr produce to mnrket with
out running the risk of tho heavily
laden wagons sticking fnHt In tho ruts
of soft rends, made softer by contin
uous .rains.
Tbc.se experiments have caused sncli
a demand to bo made for further and
more extensive experimentation, to de
cide the best plan for roud Improve
ment tlint I linvo decided to organize
an office on broader lines nud prepare
It for doing more thorough work.
To this end It Is proposed to dlvldo
tlie United States Into districts, secure
an educated agent In each ot those
districts to study conditions, confer
with scientists nnd practical load-
makers, address students nnd educa
tional Institutions, nud make reports
of work done and proposed to be done
thnt will form the basis of road lit
erature.
To begin with, It Is proposed to lo
cate the agents In the Eastern States
nnd the Southern Slntes, one Ill tho
prairie States, nud one in the moun
tain States of the far West. The value
of this plan Is that ns the conditions
In the several localities nrc peculiar
nnto themselves, by a system of Inter
communication between the various
agents wo shall gather the best infor
mation *us to the needs of the whole
country nnd tho best methods of In
augurating a scheme of national road
Improvement.
It Is proposed thnt these agents shall
send specimens of good ronil inatorinl
to the chemical division of tho Depart
ment of Agriculture for analysis; that
study shall he made nlong the lines
of affinity nnd possibility of coalescing
tho several materials to he obtained nt
each ot tho several localities nnd tho
advantages accruing from the Inter
change of material between the differ
ent districts. It Is Intended tlmt each
agent slinll reside within his own dls
trlct nnd concentrate -his entire time
nud thought-on the study ot tho con
ditions found within that district.
Those agents must of necessity be
good engineers; . they should know
something nbout geology, for It will
be necessary to polio around In all the
corners of tho surrounding country
In search of material suitable to the
roail-mnliiug needs of thnt section;
a knowledge of draining will bo ad
vantageous In making reports of the
general conditions and the difficulties
to he encountered In road Improve
ment, and tho practical acquaintance
with the art of grading thnt those
familiar with road-malting acquire
will greatly help In a comprehensive
•urvey of tho situation.
The first thing an agent will be ex
pected to do when ho arrives nt his
district will ho to make lilmself thor
oughly acquainted with tlio material
at Ills command. There are many lo
calities In tlie United States where
stone cannot bo found within a hun
dred miles or more. Other localities
are so stony as to mnke the farmers
who try to mnke tlio soil fertile almost
despair of overcoming the obstacles
tlmt nnturo 1ms placed In their
It can easily be seen liow the reports
tlmt come in from ngents In districts
where the ground is of these two sepa
rate natures enn be made valuable.
The material for road-making that Is
absent from one district will be found
in nbundnneo in another, and tho office
nt tho Department of Agriculture will
thus bo placed In possession of intelli
gence tlmt will make tho lnying ont of
a great plan of campaign for road Im
provement a comparatively easy mat
ter.
The stony section can be drawn upon
to supply the wants of the district tlmt
is_ all sand nnd soil, nnd from the
sandy quarter can be obtained In
exchange for the stone the ma
terial tlmt Is lacking In the
stony country. The wants of the peo
ple in one place will not be the wants
of those In nuotber. These needs will
be studied by tlie agents, aud reports
made In due order, Each man will
work earnestly and methodically for
the good of the whole, and the road
department will keep a guiding hand
over all, accepting and using sugges
tions from tiny one who lias anything
to offer on tlio subject hnd inviting co
operation from the entire country In
the important work of bringing* our
highways np to the level of those of
other nations.
Authority will be given to tlie agents
lo conduct experiments, with nny ma
terial or along nny lines that are sug
gested by those residing In nuil fa
miliar with the districts In which they
are located, and these experiments will
reported on nnd the reports added
to tho valuable literature that the
department will gutlier In the course
of tho movement. Where tho traffic
of tho locality Is of sufficient extent
to necessitate It steel experiment* will
be carried on upon a more extensive
scale than any heretofore conducted,
nnd a careful record of tho cost ot
the rand made In this way, with the
approximate saving to the wagon
wheels nnd the benefit to the district,
nnd forwnrded to tlie department.
It 1s nntlolpatcd tlmt questions will
arise where steel tracks are laid and
lmrd rock for tlio filling up of the
spaeo between tho tracks cannot read
ily ho obtained, an to the cheapest
method of supplying tlie deficiency. It
will ho tho duty of tho agent to make
experiments nlong these lines with tho
rauterlal nt his hands, nnd If he finds
fie cannot obtain tho necessary ma
terial In Ills vicinity It will be left to
him to, make trips farther out and
search tho district to see If nnturo has
not In some hitherto undiscovered spot
left n bountiful provision for just such
a need anil kept It hidden, nwnitlng
tho Ingenuity nnd perseverance ot man
to illg out nnd utilize. Having found
the material thnt he, with his practical
knowledge of road-mnklng mid the
oddltlonnl knowledge nequlred by ex
perimentation, llnd3 Is needed for the
betterment of the highways In that dis
trict, It will be the duty of the agent
to apply to the transportation compan
ies for rates, so thnt when he makes
his report regarding tho needs of the
district he will nt the same time lmve
the figures of the cost complete and
accurate.
When tho reports of tho various
agents nro printed there will nnturnlly
he sufficient rivalry nmong them to
call up tho best efforts of tho mou to
excel In tho report tlmt will follow,
and advantage will bo taken of tho
suggestions In the repol-t of one agent
by another ngent, so tlmt the second
reports will bo sure to contain even
more valuable data’ than the first. In
this wny tlie foundation will be laid
for useful rend literature, tlio attention
of others will bo drawn to the matter,
papers will be rend by men who are
Interested and lmve a practical knowl
edge of the subject, nnd the whole
country will bo stirred to action nnd
helped in tlie work of Improvement.
The Intention of tlie movement is to
ensure practical results In a matter
that lias long pnsed tbo talking stage.
The Department of Agriculture will
plnco nt tho disposal of the agents
hi co-opcrntlon with them tho faclll
tics of the experiment stations to bo
found in the various Slates, nnd every
encouragement will ho given for the
formation of classes by road experts.
In a word, the department Is prepared
to give the whole matter tho broadest
anil most careful attention with a
view to tho extension to tho people
ot tho various States every possible as
sistance to better the condition of the
highways nnd lessen tlio troubles of
those who uso the public roads extern
stvely.
A VINE-DRAPED WINDOW.
It Give* a Small Dark Uomn a Dclltlit-
luilT Cool Kffect.
was n small, dark dining-room,
with only a narrow side yard separat
ing it from the brick wall of the neigh
boring house. It would have been
gloomy nnd unattractive but for the
flowers nnd vine Vlrnpe-y of the one
window. And tills same window was
discovery well worth describing,
anil hotter worth Imitating; for few
beauty-loving housewives seem to re-
WORbS OF WISDOM.
Tyranny is always weakness.—Low-
ell.
Patience is bitter, but Its fruit Is
tweet.—Boussoaii.
A well-bred man Is always soclnblo
mid complaisant.—Montaigne.
The talent of success Is nothing more
than doing whnt you can do well.—
Longfellow.
The sower of the seed is assuredly
tlio author of the whole harvest of
mischief.—Demosthenes.
Of all the faculties of the mind mem
ory Is the first that flourishes, and
the first tlmt dies.—Colton.
Where there Is the most love of God,
there will ho there the truest and most
enlnrgcd philanthropy—Southey.
Look within. Within Ir tho fountain
of good; and It will over bubble up,
If thou wilt dig.—Marcus Aurelius.
The morose mnn takes both narrow
and selfish views of life aud tlie world
lie Is cither envious of the happiness
of others, or denies Its existence.—0,
Simmons.
Setting out on thy soul’s pilgrimage,
unite to thyself whnt hearts thou
ennst. Know well that a hundred
holy temples of Mecca have not tho
value of a heart—Omar Khayyam,
Gasolene a. a.Woman EUIer.
It Is probnblc that, If the statistics
were gathered and compared, it would
be found that the gasolene stove Is
more deadly to the women of this
country than the campaign In . tho
Philippines Is to tho men In the army.
Scarcely a day passes without a rec
ord of the burning, seriously nnd of
ten fatally, of one or more women In
this city alone, and there Is no reason
to uellove that Philadelphia has a mo
nopoly on such casualties. In most
eases the woman Is the victim of her
own Imprudence, ns she tries to HU
tho stove-while tho fire Is lighted or
tries some experiment with It which
results in nn explosion, but this cir
cumstance only shows the dangerous
character of tho fluid. It does not
seem to bo Eafo for any but nn expert,
and a careful one at that, to handle.—
Philadelphia Ledger.
Cause of Lessoned HXurtallty ot Late Wars
The lessened mortality In recent
wars Is due especially to the “first-aid
package with which the combatants
are supplied. Without this, the results
now would be practically the same ns
during tho times before the packet
was used.—Toledo Medical and Surgl
cal Reporter.
A WINDOW D11APED WITH VINES,
nllzo tlmt window boxes may flourish
even nt the most 'bcltcred nnd shaded
windows.
As this om hnd only n glimpse of
sunshine In tho early morning (be
cause ot tho surrounding brick walls),
pnnslos nnd ferns nnd tuberous bego
nias were grown In the box, Instead of
tbo bloomers that demnnd plenty of-
sunlight.
The deep window box was arranged
bo that the upper edge was even with
the glass, thnt tho full benefit of the
growing plnrts could be seen from tlie
Inside. In one- corner of the. box
thrifty honeysuckle roots bail been
placed, anil these soon sent strong
branches up to the top of tho whidow
where pliable splints had been ar
ranged to form nn arch." Clematis
nnd other sun-loving .limbers could
lie grown In less shady quarters,but
this position the honeysuckle
proved most satisfactory.
With a very thin lace drapery on
tho Inside of the window, to flutter In
every passing breeze, nnd this vine
drapery rf green on tho outside, nnd
the blooming pansies nnd begonias
peeping In nt the sill, tills one window
transformed the whole effect of that
small, dark dining room.
Tlio Karri Tree.
It Is generally known to most peo
ple tlmt the karri tree, which Is now
used so largely In paving the London
streets, is the giant tree of Western
Australia, but few nrc aware, how
ever, of the enormous proportions
which tho species sometimes attain,
nnil it may, therefore, bo ot interest to
glvo the measurements of n tree re
cently discovered on tho hanks of tho
Wnrron River. Tho specimen In ques
tion Is thirty-four feet In circumfer
ence three feet from tho ground, four
teen feet In clreumfercneo nt the first
limb, which Is ICO feet from tho
ground, nnd over 200 feet In extreme
height. In other words, the whole of
the tree from tho bottom to the first
limb contains nearly 0000 cubic feet of
timber, which means that It lms a
weight of over forty tons In all.
For street blocking the karri timber
Is pronounced by exports bettor than
Its colleague, the ✓.rah, in thnt Its
surface Is less liable to get slippery
for tho horse’s feet.—St. James Ga
zette.
CRUDE APPLIANCES STILL USED.
Clumpy Itazorp, Shear, and Spado. Still
Mticle.nnd Hold.
After viewing some of the Interest
ing refinements of modern tools nnd
appliances it Is surprising to turn to
some of the oxhlbi.3 and sec the crude,
clumsy, Inel,..-lent articles still In use
In various lands. The group shown
contains fo.r typical examples.
Whnt appears to ho n knife Is really a
razor, tlmt Is made in large quantities
hi Austria nnd shipped to tho Far
East—Chinn n-d Jnpan. Thg’han
dles arc exactly simlk r to clotfibs pins,
no attempt being made to finish or pol
ish tkc-j. The blades nro crude In
proportion. Below you will note a pair
of shears that a village blacksmith
would lmrdly bo willing to claim hav
ing nmde. These are also made In
Austrin, and find a ready market In
Syria and Morocco.
The wooden spade Is such as is used •
In Finland. In that lnnd wood Is far
more abundant than Iron, nnd, conse
quently, It Is utilized wherever possi-
SIANTPACTTJHED POD THE ANTIPODES,
ble, only such parts o^ agrlculturn
piements being made 1 of iron as
subject to the greatest wear. 1
clumsy contrivance is not a mus
specimen, but a spade that is in nc
everyday uso. As shown, It com
of a wedge-shaped piece of w
pointed with an iron\ sheathing,
provided with a crude wooden ban