7IMMSBNTERPMMI THOMAS VtLLE, FEBRUARY, I, IMS.
THE AIR CHAMBER
* By STEPHEN HALLETT.
(
OHN BLATCHFOItP, civil
engineer, nt out m tlic
♦pen, vrltfa III* aya* renting
reflectively on • round In'
(trtnnent, with flgnrei an
It, and « needle. It reeruibled
■8 aneroid twreniHer, bflt It tree not.
It wan a peculiar air gauge, a KcottUh
I Invention, and Qlatchrord liad not teen
A
.
one of tile Kind elnce tie had lielpnl
build the treat bridge ot Cbepnltepec,
- In Mexico. Then he wn* n RUbordlii-
ate neelatant; now, et elghly-nml-
i , twenty, be wo* engineer of the Mur-
bury Tunnel, under the river of thnt
name. )uat oulalde Ihe Important
. nuunfaeluring town of Beleheeter,
, Blatehford‘e recollection* of tropical
Cbepnltepec, nltbongh donbtlee* Melt'
Ing, were, however, auddenly Interrupt
ed by the advent of n young girl,
wbo»e footet/p* he had not heard, and
who now etood timidly lieforc .him.
, The yonng ongineer wee on Ida feet
’In en Inetant. He bad a very gallant
I tearing with women -irrespective of
clMe—but be we* particularly etten-
Myo If they happened to be pretty wo-
- mint.
"Bid yon with to aeo me?" bo aeked,
amlllng.
. "Oh, no, air. 1 ” faltered the girl; “I
■- 'thought—that le-,1 came with e nice-
enga to—"
P . '"One of the men, perbapa?”
./ "yea."
'' • “Yon have n brother working down
In the itlr chamber?"
Tbo girl blnahed. “.Not a. brotbot-a
friend."
“Abl Well, tbe men will be up •Port
ly for dinner. You bod better wait.
,. Yon eee, we are retber eliort-banded
at pment, and 1 am obliged to tend
tbe gauge luyaelf. flit here and watt.”
* Hbe aeatrd Ueraelf, looking Very
■ pretty, Jilaieliford tliongbt, with her
'beet, aliaple attire and thick auburn
-• • treaaei; had tbe very flint thing that
caught her eye waa tbe dock-faced oh-
• Ject which Hlntcbford had called the
• “#Ulge.” He eaw her glnnce riveted
upon It, and good-naturedly undertook
to eaplaln that It reglatcred the
amount, and preaaure of air In the
, working dumber far beneath the
. river, where, at that moment, *evcu
ajr.lwart men tolled at the tunnel.
<’ "l« It very dangerous?" she nuked,
* , "What—the work? Well, that tie-
' pends. You gee, ntr seems limoeent
enough, hut It Is a power not to tie
■ trifled with. Krery man down at the
bottom or Ibis shaft Is working nt n
•;.* pressure of tblrly-flre (utuiul* to every
. equate Inch of him. It la almost lll-.e
bflng.huggcd by a bear. Wheu I press
i this lever—tills wny-nlorc nlr Is forced
, down." Ha toudied one of tbe levers
just beldw tbe gauge mid pointed to
•the needle. "There, you see, It Is now
• Ablrty-slx, thirty.*,van, thirty-eight,
" fhlrty-ulne pounds to me Mitturo lueb;
and' by 4 mere (oucii of my Unger It
could lie fbreed higher—even up to
sixty-five. Tl|ls Is almost strong
enough to crush a mail."
■fit "How wonderful that mere air
tbould be so strong!" exclaimed the
flirt. "But wbnt Is tile lire of It-tlil*
- *1 rr
illreonreged nntll the flaxen-hatred
Leslie appeared on tbe scene.
At 0ret the feud toidr the form of
sarcasm, but this quickly developed
Into great bitterness of language.
Barly Jim Burns, the foreman of the
gang, was obliged to act tbe part of
peacemaker a dor.cu times a day,
when, as he put It, “the youngsters'
tongues got n-wnggln'."
"Lat him alone, Ned," he would soy
to Hart; “wlint d'ye want to be nl
ways worrying Bob for?” Of It would
be, "Drop It, Bob, of I’ll act old Widow
Daft an ,ve. fllie'H make it lively for
Jre, t reckon. 1 '
on this particular Jane day, the at
tcreation between the pair began on
tbelr way to tbe tunnel; and Kate,
who bad beard of the angry dispute,
experienced n dread of open trouble
between tbem which greatly nlfectcd
her spirits all that morning. The flash
of gibe and repartee continued as tbe
two rlvnl* descended the narrow tube
at tbe base of the shaft Into the
bowels of tbe earth; and so far from
bettering the situation, lieslte's aelf-
aatlsfled air and nllecteil carelessness
only made matters worse. For be
not without reason for satisfaction, nl
though the truth was known to only
one other man In Belcheiter, Kate
Maxwell had promised, on the previous
evening, to be hla wife. And Edward
Itnrt, tbe rejected suitor, knew this—
knew It from Kate's own lips. This
fntnl knowledge, fatal to all hla hopes
anil dreams, entered the soul ot Ed.
ward Dart like n bar of red-hot Iron
He was a bigger and stronger man
tlmn Leslie, and would relish nothing
better than to carry the quarrel to
blows. There wps something grlnt,
uncanny, in the Idea of these two mor
tal rivals being shut up together In a
narrow, dimly lighted liox, seventy
feet underground, for konrs at
atreteb.
Once Inside tbe nlr chamber, they
worked for several hours silently.
Then, just about noon, Leslie's pick ac
cidentally struck ttpoi. Dart’s foot.
There was an oath, n shuttle, and, like
a mastiff, Dart was at Leslle'a throat.
In this small space—bnrdly bigger
than ■ ship's cabin—live men flattened
themaelven against tlip sides while
Dart and Leslie fought like demons In
tbe darkness, for In tbe struggle tbe
lump bad been extinguished. Then
there was a piercing cry—Dart had got
hie bends 011 a pick; he wns seeming
ly about to wield it. But too late! his
antagonist forced him 'backward; he
fell with a crash upon a heap of tools,
and DaVt's arm and ankle were
brokeu, snapping like faggots.
For many weeks there had been
peace between the successful and ting
unsuccessful suitor far the hand of
Kate Maxwell. Tbe affair in the nlr
chamber, which had deprived the tun
nel of Dart's services, wns pnt down
to nil accident. Mr. Blatelifard never
heard of .the battle between the two
men. Leslie made a point of looking
III at tbe Dart cottage on tils way
homo from work to see how the man
with whom he bad so long been nt en
1 "Use? Wly. we harness It anil make "'"Y- *"d with.whom lie had so lately
'■•V n.wbrs: It helps us. dig our tuimejT”*” 0 blows, progressed toward, re-
under.llio river, by forcing out the
watcrsml mud. Then, besides, it Is
for tbe workmen to brvntlic. But,
Artlq! why ere you so pale?"
Kate .Maxwell smiled nervously, dis
playing twin row, of perfect teeth.
- "Oh, nntlilug. Only 1 wns thluklug
It must lie very terrlbl > to work down
there. Suppose something was to go
wrong with the ntr-plpcs, nnd they
were to get too much or too little nlr?"
* Illalehfonl, who, young ns be was,
wee familiar.with death nail danger,
shrugged hie sbonldeni.
1 "We must take risks in every trade,
. , If tie men got too little nlr, tip. rlvcr-
or part of It—would pour in nnd drown
them; If they got too mu(h nnd there
. Wes no way for It to eseaiie, it would
crash them. But, after nil, it Is mile
likely that either of these terrible
thing* could hapiien, because, you see,
It |* so carefully regulated mid the
gauge Is so accurate and reliable.
Anyone of Intelligence could kin p the
supply nt thirty-live pounds, which t*
•• much e* a man might to *tnnd."
He pulled out bis watch amt looked
nt the time.
"Hello!" he ejnculntcd, la surprise,
•‘the men are late lu coming up to
day."
1 The girl shuddered at his words mid
csst an ominous glance at the greet
Iron door which barred tbe eutrmiee
to tbe sir lock nnd led to the working
chamber, ae It wns called, under ibe
- river.
"Robert!" formed Itself Involuntar
ily on her Up*.
Although none knew It, Knte Max-
well's Unaccountable misgivings were
not without Justification. Even os the
• pair had been talking, sereuty. feet be
low where they stood, a terrible scene
.wee being enacted. It bad liecn a
struggle for life In the darkness and
oppressed atmosphere of the subter
ranean air chamber, snd her lover,
Robert Leslie, was one of the nouns.
A feod^bad for tome time existed be-
twese young Leslie ami another of
tbe pressure-workers. Edward Dart,
and this feud, of which Kate Maxwell
.wns tbe hapless origin, bad of late, for
nous-cause or other, .increased, at
leasAn Dart's side, to great intensity.
brt had Always borne a good repu
tation in Belchester. and waa the sole
support of 4 widowed mother; hut uis
temper was none of the best, and it
.was known tbatlje could he vindic
tive. It was rumored that his atten
tions to Kite bad extended over a
couple of yoartp and bad never pet-u
overy, Dart hail boon rather n f:i
vorlte of Mr. Blntchford. nnd was not
miliopular among the men, so thnt
there wns general regret nt the Injury
he had sustained.
>Vhen the news came, therefore, that
Ilia engineer of the works had of
fered the convalescent man the not
very arduous post of look-tender, Les
lie was one of the first to congratulate
Dart. «
hut In her timorous, Illogical, wo
manly fashion, Knte, remembering the
conversation she Imd had with Mr.
ltlatchford, was not much pleased at
the news, though she brought herself
at length to laugh nt her fears. There
wns safely In numbers, and after nil, It
was not likely that oven one ten times
more vindictive than tlic man she had
rejected ns a lover, would injure seven
men lu order to gratify a grudge to a
single one. HesUles, did Dart still
herish n grudge? Is so, It wns so
well concealed thnt nobody noticed
It, not eveu Knte Maxwell.
Hut one day, coming across the
fields, she observed a small launch lu
the river Just over whore the tunnel
lay, making rapidly for the other
shore, where similar work* were also
In progress and had been for months.
Op It she recognized 'tlu\ forms of
Hums. Tyler, PococU, nnd several of
the workmen employed In tlie tunnel.
As the gaug were usually at work on
the north side of the river at this hour,
she stopped an acquaintance, in the vi
cinity of Hip tunnel, now nporonohlng
completion, and naked 1dm what it
meant.
••Oh,” said the man. “tbe>*re gone
over with Mr. Hlntcbford to wotfk nt
the other end of the tunnel.**
Knte closely scanned the occupants
of the boat, and even tcok out her
handkerchief nnd fluttered It In hope
of a reply from her lover. There was
no response. Perhaps In* was there
nnd did not see her. I appointed, she
turned away, but wended her way to
the head of the north tunnel shaft,
thinking he might have been left be
hind.
As she drew near, the sight that met
her gate sent a chill of apprehension
through her, she scarce dared tell her
self why. It was only the lock-tender
Dart, with hix arm- still in a sling,
studying the indicator. One hand
was on Ihe lever. It was the expres
sion of lux face which repelled Kate.
“If there is no one down in the nlr
chamber” she thought to herself,
“why it be here?”
Suite clow she came, without Out's
parcelvln* her proximity. Hla whole
mind wee intent on the sense, hie lips
were sllshtly parted In a most nnpleae-
ent smile, and be muttered phrases to
himself ns he scanned the motion of
the needle. Tbe jronns woman wee
about to accost him, bat before a
syllable bad left her lips, her eye fell
on tbe fisure to which tbe fatal needle
pointed.
The sanse registered already fifty-
■even pounds of air to the Inch, end
wan solas higher. In other words,
that powerful,’ relentless, modern
force, compressed air, wee flowing
fiercely, yet silently Into the chamber
far beneath the river, which, did it
possess an occupant, would prove per
haps a chamber nf death.
"Edward Dart!' 1 cried Kate passion
ately, pointing to the gauge, "what
doei that mean?”
The man'a hand aprang back from
Ihe lever, an to wrench the latter In
Ita socket.
-What are yon doing here?" he
asked roughly.
Tell me—la any one Inside the
lock?"
•Tell you? What for?"
‘Because I must—I will know,
cause Mr. Blntchford explained to me
the working of this lock, and I know
that that pressure Is dangerous. I
cannot trust you.” Then she added,
trembling like a leaf, "Where la Bobert
—Robert Leslie?”
“Hotv do I know?” he sneered, al
though heads of sweat etood out on hia
brow. Hie hand was hack on tbe steel
rod.
“Then take your band off that lever,
t tell yon—reduce that pressure of
nlr!”
Dart made no movement. Tbe
needle now (Minted to sixty-four. In
her frensy for the supposed safety of
her lover, Knto sought to drag Dart
ntvny from his post. He seised her In
stantly with both bauds, thus show-
fag that Ids broken limb had entirely
healed, although ho bad seen fit to
hide the cure, for purposes of bis own.
'•Help! Help!” she screamed. A
plcco of Iron lay near by. She seized
It nud struck him a blow full on the
temples, and the fellow collapsed like
an emptied sack.
Then she Instantly clutched the right
A Hero of Panama.
Career of Herbert O. Jeffries, of Hew York,
Commander of the Pacific Flotilla—Stormy
Incidents of Guatemala Under the First
Barrios, Tyrant and Despot. . . .
P Jr t« ever written, tbe
story of tile life of Herbert
O. Jeffrie*, commander of
tbe Pacific flotilla of tbe
new Panama Republic,
will make the lurid talcs of our West
ern scouts seem to fit only for tbe nur
sery,” said tbe member of the Geolog
ical Survey, who has spent consider
able time In Central America, aaya tlfe
San Francisco Bulletin.
“It wns my privilege to be on terms
of good fellowship for several months
with this daredevil soldier of fortune,
and I gathered sufficient Information
concerning his remarkable career In
tbe turbulent Central American repub
lics to ratlafy me that he has not had
n surfeit of tbe commonplace. Very
little of this Information was obtain
able from him. for. like many men of
bis peculiar type, he waa not given to
talking about bis own deeds.
“Jeffries Is a New Yorker by birth.*
n graduate of West Point, and a nat
ural bom fighter, lie la an athletic
blonde, about five feet nine Inches In
height, of calm and quiet tempera
ment.
“In hla aerenteen year* In Central
America he lias been a prominent fac
tor In every Important revolution In
Guatemala, Salvador. Honduras and
the United fitatea of Colombia, lead
Ing tbe forces of tbe Government or
the revolutionists with equal courage,
nnd usually with success. It cannot
be anld that hla rewards were ever
commensurate with his works,
adage, 'Republics are ungrateful,'
proving true In Ills case.
“Jeffries wns the general In charge
of the forces that fought Guate
mala under the first Barrios, r
tyrant and despot. Several of the bat
ties which he directed were marked
lever and lowered It, gasping and j by deeds of heroism, nnd^ were full of
choking In her excitement. She ex- | slaughter.
pected It to turn the opposite dlrcc- “In those fights, as in all others, Jef
tlon, hat to her terror, It continued to J Mm Jed his forces, a custom which,
revolve ns before. perhaps. It Is unnecessary to'remnrk.
Sixty-live—sixty-six—sixty-seven — 1 1* uncommon in those countries, where
Merciful heavens, what should sho marksmanship Is not a strong point,
do? ' v and where the machete has a more
prominent plAce in battle than the
musket. You see, your average Cen
tral American, being afraid of his guu,
shuts his eyes as he polls the trigger,
nnd the commander In front stands
good chauce of being perforated In the
back
“Jeffries fell oat with Barrios, and
was exiled and n price set upon his
head. He fled to Guatemala with Gen,
P. P. Brannon, n redoubtable Pennsyl
vania fighter.
“Both were welcomed by Don Luis
Bogrnn, known ns the Dins of Central
America, then President. They
planned the ambuscade which resulted
In the slaughter of nearly 400 Guate
malan Invaders.
“Under President Bogrnu's adminis
tration Americana were strictly in It.
Concessions were granted them
nearly everything they nsked, nnd
peace prevailed throughout the laud.
“An American named Cecil was
made administrator of the telegrapli
lines; n Virginian built the water
works nnd a wagon road to the Pa
eifle coast: a Louisianian was chief of
police, nnd Major Burke, once .State
Treasurer of Louisiana, managed the
mineral resources,
“Among the Americans who flocked
to the capital nt Tegucigalpa wns a
Nyw Yorker named Palmer, a polished
gentleman nnd the possessor of a mag
nificent baritone voice. Palmer and
Jeffries became chummy at or.ee, nnd
for months were Inseparable. Both
were in demand nt social functions.
Jeffries being a fine tenor singer and
passionately fond of music. (
“Their popularity aroused the Jeal
ousy # aud envy of Cecil, who, whllo
carefully avoiding Jeffrip*. constantly
sought a quarrel with Palmer. On the
night of n Presidential bal!, Cecil,
drunk and noisy, met Palmer In the
barroom of the PJeadllly Hotel, gross
ly insulted him. nnd then shot him
Instantly she grasped the other lever
and exerted nil Iter strength. Every,
second of suspense seemed au eternity.
Kato Maxwell wns now firmly ccu-
Inced that her lover, Robert Leslie,
wax in the air chamber at the bottom
of the shnft. How could she save
him? She pictured him fallen jjpon
tlm slime of the river bed, with the.
terrible compressed nlr, gripping his
body nnd slowly crushing it, as a bon
constrictor would email a hound. To
reduce the volume of nlr would bring
relief at once-rperhnps save bis life.
Her lips formed a silent prayer, ami
ax if In answer to that supplication,
the needle of tho gauge at Inst wav
ered In the balance, then begnn to
slowly move In the op|1osito direction.
When Jt got to thirty-five she would
depress the lever and stay Its (the
needle's) course. Fifty—forty-five—
forty—figure by figure It turned slow-
Thank God, the danger wax pastl
But horrors—wlint was this! Al
though she pressed with all licr might,
the needle continued to turn, after
thirty-five was passed. She sprang nt
the other lever; she gripped It with
both hands; she shrieked for help.
If It reached a certain point, the
water would he unchecked, -uiul It
would flow Into the air-chamber, and
Leslie would be drowned like a rat
In a trap.
Thirty — twenty-five — twenty-four—
twenty-three—twenty-two! Could noth
ing be done!
Tweuty-one—twenty—uinetcen—eigh
teen. In vain the youug girl put forth
her full remaining strength. Dart's I
fall must have destroyed the uico I
mechanism of the Instrument, and I
Kate had thus become, unwittingly, ;
an accessory to her lover's murder.
The needle pointed to nine aud wns j
still descending when she fnluled at
the door of the lock.
A few luomeutH later, John Itlatch- __
font, cufflneer ot tbo Mnrbury Tunnel, i uWit.Ro~ powerful was Cecil’s Influ
at last completed after many mouth
of labor, enuie up the shaft, smiling, !
followed by his little gaug of faithful j
workmen.
At the spectacle which met their j
eyes, they xtopped short, nml Robert |
Leslie, ax pale ax death, flung him- I
self beside tho recumbent form of hix |
sweetheart, who lay white and still,
scarce two feet from the great Iron
door which barred the way Into the
tunnel. Several of his comrades
turned their attention to Dart, who
was subsequently home home, suffer
ing from shock.
When Kate Maxwell recovered con
sciousness, she clasped her lover close
ly. “The gauge,” she murmured,
trctching out her finger. “I thought f
ou were dead down there. Aud the
levers would not work.”
Mr. Blutcliford examined the indica
tor and lovers while she spoke. Tbta
p gave a low whistle.
“By Jupiter!” he said quietly, “you
turned on less air at the right momeuL
Mistress Kate. I was out six feet 1"
my reckoning, and the two ends of tbe
cnee that he wax not even arrested,
“Jeffries wns at Yucatan, two days
distant by the usual mode of travel,
but he made the Journey In twenty-
four hours, killing two mules en route.
He wired Cecil that he was coming to
kill him.
“When Jeffries rode up to tbe hotel,
fnlly twelve hours before he was ex
pected, he found Cell In tb barroom
surrounded by a number of native of
ficers, boasting of what he would do
to Palmer’s friend. Jeffries' entrance
was the occasion of a stampede on the
part of the natives, many of whom
threw themselves headlong out of the
windows In their frantic efforts to es
cape the calm, determined looking
man In the doorway, whose big re
volver reemto to cover every man in
the room.
“Two shots rang out almost togeth
er. Jeffries strode into the yard,
quietly mounted his mule, and, wlthont
a look backward, rode away.
“Cecil was found a few minutes
later, dead, with a bullet In bis heart.
Just over the panel of tbe door
arrested tbem and sentenced tbem to
be shot.
“They were chained to a stake in the
cuartel yard and doomed to die at sun
rise. In some manner, which neither
would ever, explain, they extricated
themselves nnd clambered over tbe
wall.
“On stolen mules they started In tbe
darkness for the Uonduraa tprder. Be
fore daylight a party of Ezeta's noted
black rangers was In hot pursuit. +
“Near the border Brannon's mule
was killed and he received a bullet In
the thlglv Jeffries strapped hftn to
bis own mule, nnd In the darkness
they crossed the line Into Honduras,
where they were safe. It was fire
days before Brannon received proper
medical care.
“In 1893, under the rule of the benev
olent old Don Ponclano Lelva. hla
nephew. Nuilla. started a revolution
nt Truxlllo. nnd Jeffries was sent out
with a small party to capture the reb
el. The task proved an easy one. and
Nullla was captured In n narrow
mountain pass in less than a week,
losing only a few men.
“From Honduras to tbe United
States of Columbia was only a short
step for Jeffries. His work In behalf
of the Government Inst year is quite
well known.
“He came to New York two years
ago uml married the girl of his boyhood
choice, and slie^ remained with him
during hla I ant campaign. Jettrlea
owns about 50,000 acres of valuable
timber land on the line of the Panama
Canal, so thnt his interests, naturally,
are with the new republic. He can be
counted upon to give a good account
of the little flotilla under his command
if the opportunity Is presented.”
Drain* Come From th* Farm. -
“The Chautauqua meetings in the
country are the manufacturing centres
of material to re-enforce played out
nn^ sluggish cities,” said the Rev.
Frank W. Gunsaulns before the fifth
annual seslon of tho International
Chautauqua alliance In Victoria Hotel
yesterday afternoon.
“Tlie country boy’s best chances for
education are found nt tne summer
meetings. How many have benefited?
A recent canvass of the city has shown
this:
“Out of one hundred of Chicago’s
prosperous business men I found that
eighty-four, beginning with Marshal
Field, came from the country* Seven
ty-six out of one hundred of the best
lawyers came from the country.
Seventy-one out of a humlcrd of tho
Irest physicians came from the coun
try.
“The Idea prevailed that the best
privileges of life belong to a class of
*elf-cou«tructed aristocrat*; but the
fact is thnt tlreso privileges belong to
the poor, ordinary man, nnd the Chau
tauqua meetings have taken tbem to
him. Tbe purpose of the meetings Is
to build the real American civilisa
tion.*'—Chicago Inter Ocean.
Interest in the Flamingo.
There are larger birds than the fla
mingo, and birds with more brilliant
plumage, but no other large bird Is so
brightly colored, nnd no other brightly
colored bird Is so large. In brief, size
and beauty of plume united reach tbelr
maximum of development In this re
markable bird, while the open nature
of its haunts nml its grcgarlousness
in sitecially designed to display Its
marked characteristics of form and
color to the most striking advantage.
When to these more superficial attrac
tions Is added the fact that little or
nothing 1» known of the nesting habits
of this singular bird, one may, in a
measure, at least, realize tlie Intense
longing of the naturalist, not only to
behold a flamingo city—wlthont ques
tion the most striking sight In the bird
world—but nt the same time, to lift
II through which the-fiumlngo's
home life hns been but dimly seen.—
From Frank M. Chapman's “A Fla
mingo City,” In the Century.
Th« C«iU«c» Boy's Cushions.
Nothing so pleases the heart of a
college hoy as a new pillow for Ills
couch in the dormitory room, and the
number he has usually represents hix
summer’s conquest uml the nlmbleness
of his sister’s fingers. The favorlto
design 1* a satin pillow lu one of the'
shades of his university’s flag, and In
the centre or one of the corners lx
the college shield heavily embossed
in embroidery of the second shade.
Flagshaped cushions in the proper
colors and stamped with the names of
any of the larger universities, are at
tached nt the points of the base by a
The Carnegie Steel Company is ex
perimenting In rolling shapes for steel
Ilea to replace the usual wooden tics.
More than 2000 skilled workmen
have left the French silk factories
within a year for the United States.
Waste leather is no longer thrown
away. Manufacturers use It in a com
pressed form, instead of Iron, to make
eog-whcels.
Georgia has held the lead in the pro
duction of peaches for the F*astern
market since 1902. She has t over
7,060,000 trees.
Ants are the most brainy of all
Creatures. In proportion to Its size,
an ant s brain 1* larger than that of
any other living being.
In 1878 something happened in *Tn-
pltcr which caused a red blotch to ap
pear In bis southern hemisphere, near
on© of the great belts that cross hla
disc like huge bands of colored clouds.
It was 30,000 miles long and 8000
miles broad, yet, ufter all. only a little
patch on the mighty disc? It lias re
mained ever since, sometimes bright-
eniug to almost the crimson hue of
fire, and sometimes fading nearly to
invisibility, yet always, even when
faintest, certifying its presence and
its power of keeping the area originally
covered by It clear of all other objects.
Tho electrical treatment of sewage,
ns tried by Dr. Rldeal, at Guilford.
England, seems to* have proven sim
ple, inexpensive nnd effective. A solu
tion of salt and water, or even ordinary!
aca-water, is decomposed in a special'
electrolyzer of large surface and using
a large volume of current, and the so-
called oxychloride solution resulting is
added to the sewage In quantity vary
ing with circumstances. Any kind of
sewage liquid may be treated. Tho
worst forms are readily made as freo
from bacteria as drinking water, and
raw sewage receiving eighteen and
one-half gallons of solution per or.©
thousand gallons -showed a reduction
of organisms from 23.200,000 to 540 per
cubic centimeter In five hours, bacilli
allied to those of typhoid diminishing
from over one million to noue.
Keep th« Month Shot.
Keep tbe mouth shut. This perempt
ory command Is to insure proper
breathing; that Is, breathing through
the nose. One should never, unless
absolutely necessary, breathe through
the mouth. It Is the duty of the nose,
and It was made for that express pur
pose and is specially constructed to
aid correct breathing, says Farmer’s
Guide. In tho first place, it is pro
vided with tiny hairs that trap dust
and Impurities that may be In tbe air
nnd prevent their Invading the system,
Tho nose has also what are known as
turbinated bones. These net as warm
ing plates to temper the air cs It Is In
haled. It is farther provided with an
apparatus for furnishing moisture to
the air. An these processes are quit©
essential before the air Is drawn
into the luugx, and If the breath Is
drawn through the mouth many ot
these essentials are lost. It is an ex
cellent plan to take a good brisk walk
every morning and to compel oneself
to breathe through the nose all tho
time. This 1* a first-rate hygienic prac
tice. At first It inny be difficult to do
no, but it is worth persisting in, and
“practice makes perfect.”
Twain and Girl Who Didn't Lanth.
Mark Twain once expressed the fol
lowing sentiments to a young woman
who had not smiled at a thing thnt ho
had said during an impromptu recep
tion In hls honor at Bryn Mawr Col
lege, to which his daughter has invited
him.
All the young ladles but one were !tk
a state ot great jlco during tho hn-
morlst's address—all but one had
laughed heartily at every witty re
mark. Just ns Twain finished, ho
turned to the youug woman who had
not laughed, and said, in cn under
tone: “You are the only sensible on®
here. I have not said a single amus
ing thing. If it wore cot for tho con-
splcuoufness of it, I would like to
press your band.”—Success.
tmrac met «oner than I expected. I , b „ wU|ch Kth-lea entered, on a
But If we had met. with the prewuro j 1Ine wltll h! , wnl the mark of
here at •Ixty-Hve. whether there had | Ceclr , bnlIet . „ w „ a duol t0 the
heeu an explosion or not It won d j doath and Palra „ r wa , avcn? „,.
have been rather rough on Leslie. Ho | Th “ , , ,
would have been paralyzed for life, j ..,q, a „. provinB tirMom .. JcffriM nnd
Utata the worat of putt.nga alck man | Brannotl Leered over Into Salvador,
ou duty: there* alway. the rt«k of a ;
relapse at the wrong moment.”
Kuto' Maxwell, looking up iiito her
lover’s face, was silent—New York
Weekly *—
where they engaged in railroad, build
lug. Wheu Branuon presented'a bill
of 200,000 pesos President Ezeta. ’Lion
of the Frontier,’ and the biggest rob :
er that ever went unhung, promptly
A Weighty Sqnash*
TVhr.t la said to bo tlio ^greaUcSl
Squash ever grown was on exhibition;
In Canada's section of the Palace of
Agriculture. It weighed 403 pounds,
measured three fret in height, five and
one-half in length nud focr feet In
width. The squash waa grown by
William Warnock, or Godrich, Ontario.
Mr. Warnock is a market gardener and
fruit grower. Ho makes a specialty
cf growing fancy squashes, and In
former years haa raised come that
rope cord finished with bJg tassels, j weighed more than throe hundred
that the pillow can he hung over ' pounds. He declares that,this was tko
the back of a chair.-New York News. largest that was ever produced In a.iy
country. It Is of tho variety known :: t
the “Mammath.” No one has i»?c •
j found who claims to have seen u
larger product cf the vine.—St Louis
Feline Sarcasm.
The freezer had been left on tho back
porch and the tin cylinder Inside wax
filled with delicious cream. The cover
was not on tight and a predatory cat
had crowded it off and was looking
at the toothsome stuff and at the same
time licking her chops with delightful
anticipation.
Republic.
Widowhood in China.
'•Wording to the lawa of good socie
ty in China, young widows should not
remarry. Widowhood is therefore held
“And to think,” she said, in her pur- I in highest esteem, and the older the
ring way, “that St. Louis society lx all | widow grows the more agreeable her
torn up over the question of whether
ice cream should be eaten with a fork
or a spoon. How ridiculous these ab
surd mortals can make themselves!”
And then she dipped her whiskers
in the trapped mass and industriously
regaled herself. — Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
position comes. Sbould^shc reach fifty
years, she may, by applying to tin
Emperor, get a sum of money wii!»
which t® buy a tablet, on which
virtues are Inscribed. The tablet is
then placed over the door at tho prin
cipal entrance to her house.—New
York Hews. • -
