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IN A FIRE AT NIGHT.
A DRUMMER'S EXPERIENCE IN A BLAZ
ING HOTEL.
to Do In Jnftt
ne nn.l and wliat He
«h"«“ « ,,,e
Offered Itself.
“It’s queer -not to say a source of
chagrin—the difference between our in
tentions and our performances, isn't
it?” said a commercial traveler at one
cf the hotels the other night. ‘‘l was in
the Hotel Baldwin fire in San Francisco
and lost everything I had along with
me, including a thousand and odd dol
lars’ worth of jewelry and all of my
sample cases but one, and I was glad to
get out with my life at that. It was the
first hotel fire in which I had figured.
I had often mortally calculated upon
what I should -tj in cas® a hotel in
w hich I was a guest should begin to
conflagrate. I was going to be the cool
est headed man within a radius of many
miles. If the fire should break out in
the middle of the night while I was in
bed, I intended to get up very coolly
upon being awakened, deliberately slip
on enough clothing to L, u mo out of
the hands of the police upon making
my appearance, get my money and then
pick up my most valuable sample case
and the valise in which I had packed
articles of clothing in current use and
walk out, leaving the rest of my gear
to take its chance upon the fire being
squelched. On my way through the cor
ridors, in case I met up with any beau
tiful, supplicating maidens or any
aged, incapable women, I had it all pic
tured how I would drop my two grips
and take them down the seething stair
case, one on each arm, presenting a
heroic and inspiring spectacle as I
emerged from the caldron of flame.
“Well, what happened ? Luckily for
me, I bad a third story front room in
the Baldwin. The fire broke out in the
basement along toward 3 o’clock in the
morning. I snored luxuriously until
about a dozen engines were throwing
streams on the lower portion of the
structure. When I was in the middle of
a dream that I was standing in front of
a lot of big stores on a great business
thoroughfare, throwing croquet balls
through huge plate glass windows—it
was the smashing glass down below
that got me into that strain of dream
ing—l woke up. The glare in my room
was something luminous. Did I slowly
stretch, say to myself, ‘Here’s that long
waited for fire, and it’s up to me to be
the man of the hour and the real thing ?’
“Not much did II I just hopped up
like a man who finds a family of centi
peds in his bed. I grabbed a pair of
rubbers that were lying alongside my
bed and put them on the wrong feet,
giving all the time during the perform
ance a realistic exhibition of a man
undergoing a swamp chill. Then I
snatched a mackintosh that I had
thrown over my trunk on coming in the
night before and folded it after consid
erable difficulty, owing to my chill
tremblings, over my pyjamas. Then I
reached for a hat, and of course it was
about my luck to get the worst hat I
owned out of half a dozen scattered over
the room. Then I made for the door. I
want you to understand that I made for
the door in a hurry too.
“On my way to the door I stumbled
over one of my sample cases and kicked
it over in front of the door. I had to
pick it up in order to open the door,
and so I hung on to it and took it along
with me. I afterward found it to be
the least consequential sample case I
had, one that I could very easily have
dispensed with compared with those
that I lost. Jewelry? Money? Duds? I
wasn’t thinking any more of them
when I frantically unlocked and un
barred that door of mine than I was of
taking a balloon before breakfast in the
morning and starting for the north pole.
I just wanted to get out, that’s all. The
halls were filled with smoke, I found,
but after ten years of stopping annual
ly at the Baldwin, generally in the same
room, I knew the stairways and the
route down to the lobby pretty well,
and I just put my free hand over my
mouth and nose and made the rush.
“D’ye suppose that if I had met 40
of the most beautiful maidens on the
globe—supplicating, imploring maidens
—standing there confused in that third
floor hallway I’d have picked ’em up
one in each arm and, permitting them
to gently nestle up against my mackin
tosh, have carried them triumphantly
down the stairs and out into the street
and under the broad arch of heaven and
all that? No, I wouldn’t have. It’s
grievous and grewsome to have to con
fess it, but I’d just have yelled at them
to follow my route and then have kept
on getting over territory myself. I fell
down the first flight of stairs, from top
to bottom, then picked myself up with
the one idea of getting out, scampered
to the head of the second flight of stairs
and fell down those. I lit on the flag
ging of the lobby, and in two more sec
onds I was in the street. When, a few
minutes later, I reflected upon my loss
and the general hamlike character of
my conduct, did I want to go back and
get my things and do the whole thing
over again right and in accordance with
my preconceived intentions in case of a
h“tel fire? Nope. I was content t“>tan«i
there in the street and figure how I'd
perform the next time I got similarly
caught. ’’—Washington Star.
An Indertaklug.
“Isabel, does your husband get angry
when he tells you to wake him early
and you don’t do it?”
“No, dear. He knows that I know he
doesn't mean it.”—Chicago Record.
Action repeated becomes habit. Habit
long continued becomes second nature.
We are today what we were accus
tomed to do yesterday and the day be
fore. Lyman Abbott.
There are in the German empire
about 490,000 persons belonging tooth
er countries.
FAIRYLAND. T®
You need not travel to a star;
The way is easy and not far—
An hour'* walk, a mile from town.
The herons of the old Imroon
Lead you along the path; for sign
Are arrowhead blossoms, frail and Ona,
Beside the water; then the wood
Tuk'.h you, but oi.lv by the blood
Leaping, and by the sudden start
Os the overfull and thrilling heart,
You know you see it face to face.
The greenwood bowers a sunny space
Fur song sparrow tinkling, and below
July's green lap is full of snow,
I« drifted rich with white and pink,
Os bouncing bet from brink to brink;
The haunted air resounds between
With humming birds, obscure and keen.
Like burnt out stars that dart and fioot.
With but a last fire to the throat.
You saw but common summer flowers?
Heard but a hum that drowsed the hours?
Your blood leaped not nor shook your
heart? •
Ah, wi 11, 1 know no other chart!
Thu path is for your feet as far
As that which lessens to a star.
—J. Russell Taylor in Century
BERLIN APPETITES.
Restaurant Men Who Cater to Them
Soon Become Rich.
That the restaurant business in Berlin
is a paying one, if the location chosen
be a good one, the restaurant of the zoo
logical gardens hero shows. For a num
ber of years it was leased by a man who
understood about as much of tho busi
ness as tho man in -the moon. Yet ho
became wealthy within a few years and
retired for good to live on the interest
of his money. There were days in sum
mer when ho sold 1,000 kegs of beer,
besides some 20,000 cups of coffee and
60,000 sandwiches, and as prices are
high there he must have made thousands
of dollars in a single day.
Fortunately for the public, another
caterer now supplies the hungry and
thirsty sightseers at the zoological gar
dens, a man with a good reputation, and
ho pays twice the rent for tho restau
rant buildings, too —viz, 100,000 marks
per annum, besides spending by the
terms of his contract a matter of almost
600,000 marks for improvements. Yet it
is probable that he, teo, will retire at
the end of his term with a fortune.
There are many instances of this kind
in Berlin. One of the finest and most
highly priced restaurants on [lnter den
Linden recently sold its good will for a
matter of 1,000,000 marks. The owner
of acafo on Friedrichstrasse who start
ed tho place but a couple of years ago is
reputed already to have cleared about
2,000,000 marks. His head waiter is
himself rapidly growing rich from the
“trinkgeld” received from the guests
and is said to be in receipt of monthly
stipends amounting to some $3,000 in
American money.—Berlin Letter in
Chicago Record.
Borrowing a Home.
In his interesting book, “The Law
yers of Maine,” Willis relates an anec
dote of Judge George Thatcher, who
was noted for his humor.
Solicitor Davis and Judge Thatcher,
when boys, were neighbors in Barnsta
ble and Yarmouth, Mass. The day after
the battle of Bunker Hill the militia
of these towns set off for Boston. The
boys accompanied the soldiers, Davis
acting as fifer. A few miles out from
Barnstable an order came directing the
military to return home.
In their retreat Thatcher and Davis,
tired of their march, mounted an old
horse they met on the road, without
saddle or bridle. After riding some
miles they dismounted and abandoned
their steed in tho highway.
Many years after Davis, as solicitor
general, was prosecuting a horse thief
before Judge Thatcher in the county of
Kennebec, Me. In the course of the
trial the judge leaned over the bench
and said in an undertone to the solic
itor:
“Davy, this reminds me of the horse
you an i I stole in Barnstable.”
Thunder In Vnrlon* Region*.
Java is said to be the region of the
globe where it thunders oftenest, hav
ing thunderstorms 97 days in tho year.
After it are Sumatra, with 86 days;
Hindustan, with 56; Borneo, with 54;
the Gold Coast, with 52, and Rio de
Janeiro, with 51. In Europe, Italy oc
cupies tho first place, with 38 days of
thunder, while France and southern
Russia have 16 days. Great Britain and
Switzerland have each 7 days, and
Norway has 4 Thunder is rare at Cairo,
being heard only 3 days in tho year,
and extremely rare in northern Tur
kestan and the polar regions.—London
Standard.
A Talking Crow.
The latest curiosity in Bethel, Me.,
is a talking crow which entertains the
boys and girls. Tho bird was found in
tho woods over a year ago, when young,
having fallen from its nest and broken
a wing. It was taken home and cared
for, but showed no inclination to talk
until a few months ago. It talks as
well as parrots, but favors words con
taining “o," and “Hello, hello, Moses,
Ora! Whoa there!” cause the passers
by to turn quickly at times.
.Jx plained.
Mrs. Bliffers—Your old friend has
such a sad face. Why is it?
Mr. Bliffers —Years ago he proposed
to a very beautiful girl, and—
Mrs. Bliffers—And she refused him?
Mr Bliffers—No. She married him.
—London Answers.
St. George’s Bay, Newfoundland,
contains an immense coalfield fully 20
miles in length and 10 in breadth. It
has been estimated that if the output
were to reach 250,000 tons per annum,
the coal bed would not be exhausted iu
a century
Some old hawking gloves have the
hands and thumbs made in red velvet,
the outside of tho hand covered with
the finest embroidery in many tones of
eilk, mixed with metal threads. They
appertain to the days of good Queen
Bess.
Paris sends £750,000 worth of toys
to England every year
I
• ROMAN WEALTH AND WASTE
Pearls Dissolved In Wino and a Re
lay of Dinners For Mark Antony.
E. H. House, writing on “Bright
Sides of History” in St. Nicholas, tells
this story of ancient extravagance:
“The pearl which Cleopatra drank
to Antony’s health was valued at nearly
$400,000, so at one mouthful she dis
posed of as much as the cost of Cali
gula's supper. I suppose that was the
most valuable pearl we have any knowl
edge of. Though Julius Caesar owned
one worth $250,000, winch he gave to
the mother of Brutus—the same Brutus
who afterward helped to kill Cmsar.
Pearls seem to have held out particu
lar temptations to people who took
pleasure in wasteful follies, perhaps be
cause no other jewel could be so easily
swallowed.
“Cleopatra’s prank was not the first
of its kind. The same absurdity had
been committed by a silly fellow in
Rome named 2Esop— not your favorite
fable teller, for he lived centuries
earlier, and was a very wise man. The
Roman ZEsop was the son of a rich act
or, and, just to make himself talked
about, he took a pearl from the eardrop
of Ca'cilia, the wife of the tyrant Sylla,
and, according to writers of that age,
drank it in vinegar. I believe that the
possibility of dissolving this kind of
gem is disputed by many modern au
thorities, but the ancients appear to
have had no doubt on the subject, for
the instances recorded by them were
numerous and were attested by men of
scientific standing. A Japanese natural
ist, who has studied pearls minutely,
states that he has found them of such
various quality and structure that the
existence of specimens which might be
melted does not seem to him inconceiv
able. But whether zEsop liquefied his
pearl or not the performance certainly
cost him a sum equivalent to $40,000 —
quite enough, though nothing in com
parison with what Cleopatra squander
ed. Hers was the wildest piece of ex
travagance that I can recall.
“It was the fashion to be extravagant
then. Mary Antony was not far behind
the Egpytian queen in that respect,
though his fancy was not for beverages
flavored by trinkets. Substantial food
was more in his line. A visitor who
once went into the kitchen of hie palace
in Alexandria saw eight wild boars
roasting at the same time and thought
there must be an immense number of
guests expected, but the cook told him
only 12 persons would dine that day,
and the reason of the extensive prepara
tions was that no one could say exactly
when Antony would go to the table.
But whenever he gave the signal the
meat must be just iu proper condition
at that moment. So it was the rule to
get ready a series of dinners, overlap
ping one another, you might say, at in
tervals of 15 or 20 minutes. Only one
could be eaten, and the rest were wasted,
but the waste did not matter. Antony
was never kept waiting, and that, in
his opinion, was the thing to be consid
ered. ”
MY LADY NICOTINE.
Tlie Alleged Effect* of Tobacco and
Its Enormous C'oniuiniptlou.
Probably no pleasure of life has had
its praises so much sung as smoking.
Hero is the other side. Doctors say
tobacco used in excess produces:
Palpitation of the heart, muscular
tremblings, weakness and paralysis of
the legs, dizziness of the head, noises
in the ears, cold perspiration all over
the body, colicky pains in the stomach,
inability to exert the mind, congested
and sore throat, burning of the tongue,
dry and parched mouth, tartar and
blackness of the teeth, confusion of
sight, catarrh of the stomach, catarrh
of the throat and nose, sallow complex
ion, very bad dyspepsia, lopsided
mouth, nervous anxiety, cancer of the
lips, diminished appetite, pale and
ana>mic gums, loss of memory, omis
sion of every fifth pulse beat, ruin of
the will power, irritability of temper,
extreme and incurable melancholy, rest
lessness and sleeplessness, blindness and
deafness, apoplexy and paralysis, con
vulsions and death.
In the case of children it stunts their
growth, when a person is consumptive
it hastens his death, when the heart is
weak it almost completely stops the
beating, when you have a cough tobac
’ co keeps it going for weeks, and it in
terferes with singing and swallowing.
Yet about 1,500,000,000 pounds of
it are smoked every year.—New York
World.
Worthy of Whistler.
As an artist Jack Gamble is consider
ed as independent as he is successful.
He possesses an unlimited quantity of
candor, upon the expression of which
he places no restraint. Ho is much
liked notwithstanding, and was not
long ago offered aToom mission to paint
the portrait of a certain wealthy man,
whose features are more remarkable for
their bloom than for their refinement.
Jack critically scanned the broad fea
tures of his proposed subject.
“Upon one condition will I paint 1
you,” he declared dramatically.
“ What!” gasped the amazed Croesus,
speechless at the effrontery of this pov
erty stricken artist.
” Yes, ” pursued Gamble, with easy
grace. “Upon condition that I shall be
allowed to put iu a little intelligence.”
And the funny part of it was that
Jack got the commission.—San Fran
; cisco News Letter.
Tacking.
“What do they mean by ‘tacking?’ ”
asked a young woman on her first sail
of ay. u.oi’i w;oi W.U .1 Lui •■■■ -
1 end.
“Why,” said the wise one in a care
‘ ful whisper, “tacking is just—just sail- ;
ing on the bias, Helen.”—Exchange.
Ri»ht on the Head.
Trainer—Hit him like a nail.
, Pugilist—Like a nail?
Trainer—Yes; on the head.—Syracuse
Herald.
living ;n th.. country.
The Growing I'ondness For Rural
Life n Good
In Tho Ladies' Home Journal Edward
Bok, with much satisfaction, notes tho
strong tendency to country living and
believes that “it is one of the best signs
of the times. Nothing in the world can
keep a man or woman so young and
fresh as to be able to be in touch each
day with the perpetual freshness and
youth of nature. Suburban life means
more out of door Jiving, and that is
what we Americans all need. We want
more exercise, nt: 1 suburban living
makes that easier. We want our inter
est in things kept fresh, and that nature
does for us as nothing else can.
“The more our bm y men see of na
ture’s restful ways the more restful
will they become. The closer we keep
our children to the toil the healthier
will they be physically n-el the stronger
will they develop mentally. The more
our girls breathe in the pure air which
God intended for all, tut which man in
the cities pollute . tbn better women we
shall have, the Lv.t r worried mothers
we shall set ' ,r young men
see of out of door sports the more clear
ly will they realize tho greatness of
splendid physical health.
"The more the tired housewife sees of
flowers and plants and trees the closer
will become her interest in all things
natural and simple, and, as she sees the
simplicity with which nature works un
consciously, will the lesson be forced up
on her and enter into her own methods.
We all agree that there is no teacher
like nature herself. Let us all, then, get
as close to her as possible. Whatever
she teaches is wholesome to the mind
and uplifting to the soul and strength
ening to the body. In the very act of
studying her wonderful ways there is
health. ”
THE ALBATROSS.
A Bird of Majestic Aerial Velocity
and Insatiable Appetite.
Out of the blue void the albatross
comes unhasting on motionless pinions,
yet at such speed that one moment a
speck hardly discernible, turn but your
eyes away, and ere you can again look
round he is gliding majestically over
head. Nothing in nature conveys to the
mind so wonderful an idea of effortless
velocity as does his calm appearance
from vacancy. Like most of the true
pelagic birds, he is a devourer of offal,
the successful pursuit of fish being im
possible to his majestic evolutions. His
appetite is enormous, but bis powers of
abstinence are equally great, and often
for days he goes without other nourish
ment than a drink of the bitter sea. At
the Gargantuan banquet provided by a
carcass of a dead whale be will gorge
himself until incapable of rising from
the sea, yet still his angry scream may
be heard as if protesting against his in
ability to find room for more provision
against hungry days soon to follow.
Despite his incomparable grace of
flight when gliding through midair
with his mighty wings outspread, when
ashore or on deck he is clumsy and 111
at ease. Even seated upon the sea, his
proportions appear somewhat ungainly,
while his huge hooked beak seems too
heavy to be upheld. On land he can
hardly balance himself, and the broad
silky webs of his feet soon become lacer
ated. Thus his visits to the lone and
generally inaccessible rocks which are
his breeding places are as brief as may
be, since even conjugal delights are
dearly purchased with hunger and pain
ful restraint. A true child of the\air,
land is hateful to him, and only on the
wing does he appear to bo really at
home and easeful.—London Spectator.
Cruel Captain I
It would not occur to many people
that a voyage in one of the swan boats
which sail the little pond in the public
garden of a New England city could be
attended with horrors, but that idea
was firmly fixed in the mind of a small
maiden of 7 years.
“Would you like a ride in one of the
swan boats, Marjorie?” asked tho little
maid's aunt as they crossed the bridge
over the pond one day.
“No, indeed,” said Marjorie, with
sudden shrinking. “I couldn’t bear to
see them throw the babies in.
“The man says that’s what he does, ”
she asserted with rising excitement as
her aunt looked much perplexed. “Hear
him! He's saying it now.”
Her aunt listened, and of a truth the
man’s statement, viewed from Mar
jorie’s standpoint, was far from reas
suring.
“Take a ride in the swan boats,” he
called loudly from the landing. “Grown
folks, 10 cents; children, 5,” and then,
with a deceptive smile, he added, “Ba
bies thrown in.” —Youth’s Companion.
Napoleon In Evergreen.
The great. Napoleon, done In ever
green, is the unique statue that stands
in the garden of M. d’Aguilleres, in the
suburbs of Paris. The statue is a perfect
model of the “little corporal” in char
acteristic attitude, wearing a cocked
hat and sword and snuffbox in band.
The features are very lifelike.
The greatest care is necessary in order
to preserve the likeness, and the artist
gardener spends considerable time in
clipping off dead leaves and cutting
away an occasional branch. The signa
ture of Napoleon is reproduced at the
foot of the statue in flowers. —Paris
Letter.
Her Malden Alm.
Hoax—So young Goldrox has taken a
wife. What was her maiden name?
Joax—Her maiden aim seems to have
been to marry Goldrox, and she proved
an unusually good shot for a woman. —
Philadelphia Record.
West Virginia is twice as large as
Massachusetts, twice as large as Mary
; land and as large as Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Delaware. New Jersey and Ver
mont combined.
In proportion to its size, a fly walks
about 35 times as fast as a man
.
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AXcgcfaWc Preparation fee As
similating the Food and Regula - fl
ting 11tc Slouiaths and Bowels of I
Promotes Digestion,Cheerful- I
ness and Rest .Contains neither ■
' Opium,Morphine nor Mineral. •
' i Not N ah cotic.
— |
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non. Sour Stomach.Diarrhoea, fl
: Worms .Convulsion:-1 -verish- fl
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facsimile So; ;■<•••■ »>f
I NEW YORK. W’
EXACT COPY Or WRAPPCH.
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ICASTORIA
I -F° r Infant ap d Children.
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I Always Bough!
I Bears the / \
11
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Ift iJIB Ah
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g 8U 3 U¥ h ■
Thirty Years
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