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TIIK HERALD *
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BLAIRBVILLE, OA.
,
••ins suitable «of love letters” 1* ad
v*r luted by a Paris stationer. It fade*
in about four week*.
The Rural New Yorker prints letter*
seeming to show that the odor of sweet
peas is poisonous to common house
Hies.
The stiver coinage of France con
tains only forty per cent, of its face
value in silver. The Government re
fuse* to accept francs bearing the
effigy of Charles the Tenth, Louts
Philippe, and Napoleon the Third
without the laurel leaf.
The question of the "stopping”
capacity of a bullet, tiled from the
rifle which is now the standard arm o!
British infantry, has reached a some
what acute stage. Wherever the rifle
has been used oguiust a havage foe, it
has proved comparatively ineffective.
Unless the bullet strikesa vital organ,
it no more stops a wounded man’ 8
charge than would a popgun.
I-veiy political campaign has its pe
culiar superstitions. These supersti
tions uro often powerful agents in
briuging men to the polls nnd serve to
win votes where logic proves inef
fectual. When Franklin Pierce en
tered tho Presidential raco some forty
years ago, relates the Atlanta Consti
tution, it was discovered that his
initials, "F. P.,” were identical with
those of fourteenth President. In like
manner it was also found that the let
ters Composing his fall name nuin
bered exactly fourteen. As the Presi
dent to be elected was the fourteenth
in regular succession, this startling
discovery had a most potential effect
upon the campain.
If the Japanese are cleaning out the
Obiuose iu the south of Formosa, it is
because these people are in league
with the savage natives. The policy
of Japan in Korea as well as iu For
mosa, has been fair and merciful. In
Korea no slaughter of natives or Chi
nese was permitted unless bushwack
ing occurred; then the Japanese were
merciless, as they had a right to be.
In Formosa they have carried out the
same policy, but they havo met more
savagery Tfltir losses have beeri
mainly due to ambuscades of small
forces and stragglers, and to tho dead
ly fevers of the island. The Chinese
naturally resent the encroachment of
the Japanese, nnd it is probable that
they have adopted the guerrilla meth
ods of the head-hunting savages. In
this case they will bo exterminated,
for tho conquerors have an Oriental
way of wiping out opposition that
is barbarous, but very effeotive.
A vexatious questiou just now
among cyclists and prospective oyclists
is tho price that a first-class wheel
will bring in 1897, remarks the New
York Sun. Whether oue may be had
then for the same price or less than it
fetches now, or whether tho price will
be advanced, no one seems able to tell
absolutely. The oldest makers of $100
wheels say that it would bo disastrous
to their business to sell machines at
the low figure which several younger
manufacturers have named, and at the
same time furnish eaoh customer with
n guarantee. On the other hand, it is
said in some quarters that enough
money is made by niauv of the con
cerns which have cut their prices to
warrant their continuing tho experi
ment next year. It is understood al
so that certain ol them have promised
to offer even better wheels at a
cheaper price next year than now.
Experienced wheelmen seem slow to
believe that the difference in quality
of the component parts of high grade
bicycles is so marked as some of the
makers of thoso machines would have
tho public believe it is. These riders
*ay that skilful workmanship is re
quired in the construction of all dura
ble wheels, and if it is true that some
of the high-grade wheel makers em
ploy more skilful workmen than
others, the fact is often indiscernible
both in their wheels’ appearance and
use. Whether the wooden bicycles
whioh are promised for next year will
materially affect the wheel trade, re
mains to be seen. Their advoeates #ay
that the wheels will have many ad
vantages over those with metal frames.
Nobody was surprised whon wheels of
disputed quality were sold at a low
price, but now that thoso of a stand
ard make can be bought for half price,
everybody is set to thinking. When
the stock of wheels now selling so
cheaply is exhausted, cyclists wonder
what movo the dealers will make then.
Persons who will want wheels next
year are probably safe if they wait till
then before buying.
THE TRYST.
At hlgtil beneath 111* allvur stars,
Tb* gleaming stars, the dreaming stars,
She waits beside the pasture bars
i Till dowa the path I pass, O;
1 And all the whispers of the airs,
The shifting sirs, the drifting air*.
I Are fr * l « h, " d " le prayers
To guard my little lass, O.
Hit eyes are like a summer sea,
A heaving sea, a grieving sea,
Amt, ah, tbetr light Is all for me,
; Anil all for me her love, O:
A* waiting there ainld the gloom,
Tho iliu-konlnggloom, the hearkening gloom,
Bha breaths the evening's faint perfume
That broods the Held* above, O.
Oh, Margery, my little love, ^
My nearest love, my dearest love,
Boft-eyed and gentle a* a dove,
Aoross the fields she trips, Oj
And, ah, the all-enthralling charm,
The captured charm, the raptured charm,
To feel her hand upon my arm
Ami touoh her dewy Ups, O.
Beside the bars with shtniug eyes,
With youthful eyes, with truthful eyes,
The listening vastness of the skies
Bends low to see us meet, O;
Till up tho lane she goes from me,
She starts from me, she parts from me,
And ail the grasses bow to sea
Aud kiss her passing feet, O.
—Guy Wotmore Carryl, In Truth.
ZULEIKA’S WOOING.
AN ENGLISH COLONEL’S STORr.
I T years April quartered on war, is the iu a ago found frontier, India. good since at Pesha- Out one few me as
most of you know,
our extreme out
posts are Miohui,
Abazai and 8hub
ktidr, three
* dreary spots as a
man could over hope to see. They
have not, as I daro say you know, a
single redeeming feature, being soli
tary mud buildings whioh hold tho
police and native troops who are sup
posed to overawe the tribesmen, and
which, exeept tho commandant and
the doctor, don’t offer many attrac
tions in tho way of society. You
know what frontier service in the old
days was like. Forays by the trades
men, and punitive expeditious by the
Sirkar, carried to such an extent that
we almost realized the idea of
"Brauksorae Tower,” in the "Lay of
the Last Minstrel,” and "drank tho
red wine through the helmet barred."
Yon know the sort of life—rows
with the trihesmou eternally spring
ing up and dying down again in indi
vidual localities, while as a matter of
fact there was always trouble at one or
more places along tho frontier.
At the timo I am speaking of, the
post of c.ommandant of the frontier iLfon't*
forts wusgiot Ml much rjdest'
know that the authorities at Simla
were much troubled by eager appli
cants; in fact I think tho general at
Peshawur usually detailed some un
lucky major from tho Staff Corps and
sent him nolens volens to hold the
fort as long as he could with decency
he made to stay. There was trouble
brewing that April, and in Peshawur
wo all knew it. How it come about
wo none of ns oared muoh, but the
man before the then iuoumbent had
gone home sick, and the oommaudant
pro tem. was reported to bo in daily
(ear of his life.
Well, unpleasant as it was, it was
scarcely a surprise, when, one morn
ing the assistant adjutant general
rode up to my bungalow in great ex -
oitement, and told me I was to out at
once aud assume command of the
forts.
“You’ro to lose no time," he said.
“Poor So-and-uo" (mentioning th$
late commandant) "was shot last
night by some scoundrel, and the
general wants you to try and find out
who did it. The polioo are making
inquiries, but you know what that
means. By the way, he wants to see
you before you go.”
A soldier never has much time to
make his arrangements, and that very
evening I rode out to the forts,having
receive 1 a long lecture from the gen
eral on that confounded word "tact”
whioh, as we find in the service, is
always on everybody’s lips, aud not
understood by one man in a hundred
who u8os it.
Well, I must get on with my story,
or wo shall be in the Thames before I
oome to the point of it. I never
thought muoh about tact, but I al
ways believed that a well-born native
is as much a gentleman as an English
duke, aud will behave to you just as
you treat him. I soon discovered my
unfortunate prodeoossor had tried to
ride rough-shod over the tribesmen,
and had made his baud felt in every
corner of his command. A Pathan is
as vengeful as a Corsican of good fam
ily, and will carry his feuds as far as
a self-respeotiug Amorioan desperado,
There are always roady with knife or
rifle to oxaot vengeance from any
enemy, and near Peshawur will often
murder tho wfong man, if thoy can’t
find tho right. An Englishman who is
accustomed to living in a law-abiding
eountry is no matoh for them, and so
my predecessor found to his cost,
They Bhot him as ho was smoking his
pipe after dinner one night, on his
own veranda in view of the guard. Of
course I never found his murderer—
I never expected I should—but I did
tiud that my own system of treatment
paid better than his, aud before very
long I had, as the politicians would
havo expressed it, "established exoel*
lent relations with the surrounding
tribesmen.”
Thero was a very simple way of
testing this. A few hundred yards
from the gate of the fort a former
commandant had made for himself a
garden, sunk a well, and planted trees,
Here most of the vegetables used by
the garrison were grown. The Path
•n« broke down the wall*, out the
water ooarees and stole the vegetable*
Rnt I started a different system; I
wa» civil to the neighboring Kahns
and sent them basket* of vegetables,
and before very long I found my
ibtoo grew fn plenty, and more, on
the fine summer evenings, after the
heat of the day, when I went across to
the garden and sat under the trees and
smoked my pipe, one or other of
the Khans would drop in for a ohat,
and in a short time I reckoned many
friends among the supposed
able blackguards wbo owned the fron
tiei villages.
Among them all there was none
with whom I got on better than a
grand old fellow named Mahomed
Aslim . Khan, chief of a village near
the fort. He was a thorough gentle
man, had served in his younger days
under the Sikh generals, and was as
proud of his home and his soars as
any honorable man need be. Many
woro the ploasant evenings we spent
together, for, as I have said, European
society was limited, and a flno old fel
low like that a perfect godsend to a
lonely Woll, man.
for a time all went rnorry as a
marriage bell, till one unluoky day a
ease arose regarding a theft of cattle
from old Aslim Khan's village., The
thief was caught red-handed and tried
by a native magistrate, and condemned
ohiofly on the Khan’s evidence. Af
tor the trial, I met the old gentleman
casually and exchanged a few sentences
with him. Not five minutes later I
heard a shot. Alarmed by the orios, I
ran in the direction, and to my hor
ror found my old friend weltering in
his blood. Inquiry soon showed that
the assassin was the thief condemned
that day. Ho had escaped from cus
tody, armed himself somehow, apd
before finally taking himself off had
shot his acouser. ;
We always kept a portion of t he
osvalry escort in readiness for
and in less time than it
me to tell you, the assassin was being
followed by a mounted party. My
horse was soon saddled, and I, too,
triod to follow, but unsuccessfully, ns
they were too lar abend, and I had to
sit at home and wait for news.
It was late in the afternoon when
my searoli party returned, unsuocess
ful. They had ridden after the mar
derer, and, being slightly better
mounted, wero rapidly gaining on
him, when the wav was barred by a
broad, broken nullah, beyond which
lay a village. The assassin know the
ground, his pursuers did not. The
advantage enabled him to get clean
aoross the nullah, while the cavalry
were looking for a road for their
horsos. Ho roile boldly into tho vil
lage, from which, unluckily, all the
men happened to be absent, and find
ing an elderly woman mtinohing a
ohupatti, snatched it from her hand,
ate a portion, aud proclaimed that he
had eaten of their salt, and claimed
sanctuary. the*time You know the,, L'ath an a.,
8^- ttfy party glit across the
nullah he was securely hidden, and
while they were haggling, a
second search party arrivell from
Miohui under command of a Euro
peau officer. Had the natives been
left to themselves they would prob
ably have secured their man,
but the officer, in wholesome
dread of the authorities’ orders re
garding frontier complications, said
he must withdraw, as they were out
of British territory, and sent both
partios home. Personally, I think I
akould have risked a wigging, as the
Pathans were little like to object to
the capture of a British subject who
had murdered one of themselves. But
my subaltern ruled differently.
Of course we wore disappointed,
but one or two Khans who were with
me bade me be of good oheer; the
murderer would be caught. I said I
hoped so.
Next day a fine young Pathan, who
was a sowar in the cavalry detachment
at the fort, came to me and asked for
long leave to visit his homo. 1 granted
it without hesitation, but that night,as
I rode past the spot near my garden the
where his relatives had buried
body of poor Mahomed Aslim Khan,
1 6aw that a lamp was burning on the
new-made grave, and flowers were
strewn upon it; and happening to
meet one of the Khans, I was told that
where publio punishment had failed, The
private vengeance would step in.
young sowar, Afsul by name, had
taken up the vendetta, and Aslim’s
murder would assuredly be avenged.
It was six weeks later when, one
evening, my servant brought me news
that Afsul, tho sowar, would like to be
admitted to my august presence. I
readily granted tho permission, aud in
he came. He was a great swell. His
flowing, white garmeuts curefully were new dressed, aud
spotless, his hair
and his face clean shaved, exoept hia
mustaohe. I asked him what brought
him to see me, he aud replied, a smile with ef pride
lit up his faco as many
curses on tho dead sooundiel,
that Aslim’t murderor had met his
deserts, and that he himself had slain
him. Shocked as I was, I asked for
particulars. Ho told me how with in
finite patieuoe he had traoked the as
sassin from village to village as he fled
from the vougeance whioh was, he
knew full well, sure to follow. How
ho had assumed disguise, and traveled
bard, often hungry and thirsty,
through the valleys, till at overtaken last, one
evening at suaset he had
his enemy. He had found him inn
quiet spot kneeling, with his face to
ward Meoca, beside the shrine of some
forgotten saint, going punctiliously
through .those devotions whioh no
pious Mussulman, however blood
stained his hands may be, ever
DSglects. He deseribed how he stood
watching him paying his last devo
tions on earth, his own finger on the
trigger of his oarbine, and how, as he
finished his devotions, he rose and
folded up the shawl he had used as a
carpet. This was Afoul’s O pportunity.
Calling upon the assassi 3 to turn, he
I covered hitn with the oerbiue, end re
rifing him in all the expressive terra*
of Pathan abuse, he then and there, as
.the sun disappeared in the west, shot
his enemy like a dog.
You know how hard it often is to fit
Hiative our English notions of justice should on to
customs. Personally, I
j have liked to let the boy, for he was
mfttle more, go scot free. But the
blared J commandant not do of and the frontier to Afsul’s forts
so, sur
Inprise did I ordered with him into custody. he I
' so great regret. After
securely locked up I sent for the
Tehsildar and asked if he was safe,
*i think the man guessed my anxiety.
for he said gravely, as an Oriental
-will, even when he is making a joke:
, "Habib, that young man is ns snfo
as we oan make him, but onr prison is
a very bad one. Men escape.”
"But Afsnl won’t?” I asked, eag
crly.
' "These things, my lord,” lie an
iwerod, "are in the hands of Provi
fie nee. We must wait and son."
Next morning the Tehsildar was
jtpoko ^arly at my house, As he
I could not help thinking
| the suspicion of a smile was lin
coring round his fat face,
"My lord,” he ’said, joining his
jjauds and bowing to the ground, "a
; miracle has happened. In tile night
that young man broke his bonds and
I fear we shall not soe him
Rgaiu."
I need not tell you how I hold an in
quiry and censured all concerned, i
do not think they minded much. Noue
of them seemed to think 1 was in earn
est. However, there was no help for
Afsul had vanished,
That night I rode away toward old
Asiun Khan’s village. As I approaohed
it I heard sounds of merriment, and
gresently prooessiou. there issued First from the village
k gay came a group
<#f horsemen all gayly attired, and pre
C eded l>y drums and horns—among
was oue I thought I knew—then
followed a closod litter, and (lien a lot
of men driving buffaloes and carrying
distuffs, cooking-pots, and a large na
tivo bed, painted iu gaudy colors. As
they saw mo the musicians bent louder
i+.an ever, and 1 thought the horseman
v 4 aved his hand. I determined to in
quire. An old graybeard volunteered
information.
‘"Your lordship,” ho said, "prob
ably knew the late Mahomed Aslim
Khan, who is now with the prophet iu
Paradise. He had a lovely daughter,
Zuleika, who loved a young man, Af
sul by name. The chief did not favor
the match, for he was rich and the
vonug man was poor. Well, the chief
was slaiu, aud Afsnl uudortook to
oyeuge him. Now the beautiful Zu
leika is his by conquest. Yonder Af
sni rides, this is his bride, these are
the marriage gifts. They are going
Afsul’s homo in a distant village.”
fl turned my horse's head home
djped, spore or less ooutented, though I pon
Jmlicr too, over the strangeness of
^?i:>.t customs. the only excitement while
was
I was commandant. Well, lads, that’s
my yarn. Mako the best of it. If
wi^Aon’t turn in, it will be daylight be
fore we get to bud. Good-night.—
Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly,
A Crack Shot.
"Out our way we are apt to think
that an Eastern man cannot shoot a
pistol,” said H. T. Jenkinson, of
Cheyenne, at the Metropolitan, "but
I had ono experience at Laramie that
co„aoiaoed me this idea is inoorrect,
Aifinely dressed young man stepped
into a saloon to get a drink, where a
lot of cowboys were having a good
time. The sight of the ‘tenderfoot’
was tho signal fer some fun, and half
a-cozeu pistols were drawn just to
sosre the man from the States. The
st/auger wore a silk hat, and the cry
wait up, ‘shoot tho tile.’ The man
turned with his glass at his lips and
without a tremor drew a pistol from
his coat pocket. By the time the
drink was swallowed six pistols lay on
the floor; ho had shot every ono o!
th?m out of their owners’ hands. They
crowded around him, and the tender
foot was not allowed to pay for any
thing that night.”—Washington Star,
Horned Toads Are Useful,
‘.‘The ugliest and yet most useful
things in California are horned toads,”
said A. L. Mason, ol Los Angeles, at
thtf Shorohain. "They are by no
means pleasant to look at, and the In
dians formerly held them in sacred
vea-aration. dcluot regard The people of California and
them very highly,
they are killed whenever found by
many who imagine that thoy are ven
onmus, which is not the case. The
H. fvaiinns, however, know their value,
and President Dole has written to dif
ferent sections of California to arrange
for*haviug several thousand sent to
Hawaii for the purpose of destroying
certain insects. Careful investigation
ha^ valuable showu that this they are and exceediuly thero is
for purpose,
now a good deal of talk about preserv
ing them more carefully in California”
—Washington Star.
New Use lor Glass.
Somebody has been experimenting,
aud finds that glass is a substitute for
ma tsjile and granite iu cemetery work.
Glass gravestones are inexpensive, ex
tron‘.ely durable and almost without
setups objection of any kind. They
are«S>t porous, therefore will absorb
no aroease germs or unpleasant odors.
The elements have practically no ef
fect oh them, and it is said that in
scriptions plaoed ou them will be
everlastingly ootipTe enduring, aud after a
of oeuturios will be us fresh
and bright as on the day they wore
set up. This idea was developed by
watchiug the wear of the glass in the
port holes of steamers. This resists
the heaviest shocks of tho waves, and
is more durable than any other known
substance that can be used for this
purpose.
HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.
to DRi sweet corn.
Take it when just right for nse and
cut from the cob, being careful not to
get in any of the oob, put on earthen
plates iu a hot oven with the door
open, stir often until it begins to dry.
As it dries away empty two or three
plates onto one. I he next day it will
bo nearly dry and soon oan be put in
IuUie wfuteTwhenvou “wishto^ok
it, wash clean and put to soak over
night, keep covered in a dishin warm
ing oven until ready to get dinner,
then cook slowly twonty minutes in
same water, add butter nnd sweet
cream and suit.—New England Home
stoad.
ART or SWEETING.
Sweeping is an art, but there are
lots of housekeepers who do not know
it. Of what use is it to sweep if you
leave the curtains dragging on the
floor, the upholstered furniture to
catch all the dust flying, and if you
flirt half the lint into the air, to set
tle on the oiled furniture nud on the
walls? The proper and very easiest way
to sweep is to push all tho movable fur
niture into the next room and cover
up with cloths kept for the purpose
the tables, couches nnd such articles
as cannot easily be moved. If yon have
upholstered furniture that cannot bo
moved, whip it lightly, then wipe with
a clean piece of old silk and cover up.
Dust down the pictures and tables be
fore sweeping to remove the old dust
that may be there. Sweep slowly and
evenly, with long, smooth strokes,
after rolling and pinning up the onr
tries aud throwing the windows open.
Let the dust settle for half an hour.
Then, with a clean soft oloth, go over
all tho furniture in aud out of the
room, shaking the dust cloth often in
tho open air to rid it of gritty dust.
A room swept iu this manner will re
liaiu clean for days, where hours will
suffice to litter up the room swept in
the common way.—Washington Star.
TUE SECRET OP MERINGUE.
•*I wish I could mako such delicious
frosting as yours, Mrs. Parsons," said
her neighbor, who had come in the
back door to borrow an egg. "I hnve
often beaten my egg so stiff you could
out it with a kuife, and then on taking
my pie or pudding from the oven,
found it as flat as a pancake,” she con
tinued, watching Mrs. Parsons heap
the snowy mass on her lemon pie.
"Let me tell you a secret I learned
all by myself," said Mrs. Parsons,
shutting tho oven door upon her pie,
“Do you always beat your frosting
hard after adding the sugar?”
"Why, I don’t know. I don’t be
lieve I do,” was the hesitating an
swer.
"Then there is tho whole trouble,”
responded Mrs. Parsons. "That is a
little secret I learned for myself, as I
said. One is vqjry apt after bouting
egg} light, to thtuk noVuiug 4 tnore' (
is required than to stir in the sugar.
The two should bo thoroughly beateu
with the egg beater and your frosting
will be as thick aud light after baking
as when put into the oven,”
"Well,” declared Mrs. Martin, "I’m
glad ( had to borrow this morning,
after all, for this egg is to mako a
frosting for a tapioca pudding. I’ll
have one that will surprise the folks,”
and she quickly took her departure.
Having overheard this conversation,
it occurred to me that there might bo
some young housekeepers who had not
learned this little secret, which we
never saw in a cook book. Of course
the old housekeepers can skip this
oohtmn.—Womankind,
RECITES.
Rice Muffins—One cup cold boiled
rice, one pint flour, two well-beaten
eggs, one tablespoonful butter, half a
teaspoonful salt, milk to make a bat
ter. Beat Bard and bake quickly.
Sweet Pickled Apples— Make a sirup
of ono eup of vinegar and two of
sugar. Add a few small pieces of
whole cinnamon and some cloves.
Pare aud core sweet apples; drop
them iu tho syrup and lot them cook
till tender. Put in a jar and pour the
sirup over them. They are ready to
eat as soon as cold and will keep any
length of time.
Toast—Out neat pieces of stale
bread into squares, round or oblong
shapes; dip in a batter made from a
cup of milk, one beaten ogg, oue tea
spoonful of melted butter, half a cup
of sugar, half a cup of flour. See
that the bread is well saturated with
the batter, but not so soft as to break.
Fry brown in very hot butter or
sweet dripping, and servo with butter
or a bit of jelly ou each.
Hashed Veal—l'ut a tablespoonful
of butter and one of flour iu a sauoe
pan. Melt without frying, then add
u small half-pint of milk. Stir until
boiling. Add a largo saltspoonful of
salt, a good pinch of cayenne, half a
teaspoonful of onion juice. Then
stir iu oue large cup of chopped
oookedveal, Jadd a pinch of nutmeg
and serve on a hot dish, with a
poached egg for each person.
Lamb Chops—These may either bo
broiled or fried. If fried," tho spider
must be hissing hot. Drop a small
lump of butter in the pan, turning so
the wholo surface will be slightly
greased, then put iu tho chops, cook
quickly over a hot fire till brown on
both sides, remove to the back of the
stove, cover closely and let stand ■
minute or two. Dish up on a hot
platter and have the plates hot also.
Thin Biscuits—One piDt flour, oue
wineglass milk, one tablespoonful
butter, one egg. Beat the egg till
light, and pour it on the flour, then
add the milk, and lastly the butter,
melted. Work it well, then break off
small pieces, the size of a marble, roll
out thin as a wafer, sprinkling with
dry flour as you roll ihem, whioh will
make them crisp. Prick eaoh one
with a fork and bake in a quick oveu.
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
j London will soon substitute eleotrl*
city for steam iu its underground rail
ways.
Eleotrio coal mining machinery is
leing rapidly introduced in Western
Te nnsylvania.
The non-tidal part of the Thames is
jgg mil,* in length and drains an area
of 60 00 square mile*.
® eTeni T *7“ r f oes i “ habit tUo " orld
Bnd “ re ftbo a . 8e “ „ Anon^T l n 10bU r0ll B lo “ 6 Thero
-
' ltl0 Brltlsl1 admiralty is about to
take up tho work of training carrier
pigeons for conveying messages at sea.
The annual number of births is esti
mated at 36,792,000—an average num
ber of 100,800 a day, 4200 an hour
and seventy a minute.
The Thames scoops out pf its bank
about 500,000 tons of matter in a year.
Tho Mississippi is doing similar work,
but at the rate of 300,000,000 tons a
year.
According to the most careful com
putation, only one person in 100,000
of both sexes attain the age of 100
years, and six to seven in 100 the age
of sixty.
The total population of the earth is
estimated at about 1,200,000,000 souls,
of whom 85,214,000 die annually—an
average of 98,848 a day, 4020 an hour
and sixty-seven a minute.
There are about 100 grains of iron
iu tho average human body, and yet
so important is this exceedingly small
quantity that its diminution is attend
ed with very serious results.
The number of men and women is
very nearly equal, being the average only long
evity of both sexes thirty
eight years. About one-third of the
population dies before the age of
seventeen.
The Roentgen rays burn the skin
like sunlight is the latest information
from Berlin about tho phenomenon.
Professors Grumbach and Dubois Ray
mond have succeeded in rendering
visible some of the softer parts of tho
body, like the larynx and the dia
phragm, by means of improved tubes.
Professor J. E. Todd, State Geolo
gist of South Dakota, who is in charge
of a geological surveying expedition
party in tho Black Hill, discovered an
old voloano on Sand Creek, in the Bad
Lands, near Formosa. Near the junc
tion of Sand Creek and White River is
a hill eighty feet high. This hill vi
brates and groans with constancy. Its
tremblings have upset wagons and the
Indians are muoh in fear of it.
The Tables Turned.
Alphonse Karr, the well-known
French humorist, told the following
story in a circle of friends, vouching
for its truth: Ho owned an estate in
the southern part of France, and ono
of his neighbors was an elderly Italian
Count, whose library was exceedingly
well sight stocked well worth and seeing Wjps in considered that locality. .a
One day the witty author of "Lcs
Guepes,” who had not yet met his
neighbor, sent a servant with a card
to him, requesting the loau of a cer
tain book. The Count replied in a
very polite note that ho was extremely
sorry that he could not oblige Mr.
Karr, but that it was with him a mat
ter of prinoiple never to loan any
books for use outside of his own
library. At the same time be invited
his neighbor to'come to bis house at
any timo, and his library would be at
Mr, Karr’s disposal all day. Karr,
who was anxious to obtain certain in
formation, went to tho Count’s house
and made notes from the particular
book in the Count’s library that ho
wanted.
A short time afterward the Count
needed a sprinkler, and sent to his
literary neighbor, asking for the loau
of one. Karr, who had not forgotten
the way his request for a book had
been answered, now sent to the Count
an extremely polite note, couched in
the following terms: “I deeply re
gret the impossibility of obliging you
by the loan of a sprinkler, but as a
matter of principle I could not pos
sibly allow my sprinkler to be used
outside of my garden; but if you de
sire to use it on my own lawn I shall
gladly place tho sprinkler at your dis
posal all day.”—Philadelphia Record.
A Town’s (Jueer Name.
“I think the name of my town is
one of the most euphonious I ever
heard," said A. L. Harding, of Vanda
lia, Ill., at the Regent. "It was for
merly the State capital, aud Abraham
Lincoln was, at oue time, a frequent
visitor. It has many of the best fam
ilies in Illinois as residents, but it is a
railroad center, and there have been
cases of trouble among the railroad
men that had given it rather a hard
name, which reminds one of how it
came to get a name at all. The owner
of the land before the place was
laid outdid not possess much learn
ing, but wauted to appear olassioal.
Hence, when he concluded to start a
town he went to a friend and asked
him to suggest a name of some famous
people or city of anoient and times. The
friend was a wag, replied, ‘Well,
tho vandals who helped conquer Rome
were a noted people. Name it Vnn
dalia, which means the home of the
Vandals.’ Hence, Vandalia it be
came.”—Washington Star.
Canaries From German v.
Harper’s Round Table, speaking of
the trade oarried on by Germany in
tho rearing and exporting of canaries,
says that tho largest establishment in
the world for the breeding of these
creatures is situated within the
domains of that Empire, away up
among the Hnrtz Mountains of Prussia.
From this and the few surrounding
but muoh smaller nurseries, no fewer
than 130,000, birds are despatched
every year to the United States and
Canada; while in the same time at
least 3000 go to Great Britain aud
about 2000 go iu Russia.