Newspaper Page Text
VOL. II.
One day a harsh word, rashly said,
Upon an evil journey sped. dart
And like a sharp and o.ruel
It pierced a fond aud loving heart;
It tnrne l a friend into a foe,
And everywhere brought pain and woe.
A kind word followed it one day,
flew swiftlv on its blessed way;
It healed the wound, it soothed the pain,
And frieuds of old were friends again.
It made the hate and anger cease, .
And everywhere brought joy and peaeo.
A Will and The Way.
-SC--s#-
my GWENDOLEN OVERTON
*ilE EXISTENCE der the gviard- nn
ge ianship of some
I one who is doing
his duty by yon
jj is not an un
'^\ya0js^00' mixed pleasure.
Mi ss Bradford’s
. sister, Mrs. Gal¬
latin, was doing her duty by Miss
Bradford. The former was not at all
pretty. The latter was very, very
pretty—which is so much more charm¬
ing than being very, very beautiful.
But Mrs. Gallatin was married and
Miss Bradford was not. This came of
the fact that Mrs. Gallatin had visited
at Port Preble and had captured an
unfledged lieutenant by manoeuvring
and a miracle, and that Miss Bradford
had spent her twenty-one years in a
Binall Maine town.
Boys in the village had been in love
with Bessie Bradford, but she had not
been in love with them, and she had,
moreover, a decent appreciation of
her own value and knew she was far
too good for such as they. There had
beeu a college youth, also, once; but
he and she had quarreled before the
end of his summer visit. And now
Bessie was one-and-twenty aud the
family worried. It worried itself into
a state where even the raising of a
mortgage on the home did not seem
too great a thing, if it would but in¬
sure her marriage, With the money
thus obtained she was sent across the
continent, with instructions to get
herself wedded before she came hack.
She was told to marry a general if she
coukl. If not—anything, down to a
second lieutenant. But rank was to
b 3 the primary consideration, Miss
Bradford agreed. She picked out a
very nice general, mentally. He would
be about five-and thirty, and hand¬
some and dashing. That years went
with rank was one of the things the
civilian novels of army life she had
read had not taught her. Besides,
she was romantic—as a very pretty
girl should be. So she promised that
grade should govern her choice. Then
she departed to visit her sister at the
Presidio.
Lieutenant and Mrs. Gallatin lived
in the building known as the “Cor¬
ral.” If the Corral were in the city,
it would be called a, tenement. But
Uncle Sam doesn’t quarter liis officers
in tenements. The Gallatins were
cramped for room—very cramped.
They had three children and second
lieutenant’s pay. So they were poor.
Therefore, taking Miss Bradford in
was not a pleasure It was a duty.
But Bessie felt the unpleasantness
of the situation the very day of her ar¬
rival.
“Captain Soutter is going to take
you to the hop this evening, Bess,”
Mrs. Gallatin said; Bessie was cutting
paper bird-cages for her niece. Mrs.
Gallatin was mending a pinafore.
“I’ve promised to go with Mr. Mil¬
ford,” answered Miss Bradford, stop¬
ping and looking up from the scissors.
Mr. who?”
Mr. Milford. Colonel Milford’s
Son, who lives in St. Louis.”
< t Where have you met him?” The
“him” warned Bessie that she was
running on rocks.
“On the train. We got acquainted.
He’s in business in St. Louis, and he’s
coming to visit his people because he’s
in bad health. He is a very nice
man.”
“Man! He must be about twenty
three, A perfect boy. And his busi¬
ness is being a briefless barrister.
How, let me tell you one thing, Bes¬
sie. You must learn from the first
that the civilian son of an officer is no¬
body at all in a garrison. You will
hurt your chances badly with the of¬
ficers by going with him. How did
he know there was to be a hop?”
Bessie finished opening the cage,
gave it to her niece with a kiss, gath¬
ered the scraps of paper in her hand
and threw them into the waste-basket,
clasped her fingers behind her curly
brown head, and answered leisurely:
“He didn't know there was to be one
to-night. He asked me to go to the
first one there should be after our ar¬
rival.”
Mrs. Gallatin thought how wondered very,
very pretty Bessie was and
if her husband contrasted them,
“He probably will never think of it
again. Captain Soutter is going to
call to ask you, this afternoon, and
you’d better accept. ’
“Can one go with two men out here
c —ante-nuptialJy?”
News.
THE TWO WORDS.
But yet the harsh word left a trace
The kind word could not quite efface,
Aud though the heart Its love regained,
It bore a soar that long remained;
friends could forgive bat not forget.
Or lose the sense of keen regret.
Oh, if we could but learn to know
How swift aud sure our words can go,
How would we weigh with utmost ears
Each thought before it sought the air,
And only speak the words that move
Lika white-winged messengers of love.
—Great Thoughts.
•'Don’t be vulgar. You needn’t
consider the Milford boy.”
“Oh! hut I must, Genevieve, you
know. I promised.” Miss Bradford’s
big gray eyes were guilelessly ear¬
nest.
*Tve no doubt that poBe is taking
with the men. But you can’t make
your devotion to promises succeed
with me, dear. I know you too well.
I can’t, remember that they worried
you, with the boys at home.”
“This promise doesn’t worry me.
Hot a little bit.”
“Well, I should suggest that you
take my advice and be less flippant.
Becoiiect that you were not sent ’way
out here to flirt with penniless civil¬
ians and small boys.”
“If I forget, remind me, will you?
I’ll make you a little red silk flag, if
you like. I can make flags. I made
one for a fair at home, once. Yon
might draw it out of your bosom and
wave it when you see me about to run
off the track you have all so kindly
and laboriously laid for rue to run on.
I’ll teach you the signals. Mr. Mil¬
ford and I studied them from the back
of our sleeper. I think there’s some
one at the door, sister dearie.”
It was Captain Soutter, come to for¬
malize the hop arrangement. He was,
obviously, very glad that he had come.
FA' Miss Bradford was pretty—ex¬
traordinarily pretty.
“I am happy in being a near neigh¬
bor of yours, Miss Bradford,” he told
her. He forgot—as men will—how
often he had cursed the ill-luck which
threw him within hearing distance of
the Gallatin trio of infants.
"Yes?” said Bessie; “you are in our
vicinity, then?”
“A little above yon in the world. I
live upstairs. When you want me you
have only to pound on the ceiling.”
“The—what is it?—quartermaster?
The quartermaster mightn’t like me to
wear out his ceiling.”
“You Hatter me by the implication,
Miss Bradford. But I’ll settle with
the Q. M. if you will only pound. For
instance, will you pound to-night when
you are ready for the hop, to which it
is my dearest wish to be permitted to
escort you?”
He forgot what he had wished when
Mrs, Gallatin had asked him to per¬
form this act of courtesy toward the
coming sister. But then he had looked
at Mrs. Gallatin and had judged from
her of the sister.
“I would be only too delighted, if it
were not that I have already promised
to go with some one else.”
The betrayed captain manifested his
astonishment and resentment at having
oeen subjected to refusal. He had a
high opinion of his dignity, had the
captain.
« < Why, who on earth can have asked
you already?” he cried.
Miss Bradford had a cool little
Northern air, when she liked, She
considered the captain’s question in
bad taste. So she raised her eyebrows
and smiled most sweetly, “I shall
hope to have a dance with you, Captain
Soutter,” she said.
And she had, not one, but three.
The captain forgot his wrath at the
sight of her. When she came from
the dressing-room into the hallway to
join young Milford, the captain was by
the door. He looked at her.
“Might I hope to be accorded the
second and fifth and ninth, Miss Brad¬
ford?” he asked,
“Oh! thank you,’’said Bessie. She
was grateful, and he was quite ap¬
peased.
Now Miss Bx'adford was a success.
She had what is known as a beautiful
time for three whole months. No girl
was remembered ever to have re¬
ceived altogether so much attention.
She always had lovers—and the two
don’t always go together. Captain
Soutter loved her, so djd Lieutenant
Paxton, and so did young Milford.
Bessie loved young Milford. A girl
who prefers “cit. ” clothes to a uniform
is peculiar, to say the least, Bessie
didn’t say or show whom she loved,
except to Milford. She had told him.
She had refused Paxton, and she was
warding the captain off. But the last
she could not do much longer. The
captain had a good opinion of him¬
self. »
He also had a dignity which was not
to be trifled with. Mrs. Gallatin was
by no means sure of Miss Bradford.
So one day she spoke to her. The
process of being spoken to can rouse
the worst in a girl. But Bessie was in
a broken and contrite frame of mind.
She and young Milford had quarreled,
G PLACE. GA., F RIDAY. OCTO BER CO * oc
and she didn't care what became of
her. She might as well marry any
old man and sacrifice herself for her
family. She made a most affecting
picture of herself as an offering on the
altar of matrimony and filial duty. She
would pine away picturesquely in a
year or so, and Will Milford—well,
perhaps he would go to the bad. She
hoped so. It was under this pressure
that she solemnly promised aud swore
to Mrs. Gallatin to marry Captain
Soutter if he asked her. What Miss
Bradford promised and swore she
never broke.
So as soon as she and young Mil¬
ford made it up, she set about won¬
dering how. Captain Soutter was could to be
kept from asking her. Yet she
not arrive at any plan. The captain
was an impetuous man, and he was
neither over well-bred nor nicely dis¬
criminating. Bessie was worried. If
it had been that she had promised
and sworn anything to young Milford
and had had to choose which vow to
break, she would not have hesitated.
But she had teased him, aud had only
answered “maybe.” For which she
now suffered.
But Fate came to her aid—as it al¬
ways should and always doesn’t in the
ease of a very pretty girl.
She was going to another hop, and
she was going with Captain Soutter.
He had invited her at the time that,
she was practicing for the martyr role.
As she couldn’t, therefore, go with
Milford, she would wear the gown he
liked, which was white silk. For it
she had to have white gloves; and hex
white gloves were soiled. Therefore
they must he cleaued. Miss Bradford
was an adept at cleaning gloves. She
prepared a special mixture of a num¬
ber of chemicals and powders. This
mixture had to bo whipped—as if it
had been the white of eggs—very light
and frothy. It had a most look unpleasant
odor, but it was pretty to upon.
Because the odor was so unpleasant
Miss Bradford opened the door into
the hallway aud stood just within it
beating.
Tbere was air in the lialhvay, hut
there was none in the Gallatins’ quav
ters, as the baby had a cold. Captain
Soutter had a cold, too—a frightful
one. If he had not had he would
would have noticed the smell of Miss
Bradford’s mixture. He came through
the hall on liia way to his own quar¬
ters on the floor above. Colonel Mil¬
ford was with him. Tbs captain did¬
n’t like the colonel particularly, on ac¬
count of his being his son’s father.
“Ah! Miss Bessie! What a pretty,
housewifely picture we make,” said
the captain.
Bessie smiled encouragingly.
“What are we doing? Whipping
cream? How good it looks. If Hebe
would hut feed us with ambrosia.”
The colonel smelled the ambrosia;
blit he held his peace.
“I’ll give you a taste, captain,
if you want it very, very much. Open
your month wi-i-de. 8hnt your
eyes. ”
She put a heaping forkful in his
mouth. The horrible taste made him
gasp. The gasp made him swallow
the froth. Colonel Milford laughed.
But Captain Soutter went to his quar
ters without a word.
Bessie went to the hop that night
with young Milford. Afterward, while
she and her sister and Lieutenant
Gallatin were having their supper of
crackers and cheese, Miss Bradford
told them that she was going to marry
the penniless civilian.
“But how about Captain Soutter?"
wailed Mrs. Gallatin.
“Hnsh! He might hear you. Oh!
I’m awfully afraid he’ll never speak
to me again.” And he never did.—
San Francisco Argonaut.
Went Like Hot Cakes.
The Cleveland Plaindealer tells an
amusing anecdote of the ruse a mem¬
ber of the Ohio Legislature adopted to
get rid of a big pile of agricultural re
ports that had accumulated in his
office. One of bis neighbors fixed him
up a placard reading:
ALT, ABOUT AGRICULTURE.
How the Grasshopper Makes ;
Sf Grass! .
How the Butterfly Makes Batter.
TAKE ONE!
........................................
The lawyer was pleased with this
work of art. He loaded down the
office boy with volumes, and put the
card on top. Then the boy went
downstairs and laid the books by the
curb with the card leaning against the
pile. As he started upstairs for an
other load he noticed that a small
crowd was gathering. When he
reached the sidewalk with another
load there wasn’t a book left of the
original pile. The card was lying on
tbe walk, and perhaps twenty people
were staring at it. As he advanced a
number of them grabbed the books
before he could lay them down. They
met him at the foot of the stairs when
he appeared with the third load, and a
swaying mass of eager people pressed
forward for more. They were on the
stairs waiting for him when he brought
the fourth load, and over the heads of
the people he could see men running
from various directions to find ont the
cause of the trouble. Well, the books
were soon gone, and the card went,
too.
The lawyer who planned tlie scheme
was delighted.
“My first annual free distribution
of hooks was a rip-roaring success,”
he complacently remarked.
WORDS OF WISDOM,
We are what we are in private.
You never know a man till he knows
you.
A lion never kills anybody while he
is roaring.
In society nothing succeeds like a
good fortune.
Honesty is the first chapter in the
book of wisdom.
To love one that is great is almost to
be gteat oue’s'self.
Oh, how exceedingly wise are they
that agree with us!
One truth in the life is better than
a hundred in the memory.
He who promotes the good is greater
than ho who performs it.
The wasted mental force-would do
all the work of the world.
No man is good who behaves him¬
self simply because he has to.
A man’s sins find him out more
readily than the best detective.
Ax\y girl’s name becomes beantifu
when you love the owner of it.
He cannot be a perfect man not be¬
ing tried and tutored in the world.
The better men and women know
each other the less they say about
ideals.
A great many people would know
more if they thought they knew less.
A man always has something to look
forward to; those who owe him may
pay
There are ways of doing everything.
The way • some people love makes
others sick.
Fate is circumstance’s “You’re not
so warm!" to the 'man who thinks he
knows it all.—The South- West.
Dog (Jives Up Life to Save His Master.
When a man gives up his life for
another, posterity erects when a monument dies
to his memory; but a dog
that his master may live, men stop and
think, and John Walker, of Roselle,
( N. ,T., was doiug a lot of thinking Hat
urday night,. He was face to face
with death, and his dog had averted
the blow.
Walker left his house early iu the
morning for a stroll. His dog followed
him. He tried to drive him back.
Then master and dog started to walk
along the Jersey Central Railroad
trftck ’ to Elizabeth.
JifrfciVay between Hie stations Walker
met a heavy freight train running
rapidly eastward, making enough
noise to deaden all other sounds.
Walker stepped to the west-bound
•track. His dog, which had been run¬
ning ahead after birds or loitering be¬
hind to make short and noisy excur¬
sions into the bushes, closed in on his
master when the train neared him.
Walker was careless. He never
looked behind him, and did not hear
or see the Royal Blue Express. Brake
men on the freight train shouted warn¬
ings. The engineer of the express
train blew bis whistle, with no avail.
It was too late to stop, although the
engineer was trying to do so. Walker
plodded on.
When the train was nearly on top of
Walker his dog sprang at lxim with a
growl. Walker turned, saw the train
a nd stepped aside iu time to avoid the
ears as they swept past him with a
roar. Not so with the dog. Tlie pi
lot of the engine struck the animal
and tossed him aside,
When Walker recovered his senses
he looked for his dog. The faithful
animal lay dying, with his back
broken.
Walker carried his dog to the side
0 f the track. The brute licked his
hand, feebly wagged his tail, and died
in his master’s arms.—New York
Press.
A New Use Fox Oats.
German journalism does not often
awaken suspicions of intended humor,
but a Munich paper gives an account
0 f a newly formed London society,
behind which one can fancy a huge
Teutonic grin. The society alluded to
is said to be a “National Club for the
Propagation of Cats,” and the reason
why the peaceful domestic feline is
suddenly becoming so valuable as to
merit “propagating” is, we are told,
that it has dawned upon the promoters
0 j t b e c j u b that the cat, possessing, as
d oeH> gr0 at latent electricity, is, or
w ijj be, an excellent “generator or
00 ndensator of electricity, which may
be of great valno to sufferers from
neuropathic and neurasthenic dis¬
or a e rs.” Just how these novel “gen
era tors or condensators” are to be
ma a e nse of is not divulged, but the
project appears pregnant with interest¬
j ng possibilities from cats worn after
t p 0 fashion of porous plasters to mas
sage w ;th live cats. Whatever may he
intended to be done with them it is
p ro bable that the unfortunate beasts
Hirely need every one of the nine
j ives w j t b which they are said to be
endowed.—New York Commercial
Advertiser,
Unhealthy Mexican Rulers.
Tj be a ruler in Mexico is almost as
unhealthy a business as it was to be a
ruler of Rome in the days before the
fall of the empire, Mexico has had
fifty-five rulers since 1821. Four of
these were executed, one poisoned,
four murdered, and nine killed in bat
tie.—New York Journal.
Yerlin, Germany, includes in its
population 60,000 Hebrews.
OUR BUDGET OF HUMOR,
LAUGHTER-PROVOKING STORIES FOR
LOVERS OF FUN,
No Til Wliula—The Thirst for Lethe—
Improving — After the Veriltct of
“Guilty”—A Cool Welcome—Solved at
Last—Too Sweet for Use, Etc., Etc.
Whichever way the wind doth blow
Some heart is glad to have it so;
E’en architects aud carpenters
Are happy when a cyclone —Chicago stirs. Rocord."8
Solved at Last.
Jawkius—“Why do they always
call sailors ‘tars?’ ”
Pawkins-—-“Because they’re so ac¬
customed to the pitching of the ship.”
—Punch.
After the Verdict, of “Guilty.”
Judge—“After this you ought to
keep away from had company.”
Prisoner—“Yes, your Honor. You
won’t see me again for some time,”—
Up-to-Date.
The Thirst for Lethe.
She—“I know that I am not good
looking, hut people forget my face
when I sing.”
He—“Won’t you sing now?”—
Fliegeude Blsetter.
Not to Be Bealeu,
“My little sister is the best baby
yon ever saw. She sleeps twenty-four
hours every day."
“Huh! our’n sleeps twenty-six.”—
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Im proving.
Visitor (at the picnic)—“That music
is rather indifferent. It isn’t » full
band, is it?”
Chairman ol Committee of Arrange¬
ments—“No, but it’s getting full."—
Chicago Tribune.
Appropriate Description.
“How do you find business?” asked
the kind old lady of the man at the
back door, with a pail on his arm.
“Everything’s on the jump with me.
Could I sell you some frogs’ legs?”—
Detroit Free Press.
Plng-a-Lliia.
Sanford—“Say, Wheeler’s pretty
badly gone on Miss Bloomer. I just
saw him putting a ring on her finger.”
Merton—"What of it? A man has
a right to ring his bicycle belle, hasn’t
he?”—-Boston Traveler.
Too Sweet for Use.
“Have you seen Maud’s raiuy-day
costume? It’s too sweet for any
use.”
“Why doesn’t she wear it to-day?”
“It looks so much like rain.”—
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A Cool Welcome,
Mr. Bondy—“I thought I recog¬
nized your back as you walked
along. ”
Miss Sharpe—“I should think you
might by this time. It’s been turned
that way often enough.”—Harper’s
Bazar.
It Mail© Him Sick.
Doctor (to patient threatened with
nervous prostration)—“Do you notice
that you are troubled with loss of
memory?”
Jack Pott—“Loss of memory, doc¬
tor? No, sir; it’s memory of my loss
that gets me!”—Judge.
The Henson Why.
Jihsou—'“1 thought you could keep
a secret,”
Jabson—“So I can."
Jib,son— “Why didn’t you keep the
secret I told you the other day?”
Jabson—“Because when you told it
it ceased to he a secret.”—Puck.
CoiffuRS'l Amenities.
“Do not insist, my dear! I shan’t
tell yon what I am going to give you,
for I want to surprise you on our
wedding day.”
“Tell me quick, then, for the great¬
est surprise would be to see you keep¬
ing your word.”—Journal Amusant.
Me Explain..
Wife—“John, what’s the matter
with yon to-night? Here -I’ve been
talking to you for half an hour and all
you’ve done was grunt und occasion¬
ally nod your head!”
Husband — “Wei!, I’ve found it
possible to do that without interrupt¬
ing yon.”—Cleveland Leader.
But That Part Stayed.
“I am afraid,” said Maud, thought¬
fully, “that Willie Wibbles will never
come here again,”
“Did he go away in a pet?” asked
Mamie.
“Well, some of him did. Just be¬
fore he started my dear little dachshund
bit a piece out of him. ”—Washington
Star.
Fixing Up Terms.
Husband (at 11.35 p. m.) —“What’s
all that racket at the back door,
Maria?”
Wife—“My gracious, John, I for¬
got and locked the girl out! What
shall we do?"
Husband—“Do? What can we do
but offer her a raise of fifty cents a
week, aud make it a dollar if she in¬
sists. Another break of this kind and
we are lost.”—Cleveland Leader.
A Brewer (Me.) house owner makes
his tenants subscribe to three rules;
No children, regular church atten¬
dance aud no Sunday callers.
ha O i:
*
.....
THE MAD WORLD.
The mad world rushes along the ages
And forwardl forward! is stiff the cry.
No time to rest, for the battle rages;
Then hurry and worry and struggle and
die.
No time to rest by the fountains, flowing
Through shady groves, where the poets
With sing, blowing
fresh winds and wild flowers
Aud growing.
Pan to pipe for our pleasuring.
The sun goes down in a blaze of splendor,
And the moonlight trembles along the
seas;
The nightingale’s song is sweet and tender.
But the world is too busy to care for
these.
0 foolish world, in your greed for leaving treasure
You are taking the husks and the
Yon grain; that make life
are pleasure, missing tlie sweets
a
And getting the trouble and labor and
pain. Transcript.
—D. II. Morehoad, iu Boston
PITH AND POINT.
May—“Did you and Cholly have
any luck fishing?” Maud—“He did;
I didn’t.” May—“Then you’re not
engaged after all?”—Puck.
Philanthropist—“What was the im¬
mediate cause of your fall, my good
man?” The Good Man—“My sweet¬
heart dropped me.”—Boston Trans¬
cript.
He—“If people said just what they
thought, it would do a lot of harm,
wouldn’t it?” She—“Well, it would re¬
duce conversation about nine-tenths.”
Puck.
Penelope—“What did he send you
for a wedding present?” Pauline—
“Cut glass.” Penelope—“Ah, table¬
ware, I suppose?” Pauline—“No—a
necklace.”—Truth.
Prisoner Reformer (to convict)—
“Have you any complaint to make?”
Convict—“Well, I’d be better satis¬
fied if T wasn’t locked up.”-—Philadel¬
phia North American.
Ethel—“And when he said he was
willing to die for von, what did you
do?” Penelope—“Why, I nearly
fainted! The idea of the only man at
a summer resort talking of dyiug.”—
Puck.
Teacher (in kindergarten)—“You’ve making
omitted something, Mabel, in
your letter Ts.’ What is it?” Mabel
—“I guess I forgot to put eyebrows
over them. ”—London Household
Words.
“That man wants a design for a
laundry advertisement,” remarked the
artist, thoughtfully. “What is it to
be?” “All he said was that he wanted
something appropriate. I guess I’ll
fix him up some sort of ft wash draw¬
ing.”—Washington Star.
“A great many people go beyond
their means trying to make a show,”
declared the sage philosopher.
“That’s right,” assented Chumpley;
“I blew in $10,000 trying to make a
show, and it busted the third week
out. ”—Detroit Free Press.
“It won’t be long,” said the man
who loves to talk science at the table,
“before all our engines and that sort
of thing will be run by the heat of the.
sun.” “But,” asked his wife, “if
they go to using up the heat of tbe
sun that way, won’t it make the
weather too cold to grow crops?”—
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Now it chanced that the pilgrim ac¬
costed an inhabitant of the town
through which he journeyed. “It
seems to me,” remarked the pilgrim,
“that there are a great many muddy
crossings in your town.” “Mere illu¬
sion, old mau,” answered the inhabi¬
tant. “You get that impression from
so many of our ladies wearing knick¬
erbockers or short skirts.”—Detroit
Journal.
Small boy dashed breathless into a
merchant’s office. "Is the gnv’nor
in?” “Yes; what do you want?” “Must
see him myself; most partikler.” “But
you can’t; he’s engaged.” “Must *» see
him immejit; most pertikler. The
boy's importunity got him in. “Well,
boy; what do you want?” “D’yer want
a orifice boy, sir?” “You impudent
young rascal! No! We’ve got one.”
“No, you ain’t, sir; be’s just bin run
over in Cheapside.” Boy engaged.—
Tit-Bits.
The Llfthte.t Known Solid.
The lightest known solid is said to
be the pith of the sunflower, with a
specific gravity of .028, or about one
eighth that of cork. The sunflower is
extensively cultivated in central Rus¬
sia, and various uses are served by its
different parts, the recent discovery of
the lightness of the pith essentially
increasing the commercial value of the
plant. For life-saving appliances at
sea, cork has a buoyancy of one tt>
five, while with the sunflower pith
one to thirty-five is attained. About
eight hundred cubic inches of it would
weigh as much as one cubic inch of
iridium, the heaviest metal.—Ameri¬
can Machinist.
Barth Not Mere Crust.
Lord Kelvin does not believe in the
theory that the earth consists of a thin
crust, including a liquid, lavalike m^ss.
If that assumption has any ground, he
cannot Bee how it is that the crust has
not yielded to the tidal influence as
readjlyasthe sea, aud thus caused the
globe to be pulled entirely out of
shape. There is, he says, no reason
whatever for believing that there is
anything more than a very moderate
amount of lava under the earth’s sur¬
face, — .