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I UjEJ J 17' \M7’X7'"I7'"K"T JCjJuJXXi V X M • CON YE US, GEORGIA. The Queen of England in theory has absolute authority to do as she will in everything. In fact, she hat no authority to regulate even her own household servants. •T. W. Spencer, who has been exam¬ ining the evidence that the West In¬ dies were once part of a great con¬ tinent, concludes that it existed and that these islands were once connected with what is now the mainland of North America. John L. Blair, the New Jersey rail¬ road “king,” who has over 825,000, 000 invested in western railroads, boasts that he has never bought a road merc-ly for speculation aud that none of his money has been made by bull¬ ing or bearing stocks. According to the Electrical Review there are now.over 500 street railway corporations in the State of Pennsyl¬ vania, where eight years ago there were ouly about sixty. The remark - able increase is due almost entirely to the adoption of electricity as a motive power. France’s great military port at Biz erta, on tho Tunis coast, has been formally declared open. By connect¬ ing tho great lagoon with the sea by an artificial channel a harbor has been obtained large enough to hold the whole French fleet and as safe as if it were an artificial basin iu the centre of France. Some attention has recently been given by certain newspapers and periodicals to the subject of roadside shrubbery and flowers in our rural districts, and tho matter is one worthy of serious consideration, declares the New York Mail and Express. Arti¬ ficiality too often stamps the efforts to to trim this wayside beauty, which is apt to be seen at its best in the forms which nature gives it. Landscape gardening should halt before it attacks a picturesque country road. Tho Beyreuth, Germany, newspapers record a new sample of meanness. An inhabitant of that city was afflicted with cataract in both eyes. He con¬ tracted with a skilled physician to havo two operations performed—one on each eye—for $250. The first operation proved very successful, but when tho doctor offered to operate also on the other eye tho patient refused, declaring that ho could see as much as he wanted to see with the ono eye, aud tendered half of the amount stipulated—i. e., 8125. The physician, however, says that lie fixed the price us low as he did iu considera¬ tion of the quantity of payment to be received, not iu consideration of the quantity of work to bo done, and the unique dispute is now before the courts awaiting a Solomonic settle¬ ment. According to recent reports of Pro¬ fessor Francois, an eminent French economist, the United States not on¬ ly lead all other nations in tho scale of wealth, but the wealth of thiB country is more than a fourth of that of the entire civilized world. Con¬ verting Professor Francois’s figures from francs into dollars, the Atlanta Journal finds that ho puts the total wealth of the nineteen leading nations at 8280,550,000,009. Of this amount he credits the United States with 862,600,000,000. He places great Britain second with 853,000,000,000; France third with 45,000,000,000,and Germany fourth with 32,200,000,000. The wealth of Russia is estimated at 825,400,000,000; that of Astria-Hun gary at 810,4.00,000,000; of Spain at 812,400,000,000; that of Italy at 810,800,000,000. It will be seen that tho combined wealth of the four great nations, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy aud Spain barely exceeds that of the Uuited States. Irofessor Francois also shows that though a great part of the wealth of this coun¬ try is m the hands of a few people the , concentration , here is nothing , like , so , bad , as m Europe. r, Our ^ wealth is bettor distributed th«„ is th.t of of the larger couotrie, of EuropiL it., The condition , , of , the ,, of the masses people „ i is better i ** i here and - their o\> * ^ portumties , abundant. . more South America has the greatest uu broken extent of level surface of any country in the world. There are 40,000 blind persons in France, nearly half of them from what is now known to be preventive. Great indignation is expressed in Paris because for two years mining problems that cannot be solved have been set for the examination of the Ecole Polytechnique through the blundering of the examiners. The New Orleans Picayune thinks that “some steps ought to be taken for the better sanitation of the pris¬ oners of the country. A scoundrel hardly gets inside one before his health fails and he has to apply for a purdon. ”_ “Progress” is a word of relative meaning even in this up-to-date coun¬ try. With dozens of little hamlets in the East now celebrating the advent of the electric street car, Elk Oitv, Idaho, was rejoicing on June 29 last over the advent of “the first buggy seen in Elk City,” which arrived that day “over the new wagon road.” This item also Bhows, by the way, that “City” is a word with a wide rauge of meaning, too. Americans who go to Italy to be educated in music have a great advan¬ tage—if they master the Italian lan¬ guage aud study its melodies. Other¬ wise they have none, maintains the New York World. The whole secret of tho musical nature of the Italian people lies in the musical nature of the Italian language. No one can speak it habitually without becoming unconsciously educated iu the laws of melody which underlie all music. Jndge Millen of the law division of the Postoftice Department lias ren¬ dered a decision concerning the de¬ livery of mail matter by jail officials to convicts; and tho same ruling will apply to inmates of charitable insti¬ tutions. He holds that “state aud county institutions for the confine¬ ment and punishment of parties con¬ victed of crimes have the right to pre¬ scribe rules and regulations as to communications from outside parties to convicts. While they have no right without the consent of the convicts, to open the letters addressed to them yet they have the power to refuse to deliver or permit to be delivered to the convicts any letters addressed to them, unless they will consent that the letters be opened in the presence of some officer. Where mail is ad¬ dressed to a convict, it is proper to deliver the same to the officer in charge of the prison, While this would not authorize the officer to open such letters, he would have the power, if tho state aud county laws or regulations of the prison so author¬ ized, to refuse to deliver such letters to the eouvict during his imprison¬ ment unless he consents that they bo opened in the presence of the officer.” General John Gibbon has written an article on “Can West Point Be Made More Useful?” which commands more than usual attention among of¬ ficers of the Army. He cites that in some respects the Military Academy remains tho same as it was fifty years ago; that, although the course of studies has undergone radical change, the number of professors and instruct¬ ors increased, the scientific apparatus improved, and the number of cadets increased with the growth of the country, yet the qualification required by law, with some few additions, re¬ main about the same. General Gib¬ bons makes special objection to the rule that a candidate of a certain age and height should weigh at least a certain number of pounds. He main¬ tains that this objection may be over¬ come in a few months with good ra¬ tions and exercise, but that if adhered to strictly a Grant, a Sheridan, even j I a Napoleon would be shut out. He ! aRo says that there is a hurtful pre j judice against the Military Academy I j among the people at large, because of its supposed aristocratic character. He maintains that the academy can . be made , more useful bv extending its education ... in such . . to leaven , a wav as ' ,, .... el . "* . . ,hG ™ G “ “ d " T” °‘ L. would be in a better 6tate of * prepara tion 4 to take the field „ ,, than ., they have i S eler , been . before, , ‘ Rose and Weed. A little weed grew at the foot of a rose, And they both breathed the soft summer air, But the little weed sighed ag it looked at the rose, For the rose was so tall and so fair. At sunset the little weed tremblingly spoke And told of its love to the rose, But the rose did not hear, for the language of weeds Is a language a weed only knows. When the little weed wept, washed the fair rose’s feet, And the rose was refreshed for the night, The songs of the morning birds opened her heart, And she lifted her head to the light. Then taller she grew, and her green leaves spread wide, Till the shut out the sunligb t and air; So tho little weed died at the foot of the rose, And the rose never knew it was there. MISS DORINDA’S HEIR. BT HELEN WHITNEY CLARK. “And so MissDorinda Beam is dead an’ buried!” “Yes, an’ bain’t left no will—that’s the wust of it” Mrs. Grimes stopped churning to liaten to the news brought by Neigh¬ bor Hockins. “You don’t say!” “It’s so,” declared Neighbor Hoc kins, emphatically. “Beuly Bittersweet won’t get noth¬ in’ after all, then,” observed Mrs. Grimes, lifting the churn-lid to see if the butter was “coming.” “Not a stiver. An’ her alius brought up to think she’d git all.” “Tis too bad. I reckin Peter Fogg an’ his woman ’ll come in for the proppity, then?” “Course they will, bein’ they’re the nighest of kin. All the kin-folks she hed, I reckin, fur her an’ Beuly wasn’t no ways related.” “I shouldn’t think Miss Dorindy’d sleep quiet in her grave, with them Foggs a-handlin’ of her things. She hated ’em like pizon while she was alive,” remarked Mrs. Grimes. “She hedu’t ort to of put off mak in’ her will, then. But that’s alius the way—folks keeps a-puttin’ off, a tbinkin’ they’re goin’ to live forever, an’ then all at once they’re gone ’fore they know it. An’ then it’s too late. Miss Dorindy died awful suddint, they say—some sort of appellexy or the like. I dunno what Beuly is a goin’ to do, I’m sure.” And indeed poor Beulah herself scarcely knew what she was going to do. “Everything here will bo yours, Beulah, when I’m dead an’ gone,” Miss Dorindo had often declared. “That miserly Peter Fogg an’ his stingy wife don’t get a stick nor a stone of what belongB to me, I Kin tell him, if he is my nephew.” And now Miss Dorinda was dead and gone, sure enough, aud Peter Fogg and his “stingy wife” were the heirs-at-law. Tho place had been thoroughly searched for a will, but none could be found, and Lawyer Green, who at¬ tended to all Miss Dorinda’s affairs, declared that he had not been called upon to make any will; and so poor Buelah was left penniless and alone in the great world. One year ago Beulah was the prom¬ ised wife of Richard Barrymore, a stalwart young farmer, who lived with his mother in the old homestead with its green orchard trees, its mead¬ ows of sweet grass and waving fields of wheat aud corn. But Beulah was young and giddy, and when the new physician, Dr. Clar¬ ence Virden, began to pay lover-like attentions to her, Richard grew jeal¬ ous, a quarrel ensued, and a broken engagement was the upshot of the mat¬ ter. Since that time Dr. Yirden had con tinued his attentions, until Miss Dorinda’s death occurred, and Beu¬ lah’s unfortunate position was made public. Then bis visits suddenly ceased, and he found it convenient to “pass by on the other side. ” A week later, Mr. Fogg and his wife came to take possession. He was a hard-featured, miserly man, and she a sharp-nosed, avari¬ cious woman. “Ike ole woman hed a heap o’ plunder,” remarked Peter, as he went lumbering through the parlors with his heavy cowhide boots. “That there pie-aimer won’t be here long, though, nor them picters on the wall!” he declared, eying the articles named with a calculating gaze, “I rekin they’ll fetch right smart o’ money at the auction-rooms, an’ I’ll cart ’em off an’ sell ’em. ” “There’s ahull trunk full o’ the ole woman’s good clo’se,” put in Mrs. Peter, who had been exploring the upper rooms. “You mout as well cart them off, an’ sell ’em, too, Peter. I kaint wear ’em.” “Course you kaint,” said Peter gruff¬ ly. What do you want of any more clo’se, anyhow? Them you’ve got on your back i3 good enough for any¬ body. i Shocked and pained at their course remarks, Beulah went to her own room, to think over her plans for the future. “You kin stay here, if you work for your board,” Mrs. Peters had in¬ formed here, but Beulah had declined the offer. “I had rather beg my bread from door to door,” she declared to her¬ self, “than to stay with them, but where can I go. ” “Beuly, ” called Mrs. Peter’s sharp voice, “come down, here’s a feller to see you.” “Could it—oh, could it be Doctor Virden?” She caught her breath her heart beat so violently with a sudden hope. She hurried down with a pink flush, like the tinted heart of an ocean shell staining her cheeks, to meet—Bichard Barrymore. He took her hands in a firm, gentle clasp. “Get your things, Beulah. I have come to take you home with me Mother has a room ready for you, and you are to come and live with us.” “O, Richard,I—I don’t deserve it!” sobbed Beulah. “Hush! Get you things,” ordered Richard authoritatively, “and let me carry out your trunk; my wagon is at the door.” And half-reluctantly, though with a feeling of relief at her heart, Beulah allowed him to lift her into the wagon where he had already placed her trunk, and they drove away. Peter Fogg was as good as his word, and before many days he drove into town with his lumberiug farm wagon filled with the big piano, the handsome pictures, and Aunt Dorinda’s trunk, containing her best clothes. The honey-suckle and madeira vines clustering about the old Barrymore farm-house were full of bloom, and the scented petals of a tall cinnamon, rose bush were dropping lightly on Beulah’s nut-brown curls, as she sat on the south porch with a basket of yellow September poaches beside her. “Dick is so fond of peaches and cream,” commented Beulah to herself, as she peeled and sliced the ripe, gold en-hued fruit. “He shall have them every day while they last.” Just then the sound of wagon wheels was heard in the lane. “What on airth is that Richard got in the wagon?” asked Mrs. Barry¬ more, coming out on the porch just as the wagon came into view. “Kin you make out what ’tis, Beuly? Your eyes are bettor’n mine air.” Beulah shaded her eyes with her hands and looked again. “It—it looks like a big box,” she said, doubtfully. And so it was a big box, with a piano inside of it. There was another box, also filled with pictures and a trunk. Richard drove up to the door. « ( I’ve brought you a present, Beu¬ lah!” he cried, gaily. The piano and pictures we’ll put in the parlor, and this trunk I’ll ju3t take up to your room.” And calling Sim, the hired man, they carried it up at once. Beulah could only look her thanks and then ran up stairs to hide her tears. Half an hour later she came danc¬ ing down stairs, laughing, crying to¬ gether. “Oh, Dick! Oh, Aunt Laura!” she cried hysterically. “There was a will, after all; and here it is! It was in the bosom of Miss Dorinda’s dress, be¬ tween the lining and the outside. I thought I would hang up the clothes, to air them, after being shut up in the trunk, and just happened to i'eel this in the bosom of her silk dress. It was one she had not worn good while.” for* It proved to be a genuine made three Louis’ wil] years ago, i n St. where Beulah and Miss Doriud had few a spent a weeks one summer. This accounted for Law ye* Green having no knowledge of it. Beulah was soon reinstated i h n er old home, and Peter Fogg and his wife, after refunding the money paid for the piano aud other articles back to their farm went greatly chagrined at the unexpected turn of affairs “I wish the pesky trunk had f burnt ’fore 0 up ever we went aud sold it,” grumbled Peter. In which unavailing wish Mrs. P t e er coincided with him. Among the visitors who soon flocked to congratulate Beulah upon her good fortune, was Doctor Clarence Virden but much to his discomfiture he was informed that “Miss Bittersweet was engaged.” And so she was, in more senses than one. For when the first October frosts had crimsoned the trailing ivy vin es and turned the sumac aud sassafras leaves to scarlet and gold, Beulah Bit tersweet was transformed into Mrs Richard Barrymore—Saturday Night. Remarkable Lakes. Little Shuswap Lake is stated to have a fiat bottom, with a depth vary¬ ing from fifty-eight to seventy-four feet, measured from the mean high water mark. The deepest water found in the Great Shuswap was 555 feet, about six miles northward from Cin nemousuu Narrows, in Seymour Arm, though the whole lake is notably deep. Adams Lake, however, ex ceeds either of the Shuswaps, as its average depth for twenty miles is up¬ ward of 1,100 feet, and at one point a depth of 1,900 feet was recorded. Ia the northwest corner of this lake, at a depth of 1,118 feet, the purpose of the scientific explorers was defeated by the presence of mysterious sub¬ marine currents, which played with the sounding line like some giant fish and prevented any measurement being taken. It is a complete mystery how the currents could have been cre¬ ated at this depth, and scientific curi¬ osity will no doubt impel either pub¬ lic or private enterprise to send a second expedition to the scene thia summer to endeavor to solve the rid¬ dle. As the height of the surface of this lake is 1,380 reet above the sea level, its present bed is, therefore, only 190 feet above the sea, although distant 200 miles from the nearest part of the ocean, Dr. Dawson aud his associates believe that the beds ol some of the mountain lakes in the region are many feet lower than the sea level.—Vancouver (British Colum¬ bia) World. A Romantic Marriage. Tennessee papers are telling of a romantic marriage at Memphis some time ago, where, in order to be safe from the interference of the object¬ ing father of the bride, the couple were married in the county jail, the jailer being a friend of the bride¬ groom, and agreeing to keep the troublesome parent outside until ad was over. But the point about the case that is apt to strike a non-resi¬ dent of Tennessee as most notable— it is merely mentioned incidentally there—is that a prisoner awaiting trial for assault and battery acted as best man, going from the jail to the county court with the jailer to get the license; supporting the bridegroom during the ceremony in the jailer s parlor; giving away the bride, ami performing other functions that might seem strange in a jirisoner not so favorably situated as one in a Ten nessee jail. Wanted to Make Sure. Mr. Nil wed (on honeymoon tour) My darling, we shall have to get out at once. The two front cars are tele¬ scoped and the whole train is on fire. Come, dear, come before it is too late. Mra Nuwed (determinedly)—No, dear ; not until you have told me ones more that you love me.—Brooklyn Life. it is proposed to erect the largest railway station in the world at Forty second street and Seventh avenue, New York City, the terminus of the great Hudson River bridge, It will be used by eleven railroads.