Newspaper Page Text
A 4- 4.
|l;ulc <Toun!i! i^tus
TRENTON, GEORGIA.
A newspaper has been startefl at los
Cruces, New Mexico, which is “devoted
to war with Mexico,”
There is a wonderful mirage in Glacier
Ray, Alaska, reflected from the glassy
surface of the Pacific glacier. It is said
that just after the change of the moon in
June, just after sunset and while the
moon is climbing above the sky, a city
appears above the glacier. It is so dis
tinct that a photograph is said to hove
been made this season by a resident of
Juneau, who learned of the mirage from
the ' ndians and has seen it appear and
disappear for four years.
In some towns in Louisiana, where the
business interests of the community are
mostly wrapped up in the success
failure of the sugar crop, according to
the Ch icago U/rald, one may see on the
regis'ersof the hotels after each arrival’s
name the expression: “Stubble good,”
“stubble blamed poor,’k and so on. The
“stubble” is the local name for sugar
cane, and this method of each planter
writing down the condition of his own
crops saves time for the reporters and
spares tlie planter the annoyance of being
interviewed.
Hunting for turtle’s eggs on the
ftlandr of the coast is a summer pastime
of eorgians. It is said that one of the
curiodiies of a turtle’s nest is that no
one having taken the eggs from a tur
tle’s nest can get them all back in again.
Several have tried the experiment to
find it a blank failure. After filling the
cavity ia the sand there are always
enough eggs left to fill a couple more
oests just as large, r Id Mrs. Turtle,
when she deposits an egg, p oldies it in
tight with her feet, egg by egg, the
elasticity of the egg shell permitting it,
but raau cannot compress the eggs as
does the turtle.
The “record” in rapid machine work
lias again been lowered. Heretofore the
Baldwin Locomotive ’Works, of Phila
delphia, have held the first place with
the record of an engine built in twenty
four hours, bet the Pennsylvania Rail
road L ora; any has now ta en the palm
by constructing a full-sized (110,Out)
pounds) anthracite-burning locomotive
at the A-too,na shops in sixteen hours and
fifty-1] va minutes. The work was com
menced in the morning, and in five min
utes less than seventeen hours the engine
was turned out ready lor use. It is to
run on the New York division of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. Th ■ feat is un
rivaled in locomotive building.
Dr. Gatling, the inventorof the de
structive engine of war which bears his
name, proposes, remarks the Mail and
Exvi-'M, to revolutionize the art of
building heavy guns. The successful
ordnance of modern times is the built up
gun. The Krupp and the Armstrong
guns are manufactured fro n successive
layers of steel. These are very likely to
burst, the makers being unwilling to
guarantee that a gun will stand firing
more than a hundred times. I)r. Gat
ling proposes a steel gun cast about a
cold core, so that the cooling will go on
from the inside outward, making the
middle hardest and the outside softest.
The e guns •an be made for about fifty
per cent, of the cost of built up guns.
Bays tHfe New York M re>ir>/ : “One
of the marked features of business and
professional bfe at the present day is the
tendency toward the pursuit of special
ties. Scih Green, the noted piscicul
turist, who died last week, was an illus
tration of the manner in which attention
to a fixed idea and faith in the ability to
carry it, out will conduce to ultimate suc
cess. M lien he began tli? study of the
artificial propagation of fish he was
looked upon as a visionary; but as his
experiments gradually developed theii
economic va ue was acknowledged, and
fish, culture has now rca*< hed the point
where it has become an important agency
as a food producer. Men like this qu ef
an l unassuming student of nature are
among the greatest of the world’s bene
factors.”
Theie was recently published a state
ment that it was discovered amonor the
papers of 1 ieneral Sheridan that a life in
surance policy of $15,000 had been placed
for him by his friend, General W. B.
Franklin, of Hartford. A friend of the
family corrects this in the New York
&t ir, and the correction shows what a
generous friand General ; heridan had in
his old war comrade, General Alger. It
appears that a few years ago General
Alger, at that time Governor of Michi
gan, gave General Sheridan SIO,OOO in
money, npon condition that it should be
invested in a life insurance policy, and
that that policy should be kept up for
the benefit of the widow. The money
was in. ested in a policy for $23,000, and
' inquiry since the death of General
Sheridan, at the office ot the company,
was answered by a statement that there
had been no default in the payments
upon the policy.
BEAUTIFUL WINGED THOUGHTS.
Eonutiful birds have plumage,
Beautiful thoughts have wings
Stars shine far above the sigh
Of earth’s vague whisperings.
Under the earth’s broad bosom
Never beauty lies
But shall burn its way to the rim of day.
And flash to our wondering eyes.
Beautiful gems lie hidden
Under the fold of earth;
Even the slime hides a thought sublime
Till the time of the lily’s birth.
Even thn birds went creepi ng
Wingless and featherless,
Till p'ume by plume, like the roses bloom,
They borrowed the singer's dress.
Beautiful birds have plumage,
Beautiful thoughts fly high;
The poet’s song cannot slumber long.
♦ Its track is the boundless sky,
Under the infinite heaven
Never a wing unfurled
But shall find its way to the verge of day.
And flash on soma wondering world.
—Laura Be l.
AFTER THREE YEARS.
BY ABFKED 1.. KING.
The acquaintance of Marcia Edler,
whose father owned a large stock farm
near Philadelphia, a id Austin Gaudaur,
of that city, beg. n in this wise:
He was leaning on the fence and in
tently watering the antics of a two-year
old colt. It was early morning, but it
was not unusual for her to race through
the fields while the fog still clung to the
grass and the clover leaves were ail or
namented with liquid diamonds. So
she went out when Austin supposed all
women, except servants, were abed. She
ajipn a bed him soltly and laid her
hand on his back while she exclaimed:
“1 e:n, i cannot catch the gray (illy;
she is perverse this morning.”
Slowly Austin turned and beheld a
young lady with her dress tucked up
and wearing no hat. Lilting his, he
exeat med
“It you had a milk pail on your arm I
should think you were the pretty maid
who-e face was her fortune.”
it was a bo d speech, but Austin was a
daring fellow
“And if it was not daylight I should
take you to be a horse thief and hiss the
dous on you,” she replied and haughtily
turned her back on him.
lie gave his attention to the colt. He
was moie interested in horseflesh than in
femininity. Most young men would
have endeavored to follow up the ac
quaintance so romantically introduced,
but Austin, beyond a certain indifferent
momentary interest, was not attracted
by womankind. He liked women yet
was seldom in their society. Sports en
grossed his attention. A fine tennis
player, he avoided games in which wo
men took part. A good hand at whist,
he was not often found at a table where
a woman would be either his partner or
opi-onent. He was a puzzle to the
ladies of his acquaintance, and they good
humoredly let him alone. Society knew
little of him, and he never discovered a
romance in any situation.
Marcia was otherwise. Happiest was
she vtfheu with the men. Her flirtatious
wene numerous. The broken engage
ments to which she bad been a parti
were many. She made no secret of her
eagerness to receive the attention of the
beaus, rhe rejoiced in tiiqghiien. Yet
really she cared no more for them than
Austin did for the women, but they were
essential to a flirtation, and in that the
frivolous girl delighted. Quick at re
partee and careless of He ings of
others, she had few frieaas and many
enemies. *
Hamilton Edler, her father, laughed
at her coquetry, humored her caprice
and encouraged her. When asked to
give his consent to her union with some
poor fellow whom she was deluding with
a promise to be h.s only, he invariably
remarked as lie sent the young man
away happy:
“Sir, you arc engaged to the wind.”
This information, \sith the manner of
skepticism, had led to the conclusion
that he was dotingly fond of his daugh
ter. lie was and he knew the value of
her promise, Some day her heart would
assert itself, womanhood would enter
into the obligation, while the fieklene-s
and gayety of girlhood yielded to the dig
nity and earnestness o; woman. He was
afraid it m ght come soon, this change,
and he dreaded it.
As she left Austin she snappishly
plucked off the head of a daisy and
wished he had not the appearance of a
gentleman. If he was a tramp he was an
impudent one; but although he wore a
biue tlannel shirt he did not look as if he
had slept in a haymow, f inally sin
concluded that ho was some athlete who
resembled her brother 1 emberton and
who had been out on a lark: That was
her most charitable conclusion.
When she returned from the fields she
discovered the stranger talking to her
father. They were on the front porch
and she disdained to enter that way.
However, she threw her father a kiss, to
which he responded with a ro isiug
smack of his lips on the palm of his
hand.
At breakfast site was surprised with att
introduction to Mr. Austin Gaudaur.
She gravely inclined her head, resolved
not to be rude to her father’s guest, but
determined to resent the visitor's im
pertinence of the early morning.
“Tired, daughter:'” asked the genial
host.
“Vexed. I could not catch the filly.”
“Better be careful of that colt’s heels,
young lady.”
“It’s a singular thing, pap.” spoke up
the irreverent Pemberton, “that nobody
kicks at Marsh.”
bhe shot her brother a wrathful
glance. The next moment her face was
hot; she felt it and had non the courage
to meet the look with which Austin was
calmly surveying her.
Austin remained until evening. She
was not present when he took his leave,
and he left his regards for her. 'When Mr.
Edler tendered them she merely said:
“Thank you.”
Two days later he came again. When
he went away the colt went with him.
For a moment before his departure he
stood alone on the porch, while Mr.
Elder and Pern caressed the colt. Marcia
swept up to him with anger in her eye 3
and said in a low, fierce tone.
“My instincts were right when they
arraigned you as a horse thief that morn
ing in the paddock. I wish I had hissed
t »the dogs on you then.”
“Why do you judge me so harshly?’’
he inquired.
“Y'our money has robbed me of my
pet. Your gold bribed ray father to sell
that horse.”
“I act for my employer solely,” he re
plied, on the defensive. 'litis position
surprised him, for ho was usually the
aggressor.
•‘Oh, yon are a slave 1”
With this contemptuous remark she
turned her back upon him. Her tones
rung in his ears, they reverberated in
his heart. Such contempt had never
been bestowed upon him. A breeze
blew softly and tossed his hair.
“This is delicious,” he murmured.
He may have meant the wind, sweet and
fre-h from the clover fields? tie may have
referred to Marcia’s indignation. When
he rode away Marcia gazed after him.
Mr. Edler and Pern looked at the colt,
ungratefully leaving the only home it
had known to become the resident of a
strange stable. They were half regretful
that they had made the trade. As for
Marcia, she was angry. Her heart
swelled with rage. bhe cordially hated
the man who had had the impatience to
address her as the pretty maid without
knotving who she was, and never after
apoligizing for it.
Two weeks later Pent was talking to
some one in the yard at the rear pf the
house, while Mae -ia, swinging in the
hammock, just out of vie .vdl brand the
corner, was interested in a l(5ok. Sud
denly she shut it with a bang as a merry
laugh oated to her. The discontent
that had weighed Iter down for days
flew away like a s; ared bird when that
laugh reached her, and she forgot how
angry she had been at Austin when she
last saw him.
Promptly on recognizing Iter change
of feeling toward him she attempted to
school herself,but she wa- rebellious and
would perversely en,oy the knowledge
that he had returned. The gentlemen
approached her, and, fear.ug that she
would betray herself by a spontaneous
greeting to Austin, site tumbled out of
the hammock and ran into the house, lie
caught a glimpse of her as she shut the
door
His visit was rather an aimless one. lie
advanced no other reason for it th in a
desu e to report that the colt was doing
well. Pem, who had formed a coidial
ftie ,dsh p for him, pressed him to st ay
all night, and he gladly accepted the in
vitation.
Presently Pem was called away or?
some business, and Austin strolled into
the paddock. lie was stroking o*3
Ally’s nose, when Marcia t ame up beside
him.
“Mr. Gaudaur, I am glad to see you,”
she said frankly. “You have won the
affection of the filly.”
lie h ired his head, but something in
her eyes pie ented him from uttering the
commonplace gallantry that was on his
lips. Instead tie said:
“1 am fond of horses and kind to
them ”
“Then you are good to the colt?” she
observed interrogatively, with something
of her former m schievousness.
He did not seem hurt by her intima
tiou that he was a hostler or a jockey,
but simply said :
“I should not treat the colt badly.”
His eyes wandered over the fields to
the far away mountains, while she
looked upon the ground as iPshe s-.Tg.ht
for four-leaved clovers. They were em
bar.t sed. She made an endeavor to over
come the trying situation by olleiing an
apology for her rudeness on his former
vis ts. llegiavely admitted that she
had wounded h.m,whereuponshe flushed,
and w.th a bow left him. Jlis eyes
fastened on the mountains again, while
the Ally, tiied of him, followed Marcia.
“That oppressive,” he observed,
as he leapt.® the fence near him and went
to the barn.
'I he evening was rainy, and perforce
host and guest at the Edler farm re
mained under co er. Fora while they
sat on the piazza, and Marcia, reclining
on a sofa just inside the open window of
the parlor, heard the tales recounted by
the visitor, it was very entertaining, and
his witty sayings were rewarded with
many hearty laughs by his listeners. He
d d not ask for her, and her father aud
Rem seemed to forget that she existed.
Her mother was a quiet woman, accus
tomed to spend most of her evenings
alone.
Finally Marcia went to the piano and
began to play a sonata. Her fingers
glided over the keys, and when the
music began to posess her she became
conscious that that the conversation on
the had practically ceased.
“That’s my sister, Marsh,” she heard
Pern say. •
She paused to listen fof the reply.
“Ah.” the visitor ejaculated in a tone
of polite interrogation, betokening sur
priso.
“Ah.” angrily she dashed into a
roulade, and lhe keys fairly Hashed as
they responded to her touch. It was
pyrotechnics.
“Ah?” she played revengefully, but
soon the mood passed away and she took
up the air of a ha lad Through the
low notes she heard the voice of Austin.
“ omebody caught the runaway.” he was
observing in a pit id tone.
Marcia abrubtlv left the piano and
went to the widow. Austin rose on see
ing her and said:
“Miss Edler, if you will play the
accompaniment I will sing that song.”
i lis impertinence was beyond endur
ance, but unwilling to seem rude, and
also curious to hear h in sing, she seated
herself at the piano again. *he played
in correct time, but methodically only.
Before the first verse was completed
her soul was engrossed with the spirit of
the music and sire played with earnest
feeling.
Mr, F.d'.er and Pem were delighted
with Austin’s voice, and Mrs. Edler ap
peared in the parlor before the ballad
was con luded. Austin was enthusi
astically encored. Lights were brought
| and Marcia produced her music. In the
I collection he found many songs that he
knew. She accompanied lnm with
ardor, and the minutes flew. Ether
persons were present, Austin and Marcia
knew, yet they had a feeling of one
ness that isolated them from the wofld.
No one asked Marcia to sing. Austin
did not, and his monopolizing of the
vocal part of the entertainment was done
so honestly that it did not*raise the
question of his conceitedness.
It was dull enough for the party when
he declared he knew no more songs.
Soon after he quit singing Mrs. Edler
slipped away and Mr. Edler followed
her. Then Pem made an excuse and dis
appeared. Marcia and Austin looked at
each other, and straight way the spirit of
banter arose in their hearts. Their
acquaintance had begun in badinage,
and with perversa .Fatality they persisted
in it.
‘‘The runaway ia tractable at times.”
she remarked, as she toyed with her lan.
“And the horse thief becomes a
mounteback,” he laughingly answered.
“And tbs pretty maid grinds the
organ.”
iter eyes were looking at him over the
top of a fan.
“And when we pas 3 the hat, lo! the
audience vanishes!” lie was willing,
apparently, to protra t th • far e.
“J.iko the street vagrants, we have
played to no curtain.” Then, quickly
discovering the feeling of association
that her words intimated, she hastened
to observe, “yet, unlike the street mu
sicians, we did not play on the curb.”
Here she i.u-liod; words were en
tangling her. lie came to the tescue.
Holding out his hand, he said:
“Let us be friends.’'
A declaration of love at that instant
would have surprised her less. The ces
sation of hostilities almo t threw her olf
her guard, but she replied:
“\\*e really were never anything
else.’
bhelet him clasp her h ind. To both
the compromise seemed a mockery, vet
they were glad it was effected. Without
further words they parted for the
night.
.before she came down stairs the next
morning he wa- gone. A telegram lnd
summoned him to the city. She uttered
only a conventional expression of regret
when told of his departure, and shovved
no sign of the sharp pain she suffered.
“It has been nothing but a farce,”
she exclaimed w’ue.i alone. “A bi;ter
larce!” she added, honest with herself.
Austin had gone obediently, but he
protested that the summons had been
inopportune.
Marcia did not know the handwriting
of a letter that came to her soon after
Austin’s last visit. «he opened it With
out much interest, but read it eagerly
when she saw his signature at the
bottom.
Deah Miss Edi.es— l write it because I
feel that to speak it would iea l to a nusuti
underscanding. We have been so strangely
at cross purposes the round of our voices
seems to provoke enmity between i s it is.
good-nature i hostility, but embarrassing. To
avoi 1 the appearance of insima rity, 1 pat it
in black and white, a.id i hope it will be
c early legible to you.
I love you honestly, respectfully, fervently.
Will you become my wife? An aiiinnative
answer will b - an assurance of your love for
me. Do not leave me long in douut. Lie
compassionate. Devotedly yours,
Austin Gaudaur.
Marcia did not reply that night. She
let hersef be glad awhile without
definiteness.
Aust n waited and waited. His letter
was unheeded. At last lie exclaimed in
despair:
“I, too, am listed with the others.
She flirted with me, captured me, l ung
me aside. Well, this episode was ex
pensive in heart tissue.”
His laugh was not pleasant. His em
ployer scut him into the far West, and
silence softened the footfall of the years,
ihe “episode” was bis only romance,
and he wondered how human nature
could exist so intensely in a short time
that long years do not wear off the effect
of the tension.
Marcia did not seem herself. She wa3
ill. Her eyes had marks under them.
Her manner was listless. Tue early
morning never found her in the fields,
and shea oided the piano as if it were
the plague. Bhe never mentioned Aus
tin. When by chance any reference wa-i
made to him slie did not speak.
Once only did she give vent to her
feelings. he was in her room, and
spoke relentlessly:
“It was a cruel trap and I walked into
it. Well, that is the la v of compensa
tion. I set traps lor others.”
About three weeks went by, with a
weight on e ery hour. One day Marcia
took down some of Pern’s oil clothes to
give them to a tramp. Taking the pre
caution to look into the pockets of tne
coat, she discovered a letter in her hand
writing addressed to Mr. Austin
Gaudaur.
The tramp thought her suddenly in
sane when she handed him, in addition
to the suit, a five-doliar bill.
“I will post th s letter myself,” she
said.
In a few days she received a telegram.
She was afraid to open it; but at last
was brave enough to meet possible iil
news. Austin wired her:
1 received th ; old letter with recent post
mark, and am on my way to you. —Sen
York Mercury.
“Taking tlie Cushion.
“Taking the cushion’’ is a quaint old
Spanish court custom still practised, at
Madrid. The ceremony creates noble
ladies “grandees of Spain,” with the
right to sit in the royal presence by per
mission of the iving and Queen, and re
cently ueea i hristiua solemnly followed
the prescribed form in order to admit
several young lad es about the court to
the higher rank. All the lady grandees
of the court assembled in one of tiie
State apartments, each holding a large
cushion. In the centre of the room
were a larg e arm chair and a low stool.
Queen Christina entered with her suite,
took the arm chair and requested the
ladies to sit down on their cushions.
Then the candidates for grandeeship
were introduced one by one; each* was
attended by a sponsor, and made low
reverences to the Queen and to every
grandee m turn. The Queen next invited
the candidate to sit on the stool at
her feet —arranged as more convenient
thin a cushion—spoke a few words, and
allowed the lady to kiss her hand before
rising to give olace to the next comer.
I'he new grandee then retired and sat
down upon the cushion within the
charmed circle of ladies. —London
Graphic.
Where Wolves are Worked with Dogs.
In Arctic Alaska the natives keep all
young wolves that they catch and train
them as dogs for teams. Dogs and
wolves are reared together. The dogs
are more than half wolf, and have the
characteristics of those animals. They
are with >ut ntrection, but obey theii
masters through fear. - One dog in each
team makes himself master and overseer.
If any dog shirks he will punish him.
If he cannot get at him when in har
ness, he will not forget to give him chas
tisement when released at n ; ght. They
are capable of enormous endurance, like
wild wolves, and can fast and work a
long while.
CHINESE NATAL SCENES,
CEREMONIES FOLLOWING A MON
GOLIAN BOY’S BIRTH.
His Horoscope Immediately Taken
—Visiting the Ancestral Tablet—
Bedecked with Amulets.
No sooner is a Chinese boy born into
llie world than his father proceeds to
write down eight character or words,
each set of two repie-enting respectively
the exact hour, day, month and year of
birth. These are handed by the father
to a fortune teller, whose business it is
to draw up from th an a certain book of
fate, generally spoken of as the boy’s
“pat-tez,” or eight cha acters. Herein
the fortune tel er describes the good and
evil which the boy is iikeiy to meet
wiih in after life, and the means to be
adopted in order to secure the one and to
avert the other.
The pat-tez having received the first
attention, the father prostrates himself
before the ancestral tablets and there
o ers up thanksgiving for the birth of
his boy. In every house in China a room,
or among the poor, a niche in the wall of
their common-room, is set apart for the
worship of ancestors. The names of
those of the four past generations are
painted on wooden tablets, befoie which,
night and morfting, as well as on other
special occa ions, joss sticks are burned
in honor of the departed.
The father next visits the temple of
the goddess called “mother.” bhe is
supposed to look iffter the welfare of all
children until they arrive at the age of
1(>. Here incense and oblations ot fruit,
etc., are offered and the goddess is ic
quested to look with favor upon the
precious boy.
Meanwhile a bundle of leaves of the
ar,emesia is hung up over the door of
the house. This answers the double pur
pose of frightening away demons and of
warning visitors that they must not call.
The entrance of an ordinary visitor dur
ing the first fortnight of a child’s life is
said to entail upon the infant th^penalty
of sore gums. On ihe third day the
ceremony of waffling the -head takes
place. The child’s head is washed with
soap and water, in which latter, among
other things, walnuts, aca da wood and
pepper have already I con placed. This
washing isperlo ined before an ima:e of
the goddess “mother” which has been
fixed up in the department.
Around the boy’s neck a red cord is
next fastened, and to it are attached cer
tain charms. Another red —i, e. lucky
—cord about two feet- in lenglli is fast
ened to his wrists, one end passing
around the right and the other aro ml
the left. This is called the ceremony of
binding the wrists, a ceremony the per
formance of which, it is believed, will
keep his hands from picking and steal
ing when he is older. A sheet of red
paper being spread out the following ar
ticles are spread upon it: Two fruits, the
seed of wh.ch are used as soap, some
pitch, cat’s and dig s hairs, an onion or
two, a pair of chop sticks and some
charcoal.
These are symbolical of good wishes—
viz., the desire that the boy may be i lean
and tidy in h.s appeerance, be successful
in all things, not be Heightened during
infancy by the cries of cats and dogs,
be quick witted,always have plenty toeat,
may finally grow up to be a iiardy and
enduring man. 'i he paper is tied up by
a red cord in the form of a bag and sus
pended over the bedroom door.
The only visitors allowed on this oc
casion are near relatives and very dear
friends, all others being supposed to
biitig ill luck. These are now duly
feasted, after which they take their de
parture.
On the fourteenth day special thanks
giving and obligations are made as be
fore, and the wrist-cord, the red bag and
trousers before - mentioned are removed as
being no longer needed.
On the thirty first day the mum yat
or full month ceremony is performed.
To this feast all the friends and relatives
of the family are invited from far and
near. Everyone is expected to brflig a
present. These consist of a great varie
ty of objects —wearing apffcrel, brace
lets, anklets, a red or lucky bedstead, a
red chair, red cap (with a hole all ready
for the little pigtail when it has grown),
etc.
The boy is placed in front of the an
cestral tablets. A basin of watir con
taining leaves from the wong pi tree be
ing provided, two boiled duck eggs and
nine cash are placed therein. With this
water the child’s head is first washed,
after which a barber commences to shave
him. The older the barber the better,
because in proportion to his age or youth,
so will the child attain the age or die.
The shaving over, the duck eggs are
gently rolled around the shaven crown.
Then another-aged man stands up, and
placing his hand Upon the child’s head,
says: “May long life be thy portiou.”
After th s the boy is, dressed in a new
red jacket and green trousers, whilst the
red cap already mentioned is placed
upon h>s head. Oblations to the ances
tors and to the goddess have been made,
the child receives his first, or milk name.
A feast concludes this important cere
mony.
, The next, if not the same day, the
ch id is carried out for the first time, on
which occasion it is taken into a temple,
and to see its grandmother All unlucky
objects are removed out of the child’s
sight. A cash sword, perhaps, is hung
near his bed.
This consists of a sword-shaped charm,
consisting of two iron rods covered by a
large num er of copper cash, fastened
together by wire and red cord, or the
father collects wire cash from a hundred
different families With this he purchases
a lock shaped neck ornament. This is
called the families lock,” and
when worn by a child is reckoned a
powerful preservative. These, with many
other charms, are supposed either to
bring good luck or to avert evil.
At four months the child is taught to
sit up in his pretty red chair. When he
goes out—that is, if the family be poor
—he takes the air comfortably strapped
up in a bundle npon his mother’s back.
As soon as he shows any signs of a de
sire to walk the mother or nurse pretends
to cut with a knife the imaginary cord
which is said to have hitherto tied his
feet together. He is then presented with
a pair of kitten shoes—that is, shoes
which have a cat’s head worked at the
ioes. These are supposed to guarantee
for him a sure and cat-like walk.— The
Quiver.
Gideon Thompson, the oldest man in
Bridgeport, Conn., is 82 years of age.
SCIENTIFIC AM) INDUSTItIAI*
Carbolic a< id is a dangerous poison
and must be handled with ware.
The death is announced of Philip
Henry Grosse, F. R. S., the English
naturalist, aged seventy-eight years.
The severity of scarlet fever is greatest
in the first two years, lessening year by
year throughout childhood and adoles
cence.
An excellent syrup—at least it’s so
pronounced—is being made from water
melons by farmers in Dougherty Coun
ty, Ga.
Professor Rogers ha-- invented a solid
ified gas which can be immediately
volatilized for the special use of bal
loonists.
The latest invention for rescuing pas
sengers in a shipwreck is a ‘1 fe-saving
saloon.” The whole saloon slides over?
board and becomes a kind of ship.
Due of the largest shoe contracts made
is that of a firm in Bangor, Me., who
have engaged to make 100,000 pairs of
wigwam slippers within a year, for
which they are to leceLe $71,100.
Nine-tenths of the diownings at the
sea beaches result from heart failure or
cramp, and not from lack of muscular
power. The safety of sedentary people
in the water depends more on their ner
vous condition, tiiau ou their strength.
Normal human skuils, according to
the measurements of Professor Flower,
range in size from '-0 To cubic cent.meters
dowa to IPiO cubic centimeters, the
lamest average capacity be ne found in
a race of long, fiat-headed people on the
West coast of Africa.
Wild turkeys have - lately been ac
climatized in Austria, though such a
thing has hitherto been considered al
most impossible. Prom four hen tur
keys and three cocks, brought from the
American prairies, the colony has in
creased to about .>BO individuals.
By the Costner process some new
works at Oldbury, England, expect to
produce lfiOu pounds of sodium daily,
from \\ hi: h a ton and a half of aluminium
can be produced a week. This process
reduces the cost of aluminium from siO
per pound to about $4 or less, or from
$~5, 000 to SSUU / per ton.
Power by compressed air is making
itself felt. The length of pipe laid in
I aris lor the distribution of power by
compies.-ed air already exceeds thirty
miles. The compressing engines are of
..000 horse power, about ,oou,ooo cubic
feet of air aie compressed daily to a
pressure of eighty pouuus per square
inch.
Au inventive mechanic of Bridgeport,
Conn., has perfected a locomotive
attachment winch utilizes the phono
graph in a new way. By means of the
device every blast of the engine’s whistle
is recorded, with the exact time at
which it occurs. This will, of course,be
of great va.ue to grail road companies,
protecting them from the faLe
sentations of persons who are injured or
rautiiat d while on the track.
A medical journal states that new ex
periments have changed old theories
upon the best methods of treating frost
bites. A physician froze sixty dogs into
a condition of completely suspended
animation; twenty of these were treated
by the usual method of gradual resusci
tation in a cold room, and of these four- ,
teen perished; twenty were treated in a
warm apartment, and eight of these
died; while of the remaining twenty,
which we put at once into a hot bath, all
recovered.
Steam p’pes of copper are now made v
by electro-deposition from sulphate of
copper solution. The pipe is formed on
an iron core in the depositing bath, and I
the deposited copper is presse dby a mov- I
ing tool as it is deposited, so as to give I
a tibrous strength to the crystalline cop- I
per. After the pipe is thus formed it is I
subjected to hot steam, which expands I
the copper shell, or p pe, clear off the I
iron core, thus separating the two. I
These pipes have no joint, and are said I
to be very strong, tests showing that I
they break with strains of iron twenty* I
seven to forty-one tons per square inch. K
A Kentucky Child Wonder.
Fifteen years ago was born a son to
Mr. Andrew Woods,' a wealthy stock man
and farmer near Keene, Ky. After a few
months the child seemed well developed,
but suddenly the body began to dwindle
while the head grew. The child’s bones
were of chalky formation, and at live
years of age “Dot” was regarded as a
marvel, lie grew in knowledge, had a
great curiosity, and was carried on a
pillow to every attractive meeting or
speaking within the adjoiniutr counties.
At ten he be.ame aesthetic in taste and
dressed with great cate every day e
Physicians despaired of his life, as the
limbs were but a few inches long. Tbs i
chest could be seen in full play, the heart
beating and heaving like a maiden’s,
llis living to fifteen was regarded by the 1
people as miraculous, for he ate, said *1
gentleman, hardly enough to keep a |
chicken alive. I
- For years museums have resorted tU
all soits of extravagant offers to tbil
parents, but they would never consent!
to having him exhibited. The child'®
death a few days ago was painless, an*
the remains were deposited in a bab«
coffin and followed to the burial by®
great concourse of neighbors. Precaul
tions have been taken against ghoul*
who might seek to profit by robbing tbiß
grave. Little “Dot” complained, aaß
for the first time, a few days before,
the pressure upon his heart, which waj
smothering him. He had attained
great degree of intelligence, and recent™
attended apolitical speaking, conversing
like a matured mind upon that and otb®
topics. Cincinnati Commercial. ||
Systematic Punctuation. |
In a Boston newspaper office not I°®
ago the chief proof-reader had be®
greatly annoyed by an extraordinary a®
of commas that cropped out in oc®
sional “takes” on his proofs, and, b-j®
ing that they occurred regularly u n j®
a certain “slug,” he went to - ‘q®
Fifteen’s” frame to expostulate i'®
him. He found that the man
new “sub,” who said he had come In®
from Nova Scotia, and had learned®
trade in a first-class office in lln‘*®
“For pity’s sake,” exclaimed the p rJ ®
reader, “what sort of a. aj'teuj ■
punctuation do they employ in Ham# ■
“The rule in our office,” replied ■■
compositor, with a patronizing air, J®k
to put in about three commas to a
— Boitr/n Transcript. _ *®