Newspaper Page Text
Sentinel.
HARLEM. GEORGIA
PVKMHIKD tVKKY TWVXMMY.
J3*all*arct «<? A-*3k-1x&«k»x.
CBor»llfTMUi
The total annual cost to the govern
merit of the 710 men empbiyod in the
Vnltcd State* military band* 1* $280,724.
In addition they receive from the «aving*
of th- post bakvric* and from lubwrip
tion- and outside earning- enough to
bring their total re< - ipt* up to $206,724.
be- r tnry Endicott ray« that the
muxii iana arc trained toldiem, and for
that reiwon a valuable part of the army.
At the prceei.t time in the I'nitcd
State* ther are remaining about 2‘>o,
000.000 acre* of public land for the use
of the coming generation* of men. The
Chicago Herald aaya that “at the rate of
dbpo-al of the laat year only ten more
year* of such reckless and prodigal frit
tering away of the nation'* domain will
be necea»ary iu order to reach the end.
During the last firn al year 20,1 It.'iGl
aerca were swept off the lint of the free
land*." ______________
A great many people arc unaware that
there arc eight amall reaervations in New
York State, located in the extreme nouth
we»t {xirtion. The Indiana number over
#,OOO, and comiat of Seneca*, St.
Jtegia, Onondaga*, Tuscarora*, Oneida*
and < ayugaa. The State provide*
the reaervntiona. The general Govern
ment makea a school appropria
tion. (.'eneral Eli Parker, formerly
of Grunt'a atalT an I ex Indian ('ommia
aioner, ia the hereditary chief of the
Seneca*.
An Indiana aeronaut aaya that a balloon
Can be made to carry an elephant as
eaaily a* a mouse, 100 men as easily as
one man. He propose* to construct a
cylinder shaped balloon 150 or 200 feet
long, with which to make captive and
free aacenta. He ia a believer in the the «ry
that the north pole may Ire reached by a
ludloon, and in no other way. Ilia plan
for thia project would l»e to employ a
Screw, operated by an engine to be car
ried In the car. By means of thia screw
the balloon’* course could be controlled,
a« already demonstrated by French ex
peilmont*.
In Vienna the goose ia skinned before
it ia sent to the market, aid the skin
garnished with its down is sold as swan's
akin or down. It i* thus effected: The
akin of the back is slit, and the whole
is drawn over the head like it shirt with
the greatest care, sb as not to injure the
breast. Such a skin sills for two or
three-franca, but the value of the bird
is lessened one fifth The carcasses lire
sent to Paris, and are eagerly bought up by
the work people and tavern keepers. At
Poitiera there are two houses which pre
pire annually 40,000 to .10,000 swan
downs. England and America being thu
< hies markets.
The use of dynamite for proper pur
po-'-B has grown with gac.il rapidity
within a few years, and men who are
a< ciiatomed to handle the powerful ex
plosive have learned that only reasonable
caution ia needed to remove all danger.
Dynamite cannot be exploded by any or
dinary concussion, because the molecules
of the nitro glycerine arc too firmly held
by the fibrous sub-tan e which it sat
urates. Thousand* of pounds of it are
inaile every year ut the DuPont work*,
opposite W lluiingtou, and shipped iu
Car* to all parts of the country. One
frequent use to which dynamite is put
on the Jersey coast is to blow up sunken
wreik' which r.te dangerous to naviga
tion.
'lhe vexed problem of whether I cea are
injurious to fruit may lie regarded at Inst
ns settled, at least so far as the courts of
California me concerr.o l. A re- ent suit
for damages liased on this question, after
an exhaustive trial liefore the Superior
Judge and a jury in San Bernardino
County, ha* resulted in a verdict against
the bees. A vast amount of "expert"
testimony was given, and after a pretty
thorough marshaling of everything that
could be adduced in either side the con
clusion mentioned »»< arrivid at. Here
after, therefore, it must be accepted a* a
legal proposition that bees are injurious
to fruit (in California, nt hast), and the
owner* of apiaries in fruit growing re
gion* will have to govern themselve* a.-
cordingly.
A marvelous conjnier named Bautier
de Kolta, a Hungarian, has appealed in
Paris, and among other trick* which con
founded a company of adepts assembled
to witness them was this: After spread
ing a newspap. r on the floor he placed a
chair upon it, and then asked a young
lady to sit down. He threw over her a
piece of silk. which liarely covered her
from head to feet lie then rapidly re
moved the drapery, and the chair was
empty. As noon a* th amazement of
the spectator* gave them time to applaud,
the young lady walked ou from the aide
and bowed her acknow ledgem -nt*. There
certainly was no trap in the door, the
chair was of the ordinary kind, and the
trick was done in a strong light. The
lady, in fact, disappeared before the very
rye* of the audience, but so quiekly was
he trick don* that no one preaent saw
tr aacßpa.
U A.
The st < kmrn <f '- <vida complain of
the quantities of a k rabbit* which in
f<«t the cr-ttle ranges and are rapidly de
nuding the com try of all vegetation.
I ever sin • th'- setth meat of thi.t *e< tion
i..iw fl.i- anim i's b< n»o [dentlful, and
unic-s s- inc n.c n* of dexWiying them
i» Boon found the experierreof extensiv
port on* of Au«’r..l 3 bid* fair b> Im- re
p-at-d. In nriny part* of California
and Oregon, w h re the rabbit* have
multiple I so.-sto become n pest, they
have been thinned ou by a combined
move on th p:.r. of the * dt.’er*. All the
leddent of n gi'en neighborhood by
<■< nirnon < o • nt have t i: n< I oit for half
ado in entire days, and, well supplied
with min-and auimun tion, have waged
-ii c- -sful wnr.aie ng.iin t the commo i
incmy. By th * mem* thousands have
been destroyed in a single day.
Apropos of the warlike feeling in
Grec-e, a prominent Greek who was iu
terviewe 1 as to what his countrymen are
aiming at, says: “We want Ep.ru* arid
( rcte, and other smaller territories, be
cause in all rcspe- ts -historical, geo
graphical, ethnological, linguisticnl and
ecclesiastical -they are Hellenic, intc
grid po:tion* of Greek territory, and by
natural right the inalienable possession
of the Greek race. Th vast majority
of the inhabitants of those province* arc
our compatriots, eaten up and preyed
upon by Turkish banditti who have been
1-m amped there for four hundnd and
five hundred y<ar*. The Turks have no
more right to the post **ion of those
province■ than ha* a band of pirates to
the ship which they have captured by
force or fraud. Epiru*, besides, was
jedisl to us by the treaty of Berlin. ’
As an evidence of the growth of thrift
among the colored people of South Caro
lina, the Chari st on News and Courier
publish)*a statement showing that one
thousand and fifty even colored people
of that city hiivo deposit* in the local
saving* banks amounting to 1124,0110.
Tin* person who has the largest deposit.
$6,747, to his credit, is a pure bloode 1
African, but a born financier. He has
re cnlly bought a valuable plantation for
♦ 10,000 and has paid $7,000 of the pur
chase money. The Aeir* and Courier
adds: “There are thousand* of active .
and thrifty colored m n in the State who
have bought hind since the war,and who
are steadily collecting about them the
comforts and many of the luxuries of
life. Comparatively few of the colored
people entertain decided notions of ,
economy or h ive any faith in govern
mi nt saving* banks, but the wealth they
have hidden away iu old stockings and
the money they are Investing from year
to year in lauds mid h mses, if it could
rightly be estimated, would proveto be a
pleasing revelation.’’ ,
The advocates of temperance have vim
n point in the Contest in Ohio, where the
Legisl.iture has passed what is known as
the Dow Liquor Tux bill, a measure sim
ilar in most particulars to the Scott law,
which Was defeated in the Sup erne
Court. The new law provides for yearly
assessment* instead of license fees, the
tax on the sale of spirituous liquors being
♦2OO. and on malt liquors ♦IOO. Where
liquor sellers refuse to furnish to the
assessors the information required by law.
the assessment is increased to SIOO.
The penalty for false returns of the kind
of liquor sold is nu increi*e of the assess
meat to ♦250. Local option is provided
for in a came which eu»| owers municipal
corporation* to regulate and prohibit ale,
beer and porter house*, and other places
where liquors are s dd. a id whoever sells
ton minor, or n person in the habit of get
ting intoxicated, is t> Ih- subjected to a
tineof n it more than SIOO nor less than
♦'2s. ami impr soned not more than thirty
nor less than five days. If one acttion
of the lavx- is declared unconstitutional, a
provision is injected to hold the others
intact.
David Van Dvke, of Mason, Ohio,
seventy year*old, owns a house and lot.
an 1 that s all. and owes a Large debt con
trr.eted by going c urity for a friend.
As long a* Mr>. Van Dyke lived the
house and lot could not be attached for
the debt, under the homestead exemp
tionlaw. But Mis. Van Dyke died a
short time ago, and suit was nt once
brought against the widower and the
Sheriff advertised the property for sale.
I nder the law Van Dvke could not now
claim a homestead, ns his wife had died,
and he had no minor children or unmar
ried daughter living with him. The
only way to escape was to marry again,
lie thought, and so he went to Cincin
nati and called on several women before
be found one to suit him At last he
hit on Mi>» May Jones, who was willing,
and they were married That was but a
few days before the day fixed for the
sale, and the proceedings in execution
were stopped at once The case was
then argued in the ( ommon Pleas Court,
and the judge has decided that it was
not necessary that Van Dyke should
have been a married man at the time of
thr levy on the property, but that it was
sufficient to entitle him to have the
homestead exemption by becoming the
head of a family any time before the ac
tual sale.
11 . 8
The American Tract Society issued
5% MU, 62$ page* last year.
THE DAY.
MIIH.XIXU.
The East foreshadow* the coming day.
And mist wreaths mam on thn river wide:
While Bwathe-1 in their robing of clinging
gray.
A v ul drift* in on the coming tide;
Siugeth the river: “Oh Dawn, behold
I !s-ar on my bonom a new-born aoul.*’
SOOM.
Fainting with heat in the midday sun,
Yet prone to pray that its beams abide
Ix**t evening timl -th its work undone.
Th* soul is tos-ed on the turning tide.
:<lgheth the river ‘ Thy hour, oli n on,
Cometh --an-1 gocth too soon—too soon.”
NIGHT.
Over the world a* ths daylight, die*.
Twilight has droje-d its veil to hide-
Th* [Hissing soul which from mortal eyes
Is drifting out on an ebbing tide.
Whispereth the river, as darkness fell,
"Thy day has ended—oh soul, farewell.”
Frank H. Cow erne
MY IMITATION WIFE.
I hnd just adjusted my tie and was
preparing to leave, when mother came in.
“Going out. are you, To.n? ’ said she.
“Yes, ma'am.’’ •
“Where, to another party?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“That makes three this week, doesn't
it, Tomf’
“Ye», ma’am. We’re hurrying to get
through. Goin’ to hike Miss Beaufort
to night, and then I'm done with the
Jolly Club’s parties."
Mother, somehow or other, did not
seem to think very much of what I ssid.
“Torn, 1 w ish you would get married,”
she said, with a troubled face. “I be
Here you would stay at home some.”
“Well, lam awful tired, mother, and
completely worn out.”
“Then why don't you quit it?” ,
“Best reason in the world, motfier. I
am neither engaged nor in love, but I’m
willing to be.”
It was getting late, so I started after
this, but the look on mother s face set me
to thinking.
My mother is the best woman in the
world, even if I do say it myself, and I
felt worried about her.
She was right. I was out nearly every
evening. This evening at a reception, j
next time a ball, then a theatre party and
so on. Os course ( could afford it, for
my salary as cashier at Hart's was a lib
eral one.
But
I wasn't saving a cent, and my own
home folks never saw me except at the ,
table. Even poor, old, patient mother
was complaining.
But I was having lots of fun. There _
was that Beaufort girl. She was a fine ’
one Could dance any kind, talk about
anything you wanted, and make you
have the finest time in the world. Then
there was Vene Wright. She would take
in the baseball with a fellow, go rowing,
skating, anything for fun.
Then Vene had money. That was an
important item.
Why shouldn't I tackle Miss Veno on
the subject of matrimony.
“Thomas, old son,” said I to myself,
“ Vene is the one.”
But Vene, somehow or other, did not
exactly suit the case, and my mind re
verted to Miss Beaufort. Miss Beaufort
was smart, pretty, stylish and suited
better, but I knew nothing about her ’
financial standing. This was an import
ant matter to me in those days.
Meanwhile the coupe had neared Miss !
Beaufort's. I had never been there be- 1
fore, and to my surprise fouud it to be
a very unpretentions house.
I confess 1 was disappointed. I ex
pected to drive up to an elegant man- -
sion, be ushered into a fine reception
room with servants in livery, and there
await the coming of Miss Beaufort.
Then I expected to make a bold dash
for Miss Beaufort's heart —propose, and
possibly be accepted or declined by the
time the party was over. But not so.
A little holy with gray hair opened
the door, and she was introduced to me
by Miss Beaufort as mannna. Miss
Beaufort was ready and waiting, so we
walked out to the coupe.
“Mr. Silver,” said she, “don't you
think there is n great amount of snobbery
in society, and lots of downright fool
ishness?”
"Well, yes,” said I.
“For instance," said she, “here is an
elegant coupe that you have brought for
me. and yet the party is only two blocks
away.”
This certainly was very refreshing. 1
had actually squandered five dollars to
have the coupe for the evening, and she
did not even so much as notice it. 1
know Vene would have enjoyed a ride
in it.
“Mr. Sih er,"said she to me again,
“this is the last party I am going to this
winter."
“Well, why?" said I. “Aren't you
going to take in the German Club bal 1
and the others?”
"No, said she. “Mamma hasn't the
money; she can't afford it.”
“Mr Silver." she continued, “can you
afford to spend so much money on so
ciety r
I looked nt her. There was honesty
fairly shining out of her pretty' black
eyes, even if she wasn’t very polite. So
I answered her honestly.
“No, Mias Beaufort. I cannot? I
haven't saved a cent this winter, and 1
get a lug salary, too.”
“Well," said she, "I have met you cut
•o frequently, 1 feel quite well acquainted
with you. and I expect I have been *
little impolite.”
“No,” -aid I. “I am glad that you
take that much interest in me."
Then we changed the subject. I had
a splendid time at the party, ami enjoyed
Miss Beaufort’s company very much. I
found her level-headed and bright, if
•he was too frank.
Next day I told mother about it She
said that she admired Miss Beaufort for
her common sense, if she hadn't seen her.
Then she referred to my getting married
again.
"Suppose.’’ said she, “you pretend for
a w eek or so that you are married, and
see how it goes.”
“An imitation wife," said I.
“Why not?” said she. “I will write
the name of a young Indy on a card, seal
it in an envelope, and you can lock it in
your desk. Then let us suppose that
you are married to her say for two weeks.
During that time I want you to act just
as it the in iy wrr h -re in jier-on, and
| your lawfully-wedd< d wife.”
I “WI ose name a <_■ you going to write
; on the card.' said I.
f "Never mind.” said she “I will
write my preference, and neither of us
will breathe a word about this to a living
soul."
W e agreed on this. Mother wrote the
name on the card and scaled it in an
cnvel re. I knew it was Vine Wright's
, name, so I decided to imagine that Vene
| was thire in person, and so wc start c 1
i out the week.
Monday night came. That wa* the
night of the Bachelor * t'i nnan. but I
staid at home and talked to mother.
Then I played euchre with h<-r for II
while, and wc managed to have a very
<-n oyable evening.
Next morning mother met me at the
tiblc with smiles, and about the best
breukfa-t I had < aten in a long while.
"Y’ou must imagine that your wife saw
to this breakfast,” she whispered.
Going up on the street car ti a‘ morn
ing, who should get on but Miss Beaufort.
I bowed t > her gracefully, deposited her
fare in the nickel box, and was about to
sit down by her when I happened to
think of my imitation wife at home, and
walked to the rear of the car.
“Married men have no business talking
to the young ladies,” said I to myself.
Mis* Beaufort looked at me rather
queerly, but s iid nothing, and I thought
the car never would get up town.
Thursday was my evening to call on
Vene, and I forgot to send her an excuse.
Friday, came a note from her, which
mother took the liberty of opening, as
she thought I would not care, and she
felt like representing my wife in the
desk. It was a tender missive, and some- ’
what surprised me when I saw it. But
what could I do. Married men have no
business getting tender notes from young
ladies. Inasmuch as 1 had contracted to
carry out mother’s plan for two weeks. I
, left the note for mother to answer. She
is a very truthful woman, but in answer- >
ing the note she prevaricated.
She said that I was very sick, and as a
natural consequence Vene called that
afternoon to sec me. but I was up toxvn
and mother had to invent another story.
Then mother had to come all the way up
town so as to keep me from coming down
town my usual way for fear Vene might
| catch me.
I laughed a good deal at mother, and
Vene did not find us out, but the society
reporter of the paper met her, she told
him I was sick, and the next day all of
my society friends came around, among
them Miss Beaufort.
Mother met her rather coldly, but in
vited her to stay awhile.
, “I suppose Mr. Silver is almost worn
out with so much going out," said the
young lady.
“He is much better,” said mother,
' “but I do not think he will go out for
several weeks. I think I shall keep him
at home."
“I am so glad,” said Miss Beaufort,
“not that you are going to keep him at
home, but that he is not going out so
much. I am getting so I fairly detest
society.”
Here was a woman who had my
mother's views, and they both, there
upon, sat down and had a confidential
talk, and pleased each other mightily.
Then she asked mother to call on her
mother, and this mother did
Meanwhile I was staying home every
evening, and getting pretty tired of it as
the two we-ks were drawing to a close.
“Don’t you think a man ought to take
his wife out once in a while?”lsaid I to
mother.
“Why not?” said she.
“Then I’ll take her to the theatre
to-night.” So I bought a couple of re
served seats in the phrquet for Saturday
night, and mother, who represented my
wife, went with me.
We had hardly taken our seats before
I noticed that they were adjoining those
of Miss Beaufort and her mother. My
mother xxyis highly pleased when we
changed seats s > that I sat by Miss Beau
fort. and my mother sat by hers.
We xvent home together that night
and laughed and talked a good deal.
I think Mather told Mrs. Beaufort
what we had been doing, but I did not
hear it. I know that several days later,
after my two weeks of married life xvere
over, I went to call on Miss Beaufort.
We had a pleasant time together, and ‘
just as I was about to leave, the old lady
came in.
“I forgottoask yon. Mr. Silver, what
you thought <>♦ married life?” said she.
Miss Beaufort looked horrified, but] I
laughed.
“Mother has been telHng oa me. has
she?" said I.
"She has,” said she.
“Well,” said I, “during the two weeks
I was married, I read three good books,
gained four pounds in weight, and saved
eighteen dollars and forty cents, besides
paying my mother my wife’s board and
a ticket to the theatre.”
“And who xvere you married to?”
asked Mrs. Beaufort
“I forgot to look,” snid I. I hurried
home to see who iny wife hnd been. The
envelove was just as I placed it in my
desk drawer.
I tore it open and there was the name
of Miss Beaufort.
“Well,” said I, “mother made her an
imitation wife, now 1 will try to make
her a real one.”
And so I did.— That. H. Stark, in the
Current.
The Carrying Power of Water.
Tua carrying or transporting power of
water increases as the sixth power of the
velocity -a prodigious rate of increase,
as may be inferred from the fact
that a stream having a velocity six
times as great as another will be able to
transport material weighing 46,656 times
as much as that carried by the slower
stream. The data from which engineers
commonly calculate the effect of a scour
i on a river bottom are about as follows:
A stream flowing with a velocity of three
inches jwr second barely produced an ef
fect on fine clay; six inches per second
will raise fine sand; eight inches per sec
ond will raise sand of the coarseness of
linseed; twelve inches per second will
sweep along fine gravel; twenty-four
i inches per second (or one and one-third
miles per hour will car-y pebbles of
about one inch diameter; thirty-six
inches per second (which is about two
' mile* per hour, or about two-third* the
rate of ipeed of a moderate walk* will
sweep along fragment* the size of an
egg . —Hootou Hudpe:.
ill HGET OF FIN.
HI'MOKOI'H SKETCHES FKOM
VAKIOVS SOL ID ES.
Tiro Penally of Profanity—A Walk
ing Mvaiery Commodore Van
derbilt Overreached Not
Afraid of Burglars, Etc.
The average small boy of the present
day is seldom at a loss for something to
say, even in the mast embar.assingsituri
tions. Bobby, a precocious youtn of six
summers, hail been indulging in pro
fanity, and, in order to escape the pun
ishment for which his mo;h'.*r hal made
preparations, he crawled under a barn
and remained there in n state of siege for
the greater part of th.- afternoon. NN hen
his father returned at night and learned
how matters <tood he ma le his way, with
much difficulty, under the barn in search
of the boy. “Hello, pa,” said Bobby,
cheerfully, as his sire npproaced, "you
been swearing, too?”— lioevfn Itecord.
A Walking Mystery.
A young lady belonging to one of the
first families of New York returned from
a walk. Her mother, who is very strict
with her, asked:
“Where have you been?”
“I have just been taking a little fresh
air in Central Park.”
“Alone?”
“Alone.”
“Arc jou sure of it?”
“Os course I am. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, nothing at all. except when you I
went out you toak xvith you a parasol, I
ami you come home xvith a gentleman's
cane in your hand.”
’lhe young lady has taken the matter ,
under advisement and will bring in a
verdict at an early date. Texas Siftings, i
The Commodore Overreached.
An amusing story is told of the way in
which William H. \ anderbilt overreached
his father, the Commodore. William
wanted manure from the Fourth avenue
car stables for his Staten Island farm,
and asked his father what he would
charge for ten loads. “What'll you
give?” asked the Commodore. “It’s
worth four dollars a load to me,” said
the fanner. “Goodenough; I’ll let you
have it for that,” answered the railroad
man, having a decided impression that j
the price was a; at least twice as much |
as the stuff was worth. Next day he
found his rustic son with a scow just
loaded for home.
"How many loads have you got on
that scow, Billy?” asked the commodore,
in excellent humor.
“How many?” repeated the son, feign
ing surprise; “one, of course.”
“One! why there's at least thirty,” the
old gentleman exclaimed, inspecting it
curiously.
“No, father, I never put but one load
on a scow—one scow load! Cast off the
lines, Pat!” — Chicago Times.
Not Afraid of Burglars.
“It’s a joke on me, of course, but I'll
give it to you fellows,” said a Cass farm
man to a little group iu the city hall yes
terday. “I have a great fear of burglars.
When I go to bed I want to know that
every door and window is securely fas
tened. About a month ago we changed
hired girls, and the new-comer was very
careless about the doors o’ nights. On
two or three occasions I came down stairs
nt midnight to find a xvindow up or the
backdoor unlocked. I there "ore deter
mined to put up a job on her. I got
some false whiskers and an old rig, and
one night about 11 o’clock I crept up the
back staiis to her room. She was snor
ing away like a trooper, but the minute
I struck a match she awoke. I expected
a great yelling and screaming, but noth
ing of the sort took place. She bounced
out of bed with a ‘You villain!’ on her
lips, seized a chair by the back, and be
fore I had made a moye she knocked me
t> my knees. Before I could get out of
the room she struck me again, and it
was only after I had tumbled down the
back stairs that she gave the alarm. Then
she went through to my room, rapped on
the door and coolly announced:
“ ‘Mr. Blank, please get up. I’ve
killid a burglar.’ "—Detroit Free Press.
Surprising Unanimity.
“I see,” said the police reporter last
night, as he paused to sharpen a pencil,
“I see that Bob Burdette has given an
account of a strike he xvent on when a
schoolboy. I never was on a strike, but I !
had a lively experience in another line.
On Friday afternoon when xve were ex
pecting the School Board to come ar und
and see the school on dress parade, the
boys agreed, with one accord, to speak
“The boy stood on the burning deck."
Well, the Board came, and things were !
looking as solemn as a funeral when the I
first boy walked out and started off:
“ "The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but him ba l fled;
The flames that lit the battle wreck
Shone round him o'er the dead.'
"He went through the thing without a
smile, took his seat and the second boy j
started off:
“ ‘ The boy stood on the burning deck,’ etc. I
“The teacher's eyes opened wide, ar.d i
the School Board looked puzzled, but ]
the boys all looktd so solemn that the I
uninitiated thought there was nothing :
wrong. The second boy went through
the last line, took his seat and the third
boy arose. Tse silence was oppressive
until he began:
“ ‘The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all bat he had fled,
The flames— ’
“But that was all the further he got.
The teacher rose in his might, marched
the entire crowd off to a burning deck
adjacent and thrashed the whole ca
boodle.”—Atlanta Constitution.
Swift's Snow Storm.
“Talking about the signal service and i
its bad luck in the weather prophesying I
business," said a station agent, "let me I
tell you a little story about Swift, Super- :
iutendent of Telegraph on the Rock
Island. Some time last winter the Sig- I
nal Service people told Swift they would ■
furnish him their bulletins if he would
undertake to send them out and have
them posted along the road. Swift ac
cepted the offer, and thought it a big
thing. He had instruction* sent out to
all operators concerni- g posting of the ,
weather bulletins, and felt so proud of
the new service that he went aro.ind l
; bragg.ng wliut a go >d thing it would
ib ■. Ina few days the Signal Service
i predicted a very hi'iivy ■u w: storm, and
Swift sent word to tlie Su|>erin end'-nt*.
suggesting tint they had bettor make
i arrangements i i advance to keep the
tracks clear of tl.e unusual fall of -now
sure to come.
“ ‘Now. you see.' be -aid. ‘how vain
able this service is to uta Ir.wd. When
that snow comes we'll be pre) arid for it.
and not a wheel will be stopped.’
“Instructions were s nt out to station
agents and section bos os, an I in some
places gangs of extra laborers were hired
to shovel snow. But the »:iow storm
didn’t seem to be in a hurry. The dax
pa-sed as bright and clear as one could
ask for; the night following was equally
pleasant, and the next day started in a
clear as a morning ia June, with no sign
of snow to be discerned.
“The boys couldn't stand it any longer.
First one sent a messenger to Swift in
quiring ‘Whore is that snow storm;’ and
! then another took it u > and sent in his
question. In a few hours Swift received
about five hrndred me-sages from Illi
nois, lowa. Mi-souri nnd Minnesota, in
i quiring where that enow storm was. and
when it might be expected to arrive at
the sta’ion of the inquirer. One of the
boys wanted liis storm sent by express
and another asked what snow looked
like, anyway. In this way they kept it
up until' poor Swift was ‘knocked out of
the box,’ as the ba-eball people say, and
after giving orders that the Signal Ser
vice reports sh mid be fired from the road
he went home and stayed there for thirty
six hours.”— Chicago Herald.
No Fun In the Judge.
Two Dakota lawyers recently had some
trouble with a new judge and were dis
cussing the subject. Said one:
“You got thirty days or $lO3, did
you?”,
“Pay the fine?” ,
“No; couldn’t. Thought thirty days
in jail was good enough for me. Whal'd
he fine you:”
"Fifty dollars.”
“Pay it?”
“Yeq that is, my wife’s father did.”
“Os course—l didn’t suppose you raised
it yourself. What was it you called the
old judicial snoozer?”
“I was telling him that his counte
nance reminded m • of a fre’ght-car which
had been to a smash-up and that in his
various rulings he leaped about from
wrong ideas to untenable premises like
an insane jack rabbit—when he socked
it onto me.”
“Y’es. Now that’s the usual talk and
the old judge never objected. I put it a
little stronger und told him that I could
only explain the unheard-of rulings of the
court by the supposition that they came
from a man with a spavined intellect and
then threw my coat and hat and yelled:
‘Come down, you ancient antiquity, and
I’ll xvhale enough sense into your shat
tered mind so that you can hold a posi
tion at pounding sand with a ball club!
Lemmy get you and disfigure the fair
face of nature by scattering your worth
less remains around this judicial district!’
He said it would be SIOO or thirty days
and then went on and decided the case
against me.”
“Y'es, that’s the way it goes—it seems
he can t take a joke. It strikes me that
if this administration is going to send
many more of these kind of judges out
here that the entire territorial bar will be
in jail. If this is the way they are going
to work it there don’t appear to be much
encouragement for a lawyer to take right
hold of a case in earnest and moke Rome
o| eri her mouth clear back to her cars
and howl.”— Estelline (Dak.) Bell.
Earliest Methods of Measuring Time,
The story is that King Alfred had no
better way to tell the time than by burn
ing twelve candles, each of which lasted
two hours: and when all the twelve were
gone, another day had passed. Long
before the time of Alfred, and long be
fore the time of Christ, the shadow of
the sun told the hour of the day, by means
of a sun-dial. The old Chaldeans so
placed a holloxv hemisphere, xvith ahead
in the center, that the shadow of the bead
on the inner surface told the hour of the
day. Other kinds of dials were after
ward made with a tablet of wood or
straight piece of metal. On the tablets
were marked the different hours. When
the shadow came to the mark IX., it xvas
nine o’clock in the morning. The dial
was sometimes pla"cd near the ground,
or in towers or buildings. You see, in
the picture, two sun-dials that arc in the
Gray and Black Nunnery in Ottawa, the
capital of Canada The old clock on the
eastern end of Faneuil Hall in Boston
was formerly a dial of this kind; and on
some of the old church-towers in England
you may see them to-day. Aside from
the kinds mentioned, the dials noxv in
ex stence are intended more for orna
ment than for use. In the days when
dials were used, each one contained a
motto of some kind, like these: “Time
flies like the shadow,” or, “I tel! no
hours but those that are happy.”
But the dial could be used only in the
daytime; and, even then, it was worthless
when the sun was covered with clouds.
In order to- measure the hours of the
night as well as the hours of the day, the
Greeks and Romans used the clepsydra,
which means: “The water steals away.”
A large jar was filled with water, and a
hole was made in the bottom through
xvhich the water could run. The glass,
in those days, xvas not transparent. No
one could see from the outside how much,
water had escaped. So there was made,
on the inside, certain marks that told the
hours as the water ran out; or else a stick
xvith notches in the edge xvas dipped into
the water, and the depth of what xvas left
showed the hour. Sometimes the water
dropped into another jar in which a block
of wood was floating, the block rising as
the hours went on. Once in a while,
some very rich man had a clepsydra that
sound a musical note at every hour. —
Popular Science Monthly.
Thunderstorm in a Clear Sky.
Captain Anderson, of the Briti-h bark
Slddartha, which lately arrived in New
York, reported a peculiar thunderstorm
while on the the northern edge of the
Gulf Stream. Tl.e sky was quite clear
at the time and the sun shining brightly,
although there appeared to be a thin
mist about the ship. Suddenly there ap
peared a vivid flash of lightning, ac
companied by violent thundi r. The
compass was cause! to vibrate percepti
bly for a period of fifteen minute*.