Decatur Democrat, Volume 39, Number 30, Decatur, Adams County, 11 October 1895 — Page 7

©he democrat DaCJVrVTR, INTU. ■• BLAOKBUBM. ... Pp»LT»B»L | The Spanish campaign In Cuba ta reported to have cost 120,000,000 up to 'date and hasn’t even carried a precinct ’ Tacoma wants a world's fair in the year 1900. Tacoma, we believe, Is a town somewhere out In the Northwest. ' The medical congress holds that Inebriety Is a disease, and it Is probably 'right We notice that victims are constantly taking something for It. Those Cincinnati hardware men who bought 100,000 kegs of nails last spring at 95 cents and have just sold them at |2.40 can afford to open a keg. The young map who successfully made love at the top of Mount Tacoma evidently Impressed the young woman In the case that he had the highest regard for her. The separation of Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett and her husband is evidence that a home may not be an earthly paradise, even when the kids address their mother as “dearest" An Oho man has been given his liberty after serving forty-three years in the penitentiary. Imagine how an Ohio man must feel who has been kept out of politics forty-three years! An Ohio minister sells advertising space on his church programs in such away that a response to prayer and a business ad. alternate. The next step In the progress of this interesting church will be the election of a circulation editor. The New York Merchant Tailors’ Society has decreed that cutaway coats shall be shorter. It is said that the new coats will just cover the rear suspender buttons of the wearer. Will the tailors cut the price of coats commensurately with this reduction in the amount of cloth necessary to make them—just enough to miss the pocket-book in the rear pocket? Politeness costs nothing; It. is very agreeable to other people; and, more than this, It pays. Wherever any one goes, he should make his best bow, look as well as he can, and be as attentive to others as Is consistent with modesty and dignity; and, by so doing, he will gain friends. Give a man friends enough, and one may venture to say that his fortune Is made. A New York burglar broke Into a Madison avenue house In that city a few nights ago, raked together more than SIOO worth of plunder, foraged in the pantry for victuals, ate , a square meal, took a nap, and departed leisurely with his swag. He tried to sell the stuff next day to a police sergeant and was arrested. Even wlt|i the New York police one can take too many liberties. ’ Constant and perservlng effort is the best cure for an unhealthy self-depre-ciation. He who thinks he can accomplish nothing, and makes no endeavor, will soon destroy whatever abilities he may possess, Indolence and self-dis-paragement go hand In hand and act each on the other. But noble aims and steadfast Industry will give a truer estimate of self and its powers; and they in turn will rapidly develop a wellgrounded self-confidence. The new territory opened up by the Russian railroad through Siberia is being occupied as fast as the road is extended. Last year 100,000 Russians left their homes and voluntarily took up their residences in the land of exile. Siberian soil is a rich, dark loam, and is more productive than the long-cul-tivated soils of Russia. It is probably from the new regions in Siberia rather than from the old wheat lands of Russia that the chief competition of American farmers in wheat production will come In future. It is expected that the new railroad to the Pacific will be completed in three or four years. It is a national loss that has been sustained in the death of Prof Chas. V. Riley, who was known throughout the country as one of the foremost entomologists in the world. He was only fif-ty-three years old, but for many years had been the leader in entomological research in this country. His work was especially valuable to farmers and fruit growers. The worst enemies that they have to contend with are Insects. Within the years that Prof. Riley had been investigating them the number of destructive insects had greatly increased. Mr. Riley’s death was sudden, occasioned by a fail from the bicycle which he was riding. • A voyage tothe moon is the latest project which is seriously put forward as the crowning point of the exhibition of 1900. M. Mantols, its author, does not propose to carry passengers to the lunar regions in an aerial car, but he expects to bring down the moon to the reach of people whose vision extends, say six miles from the earth. The plan is to construct a telescope nearly 200 feet in length. The objective glass will have a diameter of something over four feet three inches, the largest in the world. The colossal tube will be placed horizontally, and the Image of the moon will be reflected by what is termed a mirror plane, six feet in diameter and fifteen Inches thick. The weight would be 8,000 pounds. The special feature of the idea is that the Image of the moon should be thrown tipop a screen placed in a hall large enough to hold 600

tronomers calculate that with an apparatus of these dimensions it will be possible to discern easily objects of the size of the Notre Dame Oathedral towers, and to distinguish the evolutions of a lunar regiment. Should the opening of the twentieth century be signalized by volcanic eruptions in the mountains of the moon, visitors to the exhibition would have a grand spectacle. The armored cruiser Maine is now in commission and the battleship Texas preceded her a short time ago. The entry of these two vessels into active service is an important event in our naval history. Their construction was authorized nine years ago, at a time when we had not an establishment in the country capable of turning out their armor, or the forgings for their guns. It was considered a great undertaking then to build an armored ship of between 6,000 and 7,000 tons, and it was. Many people regarded the Maine and Texas as white elephants, and predicted that they would never be finished. Now we have gone far beyond them. But although we should not think of repeating their designs the Maine and Texas are still powerful ships, infinitely superior to anything we had in the navy before their time. They should be serviceable for twenty or thirty years to come. One of the most important as well as most interesting of the questions with which the people of this country have to deal is the question of the efficiency and sufficiency of the new navy. To a country like ours the navy is so vital that there ought to be neither division of opinion nor partisan nor sectional difference in dealing with it Naval questions should be treated in. this country with the same spirit as In England or France or Russia. Naval successes and evidences of paval supremacy should he hailed with the same patriotic pride. We have had such a success in the test at the Indian Head proving grounds of the armor and the frame of the new warship lowa. In this trial a double-forged armor plate fourteen inches thick not only resisted the utmost penetrating power it was designed to resist, but also stood constructively the test of a seventeen-lnch plate. This means that the lowa will be a floating battery equal in resisting power to any land battery, and that if she had been in the place of the Chin Yuen at the battle of the Yalu River the battle might have gone the other way. No single shot could sink her. It is not too much to claim for the new navy that up to date it has furnished the history of naval progress with specimens of the best guns and projectiles, the best engines, the best armir, the best armament, the best cruisers, and crews and officers equal to any In the world. It looks now as if we were about to lead competition in the matter of battleships. • Those enterprising Colorado'folk who dug up the remains Os a fossil man believed to be 150,000 year's old did very well, but If they had been more familiar with scientific facts they would not have put their figures thus low. As things go, 150,000 years4s a long way back, but if the conjectures of some of our learned paleontologists be just 150,000 years is but a span of the history of the human family. There is evidence to believe that man, armed with stone spears, hunted or was hunted bf the rhlnocerous tichorhlnus and the elephas primlgenius and was bitten to death by the ferocious fossil dog fish. Draper holds that the European man who witnessed the last glacial epoch upturned his face to the sickly sun at least 250,000 years ago, and there are not lacking scientists to maintain that the antiquity of the race is 10,000,000 years. “For,” says Joly, “what are the 7,000 years which have elapsed since the foundation of Thebes with its hundred gates? What, are the 5,000 or at most 6,000 years admitted by archaeologists as the age of the pyramids and the statues of Schafra and Ra-em-ke? Os what account even are the sixty-six centuries attributed to the great pyramid of Sakkara? All these dates, supposing them to be accurate and established by proof, are nothing in comparison to the geological ages during which European man left the traces of his dawning industry, and even his own remains, which we find in the diluvium of the caves and valleys, perhaps even In the pliocene and mlocene strata of the tertiary beds.” One hundred and fifty thousand years, what youth! A mere Infant fossil. The Colorado diggers have found no paleontological wonder. They have discovered the “new man.” Suspicious Praise. “A good wife is heaven’s greatest gift to man and the rarest gem the earth (holds!” remarked Mr. Jarphly the other morning. He continued: “She is his joy, his Inspiration and his very soul.” He seemed to be thoroughly In sympathy with his subject. He added: “Through her he learns to reach the pure and the true, and her loving hands lead him softly over the rough places." That he had not yet exhausted himself was evident, for he began again: “She Is ” “Jeremiah!" said Mrs. Jarphly, solemnly—“ Jeremiah, what mischief have you been up to now?"—Philadelphia Item. China’s Model of Politeness. The Emperor Fo-hi, the first of his line, Is the Chinese model of politeness. He is said to have been so civil he always spoke, even of himself, with profound respect, and when the Chinese habit of self-depreciation Is remembered, this degree of civility will be better appreciated. «> The mosquito is hatched in May, and dies at the. first sign of frost; a sort of fiuomer glri, as it were.

MEMORIES. A little window, and a broad expanse Os sky and sea, A little window where the stirs look in, And waves b at < easelessly; Where, through, the night, acrcas the silvery foam, The moonlight falls like blessed thoughts of home. A little space within a crowded ship, A restless heart; A little time to pause awtle and think O’er lives apart; To pause and think, while others pray and sleep; y A little w'hile to bow the head and weep. A little window, but a heaven of rest Bent over all, Where, through the silence « the star-lit dusk, The angels call; Where the dead faces of the vanished years Look in and smile across a sea of tears. A quiet room—a quiet heart of peace Wi'h earth and sea; A little corner—but a glimpse of heaveu, An angel’s company; O, steadfast soul, O, flowret pure and white, Still on my lips I feel thy last “Good night.” —Chambers’ Journal, eapiain Jacobas. BY L. COPE CORNFOED. Although the time was long past midnight, lights were still gleaming from behind the shutters of the little blind alehouse hard by the Reading road, not far from Winchester; and Captain Jacobus,’ riding gently up, judged it prudent to enter by the back door in consequence. The inn was a house of call for the captain, and the landlord a creature of his own, but at a time when detachments of Cromwell’s soldiers were rough riding the country, it behooved a gentleman of the road to use caution. Indeed, in the estimation of Captain Jacobus, it was no insignificant item in the long score held by him against the Commonwealth that a king’s gentleman should sometimes be compelled into his inn by a menial entrance. After stabling his horse the captain entered the kitchen, where the landlord, a little, dark remnant of a man, with a short 'pipe between his teeth, was going to and fro, busying himself amid a litter of empty bottles and greasy plates. Stopping short in his employment, the landlord nodded to his patron without a word, at the same time jerking his thumb over bis shoulder towards the half-door, above which a square of the paneled wall of the inn parlor was visible. Captain Jacobus, without further hesitation, walked promptly into the parlor. The long, low, red curtained room was brilliantly lit with a wasteful profusion of candles, a huge fire of wood roared in the fireplace, and, standing side by side, with their backs to the blaze, were two very’ tall, loosely hung men, dressed in the decent black garb and falling white collar affected by the Presbyterian ministers of day. Save that the elder man had white hair and wore a beard, while the, younger was clean shaven and almost bald, so that his great head glisteued like' a moist egg in the firelight, the two resembled each other in every particular. Captain Jacobus look off his hat, with a sweeping gesture, and began, with some show of deliberation, to unbuckle and lay upon the table his sword and pistols. The two parsons returned the salute with a grave inclination, the younger bowingjust a fraction of time behind the elder, after a momentary glance at him; as if (thought the captain) the junior hadjsolivelj- a habit of subservience to the senior that he manifested it unconsciously, even in the most trivial actions Captain Jacobus disposed himself comfortably upon, the settle against the wall, and called for wine. Opposite to him, the travelers’ saddles were piled, together with their riding cloaks and great slouched hats. “You travel late for gentlemen of the cassock," remarked the captain. “Have you no fear of highwaymen ?’’ “We put our trust in the sword of the Lord,” replied the elder clergyman,’ piously. “And of Gideon,” echoed the younger, in a thin, high voice, extremely out of keeping with his bulk. “Spoken very godly, and a mighty pretty sentiment!” observed the captain, rolling his liquor On his tongue. “And yet it seems to me you run something of a risk, notwithstanding." “My son and I,” returned the old man, with much tranquility, “shoulder to shoulder, have bested the devil these many years past.” “Yea, even when hetraveleth abroad in the guise of a robber,” the other chimed in, cheerfully. “Ah !” said the captain. “But perhaps you never met Captain Jacobus, the cavalier, who rules this very road from Reading to Winchester. They say he hath a ! very deadly’ spite against Puritans. The Parliament dispossessed him of all estate, I’ve heard, and he vowed the pragmatical rebels should pay for it among them.” Pausing to sip his Wine, the speaker eyed the two parsons over the edge of his glass. They returned his gaze in silence, with a watchfid attention. “He has a mighty pleasant way with him; so I’m told, hath Captain Jacobus,” pursued the captain. “None of your common, stand and deliver methods for him, put all manner of pretty knacksand strange devices Why, now, just to give you an example; supposing he were silting where I sit now," —the speaker paused a moment, but the two <big clergymen did not move so much as an eyelid—“it’s likely he would propose a game at the cards to you two gentlemen. Down you would have to sit with him. I willy-nilly, you see; and inside of an hour I’ll wager he would have won the very , coats off your backs. All by pure skill, you understand. No violence at all. And talking of cards,” said the-eaptiiin. briskly, with a sudden change of tone,, “what do you say to a turn ? Come! Landlord, a clean pack 1” The highwayman rose; moved an elbow chair to the table, and, looking at the two parsons, with a very“eloqueut expression Os countenance, sat absently fingering his pistols. “I am exceedingly sorry, sir; it is impossible that I shouP pleasure vou in so

carnal * diversion,” said the old man, mildly. “And, setting aside the claims •of my holy office, I know not toy from t’otlter. I will ask you to pardon me —we have ridden far to-day," and, with a courteous gesture, he sat down upon the settle in the chimney corner, and leaning back upon the bundle of cloaks and saddles, closed his eyes and folded his hands. $ “And you, sir? Come, doff the priesthood for an hour! Unchain the old Adam, and give him a run! Trust me, you will be a world the better for so self-denying an exercise. What! ’tis not so long since you were to college that your fingers have forgot the feel of the cards, so glossy and ticklish, I’ll (Warrant, Sit down, -young man, sit down, and cut for the deal, like a saint of sense!” The momentary silence that followed was broken by a tiny click, as the captain cocked a pistol. The bald joung man started slightly at the sound, the recumbent figure on the settle opened its eyes, and tne two exchanged a glance, so rapid as to be scarcely perceptible. “Sir," answered the young man, earp- 1 estly, “you touch me nearer than you know. I am naturally eager for social divertisements; and I own it seems hard that a single traveler like yourself must sit and twiddle his thumbs because bis fellow guests- chance to be clergymen. Yet, see Before Lwas a man grown, 1 gave my word to my father never again to j touch the cards." “Johnny,” broke in the old gentleman, “I give you back your word. Do as your conscience bids you. And call to remembrance the House of Rimmon, sonny.” “Nay,” said the captain, pleasantly, “say no more. I would not be an occasion of stumbling to any. It would be a thousand pities to risk a sojourn in purgatory for the sake of a trumpery game of cards;” and, cocking the other pistol, he laid one on either side of him. The bald young man, a good deal flustered, drew up a chair and sat down, wiping the beads of perspiration from his forehead with his coat cuff. “It becomes my turn to entreat the I pleasure, although I fear you will find me ' but a dull opponent,” he said, with a i ghastly attempt at urbanity. “Come, sir, let us to't. I are heartily glad of the opportunity.” “No, no,” said the captain, shuffling the cards. “Y’ are forcing yourself out of sheer good nature. I see it. I will have no man blacken bis record in heaven for me!” “Not a jot, not a tittle,” returned the ■ other, with an obsequious alacrity. “And I take it greatly as a favor you should play with so rusty an amateur.” “Well, have it as you will, then.” said the captain. “And what shall we call the) stakes?” ‘ J “Shall we say—Jacobuses?” said the bald young man, smoothly. A doubt crossed the mind of Captain Jacobus, and he looked up sharply at the speaker. But the bald young man was laboriously dealing the cards, his white face ci eased in a fatuous smile; and the captain could make nothing of his expression. “Why, yes, with all my heart,” returned the captain, “Jacobuses, certainly!” and \ the two men settled to the game, the cler- i gyman conning bis play with the most arduous attention, often clutching his jaw and pausing to consider; and the captain, ; with scarcely a glance at his hand, nonchalently tossing bis cards on the table. They played without exchanging a word; at intervals a smouldering log broke ' and fell upon the hearth, disengaging a •shower of sparks; the old clergyman snored in the chimney corner, and the night wind rustled in the trees outside. At first the game went evenly; but, as the night wore on, a little heap of gold began to accumulate at the elbow of the bald young man, in a manner to the captain quite, unaccountable. Tire doubly in his mind grew and pricked him. He began to watch the other narrowly, and presently detected a piece of very deft manipulation. The highwayman said nothing, but, ‘ twisting his moustache, looked the other full in the eyes. The cheat blinked, went verj’ white, and glanced swiftly round at the sleeper, who continued to snore placidly; but the captain, at the moment of choosing a card, and without turning his head, saw the old man’s eyes open wide and shoot an answering look of meaning at his son. The incident passed so quickly that to an onlooker the pause in the game would have been barely noticeable. Captain Jacobus, under cover of the table, uhsheathed a short dirk, and laid it, naked, on his knee.

Soon the - pile of gold pieces began to dwindle and change sides upon the table, when suddenly, as the bald young man laid down a card, the Captain, with an oath, drove his dagger through the back of his opponent’s hand, deep into the oak. “Not again, my cully!” he cried. The man screamed and fell back in a swoon, and at the sound the other parson leaped to his feet with a cry, whipping a great horse-pistol from his pocket. But the Captain was too quick for him; before he could bring the ponderous engine to bear, the highwayman had caught his I wrist with one hand, and trust the muzzle of a pistol into his face with the other. The clergyman’s weapon exploded harmlessly, the bullet striking the ceiling. “Now,” said Captain'Jatobus, releasing him, “it’s my turn! Obey orders!” he thundered. ‘ ‘Hand up those saddles I ” The old man with shaking fingers and a vefy wry face, heaped up the baggage and dumped it on the table, where the litter of cards was afloat in widening pools of blood. “Empty out the saddle-bags!” Give me but the shadow of disobedience, and I’ll put a bullet in you. What’s here? Now what is a couple of rascal parsons doing with a fortune of gold ? Won at the cards, 1 suppose! And what kind of gear is this j for a clergyman ?" I For among a miscellany of personal esI sects were two bulky leathern bags, full to [ the throat with broad pieces, a great. 1 jeweled watch, anjj a handful of ladies’ ringsand trinkets. The sham clergyman, luting his Augers, and looking haggardly .at the spoil, stood in sullen silence. At the other end of the table the bald young man was moaning and writhing in his, chair, his hand pinned fast. Jlie Cap, tain, vigilant as a bird, but thoroughly at his ease and enjoying himself hugely, leaned "Rfaiust the panelling, eyeing the pair by turns. “Come,” he said, “speak up, parson! Make a clean confession. You mav tie

up your little boy, if your care to, while you talk.’’ The old man cast a venomous glance of contempt upon file abject offspring, “Serve him right!” he broke out savagely. “The clumsy fool!” “I begin to perceive you are something of a precisian," remarked the Captain. “Let the make your son’s excuses. Ta get the better of Captain Jacobus is a highly temerarious enterprise for a young man, though I say it. But I must ask you to take my dagger out of him, and to clean it. I thank you. Now add your purse to the blunt, and pack it all carefull}' up again. It’s time for me to go, as the song says.” “Come,," returned the other, roughly, “let’s talk sense, Captain. The crop was fairly nimined on the road, as you might have done yourself. You can’t mean to wkiddle your fellows?” “On the road? You surprise me! And yet I had some kind of an inkling! that it wasn’t enfff'ely parson beneath those beautiftil black clothes, too,” said the Captain, genially. “Why, of course! of cohrse! gentle- ! men of the road, like yourself! said the old man, brightening somewhat at the friendliness of the other’s tone. “But parsons we’ve been for the last six months, just to implant a little confidence.” “And how did it all come about ?” inquired Captain Jacobus. .“Parsons we were for six months,” reI peated the imposter, “in Kingsclere yonder.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Did you never try the lay, Captain ? You have to live mighty strict while it lasts, but it’s a good lay! a good lay!” The speaker smiled, sourly, at the recollection. “Highly respected by rich and poor, there was nothing good enough for such a brace of saints as Johnny and me. Fat collections every Sabbath, and the poultry and butter and cheeses, —why, we lived like a couple of kings? except for the liquor. Y'our parson must be cruel sparing.of the bene-bowse. That was where the shoe pinched. But at last our chance came along, for a girl of the place was going to be married to some bloated cit in i Winchester. Her men-folk were out o’ j the wayt, and who fit to escort her and i her mother—and her dowry—as the two tall parsons ? So. one on each side, all for fear of you, Captain, we jogged along till nightfall . . . And here we are, and I offering you a third of the swag; and I what could be fairer ?” “Y'ou dogs of Egypt!” began Captain ; Jacobus, in a voice that made the glasses I ring, “would you make terms w'ith me ? • By the heavens you blaspheme you shall i strip yourself of every doit! ’Tis you and I your like bring disgrace upon the names ■of the King’s gentlemen. Are we to keep the road, with curs like you snapping at our heels? What! Y’ou would decoy two poor ladies upon the King’s highway, and drag the very rings from' their fingers ? You would poach on the manor of Captain Jacobus, take possession of bis inn, sharp him at the cards, and shoot him through the head afterwards, iL he . hadn’t been a I match for the hulking pair of you rum clapper-dogeons! All that you would do; . and, when he gets upsides with ypu, you j have 1 the bravado to inform him of it to his face, and to offer him a share! A i share! Tome!” and the orator interpolated some highly-stimulating oaths. “A . share! You shall see,- now! Empty your pockets on the table. Take off that ring—off with it—that or the finger. Search the other rascal. Now strip, the pair of you! Quick about it! Am I to ■ dance attendance upon you, while you ; make a toilet ? Put the clothes on the

fire So! ” The two men, constrained by the brace ! of grinning pistol muzzles, stripped to their shirts and obeyed in silence. The face of the elder was flushed to a dusky ! red ; his eyes shone in his bead ; a trickle of blood from his bitten lip streaked his white beard : and the younger tottered to and fro. with a death-white faee, hugging his wounded hand. 1 “Now,” -said. Captain Jacobus, “you ' shall lade my horse for me, by thunder !” Keeping his eye on the two, he moved to the door, opened it, and whistled. Instantly theje wak a clatter of hoofs, and his black mare came .‘trotting around the corner and trampled into the rribm. The Captain stood by his horse’s head, rating the shivering wretches like dogs while they strapped on the baggage; and when they had done he led the animal into the road. “Hold my stirrrup, Gideon!” said the Captain to. the hapless Johnny ; and including them both in a final exhortation, •■The landlord'takes your nags for the reckoning. But if ever I meet you out on the pad, I’ll shoot you down like vermin, so sure as my name is Captain Jacobus, i Stand clear!” And with a bound he was gone, leaving I the two half-clad rascals a prey to the i humilation of impotent fury, and the 1 most deadly discomfiture of body, amid a 1 scene of the dismalest disorder, the last sparks of their clothes flying up the chimney in the iey draught, and the gray light of the winter’s dawn paling the candies. It is upon record that Captain Jacobus j took it upon himself to restore all the , trinkets, and, according to his rule in i such cases, one-half the money, to the 1 rightful owners thereof; and that the ! other half went into the bottomless pocket I of King Charles the Second, then living i very privately in the city of Cologne. An Improved Saw. People who cut up very valuable timber into merchantable shape have always felt a certain amount of regret at the great waste as seen in the enormous piles of sawdust that accumulates. Fort'his reason it has been economy to use band saws, which are 1 extremely thin and durable. Circui lar saws have not heretofore been as >vailable for this work on account of their much greater thickness, but, being cheaper and much more easily managed, they have been used, even though the waste of material incident thereto has been great. By a new means a 12-gauge 54-inch circular saw has been operated, and tho inventor says that it behaves in the most approved fashion in all respects, doing the work as well as thick saws and standing the strain in the most satisfactory manner. This is of a great deal of. importance, as a thin circular saw can be operated where a band saw is difficult to handle, and is an economy and also much more convenient

A Valuable Dima. Whoever has a dime of 1894, coined bj the San Francisco mint, has a coin so which $5 has already been offered, am when all the facts are known regardhii its scarcity it is not unlikely that It wil command a much higher premium. Inquiry at the mint elicited the inform ation that during the fiscal year of 189only twenty-four dimes were coined at thi San Francisco mint. How this cam about was told by Chief Clerk Roberj Barnett. ’ j. I “All undercurrent subsidiary ’coin< viz, those confining other than the des sign now being used when received at thi Sub-Treasury, are not again allowed to g into circulation, but are sent to the mini to be recoined with the current design In the course of the year 1894 we rej ceived a large sum in these coins, bu| having an ample stock of dimes on han<| it was not intended to coin any of tha| denomination in 1894. However, when nearly all of this subsidiary coin bullioq had been utilized, we found on our hand - a quantity that would coin to advantage only into dimes, and into dimes it was coined, making just twenty-four of there “My attention was first drawn to th< matter particularly by the receipt of i letter from a collector somewhere Ea=, requesting a set of the coins of 1894. I» filling this order I found there were n< dimes of that date on hand. Subsequent* ly I received quite a number of simila letters, and in each case, was, of unable to furnish them. “Plenty of dimes were coined that yea. at Philadelphia and New Orleans but there are many collectors who accumulate the coinage of each mint, al each has its distinguishing mark. Thos4 coined here bear a letter ‘S’ under th eagle. New Orleans used the letter *C and Carson City the letter *C,’ while Phil adelphia coins are identified by the at ?nce of the letter. “We receive each year about fifty re< quests from coin collectors for coins mostly for those of silver.” / 2 ■ Curious Fish in Lake Galilee. In the Sea of Galilee—or Lak Tiberias, as it is also called —there r a strange fish named the Chromi Simonis, which is more careful of it young than fish generally are. Th male fish takes the eggs in his mout and keeps them in his natural sid pockets, where they are regular! hatched, and remain until able t shift for themselves. By this io genious arrangement the brood ij comparatively guarded against itl natural enemies; it is easily fed, tod but it is a puzzje how the little onej escape being eaten alive. A mont.l ago, says a traveler writing to a res ligious contemporary, I found in net a number of Chromis Simonis without eyes. Others of the species, when I lifts them up, dropped a number of littl fishes out of their mouths, whic swam away hastily. The natives exl plained the phenomenon. Theblinj Chromis are the victims of sea hawks, When these birds have eaten thei. fill they begin to look out for tit-bits After catching a fish they hit it| forehead with their sharp beak knocking out the middle part, i which their eyes are set. o The bor.( structure is dropped into the wate* but the eyes are eaten by the bird with great relish. Strangely enoug! the fish generally survive this roug ; treatment. The wound heals u; quickly in the water, and they cod tinue to ply the lake for food as fl nothing had happened. 2The Dreaded Ant Lizard. The natives of Mexico say th< what in the volcanic districts troubl® them most in cutting through th), forest is the perro sompopo, or at) lizard, a dreaded creature that travg els in great armies and attacks every, thing that comes in its path. Th? pero eompopo-resembles the ordinal lizard in its bodily conformation,"di); its head is wider and flatter, and !t eyes are large, protuberant, of ex traordinary brilliancy and at nig! are said to be phosphorescent. Whe ten thousand of these creatures ar| in motion in one direction on a dare night, they give the trees of th 1 forest the appearance of being stft ig a bed of undulating fire. The bit of the perro sompopo is fatal, an the agony preceding death is said t be something frightful. The lizard usually attacks the in step —the natives are always bar* footed —and within ten minutes th| foot begins to swell and in half aS hour the swelling has extended tj the body, which begins to turn ) purplish red, not unlike the iwcpi of a man i,n an apoplectic fit. Th unfortunate wretch loses the powefi of speech because of the dilation q the vocal organs and the thickenin of the tongue. The whole body get| erally becomes paralyzed, arid th) end comes usually within an hor after the bite has been inflicted. N antidote has yet been discovered fd this poison. A Unique Entertainment. At a corn social lately given by th Methodist Protestant Endeavorers c Princeton, 111., the lunch aonsiste largely of preparations madl Trot corn. There were blanc mange, corn starch cake, popcorn balls, loose po[ corn and coffee. Each guest found a his plate as a souvenir a cornplastt tied with yellow ribbon. Each lad received a small one, and each get tieman a large one. Among th amusements of the evening was guessing contest, the contestant striving to guess the number of grair pf popcorn in a small dish. The Sut cessful guesser was rewarded with wall rack made by screwing thre toilet hooks in a great ear of whit corn, hung by a silk ribbon. Itgoe without saying that at this interest ing festival no one was !‘corned’ ’ i Gie popular use of the word. w