Decatur Democrat, Volume 50, Number 42, Decatur, Adams County, 20 December 1906 — Page 6

TOK CHBOSTOAS * By FRANK H. SWEET a star, a ihinmg \\ * tar ’ I More glorious than r<£— I I our planets are, / ® ut watc hed by / wistful eyes and I ips* ll - 1 And longing hearts, that wondrous U * night. Only, a manger, shadow thronged, That to some inn belonged, nr Where sweet breathed I cattle quietly cq. . - -U For midnight slum- L- ’ ber bent the A \ knee. Only the light of tapers small. That on two tender faces fall. Two tender faces—one divine— That still through all the centuries shine V TRO TENDER FACES—ONE DIVINE. From palace walls, from thrones of gold, From churches, shrines, cathedrals old, Where the grand masters of their art Wrought faithfully with hand and heart. Only a Babe, in whose small hand p' ' <T ?! = U^ > * s 86611 no scc P ter °* 1 \ command, I 'x / J But at whose name, J \ with freedom’s , J p sword, ; p Move the great armies \ of the Lord. J " I wit Only a cross 1 But, oh, a p what light Shines from God’s iLj throne on Calvary’s height! 8A // K X His birth, his life, the O? / x f angels see -- rjt> OQ fjl J Written on evely •• . 1 Christmas tree. 'X*.—- e'.. ->-• *X,-. An Abrupt Finale.' Joaquin Miller had. just won recognition as the poet of the Sierras and wav working on a paper iu Oregon. lie. had been contributing verses and short stories and had just begun a taie'itbout ' the Soldiers on the frontier who suffered with scurvy. The editor’ wanted the scurvy story for the tnorriing publication, but Joaquin Miller .could not concentrate upon ; his.work.. His-mind leaped to the anticipated,-joj’ of a great social function Occurring that evening, for at this time he' was a social lion. However, he had proceeded in his story up to the point of the conditional cure for the disease, ./where all the soldiers suffering with scupry had been buried, with only their heads,exposed |o view. The editor was yelling “Copy!” The poet’s mind refused to work. He could not finish the tale, leaving his soldiers In such a plight. Suddenly an inspiration came to him. He’ grabbed his pencil and wrote rapidly the following words*. . ’' “And a she wolf came along'arid ate off all their headn.” Then he made a I bee line for the door and was, yat. seen again until the next day.. Has -story, was not published.- ■ A Cnu«£‘b'f’Divcli'ce.' '■ “What is the most freqtierif cause of divorce'.'”, the .lawyer was asked., boo “It is nearly. incredible,”, fie ’ said. - “but a thing that causes divorce oftener than you’d imagine is married peer pie’s quarreling over their right to open one another’s letters. The husband will claim that he is entitled to open the wife’s mail. The wife will claim that she is entitled to open the husband’s. In the letters of neither will there be anything of a private or compromising nature, but nevertheless they both want to get their mail in-violate—-it enrages them to have it opened and read. Quarrels over this letter opening question vex, I suppose, 90 per cent of married couples. Os this 90 per cent a distressingly large proportion go on from bad to worse till they wind up in the divorce court. So, young man, when you come to marxy, leave your wife’s mail alone, no matter how she may pry into yours.”— New York Press. ' ■ *" ■ *’ * Quick wit Saved Hi. Life. “The strangest, and most thrilling piece of swordsmanship l ever saw,” •aid the fencing; master, “was in Vermont. I was spending the auturrin In a mountainous part of the state, and there was a military encampment near my hotel. One morning an officer’s horse started to' bolt with the man during parade and made at breakneck •peed toward a precipice. The officer tried to . .stop the horse, tried to > v turn his head—no use. On. dashed the ! frantic animal straight for the abyss. KWe all held our breaths. In another Ji instant we expected to see horse and bi-Tider go over the cliff. But the officer fewfaen within fifty feet of the »drew his sword and plunged it tv. ice deep into the horse. .The horse stag slowed, keeled over, dying. The i man had sacrificed the animal’s life to ftT.'taw Ids own.” ' ■?r« ’ .

:■ Luck and a Woman ...By FRED MEERS... Copyright, 1306. by P. C. Eastment t,...... 4 “Close it up soon if you can,” said the manager. “We have put some of our best mtjn on the matter, but they can tell us nothing. If we do not manage to locate the cause of these robberies we might as well go out of business.” “I’ll do what I can,” promised Danvers, “but if Symes and Taylor have given up the case I don’t see where I get off.” “Neither do I,” .admitted the manager frankly, “except that you seem to have fools’ luck, and sometimes that is better than good detective instinct.” Danvers bowed at the doubtful compliment and took himself off. There j might be something in that luck the- ‘ ory. Since going to wmrk for the burglary insurance people he had more than once stumbled against a clew that developed into a conviction. But this promised to be a harder case than usual, and after he had interviewed the watchmen who were on the RSIS WplW ".W ,k- II <UE FAIR RETURNED, PUSHING BEFORE THEM A WHEELBARROW. night job and the men who had been working on the case it seemed hopeless. ■ ■ The burglary insurance'included the services of a night watchman and a burglar alarm system. Nothing seemed to be the matter with either of these, and yet the block on Seaton place had been repeatedly robbed. Os late a special patrolman had been assigned to the block, and all night long be had tramped from one end of the short street to the other. Seaton place was only a block long, a fashionable residence block that offered rich returns to the men who had systemntieaily looted the houses. None bad seen them go in or out. though strict watch had been kept. Once had even placed a man in each back yard to make certain that no one could enter through the rear and yet during that week of special precaution three of the houses bad been robbed. The owners were of the ultra English set, who seldom came to town from their country places until after . the opera season set in, and already the company stood to lose the better part of its capita] in flaying off its losses! Danvers; looking about for a coign of vantage, hit upon a theatrical boarding house at the rear of the block.. Here he obtained a rear room, and for several nights he kept vigil. The moon was in its last quarter, and it was not always easy to keep watch; but he sat peering into the dusk, looking to see some one jump the line of fences and attack the houses from the rear. That entrance was effected from the rear be was’certain. because the watch from the front was too strict to be evaded. It was the fifth night that, happening to look up, he perceived a shadow crossing the sky line of the houses. H» rubbed his eyes that were droopins with sleep, but he still saw the shadow advancing toward the opposite roof. “They can’t have a flying machine.” he muttered to'himself. “If they have it’s ho wonder the boys couldn’t locate them. I guess I’ll go up on the roof arid have a better look.” -sr He’'fctale out of the room and up the stairs to the roof. The trap was left open tn pleasant weather to ventilate the stuffy balls, and as he climbed softly through the scuttle hole he almost lost his balance. Standing on the edge of the roof was a second man. and even as Danvers looked he stepped out over the edge of the roof and glided toward the opposite side. There was a third figure, a woman’s, and Danvers waited a moment to see if she. too. would e-.say walking upon the air. but she made no effort to follow her companio.i's example, and at last the detective slipped through the opemug and crept soi'tly behind her. Wli'i a I em'd lie was upon her and Lad wiappX; Ids liairl over her mnutli before she could make outcry. Even in. the light he could recognize her as one of a trio of acrobats he had nothe tables More than Once ' 1 I' I 1 <■ 11 * ‘

be had sougbt to attract her attention, for she was a remarkably pretty girl, but tin two men with her resented even a look and kept such close guard over her that there had been no chance to make ber acquaintance. “What are you up to?” he demanded roughly. “I am a detective.” “They thought you were,” she gasped as he raised bis hand to permit ,ber to reply. “Don't let them catch me, will you? They have gone to rob the houses.” “But how?” he asked curiously. “They seem to walk on air.” “They used to be wire walkers,” she explained, “but they tried tumbling afterward. They are walking on the telegraph wires.” “They won’t bold up.” he scoffed. “Yes. they will.” she persisted. “Over here they have fastened them, and they are strong on the other side. It’s easier to walk on a slack wire than on a tight one. you know. This gives just the right sag.” “But how do they bring the stuff back?” he persisted. “Wait and you will ■ see,” she cautioned. * f Danvers slipped behind a chimney, and presently the pair returned, pushing before them a'wheelbarrow with a grooved wheel. One of them carried a Japanese umbrella painted black, with which he preserved their balance while the other pushed. They dumped their load on the roof and turned back. When they had disappeared down one of the scuttles on the other side Danvers stepped out again. “How long have you been with these men?” he demanded. “You don’t look like their sort.” “They were with a circus,” she explained. “I ran away with Jim; that’s the smaller one. He watches me so that I do not have a chance to get away from him.” “Is this a regular trick?” he demanded. She shook ber head. “Business is bad this year. The boys can’t get work. They were fooling one night on the roof and found that the wire was strong enough to bear them. They used to carry me in the wheelbarrow in the show, and they got the idea of robbing the houses. They cut the alarm wire and can come and go as they please. When the men were watcjiing they walked right over their heads.” “I’d like to get after them,” he said. “I could drive them down to the street where the watchman is.” “If you won’t tell I’ll take you,” voliinteered. “Don’t be afraid. I can do it.” She caught up another parasol from the roof and spread it. “Ride pickaback.” she commanded. Danvers put his arms about her shoulders and raised his feet clear. Slowly she adjusted her weight to the wire and began to make her way across. Somewhere he had read that it would not do to look down, so he shut his eyes and hung on. Once or twice the girl seemed to lose ber balance and for a moment worked the parasol violently w’hile she regained it. Then she pressed on again, and at last, with a sigh, she stepped off the wire, and Danvers opened his eyes. They. were on the farther side, and just beyond was the open scuttle. "Let me go back.” pleaded the girl. “They must not know that I helped you or they would kill me when you got out. You must never tell how you made the trip. Pretend that you saw them and climbed a fire escape. I am going to be gone by the time you get back to the house.” . “But how can I reward you?” he questioned. She threw a glance at him. “I can get a divorce if Jim is convicted. ’ My freedom is a rich reward.” She kissed her hand to him in imitation of the circtis ring, and he watched with admiration as her lithe figure sped open. Then he dropped through the scuttle. “Bull luck, 1 suppose,” laughed the manager When Danvers reported the next morning. “Jqst that,” assented Danvers,” “bull luck—and a woman.” But he would not explain the latter part, and the manager imagined it to be the girl he married on the strength of his increased pay. The First Photography. It was in 1542 that John Draper, then a professor in the University of New York, made the first portrait photograph. The subject was Elizabeth Draper, his sister. Professor Draper had the idea that in order to produce distinct facial outlines in photography it would be necessary to cover the countenance of the person photographed with flour. This seems a strange notion now, and it proved not to be a good one then, for all of Professor Draper’s early attempts were failures. Finally he left off the flour and then was quite successful This so delighted him that be sent the picture to Sir William Herschel, the eminent English astronomer. Sir William was in turn ■ delighted, and made known Professor 1 Draper’s success to the scientific men of Europe. He also sent Professor Draper a letter of acknowledgment > and congratulation, which has been ! carefully preserved in the archives of f the Draper family. 1 r — - . - Testing Eggs For Freshness. , Dissolve two ounces of salt in a pint * of water and then place the egg to be i tested i"n this liquid. A new laid egg - will at once sink to the bottom; an egg 1 three days old will remain suspended ? about' midway, and an egg that is five days old or hiore will float on the top 1 of thp solution. The vacuum in the i shell is the explanktioh of the varying i actions' of the egg. The<, larger it ber comes owing to the evaporation of the - contents through the shell the more s c*slly tbs egg floats.

»!-!■ W-M-f t 1 -H i d 1 h l ; ! i H * ; John Selden s Dog | [Copyright, 1906, by C. H. Hirt] For ten years, or from the time he was twenty to thirty, John Selden had been the cashier of Henderson’s private bank. People said it was a very responsible place for a young nfan of twenty, and some shook their heads and predicted that temptation would get the better of him, but Henderson smiled at their fears and replied: “John has been a clerk here for four years. I have tried him out over and over. There isn’t a dishonest hair In his head, and you couldn’t put money enough before him to tempt him to steal.” Young Selden did not marry. He had no vices. He was pleasant and friendly' with all, but It was seldom ’that he went out of an evening. At the bank he was called “Clockwork.” • A more diligent, reliable man never gave his services to another. At twenty-five he had the banking business at his fingers’ ends. Between that age and thirty he had as many as ten offers from other financial Institutions. In the ten years his salary was increased five times. During these ten years, as Selden himself stated, he was never under temptation for a moment. Then came a horrible temptation. After awhile it began to tell on his health. The banker suggested a vacation. It was then that the temptation triumphed. After being trailed for a month and after a dozen almost sleepless nights, John Selden agreed to do as the unknown wished. He set out without loss of time and with feverish anxiety, and it seemed as if Satan aided him. He packed up SIOO,OOO worth of bonds and cash after banking hours, walked out of the town with a satchel without being particularly remarked and when six miles away took a train. He had made no plans as to where he should go. Where he did go was to a village forty miles away. He was ill when he got off the train and ill for a month ut the hotel. When he recovered he stayed on. He w*as quiet, minded his own affairs and somehow 7 the villagers came to believe tha.t he was a detective. It so happened that Banker Henderson was the first to discover his loss. No one could have taken the money but his trusted cashier. He was stunned for a time by the blow. Then he made up bis mind to a certain thing, and not a word regarding the missing money passed his lips. He said that Selden had gone on a vacation. .He spoke always in his praise. It put him to great straits to make 'the shortage good, but he accomplished it, and not a breath of suspicion was raised against the cashier. The money was gone and the cashier was gone, but the banker would not believe tha.t he. had been mistaken in Selden. What he did was to call in a private detective, swear him to secrecy forever and then send him . out on a search. There no clew whatever to work on. ■ Selden might have gone north, east, south or west. It was like hunting for a needle in a haystack. The detective bad to make a short journey io sep a relative who was ill. He had been about the bank for a week. Selden nad left behind him a little dog—an animal he had had for four years. Strangely enough, the dog took to the. detective at once and followed him everyw’here and acknowledged him as ihaster. Finding thd canine at his heels at the depot, the detective lifted him up and took him along. By and by he got off at a village. A day or two later he set out for a walk over the highway. The dog followed and frisked about. After a couple of miles had been passed the man was about to turn back when he came upon a man seated on a bn nil by the roadside with his head on his hands. While he was yet five rods away the little dog ran ahead and leaped uppn the stranger and barked and frisked and showed every sign of intense excitement. The man did not repulse him. On the contrary, he lifted up the animal and fondled arid talked to him. - It did not need the astuteness of a detective to come to a conclusion on the spot. Tffie dog had found his old master. The officer advanced and looked down on the man and said: “You are John Selden, who robbed Banker Henderson.” “Yes,” was the reply, and Selden did not even look up. “Where have you been since?” “In the village three miles away." “"Where is the money?” “It is in my room, every dollar of it Leave me the dog, and you may have the money.” ' The detective did not put the cashier under arrest. He went with him to i his hotel, telegraphed the banker, and 1 that night Henderson arrived and ■ asked: i “John, what is it? Why did you do i it?” ■ “A voice kept telling me to rob the i bank,” was the reply. ■ “And you have not spent of th® t money?” i “Nat a. dollar. What are yOu going ! > to 4o wish me?’! “Take you to a better place in the morning.” “Yes,” said the eminent physician t who examined John Selden next day, > “it is a case of hallucination He was ; overworked. It might have been suir cide if not robbery. Take him to BenI son’s sanitarium for a couple of months j and then give him his old place back. > He Is an honest man with a hallucina- » tion.” . , ’ •_ j . “Praise God!” answered the banker I . as he wiped a tear from his eye! ; “I’ve lost a case,” added the deI tectite, “but I’ve learned something l new about men.” M. QUAD, i

CUTTLEFISH FARMS. ■ .1 »■■■■■■ ■ I Where the Queer Creatures Are CtU- ' tlvated to Be Milked. Does any one know that cuttlefish are cultivated on farna to be milked? These cuttlefish farms are located on the coasts qf Great Britain, and the cuttlefish are kept In tanks or ponds to be milked of their ink. The pond or tank is connected with the sea by a pipe, and a thousand or more cutties are kept in a single one. They form a most curious sight as they move about, trailing their long arms and staring out of their bulging eyes. They are guarded by screens which prevent them from being scared, for if they are suddenly frightened they will squirt their milk into the water, and it would therefore be lost. This fluid or milk Is very valuable, and a cuttie will yield about $3 worth a year. It is secreted in a bag which can be opened and. closed at will, the cuttie ejecting ihe fluid to darken the water so that it may escape unseen when attacked. The best cuttlefish are procured in China, where for some reason or other they produce the best quality of milk. When the farmer considers it opportune to milk the cutties he proceeds by opening the sluices of the pond and gently agitating the water. The cutties then swim around the pond, and as soon as one passes through the sluice is closed. The cuttie passes down a small channel into a basin or metal receptacle, and as soon as it is securely there the water is drained off. It is then frightened and at once squirts the fluid from the bag. When it is exhausted it is lifted out, the milk is collected and the basin prepared for another. MODERN CIVILIZATION. Ita Complexity, Hurry and Worry Shortening Our Lives. Not long ago while traveling I chanced to stop at a village on the river Rhine, where I found an astonishing number of old people. There were a dozen over a hundred years of age and many from eighty years old up to the century mark, yet straight and vigorous. One woman nearly a hundred years old was earning her living by picking hops. Her grandchildren were middle aged. It was quite wonderful. But there was no mystery about it. It was merely the effect of a simple life spent. largely in the fields, with plain diet, consisting of a few vegetables and fruits, little meat, and native beer and wine for beverages. Nothing can be more obvious than that the very complexity of our modern civilization is shortening our lives. But of all the evils that afflict us the worst and most destructive are hurry and worry. Hurry drives the body machine beyond its capacity, while worry racks ,it inwardly. Os the two worry is probably the worse. This might indeed be called the age of worry. Because of the intense nervous strain to which we are subjected we do vastly more worrying than did our forbears. The average man of today is continual- , ly surrounded and pursued by phantom troubles, which, though few of them ever materialize into realities, haunt him continually, ruining his peace of mind and injuring his health.—Reader Magazine. Getting Married. I don’t know myself what getting married feels like, but it cannot be much more exciting than watching other people getting married. Indeed. I always get something like palpitation of tlie heart just before the priest utters the final fateful words, “I declare you man and wife.” Half a second before you were still free. Half a second after you were bound for the term of your natural life. Half a second before you had only to dash the book from the priest’s hands and put your hands over his mouth, and, though thus giddily swinging on to the brink of the precipice, you are saved. Half a second after— All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Cannot make you a’ bachelor again. It is the knife edge moment betwixt time and eternity.—From LeGallienne’s “His Quest of the Golden Girl.” The Name “Fife.” The origin of the name Fife is not known. One historian tiyfcs to show that it comes from the Celtic word veach, a Pict, and means that the distrait was inhabited by Picts, but that is obviously absurd, as Fife was not specially the home of any of the Pictish nations. The tradition that finds greatest favor is related by a monk, who states that the first known possessor of the district which has since grown into the kingdom of Fife was one Fifus Duffus, a famous chieftain whose date is lost in the mists of antiquity! He Cheapened Pena. Sir Josiah Mason was, according to his biography, walking in Bull street, Birmingham, in the year 1828 when he saw some steel pens, price 3s. fid. each. Josiah was a hard up maker of split rings. No sooner had he seen the pens than he went home, made some better than those »ri the shop, sent them up to London and got a large order by return. At thirty years of age Mason’s capita 1 was 30 shillings. At sixty he had given away £400,000. Hat'd Luck. “Why does Baron Hoffman look so dejected* lately ?” * “Haven’t you heard? He married a rich w'idow not long ago, and now!sn> banker has absconded with all her money.”—Meggendorfer BffltterJ . In E“jypt the cat sacred to the moon., ami wlieu a cat died .jts master shaved off his eyebrows in sign of i mourning.

! PH t -bt-H I:: THE HERITAGE of THE ELUS ESTATE J [Original.] When Edward Ellis, childless widower, passed bis sixty-eighth birthday, being partially blind, he took into his •ervice Dora Laraway, aged twentytwo, her duties being that of companion. He promised to leave her something in his will—he was rich—but died without having made any will. Mean while Dora, who had endured him for ten years, had passed out of her youth and found herself on the world for a living. The disposition of Ellis’ property promised to be peculiar. A wife, a child, a brother or sister would have inherited it all .under the law. Ellis had had only one childr—a son—who had gone to the SpanishAmerican war and was. on the list of killed in the fighting before Santiago. There being no near relative to inherit the Ellis estate, it was pounced upon by remote cousins. Claimants came in great numbers from far and There was no unanimity between them, each striving to make his or her own ejajm paramount. Dora Laraway was inclined to put in a claim for services, but was advised that such claim would not hold good in law. Among those claiming a share of the estate was a middle aged man who called himself Leonard Ellis. He had come from South America, where he lived, and, as no one had ever heard of the deceased having a relative in that faraway country, he was looked upon with suspicion. He seemedratherdisconcerted at the clamor of claimants and apparently disinclined to enter the lists. The reason for this was apparent when he was asked from what Ellis he had descended. He named Leonard Ellis, a captain in the Revolutionary war. The cousins hunted the matter up arid found that the said Ellis had never been married. Since none of the claimants wished the care of the deceased’s house and household effects, or, rather, since they all wished to go in and appropriate the effects, it was agreed that Dora Laraway should remain In charge.’ Meanwhile the cousins were busy hacking at the Ellis genealogical tree, each desiring to cut off for himself the biggest branch. All filed their papers except Leonard Ellis, who since the discovery that his ancestor had died childless, or, worse, that he was illegitimate, had taken a back seat among them. Once, and only once, he ventured to open his mouth. Then he proposed that in view of Dora's services to the deceased and the promise that had been made her one-eighth of the estate be signed to her. His proposition was met with such a torrent of abuse, especially coming from one whose claim was fraudulent, that the poor man was abashed. l But when it became known that the deceased had embodied his intention to Dora in a letter ( there was a hush among the claimants, and she was considered as one whose claim should be bought' Up. When, however, Dora made no use of the evidence she possessed the .weathercock shifted again, and It was hinted among them that “the letter was a forgery. Dora herself admitted that she had been advised by the stranger Leonard Ellis not to press her claim. This move on the part of one who had he been a legitimate descendant from the man he claimed for a progenitor would have come in ahead of them all puzzled them, but when it was announced that Leonard Ellis had taken up his quarters in the house that had been occupied by the deceased all recognized the fact that some coup d’etat had been sprung on them. Simultaneous with this information came an invitation from Leonard Ellis to each and every one of them to meet him the next evening at the house an interest in which they all claimed, when he would display a genealogical tree that would settle all dispute with regard to the Ellis property. All accepted and were ushered into the drawing room, where the “tree” was hung on the wall. Mr. Ellis advanced to the map, holding a -cane, in his hand for a pointer. The Ellis whose name stood first and from which all the rest on the tree were descended was Samuel Ellis, father of Captain* Leonard Ellis and Edward Ellis, the grandfather of the deceased. Beneath the name of the deceased was Captain Leonard Ellis. “Cousins,” said the expounder, pointing to this name, “Edward Ellis had a son who was named for Captain Leonard Ellis, who heads this tree. He went to the Spanish-American war, having quarreled with his father, who wished him to remain in business, which he disliked. He becaine a captain and was erroneously reported killed. Taking advantage of the error to remain a dead man to his father temporarily, he went to Sputh America, where he has since been engaged in coffee planting. He put off declaring himself longer than he had Intended and at the time of his father’s death was on his way home. He found a babel of claims for his father’s estate, none of the claimants knowing of bls identity. A few years before he left home his .father had taken a companion, and by this companion the son had been refused, furnishing an additional reason for his leaving and remaining away. Since his ’return he has been accepted by his former love. Cousins. I am Leonard Ellis, only son of the deceased and heir-at-law to his property. There is but one person who has any claim on it besides myself. That person will own it with me.” -The Tier) tage of- the Ellis property was settled. The assembly broke up, arid, the, next day the united clamor of the claimants was dissipated. SYLVIA LEWIS BALDWIN.