Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1892 — Page 3

AWOMANS INFLUENCE

BY LULU JAMISON

CHAPTER Xll—Continued. Tje next morning Margaret received to. note from the rectory asking her to •come to Mrs. Ivens, who was very sick. Waiting only for a hasty breakfast, and obeying Brian’s instructions to wrap ■herself warmly, she departed on her errand of mercy. Through the peaceful quiet of the "Sabbath morning she made her way •over the well kept road, until she •reached the rectory, an unpretentious little house, sitting back in an equally unpretentious garden. A narrow, beaten pathway led to the modest entrance, and on either side of it were tiny borders of dead flowers, around whose lifeless stems the brown leaves clung convulsively. Margaret’s ring was answered by a tired-looking maid servant, who led the way into the poorly furnished little parlor. While she questioned the girl as to her mistress’ condition Margaret’s ■eyes traveled wistfully about the room, whose cheery homeliness not oven the disillusionizing influence of poverty, could entirely dispel. Yet there was ’Something vaguely pathetic in the worn ■chairs, the faded, almost threadbare, •carpet; the few inexpensive ornaments, and the numerous makeshifts; little pretensions to comfort and luxury, which deft fingers had fashioned into pretty deceptive devices, all presenting the long and patient labor, thoughtful love, and tender self-denial, so often wrought into the possessions of the poor. Up stairs in the front room she found the brave little woman who had seemed so well only a few days before, stretched on a bed of weakness, the "busy brain no longer worrying over the •wants of a growing family, the tireless feet resting at last. Near the bed sat Mr. Ivens, the rector of the most unpopular church in 8 . He was a man of many talents and attainments, but unfortunately for himself he lacked the self-confidence necessary to meet and overcome the difficulties of life. Margaret knew and understood a nature so similar to her father’s. She •discovered the wealth of learning and nobility of soul hidden under an overmastering diffidence, and she admired the qualities which others could not see. Now as she saw him, bowed by the shadow of a coming great sorrow, holding the nerveless hand that'had smoothed so many difficulties for him, yet whose cheerful aid could never more be his, she felt her heart filled with a compassion no words could express. He was so engrossed with his grief that he scarcely noticed her as she quietly glided to his place beside the bed, but Mrs. Ivens had heard the almost noiseless footsteps, and opened her eyes wearily.' “Ah, it is you, Margaret,” she said with a momentary flush of pleasure on her pale face. Margaret nodded cheerily, and laid her hand, with a soothing tenderness, on the hot, throbbing head. “Does it ache much?” she asked.

“No, Margaret, only a little. Will you tell Mary to get the children ready for school? I should be up to do it myself, but I am very tired. ” “I don’t believe you ever admitted as much before," was Margaret’s rather unsteady answer, “The children won’t go to school to-day. It is Sunday. ” “Sunday, and I lying here! James, why didn’t you tell me? We had so much to do to-day.” Her eyes sought her husband’s, but he was looking rather wistfully at Margaret. Margaret read the unspoken language of that glance, and she found it very difficult to answer cheerfully. “We are going to let you be lazy today, Ellen, so that formidable amount of work must wait for another Sunday. I intend to assert my authority, and, to begin, I’ll sit here while Mr. Ivens eats some breakfast. Mary told me to send him down.” The gentleman took this hint, and, as obedient as a child, left the room. He knew that Ellen was safe and happy in Margaret’s hands, and already he felt better for her cheerful, helpful presence. Half-way down the stairs he was met by a preternaturally grave child of 8 .years, whose wistful eyes gazed sadly Into his. Evidently sho had been waiting for him, for without a ’word she stole quietly to his side and allowed her hand to glide with reassuring sympathy into his.

In this silent way they reached the dining-room, where Mary had breakfast on the table, and three tats aged, respectively, six, four, and two seated in their higli-chairs, waiting for papa. Little wonder that Margaret’s mind i should be filled with painful thoughts : of these babies, as she sat by ! their mother’s bedside, or that her eyes j became so misty when Ellen expressed j such gratitude for her attentions. “If you only knew how glad it makes ■ me to do even a little for you, ” she said, ' with a struggle to speak calmly. “You see, it is. so seldom I can be useful, that I am particularly proud now. If I had i been poor, I believe I should have taken ! as a profession.’’ “Yes,- but you need not do it now, j Margaret. You don’t know what it is to be poor. It is hard for him and the children.” The voice was full of pain. “ I have known,” Margaret answered. ; “I have known the pain and cruelty of it. The scales of life are so uneven. I have no more right to comfort and luxury than you have, and yet—— But I did not come hereto talk on such doleful subjects; I want to see you bright and cheerful.” “It is hard to be bright and cheerful, | Margaret. Lying here with nothing to do, so many thoughts come to me. I’m j afraid I have given up so often when I should have helped and encouraged James. Now it is so near Christmas" and so much to do, while I am here | helpless. You must help me to get j well, Margaret. Help me to get strong. Why do you turn your eyes away? Is it because Ah! is it because you 1 think I shall never be well again? Some- j times I have thought so too, and I have ; prayed that it may not be so, for James’ j sake and my babies." The weak voice broke, and Margaret, Incapable of a word, could only press ! the hot hand between her own cool ones j while her eyes burned with the tears | she found so hard to withhold. She was very glad when the rector came in a few moments later and she i could leave the room to overcome her j emotion and write the following note to Brian: 1 “Beab Brian—Do not expeot mej

home to dinner. Mrs. Ivens is very 111. Will you come here this afternoon? I am anxious to see you. ” Finding a boy, Margaret directed him to leave the note at Elmwood. CHAPTER XIII. BRIAN'S CHRISTMAS GIFT. When Brian came to the rectory that afternoon Margaret asked him to go up and see Mrs. Ivens. “I wish your candid opinion,” she said. “I think she is very ill, for Ellen is not the one to give up until forced to do so.” From his brief visit Brian came down with a serious face. Margaret was standing in the lower hall, and one glance made her heart sink heavily. “The case is hopeless," he said, in answer to the question she was trying to frame. “I am so sorry for you.” “Bather be sorry for them,” she rejoined, trying to shut-out the sympathetic face, which made it more difficult for her to be calm. “Who will tell him? Do you suppose he can ever be reconciled to her loss?” “I don’t know,” interposed Brian, for want of a better answer. “I 'suppose we must all be reconciled to whatever comes to us. ” “Ah! don’t. It is cruel to talk of being reconciled. I’d never be reconciled. Never!” • W ith these abrupt words, she started to move away, but her tears blinded her, and she would have fallen had not Brian, qu'ok to detect her weakness, caught her in his arms. “This will not do, Margaret,” he said, with some authority. “I think you had better go home with mo. You will make yourself ill.” “What nonsense, Brian! 11l from watching a few hours with a sick friend? I wouldn’t be fit to live if that were the case. This is not physical weakness.” “Aren’t there others to do for Mrs. Ivens?” he asked, with some warmth. “ Why should it all fall on your shoulders?”

“All fall on my shoulders? Oh, Brian, how you do exasperate me! Of course thero are others. Plenty of them. Everybody loves her, but for some reas m she likes to have me with her. And with her I intend to stay. ” “Then stay you may,” he answered, meeting her defiant eye. “I sha’n’t carry you away by bodily force, though I don’t think you should have your own way in every case. I have one request to make. Perhaps you will condescend to respect it. Don’t kill yourself.” “I am not one of the killing kind,” rejoined Margaret,goingmp-stairs. “ Goodby for the present. You may call tomorrow, if you will.” Brian did call to-morrow, and this second visit only confirmed the opinion expressed in his first. Mrs. Ivens was dying—from no special disease, buj from a gradual giving away of the vital forces. A life of care and anxiety, vexations and privations, and wearying struggles to make both ends meet, had told at last on the delicate constitution. Many who fall by the wayside are not less brave than those who reach the martyr’s stake, and, if the truest heroes are those who bear life’s burdens uncomplainingly, Mrs. Ivens might justly wear the crown of heroism.

Margaret was faithful to her trust. Others came and went, but she remained by the sick bed. Brian exhausted his e .treaties in vain, and even Christinas Eve could not tempt her to leave her friend. “You tell me her hours are numbered. Let me stay until the end. It cannot be very long now. ” And Brian said no more. Mrs. Ivens' hours were, indeed, numbered. The flame of life burnt fainter and fainter, and when the night of Christmas Eve passed into the dawn of Christmas Day, the angels of life and death crossed in their pathway, and the tired soul found the land of perpetual rest —the joys of an eternal morning. The Incidents of those closing moments were indelibly photographed on Margaret’s mind. She had to be brave and strong for the sake of those so sadly bereaved. Mary had sobbed and the rector had bowed his head in anguished grief, but she had shed no tear. She had brought the solemn, awe-struck children to their mother’s side; she had seen the kiss of infinite tenderness pressed upon each sad little face; her heart had echoed Elsie’s cry of anguish when for the last time that little head was pillowed on a dying mother’s breast; yet her eyes had been hard and dry, though the painful tightening at her throat had made her promise to be a friend to these motherless little ones, so hard to speak. And even now the tears would not come, though she had thought and thought until her mind was weary. The sunshine lay all about her, the bright, glad sunshine of Christmas; on the floor, where the carpet looked so faded and worn; on the very spot that Ellen’s fingers had mended so often and so patiently in their old busy days; on the old chintz sofa, where she was lying now—so carelessly, so thoughtlessly—while the heart whose tender, unselfish love had made this house a home, in all that gives that word its highest, holiest meaning, was forever stilled in its last sleep, and the tired, patient hands lay folded in the calm lest to be broken never again. A sound in the hall! She started up to listen. The long period of watching had made her nervous and sensitive, and the house had been so still. Even the baby voices were awed to silence. The heavy footsteps jarred sharply on her ears. They were not Mary’s and not the rector’o. They were Brian’s. He entered the little room where she was trying to rest, and with his sympathy reflected on his face, came to her side.

“Mary has told me,” he said, quietly. “I am so sorry. I suppose I may take you home now. It is Christmas, you know, and I ” “Christmas!” she echoed, in a faraway voice. “Are you sure, Brian? Christmas always brings happiness, I thought, and there is no happiness here. lam ready to go home, though. I believe I have been waiting for you. lam so tired, so very tired. I don’t feel that I can ever be rested again.” Brian looked his concern. Such weakness was unusual in Margaret. “I am afraid you have done wrong,” he said, with some leproach. “You should have taken my advice, Margam, but I suppose it is too lat ■ to scold now. You need rest. That is evident,” Margaret scarcely heard him. She rose rather unsteadily and started to leave the room, but with sudden remembrance she turned back with the words: “I shall take the children to Elmwood. Christmas here would be a mockerv for them.” A shade of annoyance passed over his face. “It would be useless to oppose you, even if I desired to do so, ” he returned. “Take them, of course, but do let Mrs. Davis care for them. I won’t have you worrying yourself into an illness. I believe in a certain amount of sympathy, but too much is too much." I only want to go to bei and sleep forever,” was Margaret’s answer. "I am so tired from being sorry. ” "Then the sooner you go home the

better. I have the carriage, and if yoc are ready ” “In a second, Brian. I will not keep you waiting long. ” This time of waiting was spent by Margaret in the darkened room, where the rector sat by all that remained to him of a beloved wife. She approached the still form and pressed a long kiss on the pale brow. She felt the rector’s burning eyes upon her and she heard the hoarse words with which he turned to her: “How am I to live my life alone?" She longed for the power to comfort him. yet all the sympathy she could express seemed to hold the mockery of easy consolation. “There are the children,” 6he said in a low voice. “Four loving little hearts to make your life less lonely. And there is God. He sends the cross, and He sends the strength to bear it. We see so dimly. What seems so hard to us is often a kindness from our Father’s hands. We must linger here in suffering and tribulation, but for her the crown has come before the cross had grown too heavy. Father, teach our hearts to say ‘ Thy will be done.* ” Leaving the echo of her prayer behind her, Margaret joined Brian, with the four grave-faced children, upon whose childish minds the intangible shadow and silence had made such a solemn impression. She found it hard to meet the pathetic inquiry of those baby eyes, and she was quite relieved when she could give her new charges into the kindly care of the surprised Mrs. Davis. After this, she went to bed and slept for the remainder of the day, and when dinner time arrived her inclinations were so decidedly against rising that she could scarcely force herself to dress and join Brian. “He’ll find me rather doleful at best,” she remarked to the heavy eyes and pale, tired face which looked at her from the mirror. “1 suppose I must try to Be cheerful.” But her short talk with Elsie, just before dinner, did not tend to brighten her spirits. The child had spoken so earnestly of the great care her mother’s death had left upon her, and expressed suoh a pathetic wish to grow bigger so that she could help papa more, that Margaret found it hard to answer calmly with those earnest eyes upon her. “You may be little, Elsie, yet you can help papa even now. These little feet can be tireless in his servioe, this dear face may always wear a smile for him, and this tender little heart may love and comfort him in every trouble. ” “Little people, and big people, too, can only do their best. ” “Boor little tot,” commented Brian, when Margaret repeated this conversation after dinner. “Let us not think of them any m6re to-night, Margaret. Let us try to be happy. lam so sorry our Christmas has been clouded. I got you this little remembrance, and I really have not had a chance to give It to you." “Only a remembrance?” she asked, taking the exquisite little jeweled pin from his hand. “This is fit for a princess. How it flashes in the light. It dazzles me. I—l don’t know how to thank you, and I have nothing for you, Brian. ” [TO BB CONTINUED. I

Suicude of a Monkey.

Whether animals ever really kill themselves intentionally has often teen questioned; but well-authenti-cated cases of dogs and cats compassing iheir own death have been known,, and here is a strictly true story of a monkey who apparently did the same. It was a spider monkey, a pet, who was ill, and plainly could not live. To save her suffering her loving mistress decided to have her shot, and she was intrusted to a kind-hearted man, who agreed to put a merciful end to her troubles. He took her to his place out of town, and while he made his preparations left her alone in a large, unfurnished room. The room had been used for some of an entertainment, and had, hanging from a beam, a rope with a noose at the end, used to hold a lantern. There was no way of getting up to the beam except by climbing the upright side beams and the monkey was weak from her illness; yet when the man came back in about a half hour, he found her hanging and dead. No one had been in. She had climbed to the beam, drawn up the rope, and put her head through the noose, or else climbed down the rope for the purpose. There is scarcely a doubt that it was a deliberate suicide. The man who found her, and who had had great experience with the spider monkey, declared that she understood her condition, and preferred to end her career.

The Rosetta Stone.

The “Rosetta Stone,” a famous Egyptian curiosity now in the British Museum, was discovered in the year 1799 by M. Boussard, a French explorer, near Rosetta, a seaport of Lower Egypt. It is of black basalt, about forty inches long by thirty wide, with three engraved inscriptions upon its surface. The first of these is in Greek, the second is a conglomeration of hieroglyphics and the third is enchorial writing, a system used by the Egyptians in recording every-day matters. After years of laborious research the savants of Europe ascertained that the three inscriptions were three versions of a degree in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes by the priests of Egypt, because he had remitted their t§xes. This wonderful relic dates back to about the year 200 B. C.—Philadelphia Press.

A Mixed Brood.

A resident of Friendship, ' Ga., owns a turkey hen that not only keeps his family well supplied with young turkeys, but sometimes surprises the family by the presentation of a mixed brood. On the last occasion, after setting on twelve eggs for her usual term of incubation, she was found the other morning hovering over ten young turkeys and one young opossum, it having required two turkey eggs to produce one ’possum. The young ’possum in question was about the size of a half-grown rat, and was nestling under the turkey as contentedly as any one of the legitimate brood.

To Clean Copper.

To get the tin, solder and dirt off old copper bottoms, so as to make them clean, cleanse first in a boilinj solution of three parts caustic soda, one part niter and five parts water, and then in dilute sulphuric acid; or dip momentarily in warm nitric acid, specific gravity 1.2, and wash immediately in running water. Tramp —“ Madam, have you got anything in the way of an old pair of trousers that your husband don’t want?” Lady of the House—“YSs, there’s a cord of wood out there. ” Detroit Free Press.

TRUTH IS TRIUMPHANT.

CLEVELAND’S PENSION RECORD IS CLEAN. V.toc. of HUls Not So Numerous Reported—l® Hany Cases Beneficial to Pensioners— ln Others, Fraud Was Defeated. American Tribune's Misstatements. Hot-headed Bepublieau editors, and the editors of so-called soldiers’ papers, have been very fond of ussalllng Mr. Cleveland upon his pension record. None can deny that more pensions were granted by the Cleveland administration than by any other before in power, or than will have been granted by Mr. Harrison at the close of his term. This is ignored. But Mr. Cleveland’s vetoes of special pension bills have furnished frequent and long texts for his assailants—notably the American Tribune. An old soldier, of Columbia City, Ind., Isaiah B. McDonald, challenged the statement made by the Tribune that Mr. Cleveland had vetoed 524 special bills, and in the next issuo the Tribune was obliged to admit that the exact number of such voters was 254. But in the very next issue, and in subsequent ones, the old falsehood was reiterated. Mr. McDonald then procured a statement from the clerk of the Pensipn Committee of the House of Representatives at Washington, who made ex« haustive search Of the records, and compiled a most interesting array of facts. Here is the letter: Washington, D. c., Aug. 3,1892. CoL I. B. McDonald, Columbia City, Ind.: Dear Friend.—Your favor of the mb ult., inclosing an artiole written by you to the Amerioan Tribune, published at Indianapolis, and the lengthy phlilppio of the editor In reply theretoTnas been reoeived. Your article Incorporating the numbor of speolal pension bills signed by the soveral Presidents from Linooln to Harrison, and the number of special acts vetoed by Grover Cleveland during his term as President, wero, as you say, furnished to you by me, and as the editor of the Tribune has denied the truthfulness of the figures, I cheerfully oomply with your request to verify the same. The number of speolal pension bills signed by the several Presidents from Lincoln to Harrison is substantially correct, as an examination of the records shows, and the statement of the editor of the Tribune is misleading; purposely so, I think, for the reason that he gets his information from a speech delivered by Mr. McKinley in August. 1888, instead of from the record whioh closed on the Ith of Maroh, 1889. The record of speolal bills approved by the Presidents named is as follows: Lincoln 14 Johnson 431 Grant 53G Hayes 324 Garfield and Arthur 706 Cleveland .1,825 Harrison (approximately) 1,400 From the time Mr. McKinley s speech was made until the close of Mr. Cleveland's administration Congress had been in session nearly five months, and during that time nearly six hundred private pension bills had been passed and signed, making tho total signed by Mr. Cleveland during his four years exaotly 1,825, as I stated in my letter to you, and as yon stated it In your letter to the Tribune. At present I have no means at hand by which I can say exactly how many special bills President Harrison has signed, but the number I gave you is approximately correct—about fourteen hundred, or about four hundred and twenty-five fewer than were signed by Mr. Cleveland. The number of speolal pension bills vetoed, I believe, I gave yon as 299. I received the information from a clerk In the department, and supposed It was oorreot. Since you called my attention to It and as I see by the Tribune article and from various other Republican papers that the number is given all the way from 254, 41G, GGB to 800. I have taken the trouble to make a critical examination of the official record and find tho number to be as follows: Vetoes. Forty-ninth Congress, first session 100 Forty-ninth Congress, second session 22 Fiftieth Congress, fiTSt session 103 Fiftieth Congress, second session 26

Total 251 You can say, therefore, without the fear of successful contradiction, that the number of special pension bills vetoed by Mr. Cleveland during nls term as President Is exactly two hundred and fifty-one. The error In the Increased number given you was on account of vetoes of other measures than pension bills being Incorporated In the total, such as the vetoes of trumped-up war and other claims against the government, bills for the removal of charges of desertion, bills for public buildings, etc., amounting in all to about fifty. A careful examination of the reasons given by Mr. Cleveland for these vetoes will convince any unprejudiced mind that they wore just and right) In every Instance under the laws, not only to the parties conoemed but to Uncle Sam, who has to pay the bills, as well. Let me give you just one Instance—and there were many very similar. In his message vetoing the special bill passed for the relief of Bachel A, Pierpont, Feb. 27, 1887, Mr. Cleveland said: “At the time the bill was Introduced and passed an application for pension on behalf of the beneficiary named was pending in the Pen l sion Office. This application was filed in December, 1879. Within the last few days, and on the 17th day of February, 1887, a pension was granted upon the said application and a certificate issued at precisely the same rate whioh the bill herewith returned authorizes. But the pension under the general laws dates from the time of filing the application in 1879, while under a speolal act it would date only from the time of its passage. In the interest of the beneficiary and for her advantage, the speolal bill is therefore disapproved." By vetoing this bill Mr. Cleveland saved this widow a pension of 112 a month for eight years, or a total of $1,152. Were it necessary I could give you dozens of other cases substantially in the same linf£ In the editorial in the Amerioan Tri»)une in reply to yonr article I find the following: "During Grover Cleveland’s term, Gen. John C. Black was Commissioner of Pensions, and, Col. Matson, of Indiana, Chairman of the CQpkmlttee on Invalid Pensions In the House, and both men were earnest friends of the soldiers, especially If it could bo shown that the applicant was a Democrat, and Congress passed a large number of bills, principally for widows, but they were for such contemptibly small sums as sl, $2 and $4 per month, and yet Grover Cleveland vetoed 254 bills of that class, principally to widows who had suddenly been called upon to support a family of fatherless children.” The foregoing extract is absolutely false and without any foundation whatsoever in fact. The Pension Bureau under Gen. Black was conducted solely in the interests of the soldiers, aod it canngt be shown in a single Instance during his administration where political preference had anything to do with the allowance of a claim. As you may remember, I was one of the; clerks of the Invalid Pension Committee of the House during the Fiftieth Congress, which embraced the last two years of Mr. Cleveland’s administration. My duties were then, as now, to examine the papers in the Pension Bureau and other evidence in rejected claims upon which bills for special acts were based, gnd to write reports on the same. In the discharge of these duties I necessarily became fafmiliSr with everything connected with spsclaA legislation and bad personal knowledge of] nearly every case reported, and all the vetoes presented daring that session, and I bell eve my statements ought to haye as much we lght as those of the editor of the Tribune, w ho evidently knows nothing about what he is talking, or else he knowingly and deliberatel r states what he knows to be false. Bills for speolal pensions are not introduced into Congress until all remedies under the general pension laws and the very llberallretfdatlons of the several Commissioners of Pension r have been exhausted, and the oase bka been rejected for wont of proof to sustain title claim, or has been found to be entirely without merit. Every opportunity is given those claimants to show that they are entitled to a pension, and in fully nine cases out of ten there is too merit In them. When they have exhausted their remedy In the pension bnreati they seek the member of Cbngress in t leir district and ask him to introduce a sp icial bill for his or her relief. The member in order to make himself solid with his constitui nts, prepares a bill and "fires it into Congress ' without knowing anything whatever as to its nerlts or otherwise, as the case may be. The papers in the Pension Bnrean are then sent for an examination of the veto of the Comml; sioner of Pensions (for a rejection is simply a veto, and Baum Is vetoing hundreds of dai ns every day) is entered upon, a report rr ade, and through sympathy or the lnfluei ce of “a friend at court," the action of the rareau is set) aside, the worse is made 3 appear the better, a favorable report is made and adopted, and the case, very often without any evidence to substantiate it, rfoes on the calendar for the consideration of] the House. Without a quorum It has no trouble in getting through both branches of Congress, and is sent to the President for his consideration. Mr. Cleveland was honest enough and courageous enough under his oath 0 I office to carefully examine every one of t iese cases, and where he found that they w are wholly without merit, and that poor old lefenseless Uncle Sam was being robbed of aoney that ought to go to the deserving, he die not hesl- , tate to return the bill without his pproval. And it is a remarkable fact, whicl has probably not occurred to the editor of f e Tribune that neither branch of Congress, luring Mr. Clevelarfd's entire term, made an es >rt to pas* a single one of these 281 vetoed bll * over the President’s objections. Why? Th< r knew the

President «u right and that all these bills were without merit. The statement of the Tribune that these hills were "principally for widows, but they were for such contemptibly small sums as it, fa and ** per month,' is a falsehood out, of whole oloth and was .made simply to belittle Mr. Cleveland. Since the war ho special pension bill for widows. or for anyone else for that matter, has ever passed carrying such "contemptible" amounts as the Tribune states. These bills for widows are all for sl2 per month, except In cases arising under the law of June 27, 1890, which usually calls for $8 per month. The Tribune further says: “During the first two years of President Harrison’s term, Congress was Republican and passed all of the meritorious pension bills that the oommtttee had time to consider. "During the first years of Mr. Cleveland's administration the House was Democratic and the records show that more pension bills, originating in the House, were passed and became laws than during any four years of Republican administration slnoe the close of the war." During the present session of Congress the number of special bills Introduced has fallen off more than one-holt as compared with the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses. This Is accounted for by the passage of the dependent pension bill of 1890, providing for the pensioning of all those whose present disabilities are such as to render them unable to earn a living by manual labor. The Tribune attempts to show that on account of Mr. Harrison’s great love for the soldier there have been Issued during his administration a larger number of certificates than were Issued under Mr. Cleveland. This Is easily aocounted for by the passage of the act of June 27, 1890, authorising the pensioning of those who afe at present unable to earn a living, but are unable to trace their disabilities to army servloe. From Juno 27, 1890, to Juno 30,1891 (the report for 1899 is not out yet), of this class of claims there were filed In the pension bureau 243,680 invalid olalms and 78,270 widows'—a total of 321,95 a There Wore also tiled during this year 353,582 applications under said act where pensions had already been allowed or applied for, making In all about' 676,532 applications filed under said act the first year after It went Into force. So to compare the number of certificates Issued under tho general law and the provisions of this aot with the number of oertltteatos Issued before Its passage would beextremoly unfair. But this letter is alroady too long, and I have not time nor is it necessary to continue it farther. There are a great many other statements In the Tribune s artiolo which are entirely unworthy of any consideration whatever, and especially from an old soldier like you, who fought bravely and courageously during the war, while the writer who criticises you was a feather-bed soldier faring sumptuously every day a safe distance In the rear as the private secretary of Indiana’s great war governor. I have no patience with these alleged soldier papers. All of them, ns far as my knowledge extends, are simply Republican campaign documents, and the Democratic Boldier who puts his trust In any of them Is sure to plaee himself in tho hands of the Philistines. Wishing you plenty, hoalth, poaoe and prosperity, and that we may both live to oelobrate a glorious Democratic victory this fall, I am sincerely yours, Daniel McDonald.

Artificial Coloration.

Flowers cannot be tinted by Immersing them In dye solutions, but they are readily colored if their stalks are placed in aniline solutions. Aniline scarlet dissolved In water to about the transparency of claret has a very rapid action on flowers, coloring them pink and scarlet. Indigo carmine produces beautiful blue tints. The two combined dye various shades of purple, with curious mottled effects, some parts of the flowers becoming pink and other parts blue and purple. Greens are produced by using the blue dye with yellow. In a series of experiments indigo and cochineal were used with partial success. Lily of the valley flowers became beautifully tinged with pink or blue in six hours; narcissi arc changed from pure white to deep scarlet in twelve hours, and delicate shades of pink are imparted to them in a very short time. Yellow daffodils are beautifully striped with dark scarlet in twelve hours; the edges of tho corona also become deeply tinged, and the veinlng of the perianth becomes very strongly marked. The way this rapid change is brought about is very interesting. There is a system of veins in plants, the tubes passing through the leaves, petals, and other parts of the flower; and it is by these that the color Is conveyed to every portion of the plants. White tulips furnish excellent examples of artificial coloring, as they can bo readily tinted either pink, blue, green or purple in a few hours. The vein tubes which are thus displayed in the petals agree with tho strongly marked features, known as the “flamed” or “feathered” varieties of the florist. Blue tulips have always been desired, and they can thus be artificially produced for florist purpose?. The double white camelia is another pretty illustrations, as It becomes pink. White lilacs take the color perfectly, becoming blue or pink at pleasure. Forced leaves of the Swede turnip, grown In the dark for culinary purposes, are extremely susceptible to coloration. They begin to color in about three hours, are beautifully fringed with red, and suffused with rich orange. Thus tinted, they are beautiful objects for tabic decoration.

Earache.

.. There are simple remedies for most common disorders requiring no skilled attention, and even experts are often willing to give away cures that anybody can manage. No doubt many people have thanked the man who published without a patent this easy relief for the earache. “I am- afraid I have greatly interfered with my own practice,” said a celebrated aurist, “by giving the following advice to many of my friends: “At the first symptoms of earache let the patient lie on the bed with the painful ear uppermost. Fold a thick towel and tuck it around the neck; then with a teaspoon fill the ear with warm water. “Continue doing this for fifteen or twenty minutes; the water will fill the ear orifice, and flow over on the towel. After turning over the head, let the water run -out, and plug the the ear with warm glycerine and cqtton. “This may be done every hour until relief is obtained. It is an almost invariable cure, and has saved many cases of acute inflamation. The water should be quite warm, but not too hot.”—London Tid-JBits.

What City Folks Want in the Country.

Summer boarders, rightly handled, are about the most profitable thing the York County, farmer can cultivate. Don’t feed them on beefsteak, for they don’t want it. Give them plenty of bannock, berries, baked potatoes, boiled eggs and mush and milk, and they will be much better suited. Keep them away from the house by getting them to go hillclimbing, and then they can't say it was your mosquitoes that bit them. What they wish is something new to eat and something new to see. Give them these, and they pay well for the trouble. —Biddeford (Me.) Journal.

Seeds in a Bushel.

A Mississippi man counted the number of seeds in a bushel of the various grains with the following results: Com, 72,130; wheat, 830,000; peas, 109,000; cotton-seed, 164,166. His figures would have more value if he had stated the kind of com, wheat, and peas selected for the experiment

FIRE ISLAND IS FIRM.

normannia passengers kept OFF BY FORCE. Gubernatorial Interference and Kloquent Pleading Ineffectual to Soften the Heart* of the Bax Meu—Naval Reserve Called Out. Ruled by a Hob. New York special: There have been exciting scenes at Fire Island, N. Y., owing to demonstrations by from 300 to 400 Bay men and others, led by Supervisor W. H. Young affd’ffx-Supervlsor John H. Vail of Islip Town, who took possession of the docks, armed with shotguns, oars, and other weapons, and twice resisted all attempts made to land passengers from the Cepheus. To go back to the beginning of the story, the Normannla’s cabin passengers, who had been for eight days oon-

lined ou a cholerastrioken ship, wore greeted on Saturday with the promised and long hoped for relief in the shape of the Stonlngton, to which vessel they were -transferred that evening. They slept in peace and satisfaction, for on Sun-

GOV. FLOWER.

day i they were to go to Fire Island, which through Governor Flower had been secured, with all its houses and the Surf Hotel, for the accommodation of tho first and second cabin passengers of the ill-fated Norfaiannla: On Sunday morning it was discovered that tho Stoiilngton had no means for cooking, was of too deep a draught to cross the bar, and aoootding to statements she was old and too nnseaworthy to venture so far In the open ocean. Tosanrl llUlior mid Thither. Tho iron steamboat Ceuhous was then hired and the first ami second class oabin passengers started for the promised land. The weather was rough and many wore seasiok, but they oared little for that, happy in 'their escape from the prison-ship Normannia. After a voyage of about thirty-six mllos the captain weakened and said he was afraid to take tho Cepheus over the bar without a pilot. In consequence of fills the iron steamboat started back to the Horseshoe bend and the flrst-olass passengers wore onco more put on board the rickety old Stonlngton. The soc-

MARINE TELEGRAPH STATION. FIRE ISLAND.

ond-cabln passengers were kept on board the Cepheus without bods or oven pillows on which to lay their heads. They were strewn about the settees and carpotod decks of Iho steamer. Eearly on Monday morning the captain of the Cepheus discovered that ho required coal and water, and oould not get to. Firs Island without them. Ho calmly steamed up to tho quarantine jotty and made fast alongside and sent word shortly after 4 to wake tho health officer up. After a hurried conference with Dr. Fergusson and Mr. Wall, Dr. Jenkins decided to water and o al hor at his own dook. This was done, and at about 10 o’clook the Cepheus onoe more started down tho bay to embark tho flratsaloqn pasAongers and take them to Fire Island. The trip was again a roungh one, but there was more than the elements to be met. Their Heart* Were Hard. A storm had been brewing around Babylon and Islip since the first rumor of Fire Island boing turned into a quarantine station had been heard. The Babylonians and their near neighbors cared not for the sufferings of their fel-low-countrymen and women; they did not care if they died of cholera, starved or Were drowned; all they thought of was the totally iraprobablo proposition of thoilr being attacked by the pestilence, owing to the propinquity of a nuhiber of ladies, gentlemen and children who nover had chqlera in their ipidst, who had lived for a fortnight on board a plague-stricken ship without being touched and who are returning to their own homes. I Tim Mol) In Control. The Governor begged and implored, Dr. Jenkins prayed these men to allow

the passengers to land. Telegram after telegram was flashed over the wiro, assuring the men of Islip and those of Babylon that they ""ran no risk. They were obdurate. They would not give in and the passengers of the Normannla

are now, on Monday night, lying in the inlet by Fire Island. The. passengers appointed a committee, with Senator McPherson as chairman, to confer with the mob. The latter refused to withdraw the injunction and so for to-night at least they can claim the victory, a victory over 471 helpless women and children and their equally unoffending husbands. Dr. Jenkins said to your correspondent it was not the armed mob he cared for, but the injunction issued by the Judge at the instance of the Babylonians. There was no infection on board, said Dr. Jenkins, and the conduct of the mob was abominable and an outrage. He would give them pratique as soon as possible, as they had already been forty-eight hours out of the Normannia. Gov. Flower had said that he would, as Governor, have obeyed the injunction of Judge Barnard, but if he had been in the position of the captain of the Cepheus he would have landed the passengers if he had had to do sixty days’ imprisonment for the act. It was suggested to Gov. Flower that the naval reserve should be called out to disperse the riotous bay men at Fire Island, and to do patrol duty In New York bay and the Great South bay.

The German capital maintains and pays an official bird-catcher. The catching of birds is prohibited, but the collections and educational institutions of the univerity require, for scientific purposes, birds, birds’ eggs, nests, eto., and the taxidprmist Lemm is the only person commissioned to furnish them within the precincts of Berlin and the districts of Teltowand Niederbamim. The Empress of Austria lately ordered that 56,000 rose trees should be planted around the statue of Heine, to be erected on her property at Corfu, on a rook over 2,000 feet above the level of the sea.

SENATOR M'PHERSON.

THEE ACTUAL FACTS

ALL FOUND WITHIN THE BOR* DERS OF INDIANA. An Interesting Summary of tho Mofro Important Doing* of Oar Neighbor* Crime*, Ca*ualtle*, Death*. Eta Minor State Item*. Elwood is striving for telephone service. Kkndallvillk Fair will be held Sept. 80-30. Wrinoneck is tho name of a town near Darlington. Bloomington’s water works will soon bo completed. James Ritchie, an old resident of Henry County, died, aged 77. A single block of stone, weighing 257,000 pounds, was recently quarried at Bedford. A son of Edwin Galnor, of South Grconcastle, lost both legs playing under tho cars. Terre Haute has a woman chicken thief that the police would like to lay their hands on. Fire at Rodkey destroyed tho residence of A. *J. Syinmes. No Insurance. Cause unknown. James Barrow si an, aged 11, Brazil, died of lock-jaw, after running some stubble In his foot. A. Baker, who killed Richard McCord at a d&nco'in Columbus, two weeks ago, has been captured. A Richmond swill gat.horer was once one of the rlchost mon In tho town. He drank Uls money up. Since the slaughter of dogs at Anderson people are afraid that the sausage market will be overstocked. A young man in Michigan City walks to Laporto overy Saturday night to spend Sunday with his sweetheart. Diphtheria is reported as having quite a hold in Franklin, where a number of deaths occurred last week. A Fort Wayne man has inventod a type writingUnachlne and local capitalists arc going to put It on the market. It Is thought that Dr. G. S. Burroughs, of Amherst college, will bo clouted to tho presidency of Wabash college.

Danville has about completed her water works and owns thorn herself. The water comes from a woll 900 feet deep. The coroner’s verdict In t.be case of Albert Smith, who killed James Starling, at Madison, was Justifiable homicide. The court house fight!» White County has resulted In anothor newspapor being established, and both sides now h&va an organ. Mum Nancy .Johnson of Brazil, was struck In tho ankle by a stray bullet a few days ago. HloOd poisoning sot In and hor condition is critical. At Wolfe’s mill, four mllos oast of Mitchell, Henry Harris, while taking the dust from the saw, had his head sawod open; and will probably die. At Peru, while playing with a bonflro, tho clothing of ,Peseta Stolniiiotz, aged 5, became tgnltod, and tho child was horribly burned. Recovery Is doubtful. ' Albert Morris and Charles St. John wore burled in a gravel pit In Beaton County, near Fowler, by tho bank caving In. Both were klllod. Morris was married. Another monstor gas well was drilled in at Redkcy, with a capacity of 0,000,000 foot every twenty-four hours. It Is the property of tho Rodkey Brick Company. Elisha Casey, a clay-dlggOr in tho employ of A. D. Clark’s pottery works at Cannolton, was severely injured, by tho roof of tho clay mine caving In and breaking his neck. The Big Four limited express, westbound, struck a man at Fern Station, killing him lnstdntly. Up was walking on tho track. From papers found # his person his namO Is supposed to be Van Sant, and his homo Topoka, Kanl The Tippecanoe County Commissioners have Issued an ordor to Col. John Levering for tho sum of 815,000, the amount the board agreed to give toward a fund for securing tho State Soldiers’ Home In that county. Tho money Is given to Mr. Levering to bo held In trust. Felix Shife representing a syndicate composed of New York and English capitalists, has purchased 1 29(1 acres lying along tho lake shore In Porter and La Porto counties known as “Blair’s Park.” The object of the syndicate is to establish a mammoth summer resort. Bill Gerkin, married only three weeks ago, had his face and part of his skull divided Into two parts at tho sawmill of William Trobrldge, near Huron, while shovelling away dust from under a circular saw. This makes the seeond accident of this kind this week in this locality.

The 7-ycar-old son of A. R. Dennis.' a farmer near Windfall, was severely, if not fatally, Injured. Tho boy was riding on a wagon-load of gravel on the pike, with his father, and fell off, the hind wheol passing over his body, breaking ono of his legs and otherwise seriously Injuring him. The statement of the State Prison North for August, 1892 shows that the pumbor of convicts in the prison tho Ist of the month was 790; received, 11; discharged, 39; pardoned, 1; escaped, 1; died 2; number In prison last day of month, 758. Tho earnings for the month wore 89,511.03 and expenditures 86,828.99; net earnings over expenses, 82,862.84. The boiler in Joel Mullen’s large sawmill, at Ashland, was blown to atoms. Several workmen were standing near the engine, when suddenly tho boiler let go, and the mill was torn to pieces, and three men lay under the debris badly scalded. One of tho workmen, named Frank Williams, was scalded about the face almost beyond recognition, while his arras and legs were terribly burned. The boiler was an oid one.

Levi Masters, aConnersville farmer, has had many sheep killed by dogs lately. He riddled two of the canines with bullets the Other night and found tho next morning that both belonged to him. Jesse Reynolds, the miller at the Bluff Mills, in Brown Township, Montgomery County, is reported to be dying. He has been miller at the Bluff Mills for forty-two years, and is probably the oldest miller in the State. During his active forty-two years of service he has never left his position a day, and has been the entire time in the employ of Joel Deer, the owner of the min. Pf.bry Whitman, a workman at the plate-glass works, Elwood, met with a bad accident while assisting to remove some picket fence which surrounds the factory. A portion of it fell on him, striking him in the eye and gouging out the organ. When his fellow-workmen went to his assistance they found the eye hanging on his cheek. Be also had three ribs broken. His recovery is doubtful. Hinton Carr, one of the four “gentlemen” White Cappers about to be tried in Perry County, has confessed to the part taken with Louis Faulkenburg, Otto Faulkenburg and Edward p’Keith in outrages on the family of 'Jokn Underhill last winter.