Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1892 — Page 3

TRVE AS STEEL

MRS ALVAIL ELORDAM CIARTH.

CHAPTER VIII, ON THE THRESHOLD One thought had been dominant In Ihe heart of Beatrice Mercer since the moment that Raymond Marshall's discovery of her duplicity had crushed her with humiliation. A bitter, cruel resolve that, come what might, he should never again see the face of thfe woman he loved! “Patience!” her fierce heart had throbbed out. “He loves her yet; he knows her to be true. He despises mo, but—he shall yet love me. I cannot lose him. He shall never find or wed Edna Deane.” Then, calming her fierce, resolute nature to subtle, sinister regard of all the issues in the ease in which mingled love and jealousy involved her, Beatrice Mercer fell to studying the chances in her favor. She knew where Edna had gone; the letter tnat Edna had only half r:ad, amid her excitement and anxiety, had been conned over and over again by the plotting Beatrice. Its contents gave her an insight of the character of the father who had sent for his beloved child, into his secrets as well, and she knew that one of two things would happen when Edna reached home—her father would order her to forget all friends of the past, or, if any let*r or word was sent to Raymond Marshall, it would be through her friends. As the days passed by, however, and no word was received, she grew puzzled, disturbed, and finally anxious The evening preceding that upon which Raymond Marshall appeared at the Seminary to find her gone, however, she made a discovery that startled her into • new train of thought and action, unexpected, vivid, exciting. A student living, at quite a distance received regularly the weekly paper published at her home, and glancing over this, Beatrice felt the blood rush from her heart through icy channels, as she noted an item that told her intuitively that she ha 1 found a trace of the missing Edna at last. It was the record of the death by drowning of a than and a girl; the account of the scene at that broken bridge, where the two villagers had soen Edna Deane’s companion plunge to his death, and had accredited Edna herself with falling a victim to the same fate.

Within an hour, from a careful study of the item and from a knowledge of the route taken by Edna and her guide, Beatrice knew that she no longer had a rival. Edna Deane was dead! She knew something more. She knew that w.th the death of these two had perished a migLty secret —that somewhere —and she knew where, an anxious father was awaiting the return of his beloved daughler, to lay at her feet, as an atonement for the forced neglect of years, a royal fortune. The next morning Beatrice Mercer’s mind was made up. All night long she had plotted and planned. The jealousminded school girl of the night previous had become in % few brief hours a willful, wicked siren, imbued with schemes as bold and cruel as the hardest heart ever yet designed. She went straight to the town where Edna and her companion had disappeared. Within twenty-four hours she was satisfied that' both had met their fate in the turbulent torrent that flowed beneath the bioken rustic bridge. “For wealth—for Raymond Marshall’s love!” she murmured resolutely, as, a few hours later, she took a train for the next station. Evening shadows were creeping over the autumnal landscape as Beatrice Mercer loft the little depot and walked towards the outskirts of the village. In the dim light she made out an antique but magnificent mansion, occupying elaborate grounds, but surrounded by great, high walls. “So near to home and then to lose life, fortune, and love!" murmured the steely hearted siren. “Poor Edna! but I cannot miss this royal chance.” Her eyes sparkled as she drew from her pocket a little chain and locket that Edna had worn at school and which she had lelt behind her in her hurry to go to seek her father. She calmed herself, as if for a mighty ordeal, as she seized the bell-knob at the iron gate and sounded one resonant, discordant peal through the gloomy structure beyond. “Fairly on the threshold! ” she breathed wildly, yet exultantly, as she awaited a reply to her summons—“one bold stroke, a single resolute assumption, and I shall be mistress, of wealth untold, to ?ave the way to the heart of the man love —Raymond Marshall!”

CHAPTKR Bii SCCCESA “ A erabbedrfaced man answered the ring at the iron gate after a lapse of several minutes, stared at the veiled figure without, first penetratingly and then without suspicion, and asked, unceremoniously: “Who are you—what do yqu want?” Beatrice Mercer was an actress. She had come preparod to feign a part, and she did it well. All the fire and impetuosity of her passionate nature was subdued to the seem'ngly shrinking timidity of a shv young girl. She stammered out a frightened apology and clung to the iron gato as if weary and weak. “I have come a long ways,” she murmured, “and I must make no mistake. The gentleman who lives here—Mr. Caleb Marston. ” The servant or helper uttered a sharp' ejaculation of surprise and renewed suspicion. * Who told you that Mr Caleb Marston lived here?” he demanded. “I—l—does he not? Then I will go, if I am in error,” and Beatrice retreated. Quick as a flash the man unlocked the gate, seized her arm, dragged her inside the overgrown, ill-kept garden, and regarded her much with the angry glare of an enemy. “No, you don’t!” he said. “AVhefe did vou get that name—Marston? Who told rou? Speak! Have they guessed his fiiding-place again?” the'man half muttered to himself. “I got the name from a letter—a letter from Mr. Marston himself,” explained Beatrice. “Oh!” muttered the man. “I’ll guarantee he never told you to use that name hereabouts, all the same. Ralston, girl! Do you understand? Never whisper Maiston again, if you're friends »f ours. ”

“Can I see him?” ,v .- “Can you see who?” “Mr. Mar—Mr. Ralston? He sent for me. ” “He did?” “Yes. Take me to him. He will tell you it is all right. ” The man studied a bit. He relocked the gate and made sure that no one was lurking about the place. Then taking an enormous bunch of keys from his pocket, he led the way to the house. A massive, gloomy structure, th.o care he manifested in penetrating the doubly locked portals, indicated a jail or a castle of defense. It was richly furnished within, but the closed and barred windows and ohill pervading each apartment made the antiquated mansion seem somber, gloomy, and uninviting in the extreme. “You wait here.” Beatrice’s guide pointed surlily to a chair in a small waitifig-room, and disappeared through a door at its other end.

There was the low hum of conversation in the adjoining apartment. Her eyes glowing like two sinister stars of light, Beatrice glided noiselessly to the threshold of the door that had just closed noiselessly on her companion. Her ear bent, she strove to translate the gruff, explanatory accents of the man, the sharp, querulous, excited tones of his companion. When the door again opened, however, with the grace and agility of a panther she had regained the chair. “Go in,” nodded the keeper, and the door opened and closed after hfr, ushering her into a roomy apartment, and leaving her face to face with her fate Half reclining in an invalid chair was a thin, white-haired man. She. studied his working face from beneath her veil; she noted the nervous tension of brain and holy, for he was almost panting with excitement, his eyes wore keenly alive with unconcealed suspense. “My steward tells me you come here with a letter,” spoke the master of the mansion, in tones scarcely audible from emotion.

“Yes,” murmured Beatrice. “I have written but one letter —it was to one I have not seen for years.” “Ydur daughter, Alice Edna Ralston? lam she.. Father!" The plot, the fraud, the false assumption of the fair schemer was revealed at last. She had determined to personate her dead friend and schoolmate; and the stolen letter had well equipped her for the cruel imposture. “My child!” She had sprung forward at that wild, yearning cry. Not a heart-throb of pity for the fond, deluded old man, soulhungry for the love and sympathy of his long-absent child stirred her heart—only fierce, covetous joy and triumph. His real daughter was dead, a knowledge of that fact, in his evident critical condition of health, might kill him. Surely, it was a mercy to step into her place, to solace the last days of a dying man, to benefit by a fortune that, else, would go to strangers or sordid companions in his inexplicable exile. She knew she was safe in telling the story she had framed, and that circumstances would carry out her claims. She showed the letter she had stolen from Edna; she told how she und her guide had been overtaken by the storm at the broken bridge. He had perished, she had escaped, and she showed the newspaper containing the account of the double tragedy, unconsciously portraying what had really transpired, little dreaming that Edna Dearie of the past, the real Alice Edna Mars toil, or Ralston, had not gone down in that weird swirl of waters.

But there was much to learn. Her path was yet one of pitfalls, and she must be secretive, ana yet draw out the secrets of this unsuspecting old man who accepted her unreservedly as his own child, blinded by clever falsehoods, the changes or years, and her circumstantial narration of events he knew to have happened as she related them. “YVhen you enter this house,” he said, “you close a door on the past never to be opened. Fooi Rodney! he died in bringing you to mo. He was my best friend. All these years, amid my imprisonment, my fugitive wanderings, he has been true to me. He alone knew where you had been placed. Now, under a new name, you come to share my loneliness. Fear not! it will only be for a few brief years. Then, mistress of my fortune, you can go forth into the world and enjoy tho liberty denied me.” “Father, I do not understand,” murmured the false daughter. “Do not try to. An innocent man, I have yet been called upon to suffer the penalty of_ a crime unjustly laid to my charge. Even now, i am a fugitive from justice. Hunted down, a reward upon my recapture. I sought this secluded spot to die in peace. Here we will live in quiet contentment, your love and care tho solace of my declining years. Are you not content with that, Alice, my child?” “Yes.” murmured Beatrice, „since you will It so.” YVhy not? Life he~e, surrounded by every luxury, would not be so arduous that she could not find soriie enjoyment in it, and later on! —her eyes glowed with sinister triumph,—there was a farther plot to carry out, there was Raymond Marshall to think or, the man she was determined to win, come what might.

Imperfectly understanding the vague mystery surrounding Ralston, she yet realized that he was in danger of apprehension for some entanglement of thfe past. Some day she must possess that secret in full. It would give her added power to sway him to her will if ever her imposture were discovered. She could scarcely comprehend the rare success of her imposture as, later that evening, she sat in the boudoir of the suite of rooms apportioned to her in the old mansion. Not a breath of suspicion had been aroused. Placidly, unequivocally had old Mr. Balston accepted her as the child he had not seen since infancy. Her past, like his own, he would never seek to probe or revive. Yesterday was as dead and gone as the ages past. Here she could change her own identity in the undisputed possession of a royal fortune. Balston dead, that fortune acquired, and with her youth, beauty and intelligence, she could go out into the world and become a queen among women, tread a velvet path through life—she, the poor, obscure teacher on ha f-pay, the friendless drudge of Hopedale Seminary. lei there was a canker at the heart of the rose. Conscience did not trouble her. She even justified her fraudulent representations. No, all she thought of. all that disturbed her was a memory of the man she loved. How she loved him still! How the handsome, animated face of Raymond Marshall haunted her.

“For his sake I did it all!” she murmured, tumultuously. “He must fconeflb by it all. How.' Ah! patience, ray eager hear! I hold the strings of destiny!

If I make no misstep, fortune and love are both mine in the end. * Her rooms had been papered for her with infinite care. They were more than luxurious, they were elegant. The steward and a housekeeper were tho sole servants, but they attended like mute slaves to her ©very caprice as the days went by. Ralston was not exaoting. He asked an hour or two of her time each day to read to him in the garden, or play for him in the great,, somber drawing-room on the piano. Ever under the shadow of some great fear, he never leit the walled grounds of the estate, and requested her to confine her long drives to tho unfrequented roads leading away from the village. A week passed thus, then the novelty of her new life began to wear away. The false Alice Ralston, the real Beatrice Mercer, began to grow restless, anxious, moody. Then she fell to plotting. If she could only drag from that past life the object of her love. Raymond Marshall, she would be content. “You are getting wearied of the loneliness here, I fear,” spoke llaiston, anxiously, one evening. “No, father.” “ You are deceiving me. I can read It in your face. I caught you prying yesterday. Speak, my child, if you have any secret sorrow." The veiled eyes of tho siren glowed triumphantly. The hour had come for a master-stroke of finesse. “Shall I tell you the truth, even if it disturbs you?” asked Beatrice, in a low, purring tone. “Always, my dear.” “I am happy here, only there Is a chapter in my past that haunts me,” pursued the false-hearted Beatrice. “I have friends whom I love, whom I left in poverty, trouble. Father, if I had the means to visit Ihem, to place them in a position beyond want, I would return here satisfied, never to leave you again. ” “You mean this, my daughter?" “I in< an it, father.” “As I understand it, you wish to go to these friends—to bid them a final farewell, and to enrich them?” “Yes. ” He led her to a room guarded with an iron door. With a key he unlooked a cabinet. It was stored with money—• coin, bank notos, bonds. “Yours,” he sad generously: “all yours. Take what you want. I shall never ask how much, nor care. Deal as liberally with your friends as you like, only—must you go to them?” "1 must, father.” “Alone?” “I will be careful—nothing will happen to me.” “I shall worry—your absence will torture me.” “Not for long. Oh! dear father, you make me happy in enabling me to make my dearest friends happy. Let me go at once —to-night, to-morrow, in a week—two, at the farthest, I shall return. Then I shall forget them —all the world save you.” She had carried her point. The first impoitant step in the plot of her life was accomplished. ' r As the next morning, a, little moneyfilled sachel in her hand, she left the mansion bound for Hopodale, her confident heart told her that she would never return until she had won the man she loved. |TO BE CONTINUED. |

How a Fish Sees.

The medium in which fresh-water fishes live gives them a chance to see a great distance only in the horizontal direction, and the proper adjustment of the eye would make, under usual conditions, the optical axis take this direction. To me it seems impossible to explain the constant revolution the eyeball on any other hypothesis except that given,' viz: That the optical axis extends forward instead of sidewise. When a fish wishes to eat anything, either at the bottom of tho pond or at the surface of the water, it swims directly toward the object; and ip this case the eyes are instantly adjusted in line with the body, so as to bring the image of the particle desired upon the posterior portion of the retina. In this case they lose their usual horizontal, position. , If a fish wishes’to turn to the right or left in the water, the first movement is that of the eyes in unison with the direction of the turning. This would be entirely unnecessary if the apparent axis was the axis of most distinct vision, as one of the eyes would see all that was to be seen in the side of the turning. After this movement of the eyes, the body turns enough to bring the eyes into their normal position; and there is again a movement of the eyes, and next a movement of the'body. This causes a peculiar jerking motion of the eyeball during the whole time of the turning of the body.

Not That Knd.

That a poor workman quarrels with his tools has passed into a proverb. It is not often that the lesson of the saying is so pointedly enforced as it was in a New York art school. The gentleman at the head of this school never failed to rebuke the tendency to lay the blame in the wrong place whenever it showed itself among his pupils. One of the students, who had considerable talent but very little application, found frequent refuge in this excuse, and the teacher was at last at the end of his patience. “I couldn’t get the point of my pencil right,” the student said one day, in excuse for a faulty line. “Mr. Blank,” the teacher replied with emphasis, “you have been in this school two years. You have the natural ability to do the best work, whereas you really do the worst. If in two years you have not been able to discover that the trouble is not at the pointed end of your pencil, I think you may as well give the whole thing up.” “What do you mean?” the student stammered, taken aback. “You know what I mean. The difficulty is not at that end of the pencil, but at the other. It is not the point but the pointer that needs correcting.”—Youth’s Companion.

What an Inch of Rain Means.

Few people can form a definite idea, says the St. Louis Republic, of what is involved in the expression. “An inch of rain.” It may aid such to follow this curious calculation: An acre is equal to 6,272,040 square inches: an inch deep of water on this area will be as many cubic inches of water, which at 227 to the gallon, is 22,000 gallons. This immense quantity of water will weigh 220,000 pounds, or 100 tons, One-hundredth of an inch (0.01) alone is equal to one ton of water to the acre. Massachusetts has a lower birth rate than any country of Europe except France.

ABOUT OUR FINANCES.

ANNUAL REPORT OP SECRETARY FOSTER. Revenue* and Expenditures of the L»at Fiscal Year—Election Modifies Figures— Repeal of Sinking Fund Laws Recoin. ; mended—Redemption Reserve Should Be Increased. The Country’s Cash. The annual report' of the Secretary of the Treasury shows that the government revenues from all sources during the last fiscal year were $425,868,260, and the total expenditures $415,953,806, leaving a surplus, of $9,914,453. YVith the cash balance, the national bank redemption fund and a few small Items added, this surplus was $40,750,488, which was applied to the payment of the publio debt. As compared with the fiscal year 1891 the receipts for 1892 have fallen off $32,675,972, the principal losses being customs receipts, $42,069,241, and in profits on coinage, $5,681,479. On the other hand, there was a gain of $9,284,823 in internal revenue reiMpts, $4,998,690 In postal service and in sales of District of Columbia bonds of $2,412,744. In the ordinary expenditures thero was a decrease of $10,349,354, whioh is

SECRETARY FOSTER.

lows: From customs, $198,000,000; from internal revenue, $165;000,000; from miscellaneous sources, $20,000,000; from postal service, $80,836,'350; total estimated revenues, $463,336,350. The expenditures for the same period are estimated as follows: For the olvll establishment, '$108,000,000; for the military establishment, $49,000,000; for the naval establishment, $31,000,000; for the Indian service, $9,000,000; for pensions, $158,000,000; for interest on the publio debt, $26,000,000; for postol sorvice, $80,336,350; total estimated expenditure, $461,336,360; leaving an estimated surplus for the year of $2,000,000. The available cash balance in the treasury at tne end of the present fiscal year is stated at $120,992,377. The revenues for the fiscal year of 1894 are estimated at $490,121,365 and tho appropriations required $457,261,335, exclusive of the sinking fund, or an estimated surplus of $32,860,030, whioh, with the catfh bafitnee above gold re-' serve, would make the available balance $53,852,407, and deducting accrued or accruing obligations (mall contracts and redemptions), would leave the balance $47,852,407. Chargeable against this are unexpended river and harbor and ordnance appropriations, amounting to $44,000,000, and no account is taken of the sinking fund requirements, amounting to $48,600,000, beyond redemptions estimated at $5,000,000. Estimates Based on the McKinley I.aw, The estimated receipts, says Secretary Foster, are based upon conditions prevailing prior to the Jate election. Publio opinion having decreed a chango of policy, particularly in tho tariff laws, the altered conditions resulting therefrom render it impossible at the present time to estimate the annual income with any marked degree of accuracy, and it is impossible to predict the effect that such proposed radical changes would have upon the future revenues of the government. The secretary further says that he will not estimate further, but that the inevitable result of the tariff reduction agitation will be a falling off in importations and in revenue, the extent of which no one can measure. He 6ays, however, that all the facts fully justify the opinion that tho large increase of receipts ascribed to tho marvelous prosperity of the country under Ihe present revenue system, would, if continued, enable the department during the coming fiscal year to meet all obligations without the slightest impairment of its cash, and thereafter continue to show a material improvement In its condition. Touching the gold reserve, the report says, the Treasury has difficulty with the limited' amount of cash on hand above the $100(000,000 redemption fund to keep a sufficient stock of gold, and if the shipments continue as large as they have been during the last two years, the gold in the treasury will be diminished below the reserve line. The maintenance of silver at par has also increased the possible charge upon the gold reserve and therefore the Secretary suggests that the reserve for the redemption of Government obligations should be increased to the extent of at least 20 per cent, of the amount of treasury notes issued or to be Issued under the act of July 14, 1890. In regard to the monetary conference he says: “This conference is now in session. As yet little is known as to what its action may be beyond the general fact that the subject of the better use of silver as a money fnetal is receiving its earnest attention.” On the subject of publio buildings, 5 the Secretary says that the expenditures during the year ended Sept. 30 last were $6,741,286, and the outstanding contract liabilities $2,834,408, making a total of $9,575,69?! - The subject of the "World’s Fair is briefly dismissed with the statement that satisfactory progress has been made in the preparation of the department’s exhibit, In the arrangement of the customs laws and regulations, and upon the Government buildings. Speaking of the subject of immigration, the Secretary is clearly of the opinion that only by a rigid examination, made at the place of departure, can the prohibitive features of the law be executed with any considerable degree of efficiency.

COST OF ENFORCING THE CHINESE ACT.

Variously Estimated at from *10,000,000 to *200,000 or Less. Representative Geary doos not believe the coat of deporting the Chinese of the United States will reach $lO,000,000. The census shows a Chinese population of 107,000, and under the law those who do not register and sit for their photographs must be sent home at Government expense. Upon this basis it Is calculated that more lhan 100,000 of them will have to be deported as soon as the year of grace expires on May 6 next. The cost of sending them back to China is estimated at SIOO apiece. According to Representative Geary’s reckoning, the cost of deportation need not be more than S2O a head. That is more than it cost these same Chinamen to come to the United States, and the California member says they might as well be sent back in the same style in which they came. Again, he thinks the Chinese residents of this country are only waiting to see whether the Government authorities are 1b earnest If they find that the law is to be i igidly enforced, they will nearly all march up and be registered and photographed before the year of grace expires. Already

between 400 and 500 hare availed them* selves of the privilege accorded them bv the law and are preparing to stay. *1 do not believe there will be 10,000 Chinamen left unregistered on the Cth of May," says Mr. tieary. “Even if we had to send that many back at a cost of S2O apiece or $200,000, it would be getting rid of them very cheaply." Mr. Geary suggests that the United States naval vessels might carry them back to China. This would it ssen the cost of deportation to the Government and at the same time give the navy something to do.

The Congress at Indianapolis Attacks the Question with Energy. The second day’s session of the Indiana Hoad Congress at Indianapolis, was attended by 400 or 5000 delegates. While the congress 'ls divided as to what steps should be taken to securebetter roads it is apparent that the outcome will be at least a healthy public sentiment in favor of good reads, which will result eventually in some desirable legislation. The farmers who are in a majority in the congress have not had a great deal to say, but whenever they have spoken they have opposed any movement which proposes to increase their taxes or add to their bonded indebtedness. At the opening of the session Rufus Magee of Logansport offered a resolution that tho World’s Fair be opened on Sunday. x lie resolution was laid on tho table by the congress without discussion. The Illinois Highway Improvement Association sent a letter of greeting to tho congress, and stated that for twenty years it hud been trying to ro : form the road laws of Illinois, and now began to see daylight The letter Btated that the Governor-eleot and a majority of the members of the Legislature were pledged to road reformation. The first paper of the day was by W. P. Carmichael, of Wellingtord. It dealt with “Some Criticisms of tho Fresont Systom of Road-Making in Indiana.” In the discussion of the papor Mr. Brown, of Fayette County, said that there are in the State about forty thousand miles of road. He estimates that the roads could all bo put in good condition at a cost of $8(10 a mile. This would entail an expenso of $2.50 an acre for the land in tho Slate. This cost could be distributed ovor ten years and would cost the owners of tho land 25 cents an acre each year. Ho thought that this expense would not bo burdensome.

accounted for by diminished payments for discount taxes, refund for excessive customs, deposits, drawbacks, census, quartermaster’s supplies and interest on the publio debt, the decrease in the last item 'alone being $14,169,019. For the present fiscal year the revenues are estimated as fol-

Mr. Martindnle said that the idea prevailed that Indiana was behind her sister States in the construction of roads. TThat was a mistake. The supervisor system, ho said, was defective in itself. It had not been executed as it might have been. It was established at a time when it was necessary to go from village to village. The boat that could be done with it was to use it in keeping the next roads passable. He said that if the delegates oamo here with the intention of “ripping up” tho present law they were on a mistaken mission. The thing to do was to amend and better tho present laws. Prof. AV. B. Johnson, of Franklin College, in an address, said that the roads of the State were faulty in the essential particulars of good engineer* Ing. Roads, too, he said, were faulty as to construction of bridges and drainage, which was the most Important factor. The natural soil, day, was strong enough to support any load placed upon it. Along tho roads wore deep ditches, but they do not carry water. Drainage under tho road is almost wholly unknown. The present supervision of roads, ho avorrod, wan faulty. Supervisors were generally Intelligent men, but they laoked technical knowledge of road-building and maintenance. It was desirable to have o trained corps of men to build roads and keep them in repair. J, A. Robinson, of Shelby County, n People’s party man, said he had reaohedthe conclusion that any effort to tamper with the present road law would result in the getting of no law at all. Ho believed with many farmers that entirely too much money was spent inside tho court houses on the roaerquestions. Ho said he believed that any report which looked to the increase of the bonded Indebtedness of the farmers would receive a black eye in the Legislature. ‘lt seemed to him that there were men who were always ready to put additional burdens on the farmers. Tho men who had built this nation were the farmers behind the plow. Progress, he said, declared that the people who supported this nation had a right to demand that the general government come out here and assist in m iking good roads. Mr. Robinson made a long plea for the farmer. The congress was furnished a statement from the State Auditor in tho afternoon showing that tho total road tax in Indiana in 1892 was $2,209,875. This sum, it was stated, did not lnolude taxes raised for free turnpikes or for bridges. Many of the delegates expressed the opinion that this amount of money, if wisely spent each year, ought to build a great many good roads.

British Agriculturist* geek John Bull’s Protection. A national conference of British agriculturists was held in tne St. Janies Hall, Picadilly, London, In conformity with resolutions adopted by various chambers of agriculture throughout Great Britain, to the effect that some decisive step should be taken at once to relieve the distressed condition of British trade in general and of British agriculture in particular, and also declaring that: “No permanent good can be attained without jsome stringent measures being adopted'by which the British producer shall be placed upon a footing where ho can compete with the foreign producer upon fairer terms, especially as regards manufactured gobds that can be produced in this country, and that relieving the land of a portion of Its burden will only partly meet the case." Representatives were present from nearly every Chamber of Agriculture in the United Kingdom, and, the report says, doleful tales were interchanged among the farmers present of farms desorted, the soil untilled, and agriculture brought to the verge of ruin. Thero was a general consensus in favor of protection for agricultural products.

Senator Gibson, it is now thought, will recover. William NichOls, a Cleveland mechanic, has inherited $2,010,000 by the death of his grandmother in England. The story that Senator Hill is to be counsel of the Equitable Life at a salary of $25 000 a year is said to be untrue. A revenue cutter has been sent to the Oregon coast to capture the British schooner Cornelius, which Is preparing to smuggle sixty Chinamen into tne United States. The Italian Consul has demanded an investigation *oto the killing of Francisco CarazZo, in Italian, by two Cincinnati policemen. The Italian was intoxicated and stabbed both officers. The Bev. Dr. J. B. Lowery, of Bt. Louis, preached a sensational sermon, in which he attacked the lives of Emma Abbott, F. 8. Gilmore, T. Barnum, and Jay Gould, claiming that their influence had been bad.

ROADS FOR FARMERS.

FARMERS ARE ANGRY.

Newsy Paragraphs.

OUR SCENIC ATTRACTIONS.

Ueuuty Endless In Variety frem Ocean to Ocean. It is the pride of this country that she is great in everything. She is great in the extent of her seacoast, in her cities, her lakes, her rivers, her

YELLOWSTONE CANYON.

plains, her forests, her resources, and In the Intelligence of her people. Great is she, too, in her scenery, in the manifold attractions which nature lias scattered over her bosom from ocean to Ocean and from the Gulf to the great lakes. Only during the last few years, says that admirably illustrated weekly, the Chicago Graphic, speaking of the scenic attractions of the trans-Missouri country, have Mw>y begun to be appreciated and even now they are only faintly realized by the people of the United States. In 1844 Illinois was really the frontier of civilization. Then came the discovery of gold in California, the rush to the Pike’s Peak country, the projection and completion of the Union Pacific Railroad and the building of other iron highways in every State and Territory, and naturally the attractions us different localities became better known. Colorado, Idaho. Utah, the Yellowstone region, abound in beauties of mountains, canyons, waterfalls and springs unequaled in the world. Idaho has goo, 000 acres of lakes and there are the • Shoshone and* Bridal Veil Falls, whose charms h&vd not been marred by the artificiality of civilization. The height of the Shoshone Falls is 82 feet the first descent and 210 feet the second, with width of 050 feet. The chasm above und below the falls varies in height

PILLAIIS OF HERCULES, COLUMBIA RIVER.

for a length of 18 miles from 1,050 to 1,200 feet.' Bridal Veil Fulls has a width of 125 feet. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Park Is the most magnillcent in the world. It is only one of the many beauties comprised in the mv tional park, which abounds in attractions that are endless In variety. The Pillars of Hercules on the famed Columbia River and on the line of the Union Pacific Road are as picturesque formations of nature as exist. A large pine tree grows in a crevice on top of onic of the pillars.

Patient Walters.

The Italian singers, Sofia and Giulia Itavogli, who became quite suddenly the delight of London musical circles, are very modest and patient women. They can bear to defer enjoyment even of the praise which is theirs by right. Mademoiselle Giulia was ouc>day talking with a friend, who happened to make some remark abotlt the enthusiastic notices the two singers had received from all the London papers. “Yes, everyone tells me so,” replied she in her pretty, broken English, “and we get such a lot of funny little rolls of de brown paper sent to us many time in de day, and we puts dem all in dis big dtawer, to save up when we go home ” | Here she pullcd/out the drawer, and displayed a quantity of newspapers, ■ hot one of which had been opened! 0 * “But don't you look at them? 1 ! asked the visitor. “Oh, no, not yet wc look; but see here! dis is a book which shall contain dem some day.” Thereupon she displayed, with great pride, a perfectly hew and empty scrap-l>ook, which, she confessed, had attracted her by Its red and blue index letters. In that “some day” would see her fame enrolled, but she was contend to wait for leisure to accomplish the pleasing task.

Cod Are Getting Scarce.

Codfish are getting scarcer and scarcer every year. They used to be as thick as herrings on thfe Kcwfoundlani shores, but now they are very seldom found in that part of the world. They may be plentiful enough in the deep ocean now, but are not easily caught by bait, and therefore are seldom caught by deepsea fishermen. Cod are found on European and African coasts, but as far as this part of the wfirld is concerned, in fifty years time they will be practically extinct.

BANQUET TO MR. CLEVELAND.

Annual Feast of the Reform Club Held at New York City. At the annual banquet of the Reform Club at Madison Square Garden, in New York, the President-elect was the bright particular star and most honored guest He occupied the post of honor at the right hand of E. Ellery Anderson, President of the club. After all the guests had been seated, Mr. Anderson, who presided, arose an'd delivered the welcoming address. Among other things he said: We meet to-night to celebrate the personal triumph of the man who, knowing the truth? dared proclaim it, and wnoee courageous coarse pointed out to .the party the path to victory. You, sir, have received the enthusiastic and universal support of the party because your cause was their cause; because your beliefs were their beliefs. We have high authoritytor saying that Mr. Cleveland is a popular man. an extraordinarily popular man, on every day of the year except election day; and we have still higher authority for declaring that on election day he is irresistible. We all understand and appreciate that the path which confronts you contains perhaps as many thorns as roses. The duties assumed are weighty; the difficulties to be overcome are many; but the great Democratic party *fll always be.with you. will always support’ yon. because it has implicit faith in you. This support will not bo given for hope of reward. Fellow Democrats here assembled, it is mv high privilege and honor to ask you to unite with me in proposing ttie health and prosperous administration of our President-elect, (irover Cleveland. V Mr. Cleveland's Speech.. v Prpsldent-elect Cleveland was tfle mexU speaker. Ho was received most onnfnsiastically, and throe, cheers wore given befoße.frp. to proceed. The pooplo in the boxos rose with one accord. Even the ladles in tho gallery choerod. while Mrs. Cleveland looked placidly on, ~When the enthusiasm subsided Mr. Cleveland said: .Mu. I’HKHI DENT AND LADIES ANll Oentlemen: I have nothing now or startling to say to you, and I hope to do little more than remind you us the megnlug and Hignlflcanoe of this occasion. As we arc hero gathered together, wo represent thoso who have been willing to risk all consequences In a battlo for principles which are grounded In purest patriotism, because they accord with the purposes and objects of our free Institution*. A plain feature of this gathering, which I am sure warms the hearts of all of us, Is our celebration of one of the grandest and most complete victories over achieved in the struggle for right and justice; and our glad greeting of the brightest light of triumph our generation! has seen, bursting from the clouds of defeat and discouragement. Let mo suggest to you, however, that we can contemplate nothing more gratifying In connection with tills assemblage than tho proof it affords that the Arnorlcan peoplo oan he trusted to manage the government which has been given Into their keeping. If there are those who have been disappointed and disheartened by the extent to which our people have been deceived and misled, or who, with fenr, have seen heodlessness of tho duty of citizenship open wide the door of corrupting Influences, or who. with s»d forebodings, have beheld popular rulo nearing the fatal rooks of a debauched suffrage, or who have mourned bcuauso appeals to selfishness and promises of unequal advantages were apparently undermining that patriotism which alone justifies our hope of national perpetuity, let this occasion ami the events Which have lod to' It reinstate their faith and their oonildenoe tn their countrymen. If IVhas seemed to those striving for better public sentiment thnt the disposition was growing among our people to regard their government as a depository of Individual benolits. to be Importuned and threatened and despoiled, let them take heart from the evidences now before our eyes, that there Is still abroad tn the land a controlling belief that our government should bo a source of lust and benenoent rule, proudly supported by free i men, protected by their oare and watchfulness, and returning to all our petiole, with equal hand, the sufoty and happiness It holds In store for them.

„ls wo have loarnod that an appeal to the . patriotism of our countrymen and au honest presentation of political principles to their intelligence and Judgment are not In vain, the thought must not escape us that while’ our people will In the end repay with their support Ilia.political, paity which addresses their understanding and reason, they will surely revengo themselves upon those who docelve or betray them. Tho National Democracy and Its allies in [silitlcal principle rejoice over the defeat of those whose fate is full of Instruct 16n and warning. While we find in our triumph a result of the popular intelligence which we have aroused, and a consequence of popular vigilance which we have stimulated, let us not for a moment forget that our accession to power wlll find neither this Intelligence nor this vigilance dead or slumbering. We are thus brought face to face with the reflection that if we are not to be tormented by the spirits which we ourselves have called up we must hear above victorious shouts the call of our fellow countrymen to pnbllu duty and must put on a garb befitting public servants. The sontlment suggested by this occasion, which should dwarf all Others, has relation to the responsibility which awaits those who do not rejoice in victory. If we redeem the promlees we have made to the votors of our land the dlffioulty of our task can hardly be exaggerated. Conditions Involving most Important interests must lie reviewed and modified, and perplexing problems menacing our safety must ho settled. Above all, and'as the ultimate object of all wo do, the rights and the welfare of our people in every condition of life mnst he placed upon a more jsqual plane of opportunity and ad vantage. I am oonndent that the wisdom, of the Democratic party will be equal to .the emergency, and I base my oonildenoe upon the belter that It will be patriotically true to lta,prtnolpieS and traditions, and will follow the path marked out by true American sentiment. Wo should not enter upon our Work tn the least spirit of resentment nor In heedless disregard of the welfare of any portion of our citizens. The mission of our party and the reforms we contemplate do not Involve the encouragement of Jealous animosities nor a destructive discrimination between American Interests. In order that we may begin with free hands we should vigorously oppose all delusions whloh have their origin In undemocratic teachings or In demagogic attempts to deoelve the people. Mere catchwords, which, If they mean anything, have no relation to sound policy, and phrases Invented to please the oar of the victims of cunning greed ought not to stand In our way. Looking beyond all these we shall find Just principles furnishing ,a vantage ground from which we can lay out a safe course of aotlon. We should strive to rid ourselves and our countrymen of the idea that there is anything shabby or dlsgraoeful 4n economy, whether In public or private life. If extravagsnoe in public expenditure has prevailed tn the past It affords no excuse for Its continuance, and there is no breach of duty so palpable as the waste of money held by public servants for the people's uses. Our Government was founded in a spirit of frugality and economy, and its administration should not depart from'those lines. We need no glitter nor show to divert our people from turbulent thoughts. We have a more substantial guaranty against discontent In a plain and simple plan of rule In whloh every citizen has a share. In order that this should do Its perfect work It Is essential that there should exist among our people a wholesome and disinterested love for their government, for Its own sake, and because It Is a heritage belonging to all. The cultivation of such a sentiment is not only a high duty, but-an absolute necessity to the consummation of .the reforms we enter upon. We shall utterly and disgracefully fall If we attempt these reforms under the Influence of petty partisan scheming or the fear of Jeopardizing personal political fortunes. They can,only be acuompllshed when unselfish patriotism guides the aspirations of our people and regulate* the aotlon of their ohoeen servants. ... We who are to be charged with the responsibility of making and executing the laws should begin our preparation for the task by a rigid self-examination and by a self-purgation from all ignoble and nnworthy tendencies threatening to enter into our motives and designs. Then may we enjoin upon all our countrymen the same duty, and then may we hope to perform faithfully And successfully the work intrusted ot our bands by a oouttding people.

Chronology of Plants.

Purslane Is from India; described B. C. 1800. Celery is Asiatic; mentiqned by Homer B. C. 962. The tea plant is mentioned in Chinese annals, B. C. 2700. Garlic mentioned in China B. C. 2500; in Egypt B. C. 1900. . ~ ' ? > . , .. The pear is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad, B. C. 962. ■*<?'• . i Barley is an Asiatic. Mentioned in 'the Bible B. C. 1900. Peas have been found in mummy cases dated B. C. 2000. The olive is an Asiatic. Mentioned in the Bible B. C. 1900. The onion is from India; mentioned in the Bible, B. C. 1571. The cucumber Is Indian; described by native authors B. C. 1500. Beans and peas were mentioned in Chinese history, B. C. 2700. Flax is mentioned on, the Egyptian monuments at least B. C. 2000. Rice Is indigenous to China. Well known in that country B. C. 2800. Beans are mentioned on the monuments ot the Egyptians B. C. 2500. The watermelon grows wild all over Africa. Grown in Egypt B. C. 2500.