Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 April 1893 — Page 6

SlcllfmocrattcSentiitd RENSSELAER, INDIANA. — ft,.. J, W MoEWEN, ... Futxjsheb.

THE MOUND BUILDERS.

BELldfe OF A RACE ABOUT WHICH LITTLE IS KNOWN. Mounds of the Missteglppl Valley—Cliff Homes of the Colorado and the Palaces of Central America- >*}lant Structures In the Forests of Tropical America. A Queer People. Americans have become so accustomed to the oft-repeated assertion that this is a new country that the idea that America may have its own antiquities comes as a novel suggestion To most American people Europe and Asia contain the only remains of former races, and when Americans wish to study antiquity in its ruins they go to Italy, Greece, or Asia Minor. But the researches of the

last few years have demonstrated beyond a doubt that on this continent there are ruins which rival in extent ana grandeur those of the once proud cities of tbe East, and perhaps equal then ia antiquity. Tbe Indians found here at the

AjjKAYSIDE SHRINK.

coming of the Europeans were not the first inhabitants, says the Globe-Democrat, for from the great hikes of North America to the Patagonian deserts, everywhere may be found abundant and impressive evidences of a former civilization. In

the valleys of the Ohio and its tributaries, along the banks of the Missouri and the Mississippi, are mounds and earthworks, some constructed for purposes of fortifications, others as places of sepulture, and others again for religious purposes or as places of worship. In Colorado and Arizona, the great canyons cut by the rivers through the mountains <in4 desCTck, were once the homes of prosperous*tribes whose numbers may be judged, from the extent of She ruins which once composed "their habitations. Further south are the Pueblos, great communes in vrKtch', under a common roof and sheltered by a common wall, many families lived together under a primitive form of government. The mound builders and cliff dwellers disappeared, leaving only the traces of their existence to arouse interest and awaken speculation in the minds of historian and antiquarian; but the ?xu?bto3,,fa decadence; we still have * Furtb£i south, in Mexico, Central America, and Peru, the destructive bapd of the Spaniard was not able to obliterate the striking evidences of a.former civilization. Everywhere in these countries are to be found the remains of mounds built for purposes of religion, of temples, of palaces, of

roads, coosutictM with the nicest regard to the peculiarities of the climate; of irrigating canals which converted wide tracts of sterile sand in to blooming gardens; of cities whi h

once contained their thousands of inhabitants. The Spaniards took for granted that the temples which they saw, the idols which instantly exj cited their religious prejudices, the pyramids on which some of their com-

rades taken prisoners in war were sacrificed, were all the work or the, Aztecs. Later investigators have found excellent reason for believing that these structures were the creations of a previous race, who, perhaps, had

srx WORSHIP AT GrATEMALA.

been driven from their homes by the Aztec invaders. This viewisstrengtliene I by the fact that some of the cities were in ruins: some of the gorgeous temple shrines were already deserted at the coming of the Spaniard, and so long had they been desolate that the Aztecs or Mexicans knew nothing about them or their builders. The character of the pyramids, most of which were evidently constructed for religious purposes, is very diverse. Some, like the pyramids of the sun and moon in Mexico, are simply mounds of earth, closely resembling the huge pile which formerly rose in the north central part of this city. Others are mounds, similar in character, but having at the top a temple more or less ornate and extensive, the elevated plateau which formed the summit evidently furnishing an assembling place where the worshipers might greet the rising sun. Still others, while preserving the pyramidal form, were pyramids only in shape, being terraced with successively retreating stories, each providing suites of chambers, which were, doubtless, appropriated to the priests and servants of the temple. One such structure in Central America, considerably exceeding

A CORRIDOR AT COPAJT.

100 feet in height, consists of seven stories, the various terraced rooms of which must have furnished accommodations for a host of attendants. Grand even in its ruins, when the giant structure was in perfect repair

and the Jong stairways leading to the summit were crowded with ascending and descending worshipers the scene must have been impressive beyond description. But the pyramids are not the only

A TYPICAL MEXICAN PYHAMID

of former powerful nations. Palaces of extensive dimensions are to be found covering acres of ground, and the enormous blocks In their cyclopean walls, rivaling In size the

A MOUND BUILDER'S ARCH.

A MOUND BUILDER'S ROUND TOWER

great stones of Baalbec, cause astonishment as to the means by which such masses were cut and transported from distant quarries. Great walls, extending sometimes for hundreds of yards and containing millions of cubic feet of stone; obelisks, monolithic statues —all, both in their construction and workmanship, give evidence of great advancement in architecture and mechanics. The principles of the arch were not Known to these builders, the nearest approach to a perfect arch being a structure closely resembling the famous gateway of lions at Mycenae. Neither did they often make use of the circular forms in tKe construction of their buildings, though occasional illustrations may be found; massiveness, perfect solidity, were the distinguishing features. The statues found in Copan and well known to the reading public from the researches of Stevens and the elaborate illustrations of Catherwood, are heroic in size, the smallest of the fourteen there found being eleven, the largest sixteen feet high; but all are alike in one respect, that each is carved with an elaborateness of design and particularity of detail that excite the utmost astonishment as to the tools with which the work was done, for as yet no traces of iron have been found in these ruins, and the copper implements were too soft to have had much effect on the stone, Not only in their architecture and sculpture, but also in theii painting, these mound and temple builders excelled, for, although the colors are faded, the work shows nc little artistic taste and skill of execution. The subject is generally a battle or a procession, sometimes evidently triumphal in character, showing that conquests in America before the advent of the whites were commemorated in the same way as conquests in the days of Trajan or the military monarchs of Nineveh. Above all, as evidence of a high grade of civilization, are the innumerable hieroglyphics everywhere to be found on these ancient monuments. .None of them have as yet been deciphered, but they indicate a written language, possibly a literature, perhaps as complete as the annals which cover the obelisks of Egypt or the slabs of Nimroud. They have nothing In common with the Aztec picture paint ing, which they antedate possibly hundreds of years. When their mean-

A NICARAGUAN PYRAMID RESTORED.

ing is deciphered, as in time perhaps it may be, the annals of prehistoric America will be unrolled for our inspection and the vexed questions, who were the mound builders, whence they came, and what were their adventures during their long migrations, who were their leaders and what dynasties of kings ruled when these great pyramids were erected, may all be answered. The prehistoric civilization of which these ruins are the visible trace reached its highest point in Central America, where are found its most remarkable remains. In the last fifty years the ruins of over TOO cities have been identified as such, and as each, judging from the indications, possessed a population of from 5,000 to 20,000, the density with which these regions were peopled must have tasked even the incredible fertility of a tropical soil. Until lately these cities were unknown, most of them being located in forests almost impossible to penetrate, infested with poisonous insects and reptiles, and rendered doubly perilous by the malarial diseases which alj most invariably attack unacclimatecl strangers. In such a district of Honduras are found the ruins of Copan, once a great city, but a ruin even in the time of Cortez, who passed within a few miles, but heard nothing of it. The.palace of Copan is a gigantic ruin, 900 by 1,600 feet in extent, with a wall 25 feet thick at the base, composed of enormous stones brought by unknown means from a quarry two miles distant. Close by ! the palace is the temple, built upon a walled terrace 024 feet north and south by 800 from east to west, and rising over 100 feet above the river which flows by one of its sides. Over 20,000,000 cubic feet of stone were employed in the construction of this great monument, while idols and altars, columns and sculptured stones innumerable are to he found on every hand. The time is coming when our knowledge of,,the mysterious builders will probably be greatly increased, and one of the most puzzling questions in American arehteology will then be solved.

Some Yankee Terms.

How many people, asks the Boston Transcript, have heard the verb to strawn (Vermont) or to stram (Nantucket)," meaning to wander about aimlessly? Could the phrase “I don't guess it’s so” be properly attributed to a genuine Yankee, speaking the rustic speech? A Yankee says “I reckon” only less often than he says “I guess.” Is this as ancient a use with him as “I guess,” or did he somehow pick it up from the Southerners? Are doughnuts called simballs elsewhere than in Weymouth, Hingham and a few other towns in Southwestern Massachusetts? How far west or north must one go before a doughnut becomes a “nutcake,” and how much further west before it becomes s “friedcake?” What is the origin of the former New England term, now almost obsolete, of “dodunk” for a stupid, simple person? The word is often found in Mr. Bowland E. Robinson’s Vermont stories—which, by the way, are the best Vermont dialect yet put in print.

A Fishy Fashion.

The fashion of serving the fish before meats began in 156£

THE ORANG KOOBOOS.

The Most Degraded Race of Men In the World. The Bushmen of, South Africa have been often spoken of as the lowest in the scale of humanity—the connecting link between man and monkey; but thete is a race known as the Orang Kooboos, or Brown Men of the Island of Sumatra, who present a stronger claim to that distinction. They are described as covered with hair and having long arms. They are deficient in chin, or rather that feature forms little part of the face. Some explorers of the island were at first disposed to class them as simply a somewhat higher development of the orang-outang, but this idea was dispelled by the facts that they possess speech, though exceedingly rude and monosyllabic, have perceptive faculties and resemble the rest of mankind in their formation. They are, moreover, recognized as belonging to the human race by the Malays, who,*however, hunt them as wild animals, in order to work them as beasts of burden. These singular people are only to be met with in the almost impassable swamps and forests of the island. They live among the branches of the teak and marringin trees, which grow to an enormous size. They construct a rude platform of bamboos wherever they can Upd a sufficient number of horizontal limbs of a tree to serve as the basis or sleepers for a floor, and over this they raise a rude conical roof of split bamboos and cocoanut leaves. These savages subsist almost exclusively upon fish, which abound in all the rivers and bays of that portion of the Pacific. It has been found impossible to teach the Kooboos the use of garments, altbougti they manifest a great fondness for pieces of colored cloth, which they will attach to various parts of their bodies. They will tie a vest to their heads or around their waists with a lively grinning and grunting of delight, and seem to make no distinction between a simple piece of cloth for ornament and a manufactured article, the only ground for preference being the difference of colors. It has been impossible to teach those in captivity the language of their masters, for after every effort they still spoke the Malay in an uncouth monosyllabic manner, like their own jargon of unclassified

grunts. They seem to have no idea whatever of marriage, but merely pair off for a season, nor do they give any evidence of belief or consciousness of the existence of a spiritual being. Notwithstanding the utter degradation of this hairy, brutish race, they seem to be no insignificant contributors to commerce, for in some of the ’impassable forests of Sumatra they have been the chief collectors of benzoin or gum benjamin. Curious stories are told about the manner of trading with the Orang Kooboos. The trader proceeds to a certain point on the edge of a forest, at certain periods of the year, with quantities of colored cloths, beads, and other trifles; he then heats a gong for some length of time at various intervals during one or two days as & signal, and then retires to a considerable distance to return in about a week, when he finds satisfactory quantities of benzoin in place of his "oods, which have been carried away oy the

DEATH OF A DOG IN THE SNOW.

iiU&Frozen Corpse Discovered and Ex- > numed by His St. Bernard Friend. Romeo is a noble St. Bernard dog and Brutus an English pug. They were owned by a Harlem gentleman and were inseparable friends. Their likes and dislikes were identical. They slept in the same kennel, ate from the same dish and roamed about the yard together. Seldom did they appear on the street and then only with their owner. But on the morning after the recent heavy snowstorm little Brutus did not respond to the breakfast call. Search for.him proved fruitless and Romeo was invited to eat alone, but he refused to touch his food. With an air of evident distress he wandered about the house, at times whining piteously, looking for his companion. His search, too, was in vain, and finally he laid himself down on a rug before the dining-room fire with his head between his paws. But he did not close his eyes. For perhaps an hour he remained there motionless. Then he arose, walked around the room once or twice and then left the apartment. Soon afterward he was heard howling in the back yard and scratching at the door for admission. Members of the family hastened to the spot and found Romeo there standing over the dead body of his friend Brutus, investigation soon solved the mystery. Brutus, it appears, had in some unknown manner wandered out doors into the driving, blinding blast of snow. Unable to return inside the house after barking, howling and scratching for some time he laid down in the snow. He had not been strong for seyeral months, and be soon yielded to the icy breath of winter and was frozen to death. Romeo had, in exploring the yard, found the little fellow’s corpse in a tiny suowbank, and, true to his instincts, drew it out arid tried to carry it to a place of safety. His efforts to restore life to his lost friend’s body were touching, and he seemed to more acutely mourn his loss than any other member of the household. For two days he would not taste a morsel of food, but after thirty-six hours of fasting he allowed himself to be persuaded to eat. Little Brutus’ frozen form was placed ia a shallow grave dug out of the almost solid ground at the foot of the garden, and Romeo was present at the burial. Every movement was closely noticed by him, and when the log’s body was covered he whined and would, if he had not been restrained, have scratched away the lumps of earth that concealed all that renamed of Brutus from his sight. That was several days ago, but Romeo’s grief-is yet as poigDant as ever and he is often heard whining over the tomb of his little friend.—New York Herald.

Critical Moments.

The historyof the casting of statues Is one long story of patience. When ; Benvenuto Cellini cast his great U erseus, according to rules which his

own genius had laid down, overwork and exposure had so undermined his strength that, at the critical moment, he was obliged to take to his bed, and leave the rest of the process to some faithful workmen who understood his plans. Finally, however, one of them came rushiog into his sick-room, where he lay dazed and groaning with pain, and told him, with many lamentations, that the process was a failure, and that the metal was caked. Cellini sprang from his bed, ran across the street, and rapidly dragged a load of dry oak wood back to his furnace. He made a roaring Are, and finding that the base alloy ip his metal had been burned out, he threw in all the pewter vessels of the household. Then the metal bubbled, the great Perseus was cast, and the maker and his faithful friends exulted. Stiglmayer, a German goldsmith in the first part of this century, having an ambition to attempt larger works than any he had accomplished, went to Naples in order to see the casting of Canova’s statue of Charles 111., but was denied the sight of certain secret technical processes. Stiglmayer found them out for himself, nevertheless, and as soon as lie went home made his first experiment on a statuette of Venus. Many delays occurred, and the excitement increased as the end drew near. By some mistake one of his assistants poured his molten metal into the air-hole. Then the casting came to a stand-still. “The crowd of lookers-on,” writes the poor founder in his diary, “stood first dumb about me, and then slipped out, one by one, and left me with my pain.” In a month a second casting was begun, and failed. With unbroken, courage he began the third cast, and on Christmas eve the metal was again poured in. It ran into the mold, and spurted joyfully out at the air-hole. “Our joy knew no bounds,” he declares. “We raised a loud cry of joy, and embraced and kissed each other. Pasquale, the helper, kissed the head of Phidias coming out of the broken form, and burned his mouth, for it had not time to cool.”—Youth’s Companion.

THE FIRST WHISTLE.

When the Steamboat-Screecher Waß First Heard on the Mississippi. “I see they have finally settled the discussion as to who was the first man to use a steamboat whistle on the river,” said Captain Jere Eastman, of Cairo, at the Laclede last night. “It was a mighty interesting discussion, too, and the thing was in doubt for some time, but it is all settled now, and Captain J. Stut Neal was the man. As Captain Neal explains it himself, the story is something to this effect: He was the engineer and part owner of the Eevinue (spell that with an ‘i,’ mind you), and she was the first vessel to use a whistle. They got it from Anderson Fulton, in Pittsburg, where the boat was built. That was in 1843. “You see, they were making a trip with Government supplies to Fort Touson, on the Red River, in 1844. They had had the whistle then, for, while they were making the trip, Polk was inaugurated President and old Cap'n Neal—he wasn’t old then—was the only Democrat on the boat, and 1 tell you he made the Injuns jump when he set that old whistle to tooting. In those days the whistle was placed a-top of the boilers and the-engineer could amuse himself to his heart’s content if he wanted to. Old Cap’n Neal was a steam boatman born. He was the first man.on the river to use the life-preserver, and sent Cap’n W H. Fulton all the way to Philadelphia to get a supply of them for the Revinue. On the trip that I tell you about the Revinue towed a keel boat all the way from Pittsburg via New Orleans to Fort Touson, on the Red River. That was before the annexation of Texas, and at that time Fort Touson was the boundary line between the United States and Texas, and I tell you that was a feat for steamboating in those days.”—St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Holders and Brushes.

Tastes differ as to the size of holders for use about the stove; some like large, thin ones, and others prefer them small and thick. It does not matter which way they are made, so you have plenty of them and use them. I make covers for them, which can be easily slipped off and washed, with a small ring or tape sewed on one corner for hanging them up. Hang near a stove, so there will be no temptation to use towels or an apron. Besides the various kinds of scrubbing, keep one exclusively for washing vegetables; potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., can be more easily cleaned in this way than in any other. Use a small tooth brush for cleaning around the handles of cups and tureens, and for dishes with rough surfaces, or raised designs; keep it convenient and it will be used oftener. I keep mine in a drawer of my kitchen work-table, beside my silver polish, chamois skin and other useful cleaners. I have found a small paint or varnish brush, costing 5 cents, a useful accompaniment to the larger stovepolishing brush, as it can be made to reach into corners where the other one will not go. A nail brush for the cook’s and the children’s use is indispensable. Of course there are dust brushes, crumb brushes and tooth brushes. I only mention these which I do not And in general use, but which cost little and aid much in making easier the work which many deem drudgery.—Portland Transcript.

The Name Forbidden.

A Dresden workingman has been forbidden to give his child the name “Robespierre Danton.” The official in charge of such matters refused to register it, and thereupon the father elected to give his son no name at all. So he was summoned for non-compli-ance with the registration laws and fined.

Kalmucks Are Free Men.

The Kalmucks of Astrakhan, a roving people numbering 150,000 souls, have at last been freed from serfdom. When the other Russian serfs were freed in 1861 it was considered dangerous to extend this priv ilege to these people, lest their wildness would lead to its abuse.

IN SOUTH AFRICAN WILDS.

Shooting Game In Almost Impenetrable Forest*. One of the most experienced of African hunters and supposed to be the “Alan Quatremain” of one of Rider Haggard’s novels is F. C. Selous, of England. Mr. Selous went to South Africa in 1871 and with the exception of the time spent in visits to his home has lived on the Dark Continent ever since. He is now in England and has almost innumerable trophies of his hunting in Africa. His collection embraces specimens of the white rhinoceros, hippopotamus, wild dog, hyena, eland bull, gemsbok, koodoo, lion, and other kinds of African game. Most of Mr. Selous’

ELAND BULL MASHONALAND.

ivory. Often the sole diet of the party was elephants’ meat, and Mr. Selous says that portions of the huge

creatures make fine eating. The' heart and feet are dainty morsels. Mr. Selous gives; the following recipe for cooking the feet: “You; cut off the foot at the lower joint, and place it, skin and all, in a hole in the ground

where a good fire has been burning. In other words, the foot, just as it leaves the beast, is laid on the ashes

WILD DOG.

makes acceptable eating.” All of Mr. Selous’ elephant-hunting was done on foot. Wherever the

elephant abounds the tsetse-fly is also found, and as the flies worry horses to death the, latter had to be| dispensed with. Mr. Selous says

that elephant hunting in South Africa is no longer profitable as a business. The animals are very scarce

and are hard to get at, having retired into forests almost impenetra:ble to the hunter. Other species of game, however,

HIPPOPOTAMUS SKULL I

abound and furnish exciting amusement to the sportsman. Mr. Selous will soon return to Africa in quest of game, sueh as the large antelopes. Our illustrations of some of his collection are from the Illustrated News of the World.

IOWA’S CRACK BAND.

One of the Finest Musical Organizations in the Country to Be at the Fair. One of the best things lowa will send to the World's Fair, says a Des Moines correspondent, is the lowa State Band. It is an organization of which Hawkeye people have reason to be proud, and they think that when the Fair is over the people of the world will know that lowa can furnish as good musical talent as can be found any place. The band is strictly a state organization. It ia made up of the best musicians out in this country. The members of it live

all the way from Dubuque to Council Bluffs. The leader of the band is Frederick Phinney, a d ow n-Ea s te r who comes from a family of musicians. It was he who organized the famous r band of Lynn, Mass.

FRBDBSICK PHINNEY]

His father organized the old Plymouth Band years ago. This band was one of the first musical aggregations in Massachusetts, and used to head the famous Standish Guards, which date their birth from colonial times. Mr. Phinney’s ancestors were among those most conspicuous in the formation of the guards. Mr. Phinney is himself a direct descendant of Miles Standish. He came to lowa in 1889, and commenced the organization of what is now the lowa State Band. There were then several bands in Des Moines. He picked from these the best musicians, and to give him united support all the bands disbanded. The organization, under Mr. Phinney’s able direction, has steadily grown, and now it is admitted all around to be one of the best bands in the country. The entire band of fifty pieces will play in the lowa State Building at the World’s Fair, three, and perhaps six, months. The band is maintained and supported by the people of lowa.

Carrier Falcons.

A Russian army officer who has been experimenting in the training of falcons to carry dispatches says that these birds are superior to carrier pigeons for messenger service. The falcon is much the stronger, and some of them have carried a weight of four pounds without material hindrance to speed.

Belonged to Old Hickory.

The oldest ornaments among the household goods of the White House are the two bronze candelabra that stood on the ends of the mantel in the red parlor. They are six feet tall, and were presented to President Jackson during the occupancy of the White House by General Patterson.

Still Hard at Work.

Mile. Rosa Bonheur is still hard at work, notwithstanding her advanced age. She has just finished three small pictures—a cattle piece, a study of a sleeping lioness, and an exquisite flock of Pyrenean sheep with their shepherd.

time was consumed in shooting elephants, and these animals moved farther north before the advancing tide of civilization. Mr. Selous continued his pursuit into I the deep forests. He was accompanied by a band of Kaffirs who carried the elephants’

SKULL OP THE WHITE RHINOCEROS.

of the fire in the hole. Then you cover over the hole with earth and light a good roaring fire on top. It 1 takes a considerable time to cook the meal, but when properly done it really

SFOTTKD HYENA.

OUR BUDGET OF FUN.

HUMOROUS BAYINQS AND DOINGS HERB AND THERE. #«kM u 4 Jokalvt* that Arm Bnppou4 tm Hava Baaa Bacantlp Born—Saxtac* aai Doing* that Ar* OdA Carton* and Laaghablo. Let Us Loath. Nana—“l love to ride in the trolley cars.” Maud—“ Why?” Nana—- “ Because you see so many “snarks.” “Does Ying Lee show any evidence of conversion?” “Yes, he wants to marry his Sunday school teacher.”— Philadelphia Record. Jason says, speaking of school discipline, the hardest thing to keep in order at a cooking school Is your stomach.—Elmira Gazette. “The pleasantest way to take cod liver oil,” says an old gourmand, ?is to fatten‘pigeons with it and then eat the pigeons. ”—Tid-Bits. “My sweetheart is neither beautiful nor young,” said Downes; “but she is as good as gold.” “Ah! it’s the gold you’re after!” said Bigbee.—TidBits..

“This,” said Farmer Begosb, who had listened to cheers till he bad a headache, “is another reminder of the hollerness of life.”—Washington Star. Mrs. Da rle y—George, dear, why is love said to be blind? Mr. Darley —Because he has had the wool pillled over his eyes so often.—Detroit Free Press. Mamma (pathetically) What would my little girl do if I should die? Little Flossie—l don’t know; I suppose I should have to spauk myself.—Life. Getthere —“Did you ever attend any of Miss Budd’s ‘at homes?’ ” De Bore (sadly)—“N-no, but I’ve attended a good many of her not-at-homes. ” —Exchange. The rumored combination of the whisky and sugar trusts is very ominous. The next thing we hear they will be getting into hot water.—Detroit Free Press. Crosse—“l hear Gerkin is in a terrible pickle. How does he take it?” Blackwell:—“Oh, he’s as cool as a cucumber about it. He isn’t as green as he looks. ” —Puck. Her Bosom Friend— “Oh, what a dear little ring!” Herself (blushingly)—“Yes; it’s my engagement ring. ” Her Bosom Friend (sweetly) —“Where did you buy it?”—Quips.

Al Pine “How uncomfortable Diogenes must have been, living in a tub!” Archy Teck “Yes; and it wasn’t the stationary kind, either.— Puck. Leading Man (to native)—“Where do the actors stop when they come down here?” Native—“ Most of ’em stays in the cemetery, two turnin’a to the right as you go down the road.” —Quips. Watts —“ What’s the matter with Braggs? He walks around with his nose away up in the air and wqn’t look at anyone.” Pott9—“He sprained his neck looking for the comet.”— : Indianapolis Journal. Bei^le —-I suspect that Carrie is going to get married .at last Mr. Manning was having a long talk with her last evening. Kate—But was he serious? Belle—Serjous? . Positively sad.—fßoston Transcript First Little your sister; begun takin' mosic lessons yet?”' Second Little Girl—“ She’s takin’ somefin’ on th’ piano, but I can’t tell yet whether it’s music or typewritin’.”—Good News. Thomas —“l say, Governor, nobody ever called you a donkey, did they?” Mr. Closely—“No, of course not.” Thomas —“That’s what I thought In this book it says large ears denote generosity.”—Texas Siftings. Anxious Mother —“ls that new neighbor’s little boy a nice boy?” Little Johnny—“Yes’m. When teacher asked him who hit him with a spitball he said he didn’t know, and he saw me hisself.”—Street & Smith’s Good News.

“I know why so many of our girls are unhappy when they are married to foreigners,” said Maud. “Why?’* asked Mamie. “They can’t get well enough acquainted with their husbands to pronounce their names.”— Washington Star. His Daughter’s Letter. —“ Dear Father —We are all well and happy. The baby has grown ever so much, and has a great deal more sense than he used to have. Hoping the same of you, I remain your daughter, Molly. ” —Tid-bits. Miss Poetique —“How dreamily delightful is the soothing sound of old ocean’s waves rolling up in the moonlight upon the silver Miss Practical—“ Yes, I always did like to hear the water sloshing around pn the beach. * —Somerville Journal. “Papa, dear,” said the old man’s testy daughter as she bent fondly over him during his last illness, “forgive me for asking you, but what are you going to leave your darling daughter, when you die?” ‘Fatherless!, cried the Irascible old gentleman, as he rolled over with bis face to the wall.—Texas Siftings. Small Artist— “Mamma, I painted this little girl in the picture and I’ve got the bureau alongside of her painted, but I want to paint a rouge box on the bureau and I can’t make it look right.” Mamma—“Why do you want a rouge box there?” Small Artist—“l’ve got her cheeks too red and’ I want it to look as if she did it her Self. ” —Exchange.

“Taste” of Electricity.

Physicians explain in an interesting fashion that the e.ectric current when appied to the tongue seems to taste sour. The gustatory or tasting nerves, according to the doctors, are industrious and well-meaning little things, and, although it is not their business to take cognizance of any impression made by touch, they do thpir best to. look after anything thijt happens to come in their way. Thus, when subjected to the electric current, they telegraph the fact in their own language to the brain, and as their language is exclusively that of taste they inform the brain that an electric current is sour. The ordinary unscientific citizen, having confidence in the stories told by his gustatory nerves, really believes that the electric current has an acid taste.