Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1893 — Page 6

STljrJlriuocrattrSeiiiiitci RENSSELAER, INDIANA. J. W. McEWEN, - • - Publisher

ENGLAND IN INDIA.

QUEEN VICTORIA’S BIQ FARM IN THE ORIENT. TMt Wealth Squeezed Oat of the Native*, Who Live In the Most Abject PovertyHalf the Size of the United States—Pat Salaries for Higher Officials. Result of British Rale. The recent disturbances in Bombay, one of the greatest commercial cities In India, make pertinent an aocount of that vast Oriental possessession over which Queen Victoria reigns as Empress. The history of the world has among the real estate records of the transfer of nations no other piece of property like India. It Is half the size of the United States, and contains the most fertile lands in

AN INDIAN SOLDIER.

has representatives of nearly every creed on the face of the globe. There are more Mohammedans in it than In Turkey, and the Hindoos number nearly 200,000,000. It has 1,300 towns of from 10,000 to 50,000 people, and of its great cities Bombay is as large as Philadelphia, Calcutta as great as Chicago, Madras surpasses St Louis, and the native city of Hyderabad exceeds Baltimore. How England Obtained India. England obtained control of this mighty land by a pinch of pepper. In the days of “good Queen Bess” the Dutch had a monopoly of the trade

of the Orient, and they supplied Europe with its spices. One of the great articles of shipment was pepper, and like some of our own business men the Dutch cornered the market and forced the price of pepper from 75 cents to $1.50 a pound. English merchants kicked, and as a result of the agitation the East India Company was formed and was soon capitalized at $2,000,000. The East India Company soon got a footing in India and began ousting the Dutch traders. They first bought the island of Bombay, and by the time that President Buchanan was presiding at the head of this Republic the East India Company practically controlled the whole country. The British Government took the country off the hands of the East India Company, and ultimately, after successful wars and the natural operations of trade British power in India went on consolidating and increasing until India became a dependency of the crown.. In 1774 Warren Hastings became the first Governor General, and the country has since been governed by a Governor General or Viceroy. The higher offices in India are filled by Englishmen, natives coming

AN INDIAN MAIL CARRIER.

in for inferior offices. The salaries paid are very large. Thus the Governor General receives a salary of •100,000 a year, while $60,000 is given him for entertainment. Under British control India has prospered—in English interests; thus the annual exports of the country,which amounted to $5,000,000 when British citizens obtained control, are now over $300,000,000. But the. condition of the natives is painful to dwell upon. Out of every 1,000 natives 999 live in huts of mud, and a majority of them have not the necessaries of life. The huts are so small that the beds have to be put out of doors during the daytime In order to give room for the family. These beds are rude framesof wood covered with a network of rope the size of a clothes line. The sleeper uses neither sheets nor pillow. He sleeps in the clothes which he wears during the day, and the beds are so abort that he must double himself up on them. The huts are unfloored and destitute of furniture. The familjr squat on their heels or sit crosslegged on benches. The kitchen utensils axe a few pots and kettle*, and the sating is done with the fingers

the world. Its population comprises a seventh part o f the entire human race, and although numbering 3,500 to the one European, the native people merely work the great farm for the benefit of Englishmen, and are completely under British sway. India is a land of many languages and races, and in religions it

PRINCIPAL STREET IN BOMBAY, INDIA.

fßie floor Is often the dining table. The fuel la tfo® droppings of the cattle, which are gathered up by the w|xed ITOd patted into cakei and laid in the son to dry. Bwwiflte of British Bala Thus do the natives live while earning taxes for the British, but it most be *nld that a good deal of the money returns for Investment in thi soil. There are good roads, manj irrigating canals.; find numerous hos* pltals and sohools in the country. The postal service of the country is not inferior to purs, and yearly the natives are using the mails more and more. There are now over 50,000 miles of rail routes in India and the postofflnea almost pay for themselves. India has over !tOO,OOO miles of telegraph wire and the English Government owns all. It is the same way with the railroads. The British Government owns most of the iron highways and is continually building more. Almost 16,000 miles of track now belong to England. At Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta there are great universities on the model of the University of London; there- are ninety-six colleges and the whole of the country is dotted with schools. The people of. India are said to be greatly dissatisfied with British rule, but lack the courage and cohesion to throw oft the yoke. The Mussulmans are divided against the Hindoos, and even the latter are divided among themselves. Bombay, the seat of the disturbances, contains 200,000 Mohammedans and 500,000 Hindoos. The European quarter of the city is second to none in the world in point of beautiful buildings. The materials used in their construction are mostly olive-tinted granite, light-colored sandstone and dark brick. The native quarters, however, are wretched.

Repaid with Interest.

Dignity is associated with honest poverty as often, beyond a doubt, as it is with wealth; and it is not always safe or wlfie for those who are better-to-do to affront the self-respect of the poor. A story is told of the youth of a woman who died in old age in Paris lately which illustrates this fact When she was a poor girl, working for her.living, she took her dinner each day in a restaurant kept by a woman named Clemence—a wellknown place in Paris, where people of limited incomes were in the habit of eating. The young woman, whose name was Theresa, received her salary

monthly, it was so small that it was often spent a day or two before pay-day came around again. On such occasions Madame Clemence generally gave Theresa credit until payday, although she regarded her with suspicion. Theresa always paid her debt whon she received her salary. But one day toward the end of the month, when Theresa had been particularly unfortunate in her affairs, she presumed too far on Madame Clemence’s generosity. The customary patrons of the restaurant had gathered preparatory to the meal. Theresa, who bad eaten but a scrap of bread that day, was among them, and very hungry. Madame Clemence came up to her and said, roughly: “What do you want here?” “My dinner," Theresa answered meekly. “Well, you can’t have it here,” the woman said. “You owe me nine francs already, and that’s quite enough for you to owe.” The poor girl arose in burning humiliaton, and was about to go when she heard a low and very kind voice near her.

“Pay the woman right off, ” it said. She felt a ten-franc piece slipped into her hand, and saw that the person who had Bpoken to her was M. Dumaine, a gentleman whom she knew by sigjit. She hesitated a moment: but some generosities are not to be lightly refused, even by persons of pride. She paid Madame Clemence her debt out of the money. Then M. Dumaine arose and said aloud to the people in the room. “My friends, one of us here, a poor girl, has been publicly iDsulted without good cause. Evidently Madame Clemence needs a little admonition. Let us leave her alone for a fortnight. 1 know a little restaurant in Belleville where we can do very well. Let us go there!*'' *] ” “Bravo, Dumaine,” the people called. They all arose and followed Dumaine to Belleville, leaving Madame Clemence aghast. The Crowd dined merrily in the new place—all except Theresa, who had lost her appetite as the result of the extraordinary incident, and had grown very pensive. She did not repay M. Dumaine's ten francs; she feared to offend him. But she “paid it back,” as she called it, with large interest, for through all her long subsequent life—during which she often had considerable sums to dispense—she never hesitated to assist a struggling artist or any necessitous young person who presented himself. “It Is M. Dumaine’s ten fraucs,” she would say as she assisted these needy persons in their battle with the world.—Youth’s Companion.

More Deadly.

It lias been decided that hereafter, in the offensive equipment of British war vessels, the Maxim gun shall take the place of the five-barrel Nordenfeldt Gardner guns.

THE OHIO CAMPAIGN

Somethinjr About Gubernatorial Candldates Bracken* Neal and McKinleyAside from the issues involved, the Ohio gubernatorial campaign comes at an opportune time to attract national attention. Only thirteen of the States hold elections this fall, andof these only five ballot for new Governors—Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts,' lowa and Wisconsin. These five will all be closely watched by the Waole country, but the prominence given to national questions in the Buckeye fight has a tendency to centralize interest upon it. Edward J. Bracken, who is the nominee of the People’s party for Governor, Is a veteran in the ranks of labor agitators. He, was formerly President of the Columbus Trades

BRACKEN. NEAL. M’KINLEY.

Assembly and is a man of more than ordinary intellectual force and intelligence. Recently he has been the Columbus correspondent for several Journals devoted exclusively to labor’s interests, and in this capacity has assisted the passage of many of the bills demanded by working men. Lawrence T. Neal, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Is known the country over as the author of the tariff plank in the last Democratic national platform. He Is a lawyer and was City Solicitor of Chillicothe in 1867 and a member of the Legislature in the same year. In 1870 he was Prosecuting Attorney of Ross County, and In 1872 was sent to Congress from the Seventh District, being re-elected in 1874. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1889, and again in 1891, but was each time defeated by Governor Campbell. He was also before the Democratic caucus for the United States Senatorship when Brice was selected. He is a native of Parkersburg, W. Va., fifty years of age and a bachelor. Of Governor McKinley, who has been renominated by the Republicans, little need be said beyond the statement'that he is fifty years of age and served seven terms as a member of Congress, where he became famous because of his prominence in tariff matters. He was elected Governor in 1891 by a plurality of 21,511 votes. The particulars of the financial disaster which overtook him last winter are still fresh in the public mind.— N. Y. Advertiser.

A WONDERFUL BOAT.

It Can Make Eight Miles an Hoar Through Two Feet of Ice. The most wonderful ice-crushing steamboat in the world has been set aside by one still more wonderful, says the New York Sun. Like the first one, it is built to carry trains of cars across the Straits of Mackinaw from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace, Mich., in connection with the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad, along the southern shores of Lake Superior. In those Straits the ice in winter is prodigiously thick, and when there is not a solid bridge of clear blue ice over the water there is apt to be a wedge of drift ice. The ferry-boats that carry the heavy trains across this piece of water are obliged to be powerful fighters, and they are built in a peculiar way to do their fighting. Their bows, which are as solid and strong as a naval ram, are built to slope inward and downward, so that the boats climb up on the ice and break or crusn it down. The enormous weight of the newest boat, the Ste. Marie, which is 5,000,000 pounds, will crush any ice that it rests upon. Under.the bow is a propeller screw, which not only pulls the boat ahead but sucks the water outi from beneath the ice in order thaV the ice may be more easily broken. , Then, again, the screw sucks the broken ice away and ca'sts it behind jas the boat pushes its way along. ! This new boat cwst more than a thiid of a million of dollars. She oan carry eighteen loaded cars on her three (tracks and can make fifteen miles an hour. Her side platitt are six inches thick, and the sides of the vessel are nearly three feet thick toward the bottom of the hull. She is all coated with one-quarter inch steel except at ( the bow and stern, where the steel plates are two inches thick. The two ends of the boat are almost solid timber, to make a battering-ram of her. Her bow screw is smaller than in the stern, but with both at work she can make eight miles an hour through solid blue ice two feet thick, and when she encounters soft or drift ice ten feet thick her forward screw will bore through it and hurl it out of the way without its greatly impeding her progress.

Why Oil Stoves Explode.

Just as regularly as the summer season comes round numberless small fires are reported in the newspapers as having been caused by the explosion of oil stoves. In such cases what really happens is generally only this: That a person rushes into a kitchen where there is an oil stove, sees the stove enveloped in flame, and, catching it up, dumps it bodily out of the nearest window. The stove is broken to pieces by that proceeding, but there has been no explosion; in fact, the dealers say that oil stoves never explode. The trouble seems to be that the people do not take proper care of the stoves. Instead of cleaning them from time to time, as in the case of lamps, they neglect them and allow them to become clogged up with a coating of dust and oil. That mix-

ture is very inflammable, and if It remains about the wicks, it will eventually take fire. In order for the stove to explode, there must be a sudden ignition of gas generated within it; if that happens, the stove will be blown to pieces. Most of the stoves are now made, however, so that the gas from the oil can escape through holes perforated in the cap of the oil chambers; and as these holes allow communication with the open air, if an explosion—that is, a quick ignition of the gas—should take place, it is doubtful if it would do any damage. If a stove should burst into flames on account of the coating of dust and oil, so long as the flame did not come into contact with anything inflammable, like wood, there would probable be no damage done. The dust and oil would burn off the surface, then the flame would go out. It Is possible that trouble might be occasioned in rare instances by the overheating of a stove; but according to the dealers the temperature must be raised to 160 degrees before the oil will flame. The dealers seem to think that if the stoves are kept thoroughly clean the chance for trouble is very slight—Boston Transcript

Sharp Eyes.

We never see everything that is about us, and no two of us ever see precisely the same things. Each sees what his previous training and his habit of mind have prepared him to see. When Mr. Hudson was in Patagonia he fell in with a gambler, who told him that always after the first few rounds of the game he knew i some of the cards as they were dealt; he recognized them by a difference so slight that another man could not detect it even when it was pointed out to him. Mr. Hudson is an ornithologist, and he says that this same preternaturally sharp-eyed man was greatly surprised when he was told that half a dozen kinds of sparrows were feeding and singing about the house. He had never seen any difference in them, he said. In size, color, shape, and actions they were all alike, and they all sang and twittered alike, so far as he had ever noticed. Native Patagonians, like other savage peoples, have very keen eyes for certain things, things which their modes of life have made it indispensable that they should notice. In other words, they are specialists, and as a matter of course they excel in their own particular line. But it does not follow that they have better eyes than are possessed by men of civilized countries. Set one of them to find a reversed “s” in the middle of a printed page, says Mr. Hudson, and the tears would run down his brown cheeks and he would give up the search with aching eyeballs. But the proof-reader can find the reversed letter in a few moments, and never strain his eyes in the least.

Heathen Outwitting the Devil.

A Chinese funeral never proceeds straight lrom the house of morning to the graveyard. The devil is always on the lookout for funerals and follows them to seize the soul of the dead man, so, in order to outwit the evil one, the bearers take up the body and start with it in a brisk trot, while packs of flre-crackers and pyrotechnics emitting a dense smoke and vile smell are set off just as the procession starts. Having thus deceived Old Nick as to the direction taken by the bearers they run as fast as they can with the body, then suddenly turn a corner and stop while more fireworks are burned. The devil cannot turn a corner easily, and so, if really in pursuit, he shoots on by, and by means of a good deal ol sudden turning and stopping and a lavish expenditure of fireworks, the funeral procession generally gets to the grave in safety, while the old boy, confused by their movements and half suffocated by the fireworks, is still wandering about in the city. The Chinaman who dies in the country is not in such good luck, for there is less chance to outwit the enemy, but by many detours it can very often be done.

Why Soldiers Break Ranks.

There are very few bridges in the world over which troops are allowed to march in regular step. In general, when coming to a bridge, particular, ly a suspension bridge, the drums or bands are stopped, the array is broken and the soldiers pass over without keeping step, or rather taking pains not to keep step. The reason is (found In fact that a very slight initial vibration, if continued, is im(parted to the whole structure, and in a short time becomes so strong a downward strain at every recurrence as speedily to endanger the safety of the strongest bridge. The same principle is illustrated in sqme houses, which can be made to tremble from roof to foundation by persistently and regularly pressing with the foot on a loose board in one of the floors. A similar curious circumstance is seen in the case of certain churches in which it is dangerous to play the heavy pedal pipes of a grand organ, for the reason that the vibration becomes so great as to shatter the panes of glass in the windows, and even to imperil the safety of the roof.

Ancient Engineering.

A fragment of bas-relief discovered in Egypt has shown how the obelisks and other large monoliths were transported from the quarry to their site The stone is depicted upright on a great galley or vessel, which is being towed by a number of small boats alongside. This method of detaching a monolith from the mother rock is also explained by a semi-de. Bached block in one of the quarries of Syene. After having been hewn clear on three sides a deep groove was cut into the side still attached to the rock, and the holes were pierced, into which wooden pegs were driven. The pegs were then wetted and the wood in swelling broke off the monolith from the quarry.

Lo and His Blankets.

The Indians make blankets of bark beaten very thin. The bark is stamped with fancy figures in brown and red and is trimmed with fur. Palm leaves are beaten together and are also made into blankets. An Indian is always cold, even in hot weather, and his blanket is as precious to him as our sun bats are to us.

APPARITIONS IN HISTORY.

List of a Few Connected with the Name* of Famous Men. Goethe states that he one day saw the exact counterpart of himself coming toward him. Pope saw an arm apparently come through the wall, and made inquiries after its owner. Byron often received visits from a specter, but he knew it to be a creation of imagination. Dr. Johnson heard his mother call his name in a clear voice, though she was at the time in another city. Count Emmanuel Swedenborg believed that he had the privilege of interviewing persons in the spirit world. Loyola, lying wounded during the siege of Pampeluna, saw the Virgin, who encouraged him to prosecute his mission. Descartes was followed by an invisible person, whose voice he heard urging him to continue his search after truth. Sir Joshua Reynolds, leaving his house, thought the lamps were trees and the men and women bushes agitated by the breeze. Oliver Cromwell, lying sleepless on his couch, saw the curtains open and a gigantic woman appear, who told him that he would become the greatest man in England. Ben Johnson spent the watches of the night an interested spectator of a crowd of Tartars, Turks and Roman Catholics, who rose up and fought around his armchair till sunrise. Bostock, the physiologist, saw figures and faces, and there was one human face constantly before him for twenty-four hours, the features and headgear as distinct as those of a living person.

Benvenuto Cellini, imprisoned at Rome, resolved to free himself by self-destruction, but was deterred by the apparition of a young woman of wondrous beauty, whose reproaches turned him from his purpose. Napoleon once called attention to a bright star he believed he saw shining in his room, and said: “It has never deserted me. I see it on every great occurrence urging me onward. It is my unfailing omen of success.” Nicolai was alarmed by the appearance of a dead body, which vanished and came again at intervals. This was followed by human faces, which came into the room, and, after gazing upon him f or a while, departed.

CHOLERA CORKED IN A BOTTLE.

Bacteria of the Genuine Asiatic Article at the Army and Medical Museum. In one of the cases at the Army and Medical Museum at Washington there is a long row of small test tubes containing bacterial organisms of several of the most dangerous diseases known to the medical profession. The exhibition is a branch of that department under the management of Dr. Gray, who conducts experiments in the formation of the disease germs and speculates on their terms of existence and powers of resistance. Among the collection is a tube labeled “Asiatic cholera,” which attracts more attention than any of the others. The tube was filled with gelatine on June 22, at the same time being inoculated with cholera. In a little over a month the disease germs have developed and multiplied to such an extent as to be plainly visible to the naked eye. In the open end of the tube is loosely wadded a piece of cotton, and, although the contents may be seen through the glass doors of the case, Manager Flynn, of the museum, kindly takes the tube out of the case and explains the growth of the germs when particular interest is manifest in the culture by visitors. The other day, says the Post, while showing the cholera tube to a party of visitois, a nervous lady approached the group and in an excited manner inquired: “Is that real cholera you have bottled up there?” “Yes, Asiatic cholera,” politely replied Mr. Flynn. The woman threw up both , hands and exclaimed: “Then for God’s sake do b£ careful and don’t drop the bottle.”

Polite.

For a town to be mentioned particularly on account of the civility of its inhabitants is no small honor. Philip Gilbert Hamerton thus distinguishes the village of St. Jean de Losne, in his book, “The Saone.” When it rained they invited him into their houses, an attention which he contrasted favorably with the rudeness of the people in a northern city. I went into a case and found myself unable to pay for what I had taken, so 1 explained my case to the lady. I owed five sous, and possessed but four. Having paid all but the last sou, I was leaving when by accident I discovered just one sou in another pocket, which enabled me to clear myself of debt Then the lady said: “This is a disappointment for me, monsieur, for so long as you were my debtor I was sure to see you again, whereas now I am no longer sure. ” A trifle, but pretty in the thought and extremely neat in the expression. Another trifling incident pleased me. I was drawing the Saone with a steam-tug in the foreground, and the tug was ready to start with its train of boats. The captain, however, saw me at work, and came ashore to say he would postpone his departure a little if my sketch was not yet finished.

Day vs. Night.

A scientific writer says that night is the time which nature utilizes for the growth of plants and animals; children grow more rapidly during the night In the daytime the system is kept busy disposing of the wastes consequent on activity, but while asleep the system is free to extend its operations beyond tlye mere replacing of worn-out particles, hence the rapid growth. This is why invalids need so much rest and sleep.

Then and Now.

The first printing press, with the utmost diligence, could be made to print from twenty to thirty-five sheets an hour on one side only; the printing presses of to-day print from 25,000 to 30,000 in the same time on both sides.

Finer than Silk

One spider thread is composed of several hundred separate filaments.

FRANCES FOLSOM CLEVELAND.

Aa Schoolgirl, Bride and Matron—An In. teregtlng Personality. One need not at this day write much about the life of Mrs. Grover Cleveland, for the whole country has

followed it closely from the day Frances Folsom became the wife of the President to the : present time. All know that she was the daughter of Cleveland’s most intimate friend and T partner, Oscar Folsom, and that when

FRANCES FOLSOM AT SEVENTEEN.

he was a Sheriff and a Mayor she was a young schoolgirl. The three pictures presented here show a girl of 17. just graduating from Wells College, the bride of 22, and the young mother of 29. Born in Buffalo in 1864, Frances Folsom was married June 2, 1886, becoming the youngest of the many mistresses of the White House, with the exception of the wife of Madison. Her husband is 28 years her senior. Her immediate predecessor at the White House was Elizabeth Cleveland, the sister of the President.

MRS. GROVER CLEVELAND, THE BRIDE OF 1886.

conversationalist. Mrs. Hoyt, another sister, was with her brother in Albany most of the time he was Governor. While her sons were in the West she gave up housekeeping and went to Albany. For several months at a time she kept house for Mr. Cleveland during the season. The third sister, Elizabeth’, was a maiden lady between 35 and 40 when she became mistress of the White Horse; she is very accomplished, having been en-

THE MOTHER OF 1893.

gaged for several years delivering lectures on history before educational institutions, and in writing. There are two other sisters, one of whom resided for some time in Ceylon.

COLONEL JOSEPH B. MACCABE.

The New Commander-In-Chief of the Sons of Veterans. Colonel Joseph B. Maccabe, the the new Commander-in-chief of the Sons of Veterans, is 36 years old and

a native of Manchester, N. H. From boyhood he has lived in Boston and is very popular thero. In political life he has ■ been active. He was at one time a member of the common council of Boston, and at that

COL, JOS. B. MACCAE.

time was the youngest member ever elected to that body. He has also been a member of the State Legislature. Last January he was unanimously elected a member of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Soldiers’ Home at Chelsea, demonstrating his standing among the comrades of the G. A. R. His career in the Sods of Veterans has been marked with success. His administration of the Massachusetts division from the time he assumed command of the force of four camps, with an opposition numbering ten times as many, to the time when he witnessed the installation of his successor a year later at the encampment representing a united and harmonious division, is sufficient evidence of his executive ability and the esteem in which he is held by the members of the order throughout his State.

Perfumes.

Most of our perfumes comes from flowers or are made in imitation of the scents of flowers, so attar of roses, by a common consent ranks at the head of the list of perfumes. Other preparations from roses, too, hold a high place and have long been esteemed. Rosewater is historic. When Saladin entered Jerusalem in the twelfth century, he had the walls of the Mosque of Omar washed with it. But attar or oil of roses is by far the most precious and most prized of all. An Eastern prince will present to an honored guest rich jewels, rubies and diamonds, and then add as the rarest of all a crystal bottle filled with this priceless essence.

Ethan Allen’s Sword.

The sword which Ethan Allen drew in the cause of freedom in 1775 has been kept in the Allen family since the patriot's death, and is now in possession of Hannibal A. Hopkins of Lansing, Mich. Mr. Hopkins has offered it to the Government for exhibition in the National Museum at Washington with other revolutionary relics. Its history is well authenticated, and Ethan Allen in his autobiography refers twice to using it in the capture of the British at Ticonderoga. Bustler —How’s that suburban cemetery scheme of yours doing? Hustler—First-class! All 1 want now is to get a few live men in it.—Puck.

OUR BUDGET OF FUN.

HUMOROUS SAYINGS AND DOINGS HERE AND THERE. Jokes and Jokelets that Are Supposed to Have Been Recently Born—Sayings and Doings that Are Odd, Curious, and laughable—The Week's Humor. Let Us Ail Laugh. “Is Barton rich?” “Well, only relatively so. He has a rich aunt.”— Puck. The epicure is a masticator who appreciates a master caterer.'—Boston Courier. TnE average farmer’s boy leaves no stone unturned except the grindstone. Texas Siftings. Marjorie —Jack is a very dashing fellow. Madge—Yes. He swears terribly—Exchange. No town looks as well from the car window as it does in a boom circular.—Atchison Globe. The girl who had a falling out with her friend will not try the hammock again.—Picayune. “How pleasant it is to be tall.” “Pleasant? Yes, everybody looks up to you.”—New York Press. “Travers says his best poems are still unwritten.” “No doubt. That’s why they’re the best. ” Chicago Record.

■Few probably recall much about the Pre s i d e n t ’ s i own family. One of the President’s sisters, Mrs. Bacon, the wife of Mr. D. R. Bacon, a thriving architect, i s described by a friend of the jfamllyasaflneilooking lady of 'quiet demeanor and a most entertaining

Oddly enough it is when a woman retires to a convent that she gives up her conventional ways.—Buffalo Courier. Horse dealer—l always pick my customer. Friend—Do you? I was told that you skinned them.—Brooklyn Life. “Strange, living so long here, that I haven’t met you before.” “Not at all, I don’t owe you anything.”— Chicago Record. Mrs. Potts —Mrs. Flyer called this afternoon. Jack Potts (absent-mind-edly)—What did you have?—Philadelphia Record. Cynical editor—Ah, it is the way of the world. We never strew flowers on a man’s grave until after he Is dead.—Texas Siftings. “It’s terrible the way the conversation is dragging. What shall I do?” He—You might get up a game of whist.—lnter Ocean.

Someone has asked: “Where do flies go in winter?” We don’t know, but we wish they would go there in summer.—Texas Siftings. “No,” said Grogan, “it is not meself thot is in favor of shorter hours. There Is too many hours in the day as it is.”—lndianapolis Journal. Stalate — l wish I could do something to achieve notoriety. Ethel Knox —Why don’t you try a sudden disappearance?—Harper’s Bazar. Niagara is in the group of the ice king and several hack men are reported badly frozen. Retribution, they name is Boreas!—Chicago Post. “I understand Jigson is financially interested in the concern he is with.” “Yes, they owe him six months’, salary."—Westfield Union. Papa —“Do you say grace at the seminary?” Product of Modern Education—“ Certainly. I never heard of more than one pronunciation.”— Truth.

The papers are full of benevolent suggestions about fresh-air schemes, but none of them include any hints concerning the hand-organ.—Phila-delphia Times. “De singin’ ob birds is sweet,” remarked Uncle Eben, “but de cackle ob er chichin’ on yer own hen roos’ has er heap mo’ expression in it.” — Washington Star. Passenger (on slow train) —“What are we stopping for?” Conductor—- “ Got a hot box.” Passenger—“ Huh! Some tramp must have built a fire under it”—New York Weekly. Tramp —Give me your jewelry and money.—Unprotected Female—Have pity on me in my lonely state. Tramp—Alone, are you? Give me a chunk of ice.—Detroit Free Press.

Mrs. Higherman —“Now, about that man you sent over to me—is he honest?” Mrs. Fireman—“ Well, I should say. He has been tried twice for stealing and has escaped both times. * Teneyck —“The Perks have taken their oook abroad with them this year.” Blueton—“Yes. She invited them to stay a month at he*r mother’s summer residence in Connaught.”— Bazar. Mother —“Do you think his love for you is unselfish?” Daughter—- “ Perfectly. The other night he let me sit so long on his knee that he walked lame for ten minutes.”—New York Weekly. Witherby —“You haven’t seen my new boy, have you? They say he takes after his father. ” Plankington —“lf he takes the same thing his father takes, I’m sorry for him, old man.”—Detroit Free Press. Livingston — l didn’t know that you and Mr* Featherspray were so well acquainted. Nina—Oh, yes; we are distantly related. Livingston— How? Nina—We are both sisters to the same young man.—Vogue. She—You are the first one who ever kissed me that way. He—You mean you never before felt a lover’s kiss. She—No, I mean that no one before ever missed my mouth and hit my nose three times out of five.— Exchange. “Your hired man tells me he’s working like a horse these days," said Barrows to his neighbor. “He told the truth. He’s running away all the time, and whenever he sees a piece of paper on the lawn he shies.” —Harper’s Bazar.

Artificial miniature auroras of the borealis variety have been produced by both De la Rive, the French savant, and Lenstrom, the Swedish astronomer. In Professor Lenstrom’s experiments, which were made in Finland, the peak of a high mountain was surrounded with a coil of wire, pointed at intervals with 'tingibs. The wire was .then changed yyith electricity, whereupon a brilliant aurora appeared above the moud&in, in which spectroscopic analysis revealed the greenish-yellow rays so characteristic in nature’s display of “northern lights.”

Artificial Northern Lights.