Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1894 — Page 3

UNITED AT LAST

CHAPTERL AT THE BTAB AMD GABTZIt Glorious June weather, tender moonlight from a moon newly risen—a mystical light—siiver-bright on far-off glimpses of the winding river, soft and msysterious where it falls upon the growing darkness of the woodland; a pensive light, by which men not altogether given up to tbe world are apt to ponder the deeper enigmas of this life, and to look backward, Heaven knows with what keen agonies of regret, to youth that has vanished and friends that are dead. Two men who had been dining at the Star and Garter, and who have stolen away from the dessert to smoke their cigars under the midsummer moon, contemplate the familiar landscape in a lazy, meditative silence. One is sitting on tbe stone balustrade cf the terrace, with his face turned to the distant curve of the river, watching the tender light with a very somber expression of countenance; the other stands with his elbows resting on the balustrade, smoking industriously, and looking every now and then with rather an uneasy glance at his companion. The first is Sir Cyprian Davenant, the last scion of a good old Kentish family, and owner of one of the finest and oldest places in the county of Kent. The Davenants have been a wild, reckless set for the last hundred years, and there is not an acre of Davenant Park or a tree in Davenant Woods unencumbered by mortgage. How Sir Cyprian lives and contrives to keep out of a debtor's prison is a subject for the wonder of his numerous acquaintances. His intimate friends know that the man has few expensive habits and ■ that he has a small income from an , estate inherited from his mother. Sir Cyprian s companion is a man approaching middle age, with a decidedly plain face, redeemed from ugliness by a certain brightness of expression about the mouth and eyes. This gentleman is James Morton Wyatt, a solicitor, with an excellent practice, and a decided taste for literature, which he is rich enough to be able to cultivate at his leisure, leaving the ordinary run of cases to the care of his junior partner, and only putting in an appearance at his office when an affair Of some importance is on hand. James Wyatt is a bachelor and a great favorite" with the fair sex. for whom his fashionable modern cynicism seems to possess an extraordinary charm. The cynic has a natural genius for the art of flattery and a certain subtle power of pleasing that surprises his male acquaintances, who wonder what the women can see in this fellow, with his Long, mean-looking no-.e, and his small gray eyes, and his incessant flow of shallow talk. “You’re not very likely company tonight, Davenant,” James Wyatt said, st last. “I've been waiting with exemplary patience for some kind of reply to the question I asked you about a quarter of an hour ago.” “You can scarcely expect much liveliness from a man who is going to start for Africa in four-and-twenty hours, with a very vague prospect of coming back again.” “Well, I don’t know about that. It's a pleasure trip, isn’t it, this African exploration business?” “It is to be called pleasure, I believe. My share in it would never have come about but for a promise to an old friend. It is a point of honor with me to go. The promise was given five or six years ago, when I was hot upon the subject. I expect very little enjoyment from the business now, but I am bound to go. ” He sighed as he said this, still looking far away at the winding river, with the same somber expression in

his eyes. James Wyatt heard the regretful sigh, and noted the despondence of his companion’s tone. “I should have thought there were not many people in England you would care about leaving, Davenant, ” he said, with a curious, watchful look at the other man’s half averted face. “I have heard you boast of standing alone in the world. ” “Rather a barren beast, isn't it?” eaid Sir Cyprian, with a brief and bitter laugh. “Yes, I am quite alone. Since my sister Marian’s marriage, and complete absorption in nursery cares and nursery joys, there is no one to offer let or hindrance to my going yonder. I have friends, of course, a great many—such as you. Jim, for instance; jolly good fellows, who would smoke a cigar with me to-night in the bonds of friendship, and who would hear of my death a month hence without turning a hair.” “Don’t talk platitudes about your friends, Cyprian. I have no doubt they are as good as other people's. I don’t know a man going more popular than you are. ” Cyprian Davenant took no notice of this remark. “I'll tell you what it is. Davenant,” continued the lawyer, “there is semething deeper than you have owned to yet at the bottom of your reluctance to leave England. There is some one, at least—a woman. ” The other turned his face full upon the speaker. “You’re about right, Jim,” he said, tossing the end of his cigar away as he spoke. “There is a woman—not a sudden caprice, either — but a woman I have loved truly and fondly for the last five years of my life. If I were a wise man, I should be very glad of this chance of curing my infatuation by putting a few thousand miles between myself and the loveliest face I ever saw.” ‘lt’s a hopeless cose, then, I suppose,” suggested James Wyatt. “Quite hopeless. What have I to offer the woman I love? The income upon which I have managed to live since my ruin and subsequent reformation would be something worse than beggary for a wife such as the woman I love. Even if she were willing to share my poverty, could I be mean enough to drag her into such a slough of despond? No, Jim, it is a hopeless case. My pretty one and I must part. I to dreary old bachelorhood, she to fulfill her mission, and make one of the grand matches of the season.” “I think I know the lady,” said James Wyatt, slowly. “Lord' Clanyarde’s youngest daughter; the new one, eh, Cyprian? The Clanyardes are neighbors of yours in Kent, I know.” “Of course I can trus£ you, Jim. Yes, you’ve hit it, But what made you fix upon Constance Clanyarde?” , ‘Have I not senses to understand,

By MiSS. M.E. BRADDON.

and eyes to see. and have I not seen you and Miss Clanyarde together at least three times? Why, Cyprian, the infatuation on both sides is patent to the most unsophisticated observer. It's a pity you ve only four hundred a year. That would be rather a tight squeeze for a Clanyarde. They’re a notoriously extravagant set. I know, and have been up to their eyes in debt for the last forty years. Yes, I have seen the lady, Cyprian, and she is very love'v. Upon my word, I m sorry for you. “Thanks, old fellow. I needn't ask you not to mention my name in conjunction with Miss Clanyarde's. And now I suppose we d better go back to our friends.” “I think so. By the way, what do you think of the lady we were asked to meet?” “Mrs. Walsingham? She is very handsome. A widow, 1 suppose?” “She is rather silent on that point, and I have heard it hinted that Colonel Walsingham—he was Colonel in the Spanisn Contingent, I believe, and Count of the Holy Roman Empire—still walks this earth, and that the lady owes her agreeable freedom to an American court of divorce. The antecedents are altogether doubtful, and Mrs. Walsingham’s set is of the order fast and furious Gilbert Sinclair likes that kind of thing." “And I suppose Mrs. Walsingham likes Gilbert Sinclair," “Or his money. Sinclair’s about the biggest fish in the matrimonial waters, and she will be a happy angler who lands him. But I really believe Mrs. Walsingham has a weakness for the man himself, independent of his money. Strange, isn't it? Sinclair’s the dearest fellow in the world, and as his friend of course I dote upon him; but I confess that if I were a woman I should regard him with unmitigated loathing. ” “That s rather strong.” “Of course he's a most estimable creature; but such an unspeakable snob, such a pompous, purse-proud cad. Ah, there he is at the window looking for us. If I were a woman, you know, Cyprian, that man would be the object of my aversion; but I’m not, and he’s my client, and it is the first duty of a love his clients. Coming, Gilbert.” The two men crossed a little bit of lawn, and went in through the open window. The room was lighted with wax candles, and a merry party was crowded round a table, at one end of which a lady was dispensing tea in quite a homelike fashion.. She was a very beautiful woman, of a showy type, dressed in white muslin half covered with lace; dressed just a little too youthfully for her flve-and-thirty years. There were two other ladies present, one a fashionable actress, and the other her friend and confidante, also an aspirant to dramatic fame. The first was engaged in an agreeable flirtation with a cornet of dragoons, the second was listening with delight to the lively conversation of Mr. Bellingham, manager of the Phoenix Theater. A couple of gentlemen belonging to the stock-broking fraternity, and Gilbert Sinclair, the giver of the feast, made up the party. Mr. Sinclair was a man whom many people admired, and who was in no obvious manner deserving James Wyatt’s unflattering description. He affected a certain bluntness of style, which his friends accepted as evidence of a candid and open soul and a warm heart.

The chief claim which Mr. Sinclair possessed to notoriety was comprised in the fact of his wealth. He was the owner of a great estate in the north, an estate consisting of iron-works and coal-pits, the annual income from which was something stupendous, and he had shares in more railways and mines and foreign loans than his friends could calculate. “I wish you would give me a little assistance with the teacups, Gilbert, ” Mrs. Walsingham said, rather impatiently. “It is all very well to talk of the pleasantness of having the tea made in the room in this way, but one requires some help. Thanks. Take that to Sir Cyprian Davenant, if you please, and bring me Sophy Morton's cup.” Mr. Sinclair obeyed, and when he came back with the empty cup Mrs. Walsingham motioned him to a vacant chair by her side and detained him there till the carriages were announced. She called him by his Christian name in the face of society, and this party of to-night' was only one of many entertainments that had been given at different times for her gratification. It was scarcely strange, therefore, if rumor, especially loud on the part of the lady's friends, declared that Mr. Sinclair and Mrs. Walsingham were engaged to be married. But the acquaintance between them had continued for a long time, and those who knew most of Gilbert Sinclair shook their heads significantly when the matrimonial question was mooted. Mrs. Walsingham detained Mr. Sinclair in conversation some time after the carriages had been announced. She was very bright and animated, and looked her best as she talked to him. It was nearly eleven o'clock when she was reminded of the lateness of the hour and the length of the drive before them by Miss Sophy Morton, who had lately transferred her attention from the callow cornet to Mr. Wyatt, much to the disgust of the youthful dragoon. “Yes, Sophy, I am going to put on my shawl. Will you fetch our wraps from the next room, please, Mr. Wyatt? Will you take the back seat in the b’ ougham, Gilbert, and wind up with a lobster salad in Half-Moon street? It is really early, you know.” “Thanks, no. I could scarcely trust my man to drive those chestnuts; so I think I’ll go back in the phaeton; and I’m due at a hop in Eaton square.” “Indeed?” asked the lady curiously, and with a rather anxious look. “You used not to care for dancing parties.” “I don’t care for them now, but one has to sacrifice inclination now and then, you know. ” “Do I know the people?" asked Mrs. Walsingham. Mr. Sinclair smiled as he replied: “I think not. ” A cloud came over the lady's face, and when her shawl had been adjusted she toon Gilbert Sinclair s hand in silence. Nor did she speak to him on the way to the porch of the hotel, where a mail phaeton and a corple of broughams were waiting. Her adieus to the rest of the party were brief and cold, and Gilbert himself she only honored by a Stately inclination of her beautiful head, with its coronal of bright chestnut hair, and coquettish little curls dotted about a broad white forehead. Mr. Sinclair stood bareheaded under the porch as the Walsingham brougham drove away, and then turned with a frown to perform his duties in other directions. Here, however, he found there was nothing left for him to do. Miss Morton and her companion had been escorted to their carriage by Sir Cyprian Davenant and Mr. Wyatt,

and ware waiting to bid their host good-by. “And a thousand thanks for our delightful day, Mr. Sinclair, which we are not likely to forget for a long time, are we, Imogen?" Miss Imogen Harlow, who had been born Watson and christened MaryAnne. shook her empty little head coquettishlv, and declared that the memory of that Richmond dinner would remain with her to her dying dav. And on the way home the two ladies discussed Mr. Sinclair and his income, and speculated as to the chances of his ultimately marrying Mrs. Walsingham. |TO BB COSTIMCBD. I

DESPISED NO MORE.

Cotton Seed Has Mow Deposed King Cotton from His Throne. A few decades ago cotton held undisputed sway in the country; cotton seed was regarded as valueless. Even five years ago when the Southern planter gathered his cotton and sold it he paid little attention to the seed. He saved enough of it to raise his next year's crop, and, if convenient, kept a few bushels more to feed the milk cows around his farm. Sometimes he carted off a few wagon loads to dump on an old field as a fertilizer, and often he refused to haul it away from the gin at all. The amount that rotted around such places was immense. When any was sold, it commonly brought 5 cents a bushel, provided the farmer was not ashamed of taking anything for such a commodity. Even three years ago, in many sections of the South, 8 cents .for a tfishel of cotton seed was con'sidered a good price. Last year the price was often as high as 25 cents and occasionally reached 32 cents. When cotton itself sells at 6 cents or 7 cents per pound and seed at the prices mentioned the farmers begin to feel as if they would like their cotton to be all seed. As it is, the seed not unfrequently constitutes one-fourth or even one-third the value of the whole crop. So important a matter has it become that to-day one single company has $40,C0),0;,0 invested in handling cotton seed products. The uses to which cotton-seed products are put are almost innumerable. The oil itself is used in making soap, other oils, lard, butterine and countless other things. We ship immense quantities to Europe—especially Rotterdam—and bring it back again slightly refined under the names of olive oil and linseed oil. The Armours and other pork men use large amounts in putting up lard. Cottolene is the name of a new product now coming into use as a competitor of lard. Many housekeepers use the oil itself instead of lard and claim to like it. The meal remaining after the oil has been extracted is fed to cattle, and is said to produce excellent results. The hulls also are fed to cattle. Twenty pounds of hulls and ten of meal make a full daily feed for beef steers, and the cattle are ready for market in ninety days. The hulls, furthermore, are now being used in manufacturing paper.

A Miraculous Escape.

A miner by the name of Griffith had an extremely narrow escape from a horrible death in a mine in Washington State the other day. Griffith was at work on a slope when pieces of coal weighing about 1,500 pounds became detached above him and started down the slope toward Griffith, whose only escape lay in running down the slope ahead of the lump of coal. It soon became a race for life, with the coal increasing its speed at every bound and adding to the terrors of the flying Griffith. Half way down the slope the speed at which Griffith was going extinguished the lamp in his hat and left him in the dark. He continued his flight, in which lay his only safety, and, after running for what seemed an age, he stumbled on one of the side beams and fell, expecting to be instantly crushed to death. The coal came on, and, by a miracle, was checked by the timber, but in jamming caught one of poor Griffith’s legs against the timber, breaking the bone in two places. Help soon came down to the man and he was carried out and cared for.

The German Empress’ Other Self.

When the German Emperor was last in England, an order was sent to a well-known firm of modelers for a model to be made of the Empress’ figure, with movable arms, complete, the upper part to be made of papiermache, the lower part below the waist, like a telescope of wire framework. This unique sac simile of her maiesty is to be used as a substitute on all occasions when the Empress cannot be personally present. For instance, all dresses are to be tried on this second self. When they are sent from the dressmaker finished, her majesty will inspect and criticise them from every point of view, and pronounce on their suitability for her figure, and so on—in fact, see her dresses as others see them. This double is also to be used for decorating evening dresses with flowers, etc., and taking creases out of trunk-crushed gowns The model is made like a telescope, one part of it to fit inside the other, so as to take up little more space when traveling than a bonnet box.

The Terrible Beglia Monster.

They say that there is a beneficial use for every created thing, but I would like to discover some useful purpose that the beglia monster serves, says a traveler. I never saw but two or three of them, but they did not create any desire upon my part to see any more. They do not hai e to bite or sting, but can kill by simply blowing their poisonous breath upon a victim, and in this way they kill anything that comes within the reach of the effects of their poisonous breath. An Indian in Arizona will run for miles if he sees one of these reptiles, and hardly considers himself safe until in his own wigwam. They are found in but the one place, I believe, and why this locality should have been selected to produce such a monstrosity I can not imagine. Those I have teen have only been a very few inches in length, but I would rather take my chances with a boa-constrictor or even a python twenty feet long.

Natural Gas for Making Ice.

An ordinary gas well, furnishing 1,5X),0C0 cubic feet per day, with a suitable refrigerating apparatus, is capable of making fifty-one tons of ice at an expense not to exceed 50 epnts per ton; and then, by conducting it to furnaces or rolling mills, glass works, brick, lime, or pottery kilns, it will produce the same amount of heat as if it was delivered directly from the well. It will not be long before the natural gas fields will furnish all the ice we need for our comfort through the hot season as it does now fuel through the cold season.

Better the Other Way.

Curran said to Father O’Leary (the wittiest priest of his day): “I wish you were St. Peter.” “Why?" asked O’Leary. “Because,” said Curran, “you would have the keys of heaven and could let me in. ” “It would be better for you, ” said O’Leary, “that I had the keys of the other place, for then I could let you out."

OUR RURAL READERS.

SOMETHING HERE THAT WILL INTEREST THEM. Connmfant Combteatlon BolMlng for Poultry aad Pl«»—How Milk M Analysed —lMveraiOed Farming I* Needed—How to Ship Fruit Long Distances. For rigs aad Poultry. Where one desires to make a single building serve for the accommodation of both swine and pou try, be may find some suggestions in tbe accompanying illustrations. This house has two pens for fowls and two for pigs, and ample hall between the

POULTRY AND PIG HOUSE.

two, a set boiler for cooking food, and a grain room. If the nature of the lo atlon permits It, a cellar beneath the building could be utilized for the storing of roots, which might be made to serve as a large factor in the food of both fowls and pigs. The loft aboie prov.des room for setting hens, while one end may be used as a pigeon house, if these most interesting pets are kept for the delight of

GROUND PLAN OF COMBINATION POULTRY AND PIG HOUSE.

the children upon the farm. Yards may be arranged at either end, for the comfort of both the feathered and the porcine inmates. In the first illustration is seen a j erspective view, and in the second picture the ground plan of the very convenient combination building. Farm Labor. Steady employment throughout the year is what is needed to procure and keep a trustworthy class of men to work on the farm. It is (Hie fact that the farm only offers work for a few months, and those when It is least required for subsistence, and this drives the energetic and good hand to se>k employment in the cities, where work will be continuous the year around. In tne old days there was more winter manufacturing on the farm than is now possible. There are no more farmers who tan hides and make tbe leather into boots, and shoes, and harness. All these are put on the market so much cheaper anl with so mu h better polish by the wholesale manufacturers that it is quite impossible for the home manufacturer, working on a small scale, to compete. There are still shoe repairers who are able to earn a living in cities, but they are often not so well paid as workers in large shops, and their number tends to decrease rather than increase. We have known some farmers to grow broom corn exclusively and manufacture at least a portion of thecropinto brooms. This labor is not difficult to learn, and in this way, in certain neighborhoods, employment Is given to large numbers of men, but the wages are net and cannot be very high. There is too much competition to allow the manufacture of brooms to be carried on during the winter, even on the farm, it high wages are paid, but if one or two farmers in a neighborhood should grow broom corn and manufacture and sell the products during the winter near home they might be able to get something better than wholesale prices, and so keep their men at work the whole year. This Is a suggestion worth considering, difficult as it is becoming to procure and keep good farm helix—Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bow Milk Is Anayzed. The chemical analysis of milk is not complicated or difficult, says a writer in the Dairy. A small dish is accurately weighed, the weight noted. Into it is now introduced a small portion of milk, and both are again weighed. By substracting the weight of the dish from the weight ot both, the weight of the milk is found and carefully recorded. The dish is placed over a steam jet, and the water of the milk evaporates, leaving a residue. It is this residue which passes under the name of “solids.” A last weighing of the dish with the milk residue, less the weight of the dish, gives the solids, and by a single calculation the percentage is found. The solids of milk have been found by innumerable analyses to average about 13 per cent, and, while the fat varies in the milk from different cows, the solids left after extracting the fat is a very constant quantity, hardly ever falling below 9 per cent This gives the chemist a positive basis for his calculations, and enables him to state with great certainty whether or not the milk has been watered. The fat or oli in milk is determined by dissolving it, by means of ether, out of the totalsolids, the residue remaining after the opperat:on being termed “solids, not fat.” The average fat or oil found in cow’s milk is 3 per cent., and any amount less than this is commonly 'taken as showing that the milk has been skimmed. If analysis shows a decrease of fat, and solids not fat, it is said to be certain that the milk has been watered, while, if the fat only is low, it shows that the milk has been sk mmed. Wheat Growing In California. The yield of California wheat last year was 31,191,400 bushels, which is the smallest for years, owing to unusual wet weather early, which prevented seeding. The State report of the State Board of Agriculture claims that wheat growing at present prices is still profitable. Land is cultivated with gang plows worked by six horses, with which one man will plow six acres ter day. Eighty pounds of seed,

or one bushel and a third, is all that is sown, and the yield averages eight sacks, or sixteen bushels per acre. By the figures shown the California wheat grower gets his wheat at a cost slightly less tban 29 cents per bushel This estimate puts the cost of harvesting wheat, including the threshing, at only tl per acre. We do not believe any wheat crop was ever grown at such figures as the State Board of Agriculture puts forth. But its worst oversight is in making no account of the decrease of soil fertility. After two or three crops the yield Inevitably runs down and the wheat farmer suffers accordingly. It is never safe anywhere to grow crops and leave out of the calculat on the maintaining of fertility. Srlentile Feeding. •ne of the greatest benefits of chemical science to the farmer Is in confirming the experience of practical men with various kinds of food, and explaining why each produces the results which the farmer has learned from his own experience to expect When we know the reason of something that we have tried, we are able to experiment Intelligently instead of haphazard. The truly scientific man rarely differs frem the best practical feeder. The latter has learned by many and costly experiments what the scientist shows should be probable from chemical analysis. It is in the trial of new experiments in feeding that the opinion of scientists becomes most important. In such cases the practical feeder readily allows the scientist to take the lead, and he will then prove by experiment whether the theory can or cannot be successfully put in practice. Half-Bred gowl* Not Mongrel*. Many people fear to begin the improvement of etheir poultry flock, because, as they say, those who have tried it tiud that ttie crosses, though excellent at first, soon “run out,” and are no better, if as good, as the native stock which they first had. We do not doubt thl» at all. It shows what we have always maintained, that the first cross of pure-bred fowls always makes an improvement, but if the fowls thus bred are allowed to interbreed they become mongrels, losing often the valuable characteristics of both sides. Always keep purebred roosters. If you do not breed the pure stock this will necessitate buying some roosters each year to cross, with the half breads. Kill all the young roosters of the cross-bred stock, and the flock will not become mongrels.—American Cultivator.

Farm Notea. There Is not very much difference in the cost of feeding a cow that makes 150 pounds of butter in a year and one making double as much. Charcoal Is almost a necessity for hogs. Its cost is but little, and all that is required is to place a large piece in the pen daliv, as the hogs will easily crush it for their use. Any animal will eat too much salt if deprived of It for a lenth of time. A little salt every day will be beneficial. If a lump of rock salt* Is placed where all kinds of stock can have access to it they will regulate the quantity for themselves. The young pigs are pretty sure to be wintered at a loss if fed wholly or even mainly upon corn. If one-third or one-half of the ration is composed of that heating and fat-producing grain it will be quite enough. Feed for growth rather than flesh. Fine bone meal has been fed to hogs with advatage, and ground bone is largely used for poultry. Cows have also been known to lick bone meal. It serves as an occasional offering to stock, but whether it is safe to allow it regularly has not been determined. No kind of land should remain idle. It can be made to produce some kind of crop, or it can be improved in fertility in some manner. If useless for crops let it be given up to sheep If this cannot be done plow it, and use lime on it, so as to enable it to become tit for cultivation in the future. The potash in the soil is mostly in the form of a silicate, which is not readily soluble. All other forms of potash are very soluble. When lime is added to the soil it assists in breaking up existing combinations and renders the inert matter of the soil more easily taken up by the roots of plants.

Oddea and End*. Wash all the vegetables with a brush, and thus preserve the bands. Thy this for soft corns. Wet a piece of old linen with turpentine, and bind it over the corn. This should be done night and morning. Dkesses of delicate tint, faded from exposure to sunlight, will sometimes return to their original color after having been kept in the dark for several months. In hanging dresses away they should be suspended from two or three hooks, rather than one. This tends to keep them in shape, and also prevents tie crushing of the draperies. Dinner napkins should be threequaitersof a yard square. Anything smaller is insufficient, anything larger awkward. Breakfast napkins may be half a yard square An iron weighing seven pounds does better work by passing it over the clothes once with a firm, steady pressure than a lighter iron hurriedly passed over the clothes two or three times. , ...» Silver used on the table should be wiped each day with a soft chamois. Silver becomes clouded as much from the steam of coffee, tea, and hot foods generally as from actual use, and the daily polishing keeps it in good condition. Black silk may he cleansed by sponging on both sides with weak ammonia water, then rolling up on a roller and leaving until thoroughly dry. Great care must be taken that every wrinkle is smoothed, and the silk will come out very nicely and repay the trouble. A simple remedy for a rough skin is to first wash' the face thoroughly at night, then rub it with about a teaspoonfur of cream and let it dry in. The skin will lobk shiny and feel stiff at firsts but in the morning you will be surprised to find how soft tbs skin will be. *■

HOOSIER HAPPENINGS

NEWS OF THE WEEK CONCISELY CONDENSED. VVhat Our Neighbor* ar* Doing—Matter* •f General and Local Internet—Marriages * nd I>«ath*— Accident* and Crimes— I‘sr* tonal Pointers About IndianUne. .Minor State Items. John W. LEitzman, while blasting stumps with dynamite near Danville, was blown to pieces. John Givens, .former resident ol Wabash, who mysteriously disappeared ten years ago, has returned. Several farmers in the neighborhood of Redkey have been swindled lately by lightning rod sharpers. Alfred Baker, aged 10, while playing in the street at Terre Haute, was struck by an electric car and killed. The planing and saw-mill belonging to Hamlin Smith of Brownstown, was burned. Loss, 15,000; no insurance. The Standard Oil Company has leased considerub'e land in Wabash County. A number o> wells will be sunk in hope of striking oil. Ezra Marker, 14 years old, while numplnu at one of the oil wells east of Montpelier, was caught by a belt on the ankle and drawn up by a belt until his flesh and bones were al) crushed. Doctors amputated the legs, but he died immediately alter the operation. Fire originating from the smoke Itaek of a neighboring sawmill destroyed the barn of John Oswalt, four miles north of Wabash, together with three horses, a quantity of grain, hay, agricultural Implements, ami three horses will have to be shot. Loss. S 2,000; no insurance. A few days ago a man representing himself to be one of the Hirschman Bros., Binghampton, N. Y., dropped into Goshen, looKing for a location. He drew a sight draft for #S,(MM) on a New York bank and then leased a double room for a term of years for a department store. Ho was liberal with Crinter’s ink, and after raising several undred dollars on cheeks, ho disappeared. Several weeks ago Charles Hazelman of Tippecanoe County, was locked up for attempting to harm his parents, he being subject to spells of Insanity. He was placed at the County Poor Earm, admittance to the State Asylum being refused. He died the othci morning in horrible agony, havinu thrust an iron spoon dPivp his throat in an effort to take his own life. All efforts to dislodge the spoon were unsuccessful. Hazelman was an only son, about twenty-two, Proof positive was had the other evening of the existence of a bold incendiary in J J eru. An endeavor to twice fire an old machine shop wan made in an hour. Shavings saturated with oil were found in different parts of the bpH,ding. All efforts to capture this “Jack tho fire bug" have thus far failed, notwithstanding rewards offered and patrolling of the district. It is believed to be the work of a monomaniac. This makes the tenth Incendiary tire within the past month.

Sam Roach, assistant engineer ol the Anderson Paper Coinjiany, crawled into one of the big boilers to do some repairing and the steam was accident- 1 ally turned on him. The imprisoned man was ixiwenlesß to shut it off and had to back out while the scalding steam enveloped him. His back, shoulders. arms, and legs were fearfully scalded before the mill men rescued him from the manhole. The steam was Inhaled and rendered the man almost insensible. Dr. J, B. Fattig regards his case as practically hopeless. The second annual reunion of the One-hundred and-tlfty-second Volunteer Infantrv, hold at fort Wayne,was one of the fargest gatherings of the kind in that city. The election of officers resulted as follows: President, Marshall Makemson of Warsaw-; Vice President, Lieut. Austin Funk of Warsaw; Treasurer, J. W. Brouse of Kendallville: Secretary, Alvin Robinson of Warsaw. The next meeting will be at Warsaw next March. After the election Maj. R. T. McDonald, who was a member of the regiment, invited the entire regiment to a banquet at the New Aveiine, where a dinner wae served to ninety-five comrades. In the evening a campfire was held, at which Harry C. Hanna pretided. About two months ago the large barn of George Hupp and Lewis Huffner, near Elwood, was destroyed by tire, and a valuable stallion belonging to John Stover was supposed to nave perished. A skeletonjwas found in the ashes after the fire. The stallion was worth about SI,OOO, and, owing to certain circumstances, Stover was loth to believe the horse had burned up. He began an investigation, and soon ascertained enough to warrant him in believing that another horse was substituted for the stallion and the barn tired to cover the theft. It is now stated that the horse is known to have been taken to Bartholomew County, and that it is there to-day. Mr. Stover hopes to soon have the thieves in a net.

A few days ago a mound was discovered on the Kentucky River below Carrollton. A party of men excavated it, and on digging down for ten feet were surprised to find three human skeletons of gigantic size. They were between two layers of ashes, with their heads extended toward the setting sun. The bones were of monstrous size, and from the manner of burial they were beyond doubt a relic of the mound builders, that ancient race who occupied this continent thousands of years ago. The arms and legs were literally covered with curious shaped beads, several of which were exhibited by one of the party who discovered the cave. The beads seem to be constructed from the teeth of some animal, and are in perfect condition. The Peru City Council are making a big kick against the straw-board works at WabAsh empting the refuse into the Wabash River, Qom .which stream the water works at Peru gets its supply. An analysis of the water shows t latlt is poisoned by the refuse. William Ditheridge, a prominent glass blower of Alexandria, died suddenly from the effects of a morbid growth involving the duodenum. He began his day’s work as usual, when, without warning, he became faint, and soon afterwards expired. The deceased was a prominent member of the K. of P. and local labor organizations. Rev.C. A. Manner, ex-County Clerk of Scott County, has been elected Chaplain of the State Prison South by the directors of that institution. Rev. Manker succeeds the Rev. W. H. Sftouse, who dropped dead while sitting in the office at the Prison South a few weeks ago. Joseph H. Brown, an employe of the Panhandle road, while standing on the rear end of a train and leaning out. was struck by a box car standing' on the sidetrack at Elwood. He Was knocked senseless, and, aside from Kis visible injuries, he is believed to be internally injured and will perhaps dje. " His home is at Centerville, near Richmond. 1 ' ’

A LIVE SNAKE IN IT.

Content* of a Queer Parcel Left la an *L" Car In New York. A train on the city hall branch of the Third Avenue Elevated Railroad had just drawn out of the Chatham square station when the guard of the second car from the end rushed back to the rear car and shouted to his confrere, who was juggling with the red lamp on the rear of the train, says the New York Sun. “Seen a parcel?" was what he said as he waved a telegram which had been handed to him at Chatham square. There were only half a dozen passengers in the rear car, and a hasty look over the seats brought to light a parcel done up in a newspaper and tied up with twine. “This must be it,” said guard number two, as he held it up. What he said an instant later wouldn’t look well in print, and the parcel fell to the floor and seemed very much alive. The shock tore the pacer, and.after a vigorous rustling the ugly head of a snake was thrust through the aperture. His snakeship wriggled into full view as the engine pulled up at the city hall It took half a dozen trainmen several minutes to induce the reptile to enter an iron bucket, in which he was finally secured by tying a piece of gunnysack over the top.

He Fell Among Borrowers.

According to the Sheridan (Oregon) Sun there is a schoolmaster in that State who has had enough of board* Ing with people who treat him as “one of the family.” He wishes to maintain a brotherly spirit, but says that there are certain personal effects, properly so called, which he prefers neither to borrow nor lend. Let ua hope that the Sun exaggerates the story. He was boarding around, and In the course of his peregrinations arrived at a house there were several grown up sonis and daughers. He was taken at once into Intimate fellowship. ■ On the second morning William, one of the boys, camo Into the new boarder's room and borrowed his toothbrush. The schoolmastor demurred, and went so far as to enter into particulars about microbes and microblc infection; but William took tho brush. “1 ain’t afraid to uso It after you if you ain't after mo," ho said. The next evening Samuel, another •on, bon owed tho master's best white shirt to wear to a dance; and Maria, one of the daughters, while trying to extract some of his perfumery, spilled the greater part of it upon her clothes. So matters went on, with increasing friendliness, and when the teacher took his leave, the mother was wearing a pair of his socks, the girls had begged his tooth-powder and the remainder of bls perfumery, the old man had worn out his ulster hunting doer, and the boys had on two of his white shirts, two pair of his socks, a vest and a hat. One of the girls had made love to the boarder's four-dollar silk umbrella, but though the fact is not stated, we are given to understand that her suit was unsuccessful.

Hopelessly Embarrassed.

From time to time one reads of strange coincidental happenings. In an Episcopalian boarding-school the scholars and teachers were assembled for morning prayer. The prayers and singing were over, and all were resuming their seats when one of the young ladies, of a very short an<| thick stature, missing her chair, seated herself with a thud on the floor. Nobody smiled. All were too decorous for that. The fallen one, embarrassed Into the momentary loss of common sense, retained her lowly seat, opened her prayer book and appeared to be earnestly engaged in examing its contents. This was worse than what had gone before; it was almost too much for her companions, snd a smile began to struggle on many a fair countenance when the rector arose and began reading the first morning lesson. He read from the fifth chapter of Amos as follows: "The virgin of Israel has fallen. She shall no more rise. She is forsaken upon her land. There is none to raise her up.” This was too much. The voice of the rector trembled as he looked up and saw the fallen virgin. The scholars turn red in their fases, and the exercises were brought to a hasty close.

Do Birds Talk?

One day recently an elderly lady of charitable disposition observed a blue jay sitting in the snow near her door. Being a lover of the feathered tribe, the kind-hearted lady proceeded to furnish some food for her new-found friend. Fastening an ear of corn to a stick, she went out quietly and placed the stick in the snow where the jay could easily see it Very soon after her return to the house the bird flew to the stick and began eating the corn. Presently another bird of the same kind flew to the stick, but was repeatedly driven away by bird No. 1, who seemed to claim possession by right of priority. ’ After eating his fill he flew to a small cedar swamp about forty rods distance, and in less than five minutes returned, followed by seven others. Upon arriving at the corn bird No. 2 was rudely driven away, when the family of eight eagerly devoured tfie corn, though not without something of contention. The birds were evidently very hungry, and have frequently been fed by the friendly hand, but how did the seven that bird No. 1 from the swamp' know there was food awaiting them?—Belfast (Me.) Republican Journal Quaint old customs still survive in many parts of England. In Ely place, Holborn, a wachman cries the hours nightly with the same formula in use for centuries past: “Past one o’clock, and a cold, wet morning.” In Dutch Guiana the women carry upon their persons all the, family savings in the shape of heavy bracelets, anklets, necklaces and even crowns of heavy gold and silver. »•.-< A chestnut tree said to be 2,000 years old still flourishes at the foot of Mount Etna. It is 213 feet in circumference. Gas-pipes of manilla paper coated with asphalt have been used successfully.