Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1895 — Page 6

®|jel)cmocrattcScntinel J. W. McEWEJC. RENSSELAER, - - - INDIAN*

ON THE SOUTH COAST.

A DISTRICT IN ITALY WHERE EARTHQUAKES COME OFTEN. A Country Where the People Are Always Ready to Jump and Run—A Region of Sand, Seismic Convulsions and Miasma. Between Two Volcanoes. The terrible earthquakes reported from the southern extremity of Italy are no novelty to the people of that portion of the peninsula. For over 1,000 years the southern coast of Italy has been subject to recurring seismic convulsions, and their frequency has been so great during the last three centuries that they have practically made a desert of the whole coast from Naples on to the south, following the toe of the giant foot round to the heel. For over a century a curious periodicity has been observed in the eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna. When one is active the other is quiescent, and vice versa. Between the two is Stromboli, that from the earliest times has never been quiet, and with Stromboli as the center of the volcanic disturbance the pendulum swings from Vesuvius on the Bay of Naples to Etna in Sicily, and back again. But there are times, not very frequent, when both are quiet, and then the trouble begins on the South Italian

coast, for as sure as Etna and Vesuvius calm down the earthquakes in Calabria begin. It is true there are earthquakes there at other times also; in fact, there is hardly a day in the year when an earthquake may not be looked for at some point along the coast, but when both great volcanoes are quiet earthquakes of unusual violence may be expected, and the expectation is rarely doomed to disappointment. The consequence is that the whole coast is almost desolate. The frequency of the shocks renders the construction of houses of any considerable size

SCYLLA.

very inadvisable; in fact, a large house is generally tumbled over before It Is fairly completed, and so the villages are of small one-story houses, from which the inhabitants are ready to flee into the open air at a moment’s notice. They are always expecting an earthquake, »are always prepared for one, and, never feel the slightest surprise whe- one comes. No matter what the villager of the Calabrian coast may be doing, he is never so engrossed in his job as not to quit it when he feels the first tremor of the earth beneath his ie*t, but drops everything and gets into the open air in as few jumps as possible, for he knows that there is danger, if not death, in delay. He thus lives in a constant state of nervousness, and even in sleep is ready to jump and run. A recent traveler, telling of his experience in a coast town, heard an unusual sound, qhich proved to be the village blacksmith striking a board with his heavy hammer. It was easily explained on investigation, and the entire population was investigating it in less than one minute, for nobody understood it, and every one suspected that it might be some new form of earthquake manifestation. But the earthquake is not the only drawback to fife on the Calabrian coast. One of the most singular changes of climate recorded in the annals of meterology is that which has come about in the last fifteen or eighteen centuries in certain parts of Italy. The Roman Campagna, for instance, in the days of the Empire, was a singularly pleasant, fertile and salubrious country. All over the’plain are to be found the ruins of the villas which once belonged to wealthy Roman gentlemen, who, during the heat of the Italian summer, left the city for the coolness of the plains outside. Now the Campagna Is deadly. Every part reeks with miasma, and the incautious traveler who passes a night, or sometimes even a day, in the vicinity ’of its sluggish streams and fetid marshes always pays the penalty by a long illness—sometimes with his life. The southern coast is, in this respect, like the Campagna. Some points are so unhealthy that men connot live in their vicinity; there are stations on the railroad that follows the coast so deadly that an appointment as stationmaster is considered equivalent to a sentence of death. For many miles at a stretch the coast is uninhabited even by the acclimated natives, who, when obliged to go thither, finish their business by daylight, and toward nightfall go,to the hills, where safety is to be found. This is one of the most remarkable things about the desolate coast, the fact that immunity from the miasma is to be found among the foothills of the range that makes the backbone of the peninsula. Thus, while the coast is deadly, the bills, two or three miles away, are as healthy as a tropical cllmate can he, and the population of the mountains, though not dense, is yet

large when the character of the country is taken into account Yet there is the best possible reason to believe that the entire coast was once healthy, and, in consequence, was also populous. Before the days of the Roman Empire the cities of the Greeks were scattered all along the coast, and so numerous and rich were they that the Italian colonies rivalled the home

country. Even during the Roman supremacy the southern end of the peninsula was noted for its wealth, and only after the eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna and the accompanying earthquakes became numerous and destructive did the coast fall into commercial decay. Not a few dozen villages and groups of ruins at every mile mark the coast that once sent fleets to every part of the Mediterranean and defied alike the power of Greece and Carthage.

A VILLAGE AND CASTLE IN CALABRIA.

Another reason quite as potent as the climate was formerly active in driving the population from the shore. For hundreds of years all South Italy was a scene of constant warfare. Saracens, Moors, Turks, pirates all, paraded up and down the peninsula in their ships, landing where they found an opportunity and plundering the hamlets that were nearest, then sailing away to repeat the operation elsewhere. In constant fear of the Invader, the people hid their villages in the most inaccessible parts of the mountains, where some are still to be found. There is Pentedatillo, not far from Reggio, a town so placed that, although it commands a view of the whole country for many miles, it is itself unseen. It is built on a cluster of crags that send giant spires into the air like a huge hand stretched out toward the sky. Over 2,000 feet above the sea is the top of the great rock on which the town is placed, and in the crannies of the summit, between the lofty fingers, the houses are wedged in as though by force. From the coast below the town Is invisible; even from the mountains on the land side it is not easy to make out the houses from the

SALERNO AND THE SEA, FROM THE PRISON HILL.

masses of rock that overhang and shut them in from view. One of the; few exceptions to the dreariness of the southern coast is the city of Reggio, where recently such fearful destruction was wrought by the earthquake. The causes of the difference between the country about Reggio and the rest of the shore are as mysterious as the reasons for the prevalence of the miasma elsewhere, but certain it is, no part of Italy is fairer than the district that harvests all its lemons and oranges in Reggio. The neighborhood Is orte of singular beauty. Picturesque villages crown-every hilltop, while across the blue straits of Messina rises a vision of Sicily and the snowy heights of Etna. The country round Reggio Is one great orange plantation, and everywhere the perfume of the blossoms and the fragrance of the

SOLUNTO.

fruit fill the air. Carts constantly pass through the streets bearing the golden crop to the warehouses, whence it is passed on to the sailing vessels that carry it to the nearest large port, where regular lines of steamers distribute it all over Europe. Formerly this region was as celebrated for its palms as now for its oranges; but that was during the Saracenic occupation, and after the Saracens were driven out the populace so hated anything that reminded them of the detested Moors that all the palms were cut down, and now they

are almost as much of a curiosity in Reggio as in Paris. But they are not needed to recall to the beholder the fact that he is In Italy. The marvelous beauty of the women is enough. Every one is a painter’s model; every one looks as though she had stepped out of an antique picture. There are hundreds in Reggio who could stand as models for Venus, or Diana,

REGGIO AND THE SICILIAN COAST.

or Juno, or any other of the goddesses that the Greeks loved to depict in stone. Greek faces they have, with the black hair and eyes and swarthy skins of the Latins, with lithe, graceful forms and hands and feet that an empress might envy. They are mere peasants; most of them gain their living by the hardest description of manual labor; yet neither ages of poverty and want nor the admixture of a dozen foreign races has been able to deprive them of that wonderful beauty which is their birthright The neighborhood of Reggio is classic ground, for it was there that Demosthenes last touched with the Athenian fleet when on the way to Sicily and defeat, and it was there that Cicero turned back to his death when about to leave Italy after the murder of Caesar. Not far away is the worldfamous Scylla, the rock that plays such a part in the story of Ulysses. A town now rises on the precipice, and the whirlpool Charybdis is no longer dangerous to navigators, but some idea of the terror formerly inspired by both may be gained from the words of Homer. A little more than 100 years ago Scylla was the scene of a disaster more deadly than any that could have happened in its earlier ages. A terrible earthquake came on February 5, 1783, and the entire population, deserting their houses at the first shock, gathered on the seashore. The evening came on with the terrified people still in groups on the sand; a renewal of the shocks, more severe than the first, took place. A great headland not far off was literally upset into the sea, a tidal wave swept along the coast, and 4,000 of rhe people of the town were carried away.

Such is the fate that the dwellers on the South Italian coast must contemplate as possible at any time. But w ith all their earthquakes and the constant state of alarm in which they live, they are a careless, happy lot. They work as little as possible, stay out of doors as much as they can, and pray for the time to come when a volcano shall break out in the mountain ranges Io

the north, for they have a pet theory that when there is such an outbreak a relief will be given to the forces of nature, and that by the new outlet between Vesuvius and Etna the fires and gases will pour out and earthquakes will cease. They may be right or they may be wrong, but they are certainly entitled to have a theory on the subject, and after all it is not improbable that they may know as much about the matter in question as the man who, 3,000 or 4,000 miles from the nearest volcano, and in a country that never had an earthquake, sits down at his desk and gravely discusses the causes of seismic convulsions.

In Southern California, in the County of San Luis Obispo, there js situated one of the most remarkable prehistoric monuments known to the archaeolo, gists. From a distance it looks like an Immense rock rising from the plains of Carissa, but upon nearer approach it is seen to be a temple of extraordinary dimensions and of unknown antiquity. The inner court has a level floor 225 feet long and 125 feet wide, and the ceiling is from 60 to 100 feet high, according to situation. The building was evidently used by prehistoric man, but for what purpose, and how long since, no one knows. It has been suggested, however, that it was either a temple of worship orlhe capitol of some ancient government. The walls and portions of the ceiling are beautifully decorated with paintings in colors red, white and black, many of them supposed to have some symbolic meaning. The colors are apparently as bright as when first laid on. The Indiana es that locality are said to have no traditians concerning the building es thia temple, yet they all regard it with auperstitious reverence.—St Louis Republic.

NINFA.

California's Wondert'ul Temple.

CHARLES HOBSON.

Sketch of One of the Moat Noted So cialiata in England. Gue of the most noted socialists in England is Charles Hobson. English socialists desire “to obtain for the

whole community complete ownership of the means of transport, the means of manufacture, the mines and the land. Thus they hope to put an end forever to the wage system, to sweep away all distinctions of class, and eventually to establish national

CHARLES HOBSON.

and international communism on a sound basis.’ Mr. Hobson is an officer of the Labor Electoral Association, and was chairman of the British section at the Zurich socialist congress in August last He is a man of genial disposition and scrupulous fairness, who has worked long a-nd 'arduousij’’ in the cause of the internittidnal organization of labor.

QUEEN OF PORTUGAL.

A Melancholy Interest Attaches Itself to Her Life. A melancholy interest attaches itself to the young Queen of Portugal. She was the eldest and favorite child of the

late Comte de Paris, and it was owing more or less directly to her marriage to the then Duke of Braganza, that the French government passed the Expulsion Bill against the direct heirs of families wh o had once reigned in France. Amelie Louise He-

lene D’Orleans was born at Twickenham 29 years ago. She married when quite young, and is the mother of two handsome sturdy boys. The Duke of Braganza succeeded his father five years ago, and since that time both he and Queen Amelie have won golden opinions from their subjects and foreign critics. Queen Amelie is devoted to her children, takes an active interest Jn the condition of her husband’s neople. and is greatly beloved by them.

KING OF DAHOMEY.

Good Specimen of African Royalty Is Here Presented. A good specimen of African royalty Is the new king of Dahomey, Agoliagbo. He is 35 years of age, and a

brother of the late king. Agoliagbo is tall, dignified an d attractive from an African point of view. He i s very particular in matters of dress, wearing a garment of siik and particolored satin, fastened around the waist and held ai, his shoulder by one

AGOLIAGBO.

of h:<; numerous attendants. On his head he wears a turban with three cockades, and hanging down in front of his face, like a horse's nose bag, is a little silver sieve, supposed to strain ttie gnats and bad smells of Dahomey out of the air which his Majesty breathes. Many women attend him. One drives away flies, another fans him, another looks after his umbrella, and a fourth attends to his smoking apparatus. The French are responsible for his coronation.

MAKING A FLYING MACHINE.

The Bell Telephone Man Is Now Working on a New Invention. Professor Alexander Graham Bell is not idly enjoying the fame and wealth which the invention of the tele-

phone has won for him. He is now secretly woi’kdng on a new invention, which i s rumored to be a flying machine, regarding whicli Prof. Bell is as mute as a sphinx. The world may again be startled by a marvelous contrivance, the result of hi s genius

and labor. Prof. Bell’s career is a romantic one. His wife is totally deaf, and it was while experimenting on mechanical appliances to relieve her that he discovered the secret of the transmitter of the telephone. His devoted attention to his wife is a marked trait of Prof. Bell’s character. Notoriety is distasteful to him, and he leads a quiet life away from the centers of business and society. Prof Bell was born in Scotland in 1847, and came to the United States in 1872.

Game at the Cape, 1652.

When the early Dutch settlers landed at the cape in 1652, and under their first Governor, stout Jan Van Riebeek, took possession of the soil, they found the country one vast and teeming natural preserve of great game. Down to the very shores of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean there wandered a countless multitude of the noblest and rarest species with which a prodigal nature ever blessed the earth. The elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo roamed everywhere; the hippopotamus bathed his unwieldy form in every stream and river; the lion, leopard, and cheetah pursued their way unchecked; the eland, koodoo, gnu, hartebeest, and a number of other fine antelopes grazed in astonishing plenty. The mountain zebras paced the sierras of the Cape peninsula and every other range of the colony in strong troops; tl»e quagga (now, alas! extinct) thronged the karroo plains. In every cornel- of that vast land, upon flat anil upland, in deep and lonely kloof, and over boundless plain, there wandered, free and undisturbed as they had wandered through countless ages of the past, an unexampled array of wild animals. The early Dutch settlers scarcely knew what to do with this profusion of game. The elands and koodoos broke into their gardens and vineyards, the elephants and rhinoceroses made hay with their crops; the lions besieged them in their fort and dogged Gov. ’Van Riebeek ;n his garden. Thera is a pathetic, yet ludicrous entry in the eld records of the Cape eommauden, bear-

Now this actually happened when Bumstead w'as at a certain hotel where you put your shoes outside your chamber door at night, to be polished by the porter before you rise in the morning, asserts the Worcester Gazette. Bumstead is a traveling man, who sellswell, never mind what he sells. Sometimes, he does not sell. He travels long distances by rail, but he does a good deal of walking besides, and one result is the growth of a tumulus, a mound, an excrescence on one of his toes which would do the heart of a chiropodist good, only to look at it. Now Bumstead is a methodical man. lie prides himself on his business habits. It is his custom to get a shine at the end of his day’s work. It is his habit, also, to say to the boy, when he reaches his left foot, “Now just go easy over that little toe, will you?” and the boy polishes the tumulus with the greatest delicacy. On this particular night, Bumstead had neglected the afternoon ceremony, so before he retired he set his shoes out to be blacked in the morning. And he wrote a placard and placed it in the left shoe, reading, “Go easy over that little toe.” Then he retired calmly to bed, but the porters laughed earlier than usual the next morning. And they laughed so loud the night clerk w’ent down to see whether the water pipes had not burst.

QUEEN OF PORTUGAL

PROF. A. G. BELL.

Thaddeus Kosciusko was a Polish gentleman, born in 1746, and educated at Warsaw, Versailles and Paris. He became a captain of artillery In Poland, but in 1777, on account of a love affair, he went to Paris, and then joined the French force fighting in this country. He became a Brigadier General in our army, and returned to Poland in 1786. In 1789 he was made Major General, and distinguished himself in the war against Russia. In 1794 he headed a revolution against Russia, and became Dictator of Poland, and but for. the interposition of Prussia,' would have freed his country. He was captured by the Russians, and remained a prisoner at St. Petersburg until 1796. Then he went to England and America, but settled in France in 1798. where he lived until 1815, when he moved to Switzerland. He was thrown from his horse, and died October 17, 1817.

An exchange says: “The exjieriment station attached to one of the State universities is at present considering the propriety of evolving a type of coach horse distinctly. American are superior or to the kindred breeds of Europe. It is proposed to select a few large trotting mares, with the desired conformation and action, and a stallion of similar build and gait, and possessed of a good measure of speed, and it will not take long to produce and establish such a valuable type of coach horses. The first time a man goes out hunting his wife has so much confidence in him that she doesn’t buy any meat for supper. Millions in Charity. England’s poor rates amounted to over $85,000,000 last year. It comes more natural to fall in love with money than with anything else. Whou a mau steals a bell he can t avoid riagteg it.

Ing date the 22d of January, 1653. “This night,” says the chronicle, “it appeared as if the lions would take the fort by storm.”—The Fortnightly Review.

HOW FISH BREATHE.

Require but the Minimum of Oxygen to Keep Up Temperature. The gilte of the tish are situated at the back part of the sides of the head, and consist of a number of vascular membranes, which are generally arranged in double, fringeiike rows, attached to the parts by the base only. In some cases these membranes are feather-shaped; in others, mere folds attached to the' sides of the gill cavities. The fish is a eold-blooded animal; that is to say, its temperature is seldom more than a degree or two higher than the water in which it lives. This being true, the creature needs but a very small amount of bxygen to keep the blood at a temperature sufficiently high to sustain life. This oxygen is supplied to the blood of the lish by respiring large quantities of water, or, rather, drinking large quantities of water, and respiring the air separated from it by the gills. This explains why a lish cannot live in a tank of water which has been sifted through the gills time and time again any better than a human being or other animal can in air that has been deprived of all its oxygen by being taken into lungs and expelled without being aerated. Fish that die in the stale waterof aquariums may be properly said to drown, because they perish for want of air, the same thing which occasions death by drowning in man and other lungbreathing animals.

A Methodical Man.

Expensive Stamps.

The Philatelic world has been fluttered by a recent important event, for it is announced that the viCe president of the London Philatelic Society has sold all his stamps. The affair certainly becomes interesting when we learn the price commanded by the few thousand little bits of paper. A flrm which deals in these light and airy trifles secured the vice president’s entire collection, and gave no less than $50,000 for it. This, we understand, is the largest price ever paid for a collection of stamps, though it is said that the treasures in this sort recently bequeathed by a member of Parliament to the British Museum would have fetched a higher figure if put up to public auction. A London establishment is just now advertising a single stamp, valued at $12,500, but whether any intended purchaser will be found willing to receive it in exchange for that sum remains to be seen. The Duke of York, already known as a keen connoiseur, is said to Ite anxious to purchase this great stamp. Exerts declare that there is no better investment for money nowadays than stamps. If that be so they will become an object of fascination to many who at present take little delight in them.— Black and White.

Who Was Kosciusko?

An American Coach Horse.

BOILER BLOWS UP.

Five Men Instantly Killed ky n Explosion at West Bay City, Mich. At West Bay City, Mieh., by the explosion of the boiler in Bussell Bros.’ box factory Tuesday morning five persons Mere instantly killed, several others were injured and one is missing. The dead are: John Botun. aged 18. John Calcutt. fireman, aged 24. Albert Hucbenbecker, aged 18. George Pfund, aged 17. Albert Baha, aged 16. The injured are: Charles Docge, scalded and bruised; will live. » Roe Hudson, aged 16, struck by flying debris; will lire. I Fred Wildanger, aged 17, struck by flying missiles; will live. I The explosion occurred while the mill was shut down for a few moments, the boys flocking to the engine room to eat lunch. It seems that at that hour it has been customary for the boys in the factory to assemble in the fireroom for the purpose of eating their lunch. At that time Tuesday George Pfund, Albert Huebenbecker, Albert Baba, John Botun, with John Calcutt, the fireman, were at the fireroom. Without warning the boiler burst, wrecking the brick boiler-house, the east end of the factory, the dry kiln -to the north, and scattering debris in all directions. The employes of the mill rushed out panic-stricken, but, after recovering themselves, began the work of rescuing their ill-fated companions. The .five named were dead when taken out from under the brick, timber and sawdust. Mothers and sisters ran to the mill from all directions, crying pitiously for fear their husbands and fathers had been killed, and the scene was one of complete confusion for several minutes. A fire broke out in the ruins and an alarm called a company to the scene. Charles Doege was found on the platform between the planing mill and boiler-room pinned down by a hot steam pipe under boards and timbers. The shock of the explosion was felt two miles away, but the report was comparatively slight.

HE COULDN’T MARRY HER,

And That’s Why Bill Cook Became the Famous Outlaw He Is. The band of outlaws now operating in Indian Territory in the Southwest is perhaps the most daring that has ever been formed in this country. Its leader, Bill Cook, is a young man less than 22 years old, but he has all the daring and courage of a dozen Daltons. Were it not for a love affair this young man, of mixed Indian and white blood, would in all proba-

BILL COOK.

bility be a decent member of society in Indian Territory to-day. When Bill was a schoolboy at Fourteen Mile Cre.ek, midway between Fort Gibson and Talequah, he fell in love with a pretty girl, Martha Pittman. Their romance ran along smoothly enough until Bill was convicted of smuggling whisky into the Territory—an offense that a great many people are guilty of. Then Martha’s father vowed that his daughter would never marry a criminal, and when Bill got out of jail he was refused permission to call on Martha. Like a true sweetheart Martha stood by her lover, but Bill refused to marry her without the old man’s consent and swore that if he could not obtain it he’d go on the warpath and put the whole Indian Territory on the run at the point of his Winchester. To the warpath he consequently took when Martha's father remained obdurate, and it must be said that he has kept a considerable portion of the Territory on the qui vive ever since. And here the strangest part of the romance comes to light. All through Bill's train robbing episodes and robberies Martha remained true, and finally her father, impressed with Bill’s nerve, withdrew his objections to the marriage and is as anxious to have Bill as a son-in-law. It is now said that

"SKEETERS" AND “CHEROKEE BILL."

Martha has gone to join her lover, bearing her father’s blessing. Associated with Bill are some desperate characters, whose names repeatedly crop up in newspaper reports. One of these is “Skeeters.’’ His right name is Thurman Baldwin and he hails from Arkansas. He is white. Another trusty lieutenant is Cherokee Bill, a mixture of white, negro and Cherokee. His right name is Crawford Crosby and he is 18 years old. These are the most trusty members of the gang over, which Bill Cook holds sway. Recently Cherokee Bill Sustained a serious' injury in tight with deputies at Talala.

A 20,000 MILE RACE.

Warsaw, Ind., Cyclist Will Endeavor to Ride That Distance. A wager has just been made which is bound to attract wide attention, especially among bicyclists and all lovers of sport. Tom W. Winder, of Warsaw, Ind., editor of the Wasp, and a bicycle enthusiast, will, to decide the bet and’“ektibiisli a record,’’ endeavor to make a trip along the coast and border-line of the United States; estimated—via circuitous country roads —at 21,600 miles, in 300 consecutive days, or a daily average of seventy-two Hides, crossing thirty-three States'. and Territories, 220 counties, visiting 2,984 cities, towns and villages,, and registering at seventy-six points enroute. The start will be made from New Orleans on Feb. 4, 1895, going west, so that the entire trip can be made in warm weather, enabling him to cross the great plains of the Northwest during the early summer, the most favorable time of ail the year.

TO MEET IN CHATTANOOGA.

International Conference of the Epworth League to Be Held in June. The'general committee has located the International Conference of the Epworth League for 1895 at Chattanooga, Tenp. The dates fixed are June 27, 28, 29 and 30 It was decided to hold the meeting in the South and Chattanooga forcibly presented the advantages of the historic surroundings of the city, as well as good hotels and railroad facilities, and has secured the conference. An attendance of 10,000 to 15,000 is anicipated. One open air meeting will be held on Lookout Mountain. There are now 1,000,000 members of the Epworth League in the United States.

HUMOR OF THE WEEK

STORIES TOLD BY FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS. Many Odd, Curious, and Laughable Phase* of Human Nature Graphically Portrayed by Eminent Word Artists of Our Own Day —A Budget cf Fun. Sprinkles of Spice. —A popular occupation with young women—making parlor matches.—Lowell Courier. —ls you’ll notice, the hatchet-faced man seldom splits his sides with laughter.—Buffalo Courier. —W ith the college barber it is an every-day occurrence to score a touchdown.—Richmond Dispatch. —Sometimes a prayer for a good meeting is not tfnswered because there is bad ventilation.—Ram’s Horn. —The horse is supposed to be man’s best friend, unless he happens to bet on him in a race.—Yonkers Statesman. —Stag parties are so called, it is said, because the men usually stagger home from them.—Oil City Blizzard. —“Yes, it's a hard ■world,” sighed the balloonist, as he struck the fair grounds with a sickening thud.—Yale Record. —Her mother—Don’t you find Jack rather rough? Priscilla—Yes, mamma. And yet he says he shaves every day.— Oil City Blizzard. —“I am summoned to another climb,” said tlie bellboy as the indicator announced a call from the top floor.— Philadelphia Record. —Operator—Now, how do you wish to be taken, madam—bust or full length? Miss Primley—No, sir. I’ll stand up.—New York Ledger. —No matter how others of his race have to live, the colored sleeping-car porter always insists upon good quarters for himself.—Buffalo Courier. —A certain sage said he never knew a rogue who was not unhappy. Of course not; it is the rogues who are not known who are the happy ones.—TidBits. —He—“l see that China is suing for peace.” She—“ How ridiculous! Hasn’t she lost enough by war without going into the law courts?”—Boston Transcript. —The prize of one guinea offered by Tid-Bits for the best definition of “life” has been awarded for the fallowing definition: “Life—A trial trip before the launch into eternity.” —Assistant—“l’ve the greatest freak in the world here.” Museum Manager —“What is it?” Assistant—“A farmer who speaks the dialect we get in magazine short stories.”—Life. —Neighbor—“You hov a large family to support, Mr. Finnigan.” Mr. Finnigan—“l hov that, mum; ah’ if they didn’t all earn their own livin’ I couldn’t do it at all at all”—Tid-Bits. —“I didn’t see your portrait at the exhibition, Miss Holmeleigh.” “No. They wouldn’t take it. They said it was a good portrait, but my face was out of drawing.”—Harper’s Bazar. —“De great beauty 'bout Thanksgibin’,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat, es yoh wants ter you kin take it outen de almanack an’ keep it in yoh heahts de hull ye’ah roun’.”—Washington Star. —“I propose,” began the deliberate old lawyer who called around to see a young w’idow on business, when his vivacious client exclaimed, “I accept.” They are now partners.—Dallas News. —Professor (returning home at night hears noise)—“ls some one there?” Burglar (under the bed)—“No!” Professor—“ That’s strange! I was positive some one was under my bed.”—TidBits.

—A Delicate Compliment—Mrs. Goodfeed—“Will you ask a blessing, Mr. Guest?” Mr. Guest (casting his eye admiringly over the table)—“Really, my dear madam, it doesn’t need it.”—Detroit Free Press. —Tramp—Can’t I get the boss’ ear for a minute? Husband—l don’t think you can get her ear, but I’m sure if you wait until she comes downstairs you can get a piece of her mind.— Yonkers Statesman. —Mrs. Wickwire —Do you know’ that the doctors say that too constant piano practice is likely to produce curvature of the spine? Mr. Wick wire—l didn’t know it before, but I don’t doubt it. At least, it makes the neighbors get their backs up.—Cincinnati Tribune. —After the Honeymoon—Time, June. —The Earl .(proudly)—“l am carrying on some Interesting researches into the early history of my family.” The American Countess (late of the Metropolitan nouveauriche, snappishly)— “Are you afraid that the facts have not been effectually suppressed?”—Vogue. —“Here’s another one of those millionaire plumber jokes in the paper,” said Criticus. “Did you ever see a rich plumber, Hicks?” “Never,” said Hicks. “All the plumbers I’ve ever seen have been very poor plumbers. Still, a fellow may be a poor plumber and yet be a rich man.”—Harper’s Bazar. —He was a pretty little youngster, with little fat legs, that stuck out beneath clean, stiff-starched clothes. “What are you going to do when you grovy to be a man?” asked a visitor. The little fellow’s face assumed an expression of earnest gravity as he responded with a voice which was evidently shaken by sad memories of the past, “Whip papa.”—Tid-Bits. Coins of Enormous Siae.' When the area and.square hiches of surface is taken into consideration rhe largest coins, ever issued by any government on the globe were these put into circulation by Sweden during the sixteenth century. These mammoth pieces are neither round, square, oval, nor octagonal in shape, but are great irregular slabs of copper described as “resembling pieces of a boiler after an explosion.” The smallest pieces issued under the law which authorized this gigantic coinage was an irregular rectangular slab of about twelve square inches of surface, and about a half an inch thick. It was worth about thirty cents. The largest of the same series was about a foot square and had a face value of $4. Each of these dbpper slabs are stamped in several places on the face, the various inscriptions giving the date, denomination, etc. The $4 piece mentioned last above is neatly an inch in thickness and weighs, four pounds, lacking a fraction.—St. Louis Republic.