Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 November 1895 — Page 5

A COLDEN DREAM

CHAPTER XI. “What are you laughing at?” “Murder! look at him,” cried Bart, taking his pipe from his lips, “ruffling up like a gamecock. Not laughing at you, my dear boy, but at myself." “Oh!” said Paul, “I thought ” “That 1 was grinning at you for coming on such a wild-goose chase.” “Bart!” “Steady, old man. I tell you I was not, but at myself. My dear old Paul, I can’t afford to laugh at you beoause I am just as bad. Here we are, two days out on the briny sea, tossing about like mad, and I’m bound to confess that it seems quite natural. Only it does seem strange to me. Instead of attending lectures and seeing operations and waiting patiently till six months are over and I can succeed to my.practice, here I am, bound for a savage island in the Caribbean Sea.”

“Nonsense! Savage island! The place is cultivated enough.” “Oh, it is. You’ll see.” “But I realy feel it, Bart. It is kind of you to take this freak into your head. I’ve said nothing before, but I am glad of your companionship, and very grateful.” “Oh, bosh!” “But I am. I never was more astonished in my life than when I came on deck and found you here, just as I was cursing you by my gods as a false friend for not coming to see me off.” “Needn’t thank me.” “What?” “Thank your sister when you write.” “Luce! Her doing?” “To be sure. Said you would be getting yourself scalped by savages or down with fever, and she gave me my orders to come with you as special surgeon and physician in ordinary, to grow you a fresh scalp and administer your Cockle’s pills!” “My darling girl!” “Steady! My darling girl now, if yon please. For it’s all right, Paul. You won’t object, will you ? She is as good as promised me. Wonderful, isn’t it? Such a girl as she is, so—so —so —l don’t know what to say, oh, murder!” For at that moment there wns a heavy thud and a rush. The great steamer hail been smitten on the bows by a wave, and a tremendous shower of spray had drenched the two young men. “Well!” cried Bart, “this is nice, and no umbrella up.” • “Only salt water, man, and it will not hurt you.” “Perhaps not,” replied Bart, pettishly, “but it wets as much as fresh. I don’t like to bathe with all my clothes on. Hang it all! Gone right down my back.” “Let’s get a little more under shelter.” “No, I don’t care; but, Paul, old chnp, you will not mind much, I know. I’m not pretty to look at, but I’ll try to make her the happiest little woman in the world, and there —honor bright, I’ll never try to doctor her myself.” “What?” said Paul, smiling for the first time since he had heard that Aube was to leave Paris. “Well, I mean as some fellows do. I know medical men who try all kinds of experiments on their wives before they give the remedies to their patients.” “My dear Bart,” said Paul warmly, “there’s only one man in the world to whom I would like to see Luce married, and that man is you.” Bart tried to speak, but the words would not come, and he took his friend’s hand, grasped it warmly for a few moments, and then made a dart to get into shelter, for another wave struck the bows. “Going - to have a rough night, seemingly,” said Paul, after a few minutes’ paus ( e. “Looks like it,” replied Bart. “It will be handy my being on board in case of accident.” “Oh, we shall have no accidents.” “So much the better; but now, seeing how rough the weather is, don’t you think we are behaving very well?” “We’ve had good practice, Bart. After all our channel crossings we ought to be trained for any weather.” “To be sure; that’s it. Well, I never thought of that. Come, that’s the only good thing I ever knew come from the channel passage.” ■ “Well, gentlemen,” said a bluff, cheery man in oilskins, “got a bit wet?” “Ah, Captain, I did not know you,” said Paul. “Yes, we had a splashing just now. Is it to be a rough night?” “Oh, nothing bad—nothing particular. Making the boat dance a bit, and the seats a little creepy at dinner. Good sailors I see —you two.” “Don’t halloa till you nre out of the wood,” said Barf, laughing. “We are all right so far.” “If you can stand this you can stand anything. Thanks,” said the Captain, taking the cigar Paul offered. “We shall soon run through it, and then you will have hot sun and smooth water.” The Captain lit his cigar, took a look round, said a few words to the officers in charge, and then came back to the sheltered spot where the two young men were standing, to snloke his cigar and have a chat, for as far as the passengers were concerned, the saloon deck was empty. “So you are going to Hayti, sir?” he said. “Yes,” replied Paul, quietly. “To paint, eh? Well, you’ll never paint the place so black as it deserves.” “Perhaps it is not so black as it is painted,” said Paul, coolly. “Blacker, my dear sir—blacker. You’ll have to take care of yourself.” “Oh, I shall do that.” “Don’t know so much about that,” said the Captain, dryly. “There’s the fever.” “Well,” said Paul, smiling, “I am traveling with the doctor here.” “You are lucky, sir, very lucky.” “Put is the place so very unhealthy?” said Bart. “No, not worse than any of the other islands, sir,” replied the Captain. “Of course everywhere in those seas there are epidemics of old Yellow Jack, and if you are not enreful, you may expose yourself and catch one of the malarious fevers; but the wretched people do everything they can to poison the place. The port is a perfect horror, and I never stay an hour longer than I can help for the sake of my crew.” “But that’s from ignorance^-the place being in such a state.” “Oh. yes, that’s from ignorance, sir,” said the Captain, dryly. “Plenty of that in Hayti. Superstition and brutal immorality, too. Ah, they’re a bad lot.” Bart glanced at Paul, who was paw,

and he tried to change the topic, but the Captain ran on, and it was evident that the young artist was listening eagerly and encouraging the sturdy old salt to tell him everything he could about the island that would be his destination. “I wouldn’t stay long, sir, if I were you,” said the Captain. “The country is lovely, and you’ll pick up some glorious scenes, and some quaint, strange characters to paint; but of all the evil-mind-ed, weak, conceited beggars, that ever existed, they’re about the worst. They believe themselves to be the most civilized people under the sun, while all the time they’re a set of poor, weak, ignorant children —yes, children as far as their brains are concerned, and I don’t know which is the worst—the whites, the blacks, or the colored folk; they’re all as bad as bad can be.” “A nice character you are giving them,” said Paul, uneasily. “Well, sir, they deserve it; they’re as superstitious as the savages of the west coast of Africa. They don’t stop at using knife, pistol, or poison against any one who offends them, and they make the place miserable by their filthy habits.” “ ‘Manners none; customs beastly,’ ” said Bart. “Exactly, sir. The young middy who wrote that might have been describing some of the people of Hayti.” “Pleasant place for us, Paul, old man.” “Take my advice, gentlemen, and don’t go. Try one of the other islands. They're quite ns beautiful, and you may come back safe from them.” “Oh, no we will not alter our plans,” said Bart, after a glance at Paul. “But I say, what is that we read about the Voudoux worship?” “Be on the lookout and try and see for yourselves. It’B a savage kind of faith the blacks brought with them from the west coast of Africa, and the colored folks nnd the whites, some of them, join in it because it is an excuse for drunkenness nnd debauchery. Ah, there are all kinds of rumors about that sort of thing. They have wild feasts at times nnd offer sacrifice. I’m told, to a serpent. Rather a queer idea, that, gentlemen, worshiping the serpent, eh?” “But it would be interesting to investigate all the old superstitions,” said Bart, thoughtfully; “I should not dislike seeing one of their meetings.” “Well, if you go to one, I should advise you to be careful,” said the Captain. “We look down upon that sort of thing as a degrading superstition; but to a fanatical negro under the thumb of his black priest it is a mystery, and he is ready enough to resent any slight upon his religion.” “How?” snid Bart. “Well, they tell me,” said the Captain, “that people who play the spy at their feasts give offense to the serpent, and if they offend it, they are seized with a lingering disease and die.” “Indeed!” said Bart, eagerly. “What disease?”

“Well, sir, if it were in your country, you being a medical man, would be for a post-mortem examination, and it’s my belief that the evidence you would give at the inquest would be that the sufferer died of poison.” “Yes, that is what I supposed,” said Bart. “Of course. All these black people are pretty clever in their knowledge of poisonous plants.” “That’s quite right, so I should advise you to be careful. Take my word for it, Hayti is not the place for ordinary civilized people, especially when we consider they have freed themselves from the white rule, set up one of their own, and in spite of their conceit and contempt for the white races, are going back fast into a state of savage barbarism.” “Poor wretches!” said Bart. “Yes, sir, you are right. The place would be a paradise under a good government; but that is wanting, and all goes wrong. If you keep to your intention, be careful. Don’t say or do anything to hurt their vanity. They think Hayti the finest place in the world, so if you want to get on mind aiid praise everything, especially the native himself.” The Captain had finished his cigar, and Paul offered him another. “No, thank you, not now,” he said. “I must have a few of the loose tackle made fast; we are going to have a rougher night than I thought.” He went forward, and was soon busy giving orders, while the two young men sat in silence under the shelter of the weather bulwarks. “Yes, that’s what I’m most afraid of,” said Bart, suddenly. Paul started. “Of what?” he said. “You did not speak before, did you?” “No, but I was thinking hard.” “What about?” “You, old fellow. I as good as promised Luce that you should not come to harm. Mademoiselle Dulau is very beautiful, and it makes me afraid.” “What are you driviug at?” said Paul, impatiently. “I’ll tell you, old fellow. She is sure to be very much admired, she will have been there month before we arrive, and I fear that you,will be getting into some trouble with these hot-headed—oh, what a blundering fool I am to say a thing like that,” he continued, as Paul sprang up impatiently and walked across the deck and back, “I say, I meant it for the best, old fellow.” “Of course, of course you did,” cried Paul. “But it did sting, Bart, old boy. You are in love, too. and you can feel for me. It is that which I fear, and it is horrible to bear. How do I know to what danger my poor darling may be exposed. What plans her mother may have made, or how she will be situated there. It maddens me, and I call myself fool, idiot, a hundred times, for not going over in the same vessel, even if it had been as a stowaway.” “Oh, nonsense! don’t mind my foolish talk.” “It was the honest truth, man. A whole month parted! Bart, I must get her away from this horrible place at all hazards.” “But it may, not be so bad; and she is with her mother.” “How do I know what sort of a woman'her mother may be? Then there’s Madame Saintone. I distrust and hate that woman.” “Don’t be unjust man. You are not in a position to judge.” “No, lam not. But all this is unbearable, and even the winds and waves are fighting against me.” “And being beaten by our sturdy engines, as we’ll beat the winds and waves of bad fortune. Come, man, don’t make

youraelf miserable by imaginings. I dare say Mademoiselle Dulau’s mother is a very nice, lady-like woman; and if she Is, she will appreciate you, and see that it is all for her child’s happiness. There, cheer up." Paul laid his band upon his friend’s shoulder and gripped his hand. “Thank you, Bart,” he said. “I will hope for the best; but it is hard—very hard work.” As night fell the storm increased, but Paul Lowther heard neither the creaking of the rigging, the hiss of the wind through the ropes, nor the heavy dash of the waves against the steamer’s bows, for there was a mental storm raging within him, and when toward morning he at last fell asleep it was to dream of Aube away in this strange land, exposed to some terrible danger and stretching out her hands to him for help. (To be continued.)

EATING MEAT RAW.

A Curious Habit Bald to Be Increasing in London. The well-known favor with which Englishmen regard underdone beef brings to notice a curious habit which Is said by the New York Advertiser to be on the increase In London, that of eating meat raw, or nearly so. The habit started from a belief that it was conducive to health. Of late years there has been a great run on the gravy or juice expressed from raw beef by the latter being squeezed into pulp; but, quite apart from this, many regular customers buy the finest cuts with a special view to eating the latter raw, each customer having an earnest belief that he benefits In health from the practice. In most cases it is more a matter of health than of actual taste. There are two remarkable points about raw meat eating, one of them being that a great many butchers themselves constantly cut prime bits off and chew them. The other point is that a great many people, who do not at home eat in a raw state the meat that they buy, Judge the quality when buying by chewing a bit of raw meat, just as they might taste of butter or cheese. A celebrated London barrister eats quantities of the best steak finely minced with salad, and In a great many other cases the meat is cut into very slim .shreds and made Into sandwiches, with seasoning added. Restaurant-keepers say that the chief call is for meat very much underdone, but there are great numbers of faddy people who eat meat absolutely raw.

An African Dance.

The dances consisted chiefly of rows of men in line, holding their knobkerries upright in one hand, and slowly lifting each foot alternately as high as possible, and bringing it down flat on the Bole with a thuqip that made one’s own soles ache to see it. This was accompanied by a monotonous chant of some eight or ten notes repeated endlessly with the same words. One of these phrases, we are told, was to the effect that as they had no corn that year to make beer, the. white man should give it to them. Another was in praise of the “good old times;” but, to judge by the singing, these much-vaunted times must have been lugubrious enough to make the old cow die on the spot. The women danced in a group by themselves, several' of them with their babies tied on their backs, the little things taking the jogs and shakes to which they were subjected with absolute equanimity. Both men and women were dressed in a variety Of garments, from a suit of tweeds to a mere little piece of skin hanging from the waisf. Brass anklets nnd bracelets were frequent, nnd every native carries a snuff'box, either round the neck or waist or stuck in his ear. For this latter position empty cartridge cases are in much request. They are stuck through a slit in the lobe of the ear.

Cuban Coffee Making.

In a letter to the New York Tribune by an expert on coffee, the writer, after speaking of the different varieties of the bean and their comparative merits, gives the details of making coffee as it is done in Cuba, where the most delicious coffee obtainable anywhere is to found. “It is prepared by first half filling a coarse flannel bag with finely pulverized, roasted coffee, and suspending it from a hook over the pot or other vessel. Cold water is poured on the bag at intervals until the entire mass is well saturated, then the first drippings, which have fallen into the receptacle, are poured again over the bag until the liquid becomes almost thick and very black. One teaspoonful of this extracted liquid, placed in a cup of boiling milk, will yield a draught of coffee that Is simply delicious—a nectar fit for the gods. In Cuba this flannel bag hangs day and night on the wall, the process of pouring on the cold water and allowing it to drip being almost ceaseless in its operation. All classes, ages and conditions drink coffee there as freely as we do water.”

The Absent-Minded Professor.

Prof. C. had gone to spend the evening at a friend’s house. When he was about to leave if’was raining very heavily, wherefore the hostess kindly offered him accommodations for the night, which he readily accepted. Suddenly the guest disappeared, nobody knowing what had become of him, and the family was about to retire for the night when Prof. C. walked In, as wet as a drowned rat. He had been home to fetch his night shirt!

Male and Female Vanity.

Women and the mirror have long been the subject matter of fun by the column, but if the dear creature can beat her brother she Is most remarkable. The radiant, mirrored elevator is responsible for the demonstration of this. It takes but the most superficial observer to note that nine out of ten men who ride in the elevators take a peep into the reflecting glasses, give the mustache a twist, push back a lock or two of hair or shake out coat lapels.

The Latest Cycle.

A unicycle has been invented which runs by its own momentum after it has been set going by the usual pedaling method. A forward inclination of the rider’s body keeps the wheel, revolving, a backward inclination stops it, and in turning a corner the rider leana as ha wants the machine to go. The wheel has no steering gear, is six feet in diameter, and weighs 185 Dounds.

FOR THE FAIR SEX.

FASHION ITEMS OF INTEREST TO YOUNG AND OLD. A Show of G«rt»r»--Mn. Carlisle ■ Bicyclist--Amalia Rivas as a Girl-. Fora Bridal Gift--How Did It Cot Out? Fashion Briefs. A SHOW OF GARTERS. The Show of Garters in Paris was a singular idea, but it has been well patronized and is to be transported to London. The gaiters included specimens of those which were worn by celebrated ladies of their day, both ancient and modern.—New York Mail and Express. MRS. CARLISLE A BICTLIBT. Mrs. Carlisle, wife of the Secretary of the Treasury, is the first one of the cabinet women to adopt the bicyole. She is taking lessons in riding nearly every afternoon in Columbia field, the training gronnd of the Washington cyolists, She is generally accompanied by two of her ohildien, who are good riders.—Chicago Times-Herald. AMELIE RIVES AS A GIRL. Walter Wallman says that he once visited the home of Amelia Rives’s father, Castle Hill, in Albemarle County, Va., and was pleased to hear theverdiotof the country folk as to Miss Am’ly, as they always called her. They knew her odd ways, her pranks, her mad rides astride unbroken oolts and all that, but they idolized her just the same. To them she was an angel m human form—an angel of charity, of mercy, of good works. She visited the cabins of the poor colored folk with food and piotare books and sweetmeats. She nursed the siok. She helped those who were in trouble. Half the money which Miss Rives received for her first literary success, “The Quick or the Dead?” was spent in making one merry Christmas for the poor colored people around Castle Hill.— New York World.

FOR A BIUDAL GIFT. One of the daintiest, as well as the most nsefnl, among the many gifts of a recent bride was a set of bureau sachets. They were of white China silk, interlined with a wadding thickly sprinkled with wild rose saohet power and edged with a narrow silk cord. The upper side was embroidered exquisitely with wild roses scattered here and there over the surface, done in three shades of pink Asiatio silo floss, with the leaves worked in two shades of olive. The set consisted of three large pads for the drawers of a low, wide bureau, and live shorter but wider ones for a ohiffonier. These are charming for any friend, but especially for a mother weighted and bruised by the proßaio cares of life, one who longs for dainty little home adornments, but has no time to make thefii; nor need they be as expensive. White linen, embroidered with violets, buttercups or daisies—as sparsely as you pleaße—and lined with silesia or cheese cloth, tufted and bound with baby ribbon, is very pretty and quiokly made.—New York Herald. HOW DID IT GET OUT? Some weeks ago Miss Stonert, a well known dressmaker of Youngstown, 0., was told about a surprise party being held in the neighborhood and of the many valuable presents brought to the house by friends. “Oh, it’s so nice,” she remarked. “I wish they would surprise me and bring me a pair of bloomers.” Some of the lady’s feminine acquaintances heard of this and got together to surprise the maiden and carry out the wish she had expressed. Twenty of the young women got together Friday evening. Each had taken as a present a pair of bloomers, and the young lady to be surprised was invited to a neighbor’s house. First one and then another of the guests would arise and make a presentation speech to tho maiden, who was very much overcome by surprise and joy. She was aided in taking home her apparel. All the girls were sworn to secrecy.—Cincinnati Tribune.

A FEMALE FIRE BRIGADE. The new wornau, so far as doing manly things are concerned, is not new in old Sweden, the little town of Nasso feminine department, 150 strong, in its fire brigade. The water works of the village consist simply of four great tubs, and it is the duty of the women “firemen” to keep these full in case of fire. They stand in two continuous lines from the tubs to the lake, about three blocks away, one line passing the full buckets and the other sending them back. Whenever the fire alarm sounds they are obliged to come out, no matter what the weather may be, the daughter of the house as well aB the serving maid, and often their skirts freeze like bark from the water and the cold. If the men are away they not only carry the water but bring out the hose and ladders and work the pumps. It is to be hoped there are no fires burning houses in winter in the little town of Nasso—New Orleans Picayune. women’s work. One of the most novel and valuable employments for women in some cities is that of professional marketer. There can be no donbt that here is a genuine opening for a woman who is thoroughly capable of fufillling the requirements of the position, for this work is no sineenre. To become a successful marketer a woman ought to have a thorongh knowledge of markets and know when various articles are in season and the best qualities to buy for various purposes. She must know when it will do to buy an inferior brand; and, in short, she must have a scientific knowledge of cooking as well as of markets. She must know when the season of each article is at its height and what is in season at any particular time. A young woman who has mado this business a notable success lives in Philadelphia. She is a graduate of the Philadelphia Cooking School. She issues in connection with her business a small monthly bulletin of the markets, which contains a price list of meats, fish, poultry, butter, eggs and game, as* well as of vegetables and fruits. Her bulletin also contains a week’s menus, with suggestions for dainty meals from the most seasonable supplies of the market. This young lady not only purchases

supplies for private families, bat for hotels and boarding houses. All large establishments keep stewards, who do substantially this business for them, and it would be the exception when an outsider would be employed. The greatest drawbaok to the work of the professional marketer in families is the praotice of keeping a running acoount at the most convenient grocers’ and butchers’ shops, where the requisite supplies oan be obtained. Even if it could be demonstrated that there was an actual money saving in this method, the majority of housewives would be too conservative to make any change in their methods oi obtaining supplies.—Detroit Free Press. FASHION NOTES. The tripod white enameled table, alleged colonial, is in many a drawing room. Sash ribbons are wider than ever before, and correspondingly expensive per yard. Among the season’s sumptuous dress goods are the appropriately named “ out silks.” Girls who have naturally beautiful complexions should have no occasion f or veils. Embroidered Swiss muslin dresses are to have a regular John Gilpin run. Women with penciled eyebrows are altogether too numerous to bo considered exclusive. Some beautiful shaped heads are ruined by the prevalent style of arranging the hair. In the matter of bicyole costumes, some women aie destined to appear grotesque. Tea gowns are apparently, like the poor, to be always with us. They are very sumptuous. Satin duohesse for entire costumes is now shown in the most exquisite shades. Trimmings of black satin duohesse will be very fashionable. The sailor hat, that never-to-be-for-gotten member of the millinery family, is more prominent than ever this season. It has a wider front and more drooping effect than of yore, and is garnitured in a great variety of ways. Deep cuffs and sailor oollars of scrim, embroidered and run through with narrow satin ribbons are seen on morning gowns imported from Paris. The gowns are of chine, taffeta, in gay designs, and oome from the famous Paquin. Scotch cheviots, unlike those of the past seasons, have a white ground over whioh are woven curly and knotted yarns in combinations of red and mousse green, bluo and gold, and brown and yellow. The first coverings for the feet are the little knitted socks, of whioh every baby must have a goodly number; theso same socks are now made to oome quite up the leg instead of finishing at the ankle, as was the former diatom.

The new silk and linen ginghams are more exquisite than those of last season, which is saying considerable. Ginghams, cotton crepons, bastites, piques and satines were never before presented in such attractive colorings. Large black brocades are beginning to be worn in Paris with chiffon blouses, having velvet sleeves and collar and yoke and belt of jet, steel or gold passementerie. These are really visiting toilets, but are worn on the street with a velvet or fur cape. Hand painted dresses, with flowers and fruit thrown in garlands all over the skirt, or landscapes painted in medallions on the front and sides, are an extravagant fancy in Paris. And added to this elegance is a lace whioh is threaded in portieres, with small diamonds., and costs S2OOO per metre.

It Rained Popped Sparrows.

One of the slickest men I ever saw was a young fellow out west who was selling baking powder and was up to all the dodges to advertise his goods. He happened to strike one little town in which English sparrows were a great nuisance, and the authorities had offered a bounty on sparrow heads. The baking powder man saw a golden opportunity to give his goods a big reputation, and offered to exterminate all of the sparrows in town inside of two weeks. His proposition was gladly accepted, so he began his work. Ho selected a large vacant lot as the scene of his operations, and every evening would go out there with several bushels of corn, which he fed to the spurrows, until they began to get acquainted with him and came to the lot in bigger droves every day. In the meantime he had sent east and bought a barrel of empty capsules, which he filled with the baking powder, and then put salt on the outside of them. When he saw that all of the sparrews in town were coming to the feed ground he had a large tank of wator placed there and was ready for the grand climax. On this eventful evening he took his salted capsules of baking powder to the lot instead of corn and threw them out to the unsuspecting sparrows. Of course the salt made the birds thirsty, and they immediately flew to the water tank and drank, and the result was something awful. The water melted the capsuleß and made the baking powder rise. The poor little birds tried to stay on the ground, but the baking powder was too strong and compelled them to rise straight up into the air and finally popped them open. The spectators could plainly hear the sparrows pop, and said that it sounded like thp popping of a paper bag. It rained poped sparrows all night, and the next day not a single live one was visible. It is needless to say that there is only one brand of baking powder for sale in that town.

Where Tobacco is Grown.

Tobacco is grown in forty-two States and Territories, but nearly half the crop comes from Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, North Corolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The log cabin in which Lincoln was born was torn down years ago, and the logs used in building anothei half a mile away. They are now to be replaced as nearly as possible it their original position.

FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.

' AUTUMN SOSO. A song of the reaping-time. Of the feast-days of the year; A song of the grain and the well-filled wain, And the husking-time that’s near. Here’s hey, for a merry romp In the brown old fields and vales! And ho, for the mead where the cattle feed, And ho, for the autumn gales’ A hunt through the tall, dim woods For the fruit of the oak and vine; A peep at the nest of the last redbreast, And a call where the chipmunks dine. A smile in the morning skies. And a laugh in the streams that flow, As they share their joy with the girl and boy That to-day may a rambling go. —[Frauk Hutt, in St. Nicholas.

TOE SNEEZE-WOOD TREE. * This remarkable tree is a native of Natal and other parts of South Africa. Its funuy name was given to it because one cannot saw it without sneezing violently. The dust of its wood has the same effect as the strongest snuff, and is so irritating to the nose that workmen are obliged to sneeze even when planting it. If a piece of the wood of this tree is put in the mouth it is found to huve a very bitter taste, and no doubt it is this bitterness which prevents insects of any kind from attacking the timber of the “sneeze wood” tree. The fact that insects find it so disagreeable makes its wood very valuable for work that is required to last a loug time. HOW THE MAKER BOVS SAVED THE TOWN. During the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Linz and Anderuuch could uever agree, and were coutiuually at war, each hoping to obtain the supremacy and utterly destroy the other city. As the towns were ouly a short distance ajiart, they could often pounce upon each other unawares, and the inhabitants of Linz knowing the people of Audernach were sound sleepers und took special pleasure In prolonging their morning nap, once re■olved to attack them at dawn of day. In silence the enemy stole up under the city wall, which they prepared to scale. Their attempt would probably have proved successful, had it not been for two greedy baker lads, who had crept up into the tower to steal honey from the hives the watchman kept up there. Hearing a slight noise, and fearing the approacli of the watchman, tiie youths cautiously peered over the wall, aud thus became aware of the enemy’s proximity. A moment later, having thrown the hives down upon tiie foe, the boys, rushing to the bell, loudly rang the alarm. The Anderuachers, springing out of bed, hurriedly douued their armor, seized their weapons, and rushed out, but their interference was no longer necessary, us the infuriated bees had already routed tiie enemy. In commemoration of this event, tiie statues of the two baker lads have been placed just within the Andernach gates. There they can still be seen— exact eflleies of the boys who crept up into the tower to steal honey, und saved the town.

HMABT DOGS. “Toby” Bwnyne’s frisky little skye terrier, Jack, isn’t the only canine in Toledo that knows a few things out of the ordinary. A gentleman who fancies a good dog, aud whoso word is absolutely unimpeachable, called tiie attention of a Blade man to a couple of intelligent dogs in Toledo. Oue of tlicm is a littlo white animal belonging to Henry Williams, janitor of the Hartford Block, on Madison street. Those who are accustomed to going up and down the elevator in that block know how the elevator signal is arranged. It is a little white button set on an ordinary annunciator. This dog when downstairs will jump up and press one of his paws on the button until lie hears tiie bell ring, when he will sit on his haunches and wait patiently a few moments, when, if the olevutor does not commence to descend, he repeats tiie performance. He lias been seen to do this so frequently that it has ceased to be a matter of curb oslty about the building. When the bell in the old High School tower tolled out the Are alarms for Toledo, if at night, this dog would jump upon ids owner’s bed and whine und paw about until Mr. Williams would awaken; but he would never pay any attention to other hells, no matter how often or at what time in tiie night they might ring. “Speaking of the intelligence of dogs," continued the Blade’s informant, “you have doubtless often noticed tiie Great Dane that W. E. McKecktiie, the coal man, formerly owned. Some weeks ago Mr. McKecluiie sold the dog to his brother-in-law. Well, tiie dog remains with his new owner all right during the week, but regularly every Suturday night he returns to the house of his former master and stays there until Monday morning, when he returns to his rightful owner. In the several weeks that huve elapsed since Mr. McKecknie sold him lie has never missed a Sunday, He geems to regard the Sunday influences about McKeckuie’s more congenial for some reason."

Talking about dogs, there is a little black terrier owned out near the corner of Cherry and Frederick streets that answers to the name of ••Frank." Among the numerous tricks the hoys of that neighborhood have taught the animal to perform there is one which they work almost continuously. The dog will sneeze whenever commanded to do so, provided there is a morsel of something to eat as an inducement. The boys have worked the dog so hard he lias developed a serious case of nasal catarrh, and unless a compromise can be effected between the street urchins and Frank the subject of their fun is liable to go into decline. The animaj is owned by Mr. Bartel Wilson.

FREAKS OF FOGHORNS.

A Mystery About Them Which Puzzles Scientists. Scientists have been consuming large amounts of gray matter of late in vain endeavors to find out why it is that a foghorn can be heard more; plainly when two miles and a half off than when a mile nearer, and that when only half a mile away the hardy mariners cannot hear the hoarse groan of the foghorn at all. At least two Governments have given this phenomenon official attention and experimented off on and for divers summers. But they are now at sea as much as tiiey were before they began experimenting. Yet the fact, remains that there are varying zones around the fog signals. This strange freak of nature was first officially discovered four summers ago. Like all great discoveries, it was caused by a kicker. A captain of a sound steamer, plying regularly between Newport and New York down Long Island

sound, noticed one night that the fogborn off Point Judith could tio< be heard when he was only half A mile off. He had heard it distinctly as be approached the point. A few minutes later be caught the sound of tiie blast horn again. Soddeuly the fog lifted, aDd the captain found himself close in shore scarcely a quarter of a mile from the reefs. As soon as be brought his boat into port the captain went ashore and telegraphed a complaint to Washington that bis vessel had nearly been wrecked because the foghorn on tbe most dangerous point in tbe Sonnd bad stopped blowing in tbe midst of a heavy fog. Tiie keeper of the liglitltouse on that point, when reprimanded, denied that be had allowed tbe foghorn to stop sounding. The Lighthouse Board ut once made an investigation. They ordered the supply steamer to test tiie fog horn. Un the next foggy day the steamer made for Point Judith. The steamer was 2} miles off, when the first faint strains of the fog horn came piercipg the wall of fog that lay between the vessel and the distant promontory. At a distance of two and one-half miles the sound suddenly became much louder, and continued just as loud up to two miles. Then it grew fainter. From one and three-fourths to one and a half miles it could scarcely be beard at all. Suddenly it grew louder again, and tiie noise became so great that tiie captain of the steamer took his soundiugs every half minute, feuring that he had made some mistake in his reckonings aud was close on shore. But after steam, ing forward a whole mile and being only half a mile off shore, tiie sound suddenly ceased entirely. A quarter of a mile off shore tiie sound appeared again and increased until the lighthouse could be seeo distinctly through the mist. Turning his boat around, the captain steamed away. As lie went he noticed those same phenomena of sound ut the distances already described. “It Is an established fact that the sound from fog horns travels over the water and through tiie mist in zones of varying intensity,”- said Professor Harriott of the Weather Bureau this morning. “But nobody Ims ever yet been able to expiaiu the phenomenon. The Lighthouse Board and the German Government have investigated tiie subject thoroughly, but without being able to solve the mystery. When 1 was in Washington I heard half a dozen papers read before tiie Lighthouse Board A>n the question. The Board is still pursuing its investigations, but it has nog caught the cause yet.’’

Mads a Slight Mistake.

Mr. Chugwater entered the store witli the confident air of a man who knew exactly what lie had come to buy, and wus prepuied to pay tho cash for It. *’ I want a Butterworth pattern No. 99,074," he said, “for a 88-inch waist.” “Are you sure that’s the right size?” asked the young woman behind the counter. “Yes, that’s the size my wife told me to get.” “Is it for her?” asked the young woman, with somo hesitation of manner. “I don’t know that that makes any difference, ” rejolned.Mr. Chugwater, slightly raising his voice, “but I have no objection to stating that it is.” “I beg your pardon, but—but would you mind tolling me how much she weighs?” “Sho weighs about 150 pounds.” “I thought so,” said the young woman, reaching promptly for something in one of the pigeon holes behind her. "It’s a twonty-eight-inch size the lady wants. A thirty-eight-inch would be about the right size for a 875-pound person, and we don’t keep it in stock. Twenty-five cents x please. ” Mr. Chugwater paid the money;, put tiie pattern in his pocket andl walked out of the store with a curious feeling that he had shrunken three or four sizes too small for hir clothes, and that forty giggling girls had seen him shrink.

Two Versions of an Anecdote.

The following anecdote is now go»ing the rounds: “When Harry Miner went to the Democratic convention he stepped up bo the desk in the office of one of the hotels in Syracuse, with hisfaithful latest importation from England, bringing up the rear guard. He registered: ‘II. C. Miner and! valet.' The next man to register was a brawny son of Erin, with his traveling bag in hand. He took up the pen and registerered with a flourish: ‘Michael Murphy and valise.’ It's a cold day when you can get ahead of an Irishman. " That is the way the New York Sun puts it. The Chicago Tribune presents it thus: “Richard Harding Davis, steppingup to the register of the Bryn Mawr Hotel recently, reported his arrival in this form : ‘Richard Harding Davis and valet. ’ Barclay H. Warburton, driving up shortly afterward on his tally-ho, and inspecting the latest inscription in the book, wrote beneath, it: ‘Barclay Harris Warburton and! valise.' ’’ Evidently this is one of the patent reversible anecdotes that are warranted to fit any locality or climate*

A Sunflower Clock.

Kansas has often been called tbs Sunflower State—a title more than ever appropriate since the foreman upon Governor Motley's farm constructed his sunflower clock. Choosing an enormous sunflower, he attached to its drooping head a tiny cornstalk, not more than ten feet long. About the plant he drew a circle, and divided it into twentyfour parts, each of which was subdivided for minutes and seconds. And now, as the faithful plantfrom dawn till dusk eyes its fierce lord, the cornstalk pointer moves about the dial, indicating the time. The sunflower clock can also be used as a stop watch to time races by holding over it a big umbrella, which checks the revolution upon the instant, when the time to a fraction of a second may be read off on the dial*

Buildings of Gold.

From Prescott, Arizona,comes tha report that evon the buildings are in part of gold. An assertion of thi* sort was made in reference to the sandstone of which a new building; is composed and was laughed at, but an assay was made, and it developed the fact that the stone contained $4 per ton in gold and 20 cents is aUVM.