Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1896 — Page 5

A COLDEN DREAM

CHAPTER XXll.—(Continued.) Cherubine. too. had stopped short, looking sharply from one to the other, her black features working aud her forehead filling full of lines as if she were puzzled and uneasy. But as Aube smiled and passed ou Cherubine drew a deep breath as if she were relieved, showed her white teeth, picked a bright scarlet flower from the bunch she held aud offered it to the mulatto girl. ■“Genie like a pretty fldwer'f’ she said. “Go in her beautiful hair.” Genie smiled and nodded, took the flower and passed it through her hair, the stalk resting behind her ear. “She is beautiful, Cherub. You love her?” “Love her?” cried Cherub, and she pressed both her hands to her breast, and half closed her eyes. "And you would not like hurt to come to her?” whispered Genie. “No, I would sooner die. I would kill anyone who hurt her.” cried Cherubine. "Yes, I thought so,” said Genie, after a glance toward the door. “No one must hurt her. Cherub, so come to me to-night when it is dark.” “(tome—to you?" said the woman with a frightened look gathering in her countenance. "Yes,” whispered Genie, “and tell no one you are coming.” "But —but ” faltered Cherub, shrinking back, but Genie clutched her arm firmly, and there was a tierce look darted at the trembling woman. "Come!” “Must —must I come?” faltered the woman with a look of horror now gathering in her eyes. “You know.” whispered Genie, “it is the serpent’s will, and it is to save her from ill.” Cherub uttered a piteous sigh. “I shall expect you.” “But,” whispered Cherub, catching at her arm, “there will not be—to-night?” ."Silly woman,” said Genie, laughing. “No. I shall be alone. Come; it is for her good.” A shiver ran through Cherubine, and a gray mist seemed to steal over her black face, dulling its glistening black luster; her lips quivered, and the ring of white appeared round her staring eyes. “Well?” said Genie. “I—l am afraid,” stammered the woman. "And you will go and tell her,” whispered Genie “No. you will not dare, for yon know that you must come to-night, mind —to-night.” She half closed her eyes, and stood smiling for a few moments at Cherubine before turning and walking sharply away with the graceful, undulating swing of a woman of her race, her slave watching her as she passed on through the hot sunshine, the scarlet ’ kerchief she wore glowing like some brilliant flower till she passed beneath the shadow cast by the trees. “It is for her good,” said the woman, involuntarily repeating Genie’s words; “it is for her good, and I must go, I must go. Phelie would not, when the serpent sent her word, and Phelie died, and was laid in the cold, black earth.” She shuddered, and the gray look in her face intensified. “To-night—yes, I must go—l must go.” Just then Paul came into sight and sauntered back towards the house, turning from time to time to look back as if in search of Aube. The gray look passed from Cherubine s black face directly, her eyes sparkled, and the skin glistened once more as her thick lips were parted a little from her white teeth; but the gleam of mental sunshine passed away again, and the gray troubled look came back as she hurried into the house trembling and her eyes dark with the thought of the call she was compelled to obey that night, the idea still strong in her weak, superstitious mind that if she resisted the command her days would be numbered and she would die.

CHAPTER XXIII.

The position was strained, and Bart Durham felt that strong as he was in his knowledge of bodily ills, and ready to attack anything from a fever to a fracture, he was here helpless and obliged to allow himself to float on with the current into which his friend had plunged. “I don’t know what Lucie will say to me.” he thought. “I might just as well have stopped at home, and had the pleasure of seeing her sometimes, for I am worse than useless here, only she would not have seen me, and the nuns would soon have had me dismissed for a nuisance. “I don’t know what to do,” he muttered, as he pretended to smoke in the garden of the house they had made their headqiarters, but his cigar was out and he spent the greater part of his time chewing the end into a brown pulp. “Those black fellows always seem to be watching us; the Consul says we must be cautious, and that’s just what we are not, for it must come to a row between Patfl and that fellow Saintone. who is certainly making headway with the mqther, and poor Paul knows it. “A duel—that’s what it will be. They fight duels out here and go in for assassinations and pleasant pastimes of that kind. Ctfi, they’re a cheerful lot. I don’t wonder that most of them are black. Place seems to be in half mourning for the souls they have sent to the other land. Depend upon it, if it does come to a challenge that sinister-looking sneak will take some mean, dirty advantage, for he is just one of those contemptible cowards who would not want to be killed decently. Well, I give him fair warning that if he does hurt Paul I’ll poison him as sure as he’s alive. Humph! that is if I have a chance. “Oh, dear! it’s precious hot. Be hotter if I go back without Paul. Lucie will never forgive me. and all the time he is trying to get himself put out of the way. Nice position for a respectable young medical practitioner. I’ve a good mind to inoculate myself for the fever, and lie up, so as to have a good excuse for my inaction when I meet Lucie again. “He’ll be here, I suppose, directly, and then it will Joe the regular thing hanging about that old veranda with the blacks watching me; and then ordering drink that I don’t want, and smoking till I feel saturated with nicotine. Well, there’s one comfort, I can find plenty of nigger cisterns for the liquor I don’t consume. Poor old Paul, he will not take No for an answer. Mother and daughter both look upon him as an intruder, but he will not give up. Well, I wouldn’t.

“Suppose now." he said, after relighting his cigar and loosening his neckcloth, "suppose now it was my case, and I wanted to get Lucie out of the convent? Well, I confess that 1 > ild do as Paul does; hang about, hoping against hope. By George! be is fond of her. and the more time passes and he is kept back the worse he grows." “Ready. Bart.” The young doctor sprang to his feet with a start. "Here, I say. what are you doing." he cried, "coming tiehind a fellow like that? Playing the spy. that's what it is. Did you hear what I was saying?” “I did not hear you speak,” said Paul, who looked haggard and strange. “Growing nervous?” “Of course, I am. Who would not in a place like this? It’s a paradise, I know; but we can’t go a hundred yards without seeming to see the what's-his-name peeping out at us from among the trees, with his black save and grinning teeth.” "Come along,” said Paul, drearily. “Not going up there again, are you?” Paul looked at him fiercely. "What is the good of your talkiug to me like this? Go back home if you like, but for heaven's sake leave me in peace.” "How am 1 to go back home without yon? Now, my dear old fellow, be reasonable. What is the use of your persevering?” Paul gave him a sad. despairing look. “She is still free, Bart,” and in her heart I believe she loves me, so 1 still hope.” “But you will get into some terrible quarrel with this Saintone. Recollect that we are in a land where human life is of no value.” “I know. If Ido get into a quarrel with him, and we meet—well, 1 shall either be without a rival, or out of my misery.” “Paul! old chap!" “There, hold your tongue, man. It's heart disease, and you can't cure that. Come away; 1 fell as if there is going to be a change in the state of affairs this morning, and that the difficulty is going to be solved. Madame Dulau was more gentle and kind with me last night. 1 think she likes me, Bart.” Bart shook his head and then followed his friend along the road toward Nousie’s house. Never had the place seemed so beautiful before to him, and he stopped from time to time to admire the dense green of the lush foliage, and the peeps he could get from time to time of the virgin forest all shadow and sunny glare, and of the deep blue sea. “Lovely place,” he kept on saying enthusiastically. “Only wants one thing to make it perfect. If it were uninhabited it would be a heaven on earth.” 1 The sun poured down its heat with terrific force, but Paul pressed on, heedless of his friend’s remarks and the beauty of the scene. He had but one idea in his mind, and that was to gain an interview with Aube that morning. He had been refused again and again, but he had always returned to the charge as a wave eomes back at every repulse from the shore. And the idea was strong on him that he would see her this time and that perhaps she would relent, for it could not be that she was visiting Madame Saintone’s and accepting the son’s escort of her own free will. As they came in sight of the now familiar veranda, Paul uttered an ejaculation.

“There's something wrong, Bart,” he said. “Look!” “A few more niggers than usual, that’s all I see. Wrong? Well, yes, to be drinking so early.” All the same, though, he noticed that the people were formed up in groups, and were discussing something eagerly, while as they drew near, Bart could see that they drew away from them. “Don’t like that,” he said to himself, as he followed his companion through the veranda into the gloom of the saloon, where Cherubine was seated in her mistress’ place. This was nothing unusual now, for since her child’s return Nousie had shrunk from her old duties more and more, feeling a shame of her avocations that she had never known before. The place seemed more dark than usual, and Paul could hardly distinguish Cherubine’s face, fresh as he was from the glare of the road, but by degrees it stood out clear, with a peculiarly wild look in her eyes. Paul tried to speak, but a curious sensation of dread was upon him, and he turned to his companion. “Ask her,” he said, huskily, but before Bart could speak, the door leading into the private part of the house was opened, and Nousie entered with a tall, dark Creole, whose face wore an aspect of preternatural solemnity. Nousie uttered a low sigh as she recognized Paul, and according to her usual custom held out her hand to him. “There is something the matter,” he cried, seizing it between his own. “What is it? Aube?” “111, very ill,” said Nousie, in a voice full of the agony she suffered. “Ill? Here, Bart, quick!” Nousie shook her head. “Doctor Gerard here has seen her. She has been very ill all night, and must not be disturbed.” “You are a medical man, sir?” said Bart, quickly, in response to an appealing look from his friend. “Yes,” said the Creole, with a condescending smile. “What is the matter? I am a professional man myself.” He drew the Creole aside, and they talked together in a low voice, the Haytian doctor unwillingly and full of haughty condescension, but unable to resist the eager questions showered upon him by the Englishman, and as soon as possible he made his escape. "Well?” cried Paul, eagerly. “Very little to tell you,” said Bart. “I had to drag what I know out of him. It seems that she was ailing yesterday and the day before. Last night her condition alarmed her mother, and the doctor was sent for. She is asleep now, and must not be disturbed. I can tell you nothing without seeing her.” “Madame Dulau,” said Paul, excitedly, “my friend here is a clever doctor; take him to Aube’s side.” Nousie shook her head sadly. “No,” she said, “Doctor Gerard told me that he would not answer for her life if she was disturbed.” “The same old formula even here,!’ muttered Bart. “But when she wakes? Woman, woman,” cried Paul, “her illness may be dangerous; for heaven’s sake do not treat

us as strangers now. 1 hare only one thought, and that is for Aube’s recovery. Don’t, pray don't stand in the way of that.” “No, no," cried Nousie, and she clung to Paul's hands now. “I will do everything that is right for her. My darling! My poor, poor child!” She burst into a passionate flood nt tears, and the sound of a blow came from , the buffet, folio wed by a howl. Cherubine had let her forehead fall i heavily upon the counter before her. and was sobbing wildly. "Cherub, my poor girl.” cried Nousie. ' piteously, ami she ran to the woman's ( side and laid her hand upon her head, I but with the effect only 6f making the sobs and hysterical cries come more loudi ly, and these were supplemented by low : wails uttered in chorus by the blacks outside. "Hush. Cherubine.” whispered Nousie. “Yon will make my darling worse;” and s‘.a hurried out into the veranda to gesticulate and say some words in their own tongue to the blacks who were wailing wildly. The cries ceased on the instant, and i Nousie came back to have her hands : seized by Paul. . “For heaven's sake.” he whispered, . “don’t let that man's ideas of professional ' etiquette stand in the way. Aube’s lift* may lie at stake. Madame Dulau. 1 love her better than my own life. I’ll give up everything that she may lie well and happy. 1 will not ask to go in. Let my friend see her —for your sake, do.” The tears sprang to Nousie’s eyes, and in an impulsive, hysterical way she drew I Paul to her and kissed him. “You do love her,” she cried, “ns she—my darling—loves you. Yes; he shall see I her —he may save her life.” "Save? Life? Oh, is it so bad as ■ that?” cried Paul. I “Those who are stricken as she is here ; seldom live,” wailed Nousie. “Stop, I'll ■ see if she’s awake; he shall go to her. He ■ mny save her yet.” “Bart, old fellow,” whispered Pau), i with his voice trembling; “think of all you know and have learned. You must —you shall save my darling's life.” Bart trembled with anxiety as he ' thought of his position, away from the ■ h<Jp of a learned ♦■olleague, perhaps un- ; nine to obtain the necessary medicines ' when he grasped what the disease might i be. At last he spoke as they stood waiting eagerly for Nousie’s return, and listening to the low groans of Cherubine as she ; lay forward with her face buried in her hands. ! “I never felt so ignorant as Ido now," : said Bart, slowly; “but heaven helping i live I’ll do my best. Cheer up though, i old fellow, we do not even know yet that there is danger. Some little ailment brought on by the worry, change and ex1 citemeut of her new life here. More mental than anything else.” (To be continued.)

TO CURE BODILY ILLS.

Curious Superstitions that Hold in Different Localities. The number of superstitious cures is ' simply legion. For the cure or prevention of rheumatism some people | carry an ordinary Irish potato in the ■ pocket. In Michigan a double cedar , knot is regarded as the proper charm, ' and in New Hampshire a gall from the ' stem of the golden rod. Hickory nuts, ! buckeyes, pebbles and horse chestnuts I are carried in different localities. Some people wear a ring made of a potato, j and in New Hampshire a potato worn ; in a stocking about the neck is re- ; garded as a sure cure for sore throat. Many people wear a nutmeg pierced I and suspended on a string about their neck, to prevent boils, croup and neuralgia. Just what effect a Connecticut wooden nutmeg would have is not known. On the eastern shore of Maryland ; biliousness is cured by boring three holes in a carefully selected tree and , walking three times around it, saying, "Go away, biliousness.” It is of the utmost importance whether the person working the charm walks with or against the sun, but which is the proper direction no one seems to know. Among the negroes the most striking remedies are to be found. To cure an aching tooth, the Southern negro goes into the swamp, chops around the root of a white oak, secures nine splinters, then cuts around the tooth, and dips the white oak splinters in the blood. The splinters are then buried at the foot of the tree, the operator repeating some kind of charm. This is called “conjuring the tooth.” One of the negro cures for chills and fever is to take the skin from the Inside of an egg shell, go to a young persimmon tree three days in succession, and tie a knot in the skin each day. There are many curious superstitions relative to cures, which still find credence in England, that date from the days of that mysterious people, the Druids. Among the initiated It was only necessary to stop bleeding to place a piece of oak bark on the wound. An ancient Anglo-Saxon superstition for preventing bleeding at the nose was to wear next the skin a portion of “the moss from a dead man’s skull,” which, however, to be potent, must be brought from Ireland, a condition similar tn that of the negroes’ rabbit foot, which must be from the left hind leg of a graveyard rabbit killed at midnight.

Japan's Great Cathedral.

When foreign architects visit Japan and see the Cathedral of Buddhism for tlie first time they are generally astonished at the magnificent structure. It is executed in pure Oriental style, and is richly ornamented with carvings. H. Ito, a famous builder, of Nagova City, designed it. The structure was commenced in 1878, and was completed this year. The cost has been estimated at $17,000,000. It would have greatly exceeded this amount had not numbers of Buddhists worked without any recompense. As the structure neared completion the committee having the work in charge was much perplexed as to fire insurance. They found that no company would assume the risk on such a valuable wooden structure, the danger of destruction by fire being very great, and thus the premiums would amount to an enormous sum of money. At last the committee decided on a design devised by Dr. Tanabe. Numbers of powerful foundations were constructed, both exterior and interior, which can be made to play on all parts of the structure at the same time. Usually only one great ornamental fountain is playing, rising to the great hight of 157 feet. This is probably the largest artificial fountain in existence, emitting 82,080 gallons per hour. In case of fire all the water pressure is directed through the numbers of exterior and interior fountains, thus every part of the structure, both inside and out, could soon be drenched, and any conflagration soon extinguished.

THE LIME KILN CLUB.

Int*r*«tin* L*etur* by th* Hen. Whyfor* Jackson. It was known to most members of the Lime Kiln Club that the Hou. I Whyfore Jackson, of Louisiana, was in J town, the guest of Brother Gardner, ■ and no one was therefore greatly stir-1 prised to hoar the president announce, at the opening of the Saturday night) meeting that the distinguished visitor ' would consume the evening in delivering his world-renowned lecture on the subject of “Human Man.” As soon as the meeting had been duly ■ opened Giveadam Jones and Waydown ! Bebev escorted the orator into the hall, i He looked to be a short, fat. one-story man of a faded rasplierry color, hut he • had the dignity of a num who knows ■ that he has s.'» in cash in his lax-ket, ' and his board paid in advance, and no | visible sigus of emlMirrassment were | apparent as he surveyed the audience I liefore him and began: "My frens. de subjick of my orashun | to-night is ‘Human Mau.’ It is an or- i ashun dat I erected myself, widout ■ any help. I didn't steal it from I Shakespeare, an’ I didn't hire no white man to write it. (Sensation.) I was | ober ten y’ars giftin' dis orashun to- j get her. 1 went slow an’ sun*. I didn't ; propose to tall into any mistakes. I knowed dore was a heap to talk about, an’ I wanted to git it all in whar’ it belonged. I will now purceed: “Man! Who an’ wha| is man? What Was man created for? Why was he created in de form of a man instead of a hyena? What use is he? What was he bo'n fur? In seekiu’ to answer dese questions, my frens. you insensibly find yourselves delving into de regions of philosophy an' follerin’ de unknown paths of speculashun. In de fust place, what was de use of all dis world widout man? It would simply lie so much land an’ water gwine to waste. (Cries of ‘Hear! Hear!’) ’Spose al dese yere rabbits an’ possums an’ chickens war' runnin’ around widout anybody to make use of ’em—what a shameful waste of meat it would be! (Groans.) Dat’s one reason man was put yere—to eat chickens an’ sich. (‘Yum. yum!’) “What is man?” continued the speaker, as he shifted his weight to his left leg. “He's a substance composed of skin, blood, bones, teeth, toe-nails, brains, ha’r. and so on. He was created fust, an’ out of do best goods In de market. Dat’s the reason he’s a heap purtier dan a dog or a cat. (Sensatimi.) If he had happened to hev been created along about fifth or sixth he might hev bin a ground-hog or a whale. (Involuntary shivers.) Dar ar’ seberal different sorts of men, us moas’ of you probably kuow. Dey wasn’t all made of de same color nor in de same shape, kase dat would hev bin monotonous. It would hev tried de eye, same as lookin’ at a flock of white sheep. Dar' am no sort of queshun in my mind dat black used to be do moas’ popular color in de beginnin’ of things. (Hear! Hear!’) But de white man fo’ced his way in an’ got hisself boosted up to de top by some sort of gum game. (Growls and mutterings.) “Did you eber stop to think why man didn’t grow to be ten feet high an' to weigh a ton? You probably neber did, an’ yit de explanashuus ar' right to hand. If he was ten or ’leven feet high he couldn't walk around no back yard widout sawin’ bis nock on a clothesline, an’ if he weighed a ton, an’ de roof of his hen house sprung a leak, how'd he eber git up dar to fix It? (Great sensation.i Man was bo'n to walk uprightly. Why wasn’t he bo'n to go on four legs like a dog? Dis philosophical queshun probably nebber occurred to your Intelleck, but de reason is plain. You couldn’t hev crowded ober ten of him into a street kyar to once.” (Cries of; A-h-h!") The speaker here paused to wipe his heated brow and moisten his throat with a potash tablet, and after a brief rest continued:

“While man is the highest order of creastiun, he has at de same time got de moas’ low traits of character about him. While on my way from Canada some man stole my umbrella from under my very nose (decided sensation) an’ on two odder occashuns efforts war’ made to despoil me of my satchel. Dat was de work of man. Would de lion, de tiger, de elephant, or de grizzly b’ar descend to slch petty meanness? (Cries of ’No! never!’) Wolves lib together in harmony, but man is alhis in a fuss. De hyena knows when he's got a good thing, but man is alhis wantin' better. Take an old boss or a mewl, an’ you kin depend upon him ebery day in de week. Take de average man an’ you needn’t expect to find him twice alike de same day. (Applause from Elder Toots, which was broken short off by Giveadam Jones giving him a kick.) Of what use is man? He thinks he’s a heap of use, but he's dun mistaken ’bout dat. De world was heah befo’ he cum. It would hev bln right heah now if nobody had eber bin bo'n. Man Jlst comes, sloshes aroun’, kicks up a dust, an’ departs, an’ de blackberry crop of de next y’ar is Jist as large as if he had libed on.” (Samuel Shin sheds tears.) “My frens.” continued the orator as he tightened his left suspender by an inch, “man is a pore, useless, misguided critter. He’s generous one day an’ stingy de next. He’s away up on de pinnacle of greatness at 10 o'clock in de mawnin’, an’ at 3 in de afternoon he’ll dodge around a comer to git shet of givin’ a blind man a cent. (Cries of “That’s so, old man!”) One day he’ll put his hand into his pocket an’ give an orphan asylum a hundred dollars, an’ de next he’ll sue a pore man fur de value of two shillin’s. (Yes! Yes!) It ar’ my candid opinion, based upon long y’ars of observashun, dat man ar’ a failure as a man. (Sensation.) He would hev made a fust-rate animal or a bird, and would hev bin a decided success as an alligator. I hev no recommends to make. Man is as he is, an’ he can’t be no different. (Groans.) After de meetin’ is out a colleckshun will be tooken up fur de benefit of de undersigned, who’s mighty sorry he wasn’t bo’n a rhinoceros. Thankin' you fur your interest an’ courtesy, I will now bid you it percolated goodnight an' stand at de doali as you go out.” There was a roar of applause which should have made the orator proud of his talents, and he stepped down with a patronizing smile and took a position where he could shake hands with each Member as lie passed out. The collee-

tiou figured up nine cents in cash, and when he liad counted it over three times the Hon. Mr. Jackson tossed the Itennies in the wood-box and walked down stairs with his toga, wrapped about hint and disappeared in the darkness.

Feathered Actors.

The star comedian among ail feathered actors, the blackened end man of the feathered minstrel show, is the catbird. With one wing drooping, with head tilted to one side, with legs at an exaggerated angle, he eyes the song sparrow or the flute-voiced oriole as they pour their melody on the flowing gale -watches till the burst of song is done, anti then with a flirt of his tai) that says. “Ladies and gentlemen. I will now give you an accurate imitation of the silvery voiced tenor. Signor Or.’oli,” starts in on an imitation of the song that is excruciatingly funny. The writers on bird life speak, as a rule, of the song of the catbird as something that falls far short of what It ought to be. He is “ambitious of song but”—is about the average opinion. At well might we complain that the orig inal Ohl Zip Coon could not take the place of Booth, or that the irrrpresslide Topsy was not titled for the role of Marguerite. But the fame of the catbird will increase, no doubt, just as comic opera lias grown in favor with theatre-goers—by prodigious bounds. Of the ability of the blue jay to pose as a hen hawk ninny stories can be told. These feathered rascals have the habit of coming about farm liousi** in the Adirondack region when the first warm days of spring draw the farmer out to a seal on the sunny side of outhouse or liarn, and then*, too. the barnyard fowl gather as well. This peaceful, contented group is pretty sure to attract tin* jay. who with many knowing twists of his head determines to give them a little show. Going away to the farther side of the sheltering struct tin*, whatever it may be, he comes dashing over the ridgepole, and with a perfect, imitation of the scream of a hawk and a tremendous flutter of the wings In* lands on the edge of the roof. Then he enjoys the consternation his little performance creates—the skurrylng of tin* hens for cover, ami the imprecations of tin* startled farmers—will never be doubted by one who sees him in the act.

Taming a Wildcat.

Those ladies who are fond of wearing fur boas around their throats might learn a lesson from 11. F. Wood, a river man. who is now in tin* city. Mr. Wood has a handsome neck muffler of tawny skin, but he does not keep it In a bandbox at night. He locks it in a strong cage for his boa is a half-growi! wildcat, witli full-grown claws and teeth. Wood has attracted considerable attention during the hist few days by strolling about tin* city witli a young boy lynx or wildcat perched on Ids shoulder. Old naturalists claim that It is Impossible to domesticate a specimen of the “fells catuw," which is the Latin name for Mr. Wood's strange per. He lias refuted that theory, however, by partially laming the savage little beast. Many sears and scratches on ids hands ami face bear evidence to the fact that it wps no easy Job to get on speaking terms with ?Jr. Wildcat, Jr. am l it will allow no one but Its owner to come near it. If a stranger npproachos the kitten will jump straight at his tin <.at. Mood is very fond of the animal. He caught it when it was only six days old. after its mother had slain four large dogs, and raised it by hand. The animal is now iilxiut the size of a large tom cat, but Is very different in appearance from the common tabby. It has huge feet, long, sharp claws, a head like a tiger's, the tufted ears which distinguish the lynx family, and a short tail, which moves incessantly.

New York’s Bean Queen

“The Bean Queen” she was crowned by the newspaper men of Park Row years ago. and the wish is dally expressed that her reign may be prolonged for many a year to come. Bean Queen is very fleshy and dark-skinned, a shining-eyed and Ivory-toothed spedmen of the good old Southern cooks who flourished hi what she herself called “those ante-bellum days before the war.” Mrs. Cunningham has reigned for twenty-live years in the kitchen of a Park Row lunchroom that wa* a favorite resort of Horace Gree ley and other old-time journalists. Her specialty is the baking of beans in both Boston nnd New York stylos. The lunchroom is famous for its beans, 'three hundred and fifty pounds of beans are served at this place for the six working days of the week and 150 pounds on Sundays. Mrs. Cunninghan; therefore bakes to a crisp brown 2.250 pounds of the leguminous esculent each week. The yearly consumption has been, therefore, 117,000 pounds, or 53’/ 2 tons, and at the same rate the twenty-five years she has been (coking them there have been dislns’ out 1.537’/-! tons, or 2,925,000 pounds, sufficient to erect a monur/mt of beans higher limn the Pulitzer Building.

Oysters Embedded in Coal.

Patrick Haggerty, 20 years old. of Hoboken, is einployed by George M. Sinclair, plumlstr, of that city, “in March last,” said Haggerty, “1 found in the cinders taken from the kitchen stove a piece of coal as big as my fist, which seemed to have been charred, and thinking it. would bum better in the range if made smaller I broke it with a hatchet. “It split like a nutshell in two equal parts. It had burned about half way through. Imbedded in the very heart of the coal wns what resembled a small oyster. The coal, in breaking, parted so that a shell was left set firmly in each of the two pieces. In the centre of the shell was a nut or pearl.” The coal was kept as a curiosity for some time, but when the family returned from the country after the summer vacation it could not be found. The nut is now just as it was when discovered. A small speck on it is probably dup to a flaw or seam in the coal, which allowed the intense heat to enter.

WHY IS THE SEA SALT?

It Haa Bean So Ever Since the Croatian of th a World. The sea at present contains 90,000.OOO.Ottu.OOaOOO tons of Milt. If thia salt could be gathered in a solid form and compressed into the shais* of a culs*. it would contain 10.173.000 cubic miles. Each -slgc of Hindi a cube would measure somewhat more than iwo lmndn*d miles. This is enough y> corer all the laud on this globe with a uniform layer of salt to a depth of one thousand feet. This statement ns to the saltiness of the sea is interesting enough in itself, but it is also suggestive. The questions may well Im* a ski'd, where did all this salt come from, and what is the use of it'. Several scieutltie gentlemen have attempted to give an idea of the chemical conditions of tin* atmosphere which surrounded this planet in the co-.i’se of its formation, ami describe an early period in the existence of tile earth us follows: “The surface of the earth was covered with lumps of molten rock (probably resembling furnace slag). The depressed parts of the surface wen* tilled witli highly h<*ated solutions of hydrochloric and sulphuric acids, which ate into the surface and decomposed it. In this way the silicates were changed to pure silica, taking tin* form of quartz, as the atmosphere cooled, and the condensation of the vaporous atmosphere products! sea water, holding in solution phates of sodium, calcium and magnesium, and salts of ammonium. The atmosphere, thus freed of its noxious elements. became pun* and tit for man.” It is therefore evident that tin* sea has boon salty from tin* creation of tin* world. Tin* salt does not conn*, ns is generally supposed, from friction of the water against salt "rocks" In tin* bed of the ocean. This, then, answers the first question. When* did tin* salt come from - .' 'i'he second qm*stion Is pretty well answered by Mr. <i. W. Littlehales in Popular Science Monthly. “It seems.” he says, “that the sea was made salt in the beginning as a part of the grand design of the Creator to provide for the system of evolution which has been going on since the creation. Many distinct species of living organisms exist in Die sea as a result of Its salinity, and their remains have largely contributed to the growth of continents." 'The minute creatures that have lived In the sea for ages past have left enduring monuments In the shape of islands ro *ks and continents. If the sea had not been salty these marine animals could not have existed and secreted hard substance known as a “calcareous skeleton." which has largely contributed Io the growth of continents. Among these earlier Inhabitants of the sea were corals, crlnoids. sea urchins and star fishes. The saltiness tin* sea lias also much to do with the ocean currents, which distribute the heat of the tropics over the colder regions of the earth. Currents are largely duo to the difference between the spocltlc gravity of sea water and the fresh water of nilas. Thus when rain falls on a certain part of the iM'can the effort of the heavier salt water of the oceati to establish tin equilibrium causes a current.

An Easy Headache Cure.

A good cure for headache lies in the Simple act of walking backward, .lust try it some time If you have any doubt about it. A correspondent says: ”1 have yet to meet a person who didn’t acknowledge its efficacy after a trial. Nobody lias yet dlsovered or formulated a reason why such a process should bring certain relief. “Physicians say that it is probably because the reflex action of the body brings about a reflex action of the brain, and thus drives away the pain that, when produced by uervousneaa, is tin result of too much going forward. As soon us you begin to walk backward, however, there conies a sensation of every tiling being reversed, and that is followed by relief. The relief is always certain and generally speedy. Ten minutes is the longest 1 have ever found it necessary. An entry, or a long, narrow room makes the best place for such a promenade. You should walk very slowly, letting the ball of your foot touch the floor first, and then the heel- Just the way, In fact, that one should, in theory, walk forward. but which, in practice, is so rarely done. Besides curing nervous headache, there is no better way to learn to walk well nnd gracefully forward than the practice of walking backward.”

A Rheumatic’s Museum.

A Fifteenth ward man who has been a life-long sufferer from rheumatism bus n queer collection of alleged “cures” arranged In a neat cabinet. One shelf is devoted to a series of small, wrinkled objects, which look and feel like large pebbles. They are not pebbles, however, but potatoes which have become almost petrified through being carried a long time in the pocket of the rheumatic gentleman. Knob potato is marked with a small label bearing some such inscription as this: “Carried from November 12, 1878, to May 18, 1880. Very efficacious.” The collector claims that the potato cutried in the trousers pocket has proved to be the best of the many remedies he has ever tried. He carries one potato until the return of ids rheumatic twinges seem to testify to the decline of the tuber’s curative properties. Then he takes a new potato, and locks tho old one up in his cabinet. On the other shelvra of the cabinet are several shriveled horse chestnuts, a string of amber beads, a dried-up rabbit's foot, th<> right foot of “an Eastern Sho’ Crow,.” a number of iron finger rings, a few horseshoe nails, and several other odds and ends. “All these things seem to have given ire more or less relief," says the collector.

Population of Japai

.Tapan. according to an estimate by United States Consul-General Mclvor. has a population of -15.000.000, allowing 5 0(>( ,000 for the newly acquired territory of Formosa. Japan has records Of her population going back to the year 010, when the number was 4.988.*42. This report also calls attention to the fact that in point of area Japan, since the Formosa acquisition, takes rank next below Spain, and stands about even with Sweden

A Bunch of Bears.

“I believe I got as big a bag of beam In as ahort a time as any man ever did.” said Do<- Studley, the ex-Sheriff asd hunter of Mendocino. . “A Img of iiears?" exclaimed tW young man who bad Just been tt-Hlng about a bag of snipe he hud once killed. “What were they—Httle fellows; what is it yon call them—kittens; no. enba, that's it?” i “No. sir; they were not kittens «r culis. They were liears,” declared Doc. **l piled up about a tou of bror meat in alMiiit thirty seconds. I wad out hunting in the southern part, of Trinity county about seventeen or eighteen years ago. We bad killed about, forty deer and three pautbers and at bear or two in a <*oupie of weeks, and were pretty near retidy to break camp, when 1 thought 1 would go out and kill another deer to bike home fresh. H was bite in the afternoon, ami 1 wsro creeping along in the brush, when, suddenly 1 came out Into a little opening. I stopp«*d to s<s* if there was anr sign of d<M*r, aud while 1 stood looking about a big black liear climbed up on the trunk of a big lir tree that had lieew uprooted. He wasn't thirty yards away, mid I plugged him in the ear. He rolliil off the log and down the hIH toward me. but before I had time tut see If he was dead another liear climbed up on that same log to mm* what, the row wus about. 1 shot it in the liend, and it rolled down the same wny lha other had done. Vp climbed a big two-yenr-ohl to take its place, -and nftef 1 had shot it two big yearlings, one after the other, clambered Up on the log to Im* shot. "Every one rolled down tin* hill towards me. and were kicking and thrashing around not ten steps away. By that lime I came to the oonelushro that 1 was in a liear country, and I didn't lose any time climbing it suppling. When I got well braced up among the limbs I sat and punipetl lead Into that pile of bears; every tiins one kicked I gave him a bullet, til) they ail stopped kicking. I had live bears Im one pile, and I think they must have weighed over a ton altogether.”

Ths Seascns In Iceland.

The Icelanders divide the year Imu the light and dark seasons. It Is ■ strange sensation to a foreigner wlro g(M*s to the fur North between tiro months of March ami August to And that he is beyond the region of night. To one accustomed to wait for retiring; until shut in by the darkness, the comHuttons light soon becomes wcarlsomr. With the sun alsive the horizon and a singularly rare atmosphere an evening walk may lie unconsciously .-untinned until midnight, and an InierrwIng book may cause one to forget tiro hours for sleep until the nuild enterg the room with the morning coffee. After a few days of this activity, nutiira begins to assert her claims, and instead of the atm dial, the watch Is entrusted wit It nocturnal registration. A nap in the middle of the day may Im* restful and pleasant, but regularly to retire in brottd daylight seems unnatural. During June and a pan of July the sun does not set. though for a few hours about midnight it is visible only from the mountain tops, while In the valleys Is seen all the glories .if a regular sunset, and no Italian sky ea» boast of greater splendor. At times ths colors are Intensified, as if each would claim by contrast the richest bounty; then by hands invisible the scene Im shifted, until all is enveloped in a culiulovelinesH, betokening the rest and harmony of an unseen world.

The Pyromaniac's Smile

Fire Marshal Whitcomb has bee* pretty busy taking testimony in regard to fires lately, and while si>eaking about examining witnesses the other day, he mentioned several curious thing* he hud noticed. He says that in ev, evy ease where he has discovered a pyromaniacs ho Ims had his suspicions of the person’s guilt aroused by a peen, liar smile which plays around the cor. tiers of tiie mouth of the guilty on« when under examination. It is hardly n smile, rather u peculiar puckering of the corners of the mouth, an expre*. slon almost Indefinable, but it seeing to mean, “Well. I’m too smart for yog to catch me, anyhow." The Manilla] says lie can recall a dozen coses whorg he noticed this smile, and at the tlm» had no other cause to suspect a witness, yet by following these smiling ones lie lias obtained the most convincing testimony of their guilt, and almost iuvartably confessions from the guilty on<» themselves.

A Clever Policeman

Not without reason was Napoleon nont to boast of the intelligence and tact of the French soldier. A few weeks ago, at Orleans, a communication by telegram iutd made known to the gendarmes of that place of the arrival there of a woman named Ro-' sine, who had fled from Tours after committing a robbery. A gendarme on duty at the terminus saw a rather sim-pleious-looking woman alight from on» of the carriages. He addressed himself to her, saying: “Where do you corny from?” “From near Bloia.” “Win* is your name?” “Marie Faucheux.She then walked on, but the gendarme, following her. in a few minutes railed out in a low voice: “Rosine!” Tln» young woman, thrown off her guard, immediately turned round, when th* officer raid: "Ah! ah! It. Is you I am in search of,” and, arresting her, took her . to prison.

Treatment of Electric Burna.

According to the of Dt Thierry, if a burn is treated by the external application or a saturated section of picric add the pain ceases at once, no blisters will form and it wH heal in four or five days; the yellow color which this acid gives to the ski* may be removed with boric acid. He suggests that a small quantity of phxric acid should always be kept o» hand wherever workmen are subjetv# to the possibility of being burned. Although not so stated, it may be inferred that the treatment will b<) effective for burns caused by electric currents. Between 20.000 ami 30.000 pounds rs sassafras oil are annually made in this country. The London jam trade provides employment for 10,000 people.