Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 144, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1915 — The Stories of Famous Novels [ARTICLE]

The Stories of Famous Novels

By Albert Payson Terhune

Copyright, I*l3. by The Press PuMtohlng Co. (The Now York Amnia* world.) THE MAGIC SKIN By Honors do Bahrne Raphael De Valentine, orphaned son #f an Impoverished French marqqlS, grew tired of the poverty and hopelessness of his life. He chanced upon a small sum of money and he calmly decided to use In drinking himself to death. Bat hls strength lasted longer than hls cash. And after a prolonged debauch he was still alive But penalises. * i He started toward to* Seine with a vague Idea of drowning himself. On toe way he strolled Into a shop where antiques were -sold. The shopkeeper, a wierd, hideous old man, fell Into talk with Raphael and learned of the suicide plan. The old fellow, on hearing the story, turned to the wall and took , down a iece of wild donkey’s skin abont the size of a fox's. This he presented to Raphael.,

It was—so an Arabic inscription on fts surface declared —a “Magic Skin,” with the following strange powers: jSvery wish of its owner would be at once granted. Bat, at the granting of each wish the Skin would become a little smaller. And, when the skin had shrunk to nothingness, its possessor must die. Raphael eagerly accepted the Skin —and its terrible conditions. It meant gierely that his contemplated suicide would be postponed, and tnat in the mean time every Joy and luxury of life Should be hls. Hls first wish—to test the Skin’s powers, which he half doubted —was for a gorgeous banquet. Even as he left the antiquary’s shop he ran Into a group of friends who Invited him to one. Next he wished for a huge fortnne. The following morning word cams that hls Inunensely rich uncle In India had died, leaving Raphael hls sole heir. After each wish he measured the Skin, and always it had grown smaller. Thus ever in the midst of hls good fortnne he saw death creeping closer and -closer to him.

To keep from making the Skin Shrink too rapidly Raphael hired a man to do his wishing for him. In other words, to order hls food, suggest his exercises, amusements and every feature of the day’s routine, so that Raphael would have nothing for which to wish. Nevertheless, since wishing Is. a fixed habit, the Skin continued to grow smaller and Raphael’s health began to break down. Dally he grew thinner and weaker, hls constant worry still further hastening the progress of his malady. He dared not express even the most trivial wish lest it cut still shorter hls dwindling span of life. Yet, despite his caution, he found himself unconsciously forming wishes. For instance g former college professor whom he had’known In boyhood asked Raphael’s help in getting a Job. Raphael thoughtlessly said: “I cant help you. But I heartily wish you may-win the position.” The Skin at once shrank. The professor got hls coveted Job. But at the cost of a slice of Raphaels life. At the opera one night Raphael Chanced to meet a former sweetheart, Pauline Qaudln, whom in early days he had been, to* poor to autrry* Aft fthe reunion the young people fell In love with each other once more. And Shortly afterward they were married. For a time they were very happy. But fthe cloud soon resettled over RaphaaL The Skin was now barely half m foot square. Raphael was provoked into a dneL Hls wish that hs might kill hls opponent was granted. But aft a visible loss to the Magic Skin’* else. Consumption was ravaging the yeugg man’s body. Again'll* tried to live without wishes. Bast it we* too late.; The Skin was now a mere fragment. There was space on tt* surface Iqr but one more wish. Death was very near. In despair Raphael told Pauline the whole horrible story of toe enchant meat. Frantic at what she h*4 fci* heard, toe luckless woman tired.to kill herself lest she outlive the husband eh* adored. Raphael discovered her mad intention just In time to save her from selfdestruction. Thinking she was dying he cried in agony: x ... -Oh, Pauline, X want to d» with yon.” The Skin vanished and he fell dead at hls wife’s feet. “Simple tuberculosis” was the yet " diet of to® family doctor. “All that talk of a *M aglc Skin' was Just a sick man’s hallucination.”

HONORS DB BALZAC, the colebrated French novelist, was bom it Tours, in 1799- Ha commenced his literary career by writing fbr the Joardrat ot hia werka that attracted the attention of the public was TUB PHYSIOLOGY OF MAHBfACBA a work full of originality nadMEWt observation. He then formed the bald conception of deplcttog toa J**"* history qt eeclety as It existea m am cwn day In Franca. Bndewed with a. rich imagtaation and a marvelous ssg*tols»Sld p 3 study during twenty years of Indefatigable industry, and gave tota^dW to which; he haa gtren tha ooPottfr* name of THB COMEDY OF HUMAN lot. Soma oftoanevelsam aduito able stadias o 1&tk-mM&<V*WS9§m I humanity. •> —u~

Annual Consumption of Wood by ths Wood Manufacturing Industrlaa StaMatlcs has# b#en compiled by the forest sendee which show for th# first time precisely how th# lamber produced In the country la utilised. About 45 billion feet of lumber of all kinds Is the annual production at the United States; of this near 25 billion lest, board measure, are further mean* factored, the <*he* pertie* remaining far rough construction lumber and for similar purposes. This Is exclusive of material which reaches Its final usa ha the form of fuel, railroad ties, posts, poles, pulp wood, cooperage, wood distillates, and the harks and extracts demanded by the tanning Industry. . The work of collecting and compiling the figures extended over a considerable period and was carried out gtete by state; but as one full year was made the besis of statistics in each state the total is a fair average of the nse of lumber In further manufacture In the whole country. Between 50 and 60 per Cent of the lumber produced la subject to further manufacture. In preparing tiie figures In this way, however. It should be remembered that considerable material reaches shops and factories In the form of logs, bolts and billets without having passed through sawmills, and whlld this material is includedJLn these • Statistics this fact should be remembered In comparing statistics with those of lumber production. Nearly or quite 100 different woods are used In this country under their own names, while an unknown number find their way to shops and factories without being Identified or separately listed, except under general names. In quantity the soft woods, the needleleaf or coniferous trees, are most lm portant, but there is a greater number of species among the hard woods, or broadleaf trees. Yellow pine comes first with more than eight billion feet, followed by white pine with three bil Uos, and Douglas fir with a little more than two billion. It should be under Stood, however, that the term “yellow pine” Includes several species, the three moat important of which are longleaf, shortleaf and loblolly, Oak, Including all species, has nearly two billion feet, and Is the most important hard wood. Maple comes next.

Dogwood comes about halfway down the list with more than seven million board feet, and of those species mentioned Turkish boxwood comes last, with less than thirty thousand feet, followed by many others too insignificant to list, but making a total of all kinds of more than a million feet Of the native species, laurel, holly and yuca fall very near the foot of the list in relative quantities used. Fifty-firs principal Industries use woods* raw material. Their relative Importance is hard to indicate, because quantity alone Is not ln all cases a criterion of value of an industry to the community in which it la situated, nor to the country as a whole. More than one-half of the total consumption consists of planing mtil -products, the largest kerns of which are flooring, siding, ceiling and- finishing. The next industry, in point of quantity of wood .used, is the manufacture of boxes and crates. Nearly four times as muebwoodtia demanded by makers pf boxes and crates as,by the builders of steam and electric cars, which come next, and fivefold the amount that goes Into furniture, which in turn leads vehicle manufacture. Vehicles demand surprisingly large supplies of wood, and much of it must be of a high class i> order to mast requirements for frames, gaars and bodies. Chairs, listed separately from furniture, come after novelties and supplies for dairymen, poultry keepers and apiarists, and just before handles and musical Instruments. About midway down the list come pumps and wood pipes. Among the products important enough to list separately are canes and umbrella sttefct brooms, firearms, artificial limbs .aud tobacco pipes. The apportionment of wood among the various industries grades from planing mill products, which trim most, down to aeroplanes and dry kttnai at i the betiem of the Hat-