Bloomington Telephone, Volume 7, Number 36, Bloomington, Monroe County, 19 January 1884 — Page 3

Bloomington Telephone BEOOMINGTON, INDIA1TA. WALTER 8. BRADFDTK,- - - PuBUsmot

"WiMXOf nd Mary college, of Yirginia, has closed its doors, having bat one student at the beginning of this School year. Next to Harvard, this -was file oldest, college in America, having been oraMed is 1693, and was the 'onlyone that received a royal charter. Among the most eminent inen educated in its haUs were Washington, Marshal Bandolph, Tyler, Breckinridge and Gen. Scott. Peck's Sum Gould has just finished a magnificent tomb for his last resting place, and now Vanderbilt proposes to pat up a similar institution to cost $50,000. It would takaa awful blast, on GabrieVs'bugle on resurrection day to crack each heavy masonry as these tombs will be. It won't do to pat on a combination lock as in the excitement I that day the combination might be lost. Here is a chance for the man with a first class time lock set to open the door at the first toot. Gen. Simon Cameron tells the following story: "When Mr. Polk was. in aueurated Mr. Buchanan camato me and said: 'Cameron, Mr. Polk bis tendered me the position of Secretary of State in his Cabinet; what would you do about it?' 'Why do you ask me? Ton have already made up your mind to accept it. 'Then who will succeed me as Senator? asked Mr, Buchanan' 1 think Simon Cameron will,' was my replv. Mr. Buchanan walked away, and was never aftier my friend, although we never quarreled. I have always thought he had a candidate of his own." E. P. Weston, the pedestrian, is in the habit, by his own account, of giving wholesome advice to the British aristocracy about their diet. He occasionally dines at the tables of the great, aud makes comments on the viands somewhat in this style : A lady who sat next to him, and to whom Jhe was a perfect stranger, expressed a desire for beef well done. "Excuse me Miss, but . you'll get no more nourishment, oat of j that than out of chips and shavings." Mr. Weston is not without hopes that be will eventually reform the dinners id the peerage, and persuade "our old nobility that half-cooked meat and a walk of 500 miles in 10 dayes make the summit of human bliss. i " D wight M. Sabin, Senator from Min--nesota, Chairman of the Bepublican National Committee, is, like his predecessor, a Connecticut man. Ten or twelve years ago he went from Connecticut to Minnesota a comparatively , poor young man. His mother had. a moderate living, but he had next to nothing, But he was bright, well educated and persevering. He was soon manufacturing agricultural implements in a snail way. He made some improvements in those he manufactured. He know manufacturing them on a large scale, and at the same time is interested in other manufacturing estab- . lishments and in railways. He is only about 40, yet he is rich. There is talk of a reduction in the fancy prices charged by first-class hotels in New York city. It is said that for the past twelve months the moneyed classes have either had less money to spend, or have felt less like spending -what they possess, than at any time janoe the panic of 187a The Tribune says: "Failures in many of the great trades are frequent, the prices of provisions have fallen and are falling, the lvalue of real estate, if not decreasing, is at any rate stationary, salaries are lower than they have been for years in every department, apartment houses and elaborate fiats are taking to themselves a majority of former resident hotel guests, and it seems as if a fall in hotel rates was only a question of time." . When Senator Beck visited his old borne in Scotland in 1875, .while strolling through the fields he met an old schoolmate. "Yon don't remember me, Donald?" he said to him. "No," said Donald, "I don't know your face. But Z eaught a six-poand salmon to-day in the frith, and whenever I have done that before something has happened. I don't know you by sight, but you're either John McPherson, who left us thirty years ago, or you're Jim Beck. Now, which is it?" "Sure enough," cried the senator,"its Jim Beck." "Weel, Jimmie, they tell me that the Americans are going , to elevate yon to the House of Peers. Is it so? Come along home then and well eat the fish. An American lord is good enough for a Scotch salmon." A mmBEB of members of the present House have received large fortunes with their wives. Among these areHitt, of Illinois; Abram S. Hewitt, of New York, whse wife was a daughter of the late Peter Cooper; Waiaworth, also of New-York, whose wife is a daughter of BiUw Tave, the great stock specula-

tor; Bayne, of Pennsylvania; Stewart of Vermont, and Frank Hiscook, of New York. Mr. Hiscock, however, has a fortune independent of hp wife Two of the Massachusetts- members have large fortunes. These are Morse, who has an immense clothing-house in Boston, and Russell, of Lawrence, who has large manufacturing interests both in Massachusetts and Vermont William Walter Phelps, of New Jersey,, is anptber ftvery, riclniember. He JB a comparatively young man, and inherited a portion of his property. Frank Hurd, of Ohio, inherited , a fortune from his father, and makes a large income be

sides from his law practice. Speaking of decollete dresses at the opera in New .York the correspondent of the Philadelphia Becord says : Most .of these bore necks were plump and pretty, but I did see some that were neither. There was one young woman who sat in a box near me, and who wore the lowest-neck dress in the house. In fact, it was no dress at all ; it was simply a lace shawl tied under her arms and around the waist, something in the style in which Italian peasant women wear their shawls, except that they-wear theirs over their shoulders, and this young woman's was under. Her favorite attitude was facing one in the box, and when I first fiaed her I thought that she had a ds$BS fastened in the back with large button's, but what I had taken for buttons were bones. She was a very sprightly woman, and had a great many men in her box to talk with her, and as she talked she would shrug her shoulders in the most approved fashion. I couldn't help blushing for those young men, for it seemed impossible for her to give another shrug without lifting .herself entirely out of her clothes. Chicaoo Tribune: One of the wires used to carry electricity for lighting Fifth avenue in New York broke the other day. The foot of a passing horse caught it; there was a purple flash and the horse fell dead on the pavement I Another horse stepped on it and paid ! the same tribute to it power.- Had a : human foot come in contact with it there would have been one life less in the crowded street. When the Windsor Theatre in New York was on fire the other night several of the electric wires fell on the root Three firemen who stepped on them were stunned and lay unconscious for half an hour. If the current had been running at its full strength three brave fellows would have been sent out of the world. In a nnmber of cases recently telegraph wires and those connecting the alarm boxes of the Fire and Police Departments have been set on fire by the powerful stream of electricity that has been poured into them from electric light wires that have accidentally dropped on them. More than one roof has been set on fire from the same- cause. Electrician Bogert, of the Western Union Telegraph, states that a wire charged with a high current necessary in electric lighting will set fire to any woodwork with which it comes in contact. Many fires of obscure origin he believes are without doubt attributable to this cause. The Assistant Engineer of the New York Fire Department declares that since their recent experience the firemen of the oity will deliberate long hereafter before, in order to get at a burning building, they will cut a wire that may the next minute strike them dead. If they have to choose between the loss of somebody else's property and the unnecessary sacrifice of their own lives they will be very likely to prefer the life to .the property. These facts put question of abolition of the wires and poles from the streets of our cities out of the region of controversy. The presence of the electric light wires threatens life; that of telegraph wires is a standing menace to property. They must all go. The suggestion of a prominent electrician that the large cities which are being undermind by i the excavation for gas pipes, steamheating pipes, and the experiments of i the electrical conduit companies should construct ample ducts through the streets which should accommodate all of these underground works is perhaps as good a plan as any. But whether this or some other is the plan that will be best, one thing is clear: the wires must go. Bough ea Poets. A literary young man went to the boarding house of the Widow Flapjack, on Austin avenue, and asked the landlady what a certain room would cost per month with board. "Ten dollars without board, and twenty with board." "Ah, well! I'll take the room, board and all," replied the literary gent: "and at night, madam, I'll read over my composition to you." " "In that case I'll not charge you any- j thing for board," said the Widow Flapjack. "Ah, you appreciate poetry." "That's not it. The satisfaction I'll have in knowing thai you can't spout poetry while you are chewing your grub is cheap at $10 a month." Texas, Siftings. The property of the Princeton Theological Seminary is estimated at $1,889,-696.

THE LIME-KILN CLUB.

Some PhilosopblcalnliwJJooH bjr Brother "Dar am seb'ral things dal-doan' look 'zactly right to me," said Brother Gardner, as he Imm his baiji ffcad with one hand and opened the, meeting with the other. F' W -f3 "It doan' look 'ssabtly right to see one man wuth ten nnllyon dollars an' anoder wuth only ten dents (applause by Samuel Shin), but yit if I wus de ten jnillvon dollar . man I wouldn't keer wheder it looked right or not." (Sudden end; 'to the applause.) "It doan' look 'zaotly right fur one man to'own a grea! foundry, while anoder man am obleeged. to work fur him fur $2 a day ("Hear ! hear !" from Judge Cadaver)rbut if Iwusde. ft. day man I wouldn't fro fnyselfMl6qjyi)f a job to spite de owner or to..pjkppe a demagogue." (The Judge sjabes.) "It doan' look 'ztfp'tly stht to see one man hold offib all de timfjf while anoder man has to shq$e a jak-plane fur a libin' (great rustle; in. Pickle Smith's corner), but he who shoves de jack-plane has de respeck of the community an' keeps outer jail.'' (Bustle died away.) "It doan'. look 'zactly right to see fo'ty lawyers rush to defend a criminal who has stolen money in his pockets, while de offender who am moneyless am left to 'dig-his way frew-a ten-foot wall wid an ole knife-blade (grins on a dozen faces) ; but if I was a lawyer I should aim my money any oder way except by sawin' wood.A ,De public doan' look fur any pEcltpiy. of conscience on dlS paijiplyejian' darfore suffer no disaprmtmenjl (Grins no longer observable.) ; v 2ff "It doan' look '-'saict .rigitefur one man to have a big bricV bUfff an anoder man rough. d$'!$&pty, but 'long aboutsl $bje in de shanty kin as . ?f . ipfg&iiSchuekle over de fackit he'Kaint riellp "It doan look 'zactly right to seeone man go pushin' an' swellin'an' ciwbb' everybodjr.else .off de sidewalk to lede f ah&c&itow dat he am a king bee, put such ,nien have to carry de anxiety -of bein' in debt to de tailor an' of dodgin' de grocer, an' of subscribin' $25 to build a church widout a hope of bein' able to pay 10 cents on de dollar "In fack, my friends, dar amOheaps an heaps o' things dat doan look 'zactly right to us at first glance, but when ye come to figger it up andivide an' subtract we've all got a heap to be thankful fur an' to encourage v,;-. to git up airly in de mawnin'. .A' map kin brace his legs an' lay back likej mule, an' kick away at de hull worldin' hate eberybody an' bo hated iu return, or he kin pick up sartin crumbs o' consolashun, crowd inter a seat in de back cand of de- wagin, an' take a heap o' comfort, knowin' dat somebody is wuss off dan himself. Let us accumulate to bizness. '"Did I understan' de cha'r to make use of de word accumulate?" inquired Elder Penstock, as he suddenl vrose up. "Youdid,sah!" . ... ."y "Yes ah jess so,: De cha r understands, I presume " "Brudder Penstock, it am in ray power to fine you $7,000 fur dwturbin' de meetin'." ff "Yes, sah, but." "An' I shall perceed to do so onless you sot down wid concurrent energy. If dis cha'r makes use of words an' phrases dat you can't understan', de proper way fur you am to wait till you git home an' den consult de geography or arithmetic fur explanashuns. Sot down, sah sot down befo' you am finanshully wrecked and mentally engendered !" The Elder turned the color of a gray goose as he stood for a moment with his mouth open, and then a sudden weakness struck his knees and he fell back on the bench in a way to jar everybody in the room. Free Press. A Simple Test. People who seek healthy sites for building themselves homes are often victims to their sense of sight or to that of others. In rriany oases the sense of smell is inferior, and the eyes are left to supply the deficiency. A building site may be charming to the vision, and made additionally attractive by being in or proximate to "a good neighborhood," as the phrase runs, ' and the family house purchased or builded may possess all the appliances of sanitation known to experts in building and plumbing, and yet be a mansion of death. Life slips away in a manner which surprises physicians and brings woe to the survivors. Not long since, in an upper district of New York city, the family of a well-known clergyman was almost decimated by diphtheria, and still, so far as external appearances were concerned, the house was dry and inviting, and, strangest af all, in a neighborhood well paved and densely populated by an excellent class of citizens. The premises underwent investigation by plumbers and were pronounced free from all taint of sewer gas. Yet the dread carnival of death carried dismay into the hearts of the heads of the family, and the house was abandoned. Similar instances have, and will always, abound until some simple test for the detection of malarial odors and influences are made. The simplest of all is to place pieces of fresh meat on the proposed site, properly protected from theft, and in twelve hours" time it can be decided whether or not the place is unhealthy or the reverse. If the fresh meat rapidly ptttrifies, avoid the locality as you would a plague spot. All architects should be students of hygiene as well as of the art of conceiving plans for houses in which human life is to be aved or sacred. Rochester Union and Advertiser. Brightening Dull Booms. If obliged to bear up under the inliction of cold, white walls in parlor or itting-room, it must be the effort of the qn,aewife to give color to the room in oine way, and to make the colorless ornaments of uso also. There is one v ay by which a corner may be brightued. Get a plain bracket of white 'ood, with a back; cover it entirely ith crimson plush. A marble bust or me will be very pretty on this. Oomtou Japanese paper fans may be coved with bright-colored satin, silk or lush. A round jar covered with crim

son plush, with two small pipes gilde and tied on with crimson ribbons, maker a bright ornament and bit of color, and may be utilized as a match' safe. Ovei the, mantel may be placed a piece of th heavy self-colored paper used for dec oration; it should be the length of tl:e mantel, and should be higher than an; vase or ornament you place upon that. Neio York Evening Post. Origin of Some Familiar Quotations. Thomas Norton is the author 5f that "cute" saving, "What will Mrs. Grundy say ?" wliile Washington Irvine gives us "The Mighty Dollar." "God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," not infrequently attributed to Scripture writers, is from Lawrence Sterne. Dean Swift says that "Bread is the staff of life," and "A little learning is a dangerous thing." The same sentiment is expressed in Pope's well-known line "Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." It is not at all unlikely that he derived it from Lord Bacon, who in his "Essay on Atheism" says: "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to Atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth man's mind about to religion." Pope tells us to "shoot folly as it flies ;"was it suggested by Dryden's "aad shoots their treason as they fly?" found in his Absalom. Lady Wortley Montague says : "I admired Mr. Pope's 'Essay on Criticism' at first very much, because I had not then read any of the ancient critics and did not know that it was all stolen.". This is, of course, not to be taken literally, but it is a wellknown, indisputable fact that poets ad not they only are imitators and borrowers, and, to put it mildly, unconscious plagiarists. Of course Byron was but jesting when he said to Moore.who, observing a book beside him full of paper marks, asked him what it was, replied : "Only a book from which I am trying to crib, as I do whenever I ean, and that's the way I got the character of an original poet." He wrote, however, in his journal, "As for originality all pretensions to it are ridiculous; there is nothing new under the sun." "Like angels' visits, few and far between," found in "Campbell's Pleasures of Hope, seems to be an echo of this from Blair's Grave. "Its visits are like those of angels short and far between." Cowper's oft-quoted line, "England with all thy faults Hove thee still," is almost verbatim this found in Churchill's Farewell. "Bo England what 8he will With all her fault a she is my country still." "Variety is the spice of life," and "Not much the worse for wear," Cowper. "Man proposes but God disposes," Thomas a Kempis. "Of two evils choose the least," and "The end must justify the means," are from Mathew Prior. Good Cheer. The Native Kaces in the Antipodes. The Tasmanian race is as extinct as the New Zealand moa, of which a leg, with some flesh on it, found fifty-fivfe j years ago, was the last trace. It is i very difficult to see even a half-caste aboriginal Australian. When, therefore, we find Europeans resolved to ! spread themselves and their institutions over the coasts and islands where primitive man lingers, it becomes a matter of some importance to consider whether that will prove an advantage to the human race. The Argus newspaper, of this city, recently sent an expedition to explore New Guinea and write about it. At the head of it was Capt. Artnit, a thoroughly trustworthy man, and with it was poor Paul Denton, a sort of geologist, of English birth,' but known in America, who has just died there of a fever. Well, these explorers have reported that the natives are kindly, mild, peaceful, and so honest that money or any other valuable article may be left loose and is always returned, if lost, and no reward expected. In some ancient sacred books of the East are found descriptions of a Golden Age, in which gold might be left on a highway without being stolen. Moslems claim that in some of their regions this is still the case, and it is related that on oneoceasion, when a. merchant was leaving a bag of pearls on the wayside and another asked if he was not afraid they would be stolen, he replied: "Why? There is not a Christian within 200 miles." Well, just such people have been found in New Guinea by these Melbourne journalists. Is there any reason why they should disappear from the face of the earth. If it is necessary, that it shall be so, it might be considered whether there shall not be certain coasts and islands reserved by consent of competing nations, where certain of these primitive people may be preserved as specimens, to be fed and protected, if only in the interest of art and anthropology, some Arcadian ; habitat for each, from which gin and dogma and kidnaping shall be sternly withheld. AT. D. Conioay's Melbourne Letter. ' Not for Christian Nabobs. The religion of the ancient Egyptians, says Swinton's Paper, had some features not to be found in several of the religions of these times. Hero, for example, is a passage from a prayer to be found in the ritual for the dead : "I know you, Lord of truth and justice; I have brought you the truth, I have committed no fraud against men, I have not tormented the widow. I have not lied in the tribunal, I have not done any prohibited thing, I have not commanded my workman to do more than he could do, I have not made fraudulent gains, I have not altered the grain measure, or falsified the equilibrium of the balance, I have not made others weep, I am pure." Another man thus cries : "I have given bread to him who was hungry, water to the thirsty, garments to the naked, and a home to the forsaken one." Still another cries : "I have protected the poor against the powerful, I have given hospitality to every one, I have been benevolent and devotit, I have cherished my friends, and my hand has been open to him who had nothing. I have loved truth and hated a lie." We all have sufficient strength to Rupport the misfortunes of others. La Rochefoucauld.

Demand on Mr. Wfaittler It is not only in reading the ambitious efforts of aspirants that demands are mado upon Mr. Whittier; innumerable request of other natures crowd in upon him, such, for example, as that of the clergyman who wished, his signature to a poem that he had himself composed, possibly less from vanity than to help a good cause by the publicity of an established name: "How would that accord with thy preaching?" asked Mr. Whittier. That his co-operation should constantly bo sought in charities, and that beggars should clamor at his hels for all sums from a pittance to a competency, is a matter of course; and owing to his belief in the duty of a citizen, he has been as eagerly beset by claimants for publio office. We recall in this connection a striking example qt his kindness and large minded liberality. An ardent and unflinching peace "Democrat, after the war, learned that the President would nominate him for an important position if he wished it; he decided not to let his name be used, but in speaking of the subject to Mr. Summer, the latter said, "A miracle occured in this affair. I received a telegram from Mr. Whittier" "That was a miracle," said the gentleman, thinking only of the wonder of the poet's doing so practical and business like a thing as to use the telegraph. "The miraculous tiling about it," said Mr. bummer, "is that Whittier urges that if your name is sent in you should be confirmed." "I had rather have the telegram than the position," was the replv. Mr. Whittiec had probably felt in the matter that the devotion of the person concerned to the ideal principles of democracy was something beyond the province of partisanship, and in the pure service of freedom. People come to him, also, in their grief and trouble, aud to more than one tortured soul has he given peace. The story is told of a friend of his early days, in the time when religion held men by crueler bonds than now, who was pursued by the idea of the sin against the Holy Ghost, and felt himself doomed to damnation. "And so thee really thinks thee will go to hell?" said Mr. Whittier, after listening to the tale of torment. "Oh, I am sure of it," cried the sufferer. "Does thee hate thy fellow-men V asked Mr. Whittier. "No, no," said his unhappy friend. "Don't thee hate God, tiien?" came the next question. "I love Him,? was the answer, "whatever happens to me." "Don't thee hate God, who would send thee to hell, and let others, who thee knows have led worse lives, go to heaven ?" "No. I am glad of every one that is saved, even if I am to be a castaway." "Now what does thee think the devil will do with the? How can he use the one who loves the God that condemns him to torments, one who loves his fellow men, and would keep ! them out of the' clutches of Satan how j can the devil employ thee or endure ! thee?" J For the first time in months the j wretched man laughed with his old heartiness, and from that moment began to shake off his morbid terrors. Haii'iet Prescott Spofford in Harper's Magazine. The King of Counterfeiters. Tom Ballard is beyond question the king of all counterfeiters. When the Canadian bankers were shown the Botes which he had engraved for their banks they fairly trembled. There is no known means of detecting these counterfeits. They were perfect. Tom was a great chemist, as well as being one of the most skillful engravers who ever lived. Besides this, he was the instigator of each new action, the designer and executor of each fresh counterfeit, and the means of producing it. Most of these engravers are useless in the other branches of the trade, but Tom was the expert leader in all things with his gang. He succeeded in making a counterfeit fibre paper (the machinery for and the secret of manufacturing which cost the Government $200,000) which experts declare defies detection. When Tom was captured he offered to disclose to the United States Government the secret of making a paper whieh it would be impossible for any one to counterfeit if it would repeal his sentence. He is a pleasant, gentlemanly, kind, polite and attractive man to meet, but is miserably morbid at times. Twice since his imprisonment he has attempted suicide. Onee, shortly after his incarceration, he disemboweled himself with some blunt-pointed weapon, but the doctor brought him out of it all right. Five years later, while working at the shoemaker's trade in prison, he cut his throat from ear to ear with a small knife. Both these attempts at self-destruction were caused by morbid feelings. After the second attempt, a beautiful little bas-relief of his home, with its flowers about, its hanging vines, its green trees, and his wife and family walking down the pathway to meet him, was found on the wall of his cell. He had cut it out with a sharp stik or some other equally primitive tool. He is an exceptionally talented man in a dozen different ways. He is very popular among the prison officials on aceount of his gentlemanly and considerate action and speech. These officials llare not show Tom any partiality, but they, together with a number of Now York bankers aud other influential people are doing all they can to get his sentence commuted. Chicago News.

Berlin's Rogues' Gallery. The Berlin police authorities possess an almost complete collection of photographs of living German murderers, forgers, thieves, bigamists and criminals generally, and have found it so useful that they have now decided to make a collection of photographs of thsconndrels of other countries. Berlin Letter. A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday. Pope.

SUGGESTIONS OF VALUE. To wash castor bottles, put them one-third full of rice and fill up with water; shake thoroughly. , To cube a bruise or a sprain, bathe in cold water, and then apply a decoction of wormwood and vinegar. To clean straw matting, boil three quarts of brand in one gallon of water and wash the matting with the water, drying it well. To remove fruit stains from linen dip in sour buttermilk and dry in the sun; wash in cold water and dry two or three time a day. Prevent dust rising from the floor by washing it with water in every pail full of which is poured a teacupfolof common molasses. Preserve white satin dresses through the winter by.. wrapping them in blue paper, with brown paper outside, sow together at the edges. To keep knives and forks in good1 condition when not in use, dust the blades and prongs with finely powdered quicklime aad keep them wrapped in flannel. Bemember that it is better to set out ten trees with all the necessary care to make them Jive and flourish, than to set out 100 trees and have all of them die fiom carelessness. To starch muslins and piques, mel three or four inches of spermaceti candle into a good-sized panful of starch. Starch the articles thoroughly, and while wet fold between some sheeting or table linen, and pass through a wringer. To take out dents or bruises in furniture, wet the part with warm water; double a piece of brown paper five or six times, soak it, and lay it on the place; apply on that a hot flat-iron until the moisture is evaporated; If the dent is not gone repeat the process. After two or three applications the dent will be raised level with the . surface. To remove a ring from a swollen finger, begin at the extremity of the finger and wind a thread evenly around it, bringing each coil close to the preceding, but not overlapping in any s place,, until the ring be reached. Pass the thread ur der the ring with the aid of a needle, straight or better curved, and carefully unwind the thread from the finger. The ring follows each coil as it is successively unrolled, and by almost imperceptible degrees is brought over the knuckle and removed. From the Grange Visitor: Homemade peppermint drops are a harmless delight to children. With- a little direction they can make them: Take, two cups of augar and half a cup of water; let this boil for five minutes; take from the fire, flavor with the essence of peppermint; the quantity must depend upon the strength of the essence; a few drops are usually sufficient. Stir with a stiff silver spoon until it is quite thick, then lay a buttered paper on a platter, and drop the mixture on it. A little practice will enable one to make them respectable in appearance. Why Sealskins Are So High. It is often wondered why the price of ' sealskin goods should remain so high when the Arctic abounds with the animals from which the fur is taken and the limit allowed by the existing laws, as they are construed by seal-catchers, is comparatively boundless. The statement of the great cost of coloring and preparing the fur is not credited by many, and it does look rather strange that this should be the case. L. Gerstle, president of the Alaska Commercial Company, dropped a hint or two to a reporter on this subject. In speaking of the total catch for the season, whioh Mr. Gerstle says has been incorrectly reported, it was remarked that the market at the opening of the season of 1883. showed such an overstocked condition that it was thought necessary, in order to work off the remaining furs, as well as future catches, to take some steps to keep the demand . and supply steady and make the trans-'-

"But," asked the reporter, "if tig supply is so great as it is reported, iwr could not the trade be conducted on cheaper and more extensive scale?" The round, hearty countenance of the seal merchant was lighted up by a broad smile, and with a significant look in his eye, he said: "The idea is to have the popularity of the sealskin still retained by the fashionable world." "And you intend to do this by keeping up values?" ' "Exactly ; that's the only way and it is in accordance with strict commercial principles. That is not all. however. If the sealskin should become cheap and common, other furs which are harder to procure would then be in demand." San Francisco Chronicle. Wanted to Know About Switches. A white-haired, shrill-voiced boy, about 8 years old, rode down town with his parents on the Sixth avenue elevated road. He gazed curiously at two or three up trains which whizzed by the one he Avas in, and in a voice that sent a thrill through every person in the car, piped out: "Pa, how do these cars turn around ?" "They don't turn around, my son ; when they reach the eud of the line they are switched from one track to the other," answered the father sedately." "Who switches 'em?" asked the boy eagerly. 'Why. the engine, to bo sure." "The Indian!" repeated the questioner. "He must be a pretty big In dian, isn't he, pa?" "Yes, yes ;don't talk so loud," said the father, curtly. "Ma," queried the boy, after a moment's pause, "does he switch 'em the same as vou and pa switches me when I don't do right?". The maternal relative reached for the boy, wiped his nose, pulled his cloth cap down over his eyes, and told him to keep quiet.- "New' York Times. ' w i-i-fc. ... ' YocanFUi. rashness skips like a hare over the meshes of good coiuisol - Shakspeare.