OLD AND IN
t ! tit h Klilmnnv nnmpr in' hpnr the
"The world Is weary of her she in old, and In the way.
And it vacant chair were bettor a solitary place
Than the palsied, wrinkled hand of her, and the tear-wet furrowed face:
I nursed 'em at my bosom or Life's sun went down the Went;
I sans Iove'a sweetest songs to them nnd rooked their hearts to rest;
And now, that the sad time hastens the closing of Life day
I am only a useless womnn I am old nnd In the wayl
Thank God, It will soon bo over Life's sun Is sinking fast;
My feet are In the valley nnd I see my home nt Inst!
And I say, while tho angels bookon, "Poor, and old, nnd gray,
There Is room for me lu heaven, where I'll not be In the way!"
Atlanta Constitution.
A Club Woman's Essay
WIIKN the rhalrmnn of the Pro
Krnm C'Oiumltleo of our club
Invited me to write a paper
for one of the llternry afternoons it
was ft very easy mntter to sny "Yes."
The subject "The Rise and Pall of
Superstition" Interested me, and it
Was a pleasure to treat it from my
own iolnt of view. Hut when I re
ceived the club Iwok for tlio new year
and saw the subject for the 13th of
November with my owu name In fat
blnek letters ns the essayist, when I
realized that I was to rend the produc
tion not only before the members of
the club, but In the presence of visit
ors from various parts of the world,
my very soul tegan to quake with fenr
and bitterly did I repent me of my
easy yielding to persuuslon. I had ap
peared before the public many times
In print, but never In person where I
was the chief attraction, excepting
upon two occasions, one of them wbenyl
I read a sentimental commencement
address In a quavering voice nnd the
other when I walked up the nlsle to
the tune of a certain inarch from Loh
engrin. So far I tiad made but one acquaint
ance in the fashionable npnrtment
building which was our home nt the
time of which I write. But Mrs. Her
bert was worth a dozen ordlnnry
DEB PASBIOX WAS THE THEATKK.
friends, for to me there could not be a
more fascinating nersonalitv. She was
jiioi ueuuurui, sue was not even pretty,
but she was one of those mercurial bo
lngs whose very changefulness Is more
attractive than mere perfection of fen
ture. She had a way of relating the
most trivial incident that compelled at
tention, her manner of relating anec
dotes was inimitable and about her
there was ver a quality of efferves
cence and epnrklo rarely found even
In the women of tho Latin race. She
bad been a widow for half a dozen
years, she told me, and although rich
In the world's goods she cared nothing
for society and never had belonged
to a woman's club. Most of us have
a favorite pnstlme, however, and Mrs,
Herbert's ruling pnsslon was the thea-
ter. She saw every reasonably good
troupe that came to Chicago, attend
xng the pJay about four evenings a
:week, upon which occasions she usual
ly was attended by Jier brother, a
quiet, pale young man with a wooden
expression. She had told me but little
of her past, and I decided in my own
wind thnt she had. been brought up in
a quiet country town whore the de
lights of the theater were unknown,
and that she was now bent upon gratl
fylng an Inordinate tasto for the
drama.
Mrs. Herbert came to my rooms one
evening just as I hod finished writing
my club paper, which at her request
I read to her. - Seated on a low In
dian stool, with her soft draperies bll
lowing about tier, and with her si en
fler hands clasped about her knees, she
listened intently, her earnest eyes fixed
upon my face. But when I had fin
ished I notlqed that her straight brows
avere puckered luto a llght frown.
"It is very interesting," the said,
slowly, "but, my dear woman, you
would ruin the Hunt literary nrodu
tlon ever born in mortal bruin by the
rat-tat-tat way in which you read It.
Now, those anecdotes would be thrill
ing, positively thrilling, if properly re
la ted, but under your treatment they
become commonplace."
"I shall read it in a laige hall, and I
hall raise my voice, of course; it will
ound much better there than here," I
replied, somewhat nettled by her caus
tic criticism.
"Pardon ine," she returned, "It will
oupd much worse lu a lurgo room
than in this one. You have- a way
Of dropping your voice at tho end of
every sentence which would be abso
lutely maddening to an audlenco nnx
lous to hear you. You must get rid of
that fault, and pray raise your eyes
from your notes wbeu you are telling
those stories." ..
'Oh, I couldn't!" I exclaimed, terrl
fled at the very thought "I should be
lire to catch the glance of some one
X know which would confuse me, and
when I returned to my manuscript
again I should lose my place and suf
fer an agony of embarrassment."
She shrugged her shoulders slightly
Then rood it to me again and I will
coach you a bit"
. I obeyed while she moved restlessly
bout the room, occasionally interrupt
ing me with such remarks as: "Now
that little incident really was pathetic,
but you tell it with no mora feeling
than a phonograph." or "if you don't
reuse your voice there, the point you
re trying to maka will be entirely
lost," When I had finished she pj-o-
THE WAY.
voting folks SftT!
mihMnHHinMMtnHtftiit
nnunced it much better, but frankly
milled that there was still much to bo
desired.
Events seldom slip Into expected
grooves, and upon the morning of the
13th of November I awoke with a pain
In the back of the bond which clutched
me like an iron hnnd. It was my old
enemy which two or three times n year
comes to lilol a day from my calendar.
The present attack was so ncnte that
my husbnnd, who wns planning n
week's absence from the city, wished
to postpone his departure, a sugges
tion to which I would not listen. But
tlje little hn m mors bentlng In my brnln
could not drive out the recollection
that nn nudlencc would ossemblo this
afternoon to lienr me, and that a sub
stitute must be found. "Please take
my paper to the club rooms," I snld.
"Lenve It in tho hands of tho custo
dian nnd explain the situation. Then
ask Mrs. Herbert If she will send me
the headache cure she brought from
India. Set tho catch of the door no
thut sho may enter." When the good
man returned from breakfast in the
cafe I heard blm moving about in the
adjoining room as he packed his valise,
after which he took his departure, safe
ly closing tho door behind him.
Shortly afterward Mrs. Herbert
came In with the desired medicine.
"This in the day I was to have read
my paper," I murmured as she poured
a small quantity of amber liquid into
a tiny glass she had brought with
her.
"Too bad!" she replied. "What will
they do about It?"
"I sent it down to the club. Some
one will read It; I hope it will be well
read, for I should hate to have it fall
flat"
My friend offered mo the little glass,
saying, "This will make you sleep for
three or four hours, and It will make
you feel like a different woman."
She took a chair by the bed where
she seemed to fade slowly away like a
phantom which reluctantly returns to
the nether world.
When I awoke the clock was strik
ing 0 and my headache bad entire dis
appeared. A mold entered bearing an
appetizing dinner ordered for me by
Mrs. Herbert On tho tray wub a note
stating that my friend had been called
to New York by a telegram and bid
ding me good-by for a week.
The evening papers gave brief no
tices of the club mooting, and I search
ed those of tho following morning to
And who had read my essay. The no
tices of tho paper on "The KIso and
Fall of Superstition" were full and
most gratifying, but none mentioned
the fact that the writer was unnblo
to rend it. My astonishment may be
Imagined when on the inside sheet of
a sensational Journal I found a sketchy
portrait of myself. The likeness was
not striking, but the dress and the hat
were my own. The unusual embroid
ery pattern on the corsage was faintly
but unmistakably indicated, and the
shape of the hat was the same as that
"ana.
HEDBKHT CAME J 1ST
FINISHED."
AS I 11 AD
which now reposed In the bandbox on
my top shelf. My usual style of head
gear was a small bouuet but listening
to advice from Mrs. Herbert I had
for this occasion purJtased a hat with
a brim and drooping' plumes. So far
I had not worn either of these nrtl
cles, yet hero they were reprodutvd in
the portrait! I hurried downstairs and
telephoned to the chairman of the pro-
prnm committee. "Oh, you dear
thing!" she exclaimed. "I was so sorry
you were obliged to run away yester
day before we hud un opportunity to
congratulate you upon your churmlng
paper."
"Run away! I?" I gasped.
"Of course your explanation was
sufficient, but how horrid of your
friend to choose just that day to leave
for Europe! I nm sorry you couV not
have heard the tine things thai were
suld of you."
The president nnd several members
of tho club called me up to congratu
late me, and not one expressed u re
gret that I was not prevent, though
u 11 wero sorry that I bud not remained
for tho usual reception and the "so
cial cup of tea." I could arrive nt but
one conclusion. Leagued together they
were playing a practical Joke niton
me which I deemed lu the circum
stances very 1m 1 taste, to sny the
least. I thou called up a new mem
ber, who was a comparative stronger
to me, and who was not likely to he
in the plot "Did you attend the club
meetlug yesterday?" I asked.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Never mind Just now. The essay
ist was very 111 yesterday. Will yon
mi im 1 " nm "I i B.tvwy'i,ii'1'
kindly tell me who rend the paper for
her 7"
"III! Then she was the liveliest In
valid I ever saw. for she was there
and rend It herself."
"Indeed you are mistaken."
"Indeed I nm not! I know her very
well by sight; moreover the president
Introduced her by name."
"Very well, Good -by." Kven she
Is mixed up In this silly business, I
thought, with disgust, ns I hung up
the receiver.
The afternoon mall brought a letter
from my husbnnd. which made me
wonder If I were going mnd. "You
know It by this time of course," he
wrote, "and I know thnt you have a
choice rod In pickle for me. You see.
I left In such a hurry. I'sunlly, you
know, I am not a bad fellow at re
membering things, but I laid your es
say on the hall table and never
thought of it ngnln until five minutes
ngo."
Ills letter dropped from my hand as
I rushed to the hall. There on the
table lay my manuscript, where he
hnd left It. Then It had not been rend
nt the club, which wns the cause of
nil this Joking. But the dnlly papers
declared that It had been read, and
more than one of them had given a
synopsis of It. Whnt wns the expla
nation of this mystery? Could It be
that my othersclf, the fetich and ghost
of me, had read the paper nnd, Judg
ing from the commendatory remarks
of my friends, had acquitted itself
better than my corporeal self could
have done? An examination of the
gown, however, showed" a tiny rent
In tho lower ruffle, a discovery which
brought with it a saner If no less
startling a solution of the puzzle. A
spiritual body could not wear a ma
terial gown and a material hat, that
was certain. Under the Influence ot
the Indian drug I had gone to the
club and had performed my expected
duty. For some inscrutable reason I
had made up a story of departing
friends and had taken my leave at an
early hour. How lucky it was that I
had donned a correct costume. But
hnd it been altogether correct? A
dreadful' suspicion took possession of
me that I must have worn a certain
pair of scarlet wool slippers with gay-
ly flaunting bows which might have
been In evidence as I walked across
the stage. Without loss of time I
went to see a dear friend who had
never told me anything but the truth.
"I waa so proud of you yesterday,"
she said coming to meet me with n
beaming smile. "I had no idea that
you could be so entrancing."
"Between ourselves," said I, "I had
taken a drug for my headache ond I
am nfrald It made me a trifle, Just a
trifle you know, delirious. Did I did
I oct with perfect propriety?"
"Most certainly. I should advise
vnn in fnkffc flint flrnir Pvivnr tlma
J - n " x ' J v.n.3 JVUyj
read a paper. W hy the way you tobl
the story or the Hindoo priest and his
disembodied spirit made the verytialr
stand up on our heads and the story
of the gamekeeper's wife and the
haunted-house with your pit mi cry of
the cockney dialect was simply killing.
Wnsn t it gratifying to iind your audi
ence so appreciative?
"Very gratifying,"' 1 murmured,
wishing that I had known something
about it at the time. "But did I look
all right My shoes for Instance
"I didn't notice your shoes. The only
criticism could make wus regarding
your veil, lou clnlm that they are in
jurious to tho sight and I never have
seen you wear one. I was surprised
that you wore one yesterduy when you
vend In public." I, too, was surprised.
I did not own a veil. I must have
bought one, or, not being responsible
for my acts, 1 may have stolen It. The
thought was anything but pleasant.
I began to cherish a sentiment of
bitter resentment against Mrs. Her
bert. She must have known the ef
fects of the wonderful Indian drug
which she had so often urged me to
bike. Why did she not tell me what it
would do, why did she not give me
the option of remaining In pnln or of
wandering forth in a state of resem
bllng somnambulism? Thus I ex
pressed myself to her In a long letter
relating the events of that wonderful
day. I will quote from her reply;
"I have been too busy to write soon
er, but I supposed you would know
that It was I who read your essay. I
rarely mention the fact that I once
studied for the stage, for it 1b a sore
subject with me. I had obtained nn
engagement where my rendering of
even the insignificant part assigned
me as a beginner was warmly praised
by the critics, when my uncle .lied,
leaving a will in which he made me
his heir upon condition that I should
give up the stago forever. Never was
fortune so reluctantly accepted, and
you must have noticed thut 'the play's
the thing' with me. That morning
when I saw your manuscript lying for
gotten on tho hall table I was seized
with a longing to impersonate you,
and to render that excellent produc
tion as It ought to be given. I have a
genius for make-up, but In this case
it was not so groat a task ns you may
suppose. We are of iilmut the same
height and figure. Your eyebrows are
darker and more arched, your eyes are
darker and your nose shorter, ditli-
euitn
o not hard to surmount, with a
becoming veil to help the disguise,
nnd of course It was easy enougti to
reproduce your perfectly white pom
padour. I Imrrowed your hat and
gown because my own things nre not
like you, and also wore the quaint
jeweled chain so often seen about
your nock. I Imitated your gait lu
walking, and 1 flatter myself that my
Introductory explanntlou was accom
panied by your voice and manner t
the life. I let my voice drop at the
end or the sentences as you do, and
one or two calls of 'louder, ple-ise!"
showed mo what you would have been
obliged to contend with had you boeii
lu my place. It was not necessary to
retain your voice when I began to
read, and I will venture to say that
for once ut least your club listened en
thralled. I had arrived late, and lert
as soon as I had finished, so I man
aged to speak at close range to no one.
You cannot imaglue how muih I en
joyed thnt little three-quarters of an
hour when f was once more an ac
tress; remember this and forgive int
for having taken your place.' .
The man of the house declares that
there is not a word of truth in Mrs.
Herbert's statement. Bays he: "She
was frightened tit the harm she might
have done In giving you the modlclne,
and she wanted to smo ith your ruffle
fenthers. She couldn't have fooled all
of those club women every moment of
the time. No, you were there yourself.
land very much under the influence of
the Indian drug."
It may be that he Is light, but 1
have not yet solved the riddle to my
own satisfaction. Chicago Record
Herald. SY8TEM HAS BAD FEATURES.
Aririimtnta In Favor of taltitutln
Pont Checks for Money Order.
An object lesson showing the effects
nnd expenslveness of the postal money
order system was given a few days
ago to several members of the House
Postofllce Committee by Captain Henry
A. Castle, auditor for the Postofllce
Department
Mr. Cnstle first conducted his visit
ors to the "auditor's library," ns It Is
called. Here are 7,000 loose-leaved
binders, each making a volume larger
than the largest counting-house ledger
and weighing 15 pounds. These 7,000
binders are filled annually with post
masters' statements of money orders
Issued and paid, which are sent to the
auditor's office with tho 4(1,000,000
money orders Issued anunlly as vouch
ers. The party next visited the "machine
room," where scores of the high-salaried
clerks were operating adding ma
chines which verified the additions ot
the money order statements sent In
by postmasters. More than 150,000 or
dors are dally handled In this room.
The visitors then went to the "round
table" room, where other clerks were
distributing an average of 150,000
money orders dally. The orders are
thence taken (and the party followed
them) to forty desks where nlmble
ilngered operators, mostly young wom
en, separate them by towns in each
State, arranged alphabetically.
The money order vouchers are now
ready to be checked with the accounts
of tho issuing postmaster ond 33 ex-
pert clerks were found doing thls
From the checkers the money orders
are tied In bundles, properly labeled
and filed in the archives of the audi
tor's office for seven years, as required
by law. The postmasters'statements,
constituting the account are filed in
the loose-leaf binders aa described and
are ready for entryin the ledgers of
the bureau where the accounts are
kept. The 7,000voIumes of the state
ments are preserved also for n term
of seven yeoTs.v
The effort on the visiting Congress
men war startling. They learned also
thnt the majority of money orders are
for less than $2.50 each. For their is
sue third and fourth class Dostmnsters
get the entire fee of three cents. First
K n .1 .t . . ,
nnu mxuuu iinsa jHJHiuiHHiers employ
high-salaried clerks for this work nnd
the cost to the service is still grenter.
The paying of the orders, the book
keeping and tho transmitting of them
to Washington entail a heavy outlay
for salaries, without a penny of com
pensating revenue; so that, in addi
tion to the loss of time in going to tho
postofllce, applying for money orders
and awaiting their issue. Is this addi
tional pecuniary loss to the govern
ment. When the tour of the office had been
ended the visitors asserted thnt Con
gress should, without delny, adopt
some plan whereby this expensive and
burdensome work could be reduced or
ut least its enormous growth discour
aged. The remedy for much of this evil,
officials sny,. lies in the adoption of the
post check plan, as post check curren
cy would require no auditing. Wash
ington Star.
BANKS WAS SURPRISED TWICE.
Ran Off to a Ball, Thouaht lie Saw Hla
Wife, but It Was Her Maid.
When Banks, who has been married
only a few months, went home and
told his wife he had accepted an in
vitation to a bachelor dinner he ex
pected her to object. Instead she
urged him to go.
The dinner over, one of the party
remembered thnt the Arion ball was
! being given nnd proposed that they
all go. The proposition was accepted,
but not without hesitation on the part
of Banks. Once at the ball, however,
Banks became as gay as the gayest
His scruples were forgotteu and he
enjoyed himself to the limit until he
saw in the gay crowd a woman who
seemed strangely familiar. She was
masked, but she wore the costuuie his
wife lntely hnd purchnsed for an np
proachlug private masquerade ball. He
could swear to the costume.
It suddenly dawned ou Banks that
this really was his wife, who, he had
supposed, was home asleep. The wo
man was leaning on the arm of n
tall stranger, who appeared to be de
voted to her.
To make certain of his suspicions
Banks passed the domino and placed
himself so that the couple must pass
close to him. On they came, arm In
arm, chatting, but when the woman
caught sight of Bunks she started like
u guilty thing and dropping the man's
n mi fled.
Banks hurried after her, and when
ho finally cornered her she cowered
down ou a seat and, unable to utter a
word, extenuod her hand us If Itogglng
for mercy.
"Forgive me," she pleaded, "and I
promise you "
Before she had completed the sen
tence Banks tore the mask off her face.
Thou lie gasped. The woman was his
wife's maid. She had purloined the
costume of her mistress and wore it
to the ball.
Banks has not told his wife, be
cause she might inquire why he wns
at the ball. New York Press.
First Vessel Through 8uez.
Captain Charles P. Jayne, now resid
ing lu Boston, had the honor of com
manding the first vessel that passed
through the Sues canal. The craft was
known as the Monlng, and, although
of American construction, was sailed
under the British flag.
Fertiliser for Oats.
One hundred and sixty pounds an
acre of nitrate of soda and muriate of
potash, equal parts, materially increas
es the yield of oats In some Kentucky
test
SANTO DOMINQO.
Little Ialand'a Complication with ttie
United Htatm.
The action of the Insurgents of San
to liomlngo In dolllierately firing on
the American flag, killing 11. C. Johns
ton, a naval engineer, wounding
Charles Doctor, a bugler, nnd other
wise committing warlike nets agnlnst
the government of the United States
has succeeded In raising an Interesting
international complication. It will be
remembered by those who have kept
track of the affair thnt Johnston was
shot while on a launch on Its way
from the shore to the Tutted States
auxiliary cruiser Yankee. The small
American flag In the stern of the loat
wos riddled, Iioctor was wounded In
a subsequent engagement of the Co
lumbia with some of the insurgent
forces. Almut a week after the killing
of Johnston, It will also be recoiled, a
merchant steamer named the New
York dischargedher cargo at the port
of Santa Dowfngo under what was
thought to be an agreement of the con
tending forces. She was fired on by
the Insurgents, however, and the Unit
ed States cruiser Newark retaliated by
sheJMng the town of Pajarlto, In which
the rebels were encamped, afterward
branding a force of marines nnd driving
out the insurgent troops. All of this
naturally led to further complications.
Though the rebel forces have been
very thoroughly beaten In subsequent
engagements with the troops of Presi
dent Morales, the island Is yet In a
very unsettled condition, and there Is
1 considerable party, In which the com
mercial element predominates, that Is
favorable to annexation to the United
GENERAL VIEW OF THE
f?'vH, or at least to a protectorate by
the American government. The an
nexation Idea was one of the cherished
dreams of President Grant Indeed, it
even antedates Grant for Secretary
Seward about the time of the Alaska
purchase elaborated a plan looking to
American possession of Santo Domin
go. It Is probable that the Idea did not
originate In the United States, how
ever, but In the Island Itself, for the
merchant clnsses there have always
fuvored an American protectorate.
It was doubtless due to this influ
ence that President Baez of the Do
minican Republic sent a formal propo
sition to President Grant looking to
the annexation of Santo Domingo to
the United States. It was in July,
1860, that Grant received the proposal,
and he lost no time In sending a spe
clul commissioner to the Island to look
Into conditions and report After some
further negotiations the treaty of an
nexation was prepared, the question
was submitted to the voters of Santo
Domingo, who gave it almost unani
mous approval at a special election
held for the purpose, and Grunt sub
mitted the treaty to the United, States
Senate for ratification. Charles Sum
ner, chairman of the foreign affairs
committee, bitterly opposed the ratifi
cation of the treaty, and succeeded In
securing sufficient supinirt to defeat
the treuty. The annexation talk died
down and has not been renewed until
recent years, although the commercial
party In the island still continued to
favor the plan.
Meanwhile affairs in the little repub
lic were in n troubled condition. There
were frequent uprisings, nud presi
dents came in rapid succession until in
18SU General Ulysses Heureux was
elected, nnd the constitution was so al
tered that he could succeed himself.
This he did witli somewhat monoton
ous regularity, so contriving mutters
that it wus Impossible to oust him.
Heureux wns a young man when he
went into office and an ambitious one.
lie became practical dictator of the
country, banishing or executing those
who opposed him. In this manner ho
continued lu power until iS'Xt, when
he was assassinated.
Shortly after the violent closo of
the Heureux regime came the revolu
tion thnt resulted In muklng General
Jimlnez president. In l'.xrj occurred
another revolution, which was success
ful lu forcing Jimlnez to resign, on
which the vice president, Yusqucx,
was iustalled, to be succeeded In l!si
by General Morales, against whom the
present revolution is directed. In San
to Domingo the president is elected for
four years, unless sooner "revoluted"
out of office.
The people are of mixed Spanish,
negro and Indian blood. . The govern
ment la modeled on that of the Ameri
can republic and so far as form is con
cerned is said to be quite ideal
ISTBANCK TO II A R HOB OF FA DO-
Ml NOP y6TX.
Santo Domingo Is one of the most
beautiful of' the West India islands
It lies between Cuba and Forto Rico.
In Snmnna Bay It possesses one of the
finest natural harbors In the world. It
wns this port which President Grant
wns Especially anxious to secure as a
coaling station. The oldest settlement
made In the new world was on this
Island, Columbus himself having
founded It. Here the great discoverer
was burled nnd here for a number of
years wns the enpitnl of the Spanish
possessions to the new world.
At the end of the eighteenth century
Spain ceded the eastern half of the
Island to France, which held tho west
ern half. Soon after the entire coun
try under Tonssaint L'Ouverture gain
ed Its Independence. In 1844 came the
rebellion of the eastern portion of the
Island, resulting In the formntlon of
the present Dominican Republic.
FAMOUS BLAZES IN LONDON.
TSrttUh Ilonaea of Parliament Were
Horned on Oct. 10, 1834.
Oct. 1U Is a day to be associated with
Ore In the minds of Londoners, for on
that date, In 1834, tho houses of parlia
ment wore burned down, and on the
same day, In 1733, Berkeley house was
Jost6yed by fire, says the London
Chtonlcle. Berkeley house stood on
rne site of the present Devonshire
bouse and Evelyn does not seem to
have thought much of It. "The stair
case Is of cedar," he writes. "The fur
niture is princely; the kitchen 'and sta
bles are ill-placed and the corridors
worse. The porticos are in
limitation of a house described by Pnl
ludlo. but It happens to be the worst
lu his books." The fire was caused,
according to the Dnlly Journal of the
day after, "by the workmen leaving a
glue pot among shavings, which boiled
over while they were at breakfast and
set fire to the house." This was before
the days of policemen, for "the Earl of
Albemsrle attended In person, with a
party of guards, to secure what goods
were saved from being plundered by
the mob; and all persons unknown
were searched as they went out"
The burning of the houses of parlia
ment over sixty-nine years ago wns
caused by official stupidity. For cen
turies the accounts of the exchequer
hnd been kept by menns of the anti
quated tally stick, and though in the
reign of George III. o proposition was
made to use pen, ink nnd paper, red
ti:pelsm scouted the lden, nnd the use
CITY OF SAN DOMINGO.
of tally sticks was continued down to
the year 182(3. In 1834 the large stock
was ordered to be destroyed, and in
stead of distributing 'them to the poor
of the neighborhood, some wiseacre
decided that they should be burned In
the stove of the House of Lords. The
stove became overheated, set fire to the
paneling, the paneling set fire to the
House of Lords and the House of
I-ords set fire to the House of Com
mons. The cost to the nation wa
about 2.000,000.
Aunt Mandy's Koonomy.
"Geu'lly, Mandy," suld Mr. Uiggins
to his spouse, "I ain't got one word to
say 'gainst economy. This here game
o' me earth)' railroad ties six miles, ter
save usin' the firewood 's all right In
a way, even If 'tis hard on the bosses.
An' your idee o' usln' tin plates on the
table, 'stead o' china, bo's to save wear
In' out yer new dinner set. ain't what
ye might call aesthetic, but I dunno'a
I've kicked very loud so far 'bout it
An even your makln' over my old
overcoat inter a Jacket for yerself I
ain't raised no great time 'bout, spite
o' the fact that I hev ter take ye to
meetin' In it every Sunday an' hear a
lot o' gol-durned fools whlsperlu' thet
I must be gettin' low In the world nol
tor be able ter buy ye a new one. But
by the bumpiu' thunder!" cried Mr.
Hlggins, . "when you go to work an'
make n corn-husk mattress an' throw
In stalks, cobs an' all. Jest ter save the
meusley husks, that's where the old
man stops in fer once an' says loud
an' clear ter-er-the dickens with yer
confounded economy!" Comfort.
An Improvement.
"Isn't it grand," cried the girl at
Niagara, "to see thut grent mass of
water falling down, down, down!
Could anything be more Impressive?"
"Why, yes," replied her matter-of-fact
escort. "It would 1m more ex
troidimiry nnd worthy of comment.
It seems to me. If that groat mass of
water fell up, up, up." Chicago Post
The 1Hk W Unorthodox.
Weary Waggles Hey! You won't
git nothing decent In dere. Dem peo
ple Is vegitnrlaus.
Hungry Hank Is dat right?
Weary Waggles Yell, uu' dey got a
dog what ain't, and well I know it!
Exchange.
School tor Critics.
A school for theatrical critics is to be
opened in Paris. The students are to
attend dress rehearsals and write
them up for practice.
About some people there Is an Inde
scribable obnoxious, odor; an odor
somewhere between a sick man and a
dead man.
1
It doesn't cost very much to think
aa long as you dou't back your con
clusions with hard-earned cash.
IWWWWWSX I
A child of 0 who .has not yet lost
any temporary teeth has In its Jaws,
either erupted or nonerupted, no fewer
than tlfty-two teeth more or less form
ed. It Is a ''curious fact that the teeth
that are seldom used decay more rap
Idly than those that have dally work
to do. It Is a fact, however, and, be
ing a fact, the thing to do Is to take
pains to cut on Isith sides of the mouth
equally.
Gates nt frequent Intervals bar t'i-
country roads In Norway, and uiv a
nuisance to travelers, who have to
lenve their vehicles and open the bar
riers. These obstructions mark the
boundaries of farms, or separate tho
cultivated sections from the -waste
lands.
Nature's Infinite variety Is well Il
lustrated In tho collection of photo
graphs of snow crystals made during
the past twenty years by W. A. Bent
ley, of Vermont. He has now more
than one thousand photographs of In
dividual crystals, and among thoin no
two are alike.
The best rugs of Persia represent
patience, taste and prolonged labor.
On each square foot of surface a
weuver works about twenty-thre
days. A rug 12x12 feet would there
fore require the lubor of one ninn for
3,312 days, or over ten years, not
counting Sundays.
In the Smithsonian report on scien
tific work for lixrj, Professor Lnngley
remarks that when the bolometer was
invented, some twenty years ago, It
was able to measure temperature to
about one one-hundred-thousandth of a
degree. Since then the instrument
and its adjuncts have been so far Im
proved that temperature can now be
measured to less than one one-bun-dred-millionth
of n degree readily and
with precision.
After n series of experiments with
currier pigeons for conveying Intelli
gence, the German naval authorities
have decided to erect permanent pig
eon stations on the coasts of the North
nnd Baltic seas. Every warship, ex
cept torpedo boats, leaving Kiel or
Wllhelmshuven, will hereafter carry a
consignment of pigeons, to be released
at varying distances from the land sta
tions. It Is estimated that the birds
have sufficient endurance to fly homo
over a distance of about 18(1 miles
from land. .
Full River easily leads all other cot
ton inaiuiractiiiing centers in America,
It has about one-fifth of all the cotton
spindos In the United States, and more
than twice as many as any other in
dustrial center in America. It muke
S4.'l,000,000 yards of cloth annually.
Every working day Its mills weave
more than 1,."00 miles of cloth. If all
the mills could be run on one piece,
the fastest express train could not
travel fast enough to carry off the
piece as it Is woven, since the product
is more than two miles a minute.
Nowhere is the womnn doctor more
in evidence than in Russia. Among
the wild nnd scattered population of
this immense country there is n'n in
exhaustible field for women as doctors
and teachers, and It is tho knowledge
of this fact which has disarmed the
opposition to their going through uni
versities. In 18H7 Russia had SKIT
women doctors and the number con
stantly increases. In this profession:
Russian women have made a distin
guished name. They have enormous
prnotloes in the grent towns, and are
largely employed by the municipalities.
Rain Is Always on Time.
In few places on the earth has the
Weather prophet as easy a time as in
Panama. In that part of the globe he
can always tell to a certainty at what
hour to expect u down-pour of rain.
At 3 o'clock every afternoon it is due
and it seldom fails to be on time.
This is the rule all through the rajny
season. The moriiiiijr is clear and the
evening, after 15 o'clock," Is delightful,
und except from 3 till 0 o'clot nobody
ever thinks of currying un umbrella!" "
Not so at Colon, only forty-seven
miles away. There it ruins all the time
during the ruiny season nnd It never
rains but It pours. Water comes down
by the bucketful. At Panama the an
nual rainfall is in the neighborhood of
ulne feet, while that of Colon is twen-ty-ono
feet, and it ull comes In fiv
months un average of four feet a
mouth.
It Is humorously said of Colon that
there it takes the people all the rest of
the year after the rainy season to get
dry.
In the dry season the heot is intense,
the mercury ranging from SO to 00 de
grees day and night There Is littlej
difference In the temperature after!
dark, but It Is possible to adapt oneself J
to the conditions of the place and there;
Is a oortuln fascination alout It that
in the case of some people, seems to
make up for the heat
The Maglo of Carbon.
Steel is cast iron, half-wnv on
to-i
ward wrought-iron. It has some of tin
stiff-harsh, stubborn traits of the cast
iron, combined with the bending, yield
ing qualities of the wrought Iron, an
inherits from its pig-iron forefather th
family trait of absorbing ourlton. Ca
bou, then, lu vurying proportions,
the grent distinguishing mark betwt
iron nud steel. The subtle play of tli
element, as found lu steel, is one i
the most murvelously fascinating exh
bitions of natural pHeiKniiena.
lit
smallest quantity.' clumped in tit
slightest degree, produces effects
different as night from day. St. Nich
olas. -t
District Technical Schools.
Special district technical schools for
Improving the artistic education of th
working girls und designers are about
to be opened In certain tenters in SL
Etlenne, France.
Water Power Light City.
The city of Grenoble, France, in
stalled its hew system of electric light
ing from a water power source twenty-
seveu miles distant, In the valley of th
Romanche. t v
Politeness occasionally beati the a
jugnty aouar under the wire.