TO DEVELOP A PLUMP NECK.
To 1111 tho troublesome hollows on
each sldo of tho collarbono a system
of deep breathing Is Invaluable. Tnko
a deep breath, hold it as long as pos
sible, nnd then exhale It very slowly.
Repent this ten times. Do this twice
a day.
As It Is absolutely essential that tho
muscles should be developed, tho fol
lowing exercises must become n part
of one's dally routine:
1. Slowly bend the bond forward
till tho chin touches tho nsck. Then
raise it very gradually.
U. Slowly bond tho head backwards
and rniso It ngaln.
3. Bend sideways to the right and
left.
All theso movements should bo re
peated ten or fifteen times; 'and when
you have dono this you will feel that
overy muscle In your throat nnd neck
is aching. Then batho the throat nnd
neck in hot wntcr. Dry thoroughly,
and woll massage In any good
cold croam, rubbing it in with
tho tips of tho fingers, till tho
skin hns absorbed it all nnd
your neck is in a glow. With a
soft rag or towel wipe oft any cream
that may remain. Tho massaging
should bo dono with a rotnry motion.
Now dampen n soft rag or spongo,
moisten tho throat and neck with
benzoin and roso water, which "Is a
skin tonic; nnd helps to close tho pores,
and so prevents dirt from entering.
In tho morning wash with warm
water and a good soap or almond
meal, rinsing and thoroughly bathing
iftcrwards with tho very coldest water
you can get. It is also well to add
lavender wntcr or toilet vinegar to tho
water.
Then, before llnlshlng dressing, go
through tho c.xcrclso the Bame way as
you did tho previous evening.
Eat plain and nourishing food,
avoiding pastry, cako and highly sea
soned food. Drink plenty of hot
water. It clears tho blood and Im
proves tho complexion.
MaKo a compnet with yourself that
you will follow this treatment for six
weeks. Dy this tlmo you will bo so
pleased with tho Improvement thnt you
will have no temptation to abandon it.
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.
There Is Quito an Interesting nnd
little-known history connected with
tho introduction of leap year. In 1288,
when Queen Margaret reigned over
Scotland, this gracious lady decreed
that during her reign every maiden in
her realm, whether of high or low de
grco, should propose to tho man that
sho loved; that if thnt man were not
betrothed already ho must either wed
tho maid or pay n heavy fine.
On tho death of Queen Mnrgnrot tho
women were urgent In their demands
that their now privileges should bo
continued. To appease them an act of
parliament was passed which made it
lawful for maidens to do tho propos
ing overy leap year.
Not all tho romantic idens of our
ancestors have been thus perpetuated
and comparatively fow woro trans
ferred by our Pilgrim fathers across
tho Atlantic. For instnnco, in tho good
old days It was tho custom in many
towns and oven villages in England to
own a houso whore poor couples, nftor
they had been wedded In church, could
entertain their friends at small cost,
the only outlay indeed being entailed
by tho purchaso of such provisions ns
they chose to bring with thorn. In
Hertfordshire thero was such a houso,
which had n largo kitchen with a
cauldron, largo Bplts and u dripping
pan; also a largo room for merriment
and n furnished boudoir. DIbIics,
table linen nnd bed linen were among
Its possessions. In Essex thero was a
houso very much Hko this, which was
used by tho poorer folks for dining In
after they had returned from tho
church. In somo of tho old English
histories one may read that in 1150
Roger Thornton granted to tho mayor
and community of Nowcastlo-upon-Tyno
tho uso of tho hall and kitchen
bolonglng to Thornton's hospital for
tho uso of young couples "when thoy
woro married to mnko their wedding
dinner In nnd rccolvo tho offerings and
gifts of their friends." At Hnmelln
Mioro still- exists n largo building
which is known ns tho wedding houso.
It was erected during tho second
deendo of tho seventeenth century.
Appreciated the I'lny.
Tho following is from an essay writ
ton by h schoolboy, aged 10, on a nl.vr
bo had been to nco: "Tho villun curled
his mustarsch and scczlng tho puro vur
gln shreokB ha ha mino or deaths
bind Is on my head this dnggcr stabs
thee to thy utermost solo ha ha ven
gunzo. But tho good hero comes nnd
snys O hevlns hovlns stur won step and
thy ded body lies nt my door. Lay won
parm on tho vurglns korpso nnd It wns
better If you was drownod with n mill
stone. Avarnt nvarnt from tho sweot
korpscs prcsunz."
POKER IN THE FAMILY.
Slurried Couplo Knjor tlio (Initio mid St
Contn Thrill Utile.
It Is but a fow years since women
were supposed to know nothing about
tho great American game of draw
poker. Tho samo supposition would
not hold good today, for poker has
become one of tho standard games In
society nnd both sexes nre playing It;
if anything, the women with moro
avidity than the men. In family pnr
tles, It Is true, tho game Is sometimes
played just for fun, but generally for
small stakes. Perhaps the most satis
factory mot hod Is that devised by sev
eral young married couples living on
tho west side, who get together onco
or twlco a week to play poker. Thoy
play a "dollar limit" gamo, but this is
not so flerco as it sounds, for all of
tho chips nre bought for 10 conts on
tho dollar. They maintain that It
sounds much better to raise tho oponor
of n pot "n dollar" than It would to
rniso him "10 conts," and that by mag
nifying tho value of their chips tliey
play a much hotter gamo of pokor.
Rut this is only ono fcaturo of this
romarkablo game. They wanted to
keep It on tho "friendly" basis, and
felt that It the Smiths went homo from
thp Browr.a flat two or three nights
In succession with all the Drowns'
money, friendly relations might bo
como strained, as they say In diplo
matic circles. This schema thoy de
vised: Tho club has a hanker. Tho
losors always pny their losses, but tho
winners never collect their winnings.
The winnings aro rotalned by tho
banker, and after six or eight evenings
of poker ho Is generally nblo to nn
nounco that ho has $50 In tho treasury.
Then tho elub tako3 n voto on what
to do with It. If It Is In tho wintor
It is generally a thenter party, with n
supper afterward, all tho exponses
being paid from the banker's fund. In
summor It is n trip to somo near-by
summer resort. All tho participants
In the gnmo declare It hns furnished
thorn with many a delightful evening
nnd that tho "monoy Is never missed."
Bone nt tho Sl.lrt.
Looking over his letters ono morn
ing, Mark Lemon, then tho editor of
Punch, opened nn envelope enclosing n
poem which tho writer said had been
rejected by three contemporaries. If
not thought available for Punch, ho
begged tho editor, whom ho know but
slightly, to consign It to tho wasto
papcr basket, as the author was tired
of tho sight of It. Tho poem was
signed "Tom Hood," tho lines woro en
titled "Tho Song of tho Shirt." Tho
poem wns nltogcthor different from
nnythlng that had over appeared In
Punch, and wns so much out of keeping
with tho spirit of tho periodical that Its
publication was opposed by several
members of tho staff. Mark Lemon
wns so flrmly Impressed not only with
the beauty of the poem, but with Its
suitability for his paper, that ho stood
by his first decision nnd published it.
Dy a letter written by Tom Hood to
Mark Lomon, It nppenrs that tho ques
tion of illustrating tho poem wus en
tortalncd and discussed. Tho lines,
howover, wero published without Illus
tration, except that humorous border
of grotesque figures which mndo up
"Punch's Procession" on Dec. 1G, 1843.
"Tho Song of tho Shirt" trebled tho
snlo of tho papor, and croatcd a pro-
found sensation throughout Great
Britain nt tho tlmo.
Aniorlruii Ship Namoi,
Tho Pall Mall Gazotto approves tho
American system of naming ships of
war ns bettor thnn tho English. Tho
mngnlllcent class, for Instance, con
tains not only n Mnjestlc and n Vic
torious, but ulso a Caesar and n Han
nibal. Tho Gazette, therefore ndvo
cates copying our method of giving
tho nnmo of a stato to n battleship,
tho nnmo of a largo city to a first-class
cruiser, of a smallor city to a second
class cruiser, and of a naval hero to a
torpedo boat. This method reveals by
tho namo tho class to which any ship
bolongs. Tho great divisions of the
British Emplro, Asln, Africa, America,
India, etc., would furnish tho names
for tho largest battleships. Then thero
might bo nn Irish class tho Iroland,
Donegal, Limerick, Connaught, Ulster,
Munster, Tyrono and so on. Next
would como tho names of tho counties
of England, .and wo should hear of
tho Northumberland, Lancashire,
Yorkshire, Sussex, Kent and other.
And how flno would bo tho nnmcs of
n lot of flrst-clnBs cruisers called nttcr
tho great cities of tho cmplro Lon
don, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Melbourne,
Singapore nnd Calcutta.
CAPTURED PEDRO AT WHIST.
Wouum' Memory I.iiptrd ami Htm Took
Two I'Ito 'jpot.
i
This is what a Detroit whist plnyoi
Is willing to tnko oath took plnco nt n
pnrty whero ho wns doing his level best
for a prize. A largo lady, his partner,
gave tho right slccvo of her shirt
wnlBt n hitch, muttered tinder her
breath and then said to tho other lady:
"Look at thnt, now. It's all nskow nnd
so annoying, I don't caro who you go
to or how much you pay, lt'B always
tho same. Did you signal for trumps,
or wns it tho other hand?" "That
sloovo cost us threo tricks," continued
tho complainant. "Then tho other lady
wanted n rcclpo for making chow
chow, plccallly or something of that
sort. Of course, my uccommodatlng
partner went right to reeling It off,
played n king to my nco whon sho hnd
n three-spot, revoked on another suit,
led right Into tho enemies strength,
nnd then hnd tho nerve to ask mo If
I saw nnywhero that she could havo
bettered her piny. I wanted to boll
her In oil. I tried to keep from turning
rod, snylng nnythlng sarcnstlc, or
swearing n llttlo, and succeeded rea
sonably well. Then she went to tolling
about a new hat her neighbor had
bought. Sho took two five-spots at a
henvy cost, and then consoled mo with
tho half-screaming explanation that
sho had been plnylng pedro tho night
before und had lapsed Into it ngaln
without thinking. I novcr behaved
hotter In my life, feigned sudden 111
ness, got nwny and mndo things bluo
for two blocks. After I wns gono sho
told tho opposition thnt I played n very
stupid game." Detroit Frco Press.
Infrrtltin from Itnsr. Unapt,
The board of health of Nowton,
Mass., has Issued n now regulation pro
hibiting throwing rngs In hoaps in tho
cellars of houses. The board claims
that much dlscaso Is bred by rags left
about tho cellnrs of houses. In sovoral
houses whero thero has bosn sickness
of a contagious nntnro rags havo boon
found in various parts of tho house,
and especially In tho collar. Whero
found thoy havo boon burned.
Instruction In old nnd mlddlo Irish
has been given nt Harvard for three
years, and thero will be nn additional
course this year In curly Welsh,
MAKING THE OCEANS.
GREAT DESERTS WILL YET BE
FLOODED.
How a Ciirlotm T.r of Nature Work
Out I lie i:ml of ttie Next Century
Wilt 1'robnblr Hto llio Urent Snlinrn
Boo.
I-ondon Mail: Fow persons renllzo
how completely of Into yonrs tho sur
faco aspect of this woazonod old globo
of ours hns been nltered nnd improved.
Tho world of today, In fact, differs
from tho world of 6ur nnccstors, much
ns n 8ocIety lndy, In nil tho glory of
fold nnd frill nnd furbelow, differs
from hor snvngo Bister running wild in
pestilential woods. As art has trans
formed tho ono, so it hns tho other.
Only tho "Mine. Rnchaol" who has
mndo tho earth, If not oxnetly "boautl-
ful foievor," at least a pleasant nnd
healthful plnco wherein to dwell. Is no
chnrlntnn with n dray-load of cosmetics
nnd n glib tongue, but n civil engineer,
owning nothing moro harmful than a
fow mysterious-looking Instruments
and a measuring tape. And tho mnr-
vel of It nil Is this that what has boon
dono Is but nn Inunltostmnl fraction
of Hint which may, and doubtless will,
bo dono. Who can doubt, for Instance,
that tho groat Sahara desert that molo
upon tho world s face will ono day bo
but n momory? It was nn Inland nca
onco. It would not bo n very dldlcult
matter to convort It Into ono ngnln.
A canal sixty miles long, connecting
with tho Atlantic tho vast depression
which runs closo up to tlio coast nearly
midway botweon tho twentieth and
thirtieth parallels of latitude would
do tho buslnoss beautifully. Tho water
would not, of course, cover tho entire
Btirfnco of tho desert. Hero and there
nro portions lying nbovo sea level.
Theso would become tho Islands of tho
new Saharn ocean. Whnt would bo tho
results thnt would onsuo upon this
stupendous transformation? Somo
would bo good, nnd somo bad. Among
the lnttor may bo mentioned tho prob
nblo destruction of tho vineyards of
southern Europe, which depend for
their existence upon tho warm, dry
winds from tho great African desert
As somo compensation for this, how-
ovor, tho mercantile mnrlncs of tho na
tions affected would bo enabled to
gain immediate nnd onsy access to
vast regions now given over to bar
barism, and n series of moro or loss
flourishing seaport towns would spring
up along tho southern bordors of
Morocco and Algeria, whore tho west
orn watershed of tho Nllo sinks Into
tho desert, nnd on tho northern fron
tlor of tho Congo Freo stnto. In a
Blmilar mnnncr tho greater portion of
tho central Australian desert, covering
nn nroa of fully 1,000,000 squnro miles,
might ho flooded. Tho Islnnd continent
would then bo converted Into n gigantic
oval dish', of which tho depressed cen
tral portion would bo covered with
water, nnd only tho "rim" inhabited.
BOYS WHO BECAME FAMOUS.
In Sweden n boy foil out of n win
dow nnd wits picked up sovorcly hurt,
hut with tightened Hps ho kept bnck
the cry of pain. King anstavus Adol
phtiB, who saw tho accident, prophe
sied that tho boy who had such self
control would mnko a man for emer
gencies. Ho wns right, for tho lad bo
camo tho famous Gen. Bauer.
An Italian woman fell into n doclc
nnd would. havo been drownod but for
tho courngo of u boy who sprang In
after her nnd managed to koep hor
nfloat till n boat camo to tho rescue
Tho spectators admired tho boy's
promptness and kindness of heart, but
commented on hls'rccklcssncBS, which,
they said, might havo cost him his life.
Tho boy was Garibaldi, nnd In consid
ering his llfo ono finds that theso
woro his characteristics nil through.
Ho wns so nlort thnt no ono could toll
when ho would mnko nn attack with
his red-ahirtcd soldiers; so bravo and
magnanimous thut tho world rang
with his praises; nnd wlthnl so Indis
creet as to mako his fellow-patriots
wish ho wero In Qulneu.
A llttlo boy used to crush flowers to
obtain their color, and would then
paint nil sorts of pictures on tho whlto
wnlls of his fnthor's cottage In tho Ty
rol. Ho beenmo known to tho world
later on as tho great artist Titian.
11(1 Hllll 'III!
From tho Argonaut: A grand wed
ding wns bolng solemnized nt St. Ro
tor's, Eaton square, London. On each
sldo of tho strip of carpet that ox
tended from tho church door to tho
curb wns a crowd of peoplo watching
tho guests nrrlvo. In tho wako of a
procession of cqulpngcs of the most
uristocrntlc nnd woll nppolntod char
actor camo a four-wheeled cab, dingy
and dlsroputnblo beyond belief. "Hero,
hero!" shouted tho policeman In
charge, "you can't stop hero! Wo'ro
waiting for tho bishop of ." Tho
cabman rogartlod tho ofllcer with a tri
umphant lcor, ns ho climbed down from
his scat and throw n ragged hlankot
over his skoloton steed. "It's nil right,
guv'nor," ho said, "I vo got tho old
buffer Inside!"
Ilullt Mm Wall in l'er Iimtruntlona.
Anxious to proscrvo tho famous
4astlo of tho O'Nollls, on tho Cus
tlcrcugh hills, near Ilolffast, tho Into
Marquis of Downshlre directed his land
&toward to havo n wall built around tho
undent und historic fortress. Tho
ordor was carried out nnd n largo cir
cular wall waa built around tho npex
of tho hill. Tho marquis wns informed
that tho work was dono, nnd ho rodo
out to bco how tho ruins lookod. Ho
found tho wall, but no cnstlo. Tho
contractor had utilized tho ruins of tho
tastlo to build tho prosorvlng wall.
FROM DRAIN TO HAND.
How Htnndnrd Time I Secured Tlio
fraction it Time I.ott.
'I .rend nn Interesting nrtlclo tho
other day on how Btnudnrd tlmo Is
secured," said n Now Orleans collcgo
srofessor, "but it omitted ono import
ant point which was explained to mo
by a member of tho Smithsonian staff
tho last tlmo I wns in Wnshlngton.
Tho tlmo observations nt th6 different
obscrvntorics, by which tho standard
Is established, aro taken by noting tho
exact lnstnnt nt which somo certain
designated star crosses n lino on tho
object ginss of tho telescope. Tho in
strument Is pointed nt tho star, nnd
nB soon ns It touches tho lino the ob
server pncsBcs n button that makes a
mark on tho olowly rovolvlng cylinder.
Tho cylinder Is divided Into spaces
corresponding to minutes nnd seconds,
and tho mark consequently Indicates
tho precise fraction of tlmo at which
tho stnr nrrlved nt a given plnco J n tho
sky. How that is checked ngalnst
other observations, taken at different
localities in oxnetly tho samo way, nnd
forniB tho bnslB of n cnlculatlon by
which tho chronometers of tho world
nro ndjusted, is Bomthlng I won't nt-
tctnpt to oxplnln. Tho point I hnd in
mind Is this: Tho pressing of tho button-
nnd making tho mnrk on tho cylin
der Is theoretically lnstnntnnqous, but
really u Isn't. Between tho Instant
thnt tho observer sees tho stnr touch
tho lino nnd tho instant that his fin
ger pushes tho button Is n briof Inpso
of tlmo consumed by tho transit of
tho Impulso from his brnln to his hnnd.
To tho non-sclentlllc man It would
seem absurd to tnko nccount of such
Inflnltcslmnt lntervnls, but In dollcnto
calculations thoy nro highly Import
nnt. Not long ngo nn Instrument was
built that records tho exact speed of
brnln Impulso in different people. Tho
Biibjcct la told to profls a button ns
soon as n figure nppenrB on a dial, and
It tnkes tho nvorngo person noarly half
a second to do so. Thnt lntorvnl, ro
qulrcd by tho nerves to do their tolo
graphlng from tho oyo to tho finger tip
Is now tnken Into consideration in
mnklng tho computations for stnndnrd
tlmo. Ily falling to nllow for It In tho
past, tho chronometers hnvo boon In
error from five to ten Boconds n year.
Tho detail Is curiously Impressive, be-
cnuso It shows whnt extraordinary
pains nro taken to sccuro nbsoluto ac
curacy. -Now Orleans Tlmcs-Dcmo-
crnt.
An Wo n (Hooray Nation?
What is tho matter with tho peoplo
In our Btroots? Do you notice how
gloomy nil tholr faces nro? Should
you see n man or woman smiling or
Inughlng on n Now York sldownlk you
would probably say to yourself: "I
wondor whnt Is wrong with that por-
son." Such lnughtor ns ono bears 1b
usually nrouscd by tho quotation of
somo moro or less stupid Jolto, or moro
frequently by n mlsfortuno thnt has
befallen n follow croaturo. If n man
Blips on n cornor, falls or bumps his
head, thnt becomes for tho tlmo bolng
a cheerful cornor In Now York. Dut
wo don't seem to be nblo to find any
cntiBo for cheortulness In bright sun
light, or bluo Bklcs, or any of tho other
llttlo blessings which Provldonco be
stows upon us. Whnt Is tho matter
with us? Thoro is plenty of gnyoty in
Franco, in Germany, in Italy. Thoro
is ovon n llttlo In England. Why
should this nation bo so gloomy? Do
wo llvo too fast, work too hard? Whnt
Is it? If wo keep tip our gloominess
shall wo not bo n very ugly rnco in a
fow moro generations? Lot us try to
cheer up nnd ho gay. This is not such
n hnd world nftcr nil. Wo nro not nil
of us stnrvlng to death or in danger of
bolng cnton by plutocratic octopusca.
New York Journal.
Nolty I'ojr.
A dear old lady from tho country
went to London to visit her marrlod
daughter, and camo back with wonder
ful experiences. London did not show
its best fnco to tho slmplo country
woman. It was onvoloped in fog dur
ing tho first two or threo days of her
visit, and as hor bedroom looked out
upon tho railway, sho was troublod by
tho very nccessnry nolso of tho fog
slgnnl. Sho camo down to broakfnst
aftor hor first restless night, nnd
anxiously Inquired tho cause of tho
Btrango bnnglng sho had hoard so ofton
during tho hours of darknoss. "Oh,
that was duo to tho fog," explained
hor son-in-law, and ns sho asked no
further question ho lot tho subject
drop. Her visit over, tho good woman
returned to tho country, full of tho
wbndorful sights nnd sounds of coun
try llfo, "Did you seo n Lonncn fog,
granny?" asked ono of her llstonors,
ns granny oxpatlatcd on tho strange
ness of tho great city. "Ay, that I
did," replied granny; "nnd I honrd 'tin,
too!" "Hoard 'tin, granny?" oxclnlmed
nnother llstenor. "How didst hoar a
fog?" "Why," answered tho old lady,
In perfect sincerity, "Lonnon fog batnt
111(0 ours. Every now and thon It goo3
off wl' a rnro bang."
Kiirtli Hlilvurlnc nnd Kurtliiimkn Kclioe
In tho roport of tho solsmologlcnl
commltteo presented to tho moteoro
loglcnl section of tho British associa
tion, Prof. Milne says mlnuto shlvor
Ings of tho earth recur on tho
nvorngo every half hour, but tho
heavy breathings or truo ground
swell does not occur oftoner
thnn nbout onco n week. Tho
mlnuto BhlvnrliiKS nnd tho larger dis
turbances nro proporly both earth
quakes, but thoy dlffor In tholr char
fictor, In tholr duration, nnd, ns thoy
rndlato, tholr llfo becomes less. An
carthquako disturbance is ofton fol
lowed by ropotltlous ut doflnlto Inter
vals, but with decreasing intensity.
Theso rythmical decreasing ircpulsoa
aro provisionally tormod edicts.
