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About The alliance. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1889-1889 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1889)
The Most Oiftcd of Mortals. The dazzling genius may startle and amaze mankind by his divinely gifted endowments, but the man who knows how to get along with people is verv apt to reach , the heights, while "the dazzling eenius, like an eagle with a broken wing, is flound ering in the valley below. But the dazzling genius and the man who knows how to get along with people side by side on the track of life, and then let them start abreast. The dazzling genius will excite the fun'ositrv of the crowd bv the brill- in nev of his srvrations and hisinvolv- I S " ed and intricate evolutions. He will leap like an unbroken colt, and prance like a two-year-old filly, but the man who knows how to get along with people will come swinging down the homestretch, past the judge's stand, with his brilliant but erratic competitor far in the rear. The faculty of getting along with people is, perhaps, the most fortun ate, gilt which nature can endow a man." The whole secret consists in liking people and taking an interest in them. So many men are armed with dislikes, like porcupine quills, which they shoot in all directions, letting them strike where they will. They are like those pivotal guns which we see in the navy, which turn on a swivel and shoot toward every point of the compass. They keep their batteries loaded, and every man who approaches them they re gard as an invader and an enemy. They scrutinize their acquaintances as a proof-reader examines his proof, to see what errors he can discover. Their lives are a perpetual quest for the vices of their neighbors. They never get along with people, for peo ple object to having a perpetual in ventory taken of their laults and weaknesses. Opticians tell us there is one little spot in the eye the b is entirely blind. The mental eye of the man who knows how to get along with people has a large spot that is blind to all his neighbors' vices, while his vision is unusually keen in regard to their good qualities. Everybody likes him because ha likes everybody. No wonder he climbs high in the wcrld, lor everybody stands ready to give him a "boost. Ko Took II Back. An extremely stout, choleric gentleman sat in his office one fuming over a lot of papers old day and swearing to himself. lie was in a beastly temper,, for things had gone wrong ever bince morning, and now and then he cast his eyes about us i m search of something to kick as an outlet for his tempestuous state of A. mind. "That book ngent is out here, sir." said a clerk, thrusting his head through the door "Show him in,' veiled the old a'en- tleman. creed il v. "and I'll kick the everlasting stuffing out of him."' A minute later a pretty little girl came demurely in. and, calmly draw ing a chair up to the old gentleman's desk, smiled sweetl v. "Just excuse me a minute." said the'old fellow; "there's a nasty book agent coming." "I am the book agent, sir," said the girl, and she thrust a hand away down through a hole in her dress and brought up a volume. "Can't I sell you a copy, sir," she said cheerfully, running through the leaves. "It is only $.r, and is pro fusely illustrated, and so needful that ho home is complete without one. Buy a copy, please, and I shall forget thatevou called me nastv." "I didn't," puffed the old gentle man, excitedly. "I swear I never said aH) thing of the kind. Leave the book." ' Tfien the old man yelled: "John, give this young lady $5." ' When the old gentleman pickek up his book to carry it home; he discov ered that it was a collection of love songs. - iNew York Sun. The Rhinoceros. The idea for bringing out the rhino ceros was to get something that no other country could beat for ugli ness. While there are several brands of the beast, all put in different pack ages with different label s, all amount to the same thing when you cut the string and unite the bundle. While the Giraffe is two stories high with hip roof, the rhinoceros stopped short at the basement and has never been finished up. To reward him for not being quite so homely as the hippopotamus, he was given a hide so thick that a grape shot would only ticklehim, and an offset for not Slaving a mouth as large us an alligator lie was given a tem per as hot as wildcats "and hornets boiled down together. The rhinoceros was not expected to cut anything ot a dash in this world. He was given to understand that if he took good care of his ap petite and made it unpleasant for every living thing.which came within a mile of him, nothing further would be expected of him. So far as man has been able to discover, the beast never cracks a emile or makes a joke, and nothing ever steps on his coat tails and gets away alive. The legend in regard to him is that he puts in the hours between daylight and sun rise grieving because he wasn't made a turtle dove, but legends are not to be depended upon. Detroit Free Press. Transfusion of Blood. A. workman who had inhaled the vapor of burning coals was taken to liievimniejiiL-eiy. ;vu enorts to re store consciousness having failed, "i j . x i ; t . i .i . . ruiessor i.eyuen oruereu tne injec tion of 2o0 cubic centimeters of blood taken from another patient, into one of the veins of the", right "arm.," The patient showed signs of life five hours alter the transfusi on , then slept for about ten hours and awoke in e.veel Unt spirits. His further recovery - was rap-Id, and he is now quite well. Berlin Cor. Lancet. AGRICULTURAL NOTES This tendency toward less tencmg is gaining ground every year, and farmers are certainly gaining ground by it. There will hereafter re no profit on inferior stock, and it must be pruned out. The earlier the better. A thrifty - farmer invigorates a neighborhood. A lazy one demor alizes it. There is said to be a great increase in the practice of threshing corn this year. We need a machine to perform this special operation. There have been 19,000 bulls and 47,000 cows enrolled m the herd Register of the American Jersey Cat tle Club. Probably two-thirds of these, or more, are still alive. Whenever a farmer appreciates that his team is one of the heaviest items in his expensea, and must be kept at work every day when work ia possible, he has a tan? chance oi success. With proper provision of warmth and shelter, and a good store of en silage and hay, winter dairying can frequently be made more profitable than summer; labor is then oheaper and butter higher. Three rules for improving dairy cattle: Select and keep only the best and most promising calves, study and practice the best methods of feeding and keeping stock, secure the best blooded stock possible. The remedy for a "hide-bound" horse is a simple tonic, nutritious food and the use of the curry-comb and brush freely. By this means the hide will soon become supple and the coat sleek and glps3y. If fire-breaks were a dollar apiece a few would have them; if they were 25 each quite a number would be used; if it required the giving of a chattle mortgage to get them nearly everybody would have one. But they are free that's why they are so scarce. Journal, lledfield. There will be a change in the sys tem of breeding and feeding swine in a few years, says an exchange. Peo ple are tiring of fat pork. They are calling for more lean and less tat, and corn will not answer the call. Other foods will need be fed, foods that will give growth and lean meat. At an agricultural fair held in a Con necticut town a children's depart ment has been established, which is said to have proved very successful. Competion between the youthful ex hibitors is sharp, and parents take much pleasure in the result. A good way to interest tne iarmers ooys and girl3 in farm work. Sheep and lambs will run out and. take care of themselves later than any other stock. Now is the time to cull out the flock, and fatten for the butcher those sheep which failed at shearing time to yield a profitable fleece. Lambs that are intended to turn off should be given generous feed. There is more money in rear- ing lambs, this year, than in any other-class of butcher's stock. For fattening cattle especially to increase the production of milk in cows, it is asserted that the pressed cake from cotton-seed gives the best results. The next in good results is the pressed cake from peanuts. No other kind "of food seems to equal the two mentioned for milch cows, the milk results being greater in amount and richer in qualit'. The above-named foods, like all other concentrated materials, are to be used in conjunction with the usual rations for good results. A farmer must compound and use the feed that he has at hand, or is most easily produced. A com pound may be made of bran, oats and rye, bran and rye, or bran and corn meal; and these compounds can often be made in such a way as to cheapen the, cost of feed when all has to be bought on the market. On the majority of farms oats are grown only for the horses and colts. The pigs should always be thought of as sharers in this important muscle forming food. There is no use says the Breeder's Gazette, in shutting our eyes to the fact that the majority of our home grown wools are slovenly handled, when compared with foreign wools giving us the severest competition'. In this fact of condition, quite as much as in quality, lies the popular ity of Australian wools. Most of our wools are sheared and marketed in seeming disregard of the prefer ences of bu3"ers; the foreigner puts his ns nearly as may be in the condition the buyer is known to prefer. The milk temperament is born with a cow. You may increase the butter yield by making her give more milk, but the relative proposition of solids will not be greatly changed. On the other hand, a certain line of feeding will put water into a cow's milk with- out showing any corresponding in- crease ot butter or sort of cruel diet- cheese yields a but this don't count. Whenever an animal shows signs of sickness remove is from the others at once, without waiting for the dis ease to develop. Precaution often saves time and loss. If the sickness is not contagious no harm will be dor.3 by removing the animal. Where the disease is contagi ous the bodies of the animals that have died should . be burned or buried deep, as the disease may reappear at some future time un less precaution are used to guard against it. The whole premises should also be thoroughly disinfected. A Sew Thought Abont Xiiklng'. A correspondent of the Iowa Home stead thinks he has discovered a new way of milking that increases the flow of milk. He used to milk with "one hand up while the other was down." He now milks with "both hands up and down together, instead of alternately." This is no new way of milking. Tne writer has milked bothays, using both during the milking, as seemed handy and the easier for the hands, liut he never thought of experimenting to see if the two -ways affected the flow of milk differently. The correspondent referred to thinks he has increased the flow of milk from one cow by the simultaneous movement of both hands at least 8 or 10 per cent, and from another, 4 or 5 per cent. Now, we are not aware that all the myster ies of milking are known, and would be glad if our readers would make a thorough experiment, as suggested, and report to us the result. ' Hints About Horses. v .Medical Classics. It costs more to keep a poor horse than it does to keep a good one. , ' Change the feed for your horses often enough to make them relish it. Improper feeding is the cause of nine out of ten cases of sickness among horses. -Every time yon worry your horses you shorten their lives and days of usefulness. Sweat and dust . cause the horse's shoulders to gall. So do poor, ill fitting collars. The temperature of water for horses is not so much of an object as the purity of it.. While it is best to have the water cool, it is more important to have it free from all impurities. The horse which acre while another ing half an acre, can carry a load can plow an horse is plow or that which of passengers ten miles while another is going five, independent of all considerations of amusement, taste, or what is called facy, is absolutely worth twice as much to the owner as the other. Anection cannot De pounded in. Kind treatment insures the affection of an animal, while rough treatment is sure to cause its hatred. It is alike dangerous to other horses and men t spare the life of a glandered horse. Glanders is a high ly contagious, incurable disease, and as a rule, fatal in the human subject. When horses are suffering from the bite of flies, or stings of other insects, sponge the parts that cannot be pro tected by net, with water in which in sect powder has been mixed a table- spoonful to twogallons of water. The Kin? of Sweden's Adventnres In Spain. From the London Vanity Fair. The Kins: of Sweden is relating with much relish an amusing adven ture which befell him recently in Spain. It appears that while his majesty was traveling between Cor dova and Madrid in the dead of night, occupying a sleeping-car in the ex press train, a man a most respect able tradesman of the former place awakening from his slumbers by the train stopping at a station, alighted in the belief that he ha d reached his destination. On discovering his ter ror he attempted to regain the train, but was too late. Not to be done, however, he tore along the line after the train, and sueceded in reaching it, and, jumping on the foot-board, wrenched open the first door to hand and found himself in the presence of King Oscar and his suite, who ere slumbering peacefully. The unhap py man, seeing the glittering: uni forms hanging abont the dimly lighted car, guessed at once where he was, and was on the point of beating a retreat in sheer despair, when sud denly his majesty awoke, and seeing a stranger in the car shouted lustily to his companions, "Brigands!" and pounced upon theunluckyindividual, followed by the Swedish ambassador and equerry, and seizing him began to feel for arms. His hand touching something hard his ma jesty shouted, "Here is a trabucca!" and drew from the intruder's pocket a long-necked flask filled with manzanilla. Mean while the train had stopped and, the officials arriving upon the scene, the man was questioned, and, ha ving at last recoverd from his terror at struggling with a crowned head, ex plained; and, after profuse apologies on both sides, returned to his own car, when once more the train pro ceeded. People With Big Xaincs. From the Loudon Star. Most people if asked which family in the United kingdom boasted the biggest average of Christian names, would reply off hand "The Boyal." That is not so, however, the doubt ful distinction belonging to the family of the Hon. Ralph William Lyonell Tollemaehe-Tollemache, whose thir teen olive branches boast just 100 between them. The revenged gentle man has been twieo married, and it is curious to note that the average of the first family is very much less than the second. His first wifrwas a cousin, who seems to have kept her spoues's weakness within bounds; but with his second wife, Dora Celo- patra Maria Morenza, da u "-liter of ivoi. j gun co yvnxomo ureuano-y-Revest, of the Spanish army, it had full swing. The first child, aboy ,was named Lyulph Ydwallo Odin Nestor Egbert Lyonel Toedmag Hugh Erchenwyne Saxo Esa Crom well Orma NevillDysartPlantagenet. He is only 12 years old as yet, and can hardly appreciate what . is in store for him but it is all Lombard Street to a China orange that by the time he reached man's estate he will be tempted to curse, not, like Job, 1 T f n the day of his birth, but the day of his christening. And will not his sisters particularly Miss Lyona Deeima Veronica Esyth Undine Cyssa Hylda, Rawena Adele Thyra Ursula, Ysabel Blanche Lelia3 Lysart Plant a gnet Tollemaehe-Tolle m ache regret that marria go does nat entail the charge of the whole name, and not the surname only? THE HOUSEHOLD. HIt tor tlk Ho m a. For hoarseness, beat a fresh erg and thicken it with fine white sugar. Eat of it freelv' and the hoarseness will soon be relieved. A small box filled with lime and placed on a shelf in the pantry or closet will absorb dampness and keep the air in the closet dry and sweet. ' To beat the white ot eggs quickly, put in a small pinch or two of salt; do not leave one particle of the yolks with the whites, or they willnotlroth nicely.' Chloroform will take out Btains from silk, cloth or any woolen goods, but alwavs remember to keep the bottle corked while using, or you will lose more than you use. If a cellar has a damp smell and cannot be thoroughly ventilated, a few trays of charcoal set around on the floor, shelves and ledges will make the air pure and sweet. Over-feeding of infants in warm weather is harmful; one of three months should not be fed oftener than every three hours; one of six months not more than five times ev ery twenty-four hours. In cases of sickness sand bags are preferred to hot water rubber bags, as they can be more easily adjusted to different parts of the body. These granular heaters are also to be chos en rather than soapstone or bottles for keeping the feet as normal tem perature in zero weather. Whisky will take out every kind of fruit stain for which I have ever seen it used. A child's dress will look en tirely ruined by the dark berry stains on it, but if whisky is poured on the discolored places before sending it in to the wash it will come out as good as new. To make fine shirt bosoms stiff. After starching in warm boiled starch dry, and then starch in some of the cold boiled starch and fold until ready for ironing. If a wrinkle should happen to make its appear ance, take a small cloth wet in the starch and rub the wrinkles out and iron again. - To remove ants from a closet the most efficacious method is to grease a tin pieplate with lard and place it on the closet floor under the shelves. The ants will seek th lard in prefer ence to anything else, and in a little while the plate will be covered with them, when they can be destroyed and the plate returned for another capture. For constipation take one pound of figs, two ounces of senna leaves (obtainable in any drug store), one cupful of good molasses. Chop figs and senna leaves quite fine, then add molasses, mix well and pack in small earthen iais or glasses. Keep well covered. Give to an adult one-half tea-spoonful, to a child one-quarter teaispoonfui at each dose. Good Housekeeping. - A bad breath is certainly repulsive, and very properly so, not only be cause it is unpleasant in itself, but because it can always be remedied with proper care. If it proceeds from decayed teeth a dentist should be consulted: if from a disordered stom ach it is a case for the physician Two drams cf chlorate of potash mixed with six ounes of rose-water will make a purifving wash to rinse the mouth with every few hours. Yes, we have had a good deal ol complaint from customers about the shrinking of their shirts. All materi ai3 will shrink some; we generally al low half an inch for flannel, and if it is properly washed there is no reason why it should shrink perceptibly af ter that. The proper way is to souse the garine it in hot soapwater; never rubbing it, and put it repeatedly through a wringer. The garment should never be wrung with the hands and never put in cold water. A Clothier in the Argus. Tvotning is muen uetter tnan a piece of chamois skin for cleaning the tips and sides of patent leather on shoes, and it , can be done in a few minutes. By the way, a banana skin will clean a shoe or boot very nicely in the absence of blacking and shoe polish. It was tried with great suc cess by a traveler who happened to lose his satchel and find himsell where he could not replace any of his conveniences for the toilet. An Italian chemist has discovered wonderful properties in the eucalyp tus plant. For instance, if a piece o meat is slightly tainted, it should be wrapped in leaves of the eucalyatus I and placed m the oven to bake. W hen taken out the meat will be found to be perfectly sweet and fresh. Thess leaves may be used in the same way for strong-smelling mutton or other meats. They will also preserve wa ter perfectly sweet for four months. The Sanitary Inspection ea3's that every morning , when the German housewife receives her quart of milk she immediately places it over the fire and brings it to a brisk boil Boiled milk is not relished by many who are not accustomed to it; but most people come to like it decidedly after they have used it a short time. In view of the fact that milk may be the medium for the transmission ol several diseases, we should do well to adopt the foreign custom of steriliz- ing it. One of the most useful articles oj the toilet is a bottle of ammonia, and any lady who has once learned its valua will never do without it. A ew drops in water takes the place of the usual amount ofsoap, and cleans out the pores of the skin as wed as a bleach will do. Wash the face well with a flesh-brush, and rnb the lips to tone their color. It is well to bathe the eyes hefoie putting in the bpirite, and if it is desirable to in crease their brightness, this may be done by dashing soapsuds in them. Always rub the eyes, when washing, from the nose. Says Marion Harland: "I would guard one point joalously. Rightly filled, there i3 enough in the sphere of wife, housekeeper, and mother to satisfy any woman, whatever may be her aspirations. Of all forms of win ning sentimentality I have least pa tience with the cry for a higher mis sion than that ef home-making and child-rearing. As the sum of over thirty years' observation of this form of intellectual unrest and the perusal of hundreds cf letters from malcon tents, I assert, without fear of con tradition, that the unfortunates who raise the lamentations are in the pro portion of a thousand to one, and they are those who are tho least fit to take the lowest seat in the worn- an's kingdom. -- A C&pt. Kidd Story. Ever since the recent heavy rains worked deepgullies in the old roads in the vicinity of Lordships farm in this township and a number of gold coins of ancient date were found, there has been great excitement over what is supposed to be a clew to Capt. Kidd's buried treasures. Searching parties have been organ ized and all the old stories relative to the hid ins: place of the wealth of the bold buccaneer have been re vived and have become the chief topic of conversation. The story that the old Johnson vault in the Episcopal ourying ground nearthe village was made the receptacle of vast treasures cn the return otKidd from one of his expeditions seemed to be the most probable, and the strange perform nnces which have taken place there for a few nights back strength en the belief of the villagers that a search is being carried on, if really the treasure has not been found and carried away. A few nights a,go a cab was seen to drive up to the gateway of the ceme- tary about midnight, and two men left it and went into the yard. They returned in about an hour and drove away. No importance was attached to this incident, but when the same thing was repeated the following night, and it became known, the town was all excitement. Rumors of body snatching, and of the discovery ot tho treasure and its removal bv night were flying thick and fast. The cemetery was carefully searched, the old vault being the thing of particu lar interest, iSothing was discovered to verifv the suspicions, and it was determined to form a vigilance com mittee and lie in wait to solve the mvstery. The next night found twenty-five men waiting for the mysterious cab and its occupants to appear. At about the same hour up it drove, and two men entered the cemetery and were lost to view amonir the trees. Not a man among the twenty-five lying concealed in the bushes dared to move, and in a short time the two men, possible laden down with gold ana jewels, emerged irom tne ceme tery, and entered the cab. The driver, who all this time had sat up on the box as motionless as the marble post at the entrance of the cemetery, whipped up his horse, and disappeared in the darkness. The next niirht lresh recruits were added to the party, but tire cab and pts mysterious occupants did not put in an appearance. A search thrcugu the cemetery failed to show any signs of the visit The rustic fasteninga of the old V . m t jonnson vault wero in tns same po sition as they had been for over 200 years, There is a strong belief among the older inhabitants that the treasure has actually been found and carried away in the cab. Stratford (Conn.) Telegram. A Bird That Dances. Macon has the most remarkable bird in the known world, befng noth ing less than a musical gander. This wonderful bird is owned by some ne groes living in the vicinity of the gas works, at the fcot of Mulberry street. For several weeks the emploves of the eras works, as well as the electric light works in the same neighbor hood, have been seen to stop every evening on quitting work and sur round a lot of little negroes who daily congregate on the square near the railroad embankment. Yesterday a Telegraph man detei mined 'to seethe cause of the gathering, and on pro ceeding to the locality lound the lit 11U lit jl JCO tll(l,CVl Alt Jl l-Uill with all their might and an old gray goose in the center of the circle danc ing, first on one foot and then on the other. The gander seemed to enjoy the dance, and thought it miffh tread like a "fake, was keeping most ex cellent time to the ru e music of the children. For an hour or so that fool goose will dance to the pattinjr, always stopping when the children cease their music, and seems always j ready to resume. Any one who will take the trouble to go down to the gas works anyof these eyeninrrs w ill see the wonderful goose. Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. ' nrai--uiii Present and Old Ideas. Between London and Edinburgh the greater part of the journey is done at a speed not exceeding 50 miles an hour; the 150 miles between Grantham and King's Cross aver ages 54 miles for the whole journey, and some time ago the 4:18 p.m. train from Grantham was timed to run 24 miles in 22 minutes, 1 mile being done in 46 seconds, or at the rate ot 74 miles an hour. Compare this with the anticipations of the last generation. In 1825 The Quarterly Review, in an appreciative article on the proposed Woolwich railway, de preciated any wild estimates as to speed. "We will back," it said, "old Father Thames against the Woolwich railway for any sum. We trust that parliament will in all railways it may sanction limit the speed to 8 or 9 miles an hour, which .s as great as can be ventured on with safety." The Nineteenth Century. Barn urn's Joke, Paul Smith and Barnum nrw bosom friends. They spend many pleasant hours together. But the ever vivacious showman must have his practical jokes, and even his friend Paul was made one of hi vic tims 1 ist week. These two celebrities met on the grand piazza after breakfast and passing the usual morning greeting Paul Smith said: "Wefl. friend "Well, you find Barnum, how do here this year?" things 'I am delighted as usual, replied I par- the cheerful showman, "and ticularly admire your enterprise in erecting so many new cottages, and in introducing running water anil steam heating into your big hotel." "Glad to hear you like it," said Paul. "Praises from a man of your years and experience give me a new heart end courage. But I will thank you still more heartily if you will frankly tell me whenever you discov er anything about my hotel that is not clean up to the highest mark. I am as proud of providing the very best of everything as you are in your big show." "That's right," responded Barnum, "a true friend will always tell us our faults. And this reminds me that there is one thing that I noticed on your table which I thought I ought to mention to you. louknow that most of our food and drinks are adul terated. Yours I have generally found fresh and pure, but the ground black pepper on your table is large ly adulterated with peas." "You don t say so! exclaimed tho old pioneer. "Why, I buy all my groceries irom , tne wnoie- sale dealers in New York, and they stand high for goods of pure quality." "Can't help it," said Barnum,-"ou Investigate it, and I'll give you $100 if vou don't find all your so called 'pepper' is at least one-half peas." "I will write my grocers today ami give them fits. 'Half peas,' indeedl That reminds me that thirty-three years asro I ran a boat from New York to St Johns, Canada. I often brought cargoes of peas from St. Johns and delivered them to thelarge coffee dealers in New Y'ork. But these grocers shall not swindle me." Paul Smith s son immediately wrote a letter from his father's dictation, blowing his grocers sky high for selling him adulterated pepper. He told them that P. T. Barnum declared it was at least hall peas, and threatened them with instant withdrawal of his patronage if they did not immediately send him a box of pure ground pepper with out a single pea in it. lliree davs atterward J'aul re ceived an answer from his grocers, in which they humbly asked his pardon. They confessed that there were peas in their popper; even to the extent charged by Mr. Barnum, but they cautioned him to look out for that merry old wag of t showman, .and to carefully spell ' pepper, assuring him that the purest specimen in market consisted of half P's. Paul Smith was astonded, but he took the joke in good part, in re ply to the lauirhter and ieers ol his guests, he replied: "L am sorrj mend barnum is a temperance man, otherwise I would be clad to stand a basket or t wo of champaiine." Adirondack Cor. Bridgeport Standard. Ureat Wasfe Spots, the Sahara Desert, accord imr to Mr. Joseph F. James, is a diversified area 3100 miles long by GOO wide Summer is its only season, its days fscorching, its niuhts cold. Its soil is chie&y cravel and coarse sand. Its oasis enable caravans to cposs it, although much of the area is other wise waterless and destitute of all vegetation and animal life. The Desert of Globe, the Asiatic Sahara, is more than 1800 miles long and 500 wide. It is a plateau 5000 feet high, and a waste of sand and rock, with few oases, and onlv five trees in a distance of 500 miles. Ice forms nearly every night, and the tempera ture often falls to ;H) or 10 below zero. The interior of Australia rivals these two'great deserts, and is the most terrible of all to travelers on account of its heat and lack o water. It contains about one lmlf million square miles, and tho northern part is almost entirely destitute of vejretation. The Ara bian desert is a sandy waste o about 50,000 square miles, doltec here and there with a few stunted bushes or dwarfed pa has, A char acteristic of , this and other Asiaslic deserts is the suffocating simoon. A large part of Persia is a desert tract, in which vegetation is so rare that one may travel l) 00 miles, and see only one tree. Hero the salt desert, with a porous crusted surface, often extends 100 miles in length by half as much in width. In South America the Puna extends for 350 Spanish miles in length at anelovationof 12, 000 feet. A brown grass covers the ground, there are but lew trees, and a single tuberous plant alone can bo cultivated. Animal life is compara tively abundant. Another desert of Peru, now partially subdued by man and crossed by a railroad, stretches 1200 miles along the Pacific, from eight to fifty ni'Ies wide. The Great American Desert of the United States is a basin region of many hundreds of square miles of rock, sand and. alkali, with a scanty growth of sage brush, and a little animal life. The Growing Yig. ACalifornian paper menritous some of the peculiarities of the fig. It has no blossoms, and evidently requires breathing places, for from the little button at theend there are minute ducts of airspaces which run through the fruit and clear into the stem. If, in drying, the fig is not plac ed as it grew on the trees tho fruit sours and molds. The fruit does not hang from the tree, but inclines upwards, held by the stem, and this button,- or mouth, opens toward the sun. If not' so placed when being dried the but ton is shaded, and the fruit then spoils. Elizabeth Stuart I'lidus Romance. From the New York Run. . One lovely and illustrious old maid has become a wife. She is Kliznleth Stuart Phelps, authoress of ninny exquisite religious books, one of which is the famous "G a tes Ajar." She also wrote "Old Maids' Paradise," and was regarded by herJYicnd as confirmed by choice iu single blessed ness. Marriage had certainly leen optional with her ever since her girl hood, but she habitually declared sho would never wed. Nevertheless sho, is the bride of Herbert 1). Ward.; There is a little story to tell about that. The bridegroom is the sou of Itev. William Hayes Ward, editor of the Independent, "Last winter tho senior Ward took up Miss Phelps, latest book carelessly," said this in formant, ns he sat in his sanctum,, and glanced over its pages, lie im mediately liecame interested, and kept on reading to the neglect ot more important duties, until the timo came for him to go home. He walked to the South Ferry with his mind still absorbed in what he had mid, and he was so distracted with it that, in crossing the crowed Htreet to get to the ferry entrance, he allowed himself to be run over by a heavy truck ami very badly injured. Some othis ribs were broken and tor a day or twolin life was considered in. danger. Tho driver who had run him down was arrested, but Dr Ward declared that no blame attached to him. 'It was altogether my own fault,' he said. "My mind was engrossed with something cIho than takmgeam of my body just then or it wouldn't have happened.' hen the season of outing came around. Dr. Ward was barely con valescing, and his son took him on a yachting cruise. They stopped at Gloucester, Mass., near which Mis Phelps had a summer residence and the neighborhood of which (die had long before stirred up immensely by her story of 'Jack, ia which tho people thereabouts were descrilKtl and not altogether agreeably. The Wards visited Miss Phelps, getting an introduction through a friend and at the earnest .desi re of Dr. Ward, who had become greatly in terested in the authoress through i perusal of her works while recover ing from the accident which she had indirectly caused. All through the past summer tho Wards hung about. Gloucester, and it became apparent' toobservers that this was due to tho Hon rather than to the father. Al though the former washanlly thirty five years old and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps is something' like fifty, their relations took on ifr unmistakable aspect of courtship. The result was the marriage ceremony at the Phelps seashore cottage, Fast Glou cester, a short time ago." Only a Ji!rgler- Trick. Japan Co i,Hiioml,iit,' XI. 1. nun f!l6w. The lights were turned low, and while a rough cro.-.s of poles was Ih4 ing set up the general pluycd wild discords on a weary old melod on, and his orderly worked an ancient accordion. A rack was brought out, and later two women were brought on and bound, the one to thecrosand the other to the iak. The general dosed them with something, appar ently chloroform; played another weird tune, and then in the most professional way used the stetho scope. This scientific tenting of tho patient's heart-beats took the Japa nese part of the audienee. Tho ex citement deepened. After that tho general took a sword and apparent ly plunged it throngh ami through the body of the prostrate woman on the rack, who writhed in such a real istic manner that it wan hard to hold to the red-paint and springddado theory. Next the woman on tho cross was stublied with shears, but f that proceed ing the ladies of our party only heard, as, alter the first horrible sight of tho woman on tho rack, faces were covered ami fares turned from t he sickening spec tac le. The Japanese cheered wildly as tho bodies were carried back and appar ently thrown in a lake, but in a few minutes t hey came walking on tho htage in bedraggled foreign drosses and wildly-feathered hat. The show left a most unpleasant impression on one, and, althomrh 1 have wen a a small boy put in a boilingcauldron and apparently cooked for ten min utes, and a woman held under water lor a quarter of an hour at a time, none of them caused such sickening shudders as the crucifixion. Her Beard Wan Lony. From the Chicago HruM. A Chicago newspaper man, who went to Atlanta, (hi., to accept a position on the Constitution, recently came across a paragraph in a coun try exchange to the effect that a young woman named Littlejohn, i-e-siding at Jael:Kr.vi!'e, Ala., had tx beard five feet i:Itk inch' s in length. The Atlanta ;-' nbejiend this to Kohl & Middleton, dime mu-emu men. The museum mari nf .'once wrote let ters to the postmaster at Jackson ville, asking about Mis Littlejohn and making her a big offer to appear at his museum if she really had such an abnoral growth of board. A few days afterwards lie received the fol lowing letter from Jacksonville in answer to his inquiries, and he is still laughing over it:; "Youn favor at hand in regard to Littlejohn woman with Ward fivo feet nine inches long. This is a local joke, which grew out of tho woman's marrying a man named Beard. Your "L. W. G n.NT." The Traveling: Salesman. It may safely be stated that r.ot one drummer in ten , likes his situa tion. After the novelty of tho life wears off, an intense loathing of tho "road" grows upon him. There is something utterly repugnant to tho average man in being obliged, w illy nilly, to hurry from place to placo as if driven by an antique fury. To a married man it is especially so, and therefore most drummers aie young and single. C.L.-Uotts in the Epoch.