10 Conservative *
\
is binding. In Malabar nn old uiitivo
custom scats both bride and bridegroom
on a dais , and a relative washes the
feet of the bridegroom with milk nud
puts a silver ring on the great too of the
right foot. Ho then hands a gold ring
to his kinsman , and a necklace and
chaplet of flowers are put on the bride's
neck and head. London Mail
Korea's Seven Wonders.
The seven wonders of Korea are : (1) ( )
Tbo marvelous mineral spring of Kiu-
shanto , one dip in which is a sovereign
cure for all the ills that human flesh is
heir to. (2) ( ) The double springs which ,
though far apart , have a strange , mys
terious affinity. According to Korean
belief , there is a connection under
ground , through which water ebbs and
flows like the waters of the ocean , in
such a way that only one spring is full
at a time. The water possesses a won
derful sweetening power , so that what
ever is cooked therein becomes good and
palatable. (8) ( ) The cold wind cavern ,
whence comes a never ceasing wind so
piercing that nothing can withstand it
and to powerful that the strongest man
cannot face it. (4) ( ) The indestructible
pine forest , the trees of which grow
up again as fast as they are cut down.
(5) ( ) The floating stone , a massive block
that has no visible support , but , like
Mohammed's coffin , remains suspended.
( (5) ( ) The warm stouo , situated on the
top of a hill and said to have the pecul
iarity of spreading warmth and heat
all round it. (7) ( ) A drop of the sweat of
Buddha , for 80 paces round which no
flower or vegetation will grow , nor will
birds or other living things pass over it.
Brooklyn Eagle.
Dangerous Thief.
A French actress , traveling about the
country , had for use in one of her plays
a lay figure , skillfully put together and
dressed in a traveling suit. So bays the
Now York Herald , which proceeds to
tell a comical story about it :
At Marseilles it was left in the lug
gage room with other things. The curi
osity of two of the railway employees
being aroused at the sight of it , they
took off the coverings and resolved to
play a joke on their comrades. They
placed the figure in an armchair at the
desk of the cashier and shut the door.
When the employees on night service
came , they opened the door and were
surprised to see a man sitting before the
cash box. They immediately closed and
locked the door and ran for assistance.
A policeman arrived , revolver in
hand , believing , like the employees ,
that he had to deal with a dangerous
thief. He called on the figure to sur
render and follow him to the station.
As it did not obey the summons , the po
liceman shut the door and went in
search of re-enforcements to surround
the place and thereby prevent the cul
prit from escaping.
The door was again opened , the arm
ed force entered , and it was not till they
had suddenly pounced on the poor lay
robber that they discovered the joke.
Harcourt'n Bcaconsfleld Anecdote.
Sir William Harcourt has one quite
unique memory of the support ho gave
in old days to the public worship regu
lation act. That was an invitation
which ho received to visit Lord Bea-
consficld at Hughendeu Manor.
Taking his guest the member of a
family representing the ownership of
broad acres round his minute demesne ,
Lord Beaconfefield said , "Excuse the
vanity of a lauded proprietor 1" The
young politician accompanied his host
on Sunday to the village church , and
on the way thither was warned that
some hints of the high church move
ment had penetrated even that sylvan
solitude. "My friend , the vicar , " said
the lord of the manor , "will take what
I call a collection and ho calls an offer
tory , and afterward what I call a plate
and ho calls an alms dish will bo placed
on what I call a table and he calls an
altar. " London News.
Undismayed.
Counsel for the Defense Gentlemen ,
I appeal to you to return this .unfortu
nate to his little home , where a tender ,
loving wife awaits him , where his lit
tle children call him father
Judge ( interrupting ) I will call the
learned counsel's attention to the fact
that the accused is unmarried.
Counsel ( undismayed , continuing )
So much tbo more unfortunate is this
poor man , who has no little home ,
where no tender , loving wife awaits
him , where no little children call him
father ! Fliegeude Blatter.
The Americana In Egypt.
Americans occupy an important posi
tion in extending the prosperity and
civilization of modern Egypt.
Not only do they form at least one-
third of the tourists visiting I vpt , and
number some of the leading i-gyptolo-
gists , but the beneficent effect of their
missions and schools is everywhere ap
parent throughout Egypt. The magni
tude of tbeir Christian operations maybe
bo gathered from the fact that the
Egyptian mission of the American Pres
byterians has 100 stations , 20 churches
and 9 ? schools. Ask a little Egyptian
child where it has learned its English ,
and it will very probably answer , "At
the American mission. " The mission
doctors , too , are of much service. An
English lady might have died on board
our mail steamer had a telegram not
been sent to an American mission physi
cian , who came on board , attended to
her and removed her to the hospital at
Assiut. North American Review.
Mr. Boflln Snubbed by Dickens.
"Dodd the Dustman , " who founded
the barge race , meant to be the founder
of the Royal Dramatic college. Ho offer
ed the money to Benjamin Webster and
Charles Dickens and was not altogether
well treated in the matter. He was cer
tainly not an aristocratic donor , and the
source of the money might have been
materials for ridicule , but ho certainly
merited more civility than ho got. Web
ster shelved him rather shabbily , and
Dickens caricatured him as "Boffin , the
Golden Dustman. " London Mail.
Real Magic Number.
"I often hear of the magic uumher , "
said some 0:10. "What number is it ? "
"Why , nine , of course , " replied
some one eke. "There are nine muses ,
you Know , and you talk of a nine dsiyu'
wonder. Then you bowl at nine pins
and a cat has nine lives. "
"Nonsense , " broke in another.
"Seven is the magic number ; seventh
heaven , don't you know , and all that ;
seven colors in the rainbow ; seven days
in the week ; seventh sou of a sovonlh
son great fellow , and"
"Tush , tush , " remarked a third.
"Five's the number , you mean. A man
has five fingers on his hand and five
toes on his foot , and ho has five senses ,
and"
"Three ia undoubtedly the magic
number , " interrupted another , "be
cause people give three cheers and Jonah
was inside a whale three days and three
nights , and if at first you don't succeed ,
try , try again three times , you see ! "
This was received with sonic con
tempt by the company , and a soulful
youth gushed out :
"Two , oh , two is the magic number.
Oneself and one other the adored one !
Just us two ! "
A hard featured individual , who had
been listening to the conversation hith
erto unmoved , here remarked in a harsh
voice :
"The magic number is No. 1 in this
world , and if you want to succeed never
forget it. "
An interval of deep thought on the
part of all followed , after which they
went in silently to supper. Brooklyn
Citizen.
Biting Finger Nails.
The chief finger nail chewers of the
world are the French , and it was re
cently stated upon reliable authority
that nearly two-thirds of French school
children are addicted to the habit.
Even for grown people there is hard
ly any habit , aside from the confirmed
abuse of narcotics , more difficult to
overcome than the habit of biting the
finger nails. It requires a strong mental
effort and constant vigilance to do this ,
for once a person has become thorough
ly addicted to the habit he does it un
consciously , and is only reminded that
he is marring himself when he gets one
of his nails gnawed down to the quick.
All manner of remedies have been ad
vanced for the cure of the finger nail
biting habit , including the placing of
injurious and bitter compositions on the
ends of the fingers , but none of the rem
edies amounts to much.
The only way to stop biting the fin
ger nails is to stop. The Americans are
next to the French in the finger nail
biting habit , probably because the
Americans , as a whole , are an exceed
ingly nervous people. A man who ac
complishes his determination to knock
elf biting his finger nails may , by in
cessant manicuring , g t them to look
fairly well within a year or so , but fin
ger nail biting , if long persisted in ,
ruins the shape of the ends of the fin
gers , and the nails can never bo brought
to look as well as those of the persons
who permit their nails to grow as they
were intended to grow. Washington
Star.
The Sheffield club is the oldest foot
ball organization in the United King
dom. It was started in 1855 , and its
minute book for 1857 is still in exist
ence.