I ( 1 I nrn .' .... "Go'ng to the fi.olUidl fcn.nc next Sri! "No; I've fjnlt -i iT t foo;b:iil -n:nrs' -Why?" "Because I nllovp1 tnydf !r V excited over tlu-ni h-it f 1!. nnd I fou out this rimwr Hint I had nearly mine my golf accent." A VI I u re. Mr. Kawler How do you like yon new pirl? Mm. Homer Slip's a jewel. I'.nt sli Isn't a new girl. We've hud her nearly i week. The Belgian are (Trent p-sroon breed era, and fine of tlio choicest of thU kind Is the true Antwerp carrier, which is comparatively rnrp. Safe, Snre and Speed?. No external remedy evpr yet devised linn no fully and mi( iiph! iouahly met these three prime conditions as successfully ait Allcock's Plasters. They ore safe beciiuse they ront nin no deleterious drugs and are manufactured upon scientific principles of medicine. Tln-.v are mire because nothing goes into tin-in except ingredients which are exactly adapted io the purposes for which a plaster is required. They are upeedy in their action because their medi cinal rpialities go risht to their worn of relieving pain and restoring the natural mid healthy performance of the functions of muscles, nerves and skin. Allcock's Planters are the original and Ken nine porous plasters and like mo.n meritorious articles have been extensively imitated, therefore always make sure and let the genuine Allcock's. t oole Jerry, "There's lota of men," suid Uncle Jerry Peebles, "who are, so blamed keerful of their reppytations that they don't never have time to look after their souls," PILES CURED IN 6 TO 14 DAYS PAZO OINTMENT Is guaranteed to cure in. ease of Itching. Blind, Bleeding or I'rotrurt Ing Piles In 0 to Is days or moosy rsfundfi 60c. Consistent, "Dear," anld the prominent preacher, I want you to notify nil the papers to Bond reporters to the church next Sunday. I will preach a very strong ermon." "Yes," replied his wife; "whnt will your theme be?" "I shall strongly urge the abolition of all Sunday work." Thai Catholic Standard and Times. TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY. Take LAXATIVE HKOMO Quinine Tablet Druggists refund money If It falls to curs C.W.UUOVE'8 signature Is on escn bos. 2 Presents la Safe Place. A young nilllhnud having lost his sweetheart through bis own hotheaded folly first threatened to commit suicide and then became vulgarly Insistent In his demands for the return of the pres ents he had given her. "What good will they be to you If you're goto' to drown yourself. In t' mill pond?" she scoffed. "Never you mind ; t want them back," he replied evasively. "Well, I'll see that you have them," the girl reluctantly jigreed. But five days passed and the young man still bemoaned the loss of the for feited trinkets. Once more he request ed their return. "Oh, lad, I wish you'd stop worryln me," sighed the girl, anxious by now for a reconciliation. "I've given t' presents up long since. They're wait lug for you at t' bottom o' f mill iond, tied up In a red handkerchief; you can't help but see 'em when you Jump In." i . - ' Then the hnniblo young man apolo gised and the quarrel was patched up, In the old sweet way. London Tit Bits. Corporate Greed. Elevator Boy Tyte-Pbist & Co. have raised yer pay a cent an hour, have they? Oflieo Boy Yen. but I hnve to work longer hoars. Old Tyte -Phist 1ms chang ed the regulator of the clock so It runs lower. Chicago Tribune. NEVER TIRE8 Of the Food that Healored Iter to . Health. "My food was killing me and I didn't know the cause," writes a Colo. young lady: "For two yeurs I was thin and quickly, suffering lrom indigestion aud 4 inflammatory rheumatism. - "I had tried different kinds of diet, plain living, und many of the remedies " reeommeudod, but got no better. . "Finally, about tive years ago, moth- t it suggested that 1 try Grapo-Nuta, and I began at once, euting It wlili u little cream or milk. X change for thu better began at once. wrrt .i i. . . . iuuujr i am Wen una am gaining weight and strength all the time. I've gained 10 pounds iu the last live vee.Vs and do not suffer an J more from Indi gestion aud the rheuniiulsiu Is all gone. "I know It is to Graiie-Nuts uloue, that I owe my restored health. 1 still eat the food twice a day and uever tire or It." Name glveu by Postuin Co., Battle Creek, Mich. Tho flavor of Grape-Nut Is pecull ir to Itself. It Is neutral, not too swe't and has an agreeuble, healthful i.uali ty that ucvtr grows tiresome. One of the wunt'n of rheumatism W from overloading the system with acid Material, tho result of imperfect diges tion aud assimilation. ' As soou as improper food la abandon ed and Grape-Nuts Is taken regularly, digestion Is uiado strong, tbe organs do their work of building up good r?d blood cell aud of carrying away the t excess of disease-making material from Ihe system. ' The reult Is a certain and steady re turn to norm si bealtb and mental ac tivity. There's a reason." Head the rtila (oak. Tbs EmI to WellvUle," la ;:1 v. b Rp.tvyp.p.n UVITT VVII By ANTHONY HOPE "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." Francis Bacon. C11APTF.II XVII. (Continued.) There was In tho room, as perhaps flight be expected, a wash.ng stand. This article was of the description one often sees; above the level of the stand Itself there rose a wooden screen to the height of two feet and a half, covered with pret ty tiler, the presumable object being to protect the wall paper. I never saw a more Innocent looking bit of furniture; it mijiht hnve stood in a lady's dreeing, room. The Signorina went up to It. and slid It gently on one slilc : It moved In a groove t Tljpn she pressed a pot In the wall behind, nnd a small piece of it rolled aside, disclosing a keyhole. "IIu's taken the key, of course." she said. "We must break it open. Who's got a hammer?" Tools were procured, and, working un der the KIgnorina's direction, after" a goad deal of trouble, we laid bare a neat little safe embedded In the wall. This safe was legibly inscribed on the outside, "Burglar's I'uzzle." We, however, were not afraid of making a noise, and it only puzzled us for ten minutes. When opened It revealed a fJolconda I There lay in securities and cash no less than fiOO.OtK) t We smiled at one another. "O sad revelation," I remarked. "Hoary old fox !" said the Colonel. No wonder tho harbor works were nn remunerative In their early stages. The President must have kept them at a very early stage. "What are you people op to?" cried Carr. "Hank burglary, my dear boy," I re plied, and we retreated with our spoil. "Now," said I to the Colonel, "what re you going to do?" "Why, what do yon. think, Mr. Mar tin?" Interposed the Signorina. "He's going to give you your money, and divide the rest with bis sincere friend, Christina Nugent." "Well, I suppose so." aaid the Colonel. "But It strikes me you nre making a good thing of this, Martin." "My dear Colonel," said I, "a bargain Is a bargain, and where would you have been without my money?" The Colonel made no reply, but handed me the money, which I liked much better. I took the $320,000 and said : Now I can face the world, an honest sn." The Signorina laughed. "I am glad," she said, "chiefly for poor old Jones' sake. It'll take a load off his mind." The Colonel proceeded to divide the re mainder into two little heaps, one of which he pushed over to the H!gnorlnat cue toog u gany, saying: "Now I shall make curl papers of half my bonds, and I shall rely on the what do you call It? the Provisional govern ment to pay the rest. You remember about the house?" "I'll see about that soon," said the Colonel Impatiently. "You two seem to think there's nothing to do but take the money. You forget we've got to make ur positions safe. "Exactly. The Colonel's government must be carried on," said I. The Signorina did not catch the allu ion. She yawned, and said : "Oh, then I shall go. Rely on my loy alty, your excellency." She made him a courtesy and went to the door. As I opened It for her she whispered, "Horrid old heart Come and see me, Jack," and so vanished, carrying ff her dollars. I returned and sat down opposite the Colonel. VI wonder how she knew about the washing stand?" I remarked. "Because Whlttinghatu was fool enough to tell her, said the Colonel testily. Then we settled to business. This un ambitious talo does not profess to be a complete history ot Aureataland, and I will spare my readers the recital of our discussion. We decided at last that mnt ters were still so critical, owing to the President's escape, that the ordinary forms of law and constitutional govern ment must be temporarily suspended. The chamber was not iu session, which mado this course easier. The Colonel was to be proclaimed President and to assume su preme power undor martini law for some weeks, while we looked about us. It was thought better that my name should not appear officially, but I agreed to take In hand, under his supervision, all matters relating to finance. "We can't pay the Interest on the real debt," he said. "No," I replied; "you must issue a no tice, setting forth that, owing to (ienernl Whlttinglinin's malversations, payments must be temporarily suspended. I'rou' ise It will be all right later on." "Very good," said he; "and now I shall go and look up thoso officers. I must keep them in good temper, nnd the men, too. I shall give 'em another ten thou sand." "CJenerous hero!" said I, "and I shall go and restore this cash to my employ ers." CHAPTF.lt XVIII. It was twelve o'clock when I left the Golden HotiHO and strolled quietly down to Liberty street. Tho larger part of the soldiers had beeu drawn off, but a couple or companies still kept guard in tha Pi azua. The usual occupations of life were going on amid a confused stir of excite ment, and I saw by the interest my an pearance aroused that some part at least of my share In the night's doings had leaked out. The Oasette had published a special edition, in which it hulled the advent of freedom, and, while lauding Mc Gregor to the skies, bestowed a warm commendation on the "noblo F.ngliNhman who, with a nutive love of liberty, had taken on himself the burden of Aureuta land in her hour of travail." The meta phor struck me as inappropriate, but the sentiment was most healthy; and when I finally beheld two olhcera of police bit; in; on the head ot a drunken mini for toast Uig the falling regime, I could say to my self, as I turned Into fhe bank, "Order reigns in Warsaw. General oxscnt hnd proclaimed a sus pension of commerce on this auspicious day, and I found Jones sitting idle and HI at rase. I explained to him the state f affairs, showing how the President's dishonorable scheme had compelled me, In the' interests of the bank, to take a more r lest active part In the revolution. It was pathetic to bear him bewail the vil Jamy of the man be had trusted, and when I produced the money, he blemsod toe fexvemlv. and at once thoboimI writ-. tag to tbe directors a full aorouat of the Matter. Tfcy are kouod to vote you aa kanora rlota, air," he said. "I aoB't kaow, Jons, I rtpUsaV "X 3 tbuU Qttr ia osrtafti prajwHo Twn hrp.se H !i V B H J KJ against me at headquarters. But in any case I have resolved to forego the per sonal advantage that might ncerna to me from my conduct. President McGregor has made a strong representation to nin' that the schemes of General Whittiugham, if publicly known, would, however un justly, prejudice the credit of Aureata-laii-i, nnd lie appealed to me not to give particulars to the world. In matters such as these, Jones, we cannot be guided solely by selfish considerations." 'Heaven forbid, sir I" said Jones, much moved. "I have, therefore, consented to restrict myself to a confidential communication lo the directors; they must judge how far they will pnss It on to the shareholders. To the world at large I ahull say nothing of the second loan; and I know you will oblige me by treating this money as the product of realizations In the ordinary course of business. The recent disturb ances, will quite account for so large n sum being called In." "I don't quite see how I can arrange that." "Ah, yon nre overdone," said I. "Leave it all to nie, Jonc9." And this I persuaded him to do. In fact, he was so relieved nt seeing the monpy back that he was easy to deal with; nnd if ho auspreted anything, he was overawed by my present exalted po sition. He appeared to forget whnt I could not, that the President, no doubt, still possessed that fatal cable! After lunch I rememliered my engage ment with the Signorina, nnd. putting on my hat, was bidding farewell ta busi ness, when Jones snid: "There's a note Just come for you sir. A little boy brought It while you were out nt lunch." Ho gave It to me a little dirty envel ope, with an illiterate scrawl. I opened it carelessly, but as n:y eye fell on the President's hand, I started In amazement. The note was dated "Saturday From on hoard Tho Songstress, and ran as fol lows : "Dear Mr. Martin I must confess to having underrated your courage and abili ties. If you care to put them at my dis posal now, I will accept them. In the other event, I must refer you to my pub lic announcement. In any case It may be useful to yoo to know that McGregor designs to marry Signorina Nugent. I fear that on my return it will be hardly consistent with my public duties to spare your life (unless you accept my present offer), but I shall always look back to your acquaintance with pleasure. I hnve, if you will allow me to say so, seldom met a young mnn with such natural gifts for finance and politics. I shall anchor five miles out from Whlttinghatn to-night (for I know you have no ships), and if you join me, well and good. It not, I shall consider your decision irrevocable. Believe me, dear Mr. Martin, faithfully yours, "MAItCTJS W. WIIITTI NG HAM, "President of tbe Republic of Aureata land." The President's praise was grateful to me. But I did not see my way to fall in with his views. He said nothing about the money, but I knew well that its re turn would be a condition of any alliance between us. Again, I was sure that ho also "designed to marry the Signorina," and if I must have a rival on ti.e spot I preferred McGregor in that cnpnclty. Lastly, I thought that after all there Is a decency in things, and I had better stick to my party. I did not, however, tell McGregor about the letter, merely send ing him a line to say I had heard that ho had better look out. This done, I resumed my Interrupted progress to the SIgnnrlna's. When I was shown in, she greeted me kindly. "I have had a letter from the Presi dent," I said. "Yes," aaid she, "ho told me be had written to you." "Why, hnve you hoard from him?" "Yes, just a littlo note. Ho is rather cross with me. Are you going over to him going to forsake me?" "How can you ask me? Won't you show mo your letter, Christina ?" "No, John," sho answered, mimicking my Impassioned tones. "I may stenl the President's suviugs, but I respect his con fidence." "You know what he says to me about McGregor?" "Yes," said tho Signorina. "But, curi ous to rejnte, the Colonel has just been here himself and told mo the same thing. The Colonel baa not a nice way of mak ing love, Jack not so nice as yours nearly." Thus encouraged I went and sat down by her. I believe I took her band. "You don't love him?" "Not nt all," Kho replied. "I like you very much, Jack," she said, "and it's very bweet of you to have made a revolution for me. It was for mo, Jack?" "Of courso it was, my darling," 1 promptly replied. "But you know, Jack, I don't see how we'ro much better off. Imhs-d, iu a way it's worse. The President wouldn't let anybody else marry me, but ho wasn't so peremptory aa the Colonel. The Colo nel declines he will marry me this day wet k !" "We'll see about that," said I, savagely. "Another revolution. Jack?" asked tho Signorina. iou needn't laugh at me," I said sulk ily. "Poor boy J What are we Idyllic lov ers to do?" "1 don't believe you're a bit In earn ed " os, I am. Jack now." Then she went on, with a sort of playful pity, "Look at my savage, jealous Jack. It's pleasant while it lasts; try not to be broken-hearted If it doesn't last." "if you love me, why don't you come with mo out of this sink of iniquity?" "Itiiti away with you?" she aKkml with open amazement. "Do you think that we're the sort of people f,ir a romantic elopement? I inn very earthy. .V.ul k are you, Jack dear, nice e:ir!'n, but earth Jack." There was a good deal of truth in this remark. We were not an ideal p.iir Cj;' love iu n cottage. "Yes," I said. "I've got no money." "I've got a little money, but not much. I've beeu paying my debts," x'ua ndtbd proudly. ' I haven't been even doing that. And I'm not quite eqnnl to purloining that I3HXK)0." "We must wait. Jack. But this I will promise; I'll never marry tiie Coluuej. If it comet te that or running sway, we'll run away. "And VTulttijiBiiHiii?" Th SJgnerfna for euce looked grave, "taa knew hint." ah said Think what a tats yes del and yeu're net a watl aaaa, or I ahotndn't be (bad ox yu Jack, yoa mn kep h'.w away. She w.i quiti agitated ; and it was one more tribute to the President's power.i that he hruM exert so strange an influ ence over such' n nature. I was burning to ask her more nbotit herself nnd the President, 'nut I could not while she w.in distressed. And when I had comforted her, she resolutely declined to return to the subject. "No, go away now," she said. "Think how we are to checkmate our tw Presi dents. And, Jack, whatever happens, I got you hack the money. I've done you some good. So be kind to me. I'm not very much afraid of your heart breaking. You hnve plenty of useful things to oc cupy your time." At last I accepted my dismissal, nnd walked off, my happiness considerably damped by the awkward predicament In which we stood. Clearly McGregor meant business; and at this moment McGregor was all powerful. Ifhe kept the reins, I should lose my love. If the Presidenr came back, a worso fate still threatened. Supposing it were possible to carry off the Signoritm, which I doubted very much, where were we to go to? And would she come? On the whole, I did not think shi would come. (To be continued.) END OF THE LUCY WALKER. Slen-nlion t It nee nn the Mississippi thnt Cost' Mnnr I.Ives. Passing the place a few days ago where thin noted Cherokee Indian used to live, we were reminded of the history and tragic death of the man. Joe Vnuu. win) was the most noted Cherokee of Ills time, says the Fort Gibson Post. He used to live about three uillo.s beib.v Fort Gibson, opposite tho niott'li of Bayou Milliard, on the opposite f-lde of the Arkansas IJlver. He owned .lOO slaves, ,100 of who'n were men. lie hud thousands or acres of land, ninny cattle and horses, soma being racing; stock. He owned the first steamboat that came up the Arkansas Hlver to Fort Gibson, when the United States government had a line of boat to this place to supply the largo gnrri son then stationed here.' This boat w:n named the Lucy Walker, nnd In those days was noted for her speed. She ran between Fort Gibson and lower Missis sippi ports, even to New Orleans, carry ing passengers nnd freight. Vann was n strange Indian, unlike any known before or since, and was known as a "dead game Rport," open hearted, brave nnd generous to a fauit. He was good to'all his slaves and they liked lil in and would obey lilra Jn any thing. He won and lost lnrge Sams on horse-racing nnd gambling, but It was nil the same to him, for he kept up his end of the sport nt nil times and sea sons. This was nlong tho 30's and 40's, not long after tho Clierokees toolt pos session of the country. Var.n had one fault, which ultimate ly caused his tragic death. He could not brook n boasting rival ond would not take a "dare." While his steam boat had no rival for speed on the Ar kansas Ulver, from Its mouth at the Mississippi to Little Koek and Fort Gibson, there were two or three on the Mississippi Ulver, between St. Louis and New Orleans. One of these boats, said to be tho fastest on the river, at tempted to pnss him on the way down. Vann had a crew of thirty negroes, snld to have no uperlors on the river. He told the boys that tho Lucy Walker must be kept ahead, no matter at what cost. An allowance of grog was given to each, nnd all promised to stand up to the work. The rival boat was gain ing on them. The usual fuel failed to give sulllclent speed. Vann went around nnd told the hands to gather up every thing that would burn. Tar nnd bacon were thrown Into the furnace nnd soon the Lucy Walker was forglug ahead of her rival. Timbers of the boat creaked and groaned. The furnace was red hot. Tho hollers were seething und foam ing. The heat was terrific. The pas sengers, of whom there were about 150, became? alarmed. -but Vann was cool as a cucumber. Ho told hU negro crew that they would beat the rival boat or all go to hades together, and they prom ised to stand by lilni. About that time there was on awful explosion and there was nothing left of the Lucy Walker but scattered frag ments. Most of the crew were blown .to atoms, besides 'about forty passen gers dead and nearly all more or less: Injured. Vann's body was found hor ribly mangled. Knew Ills llntilneaa, Crltlcus I have only one fault to find with this rurnl scene. DeAulier What Is that? Crltlcus Why In the name of com mon sense did you paint those cows blue? Iie.Vuber Oh, that's all right. The models I used were from the blue-grass section of Keutueky. One Woman's Way. Husband Why do you encourage that Mrs. Tattles to keep calling so of ten? Is It because you enjoy bearing the neighbors talked about? Wife Oh. no, but when she Is here I know she Isn't somewhere else talking about me. More ot Hint. Miss Mugley The Idea or his calling me hourly. I may not bo very pretty, but I'm certainly not as homely as he Is- Miss Pert No, dear, but that's sim ply because he's bigger than you. Phil itdolphla Public Ledger. Another Ylrwpolut. f 'Iriplelgli I aw nevah associate with those aw howld baseball play alis doiieher know. Miss Cnr.stlqiu I suppose not. There are touii tl.lags that even baseball play ers won't ft.iiul for. Why It I. "Why Is It," ased the Frenchman, "that yc.i have no duels like we have la Frame':" ")Ve ure all sti.U good shots," nn swoied the American, "thnt we would bo sure to hit. each oilier. That's why." A a Snpplunter. Tho Maid Do you think the automo bile will ever supplant the horse? The Man No; but It may supjJant the mule In the course uf mue. Oi. hi fuil:' as unreliable as the otter. " Iu eUiht yeurs the peyutuOea f Oaaka, Jaun, tins laoraasesl frwM gu. 80 to aver l,O30,l(Mi VU saubw f factor! taaa Increase by Ml. One of the most imprcviive Indications of modern sc!en tlfic progress comes froru the field of astronomy, snvs the Washington Poxt. Tit limits of the universe nre now being reached by thd strong eye of the photo- clallsts. Enough observational basis for the belief has already been added to philosophical grounas ror ttie conclusion that the ion or matter In void space not Infinite rfAM&W&i v , 1-5 , ,A with tbe unknowable worship- ;I' !ng past Tbe view still held -VJSf by tbe mass of people who ; V V;' p&4!fri$$s&it& PWl5. only with about 'jfBf-h fcnlf of tlle A-h-h--1 visible from the . m l- L Y't?FVt J:A'.&m "tones, so WtMXI-?. of first to nin ' h'rt.:.';v".: T'-VH Z number about a million. I .' . '.v. ff1 -i ' : f i' ' ' I. J-?...t ! . ..."' ' J. : V l L s.'. W i.fi VI 1$&&M? VS JmWCTit modern Instruments i Mil L ms& I f 'T..'."Ki "Vl! II 111 IL " I Y7,-7-iV " -jr.-jr r give thought to the subject nt nil is expressed by a Ger man poet, who wrote In the earlier decades of the past century of a mnn "called Into the vestibule of heaven, stripped of his robe of flesh," nnd guided by "a mighty angel through long reaches of planets circling on the right and left and vast Saharas of darkness" at such velocity that "the light with lesser speed came on to meet them." The dream poet voiced the conviction of his times by nar rating that finally "the man sank down, crying: 'Angel, I can go no further, for end there Is none !" "Some astronomers now state their belief that we can see through the expanse of nebulae nnd stars to outside vacancy," said Professor Aaron N. Skinner, who. In charge of the equatorial work nt the United States Naval Ob servatory, Is mnklng a catalogue of 0.000 of the known stars. "I5ut," he added, in the course of his talk with a Post reporter, "the question arises, Should It be true that we can In time penetrate even to the limits of the ether of our universe, what Is there beyond, across space which light cannot traverse? Indeed, we might assume the ex istence of a plurality of universes, beyond nny hope of cognizance by us, jut as there nre a plurality of suns that we can see. For myself, however, I am too busy with the more tangible work I have on hand here to In dulge much In these speculative discussions." Professor Skinner Is now nearing the end of twelve years' work occupied In definitely cataloguing a strip or none of the 500,000 stars approximately catalogued be tween 1800 nnd 10, comprising a list known as the Bonn .Durchniusterung. In later years, also under German In itiative, the leading observatories of the world under took the tremendous Job of determining the exact position of these half-mllllon ttuns, being those down to the ninth apparent magnitude. (Stars become Invisible to the un aided eye nt the sixth magnitude.) The ltonn Durehmus- FIRE IN THE SKYSCRAPER. Chief Danscer Ia the Inflammable Ofllce Furniture. The construction of the new Singer building In New York, n lofty tower of forty-two stories, 012 feet high, leads the" Journal of Fire to speculate on the consequences of a Are In tills structure pr in any very high steel frame build ing. It concludes that the average skyscraper Is too high for adequate fire protection and that when such a building begins to bum the people iu the upper stories will have to sit down With such calmness as they can mus ter and wait for it to be put out or for the alternative. "The danger Is not so much to prop erty ns It Is to life nnd for this reason the matter deserves careful considera tion," says the paKr named nliove. "The modern oltice building contains a small nnuy of occupants, both men and women, nnd the endangering of these Is a great responsibility. "The sky semper as a fire risk has not been sulllcieiitly tested to Justify any conclusion ns to Its tire safety, but judging by present knowledge nnd ex perience it represents u serious fire possibility. The question of safety for the occupants may be passed by In tho belief In the 'fireproof capacity of the building, but this belief is n delusion and a dependence on It Is likely ta re sult disastrously. The results of the Baltimore and San Francisco conllagra tlons were not needed to demonstrate the falsity of the 'fireproof idea, for New York's tire experience was amply sufficient for this. "The so-called fireproof building Is fire proof only as regards the structure itself and this only to a limited extent. The building, as such, docs not assure the safety of the Inmates nor the se curity of the contents and as regards fire dnnger to life It Is the part of pru dence to consider It from the stand point of nn ordinary building. It must be conceded that In an olllce building it Is jKissible for fire to start and the moke, heat and flames to spread throughout, making it impossible to use tho stairways and elevator as exits. Under the circumstances it Is to be ex pected that a number of persons' will lie Imprisoned above the lire und their safety (loicmloiit upon circtinistniio s. "The possibility of a serious tire In 11 ollice building Is generally discount ed on the ground that otllce buildings do not contain enough fuel for a con siderable lire, but whoever entertains this notion should look about and esti mate the quantity of combustible mate rials contained iu au otllce Iu the shape Of desks, cabinets, rugs, papers, etc. It la true that the usual office occupancy la not such as result iu frequent Area, but there are the hazards due to the heat, light aud power and Iu mauy Instances office are used for compara tively hazardous purposes. At tbe same jtim among thousands of offices It is ft: ' exten selves twelve years ',. ,.jk rn ' r BALLOONING ACROSS THE ALPS. wm:MM ": .Wife 5 '.". .1 v ytf tV:' W1 a. Two Italian aeronauts, Slgnorl Usuelll and Crespl. crossed the Alps In a balloon cnlled "Milano." They started from Milan and descended nt Alx-les-Italns, having passed across Mont Blanc. The photograph was reconstructed from materials supplied by the voyagers. Recently Mr. Leslie Bucknall left the Wandsworth gas works and In sixteen hours descended on the Ulver Loop near the Lake pf Geneva, a distance of over 4'M miles. In the darkness the aeronaut located the proximity of the Alps by tho echo. Had he had a reserve of gas he would have crossed the mountains. reasonable to expect a certain propor tion of litvs and nnimig these some that will get headway and result In a roil sldern'ile lire." Translation in Liter ary 1 Hgest. Our Itlllluna uf Ancestors. Has anybody ever stopped to think how many male und U male ancestors It took to bring us into the world? First, of course, It was uecessury to have a father and mother, and our father aud mother must have had a father aud toother, aud so on back through fifty-six generations to the time of Christ A careful calculation of all these an cestors shows that thers must have d if earth, owing to tha; enough observ-: that the stars! th mngnitudo Pro-j :ated that tho; ivlth the aid ofi lumber several million, of these only a small fraction being definitely located, catalogued, and counted. The task to which astronomers set them- ngo was so divided among the promi nent observatories that to the Washington institution was assigned the zone lying between 14 nnd 18 degrees south ward from the zenith, each observer slightly overlapping or duplicating the work of his neighbor to make the strips match positively. Another year of observation nnd com putation will complete the part assigned to the Washing ton Naval Observatory. The work Involved accurate ob servation nt different times of every one catalogued, In. eluding 300 zero or base stars, from which the position of the others are reckoned, so that about 20000 observations had to be made. Further, every hour spent In observation required at least three hours of mathematical computation. In recent yenrs the equipment of twelve-Inch telescopes with photographing attachments has greatly extended the range of human view, for while the eye, tiring, sees less In protracted wjtchlng, the photographic plate, accumu lating Impression with time, sees more. Professor Skinner found It especially serviceable In distinguishing the minor nsteroid planets from fixed stars, and. remarked that Its capacity for seeing what the eye could not see through the telescope was notable In the case of the discovery of a maze of nebulae In the field of the plelndes where with the eye hardly any nebulous trace was discernible. . The photographic method of cataloguing stars has been quite . successfully used In Europe. "These plates," said Professor Skinner, "give very nc-, curote results, but the method Is yet too new for us to depend entirely upon It." The work upon which he Is engaged has been done en tirely by telescopic eye observation, and the Naval Observ atory has not so far been equipped with an Instrument for doing the same thing photographically. It would cost $50,000. Speaking of the financial support given scientific work, Frofessor Skinner remarked: "Many private and university observatories are handi capped because the donors do not understand the full requirements of the work. Such Is true of the observa tory In California to which Mr. Yerkes, the late street railway magnate, gave the big telescoie. Wealthy men are Inclined to give liberally enough for equipment that people can see and touch, but are apt to forget that It requires several times ns much money to use an Instru ment than It costs, In order to bring the results for which It Is supposed to be designed; results, of course, which only the learned can fully appreciate." " 4 4ri !r A? J:, m r"?? - - - V;5Y m. 1. J beeu l.,5!t2:i5,017,4S!)r.;U,!J7tJ births to bring one of us Into the world Aud this is only from the time of Christ, una not rrom the beginning of tho world. According to one authority, If fr,mi a single couple for five thousand years each husband mid wife hail married at tho age of lit, mid there had been no deaths, the population of the eartb would be 'J. 1!)'. ,H 5. followed by 14, ciphers. To bold such a iopulatiou it would take several worlds the size of ours. Sunday Magazine. A little learning Is a dangerous th'uf, and too much often unfits a man tarn making an honest living.