MAT
OIF THE.
or Itigust.
August beins one ol the months
during which we may expect on a
large scale dazzling downpours of
shooting stars, I think it particularly
opportune for me to devote to these
curious phenomena the first part of
my monthly talk.
What we are accustomed to call
shooting stars are really not stars
at all, but fragments of some destroy
ed planets within our Solar system,
abandoning their circulatory motions
around the Sun. and millions of
which are supposed to exist in all
sorts of sizes from a pebb'e to a mass
of many tons' weight. As their orbits
cross that of the Earth, their small
bulk renders them ultra-sensitive to
our power of attraction that same
power to which we owe the Moon's
regular and obedient moring around
our sphere. When these fragments of
broken-up planets thus enter the
boundaries of the Earth's gravity
power, they "shoot" downward with
such rapidity as to ignite, as they fly
through our atmosphere at a rate of
not less than 18 to 23 miles per sec
ond, and there, these opaque, until
the finest double star of the heavens,
its larger component of a fine orange
color, the smaller one of an intense
blue.
Following downward and crosswise,
in direct line with Arided. we find Al
deramin, Alphiik and Errai o"f "Ce
pheus." Underneath, the W. clearly
formed by five stars, of "Cassiopeia"
(the Seated Lady), and, to its right
the three principal stars of "Pegasus"
(the Winged Horse). Markab. Scheat
and Algenib forming such a fine
square with Alpheratz of "Androme
da" (the Chained Lady). Mirach and
Almach of the latter constellation
lead us to the triangle of "Perseus"
(the Champion) close to the horizon,
with Mirfak and Algol shining su
perbly; west of them Capella (the
She-Goat), the first magnitude star
of "Auriga" (the Waggoner), and its
companion Menkalinan send us their
brilliant message.
Let us turn about now and begin
Looking Southward.
The minor stars of "Hercules" (the
Kneeler). are at our Zenith, its two
Fishing la Scotland.
F'shing statistics just prepared by
the government state that last year
there were 85.000 persons engaged in
the fishing industry in Scotland. Of
that nuaber, 35,800 were fishermen,
19.000 were gutters and packers of
herring, and the remainder were
cure.j, coopers, carters, clerks, hawk
ers, boat carpenters, net workers,
barrel makers, and men employed in
the shipping of herring and curing
material. The number of boats em
ployed was 11.275. and of these, 10,973,
valued at 831,670, were sailing boats;
232, valued at 938.740. were steam
ers, and 70. valued at 145.490. were
liners or drifters. The total value of
the fishing fleet was 1.915.900. and
the value of their gear. 795,977.
More than 43.960 miles of lines were
used, and 57 square miles of nets.
Over 208,000 tons of fish, valued at
2.400.000, were landed, mostly her
ring. The catch was about the same
as in the previous year, but the prices
were, if anything, better.
OPENED JAP POUTS.
WORLD NOW REAPS WHERE HE
SOWED.
Japan Has Unveiled a Monument to
Matibew Calbraith Parry, the Ameri
can ' Commodore Who Bladn a Famous
Treaty.
It
L
T1
Zenth
0 DRAGON
jrCarod' Ai a . LITTLE DIPPER '
coma Berenices aTOlPPER' 7 w j
CASSIOPEIA f o
10--4 n -PERSEUS
fined x
r
-
sr
LOOKNG NORTH"
The Old lady'.t (irntlrmin Frojj.
There is the well-known medical
story of the old lady who imagined
that she had a frog in her stomach.
Her doctor, after vainly trying to per
suade her that it was only imagina
tion, considered a little deception jus
tifiable to prevent this idea becoming
fixed in her mind. Having adminis
tered an emetic, he managed to adroit
ly introduce a frog into the basin, as
if it had just arrived frcm the o"d
lady's stomach. The patient's joy was
great, as there was proof positive that
she had been right all along as to the
cause of her illness. Her joy was soon
overclouded, as the idea struck her
that, although there was the old frog,
there might be little fregs left behind.
The doctor, however, was equal to this
sudden emergency, for on a rapid ex
amination of the frog he immediately
assured the patient that her fears were
groundless, as her late guest was a
gentleman frog.
The present, when the development
of their Oriental trade is one of the
chief concerns of civilized nations, is
an exceptionally fitting time for the
dedication of a monument to the man
who did more than any one other in
dividual to give western nations an
opening in the east. The man was
Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry,
member -of a family whose name oc
cupies an honored place in the naval
history of this country, and himself
one of the most illustrious sailors ever
in command of an American ship. His
memory was honored July 14 by the
dedication of a monument, erected by
Japanese, on the spot where his foot
first tread the soil of the Mikado's
kingdom. 48 years ago. The visit of
Perry, according to an eminent repre
sentative of the Japanese empire, was
"the turning of the key which opened
the doors of this country to friendly in
tercourse with the United States and
subsequently to the people of Europe."
Matthew Calbraith I'errr
was the son of Christopher Raymond
Perry, who fought on privateers in the
revolutionary war and made numerous
voyages to the East Indies in the mer
cantile marine. Of this veteran com
mander's two sons. Oliver Hazard
Perry acquired the greater distinction
was fully stated. When permitted to
board finally he was met only by dele
gates of the unseen commodore for
the sake of added impression created
In name "Admiral" and he was In
formed that the great admiral would
hold no Intercourse personally with
any one short of th emperor or one
of his counsellors, .nd that he came
bearing a message of peace from the
president of the United States who
should be spoken of in the same ex
alted terms only applicable to the em
peror himself. After several days of
ceremonial intercourse, a meeting with
the emperor was finally arranged and
took place on the morning of Thurs
day, July 14. The result of this meet
ing was a temporary arrangement fa
vorable to the United States. The fol
lowing year. Perry went on another
expedition to Japan, when the ports
were thrown open to Americans by a
treaty which is still In force.
Four years after this great work of
his life was accomplished. Perry passed
away March 4, 1858.
"Railroad
Earnings
QUEER MATHEMAT
ICS USED IN SCHEM
INGFOR PROFITS. XZC
then invisible fragment of stars be
come suddenly luminous, leaving a
streak of light behind their vertigi
nous, head-long course. On the way,
most of this matter is reduced to an
impalpable powder partly iron and
nickel which, under microscope ap
pears absolutely different from any
earthly mineral combination. There
is plenty of that "celestial powder"
a rather bold association of words
all over the surface of our globe; it is
discovered in the analysis of water, of
snow, even in matter brought up from
the bottom of the ocean. Thus do the
heavenly bodies give us a "touching"'
token of their existence.
' Shooting Stars" begin to be visible
at about 75 miles above sea level, that
is. as soon cs they reach our atmos
phere, which is believed by the ma
jority of expert scientists not to ex
tend any farther around us. The
nights of August 10 and November 14.
of evry year are noted for a plentiful
downpour of those aerolites. Every
33 years thre is a recrudescence of
uch manifestations; ever since 1902
chief luminaries, Ras Algethi and
Korneforos lower down. Vega of
"Lyra" (the Lyre) reigns supreme in
that region of the firmament; Sheliak.
another star of the same constellation,
leads us downward to Albireo of
"Cygnus (the Swan) of which I spoke
above. Continuing along the Eastern
limit, we notice "Delphinus" (the Dol
phin), known by its four leading stars
forming an irregular square. Under
neath we are greatly attracted by the
dazzling light of Altair. the first
magnitude beauty of "Aquila" (the
Eagle). Alshain and Tarazed shlnlnj
on either side. Close to the Eastern
horizon, we meet the Zodiacal Con
stellation "Aquarius" (the Water
Bearer), its three leading stars (of the
third magnitude) in a fairly regular
triangle. Its Easternmost star, Sadal
sund. is close to "Capricornus" (The
Sea-Goat), another Zodiacal Constella
tion, end a curiously shaped triangle,
with Segunda Oiedi and Deneb Giedi
(third magnitude) close together at
the Western angle. These almost
reach up to a third Zodiacal Constella-
Fith Hooks.
"Here is an article." said the hard
ware dealer, in conversation with his
customer, "about which not one man
in a hundred could give you any in
formation other than naming it." He
had opened a box of fish hooks and
held one of the little barbed instru
ments in his hands. "It would no
doubt surprise you." he continued, "to
hear that in this city alone over 100,-
000 of these things are sold annually.
Curiously enough, nearly all of our
fish hooks are imported from England,
although lately there has been one fac
tory located at Akron. O. The English
hooks all come from a village called
Redditch and are hand-made, hundreds
of little children being employed to file
and polish them. It seems to be one
industry where machinery has not yet
supplanted human fingers." Philadel
phia Times.
o -9
' V "K . ' P.
T.,r OHHrLICHUS
us
1
otn rLNo
AQfJII A
T:qv.la M LIBRA ,
r . r- p ' c
.'OPRirx'PNus--V.lV 'tV" SCORPIO 9
CAPRICOPNUS
a a, U ' Wt Jl
JLOOKNG SOUTH
these en-eptionally fine star showers
came to time with promptitude, the
years 1866 and 1S99 being no exception,
ooklnft- Northward.
To our Zenith, the second magni
tude stars Restaban and Etanin of
"Draco" (the Dragon), indicate the
place occupied by the head of the
celestial monster; while to their left.
Nekkar of "Bootes" (The Herdsman)
is the largest visible star of this con
stellation. The tail of the Dragon
tretches down, between the Great
Dipper and the Little Dipper,
its principal star. Thuban,
shining between Alioth of "Ursa Ma
jor" and Kochab of "Ursa Minor.'
Along the western limit. "Cor Corall"
(The Heart of Charles) displays a
fine star that bears its name. Some
times this constellation is called
"Canes Venatiei" (The Hunting Dogs)
and then the appellation of Cor Ca ro
lls is given its main luminary of the
third magnitude. One of these two
dogs name . is Asterion. and at
the place where his collar is supposed
to be is found a remarkable nebula,
the center of which is surrounded with
a sort of broken ring; no telescope
has been round powerful enough to
separate the stars it is composed of.
Underneath, close grouped, see the
stars of "Coma Berenice" (Queen Bere
nice's Hair). Of the Zodiacal Constel
lation "Leo" (The Lion), behold Regu
lus Tor the Heart of the Lion) a re
markably fine, first magnitude star.
Returning to the Zenith point, we no
tice to the East, four of the stars of
"Cygnus" (the Swan). Arided In its
solitary splendor, and in a row, four
rery fine luminaries. The rest of the
long arm of the cross will be visible
In our southward aspect. You remem
ber that it ends with Alblreo.doubtless
tion, "Sagittarius" (the Archer), only
the upper portion of which is visible
this month. Still in line, c lose to the
horizon, is stretched a fourth Zodiacal
Constellation, "Scorpio" (the Scor
pion) including the deep red first mag
nitude star An tares (the Heart of the
Scorpion). Several stars in the tail
of Scorpio are so far south as never
to rise In our latitude.
Working our way back to our Ze
nith, we meet the beautiful square of
"Ophiuchus" (the Serpent Bearer),
with its fine Cabalrai and Ras Al
hague In direct line with Ras Algethi
and Korneforos of "Hercules" (the
Kneeler). "Corona Borealis" (the
Northern Crown), a neckla-e with
Margarita as its best jewel, leads up to
these stars of "Bootes" (the Waggon
er), which we did not see in our
Northern inspection. - Looking gradu
ally downward, we pass "Serpens"
(the Serpent), with Unukalhai. a third
magnitude star, and reach the three
stars of "Libra" (the Balance), a Zo
diacal Constellation. Finally "Virgo"
(the Virgin) completes the largest
number of Zodiacal Constellations
(seven) we ever saw together in one
and the same month. The 6quare of
Virgo shines splendidly with Spica
(the Ear of Wheat), first magnitude,
in the lead.
The Planets Visible Tula Month.
No chance of seeing "Mercury," too
close to the Sun. "Venus" is the
Morning ' Star, toward the East.
"Mars" also illumines the Orient be
fore sunrise. "Jupiter" will shine in
"Scorpio" during the first half of the
night; "Saturn" will be visible pale
but steady in "Sagittarius" for two
thirds of the dark hours.
C. de SAINT-GERMAIN.
Sa!' c-tl for ."H NeTpaper.
Prof. W. H. Lynch of Mountain
Grove Academy at Mountain Grove.
Mo., is credited with reading more paid
for newspapers than any other man in
the United States. He fcubscribes for
fifty-eight newspapers, six of them
dailies. The professor was in Kansas
City recently, and in discussing news
papers, saia: 1 use tne newspapers
in my classes. They are the best in
strument in the world for teaching cur
rent history and geography. The real
drama of life in its varied forms of
commercial, political and social rela
tions must be seen and learned through
'the mirror of the world. the newspa
per. Every Friday morning in the
academy is devoted to the reading of
newspapers." Kansas City Times.
Ilonpital for Tired Trrea.
Paris has learned the art of trans
planting large trees successfully, so
that at the earliest signs of decay a
street tree may be removed and the
symmetry of the vista not spoiled by
its successor. For these trees alone
the expenses of Paris amount to about
$60,000 a year. The municipal nurseries
include a "hospital." or "cure." for the
tired trees, where they are restored, if
possible, to health and strength in soil
that is richer than the city's. In
spring and fall these trees on their
way to or from the hospital are no un
common feature in the street scenes ot
Paris. Harper's Mag?".ine.
Uleaalnff the Crop.
A curious old custom has been re
vived at the village of Castleacre, In
Norfolk that of blessing the crops.
The parishioners gathered at the
church and formed in procession.
headed by the vicar and choir. After
parading the village they preceeded to
visit the fields of growing corn, at one
of which a service was held, hymns
sung, and a blessing pronounced by the
vicar on the crops of the parish. The
procession then returned to the church,
singing recessional hymns by the way,
and dispersed after receiving benediction.
MATTHEW CALBRAITH PERRY,
by reason of the part he took In the
war of 1812. but it is doubtful if he ac
complished as much for the lasting
good of the country as did Matthew.
Porn in Newport. R. I.. April 10. 1794,
the latter entered the navy as a mid
shipman in 1S09 and served on the
schooner Revenge, under his brother,
Oliver, for one year. Then he went
aboard the flagship President and for
three years was trained under Com
modore Rodgers. It was from this boat
that the first hostile shot of the war
cf 1812 was fired, when Rodgers chased
the Belvidera. Subsequently this ves
sel, which is now used as a receiving
ship in the British navy, cruised the
seas of northern Europe as a commerce
destroyer and at one time 20 ships
were searching for it. His first im
portant post wai executive officer of
the Cyane. which convoyed a colony
of negroes from this country to Africa,
nnd it was he who selected the site of
Monrovia, the present capital ot Li
beria. These negroes were sent out
under the auspices of the Colonization
Society. Congress having appropriated i
1 SiOy.OOJ for the purpose or carrying
buck to Africa such slaves as had been
surreptitiously imported. Perry took
an important part in establishing their
settlement. Upon his retina from thi3
trip he
Ferrlte l Out Piratei
in the Weft Indies and subsequently
went to Mexico where he studied the
Spanish language until he had become
proficient. He protected American
commerce against Greek pirates dur
ing the revolution in that country in
the early '20's. In 1829, when John
Randolph went as envoy to the Czar,
Perry commanded the vessel which
carried him thither and which was the
first American man-of-war to enter
Russian waters. Nicholas wanted to
confer high honors upon Perry, but
the latter preferred his humbler station
In the American navy to a place under
the Czar. Mehemet All, conqueror of
Khartoum and founder of the Khe-
dival dynasty of Egypt, was the next
celebrity to entertain him. He was
with Commodore Patterson when the
latter made a brilliant naval demon
stration in the harbor of Naples, fore
ing Ferdinand I. and Count Cassaro to
pay the spoliation claims urged by
President Jackson.
For 10 years succeeding 1833, he was
on shore duty and studied the science
of naval warfare, originating many Im
provements the adoption of which
tended to strength the navy. When he
again went on sea duty it was to com
mand an 80-gun squadron in Africa in
1843-5 and to enforce the Webetar-
Ashburton treaty. During the Mexican
war he had charge of the steam navy
and at the siege of Vera Cruz it was
men from his ship who reduced the
wall to rubbish and made a breach
large enough to enable Scott's army
to dictate terms and proceed into the
interior.
THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN.
Not June' Lovellnes but the tilory of
October.
She sees, or thinks she sees, neglect
and a lack of appreciation on every
side. Even the fashion magazines for
get her needs and cater largely to
those who are young. So she either,
quite Inexcusably, allows herself to
subside into a noneaity or else she
fills her dressing table with lotions,
and creams, and massage rollers and
enter upon a combat with youth. She
starves her mind, sometimes she neg
lects her soul, that she may find time
TO use her many appliances to urge
back retreating youth. What the middle-aged
worrsft need' most of all is a
better understanding of her privileges'
and of the amenities of h?r position.
Let her refresh her mind and comfoi t
her heart by a glance at the fragile
dainty blossom and the golden fruit, at
the lovely rosebud and the gracious
rose, which is odorless until all its pet
als are unfolded and its golden heart
exposed. Let her look at the loveliness
of June and then at the glory of Octo
ber. Then let her remember that she
Is October. Let her remember that the
youth of creation was chaos, and that
the completed universe is maturity.
Then will she understand the chorus
of the morning stars. Then will she
wonder at the mad chase after fleet
footed youth. Youth which accepts
happiness in place of joy; the false
for the true: the unknown for the
knowable; the shadow for the sub
stance; the apparent for the real. Then
will she know that her years are Jew
els. The middle-aged woman should
lend herself to all sweet and pervading
emotions. She could give herself to the
varied influences of pictures, of sculp
tures, of music, of literature and of
sweet and noble thoughts. She should
watch the splendor of the dawn and
the glory of the night. She should
thrill at the grandeur of the tempest
as well as the peace of the sunlit,
windless sky. She should be compas
sionate, she should be loving, she
should be true. Then will a charm
moie potent than that of youth abide
with her, and her gracious influence
will make her an added power of good
in a needy world. Ledger Monthly.
Railroading, in Its beginnings and
throughout its exuberant youth, says
Carl Hovey In Ainslee's Magazine, was
a business which made use of nerve,
a big head for planning and plotting
and a constant slap-dash application,
after which the returns were pretty
sure. Nowadays it is all as sophisti
cated as a cash register. A successful
year indicates that some one has
taken enormous pains to study the fig
ures, and that the result of his dili
gence has been a pretty accurate
knowledge of the class of business that
would pay. A railroad carries freight
and passengers for a living. The
managing head, in order to direct the
business profitably, must know what
it costs him to provide the service for
which the public pays. Common sense
and the instinct of self-preservation
demand this course at once, but they
are not so forward In suggesting what
is to be done first. How can one come
at such a knowledge? It costs so much
annually to maintain the track and
the terminals, so much to pay the sal
aries of the train crews, yardmen,
clerks, officials, and a law department,
too. How much, then, will it cost to
carry six carloads of potatoes 1C0 miles
out on the main line to Berryville?
The problem looks like one by which
cunning pedagogues advise little boys
that it is impracticable to add hens
and geese together in thp Kamp sum
or useless to seek to know the cost of
seven-eighths pounds of butter in a
catch question where you are told only
the price of a pound of lard. The dif-
j ferenee is that the railroad figures do
snow a glimmer of snse. But this
proves to be a will-o'-the-wisp leading
nowhere. Nothing can be done with
them until you have slaughtered most
of the items wholesale and arbitrarily
have selected a few promising ones
with which to do business. "Let us
say the line carried In the year 1889
50,000.000 tons of freight a distance of
one mile; the work has been meas
ured, with this result, which stands cn
the books as 50.000.000 -ton miles.' The It is fffimatcd that o:if- crow
Tl "1 ' f f r flinnF ( 1 1 . ma ....... .1 1 . . .1.. ... r. . .
'-' "'"5 "it- r.Kjin., uitaauicu a:su. uctiroy uu,'Ji;u insect.- every
averages four mills to a ton mile, sj
that the total revenue from the freight
business for that year amounted to
$200,000. The expense Is to be meas
ured by a unit which Is called the
'train mile.' In this instance it la the
freight train mile. The Immediate
cost of running a freight train a mile
can be computed readily, and it in
cludes: Cost of fuel for the locomo
tive, and the wages of an engineer, a
fireman, a conductor, a couple of brak
men and a flagman. The number of
cars may be anything you please so
far as these expenses are concerned, for
it will not affect them much. In the
present case fay that the average
trainload was 400 tons, a large, but
a sound figure. Therefore the number
of train miles lhat had to be run to
earn the $200,000 was 125.000. Train
mile cost was reckened at 75 cents.
Therefore we have: Expenses. $93,750;
profit. $106,250. Not the actual profit,
to be sure, but we get on better by
keeping the geese separate from th
hens, and the figures have their use.
Take the company's report for the
following year. 1900. The same work
was done, let us say. 50,000,000 ton
miles. The average trainload. how
ever, was 500 tons. No wondpr th
road found itself with more money
to divide than it had in the year 1&9I.
For. by increasing the trainload th;
number of train miles was Ipaened.
and train expenses v.-ero Inevitably re
duced to the tune of nearly $13,0o0.
The gross revenue remained, of coursp.
the same. Tha figures are disgrace"
fully rough, but they tell the truth.
They shout if through p. megsph?1-
7 he Way to make money is to Iccrcas
the trainload. A well-known techni cal
writer in Wall Street calls this 'th?
touchstone of successful or economical
railroading.' To save train miles is
to save money drop by drop, to save it
with a sure promise of drops enough
in all to make an ocean. New York
Press.
wi;:
yc,
2HAt? Enlarged
It tail! Hat)e 360 Mem
bers, end the Electoral
College 470
A HOME FOR EX-SLAVES.
Njtel lie
of
Title to Accompany the Eyeglass.
Sir George White of England can
now write after his name V. C, G. C.
B. . G. C. S. I.. G. C. I. E.. and G. C. V.
O. and G. C. M. G. twenty-one letters.
This beats Lord Roberts, who has sev
enteennamely, V. C. K. G., K. P., G.
C. B.. G. C. S. I.. G. C. I E. Lord Wolse
ley is entitled to wear four stars
namely, those of the K. P., G. C. B., G.
C. M. G. and First Class of the Osman-ieh.
Bottles In the Ocean.
Numbers of experiments have been
made to test the speed and destination
of corked bottles thrown into the sea
in various, parts of the world. The
most remarkable example was that in
which a bottle traveled 6,000 miles in
about two years and a half roughly,
at the rate of six and one-half miles a
day. It traVeled from latitude 3 de
grees south and longitude 60 decrees
west to western Australia.
F1U .laranaae Expedition.
After various other important naval
enterprises, he proceeded to Japan with
a letter bearing the signature of Presi
dent Fillmore and demanded that
America be given commercial privi
leges In Japan. The emperor had previ
ously declared that no trade could be
allowed with any country save Hol
land. Perry wa3 determined that
America should be permitted entrance
to the harbors of the Mikado's realm.
He had four men of war in his expe
dition and one bright morning in July
they entered the bay of Tedo and put
into the memorable landing place of
Gorlhama, now called Kierihama. The
anchors had hardly gripped bottom ere
the vice governor of Uraga the town
immediately abreast the ships set out
for the squadron followed by a fleet of
guard-boats to surround the vessels.
Great was his surprise to see his police
craft ordered from the ships' sides at
the point of bayonets and open
mouthed guns and even he was not ad
mitted to the flagship-untU his purposa
for the Old lluniettead
Abraham Lincoln.
The old homestead of Lincoln near
Hcagensville. Ky., is to be converted
Into a home for ex-slaves. This is the
plan cf Thomas T. Thomas, a wealthy
negro and exslave of La Rue county,
Ky.. who has entered into negotiations
with the present owner of the farm for
the purchase of the birthplace of the
great emancipator. Thomas has con
siderable wealth which was left him
several years ago by his former mas
ter, to whom he had been faithful unto
death, and should the proposed pur
chase of the farm become a reality he
will appropriate his entire fortune to
the carrying out of his contemplated
plans. Thomas claims to have the
backing of several wealthy negroes of
the north and east, and several promi
nent white citizens of the north, it is
said, view the project with favor, and
will contribute money when it assumes
a more definite shape. The logs com
prising the original cabin, in which the
ex-president was born, which are at
present on exhibition at the Pan-
American Exposition, will be brought
back to the farm and erected on the
site of its original location. Thomas
says that log cabins similar to that in
which Lincoln was born will be built
all over the farm for the homes of the
ex-slaves, and that a fine building will
be erected in the center for headquar
ters. The original cabin will not be
used for habitation, but a magnificent
bust of Lincoln will be made and erect
ed in the center of the cabin. Addi
tional land will be purchased and cul
tivated to supply provisions for the ex-slaves.
Probably the people of the country
do not yet fully realize thai the house
of representatives which they will
elect next year will be allotted on a
new ratio, and will be much larger
than any house ever chosen before. In
the house of representatives which
was elected last November, and which
will meet next December, there are
357 members. In the house which will
be elected in 1902 there will be 386
members. The ratio for representa
tion in the house established just after
the taking of the census of 1890. was
one member for every 173.901 inhabi
tants. The ratio established under the
census of 19i0. which will go into op
eration in the election of November.
1902. is 194.182. The next house will
be 29 members larger than the pres
ent one. Of course, the electoral col
lege will be enlarged to the same ex
tent. The electoral vote in the can
vass of 1!)00 was 447. The vote in the
election of 1904 will be 476 through
the recent addition to membership in
the house, and there is a chance that it
may be f-till further enlarged, be
cause the admission of Oklahoma and
perhaps one or two other territories to
statehood between now and the next
presidential campaign is decidedly
probable.
No state lost any members through
the recent adjustment of representa
tion in the house and In the electoral
college. On the other hand, many
states gained. Arkansas. California.
Colorado. Connecticut, Florida, Louis- v
lana, Massachusetts. Mississippi. Mis-'
eotiri. North Carolina. North Dakota.
Washington. West Virginia, and Wis
consin will each have to choose one
member more next year than they
chose last year. Minnesota. New Jer
sey and Pennsylvania will ach gain
two members. Illinois, New York and
Texas will each gain three members.
Niilxtunro Similar to ICulibcr.
j.I. Col of Paris has discovered that
a substance similar to rubber may h
obtained from the Japanese fcpiudl
tree. The announcement was made to
the Academie de-s Sciences.
L.
REINCARNATION OF MAN.
iin itsfti VaiaTmilgaalryj
Swla Town to Abolish Fuel.
The town of Davos, writes a Swiss
correspondent, is considering a bold
scheme for the abolition of all the or
dinary forms of fuel. It is proposed to
erect an extensive electric plant at the
confluence of two large mountain tor
rents, whose united waters will supply
the necessary motive force. A large
firm of Swiss electricians has been
studying the problem for over a year,
and has obtained the concession of the
forces of the torrents alluded to. The
same firm has bought out new electric
heating and cooking appartus espec
ially designed for the scheme. The first
cost of the installation is estimated to
be 8,500,000 francs. Already electricity
is not only used for lighting and mo
tive power, but is adopted in many vil
lages for cooking and heating and in
one of the largest bakeries. The idea is
to do away with all contamination of
the air by the use of fuel.
A Growing Family.
Mrs. Will Burnett of Dunlap. is the
prize mother of Tennessee. Married
five years ago she has ten children.
born in this order: First, one child;
second, twins; third, triplets; fourth,
quartet. The latter arrived a few
days ago.
God does not expect roses to bloom
on bare rocks.
"There are in Theosophy two central
doctrines the doctrine of Reincarna
tion, and the doctrine of Karma. The
first Is startling, the second soothing;
both are so eminently rational that
conviction almost certainly follows
comprehension, says a writer in be
half of the new theory of life. Both
are rooted in the profound fact of evo
lution (of which science has seen a
part), the fact that all life expands and
rises from poor and low to rich and
high plateaux.
"Stronger than woe is will; that which
was Good
Doth pass to Better Best."
"The doctrine of reincarnation is
that each man dwells in the flesh not
. m i . . i i .i
Once, DUl Olten. Ills imtiuai, muc-
structible self comes again and again
into earth life, each time in a different
race, family, condition, so that he is
confronted successively with every
form of test and experience, assimilat
ing into that Self the essence of eauh
incarnation, and at last emerging with
an exhaustive knowledge of humanity
and a perfected character. He is not
a thousand men compounded Into one.
but one man who has had a thousand
lives. Asa world-wide traveler learnsthe
peculiarities of each region and people
himself becoming mentally more sup
ple and more vigorous as the result of
travel; so the Ego learns humanity
through having been identified for a
time with each section of it, and be
comes not a Chaldean, a Roman, or an
American, but a man. And as the trav
eler dwells, now in a tent, now in a
palace, now in a hut, now in a hotel.
ever imagining that his surroundings
are other than transient and unessen
tial; so, too, the Ego dwells In tempo
rarv homes of body, a craftsman, a
slave, a student,' each being an en
casement for a single life, not one be
ing any real part of the Being which
outlasts them all."
"The great, doctrine of Karma is in
itself exceedingly simple. It is the doc
trine of perfect, inflexible Justice. The
word has two meanings. It means first,
as defined by Col. Olcott, 'The law of
ethical causation Whatsoever a man
soweth. that shall he also reap.' But It
also expresses the balance sheet of
merit and demerit in any individual
character. Thus in the former sense,
we say, 'The quality of incarnations is
determined by Karma; in the latter
sense we say, 'A man's Karma is form
ing during each day of life.'
The belief that every one of ns re
ceives with absolute precision his ex
act deserts couxmends itself at once
to reason and to justice." Wilkes
barre Letters on Theosophv.
Goldbeaters at Work.
It is Interesting to watch goldbeater?
at work In a gold leaf factory. These
men. whose skins are sallow from the
stains of gold, take up Ingots first ot
the virgin metal, pass them between
steel rollers, whence they come forth
Jike pie crust, and pass them then
through closer and closer rollers, un
till they are but little thicker than pa
per. The sheets of gold are next
placed between pieces of leather that
are called goldbeaters' skins, and men
beat them through the skins with mal
lets until they are reduced to an un
imaginable tenuity. It has often bepn
proved that a skilled goldbeater can
turn out gold leaves so thin that it
would take 282.000 of them to make
the thickness of an inch; so thin that.
If formed In a book, 1,500 of them
would only occupy the space of a sin-' "
gle leaf of paper.
Church Yards la Had Condition.
Many of the church yards in the
Highlands are reported to be In a
shocking condition. There has been
a scandal In North Harris, where the
sanitary authorities have had to step
in and prevent the people from bury
ing any more bodies in a small piece
of ground, while the churchyard at
Moraig, another small Highland place,
is so full that it is described as sim
ply mounds of human beings. The
Highlanders have a great liking for
laying their lost ones with those who
have gone before and this accounts
greatly for the over-crowd ins. This, of
course, applies only to the old paro
chial cemeteries, as the newer ones are
under government control, which stops
or is supposed to stop anything like
overcrowding.
Burglars Rlne t-P Homes.
Burglars in New Rochelle, N. Y.,
have adopted the scheme of ringing
up residence telephones to learn if any
one is at home before proceeding to
loot the house. Four dwellings were
robbed in one night by that means last
week.
By the will of the Baroness Na
thaniel Rothschild the Paris Conserva
toire has Just come into possession of
a valuable collection of MSS. of the
works of Chopin and Auber.
Polka dots of all sizes and sorts are
in evidence.
X
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