J
7
OMTE Philippe
de Kosny.agood
looking bachel
or of tolerably
easy fortune
and morals, had
taken to himself
wife at 5 and 30
years!" not that
he wanted a
wife with any
particular f e r
vor, for love or
passion he had
soleli- because it
the men of his
never known, but
was the 'custom of
world to marry at that age.
Marriage, however, he found to be
a bondage, and he was lored to death
with it, when, approaching1 his for
tieth year, he began to amuse and sol
are himself with the pleasures of pho
tography a solace suggested to hi:n
by the accidental winning1 of a prime
Kodak offered as a prize by a certain
journal of Paris to which, for years,
l.e had subscribed.
From that moment his new born
passion took on a character of selfish
iif of personal .indulgence in his
fad that swept the money from his
pockets faster than once had done the
had done the necessities of his stable
of racers training for the Grand Prix.
Now "films," new '"baths." new "ob
jectives," or a patent "new" some
tiling or other every day of the week.
A pungent odor of chemicals per
vaded the house turned to a labora
tory from mansard to cellar, kodacks
ere in the salon, tripods in the cor
ridors; madame's own boudoir, even
fceired to provide him with a dark de
veloping rora a seizure for which
she avenged herself by passing1 nearly
all her time promenading1 on the arm
of his frit id Victor, which, of course,
set the tongues of the gossips wag
ging, and 'was finally, this gossip,
brought by a friend to the photogra
pher's ears.
"Yes," answered he tranquilly, "it
is true ray wife and Victor take not
the slightest interest in my experi
ments. Hat what they do, talk of,
amusf themselves with or approve of,
is their own affair. Moreover, if they
want to marry each other, divorce,
to.i, is theirs, but they must first ar
range to furnish me with a reasonable
pretext. I ask nothing1 better than to
find myself alone again in my own
shoi-.e. with no one to mix up my bot-t'.e-
and upset my proofs."
One day it is always the ease the
lovers committed an imprudence.
Yielding to the solicitations of the
maniac, they had consented to-pose
for him in the garden, in 'broad day
light, arm in arm with each other.
And while the husband dallied in an
interminable "sighting" under his
s'iuar. of velvet, Victor, forgetting
that he could see them through his
black chamber, bent ardently forward
and cropped a hasty kiss upon the
tempting nape of the young wife's
milk-white throat.
She uttered a stifled cry. but the
operator under his black square never
budged.
"He .-a'w nothing, thank heaven:"
murmiireii, relieved, the two lovers
ohispitg tenderly each other's hands.
They were wrong; he had seen and
was iaughing in his sleeve at an idea
mm
' '
KENT ARDKXTI.V OVFR.
that had suddenly come to him, a cap
ital farce! It amused him so much
that he upset his water bath and
ruined his proof; but this time he
didn't care: he had other things at
that moment than "proofs" in his
Lead.
That same morning at table, Vic
tor, as usual, lunching with them, De
Kosny said to the culprits:
"In weather so beautiful as this the
light is simply superb to operate in
the open air. What do you say to
going to-morrow to eat a fritter at
r.as-Meudon?"
And as the day was still young and
the others willinsr, he set out at once,
alone, for the restaurant to select and
rent a cabinet. It opaued upon a
glass covered gallery so arranged
that it formed this gallery, a huge
projecting window to the cabinet pro
per, and overlooked a wide expanse of
sunny terrace stretching between the
cabinet and the river. Nothing could
have been better for his plan. l)e
Kostiy, delighted, demanded of the
waiter:
"This: beautiful spot. Has no one
ever attempted a photograph here?
No? O. bion, then, I'll try it to-mor'
row: the pictures of some frisnds of
mine. Hut the light is not right. I
must change it. it must come from
:abnve: yet if I cover the .who! a
liay my proof will be too black. I!ring
me a t-'.imi, please. Eh? You have
none? A curtain, then, a blue curtain
preltr:eu, like thos I saw down
stair- ! entered."'
An t there, in his shirt sleeves, in
the brilliant, sunlight, he worked for
two hours arranging and rearranging
'his curtiins, whistling and humming
to himself like a worker whose heart
is in his work, his mouth full of nails
and hammering away ardently. Then
lie had broaght up from the smoking
room below an old sofa, With his
own hands he installed it invitingly
iu the corner of the bay directly fac
ing the entrance to the cabinet so
that it. would be the first thing visible
.the moment the door openad.
"Back of the sofa he draped another
'blue curtain to give it the '"'prepared"
effect of a theatrical "aeoessorv,"
;stood a table in the corner, with a
I
miw
bracket above it, and on the bracket
again a pot of flowering palm.
"Capital! Capital!" he murmured
admiringly, and turned his attention
next to his arrangements in the corri
dor, simply the chalking of the exact
spot on the floor where the camera
tripod must stand, proper range of
focus by seating the waiter on the
divan and finishing the business by
giving him a louis to hold his tongue
and to keep the camera safe in a
closet for him until to-morrow.
"Next morning, at the mo
ment of taking the boat that
was to carry them to Bas
Meudon, Da Rosny stopped suddenly,
struck his hand to his brow and said
to his wife and Victor:
'Heavens! I have forgotten my ac
tinometre. Go on without me. I'll
run back and get it and rejoin yon in
an hour."
He climbed to the quay again;
waited till the boat had backed from
the dock and passed from sight under
the bridge; then entered a neighbor
ing cafe and scribbled hastily the fol
lowing note:
"Actinometre out of order; must
stop at a shop. Lunch without me.
Will roach you by 2 o'clock. The sun
will still be high enough." The mes
senger bearing thi note arrived just
as the hungry turtle doves for even
turtle doves grow hungry if too long
deprived of lunch were growing
thoroughly impatient.
And the two convives fell to feast
ing with hearty good will, merry and
amused as two children on a lark.
But pleased as they were, they were
still not half so pleased as the hus
band behind the door.
At last came the scrape of two
chairs pushed back at the same time,
then steps on the floor, a . low, pro
testing plaint from the springs of the
divan, a silence, a soft sigh.
Quick as a flash de Rosnoy stood up,
pulled off with one hand the camera
cover, with the other threw back the
door, shouting his usual sacramental
phrase:
"Be still: Don't stir:"
It was 1 1 o'clock the night of that
same day. The lamp in the commis
saire's office was covered with a yel
low paper, and with the tell-tale cam
era stationed between them, the mag
istrate and Phillippe de Rosny, his
liberty he thought so, at least con
quered at last, faced gravely each
other.
"Yes, M. le Commissaire." said he.
"I insist upon developing the slide
here in your presence in order that its
accuracy cannot be questioned; that
no one, when I apply for "v divorce,
as I tertainly shall do at oace, can
possibly accuse me of having re
touched it. The idea you see, ?s such
a new one, so thoroughly fin de siecle,
perhaps, also, a trifle American. In
stead of stupidly riddling the culprits
with bullets from a revolver, I snap a
camera at them and, voila! the thing
is done."
And with infinite precautions, he
drew the slide from the frame and
plunged it into the reservoir. The
commissaire bent to look over his
shoulder; the opal of the gelatine was
coloring, the image appearing
But suddenly the operator tore the
proof from the bath, held it between
him and the lamp, gazed blankly a
second and a strangled cry escaped
his throat. Had they moved, had the
camera not caught them, had the
actinometre really refused to work?
Oh, no; worse than that The
picture was perfect; the window, the
bracket, the flowering palm, the big
blue curtain, so carefully arranged as
a .background for the scene, only
the curtain, a solid blue w all, with
out a wrinkle, hung now in front of
the divan. If Victor was kissing
again, his, De Rosny's wifo. no one
was the wiser, for no one could see it.
iflis Painter Shot tns Tramp.
Two tramps waylaid Miss Lizzie
Painter of Hopewell. Pa., one even
ing recently, and one of them re
ceived a pistol bullet in his arm.
Miss Painter, who is a music teach
er, was driving from the home of
one of her scholars to Hopewell, in
a lonely part of the road, when a
man. evidently a tramp, jumped out
from tho roadside and commands!
her to get out of the wagon. For an
answer Miss Painter raised a revol
ver and shot, and with a cry of pain
the man dropped hU hold on the
horsfe, with a bullet in his wrist At
this moment another man ran out to
catch the horse and the young woman
tired at him also, but missed. Tho
horse bocar.ie frightened and rushed
down tho road before tho second
man could stoD it. Since then a dil
igent search has been made for the
tramps, but they have not yet been
found.
A V( 1'ioleiiar.
In the mathematics class at Will
iams college Professor S , who was
rarely made tho cubject of college
jests, was excessively annoyed by
surae man "squeaking" in a small
rubber bladder, says Harper's Ba?ai.
The noise seemed to come from near
a certain Jack Ilollis. and after
querying each of his neighbors and
receiving a negative answer Pro
fessor S said sternly:. "Hollis.doyou
know who is making that unbeara
ble noise?"' Ilollis. who had been
the guilty person all along, assumed
an air of stoical bravery and said
calmly: "I know. sir. but I prefer
not to tell "
Professor S 's angry face grew
calmer and with evident pleasure he
replied: "I respect your scruples,
Hol.isi they do you credit, and
should shame the guilty man, sir!"
N. Y. Journal.
A Horn Cent le man.
The small boy was at a table where
his mother was not near to take care
of him, and a lady next to him vol
unteered her services.
Let me cut your steak for you."
she said: "if I can cut it the way you
like it," she added with some degree
of doubt.
"I thank you' ho responded, ac
cepting her courtesy "I shall like it
the way you cut it, even if you do
not cut it the way I like it," and the
lady actually reached over and kissed
him.
An Appropriate Title.
"I think you do well to call your
book 'Fugitive Verses.' "
I'm glad you approve."
"les, its very appropriate, though
I think it's
groat pity they don't
escaoe. Ju
.hire-
HOW THEY USED TO PITCH.
Those Were the Dayi When Ilase Hall
Waa Worth Seeing.
'It's a square manly fame," said
the captain.as we clambered through
the turnstile, "a noble game, but
not what it was a decade ago
Why, captain, the game hs
steadily grown.
'Steadily what? 'lalk about sci
ence! The pitchers, the whole bat
tery of to-day don't compare with
those old "
"What were their strong points,
captain?"
Delivery. We talk now about
in-curves and out curves and up and
down shoots, but did you ever see a
hook' pitch?"
No."
"Ha, ha. Then you know a heap
about base ball."
How was it delivered?"
"Well, the best hook pitcher 1
ever knew was Jim Rang, the
Gotham terror. .Jim had to have a
special ketcher, fer no ordinary mor
tal wanted to wind onto his hooK "
'What was it like?"
"Like! It was a sort of compound
curve. The ball left Jim's hand as
if shot from a 13-inch Armstrong,
swerved rapidly to the right or left,
and just as the befuddled batter
struck at it with all his might, ii
made a sudden and rapid whirl
around his neck, starting back
toward the pitcher. Thi.j was also
called the boomerang pitch."
"But how did the catcher get the
ball?"
"Always in front of the batter,
unless Jim gave him the signal and
put on an extra twist, when the ball
would whirl around the batter's
neck twice, and the pitcher'd git
it"
That must have been remarka
ble work."
But not so remarkable as the
bunt' pitch of Cracker Jack Short,
tht cyclone of the Schuylkill."
"You mean bunt hit. don't you "
"Who said I meant bunt hit. I
mean't bunt pitch."
"How was it done?"
"Well, in this throw the ball went
right at the striker, like an ava
lanche, and "
"Straight or curve?"
"Straight"
"Why. captain. I could hit any
straight ball, however swift."
"Not Jack's. Just as the ball got
almost within reach and the batter
swung himself to smash it over the
fence the ball stopped as suddenly as
if striking a stone wall and fell
straight to the ground "
"And the batter would strike
it it?"
"Always."
"And how would they get him
out?"
"Three strikes, every time"
Remarkable pitching. captain,
but how can it be accounted for?"
"Easy enough. 1 asked Jack about
it Pitching is a science, you know.
Jack pitched the ball in such a per
fectly straight line that the hole it
bored in the atmosphere caused a
vacuum and consequent suction be
hind it. and its speed made a firm re
sisting air cushion in front As it
flew onward the lengthening hole in
the atmosphere increased the suc
tion and lessened the front resist
ance pressure, and so nicely did Jack
calculate that the ball always
dropped just in front of the plate.
Base ball is a study, a science. But
here's my car now. I'll see you to
morrow afternoon at Sunday school."
Son Christopher.
Professor Royco, of Harvard, has
ofttimes need of all his philosophy,
writes Walter C Nichols in Kate
Field's Washington, to bear with his
little son Christopher, who dis
tinguished himself some three years
ago by turning the hose on the late
James liusseli Lowell. About two
weeks ago. Christopher was left
alone in the house, and when a
friend of his mother's came up the
steps, he answered the doorbell.
"Ah, good afternoon, Christopher,"
said Mrs. X . and is your dear
mother at home?" "No," curtly re
plied tho boy. "Well,'' returned
Mrs. X , will you kindly re-
memler to say to her that Mrs.
X called?" Christopher eyed
her sharply, and then answered
slowly: -I don't know. There are
so many things she would rather
have me remember and that I would
rather remember, that on the whole
I don't think I will!" And he did
lot:
A (iood Wing shot.
A schoolmistress in Australia sued
three young men for breach ot prom
ise. Counsel for one ot them moved
for a nonsuit ou the ground that she
was too much engaged. The court
feemed disposed to grant the mo
tion, whereupon the
"Judge, did you
plaintiff asked:
ever go duck
shooting?
The judge, with the pride of a
sportsman Well, 1 should say so!
Many's the time I brought down half
a dozen at ashot
I knew it."' eagerly exclaimed
the fair plaintiff. "That's just the
case with me. judge. A flock of
these fellows besieged me. and I
winged three of them"
The motion for a nonsuit was re
fused. Meat From New Zealand.
A vessel laden with frozen meat
from Now Zealand, owing to a colli
sion with an iceberg, was twelve
months in reaching England. The
meat, notwithstanding the delay,
was in excellent condition, and many
who tasted it pronounced it as ten
der as any they had ever eaten.
I'altlruors a Maritime City.
Bait iraore is the fourth maritime
city in tarn country, being exceeded
by New YorK. Boston and New Or
leans, and nearly S.OdO foreign ves
sels arrive and depart every year.
The exports exceed 150,000.000 a
year.
All in Five Acres.
In a patch of five acres in Burnett
county.Texas, are to be found nickel,
gold, silver, lead and tin and a large
number of rare metals, such as ceri
um, lantharum, erbium, thorium
and uranium.
Chicken From Preserved. Kgji.
A French naturalist has hatched
chickens from eggs which he has
kept fresh for two years. To pre
serve the eggs he dips each in a so
lution of gum lac dissolved in aleo-hoL
OX THE MEXICAN TRAIL.
ONE OF THE HEROIC DEEDS OF
KIT CARSON.
lie and BUI William Thluned Oat a
Hand of Troublesome Savages Indian
Had Massacred All the Inhabitants of
at Village Kxcept One Small Hoy.
Near Peach Springs, Ariz., on the
"Old Mexican trail" leading from
Sonora to California, there is a piie
of stones marking the spot where
occurred one of the most bloody
masstcres in the history of Apache
cruelty.- Just prior to the American
conquest of California -a number of
Mexicans and Indians formed a set
tlement on the mesa or table land
near a cluster of springs from which
the railroad station of to-day has de
rived its name. There were perhaps
forty or fifty settlers in this Mexican-Indian
village, the majority be
ing women and children. They culti
vated patches of mai.e and corn,
melons and fruits in the well-watered
canyons, and pastured a few cattle.
The springs was a halting place for
emigrants from Sonora and other
Mexican states to California, and
frequently parties were intercepted
and murdered by the "blood-thirsty
Apaches, the Ishmaelites of the
West."
The noted Indian scouts, Alexan
der (Jodey, Kit Carson and Bill
Williams had in turn made it very
warm for the savages, and usually it
was a figlit to the death, very little
quarter being shown by either side.
Keturning trom a scout Bill Will
iams and party having -finished up"
a lot of savages near the spot where
now stands Williams, Ariz., they en
camped at the "Ojo" spring. On
approaching the settlement they
were surprised by the quietude and
stillness which pervaded the appar
ently deserted country a painful
quietude which always prepares the
mind for its worst realization.
On approaching closer tho party
saw the smouldering embers of tho
few tule huts, and on entering tho
only adobe house on the rancheria
they were horrified to find the dead
bodies of several, men, women and
children lving upon the floor.
.slashed and mutilated in the most
horrible manner. A boy about eight
years old was found clinging to tho
dead and mutilated bodv of his
mother crying piteously. 'J his boy
was the only one of the party who
'had escaped massacre. How and in
what manner is not known. Around
the child's neck was suspended tho
figure of the crucifix and a locket
bearing the name of "Paulo."
The bones of the massacred set
tlers were buried iu a large grave
and a monument of stones placed
upon the spot in memory of the
tragedy.
Alex Godey and Kit Carson, with a
small party of scouts, took the trail
of the Apaches and killed a large
number of them, says the Chicago
Times. Other scouting parties on
hearing of the massacre made expe
dition to avenge the outrage, and
for a number of years the Apaches
were hunted as wolves and slaugh
tered without mercy, no quarter be
ing shown even to prisoners. The
scouts knew that no quarter would
be shown them, for the Apaches had
raised the black flag painted their
faces and bodies black, which is
their tribal black flag.
No relatives of the little boy ap
pearing. General Fremont sent him
to Washington, where he was taken
in charge by United States Senator
Benton, father-in-law of General Fre
mont Senator Benton gave the
Mexican boy a good education, but
being naturally an ingrate, he de
serted his benefactor and came to
the pueblo of Los Angeles. Here
the daring and ungrateful Pa
blo naturally drifted into the
worst element of a frontier
town. He became connected with
an "underground railroad" of horse
thieves, who stole droves of horses
from the ranchers and spirited them
away to Mexico. Finally he was
driven from Los Angeles. He set
tled in Sonora and acted as the re
ceiver for his confederates, who con
signed bands of stolen animals to
his care. In a few years he became
prominent in Sonorian politics, or
rather revolutions. A Mexican don.
named Ainza. owned some rich sil
ver mines in Sonora, and the gov
ernor, becoming jealous of his in
creasing power in consequence of
his great wealth, confiscated his
mines and exiled him on the usual
alleged grounds of conspiring
against the government Ainza came
to the "pueblo de la Beina do Los
Angeles" with his family, which con
sisted of his wife and three charm
ing daughters proud of their an
cestry, educational accomplish
ments, graces and beauty. Henry A.
Crabbe, a soldier of fortune, was at
the pueblo. 1 He married one of the
three graces, and when the revolu
tion broke out in Senora he thought
he saw an opportunity for the re
covery of the rich silver mines of
his father-in-law. Organizing an
expedition of about 100 men he set
out by land for Sonora with the
view of aiding the revolutionists.
Pablo was one of the conspirators.
After a long and tedious march
over the desert the half-starved and
pooriy clad party arrived at Sonoita.
in Sonora. There Crabbe learned
that the leaders of the revolution
had been bought off by the govern
ment, and that Pablo, upon whom he
mainly relied, had been given an
important office bv tho governor.
Pablo refused to treat with his for
mer conspirator, Crabbe, and in
duced the governor of Sonora to is
sue that historical oronunciamento,
Death to the Filibusters!'
Crabbe now saw that he must rely
upon himself vainly trusting to the
oppressed people, whom he thought
would strike for liberty should an
opportunity offer. Accordingly he
issued his proclamation declaring
the country to be free, and marched
his little army upon Caborca. After
a desperate fight of several hours,
their ammunition being exhausted,
the filibusters were overpowered,
after half the number had been
killed.
As is well known in history, the
men were promised .. protection if
thev would surrende
. I V.H Yta
Mexican officials viola:
-the white
nag or peace bv ma
Lching the
prisoners into the plaza,
were shot down bv the so'
.-here taey
tiers with a
barbarity equaled only by the Apache
massacre of some f their own coun
trymen at the Arizona Springs
rancheria.
Crabbe's head was severed from
his body, and at a dinner given the
next day by the Mexican officials to
commemorate this victory (?). the
head was placed on a disb in front
of the governor. At the right hand
of the governor sat the man who had
recently conspired against him but
now his chief adviser, the treacher
ous Pabla.
KEEP POND
WATER CLEAR.
You May
Io It by Means of a
Few
4oldflsh and Snntlsh.
Fish have their uses to humanity
over and above serving as food ma
terial or as unwilling caterers, to
the sport of the fisherman. Although
it may seem old so to speak of them,
they are often as indispensable to a
country place as a dog or a cat
If that country place happens to
bo one that is supplied with running
water, and this is used for ornament
in ponds or fountains, two things are
pretty suio to bother the country
owner, says the New YorK Sun.
One is the well-known green scum
which spreads over tho waters of
ponds and water basins. hen
its growth begins, the plant is pret
ty. It starts from the bottom as
soon as the sun gets high, in May or
June, and sends up a delicate, grace
ful, wavy thread of vivid green.
Until it reaches the surface it re
mains pretty, but once there, it
spreads along and rots, and i.j soon
offensive in several ways.
Tho latter nuisance from standing
water, even when it is often renewed
and directly from springs is mosqui
toes. The wigglers grow there.
The remedy for both of these
troubles is fish, and the two kinds
that will cure them happen to be the
most desirable for other reasons.
Goldfish will keep the green scum
from growing, and yellow perch, or
as they are generally called, suniish,
will destroy the mosquito wigglers.
The sunfish one has to hatch, but
the goldfish can be bought, two for
a quarter, in the fish and bird stores
of this city.
A Terrible l'lar.
"I say. Mr. Jones, hurry up"'
shouted a bo3 running into the res
idence of Bledsoe Jones, on Har
lem avenue, "your wifo has fainted
dead away in the theater."
"Fainted away, eh?" said Jones,
calmly pulling on his boots, after
which operation he threw his slip
pers at the blue cat by tho fireplace.
"I knew the blamed old play didn't
amount to anything, but I had no
idea it was quite as bad as all that"1
Texas Sittings.
The
"Where is he 5
I rate - states man.
' he said, with a roar and a
stamp:
"That reporter l"d like to get at him:
I trave him an interview once and the scamp
KeporteJ my grammar verbutim '
Washington Star
Not to lie Found.
Cora This is a dreadful place. 1
haven't seen a man yet
Madge It's as bad as looking
under the bed for one. Judge.
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES.
There is a twin crystal of emerald
in St Petersburg seven inches long,
four inches broad and weighing four
and one-half pounds.
The sundews are carnivorous plants.
When an insect touches the liquid on
the leaves it is held whila the leaf
covers over it, smothering it.
The Venus flytrap,a flower indigen
ous to our" Southern states, catches
flies by an apparatus exactly like the
ordinary spring trap or fox trap.
Bolaa is the name of a new discov
ery made in the forests of Surinam.
It is a substitute for the rapidly dis
appearing india rubber and gutta
percha.
It is said that a man in Philadel
phia has a collection of minerals sec
ond to one in the world, that of the
British museum. It is valued at
SjOO.OCK).
While tlustav Hess of Brooklyn and
party were fishing off Fire island re
cently they anchored an eight foot
shark. Before it was finally landed
it had towed the boat a considerable
distance.
ALL SORTS AND SIZES.
The late Dr. Parkes is reputed to
have said: "When a man dies of ty
phoid fever somebody ought to hang."
A Chicago man has invented an ap
paratus which he claims will reduce
the price of soda w;ater to one cent a
glass.
William Cameron met his death in a
peculiar manner at Chattanooga,
Tenn., lately. While "making up"
for an entertainment he used some
powder on his face. In some way the
powder got up his nostrils and into his
lungs, resulting in his death.
A bicycle ambulance is one of the
latest inventions and consists of a bi
cycle with an ambulance attached.
The stretcher is fastened to the top
of the bicycle, and the wounded or
sick person lying on the stretcher can
then be rolled along in a gentle man
ner. Masses of petrified fir wood and
bark, which shows the lines plainly
marked of the different stages of
growth, ara reported to have been
found in the regular formation of a
sandstone reef in tha mines at New
Castle, Wash. A remarkable point
about both specimens is that on the
inner side of the bark is a deposit of
white crystalline substance, and run
ning in the veins through the wood is
the same material. It is harder than
steel and cuts glass like a diamond,
but it seems to be nothing but crys
tallized pitch.
Probably no woman after the age of
eighty can show such a record as
that of Julia Smith of Glastonbury,
Conn. At the age of eighty-two she had
a lawsuit in her town which was de
cided in her favor and was then ap
pealed by the defendant to the court
of common pleas in Hartford, result
ing in a long trial, the Smith sisters
coming over every day, Julia being
the brightest witness on the stand,
in spite of her four-score years and
two. At the age of eighty-four she
published her translation of the
bible. At the age of eighty-six she
was married, making a record which
easily distances the records of ordin
ary mortals in the eighties.
THE 'BLIGHTING CURSE.
DON LUIS CRIME AND ITS
AWFUL CONSEQUENCES.
A. Legend of the Orought of F.l Tlerra
Templadas, When the Cattle IMed and
Man Fled From the I'lare Aerursed
How Avarice Wrought Ills Kulu.
Fifty years ago, as the story runs,
there lived on the broad plateau of
the tierra templada. between Tres
Titas and the Kio Metape. about
thirty miles eastward from the port
ef Guaymas. a very wealthy Mexican
senor, Don Luis Domingues y Men
dez. Many years beforo Don Luis, then
a young man recently enriched by
the death of his father, returned
from the City of Mexico with a
beautiful bride. It was told as truth
tht.t the fair Inez had forsaken her
lawful spouse to companion with Don
Luis, that the aged father and the
husband of the erring one had start
ed in pursuit, and somewhere in tho
fastnesses of the Sierra Madre held
the fugitives at bay. It was told in
one story that both father and hus
band perished in the combat, but an
other narrative relates that only the
husband was killed by Don Luis
that the father left for dead on the
mountain side revived and contiuued
the pursuit
The years went by and Don Luis
prospered. His cattle roamed in
vast herds over the broad plains and
there was much gold in his coffers.
Children came to him. but these were
not a comfort or a heart's ease to
the mother. Her countenance was
always sorrowful, and a great gi-ief
seemed consuming her.
The nature of Don Luis had
changed. not only
towards this
woman, but towards all who bore
allegiance to him. It was not the
brutality of physical violence that
made him abhorrent to those around
him. but a subtle influence that
seemed to emanate from his pres
ence, provoking hatred and inspir
ing fear. His scowl was more
dreaded than another's blow, and his
sneer pierced like a knife
One day. in the dusk of the even
ing, two vaqueros rode up to the
hacienda and called the master.
They told him that an old, old man
had come out of the Sierra and lay
dying in the hut of a peon. He had
asked for Don Luis, saying he hud
important information for him.
Then he went into the house and
called his wife. She came to him
trembling and he said to her with a j ean toward mercy to her. In wit
snee.r: . , ness whereof we, the said jury, have
"ou must come with mo I want hereto set our hands and seal the
you to renew your acquaintance j dat(3 above. Mary Sullion. Charit,-
wun one wnom you nave not met
ior many years. I nope it will bo
an agreeable meeting, senora."
They came to the hut where the
old man lay dying and as soon as
she beheld him she utteted a 3hriek
and fell prone upon the floor. The
old man. white-haired, haggard and
worn to a skeleton by exposure and
disease, but with the fierce flame of
unutterable hatr. d gleaming in his
eyes, raised himself on his elbow
and extended his gaunt fingers to
ward Don Luis standing there silent
and dehant uttered a curse so fear
ful that words may not describe it
a curse that was not so much in
word? as in the tone and the awTul
significance of his meaning.
"Keep what you have got!" he
screamed. "Keep it forever; never
let it oseapo you; and in the Keeping
suffer suffer as I have suffered
forever!"
The old man fell back exhausted,
and in a ' low moments he was dead.
Sn m-n. 1 liimi ncmoc i nfl uu-.it, in n
wasting melancholy until God took
her awa3'. Her two sons went away
and never returned. One was shot
to death standing against a white
wall looking at Orizaba's snow
capped peak the sacrifice of Men- !
doza's insurrection. Tho other was
hanged in Sinaloa the last of as
desperate a gang of bandits as ever
cut the throat of a muleteer or
fought the guards of a bullion train,
says the San Francisco Examiner.
But Don Luis remained on the
rancho and kept all that he had ac
cumulated clutched it with a grip
that death alone could loosen, and
death came not to fullfili the old
man's curse for many years. He oe
came more sullen, more silent, mora
gloomy as age crept upon him, and
avarice was his sole passion. He
denied himself every luxury; he even
curtailed his necessities to the low
est limit compatible with a bare ex
istence. And still his herds in
creased and his gold accumulated.
Ho forbade his herders and vassals
to kill any of the cattle for food, and
they dared not disobey him though
they were starving. Gradually they
all disappeared, until only Don Luis
was left, and then came the drought
the fearful season of heat and
thirst and death, remembered in
that region even to tnis day. The
streams became dry arroyos; tho Bio
MatapAbecameahottric.cle of un
wholesome mud; the grass on the"
mesas withered and died: there was
no snow on the highest peaks of the
Sierra, and all living things groaned
in the despair of an insatiable crav
ing for water, water, water. Surely
God's curse, and the old man's curse,
was on the land and all that dwelt
therein.
The beasts of the plain starved
and thirsted, and thirsting died, and
their carcasses fed the ever-hungry
vultures. Still no rain came, and
tho hot sun quivered and blistered
and scorched the parched earth, and
the cattle died by thousands.
And when Don Luis saw this ho
prayed to God to take o.1 the curse,
f.nd. praying, counted his gold; for
he was now alone with the soul-ab-torbing
passion of his miserable ex
istence his avarice.
The drought lasted all that year
nd the next and when God had
'.aken all that Don Luis possessed
except the gold that could not pur
chase one drop of water in that
thirsty land. He was merciful to
the aged, decrepit, solitary -sinner.
mi he sent death to ejrQ'the story.
yJL- 1
l ong and Xrrjw Maine Farm.
Maine probably has many oddly
shaped farms, I but we doubt if one
can be fou&4 more peculiar in form
than ihpjh the east part of Dester.
This waieight rods wide and half a
ini!o Ice- with the hishway cutting
it at rf
angles into unequal por-
tions
The inconvenience of so nar-
Mit
row a farm, with the pasturage and
woodland at one end, is obvious to
anyone, but in its form it has con
tinued since the -days of tho fore
fathers to the present time, in use
as a farm all the time. A farm only
twenty rods wide and about half a
mile long was in use a great many
years near Farmington Falls, and
may be so used yet but the Dexter
farm beats It by nearly two-thirds for
narrowness and general oddity.
Farms of this shape are numerous
in Canada. Lewiston Journal.
ONLY WOMEN ON THE JURY.
Ninety Years Ago It Asked Clemouey for
a Colored Sister.
County Clerk Iewis of Lexington.
Ky. , while looking ovei some old
court documents the other day. dis
covered a record of the only ;ury of
women ever impaneled in Kentucky,
and fo. a purpose without precedent
in judicial history, sa3's the Cincin
nati Knquirer. It seems that during
the month of October in lU. a
slave negress owned by Sam Heeler,
a rich planter, was chastised by the
overseer for some misdemeanor.
Lucy, in order to get even, set firo
and burned tho homo of Colonel
Beeler, her master. a;l the fur
niture being destroyed. On the
next
stable
horses.
day !-he burned
and a number
Colonel Beeler had I
the
of
.ii cy
and
arrested on the charge of . arson
she was confined in jail. The county
court, with Judge Henry Payne on
the bench, was convened on Novem
ber 20 and Lucy was tried. The jury
found her guilty and the judge over
ruled a motion for a new trial. Lucy
was asked if she had anything to
say. She arose and stated that sha
ishmentoi- that r,i Thi- u9ia.
mont matin .Indfr I'li na in;t.ito
about passing sentence on her. He
remanded her to jail an 1 ordered
; the sheriff to impanel a "jury
! of twelve matrons to inquire
into Lucy's condition and ro-
' port to-morrow." The next day
Deputy Sheriff Charles Carr impan
eled ine nrst jury oi women ever
mentioned on tho court records of
Kentucky. The women, who were
the wives of well-known planters,
met at the jail and after a consulta
tion and examination of Lucy made
the following repo.-t to Judge Payne:
We. the jury, matrons of said
county of Fayette, upon our oaths
do say and find that Lucy, a ne'o
woman slave, the property of Sam
uel Beeler, of said county, is proba-
bl V in M. rtt.Iltf nrfl rr n "l rl n l- W'ti
Emmons. Elizabeth
Monteer. Sr.,
Elizabeth Monteer, Jr., Margaret
Woods, Anne Jones. Anue Barker,
Mary Columby. Vanity Winjate.
Kli.a Smith and Susanna Murphy."
Judge Payne, however, lefued . t&
sustain the plea and sentenced Lucy
to be hanged on September 21. 1H0.".
Lucy, however, never went to the
gallows, for she escaped before the
day set for th5 execution. Jailor
Prentis was tried for being an acces-
I sory to her escapa, but was acquit
ted.
Dream and Sound Sleep.
When a student asked the great
Professor Marne if dreams were "a
sign of anything." he repliel: "Yes.
a sign that the dreamer was only
about half asieep, when some vaue
idea flits through his brain.'" An
opinion exactly contrary to the above
was once expressed by Dr. Tanner,
the faster. When asked if he did
not dream of feasts during his lonz
fast he replied: "The fact is. I did
not dream at all. simply becausa I
had no sound sleep during the ordeal.
I was sorry for that, because I had
hoped to make a physiological study
j of myself. jy sieep was
: so disturbed and broken by those
constantly around me that I had no
: opportunity for dreams." Whose
j theory respecting the dream condi
i tion is correct. Marne's or Tanner's?
COLLEGE OF WIT.
Bicycle Teacher Now. all you neea
is confidence, don't you see". Student
Oh, yes; I tumble.
Young Husband -It is just a week
to.day since we were married, my
dear Lisette. Young Wife Ah, what
a memory you have, darling!
"Beg pardon."' said the missionary,
"but will you translate his majesty's
remarks again? Did he tell his daugh
ter that he was to have guests to din
ner or for dinner?"'
Hicks, after a slashing speech by
Wieks-1 A rousing speech, but vituper
ation is not arsrument. Wicks I am
' aware of that, but it makes one feel a
good deal better than the best argu
ments. Snaky Jim I see you slid in' away
from that house pooty swift Wot's
the matter up there? Weary Wrag
gles Well, by this time the wet
ternary surgeant is digging bullets
out of the cow. The mLsseis had a
gun.
"Did Miss Flyppe receive many pro
posals while at the seashore?"'
"Many? Why, receiving proposals
got to be a habit with her. She got
so she couldn't ever hear a soda water
bottle pop without exclaiming. 'This
is so sudden"
Aunt Maria Are you sure that
Mr. Spoon?r loves you? Carrie I
guess you would think so, to hear the
silly things re says to me. Aunt
Maria But how do you know you
love him? Carry Because they dou't
seem silly to me."
Nurse Sure, ma'am, the tw-ins
have been making a fuss all dav,
ma'am. Mrs. Olive Branch What
about? Nurse It's because they
can't have a birthday apiece, like the
Smith children next door. They
think they have been cheated.
Countryman, to dentist I wouldn't
pay nothin extra fer gas. Jest yank
her out if it does hurt Dentist
You are plucky, sir. Let me see the
tooth. Countryman Oh, 'taint me
that's got the toothache; it's my wife.
She'll be here in a minute.
A caller had mentioned that a
ueighbor had been obliged to shoot
his dog because it had grown old and
cross. After he had gone, little
Edith, who had been very quiet since
the dog was spoken of, surprised her
mother - by asking: "Mamma, when
do you I think papa will shoot Aunt
fnld bli