TOPICS OF THK TIMES.
m CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER
ESTING ITEMS.
Cfttnnin! Mnd C r.tl-iiM H-mw! t poll thr
Hit-nlii of the Oajr-llirtoriral nl
Not.
Use of the most jx'pular
measures in South Carolina
half-pint.
public
Is the
TiiKi!c is gool rea-on to llieve
th.it the general :ciievGl n-e ami
chanty are creating a class of loafers
who ought to i made to work.
A T ii'Ka a woman who applied for
'aid'' at Topeka, SM-nt the dollar
that wis ghen tier to buy oal for a
j. ink wool fa-fiiiator that was going
ai a great i argaiu.
Caia k wishes it to be di.-tinctlv
un lerslool that there are two sylla
bles in her name We have heard it
j ronounced as though it signified the
daughter of a e w.
Ik the well-disposed but misc ief
jnaking la-Mower of indiserbi.iu ite
i harity eo ild look into the mind of
the beggar to whom he nandsbis'eoin
lie would see what he si 1 'succoi"
Chained to '-sucker."
Sini i: experts have discovered that
the Chicago Hoard of Trade tower is
six inches ou:. of line nolmhy has ven
tured to L'tie-h liow much the. ( hicago
trea-urv accounts are out of plumb.
I'hdadeiph a Press.
A with a troublesome memory
B iys that whenever hi; is down in the
v.liaue and feels as if his wife had
told him to tret something he buys a
je ist-eake: and nine times out of ten
he hits the mark.
Tiiim of that Spanish Anarehl-t
who had plunm d to blow up a bull
rimr w.th ten thousand spectaiors
seated in it His upward in ivetuents
would have caused more exciiement
than those of t he bull" iIiik in Wall
h rec t.
X .tiiivooii board a Tutted States
tiian-of-wnr alrikes ih lititn( lamls
uian moie forcit)ly than tlie seem
In .dy almost ct.n-tant sound of Ibe
1 o i' sw lin'- whis Ie 'lliai ins ru
tiient f.-nds its bin and wandering
f train of nntsic up and down the dcrk
cveiy few minutes from sunrise to
suuse". This means tbat homebody
is busy all dav lout' in cue or another
Mirt of aetive luty rc ;uiriny: sum
mons by signal.
A i.aik.k Ib id, as yet untouche I, Is
the construction of electric lines for
bandiihtf freight cars from the main
line of steam roads, a few miles to in
land towns. Where water power Is
available, the problem beco res one
of easy xolution. Sm h a line has
been In very successful operation for
some months past, in Maine, and in
addition to the heavy work named
does a t-'ood aae tiger and express
business.
Ac ( ciiitJisc to Virginia law a per
son may tret, all the cn.oytnent possi
ble out of measles, in an unob rusiw:
way. but. he Is not allowed to display
it in public. A ca-e in point has . ust
come to notice, wherein a commercial
traveler was fined a thousand dollars
by a local court for Introducing
measles into the County. Fortu
nately for the drummer the Legisla
ture has passed a special hill for the
remission of the due.
Tiik Kngllsh critic who distin
guishes classes In America, placing
the Intellectual at the top and the
wealthy and fashionable at the hot
torn, with the religious, industrial,
and others ltween, has too much
puddintr in his pie. In these parts
the wealthy and fashionable th nk
they are also the Intellectual, and
instead or beirifr at the b itt.om of
the pastry they deem themselves the
upper crust English crltlci never
t;et anything riirht about this coun
try. It is said that a large lacking
house in Kansas City has commenced
poultry killing on a large scale and
purposes to make this a regular
branch of their (daughter. n. if
this examplo be followed by other
houses, the joultry trade will le
greatly changed. Jiutchers can buy
their ixmliry of the same linns that
supply dressed beef and provisions.
The trade in live poultry will lie In
creased and the trade of the smaller
dealers who ship dressed poultry to
the market will lie hurt. In other
words, the poultry trade will folio
more or less in the steps of dresed
beef.
O.mk of the greatest difficulties that
confronts the farmer Is how to get
good reliable farm help, and It would
be well for the farmer to look after
and employ his help at once for the
ensuing year, lie usually employs a
hand from live to seven month dur
ing tho year. Many times the help
employed is a itranger, and as the
thuo passes the employer becomes im
pressed with the fact that he Is pay
Inn wanes that should command bct-
fer work. However he ii aware of
the faet that lie ha made a bad
mistake his heip is indolent and in
competent Seemingly intent upon
performing a 1 ttle work as possible
for pa? rece cd. It would ie well
to say that there are exceptions to
this rule, and there are men who are
reliable and always work for t e lest
interest of the r employers, and those
are the men the progressive farmers
want to employ.
j C isoKKws sho Id not ic palavered
; into binning the car iels for exhibi
I tion round the country. The bo iety
that makes this atsurd request lias
no laim upon them. Nor is it alto
gether above sus, icion Competent
testimony is to the effect that in
i Itus-ia It a a partisan and sectarian
maelilne and many patriots (if i'oland
and Russia loon upon it with known
'disfavor. Conceding, nevertheless,
that it is all it professes to be. there
is no it 01 id reason for placing probity
j of the American j m i i at its service.
It is against constitutional principles
to loan government property to pri-
! vate people or for purposes not within
the purview of the government. If
the caravels, while toted round the
i country, should the injured the gnv-
' erninent could riot hold any responsi
ble paitv to account for them. They
cost too much lor shabby indiffercii'-e
tj be .shown to tlieiu now It would
also be discourtesy to fspain, whose
t-'ift to us one of them Is.
llEAi.isv, as applied to the drama.
: was supposed to have rea bed the
I limit on the intr iductiori of the pde
I driver, hoi si-raee shipwrecks, and
j other -'realistic" scenes so common
on the staire to-dav. Hut evidently
; the wl h was the parent of the
j thought, for now comes tho great
J i'.einhardt with a proposition to tmt
1 reali e rea'isui itself. Her attention
j has been riv ted u'n the suicide of
; a French family of several persons by
I the inhalation of charcoal fumes.
' Mic became enraptured with the dra-
runt ic possibii.tjes of a salamander
' tilled with burnm'Jt charcoal In a
room occupied by several sleeping
; persons. Nothing could be more
: pleasing lo a crowded theatre than
the depletion of death under such
' condit (ms. The funeral of the dead
i family was witnessed by the actress
! from a balcony and new "situations"
and denouements were discovered by
the trained eye oi Sarah. I-nougii.
She at once irave an order to a French
dramatist for a plav founded on in-i
cid nts of toe tragedy of the Caubet i
family, if tins new play does not
elevate the stage a few notches noth
ing on earth can except a der.lck or
dynamite. Should it not answer all
expectations,, however, the divine
Sarah m grit Hnd m itcrial for a
drama in the modern way of dispos
ing of the dead by cremation. A
real crematory in operation ninrht to
bring out the ."standing room only"
placards.
Involution Hii'l I'ln t rlilaes.
A striking example of the effects of
environment and changed conditions
of life upon the forms of animals is
furnished by a species of partridge
living in the ( auary Island-. About
400 vears ago the Spania:ds intro
duced the red-legged partridge from
Kurope into these island, and the
bird has continued to llourl.sh there;
but, as recent examination proves. It
has undetgone modifications clearly
brought ibout by the conditions un
der which It lives.
Its back has turned from russet
color to gray. This looks like a case
of DroWtivc coloration, since the
bird passes Its life amid gray volcanic
rocks.
Then its beak has become one
fourth longer and thl ker than that
of its ancestors and of its Kuropean
relatives, and its legs al-o have In
creased in length and grown stouter.
These changes are exactly such as
w:Te needed to suit it to the life that
it is now compelled to lead amid the
rocks and on the mountain-sides of
the Islands, where a more vigorous
physical development is required than
was needed upon the plains of F.n
gland and Franco.
As has been remarked, if such
changes can be wrought by nature in
the animal form In 400 years, what
might not have been accomplish d in
400 centuries.
Soma .Noleil llaehelor ArtiHts.
It is a remarkable fact that the
greater number of most distinguished
painters have lived and died free
from tho thralldom of Hymen. Take,
for example, itho Presidents of the
!'.oyal Academy. Sir .lo-hua Reynolds
was a bachelor; Henjarairi West, his
suceeisor, was a bachelor; so was Sir
Thomas Lawrence: so, too, Sir Ed
win Landsecr. tor he, be It remem
bered, was elected 1'res dent, and his
refusal did not take effect until
thirteen days afterward: so, also, Sir
Francis Grant, and, as everybody
knows, Sir Frederick Leigh ton. Mac
lise, too, who was ol'ercd tho Presi
dency and a Knighthood and refused
both, was no more amenable to tho
Idea of marriage. Then Turner
Ktty, Sir I)avod Wilkle, Sir William
Hoxal. Sir W. Gordon, and Sir VV. C.
l!oss,all of them regarded matrimony
with the Bamo aversion as Reynolds,
who, when he heard of Flaxman's on
jtatrement, exclaimed: "Thea ho's
ruined for an artist" The ce ll acy
of Kaphlal and Michael Angelo was to
him a sacred example, as sacred as It
Is to the priesthood. Westminster
Uazette.
THE WILL MAKES THE WAY,
It fi fx"M- lun un
Iti iuiw iuii-f-rnl da v.
ti- 'r sf la Ui-h h firtrB -'t
hr 1 no v o fiittke it ! '
"Oil ' U " -J ttrtJ tlftO,
"i ii finl a w-y if u at it I"
Is Fame y'liir rut "on
Ji-r j ai'i J-- ai.'-i h
In i'D hr tst-ks i j- Tfiiiii,
( untwiit in tt ' uli 1 !
Hut i'f :"Ut; rill ukf IT
W ho bo. , ti t jj IU iij uj (iriiii e-iB,
J 11 j tid a wny. to nuke u I"
In learning v.r taa'ii ioti?
i ht?r- in I f -yiti r d ;
Alifco tl.e jM-tr ii (1 ' t-HM nt
UKl i llnili ij i -r k :
Wht f.- a loo tl.ir t f kuowU-'lge
in Us J ro-i tiu hflttkfc U,
U lei u Htili rh hointui will
'J'u I i.d a wny, T Hi nit 4 it.
Ai ri !i i w r h 1 he pelting?
Tbev ins wf t rmeiy awht
WiMi ihiu K.-i h fn'ttiug
'J Ije ( --ii c hi.ot i huugtit.
To 11 Mio irit tjs oma.
i-ut hfcuDf nlv t it it
Y h ny v. itij inniiiiij 4-otirfte.
' 1 Jl liji'i a way, or luaLe it."
A PLI CKV WIFE.
Satre liar was excited. Six horses
were miss ug frmn l.ill Hi es' d ove.
1 lfteen iu notes after Hill hud re
ported his lo s at the bar a party bad
lound the trail and tidden oil toward
the southwest 1'iesently as they
were crossing a w.-t fcit of land in a
hollow, l.ill, who led the party, looked
sharply at the hoof prints sunk deep
in the oil and reined up qui kly.
"i ook at that shoe mark:'- he ex
claimed, ointmg down at the trail.
'l'.y gunsl it's the easterner's ho8
shoe." ejaculate 1 Sam I ike after an
instant's' scrutiny of the hoof prints
among which were several larger than
tne rest and showing the clear im
press of a shoe. Tho others were
those of unshod horses. Then the
I arty hcanne-l the marks closely.
Then the men looked at each other
with ugly frowns.
'Well?" said Hi il tentatively at
last. o one answered for a mo
ment. Then Sam remarked' "It
looks bad tor ther easterner, sure!
Th' I, ain't any one got hi ss shoes like
them m th' district 'cept him. I'm
sorry 'f th' feller's put hi - bead in a
rope's cud, boys. I tit we'll have ter
folier hi in un. Who'll go back?"
A couple of the pa ty volunteered.
The men separated. Part of them
moved foiward on the trail. The
others turncf. their horses at r grit
angles to the I nuer lino of march
an. I loped .n toward the eastern' r's
cabin.
The easterner, otherwise .lack
I Craig, ol whom they had tieen spcak
, lug. had been in Saire laroniy a slior
j Lime He was a leuderloot, out and
! out. W lieu h came to the liar he
I brought his wife wit-o him. She was
i a bright, pretty Mtlc woman, but
they hardly knew her in the. settle
! nietit Fraig a; ways had been re
i i-ervcd, an 1 tut' two had kept by them
! selves in the III t ie cabin whl-h Hood
a mi e or more away from town. So
Sage Par had co ee to consider the
nair a "queer lot," and to de-lgnat.e
them as "th easterner an'
which was intended to bo
hi-- wife,
anything
but complimentary.
When the trailing party reined up
in front of Craig's cabin, they tound
the object of their .search sitting on
a log before the door smoking. From
his dress bespattered with mud. it
was evident that hi: had just returned
from riding. The party exchanged
glances of understanding.
Sam Pike came lo the point at once
"Craig," he said, ". er wanted down
ter th' Par:"
" hat's that''" demand 'd the east
erner angrily.
"Yer wanted down to th' Par:"
Sam repeated, "tor boss .stealing'."
he added
Craig's face was allame in the in
stant. He sprang from his seat,
throwing back his hand to his hip
Hut the others bad him covered and
his hand d opped loosely by his side
again. "It's a He" he said, "and;
you know t."
Just then a woman's figure ap-1
peared in the cabin doorway. It was ;
Craig's wife j
'What's the matter'r"' sho ques- '
ttoned anxiously, seeing her husband's j
attitude !
Craig spoke up quickly: "Go hicrf, I
lolly: They've got up a dirty story j
about me and want me to go to the i
Par. Put I'll come back in a little ,
while" i
Sam had a great fear of women's
tongues and tears, and immediately ;
ordered Craig to mount a horse which ,
another man at a word secured from
the stable near by. The woman had
looked on dumbly, seeming hardly to
comprehend what was taking place,
but as sh saw hern isband walkover i
toward the horse, she ran to him and
threw both arms about him, holding
him tight to her. He unclasped her
arms gently after an Instant and
mounted the horse and turning in
the saddle waved his hand to her. ;
Then they rode away, and after they I
had gone a plcne Sam looked back i
and saw tho woman stl'l standing
there, her h nds loosely locked be
fore her, watching them with wide ;
open eyes "She's grit ter th' back- !
bone," mnt'ered that worthy and
lashed his horse Into a gallop.
All Sago Har crowded around the
party when they drew rein In town,
and there were some who would have
strung Craig tip upon ti o spot when
Sam had told the story. Sage Har
was in that stage of progress whe e
horse stealing was a capital offense
and a short shrift was granted to
o.lenders. Hut sam's protest that
nothing should hedono until tho Mines
party returned was heeded, and tho
prisoner was put In an empty cabin,
tied hand and foot, several of tho
men agreeing to stand guard.
The afternoon waned away, and
evening camo, and the I lines party
did not make Its appearance. So
Craig was given something to eat and
then was fastened Utihtly once more,
and the men rolled themselves up In
their blankets In front of the cabiu
jaloutll o'clock, leaving on'y Jo
Stetson sat himself !owr on a
stump and lit a pipe, and w th his
rifle across bis kn-s fell to thinking ,
al-outsome "mavericks" he'd had
branded that d.iv. Piesently be mi- ;
agined he beard a s .ft step fr m the
piair e He raised his bea I and list
e led. Just then the moon showed a
rim tie oud a sailing cloud, and its
light fell on a figure a woman's fig
uremaking its way toward the
cabin. Metson rose lo bis feet, let
ting nis rule-butt drop on the ground,
and curiously surve.ed the woman,
w ho 'A as close to him now. It was
the easterner's wile.
"lsheiu there?" sh : said, her
voice trembling a bit.
"Yes." auswere I Stetson
'K an 1 see him?" she asked. "Only
for a moment," she added
"Can't do it uiarm," said tetson.
For a moment she was quiet, look
ing longingly toward the cabin and
clasping and unclasping her hands
softly. The man hojied she would
go He had hated to say no, and he
did .'t know how long his determina
tion to refuse wou.d la-t. "Put the
say tbey'ic going to try him to-morrow,
and I mayn't get another
chance" Mi- looked at him so
sadly and yet so bravely withal that
Metson wavered and was lost.
"For live minutes, then, no more"'
he said, halt repenting of his words
t he in tant they were a tiered.
i ut he unlocked the cabin door for
her and locked it behind her again.
Then he stood outside the door curs
ing himself. Piescntiy there was a
rap from the ini Ie of thecabiu and,
much relieved, he undid tne door,
but he kept his finger on the. hammer
of his li e as he stood aside to allow
her to pass.
Hie came o it quickly. Stetson
turned and bent to fasten the door.
As be did so lie felt a tiny ring of
cold metal against his head and
heard. In her voice, now without a
tremble:
"Put up your hands and do It
'. quickly"' The order was so distinct
ly put and so emphatically backed up
hv the cold metal which Metson
knew o .lv too well was the danger- ,
ous end of a revolver that he did not
hesitate As he threw up his hands
the door was pulled open from the
in ide, and a ma i dashed out and
incited in the darkness of the prairie.
A moment more, and the hoof-beats
oi a horse came back, sounding clear '
and sharp on the -till air.
; The me i who ha i been asleep till
: now, awakened by the noise, sleepily
. raised tliemse, es on their elbows.
The woman h id not moved the pi to!
from Stetson's head, but now she
d -opped the weapon quickly and ,
irted to run. In an instant Stet
s mi was after her. and wi d at being
outwitted had luu her down and
caught her before she had gone fifty
jards As he grasped her by the
shoulders the boo. beats were dying
on the air, and the woman looked
into her i aptVs face with an ex
ultant smile ;
Stetson in ought her back to the
I cabin and in a half shamed way t.oid
1 his story. The woman was quiet and ;
d d not seem to hear what they said.
Pcspite their chagrin at having been ;
worsted by a woman, the men could i
not but ad m I e her luck and skill. I
Then they argued as to what they
would do with her, and finally de- '
elded to take her into town as soon '
as it was light. They locked her ;
in tho cabin and then sat up and
talked the rest of the night They
f 'it that it would be useless to at
tempt to trail Cialg In the dark, and,
to tell the truth, they were just a
bit fearful that the woman would
escape them unless they kept a sharp
lookout
When morning came, a big party
set off in pursuit of Craig. Put they
had scant hoi of overtaking him
with a horse under him and his many
hours' start. The easterner's wife
.still remained locked In the cabin.
Sage Har once found itself nonplused.
Paw and order had been reversed by
a woman, and the town had the of
fender in custody. Hut smoke and
ponder as it might, sago Har was at
loss to know how to p oeeed. All
the laws of the settlement, unwritten
though they were, had sprung fiom
an acute sense of frontier needs and
referred to men. 'There was an in
delinable feeling among the Sage Par
Solons that these laws could not be
apnlied with much propriey to women,
and so they talked much, smoked and
drank much more and did nothing.
When the Mines party carno in.
tired, hungry, and empty handed, no
solution of the difficulty presented
itself, and so with admirable judg
ment the town decided to Iree
itself of further responsibility by set
ting the woman at liberty. Th
easterner's wife was pale and evi
dently worn out when they brought
her out of the cabin: but she said
not a word when they told her she
might go and walked off in the direc
tion of her home with a smile, half
of defiance, halt or satisfaction. That
night the party which had gone in
pursuit of Craig returned, having
made a fruitless search.
Two days later, just as Sage .Par
was preparing its evening meal, two
men were seen riding ow a swell
from
the northwest rive horses
driven loosely before them.
i were
When tho men got nearer tho town
one of them was recognized as the
easterner. He was riding bare
headed, and beside him rode another,
dark and swarthy, his anus bound to
his sides, his horse led by Craig. All
Sage Har assembled about the party,
while Craig told tho story of how he
had ridden away that night, had
struck tho trail of the horses, and
following It had brought the Mexi
can thief to terms with a shot from
his rlflo, and then camo back. And
when ho had done there wore cheers
for the Easterner such as the town
hadn't had a chance to relieve itself
of for a long while, and to this day
there is not a man in Sage Har, but
louche-bis slouch hat to the Kast
eruer's wi'e, whom Jo Stetson de
clares is "th' sandiest ii ;l ' woman
in the West"' --Kansas i it Timei.
iilUf i.
One o those Strang -chances w hich
afterward seen to have been the de
sign of j'rov'.dem-e, occurred years
a-o at Christ f lurch, iu Gardiner.
Maine Late at nignt the building
was struck bv lightning. and one point
of the rool.was soi.n iu a blaze. Every
one within a pos-ibie ra lr.s rushed to
the re cue, out no one could scale the
height and it seemed as if thechureh
must go
-uideulv a voting man who had
U-en a sailor, and who bore no envi
able reputation in the neighborhoo I,
appealed on the roof. Water was
ra sed to him i i uekets by the m-n
below, and, agile as a cat, lie ran
a out dashing it i'p m the names
He worxed with a will, and at length
began chopping away at the roof tim
bers with an axe This, however,
slipped from his grasp, and fell crash
ing into t lie church beliw.
'There goes my ax right down into
Capt. Kimball's p-w"' called thu
sailor, and he accompanied tlie re
mark with a gre.it oath.
pishop l;uige-s. who was in the
crowd, he rd t tie words and the oath,
and as soon as the lire was under con
trol, he aske 1 the name of theyo ng
man who had saved the church. The
next, day the bishop went to the sail
or's home, talked with him familiarly
about the sin or pro'anity, and gave
him a little prayer book.
Ni warm was the bishop's love of
mankind mat no one could listen to
I him without beli ving in i:a sincerity,
i The sailor literally experienced the
. M)i ritual process, "a change of h.-art "
i He went to sea again, but a i.ld the
temptations of his former life, he
! avoided ali its vices,
i Years afterward he was stabbed
while actin as pcae.em iker in a street
tight, anu d ed an honest and God
i feearing citi.eu. Youth's Com pa u
' ion.
l-'riink Con I'esiHion. .
Robert Chambers, the large hearted
and honest publisher, one pight ap
peared at his club, after a short ab
sence, and these delighted at least
one memoer .1. C Jeaffreson by a
de.i iousl frank expression of opinicc.
JcalTresoti began the conversation by
asking:
"W hat have you been doing since I
saw you last?"
"I have jtiost been spending the
time m ."Scotland with my ain people,
and for my diversion 1'have been
reading yet again Scott's novels. I
went deiibeiately through the whole
lot o' them. What do you think of a
mini o' my years spending the greater
nart of the mug holidays in sic a
wav?"
It was in that way that I ilrst
made aeiuamtance with the Waver-
ley novels," was the enthu-iast c re
ply, "in a broil ng hot summer and
autumn How you must have en
joyed yourself:"
"'Weel, weel, I canna say," re
turned the Scottish publisher and
man of letters. Then he looked
warily up and down the room to make
sure of not being heard by any brother
Scotsman, and continued:
"Icauna say 1 enjoyed the buiks so
much as I did in my younger time. I
would not say it aloud in Adinbro,
but weel you believe me when I say
that Sir Walter isn't what he used
to be to mc? To tale you the truth, "
he added, lowcrinz his voice almost
to a whisper, "to tale you the truth,
1 found him rather prosy! Ay, but
dinna be laughing, or the lads there
will be asking what I said to you. It
is tlie truth that I tale you: 1 tnoost
coniace 1 found him at times a leetle
; prosy"'
I Aroused the Hired Girl.
"Maria," said Simnkins, as he
looked up at the sunlight streaming
through the window, "do you sup
pose the hired girl has got up yet?"
Mrs. simpkins listened for a mo
ment, and not hearing anything
breaking in tho kipihen, replied
"No."
"I'll call her," replied Simpkins,
as he si i lined out of bed and into the
I hallway and shouted "Hannah."
j But Hannah slept on, and Slmp
I kins, after repeated calls, prayed
' softly lo himself and bruised the
skin of his hand knocking on tne
door. Then lie came back and talked
vigorously to Maria about hired gbis
and her's in particular.
"I'll wako her up," he dually said,
gleefully, and then he got out his
lorty-four caiiber revolver and broke
his teeth getting the bullets out of
two cartridges. Then he hustled out
again into tho hallway and fired a
salute at Hannah's door, following it
by another. In an instant he heard
Hannah scream from tho kitchen be
low. She was up and had been ' for
half an hour. Conse quently she it
was who let the big policeman, the
baker and the milkman In at the
frontdoor, and It took Simpkins ten
minutes to convince them that he
had not murdered his wife. Maria,
however, as soon as she was visible,
straightened things out, but some
how simpkins feels that neither the
hired girl, the baker, the milkman,
nor tho policeman look upon him as
a man of great brain power. Phila
delphia t all.
MnHt Have Meant Htm.
"1 want Kurnell Breckenrldge,
who libs next dore ter me, put under
a million dollar bonds ter keep do
peace," said Sam Johnsing excicdly
to an Austin, Texas, justice of tho
peacd.
"He has theratcned your life?"
asked the justice
"Me has done that berry ting, lie
tole tne dat he was gwlnter till do
next nlggah ho caught aftor dark in
his hen house plum full of huck
shat." "Aok stjeks to a man," says a con
temporarjf So docs mucilage.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
Talc ol luu Coin null a FrlucBty Nuaa-
Joseph Ilatton, in his book of gos
sip, ntitled "In Jest and Earnest,"
tells an interesting story of one of
the stiange happenin 's at the B itish
Museum A irmce who was visiting
at Windsor Castle went one day to
the museum, lo see a lamouscoin,
the only one of its kind known to lie
in existence. The keeper took him
Into a private room, and with much
solemnity drew forth the prec ous
relic '1 he Prince examined it w th
the live. iest interest an i suppressed
excitement which indicated that be,
too. was a collector of toins.
The keeper turned away for an in
stant, ami heard something tall.
"1 have dropped it." exclai med the
i'ri: ce.
The k- eer.oined him in his search,
but nowhere ouid the coin lie lound.
Ten, twenty, thirty minutes pas-ed.
'ibe Prin e looked at h'.s watch.
"I am very sorry," said h'e, "out 1
have an appointment, I must o."
The keeper walked to the door,
locked it, put the key in his pocKet,
and sa d. looking the Prince str ight
iu the eye:
Not until you re -to re the coin I
saw la t in your band Ton cannot
leave this room until you give it
back!"
"Wnat: One would think, from
your manner, that "
C .otat all, " interrupted the keeper.
"Come, let us find it"
Tlie Prince bit bis lip, turned pile,
and resumed thesearcli. Attheeud
uf an hour, he declared his detcrmina
ti.in to lea e the place.
If you insist," said the keeper,
'it will be my painful duty to call an
o Veer, and have you searched."
The Princeleaned against the walls,
overwhelmed."
' Do you mean tla't?" he gasped.
"I do."
"Then we must continue the
search.''
Every nook and cranny was reex
amined. After a wh le the Prince
sat down, the picture of despair,
when suddenly no saw the coin packed
away against the skirting of the room,
a d lving as if glued to the wood.
"Ohl oh." cried the keeper, "here
it isl"
"Thank God"' exclaimed the
Prince.
"My dear sir,'' said the keep r,
"can you forgive me?"
" . es. certainly," was the reply.
'I was never more frightened, las
sure you. I riev r realized until now
how circumstantial evidence might
hang a man for a crime of which he
jiiiiiht be perfectly innocent. Stand
a little away iroin me, please, and I
will show you why 1 was so an cous
to be gone You say lhat coin in
yo.ir hand is the only one in exist
ence.''
The P rince put his hand In his
poci-ct, and drew out its fellow.
"1 ciime into possession of this a
year ago. Ever since, I have had a
burning desire to see the British
Museum cmn. Put had I been
seaeched, what would you have
thought of my explanation that there
were two such coins, and that 1 had
come to com; are mine with yours?"
Would vou have believed me?"
"I am bound to say, sir, I should
not"
"And 1 could ' not have blamed
you. Yet. you see, the claim would
have bean perfectly true, though I
had suffered the reputation of being
a thief."
Alaka Salmon.
An effort is being made by a num
ber of interested citizens of this city,
says the San Francisco Chronicle, to
pro oct the salmon industry of the
J'acilic Coast There is imminent
danger, it is asserted, of the exter
mination of the salmon unless some
thing be clone, and a bill has been
sent to Congress, and a petition tn
both houses of that body in favor of
the bill is being largely circulated.
It seems that the favorite habitat
of the salmon of the Pacific Coast is
the waters of Ala-ka. and the sal
mon fishing of that Te. ritory has ! e
come one of the most important in
dustries of the I nitcd States. In
twohe years there were packed in
Alaska, -',15ti,"i-l cases cf salmon,
the total value of which at the low
est average price, was $lti,)27,00 '.
There are in Alaska, between 55 de
grees and fits degrees north latitude,
thirty-four canneries, which have
been constructed at a cost of from
$:.-, 000 to $50,000 each.
The present dilllculty is that al
though the number of canneries in
Alaska has largely Increased, the out
put from the earlier locations ha
actually diminished during the last
three years. The reason for this de
crease is that there are fewer sal
mon, the streams which are their
favorite haunts having been fished
out on the one hand, and so guarded
on tho other with nets, Hshracks, and
other appliances tbat tho salmon
cannot get up stream to their spawn
ing grounds.
A Wheat King-
One of the wealthiest men In the
Argentine Republic Is Senor Jose
Guaz.one, the "wheat king." He
owns (111,000 acres of land, according
to South American papers. Hewent
to Buenos Ayres in 1875, when 20
years old, with only a few dollars in
his pocket In the following year ho
saved 8w,0oo. He invested the
money In land and in 18i9 his estate
was valued at $1,000. With the
money which he had saved he rented
more lands, sowed them In wheat
and borrowed Machines to reap hit
crops. Guazzone Is said to be of He
brew orlgla
DaiNKiNo a "bumper" to the
health of a friend Is all right It the
drinking is not repeated of ten enough
to make the friend bump the side
walk od his way home
