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V" I iVfflll VI i 11 l
THE "SKIP'S" STORY
D ANN IK MLEAN, knowu to bin
lutlmates of the curling club of
Hytown, Nova Scotia, as "Dan
nie, the Skip," In a Scotchman by birth,
a mason by trade, and by choice a de
roteeof the gamei-alled "curling," which
la played on Ice. The fountain of glad
ness for hlm freezes up with tile thaw
ing out of the pond, and thawu with
their freezing.
The pom Ih In Itself an excellent one,
but It too often leads the players Into
Scotch "convivallty," an possibly
Dannie, who Is 'skip" or captain of a
"rluk" or side, became confirmed In
drinking habits by sedulously attend
ing all the feasts of the Jtytnwn club.
Be tltat as It may, he no longer drinks
Intoxicants, and I think many people
will be Interested In an account of the
ceurrence that tnnde hlm an abstainer.
' w ci.rTf urn at thk anirK
Iast summer, be said to me for I
shall try to tell his ator- In his own
words I took a coutraci to build a tall
chimney for the tanning company at
Mllhille. It was to be eighty-two feet
high, and they wanted the Job hurried
.through. The bricks were on the
ground, and we ran the thing up at a
great rate.
The foundation and lower part wore
plain sailing; but as we got higher I
had trouble with my help. The local
men became frightened, and left one
after another.
At last I had to send back home here
for Charley French, Charley and I got
on pretty fast, and one Saturday after
noon we were putting on the finishing
touches, over eighty feet alve Ihe
ground, when the thing happened I'm
going to tell about.
Vou see, at that height hod -carrying
was out of the question, so we had a
block and tackle rigged, and lifted all
our stuff by horse-jiower. The upper
block was fastened to one of the up
right (sists of the staging; the lower
one to a post sunk In the ground..
It was not a very safe arrangement,
as we could not make thesdaglng very
secure. I'.ut we got a quiet, steady
horse, and a cautious chap for driver,
ami didn't f-cl as though there was
much danger.
There were six uprights in the stag
ing. if course each of them was not
all one stick. They hud to be spliced
about every twenty feel. This made
three Joints In imh upright, and they
were far from being llrm.
Down nearer the ground, where the
brickwork had hardened, and the stag
ing was well fastened to the chimney,
was all right; but the upper part of It
was decidedly unsteady. The posts
rreaked and vibrated more or less every
time a tubful of brick or motar came
up.
We bad made a bet of a bottle of
brandy with the manager of the com
pany that we would finish the work by
Saturday evening. At dinner time that
lay It was so certain we were going to
win easily that Charley suggested to
Ihe manager that ho hail better pay half
the bet In advance, In tin? shape of a
flank of brandy, lie agreed; and we
look the (lask up with us to finish off
cn.
V.'e bad drunk most of it, and had only
one more course of brick to lay, when
the son of the manager made his way
up beside us. He was a wide-awake.
Independent-looking youngsier, four
teen or fifteen years of age, but he had
no right to be there. He would have
leen Hcnt down In a hurry If the brandy
hadn't made us a little too easy-going.
As It was, we llh had sense enough
to order hlm to leave at once. Instead
of obeying, he put his hands Into his
isx kets, eyed us knowingly for a mo
ment and remarked:
"Sny, aren't you two a little high, for,
lglrty feet above the ground?"
We laughed and let hlm stay. He
moved around the staging, not In the
least disturbed by the elevation. Fl
tally, when be got tired looking, be
" "
T
lit
picked up a hatchet which had Ix-eu In
use for driving nails, and began chip
ping at one of the posts.
In the meantime the last brick was
laid. We finished the brandy, and g&ve
three cheer, while the boy stood watch
ing us with anything but respectful
eyes. Charley French was leaning
against the chimney with the empty
tlask in hia hand, looking somewhat
tipsy.
"See here, Danny," said he, solemnly,
"there's the old horse down yonder, and
we've forgotten all about hi in. He's
seen us right through this Job, and he
hasn't been offered so much as a gmell
of the brandy.
"Hello, -old chap! Here's the flask
for you, anyway," he suddenly Bhout
ed, as he gave It a toss.
It went flashing and circling through
the air, and fell with a crash on a big
stone Just behind the horse, whose dri
ver was with a crowd of loafers some
twenty or thirty yards away.
The horse gave a frightened leap, and
galloped off at a speed that I hadn't
thought was In hlm. The rope whizzed
over the pulleys, and the half filled tub
shot up towards us like a rocket.
It came against the tipper block with
a crash that threatened. the overthrow
of the whole staging. Posts swayed
and bent atthel Joints; boards, loose
brick and tools slipped from their
places and went raftllng down below.
We clutched at the top of the chimney
as the steadiest object within reach.
But the newly laid brick moved under
our hands, and gave little promise of
holding us up.
The horse was checked for a moment
when the tub came against the upper
block; but he bent wildly to his truces,
and the fastening of the lower block
gave way. He had now a direct pur
chase on the upiM-r corner of the stag
ing. Tlie only thing wheh saved it from
lieing torn away at the first tug, was
the horse lieing unable to bring his full
strength to bear. The rope ascended
at an angle which lifted the traces
above his back, and shifted the strain
from his shoulders to his neck. He was
half choked and thrown to the ground.
Ihe staging groaned and reeled as
he struggled to get on his feet again.
His driver stood stupidly looking up at
us without moving a step. The Whole
thing happened in so few seconds, that
it Is not much wonder the man's pres
ence of mind left hlm. The horse
scrambled to his knees, then to his fot,
and pulled frantically. The strain at
Ihe top of the chimney became fright
ful. It seemed that not only the stag
ing, but the whole upper part of the
chimney would be pulled away and fall
at the next plunge. ,
Neither Charley nor I had spoken n
word. We Just held on, and gasped and
wondered how It would feel when ev
erylhing gave way. And we forgot all
about the manager's son until he spoke
up behind us:
"Say, it's alsmt time to cut this rope,
ain't It?"
Before we could turn our heads there
was a sharp click on the block. The
clean-cut end of the rope shot down
ward. The boy stisid with the hatchet In his
hand Matching the horse, (if come
'TIIK IIOHSKOAVE A FWOIITfc.NKIl l.KAP."
the moment the rope was cut the strain
lug animal pitched forward. Then tak
ing fresh alarm he ran from the place
with the ungainly movement of a runa
way truck -horse.
"It'd be a good thing for you two
men If you were Just as frightened of
rum bottles as old Dobbin down there
seems to bo," remarked the boy, calm
ly, as the horse disappeared round the
corner, while the rope trailed behind
him like a long snake.
Charley and I were both sober enough
by that time, and we wanted to-hlmko
hands with the manager son, but he
refused.
"No tiM making a fuss," be atd. "I
luippt-Lied to nave your balchat lr my
baud, and I cut the rojie. That's ah.
Another yank from Dobbin would have
brought the whole thing down, and
that'd have been about as rough on me
as yon."
80 you sef I came near not curling
any this winter, concluded Dannie, but
as it Is. I'll Just gult the "eonveeviaul
lty" o' the ganie.-W'. E. Maclellan la
Youth's Companion.
RAT IN THE CHURCH.
London Congregation Broken t'p by
the Appearance of Hniltnt.
The Wesieyaug of Iondon have great
distinction in that city just now be
cause one of their chaiM-ls was invaded
a few Sundays ago by a large gray
whiskered rat, who, according to the
New York World, provoked a disturb
ance and brought about a scene that, so
far as knowp. Is absolutely unprece
dented In religious annals. It was di,
rectly In the midst of the service that
the rodent appeared, and for a time
passed unnoticed, confining himself to
surreptitious wanderings in the pews.
At last he ventured out into the aisle,
and then he was seen of all men and
women. Encouraged by the excitement
he was creating, he gambolled fearlesly
about, leaping from seat to seat and
wildly waving his tail. The congrega
tion was at once In'a ferment, and the
service came to an abrupt stop.
Armed with long sticks, the vergers
and ushers tried to clmse him out, but
he dodged them, keeping well beyond
their reach. Finally, as .a Inst resort.
an officer of the church who was full of
expedient slipped away and borrowed
a small but energetic terrier. What the
vergers bad been unable to do the ter
rier did.
It was a long and exciting chase, and
during ita progress the rat showed evi
dence of much military strategy. Even
tually he was brought to bay directly
under the communion table, and in a
few seconds more the d(K had shaken
the life out of him. Then the holies
who had been standing on pew seats
smoothed down their frocks and set
tied themselves, the chapel resumed Its
normal condition of quietude and the
services were continued. . , v
A HUMAN SNAKE.
A West Virginia Boy with the Chur-
DCtcriHtics of the Heptile.
Little Jim Twyman, a colored boy,
living with his foster parents ten miles
from Shopardstown, W. Va., is a won
der. He Is popularly known as the
"snake boy." Meutally he Is as bright
as any child of his age ami he Is popu
lar with his playmates, but his physl
cat peculiarities are probably unparal
leled. His entire skin, except his face
and tinnds, Is covered with the scales
and markings of a snake. These ex
ceptions are kept so by the constant
use of Castile soap, but on the balance
of his body the scales grow abun
dantly. The child sheds the skin every year.
11 cuuses him no pain or illness. From
the limbs it cau lie pulled in perfect
shape, but off the body it comes in
pieces. Always bis feet and bands are
cold and clammy. He is an Inordinate
cater, sometimes spending an hour at
a meal, eating voraciously all the time
If permitted to do so. After these
gorging! he sometimes sleeps twodays.
There Is a strange suggestion of a
snake In his JVsce, nnd he can manipu
late his tongue, accompanied by hide
ous hlsseH, as viciously as a serpent
Interviewed a Man with Tremens.
A Journalistic feat of no little novelty
has Just been accomplished at Vienna,
where a reporter succeeded in having
an Interview with a man suffering from
delirium tremens. The result of the ex
periment throws even Zola's descrip
tion of Cotipenu In the shade. The pa
tient, a broken-down actor, declared
that he was Baron Rothschild, and that
his constant craving for dainty dis!ien
made it necessary that he should take
weekly trips across the ocean to New
York, a city built on beer liottleM, unfor
tunately all empty. Drinks were not
to be had In New York, and therefore
he was obliged to take as much as he
could earrv before starting In his b:il
loon, and from which he shot tiles,
Benedictine rabbits, and oilier game,
which were brought to the car by fly
ing retrievers. The man is now an In
mate of the Metropolitan Hospital at
Vienna.
Did Not Keiu-li His Own Standard.
The late Professor Klshoff. of the
I'lilvcrsity of St. Petersburg, left a
sad memorial of his greatness. He
had opposed the admission of female
students Into the university on the
ground that a woman's brain, being
much smaller than a man's, it was not
fair to put her on an eqiml footing with
her superior. When Blshoff's brain was
examined It was found to weigh less
than the average woman's.
Military Drills.
Considerable comment has been
aroused by the -emphatic stand against
the introduction of military drills lr.
schools taken by so eminent an authority
as Dr. Sargent, physical director of
Harvard. He asserts that such drill
not only doe not develop the body, if
used without previous physical train
ing, but, on the contrary, Inclines those
taking part to contracted chests and
round shoulders.
Curious Agronomical Calculation.
A European astronomer has recently
made some remarkable calculations.
He figures that If all the living repre
sentatives of the human race were
strung out In space, and separated
from each other by Intervals of a mile,
the line would reach one-third of the
distance to the planet Neptune. If
separated by distances as great as that
between Ixmdou and Constantinople
the line would reach half way to the
nearest star!
Love cannot die, but he sometime
wlahea he could.
m
J
1
HE Chicago women
who have any time
for recreation at all
apjiear to give little
attention to yacht
ing, despite the su
perlor facilities
which Lake Michi
gan offers for the
sport and the grow
1 11 g enthusiasm
manifested in the
pastime by men of
the city. Some say that the Chicago
girl Is so pronounced a land lubber
that she is afraid of the royst 'iing life
Inseparable from yachting, while oth
ers are of the opinion Unit the newly
found fad of bicycling alone is respon
sible for her indifference to lake pleas
ures. Whatever the reasons may be,
In Chicago, they do not seem to obtain
In the East. In New York City the
yachting woman of 1S!I5 is an entirely
different creature than she was last
year, or in any other year in the history
of the sport. She does not sit under an
awning in a luxurious chair on the
quarterdeck of a palatial steam yacBt,
resplendent in a $400 gown fresh from
the modiste, and go below the moment
the wind begins to freshen and the salt
spray dash about This year she Is a
regular Jacktar, and the woman who
can't handle a cranky catboat with the
skill of a Cape Cod fisherman finds that
her social education Is far from com
plete. This change began to make It
self felt during the closing days of the
Newport season last fall, when a series
of catbout races were sailed, the skip
pers being the dashing young natrons
and vigorous maidens of swelldom.
Mrs. John Jacob Astor and Miss Sands
carried off the honors of the regatta,
ami plaudits were shower.'d so gener-
ously upon them that other women
were Immediately 11 red with an ambi
tion to go and do likewise. Tills year
the number of society buds and blooms
who will handle the tiller of the speedy
cat promises to be quite ox tensive, and
a rich harvest Is In store for the New
port seadogs who will be hired and
paid fancy prices to teach feminine
swelldom h?iw to sail without mishap.
The girl who cau tool a four-in-hand,
play golf with a score of ninety and
volley tennis ball with the skill of a
professional will be nohre unless
she can sail a boat under double reefs
with the lee rail awash md the wind
blowing a baby gale.
Miss Rockefeller' Sense.
Congratulations to Miss Edith Rocke
feller. Her $2d,iHXUH't would have pro
cured for her any variety of forelui
title with the Maai amount of "golden
sorrow." Inri'avl of making this kind
of an Investment, this very sensible
young woman has concluded to com
bine tier millions will) those which liar
old McCoimick. the second son of the
millionaire of reaper fame, holds in
prospect. It might have been better,
perhaps, had Miss Rockefeller accepted
one of young McCormick'a classmen
with equally as much brains and a
much smaller purse, but us It Is. we
ran find no excuse for fault finding.
Young McCormick is an American,
and a Westerner at that, lie is a typi
cal American youth, wtio lias made a
record for himself on class day as well
as Held (lav, 1 le knows enough to label
,a fossil ami makes an admirable quar
terback, ills father's fortune was
made In legitimate Industry, and the
'genius of his family has done much
j toward developing the agricultural re
; sources of the United States. If the
i Rockefeller millions are to be married
off, let us hope they will go toward ex
panding tlte facilities for the manufac
ture of agricultural Implements, and let
us rejoice In the assurance that the
will not be utilized for lifting foreign
gambling debts, St. Louis Republic.
The Beautifying; Both.
The temperature of a beautifying
bath should be from 70 degrees to 75 de
grees, and it should be of dally occur
rence, writes Elolse Ferdrlx under the
title "Little Means Toward flood
Looks," In the Ladles' Home Journal.
Ordinary water, that Is, water neither
particularly hard nor soft, is not con
sidered snllHiciitly cleansing to the
skin, and n French firm has lately Intro
duced dainty bags containing almond
meal, not meal and orris root to be
placed In the water a few moments be
fore the bath Is ready. Tills renders
Ihe water very milky and has a, wonder
fully softening and whitening effect.
Baths In which milk, binn or starch has
been placed are found to refine or whit
en the coarsest, reddest skin If persist
ently used. Softness nnd firmness of
ktn may be obtained ny the use of a
clmple unguent made famous by the
Greek and Roman women, who centur
ies ago set us the example of perfect
personal cleanliness as the road to
beauty. The following can be made
WHS. A STOR AT THE HEI.M.
v
7 ,
'3
.i ith very little trouble, and It is de
lightfully exhilarating after the bath:
Best white vinegar, one pint; rose
mary, rue, camphor and lavender (of
each), two drachms. I't the herbs soak
In the vinegar for several hours, then
strain. Rub thoroughly all over the
body and a deliciously comfortablefeel
ing and a dainty perfume will remain
wlih one all day long.
Atlanta Woman's Building.
The Woman's Building Is to be one
of the most beautiful features of the
whole Atlanta Exposition. It Is a col
onial structure and has been designated
by Miss Mercer, of Pittsburg, Pa. The
building is arranged for the work of
woman, including a library for the
books written by women, their musical
IH'II.DI.VO AT ATLANTA.
compositions and magazines. Patents
and Inventions by women will also
have a prominent position. The artis
tic work of woman Is specially desired.
The cooking school and kindergarten
exhibits will be interesting features of
woman's work. The work of the wom
en of South America, Mexico, Austria,
France and Italy will also be well rep
resented in the Woman's Building. This
building will remain aj an art build
ing af ter the exposition Is over, and the
New York room will be used as an ex
change for woman's work. The lead
lug vfotnen of the South are working
with a will to make their share of the
exposition a success and to show to the
world what the women of the Cotton
States can accommpllsh.
Wrinkles May Be Removed,
Skin removing for beautifying pur
poses is having a great vogue among
the New York women who can afford
It. At present the price for making
over the face of a woman under 50 Is
An older subject who is greatly
wrinkled has to pay $100. The opera
tion confines one to her room for five
days, and Is somewhat painful, but not
unbearably so, as the sklu-removing
paste contains cocaine to numb the sur
face It rests upon. An odd tiling Is
that If yon have your wrinkles removed
before you are really an old woman
they will come again as you advance
to ihe wrinkled age, but If you have
them removed after you are as wrinkled
os you are ever likely to be, they do not
return. And a danger of the operation,
so far as its complete success goes, Is
that you will move your face while
the paste is getting In its deadly work.
If you do a wrinkle forms and cannot
be gotten rid of. Literally, you must
bear the pain with an absolutely placid
countenance. Even a grin is detri
mental. Many of Ihe feather wings are white
pointed.
The chip hat lias large chiffon rosettes
and many ostrich feathers.
Plaid waists have a large collar of
yellow Valenciennes lace and nainsook.
Silk crepe nnd silk nun's veiling is
the correct fabric for summer mourn
ing. White and black striped waists have
chine designs and are trimmed with
I tresden ribbon.
"How long," asked the young man.
"do you think the women's sleeves will
continue to Increase?"
Figured velvet Is again popular, a
very handsome dress Is made of crape
wool goods and very stylish, and as the
materials are handsome, is necessarily
very elegant.
An admirable quality In the new al
paca Is Its failure to wrinkle. It is
known as silk alpaca, Is pliable, grace
ful nnd serviceable. Few fabrics eqiiHl
It for traveling gowns.
Hlack shoes are the right thing only
for carriage wear. Russia leather "tan"
shoes are correct for walking, and tan
no longer Implies color, for these light
shoes come In all soft shades of dull
mode, brown nnd brown gray.
One of the favorite forms of ornament
for the hair this year Is a Jeweled aig
rette fastened to the top of a forked
pin, and hinged so that the aigrette
may be set to the proper angle with
greater casv. The stones of which these
aigrettes are composed are mounted on
wires as One as threads.
New York City has $H,0X).000,0X) In
rested lb school site and building.
-is 'i 23jL'--5B'&aaaa'
WOMASi's
EGG AND WHISKY.
A Sunday School Scholar with
Knowledge of Practical Life
The pupils of the Sunday school
of the Fifteenth Street Christian
Church had gone through their lesiious,
and most of the children were shifting
their feet uneasily when Supt Ernest
Forles announced from the pulpit plat
form that Attorney V. O. Thomas
would make a short address and then
the benediction would be said. Attor
ney Thomas mountiKl the platform with
a slow movement and a thoughtful air,
and 500 eyes watched him as he fon
dled his chin and remarked that he
would say a few words about the dam
age that whisky would do to the brain
when it was taken Into the stomach.
Now," he said, " is there a boy or
girl here who can tell me what Is tb
principal constituent part of the human
brain?"
That word constituent befuddled
most of the little minds present but one
girl, who attends the high school on
week days, raised her baud and said:
"Albumen."
"That is right," said the lawyer. "Al
bumen forms the principal part of a
man's brain. And now can you tell me
what forms the principal part of an
egg?"
The same girl answered "albumen"
again, and the lawyer looked pleased
as he pronounced the answer correct
"Now," he continued, as he laid the
forefinger of his right hand In the
palm of his left, "now, to show you the
effect of whisky on the brain, suppose
I break an egg in a glass. Are you lis
tening?" Two hundred and fifty beads nodded
earnestly.
"Well, I break this egg in a glass and
pour In some whisky on top of it. What
do I have then?"
Attorney Thomas expected the high
school girl to reply that the whisky
would turn the egg white and spoil It,
but she said nothing. He repeated his
question: "What would I have If I
poured the whisky in the glass with the
egg?"
"Eggnogl" shouted a little fellow on
the front bench.
For a moment there was a breathless
silence, and then the high school girl
snickered and the whole school, teach
ers and all, burst out Into the heartiest
laugh that ever echoed from the walls
of the church. Amid the din Attorney
Thomas gracefully retired, and Supt
Forbes dismissed the school. Portland
(Ore.) Telegram". - 1. -. .
FURNISH NEWSPAPtR CLIPPINGS
The Business Has Grown to Great Pro
portions in New York.
There is a peculiar industry In Goth
am which has grown to astonishing
proportions. This is the business of
furnishing newspaper clippings to indi
viduals, firms, and corporations. There
are half a dozen of these firms in New
York, which supply customers not only
in the United States, but in all parts
of the world. One of these newspaper
clipping bureaus received an order the
other day from the Hawaiian govern
ment to send President Dole all the no
tices, editorials, cartoons and other
published matter regarding Hawaii,
its government, and Its affairs. This Is
one of the largest orders ever received
by a clipping bureau, and It will re
quire the labor of half a dozen bright
young women to cull the clippings from
newspapers to fill this order. Every
prominent author, politician and pro
fessional man Is now a subscriber to
one or more of the clipping bureaus,
and a busy man finds the system very
convenient for he Is enabled, as It
were, to read his newspapers by proxy.
The manager of a New York clipping
bureau, In speaking of the peculiarities
of his business, said yesterday: "Many
of our customers are folks with fads
and hobbles. A man sent us an order
recently for all items about two-headed
calves, three-legged chickens and other
monstrosities. A leading politician or
dered 1(H) Memorial day addresses,
from which he could compile a Fourth
of July oration which he had engaged
to deliver. Society belles are begin
ning to to make scrap books of their
uewspaier notices, and the custom will
doubtless become a regular social fad
In time. The wives of public men are
among the best patrons of the clipping
bureaus. About the strangest order
we have is that of a dealer in tomb
stones and monuments. He takes all
the death notices." New York Com
mercial Advertiser.
A Means of I) sin fecting AY ell.
Heavy rains are apt to contaminate
wells and spread disease, lien Dr.
Franck has brought under the nonce
of the Polytechnic Society of Iterliu a
means of disinfecting wells, which he
employs with success. It consists It
suspending fn the mouth of the well an
earthenware dish containing ."0 to 100
grammes (a gramme is about fifteen
grains) of bromine, which, being vola
tile In air, forms a dense vapor that fills
the well, and Is absorbed by the water,
thus disinfecting It. The water, It Is
true, has a slight taste of bromine for
a time, but Is wholesome enough.
Next Year. .
Next year will be the last leap year
of the century, and another will not
occur until 1S04. The year 1000 will
not be a leap year. The unusual occur
rence Is due to the fact that the addi
tion of one day to each fourth year
more than makes up the presumed de
ficiency lu the calendar year, nnd conse
quently the world Is constantly losing
time, ns a watch loses It, and therefore
there was danger that In the course of
u few thousand years the Fourth of July
would come on Christinas.
Illg ray Holl.
The salary list of the Hank of Eng.
land, Including pensions, aggregates
!00,000 per annum. There are t.lOQ
eiunloves In the bank.
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"X'ik rl"JJi -