M I V (M A IMPROVED PORTAL SEBVICE. The main improvement la the postal service of this and other countries for fcome time past has been along the line of increased rapidity, of collection and distribution of mail matter, and in all the larger cities wagons have been utilized in taking up the mail from the collection boxes. But heretofore ao thought seems to have been given to an improved box which would al Jow the collector to make his tour without leaving the wagon, it hav ing been considered a sufficient im provement of the service to provid? rapid transportation between boxes aa Indiana inventor has now invented a box which makes It unnecessary for the driver4o leave his seat during his entire round of collection. As will ba seen by a glance at the above Illustra tion, the box Is mounted on a pivoted sliding bar, while the collector Is pro vided with a hook, with which he en gages the box, pulling it within easy reach and allowing him to extract the contents, after which the box is pushed back to its normal position In contact with the vertical post. The inven tlon hould prove especially advant ageous In the establishment of the free rural delivery system, boxes of a small er size being provided for this pur pose. By driving close to the box with the wagon the contents may be ex tracted without exposure to rain or now, and this also enables the driver to perform his duties without exposing himself to the storm. CWDKBGROCKD CHAMPAGNE. Visitors to France may go out of their way to gaze upon the quaint architecture and crumbling houses of Epernay, or the Roman antiquities and grand old cathedral of Rheims, but the real towns of Champagne are to be looked for underground. These are f Ha tmatlinr. busy Dlaces where the basin rss of Champagne la carried on. 1 I1C J WW MV TJAW British workingmen would probably wot -trouble themselves to obtain em ployment In underground Champagne. Day after day the work-people leave the outer world for eleven and twelve hoars at a time to discharge duties which, If not particularly arduous n oat be wearisome by reason of their monotony. An Intelligent Frenchman assured a writer In the Royal Maga cine that he had worked below ground for nearly forty-live years. His duties consisted In shaking bottles to dis lodge the sediment. He said that be bad shaken fifty-five bottles a minute during each working day of twelve hours, for these forty-five years, and ' then asked the writer to calculate how many bottles he bad shaken. It is no great wonder that after a moment's consideration the visitor took to his heels. Underground Champagne has a reputation for producing good wines, but according to the writer the busi ness tends to sour the dispositions of the workers. He found most of them taciturn not to say misanthropical. In OM cellar at Epernay he came across aa old man who assured him that the place was filled with ghosts and gob lias It Is hard to realize that underneath the primitive villages where the vine yards grow there are springing up subterranean cities of great Import ance, but this Is the case. Men must , search below, and not above, ground If they would understand the life of the people of Champagne. TREATMENT OF COBNS. A corn la an overgrowth of the horny Infer of some portion of the skin of ke foot, Induced by friction or undue press are In one spot by the shoe. It 1 altaated generally on a prominent fttfttoa at oat of the toes, more com eaoaly the little toe, but may be on toe ote of the foot or even on the ankle- woao. It beg! as by an Increase In slit of tho papillae In the deeper part of tho skin, and this Induces an Increase ia tho production of the scarf-skin, or horny bvyar. The scarf-skin soon be MM laorwlnately thick, and, the 'jmmn from the shoe continuing, It ' hack against tho enlarged pa- t-ran, WMing their final atrophy. -r fix Mob of a com aforas gfli ISnatratatsi of tho defeat at l Tin tua faoanl efforts Is prevent txUti fisrtho HwimH thtehns at tU fcsnty Inyor to tatsasX to afford crCca la tho awUrasd a ad toador r i tenons waien wosuo J iZTZ2i 41 tttt aroseas i ip kZZZim. aaa man mi EMCE Ain PROCESS more of the horny covering is manu factured, until, instead of affording protection, it is actually the cause of all the pain. After a time the spot where the corn Is seems to acquire a bad habit, and the formation of the corn will go on even after the offend ing shoe has been discarded. The first thing to do for a corn is to get new shoes that are so snug as not to rub the foot anywhere, and so loose as not to make pressure in one spot more than in another. Tha tcp of the corn may be pared with a sharp knife, ex treme care being taken especially In the case of the aged not to cut the sound skin; or it may be filed down to the level of the surrounding skin; or the entire corn may sometimes be loosened with a dull knife-blade or by the fingernail, and extracted from Its bed. When this cannot be done, removal may be facilitated by moist ening the corn every other day with glacial acetic acid, the softened part being subsequently scraped away with a dull knife or a small file. A salve containing salicycle field, applied every night, wi'.l also frequently loosen the corn so that It can be pulled out This the basis of many of the popular corn plasters. A eoft corn, which is merely a corn that Is always moist on account of its lcatlon on the inner surface of one of the toes, should be treated by keeping a piece of absorbent cotton between the toes so as to pre vent masceration, and by bathing it frequently with strong alum water. upivcaa i !. I. 1VT1 I is said that the introduction f It European methods of manufacture threatens to destroy the distinctive qualities of Japanese paper. It Is a wood or bark paper, made from sev eral plants, having no English names, which are cultivated for the purpose. In Japan its varieties are numerous and its uses innumerable. It serves for window lights, and for light par titions between rooms. Brilliantly col ored lanterns are made of it. and um brellas are covered with it It is used for printing bank-notes. Oiled, It makes waterproof garments, and cov ered with paste it forms tapestries. When varnished it can be made to im itate Cordovan leather. Handkerchief, cords and pressed articles resembling papier-mache are among the things formed from this most useful paper. IT FACILITATES KEMlILIJfG. A New York City genius has de signed an envelope which will be of value In the distribution of circulars and other printed matter, which the original sender is desirous of spread ing over a wide field. When sending out the envelope for the first time the single address at the top may be writ ten by the tender, relying upon the re- ceiver to address It to one of his frienda, or the entire space fSfr5 names and addresses may be filled up by the original sender. In the former case each receiver Is more than liable to send the envelope to a personal friend. especially if he considers the contents worth reading. To protect the stamps from cancellation a strip of perforated paper covers each stamp after it is fixed in place by the sender, each re ceiver detaching this strip from one stamp, which pays the postage to the next reader of the contents. Explicit directions are printed on each envelope REAP me T-athytLppe V i u - .HiW'l'IW m for the guidance of the person receiv ing It, and with the use of the device it is possible to disseminate through a number of hands a single circular, with the added advantage that every remalling brings the contents to the notice of some friend of the last read er, whom the latter believes from a personal acquaintance would be Inter ested in the matter. THE SALT LAKE Of J.ARNAHCA. In the Island of Cyprus Is a basin cut off from the sea, although sunk slightly below sea-level, which con tains a sslt lake from which a consid erable harvest of sslt Is annually ob tained In August, when the fierce summer heat dries np the water. Mr. C. V. Bellamy, who recently visited th lake called Larnarcs, thinks sea-water percolates through the rocks into the basin, thus supplying the salt A single heavy rain In midsummer has sometimes sufficed to ruin the salt crop, and the Cyprians, In order to protect the valuable lake as much as possible, have constructed channels to carry off the flood water of rains from the slopes of the basin Into the sea. CMMrea SwalWw BJatal Dat-a. i Within a short time two children In Indianapolis, tho Press of that city an a on sees, have had to undergo surgi cal operations for the removal from their throats of tiny metal dogs thtt art sold with pieces of candy. They are somewhat in the fashion of tobac so tags, aad children who buy the eaady pat thorn la their awatfefc MA A FAKAHOX. From the Detroit Free Press: Btlng a man who doc3 more thinking than talking and who is generally regarded as taciturn, his family were rather sur prised when he laid down a standard magazine of the day and procetdel with a talk that supgt-sted the pro priety of his being on a platform. "I'm no rose-water sentimentalist. I never allow my heart to run away with my head. I have an individual entity as clearly defined as that of any man. I know how to reason and I'm not afraid of my conclusions. I'm dead set against anarchy, socialism, com munism and the whole nest of kindred vipers." That was his exordium. "But I've been reading an article here that just meets my viewa. I have what they call the money-making faculty and have always prospered. But I believe with this writer that we should be more liberal with the men and wcmen who are not thus favored. Oive them a good, generous show. Live :nd let live those are my s nti ments." "I feel the same way," ventured his wife. "This very afternoon I raised the girl's wages 75 cents a week." "You did? Well, that's a pretty b)w dydo. Funny fou wouldn't make it a couple of dollars more. You must think that I tlnd money or have It sent to ma by the government. I've been telling for years how thrifty and economical you were. Guess you must have lost your grip. You've go! to get even with that girl by charging v.. nll Wict pvprvlhinp 1JC' "U waRted- broken dlsha nrl the u" f the sewing machine, i m no nauui-Ji bank." Then he was called to the kitchen by the man who put up the storm door. There was a war of words be cause the man wanted a dollar and the head of the house stuck at 50 cents. After they had split the dif ference and Jawed as long as they could hear each other the husband and father seized the book he had been reading, flung it into the corner and went to bed three hours before his usual time. HE TAII) THE KBKIGIIT. "Boss," said an old negro, lacking in through the post office stamp win dow yesterday, "bow much does hit tek ter sen' fo' letters?" "Eight cents," said the gentleman within. "Hush!" "Fact!" The old man studied a while, got out bis leather book, vintage of 1SG5, and worried eight coppers out of the lining. Laying these on the counter, he drew a long breath and said: "Well, you c'n let 'em go "long." "But where are the letters?" "Whar is dey? Why, I done drapt 'em In de hole 'roun yonder!" The letters were fished out, stamped and allowed to "go 'long." Macao Telegraph. LATKIT UlOTATIOSS. Colonel Kentuck Uncle, what's th? price of yon turkey? Uncle Reuben Well, sah! dat dog he got my trousers and some of mah leg; but don't grudge dab price no, sah! STOltr OF I Sll-K mii.ikas. From Puck: "Why, yes, Horace; vour Uncle Phincas will tell you a Christmas story. "Once upon a time a certain man of bibulous tendencies, having spent tbi greater part of the night in hlHrlous communion with sundry genial cam pan Ions and numerous cups of sack returned to his abode at about ' olock on Christmas morning with i wtbbly walk and a woefully distorted vision And beheld, ranged in a neat row along the south wall of his roo;n, 18 consecutive pairs of s'.Ippers all exactly alike In appearance and all seemingly of the same size. "Great Oeesar's Shoat I mean are;.! Caesar's ghost!' ejaculated the man for he was considerably astonished 'Something Is radically wrong In tills Immediate vicinity! Either I am mightily and monumentally Intoxl oated and seeing clippers by the score where only oue pair exists or c!he I am the popular young pastor of fashionable church and have forgot ten all about It. Ia either event I must confess that it Is exceedingly nn pretty of me, to say the least about It Now, let me pause and cogitate lor a moment Ah. yes, I have itl I know what I will do; I will wrap al these superfluous slippers In bundles, each pair by Itself, and send them with my compliment to the signers of such patent awdlcine testimonials as I msy chance to And In the first ntwspsp; I Dick up. Of coarse I am pretty sun that those are Imaginary slippers, but, taoa, lao oaiy pwuvi, w eared by aatoat aaatraaw are lata, inary belnf-s, so they will not be like ly to discover the Imposition.' "He did so. And there, now, Hor ace, it Is time that all good Utile boys should be in bed. So run along, and ah, wait a moment I forgot to say that during his remarks the gentls mau in question uttered at appropriate Intervals the regulation number of hic-roughs. Here they are: 'Hie! hie! hlc! hie! hie! hie! hit'.' and so cn. You may take them along to bed wit you and pepper them into the stor as you may see fit while you ar. thinking it over. That is all. Good night, Horace!" !t t He ln!fwi. Cora So you thick the mistletoe Is the mont appropriate depuration for the holiday? Merritt Yea. my dear. It undoubt edly snacks of Christmas. Puck. UENCILOUICAL. lie descended from an old caviller. WAS IMSCRIMISATEO AOAISST. From Leslie's Weekly: "I was al ways discriminated against in our family," said impetuous Annie Fcs dirk In a burnt of confidence to the handsome and eligible Arthur Barrow rliff. "How so. Miss Fosdick?" "Why, my elder sister had any quantity of money lavished on her ac complishments, but when it came to poor me I was left out In the cold. I wanted very much to learn to sing. I thought I had a good voice, sut papa said no. Then I thought I'd like to take piano lessons and become a fa mous player, but papa put bia foot on that. Then I suggested that I be al- owed to take china painting lessons ike all other girls. He wouldn't have It. The same way with everything else. Papa said he was determined that one of his girls should learn to be a housekeeper and not bo filled up with useless accoxplishacnrs. That's what he called them. And the con sequence is that not a girl I know Is a better housekeeper than I am. I can cook things that papa says are better than ho get In any restaurant in the city, but I den't know how to play a single tune on the " "My dear Annie er bog pardon, Miss Fosdick!" cried Mr. Barrowcllff, interrupting her. "I can control my self no longer. I lovo you to dis traction. Will you marry me?" 'Yes, Arthur," replied Annie, coyly. as she nestled her curly yellow head ou the young miz's white vest. Holiday Gloom. 'There are saddening features about Christmas shopping." 'I think so; going around and see ing all the 1 presents you brought last year marked down to 43 cents." Detroit Free Press. CrltltEXT JOKKI.ETM. Age of Indifference Fortunately when the little folks discover that there Is no Santa Claus they also dis cover that they can get along without one. Puck. The Real Thing --"Do you think her hair is all rest?" "Why, of course. A girl with her meuns would never buy any other kind." Philadelphia Eve ning Bulletin. One To!:en Barred "Dearie, what do you want mo to give you for Christ mas?" "Well, precious, I've got eleven framed photographs of you now." Detroit Fren Press. As to Stocking-Bacbellor What ure you going to put In your children's stockings this Christmas? Pbamllan Huh! It tikes all my money to keep the children In them. - Philadelphia Press. Success Varies "Dar Is all kinds an' degrees o' success," said Uncle Ebsn. "Wlf some folk It in smassln' for tunes an' rulln' countries an' wlf yuthuhs, It's je' keepin' out o' Jail." Washington fitar. Joys That We've Tasted "Does your husband worry you about the mines pits his mother used to make?" "No, he's always aad everlastingly bragging about his grandmother's baked hash." Indianapolis Journal, Quite Fit-Trainer-Now, this horse Is as fit as chemicals can make him. You've got a galvanic saddle, aa elec tric whip, hypodermic spurs, aad if yon can only shin a bit farther up his nerk yon ought Just to lick anything with 'air on It! 'Punch. The exports of coal continue to grow monthly, in tea months this year this i w - 1 to country shipped abroad ooal aad soke the value of almost pt,Mt,aai, fall IBARRETA'S FATE. Rell9 sf Explorer sad HI Vumndnm Foaad la the Gran Chun It was reported early in S"ptembeT, 1SS9, that Senor Enrique Ibarrita and his men had mysteriously disappeared while exploring the Pilcoreayo Kiver, in north Argentina, one of the longest of the second-duns streams of Sjuth America. There was little doubt that they have been massacred by the In dians, who for 170 years past have defeated the attempts made by a con siderable number of explorers to ex plore this stream. A little later the bare fact was published that there was no longer any doubt of the mas sacre of the party, but no details of the tragedy had been obtained. Th?n a report reached Buenos Ayres that Ibarreta and a part of his expedition were probably still alive. This report led to the sending of an expedition under the command of Senor I'rlarte to rescue the explorers if they could be found. The relief expedition has re cently returned to Buenos Ayres with evidence that leaves no doubt that the entire parly was killed by the hostila Indians of the northern part of Ar gentina. In the depths of the Chaeo forests, near a place called Esteros de Patino, I'rlarte found the camp of Ibarreta. Strewn all around were tho tamp utensils and equipment, most oi it rendered useless by the weapons of the Indians, who bad destroyed prac tically everything which they could not utilize. Even the voluminous notes which Ibarreta had made upon the work he was doing from day to day were torn to pieces and scattered to the winds. A considerable number of these fragments were recovered and they supplied undoubted proof of hav ing been written by tho Ill-fated ex plorer. Many photographic negatives he had made were hIko found. Not a trace, however, of any of the party could be discovered. It is believed the entire party was surprised and over whelmed by a superior force of In dians and that after the whites were killed their bodies were dragged away and concealed in order, if possible, to destroy any direct evidence of their having met a violent death. It !s nat ural that these Indians should en deavor to conceal evidences of their crime that might bring it home to them, for on one or two occasions they have been made to suffer severely for murdering white men. New York Sun AFRICAN PRINTERS. Dmllera on Lata Tanganyika Who !Iav atKl Tbclr First Hook. The Catholic fathers have a flourish ing mission station on the west short of Lake Tanganyika, at a place wher the forest comes nearly down to the water's edge. This place has been known for fifteen years on the maps as Mpala and much h been written about It as a station where the Cath olic missionaries have been trying tc introduce civilization In a most prac tcal manner. Here In the depths ol Central Africa they have been teach ing the natives how to make brick and lumber, how to Improvo the quality of the iron they dig from their hills. how to make better Implements from this useful metal aud the best method! of tilling their crops. A great man natives have come from far around tc enter the schools at Mpala. A yeai ago this month the natives who hac1 been taught to set type in the printing office made their nrst book, A few copies of it have reached Europe and attracted considerable attention. Th little book Is a geography. It tells, Id the native language and in the simplest manner, something about the world It gives the most Interesting factf about the geography and peoples ol some of the great nations. There are only flfty-slx page la It, but thej contain a great deal of Information without being crowded with so much detail as to make the story bard tc read. Father C. Van Acker wrote the little volume, superintended the type setting and printing, .and made the map which adorns the work. The na tives under his tuition attended to ev ery mechanb-al detail, from type-setting to binding. The book Is an ex cellent specimen of typography con sidering that It is the first effort of the black printers who made It; and It furnishes conclusive evidence that progress Is making in the heart of Cen tral Africa. New York Sun. Iron Malted la Flva Mlnntaa. A European Inventor recently per formed a remarkable experiment In the laboratory of Thomas A. Edison at Orange, N. J. He placed a cup half full of a chemical in a crucible and covered it with a small quantity of powdered aluminum. Ha then placed an Iron wrench about half an Inch thick and six Inches long In the cruc ible. Touching a match to the com pound, the mixture blazed furiously, and In five seconds the Iron wrench was melted. It was estimated that the heat evolved in the process was 3,000 degrees centigrade, hitherto considered Impossible to reach. The Inventor keeps the nature of his chemical com pound a secret We llald twaaoai Jawala. Some of the most famous Jewels in the world are In the possession of American women. Mrs. Bradley Mar tin has some of the French crown Jewels and so has Mrs. Astor. One diamond ornament belonging to Mrs. Astor was one the property of Diane de Polctlera. The Duchess of Marl borough has the famous Orloff pearls which once adorned the neck of Em press Catherine of Russia. They were given to her by her mother, Mrs. O. H P. Belmont Mrs. Clarence Maekay baa some curious rings which ones shown on tbs Angers of a Hindoo rajah, and Mrs. George Vaaderbilt has a rope of rabies unsurpassed by anything of too kind la Um world. New Tork Preas. Mill m, Slurb. One of the more wonderful fish sto ries of the century is told In the New York Press of Dr. Ralph Smith, a noted surgeon of Jacksonville. While fn bathing in snrf about np to bis waist over on the East coast a big shark swam between his legs, forcing him to a sitting posture and swimming out to Ben with his burden astride. The sensation nearly cost the doctor his hair and whiskers. He declares ha was on the shark's back fully half a minute. When the monster got n ieep water he slid off. He (lav Thrin What The? Wanted. "Soon after I arrived In this coun try ou ray present visit," says Bishop Partridge, (Episcopal) of Kioto, Japan, who is a graduate of Yale, "I waa in vited to a University club dinner, and was told that I was to speak to the toast of "Yale University.' When I arose in my turn my i'ellow banqueters cried vociferously, 'Never mind Yale, old man talk to us In Chinese," I entered into their spirit, and for twenty-five minutes I orated In Chinese. What did I say? Sufflce it to say that I spoke only the court nialecL The strangest part about it is that all present seemed to enjoy It even more than I did." About the coolest thieves on record did a job of work in Philadelphia a few days ago. Early In .. e morning, while hundreds of people were going to work, half a dozen men arrayed ns me chanics appeared in front of a Turkish bath establishment on Walnut street, and with chisels, hammers and wrench es took down the handsome bronze or naments and railing which ornamented the place. Then they calmly walked away with the plunder. IICIIT tllOlf f UIIUT ILUI. i'ihuli li. ituilif A Brt-ht Batmtlio Armr lJMl, Who Kuowi How to Koap liar Corpa la fiood llvalth. Ogelen, Utah, Jan. 12, 3901. (Spe cial.) The Pacific Coast Division of the Salvation Army, whose noble work in the interests of fallen humanity ha done so much for this western country, has its headquarters in this city. One of the brightest and most enthuslastio workers is Lieut Miss Mabel Clarice HonL Everyone knows how these do voted people parade the streets day or night, exposing themselves to all kinds of weather, that no opportunity may be lost of rescuing some poor unfortu nate from sin and suffering. In some cases, their recklessness in thus expos ing themselves has been commentei upon as almost suicidal. Their answer to such criticisms Invariably is their unfailing faith In the Divine Injunc tion to "do right and fear not." Lieut. Hunt explains one of the means she employs to keep her "Soldiers" in good health, as follows: "I have found Dodd's Kidney Pills of great value In cases of Kidney and Liver Trouble and Diseases contracted from severe colds. Several of our lads and lassies have been repeatedly ex posed to cold weather and rain, and have spoken for hours out of doors, often with wet feet and chilled to the marrow. As a consequence of this ex posure, Pulmonary Trouble, Rheu matism and Kidney Disorders often en sue. In such cases I always advise Dodd's Kidney Pills, for I have no ticed better results, quicker relief, and more lasting benefit from the use of Dodd's Kidney Pills In such cases than from all other medicines I know of combined. They cleanse the blood, regulate the system and destroy dis ease." A medicine which can do what Lieut. Hunt says so positively Dodd's Kidney Pills do Is surely worth the attention of all who suffer with any form of Kidney Trouble, Rheumatism, or Blood Disorders. Many good servants are bad masters, A heated knife cuts freshly baked bread well. Cocoanut oil thickens and darkens the eyebrows. SCALDING WATER voided in the morning and that which contains a sediment after standing, certainly indicates dangerously affected Kidneys. Don't worry and make mat ters worse, but at once take the remedy which you can depend upon absolutely. Moanowa KID-HE-0ID3 axe guaranteed by the proprietors on. der t?o forfeit to cure any case of Kid ney Disease or Pain in the Back. This Is a tempting offer and is made in per fect good faith. Other distinctive symp toms of Kidney Disease are Backache, Dullness. Puffing under he Eyes, Rheumatic Pains, General Weakness, aad frequently all the troubles peculiar towomen. Kid-ne-oidi will restore you. HMMM MO KANtM niali lant By RM-et-aMs, la nlMS, tkoa pfcMM law an sua H. U'Kaull. Il niil St., Oatthi Nh. fftcrr Vt'lanrraiaa, K. r'oatt SI., llrfl-, N'k, Mr. Botoft HaomM, Wat MarMt St.. Km!--. n. Wa, NosU, flrorrrmii. Tnfwka, Has, AMraw Jtealav, K Utlala at., Atekkwa, Eta. Mrs. Um Oram. Ilia b4 K'lrw; Sis., al rklaaa, Morrow's Kld-ne-oidt are not pills, bat Yellow Tablets aad sell at fifty eats a box at drug stores. dOMN Moawesf .. Pmmtim, a.