r UNIVERSAL miOTRRKHOOn. BY Her. J. W. Barrett, Ph. D. All ye are brethren. Matthew xxiii., b. It was a profound remark of Schilling that history as a whole is a successive revelation of God. And iu this rtveU tlon both God aud uiau have participated. God has been seeking to reveul hiuisclf in his true nature and character, and this effort has been met and seconded by man reaching out after him aud responding to him. It has been a slow process, but it baa gone steadily on increasing in breadth and significance as the centuries have come and gone. The cry of the human heart throughout the ages has been after Uod: "Oh. that j I knew where I might find himr But it was not till Jesus came that any soul had any adequate conception of his nature and character. The fundamental proposition of the kingdom that Jesus established is the universal fatherhood of God. By him all partition walls hare been broken down, and all dividing lines removed, so that all men everywhere may now look up to him and say, "Our father, who art in heav en." The co-ordinate proposition Is the uni versal brotherhood of man. God ia the Father of all; and "if one is our Father, even God, then all we are brethren:" Moat men are ready to concede this fact in a general way, bat when we come to make a practical specific application of it, we discover that it ia scarcely more than a theory. We say that we believe it, bot we are hardly ready to practice it. We are wite ready to recognize as our brethren i-ose who are living on the same plane at we are those whose tastes and habits are in common with ours; and also quite ready to recognize that those above us are our brethren, and that they have certain obligation toward us which we are very anxious to have them recognize and fulfill; but we are not sure about those who are below ns. Many refuse to recognize these as brethren. They are oar brethren, however, even though we do not like to recognize them. The lim its of human brotherhood reach from the highest to the lowest, from the richest to the poorefft, from the most worthy to the most unworthy. To all of these we are indebted, for the measure of obliga tion reaches as far as the limits of broth erhood: and we need to keep asking our selves the question: "How much owest thou?' First, there is our debt to the past. The limits of tmr brotherhood reach back to the very beginning. Every man who has lhed before us has contributed to what we have and are. Every sin of the past is aeen and felt in the present. And what ia true of the evil is just as true of the goj3. We stand upon the shoulders of all th past and enjoy the blessings for wfcich they have lived and labored and died. And we ought to be grateful to them jfr what they have made it possible for r- to oVi. This is our debt to them, and we ran pay it only as we live such lives as not to lose all this for which these noble souls have lived and died, and by making our best contributions to the end that not only ourselves but the race as well shall be made perfect. S Second, there is pur debt to the pres ent. We are brothers not only to the - past, but also to the present generation. The relation of man to man is a mutual relation. The spirit of Jeans is that if any man has In his possession anything that makes his life easier and better, it is his duty to Impart this to others as far - as possible, so as to make this world, and this life, as beautiful and helpful to all as we can. The most widely separated peoples are Jinked together by the ties of brother hood, and we shall never live our best life till we have come to recognize this fact Snd to order our lives in accord with it. All wrongs shall be righted and al! op pression cease when men once learn that they are brethren. Third, there la oar debt to the future. Even though we Tecognlze that every naa who has lived in the past, and that every one who i living to-day, is onr brother, and try to fulfill our duties and obligations toward them all, still we have not yet reached the limits of human brotherhood or the measure of our obli gation. We are brother aa well to all future generation. If it is true that every good and every evil of the past 1 seen1 and felt in the present, it 1 equally trot that every good and evil of the pres ent will b seen and felt in the future. God's law ia: "Whatsoever a man sow eth, that shall he also reap." Onr debt to the future, like that to the Mat and present, la twofold; what we rat and what we have to give. We are not la the world to get all we can out of It (or oaraelves. We are not in it even to ret all w oan out of it for the present generation. We must take the future into the account a well. The man who fives for the present only doe not live the bast Hfe. The man lives to-day on what he has to earn to-morrow is not II v - tag the right kind of a life. He Is using that which does not belong to him ss yet, . gad that which may never belong to blm at alt And what la true of the Individual la traa of the generation. Generation, too, asast learn to live within their means If they are to live tht best life. U we are Jiving to-day on what mnst be produced .a the next generation, ws are doing a great Injustice to them, and to ourselves a wall. We are making life easy to oor- atfre at the expense of somebody else. II la traa tbat we all have to live mora or lata for the future. We must make oar u, n tn-1 lirn eannrh ta Include en fatar. but we most not Borrow rrom f" w fatare. We must bo cartfal aot to UaJ any harden noon them tut will bo ' avy to boar and that k will bo Inpoo- c "a for too to throw ok. tJwtratkHM of tuts are son ana wui ftiffs the lomg-tirao franchise that r sMatod to Mbne-aorrioo corpora ! .2 Eur citloa are tka4 Of, aad sth- ers are continuing to be tied up, for year to come by their councils and board of public works, who seem to think that they have a good thing for the present, or, what is too frequently true, because these corporations are willing to give them a few thousand dollars for their vote, without any thought of the people who are to bear these, burdens iu the yearw to coine. Surely we need to have a new sense of our duty and obligation. We need to have onr horizon enlarged, so as to get a larger and better view of life and life's relations. We have much more to learn in the meaning of brotherhood before that brotherhood will be realized. The future is looking to us. and we are re sponsible for it. We have it in our power to make it pleasant anil helpful to all those who are to live in it, and we also have it in our power to make it very hard for them. May the good God make us wise to all of this, and may we, like men, meet the full measure of our obli gation to the pa-ft, the present and the future, for all we are brethren. DEFINES CHRISTIANITY, By Her. R. W. Rogers. Moralists never tire of describing the influence of companions on a person's life. But if the law of association is important in the social world we will also find that it 1b just as fundamental in the religious life. Because there is nothing ao intensely interesting aa the study of the world's religions, men have always asked the question, "What is religion?" And what it it? Some one replies, "It is faith." But faith is merely that which leads to God. Another tays it ia righteousness. But the righteous life is only that which springs from a life with God. It is neither of these, but, rather, re ligion i simply a companionship with Uod as revealed in nature and truth. And as the companions of Socrates grew wise, as the associates of Daniel became cour ageous, to the companions of God be come broad-spirited, truly righteous and noble in character. There could be no religion if God lived alone. Neither could there be religions life if man had no creator. It takes God and man to make a religion; for the es sence of religion is companionship like that of a collie with its master; not a fellowship like that of a reveller with Bacchus, but the companionship of a righteous man with a divine being who is infinitely upright and sympathetic. Dogmas and creeds are useful in relig ion only as helps and instruments that guide one into the presence of God. But they must not nsiirp the place of relig ion, which is a life with God. It is not strange, then, that the people have differ ent kinds of religious life. The reason is that the temperament, education and caiiings of men lead them into a com panionship with God that emphasizes particular attributes of the divine na ture. There are 140 denominations and most of these have a religious life because each of them has some association with God. But tbat man has the best religion who Las a Wesley an heart, a Presbyterian conscience, arid an Episcopalian reserve, because bis religious life issues out of a ecrtripanionship with God that appreciates all parts of the divine nature. The world is constantly perplexing It self with the question, "What is Chris tianity?" And should the interrogative he put to many Christians some would declare that it is the system of truth por trayed in Paul's epistle to the Romans. But it is more than that Others would affirm that it is the sermon on the mount. Christianity is just a companionship with Christ; and the book of Romans great as it isis but a letter of introduction to the Nazarene and the precept "poke'n on the mount picture a type of the con duct and life that results from association with the Christ. Christianity is the highest type of friendship between God and man. We talk about going to heaven when we die, but the heavenly life, companionship with the Godlike and Christlike begins here. aul and I.nther went to heaven Itefore they died, not after. And so must man to-day, for religion is a wholesome and sustaining companionship with God that begins on earth and continues through the centuries. 0000 0 0 00 0000 o to . I SERMOSETTES j Faltb in God. He who would rob man of his faith in God can be no teacher of American patriotism. Bish op Fallows, Episcopal, Chicago, 111. The Preached Word. For the time being it is possible to crowd a church by other methods than that of tbe preached word. What the people need and want to hear from the pulpit ia not so much about capital and labor, but more of tbe teachings of tbe blessed Master, who came to teach peace. Rev. I,. M. Zimmerman, Lutheran, Bal timore, Md. Satisfy the World. There Is much talk to-day about a cotifesslon that will satisfy the world. This la Impossible, aa the truth of a good confession la re veul ed to men by the Holy Ghost Men may call Christ a (food man, but He la recognized aa Divine only through the work of the spirit of God. The world Is satisfied to look on Jesus Chrirt as a tnan, but the cburch Is not satisfied ex cept to know Him as Lord. Iter. V. W. Sneed, Presbyterian, Pittsburg. Pa. A Genius for Religion. Tbe writers of the Bible were all, so far aa we are Informed, of the Jewish race. This fact aheils a flood of light on the Bl ble, Ortaln races hsve a peculiar fit neaa for certain things the Greek for art, for Instance, and the Anglo-Hnxon for civilization. Ho the Jew bad a genius for religion. Tbe Bible In all Its rarioua porta la essentially a religious book. Ood la tbe center of all Its thoughts. It represents tbe supreme product of tbat race whose genius wat religion for agoa Rev. P. Y. utpbos. Proatytortaa, dor aland, O. SgMlftyention A lately completed list of fungi gives the total now known as 52.157, not less than i,K3 species and varieties having been added since August. 1V.I. Our sense of smell is explained by Crookes as due to "electrons," or chips of atoms, such as are given ofT by ra dium, and which affect the retina as well as the olfactory nerve. Smell is X-va dy. io!L.iU..diil !?ed. 'U.ly... A French writer Mig'es.s that our sensitiveness to odors will be Increased by some in strument analogous to the telescope, and then a new era will open. The whole operation of winking lasts about four-tenths of a second. The downward movement of the eyelid oc cupies from seventy-five to uiucty-thou-ft.im.lihs of a second. At the end of the descent a lid rests for a period which varied with different persons from fif teen to seven! een-huudredtbs, aud the ascending movement took seveuieeu huudredths. "As quick as winking," therefore, means about four-tenths of a second. Au engineer of Zurich, L. Thormann, reports, after a careful examination, that sufficient electric power could be developed from the waterfalls of the Alps to run all the railways of Switzer land. There would be little or no re duction of cost, he says, but the time may come when the change from steam to electricity may be desirable, because Switzerland has to import all the coal she uses. From twenty-one waterfalls, some of which are already partially utilized for Industrial purposes, 8b,000 horse-power could be developed, but only tlu.iXW horse-power would be re quired to replace the steam power now used on the railroads. Although the predictions freely made a few years ago that the development of electric fraction would quickly drive bores from the field of labor have not been fulfilled, yet the Electrical He view cites statistics to prove that the disappearance of the horse Is actually taking place, although so slowly as not to attract much attention. In Paris the number of horses fell off about 0 per cent lxtween 1!U and V.Y1. In Lou don the decrease In the same time was 10 per cent In Berlin, Vienna and St. Petersburg a similar falling off i shown by the census of horses. In New York It Is estimated that the number of horses has decreased 33 per cent In the last tweuiy years. But although horses may be relieved of the burden of bard lalsir. it is not likely tbat man will ever banish his ancient friend aud servant wholly from the circle of his pleasures. The remarkable discovery of Abbott II. Thayer, the American artist, to which reference has before been made in this column, that the gradation of colors on the bodies of wild animals tends to make them Invisible, or unno tieeable, amid their natural surround ings, has recently been the subject of renewed discussion. Prof. E. B. Potil tou of Oxford, England, regards the discovery as exceedingly w ide In Its ap plication. Briefly stated, the color law which Mr. Thayer finds prevailing in the animal kingdom produces un effwt exactly contrary to the ordinary shad ing of objects Illuminated by light from the sky. Being dark above and Ugh below, and. moreover, having colors harmonizing with those f Its natural environment, the animal, when motion less, loses the nppearance of solidity, and blends with the background so per fectly that often it escapes the eye. This applies alike to quadrupeds and birds. Fishes nlso show a similar gra dation, and the law can be traced In the insect world. VICTIM OF A CONSPIRACY. Wherever He Goes Death Seems to He Hot on Ills Track. In the adventures of Carlo Cattapani, Marquis de Cordova, now living in New York, there would appear to be ample material of adven ture for a dozen novels. The mar ils belongs to one t the oldest of the titled families of Italy. Some two years ago he start ed to secure certain papers to be used In substantiating his claims to a mako,uw cokdova large Spanish es tate. Since then Id every city he has visited bis life has been one of per petual terror, and murderous assaults have been made on blm. The Spanish estate Is valued at 12.- 500.000 and belonged to another branch of the marquis' family. Before setting out on bis quest for the lost papers, which bad been stolen from tbe Catta pani home In Italy, be employed French detectives. These, after a time, sum moned him to London, believing that they bad located the papers there. The marquis was then at Monte Carlo. One night before be set out for Ijudon be was fired on. The Incident did not greatly alnrm blm, as be was then Ig norant of the conspiracy against his life. On reaching London he received an anonymous letter In Spanish, threat ening blm with death of be persevere In bis efforts to secure the estate. Ho laid tbe matter before the Italian am bassador, but no clew could 1 found to tbose who threatened bis life. A lit tle later, while In Birmingham, he was assaulted by three men on one of the streeta of tbe city. He was found, later, lying on tbe pavement uncon scious. When be recovered be returned to London and there received word from one of bis detectives In New York to proceed at once to that city. Ap parently his enemies learned of bis In tention of sailing for the new world, for a few nights before bis departure he was assaulted In his room. Ills as sailants bound and gagged blm and then tied hltn securely to the bed, after which they lighted a Ore in the grate aud turned on the gas at full pressure. Meantime they bad ransacked bis pa pers. Fortunately the Janitor of the building smelled the gas and traced Its escape to its source in time to re lease the marquis. During April, P.xil, the marquis sailed for New York and took up his quarters well uptown. Here, emu day, he re ceived a letter asking Iiini to meet the writer at South Ferry and hike his papers along. The letter went on to state that if the marquis' claims were well founded he could have the missing papers then and there. On reaching South Ferry lie saw a carriage in waiting and was invited by two men to step In and drive with theln to an ofliee where the matter could be arranged. This was at K o'clock on a Monday morning and when again the marquis was conscious of anything It was Friday night and ht found himself lying iu bed in a but, near what be subsequently found waf Prospect Park, Brooklyn. When be en tered the carriage he was apparently lilt in the head by some weapon, for he carries a scar as a memento of the occasion. He believes he was also drugged. When he regained consciousness In the but he heard voices In an adjoining room and heard the question of his kill Ing discussed. This thoroughly aroused him and he made his escape through a window. Subsequently he tried to find the hut, but failed. The police were also unable to solve the mystery. The marquis has not yet found the lost papers and apparently is as far from attaining the Spanish estate ever. WATCHING FOR CYCLONES. Westerners Fear Them as the Island ers lo Volcanoes. Recent disturbances by volcanic eruption In the Island of Martinique and Guatemala bring out in full meas ure of sympathy of the residents of tint cyclone district of the Southwest. The cyclone Is by far the worst form of disaster that visits this country, com ing at unexpected times aud dealing death and destruction In widespread manner. When the summer days bring waves of bent across the stretches of hot sod, then the residents of the prairie West begin to cast their eyes to the wind ward. They are watching (lie forma tion of the clouds, and be who could not distinguish a cyclone bank from any oi'uer is indeed a tenderfoot. Then the cry of warning Is carried across the plains and the members of every fam ily make for their cyclone cellars. These cellars differ In various com munities. The popular cyclone cellar on the plains of western Kansas, where j cyclones a few years ago were almost a dally occurrence, are ordinary sod bouses, built low and strong. In the Russian communities of Kan sas these cyclone houses serve as the family residence the year around. They are about seven feet high, and built ex ceptionally strong. The roofs are slant ing, and the houses are set to the wind, that Is, the ends are faced toward the east and west. In Oklahoma every farmhouse backed up by a cave, a hole dug Into the ground, and covered by on earthen roof. Some farmers have gone so far la protecting themselves against cy clones that they have a small cannon loaded with salt and buckshot, which Is tired Into tbe whirling clouds as they Approach. This has been known to turn the course of a storm. It Is a common event to dismiss school on the plains of Oklahoma when a bank of clouds begins to arise In the southwest. These wind and rain storms are becom ing more uncommon every day, anil It Is believed that the pluntlng of trees and the settlement of tbe barren sod has bad much to do with It Before Oklahoma was thoroughly well settled dozens of cyclones were reported every day In the hot months. The writer was In the Newklrk one day In the early period of that town's existence, and saw seven cyclones form In the afternoon. All of them followed the course of the Arkansas River, and "struck" In the Osage Indian reserva tion, far to the westward. The Drag Htore at Fault. An Individual, who from his clothes and the dinner pail which be carried appeared to be a laboring man, recently walked into a drug store on Eleventh avenue and requested to be given a marriage license. "You'll have to go to tbe city ball to get that," said the druggist "I don't see why. Isn't my money good here? I'm In a hurry, too." "We don't handle that kind of li cense," answered the drug store man. "Well, I was told I could get one here sure, and that d n Jutlce won't marry me without a license," angrily snapped the fellow a he walked out. The druggist said that people often come Iu with requests which would make a stoue tnan smile, "and If you do laugh they get mad." be concluded. Milwaukee Sentinel. The chief difference between a girl and a married woman I that In ono case It Is a father and in the other a husband, who does the grumbling Hlmnt bat bills. Very few people hide their talent under a bushel; most of them drag It out and try to sell It nt Ave times its value. When a woman has a One uouse, bow the other women Impose on ber! QUEER JOBS FOE BOYS TASKS THAT MESSENGER LADS ARE ASKED TO UNDERTAKE. Encaged to Air Babies or Dog. Assist Inebriated Individuals, Accompany Nervous Shoppera, Keep Torn in Bar ber Bhop, and Ho Other Odd Unties. "They're finding new stunts for the messenger boys right along." remarked the manager of a local district messen ger oltice the other day. "Airing babies and dogs, taking care of Jagged individ uals, accotiipaiiyiiig out-of -town -women ou shopping expeditions, aud jobs of that sort are now old stories for the kids. Hut every once In a while some thing new for them to do turns Up. "A couple of Saturday evenings ago a business man well known along F street dropped in and handed me one that I'd never beard of before iu con nection with the messenger business. " "I w ant to get shaved over at Blank's,' he said, mentioning a well patronized barber shop, 'in about three quarters of an hour. The place Is al ways Jammed up wirh fellows waiting for their over-Sunday shaven on Sat urday evenings, and I've had some wearisome waits there. I wish you'd hike a kid over there for me to nail a place In the 'next' row for me. He can let on that he's due for a haircut, and I'll drop around about the time he's called to the chair.' "I sent a ltoy over to the shop, and it went through all right The young ster peeled his coat and kept a wary eye out that he wasn't skipped in his turn. A couple of minutes before the boy wus due to be summoned to a chair as the 'next' tbe business man who had rigged up the little scheme dropped in, and wheu the lad wag called by the barber the man Just slipped Into the tchalr and the boy donned his coat with a grin, bis task accomplished. The business man told me afterward that 'two or three of the waiting men In the shop started to register kicks over the transaction until It was explained to them, when they calmed down and laughed over the Idea. "During the races at Benulng a race track man, wearing a lot of Jewelry, put a new one over. When be got up to the desk he leaned over confldntial iy and said to me: " 'I want you to send a kid down to So-and So'g pawnshop with this ring,' removing a line three-stone diamond ring from his left hand. "I want two hundred on It and have the boy hurry.' "I sent one of the larger boys on the! errand, and he returned promptly with the and the ticket. The racing man had olwerved me smile a bit over his scheme, and he smiled along with me. "Well, it does look a bit finical, doesn't itr said he. 'Hut the racing bunch are traveling around the streets to see what they can sie all the time. and if any of them happened to spy me going into or coming out of a pawn shop the word would get around that yours truly was on the crags, which wouldn't suit my game a little bit s'?" 'Not long ago I bad another novelty here. A department olilclal that I know well walked In with a shoebox under his arm. ' 'Say,' said he to me, 'have you got any kid around this plant with No. S feetr ' 'All sizes,' said I. ' 'Good thing,' said the man, opening the box and pulling a fine pair of pat ent leather shoes out of It. 'I w ant you to pick out a boy with No. 8 feet and have blm Jog around town for a day In these Infernal contraptions. I bought the shoes yesterday. They slipped on all right wheu I bought them, but I al most died In 'em at the theater last night They sort o' drew around the Instep. If you've got u youngster that can stretch 'em for me I'll pay right lor the merchandise, although I'd hate to have to take a chance on paying the kid's relatives for his life in case he failed to survive the ordeal.' "I banded the shoes over to a tidy lad provided with feet that fltu-d them snugly ew.ugh, and tbe Iwy wore ihern around for the day without any dis comfort. Tbe man came In for them that same evening, and the next even ing be dropfKsl In to say that the shoe fitted him immensely, and that he hadn't been bothered a little bit by the drawing instep after wearing them all of that day, "A very much flustrated man came prancing In here before 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning last" continued, the manager, according to the Washington Star, "and leaning over the desk, -and addressing me In a vol of suppressed wrath, mingled with emotion, be said: " 'I want you to assign a messenger boy to meet me at the main exit of the War Iepartment at precisely 4:02 this afternoon. lick out a boy with strong lungs, one that can boiler so tbat he can be beard four miles. If you've got one like that In stock. Instruct blm to walk up to me, when be see me emerg ing from tbe War Department, aud get a powerful, unbreakable clutch on my coat tails. Then he Is to bowl with all his might "Forty feet of garden bosel forty feet of garden bosel" and keep right on hollering the same all the way from the War Department to the store where I've been due to buy that con founded hose for the last ten days. I've forgotten It every time, and now I'll Ite lenied If my wlfe'll speak to ine at the table on account of It. " 'I wouldn't take a chance on going borne to-night without that miserable forty feet of garden hose for any mon ey, and that's why I want you to pick out the most persevering, rambunc tious, leather lunged son of a gun of a boy tbat you've got on your pay-roll to bawl "garden hose'' at me sixty times a minute from tbe Instant I break m of the War iH-partment building until I walk out of tbat store with tbe Kr deu hose under my arm. If the boy Is arrested for disturbing the pec "U Au tine fttlil aiadlv: I'll be eterniO- ly hornswoggled If Fd let a little thing like that fea.e me when it cornea io having my home broken up. " EXCITABLE PARIS. Not Satisfied with the Humdrum Lif of the Republic vWbat Is the cause of tbe separation of Paris from the re-t of the country? We believe the -aue to be 'hat Paris Is ts.red. The republic may be all that Its ii.lmir, rs coiitt-nd. but to her It ap pears to have another and less charm ing quality. It is humdrum. Partly from her history, partly from being the rendezvous of all that is ambitious, vain, and esurient In France, and part ly from the "genius" which gradually molds the pi-ople of every great city. Paris thirsts fur an clement of the dra matic in politics which the republic Is unable to supply. Its rulers have n fancy for grand coups; they are not seeking war. but protective alliances; they are the center of no splendors; and they give no subjects for excited talk. Thcv prefer, in fact, that govern ment should not be scenic, while Paris prefers that It should be. She is. there fore, dull; and Paris, w hen she Is dull. Is discontented, ami ready to accuse any government, no matter what, and stM-k relief In a change of governors, no mutter whom. If only they win give her lively times. So far as cau be per ceived, she rather despises nil the pretenders. She has uo candidate for the dictatorship. If she wishes for war In the abstract, It Is not for any particular war. All she knows dearly Is that she wants something to be done which will make the world stare, and give to herself the feeling she most eDjoys-that of being fully alive. The respectable republic which tbe provincials approve, because It gives them order and Justice, slow but fair ly steady Improvemt nts. and plenty of local expenditure on mads and useful buildings, does not and cannot give her this, and therefore Paris frets, and anathematizes the government, for which all the while she bus ho prac ticable alternative to offer. She will continue to fret, we fear, until events In some way grow exciting, and her fretfulness will always be a cause of anxiety to her rulers They know it. however, and they keep a strong con trol on her movements, and while France supports them they will move forward In a fairly determined way. France has probably never bad a better government than the present, or one more solicitous to secure her perma nent well-being, find It Is highly to her credit that the majority of Frenchmen have perceived this, and have voted what Is at least a consent that It shall continue to go on. I-ondou Spectator. A GREAT-SMOKER President Mckinley Alwojrs Fond of a Good Clunr. "President Roosevelt doesn't smoke, at least not In his otHce during busi ness hours," said an attache at the White House. "In fact, I have never seen him smoking anywhere, and I understand that be does not Indulge In tobacco In any form. Yes, President McKInley was au Inveterate cigar smoker tind was rarely without a cigar In his mouth during his working hours in bis ollice. I remember that he was sensitive to newspaper suggestions that be was smoking too much. -For Instance, some of the yellow Journals occasionally published a story that he was threatened with cancer because of his constant smoking. He didn't like this. "At another time I reiuv-inhcr that a newspaper man wrote a story describ ing President McKInley at work nt his desk. In the story was something about the blue wreaths of smoke curl ing upward toward the ceiling. Mr. McKInley cnlbil this young man in his office and requested that he say noth ing in the future ubout his use of cigars, as It would surely lead to stories of disease from excessive smok ing Mr. McKInley, during his long service In Congress, smoked a good deal, aud the habit grew with blm after be entered the White House. He found pleasure In a good cigar, und when talking or thinking he bad a lighted cigar bandy. He had a special brand of cigars that be bought aud paid for despite the fact that admiring friends throughout the country sent him hundreds of boxes of the best ci gars ever put up. After we had ac quired Cuba aud the Philippines, box after box of the finest cigars made In these countries) used to reach the Pres ident from army officers aud friends. Very few men ever remember to have seen President McKInley at tbe lnJid of tbe Cabinet table unless he bail a lighted cigar In his mouth or one lying on tbe table nearby," Telephoning Through the ICarth. Among the most Interesting experi ments In telephoning without wires are those of Monsieur Ducretet, a French scientist He places an ordinary tele phonic transmitter In direct communi cation wltb the ground, and. at a con siderable distance away, on tbe other side of some building with thick walls and cellars, be has a receiver connected by one wire to tbe earth and by another wire to a small metallic sphere let down through an opening to the floor of thu catacombs beneath Paris. When words are spoken into tbe transmitter they are beard In the receiver with much greater clearness than In an ordi nary telephone. Monsleuli Ducretet Is continuing hi experiments at Increas ed distances. A pessimist la a man who believes that every chestnut baa worm la It.