UNAFRAID. darp la Uie niflit, 1117 brother. But bright tha com in 15 day. Aod tie time for dawn nd zunriw I neter fr away. I'm watching bere in the mflry To rstrh the first slad rift In the Bight clouds hanging orer Grsy clouds that h-kib thai lift m S 1 ANDREW HANSEN'S DEBT. M If "A mavcitv -r.-.-t an outside office of the Astoria Crescent Cannery. Ills heavy brows were drawn over bis grry eyes, and under an unkempt board bis mouth worked uneasily. When be finished, he strode over to the cashier. "You beat me:' be erlid, thickly. ' By Jee, you cheat me twenty do'larl" "Nonsense, Andrew," said the cash 1er; "you're off. Your account Is Jut eighty three do liars and nix bits duo you. Not a cent more. Our books dou't lie." The fisherman hitched up his trou sers, aud bis voice fell two notes. "You heat loft," be muttered, doggedly. "I bring In two hundred pound more Ash. ItN liowii iff niy bM.k. See?" The young fellow who bud charge of the flub delivery Intoks received gin gerly the greasy pages thrust In at him, ami rapidly compared the entries there with those In bis ledger. Every now and then be jotted a number 011 a pad of blank paper before blm, ami when be bad run through all the pages of the lisli hook be added together bis Jottings, and looked tip with a weary Muile. "You're wrong, Andrew," be said, "(vkj here, where you've gone off your reckoning. This entry calls for only twenty pounds of fish, and you've rend it two hundred. This here Is forty five pounds of sleelbead. and you've made It salmon. You better be careful how on say we cheat you. You are tr)in.r to do some cheating yourself with a darned blunt pencil. 'Jake your book mid clear out." The heavy eyed captain of boat No. ;H."i loosed bis iiiH-Uerchlcf ami pulled again at bis trousers. "You cheat me!" he yelled, shrilly. "Ole, he put hint down that way. Mini I know bow much lis!) I bring in. I don't charge him in the book. You cheat me;" A rough order to clear out was the only response, ami Andrew blew like a porpoise. Then his clumsy tongue gathered articiilateiiess, and he called down the curse of God upon the As toria Crescent, with special reference to tbo while faced cashier and Ole, the weigher. Ills strident tones re Rounded In tin? building, and present ly the manager of the cannery came from bis private olllee to see what tbo matter was Andrew turned to blm with a cry for justice. ' "I'ut your account is all straight," Mild the mauager. after a quick glance, at tile book tin? fisherman held out to him. "What tlio devil do you mean by making such a fuss?" "Hut Ok? make the wrong number," Andrew expostulated, "lie put down twenty pound of fish on your, book when I have two hundred on mine. He cheat me!" ' ' , "If you make any more bowl," said tin? manager, roughly, "I'll seize your bout. You owe us a hundred on last KOiison." There was a deep silence, while the huge fellow shambled back as if to gather himself for a blow, .. Then In nouns way he realized hU helplessness and strove l subdue bis voice. 'It ain't right,". Iii'dnumbled. T'owe you noting. ; I pay blm all oopl Ole make wrong" YniiiilX-r. ' You can't tak.e,. my bout," . V 1 ' '' ' , foH(-4)i)'5lie manager of the cannery was doubtful of lfis own position,,' or else Uf.' whs Incited' by a rlfarltable A thouL'it 'uT Andrew' wffc and small baby; lie ubV'l n,p)Jdjieeo, from-ills, pocket; and Quia; tit' At the' Ushprmitn.. "lake till.-?, AikIi'ImV. nml ifoti't let tne tieftj pny niiu'e i ;of your n'nH!!?e. 'tbrfi'11 !t )nin'J-iiftwf fen doljiir piece, nmi I'll ht! Vu'l spend it in ft saloon.' mid (urse'tln are your glass. Now -cn.r ouV" v Hansen hioked at the money in his illoused palm, ami then at the re treating form of tin? malinger. "Clear out!" said Ihe clerk, "or' we'll throw yoil out, you darti'il beggar!" .Mrs. Hansen wept when her bus baud, told her curtly' that Hhe was to have no new dress. When be refused to buy a baby carriage for tbo flrst iKirn, tlre was deep gloom In tbo little' bouse lucked tip under the bill above the gas 'works.' Hut Andrew Hl not ,, explain, though he gazed a long, time at the, white-haired son,' w toiM? legs were sure, according to bis mother, 'to be bent like the staves of s-fisb barrel did be have no carriage lt ride In. Two days later Andrew paid off his Unit-puller. It took all the money to Ll credit at the cannery. Then, ho Mtnt.o it to the, racks on which his net was bung, and worked there for a v eel;. Later, he drew bin boat out on i!if 'beach, nnd acroped and cleaned Ir-r through without painting a itrake. I 10111 that time till September lOtb be at 011 the wabbling wharf over the 1 l and figured In bla sineary Oab t e,k, and seemed to be nursing Nome n i t sorrow, ao that bla aequalnt , nodded tbelr bead, and Mid u..u miiiiT otbf that Andrew waa ao Whenever uight tdiadei re deepest Th-n loudest U lay so ig, Io the fchadow of the valley Hope spt-eds my feet aloug. Aye. deep is the night, my brother, Hut bright the coming day. And the time for dawn and sunrise Is never far away. -Los Angeles Herald. ill husband, and was spending bis Rea son's wages in sullen drinking. Kut when be quietly put bis net in No. 345 on the 10th. and started out "fall flshiug." the nods of bead changed to open-mouthed astonish ment For Andrew was forehanded In bis way, and enjoyed the reputation of making enough, even in a poor sum mer, to avoid the necessity for drift ing for the slimy salmon that enter the Columbia In the later months. Instead of six cents, fish now com manded only one ,eeut at the cannery scales, and Andrew grew gaunt and haggard before September was out. One day he brought in two hundred and fifty pounds, bis biggest catch. His balance at the Astoria Crescent was bettered sosic nine dollars by two weeks' work. And Andrew had 110 boat puller to share bis prollts, but toili"d alone, he. and his alarm clock that warned him to wake and work when sleep was heavy upon blm. One Sunday at noon Andrew came down from the little house under the bill, shambling sullenly out on the wharf to where his bout lay nosing a fender pile. His pipe, was gripped in his teeth, and he raged that the day should be so line when be must go out and spend it in a dirty boat alone, while his wife sat in white anger at tils parting silence. After a slow look over the bay he jolted down the ladder, pulled his boat In sharply and dropped on the net heaped amidships. Then with o,uick Jerks he stepped the mast, threw oil the riding line, and with a thrust of an oar was out In the stream, live minutes later No. I!l." was speeding across toward the deep calm in the lee of the Washington bills. Ilowed In the stern was Andrew Hansen, clutching his tiller in one hairy band and hold ing the sheet in the other. Only once did he glance back, to see If the fish warden's launch was still tied up by her dock. For Sunday, until six o'clock In the evening, is "closed." Sunset found blm In low Sand Is land stowing the last fathoms of bis reeking net A dozen poor fish alld back and forth iu the 'wi ll to the tum ble of the boat. Andrew flung In the hist armful of net, and stood up to ease his aching buck. His eye caughi a solitary pink cloud riding high in the evening sky. aud tils gaze fuslened on. It truculently. Gradually the ocean .wind chilled, and the dusk came on like puffs of smoke before It. The crystal of the lee shores dlmmmcd, and the bar leaped higher against the Mackemd embers of the went. The clear gleam from a lighthouse thresided the twi light, and No. 3-fo plunged wildly over gray combers. Still Andrew polsd bis bulk over the boat, and as the seas, rising with the tide, tossl It an grily, his gTlm face hardened. Ilefure his uiind rose the Image of the man ager who had cheated him, of the fel low tlsherfolk who lutd looked at blm quizzically, or bo.slib?ly, or pityingly. Ills big fists clenched lieeaiise, were It not for one thing, he was strong enough to fi-nd against them all. Thai one thing had ridden his heart till the very thought of It made his teeth fasten In his lips and the blood swell hia veins to bursting. With a sudden access of rage, he pulled out of his Jacket pocket bis fish hook and held its almost obliterated pages up before blm. The crabbed scrawls of many weighers were jum bled In Its rude 'columns. Hut bate knew the false tiitries, and his linger. shriveled by the old brine, shook fls It traced them out Then the vision of the little home under the hill, a pale faced wife, mid a babe Willi tiny list ", blurred bis sight and effaced tie sordid characters. And tiien 11 sand laden win e fell 011 No. M:, and flooded it, till Andrew- was kii"e deep 111 water. With a leap lie seized all oar. swung the Isiat round till it met the next roller head or. n ml with a few swift jerks raised tv9 sail. Yhe wind was getting up 'ii?:t but In pure defiance he put I:, the spr't, ami. '.H f're No. 315 could yield t.icroiisly I) its pies-' sure, drove tM l out 'ito the tye of the gale with aiioi'icr kwi of the oar, and then fell up 11 -the tiller. The fish book floater Pi tli! water among the slimy chums. 1 it was black night, and Andrew sot lo scanning the l!h,s before running up the bay. The roar of the surf was growing shriller and the foam that blew past blm was aliv not dead from long drifting. In bis wide sweep of ithe river's n'oulh he caught fight of a'tdrnnite l4 ,t rre 1U south end of the bar. lie looked again and again, lie forgot bis i.'iitb In this .new iiii,tr ter, and peered under loot of his shaking sail, careless of f e fact that bis boat was half wai Hogged nnd that his catch was slopping about In the bottom. Kor Andrew knew that that glimmer was on another boat, and from Its position he also knew that It waa driving Into the terror of all who use Astoria liay, the c-bopM off Clatsop Spit. Tbeu his anger came over him again. Had it not been for the false entry In his fish-hook, and the harsh injus tice of the manager, be would not novr be out In the night, helplessly watch ing some unknown fellow struggling with death. He seemed to catch a glimpse of a' smart house, with a red fire in a grate, and the manager of the Astoria Crescent toasting himself and talking to his wife. His own clothes were sour upon him, and the brine hardening about bis eyes made It tor ture to look into the wind. Then, with a defiant curse at the transient vision, be stooped to bis net, and, raising It fathoms at an armful, thrust It over the side. It Is the last sacrifice a Co lumbia river fisherman makes. But out In the tossing Burges of the bar he saw still a wavering light Unburdened, No. 345 answered her helm quickly. . With one band on the tilled Andrew baled In wild haste with the other, throwing the water to lee ward and looking to the lashings of the heavy ballast-bags. Then, when all was clear as he could make it, be dexterously undid his cumbersome jacket and stuffed it under the thwart Another lull In the wind allowed him to unlash a second oar, and he, with this in reserve, settled himself down stolidly to his task. The breasts of the fishlHiat threw the waves aside in blinding spray as he neared the chops, and when a roar ing sea swept across the tumbling raffle Andrew tautened every muscle. The sea passed In thunder Into the darkness, whither he dared not look, and left the sturdy craft still heading on the starboard tack toward the fee ble gleam In the . urk ahead. The sail was wet to ihe top of the mast, and from the folC where the sprit wrin kled It :he wind blew the water in white 1 &n . Then short expanse of loss troubled sea Intervened, and Han sen managed by a quick leap and hot return to thro' the sprit out. He was just in thne; for a mountain of water shut out the wind, and, as the boat fell away, br -ke In boiling foam. Two minutes later No. 315 was again 011 her course, half filled hard to hold, and (lipping deeply st every plunge. If ut the light was close aboard and the fisherman saw to leeward of him tin blotted outlines of a small yacht. It was imiler bare poies, nnd every lurch sent, the spray soaring toward the shrilling stats from lis bluff sides. When he not within a hundred yards of it Hansen shouted ami lulled. The gale bore him down on the yacht in an Instant, and a he was driven past he saw a man wa hi arm frantical ly, and then the hgbt went out. Steadying No. 31A will, one powerful hand on the tiller, beeping her almost In the eye of tae wind. Andrew Han sen waited. Suddenly Ms free nrm went out am! caught something. A strong pull, and a white face was lift ed to the trvii; with a wrench that started lis Joints, !: dragged a girl into his bout. SHI! hs waited, edging tip a little whenvr he saw the chalice, but stid wat'Jng. An arm was flung out at b'm truir. a rush of foam, arid again Andrew snatc hed his prey. This time it was man, and he fell beside the girl. "Is that nil?" ellei1 the fisherman over them. There wus no answer, and again No .'15 was steadied Into the wind, though the .streaming waves now carried a thrill that warned the fisherman that but little time was left to try the hist chance. , But no other form was seen, and when a towering wall of spumy water tossed the c.;pslzed yacht within ten fathoms of bis boat, Andrew eased the sheet from about, his leg, and then started on his way to catch the thread of the tide. He knew that for three hours yet It would be flooding In, and he felt that no mortal hand could save No. 345, unless he could make 1liis in streaming current, and there lie to un til he was beyond the clutch of the de vouring bar. So Inch by Inch be ate his way out, rushing his plunging boat over the smaller waves, and bunging her llgh.lv on the sheer sti jts of cruin bling combers only lo flirt her ovel when 'the cataract fell, Time and again No. 315 rolled in helplessness till der skipper could fu riously clear her of some of the In pouring water; and he gave little heed to the man and the girl lying ncro$ his feel, except to avoid thciu US hi .moved. But his efforts- told, nnd fool by foot be crept out of the edge of tha (hops and into the lnore' regiilar wil derness of the deeper channel. . , Once out of the deadly trap whera every surge carried death, Andrew re laxed a little and peered down at tha two people be had saved. When he got a moment's breathing space he put hl4 hand on the girl and she stirred under It. The man shuddered to his knees and threw bis hands out to the. fisher man. Satisfied, Andrew threw his weight on the tiller and eased .tbo sheet slightly. ' Five minutes later they stemmed the main rush of the tide, and Andrew' fi'ed 'the Vim's together and made "them first ' fur "the pivLnter, anil, tluew Jlliein overside so that No. 345 'rode to Vlinm, shipping no more water thnn could be baled out. Then Han sen pulled out bis fbisk and addressed himself fo his passengers. It was nearly dawn when Andrew threw his bout's norfo In by the whnrf of the 'Astoria Crescent Cannery. Ho chunbered forward, and groped, for the ladder. When his hands, grasped It bo made the boat. fnst,,(uid climbed up to the roadway. He returned with a lan tern and set It at the ladder's head. Then he went down Into the rolling craft again nnd picked up the girl. Followed by the man, be bore her up the ladder and set her down on the planks. The other stopped In the fee ble light of the lantern "ml fumbled In hi sodden clothes. Andrew glam-ed It him, and awkwardly stooped to wring the water from the girl's fcklrts. She shivered, and laid her cold bands on bis, ai sjoke to biui through her chattering teeth. He replied with a gesture, and picked up the lantern. Its pale rays fell on the face of the man ager of the cannery, who was dragging out his purse. "You've wived our lives," said the manager, hoarsely. "If I can ever do anything for you, say it Take this now." Andrew thrust bis hand into the bosom of his shirt and pulled out a handkerchief. He unknotted it and there rolled Into his palm a coin, glit tering moistly. With a Jerk he dropped it into the manager's band, and strode to the ladder, taking no notice of the purse held out "But where are you going?" asked the other, shivering with the chilL "What's this for? Ain't you going to?" Andrew halted on the ladder, with his grim face at the level of the planks. "You cheat me"' he said, uarhiy. "Y'ou make wrong number, iy Jee!" The manager stumbled hastily for ward. His foot struck the lantern and knocked it overboard. As its glimmer vanished iu the black water be called, shrilly: "Where are you going? Come tack and let me pay you!" There was no response. But In the .'aint light No. 345 put out into the -haiinel agaiu. Andrew was going to retrieve his net if haply he might find if, aud as he settled down in his reek ing clothes he glanced up to the little '.muse tucked under the bill above the gas works, and smiled. He was think ing of his honor, now unstained. San Francisco Argonaut. BARBARIANS AT PLAY. Mies Kditb m Horrified Till I-he Learned the Truth. The sun glared fiercely on the oily pools of water standing iu the street as Miss llditb stepped from the entrance of the tenement house. Half overcome by the reeking odors of the place she had just left, she leaned against the aiea railing, oblhious of the chatter lug,' shrieking group of small children '.'laying iu the gutter across the street. 1'resciitly their shrill shouts attract ed her at U.'itinu, and she watched them intently, 'i'hey seemed to be playing some game. On the top of a wooden garbage box, standing at the curb line, sat n wee and dirty-faced boy, attired iu a pink undershirt, a blue calico shirt and a vest of bis father's, at least twenty sizes too large for his gaunt little shoulders. All about him in the gutter were gathered a dozen or more little girls. Each of them was armed with some instrument of torture. A majority carried pins and needles, one or two hairpins, and the leader and largest, a long hatpin. They were "tak ing turns" sticking their respective weapons into the tender leg of the baby on the garbage can. "The little fiends!" said Miss Edith aloud, and rushed across the street to stop the torture. As she came near she beard the girl with the hatpin'cry out: "I went in do furderist dat time." inn wicked, wicked children!" cried Miss Edith, "what do you mean ty abusing that poor little child?" The "poor little child" on top of the ir.rbage box looked up at Miss Edith mil grinned complacently through his dirt. The rest giggled aggressively. "Don't you know you might lame blm for life?" she demanded. "Aw, go-an," Raid the girl with the hatpin, finally. "It don't hurt him none. He's got a plnsker cask on his leg see?" Chicago Tribune. S.or cs of Imicoln. Among the accepted anecdotes of Lincoln, some are perennially welcome, because they are characteristic of the man as trad. lion paints him. One day, we are told. In William K. Curtis' new biography, a merchant visited the White House and sent up his card imon'g a quantity of others from enger allice-sec kers. Under his name he had written, "Holds no office, and wants iuite." "Show him up," commanded Mr. Lin coln at once, "He's n curiosity." The merchant passed the long line of o ppliants, and had a delightful talk ith the most harassed man In the ' x.untry. ' Although Lincoln was the quaintest f men, leady to put even serious facts in li;ht, and picturesque language, I' " lie, the "time for swords" Came ho w s reafly. In an exigency, Secretary Stanton re f c.sel to carry mil an -order 1 if 'the I'lesident In regard to the enlistment "'. Confederate prisoners who wished lo enter the Uiyou services., ,'J'he order .? as repeated, oiily td lie a second time denied. Then followed a talk about it. "Now, Mr. I'residi'iiJ," fjilid .Stanton, "those are the facts. ; '011 must see that your orders cannot .be. executed." "Now, .Mr. Secretary," said Lincoln, quietly, "I -reckon you.il, (nve to exe- cute the order." .' -. . , ( "Mr. l'resiiiont," Raid '".Stanton, , "1 cannot do It." lt ' , Lincoln fixed his eyes upon the other muti;, and sid,,in it voice the llrniiies .if which admitted no appeitl: "Mr. Secretary, It will, buyo to be :olie. ''.' .'.?. . , ' ; Uul ih linpoi-l'ecllonn. Cburi llqw. w ell you looked vfit "Die alicy ball.' ' ' ' "' ' "' 'Mw.d--Tlilnk. so?,n ,', ,', ; ' (Una Oh, yes. You liad on such bee ming musk. Tdwii Tuples. The Ohio town that has the fewest doctors also has the smallest death ,11 to. and the natives are trying to fig ure out which la the cause and which 1 ho effect ALL rtlGHT IN A COFFIN. 1 It Happened in kimu to On Irid J J. UuhrrlM. 1 A career that among its Incident comprises whale catching 'in W abn aud sleeping iu a ojllin In Kansas at bant has the merit of variety, and the.se are two of the variations in the life of David J. Bobens, foreman of the first division of the Government 1'rinting office, a man who has run the gamut of the usual experiences of a "ti.rist" printer In the days before the llergentbaler machine revolutionized the usages of the craft "The picturesque and ancient town of Carnarvon, Wales," said Mr. Rob erts, "Is ou the Menal Straits, and was the scene of gieat excitement one day in 1878 while I was there dJng the 'peripatetic act." When the tide came In the water was very deep in the straits, and a school of whales had floated into the narrow channel with the tide. As thtse were very valuable it was In the interest of the towns people to prevent their escape; -m ev ery one turned out to help. All he boats available were drawD across the entrance to the t-traits. and each boat was apparently h aded with a crowd of maniacs, for guns, pistols, tin pans, aud shouting were ihe means employ ed to drive the huge animals up the channel and to keep them there until low tide should prevent their escape. The efforts were successful in regard to three of the monsters, which were driven ashore, and with much diffi culty killed. Then came ray part In this stirring adventure. I had been In one of the foremost bnats when at last the whales were driven high upon the beach and was much interested In their killing so much so that, ap proaching too cloc, one of the beasts, In its last struggles, struck me a glanc ing blow on the leg with its tail, throwing me about twelve feet. I awoke In the bi.spltal, where I remain ed for weeks. My only souvenir of the clay's fun Is a bad scar on my leg, which I shall carry to my grave . ' "The winter of 18S0," continued Mr. IJolerts, who was In a reminiscent mood "was a very severe one in Kan sas, as I have reason to remember. I was publishing a weekly paper at Americus, a town of 500 Inhabitants. My office was In a room about 100 feet deep. Of this I occupied about forty feet, the balance being filled with the surplus stock of a merchant next door, and this surplus was coffins. At first they were raiher grewsome to look at, but I soon grew accustomed to their presence oen familiar with them, as you shall learn. The ronm was heated by a good stove at my end of the building, but as the chimney was at the extreme other end of It necessitated the use of a very long stovepipe that ran back over the piled up caskets. One bitter cold night I sought my bed at the hobl and tried to sleep, but it was too cold. 1 got up, dressed, nnd with all the blank ets around me I made another attempt, but In vain. I felt myself slowly turning Into an elongated Icicle. So, in despair, I went across the square to the office, intending to start a good fire and at least keep warm. Stuffing the stove full of corn bundles I soon had a roaring fire and drew up my chair to enjoy It. But. oh, how I did want to sleep! I nodded, awoke with a start, and nodded again. Then I noticed bow hot the stovepipe had grown the coffins must be warm, too. In another minute I had climbed to one of those directly under the pipe, pulled off the lid. slipped In, and found solid comfort. The question of a cold bed or bed room troubled me no more that winter, nor morbid thoughts of a last resting place, el. her." Washing ton Post. Ghost Was a Shrewil One. A resident of Philadelphia who was not In the least superstitious recently exorcised a "ghost" in very effective fashion. He is Mr. Edmunds, presi dent of the board of education. The property in question consisted 0 a good-sized lot with a substantial house upon it in a good slate of repair. Al though the residence seemed a desir able one, its owner could not keep a tenant in it. The only man who could be persuaded to remain on the prem ises was a caretaker, who did not fear ghosts. For the house was "haunted." Mr. Edmunds does not believe in ghosts- any more than the caretaker did. He bought the house, paying ifil.OOO for it, and then laid his plans for laying the ghost. After weeks of patient watching the ghost was cap tured. It was the caretaker, who, by giving the bouse a IkiiI name, had se cured ;t liitblMtioti free for a cniipls of yeaVs. The house has a tenant now. (Joel tie H Terror. ' ' It was only after years nnd years of effort that Goethe could overcome an ill-defined, superstitions dread. Lilie many children with a poetical tcmiie:.a ment, he was sensitive and suffer' d from childish terrors. To. overeoins this his somewhat. stern nnd opinion ated father used to compel him to sleep alone, aiid when the lad stole. away from his own bed to that of his Urotfi ers, would chase him back disguised as a fantastic hobgoblin. -. . llotween the Lines. Slier The papex says 'ids method of vecclylng Ills' guests was quite, uncon ventional."''' 1 wonder what that means. . , , ' 1 re -It means siinply that he-Is bioK Islviiql'-.lm.K dJenty of ; money" t'WUt. dolphh Press.V ' .. ' ' ,,' , Man proposes and woman accepts and In after years they wonder how the fool killer happened to overlook them. A woman has more faith In some patent medicine than she baa In her husband. PiaffinA Ca"i I Some remarkable photographs of landscapes have been exhibited to the Vienna 1'hotographic Society. These pictures were taken with the new light filter of Herr Eder, and they shp.w J.he objects as Illuminated by invisible ultra-violet rays. The filter combine cobalt glass with nitroso-dimethylani-lin, a yellow dye that absorbs all vis ible rays but transmits the whole of the ultra-violet. The lines of the French Cable Com pany between Guadeloupe and Mar tinique having been broken for more than a year, the wireless telegraph-system has been put In operation between these Islands, and recently it waa thrown open to the public. Our Con sul In Guadeloupe reports that the service is satisfactory, and that on the average sixty messages a day are transmitted each way. There are oc casional interruptions, ascrllied to weather conditions, but these are not frequent. Under an English patent a manu factory near Stettin, Germany,' Is turn ing out skein silk made .from wood pulp. It is said that no special kind of wood is needed to furnish the pulp. The latter, after undergoing a chem ical treatment, is driven by hydraulic pressure through very Cue lubes. The strands thus oimed are, tcparati-Iy, hardly perceptible to the eye.- Eight een of them twisted together make a thread of silk. T.'-ls silt is very soft, aud of a cream color. It is not as strong as genuine silk, but there Is said to be a Vrge Jer.iand for It in Stettin. Tlu Jenner Institute of Preventive Medtdnc has recently opened an ex tensive ct of .buildings, comprising laboratories a..? g.aMes. ou the summit of a swill iidl at Quoensl.erry Lodge in Herts. The i-'k to be carried ou consists largely n the preparation aud testing of artiicxin' to be employed for the trea'- cut of diphtheria, te tanm and other diseases. The labora tories hi-ve been arranged upon the plan of providing separate buildings and isolated r.-,r. s for the handling of different kinds 0 serums, thus avoid ing the lisk of .onlaniinp.ti.m. The rooms have pipyrolilh Coo.- i, with rounded corners, w hite glaieJ adamant wails with dadoes of hite tries, 'and nn abundance of v indow jpace. The best dry! g oil, stated by tha French Consul at Canton, to enter in to Chinese lacquer is pressed from the fruit of the oil-tree (lTaeococca ver nieia, cordata or verucosa), which grows in China, Southern Japan and Cochin China. The fruit yields about 40 per cent of oil. This has a density of 0.1)40, is golden yellow in color, rap-i idly hardens through absorbing oxy-i gen, and has some curious properties, such as that of hardening when heated, to 200 degrees C, and of losing this property w hen kept for a time at 180 degrees. , The oil ser-" in varnishes and for waterproofing fpbrics. It is gradually becoming -better known, but, although introduced luto Europe about forty years ago, Its export to Germany, America and England in 181)7 had reached only seventy tons out of a to tal production of 2,800 tons. Its light color gives it an important advantage over lluseed oil. The Sea of Sahara. French engineers have declared It ' is perfectly feasible t6-convert the Desert of .Sahara into a vast lake, tbu opening to commerce great regions of ' the interior of Africa which can now only be reached "by long, tedious and-' uangerous caravan journeys. They say tnat a large portion of the desert ' lias below the level of the Atlantic, and that by digging a canal to let in the waters .-of the .ocaa..the . great. cuuogu icoiut ou eiiTCncN) eajiiiy, ana , ax a cost which would t Vvjiail compared to the benefits u-b .uld accrue. , If the whole (letwi.lv) below ihe' level of the Atlantic, the flooding of it would create m ure than four times as big as thv WeclierraneaA; but, as tiie S.ahaS composed of eTe-1" vated plateaux, mountain ranges attSf ' depressions, only a part would be' coV- ' i.m.1 n-lll ,-n'(,T. -t,X rf'n ,',' the ocean werQ' lct'; "fn, anil the' new ' sea thus formed would be rn irregular body of .water, probably of about the same size ns the Mediterranean., Great commercial cities would at once spring tip on lis shores, and. trade and civili zation strike at once to the' heart of Africa.' The Sea of SiUinra.'may never become a reality, but, In any event, it is a gigantic ,hqd pleasant .dream, London Answers. ' . , Valuable Snakes. "Many men halve fads," wild Mark Twain, the other day. "Some collect one tiling aud sonic another. Aluong the most curjous fs that 'of a man neat my stiinmer home at' EH mi raj who' has a collection of snakes, I'hey arc; of many varieties. The man Who has thorn thinks a great dertl of them, and, in fact, would not take anything for them. The oilier diiy, however, his physlvlan told Mm that If he did not take something for them ho would die." ' - , ;V J " Miido W r It Then.- . ,','jlpw did . you fllscovcf .iiiat Vail Major' Ws one Of th'6 bobreakfas't ad-voca-?- ;.,..-....'...'......t'v "I Invited him out to lunch with me." Cincinnati Times-Star. An Ohio physician recently tumbled Into a well and was drowned. II should have attended the sick and 1st the wall alone. i