PRISONER OF WAR.
' No rest again this month? Tii* is
the third time it has happened srlthtn
tha half-year. Ill go there m>sc«f and
get the money or 1 11 know the reason
nfcy."
Matthew IVwne wx* in parti■ td.irljr
fantf humor this raw December tsorc
lag Everything had gone wrong
fiborks had Callao when they ought to
have risen — fats clerk kad tipped over
the inkstand on kts special and pecul
iar heap of paper- the fire obstinate
ly refue* 1 to bora la the grate- in
short, nothing went right, ani Mr.
Deane was consequently and corre
spond. ngl> cross.
"Jenkins'"
"Yes. sir.**
Go to the ITidow Clarkson's, and
teB her I shall be there in half aa hour
and espect confidently- mind. Jenkins
—confidently to rereive that rent
money. Or I shall feel myself obliged
to resort to estreoc measures. You
understand. Jenkms—
'’Certainly, sir"
"Then don't stand there starin' like
an idiot." smarted Mr. Deane In a
ouddea hurst at Irritation and Jenkins
disappeared Uhe a shot.
Jnot half an honr afterward Mat
thew !leone brushed the brown hair
lost sprinkled with gray from his
square yet no unkindly brow. Put
ting on his far-lined overrun! he
walked into the chilly winter air fully
determined figuratively, to annihilate
the oefaatt eg Widow Clarkson
It was a dwarfish little red brick
boose which appeared originally to
have aspired to two-story hood lot.
hot cramped by circumstance*. had
settlad down into a story and a half,
bet the wisdom* shone like Braxiiimc
yT-tilntiifl. and the doorslej** were worn
by mock acuoriag Neither of these
rtmmstaarea. however, did Mr IVane
remark as he pulled the glittering
brans doorknob and strode into Mrs
Clarkson's nrat parlor
There was a small fire—very small,
as if every lump of anthracite was
hoarded in the stove, and at a table
with writing implements before her sat
a young lady srhou Mr. Deane at once
recognised a* Mr* Clarkson's niece.
Miss Oho Mellen. She was not dim
sgzeeat.ie to look upon, to >ugh you
“J HAVE CALLED TO SEE YOUK
At XT."
would ww Liu thought of classing
her Max the ImstMi. • tth shining
LI** k hair Mae. hm-liikcd eyes, and
a very pretty mouth, hiding teeth like
net kcrarh. oo white were they.
Mlftft Meiiem rue with a polite nod. !
which wa» grimly rcdyrorilH by Mr.
Donne.
*T have called to see your aunt.Mias j
Mcliea "
*| know |t. sir but a* I am aware of
her timid temperament 1 sent her
away. 1 prefer to deal with you my
Mr Dana* Marled - the cool audacity
af tbs damsel la gray, with starlet
notons la her hair, rather astonished
him
"I »appose the **oney is ready?"
~No. sir. It X not ~
"Then. Mias Olive pardon me. 1 must
speak plainly 1 shall send an offlur
her* this afternoon to put a valuation
oa the forfeiture, and-"
*'Yoa will do nothing of the kind.
Mr."
Otive's cheek had reddened aad her
eyes flatbed portentously Sir. Deane
tamed toward the doar. bet ere he j
knew what ebe was doing Olive had
walked quietly arroas the room, locked
the door, and taken out the key—then
ah* roamed her sent.
"What doe* this mean* ' ejaculated •
the astonished "priaoner of war."
"It means, sir. that you will now be
obliged to consider the question. * said
OUrc.
"Ten— yon will hardly jump out of
the window, and fhetu is ao other |
method of egress unless you choose to j
go up the chimney Now. then. Mr. '
Deane, will yon bell me if you—« Chris
tian man la the nineteenth century— I
Intend to sell a poor widow a furniture
because she Is not able to pay your j
rent* Listen, air*"
Mr Deane opened his mouth to re
moastrate.bet dive enforced her words |
with a very emphatic little stamp of
the foot, and he wa*. as It were,
■trv-bea dumb
"Ton are what the world calls a
rich man Mr Deane You own rows
of honoas piles of hank stock, railroad
■harm, bonds and mortgage* «ho
knows what* My anal haa nothing; 1 \
■upport her by capping Now if this
cane he carried into a court of law. ay
poor ailing aunt will be a sufferer—
yon would •merge unscathed and prof
fling Yoa are not a had man. Mr.
Deane, you have a great many noble
qualities, aad I like you for them"
She panned an instant and looked In
tently and gravely at Mr Deane The
coder ram* to b;i cheek—It was not dis
agreeable to he told by a pretty young
girl that she liked him on may terms;
yet cbe ted Indulged la pretty plain
rpaafctnr "I have heard." she went
an. "of your doing kind actions when
yon were in the humor of It. You can
do them, and ywu shall in this Instance
Yoa am'crons this morning- you know
you am* Hush* ao eicuar; you are
Irritable and overbearing.
If | were vour mother, and you a lit
tle boy. I should certainly^ put you In
although be was
u (Mr Mat on with the
-Mnt as It Ml I •ball only keep you
hare a prisoner until you hare behaved,
and given me year word not to annoy
my aunt again for rent until she is able
to pay you. Then, and not until the:\
will you receive your money. Do you
promise? Yes or no?"
**I certainly shall agree to no such
terms." said Mr. Deane, tartly,
j "Very well, air; I can wait.”
Miss Mellen deposited the key in the
pocket of her gray dress and sat down
to her copying. Had she been a man.
Mr. Deane would probably have
knocked her down: as it was. she wore
' an invisible armor of power in the very
fart that she was a fragile, slight
woman, and she knew It.
"Mias Olive.” he said, sternly, “let
us terminate this mummery. Unlock
that door*”
• Mr. Deane. I will not!”
' I shall shout and alarm the neigh
borhood. then, or call a policeman.”
"Very well, Mr. Deane; do so. If you
please.”
She dipped her pen in the ink and
began on a fresh page. Matthew sat
[ down, puzzled and discomfited, and
wat hed the long-lashed eyes and
faintly tinged rheek of his keeper. She
was very pretty—what a pity she was
so obstinate!
Miss Olive!”
"Sir?”
"The clock has just struck 12.”
"I heard It.”
"I should like to go out and get some
lunch ”
"1 am sorry that that luxury is out
of your power.”
"But I'm confounded hungry.”
"Are you?”
"And I'm not going to stand this
sort of thing any longer.”
Nor*
How provoklngly nonchalant she ;
was. Mr. Deane eyed the pocket of the
gray dre** greedily, and walked up
and down the room pettishly.
"I have an appointment at 1.”
"Indeed* What a pity you will be un
able to keep it!”
He took another turn across the
room. Olive looked up with a smile.
"Well, are you ready to promise?”
Hang it. yes! What else can I
do?”
"You promise?**
"I do, because I can’t help myself.”
Olive drew the key from her pocket
with softened eyes.
* You have made me very happy. Mr.
Deane I dare say you think me un
womanly and unfeminine, but indeed
you do not know to what extremities
we are driven by poverty. Good-morn
ing. sir.**
Mr. Deane sallied forth with a curi
ous < >mpli< ation of thoughts and emo
tion* struggling through his brain, in
whi h gray dresses, long-lashed blue
ejre* and scarlet ribbons played a
prominent part.
' Did you get the money, sir?" asked
rhe cb-rk, when he walked into the of
fice.
"Mind your business, sir.” was the
tart response.
' 1 pity her husband." thought Mr.
IWne as he turned the papers over
on hi* desk. "How she will henpeck
him’ By the way. I wonder who her
husband will be?”
The next day he called at the Widow
Clarkson s to assure Miss Mellen that
he had no idea of breaking his prom
ise. and the next but one after that he
came to tell the young lady she need
er’ertain no doubt of his integrity.
Ar.4 the next week he dropped in on
theta with no particular errand to
serve as an excuse!
When shall we be married. Olive?
Next month, dearest? Do not let us
put it off later.**
1 have no wishes but yours. Mat
thew.”
' Keally. Miss Olive Mellen. to hear
that meek tone one would suppose you
Lad necer locked me up here and tyr
annixed over me as a jailer.”
Olive burst into a merry laugh.
• You dear old Matthew; I give you
warning beforehand that I mean to
have my own way in everything. Do
you wish to recede from your bargain?
It is not too late yet.”
No. Matthew Deane didn’t; he had
a vague idea that it w'ould be very
pleaaant to be henpecked by Olive!
I
Wry Definite.
Mr*. Sewell. who Is the head of a
classical school for girls in Indianap
olis. could contribute a readable sequel
to English as she is taught, for the
jc ;*:ls in a girls’ classical school are
not above the amusing blunders which |
characterize the efforts of their young ,
sisters in the public schools. On one i
o*ca*!on Mrs. Sewell was instructing
a class in physics. Force was the sub
je» t. and she made plain to the girls
the difference between centrifugal and
lentripeta! force. “Centrifugal.” said
Mrs. Sewell. “1* a force whose direction
is from the center and centripetal is a
force whose direction is toward the
•■enter. Do you all understand that?”
The class chorused assent. “Now. will
some girl give me an illustration?”
continued Mrs. Sewell. “The domestic
virtue* are «entripetal,” replied a small
girl, ’ because they keep a man in the
i center of his home, and a centrifugal
force la—well, a saloon is a centri
fugal force.”—Philadelphia Post.
Ylrtoci* Not Ho Wealthy.
It has been stated (hat Queen Vic
toria has accumulated a fortune of
over I100.0u0.0u0. The actual amount
of the queen's savings is known to a
few people. One of these is Henry
i Labouchere. the radical, who came by
his information officially as member of
! a special committee of the House of
' Commons about eight years since.
Suiwequently Mr. laibouehere wrote:
“The Impression prevails that the
queen has effected large savings, hut
that Is not the case. As the sum total
of the queen’s investments was given
to the committee under a pledge of
| secrecy, I cannot violate this pledge,
but 1 do not think 1 am breaking faith
in saying that the amount is surpris
, iagly small.”
.. 11 —.*...
Heavy falls I pen (ha fxar’a Purse.
No sovereign is so rich as the czar,
and no sovereign has such heavy calls
j upon his purse. The grand dukes
Michael. Vladimir, Alexis. Serge and
Paul Alexandrovitcb, as the sons of
emperors of Russia, receive from the
bend of the bouse an annual sum of
li5.000 roubles (£26.200) each, which
added to private means, makes them
very rich. The wives and widows of
Russian grand dukes receive 40.000
roubles each; their sons 150,000
roubles. It was the Cxar Alexander
1U. who decreed that every member of
the imperial family must spend a part
of the year in Russia, or else lose a
third of his or her allowance.
GOOD NOVEL MAKING.
The Four Things Which Are Funda
mental—Character-Drawing.
Good novel making, technically
viewed, rests four-square upon inven
tion (plot), construction, characteriza
tion and description. These may he
called the fundamentals of Action.
The form of literature known as the
story is often spoken of carelessly
or in shallow wise as if its manner—its
style of diction—w'ere the chief thing,
even the only thing, says the Forum.
"Have you read so and so?” queries
one lady of another in the car. “The
idea isn’t anything, but then, you
know. Brown writes so well! His style
is so good!” Again, with the great
class of uncritical readers, represented
in the lower grade by the blue-clothed
messenger boy in the car immersed in
the latest number of the Fireside Com
panion. plot outweighs every other
consideration. Possibly it does with
the majority of all novel-readers.
But, if looking to the permanent suc
cesses and great names of Action, we
ask ourselves what qualities constitute
the essentials of Action, we shall be
likely to settle on these fundamental
four. Furthermore, if forced to pick
out the quality ministering most to
the successful result, we must, I fan
cy, reply: Character-creation. This
judgment may fall strange on the ear
nowadays, because other traits are
emphasized—construction or style, for
example. Indeed, if we examine the
clever work of present day novelists,
we shall And that what often gives
them reputation is ability in ways
aside from this central, this solar, gift
of characterization. Compared with
it. invention and construction are sec
ondary; description and style, import
ant as they may be in the abstract, are
as naught. A novel without salient
character-drawing, whatever its mer
its in other directions, can never take
high rank; it is almost certainly a
failure foredoomed. The truth of the
proposition becomes apparent when we
come to apply it and illustrate by it.
The Arm. steady hold upon the public
of certain Actionists, who are more or
less roughly handled by critics, is
easily explained, if we agree to this
central post of importance held by
character-lining. The cold, aloof posi
tion of the late-century tictionmaker
toward the people of his brain and
heart may be high art. but it is pre
cious poor humanity. And it Is this
perhaps more than any other one thing
that is likely to keep out of our Action
the red blood of life. “But,” cries the
novelist, “look at my skill, my ingen
uity. my technical excellences in half
a dozen particulars of a difficult art.”
To which the public: “True, it is
magnlAcent. but it is not war.”
SHAKESPEARE AND PSALMS.
Cipher Like That l«ed by liarou's Ad
herent* Would Prove It.
Though the Bacon cipher may have
proved that Shakespeare did not write
the plays credited to him for three
centuries, another cipher proves just
as conclusively that Shakespeare wrote
the Psalms. Of course, this is a joke,
but there is as much evidence to sup
port the other theory. In Shake
speare's name lies the key to this
wonderful cryptogram. As Mr. Don
nelly says, the spelling "Shakespeare”
was the poet s nom de plume, while
"Shakespcre” was his name—an evi
dent change from "Shakspear.” In
ea< h of the two spallings last given are
10 letters—four vowels and six conso
nants. Combine these two figures and
we have the number 46—the key to the
mystery. Turning to the 46th Psalm
in the Revised Version, it is found that
the Psalm is divided into three por
tions, each one ending with “selah.”
Remember the number—46. Counting
46 words from the beginning of the
psalm one reaches the word "shake,” in
the first portion. Then, going to the
last portion and counting 46 words
from the end of the psalm one reaches
the word “spear.” There is ‘Shake
spear" as plainly as letters can make
it. Now. turn to the middle portion of
the psalm and apply the rule of aver
ages. To get this average one goes to
the middle verse, which is the sixth,
as it has five verses on each side of it.
Observe the significant six, the last fig
ure of our key number. Now six in
Roman letters is “VI," and so one
looks for a word in the verse that has
the letters vb and i in it. There is
only one—“Voice.” What can be
plainer than that it is Shakespear’s
voice speaking to us from the Psalms?
—New York Herald.
Too Much for Him.
They are telling this story in Wash
ington about Congressman Clayton of
Alabama, who used to be district at
torney in his state: It became his
duty at one time to prosecute an old
man for making illicit whisky. It was
not a very serious infraction of the
law, but the old backwroodsman had
been reckless in his open violation,
and it was necessary to make an exam
ple of him. He was brought into court
and. after the government had stated
its case, the old man. who had no law
yer. asked to be allowed to go upon
the stand. He was told that this would
render him liable to answer any ques
tions, but he insisted. “Well, Uncle
John.” said Clayton, “did you really
make any whisky in your still?” “Hen
ry.” replied the old man. with pathetic
tone. “I know’d your pa; I voted for
your pa every time he ran for jedge.
And. Henry, your pa would never have
axed me no question like that!” The
jurors laughed, the court smiled and
Clayton relented. The old man drove
home that night.—New Y'ork Tribune.
—
Ku visit Ideas.
"It is strange what queer ideas we
had when we were young.” said a gen
tleman the other day. “My father once
asked me how I supposed the French
managed to spell wagon wheel, when
they had no.‘w’ in their language. I
never could solve the problem.”
“And when I wras a boy,” replied an
other, “I thought it was an easy mat
ter to translate from foreign languages.
I had an idea that the only difference
was the alphabetical characters, and
if I were to learn the Greek alphabet,
for instance, I would have no trouble
in turning Greek into English. 1
found out my mistake after 1 went to
school, though.”—Harlem Life.
Wild boars still abound in some parts
of Morocco, one hunting party having
lately killed over 100 in one week.
I
ARTILLERY SMELLS AND TMEIR USE
While a great deal is written about i
artillery in these warlike times, it is a
subject not always fully understood.
The artillery now being used by the
British in South Africa consists of the
twelve-pounder horse artillery gun and
the fifteen pounder field artillery gun.
They are practically to the same pat
tern. the lighter gun being shorter in
the barrel. Horse artillery invariably
co-operates with cavalry and is able to
keep up with the same at its fastest
pace, its gunners always being mount
ed. Field artillery, on the other hand,
co-operates with infantry, and must
be ready to be pushed into action at a
moment's notice.
It is only in field and horse artillery
that the guns are known by the weight
of fheir charge, other gun3 deriving
their name from the diameter of their
bore—that is. their caliber. In horse
and field artillery the caliber is three
inches, both for case shot and shrap
nel. A shrapnel is a hollow shell filled
with some 200 bullets and a small
bursting charge sufficient to burst it
and disperse the bullets over a conical
area. This charge of an ounce and a
half is at the base of the shell.with the
builets packed above it and round an
inner tube reaching from the tip of the
shell to the exploding charge. The bul
lets are placed in rosin to prevent their
rolling and interfering with accuracy
of aim. The powder charge projecting
the shell is independent and is con
tained in a silk bag to facilitate hand
ling and exactly fitting the breech of
the gun.
The method of exploding the shrap
nel is interesting. At its upper end the
projectile has a funnel shaped open
ing, whence a tube extends down to the
tear up the surrounding stone layers.
Their destructive power has been
greatly increasec^by using lyddite for
the bursting charge, this explosive be
ing named after the town of Lydd in
England, where the British govern
ment factories are.
The machine gun forms an independ
ent section in the service. Maxims
can fire 600 rounds per mnute. To pre
vent the barrel getting redhot from
the friction it is surrounded by a jack
et holding water. This heats and
passes ofT in steam, one and a half
pints of water being required for every
1,000 rounds fired.
HE CALLED HER “MY DEAR.”
Somehow or Otli< r He Didu’C Succeed as
He Kxpecteil.
“I don't know anything more exas
perating than an inattentive clerk,”
said a miid-mannered little man on
the street car the other night, "but
unless you have a certain aplomb way
about you, so to speak, you might as
well endure the cross in silence. Now
I have a friend,” he continued, “who
possesses just such a gift, and, needless ,
to say, he is never neglected. I went
into a store with him the other day.
and the young woman at the counter
where we stopped continued convers
ing calmly with another young woman
in the next department. 'My dear
madam.’ said my friend, blandly. T
trust you will pardon me for intruding
upon that important discussion, but if
you—’ ‘What do you wish?’ said the
clerk, looking startled. 'Do not be an
gry,’ my friend replied; *1 know, of
course, that the occasional interruption
of customers must be very annoying.
Case Shell.
w
RoeR* >
CREUSQp^
Field Gwm '
J>RILU
V.
ARTILLERY SHELLS AND THEIR l
bursting charge. In this opening is
screwed the fuse which causes the ex
plosion in the shell itself. This is a
gem of mechanical skill and works
with clockwork accuracy. It can be
used either as a percussion fuse or a
time fuse. If the former, it will cause
the shell to burst by impact, a needle
in the tip igniting the explosive and
scattering a shower of bullets and
broken shell in all directions. Percus
sion fuses are used against a solid
target, such as a wall or fortiiied
house, while the time fuse is employed
against troops in the open with little
or insignificant intrenchment. When
this is so, a simple manipulation of
the gunner ignites a ring of slow
burning substance in the shell which,
at a certain time after it has left the
gun, will ignite the explosive and
shower its leaden rain on the enemy.
The pieces of shell and bullets thus
set free and exploding in the air re
tain the same velocity the shell had
at bursting. It is easy to imagine the
terrible way in which such a charge
will tear up the ranks of an enemy.
What a wonderful piece of mechanism
the time fuse is will be clear from the
fact that gunners are able to deter
mine within a yard or two just where
it will explode, notwithstanding the
tremendous rate at which it whistles
through the air.
Case shot is less often used than
shrapnel. It is looked upon as the last
resort of a battery threatened by in
fantry or cavalry at close quarters and
is not effective beyond a range of 500
yards. It is made up of 300 shot
packed in a case of sheet tin, which
breaks into pieces when the gun is first
fired, scattering the bullets in all di
rections, and not carrying its bullets
in a compact mass to the target like
the shrapnel and then exploding.
A third kind of projectile, used in
heavy guns, such as the 5-inch how
itzer, big naval guns and fortress ord
nances, is the common shell, similar to
the shrapnel in appearance, but con
taining no bullets. It holds, however,
a large bursting‘charge and is of much
heavier metal. It always explodes on
impact, being ignited by a percussion
cap at the tip. These shells are used
for the destruction of masonry, earth
works and all solid targets. They will
explode after imbedding themselves in
masonry, and so not only pulverize
the point where they strike, but also
and no uoubt—' By that time the poor I
girl was in a nervous flutter, and I
really felt sorry for her. When we
went out I expressed surprise at the
ease with which her attention had
been secured, and my friend laughed.
‘O, it’s no trick at all,’ he said. ‘All
you have to do is to keep yourself cool.*
Next day I was fool enough to try the
system myself, after I had camped be
side a counter for ten minutes waiting
for a large and haughty lady to
conclude a protracted conversation.
‘My dear mad—’ I began, trying to imi
tate my friend's sang-froid. ‘Sir!’ ex
claimed the saleslady, wheeling on me
suddenly and freezing my blood with a
ferocious glare. ‘My dear,’ I stam
mered, ‘my dear—’ Really I could go
no further. My tongue stuck to the
roof of my mouth, and I could feel the
sweat breaking out on my forehead.
I know I must have looked the picture
of helpless inbecility. ‘What do you
mean by calling me your dear and
things like that?’ demanded the en
raged amazon. What earthly reply
could I make? I did the only thing
possible—I got up and sneaked out, ex
pecting every minute to feel a police
man grab me by the collar. So, as 1
said before, unless you have the way
about you, you might as well put up
with these little annoyances. The fac
ulty of blandly bluffing one’s fellow be
ings is something that can’t be ac
quired.—New Orleans Times-Demo
crat.
Royalty'* Press Allowance.
An enterprising fashion writer tells
us that before her marriage the duchess
of Fife had a very small dress allow
ance—about $1,500 a year. Besides
yachting and every-day dresses and all
the usual costumes required by a girl
of the upper classes, royal princesses
have also to wear the costly and elab
orate dresses which their rank de
mands at the weddings of their near
relations. They are, however, for
tunate in having stores of beautiful
laces, priceless furs and marvelous
jewels, all of which can be used again
and again. On the whole, it may be
asserted that a frugal princess may
spend as little as $5,000 a year on her
dress, while her more wealthy and ex
travagant sister may find her dress
bills amount to ten times that sum.
Age has nothing to do with the mat
ter, for the queen of Italy spends far
more than does her beautiful young
daughter-in-law, the crown princess of
Naples. The empress of Russia, who,
more than any other European princess,
is able to indulge her wildest fancies,
dresses with the greatest simplicity.
In the daytime she mostly wears
tailor-made coats and skirts, and in
the evening favors the purest white
materials.—Chicago Chronicle.
I.ncld.
A famous verdict rendered many
years ago by a coroner’s jury in a case
of mysterious death ran thus: "We,
the jury of twelve good men and true,
duly impanelled and responsible on
our consciences, do hereby return the
following verdict on the demise of the
deceased, namely: That said corpse
came to its death through the abrupt
ceasing of his heart to perform its
natural office, for no reason whatever
discernible by man, but solely an act
of providence.” If this was not alto
gether explicit, at least the public
knew there had been no foul play; but
what meaning could possibly be at
tached to the verdict which a legal
magazine assures us was rendered,
much more recently, by a Missouri
court? "We, the jury impanelled,
sworn and charged to inquire into the
insanguinity of Hezekiah Jones, do oc
cur in the affirmative.” This leaves
the matter still shrouded in mystery.
Was Hezekiah, dead, an ensanguined
corpse? Was he, living, accused of
homicide, or merely of insanity? In
sanguinity is a resonant and mysteri
ous multisyllable that must leave the
everyday juryman in a very uncertain
frame of mind.
A Literary Pollcemau.
The news of the distressing death of
Charles Ashton, the "literary police
man.” as he was called, will be re
ceived with genuine regret throughout
the whole of Wales. Mr. Ashton was
one of those patient plodders so nu
merous in North Wales, where there
is much less of the rush and stress of
life than in the southern portion of
that principality. A child of the Eis
teddfod. he had published an historical
work under its auspices. But the
dream of his life was to produce a com
plete and authoritative bibliography
of Welsh literature. Amid the pictur
esque solitudes of Dinas Mawddwy,
where the policeman’s life ought to be
a happy one and the most heinous
crime is the absence of the owner’s
name from a card. Mr. Ashton toiled
year in and year out on his task, corre
sponding with scholars everywhere
A D J N
a gun.
who were uninterested in the vast
body of Welsh literature and were
happy to help him with notes and sug
gestions.—London Mail.
Smallest Religious Sect lu the World.
The smallest religious sect in the
world is that of the Samaritans, who
are to be found in the small city of
Nablous. in North Palestine. This
city, which is the Neapolis of Jose
phus, the Shechem of the Old Testa
ment and the Sychar of the New Tes
tament, is situated in the narrow val
ley between the Mts. Ebal and Gerizim.
The population of Nablous numbers
about 12,000, all of whom are Mahom
etans with the exception of this little
religious community (now numbering
between 100 and 150). which has defied
the ravages of war.poverty and oppres
sion for 3,000 years. These Samaritans
have lived on through the centuries,
and their unity has never been broken.
They have clung to little Nablous and
to their sacred Mt. Gerizim as the very
cactus roots to the granite sides of the
somber Ebal that confronts them
across the valley. They are regarded
by the Jews as heretics, as they accept
only the pentateuch. They possess an
ancient copy of the pentateuch. writ
ten in Phoenician characters, or, ac
cording to some, the ancient Hebrew
characters in use before the Babylon- j
ish captivity.—Stray Stories. ,
- j
Oround Floor Bedrooms.
There is danger in the porous char- i
acter of plaster ceilings, which are '
aften very thin, indeed. The ordinary
jelling is “only a porous diaphragm £
permeable by gases with considerable (
Freedom.” The vitiated air of sitting- £
rooms, therefore, frequently finds its i
way into bedrooms. The British Medi- s
jal Journal asks any skeptic to "com- t
pare his bodily and mental sensations £
after sleeping in such a room and in
ane situated over a similar room well 1
ventilated, and not occupied or ilium- f
inated by gas during the evening.” The \
remedy, it says, is to have bedrooms (
an the ground floor, and living, work- S
Ing and cooking rooms upstairs. But «
how about noise?—London Chronicle.
Not K v«n m Name.
The Korean woman is so little es- 1
teemed that she has not even a name. r
i
STIFLED.
Some Facts Which Indicate the Porto
rlcans' Willingness to Learn.
The Portorican Is mentally acute.
The children learn with surprising ease
and quickness. Boys and girls eight
and ten years of age will do a sum In
long division on the board without
showing the process: doing the multi
plying and subtracting mentally, and
only setting down the figures of the
quotient, with the remainder. I have
talked with men and women in the
poor quarters of several cities and
towns, have seen the peasant in the
field and in the market place, and did
not find one with slow wits or dense
ignorance of ordinary affairs. A work
ingman told me of a class of laborers
he had formed in Arecibo who 3tudled
at night to prepare themselves for the
educational test required for the fran
chise. He said they made rapid prog
ress in learning to read, says Hon. H.
K. Carroll in the Forum. The fact of
illiteracy is not due to lack of Intelli
gence, but rather to lack of opportunity
and the lack, also, of a stimulus. The
ppasant has not been able to see how
he could improve his condition by edu
cation. The mercantile and the bank
ing business were almost exclusively
in the hands of the Peninsular Span
iards. It was next to impossible for
a native to get a position of any kind
in one of these houses. They preferred
young men from Spain, relatives of
they had them. These young men
would begin at the lowest round of the
ladder, sleep in the store, live in the
most economical fashion and trust to
experience and opportunity for ad
vancement. which seldom failed to
come. When the heads of the house re
turned to Spain with a competency, to
live the rest of their days in “Gra
cia.” the newer part of Barcelona, tha
clerks succeed to the business. A Por
torican who has a large and paying
business in San Juan nays it was with
the greatest difficulty that he found a
chance for himself with a Spanish firm.
There was apparently no chance any
where for the peasant. If by the great
est possible good luck he got steady
work, and lived so as to save some
thing, he was likely to be made the vic
tim of some unprincipled, covetous
neighbor, who had property and influ
ence. When a poor man was compelled
to part with his cow because he could
not raise eight pesos to pay the alleged
tax on her. and she became the prop
erty of a rogue at half price, peasants
would say. “What is the use? Better
have no belongings: we will spend as
we go.” They saw nothing to be gained
by stinting and starving themselves to
educate their children. The system
was against them; and government
and wealth seemed in league to prevent
them from rising. The high rate of
illiteracy in Porto Rico is not due to
the unwillingness or inability of the
people to learn, or to their indifference,
but to conditions from which they
could not extricate themselves.
_ a
A DISAPPOINTED REPORTER.
?he Didn't Call on Miss (irace Dodge
Again.
A woman newspaper reporter, who is
now a well-known author, once called
upon Miss Grace Dodge, the million
aire organizer and head of the New
York Working Girls’ Clubs, who is alpo
the author of “A Bundle of Letters to
Busy Girls.” says the Philadelphia
Post. The servant looked sympathet
ically at the reporter. Invited tier into
the house, took away her wet rubbers
and shoes and brought dry ones, an
act which filled the visitor's heart with
joy. Then she brought a cup of tea and
some biscuit. After a long wait Miss
Dodge came in. "Are you a reporter?”
she asked the newsgatherer. "Yes?
I am very sorry you should have come
up here this rainy day to see me. You
know I never talk about my plans for
publication, but we can have just as
nice a time talking about books and
pictures. Won’t you have another cup
of tea? Must you be going? I am
very sorry. Wait a minute and have
the coachman drive you to your office
or your home. Come up some day when,
we can have more time, and I’ll tell
you all about the Working Girls’ Clubs,
but of course you won't print any o£
it.” The reporter rode home, but she
didn’t call again—at least, not on busi
ness.
Census Stories.
The opportunities which the census
affords to eccentric people in the way
of furnishing strange answers to plain
questions are seldom neglected. In
foreign countries, where the standard
of education is lower than in the Unit
ed States, the variety of answers af
fords astonishing problems to the of
ficials whose duty it is to catalogue
them. An Englishman high in the
civil service in British Guiana gives
some ludicrous specimens of native
talent, selected from recent census re
turns. One citizen gives his name a9
••John.” He is the ‘‘head of the fam
ily,” and by birth "a male.” Then In
the column of “Profession, rank or oc
cupation” he puts down: "Can’t get
nothing to do for the last six months,
and can’t pay house rent. Has got
four children. They in Barbados now.
but is coming to Demarara.” Another
gentleman writes: “My wife is a fe
male. She is close washer. She is
not inflicted, and is got two boy chil
dren and two is dead. They caan't
read or write yet.”
8word-lM*tol for the French Army.
France has devised for her army a
new sword-pistol which can be dis
charged at every thrust of the sword.
It is believed that with this weapon
'avalry attacks, particularly upon cav
ilry, can be made more effective. The
weapon is designed to penetrate armor,
md therefore will be especially useful
igainst cuirassiers. It weighs, of
jourse, more than the ordinary cavalry
sword, and when not in use as a flre
irm can be wielded as an ordinary
rttord. The pistol attachment is in
he hilt, with muzzle pointing in exact
ilignment with the sword blade,
rhrusting with the blade forces it >
jackward against the hilt with force
>nough to release a hidden spring,
vhich acts as the trigger in disch&rg
ng the pistol. Thus each thrust also
Ires a shot, making the weapon doubly
effective.
-- j
The Earmarks.
“Your son Is devoted to art. Isn’t
ie?” asked Reynolds. “I suppose so,*’
eplied Easel. “He's continually draw- J
ng on me.” •
A
