A VOICE FROM THE VORTEX.
By EDGAR WELTO* COOLEY.
ICopyricbt. 19GB, by Dally Story "’tlb. Oo.)
For an hour aftw the dozen pupils
which the thiaiy populated district
furnished had gone to their homes.
Miss Blanchard > at at the west win
dow of the little white sehoolhouse
watching the evening sunlight shim
mering upon the nodding prairie
grass that BtretcheA 'ike a yellow sea
ior miles and miles.
It was mid-September. For a month
not a drop of moisture had fallen. In
the road that wound, a dull, gray
streak, across the plain, the dust was
ankle deep. Verdure was sere, and
lifeless, and dry. The sky was cloud
less; the sun's heat almost Intolerable.
But Miss Blanchard’s thoughts were
not of the parched, glittering land
scape nor yet of her school duties.
They were of John Mallory.
She could not remember when she
•had not loved John Mallory. All their
young lives they had been sweethearts.
But at last they had quarreled—and
parted in anger.
While she still considered that he
had been unjust to her, and her eyes
snapped indignantly at the recollection
of his harsh words, she could not dull
the keen edge of regret; the dazzling
brightness of the sunshine could not
dissipate the shadow—the deep, dark
some shadow—that seemed to wrap her
In its mantle
With a sigh she turned from the
window and her glance rested upon
the telephone back of her desk. Dear,
thoughtful John! It was he who had
•ordered the telephone placed in the
sehoolhouse.
“There are so many tramps in the
country," he had said to her. “If they
bother you, little woman, or If you are
ever in need of help, ring me up.”
Her heart had thrilled with affection
at the time, but now- She tossed
her head proudly. ”1 do not need his
assistance.” she said; "I am quite
capable of taking care of myself, I
think.”
Again she turned to gaze across the
monotonous fields, and became con
scious of a peculiar haze that seemed
to fill the air with increasing density.
With never a thought but that a much
needed shower was not far distant, she
watched it In idle curiosity, but pres
ently, with sudden foreboding, she no
ticed that heavy clouds of vapor occa
elonal’y rolled over the building, borne
westward. And then, through the
open window there drifted a strong,
familiar odor—the odor of smoke.
Hurrying to the door, she pushed it
open and cast one apprehensive glance
to the eastward, then shrank back ap
palled. The prairie was afire!
Across the eastern horizon was a
livid wall of flame, whose red tongues
seemed reaching to the very portals of
heaven. The long, parched blades of
grass, dry as tinder, were food most
tempting to the ravenous element.
The wind had increased to a gale and
already a shower of sparks was falling
within a few rods of the sehoolhouse.
The nearest residence, a mile away,
wa3 towards the east, from which the
fire was rapidly approaching. To the
westward twice that distance must be
traversed before she could reach a
habitation. She knew the plowed
fields, surrounding the dwellings, in
sured safety to the buildings, but she
could not hope to reach any of them in
advance of this scarlet agent of de
struction. Yet certain death awaited
her if she remained, for the school
house was without protection of any
nature.
An agony of thoughts crowded her
brain and in a frenzy of fear she
dashed into the road. Already she
could feel the heat of the fire that was
racing towards her with the speed of a
railway train. It seemed no more
than two miles away; she could hear
the ominous crackling of the dry grass
as the flames leaped forth and em
braced the writhing verdure in their
hot embrace.
The sky was hidden by a mantle of
smoke; the sun, visible only at inter
vals, was a great, round ball of crim
son. Before the rolling vapor fright
ened birds flew past in flocks; along
the dusty road, almost dashing against
her in their mad flight, droves of rab
. fl . in H . I t . . If
Through the open window there
drifted a strong, familiar odor,
bits fled. To her cerrlfled eye3 the
whole worlcheeemed ablaze. Vainly she
scanned the prairie in all directions,
hoping some one wich a team would
come to her assistance, but not a hu
man being did she see.
With a cry to God for mercy, she
sank upon tho ground and covered her
face with her hands. And the blister
ing demon of rampant flame roared
louder and still louder in her ears, and
tba scarlet of Its breath tinged rad the
snow of he* face, the ebony of her
hair.
“John! John!" she cried, in the
depths of her despair. Then, like an
inspiration, cams the recollection of
the telephone.
She staggered to her feet and dashed
into the schoolhouse. The Interior w as
aglow with the reflections of the
flames; the air was stifling with the
smoke.
With her hand upon the receiver she
paused irresolutely, then turned her
head slightly and glanced out the win
dow' at the hurricane of death bearing
down upon her.
“No, no,” she said, “I will not. No
power on earth can save me now. And
he—it would be but agony for him to
know that I am in this sea of flame
A moment later she was folded In
John Mallory’s strong arms,
and he unable to give me aid. When j
it is over—Is over—it will be time
enough for him to know.”
With her face illumined with a
gleam of heroic determination, she
turned away and walked slowly to the
window. And there she stood pale,
but gazing calmly out at the raging
flood of fire. The flames were only a
few feet away now and their hungry
tongues almost licked the window
panes. In despair she wrung her
nanas.
"Oh, God," she cried, "I cannot die
without once more hearing the voice I
love, without asking to be forgiven for
the hasty, the angry words I uttered!”
Again she hastened to the telephone
and rang the bell. And when at last
she heard his familiar voice the tire
was laying greedy hands upon the
w'alls of the building.
"John," she said, "you are not augry
with me, are you, dear? . . . You do
not know how glad I am to hear you
say that, dear. I wrns afraid you held
resentment, and I—. . . Oh, no, John,
dear, it was all my fault, and I am
sorry—so sorry. . . . Where am I
now? Do you think I would be stand
ing at the telephone if 1 were in the
schoolhouse? There must be fire all
around it by this time. Isn’t it aw
ful?”
She shrank for an instant before the
intense heat. The roar of the flames
w'as like wall of a hurricane in a
forest.
“John—John! . . . Perhaps—per
haps I will never see you again, dear.
But if I never do, remember that I
loved you—John—better than-”
She staggered beneath the choking
cloud of smoke. Scarlet tongues of |
flame were lapping the floor almost at
her feet.
"Yes, John I am going away—far,
far away. . . . Where? ... I can
not tell you—now . . . To-morrow—
to-night, perhaps . . . you will know.
. . . Oh, John—dear, dear John . . .
. . . Good bye . . . Good-”
The receiver dropped from her
nerveless fingers and, blinded with
smoke and faint from the intense heat,
she reeled forward through the black
ness. Stumbling, falling, rising again,
she reached the door unscathed, hear
ing the desperate ringing of the tele
phone bell and the deafening roaring
of the flames.
Onward she staggered until she
reached the road—that one narrow
break in the wall of flame. And there
she paused and turned her flushed face
upward toward the sky in mute ap
peal to heaven. Something fell upon
her forehead, something damp and
cool. She reached forth her hands,
palms upwards. Cooling drops of
moisture kissed the quivering flesh. It
was raining!
With a cry of Joy upon her lips, she
sank upon her knees in the dust and
offered up a prayer of thanksgiving
for the shower that had come in time.
In a mighty torrent fell the rain,
and when at last the woman raised
her eyes, she saw a wide expanse of
blackened stubble, but not a spark was
glowing. Then, through the mist her
dazed eyes beheld a familiar, broad
shouldered figure running towards her
with outstretched hands. And a mo
ment later she was folded in John
Mallory’s strong arms.
"Minnie! Thank God; oh, thank
God!” he cried.
Strasburg to Honor Goethe.
Strasburg is about to erect a monu
ment to Goethe. The German poet
passed some of the best years of his
youth in the Alsatian town and re
ferred to it frequently with words of
admiring affection in his memoirs
The design for the statue has not yet
been selected, but no attempt will be
spared to make it worthy of the great
name which It is to commemorate.
HOW SOME MEN ADVERTISE.
There Is a Knack in Getting One’s
Business Before the Public.
’’I've come to the conclusion that
success in advertising depends on how
it is done,” said a member of the vas
try of a prominent Episcopal church.
"Several weeks ago on a rainy Sun
day morning my umbrella disappeared
from the stand in church. I adver
tised for its return, offering a gener
ous reward, but no one returned it.
Later on talking to a friend who is in
the advertising business 1 mentioned
the matter to him. How was your
"ad” worded?’ he asked. 'Something
like: ‘ Person who found stray um
brella in vestibule of St. - church,
please return same to -. Reward.
etc.” ’ I answered.
“He smiled and scribbled on a piece
o’ paper: *'i ry this as an "ad,” ’ he
said. I took the paper and read: ‘Per
son who was seen taking umbrella
from vestibule of St.-church must
return it at once to save himself trou
ble. as he is known.’ Acting on my
friend's advice, I inserted the notice
in the papers. Did it work? 1 should
say so! Next day I found not one. but
half a dozen umbrellas awaiting me at
home. They had been sent to the
house during the day and attached to
each was an unsigned note praying
that I would overlook the matter, as
the w riter had taken the umbrella by
mistake.”—Philadelphia Record.
ROUNDED HORN WITH HOBOS.
Only One Man in Twenty Ever Had
Been Before the Mast.
The ship Erskine M. Phelps arrived
at Honolulu recently from Norfolk,
Va., having broken all previous rec
ords for a sailing vessel from a north
Atlantic port. She made the trip in
ninety-seven days. She "rounded the
Horn”—from 50 south in the Atlantic
to 50 south in the Pacific—in eleven
days, whereas the usual time is twice
that.
What added to the interest of the
voyage was that when the Phelps was
well to sea the captain discovered
that nearly every man of his crew had
shipped under false pretenses. Only
one man in tho twenty before tho
mast was a sailor. The rest were just
plain “hobos" who had palmed them
selves off as sailors. The result was
that the captain and the mates had to
take turns at the wheel and do most
of the work aloft.
In a terrible squall off Cape Horn,
says the New York Mail and Express,
when the safety of the ship hung in
the balance and all hands were called
to save ship, only six men came on
deck, the others were lying below
half dead with terror and seasickness.
Nevertheless the Phelps broke the
record.
Oysters and Disease.
In a recent scientific work by Profs.
Herdman and Boyce, entitled “Oys
ters and Disease,” they report the re
sult of their investigations on the
cause which produces green oysters.
Many epicures prefer their oysters to
have the emerald hue, though there
is a widespread opinion that green
oysters are not edible.
The investigators arrive at the con
clusion that there are several forms
of greenness. Copper is said to be
present in minute quantity in all oys
ters. It was found that the greenest
American oysters contained about four
times the amount of copper which is
present in the whitest American oys
ters. Careful chemical examination
demonstrated conclusively that there
is proportionately more copper in the.
greener parts of the oysters than in
those parts which are less green. The
green color of the highly prized Mar
ennes oysters was found to be pro
duced by the presence of a certain
pigment and did not depend upon the
amount of the contained copper.
Using Law Books to Advantage.
One supposes that it is the duty of
naval officers to fight, not negotiate.
Nevertheless, all officers of modern
navies have more to do with inter
national law than with ball and can
non. Prof. Moore of Columbia, was
lecturing a few summers ago at the
Newport Naval College, and inter
national law was one of the most im
portant studies. The professor was
setting forth all imaginable situations
and allowing the students to suggest
the best way out of them. One of the
men could not appreciate the value
of law in a sea fight. What he was
yearning for was pow’der and shot.
Asked by the professor as to what
argument for international law he
would use to convince the enemy of
their error, he said contemptuously:
“I would let them have all the vol
umes of International law in wad
form, and add the supplement by way
of emphasis.”
Do Stars Explode?
The appearance of « new star in
the constellation of Perseus, and Its
rapid expansion into a nebula, which
has been going on for some time past,
have revived among astronomers the
theory that some nebulae may be
formed by explosion. About 1870
Prof. Bickcrton of Canterbury college,
New Zealand, show'ed that if two
stars should graze one another the
abraded parts, if relatively small,
would have so high a temperature
that they would at once become
nebulous, and that the nebula so
formed would under certain condi
tions, continue to expand until dissi
pated in space. The present expand
ing nebula has been growing at the
extraordinary rate of several thousand
miles a second and is. In many ways,
one of the greatest celestial wonders
of the time.—Froi* Success.
A rope often gets tight because that
is the way it Is taut
Indigestion, congested liver, Im
pure blood, constipation, there are
what afflict thousands of people who |
do not know what is the matter with
them. They drag along a miserable
existence; they apply to the local doc
tors occasionally, and sometimes ob
tain a little temporary relief, but tho
old, tired, worn-out. ali-gonc, distress
ed feeling always comes back again
worse than ever, until in time they
become tired of living, wonder why
they were ever born, and why they are
alive unless to endure constant suffer
ing. To such sufferers there is a
haven of refuge iu Dr. August Koe
nig's Hamburg Drops, which was dis
covered more than CO years ago, an<
which is a wonderful medicine. Onr
trial will convince the most skeptico
that any or all of these difflcultiei
may be removed, end a perfect curf
effected, by taking Dr. August Koe
nlg's Hamburg Drops. Get a bottle at
once, before it is too late.
The mortality in the colored popula
tion of the United States is nearly
double that of the white population.
• IDO Howard Winn.
The readers of this paper will ho pleased to
leuru th»‘. there is at least one dreaded disease
that se'enee has been able to cure in all its
stages, and that is Cutarrh. Hall's Catarrh
Cure is the only positive cure now known to the
medical fraternity. Cutarrh lieing a constitu
tional disease, requires constitutional treat
ment. Hall's Catarrh Cure is taken internally,
acting directly upon the blond and mucous sur
faces of the system, thereby destroying tho
foundation of the disease, and giving tho patient
strength t>v building up the constitution and
assisting nature ill doing its work. The pro
prietors havo so much faith in its curative
powers that they offer One Hundred Hollars for
any case that it fails to cure. Send for list of
Testimonials. . . , ^
Address 1\ J. CHENEY & CO , Tolodo, a
Sold by druggists 7.Vc.
tali'* Family Fills ure tho beau
M. Cassimlr-Perier, who celebrated
his 55th birthday anniversary on No
vember 8, is the only living ex-presi
dent of the French republic. He was
23 years old when tho Franco-Prusslan
war broke out, and took part In that
conflict and in the siege of Paris, be
ing decorated with the Legion of
Honor at its close. He entered the
chamber of deputies in 1874, and be
came president in 1894, in succession
to M. Carnot, who had been assassinat
ed. He scarcely reigned six months,
suddenly resigning in 1895.
The producers of alcohol in France
are somewhat disturbed because of
the new invention by which alcohol is
manufactured by synthesis by means
of acetylene. Although the process is
as yet too costly to endanger their
industry, the members of the Society
of Agriculture of the Nord, in a recent
meeting, memoraliled the government
asking that a duty of 4V& cents a
pound be placed upon carburets.
A Pertinent Question.
From the New York Sun: In a
country so grievously beset with for
eign foes as Venezuela is. it seems
queer, no matter how objectionable
President Castro may be, that, the civil
war should continue. Whero does
General Mato3, for instance, get his
funds?
DR. COFFEE
Discovers Remedies That Restore
Sight to Blind People.
Dr. W. O. Coffee, a noted oculist, 11(10 flood
Block, lies Moines, Iowa, has discovered med
cines for tho eyes that people can use at homo
ind cure Cataracts, Scums, Granulated Lids,
Ulcers or Blindness and restore sight.
Dr. Coffee has published nn bo page hook on
Eye Diseases which ho will send Free to every
reader of this piqier. This book tells how to
prevent old sight and make weak eyes strong.
Write Dr. Coffee today for his book.
Herr Caspar Gerstle, the oldest man
in Lower Austria, has just died, aged
110.
The Australian taleg .11a Is the only
bird which leaves its nest full-fledged.
pwroaneiUiT cuwhi. No fH*or ncrroOMlMi aft«r
■ I I w flm* day'* uw? of Dr. K lln** s «>r**at Nrrve Restore
pr Spud for FHKK i f OO trial bottle and treat!***.
Da. U. U Ki.ixb Ltd , 031 arch Street. I’biladelAttUa.X*"
Taxes on foreign visitors and resi
dents are proposed to the Valid Can
ton, Switzerland.
MORK ri.hXIIH.K AND l.ASTINO,
won’t shako out or blow out; by ustna
Detlance starch you obtain better results
than possible with any other brand and
one-third more tor same money.
Frau Theresia Kiiaa, me oldc t wo
man in Vienna, has just celebrated her
one hundred and third birthday.
Try One Package.
If ‘‘Defiance Starcn does not please
you, return It to your dealer. If it
does, you get one-third more for the
ame money, it will give you satis
faction and will not stick to tho iron.
Morocco is not yet completely civ
ilized in spite of the fact that the
sultan has a motor and plays a good
game of billiards. During tho recent
disturbances some villagers who had
been grossly ill-treated sent a deputa
tion to the bashaw at Tangier, who
promptly Imprisoned them, and set out
with his aid-de-camp and eighty men
to punish the malcontents, lint the
villagers were desperate and defended
themselves, captured the bashaw and
rolled him in the mud, while the
wretched ald-de-camp had his eyes
burned out with his own spurs and
was left naked on the ground in the
rain the whole night. The son of the
shereefa was permitted to take him to
Tangier next day. on condition that
the deputation should be released
from prison, and no further trouble
ensued.
M. Mcrignac and Kireboffer, well
known French swordsmen, accom
panied by MM. Breittniayer and I.us
ciez, their seconds, left Paris for Na
ples recently, where they arc to take
part In duels with Signori Verga and
Pessina, Italians. The duels will be
for the purpose of testing the superior
ity of the two national style® of
swordsmanship, over which there has
been an embittered controversy.
Spreading the Good New*.
Whatcom, Wash., January 5th.—
Mrs. A. M. Ferguson who came hero
from Winnipeg, Manitoba, relates how
that great destroyer of Kidney Com
plaints, Dodd’s Kidney Pills first
reached the extreme North West cor
ner of the United States:
"l had used Dodd’s Kidney Pills for
what the Doctors pronounced Bright's
Disease in Winnipeg.” Mrs. Ferguson
says, ‘ And the disease disappeared
entirely. That was about three years
ago and I enjoyed good health till
about two years later when I removed
to Whatcom.
‘‘Whether It was the change of cli
mate I can’t tel) tut my old trouble
returned In full force. My legs were
swelled to nearly twice their size. I
could not go up or down stairs for
about two months.
‘‘My husband bunted Whatcom for
Dodd's Kidney Pills but could get
none till a Druggist sent away and
got them for him.
"I began to get well as soon as I
began taking them.” Others in What
com have learned to know and appre
ciate Dodd’s Kidney Pills.
Mrs. Margaret McCoy, who was
known as the ‘ Mother of Methodism
in the West,” has just died at Omaha,
Neb. Her mother, an earnest Metho
dist, was driven from France by the
Reign of Terror in Robespierre’s time.
0 Mrs. Emmons, saved from ■
an operation for Ovaritis, tells
how she was cured by Lydia E.
Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound.
“ I am so pleased with the results I
obtained from Lydia E. Pink hum's
Vegetable Conpound that I feel it
a duty and a privilege to write you
about it.
“ I suffered for over five years with
ovarian troubles, causing an un
pleasant discharge, a great weakness,
and at'times a faintness would come
over me which no amount of medicine,
diet, or exercise seemed to correct.
Your Vegetable Compound found the
weak spot, however, within a few
weeks- and saved me from an
Operation — all my troubles had dis
appeared, and I found myself once
more healthy and well. Words fail to
describe the real, true grateful feeling
that is in my heart, and I want to tell
every sii4c and suffering sister. Don’t
dally with medicines you know noth
ing about, but take Lydia E. Pink
ham’s Vegetable Compound, and
take my word for it. you will be a
different woman in a short time.” —
Mrs. Laura Emmons, Walkerville, Ont.
— $5000 forfeit If original of above letter proving
genuineness* cannot be produced.
Don’t hesitate to write to Mrs.
Pinkhuiu if there is anything
about your ease which you do
not understand. She will treat
you with kindness and tier ad
vice is free. No woman ever re
gretted writing her and she has
helped thousands. Address is
Lynn, Muss.
Work for heaven la better than
weeping over Eden.
INSIST ON GETTING IT.
Some grocers say they don't kesp De
fiance Starch. Tills Is because they hav*
a stock on hand of other brands contain
ing only 12 ox. In a package, which they
won't b« able to sell first, because De
tiance contains 10 ox. for the same money.
Do you want 16 ox. Instead of 12 oa.
for same money? Then buy Defiance
Starch. Hequires no cooking.
One hundred pounds is the price ex
pected for a sheet of 119 unused black
English penny stamps issued in 1840,
which will be offered for sale in Lon
don.
DO IOC It CLOTHES LOOK YELLOWY
Then use Defiance Starch. It will keep
them wlilte-16 i - for 10 cents.
nDf>DQV NEW DISCOVERY: glvcv
LI rK v or WF ■ quick relief ami curea worst
jaseH. Book of testimonials and 10 DAYS' treatment
FEJtB. Dr.fl.H GKEOi BBOWB.Bo* U.Atlanta,G*
|
|
.
. . . . -
.
f I
'll ^Vots Gerxtly;
7 ^Vcts pieasar\tly?
f ^Vcts Be-rveficially*
$cts truly asa. Laxative..
Syrup of Figs appeals to the cultured and the
well-informed and to the healthy, because its com
ponent parts are simple and wholesome and be
cause it acts without disturbing the natural func
tions, us it is wholly free from every objectionable
quality or substance. In the process of
\ _ manufacturing figs are used, as they are
- • Peasant to the taste, but the medicinal
virtues of Syrup of Figs are obtained
£•'?’ from an excellent combination of plants
J known to be medicinally laxative and to
act most beneficially.
j'f/ To get its beneficial effects—buy the
y genuine—manufactured by the
W* - . . L
iMJFORjflipfi^YRjJP^ j
■ • ... oarv rrar\ciaco. lm, ■
Louisville. Ky. new York, N.Y.
F«r eelc- by ell dru^ists. Price fifty cents per bottle.