A Beleia^i Rat Story. A particularly good rat story is told In a Belgian paper. A gardener had planted 250 tulip bulba. The follow ing day, when about to complete the number, the man noticed that the bulb3 had disappeared mysteriously. He was told that perhaps rats had been at work, and looked for their hole. This he found, and dug down Into the earth until a subterranean chamber was disclosed, where the whole of the 250 bulbs were hidden, packed neatly in rows, one above the other. There was a bundle or hay and dead leaves also, showing that the rats had made most elaborate preparations for the winter season. Gam Houston as an Indian. The statute of General Sam Houston of Texas, to be placed in the capitol at Washington, of which Miss Eliza beth Ney Is the sculptor, is to be a duplicate of the statue which has just been finished and placed in the capi tol at Austin. This statue represents Houston as an Indian at a time when he was living with the Cherokee tribe after his self-banishment from Tennes see. Judge John H. Reagan, who knew Houston intimately, is angry over the Indian statue and in a letter protests against its duplicate being placed in the national capitol. He Means It. New Berlin, 111., March 16th.—Mr. Frank Newton of this place speaks very earnestly and emphatically when asked by any of his many friends the reason for the very noticeable im provement In his health. For a long time—over two years—he has been suffering a great deal with pains in his back and an oil-over feel ing of illness and weakness. His ap petite failed him and he grew gradu ally weaker and weaker till he was very much run down. A Triend recommended Dodd's Kid ney Pills and Mr. Newton began to take two at a dose, three times a day. In a very short time he noticed an im provement; the pains left his back and he could oat better. Ho kept on Improving and now he says: "Yes, indeed! I atn a different man nnd Dodd's Kidney Pills did it all. i cannot tell you how much better I feel. I am a new man and Dodd's Kidney Pills deservo all the credit.” The unexpected never happens. There is always some wise guy stand ing around who says “I told you so." No chromos or cheap premiums, out a better quality and cne-third more of Defiance Starch for the same price of other starches. Any woman who speaks ill of her neighbors gives them license to get back at her. piTQ Permanently cured. No flttor n^rvonanens after ■ IIO Urn* day’* u«e of I»r, Kline's Oreat Nerve Restore er. Send for FRKK A'3 OO trial bottle and treatise. Lit- U 11 Kune, Ltd., 031 An-h Street. Philadelphia. <■ Inarm niMr. uooayosr iron \nmnd Sewed Process) shoes then any other manufacturer In the world. $25,000 REWARD win oe pain to anyone who can disprovo this statement. Because W. L. Dougins lstho largest manufacturer lie can buy cheaper and produce his shoes at a lower cost than other con-, corns, which enables him" to sell shoes for $3.30 and $3.00 equal in every A way to those sold else where for $1 and $5.00. WaS \V . ij. UOUglOS9a.au fHBMWuY WKtS// //» ■ MB »nd$3shoesarowornby thousands of menwho have been paying$4 and fd.not believing they could get a first-class shoe for $3.00 or $3.00. He has convinced them that the style, tit, and wear of his $3.30 and $3.00 shoes is just es good. Give thorn a trial and save money. Notice Inrrrnie flaw Salt*.: vea, lii i tlvXtt Sales: 115,094.1140,00 A fain of V9.H90.450.7B in Four Years. W. L. DOUGLAS 94.00 GILT EDCE LINE, Worth $6.00 Compared whh Other Makes. The best imported ant American leathers. Hey is Patent Calf. Enamel, Sox Calf, Calf, Vici hid, Corona Colt, and Na'ional Kanqaroo. Past Color Eyelets. Patitinn • ^ho **nuin« have W. I* DOUGLA3 Ud li I tUti > name and price stamped on bottom, HHoes by mail, 2.1c. extra. lih>s. t'atoicr . aere an t Tcosiate, 1 ielda 100 lone 1 Greeu li’odder per a<-rr>. | HgroM Forthls Notloo nrvi 10c. wamalll»l|f>»talof an 1 10 K»rra 8w4 ' "*v hoTUUea, full/ worth 910 to g ta start. | Uoijf Sauer seed Co^aH WESTERN CANADA HAS FREE HOMES FOR MILLIONS. Upward* of 100.000 Americana have Mettled In VVeatem Canada during the paat S yearn. They ara CONTKNTKIt. HAPPY, ANi l> PttONPKKOUS. and there la room *1111 for _ MILLIONS. Wonderful ylelda of wheat and other grata*. The beat grazing land** on the continent. Magnificent Climate; plenty of water and fuel; good schools. ex cellent churches; splendid railway facilities. HOMESTEAD LANDS Of 160 ACRES TREE. the Only charge for which 1m no for entry. Send to the following for an Atlas and other literature , aa well aa for certificate giving you reduced railway rate*, etc.: fcuoerlntendent of Immigration. Ottawa. Canada, or to W. V.Bennett, 801 New York Life Bldg.,Omaha, Veb.. lb. authorized Canadian oovurnment Agent. A Remarkable Legislative Record. Duncan Gillies, the father of the parliament of Victoria and its new speaker, has a legislative record that is unique in the British empire or elsewhere. Forty-five years have pr ised since, as a young man of 25, and a working miner, he was first elected by tne gold diggers of Balla rat. With the exception of three years spent in London as agent gen eral, he has been continuously in the Victorian parliament ever since, but he has hardly ever represented the same constituency twice. That Is be cause he has a rooted aversion to ra—s on the treasury and doing drudg ery for constituents, besides a consti tutional love of ease. He has lost count of his constituencies. At a re cent lord may's dinner in Melbourne he said to his neighbor: “Let me see, have 1 ever represented your dis trict?” "No,” was the reply; “I be lieve it is the only one you have not represented.” Queen Victoria and the Telephone. Sir William Preece, who was for nearly thirty years in the employment of the poatofflee. Is fond of relating an anecdote, which, while It rather tells against him, does his vosatility and readiness full Justice. It was at the time when a telephone had been set up between Osborne and London, and in order to give Queen Victoria an exhibition of its possibilities certain tests were carried out. One of them was the playing of a band in London so that her majesty might hear the music at the other end of the wire. By some mischance the band was not there when Sir William was informed that the queen was waiting to hear its performance. Tere wras only one thing to be done, and Sir William, knowdng the possibilities of the tele phone, hummed an air into the receiv er. Then he inquired whether her ma jesty had recognized the tune. “Yes,” was the reply. “It was the national anthem, and very badly played.” "Music Hath Charms." An electrical engineer employed by Mr. Edison was lately engaged upon some experimental work upon har monic telegraphy. He happened to notice that when the note given out by the instrument reached a certain pitch all the mosquitoes in the neigh borhood came nying towards the ap paratus. The workman produced a quantity of flypaper, with which he covered the machine, and so succeed ed in capturing thhousands of the nox ious insects. The cause of this queer musical attraction seems to be that the note produced by the machine was exactly similar to that caused by the rapid vibration of the wings of the mosquito when flying. Sir Hiram Maxim has since made experiments of a similar kind, and found that a tun ing-fork giving a similar note was equally attractive to the gnats and mosquitoes in the neighborhood. War Veterans in the Senate. Thirty-eight years after the civil war there are fouteen men in the United States senate who served in the con federate army and thirteen who serv ed in the federal army during that great struggle. While a number of men in the last, list are well advanced in years, yet there are quite a num ber of comparatively young men who entered tne army when boys of 15 to 18. In the case of union officers who are now senators, most of them were quite young when they entered the service. One senator, Pettus of Ala bama. served in both the Mexica and civil wars. Original of "Uncle Tom.” Norman Argo, born a slave, has just died at Pain’s Lick, near Lancaster, Ky., at the reputed age cf 111 years, the authority of which is fairly estab lished by members oi the family in whose service he has passed nearly all his life. Argo belonged to Gen eral Sampel Kennedy, at whose place Harriet Beecher Stow e got most of the material for “Uncle. Tom’s Cabin." He is said to nave been the original Un cle Tom. In his youth he was a great jockey and won large sums for his owner. Argo was but 3 feet 4 inches tall. A $1,000,000 Hitching Post. J. B. Poston of Bath, Me., has a hitching post which, he says, is worth $1,000,000, even if it would not bring that sum at a forced sale. It is be lieved to be the last of the thousands of posts which were driven along on the route of the Erie railway when it was being constructed through the Susquehanna, Canisteo and Allegheny, sixty odd years ago. The purpose then was to elevate the railway bed. but the plan was abandoned after it had cost $1,000,000 and had driven the Erie into its first bankruptcy. First Woman Across the Bridge. Mrs. Washington A. Roebling, who died last week, was the first woman to cross the Brooklyn bridge, and she had aided her husband to complete the structure when he was disabled by illness. She studied engineering with him in Europe and always oper ated with him in his plans. Many successful men give their wives credit for their individau achievement, but few women have been able to secure public recognition for assisting their companions in life as came to Mrs. Roebling. IEWIS’ISKSer r>TWIGH[5cf.l6AR always reliable HONEST WEN are at a premium everywhere and an Honeit Farm V\a)ton should be. If more men who misrep resent articles they offer for sale were put IIM JAIL the farmer would have less trouble When you buy a Farm Wagon see that it is the " NEW TIFFiN,’* for it is an HONEST wagon in every part. No Mapleaxles. No fclm or inferior Birch bubs. Noth* ing in the gears but «V.t quality Hickory and Oak. If your dealer will not handle it write to THE TIFFIN WAOON CO., TIFFIN, OHIO, and they will tell you where you can get one. Her Proudest Day. EX, There’s a little grain of pride 'Neath everybody's hide, And a man will throw his head back now and than And imagine that he's it. And most likely have a fit. If you tell him he's the commonest of men; But there's nothing to compare In the world or anywhere, With the dignity and pride and haughti ness Of the sixteen summers girl. With her golden bangs, a-curl. r— /fCijl As she walks out In her first long dress! —L. E. Holcomb. Alto Paso, III. i f .. r--r*— j = How Rod Platt Got Back. = “Can’t I go down with you, Undo N'ate? It’s only seven miles, and I'll sit very still in the cab.” The stout engineer scratched his head doubtfully. “Yes,”’ he said at last, giving way before the appeal of blue eyes. “Nine-forty, sharp, Bes sie. Rod Platt won't he botherin’ you in Welton. Beter stay as long as Cousin Sally will keep you.” He gave an irritable shrug and looked at his watch. “It's 9 o’clock now. I must be going.” “I’ll be there,” cried the girl. “Thank you, uncle. I don’t thank you, though, for being so mean to Rodney. He fired for you two years and you thought there was no ono like him. Then, just because lie accidentally hit you with a lump of coal—” “Accident! Huh!” snorted Nathan Bellows. "He done it a purpose." "He didn’t. He was trying to hit a bird by the track.” "Well, he hit the wrong bird, then. He’s made his last run with me. And with you, too. I told him if I caught him around here again I'd brain him.” “You did! You mean old—” But the door was slammed and Bessie Paxson was left to finish her sentence to empty walls. * * * • • “I might as well go down to Wel ton to-night and ask Tom Sears to give me a job haying,” thought Rod Platt, recently and unceremoniously bounced from the company’s employ at the wrathful request of Nathan. “The old man will never forgive me —and Bess; well, it's hard luck.” The clean built young fireman wound his big, white, irregular teeth. "Fangs,” the boys on the road dub bed him, but he didn’t mind. “I’ll take one more trip with Nate,” he grunted. “Passenger, too. Reserved seat and free ticket.” When No. 127 puited her fast gath ering way by the coal sheds beyond tho round house, a quick form slip ped out from the gloom and pounced or. the pilot like a diminutive spider cn a huge insect. “If Nate knew this,” chuckled Platt, fastening comfortably, “he'd blow up. That dub of a Rickett is firing for him, I heard. Shucks! He can’t feed a house boiler. Spinning now, ain’t we?” The night express whirled on in the blackness—on past the icehouses Pounced on the pilot like a diminutive spider on a huge insect. by Sedge Pond, waking the stillness with a steady, rattling roar. ‘Two, three, four miles,” counted Rod. “Now the gorge and the woods. Seems natural, don't it, Oi .'ould If I was back there when I ought to be. Here's where I tried to peg that cu3sed partridge, and the blamed lump broke and took Nate behind the ear. What a fool I was!” They flew around a curve to the straight stretch of rails glittering in the headlight’s glare. ‘Hullo!” whispered the man. “Slowing up— wuat’s the matter?” / Shading his eyes he peered ahead to see a swinging lantern’s signal of warning. “I knew that gravel would slide down,” he muttered. “That’s it, I guess. I’ll get out of this berth and walk the rest of the way.” As the engine panted to a halt he dropped off. hearing the gruff hail of Bellows, “What in thunder’s the trouble?” The man with the lantern stepped forward, speaking in incoherent His half-blinded eyes could see more plainly. mumble. Rod could have touched him. “Hey! Louder!” called the engin eer. sharply. Then Platt heard something else— a rush of men, a spring, fierce oaths, a faint scream, two thuds, then a loEg moment of silence. The chill in his b'ood pulsed back into hot wrath, but he lay still behind the little rock. Now his half-blinded eyes could see more plainly. His straining ears caught every whisper. Four men, counting the fellow with the lantern. What could he—w'hat should ho do? He knew that Bellows was lying cn the floor of his cab, although he could not see him. The fireman he could see. a motionless black shape upon his blacker coai. Something was huddled against the window of the cab upon his side. That he could not make out at all. He knew that in the locked express car behind, a pale, determined man was sitting on a small steel safe, with a revolver in his firm hand. And the three quick moving shapes—the low, tense voices— “Uncouple the express car, now— all three of us. Got your dynamite, Bob? The men are ‘out’ all right. Was that a woman up there, Sim?” ‘‘Yes, I tied up her mouth an’ feet. Cap. Now, Eddie, soon’s we whistle climb in an’ start her up. Let her buzz a mile an’ stop. We ll be on.” The three whisked back like great cats. The other planted his lantern on the steps and raised one foot and hand. He got no further. The stone that crashed on his skull may have killed him as he sank down, sliding under the truck wheels. The hand which had held the stone was on the throttle now. It yanked it viciously to the widest notch. A tre mendous, Jarring jerk shot through the link of cars. The great drivers whizzed, stationary for a second in their revolution, then grasped the rails, and No. 127 shot on with a snorting scream, a gasping, straining demon in the darkness. Platt heard the wild, despairing yell behind the express car, and, laughing uncannily, glanced back. Yes, he had been in time. The train was intact. • • • • When he came out of his faint on the station platform a few minutes later a girl with pathetic, tearless oyes held his head In her tender lap. She bent down and elssed him. “Where's Uncle Nate?" murmured Rod, trying ta rise and gazing at the circle of sympathetic faces. "Here!" growled a husky voice, which quavered and jroke, as the big engineer fell upon his knees and seiz ed Platt’s hard. “Here, boy, and they’re fetchin’ poor Rickett round, too. I’m a—I’m r—” “No, you’re not,” whispered hts former fireman, with a weak smile. “Just tell me one thing, old man Have I 'got back?’” “sure!” cried Nathan Bellows, em phatically. “I guess we'll have to take him back, Bess, eh. ’ “I’ve never let him go,” said the girt quietly, and kissed him again.— Philadelphia Ledger. EARRINGS WORN FOR AGES. These Ornaments Are the Survival of a Very Ancient Custom. Although few women in recent years have been wearing earrings, the fashion still survives, and at func tions of select society pendants of brilliants are still frequently seen. Of all the ornaments used by human be ings earrings are probably the oldest so far as historical research has been able to determine. They date from the remotest antiquity, the earliest mention of them being in Genesis in the time of Jacob, about 1732 B. C. This antiquity has been confirmed by the finding of costly and elaborate specimens in the Troad by Dr. Schlie mann, in Etruria by Castellan! and in Anglo-Saxon remains in England. Their use at first was not ornamental, but superstitious. Amulets consisting of inscribed precious stones on pieces of metal were worn suspended from the neck or more frequently from the ears Augustine speaks strongly against earrings worn as amulets in his time. It is a noteworthy fact that the i ears of the famous statue Venus de Medici are bored, evidently for ear rings. The fashion of men wearing ear rings, which is still common in Italy, among the fishermen of Cornwall, England, with Portuguese sailors and many others, is a survival of the superstition that they were a protec tion against evil. Many of the ltal ians in New York wear earrings for this purpose. The Old-Fashioned Fire. To steam heat the cities aspire As they shiver and shake In the cold; But give me the old-fashioned lire— The round, rosy backlog- of old! The warmth and the light Of Its flame, leaping bright— The drowsy-heads huddled around It al night! In the darkness the winter wind sighing Made the flame take a ruddier glow: Tile sparks up the broad chimney Hying— Like witch-eyes that gleamed In the snow! Oh, the warmth and the light Of those red flames so bright, And the comfort and Joy of the wild winter night! Far better that friendly old Are Than building of simmering steam, With never a flame to admire. And never a beautiful dream! Oh. the love and the light Whore those flames danced so bright, And the old-fashioned joy of the old fashioned night. —Frank L. Stanton in the Atlanta Con stitution. Recognized Him. A professor in the Harvard Law school has a memory which plays him false on all matters except points ol law. He cannot remember his men. When the school opened last fall a student who prides himself on his rep utation with the instructors and makes himself felt by wise questions in the class room, approached the professor and held out his hand. The professor hesitated for a mo ment over the man’s name and finally got it out in trlmupb. The student was highly elated and a few minutes after said with proud satisfaction to the professor’s secre tary: “The old boy seems to be getting his memory back. He hesitated only a minute before he called me by name. Pretty good after a three months’ vacation, isn’t it?’’ “Why,” replied the secretary, “it's funny he hesitated when I had just told him your name. He saw you coming across the hall and asked me who you were.”—Youth's Companion. Macaulay as a Schoolboy. Zachary Macaulay placed his three younger sons, John, Henry William and Charles, as pupils in the school kept by my grandfather, Richard El well. at Hammersmith, having pre viously, but vainly, urged him to ad mit thereinto the future great histori an and essayist, says a writer in the London Standard. And my uncle Richard Elwell, who died in 1887, in his ninetieth year, told me that his father's reasons for refusing to admit young Thomas Babington into his school were: First, that the boy w'as above 12 years of age at the time ol application; second, that he was "quite unlike other boys,” of a pe cullarly retiring disposition, delighting much in solitude, but yet perversely disinclined to study of any kind. Had Heard of It—Somewhere. Senator “Tom” Platt was fingering a gilt-edged book that had come tc him in the mail. He seemed cc much interested In it that Senator Quay asked what he was reading. “This,” explained the New York "boss,” as he turned V-e pages slowly, "is a reprint of a curious volume much thought of by William Penn and hie followers, but which I am told P scarcely known among their descend ants.” “And what is it called?” asked tbs Pennsylvania statesman. Platt tossed it on Quay s desk, it was the Bible. | NEW DORP’3 OLD TAVERN. Built In 1065 and H39 3een Continu ously Cccupied. Some weeks ago at a meeting of the beard of aldermen it was said by Borough President Cromwell that Fraunces’ tavern was the oldest * hostelry in Greater Now York. There is at least one much older than h raun ces'. It is the old “Black Horse" tav ern at New Dorp, S. I. The present proprietor is Patrick Curry, who bought the place seventeen years ago. This tavern was built in 1065, and has been doing business at the same stand constantly since that date. The orig inal swinging sign representing a black horse was taken down some years ago when the iron rings by which it was suspended had been worn through by constant swinging for over 200 years. The sign is full of bullet holes, where it has been used as a target at various times. The outline of the black horse can be dis tinguished only with difficulty, as the curves of that noble animal have laded away. Mr. Curry preserves this as a most cherished possession in the sitting room of the hotel. The original crossbeams of the ceiling are still vis ible in many of the rooms. In others they have been Incased with smooth hoards, a strange blending of the mod ern and the ancient. Built before the ora of machinery, when every kind of timber was most plentiful, and when the only tools were the adze, the jack saw, the hammei and the plane, this old building at the crossroads may be good for at least another century.— New York Times, MADE A SHREWD CALCULATION. How Senator Vest, as a Boy, Got Out of a Tight Place. Senator Vest eamo into the Senate chamber feebly; he leaned on his man servant's arm. But he was in good spirits, and there was soon gath ered about him a little group of states men. Senator Vest began to evoke memo ries of his boyhood. v “Once,” he said, “a crowd of us—a v crowd of us boys—played soldiers. There were two camps. Each camp had a fort with a high mud wall, and when you put your head up above this wall—bang! bang! bang!—a volley of stones came at you. "We had strict military rules, and to disobey the captain's orders was a crime no one would have been guilty of. Therefore when 1 was told to go outside the fort and pace off the dis tance from our camp to the pump dose by the enemy’s lines I did so, though I was badly frightened. Stones fell all about me, and, though I paced my way to the pump correctly, I quite forgot to count my steps. So when cn my return the captain asked me what the distance was I was embar rassed. But in a moment I had a hap py thought. “ ‘How far, captain, w'ould you say it was?' I asked. “ ‘Oh, about seventy-five paces,' the captain answered. “ ‘That is exactly right,’ said I. ‘It is seventy-five, exactly.’ ” The Poor Man and the Beggar. ‘‘Please, sir,” said the tattered beg gar, “give me a few coins. I haven’t a cent, haven't eaten a thing to-day and have no place to sleep.” The well-dressed man stopped sharply, regarded the beggar a mo ment and then said: "My man, my luncheon to-day cost another fellow $4 85, and now' I'm walking from here to Seventy-second street because I haven’t a nickel. My rent bill of $780 ih due to-morrow'; I'm $1,000 overdrawn at the bank; a man that ow'es me $20,000 killed him self yesterday; my yacht, auto, dia monds and paintings are all mort gaged, and my wife is suing for a divorce. Now, sir, who is the worse X off?” '' The beggar took a nickel from his clothes and handed it silently to the man. The well-dressed man looked aston ished. Then he threw a $5 bill at the tattered mendicant and walked away. —New York Press. The Way to the Valley. f The way is long to the Valley of Re3t, Down the dim. uncertain years; Rut we'll reach the valley when God thinks best. And enter Its shadows, sweet and blest. Where is never a rain of tears! We'll forget the gloom of the weary way Where the thorns grew rail along; With answers sweet to the prayers we pray, The Spirit of Peace will speak that day. And the sigh will be the song! And deep la the beautiful Valley of Rest We shall pass from the storm-swept sod; With tired hands folded above the hi east. We shall say to the Silence how God knew best. And dream In the Tight of God. —Atlanta Constitution. Air Baths. "Air baths" are all the rage in fash ionable Berlin just now. We all know what necessary factors light and air are for the maintenance of health. The Berlin air baths have the great ad vantage of being pleasant as well as healthful, and many of the society women of the German capital have taken them up. Even the tiniest chil dren are taken to these "baths" as well as young girls and more elderly women. The main object, of course, is the exercise of both the muscles and the lungs at the same time, and the non- \ descript kind of bathing dress worn allows the women a delightful sense of freedom while practicing their gym nastic feats or playing at gardening in the grounds. It is scarcely neces sary to add that the garden is kept as secluded as possible. Surrounded by high walls, It is situated In a quiet locality just outside the city. * \