A GIANT BUILDING
(TEW YORK TO HAVE HIGH
EST OFFICE STRUCTURE.
It Will Be Thirty Stories High and
Will Cost $3,250,000—To Be Lo
cated on Lower Broadway at
Cortiandt Street.
Giant among office buildings of the
world, the City Investing Building
company will tower above the great
structures of lower Broadway, New
York city. This latest product of the
architect and builder’s art is to be
30 stories high in its central part and
25 stories throughout the remainder.
It will cover a ground area of 27.
000 square feet at Broadway and Cort
TOWERING UNTO HEAVEN.
landt street, surrounding the old Ben
edict building. The western part will
cover the site of the Coal and Iron
Exchange, at Cortlandt and Church
streets, with a frontage in Cortlandt
street of 209 feet and of 103 feet in
Church street. The Broadway en
trance will be in Nos. 16a and 167.
and a main corridor 3S feet wide will
run through to Church street, a dis
tance of 315 feet.
The cost of this pile will be more
than $3,250,000. In line with the
policy of Robert E. Dowling, president
of the City Investing company, to give
to tenants quick and abundant trans
portation facilities, the building will
have 21 elevators.
It is probable that the building will
have an entrance to the McAdoo tun
nel. which will come up to Church
street, under Cortlandt street, and
will turn north under the south side
of that thoroughfare. This has not
yet been decided upon.
In style of architecture the building
will he what is technically known as
free Italian. The adoption of this
type of architecture has given the
architect, Francis H. Kimball, an op
portunity to produce a structure
whose massive appearance will be im
posing.
THE MAJESTY OF THE LAW
Not Essential to the Drawing of an
U nderstandable
Will.
Every man who has ever tried to guess
one of those conundrums known as in
surance policies, or who has ever at
tempted. to translate into intelligent
English any legal document, with all its
whereases and its herebys and its afore
saids, will appreciate the sentiments of
Deacon Elphonzo Youngs, of Washing
ton. who, when making his will, hark
ened to the lawyer's opening paragraph,
and then exclaimed:
“Rats! all there is about this is that
at my death I want by ever-faithful and
devoted wife, Amelia, to have and con
trol everything I possess."
If that will would not hold in law,
says the Four-Track News—there be
ing no possible room for doubt as to the
intent thereof—the fault is with the law,
not the will.
FOR WOMEN WHO SMOKE.
A smoking car for women is the
latest innovation on English railroads,
and has aroused a storm of criticism
all over the world. The accompanying
illustration shows the magnificence
with which the apartment is fitted
up. The car is of the modern Pull
man type, and is being liberally pat
ronized.
Thought It a Challenge.
Pinto Pete—What 'd Sagebush Sam
shoot the sky pilot fer?
Bunchgrass Bill—It ’uz a mistake.
Th’ parson turned to him sudden like,
an’ says, solemn: ‘‘Air you prepared
ter meet yer God?” An' Sagebrush up
an' plugged him without stoppin' ter
think it might be jest some religious
idee he wuz springin’.—Cleveland
Leader.
Could Not Break Away.
Gunner—I hear that old Mr. Tee
is so wrapped up in golf he doesn’t
take time to eat.
Guyer—I should say so! Why, he is
chained to the game.
Gunner—Chained? In what way?
Guyer—Link by link.—Chicago Daily
News.
Tricks.
Charlie—There was a splendid trick
done last evening. I saw a man act
ually turn a handkerchief into an
egg.
Billy—That’s nothing. I saw a man
only about a week ego turn a cow into
a field—Tit-Bits.
QUAINT OLD JURY BOX.
It Was in Use in Lynn, Massachu
setts, from 1732 to
1903.'
A little lacquered, wooden box, now
in the possession of the Lynn His
torical society, and labeled simply
“Old Jury Box.” could, had it a
tongue, tell a long and most interest
ing story of the growth of the town
and city of Lynn during the past 200
years.
The box itself i§ like most other
boxes made in the early part of the
eighteenth century, dovetailed at the
corners and glued together. It is not
a large box, yet the names of many
of Lynn’s best citizens have been
drawn from it for service on a jury
sitting in judgment on their fellow
men.
On the bottom of the box are the
figures "1732,” and it is thought that
this is the date the box was made.
By whom it was constructed nobody
seems to know, and nothing can be
found in the old town records regard
ing its use. However, it is known
that it was used nearly 200 years,
and that it is probably the oldest box
in Lynn to-day.
From the time it was constructed
until 1903 it was in constant use.
But as the years rolled by and the
town grew into a city, and a small
city into one of great proportions, the
box proved too small to hold the
names of the jurors.
In 1903 City Clerk Joseph W. Att
will ordered a new jury box to be
made. This is of oak and much larger
than the old box. Soon after the com
pletion of the new box the old box
was presented to the Lynn Historical
society, and at present rests in a large
wall cabinet.
The box has a bail of hand-wrought
iron and an old-fashioned lock and
hinges of the same material. A little
slot in the top admits of dropping the
names into the box. The inside is left
in the natural wood, but the outside is
lacquered, and is about the color oi
old mahogany.
ODD TIMBER RAFTS.
The Lumber Industry of America as
Seen by an English
Paper.
America is so rich in timber—she
possesses 300 species of trees of which
the smallest grows as high as 3(
feet—and has such magnificent rivers
that the timber trade is carried out
TIMBER RAFT AFLOAT.
on a scale which we in our little coun
try can scarcely imagine, says the
London Sphere. Many of these
rafts float of their own accord
while others are hauled by curious
vessels known as “alligators." They
are specially used on the Canadian
j lakes and rivers and have been de
scribed as a cross between a boat ano
a grasshopper, for they can navigate
a dry and dusty road or make theii
way through a swamp or over a wind
fall. The Lumber Jack is said to be
losing some of his old picturesqueness
but he retains enough individuality
to mark him off from other classes of
workers. He is simple and natural
! generous and fearless, manly and in
dependent. The picture shown in this
column illustrate the method of lum
bering in western Washington. When
the logs are cut they are either skid
ded down to the rivers or are floated
thither and bound together with enor
mous chains. In many cases they are
built into a sort of floating cage which
is released from beneath them when
the pile is completed. It is no uncom
mon sight to see a raft containing logs
worth $1,000,000.
A MYSTERIOUS COIN.
A Peculiar Truck That You Will Hot
Be Able to Explain Sat
isfactorily.
Stand with your back to the light,
holding the sheet containing this cir
cle by the bottom right-hand corner.
Stare at the diagram, at the same
! time giving the sheet a continuous re
j volving movement in either direction
After a few turns a silver coin, some
times the size of a quarter, sometimes
of a half dollar, will be seen in the
diagram.
Just Possible.
“They say,” remarked the boarder
who peruses the scientific notes in pat
ent medicine almanacs, “that eating
beans injures the eyesight."
“Possibly,” rejoined the scanty-hair
ed bachelor. “I understand tnere is a
constantly growing demand for spec
tacles in Boston.”—Chicago Daily
News.
Turned Down.
"Has disappointment come to you?"
“No, I went looking for it; I went
over and proposed to Mies Scadds last
night.”—Houston Post.
Mr.Stoplate—The last time I called
on you—
Miss Tersleep—Oh, was it really?—
Cleveland Leader.
PLATING ON PAPER.
New Electric Process by Which Pa
per Kay Be Coated with
a Metal.
A new electric process for covering
paper with a metallic surface is given
by Paper Pulp. It consists in placing
the bath in a porcelain tank in which
are immersed two metal plate3. One
of the plates is formed of the metal
which is used to cover the paper. A
rather weak current is used for the
bath. A thin layer of metal Is depos
ited on the second plate, as is usual
in the galvanoplastic process. When
the deposit has reached a thickness
of about 1-250 inch, the plate is placed
against a sheet of paper which is
previously coated with the proper kind
of glue. After dying, the metallic
layer adheres to the paper so strong
ly that it remains upon the latter
when it is pulled off the metal plate.
A variation of the process consists in
ornamenting the foundation plate
with any kind of designs or letters,
and these are reproduced on the me
tallic deposit. The solutions which
are recommended in the above process
are as follows: For silver paper, a
bath Is made of cyanide of silver 210
parts, cyanide of potassium 13 parts,
water 980 parts. For gold paper,
cyanide of gold 4 parts, cyanide of
potassium 9 parts, water 900 parts.
For copper, sulphate of copper 18
parts, sulphuric acid 6 parts, water 40
parts.
PERILOUS PICTURE TAKING.
How the Photograph of the Bow Wave
of a Big Man of War Is Taken
and Why.
The accompanying photographic re
production taken from Marine Engin
eering, shows a man in the act of tak
ng a photograph of the bow-wave of
he battleship Ohio, of the Asiatic
quadron, during her regular quarter
y speed trial. The daring photog
apher, with his camera, is suspended
rom the starboard anchor crane of the
■attleship. The photograph is not
aken as a mere curiosity, but is a reg
PHOTOGRAPHING THE BOW WAVE.
ular feature of the trial, the shnpe of
the bow-wave being an important evi
dence of the effectiveness of the ves
sel’s lines. Several of these photo
graphs were taken on the trial, of
which the paper quoted above says in
addition:
This was the regular quarterly trial
called for by the navy regulations, but was
at the same time a race in wnich the battle
ships Wisconsin and Oregon were also in
volved. The Ohio is said to have been 16
miles ahead of the Wiscons:n at the finish,
while the Oregon was out of sight in the
rear. The Pocahontas coal used was re
ported to be of good quality, but as a mat
ter of fact it was mostly slack, due to a low
supply. The blowers were run simply for
ventilating purposes, and at a very low rate
of revolution. It is thought that had the
coal been really of first quality, and the
blowers run to their full rapacity, the re
sult would have exceeded in speed that ob
tained upon the builders' trial trip, namely,
17.83 knots. The mean depth of water
varied from Is to 38 fathoms.
Autos Take Leather.
Summer fads, the Lynn Item de
clares, consume leather. The automo
bile industry requires much fine
stock. It is said that 30,000 cars are
being made, or have been made, for
the coming season, and that each car
will require about 80 feet of leather
for its upholstery. So in all, these
cars will use up 2,400,000 feet of leath
er. Besides, those who follow the
sport will require much leather for
caps, coats, gloves, leggings and other
paraphernalia. The automobile stiff
ens prices of leather sharply. The
man who wants a new car, or a new
coat, doesn't stop to bother about 25
cents or 50 cents on the price, as do
thousands of people over the price of
a pair of shoes.
Wrought Iron for Pipes.
About 1890 several cast-iron con
duits at Berlin, from 3.5 to 10 centi
meters in diameter, were ruptured,
which led the authorities to replace
the cast-iron pipes with those of
wrought iron, covered with the fol
lowing composition for protection:
Sixty-five kilogrammes of tar, 3 kilo
grammes of rosin, 15 liters of sand.
7 liters of loamy clay and 4 liters of
powdered lime. A coating of this mix
ture, 3 or 4 millimeters thick. wa3
applied. In more than a dozen years
of service these pipes have been pre
served from rust and have undergone
no change.—Rev. des Eclairages.
Londoners Getting Stately.
The social trend of the times in Lon
don is toward a return to old-fashioned
stateliness. During last year girls
were given the same good time that
they had in the '60 s and ’70's, smart
women no longer rule the world and
“new rich” entertainers have given
place to hostesses of the aristocracy.
The return of the chaperone means the
disappearance of “hooligan” girls.
There has been a falling off in the mat
ter of private concerts and the craze
for fancy balls seems to be a thing of
the past
North Carolina’s Progress.
The total capital invested in manu
factures in North Carolina is $141,
000,639, operating 3,272 establishments.
In the past five years there has been
an increase in capital invested of 106
per cent.; in number of salaried of
ficials and clerks, 40 per cent.; in
salaries paid, 58 per cent.; in number
of wage earners, 18 per cent., and in
wages paid. 52 per cent. The total
annual value of the products of the
state, in these pursuits, is nearly
$143,000,000.
MODERN TOWER OF BABEL
Great Steel Tower Which la Being
Erected in Germany for Use of
Wireless Telegraphy.
A wireless telegraph station whose
action Is expected to cover the en
tire European continent is being
erected by the German government on
the moBt northwestern point of the
country, at Norddeich, in Frisia. Its
great steel tower, 213 feet high, will
send out electric waves that can be
detected by receivers located anywhere
within a radius of at least 1,000 miles;
and in all probability it will be able
to receive and transmit over still
greater distances. This is compared
by electricity to the Tower of Babel.
It says in an editorial article;
“The ancient Chaldeans, to whom
philologists are apt to give the palm
for the legend of the Tower of Babel,
could never, in their wildest flights of
imagination, have comprehended what
we now all regard as a prosaic fact,
the existence of a steel tower sending
and receiving all languages through
invisible space. ... As regards
the simile that such an undertaking
will be like the Tower of Babel, the
fact that it will receive and transmit
messages from Germany. Switzerland,
France, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy.
Sweden. Norway, Spain, the Balkan
Peninsula and Russia, is sufficient evi
dence on that score. It is believed
that operation will be extended as far
as Saragossa, Naples and Cetinje to
the south; as far as St. Petersburg in
the east; in the north it will be a
voice from the silence to the people
of Dronthelm and Narvik; and to the
east German vessels homeward bound
can send their tidings to Norddeich
while still on the Atlantic far beyond
Land’s End. The proposal made in
the beginning to erect these epoch
making towers on the Island of Bor
kum was dismissed, and a choice
made of the seaport Norddeich of the
Frisian islands instead. This town
is the railway terminus of the Prus
sian system and better adapted
through its general accessibility to the
work in prospect.”
The entire plant, we are told, will
be completed by November. The
foundations nave already Deen laiu
and the iron superstructure is being
put up as rapidly as possible. At th'
base of the towers will live the offi
cials and the employes, who will oper
ate the telegraph—probably enough to
form a considerable community. The
writer concludes:
"The projection of this scheme and
its crystallization means the duplica
tion of the same idea by the various
governments with whom it will keep
in touch.
“Thus the strange picture is pre
sented of Germany undertaking a
titanic task—yet a task which in spite
of its enormousnes3 is considered a
necessary consequence of the changed
conditions in the transmission of in
telligence manifested in the last ten
years. National wireless stations are
the correct idea, as far as methods
of international communication are
deemed desirable. The only inquiry
that seems natural under the circum
stances is that relative to the use of
high mountains. Along the Atlantic
coast we find the great Appalachian
range, with its hoary peaks. For gov
ernment purposes, secret or otherwise,
these high mountains are the one great
means of meeting the difficulties of
sympathetic or selective signaling. All
nations should be thus equipped, if for
no other reason, at least for the sake
of being able to feel independent of
the submarine cable, which any sudden
cataclysm at the bottom of the sea
may disrupt and destroy.”
TO PREVENT SEASICKNESS.
Russian Seeks to Overcome the Effect
of the Motion of Waves by Elec
tric Rocking Chair.
There are almost as many recipes
and methods for avoiding seasickness
as there are for curing colds, and the
latest is an invention by a Russian in
a chair actuated by electricity and in
tended to lessen or counteract the
rolling, heaving and settling. The seat
of the chair is movably arranged with
respect to the legs, arms and back, and
<LJ
CHAIR DESIGNED TO PREVENT SEA
SICKNESS.
the sharp up-and-down movements are
given by a small electric motor which
connects by means of a belt with an
eccentric moving the seat. The speed
and intensity can be regulated at will,
and on the preliminary trial of the
machine, which took place upon the
European liner Patricia, it seemed to
work well; but, then, all remedies for
seasickness and colds work well for
some people and at soem times. In
commenting on the invention the Na
tional Tribune says that it seems like
ly that the machine would only ag
gravate the malady.
Exasperated.
Stern Parent—Prom my observation
of him last night I came to the con
clusion that that young man of yours
was rather wild.
Daughter—Of course. It was your
constant observation that made nim
wild. He wanted you to go upstairs
and leave us alone.—Tit-Bits.
Homing Pigeon’s Feat.
A homing pigeon which was sent to
toe Isle of Man two years and four
months ago returned to its home cote
in Blackburn. England, recently.
(Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
As a hansom cab stopped at the gate
way in a suburban town Dot far
from New York, a trolley car came to
a halt before the same house. From
the hansom cab there sedately stepped
a tail, grave-faced young man. He
was carefully, even elaborately dressed,
in a formal style. A carnation bloomed
in the lapel of his coat—giving the last
touch to a masterpiece.
“I’ll walk to the house. Return In
an hour,” he said to the driver, who
drove away. As the young man
turned toward the gateway he met an
other young man. who had jumped
briskly from the trolley car ere it
fully stopped. The second young
man's coat was a sack, worn with a
careless air; his soft felt hat would
have been the better for a brushing,
especially now, when placed alongside
of the first young man's shining silk.
“Well—how are you, Carson?” said
he of the tall hat; and an interpreter
of the subtler tones of human speech
would have said he meant: "Confound
you!”
“How are you, Digby?” responded
the trolley passenger, and the hypo
thetical reader of topes would have de
clared his real meaning to be: “Oh,
the devil take the luck!”
And the two young men stood stock
still for a moment or two, in the
ardent sunshine of the spring after
noon. staring ruefully, blankly, one at
the other.
“Look here, Digby," said Carson,
with the stock broker's energy. “Let’s
talk this thing over for a minute. If
we both go in—what's the use—no fun
in that, for either of us. Am I cor
rect?”
"You certainly are. old chap. But
perhaps it would be fun for—for Miss
Carrollton.”
“Oh. no doubt it would—but I, for
one. am rather tired of furnishing
Miss Carrollton that kind of fun.”
“And I am. for another.”
“In fact,” went on Carson, intently
eying the other man. “I ran out to
day to settle up my share in the fun.
one way or tne oiner.
The other man started, and replied
with a livelier air than he had hither
to shown: "We appear to be getting
confoundedly confidential and ex
planatory—but all right—let it go at
that. I came out with precisely the
same object in view.”
“Old man.” said Carson, laying his
hand on the other’s sleeve, “honest
Injun, now, what do you think of your
chances?”
"Tell me what you think of yours.
Carty. and I’ll be in better shape to
give you an answer.”
"Well, Digby, I know this much—
or believe it—the chances lie between
us two. No others in sight.”
“‘I am inclined to agree with you,”
said Digby. "And, to go a step farther,
the chap who gets his question in first,
has—well—the lead at any rate.”
"Guess you’re right about that, too,”
assented Carson.
With a sudden gleam in his eyes,
Digby turned to his rival.
"Look here, old chap: I’ll toss you
to see who goes first. Man who wins
—why he—why he pops the question
without any more fuss—right off the
bat. and settles the thing.”
Carson stared: and then a smile
broke out over his handsome face.
“Sure! I say—you have more sporting
blood than I gave you credit for.”
“Oh, I have a little, when I arouse
it,” said Digby, with an air of mod
esty. He drew a 50-cent coin from his
pocket. "Let's toss this—best two of
three wins.” Suddenly he paused and
looked around. “But. look here. Carty.
we may be under observation from the
house: rather ridiculous to be seen
acting like a pair of newsboys play
ing pitch and toss. Here. I'll show you
a wrinkle. We’ll spin the coin on this
stone bench here, and call what face
falls upward.”
"That's good enough for me, Dig
—you spin—I trust in Dame Fortune
—let her go!”
"Beg your pardon, Carty,” said Dig
by, gravely: "but, as it is my coin.
I'd much prefer that you spin first—
looks better, don’t you know.”
“How scrupulous. Dig—but, all right.
Here she twirls—whaf do you cry?”
“I cry tails,” said Digby. The sil
ver coin turned like a bubble in the
sunshine, and fell with a musical
untile. iuu w in. i_»isiu> . criea par
son. a flush mounting into his cheeks.
“Now you twist her.”
Digby did so. “I'll take a turn at
tails—just for luck." said Carson. And
the coin turned tails up.
“Last time, Dig," said Carson, set
ting the coin a-whirling once again
“Oh, I stick to tails.” said Digby—
“never like to hedge, you know." And
the coin turned date up.
“All right. Digby—good-by. and bad
luck to you,” said Carson, wheeling
around.
With a smile playing oddly about
his lips when his broad back was
turned. Digby solemnly marched upon
the house
Meanwhile a pair of blue eyes had
been watching the young men from a
window, and a pair of red lips had
been dimpling into smiles, and a fair
brow wrinkling into puzzled little
frowns. "Harry and Dick, and to
gether—” ran the musing? in the nut
brown head; “and to-day, when 1
thought them far away. What does
It mean?" Her heart—helped by sun
dry recollections of thing? said by
both young men. and of glances given
by both—soon whispered a reason for
their appearance. Excitedly ringing
the bell for her maid, she Sew to her
toilet table.
Dick Carson marched rapidly and
gloomily to a corner saloon for a
bracer. As he entered the place, he
heard a man say: "See? I leaves it
to Mike, here, if 1 ain’t right, heh,
Mike? You take a silver coin and
twirl it like that on its edge; and nine
times out of ten it will fall tails up.
Sure: I’ve spun it a dozen times here.”
A hand fell upon his shoulder; Car
son’s hand. “Excuse me.” he said;
“but 1 am more than 1nteres.-d. Here,
barkeeper, a drink for this gentleman.
What is the reason for this behavior
ob the part of the coin?”
“Why, you see—mixed ale for me,
Mike—on one side of the coin there is
this here bead, with more weight in
it than is on the other side. When
you twirl it, why she falls heads
down. See?”
“1 certainly do. Where is your tele
phone?" cried Dick Carson to the bar
keeper. And he made a dash for the
machine.
The telephone bell rang in the Car
rollton house just as Daisy Carrollton
ran downstairs, and she went to the
instrument. Just about that moment,
Digby was waiting in the reception
room.
“Hello? Is this the Carrollton
house?”
“It is—why, Richard Carson! I
thought you were coming up the
drive.”
“I was in too much of a hurry,” said
“HELLO, IS THIS THE CARROLLTON
HOUSE?”
Carson's voice. "Daisy—answer me
this question—the most serious thing
I ever said in my life. Answer me
quick! Will you marry me, dear?”
There was a pause of half a minute.
Then came the answer: “Ye?, Dick,”
said Daisy.
“Hurrah!” bawled Carson’s voice,
making Miss Daisy’s ears tingle again.
“When Harry Digby gets to the house
—just tell him that tails don't win,
after all—will you, darling?"
"Why, of course!” cried Daisy. “Here
is Mr. Digby now."
Mr. Digby stood in the hall listening.
“H'm,” said he. “It seems a case
of tails Carson wins—heads or tails,
I lose. Sorry. Miss Carrollton, but I
must be returning to town immedl
ately.”
SWINDLERS IN SMYRNA.
English and American Firms Taken
by a Band of Shrewd
Operators.
The fact that one of them is still
born every minute has just been forci
bly illustrated in the case of Ameri
can and English firms dealing with a
band of swindlers recently operating
from Smyrna. The matter, says the
Washington Star, has been brought
to the attention of the state depart
ment only atfter swindles amounting
to something over $50,000 had been
worked on English firms, while the
amount taken out of America has not
yet been computed.
The operation of the swindlers was
simple and effective. They advertised
and sent out hundreds of circular let
ters to importing houses both here
and in Europe, offering various mer
chandise, oils, hides, wool and dried
fruits at much less than the market
quotations.
Many of the importing firms here
and abroad bit at the bait and sent
orders, joining bank credits for as
much as 90 per cent of the value of
the goods. The goods were shipped in
due course and the money collected,
but when they arrived the consign
ments were found to be totally differ
ent from what had been ordered. The
finest woolen fleece would prove to be
filthy woolen rags, “choice Smyrna
figs” would be the last refuse of the
packing houses, and so on. The mat
ter was placed in the hands of the
local consuls, and on their complaint
some of the swindlers were arrested,
while the others fled. But the fraud
has adversely affected the credit of
many reputable houses in the LevanL
NEW STREET DRESSES.
Various Shades of Tan Are Now the
Rage—What Is Good Choice
for One Suit.
If one were choosing a town dress
one might pause awhile in front of the
new tan shades, for they are well
worth attention. They are to be seen
in all of the tones from the palest
cafe au lait to a deep coffee, and from
an ecru to a cream. These dresses are
very servicable, and the woman who
is going to have only one tailormade
dress would do well to think twice be
fore passing on to the other counters.
The best of the so-called tan shades
is a soft peach-skin color, something
which is not quite brown. It is often
called crushed leather, and its tone is
well adapted to any tint that may be
worn with it
Not a few of the new street dresses
are in deep strawberry pink, and for
the woman with one dress this is not
so bad, though one never gets quite
the service out of it which one gets
out of gray or light brown. Still it is
good and if one has a gown to change
off with it is to be advised.
The Least of Presents.
V. P. Houver, aged 72, a peanut
vender at Colorado Springs, is a great
admirer of President Roosevelt, but
had nothing better' to send for a wed
ding present to the president's daugh
ter than a flve-cent bag of peanuts.
So he sent that and received a letter
of thanks from Mrs. Longworth.
Pledge to Monarch.
A Buda-Pesth newspaper states that
the officers of the Hungarian army
will shortly be requested tc sign a
pledge to remain true to the mon
arch. whatever course events may
take.
TROPICAL OYSTERS.
GULF COAST BIVALVES THAT
ABE EATEN IN SUMMER.
The Point Isabel Product Is in Season
from the First of May Until
the First Day of Sep
tember.
The fact is not generally known, even
in Texas, that the tropical oyster,
which is entirely different in appear
ance and habits from the oysters found
in the markets of this country, is suc
cessfully raised along the extreme
southern gulf coast of this state, says
an Austin (Tex.) report. F. W. Sea
bury, speaker of the Texas house ol
representatives, who has made a study
of oysters for several years, says in re
gard to this tropical breed of oysters:
“The oyster which is grown in the
vicinity of Point Isabel and along the
gulf coast as far as a short distance be
low Corpus Christi is a tropical bivalve
and of wholly different species from the
oysters along other portions of the
Texas coast and Atlantic seaboard. The
Point Isabel oyster is eaten during the
summer season, commencing about the
1st of May. the season lasting till about
the 1st of September. This tropical oy
ster begins to spawn in September,
which is just at the time the oysters
north of here become fit for eating. The
Point Isabel oyster spawns in fall and
winter, and the northern oyster, even
those at Corpus Christi and Port Lavaca,
spawn in summer. The Point Isabel oy
ster can be eaten in any of the months
not containing the letter ‘r.’ The re
verse is true of the other oysters.
“The fact that the Point Isabel oyster
has a season entirely different from
that of other oysters should make it in
demand, and I look for a great industry
to be built up in cultivating and ship
ping these bivalves. The Laguna Madre,
where the Point Isabel oyster is grown,
affords a splendid place for oyster beds.
The lagoon is four or five miles wide, am
the water is highly Impregnated with
salt, which insures the growth of good
oysters. With direct railroad connec
tion with the outside world there is no
reason why an immense oyster ship
ping business should not be built up at
Point Isabel.
“Of course the people would have to
be educated into eating oysters during
the hot months of summer, but I believe
that could be easily done. I know of m*
own knowledge that these oysters form
a most palatable dish on the hottest days
of summer. I have eate- them many
times. In Brownsville these oysters are
the principal food for many people all
summer long. There is a fine opportun
ity awaiting some enterprising person
to plant oyster beds in the Laguna
Madre. in the Point Isabel region, ft
will bring a big fortune to whoever un
dertakes it. These tropical oysters are
far better than the other Texas oysters
They are smaller than the Corpus Chris
ti, Port Lavaca or Galveston oysters
and more resemble the famous Blue
Points. Oyster roasts have been a popu
lar form of enetrtainment for a long
time during the summer months at
Point Isabel."
The fish and oyster laws contain a
provision exempting oysters from a cer
tain point below Corpus Christi from
tl • operation of that provision which
piohibits their shinment and sale dur
ing the months which do not contain the
letter “r.” This exemption was placed
on the bill through the effort of Mr.
Seabury. There is. therefore, nothing
in the way of the Point Isabel oysters
being shipped during the summer
months if a market can be made for
them.
KNEW HOW TO WORK "POP”
Indulgent Pater Fixed the Clock to
Eelp Maggie Deceive Par
ticular Ma.
“Have fathers changed, do you
think?" inquired the old maid stenog
rapher just after lunch, relates the
Chicago Inter Ocean.
“Why?” asked the smart Aleck
bookkeeper. “Does everybody work
but father at your house?”
“Oh,” replied the O. M. S., “it isn’t
anything like that, but I eat at one
of those girls’ lunch clubs where you
help yourself, you know. To-day I
was standing in the middle of the floor
with my tomato soup and caramel ice
cream, wondering where to sit, when
I saw two such sweet, innocent, young
looking things that I couldn't resist
sitting down at the same table with
them. I just wanted to hear them talk
and to imagine myself young again.”
“It was hard work, wasn’t it?" in
quired the smart Aleck bookkeeper.
“Well,” went on the O. M. S., tak
ing no notice, “this is the conversa
tion 1 heard:
“ ‘Did you so to the dance last
night, Maggie?’
“‘Yes, and Buch a time. I asked
ma if I could go. and she said I could
if I got in by 12 o'clock, but if I didn’t
this would be the very last dance I
should go to. I knew I couldn’t get
home by midnight, or anywhere near
it, but I didn’t tell ma that. So I went
over and got Lizzie and we went. We
had the swellest time! And I never
got home until four o’clock in the
morning. I tcoa my shoes ofT outside
the door and went in the back way.
But they had changed the furniture
around, I guess, for 1 fell over a chair,
the clock struck four, and out come
pa. I said: "Sh. don’t tell ma,” and
pa said: "Yon just leave it to me.”
So what did pa do but turn the clock
back three hours, and then it struck
one. "What's that noise,” ma hollered.
“Oh, you're dreaming’,” pa says.
“What time is it?” says ma. "One
o’clock," pa says. “Is Maggie in?” ma
says. “Sure, she’s in.” sayp pa. So
1 went to bed and pa got up aggiin and
fixed the clock right and ma never
knew anything about it. I tell you,
pa’s a peach. He always stands by
me like that.’ ”
“Say, she knows how to work father
all right, ail right, don’t she?” said
the bookkeeper, admiringly.
Pitiful.
Tramp—I'd like ter do something to
pay for all this, but I’m a cripple, mum.
Housekeeper—You don’t look it.
What’s the matter?
“Writer’s cramp, mum. I've been
keeping a list of all the people wot of
fered me work, mum.”- Chicago Jour
nal.