I ^ ’ ■WHOHoI T ail axes aa persutioa baa swayed tba world U nttpiHy a few of tbrww prophetic be lets rryatallaad around tba r«~— patted. leering aa deep an Impress upon tbe aaaceptible minds aa to cause them through the enturies to ba passed down with tba greatest '-ar* Cm now there la scarcely a M»»a> that does M put faith in one ar mere at the Easter omens Soto* at these attach to Good Fri day la the time at Catholic Eng land there waa a superstition which tba king publicly buaored with hla treat it was the ceremony of bleat, lag the nags This was doaa to pre •erve thrsr wearers from "the fail sickaewB." a trouble com a: only m known b u at cramps The cramp nhg aamaa waa of eacepuoaaJ ortgl neiity Walsh gl«ea a rtrid deacrip Ck>a at it "The king and bis suite. “ be tails mu would proceed in state to the palare chapel, upoa tba floor of which tasted a crurifls upon a silken rush tea. and in front of which was spremd a rich carpet. The king would er««p along the carpet to the crudfla— as a token at absolute humility hla ai maaer creeping after him Haring reached the rmrifl* be would there bless tba cramp rings, which were de posited ia a adeer basin. After this ■as doaa the queen and her ladies in a ait \g entered the chapel and also crept ta the cross This completed tba cerwmaay and the rings had been Transformed late the moat potent remedial ages** ‘ Drinking a mfstsr* at bread and wa •er waa a rasa ns of curing several all menu The auperwutloc still bolds th a tew ptarca Good Friday morn ing loaves of bread ar* baked and rhea laid aside until the following year when (be people grate a small portion of the bread into aster and d*e it to the aaSerera kM r-oa* bat** Or the morning of Goad Friday throughout England the •treat tw reader* uaber In the nnl reraal cry eg “Hot rroaa bus*.' aad ao family, a* a precautionary method, if not tar their toothaomenea* alone ■ oald dare rma the rU of not par -haritg them E»»:. kings would not ■MB eat.s* thorn, for wboeeer eat* a baa need bare ao fear of haring hi* home destroyed by ft re during the Early Good Friday morning targe •eaten of men. *ocei and children •tart owt ta caret of customer* for their !nd hot baa*, which they guard from the raid with a flannel rarerisg Aad the ■hop* a* well are route with their own euppiiea of It The peculiarity of the hot rroaa bun be* la it* beta* highly •plead aad bearing oa tta brows angary aarface the mark at a cruoa "w s peuuy. no a jeony hot (fDH bona'*’ have a more ancient rwtgla than .» generally supposed The name itself la taken from the Greek name of a certain cake which ’he lanes'! gave for an offering to 'he gods Is the biblical period the prophet Jeremiah had occaaion to no tice thi* offering, when he saw the -*o4atry of the Jewish women at Pathros. Egypt. As s preventive of fever* certAln Ballons abstained from eating meat ■m Easter da; But this practice nev er obtained in England One of the most ancient and uni versal of all •Bpcr*t:tie&s attaching •e Easter day was that of the dancing sen At first it was believed to dance •ver the general Joy at the renewal of nature • Bfe In this *eason of the year Later. H danced over the resur racTKa of Christ Many centuries ago aa Easter day people arose early and repaired to the fields to view ibis daariag swa la certain reentries they had a way of observing the sua at his antics that made him appear more playful than ever By viewing It as It rose through the moraiag vapor or watching Its re Wectloa In a stream or s pail of wa ter. tbev could strengthen their il lusion In Scotland the sun was mer rier than anywhere eSae. for here It was expected to "whirl round like a can wheel and give three leaps" Then ope at the greatest concern* of the day came to he whether the saa really did dance or not Grave aae Warned men over all the world set tbemeeivee the task of solving the weight; problem Sir Thomas Brown left some quaint Ideas on the subject. ”fe shall not. 1 hope disparage the rrvsrrKJo® of oar Redeemer." he writes f we say that the sun doth fit* dance on Easter day . and though we would willingly assent into nay sympathetica! exultation, yet we ranaot eueectve therein any more than a tropical expression Whether any sack asOoi there was In that day wherein t’hrtst arose. Scripture hath hot revealed, which hath been punctual la other records concerning Ik • ot»t j miracles, and the A re o - pa*ite that wa* amazed at the edipae took no no tice of thin, and if metaphorical e a - pr**aakras go so far. »e may be bold to affirm, not only the *un danced, but two suns arose that day. that light appeared at hi* nativity and darkness at his death, and yet a light at both; for even that darkness was a light uqto the Gentiles, illuminated by that obscurity That t«r*s the first time the sun set above the her iron That, although there were darkness above the earth, yet there was light beneath It. nor dare we say that hell was dark if he were in it.” In 170$ the "British Apollo" finally settled the question in the following words: Old wives Phoebus, say that on Eas ter day To the music o' th' spheres you do caper; If the fact. sir. be tr.e, pray let s the cause know. When you have any room In your paper " 'The oid wives get merry with spiced ale and sherry On Easter, which makes them ro mance. And whilst tn a rout their brains whir! about. They fancy we caper and dance.” But the conclusion regarding the danc.ng sun was not to stand for all time, since the maidens of Devon shire today nse early in the morning of Easier for no other than this iden tical purpose Moreover these ex traordinary maidens see more than the mere dancing of the sun. Their power of vision is so great that they can discern a lamb and a flag in the center of the disk Much importance is attached to the conduct of the elements on Easter day A piece of Sussex weather lore Informs us that If the sun shines Eas'er day it will shine accordlnglv every day In the y>*ar. and the same they aver is the case with rain But other Easter prophets only go to the extent of saying that it will shine or rain until Whitsunday. “A good deal of rain on Easter day gives a gcod crop of grass, but little good hay," runs an ancient proverb. On this day the east wind and wa ter also have great power to ward off Illness. If the wind blows from this direction the people of many lo calities bathe In water just drawn to avoid the 111 effects of the east wind during the coming year. Easter eve on the continent, at Mecklenburg, the . maiden spreads a linen cloth In the ; garden and in the morning If the wind I is due east she will wash herself with It while it is yet damp from dew. rata or snow, whichever has pene trated It. Or in the morning the serv ant will draw water and bring it to the maiden for her bath. In Swchsenburg. the peasant rides bis horse into the stream to insure it agninst sickness of any kind through out the year. Despite these precautions, however. ’ if the wind is not due east while one Is getting the water It will have no efficacy whatever There 1s more than one good omen for Easter If you wish good luck in the coming year Easter eve you must put out all fires and light them anew from flint and steel. This is a special protection against lightning strokes ' as well as good fortune In general. nbtCrasj Ounsr ! An old rhyme apprising people of * its efficaciousness reads thus: On Easter eve the fire all is quenched in every place. And fresh againe from out the flint ! is fetched with solemn grace: The priest doth this against great ; dangers many one. A brande whereof doth every man with greedie minde take home, t That, when the fearful storme appears . or tempest black arise. By lighting this he safe may be from stroke or hurtful skies.” ! The person spying a lamb on Eas ter morning is fortunate, especially if the animal's bead faces the house. \ for good luck will certainly follow him. If the lamb is lying down or looking in another direction, however, the fortune will not be altogether good This belief comes from a well established ancient idea that the devil might inhabit any form save that of , a lamb or a dove. There is one other prophecy which since ancient times no woman of in telligence would ever entertain the thought of disregarding. This is the j talismanic virtue vested in new clothes. Throughout all times there I have been grave scholars who have ascribed the universal custom of ap-1 pearing at church and promenading the streets Blaster Sunday In new at- ] tire to the vanity of women. With all due deference to the wisdom of ; these sages I must beg to differ from them, for I can prove that woman is not so worldly in this particular as men believe since there happens to , be the best of reasons for her insist ing upon an Easter hat and Easter clothes. She may not have taken you Into the inner recess of her heart and bared her reason, but she knows it well herself, and if you are the devot ed husband and father that you should be you will do her bidding without question. For the peace of your mind, however, and in the effort to foster your spirit of generosity. I will en lighten you. The women of your household know that good fortune will not attend them through the future year if they appear in clothes that they have worn before. Therefore, since you hold their future happi ness in your hands, consider well, I beeseech you. before bringing such distress upon them. In East Yorkshire, Eng., none but a maiden utterly destitute would refrain from seeking the market for some new bit of apparel, for she Is too well aware of the evil that would attend her without her safeguard. Try as she might she could never In the fol lowing 12 months have a dress that would not be plucked by birds. Superstitions are fast losing their hold upon the world, but those cling ing to the season of Easter possess so great a charm for ua, even though long ago we may have aevered faith in them, that we still find pleasure in calling them to mind on this "Sun day of joy.” An Ohio Inventor has brought out a laundry machine that bleaches cloth ing by electricity at the same time i they are being washed in hot water. ICE SHEET OVER LONG ISLAND flan'ag at* Eipltifi It* Configuration e, Action e* Mater* Many Thou ^ *an«a e» Vaara Ago. Arrordiag to geoiogi*** Long Island afford* particularly dear evidence as to the history of the gran! continental hr* ahead which covered the northern states au; thousand years age. The •on there margta at this great Ice sheet e* tended to Long Island, it is anil and remained there for a long I time, depositing a thick body of inter mixed bowlders, sand, and clay as a terminal moraine, which is now the “backbone'’ of the island The Ice moved southward and brought these materials from the north, dropping | them at Us melting edge. This pecu liar method of deposition developed a very peculiar topography, consisting of an irregular aggregation of hum mocks and hollows, which have pro duced the many beautiful details of configuration that make the higher j parts of Ixing Island so attractive to | lovers of nature. The most notable of these hollows In the morainal ridge is the one holding the picturesque Lake Ronfeonkoma, which lies in a depres sion 50 feet below the surrounding ridges. Several other similar pits are 80 to 85 feet deep, and some of the larger irregular hollows are several miles in length. By looping the loop six times In an aeroplane Lincoln Beacbey made the great scientific discovery that some men are extremely lucky. CMl la Adversity. A cool here of u Alpine toll vu the MM German tosrtr. ebon George itobM focotamsd la strange ctr isaiUMN m s glacier near Zermatt Haring insisted span snooping himself from bis gw dsn, be had disappeared lain a rrvvanas It waa supposed be meet be dead, and eventual!? a party arrived sub ropes and sacks far the rrmslns Hot meanwhile Mr. Abra hams party appeared on the scene, and hie guide won lowered «• feet Into •be rr» vnesi Voices were beard In the depths. The guide found the Ger man with a broken leg. his body much battered, yet he was smoking a cigar. And he absolutely refused to be res cued until he had bargained at some length for the cost of that operation. Patriotic. Teacher—Tommy, can you tell me what great men were born in Febru ary? Tommy—George Washington. Abra ham Lincoln. SL Valentine and Mr Groundhog. Anna Gould Dickers. The report is received that the French government is negotiating for the purchase of the Paris mansion of Duchess de Talleyrand, formerly Gould of New York, which is desired for conversion into a museum. The mansion is a duplicate of the Grand Trianon. The rumor says the question of price is the only obstacle in the way of the conclusion of the sale, the state having offered $1,800,000 for the man sion. but the duchess is asking $2 -100 - i 000. ROADS I GOVERNMENT AID FOR ROADS Committee of Congress Expected to Make Favorable Report on Highways Measure. The question of federal aid for good roads looms large. A joint committee of the senate and house, with Senator Bourne, Oregon (the father of the parcel post bill i chairman, is now in vestigating the entire subject with every likelihood of a report being sub mitted favorable to the general pro ject. The main subject under inves tigation at present is the manner in which federal aid when finally forth coming shall be distributed, whether to the states according to their popu lation. their area or the mileage of their highways. In a recent magazine article Senator Bourne expressed him self as favorable to a plan which shall combine all three of these ele ments. inasmuch as it would not be fair to grant more aid to Rhode Island, for instance, than to Iowa, although the population of the former state is much larger than that of the latter; or more aid to Nevada, for instance, than to Nebraska, although the former state is much larger in area than the latter; or to some state which has already solved the good roads prob lem by thousands of miles of good roads, leaving a state with impassable highways suffering because of lack of the necessary aid. With federal and and state aid both imminent, an Impetus is being given to road building greater than ever before. The statement is made that J500.000 a day is being spent for good roads in this country, but the general concensus of opinion is that until within the last year or two results commensurate with this immense ex penditure have not been secured. There is a feeling all over the country that road building muet be made as systematic ana as scientinc as rail road building, hence the movement for a state highway commission with plenary powers and scientific super vision by expert engineers. Congress has already appropriated $500,000, to be distributed $10,000 to each state, for improvement of stretches of road over which rural free deliveries operate regularly. The results of this appropriation will go a long way to show whether or not the federal government will be justified in mak ing still greater appropriations and in going still more extensively into this important subject. The secretary of agriculture and the postmaster-gen eral have both been ordered to loan their influence to the investigation, to the end that actual facts may be se cured so that road building may be carried on in a practical manner. GOOD ROAD-MAKING DEVICE Machine Invented by Idaho Man Is Simple in Construction—Fills Holes, Smoothing Road. A road-making device for road building has been invented and pat ented by Hugh G. Taylor of Buhl, Idaho. The machine is simple in con struction; It is a drag, constructed of a piece of sheet metal four feet long, four Inches wide by a quarter of an inch thick, says a writer in the West ern Farmer. It Is attached by means of rods to either axle of a wagon or Road-Making Device. buggy, and drags immediately behind the wheel, smoothing the track and inclining loose dirt toward the center of the road-bed. At the outer end of the drag Is a disk which serves to cut down the sides of the track. Mr. Taylor has one of these ma chines attached to his mountain hack, and it attracts a great deal of atten tion. Good road advocates in south ern Idaho are enthusiastic about the machine; it has been proposed by them th&t the county commissioners buy them in large lots and let them out to every farmer who will agree to use them, rebating the user on his road tax. It is a well-known fact that the roads of southern Idaho are in a frightful condition for nine mootki out of twelve; from the time they dry up in the spring until about June they are in fair condition, but after that they are so full of “chuck holes” as to render them discouraging to a light rig driving fast, or to a heavily loaded wagon. By the use of Mr. Taylor’s chuck hole filler this can be eliminated —it fills all holes, leaving the road smooth after the passing of the ve hicle. Bismarck’s "Sacred" Number. Belief in the number 3 was al most a religion to Bismarck, for it ran like a vein of gold through all hia daxxling career. He served under three months, and in three great wars and signed three treaties of peace. He was the father of the triple alliance, and from his three names and as many words in his family mot to. “Strength in Trinity.” and his three children, there was no period or undertaking in his life in which this "sacred” figure was not of the best omen to him. HOFMAN RESPONSIBLE FOR MERKLE PLAY Artie Hofman, Now With the Brooklyn Federate. Art Hofman. and cot Johnny Evers f was responsible for the famous play , in the final New York-Chicago game J in 1908 which robbed John J. Me- j Graw's Giants of a National league ^pennant and possible world's cham pionship, to say nothing of depriv ing each and every member of the New York team of at least $2,500. For years, or ever since 1908. Evers has been famous for "Touching Sec ond.” It is true that Evers touched second and completed the play, but ‘Evers should get the least credit for (it, as tw-o men thought of the play before he did. These two were Hof man and Steinfeldt. Hofman it was engineered it. He first realized the opportunity ahead, and Evers came |in away at the finish, behind Hofman land Steinfeldt. After more than five years Hofman comes in for a share of credit, but • it is doubtful if he will ever get the full amount due him. Mordecai Brown, i the former great curve pitcher of the Chicago Nationals, and now manager -- — Johnny Evers, Boston's Second Base man. | of the St. Louis Federate, tells the in side story of the play, which for year after year has been kept secret. This la Brown's version: ‘Evers knows as much baseball as any man in the game,” stated Brown. "He's a quick thinker, always thinking of some play to stop the opposition, feet he won credit where it wasn't de served on that Merkle stuff. “It wasn't Evers who saw it, but Artie Hofman. and as long as I live I’ll never forget the scramble on the Polo ground field. Evers made the putoul; and he got it because he was the only one near second. Still, Hof man was the one who started It. "With McCormick on thiad and Mer kle on first. A1 Bridwell shot a single to center. McCormick raced home with the run in the ninth inning that would have beaten us and won the pennant for the Giants. But Merkle. getting near second, didn't touch the bag, and raced for the clubhouse.” Racing in Australia. Horse racing is a popular sport in Australis, as shown by the following Statistics: "Within 40 miles of the general postoffice. Sydney, six race courses are licensed for horse racing, four for pony -acing and two for trot ting. Beyond a distance of 40 miles | from the general poatofflce, Sydney. I 306 race courses are licensed for horse racing. 71 for pony racing, and 57 for trotting. Licenses are issued for a i period of one year, recommencing on the first day of January. Race course licenses to the number of 484 were is sued for the year 1912, and <5.930 was received by the New South Wales leg islature In fees.” Big Stake Races. Announcement of the completion of plans for the construction of the race track at the Panama-Pacific exposition is made by the exposition manage ment. Stakes to the sum of <227,000 will be offered to the competing horses in the 24 days’ meet scheduled. All classes and ages of horses will be i entered. The guarantee stakes offered for pecers and trotters reach as high as <20,000 each. NOTES of the DIAMOND Outfielder Coyle of Omaha has been released to Memphis. • • • Why do the Browns and Cardinals go south to do their spring training? • • • ‘Til be boss of my team and run things as I see fit." says Charlie Her zog. • • • The Jersey City club will give Out fielder Fisher, formerly of Louisville, a trial. • • • Fred Snodgrass won't join the “fiy catching" contest. He has signed with the Giants. • • • “Money is not the only thing which attracts players to baseball," says Larry Lajoie. * • • The Topeka club has passed into the hands of Dan Breese. who will re tain Dale Gear as manager. • * • Nick Maddox, former Pirate heaver, will manage the Wichita club of the Western league this season. • • • Hughey Jennings says that speed is all his Detroit team needs. And he doesn't say a word about the pennant. • • • Three of Detroit's left-handed hurl ers come from the Southern league. They are Cavet, Covaleski and Will iams. • • • ♦Mathewson has a life job with the Giants," reads an exchange. But how much is his life worth when his arm fails? • • Pitcher Palmero, the Giants’ new Cuban southpaw, has been pitching two and three-hit games all winter in Havana. • • • President Hedges of the Browns, de clares baseball would be better off if it had several Rickeys to help "reor ganize it." Manager Clark Griffith says that picking the pennant winner for the coming season is harder than picking the horses. • • • Walter Lonegran has signed a con tract to play with Hugh Duffy’s Port land club in the New England league next season. • • • Pitcher Ralph Glaze, who used to burn ’em over for the Red Sox, has signed up with the Topeka club of the Western league. • • • Josephus Daniels, son of Secretary of the Navy Daniels, is a candidate for catcher on the Tome institute base ball team at Port Deposit, Mo. • • • Catcher Jenkins, who was secured by the Browns from Keokuk of the Central association, caught 121 games last season before he had to quit. • • • Tom Daly, who was on the receiv ing end of the Tenor-Daly battery many years ago, has been given a position as scout for the New York Yankees. • • ■ 1c Walter Johnson the Nationals have without a doubt, the best hurler in Ban Johnson's circuit. He exceeds all slab artists in striking out the op position. • • • Wally Schang of the Athletics is quite some bowler. He is captain of the Wales Center