A PdDimiteir for time Slnoe Buyer
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are in demand by every mother who wants her children
to be well shod during the school year. They
ARE IN GREAT DEMAND
Manufacturers of the Mission Shoe, " Rest for the Sole."
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FREAKS OF NATURE.
Two QtiNr Rock Formations on the
Island of St. Helena.
There are at least two queer freaks
of nature on the island of St. Helena
or, rather, four, for one of them is a
group of three figures known the
world oyer as the "Devil's Nose" and
"Lot and His Daughters." Any one
who is able to study the island as it is
and not run wild over the Napoleonic
legends which have clustered about
that "seabound rock since the days
nrhen the "Little Corporal was housed
there in his living grave will find much
that will repay for investigation, time
and study.
The queerest of the natural forma
tions are the oddities above alluded to.
The first of these imitative forms is a
rocky promontory which has been
known by names which signify Old
Nick's nasal projection since May 22,
1502, when Juan Castella and his men
sighted the island just in time to see
the devil disappear beneath the waves
In the best harbor, leaving his nose as
a reminder of what might happen
should the venturesome Spaniard seek
to take possession of his Satanic maj
esty's favorite haunts.
"Lot and His Daughters' are three
conical rocks which can only be con
jured into representing a man and two
women by a strong play of the imag
ination. According to the views of
some writers they are weather worn
statues of colossal size, probably the
work of some aborigines of the island.
Their gigantic size, however, would
seem to preclude this idea. When or
by whom they were dubbed "Lot and
His Daughters no authority has ven
tured to say.
are Java sparrowsT At street corners
in Hongkong sedate old Chinese may
be seen putting the birds through their
tricks for the benefit of strangers.
Each birdcage has a sliding door, j
and just outside this is a pack of little
cardcases, each containing a picture
and a small pot holding half a dozen
grains of rice.
When the stranger, pursuant to the
suggestion of the owner, hands over
the necessary coin this is placed with
the pack of cards at the cage door.
Then the owner will undo the fasten
ing of the door. The bird, eying the
coin, then the cards, then the coin
again, as if he thought his perform
ance too cheaply valued, descends
from his perch, opens the door with
his beak, hops outside, draws a card
from the pack and passes it to his
master. He receives in reward one
grain of rice.
The man takes the little picture
from the case received from the bird
and hands it to the stranger to inspect.
He then returns it to the case, accom
panied by the tiniest flat slip of bam
boo, and shuffles the case up with the
rest of the pack. The bird descends
and selects a case, and the stranger
opens it, to find the identical one con
taining the bamboo.
How can this be accounted for? The
only possible way of explaining is
that the bamboo slip is slightly scent
ed. Exchange.
thaF evening7, vhen I took the gover
nor's wife out to dinner, she had re
marked sadly: "We are so benighted
here in the hot lands. It is impossible
even to have music, for no sooner do I
have my grand piano tuned than an
earthquake comes along and tips it
over." E. Alexander Powell, F. R. G.
S. in Everybody's. .
Origin of the Opera.
: The opera, like nearly everything
else interesting in the world of mind,
had its origin in ancient Athens. The
earliest librettos were by Sophocles
and Aeschylus, such as the "Abamem
non" and "Antigone," a band of flutes
and lyres constituting the orchestra,
the dialogues being musically declaim
ed and the choruses sung to the best
music of the time. Thus do we have
the germ of all later developments in
the line of opera. Exchange.
CONJURING BIRDS.
Trick Sparrows of Hongkong and One
of Their Feats.
The famous Chinese conjuring birds
Enforcing the Rule.
The passenger with the huge square
package persisted in riding on the rear
platform of the ear.
TVTt have you got there? de
manded the conductor.
"It's a painting of Mount Vesuvius
If you think you have to know," said
the passenger.
"Well, youll have to take it to the
front platform, said the conductor.
"No smoking is allowed back here.
Chicago Tribune.
A Great Cannibal Feast.
Probably the biggest cannibal orgy
on record is one of which Miss Bea
trice Grimshaw tells in "The New
Guinea:" "In 1S5S a shipload of China
men was being taken down to Austra
lia. The vessel was wrecked upon a
reef close to Rossel island, New Guin
ea. The officers escaped in boats, but
were. never afterward heard of. As
for the Chinamen, numbering 32G, the
natives captured them and put them
on a small barren island, where they
had no food and no means of getting
away. They kept their prisoners sup
plied with food from the mainland
and every now and then carried away
a few of them to eat until all but one
old man had been devoured. This one
succeeded eventually in getting away
and told something of the story, which
seems to have met with general disbe
lief. True it Is, however, on the evi
dence of the sons of those who did the
deed.
Rough on the Pianos.
Once in the company of President
Diaz I spent a few nights in the Mex
ican earthquake zone as the guest of
the governor of the state. As a meas
ure of precaution the plaster ceilings
of our sleeping rooms had been re
placed with strips of matched board
ing. "If a trembler should come in the
night, senor, remarked my host as he
was bidding me good night, "wait for
nothing, but make straight for the pa
tio. I think these boards will hold un
til yon get from under cover. And
Exchange of Courtesies.
"Mornin, Riggs."
"Mornin, Griggs.
I hope you're enjoying good health.
"You don't suppose I could enjoy
poor health, do you?"
"Ton could if you were a new doc
tor in a strange community. Mornin.
"Mornin. Chicago Tribune.
Responsibility walks hand . in hand
with capacity and power. Timothy
Titcomb.
Imprisonment For Debt.
About the middle of the last cen
tury the power of Imprisoning a debt
or for life was taken from the creditor,
and it fills one with amazement to
think that a system so ridiculous
should have continued as long as It
did. The three principal debtors pris
ons in England were the King's Bench,
the Marshalsea and the Borough
Compter. In the year 1759 there were
20,000 prisoners for debt in Great Brit
ain and Ireland. The futility of the
system was quite as great as Its bar
barity. More than half the prisoners
in some of the prisons were kept there
solely because they could not pay the
attorneys costs. Many prisoners had
their wives and children with them.
There was no infirmary, no resident
surgeon and no bath. Imagine a nlace
in these days containing 1,399 persons
and no bath and no Infirmary! We
have indeed "progressed." Dundee Ad-vertispr