n
H
A NARROW "WORM).
OMETHING HAD
happonodi
Thero wns eueh a
rosy flush on her
Check, no bright a
gleam In her eye,
and on her face
such nn utter
abandon of joy,
that any one, even
a mnn, could hnva
guessed the truth.
Fortunately they
had chosen the hill road, tho least trav
eled of All tho wayn that lead down
from tho Monteclto valley Into Santa
Barbara, and for the first halt hour
after the ovent they met no one.
It was what tho Inhabitants of tho
Channel City call a "gonulno Santa
Barbara day." Tho Bun shono warm
and bright and a soft perfumed breezo
came out of the west. There was Juno
In tho air, nlthough tho calendar was
Bet for mld-wlntcr. Tho birds Banff In
the treea abovo them, the squirrels
chirped from the hillside, and their
horses, wandering at timcB from tho
road, Bank to the knee tn n. wavlng.sca
of flowers.
"First of nil," sho said, breaking tho
sllcnco of a whole minute, "you must
tell"Wfath"cr." '
"Certainly," said the young man.
"Who's afraid?"
"You hae never seen papa do tho
role of tho cruel parent," said tho girl.
"Ho can bo qulto a dragon. Ab you aro
a kinsman, however"
"A fifth cousin," cried tho young
man, with a laugh.
"Well, fifth couslnB aro bettor than
nothing, aren't they?"
"Truly; how else should wo bo here
today?" Then tho young man added
with peculiar and significant emphasis,
"I am Inclined to prldo myself on that
llttlo scheme,"
The girl brought her horso to a sud
den Btop and turned her clear brown
eyes, half opened, under their long
laahoa, upon her companion.
"That little scheme," sho repeated
elowly, "I don't understand."
Tho young man laughed uneasily.
"Why, Catherine," said he, "you don't
mean that you havo believed la tho
entertaining fiction about our great-rcat-ot-cetera-grandfathor?"
"Old Bbenczer Strong?" exclaimed
the girl. "How dare you call him fic
titious, when I saw his portrait at my
own grandfather's."
"Ab your ancestor, my dear one, ho
Is an undoubted reality, but as mine,
I regret to say, ho Is merely a figment
of your worthy father's Imagination.
In short I would fain break it to you
as gently as possible wo aro not fifth
coUBlns at all, but just plain or
dinary" "Not fifth cousins!"
"No, darling, and If you aro going to
faint please fall on this side, with your
head right here on my shoulder."
"I won'tl Wretched boy, how could
you deceive poor papa so?"
"I didn't deceive him. Ho deceived
himself. From tho very beginning of
our acquaintance ho scorned determined
to locate mv) eomewhere on tho Wes
ton family tree, and you aided and
abetted him In the attempt."
"Richard Strong, how can you?"
"I have a sweet and gontlo disposi
tion, and when ho asked mo If I was
not descended from Ebenozer Strong
of West JSrlghton Center, and you
looked at mo so appeallngly"
"I didn't any such thlngl"
"Why shouldn't I UBsent? 1 havo
doubtless had several hundred ances
tors named Strong, and I took chances
that somo one of them rejoiced In the
"RICHARD STRONG! HOW CAN
YOU?"
praenomen of Ebenezer. It 1b just tho
eort of a namo that my forbears were
given to putting on themselves, as an
effective and continuous mortification
of the flesh. A horsehair shirt, now,
would bo nothing to it."
"You may laugh, If It pleases you,"
eald the girl severely, "but If papa had
known you were not a relative we
should not bo riding alone together. He
generally disapproves of tho eastern
peoplo who spend the winter at the
hotel."
"If you really feel that I have been
guilty of false pretenses," said tho
young man, drawing his horso a little
nearer, "suppose wo begin all over
again."
"Keep your distance, sir!" exclaimed
the girl, steering to the opposite side
of the road. "If we are to start afresh,
lt It be from the very beginning, three
weekB ago."
"Now, as. to your fathor," resumed
the young man, "I thlnK I understand
him pretty well, because my one and
only parent, . the governor himself, Is
constructed on much tho same plan.
Wherever he goes he is continually in
search of the lost tribes of tho Strong
genealogy. The last letter I had from
blm In Colorado, where he is spending
the winter, contained the announce
ment that ho had unearthed four or
five new cousins choice specimens, I
doubt not, that he will expect me to
meet and embrace on my way home.
"Perhups It was wrong," he con
tinued, after a moment of reflection,
"to play upon that little peculiarity of
your father's, to get Into his good
' graces, but you must consider the ex
traordinary provocation, dear. It
seemed Uk my only chance are you
sorry I took it?"
She looked her answer, but did not
speak it, and then, avoiding the hand
extended to seize her own. she struck
JJer horse a light blow and dashed down
roA ahead.
X long even canter in silence fol
iff
lowed, nnd they were well Into town
beforo tho conversation began again.
Then, fearful of observation, they
spoke In commonplaces.
They turned Into State street, and
stopped at tho postomco, the morning's
mall hnving constituted tho chief cause
for tho trip to town. Richard Strong
dismounted and presently appeared
with a letter In his hand.
"None for you," ho said. "This Is
for me, from tho governor. I'll wager
It has something tn it noout cousins."
"Lot mo see," Bald the girl, holding,
WjC iicr hand. Ho tore the letter open
ni gave It to her. Then ho swung
himself Into his saddle, and they start
ed slowly down tho Btrcct.
Suddenly tho girl gave a faint cry.
"Papa has been writing to him!" flhe
exclaimed.
"Writing to him? What for?"
"He haB asked him to pay us a visit
on the score of relationship, and your
father"
"Well?" said tho young man, excited
ly. "Ho says ho will start Immediately
tho very next day."
"Let mo seo the date of the letter.
Yo godsl It has been delayod. Ho
muBt havo got hero this momlngl"
"Tho .train ,han beenrtJntwohourf,"
sho Bald, glancing at her watch.
"I must bco him immediately," Bald
her companion, nervously turning his
horso first one way and then another.
"Who would have dreamed that both
tho old boys would tako that cousin
ship so seriously?"
"I did, sir. I knew from the very be
ginning that it would make trouble
somo time."
"From tho very beginning?" repeated
the young man, pausing In his excite
ment long enough to note the forco of
this chance admission. "So you ac
knowledge, do you"
"There's tho hotel bus," cried tho
girl, hastily changing tho BUbJoct. "Per
haps tho driver can tell us something."
A long, empty vehlclo was passing
them on Its way up tho street. Strong
called to the driver, and he stopped.
"Did you bring up a tall gentleman
this morning, with a whtto mustache
and goatee and gold eyeglasses?"
"Yes, sir, Your father, don't you
mean?"
Tho young people exchanged startled
glances.
"How did you know?"
"Ho was Inquiring for you, sir, as
soon as over ho got to tho hotel, and
when ho found you were gone ho went
and hired a buggy," ,
"A buggy what for?"
"Ho askcd tho way to Judgo Wes
ton's plnco In tho Monteclto. He Bald
tho judge was a near relative of his."
"A near relative!" groaned tho hor
rified Strong, whllo his companion
turned away her face, although wheth
er to conceal a look of anguish or a
laugh will never bo known.
Tho omnibus proceeded on Its way.
"Wo must hurry," Bald tho young
man, spurring his horse to a canter.
"Tho less tlmo they havo together be
foro explanations nro mado tho bet
ter." "What do you think they will do?"
asked tho clrl.
"I don't daro to think. You seo on
vv Vi Jf billilb va.c,.w wtio tuuMi; itvu uuar
ncsa our rcspectlvo parents aro as furl
apart as civilized Humans can be.
Your fathor, now, Is an elder In tho
church, whllo mine has lost all tho re
ligion ho ever had, and ho has never
recovered from tho habit of using
Bwcar wordB acquired during years of
servlco in tho regular army."
"0 dear! O dearl"
"Then, again, Judgw Weston Is an
ardent Republican."
"And Is your father a Democrat?"
"Worse than that ho Is a Mug
wump." "How interesting! I havo always
longed to seo ono of them."
"And my father behoves that Bacon
wrote Shakespeare's plays."
"Heavens I Let us ride faster. Papa
will havo slain blm beforo we got
there."
"Really, Catherine," eald the young
man, when they lyid Blackened ihclr
paco to climb tho hills, "It would not
surprlso m9 If they had positively re
fused to enter into partnership as
fathers-in-law."
"Never mind, Richard," said tho girl
Hmlllngly. "Father has never yet re
fused me anything when my happiness
was at Btake. as it Is now."
Strong shrugged his Bhoulders. "Mine
has," he answered. "Ho la made of
flint, tho old general, and if he should
tako it into his head to say no it would
be awkward In waya I don't like to
mention,"
"Never mind," said the girl, smiling
On a slight knoll surrounded by a
grove of live oaks and faced with an
avenuo of old palms stood the ample
residence of Judge Weston. As the
young people came through tho gate
and entered upon tho graveled roadway
they observed two elderly gentlemen
emerge from a small forest of rose
hushes and start briskly down the path
toward them. Presently the shorter of
tho two took his companion's arm, and
they walked along in evident peace
and amity.
"They haven't found It out yet," the
young man whispered.
Judgo Weston assisted his daughter
to alight. "Catherine." said he." this is
General Strong, tho father of our young
friend."
The general bent low In an old-fashioned
obeisance, and Miss Catherine
Instinctively made him a courtesy out
of the minuet.
"Father!"
"Dick, my dear boyl"
"Seo here," exclaimed the Judge sud
denly. "You were mistaken, Richard,
In what you told me about old Eben
ezer Strong."
Tho young man braced himself for a
struggle.
"And to think. Dick." cried the gen
eral reproachfully, "that you never
onco mentioned to the Judge that your
great-great grandfather, Hezeklah
Strong, married a Weston."
"And that brings us even nearer than
wo had supposed," added the Judge;
"fourth cousins Instead of fifth."
"It was stupid of me to forget that,"
said the young man huskily.
"And now that I have seen Miss Cath
erine," Bald the general, taking her
hand, and passing his arm about her
waist, "my only regret is that the re
lationship is nit Beveral degrots nearer
yet."
Then Catherine looked at Richard,
and he told what had happened on the
way to town, Straightway there was
a great amount of handshaking and a
good deal of kissing done in broad day
light under the palms,
H. II. HOLMES, FIEND.
DIABOLICAL DEEDS OF THE IN
SURANCE SWINDLER.
Lint A MKIIR TRIFLE IN THE WAY
OF 1118 AMDtTlOtf.
A Score of Murder May Be Traced to
the Cold-lllooded Stayer of FloUcl,
III Three Children, nnd Minnie and
a
Antilo William.
URDKRERS ARE
of three classes.
There Is tho crimin
al who kills to avoid
capture; the blood
thirsty vllllan who
who slayB for pure
love of tho sight of
blood and tho born
murderer. To the
Cfrw1 latter class Deiongs
6mtuim' " "' "0,rae, L",i"
4IWB wwwa' nawuru, aim nun
dozen other aliases, who Is now In Jail
at Philadelphia awaiting trial on a
charge of conspiracy to defraud Insur
ance companies. The charge will Boon
bo changed to murder.
Slowly, but nevertheless surely, the
coH Is tightening about the neck of this
nend in human form. That Holmes
murdered B. F. Pletzel and his three
children thero Is no longer the shadow
of a doubt in tho mlndB of tho police.
Evldenco showing almost conclusively
that ho murdered tljo Williams Bisters
In Chicago before he became Involved
In tho insurance Bwindle with Pletzel
waa found in Chicago by newspaper
men and detectives last week and this
crlmo will probably be fastened upon
him. Every Btep in Holme V career
ttamps him as a moral monster a man
wholly devoid of moral sense. Every
move mado by tho man since he started
aut in the world iwclvo years age.
teems to have been mado with a crimi
nal Intent. He Is by no means nn ordi
nary man, and his mental capabilities
rank him far above all the celebrated
criminals ever known to American or
English police. He was graduated from
tho Michigan University at Ann Arbor
and began his career of crime while
yet a student in that institution. He
waa a school teacher In Vermont, and
beforo ho entered tho university he was
graduated in medicine. Thus equipped
he wasn a position to begin the most
remarkable career of crime ever known
to the police. His case Is tho most re
markable study In psychology and
crlmlnalogy ever brought to light in a
civilized nation.
Holmes' knowledge of drugs would
have enabled him. to mutco way with
the Pletzel children without the sight
of blood, of which he seems to be In
mortal terror. Miss Mlnnlo Williams,
the Fort Worth, Tex., typewriter, who
lived with Holmes In Chicago, was, in
all probability, murdered In the same
way. The theory of tho police that Miss
Williams killed her sister with a stool
in a fit of Jealousy, and that, In order
to protect his mistress, Holmes disposed
of the body by sinking it in a trunk
in Lake Michigan, has given way to tho
belief that Holmes was himself the mur
derer, a theory which the cruel, de
signing nature of the man thoroughly
Justifies. These two young women
owned property In Texas worth $80,000,
and subsequent developments lead the
detectives to believe Holmes coolly set
about to get them out of the Way In
order to come in possession of the mon
ey. At ne time In his career has
Holmes ever hesitated to murder If tho
intended victim stood In the way of the
accomplishment of his scheme.
This is proven by the fate of the Wil
liams girls, by the fate of Pletzel, by
the cruel murder of three of the victim's
children and by his attempt to blow up
Mrs. Pletzel at Burlington, Vt. Certain
It Is that Holmes contemplated and plot
ted the death of the entire Pletzel fam
ily in order that not a single person
having a knowledge of the Fidelity
swindle and tho death of Pletzel, the
first murder that became necessary to
Its success, should be left alive. The
fiendish cruelty of such a plot seems
almost beyond belief.
Every Instinct In Holmea seems to
have been criminal. His every move
was toward tho accomplishment of
some crime. He never moved In a direct
line. Every talent, every energy, every
bit of education ho ever nad hove been
employed toward a criminal end. The
result Is the most accomplished and suc
cessful crook In police annals a crimi
nal beside whom the record of any one
man ever arrested In America prior to
September, 1891. pales into insignifi
cance. Murder has only been an inci
dental part of Holmes' career. He mur
dered when some human being stood
In the way ot his daring schemes.
Swindling and fraud were tho prime
factors in every crime he ever commit
ted, and he loved them as the gambler
loves the green cloth. Ho played his
schemes with tho same feeling that the
poker shark plays his cards. They were
his amusement, his pastime, his means
of securing the money necessary to car
ry oo hl wild and terrible career.
How successful ho waa Is evidenced by
the fact that swindle succeeded swindle
nnd murder succeeded murder until he
had secured and spent fortunes, brought
nix victims to hideous deaths, and
twelve years passed without even so
much ob a check on his awful career.
When onco his troubles began they
oame thick and fast, uiull nt last he
is about to be brought to justice.
Tho beginning of the end came with his
arrest in St. Louis last fall. Since then
he has enjoyed but a brief spell of
freedom and now all of his horrible
crimes are being fastened upon him.
Subtlety and cunning added to the
man's finished education and polished
manner have combined to make him
the most wonderful criminal of the age.
It Is not tho purpose or this article to
trace his career further than to nar
rate briefly the crimes charged against
him in order to Bhow what a moral
monstrosity he Is. Whllo at Ann Arbor
University ho entered Into a conspiracy
to defraud an Insurance company In
very much the same manner the Fi
delity company was fleeced In the Plet
zel case. His accomplice waa a fellow
student, and experience gained whte
he was a medical student enabled him
to successfully carry out the fraud.
His classmate's life was insured for
$2,600, a corpse was secured and "plant
ed." and afterwards Identified as tho
body of his confederate. The company
paid over the money, and with It
Holmes, who was then sailing under the
name of Herman Mudgett, and his
pal paid their tuition through college.
Tho young scoundrel had deserted Mrs.
Mudgett and their baby and left them
to drift for themselves In their New
England home In order that ho might
go to Ann Arbor.
Flushed by the success of his first
venture, Mudgett, the college scape
grace, became Mudgett, the criminal,
and thenceforth bis ambition In the
world of shade knew no bounds. Lcav-
lng college ho went to tne Norrlstown
Insane Asylum, and later entered a
drug Btore as a clerk, but hla first ven
ture as a crock floated ever before his
mind's eye, and he dreamed of the day
when he would acquire wealth and
aflluenco by the turning of another suc
cessful trick. He drifted back to Chi
cago, with his eyes always open for
the main chance, and beforo long he
became deeply engrossed in another
swindle of four times the proportions
of his first.
Sailing under the alias of Howard, he
fell tn with his former confederate and
classmate, and together they worked an
Insurance company for $10,000 on tho
same scheme resorted to in the first
instance. From that time on ho was
out of one nefarious Job Into another.
Ho bought a drug store, but sold out
soon after, and with probably 530.000
left for California. All tho money ho
had in tho world was fleeced from vic
tims of hla various schemes. Ho seemed
to glory In thlB thought and to be seized
with an Insatiable desire to plunder
moneyed people, whether Individuals or
corporations, and hla ever active brain
waa almost continually employed de
vising schemes to effect this result.
All pretense at earning an honest live
lihood, save tho necessary precautions
to dupe the unsuspicious public, were
cast aside, and this reckless man cut
loose from decent associates to drift
where his abnormal hankerings would
lead. While In Chicago he married a
second time, and a bright little babe
was born of that union, but love was
foreign to this cold-hearted man, whose
whole existence seemed wrapped up In
tho excitement of tho dangerous game
he was playing, and he forgot them
when he left suddenly for the Pacific
coast. What he did there remains a
secret burled within himself, and for
tho time being he was lost sight of.
Ere long his greed for excitement
overcame his fears and one bright
spring morning found him back In Chi
cago. He at once launched a commis
sion scheme known as the Yates-Campbell
Co., which he advertised would buy
and sell goods of any kind.
Whether he met Mamie Williams dur
ing his sojourn In the west or came
across her In Chicago Is not known,
but at this stage of the game, the bright,
winsome young typewriter became en
tangled in the meshes of the cruelest
of men. She was rich, owning in con-
Junction with a sister as lovely as her
self, property valued at $80,000 In or near
Fort Worth.
This in Itself was enough to fix the
doom of the beautiful young woman,
and from the day she met Holmes, or
Howard, her fate was seuied. Sleeping
or waking the insidious plotting of the
man she loved nover ceased, and he
would no more have spared that fair
girl than the tplder could refrain from
sucking the life-blood from some poor
fly that becomes entangled In its web.
Crime had become second nature to
him, and he was happy in the commis
sion of it.
Grojyenor'n UraTC
The grave of John Grosvenor, In the
town of Pomfret, Js one of the oldest
in that section of Connecticut. It has
been marked for generations by a head
Btone of peculiar interest, on account of
the coat of arms displayed on its sur
face. The inscription and design are
still distinct and clear.
MILLIKEN'S MISTAKE.
Tho Wnthlngton Boclety Man Indicted
for Hoime Breaking.
Benjamin H. Mtlllken, private secre
tary to President Harris of Tennessee,
has been indicted by the district grand
Jury for housebreaking and felonious
assault. Ho Is charged with having
broken into the house of ex-Sollcltor
General Samuel F, Phillips, secreted
himself In the bedroom of Miss Gertrude
B. H. MILLIKEN.
Phillips and attempted to chloroform
tho young woman. Tho affair occurred
the night of July 4, at Washington.
Mr. Phillips says his daughter Ger
trude sat up with htm until after mid
night, when she retired. Some ttme af
ter he had been In bed he heard hlB
other daughter, Nora, scream. Going
to her room, he found both young wo-
men much agitated. They said there
wa3 a man in Gertrude's room, and
begged him not to go in for fear he
would be chot. Mr. Phillips saya he
grasped the handle of the door, but it
was held on the inside. Some one then
tried to climb out over the transom, but
Mr. Phillips struck at his head and ho
desisted. His wife and daughters were
screaming, and his partner, Frederick
McKenney, ran upstarira with a revol
ver. At this Instant the man who waa
in Gertrude's room broke out and rush
ed downstairs. Mr. Phillips says ho rec
ognized MUllkcn. He chased tho man
and caused his arrest In tho garden.
When taken to the station he proved to
be B. II, Mllllkcn, He appeared to be
intoxicated. Mr. Phillips says hla
daughter was awakened by tho smell of
chloroform and by feeling some one pass
a handkerchief over her face. Search
was made, Mr. Phillips says, and it was
found that Milllken got In by climbing
over a roof. A handkerchief and a bot
tle were found In the garden. A drug
gist declared that the handkerchief was
saturated with chloroform, and that tho
bottle had contained the liquid. After
his arrest Milllken waa released by ono
of the district attorneys. It appears that
he was well acquainted with Miss Phil
lips and was a frequent visitor at the
house. It is said he called early in tho
evening of July 4, but Miss Phillips ask
ed to be excused from seeing him. Mil
llken la said to have left town. Mtlll
ken's explanation Is said to be that the
whole affair was a mistake arising out
of too much Fourth of July.
Mn. McDonald In St. Louis.
Mrs. Richard H. McDonald, Jr., of San
Francisco, accused of having fled from
that city with $100,000 belonging to her
husband, who Is awaiting trial there on
charges of forgery and embezzlement In
connection with the wrecking of the Pa
cific bank, was found last week to ba
MRS. M'DONALD.
living with her sister-in-law, Mrs. John
Charlton, at St. Louis. She said she had
not fled with her husband's money; that
his troublea In California grew out of
a political conspiracy, and that he waa
Innocent of the charges against him.
The grandfather of the Rothschilds
Is said to have scarcely owned a penny
in 1800.
"
A ROMANCE IN ALASKA.
Count dn Lanco.iu nnd Ills Daughter,
Who May Heroine nn Ilelron.
Juneau, Alaska, has a Russian ro
mance, or, what It fully expects will de
velop Into a romance, and it is nltnost
as interesting a subject for discussion
bb the new gold fields. When Count do
Lanccnu, a young Russian, visited
Juneau otght years ngo, ho was 22 years
old, nnd ho followed tho example of
other visitors beforo lilm. Ho took au
Alaskan maiden as his housekeeper.
She wan attractive in features nnd af
fectionate In disposition. A girl, named
Lucy, wan born to them, and the young
count was devoted to her. Ho waa
satisfied with his housekeeper and very
fond of his llttlo daughter. Ho decided
to remain in Alaska and enjoy his new
possessions. Tho count conceived tho
Idea of building a castle on Point Look
out, overlooking the town, and set men
at work felling trees nnd building tho
foundation. A cyclone came along and
blew tho men and the lumber off Point
Lookout, and tho count changed his
plans. Ho bought a lot of land In tho
plateau valley below and set a gang of
men at work clearing it. After he had
spent Beveral thousand dollars in this
preliminary work his father ordered
him to return to Russia. Befoie leav
ing ho deeded over ten lots in Juneau,
threo lots In Douglas City,-and a can
nery site at Cape Faushaw tq his
daughter Grace.
Tho count Bald good-by to hla Alas
kan family, and loft his daughter in tho
caro of Frank Starr of Juneau. SInco
tho count's return to Russia his father
haB died, and he is now in possession
of large estates. Frank Starr Is now In
correspondence with him, and ho be
lieves that tho count will provide gen
erously for his daughter. So it is
among tho possibilities that this waif
in time may become an heiress and a
young woman of some importance in
Russia as well as in Alaska. St. Paul
Pioneer Press.
MONARCH OF HIS SPECIES.
Killing of nn Alligator That Measured
Fourteen Feet In Length. '
To F. A. Dennetteo and to his
brother, Elton D, Dcnncttee, belongs tho
credit for the killing of Fort George's
famous 'gator, a giant In size and so
old that his back Is crusted with bar
nacles and moss. But their encounter
with the saurian was not without ex
citement and somo damage to the hunt
ers. They found the 'gator In one of tho
small creeks that run through the Is
land, sneaked upon him in their boat
and let him have a bullet from a Win
chester. The big fellow gave a roar ot
rage and pain and at onco started fbr
tho small craft, his jaws wide open and'
his tall laBhlng the water Into yeasty
foam. They Jammed an oar Into the
'gator's mouth and he crunched it into
pulp, and then they took tho other to
stem his onslaughter, but he broke that,
too, and ground It Into kindling wood
When almost upon the boat he swung
his tall against it and nearly upset It..
Elton Dennotteo waa knocked over
board, and no sooner had the 'gator
seen him than he mado for him, and if
the young man had not hastily scram
bled on board he would certainly have
met an awful fate. The two men had,
two pairs of oars and with those tncy
managed to keep the little craft away
from a BWlng of the saurlan'a tall, which.
would have crushed in the sides as If"
they were paper. Whllo one o! the
hunters kept clear of the enraged beast
the other kept pumping lead into him
from the Winchester until the water.
was covered with red foam, telling thaf
tho monster waa badly hurt. Finally
he appeared to give up tho ghost, turned
over on his back anu floated upon the
surface. They lassoed and towed him
ashore, but the 'gator waa not dead,
and still had any quantity of fight In
him, and so, when ono of tho sportsmen
ventured too close the 'gator gave a
lash with his tall, knocked the yountr
fellow upside down and paralyzed hla
legs for the time being and went for
him, grabbing his foot in his frightful
Jaws, and Inflicting a painful and per
haps serious Injury. It was just two
minutes before the jaws of the beast
could be pried open, and It was an hour
later beforo the last spark of life fled
from the reptile.
Faitlng Carried to Extremes.
The people of Servla are forever fast
ing. The most severe fast is that of
Lent, which lasts seven whole weeks.
Then, on the 30th of June, is tho fast
of St. Peter, which lasts two weeks,
and Is observed by some persons for
four weeks. From the 1st to the 15th
of August, the fast of St. Mary, nnd
Christmas is preceded by a forty dayB'
fast. Apart from these lengthy fasta
every Friday and every Wednesday
throughout the year Is held to be a fast
day. Fasting In Servla Is no mere
change of diet; It means real abstinence
and privation. At Plrot this fasting
has assumed such serious proportions
as to constitute a grave medical problem
and a national danger, for It affects
seriously the health of the population,
the strength and fighting capabilities
of the soldiers. The medical men reck
oned that, on the whole, half tho days
In the year were fast days. This means
that for somo Bix months In the year
the population of Plrot nnd neighbor
hood is only fed bread, raw ontons, and
raw vegetables. No cooking is done;
not a morsel of meat Is allowed.
Would Contract Hank Currency.
At the treasury department It Is said
that Sovereign's plan for boycotting na
tlonal bank notes, If carried out, would
prove more harmful than beneficial to
tho Interests of the country, as It would
contract the currency to the extent of
$211,000,000 without Injuring national
banks. "It would not hurt the national
banks at all," said O. P. Tucker, deputy
comptroller of the currency. "If people
should refuse to receive their notes the
banks would simply present them to
the United States treasury for redemp
tion and receive legal tender notes,
which they would continue to use In
their business. There are only $211,000,
000 of national bank notes in circula
tion, while there are $950,000,000 of other
kinds of money outstanding." Ex.
Cheap Sowing Machine.
Sewing machines are so cheap that a.
woman can cover herself from head to
foot with frills nnd flounces and other
fripperies at a cost not greater than
that which was formerly required to
make one plain gown.
t
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