fTffl!"
BRUIN'S CURIOSITY.
nil Inuulwlllvenciis Ucta Mm
Into Trouble.
tt
llJw',"
Not ovou by his comprehensive np
petlto or bin rollicking humor Is the
strong Individuality of the hlnck bear
more distinctively ninrked thnu It la
by his Irrepressible lnqulltIvoiicns.
This Is a trait In his character that Is
constantly loading him face to face
with disaster, but Htltl he Indulges In
It Is simply out of tho question for
him to resist the promptings of his In
nate curiosity, and so he Is ever pok
ing his nose around where wisdom
would urge him not to, with tho result
that there Is more benr meat put on
tho market annually than thero would
otherwise Ik.
Mount Patrick Is In Perry county,
l'n. It Is a small settlement, whoso
only reason for existing Is that tho
filcepv old Pennsylvania canal runs
through It, and there arc a lock and
lock house there. There are wild and
wooded mountains near Mount Pat
rick, and caring swamp, a large
tract where various kinds of vegeta
tion spread about In dense, contorted
and complicated growth, Is part of tho
outlying nelghhoihood.
Wild turkeys have lurked In tho
mountnlns, and wildcats and foxes
tnndo free use of this swamp, as well
as the poultry yards of the vicinity, as
long ns tho memory of man can reach
back; but bears, long ago, seem to
havo forsaken tho land, and bruin
thereabout lived only In tradition.
llriiln llcirlim hi Career,
nAnnt.Mit !. l. I nfjimlfi li
Shollv, the veteran lock-tender at I
Hfnitnt Pnlrlck. wlm wns slttliiL' Iii his !
llttlo shanty nt the lock one sweltering !
day In .lull1, saw the door dm ken, and. (
on looking tin. discovered a big blade
boar standing on the threshold, gazing
calmly and Inquiringly In upon him. .
ho wns not onlv surprised but scared, i
and It was nothing to his discredit I
that he veiled and howled for help.
Tho nolso made by tho lock-tender not
only alarmed the settlement, but It
frightened the bear. Bruin walked
hastily out of the door and shunted
away down tho canal.
A dozen people, of ns&ortcd sizes and
sexes, wero hastening toward Shelly's
hanty at the time, nnd, discovering
the Inquisitive, bear, started In pursuit
of him, although none of them were
armed. "When the bear heard the up
roar behind him he stopped nnd looked
bnck, curious to know what caused It
all. Not liking tho looks of the ap
proaching mob, he Jumped Into tho
cnual, swam across It to the towpath,
upon which he climbed. There ho
pnuscd again nnd looked back.
By that time tho pursuers had gath
ered stones by tho armful, and a show
er of these missiles was projected
against him. Satisfied by this time
tha tho rabble wns not moved by any
kindly intention toward him, the in
qulsltlvo benr hurried down tho tow
path at his very best gait. The crowd
crossed to the tow path and continued
the pursuit. For n quarter of a mllo
the bear shambled along, with tho
yelling delegation from Mount Patrick
following him ns closely as his speed
nnd the delegation's courage would
permit.
As this altogether novel procession
was making Its way down tho tow
path, William Jerry's team of cannl
mules, with their boat In tow, were
approaching Mount Patrick from the
ether direction. It was feed time, and
tho mules' bends wero burled to their
eyes In their feed baskets ns they
wended their way placidly along.
Dlumtor Upou HUimtcr.
Tho bear soon hove lu sight of tho
approaching mules. He didn't seem to
mind tho mules any, and kept right
en. Presently the mules got scent of
tho bear. Tho bear might not mind
tho mules, but tho mules did mind tho '
Dear. They linen up tnclr cars as
high as they would lift, tossed the
feed baskets nervously alrout, and be
gan to renr nnd prance. Tho boy who
had charge of the mules was walRlng,
In reckless confidence, close at their
heels. lie had not seen the bear yet.
Tho unusunl spirit of the team, there
fore, filled him with amazement which
quickly gave way to wrath, and ho
began talking to the mules in the gen
tle and pious tones characteristic of a
director of canal mules.
Whllo ho was engaged In Inquiring
of his team what In the name of tue
dace of perpetual llro they were do
ng, and assuring them that If they
didn't "geet up' 'he would fall to and
The near Hurled the Can Ag-alnat
the iiock.
hatter their Jackass heads for them,
the mules ported tueir noims ana
hrought themselves round so that tD5
driver obtnlned n full nud unobstruct -
ed vlow of the approaching benr.
TTl rolftflRPfl tllSt OJlfi Old-fashioned.
mule-boy yell from his lungs, nnd,
lumping Into tho cannl, pulled stiff
If
tz&b w' th! nii Im J
and strong for the boat. While he was roll it around on the floor. Col. Park
on his wny the mules kept edging er says that ho didn't know what mo
nearer and nenrer tho water, in trying ment they might thump It against
to avoid the benr, and at last tumbled something hnrd enough for the concus
over ono another Into the cannl, where bIoh to explode It, nud Ho thought ho
they floundered like harpooned whales, could feel his hnlr turning white. But
The hear, tnereupon, turned otr rrom
the tow path and took to the woods. ,
The pursuing delegation stopped long
enough to help William Jerry rescuo
bis mules from the water This was
long enough for the bear to disappear,
and he left no irceptlble trail.
Toward evenlug of that day one
John Gorton, who operated a lime kiln
ft couple of miles below Mount rat
rick, stretched himself on trio grass,
near his kiln, to rest. He turned his
hat over his faca to keep tho files off.
He had Iain there a few minutes when
ho heard something sulllllng near his
face. Itcmovlng his hat from his face,
he saw a bear standing over him with
Its nose so near his that tho big
beast's breath came hot on his face.
The bear stood there In curious ex
amination of the reposing lime-burner,
and when ho looked up brnln gave a
snort that raised Gorton's hnlr. The
yell with which Gorton responded to
the Inquisitive bear's snort wns heard
by a man who lived ncnrly half a mile
down the road. Tho yell scared the
bear and sent It on Its way as fast as
It could go, while Clorton How over tho
ground In the opposite direction. The
benr wis followed b yothcrs Into car
ing swamp, where Its trail was lost.
llruln Tttrna Up AKnln.
Two weeks after tho bear's Inspec
tion of tho lime-burner, Mrs. Hannah
Garby, who lives with her husband
and family two miles from caring
swnmp, was churning in her kitchen,
when she heard a curious noise. On
looking around Bho saw a bear stand
ing at an open window, through which
ho had poked his head, and sun-eying
tho Interior with an Impudently In
quiring air. Mrs. (Jarby ran out and
called her husband, which concerned
tho bear so little that he' crawled
through the window Into the kitchen,
and coolly refreshed himself at a
basin of milk that stood on a bench.
The bear then went nway, and tho
text morning wns found In n neigh
boring cfrn field, about which he had
been so Inquisitive that ho had pulled
up more thnn hnlf of the growing corn
by tho roots. Tho owner of the field
succeeded In hitting tho bear In ono of
his paws with a bullet from a rovolv-
or, and the curious licnr went limping
away to tho woods. i
.. . 1.,r"1". Con"'".la firief.
'"c m w a genius arose among
the loplo of Mount Patrick and tho
outlying country, who declared that he
would make the bear the ; victim of his
nqulHltlveness i or be willing to forfeit
IIIH lJUIll. 1IIIH KUIIIUS WHS V1IIIU1U
Vnnstino. He took two double-barrelled
shot guns nnd loaded all four of
the barrels with buckshot. Going out
to the edge of earing swamp, some
where within which the bear was then
cogitating over his next exploit, Vau
stlne placed the two guns side by side
over a log. He cocked tho guns, nnd
tying strings to each trigger, arranged
them so that If tho strings were pulled
the guns would be discharged, and
they could only bo pulled by standing
Ho Snir a llcnr Standing Over Illm.
directly In front of the muzzles of the
guns.
Vnnstlne's genius wns triumphant.
Three days after ho had rigged up the
Infernal mnchiue to tempt tho Inquls
itlveness of tho bear and end his car
eer at tho same time, lie walked out
to take a look at it. It had been ex
ploded. The benr was stretched out
In front of it on tho ground. The cn-
t,ro t0P ' f tho h,c"a ,,,n1 l)0(m .H,owl)
nway. Tho iuqulslto bear of Mount
Patrick was as dead as a gate post.
FoolfiiK AVI til Nltro-niyccrtne,
Col. Parker was putting down a well
and had struck the sand along toward
evening of July !t. Thero was a good
showing of oil, nnd all that the well
wanted waB an effective shot of nitro
glycerine. The colonel had ordered a
supply, and had expected It at tho well
f ,at .day, but It did not arrive. The
next day was tho Fourth. Tho colo
nel's man went off to celebrate some
where, and, to his surprise, the team
ster came in with tho enn of nitro
glycerine. The colonel wns afraid of
the stuff, and when the man had put
tho can on tho derrick floor nnd gone
away, Parker made up his mind to get
away himself as soon as ho could.
In thoso days bears and wildcats
were very numerous In the forests of
that pnrt of Pennsylvania. Col. Park
er stepped Into the derrick to get his
coat, and had scarcely done so when a
noise on the outside attracted his at
tention. Looking out, he saw two big
bears coming out of the brush ,dlrectly
toward the derrick.
The colonel hnd been brough up not
to be afraid of bears, but tho day was
very hot. he says, and he wns tired,
nnd he didn't feel like exerting himself
In ense he should confront the bears
and they wero inclined to be ugly.
Bo he climbed the lnddcr In the der
rick, nud sat on a beam, twenty feet
or so above the floor to wait for the
bears to go off about their business.
It seemed, though, that they had
made up their minds that their busi
ness required them to make a careful
investigation and Inspection of the
premises, nnd they shambled right In
on the derrick floor. They nosed nbout
among the machinery, dangled the
I ropes, nnd clattered aboTit wherever
I they could push their way.
i They didn't seem to be in nny hurry
' at all, and Col. Parker waS" on the
J potnt of going down and ejecting
' them, in spite of tho heat and tho ex-
ptnn wl.nn 41m lirlnlit Hi. nnn nf
nltro-glycerlne caught the eyes of the
two benrs. and thov beenn to mish nnd
the bears kept right on having fun
with tho can.
Unit Htuir to l'luy AVItli.
By and by ono of them lifted It In
his paws and got up 011 his hind feet
holding the can oat arm's length, fully
six feet from the ground. All he had
to do wns to drop the can, and all the
colonel's meu would have found on
Mi ifT m
svto Li If n fAmrdg
their return would have been n bit? I
holo In tho l' roil ml. i
"As the bear stood there holding
that can of death," says tho colonel,
"his companion stood up on his hind
foot two or three yards away and
gazed at tho other In an expectant
sort of-way. 1 mado up my mlndithat
they were on tho point of diverting
themselves by having a little gamo of
'catch' with tliat can of nitro-glycor-Ine.
I shut my eyes nnd waited for
the awful climax that would surely
havo followed such pleasantry as that
It didn't como. I looked down again.
The bears had changed ttaolr minds
On
IjOokliiK Up Dlftcorered
DlK
J II tick Itcur.
about the game of catch, and wero
oncc.morc rolling the can about on the
derrick floor."
By and by, according to the colonel,
a now iicn seemed to strike tho Jolly
pair, a hundred yards or more from
ti,0 derrick there was a rocky ravine.
Ono of the bears rolled the can out of
tho derrick, and both of them began
to scramble with It on tho ground,
competing with one another In giving
It Impetus over the rough surface in
the direction of the ravine.
At every shove the can was liable
to bo sent Hying against some ono of
tho many big stones that wero strewn
thickly on the ground, but by somo
good fortune It missed them, and at
last the can had been Jostled nnd tum
bled almost to the edge of the ravine.
The colonel had regarded the dan
ger to him from the handling of tho
nltro-glycorlne by tho benrs as prac
tically over, and ho wns pulling him
self together to get down from his
perch nnd take to tho woods when he
saw one of the bears rear up on his
hind feet with the can in his paws.
Ho stood closo to a big rock. He
raised the can above his head, and
Col. Parker snys that he saw at onco
that the bear was bound to And out
what there was in that can, anyhow.
Tho colonel threw his arms and legs
nrouud the derrick beam and hung on
for dear life.
The bear hurled the can against the
rock. There was a sound as of twenty
claps of thunder rolled Into one. The
ground shook and the derrick swayed
and rattled. There was a shower of
rock and trees nnd earth for acres
around. When that ceased everything
was as still as tho tomb. Down where
tho bears had stood there was a yawn
ing gulf.
"I got down somehow from my
perch," says tho colonel, "and made
my way to tho sceno of the explosion.
Among all the debris It had scattered
about there wasn't any more trace of
boar than if those two bears had been
soap bubbles that had burst."
Tho explosion was heard for miles
n round, and it is the ono secret of
Col. Parker's life that when he told
peoplo wlint had caused the explosion
they laughed at him, nnd persist to
this day in calling It n profound mys
tery. WHAT VICTOHIA WOULD DO.
Una ISiiormouM 1'inrer. Though She
Never Harm Uae It.
As n matter of fact, says London
Tlt-Blts, our sovereigns have rarely
taken nny active part In politics since
George HI.'s time, but they could still
do somo very astonishing things If
thoy chose. Tho queen could dismiss
ovory Tommy Atkins In our array,
from the commander-in-chief to the
youngest drummer boy. She could dis
band tho navy In the same way, and
sell 11 our ships, stores and arsenals
to the first customer that came along.
Acting entirely ou her own responsi
bility, she could declare war against
any foreign country, or make a pres
ent to nny foreign power of any part
of the empire. She could make every
man, woman and child In the country
a peer of the realm, with the right, In
the case of males who are of age, to a
scat In tho house of lords. With a sin
gle word she could dismiss any gov
ernment that happened to be in powor.
and could, It Is believed, pardon and
liberate all the crimlunls in our Jails.
These are n few of the things the
queen could do if she liked; but It Is
not necessary to say that her majesty
nover acts In matters of state, except
on the advice of the government for
the time being.
A Peaceful Settlement,
A Quake' driving a single horse
chaise up n narrow lane happened to
meet a young man who also In a sin
gle horse chaise ,n ds, lMdshrdetoaoh
gl6 horso chaise. There was not room
enough for them to pass each other,
unless one of them would bnck his
carriage, which both refused. "I'll not
mako way for you," said the young
fellow, with an oath. "I think I am
older than thou art," said tho Quaker,
"and therefore have a right to expect
I thee to make way for me." "I wou't,"
I resumed the first. He then pulled out
a newspaper nnu uegau xo reaa, as ne
Sat Still ill lllS ClmlsC. 1116 QUEUCr,
' obsorvlng him, pulled a pipe artaoine
tobacco from his pocket, lighted his
pipe, and sat nnd puffed away very
comfortably. "Friend," said he, "when
thou hast read that paper I should bo
glad If thou wouldst lend It me." The
young man gave up the contest. Troy
I Times.
She Hud lleen Through It.
"Didn't you think that the soprano
Bon, 'The Mistakes of My Life nave
Been Many,' with a good deal of feel
ing this morning?"
"There Is no reason why she should
not; she's been married tliree times."
New York Truth.
i AFTER LONG YEARS!
In the first cabin they dined sumptu
ously and lived a hnppy, idle, luxuri
ous life. In the steerage heaven have
mercy I how they suffered.
MUliccut May shivered whn she
thought of it aud wondered why such
things should be why some were no
rich and some so poor.
But one girl, though she was a rich
ono, hnd little in her power In that
destitute waste of waters. Still, that
little Mtlllccnt did.
In vain her friends remonstrated.
MUliccut had her way. Once a day, at
least, Bho penctrnted into the inferno
below the comparative paradise of her
own domain aud fed thoso poor,
parched lips with her dainties.
And when, with land in sight, tho
Uttlo heiress emptied her purse into
tho dark hand of a pcnulleRS steerage
passenger and made her, for a mo
ment, rich and full of hopo, she turned
toward her eldest boy.
"Never forget to pray to the Madon
na for this beautiful slgnorla," she
cried. "Itemeraber, It Is all you can
do, and my curse upon you If you for
get It!"
She hnd given the woman her ad
dress, but the poor creature did not
como to her. What fate befel her Mll
llcent never knew, nnd In time the
memory of those classical faces, gaunt
nnd mengro from starvation, censed to
haunt her.
John Blair had met her nnd looked
into her eyes, and touched her hand,
had uttered those subtle compliments
that win a woman's heart so easily,
and though he was neither rich nor
great, he was the one man to her.
Six months from tho dny of their
meeting John nnd Milllceut were mar
ried, and a happier pair would have
been hard to find.
Only in one thing did Milllceut prove
herself obstinate nothing could tempt
her to an ocean voyage. A tour lu
Europe was John's anticipated pleas
ure, but her experience in crossing the
ocean had made her averse to its repe
tition. So John, who had no wish to go
alone, left the matter to the care of
time. At last a boy, almost as tall as
himself, called Milllceut mother, and
tho nursery wns musical with little
voices.
Then, older nnd more willing than
ever to do anything to make John hnp
py, Mllliccnt ngrocd to the European
trip, nnd the married lovers took their
places In a great ocenn palace and left
land behind them.
They found themselves In Nnples,
and rendy ,one bright morning to do
whnt all visitors to Naples most desire
to do namely, ascend Mount Vesu
vius.
MUllcent forgot her unplensant sens
ntion when, standing near tho crater,
her husband's arm alxmt her waist,
she turned nnd looked upon the beau
tiful country below.
John, glancing nt his watch, counted
tho time thnt lay between them nnd
their Inn, and they began their de
scent. The guide paused and uttered a cry.
Before them, risen, as It seemed, from
the very ground, stood a group of men,
who, without further parley, surround
ed them, nnd seizing the bridles of
their horses and tying the hands of
tho trembling guide behind him, led
them away over the rough mountain
ronds in silence.
John Blair was no coward, but to en
deavor to resist such a force would
have been sheer folly In a single man.
Booty, as he reflected, was probably
their object, and his wife's safety was
his first thought. Holding her hand In
his. he comforted her ns well as pos
sible, and flnnlly, with a sinking heart,
obeyed the orders of one who seemed
to be the captain, nnd dismounted nt
the entrance of nn old ruin, Into which
they were forced to enter.
Then the guide fell to wringing his
hands nnd weeping and Imploring tho
lndy and gentleman to pay whatever
ransom was required.
"It Is always a heavy one for Amer
icans," he cried, "nnd If you refuse,
your cars will bo cut off or you will be
murdered outright. As for me, I ex
pect death. Somo of these men nro
my enemies. I shot ono of the band
once."
The Inst rays of the setting sun
faded from tho narrow window, and
darkness fell upon the room. Then
they heard the sound of returning feet,
nnd presently the unfastening of a
door.,
A figure entered, nnd, going to the
fire, which had nearly smouldered out,
flung upon It some dry wood, which
kindled into a blaze, and by its flame
lit two torches which wero thrust Into
sconces In the wall.
By this light they saw that it was a
woman, who seemed to have brought
some food for them upon a sort of
wooden tray. Site was old, and gaunt
nnd bent, but her features had a
strange beauty about them, neverthe
less, and nwakened In Milliccnt's
mind a memory too vague and Indefi
nite for words.
In another moment the truth flashed
upon her, ns the womnn knelt down to
deposit the tray upon the floor. She
uttered a little cry, a shriller oue re
sponded to It, and the gaunt creature
lay prostrate before her, kissing her
garments.
"It Is the slgnoral" she cried. And
Milllceut knew the Italian womnn of
the steerage.
Then It Is thus thnt Giacomo returns
a benellt!" cried the woman. "My
malediction upon him! But he did not
know you ho did not remember, as I
do. Walt. You are safe!"
In another moment he wns there,
and Milllceut knew that they wero
safe. Bad as he must have been to
have been a bandit nnd nn outlaw,
this Italian had retained his gratitude.
He fed them with the best he had to
give, and led them safely from his
fastnesses to a spot where the lights
from the city of Nnples seemed to
smile a welcome to them.
Then he bndc them adieu, and the
guide, overwhelmed with astonish
ment, conducted them back to their
iun. New York News.
In mediaeval times the best perfumes
wero made In Trnnee nnd Italy, the per
fumers of thone countrleu nrqulrlnc n dex
terity unknown elsewhere nnd possest-lng
many secret methods of manufacture.
THR USEFUL HANAJCA.
In the Tropica the riant Kurnlahaa I w ot our uavu i.ov Vt.ij. nwn, nni
Pnper, Twine, Drc, Wax, somo . . i ' 0VrnS &na
nnd Snit. cultivates many thousands of acres In
In tho West Indies the dried Icavea Samoa, and keeps at least a thousand
and prepared portions of the stem are black people to work on its planta
used oi packing materials. Frcsk flons. Two schooners aro always busy
leaves aro used to shade young coffas
or cacao seedlings In nursery bed,
and to cover cacao beans during fer
mentation. The young unopened
leaves are so smooth and soft that
thoy are used as "dressing" for blis
ters. In India the dried stalk of tho
plantain leaf Is usod as a rough kind
of twine, and the larger parts are
made Into Binnll boxes for holding
snuff, drugs, etc.
In the Malay peninsula the ash of
the leaf and leaf stalk Is used Instead
of Boap or fuller's earth In washing
clothes, and a solution of the ash 1
often used as salt lu cooking. In the
Dutch Indies the skin of the plantnla
is used for blackening shoes. The
Juice which flows from all cut parts of
tho banana Is rich In tannin, and of eo
blackening a nature that it may be
used ns an indelible marking Ink. Iu
Java the leaves of the "wax banana"
arc covered on the under side with a
white powder, which yields an im
portant article of trade. The ohcs of
the leaves, stem and fruit rind aro em
ployed in Bengal lu many dyeing pro
cesses. In Slam a cigarette wrapper
is made from the leaves.
Fiber Is got from the stems of many
kinds of banann. The most valuable
Is the "manllla hemp" of commerce,
which holds the chief plncc for mak
ing white ropes and cordage. Old
ropes mado of It form an excellent
pnper making material, much used in
the United States for stout packing
papers. The miyiilln hemp Industry is
a largo ono. About fiO.OOO tons of fiber,
ported from the Philippine lalauds.
valued at 3,000.000. aro annually ex
The manllla hemp plant Is grown ex
clusively In the southeastern part of
the Philippines, aud all attempt) to
grow It elsewhere have failed. Many
articles are made from manllla hemp
mats, cords, hats, plaited work, lace
handkerchiefs of the finest texture nud
various qualities of paper. At Wohlau
In Switzerland nn industry has been
started for making lace and materials
for ladles' hats from it. By a simple
process It Is made Into straw exactly
resembling the finest wheat straw for
plaiting.
1'ITY POOR PATTI.
Some of the PrlvntlonH She la Forced
to UndciRO.
Pity the privations of the prima
donna! Here is a story of Mme. Pattl
which 1b recalled. Once, when she re
turned from her dally drive, she was
exceedingly thirsty, nnd naked M. NIc
ollnl to hnve procured for her a glass
of water.
NIcollnl was horrified. "What!" ho
shrieked. "Ma mlgnonne, you know
thnt you are going to sing to-morrow
night, and that water will chill your
blood! Oh! no; I forbid water."
"Then give me a taste of wine,"
pleaded thlrety Tattl.
"Wine!" roared NIcollnl; "Ma mlg
nonne, you are going to sing to-morrow
night, nnd you know that wine
will heat your blood. No, I ennnot per
mit wine."
"Please, cannot I havo something
wet?" pleaded Pattl, with parched lips.
NIcollnl pondered long and deeply, and
at length with his own hands prepared
for tho great singer a soothing draught
of magnesia.
"1 hear that the other night at the
opera," writes a correspondent, "many
people flung their bouquots to Pattl In
tho excitement of the applause or In
delight at her singing. This is Just as
It Bhould be, and as It used to be in
the old days when Pattl first delighted
the Covent Garden public.
"Since then we have gone In for
'floral tributes,' nnd tho whole thing Is
artificial and meaningless. The floral
tribute the great basket of flowers
handed up from the orchestra Is an
Italian Institution.
"The conductor has It ready, and
when public enthusiasm reaches fever
heat It makes its appearance to in
ereaso It. But there must be the en
thusiasm. "The Italians are demonstrative;
they show their approval, and they
show their disapproval, too. If a
moral tribute' were handed up lu the
cold-blooded way we see so often here,
unauthorized and undeserved, tncre
would be quite a storm of hisses."
New York Journnl.
IP Tlin DKAIJ 1ICCOMK ALIVE.
A French Scheme to Prevent the
Poaalulllty of Prcninture Ilurlal.
The unpleasantness of waking up
nnd finding one's self lapped In lead
and screwed down In hnndRome oak
some six feet below the habitable
earth has been borne In so strongly
upon certain company promoters that
the result has been the projection of
tho very latest thing In co-operntlve
undertaking. Tills is the Mortuary
Waiting Room company, which is on
the point of being floated In the
French capital, with every prospect
of success. The amount for suuscrip-
tlon Is stated to be !?100,000, and dlvi
dends at the rate of at least 100 per
cent may, It Is claimed, be confidently
looked for.
The company undertakes to provide
separato waiting rooms of two classes
In a large mortuary building. The nl
leged corpse will bo comfortably de
posited there upon a couch, and care
fully looked after till the fact that it
Is n corpse shnll hnve been established
boyond question. The waiting roonis
will be tasteruuy uecomtea, wnn
everything about them to welcome the
revived tennnt agreeably back to life,
but at the same time win nave a
cachet of somewhat "severe elegance,"
as It were, to remind him how nearly,
but for the company, he had been
dead In tho most terrible ways of
dying. Shareholders will be entitled
to tho use of a flrst-class waiting
rnnm free of charge, and no share-
stf-ii-s-sJ-A 2BA?22
him. Tho thing nns eviuenuy neen
thoroughly thought out. Philadelphia
Becord.
At the time of the Schleswlc-Holsteln dlf
A,,i,v l'rlnfo Itlamarck raised a lauch br
saying there was only one man who fully
understood that question, and be was dead.
SlitPH of Snmoit.
The German eomnanv from which.
iu unuKiuK ircsii uaicncs to samoa.
and In taking homo to their own Isl
ands tho men who have worked out
their three years' term of labor. This
trafllc in human beings Is called tho
"labor trade," and Is the life's blood,
not only of tho great German compa
ny, but of all tho planters In FIJI,
Queensland, New Caledonia, German
New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and"
the new Hebrides. Tho difference be
tween the labor trado, as It Is now car
ried on under government supervision,
and tho slave trade, Is a great one, but
not enough to please sensitive people.
In Samoa tho missionaries are not al
lowed by the company to teach those
poor savages rollglon, or to do any
thing to civilize them and raise them
from their monkey-like Ignorance. But
In other rcsjiects the company is not a
bad master, and treats Kb people pret
ty well. The system, howover, Is one
that cannot be defended, and must,
sooner or Inter, be suppressed. Lloyd
Osbournc's Notes to Stevenson's
"Letters to Young Friends," lu St.
Nicholas.
MHIe TliltiKH.
It Is not worth while for young peo
ple to grow Impatient with the little
beginnings of things. A page of prob
lems carefully worked out, a room
thoroughly swept, n neatly arranged
wood pile; how far these things seem
from the gonl of our umbltlousl And
yet the little things well done are tho
foundation of success. A humble Il
lustration of this truth comes from a
Southern state.
A certain old bishop, who was fond
of finding odd characters In out-of-the-way
places, was visiting In a quiet
neighborhood. One day, in a walk
with a friend, lie came across a cross
roads settlement of a few houses.
Among them was a snug little shoe
shop, kept by an old negro man, which
showed signs of prosperity.
Interested in tho old cobbler, the
blshop stopped for a chat.
"My friend." he said, "I would not
think so smnll a business as mending
shoes would pay so well."
"Ah," said the gentleman nvlth him,
"old Cato has the monopoly of shoo
mending In this region. No one else
gets a Job."
"How is that, Cato?" asked the bish
op. "Just so, marster," replied Cato. "It
1b only little patches put on with little
stitches or tiny pegs. But when I
take a stitch It is a stitch, and when I
drive a peg It holds."
Notca on Lions.
The tongue of n lion Is so rough that
a close look at It will almost take the
skln off the looker. It is not safe to
allow a lion to lick yor hand, for, if ho
licked the eklu off and got a taste or
tho underlying blood, supposing it to
be there, he would want the hand and
everything adjoining thereto. Noth
ing more perfect in modern machinery
exists than the mechanism by which a
Hon works his claws. He has five toes
on each of his foie feet and four on,
each of his hind feet. Each too has a
claw.
Nothing nbout a Hon Is without rea
son, nnd the renson he has more toes
and claws on his fore feet than his
hind feet Is that he has more use for
them. If this were not so tho major
ity would be the other way. The lion
is nocturnal by choice. He has no par
ticular objection to daylight, but Hkea
to spend it In the bosom of his family,
or nt least adjacent thereto. It should
not be supposed thnt because he roams
nbout nt night he neglects Iris family.
He roams In order to fill the family
larder. He kills to oat ,not for
amusement. Ho never bothers small
game so long as there Is big gamo
within reach. When feeling fit he can
take an ox iu his mouth and jump
fences nnd ditches like a professional
steeplechaser. Westminster Budget.
AVhnt One Hoy Knowa.
The teacher of the Sunday school
class was telling the little boys nbout
temptation, nnd showing how It sorao
tlmes came lu the most attractive at-
j tire
She used as an Illustration the
paw of a cat.
"Now," Fad she, "you have aU seen
the paw of a cat. It's as soft as veU
vet. isn't It?"
"Ves'm," from the class.
"And you havo seen the paw of &
dog?"
"Yes'm."
"Well, although the cat's paw seeme
like velvet, there Is, nevertheless,
something concealed In it that hurts.
What Is it?"
No answer.
"The dog bites," said tho teacher,
"when he Is In anger; but whnt does
the cat do?"
"Scratches." tcplied a boy.
"Correct," said the teacher, noddlny
her head annrovlngly. "Now, what
has the cat got that the dog hasn't?"
I "Whiskers!" said a boy on the back
seat. And the
the titter that ran around
tho class brought the lesson to an end.
Boston Courier.
A Pretty Rxperlmcnt.
With so simple nn article as a red
cabbage, a very old but pretty llttlo
chemical experiment may be made by
tho young people, with the result of
amusing nnd astonishing thoso around
tlieu,t Tlie cn-ects may be strikingly
Bhown In this manner: Cut thrco
ioavca 0f the cabbage into small pieces.
aim, aiier placing mem in a oasin,
pour a plut of boiling water ovor
them, letting them stand an hour; then
pour off the liquid Into a decanter. It
will bo of lino blue color. Then take
four wine glasses. Into one put six
drops of strong vinegar; into nnothor
six drops or solution or soda; into a
third the same quantity of a strong
;k.K.: s
glass remain empty. Fill up the glass
es from the decanter, nnd tho liquid
poured Into the glaps containing the
acid will quickly change to a beautiful
red; that poured witn tue soda will bo
a fine green, and that poured Into the
emj)ty glass will remain unchanged.
t
V
i
T
i