Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1894)
TRIED THRICE. i Some children stood In a group beta* the door of tho village schonlhoiise. “Tho new schoolmaster, Meinhcrr Freid lich, comes tomorrow,” suid Otto. “I am so glad! I was weary of that old master, Hoffman, with his crooked prob lems and hard lessons.” The following clay the hoys were stand ing around tho school house, when the door •pencil, and f.I:> ter Kreldrlcb himself ap peared and cried in a cheery, hearty voice: “Welcome, my children!” “Welcome, master!” they cried. And now they entered and took their seats, and school began. The thumb worn books were brought out, the lazy hoys be gan to sigh and frown and wish impatient ly for the recess and wonder why Lutiu dictionaries were ever invented, when, as if by magic, they found themselves listen- j Ing to the pleasant voice of Master Kreid rich anil actually understanding their les sons, so clear and simple were hisexplana tiona, and the time for recess came, to their great astonishment., long before they had tapected. When tho studies were over, the master drew from his desk a box, and while the fhildren gathered around he opened it and drew out charming little white and pink ■eashellsand many other beautiful things, which he gave to the children with loving words. But the most loving thing of all was a little porc elain statuette of an angel. She stood with her small white hands folded over her breast and bor eyes uplifted, and the children gazed enchanted. “Oh, the beautiful angel!” cried they all. “Wilt thou not give it tome, Master Freidriclt?” “Tlie little angel is too lovely to he giv en to any little boy who is not good and trim of heart. Wo shall see who will de serve her. He who brings me tomorrow the brightest tiling ou earth shall have the sngcl. ” Tbe next day after the lessons were fin ished tho children clustered around the master to show him what tiny be-i brought. All these things were placed on the schoolmaster’s desk, side by side. 1" shill ing shone away famously, the [.ob’.h and the watch crystal did their lir-f, hut KUne’s buckle was the bravest of all. “All, mine’s the brightest!” shouted Kline, clapping bis bands. “But where is little Carl?” said Mas! r Freidrteh. “He ran out just now.” All eyes were turned to the door, warn presently in rushed Curl, breathless, la his hands, held up lovingly against his neck, was a poor little snow white dove, Some crimson drops upon the downy breast showed that it was wounded. “Oh, master,” cried Carl, “I was look ing for something bright, when I came upon this poor little white dove. Some boys were tormenting it, and I caught it qnickly and n>n here.” Even as he npoke the dove’s soft eyes were filniy.it nestled closer in Carl’sDeck, then gave a faint cry, dropped its little head and died. Carl sank on his knees beside the mas ter’s desk, and from his eyes there fell upon the white dove’s poor broken wing two tears, large aud bright. The master took the dead dove from bis bands and laid it tenderly down on th3 desk with the bright things; then raising Carl he softly said, “My children, there is no brighter thing on earth than a pitying tear.” The boys were silent for a moment, for they felt that the master had decided that Carl had rightly won the angel. Then Kline cried out: “My master, thou didst not fairly explain to us. I pray thee give ns another trial.” “What sayest thou, Carl?” said Master Freidrich. “Yes, give its another trial,” answered the generous boy. The good rnnster smiled thoughtfully, and his eyes rested for a moment lovingly upon Carl. Then glancing round he said, “He who brings mo tho loveliest thing on earth tomorrow shall have the angel.” The children clapped their bands and departed satisfied. After school the next day Klino was the first to run np to Ma - ter Freidrich and lay upon his desk what he considered tho loveliest thing in the whole world—his new soldier cap with the long scarlet feather and bright golden taasel. Max came next and placed beside the cap a small silver watch, his last birthday gift. Otto brought n great pictnro book, just sent to him by his godmother; Ru dolph a tiny marble vase, richly sculp tured, and so on, until a still more motley collection than before lay upon Master Freidrich’s desk. Then poor little Carl stepped modestly up and placed in the master’s hand a pure white lily. The master softly said: “My children, the word of God says: ‘Behold the lilies of the valley. They toil not, neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’ Carl has right ly chosen.” But murmurs arose. The children were not satisfied, and again they asked for an other trial. “Now, this is the last time,” said the master. “He who brings me the best thing on earth shall have the angel.” “The very best thing on earth is plum cake,” cried Kline on the third day as he walked up to the desk, bearing a large cake richly frosted. “Nay, thou art wrong this time, Kline,” said Max. “I asked my father what was the very best thing on onrtb, and he laughed and gave me this golden guilder. The prize is mine!” “Ah, but my father said that the very best was a good glass of Rhenish wine,” cried Otto, “and I have bronght a bottle of It 30 years old. The prize is mine!” So they went on till they had placed their offerings before their master. “And thou, Carl?” said he. “What hast tbou brought which thou thinkest the beet on earth?” A crimson flush rose to the boy’s fore head, and coming softly forward he took from his breast a small, worn book and then laid it down with the rest as he said tn a low, sweet voice, “My mother, dear master, says that God’s book is far be yond all other earthly possessions.” “ ’Tis thine, my Carl,” cried the master —“the white angel Is thine!”—Exchange. Worded Wrong. .Owner of Fishpond (to man who is tres tjwRsing)—Don’t yon see that sign, “No fishing here?” Angler (with an injured air)—Yes, and I dispute it. Why, there’s good fishing here. Look at this basketful I The man must have been insane who pnt that board np.—Exchange. A Great Scheme. Arthur—Say, Sammy, what are you buying a bouquet for? “Why, I’*e going to take it to Miss Trim, and I shall tell her a young gentle man sent It. She’ll give me enough to pay lor the bouquet three times over. ”—Frank furter Zeitung. THOSE FEELINGS OF HIS. Ik Was Heartless, lint lie Had to Iteallse »n Them. While a Michigan avenue grocer waa standing in his door the other day, a for lorn looking old chap turned in on b ui from a side street, with a plaintive ex res aion working awuy on his cbm. The m:n nte the grocer got Right of him he caked out: “Now you goon, or I’ll have you run in!’’ “W hut am I doinf” plaintively inquired the old man. "I know your game, and you can’t play tt on me) Just move right along, or I’il have you arrested!” “1 huiu’t got no game to play on you or anybody else. If i feel sad and heartbroken. I can’t help it, can I? What’s them tur nips wuth? I never see turnips without thinkin bow my wife got choked lodeut )i on one. Poor critter! She was cut right down in the prime of life. That was the begin nin of my runuin down hill. She hadn't bin dead two weeks” “Are you going to move on?” demanded the grocer. “Purty soon, my friend—purty soon,’’ re plied the old tnau as he leaned up again : n poet and wiped his eyes. “She was a good wife, and the recollection of her death .- .■! dens me. What’s taters sellin at today. The grocer was looking around fo. :m officer aud didn’t reply. “I never see taters without thinkin of my son Bill. Bill was an awful good boy— too good for this world. I sent him to town with 10 bags of taters, aud in liftin inoi.i out of the wagon he busted a blood ves.-i-i aud was brought home a corpse. I kin never think of it without weepin.” He leaned heavily on the post and wept, while the grocer walked down to thecorncr to extend his search. “I see you’ve got red onions,” continm-d the old man as the grocer returned. “They are alleys a sail, sad sight to me. I sold n. farm alter Bill’s death aud was goin down to Florida to raise red onions fur this mar ket when 1 wins t.lirowed out of a wag: \ and broke my leg. and somebody stole every dollar I bad. Beil onions is only red onions to other lulks, but to me they call up some awful recoliecuuns. I wish” “See here, old man,” interrupted the gro cer, “will you take 10 cents and go on?” “1 don’t want no 10 cents, but yet if you object to my givin away to uiyfeeliu’s” “I do object. If I could find an officer, I’d have you ruu in, but as I can’t I’ll buy you off Ibis once. Take this money and go.” “It seems heartless to sell my feelin’s this way, but 1 don’t want to make you any trouble. I see you have some cabbages there I never see cabbages without thinkin how” But the grocer turned him around, head ed him across the street, aud after two kicks he got away and was soon lost to sight.—Detroit Free Press. Literary Item. Financier—You literary men haven’t the first idea about business. Here you have about 10,1) 0 manuscripts piled up in dark closet, and you say they are all paid for. Editor of Great Magazine—Years ago. “Just think of itl Hasn’t it ever occur red to you, sir, that you are losing the in terest on all the money you paid ont for these useless bundle ?” “Hah! You financiers haven’t the first idea about literature. Everyone of those manuscripts is from a different author, and the whole 10,000 of them will go on buying our magazine at 85 cents a copy until the articles are printed.”—Texas Siftings. Heartless Relatives. M:stress—Did you learn how Mrs. Upton was? Servant—Please, mum, I pulled at the doorbell half an hour and couldn’t make anybody hear. I think the bell had been muffled. Mistress—The idea! How is the poor in valid to know that her friends are anxious about her if her heartless relatives have muffled the doorbell?—New York Weekly. He Knew the Game. Deacon Heavyweight—And so you are going to leave us, parson? Rev. Mr. Thanktul—Yes. I have had a call to another parish, where, by the way, the salary is considerably larger. I am sorry to leave my flock, but I must obey the call. Deacon Heavyweight (dryly)—Waal, it may be what you call a call, but it seems to me a good deal more like a raise.—Life. An Irreverent Imputation. “Did you notice how long Dr. Steenthly’s sermon was last Sunday?” “Yes. 1 think 1 know why he made it so.’' “Indeed?” "Yes. The offerings in the contribution box were very small, and he may have taken that method of reminding them that they were getting a good deal more than they paid for.”—Washington Star. Musical Item. At a social gathering in Harlem Gns de Smith sat at the piano and drummed care lessly on the keys. Hostetter McGinnis came to him and whispered: “Why do you sit at the piano? Yon don’t know how to play.” “I know it, but as long as I sit here the others can’t play either.”—Texas Siftings. A Frugal Man. Miss Muggles—I don’t like Dr. Penny save a bit. Miss Mugge9—Why not? Miss Muggles—You know he was called in when I was sick, and then he began to call regularly. After I refused him be itemized each of those calls in his bill as professional visits.—Chicago Record. A Better Land. Tramp (reprovingly)—Ah, lady! In the part of the country I just come from the women didn’t ask us to saw a cord of wood for our dinner. Lady of the House—Didn’t, heh? Where did you come from? Tramp—The natural gas regions.—Puck. Thoroughly Respectable. Husband—The idea of buying a hat trim med with chicken feathers! Wife—These look like chicken feathers, I’ll admit, but they are not. "How do yon know?” “By the price.”—New York Weekly. A Respite. "Has your daughter stopped her music lessons?” Mother—Yes, on account of sickness. “When will she be able to go on?” “As soon as the neighbors are well enough to endnre H.”—Chicago Inter Ocean. Appropriate. “That Lord Bronson who married Jenny Simpson Was an awful boor. He was mar ried actually in a business snit.” “Well, why not? The wedding was a aure matter of business so far as he was concerned.”—Harper’s Barair. TOE BONNET. “Oh, It’s Just the sweetest bonnet I ever ; saw! I do,wish I could buy it!” “And why couldn’t you, Parthy? Heav en knows you earn it, working yourself to death year in and year out for Bob Rig gers and his children.” “Gracious, Gerildy! Put $12 in a bori i net? Why, I’d feel as if X was stealing I from my own family! And people w< say I was putting ou airs—trying to ic.i-1 like a girl!” “Well, is there any harm in try • !• look young? As to not being able t • . the bonnet, Parthy, you ought to • i ..; do when 1 want a thing.” “How’s thut, Gerildy?” “Why, I just look Hector .Jon. •< i '• eyes and tell him it’s got to come.. that settles it. He knows I won't i. no any foolishness from him.” “But suppose he can’t afford it?” “Afford it, fiddlesticks! Men can id’ . a great many things when they lino tin • have to.” “No, Gerildy, you can’t persuade r..c :> be extravagant. I am trying to help it y husband, for he works hard, and 1 f: cl that we ought, to do something for tl.e poor and needy this winter.” “Goodness gracious, Parthy Riggers! 1 never saw such a woman. You’ll be sail ing off to heaven the first thing you know —yon ’re getting so good 1 But suppose w e fo and look at the bonnet tomorrow. 'hat’ll not cost your husband or the poor anything, will it?” Parthy consented, though she had no idea of buying the bonnet and was sorry she had mentioned the subject to Mrs. Jones, for that lady would be sure to de nounce the prudence and economy of her neighbor as penuriousness. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Riggers entered the little milliner’s together to see the bonnet with pink roses. To oblige Mrs. Jones Parthy Riggers put it on her head. Mrs. Jones at onee exclaimed: “Don’t buy it, i Parthy! It doesn’t become you at all. ” j Mrs. Parthy was much relieved. “I-et me try it on,” said Mrs. Jones ns she proceeded to find fault with the bon net, saying she was much disappointed in it. She stood before the mirror, however, and eyed herself admiringly on every side. ! “I might be induced to take it,” she said to the milliuer, “if you’ll come down in the price. I don’t need it, but the pink roses are becoming to me.” “But you’ve bought your winter bon net, haven’t you, Gerildy?” said Mrs. Rig gers, with surprise. “Yes, but I look so well in this,” she said in a low tone, “I don’t think I ought to lose the chance. ” The milliner fell in her price from $12 to $10. Mrs. Jones walked away with the bonnet, and it was charged on an account already overd <e. On their way home the two ladies stopped in a store where Mrs. Riggers wished to make a small necessa- I ry purchase. Here Mrs. Jones spied a del icately embroidered pink scarf, which was a perfect match to the roses on her new bonnet. “Wouldn’t they go sweet togeth er?” she said. “Just the thing for the noonday wedding I’m going to next week. ” “But don’t you think it’s a good deal to pay for a scarf, Gerildy?” said Partby. Mrs. Jones looked down at her little neighbor with a smile of contempt, order ed the scarf charged to Mr. Jones and walked out. Passing another store, she remembered that the gloves bought for her first bonnet would not go with the new one, so a pair of gloves was added to the morning pur chases. The next day Mrs. Jones displayed her investments to a neighbor as dressy and silly as herself. As Mrs. Jones stood with the pink roses on her head and the pink scarf wound about her neck, exclaiming, “Ain’t they lovely 1” Mrs. Lighthead rais ed her eyes and hands in holy horror. “Goodness gracious, Gerildy Jones, are you going to wear them lovely things with your old green silk? Why don’t you get.a green satin waist for the old skirt? Then you will make people stare and lay every body in the shade, sure enough!” That was sufficient. The satin waist was bought. Trimmed and finished it cost $16; bonnet, $10; scarf, $7; gloves, $2—$35— quite a little sum out of $1,500 a year, and poor Jones already tearing his hair and tossing restlessly at night on account of money troubles and fear of losing his position. But he never told his troubles at home. He found no sympathy there. The only check he ever gave Mrs. Jones was to ex claim now and then, “ForGod’s sake, Ger ildy, have some pity on a manl” “If you can’t support me, Mr. Jones, what did you marry me for? Don’t for get how you pleaded with me and what you promised I” Mr. Jones could only subside into si lence, unable, as men always are, to argue with extravagance and selfishness. The crash came the evening after the noonday wedding, where the lady in pink and green cut her last splurge. Mr. Jones had lost his place, was heels over head in debt, had been notified by his landlord to vacate his hcuse immediately, the shopkeepers were after him, and he was in despair. There was no loving heart to whom he could pour out his trials, not a tender hand to stroke his forehead and bid him be cheerful, promising to help him over the dark places. The poor fellow left town and fell back on his old father, who had a little farm in an adjoining county. The old man took the son in, but affirmed stoutly: “Gerildy mustn’t put on airs here, my boy! You know we are honest workin folks. Every body on my place has to work. If they don’t, neither shall they eat.” Ger'ldy is now gracefully performing over the churn and cook stove. The only pink roses shewears are in her cheeks, and the only triumph shewin3is the healthful sleep which honest toil awards her. The only reproach she ever heaps is on her own past life and its sad mistakes. Mr. Riggers, too, encountered adversity. His salary was cut down, but when he announced it in his home he met an ear nest, loyal little face, which said to him: ' • Now, come, old fellow, don’t give up and go to looking blue about this bouse! We’ll get on all right, and I’ve got a little sav ings bank up stairs that’ll turn out more help for this trouble than you will believe till you see it opened.” “Isn’t marriage a lottery?” Bob Riggers said to his frieud. “Some men draw prizes and some draw blanks. Thank God, I’m one of the lucky ones.”—Sterling Kane in Cincinnati Post. China’s Great Bridge. One of the sights of China is the antique bridge of Sueu-tchen-fow, 2,500 feet long and 20 feet wide. It has on each side 52 piers, npon which huge stones are laid, somepf them 20 feet long. Many thousand tons df'stones were used in the erection of ' bis wonderful bridge, which is regarded by engineers as indicating constructive talent as wonderful as that which raised • he Egyptian pyramids. CREOSOTE AND CONSUMPTION. rite Drug Would Heriu to Be Aide to Mas ter the UlHeike, Consumption is now combated by many specialists using creosote. The benefit derived from the proper employ ment of this drug is hardly questiona ble. Dr. Warner, consulting physician to tho French nospital, New York city, writes to Tho Medical Journal: ** Dur ing a somewhat extensive employment of this remedy in phthisis for tho past four years, both in hospital and in pri vate practice, I have watched with great encouragement the steady gain in j the results obtained, but it has been only during the latter half of the time that the positive value of creosote as an ggent tor combating most powerfully the effects of this disease has been made apparent. Formerly my custom was to administer the drug in small doses, ex ceptionally giving more than six or eight minims daily. Dnnng the last copple of years, however, the doses have been largely increased with correspondingly better resnlts. ” Some specialists ex plain the favorable action of creosote in lessening the bronchial secretion and improving the appetite. Other observ ers, however, believe in a distinctively curative value of the remedy. Dr. Warner writes:1 ‘ The general con dition of the patient, as a rule, rapidly improves. In some cases the appetite is better, the eongh at first becomes less during tho daytime, while remaining quite as before during the night. After a time, however, it also lessens at night. If the sputum has been tinged with blood, this condition disappears, con trary to what might be expected, as cre osote is said to congest tho bronchial inucons membrane, and while at first the sputum is not much lessened, if at all, its character is changed—from be ing thick and yellow—muco-purulent, in fact—it becomes thinner, fiothy and contains less solid matter. In no case where previously attacks of hemoptysis—spitting of blood—had occurred have they taken place after the creosoto treatment has been estab lished. The night sweats grow less and in many cases entirely disappear, and after awhile there is a total absence of the daily fever. The weight of the pa tient always increases at first, then it is apt to remain stationary, and in excep tional cases may lessen, and then a grad ual increase takes place. The first in crease in weight is no doubt due to the impiovement in appetite and the great er ability of the patient to properly as similate the food consumed.” Large amounts of creosote may be re tained without discomfort, one of Dr. Warner’s patients reaching a daily amount of 215 minims. A valuable aid to the internal administration of creo sote is found by the coincident use of antiseptic inhalations of creosote. “My custom is to use creosote combined ei ther with terebene or ether in a 50 per cent solution, 10 or 15 minims dropped on the sponge of a Robinson’s inhaler, and employed every second or third hour, and in some instances where marked benefit has been derived from the employment of this measure the respirator has been worn almost con stantly,” is the testimony of the doctor. 1 He tried also the effect, in a large ward of a hospital, of allowing an an tiseptic mixture to simmer gently over t a low fire during the night. This mix ture generally consisted of oil of euca lyptus, carbolic acid and turpentine, j A dram each of the first two and two drams of the last were put in about a quart of water in a shallow dish and heat applied. The effect was to fill the ward with a pungent, aromatic vapor, which has a markedly restful action, coughing being not nearly so general or , frequent.—New York Ledger. Reducing Vibration In Railway Cars. A new invention embodies a princi ple which will commend itself to all i railway travelers. It is sought to les- 1 sen the discomfort and annoyance of travel on many lines on which there is excessive vibration by the construction of a pneumaitc car “which embraces the application of an elastic fluid as an absorbent for vibration and oscilla tion.” An air cushion is arranged on the cellular principle between the car body and the truck frame, and as there is an equal distribution of air under varying pressures all oscillation is pre vented. This elastic medium is said to I completely absorb all vibration result ing from rough tracks, jointing of rails, excessive speed or any other cause, and the car is carried smoothly and steadily along. This pneumatic system can be equally well applied to street cars, and instances are not hard to find in which it t unquestionably should be.—Exchange. I An EaRtern Dainty. The Chinese are certainly a strange people—strange in appearance, customs and tastes. One of their greatest deli- ; cades of food, regarded from a Chinese epicure's point of view, is "milhi,” j which, in plain English, means "new born mice, yet blind. ” These are placed alive on little trays and set before each gnest, who dips them one at a time into a jar of honey and then swallows the tiny creatures. When the emperor’s wed ding was celebrated a few years ago, j 50.000 of the helpless creatures were thus consumed.—New York Herald. Novel Way of Selling a Corn Carer. A gentleman who has been traveling in France relates that in Paris the bar ber who was shaving him stepped two or three times upon the side of his foot. At last the customer called out: “Please don’t do that any more! 1 have a corn.” “Exactly what I was trying to find out, monsieur,” said the barber bland ly. * ‘ We have an excellent preparation for removing corns, for sale at a franc per bottle.”—Texas Siftings. A Childish Miracle. Father—My boy, who is only three years old, said to me this morning— ;tells the same old story). Friend—Yes, and isn't it strange that * child only 3 years old can repeat jokes ihat are at least 25 years old?—Hallo. ! A SHARK STORY. H ive T ever Keen a shark f As'; my mate, him that’s rowing that ’ere couplei : \ un der. We were shipmates together ou board the Rajupootah InUiamau. Mia futhcr, who in dead ami gone this 20 year or more, was carpenter aboard of her. “Chips,” we used to call him, and if you don’t mind listening to an old s ilt who’s been round the world cnmi; ■ (i to make a lamb mail giddy at the v -j thought of it I’ll just tell you of a li i adventure we had with one of them man eating monsters. Well, one day we were becalmed on l ie line, when says young Bill—he was young —says he, “I shall have a swim round for a cooler,” for, believe me, the suit was that hot we hadtothrow buckets of water ou the deck to keep it from catching (ire. In fact, a pig we killed the day afore we hnng aloft and roasted him in the sun, catching the gravy in a bucket, ami lie , was done beautifully. So in he goes, head first, with his clot hes on, and me and his old man looked over the side, just Hbuft the forerigging, to sec j him come to the top of the water again. | Pnt no Bill could we see, and instead of him came up a tremendous shark with ( his side sticking out ns if he had a cargo inside over und above his regular hill o’ i lading. It was then as clear to os as the nose on , onr faces tliut poor Bill had dived clean down its throat. The poor old man had a fit right uway, i and we carried him below und put biru ill liis hammock and then rau up ou deck again in the hope that wo should bo aide to catch the fellow. Put it was now here to be seen, so aft/ r watching sometime to no purpose we went down below to see how the old man was getting on, and to our astonishment and sorrow we found his body nearly cold and as stiff as the flying jibboom. We sewed him up in bis hammock, put ting the grindstone that he used to grind his tools with inside to make it sink and Ill'll the body nn a hatch, with the union jack spread over it for a pall. Then the skipper read the funeral serv ice, all cf us standing round, dreadfully cut up, me especially, for young Bill was my messmate, and I was very fond of the old man. As soon us the skipper bad finished the last words, which I shall never forget— they was so solemn—the hatch was tipped np, and overboard the body went with a splash, and all was over—at least we thought so. Hut almost immediately afterward up comes another shark—a lugger one, it : seemed, than the first—certainly it was thicker. The boatswain at once ran for the shark hook and baited it with a junk of .pork and slung it over the stern, and it was not many minutes afore we had him hooked j and hauled on deck. Well, the first thing we did was to cut I his tail off', for he was flapping it about so , that it shook the ship from stem to stern, and we were afraid it would shake her to pieces. After we bad done that we thought vve heard a very strange noise inside of him— a sort o’ grating sound, like a boat being dragged over a shingly beach. So we set to ami cut off his head and then ripped him up, when, what d’ye think, what should wo see, to our great astonishment and delight, hut Hill ;;ud his father sitting upright like two Jonahs, tho youngster turning the grindstone and the old man sharpening his knife, intend ing to cut their way out of the creature’s belly. You say I paid the old man was dead. ] Please don’t interrupt me, and I’ll tell you all about it. There’s no doubt but what ha seemed dead, hut it was only his blood from with horror, and the shark warmed him to life again. What made him most uncomfortable, Bill said, was t he slipperiness and topsy turyness of the place, for there was no rest at all, for one minute he was stand ing on his head and the next on his feet and then topped from one sideto theother, sometimes getting jammed between its I ribs, and he wondered the meal didn’t dis- ' agree with the fish itself. .} But at last came the climax, and Bill ! thought it was all over with him, for down j its throat was shot a heavy body like a sack o’ coals right atop of him, nearly , smothering him, so that he had scarcely room to move or breathe, and he must have been some time insensible, he said, when I he was woke up by a loud report. He thought, for a moment the creature I had swallowed a powder barrel, and it bad exploded, but it was only the bursting of the canvas shroud the old man was sewed up in, which had blown up like a paper hag. The noise in its inside, Bill said, must have astonished the shark, for he again found himself standing upon his head, so he knew it was making for the surface, and on reaching there it opened its enor mous jaws for air, when a flood of light entered between the rows of teeth, which enabled Bill, on gaining his feet, to take stock of his lodgings, and the very first thing that he saw was his old father crawl ing out from under the canvas like a chick from its shell. The old man had caught sight r.f the grindstone and soon put it into working order, and on the fish once more coming to the top and again admitting light Bill at once saw what was in the wind, and they commenced business at once, when they were startled by a Eudden change in the shark’s movements, and soon they dis tinctly heard the sound of human voices, and they knew they were saved. Well, we all was so thankful at their miraculous escape from the j:iws of death that every mother’s son of us on board took our solemn affidavits that we’d never tell a lie or anything of that kind again, and me and my mate have kept our words ever since.—Exchange. A Small Matter. A Detroit roan, noted for his very non ous and earnest manner, wentcut not long ago with his wife to find apartments. Aft er a time they found a pleasaDt place and had agreed to take it. “By the way,” said the landlady, “I forgot to ask if you had any children?” “We have a boy,” responded the mother. “Indeed? I’m very sorry,” protested the landlady, “but I cannot permit any chil dren to come into my house.” “Oh, that will lie all right,” said the gentleman encouragingly, but with great seriousness. “We can fix that with very little trouble indeed. We will just kill the boy.” And they went on to other places which, like heaven, suffer little children to come unto them and forbid them Dot. — Detroit Free Press. All t'p With Him. “Yon bad a high old time in Kurope?” j “Yes,” replied the returned tourist, “I had. I was done up at Monte Carlo, held j up in the Apennines and laid up in Rome.” I —Washington Star. I'atc of a folltlral Bohn. The tri.il anil sentencing to six years in Sing Sing penitentiary of John Y. Mc K.mo shows that it is still possible in this republic to punish men who try to corrupt the ballot and defeat honest elections. This one trial and sentence will make it easier to have pure elections in ull the rest of tlio country—easier to arrest and convict other ballot corrupt ers. The will of the honest people of this country over comes uppermost at last. It was Lincoln who said that you cannot fool all the people all the time. McICane was the political boss of Gravesend, a suburban township of Brooklyn that includes Coney Island, the seaside resort. Ho was known as the boss of Coney Island. At the election last fall 0,000 votes were cast in it popu lation of 8,000. This illustrates the meth ods of the boss. He was influential and very rich. Besides being a political boss, he was a Sunday school superintendent. He let nothing go by. The election inspectors of both parties were under bis thumb. lie bought, ca joled and threatened. Early on election day it was seen by some of hm political opponents that the election inspectors their party had placed at the jiolls were not doing their duty. Tickets were said to be written out boldly and thrust into the ballot box with no voter attached. The opposing party appointed other in spectors who could bo trusted. The boss would not let them see the registry lists in the six Gravesend voting dis tricts. Then they got out an injunction from a Brooklyn judge restraining him from meddling with the inspectors. lie brushed it aside as ho would a fly. “In junctions don’t go hero,” be saitl. But the man who had frequently boast ed, “1 fear no living thing,” bad gone one step too far at last. The wrongdoer always does go just a little too far at last. The boss' own party repudiated bis methods. He was arrested. Six indictments were found against him. One of these w as for contempt of court in refusing to obey the judge’s injunction. Another was for the still graver offense of con spiracy to defeat the election laws. In one of the precincts that had in 1802 a total population of 1,008 there were reg istered 2.015 voters. Thus bold had the boss grown. For half a dozen years nine-tenths of all the votes of Graves end. Republican and Democratic, were cast j'ast as the boss wanted them to he. But that was not enough. The next step was repeating and manufacturing votes. Judge Bartlett, a man belonging to his jwn political party, was the individual who sentenced the fallen boss. It was a dramatic scene, that sentencing. All the boss’ bravado was gone. The man who feared no living thing stood, white faced aud trembling, at last before the laws of his country that provide for a pure bal lot and righteous elections. Judge Bart lett declared that the sentence of six years in stripes in the penitentiary was justice tempered with mercy. The boss found out that injunctions do go, even in Gravesend. The moral effect of this judgment will extend all over the United States and give ns a 1 Hitter name in Eu rope. Some intelligent young people who follow the proceeding** of congress doubt 1< ss wonder what is meant by the Bland seiguioriage bill. Persons desiring to sell silver to the United States or to get it coined into dollars for themselves take it to the treasury department or to the mint in the form of bullion, which is bars of pure silver. Pure silver is too soft to wear in dollars. The standard American silver dollar contains alto gether 412$ grains of metal. Of this, 371$ grains are pure silver. The rest, or one tenth of the whole weight, is alloy, chiefly copper. This leaves on the hands of the government in pure silver the one-tenth pure silver that it took from the weight of every dollar to add the necessary alloy. The government keeps this for its own to defray the expense of the coinage. It is called the government’s seigniorage. There is now in the treasury vaults some $50,000,000 worth of seigniorage that has been left over from the coinage of the many silver dollars since the resumption of silver coinage in 1878. This is what Mr. Bland wantB made into dollars and put into circulation. Germany and Russia carried on a commercial war for months. Neither would take the lead toward practicing or advocating a reciprocity commercial doctrine. Suddenly France imposed a considerable import duty on wheat. This of course would hurt Russian wheat en tering France. Immediately Russia found out that she did not love France so much as she did last summer, and soon af terward the reciprocity treaty be tween Germany and Russia was signed, and now we are assured that there will be no war in Europe. State reasons are pocket reasons, just as with private in dividuals. If you are ever going to buy any dia monds, the next year or two will be the time to do it. They promise to be lower than they ever were before. Small stones can be bought in London for almost one half less than they could be a year ago. The Indians who have leased lands in their reservation to cattlemen have a dead cinch on getting their pay. The red man simply cuts the wire fence, slaughters the dishonest white man’s beeves and eats them. The southerners say that everything is coming their way, even woman’s rights convention!
