Our JYavjj forever FAi COMMODORE W. S. SCHS.EY. Collection 1i is now Complete , The Entire Series of UNCLE SAM'S' PORTFOLIOS , consisting of Twelve Numbers ; is now com plete and may be had in whole or part at THE TRIBUNE office at Ten Cents a Number or ONE DOLLAR for the Entire Series. Interesting and Desirable. W. T. S2SMPSON. How Francis Bacon Wan Rid of Wart * . The tnkingo away of Warts , by Rub- bingo them wth pome what yt after wards is put to wast , and consume , is a corn'on exp'meut : And I dee appro- heudo it the rather because of miuo owiio oxp'ience. I had from my Child hood a wart uppon one of my Fingers : Afterwardes when I was about 10 years old , being at Paris , there grow upon both my handes a number of Warts ( at ye least 100) ) in a Moueths space. The English Embassadours Lady , who was a woman free from sup'stition , told mo one day. She would helpe mo away wth them. Whereupon shoe got a peico of Larde , wth ye Skin on , and rubbed yo Warts all over , wth ye fat side ; and among yo rest yt Wart wch I had had from my Childhood : Then she uayled the Peico of Lard wth ye fat toward yo Suuuo upon a Poust of her Chamber window wch was to ye south. The Successo was , that wthin five weekes space , all the Warts went quite away : And yo Wart wch I had see longo endured for Company. But at ye rest I did little marvailo , because they cumo in a shorte time , and might goo away in a short time againe. But ye goingo away of yt wch had staid BOO longo doth sticke wth me yet. They say ye like is done by rubbiuge of Warts wth a greene Elder sticke , and then buryingo the sticke to rot in mncke. Notes and Queries. Pickwick or an Oyster. To my chief benefactors , whom it was also my high privilege to know as friends , Dickens , Thackeray and Leech , I have done homage on happy occasions , and I have a pleasant recollection of the smile and the sympathy of the au thor of "Pickwick" when I told him , iu proof of my profound admiration , how in my schoolboy days , with an in come of sixpence per week , I had saved half for the monthly numbers of his fa mous book , still in my possession , bound in two volumes , and in the most degraded form of the art. The smile expanded as J. proceeded to describe my wrestlings with tempta tion , the agony of conflict , when the siren sang , in the form of an oysterman - man who passed at intervals by the door of our schoolyard , and lured us not only by the cravings of appetite , but by the fascinations of gambling. His mode of business was to receive halfpenny from his customer , who cried "head" or "tail" ( the tail was represented by Britannia in full uni form uncomfortably located on the edge of her shield ) as the vendor threw it upward. The customer lost his coin if bis conjecture was wrong. If right , he received an excellent oyster , with a co pious supply of peppered vinegar from a huge stone bottle , with a slit in the cork. S. Reynolds Hole in Literatura How Rata Multiply. In this city rats are found in consid erable numbers , the brown rats predom inating on the ships and wharfs , the black rats in the stores and warehouses , and the Alexandrian rats being limited to the holds of the ships that come from southern ports. Weasels and ferrets are bred to keep down their numbers. The fecundity of the rats is so great that in a few years they would overwhelm a whole city if they were not kept down by artificial means. One pair will rear four or five families of 10 to 15 to each litter in one year , and in six months these young ones are ready to repro duce. Thus one couple in the course of three years could raise a population of several hundred thousand if not re strained by any destructive measures. New York Sun. His Mind Still Clear. Mr. Pneer had been run into by a street car. He was taken to the nearest drug store , and a surgeon was hastily summoned. "Tho thigh bone is dislocated , " an nounced the surgeon after a brief ex amination. "Here , you ! " ho continued , turning to a muscular bystander and grasping the sufferer firmly around the body. "Pull his leg ! " "What ! Already ? " groaned Mr. Pneer , opening his eyes and placing his hand on his pocketbook. Chicago Tribune. Brevity. The late Duo de Sagan used to relate this story : "King Frederick William III was very sparing of words , as is well known , but one day he was told there was atToplitz , where he was then drinking the waters , a Hungarian mag nate still less talkative than the king. An opportunity for a meeting was soon managed , and the following conversa tion took place , the king beginning : 'Bathing ? ' 'Drinking. ' 'Soldier ? ' 'Mil lionaire. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 'Good. 'Policeman ? 'King. ' ' " 'Compliments. Turned His Back. Landlady That new boarder is either married or a widower. Daughter Why. mamma , he pays he's a bachelor. Landlady Don't you believe ha is. When he opens his pocketbook to pay his board , he always turns his back to me. Boston Beacon. Thought He Was Smart. Mr. Peck What is that book yon are reading , my dear ? Mrs. Peck It's a novel , entitled "A Fatal Flirtation , " vith such a sad end- Ing.Mr. Mr. Peck Something like ours , I aresnme ? London Fun. Great Fall. "And did he fall on his knees when 10 proposed ? " "No , but he was so rattled that he stepped on the cat and fell onhisneck. " Indianapolis Journal. A Pertinent Question. "Doctor , where did yon get thafc v leautiful scarfpin ? " a "From my first patient. " "Inheritance ? " Fliegende Blatter. THE FIGHTING 3URKHA3. Something1 About the Men Who Win Some of England' * Itattlcs. j The Gurkhas , to whoso valor we owe I EO much on the Indian frontier , are not afraid of death in any shape or form , have the instinct of instant Mid unques tioning obedience to orders from supe riors and take an actual and physical delight in fighting. It i. . . . popular error V > suppose that they are without caste , ihere are about 18 different castes among them and several subdivisions in each caste , but when serving in British regiments and while on a campaign Gurkhas do not allow their caste sys tem to interfere with their comforts and will eat and drink freely with Euro- j peaus and among themselves. They have no objection to taking a pull at a Brit ish soldier's flask and will share a "chapati" with the most menial camp follower. They will gladly tale a c-ipar or tobacco from a European , but on no account must a man of one caste smrake in the company of another. All Gurkhas trace their descent from the Rajputs of central India , the Thap- pas and Guruugs especially claiming to have the bluest Hindoo blood in India running in their veins. They have , however , intermarried for generations with Mongolian women. Ono would imagine therefore that in process of time a distinctly new type , combining the leading characteristics of botli races , would have been evolved , but as a mat ter of fact the vast majority of Gurkhas are either Aryan or Chiueso in their cast of countenance. Europeans general ly suppose that all Gurkhas are squat men , with broad nostrils , Ligh cheek bones and deep set , narrow eyes. This is not the case. The Second Gurkbas regiment has large numbers of Guruugs and Thappas in its ranks who are of a slight build , with beautifully chiseled and sharp features , Aryans every inch. Gurkhas have one physical peculiar ity their stature is below the aver age. As they do not wear beards and their mustaches , in spite of much care , never attain a luxuriant growth , tea a casual observer a Gurkha regiment appears to consist of boys , not men. It is on record that when Lord Roberts was marching through the Kurram the Patban women and children came out to jeer at the striplings whom ho was leading , as it seemed , to their certain death , and they only changed their opinion when , largely owing to the heroism of these same Gurkhas , the Af ghan army was driven headlong from the Peiwar Kotal. The colonel of a distinguished regi ment used to tell a story of a Pathau who had traveled a long distance to get a glimpse of the terrible soldiers that had defeated his countrymen. When ho saw the little boyish looking Gurkha's standing guard at the Bala Hissar , ho committed suicide "for very shame , " at least and this is the best part of the story so the guard declared when asked to explain the presence of the dead body. London News. Sam Jones and Talmage. Sam Jones is the embodiment of an audacity that sometimes comes very near the border line of discourtesy. A clergyman who often assists him in his series of meetings told me the other day this story in the early history of Mr. Jones' evangelistic work : He was in vited by Dr. Talmage to hold a series of meetings in the doctor's Brooklyn church. Mr. Jones went to Dr. Tal- mage's home during the afternoon of the day on which his engagement began and introduced himself. Mr. Talmage looked him over and was evidently a lit tle taken aback at the rather shabby ap pearance of the evangelist. As it approached preached evening he said , "Brother Jones , would you take it amiss if I pre sented you with a new suit of clothes ? ' "Certainly not , " said the accommodat ing Samuel. He was taken to a clothier and fitted from head to foot , topping with a high hat. At church the doctor introduced him as the Rev. Samuel P. Jones from Georgia. Mr. Jones arose with his new hat in hand and repeated , "Yes , the Rev. Samuel P. Jones from Georgia , " and added : "And this is the new suit of clothes and this the new hat your pastor has presented to me. If your pas tor had as much of the grace of God in his heart as he has pride , he would con vert all Brooklyn and would not need me. " Homiletic Review. Maginn. Blackwood set a high value on Ma- giun's contributions. "There is one culiar excellence , " he writes , "in this writer which strikes us Scotsmen his easy , idiomatic English. No Scotchman , however practiced as a writer , is mas ter of the English tongue so as to bo able to write in this way. " But he nev er ventured to impart this opinion to the voluble and irascible North. , jMaginu was a brilliant but unman ageable creature. Ho soon drifted away from Maga and devoted himself to its rival and imitator , Fraser's. When his habits had brought him to a premature grave , Lockhart wrote his epitaph in a score of jingling rhymes : Bcre. early to bed. lies kind William Maginn. Light for long was his heart , though his breeches n-ere thin. But at last ho was beat and sought help from the bin. I Barring drink and the girls , 1 no'er heard of a sin ; Many worse , better few. than bright , broken Magiun. Longman's Magazine. ; Trying to Make It Out. Theodore I declared myself , Alfred , aut I don't know whether she accepted ue or not. That's what I'm trying to nake out , you know. Alfred "What did yon say to her ? Theodore I said that I thought the vorldof her , and she said , "It's a queer vorld. " That was all , don't you know , , ind deuced if I know whether it meant he is in love "vith me or not. Boston transcript. 1 : HOW A MAN MADE $7,000. Because the Chap Who Lout It Told His liuslueBS In a Cafe. "Don't discuss your private business affairs in a public place , " said an old Brooklyuito to the New Yorker who approached preached him in a cafe near the city ball. Then the Brooklyn man , pointing out a real estate dealer , said : "Talking about a business deal in this very cafe cost that man -57,000 , and the money went into my pocket too. You see , he represented a syndicate that wanted to build on some property in which I was interested as the owner of one honso and city lot. The agent did not know mo from a Canarsio clatnmer. Well , he came in here with a friend one. of the syndicate for luncheon on an afternoon in last July. They took seats at this tablo. I sat at the next one. one."I "I began to'take notice , ' as grand mas say , when I heard the strangers at the next table discuss quito loudly a deal in relation to the property adjoin ing mine. The agent had ordered a fine layout for luncheon and was evidently well pleased with his deal. He said to his friend : " ' Well , I pulled off the trick for that property at 219 Cheap street today. The owner thought I was doing him a favor. I started in at § 15,000 and final ly closed with him for $18,000. He bit in a hurry. Why , the property is worth § 25,000 if it's worth a dollar to us. Now I must look for the chap that owns 221. He'll bo glad to get $18,000 for his house. It's lucky for us they're not on to the fact that wo want to buy that entire block. ' "I didn't need to do any eavesdrop ping , you seo. That little speech of the I agent cost him exactly § 7,000. You can ! readily guess that I , as the owner of 221 ' Cheap street , was not especially anxious to sell after that. I kept Mr. Real EsJ J tate Man on the jump for nearly five mouths , and when I let up on him I. got my price , exactly $25,000 a neat little profit of $7,000 above what I would have gladly accepted. So you see the point of my remark to you , 'Don't discuss private business affairs in a pub lic place. ' Now we'll go to my office , and I'll listen to your proposition. " New York Sun. HIDDEN GOLD IN PARIS. Many Fanatics Spend Their Lives Hunting For Iluried Treasure. Some Parisians are actually kept from wandering by conviction that there is hidden treasure behind the walls or be neath the flooring or in the chimney nook or under the roof , says Chambers' Journal. You are told that during the number less sieges to which Paris has been sub jected and the internal revolutions it has undergone there exists not a cellar or a garret but has become the recepta cle of some part of the immense riches accumulated in religious houses and old families. There is , perhaps , nothing ir rational in the supposition that in the good old times when convents were made the depositories not only of the secrets of the aristocracy , but of the family jewels likewise , instances must have occurred wherein these deposits were buried and remain undiscovered , together with the treasures of the con fraternity. But human folly has of late years exalted this rational possibility into dazzling certainty. Every means is now resorted to and more gold and pru- cious time expended than the most val uable treasure could repay in order to seize the secret which still resists dis covery. "While you of the matter of fact , plodding Anglo-Saxon race are toiling and broiling in Australia and California , searching for gold , we gold seekers of Paris find it here beneath our feet in the old quarters of the city round Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville , where gold is teeming in greater plenty than amid the rock bowlders of Califor nia or beneath the soil of Ballarat , " said Ducasse , the great treasure seeker. The Art of Lighting a Pipe. Now , comrades , not to waste time talking of style of pipe or brands of to bacco tastes differ in those things try this : Keep pipe and stem as clean as possible , and the time to clean them is immediately after a smoke. Fill the bowl with your favorite brand and press down firmly , but don't strive to see how solid you can pack it. If you make it as solid as wood , it will burn like wood and make a coal fire about as hot and ungrateful. Don't light the entire sur face. Don't "pull" as though you had no more matches and feared it would "go out. " Light a small spot directly in the center. Smoke slowly until it works its way gradually downward. If it under takes to spread , press it down again with thumb or finger. A half minute's care in starting is all that is required. Now smoke slowly. The little fire con tinues downward , delicately roasting { the tobacco on the sides , and presently , I when you cave this off , there will come | i revelation in soft , mellow smoke , so 30ol , so delicious , so soothing , that you will never regret having read this. Sports Afield. Von. In Germany "von" implies nobility , md all persons who belong to the uo- jility prefix "von" to their names with- ) ut any exception. Persons who do not Belong to the nobility cannot have the j right to put "von" before their names. I man who is knighted for some reason , ! lowever , has the same right to put ; 'von" before his family name as a per- on of ancient nobility. For instance , vheu Alexander Humboldt was kuight- id ho became Alexander von Humboldt. Ul his descendants , male and female , ake the prefix. Philadelphia Press. Switzerland enjoys the unenviable listiuction of having a larger percentage f lunatics than any other country. In 1 1J he canton of Zurich there are 3,261 in J population of 839,000. 1 1c c : In J 5fi4 a pair of shoes made iu Eugj j a and cost tenpeuce. ' t : _ j jjj t jBiBaHgg fci MaaB aLi lain i i Bapfcagx WONDERFUL RESCUE. HOW SERGEANT VAUGHAN SAVED A LIFE AT A HOTEL FIRE. A Member of the J w York Who Endangered Hln Own 1,1 To to Saro a Gucat of the Hotel Itoyal Who Had About Given Up All Hope. t Jacob A. Riis , author of "How the Other Half Lives , " writes of "Heroes "Who Fight Fire" in The Century. The article is one of the series "Heroes of Peace. " .Mr. Kiis tells the following story of n heroic rescue nfi the Hotel - ; Royal flro in .New York some years ago : Sergeant Vatighan went up on the * roof. The smoke was so dense there that ho ceuld see little , but through it 1 ho heard a cry for help and niado out the sbapo of n man standing upon a ' window sill in the fifth story overlooking - * ing the courtyard of the hotel. The yard was between them. Bidding his v men follow they were five all told j ho ran down and around in the next * street to the roof of the house that ? formed an anglo with the hotel wing. 1 Tiiero stood the man below him only a jump away , but a jump which no mortal - tal might take and live. His face and hands were black with smoko. Vaugban , looking down , thought him a negro. Ho \vas perfectly calm. "It is no use , " ho said , glancing up. "Don't try. Yon can't do it. " The sergeant looked wistfully about him. Not a stick or a piece of rope was iu sight. Every shred was used below. There was absolutely nothing. "But I couldn't let him , " ho paid to mo mouths after , when ho had come out of the hos- I pital a whole man again and was Lack at work , "I just couldn't , standing there so'quiet and brave. " To the men 1 he said sharply : "I want you to do exactly as I tell you now. Don't grab mo , but let mo got the first grab. " He had noticed that the man wore a heavy overcoat , and had already laid his plan. "Don't try , " urged the man. "You cannot save me. I will stay here till it gets too hot , then I will jump. " "No , you won't , " from the sergeant , as ho lay at full length on the roof , look ing over. "It is n pretty hard yard down there. I will get yon or go dead myself. ' ' The four sat on the sergeant's legs as he swung free down to the waist , so ho was almost able to reach the man on the window , with outstretched hands. "Now , jump quick ! " he command ed , and the man jumped. He caught him by both wrists as directed , and the sergeant got a grip on the collar of his coat. coat."Hoist "Hoist ! " ho shouted to the four on the roof , and they tugged with their might. The sergeant's body did not move. Bending over till the back creak ed , it hung over the edge , a weight of 203 pounds suspended from and holding it down. The cold sweat started upon his men's foreheads as they tried and tried again , without gaining an inch. Blood dripped from Sergeant \raughan's nostrils and ears. Sixty feet below -was the paved courtyard. Over against him was the window , behind which ho saw the back draft coming , gathering head way with lurid , swirling smoke. Now it burst through , burning the hair- and the coats of the two. For an instant he thought all hope was gone. But in a flash it came back to him. To relieve the terrible dead weight that wrenched and tore at his muscles he was swinging the man to and fro like a pendulum , head touching head. He could swing him up ! A smothered shout warned his men. They crept nearer the edge without letting go their grip on him and watched with staring eyes the human pendulum swing wider and wid er , farther and farther , until now , with a mighty effort , it swung within their reach. They caught the skirt of the coat , held on , pulled in , and in a moment lifted him over the edge. They lay upon the roof , all six , breathless , sightless , their faces turned to the winter sky. The tumult of the street came up as a faint echo. The spray of a score of engines pumping be low fell upon them , froze and covered them with ice. The very roar of the fire seemed far off. The sergeant was the first to recover. Ho carried down the man ho had saved and saw him sent off to the hospital. Then first he noticed that he was not a negro. The smut had been rubbed off his face. .Monday had. dawned before ho came to , and days passed before he knew his rescuer. Ser geant Yaughau wass laid up himself then. He had returned to his work and finished it , but what he had gone through was too much for human strength. It was spring before he re turned to his quarters , to find himself promoted , petted and made much of. A Hureau of Courtesy. "A curious innovation , " says the Bos ton Transcript , "at the coming Omaha exposition will be a bureau of courtesy. Not only is the idea novel , but it is sur prising to learn that nearly all the pen pie of the city will bo enrolled in the committee. Every member will wear a badge , and visitors will be at liberty to address any one who wears the badge and ask for information just as much as he likes. The member , on the other hand , will be pledged to treat the visitor courteously and answer his question ? , or put him in the way of getting them answered. " Coke In Different Countriex. The prices at which coke is quoted in different countries are given as $1.4-1 in the United States , $3.18 in Great Brit ain , § 3.24 in France , 3.36 in Germany , 53.48 in Belgium , and in Spain $3.08. Ihese figures are based on the quantity if coke used in the manufacture of a ton of bessemer pig iron. The proportion of deaf mutes to the population is one to every 2,043. In 1851 there was one deaf mute to every 1,738 of the population. Physicians laim that this decrease is mainly trace- ible to greater knowledge and care in hi ? treatment of scarlatina in children.