THE PALACE OF DOOM
STRANGE LEGEND OF A MYSTERIOU3
STATUE IN ROME
It Pointed the Way to a Scene of
Silent and Dazzling Splendor The
Vaic of the Man Who Solved the
Eiilgiua of the Finger Mennuifc
There stood lu Home ninny uges ago
a beautiful marble statue the mystery
of which attracted the attention of all
the wise men from far aud near No
body could remember when It had been
erected and nobody knew what It
meant
It was the figure of a woman tall
strong aud sterile She stood erect
with her right arm outstretched her
mantle falling In graceful folds about
her figure on her face a look half
smile half frown luring yet appeal
ing but always holding the observer
by a strange feeling that it roused of
mystery glory and horror
But even all that written so clearly
in the mystic signs that art uses might
have been overlooked by the people
had It not been for a more material
puzzle presented by the statue On the
third finger of the outstretched hand
was written in unfading letters Strike
here And therein lay the mystery
Years came and went and wise men
puzzled their brains to find the secret
Seers from faroff lands came to Rome
attracted by the statue and still it
stood mute cold Inexplicable
One day a young man stood before
it He bad grown up with the idea of
solving the mystery and each day
since he was a little child he had como
for a few moments and stood silently
gazing at the strange countenance
He had learned to love the face the
wise lips that looked as If they might
part and tell the secret that ages had
yearned to know but through these
Jiges only he had been sincere in his
search Faithful through all disap
pointments he had gained strength and
wisdom and now as he stood before the
statue the sun halfway up the eastern
sky shone full upon the image
A strange thrill passed through the
man and looking in the direction in
dicated by the pointing finger he saw
some yards awaythe shadow of the
outstretched hand on the ground He
gave a low cry and after noting the
spot well he departed
That night at midnight he went to
the place and began to dig in the
ground where the shadow of the hand
had fallen A long time he worked j
never ceasing his digging when sud
denly his spade struck something hard
Then his zeal increased and clear
ing a space he saw beneath him a trap
tloor with a great stone ring Grasp
ing the ring he pulled open the door
and started back dazzled for a flood
of light burst upon him from out of
the depths
Quickly recovering the young man
looked again and beheld a wide mar
ble staircase descending from the trap
door Throwing down his spade ho
passed through the door down tho
steps- and found himself in a vast hall
The floor of this room was of marble
pure white while the walls and ceiling
were of the same material in many
colors The huge pillars upholding tho
vast dome shone like alabaster Rare
paintings hung upon the walls and
rich rugs lay strewn upon the floor
In the center of the room a fountain
stood The water in its basin was as
pure as crystal but not a ripple stirred
its surface and no pleasant lapping
charmed the ear as it does when water
falls from on high for though the
fountain was apparently perfect no
water rose from it to fall again
On seats running around this silent
Tountain were many men in rich bro
cades and costly fur robes Lifelike
they looked but to the touch they were
as marble It was as if in the midst of
life death had come and petrified these
beings in mockery
Around on tables and benches were
scattered piles of gold and precious
gems Delicate enameled vases and
swords inlaid with gems added their
wealth to the place
But rarest of all the gems was a
great carbuncle which stood in a cor
ner of the room and from which came
the sole light by which the place was
relieved from darkness In the corner
opposite to this stone stood an archer
his bow bent his arrow on the string
aimed at the carbuncle On his bow
shining with reflected light were the
words
I am that I am My shaft is in
evitable Yon glittering jewel cannot
escape its stroke
As he looked on all this In silent won
der the young Roman heard a voice ut
er one word Beware
Then he passed Into the next room
-and found it fitted up as magnificently
as the one he had just left All man
ner of couches were about this room
and reclining on them were wonder
fully beautiful women But their lips
were sealed in this place of silence
From there he passed on finding
many more wonders rooms filled with
treasures of art stables filled with fine
horses granaries filled with forage
Everything that could make a palace
complete was there
The young Roman returned to the
hall
I have here seen he said what
no man will believe I know that of
this wealth I should take nothing but
to prove to them that I speak truth can
be no harm
Then he took In his arms a jeweled
sword and some rare vases tfut sud
denly all was dark
The charm was broken The arrow
had left the bow and shattered the car
buncle into a thousand pieces Pitch
darkness overspread the place
Then the young man remembered the
warning but too late And there he
probably adds one more to the silent
watchers In the magic chamber
Has this story a moral Let those
answer who have eyes to sea
Writers of Songs
Twenty Thousand Compositions Copy
righted Per Year and but
Twenty Genuine Hits Made
National Fads in the
Musical World
HENRIETTE B
BLANKE
c
ONSIDERING
the fact that
nearly 20000
musical J
tlous are copyright
ed each year at the
olllce of the librari
an of congress In
Washington and at
the same time about
twenty of these be
come genuine hits
it Is only reasonable
that the music pub
lisher feels as though he has drawn a
prize In the lottery when a real hit is
secured There Is some doubt as to the
biggest selling hit on record as condi
tions are constantly changing and at
the present time a song or instrumen
tal number to be a hit must sell in the
neighborhood of 300000 copies while
THE BLUEFISH BRIGADE
What Happens When the Bines Make
n Charse Upon Menhaden
When menhaden or herring are
driven upon the beach by bluefish as
they often are so that they can be
carried off ly the cart load said a
fisherman there is very seldom found
amon them one of their pursuers and
If one is found it is likely to be a fish
that is diseased or that has been hurt
in some way The bluefish follows to
the very verge of the water but there
it stops and it Is so powerful and
alert a swimmer that close as it is It
still easily keeps clear of the land
The menhaden or herring are no mean
swimmers They could come as close
and keep off the shore as easily as the
bluefish do but not when the bluefish
are after them Then they are like
men pursued to the edge of a preci
pice It Is almost certain death to
jump but they must do that or turn
and take the chances of breaking
through the pursuing line
When the bluefish there may be
3000 or 4000 of them together sight
a school of menhaden they go for it
like a brigade of heavy cavalry cut
ting and slashing snapping and biting
right and left The menhaden are sim
ply overborne by superior weight and
few if sold te is nothing for them to do but
a years ago a publication
100000 copies it was acknowledged a
hit This is owing to strong competi
tion and largely to the reduction in the
price of sheet music When sheet mu
sic sold at 50 cents a copy the publish
er was perfectly satisfied if the sale
reached 100000 copies and was willing
to pay the composer 5 and G cents roy
alty on each copy Today the composer
receives 2 and 3 cents per copy and
sheet music retails for S and 23 cents
a copy which clearly explains why a
song must sell many thousand copies
to mean great profits to publisher and
composer Then again in the days of
fifty cent sheet music the public would i
flee If they are driven toward the
shore the land is to them what the
precipice would be to jthe man They
must take it or they must turn and try
to fight their way through Many do
turn and try to swim under or over
or around the savage bluefish and
some escape in this way and some are
snapped up and some are maimed and
then cast ashore and many of them
crowding together are so closely press
ed that they are practically forced
ashore
Sometimes fish that are not cast up
very far flop down into the water
again A high wave may set some
accept a song and cling to it for months free A fish thus liberated may find
or possibly years but today a song or
Instrumental number may become a
hit and be shelved In less than three
months This applies principally to
popular songs such as Everybody
Works but Father and Tammany
which sold faster than the printer
J BODEWALT IiAMPE
4
could supply copies for a short time
and were forgotten just as quickly
After the Ball probably netted more
actual profit than any song published
during the last twenty years for the
whole world was humming the refrain
within a few months after it was issued
In the past few years many hits have
been recorded such as On the Banks
of the Wabash The Blue and the
Gray In the Good Old Summer
Time She Was Bred In Old Ken
tucky Navajo Bedelia In the
Shade of the Old Apple Tree and just
now a ballad When the Mocking
Birds Are Singing In the Wildwood
by Henriette B Blanke who by the
way is one of the tAvo women song
writers in the United States today who
enjoy the distinction of having written
a 1900 song hit the second woman be
ing Miss Klare Kummer composer of
Dearie Instrumental numbers have
proved an important factor in music
publishing the greatest successes prob
ably being the marches by John Philip
Sousa which were suddenly dropped
by the public after the Spanish-American
war and characteristic marches
became popular such as Georgia
Camp Meeting Smoky Mokes and
Rastus on Parade These negro
compositions in turn gave way to the
Indian Intermezzos such as Hiawa
tha Laughing Water Navajo
Big Indian Chief and a score of oth
ers which according to many savor
very much of the genuine old ragtime
The reign of Indian songs and Indian
intermezzos was Interrupted by the
sudden popularity of Irish songs and
Irish intermezzos such as A Bit o
Blarney A Sprig of Shillalah etc
and then came the Mexican songs and
the Mexican serenades which have
been more or less popular the past six
months until just recently the public
decided that the Germans should have
a chance and as if by magic a new
march entitled Happy Heinle by J
Bodewalt Lampe which Is decidedly
German caught the popular fancy
Music publishers realizing this abrupt
change In public taste are now Issu
ing German marches and German
songs expecting the German craze to
last until some other nation possibly
Sweden asserts Its rights and estab
lishes a new swing In melody that will
become contagious There Is little or
no jealousy shown when a melody be
comes a craze as the sons of Erin en
joy the melody of Happy Heinle and
dance with as much vim as they did to
the strains of A Bit o Blarney
its fins so damaged that it cant swim
and it is cast up again Weakened by
its rough experience it may fall a prey
to some of the bluefish yet lingering
offshore It may escape New York
News
SERIES OF SHIPWRECKS
The Most Singular Chain of Marine
Accidents on Record
The most singular series of ship
wrecks on record began with the loss
of the English merchantman Mermaid
which was driven on the rocks of Tor
res strait in October 1829 The officers
and crew clung to the shattered vessel
which was held fast upon a sunken
ledge until a few minutes before the
doomed ship went to pieces a passing
frigate picked them up
The Swiftsure as the latter craft
was called resumed her northward
course to be foundered in a terrific
gale three days later
Her combined crews were saved bj
the warship Governor Ready en voy
age to India May IS 1S30 The last
named overtaken by a storm was
stranded on a barren coast her three
crews to a man succeeding in reach
ing the shore
After staying a week on the inhos
pitable island they were taken off by
the revenue cutter Comet which a few
days later sprang a leak and sank in
spite of all efforts to save her
Fortunately a rescue ship was again
on hand the four crews being saved
by the Jupiter
Even then however the chain of dis
asters was not broken fcr the Jupiter
just as she was entering the harbor of
Port Raffle turned turtle and went
down with scarcely a moments warn
ing Her crews barely escaped with
their lives to be picked up by boat
sent to their aid
Thus the crew of the Mermaid was
wrecked five times in one voyage that
of the Swiftsure four times of the
Governor Ready three times and the
Comet twice
The Tescues had been purely acciden
tal in every case none of the ships
having been sailing as a consort or
even to the same port
Though the weather had been tem
pestuous and the escapes barely made
not a life had been lost
Safe
In a mediaeval German tale It says
that the parish council of a small vil
lage met one evening to discuss cer
tain improvements in the water sup
ply In this debate the towns one
watchman entered the room quietly
placed in a corner his lantern and
spear and sat down to listen to the ar
gument Suddenly a councilman turn
ed to him fiercely
Fritz he cried what are you doing
here Who Is to watch that nothing is
stolen in the village
Fritz with an easy smile answered
Who is there to steal anything We
are all here
An Odd House
One of the best known houses in
Northamptonshire England was de
signed to represent the days weeks
and quarters of the year It has four
wings facing the four quarters of the
heavens to represent the four quarters
of the year 365 windows one for each
day fifty two chimneys one for each
week and seven entrances to repre
sent the seven days of the week
Pretension
The world is his who can see through
Its pretension What deafness what
stone blind custom what overgrown
error you behold is there only by your
sufferance See It to be a lie and you
have already dealt it Its mortal blow
Emerson
In England under the Tudors the
man who gave to a beggar was fined
and the recipient or the gift was pun
ished
Strangers to Fear
King Victor Emmanuel and Queen
Helena of haly Who Braved the
Perils of Vesuvius The
King and the Tourists
A Polite Monarch
KINO VICTOK
EMMANUEL
-
S w
TXPICAIj SCENE IN NAlLES I
N and about Na
ples during the
eruption of
Mount Vesuvius the
king and queen of
Italy have been
prominent and pic
turesque figures
The peril Into which
the king has gone
in his anxiety to
afford all possible
relief and safety to
sufferers from the
seismic disturbances has placed him hi
a most favorable light -and enhanced
his popularity as a monarch When
Pliny tho elder saw the smoke over Ve
suvius in 79 A D he set sail for the
cities at the foot of the mountain in
some of the vessels of the fleet he com
manded with the view to rendering as
sistance When King Victor Ewmanuel
learned of the desperate straits of the
people living in the vicinity of Vesuvius
he took a train from Rome to Naples
and thence set forth in the direction of
the volcano In that typical twentieth
century vehicle the automobile While
speeding his machine over the ash
strewn country he was struck by a
heavy shower of cinders and almost
lost in a whirl of ashes but he did not
suffer the fate of Pliny and came back
alive though the fiery contents of Ve
suvius had been spread so thickly in
front of his motor car that lie had to
abandon It and walk
Danger like love levels all ranks
but this Is not the first time the ruler
of Italy has shown himself to be dem
ocratic His tendencies in this direc
tion are due in part to his wife Queen
Helena who was a princess of Monte
negro and was brought up without
any nonsense When she became
queen she was shocked at the amount
of waste and extravagance in the pal
ace and showed her attendants that
without being less dignified it was
f Vttfc o
FIVE TEMON3
TOR A CENT
possible to live much more economic
ally The young royal couple are fond
of living in a palazzina of modest
dimensions and simple decorations
and it was here that the king once re
ceived the Premier Zanardelli The
interview was in the queens drawing
room and the statesman struck by its
plainness exclaimed How simple ev
erything is your majesty no show no
luxury
Yes replied the king but what
would you say if you saw my apart
ments
Since the eruption of Vesuvius droe
thousands of people from their homes
Queen Helena has been at the kings
side aiding and suggesting in the task
of affording relief The dispatches
have told how the people have kissed
the kings hand and the queens gown
exclaiming God sent you to us The
more superstitious of the peasants have
unbounded faith in the kings powers
and the story is told of a wcynan who
cried If thou art our king order the
volcano to stop
King Victor Emmanuel III was
born in 1SG9 and married the Princess
Helena of Montenegro in 1S9G They
have three children the heir apparent
Humbert prince of Piedmont born in
1904 and two daughters Yolanda and
Mafalda The king and queen are de
voted to motoring and have had many
adventures on such trips He is but
five feet three Inches in height and the
queen is tall One day passing through
a small Tillage a breakdown occurred
and a crowd was attracted to the spot
In the crowd were two English motor
ists Secure as they thought in speak
ing In a strange tongue they carried
on the following conversation
Pretty motor car Yes and the
lady Is pretty too More than can
be said of the man Did you ever see
such a little man in such a big car
I am out of brandy I wonder if
he can supply me Shall I ask Per
haps he speaks French
I shall be most happy to oblige you
said the king in perfect English Then
he added
Can I be of any further use to you
-My kingdom Is at your disposal and
It Isjiot so small as Its monarch
The deuce exclaimed one while
the other merely gasped The king
PIANO EXPERIMENTS
1 tlnjr
by Svrecnlnir the
String
With a Feather
Open wide your piano so that the
wires are exposed Over the wires
place sheets of music and when you
strike a tone you will find that it has
a rattling sound If now you play a
tune in the same manner with the
sheets of music still lying on the
strings it will sound as if the instru
ment were a banjo Anyhow it Is a
good imitation
Now remove the music sheets and
press down gently but firmly the
keys belonging to any cord Take the
simple cord C E G for example
The keys must be pressed down with
out sounding them and held down
while some one gently brushes the
strings with a feather or a straw The
effect will be as If the cord were play
ed far away and is heard by you as
very snft tones
Change the cord always presslug
down the kejs without sounding them
while the feather still sweeps the
strings lightly In this way you may
modulate or play a slow piece and the
effect will be very beautiful indeed as
If heard from a great distance
The reason of this is that ordinarily
a damper rests against each string
but when the corresponding key Is
struck or pressed down the damper Is
raised In sweeping the strings with
the feather lightly only the strings
that are undampered sound the others
being held mute by the dampers but
If the touch of the feather is too heavy
even the other strings may sound so
your care must be in making a light
and delicate touch
Now press down a key gently and
hold It Strike very hard the octave
above this key but do not hold It after
striking the tone When the wire of
the tone struck has been sufficiently
dampered so that it does not sound so
loud the pressed down key will be
heard to sing clearly even though
it was not struck This is because
every note struck is composed of sev
eral notes being in reality a cord in
itself and each note contained in that
cord causes the corresponding note in
the keyboard to vibrate or sing in
sympathy If held down in like man
ner
The other notes that will sound under
these conditions will always be the
fifth above the octave the second oc
tave and the third and fifth above that
and these tones that sound are called
overtones
For illustration if C in the lower
part of the piano be struck any or all
of the notes that follow will sound if
their keys are first pressed and held
down Philadelphia Press
POINTED PARAGRAPHS
When you are all done but finishing
you are just half done
If you have time to boast about be
ing worked to death you have not
much to do
Some people are so unfortunate that
their troubles make people laugh in
stead of cry
A man who underestimates himself
may be tiresome but he is not a cir
cumstance to the man who brags
People may disdain a compliment
but they feel a tender little spot in
them where it hit and refused to be
dislodged
It is a theory growing in conviction
that the man who says a mean thing
about another isnt as mean as the man
who carries it
The man who travels over the path
behind you wisely looks at your foot
prints and sees where you could have
avoided many a pitfall Atchison
Globe
Tiny Trees
The midget of the whole tree family
is the Greenland birch It is a perfect
tree in every sense of that term and
lives its allotted number of years from
75 to 130 just as other species of the
great birch family do although its
height under the most favorable condi
tions seldom exceeds ten inches Whole
bluffs of the east and southeast coast
of Greenland are covered with thick
ets of this diminutive species of
woody plant and in many places
where the soil is uncommonly poor and
frozen from eight to ten months a year
a forest of these trees will flourish
for half a century without growing to
a height exceeding four inches
Strange Dances
Queenslands government aboriginal
settlement on Frazers island holds a
weekly dance for the blacks Among
the bundles of old clothes sent to the
settlement there are often ball gowns
so the gins sport decollete dresses
Neither sex wears boots The sexes
have to dance separately Sydney Bul
letin
Shrewd Gaess
Senior Partner We must be careful I
not to give Billings -any more credit
Hes evidently losing money Junior
Partner How do you know Senior
Partner I heard his remark today that
life Is full of ups and downs No
man ever admits that until he begins
to strike the down Philadelphia Press
Rejected
I have called said the confident
young man with a manuscript sticking
out of his pocket to see whether there
Is a vacancy In this office
No replied the melancholy editor
as he looked round the place Im sor
ry to say there Is none Even the
waste paper basket Is full
A Change
Well well There goes Miss Strong
When I saw her last she was posing
as a bachelor girl Thats her hobby
AH thats changed now She drop-
ped her hobby for a hubby Ex
change
NOTICE OP SCHOOL HOND ELECTION
Notice is hereby Kiven to tho qualified
eluctors of Tho School District of tho
City of McCook also Known n
1 District Number Seventon in Ked Willow
I county in tho Stato of Nobrnakn that upon
tho written request of at least ono thlrtl or
tho qnuliiled voters of said school district
mid two thinls of tho members of tho Board or
Education of said School District requostini
I aud coiiHentiiitf thereto un election will be bola
at tho usual places ot voting in hiiuotuuui o
trict to wit Tho basomont of tho Commercial
hotel in tho first ward in tho City of McCook
and in tho hose liouso in tho heconH ward insakl
City ofMcCookou tho twelfth day of JuueA
1900 between the hours of nine oclock a rn
aud seven oclock p m cm said day for tho pur
pose of votinjr on tho following proposition
which is hereby submitted to the qualified elec
frs of said School District
Shall tho Board of Education of Tho
School Dibtrict of tho City of McCook in
Ked Willow county in the Stnto o Neb
raska issue tho bonds of said School
District iu tho sum of thirty six thous
and dollars for tho punoso of building and
furnishing h school houso for said School Distj
rict Said bonds to bo of tho denomination of
live hundred dollars each dated on the first
day of July A D 1006 and to boar interest at-
tho rate of not over four and one half por cent
por annum interest payable seini anuually on
tho first day of January and July of each year
until paid interest and principal to bo payable
to bearer nt tho Fiscal Agency of the Stato of
Nebraska iu tho city of New York- Said bonds
to bo offered iu the open market and sold to th
liiirliext hiililur for not less than par value of
each dollar Coupons shall bo attached to
each of t uid bonds for each semi annual install
ment of interest which said coupone shall be
signed by tho President and secretary of said
ooaru tin oi bniu ooiius aiiau mature iu uio
flrar flitir if Ittltr A T fCfXt nnrl tntarnK hnfrin
to run on the first day of July A D 1003 Pro
vided that should t aid bonds or any part of
them 1x3 sold subsequent to their dat tho
amount of interest then duo shall bo endorsed
us u credit upon the coupons llrst due on said
bonds Said bonds to bo numbered consecutivo
ly from one to teventt two and issued in threo
series Series one shall consist of tho said bonds
numbered one to twenty four inclusive and
may be redeemed by said School District at any
timo uftor tho first day of July A D 1911
Series two shall consi t of tho aid hoiidg num
bered twonty flvo to forty oight inclusive and
may be redeemed by said School District at
any time after the first day of July A D 1916
Series three shall consist of tho said bonds num
bered forty uiuo to sevunty two inclusive aud
may bo redeemed by said School District at any
time after the first day of July A D llril Said
bonds shall bo signed by the President ami
counter signed by tho Secretary of said board
Shall there bo levied annually upon all tho
taxable property in said School District a tax
in addition to all other tuxes sufficient to -pay
tho interest on said bonds as it accrues and to
create u sinking fund to pay said bonds when
thoy may become duo7
Said proposition as submitted on tho ballots
to bo
FOlt tho Proposition to Issue School Dist
rict Bonds and Tax
AGAINST tho Proposition to Issue School
District Bonds and Tax
Submitted and authorized by the Board of
Education of Tho School District of thoCity
of McCookalso known as School District Num
ber Seventeen in Red Willow county in the
state of Nebraska this first day of May AD
1905
The Boaud of Education ok the
School District op the City ok
McCook in Red Willow County
in the State ok Nebraska
Attest C W Barnes By E II Doan
Secretary President
In testimony whereof bv order of the Mayor
and Council of the City of McCook 1 have here
unto bet my hand and mv official seal in tho
City of McCook in Red Willow County in tho
Stato of Nebraska this fourteenth dny of Maj
A D 19Jij W A Middletov
seal J Clerk of the City of McCook
NOTICE FOR BIDS
Sealed bids will be received at tho office of
tho City Clerk at tho City Hall McCook Neb
raska until 8 oclock p m May li8th 190t and
opened immediately thereafter for contract to
construct sido walks and curbs such as tho
City of McCook may cause to be built during
the present municipal year with tho following
material
Flag stone per square foot
en ont per square foot
Yotrified brick per square foot
Tiling slabs per square foot
Curbing of tho above materials IX inches
Ii iiicln s 5 inches thick per linel foot
Including labor and material to be furnish
ed by tlie bidder and subject to the provisions
of Ordinance No 1111
The council rorves the right to reject anj
and all bids T lH lts
W A Miodletov
seal City Clerk
BEGGS BLOOD PURIFIER
CURES catarrh of the stomach
PVRiHKT
MM
SMOKING
UP DIMES
is many a young
fellow when that
same dime might
be t e ncorn that
would grow into
the sturdy oak of
A BANK
ACCOUNT
into whoso bran
ches h e might
some day climb to
spy out chances in
real estate and
otlior things
Young men quit
smoking up your
dimes begin TO
DAY and bring
your first f e w
dimes to the
First
National
Bank
McCook Neb
c
7
c
f
h
I
r
I friiiiiwiiwiii i i in mi i mm lii
This falling of vour hair
Stop it or you will soon be
bald Give your hair some
Ayers Hair Vigor The fall
ing will stop the hair will
Hair Vigor
grow and the scalp will be
clean and healthy Why be
satisfied with poor hair when
you can make it rich
3Iy ar arIJ n canle 1 Uen tried
the falling New hair vma i iirri
Just a little curly -Mrs l M si
---- AAk
Saratoga N Y
gl00 a bottle
All druggists
for
J C ATKR CO
J pwen Mass
Thick Hair
v v
x
r
