LIFE IN A COAL BREAKER
Dark Picture Drawn of Employment
to Which Young Boys Are
Bound.
i Practically every boy graduates
from school to the coal breaker before
'he is fourteen—some boys as early as
ten or eleven years. The coal break
er is a gaunt, tower-like wooden struc
jture, at the top of which the coal is
broken Into the required size for use
land th< li sent in a continuous stream
•down chutes which empty into wait
ing coal cars or pockets. The boys
(arc- employed to pick out of the mov
jing stream the pieces of slate as they
appear—straddling the chutes, or sit
ting on small wooden projections at
the side. The atmosphere in the
breaker is so thick and dark with hy
ing coal dust that an attempt to take
a photograph of a couple of boys at
(noon, near a wfhdow, resulted in one
indistinguishable black surface; the
noise is so great that I could not dis
tinguish the words of my guide even
when he put his mouth close to my
ear and shouted; the movement and
shaking of the whole structure are at
times so violent that In some break
ers 1 have been obliged to hold
tightly to a hand rail for safety. The
boys grow so cramped from long sit
ting in one position that, sometimes
they seize the opportunity to chase
one another around the slippery metal
platforms. And there was not one
superintendent in the four or five col
lieries that we have happened to visit
who did not, upon our questioning, re
late at least one tragedy thnt had
occurred in his experience, of a hoy
who had slipped into a coal pocket
and been smothered, or had been
mangled and killed by falling into the
machinery. When we have asked
whether the slate picking could not
be done by mechanical devices, the
Invariable answer has been, “Yes, but
the boys are cheaper.”—Harper's Mag
azine.
OLD AIDS TO THE HAT TRADE
Severe Laws Have Eeen Passed in
England to Protect Various
Makers of Headgear.
Hats have in England been subject
to very severe protective enactments.
The blocked beaver hat, for instance,
imported by Sir Walter Raleigh from
the low countries, won its way so
rapidly that in 1571 Queen Elizabeth
passed an act to protect the making
of “thrummed” caps, made from wool
for the advantage of the landed pro
prietors, whose sheep furnished the
material. The statute provided that
“every person, except ladies and Jews
(why were Jews excused?) shall on
Sundays and holidays wear on his
head a cap of velvet wool made in
England. Penalty 3s. 6p. per day.”
About a century later the law, for
Which there is nothing too high or
too low, having taxed men's shoes,
turned its attention once more to
their hats, and soon put a check on
all improvements in the trade by re
quiring every vender of hats to take
out a license under a heavy penalty.
Subsequently a stamp duty was 'im
posed on ail hats, which were offi
cially marked inside where the
maker’s name now appears. The
penalty for selling a hat without a
stamp was £10,, and the penalty for
forging a hat stamp was—death!
Whence, no doubt, the modern custom
of the man who goes to church, sits
down, looks into his hat—to read his
maker's name!
A Novel Bed.
"T’m a hundred per cent, healthier
for sleeping up next to the ceiling,”
remarked a certain dweller out East
Capitol way. “I’m not only above the
drafts that frisk back and forth from
the window to door and cause half the
colds we suffer from, but I breathe a
far purer quality of air' and hence
awake more refreshed. Foul air al
ways settles in the lower part of the
room; the purer air floats above where
I sleep.”
He has rigged for himself a compli
cated system of weights and pulleys
whereby he can hoist his couch from
the floor and suspend it, like Moham
med's coffin, the while the slumbers.
As to the possibilities of rolling out of
bed, he refused to make comment.—
Washington Star. f
The Question Answered.
The late Mr. John J. Ingalls, United
States senator from Kansas, once told
with great glee the story of a joke at
his own expense, the humor of which,
however, he enjoyed as keenly as if
he had not been the victim of it.
“I went one evening,” said Mr. In
galls, ”to make a political speech in a
small town. I presume the people
thought I would have difficulty in fill
ing an hour; at any rate, they called
upon the village choir to assist.
■ ‘‘I trust that the hymns were select
ed before my arrival, but of that I
cannot be sure. I know that before
the talk the choir sang, ‘What Shall
the Harvest Be?’ and after it, ‘Noth
ing but Leaves.’ ”—Youth’s Com
panion.
Luxury of Law.
“I haven’t the vestige of a case,”
said the crafty client to the craftier
lawyer, "but 1 have money.”
“How much?’ casually Inquired the
legal one.
“Twetity-five thousand dollars,” pro
claimed the client.
The lawyer put out his band.
“Shake hands!” he said. “You
have the best case I ever heard of.
I’ll see that you never go to jail with
that sum!”
And he did.
The client there went “broke.”
POLICE RECEIPT WHS SHY
Ruse of a Youthful French Advocate
Which Resulted In Acquittal of
His Client.
The Paris bar Is laughing at the ;
ruse of a youthful advocate who hud
to defend a man whose reputation
was not of the best.
After much thought the counsel eon- !
eluded that If he could produce doc-,
umentary evidence of his claimant's j
honesty all would be well, and to ob- j
tain an acquittal would mean much
as far as his practise wan concerned
Like most suspects, the client was
penniless, so to produce the necessary
evidence it was needful to provide the
means.
The advocate gave his client a five
franc piece—about a dollar—and sug
gested that he should take it to the
police and say he found it In the
street, and thus obtain a receipt.
The client acqnesced, went to the
police office, and returned with a re
ceipt.
The advocate gave a cursory glance
at the document and tied it up with
his brief, little thinking of the se
quel.
On the day of the trial the young
advocate relied entirely on the police
receipt, and thus terminated his ap
peal to the jury:
“I have a document which shows
that during the past week my client
found a five-franc piece in the street,
and without delay he took it to the po
lice. is that the act of a thief?”
Then he triumphantly handed the
document to the president, of the
court The judge examined It closely
and asked:
“Was it. five francs that he found?”
“Yes, Mr. President,” was the reply
“I am quite sure aq to that.”
“But,” said the president, “the re
ceipt is for one franc only.
The court was convulsed, and the
jury, appreciating either the inge
uuity of the counsel or the sharpness
of Ills client, acquitted the "honest"
knave.
NEW KIND OF WATER WITCH
One of Uncle Sam's Geologists Does
Some Surprising Stunts in Lo
cating Water Veins.
N. 11. Darton is a government ge
ologist who rloes surprising stunts in
(he way of finding water. The geo
logical survey has carried on exten
sive investigations of underground
waters, which make Mr. Barton's
prophecies possible. One of his most
I notable successes was a well at Edge
mont, S. B. Mr. Barton predicted that
j water should be expected in the Bead
wood standstoue about 3,000 feet be
low the surface.
Accordingly the boring was begun,
but meeting with many difficulties
which caused great delay and ex
pense, there was a disposition to
abandon the work.
i The engineers in charge, having
confidence in Mr. Barton's prediction
and their faith was finally rewarded
by striking a great flow of water at a
depth of 2,695 feet.
The well yields 500,000 gallons a
flay of tepid water satisfactory for lo
comotive and other uses, and as there
Is not good water within sixty miles
and much of the supply had to be
hauled in tank cars, the value of this
flow is Inestimable.
In the same general section of South
Dakota, as well as In other western
states, many other wells from 1,395 to
2,135 feet deep have closely verified
Mr. Barton's predictions and are fur
nishing a supply of excellent water.
It is difficult to estimate the money
value of a successful artesian well In
an arid region, but where it obviates
the need of long haulage $50,000 to
$100,000 Is a moderate figure.
Nonroyal Headgear.
One of the attaches of the American
embassy at London tells a story
wherein Michael Joseph Barry, the
poet, who was appointed a police mag
istrate in Bublln, was the principal
figure.
There was brought before him an
Irish-American, charged with sus
picious conduct. The officer making
the arrest stated, among other things,
that the culprit was wearing a "He
publican hat.”
“Boes your honor know what that
means?” was the inquiry put to the
court by the accused’s lawyer.
“It may be." suggested Barry, "that
it means a bat without a crown.”—
1 Harper's Weekly.
.
Unpunctual Bridal Parties.
For some time past the Great Syna
gogue authorities have been consider
ably perplexed at tbe lateness of the
arrival of marriage parties. Remon
strance has been in vain, and It was
not unusual for a wedding party to ar
rive two hours after the time fixed for
the ceremony.
The board of management has now
decided that as this unpunctuality has
resulted in much loss of time to the
official an hour's grace be given to
the parties. Should the hour be ex
ceeded the officials are to leave and
the wedding will be postponed until
the conclusion of Mincha (afternoon)
service.—London Daily Mail.
Red Snapper in Oregon Waters.
Several tine red snappers have been
caught in the John Day river hy a
fisherman who was out for black hass
with honk and line. The incident re- !
calls the almost forgotten planting in
the river several years ago of the fry
of tills fish, taken from the Gulf of
Mexico. The experiment had con\e to
be regarded as a failure.—Portland
Oregoniau.
SUCCESSFUL, THOUGH LAZY
- i
Story of a New York Lawyer Who
Used His Wit to Save His
Heels.
■'Sounds a bit paradoxical, I know.")
says Judge William J. lloyhan. In a
New York paper, 'but one of the lazi
est men 1 ever knew Is likewise one
of (he mot successful lawyers of my
personal acquaintance. I'll just relate
one Instance which is typical.
“I met him one Saturday In the
street, just after he left his office. We
had taken but a few strides when a ,
messenger boy approached and In
formed my friend lie was bound for,
ills office to deliver one thousand en
velopes, which he had in a box. But j
do you think m.v friend would turn i
back and open his office to receive the
goods? No, not he. lie just chucked
them tinder his arm and took them
along.
"We boarded an elevated train and
rode uptown. On leaving the train I
was surprised to littd my friend had
lef the box of envelopes on the train
1 stopped trim of a sudden and re
minded him of the fact. To my utter
astonishment ho just laughed and con
tinued on his way. Then I demanded
to know why in the world he took the
envelopes If bo intended to throw
them away.
" You amuse me, lloyhan,' ho said
'I see >011 are one of those methodical
fellows who worry half their lives
away. Don’t you know the elevated
station lost and found office Is only
two doors removed from the build
ing where my office is located. The
envelopes are of no account to any
one save me, and 1 will bet you ten to
one they will be (here for me bright
and early Monday morning.’”
HUMMINGBIRD DECORATIONS
Great Demand for the Feathers on
Women’s Hats Likely to Re
duce Their Number.
Prof. Schillings, the German wild
beast photographer whom Colonel
Roosevelt made a point of meeting In
Berlin, says that woman’s perverse
taste in the decoration of hats is
gradually devastating the bird world,
though another chief cause, he
thinks, is the artificial creation of cer
tain fashions by millinery houses. He
mentioned one Berlin Arm which made
purchases of hummingbird feathers to
the amount of thousands of dollars
the moment a leading Paris Arm gave
the word that hummingbird decoration
was to be the mode. In Florida, he
said, whole colonies of herons of
from 10,000 to 30,000 pairs produce
families. Then came the heron hunt
ers and In fourteen days not a heron
is left. The hunter has gained from
$2,000 to $3,000.
These remarks were made at the
ornithological congress in Berlin,
which was attended by delegates
from all parts of Europe. One dele
gate called attention to the new fash
ion of using bird feathers for the
decoration of women’s shoes. In a
Paris shop window, he said, he saw a
pair of shoes with hummingbird
feathers on them priced at $1,100.
Writing in Bible Times.
Prof. Flinders Petrie says that
there is nothing abnormal, nothing to
be questioned, in the general outlines
of the Hible story of the exodus. He
contends that the spread of writing
in those days has been enormously
underestimated.
“It is my firm conviction,” he says,
"that the Europe of a century ago was
far more illiterate than the eastern
world in the Hible times. We have,
for instance, a papyrus containing a
cook's accounts scrawled in a very
clumsy hand, with the reckoning all
wrong, but It shows that even a com
mon servant of those days knew how
to write. We have another containing
a petition from a peasant. These
things are extremely important, show
ing the probability of documentary
records of a historical nature existing
at the time.”—Jewish Chronicle.
Skill in Frying Potatoes.
A contest in frying potatoes in the
French manner was held a few days
ago at Billancourt, near Paris. There
were 11 entrants, nearly all drawn
from the class of “fried potato mer
chants" whose hand carts laden with
kettles of savory grease are sights so
common in the French capital, where
for three or four cents one may buy a
brown paper cornucopia full of hot
French friend potatoes, just as one
may buy popcorn and peanuts In
America. The height of art is said to
have been shown at the contest. High
est honors went to a white-aproned
expert called Jeauneau. His potatoes,
it was decreed, were cut just the right
size, were dipped from the grease at
exactly the moment when they had at
tained crispness without losing their
moist succulency and were finished
off with exactly the proper quantity
of salt. “Certainly," exclaimed the
victorious Jeauneau, sagely; "It takes
as much skill to fry potatoes in grease
as to paint pictures in oils."
Ragtime Doomed?
Ragtime songs and music have about
served their purpose and are gradual
ly going out of popular esteem, accord
ing to .1. L. Tindale, president of the
Music Publishers' Association of tlie
United States. "Ragtime of the trivial
sort and the ordinary slangy music
of the current popular song, will be
a thing of the past in five years,” he
said. “It is hard to understand why
bar room equips and the slang of the
streets should be perpetuated In
music, and such goods ought not to be
offered for sule or taken into oiy
homes for fireside entertainment.”
LIKE AN EARTHLY PARADISE
Many Delightful Things Happening
to Henry, But It Was All In
a Dream.
The man was astonished. He won
dered If he were dead and this change
of things one born of a hereafter. |
lie was awakened by his wife ap
pearing nt his bedside with a tray of
breakfast—oh, such u breakfast.
“Here's your breakfast, dear," she
said, and he sat up in bed and en
joyed it.
“Take your time,'' said his wife, “it's
early yet.” So the man leisurely at-1
tired himself lor the day and as lets-j
urely made Ills wav to the office.
At (ho office the "boss" was all
smiles.
, "Come Into niy office a minute,
Henry,” he said; "I want to talk with
you.” Once inside lie told him that
there would toon lie .. vacancy to be
tilled higher up, and hat he had been
keeping an eye on his work for some
time.
"I’m glad you're to get it, Henry,"
said the boss; "you deserve that raise,
If anybody ever did."
Then, happily whistling under his
breath, the man took a seat at tils |
desk. 'Hie iirst letter be opened was
one from a man he had almost for
gotten. It contained a check for $13
that he had almost forgotten was owed
him.
Then some one shook him by the
shoulder.
"Get up, Henry,” said his wife;
"I’ve waked you twice already. If you
want any breakfast you’ll have to get
it down-town. Thin': I've nothing to
do but cook breakfast nt till hours?
You'd better hurry if you dou't want
to be late at the office.”
It was all a dream, and the 39-cent
clock showed that, however he might
hurry, he was sure to be late. -Galves
ton News.
SPENCER'S GREAT INTELLECT
- j
Philosopher Laid Broad and Deep the
Foundations of the Theory of
Evolution.
It is a matter of regret, a writer
Rays, that Spencer prefaced his scien
tific philosophy of the Cosmos with
his fatuous theory of the unknowable.
In the recognition of an unknown
power inscrutable to the human Intel
tellect Spencer fancied he had found
the basis of reconciliation between
science ami religion. Science was to
take as its province the known, and
religion the province of the unknow
i able. Tlie proposed terms resembled
those of a husband with his wife as
| this basis of domestic harmony, that
he should take the inside of the house
' and she the outside. Hud Spencer
j been in closer touch with the religious
sentiment he would have recognized
that such a theory of reconciliation
would simply distract public attention
from his attempt to apply the key of
evolution to the secrets of the mate
rial universe. In tills later days lie
felt that his syst. in had been preju
diced by his theory of the unknow
able, and In conversation lie used to
I emphasize the view that his philoso
phy of the Cosmos was quite distinct
from his ontological opinions, and
' should he judged on its own merits.
Making due allowance for defects
rising out of the personal ehuatiou,
the fact remains that Herbert Spencer
was one of the great creative Intel
lects of the nineteenth century. In
j many particulars his generalizations
' will be modified by advancing knowl
edge, but this at least must be claimed
for him, that he laid broad and deep
; the foundations of the theory of evolu
tion. Among the sceptered immortals
Herbert Spencer holds high rank.
I
Magnet for Unloading Pig Iron.
Pig iron Is pretty heavy stuff and it
takes a lot of tedious, back-aching la
bor to unload a car of it in the old
: way, by hand. The modern method Is
by the use of the electro-magnet at
tached to a crane, which will pick up
a ton of the heavy pieces as easily as
a man could one.
It Is said that the ordinary cost of
handling a ton of pig Iron by hand la
bor Is from five to eight cents, depend
ing upon the “carry.” The lifting
magnet will do the work for half a
cent per ton and Isn’t half as apt to
go on a strike.
When current Is turned on the mag
net literally grabs a mouthful of the
Iron chunks. The Instant the cur
rent Is switched off the magnetism de
parts and the magnet drops its load.
Big Electrical Investment.
There are in use In the United
States 5,500,000 telephones, represent
ing $550,000,000 capital, or about $100
for each telephone. There are in this
country 40,247 miles of electric rail
ways using 89,210 cars and capitalized
at $4,557,000,000. There are 0,000 cen
tral stations, costing $1,250,000,000
earning $250,000,000 a year and devel
oping 2,500,00 horse power. In all
about $6,000,000,000, an authority says,
Is invested In the electrical business j
In the United States. This is equal
to about $75 for every man, woman
and child in the •ountry—and all in
30 years.
The Straw Itch.
Handlers of -Straw and those who
sleep on straw mattresses run a new
danger, which Is pointed out to the
public in the federal government’s
health bulletin. The “straw' itch’’
which may attack them is due to a
small straw Infesting mite. While the j
mite devours the parasites which or- j
dinarily would damage grain, it may
attack the handler. Within twelve
hours after exposure, itching appears,
followed shortly by an eruption.
A ZULU MISSIONARY WORKER.
Native Convert Who Led Many of
His Tribe to Belief in
Christianity.
Mrs. Amy It. Cowles of the Ameri
can board Zulu mission .ms written an
interesting story of a white-headed na
tive who for ;’>n years , tniggled between
the heathen rites of his early life and
the religion of Christianity, and on his
deathbed was the m-uns of converting
many of tiis tribe.
Dweshula was loved by everybody
in his tribe because he loved every
body. In times of famine It was he
who used to send tils cows to the poor
to be milked for food for the babies;
It was he who used to yoke up his 14 :
oxen and cart a load of corn up to the
famishing without charge, and it was
he who would occasionally give up
his beer, wash off his paint, take off
his skin aprons and put on shirt,
trousers and coat and mingle with
Christian people.
A year or two before hts recent
death lie embraced Christianity, gave
up his beer and five of tils six wives'
and provided houses and a comfortable
support for those Horn whom ho sep
arated. When dying ,ie called all the
members of his tribe, told them how
lie had fought for years to become a
Christian and exhorted them all to be
come so when he was gene. Now the
men are cutting off thoir hoadrlngs,
adopting the clothing of civilization,
tearing down their mud huts and put
ting up decent houses and coming to
"love Dweshula’a God," while the
school children have Increased so rap
idly that a second teacher ts Impera
tively needed all showing the effi
ciency of a native Christian as u nils
slonary.
SIRUP ON MONTANA ROADS
An Idea That Grew Out of the Experi
ment Made on a Tennis
Court.
A scheme for improving the roads
of the state by sprinkling them with
a sirup which Is a refuse In the
manufacture of granulated sugar from
sugar beets will tie submitted to the
good roads convention and is being
widely discussed in I Ids section, writes
a Hillings correspondent of tho I .os
Angeles Times.
The idea of using refuse sirup on
roads grew out of an experiment made
by one of the tennis clubs here. When
tlie court was laid out the dust caused
considerable annoyance, also tlie fact
that witli every rain tho soil was
picked ui) by the shoes of tlie tennis
players.
In looking about for a cheap hinder
one member suggested refuse sirup.
It answered the purpose admirably.
When mixed with salt and poured over
I lie ground to a deptlt of several
Inches tlie ground was rendered im
pervious to water and the dust was
entirely eliminated. It worked virtu
ally us well without salt.
"It is believed that If tlie country
roads are properly graded, rolled and
copiously sprinkled with this refuse
sirup ttiey could he kept in fair con
dition with two such treatments a
year at a cost trifling when compared
with oil.
Old Warships as Forts.
The disposition of about thirty
ships, which have been made prac
tically obsolete as modern fighting
ships by the rapid development in the
construction of naval vessels and the
Increased efficiency of the more re
cent guns, lias confronted the navy de
partment with a perplexing problem.
The July number of Popular Mechan
ics offers the following Interesting so
lution: "The use of a few pf the ves
sels as training ships will undoubted
ly dispose of some of them, but that
helps only a little. The suggestion
which sounds (ho most practical of
any Is the utilization of the more pow
erful ships as forts, stationing some
of them in the approaches of impor
tant harbors, and planting others on
convenient resting places such as
small islands, at the mouths of har
bors. Where no such places are
available it has been proposed to con
struct islands around them."
' - i
Select Society.
Jack was sitting on the front ver
anda one summer evening, when Fido
ran into the street to greet another
dog. Fido’s family very excitedly
called him In. Jack looked on seri
ously a moment, then said: "1
wouldn't like to be Fido, mamma.”
“Why?” asked his mother.
“They don't allow him to associate
with any other dogs. Why," continued
Jack, “they don't allow him to asso
ciate with himself.”—Delineator.
Preservation of Flour.
A new method of preserving flour
has recently been adopted with sue
cess lu England. It Is done by means
of compression. With hydraulic np
paratus the flour Is squeezed Into the
form of bricks, ami the pressure de
stroys all forms of larval life, thus
preserving the flour from the ravages
of insects, while It ts equally secure
from mold. Three hundred pounds of
compressed flour occupy the same
space as 100 pounds In the ordinary
state.
A Shipwrecked Baby
A large Spanish steamer, the Felix
de Abasalo of Bilbao, laden with
coals from Newcastle to Genoa, went
ashore at Alderney during the fog one
morning recently. No lives were lost
The captain and engineer's wives, one
with a babe in arms, landed on 'he
islet.—London Dally Mail
CITY MAN IN THE COUNTRY
How Hi* World Was Widened by a
Chat With a Kindly-Faced
Farmer.
"I went out Into the country the
other day la an automobile just to get
away from business. I was siek of
four walls and a ceiling. 1 w'as long
lug for the open fields. In the coun
try you do not ask the name of tho
farmer trudging along; his face Is
kindly and you speak to hint anyway.
"1 gave the first I saw a lift for a
tulle or two and we gossiped famil
iarly. 1 had left a world of work and
worry lie seemed to he content. 1
had thought my world most wide. His
was full of wonders. He told me how
to kill the smut In oats and now a na
tion's welfare hangs upon the price
of corn, pig iron and pork. We sat
down on a log.
"He told me things you cannot read
In books and showed me where far
beyond the hills his realm begins and
where a mile beyond the green his do
minion ends We chatted on till twi
light when I rode slowly back to town
to take up lighter tasks than his;
(hough mine seemed ponderous bo
fore."
SPIDER ON THE FACE VEIL
Latest Freakish Novelty for Woman’s
Adornment Which Has Been
Offered by Paris.
The spider beauty spot veil la the
latest novelty offered to women. Of
course It originated In Paris. It la a
copy of a spider In black chenille and
is posed outside the veil. It la almost
an Inch and a half in diameter. The
veil is worked In Imitation of a spi
der's Well.
The veils which have been popular
this season so far have been disfigur
ing enough with their leaves, Insects,
birds, aeroplanes and senrllka con
ventional patterns as part of the mesh,
but they all sink Into insignificance
beside the web veil with its spider
ndm nnient.
Late Novelty In Jewelry.
The latest jewelry novelty in Ger
many Is a special type of ring for di
vorced and widowed persons. The
claims set forth for these carious in
novations In rings are that they save
the wearers, especially the feminine
sex, from embarrassing or painful ex
planations and delicately Inform other
Interested persons of their circum
stances.
The designs are but slightly differ
ent from the ordinary ring and the
difference is not so marked but that
they can be displayed or concealed at
will. The divorcee's ring Is of gold
with a broad strip of platinum or sil
ver set in, so that the ring shows a
white stripe, indicating that the mar
riage has been annulled and the ring
divided. Still another ring for the di
voreee has two opposing half moons
and looks very much like an ordinary
signet ring. The ring for widows has
a half covered full moon.
The Height of Kings. ,
A remarkable feature about the
physiques of reigning European inon
archs is that they are nearly all short
er than their consorts. King George
V. is several inches shorter than
Queen Mary. The German empress
Is a trifle taller than the kaiser, who
always insists on the empress sitting
down when they are photographed to
gether. Oznr Nicholas II. looks quite
small by the side of the czarina. Al
fonso of Spain Is n head shorter than
Queen Victoria Eugenie, «ud the king
of Italy hardly reaches to thd shoul
der of Queen Helena. The queSU A*t'
Denmark, too, is a pood deal talk''’
than her husband. Exceptions to the
rule are the king of Norway and the
new king of Belgians. Tile latter Is
six feet two inches in height and tne
tallest king of Europe.
Concrete Fence Posts.
As a material for fence posts con
crete has been found to possess few
of the disadvantages of wood, to have
practically all its advantages, and to
be superior In some respects to tim
ber. The first cost may be more or
less than the best wooden posts, but
that depends on local conditions. If
manufactured aR usual and cured for
three months concrete posts are as
good as the best wooden posts. After
three years wooden posts possess
only one-third to one half of their
original strength, whereas concrete
grows stronger with age and needs no
repairs, ns neither weather nor Are
injures It.
The Credit System.
A South side woman makes frequent
purchases at a near-by drug store, and
always has them charged.
She often takes her five-year-old
daughter with her. One day recently
the child made her way to the store
alone, walked in, picked up the pro
prietor's cat and started for the door.
"Here you have my cat," called out
the druggist.
"Charge It.” said the child, and kept
on going. At last accounts she still
Lad the cat.—Kansas City Post.
No Danger of That.
Mrs. Stubbs—John, no true man will
smoke up his wife’s curtains.
Mr. Stubbs—I should say not. Any
body that smokes curtains would be a
freak. I prefer cigars.
The Shocking Part.
"What do you find particularly
shocking at that play?”
"The people I saw in the audience
whom 1 had hitherto regarded as se
date and conservative people.”
