THE VALENTINE DEMOCRA1 I. fll ItCIS , J'ub Ihhcr. VALENTINE , NEBRASKA , immersion is the Gcrmnn water cure for pirate craft Count Boni de Castellane has jusl bought a chateau In France. The Gould roads have been making money lately. It has been remarked with some de gree of unanimity , also , that the salt trust has gone up the river of the same name. Young King Alfonso wants to have It distinctly understood that he intends to do the cutting up for the whole family. The Duke of Maryborough declares he will never set foot on American soil again. What have we done to deserve this kindness ? Here's the best news of the day : When the school bell rings in Porto Rico 1,200 schools are filled with 50- 000 future Americans. Whistling soloist weddings are among the latest Eastern fads. We shall next hear of somebody whistling "Lead Kindly Light" at a funeral. If the Duke of Veragua resembled his illustrious ancestor of the period of 1492 he would be a good man to Bend in search of the North Pole. England is disposed to admire Amer ica's public school system. Every now and then England discovers something worthy of attention in this country. A book lover who lent two or three and forgot where , is advertising for them in the papers. Never lend a book. What are the public library and the bookstores for ? A girl has applied to the Circuit Court to have her name changed. There are lots of other girls who could tell her a quicker and more satisfac tory way of securing the same result. Peary says the arctic regions would be the best place to send consumptives. This suggests a reason why he wished to discover the North Pole. He may have planned to convert it into health resort An Eastern scientist predicts that in five years the air ship will take the place of the automobile. Are we to understand from this that in five years the air ship will get to killing other besides those who operate it ? According to Rev. A. B. Simpson , the celebrated pocket compeller , the "nov els and books that are given to our young people to read to-day are a scan dal and a disgrace. They are clever , aye , very clever. As clever as the devil , in fact" This is unjust to the devil. If that old serpent is not cleverer than 1)9 ) per cent of the books read by "our young people , " then he is as much of an ass as the legends make him out to be. Mr. Rockefeller's gift to science in the form of an endowment of patho logical research has already borne most interesting fruit , if it is true , as re ported , that investigators working un der the endowment have discovered the germ of cholera infantum. Anything which should help to prevent or check the ravages of a disease which carries off so many thousands of children ev ery summer would make Mr. Rocke feller's gift one of the most valuable the world has ever known. "Wealthy and wonderful" is as good nu alliterative phrase to be applied to the West as "wild and woolly. " More over , it has the advantage of truth. The new civilization of the plains is pictured by a recent incident ten miles from a Kansas town. A farmer , riding under an awning on a sulky plow met , at the end of his furrow , the rural mail vagon. The driver tossed the farmer t bundle of mail , and as the team took . : p its steady course back across the 'ialf-mile field , the farmer unfolded the daily paper , printed that morning two hundred miles away , and read the happenings In China and the news of the political campaign. Burglars should always be polite , but some of them are carrying refinement of manners to the point of insolence. For example , the burglar who made a business call at a house in Thirty-first street , New York. For twenty minutes he searched the house for keepsakes. Meanwhile , outside , one man was look ing for a policeman and another man was waiting for the caller to come out , and , inside , the burglar alarm was sput tering awajr and not alarming the bur glar. At the end of that time he came down the steps calmly , lighted a cigar , walked jauntily past the watcher and disappeared. We should hate to be con vinced that a gentlemanly burglar can be ungentlemanly , but It was Insulting to the watcher to saunter by him , and the cigar was a detail positively arro gant. The masculine worm Is sometimes a little slow In turning , but when he does turn his revolutions are amazing. The Pennsylvania man who objected to his wife's written rules of conduct has been sustained by an upright judge not that he refused to "take a bath all over once a week , " or "to go to church : md Sunday school , " but because he maintained that he was not bound to sign an agreement pledging himself to these and other specific articles. There- fN'e his wife deserted him and demand ed a regular allowance for her support But she forgot that the applause of a woman's club is not necessarily the edict of a court of justice , and Mr. Sut- ton Is now free to marry a woman who will not present him with a written order to "get up at 5 o'clock without calling you. " Little by little , with the helpful support of the judiciary , we men are getting back to the old busi ness basis. That was a good word which An thony Hope Hawkins said recently in appreciation of the modern novel. He characterized It as "fresh , alive , readi ly responsive , full of healthy curiosity , courageous to the verge of audacity , greedy of every new experience. " He further said : "Its faults are not the vices of decadence , but defects of viril ity and confidence. " The word of as surance is a relief from the chorus of wailing that comes from critics who affect to survey the field of fiction , and see no Thackeray , no George Eliot , a Meredith already past 70 and a Thom as Hardy preferring to write poor poetry than good prose. The great mass of fiction writers , they hold , have little idea of good art and care less. The immense sales of novels which can live only a brief day show the crudG taste of the public seeking the popular sensation. Is the case so bad ? Have not the popular novels their rea son for being , and that a good one ? "The Crisis" may not be a great work of art , but It responds to a deep , loyal sentiment of the American people , evoked anew by the Spanish war and by comparison reviving interest in the earlier critical period. "The Octopus" may not be immortal. It has its weak points , but a moral as well as economical principle is at stake in which the public at large Is interested. The work of fiction which deals with a question of this kind is sure to have large sales and numberless readers. The intensely practical life of to-day must eventually find expression in a truly artistic way , just as the passion for beauty found artistic expression in Greece and the passion for religious feeling is shown in the art of the mid dle ages. Art in any new direction is slow in coming to perfection. Mean while critics sigh over the past with out looking to see prophetic glimpses of new and perhaps better things. ' " " first When Browning's "Paracelsus" appeared the London Athenaeum saw no promise of the future Browning. It dismissed the work in three lines : "Not without talent , but spoiled by obscu rity , and only an imitation of Shelley. " It is never worth while to cling too regretfully to the past , and critics would do better to look for signs of promise in the mass of what they are disposed to pronounce mere verbiage. They may then come to Anthony Hope's conclusion and find the faults which they lament to be the defects of virility and confidence and not the vices of decadence. The Quiet Man in the Corner. I lingered o'er a checker game a night The OIIP > played against me seemed to o no ghost of show ; I had a bunch of Insty kings that strutted all about And bullied my opponent's men , who dared not A'enture out. 'Way over in a corner shrunk a timid little man Who staid right in his station ever since the same began. He watched my crowned heads marching by with banner and with song , And seemed to be discouraged over stand ing still so long. But pretty soon an opening occurred two blocks away , And not another moment did that little felloAV stay , BTe bounded o'er the board and took three kings in one fell SAVOOP , rhen lauded in my king-roAV with a wild , ecstatic whoop. i'ou've knoAvn these quiet fellows that just sat around and thought A.nd never made a noise while the others raged and fought ; Die whole community had come to think of them as dead , Or else so very near it that their hope of fame had fled. Ehe chaps with recognition for their por tion pose and strut , seem to overlook the man who keeps his talker shut. But some day , when 'most every one is looking t'other way , tc Fhis quiet fellow sees a chance to break tI into the play. I Ele reaches out and grabs things that E the others had ignored ; 3e ! puts into the life-game all the energy . he's stored rhrough all the years of silence. So I you'd better not forget still man in the corner , for he'll reach the king-row yet ! Los Angeles Herald. Turning the Tables. Among the students at a Chicago nedical college was one who frequently rled to "play to the galleries" by twist- ug his answers in such a way as to aise a laugh. But one day the laugh' vent against him , says the Chicago lecord-Herald. One of his hits , although not at all * * original , was his description of a re- narkable red bat he had seen. The class vas much interested , but the professor vas skeptical , and intimated that he hould be better stisfied if he were to ee It. "I've brought it with me , " said the tudent , and taking the paper off a ackage he exhibited a brickMt The other day he was asked about the irlgln of cholera. o "Asia , they say , " he answered , "but rom my own experience I should say e t was in the abdominal region. " fi "I did not mean cholera Infantum , " fiP fisi emarked the professor , blandly , and si he joker couldn't see for some time \ titi rhat the others were laughing at. ti When you look at some people the irst thing you think of Is a club. I tSbOJlW THE WIFE IN BUSINESS. MAN'S wife often knows more than he does about a great many things , and while he need not lower himself in her estimation by admitting her mental superiority , it is .sometimes well for him to silently rec ognize her superior intelligence , and profit by It. If he is a wise man , he will not be too ready to come into ac cord with the opinions of his wife , but will affect a great deal of wisdom of his own , even though he knows he has none. It never increases a wife's re spect for her husband to know that he is her inferior in anything , and it cer tainly does not increase her respect or affection to have him intimate by word or look that she does not know anything at all. The judgment of the average woman regarding the disbursement of money is often better than that of the average man , particularly when it comes to spending money for domestic purposes. It takes a shrewd tradesman to get over the average sensible woman , while the tradesman finds it easy to work off stale goods on the average man ; and the most conceited man might as well acknowledge frankly that his wife can attend to most of the affairs of her own household better than he can attend to them for her. Women very often have the most acute perception regarding business affairs. If men would only "talk business" with their wives , instead of taking it for granted that women "don't understand any thing about business , " there would probably be fewer failures. Many a successful business man owes his suc cess to the keenness of judgment of u partner whose name does not appear in the firm or over the shop window , and who is not supposed to have any connection with the business and that partner is his wife , In whom he is wise enough to confide. Housewife. Hansrinir of Pictures. To give the walls of a room a digni fied and restful feeling , nothing must be placed upon them to disturb the vertical effect A wall shoulu remain a flat surface. The first illustration shows a picture hung with two hooks so that the wire forms vertical lines that harmonize with Ilie lines of the frame. The picture be'ing fiat against the wall casts no unrestful shadows. The second illustration shows a very HOW TO HANG PICTUliCS. common but mistaken fashion of hang ing pictures. Here the eye is dis tracted from the picture , which should be the center of interest. The oblique lines of the wire are obtrusive , and the ugly shadow usually cast by the sverhanging frame is still more so. In ract , all the lines confuse the eye , so ' that a wall thus hung with pictures j ' : an never be beautiful or reasonable Tom an artistic standpoint Good 3ousekeeping. Tranquillity. Who does not love a tranquil heart L sweet-tempered , balanced life ? It Iocs not matter whether it rains 01 ibines , or what misfortunes come to hose possessing these blessings , for .hey are always sweet , serene and : alm. That exquisite poise of character vhich we call serenity is the last les ion of culture , it is the flowering of ife , the fruitage of the soul. It Is as precious as wisdom , more o be desired than gold yea , than ven fine gold. How contemptible uere money-wealth looks in compari- on with a serene life a life which Iwells in the ocean of truth , beneath he waves , beyond the reach of tem- iests , in the eternal calm ! How many people we know who our their lives , who ruin nil that is weet and beautiful by explosive tem- ers , who destroy their poise of char- cter by bad blood ! In fact , it is a uestion whether a great majority of eople do not ruin their lives and mar lieir happiness by lack of self-control , low few people we meet in life who re well-balanced , who have that ex- uisite poise which is characteristic of lie finished character ! November uccess. o 0 The Neiv Woman. c Oh , "New Woman ! " you who face le twentieth centurjr with the secret , If-complaisaut reflection that you a re the highest production of your sex , > ok back with honest impartiality to le woman of colonial days and grow umble. You are priding yourself not little because you are a graduate of v mith , of Wellesley , Vsissar , or some ther great college , that you can stir ) ur clubs with scholarly theses or A isy-flowing words , that you are pro- cient in domestic science , informed olitically , that you are traveled ; in iort , are a brilliant , cultured , at- active women , drilled to meet the si ixing exigencies of modern life. Par- sia ) n me if I draw your attention to t ( le fact that all your life-equipment si sia iay be acquired by any woman of a : average endowments opportunity per mitting. Your real fiber has nevei been put to a straining test Hav < you the vast courage required for pio neering ? Could you lend your fine in stincts to the cheerful making of can dles , cheese and medicines ? to wash ing and carding wool , spinning , weav Ing and knitting , to eternal mending brewing and baking ? Could you stiiU your yearnings to quietude while yoi' ' churned , wove clumsy carpets , and did' a hundred other homely things ? Anc if you bore the test , would you have' ' spirit left for dancing minuets , foi making yourself a charming , ever hospitable hostess , for keeping ir touch with the greater affairs abou * you , and finally for insuring to youi children ( as only a mother can insure ; the gladness of childhood , spite of dangers , ever surrounding you ? Gooc Housekeeping. X j > I I r . &fu\i t Fashions change so rapidly that tlier * , are few homes where the remodeling of last season's gowns does not become a necessity , and the question to be con sidered is how it may be done in the most satisfactory manner. In some large places there are dressmakers make a specialty of making dresses over , and derive a good income from it , but many women do their own sew ing , which is a great saving , and witli the aid of good patterns the results are very satisfactory. If one wishes to accomplish a greal deal of work in a short time , it is besl to have a small room set apart for the sewing room. One cannot keep the sitting room neat if such work is done there , and this consideration , as well as the comfort of the family , will well re pay the expense of heating a separate room. There should be a good machine a cutting table , a large and well-fitted work-basket , and a set of drawers foi1 keeping pieces of various material ? left from dresses and other garments. spools of silk and cotton thread , tin finished sewing , etc. A wire skirt form is a great convenience , enabling one to j see at a glance whether they are even ! all around or not. A woman with : i ' room fitted Avith all the implement' 1 needed can accomplish almost twice as ' much as one whose tools are scattered , j ' When a dress is to be made over il . ' should be ripped apart , every stitcli ' : picked out , and the cloth sponged andl pressed before it is put together again Black silk should be sponged thor- mighly , then rolled smoothly on a roll j ing pin. The economical woman buys < Ljood material , then when it becomes ] faded or she groAA's tired of the color , ) ne or two packages of dye will make t fresh and pretty again. NaA'y or in- ligo blue , seal brown , wine color 01 jottle green are handsome , while black s ahA-ays a safe change. The bri htei ; hades are often preferred for children The sewing should be done as care- : ully as if it Avere a new garment , foi : : he little details make a great deal of lifference in the appearance of a goAvn. L'he safest plan for an amateur is to rut the lining of the waist and fit it on lie person for whom it is intended , > efore cutting the material. Get a good ) attern If you do not cut by a chart , ind follow the directions in the min- itest details , and you can scarcely fail o obtain satisfactory results. The kirt is almost as important as the ' vaist ; the top Is snug fitting , and ild-fashioned gores are easily shaped vitliout piecing. Two old skirts Uiay e used for one of the new ones with he circular flounce , by using one foi he gores and the other for the flounce To Clean a Sewinjr Machine. To clean a sewing machine place il ear the fire to get warm , that the con- ealed oil about it may melt and then il it thoroughly with paraffin. Work a : quickly for a few minutes , then wipe ff all the paraffin and dirt , treat it to little more clean paraffin , wipe il E ( gain , and after the application of a ; ery little of the ordinary lubricating il it will be ready for use. People ften shirk the trouble of thoroughly f ( leaning their machines like this , but a atl clogged and "heaA-y" machine under tl lis treatment will become like new , nd its easy AA-orking will be an ample S ( - trouble incurred. iAA-ard for any sc To Wash Stockings. All kinds of stockings require careful ashing. No soda should ever be used , ad the water should be only moderate- warm for both washing and rinsing , tiqi fter rinsing , which should be done qi i water containing a few drops of IDw ammonia dry them w quid , quickly out ! doors in a good current of air and ess with a warm iron when dry. Silk ockings require several rinsings , and ti : ter pressing ( not wringing ) the wa- r out of them and pulling them in be tape they should be shaken out well cl " id rolled In a cloth to dry. m Heart Sonp. Soak a pint of beans all night In the morning put over the fire with two quarts of cold water , a half-pound of salt pork , cut small ; a pound of cracked beef bones ; an onion and a stalk of cel ery , chopped ; salt and pepper to taste. Boll slowly for four or five hours , or until the liquid is reduced one-half Strain through a colander , rubbing the peas through also. Return to the fire stir in a tablespoouful of butter rubbec to a paste with one of flour , and wher the soup boils up once serve. Devil's Cake. Half a cup of grated chocolate , hal. a cup of sweet milk , half a cup ol brown sugar. Boil these ingredients together until thick as cream and let cool. One cup of brown sugar , half a cup of butter , two eggs , beaten ; two- thirds .of a cup of milk , vanilla flavor ing. Mix well , beat in the boiled mix ture , and two cups of flour sifted with a heaping teaspoonful of baking pow der. Bake in layers and when cool put together with boiled frosting. Boiled Stuffed Chicken. Boil till about half cooked enough onions to fill the chickens to be cooked , and drain ; mash them a little , moisten with milk , season with salt and while pepper and a chopped celery stalk or two to them. Fill the chickens , truss them , and boil till tender. Let the water in which they boil cook away slowly till only a half pint or so re mains. Add to this half a pint of rich cream , season as needed with pepper and salt , thicken and serve. Oranire Marmalede. Wash , seed and slice very thin a lozen oranges and two large lemons , [ f you have not a quart and a pint of iuice add enough water to make that luantity of liquid. Put the fruit and iquor over the fire , cover and simmer , * ery slowly until the peel is tender. Vdd three pounds of sugar and boil intil the skin looks clear and is like elly when poured in a saucer and : ooled. J'asrry. Into a pound of flour chop a half- ound of cold , firm butter until you lave a coarse powder. Wet with a eacupful of iced water , work with a poon to a paste , turn upon a floured ioard , roll out , fold over and roll out igain , and repeat this process three imes. Put for two hours or longer in he ice , then roll out and make into lies. Have all ingredients ice cold. California Cookie * . One cupful of molasses , one-half cup- ul of milk , one egg , onehalt'cupful of Butter , one-half cupful of sugar , one upful of chopped raisins , one-half easpoonful each of ground cloves , cin- amon and nutmeg , one teaspoonful of oda. Mix in flour like soft ginger- read and drop in spoonfuls on butter- d tins. Bake quickly. Fried Cod Steaks. Trim the steaks well and flatten ; cov r each with a coating of oil , in which re lemon juice , a little onion juice , ayenne pepper and salt At least an our the fish should stay in this dress- ig , then lightly drained , dipped in egg , len in crumbs and fried. Or if it is referred to have it broiled , drain it 'om the oil and put right on the grid- on over a hot fire. Utitter-cotch. Put into a saucepan a cup of sugar , cup of water , two tablespoonfuls of Inegar and a heaping tablespoonful of utter. Boil steadily without stirring atil a little dropped in cold water is rittle. Remove from the fire , add a iblespoonful of lemon juice , turn into buttered pan and mark off into [ uares. Fndjjc. Boil together a cup of milk , one ol igor and one of grated chocolate until little dropped in cold water hardens , ben remove from the fire , add a tea- toonful of vanilla and beat until r eamy and granulated. Turn into a eased pan and mark off into squares. tlh tlP Brief Hints. P Never light a lamp with paper , foi tl agments of it are sure to drop off into tla tle e burner. e : A little borax in the last rinsing water tln ill make handkerchiefs easier to iron n id look better when done. Io imitate ground glass dissolve Ep- y s in salts in beer and apply it with a ush to the glass. As it dries it crys- tiol ol Ilizes. IT Knife-cleaning may easily be per- rmed by rubbing the knives over with slice of and then potato polishing II em with brick dust IIki SVash chamois leather in lukewarm , ki apsuds and finally rinse in slightly apy water of the same temperature , : washing leather in clear water uses It to harden. Dry in the air and t near a fire. ror cleaning enameled baths , zinc bs , etc. , use a paste made of equal antities of shaved yellow soap , whit- * and soda , dissolved over the fire th the smallest quantity of water re- ired to keep it from burning. Boiled starch is much improved by alPC addition of a little salt or dissolved PC m arable. A useful thing to remem- be : Is that the Iron will not stick to the th thes If the starch used has been sed with soapy water. tr 1'i I SOCIAL INSTINCT OF ANTS. Insects Who Preferred Dnty to thr Call of Pleasure. A swarm of formica pratensis var closely pressed in its nesl by an armj I , i V of the same species , and crowds ol alarmed defenders issued from the en trance to the nest and flew to take Like Satan , th < part in the fight tempter of old , I placed near them a drop of honey on a piece of paper , sayi International World. a writer in the At any other time the honey would have been covered in a few instants with ants gorging themselves , but this time numerous working ants came upon it , tasted it for scarcely a second and returned to it restlessly three 01 four times. Conscientiousness , th feeling of duty , invariably prevailed over gonnandism , and they left the honey to go and be killed while defend ing the community. I am bound tc own , however , that there are ants lest social in whom gormandism does pre vail. Compared to the manner of other so ciable animals , and especially to those of man , the manner of ants exhibits a profound and fundamental aggregation of facts of convergence due to their so cial life. Let me mention devotion , th < instinctive sentiment of duty , slavery , torture , war , alliances , the raising ol cattle , gardening , harvesting , and even social degenerescence through the at traction of certain harmful means oJ enjoyment It would be ridiculous and erroneous to see in the fulfillment oJ this series of acts individual reason ing , the result of calculated reflection analogous to ours. The fact that eact is fixed and circumscribed within one species , as well as the fatalistic char acter it has in that species , proves this superabundantly. But it would be as grave a mistake to refuse to recognize the deep natural laws that are conceal ed under this convergence. Is the case different as regards our actions , though they are infinitely more plastic and more complex individually ? I do no1 believe it I have been unable to give more than a short sketch of the social life of ants Let each one study it for himself and lie will experience in doing so the deej enjoyment that comes from sounding the secrets and laws of nature , while it the same time he will enjoy the most lelightful satire upon human wretched- ness , and will perceive at least the main lines of a social example that we night to be able to imitate , though we : annot do so on account of the too large lose of egotistical and ferocious in stincts that we have inherited from oui incestors. DOCTOR WAS TOO CLEVER. * u anonymous physician who has vritten some "confessions" for the In- lependcnt tells this story about him- ; elf : "I received a request to call rom an old patient who was afraid sh vas taking scarlet fever. I responded it once. The patient was one of twc Iderly sisters whom I had attended foi tiany years. I greeted her in the sit tig room and noted her pulse while ir he act of shaking hands with her. Bj ome witty remarks I contrived t < nake her laugh , which enabled me tc ee her tongue. Then I said in a play ul tone : 'If you will get me a glass 1 rill treat you to-some of my patent oda water. ' She did so. I put a tab- it in the water , and she drank it 1 , 'ant you to know that I take pride in ly original methods. I try to educate ly patients to like , and not to dread tie visits of the doctor. In this cast 11 of my work had been done without lie direct knowledge of the patient nd I felt very good over it. So I badt ly patient good-by with extrerm lieerfulness. She looked surprised anc icn said : 'Of course , you Avill conn pstairs and see my sister ? ' 'Not to ay , ' I said. 'Give her my respects. , Vhy , ' she said , looking mystified anc tartled , 'how strangely you talk ! strangely ? ' I echoed. 'Why ? ' 'Be luse I sent for you to prescribe foi iy sister and you decline to see her. : flashed over my mind in an instant had prescribed for the wrong sister was entirely too clever. " "Humorous Yankee Thief. " An American thief named Arthu. obinson has set Paris laughing by hij tpartee Avhen arraigned for trial. Al ie papers publisb pictures of "tin imorous Yankee. " Robinson ap ; ared in the criminal court and askec , at the trial be postponed because hi < torney was ill and unable to be pres tt The judge said he couldn't gram e request because two postpone ents had already been * alloA\ed lave you confessed repeatedly thai m were sentenced in the Unitec ates for petit larceny ; that you stol < A is man's pocketbook and struck th ( \ Seer Avbo arrested you ? " queried thi figistrate. 'Yes , your Honor , " Robinson replied 'Then what could your lawyers sai your defense ? " demanded the court 'That's just what ' I'm curious t < low , " the Yankee said , grinning. H 't ' six months in jail. Plainly Stated. Mr. Yerning-If you will only mar me , I promise you I'll make you t od husband. Miss De Termind Never fear ! If j cide to marry you I'll make you that Philadelphia Press. Ironze Beard" Probably a Fiction Che first fourteen Roman emperon shaved their faces clean. There is j rtralt bust representing Nero with J ard , but It Is not believed to be an sntic. L little learning often saves a mai > m Jury doty.