OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
tt
Fear of the Surgeon's Knife.
millionaire who killed himself rather than suffer
THE surgical operation for appendicitis is a type of
many individuals who prefer death to the thought
of going under the scalpel. It is by a strange men
ial process that they come to such a choice. Often , as in
this latest case , the pain to be endured is vastly exag
gerated by imagination , while "the sense of death is most
( n apprehension ; " for the removal of the vermiform ap
pendix , save in cases of acute development , is rarely deadly
Nowadays.
Perhaps this wretched man had such a case of "nerves"
frhen he was ordered to the surgeon that his system was
ttrung to the snapping point and only needed the sugges
tion of the knife to induce recourse to the revolver. Again ,
kis may have been spmewhat like the experience of the
brave and gallant duelist of whom De Maupassant has
piven us such an intense study the man of certain marks
manship who pondered all night over the act of killing
lis man on the morrow until from certainty his mind
trifted to doubt , from doubt to fear , from fear to panic
tad insanity , until the pistol that was to kill his adver-
lary he turned on his own brain.
It was long contemplation of the operation , no doubt ,
{ hat made death welcome to the man with the appendix ,
ft was Shakespeare's Brutus who truly said , "Cowards die
taany times before their deaths. " This individual was
Ifraid of pain , but of death he was unafraid. It is a cu
rious process of the mind that makes mere physical fear
lominate the moral courage it takes to blow out one's
Brains. It is a part of the dark , impenetrable Mystery of
Life. New York Press.
Importance of Thibet.
the proposed expedition into Thibet has
appealed to the general imagination chiefly in
WHILE
point of its promise of revealing to general
knowledge an unknown land and a hidden city ,
It has , in fact , great actual importance as England's first
rffort to check Russian influence in possibly the most vital
Joint which it is to-day essaying to conquer.
Thibit is not in itself a delectable land but it lies ad-
tacent to India. Lhassa , for all its secret , is known to
) e comparatively an insignificant town but it is the seat
if the Dalai-Lama , Pope of the Buddhist world , the in-
mrnation of the All-Merciful God for five hundred millions
If human beings. These form a large part of the popula
tion of India , and they dominate China. It is by virtue of
! he influence that has gone forth from the sacred hill on
irhich Dalai-Lama dwells that the present Manchu dynasty
kas been maintained in power in the Middle Kingdom and
throughout the vast tributary realms which up to now
kave constituted the Chinese empire. What the Buddhist
) ontiff has done for Manchus he can do again for Musco-
Wes. It was from Mukden that the Manchu lords ex
tended their sway over the kingdoms to the south of
Iranchuria ; Russia is in that ancient capital now , and if
FIRST TORPEDO BOAT.
A Newsdealer of Toronto Telia Plow
lie Built It.
"I built the first torpedo boat mat
ever worked , " said James C. Cousins ,
newsdealer , at the corner of Queen
street and Spadina avenue , Toronto , to
the Globe , in discussing the use of tor
pedoes in the Russo-Japanese war. "I
was a ship carpenter at Charleston , S.
G. , when the Civil War began , and as
there were a lot of Yankee vessels
about there General Beauregard asked
me one day to see what I could do in
the way of a torpedo boat I tookxsome
one-inch boards and built a cigar-
shaped boat thirty feet long. At the
bow we rigged a copper kettle , holding
about seventy-five pounds of powder.
TJhe kettle was fastened to a pole , so
that we could lift it out of the water
when the boat was going , and then
sink it about eight feet under water
when we got to close quarters. The
pole was at an angle of 45 degrees , so
that the kettle would strike the hull of
the enemy below the water line. The
kettle had some percussion caps on
the top , and the force of the collision
would make them explode like this , "
said Mr. Cousins , and , pulling out a
pencil , he drew this sketch :
"We rigged the boat in Captain
FLRST TOKPEDO BOAT.
James Eastman's yard , and called it
the Little David. That was in iU2.
When it was finished we saw the big
Yankee war vessel Ironsides just out
side of Charleston harbor , and sent the
Little David after her. The boat was
In charge of Mr. Mills , who kept the
Mills House , and the crew were Lieu
tenant Lascelle , Charles Hance , who
acted as pilot , and a big Irishman ; I
forget his name. The Little David
went straight for the Ironsides , the
torpedo was lowered and exploded
against the hull. The water washed
over the Little David , and some of it
ttrent down the smokestack and put out
the fire. Lascelle and the Irishman
Jumped overboard , but Hance and
Mills managed to get the Little David
back into the harbor , and she often did
good work after that. The Ironsides
did not sink , but was so badly dam
aged that she had to be towed away
by two other vessels. "
Mr. Cousins , who was born in New-
castle-on-Tyne , England , has had a
long and varied career by sea and by
land. After a trip through the Baltic
he sailed for many years in the Med
iterranean , and in addition to the sea
ports has vfsited Jerusalem and othm
cities of the East , and also Rome. He
was unfortunate enough to be ship
wrecked five times. He worked in a
shipyard at Quebec about fifty years
ago , but , becoming tired of the job ,
traveled through the States ami on to
Huba. But yellow fever at Mnntanzas
the Russians would wrest it from their predecessors they
would find it the greatest possible aid to have a friend in
the Grand Lama , before whom Asia bows as Europe never
bowed before a Pope of Rome. Philadelphia Ledger.
Japan's Industries.
we take into consideration the fact that a
WHEN generation ago trade in any shape
or form was regarded by the Japanese
as one of the most degrading pursuits ,
and that all those who followed commercial avoca
tions were classed in the lowest section of the social scale ,
we cannot fail to appreciate the splendid national qualities
which in thirty years have transformed a primitive agricul
tural country into an industrial nation. The silk trade con
tinues to rank as the leading staple industry , "and year
after year the area of land planted with mulberry trees
increases. In 1902 the value of Japan's exports of ra\t
silk reached almost eight millions sterling. Of late tin
manufacture of cotton yarns has undergone material ex
pansion , and well-equipped mills have sprung up in va
rious parts of the country. The manufacture of matches i
also a thriving industry , and it is worth noting that the
Japanese matches find their way as far as British India.
Coal and copper mining are as yet not fully developed , but
it is the opinion of local British experts that , with better
methods of working the mines , the export trade in coal
could be brought up to between forty and fifty million
tons per annum. London Graphic.
Longer Life for Mankind.
ODERN sanitation and the improvement in the
practice of medicine are showing notable results
in the prevention and cure of diseases and in
_ _ prolonging human life. The Chicago Health De
partment , for instance , finds that since 1872 the average
length of life has doubled in Chicago. In 1903 the aver
age age at death was 42 per cent greater than in 1882 , and
111 per cent greater than in 1872. The cause of this in
crease in vitality , according to the bulletin , is due to the
introduction of vaccination and the antitoxins , the discovery
of antiseptics and methods of anaesthesia , and , most im
portant of all , "the recognition of the importance of clean
liness , personal and circumferential. "
Statistics recently made public in Massachusetts show
that the number of deaths from consumption in that State
has been reduced about one-half in a little oven ten years.
The death rate from this disease has been greatly decreased
in New York in the past decade by the use of sanitary
methods and the fresh-air cure. The gratifying results
from intelligent treatment and the enlightenment of the
people regarding the prevention and treatment of tuber
culosis lead to the hope that the doctors will in course
of time conquer even this great scourge of the human race.
Baltimore Sun.
Is
The Transsiberian railway is not the complete piece of equipment which
it is popularly supposed to be. It is not even actually continuous , for at Lake
Baikal passengers and goods must be transshipped across the lake. In winter
this , of course , has to be done on the ice. The illustration shows two officials
being hurried across Lake Baikal on the way to the East As soon as It be- Q j >
came evident that war was inevitable the Russians put an enormous force of jj
men at work laying tracks across the lake. The thousands of men have
labored night and day , and it is now officially announced that this link will L
b
be ready for service in a very short time. If this should prove to be true ,
it will greatly facilitate the transportation of men , horses and supplies from
Russia to the scene of conflict.
tv
stopped his journeying for a while.
After some years in Europe he cuine
out to Charleston , S. C. , at the opening
of the war , and joined the Charleston
Light Infantry under Captain T. G.
Simmons. He spent four mouths in
garrison at Fort Sumter after the sur
render of Major Anderson and after
wards took part in fourteen engage
ments.
VERY FEW WOMEN STAMMER.
Why The.T Are So Seldom Afflicted
with This Disease.
How many women have you ever
known who stammered ? A few of us ,
if this question were put , could remem
ber one or possibly two , but the great
majority would have difficulty in re
calling a single case.
And how many men ?
Most persons at even a moment's no
tice can recall cases ranging in number
from one to five.
This divergence is due not to any
trick of a defective memory , but to
one of the most curious of actual facts.
The truth is that the proportion of
those afilicted with stammering or
stuttering is 100 men to 1 woman. It
is one of the most remarkable things
in the science of pathology. Even the
specialists in nervous diseases seem
utterly at a loss to account for it.
An eminent medical authority is
quoted as saying that in all his experi
ence he had known of only one woman
that stammered. When nsked how he
accounted for the immunity of the fair
sex from this sUlliction he replied :
"Stammering is an epileptic affec
tion of the organs of speech , and the
victim is usually a person of a high-
o
strung , excitable temperament A1 tts
the last analysis the cause lies in tha
mind ; that is , the stammerer stammers it
because he fears he will stammer and in
thus make himself ridiculous.
"Stammering is due to self-con
sciousness , and it has been my experi
ence that women seldom suffer from It
self-consciousness. Social success lf
more necessary to their happiness thai !
it Is to men's , and if as girls they hav <
a tendency to shyness or timidity they
set about overcoming it at an early
age , and concentrate their attention
upon doing so until they succeed.
"I do not mean to say that all wom
en are totally void of self-conscious
ness. It is curious , however , that II
they have a tendency to shyness 01
timidity that is so deeply rooted as to
make it difficult to overcome , their conj In
fusion most often manifests itself Iq as
blushing rather than stammering. 1
have known girls who were victims oi 3
the blushing habit , and I discovered
that they blushed for the same reason by
that I stammered fear of doing so.
Denver Post less
The Fool and His Money.
Towne Our friend Lenders must bf
the proverbial fool.
Browne Oh , come now ; that's rath of
er hard. also
Towne Well , I heard Borroughs re er
mark that he was a "perfect gentle not
man. " Philadelphia Press.
When a woman has children of tha wi
croupj" age , she looks like goosr has
grease from November till May. ical
Planets revolve , but shooting stan
are not necessarily revolvers. . r
be
New York has a German population
) f 809,000 and Chicago has 440,000.
The twenty-five largest London the-
iters seat 28,600 people and earn § 30-
XX ) a night
England gets about $5,000,000 worth
jf new gold from Africa every month
ind $7,500,000 worth out of Australia.
Miss Vida Goldstein , the woman
Miididate in Victoria for a seat in the
Commonwealth Senate , was not elect-
2d , but she received 51,000 votes.
The annual loss from the burning of
buildings in the United States Is about
[ 5135,000,000 , not including cost of insurance -
surance and the appliances for fire pro-
tection.
bore put down at Cessnock , near
Maitlund , in New South Wales , recent-
ly penetrated , at a depth of 200 feet , a
seam of coal twenty-seven feet in
thickness.
In a divinity ess'ay written by an
English schoolboy appeared the follow
ing passage : "So he sed unto Mosses.
Come forth ; but he come fifth and lost
the jobb. Morral , Git up urly. "
Mr. Chamberlain is said to be a re-
tnarkably proficient political stage
manager , appreciating and knowing
the value of a dramatic entrance quite
as well as Sir Henry Irving or Mr.
Beerbohm Tree.
It is stated that over 2,700,000 tons
of dust ejected from the Soufriere volnu
Cano in St. Vincent have fallen on the
Island of Barbados. The dust , contrary
to expectation , has been found to have
QO fertilizing value.
Public revenue of Great Britain
from April 1 , 1903 , to the latest date
at hand amounted to $227,849,765 , a de
crease of $38,004,795 from last year.
Expenditures were $592,738,225 , a fall-
tng off of $191,714,305 from last year.
The value of exports to the United
States from Panama in the fiscal year
1903 amounted to $193,342 , of which
150,707 was the. value of hides , $49-
t)74 ) India rubber , $27,805 cocobolo nuts ,
? 10,59S ivory nuts , $13,372 deer skins
and $0,908 coffee.
Phonographic records of Emperor
\Villiam's voice , on metal matrices ,
will be the first deposits made in the
phonetic archives that are to be kept
at Harvard University , and in the Con
gressional Library and the National
Museum at Washington.
"
The Russian government has elabor-
a ted statutes on general life insurance
by the state. The business is to be .
Intrusted to the governmental savings
banks. All kinds of policies will be ,
issued anel the insured will participate
in the profits of the business.
Cobra George Salein , an Egyptian ,
who entered the Missouri University
last fall and is taking the four-year
course in agriculture , is so well pleased a
with his work that he has succeeded in
persuading several of his friends in
Egypt and Turkey to come and take a
similar course in some American col
lege.
In commemoration of the Indian
princess Pocahontas , who died at
Gravesend , England , when about to
sail to Virginia with her husband In
1010 , St. George's Church , in Wapping ,
to have a pulpit made of wood
brought from Virginia. Pocahontas is
buried in the chancel of St. George's
Church.
The Greco-Roman chariot in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art , New
Stork , one of the now exhibits , has ex-
jited great interest among artists and
archaeologists. Its preservation was in
lue to the fact that it was buried by heA
the ashes of Vesuvius. Many other A
treasures were found in the same
neighborhood ( , some of which Baron no
Rothschild bought and presented to
the Louvre. The chariot in question is an
rwo-wheeled and is perhaps the rarest up
the world. lis
Feb. 13 was the centennial of the raj
ttsc of steam traction on railroads. It m
tvas only a five-ton moving engine run- ar
ling over the Merthyr Tydfil course ,
inventor was Richard Trevithic , a St.
Dornishman. It could draw fifteen tons
a rate of five miles an hour. It had
eight-inch cylinder and toothed
stc
tvheels , which caught in notched rails
ind helped it over hard places in the
track. Only a few trips were made by
, for the experiment was not com-
tnercially profitable.
fALENT HAS DEVELOPED EARLY.mi
an
Precocious Youngsters Who Are Mak- pa
iiiE Their Mark in the "World. de
At Grand Rapids , Mich. , there is a he
precocious child who recites selections on
from Kipling , Paul Laurence Dunbar ,
Eugene Field and James Whitcomb
Riley with apparently as much appre der
ciation of the demands of the pieces oil
the matter of expression and dialect
many a professional elocutionist
This child is Louise Remington Fay ,
% years old , daughter of Mrs. Helen
Remington Fay. She cornea naturally boy
her talent as her mother is an elo
cutionist and has appeared more or ing
in public ever since she was a few
years older than her daughter. Re
cently Louise gave readings from Kip '
ling and Dunbar before the Elocution
Club , and the event has been the talk
its members ever since. She has
appeared in public on several oth
occasions. The child's mind does
seem taxed In the least by her er
work.
A youthful inventor has just built a
wireless telegraph apparatus which he
operated with success in the phys and
laboratory of the Indianapolis my.
Manual Training High School. He is
Arthur Berger , 19 years old , who .will
graduated , with the June class.
Berger conceived the Idea four years
ago of making a wireless telegraph
system. He gathered all the knowl
edge he could of the Marconi system
from scientific periodicals. When fa
miliar with the apparatus and the
fundamental principles he began his
first machines. They were crude af
fairs , but demonstrated the soundness
of the principle on which he had built
them.
Last year , during his study of elec
tricity in advanced physics , Berger began -
gan the construction of a second set )
of instruments , with many improve
ments upon his former system.
The construction of a wireless tele
graph system is not the first apparatus
made by Berger. He has invented an
automatic letter-folding machine defp
signed to facilitate the work of thd
mailing departments of large business
.
firms. The machine folds the letters ,
puts in any advertising matter desired -
sired , such as a return postal card ,
seals the letters and puts the stamps
Qn It is a simple device , and a child
could operate the machine. Berger is
perfecting the letter-folding apparatus
and expects to put it on the market
soon.
"Tibbie" Page , a daugher of Mr. and
Mrs. W. W. Page , of Payson , Utah , is
the latest musical genius of Utah.p
Though only G years of age , the child
plays the cello in dance music and exp
ecutes difficult accompaniments to violin -
lin selections by her father.
The little girl was born June 27 ,
1897 , and even before she could walk
18WJ
was humming tunes. After hearing
her father play the violin she would
hum the melody , and when her hands
were < powerful enough to lift a bow
she picked up the knack of handling
It solely by observation. At the end
of a week , having had a few lessona
In . the methods of placing the fingers ,
. she could play bass parts by ear with
her father.
The child practiced until she wag
able to play waltzes , all by ear , and
now she accompanies her father in dif
ficult numbers. She has been playm
ing her part in the orchestra during a
six months' tour of Utah , Idaho and
Oregon. In addition to her other ac- .
complishments the little girl is a cleverms
dancer and sings well.
WHEN NATURE IS REMISS.
Sometime * the Senses Are Forgotten
in the Ma kins ; of a Human Beiiijj.
Nature nods undoubtedly at times , as
in the case of the child born without a
a brain , whose case has been made
public this week. Not long ago an in
fant was born and
' lived for three
weeks with a hole through its heart
Thousands of us are color blind , others
have no musical sense. And there are
many . , Laura Bridtrmans , many Helen
Kellers. The queen of Romnania has
or had at her court in personal attend
ance upon herself the daughter of a
blind nobleman. She could neither heat
nor speak and had to be taught to
communicate : by holding the throat ol
speaker i and imitating the vibration
produced , by the effort But what a
grudge against nature must such a one
as Lyon Play fair discovered ever feel !
Here ] was a girl who was blind , deaf ,
dumb and could neither taste not
smell. One might be pardoned for
asking if such a life was worth living.
Yet there was a beautiful lesson in a
such an existence , as the great warm
heart of Playfair discovered. He sent
her a pretty finger ring , and the poor off
mite replied in this pitifullj' pretty letter
tei : "Dear Sir Lyon Playfair : Sir
Lyon Playfair sent Edith ring in box.
Edith thank Sir Lyon Playfair foi
ring. Sir Lyon Playfair come to seg
Edith. Good-by. Edith. " During his
first visit the child had closely examined
prc
ined his hands , wrists , arms and face ,
are
her touch being marvelously accurate. cor
year later he went again to see her. the
At first she did not recognize him and the
one betrayed his identity. At length of
she turned back the cuff of his shirt a
and touched his wrist. Her face lit
the
with intense joy. "It is the Eng pla
lishman who gave me the ring , " she
are
rapidly spelled out on her fingers. And the
a second she had flung her littla
an
arms ] around his neck and was weep
ing with delight at the recognition. foi
. James' Gazette.
for
inj
Johnny Got the Dose of Oil. „
"Johnnie , you must go to the drug the
store and get me a dose of oil , " urged
a
( boy's mother.
the
Johnny , who stammers frightfully ,
and
begged that she send his younger
apj
brother , who was not so afflicted , but
pie
this the mother refused to do. "You the
must obey me , " she pressed. Finally , wil
and after making threats of a whip and
ping on the mother's part and a great all
deal ; of crying from Johnny , he said trie
would go If she would write the
order upon a piece of paper.
"Give this boy a dose of oil , " tha
mother wrote , and Johnny took the or are
to the druggist who mixed tha
In a glass of soda water and invited tion
Johnny to drink thereof.
"Well , Where's the oil ? " Inquired man
Johnny's mother upon his return home
"It's in me. The man said : 'Here , his
; drink this soda water , ' and I did , "
explained Johnny. "When I kept hang
around , the man asked me what I as
waiting for , and I I said I was
waiting for the oil. Then he said ,
'You've swallowed it' and that I had
better run along home to my mother. " his
Washington Post
"
Not Appreciated. Free
"Now , Tommy , " said the fond moth-
, "when you see people your senioi
standing you must ask them to sij ma
down , and they'll like you. " i
j
"I asked old man Sparks to sit down. 'sty
he tried to lick me , " replied Tom
eye
my.How of
How was that ? "
"The pavement was wet and slip
pery. row
'
* 1
CITY THAT PAYS NO TAXES.
Income from the Property at Frcudlu-
stadt Pays All the Expeusea.
In the Black Forest of Germany is
the little city of Freudenstadt , with
about 7,000 inhabitants , a busy indus
trial place with iron and chemical
works of some importance.
Small as it is , Freudenstadt Is a full-
tiedged city , with a mayor , aldermen ,
half a dozen policemen and a fire eu-
giue. The public business Is conducted
on an economical basis , and the total
expenses do not exceed $25,000 a year.
Freudenstadt has the distinction of
being the only city In Germany , and
perhaps in the world , which does not
tax the citizens a dollar for municipal
expenses. The yearly net income from
the public property covers all the outgo
go-
goThis property consists of about C.OOO
acres of fine forest , which , being man
aged under the best forestry methods ,
IS a permanent source of income. One
or more trees are planted for every one
that ! is cut down. No tree is cut till it
can yield the maximum profit
After deducting all the expenses of
the industry the annual profit to the
acre is about $5. That is exceptional
even for Germany , where the annual
profit ranges from $3 to $4.50.
The question is often asked in this
country whether it will pay to keep
land ] under permanent forest Unless
at least a moderate profit is possible
no one can be expected to grow trees
on land that can be used for any other
purpose. |
The Rhode Island experiment station
.
1S now giving some attention to this
1Squ
question < , and in a bulletin prepared
by Prof. F. W. Card some interesting
figures are presented. He cites the ex
perience of Zachariah Allen , of Rhode
Island ] ' , , who planted a worn pasture
with trees in 1820 and kept a careful
financial record till 1877 , fifty-seven
years. After deducting all expenses he
found that his profit was nearly 7 per
cent per annum on the original invest
ment.
There is also a record of the returns
on a forty-acre tract of white pine in
,
New Hampshire for eighty years , dur
ing which time the average annual
profit was $3.75 an acre. The facts
given by Prof. Card , seem to show
that only a moderate profit is to be
expected from forests treated as a per
manent crop. Perhaps we cannot make
as much money in this industry as Is
made in Europe , wliere every part of
tree can be marketed at some price ,
even the small branches and twigs be-
in ; ? gathered into bunches and sold for
firewood. New York Sun.
SEVERE ESQUIMAU SWEAT BATH.
Would Probably Kill a White Boyf
Natives , However , Enjoy It.
Boys who make a fuss because their
parents oblige them to take frequent
baths should be glad they are not
Esquimau children , living on the
shores of Norton Sound. In that cold
region of Alaska all the boys i\re
obliged to take a sweat bath once a
week , and this bath is no joke. A fire
of driftwood is built in the center of
the floor of the kashim the one room
house , where the men and boys of the
village pass most of their time and
when the smoke has passed off and the
wood is reduced to red , glowing coals ,
cover is put over the smokehole in
the roof , and the place becomes in
tensely hot The boys then must take
their clothes and sit about the fur-
nacelike apartment until their skin be
comes as red as the shell of a boiled
lobster and seems on the point of blis
tering.
Owing to the intense heat , the bathers
are obliged to wear respirators to
protect their lungs. These respirators
pads of shavings bound together ,
concave on the inside and convex on
outside , and large enough to cover
mouth , nose and part of the cheeks
the wearer. Across the inside runs
little 1 wooden bar , which is held by
teeth to keep the respirator in
place. The boys sit there until they
dripping with perspiration. Then
they rush outside into the intense cold
and ) roll in the snow.
E. W. Nelson , who spent between
four and five years in investigating
the government the Esquimaux liv
about Bearing Strait , says : "On
several occasions I saw them go from
sweat bath to holes in the ice on
neighboring 3 stream , and , squatting
there , pour ioe water over their backs
< shoulders with a wooden dipper ,
apparently experiencing the greatest
pleasure from the operation. " Al
though the Esquimau boys seem to
withstand such a bath as this all right
( seem even to enjoy it , it would , in
probability , kill any white boy who
tried It Detroit News-Tribune.
The Jap Surprised Her.
Travelers on then ? first trip abroad
likely to place too low an esti
mate on the intelligence and educa
of the foreigners they see. Aa
American woman was walking with a
in The Hague , when she saw a
Japanese standing in front of a shop ,
expressionless face perhaps ap
pearing to her as an illustration of the
stolid , illiterate people of the Orient
she had imagined them.
"Oh , see , there is a Jap ! " she ex
claimed.
The native of the far East removed
hat , bowed gracefully and said In
perfect English :
"Yes , madam ; I am a Jap. " Detroit
Press.
The Regulation Focua.
Fritilla Papa , what Is a society
manner ?
'
Papa Well , meet your guests with ' ' -
stylish cordiality beaming out of one
and critical Inspection -
glaring- out
the other. Brooklyn Life.
Fortunate Is the man who can bop-
enough money to pay his debts.