10 TTbe Conservative.
sometimes they wore , and carry off what
tlioy could got.
Sclf-Dnstrurtlon.
Ill those walks I hud many dismal
scones before my eyes , as particularlj' of
persons fulling dead in the streets , terri
ble shrieks and shriekings of women ,
who , in their agonies , would throw open
thi'ir chamber windows , and cry out in
a dismal surprising manner ; it is im
possible to describe the variety of pos
tures in which the passions of the poor
people would express themselves.
Parsing through Token-house Yard in
Lothbury , of a sudden , a casement violently
lently opened just over my head , and a
woman gave three frightful screeches ,
and then cried , "Oh ! death , death ,
death ! ' ' in a most inimitable tone , and
which struck me with horror and a
chillness in my very blood. There was
nobody to bo seen in the whole street ,
neither did any other window open ; for
people had no curiosity now in any case ;
nor cnuld anybody help ono another ; so
I went on to pass into Bell-alley.
Just in Bell-alley , on the right hand
of the passage , there was a more terrible
cry than that , though it was not so di
rected out at the window ; but the
whole family was in a terrible fright ,
and I could hear women and children
run screaming about the rooms like
distracted , when a garret window
opened , and somebodj" from a window
on the other side of the alloy called and
nsked , "What is the inattor ? " upon
which , from the first window it was
answered , * 'O Lord , 1113'old master has
hanged himself ! " The other a ked
again , "Is he quite dead ? " and the first
answered , "Ay , ay , quite dead : quite
dead and cold ! " This person was a
merchant , and a deputy alderman , and
very rich. I care not to piontion the
name , though I knew his name too , but
that would bo a hardship to the family ,
which is now flourishing again.
Iiisnnlty.
An infected person came , and knocked
at the door of a citizen's house , where
they know him very well ; the servant
let him in , and being told the master of
the house was above ho ran up , and
came into the room to them as the whole
family was au supper. They began to
rise up a little surprised , not knowing
what the matter was , but ho bid them
sit still ho only came to take his leave
of them. They asked him , "Why , Mr.
, whore are you going ? " "Going ! "
says ho ; " 1 have got the sickness , and
shall die tomorrow night. " It is easy
to believe , though not to describe , the
consternation they were all in ; the
women and the man's daughters , which
were but little girls , wore frighted al
most to death , and got up , ono running
out at ono door , and ono at another ,
some down stairs , and some up stairs ,
and getting together as well as they
"could , locked themselves into their
chambers , and screamed out at the win
dow for help , as if they had been
frighted out of their wits. Tiio master ,
more composed than they , though both
frighted and provoked , was going to lay
hands on him , and throw him down
stairs , being in a passion ; but then con
sidering a little the condition of the man ,
and the danger of touching him , horror
seized his mind , and ho stood still like
ono astonished. The poor distempered
man , all this while , being as well dis
eased in his brain as in is body , stood
still like ono amazed ; at length' he turns
round , "Ay , " s-iys ho , with all the
seeming calmness imaginable , "Is it so
with you all ? Are .you all disturbed at
mo ? Why then , I'll o'ou go homo and
die there , " and so ho goes immediately
down stair.s. The servant that had let
him in goes down after him with a can
dle , but wns afraid to go past him and
open the door , so ho stood on the stairs
to see what ho would do ; the man went
nnd opened the door , and went out and
flung the door after him. It was some
while before the family recovered the
fright ; but as no ill consequence at
tended , they have had occasion since to
speak of it , you may bo sure with great
satisfaction. Though the man was
gone , it was same time , nay , as I heard ,
some days , before they recovered them
selves of the hurry they were in ; nor
did they go up and down the house with
any assurance , till they had burnt a
great variety of fumes and perfumes in
all the rooms , and made a great mairy
smokes of pitch , of gunpowder , and of
sulphur ; all separately shifted , and
washed their clothes , and the like. As
to the poor man , whether lie lived or
died I do not remember.
UI'lTOMi : OF FOKKSTKY.
Forests control climate. In treeless
lands rains are irregular , while
drouths are of freqxient occurrences.
Forests retain snow , absorbing it as it
melts ; they also absorb rainfall , distri
buting it through the sub-soil. Springs
are permanently fed in forest lands , and
brooks are regular in their flow. For
ests guide air currents to higher level.
Cyclones do not occur in timbered re
gions ; rather , when they occur it is high
above the surface. Forests protect in
habitants from severe storms and
changes in temperature ; also serve as a
protection to stock. Forests add fertil
ity to surrounding lands by the falling
leaves and accumulated vegetation.
Agriculture is promoted by surrounding
belts of woodland , which prevent great
and rapid evaporation of moisture.
Trees add beauty , variety and harmony
to the surrounding landscape. They
purify the atmosphere by absorption of
carbonic acid gas , rendering the air pure
for man's use. Trees give shade and
shelter to our homes ; they supply food
and afford protection to birds , which , in
town , protect man from insect pests and
crops from insect ravages. The de
struction of forests , carried too far ,
causes frequent drouths , succeeded by
disastrous floods. It causes the soils of
hill lands to bo washed away , leaving
hard , rocky , unproductive land , discour
aging to agriculture.
In summer the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers are too low for profitable naviga
tion , again they are flooded , the Ohio
rising seventy feet perpendicular high , a
milo in breadth , often deluging miles of
fertile land , submerging cities , carrying
away houses , barns , fences , stock and
damaging the country immeasurably.
The Mississippi overflows its banks ,
breaks mimerous crevasses through the
levees and flows in a current forty miles
wide through Arkansas. Lumber is
becoming more scarce each year , and
timber is consumed far more rapidly
than it is allowed to grow. Thirty
years ago Indianapolis was the center of
the hnrdwood industry of the country.
Indiana walnut , ash and oak were then
thought to be inexhaustible. Today
that center is 200 miles south of the
Ohio river and hardwood fast disappear
ing. Indiana manufacturers procure
80 per cent of their lumber from with
out the state. Timber can bo grown in
twenty to twenty-five years of suf
ficient size to make lumber , and to sup
ply the railway companies with crossties -
ties , posts , telegraph poles , etc. Indiana
has 0,776 miles of railway , including
street lines , which have consumed 20-
000,000 ties in construction , while 8,000-
000 additional are required each year
for repairs. In the next two decades
there will be used 00,000,000 ties , costing
$ aoCOO,000 , which must be procured
outside the state unless wo grow them.
Half a million acres of our land are prac
tically worthless for cultivation , and
sooner or latter will bo abandoned. All
of this will grow trees , increase the fer
tility of the soil by vegetable accumula
tion , and will add to the property of the
state a hundred million dollars. Indiau-
apolis Journal.
° f
KUDYAKD
KIPJ.ING.Rudyard Kipling ,
which commands
the homage of two hemispheres as the
foremost man of letters of his time is
chiefly remarkable for its splendid ori
ginality.
Last year the United States produced
more pig iron than any other country.
According to the estimate of a Hamburg
firm the total production of the world
was in 1898 , 84,900,000 tons. The
United States leads with 11,500,000 tons ,
followed by Great Britain with 8,850,000
tons ; Germany with 7,400,000 ; Franco
with 2,250,000 , and all other countries
with 4,900,000. Our progress speaks
well for the supreme influence of the
gold standard.