THE
<br />ASTIN
<br />AZETTE
<br />VOL. L. --.No. 27.
<br />HASTINGS. KINN.. 8 4TBDAY. MARCH 28, 1908,
<br />A CELEBRATED VOAL' l e di g payed Ila
<br />leatdin h aldana
<br />and chemists
<br />Story of the Fortsas Catalogue
<br />and Its Author.
<br />CLEVER AND BRAZEN FRAUD.
<br />This Ingenious Publication Completely
<br />Fooled the Savants and Bibliophiles
<br />of Europe and Was the Literary Sen-
<br />sation of Its Day.
<br />When P. T. Barnum cynically re-
<br />marked that the American people
<br />loved to be fooled be might just as
<br />well have left out the adjective, for
<br />that Americans are much more gulli-
<br />ble than natives of other lands can
<br />very readily be called into question by
<br />anybody at ail familiar with the his-
<br />s tory of hoaxdom. I suppose that for
<br />pure effrontery and ingenious brazen-
<br />ness the Fortsas Catalogue stands Iu
<br />the front rank of deception. Yet this
<br />pamphlet was foisted not upon the
<br />American public, but upon the savants
<br />and bibliophiles of Europe–men skill-
<br />ed in the art of books and in the detec-
<br />tion of forgery. So cleverly was this
<br />fraud conceived and executed that It
<br />deserves to stand in the front rank of
<br />any consideration, however brief, of
<br />clever deceptions.
<br />The Fortsas Catalogue was publish-
<br />ed in 1840–a stnall book purporting to
<br />be the catalogue of the private library
<br />of a certain Count J. N. A. de Fortsas
<br />of Binche, in Belgium. Although the
<br />book consisted of but fourteen pages
<br />and listed only fifty-two titles, It
<br />stirred up a veritable teapot tempest
<br />among the wise heads. The reason
<br />was not far to seek–not one of the
<br />books mentioned In the catalogue was
<br />to be found In any other library or
<br />publisher's list! They were all abso-
<br />lutely "sole surviving" copies of in-
<br />tensely interesting works. In the
<br />words of the catalogue itself, "the
<br />count pitilessly expelled `from his
<br />shelves books for which he had paid
<br />their weight in gold–as soon as he
<br />learned that a work up to that time
<br />unknown had been mentioned in any
<br />catalogue." Each new research of
<br />learned investigators into the book
<br />lore of antiquity, it was claimed, "had
<br />thinned still further the already dec-
<br />imated ranks of the count's sacred
<br />battalion." Weary of his tremendous
<br />and self .. imposed task of collecting
<br />only unique specimens, the count was
<br />stated to have died on Sept 1, 1839,
<br />and his library was now offered for
<br />sale. Apparently the fraudulent char-
<br />acter of such master foolery was quite
<br />patent Yet the high brows "bit" en-
<br />thusiastically, and there resulted one
<br />of the most amusing incidents of the
<br />decade.
<br />For instantly the learned book lovers
<br />were up In arms, each trying to outdo
<br />bis rival and secure for himself the
<br />most precious of the treasures at the
<br />sale which was advertised. Orders
<br />poured in from all ovet Europe on the
<br />behalf of scholarly societies, libraries,
<br />royal families and literary epicures.
<br />One bookseller came all the way from
<br />Amsterdam just to see No. 75, the
<br />} ,"Corpus Juris Ciente." The. Princess
<br />de Ligne "for the honor of her fami-
<br />ly" ordered No. 48 at any price to sup-
<br />press It on account of certain discred-
<br />itable family episodes It was supposed.
<br />to contain. Many other prominent per-
<br />sons and institutions clamored for a
<br />chance at the collection. "Men re-
<br />membered having seen books that neve
<br />er existed." says William Shepard.
<br />"The foreman in Casteman's printing
<br />office at Tourney had distinct recollec-
<br />tions of a bogus volume credited to his
<br />per."
<br />Unfortunately the advertised sale
<br />never came off. On the 9th of An -
<br />gust, the day before it was to have be-
<br />gun, the Brussels papers announced
<br />that the town of Binche had determin-
<br />ed to keep the collection intact by pur-
<br />chasing it with public funds. The
<br />amusing part of this statement was
<br />that Binche was a most Insignificant
<br />village, quite unable to purchase much
<br />of anything, let alone a universally de-
<br />sired library. Still, even that state-
<br />ment was believed.
<br />The truth eventually transpired that
<br />the Count de Fortsas, his miraculous
<br />library and the catalogue were all the
<br />creations of an ingenious fellow named
<br />Rene Chalons, living in Belgium. His
<br />catalogue begot a rather extensive ilt-
<br />erature of Its own, which has since
<br />been collected and published under the
<br />title "Documents et Particularites His-
<br />toriques sur le Comte de Fortsas." A
<br />copy of the original catalogue now
<br />rests in the Congressional library at
<br />Washington. – Cincinnati Commercial
<br />Tribune.
<br />t
<br />A Surprise For St. Kilda.
<br />The inhab11tants of the lonely Isle of
<br />St. Kilda were astonished one winter
<br />some years ago at the appearance of a
<br />great blood red, conical object floating
<br />on the wild Atlantic billows to the
<br />westward of the isle. With much diffi-
<br />culty the derelict was brougbt to shore,
<br />and as the St. Kildans bad never be-
<br />fore seen such a queer looking thing,
<br />and could make no guess as to its par-
<br />. pose or place in the scale of created
<br />tbings they indulged in wild visions
<br />of its valuable nature. But when the
<br />factor came across on his yearly visit
<br />from the neighboring but distant is-
<br />land of Great Britain be identified it
<br />as a great iron buoy which, it subse-
<br />quently appeared, had broken away
<br />from its moorings in New York harbor Sheridan on being asked how
<br />and drifted in the gulf stream across came to tail Gibbon "luminous,"
<br />the Atlantic. It had taken two yeah
<br />in the Passage. e�vered, "I said 'vo•lnmlaoua'"
<br />FIVE
<br />CALUMET
<br />BAK1NG POWDER
<br />has obtained the confidence of the public.
<br />1. It complies with the Pure Food Laws of all states.
<br />2. It is the only high-grade Powder sold at a moderate pre
<br />3. It is not made by a Baking Powder Trust.
<br />t. Food prepared with it is free from Rochelle Salts or Alam.
<br />5. It is the strongest Baking Powder on the market.
<br />11,000.00 given for any substance
<br />Injurlousto health found In Calumet
<br />Calumet is so carefully and scientifically
<br />prepared that the neutralization of the
<br />ingredients is absolutely perfect. There-
<br />fore Calumet leaves no Rochelle Salta
<br />or Alum in the food. It is chemteally
<br />correct.
<br />All Grocers are Atthorlred to Guarantee this
<br />eatumet B eking Powder costs little. Costs,
<br />a little more than t`.- . wap, Injurious
<br />w
<br />powders noon the n; , but Its a big
<br />saving ovct ...c trust powders.
<br />Try Calumet
<br />lea
<br />FESTIVAL. OF THE DEAD.
<br />Eskimos Provide Food and Clothes For
<br />Returning Ghosts.
<br />The natives of the Yukon river region
<br />hold a festival of the dead every year
<br />shortly before Christmas and a greater
<br />festival at intervals of several years.
<br />At these seasons food, drink and
<br />clothes are provided for the returning
<br />ghosts In the clubhouse of the village,
<br />which Is Illuminated for the occasion
<br />with oil lamps. Every man or woman
<br />who wishes to honor a dead friend sets
<br />up a lamp on a stand in front of the
<br />place which the dead one used to oc-
<br />cupy in the clubhouse. These lamps,
<br />filled with seal oil, are kept burning
<br />day and night until the festival is over.
<br />They are believed to light the shades
<br />on their return to their old home and
<br />back again to the land of the dead. If
<br />any one fails to put up a lamp in the
<br />clubhouse and to keep it burning. the
<br />shade whom he or she desires to honor
<br />could not find its way to the place and
<br />so would miss the feast. When a per-
<br />son has been much disliked his ghost
<br />Is sometimes purposely Ignored, and
<br />that is deemed the severefit punishment
<br />that could -be inflicted upon him. After
<br />the songs of invitation to the dead have
<br />been sung the givers of the feast take
<br />a small portion of food from every dish
<br />and cast it down as an offering to the
<br />shades. Then each pours a little wa-
<br />ter on the floor so that it rune through
<br />the cracks. In this way tbey believed
<br />the spiritual essence of all the food and
<br />water is conveyed to the souls. Witt
<br />songs and dances the feast comes to an
<br />end and the ghosts re dismissed to
<br />their own -place. The dancers dance,
<br />not only in the clubhouse, but also at
<br />the graves and on the ice if the dead
<br />met their deaths by drowning. On the
<br />eve of 4he festival the nearest male
<br />relative goes to the grave and sum-
<br />mons the ghost by planting there a
<br />small model of a seal spear or of a
<br />wooden dish, according as the dead
<br />was a man or a woman. The totems of
<br />the dead are marked on these imple-
<br />ments. The dead who have none to
<br />make offerings to them are believed to
<br />suffer great destitution; hence the El
<br />s!
<br />kimos fear to die without leaving be-
<br />hind them some one who will sacrifice ,
<br />to their spirit, and childless people
<br />generally adopt children lest their
<br />shades be forgotten at the festivals.–
<br />New York Tribune.
<br />A QUEER TREE
<br />The Tumbo Is a Monstrosity of the
<br />African Desert.
<br />The mature tumbo is a tree with a
<br />trunk about two feet long, shaped
<br />much like an inverted cone. Almost all
<br />the trunk is below the surface of the
<br />ground, the visible part rarely exceed-
<br />ing a few inctles. But the remarkable
<br />feature of the stem Is that it is often
<br />fourteen feet in circumference and be-
<br />comes more or less a two lobed image.
<br />The stem looks more like a great mass
<br />of "the burned crust of a loaf of
<br />bread," to quote Dr. Weiwltsch's letter,
<br />than the trunk of a tree. The under-
<br />ground portion becomes greatly elou-
<br />gated, and its continuation is the top
<br />root of the plant. This goes down sev-
<br />eral feet in its effort to get the few
<br />drops of water that the arid conditions
<br />of the country permit.
<br />There are never more than two
<br />leaves after the seed leaves drop off,
<br />and very curious leaves they are. Start-
<br />ing from a groove on opposite sides of
<br />the depressed mass, they stand straight
<br />out on both sides of the plant. They
<br />are often six feet long and two feet
<br />wide and usually split Into ribbons
<br />that undulate over the ground in a way
<br />strikingly suggestive of the tentacles
<br />of an octopus. With its great ugly
<br />body and its tentacle-like leaves it is no
<br />wonder that it has been the most re-
<br />markable plant novelty of the last cen-
<br />tury. The flowers are borne In scarlet
<br />cones on a cymose inflorescence com-
<br />ing from the crown of the trunk.
<br />Tumboa batnesil belongs to the joint
<br />fir family, or gnetaceae, and is known
<br />only from Portuguese West Africa to
<br />Damaraland. This is a region that
<br />seldom gets any rain, and desert condi-
<br />tions prevail almost completely, except
<br />for the sea fogs. The tumbo is thus
<br />a desert plant par excellence, and it is
<br />only by a close approximation of these
<br />very arid conditions that we can cul-
<br />tivate It.–New York Botanic Garden.
<br />we
<br />an -
<br />1
<br />:.a end t'se Lips.
<br />The t.o.r .u: 1st a of smoking pipes
<br />has a pen:ei•.i:Se e..ect upon the face.
<br />The pressure of the Ilpe to bold tbe
<br />pipe in its t.iou luereuses the curva-
<br />ture of the lips round the stem, and
<br />the muscles become more rigid bets
<br />than in other parts. Thus the lips at a
<br />certain point become stronger, and the
<br />pipe is unconsciously held in the same
<br />habitual position. Atter long continu-
<br />ation of the habit small circular wrin-
<br />kies form parallel with the curvature
<br />of the lips around the stem. These are
<br />crossed by finer lines caused by tbe
<br />pressure of the lips to retain the item
<br />In position. In the cane of old men
<br />who have smoked a pipe for years the
<br />effect upon the lips is very matted.
<br />not only altering the form of tbe lips.
<br />but of the one entire side of the face,
<br />causing the wrinkles that are the re-
<br />sult of age to deepen and Instead of
<br />following the natural course of facial
<br />wrinkles to change their course so as
<br />to radiate from tv part of the mouth
<br />where the pipe is habitually carried.
<br />Furthermore. oue or doth lips often
<br />protrude, just like th" 'ape of people
<br />who used to suck thea.• thumbs when
<br />children.–Medical Record. '
<br />Wanted the "armory seats."
<br />Leigh Lynch while he lived was a
<br />happy man. In the first place, be was
<br />the husband of lovely and gentle Anna
<br />Teresa Berger, the bells of tbe bell
<br />ringers In her girlhood; secondly, be
<br />had the years long friendship and in-
<br />timate companionship of Eugene Reid;
<br />thirdly, he was the father of a family
<br />of children In whom was centered bis
<br />unselfish hope. He used to carry his
<br />business cares and pleasures borne,
<br />where he was always sure of ready
<br />and generous sympathy. For several
<br />years he was treasurer of the Union
<br />Square theater in New York. One
<br />evening at dinner, in the presence of
<br />his little daughter, Marie, be men-
<br />tioned to Mrs. Lynch that the gross
<br />receipts of the week had risen to an
<br />unprecendented heJgbt The next day
<br />Marie asked to be taken to the mati-
<br />nee.
<br />"All right, dumpling." aaeented the
<br />fond father. "What seats would you
<br />like?"
<br />"Well, papa," she replied, "I'd like
<br />to have them grocery seats you tailed
<br />as about"–Detroit Free Press.
<br />A Fatal Auetrisn Flag.
<br />Once there was an epidemic of plague
<br />at Odessa, in Russia, which lasted
<br />more than a year. It had a most re-
<br />markable origin, being due to a fatal
<br />flag. An Austrian vessel arrived at
<br />Odessa, bringing one of the crew who
<br />had died during the voyage. The sail-
<br />or was duly Interred In tbe Catholic
<br />cemetery at the port. and at tbe tu•
<br />neral the Austrian flag mu carried by
<br />two seamen. On their way back to
<br />the vessel the men entered a great
<br />number of saloons and laid dowu the
<br />flag while drinking. A very short
<br />time afterward the sailors who bud
<br />carried the flag died, and before long
<br />it was found that people were 111 Its
<br />all the houses where the men had cal)
<br />ed with the fatal flag. Soon the plague
<br />spread throughout Odessa,. tilling all
<br />with terror and claiming a frightful
<br />toll. There is no doubt that the flag
<br />contained the plague bacillt In the
<br />folds and so spread the disease.–
<br />Baltimore Sun.
<br />Strictly Business.
<br />"Sir," began a stranger as be walk-
<br />ed directly up to a business man. "i
<br />am strictly on business."
<br />"So am I."
<br />"Good) I believe every man should
<br />furnish money for his own tombstone."
<br />"So do I."
<br />"Good again! I want to raise $25
<br />to pay for a steno over my grave.
<br />What assistance will you !tender the
<br />enterprise? I want a business an. ,
<br />ewer."
<br />"You shall have It, sir. Unless yea
<br />immediately take your departure I will
<br />aid the enterprise by furnishing the
<br />corpse."
<br />The stranger hurried ort -Cleveland
<br />Plain Dealer.
<br />His Giratitude.
<br />The Medical Record tells el a Tan
<br />who was cured of blindness_ by a ase,
<br />geon remarkable for bb• unprepesesee
<br />ing appearance. When visas was
<br />fully restored, the patient looked at
<br />his benefactor and said:
<br />"Lucky for you, young man. I did
<br />not see you before you operated er 1
<br />would never: have givan.ay. consent"
<br />MINNESO{A
<br />HISTGFIOt,L
<br />SOCIETY.
<br />Si pee Tear I Adteaase.
<br />HIND00 C �E MARKS.
<br />The Women of a Weer Them en
<br />the Fylshead.
<br />The casts market woni by women to
<br />India are confinedte the forehead and
<br />are more uniformthan those affected
<br />by the men.
<br />The orthodox inn* invariably worn
<br />on religious and eseemonlat occasions
<br />1s a small saffron t'pot in the center of
<br />the forehead. Bet -the more popular
<br />and fashionable mimic Is a tiny one
<br />made with a 'tuella substance, usual-
<br />ly jet black in colon,. which is obtained
<br />by frying sago till it gets charred and
<br />Uses boiling it In water.
<br />Women who have not reached their
<br />tweattee are sometiasea partial to the
<br />use of small tinsel disks, purchasable
<br />I& the bazaar at the rate of about
<br />haK• a dozen for a • pie. To attach
<br />these to the skin the commonest ma-
<br />terial used Is the gum of tbe jack fruit.
<br />quantities of wbkh will befound stick-
<br />!ing to a wall or pillar In the house,
<br />reedy for immediate use.
<br />Ia the more orthodox famines It is
<br />eersidered objectionable that the fore -
<br />bead of a woman should remain blank
<br />MD ea for a moment, and accordingly It
<br />is permanently marked with a tattooed
<br />"ordeal line. The blister takes some-
<br />times a fortnight to heal, but the Hin-
<br />doo woman, who is nothing if not a
<br />martyr by temperament and training,
<br />suffers the pain unoomplainingly.–
<br />Madras Mall.
<br />THE GHOST OF THE FUTURE.
<br />Fear of Coming to Want and the Ter-
<br />ror of Failure.
<br />The terror of failure and the tear of
<br />eomtng to want keep multitudes of
<br />people from obtaining the very things
<br />they desire by sapping their vitality,
<br />by incapacitating them through worry,
<br />anxiety and tear from the effective,
<br />creative work necessary to give them
<br />success.
<br />Wherever we go this fear ghost, this
<br />terror specter, stands between men and
<br />their goal. No person Is in position to
<br />do good work while haunted by It.
<br />There can be no great courage where
<br />there la no confidence or assurance.
<br />and half the battle is in the conviction
<br />that we can do what we undertake.
<br />The mind, always full of doubts,
<br />tears, foreboding& is not to a position
<br />to do effective, creative work, but in
<br />perpetually handicapped by this nntor-
<br />testate attitude.
<br />Nothing will so completely paralyze
<br />the creative power of the mind and
<br />body u a dark, gloomy, discouraged
<br />misotal attitude. ' No gnat creative
<br />work can be done by a man who Is not
<br />an optimist.
<br />The human mind cannot accomplish
<br />great work unless the banner of hope
<br />goes In advance. A man will follow
<br />this banner when money, friends, repu-
<br />tation, everything else has gone.–Suc-
<br />eaw Magazine.
<br />The Majesty of the Pyramids.
<br />A.a the wonder of the sphinx takes
<br />possession of you gradually, so grad -
<br />natty do you learn to feel the majesty
<br />of the pyramids of G1zeh, unlike the
<br />SUP pyramid of Sakkera, which even
<br />when one Is near it looks like a small
<br />mountain, part of the land on which It
<br />rests. The pyramids of Gizeh look
<br />what they ate–artificial excrescences.
<br />invented and carried out by man, ex-
<br />pressions of man's greatness. Exqui-
<br />site as they are as features of the
<br />drowsy golden landscape at the setting
<br />Of the sun. I think they look most won-
<br />derful at night when they are black
<br />beneath the stars. On many nights
<br />I have sat in the sand at a distance
<br />and looked at them, and always and In-
<br />creasingly they have stirred my Imag-
<br />ination. Their profound calm, their
<br />elaMlcal simplicity, are greatly empba-
<br />atsed when no detail can be seen, wben
<br />they are but black shapes towering to
<br />the stars. They seem to inspire then
<br />like prayers prayed by one who bas
<br />said. "God does not need my prayers,
<br />but I need them."–Robert Hichens In
<br />Century Magazine.
<br />A statesman's Confusions.
<br />For all his caustic wit Thomas B.
<br />>Reed of Maine was as tender of heart
<br />al/ large of frame. He was not much
<br />a a banter. "I never shot but 'one
<br />bird In my life," he once confessed.
<br />"I spent a whole day doing that. It
<br />was a sandpiper. 1 chased him for
<br />bone up and down a mUl stream.
<br />When at last I potted him and held
<br />h im up by one of his poor little legs.
<br />I sever felt more ashamed of myself
<br />hi ail my life. I bid him in my coattail
<br />pocket tor fear somebody would see
<br />bow b I was and how small the vic-
<br />tim, and I never will be guilty again
<br />et the cowardice of such an unequal
<br />battle."–Exchange.
<br />A Convenient Possum.
<br />An cad negro preacher gave as hie
<br />Int "De tree U known by his fruit
<br />an' bit dee impossible ter shake de
<br />possum down."
<br />After the benediction an old brother
<br />said to biro:
<br />"I never knowed beto' dat such a
<br />tut wus in de Bible."
<br />"Well," ,admitted the preacher, "bit
<br />ain't 'zactiy sot down dataways. 1
<br />th'owed in de possum ter hit de Intel-
<br />llgence er my congregatlonl"–Atlanta
<br />Constitution. -
<br />I'
<br />The Only -Fault.
<br />Quest–Walter, bring me sotne rice
<br />podding. Waiter–Er, 'fraid 1 can't
<br />jest recommend the rice puddle' today.
<br />Mr. Quest–What's tbe natter with
<br />it? Waiter–Nothin', sir, 'cept there
<br />ain't menet–London Scrape.
<br />Time is tie great comforter of grief.
<br />bat the agency by whkb 1t works is
<br />exhaustion.–Landon,
<br />enr. isiminsimmh.sard
<br />I!
<br />Economizes the use of flour; but-
<br />ter and eggs; makes the biscuit,
<br />cake and pastry more appetiz-
<br />ing, nutritious and wholesome.
<br />a
<br />ABSOLUTELY PURE
<br />This is the only baking
<br />powder made from Royal
<br />Grape Cream of Tartar.
<br />It Has No Substitute
<br />Uwe are Ale. sad Phosphate of Lima meatuses aaM 1111
<br />a fewer prim. bet se housekeeper ngaMiag the bssttb
<br />M bar lastly can abed to use tbsm.
<br />How to Stick Stamps.
<br />"Say," remarked the postoffice clerk
<br />who was off duty na he watched a
<br />friend affix 'two stamps to the corner
<br />of an envelope, "why don't you put
<br />those stamps on horizontally Instead
<br />of vertically? Don't you know you
<br />would save a lot of work for us stamp -
<br />era If you put your stamps beside eaclt
<br />other instead of under each other? We
<br />always have to make two strokes when
<br />canceling vertically pasted stamps by
<br />band, and they don't work well through
<br />the stamping machines either."
<br />"Is that so?" inquired his friend as
<br />he took another envelope and proceed-
<br />ed to affix two stamps to it in a ver-
<br />tical position. "Then. by the great
<br />horn spoon, whey doesn't the govern-
<br />ment sell its stamps in horizontal
<br />lines? Look at these. Here I bought
<br />20 cents' worth of two cent stamps.
<br />and they come to me in vertical lines.
<br />If I buy five twos, I get them attached
<br />one to the bottom of the other. Do
<br />you think I'm going to the trouble of
<br />tearing each stamp off just to pieatse a
<br />government clerk by pasting them side
<br />by side? Guess again."–New York
<br />Press.
<br />Discovery of Osteopathy.
<br />"The man who discovered osteopathy
<br />was a great sufferer from headache,"
<br />said a man who claims to know. "II.
<br />tried every remedy on earth almost,
<br />but could get no permanent relief. One
<br />day he had a terrible beadache and
<br />went out into his front yard to lie un-
<br />der the shade of a big tree and rest his
<br />throbbing bead on the cooling grass.
<br />Suspended from a limb of the tree was
<br />a rope swing used by the children.
<br />The man lay under this swing for
<br />awhile and finally put the rope under
<br />his head to not as a support In n few
<br />moments be was surprised and pleased
<br />to find that his headache was much
<br />better. In half an hour the pain had
<br />gone. He began an investigation. He
<br />discovered that the rope swing pressed
<br />on the nerve in the back of the head.
<br />This pressure stopped the headache.
<br />With more study he decided that many
<br />pains could be relieved If nerves could
<br />be given the proper treatment–a mas-
<br />sage. He started an osteopathic school
<br />and has made n grand success." --
<br />Nashville Tennesseean.
<br />Departed Giorles of Fez.
<br />Fez the "fertile," the Rome of the
<br />western Arabs, still retains traces of
<br />the magnificence which made her In the
<br />middle ages the rival of Mecca. In the
<br />twelfth century the holy city, to which
<br />when the road to Mecca was closed
<br />pilgrimages wear made, contained as
<br />many rte 700 temples, fifty of which
<br />were adorned with marble pillars. In
<br />those old days the elty was the haunt
<br />of philosophers, physicians and astron-
<br />omers. A mere formal pretense of
<br />study is now all that 1s practiced.
<br />'They have Euclid in folio volumes," a
<br />traveler writes, "but neither copied
<br />nor read. The teacher sits crossleg-
<br />ged on the ground and repeats to k
<br />drawling tone between singing and
<br />crying words which are echoed by the
<br />scholars sittingaround'hlm," Fez, how-
<br />ever, is honest enough In one respect–
<br />she does not believe in outward show.
<br />In the interior of the houses are apart-
<br />ments decorated with paintings and
<br />arabesques, while the outside walls
<br />are often built of mud.
<br />Not • Matter of Choice.
<br />Columbia Alunsnns–That woman on
<br />the debate team Is lntolerallte. You
<br />wouldn't like to debate with a woman.
<br />would you? Cornell Alumnus–Got so
<br />I don't mind it now. Been married
<br />five years.–New York Tribune.
<br />Hard Lines.
<br />"Does your wife make you explain
<br />ail your acts?"
<br />"Worse than that."
<br />"Worse thou that?"
<br />"Far worse; she doesn't permit me to
<br />explain them,"–Honston Poet
<br />MOUNT FUJIYAMA.
<br />Japanese Pilgrimage to Its Tempest
<br />Swept Summit.
<br />To the people of Japan the mount
<br />Fujiyama is sacred. The meaning of
<br />the word is "honorable mountain."
<br />During that brief six weeks of summer
<br />when Fujtyama's wind swept sides are
<br />climbable, writes A. H. Edwards in
<br />"Kakemono," the pilgrims come in
<br />thousands, in ten thousands. They
<br />dress themselves in white trom head
<br />to foot. They carry long staves of
<br />pure white wood to their hands, each
<br />stamped with the temple crest, and in
<br />bands and companies they climb the
<br />mountain.
<br />Always the leader at their bead, kis
<br />stair crowned with a tinkling mass of
<br />bells, like tiny cymbals, chants the
<br />hymn of Fujiyama. For six abort
<br />summer weeks they come. Than the
<br />winds rush down, the snow tails. the
<br />tempests rage, and Lord Fajlyama Urea
<br />alone.
<br />No human being has yet stayed a
<br />winter on his summit, and even in the
<br />summer weeks the winds will blow the
<br />lava blocks from the walls of the rest
<br />houses and sometimes the pilgrim tram
<br />the path.
<br />Fujiyama stands alone, not one peak
<br />among a range, but utterly alone. 8le-
<br />ing straight out of the sea on one aide
<br />and from the great Tokyo plata on the
<br />other, his 12,365 feet In two long curv-
<br />ing lines of exquisite grace rise up and
<br />up into the blue, and not an inch of
<br />one foot la hidden or lost It Is all
<br />there, visible as a tower built on a tree-
<br />less plain. It dominates the landatcape.
<br />It can be seen from thirteen provinces,
<br />and from a hundred miles at sea the
<br />pale white peak of Myriam bats
<br />above the blue.
<br />AERIAL NAVIGATION.
<br />The First Gas Bag and the First Dlr-
<br />igiblo Balloon.
<br />On the 1st of December, 1788, when
<br />the first gas balloon ass from tbe
<br />Tuileries, carried up by Charles and
<br />Robert, the Marquis de !liter—try. an
<br />octogenarian and skeptic, declared it
<br />was tempting God himself. He was
<br />rolled in his armchair to a wtgdew of
<br />his chateau to witness the imposalbW-
<br />ty of such an ascension. But the mo
<br />ment the aeronaut, gayly saluting the
<br />spectators, rose in the air, the old man,
<br />passing suddenly from the most com-
<br />plete incredulity to unlimited faitb in
<br />the power of genius, fell upon his
<br />knees and exclaimed: "0 men, ye will
<br />find the secret of never dying! And It
<br />will be when 1 am dead!'
<br />The public, easily confounding the
<br />atmospheric with the astronomic bee, -
<br />ens, already bailed the day when tbe
<br />aeronaut would continue bis aerial
<br />course to the moon, to Venus, to Mars
<br />or Jupiter.
<br />Pierre Giffard, then Dupuy de Lome,
<br />tried the first dirigible balloons. Later
<br />Captains Renard and Krebs la their
<br />aeroplane, La France, went from Men -
<br />don to Paris and back at the sane
<br />time that Gaston Tissandler was car-
<br />rying out his fine experiment. But all
<br />progress was soar Stopped by the
<br />weakness of the motors compared to
<br />their weight.
<br />Nothing further could be dole nrtll
<br />the arrival of the explosive motor. In
<br />fact, it was the improvement in auto-
<br />mobiles which won us tbe conquest of
<br />the air.
<br />What She Was Trying to Aseees li*s.
<br />The other morning at the breakfast
<br />table three-year-old Jeannette was pok-
<br />ing vigorously with her knife at a bis-
<br />cuit
<br />"What areyou trying .to de, Jew
<br />matte?" demanded mother. "Be cereal;
<br />yob will cut your hand."
<br />Said Jeannette, "Pm kyle( to ela-
<br />11Ne se qct!"–,liss'
<br />Tort Times.
<br />A BURGLAR'S STORY.
<br />Told by an English Thief In the Lan•
<br />gunge of Thieves.
<br />Some time ago there appeared a
<br />somewhat curious book, "The Auto-
<br />biography of a Thief In Thieves' Lan-
<br />guage." A glossary is provided for
<br />the benefit of those whose unfortunate
<br />ignorance of the predatory classes may
<br />render such aid necessary.
<br />From one of the anecdotes related it
<br />appears that honor among thieves it
<br />not always to be found.
<br />"One day," says the writer. "i went
<br />to Croydon and touched for a red toy
<br />(gold watch) and red tackle (gold
<br />chain) with a large Locket. So I took
<br />the rattier borne at once. When I got
<br />into Shoreditch 1 met one or two of
<br />the mob, who said: 'Hello! Beeu out
<br />today? Did you touch?'
<br />"8o 1 said 'Usher' (yes). So I took
<br />them In, end we all got canon. W hes
<br />I went to the fence he bested (cheated(
<br />me because I was drunk apd only gave
<br />18 101. for the lot. So thrnext day 1
<br />went to him, and I asked him if he
<br />was not a -going to grease my duke
<br />(put money into my band).
<br />"So he said 'No.' Then he said, 'I
<br />will give you another half a quid,' and
<br />said, 'Do anybody, but mind they don't
<br />do you.'
<br />"So I thought to myself, 'Ali right,
<br />my lad, you will find me as good as
<br />my master,' and left him. Some time
<br />after that affair with the fence one of
<br />the mob said to me:
<br />"'I have got a place cut and dried.
<br />Will you come and do to*
<br />"So I said: 'Yes. What tools will
<br />you want?
<br />"And he said, 'We shall want some
<br />twirls and the stick ((crowbar), and
<br />bring a Neddie (lite preserver) with
<br />you.' And he said, 'Now don't stick
<br />me up (disappoint); meet me at C, to-
<br />night'
<br />"At 6 I was at the meet (trysting
<br />place), and while waiting for my pal
<br />I had my daisies cleaned, and I piped
<br />the fence that bested me go along with
<br />his old woman (wife) and his two kids
<br />(children), so I thought of his own
<br />words, 'Do anybody, but mind they
<br />don't do you.'
<br />"He was going to the Lyceum thea-
<br />ter, so when my pal came up I told
<br />him all about 111 So we went and
<br />screwed (broke into) his place and got
<br />thirty-two quid and a toy and tackle
<br />which he had bought on the crook
<br />(dishonestly). A day or two after this
<br />I met the fence who I'd done, so he
<br />said to me, 'We have met at last.'
<br />"So I said, 'Well, what of that?'
<br />"Bo he said. 'What do yon want to
<br />do me for?
<br />"So I said, 'You must remember you
<br />done me, and when I spoke to you
<br />about it you said, "Do anybody, but
<br />mind they don't do you."' That shut
<br />him up."–London Tit -Bits.
<br />A Witty Irish Judge.
<br />Mr. Doherty, who was chief justice
<br />of the Irish court of common pleas
<br />from 1830 till his death in 1848, was
<br />famed for hie wit. The gossip in the
<br />hall of the four courts, which of course
<br />reached the bench, was that one of
<br />the judges had been somewhat excited
<br />by wine at an entertainment In Dublin
<br />castle on the previous evening. "Is 1t
<br />true," tbe chief justice was asked,
<br />"that Judge — danced at the castle
<br />ball last night?" "Well," replied Do-
<br />herty, "I certainly can say that I saw
<br />him in a reel."
<br />"As I came along the quay," remark-
<br />ed one of the officers of the court
<br />whose face was remarkably hatchet
<br />shaped, "the wind was cutting my
<br />face." "Upon my honor," replied the
<br />chief justice, "I think the wind had
<br />the worst of it"–London Law Notes.
<br />Swiss Naval Wars.
<br />References to the Swiss navy are
<br />usually jocular, but ft is none the less
<br />a fact that ships of war once floated
<br />and even fought on the waters of the
<br />lake of Geneva. The great fleet was
<br />that of the Duke of Savoy, who at the
<br />beginning of the fourteenth century
<br />maintained a number of war galleys
<br />armed with rams and protected by
<br />turrets and propelled by a crew of
<br />oarsmen varying in number from for-
<br />ty to seventy-two. These vessels be-
<br />sieged Versoix and even blockaded
<br />Geneva. But Geneva also had a fleet
<br />which helped in the capture of Chllon
<br />in 1586, and when the Bernese an-
<br />nexed the canton of Vaud they, too,
<br />had their flotilla. Their largest vessel
<br />was the Great Bear, with C.4 oarsmen,
<br />8 guns and 150 lighting men.–West-
<br />mtnster Gazette.
<br />Mee Boy's Little Coup.
<br />The office boy in a downtown office
<br />bas framed up the following schedule
<br />of the firm's office hours, which is dis-
<br />played in a prominent place on the
<br />wall: "9-10 reserved for book agents
<br />and people with various things to sell,
<br />10-11 for insurance agents, 11-12 bores
<br />with long stories, 1-2 solicitors for
<br />church and charitable institutions, 2-3
<br />discuss sporting news with callers, 3-3
<br />miscellaneous social visitors. N. B.–
<br />Ws transact our own business at
<br />night"–Cleveland Plain Dealer.
<br />A Financier,
<br />"Father," asked Rollo, "what L a
<br />financlerr
<br />"A financier, my son, differs from
<br />the ordinary business man in being
<br />able to make the government sit up
<br />and worry when his attain do not go
<br />tight."–Washington Star.
<br />Seurat of Supply.
<br />Minister–My dear little boy, why
<br />doa't yea get an umbrella? Jakey–
<br />d htee pe has gnat going to church be
<br />Mier beings home any more ambrei-
<br />-Jin islb Ledger.
<br />
|