Yt
<br />THES G AZ E r ETE.
<br />'130S
<br />1V3Ib91SIH
<br />V1.13S3NNIW
<br />VOL,. L. ---No. 37.
<br />HASTINGS. MINN.. SATURDAY. JUNE 6, 1908.
<br />1111 per Year in Advance.
<br />ORKIE WITH CI.ASS
<br />The Way the Different Color Ef-
<br />fects Are Produced.
<br />FREAKS OF THE BLOWPIPE.
<br />Quaint Specimen Shapes That Are
<br />Sometimes Dropped From the Puntil
<br />How Bottles Are Made by the Clever
<br />and Dexterous Workmen.
<br />If a stranger enters the glass works
<br />on a dark night he will find not only
<br />beauty in the blowing operations, but
<br />a great deal of humor, with an uncap•
<br />ny weirdness In flame and shadow that
<br />must affect his imagination to some
<br />extent. The building is circular, with
<br />a chimney sticking up through the mid -
<br />die of it, from the top of which a pe
<br />collar intermittent light is flickering
<br />In the center of this building, under
<br />neatb the chimney, stands a conical
<br />furnace of brick containing perhaps nc
<br />fewer than eight holes which are like
<br />fiercely glaring suns and from which
<br />pour expanding broad rays of orange
<br />colored light. If your eyes are strong
<br />enough to look through the holes from
<br />which the orange beams of light
<br />emerge you see several hundredweight
<br />of molten metal shining silvery green
<br />in as many earthen dome shaped melt-
<br />ing pots.
<br />Tne nature of different kinds of glass
<br />Is dependent upon the quality of the
<br />raw material, called "batch," put intc
<br />the melting pots. "Batch" is a mixture
<br />of such materials as Calais sand, 01
<br />common river sand abounding in silica,
<br />salt cake, or sodium carbonate and
<br />much lime. Blue colors may be ob-
<br />tained
<br />btained by adding oxide of cobalt, green
<br />by means of a chrome, black by man-
<br />ganese and umber. The moss of molten
<br />metal got from this opaque, earthy
<br />looking "batch" has frequently to be
<br />skimmed of impurities, but it is never•
<br />theless a problem whence comes that
<br />wonderful and enduring transparency
<br />which everybody likes to see in glass.
<br />Until the hour strikes for the work-
<br />men to commence operations you may
<br />Ind them experimenting for amuse-
<br />ment or profit with the blowpipe. Yon
<br />will see many an enormity produced in
<br />glass the like of which can scarcely
<br />ever have been dropped from a puntil
<br />before. Specimens are blown out to
<br />the thinness of a tissue paper bag.
<br />width mother gaff of ?bind explodes
<br />with a crack, or a glowing glass peat
<br />la for very wantonness knocked off the
<br />puntil so that it may vanish with a re-
<br />port on the floor, its hue and heat be•
<br />Ing extinguished immediately. The Boor
<br />all around the furnace chamber is cov-
<br />ered with brittle shining splinters and
<br />particles of glass, which crackle under-
<br />foot at every step. One of the men
<br />may bring you a mass of metal on a
<br />blowpipe and ask you to expend a few
<br />cheekfuls of wind upon it. The pipe
<br />takes no wore blowing than a trom-
<br />bone, though it lacks a mouthpiece,
<br />and you may expand the bubble until
<br />it Is black and cold, so fragile that It
<br />will break Into a myriad pieces 11
<br />you touch it. The molten glass is so
<br />ductile that it may be spun out into a
<br />thread, and the men often vie with
<br />each other to see who can make the
<br />longest and thinnest strand.
<br />At the signal to commence work the
<br />rpen already partly stripped to the
<br />waist, poke their four foot blowpipe
<br />through the hole of the crucible oppo-
<br />site to which they work, twisting it
<br />round until it has taken up sufficient of
<br />the ropy and viscid glass for one bot-
<br />tle. The man who is clever at his work
<br />will, of course, gather up neither too
<br />much nor too little for the thlclmess of
<br />the bottle required. He can tell with-
<br />out looking through the furnace holes
<br />when he bas enough by the weight
<br />added to his pipe. Thus all around the
<br />fiery furnace there are figures moving
<br />continually across the lurid light, most
<br />of them dexterously wielding their
<br />blowpipes and balancing at the end of
<br />each one the exact quantity of vitrified
<br />matter to make a bottle. The amateur
<br />would find it difficult to balance the
<br />molten mass. The chances are that it
<br />would drop on the floor, never to be
<br />picked up again.
<br />At the same moment you will see bot-
<br />tles in all stages of growth—some glit-
<br />tering gold, others cooling down to
<br />orange or red, some In the forms of
<br />plummets or dazzling pears, others as
<br />incandescent bosses threatening to be-
<br />come fragile bladders. It Is all as
<br />charming as a pyrotechnic display. You
<br />will see the black blowpipe twirled
<br />round, blown down, held up like a gun
<br />barrel, then in the form of an incan-
<br />descent lamp globe turned round on a
<br />beeswazed cast iron implement called
<br />a warier, on whose edge the bottle
<br />neck is formed. It is held up once
<br />more, blown into, then shut up In a
<br />cast iron mold placed at the operator's
<br />feet somewhat below the level of the
<br />ground. This mold is opened and closed
<br />by a wire spring, which the opera-
<br />tor presses with his feet, and directly
<br />the red hot bottle is inclosed he blows
<br />down the pipe once more so as to fill It
<br />completely.
<br />A man goes round from mold to mold
<br />inserting a rod into the neck of each
<br />bottle and collecting a trayful to go to
<br />the annealing chamber. Here tbe bot-
<br />ties are stacked up for a gradual cool-
<br />ing process, which may possibly last
<br />thirty-six hours. This gives them the
<br />desired strength. The annealing proc-
<br />ess is a cure for their natural fragility
<br />and enables them to stand the test of
<br />boiling water.—London Globe.
<br />Anger begins in folly and ends in
<br />repentance.—Pythagoras. -
<br />•
<br />THE LAND OF GRAVES.
<br />ltncient Egyptians Believed In Con-
<br />stant Reminders of Death.
<br />To the Egyptian death was but the
<br />beginning of a career of adventures
<br />and experleut5 es compared with which
<br />the most v�(•id etnotlons of this life
<br />were tame. (( IIe lived with the tear of
<br />death before his eyes. Everything
<br />around him reminded him of that
<br />dreadful initiation Into the mysteries
<br />of the tremendous after life for which
<br />his present existence was but a prep-
<br />aration. His cemeteries were not hid-
<br />den away in remote suburbs; his dead
<br />were not covered with mere grassy
<br />mounds or a slab of stone. The whole
<br />land was his graveyard; its whole art
<br />was of the mortuary, "Are there no
<br />graves in Egypt that thou hast brought
<br />us into the wilderness to die?" asked
<br />the Israelites in derision, and we may
<br />believe that Moses winced at the sar-
<br />casm.
<br />Egypt is the land of graves, and the
<br />whole energy of the people that could
<br />be spared from keeping life together
<br />was devoted to death. The mightiest
<br />tombs In thti world—the pyramids—
<br />were raised upon the deaths of multi-
<br />tudes of toiling slaves. The hills were
<br />honeycombed passages and galleries,
<br />chambers, pits, all painfully excavated
<br />In honor of the illustrious dead and
<br />sculptured and painted with elaborate
<br />skill to snake them fit habitations for
<br />his ghost.
<br />Wherever he looked the Egyptian be-
<br />held preparations for the great turning
<br />point of existence. The mason was
<br />squaring blocks for the tomb chamber;
<br />the potter molded images of the gods
<br />or bowls and jars to be placed in the
<br />grave for the protection or refreshment
<br />of the Ka, exhausted with the ordeals
<br />of the underworld; the sculptor and
<br />painter were at work upon the walls
<br />of the funeral chamber, illustrating the
<br />scenes through which the ghost was to
<br />pass or depicting the industrious life
<br />of the departed.
<br />The very temples which cluster along
<br />the levels beside the Nile were In a
<br />sense but vestibules to the tombs In
<br />the hills behind. The sacred lake, now
<br />the weedy, picturesque haunt of water-
<br />fowl, was then the scene of solemn
<br />ferryings of the dead. The temple
<br />walls were covered with the terrors of
<br />the judgment to come. The houses of
<br />the lying, indeed, were built of per-
<br />ishing mud, but the homes of the dead
<br />and the shrines where supplication was
<br />made to the gods who ruled their fate
<br />were made to last forever. On these
<br />all the strength, the science and the
<br />artistic skill of the ancient Egyptians
<br />were cheerfully lavished.—London Sat-
<br />urday Review.
<br />A Preserve Owner's Sick Trout.
<br />A man whose experience as a sports-
<br />man had been limited to an occasional
<br />day's fishing In the mountains bought
<br />for himself a place with a fine trout
<br />preserve on Long Island. He looked
<br />forward with great Interest to the last
<br />opening day, as that would be his first
<br />opportunity to fish In his own pond,
<br />and when the day at last arrived the
<br />first streak of daylight found him leav-
<br />ing his house, rod in hand.
<br />A. day or two later a sportsman friend
<br />inquired as to what luck he had had.
<br />"I caught plenty of fish, and big
<br />ones, too," responded the owner of the
<br />preserve. "There are plenty of front
<br />in the pond, but they all seem to be
<br />sick."
<br />"Why, what's the matter with
<br />them?" asked the sportsman.
<br />"Well," answered the preserve own-
<br />er, "to tell the truth, we were afraid
<br />to eat them. Their flesh is pink, and I
<br />never saw a brook trout that color be
<br />fore."
<br />"Don't you know, man," exclaimed
<br />the sportsman, with a laugh, "that any
<br />trout will turn pink if it lives in salt
<br />water? Your pond empties into the
<br />sound, and of course the trout run in
<br />and out. The next time you have any
<br />of that sort of sick trout just send
<br />them in to me, and I'll eat them for
<br />you with pleasure."—New York Times.
<br />A Tiny State.
<br />The miniature republic of San Ma-
<br />rino is a mere dot on the map of Eu-
<br />rope, being the smallest state in the
<br />world as well as the oldest independ-
<br />ent republic. Its area Is thirty-eight
<br />square miles, only little less than
<br />twice that of the island of Manhattan.
<br />It lies entirely in Italy, but is wholly
<br />independent. Its situation is on the
<br />easterly side of the Etruscan Apen-
<br />nines and about twelve miles from
<br />Rimini, on the Adriatic sea. The fron-
<br />tier is only twenty-four miles in length,
<br />and the population would make only a
<br />small city ward, numbering less than
<br />12,000. There is no public debt, and
<br />the annual expenses met by taxation
<br />amount to $60,000. The country has
<br />bronze and silver currency, coined by
<br />Italy, 158,000 lire of the latter and 105,-
<br />000 of the former. The principal ex-
<br />ports are wine, cattle and stone. The
<br />military force of the republic numbers
<br />88 officers and 950 men.
<br />Wisdom.
<br />Neighbor- -Do you think your slater is
<br />in love with Mr. Simpkins? Little
<br />Dora—Of course not She allows us
<br />children to remain in the parlor when
<br />he calls.—Exchange.
<br />Had Lifted One.
<br />"Pa, these burglars that blew up a
<br />store"—
<br />"Go on."
<br />"Are they shoplifters?"—Kansas City
<br />Times.
<br />Yes and No.
<br />"Are you able to keep a cook?'
<br />"Financially, yes; diplomatically,
<br />no."—Washington Herald.
<br />Used In
<br />millions of '
<br />homes
<br />CALUMET
<br />BAKING POWDER
<br />It is put up under the supervision of a competent
<br />chemist, from the finest materials possible to select,
<br />insuring the user light, wholesome, easily digested food.
<br />Therefore, CALUMET is recommended by leading
<br />physicians and chemists.
<br />Perfect in Qualityl,
<br />Economical In Use
<br />Moderate In .Price
<br />Calumet is so carefully and ..vier - :y prepared that the
<br />neutralization of the ingredients 1. :. .I; perlcct. There-
<br />fore, Calumet IcaJes no R0cl:0:ic oC .‘luta In the
<br />food. It Is chemically correct, •• . • r )(Jur stomach,.
<br />sake. use Calumet. For economy's..,5,, buy t'"Iumet.
<br />51,000.00 given 'or any substance In-
<br />hirlous to health found in Calumet.
<br />Do You Remember?
<br />And the other fishing days when you
<br />got up before dawu and stole down-
<br />stairs to the dim kitchen—a drink of
<br />milk, u doughnut and a triangle of pie,
<br />then you stole out quietly to the barn
<br />and got the spading fork; then the
<br />search, armed with fork and tomato
<br />eau, under the broad leaves of the rhu-
<br />barb bed, back of the henhouse and
<br />down by the cow barn until you bad
<br />enough worms fur th:' day's sport.
<br />Then of course you left the fork stick-
<br />ing in the ground—you never would
<br />learn to put things away—and started
<br />off; through the garden and orchard,
<br />stopping long euough for a handful of
<br />currants and a pocketful of sopsavines
<br />—over the pasture bars, eating a hand-
<br />ful of huckleberries or low bush black-
<br />berries here and there; into the wood
<br />road—very dark and still In the dawn
<br />—where you stepped along very quietly
<br />so as not to disturb the bears (you
<br />knew perfectly well there were no
<br />bears, but you rather enjoyed the
<br />creepy sensation); then out through
<br />the deep wet meadow grass to the riv-
<br />er, where the sun was now beginning
<br />to burn away the wisps of mist and
<br />the red winged blackbirds were mak-
<br />ing a tremendous fuss over their house-
<br />keeping. You reached the river bank
<br />at the pout hole or the big rock or the
<br />old willow (of course you know the ex-
<br />act place), and then you started fish-
<br />ing.—Atlantic.
<br />Suction.
<br />People often speak of cbituneys
<br />"drawing." We also speak of the suc-
<br />tion of a pump. There is not so much
<br />harm to these expressions, except that
<br />they are liable to lead us away frog(
<br />the true state affairs. But In truth
<br />there is no such thing as suction. Suc-
<br />tion is merely partial or entire absence
<br />of pressure in one place which enables
<br />the greater pressure of air or fiuld In
<br />another place to rush in. In the case
<br />of the chimney the heated air in it
<br />does not weigh so much as an equal
<br />volume of cold air, and 1f the alt In
<br />the chimney, tbe air in the room an.l
<br />the outside air were all the same tem-
<br />perature there would be no tendency
<br />W any motion. But when the air to
<br />the chimney is hot it does not press
<br />downword so much as the colder sur-
<br />rounding air presses upward. Conse-
<br />quently an upward current is started
<br />and will continue if the air In the
<br />chimney is kept hot—A. S. S. Ackerman
<br />in London Express
<br />Changed the Name.
<br />He had given up town life, with Its
<br />cares and dissipation, and was living
<br />hi the country.
<br />'What a charming cottager' exclaim-
<br />ed a dainty lady visitor from London.
<br />"What have you called it?'
<br />"I have called it the Nutshell," he
<br />told her, and she exclaimed:
<br />"Oh, how delightfulr'
<br />After tea and cakes she took the
<br />train back to London, where she re-
<br />mained for six months. Then dee "ran
<br />down" to see him again.
<br />"As sweet as ever!" ebe told him.
<br />"But yon have changed the name!
<br />Why Is it now Chez Nous?'
<br />"Why?" he responded, with some
<br />warmth. "Because I was tired of be-
<br />ing jollied! Because I was tired of
<br />being kidded! There isn't a boy for a
<br />mile round who hasn't stopped and
<br />rung the doorbell every time he passed
<br />to ask if the colonel was !n!"—London
<br />Telegraph.
<br />Origin of Myths.
<br />The human mind, whether that of
<br />the savage or the civilized man, Is
<br />naturally a thinking machine. In early i
<br />times, before science was born, the
<br />phenomena of nature required an ex-
<br />planation, and the savage beholder
<br />shaped the myth, which satisfied his
<br />untutored mind. It is out of man's
<br />uatural craving to know the "reason
<br />why" that all myths are bora As
<br />the distinguished anthropologist, Tylor,
<br />puts it, "When the attention of a man
<br />in the myth making stage of intellect
<br />is drawn to any phenomenon which
<br />has to him an obvious reason, he in- 1
<br />vents and tells a story to account for
<br />it" In such way alt mythology orig-
<br />inated.
<br />A Forgetmenot,
<br />Citiman—You ought to know some-
<br />thing about flora and that sort of thing.
<br />Tell me, what is a "forgetmenot?'
<br />Subbube—Why, it's a piece of string
<br />that your wife ties around your finger
<br />when you go in town on an errand.—
<br />Philadelphia Press.
<br />The Servant Girl In Germany.
<br />In most German households there is
<br />no such thing as the strict division of
<br />labor insisted ou hero. Your cook will
<br />be delighted to make a blouse for you,
<br />and your uurse will turn out in the
<br />dining room, while your chambermaid
<br />will take the child for an airing if you
<br />order It so. They are more human in
<br />their relation to their employers. The
<br />English servant fixes a gulf between
<br />herself and the most democratic mis-
<br />tress. The German brings her intimate
<br />joys and sorrows to a good berrscbaft
<br />and expects their sympathy.
<br />When a girl has bad luck and en-
<br />gages with n bad, herrschaft she is
<br />worse off than in Egland because she
<br />is more in the power of her employers
<br />and of the police than she would be
<br />here. She has to have a dlenstbucb,
<br />an official book in which her age and
<br />personal appearance are registered. In
<br />this book her employers write her
<br />character. it Is ander the control of
<br />the police and has to be shown to them
<br />when she leaves and wben she entero
<br />a situation. It Is hardly necessary to
<br />say that when a girl does anything
<br />seriously bnd and her employers record
<br />it in the book the book gets "lost"
<br />Then the police interfere and make it
<br />extremely disagreeable for the girl.
<br />Restaurant Stories.
<br />"I don't care for the vulgar type of
<br />restaurant story," said a New York ho-
<br />tel keeper. "I refer to that type where
<br />the guest shouts angrily to the wafter:
<br />"'Ugh, this steak Is not fresh! What
<br />a horrible smell! Isere, waiter, judge
<br />for yourself!'
<br />"But, shaking his bead, the wafter
<br />points to the next table and answers
<br />grimly:
<br />e set,
<br />wrong. It's the other gentleman's
<br />fish.'
<br />"Or the story of the man who com-
<br />plained about his plunked shad, wind-
<br />ing up:
<br />"'I hope you don't think me unrea-
<br />sonable, waiter?'
<br />"'No, no, air,' the waiter answered.
<br />'You're the sixth person what has com-
<br />plained about that portion of shad,
<br />"On a somewhat higher plane are the
<br />meat stories. Thus a strange guest
<br />says:
<br />"'Surely this isn't a barber shop as
<br />well as a restaurant? I see a lot of
<br />razors lying about.'
<br />"'Oh, no, sir!' says the waiter.
<br />'Those are for the steak customers.
<br />Did you say steak, sir?"
<br />pardon, sir, you're quite
<br />Youthful Logic.
<br />Mrs. L., a young and inexperienced
<br />Sunday school teacher, was at times
<br />sorely perplexed how to answer the
<br />questions put to her by some of her
<br />unusually bright pupils. One day just
<br />after she had finished telling the chil-
<br />dren the story that Adam was the first
<br />man God created quiet reigned In the
<br />class room for several minutes. Sud-
<br />denly up jumped little Rosie and in a
<br />piping voice said, "Oh, teacher, you for-
<br />got to toil us whether God created
<br />Adam right away a man or a baby!"
<br />Embarrassed Mrs. L. looked up to the
<br />ceiling and then to the children for an
<br />inspiration. Happily ebe quickly spied
<br />Betty's little hand raised above the
<br />others eager to answer the question.
<br />"Teacher, I am surprised my slater
<br />Rosie should ask such a foolish ques-
<br />tion. Why, God must have created
<br />Adam right away a big man, because
<br />if God had created him a baby he
<br />would have had to have a mother to
<br />take care of him."
<br />Curious Book Titles.
<br />Curious book titles are always being
<br />rediscovered, mostly from that prolific
<br />period the commonwealth, when sanc-
<br />timony was supreme.
<br />Thus: "John Dances Better Than
<br />Peter; Peter Dances Better Than John;
<br />Both Dance Well" (a vicious attack on
<br />the Jesuits, In five volumes). "A Sigh
<br />For the Sinners of Zion, Coming From
<br />a Hole In the Wall, by an Earthen Ves-
<br />sel, Known Among Men as Samuel
<br />Fisher" (was this how taverna came to
<br />take the sign of the "bole In the
<br />wall?')—London Scrape.
<br />Smyrna Emery Exhausted.
<br />It would appear from a recent ac-
<br />count to the daily consular reports
<br />that the mines near Smyrna, whence
<br />the finest emery stone is procured,
<br />have now practically become exhaust-
<br />ed, and as the ore has at present to be
<br />extracted from long and deep under-
<br />ground galleries the cost has been
<br />doubled.
<br />OUR SAILORS' UNIFORMS.
<br />Copied From England and Not Rep-
<br />resentative of America.
<br />All are familiar with the American
<br />man-of-war sailors suit, but has any
<br />one ever stopped to consider how he
<br />comes by it sad what the origin of 1t
<br />le? With the exception of the fit itself
<br />and the stars in the corner of the collar
<br />the whole suit Is copied from the Eng-
<br />lish. One would hare thought that by
<br />this time the American nation would
<br />have fallen upon some original cos-
<br />tume for its nary in some way more
<br />representative of America.
<br />In the early days of the British navy
<br />It was still the custom to tie the hair
<br />In a cue after well greasing It, but
<br />much annoyance was felt by the men
<br />in consequence of the oil getting on the
<br />rough serge of their jumpers or blouses.
<br />This caused the blue collar of the
<br />same material as the jumper to be
<br />added, but without much success, as
<br />the collar !Joked quite as untidy, so at
<br />length the Idea of putting the blue
<br />drill one over the serge was adopted,
<br />the drill collar being a separate ap-
<br />pendage and therefore easily washed
<br />and kept clean. The lanyard was
<br />worn to represent the ropes and rig-
<br />ging of the ship, and the jackknife in-
<br />dicated that (to be paradoxical) the
<br />bluejacket's object in life was death—
<br />to his enemy.
<br />In those days the neck was exposed,
<br />but as time went on and more thought
<br />was given to the weltaro of the men
<br />this was found to be injurious to the
<br />health; hence the substitute of the
<br />white neck flannel, white being used
<br />to give the effect of the uncovered
<br />neck.
<br />The two rows of white braid at the
<br />top of the cuff represent England and
<br />Ireland, the one row at the bottom
<br />showing that Scotland bad not become
<br />annexed. The rows of braid on the
<br />collar represent wholly and solely the
<br />victories of Nelson.
<br />At the opentng of Lord Nelson's
<br />grand career and his first great vic-
<br />tory at Aboukir the first row of braid
<br />was put on the collar, and Jack was a
<br />proud and happy mac, and he became
<br />still prouder and happier when Aboukir
<br />was followed by 'Nelson's greater vic-
<br />tory at Copenhagen, and the second row
<br />was added. But he became tbe proud-
<br />est and happiest man and, alas, also
<br />the most sorrowful and grief stricken,
<br />when that great hero and magnificent
<br />example of naval courage lost his life
<br />In his last victory at Trafalgar, and so
<br />the third row of braid went on, but
<br />there was no wore to come after it, for
<br />"the teat pipe" had sounded for the
<br />gallant sailor, his last fight fought, his
<br />last victory won. To signify the
<br />mourning which filled the hearts of all
<br />English sailors the black scarf was
<br />added. This was the origin of the
<br />British tar's uniform, which is both
<br />historical and biographical and dear to
<br />the heart of all English people.—New
<br />York World.
<br />A Rather Novel Complaint.
<br />An English traveler once met a com-
<br />panion sitting in a state of the most
<br />woeful despair and apparently near
<br />the last agonies by the aide of one of
<br />the mountain lakes of Switzerland. He
<br />inquired the mune of his sufferings.
<br />"Oh," said the letter, "1 was very hot
<br />and tbirsty and took a large draft of
<br />the clear water of the lake and then
<br />sat down on this stone to consult my
<br />guidebook. To my astonishment, I
<br />found that the water of this lake Is
<br />very polsonotle! Oh, I am a gone man;
<br />I feel it running all over me. 1 have
<br />only a few minutes to Live! Remember
<br />me to"—
<br />"Let me saw the guidebook," said his
<br />friend. Turning to the passage, be
<br />found. "I: eau du lac eat bleu pols-
<br />soneuse" (The water of this lake
<br />abounds in fish).
<br />"Is that the ln000Ing of It?'
<br />"Certainly'."
<br />The dying moot looked op with a ra-
<br />diant conntemmnre. "What would have
<br />become of yon." said his friend, "1f I
<br />had not met your'
<br />"I should Imre died of imperfect
<br />knowledge of the French language."
<br />A Groat Man's Simple Speech.
<br />I wns lately told a delightful story
<br />of a great statesman staying with a
<br />humble and anxious host who had In-
<br />vited n party of simple and unimpor-
<br />tant people to meet the great man.
<br />The statesman came in late for din-
<br />ner and was introduced to the party.
<br />He made a series of old fashioned
<br />bows in all directions, but no one felt
<br />in a position to offer any observations.
<br />The great man at the conclusion of
<br />the ceremony turned to his boat and
<br />said to tones that had often thrilled a
<br />listening senate; "What very conven-
<br />ient jugs you have to your bedrooms.
<br />They pour well." The social frost
<br />broke up, the company was delighted
<br />to find that the great mac was inter-
<br />ested in mundane matters of a kind on
<br />which every one might be permitted to
<br />have an opinion, and the conversation,
<br />starting from the humblest conven-
<br />iences of daily ilfe, melted insensibly
<br />into more liberal subjects.—Arthur 0.
<br />Benson in Putnam's and the Reader.
<br />An Expert Caner.
<br />Mme. R. wishes to secure a new but-
<br />ler. "You know bow to serve the ta-
<br />ble and especially can you carve welt?'
<br />she asked an applicant
<br />"Madam may rest assured of It," be
<br />replied. "When one has been ten years
<br />a surgeon's servant In a dl»ecting
<br />room one ought to understand his busi-
<br />ness."
<br />The Natural Kited.
<br />"What sort of steed do you suppose
<br />was most popular daring the days of
<br />chivalry?'
<br />"I suppose it was a knight-mare."—
<br />Baltimore American.
<br />Sleepwalking,
<br />Women and children are more apt to
<br />suffer from somnambulism than men,
<br />possibly because their brain is more
<br />delicately poised and therefore more
<br />easily influenced by dreams. A som-
<br />nambulist nearly always walks with
<br />his eyes wide open. the pupils being
<br />much dilated. He is a dreamer able to
<br />act his dreams, and in this state the
<br />timid become fearless, the weak strong
<br />and the stupid brilliant Their som-
<br />nambullatic condition presents many
<br />curious anomalies. The somnambulist's
<br />sense of hearing is not often suspend-
<br />ed, for, generally speaking, be will an-
<br />swer questions even if whispered, but
<br />often the same ear is deaf to loud
<br />noises. The sense of smell la frequent-
<br />ly altered. Brimstone and phosphorus
<br />are said to be pleasant scents to the
<br />somnambulist, and many cannot tell
<br />wine from water, as the sense of taste
<br />becomes perverted or entirely suspend-
<br />ed. Some people walk periodically in
<br />their sleep, white others do It spasmod-
<br />ically. One German doctor goes to the
<br />extreme of asserting that somnam-
<br />bulists are attracted by the moon, and
<br />thus they walk on roofs of houses and
<br />at great heights because they derive a
<br />peculiar pleasure from contemplating
<br />the moon.
<br />A Tiny Death Dealer.
<br />A most agonizing death is caused by
<br />an insect half the size of a pea—a
<br />small black spider. It lives In Peru,
<br />in South America, but a few speci-
<br />mens have reached Europe In ship-
<br />loads of timber. Not long ago a dock
<br />laborer was unlucky enough to come
<br />upon one lu the Victoria docks while
<br />unloading a bark. The tiny death deal-
<br />er dropped upon the back of his hand
<br />and dug its fangs into his flesh. The
<br />bite itself was nothing, but as soon as
<br />the poison began to work the man
<br />fainted with pain. Soon afterward be
<br />came to and lived three days before
<br />the end came. This spider's venom
<br />scorches up the blood vessels and
<br />spreads through all the tissues, caus-
<br />ing the most fearful agony a bureau
<br />being can have to bear. The worst of
<br />it is that the victim lives at least two
<br />days, enduring unthinkable anguish
<br />the whole time. This spider Is luckily
<br />not common. It la known as the
<br />"specks," and when a man who knows
<br />what the bite means 1s bitten be gen-
<br />erally blows out his bralus.—London
<br />Chronicle.
<br />Extreme Obedience.
<br />The Youngs had unexpectedly drop-
<br />ped In on the Baileys just as dinner
<br />was about to be served. The hostess,
<br />considerably disturbed, called her little
<br />daughter Helen aside and explained
<br />that there would not be enough oysters
<br />to go around and added, "Now, you
<br />and I will just have some of the broth.
<br />and please do not make any fuss about
<br />it at tbe table."
<br />Little Helen promised to remember
<br />and say nothing. But when the oys-
<br />ters were served Heien discovered a
<br />small oyster In her plate which had ac-
<br />cidentally been ladled up with the
<br />broth. This puzzled the little girl, as
<br />she could not recall any instructions
<br />covering this contingency. After
<br />studying a few moments she dipped
<br />the oyster up with her spoon and, bold -
<br />Ing It up as high as she could, piped
<br />out, "Mamma, mamma, shouldn't Airs.
<br />Young have this oyster too?"-
<br />-Chris-tian Register.
<br />Countess Hertford's Bell.
<br />Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford,
<br />in the days of Queen Elizabeth married
<br />as his third wife a beautiful young
<br />widow who had been engaged to Sir
<br />George Rodney, but whom she jilted
<br />for Lord Hertford. Sir George Rodney
<br />traveled to Amesbury and, putting up
<br />at the inn, awaited the homecoming of
<br />the earl and countess, who were ex-
<br />pected to arrive the next day. The In-
<br />fatuated man wrote a dying ode to his
<br />fickle lore, using his blood as ink, and
<br />upon the arrival of the bridal party be
<br />went out to meet them. Lady Hert-
<br />ford was agitated and terrified at the
<br />appearance of her old lover, and be-
<br />fore Bir George could be prevented he
<br />drew his sword and, falling on it, ex-
<br />pired at Lady Hertford's feet The
<br />countess presented a bell to Amesbury
<br />church perhaps as a slight penance for
<br />her fickleness. The inscription nuns:
<br />Be strong In faytbe, prayer, God well,
<br />Frances, Countess Hertford's belL
<br />Stars That Outshine the Sun.
<br />One of the government astronomers,
<br />referring to stars that are so distant
<br />that they have no measurable parallax,
<br />asserts that one of these, the brilliant
<br />Canopus, can be said with confidence
<br />to be thousands of times brighter than
<br />our sun. Whether we should say 20,-
<br />000, 10,000 or 5,000 no one can decide.
<br />The first magnitude stars, Rigel and
<br />Speca, also are at an immeasurable
<br />distance and must, in view of their ac-
<br />tual brightness, enormously outshine
<br />the sun.
<br />The 'Anged and Un'anged.
<br />An American actor was once seeing
<br />London from the top of a bus. As
<br />they swung down the Strand he asked
<br />the driver to point out the places of
<br />interest "Right you are, alre" agreed
<br />the driver, touching his hat. "There's
<br />Lugglt 'ill, where they 'ang 'em." A
<br />iittle later, "There's parliment 'oases.
<br />where they make the laws wot does it
<br />across the way. An' there's Westmin-
<br />ster habbey, where they burled the
<br />good 'ups wot didn't get 'angedr'
<br />His Only Chance.
<br />"Why did you shake your fist at the
<br />speaker?"
<br />"Well," replied the congressman, "I
<br />didn't want the whole session to slip
<br />by without my having made a motion
<br />of some kind."—Phlladelubla Ledger.
<br />An Exasperating Mamma.
<br />The smell boy's mother was the only
<br />one who ant utuuovcd, while the small
<br />boy himself -most unwelcome addition
<br />to the Informal afternoon tea—gleeful-
<br />ly galloped around the circular table,
<br />daintily spread with silver and china
<br />and towered over by a cut glass hunp.
<br />"I's a squlreus pony!" shrilled the in-
<br />fant joyously as he tossed his flaxen
<br />locks and twinkled his besocked lege
<br />with ever lucreasing speed.
<br />"Mercy! He'll have the lamp over!"
<br />shivered a nervous young woman as
<br />the human gyroscope stumbled over the
<br />edge of a rug, clawed at the table for
<br />support, then triumphantly continued
<br />circling. Conversation froze on pallid
<br />lips as they sat awaiting the Inevita-
<br />ble crash. Only the voice of the small
<br />boy's mother rippled along serenely.
<br />The nervous young woman could
<br />stand It no louger. in sheer despair
<br />she ventured, "Mrs. Archibald--er--par-
<br />don me—your dear little boy"—
<br />The lady addressed stared blankly,
<br />then grasped the situation. "Malcolm,"
<br />she said sweetly—"Malcolm, dear, run
<br />around in the opposite direction, dar-
<br />ling. Mtge Vinton's afraid you'll make
<br />yourself giddy."—Woman's HomeCiom-
<br />panton.
<br />Making It Simple.
<br />In the course of his sermon a preach-
<br />er in a rural district used the world
<br />phenomenon. This word caused one of
<br />the members some trouble, for be was
<br />unable to attach any meaning to it
<br />Finally he determined to seek an ex-
<br />planation from the minister and at the
<br />close of the service approached ltlm on
<br />the subject.
<br />"What did yer mean by that there
<br />long word yer used In yer sermon?"
<br />he began.
<br />"Ob, I see you do not know what a
<br />phenomenon is," replied the minister.
<br />"Well, have you ever seen a cow graz-
<br />ing In a field In which thistles were
<br />growing';"
<br />"Yes; many a time."
<br />"That Is not a phenomenon. And no
<br />doubt you have often listened to a larit
<br />singing merrily away up in the
<br />clouds"
<br />"'flat, again, is not a phenomenon.
<br />But if you saw that cow sitting on a
<br />thistle singing like a lark that would
<br />be n phenomenon." — Liverpool Mer-
<br />cury.
<br />Novelty In Cement Wall.
<br />There Is a wall of cement in Los An
<br />fetes which shores up one side of a
<br />building lot that has an artistic value
<br />never intended by the builder. Ile
<br />had moved his bags of cement on to
<br />the ground to be ready for work and
<br />was then called away on some other
<br />Job for a day or two. In the mean-
<br />time one of the very infrequent rains
<br />came on, and each sack turned into
<br />stone under the action of the water,
<br />and the fabric of the sacks themselves
<br />was absorbed into the cement so that
<br />It was impossible to remove it Cons0•
<br />quentiy each sack was wrought Into
<br />the wall as 1f It had been a bow'ider on
<br />the line of an old stone wall. They
<br />were then chinked and bound together
<br />with worked cement, and after a time
<br />the weather disposed of the gunny
<br />sacking, but left the blocks marked
<br />with the impress of the weave. The
<br />result Is a highly ornamental cement
<br />wall, resembling at a little distance a
<br />wall of some woven material.
<br />Champagne Corks.
<br />Champagne corks are made of the
<br />very finest Catalonia corkwood. When
<br />the tree of that wood la planted, thirty
<br />years must elapse before it becomes fit
<br />for the first stripping of the bark, and
<br />even then the cork is of no use, being
<br />much too coarse. After eight years
<br />more a second crop arrlres, but that
<br />again is of but poor quality, and
<br />eight years more, making forty-six
<br />years In all. must pass before the
<br />grower can reap any material benefit
<br />from the tree. Then, again, the great-
<br />est care is necese ry for the manufac-
<br />ture of the best champagne corks be-
<br />cause should they be defective In eine
<br />and shape the quality of the wine will
<br />suffer. For that reason they are not
<br />made by machinery, like the ordinary
<br />cork, but are cut by hand. as finer
<br />work can be done that way.—Philadel-
<br />phia Ledger.
<br />Mazarin and His Pictures.
<br />Perhaps no more ardent lover of pic-
<br />tures ever lived than Cardinal Mararin,
<br />minister of the regency during the mi-
<br />nority of Louis XIV. Being told that
<br />he bad but two months to live, be was
<br />soon after seen in his nightcap and
<br />dressing gown, tottering along the gal-
<br />lery, pointing to his pictures, exclaim-
<br />ing: "Must I quit nll these? Look at
<br />that Correggl; this 'Venus' of Titian;
<br />that incomparable 'Deluge' of Caraccl!
<br />Farewell, dear pictures, that I have
<br />loved so dearly and that cost me so
<br />much!"
<br />Exaggerated.
<br />Among the begging letters recently
<br />received at the office of a benevolent
<br />society was one running thus:
<br />"This unfortunate young man is the
<br />only son of a widow who died child-
<br />less, and his earnings maintain his
<br />aged Pathe. and infant brothers, whose
<br />sole support he is."
<br />The secretary of the society wrote on
<br />the margin of the epistle the following
<br />note:
<br />"The circumstances of the case are
<br />evidently exaggerated."—London Tat-
<br />ler.
<br />The Combination.
<br />Fellaire (formerly Rusty Rufus)—
<br />Well, what do you want? Tuffold
<br />Knutt—You wuz kind 'nougb wunst,
<br />mister, to give me a dollar an' a kick.
<br />Et the two go together, air, Pm ready
<br />fur 'am aaala--Qbic o Tribune.
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