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YOL. XXVI. PITTSBORQ, CHATHAM COUNTY, N. C, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1901,
NQ. 44.
f "' . . 1. 11 hi
Copyright 1$, hy Eobebt Boxkek'3 So-
CHAPTER III.
A rjLMILX DINNER PAKTT.
T The dining-room at Holdenhurst
Hall was a large, sombre apartment.
The floor "was of oak, uneven through
a so, and perilously slippery, and. the
walls of Dutch oak panelling, relieved
here and there hy portraits in oils of
horses and dogs. Four -windows did
not admit sufficient light for the room,
and on the spacious hearth no fire
could be made large enough for com
fort in winter. The centre was oc
cupied by an enormous table, support
ed by legs about ten inches shorter
than those with which a modern din
jng table is furnished, and round it
were ranged thirty-two chairs, fifteen
at either side and one at each end
cumbrous structures of oak and em
bossed leather, mounted on wheels.
Indeed, I never look at this table with
out recalling the ludicrous aspect pre
sented by our friend Major Armstrong,;
of the Suffolk Yeomanry, when dining
with us. Major Armstrong stands six
feet four, and the distance from his
plate to his mouth is so great that
when he is engaged with the former
it appears almost as if he were dig
ging the ground with his fork. A large
sideboard, loaded with silver, com
pleted the furniture of the room.
When I entered, it was at once ap
parent that this was a special occa
sion. The table was lighted by more
audles, and spread somewhat more
luxuriously than usual, and, infaUible
sign.' old John, our one indoor manser
vant, had on his yellow silk waistcoat
a venerable and conspicuous article
of his attire which I remembered from
iny earliest infancy, but Had never be
fore known him to wear except on
Sundays and was moving about busi
ly between, the sideboard and the ta
ble. I I disturbed my relations in an exam
ination they were making of the
'quaintly carved mantelpiece. My fath
er at ence stepped towards me, and
taking my hand in his own, led me
towards a beautiful and very elabor
ately dressed lady, saying:
"Permit me to introduce" my son.
Ernest, this lady is your' aunt Ger
trude." Now though in the first blush of my
youth I had suffered from overmuch
self-oonsciousness, I had flattered my
self of late that I had reasoned myself
out of that malady, and was as self
possessed as a young man of nineteen
need be. Yain delusion! Whether it
was the "striking beauty of my aunt,
the splendor of her dress tind jewels,
or my intense surprise at finding her
a woman of at most thirty, whom I
had mentally pictured as about fifteen
years older than that, I know not; but
certain it is, I had never felt so awk
ward and foolish before. I cannot
quite remember what I said, but I
believe a few disconnected words es
caped my lips to the effect Jthat I was
very pleased to make her acquaint
ance. : JifvS5-jji "
i My aunt noticed my confusion, and
with admirable tact endeavored to
allay it. "I am sure I am much grati
fied to see you and your father," she
said in a soft voice. "My husband has
often talked to me of you both, and of
his old home in England. Your house
is perfectly delightful, and I long to
see more of it. You must show me
all over it when you have time."
, Replying that nothing could give me
greater pleasure, and that I would do
so to-morrow if . she was sufficiently
rested to undertake the task, I shook
hands with my uncle and felt rather
more at my ease. ; .
My father having taken his seat at
the head of the table with his sister
and I on the right, and his brother on
his left, John removed the covers, and
dinner was served.
i "No," said uncle San, addressing
my father, "the change is not all in
myself as you suggest, though of
course a man's ideas modify and ex
pand a good deal in twenty years,
especially if his affairs are extensive
and he mixes much with business
men. Positively, I believe what I have
told you, that Englishmen- ara vastly
altered from what they were when I
lived among tLem. They are not so
enterprising; they seem to lack go and
grit, and have fallen into a slow vaj
Everything in England is depressed
capitalists afraid to invest, laborers
without work to Co. Coning frcn
London to:day, we caw a man and a
boy with two horses plowing a field.
Why, the scens would serve for an
illustration to one cf Pope'c pastorals.
No wonder that farming In England
don't pay when you tickle and scratch
the earth in such primitive fashion!
'And while the laborers are killing
time in this wcy, your legislators are
talking about small faros and allot
ments for laborers. Bosh, my dear
sir, bosh! What is wanted la for at
least a hundred landowners in each
county to form a trust, and to employ
modern machinery in cultivating their
aggregated lands that Is to say, a
farm of tolerable size. By-the-by,
what is the acreage of this place?"
. "Two thousand acres."
? "A mere potato patch! I have a Tot
twenty-five times as large, as good or
s better than the best soil in England,
WALTER BLOOM FIELD
within one hundred mjles of Chicago
acquired it in one deal."
"Are the large farms in America
very profitable?" asked my father.
"No; the most unprofitable things in
the States; still, they do pay a beg
garly fifteen or twenty per cent. No
body loses money by them."
"And the laborers of course they
are paid more liberally than in Eng
land." "Liberally! Whr.t has liberality to
do with a business arrangement? The
laborer sells his labor for the most
money he can get for it, and the capi
talist sells his money for the most
labor he can get for it. Midway be
tween these antagonistic forces is
found the natural rate of wages. An
American laborer does better for him
self than an English laborer, if that
is what you mean."
I observed my uncle closely while
he talked to my father. He was a tall
man, slightly built, with regular fea
tures, fresh complexion, and keen,
restless eyes. His manner was very
earnest, and he had a habit of looking
hard at the person to whom he was
speaking. His style was too aggres
sive to please me, but I considered
him a very clever man, and was much
interested in all that he said. Per
sonally, he slightly resembled my
father; in other respects the two men
were absolutely different. My father
was a man of few words, and his sub
dued manner showed that he regarded
the doings of men rather as a specta
tor than as an actor among them.
My uncle and father continuing to
talk together upon subjects in which
neither my aunt nor I could join, it
occurred to me that the lady was ne
glected; and I deliberated upon the
expediency of opening a conversation
with her. Failing to think of anything
more appropriate, I asked her how she
liked England, but was so nervous in
putting the question that I knocked
the contents of a salt cellar into her
lap.
This unlucky accident afforded me
an unexpected relief. My aunt ac
cepted my apologies so gracefully, and
with such charming good humor, that
I was enabled from that moment to
converse with her like a rational be
ing. Looking at her somewhat more
observantly than I had done before,
I noticed that she had a profusion of
brown, wavy hair, that her light blue
eyes were large and expressive, her
features beautiful, and her figure ad
mirably proportioned. Altogether, I
thought her the handsomest woman
I had ever seen.
"1 arrived in England less than a
week ago," she said, "and have seen
very little of your country. I like
London immensely, wrhat I know of
it at Kensington; but I have not even
visited your Museum there yet. When
we return to London at the end of the
week, I hope to present my introduc
tions and go about a little with my
sister."
"Have you h sister in England?"
asked my father, looking up.
"Yes," said uncle Sam, answering
for his wife; "didn't you know that?
Mrs. Truman has a young sister who
lives with us her only relation in the
world excepting we three. I thought
I told you about her."
"No," said my father; "I have never
heard of her. Why didn't you bring
her with you to Holdenhurst?"
"Constance was more upset by the
voyage even than I," remarked my
aunt, "and did not feel equal to com
ing here."
"You should know Connie," said my
uncle, addressing me; "she's a smart
girl."
I made no reply to this; but my aunt
filled up the gap, by asking if I was
at liberty to return to London with
them, that they might fcave the benefit
of my knowledge of the metropolis.
I knew of no objection to the propos
al except that my knowledge of Lon
don was very limited an objection at
once overruled.
"Taking him all rcund, I prefer old
Marsh to an7 man I ever met; not be
cause he cave rae ene of his daugh
ters and half of his fortune, though
that is something, but because it was
he who removed the English scales
from my eyes and caused me to look
at tho world like roi American."
"And is Mr. Marsh dead?" inquired
my father.
"Very Cead," saij my uncle. "He
has been balancing a marble column
on his chest in Greenwood Cemetery
for three years or more." i
'- My f ather and I were shocked at the
levity cf 'uncle Sam, and our faces
must have indicated our thoughts, for
aunt Gertrude remarked:
"You must net mind all that my hus
band says. His acts are more Chris
tian than his words. I cannot re
form his manner, so must apologize
for him."
"Well, you see," said uncle Sam,
continuing, "too strongly marked
Christianity spoils a man of business.
comld cite several instances. After
ill. what are called honest men are
cnerely thieves who lack the courage
of their convictions feeble folks who
'remble at taking the shortest way
to the" accomplishment of their pur
poses. I know many a man in New
York accounted a paragon of virtue
who is as full of hypocrisy ever
was Holdenhurst Church on A Sun
day. I like to deal with a man who
I know will overreach me if he can,
and who expects as much of me; mat
ters are simplified, and the trade
moves quickly."
"When you lived in England you
had no such ideas. If I remember
rightly, you used to read poetry, and
were inclined to be moody and sen
timental, as Ernest is now."
"True; but I am sorry to hear that
your son is stricken that way. Look
to him; watch hira. So long as he
confines himself to reading poetry
there is some hope of him; 'tis when
he attempts to write poetry that you
must put ) ini into a straitjackefe, Let
me take him with me to New York
at the end of the summer; or, bettei
still, take him there yourself. A tem
perature low enough to freeze, Ten
nyson's brook, and a careful daily
study of market prices in Wall Street,
will make a man of him inside of
three months. What do you say to
that, Ernest?"
"I don't know what to say, uncle,
only that I should very much like to
visit America."
"A good answer. You shall certain
ly do so; and your father with you, 1
hope. We have a brown stone house
on East Thirty-Fourth street, close to
Fifth Avenue, and a frame cottage
at Newport, Rhode Islan'd, both tele
phonically connected with my offices
in the Mills Building. We have also
a private railroad car, which I would
like you to compare with those rat
traps your Great Eastern Company
calls carriages. Our chef is as good as
can be found outside Delmonico's.
Come and stay Avith us, and we will
feed you upon oysters, blue fish, can
vas-back ducks, terrapin, Canadian
frogs, and sweet, potatoes, won't we,
Gertrude?"
"Of course, we shall be very pleased
indeed to see you, and will do all in
our power to make you comfortable,"
said my aunt.
My father thanked his guests: but I
noticed that he carefully avoided
committing himself to either an ac
ceptance or a rejection of this invest
tion. Before we adjourned tc 3
drawing-room it was arranged that 1
was to devote the following morni
to showing my aunt over the house
and ground, "while my father aud un
cle discussed a certain business mat
ter. We were all to meet again at
luncheon, and I. was afterwards to
exhibit the documents my father and
I had been at so much pains to bring
to light. My uncle, having approved
of these arrangements, ignited a
match on the heel of his boot, and
applied the flame to a cigar, from
which he proceeded to pun! clouds of
smoke larger and denser than I should
have thought was possible to produce
by such mean.-;.
CHAPTER IV.
DISAPPOINTMENT.
There is a peculiar condition of mind
incident to some persons whose corre
spondence i .sn ail, which induces
them to carefuily examine the envel
ope of a letter add.ess'-d by a strange
hand au Inu'-scrihnbJe fascination in
speculating :.s to v.-ho thj writer may
be and why L j has written. It is sel
dom that this rt-lf-impcsed doubt lasts
longer thru !s necessary 10 make out
the writing r.v.Ci postmark, and then
the letter is opened a thing which
would have been done by a busy or
practical man at the instant of its re
ceipt. Influenced by some such feeling, I
delaj'ed to open the copper box which
I had taken from the oak chest in the
library, though the nature of its con
tents strongly excited my curiosity.
An instinctive belief that the contents
were valuable had taken a firm hold of
my imagination, though I could not in
any degree support such belief by an
appeal to reason. The contents of
both the oak chests had doubtless been
examined by bygone members of my
family at least as often as the proper
ty had passed from father to son, and
probably with greater frequency. It
is true the chests had not been, opened
for a quarter of a century or so; but
then the lid of the copper box bore
the date
This 23d daye Oct., 1G71.
and I could not do such violence to my
credulity as to suppose that the con
tents had been suffered to remain so
many years unexamined which made
strongly against the presumption that
they were of any value. But the
strongest human hopes are oftenest
reared upon the most unstable foun
dations. I had certainly suffered the
hope to grow upon me that it had been
reserved for me to make a valuable
discovery; and knowing that my
chances of doing anything of the sort
were the most shadowy conceivable,
I delayed to open the box, contenting
myself for the present by carefully
examining its exterior.
To be continued.
India-Rubber Corsets.
The corset, as all the world knowss,
is an essential detail of the costume of
the modern civilized woman. The ap
paratus, in its present stage of evolu
tion, has gained, the wholesale ' con
tejaipt and detestation of all physiolo
gists as an outrage upon the organs of
respiration, circulation and digestion.
Lovely woman, however, has carried
her fashion a step nearer breaking
point by inventing corsets of india
rubber designed for bathing purposes.
The idea of thus converting what
should be a most wholesome and
health-giving recreation into a field for
exploiting various kinds of irrational
dress could have been engendered only
I in the brain of a latter-day fashion
! able woman. London Medical Presa
and Gireular.
y ft ' SCIENCE ip
In the language of chemistry, pure
radium has never been isolated. The
metal seen in the laboratory is a com
pound of radium with chlorine or bro
mine, aud is known as radium chlor
ide or radium bromide,'
Approaching the great centres of
population the quantity of dust held
in suspension by the air increases enor
mously. According to Sir James
Crichton Browne, the air of London
contains 130,000 proportional parts of
dust to Paris' 210,000, while in Argyl
shire, Scotland, there are only 200.
A new luminous" fungus has been
forwarded to Europe from Tahiti. It
is said to emit at night a light resem
bling that of the glowworm, which it
retains for a period of twenty-four
hours after having been gathered, and
it is used by the native women in bou
quets of flowers for personal adorn
ment in the hair and dress. It is be
lieved to grow on the trunks of trees.
The great earthquakes are traced
by a committee of the British Associa
tion to eight districts, of which seven
aro beneath the ocean. Five fringe
the shores of the Pacific, one is in the
Indian Ocean, one in the West Indies,
and the eighth is in the Caucasian
Himalayan region. Each of these
earthquakes shook the entire earth,
whilo the broken up strata left gave
numerous after shocks. The earth
movement is propagated around the
globe at the uniform rate of about
two miles per second, but through the
ecrth the rato increases with the
depth of about seven miles per sec
end. A curious instance of the care and
minuteness with which the human
body is now studied, in the effort bet
ter to understand its powers and .func
tions, is furnished by a paper road
recently at a meeting of the Royal So
ciety in London on the "Rapidity, of
the Nervous Impulse i:i Tall and Short
Individuals." Even the difference in
time required for a "nerve telegram"
to traverse the bodies of different peo
ple is regarded as a matter of scien
tific; importance. A series of observa
tions has shown that the length of tho
nerves does not affect the velocity
with which an impulse passes between
Hie brain and the extremities, and con
sequently that more time is needed if
the path is long than if it is short.
A JOKE ON A PROPHET.
Ualkcd His Well-Planned Effort to Walk
on the Water.
"I have often heard my grandmother
tell of a joke played on the so-called
'Prophet' Joseph Smith. Sr.. of the
Mormon Church," says C. II. Cartwell.
"Some time in the thirties Smith and a
party of his followers were proselyt
ing iu Muskingum County, Ohio. He
appointed a certain day when he would
show the people his wonderful powers,
and that he was a second Christ, by
walking on the waters of Mud Creek.
The water was always muddy. A day
or two before the time set grandmoth
er's brother Robert and a couple of
neighbor boys were accidentally at
tracted to the Mormons working at the
creek, and, concealing themselves,
watched the Mormons put down stakes
and put plank on them from bank to
bank, the plank resting about six
inches under water. After the Mor
mons left the boys weut down and took
out the centre plank, where the water
was about ten feet deep. The next
' cay 'Balaam' Smith came down to the
creek, and, after a long exhortation,
started across the creek. He was all
right and on top till he came to the
centre, where his 'powers' seemed to
have left him, and he, like McGinty.
went to the bottom. This was the end
of Mormonism in that old tried and
true Presbyterian County." Chicago
Tribune.
Xo Inspiration There. '"
"All I want is a room with an open
fireplace in it," said the Literary Man.
"I don't care how small the room is,
or how bare, but it must have an open
fireplace or I can't work in it.
"You see, in the summer a chap can
get his inspiration from out of doors,
but the rest of the year be has to de
pend on what he can see indoors. Now,
you can always see something in the
open fire and get something out of it.
But a steam heater is strictly busi
ness. There's not a spark of the artis
tic temperament in its make-up. That's
why I have left my apartments and
am in search of a little workroom with
a fireplace.
"I sat and stared at my steam heater
a whole night and not a suggestion did
it give me. Finally I shut my eyes and
imagined a fire, and had just managed
to begin work when Thuim! Thump!
Thump-thump-thump! went the heater,
and I couldn't write a., line because it
was beating the wrong time No, sir,
I want an open fireplace, please."
Philadelphia Press-.
A Chance For the Milionalre.
I ana of the opinion that if any mil
lionaire wished to build himself a last
ing monument in the affection and
homage of the English people he could
not find a -surer means of gratifying
his ambition than by putting down
?1,000,000 to build and endow a na
tional theatre. And I think that be
fore many years we shall probably
find that some American millionaire,
with the cuteness of his i-ace, will so
establish and endow an American the
atre and will thereby earn the lasting
gratitude of the American nation.
Henry Arthur Jones, in the Nineteenth
Century.
Qvk Budget
of Hmor.
The "Wife So One Wants.
There wag a young lady at Bingham,.
Who knew many sougs, and could sing em j
But she couldn't mend hose,
And' she wouldn't wash clothes, v
Or help her old mother to wring 'em.
Wise Man. "
Guest (in cheap restaurant) "Here,
waiter! This food is vile, and I don't
propose to pay for it. Where's the
proprietor?"
Waiter "He's gone home " to lunch,
sir."-Philadelphia Ledger.
Au Exceptional Case.
Smith "You wouldn't take Rocksley
for a self-made man, would you?"
Rogers "I should say not! Why,
he uses good English aud doesn't
weigh more than one hundred and
eighty pounds!' Town Topics.
Taking Chance.
"That land," said the city nephew,
"is valued at $800 a front foot."
"Thunderation!" exclaimed the oid
farmer, hastily moving back on to tha
sidewalk. "An' I stood on it most live
minutes! Do you reckon they'll charge
me rent?" Chicago Tost.
Lucky.
"I dislike to keep you In after
school," said the teacher. "Aren't yoi:
sorry you were naughty and have to
stay?"
. "No'm," replied Johnny. 'Pie-face'
is waitin' out there to lick me." In
dianapolis Sun.
Turn About.
Aunt Mary "Nora, you're a cruel
child. Let that cat go at once."
Nora (banging the cat) "But. she's
been naughty, Aunty, an' I'm punishin'
her. I told her it was for her own
good, an' it hurt ma in ore' n it hurt
her." Brooklyn Life.
Judge's Kegret.
"Your Honor," said the young law
yer, "I demand justice for my client."
"I'd be only too glad to accommo
date you," answered the Judge, "but as
the law won't allow me to give him
more than six months I am practically
helpless." Chicago News.
Proper lieverence.
Mamma "Now, "Willie Jones likes to
go to Sunday school, I'm sure."
Tommy "I guess he does, the way
, he talks about it."
Mamma "Why, what does he say.''
Tommy "He calls it 'Sabbath
school.' "Philadelphia Press.
She Knew Him,
"You say you don't know Mr. Rocks
very well."
"Only slightly. Let me see. I be
lieve we were engaged once." New
York American. . ,
1 'jr..-
Man's Modestj .
"Do you believe," she asked, "that a
genius can possibly be a good hus
band?" "Well," he modestly replied. "I
would prefer not to answer that ques
tion. But my wife ought to be able
to tell you." Chicago Record-Herald.
The Next Best Thinjf.
"I thought she was determined never
to marry any man whose, ancestors
had not come over in the Mayflower."
"Yes, but she changed her mind
when she met this fellow whose an
cestors went to California in a prairi
schooner." Chicago Record-Herald.
Parental Wisdom.
" "I shouldn't think the Smiths would
name their new baby 'John' there are
so many John Smiths."
"That's a good thing one way. If
liis name ever gets in the 'police re
ports' folks won't know whether
it's he or some other John Smith."-
Puck.
The Girl That Buy 'Em.
American Girl "We haven't been
over leng, you know. I suppose your
psople always lived here?"
Augustus'We came to England
with the Normans, don't you know."
American Girl "Oh. indeed, the Nor
mans! I'm afraid I don't know them."'
-Tit-Bits. ' ,
Ue of Synonyms.
A teacher in or.a of the Brooklyn
schools, wishing to enlarge" the vocab
ulary of her class in English composi
tion,' asked each member of it to write
a sentence containing synonyms of the
word "ran" and "tale." One little fel
low having laboriously looked up the
definitions in his small dictionary, sub
mitted the " following highly descrip
tive result:
"A dog trickled down the street with
n tin can tied to his narrative.""
Jixooklyn Eagle,
1
Potato Pic.
?' Peel and slice half a dozen potatoes
and chop three small onions. Butter
a deep baking dish and lay in a layer
of potatoes, then one of onions, and a
sprinkling of chopped cold meat. Sea
son with salt and pepper; then repeat
the layers and cover the whole with a
crust made as for pies and rolled
twice as thick as for the ordinary pie.
Bake slowly until the vegetables are
do'" ..
. . Col cannon.
Equal quantities of mashed potatoes
and boiled greens, salt, pepper, butter,
one egg. Mix the potatoes and greens
together, season with salt and pepper,
add a little butter and the egg well
beaten. Butter a basin and shake in
some browned bread crumbs; put in
the potatoes and greens, and bake in
a hot oven for three-quarters of an
hour. Turn out of the basin and serve
in a vegetable dish.
Whole Wheat Gems.
Mix two cupfuls of whole wheat
flour with one teaspoonful of salt and
two teaspoonfuls of sugar; beat the
yolks of two eggs and add one cupful
of milk to them; add the milk and
eggs to the flour, beat until smooth and
add one cupful of lukewarm water;
when well beaten add the whites of
the eggs beaten stiff and two level
teaspoonfuls of baking powder; fill
hot greased gem pans and bake in a
hot oven twenty-five minutes.
Fii.li a la Kelne.
Free one pound of cold cooked cod
fish or haddock from all skin and bone;
pick it into small pieces; put two level
tablespoonfuls of butter iu a frying
pan; when ifc has melted add two level
i tablespoonfuls of flour; stir until
smooth; then add one cupful of cold
milk a little at a time, one level tea
spoonful of salt and a little pepper;
put this over hot water; beat the yolk
of one egg; add it to the fish and cook
one minute; add a little chopped pars
lej; serve on toast or fill paper eases
or shells; spread over some buttered
crumbs and brown in quick oven.
" " llibbon Cake.
One cup of sugar, one-half cup of
butter, two-thirds of a cup of sweet
milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful of
cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful
of soda and two cups of flour. Flavor
with lemon or almond. Put two-thirds
of the mixture in two oblong pans,
and to the remaining third add one
I large tablespoonful of niolasse?, two-
thirds cup of chopped raisins, a little
' cl!-ts1 r.tt n 1 J t 1 -v rrin tajI m 4-y- nr
and cue tablespoonful of flour. Bake
in one sheet. Put the sheet together
while warm, with cranberry or any
tart jelly.
To restore the color of cashmere that
has been splashed with mud, sponge
the discolored parts with water, with
a small piece of soda dissolved in it.
Toilet soaps may be bought in
quantity as advantageously as laun
dry soaps. Fine toilet soaps need dry
ing and ripening, just as much as the
coarser varieties of the laundry.
Mix fresh Philadelphia cream cheese
with cayenne, pepper and paprika.
Mold in a ball and send to the table
to be eaten with apples or pears at
-dessert. It is good with saltines or
other crackers with the salad.
A bedroom set for a young girl in
white enameled wood with pink roses
was admired. The bed was of wood,
with a rather high headboard of a
I graceful shape, and the roses were dis
posed over it carelessly. The dressing
of. the bed was original. There was a
roll bolster covered with cretonne pink
roses on a cream ground, and the
spread was of the same material. This
was cut to exactly fit the top of the
mattress,. and had a full ruffle, which
did not, however, hang over the sides,
but were tucked in along the sides.
The effect was of a full puff. All the
cushions, etc., of the room were in this
cretonne, and the curtains were barred
dimity, with a quaint, old-fashioned
valance" of cretonne.
The use of cooking thermometers,
which until recently was almost thor
oughly confined to hotels aud restau
rants, is increasing in private kit
chens. Most modern .housekeepers
count them nowadays as necessities.
and they are to be found in any bouse.
furiiishing shop. They register a scale
of teinperaturs which somewhat ex
ceeds 400 degrees. In addition they
indicate at what temperature different
meats should be cooked. Mutton
needs the lowest temperature, 300 de
grees; beef requires 310 degrees, and
pork and veal each 320 degrees. Bread
and pastry need 400 degrees.- but bis
cuits must have 450 degrees. Plain
cake bakes weli at 320 degrees, while
sponge cake needs only 300 degrees
The thermometers, which cost from
$3 to $5, can be used in boiling "water
or fat a. well as in the oven.
Baldness is much rarer among middle-aged
persons in Japan than in Eu
rope and America owing, it is believed,
to the Japanese custom of using n
head covering as a rule. , . ?
The Bank of England notes are made
from new white linen cuttings never
from anything that has been worn.
So carefully is the paper prepared that
even the number of dips into the pulp
made by each workman is registered
on a dial by machinery- , , f
The deepest hole in the et.rth is near
Ketschau, Gerinai.y. It is 5733 feet
in depth, and is for geological research
only. The drilling was begun in 1S80,
and stopped six years later because the
engineers were unable with their in
struments to go deeper. , v t'
One ot the most durable woods is
sycamore. A statue made from it,
now iu the Museum of Gizeh, at Cai
ro, is known to be nearly G000 years
old. Notwithstanding this great age,
it is asserted that the wood itself is
entirely sound and natural in appear
ance. ;-li'iar:'cria.ii
Soldiers are despised in China. They
belong chiefly.to the coolie clatses. The
German officers engaged some time
aeo bv the Chinese Government found
that their most important task was to
orevcomo the soldiers' own feelings
that they were a lower order cf beings
than other Chinamen. !
Ham
Crete pays a bounty t T $200 a ton
for locusts' eggs. Five years ago six
ty tons .were destroyed in one year,
equal to (JSO.OOO.OOO locusts. Tt is cal
culated that locusts annually devastate
8.000,000 acre? and destroy half. the
crop on an area double that size, that
is to say. this one insect alone lessen?
the world's food supply by ?20C.O00,OOO
a year. ' ' f-" ' ?
The largest plow In the world is
owned 'by Richard Gird, of San Ber
nardino County, Cal. This immense
agricultural machine stands eighteen
feet high and weighs 30,000 pounds.
It runs by steam, is provided with
twelve twelve-inch plow shares, and
if capable of plowing fifty acres of
land per day. It consumes from one
to one and a half tons of coal per nay,
and usually travels at the rate of four
miles an hour.
As nearlv as iKS6ible 8000 gallons of
fresh water are used in a large battle
ship daily. About two-thirds 01 tins
is taken up by the boilers, and' the re
mainder is used for drinking, wash
ing, cooking, etc. When the store
which she has taken out with her
from port has been used up, a vessel
has to depend upon her evaporators lor
further supplies. Every modern war
ship is fitted with evaporating ma
chinery to distill the salt sea water.
SIGNALING UNDER WATER-
The CaiiAe of the Majority of Ship-wrch
About to Be lteinoved.
The cause of three-fourths of the
shipwrecks aud loss of life at so.i
seems about to be removed. It is not
a wire or even the air, but the water
this time, that is used to transmit
sound vibrations. For some weeks
there- has been installed on the steam
ers of the Metropolitan Company, of
Boston, an apparatus which may yet
make it possible for the vessel beat
ing about the coast in a storm to know
where the rocks and shoals arc when
the fog wil! not permit the light to be
seem and the noise of the Wind
drowns the sound of bell-buoy r the
siren; for a battleship to know of the
approach of a submarine and a fish
ing smack of the approach of a liner
off the banks of Newfoundland.
The apparatus is extremely simple.
It amounts to nothing more or less
than ringing a bell under water,
which the pilot or captain can hear
telephonically. Screwed on both shies
of the vessel's hull are two receivers,
which ai'o connected by wires with the
wheel house. These receive the vibra
tions from the bell hanging in the
water on the side of the lightship. Tue
navigator has" only to put the ear
piece to his ear and ascertain on
which side the vibrations are the lond-
-er, in order to know the direction of
the lighthouse and his own position
in ihe fog with comparative accuracy.
For fishing vessels a ball receiver
has been provided, and this is used
also to get more delicate intonations
aboard a steel vessel. The value cf
the apparatus was put to a good test
recently, when the steamer James S.
Whitney was approaching the Boston
lightship ou ber return from New
York. The lighthouse was obscured
by rain-and fog. Thanks to the sig
nal apparatus, the captain immedi
ately heard the bell and got his di
rection. It'' was not nntil live min
utes after that he beard the light
ship's whistle for the first time. Col
lier's Weekly.
Cord Long: Time in Tree.
While clearing the. lot for J. IT:
Webster at Wendell, Mass., the chop
pers recently found in the top of a
large hemlock tree, more than forty
feet in height, a cord which the neigh
bors assert to be the one used to
secure the runaway balloon used by
the woiK.au balloonist from Lake Pleas
ant soro? years ago.