OXFORD PUBLIC LEDGER, FRIDAY, JUL! 22, 1910
&
s
A PAIR OF BOOTS.
They Figured In an Amu-sing Case of
Mistaken Identity.
It may be doubted if there ever oc
curred a mere amusing instance of
mistaken identity than that afforded
by Theodore Hook, the English humor
ist of his time, and it all came about
through a pair of boots. Hook was
traveling along the south coast of Eng
land and arrived in the course of his
journey at Dover.
Alighting at the Ship hotel he chang
ed his boots, ordered a slight dinner
and went out for a stroll through the
town. licturnmg nt the appointed
time, he was surprised to tind the
whole establishment in confusion. A
crowd had collected outside the door.
The master of the house was standing
nt the foot of the stairs with two cau
dles in his hards, and on Theodore's
entrance lie waiked backward uefore
him and conducted him into the prin
cipal saloon, where all the waiters
were standing and a magnificent re
past had been provided. The wit was
much amused at the dignity to which
he had been promoted, but. being an
easy going fellow, made no scruples
and, , sitting down, did full justice to
what was set before him. Next day
he signified his intention of departing
and ordered a coach, when, to ins as
tonishment, a carriage and four drove
up to convey him to his destination.
He inquired with some apprehension
what lie was to pay for ail this gran
deur and was no less astonished than
- gratified on receiving the answer,
"Nothing whatever, your royal high
ness." lie was never more thoroughly
mystified, but the next night, on tak
ing off his boots, which lie had bought
ready made just before he went to
Dover, he found "II. S. II. the Prince
of Orange" written inside them. They
had been originally made for the
prince, who was then in England suing
for the hard of Princess Charlotte,
and notice had been given that all his
expenses while in the country should
be set down to the charge cf the gov
ernment. Minneapolis News.
K iiCCwi.i!) r (J i-in v i a !
i . .
The Coup Tost Mads Persia a Finan
cial Vassal of the Sear;
In 1S92 the Imperial Dank of Persia,
a British institution, lent the Persian
government 2,500.1 KX) on the security
cf the customs receipts of the gulf
ports. In 1S05 Persia, finding herself
again hard up. desired to borrow 0,
000,000 more from the same source
and on the same ample security. But
before the British bankers would grant,
the additional ioan they must needs
quibble and procrastinate and insist on
still further conditions. Finally, how
ever, 0,250,000 of Persian bonds were
underwritten in London. liussia, hear
ing of the affair at the eleventh hour
and fifty-ninth minute, promptly offer
ed Persia a much larger loan on much
better terms, and she did no haggling
either. Persia, finding herself in the
embarrassing position of having two
parties suing for her financial hand at
the same time and not daring to of
fend either cf them, thought to es
cape from the predicament by not bor
rowing at all.
But so persistently and skillfully did
Russia urge her suit that in 1000 Per
sia timidly yielded to the ardent woo
ing and acknowledged her submission
by accepting from liussia a loan of
11,875,000 for seventy-five years, at
the same time agreeing that all pre
Tious loans should be paid off at once
and no more incurred until this one
was discharged without the permission
of the Russian Banque Desprets de
Perse. Within less than a month,
therefore, 5,000.000 rubles (2,500,000)
"were remitted to London to pay oa
the British loan of 1802, thereby free
ing Persia from any British financial
control. There has been no more au
dacious and successful stroke of diplo
macy in modern times, for by it Persia
became a financial vassal of the bear.
Everybody's Magazine.
Fats of tr.s Great Auk.
The great auk, a northern diving
bird, used to exist in the arctic regions
also. Xow, this splendid bird was se
riously handicapped by the fact that
It laid only one egg in a season and
so could not afford to be slaughtered
at all. But it was hunted and shot
Without discrimination. A few sur
viving hundreds took refuge on a des
olate rock far out to sea, but one fatal
day a vessel contrived to land on this
rock, and the crew shot nearly the en
tire rookery. Finally nature herself
rose up. There was a cataclysm, the
rock sank into the sea, and that was
the last of the great auk.
The Gobelin Factory.
The gobelin factory was founded in
1515 by Francis I., who scoured Eu
rope for the artists and the makers of
"beautiful things who could bring lus
ter to the capital of France. Under
his auspices came Leonardo da Vinci,
and he it was who laid the foundations
for the collections of statuary and
paintings that have made Paris fa
mous. The gobelin tapestry factory
was among the least cf his undertak
ings. K-snlnj the Zzhy.
"Have you named the Laby?" asked
the admiring neighbor.
"Not yet." said the proud young'
mother. "We're going to christen him
Sunday."
T'ear me! What an odd name! I'd
almost as soon call him after Uobinson
Crusoe's man Friday and be done with
it." Chicago Tribune.
Cordin'ly Invited.
"Are you Hungary ?"
"Yes. Siam."
"Well, come along; I'll Fiji."-LIp
JhX"Qtl'-3. . ,
ft
hio "I'ssciyinw.
Among the good old ways of "inerru
England" is the tendency to democracy
prevailing in her boys schools. Par
ents can be assured, it is said, that nc
pampering wit! fall to the lot of their
ecus, however exalted may be their
rank or great their possessions. An
".higlish paper toils the story of an
eiian
ofiieial
:
hu
rami calling
the house master m a iamous,
public school, where a ycung prince,
son of a rajah, was being educated.
This o.i'c-ial brought a special message
from ids master, ike rajah, to the ef
fect that he wanted no favors or ex
ceptional treatment of any sort ex
tended to his son en account of his ex
alted birth.
"You may sot the mind of the rajah
a l
t O i.i.iL scour" , c-niti in.ii.-c
master, struggiii
t-miie before the
the Indian oo'.ela
x to Keep uacii nis
dignified anxiety of
r.elal. "if the authorities
1 to discriminate in the
wore :::oih
prince s lavoi
would set th
Lik-.'l g i.. ; i
the beys of the school
matter, right. Among
- the rajah's son au-
I sweis to too
ame of 'Xiggor.
ai
1
understand that w
Irh his intimates he
: as 'Coal Scuttle.'"
isttt
Two men Wi
'Smith were nei
iiiiam .3 ones and John
r r-; and deadlv en
emies. They often erosieei swords m
court and out of it. and Jones, being
what might be called more clever than
Smith, invariably got the better of the
encounter. In the c ad so cowed was
Smith that the slightest move on the j
part of Jones
made hi:8 nervous anu
suspicious, ana wan t no remark, i
wonder what object he has in this?"
he eaiied up all Ins reserve faculties tc
combat the fivsh attack which poor
Jones never contemplated.
One day a frier. d called on Smith and
greeted him with:
"Well, old man, have you heard the
news';"
"Xo." said Smith. ''What news?"
"Jor.es is dead. lie died last night
at midnight." replied the other.
Smith paused, drew a hard breath,
raised his baud to his forehead and
thought, then blurted out:
"Dead, did you say Jcnos dead?
Great Leavens! I wonder what object
he has in this';"
Lights His Ftps in a Gale.
I write as one who has smoked in hi? i ,
time more matches than most people,
and it will be understood how I regard
the bus driver s ability in lighting a
pipe. - A gale may be blowing, the
horses requiring special attention, his
left eye engaged on the reflection of
the omnibus in shop windows, a pas
senger imp.iirlng who won the Derby
in 1SS-1, constables issuing directions
with the right arm, a fare hailing him
from the pavement, and amid all those
distractions he can strike one wooden
match, hold it in the curve of his hand
and the tobacco is well alkrht. Also
while hats are biowii
about tht
streets in the manner of leaves in au
tumn his headgear never goes from its
place, rarely moves from the angle de
cided on the first journey. I have al
ways assumed that he takes it off at
night before retiring to rest, but to
part with it must mean a terrible
wrench. London Express.
Spontini's Decorations.
Casparo Snontini, the composer, re
garded himself in the light of a demi
god, and when inspirations crowded
upon, him he donned a wide, toga
like gown of white silk with a border
of gold and a fez cf white silk em
broidered in gold from which a heavy
tassel hung down. With great dignity
he sat down before his desk, and if
a. grain of dust was visible on the
paper on which he penned his music
he rang the bell impatiently for his
servant to remove the obstacle. Snon
tini owned so many medals and deco
rations that they cculd no longer be
accommodated on his breast. At a
grand musical reunion at Halle an old
musician remarked to a comrade, "See
how many decorations Spontini has,
while Mozart has not cue." Spou
tiui, who overheard it. replied quickly,
"Mozart, my dear friend, does not
need them."
South African Anima!.
a curious looking ammal m
South Africa that looks for all the
world like a piece of toast with four
legs, a head and a tail. It resembles
a pussy cat about the forehead and
ears, but Its nose is distinctly that of
a rat, while its tail is not very dis
similar to that of a fox. This strange
animal is called the aard wolf and
doubtless dwells in South Africa be
cause, judged by his looks, he would
not be admitted into good animal so
ciety anywhere else.
Why He Desired a Canncn.
It is related that an Indian chief
once approached General Crook and
wanted to borrow a cannon.
"Do you expect me to loan you a
cannon with which to kill my sol
diers?" the old veteran inquired.
"Xo," the chief replied; "kill soldiers
with a club. "Want cannon to kill cow
boys." Thermometer Down.
Little "Willie Say, pa, doesn't it get
colder when the thermometer falls?
Pa Yes, my son. Little Willie Well,
ours has fallen. Pa How far? Little
Willie About five feet, and when it
struck the porch floor it broke.
Her Prize.
Daughter Did you have to fish
much, mamma, before you caught
papa? Mother Fish, my dear fish! I
was bear hunting. London M. A. P.
Josh Billings used to say that when
a man begins going downhill all cre
ation seems greased for the occasion,
T OLD TAVER
The Old Cheshire Cheese, In
the Heart of London.
SERVES A FAMOUS PUDDING.
A Noble Pastry It Is, and It Wes
Sampled by Such Svlen as Gladstone,
Dickens, Thackeray, Tennyson, Trol
iope and Whistler.
Nearly all Americans when they go
to London make it a point to visit that
quaint eld tavern in the heart of the
newspaper and printing business, the
Oid Cheshire Cheese, to partake of
its famous pi.uuieg.
rets
Fleet street to make
rush for the pudding, and it is almost
iast
ho eats before leaving
it. Travelers in the Sahara have seen
mirages of that pudding, and during
the iioer war the men shut up in
Laelysmith an. I Mafeking dreamed of
it at regular intervals.
Precisely at 1 o'clock p. rn. Tom con
veys the pudding from the first to the
main hoor. it is a big pudding, and
the price of it is just 2 shillings that
is to say. a feed cf it is 2 shillings, as
much as you plea.se, as many shares as
you ask for. cut and come again, ail
for 4S e
Lr5
O k.
f American coin. Cheap,
aye.
-u.
how good it is! It is
worth crossing the Atlantic to get a
sniff of it. and the aroma lingers in
the memory tor many a day.
Big? The dimensions are Falstaffian.
It is a round earthen vessel something
more than two dozen inches deep, with
a diameter of about eighteen inches.
A noble pastry, my masters!
When it is placed upon the service
table an eiliptiea! white crust meets
the hungry gaze. Tom and his myr
midons take their places in front fac
ing the host, who. knife and spoon in
hand., poses with gentle dignity and
benignant mien. It is a moment of
soi ami) thought when every man hopes
that his portion will be larger than his
friend's and that he will be blessed
with an abundance of gravy. But
they ought from years of acquaintance
witn tu-e ii 'st to imuerstaau tnat nis
hand is as ster.dv as his judgment is
impartial. " ' . .
Xo more and nothing better for one
than for another. lie waves his weap
ons, and the hirst onslaught is made.
The room is full 'of a delicious steam
bearing with it the concentrated es
sences of ambrosial substances. The
guests sniff it up and murmur choice
blessings on the cook, the original in
ventor, the house and the host. It is
a time when men feel good, cue to
ward the ether.
One smell of that pudding makes
the whole world kin. This famous
pudding, which has tickled the palates
of thousands, is thus compounded:
A crust of flcur, water and suet.
Keefsteak.
Sheep's kidneys.
Larks.
.Mushrooms (freshly gathered).
Oysters.
Stock.
Pepioer and salt.
But it is the boiling that does it.
For at least twelve hours this heaven
sent pudding is kept slowly simmering
in an immense copper specially con
structed for the purpose. It must not
boil quickly, but the same tempera
ture be kept up the whole period. The
steak assumes a juicj- tenderness; the
larks net sparrows, as some malig
nant spirit lias suggested, although
sparrow pudding is not to be despised
are seethed to the bone, and you
can chew up each little songster with
out an effort; the kidneys are soft and
mushy and offer no resistance to the
digestive organs, and the oysters, de
spite their lengthened cooking, are not
leathery. The amalgamation and as
similation of the variety" of constitu
ents are perfect; the result is bliss.
There is a story told of one eminent
litterateur who had seven helpings of
the pudding and still yearned for more,
and there is another remarkable nar
rative of four men who ordered a pud
ding of the regulation size and finished
it among them.
3. Pierpout Morgan praised the pud
ding, and Theodore Roosevelt was de
lighted with it. Lord Iieaconsfield be
stowed his approbation thereon, and
Gladstone thought it far superior to his
famous "three courses." Dickens.
Thackeray, Meredith, Swinburne, Ten
nyson, Trollope, Whistler, Leightom
Sala, Phil May all sorts of the best
of men of their day have fed upon the
pudding, and it no doubt helped to
inspire their work.
Apparently any cook can fashion it,
mix it, fix it, boil it. Let any cook try
it. Lots of cooks have tried it, but the
results have not been ' satisfactory.
There was a man who once ran the
Old Cheshire Cheese, and in his day
the pudding first achieved its great
fame. When he sold the old hostelry
and took a house in the financial dis
trict he announced that the same pud
ding the same in every respect would
be served every Saturday.
Many of the Cheese's old patrons
came around to celebrate. There was
the size, but the aroma, was wanting;
there were the identical materials, but
the flavor was not in them. It was not
the same, not a bit of it. There was
something missing. It may have been I
the shades of the departed great ones
of a bygone time. And so it is that
today the famous dish of the Old
Cheshire Cheese tastes as of old, and
its devotees cannot be seduced by any
designing invitation based upon "just
as good" simply because there is noth
ing just as good. Philadelphia Ledger.
Thoughts are mightier than the
.strength of hand. Sophocles. . :
A OUAiN
PAPERING THE HOUSE
When a Weak Flay Appears In
a Hvj York Theater.
PROPPED BY FREE TICKETS.
The Judicious Distribution of "Com -plimentaries"
by the Tvlanager Se
cures Well Dressed Audiences and
Eaves the Appearance of a "Frost."
Long before the curtain goes down
at the end of a new production the
manager has decided, nine times m
ten, whether he has a cess vr not.
Rut he (iOt's net mean : be eaughi
napping in either event. If he believe-.
The play is a "frost" ar even a semi
vsuccess the h(u:se for the nest few
lights must boar every outward evi
dence of prosperity.
In other word, he must "buck the
line' of adverse criticism by "papering
the house." For a week at least m
must make a "front"" in the orchestra
chairs, no matter if there is desolation
in the box otlice. Let him make th-
puhlie believe the ntnv pier-e has at
tracted a large number f patrons for
six or eigiit performances and there is
a chance of enough business to prop
up a forced run of a few weeks, which
may help things on the road. This
means that "paper or free tickets
must be judiciously distributed.
Every manager of a theater has a
large circle of friends. This may be
due partly to his possession of a genial
personality, but undoubtedly the busi
ness he is in has in itself an attraction
for many. A majority of these people
will accept passes when they are of
fered; some are not above asking for
them, while still others but these art
rare will buy tickets when compli
mentaries are not tendered.
When the manager has a play that is.
in danger of going to pieces for lack,
of patronage he sends tickets to ah
these friends of his and whenever pos
sible obtains a promise that they v.i;;
be used by the persons to whom m
gives r hem. it is not difficult to ex
tract such a p'odire. Being on term---of
more or less intimacy with the ma-;
ager. the favored ones know he v.;
be likely to see them in the theater
' r - -1 tin. o.i v.-iln tu if ii' i 'i
ets. He keeps a record of the s.t
numbers opposite the names of t h
who should occupy those pari! .m.
chairs and can tell at once wlu-u
hospitality has been abused.
Another class which sees many play
in w York city gratis is to be foun
in department stores. Nearly eve;;
director of a theatrical company a
distinet from a theater manager is o:
cordial terms with the heads of de
partments in large retail mercantile
establishments. Each of these head
will accept from six to a dozen pairs
of tickets occasionally to distribute
among his subordinates.
Often it is possible to get rid of 20b
tickets or more in a day in this way,
and when this is repeated in four or
five stores the manage is sure of the
attendance of an appreciable number
of well dressed young women in the
newest millinery and style of coiffure,
each with a respectablj' attired cava
lier and all on their best behavior.
These oeonle may not be ultra fashion
able, but they will not disgrace their
environment.
Unless the theatrical man is ac
quainted with the department heads,
however, it is not an easy matter to
give away tickets in such an estab
lishment. The average clerk in a
large store, especially of the feminine
gender, is suspicious. She does m a
understand such open handed generosi
ty, and there must be a lot of expla
nation to convince her that -in offering
something for nothing t he manager
has not some sinister design. As for
the male clerk5?, if he gives them any
directly they are sure to tell every one
what a pull they have with the man
ager and pester him for tickets ever
afterward, particularly when he has ;
success, with "the free list absohm !.--
suspended."
It is far less of an undertaking
buy a hundred dollars' worth of low
priced goods than to make a preset1
of two tickets apiece to a dozen per
sons behind the counter. The tele
phone girls, stenographers and mani
curists look askance at free tickets
from a stranger, although when their
confidence is won they will generally
accept them with due gratitude.
Theater Magazine.
PurcHe's SPanacaa.
Tern Purdie, an eld manservant in
Sir Walter Scott's household, used to
talk of the famous "Waveriey .Novels"
as "our books" and saiel that the read
ing of them was the greatest comfort
to him.
"Whenever I am off my sleep." he
confided to James Skene, the author ol
"Memories of Sir Walter Scott," "I
have only to take one of the novels,
and before I have read two pages it is
sure to set me asleep."
Plenty on Hand.
'Tlave you ever wondered about
your husband's past?"
"Dear me, no. I have all I can do in
taking care of his present and worry
ing about his future." Boston Herald.
Domestic Note.
"I've noticed one thing."
"And what is that?"
"When one gets loaded it's usually
his wife who explodes." Birmingham
Age-Tierald.
Our own anger does us more harm
than the thing which makes us angry.
Sir John Lubbock.
She Repudiated the Charge.
At the men's service in a Yorkshire
parish the vicar tried to convey the
lesson that the truest heroes and hero
ines are those who do noble deeds in
the secret corner of the home, where
none can see cr applaud.
"Few of you seem to think," he con
cluded, "that your wives staying at
home uncomplainingly to mind the
children and prepare the meals are
heroines, and yet their touching devo
tion to duty proves them to be so."
It certainly hadn't struck one old
farmer in this way before, and as soon
as he got home he promptly told his
wife that the vicar had called her a
heroine.
"Whatever does that mean?" asked
the good lady.
"Oh, it means a woman who stays in
t' house instead of goin' art to show
hersen," explained the farmer vaguely.
"Then I'm not a heroine, an' I'll
thang f vicar to mind what he's say
in'," snapped the wife. "I go to his
church as much as t' other women do,
an' he must be blind if he can't see
me. Why, I'd five different colors in
t' bonnet 1 wore last Sunday!" Lon
don Spectator.
The First Balloons.
The chemical philosophers have dis
covered a body (which I have forgot
ten, but will inquire) which dissolved
by an acid emits a vapor lighter than
the atmospherical air. This vapor is
caught, among other means, by tyin
a bladder compressed upon the bottle
in which the dissolution is performed.
The vapor, rising, swells the bladder
and fills it. The bladder is then tied
and removed and another applied till
as much of this light air is collected as
is wanted. Then a large spherical
case is made, and very large it must
be, of the lightest matter that can be
found, secured by some method like
that of oiling silk against all passage
of air. Into this are emptied a'l the
bladders of light air, and if there i-;
light air enough it mounts into the
clouds upon the same principle as a
bottle filled with waver will sink in
water, but a bottle filled with ether
will lioat. It rises till it comes to air
of equal tenuity with its own if wln-i
or water does not spoil it c:t the way.
Such, madam, is an .air balloon. From
Dr. Johnson's Letter, Sept. 22, 1733, to
Mrs. TItrale.
Beethoven's "Moonlight Ccnsta."
The story runs that Beethoven's
"Moonlight Soimta" always so called,
though he t:o rare-y gae a desx riptive
name to any cf his works was com
posed on
occasion when he had
been playing to some stranger folk
by chance. Walking with a friend, he
overheard in a humble house seme
one playing with much feeling a bit
of oi'.e of his noun las. lie paused to
listen, in a mameut the music ceased,
arid a girl spoke longingly of her wi.-;h
to hear some really gocd concert. The
voice was so appeali
that the eom-
:..ut In
1 1 ;n
the door and knocked. Admitted to
the wondering hc.-r. he said, "I will
play for you.'' and played wonder
fully till the lamp burned out. Then
with the moonlight filling the room he
began to improvise the mysterious
delicate breathings of the beginning
of that wonderful sonata, then the
tricksy elf-like second part, and the
glory of the close. Christian Science
Monitor.
Long Wcrdo.
While our language does not contain
such long words as are found in some
other tongues nor so many words of
unusual lenerth. stiil we have several
that are awkwardly long for convert-rational
purpo'-c-s. .We have "pkilopro
geaiilvenes::." with twenty letters; "in-tercoiivertibilitio-c''
with twexuy-c::e;
! i itoT'ceo ! ve'! r. : :, i-eS.' Wii .1 IV. Cm.-,
two; "d:U' porLieuabloiK'ss." with
twenty-three, and "1 r. : nssu! ,.:ivA hi t loy
alists" and 'co:::r;:dir-tingu:eliabiihy,"
each containing twenty-four letters. An
effective little word is "syiiaeategore
niatic," as it manages to compress
eight syllables into seventeen letters.
The longest monosyllables contain
nine letters, and there are four ex
amples: -splotched," "squelched,"
"strengths" and
stretched." Xew
I York Tribune.
Printers' Marks.
The interrogation mark or "point
(?) was originally a "q" and an
"o,"
the latter placeel under the former.
They were simply the first and last
letters of the, Latin word "questio."
So, too, with the sign of exclamation
or interjection (!). In its original pu
rity it was a combination of "1" and
"o," the latter underneath, as in the
question mark. The two stooel for
"lo," the Latin exclamation of joy.
The paragraph mark is a Greek "p,"
the initial of the word paragraph. The
early printers employed a dagger to
show that a w-ord or sentence was ob
jectionable anel should be cut out.
A Silent Msn.
Jorkins There's rerkins you know
Perkins entered into an agreement
with his wife soon after their mar
riage, twenty years ago, that when
ever either lost temper or stormed the
other was to keep silence. Bob And
the scheme worked? Jerkins Admi
rably. Perkins has kept silence for
twenty years.
Take Your Choice.
From Sir John Lubbock we take this
ennobling thought: "You may see in
a shallow pool either the mud lying
at the bottom or the image of the blue
sky above."
Feed Hir?i.
If you want to win the gratitude ef
a dog, feed him. As to men, the ma
terial difference is the quality of the
food, Baltimore Xe ws.
A Nice Calculation.
Two verj- dear old ladies walked up
to the window where tickets were to
De sold for two popular concerts. They
wanted tickets for both nights; but,
alas, those for the second evening
were all gone! This was the mom
popular entertainment of the two.
"I'm so sorry, my dear!" pattered
one of the old ladies to the other. "We
did want to go, didn't we, and wo
wanted to go both nights?"
"You couldn't give us two tickets
for each night?" inquired the other
of the clerk.
"No. ma'am."
"You haven't two seats anywhere
for the second night?"
"Xo, ma'am. Couldn't give you noso
room."
A great resolution beamed upon her
gentle face.
"Then." said she finely, "give mo
four tickets for the first night. Wo
will make them do."
"Why, six' or." eu.aveivd the oilier,
"you're geir.g to invito Homebody?"
"Xo." said she. -but if we can't go
both nights' She paused, bewilder
ed, quite cut of her ch!. uiatiou. The.i
a happy thought srru her, an 1 she.
added, "We"!! go t wive ike first night."
Youth's Co l apn u h ::..
A VriridErir.c! Lcl.e.
Lake Xor. in the Tai.i dev-ort, in.
southwestern Asia, v.dd -h has been
called the "wandering hike." pre.-ent
a phenomenon about which contra
dictory views have been o-.torlah.ed.
Perhaps the Rwtdish explorer Swn
Iledin has given' the most plausibie
explanation touching tills phenome
non. It appears, according to that explor
er, that the Tarim river, entering tho
lake from the west, brings down dur
ing the period of high water late in
summer a great quantity of salt,
which has the effect of driving the lake
lying on the level Hoor of the desert:
toward the southeast. I'.ut tho sum
mer wind, drifting the surface sand
and darkening the heavens with dust,
blows generally from the northeast,
and it, too, tends to drive the lake be
fore? it. The combined effect of tho
urging by tho wind and the river ifi
to force the lake southward. Yet it
is thought the migration cf tho lake
is not constant in direction, but it
shifts back and forth intermittently,
according as the circumstances change.
Shs Forgot.
At 0 o'clock the absentminded wo
rn:;:! left home with an umbrella. At
the subway station she concluded it:
wouldn't rain and left the umbrell.L
with the corner newsdealer. When
she came back at o'clock it was
raining. V.oy.i with umbrellas to re! it
darted toward her when she appeared.
at the head cf the subway stairs. She
paid ciie boy 10 cenfs to escort her
home. Then she remembered her own
umbrella. Sheltered by a borrowed
umbrella, .she went bavk to get It. TLo
newsdealer looked, uneasy.
"Just a minute," he said. "Oh, Tom,
i come here!"
A small boy d.-dged around the cor
ner of the stand and handed over rj.
dripping umbrella. The abse:itmindcil
woman looked at the boy; she looked
at the umbrella. She recognized both.
"Idictl" she said. "I paid that bey
10 cents for taking me home with my
own umbrella." Xew York Press.
The; Amen of Nature.
Do you ever wonder why poets ta lie
so much about flowers? Did you ever
hoar of a poet who did not talk about
them? Don't you think a poem which,
for the sake of being original, should
leave them out would be like those
verses where the letter a or or some
other is omitted? Xo; they will bloom
over and over again in poems as in
the summer fields, to the end of time,
always old and always now. Why
should we be more s!
of repeat in.;-
ourselves than the spring be tired oi!
blossoms cr the night of f-.tars? Loo.-;
at nature. She neve r v :r -s of say
ing over her fiorai paternoster. In tins
crevices of cyelopean walls, in the du -t;
where men lie, dust also; on tint
mounds that bury huge ci
, th
Xemroud and the i label beep, sil'! that
same sweet prayer cad 1.. oodk Lee.;.
The amen of nature i ; a!vre;j :i flow
er. Oliver Wc-udeil Holmes.
:e first fork? The fork, a.
mat
ter of fact, did in t app ar e. ; a tub'.t
implement until the sevemte-eiuh cen
tury, though as early as the thirteenth
century geld and silver ones woro
made for special purposes. The ordi
nary diner was only provided with a
trencher, a napkin a:;d a spoon. !:
knife he useel his own. wf;i'-h he car
ried about, anel, worse, there was ;,
second trencher, no second spoon.
When the several courses came aloeg
he exercised his ingenuity and mepp. 1
his trencher with Ids broad. 1.';
spoon well, we cursolver. Ik-1; postage
stamps ! London Chronicle.
Ccmpr.riri j N'ctcc.
Mrs. Slowboy My husband's K' lag;
that if it wasn't for mo I don't believe
he would get up in time to go to be-.
Mrs. Rounder My husband's differ
ent, lie scarcely goes to bed in time,
to get up.
Apprccrir.te Treatment.
The Thoughtful Man What wmiM
you recommend as treatment for si
man who is always going around with
a poor mouth? The Funny Fellow
Send him to a dentist.
h'e Did.
"Did Simkins get any damages in
that assault case?"
"Did he? My dear fellow, you ought
to see his face."
A man without patience is a lamp
.without oil De Musset.