- , . . '- ' 1 - MM, MM " The Chronicle. I Hi WILKESBOItO. N. C There are over 40,000 children attend ing the schools in London who are insuf ficiently fed. " ' ' t - The Southern people are advised, states the Chicago Sun, to raise hops as -being the most profitable crop they could raise. A great many nurseries have been started this year. The Chieago thinks that "the a new party that farmers are creating will absorb the best elements of the old parties, and enter upon a career of pres- tige and power." There is no end to the projections of electric railroads in different parts of the country, exclaims the Drovers' Journal. The electricians are the busiest engineers in the country.. The business is expand ing even faster, than it can be conven iently kept up with. j Simultaneously with the taking of the recent census, and under Government , . i - auspices,-though by a distinct process, a religious enumeration was made From approximate figures already announced it appears that the total church membership in the United States is about 22,000,000, and is gaining at the rate of 1,000,000 a year.' " ' : t 1 The Chicago Post is convinced that a "fortune"a waits the inventor of an. auto--matic dishwasher. It was thought the problem would solve itself when a few years ago some genius invented pa pet basins, platters and bowls but neither the paper nor the pine crockery filled the bill, and half the world is still wearing ., her life away scraping pans, scouring kettles , and washing and wiping glass- I ware and plncelain. . Iowa has passed a stringent tramp law. It "declares that any male person sixteen years of age or over, who is physically able to work, who is wandering about begging or idle and who cannot show reasonable efforts to secure employment, shall be deemed a tramp, sent to jail and put at hard work. While in jail he shall not be allowed tobacco, liquors,' sporting or illustrated newspapers,-cards or any other means of amusement. Tramps will give Iowa a wide berth. ! ! ' Women are coming to. the front in busi ness life, says the Macon (Ga.) Tdegraph. There are nearly 15,000 of them engaged as commercial travelers in the United States. The demand for women to do clerical and office work increases all the while, and they are better paid f on their work now than ever before. The gradu- f atcs of the Georgia Industrial School for Girls will soon begin to increase the no ble army of women who, from choice or necessity, are striving to be self-support-ing. ' . . That forestry pays in dollars and cents, observes the Commercial Adtertiter, is shown conclusively by the fact that vrhile France is only twice as large as Colorado, yet by taking care of her forests she wa7 able in 18S7 to export, besides rnoeting the home needs of . 38,218,903 people, $23,360,758 in value of the products of the forest, or nearly as much : as the United States, with fifteen times the area outside of Alaska, the exports of the United States, in 18S7 being $22,387,-" 787. J -The Ohio courts havo decided, avere the Detroit Free Prat, that no damages can be recovered from a railroad com- ; pany for killing a cow if it can be shown that there was in plain sight of the cow a notice to look out for the locomotive. Such at least M the effect of the decision though not it3 precise wording. It was really the converse of the proposition, the court actually holding that the owner of, ths cow could recover because there 'vas not a notice., of the character de scribed. ' ! A striking proof of the unpopularity of the English army among the Irish is furnished by the" official army statement that has just been p'ublishhd. This state ment shows that twenty years ago out of -168,910 non-cornmis&ioned officers and privates in the' army 47,151 were Irish, whereas to-day, although this, force has been increased to 199,473, the Irish ele- merit among it has dwindled to 28,712. FQrther than Athis, the statement indi cates a similar feeling among the Scotch, where the decline, whilo not so marked as in the case of the Irish, is , great. In 1870 out of every thousand men the pro portion was 614 English or HVelsh, 97 Scotch and 28 Irish. This year the pro portion per thousand Is 7G9 English ': or Welsh, 83 Scotch and 145 Irish." j ! , Mother Johnny, you said you'd bet Sunday-school., , i , . Johnny (withjar-away look) Yea'm. Mother How does it happen that your hands smell fi shy? , Johnny I carried home th' Bcnday Echool paper, an' an' th'-Citside -paga all about Jonah an' tli' whale. IN rk Weekly. -'"' ; . . THE QCD FARM HOME. If you've bee i a happy, rorer ' ; Through the lelds of fragrant clovec, -: Where life is & 1 a simple round of bliss, j . When at eve the sun is sinking . ; . An j the sta s are faintly winkins You can call t mind a picture such as this: Hark! The c 3ws are homeward roaming Through the woodland pasture's gloaming, I can hear the n gently lowing through the ' i dells, ' , ; ' ; V ': ,''.','' And J from o it th3 bosky dingle Comes tho s afUy tangled jingle And the of t-n peated echo of the bclL?. Strange ho r memory 'will fling her Arms about the scenes we bring her. And the Cet ting years' that make 'them I stronger grow; f Though I under far and sadly From that lear old home, how gladly recall tn daerisnea scenes ot long ago. Hart! Thd cows are homsward roaming Through tie woodland pasture's gloaming, I can' hear them gently lowing through the dell, j - I ! ' . " And from! out the bosky din jrla Comes the! softly tangled jinglo And the oft-repeated echo of the bells. Chicago Posf. A B iVCHELOR'S FALL. There was general astonishment in our little circle of friends when we learned of the coming marriage of Valentin San- ccrre. WThat! lie. that hardened old bachelor; scolfed at that Parisian skeptic, who ; every suggestion of matrimony; , that jolly 'n aver, wno iiaa sworn a hundred times that he 4 4 would never be caught!" j Yes, Valentin was going to enter the great fraternity, and whom was he to many ? A widow. More than that, a provincial. ' j We could not understand it. So, the first time I met him, I took him by the arm and demanded an explanation! f'lhavfe but little time,"hesaidi "and have a great many things to do, I have just come from the mayor's, and am going to the printer's Passage des Panoramas for thd invitations. If you care to come with me rchat far "j j '"Howj did it come about?" I asked him, and! wc started down the boulevard, arm in arm. f "The story is quite brief," Valentin said, "and very oommonplace; but since you insist upon knowing it, here it is." j In the month of February I went to Nice foil the carnival, i I have a horror of traveling by night, so I took the eight fifty-fiva train in the mornincr: which should land me in Marseilles at rive mm utes after midnight. I would pass a day in Marseilles, where my good friends, the Kombauds, of the Rue Saint Ferreol, ex pected jne to breakfast., The following day I wAuld leave for Nice, where I would arrive ibout two o clock in the after noon, j At the Lyons depot there was a great crowd, but, thanks to an obliging sta tion master, I was able to find a place .in a compartment. II was alone with another! J traveler decorated, of severe bearing' -with an official air whose only baggado was a portfolio. Certainly he would pot go far with that" equipment and soln I should be alone alone, the one thing that makes a railway journey supportable. .Everybody was settled ; thjt tram wa3 about to start. Suddenly, there were sounds of a dispute at the door. N monsieur, no, said a iresniemi- nine vbice, with an almost imperceptible Doutnern accent; "i. ordered a sleeping berth J T must have a sleeping berth 1" "But, madame, we have none.' i "B it I must have a "place." "A id I offer you- two in .that conch." "Ir there V' i . "Yes, madame.") - A little brown head was thrust in the doorv ay, and hen withdrawn quickly, as throu ;h frightened.! j j i "T wo gentlemen are there." i T 'ell, madame, 1 1 cannot give you a coacl all to yourself." : . "Very wellj . I shall not go." 1 s you please. Tho train is going to start.- I hata given the signal," " top. Stop1 ! Ij absolutely must go. And here is this carriage only? Well, they will give kne a sleeping berth at the next station?' j ; "" lcs, madame, yes." "You will telegraph?" "Yes, yes, madame." " ' , The door opened; in plunged the lit tle brown head, surrounded by a halo of pacl ages andj rugs; a shrill whistle cut the dr; we were off. j " T :e official gentleman gallantly seated himself near me, so as to leave the whole sidd to the new arrival. ' Without so ,mudh as a glance toward us, all flurried andj rosy with haste, sho arranged her cages in the rack and about herself the haste common to persons who nave many long hours to pass in , a car. Out of the corner of my eye I followed hen little mancuvres, and I ascertained with pleasure that she was charming. I. say with pleasure; for however proper on i's intentions may be, it is always mc re agreeable to travel with a pretty woman than with an old man in spec 'Mies.-... ; j.. ; i . i jine cold was intense; the country, covered with , snow, lighted by a pale sub, seemed-to j tly rapidly by the two sides of the coach. The fair traveler, enveloped to the chin in her ni rr miTiH oDstinately f rom the window on the left. The official gentleman drew from hi3 pfertlolio some large napers. vellow. 8t-CDi! blue'vit?1 Panted headings, wuicix Aiojseiueu nimseii to read attcn- VrF uu mJseiI comfortably in- tKii-Ti?1 ,mI ;,feet.?P? tot-water uww.ic, x wcKeo.ine pue oi newspapers, nm-Tht ftt th , Rtnfinn tr noon Vio t At eleven-twenty -one, Laroche. The tram stopped. The official frentleman arranged his papers, rose, bowed and got ut. xareiy uaa ne stepped down when lie was received py the station-master. who called him "Monsieur l'lnspectenr." me lauy traveler came to the door f Station-master!" she called. "Madame!", "You have been tel 4x-aria-igr u Efjeping-DertlK" Yes, madame ; I have forwarded the dispatch." 1 What, forwarded it ! An I not to I be 'riven that slcepbg-berth immediate- Impossible, madame; we have no coaches here. ; Xoa caa givea one Lyons." - ;' " . "At Lyons!"' At what hour!" "Five-forty-five, madam."; "The whole day, then I ' I cannot re main in this coach until that; hour. .It's impossible-J will nQt.". -v j tTake cafe,'' madame, 'the t train is starting." And the train drew .out. She flung herself in -her. corner, furi ous, without throwing a single glance in my direction. I plunged into tho perusal of my tenth newspaper. '.'' I should have liked very much to en gage in conversation with her, but the pretext, the opening subject, where was was it to be found? Considering the temperature, the threadbare pretext of windows tc open or. close was not to be thought of.- What then was to be done? My neighbor, I had discovered imme diately, with the scent of an' old Parisian, was a woman of the world, and of the best." To speak to her without knowing her, would have made me appear in her eyes as. the lowest of commercial travel ers. The 'only way to solve the difficulty was for me to find something strikingly original to i say to her; But what? I cudgeled my brain in vain.! ' I was still searching a! pretext for opening a conversation, when the train stopped. "Tonnerrel Twentv-five minutes for refreshments I " cried the porter, open ing the door. ' I My. neighbor arose, relieved herself of her rucrs. which she left in the coach with her three little J bags, and de scended. It was noon, and her hunger evidently began to make itself felt.. She went in the direction of the buffet, to the left, - on the other side of the track. I followed her. I could then admire, at my case, her elegant figure, well out lined in a long sealskin cloak. I also remarked the pretty black ringlets at the nape of her neck, her gfayfelt hat, and her. tiny little feet. At the entrance to the hall stood the steward. 1 Bedecked with a velvet skull cap, he indicated with his hand and a napkin a long table to be stormed. I entered with the tide of unkempt, un gloved, flurried travelers, and hastily swallowed the succession of dishes served to me: the lady traveler! took some broth at a separate table. I got up among the first and went out to smoke a cigar on the platform. The twenty-five minutes would soon be passed. The travelers! in groups, came out of the eating-room their coaches. I also reinstalled myself in mine. My lady traveler had not saw her in the little station book-stall on the other side of the tnck. looking at the books displayed. Though I saw her from the back, I recognized her easily by her pretty style, her sealskin cloak and her gray hat. Her hair seemed to me tp be a little lighter, but that was owing to the distance, no doubt. Everybody had re-entered tho coaches; the porter shut the doors tumultuously. "She is trolnrr to be left." I thought. and I threw open the winddw. o O I ' - ' Jdaaatnei Madame v i cried. l was tooiarou; sue did not hear me. The whistle blew, i done? What was to be An idea flashed through my brain miick as lightning. Sue was going to stay there, in that horrible cold, without ba""a-e. Sue should have at least her small . belongings tho poor little woman! I made an armful of the three bag3 and the rugs, and throwing it all to a man in uniform, who was near the coach upon tho roadi I cried out: "To that lady yonder!" i The man in uniform took the thmg3 and went toward tho, lady of the book stall. At .the same moment, at the op posite side of the coach the side of the platform the door opened and my lady traveler, perturbed, hustled by a gran bling conductor, plunged into the coach, and the train went oil. Ilorror I I had mistaken tho traveler the woman of the j book -stall was not tho one ; the same cloak, same- hat, same stylo, but not she, I had played a pret ty trick. She was barely in the coach, when she cried out: "My packages they have stolen my packages 17 And for the "first time, she looked at, me with what a look. Heavens ! that look I shall never forget it. "No, madame," I said to her, "your bundles 8 re not stolen; they have been left at Tonnerre." ! ' "At Tonnerre? now?" I explained all to her. The second glance she shot at me I think I shall re member longer than the other. I am disconsolate, madame," I stam mered; "absolutely disconsolate. But the motive was good ; I thought you were going to miss the train, that you would be cold I did not want you to be cold I beg you will pardon me. Fear nothing for your things; they are in safe hands a man in uniform. . At the next station you will telegraph I will telegraph we will telegraph; they will send them to you right awayr You shall have them, I swear it to you, 'even if I should have to return myself to Tonnerre to get them." - "Enough, sir," she said; "I . know what I have to do," and she returned to her corner, twisting her gloves with an thought of the cold. ger. But, poor. little thing, Bhe had not She no longer had -warm ruos. r At the end of about ten minutes she began to shiver. Well might she draw her sealskin about her pretty figure; posi I t tively she chattered. .Tvaiaaame, isaid, ! Deg you, upon roy knees, accept my rug; you -will be ill, it will be my fault, and never in my life shall I console myself." ' -; "I am not speaking to you. sir." she said, dryly.. ,. I -.' . . X was very nervous, very exciti pegin wiiu, l lound her charmu . 1 1 v it M . iuku a was lunous over ray n uiunuer. iu snort. 1 nad arnvi M. AO 5g, , and JJCUIOUS Ed at a jjxsat resolution. - . ( 1 "Madame," I said, 1 'accept this rutf, or, X swear to you, l wiu precipitate my self from the window." And throwing the rug between her and me, I Uf ted the wmaow ana seizeu iuo uuwwo a.uww v the door. Was 1 determined to throw myself out? Between you and mc, not aito- .tioi -t thinir? hnt it appears I looked as if I were, for she criea immediately ; "You are crazy, sir, to think of such a thing! . ' "The nig, or I jumpl" . She took the rug, and, in a tone more softened,' said : ' "But, sir, you will perish with cold." v v - , Do not disturb yourseu about me. madame; I am not chilly, and even if I should be cold, it will only be the just punishment ; of my ' . unpardonable stu pidity." j.; ' "Say of your too great haste, tor you . ...i? a. t i are rignt, tne mienuon was goou; uiu how couid iyou have taken that lady for mel" - . ' Because she i appeared to be charm- She smiled; the ice was broken the ice oi tne conversation, De it unaer- stoodr for, otherwise, I shivered. But how quickly I forgot the cold and the journey and all! She was delicious, ex quisite, adorable. .She loved travel, like myself; she had been In Italy, like myself; in Spain, 'like myself; she dreamed of going to Egypt, still like myself; -in literature, in music,, in , everything, the -'same tastes as my own. And then, think of. this' A crowd of general connections. She was intimate with the Saint-Chamas, with the Savnoys, with the Montbacpns, above all. ! To think that T had, per haps; met her twenty times in those salons, and that I never noticed her I She spoke naively, amiably, with the charming simplicity that I admired so much. A slight very slight provin cial accent, imperceptible a warble rather gave to her words the light skip ping of a bird. We conversed, natural ly, with keen pleasure. Though I did everything m the world to conceal it, heavens, how cold I was! At Dijon (two-twenty), my right foot was seized; we telegraphed to Tonnerre for the things left behind. At Macon (four-forty-five), it was the turnof the left foot; we received a dis patch from Tonnerre, saying the bag gage would arrive at Marseilles the fol lowing day. At Lyon-Perrache (five-forty-eight), my left hand became insensible; she for- got ner sleeping-berth. At Valence (eight-three), my right hand followed the example of the left ; I learned that she was a widow and with out children. Marseilles at last (twelve-five), I sneezed three times; she handed me .my rug and said, graciously: "Au revoir." Au revoir ! Ah, I was wild I I passed the night at the Hotel de Noailles an agitated night, full of thoughts of her. The following morning, when I awoke, I had the most horrible cold in the head imaginable. Would I dare present my self in that state to my friends the Kom bauds? Bah I 'Travelers must take travelers' chances. They would take me as l was, and tne next day l would cure myself in the "sun at Nice. That excellent Rombaud had invited several friends in my honor, and among the persons there was my traveler my cnarmer. . When I was presented to her, an im perceptible smile played about "her lips. I bowed and said : " And Tonnerre?" "I have tiem," she whispered. We sat down at table. "What a cold, my good fellow I" cried Rombaud; "where did.you get it? In the cars,' perhaps?" "Possibly," I replied; "but, to tell the truth, I do not regret it." Nobody understood this odd remark, but I felt the soft and. friendly glance of my traveler glide toward me across the table. What morn shall T tell vnu? The fol- iowing day I did not leave Nice, and I am to bo married in a fortnight. From the French in Argonaut. Tho Trne Irish Shamrock. In Ireland only one shamrock is known, says the American Notes and Queries. It is an indigenous species of clover, which trails along the ground among the grass in meadows. The trefoil leaves are not more than one -fourth the size of the smallest clover I have seen in America, and are pure green in color, without any of the brown shading of white and pink clovers. The creeping stem is hard. and fibrous, and is difficult to dislodge from the ! earth. On " St. Patrick s Day the true; shamrock has to be searched out among the grass, for, though compara tively plentiful at that season, it grows close to the ground. Later it bears a tiny "whitey-brown" blossom. The in formation that shamrakh is the Arabic word for trefoil may be of service, to those interested in the origin of the Irish race. The word could have been intro duced by the Milesians, Or it may. furnish an argument in support of the conten tention that one of the lost ten tribes of Israel settled in Ireland, which has been revived by the publication of a recent book. The Queer Japs. The Japanese books begin where ours end, the word finis coming where we put the title page ; the foot notes are printed at tho top of the page and the reader: puts in his marker at the bottom. In. Japan men make themselves merry with wine before dinner, not after; the sweets precede the roasts. A Japanese mounts his horse on the right side instead of on the left. The mane of tho animal hangs on the left side instead of On the right ; the horse stands in the stable with his head where his tail ought to .be. Boats are hauled upon the beaches stern first. The Japanese saw snd plane toward them instead of away . from them., - Keys turn in instead of out. The best rooms of a Japanese house are always at the back end architects, when building, ; begin with the roof. .. r - - KBITS: ANU OS X? have sup erseded greerti Blue seems so Adrian, Mich. has three thriving lad jl doctors. ; i;:. . j Jackets are . somewhat 4ongi formerly. ; '. I .-n rr lip-ht-weight garments than will be much worn. '1 All sleeves seen upon the ne west wrapt are extra full. Marquetryj davenport adorn; 'manj tasteful homes. r i ; j ; I Gold and silver slippers are in demand for evening wear i j ' , 1 ; Worsteds of a the celebratetl make are in high favor. . ! Capes are longer and more elaborately embellished that ever. j England has 45,000 women who eara a livelihood as printers. Bannockburnl cheviots with plain or rough surfaces a"re worn 4 , . Fine passementerie points play an im portlnt part in millinerV. j Bismarck's wife Js expert wjth the needle, and is a good cook. j A New Torkjj city dentist employs lady assistant at 5G a week. - i L ' Mary Anderson Jias the la largest feet of any stage beauty. She wears No. 5j shoes. . s f ' i i Juc Single roses having ds, foliage, and a long stem are the bouquet, j -jf: . preferred corsage All the rough woolen textures, dress material.! r stuffs will be worn in both as cloaking and New suede ties have a large tongue and pointed toe of patent leather and a huge gilt buckle. ! '. A permanent! library, composed, solely of books written by wjomen, is . to be es tablished in Paris. I j The town i5f Kniazeff, Russia, him elected a woman, JImi. Alexandra Elyne to the office of Mayor " j A lady) at Benton Harbor, Mich,, has 10,000 silkworms in. her house, busily a work spinning cocoons. . f Miss Jane iDetheridge of Kingston- Jamaica,! worth $1,000,000, has refused thirty-seven offers of marriage. i Mrs. Oscar -Wild s said to be the most picturesque woman in" England in the matter of toilet and posing. Mr. Henry M. Stanley's wedding cake served as one of the ("side shows" at. a bazaar held in London, recently. ; A bbek of admirably arranged houses for working .women is being erected at Bedford Park, a suburb of London. . Miniatures for brooches are being set invisibly with a circle of small diamond! and turquoises arranged alternately. Mrs. Elliott Shepard is building, at her own expense, a lodging i house for self supporting women in NewYork city. j - j rV - An announcement comes j from the other side of the Atf antic that hoop skirts will come into fashion by and, by again.-! . - " ' ' The revival of bengaline is a charming fact for which lady f ul . and adoptive grateful, ji lovers of Ithis beauti- dress material are Tho resident physician Iof the New York Infant Asylum is Lucy Davis, daughter of the President of the W. C. T. U. of that State. ' . j .- Mrs Elizabeth PeaboHy, who first brought to this country from Germany tho kindergarten method, of j teaching, is eighty-seven years old. I i There is no daintier house-gown for a girl than a nainsook empire belted high up Iwith a three-yard sash of rose, green or brown china crepe. The fashions of the first years of Queen Victoria's reign have served for models to thei designers of many of "the French gowns worn this year. ' ' . Miss Minnie Tr aeblodd. President of the Equal Suffragi Association, of Ko komoj Ind., is one of the chief dry goods merchants of that city. t ; There are several women real estate brokers in Chicago. Probably the most successful! of them all lis Miss Emma: Case, who makes an income of i $5000 a year. . , ( , . : j I Mrs. Emily Pfe Ser, . the English po4 etess,1 who died re cently,! bequeathed ali most her entire festate of $350,000 to; charitable and educational establishments for women. ; ' Rev. Sarah German, of Boston, the first licensed woman preacher of the Af ri; can Methodist Episcopal Church, has re signed her pastorate and gone to Ethiopia to savo souls. s . : j " j . The first colored graduate from the de partment of music of the University oi Pennsylvania is Sliss Ida E. Bowser. , Shk is . an accomplished violinist and has written several siort sonatas.!" ! ; -Purcapes will continue in fav6r dur ing j the winter. Astrakhan, Persian, lamb, lynx, mai ten and " monkey pelts vie with costlier skins, and wool seal will come inMor a fiif proportion . of regard. Miss Tait,: ths daughter of the late Archbishop of Canterbury, devotes her whole life to tho poor of London, mak ing her home id one of the poor streets In the vicinity of the ecclesiastical pal- '1 S- now modeling a ace. Princess .Louise is statue of the Queen . of England as a joung girl, intended for the Kensington people as a j me norial of Her Majesty's residence in th district during her earlj life.. j-; ;i ; . j J:-- ; . One 'of the successful1 stock brokers: in London is Missj Amy. E. Bell, a pretty young woman with yellow ' curls, who has an. attractive office! near the stock exchange. ' Her clients are for the most part women, although she numbers some men among them. - - - ? 1; 'Ah nventoty . of the - wardrobe ( of Queen Elizabeth, made in the year 1609, shows that "dueen Bess" had ninety- nine robes. 126 kirtles. 269 gowns, 136. "fore fans guards parts, 125 petticoats, twenty-setren , nmety-six cloaks, eighty-three sife- , eighty-five doublets and eighteen lap mantles TSXlHc AKD INDUSTIIIAL. . irhe Falla of Nisgara carry down .10.; OOOTOOO cubic feet per minute, equal to aboit 3,000,000 horse-powen -f A Swede has invented a steam raft fox transportation of horses and cattle an hour . ' ; . . , " Physicians claim that they have. ob--sciveSess hay fever, which is a kindred everibefoie. . - - ' The mechanical ; appliances for hand ling the monster guns aboard English battle ships have lately developed most ominous defects. ' : - An enormous flow of natural gas was struck recently at Summerland three -miles from Santa Barbara, ;Cal.f - The . -flow is estimated at three million feet per day! . . . : : - , The experiment of tanning leather with palmetto roots has been successfully tried at Apalachicola, Fla. The leatner wai as soft and pliable as the finest calf f skin. . . . . ' The copper mines of ; the whole world are; being taxed to their utmost to supply , the : demand for copper wire and the other apparatus used in the application of electricity. :: '. ' ' : ' jt has been suggested that the phono graph shall be used as a cash register. Every sum the cashier receives might be called in the phonograph and there re- corded, as a check on the accounts. (Apiarists maiintairi that bees do not-in-jure growing or fair fruit. The juice of the sound fruit is inimical to their wel fare; but though they will ndt attack sound fruit, they settle upon bruised and blemished fruit. ' Experience has shown that an electric street car can be comfortably heated bj the expenditure of one horse power ol electrical energy. The electrical heaters do not reduce the seating capacity of the car, which is kept clear of coal dust and cinders. ; ', .. .. I A patent was issued in Washington re cently for a steel fence post. It is to be pade of steel tubing, seven feet high, with a neat cap and with bands to hold the barbed wire. It is said that these posts can be furnished complete for placing in position at twenty-four cents each. . ' j ' Experiments have been made at Havre, iFrance, with a luminous buoy, the in- . jvention of M. Dibos. The buoy emits jthe light, which is produced by phos- , jphide of calcium, on reaching -the water, and as it is veiy powerful, the sea is illu minated for a considerable distance around. Spectators in the lighthouses at Havre saw the glare distinctly at a dis tance of five miles. ' , Perhaps in no branch of industry have the benefits of electric welding been real- ! Jzed to a greater extent than in the weld ing of pipes for artificial ice machines, sugar refineries and general refrigerating purposes. I In the old system, fifteen min utes was required for each weld, which entailed the work of two blacksmiths and a dozen helpers, and frequently a serious loss of ammonia from imperfect welding. Now the weld is made in two minutes by ' a man and a boy, and costs two cents in stead of fifteen,, as formerly. A fireman's electric hand lamp is being introduced in England. The battery .and lamp tre contained in a copper case, similar to a fireman's ordinary lamp, and fitted with a handle for convenience ' in carrying. 'Very powerful parabolic re flectors are provided, and the lamp, which has a duration of from two to three hours, after which it can be easily re charged, forms an important adjunct to the outfit of a fire brigade. The lamp is also suitable lor use in mines, gas works, gunpowder and chemical factories. The, advantages claimed for it are portability, facility in charging, capability of resting the battery when the light is not re quired, and extremesafety. f Talmasre's Encomium on Books. : A good book who can exaggerate its power? Benjamin Franklin said that his reading of Cotton Mather's "Essays to Do Good" in childhood gave nim holy inspiration for all the resf'of his, life. George, Law, the millionaire, declared that a biography he read in childhood gave him ali his subsequent prosperity. Oh, the power of a good book 1 But , alas, for the influence of a bad book ! John Angel James, than whom England never had a holier minister, stood in his pulpi& at Birmingham, andlsaid: "Twenty-five years ago a lad loaned me an infamous book. He would loan it only fifteen minutes, and then T gave it back; but that book has haunted me like a spectre ever since. 3 I shall carry the damage of it until the day of my death." The assas sin of Sir William Russell declared that he got ' the inspiration for his crime by reading what was then a new and popu lar novel, "Jack Sheppard." Homer's 'Iliad" "made Alexander " the warrior. ; Alexander said so. The story of Alex ander made Julius Cassar and. Charles" XII. both men of blood. Have you in your pocket, or in your trunk, or in your desk at business a bad book, a bad pam phlet? In God's name, ! warn you to destroy it. T. DaWttt Talmage. The Mysterious "Sixth' Sense. Dr. H. J. Bertrand, of Antwerp, ha recorded the results of experiments which seem to leave it doubtful if the bat is this only possessor of the mysterious "sixth sense,? manifested in the faculty of dodg ing obstacles without the aid of vision." Blind birds, lizards and several species of rodents appear to be endowed with a similar: "gift, which to some degree is shared by blind, and even by blindfolded men. A person groping his way in aj dark cllar may be'unabte to distinguisb a black patch on a .white cloth held up at a distance of two-feet from his eyes, but somehow or other wilt manage to avoid collision with " pillars and projeciin thelves,' even "without the assistance ot his hands. Just before bumping his heac. against a . wall a "pressure of ' air," a some ef the experimenters described it somehow betrays the perilous proxiciitv cf solid obstacle. 2r. CiiicaU. I 5 i C t ; It T e' TV ri P -t -ti; la in, an Ei be pe or ad r.nc .eol j. 2ial Jea- via mil .the U . t (- -

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