Published by Roanoke' Publishing Co. '
k,F0R COD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH.".
W. FLKTCHER AUBBON, EDITOR. , .
c. v. w. jkcsBON, business manager.
VOL. III.
PLYMOUTH, N. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 25,1892.
NO. 45.
For the International Musical Expo
eitiou to be held at Vienna, Aii8tria,this
; year, a theatre with a seating capacity of
... J 6, 000 is being built.
O M. Jules ttiruon ha? raised a nica,
hubbub in Paris, France,', by bis state
ment that he knows at least a dozen ac
tor?, art ists and literary men who, if they
are permitted to live a little longer, will.
, certainly become mad.
The Interstate-State Commission says
tthat a passenjer riding continuously W
;a train might expect immunity from
death by railway accident for 158 years,
but an Engineer, a brakeman, or a con
d uctor under the same ' conditions must
expect a fatal accident at the expiration
of tWrty-flve years. - - '; ;
: M. Camilla Flammarion, the ' proso
jpoet of the planetary spheres, has just
imade, what the St. Louis Star-Sayings
.esteems, a startling announcement. Ic
Ihas discovered that the sun is losing its
force. He notices a gradaal decline in
solar power, accompanied by gigantio
upheavals on its surface," which further
tend to deplete the caloric rosource? of
our great luminary. After an astronom
ical - trifle of twenty million years
Las elapsed, M. Flammarion . thinks the
sun will be a noiseless and blackened,,
crater unfit for business. Iu the mean
time ; mankind will watch the ther
mometer as anxiously as since the days
of . Ueaumnc and Fahrenheit and , the
dangers' of coup de soleil will be ap
parent for some time to come.
r Boston merchants are expressing a de
sire, notes the New York Post, t) have
the Government print an issue of frac
tional scrip currency to facilitate busi
ness transactions on a small basis. They
complain that they are compelled; to
handle at a loss great numbers of postages
stamps which are received in the ' mails
in payment for goods purchased. And
they all think that the charge for money
orders is exhorbitant where small sums
are involved , One prominent firm says'
that it recently had oa hnd $503 worth
of stamps which it could not -dispose of.
Mr. Lee,of the publishing firm of Lee &
Shepard, says that he" often receives as
much as $30 a day in ; postage-otamps,
and it is imposaible to work them off.
lie suggests that the Government issue
the scrip on a silver basis. Other busi
ness men say that a return to the old
fractional paper currency would be a
great convenience to themselves and
their customers. , '
. The English Horticultural Times con
tinues , its assaults upon the American
apple, and is growing bolder in its as
sertions. In a recent number it says
that "it is admitted that the American
apple-growers are compelled to depend"
upon the use of arsenic in saluioa as an
insecticide in their orchards, that this
Insecticide is used upon the fruit itself
until it is completely saturated,9 that it
is applied to the fruit several times be
fore it arrives at maturity, and," if the
weather continues dry, the arsenic clings
to the fruit, and what is not absorbed .
through the skin remains on it, forming
a fine coating, which must evidently be
detrimental to health, especially where
the fruit is consumed to any extent."
A little further on it remarks: "The
best three sorts of apples as regards
quality that are put upon the English .
markets are those raised at home and
those consigned by the Tasmanian and
American growers. ; Our own take the
lead, and the others in the order as-.
eigned them above. Now, if we compare
the three together, wo find a v delicate
tint about the American fruit which is
not to be found upon either of the others.
Again, if the American apple, before it
has : been handled in ' the barrel as it
comes first to hand from the . vessel, is
carefully rubbed with the finger, it will
be seen that a fine, delicate powder in
most cases is removed. This is the ar
senic adhering to the skin, and, if the
fruit is eaten at all, it should certainly
be wiped first with a cloth. We assert
that the delicate and unnatural tint re
ferred to is . produced by tho arsenic
which is absorbed through tho skin.
Medical men inform us that, when ar
senic is administered in small dozss, it
stimulates the action of the skin and
gives clearness to the complexion," and It
is for these reasons, especially in Amer
ica, that it has been extensively used by.
the fairer sex for' years." The Times
then proceeds to declare that these facts
are published from a sense of duty and
not solely in the interests of home 'pro
ducers, .
k COLUMBUS,
Uehin-l bim lay the gray Azores,
Eehind the Gates of Hercules;
Before bim not the ghosts of Bhore?,
Before bim only shoreless seas. '
The good mate said: "Now must we pray,
r or k I the very stars ars gone.
Brave Adm'rl, speak i what shall I say?''
" Wby say.- 'Sail on I sail on J and on t '
They sailed and sailed, as wind mi?h(ublor
Until at last the blanched mate sai.t:
"Why, now nottvea God Would know
. Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very wind forget thoir way,
For Ood from these dread seas is rone:
Now spe&I brave Adm'rl; speak and say"
He said, "Sail on ! sail on ! and on !"
Then, pale an 1 worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ab, that
wight,
Of all dark nights 1 And then a speck
A light f A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled I .
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn,
He gained a world ; he gave that world
'; Its grandebt lessons "On I an! on I"
Joaquin Miller, in Frank Leslie Monthly
. FOR YELLOW GOLD.
;4BY FJRANK B. MILLARD.
HEN the stage
"went light" they
ran out. the email
buck-board, but
when there were
more than four
passengers the big
mud-wagon was
"put on." This
was a buckboard
day, forihere was
not a single passenger. What was more
to the point, as the Gold Butte Mining
Company regarded it, was that under
tho driver's seat was a box with ten
tnousand dollars in the newest ot new
tens and twenties.in it,
The driver had looked very blue when
he drove his, four mustangs from the
postoffice where be took on a very flat
leather bag, which spoke loudly of the
incapacity or disinclination of the
Thimble Spring people for letter-writing
-over to the railroad station, where he
was to take on the box..- Things were
going all wrong at home. That was why
his brown face looked so haggard; that
was.; why he held so loosely too the
"lines;" that was why he chewed " ao
hard on the bit of. "plug" in his mouth
t "Such hard scratnhin' I never seed
afore"' was what , he had said as he
had listlessly thrown the mail-bag into
the wagon ; "can t git no decent job now
adays. Nothin ter be hed by prospect
in tried thet time an' agin; ef I git
anything it peters out inside of a week.
I might make a strike over ter Sand
Gulscn.but it's a long way off, an' me V
Sue an' the kids bez moved so often 'at
we can't raise nothin' ter move on now
Why in Sam Hill did Sue her ter git
that rhcumatiz les now. when we a so
hard up, an' afcre she weaned the baby?
It's a shame. Why can't Bill git some
thin' ter do? great big, lunk-headed
cuss. Ef I hed a brother, poorer'n a crow,
d'ye think I'd go an' live on him an'
live on bim, till thar warn't nuthin' ter
eat in the house? Sho, Zach Springer,
you're a blamed fool. , Bill hain't done
that. "He ain't ter blame fer gittin' his
leg broke that time. Bill's all right, but
he's onlucky. - Been tryin' fur a month
ter git a job, an' can't git in nowhere.
He't willin' ter work.. He'd stan croch
de'tfi' in the creek all day long washin
out tailin's ef he could make his 6alt at
it. Tried it for six weeks an' didn't git
enough to buy , a pair . o' gum-boots.
Whoa, Buckskin !
And then the box was taken on, and
the express agent had something to say.
That "something" was not to. Zach
Springer's liking. He chewed harder
than ever on the bit of plug, and sawed
the hard mouths of the mustangs by an
unnecessary yanking of the reins. It
was a positive relief to be able at last to
wback his lash down upon the sides of
the nervous brutes and turn them loose
for the forty mile run to Gold Butte.
Why had he needed a lecture from a
hireling of the express company, and
why should that smooth fowled agent
have looked at him with such dark- sus
picion? t "They think 'cos I got stood up down
ter Black Rocks las' time I had a big
load o' gold, thet I need to be preached
to cVery time I go out now with a full
box. I'd like ter see ono on 'em hand-;
lin'the ribbons when thar's a 'Winches
ter lookin at' 'em with an eye as big as A
bar'l head. Can't tell me they wouldn't
give in I The sweet scented, calf akin
booted young ladies 1 Thar ain't a man,
among 'em."- . U v , ' , f V i
Zach Sprineer'e indignation was now;
jn more complete possession of him than
had been his feeling of. blucness a little
earlier, What he had delivered himself
of just now was not what he would have
said had he voiced his true sentiments"
with reference to the express . agent's
lecture. V In between the words ran the
thought, that "they" had suspeeted him
of having a hand in the Black Rocks
robbery. It had come to him before in
what he called a "left banded" way, and
he had had other outbursts of righteous
indignation, but none iu which the up
heaval was so great as that of the pres
ent. "Had that been the reason the stage
com pany bad cut down bis pay to "sixty"
a month? The chances were that St was.
It was too blamed mean tor a " lot of
swine, like these people, to come it so
bili handedly over a pooi mau who only
i wanted his own. , Wouldn't it serve;
them just right, if
The white dust of the desert rolled up
from the mustangs' hoofs in little pun's,
and sprays of it, powdery find, followed
the turn of the wheels half-way up, there
to be caught by the breeze and drifted
behind m a long cloud that followed the
buckboard like a haunting spirit; Some
times, as the light breeze shifted, it came
back upon the buckboard and its driver
like heavy thoughts on the conscience of
a guilty' man.
; It would serve them just right ! Be
sides that, only think ten thousand !
What would the people down in Mexico
or Guatemala, where ho would fly, know
or care if somebody up in far-off Nevada
had dumped a box off his buckboard and
gone back and got it after a few days-
maybe a week? It would have to be a
dark night, wouldn't it? You couldn't
go and get a box like that in the day
time and take it anywhere, for the whole
country would be out looking for the
mati who had it. Maybe a month. That
would be better It would all blow over
by that time. Let's see, would it? Ten
thousand was a good deal. Those stage
stoppers were always striking the box on
the wrong day. 'They never got so much
as that at one haul. In two months, then
perhaps two months. But it would
have to be well-hidden. .
And the thought stuck to bim, despite
all attempts to keep it off, though by the
time he. had driven the mustangs into
Red Canyon, his indignation at having
been suspected by the company had died
down , The box at his feet had taken on
a new meaning for him. It meant smart
gowns for his wife. ' It meant a good
schooling for the children Those five
little ones had had a hard "rustle" of.it
to get what few scraps of learning they
had thus far managed to clutch; and, as
for clothes, hey wero dressed like juve
nile scarecrows. Yes,all the bard scratch
in g. would be oveif he dared to do what
many anothsr . hard-pushed man had
done. Resolving the whole matter down
to a plain, clear-cut proposition, it was,
after all, simply a question of "nerve."
Here was the place to do it. Right
here, where the high, scraggly rocks,
with the patches of sage-brush atop,
came so near to the. buckboard. It
could be thrown over there anywhere
into the sage-brush, lit would be as
well-concealed as though buried in six
feet of earth. The buckboard had
reached the top of a long down-grade.
Zach put on the brake and twisted the
reins about the brake-handle. As if
about, to take a plunge into ice-cold
water, ho reached down for the box.
But wait a bit. He took off his . big
sombrero and hung it on a projecting
rock. Then flashing out his six-shooter,
he sent a bullet through the brim of the
hat, which he then replaced on his head.
Though it had been hot enough when he
started out from Thimble Spring there
seemed to be a chill in the air just now.
Would they' believe the story that he
would have to concoct, even though he
showed them th hole in ' the hat-brim?
What would he care whether they did or
not? They already suspected him. If he
had tho name, he might as well have the
WW ..I . 1 1 1
game. Jtie loosed at tne spot wnere tne
sage-brush clustered thickest, and made
a mental throw or two in a tentative way,
in order to "get the distance."
Then he laid two nervous hands on
the box. He gave a little tug. How
heavy it was! Could it be tossed over
there, after all? It might have to be
carried. He lifted it ,upon the seat.
"Via Thimble Spring Stage Line." What
was tho sense in putting on such a direc
tion as that? It was the only way it could
go. ..me only way. , Ana tnat way was
now closed, for he was about to-- ,
"God, kain't they trust you you,
Zach Springer. Kain't they trust Old
Zach?" he burst out, hoarsely. "Yes,
but why don't they do as any other decent
minin' comp'ny does turn their stuff
into the bank at 'Frisco, arter it's mint
ed? . What do they want on it up thar?"
Well, after all, that was their business.
But be couldn't be trusted.- What w.ould
Bill say? Bill was an honest man. He
would blush with shame every time his
brother s name was mentioned after that
for, of course,' he would know. Sue
would never, suspect. Any kind of a
story would bamboozle , her. Bill was
smart. He could put two and two to
gether as quickly as any man in . the
country. And yet Bill himself was a lit
tle reckless sometimes. He had been
acting very queer of late, and lind been
over to Johnson's a good deal, drinking
and playing cards with the boys. That
would not do. Bill must be looked af
ter. He was only a young leiiow a
mere boy, even if be had been, tryinsr to
raise a mustiche lately. Yes, BillVas a
good deal younger than be. Why, he
remembered well the day ne was oorn,
when they took bim in to show him his
new baby brother. He used to carry
Bill all around, and he was the first one
to stand him on bis legs and try to make
him walk, ne remembered how it used
to hurt his own head when Bill got a
knock by falling out.of his high-chair.
Bill was just as much to him now as ever,
and those knocks which fate and the
weaknesses of his natur 3 were giving
him now hurt him just as badlyworse,
perhaps, than they did Brother Bill.
What would liill say
He laid his hands upon the box again.
It would be safe enough behind the rocks
there under the sage-brushas safe as
if
... "Git up thar 1 Git, Buckskin ! ' Git,
old Gabs I Ye lazy critters. G'lang 1"
Aud down came the long lash upon the
dust-covered backs of the mustangs, and
oil down the long grade they ran, mak
ing the dust flv in the canon as it never
flew before. For Z ica had grasped the
reins in a grip of iron, and both his big
cowhide boots wore planted firmly on the
box. :
"This 'ere is what I call go:n' like sin 1"
he said, ted minutes later, as they were
still flying down the grade f 'But I lost
some, time with a blamed-fool notion that
I drter a ben licked fof ever thinkin1 ort
a minit. Wal, the mustangs got A goad
rest. Makin' up fer it nowj though.
They'll soon be in a lather. I'll git to
the half-way house in a quarter of . an
hour, and then I'll take a good horn. I
feel kinder narvous yit.v Thet 'ere box
is a heavy load on a man's mind. Is'pose
the sup'rintendent up to Gold Butte is
worryin' about it, too. Never mind, oF
feller, you'll see that stuff stowed away
in yer safe afore sundown.
"What's this? - A hold-up, sure as
shootin'l" - f ; "
Out from behind a tall rock, a man,
with a picas of dark calico over his face
and a very large Winchester in his hand,
had suddenly sprung, and the muzzle Of
the rifle looked right into Zach's bigj
round eyes. The brake scraped the
wheels and make the sparks fly. The
mustangs came to a sudden stand.' There
was no getting by that Winchester.
"I reckon you've got therdrop on me,
strauger," the driver coolly made the re
mark. "Stick up my hands? " In course
I will, ef you insist on it; but I tell yei
these .'ere mustangs is mighty skittish,'
an' it's on ther daown-grade. So yer
needn't shoot ef they start up, fur it'll be
yer own fault. I s'pose yer arter this
'ere box. Throw it out? It's, too
blamed heavy fer that. Ye'll hev ter
give us a lift."
The man with the gun had said noth
ing; but the subtleties of the holding-dp
process were not so fine but that Zach
understood every wave of the stranger's
hand and every shrug of his shoulders,
when the waves and shrugs meant any
thing. Zach had been held-up before.
He of the calico mask did not step for
ward at once. In this suggestion that
he should assist in taking off the box he
seemed to suspect some trick. But one
of Zach's hands was , held aloft and the
other, with the four reins in it, .was
on the level of his shoulder. , The man
edged up to the buckboard, exchanging
the weapon which he presented at Zach's
head for a six -shot revolver.
"Thanks, straogei," said Zach, with
forced merriment. "I never like tcjiev
one o them air long-barreled i things
p'intei at me. They shoot too straight.
Now, here ye are." :
With his foot he shoved the box along
until it was near the edge of the wagon.
"Thar it is, help yourself ; . but ye'll
find it a blamed heavy load ter pack, ef
yer goin far over forty pound."
The robber's fingers grasped the box
nervously. . -
'.'A- green ' un at the biz," thought
Zach; "mebbe thar'll be an openin' here
yit."
The robber pulled and hauled at the
box but it would cot budge, for it was
caught on a nail-head in the bottom of
the wagon. In his feverish anxiety
to secure the gold, he lowered
the revolver a little and grasped the box
with both hands. . Swiftly Zach s right
hand . fell to his hip and he whipped his
bright-barreled pistol.
"Got the dead drop, stranger! It
no gol" he shouted. Put that weepin
daown, you fool!" for the man was
raising his pistol. . "You won't? Then
take that." .
A flash, a report, and back fell the
robber without a moan. - His fingers
clawed the dust for a moment, as if he
were grasping for a hold on life. But
the hold was not to be had, and he gave
it up, and lay there quietly in the dust.
The. driver shoved his pistol into it
holster, and wiped the sweat from his
brow. It had been a close shave for the
box and a closer shave for him.
"Takes a purty keen un ter git erway
with Ol' Zach, arter all," he chuckled,
springing lightly from the buckboard,
while a broad smile lit up his brown face.
"This 'ere means a big -raise from 'the
covp'ny an a hundred er two from the
Gold Butte folks. I guess' they'll think
the ol' man's 'bout right arter this.
Hooray fur nooray! my stock's rlz! It's
'way ; up ter a hundred an' fifty.
Whoop-e-el Haw-haw-haw!"
He stooped down over the dead man
and lifted the bit of cloth from his face.
"Almighty God I It's Bill!" San
Francisco Argonaut. .
Oar National Statue of Liberty.
The bronze Statue of Liberty which
has crowned the dome of the Capitol
Building at Washington for the past
twenty-nine years is nineteen feet six
inches high and weighs 14,985 pounds.
The figure was cast in five sections, the
heaviest being 4740 pounds weight.
The statue was all completed except the
headpiece prior to December 2, 1863,the
finishing being reserved for that day.
Crawford, who designed the figure, sub
mitted his model adorned with a "liberty
cap,' but Jefferson Davis, then Secretary
of War, objected . to such a head-covering,
saying that the old Phrygian
emblem was a relic of a degraded people.
The Secretary's objection! were sus
tained and the well-known Indian head
dress was substituted for the cap. Craw
ford got $3000 for. the plaster. model of
Liberty ; Clark MilU got 9S00 for cast,
iag her in bronze; money expended for
labor and metal ran the total cost up to
$23,790.82. St. Louis Republic. .
Dom Pedro de Valdivia, the first
Governor of Chile, founded . Santiago,
its capital, Februar 12, 1541.
LIFE OF A WELL-SHOOTER.
IT 13 ALWAYS FULL OF EXCITE
REHT AND DASTGBS. -
Dropping Powerful Explosives Into
tb Bowels of the Earth and
ThAii Running tor Lite.
EW more hazardous occupation
can be named thim that of well
shodter' in the oil and . gas re
gions. A well-shooter is always
in the employ Of Bome company that
manufactures high explosives, and his
business is to load long tubes with nitro
glycerine or other similar subtance, low
er them to the bottom of the gac or oil
well and there explode them. The
shock loosens the Trenton limestone, the
porous strata in which the oil or gas is
found in these fields, and causes an in
creased flow. Sometimes a well that is
worthless and almost dry becomes pro
ductive and profitable after being shot,
and the stimulus usually lasts for weeks.
In the Ohio and Indiana field, which
Comprises, all told, an area of probably
10,000 square miles there are about a
score of men who follow this dangerous
business, besides the manufacturers and
the men who are employed to haul the
explosives to the out-of-the-way places
where the, magazines are erected and
where a small supply, rarely mora than
300 quarts of nitro-glycerine in , one
place at most, is stored. A shot is some
times as little as eight quarts, but more
often it is from sixty to eighty, and in
some cases as much as 160 quarts are
used. Imagine, if you can, what a ter
rific shock that would cause if exploded
at the surface. Even 1400 or 2000 feet
below, it makes ' the earth tremble and
throws a tremendous burst of gravel and
debris out of the well, and not infre
quently high above the derrick. .
In hauling these terrible explosives to
the wells, or magazines, odd-looking
covered wagons are used, and the State
laws provide that each shall be marked
pn the sides in large letters, "Nitro
glycerine! Dangerous 1"
Within the warning cover are care
fully-fitted compartments, liued . with
heavy felt, and into these the square zinc
cans fit as . snugly as is posjible. A
shake cr jar going over the roads that
are never any too smooth might easily
mean death to the driver and destruction
to surrounding property, and the deadly
stuff is packed as solidly as it can be.
Once at the well, the nitro-glycerine
is poured into tin tubes or shells rive feet
long and two inches or more ij diameter,
pointed at the lower end and with bail
handles at the top. . A suddao jar or a
slip of the hand means destruction, and
softly, with steaiy hand, this oily liquid
is poured into the long tin. As each
shell is filled it is lowered to the bottom
of the well, and another h let down on
top of it, and still 'another, till tb.3 de
sired quantity has been put down. Then
the ' "go-devil," a five-pound pointed
iron, ten or a dozen inches long, is
dropped, point down, on the mass below
and the shooter runs for his life. Some
times rock fragments are thrown out so
quickly and so far that he dos not get
beyond their reach, but usually he is at
a safe distance by the time the eruption
occurs. '
The men engaged in this hazardous
work seem utterly 'obliviju3 to the
danger. They have become accustomed
to the continual risk and only think
enough about if to be careful. It may
be said that they seldom feel the appre
hension their business excitos in strang
ers, and if they do, it usually results in
their nervousness costing them their lives.'
So true is this that these men have a
superstition that the fearlcs.1 man is per
fectly safe and the fearful one certain of
death.-
One terrible accident a yeat or more
ago, near Findlay, iltistrates this belief.
An employe of the High Explosive Com
pany, George Struble by name, who was
engaged in hauling the stuff to magazines
and shooters in different sections, had
grown apprehensive and made all arrange
ments for his burial, in case of death, if
burial was possible, and for the disposi
tion of his little property. Very soon
after he lost his life, probably by the ex
plosion of the glycerine sticking to the
empty cans, for ne had not emptied his
cans at a well, and was on his way back
to Findlay from Prairie Depot when the
accident occurred. He was torn to pieces,
and the wagon was literally reduced to
splinters. . It is one of tho incidents of
the business that when an accident hap
pans nobody is left to tell how it came
about.
The hairbreadth escapes are many, and
nerve and presence of mind are the first
requisites of a shooter. In one case a
shooter was lowering the first tin int
thejWeil when, the rope suddenly slack
ened. There could be but one explana
tion. The well had unexpectedly began to
flow again. It would be but a few minutes
till the six quarts of nitro-glycerine
would be hurled out of the well. . That
meant death and destruction. He had
not time to reach safety by running.
There was only one expedient and he took
it. Standing directly over the well, -ho
grasped the deadly shell by the handles
as it came up, almost with the force of a
cannon shot, and, though the force of it
threw him across the derrick and dislo
cated his shoulder, he was saved!
. A story is told of a savage bull that
attacked the team attached to a wagon
containing empty cans, to which very
frequently enough of the staff sticks to
cause an explosion if jarred. ' The driver
leaped from the wagon as the horses
started to run and was saved, and the
bull was probably the most surprised
animal in all Ohio when his attack came
to an end. '
Such is the life of the oil and gas wen
shooter. Under a constant menace, tho
men live in tolerable comfort, and seem,
to enjoy life. Aside from the danger,'
the work is not arduous, and the wages
are fairly good. Most of them axe young
men, and it is the exception to strike a
shooter who is married. Their age is
probably one reason for their almost uni
form good nature and jollity, and
familiarity with danger i doubtless ex
plains their imperturbable calmness.
New York Times.
SELECT SITTINGS.
Palmistry is once more having a vogue.
' Glass is now used as a filling for teeth.
A Rio Grande engineer recently shot a
wildcat near New Castle, Col., from the
cab of his engine.' . -
A Pp.nnsvlvania, insane-asylum super
intendent reports that eight out of every
ten of his inmates write verses. .
Sheet iron kites, to enable a vessel
when in distress during a storm to com
municate with the shore, have been sug
gested . -
A Lvnn Mass.H man is the owner ot
the drum which beat time for the 3Ias-
sachusetts Sixth on its famous march
through Baltimore, Md.
The first Russian newspaper was pub
lished in 1703. Peter the Great took a
personal part in its editorial composition
and in correcting proofs.
It is the custom in Brooklyn, N. Y.,
for physicians to render services, to
priests and to attend them, professionally
wicnout maiang any cuargo. -The
town of Dedham. Mass. . was es
tablished in 1636, and a house built
there that Tear is still occupied by de
scendants of the original owners. ;
An electrical nool table has been made
in which contact buttons are so arranged
in front of the pockets that when a ball
rolls in it strikes tnem, and tne pome -made
is recorded on an enunciator. .
' The size and srrowth of the city of
Cj ,
London is shown by the mileage of the
streets. Should tbev be Dlaced together
they would measure about 2500 miles, or
nearly the distance across tne Atlantic
Ocean.'' . . --
The miblic schools in Dundee. Scot
land, have decided to make the highland
i .i . . ti . e nn .11 l
mng ana tne siracaspey oi i uitucuguruui
and other forms of dancing part ot the
curriculum. Education in dancing, how
ever, -will require an extra fee, and will
therefore be optional. ,
There is grim humor in ono' clause in
the will of the late Solomon Abrams, of
Boston, Mass. After making a number
of charitable bequests the testator re
marks "I remember all my cousins,
aunts, uncles and grandfathers, but I
give them notihng." ,
There is a new wind instrument, the
"pedal clarinet." It is an ocjave below
the bass clarionet, and produces tho
lowest note obtained by any instrument
except the organ. With a range of three
octaves it has a much pleasantcr tone
than the double bassoon. '
It is announced that a Welshman has
perfected a sewing machine, by which
the thread is supplied directly from two
ordinary spools, and saws- through the
assistance of a rotary looper. By means
of this arrangement th old style shuttle
or bobbin is done away with. ,
It was an odd coincidence that Cardi
nals Manning and Simeoni were elevated
to their highest rank iu the Church the
same day and died on the same day. -
What is more, the last official letter
penned by the English Cardinal was by
chance addressed to bis Vatican con
frere, the late Prefect of the Propaganda.
. An inquisitive man walked into the.'
Oakland, Me., ax factory not long ago,
and when passing a steam punch, asked
suddenly, "What's that hole for?" At
the same time he stuck his finger into the
hole. The punch wasn't exactly planned
for cutting off fingers, but it rose to the
occasion and the linger dropped.
Will New York Be Engulfed!
. According to the figures of Professor
W. i J. McGee, it is only a question of
time when the slow but never-ceasing
inroads of the ocean will engulf many
populous cities of the Atlantic seaboard.
and perhaps whole States. He says:
"There is a broad lowland stretch
ing from Sandy Hook to Cape Henry,
and - another washed by Mississippi
sound, upon which tho sea is gradually
but slowly and surely encroaching. They
are wane-fashioned plains, but recently"
wrested from the ocean, and now old
Ocean again reclaims its own. ' Already
its octopus arms have seized the low
lands in their horrid embrace, and day
by day, month by month, year by year,
generation by generation, the grasp is
tightening, the monster creeping further
and further inland. Each average year
the watermark advances a rod. .The
seaside cottage, with a broad lawn be
fore it, has an 'expectation of life of a
decade or a generation, but the cottage
at the Verge of the cuff may go m a year,
and must go in a lustrum, unless human
devices outwit and overpower the waves. ,
On most other Eastern and Southern
coasts the waves- are also encroaching,
but their; progress is slower. But the
ocean's power is too great for puny man
to oppose successfully. What, then, is
he to dot In my opinion, h can only,
temporarily provide against it, and then
slowly retreat before the invasion. "-i-Stf
Louis Republic,