VOL, VI.
PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, -FftMl48, 1895.
NO. 31
The etperfmont of shipping pota
toes from Montana to the "East hat
; proved a groat sucoess, and tho for
.mora .pf that State are corresponding--.
ly happy. --'''jU -' : ;
Tho Now York Advertiser ia remind
od that. General Washington was th
'victim of merciless political attacki
when he was'.' President. General
- Gatos onoe alluded .to him as that
'dark, designing, sordid, r ambitious,
vain, proud, arrogant and , vfndictive
knare." Political denunciation seems
to hare crown decidedly tame in theaa
later years. ,'v e : - ; :'
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
frlamlin has ssueel an order to Collec
tor Kilbreth, of New York, direotmg
that, until further notice, the inspec
tion of luggage brought by passengers
on transatlantic vossola shall, not be
stopped at sunset, as "'. was . done upon
I the- recent arrivals of , the Teutonio
jand Westernland. ':; Hereafter, if the
inspection ha3 been begun before sun
set, all the luggage must be passed
without interruption, thus saving paa
aengora unnecessary inoonvenlence. "
The Chicago Record states that in a
very able and soholarly address de-.
liverod before the - Kansas Irrigation
Association Judge J. S. Emery, of the
National Irrigation Society, put for
' ward some facts of vital interest not
onlvtatho inhabitants of arid States.
- but to the "wholo. Nation. It will
doubtless bo a surprise to most read
ers. to learn r that : that portion of
. America which may - be considered as
: praotically arid and unproductive ' is.
nearly half as, big as all tho United
ClntAa an vta A 1 n ttr ft ' Tn r va TrMAt
I vouches' f or this fact and aleo for the
other fact, sustained by the opinions
of expert geologists, that of this-onor-mous
area 100,000,000 acres can be re
claimed by the use ofjproper mothods
of irrigation. . " "..v.-v " . -
Not evon the prospect of an English
prison seems to ; daunt' the swindlers
who flourish on American credulity by
pretending to discover large estatos in
- remarks the New York Press. - The
latest discovery of the kind itfalled
tno "jUyao estate, " wuicuis esumaseu
' at the modest amount , of $360,000,000.
This enormous sum, we aro told,
is anxiously waiting in the Bank of
End and for American ownors, in the
proportion of -probably of about $1,
OOO.OOO apiece. The expectant-millionaires
havo presumably by this
" time , been mulcted in various , small
amounts to pay preliminary expenses,
and after they have been sufficiently
bled the estate will doubtless be heard
. of no more. , 7 It is to the crodit of the
London authorities that they have
done what they could to put a stop to
. thisform of swindling, but, whilo there
are dupes there will bo knaves, and
the English estate fraud scorns to be
'as irrepressible as the green gooda
or&raeand the Bussian thistle. .',.;.;v
-The annual report of Governor
: Renfrew; of Oklahoma, furnishes an
. interesting , picture, of . the wholly
-unique American. way of colonizing
v and State building, according to which
new commonwealths grow, up into the
' uuiuu us uuvutaiijr ua u uuujjsi vu..u
is born into a. family, on i. equal terms
with the rest rom : the beginning.
'. Oklahoma, it is true, is not yet a State,
but it is getting ready to become ouo.
TTi ' ' Is 11- t,Jl,1
' As tho Governor remarks, at the orig-,
inal opening jof Oklahoma -proper the
world beheld the Btrange spootacle of
a city of 10,000 inhabitants built in a
'day, and a Territory of 0100 square
miles settled in half a day.. " That was
four years ago. Its present popular
: tion is given aa 250,000, and the value
'of its property as $20,000,000. . Noth
ing there was began more promptly
than provision for churchesand schools.
Already there is . a school house conven
ient.to every family, a Territorial uni-
- versity, a Normal School and an agri-
- cultural and-mechanical college." As
. for- churehep, there are ninety -five
Baptistj fifty -five Congregational, for
ttwo Methodist, thirty-one Presby
terian, twenty-four' Catholic, and so
'on. As to Statehood, some desire to
have Oklahoma admitted: at once;
others wculd wait a little, hoping that
Indian Territory may yet be joined
with Oklahoma, both making one great
State, in which case, says the Govern-
Hit TO-n1r1 Via onn ft! in the ioreatesi
and, in my opinion, tho finest Stats
west of the Mississippi.'---
THE RIDDLE OP WRECK,"
nigh on tho hlll-slopo sigh In dream,
With plumy honda Ju honvon ' . .
They silver tho sunboam. ' . '
One brokon body of a troe, -i ' .
Bfabbcd tLrough and slashod by Ughfis ,
keen, -"-V : . .
Cnsouled and crlm to soe
Hangs o'or tho hushed ravine. .
-i -. : If
A hundred masts, a huadr6d moro,
Crowd oloso agalnjt the sunset flroi
Their late adventure o'or, .
; Tbey mingle with tho splrca.
Bnt one Is lying prone, alone,
Where gleaming galls to seaward sweopi
White sand of burial blown
; In sheots about its sleep.
When lightning's leashed and soa Is Btlll, . '
, Yo Bacrlfldnt mystorics droad,
Boapegoats of shore and hill,
'' Your rlddlo may be road.
''" Helen Gray Cone, In tho Contur7.
I.0VE IN A SNOWSTORM.
BX M. BABINGTOX DATLET.
HE was a little
Puritan maiden,
with honest gray
eyes and a sweet,
bashful faoo. Hoi
parents oallod hei
Dorothy ; hei
friends, Dolly..
She ..' had . been
brought up vory
strictly, and it
was not without
misgivings thai
her family allowed
her to visit hor rich uncle and aunt in
in London, - but they could not well
refuse the invitation. ..
Dolly had been in London only one
short week, and she was bewitched
with everything she saw. She loved
her undo and aunt, both of whom dis
played Btrong affections for her, and
indulged her in a freedom she had
never tasted before. She was delight
ed with the substantial old house, with
its largo rooms, big fireplaces and
comfortable furniture. More than all,
she admired London itsolf. Tho busy
streets, with their palatial shops; the
colossal buildings St. Paul's, ; the
Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, the
broad, quiet eqnares, which seemed to
have, been dropped down at random
among the wilderness of houses; the
gay restaurants and the-brilliant, fas
cinating theatres. She particularly
liked it at night, when illumined by
countless lights, whoso . reflections
glittered on tho pavement; and when
the black darkness of tho sky, unao
compnnied bytho deathly silenoo that
it brought in the country, seemed
rather to enhance the noise and bustk
of tho prodigal, streets. There was
something romantic about it all. It
thrilled her, she knew not why. Hoi
heart beat faster, her pulse bounded
more quickly. She felt more alive
than she had ever felt before.
There was another source of' pleas
aro. Never before had the been
thrown into the company of so" en
gaging a young gentleman 03 hei
cousin Tom, tho -only child of. hei
nncle and aunt, : He was Dolly's sen
ior by come half dozen years. Had
Dolly's parents suspected what man
ner of young man ho was, they would
havo mado a special journey to Lon
don to bring their' daughter home.
Fortunately, they were ignorant.
There was nothing really bad about
tho lad.' Ho had a very good heart,
but he wanted steadying a Iittlo. He
Was exactly tho sort of dashing, reok
lesp, freehanded young Englishman
that a handsome, manly fellow be
comes when placed in circumstances
of wealth ancifreedom. The first time
he saw .his cousin . Dolly he decided
that she ' wa3- a very pretty girl, but
shy, and that it would be worth while
to draw her cut.-
He found it not easy ; and that, not
withstanding' the fact, had he known
it, that there was in.Dolly's heart an
intense willingness to be drawn out by
cousin Tom. ; But that shyness ol
of hers JJwas a fashionable barrier.
She could not chatter ; the thing was
impossible, Her silenco had been in
bred so long that it had become part
of her anatomical structure; and Tom,
in spite of all his convesrational tal
ents and social polish, frequently
found himself reduced by it to a cor
responding state. On tho other hand,
if Dolly could not speak, she could
look. She had extremely eloquent
eyes ; eyes that spoke far more than
her lips. Tom soon began to watch
those eyes and to love them. He no
longer attempted to makv his cousin
talk; her eyes rendered conversation
unnecessary. ' . ' - .
One afternoon, in the first week of
January, he suuntered into hia moth
er's sitting, room, and there discov-.
ered Dolly, titling, like the historic
Miss Muftit.'o.n a buffet in front of tho
6re. ' Her lingers were busy with
gome crochet work. Tom drew a chair
to the fire.
'Are vou going out to-night,
Dolly?" . .
"She lilted her eyes from her needle.
"Not to-night.-"
"Not. Are yon sorry?" -
"No." . : . '
. "J suppose your'e getting rather
tired of it.. You've been out pretty
nearly every night lately, haven't
you?"". - .. . ;
'Yes., I'm not tired of it, though;
( like it. But auntie and I are going
to have a quiet evening to-night, and
shall like that just as well." . ,
There was a pause. . . ' ; -
"Aro you sure you will like it iuft
as well?" - y : . ...
'l 'bog your pardon?" said Dolly.
Ho moved on his chair. UW ell,"
he said, "I want you to como out
with me to-night, if you will.".
. - She looked at him in amazement.
"Out with you? Why, where to?"
; "The theatre," he responded. ' '
.Pleasure shone in her face. She
gasped with delight. f'Ob, you are
kind I ' But do" you think auntie will
allow me?" ' r ;
Til ask her," said naughty Tom.
It was really very wrong of him, for
Dolly's parents would have been scan
dalized at the idea of their daughter
leing seen in a theatre. However,
they were not there to see it. It never
occurred to Dolly that it oould be
wrong for licr to go after Tom naci
proposed it, and so, as Tom's parents
raised no objections, they started in
due oourse. The only condition im
posed on them (and the sequel proved
it a sound one) was to wrap up well,
which they did. ' "
How Dolly enjoyed the performance
it is unnecessary to relate in detail.
She did enjoy it immensely ; and she
frequently turned to Tom and thanked
him so earnestly for his kindness in
having brought her that Tom began
to feci the ecstasy that follows virtu
ous conduct. Her enjoyment rotTea
her, for the first time, of her shyness.
Her faco glowed with an unusual ani
mation. There was a color in her
cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes that
had r.ot been there . before. ' When a
shy maiden docs wako up to 'anima
tion she is ten times more dangerous
ly attractive than her vivacious sis
ters, who sparkle all day long. Tom
thought his - cousin's face more
seductively sweet than he had imag
ined it could be. He warmed toward
her. He no longer wantod to draw
her out, to flirt with her. Ho was in
love now, all the woy. " .
' They made no haste out of the the
atre, with the result that, when they
reached the street, , there was not an
available hansom.
"We'd better-walk on a bit," said
Tom. "We shall come to one pres
ently." - :
There had been a heavy fall of snow
during the performance, and the pave
ment of the Strand was all slushy and
sloppy. . -
"It's rather unpleasant under foot,
Dolly," said Tom. "Yon'd better takt
my arm." .
She did as sho was bid, and imme
diately experienced a curious sense oi
being owned. It seemed to her thai
she belonged to her cousin. While,
as for Tom, the soft tonoh of those
small, gloved fingers on his coat sleeve
gave him moro pleasure than ' all his
previous flirtations rolled into one. .
When they came to Trafalgar Square
Dolly gave a little scream of delight.
"Ob," she cried, "how pretty 1"
It was pretty. The whole square
fountains, statues, and all, wherever
tho snow could find a lodging lay
draped . in white. - Tho portions that
were) free from snow looked doubly
blaok by contrast. It was a study in
white, with just a Iittlo black to help
it out. Overhead fleecy clouds scudded
rapidly, and a full, bright moon stared
down at the glittering panorama. The
squaro was as light as day.
"Oh, how beautiful 1 I didn't think
London could look so lovely 1"
Tom looked at the speaker, and
thought her lovelier than the soeno
she admired. '
"Yes," ho said, with hia eyes on her
face, "it is beautiful, very boautiful
Indocd." ,
"Oh," said Dolly, "let us walk
home. We don't want to take a cab
on a lovely night like this. I wouldn't
misa the walk for tho world. . It isu't
far, really, is it?" ; '-
V "About a mile," said Tom.
' "Only a mile. Oh, that is nothing.
Let us walk. Shall we?"
"Decidodly, if you wish it. You'd
better take my arm again," for in her
rapturous admiration she had slipped
her hand loose, "the streets aro slip
pery.'! v'- '--' -' ' -
They walked on 'for three or ' four
minutes. Suddenly Dolly's foot
slipped ' Tom, with remarkable pres
ence 'of mind, prevented her from fall
ing by putting his arm round her
waist. That was a new experience for
Dolly. It had never happened before,
and sho cVas overcome by the strange
ness of it. v She didn't say anything,
but she blushed, and her face looked
exquisitely pretty. I don't think Tom
was to boL blamed very much for bend
ing dowufand kissing it. Ho should
not havoldouo . ir, of courso; it was
wrong ; bht the temptation was con
siderable. ' Dolly released herself in
dignantly! pushing: him from her.
They walked a short distance in awk
ward silence. - '.
. "Dolly, are you angry with me?" '
No reply.
"Dolly" very humbly "I'm aw
fully sorry; but you looked so pretty
that I couldn't help it." - .
. Still s, severe 6ilence. : .-
"Won't you forgive me, Dolly?"
The gray eyes wore fixed on the
ground, and the pretty, lips were
pressed firmly together. Ho caught
her fingers. Sho tried to pull them
awf-iy, but it was useless.
"'Won't you forgive me, Dolly T' he
said again. .
She found her voice at length. .
"I wish you wouldn't moke me say
things. Of oourse, I forgive you, but
you -oughtn't to have done it." - 4
"I am really very sorry, Dolly,' ho
said, repentantly. rf ; ,f-
mi ii. . - : a . .
xiiuu tue buow cuine uown.
'. There .was' no mistake about it,
either ; it did come down, with a ven
geance. The' flakes were nearly as
large as a man's hand, and tho sky
was full of them. : ..
"Dolly," said Tom, firmly, '"yon
must take my arm and hold it tightly.
We ore going to catch it." -
Sho took his arm, and he hurried
her along as fast as he could. It was
no use. The snow pelted their faoes
so severely than in less two minutes
tey were nearly numbed with the
cold. - ' '
"We must shelter somewhere till
the violence of the storm is spent,"
said Tom. He looked about him for
a convenient doorway. Fortunately,
there was one near. He plaoed Dolly
inside it, so that tho snow oould not
get to her, and stationed himself At
her side.
"Are you cold, Dolly?" he said.
"Not very, thank yoa," sherepliod.
"Are you?" . ;
"1? Oh! it doesn't matter about
me, dear. ' You are the important
member of this small community.
Are you sure you ai-e not cold? " Will
you havo my muffler?"
He commenced to take it oft
. "No, indeed 1" exclaimed Dolly,
preventing him. "Do you think I
would take it from you? But it was
kind of you to offer it very kind !
You are kind to me."
"Kind 1" said Tom, warmly. "Who
could help being kind?" , ;
Ho pve'ssed . more closely to her.
Outside tho snow was descending
heavily.
"Dolly," said Tom, speaking low,
"have you quite forgiven me?"
Sho smiled, but did not say any
thing. - His arm stole round her
again. She made no effort to repulse
it. He looked at her face. The oold
had turned it a dead white, but it was
beginning to glow again, , and bo
thought it had never looked prettier.
"Dollv," he whispered, "I love
you."
Her heart bounded. He lovod her !
Oh 1 the blissful thought I
"Dolly," ho whispered again,
"could you care for me over so lit
tle?" -: . '
"Yes," 6he murmured.
Their eyes, aud then their lips, met.
After that I don't think either of them
minded the cold much.
They were prisoned in that sancti
fied doorway an hour before the snow
abated, and then it took thorn another
twenty minutes to get home. They
were received with rejoicings.
"We thought you had got lost,"
said the master of the house.
Dolly ran straight into her aunt't
arms, and burst into a fit of sobbing.
'STy poor child 1" said the lady, ca
ressing her, "you are overwrought;
and no wonder. Tom, you haven't
taken proper care of her."
"Oh ! but "he has," said Dolly, smil
ing through hor tears. "It isn't
that."
-Sho has promised to be my wifol"
said Tom.
The rest isn't worth telling,
Tho Last ol Her Tribe.
Tho last survivor of the Delaware
Indians, who formerly owned all of
the lands in this section of New Jersey,
died a day or two ago in her humble
cottage in Southampton township, N,
J., and was buried from tho little
Methodist chapel at Tabernacle. Her
name was Ann Koberts,.and she was
the widow of JohnKoberts, a mulatto,
who died a number of years ago.
They had several children, some of
whom are still living. A picturesque
figure she was as she stood
erect in front of her cabin with her
long black hair , streaming over her
shoulders, and tho neighbors all had
a wholesome respect for her. She
was nearly six feet in height, very
muscular, and dospito her years she
was past ninety could do a day's
ohopping in the woods with almost
any of the men in the neighborhood.
Tho house she lived in was bought
with . some pension money she had
secured on account of tho death of
one of her sons in the war. Somehow
sho managed to piok up a living for
herself until her last illness, when the
neighbors kindly supplied her wants
until the end came, when they gave
her a Christian burial.
"Indian Ann," as she was called,
was the last survivor of the EJere
pillock Indians, a branch of tho'Dela
wares. They were assigned to a
reservation in Shamong township in
1757, where they remained for a long
timo prosperous and happy. ; Then
they were removed to auother tract
of land in Oneida County, New York.
Iudinn Ann's parents aooompanied
them, but soon became weary and
returned to Burlington County, where
tbey lived in a cabin on the Woolmau
farm, near Mount Holly, until their
death, which ocourred some timo in
tho fifties. Philadelphia Ledger.
The muffler was originally ealteel
the muzzier, because it went over the
muzzle or mouth. ,s '
lim. AUT OJf- HAW MA1U1NU
DOW AN AMERICAN TOOI. HUM
BLED A - TOLEDO BLADE.
The Fine Points of a flood Handsaw
v Tempering is a Mysterious Pro
cess Tho Band Saw. : ;
SOME of those swords of the
middle ages and the crusades
are still in -tho museums of
Europe, and the modern steel
makers who have examined them with
professional critioism, while admiring
their beautiful workmanship and ex
quisite art, unhesitatingly say that
none of them can compare with the
steel mode to-day. .
An American manufacture of tool
steel declared that an American hand
saw vim made oi stronger, tougher
and better steel than a famous Toledo
blade exhibited in France. He proved
his assertion, for a sword made of the
same steel from which the saw was
made stood the ' test to which both
swords wore subjected, and then cut
the Toledo blade in two without nick
ing the edge of the American sword.
- A good handsaw must of necessity
be made of good steel. Its temper
must be such that the thin saw-blade
must spring in an even curve from
point to butt when it is bent. It
must be elastio without being brittle,
tough without softness, and the steel
must be of an even temper. From
good, honest steel alone can such vir
tues spring, and when a carpenter has
such a saw, polished to a silver luster,
rightly "hung," well "set," with the
handle properly fitted to his hand, ha
has a treasure.
The making of saws, from the tiny
scroll saw blade to the long pit saw,
from tho diminutrve buzz saw of the
dentist to the seventy-inch circular
used to slice up, the redwood of Cali
fornia, requires tho best of raw ma
terial and the most skillful and expert
of steel-workers.
The best Swedish and American
irons only are put in the melting pota
to make tho steel, and powerful steam
hammers work the ingots before they
are rolled into plates, sheets and flat
bars. The-largest saw works in tho
world are near Philadelphia.
The high perfection attained in the
metal-workers' art ia not in evidence
nntil the saw blade or disk, after being
cut to shape and having the teeth cut,
reaches the tempering and hardening
Stage. The steel making, tho , "cog
ging" of the ingots under the steam
hammering and the rolling mill are
interesting, and so is the great sheara
which cuts and shapes the saw blades
and circular plates for buzz saws. The
teeth-cutting machine ia an attractive
piece of mechanism, but the harden
ing and tempering aro done by men,
each one an expert, a master of hia
art. - , .
When the saw blade reaches thia
department it is soft. When bent it
is slow to return to its original shape,
and if bent beyond its elastio limit it
remains bent. To make a saw of it
the blade must be tempered, anl eaoh
variety of saw must have a different
temper. The circular saw which is to
go through pine logs must have a
toughness, hardness and stiffness dif
ferent from the saw which is to out
up steel rails into thirty-foot lengths
in a rolling-mill. Still, the process,
the simple manipulation of the blade
and disk is about the same. The de
sired results are secured by a varia
tion in temperatures in the hardening
and annealing furnaces, the time in
which the blades are kopt in the fur
naces, the composition and tempera
tares of the tempering baths.
The blados are first hardened by be
ing heated and then suddenly cooled.
The greatest care must bo exercised
in dipping the heated blade in the
water, for if one sido coola quicker
than the other the unequal tension
distorts tho blade and it ia warped.
The larger the saw the moro difficult
is the process.
The workman poises tho blade over
the bath, watching it keenly. The
film of oxide on the 6teel changes color
aa it cools, and when the proper tint
glistens in the blade it is plunged hiss
ing into the water- When it is cold the
blade is hard, but its toughness has
disappeared, for it is as brittle as
glass. A hammer blow will shatter
the steel to bits, for all its molecules
are in a state ol extreme tension,
ready to fly apart on tho slightest
provocation. To restore the tough-,
ness, the essential;; elasticity, the
temper must be "drawn," bo tho blade
must be heated again. .
Here the. mysteriousu; of tem
pering is sceu at ita best. The work
man gives tho stool just the right
amount of heat, and then, withdraws
the blado from the furuaco. Again
he watches the chameleon-like oxide
or ekin ; it changes and - blends from
one color to another, sometimes a
pigeon's egg blue, an amber, a straw,
a yellow or a deep-blue color. . When
the proper color appears the blade is
dipped iu the cooling bath, oil or
water or some secret mixture, and it
is ready for another set of experts,
the men who handle the cold blade to
the proper thickness. This in itself
is a severe test of the temper, and a
saw blade which successfully passes
through this department not only re
ceives that" tension" which the ham
mering gives it, but can be guaran
teed, so far as the temper coscef nod.
The hammering niakss the blado or
disk true, perfectly flat and of uni
form texture. Up to this point tho
blade has been of the same thioknoss, -
Vint, in A bhw f ho fnnfhAff Alrra niflnt bo
thioker than tho middle and back of
tho saw or tho buw would havo no
clearance and would stick in the wood.
The smiths hammer tho blade thinner
back of the teeth and this gives the
saw that stiffness and tension which
are all-impoitant. , -
The blade passes from this depart
ment to the polishing-rooms, where it
is ground absolutely even and highly
polished. Maohinery has to a groat
extent taken the place of manual la-'
bor in grinding and polishing saws.
When the saws are polished they are'
placod in a machine which automati
ca ly sharpen the teeth. Then" tho
handles are fitted on and tho laws aro '
tested and packed. ,.'
In some circular saws the teeth are
inserted, instead of being out in tho -disk.
The teeth with their holders
are fastened in the rim of the disk so
that they will not fly out when the .
saw is zipping through a log with its
edge racing 10,000 feet a minute.,
Yet, when dull, the teeth can be easily -;
removed and new ones inserted at the
saw-mill. To the unobservant all saw
teeth are aliko, but the saw-maker
knows teeth as chisel, solid, beveled,
gullet, diamond, hook, lancet and
soores of others. If a rip-saw is ex
amined it will be . seen that the teeth
are the largest at the handle, gradually
diminishing in size toward the tip.
Yet, to such perfection has saw-making
machinery been brought, a ma
chine will take a blank blade, and, be
ginning with large teeth at the butt, ,
will bite out the teeth in uniformly J
decreasing size to the tip. The strip
of steel, sometimes eight inches wide
and fifty feet long, which makes a ,
band caw, has its teeth cut by ma-
chinery. The strip is fed into thd
machine ; after each bite it moves along
a certain distance and the machine .
bites again. Band saws are gradually
superseding circular saws in saw-
mills, for on large logs two circular
saws are required, one at the botton
and the other for the top, and some
times the saws getting a trifle out of
alignment, do not track, and damaged
lumber results. ,
- - The band saw is an endless-tooth
steel belt running at a high speed
over a wheel above the log and under
a similar whoer beneath' the log. With
it the largest logs can be sliced up
into . boards, and, as the: band saw in
thinner than the circular naw, tho loss
of lumber in sawdust is loss and moro
can bo. obtained from the log. -.-Chicago
Ecoord.
.The Story ol tho Thnmhs.
"If you will allow me the Hibernic
ism." said a vouncr lady of observation,
"I would like you to noto for me that
the truo index ringer is the thumb. I
do not. mean that from tho lenzth of
its phalanges yon can find out whether
there is a blonde divinity or a brunette
fato awaiting you, or that from its
spatnlated or oval nail I can tell
whether you like pictures or horso
races all that sort of digital conjur
ing I leave to the palm mysticists. But
What I do mean is that the thumb is a
remarkable indicator of its owner'd .
bodily and mental condition.- '
"Tho new-born babe hold a ita
thumbs in the palms of its nands,
clenohed in its little fists, and it is -only
when tho mind and body both ex
pand that it takes its thumbs out 'and
holds them up as independent organs.
What deep connection there may bo.
between this fact and bur simian on
eestry I cannot say. - Let mothers
watch thoir children's thumbs, and if
they stick out boldly it ia an unfailing ,
indication of good health and aggres
sive disposition, "while' if they have a
tendency to seek the shelter of tho
Angers it means feeble health and sub-
servient will. - ; ' ' ' ;
"Jast notice the thumbs of your
friends now, and you will see the samo
relations between thoir posture and
the man's constitution : of mind and
body. The conditions are simplicity
itself; the weak man's thumb is weak ;
and pendant, the strong man's thumb
is 6trong and erect. The parallelism
is so marked that you can tell from a .
glance at a man's thumbs whether ho
is an aimless thinker or a man who
carries his ideas, or somebody else's,
into action. 'h' ' ' '
"It may be treachery to my sex, but,
I don't mind telling you that it will bo
a good thing for you follows to mark '
well the tliumbs of tho ladies of your
choice. If the-giri s tnumi), be, ever
so prettily rosy, s liuS --tJenHvk
Bt and at right angles to the hand
well, tho gray maro will need a bit,
Ihat'rt all, while if it lies flat, or droops
a little, you cau count on marital sub
mission to the master mind, aud that's
the sort of domestic paradiso ail you
sons of Adam aro looking for, isn't it?
"With the wauing of tho powers of
framo and bruia pot comes the depres
sion, I had almost said the recession,
of thumb, and whether in senility or
idiooy the thumb is always turned in.
And then, when you turn your face to
the wall und know no more summer'
heat ncr winter's cold, those thatstan
about you and say:. 'Well, poor old
chap, bo's gone at lost, will find that
you have tucked your thumbs away ia
the shelter of your hands, just aa yon
b" thorn when you wero a hillo
I baby." New York S;io.