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V Picturesque Scenes Attend the F Formal Ceremonies. plfl cBQWPawm the eyext. f ,t,n," Attired lo Quam CoftomM th ; ron.lttr ' arching for Oua lewder Mine. In the Vault, of th. Hon.. P Cnou. Summoned Amid Clanging "f itolls to Ilfr the ueen's Speech. London. Jan. 20.-tCopyrIshted 1897 hv L Associated Press.-The third Uon of the Fourteenth parliament . ti.r nnnned by royal commls- 21 at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon. for . at ,..Q.. nhnprved with all due The function " ad customary ceremony. Early in the morning a strong: detachment of police STed down White hall and Rationed themselves at various entrances lead nc to the houses of parliament. Early asas the hour a large crowd had al ready assembled. The people filled the .pace between Westminster bridge and the abbey, hung In groups about the stone railing surrounding both houses and seriously Impeded street trafllc. Shortly after 9 o'clock a body of yeomen of the guard, commonly known as "bejf eater"" attlivd In tlu-lr quaint costume of bonnet, leather b eechcM and Eliza bethan collar, carrying short swords and halb. tts, arrived at th" door of the house. Tluy were ucco:i,panb-d by a police Inspector and wont through the formality observed ever since 1C05 of searching for a gunpowder mine In the vaults of the house. .re-tiiK to the Speaker. Between 11 and 12 o'clock the house Itself, the lobbies and the corridors were 'filled with groups of members a,nd their constituents and the scene pre fonted was one of great animation. Most of the Irish members took places on the cross-benches. John Dillon took his usual seat on the third bench be low the gangway. Shortly before 2 o'clock the speaker came In and was cordially greeted by numerous friends. Trayers were then read before the now crowded house and at their termina tion Mr. Gully took the chair and many members hied past the table to shake hands with him. W. Johnstone, mem ber for South Helfast, was the first to secure his seat. At 2 o'clock there was a mighty clanging of electric bells and simultaneously another batch of police men appeared and formed the crowd In the lobbies so that a passageway twen ty feet wide was left clear between the two houses. Then all eyes shifted toward the door of the house of lords, whence the black rod was coming to summon the commons to the reading of the queen's speech. First came a stal wart Inspector of police, who as he ap proached the entrance of the lobby com manded "Hats off!" In a peremptory voice. The Inspector was followed by a doorkeeper In evening dress, who bore the rod of black ebony tipped with gold. Knocked Thrice at the Door. - Closely following the latter was Gen eral Sir Michael Dlddulph, who last year was appointed guardian of the wand. He was arrayed in full general's uniform. He knocked thrice at the door of the commons and when it was opened the speaker rose to receive him. Then commenced the return procession to the house of lords. There was the usual scene In the house of lords, the benches on either side being filled up with la dles, among whom the peers appeared almost lost. On a bench behind the woolsack and In front of the steps of the throne, within the brass rail, the lords' commissioners were sitting in their robes of scarlet, gold and ermine. It is the custom to select the youngest peers, at each session, to move and second the address In the house of lords. This gives them usually the opportun ity of making their maiden spoech. Tuesday the Marquis of Hath and Lord Kenyon were selected for the honor. As Lord Weymouth, the Marquis of Bath has before served In parliament, having represented the Frome division In the house of commons in two previ ous sessions. The queen's speech was then read to the house of lords. The Mine Trouble at Leadvllle. I-eadvllle, Col., Jan. 20. The proposi tion of the managers of the mines here was refused by the representatives of the miners, and they then withdrew all offers and left. The governor, after further conference with the managers, nt for President Boyceand E. V. Debs nd for two hours the executive com mittee of the managers and the govern or discussed the situation with them, this being the first since the governor's arrival that representatives of the op Posing organizations have been brought together. France Wants Arbitration, Too. London, Jan. 20. The Standard's Vi enna correspondent says: An inspired Paris correspondent of The Politlsche Correspondent learns that France is meditating the negotiation of a treaty of arbitration with the United States similar to the Anglo-American treaty, jucn s treaty would be very welcome in ranee and the prospects for its conclu 8'on are In no way unfavorable. Hammond Died Anything bat Rich. Chicago, Jan. 20. Letters of admin istration upon the estate of Vice Fres "ammond of the National Bank or Illinois, who committed suicide after bank's failure, were granted Mon day to the widow, Ida L. Hammond, ine schedule of the estate shows it to MnWOrth but $10'200 consisting of $10. w personal property and a cemetery lot, valued at 2oo. John Dillon Re-Elected. London, Jan. 20. The Irish parlia mentary party at Its sessional meet hel(1 Tuesday re-elected John Dll ' " a" airman. Timothy M. Healy rm !d a&alnst the re-election of Mr. union by unanimous vote and insisted deta,le(J vote be taken. This 2 7v and tn rult was the defeat the Healyites. eryboat Carries Keren to Death. with10"' Jan' 20-"-A ferryboat laden Usl 'rkmen nk while crossing the t "J l Newport and seven of the flf Ben Persons on board were drowned. M'oJcott's Horn Coming Fixed. Jin!v0n'. Jan- 20.-The Chronicle re coti Vm 1 UnUeA 8tRt" Senator Wol end of j rCtUrn t0 Amerlc -tout the llfMT nin.m mm 11 Mo rtts of I'rentlca. George D. Pientioe Was a rfmnrknV1v candid man, illustration of which is giveu iu tho anecdotes which follow; but tbeso are only u few of the hundreds to Le toia : Once when coming out of a public building iu Louisville ho Was a hunt tn pass through a double door which nnflri. ed both ways. Like theseusible tuau he was lie started to posh at the door half on uis right. A young man coming from tho opposite direction was pushing at ine same door, being his own left. Prentice lost patience, and throwing himself with all his might against the ooor u now open and the young man went sprawling on tho mosaic floor. Assisting the youth to arise, Prentice remarked: "Take my advice, my son. Keep to tho right iu your way through life, and you'll never run against any body but a blamed fool, and you needn't apologize to him." Will 8. Hays, the famous Kentucky song writer, was in the latter days of tho old Journal river reporter for Tho Democrat. Hays was a very sudden youug man, pood hearted, jolly, witty, but lacking somewhat in rovercuce, and ho had u habit if culling person?, even old euough to Jio his grandfather, by their given names. Visiting Prentico one day a u fellow poet, after some, des ultory talk, Hays said: "I suppose, George, you havo seen my lat song. " Prentico looked tin at Ilavs. who was seated cross legged on Prentice's table, and with n twinkle in his expressiivo eyes quietly replied : "I hope so, Hill." Bill looked around for u second or two, as if something had tapped him, and then slid down tho baluster rail to tho front door. Chicago Times-Herald. First Movement During a Revolution. I know tho men of tho peoplo in Par is too well not to know that their first movements iu times of revolution are usually generous, and that they are best pleased to spend the days immediately followiug their triumph iu boasting of their victory, laying down the law and playing at being great men. During that time it generally happens that some government or other is set up, tho police returns to its post and the judge to his bench, and when at last our great men consent to step down to the better known and more vulgar ground of pet ty and malicious hnman passions they are no longer able to do so and aro re duced to live simply like honest men. Besides, wo have spent so many years in insurrections that there have arisen among ua a kind of morality peculiar to times of disorder and a special code for days of rebellion. According to these exceptional laws, murder is tolerated and havoo permitted, but theft is stren uously forbidden, although this, what ever one may say, does not prevent a good deal of robbery from occurring up on those days for the simple roason that society in a state of rebellion cannot be different from that at any other time, and it will always contain a number of rascals who, as far as they are concern ed, scorn the morality of the main body and despise its point of honor when they are unobserved. Recollections" of Do Tocquoville. How Ilees Gather Honey. Bees gather honey by tho aid of their "trunk," "lower lip" or "tongue," which is used as an instrument for ex tracting thej nectar from flowers. The "tongue" of a bee is not, lis was onco thought to bo tho case, tube through which tho juico is sucked, but is built moro after tho fashion of a fine broom. With this broom tho beo brushes or laps tho honey or honey material from tho v flowers, leaves, etc., and passes it down a groove in tho upper suifaco of tho tonguo to tho mouth proper. From that point tho juice is conveyed through a minuto orilieo into tho "first stomach," vulgarly called the "honey bag." The "honey bag" is a real chemical labora tory, whero, by some mysterious process whinh has not vet been explained by science, the juices are converted into pure honey. When the chemical process of transforming their nectar into viscid honey has been completed, tho bee dis gorges it into one of the cells made for the purpose of a receptacle. For years the microscopists and the entomologists have been studying the bee's laboratory, but its workings are at present among the unexplained mys teries. St. Louis Republic. Cities Botled by Band Storms. Sven Hediu, tho Norwegian traveler, has discovered on the north side of the Kuen Lun mountains, and in the edge of tho great desert of Gobi, the ruins of towns which he thinks were buried by sand storms about 1,000 years ago. The largest town was nearly 2& miles long, and a canal connected it and the sur rounding country with the Kerija river. The houses had walls of plaited reeds, covered with mad and then coated with whito plaster, aud on thoso plaster walls were well executed paintings of men, animals and flowers. Poplars, apricots and plum trees had evidently flourished there before the invasion of tho sand. San Francisco Chronicle Climbing. Selfish ambition may help us to climb to tho point where we may bo seen, but it never aids us in climbing to where we can see. Tho higher a man gets in tho world in pursuit of selfish aims the narrower his field of vision becomes. Tho higher ho gets in tho pursuit of un selfish aims tho further he can Bee around him. It matters little whether we climb in life if wo do not climb to ward a higher point of vision. Sunday School Times. Heliotrope The name cf tho heliotrope comes from two Greek words signifying twining toward tho sun." It has long been a belief thai tho flower of tho he liotrope turns, with tho advancing day, so as to face the sun. In somo f pecies of this plant this curious practice is noticed. ON CABINET MAKING. THE DIFFICULTIES PRESENTED TO A PRESIDENT ELECT. Why Mot Men Prefer the Senate to a Po sition In the Cabinet Tarts of the Coun try to lie Considered Observatioue uo Some Cabinets In the Pait. It is ever to bo regretted that th? founders of the republic did not in some way arrange that cabinet places should be more attractive to the class of men who can best fill them Every cabinet officer is in one sense one-eighth of tho presidency of the United States Tho executive uutir and responsibilities with which the chief magistrate is charged ar divided into eight parts, and for practical purposes the head of a department is president of the United States concerning that eighth of the country's interests The president's ap proval and c nait U more or less per functory, depending largely upen the llegreo of eonliucwe he comes to havo in his various official advisers In this light it i strange that a set of offiees so important and witli tho presidential succes-d.i falling to them should go a begging to the extent that is usual with cabinet places. IVw liicn nowadays will leave the senate, to enter a cabinet. Sen ator Allio:i ha- r.t least twice before been offered a pert folio and declined it. Secretary Pin ter left the cabinet of Harrison to Ucome a senator from Ver mont. N;ilh:-.:i (.1: ?' ( a Virginia is said to d ; -ire a eal it;; t position now, that ho may g-t ii:U Ihie for the senate to take the plan of Mr. Faulkner, who;o term will enho in two vears. 1 11 aerations i:ii:;ht bo multiplied in definitely to show that a place in tho senate i.s move coveted than one in tho cabinet. A senator, in going into a cab inet, must bury the individuality of his political uiuLiiio'i. As long as tho pres ident is n candidate for re-election his cabinet confidants must stand by him and with him, while no Such responsi bility is entailed upon his supporters at tho other end of tho avenue. If an ad ministration prove a failure, it carries down with it the reputation substantial ly of all who have been a part of it. Again, the duties of a cabinet officer aro arduous and continuous. Instead of an averago 6ix months in a year, ho must,, reside here constructively tho whole 12 and have constantly in mind tho work of a great business establish ment. Half of his first year is consumed in picking out his chief subordinates and in explaining to the 09 disappoint ed applicants for each position how it happened that their names were passed over. He must, moreover, maintain a social establishment of considerable dig nity and consequently of considerable expense. The relative undesirability of cabinet positions is only one, however, of the difficulties of a president elect in mak ing suitable selections for them. He must, of course, choose eight men who are not only congenial to him, but con-, genial to each other. They must be ca pable administrators as well as students of the affairs of their several depart ments. Geographical considerations, too, always constitute a troublesome factor. When Major McKinley started out on the task of cabinet building, he probably realized that one of the eight places must go to New England, anoth er to New York, one to the new tier of Republican states on the southern bor der, one to tho northwest and two to the Ohio valley and middle west region, and that perhaps tho Pacific coast should bo remembered, the middle. Atlantic states and also the extreme south. New England almost always has a cabinet position. Iu tho two Cleveland adminis trations Mr. Eudicott aud Mr. Olney, both of Massachusetts, havo teeu the New England representatives. Senator Proctor of Vermont was Harrison's man, and William E. Chandler of New Hampshire President Arthur's. The Garfield cabinet, which was in existence so short a time, had no New England member. Mr. Hayes selected General Devens of Massachusetts. In the Grant cabinets, where changes were pretty frequent, New England was represented by Boutwell and Richardson of Massa chusetts and Morrill of Maine in the treasury. Marshall Jewell of Couuecti cut was postmaster general, and E R. Hoar of Massachusetts served a9 attor ney general. New York, which has not far from one-eighth of the population of. the Union and a proportion larger than that in tho matter of distinguished men. gets a placo in every cabinet with a like regularity. Mr. Cleveland, in tho con struction of each of his cabinets, has selected two New Yorkers, Mauuiug aud Whitney sitting iu the first one and Lamont and Bissell in the second. On tho death of Mr. Manning, Mr. Fair child, alsd of New York, succeeded. Secretary Tracy was President Harri son's New York appointment to the na vy portfolio. Judgo Folgcr was Presi dent Arthur's secretary of the treasury, and Thomas L. James was postmaster general under President Garfield. Wil liam M. Evarts was secretary of 6tato under Hayes. Under Grant, Hamilton Fish held tho same office, and Edwards Pierrepont was for a time attorney gen eral. If Major McKinley's experienco is like that of other presidents, ho will flnrl tbn tank of cabinet making so great that tho real make up is likely to bo squeezed into the last few weeks beroro inauguration. Four years ago tho first (selection made was that of Mr. Carlisle for the treasury portfolio. This was practically decided as 6oou as Mr. Cleve rlorted. During his first ad ministration Mr. Carlisle had been speaker of tho house, and his relations with tho president had been most cor ioi mid brlnfnl. When Mr. Cleveland was abont to enter upo tho duties of tho presidency a second time, Mr. L,ar lisle was in tho Fount o from Kentucky Tn, wuintnro of that state was Dem oeratic, and everything seemoa npo ior bj appointment to the cabinet. lHo soouer had' Mr. Carlislo's own part been selected and agreed upon than ho joined Mr. Cleveland in studying the general cabinet situation as it applied to tho seven other places. From the first it was known that Mr. Cleveland would require the services of Mr. La mout, his former private secretary, in some post near to him, and considera tion of the question did not go far be fore the secretaryship of war was de cided upon as the right one. For Mr. Bissell, Mr. Cleveland's for mer law partner in Buffalo, there was at first some doubt as between a cabinet place and one of the first class foreign missions. Hoke Smith was selected rath er early in the list as a representative of the new south. The remaining four appointments were made pretty near the time of inauguration. The itate portfolio had beeu offered to several eminent Democrats before Mr Cleve land settled upon Judge Gresham, and John E. Russell of Massachusetts had been strougly urged to take a scat in the council room before Mr. Herbert or Mr. Olney hud been invited Mr Olney. when determined upon as tho New Eng land member, was offered either the at torney generalship or the navy portfo lio, and his selection of the former left the secretaryship of the navy to Mr Herbert, who throughout had been strongly urged for the position cn ac count of his long service on the naval affairs committee ar.d his consistent advocacy of sound money. Mr. Mortou. as secretary of agriculture, wa- among the latest selection. Mr Cleveland had never regarded the pot as cf mudi con sequence and had no idea ln;w impor tant the personal traits of the new in cumbent would make it It is doubtful whether iu recent. his tory there has been a cabinet compara ble, nil things considered, with that of President Hayes. Coming tn the presi dency alter month of agitation over the result of the election and with his title clouded by the questionable onsti- tutionalitv of the means adopted to set tle it, Mr. Hayes invited to his council board a body of men who stamped his administration with strength and dig nity from tho start. When Garfield was running for president in 18S0, tho great est contribution to his success as the Re publican candidato were the members of tho cabinet of his predecessor and what they had dono to quiet tho tumult resulting from the disputed election of 1876. The peculiarity of Mr. Cleveland's cabinets has been the drafting in of men almost wholly from private life. In the present cabinet, as originally formed, Carlisle and Herbert were the only members who had been honored with any considerable elective office. Mr. Gresham hai received judicial ap pointments and had held two cabinet positions, but had never been elected to any office of prominence. The remain ing five members were comparatively untried men in a publio way, although all were men of very successful experi enco in business or professional life. While Mr. Cleveland has generally been fortunate in his selections, it may be set down as a rule that legislative expe rience is worth something, and that a president who selects a large body of his counselors from thoso who have had none of this experience runs risks of considerable magnitude. New x ork Evening Post. AN INDIAN VILLAGE. Fonnd In New Jersey Kuppoed to Have Been Deserted For a Century. An Indian village has been discover ed by Constable George W. Sneft of Egg Harbor City. N. J. This was midway between Pomona and McKeo City. Sneft was fox hunting with a party of friends and passed through the dense forests, when suddenly one of their number spied an opening in the thickest of the brush They investigated it nnd found that it was an old Indian hut. still in good condition, as it was made of hickory wood. A further search revealed four other huts, and arouud them were found many arrowheads, darts, tomahawks and a quantity of flint. One of the torn ahawks had a covering of some animal skin and a sharp arrowhead fastened to an end This spot covered but an area of about 200 feet and is so thickly surrounded by brush that it is safe to say it was not trod upon for nearly century, although it is only 200 yardi from a well traveled road. A Parlor Ornament. Something which demonstrated that the human hair grows after death wai discovered recently in Colesville. N Y There lives in that town a family named Howe, well to do farmers. They had a daughter, Jessie, 19 years old She had beautiful golden hair. When she wa strioken with a fever, it was necessary to cut off her locks. Finally she died and was buried. After two years the parents decided to remove the remain to another spot. The grave wa opeued It was found that her hair had grown to reach nearly to her feet. It wa a bright and glossy as though its wearer was in the best of health. The tresses were cut off They measured over five feet. They were put into a glass case in Mrs. Howe's homo, where they are now shown to visitors. New York Press. An Iuumence Organ. Tho new organ of the Church of St. Ignatius, San Francisco, weighs more than 100,000 pounds and has more than 6,000 p'pes The Scapegoat. Whon the weather i not to hit liking And he'i taken a terrible cold Through imprudence audacious and striking, 11 fli that he' licensed to Mold. In manners as fierce as a Viking He forpets how the mischief was done, And Ms rage will resound In remarks most profound On ths way that the government's run If too freely the sun sheds caloric. Or If f roHtward the climate should stray J If the Jests seem too flatly historic When he's seeking for mirth at the play; If he's purchased a book sophomono Or encountered a harrowing run. Tils wrath he'll display In the things that he'll say On the way thai the government s run. -Washington Star. ONE OF NELSON'S CAPTAINS. a. Mew Yorker Commanded a IlrltUh Ship In the Uattle of the Mile. The fifth ship was the Theseus, Cap tain Ralph Willett Miller. This gentle man, whom after his premature death Nelson styled "the only truly virtuous man I ever knew, " was by birth a New Yorker, whose family had been loyalists during the American Revolution. A let ter from him to his wife gives an ac count of the fight which is at onco among the most vivid and from the professional standpoint the most satis factory of those which have been trans mitted to us. Of the Theseus' entrance into the battle he says: "In running along the enemy's line in the wake of tho Zealous and Goliath, I observed their shot sweep just over us. And knowing well that at such a mo ment Frenchmen would not have cool ness enough to change their elevation, I closed them suddenly, and, running under the arch of their shot, reserved my fire, every gun being loaded with two and some with threo round shot, until I had the Guerrier's masts in a line and her jibboom about six feet clear of our rigging. Wo then opened with such effect that a second breath could not be drawn before her main and miz- teu masts were also gone. This was pre cisely at sunset, or 44 minutes past G. Then passing between her and the Zeal ous and us close as powsiblo round the off side cf the Goliath, wo anchored by the stern exactly in a line with her and abreast tho t-'partiate. Wo had net been many minutes in action with the Spar tiate when v.o tbsirved cue of our ships (and scon after kne w her to bo the Van guard, place hers If so diiectly opposite to us on the outside of her that I desist ed firing on her, that I might not do mischief toour friends, and directed ev ery gun before tho mainmast on tho Aquilon (touvth French) and all abaft it on the Coiiqnerant, giving up my proper bird to tho admiral." "Nelson Iu the Battb of tho Nile," by Captain Mahan, in Century. THE CRANE DANCE. Where the Soubrettes Got Their Idt-a For a Specialty. There is a dance called the crane dance, which is popular at tho vaude ville houses. At Lincoln park there is a real crano which does a crane dance, and those who have seen its saltatorial feats say the bird does it much better than do the featherless, two legged ani mals. No purely imitative dancing could fail to gain by being au exact copy of tho performance of the long necked, spindle legged sandhill crane. Its steps are not onlv Grotesque, but they are of a kind to make the gravest onlooker lose his dignity and laugh like a delighted bov at the circus. This Lincoln park bird at the outset of his dance is the personification of dignity. When in the davs of his freedom he tripped it on nis native sand hills for the sole benefit of his mate, be did so only in the spring time, but .now, in his lowly captive state, he dances in and out of season if the keeper who feeds him will but wave his arms and take an awkward step or two to cive him encouragement. The crane begins its dance by shoving one lone lee. with its claw attachment, straight out in front of his body. Then he lowers it and draws it back slowly until it is within an inch or two of the ground. Then there is a lightningliko double shuffle, and tho other leg is pointed to the front. Then the dance begins in earnest. The wings aro stretched and beat the air in perfect time to tho movement of the feet, be they going fast or slow. There is tho semblance of a clog; then tho 6inuous foot and body movement of tho nautch girl, aud iu a moment tho whirl of the dancing dervish, to be succeeded ns a finale by a sort of wild "all hands round," in which every . feather of tho bird is alive, as it enters into the joy of the dance with au utter abandon. Tho act of stopping is like the "halt" of tho German soldier -sudden, stiff and in stant. Then the crane marches away to a corner with a still stately tread, but with an eye which appears to reveal em barrassment. Chicago Times-Herald. English Administration of Jamaica. The English administration of Ja maica is a thing to be thankful for. There are law and order,, excellent roads, comfortable houses, adequate po lice, lawn tennis and cricket, plenty of manly, companionable English army and navy officers and a governor who is strong, able and genial. At the same time it would be folly to maintain that the island is producing a tenth part of the wealth that is latent In soil and atmosphere, or that most of the wealth that is beginning to make its ap pearance is due to anything so much as to the American enterprise and cap ital which are opening up railways and cultivating fruits. Another serious fact, though not necessarily an unwel come one, is that the island's 4,000 square miles contain a population of 600,000 persons, 25,000 of whom are white. Julian Hawthorne in Century. Toothful Interrogator. "Mother," said a thoughtful Boston child to his maternal relative. "What is it, Waldo?" "Is Philadelphia older than Boston, mother?" "Of course not, my son. The first set tlement was made iu Charlestown in 1630, while William Penn did not ar rive on the site of Philadelphia until C3 years later." "That was always my impression, mother, but how is it that Philadelphia is mentioned in the Bible, while Bosu;n is not?" Pittsburg Chronicle-Tele-graph. The red carnation is regarded in Spain as an emblem of despair. Tl ere is a tradition in Andalusia that the flower sprang from the blood of the Vir gin Mary. The distance between Capo Town, South Africa, and Washington is C,6M miles. Dig: Alligators. At the And of a chapter on alligators j in his book, "Hunting and Fishing iu. Florida," Mr. Charles B. Ory, curator of the department of ornithology in the Field Columbian museum, Chi "ago, gives an entry which he onco savria the register of the Brock House. In the old days, when transport itioi ' was more difficult than it is at present.. the Brock House was about the end aT civilization and was a 24 hours' trip by boat from Jacksonville. It was at that; time a great resort for sportsmen, who- I were attracted there by the fishing and! ' shooting to be had in the vicinity. The old register, which extended i back a great many years, contained some queer records, some of them or doubtful veracity. Among others, soxue-- one had written: "March 19, 1872, killed a large alii- ; gator, tho largest seen here this year. The stomach contained a boot, a piece of pine wood, a fisherman's float and ( somo small fish." Immediately beneath this record was another, evidently added by some wagz , "March 24, killed a much bigger alli gator than the cue mentioned above. The stomach contained a gold watchv 110,000 in government bonds and a cord of wood." On tho next page, written in a neat . unobtrusive style, was inscribed the fol lowing : "Shot the biggest alligator ever- . known in l lurula. Iho stomach con tained the remains of a steam launch. a lot of old railway iron and a quantity of melted ice, proving that it existed. ( during tho glacial epoch. " Outside Deroratiou of French Houses. Ferdinand Maza?. in The Architec- ; tural Record, explains eculpturo r.s ap plied to Paris houses. "Iwenty ycar ti r r i . I. ,.l namentatiou of French houses was, ior , general of a very sober character. To day decoration is very much in fasbior mill iirrhHna tint bIw.iyh discreet. M. Paul Heneux, having been in trusted with the erection of the new town hall at Les Lilas, a charming lit tle place near Paris, conceived tho idea. of treating all the sculpture of tbe building with lilacs. The capitals, tne ) balcony, tho friezes and the flower work: 1 placed above the dormer windows xep resent nothing but sprays, buuchetv leaves and petals of lilac. The bracket of the windows are also formed of flow ers of the same spring shrub. As to tho , baluster of the grand staircase, it repro ' sents a trellis with branches of lilacs climbing over it. Yet the architect haa avoided monotony and nas produced the most graceful variations upon thia single theme adopted by him. We will also mention a house designed by VL. Paul Heneux. In this case all the sealp ture has been inspired by the profession of the owner, who is a druggist. The fronts Is of the dormer windows of this house are ornamented with garlands of mallows and poppies. The frieze is com posed of renaissance motives, in the or namentation of which other inedcnrai plants figure. Finally, on the first story there is an escutcheon that recall the origin of the fortune of the owner, who is the disseminator of some kind of oint ment or elixir. A Welsh Rip. Every nation has a Kip Van Winkler of its own, but the Welsh story of Rip is unique. He is known as Taffy ap Sion. One morning Taffy heard a bird singing on a tree close by his path. Al lured by tho melody, he sat down until the musio ceased. Wheu ho arose, what, was his surprise at observing that the tree under which he had taken scat had now becomo dead and withered. In the doorway of his home, which, to hi; amazement, had also, suddenly growr older, ho asked of a strange old man for his parents, whum he had left there, aa he said, a few minutes before. Upou learning his name the old man saidz "Alas, Taffy, I havo often heard my grandfather, your father, speak of yotxu and it was said you were under the power of the fairies and would not be -released until the last sap of that syca more had dried up. Embrace me, my dear uncle for you are my uncle em brace your nephew. " Welshmen do not always perceive the humor of this some what novel situation of a youth for Taffy was still merely a boy being : hailed as uncle by a gentleman perhaps 40 years his senior. Lippiucott'fL. A rhjslelan's Pigeons. The carrier pigeon has been put to ar new use by a doctor in Scotland who has a large and scattered practice. Saj the Loudon Globe: When he goes on long rounds, he car ries a number of pigeons with hi in. IC he finds that some of his patients re quire medicine at once, he writes oafc prescriptions, and by means of the pi geons forwards them to his surgery. Here ; an assistant gets the messages, prepare the prescriptions and dispatcher tbe medicine. If, after visiting a patient, the doctor thinks he will bo required later in tbor day, he simply leaves a pigeon, which is employed to summon him if necessary.. To this enterprising physician the keep ing of carrier pigeons means a saving of time, expense aud labor. Skeletons With Tails. A discovery of wonderful interest to the followers of the Darwinian theory of evolution was made not long sinoo near the little village of Sinaloa, Mexico, while worknieu were preparing the ground of a new coifce plantation. This wonderful ethnological find con sisted of hundreds of skeletons of what, some believed to be a prehistoric peo ple of a very low order of intelligence Each of tho skeletons is provided witla the bones of a long, thick caudal ap pendage, which in life turned up. )iks a squirrel's tail. St. Louis Republic, There are many families of tho tansy quito, ono entomoloHst saying that there are 53 kinds in thj United States. Ten dsys are required to mate tbe voyage between New York and Amsterdam.