.. .- .,VO L . L. 2.
VOL. X, LAKE PROVIDENCE, EAST CARROLL PARISH, LA., SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 1897. NO. 2.
WOMAN5 INrLUENCE
(CHAPTER XII-Continnee.
T.e next morning Margaret received
a note from the rectory ask:ng her to
come to Mrs. Ivens, who was very sick.
Waiting only f, r a hasty breakfast, and
obeying Brian's instructions to wtp
herself warnly, she departed on her
errand of inm rcy.
Through the peaceful quiet of the
Sabbath morning she made her way
over the well kept road, until she
reached the rectory, an unpretentious
little house, sitting ba k in an equally
unpretentious garden.
A narrow, beaten pathway led to the
mod st entrance, and on either side of
it were tiny lorders of dead flowers,
around whose lifeless stems the brown
leaves ('lung convu.sively.
Margaret's ring was answered by a
tired-looking maid servant, who led the
way into the poorly furnished little
parlor. While, she questioned the girl
as to her mistress' condition Margaret's
eyes tiaveled wistfully atout the room,
whose cheery homeliness not even the
'disillusionizing influence of poverty,
'could entirely dispel. Yet there was
something vague:y pathetic in the worn
chairs, the faded, alt ost threadbare,
carpet; the few inexpensive ornaments,
'and the numero:us makeshifts; little
pretensions to comfort and luxury,
which deft fingers had fashioned into
pretty deceptive devices, all presenting
the long and patient later, thoughtful
love, and tender self-denial, so often
wrought into the possessions of the
poor.
Up stairs in the front room sh foundI
the brave little woman who had seem
ed, s.) well only a few days before,
;stretchedl on a bed of weakness, the
busy [rain no longer worrying over the
'wants of a grow;n- family, the tireless
feet resting at last. Near the bed sat
Mr. Ivens, the rector of the most un
'popular church in S-. liHe was a man
of many talents and attainments, tut
unfortuaately for himself he htake'l the
self-confldence necessary to meet and
overcome the difficulties of life.
Margaret knew and understood a na
ture so similar to her fatlier's. She
discovered the wealth of learning and
nobility of soul hidden under an over
mastermng diffidence, and she admired
the qualities which others could not s. e.
Now as she saw him, bowed by th
shadow of a coming great sorrow, hold
ing the nerveless hand that had smooth
ed 6o many difficulties for him, yet
,whose cheerful aid could never more be
his, she felt her heart filled with a com
!passion no words c tuld express.
He was so engrossed with his grief
that he scarcely noticed her as she
quietly gilded to his ptace beside the
bed, but Mrs. Ivens had heard the al
meet no:seless footsteps and opened
'her eyes wearily.
"Ah, it is you, Margaret," she said
with a momentary flush of pleasure on
'her pale face.
Margaret hodded cheerily, and laid
her hand, with a soothing tenderness,
on the hot, throbbing head. "Does it
ache much?" she asked.
"No, Margajet, only a little. Will
you tell Mary~ get the children ready
for school? I should be up to do it my
self, but I am very tired."
'1 don't believe you ever admitted as
much before," was Margaret'3 rather
unsteady answer, "The children
won't go to school to-day. It is Sun
'day."
"Sunday, and I lying here! James, I
why didn't you tell me? We had so
much to do to-day."
Her eyes sought her husband's, but
he was looking rather wistfully at Mar
garet.
Margaret read the unspoken language
of that glance, and she found It very
diffclult to answer cheerfully.
"We are going to let you be lazy to
day, Ellen, so that formidable amount
'of work must wait for another Sunday.
II intend to assert my authority, and, to
begin, I'll sit here while Mr. Ivene eats
'some breakfast. Mary told me.to send
him down."
The gentleman took this hint, and, as
obedient as a ch:ld, left the room. He
knew that Ellen was safe and happy In
'Margaret's hands, and already he felt
better for her cheerful, helpful pres
ence.
I Half-way down the stairs he was met
by a preternaturally grave child of 8
years, whose wistful eyes gazed sadly
into his. Evidently she had been wait- 1
ing for him, for without a word sle
stole quietly to his side and allowed her
hand to glide with reassuring sympathy
into his.
In this silent way they reached the
dining-room, where Mary had breakfast (
on the table, and three tots aged, re
spectively, six, four, and two seated in
their high-chairs, waiting for papa.
SLittle wonder that Margaret's mind
should be filled with pa'nful thoughts
of these tables, as she sat by
itheir mother's beds:de, or that her eyes
became so misty when Ellen expressed
such gratitude for her attentions.
"If you only knew how glad it makes
me t do even a little for you," she said,
with a struggle to speak calmly. "You
see, it is so seldom I can be useful that
I am particularly proud now. If I had c
been poor, I believe I should have taken
up nursing as a profession."
"Yes, but you need not do it now,
Margaret. You don't know what it is
tobepoor. It is h'ard forhim and the E
children."
The voice was full of pain. I
"'I have knows," Margaret answered. E
'I have known the pain and cruelty of
it. The saales of life are so unevn. I t
have ne more right to comdert ad luz- I
lry than you hate, ind yet~ But I!
did not come here to talk on suclld4a- t
ful iib eets; Iwant to see you br;ght
and cheerful." "*
"It is hard to be bright and cheerful, s
Msrgaret. Lylag here with nothing to
do, o many thoughts come to me. rm
airad I hate given up so often when I s
should ve helped e ad encouraged
ramesa Now it I' so near Christmas
h, lpless. You must help me to get
we!l, Margaret. Help me to get strong.
Why do you turn your eyes away? Is it
becau-eý- Ah! Is it because you
think I shall never be wellagain? Some
times I have thought so too, and I have
Ibrayed that it may not be so, fo: James'
sake and my babies."
The weak voice broke, and Margaret,
incapable of a word, could only press
the hot hand between her own cool ones
whi:e her eyes burned with the tears
she found so hard to withhold.
She was very glad when the rector
came in a few moments later and she
could leave the room to overcome her
emotion and write the following note to
Brian:
"d DEAR BRIAN-Po not expect me
home to dinner. Mrs. Ivens is very ill.
Will you ~ome here this afternoon? I
am anxious to see you."
Finding a boy, Margaret directed him
to leave the note at Elmwood.
(HAPTER XIII.
BRIANs CIIRITiAS cGIT.
S When Brian came to the rectory that
0 afternoon Margaret asked him to go up
s1and see Mrs. Ivens.
"I wish your candid opinion," she
said. "I think she is very ill, for Ellen
e is not the one to give up until forced to
do so."
From his brief visit Brian came down
with a serious face. Margaret was
statnding in the lower hall, and one
glance made her heart sink heavily.
"The case is holeless," he said, in
answer to the question she was trying
to frame. "I am so orry for you."
"Rather be sorry for them," she re
joined, trying to shut out the sympa
i thetic face, which made it more difficult
for her to be calm. "Who will tell him?
I Do you suppose he can ever be recon
cile I to her loss?"
"I don't know," interposed Brian, for
want of a better answer. "I suppose
we niMst all be reconciled to whatever
COnlies to us."
"Ah! don't. It is cruel to talk of
being reconciled. I'd never be recon
c('led. Never!"
With these abrupt words, she started
to move away, but her tears blinded her,
anti sile would have falhkn had not
1 rian, u ck to detect her weakness,
caught her in his arms.
"This will not do, Margaret," he sa d,
withi some authority. "I think you had
tbetter go home with me. You will make
yourself ill."
"\What nonsense, Brian! Ill from
watching a few hours with a sck
friend? I wouldn't be lit to live if that
were the cas'.. hle s is not physical
weakn ess."
"Aren't there others to -lo for Mrs.
Ivens?" he asked, wi.h some warmth.
"1Why should it all fall on your shoul
den s?"
"All fall on my shoulders? Oh, Brian,
Shw you do exasperate me! Of course
there are others. Plenty of them.
Everylo ly loves her, Lut for some rea
s n she likes to have me with her. And
with her I intend to stay."
"Then stay you may," he answered,
meeting her defiant eye. "I sba'n't
carry you away by Lodily force, thougth
I don't think you should have your own
way in every case. I have and request
to make. Perhaps you will condesceld
to respect it. Don't kill yourself." 1
"I am not one of the killing kind," re
joined Margaret,goingup-stairs. "Good
by for the present. You may call to
morrow, if you will."
Brian did call to-morrow, and this
second visit only confirmed the opinion
expr-ssed in his first. ,Mrs. Iroens was
dying-from no special'disease, but from
a gradual giving away of the vital
forces. A life of care and anxlety, Vex
ations and privations, and wearying
struggles to make both ends meet, had
told at last on the delicate constitution.
Many who fall by the wayside are not
less brave than those who reach the t
martyr's stake, and, if the truestrheroes
are those who bear life's burdens un
complainingly, Mrs. Ivens night justly
wear the crown of terolsm.
Margaret was faithful to her trust. h
Others came and went, Lut she remained
I y the s:ck bed. Brian exhausted his
e treaties in vain, and even Christmas
Eve could not tempt her to leave her c
friend. d
"You tell me her hours are numbered. tl
Let me stay until the end. It cannot be E
very long now."
And Brian said no more.
Mrs. Ivens' hours were, indeed, num
bered. The flame of life burnt fainter
and fainter, and when the night of B
Christmas Eve passed into the dawn of
Christmas Day, the angels of life and
death crossed in their pathway, and the
tired soul found the land of perpetual
rest-the joys of an eternal morning.
The inoidents of those closing moments
wero indelibly photographed on Mar
garet's mind. ti
She had to be brave and strong for ti
the sake of those so sadly bertaved.
Mary had sobbed and the rector had t
bo Ted his head in anguishe d grief, but
she lad shed no tear. 'he had brought
the colemn, awe-struck children to their i
mother's side; she had seen the kiss or ol
infinite tenderness pressed upon each E
sad little face; her heart had echoed Sc
Elsie's cry of anguish when for the last di
time that little head was pillowed on a
dlying mother's breast; yet her eyes had h
been hard and dry, though the painful
tightening at her throat had made her di
fromise to be a fr:end to these mother
ss little ones, so hard to speak. And
even now the tears would not come,
though she had thought and thought
until her mind was weary.
The sunshine lay all about her, the k
bright, glad sunshine of Christmas; on
the floor, where the carpet looked so
faded and worn; on the very spot that c
Ellen's fingers had mended so often aand
so patiently in their old busy days; on the S
old chintz sofa, where she was lying hi
now-so carelessly, so thoughtlessly- - .
while the heart whose tender, unselfish in
love had.made this house a home, in all yc
that gives that word its highest, holiest t
meaning, was forever stilled in its last s
bleep, and the tired, patient hanks lay
foldeda a the calm nest to be broken
never *ain. r
A seopd in the hall! She started up t
t-o iste. The long period ot watching tk
;ad.Jdade her nervous and sensitive,
and t house had been so still. Even
te beP voices were awed to silence.
' Thheavy footsteps jarred sharply oan. ol
her ears. They were not Mary's and til
neotthereetor'n. They were Brian's.
He enterd the little room where she ,
was trying ,reet, and wIllh his sympa" -
ibthy eeected on hsle fae, oame to her
=~ ~~~m. he sa~y;I ,L:~r id es.tkvrk S
r rrrr C
you home now. It is Christmas, you
know, and I-"
"Christmas!" she echoed, In a far
away voice. "Are you sure, Brian?
Christmas always brings happiness, I
thought, and there is no happiness here.
I am ready to go home, though. I be
lieve I have been waiting for you. I am
t so t'red, so very tired. I don't feel that
I can ever be rested again."
it Brian looked his concern. Such weak
u ness was unusual in Margaret.
"I am afraid you have done wrong,"
e he said, with some reproach. "You
a' should have taken my advice, Margaret;
but I suppose it is too lat: to scold now.
t, You need rest. That is evident."
s Margaret scarcely heard him. She
s rose rather unsteadily and started to
s leave the room, but with sudden remem
brance she turned back with the words:
r "I shall take the children to Elmwojd.
e Christmas here would be a mockery for
r them."
o A shade of annoyance passed over his
face. "It would be useless to oppose
a you, even if I desired to do so," he re
turned. "Take them, of course, but do
I let Mrs. Davis care for them. I won't
have you worrying yourself into an ill
a ness. I believe in a certain amount of
sympathy, but too much is too much."
"I only want to go to bol and sleep
forever," was Margaret's answer. 'I
am so tired from being sorry."
"Then the sooner you go home the
better. I have the carriage, and if you
are ready--"
t "In a second, lFrian. I will not keep
you waiting long."
) Th's time of waiting was spent by
Margaret in the darkened room, where
the rector sat by all that remained to
him of a beloved wife.
She approached the still form and
pressed a long kiss on the pale brow.
She felt the rector's burning eyes upon
her and she hoard the hoarse words with
which he turnedl to her:
"How am I to li-o my life alone?"
She longed for the power to comfort
him, yet all the sympathy she could ex
press seemed to hold the mockery of
easy consolation.
"There are the children," she said in
a low voice. "Four loving little hearts
to make your life less lonely. And there
is (;d. He sends the cioss, and He
sends the streneth to bear it. We see
so dimly. What seems so hard to us is
often a kindness from our Father's
hands. We must linger here in suffer
ing and tribulat!on, but for her th '
crown has come before the cr:ss had
grown too heavy. Father, teach our
hearts to say ' Thy will be done.' "
Leaving the echo of her prayer be
hind her, Margaret joined Brian, with
the four grave-faced ohildren. upon
whose childish minds the intangible
shadow and silence had made such a sol
emn impression.
She found it hard to meet the pathetic
inquiry of those baby eye3, and she was
quite relieved when she could give her
new charges into the kindly care of the
surprised Mrs. Davis. After this, she I
went'to bed and slept for the remainder
of the day, and when dinner time ar- _
rived her inclinations were so decidedly
against rising that she could scarcely
force herself to dress and io'n Brian.
"He'lt find me rather doleful at best,"
she remarked to the heavy eyes and *
pale, tired face which looked at her from C
the mirror. 'I suppose I must try to be I
cheer-ul." t
But her short talk with Elsie, just be- c
fore dinner, did not tend to brighten her f
spirts.
The child had spoken so earnestly of
the Fpeat care her mother's death had
left upon her, and expressed such a pa
thetic wish to grow bigger so that she t
could help papa more, that Margaret e
found it hard to answer calmly with b
those earnest eyes upon her.
"You may be little, ElsIe, yet you can t,
help papa even now. These little feet
can be tireless in his service, this dear C
face may always wear a smllifor him,
and this tethler little heart may love ft
and comfort him in every trouble." tl
"Litt'e people, and big people, too, p
can only do their best. " b
"Poor little tot," commented Brian,
when Margaret repeated this conversa- 1
tion kgter dinner. "Let us not think of
them any more to-night, Margaret. Let g
us try to' be happy. I am so sorry our
Christmas has been cloudels 1. I got you, t
this little remembrance, and E really h
have not had a chance to give it to' you." I
"Onj a remembrance?" she asked, tl
taking the exquisite little .jeweled pin tl
from his hand. "This is fit for a prin- re
cess. How it flashes in the light. It
dazzles me. I-I don't know how to a
thank you, and I have nothing for you,
Brian. a
['o · coxTINUEDI i.
The. oseta Stone.
The "Rosetta Stone," a famous Pi
Egyptian curiosity now in the British 1
Museum, was discovered in the year n
1799 by M. Boussard, a French ex- m
plorer, near Rosetta, a seaport of I
Lower Egypt. It is of black basalt, t
about forty inches long by thirty
wide, with three engraved inscrip- a
tions upon Its surface. The rst of t
these is in Greek, the second is a
conglomeration of hieroglyphics and in
the third is enchorial writing, a sys
tem used by the Egyptiains in record- r
ing every-day matters. After years '
of laborious research the savants of a
Europe ascertained that the three in- th
scriptions were three versions of a
degree in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes an
by tlje priests of Egypt, because he o
had remitted their taxes. This won- st
derful relic dates back to about the so
year 200 B. C.-Philadelphia Press.
pl
A Mixed Brood. an
A resident of Friendship, Ga.. ha
owns a turkey hen that not only da
keeps his family well supplied with co
young turkeys, but sometimes sur- gli
prises the family by the presentation ax
,of a mixed brood. On the last occa-' on
sion, after setting on twelve eggs for
her usual- term of incubation, she mm
was found the other morning hover- tic
ing over ten young turkeys and one the
young opossum, it having required be
two turkey eggs to produce one 'pos- ol
sum. The young 'possum in question do
wps about the size of a half-grown tez
rat, and was nestling' under the on
turkey ai contentedly as any one of lox
the legitimate brood. fu
e Clns Coppr. bi
To get the tin, solder and dirt off
old.copper bottoms, so as to make f
them clean, cleanse first In a boiling
solution of three part caustic soda,
one part niter and ive parts water,
and i hen in dilute saaphurlc acid; or
dip mnitdentarily In warm nitric aId,
-pectdt ravlty.1 2, and wash 1"
In.Uat bll~fyC Ia ri.a~ W.s o I
you "COFFEE PEA."
far
ian A RICH PLANT UNDER CULTIVA
ere. TION IN COJORADO..
be
am It Flourishes in Arid Wastes,. Fat
tens Cattle, Makes a Delicious
ak- Drink and May Have a
Great Future.
You
ret; HAT Colorado may eventually
ow. become the source of a coffee
supply for the country is not
She as wild a proposition as it
Ito may seem at first blush, says a Denver
- letter in the Chicago Times-Herald.
ds: Through a series of experiments at
for the State Agricultural Collegp a wild
pea has been so tamed that it gives a
his very good substitute for the Brazil
oso bean.
re- It is known as the Idaho coffee pea,
n't owing to its having been found in'that
ill- State growing in rank profusion. Col
of orado is the first State to make a
specialty of the introduction of the
ep pea for fodder for animals and food
I for man. It is equally palatable for
both and possesses such remarkable
he qualities that it would not be sur
ou prising if it obtained a regular stand
ep ing in the economy of life.
For the past two or three years the
by pea has been growing in favor among
re the farmers of the Cache la Poudre
to Valley, in which the college is located,
and the present season will witness
nd the production of large quantities of
' it for stock food, for which purpose
it is probably not excelled by any
crop grown in this latitui e.
The plant is anative of Idaho, where
rt it grows wild, its fruit being used
x- mainly as a substitute for coffee, an
of infusion of the leaves having been used
for generations by the Shoshones be.
fore they ever had any knowledge of
re the imported article. Settlers who
e invaded the West in the '6)'s gave the
ee plant the name of the "coffee pes,"
is for want of a Letter expression.
rs Scientifically it is the cicer areitihum,
r- and is said to grow wild in some parts
h of Europe.
The first known of it in Colorado
was in the spring of 1893, when
e- CharlesE. Pennock of Bellevue, Lari
th mer County, received a few of the
rn seeds from Wood River, Idaho. These
le were planted, and Mr. Pennock was so
1- pleased with the results that he con
tinued experimenting with the plant,
as giving year by year a little larger area
er to its cultivation until he had acoamu
he lated seed enough to supply several of
ec his neighbors with what they needed
er for experimental purposes and also to
r- meet the calls for it from other see
ly tions of the country.
ly This was in the spring of 1836. As
a result of this distribution of seed,
,d several acres were planted in the valley
rn of the Cache la Poudre last year to the
eo Idaho coffee pea. Success attended
these experiments and the value of the
- crop has been clearly established. One
ir farmer, John G. Lindemier, raised 250
o bughels last year and sold nearly the
td entire crop at good prices.
k. Those who have fed it to stock say
e that its fattening properties have no
at equal It has been found to take one
.h half less of it than corn to fatten an
animal. As food for milch cows the
n tests have proved satisfactory, the
t cows giving one-third more milk than
, when fed on bran, and butter made
fe rom the milk in winter is as yellow as
that made in June. The ration is pre
, pared by soaking the peas until they
become soft, by cooking them, or
grinding and feeding the meal. The
latter method is preferable because it
gt gives the best results. Stock prefer it
r in that way to any grain, and do bet
ter. The average ration for a working
y horse is three quarts a day. It puts
horses into excellent condition, gives
I, them sleek, glossy coats and keeps
n them in good health. About the same
ration per day is sufficient for milch
cows or fattening stock. Hogs require
from one to three pints of the meal to
a feed, according to the size of the
animal.
The plant is easily uonltivated and is
a prolific. A single stalk produices from
S1000 to 1400 pods. In 1895 Mr. Pen
Snook thrashed sixty-eight bushels,
Smachine measure, Irom the qop of
SIdaho coffee peas grown on less than
three-quarters of an acre of ground,
and considers 1000 bushels to the acre
an ordinary yield under proper cul
f ture, the soil and climate conditions
a beingfavorable. Itthrives bestplanted
. in drills three feet apart. The plants
should stand fifteen inches apart in the
row, one seed in a place requiring
Snbout fifteen pounds of .seed to the
Sacre. It should be planted as soon an
the ground becomes warm in spring,
Sabout corn planting time, and hoed
and cultivated in the same manner as
corn. When the plants get a good
start they completely cover the ground, I
so that weeds have no chance to inter- a
fere with them. It is a low spreading e
plant, sometimes measuring four feet h
across, with short, stout stems, each n
having many branches with thick, a
Sdark green compound pinnote leaves, t
Scovered on the underside with hairy a
Sglands. The pods are formed at the p
Saxil of every leaf, and contain from a
one to three peas. b
The Idaho ooffee pea grows and c
Smatures without water, a characteris- tI
tic that farmers with dry knolls on n
Stheir farms will appreciate. It will b
Sbe seen from this statement that the h
coffee pea is an arid region plant. It c
does better on unirrigated land; bet- J
ter in a dry eli'mate than in a moist
one. This b'eing true, there need no
longer be any dry waste places on the
farm. They can be made to produce o
big orops of superior food for man and tl
Asthe pods are formed at the axil t
of the. leaves, the first formed soon re
ripen, so that there are ripe andreen tl
pods an& alsojbloonms at the same time II
all througl, the seeson, and the plants tt
are in bloomat harvest time. The fe
I pods never eracki ad none of the fntuit ri
'I I wted by aellin oet sadt thberop
Jo ss bhe hlugvlnireqe 'm rtr as
autumn frosts do not stop the growtl
of the plant or injure the peas.
As a substitute for coffee it is riol
A- and nutritious, having a richer an(
better flavor than ordihary coffee. I
can be used freely by invalids ani
children, with known benefioial ef'
feets. It is nourishing, but has none
of the stimulating qualities of the
coffee of commerce. Many old coffee
drinkers prefer it to Java or Rio, and
cannot tell the difference. It ii
ly parched and ground like other coffee,
ee one-third less being use1, settled with
ot an egg,'and, with cream and sugar,
it makes a delicious drink.
er When the valuable properties of this
d. wonderful plant become known, and
at the farmers learn how to produce,
Id harvest and thrash it to the be3t advan
a tage, it bids fair to prove of greater
Ail benefit in the arid region, as there is
probably no other grain that possesses
a, so many valuable feeding qualities as
at the Idaho coffee pea. Mr. Sands, of
i1. Nebfaska, who experimented with the
a plant last yejr, writes enthusiastically :
ie "It will build "cities and railroads
,d when it becomes known."
)r
le Infancy and Childhood.
Every physician eneounters deplora
ble cases of children three and four
years old whose diet consists almost
e exclusively of meat, simply because
their perverted appetites demand that
'e article. In sUon extreme instances
1, the most severe measures are justi
9 fiable in order to resume the latural
and healthful method of feeding, to
e save the child's health, if not its very
y life. We should permit it to become
genuinely hungry by withholding all
e meat, or even all food, until it will
consent to recommence taking milk.
d We may aid the child to overcome
any temporary repugnance to milk by
making it as palatable as possible. It
may be aerated in a milk shake,
0 beaten in a cream-whipper, flavored
by oyster juice and renamed "oyster
soup," seasoned with any harmless
essence.
Variety is desirable, and even nec
essary, in the diet of all children; but
in seeking variety we should never
0 lose sight of the main principle-that
° milk should be the chief and frequent
article of diet, and meat, if not wholly
e excluded, admitted only as an occa
e sional and non-essential part in the
0 diet, of any child under six years of
age. Many children reach that age in
superb health and with fine physiall
a development without having known
the taste of meat. The little one will
1 naturally tire of milk if he is always
given plain milk, milk, milk, without
any change. But milk, with oatmeal,
milk with hominy, milk with cracked
wheat, with cracked corn, with rice,
with baked apples, seem in infantile
judgment quite different dishes.
There are also the various cream soups,
made up without butter or seasoning,
beyond the natural pinch of salt.
This we may vary with a number of
articles not taken with milk, but
served in a different course. -Harper's
Bazar.
Making Commercial Diamonds.
Chemists have recently and in ptb
lic made actual diarigads, comparable
in every respect, save one, that of size,
with nature's most valued product.
But the crystals so manufactured have,
while true diamonds, been so micro
scopic in proportions as to be of
no commercial value. Now, however,
United States Consul Germain at Zu
rich reports to the State Department
that a Mr. E. Moyatt claims to have
discovered a process by which dia
monds of larger dimensions may bi
produced. In principle his process is
similar to the one already used-that
is,to crystallize carbon out of iron and
steel by means of high pressure
and high temperature. Yet there is
an improvement in the teqbnical oper
ation. Pulverised coal, iron chips and
liquid carbonio acid asp enclosed in a
strong steel tube, hermeticallyasealed
and subject to an electric current be
tween two terminals in the ends of the
tube. Theiron liquefes, is saturated
by part of the palverized coal, and at
the same time the hiquid carbonic acid
evaporates, thereby creating enormous
pressure on the liquid iron and coal
This process considerably increases
the dissolution of the coal in the liquid
iron. While the mixture is cooling
the carbon crystallizee partly in the
form of real diamonds and partly in
the form of similar stones. Them
crystals are released from the ingot by
dissolving the iron in diluted muriatil
acid. The mixture by this method re
mains under high pressure during the
operation of the electric current.
New Orleans Picayune,
Mechanism of the Human Body
The human body is an epitome in
nature of all mechanics, all hydraulics,
all architecture, all machinery o .
every kind. There are more than thr'
hundred and ten mechanical moy
ments known to mechanics to-day, and
all of these are but modifications of
those found in the human body. Here
are found all the bars, levers, joints,
pulleys, pumps, pipes, wheels a:V?
axles, ball and socket movements, 1
beams, girders, trusses, buffers, arches,
columns, cables and supports known
to science. At every point man's beet I
mechanical work can be shown to be
but adaptations of proceEsses of the
human body, a revelation of firat pn-.
ciples usneed in nature.--Ladies' Home 1
Journal.
Awakened by Telephone.
The Johnstown (Penn.) telephone (
ofBcee has adopted the call system like j
that in vogue at leading hotels. The ]
subscriber who wishes to wake at a
certain hour calls up '"eentra'l," who
registers it. When the time. arrives
the operator rings np the subscriber.
If he turns over and fondly imagines
that it's an alarm clock, he is nioely
fooled, for the telephone bell will keep [
ringing until he stops it. .ana th
"oeant~ar' viU kow that he is awake
rth IOPULAR SCIENCE
ob As comets near the sun their velocity
ad always increases.
It Glowworms are much more brilliant
nd when a storm is coming than at other
ef- seasons,
no To aid in filing saw teeth straight a
he new fileholder has a frame with two
ee parallel guider, between which the file
ad is fastened to make it ran true.
o Under forced draught the new Brit
ish first-olass battleship Jupiterinade
an average of 18.4 knott in her four
hr, hour trial, nearly a knot more than
is the contract speed.
id Microscopical investigation is said to
a, prove that the pores of wood invite the
1. passage of moisture in the direction
,r of the timber's growth, but repel it in
is the opposite direction.
,s Newton calculated the velocity of
is the comet of 1860 to-be 880,000 miles
Af an hour. Brydenne rated the speed
te of the comet he saw in 1770 at two
r: and a half millions of miles an hour.
L3 A thermometer was left near a stove
in a sleeping room at Dusseldorf re
cently and the fumes from the mer
cary poisoned two children so that
their lives were saved with difficulty.
Sr So says the British Medical Journal.
Gt Gold or bismuth is extracted from
ie various mineral mixtures by melted
ºt lead in the process of two Swedish
ae metallurgists, Olm and Loftrand, and I
i. this method is claimed to be so effeo
61 tive that even very poor ores are made I
o to yield a profit.
y Percival Lowell in an interesting
e paper on "Venus in the Light of Re
II cent Discoveries," phow how his ob
1I servations at Flagstaff, Arizona, have
led to the conclusion that the planet
e Venus always presents the'same side
y to the sun, and is, therefore, lifeless.
t Some iron tonics of the pharma
coposia are useless,others are harmful.
It has been suggested- that the iron
r should be obtained in an assimilable
is form from Vegetables, and the idea a
has now been extended by a French i
chemist, M. Gabriel Vianud, who pro- a
t poses to feed the vegetables with iron
r to prepare them specially for vegetables i
t having any required proportion of
t iros, I
Y The red clover, when introduced in
to Australia, grew most luxuriantly, C
and flowered, but produced no seed. C
The reason for this was the absence of
bumble bees-the bumble bee being
the one that does the fertilizing, al-.
I most exclusively, in the red clover.
Bees were introduced, and the clover s
seeded in profusion consequently. a
Exactly the same was the case with the u
apple.
The Way to Sleep.
Where practicable the bed should
be placed on a line north and south, d
with the head toward the north. This
arrangement places the sleeper in e
harmony with the electrical currents
caused by the rotation of the earth on
its axis. Often a person in sickness t
and sometimes in health can obtain
much needed rest in no other way. '
Bedrooms should, where possible, have
a southern exposure, that is, hive the f
windows on the sJuth or the sunniest I
side of the house. The head to the
north will keep the lungs aul respira. i
tory organs away from any possible b
draughts, and the room will also ob- i.
tain that indispensible requisite to t
health-plenty of sunlight through the v
day. In many oses it will be impos- o
sible to obtain these conditions in
houses where there is very little sun
light that can onlei the bedrooms,and
where windows and doorways make it
impossible to place the head of the P
bed toward the north, but where there tl
is a choice of rooms those that offer P
these conditions for comfort and e
health should be chosen for the bed, A
rooirw in common use. S]
Better sleep can be obtained with a n
low than with a high pillow.' To lessen ri
the work of the arteries that propel Ii
the blood to every portion of thei
organism should be the aim of every n
one, so that the posture that most si
nearly places the body in a horizontsl ta
position is the most to be desired. a
Bolstering up the head is always to be te
condemned, whether in sicknes. pr in t
health, unless bodily isjuries render II
the perfeotly recumbent. position im-. ri
possible. el
It is not well to lie always on the
back; by this practice the spine and w
the neves that there congregate are
kept too hot, and a feverish sleep is It
apt to be the result. The right side U
is the best to recline on, for then the 1l
heart and the larger arteries are re. ra
'lieved from andue pressure. Occasion- gi
ally one rests well lyinxg on the b
stomseh. As a general rule eight
hours is ample for a person in health; e
more produces a dull, heavy feeling w
on arising; Ide, aunsatisfied craving ti
for more. And there is also no room w
,for doubt that the two hours im- sI
mnediately preceding the midnight ec
.hour are the most favorable for enjoy. w
ing the "beaapty sleep" of the night. o
A Remarkable tGag.
A remarkable story was told in a
Cleveand (Ohio) court by Nellie Gil
bert, The wife a prominent physician
of that city.. She esays that heF fa.
ther-in-law, who does not like her and
has tried to have his son divorce her,
filled her month with wet plaster of
paris and allowed the stuff to harden,
sothat she could not tSk. A hu r
had to be used to break thaphlastiar in '
her mouth beore it could be remorved.
She now sees her father-in.law for
$20,00 foe this assalt, sad for 80,- T
000 for endeavornl to limenate her
hbsband's arfteetionm-Detreit Free
& feume burglar, tweaty..se ters
of ige, recently ssat to i#tK 1e n
doe, was proved to have worke, her
ry-thruong h openigu e so ewe
quarter teues saq taizi' o a- s
*v*oqsnessieeaskar on
ae
Road Making in England.
The average width of country roads
y In Englasd is fifteen to thirty feet, ir
respective of foot walk. MacAdam,
nt the great pioneer in road-making,
er who lived in Scotland and England in
the early part of the century, said:
a "Roads near great towns'onght not to
ro be less than thirqy to forty feet wide
le but at a distance from such towns it
would be a waste of land to make them
so wide. A road should be as flat as
le possible, with regard to Allowing the
r. water to run off at all, because a car
n riage ought to stand upright in travel
uing, as much as possible. I have gen
~ rally made roads three inches higher
in .the centre than at the sides when
is they are eighteen feet wide. If the
n road be well made, the water will ran
off very easily in such a slope."
A report prepared by the chief en
)f gineering inspector of the board gov
N erning British highways contains the
d following: In adjusting the size of
'O drains to roads, one important consid
r. eration should always be borne in
re mind, and that is, that the velocity of
the water should not be so great as to
r" wear away the sides and bottom of the
it drain. The drain should be too large
rather than too small, and too wide
and shallow than too deep and nar
a row. In the use of broken stones for
d the formation of roads, MacAdam at
h taohed the greatest, importance to the
I size. He said that size of stone used
on a road must be in due proportion
e to the space occupied by a wheel of
ordinary dimensions on a smooth,
level surface. This point of contact
will be found to be longitudinally
about an inch, and every pleae of
stone put into a road which exceeded
t an inch in each of its dimensions is
mischievous. Since his time there
have been modifications of this idea.
-American Agrseulturist.
Advantages of Electrieity.
r While electricity is certain to effect
a very material saving in manufautur
i ing, it has other uses quite af import
ant. Where there is one factory, there
Smay be hundreds of dwellings, and
when the electric current can be intro
duced into these dwellings, its a4van
tages will be thanifold. As to Boon
omy, the Niagara Falls power haspro
duoed the most startling results. It
costs but $36 a year per horse power
for electricity used twenty-four hours
in the day. This is much less than the
cost of steam used ten hours a day.
There are hopes that even these fig
ures will be very materially reduced,
and that new appliances will show new
uses for electroicity, and that we will
not only have our hdases lighteq and
heated by this means, 1at it 1111 be
able to perform many- segioes auto
matically. One of the latest adapts.
tions of electricity is its usee in laun
dries. The irons are heated by elcp
tricity, and by proper regulation, a
current is used which is absolutely
uniform. All of the heat is utilised,
and every stroke of the iron tells, as
there is no waiting, qr' wondering, or
questioning if the iron is hot enough.
Another great advantage is that it does
not heat the room, as the radiation
from the iron is not perceptible. b
heated irons vitiate the atmosphere,
and the operators become weary and
lack vitality. Where natural gas has
heretofore been employed for heating
irons, it is now used to generate bleo
trioity, and the ohange is of great ad
vantage, both flnancially and in point
of health.-N2w York Ledger.
The lWasts of Ldue.
When at its zenith, the.oman Em- .
pire laid all the barbaric countries of,
the world under contribution to sup
ply the tables of its nobles and wealthy. .
citizens with the fine la xura oQ. life.
Asia and Africa poured iI the rich
spices and fruits of the tr l -Ger
many and the great north eies
raised the grains and wildlt es;
Italy and the fertile land at the
Franks cultrvated the rineyards to
make or express the wines; ery
strip of seacoast from the Mediter
tanean to the Baltic contributed its
quota of fish; and the forests of Brit
tany yielded the wild game of the
wood--birds, beasts and fowls-for
the banquets of the proad, dissolute
rulers of the vast Empire. With the
choice prodaucts of a great world' so
easily obtained, there were wanton
waste, foolish extravaganeeand strange
disregard of the valne of expensive
luxuries, and the historian dwelling
upon these times delights in reespitu
lating the various articles of diet ar
ranged in tempting manner upon the
groaning tables at the great feasts and
banquets.
But, exceptmg Nero's dish of pea
cock tongues and Cleopatra's cup of
wine with the dissolved pearls in it,
the menu of our modern banquets
would compare favorably with those
spread in the times when glattony, li
centiousness and greed fqr luxury
were insidiousnaly sapping the strength
of Bome.
FoIsealon by Ivy.
The poisoning by the poison rivy Is
well known. In reseat years a belief
has arisen that a nambir of plants
have the rame poisoning propensity as
the poisof ivy,tbough not in as marked
a degree. The strawberryhbeas been
charged with such bad manoners, as
also has the pretty Hibalaysa prim
rose of our gardens. Handlin of the
roots of the hyaeinth, and of the om
men coalla, qr Easter lily, has been
said to bring about the same trouble.
The matter ihas recentoly been taken
up by botanical :eheists in the Old
World, and been foead to have no
relatioemhip to thWuble that arses
from our pO te.These plants
at times have tae powe of forming
raphkideLof oaEeate of tIe, and it Is
these .n~tdielike ste~ e that pro
dae the itan s .--ew
Jmrk Independen "
-e crieasneption of ueato Indta
Oly brsseahs the modes amoMu# o
eatou..pi0 4 .auatr