Newspaper Page Text
For The Term of His Natural Life
By MARCUS CLARKB
CHAPTRH 11.
la th# breathless stillness of a tropical
afternoon, when the nir w hot nn<l
h«vi*y. and the sky btUM and cloud
lew. the shadow of the Malabor lay
solitary on the surface of the glittering
■ea.
The sun had just got low enough to
peep beneath an awning and awaken a
young man, in an undress military uni
form, who was doting on a coil of rope.
"Hang It!" said he, rising, with the
weary sigh of a man who has nothing
to do, "I must have been asleep;" ami
then, holding by a stay, he turned about
and looked down into the waist of the
■hip.
Save for the man at tha wheel ami
the guard at the quarter railing, he was
alone on the deck. On the forecastle,
some half-dozen soldiers were playing
at cards, or watching the fishing lines
hanging ovi>r the cat heads.
So far the appearance of the vessel
differed In iunvi.se from that of an ordi
nary transport. Bat in the wnlst n
curious sight presented itself. It was
ns though one had built a cattle pen
there. At the foot of the foremast,
and at the quarter deck, a strong liar
rlcade, loop-holed ami furnished with
doors for ißgrosw and egress, ran across
the deck from bulwark to bulwark. Out
aide this cattle pen an armed sentry
•tood ob guard; Inside, standing, sitting
or walking monotonously, within range
of the shining barrels in the arm-chest,
were mmc sixty men and boys, dressed
In uniform gr:iy. The nii>n and buys
■were prisoner* and the cattle pen wai
their exercise ground. Their prison was
down the main hatchway, ami the li;ir
ricad*, aentioaad down, made its side-
Mall*.
It was the fag-end of the two hours'
exercise, graciously permitted each af
ternoon, and the prisoners were, enjoy
ing themselves. It was not, perhaps, so
pleasant nn under the awnings, but that
Sacred shade was only for such great
men as the captain and his officers, Sur-
P»on I'ine. Lieut. Maurice Frero and.
most Important personages of ah 'Jap
tain Vickers and his wife.
That tho convict iMnlng against the
bulwark! wotiid like to haT« been able
to got rid of his enemy, tlio sun. for a
moment, was probable enough. His com
panions, sitting ou tho combtnga of the
main hatch, or crouched In careless
fashion on tho shady tide of the barri
cade, were laughing and talking, with
merriment hideous to contemplate; but
lie, With cap pulled over his brows, ami
hands thrust into the pocket! of his
course gray garments, held aloof from
their dismal joviality.
Thf> low browed, coarse-featured ruf
fians grouped about the deck cast many
a leer of contempt at the solitary figure,
but their remarks were confined to ges
tures only. There am degrees in crime,
ami Etafna Dawee, the convicted felon,
who had but escaped the gallows to toil
for all his life in irons, was a man of
niark. He had been tried for the rob
bery and murder of Lord Bellasis. The
friendlws vagabond's lame story of find
ing ou the Heath a dying man would
not hare availed him but for the curi
ous fact sworn to by the landlord of the
Spaniards' Inn, that the murdered no
bleman had shaken his head when asked
if the prisoner was his assassin. The
•vagabond was acquitted of the murder,
but condemned to death for the rob
bery, and London, which took gome in
terest in the trial, considered him for
tunate when his sentence was commuted
to transportation for.life.
The youug man on the deck caught
sight of the tall figure leaning against
the bulwarks, and it gave him an excuse
to break the monotony of his employ
ment.
"Here, you!" he called out, "get out
of the gangway!"
Rufus Dawec was not in the gang
way—was, in fact, a good two feet from
It—but at the sound of Lieut Frede's
voive he started, and weut obediently
toward the hatchway.
"I'll make some of you fellows smart.
if you don't have a care," went on tin
angry Frere. "Insolent blackguards!"
And then the noise of the sentry, on
the quarter deck below him. grounding
arms, turned the current of his thoughts.
A thin, tall, soldier-like man, with a
cold blue eye, and prim features, came
out of the. cuddy below, handing out a
fair-haired, affected, mincing lady of
middle age. Captain Viekers, of Mr.
Frere's Ngiment, ordered for service iti
Van Diemen's Land, was bringing kis
lady on deck to get an appetite for din
ner.
Mrs. Vickers was forty two. and had
been a garrison belle vfor eleven weary
year« before she married prim John
Vickers. The marriage was not ■ happy
one. Vickers found his wife extrava
gant, rain, and snappisu, and she found
him harsh, disenchanted, and common
place. A daughter, bora two years af
ter their marriage, was the only link
that bound the 111-assorted pair. Vlckera
Idolised little By It la, and upon the rec
ommendation of a long sea voyage for his
failing health, he Insisted upon bringing
the child with him. Mrs. Vickers fol
lowed her husband with the beat grace
she could muster. When fairly out to
sea she employed the intervals between
scolding her daughter and her maid, in
fascinating the boorish young lieutenant,
Maurice Frere.
Fascination was an Integral portion of
Julia Vii-kers' nature; admiration was
all she lived for; and even in a convict
■hip. with her husband at her elt.ow. H hc
tnuiit flirt, or perish of mental inani
tion. There was no harm in the
ture. She was simply a vain, middle
aged woman, and Frere took her atten
. f.ir what they were worth, linn
ning down the ladder, cap la hand, he
offered his assistance.
"Thank you, Mr. Krere. Theße hor
rible ladders. I really—tip. he!—quite
tremble at them. Hot! Yes, dear me.
most ©ppresaire. John, the camp stool.
Pray, Mr. Frereoh, thank you! Syl
via! Svlria! John, bate you my smell-
Ing nails? Still a calm, 1 sujtpcsei
Tli***l dreadful calm*!"
Vlckera, with a how to Frere, «aw hi«
wife' up the ladder, ami then turned
for Ms daughter. <*••• was a drfic;it©
looking child of six year* old, 11th Llu>-
eyes and bright hair. Little Miss Ryl
via was privileged to go anywhere and
do anything, and even convietism shut
its foul mouth In her presence. Run
ning to her father"s side, the child chat
tered with all the volubility of flattered
self-esteem. flhe ran hither and thither,
asked questions, invented answers,
laughed, sung, gamboled, peered into the
compaßs case, felt in the pockets of tlio
man at the helm, put her tiny hand
Into the big palm of the officer of the
watch, even ran down to the quarter
deck and pulled the cont tails of the
sentry on duty.
At last, tired of running about, she
took a little striped leather ball from
the bosom of her frock, and, eidling to
her father, threw It up to him. He
returned it, and shouting With laugh
ter, clapping her hands between each
throw, the child kept up the game.
In the midst of this mirth tlu< officer
of the watch, glancing round the f:ist
erimsoning horizon, paused abruptly,
and, shading his eyes with his hand,
looked out intently to the westward.
Frere, who found Mrs. Vlcker's conver
sation a little tiresome, and had been
glancing from time to time at the com
panion, as though in expectation of
sumo one appearing, noticed the action.
"What is it, Mr. Best?"
"I don't know exactly. It looks to me
like a cloud of smoke." And taking the
glass, he swept the horizon.
"Let me see," suid Frere, and he
looked also.
On the extreme horizon, just to the
left of the sinking nun, rested a tiny
black cloud. The gold and crimson,
splashed all about the sky, had over
flowed around it, and rendered a clear
view almost impossible.
"I can't quite make it out." says
Prere, handing back the telescope. "We
can pee as soon as tho sun goes down
a little."
By and by Captain Blunt appeared,
and taking the glass from his officer,
looked through it long ami carefully,
Then the mhnen top was appealed to,
and declared that he could see nothing;
anil at last the sun went Aowti with a
jerk, as though it had slipped through 11
slit in the sea, and the black spot, swal
lowed up in the gathering haze, was
seen no more.
As the sun sank, the relief guard came
up the after hatchway, and the relieved
guard prepared to superintend the de
scent of the convicts. At this moment
Sylvia missed her ball, which, taking
advantage of a sudden lurch of the ves
sel, hopped over the barricade, and roll
ed to the feet of Kufus Dnwes.
The bright spot of color rolling across
the white deck caught his eye; stoop
ing mechanically, he picked up the ball
and stepped forward to return it. The
door of the barricade was open, and the
sentry did not notice the prisoner puss
through it. In another Instant lie was
ou the sacred quarter deck.
Heated with the game, her checks
nglow. her eyes sparkling, her golden
hair afloat, Sylvia had turned to leap
after her plaything, but even vi she
turned, from under the sha<low of the
cuddy glided a round white arm; and v
shapely hand caught the child by the
Rash and drew her back. The next mo
ment the young man in gray had placed
the toy in her hand.
Maurice Frere. descending the lad
der, had not witnessed this little inci
dent; on reaching the deck, he saw only
the unexplained presence of the convict
uniform.
"Thank you," snid a voice, ns Rufus
Dawes stooped before the pouting Syl
via.
The. convict raised his eyes and saw
a young girl of eighteen or nineteen
years of age. Mil and well developed.
who, dressed in a loose-sleered robe of
some white material, was standing in
the doorway. She had blnck hair, coiled
around n narrow and flat head, n small
foot, white skin, well-shaped hands, and
large, brown eyes; and as she smiled at
him her scarlet lips showed her white,
even teeth.
He knew her nt once. She was Sarah
Purfoy, Mrs. Vicker's maid, but he nev
er had been so close to her before; and
it seemed to him that he was in the pres
ence of some strange tropical flower
which exhaled a heavy and Intoxicating
perfume.
Rufus Dawea was seized from behind
by his collar and flung with a si '<
upon the deck. Leaping to his feet, his
tirst impuNp was t( , rils i, , 1!l(1|l Mjs ' ag
sallant, but he saw the ready bayonet
of the sentry gleam, and he checked him
self with an effort, for his assailam was
Mr. Maurice Frere.
"What do you herer asked that gen
tleman. "Yon lazy, skulking bound
what brings you sere? If I C:UI -u you
putting ymir foot on the quarter deck
again I*ll give you a week In Ironi "
Bufus Dawea, pale with rage and
i. ortifleation, opened bis mouth to jus
tify himself, but he allowed the words to
die on his lips. What was the use?
"Go down below, and remember what
I've told you." cried Frere; and eonipre.
bending at one,, what had occurred he
made a mental minute of the name of the
defaulting sentry.
The convict, wiping tho 1,1 \ f ron)
his race, turned on his heel without a
word and went hack through the Itrong
oak door into his den. Frere leaned for
ward and took the girl's shapely hand
with an easy gesture, but she drew it
away, with a flush f !llir 1(1;u . k , yei
ion coward!" she said.
The stolid soldier eloee behind them
heard it and his eve twinkled. Frere
»t his thick lips with mortification as
he followed the gW mto t!u> j.
Sarah Purfoy, however, taking the as
toalshcd Sylvia h, ,»,, hand, glided
nermlstren' cabin with a scornful laugh
tad shut the door behind her.
CHAPTER 111.
Convictism baring been safely Bo t un
der b.teh«, and put to bed In Xt
eminent allowance of sixt een inot.^s of
space per man. m a little short by Mi.
Konc.es of shipboard, ,h.. cuddr iru
wont to p«M aomt not unpleasant even
log* Mr* \;,;. ( . rs , who wan poetical
and owned ■ K ,ntar. v U „,„„ £££*
and .an, to it Captain Blunt « as h
jovial, coarse fellow; Surge oa l'iu. had
a mania for story telling, while if Tick
era was sometime* dull, Frere was al
ways hearty. Moreover, the table was
well served, and the sultry evening
passed away with a rapidity of which
the wild beasts 'tween decks had no
conception. On this particular even
ing, however, the cuddy was dull. Din
ner fell fiat, and conversation languish
ed.
"No signs of a breeze, Mr. Best?"
asked Blunt, as the first officer came in
and took his seat.
"None, sir."
"These—he —awful calms." says
Mrs. Vickers. "A week, is It not. Cap
tain Blunt?"
"Thirteen days, mum," growled Blunt. I
"It is Infamous the way they crowd
these ships. Here we have over two !
hundred souls on board, and not boat
room for half of "em."
"Two hundred bouls! Surely not,"
says Victors, "By the regulations "
"One hundred and eighty convicts,
fifty soldiers, thirty in ship's crew, all
told, and—how many?—one. two, three
—seven In t lie cuddy. How many do
you make that?"
'"We arc just a little crowded this
time." says Best.
"It i* very wrong," says Vickers,
pompously, "very wrong. By the regu
lations "
But the subject of the regulation! was
even more distasteful to the cuddy thnn
Pine's Interminable anecdotes, and Mrs.
Vickers hastened to change the subject
"Are you not heartily tired of this
dreadful life, .Mr. Frere?"
"Well, It is not exactly the life I
had hoped to lead." said Frere, rub
bing a freckled hand over his stubborn
red hair; "but I must make the best
of it."
"Yes. indeed," said the lady, in that
subdued manner with which one com
ments upon v well-known incident, "it
must have been a jrreat shock to you to
be so suddenly deprived of so large a
fortune."
"Not only that, but to find that tho
black sheep who got it all sailed for
India within n week of my uncle's death!
Lady Devine Rot a letter from him on
the day of the funeral to say that he
had taken his passage in the Hydatpes
for Calcutta, and never meant to come
back again."
"Sir Richard Devine left no other
children'/"
"No; only this mysterious Dick, whom
I never saw. but who must have hated
me."
■'Hour, dear! These family quarrel!
■re dreadufl thinfis. Poor Lady Devine,
to Inse in one day a husband and a
son!"
"And the next morning to hoar (if the
murder of her cousin! Yon know that
we are connected with the Betlasla fam
ily. My aunt's father married a sister
Of the second Lord Bellasis."
"Indeed. That was a horrible mur
der. So you think that the dreadful man
you pointed out the other day did It?"
"The jury teemed to think not," said
Mr. Frere, with a laugh; "but I don't
know anybody else who could have, a
motive for it. However, I'll go on deck
end have a smoke."
"I wonder what induced that old
hunks of v shipbuilder to try and cut
off his only son in favor of a cub of
that sort," said Burgeon Tint' to Cap
tain Vlckers, us the broad ba.-k of Mr.
Maurice Frere disappeared up the com
panion.
"Some boyish follies abroad, 1 believe;
self-made men are always impatient of
extravagance. But it is hard upon
Frere. lie is not a bad sort of fellow,
for all his roughness; and when a young
man finds that an accident deprives him
of n quarter of a million of money and
leaves him without a sixpence beyond
his commission in a marching regiment
under orders for a convict settlement,
he has mime reason to rail again*; fate."
"How was it that the son came in
for the money, after all, then?"
"Why, it seems that when old Devina
returned from sending for his lawyer to
alter his will, he got a tit of apoplexy
—the result of his rage, I suppose—anil
when they opened his room door in the
morning they found him dead."
"And the son's away on the sen some
where." said Mr. Yiekers, "and knows
nothing of his good fortune. It is quite
a romance."
"I am Kind that Frere iliil not g''t
the money." said Tine, grimly sticking
to his prejudice; "I have seldom seen
a face I liked less, even among my yel
low jackets yonder."
"Oh, dear, Doctor Pine! How can
you?" Interrupted Mrs. Yickers. "John,
1 will go on deck."
At the signal, the party rose.
(To i.j continued.)
Convict's Invention.
Referring to the fact that the new
jail in Newburg, when completed, will
have an automatic arrangement for
locking and unlocking a series of cell
doom or a single one in any section, I
the Port Jervia Gazette says the idea
originated with Zoy Schoonover, a
criminal In this county, a noted char
acter in his day, and for many years
an inmate of Sing Sing prison.
Schoonover took kindly to prison dis
cipline and in time came to regard the
Institution as his home. He was what
is known in prison parlance as a
"trusty," anil was given considerable
liberty by authorities of the Institu
tion. He was sometimes oven sent on
errands outside of the prison. On one
Fucli occasion he remained away until
after the usual hour for closing and
was locked out by the turnkey and
unable to gain admission until morn
ing. As soon us the doors were open
he sought out the offending official and
berated him severely for his action.
Inside the prison walls Bcboouover*!
character and conduct were wholly
exemplary, but ho found It difficult to
conform to the regulations of civilized
society, and hence was never long at
liberty. lie possessed considerable in
ventive talent, and is said to have In-'
vented and perfected the original de
vice for automatic locking and unlock
ing of switches now employed in most
of the prisons and penitentiaries of
the United States.-- Walden (N. V.)
Citizen. .
A Truo Philosopher.
A dog lias attained the highest cmi
, nence ever reached by a philosopher
when he can forget his fleas.—Bonier
ville Journal.
JOHN BARRETT.
On* of the Remarkable Young Men
of the Halted States.
One of the remarkable young men
who are to have Important parts In
building Uncle Sam's great waterway
across the Isth
mus of Panama,
is John Barrett,
the United States
minister to Pan
ama. This is the
third time he has
served aa a Uni
ted States minis
ter.
Born in Graf
ton, Vt., Novem-
joun iiakhktt. ber 28, 1886, he
was the son of a country gentleman,
of good education, a college graduate,
but without the means to send the
son to college. But the boy went to
Dnrtmouth of his own accord and by
corresponding for newspapers, acting
as class monitor and milking cows for
farmers In the neighborhood he earned
the money to pay for hia tuition. lie
was always busy and when he left
college he had some money In hla
pocket. In 1889, with his diploma, he
went to California and taught in Oak
land Seminary, after which he went
to work as a newspaper writer. He
met the people who came across th«
Paciflc from the Orient and he began
studying tlio possibilities of trade for
our people with the eastern nations.
A syndicate sent him to the far east
to investigate and he wrote letters
which attracted wide attention. Re
turning, he was associate! with vari
ous newspapers and finally became
editor of the Portland (Ore.) Telegram,
In which he continued to carry on his
Oriental trade propaganda. The re
sult was that all the business men
of the coast asked President Cleveland
to appoint him minister to Siam. The
President sent for Barrett and asked
him what he knew about Slam.
"Why, that's the country the fam
ous twins came from," replied Barrett.
"Well, well," responded Mr. Cleve
land, "I'm glad to find someone who
knows something about the country
to which he Is going as minister."
Tlie appointment was made. Bar
ret was then but 27—the youngest
diplomat ever sent out by this gov
ernment. Barrett traveled through
Oriental countries, sending to the
; state department such information as
■Ir had never before received. He was
■■ In the Philippines before and after
Dewey's victory. In 18Pfl he returned
to this country, and performed gov
ernment service of varies kinds. He
traveled 50,000 miles in eastern lands
j in behalf of the Louisiana Purchase
I Exposition and a few years ago was
! made minister to Argentina.
A story Which illustrates Barrett's
j versatility is told. He was campaign-
I ing In New England for President
| Uoosevelt, dressed In Prince Albert
coat, immaculate shirt front find gray
striped trousers,*with n shining silk
tile as headgear. In urging the farm
j era he said, "I know what it is to
j work on a farm myself."
A country youth calle I this a bluff
and ventured to guess that'the speaker
never milked a cow. Barrett replied
j that he had not only milked a cow,
| but would bet $100, the money to go
i to a local charity, that he could milk
faster than the youth. Tlie wager
was accepted, a cow whs brought out
on tlie platform and there the contest
I took place. Barrett winning.
MARGARET ASTOR CHANLER.
\o,t York Society Woman Who t'ou
iliuls a. "Sanitary"' Miiiry.
Sanitary dairying has become a prac
tical hobby of Miss Margaret Astor
('hauler, of the famous New York
house of Astor. At Barrytown, N. V.,
she may be found three-fourths of the
year, roaming over her broad acres, di
recting the farm work and supervising
MISS MAKOAUKT AaTUH i Ham.lK.
the strictly scientific methods that pre
vail In her splendid dairy, which has
such an enviable reputation that milk
from It sells readily for 12 cents a
quart The farm Is called Itokeby, and
it Is the old Astor homestead. The pigs
are clear-skinned and dainty enough to
be decorated with pink ribbons. The
chickens are of the finest strain and
the cows are gentle-mannered and of
aristocratic lineage.
The farm Is ideally located on the
east bank of the Hudson, with a re
markably picturesque view of the river
and the Catskllls. On the estate of 130
acres are the stone and brick mansion,
the stable, with eight carriages, the
gardener's cottage, the cow barn, the
dairy cottage, the creamery and tne
pig houses. Besides there are tennis
courts, arbors, etc. The farm, outside
j it* dairy and piggery features, does not
differ from others, the pride of the
estate are the thlrty-tw* Guernsey and
, Jersey c«wi and the fifteen white
Chester pigs. Seldom dues one so*
such cattle. The herd to rained at
$1,500, and from it the dairymen get
200 quarts of milk a day. About a
year ago the sanitary dairying was In
troduced and the creamery was fitted
with all the latest devices for refrig
eration and sterilization. Floors, walls
and .celling were built of solid composi
tion cement, and every bit of appa
ratus and fixture In the place Is con
structed of galvanized zinc, heavily
plated with aluminum. With the cow
barn and piggery it is the same. Th«
cow barn was built at great cost, aftei
the most Improved designs. It Is not
a large building—only one story high
80 by 40 feet in dimension. Walls
celling and floors are of the same com
position cement as the creamery. The
stanchions are of steel piping, wltli
aluminum plate. Everything in the
barn is aluminum plated, even to the
three-legged milking stools. The ceil
ing Is dome shaped, being twenty feel
from the floor to the top and elghl
feet from the floor on the sides. The
walls are ten inches thick, with I
four-inch space between outer ami in
Jier wall, running entirely around the
building. Outlets and inlets for this
air space are provided by means of it
large opening in the center of the
dome, and circular openings a fool
in diameter along the side walls flfteet
feet apart.
These openings are cut Into both the
inside and outside walls, and open and
shut automatically. They can be reg
ulated so that all the outside openings
will be closed in severe weather, or al
ternated with those on the inside, oper
and shut. This ventilation system It
unique and effective.
The stable Is drained by means oi
troughs in the cement floor behind
each stall. These are flushed three
times a day from taps in the walls
The cows are milked by Mr. House
and his assistant twice a dny—at 5:3(
in the morning and at 4:30 in the even
Ing— milkers wearing white coats
trousers and gloves, which are laun
dered and sterilized after each milking.
. Milk is drawn Into thoroughly steril
ized, galvanized iron, aluminum-plated
palls, and carefully removed to the
creamery, where It is poured into ster
ilized glass bottles, closed with caps
bearing the certification of the State
Milk Commission, and sealed with a
Real beating the farm stamp. The bot
tles are then placed In a galvanized
Iron, aluminum-plated cooler to await
shipment to New York City, where
they are sola at 12 cents a quart.
The cows, too, arc washed and
scrubbed every day its carefully us the
fashionable babies who partake of
their milk, and are mod with the same
regularity and care three times each
day. Directly after milking and at
noon they receive their eight quarts of
gluten meal and wheat bran, which ii
selected and prepared with great care.
Profit In Rnl*lnK Sheep.
An official r.eport of the Department
of Commerce and Labor declares that
for years to come there will be more
money in sheep than in any other ag
ricultural product, and that the Amer
ican farmer, above all others, is in a
position to profit by this condition.
The reason why sheep raising la to
be so profitable Is to be found in the
fact that the flocks of the world aro
declining at an alarming rate. In a
little more than thirty years, or since
1873, this decline shows a loss of no
fewer than 93,000,000 head, an average
of more than ii.000,000 a year. At the
present time the American farmer has
the bulk of the sheep trade with Great
Britain, but he Is not a factor in the
mutton market, and last year he fur
nished only three-tenths of 1 per cent
of the wool Imports of Great Britain.
The British trade in sheep Imports
lust year was 882,240, and of these
the United States supplied 294,804. But
while the British imported 8,630,650
hundredweights of mutton In 1904, the
American fanner supplied only 7,120
hundredweights of this vast amount.
Great Britain Imported 314,468,018
I pounds of wool last year, but bought
j only 1,087,650 pounds from the Ameri
i can farmer. It may tllus be seen
i what an immense field of trade, even
| with one nation alone, is open to Amer-
Iran enterprise in a single agricultural
; product. Argentina, Australia and New
j Zealand largely supplied the British
trade in mutton and wool last year.
Her Last Request.
"So you refuse me?" sighs the dis
consolate lover. "Then listen. I shall
;go far, far away. Time and distance
I shall swallow me up. I shall never
j see your face again."
i "Before you go, Harold." whispered
I the gyurl, "there is one favor I would
I ask of you."
j "Yes?"
He turns with hope rekindled in his
heart.
"While you are going to the far
place you mention, would you mind
sending me picture post cards from
each stopping point? I am making a
post card album, and if you would "
But with a hollow groan he has lied
| from her side.—Judge.
Explained.
"Why Is It," said the young man
; with long hair, "that the average wo
! man would rather marry money than
1 brains?"
j "She takes less chance," answered
i Miss Cayenne. "The average woman
Is a better Judge of money than she
is of brains."—Washington Star.
Knfllr Poatroen on Bicycle*.
In the upper part of Kafflrlnnd In
South Africa a postal service of motor
| cycles ridden by natives has been es-
I tablished. The natives and their ma
j chines carry the mail seventy miles.
The woodpecker must be a super
stitious bird, always knocking at
! wood.
HANGING £F_A WOMAN.
It Mar RmuU l n the Abollt.
with £ pltia PnnU»»"»« ••:•?!
With the execution of Mm M
Mabel Roger, at Windsor It h Jft?*
possible that the last hang^*^
taken place In Vermont. ?V|
There has for many years h**
strong feeling , n llie «;,;.„„ mSI
State that capital punUhmeit 22
be abolished and on severall^2
--; the Legislature has come cLsH *T:
Ing away with the supreme waX
The cold-blooded manner i, 11. C
Mrs. Rogers killed her husband-!!'
tlclng him to a river bank, **£■■''
| him In the course of protended dUt
chloroforming him and throwlnc him
Into the river at Bennington-^t*
a demand for her execution which out
weighed both the sentiment amJnit
capital punishment and the natural re
pugnance against hanging-a woman
But, now that the woman Is dead «!
peclally as the execution was not en
.tirely devoid of mistakes in ralouU
|tlon—the old feeling against the Stut»
taking human lift Is gaining In f,, rp .
The anti-hanging forces In the Lt>sl».
laturo will now be stronger than e>€r|
I The case of Mrs. Rogers was th»
most sensational that ever figured In'
' the annals of Vermont. The murder
was committed in August, 1902, and
MKS. MARY M. ROOIiRS.
after her conviction sho was son;,:., e4
to be executed In January, 1903. The
legislature was appealed to to Inter
fere but refused. After that bo less
than three reprieves were granted, the
woman com!: g on two occasions with
in :i few hour.-i of the gallows. Even
the Supreme >'ourt of the I'nlted
,States was a] psaled to on a question
of constitution ility. Up to the day
befi re the acti I execution the woman
had not !o*t h>pe, but the Governor
refused to iiitti fere for a fourth time.
:A petition signed by 30.000 w<vnea
I HHkiux for clemency was Ignored bf
the chief executive, who felt that ho
was not called ou to Interfere after
the case had been so thoroughly ven
tilated In the courte. The woman wat
: cool and kept up her courage to th»
1 last.
! EDISON PREDICTS NEW
WOI\ TI)£PvS OF SCIENCE.
Bkctrical marvels which will aston
ish die world are prerllcted by Thoma»
A. Edison, the Inventor, who declared
, In m Interview In New York that th*
proMem.s of aerial navigation and
rapid transit ncros the Keas would io«a
TBOUAI A. 1 UIBOS.
bo solved. Electricity, lie says, will
BCK>n be generated by direct process,
without ike Intervention of steam, and
with this discovery will come a practi
cal revolution of human affairs.
What I'M .Me Wan Rending.
A New England father who b»\
lleves that children should be nourish
ed on good literature as well as on
good food has always read the Eng
lish classics aloud to his only . son/i
I Eddie, now six years old.
A friend of the family, knowing of
this practice, recently asked Eddl»
what he was reading.
"A Wavering novel," was his reply.
Not Douieatlc.
Mrs. Hiram Often— lsn't it ridlculou*
to speak of the servant girls as "do
mestics?"
Mr. Hiram Off en—Why? You mean
because most of them are "imported^
Mrs. Hiram Offen — Well, do; be
cause they never stay in at nigbt.—
Philadelphia Press.
I When a man says that he has not «
friend in the town where ho lives, yoo
can depend on It that the town 1* «"*
to blame.
' The average man thinks about tb«
worst thing In the world Is a doctor*
bIU until La meets an undertaker*
•' y * * ■ ' ■ '. ■ ' "-.'-■
